Comcast?

[maxkil41]

Hi all,

Comcast just took over for Insight in my area. What can I expect? I currently have Dish, but that could change if the new VIP722 box doesn't connect through HDMI with my tv. I do use Insight's broadband, and I'm satisfied with it. Will Comcast raise prices? Do they offer more HD?

Thanks

 

[Brandie]

Can you say "Comcrap"

Just check Comcastic Prices in the next entry link below for anything further...

 

[berck]

I've gone from Dish to Comcast to Directv. I will say that between the three, Comcast has the superior HD content in the form of picture quality. The channel lineup depends on your area. Cost is another issue. Both Dish and Directv have much better costs than Comcast. When I switched from Dish to Comcast, I wasn't really saving any money. They gave me a great one year deal. After the deal was over, the price increased by $50/month. They also rasied the price of the dvr twice over the 18 months I had them. It started at $9.95, then $11.95 and lastly $13.95.

Comcast DVR is functional, but really buggy. I constantly had to check if my HDD was getting full because sometimes it wouldn't record new show and say the disk was full. As long as I kept the HDD below 50%, it was fine. It also became very non-responsive at times. I'd be hitting buttons and it wouldn't respond. After about 30 seconds, suddenly 10-20 commands would be accepted that had be queued up.

I really don't see myself ever going back. If I leave Directv, it will be to move back to Dish.

 

[jayn_j]

I recently moved to Rockford, Ill and switched from Dish and a 622 to Insight (now Comcast) and their Motorola HD-DVR.

Plus side:
* Picture Quality is better, especially on HD. They seem to pass full resolution and don't limit bandwidth nearly as much.
* They carry Rockford locals in HD. Dish and DTV do not.
* They have a large selection of video on demand, including free content. I wish that I could purchase individual content from premium channels, but they only allow it if you subscribe.
* A smaller set of 70ish analog channels will work on any TV in the house at no additional fee. Good for kids sets.
*price is significantly lower when you bundle with phone and internet.

Negative Side:
* A much smaller HD selection. 5 network locals (3 networks plus an ABC feed from Madison, plus limited PBS-HD). HD-NET, HDNetMovies, UniversalHD, MHD, Discovery HDTheater, TNTHD, ESPN-HD, ESPN2-HD plus HBOHD and ShowtimeHD if yiou subscribe to the premium. Comcast is promising more HD content "soon"
* The DVR is an utter POS. I could write paragraphs on how this box frustrates me after having a 622. The Wikibooks site has a good article on how to restore some features that Motorola has diabled, such as 30 second skip, but they cant get around some of the basic design problems. Examples are that it always turns on to channel 1, it always defaults back to the full list after selecting a channel, selecting a favorite list always goes back to the lowest channel in the list, scrolling down will select a link to a popup every page but you can press page down instead to get around that one, keypad arrangement is confusing, etc, etc. (see How to use a Motorola DVR - Wikibooks, collection of open-content textbooks)
* Many bugs in the DVR
* 2 tuner feature is very limited when you are used to the 622.
* lousy guide unless you pay for a DVR. Extra box rental is quite high. That means that you end up having good TV on one set and a lesser experience on everything else. I really miss the guide in the bedroom.