Comcast and the Digital Transition

[Richard]

I'm guessing whoever told you that either didn't know what they were talking about or they were only thinking about the analog channels Comcast has.

[GertrudaRose]

The top keeps getting cut off somehow!  -

The Government - http://www.dtv.gov/topfaqs.html#faq3[/b]

Does the DTV Transition Affect TV Sets That Are Connected to Cable Services?

No. If you subscribe to cable service, the DTV transition should not affect any TV sets that are connected to your cable services. The DTV transition applies only to full-power broadcast television stations – stations that use the public airwaves to transmit their programming to viewers through a broadcast antenna.

Public Television - PBS:[/b] http://www.pbs.org/digitaltv/faq.php#TVwork

Will my TV still work after the transition?
Yes, however it may need an upgrade to get a digital signal. If your TV is connected to cable or satellite or it has a built-in digital tuner (how do I know?), it will work without an upgrade. If, however, your TV uses an antenna and does not have a built-in digital tuner, you will need to connect it to a digital converter box to receive DTV signals.

Comcast: http://www.comcast.com/dtv/default.html?lid=1FAQDTV&lpos=TopFAQs

 

Current Comcast Customers

If all the TVs in your home are connected to Comcast, you were ready and not affected by the transition.

http://www.comcast.com/dtv/currentcustomer.html

If you have Comcast Cable, you were ready for the Digital Broadcast Transition.

If all your TVs are currently connected to Comcast, you didn’t need to worry about the Digital Broadcast Transition. You got to sit back, relax and keep watching your favorite shows.

[Richard]

I checked out the Comcast transition forum and it sounds like every area is different as to what is going on. You might want to check it out to see what's going on in your area.

http://forums.comcast.net/comcastsupport..._Digi_Tran&page_of_message_id=668

[GertrudaRose]

Thanks for the link, Richard.  It is as I suspected.  Our local Comcast has used the transition as an excuse to pull the most popular channels from their "Full Basic" plan.  Had they not pulled those stations I would have been fine with my old set-up.  This was done to force people to upgrade to a "digital" plan that is more expensive.  They are getting away with this by confusing people.  This was also confirmed by a technician at one of our local television stations.  bah!

[Mercy Now]

GertrudaRose, If you don't mind me asking  I'm curious as to what your response will be to this tactic. Will you purchase the plan?

[Richard]

It's strange how Comcast are doing things differently across the US. My channel selection didn't change at all. I still have local channels on basic cable.

[GertrudaRose]

Mercy Now, Yea, I went ahead and got the plan. It was either that or Verizon which is just as bad. I certainly don't care for Comcast's underhanded tactics, but if I want to have decent internet I'm stuck with them, so I might as well get the cable/internet deal. The deal is for 1 year, so I will be looking at other options.

[Mercy Now]

I see.

  I have a crappy internet connection. I don't get cable or satellite and I don't use a cell phone very much at all so I just purchase minutes. I still have my  land line and will never willingly give it up . A couple of companies ,including Verizon and  our local telephone provider have offered to make all of the above services available and much more convenient for us....at a price of course and in my opinion a hefty price. Our local telephone provider  just recently said we could get a certain modem that would improve our internet connection and service immensely. (Because of our location regular types of services aren't available to us.) Our neighbors were able to get these modems.When we went to get ours we told them we weren't interested in packages especially since we don't watch television or use cell phones much at all. Suddenly they were all out of these special modems and we were told we would have to wait until  there was more requests to warrant the company making them again. Huh??

   I suspect that they want to do away with land line service all together and are probably planning to do so. I'll be one of the very last holdouts.:D

[Richard]

I certainly don't care for Comcast's underhanded tactics, but if I want to have decent internet I'm stuck with them, so I might as well get the cable/internet deal. The deal is for 1 year, so I will be looking at other options.

That's the same boat I'm in. Comcast is the only fast internet I can get out here. I would switch providers if I could get DSL. Comcast is fast but for the last month I've been losing my connection several times a day. Technicians haven't found any problems. I don't know if it's because of the digital transition or not but I hope it clears up soon. :X

[GertrudaRose]

We had the same problem last year.  I can remember saying that we hadn't had much trouble with Comcast and then we started getting a dropped and/or very weak signal.  We had many, many techs out here and they all said somewthing different.  We had many appointments when we would move all the furniture in preparation and then they wouldn't show up.  They would come and do something but never filed any paperwork with Comcast so we couldn't prove it.  We had one tech that was too fat to get into the attic and another that said it was too hot that day.  One tech said the problem was caused by rain!

In the end what seemed to finally fix it was to change the line coming into the house and reduce the number of splitters.