Rumor: Comcast going digital only

[CAwasinNJ]

According to the forum at DSLReports Comcast will be going digital only shortly. That means that analog TV sets won't get anything if plugged directly into the cable and you will need a box to receive anything.

Thoughts?

[kenglish]

I would not be surprised to see this happen very soon. If not ALL digital, they would, at least, go digital-only on all but local "full-power" stations.

Their engineers have been saying it's "imminent" for well over a year now. The biggest holdup is probably the availability of DTA (Digital Terminal Adapters), a fancy name for the Cable industry's "teeny-weeny, inexpensive, mass-produced Converter Box". They need millions of them.

Comcast has already done it in several major markets.

[seattlefollower]

Already happened in Portland-Eugene and Puget Sound. The only part left analogue are the (limited basic) - now called lifeline - channels.

[CAwasinNJ]

I've been following this for a year now, and yes it's spreading. Apparently the DTA boxes will be deployed here within the next few months. Watch for notices of DTA boxes in the bill and then add 2 months.

[Terry]

SL Tribune:

Comcast bridging TV gap with free digital boxes

www.sltrib.com/features/ci_14492226

[CAwasinNJ]

Yeah. I caught my first "World of More" commercial last night. Definitely happening.

(If you hear any Comcast people talking about Project Calvary, that's the same thing. That's the internal name. Doesn't sound flattering to me.)

[seattlefollower]

I suppose then they'll launch XFinity in SLC-Ogden-Provo. :-)

[CAwasinNJ]

Xfinity is just the brand name that Comcast will be calling their services and it's nationwide last I heard.

[dspete]

Ok what if you just pick up the standard digital package on a hdtv that picks up all the digital channels like 87-13 and 100-05 ect... will you need this box if your tv aready get the digital channels or is this for the older tv sets?

[seattlefollower]

Mar 7, 2010 23:08:07 GMT -6 dspete said:

Ok what if you just pick up the standard digital package on a hdtv that picks up all the digital channels like 87-13 and 100-05 ect... will you need this box if your tv aready get the digital channels or is this for the older tv sets?

Every TV in a household subscribing to anything above lifeline/basic cable will have to have a box or it will only receive lifeline-level service. Comcast is providing one of the larger/standard boxes that work with On Demand, PPV, etc. along with 2 smaller boxes that simply convert the encoded digital signal to every customer for free.

Basically, this allows the company to stop cable theft (other than at the $12/mo level) but many customers with TiVos or other non-Comcast branded equipment are frustrated to lose their recording capabilities.

As for XFinity (full disclosure, I work for Spotlight), my understanding is that it does mean more HD feeds of traditional networks for households with HD-compatible sets and more titles available in on-demand now that some of the bandwidth can be freed up by using the digital spectrum only.

The company also claims other enhanced features are part of XFinity (ability to set your DVR away from the box - like direcTV offers now, higher Internet speeds) as well.

Portland and Seattle already went through the first part of the transition (the set top boxes) and XFinity launched here. It has not in Eugene.

[CAwasinNJ]

Remember that the cable digital that cable boxes use isn't necessarily the same as the ATSC that digital broadcast stations use.

[dspete]

So the QAM tuners in the HDTV's are going to be useless. From what I've been reading that Comcast is going to encrypt all digital channels if you don't get the box (DTA)
What's interesting is it sounds like the picture quality is not all that good with the new box and people are complaining. Great another step backwards in quality plus new cables and boxes thru-out the house.

Reading Material...
seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009860393_brier14.html

voices.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2009/09/cables_digital_transition.html

[CAwasinNJ]

QAM, yes. That was the name I was trying to remember.

Maybe there's still hope if everyone can get the cableCARD business together.

[Terry]

So, after reading the Tribune article I went online and ordered 2 "DTA" boxes. (You can get 2 boxes at no charge. Any extra box costs $2 per month.) They were shipped free, arrived quickly (2 days) and I installed them without any problems, took about a half hour though. The picture on the 2 SD sets is actually better and we have maybe 20 more useless channels. My only complaint is that changing channels has a second or two delay, and there's no way to lock out the dopey shopping channels and religion channels.

That was yesterday. Today's mail brought a notice from Comcast headlined, "Order digital equipment for all your TVs to continue receiving all your channels. Consumer action required by May 4, 2010."

I have 6 TVs, only 3 of which are now Comcast digital capable. Since I only have cable in order to receive the Fox News Channel, when Comcast drops the analog version of FNC, I will start looking into whether to bother switching to satellite or fiber.

[Terry]

This morning Comcast is running MSNBC on digital channel 6 with a 3 hour delay. The live version of MSNBC is simultaneously running on channel 48. Welcome to the brave new world of digital TV from Comcast/NBC.

Note to Ken English or anyone at KSL: Comcast is running KSL's 5.3 Weather on digital channel 115 in full screen mode with right and left sides cut off. The 5 day forecast thus becomes a 4 day forecast. Amusing but pathetic.