Dropping ALL analog signal

**daveh505@comcast.net** · 02-16-2010 01:12 PM

Hi All
I have a number of questions I brought up to the Comcast service center that they couldn't answer very well.

1. As I understand it the Digital Perferred package will no longer have any analog signals that will be viewable even with a new LCD TV that has all the right tuners. Yes No Explain.

2. Will Comcast provide a free set top box so analog TV and new LCD TV that has all the right tuners can be used.

3. When will Las Cruces NM go to all digital si9gnal?

**yaz96** · 02-16-2010 07:35 PM

1. Correct.
2. Yes.
3. NO idea.

Call 1-800-comcast

**jayn_j** · 02-16-2010 09:58 PM

Yes, but not overnight.

Comcast here did the Xfinity conversion a couple of weeks ago. We ended up losing 4 or 5 analog channels, but there are still 50 or so left. They will transition off over time, probably the next year or so.

They are promising us an "adapter". I don't know what that means, but it apparently is less than a full receiver.

**meinename** · 02-17-2010 04:29 AM

Originally Posted by daveh505@comcast.net

Hi All
I have a number of questions I brought up to the Comcast service center that they couldn't answer very well.

1. As I understand it the Digital Perferred package will no longer have any analog signals that will be viewable even with a new LCD TV that has all the right tuners. Yes No Explain.

2. Will Comcast provide a free set top box so analog TV and new LCD TV that has all the right tuners can be used.

3. When will Las Cruces NM go to all digital si9gnal?

1. Yes if Comcast NM have announced it, then you have been warned. See point 3 for more.

2. Comcast was providing 2 DTA's or 1 Digital cable box for free. Rental charges applied for every box afterward. SD Digital cable box was $5, DTA's were $2, and HD boxes were $10 (with HD sub) after the first box

3. They announced the Portland, OR area 6 months ahead of time. They slowly transitioned the more rural areas beginning 2 months after the announcement. 6 Months later, they transitioned the 3 largest areas over the space of a week.
From what I could tell, they took 2 months in 2 week periods to go over each phase.
Phase 1: PSA Commercials inserted every half hour stating you will need a DTA or digital cable box (2 different devices)
Phase 2: announce that DTA's and Digital cable boxes are available for delivery and pickup at service centers. PSA Commercials altered to reflect a certain date of analog shut off.
Phase 3: switch all analog channels to slates with contact info (similar to PSA info). Basic analog (local antenna, Discovery, and Public access) Ch.2-23 were still on in analog though.
Phase 4: Stop airing PSA. Turn off analog channels and add more digital services as head-end/node equipment becomes available and installed.

Originally Posted by jayn_j

Yes, but not overnight.

Comcast here did the Xfinity conversion a couple of weeks ago. We ended up losing 4 or 5 analog channels, but there are still 50 or so left. They will transition off over time, probably the next year or so.

They are promising us an "adapter". I don't know what that means, but it apparently is less than a full receiver.

The standard digital cable box has Parental controls, a guide, various settings, PPV, On-Demand and RCA Yellow-White-Red outputs
The DTA is very basic cable tuner. RF Ch.3-4 output, no guide. just a channel number and a callsign on the bottom left.

New cable boxes are not to have any built-in non-removable decryption, but the DTA have it installed anyway. Comcast got a wavier of the separate-able encryption/decryption rule for the DTA's from the FCC after having the DTA's deployed. Once Comcast had the waiver, the local Comcast office encrypted the Clear-QAM channels within the week.
ALL OF THEM including the HD-antenna locals.

So the Clear-QAM tuners in new LCD TV's are useless now.

**jayn_j** · 02-17-2010 09:24 AM

Thanks. That clear up a lot of the confusion that Comcast seems to be slinging around here. Fortunately, I'm moving at the end of the month and can hopefully go back to DISH.

**adkinsjm** · 03-13-2010 09:24 PM

If you have a new TV with a QAM tuner, you'll be able to get all the channels you currently get without a box.

**meinename** · 03-14-2010 06:43 AM

Originally Posted by adkinsjm

If you have a new TV with a QAM tuner, you'll be able to get all the channels you currently get without a box.

Tell that to my HDTV and Haupauge HVR-1600's.

They all come up encrypted in TSReader on the HVR-1600's

The Olevia 527V has them all flagged as skipped and won't show them like it would before they turned on the encryption.
I used to check what was flagged as skipped and make a table of channels to tune on the Olevia.
Nothing shows up anymore.

**yaz96** · 03-17-2010 01:26 AM

Originally Posted by adkinsjm

If you have a new TV with a QAM tuner, you'll be able to get all the channels you currently get without a box.

This is wrong. The channels will now be encrypted.

**wilcoxon** · 08-25-2010 05:07 PM

What is the point of Comcast encrypting non-premium channels? The huge PR cost would seem to far outweigh the possible extra profits from forcing people to rent STBs.

**meinename** · 08-25-2010 07:23 PM

Originally Posted by wilcoxon

What is the point of Comcast encrypting non-premium channels? The huge PR cost would seem to far outweigh the possible extra profits from forcing people to rent STBs.

They want to move to the Satellite model.

No need to roll a truck to place a filter when a sub cancels service (saves money).
Only subs can see only their subscribed channels.
Set-top boxes record what, when and how long some channels was watched.
Useful in channel-cost negotiations
Useful for problem solving
Can be sold as advertising data