Never before have we had so many options for getting HD content, but these marketing claims are getting out of control. DirecTV kicked it off
at CES this year, claiming
100 national HD channels, then followed up with commercials just to make sure everyone got the word.
The cable companies responded by suing, and now in what we can only call: if you
can't beat em' join em', a
Comcast exec announced that they will have 400 HD channels this year, and 800 in 2008. Never-mind the fact that there are nowhere near
that many HD channels of available content, but 800 quality HD channels would take up almost 11 Gbps of throughput (using today's technology). So in order to make this work, we presume they will need to deploy
Switched Digital Video, which is great and all, but renders every
CableCARD device made today obsolete.
posted Jun 13th 2007 7:21PM
I am a comcast customer, and I just looked at my HD tv and they have 23 channels that run HD. I highly doubt that they will offer 400 by the end of 2007.....
I bet their counting all the local HD channels they carry around the country. So no one person will get 400 HD channels in any one location. Just about what I would expect from comcast...
Nope that is what DirecTV is doing, they are counting all the regional channels and all the Sports channels that will only show 1 game a week as part of their 150. Like I said comcast is counting HD viewing choices like VOD options.
Tubs - I believe you are right. Nobody asked the right question. I worked for Comcast, they were actually pretty good to work for and I think they know where they need to be, but are too conservative to take the plunge. We used to argue about the value of dumping our analog line-up and utilizing new technology (at the time) to insert ads on digital. I also advocated short (5 to 15 sec) spots prior to On-Demand - nothing. Of course it's done online all the time and if it's short it's bearable and not too irritaing. Anyway, they must be considering local channels. Good intuition.
I am not very happy with my Comcast service. They broke my DVI port when they rolled out a firmware upgrade last november.
Took like +5months and 30+ phone calls, numerous visits by field techs to say "we no longer have dvi boxes and we won't enable them". Left hand doesn't know what right is doing there.
They have given me a DVR box for 6 months with half off my current bill (thanks ccast)...however I am dropping them like a hot potato after the free upgrade has expired.
Comcast is becoming increasingly irrelevant with all the online options available today: NetFlix, Amazon To Tivo, Archive.org, Joost, YouTube, Google Videos, etc, etc.
Only problem with many of these services (except for Joost) is you kind of have to be your own programmer....I think most americans are too lazy for this and would rather be spoon-fed content....whether 100 or 400 channels of crap (hd or not) people want spoon feeding.
They are included ways you can receive HD. So if comcast has 200 different options over VOD for HD content then they are counting all those. The HD on Demand stuff is really great, I am glad that is going to grow.
Those numbers include HD locals and PPV channels, which are market specific, so if you assume the big 5 locals (ABC, NBC, CBS, CW, PBS) plus a few independents in the top 50 DMAs, there's ~300 of your channels right there (and the 800 number probably includes plans to expand local HD coverage to double, so ~600 channels), with each market only getting 7-8 of those. Individual home users will only ever see ~100 HD channels out of that "800", if that. 100 HD channels only require 300Mhz of bandwith with 2HDs per channel, or 200Mhz with 3HDs per-- well within the current infrastucture of most modern cable plants, especially if that rollout includes moving expanded basic channels to digital.
"I bet their counting all the local HD channels they carry around the country. So no one person will get 400 HD channels in any one location. Just about what I would expect from comcast..."
Its the same situation with DirectTV - they are counting local HD stations also.
DirectTV HD is a scam - they compress the HD signal with loss and are just starting to get online with the HD local channels Comcast users have had for years.
I have the regular DirecTV and it looks like crap (heavily compressed), and I was wondering if the HD service would look bad too... sounds like it does. It blows my mind that no one seems to care about that. I don't think anyone else in my family even notices. I hardly watch TV because DirecTV just doesn't have anything worth watching 99% of the time. We don't even get a huge chunk of the channels on the on-screen guide. I hear general disappointment from Comcast subscribers too, but it can't be as bad as DirecTV.
"Its the same situation with DirectTV - they are counting local HD stations also."
No, they're not. DirecTV has advertised HD local capacity (1500 nationally) vs. national HD capacity (150 channels) separately. They do not overlap, because they're broadcast from different transponders.
There are about 50 confirmed national HD networks that DirecTV has announced, and the press releases have listed "70+" national networks. Channels you've heard of, like CNN, Cartoon Network, Versus, NFL Network, and Animal Planet.
The sports channels are included in the "100+ by years end" that has been thrown around by the VP, but they are by no means the majority.
"Using today's technology" is a litte misleading...
Using Mpeg2 as your HD stream (in TV land) usually means an output of 19.2Mbs per stream reasulting in an 800 HD channel headend needing nearly 16Gbs of output. Using Mpeg4 (in TV land) usually means an output of 8Mbs per stream thus equalling 6.2Gbs needed for 800 channels...
But of course all that changes once you take into consideration whose DTA's the video company is using as each does certain things to make "their" output signal better than the other guys in the market...
@Doobie Howser MD:
But they aren't needing that kind of bandwidth if they plan to use Switched Video: this means that they are only sending out channels down the pipe that are digitally "selected", so that they can save on bandwidth. The problem here (as described in this post's blurb) is that this screws over anyone using CableCard 1.0... and since CableCard 2.0 isn't done, a lot of people (such as Tivo Series 3 owners) could be screwed out of a lot of this content.
Hope they offer more than one package!
Will it be free
"We're gonna have... um... 15 thousand HD channels... and... um... free HDTVs... and... errrr... we're gonna bring John Lennon back from the dead for a special concert in HD... and we're gonna buy everyone puppies and ice cream..."
Sure you are Comcast... is this before or after you buy Disney?
Now shut up.
Comcast can't provision their CableCARDs anyway, so it won't really matter if they deploy SDV.
As a future-ex-Comcast subscriber, I highly doubt any claim that Comcast makes that doesn't result in more money for them while they provide less of a service.
Half the time the current HD channels I have come in at about 16 fps.
And I live in downtown Seattle.. Comcast sucks.
it's currently unavailable...sounds like comcrap...I'll believe it when I see it...and if I can afford the price increases they'll require to match their perceived value...ack
...Comcast neglected to respond when asked whether anything GOOD would be on.
"800 HD channels and nothing's on..."
Makes Australias 5 channels look kinda... miniscule :(
i don't know what your problems but I have had 0 compliants with my comcast service.
granted i have had them since the beginning of comcast (new jersey/philly area), but yeah they are usually prompt with their service, and I have like infinity set top boxes from them that always work for me. the only rough spots were when they took over time warner in philly and occasionally the VOD would not work. but usually a quick reset of the boxes fixed everything.
the works + hd tier + nba league pass + multiple DVRs for the ultimate win!
Further research shows that Comcast is counting EVERYTHING. Got a movie on VOD in HD, that's an "HD channel selection". Got the ABC affiliate in 10 cities, that's 10 "HD channel selections". Not very interesting AT ALL.
On Demand really exists?? I'm still waiting for it in my area even though I pay for it.
@coyotej
When it comes to the CC v1 or v2 I will have to defer to you as I do not work with CC, only true IPTV on a FTTH network. However the concept of SDV works the same. In which you can make the case that the overall bandwidth listed in the article is null and void as with SDV and true IPTV you can use it over any size link you want provided you setup the right rules for it to work. I should have made it a point to list that those numbers would have been at maximum capacity in case everyone on that particular segment of the network were to watch all 800 HD channels (however unlikely)...