Comcast News/Information/Questions Thread

[Ga_Gamecock]

I got my Comcast Highdef DVR yesterday ... i cant believe how nice HD looks!

Currently, I am recording the game on CSS ... when i try to switch channels, it warns me that i have to stop recording the game to proceed ... is this right?

I thought the dvr setup would allow me to watch whatever while the harddrive records something else ...

Also, i cant ffwd or revs the game while recording ...

[Spur]

Well, I think some DVR's are different

My sister has an older TIVO and she can't record AND watch another channel

On my DirecTV DVR, I can record two things at once BUT have to watch one of the two...if I am recording only one show though, I can switch around

HD is nice, eh? It is freakin addicting as hell....I cant believe how piss poor some channels look non-HD

[Ga_Gamecock]

i have been bragging about this tv/the HD all weekend ... im stunned. how did i ever get by on SD?

Hahaha

The UF game was awesome ... been watching the Pres Cup - crazy how good golf looks in hidef

[Ga_Gamecock]

ah ha!
i think its an activation issue ... a prompt just popped up telling me to call comcast to activate

[SnellvilleSpur]

If you want to watch one progrm while you record another, you'll need a cable splitter. Basically, it takes the signal and splits it so that you can input the signal into 2 input ports. Hopefully your TV allows a dual picture view as well. I can split my TV screen and watch 2 games simultaneously, but only one is an HDTV broadcast. If not, you can record from, say Line 5 input while you watch the input on Line 1.

On the other hand, you can play back a program recorded on the Comcast DVR while you record another one to the same DVR.

Hopefully you have a DVD recorder as well. I record programs to DVR and then record that to DVD. That helps in particular to edit out those dreaded commercials.

[Ga_Gamecock]

nice!

so where do i split it?

im assuming after the box but before the tv?

and then the box will be av1 and the split will be av2? or something like that?

I do have PIP and split screen, although its not 'true' pip ...

[SnellvilleSpur]

nice!

so where do i split it?

im assuming after the box but before the tv?

and then the box will be av1 and the split will be av2? or something like that?

I do have PIP and split screen, although its not 'true' pip ...

You split it from the cable that feeds from the wall. One end goes into the cable box and the other should feed into your TV. Thus, when you watch two programs, the feed direct from the wall will onoly enable you to watch up to channel 79 in non-HD. The other will be full channel, including HD. However, since ESPN is offered on 46 & 47, and most of the other sports broadcasts are on the lower channels, you should be fine.

I have never tried splitting the signal after the cable box. The Comcast manual and the TV manual didn't offer that possibility, so I never tried it. I think that splitting the signal at that point might weaken the signal too much, but I'm not positive on that. Try it out and see what happens, butdon't blame me if your TV blows up. *wink*

[Forkcock]

I have Comcast DVR. The only time that it tells me that I have to stop recording before switching to another channel is when I am recording two different shows.

[Spur]

http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9800629-38.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

For a few months Comcast has been the subject of scattered reports that say it throttles BitTorrent traffic.

TorrentFreak said in August that Comcast was surreptitiously interfering with file transfers by posing as one party and then, essentially, hanging up the phone. But when we contacted Comcast at the time, it flatly denied doing it.

Thanks to tests reported Friday by the Associated Press, however, it's clear that Comcast is actively interfering with peer-to-peer networks even if relatively small files are being transferred.

The tests involved transferring a copy of the King James Bible through the BitTorrent network on Time Warner Cable, Cablevison, AT&T and two Comcast connections (in Philadelphia, Boston and San Francisco). Only the Comcast-connected computers were affected.

This is significant. The Gutenberg version of the King James Bible is only 4.24MB, which is relatively tiny and indicates that Comcast was singling out even small files.

Now, even though there's been some musing that Comcast can't do this, I'd be surprised if a court would say that it was somehow unlawful. Comcast's Terms of Service says: "You further agree to comply with all Comcast network, bandwidth, and data storage and usage limitations. You shall ensure that your bandwidth consumption using the Service does not exceed the limitations that are now in effect or may be established in the future. If your use of the Service results in the consumption of bandwidth in excess of the applicable limitations, that is a violation of this Policy...if the Service is used in a way that Comcast or its suppliers, in their sole discretion, believe violate this AUP, Comcast or its suppliers may take any responsive actions they deem appropriate.

Which is pretty broad.

The danger for Comcast is twofold. First, its hyperactive filtering may zap perfectly legitimate file transfers, which seems to have happened in one case involving a customer using Lotus Notes.

Second, it encourages countermeasures such as obfuscating BitTorrent traffic or encrypting it. That means that future efforts by Comcast to manage its traffic may be far more difficult. (If Comcast had merely slowed down BitTorrent transfers instead of cutting them off completely, users wouldn't be escalating this arms race as quickly.)

Probably the best result would be tiered pricing. BitTorrent users who are heavy users of bandwidth would pay more, while average home users would pay less. It's not perfect, and lots of Internet users may not like a tiered pricing model, but it's probably better than escalating a technological arms race, or not being able to use BitTorrent at all.

[ultimatetailgater]

meh just use a proxy server.

[cold-cocked]

known about this for a while. They only limit uploads. However if you are having a problem you can use a program that allows files to be sent using encryption. This makes it hard for isp's to catch the torrent traffic.

[Ga_Gamecock]

when i have it set to 1080i.

i have noticed over the last few days it chnges its own setting

why is that?

[JAYBEZ]

720p and 1080i are the same thing aren't they? Its 1080p that is the higher resolution... Or is that completely wrong?

[ultimatetailgater]

720p is 1280x720 pixels in progressive format which means all the pixels are rendered at once. 1080i is 1920x1080 pixels in interlaced format which means the horizontal pixels are rendered then the vertical pixels are rendered next a split second later. The difference between progressive and interlaced is minimal except in fast action scenes. 1080p is the same as 1080i except all the pixels are rendered at once.