Comcast Denver changed channel assignments

globetrotter · 04-14-2010, 04:53 PM

Comcast is in the process of updating channel assignments in Denver. If you suddenly lose some or all of your HD channels, re-run guided setup and make sure the proper channels are checked in your updated channel lineup. On the plus side, Comcast has added about 80 new HD channels.

One question (if anyone stumbles across this thread): the new channel lineup is correct with the exception of two channels (as far as I can tell). A couple of the new HD channels are misidentified in the guide - what is now Universal HD is identified by the guide as an adult channel. Is this a problem on Comcast's end (i.e., they are sending the wrong lineup data to TiVo)?

ydc · 04-14-2010, 06:02 PM

Are you actually getting correct guide data? For me, all the new HD channels in the 700-899 range just show "To Be Announced" for what's currently on and the old (no longer working) channels in the 650-699 range still have program information. I've been fighting with comcast about this for the last few days as it doesn't appear that they've updated Tribune Media Service (as shown on zap2it or even fancast) with the new channel lineup. At least not for zip code 80104 (Castle Rock)

If you are getting correct guide data, would you mind sharing the zip code you're using so that I can run with those settings? Should be better than what I have currently (which leaves me unable to know whats on any of the HD channels).

globetrotter · 04-14-2010, 06:19 PM

I'm not getting the correct guide data, either. The guide says "To be announced" and "No information available" in the information box. I'm in zip code 80138 (Parker). FWIW, I just checked Zap2it and they don't have the proper lineup either, so it does appear to be a Comcast issue. I did report the lineup issue to TiVo and noted the missing program guide information as well.

Candide · 04-15-2010, 11:14 AM

MTV is the only new HD channel on my guide as of this morning. I live in 80104. Chatted wtih TIVO yesterday and they pretended to cluelessness, even though when you check other forums in other cities, this programming problem has happened every single time Comcast does its HD upgrade.

I think it's Comcast's way of getting TIVO users mad enough to switch to their DVR (BTW: which I also have AND which has all of the new channels and their guides up to date. Funny how that works, huh?)

Other forums seem to indicate that it takes between 3 and 10 days for Comcast to update TIVO programming. Don't you just love being a pawn in the DVR Game of Thrones?

globetrotter · 04-15-2010, 11:26 AM

Just a quick update. I chatted online with a Comcast rep yesterday who essentially said that when, how and to whom Comcast provides guide data was above his pay grade. He suggested that I call the local office to get more information about the digital upgrade and when the various stages are supposed to be complete. The only date that he gave me was 5/15, which is the targeted completion date for the project. They're rolling out the upgrade at different times in different areas, though, so I don't put much stock in that date.

Candide · 04-15-2010, 11:32 AM

people are the least informed of anyone at Comcast. They are told almost nothing about anything anytime you call them.

eskayeye · 04-15-2010, 04:38 PM

Comcast finally acknowledged the problem to me and said it will be 5 to 7 days until its resolved

nigebj · 04-16-2010, 12:58 AM

And this of course is why you DO want to be able to change the channel manually in a Season Pass - to use the guide data for the time slot to record on the new channel. Right now the kids Disney Channel archive is being 'eaten' by recordings of 679 - and no way to get the SP to use 729 ...

Ho hum!

As others have said I am sure Comcast do this to try to piss Tivo users off.

ydc · 04-16-2010, 07:38 AM

I had got them to open a ticket and send it to their 2nd level support. I got a call for them and you know what their solution was? Go on my PC, change my screen resolution to the minimum and then change it back. I was flabbergasted that someone could even propose this to fix the channel lineup on my TiVo.

Another day of trying to escalate the issue further.....

cogx · 04-16-2010, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by globetrotter

I'm not getting the correct guide data, either. The guide says "To be announced" and "No information available" in the information box. I'm in zip code 80138 (Parker). FWIW, I just checked Zap2it and they don't have the proper lineup either, so it does appear to be a Comcast issue. I did report the lineup issue to TiVo and noted the missing program guide information as well.

All you can really do is as you already did, report the problem to TiVo, so they report it to TMS. You can also report the lineup problems via Zap2It, although I have no idea what priority they give to requests coming in that way. You might end up having to do this every 7 business days for a few weeks, if my experience is typical.

nigebj · 04-16-2010, 12:40 PM

I was not aware of this page to report this kind of issue - beats banging your head against an uninformed tech:

http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport/...neup_tool.html

globetrotter · 04-16-2010, 12:52 PM

Right. I have already submitted a report to TiVo using the tool, and I think it would be a good idea for everyone who is experiencing this issue to do the same. I would hope that if several people do this, it might actually garner some attention (not holding my breath, though).

ydc · 04-16-2010, 12:59 PM

So far I have reported it to Comcast, TMS and TiVo. Hopefully one of these routes will get this resolved. I think I need to call comcast billing as well to try to get my acct credited for the loss of HD channels. I pay them too much to get such crappy service.

Candide · 04-16-2010, 02:44 PM

The tech I chatted with was completely unaware of the problem. Their supervisors are intentionally keeping them in the dark. Comcast customer service is beyond useless. They use these poor people as buffers so they don't have to answer any tough questions.

ydc · 04-17-2010, 09:20 AM

I chatted with Comcast again today (I guess I needed something to ruin my good mood) and escalated the issue some more. I still have no confidence that they are doing anything to fix this (despite their assurances that customer service is their top priority), but at least was able to get a $20 credit on my bill. A pittance really, but if enough people do it, maybe it will send a message.

It helped that I had been using their online chat feature for most of my interactions with them, so I had direct quotes from CSRs who had told me patently false information.

Candide · 04-17-2010, 03:12 PM

In addition to MTV (723) I am now getting 705 (KTVD) and the wrong guides for HDnet (853) and Universal HD (854) which show as Playboy and HOT. Well done Comcast!

globetrotter · 04-17-2010, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Candide

In addition to MTV (723) I am now getting 705 (KTVD) and the wrong guides for HDnet (853) and Universal HD (854) which show as Playboy and HOT. Well done Comcast!

Yeah, I've had the Playboy and HOT guides as well on those channels (it can make for entertaining juxtapositions between what the guide says is on versus what is actually on screen).

gastrof · 04-18-2010, 03:34 PM

Guys...

If this is a lineup problem where your TiVo shows one thing, but the actual lineup on Comcast is another, TELL TIVO, not Comcast.

http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport/...neup_tool.html

ydc · 04-18-2010, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gastrof

Guys...

If this is a lineup problem where your TiVo shows one thing, but the actual lineup on Comcast is another, TELL TIVO, not Comcast.

http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport/...neup_tool.html

I have done this, as well as reporting it to Tribune Media Services at http://www.zap2it.com/services/site/...,6935396.story who provides the listings that TiVo uses.

While both will probably have better contacts within Comcast to get this resolved, the heart of the issue lies with Comcast not informing Tribune of the changes. Since TiVo and TMS have the report and info, best to escalate with Comcast at this point.

Coloradolime · 04-20-2010, 05:10 PM

Hey all - THanks for this thread, I thought I was going insane!

It's so frustrating not being able to use the guide to select shows or have any of my season passes work.

I've logged my complaints with all the places listed. Here's hoping it gets fixed soon!

ydc · 04-20-2010, 06:05 PM

So now I have escalated this to their corporate customer support escalation found here:

http://twitter.com/comcastcares

(Basically email we_can_help@cable.comcast.com). Got an email back and a then a phone call from someone in that office. The person basically admitted that they were not prepared as much as they should have been when they started rolling out this "World Of More". Apparently this is being done in 4 different phases where Denver proper was first, suburbs next, and who knows what the next batches of victims are after that.

She is sending out a local field supervisor to the house in order to attempt resolving this issue. Obviously that will do no good as the issue lies with updating Tribune and not with my TiVo, but maybe having someone from Comcast see this with their own eyes will make a difference.

Also, she said that she expects the Denver Suburbs will get updated guide data when the NEXT batch of customers get welcomed to the World Of More.... She said that would be on April 22nd (two days from now). I'm skeptical that this is true however because I went and checked Fancast for a Denver zipcode (80220) and it looks like their guide info is out of date as well and that phase is supposed to be done.

Anyway, it might help to email that address, at least if nothing else to raise the visibility even further as to how completely horked this rollout is going for more than just a few people.

globetrotter · 04-20-2010, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ydc

Anyway, it might help to email that address, at least if nothing else to raise the visibility even further as to how completely horked this rollout is going for more than just a few people.

I did as you suggested and e-mailed the address with detailed information about the problem and what I've done so far to alert Comcast. It's been a week now since I've had guide data, and I'm starting to wonder why I'm paying over $100 a month for cable and internet.

Candide · 04-21-2010, 05:34 PM

Here's somebody who is "looking into" it for me at Comcast.

Vinisha_Chugani@cable.comcast.com

swingley · 04-21-2010, 10:16 PM

I'm on Comcast in Nashville and recently noticed the channel listing on my Series 2 Tivos had gone from roughly 99 channels down to channels 2-22. Any other channel gave me the To Be Announced guide data. I've played around with it tonight and think I've found a solution.

I ran guided setup and told the Tivo that I didn't know what cable provider I have. The Tivo then started asking me to identify the network programming that I get on Channel 2, 3, and so on. I told it I didn't know. I repeated the "I don't know" answer for the next 5 or 6 channels. At that point my Tivo indicated that it had 4 options for me to choose from. The first was the Basic Comcast lineup which matches the lineup the Guided Setup defaulted to and the one I did not want. I selected No, this is not my lineup. The second one was Extended Basic, which is the one I wanted. I selected that, and now have all of the channels I expected to have for my Series 2 boxes.

One other note, during all of this, I did not have any of these problems on my Series 3 Tivo.

I'm not sure its exactly the same as what you are seeing, but will add this information for you to give it a shot.

ydc · 04-21-2010, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Candide

Here's somebody who is "looking into" it for me at Comcast.

Vinisha_Chugani@cable.comcast.com

Yep, this is the same person who has my escalation as well. She sent a field supervisor to my home today who re-paired the cable card (was nervous about that!) and then had me re-run the guided setup. It had the predictable result of having no effect. I still have the same exact guide data that is on zap2it and fancast for my zipcode (i.e. the only new HD channels it shows are 705 and 723).

Vinisha said that she's going to have someone at corporate work with TiVo and that TiVo might call me. Don't know what that would accomplish as I've explained to everyone at Comcast who would(n't) listen that it all begins with them updating Tribune with the new channel lineup and TiVo can't do anything about that.

I then later got a callback from the field supervisor who indicated that his contact (the guy on the other end of the call when they were re-pairing my cards) said that they would have the data synced up in about a week. Sounds suspiciously like what someone reported earlier in this thread on April 15th.

So a lot of activity from Comcast in the last few days but I don't really feel like I'm any closer to having guide data than I was a week ago....

Candide · 04-22-2010, 10:42 AM

person: Royace_Durham@cable.comcast.com

Of course I am getting the "I am shocked, shocked to find gambling going on in here ..." nonsense. They know this a problem everywhere and they just don't care. They'd rather add insult to injury and pretend it has something to do with your TIVO account. God it's hard not to hate these guys.

Candide · 04-22-2010, 12:10 PM

Here is the official Comcast response to my escalation. At the least they have stopped insulting my intelligence with the "What's your account number? Have you restarted your TIVO? Maybe we'll send out a tech?" nonsense.

"Thank you for contacting our executive office with your concerns. We value your business and would like the opportunity to address your concerns as quickly as possible.

As you may already may be aware Channels that are transmitted in analog format take up more space on our systems than the same channels when they are transmitted in digital format. Digital channels also provide better picture quality. By migrating cable channels from analog to digital, we are able to utilize our bandwidth more efficiently to deliver an improved product to our customers with more HD content, faster Internet speeds and much more. The TiVo guide information is updated by Tribune and Comcast has already provided the appropriate updates which can take up to 3 weeks to be updated. I apologize for the inconvenience and I have provided you with a onetime courtesy credit of to your Comcast account. Please keep in mind Comcast does not control the length of time it takes for Tribune to provide the appropriate data to TiVo or the time it takes TiVo to update their systems, when appropriate.

Comcast is dedicated to providing the highest quality products and services backed by the highest quality support. Should you need any technical assistance or if you have billing or product inquiries please call us anytime 24 hours a day at 1-800-COMCAST, (1-800-266-2278).

We appreciate your continued patronage and we look forward to continuing to serve your entertainment and communication needs.
Sincerely,
Shaun Hogan"

Is it time to focus our energy on Tribune???

globetrotter · 04-22-2010, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Candide

Here is the official Comcast response to my escalation. At the least they have stopped insulting my intelligence with the "What's your account number? Have you restarted your TIVO? Maybe we'll send out a tech?" nonsense.

What you posted is word for word the response I got. I'm still not convinced that anyone at Comcast actually knows whether the correct information was provided to Tribune. This seems like a stock response that they give just so they can say that they've done everything on their end. I don't believe that anyone at Comcast has actually followed through and checked to see when the updates were provided to Tribune (if they were at all).

Candide · 04-22-2010, 02:42 PM

but I forwarded the relevant paragraphs from my Comcast email response to Tribune Media care of:

Channel Guide Magazine
Tammi Scherbarth, Manager of Client Services 414.247.2191 tscherbarth@tribune.com

No response as of yet.

ydc · 04-22-2010, 08:44 PM

I got an email from Comcast this afternoon. They have been in contact with TiVo and from that they wanted me to verify the channel lineup that I have. The thing is, the channels that they sent me to verify are all SD channels!

I can't tell you how many times I've explained to Comcast that this issue is regarding the new HD channel lineup! The person I'm not working with in the corporate office has been chasing the wrong issue and thus he's come to the conclusion that it is a TiVo issue. Oh brother, what do I have to do to find someone who will actually listen and get this issue fixed!