# Comcast 1000+ Channels Guide Data



## NGeorge (Feb 27, 2004)

Hey All; 

About a month ago, I noticed that my Bolt+ has been mirroring all the Comcast channels in the 1000+ range, however the guide data shows "Coming Soon". I am able to tune into these channels, however the guide data hasn't shown up in the 30 or so days that the channels have shown in the guide. The channel names are listed correctly. I am in the Seattle market. 

Does anyone know when the guide data will be available -- or if Tivo can make it show up if I send them an e-mail? 

I'd really like to get that guide data -- coming from DirecTV a few months ago where the channel lineup makes sense, the Comcast lineup... simply sucks. The channels are split between some SD-only channels in the 2-99 range and 100's - 200's, music video channels in the 400's mixed with some sports channels, movies in the 500's, and HD channels and other sports channels in the 600's and 700's. They basically "threw everything together" and aside from the movie channels grouped together (except for MoviePlex which is in the 100's, and IndiePlex and RetroPlex in the high 600's), if one channel is in HD and another is in SD, they are all separated and it is a mess. 

Comcast has appeared to fix this nicely in the 1000's, as everything is grouped together in a lineup that makes sense... but I don't have the guide data yet.

Any ideas? 

Thanks!
N


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

Report it as a lineup issue to TiVo (open a ticket or you can use the form below).

Report a Lineup Issue

Scott


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## CTLesq (Jan 19, 2003)

HerronScott said:


> Report it as a lineup issue to TiVo (open a ticket or you can use the form below).
> 
> Report a Lineup Issue
> 
> Scott


Very helpful for both the suggestion for the better channel organization and to fix the incomplete guide data cited by the OP - I have he same situation.

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## IraF (Jan 22, 2002)

Comcast DVR gets the guide data for those 1000+ channels.

The channel lineup is probably an improvement once you get used to the mixing of SD with HD, though depending on one's setup, browsing through channels could cause TV to reset on each station. I don't mind knowing where my HD channels are, as I generally avoid the SD channels. Maybe I'm just used to the lineup.

The local stations are not organized well. If this is supposed to be a consistent national guide, how could local stations be well organized? Different markets have different numbers of stations, and then some of them have subchannels.


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## NGeorge (Feb 27, 2004)

IraF said:


> The channel lineup is probably an improvement once you get used to the mixing of SD with HD, though depending on one's setup, browsing through channels could cause TV to reset on each station. I don't mind knowing where my HD channels are, as I generally avoid the SD channels. Maybe I'm just used to the lineup.
> 
> The local stations are not organized well. If this is supposed to be a consistent national guide, how could local stations be well organized? Different markets have different numbers of stations, and then some of them have subchannels.


I could imagine that if you have had Comcast all the time you may be used to it... I had DirecTV for 16 years, HD since 2003 and when they merged it into the lineup in 2007 (before that DirecTV HD was in the 70's-90's far away from everything else similar to Comcast now) and so have really got used to the HD and SD channels grouped together -- as they add HD channels, DirecTV replaces the SD feed on the same channel number. If you want it to show both SD and HD channels next to each other, there is a menu for that and it will duplicate everything with a -1 for the HD's... not sure why anyone would do that though. To each their own, but I just prefer having everything grouped together in similar "areas" since there are some things still in SD that I watch (older shows etc). DirecTV has locals on their regular SD channels... so if it's channel 4, it's 4 in HD or SD (if you turn on the menu option to duplicate or if it's a sd only receiver).

At least in this area it looks like Comcast has done a good job of organizing locals in the 1000 range... 4 is the SD version, 1004 is the HD... they've really improved the subchannels as well -- the subchannels are in the 300's now. With the combined lineup they are in the 1100's, then basics HD/SD are in the 1200's+... for the most part if it's a SD in the 200's, it's now in the 1200's on the same number. They've moved some of the 100's SD's to the 1200's as well since the subchannels are in 1100's now... which makes a lot more sense.

I'll submit the lineup form tonight and see if they can get it turned on... I still wish Tivo could just do what the satellite companies do -- since it does pop up the "press D for HD" button when you tune to an SD channel -- I don't know why they can't just make an option to have it do it immediately if HD is available... then I could just load the legacy SD channels in and be good to go -- and have an option to turn it off if you like them split.

It's not so much having different numbers to learn as it is not having things grouped together in similar themes... On DirecTV I always liked knowing if I put in 340 I could surf down through news with the exception of CNN (which has been on 202 since the beginning... rumor was they paid for that location), 225 and down for home and travel, 300 and down for Nick At Night, TV Land, Viacom networks etc.


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## IraF (Jan 22, 2002)

In the 1000+ range, I have so far only spotted SD channels where there is no corresponding HD version, and I don't see a setting to show SD/HD duplicates adjacently with a -1 suffix.

Either this is a work in progress, or their intention is to show only HD channels in the guide (and maybe make them the only channels the equipment can tune to) if the HD channel exists when the customer has an HD cable box and is paying the HD technology fee. The same channel numbers ma be re-used for SD when the user has only got SD service.

The lineup for local channels is disorganized. The set of our local channels that are broadcast network affiliates (or owned-and-operated):

2 - 702 - 1002 (Fox)
3 - 703 - 1011 (NBC)
5 - 705 - 1005 (CBS)
7 - 707 - 1007 (ABC)
9 - 709 - 1009 (PBS)
12 - 712 - 1044 (CW)

QVCHD is at 1010, which comes between the local PBS affiliate and NBC. Odd.

CW is far away at 1044.

The local PBS affiliate's sub-channels are at 1150, 1154, and 1155 - far away from the main PBS affiliate at 1009.

It would be a large challenge to organize these better since every market is going to have a completely different number of local channels each with or without sub-channels. But why not reserve some space so that the expected major broadcast channels and their sub-channels can be nearby?

On the other hand, some channels, like news channels, are grouped together better than in the old sequence.

I am using TiVo favorites to show my most frequently accessed channels. That helps condense the original Comcast lineup into a manageable list.


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## CTLesq (Jan 19, 2003)

I am now totally updated w guide data and my season passes are all good. 

This channel line up is a significant upgrade from an organizational standpoint. 

Thank you!!!


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## NGeorge (Feb 27, 2004)

I submitted for it and it came through the other day as well... I'm actually surprised at how well they did -- only 4 errors -- 3 channels that are in the wrong place (1 number off with the guide data... nothing shows up when I click it... the actual channel still shows up on the right number with To Be Announced), and they flipped KBTC (local PBS station) with KTBC (Fox station in texas I think) so I was central time zone Fox guide data on PBS... so I re-submitted... PBS got fixed quick; still waiting on the others... but no big deal, it's a huge improvement.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

I got this just a couple days ago (Houston/Comcast). Message popped up with "New Channels Added". Hundreds of them, all above 1000. I thought it was some kinda mistake (hadn't seen this thread), so I hid them all. 

Do we know if Comcast is going to remove all the <1000 channels? If not, I'll leave it as-is, since I didn't see any new networks on the list. If however they intend to wipeout the sub 1000s, I'll need to unhide all the ones I hid.

Ugh, I hate channel numbering changes.


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## cherry ghost (Sep 13, 2005)

New Channel Lineup Frequently Asked Questions


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

cherry ghost said:


> New Channel Lineup Frequently Asked Questions


Thanks! Answered everything. Really appreciate the link. :thumbsup:


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## dre_dbldbl (Dec 3, 2005)

IraF said:


> In the 1000+ range, I have so far only spotted SD channels where there is no corresponding HD version, and I don't see a setting to show SD/HD duplicates adjacently with a -1 suffix.
> 
> Either this is a work in progress, or their intention is to show only HD channels in the guide (and maybe make them the only channels the equipment can tune to) if the HD channel exists when the customer has an HD cable box and is paying the HD technology fee. The same channel numbers ma be re-used for SD when the user has only got SD service.
> 
> ...


Fellow SF Bay Area subscriber? I, too, have seen the 1000+ channel numbers and can attest to the "weird" organization of the new channel "neighborhoods".

It seems like the numbering is akin to DIRECTV, as my parents moved from Comcast to DIRECTV last year. Both NBC Bay Area and the CW affiliate are 11 and 44, respectively on that system.

Showing my age here; the origin of 11 for NBC Bay Area was that KNTV 11 San Jose was the prior UHF channel umber before it flipped to the Bay Area NBC affiliate. It was for a time NBC11 but changed to NBC3 once it moved into SF Bay Area Cable systems (KRON4 held down the NBC affiliate for a long time and NBC relocated to cable channe 3). Glad they just use NBC Bay Area in their name!

KBHK UHF 44 / Cable 12 was the local station (rest in peace, Dr. Don Rose!) that had the random movie and syndicated shows until it was picked up for the UPN network. When UPN and The WB merged, creating the CW, KBCW begat and still planted itself as Ch. 44, cable 12. It's still in their jingle, sung in their station ID promos! I wonder when will it be time for the song would drop the "Cable 12" lyric?

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## IraF (Jan 22, 2002)

Edit: Yes, SF Bay Area resident.

Was that NBC switch really a long time ago? Wikipedia says it happened in 1999. I recall being very confused by the 11/cable 3 business at first. Took a while to get used to channel 3 at all. I grew up in NY, where most channels were separated by a digit, except 4 to 5:

2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13

For some reason ABC is almost always 7, and NBC is almost always 4. I grew up with CBS on 2, and had to adjust to it being on 5 in the Bay Area.

Wikipedia gives thorough history of each Bay Area TV channel, like

KOFY-TV - Wikipedia

Side note:

Was channel 11 a UHF station? I though 2-13 were VHF, and UHF were the much higher broadcast channels, like 44. Or at least, my ancient TVs received 2-13 on the regular ratcheting dial, and the UHF channels - which were very weak and hard to tune - had a separate dial with no "ratchets," like old radio tuner dials.

This helps:
http://shure.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/89/~/what-is-the-difference-between-uhf-and-vhf-frequencies%3F

With respect to VHF and TV they write:

"At the beginning of the low-band VHF range is the 49 MHz region. This region is used not only by inexpensive wireless microphones, but also by cordless telephones, walkie-talkies, and radio controlled toys. The 54-72 MHz region is occupied by VHF television channels 2 - 4. The 72 MHz area is used by "assistive listening" type wireless systems. 76 - 88 MHz are assigned to VHF television channels 5 and 6."

"The larger part of the high-band VHF region is 174-216 MHz. The primary users of this band are VHF television channels 7 - 13."

And with respect to UHF and TV:

"The primary users of these bands are business services such as land mobile radio and pagers (450-536 MHz), and UHF television channels 14 - 69 (470-806 MHz)."

Hmmm - some overlap there between pagers and UHF.


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## dre_dbldbl (Dec 3, 2005)

IraF said:


> Edit: Yes, SF Bay Area resident.
> 
> Was that NBC switch really a long time ago? Wikipedia says it happened in 1999. I recall being very confused by the 11/cable 3 business at first. Took a while to get used to channel 3 at all. I grew up in NY, where most channels were separated by a digit, except 4 to 5:
> 
> ...


Yes! I meant VHF vs. UHF; was lazy to check which was which for number channel 

Channel 11 was the ABC affiliate in San Jose. I remember a big brouhaha with KRON's owners wanting a boatload of money when NBC wanted to buyout and make the market and Owned/Operated station. NBC ended up buying the San Jose station and repositioned it for the SF Bay Area market but imagine everyone getting used to Ch 4 as NBC and now having to find Channel 11? All the media and promotions back then; good thing the digital transition happened later! I wonder if what happened here is akin to what NBC Boston market went through recently, as their NBC channels changed owners.

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## IraF (Jan 22, 2002)

There was perhaps also an issue about who would pay who. At one time I think networks paid affiliates, and now NBC wanted the affiliate to pay NBC? Something like that.

Antenna reception for channel 11 was very poor in San Francisco, though they might have eventually improved that. I always had cable, so I was immune.

Around the time everyone had to transition to HDTV, Comcast was also making a transition to all digital cable requiring cable boxes for everyone. There was technically no connection between these two transitions, and the deadline dates were very slightly different, but boy was it confusing!


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## b_scott (Nov 27, 2006)

I just got these 1000+ channels in Chicago, mirrored. I don't know what to do now.


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## alaw168 (Feb 17, 2005)

I just got these 1000+ channels mirrored (Comcast/SF Bay Area). However, there is no such announcement from Comcast.

It would be a pain to relearn all the channel numbers; until the old ones no longer work, I guess I will stick with them.

Any idea when the hard cutover to the new channel numbers could be? This coming summer?


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## b_scott (Nov 27, 2006)

alaw168 said:


> I just got these 1000+ channels mirrored (Comcast/SF Bay Area). However, there is no such announcement from Comcast.
> 
> It would be a pain to relearn all the channel numbers; until the old ones no longer work, I guess I will stick with them.
> 
> Any idea when the hard cutover to the new channel numbers could be? This coming summer?


Do you really know the numbers anyway? If you do, you might be using Tivo wrong  But seriously, I almost never flip channels - I just record anything I care about and then go to My Shows.

However, at least in Chicago they make much more sense. The 100x numbers match with the station call signs. Such as 1002 for CBS 2, and 1007 for ABC 7, and 1009 for WGNTV 9. And the types of channels are grouped, like all the sports together and all the news together. All the HBO's together. etc.


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## sfhub (Jan 6, 2007)

The Comcast FAQ page says 0-999 is supposed to remain unchanged. Is that temporarily so they people can transition or long term?

As someone mentioned above, it would be a pain to redo all the one passes, I have them recording specific channels right now.

Also it is a pain to go through and disable channels you receive/don't receive. If they ever get rid of 0-999 channels I wish TiVo would just run some script to map the call signs to the equivalent in the 1000 range.

I'm also curious, is TiVo treating the 1000 channels as complete different channels w/r/t guide data? Does that mean our TiVo's need to process twice the amount of guide data (or 50% more if it is mostly HD channels) as before? From a technical standpoint, they just have two entries pointing to the same underlying frequency. It would be nice if the call signs that match in the guide share guide data.


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