HDHR + Comcast (Seattle) HD channel errors

[seanmitchell]

I have my HDHR connected and the Comcast Seattle lineup. I'm getting the standard channels but when tuning to HD channels Sage tells me there are stream errors. (Default VLC player with HDHR crashes)

Any ideas?

Thanks

sean mitchell

[Fluffdaddy]

Do you setup and installed your HDHR BEFORE you booted up sage?

I was getting errors when I setup my HDHR when Sage was running. This is a no-no

[evilpenguin]

I just set up the HDHR last week in Seattle and everything worked ok for me. I'll check again when I get home to see if something changed.

[seanmitchell]

I did set up the HDHR first. Another data point.... I'm on extended basic cable I don't actually have a Comcast digital box.

The channels I'm talking about are the local broadcast HD channels (KING, KIRO etc.)

sean

[evilpenguin]

What are the Channel and program numbers that are giving you the trouble?

[seanmitchell]

Seems like all the HD ones. 85-2 King HD, 82-4 Komo HD These will occasionally show up with artifacts in the HDHR supplied VLC. But they won't play at all under sage

111-1 Fox HD crashes the HDHR VLC and again won't play in Sage.

sean

[coryking]

Sorry to derail this thread but...

Hello fellow Seattle SageTV users! I've had the damnest time figuring out if I want to go hi-def with Sagetv. The only question I have is:

- Will I get Discovery & History channel in hi-def via Comcast in Seattle using my SageTV?
- If so, how? Firewire? HD-Homerun? Secret handshake with the devil?

I have not been able to find the answer to this. Everything always says "what you get depends on (insert random thing)". I don't want to sink money into a new hi-def TV and new computer hardware only to find that the only hi-def content I can record is KING5 or channel 9.

I am very seriously considering putting together a website to answer this very question...

[jlindborg]

The "clear" (unencrypted) QAM content via HDHR on Comcast does not include discovery or the history chanel - so no go there. You can dance with the devil if you like but it's not going to help with this problem...

Yes, you can do something like a modified box (i.e. R5000 mods: http://www.nextcomwireless.com/r5000/home.htm) that give you a way to capture HD output off a satalite or cable box - but they are quite expensive and my experince with R5000 on the DirecTV with Sage was less than ideal - although that was a while ago and I'm sure things have improved since then. But be ready to cough up some $$$ if you want to go that route.

[coryking]

Wow. That is sad, sad news :-(

It is really a shame that we've wound up this way. Just thinking about it makes me want to chuck the whole mess out the window, tell the whole media industry to bite me and sit in a corner and cry... I can only hope that the complex mess "they" have made of HDTV will backfire because if a nerd like me can't figure it out, than there is NO WAY a "normal" person could.

This is sad, very very sad news. I hate seeing letterboxing around Dirty Jobs, Modern Marvels and now even Survivourman and know that I'm missing out....

[evilpenguin]

Originally Posted by seanmitchell

Seems like all the HD ones. 85-2 King HD, 82-4 Komo HD These will occasionally show up with artifacts in the HDHR supplied VLC. But they won't play at all under sage

111-1 Fox HD crashes the HDHR VLC and again won't play in Sage.

sean

I tested everything out on my setup and it was working OK. Its possible that you are having signal issues that are causing bad transport streams. I'd recommend calling your cable company and telling them that you are getting "very bad video blocking and audio drop outs" on your HD channels; don't meantion the HDhomerun, Sage, or anything complicated like that. That should get them to send someone over with a signal level/quality meter who will be able to see if this is the case.