  Matt3All noise, no signal.
Premium Member
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
1 recommendation |
Matt3
Premium Member
2009-Feb-13 3:50 pm
Who cares anyway?As I discovered, most of the "HD" channels don't broadcast 50% of their content in HD and it's a crap shoot as to whether a channel just stretches the SD picture and calls it HD. | |
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 | 88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness |
88615298 (banned)
Member
2009-Feb-13 4:19 pm
Re: Who cares anyway?said by Matt3:As I discovered, most of the "HD" channels don't broadcast 50% of their content in HD and it's a crap shoot as to whether a channel just stretches the SD picture and calls it HD. Well most content espcially old content is SD. Mos t fo these channels are filming new content in HD. I noticed on my SDTVs I have black bars on the top and bottom on many shows which means they are widescreen. | |
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| |  NOCManMadMacHatter
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Colorado Springs, CO
1 recommendation |
NOCMan
Premium Member
2009-Feb-13 5:35 pm
Re: Who cares anyway?Actually any "Filmed" content can be rescanned at 1080p. Only downside is that clearing up the dust is expensive. | |
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to 88615298
not necessarily...some shows may be presented in LetterBox which would give you the bars on top and bottom. Granted, there aren't that many shows presented in LB format.
The only one that comes to mind was HDNet's presentation of Star Trek: Enterprise. I know for a fact they shot that show in HD, but for whatever reason, HDNet decided to show the LB version. So I had bars on the side AND on top and bottom. I don't like stretching SD content. | |
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to Matt3
More content is being put into HD every day. In fact we just did a major HD upgrade and our entire primetime lineup is now in HD.  | |
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| | fiberguy2My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20
1 recommendation |
Re: Who cares anyway?said by fifty nine:More content is being put into HD every day. In fact we just did a major HD upgrade and our entire primetime lineup is now in HD. Unless you reveal "your" network which you say "the site is one of the most visited on the web" of.. your bragging rights mean nothing. | |
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Re: Who cares anyway?Nope, don't like stalkers. | |
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| | | | fiberguy2My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20 |
Re: Who cares anyway?Then pipe down about it.  Otherwise, I'm going to be the Prime Minister of England. | |
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Re: Who cares anyway?said by fiberguy2:Then pipe down about it. Otherwise, I'm going to be the Prime Minister of England. Go enjoy hulu , set up an account and tell it you want the high speed hd feeds as default | |
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to Matt3
said by Matt3:As I discovered, most of the "HD" channels don't broadcast 50% of their content in HD and it's a crap shoot as to whether a channel just stretches the SD picture and calls it HD. A wide picture and HD have little to do with each other, as I think you know. This is confusing to many. HD is simply a higher resolution picture, square or not. Most television (unfortunately) is video'd in a square format. God forbid (IMHO) that stations start stretching their video formats to make it wider. If you have a widescreen TV, you have the ability to do it on your own. It works good for some broadcasts (football and other sports), but for anything showing peoples faces, it is very distorting. With the prevelance of widescreen, HD televisions in the home; I see a switch to cameras that will video in HD, and possibly 16x9, which is when the quantity (and quality) of available HD broadcasts will accelerate. | |
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|  rawgerzThe hell was that?
Premium Member
join:2004-10-03
Grove City, PA |
to Matt3
You said it brother.
The only channels I found that do HD justice are Discovery, TLC, Natgeo, and history channel. I figured if the channel was in HD, ALL the content was in HD. | |
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 markofmayhemWhy not now?
Premium Member
join:2004-04-08
Pittsburgh, PA |
QUALITYRemember when 18 mbps MPEG2 was "HD"?
I do.
I'd rather have 20 channels like this than the 100+ crap all providers with the exception of Verizon are offering. Fios is superior, it's a shame it's a Verizon product: Low availability, horrible customer service, questionable billing.... oh wait, that's all of them! Alright, bring on more Fios! | |
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Re: QUALITYConsidering that ESPN was never and currently isn't 18mbps. | |
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| | markofmayhemWhy not now?
Premium Member
join:2004-04-08
Pittsburgh, PA |
Re: QUALITYESPN is 720P, it doesn't need to be.
Your point? | |
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Re: QUALITYby your logic ESPN isn't HD | |
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| | | | markofmayhemWhy not now?
Premium Member
join:2004-04-08
Pittsburgh, PA |
Re: QUALITYNot even close, sir. Thanks for trolling.
I'd like for you to point out where "isn't" or "ESPN" was anywere in my statement.
Fios is the only provider left with channels in MPEG2 approaching 18 mbps. Comcast has a few down in the 12's, 1080i no less. DirecTV and Dish moved to MPEG4 to alleviate a bit of the quality loss at running a dismal bitrate. While MPEG4 lets the foreground take precidence, the 16-bit color blocked background is attrocious on larger quality displays. Quality has been sacrificed for quantity. I'd rather quality. | |
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Re: QUALITY1st of All FIOS passes on what it receives. If it's not receiving 18meg it can't pass 18 meg.
2nd why would they pass 18mbps when 19.4mbps for 1080i.
Not all broadcasters transmit 19.4 mmbps or even close to.
The next time you bring a feeble attempt to call someone a troll have the numbers right. | |
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Re: QUALITYHrm,
I beg to differ, ESPN pushes greater than 18Mbps almost all day long.
I just checked our statmux this morning and they're running at 18.793Mbps along with ESPN2 and ESPN NEWS.
EDIT:
I watched two commmercial breaks and they did drop down to 12Mbps then, but during regular programming they're at 18Mbps consistently. | |
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| | | | | | markofmayhemWhy not now?
Premium Member
join:2004-04-08
Pittsburgh, PA |
to grydlok
said by grydlok:1st of All FIOS passes on what it receives. If it's not receiving 18meg it can't pass 18 meg. 2nd why would they pass 18mbps when 19.4mbps for 1080i. Not all broadcasters transmit 19.4 mmbps or even close to. The next time you bring a feeble attempt to call someone a troll have the numbers right. Yes, FIOS pushes what it receives, remember when cable used to do that? If you allocate a 19.4 mbps pipe to a feed, roughly 18 is used for video. The numbers were correct, I did check, then called out the troll. Feeble is incorrect as are your numbers. | |
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|  jmn1207
Premium Member
join:2000-07-19
Sterling, VA |
to markofmayhem
Verizon allocates up to 18 mbps MPEG-2 for every HD channel, but that doesn't mean every HD channel is taking advantage of the bandwidth. Also, many of the broadcasters have moved to MPEG-4, which Verizon must convert to MPEG-2 before sending the signal out. | |
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to jmn1207
Can someone say bit stuffing? =) | |
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to markofmayhem
Normal over the air broadcasts are 19.2mbps with mpeg2 transport and most channels actually broadcast less than that due to subchannels. | |
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 WeSRT4
join:2000-11-20
Mobile, AL |
WeSRT4
Member
2009-Feb-13 3:59 pm
U-verseWhat about U-verse? Crappy boxes, crappy service, bad technology, uncompetitive, limited HD line up, limited bandwidth with limited a number of TVs being able to watch HD at the same time. "Your world delivered" | |
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| pfschim
join:2001-08-30
Livermore, CA |
Re: U-versehmmm, not so sure that you have your "facts" straight on this post.
I'm a recent subscriber to U-verse.
- U-Verse 200+HBO package
- MAX18 Internet service
- VoIP phone unlimited use package.
DVR technology seems good to me, but I am not a "power TV" user
44 HD channels
Once the local loop wiring techs came out 2nd time, the signal was good (no pixellation and solid/consistent 16.3/1.4 internet speeds)
$25 less per month than my prior Dish/ATT DSL/Comcast Phone combined bill for the same services | |
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| |  djrobx
Premium Member
join:2000-05-31
Reno, NV |
djrobx
Premium Member
2009-Feb-13 6:26 pm
Re: U-verse44 HD channels? U-verse has more than 75 channels in most markets. They're in the process of adding around 9 more. They have several that DirecTV doesn't have. If they ever manage to complete their Viacom and Disney agreements they will actually have a stronger HD lineup than DirecTV. DirecTV does have a great HD lineup, but their numbers are inflated by the inclusion of 17 PPV HD channels. Cable and U-verse don't need to match that, as VOD is a better distribution method for PPV HD. Interestingly, DirecTV is missing almost all of the HBO HD premiums except the E/W feeds of the primary HBO one. They could add at least 10 more HD channels if they did what they said they were going to do in a 2007 press release! » www.cable360.net/data/23991.html | |
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| | | pfschim
join:2001-08-30
Livermore, CA |
Re: U-verseThanks for the correction on the U-Verse HD channel count. As you can tell by my original post I was offering a pro U-Verse reply, however mis-informed, not a criticism. I am perfectly happy with my service so far (1 month). | |
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 sansri88digital is here
Premium Member
join:2005-12-17
New York, NY |
sansri88
Premium Member
2009-Feb-13 4:02 pm
Karl, tidbit of info hereComcast of Union here, with close to 300k subscribers, has only 27 HD channels. Not even 40. | |
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| 88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness |
88615298 (banned)
Member
2009-Feb-13 4:17 pm
Re: Karl, tidbit of info heresaid by sansri88:Comcast of Union here, with close to 300k subscribers, has only 27 HD channels. Not even 40. Here Charter has 22 at the most and that includes locals. | |
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| | sansri88digital is here
Premium Member
join:2005-12-17
New York, NY |
sansri88
Premium Member
2009-Feb-13 4:19 pm
Re: Karl, tidbit of info hereWow, worse than us. Our count includes locals as well.
Weird thing is, they have 4 open QAMs for new HD. They've had it for a good 2 weeks now, and yet nothing's been added. | |
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Re: Karl, tidbit of info hereNoted, thanks guys! | |
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|  Travelfan1RIP Analog Go Digital
join:2005-08-23
Woodbridge, NJ |
to sansri88
are you sure it's close to 300K subscribers, not 300K households that are wired for Comcast service but may or may not have service? I thought was the latter... | |
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| | sansri88digital is here
Premium Member
join:2005-12-17
New York, NY |
sansri88
Premium Member
2009-Feb-13 4:52 pm
Re: Karl, tidbit of info herePretty sure it's subscribers. | |
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|  baineschile2600 ways to live
Premium Member
join:2008-05-10
Sterling Heights, MI |
to sansri88
I have comcast, and we have 41 stations here...with somea areas with 52 already. then again, i live in a largely competitive area. | |
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to sansri88
Wow, here in Service Electric land aka mom and pop TV we have around 40 channels. | |
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Direct tv has better drvs then comcast with bigger HD's andDirect tv has better drvs then comcast with bigger HD's and better gui. | |
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rob316
join:2005-10-17
Carteret, NJ |
rob316
Member
2009-Feb-13 4:33 pm
DTV LoveI love D-TV and even if FIOS comes to my area I may just get the Internet and Phone and keep DTV. I have no issues with the signal, their service or their DVR. | |
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Re: DTV LoveI would go with FiOS and just keep my Series 3 TiVo.
But it's unlikely that we'll get FiOS up here - embarq territory and low pop density. | |
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 DHRacerTech Monkey
join:2000-10-10
Lake Arrowhead, CA |
How can Charter beat Comcast?I mean Charter HD sucks in every possible way, yet they have more channels than Comcast?
Inconceivable!!!
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|  ·PenTeleData
ARRIS SB8200
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Re: How can Charter beat Comcast?Yeah Comcast is pretty shitty when it comes to HD. Sure they have that HD on demand, so they try and market as having more HD than anyone else, but did anyone actually take a look at the HD on demand? Besides all the crap that you have to pay $3.99+ for just to see, there's tons of pillarboxed material, 2~5 minute music video clips, G4TV game review clips, and other oddities. Plus 99% of the shows I look for are not there. No Grey's Anatomy, no Hells Kitchen, no The Office, no BBC America in HD, no HBO HD, and the list goes on and on.
I have 36 HD channels and pay quite a premium for that. That's 4 premium networks, plus NFL HD which also costs extra. It would be nice if Comcast could even come close to competing with DirecTV, U-Verse or Fios. Oh and don't get me started on their horrible DVR software with miniscule disk space.
Maybe that's why Comcast could give two shits about HD. Because their Motorola Cable boxes do not allow one to add hard drive space. Thanks Gemstar for making that HORRIBLE crap you call I-Guide. I hope whoever made the decision to go with Gemstar for Comcast is currently collecting unemployment. | |
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| | me1212
join:2008-11-20
Lees Summit, MO |
me1212
Member
2009-Feb-13 5:09 pm
Re: How can Charter beat Comcast?Comcast charges $7 for the first HD box and $13 for 2nd and on. And thats per month. | |
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 dadkinsCan you do Blu?
MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
1 edit |
With the right package...
Free HD baby! |
... Comcast is GIVING AWAY HD!. Yep! FREE HD! No charges for service or equipment. I have a question for the Other Guys, how many of those "More Channels" consist of something you will ever watch? | |
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 ztmikeMark for moderation
Premium Member
join:2001-08-02
La Porte, IN |
ztmike
Premium Member
2009-Feb-13 5:31 pm
Comcast marketingWasn't Comcast making fun of other companies for the amount of HD channels? And how they had the most? | |
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Comcast isn't close to being lastVerizon has 110 here, Comcast has 55. | |
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| ·PenTeleData
ARRIS SB8200
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Re: Comcast isn't close to being lastUh yeah they are close to being last. 36 HD channels here is a far cry from what Verizon and DirecTV have.
sansri88 also has 27 HD channels total. Wow talk about dead last. There's even some people with less than that.
Point is, you get no consistency with Comcast. That shouldn't be the subscribers fault that they don't want to fix up their systems. There's plenty of tools out there for them to do. 1 GHz upgrades, MPEG4, SDV, Analog reclamation. Yet you have to be in one of those lucky area's to see any of that. They need to work on being consistent. Your not good unless your consistent! | |
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| |  MalibuMaxx
Premium Member
join:2007-02-06
Chesterton, IN |
Re: Comcast isn't close to being lastCypher... fortunately we have 1ghz here... and all we got is 40ish HD stations... and yet to have docsis 3...
So dont feel bad...
Comcast needs to look at what they are offering... as far as live tv goes... | |
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Comcast Limited BasicOn Comcast, been subscribing to Limited Basic TV for 2 years now, using QAM tuner, I see absolutely no reason to upgrade to HD. Pay 65$ more for 12-15 extra re-compressed HD channels and a ton of SD channels that I wouldn't watch. In fact, I probably get more HD content online that I ever did with my QAM tuner. | |
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 RR ConductorRidin' the rails
Premium Member
join:2002-04-02
Redwood Valley, CA
Netgear R7000
3 edits
1 recommendation |
Correction on number of HD Channels w/Comcast in some marketIn our market (Mendocino County, NW CA), Comcast offers a total of...... 6, yes, you read that right, a huge, whopping, gargantuan 6. Thankfully, we are on Directv, and only have Comcast for HSI Edit-Comcast's whopping HD Choice here- 707 Discovery Channel - HD High-Definition TV 711 ESPN - HD Sports 750 HBO - HD High-Definition TV 751 Showtime - HD High-Definition TV 752 Starz - HD High-Definition TV 760 MOJO- HD High-Definition TV We're a former Adelphia market by the way. | |
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 Radio ActiveMy pappy's a pistol
Premium Member
join:2003-01-31
Fullerton, CA |
FiOS @SD is good enough for meVerizon FiOS offered me a nice bundle. Internet? Check. Phone? Check. Television? Check. I don't have any HDTVs. I like the lineup choices on Prems and VOD. Multi room DVR is sufficient for my needs. HDTV is a nice step up, but for now, I'm good with FiOS as is. Truth be told, my crappy old eyes can't see well enough to appreciate the difference between the two definitions. The 36" screens we now have provide fine pictures. My F.I.L. has a 50" high def. Looks good, but not so good that I want to rush out and buy a couple for my place. The cost vs. benefit just doesn't weigh out. FWIW, what's best for me is not necessarily best for others. Verizon gives me just what I want for the money I am willing to pay. | |
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Quantity over qualityYes, if you compress enough you too can have the most HD channels. DirecTV compresses so much that I wouldn't consider it HD much of the time, it's getting more like highly compressed Internet video.
Compressing 1.5 Gbits to around 19 Mbits doesn't look so bad, but when you get to around 6 Mbits or lower it's no longer HD or even good SD. | |
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|  NerdtalkerWorking Hard, Or Hardly Working?
MVM
join:2003-02-18
San Jose, CA |
Re: Quantity over qualityJust about everybody is doing compression now; Food TV used to be a 17 megabit stream on Comcast. Now it looks barely acceptable.
My favorite is when there is so much tiling on the SciFi channel during action, you can't see anything at all. It frustrates me to the point of wanting to chuck a wiimote into my TV. | |
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| |  trparky
Premium Member
join:2000-05-24
Cleveland, OH |
trparky
Premium Member
2009-Feb-15 9:30 pm
Re: Quantity over qualityI've never seen this on my SciFi HD feed on DirecTV. | |
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HD channel count varies by marketComcast's, and other MSO's, HD channel counts vary by market. It is inaccurate to compare any one area's counts to a satellite provider that offers national coverage. For example: Comcast City of Chicago has 91 HD channels now. Most of the suburbs are over 50 HD channels. As time passes, more channels will be available. I think Comcast does a good job at putting the most popular channels out there first. There's no need to fill up space with nonsense HD channels that no one watches. | |
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Re: HD channel count varies by marketNonsense HD channels no one watches? That's most of them, especially those "choices" Comcast likes to advertise.
Sorry, but even if what you say is true, Comcast is hemorrhaging so many customers out here in the west burbs there's dozens of new OTA antennas and satellite dishes up since fall just along my short drive to work. It's pretty amazing how many people have cut the cable around here. Comcast simply can't compete. | |
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Re: HD channel count varies by marketsaid by RadioDoc:Nonsense HD channels no one watches? That's most of them, especially those "choices" Comcast likes to advertise. Sorry, but even if what you say is true, Comcast is hemorrhaging so many customers out here in the west burbs there's dozens of new OTA antennas and satellite dishes up since fall just along my short drive to work. It's pretty amazing how many people have cut the cable around here. Comcast simply can't compete. $7 a hd box + outlet fees $15 + outlet fees a month for the first HDDVR and $20 + outlet fees after that for half space of direct tv does not help. Having channels in the sports pack that direct tv has in choice / choice extra Best base pack (with out HD or DVR) about the same as Direct HD DVR PACK. No MRV, NO media sharing, No on line Online DVR Programming, HD channel hunting and about 10-15+ (CITY OF Chicago) only hd channels you pay the same get less. | |
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pcwiz
join:2000-04-11
Haledon, NJ |
pcwiz
Member
2009-Feb-15 7:46 am
What about Dishnetwork?They offer over 100 HD channels and are the ONLY ones currently offering some 1080P Bluray quality content.
It is a crime to overlook them.
1080P is offered on 1 on demand movie at a time - currently Eagle Eye and they have for free the A&E show with Patrick Swayze "The Beast" available for download on the DVR a day or two after it airs in 1080P.
IMHO this is a very biased and unprofessional review to skip over DISH! | |
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| MalibuMaxx
Premium Member
join:2007-02-06
Chesterton, IN |
Re: What about Dishnetwork?Ive heard its not quite blueray quality... but hey its an option... I just dont like how they treat their customers...
They need to rethink they're business ethics.
I had them for years... always around their contract time we would lose a chunk of channels... 25-50ish... made me mad... not sure if they still do this but they did back in the day... | |
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102 HD channels of Sh-t to choose from...Wonder if Pink Floyd would update their lyrics...  I know what I am watching in HD because: -the (info)commercials aren't in HD | |
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The state of Comcast vs. FiOS here in Fort WayneThis is the state of HD programming here in Fort Wayne:
Comcast: 28 HD channels, without premiums. The latest Comcastic addition... good ol' Fox News Channel HD. However, they got rid of NFL Network HD (and SD) in the process, and right before the Super Bowl, which made sports fans furious (not like they were furious about Comcast moving it to the sports tier anyway). And still no FSN Midwest HD (or SD even).
FiOS: 67 HD channels, without premiums. And no, they didn't take NFL Network HD away before the Super Bowl, as they already had Fox News HD and FSN Midwest HD, too.
And yes, both figures include locals.
I can only imagine what Comcast here would be like if we didn't have FiOS... twelve HD channels, including locals? Ah, the joy of competition. | |
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 herdfan
Premium Member
join:2003-01-25
Hurricane, WV |
herdfan
Premium Member
2009-Feb-15 7:12 pm
Comcast has no HDComcast has Zero (0) HD channels in my market. Can't get much lower than that. | |
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| ebubman
join:2002-01-17
Mechanicsburg, PA |
ebubman
Member
2009-Feb-16 11:54 am
Re: Comcast has no HDsometimes i wonder if comcast puts out there that they have more hd programming (in which they really mean "live" & "on demand" shows) when the other folks typically mean actual hd channels. a game of semantics though it be, i for one typically would be interested in more hd channels that separate shows. btw, here in the harrisburg, pa area we do not subscribe to premiums & i believe we get circa 46 hd >>channels not programs. | |
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FiOSOPHER
Anon
2009-Feb-16 9:36 am
FiOS displaced DirecTVDirecTV compression was painful on SDTVs. Went to FiOS and had to look really close to see blocks or pixelization on most HD feeds. And since I never buy PPV/VOD, I don't count those channels. FiOS beats DTV in the number of HD channels I watch, particularly the premium channels, where (I haven't counted) it seems there are twice as many HD channels as DTV. If you have a decent big HD display and FiOS is available it's a no-brain decision (also saving about $35 a month and getting many more channels I actually watch, including all subchannels of the locals). | |
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Otherwise, I'm going to be the Prime Minister of England.
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