Your'e right...I have 3 and the 3rd one I had to beat them up for.
It's free for a year then $5/mo or so.

Hopefully by then they will offer HD set tops for free. Just say you're ready
to defect to Dish or U-Verse...they are sensitive to that.

Mark

--- In ATLDTV@yahoogroups.com, "P. C. Williams" <pcw_ill@...> wrote:
>
> are you sure that the SD digital starter boxes are free? I hope that is the
case, but I thought that the first two were free...after that they begin
charging for each additional box.
>
> See Ya, I'm out
> PC
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: engdir5555 <Markf10355@...>
> To: ATLDTV@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Wed, February 3, 2010 2:14:25 PM
> Subject: [ATLDTV] QAM
>
>
> QAM is simply the modulation technique of choice for most US cable companies.
Intenationally it's called DVB-C.
> Broadcasters, by FCC mandate use 8VSB which has a pilot.
> Unlike analog, these are best suited for these individual applications.
Satellite is different as well - QPSK or 8PSK there.
> Analog was FM.
>
> It's selection was on its own merits from performamce and business.
>
> There are various constellations of QAM from 64 QAM to 1024 QAM which can be
used to produce a better bits/hertz payload if the cable system is cabapble of
higher bandwidths. 256 QAM (Quadtrature Amplitude Modulation is most common on
750 MHz HFC cable systems including COMCAST here. Most DTV sets will decode
unencrypted ATSC (8VSB) or QAM - try it by scanning!
>
> The FCC has nothing to do with this QAM selection. The cable company uses a
"virtual channel" approach to coordinating mapping these channels thru their set
top boxes. These SD "digital starter boxes" are free now in ATL.
>
> Occasionally they will move RF channel assigments to reposition for better
thru-put and compatibility with HSI & telcon services.
> They don't have to provide any QAM channel info - this is internal info.
>
> Best way to stay up on this is to rescan every few weeks, or when your TV set
drops a channel (like NBC & CBS earlier this month) and your set will find it.
Then spend 30 minutes or so just "incrementing thru" to see where they are.
Some channels also respond to "11.1 and 46.1" (go to 11 and increment up!)
Others don't. The local broadcaster signals are unencrypted for now - but don't
have to be. You can also enjoy the "multicast channels) when so operated (8.2,
8.3, 2.3, 11.2. 11.3, etc) by incremeting up when you find the signal. These
are not required at all by the FCC but an offereing from COMACST.
>
> Enjoy
>
> Mark Fehlig
> Snellville
>
> --- In ATLDTV@yahoogroups. com, Lee <hammorama@ ..> wrote:
> >
> > I put out the excel spreadsheet, but haven't updated it due to the very poor
QAM service in my Comcast node. Right now there is no WXIA or WGCL; PBA 30, and
all of the 92-201 thru 212 series coming in. In the case of PBA 30 it's poor
signal strength; in the others it's nothing. WXIA and WGCL have been out for two
days now...the others months. WXIA was on 108-806 and WGCL on 108-10. Some
mentioned that they were in the 73 range but currently not finding anything.
> >
> > Comcast doesn't acknowledge the existence of QAM and provides it no support.
If they did, there would be a lineup on their website. The only way to correct
the problems in my area would be to know a Comcast lineman who could make the
necessary corrections at the source, but I have no such connections. I don't
know if these issues are at the headend (Sandy Springs, in my case) or due to
defective relay/booster boxes along the way. Recently I had such poor signal
strength on broadband that I could not get on the internet, even though a signal
was being detected at the modem. A service man came out and boosted the signal
strength by some tweaking at the service entrance but said "I don't really know
much about digital TV" (meaning QAM) and couldn't do anything. A previous thread
discussed how awful Comcast is for customer support. This is just another
incident in a long sorry story.
> >
> > Does anyone know how QAM is fed into the system? Or where there's a good
link that explains the technology of QAM and HD encrypted cable distribution?
Are they feeding two digital formats simultaneously along with the internet
connection in one wire? And why are they transmitting QAM at all unless there is
an FCC mandate to do so?
> >
> > I really dread having to get into negotiating with them every six months in
order to get their HD package and converter box at a reasonable price. OTA is
not an option in my area and never was even in the analog era.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ____________ _________ _________ __
> > From: i_love_lucy_ 1967 <dmcuvar@ >
> > To: ATLDTV@yahoogroups. com
> > Sent: Thu, January 28, 2010 8:43:57 PM
> > Subject: [ATLDTV] Anyone have an updated channel list?
> >
> >
> > Someone posted a file with a channel list back in May of 2009. Does anyone
have a recently updated channel list since Comcast changed everything around?
If so, please upload the file.
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
>