Ron Newman ([personal profile] ron_newman) wrote in [community profile] davis_square2009-10-03 11:53 am
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Comcast digital transition?

A friend in Arlington received a letter from Comcast informing her that all Extended Basic* channels (24 and above) will soon be transmitted only in digital, and that she would need a cable box or digital adapter to continue receiving them. The letter says the analog signals will go away in two stages, some on October 20 and the rest on November 18.

Is this happening only in Arlington, or have Somerville and Cambridge customers received similar notices? ETA: If you got such a letter, what dates does it give for the transition?

* this means stuff like NESN, ESPN, CNN, MTV, AMC and the like -- not pay-channels such as HBO and Showtime

I got the same notice

[identity profile] taipeitigers.livejournal.com 2009-10-03 04:01 pm (UTC)(link)
I am in N. Cambridge. I don't understand what it meant though because I already had a cable box.
ext_12410: (Default)

[identity profile] tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com 2009-10-03 04:06 pm (UTC)(link)
i got a notice last month and now have a digital adapter sitting on my floor because i've been to lazy to hook it up. (i have extended cable - i guess that's what it's called - i don't get hbo or showtime but do get, like, tbs and usa and the cartoon network and a&e and ten or fifteen news channels.)

[identity profile] ruthling.livejournal.com 2009-10-03 04:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Medford did, too, and I don't know what it means. Mostly I get cable to have internet so if they cut off my tv, I guess I'll just use more hulu

[identity profile] soong.livejournal.com 2009-10-03 04:29 pm (UTC)(link)
This is happening to me in Medford and I am cranky about it becauese they're giving me less service for the same cost in the future. :-(

[identity profile] clevernonsense.livejournal.com 2009-10-03 04:51 pm (UTC)(link)
I am in cambrdige and got one. I imagine it is comcast-wide--it'll let them sideswipe a lot of tricks that make it easy to steal analog signals.

[identity profile] pushupstairs.livejournal.com 2009-10-03 08:03 pm (UTC)(link)
when I moved from Somerville to Dorchester about 2 years ago, Comcast in Boston was already like this. the only stations that came in on a TV without a cable box were the networks and a very few others like NECN and The Weather Channel.

[identity profile] laryu.livejournal.com 2009-10-03 08:36 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm in Somerville and got a similar letter. However, there was no mention of two phases, just one transition (for analog 24-69) on January 5.

[identity profile] chenoameg.livejournal.com 2009-10-04 12:17 am (UTC)(link)
The last Somerville letter I got had dates in December, but that I could pick up an adaptor for free from Comcast. I have not yet worked out how or if such adaptor would work with my existing digital video recorder (an old Replay).

[identity profile] crschmidt.livejournal.com 2009-10-05 03:46 am (UTC)(link)
Cambridgeport did this transition in July of 2008, according to the message on the screen when I hooked up my non-digital TiVo in August of 2008. (I've also confirmed this with another person who lives nearby.) (I was checking channels in the 30-50 range.)

I never read naything comcast sends me, so I wouldn't have seen anything they sent in the mail about it.

Call Them

[identity profile] digital01.livejournal.com 2009-11-23 12:06 am (UTC)(link)
You may want to call the company and talk to them.

comcast cable box (http://www.xomba.com/comcast_cable_box_questions_and_troubleshootings)