[mythtv-users] Charter moving around QAM channels

stefan_jones at comcast.net stefan_jones at comcast.net
Thu May 14 21:09:38 UTC 2009


> On Thu, May 14, 2009 at 11:47 AM, <stefan_jones at comcast.net> wrote: 
> > Hillsboro, Oregon. The entire Comcast footprint here is going digital. The 
> > analog channels went away on 4/29. For a few weeks my Myth system was 
> > happily recording from the digital channels. Then poof. 

> From: "Brad Fuller" <bradallenfuller at gmail.com> 
> To: "Discussion about mythtv" <mythtv-users at mythtv.org> 
> Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2009 1:42:10 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific 
> Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Charter moving around QAM channels 
> 
> Interesting. I'm in SF bay area and didn't see any announcement of 
> when the shutoff will be for us. Has anyone? 

Believe me, you'll know when it is about to happen. Comcast started sending out flyers months in advance. They also called, and put announcements on the air. 

Things happened in roughly three stages: 

* SD digital mirrors of the analog "Standard Cable" lineup started appearing. Your HDTV can pick these up. They include the entire range of channels, from 2 to (in my area) 71. The analog channels still exist. 

* Comcast begins nagging you to request the a set of free STBs. Specifically, one fully featured (but not HD) box, and up to two "DTAs," which are low-end digital converters . . . no channel guide or On Demand capabilities. They map the digital channels described above into the familiar Standard Cable map. Neither device passes along HD channels; what comes out is ONE signal. If your MythTV tuner listens to it, you'll need an IR blaster to make it change channels. But if you are willing to scan around and make a channels.conf file, you'll be able to tune into the digital channels. 

* On the day of the cutoff, the analog channels begin showing crawls telling viewers they have one last chance to obey. Several weeks after the announced cutoff, the analog channels go away. If you don't have a STB or DTA, your analog recievers will only get channels 2-31 (in my area). 

Based on my experience, the map will change at least once more . . . that is what happened yesterday. I HOPE this is a one-time only deal to make room for contiguous HDTV and on-demand channels. 

This morning I left a scanner script (look on the Adding QAM channels wiki page) going to look for viable digital stations. When I get home tonight I'll use .mplayer to view them and determine their identity . . . only a few signals contain the station call sign. Then I'll update my channels.conf and import it. 


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