Comcast Subscribers

[caudio51]

Interesting read for subscribers to Comcast. Unfortunately I do not have access to Verizon Fios yet.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1008271

 

[Greg]

I sure hope this isn't true...:argh:

 

[surfish1961]

Hang in caudio, it's coming. Sooner or later the whole state will have it and I hope it puts a good hurtin' on ComCast (the bastids).

I have the FIOS now and love it. The picture on the tv is great even though I don't have hd (yet). The phone isi crystal clear. And my hookup speed is 2.3 Mbps. Well worth it. $97.99 / month for tv/phone/internet.

 

[Greg]

I'm switching tomorrow if I can, I'm sick of Comcast.

 

[tuffy]

I love DirecTV and all of the HD they offer. They just launched another satellite specifically for more HD content a week or so ago which is going to increase their HD offerings even more in the coming months.

 

[terrantheman]

Hang in caudio, it's coming. Sooner or later the whole state will have it and I hope it puts a good hurtin' on ComCast (the bastids).

I have the FIOS now and love it. The picture on the tv is great even though I don't have hd (yet). The phone isi crystal clear. And my hookup speed is 2.3 Mbps. Well worth it. $97.99 / month for tv/phone/internet.

OMG!!! I can't wait until that shite is in my area, what a great price...

 

[JMN]

Fios rules, had it for a few months now. Better HD quality than COX.

 

[surfish1961]

I'm switching tomorrow if I can, I'm sick of Comcast.

I wasn't sick of ComCast. Just sick of the price increases with no increase in service and the feeling that they had you by the cajones because they were the only licensed carrier in our area.

That was before Verizon came along with the FIOS. But not before a fight. ComCast fought Verizon tooth and nail for Verizon not get into our area. But my main question was "How can ComCast carry telephone but Verizon can't carry tv?" I guess my question was answered.

I got the FIOS installed, called ComCast to cancel my service and these douchebags had the gall to ask me what they could do to keep me as a customer. I told the lady that they could give me the service for free. After she got done laughing at me (the biotch), I told her to disconnect me and get their damn wire off my house. She said there was a backlog of taking the wires down (I wonder why) so it would be about a month, and she asked me to leave it up just in case I changed my mind. After I got done laughing at her (she probably said 'the bastid'), I told her if they left the wire on my house for more than 48 hours, I was going to charge them facilities maintenance (rent). They were out the next day and took the wire down.

I don't regret changing at all.

And pardon my rant.

 

[Garvey]

comcast sucks....

 

[MichiganM]

That sucks balls!

 

[Greg]

I wasn't sick of ComCast. Just sick of the price increases with no increase in service and the feeling that they had you by the cajones because they were the only licensed carrier in our area.

That was before Verizon came along with the FIOS. But not before a fight. ComCast fought Verizon tooth and nail for Verizon not get into our area. But my main question was "How can ComCast carry telephone but Verizon can't carry tv?" I guess my question was answered.

I got the FIOS installed, called ComCast to cancel my service and these douchebags had the gall to ask me what they could do to keep me as a customer. I told the lady that they could give me the service for free. After she got done laughing at me (the biotch), I told her to disconnect me and get their damn wire off my house. She said there was a backlog of taking the wires down (I wonder why) so it would be about a month, and she asked me to leave it up just in case I changed my mind. After I got done laughing at her (she probably said 'the bastid'), I told her if they left the wire on my house for more than 48 hours, I was going to charge them facilities maintenance (rent). They were out the next day and took the wire down.

I don't regret changing at all.

And pardon my rant.

:glassesgr

 

[matalo]

F me! I switched to Comcase from Directv due to Directv REALLY pissing me off. Looks like I might switch to Dish or go back to Directv.

 

[avid toker]

In certain markets they were never sending a true HD signal to begin with to keep up with bandwith/transmission needs.
Sounds to me like they're probably going to roll this out nationwide. But don't despair, the industry is hard at work on a new compression format that alleviate the strain.

 

[smokem94]

I love DirecTV and all of the HD they offer. They just launched another satellite specifically for more HD content a week or so ago which is going to increase their HD offerings even more in the coming months.

Ditto!!!!

 

[joshua]

We have verizon DSL and comcast cable and they both suck. They don't offer FiOS yet, and its a pain in the butt. I can't download a podcast and watch youtube at the same time with this 8 year old DSL plan we have at home. (Though I can grab stuff from the internet at work to watch, so it could be worse)

Comcast started encrypting more stuff also. My computer HD tuner couldn't pick up as many channels as it used to be able to.

 

[CWS]

Dish network here. Left cable long, long ago.

 

[caudio51]

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6545648.html

Test Shows Comcast’s HD Squeeze In Virginia
A/V Enthusiast Finds Comcast HD Bit Rates As Much As 28% Lower Than Verizon’s
By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 3/27/2008 3:12:00 PM

Comcast has said it can pack three high-definition signals into space typically used for two—without viewers noticing a drop in quality. But at least one viewer has.

A member of AVS Forum, a community site for audio/video enthusiasts, has posted the results of his comparison of the compression rates for 10 HD channels offered by Comcast and Verizon Communications’ FiOS TV in Northern Virginia.

The user, “bfdtv,” said his test showed Comcast is delivering certain MPEG-2 HD channels at bit rates as much as 28% lower than Verizon, resulting in lower-quality pictures.

For example, an A&E HD broadcast of an episode of The Sopranos had an average bit rate of 18.66 Megabits per second on FiOS TV, whereas Comcast’s version was 22.4% lower—at 14.48 Mbps. Verizon, like most cable companies, distributes linear TV programming in MPEG-2 format.

Multichannel News contacted “bfdtv,” whose real name is Ken Fowler, an audio/video buff who lives in Arlington, Va.

Fowler, reached by phone Wednesday, said he works in the financial services industry and has no stake in the success of Verizon or any other pay-TV provider.

Fowler said he conducted the test -- and posted screen captures showing the different picture quality between the two services -- to confirm his suspicion that some of Comcast’s HD channels were being more highly compressed than Verizon’s. “I did notice the difference, and I wanted to know that I wasn’t seeing things,” he said.

Comcast senior director of corporate communications Jenni Moyer said the company could not comment on Fowler’s test or his methodology.

“HD picture quality is extremely important to our customers and to us, and when we conduct picture quality tests, we use independent third-parties and industry-accepted testing methodologies with expert and consumer participants,” she said.

Comcast, along with the rest of the cable industry, is facing an HD balancing act.

Cable providers need to add high-definition programming, to fight the 90-plus HD lineup now offered by DirecTV. But they also need to ensure they don’t sacrifice quality for quantity—and risk disappointing the likes of AVS Forum’s habitués.

In his testing, Fowler recorded the same programs as delivered by FiOS TV and Comcast, using two TiVos with CableCards.

He then extracted the video files from the TiVo digital video recorders and calculated average bit rates for each program by dividing the length of the video in seconds (as displayed by MPEG-2 video software VideoReDo) with the overall file size.

Fowler found Comcast has not applied higher compression rates to every HD channel. High-definition signals from local broadcast stations aren’t recompressed, he said, and as of March 18, ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD and Comcast SportsNet also remained “at full quality.”

But on Comcast’s more highly compressed HD channels, Fowler said, the video exhibits noticeable blurring during high-motion sequences.

Fowler conceded that his standards for whether one provider’s HD looks better than another’s may be higher than the typical subscriber.

“I’m probably not the average viewer,” he said. “The average viewer probably isn’t going to go on AVS [Forum] to find out information like this.”

Now, why does he subscribe to both FiOS TV and Comcast in the first place?

Fowler said he switched from Comcast to Verizon FiOS last year because it offered faster Internet access and more HD channels for less money.

About a month ago, Comcast in Northern Virginia launched several new channels that FiOS did not yet offer, including CNN HD, Sci Fi Channel HD and USA Network HD. In addition, Comcast announced it would carry high-definition telecasts from Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, which is “important to me as a Washington Nationals fan,” Fowler said.

After discovering FiOS would not have those new HD channels in his area before late July, he decided to switch.

Comcast also offered him a special deal—digital TV service with HBO and Starz at $39.99 per month for six months—which “certainly played a part in that decision,” said Fowler.

And because his FiOS TV service contract wasn’t up yet, he decided to do a head-to-head comparison.

“I’ve been around AVS [Forum] for a long time,” Fowler said, “and I’m one of the advocates for getting the best possible quality you can.”