I have expanded basic cable service with Comcast, and high speed Internet.
Since buying my new Samsung HD LCD TV, I want to get the DVR recorder for high quality recording and playback.

I currently use two of my PCs to record shows, but the quality of the playback is not the greatest.

I do get some HD channels now and radio stations on my new TV.
From this page
http://www.comcast.com/shop/buyflow/...urcePage=Cable
it looks like some of the same channels I get now with that are listed in the Digital Starter package.
I take it a set top box is required?
The channel lineup looks like what I get now with expanded basic and the ability of my new TV to get some of the HD channels, but not with the same numbers they show.

For example, they show CBS at 107.
With my TV CBS is channel 7, and for their HD channel, I go up one notch on the remote, or access it directly by inputting 7-1 on the remote.
I take it the set top box you would input 107 instead?

Also if you scroll down on that page in the URL you will see HDTV for $6.50 per month.
I take it I do not need that too if I get the set top box?

And the HD DVR service is $15.95 verses $8.95 for the regular DVR machine.
So to record in true HD on channels that offer HD, I would need to get the HD DVR instead?

I also thought they offered the set top box and DVR as all one unit?
It looks like I will need to get two separate boxes from them?

Also how do these hook up?
With an HDMI cable?
I have two more open HDMI ports on the TV, and HDMI 1 is used for the Blu-Ray player.

 

The HD DVRs are one box and yes,use an HDMI cable.

You can record about 25 hours in HD and 100 in standard def.

 

Thanks, so that is the only box I need from them, and it has the digital decoder in it too so I can get all the other channels?

I tried calling up Comcast for info too, but they are not open yet.

 

Got a hold of them, all I need is the HDTV DVR set top box, a short coax cable which they provide, and an HDMI cable which I will have to shop for elsewhere.

Will be hitting the Comcast store at 10 am when they open.
It will be nice to retire my old PC from using its two TV tuner cards to records shows.
The quality is OK, just not as good looking now that I have a much "tighter" TV.

 

you might consider a QAM tuner from a big box store. It will get you HD for free instead of buying their over priced package, and many have dvr's built in too. Plus the picture quality on the cable co's boxes usually isnt that good. jmop

 

What channels are available in HD with the QAM tuner? More than cable or dish?

We actually have a very good HD picture on our channels through Comcast.

 

Just got back, will look into the QAM some other time.

Hooked it all up and it works, but the remote will not let me input 59 for the sci-fi channel.
I am going to have to read up on how to run the dang remote

I set the TV to HDMI 2, that is where the HDMI cable comes from the set top box.
No need for another coax cable I guess.

This tacks on $15 to my monthly bill, will have to see how I like it if it is worth keeping it or not.

 

Hey Corey, I've had Comcast with the HD package and the box for a year now and I love it. With the starter package there isn't a ton of HD channels but enough for me. The usual CBS, NBC. We watch 663 a lot in HD. Good luck!

 

Thanks, I will have to look at the program guide to find HD sci-fi channel.

I found out how to change channels, you must enter 007 for 7, 059 for 59 (sci-fi channel), kind of strange.

Also shows that filled up the screen before at 16:9 no longer do if they are not an HD channel.
I have to use my TVs remote and choose "stretch" from the menu, not sure I like that.

Tried setting up a weeks recordings with the DVR, and it is a no go.
It only lists for a few hours, and I need to input shows that are on tonight after I am in bed.
It says "To be announced" or something like that.

So I will have to use an online guide that I use to set my PCs with to record, and just set the Comcast DVR manually I guess.
Suppose to do two shows at a time too which is good.

Will have to mess with the On Demand free stuff later too to see what movies they have.

 

More observations.
When watching a standard station such as CBS (channel 7 in my area) that is not HD, 16:9 no longer fills the screen.
I have to use the TV remote and set it to stretch.

Same with CBS on the HD channel which is 107.
16:9 on both of them look more like the 4:3 format.

And when watching the Sci-Fi channel in HD on 676, 16:9 is in the wide format, but tiny.
I also have to set it to stretch, and it gets bigger, but there is no way to make it fill the screen completely like before I got the new set top box.

In other words, without the digital box I can make channels fill the screen all the way with some broadcast in regular format, and also in HD.

I used the set top boxes set up app to tell it my TV was 1080 i and p capable, and also in 16:9 format.

I wonder is this snafu can be rectified?

Other than that, the box is cool for all the stuff it can do.

Oh, another snafu, when using the DVR screen to setup shows to record tonight after I hit the sack, it shows many of them with no names, so you can not set the time/show to record.
I have to wait until the screen catches up or something Comcast told me, that is a crock of crap
I should be able to see the whole weeks worth of shows in the guide so I can set the DVR to record all my shows instead of waiting later in the day when the show pops up on the guide.

Has anyone else noticed this fluke, or does it fix itself over time?
I am trying to get away from using my old PC to record the shows, and its guide shows shows for a month out.

Another cool feature is I can pause live TV, and come back to the show later and watch it.
My TV tuner cards both do that too, but this is easier to use.

 

To skip the leading "0" entry, go to Menu-Setup-GuideSetup and select ChannelEntryBehavior and change to AutoTune. Then if you hit 3 for example and wait a few second, it'll change to channel 3 automatically. Otherwise it'll wait for all 3 digits to be entered.

 

Thanks Roger, that did the trick.

I also called them up about not all of the shows showing up in the guide for a few hours after the current time.
She said it will trickle in, and most of the time a whole week will show up.

This is going to rock for setting up shows.
She also showed me how to modify a recording or a future one so it will record them every week if they are a new episode or a rerun.
I have it set to record only new shows of the ones I have entered so far.

 

One thing odd that I noticed with Comcast is sometimes when I'm on an HD channel the sound and actions are not in sync for about five minutes and then it fixes itself.
Everything is like a bad martial arts flick, the dialogue comes through my speakers and then a few seconds later the mouths move.....its weird!

 

Kev, I get that with my recordings I do on the PCs when I play them back.

This morning before work I fired up the TV and choose Heros from the recordings from the new box last night.
Heros never looked better in full HD.
Using the MY DVR and the remote to fast forward through commercials was great.

Will have to check when I get home today if the schedule filled up so I can finish out programming the rest of the week.

I also noticed that on the regular Sci-Fi channel (59) that Stargate Atlantis comes on at 9 PM.
On the HD channel for Sci-Fi, it comes on like 6 or 7 PM, much earlier, and it is the same show.
I wonder why it is not in sync with the plain Sci-Fi channel?

I think I am going to retire the old PC that did the recording with the two TV tuner cards to the living room, and it will be a media server only with iTunes and movies that are saved to the hard drive, and that will be broadcast to the new TV.
Less cable to run that way too, as right now the cabling for the PVR playback of recorded shows is around 75'.
That could be why the quality of the playback from the PC to the TV is not so good.

But yeah, the Comcast HD DVR rocks, no screen glitches like with the playback from the TV tuner cards.

 

One thing to watch for when recording shows, the HD shows will use up twice as much space on the DVR than a regular show.

 

Yeah, I did six HD shows yesternight, and this morning it said 30% of the hard drive was used up.

I deleted Heros after watching it.

 

More channels will be showing up in HD over the next year since comcast is still not carrying alot of channels that offer an HD version like FX or USA.

I'm a football junky and that is worth the extra cost per month for me just to watch games in HD so outside the networks I also watch alot of ESPN/2.

 

welcome to 2008 dvr is sweet i like mine alot although its not hd or any of that other fancy stuff

 

Now if only the remote had the option to skip the commercial breaks when watching back a recorded show.

When I hit fast forward for a recorded show, it is pretty easy to get back into the show a little ahead, so I have to hit reverse and back up a bit.

I also now have all of my shows setup to record only the new episodes.
Like yesternight NCIS was on, but the DVR knew it was a repeat, also it will not record NCIS until next Tuesday when the new episode airs, pretty cool.

 

Wowwwwwwwwwwww

Just got done watching Stargate Atlantis at 6 PM on the Sci-Fi HD channel 676.
Stargate Atlantis comes on the normal Sic-Fi channel 59 at 9 PM, same episode.

It looks better on the HD channel a bit, and also nice that I could catch it three hours earlier.

I am really diggin' the set top box.
Only thing though with the HD channels is when they go to commercial breaks, the commercials do not fill the screen all the way, they are more like a 4:3 broadcast.