[mythtv-users] Comcast MPEG4 requirements?

[Gary Buhrmaster]

On Mon, Feb 15, 2016 at 12:16 AM, Kirk Bocek <t004 at kbocek.com> wrote:
....
> Just got my MPEG-4 letter too. 2/23 also. Looks like only sent to cable card users.

That is the claimed intent.  There is supposedly a different
letter to those that have a known STB that cannot support
H.264 (Comcast knows what equipment you are renting).
[I do not know of anyone with both an STB that is too
old and has a CableCARD, so I do not know for sure they
get two mailings, but I believe that is what is supposed
to happen.]

And apparently (again using the "call home" capability)
if you have one STB that is not H.264 compatible that
a message will pop up on (all) your STB screens at
some intervals (telling you to take action, and telling you
how).

The message occurs as long as one STB on your account
is marked as not being capable (so if you have 4 STBs,
and only one is a DCH unit, all 4 will (occasionally?) pop
up a message until you exchange the DCH unit and it gets
off your account).  There is a way to contact Comcast
and get the account marked to stop the messages, but
it (apparently) requires numerous manual interactions,
so it is usually easier to just follow the directions to get
a new box (either walk into an office, or Comcast will
send you a new box via shipping service, and also
instructions about how to simply take your old box to
any UPS store who will pack and ship the unit back to
Comcast at no cost to the individual).  Yes, there are
some people who will need Comcast to roll a truck
to exchange the unit (wires can be so complicated),
and it is not a free service, so there can be a real
expense for the few.

Comcast is trying (to their credit) to try to make sure no
one gets surprised, or can legitimately claim that they
were not notified(*).

btw, I suspect Comcast deferred some conversions
to wait for the TiVo update (TiVo relented, and updated
the software for the later revisions of the S3 boxes
(the HD and HD XL) which had H.264 hardware, but
it was not supported (which required them to purchase
new boxes (which TiVo priced aggressively, but not
free), and the community was up in arms).  The
original S3 customers are still out of luck (but TiVo
does have their aggressive pricing).





(*) In every franchise, there is a steady stream of
customers calling or walking into the local office
after the changes that ask "WTF?" even though
they should have gotten some notice.  Some,
perhaps, really never saw a pop-up (their TV was
never on?), and really did have their mail stolen, but
some probably just tossed the "ACTION REQUIRED"
letters into the trash (well, they did take action).
I admit to usually tossing any Comcast/Xfinity
letters in the trash before I open them too.