Comments on: A Gift From Your Cable Provider: the Superbowl in HD For Free!

By: Carl Miller

Carl Miller — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 02:55:17 +0000

Note -

Comcast does not rate limit any broadcast channels, they are all carried at a full 19.4 Mbps – 2 per 6 MHz channel / 38.8 Mbps at 256 QAM. Also in monitoring the digital channels the total bandwidth rarly exceeds 30 – 32 Mbps for the 2 channels. All of the digital channels are carried at 256 QAM, not 64 QAM or 8-VSB. It should also be noted that Comcast (unlike FiOS, Direct TV, or Dish) as well as other Cable providers have built fiber ties to the TV studios in their areas and receive a direct digital feed. …and yes I work for the cable company.

On another note, I have several HDTVs and all that support the reception of QAM channels seem to have fairly poor performnce at 256 QAM. I get much better reception from the cable company set-top box than directly connected to the HDTV. It would be nice if this aspect of HDTV sets could be tested along with the video / audio performance. To set your mind at ease, the signal hitting both the HDTV and set-top box was tested and found to be pristine.

Keep up the good work!

By: Richard Dennis

Richard Dennis — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:52:53 +0000

Note that the SONY Digital HD tuners auto digital tuners will not find or store 69.1, 69.2, or 69.3 there may be others, but since I haven’t be able to find a guide for cross referencing not encrypted cable HD channels there is no way of knowing what others are not scanned or stored.

By: Adam K

Adam K — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 04:32:07 +0000

I was able to auto-program and find a handful of HD channels on my analog Comcast.

I am however, forced to auto-program about once every two weeks because one of the HD channels (e.g. 2.1) suddenly just drops out (black image). Usually the auto-program finds the channel again, but this is getting to be a pain. Any ideas?

By: beefcake

beefcake — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 01:19:06 +0000

Lossy compression and poor signal strength… lol

480i channels are a joke. They should be broadcast in analog.

I just wish service providers were required to post their specifications (eg. IRC/HRC/Std, QAM256/64/8V) Its only fair to the consumer that wants the most for their money.

Yes I do pay for cable.

By: Mohal Sarabhai

Mohal Sarabhai — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 21:55:20 +0000

I have the DVR HD ready cable box connected via HDMI cables to my Sony Bravia Full HD TV set. When I change the channels ( mostly the TV HD channels ) they do change but there is a disturbance each time when I change the channels ( 2 to 3 secs ) before the picture gets settled …. do you why this is ? Is there a problem with my cable box or cable ? Thanks, Mohal

By: salhepatica

salhepatica — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 20:13:33 +0000

Hi, I have a Panasonic 42″ Plasma HD. I use HDMI cable and signal is provided by Cablevision of Long Island (NY)
I notice when FOX (Ch 705) is telecasting an in HD the box indicates a 720p signal and the picture is not all that crisp.
ABC also indicates a 720p signal but the picture quality is much better.
Most other channels show as 1080i and the display is beautiful. What would the reason be for these discrepancies? Thank you

Different lighing, equipment, lenses, focus and other factors can greatly influence image quality. In addition Cablevision uses stat muxing to allocate bits . The may be delivering less bits to the fox program. That problem can be fixed by switching to verizon fios as you cable provider ( if available in you area.) They deliver all the bitsprovided from the broadcaster to your HDTV.

The HD Guru

By: cesar bolanos

cesar bolanos — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 02:22:30 +0000

Hi, first of all thanks for all the importatn ifo about HDTV. I want to know what is the difference between HD-DVD Player and Blue-Ray Disc Player, Which one is better and why? Thanks a lot HD GURU. For playing high def discs the top rated Blu-rays tested (Sony and Pioneer) have equal image quality to the HD DVDs when using the same high def movie content. As stated in the review of the HD-XA2, it exceed the Blu-ray in the upconversion of SD DVD. The other consideration is which movies do you prefer the ones on Blu-ray or HD DVD (for now)? I predict the Total HD Discs (Blu-ray on one side and HD DVD on the other) wil eventually end the format war providing a one disc fits all solution. Look for a roll out in a few months. I believe a number of other studios will embrace the Total HD disc soon after Warner's initial release of Total HD content. The HD Guru

By: Kirk Tate

Kirk Tate — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 05:51:51 +0000

I read something disturbing that was very shocking to me. Guess what I am a cable guy. Yes I work for a local cable company and no I don’t hide our HD channels. Often people just need to reprogram their TVs. Once in a while our equipment may break and we are forced to change EIA’s, all a customer would have to do is reprogram their television. Please don’t think we hide our channels, and we only encrypt them if we have to pay for them. Our system is unique since the majority of our local HD service is far out of antenna range that is why we spend a considerable amount of money to bring the signal in. Why hide a good thing!!! Our compression rate is not a factor in picture quality, matter of fact we are of better quality with are local channnels than dish! (not 720p but 1080I). As far as I know the only companys’ that ecrypt their local service have to pay for it themselves! Yell at the channel not the provider.

You don’t mention which provider you are with. Image quality on cable varies greatly from (provider and loca)l system to system.

The HD Guru

By: Quincy Magoo

Quincy Magoo — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 00:04:32 +0000

I do, I rent the box and subscribe to Digital Classic, Digital Plus and Digital Music packages. Most HDTV programs 720p and 1080i are on Digital Basic Channels which are included with the box rental. Most other digital programs are 480i.

By: Cable provider GOD

Cable provider GOD — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 08:06:59 +0000

pay for what you watch