# Ordered Comcast Triple Play. I'm scared. Should I be?



## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

So I just ordered the Comcast Triple play. Should I be worried?

Install is set for 12/15.

I'm trying to port my phone number from Packet8. They told me they won't even install until they release the number.

The other worry is about putting cablecards in my 1 year old Series3...


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## bizzy (Jan 20, 2004)

I'd be scared. I have enough hassles getting cable TV from comcast. I can't imagine depending on them for internet and voice service also.


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

I've had Internet through them for a year and a half, it's been great. 12 meg down, 900 k up.


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## mike3775 (Jan 3, 2003)

I have the triple play and like it.

I only got it to save on installation and I only use the phone for long distance calling and have always had them for cable and internet.


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

Yes, I'd be scared. I signed up for the triple play service and for about a month, my cable modem periodically reset on it's own, usually while I was on the phone. Comcast eventually fixed it, but it still happens every now and then. The phone modems are very temperamental.


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

Do they mess with your cable modem?

I really don't want my cable Internet to change one bit. I thought the phone used a different frequency / modem...?

More what I'm scared about is the number port from Packet8 and the cablecard install.


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

Adam1115 said:


> Do they mess with your cable modem?


You need a new modem to handle the phone connection; which Comcast will rent to you for $3 a month. The new modems handles both phone and Internet.

You do have the option of keeping your old modem for Internet if you want, but you'll still need the new one to get the phone service.


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## ewilts (Feb 26, 2002)

Adam1115 said:


> Do they mess with your cable modem?
> 
> I really don't want my cable Internet to change one bit. I thought the phone used a different frequency / modem...?
> 
> More what I'm scared about is the number port from Packet8 and the cablecard install.


Comcast won't mess with your cable modem but you will need to mess with your router to try and get a decent voice signal. I've heard minor grief from all 3 people I know that have CDV with complains about voice quality and with unannounced scheduled outages (no, putting a message up your website isn't good enough). The phone plugs into one of your router ports so the voice quality is mostly up to you. If you saturate your local Ethernet, your voice quality will suck.

Comcast Internet is fantastic.

Comcast CableCARDs vary from installer to installer and from city to city. Mine was relatively flawless - technically there were no issues but there were billing "challenges" last year that have since been resolved. Other people have issues. There's a very, very length Comcast thread - I expect you to read all 4,000+ posts before asking a Comcast question


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

ewilts said:


> Comcast won't mess with your cable modem but you will need to mess with your router to try and get a decent voice signal. I've heard minor grief from all 3 people I know that have CDV with complains about voice quality and with unannounced scheduled outages (no, putting a message up your website isn't good enough). The phone plugs into one of your router ports so the voice quality is mostly up to you. If you saturate your local Ethernet, your voice quality will suck.
> 
> Comcast Internet is fantastic.
> 
> Comcast CableCARDs vary from installer to installer and from city to city. Mine was relatively flawless - technically there were no issues but there were billing "challenges" last year that have since been resolved. Other people have issues. There's a very, very length Comcast thread - I expect you to read all 4,000+ posts before asking a Comcast question


Wait a minute. Are you sure we're talking about the same thing? Comcast digital voice doesn't go through my ethernet connection. They plug the coax into the phone box, right?

My understanding is that it doesn't even use the same frequencies the cable modem traffic uses, meaning it is completely unaffected by the cable Internet.



> Is Comcast Digital Voice the same as other VoIP services? (#13827)
> 
> The way it functions is similar to VoIP providers in that its all IP based communications. The difference is that talking on the phone will not impact cable modem speeds for upload or download. There is also a Quality of Service that is available with CDV that you do not get with normal VoIP services as the information does not leave the comcast network until it gets put out into the regular phone switch system.


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## fergiej (Oct 9, 2002)

It doesn't use your router nor does it plug into your phone box. Sort of. You get a new modem from Comcast that has telephony built in. The cable plugs into it as normal. The ethernet connection goes to your router and the telephone cable plugs into the phone port on the modem. Or, if you disconnect your phone network box on the outside of your home, you can plug the phone line into any wall jack and all the jacks in the house work fine. I have to admit, I love CDV. I have had no problems with it, except one, but it was very short lived. The modem even has a battery in it so you can plug a standard phone into it if the power goes out. It has never affected my internet connection at all.


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## Lensman (Dec 22, 2001)

Our experience with Comcast in Florida is that they seem to have gotten the internet setup figured out - though the contract installers are always scary.

Service seems decent but nothing to write home about. FWIW I like Cablevision / OptimumOnline a lot more.


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## blhirsch (Mar 1, 2003)

The only way I would choose Comcast would be if my only other choice was OTA. As it was, I had DirecTV for years and loved the crisp, digital picture, no hassles. The most bizarre issues would befall my friends with Comcast and then would have the hardest time getting anybody to treat them with proper customer service. I couldn't wrap my head around it and they seemed unable to understand that this signal weirdness, odd dropouts, fuzzy picture, and bad customer service--all at an extremely high price premium--wasn't a necessary part of one's TV experience. 

We wanted to stay with Tivo when it was time to go HD, so our choices were to stay with DirecTV until FIOS came or go to Comcast. Needless to say, we waited for FIOS. Now, with FIOS internet and TV, I have to say, I'm still kind of pining for my hassle-free DirecTV customer service experience, but our picture is fan-freaking-tastic and beats the pants off of Comcast. Our internet is rock solid, and ALWAYS matches the advertised throughput. I can see the quality difference in the HD channels. I also pay almost 40% less for this privilege than my Comcast brethren, for more HD channels overall. We even get Comcast Sports Net in HD better quality than you get on Comcast. I don't know why people put up with Comcast when they don't have to. 

If Comcast is your only local option, then you're sort of stuck unless you're the kind that can do with OTA HD and SD tivo on everything else, not many are. I do very much enjoy the non-OTA HD channels.


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

I loved DirecTV too until they abandoned TiVo.

I've had problems with Comcast support. But I've also had plenty with DirecTV.

It's a shame we've come to expect crappy service....


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

Got a call, <SHOCKING> they are having problems porting the number. The said they'll have it done on 12/17, but they would install it on 12/15 I just wouldn't be able to receive calls. I asked about a temporary number, they said sure, but the number port would start over. I said forget it, I don't want anything installed until they are ready. She tried to schedule for the 17th, I told her make it the 18th to make sure they'll be ready.

We'll see...!


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## SNJpage1 (May 25, 2006)

Comcast keeps sending me these mailing to sign up for the triple play but when I called them they said I already had TV and internet from them and I couldnt get the special triple play pricing. Told the person then they better stop sending me the ads.


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## Philly Bill (Oct 6, 2004)

I only have 2/3 of Triple Play... digital phone and internet.

Both of them ROCK! Do not be ascared.


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

SNJpage1 said:


> Comcast keeps sending me these mailing to sign up for the triple play but when I called them they said I already had TV and internet from them and I couldnt get the special triple play pricing. Told the person then they better stop sending me the ads.


You talked to an idiot.

You could try driving to your local comcast office. Those people are equally as dumb, but at least they tend to not tell you stupid things directly to your face, they check into it.


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## Philly Bill (Oct 6, 2004)

The digital voice has a cool website too so you can see if you have any messages, who has called and who you've called. And you can download and save your messages if you wanted to... as .wav files


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

Philly Bill said:


> The digital voice has a cool website too so you can see if you have any messages, who has called and who you've called. And you can download and save your messages if you wanted to... as .wav files


With packet8, it just emails me my voicemails in WAV form. Comcast doesn't offer that?


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

Adam1115 said:


> With packet8, it just emails me my voicemails in WAV form. Comcast doesn't offer that?


Not directly, but Comcast's service can email when you get a voice mail message. It's up to you though to go download it.


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

SNJpage1 said:


> Comcast keeps sending me these mailing to sign up for the triple play but when I called them they said I already had TV and internet from them and I couldnt get the special triple play pricing. Told the person then they better stop sending me the ads.


Since you are an existing customer you can't get the $99 triple play deal. You can get a more expensive $132 triple play deal if you sign up for a 2 year contract. It might be slightly more expensive now since Comcast just raised it's video service rates, but the good thing is that the price is locked in so if they raise rates again you aren't affected. The bad thing is that you are locked into using Comcast for 2 years.


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## blhirsch (Mar 1, 2003)

This is the biggest thing I miss about Vonage. Since I went back to Verizon to get Triple Play (thus saving $20 a month) I can hardly remember to check my voicemail. I was THAT reliant on the voicemail emails.


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

morac said:


> Since you are an existing customer you can't get the $99 triple play deal. You can get a more expensive $132 triple play deal if you sign up for a 2 year contract. It might be slightly more expensive now since Comcast just raised it's video service rates, but the good thing is that the price is locked in so if they raise rates again you aren't affected. The bad thing is that you are locked into using Comcast for 2 years.


I am a current customer and I got the $99 triple play.

At least 4 different reps confirmed I could get it.


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## blhirsch (Mar 1, 2003)

I got the triple play deal, too, and was an existing customer.


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

Adam1115 said:


> I am a current customer and I got the $99 triple play.
> 
> At least 4 different reps confirmed I could get it.


I was told I couldn't get the $99 deal since I was an existing customer. The best I could do was $33 for phone and Internet each and $66 (plus fees) for video (with HBO, Show and Starz).

Then again I'm currently getting a negative charge of -$4.20 each for both of my cableCARDs, though that will change come Jan 1st since the cable box rental fee will be $3.95 and Comcast in my area will start charging $1.50 for each CableCARD over one (first one is still free).


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## Deacon West (Apr 16, 2006)

blhirsch said:


> I got the triple play deal, too, and was an existing customer.


I got the deal too, but only after the rep said no and I threatened to cancel TV and internet. Was on hold for two minutes while he "talked to his supervisor"


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## Philly Bill (Oct 6, 2004)

I don't think I'd like my voice mails emailed to me.

Doesn't matter though. No one calls me. I bet I got 6 voice mails in the last 4 months.


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

Philly Bill said:


> I don't think I'd like my voice mails emailed to me.
> 
> Doesn't matter though. No one calls me. I bet I got 6 voice mails in the last 4 months.


It is the best thing EVER. i get an email with a wav attached, it has the phone number of the person who called me, and a link to delete the message.

Too bad the rest of my phone service is crap, that's why I'm changing it.


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## mike_camden (Dec 11, 2006)

I've had the Comcast triple play service since April. The Comcast digital voice is excellent. We haven't had a single outage (which is an improvement over Verizon's POTS line). The voice quality is crystal clear, and the bandwidth requirements for voice didn't negatively impact the noticeable speed of our Internet conection. I have also been very impressed with their Internet servce (we've had that for quite a while). My least favorite aspect of the triple play package is the digital cable; however, based on where we live, we don't really have an option for that. We can't get any HD channels OTA, and DirecTV doesn't offer locals in my area.


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## Fuzz (Apr 9, 2002)

From my personal experience, Comcast Digital Voice was a NIGHTMARE!! Sometimes callers to me received a fast-busy. Sometimes, my outgoing calls were met with an "all circuits busy" message, especially when I was dialing long-distance numbers in the early evening. My guess is that in the Washington, DC area, they just don't have enough capacity for the peak load times.

In addition to the busy circuits issues, the voice quality was terrible. It seems while I would only occasionally notice a voice problem, the people I were speaking to would frequently hear "robotic noises" and voice dropouts. My theory was that Comcast did not have enough uplink bandwidth to handle the voice traffic. Comcast vehemently denied this, but after sending 3 or 4 techs to my house (none of which could fix the problem), I decided to complain to the County Cable Office. I was very surprised (although, I guess I shouldn't have been) to hear from the County that they had received "hundreds" of complaints about digital voice.

Needless to say, the second FIOS tripleplay was available, I switched and I have been very happy since.

My recommendation would be to call your local cable office and see if there are any complaints regarding sound quality.


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## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

I've had Triple Play for about two months. No technical problems to speak of. I've had the Internet service for about five years now, and I'd give it a solid A-minus (about half a dozen outages, all less than 24 hours, keeps it from an A). CableCARD installs on two TiVo HDs had a few glitches but were working within 48 hours (and I wound up with free premium channels because they couldn't figure out how to scale me back to Premium Plus). The phone service hasn't given me any problems at all, and email notifications of voice messages is great.

Don't be skeered.


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

So... strike 1.

The "Comcast Technician" (a contractor) showed up, 10:01 AM. (Appointment was 8-10) No cablecards. He tried to install a cable box, insisting that 'they' (implying comcast) wanted him to do that and would be back to install the cards. I was wise to that, I assume he was getting preasured to complete the install so they get paid.

Turns out the contractors aren't even allowed to install cablecards and it should never have been given to a contractor.

The supervisor I spoke to waived the install fee and gave me the $20 on-time guarantee. They will be back Friday morning, supposedly to do the install.


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

Adam1115 said:


> Turns out the contractors aren't even allowed to install cablecards and it should never have been given to a contractor.


In my area all installs are done by contractors. Only support calls are handled by actual Comcast employees. I think they do this just so they can charge an install fee. Actually I'm not sure why they do this since usually the subcontractors are sub par (I've had one give me a broken modem and leave), though the one who did my cableCARD install was very good.


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

I guess I should've been worried.

Comcast guy shows up with no cablecards, telling me 'we'll have to install a box'. I sent him away.

I don't understand why this is so complicated for these people. And even if it is, why don't they bother to call and say they don't have what they need? Why do they send a guy all the way to my door to say "sorry, we don't have what we need.", have they not heard of a telephone?


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

Adam1115 said:


> I don't understand why this is so complicated for these people. And even if it is, why don't they bother to call and say they don't have what they need? Why do they send a guy all the way to my door to say "sorry, we don't have what we need.", have they not heard of a telephone?


This won't help you, but it will explain a few things.

I've talked to a fare share of Comcast technicians and have learned a few things over the years. The work order they receive is a piece of paper and the description for the work order is only about a sentence long. The person you talk to on the phone can enter a lot more than a sentence into the work order description field. Unless the word "cableCARD" is one of the first few words in the description, it won't appear on the work order and the guy filling the work order won't know that. Stupid, but that's the way it works.

If you want to try again, make sure the person on the phone enters "CableCARD install" into the work order and have the him/her repeat it to be sure. That is not a guarantee they'll get it right, but it should vastly increase the chances.


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

OK, after several calls, attempts to reach supervisors but only to find out I'd been put back into the que, I reached an obnoxious supervisor. She started by telling met hat I should've taken a cable box and gottten the cards later and that I was making this difficult. I told her that I had no use for the box, and unless they were going to waive the digital portion of my bill I wasn't willing to pay for it. They claim they are completely out of cablecards due to high demand at Christmas time with the TiVo's. My response, obviously, was why they didn't just call and let me know. (Cablecards were in the notes from my last call Tuesday.)

She offered to waive the install fee, to which I explained that Tuesday when they showed up late without cablecards the supervisor had already told me she was waiving the install fee and crediting me $20 for the missed appointment. The supervisor snapped back that they do NOT offer both, it's one of the other and that no supervisor would offer $45 off. I asked her if she was calling me a lier, and she said no, but I would have to take it up with the other supervisor. I told her that I was taking it up with her, that I'm not going to beg them to spend an extra $1,200 a year, if she wasn't going to honor what I was told Tuesday and offer me something for my trouble today, then just cancel the upgrade.

She cancelled the upgrade.

Amazing. Looking back, I probably would've been better off taking the box and arguing out the cablecard issues seperately. At least I would've had 2 out of 3 services working. 

Oh well, I'll stick with analog, a lot less stressful. Ordered phone service through Qwest.

ETA, just filed a BBB complaint.


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

Interesting thing about dealing with Comcast.

Had I been 'patient' and waited two more weeks for cablecards to show up, they would've had to port my number again. Packet8 only gives 15 days to port once they release the number.

I'm very glad I averted this nightmare. I'm sad to leave TiVo, but Qwest's installation (DSL and Number Port) was FLAWLESS and their service was wonderful.


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## bizzy (Jan 20, 2004)

You really should contact Comcast's executive customer care number, especially if you've taken note of things like the supervisor's names and ID numbers. I understand going through the whole story again is a pain, but in the end it will benefit all Comcast customers.


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

I would have no idea how to do that. If the title supervisor is meaningless, and the 'supervisors' say there is 'nobody' above them...?

I did contact the BBB and filed an FCC complaint.


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

Man did I screw up switching to DSL.

I pay for 7 Mbps DSL. I think I got 6 once, and have gotten 5 a few times. Normally? I get between 0.5 - 1.5 download.

The first time I called Qwest, after 45 minutes, she told me it could be my wiring. So today I plugged it straight into the NIU, still slow.

I call back today, and he tells me that I AM getting 7 meg, he tested it. I explained how I'm doing speedtests on the Internet (including their own, speedtest.qwest.net) and that I'm NOT getting anywhere near speeds I should get. He argued with my about how it's my computers, this, that. FINALLY they are sending a tech. 

If they don't fix it by Saturday I'm going to buy a cable modem....


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## andy150 (Jun 9, 2008)

morac said:


> You need a new modem to handle the phone connection; which Comcast will rent to you for $3 a month. The new modems handles both phone and Internet.
> 
> You do have the option of keeping your old modem for Internet if you want, but you'll still need the new one to get the phone service.


they have access to your computer and can damage it like they did to mine i am pissed off they keep on shutting my internet i am talking to my boss and the y interrupt too much. plus the rates keep on going up . and one afternoon i come home and the comcast van is in my backyard that i just put new grass on and also i couldn't help noticing it that was a gigantic hole in the yard with cables in it i go inside and the power is down they cut the power cable i call comcast and tell then to fix it they say no i call the police they said to fix it so they started to fix it 3 days later still no power because they and also the grass all died i ended up sueing them


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## nirisahn (Nov 19, 2005)

I've had Comcast Triple Play for over 2 years now, and any issues I've had with have generally been equipment failures. I had to replace a cable box twice and my modem once. One time a phone issue I was having (signal would come into the house, but I couldn't call out and people on the phone couldn't hear me) turned out to be a problem with the base for my cordless phone. Comcast didn't even charge me for the service call. I wish they had more HD channels, but between the level of service I've been getting, and the fact that cable works with HDTiVo and satellite doesn't, I'm still sticking with Comcast.


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

I've had phone service since around October and two times since then I've had intermittent problems with my upstream signals which caused the phone (and Internet) to have problems. The upside is that if you have phone service you have a higher priority for getting problems fixed than for someone with just Internet. The hard problem is convincing Comcast that there is actually a problem.

Currently the heat wave in my area is causing low signal issues do to the high temperatures (causes occasional pixelation on my TV). I haven't lost phone service though.


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## zaneperry (Jun 10, 2008)

A few things to consider before using Comcast. I just found out they are starting to throttle all accounts that they consider to be High Use users 

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/04/comcast-tests-a-new-bandwidth-black-list/

Why this is VERY BAD http://ipower.ning.com/netneutrality2

Digg this article to spread the word --> http://digg.com/tech_news/Comcast_Tests_a_New_Bandwidth_Black_List_2


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

Why is THIS being bumped....


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## fallingwater (Dec 29, 2007)

nirisahn said:


> I've had Comcast Triple Play for over 2 years now, and any issues I've had with have generally been equipment failures. I had to replace a cable box twice and my modem once. One time a phone issue I was having (signal would come into the house, but I couldn't call out and people on the phone couldn't hear me) turned out to be a problem with the base for my cordless phone. Comcast didn't even charge me for the service call. I wish they had more HD channels, but between the level of service I've been getting, and the fact that cable works with HDTiVo and satellite doesn't, I'm still sticking with Comcast.


http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=6383181#post6383181

'Comcast's Triple Play is a pretty good deal, overall. We've found it to work well with no technical problems. The new phone modems provide scorching internet speeds when connected directly to a PC. (8000+ Kb/sec.)

Comcast's one year promo rate for Triple Play is $130 ($147 after taxes and fees) and besides fast internet provides unlimited phone to US & Canada and the complete digital cable line-up w/HBO & Starz. When the year is up the price w/fees & taxes will be around $170.'


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

Scared again.

After a nightmare with my phone company and finding out how limited DirecTV's parental controls are compared to KidZone, I've ordered the Triple Play again. Install set for 8/17.

They promised they have cablecards (but charged me $7/mo for the second one) and said they would make a ton of notes to MAKE SURE THEY BRING CABLECARDS!

<Crossing fingers>


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

fallingwater said:


> http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=6383181#post6383181
> 
> 'Comcast's Triple Play is a pretty good deal, overall. We've found it to work well with no technical problems. The new phone modems provide scorching internet speeds when connected directly to a PC. (8000+ Kb/sec.)
> 
> Comcast's one year promo rate for Triple Play is $130 ($147 after taxes and fees) and besides fast internet provides unlimited phone to US & Canada and the complete digital cable line-up w/HBO & Starz. When the year is up the price w/fees & taxes will be around $170.'


They still offer $85 to $100 around here for the triple play with HBO and/or Showtime included.
My parents keep getting offers and I see them in the mail pile when I visit. The lowest I've seen so far is $75 for the triple play for 2 years including HBO and Showtime.
But they want to stick with their regular phone service for $70 a month and their TV and INternet from Comcast for $120 a month. For some reason they don't want to get the triple play for only a little more than they pay for phone service currently.


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

Success at last!!!!!!!!

Installer came at 11:30 (appointment was 8-10). First cablecard came up with all 0's. I told him it was probably bad as the TiVo is just regurgitating what it read from the card... He put the second card up, it came up with pair information within a few minutes, activated, worked fine. Put the bad card in the second slot, all zeros again. He had no spares. Called around, found someone had an m-card but no s-cards. I convinced him that it would work fine, he went and got it, came back, it worked fine.

Phone seems to wok well too...


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## mohanman (Dec 18, 2007)

You may not be scared now, but you will be.... you will be


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