Cable HDTV Ugh! - Comcast and Motorola (1 Viewer)

[CRyan]

Wow. I switched to local cable from Dish when I moved becuase of a deal they were having. I am getting cable internet and cable tv with HBO for $77 a month. Good deal.

However, the quality is nowhere near the same. I cannot believe the difference - non HD and HD. It simply does not compare to what I was getting with Dish.

More than that, this Motorola box I have SUCKS. I thought the DISH 6000 interface was archaic, but this is rediculous. I have a brand new model, and the interface is pretty, but horrible to navigate. You cannot set up favorites in a logical way. You still see all the channels - even the ones to which you do not subscribe. You only see 30 minutes at a time! What the hell is that? This is so they can cram two banner adds on the left of the screen. Utterly rediculous!

Also, if you have a show that starts at 10 minutes past the hour, you cannot select that channel during that 10 minute window . It only asks you if you want to be reminded. You have to select the channel above it and then channel down to get to it.

Anyway, when my contract is up, I will be going back. Does anyone have any info on whether this box will get an upgrade to fix some of this crap?

Does anyone else see problems with this thing?

Thanks,

C. Ryan

 

[MattBu]

I really like Comcast even compared to Satellite (I had DirecTV). What do I like about it? Locals in HD, otherwise I concur that there Dish interface makes sense.

Though the menus are MUCH faster than DirecTV, and there's all that cool music (I guess).

I hate seeing channels that I don't subscribe to, I also hate that once you set a reminder it refuses to go away when you navigate the menus.

Otherwise for the equivalent price I'm happy.

 

[Scott Wong]

I can't comment on Comcast since I'm on Time Warner Cable. I am very pleased with the cable box I've received from them. However, if it isn't in HD, the quality of the channels is sub-par....

Scott.

 

[anthony_b]

I went from Directv to cable-hd and never looked back

 

[John S]

Your cable (the actual wire) must be old and need upgrading.

There is not really any other explanation for it to be any worse at all.

I would give comcast the oppertunity to make it right for you, before you throw in the towel on it.

If they can't, don't or just won't, than back to the dish you go.

People near the foothills in the Denver Metro area here, have been switching in droves to Comcast, becasue for what ever reason, the Dish seems to have issues if your to close to the foothills of the Rocky Mtns.

Right now, I am enjoying my HD ala cart free. This gives me several primetime shows in HD, increadible PBS in HD, and all the network NFL games in HD. Quite nice for free anyways. I can't wait for the NFL playoffs to start!!!

 

[CRyan]

Actually, it is a new house in a new subdivision. They dropped the line when I moved in. Very good signal at the wall terminals in fact. My brother has the same quality issue in Florida with Comcast. But really, I expected the quality to be a bit less with cable. I was ready to deal with that for the cost difference.

But as noted in the original post, the hardware is the biggest complaint. I really cannot believe that I am looking at banner adds on my guide menu. Not to mention all the other interface decisions made with the current software on the Motorola box.

There really is no copmarison in quality between my previous Dish exprience and now Comcast. If you ever get to see Dish on your set and are able to do a direct comparison, you will also see a difference. I never had pixelation with dish to the extent I get it now with Comcast - mainly with SD material. Hd material looks very nice, but you can deffinately tell a difference in long range panning shots. Oh well. 14 more months till the contract is up.


Thanks,

C. Ryan

 

[John S]

I have seen both dish and comcast in my area. At least on Monday night football, they sure seemed equal.

So on the pxelation your getting. Where do you think it is comming from? Just curious.
Even here, I admit some of Comcasts SD stuff is horrible, not all channels, it seems to only be certain channels.

Also, on the long range panning shot difference...
Do you think it is just the QAM technology in general, or something else making it not as good.

Mt OTA stuff seems quite good, I'll probably wait quite a while before going with either Dish or Cable. I am sure i will eventually though, so your input is most welcome.

 

[Frank_S]

I've been on the fence for 3 long years considering either Comcast(for just the past year) or DirecTv for HD programming. I've had my Toshiba DST-3000 for 3 years now and enjoying OTA programming(for free of course)but I want ESPN HD and Cuban's HDNET channel.

I also get pixelazation on my SD Comcast programs and it drives me nuts. I'm almost ready to go with DirecTv for 2 reasons.

1) I don't believe Comcast is going to carry HD-NET.
2) The pixelazation drives me nuts, is it prevalent on DirecTv?