I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
Links: home · search · speed test · login · more ·
Links: Reply New Topic
Forums » Comcast » Comcast Cable TV » I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
page: 1 · 2
Total Noob @ 30th Oct 04:33PM:
I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
Here in Portland, OR, I have Comcast Digital Starter; Motorola DCT700 cable box; and an ordinary CRT TV.
The TV went haywire. Now I find myself lost in a world I did not create. Can anyone help a total noob? I have been researching and reading and I am confused.
You can't get a real TV anymore (a CRT). All they have are digital TV's. I went to Best Buy to look at some sets. I changed the channel on some of the display TV's, and to my horror, saw a channel that looked like an old Youtube video. This was apparently a Standard Defintion channel, using NTSC? Good God, it was awful.
I googled around and found that many people are complaining that SD channels look like crap on a digital TV.
This is the future? ... why does it suck?
I have some questions :
1. What kind of signal comes down the wire from Comcast, with Digital Starter? Is it 720? Is it 1080? Is it ATSC?
2. If one of the channels is in SD, like in a 480 format, does Comcast send it as-is, or do they convert it to an ATSC 720 or 1080 format?
3. Which channels are in SD? I looked around their website and can't find any of this info.
4. The DCT700 has RF in, RF out, for coax; and video / L+R audio outputs for RCA-type jacks. The manual tells you how to hook it up in series with VCR and TV.
- Does this mean it outputs only SD?
- Does it just convert digital signals to NTSC, for analog TV and VCR?
- If I buy a new digital TV, will every channel coming out of the DCT700 then look like a Youtube video?
- Or does the DCT700 pass ATSC through its RF and RCA outputs?
5. If I play a videotape on my VCR, and watch on a digital TV, will it look like a Youtube video?
Now comes "Project Cavalry". I read the FAQ about the DTA's. With the DTA, you don't get the program guide, On Demand, or the music channels.
6. Do I put a DTA in series with the DCT700? In other words :
cable outlet == DTA == DCT700 == VCR == TV.
Will my TV wind up getting anything digital? The program guide, On Demand, a digital-quality picture? Or am I just all out of luck.
If anyone has answers, I would be grateful. It's getting all too complicated for me.
reply
Curlee @ 30th Oct 05:02PM:
Re: I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
That's a lot of questions. Let me try to answer a few:
said by Total Noob :
1. What kind of signal comes down the wire from Comcast, with Digital Starter? Is it 720? Is it 1080? Is it ATSC?
2. If one of the channels is in SD, like in a 480 format, does Comcast send it as-is, or do they convert it to an ATSC 720 or 1080 format?
3. Which channels are in SD? I looked around their website and can't find any of this info.
6. Do I put a DTA in series with the DCT700? In other words :
cable outlet == DTA == DCT700 == VCR == TV.
Will my TV wind up getting anything digital? The program guide, On Demand, a digital-quality picture?
1. Frequency multiplexed Quadrature Amplitude Modulated (QAM). It can handle the current digital formats. I believe ATSC is only used Over The Air (OTA). Unscrambled QAM channels are referred to as ClearQAM channels.
2. See the thread here: "Why is 480i transmitted at 1080i (or 720p)".
3. If the Comcast channel description doesn't include "HD", then it's SD.
6. cable outlet == DTA == VCR == TV. No digital. No guide. No On Demand. No digital quality picture.
Hope that helps.
reply
darcilicious @ 30th Oct 05:08PM:
Re: I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
Let me add this:
Find a friend that has an HDTV receiving HD channels from Comcast. Even though Comcast does compress their HD channels, you should still be amazed by the difference in quality (try to tune a 1080i channel / program).
Viewing HDTVs in the store is a lackluster affair at best -- in fact, it's amazing that TVs get sold that way at all. I have a 47" 1080p TV (with Verizon FiOS though) and wouldn't trade it in for any kind of analog set.
The future only sucks if you insist upon clinging onto the past ;-)
reply
gar187er @ 30th Oct 05:44PM:
Re: I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
1: they pass whatever the broadcasters do...if its 720, they pass 720, 1080, they pass 1080
2: as is...there are SD versions and HD's...not one or the other....
3: gotta punch in your address....
4. its a SD box, youd need a HD box to get HD signal....
it modulates it to channel 3, or the rca outputs for your vcr...
if you get a tv with a digital tuner and cablecard, you wont need the box...otherwise the picture will look fine.
again it modulates it to channel 3, and/or the rca outputs...
5.no...why are you obsessed with you tube?
best buy uses a close circuit setup for their HD displays....its split 80 times, and amped quite a few....
6. no...one or the other.
if you have option to use components or even rcas use them, itll help your PQ
reply
MadMANN @ 30th Oct 08:54PM:
Re: I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
What you describe as a "youtube video" is probably analog video being displayed on a TV created for SD and HD digital video. Don't confuse SD with digital as SD can be either analog or digital. And, yes, analog can look horrible on a HD set, which includes VHS. This is one of the reasons why digital TV is becoming the norm.
The Moto DCT700 will not look as bad as the analog picture you saw in the store as all channels on a SD digital converter from Comcast are displayed in digital format. That said, my suggestion is to swap out your DCT700 for an HD box if you do purchase a HD set. Not every single channel comes in HD format, but the ones that do will look incredible and even the SD channels will display much better than what you saw at the store.
What confuses me is the fact that a store trying to sell HD sets would even bother displaying analog on their TVs. You would think that any electronics store manager with a shred of common sense would want to display the best possible picture on the floor.
reply
Curlee @ 30th Oct 09:16PM:
Re: I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
I dislike much streaming video because of its "herky-jerky" nature. The reduced resolution, not so much.
Total Noob, could you describe what you object to about YouTube in different words, with a bit more detail?
reply
beavercable @ 31st Oct 04:05AM:
Re: I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
Dude if you arent quite ready for the hd tv revolution go take yourself on down to the local goodwill or salvation army and pick up a working crt from them for ultra cheap. Some have 36 inchers that don't go for more than $75. I send all my customers on tight budgets their to get replacements.
reply
dishrich @ 31st Oct 02:04PM:
Re: I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
Does your area have an electronics "recycling" drop-off stores that take ANY unwanted electronics to be properly disposed of? We do, & you would NOT believe some of the VERY nice (& large) CRT's that folks are trashing, due to them upgrading to flat panels, & either not having the space to keep, or NOT being able to find anyone else that wants them! Most of these stores would probably be tickled for someone to take them off their hands, so they don't then have to break them down for recycling - particularly those HUGE CRT's.
Or even just ask around any friends that might be getting new flat panels - I've had several friends trying to GIVE away nice Sony flat-screen CRT's, & have not any luck in doing so. ;)
reply
Curlee @ 31st Oct 03:15PM:
Re: I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
Or check Craig's List.
reply
Total Noob @ 1st Nov 07:26PM:
Re: I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
Thanks everyone for the answers.
said by Curlee :
could you describe what you object to about YouTube in different words, with a bit more detail?
I guess now Youtube allows higher quality videos, but I'm thinking of low-bandwidth Flash videos : blurry, blotchy, picture breaks up, tiles out if there's too much motion. And this was on the 19 and 22 inch sets. Don't know what it was -- there was only coax going to the TVs' tuner input. On the other channels, it looked fine : BBC America, and Best Buy promo videos.
said by beavercable :
Dude if you arent quite ready for the hd tv revolution
I don't think I'm ready -- and I don't think the revolution is ready.
The "revolution" is not a result of free market forces and consumer demand. When stations started broadcasting in digital, did crowds of people run down to buy a new TV shouting "hurray I can receive a digital signal now"? No. After the mandatory end of analog broadcasting, I guess more people bought new digital sets, but was that what they really wanted to do? I think most people would have kept analog broadcasting, and their CRT's, if they could have.
The more I read about digital sets, the more disappointed I am. Manufacturers tell us stuff like "dead pixels and bright pixels aren't considered a defect". Well, I do consider that to be a defect. "Don't watch a letterbox or pillarbox program for more than two hours, or your screen may be permanently damaged" by burn-in. Never had any problems like that on my CRT.
I'll check out Goodwill etc. to see if I can find a good CRT. Or : maybe I'll just pull the plug on comcast and do without TV.
Goodbye "Jazz Age" I'm going home, and fish in the willow brook.
reply
insomniac @ 1st Nov 09:36PM:
Re: I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
said by Curlee :
Or check Craig's List.
Yep. I needed a 19" TV for my guest room and didn't feel like paying $150+ for a new LCD. Craigslist, $30, problem solved.
--
If everything seems to be going well, you've obviously overlooked something.
reply
mariod @ 1st Nov 10:56PM:
Re: I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
said by Total Noob :
When stations started broadcasting in digital, did crowds of people run down to buy a new TV shouting "hurray I can receive a digital signal now"?
Actually, you're incorrect. In the last year, the percentage of HDTV households jumped from 35% to 53%. So "crowds of people" DID go buy an HDTV.
Source: »www.dealerscope.com/article/the-···0_1.html
reply
Total Noob @ 1st Nov 11:26PM:
Re: I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
said by Total Noob :
When stations started broadcasting in digital
said by mariod :
In the last year
They didn't start in the last year.
reply
beavercable @ 1st Nov 11:41PM:
Re: I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
I think the spike in hdtv sales did get a nice bump from the digital transition, but mostly from tax returns and hdtv's being the only choice for consumers.
reply
mariod @ 2nd Nov 01:39AM:
Re: I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
said by Total Noob :
They didn't start in the last year.
HD broadcasting has expanded massively in the last year as a result of the federal government selling the analog channels.
On October 30, 2007, 13.7% of households in America had HDTVs and tuners.
»www.hdtvmagazine.com/news/2007/1···ates.php
Per the link I posted before, in the ensuing year, that rate more than doubled to 35%. In the last year, it jumped to 53%.
Those are gigantic leaps in saturation for a product that already existed in every home in america.
reply
Total Noob @ 2nd Nov 10:18AM:
Re: I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
mariod, Thank you for posting again, and confirming that what I said is true.
reply
anon @ 2nd Nov 10:21AM:
msg deleted
deleted by a moderator
reply
Curlee @ 2nd Nov 02:13PM:
Re: I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
There's an analogy in computer monitors, which for the most part, are analog vs. digital agnostic.
Digital monitors are smaller, lighter, higher contrast, take less desk space, lower emmision, and environmentally friendlier.
I know what I want to sit in front of 10-12 hours a day.
reply
mariod @ 2nd Nov 06:11PM:
Re: I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
No wonder you "don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world".
reply
Total Noob @ 2nd Nov 09:38PM:
Re: I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
mariod, I confess that I don't understand your last post.
reply
grapkoski @ 5th Nov 10:49AM:
Re: I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
Before this becomes a post about economic theory. Digital broadcasting has been available since the mid-90s and actually became popular in the mid-2000s. While we can debate the government influence, I think any reasonable person on both sides of the political/economic spectrum would agree that this was a good 'push' the government made. The digital technology opens up our spectrum for advanced services like LTE, WiMax, WiBro (:P), which translates into better communication networks.
The consumers also get a much better quality picture and television that is frankly better for the environment. So yes the 'revolution' wasn't completely 'hand-based,' but not all progress is controlled by the economy.
Also, I think if you talk to anyone who made the jump before the mandated shutdown of analog would agree that they would NEVER go back to the old times.
reply
mariod @ 5th Nov 11:05AM:
Re: I don't understand Comcast's new digital TV world
Also in the plus column, , the government made a ton of money auctioning off those analog bands.
reply
Thank you for using lo-fi dslreports.com - report bugs
© 99-2009 silver matrix LLC