Comcast HDTV

[YuriLuzr]

Well I bit the bullet for now with Comcast. I have E* and I'm tired of waiting to see local HDTV broadcasts without investing lots of money in equipment that is no longer supported or idling my time away for equipment that has yet to be delivered. So, I called Comcast and was able to order basic cable with HDTV add-on for $17.25 a month. Since I'm also a high-speed internet subscriber, my total bill is only going to go up $2.25. This should keep me satisfied until the 921 appears on the scene.

Has anyone else gone this route? Comcast is only offering ABC, NBC, PBS, ESPN-HD right now. They also have HBO-HD and SHO-HD if you subscribe to those packages. I heard them may have Discovery-HD and will be adding INHD soon. Anyone know what the dispute is with Comcast and CBS?

[waydwolf]

No knowledge of any dispute but I do know they ain't got the bandwidth on DBS for HD locals much less SD locals for all markets what with slots and transponders almost all being eaten up now. So when the locals go all HD and no longer broadcast SD it is going to mean either a downconvert by DBS to SD for you to keep them, or you losing out on local news and event coverage.

The DBS players need to bite the bullet and check into getting permission to buy into cable and head towards merging their systems together. DBS cannot possibly compete technologically, but it can be a synergistic component of an overall broadband video, voice, and data system. With MVDDS, the circle is pretty much complete till someone invents subspace transmission technology and you can get quadruple definition video live from Rome, Italy in Topeka, Kansas, US as you tool around in your minivan thus keeping your kids from asking, "siamo là ancora?" :grin:

[marko]

Yep, I signed up for Time Warner Cable. (they told me I needed digital package for hdtv receiver). Got hooked up yesterday. I'll probably keep twc until the 811 comes out. Hopefully that will mean I only need to keep TWC for 2 months. Got the digital package + hbo/cinemax for $42 a month for a year(first year). For the HDTV channels I get cbs/nbc/abc/fox(I think)/pbs, along with hbo hdtv/disc hdtv theater, and there is an inhd preview going on now (tennis).

TWC digital locals are a good bit better than dish locals(compared abc), TWC analog locals are a slight bit better than dish(abc). Non local dish channels seem to have a slight bit better picture than digital TWC channels(disney). Non local digital dish channels have a good bit better picture than TWC analogs (espn). Starz on dish seems to be better picture than hbo on TWC also. These comparison were done on a new 48 inch mitsubishi tv.

TWC is giving me a good price, but more than likely I will stay with dish. I should be able to get most of my local hdtv off an antenna. As long as dish makes the price reasonable (I'm hoping for $400 for 811/superdish/install, hopefully better :), and supply a good selection of hdtv channels (channel I like most so far is discovery hd, and dish has that already), I will keep dish. Monthly fee for what I have now is $25 for AT50, $11 for second receiver/locals. Figure an hdtv package will cost $10/$11, for a total of around $46. Plus, that includes PVR function with a 501, which would cost $6 more for TWC PVR (supposedly a shoddy machine). Not to mention after the first year I have no idea how much I will pay for TWC digital cable.

By the way, HDTV is great. Discover HD has some of the most impressive shows.

[Chris Freeland]

The last time I checked which was just a week or two back, Comcast HD here in Chattanooga consisted of local CBS-HD, HBO-HD and Showtime-HD, nothing more, no ESPN-HD, no Discovery HD Theater, no INHD, no other locals in HD. Cost for ComcastHDTV here is $5 over the price of digital, Limited Basic is $8.65, a SD digital box without digital programing package is $6.50, so I assume a HD digital box would be $11.50, so I assume it would run $20.10 a month here to get that local CBS-HD channel and all future HD locals. Once all of the local digital stations go full power, for the price of digital limited basic cable, it seams like it would not take one long to pay for a good antenna to be installed and receive these local HDTV channels for Free.