Re: Comcast and 8VSB

Alan F wrote:
> TheWebJunkie@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 wrote:
>> According to a supposedly knowledgeable member of their technical
staff,
>> Comcast Cable -- at least Comcast Cable of South Florida -- is planning
>> on providing their local broadcast feeds in 8VSB instead of clear QAM
in
>> order to make them compatible with generic digital-to-analog
converters.
>> Can anyone here confirm this?
> 
>  Comcast has a knowledgeable member of a technical staff who answers
> the phone?? Was this a service rep making a house call or CSR on the
> phone? Semi-seriously, the first rule about dealing with cable companies
> CSRs is that if they had a in-depth technical understanding of the
> system, they would be working in the back rooms or on the engineering
> staff, not answering the phone.
> 
>  I have not read any re****ts that Comcast would provide local digital
> stations in 8-VSB. QAM is more efficient for cable, provides more
> bandwidth, and most new TVs have clear QAM tuners. Yes, Comcast could
> provide locals in 8-VSB, but I don't know if the coupon eligible
> converter boxes with work with cable channel frequencies (beyond
> channels 2-13).
> 
>  Alan F

The coupon eligible converters are intended for OTA use, not cable.