I'm in boston with comcast digital cable. I just hooked up a mythtv box, spent forever figuring out why i got no channels, then finally realized that I just get the basic lineup (15 channels, mostly available over the air). So I called up comcast, and mentioned that I was from boston and they informed me that they no longer offer an analogue signal for even their standard able. Anyone else having this problem? Is there a work around? Im thinking of getting a second digital box from ebay, does this option work?
Thanks

Can you change providers? Out here I've got 2-3 options so they seem a bit better behaved. Nothing like competition to keep 'em honest...

I'd really be interested in confirmation that Comcast is actually starting to turn off analog cable service in some markets.

I've read stories where they'll stop carrying certain channels on analog, in order to "encourage" people to switch to digital. But nothing where they completely stop offering analog.

I'd be happy to go digital IF they charged the same amount as my current service, but not if I have to pay a premium for a bunch of channels I don't want or need.

The writing sure is on the wall, though: just saw this in avsforum that claims that the majority of cable TV subscribers are digital.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=625552

I am in the Philadelphia area with the most basic analog package + a few movie channels and Comcast has recently made Starz, Encore, Movie and Cinemas digital only. Others basics + HBO still work analog.
I personally think Comcast is shooting themselves in the foot, Verizon FIOS is already here which I switched the day I got the 15/2 mbs promos and I heard Verizon will start offering TV over FIOS in PA ala carte' soon. Frankly as soon as Comcast makes HBO digital only, goodbye Comcast. There are plenty of other sources to get the few TV shows I watch, I may just pay another friend with FIOS to host a MythTV box on his DirectTV setup and use it like a PVR. I would rather give the money to my friend.

I'm still waiting for the day that Verizon stops trying to tell me what a bargain their crappy ADSL offering is, when even their top of the line package is both slower and more expensive than my cable modem, and makes "Fiber to the premises" a reality.

I am in the nashville market, and comcast still has analog. It truly will suck if they stop, and unfortunately there is no cable competition around here.

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Xsecrets

I have a friend in Boston who I think has comcast cable. He told me that to get a computer tuner to work with his cable he had to select the "other" NTSC signal type. I can't remember exactly what the selection is called "NTSC-fb" maybe.

Off the subject, my city is starting to offer fiber to the home service compleat with cable, telephone and brodband. Sounds great except I would have to pay like $50 extra a month to get the premium cable channels just to add speedvision. But I totaly couldn't care less about the our 75 channels that come with the premium package. And I hate having to lease cableboxes for every TV.

Rant over. I had to vent there a bit.

Well I'll give a shot to NTSC-jp (the only other NTSC TV Format I see listed). But I'd think that the problem is either the frequency table is different or these channels are digital now. We'll see when I get home--thanks for the tip.

btw, is there anyway you could check with your friend for me? Specifically if he's using USA-cable or USA-cable-hrc?
Thanks

I'll ask my friend tonight. But now that you said it, I remember the setting he used was USA-cable-hrc. I'll verify with him and get back to you.

Not really alot to worry about here, all you need is an IR blaster. Send the signal from the wall to the cable box, then from the box to myth, then from myth to the tv. This way you can get all your channels including digital. I finally got around to doing this myself this week and it's a godsend.

well yes you can do it that way, but then you have to have one cable box for every tuner, which sucks. right now I have one cable box running firewire to the knoppmyth box and two analog tuners running straight from the wall, and I don't have to mess with any sort of irblaster or anything, and I don't have to pay a rental fee for every simotanious recording I want to do.

_________________
Have a question search the forum and have a look at the KnoppMythWiki.

Xsecrets

I agree having to pay a rental fee for each decoder box is unacceptible. And that is of corse ontop of the fee for digital service. They charge you going in and charge you going out.

My firend in Boston said he indeed has Comcast cable and to use an anologue tuner has to use the USA-cable-hrc setting. But he has a digital cablebox so doesn't effect him too much.

So I noticed that I can see the missing channels (but they are very scrambled) SO this made me think that they arent digital. In fact, for a few days, I actually got them to tune. However, it's again scrambled and they are telling me that i need a digital tuner to descramble the analogue signal... ugh. so apparently they put a new filter on the line?