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Comcast Says 800 HD 'Channels' Coming
High definition war of words contnues...

In between bouts of fighting both Time Warner and Comcast over network capacity and HD quality claims, DirecTV says they're on target to add 100 new HD channels before the end of the year. Not to be outdone, Comcast is now saying they'll have 400 HD channels by the end of this year and some 800 HD channels by the end of 2008. Note that Comcast is being very generous when it comes to defining what a channel is:

"Before you call Comcast to sign up, the exact number of channels depends upon your definition of what a channel actually is.

The cable operator is saying that it will have 400 high-def choices this year, which will include everything from local stations to high-def networks such as Discovery HD Theater to HD Video on Demand services such as new video releases.

In other words, if the movie Casino Royale is available in high-def on Comcast On Demand, that would be a channel choice."
Note that DirecTV has been doing the same thing by including each Sunday Ticket NFL game and every local HD channel in their HD total.
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hopeflicker
Capitalism breeds greed
Premium Member
join:2003-04-03
Long Beach, CA

1 edit

hopeflicker

Premium Member

typical

Typical marketing schemes
Very misleading and on the verge on lying.

Mactron
el Camino Real
Premium Member
join:2001-12-16
PRK

1 recommendation

Mactron

Premium Member

Re: typical

said by hopeflicker:

Typical marketing schemes
Very misleading and on the verge on lying.
It's numbers hype. They all play the game thinking we the consumer are clueless. Out of the ~150 channels I have, I watch 6-8 at the most. The rest are trash. Will trash in HD be better?..

dadkins
Can you do Blu?
MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA

dadkins

MVM

Re: typical

said by Mactron:

Will trash in HD be better?..
Hell Yeah! Crystal Clear, Widescren, HD - trash!

LOL!

hopeflicker
Capitalism breeds greed
Premium Member
join:2003-04-03
Long Beach, CA

1 recommendation

hopeflicker

Premium Member

Re: typical

said by dadkins:
said by Mactron:

Will trash in HD be better?..
Hell Yeah! Crystal Clear, Widescren, HD - trash!

LOL!
You mean we'll finally get J. Springer in HD??? fuck ya!

Mike
Mod
join:2000-09-17
Pittsburgh, PA

Mike

Mod

Re: typical

That is if they have an HD Camera...

else it'll probably be upsized to fit the screen resolution.

Mactron
el Camino Real
Premium Member
join:2001-12-16
PRK

Mactron to hopeflicker

Premium Member

to hopeflicker
said by hopeflicker:
said by dadkins:
said by Mactron:

Will trash in HD be better?..
Hell Yeah! Crystal Clear, Widescren, HD - trash!

LOL!
You mean we'll finally get J. Springer in HD??? fuck ya!
Don't forget Maury... The Paternity episodes are the best. Who's the Daddy.? !!
Necronomikro
join:2005-09-01

1 recommendation

Necronomikro

Member

Re: typical

Most amusing thing was when the girl had come up there for the third time, bringing 6 guys at once each time, and after the third time STILL didn't know who the daddy was.
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88

Member

Re: typical

said by Necronomikro:

Most amusing thing was when the girl had come up there for the third time, bringing 6 guys at once each time, and after the third time STILL didn't know who the daddy was.
Maybe it was her daddy

FicmanS
Premium Member
join:2005-01-11
Brownsburg, IN

FicmanS to Mactron

Premium Member

to Mactron
Nice...lol

telcolackey5
The Truth? You can't handle the truth
join:2007-04-06
Death Valley, CA

telcolackey5 to dadkins

Member

to dadkins
Something satellite cannot do is Switched digital video (SDV)

PolarBear03
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium Member
join:2005-01-03

PolarBear03

Premium Member

Re: typical

Satellite doesn't need to do that; they aren't running internet and phone down the same RG-6.

Heterman
Premium Member
join:2004-02-28
Fayetteville, AR

Heterman to telcolackey5

Premium Member

to telcolackey5
The DBS satellite system works very similar to what you point out in SDV. You only get the channels you request, which send voltage to the lnbf to switch transponders.

Anonymous_
Anonymous
Premium Member
join:2004-06-21
127.0.0.1

Anonymous_ to dadkins

Premium Member

to dadkins
said by dadkins:
said by Mactron:

Will trash in HD be better?..
Hell Yeah! Crystal Clear, Widescren, HD - trash!

LOL!
no you can have p0rn in HD & 5.1 Doby digital

Caddyroger
Premium Member
join:2001-06-11
To the west

Caddyroger to Mactron

Premium Member

to Mactron
said by Mactron:

said by hopeflicker:

Typical marketing schemes
Very misleading and on the verge on lying.
It's numbers hype. They all play the game thinking we the consumer are clueless. Out of the ~150 channels I have, I watch 6-8 at the most. The rest are trash. Will trash in HD be better?..
It could be the 6 or 8 that you watch that is trashed by what I watch. Not every one watches the same programs. Of dtv 100 I would only watch about 15 at the most.

blueeyesm
join:2003-09-05
Waterloo, ON

blueeyesm to Mactron

Member

to Mactron
said by Mactron:

Will trash in HD be better?..
Actually, to keep it politically correct - it'll be known as the Recycling Network.

I love Lucy in HD, Gilligan's Island (colourized, AND edited for time) in HD, and more commercials than you can shake a stick at!

All for a low, low price of $50 / month!

PolarBear03
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium Member
join:2005-01-03

PolarBear03 to Mactron

Premium Member

to Mactron
said by Mactron:
said by hopeflicker:

Typical marketing schemes
Very misleading and on the verge on lying.
It's numbers hype. They all play the game thinking we the consumer are clueless. Out of the ~150 channels I have, I watch 6-8 at the most. The rest are trash. Will trash in HD be better?..
No kidding. 400-800 HD channels? I only get about 200 SD channels. You're telling me there will be MORE HD channels than than SD ones? Hundreds of never-before-seen channels are just going to materialize and start broadcasting in HD?

Marketing Bullshit. They should be required to explicitly define the word "channel" in any advertisement that tells how many "channels" a provider offers. PPV, on-demand, and Sunday Ticket/MLB Extra Innings/NHL Center Ice are NOT channels.
golfgeek6
join:2005-11-21
Bryans Road, MD

golfgeek6 to hopeflicker

Member

to hopeflicker
agreed........Note they don't say 400 National HD channels. In other words we are adding 10 new national HD channels, 30 new VOD, and 460 local/regional channels spread all over the place.

Meaning you may see very little by the end of the year. Yes on the verge of lying. Pitiful.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

1 edit

FFH5 to hopeflicker

Premium Member

to hopeflicker
They have made presentations on Wall St that say they will have 150 NATIONAL HD channels by the end of 2008.

hopeflicker
Capitalism breeds greed
Premium Member
join:2003-04-03
Long Beach, CA

hopeflicker

Premium Member

Re: typical

said by FFH5:

They have made presentations on Wall St that say they will have 150 NATIONAL HD channels by the end of 2008.

Why dont they just say that in the first place? I mean, they are boasting 800 channels by year end and that is a bit of a stretch.
Hell, i can look at my monthly tv guide for all of my HD channels and probably come up with 800 HD programs.

It's no wonder why there are so many anti-big business people out there.
cableguy619
Premium Member
join:2003-06-24
Chula Vista, CA

cableguy619 to FFH5

Premium Member

to FFH5
The thing is there even isnt 50 networks that provide HD if even that.

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102

Premium Member

Provide Actual Service First

I'm still wondering how Comcast plans to offer all these channels when many of the markets they acquired in swaps with other providers don't even offer basic things like on-demand and such.
whocares0
Premium Member
join:2003-07-26
..

whocares0

Premium Member

20 cable channels set to debut when Comcast takes over

June 13, 2007, 7:17AM

Twenty channels, including five high-definition channels, will join the cable lineup when Comcast officially takes over for Time Warner-Houston on Tuesday.

Mailers were expected to go out today to all current TW subscribers announcing the new lineup, which shows renamed tiers and new channel groupings but keeps pricing the same.

The high-definition channels being added are:

* ESPN2 HD. High-def version of the sports and information channel.
* MHD. Music High Definition, which Tony Speller, senior vice president for Comcast's Houston region describes as "a combination MTV, VH1 and Country Music Television."
* Versus/Golf HD. Two sports networks sharing the same channel number. Versus offers hockey, rodeo and other sports.
* Starz HD. Movie channel available to Starz subscribers only.
* Cinemax HD. Movie channel available to Cinemax subscribers only.

Comcast's HD offerings — 21 channels total — will be complemented by more than 100 hours of HD content available on Comcast's "video on demand" service, Spelling said.

"We're updating our VOD platform from a system that had roughly 1,000 hours of content to one that has 6,000 hours of content and 9,000 different programs," he said.

That programming will roll out gradually and should be available to all in the greater Houston market by year's end.

Fourteen non-HD channels also join the lineup. They are:

* The Africa Channel. All-English channel celebrating Africa.
* ESPN Deportes. Spanish-language sports channel.
* Flix. Films from the '60s, '70s and '80s.
* Fox Reality. New and off-network reality series from around the world.
* GolTV. Soccer channel available in two different packages, one in English, one in Spanish.
* Gospel Music Channel. Gospel music 24/7.
* ImaginAsian TV. Movies, animé, sports and music.
* Indieplex. Commercial-free independent and art-house movies.
* MTV Tr3s. Lifestyle and music channel aimed at Latinos.
* Logo. Original series, films and documentaries focused on gays, lesbians and transgenders.
* MoviePlex. An affiliate of the Encore movie channels, this one runs movies of a different theme (crime, Western, etc.) every day.
* NFL Network. 24/7 football channel offering multiple games during the season.
* PBS Kids Sprout. Aimed at preschoolers ages 2 to 5.
* Retroplex. Commercial-free classic movies from the '50s, '60s and '70s.

Comcast will introduce a new tiering system that has several notable upgrades or improvements.

The new "Basic Service" tier includes all local channels (and their HD signals) as well as Chicago "superstation" WGN, Tube Music (affiliated with Channel 39), and Spanish-language channels LATV (affiliated with Channel 2) and V-me (affiliated with Channel 8). Price: $16.42.

An "Expanded Basic" tier adds 55 channels to the "Basic" tier, including eight HD channels. Price: $44.99.

"Digital Basic" is for customers who want the first two tiers plus access to video on demand, including MoviePlex. Price: $51.99.

Niche channels such as ESPN News, Current TV, Gospel Music Channel and Toon Disney are on the "Digital Classic" tier. Price: $55.99.

"Digital Preferred" adds Logo, Indieplex, Sundance, four Encore channels and more. Price: $56.99.

A sports pack, which includes the NFL Network, goes for an additional $4, while a 15-channel Spanish-language package can be added for $5 more. Premium movie packages and international channels are also available. HDNet pack, offering Mark Cuban's HDNet and HDNet Movies, can be had for another $3.

A package that includes everything except the international channels is available for $86.99, which matches the current price for a similar offering on Time Warner.

All prices do not include the cost of equipment such as a digital box or an HD tuner.

Comcast enters a TV market more competitive than ever before. AT&T, Dish and DirecTV promise HD packages, for example, as good or greater than what Comcast is promising.

AT&T offers West Coast feeds of several cable channels and boasts 27 HD channels. Dish, like Comcast, offers 21 HD channels, but with a significantly different channel list. DirecTV has been advertising 150 HD channels by year's end.

"We're bringing customers the HD content they're demanding, the most popular channels they are asking for," Spelling said. "In addition, we have HD VOD, with more than 100 hours of HD content available. So I would say we are extremely competitive in that space."

He emphasized the quality, quantity and diversity of the programming Comcast provides as reasons to stick with cable. As for cost, the company noted that savings can be accomplished by bundling cable with other services Comcast offers, including phone and Internet access.

"We've been in the business a long time," added Ray Purser, Comcast's vice president of government and public relations in Houston. "We're investing $200 million in the market to launch new products and services. We have a call center of 900 employees who understand the business. Our competitors are trying to catch up to us, but they have a long way to go."
»www.chron.com/disp/story ··· 763.html

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102

Premium Member

Re: 20 cable channels set to debut when Comcast takes over

I was an Adelphia subscriber when Comcast took over. Since then:

We've lost HDnet and HDnet Movies. I never watched them much, but Comcast can't legitimately claim to be adding HD channels when they are getting rid of them instead. INHD2 is gone, but I don't think that is Comcast's fault. We got a new HD channel called MOJO.

On Demand never worked with Adelphia. It still doesn't work now.

I keep Comcast mainly for their Internet service, which has actually been quite solid and reliable. I retain their cable service, over the objections of my girlfriend, because they do not compress HD signals any more than the original HD source does, unlike satellite. Plus, Comcast charges us much less for 2 dual tuner HD-DVRs than the satellite providers.

Someday, someday, I keep telling myself, I will go mount an outdoor TV antenna
whocares0
Premium Member
join:2003-07-26
..

whocares0

Premium Member

Re: 20 cable channels set to debut when Comcast takes over

said by pnh102:

I keep Comcast mainly for their Internet service, which has actually been quite solid and reliable. I retain their cable service, .

Someday, someday, I keep telling myself, I will go mount an outdoor TV antenna
why not try or do as i do,1 suggestion,
try DIRECTV for say a month,(less then 30days-trial) and keep RR for your internet,

but then with a satallite, you have to think about how much BAD weather you have heavy rains or snow,if its heavy it could block the tv signal, (here where i am maybe,MAYBE once a month MIGHT loose signal under 1/2 hr because of a heavy thunderstorm.

djrobx
Premium Member
join:2000-05-31
Reno, NV

djrobx

Premium Member

Re: 20 cable channels set to debut when Comcast takes over

quote:
why not try or do as i do,1 suggestion,
try DIRECTV for say a month,(less then 30days-trial) and keep RR for your internet
He has Comcast HSI, not RR. That means if he switches to DirecTV, not only will he be hit with a $15 penalty in HSI pricing, but his internet speeds will go down as well.

With Time Warner you simply lose the $5 bundling discount.

Ebolla
join:2005-09-28
Dracut, MA

Ebolla

Member

Re: 20 cable channels set to debut when Comcast takes over

why is it a "hit with $15 penalty" when refering to comcast but "simply lose the $5 bundling discount" with TW? It's either a discount on both, or a penalty on both.

djrobx
Premium Member
join:2000-05-31
Reno, NV

djrobx

Premium Member

Re: 20 cable channels set to debut when Comcast takes over

Agreed. Ok, let me rephrase:

You simply have to pay a $5 penalty instead of a $15 penalty plus having your bandwidth cut.

TW's penalty stings a lot less.

-- Rob

Cheese
Premium Member
join:2003-10-26
Naples, FL

Cheese

Premium Member

Re: 20 cable channels set to debut when Comcast takes over

said by djrobx:

Agreed. Ok, let me rephrase:

You simply have to pay a $5 penalty instead of a $15 penalty plus having your bandwidth cut.

TW's penalty stings a lot less.

-- Rob
Um, I don't think they cut your speeds if you decide to not have TV through them, that's why the increase in price for service if you don't have them.

djrobx
Premium Member
join:2000-05-31
Reno, NV

djrobx

Premium Member

Re: 20 cable channels set to debut when Comcast takes over

quote:
Um, I don't think they cut your speeds if you decide to not have TV through them, that's why the increase in price for service if you don't have them.
One would think so, but sadly that's exactly what Comcast did in my area and others.

»Re: Unofficial Next Comcast Speed Upgrade Rumor Topic
»Re: Oh what a great day! (Comcast HSI cancelled)

Cheese
Premium Member
join:2003-10-26
Naples, FL

Cheese

Premium Member

Re: 20 cable channels set to debut when Comcast takes over

said by djrobx:

quote:
Um, I don't think they cut your speeds if you decide to not have TV through them, that's why the increase in price for service if you don't have them.
One would think so, but sadly that's exactly what Comcast did in my area and others.

»Re: Unofficial Next Comcast Speed Upgrade Rumor Topic
»Re: Oh what a great day! (Comcast HSI cancelled)
That's bs man, f comcast!

PolarBear03
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium Member
join:2005-01-03

PolarBear03 to djrobx

Premium Member

to djrobx
said by djrobx:
quote:
why not try or do as i do,1 suggestion,
try DIRECTV for say a month,(less then 30days-trial) and keep RR for your internet
He has Comcast HSI, not RR. That means if he switches to DirecTV, not only will he be hit with a $15 penalty in HSI pricing, but his internet speeds will go down as well.
I never experienced slower internet speeds when I had Comcast HSI sans video. Had DirecTV and Comcast HSI for YEARS and my 8000/768 HSI tier always tested at about 9500/700. And the "penalty" (actually just the discount that you will no longer get for bundling HSI with video) was only $10 for me.

••••

djrobx
Premium Member
join:2000-05-31
Reno, NV

djrobx to whocares0

Premium Member

to whocares0
quote:
ESPN2 HD. High-def version of the sports and information channel.
* MHD. Music High Definition, which Tony Speller, senior vice president for Comcast's Houston region describes as "a combination MTV, VH1 and Country Music Television."

Heh. Time Warner picked up those stations (and several other HD ones) here when Comcast left.

-- Rob
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88 to whocares0

Member

to whocares0
said by whocares0:

June 13, 2007, 7:17AM

Twenty channels, including five high-definition channels, will join the cable lineup when Comcast officially takes over for Time Warner-Houston on Tuesday.
HAHAHA, In NYC on TW we haven't had a channel added in years except for HD versions. Im waiting for MTV Hits to show up. CV has had it for years.
whocares0
Premium Member
join:2003-07-26
..

1 edit

whocares0

Premium Member

Thank you Comcast,

I hope comcast offers better service then this
»www.borednet.com/media/528

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5 to pnh102

Premium Member

to pnh102

Re: Provide Actual Service First

said by pnh102:

I'm still wondering how Comcast plans to offer all these channels when many of the markets they acquired in swaps with other providers don't even offer basic things like on-demand and such.
Comcast has the ability to provide OnDemand to approx 80% of their user base. If they buy the digital pkg.

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102

Premium Member

Re: Provide Actual Service First

said by FFH5:

Comcast has the ability to provide OnDemand to approx 80% of their user base. If they buy the digital pkg.
It should be 100%

dmeyer6
join:2002-08-14
Austin, TX

dmeyer6

Member

New channels

The Africa Channel? Puh-leeze. Probably has 1 hour of new original programming a week and the rest is repeats and infomercials.

"800 channels and nothing's on"

•••

ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium Member
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA

1 edit

ColorBASIC

Premium Member

There aren't 800 HD channels out

What's the point, there isn't 800 HD channels available.

Here's a novel idea: Instead of offering 800 HD channel capacity how about dedicating some of that bandwidth to HSI so you don't have to send out nastygrams and cancel customers who actual USE your HSI service.

PolarBear03
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium Member
join:2005-01-03

PolarBear03

Premium Member

Re: There aren't 800 HD channels out

said by ColorBASIC:

how about dedicating some of that bandwidth to HSI so you don't have to send out nastygrams and cancel customers who actual USE your HSI service?
We could beat that dead horse all day, son. Give it up. (I only say this because I agree with you.)

No to ESPN
@sbcglobal.net

No to ESPN

Anon

How About Ala Carte?

I am in Houston and am waiting to see how this all works out. I use RoadRunner with TW and wonder if the Comcast system, after they "improve" it, will be as solid. No cable TV only my antenna in the attic.

If Comcast wants more of my money let me choose using an ala carte system. None of the added channels listed interested me. Until then, no more money.

brooklynman4
join:2004-09-07
Brewster, NY

brooklynman4

Member

Re: How About Ala Carte?

They going to have 800 hd channels but there channel line up will vary from state to state thats how they coun there channels lol.
bdtuttle
join:2006-12-20
Arlington, TX

bdtuttle to No to ESPN

Member

to No to ESPN
said by No to ESPN :

I am in Houston and am waiting to see how this all works out. I use RoadRunner with TW and wonder if the Comcast system, after they "improve" it, will be as solid. No cable TV only my antenna in the attic.

If Comcast wants more of my money let me choose using an ala carte system. None of the added channels listed interested me. Until then, no more money.
Speaking from the reverse point of view, In DFW we recently went from Comcast to TWC. Pretty painful, Apparently all of the VoD Licensing is different for each company, so you may or may not see an improvement.

One very important thing about the transition, give it a month or two and call in about pricing and packaging, F'in TWC kept me on an "Old" Comcast Silver package + Internet, when they had started offering TWC's own bundling which is about $20-$30 less than the old package, and never mentioned it, just kept it there.

800 new HD channels, just mean 4 of every channel instead of the 3 we have know. Pg Dwn , "I just saw this." Pg Dwn, "Deja Vu." Pg Dwn, Pg Dwn, "Ahhh the next set of channels." Rinse & Repeat.

I just wonder how long it will be before I am in Comcast again.

odreian615
join:2006-01-18
Chicago, IL

odreian615

Member

Will these channels be FREE

thats the million dollar question

Raptor
Not a Dumptruck
join:2001-10-21
London, ON

Raptor

Member

Focus on the sports!

Give me my sports (NHL/NFL/etc) in HD first. I don't need to see Horatio Caine furrow his orange brow in high-def (yet).

And regarding sports, get the damn HD cameras in the buildings. Nothing worse than when my Leafs are playing in some crappy US market team with non-HD hardware. It looks worse than standard def.

Granted it's not the cable co. responsibility and all, but HD channels are meaningless if the content isn't HD. It's all hot air.

insomniac
Oh Yeah
Premium Member
join:2002-09-22
Naperville, IL

insomniac

Premium Member

Re: Focus on the sports!

Yep. I'm really bothered that I can't yet watch every MLB game in HD. Half the time I won't bother watching the Cubs if they're playing an away game, because I know it won't be in HD.

xNPC
As Usual, Have Nice Day
Premium Member
join:2000-11-08
Errington, BC
·Shaw
ARRIS TG3482

xNPC

Premium Member

actions

speak louder than words. but as far as comcast is concerned, inaction speaks volumes as well.
bhorow
join:2004-05-17
Forest Hills, NY

bhorow

Member

800 channels LOL

Look there is no 800 channels in HD.

Thats just not going to ever happen....
Lets say name most cable operators have 230 channels and those include music choice..and if you want to be generous if you include every possible content provider that a cable company can have a contract with you might get 300 channels.

I define a channel as having a distinct number, so if there are only 300 or so possible channels, and each one went to HD...you would max out at 600 channels. Now if Comcast decided to broadcast every European channel from all over the globe in HD..maybe its possible.
Like everything else it comes down to contracts. Everyone is going to have about the same number of HD Channels in the end. With some contract variations. Again HD is still in the infancy stages, its more interesting to talk about future interactivity.

batterup
I Can Not Tell A Lie.
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Netcong, NJ

batterup

Premium Member

It is called *The Boardwalk Hustle*.

Watch any infomercial and you will here, *But wait there's more*.

jouno53
Palin 2012
join:2006-03-04
United State

jouno53

Member

Thanks for the info. Hurray for HD!

Hurray! I'm glad, because we just received a free promotional HD receiver from DirectTV. While watching local news, it looks like you're looking through a window compared to non-HD.

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536

Premium Member

Re: Thanks for the info. Hurray for HD!

said by jouno53:

Hurray! I'm glad, because we just received a free promotional HD receiver from DirectTV. While watching local news, it looks like you're looking through a window compared to non-HD.
Just imagine how good TRUE HD looks to you if you think that HD-LITE garbage DTV has looks good.
zshuster
join:2005-01-31
San Jose, CA

zshuster

Member

Comcast Says 800 HD 'Channels' Coming

currently unavailble...several rate increases to precede...what comcrap
zshuster

zshuster

Member

currently unavailable...several rate increases to precede...what comcrap