 
banditws6
Shrinking Time and Distance
join:2001-08-18
Naples, FL
 ·Comcast
1 edit | Absolutely said by Thomas Eagan :
"I think HD channels are more important than HD choices," Eagan told Multichannel News. "I think people want HD channels, not just HD On Demand."
I completely agree. Especially because a lot of Comcast's VOD content is either pay-per-view or cannot be watched unless you subscribe to a premium channel package like HBO or Showtime. I also find that VOD content often breaks up, stalls or macroblocks as it streams to my STB.
I count myself amongst those who would rather have a wider selection of HD channels (like FX HD, for example) available. Where I would pay extra for that, I will not pay extra for VOD.
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MemphisPCGuy
Senior Systems Engineer
Premium
join:2004-05-09
Memphis, TN
·Comcast
| Re: Absolutely How much more "Extra" do we need to be paying for HDTV. When does it become "standard"? Feb 2009? Will the HD surcharges ever be removed from my bill 
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Computer Repair & Networking Services
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imrf
Premium
join:2002-06-06
Utica, MI
·WOW Internet and C..
| Re: Absolutely said by MemphisPCGuy  : When does it become "standard"? Feb 2009? HD isn't becoming a "standard" in Feb of 2009. | |
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MemphisPCGuy
Senior Systems Engineer
Premium
join:2004-05-09
Memphis, TN
·Comcast
| Re: Absolutely I simply meant to imply the fact that in Feb 2009, OTA channels will be Digital, as "HD" as any Cable HD Channel ... and Free ... why should cable continue charging additional HD Tier and STB prices.
Not like I expect them to stop, mind you
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Computer Repair & Networking Services
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Boogeyman
Drive it like you stole it
Premium
join:2002-12-17
Huntsville, AL
| Re: Absolutely Are you trying to imply that OTA Standard Definition Digital is as good of quality as cable's digital HD? Or are you misinformed in thinking that the Feb '09 digital switch means that all signals will be HD?
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MemphisPCGuy
Senior Systems Engineer
Premium
join:2004-05-09
Memphis, TN
·Comcast
| Re: Absolutely I think what I'm trying to say is at what point will there cease to be a HD and NON-HD version of a channel. Once everyone is forced to accept digital media, why have Sci-Fi and Sci-fi HD for example?
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Computer Repair & Networking Services
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| | | | | | EPS
join:2008-02-13
Hingham, MA | Re: Absolutely You're absolutely wrong. There is SD Digital and HD Digital, and both types of signals will remain after the transition. The analog OTA signals (which are only in SD) will disappear. | |
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MemphisPCGuy
Senior Systems Engineer
Premium
join:2004-05-09
Memphis, TN
·Comcast
| Re: Absolutely said by EPS :You're absolutely wrong. There is SD Digital and HD Digital, and both types of signals will remain after the transition. The analog OTA signals (which are only in SD) will disappear. That's what I'm asking, why would they transmit them seperately... except to charge me more? The "HD" Channels are mixed original 480i content and newer HD 720+ content, the OTA broadcasters are doing the same. What's the point?
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Computer Repair & Networking Services
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Drex
Beer..It's What's For Dinner
Premium
join:2000-02-24
La Place, LA
 ·AT&T Southeast
| said by MemphisPCGuy :I think what I'm trying to say is at what point will there cease to be a HD and NON-HD version of a channel. When everyone has an HD TV?
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MemphisPCGuy
Senior Systems Engineer
Premium
join:2004-05-09
Memphis, TN
·Comcast
| Re: Absolutely Cable Boxes scale to your highest (or lowest) resolution. Since OTA channels now broadcast the Tonight show in 16:9 1080i resolutions are people not going to be able to watch it if they don't get a HDTV? I assume the Digital Converter boxes are going to scale the output and is what justifies the $40-80+ cost.
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Computer Repair & Networking Services
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MemphisPCGuy
Senior Systems Engineer
Premium
join:2004-05-09
Memphis, TN
·Comcast
| said by Boogeyman :Are you trying to imply that OTA Standard Definition Digital is as good of quality as cable's digital HD? Is there a difference between OTA 720/1080 and Cable HD 720/1080 programming?
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Computer Repair & Networking Services
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Boogeyman
Drive it like you stole it
Premium
join:2002-12-17
Huntsville, AL
| Re: Absolutely said by MemphisPCGuy :said by Boogeyman :Are you trying to imply that OTA Standard Definition Digital is as good of quality as cable's digital HD? Is there a difference between OTA 720/1080 and Cable HD 720/1080 programming? No. Well, in my experience OVA HD is better than cable HD. I had said OVA SD compaired to cable HD.
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MemphisPCGuy
Senior Systems Engineer
Premium
join:2004-05-09
Memphis, TN
·Comcast
| Re: Absolutely said by Boogeyman :said by MemphisPCGuy :No. Well, in my experience OVA HD is better than cable HD. I had said OVA SD compaired to cable HD. Exactly my point, I've never seen SD Digital unless you count Perry Mason upscaled to 1080i by my local affiliate. Is it because I have a HDTV and a $5 set of Rabbit ears?
I guess my question boils down to this. After Feb 2009, if I turn on the HDTV I have in my spare bedroom, that currently just has a Cable plugged into it, getting whatever analog is available... what resolution are the Digital channels going to be in? Will I get a picture at all? Will I have to finally call and add that TV to the "system"? Will the cable company scale down all DTV channels to be 4:3 480i or 16:9 480p regardless of the format they were produced in?
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Boogeyman
Drive it like you stole it
Premium
join:2002-12-17
Huntsville, AL
| Re: Absolutely Digital SD and analog SD are both ~480i, IIRC. And most of the tv I've seen lately in SD is still 4:3.
I dont remember where I read this, but it was somewhere around only 30% of the tv viewing public has a widescreen HDTV. So until it gets over 50%, I doubt you'll see a migration from SD to HD in broadcast/cable.
The HDTV you have plugged into analog cable will still receive the same analog signal its getting now from your cable company. Until your cable company decides to go all digital or you switch your service to the digital offering, you will still get the analog signal. Remember, Only Full Power OVA broadcasters have to switch to digital on Feb 2009. Smaller stations dont have to make the switch and can still use analog if they want, for a time. And cable/satellite isnt affected at all on Feb 2009.
When I said "No. Well, in my experience OVA HD is better than cable HD. I had said OVA SD compaired to cable HD." I was asking if you meant compairing OVA SD to cable HD service. Which it seems you are. So my answer to that is its not the same. SD is still SD and HD is still HD, no matter how its piped to your house. If you have a cable box that upscales (I've never heard of one, but I havent heard of a lot of things) its still SD being upscaled and not true HD.
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MemphisPCGuy
Senior Systems Engineer
Premium
join:2004-05-09
Memphis, TN
·Comcast
1 edit | Re: Absolutely While I understand Comcast does not have to make the switch, they are working on it per this news snippet;
Add Comcast to the list of providers getting very serious about dumping all those bandwidth hogging analog channels and plans to go all digital in 20% of its markets by year's end, and all by 2010. Of course it will have to provide free digital adapters for analog customers per the FCC, but by dropping ~70 analog channels, it'll free up enough space for about 150 HD channels Thanks for taking the time to reply to my questions. I am really just curious and had not meant for this to be a lengthy drawn out discussion, just some things that occured to me and figgered this was a good a place as any to ask
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| | | | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| "Digital" and "HD" are two different things and shouldn't be confused with each other.
The switch on the OTA side is from analog to digital only. Some stations actually do not broadcast in HD while they do broadcast in digital.
As for HD surcharges, many do charge for it as a premium, and I think that's wrong. Dish, DirecTV, Charter, and others treat it as a way to get an extra $10 a month. Comcast doesn't, in the majority of it's systems, charge for an HD tier. You get what comes with your tier of programming. They DO rent an HD converter, but that fee is for the equipment itself. Considering you'd need to purchase a box on your own for a few hundred, the $5 rental fee isn't too bad. | |
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evilotto
@comcast.net
| Re: Absolutely said by fiberguy :They DO rent an HD converter, but that fee is for the equipment itself. Considering you'd need to purchase a box on your own for a few hundred, the $5 rental fee isn't too bad. I don't know what Comcrap's prices are in your area, but where I live the HD equipment fee is $6 for digital customers and $10 for non-digital customers PLUS the fee for the SD box. They waive the fee for the first box, so if you had 3 HDTVs it would be $6 + $12.95 + $12.95 = $31.90 for digital customers and $10 + $16.95 + $16.95 = $43.90 for non-digital customers. $382.80/$526.80 per year is not exactly good IMO. | |
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| | | | | | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| Re: Absolutely ComCAST's price in my area are about the same.. and I still find it a good deal. I'd go out and price an HD box on your own, to purchase, and see how much the trade off is. (Hint: The cost of an HD box, to an MSO that buys them by the truck load, is about $500 or more, each)
Also, consider the fact that they do break, the hassle of having to have them serviced, be with out, and when new technology comes out, you'd have to buy new ones.. again, the rental isn't that bad.
For the record, I have 6 televisions in the house and they are all HD. I know it costs, but, we're still in the early adopting stage. Most homes still only have just one HDTV in the house, and few have more than one.
Value, I suppose, if going to depend on WHO is the one asking that question. | |
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Corehhi
join:2002-01-28
Bluffton, SC
| I'll have to pay for digital channels after 2009. The cable companies standard tier is analog and they will convert digital to analog unless you pay for the DTV. HD package is extra on top of that.
I have no choice in cable companies either. It's Sat or Hargray. | |
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| flashcore
join:2007-01-23
Lutherville Timonium, MD
| said by banditws6 :I completely agree. Especially because a lot of Comcast's VOD content is either pay-per-view or cannot be watched unless you subscribe to a premium channel package like HBO or Showtime. I also find that VOD content often breaks up, stalls or macroblocks as it streams to my STB. Consider yourself lucky that you could even watch HD VOD. When I was a Comcast user I could NEVER use there VOD unless it was around 3-5am, the node I was on was always overloaded so I always received an error that said to call them for more information (when you have 300+ people on a node and only dedicate 2-3 QAM blocks for VOD this is the shit that happens). I never bothered to call because I knew what the problem was, the same problem still exists now for my neighbor who signed up for a 2 year contract instead of moving to FiOS like the rest of us on the block. I now enjoy VOD whenever I want, I also enjoy a much better picture quality and faster Internet that is never down. | |
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| | Ahrenl
join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA | Re: Absolutely Now that you've all moved over to FIOS your remaining neighbor should be fine though, right? | |
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| | | hottboiinnc
ME
join:2003-10-15
Toledo, OH | Re: Absolutely should have faster internet too .
but for some reason i doubt the entire block as FiOS service. | |
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banditws6
Shrinking Time and Distance
join:2001-08-18
Naples, FL
·Comcast
| Yeah, I would get that error message on occasion too. VOD really just because useless to me because you could never count on it to work when you wanted to watch something -- which was in direct opposition to how Comcast markets it, ironically.
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| | moonpuppy
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD
·Verizon Online DSL
| said by flashcore :I never bothered to call because I knew what the problem was, the same problem still exists now for my neighbor who signed up for a 2 year contract instead of moving to FiOS like the rest of us on the block. I now enjoy VOD whenever I want, I also enjoy a much better picture quality and faster Internet that is never down. I have to say the picture quality of FIOS is WAY better than Comcast but their VOD is much slower than Comcast (at least in my area.) | |
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SLD
join:2002-04-17
Los Angeles, CA | I could never use the VOD service either. Needless to say, Comcast isn't receiving that extra $100/mo from me for cable service anymore. | |
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| | jester121
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL | Must be a local thing, no Comcast contracts here. | |
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sansri88
Go digtal you analog laggards
Premium
join:2005-12-17
Iselin, NJ
clubs:  | Still lacking here quote:
(which really only offers around 40 HD channels in most markets)
We still have 25 HD channels on Comcast of NJ II, with over 250k subscribers on the system I think. | |
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Drex
Beer..It's What's For Dinner
Premium
join:2000-02-24
La Place, LA
·AT&T Southeast
| Re: Still lacking here said by sansri88 : quote:
(which really only offers around 40 HD channels in most markets)
We still have 25 HD channels on Comcast of NJ II, with over 250k subscribers on the system I think. I'm with ya. While we don't have the 250K subscribers, I'd still like to see some better HD channels. Give me Discovery HD...how about Fox Sports HD? Nope...We only get like 14 HD channels and 2 of those you have to pay for (HBO HD & SHOWTIME HD).
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| Georgiaboy
join:2005-06-25
Savannah, GA
·Comcast
| said by sansri88 : quote:
(which really only offers around 40 HD channels in most markets)
We still have 25 HD channels on Comcast of NJ II, with over 250k subscribers on the system I think. We're on par with about 40. Guess the south finally caught up. | |
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HDINDC
@tds.net
thumbs down from:
LiamJunket
| Here in DC I just moved completely to DC where I now have Comcast, leaving behind DirecTV for now until I get settled. I hooked up my TV, and watched some HD programming on Comcrap. It looks soft, macroblocked and generally HORRIBLE compared to DirecTV. Man this company needs to improve the picture quality and add more channels. It's total crap and really expensive compared to the competition. The internet has been great, though.... | |
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Rob
In Deo speramus, God Bless the USA
Premium
join:2001-08-25
Kendall, FL
·Comcast
| Re: Here in DC said by HDINDC :
I just moved completely to DC where I now have Comcast, leaving behind DirecTV for now until I get settled. I hooked up my TV, and watched some HD programming on Comcrap. It looks soft, macroblocked and generally HORRIBLE compared to DirecTV. Man this company needs to improve the picture quality and add more channels. It's total crap and really expensive compared to the competition. The internet has been great, though....
Same here. They started compressing their HD channels and they look awful.
Internet is great though. | |
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Calabria
join:2007-11-06
Lansdale, PA | Comcrap plan as soon as they finish there hd investment they will pass the cost along to there customers 
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ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
clubs: | My friend in Mass just switched from CC to DirectTv. He said that the difference is noticable on his projection HDTV. He kept the internet portion (which they automatically downgraded his speed package) and has DTV for the TV portion. | |
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Morac
join:2001-08-30
Riverside, NJ
·Comcast
| Who is this guy and why should I care what he says? The article just states that some analyst guy thinks that Comcast needs to start spending money on HD (and they do) so he predicts that they will.
I don't see any indications from Comcast that they will start doing so. Comcast has a past history of shooting themself in the foot. I don't see why it will be any different, just because an analyst says it will be.
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Richard B
Fur It Up
join:2007-06-22
Portland, OR | No thanks I will never get an HD TV, it is a waste of money TV is TV as far as I concern. I rather have cheaper prices. | |
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See 13 replies to this post |
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Joseph327
join:2006-02-03
Jacksonville, FL
|  WTF?
At least Comcast is trying, what are the others up to?
Nuff said. | |
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Travelfan1
RIP Analog Go Digital
join:2005-08-23
Iselin, NJ
·Comcast
|  Re: WTF?
In my area(the same as sansri88), it STINKS, period. Just to give you an idea, in our area, Comcast hasn't added a new HD channel since March, and they actually added 0 net HD channels: They removed NFL HD to add SNY HD. No Discovery HD networks, no USA HD, etc, etc and etc.
What others are up to? Well, let's see:
1- Directv now offers a lot more HD channels than Comcast
2- So does Dish Network - and Dish will add 17 new HD channels early August.
3- VZ is spending like there's no tomorrow deploying fiber optics for TV and internet.
2- Directv just launched an On Demand service, with a few HD choices - granted, no comparision, Comcast's (and cable or Verizon) On Demand will be much better for a long time, until internet speeds are way much faster than today.
I am not even going to talk about prices - I am over 130 bucks/month here, and that's for cable ONLY - granted, I have 1 HD DVR and the digital package that includes HBO, SHowtime and Starz...
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COMCAST of New Jersey II(Union) - The worst Comcast NJ system!!!
Verizon DSL
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
1 edit | You know what they say.... ... "There's never the time (or money) to do it right the first time.... but there's always the time (and money) to do it over."
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siouxmoux1
@sbcglobal.net | Comcast Prepared To Spend Big On HD = Price Increase Comcast Prepared To Spend Big On HD = Yet another Price Increase for everyone. Yet another reason I switch to ATT UV. | |
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tuaris
You Clicked on the Apple
join:2001-10-19
Naples, FL | How about transmitting clear QAM broadcasts? Unencrypted HD channels so I can actually make use of the HD tuner in my TV or computer?
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Bill in Alamo
@comcast.net
| DTV HD picture quality better than Comcast?? When did this happen?
I've compared DTV HD to Comcast in the past and there was no question - DTV was inferior. The bandwidth allotted per channel by DTV was tiny. Sports shows suffered from noticeable and distracting edge mosquitoing and other compression artifacts I saw far less of on Comcast.
Has there really been a big upgrade at DTV due to MPEG4? I wasn't expecting it, btu rather just more channels in teh same bandwidth. Comcast does not seem to have gone significantly downhill to my eyes and last time I checked DTV HD I was very disappointed. I still have Conmcast, but if DTV really has better image wuality, I'd consider switching. I have my doubts.
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| rob316
join:2005-10-17
Carteret, NJ
·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: DTV HD picture quality better than Comcast?? I also just switched from Comcast to Direct TV and yes in my eyes opinion the picture quality of Directtv is better than Crookcast. Plus I have around 40 more HD channels compared to Comcast. I live in the same area as Travelfan and Sansri, the HD lineup suxs in my Comcast area. | |
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Comcast Prepared To Spend Big On HD
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