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ADL
Member
2009-May-1 10:05 am
GUI needs major overhaulWhy don't they invest in fixing their HORRIBLE GUI? | |
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| baineschile2600 ways to live Premium Member join:2008-05-10 Sterling Heights, MI |
Good news, bad newsGood news: Tons more HD and HD content, DOCSIS 3.0 deployment, ability to add more digital and ethnic channels
BAD NEWS: The days of not needing equipment to get TV are over. I heard a rumour that Comcast and Panasonic are teaming up to have TVs with built in digital tuners (not QAM or NTSC) that can go up and down | |
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| | neufuse join:2006-12-06 James Creek, PA |
Re: Good news, bad newsthey already have those tv's they are called Tru2Way and they use QAM tuners and cablecards still.... they just program the box code into the tv so you dont need a box for the GUI and VOD you can buy one right now, but only a few compcast markets have Tru2Way enabled right now | |
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| | | Sammer join:2005-12-22 Canonsburg, PA |
Sammer
Member
2009-May-1 4:08 pm
Re: Good news, bad newssaid by neufuse:they already have those tv's they are called Tru2Way and they use QAM tuners and cablecards still.... they just program the box code into the tv so you dont need a box for the GUI and VOD you can buy one right now, but only a few compcast markets have Tru2Way enabled right now Chicago and Denver are the only two markets I've heard of so far. While 100% of Comcast's and four other companies' digital cable systems are supposed be "Tru2Way ready" (whatever that means) by July from what I've heard consumers shouldn't expect much until next year. | |
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Re: Good news, bad newsComcast Oregon Market was the first market in the country to roll out the Cav project. Oregon deployed MANY DTA devices to give customers TV service while freeing up MANY channels. Comcast Oregon Market has also deployed DOCSIS 3.0 as well as a huge assortment of HDTV channels.
The nice thing, IMO, is that there is still room for more improvement. The cable network just keeps scaling and scaling. | |
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| | jmn1207 Premium Member join:2000-07-19 Sterling, VA |
to baineschile
The best news for me is that I will be able to use my Moxi HD DVR with a CableCard as Comcast has no plans to go the SDV route, which this DVR cannot do at this time. Now, if I change service from FiOS back to Comcast, I can still use my own DVR, at least for the foreseeable future. | |
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| | mustang50 Premium Member join:2005-05-06 Roseville, MI |
to baineschile
I got a letter last month saying my area is going all (mostly all) digital in June. I wonder how long after that we'll see more HD and have docsis 3.0. I hope it's soon, but I've been told don't expect anything till years end or later. | |
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| | | djdanskaRudie32 Premium Member join:2001-04-21 San Diego, CA |
djdanska
Premium Member
2009-May-2 9:18 am
Re: Good news, bad newssaid by mustang50:I got a letter last month saying my area is going all (mostly all) digital in June. I wonder how long after that we'll see more HD and have docsis 3.0. I hope it's soon, but I've been told don't expect anything till years end or later. The city of chicago was converted to all digital a year or so ago and it took ages for them to get more channels. On the other hand, one of chicago's other cable companies, rcn, did it differently. They converted ALL channels to digital. (Even 2-20, unlike comcast) and when they made the switch, the same night you got TONS of new HD channels! Not weeks or months later. Did it area by area. Not the entire city at one time. | |
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to ADL
Re: GUI needs major overhaulThe GUI does suck, and the DVR's leave A LOT to be desired.
Good news is that they are aware of this, and improvements are in development. Tru2Way and EBIF along with more advanced set tops will allow for greater flexibility. I'm with ya though, couldn't come soon enough!
Back to the topic though.... What good is "Project Calvary" if it only applies to certain area's of the country? It certainly doesn't apply to the entire Central PA region, and there's many other regions that I hear complaints from as well. Might as well attribute the project to Verizon Fios. Only available to special "privileged" area's. I'm sorry, no service provider would ever provide moving expenses to a customer just so they can relocate to those privlaged area's. Cherry picking at it's finest folks! | |
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BobnyAbdul
Anon
2009-May-1 12:07 pm
Re: GUI needs major overhaulI don't know about your area, but I would think such a massive undertaking as bringing "Project Calvary" live in a given system would be a massive undertaking.
I think our first reports of an area doing this was only a few months ago. If you factor in getting the kinks out of hte system, and ensuring box supply and distribution systems would be working for a large scale rollout, it makes perfect sense that it's not a simply "throw the switch" kind of deal.
I also wouldn't be surprised if there were other things needed to "protect" their content. Since all those analogs that get trapped out for HSI only or Limited basic customers are going clear digital, they may need to move things around so they can trap out the digital versions as they go into the clear. (since they can't use encryption on them like they do now).
Ultimately, with all the work needed, I'm not surprised that larger markets are getting the rush deployment with the rest of the system to follow. Just look at their DOCSIS3 deployment. They've promised 100% of the footprint in a year, but so far only limited markets have been deployed. BUT.. we have seen a steady increase in the speed new markets are coming online since the first test markets last year. | |
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DarkLogixTexan and Proud Premium Member join:2008-10-23 Baytown, TX |
Greatnow if they could focus on internet and not on TV | |
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| caco Premium Member join:2005-03-10 Whittier, AK |
caco
Premium Member
2009-May-1 10:24 am
Re: GreatJesus Christ! RTFA
"freeing up bandwidth for DOCSIS 3.0" | |
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| | damonlab Premium Member join:2001-05-02 Detroit, MI |
damonlab
Premium Member
2009-May-1 1:02 pm
Re: Greatsaid by caco:"freeing up bandwidth for DOCSIS 3.0" What does Docsis 3 matter when they don't take full advantage of Docsis 1? Docsis 1 is capable of 38 Mbit/s down and 9 Mbit/s up. | |
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Re: GreatWith PowerBoost I get about 2.7 Mbps up here on DOCSIS 1.1. Downloads are always above 16 Mbps so they could...guess what...create a 16/2 tier...oh wait they've already done that in some markets. It's called Blast. Also the higher-end non-D3 biz tier is 16/2.
Try putting more than about 16/2 on a DOCSIS 1.1 line and you're asking for trouble. | |
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| | | SpaethCoDigital Plumber MVM join:2001-04-21 Minneapolis, MN |
to damonlab
said by damonlab:What does Docsis 3 matter when they don't take full advantage of Docsis 1? Docsis 1 is capable of 38 Mbit/s down and 9 Mbit/s up. .. per shared segment. 6 mbps out of 38mbps shared is quite a bit different from 12mbps they are allocated into 152mbps shared with DOCSIS 3.0 4-channel bonding. | |
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| | | dvd536as Mr. Pink as they come Premium Member join:2001-04-27 Phoenix, AZ |
to damonlab
said by damonlab:said by caco:"freeing up bandwidth for DOCSIS 3.0" What does Docsis 3 matter when they don't take full advantage of Docsis 1? Docsis 1 is capable of 38 Mbit/s down and 9 Mbit/s up. after overhead its closer to 29mbps down and 4.6mbps up/node. | |
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to DarkLogix
in the case of CATV, they are intertwined. if you read the article.... you'd see that readjusting the cable channels free up bandwidth (Hz not bps), which enables them to offer more services which INCLUDES DOCSIS 3.0. | |
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| | DarkLogixTexan and Proud Premium Member join:2008-10-23 Baytown, TX |
Re: GreatYa I guess you don't get my point drop all channels and use the whole range for internet the TV service isn't very good anyway
I get my VOD from the internet I watch Directv for TV I have no need for their TV service at all just for the coax that happens to be used for it
so upgrade the plant to 1GHz and use it all for internet | |
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| | | FFH5 Premium Member join:2002-03-03 Tavistock NJ
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FFH5
Premium Member
2009-May-1 11:11 am
Re: Greatsaid by DarkLogix:Ya I guess you don't get my point drop all channels and use the whole range for internet the TV service isn't very good anyway I get my VOD from the internet I watch Directv for TV I have no need for their TV service at all just for the coax that happens to be used for it so upgrade the plant to 1GHz and use it all for internet Yeah, that will happen. They get 75% of their revenue from TV related products. The rest comes from voice & the internet. | |
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| | | | DarkLogixTexan and Proud Premium Member join:2008-10-23 Baytown, TX |
Re: GreatYa I just don't care about their TV service | |
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| | | | | FFH5 Premium Member join:2002-03-03 Tavistock NJ
1 recommendation |
FFH5
Premium Member
2009-May-1 11:29 am
Re: Greatsaid by DarkLogix:Ya I just don't care about their TV service But they have over 24 million customers that do. Who do you think they will care about? You or them? | |
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| | | | | | DarkLogixTexan and Proud Premium Member join:2008-10-23 Baytown, TX |
Re: GreatI get your point I just wish people would see the light and get Sat TV, cable internet, and pots phone
I know it won't happen though | |
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| | | | | | | JPL Premium Member join:2007-04-04 Downingtown, PA
1 recommendation |
JPL
Premium Member
2009-May-1 12:16 pm
Re: Greatsaid by DarkLogix:I get your point I just wish people would see the light and get Sat TV, cable internet, and pots phone I know it won't happen though See the light? What Comcast's numbers (as well as Verizon's and AT&T's) tell me is that bundling is very popular. No, it's not for everyone, but if you can save a few bucks per month by bundling your services, that's not a bad thing - and it would be suicidal for a service like Comcast to just become an ISP. | |
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| | | | | | | sharksfan3 Premium Member join:2004-02-16 North Hollywood, CA |
to DarkLogix
said by DarkLogix:I get your point I just wish people would see the light and get Sat TV, cable internet, and pots phone I know it won't happen though Please explain how having a combination of sat tv, cable internet, and a pots phone is seeing the light? Sounds like you are wasting money. | |
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Re: Greatsaid by sharksfan3:said by DarkLogix:I get your point I just wish people would see the light and get Sat TV, cable internet, and pots phone I know it won't happen though Please explain how having a combination of sat tv, cable internet, and a pots phone is seeing the light? Sounds like you are wasting money. Because the combination actually works. Which one would you have: spend less money for garbage that does not work or spend a bit more and have good service ? 1. Cable Internet. Fastest speed, works well after 10+ service calls and avoiding the "generous" caps. (no DSL available) 2. Sat TV. Cheaper, better quality HDTV, no weirdness with digital tuners not working for various reasons (operator forgot to enter ID/subscription whatever into system, constantly needs to reauthorize at weird times and cannot due to poor cable, operator changes for no reason, etc) annoyances. 3. POTS. Works, not dependent on weird similar operator issues as #2, true emergency dialing, no fade outs / drops whatever. If I could get DSL, I would drop CC's HSI/TV in a second. Never used their phone and am considering dropping TV and subscribing to satellite soon, even if it was TWICE as expensive, just since am so tired of CC. | |
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| | | | | | | | | JPL Premium Member join:2007-04-04 Downingtown, PA 2 edits |
JPL
Premium Member
2009-May-1 1:29 pm
Re: Greatsaid by sturmvogel6:said by sharksfan3:said by DarkLogix:I get your point I just wish people would see the light and get Sat TV, cable internet, and pots phone I know it won't happen though Please explain how having a combination of sat tv, cable internet, and a pots phone is seeing the light? Sounds like you are wasting money. Because the combination actually works. Which one would you have: spend less money for garbage that does not work or spend a bit more and have good service ? 1. Cable Internet. Fastest speed, works well after 10+ service calls and avoiding the "generous" caps. (no DSL available) 2. Sat TV. Cheaper, better quality HDTV, no weirdness with digital tuners not working for various reasons (operator forgot to enter ID/subscription whatever into system, constantly needs to reauthorize at weird times and cannot due to poor cable, operator changes for no reason, etc) annoyances. 3. POTS. Works, not dependent on weird similar operator issues as #2, true emergency dialing, no fade outs / drops whatever. If I could get DSL, I would drop CC's HSI/TV in a second. Never used their phone and am considering dropping TV and subscribing to satellite soon, even if it was TWICE as expensive, just since am so tired of CC. Sounds like you have a specific beef with ONE provider in one specific market. To claim that that paradigm is bad across the board is silly. I have FiOS for everything. My internet is awesome - 20/5 service, with no caps, no throttling, and no slow periods. Their TV service has the best PQ I've seen, with 109 (and counting) HD channels available in my market, and their phone service is still traditional POTS (even though it's now delivered over fiber instead of copper). As for DBS being cheaper - not for me it isn't. Even if I didn't bundle, I'd be saving money over an equivalent setup with DirecTV - I know, because I came from DirecTV. In terms of Comcast - what makes them profitable is the fact that they're able to bundle. Those triple-plays are extremely popular. Think there's a reason that DirecTV, e.g., is considering starting up a wireless phone service? Can't imagine why they'd want to do that... unless so they can also jump on that bandwagon of being able to provide bundled services. If Comcast made the jump just to HSI, they would lose money - they couldn't sustain their current business with just HSI - I don't care how fast their service would be. And because they'd only provide one service, they'd lose the ability to attract people in by offering bundled services - you know, one of the enticements that they've used to grow their business so successfully. Which means that their HSI would be more expensive. Which means that they would likely LOSE customers to those services that did provide bundling. At the end of the day it would be, like I said, totally suicidal for Comcast to do that. They're successful because their business model is working. By all means, let's totally mess with that model, to make it so they're not profitable. That'll work! | |
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| | | | | | | | | sharksfan3 Premium Member join:2004-02-16 North Hollywood, CA |
to sturmvogel6
said by sturmvogel6:Because the combination actually works. Which one would you have: spend less money for garbage that does not work or spend a bit more and have good service ? Sorry to burst your bubble. I save about $50 a month getting all there services through my cable company. Best of all? The service is FANTASTIC. | |
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to DarkLogix
said by DarkLogix:I get your point I just wish people would see the light and get Sat TV, cable internet, and pots phone I know it won't happen though I think someone is smoking some thing.. Who wants a Pots line anyway? I have a cell and CCDV also SAT Blows when it rains or snows hard it will go out,But if you want he NFL package then sign up,No thanks i will wait for cable get it and that is in due time when the NFL wakes up.. | |
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| | | | | | | | jjeffeoryjjeffeory join:2002-12-04 Bloomington, IN |
Re: GreatSAT doesn't go out when is rains or snows hard. I was in hurricane Katrina and the satellite tv lasted a lot longer than the cable tv. It only went down when the wind blew down the dish. | |
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Re: Greatsaid by jjeffeory:SAT doesn't go out when is rains or snows hard. I was in hurricane Katrina and the satellite tv lasted a lot longer than the cable tv. It only went down when the wind blew down the dish. Hmmm Yes it does and i know this is Fact..We lost it when we had Tropical Storm Allison in Houston and also with the Heavy Snow wet snow we had 2 weeks ago here in Denver. | |
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| | | | | | | | | jjeffeoryjjeffeory join:2002-12-04 Bloomington, IN 1 edit |
Re: Greatsaid by MTBikerChris:said by jjeffeory:SAT doesn't go out when is rains or snows hard. I was in hurricane Katrina and the satellite tv lasted a lot longer than the cable tv. It only went down when the wind blew down the dish. Hmmm Yes it does and i know this is Fact..We lost it when we had Tropical Storm Allison in Houston and also with the Heavy Snow wet snow we had 2 weeks ago here in Denver. I should have said SAT doesn't ALWAYS go out under those circumstances. Maybe your dish isn't pointed correctly or peaked appropriately? Of course, the big dishes that the cable companies use can go out under these certain circumstances as well. You're right, I shouldn't use sweeping generalizations. I'd be sure and check that your dish is properly installed though. | |
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| | | | | | | | | Ebolla join:2005-09-28 Dracut, MA |
to jjeffeory
said by jjeffeory:SAT doesn't go out when is rains or snows hard. I was in hurricane Katrina and the satellite tv lasted a lot longer than the cable tv. It only went down when the wind blew down the dish. Cable only goes out in a storm if a line comes down. This is no differant then if a dish comes down during a storm. Surprise surprise BOTH issues are not the fault of the providers. | |
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to jjeffeory
said by jjeffeory:SAT doesn't go out when is rains or snows hard. I was in hurricane Katrina and the satellite tv lasted a lot longer than the cable tv. It only went down when the wind blew down the dish. Rubbish. You do not understand the concepts of electrical-magnetic radiation or wave lengths. Lightning and Thunder generates a magnetic field that interferes with the radio waves which also generates a magnetic field to propel itself as motion - this is a basic property of the motion of photons or light propulsion. (Regardless of frequency) that the satellite are transmitting to your "Node" (receiver). You will see latency as well as interference when that happens. If you say no then you are a liar. Clouds and other atmospheric properties will hinder the integrity and speed of the radio waves as well. | |
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| | | | | | | | SpaethCoDigital Plumber MVM join:2001-04-21 Minneapolis, MN |
to MTBikerChris
said by MTBikerChris:SAT Blows when it rains or snows hard it will go out Only if your installer used 1) a dish too small for your region or 2) were too lazy to peak the dish appropriately. Signal fade should be very rare on DBS installations. | |
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to MTBikerChris
who screws a giant dish into their house anyway, isnt that what people did in the 70s? im assuming none of you (pro-dish people)are homeowners. Its ugly, it doesnt work, they pretend to have HD by enhancing the colors and hoping you dont have a nice enough TV to notice that its not real HD. and if a west coast feed and east coast feed of TBS count as separate channels, you could feasibly say you have 209,000 HD channels. Obviously most of their HD content is real, but if it's not FILMED in HD, then it is not HD i dont care what aspect ratio your TV can change it to with fat distorted "hd" characters. Also, try renting a UFC fight for 60 dollars and then it starts snowing and you find yourself on your comcast internet (which works) trying to find some sort of live feed. Ridiculous, the argument for dish is negligible. Further, comcast and fios have it figured out with 10,000+ on demand titles, that pretty much IS using the internet for VOD. the future is in access to content at your fingertips, not trying to record it on your suck dish DVR and watch it later. | |
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to MTBikerChris
Well, this year NFL woke up after the threat of removing NFL Network because Comcast wouldnt pay the DRAMATICALLY INCREASED AND OVERPRICED fee for NFL NETWORK, when Comcast didnt budge.
The good thing is that now Comcast will keep NFL, and in SEPT, anyone who has above Digital Starter cable (Digital Classic/preffered) will recieve NFL NETWORK, ESPNU and ESPN360 online.
Also, per the other networks, NBA TV, NHL NETWORK.
Wooya! September '09 | |
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| | | | | | jjeffeoryjjeffeory join:2002-12-04 Bloomington, IN |
to FFH5
Neither... | |
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VideoGuy to FFH5
Anon
2009-May-1 7:00 pm
to FFH5
50%. And the margins are WAY less than they are for data and phone. But you're right...it'll be a cold day in you know where before they kill the video golden goose. | |
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to DarkLogix
this helps the hsi. after reclaiming the bandwidth they will launch 50mbps hsi service. | |
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FFH5 Premium Member join:2002-03-03 Tavistock NJ
1 recommendation |
FFH5
Premium Member
2009-May-1 10:15 am
Slides from investor conference showing "Project Cavalry"Here are 2 slides from their investor presentation showing the reclamation plans & how spectrum will be reassigned:
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wenter99Alpha Male Premium Member join:2003-12-09 Albuquerque, NM |
wenter99
Premium Member
2009-May-1 10:22 am
FTWCOMCASTic! FTW. | |
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Couple of concerns-they encrypt the channels->must pay for cable box and possibly DVR
-they use 5c (or other DRM) on the those 'old' analog channels->must pay for cable box and a good chance paying for DVR
I understand the a DTA is available at $30, but this transistion effectively makes the record function on VCRs worthless, thus you'll probably pay for a DVR if you want to record something that isn't analog. From other links related to the DTA, it looks like it is QAM. | |
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Sammer join:2005-12-22 Canonsburg, PA 1 edit |
Sammer
Member
2009-May-1 11:44 am
FCC should make use of cheap DTAs conditionalIt's entirely possible for inexpensive Digital Terminal Adapters with embedded security to be made and sold to cable companies for $50 or less each. However because they violate the separable security ruling the FCC should require at least two conditions for cable companies to use them. The first is they (or at least the first two per cable household) should be included in digital cable subscriptions free of any and all lease fees except perhaps a refundable security deposit. The second is that a cable company that uses them should be required to have all their other new cable box purchases support Tru2Way. | |
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XBL2009------ join:2001-01-03 Chicago, IL |
Here's my suggestion1. No more analog.
2. Everything in HD mpeg4 with decent bitrate.
3. Lower your prices.
4. Get rid of bandwidth caps.
5. 100mbps right now.
6. Lower your prices.
7. Lower your prices.
8. Lower your prices. | |
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bshelly Premium Member join:2002-02-17 Conover, NC |
bshelly
Premium Member
2009-May-1 5:52 pm
DTA with more than just Ch3/4 Modulated???Will Comcast offer an affordable (with no rental fee) DTA that has S-Video and Analog Stereo RCA outputs? From what I gather, the DTA's only put out video and monoaural audio on modulated Channel 3/4. | |
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I reclaimed $98 per month.Can't say I miss Comcast one bit. | |
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BorednessSo bored... Premium Member join:2005-07-07 Fresno, CA 1 edit |
Comcast is doing it the right wayI now give Comcast the go ahead to go all digital because they are giving out those free Digital Transport Adaptors for the non-digital TVs in the house! If they weren't free then there would have been a problem. I got mine so I'm ready. | |
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Re: Comcast is doing it the right wayYep!
Also, Project Calvary is now hitting the Greater Chicago Region (Illinois, Indiana, Parts of western Michigan).
Wayy faster than I thought. | |
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nothing to seewho cares? this is several years too late as it is, however comcast thinks it's the 'apple' of the cable industry and it's PR spin will try to make it look like their sprinkling diamonds and bently's down on it's customers, when in fact it's capped swine docsis 3 and overpriced cable tv | |
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Re: nothing to seeI dont know if you know, but do you realized the cap for the Internet is 250GBs a MONTH??? That is the highest cap in the market!
Do you realize you need to download 20-50,000 songs (depending on file size) **A MONTH** to hit that?
or gaming....download 50 major games (assuming they are 4GB in size each) still with 12GB of space left for browsing etc.
Im a high HSI user, and work for comcast, and I dont come close to that. | |
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Ulmo join:2005-09-22 Aptos, CA 1 edit |
Ulmo
Member
2009-May-3 12:53 am
GreatFinally and great. This will help their system a lot.
P.S., I wish Comcast would also use this opportunity to target high-theft markets with actually all-digital, i.e., no analog at all, and also in those same markets make all the digital encrypted, so that none of the cheats would be raising the rates for the rest of us, backfeeding awful connections and equipment, and making messes of cable plant boxes. The cheats would find out quickly enough that they can't steal encrypted service without paying for the keys. They might be able to bribe keys from corruption within the company, but the fight that would ensue to keep the cheats away would eventually cause the cheats to figure out it's cheaper just to pay. I'm mainly talking about Spanish-speaking over the air broadcast channels that are also broadcast in analog cable, and still will be after the digital conversion.
However, that only the OTA channels will be in analog is a good thing; if Comcast simply encrypted the rest with their current Cavalry project, that in itself would be quite effective in reducing the impact cheats have on us. | |
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Re: Greatsaid by Ulmo:Finally and great. This will help their system a lot. P.S., I wish Comcast would also use this opportunity to target high-theft markets with actually all-digital, i.e., no analog at all, The only reason Comcast is keeping basic services analog, is because Comcast signed a contract with the US Government to keep analog channels, analog, until 2012. I dont know what the company will do afterwards, but I assume all digital will be the goal. | |
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