Comcast, Cablecard, and HDTV

delfave

I have Comcast with Cablecard, Digital Package, HDTV. They are now charging me a $6.50 monthly fee for "HDTV Equipment" which they claim is for the HD Cablecard "upgrade." I just got off the phone with them and they insist that a regular (non-HD) card is free (my bill shows $0.00 for Cable Card), but that to receive HD programming I need the upgraded card which requires a fee. This is news to me and nowhere on their site is this specified. I argued that they list the $6.50 charge for an HDTV Digital Converter and this is not what I have. I was told that the Cablecard is the same as the Digital Converter.

I was not charged this fee prior to January of this year and I was told that this was an oversight, that I should have been paying the fee all along. Anyone else getting this runaround?

DaveJ

del
I have Comcast in the SF bay area. I have the digital starter package with the Motorola 6412 DVR which provides the HD signal though HDMI. I do not have a card. The DVR fee is included in the package (I have the triple play).
Does that answer your question?
dave

Lee Stewart

Hi and welcome to HDF

Here is an FAQ about CC's from Comcast:

How much will I be charged to use a CableCARD?

http://www.comcast.com/customers/faq...s.ashx?Id=2651

Please note the DISCLAIMER at the bottom.

And it says nothing about HD CC's.

delfave

Thanks for the welcome. Nice to find this website.

I've read that & other Comcast pages. I also have the most recent list of prices for their services for my area. It seems pretty clear. No charge for the first cablecard, no separate HD programming level (since its included in the Digital Classic - which was combined with the Digital Preferred level).

And of course there is no mention of HD Cablecards. They don't exist. I've read through the CableLabs documentation, including SCTE standards for Cablecards. There is absolutely no mention of SD or HD because Cablecards have nothing to do with distinguishing those formats. Cablecards perform decryption and access control. That's it.

The Comcast rep changed his story three times regarding why I was being charged the HDTV fee. First it was for my HD converter box (I told him I didn't have one). Then he said it was to receive the HD programming (I pointed him to Comcast's HD 101 page which specifically states that they do not charge extra for HD channels), then he settled on the cablecard. I told him my price list states the first card is free, and then he came up with the story of the upgrade to an HD card, saying an SD card had no charge, the upgraded one did. He said this was the policy. I asked him where this policy was written and he said he didn't have it in front of him. What a bunch of nonsense. The only question I have left is whether he was outright lying or whether someone did tell him there were such things as SD and HD cards, and an upgrade fee.

My next step is to complain to my local cable commission and the FCC, though I have no idea how effective that will be.

Sykotic

You may be getting a pay level of HD programming. Usually the free HD tier consists on nothing more than a few local HD channels. But just to have a cable card that actually working.. Worth the $$.

mikerst

I have 2 dual tuner cable cards for my TIVO's from Comcast. The first one is free, and I think I pay $1.49 a month for the second one. I live in Washington State.

Good Luck.

bicker

What you're seeing is a mirroring fee. The CableCARD itself cannot HD or non-HD, but rather the service being provided through it can be.

delfave

Mirroring fee? What's being mirrored? I have one Digital/HD TV, one cablecard, no cable box. So I have only one way of decoding Comcast's digital signal.

davecramer74

they arent suppose to charge you for that card. Thats the whole point of having cable cards so they arent cornering the set top box market by making you use and pay for theirs.

__________________

Vizio 42" LCD
Phillips 50" plasma

bicker

Your digital service is being mirrored.

Then there is an error on your account; they probably think you have a cable box. You should get that corrected.

bicker

They are supposed to charge for CableCARDs. One cable converter box or one CableCARD is included in the package fee, if you have a digital package. If you have just basic or standard cable, then you will pay a fee for a CableCARD -- definitely less than ten dollars a month.

Sykotic

Terms of Service can vary by market. And in the itty bitty print.. lawyer style.. it says can be change at any time.

glennb1

No. The whole point is that a company like TiVo can make a DVR with a digital cable converter built in and the cable company can charge you a monthly fee to rent the cablecard(s) you need to use the TiVo DVR with a digital cable converter built in. Oh yeah, don't forget - you also have to pay TiVo a monthly fee to use the DVR.

bicker

TiVo also offers a lifetime service option; pay one price up-front and avoid monthly fees.

Suby

Got the link to this? Sounds good to me.