New Hampshire - Metrocast

[IcedCornholio]

Just to add to the various threads:

Metrocast Cablevision (http://www.metrocastcablevision.com) now has HDTV. They use the Motorola silver box to deliver it.

Channels available:

Basic HD ($5/extra a month for the HD Converter)
PBS HD (They say it's WENH Ch 11 Durham NH, but it's the national PBS Feed)
WFXT HD (Fox 25 Boston)
WCSH HD aka NBC HD (NBC 6 Portland ME)
InHD 1
InHD 2
Supposedly coming:
CBS HD - WGME 13 CBS (not working as of 9/18/04)

UltraHD ($10.95/month extra, not sure if it's $5 over the $10.95 or if that's included)
TNT HD
Bravo HD (not working as of 9/18/04)
ESPN HD
HDNet
HDNet Movies
Discovery HD

Pay HD (included free with premium TV subscription; however you need the HD converter which is the $5/month)
HBO HD
Starz HD
Showtime HD
The Movie Channel HD
Cinemax HD
Encore HD

Don't know what thread this may go in, if it's too much or too little information.

Not really a bad HD package, IMO. Just really need ABC & CBS HD and an HD DVR. :)

Edit: Added Encore HD

[IcedCornholio]

Edit: 01/27/2005: Added 709 ABC HD

Just wanted to update for the 3 people here in Rochester NH

Added since last post:

708 - WMTW (ABC) Portland ME (Part of HD Basic)
709 - WMUR (ABC) Manchester NH (Part of HD Basic)
705 - WCVB (ABC) Boston MA (Part of HD Basic)
774 - WealthTV (part of HD Ultra package)
713 - WGME (CBS) (Part of HD Basic)
775 - NFL Network HD (HD Ultra)

So to recap, all the HD channels in MetroCast are as follows:

Included with HD Basic:

**351 - Starz HD
**352 - Encore HD
**451 - HBO HD
**551 - Cinemax HD
**651 - Showtime HD
**652 - The Movie Channel HD
705 - WCVB HD (Boston ABC)
706 - WCSH HD (Portland ME NBC)
708 - WMTW HD (Portland ME ABC)
709 - WMUR HD (Manchester NH ABC)
711 - WENH HD (Durham NH PBS HD Feed)
713 - WGMD HD (Portland ME ABC)
725 - WFXT HD (Boston FOX)
*728 - ESPN HD (duh)
*751 - TNT HD (duh)
*754 - Universal HD (formerly Bravo HD)
*761 - Discovery HD
*772 - HDNET
*773 - HDNET Movies
*774 - WealthTV HD
*777 - NFL Network HD
781 - InHD 1
782 - InHD 2 (also carries NESN HD for Bruins when available & Red Sox)

* indicates you need to purchase UltraHD package @ $10.95 a month.
HD Basic includes Motorola HD terminal and is $5.95/month
** indicates you need to have the premium service in order to get this channel (ie you need HBO to get HBO HD. HBO HD is included with the monthly HBO fee ($14.95/mo).

So there you go :).

[efeatherston]

Any word on when they will start offering DVR? (Nothing on their website about it)

[IcedCornholio]

1. I have the DVR right now. I'm not in a beta test. It's available now when you call. $49.95 install fee (a crock if you ask me, just replacing the box) and you get a HORRENDOUS passport guide (look online for better info). DVR is $9.95 a month if you already have HD, $14.95 if you don't.

Edit 01/21/05: My reference to the 'guide' was referring to the 'manual' you are given at install. The actual display guide on your TV is fine.

2. Metrocast has just added (drum roll)...

NFL Network HD (Ch 775) !! YESSSS!!!!!

Now if we could only get CBS HD, I would rule the world!!!

PS Their website needs to be updated :)

[efeatherston]

Originally posted by IcedCornholio
1. I have the DVR right now. I'm not in a beta test. It's available now when you call. $49.95 install fee (a crock if you ask me, just replacing the box) and you get a HORRENDOUS passport guide (look online for better info). DVR is $9.95 a month if you already have HD, $14.95 if you don't.



Is the passport guide as horrible as their ON-DEMAND guide is? (I find it so painful, as I have Comcast/I-Guide at home with a 6412, and when I go up to my place in New Hampshire and look at what Metrocast is using for a guide...)

Is the DVR a single tuner or the dual tuner model?

[IcedCornholio]

Is the passport guide as horrible as their ON-DEMAND guide is? (I find it so painful, as I have Comcast/I-Guide at home with a 6412, and when I go up to my place in New Hampshire and look at what Metrocast is using for a guide...)

1> let me clarify: the Passport guide on TV that's displayed on screen is very nice. The instruction 'guide' that they give you to go with the box doesn't tell you jack (ie press 2 and right arrow to go to the guide two days later, for example).

2>It's much better than the 'standard digital guide'

3>Dual tuners in HD. It's a Motorola DCT 6412. Follow the whole "Cox Cable passport 6412" thread for all the info. Very similar system there.

[xamphear]

I got wind of these HDTV offerings a little while after I signed up with DirecTV... It does give me pause to switch.

Do you know if their HDTV lineup is the same for all areas they service? I'm not fed from the Rochester, NH hub.

Edit: Well, I did switch, yesterday in fact. Here's some facts:

1. HDTV lineup does vary depending on where you live, but I get exactly what's listed above.

2. There are two tiers, one is the 5-ish charge, the other is the 12-ish charge. You pay one or the other, they don't combine to make a big 18-ish charge.

[jawgee]

Hi xamphear,

It's interesting that you made the switch from satellite to cable. I'm hooked up to Metrocast, but looking at satellite options as Metrocast is totally inflexible. I only have Lifeline right now, but want to get NESN once the regular baseball season starts up. Well, they can't give me just NESN, they have to give me all the other CablePlus channels in order to receive analog NESN. Furthermore, in order to receive NESN-HD, I was told that I'd have to sign up to CablePlus, Digital Cable, & HD Cable. I'd have to pay another $40/month just to get NESN-HD!! ALL I WANT IS NESN!!!

Isn't there some cable law/bill about providing cable channels ala carte?

Anyway, I'm now turning my eye towards satellite. It appears from DirectTV's site that I can sign up to DirectTV-HD for only $11/month. The only thing is that from Googling around the 'net, it appears that NESN has an exclusive deal with cable providers. Is this true? Were you able to get NESN from DirectTV?

Oh, here's another question - is Metrocast encrypting their INHD channels? Though they mention that it's listed in their HD Basic package, I am not able to get it using my Sanyo HDTV with built-in QAM tuner. I can receive all of the other HD Basic channels with the exception of the INHD channels (which I used to receive).

Thanks,
jawgee

[xamphear]

Originally posted by jawgee
Hi xamphear,

It's interesting that you made the switch from satellite to cable. I'm hooked up to Metrocast, but looking at satellite options as Metrocast is totally inflexible. I only have Lifeline right now, but want to get NESN once the regular baseball season starts up. Well, they can't give me just NESN, they have to give me all the other CablePlus channels in order to receive analog NESN. Furthermore, in order to receive NESN-HD, I was told that I'd have to sign up to CablePlus, Digital Cable, & HD Cable. I'd have to pay another $40/month just to get NESN-HD!! ALL I WANT IS NESN!!!

Isn't there some cable law/bill about providing cable channels ala carte?

Anyway, I'm now turning my eye towards satellite. It appears from DirectTV's site that I can sign up to DirectTV-HD for only $11/month. The only thing is that from Googling around the 'net, it appears that NESN has an exclusive deal with cable providers. Is this true? Were you able to get NESN from DirectTV?

Oh, here's another question - is Metrocast encrypting their INHD channels? Though they mention that it's listed in their HD Basic package, I am not able to get it using my Sanyo HDTV with built-in QAM tuner. I can receive all of the other HD Basic channels with the exception of the INHD channels (which I used to receive).

Thanks,
jawgee Well, I can't be of much help when it comes to sports TV, I'm not a big sports fan myself. I can give you my impressions regarding the pros and cons of DirecTV as compared directly to Metrocast... But I have no idea if DirecTV carried any local sports in their basic package, all I watched last year was the World Series, and well, that was on everywhere.

Here's the breakdown on DirecTV's HD offering: Buy a $300 dollar receiver and pay $40 (basic with locals) + $11 (for high def). Only you won't get hardly any high-def networks. I emailed them with my NH zip code (03276) and they said I was only eligible to receive the NBC-East HD feed. ABC and CBS were a no-go due to the new DNS law. Plus, you won't get the InHD channels as they're cable only... Oh, and if you want to do PVR, that's another $100 dollar box and $10 bucks a month (5 for the additional receiver and 5 for the tivo subscription). And if you want HD-PVR, you're talking about a $900 investment up front.

Now with Metrocast, you get the HD-PVR box for $13 a month, no up front monies. My total bill, for internet, cable, digital cable, and the complete high def package is 120, before taxes... Not cheap, but it just takes this simple math to figure out it's the best choice: Divide the $900 up front cost for a HD-DirecTivo over 3 years and see what that'll do to your bill... (it'll up it by $25)

Speaking in more general terms, DirecTV's SD channels look like shit compared to Metrocast's, washed out, compressed and ringed by this awful ghosting effect due to the way they MPEG compress them. Plus, they're only broadcast at 480x480 pixels, which makes for a VERY low-resolution and soft image. I haven't checked, but I could swear that Metrocast is transmitting in higher def than that.

One downside is that the metrocast PVR isn't nearly as good or easy to use as my Directivo was. Plus, I had the DirecTivo hacked 3 ways to sunday so I could stream shows around my network and now I can't do that; and I kinda miss it.



I do hear you about wanting cable a'la carte. It's a bill currently, but don't hold your breath. They tried to do this in the 80s, and it failed miserably back then. Oh, and NESN is available on DirecTV, if you go that route, but I don't know if it's part of some extra money local sports package, I ignored that part of the sales pitch.



Alright, now to cover your InHD question, and it's funny you asked right now. I just minutes ago hooked up the firewire port on my PVR to my home theater PC and tried to record from a few stations. I don't get anything like HBO HD, so I can't speak for that, but not a single HD channel I do get is encrypted. I dumped a couple minutes of some boxing match from InHD1 just to try it out and it worked perfectly. So, no 5C encryption going on.

[jawgee]

Thanks for the info, xamphear. I was under the impression that you could get the non-HD satellite hardware for almost free back when I was checking out satellite prices about a year ago. Perhaps that has changed, or maybe I was looking dish network, I can't remember. Anyway, I'll do some more research into the NESN-HD/satellite thing.

I just rescanned my HD channels & nope, the INHD channels still aren't showing up. D'oh! I'm wondering if I lost access to them when I downgraded to Lifeline from CablePlus? I thought I remember still having the channels when we made the switch, but maybe there was a delay.

Thanks,
jawgee

[xamphear]

Cool...

And for the record, I just checked and Metrocast does transmit SD channels at 720x480, which is a MAJOR improvement over DirecTV's 480x480.

[jc-nh]

I'm on my 3rd HD box since I got the HD service which was whenever the Olympics were because I was able to see the last week in HD.

My first 2 boxes would reset on their own very frequently. The techs I talked to said it's a known issue with the boxes that their using and that they are trying to resolve it with Motorola. Best thing about the most recent box they replaced it with is that it was the HD DVR model for free. :)

[xamphear]

Just to give this tiny thread another chance at more life, here's some specs:

All HD channels are in 40Mbps EXCEPT pay channels, like HBO and SHO, which are in a flabbergasting 80Mbps. Now THAT is dedication to quality. I don't know why they've got making these decisions at their head end, but they've earned my respect.

[chitchatjf]

Originally posted by jawgee
Hi xamphear,

It's interesting that you made the switch from satellite to cable. I'm hooked up to Metrocast, but looking at satellite options as Metrocast is totally inflexible. I only have Lifeline right now, but want to get NESN once the regular baseball season starts up. Well, they can't give me just NESN, they have to give me all the other CablePlus channels in order to receive analog NESN. Furthermore, in order to receive NESN-HD, I was told that I'd have to sign up to CablePlus, Digital Cable, & HD Cable. I'd have to pay another $40/month just to get NESN-HD!! ALL I WANT IS NESN!!!

Isn't there some cable law/bill about providing cable channels ala carte?


Thanks,
jawgee

The law is called tier buy through and says you do not have to get Cableplus in order to get a pay or PPV channel. It may not necessarily apply to digital cable.

I know with Comcast you can get JUST Basic and Digital Classic with an HD box. It will run you around $25-30 a month and will include NESN-HD. Will not include ALL the games,but you do get most of them (Live feed only)

[efeatherston]

Is the menu system any better/different than the one on their standard digital boxes (especially the on-demand menus) on the hd/dvr box?

[xamphear]

[QUOTE=efeatherston]Is the menu system any better/different than the one on their standard digital boxes (especially the on-demand menus) on the hd/dvr box?[/QUOTE]I've never used the standard digital box, but if you can tell me specific things you hate about it, I'd be able to tell you if it's the same in the hd box.

[efeatherston]

[QUOTE=xamphear]I've never used the standard digital box, but if you can tell me specific things you hate about it, I'd be able to tell you if it's the same in the hd box.[/QUOTE]

Best way I can describe it is that is a klunky, text based, difficult to traverse. It reminds me of early DOS programs that tried to be windows like within the non-graphic DOS type environment.

[xamphear]

[QUOTE=efeatherston]Best way I can describe it is that is a klunky, text based, difficult to traverse. It reminds me of early DOS programs that tried to be windows like within the non-graphic DOS type environment.[/QUOTE]Hahaha, I know exactly what you're talking about.

The guides and menus on the HD box are great, lots of info and in high resolution.

While I dont think the On Demand menus are going to win them any awards, I think they get the job done. They are still mostly text based, though. Not a lot of images, just some various colored backgrounds, depending on what section you're in.

[efeatherston]

Okay, I broke down and got the DVR from Metrocast. Now I have a DVR at home with Comcast, which has the silver remote, and from the comcast 6412 thread, was able to program my remote with the 30 sec skip function to move through commercials more easily.

I have been unsuccessful programing this into the black remote provided by Metrocast. Has anyone been able to do it?

[xamphear]

[QUOTE=efeatherston]Okay, I broke down and got the DVR from Metrocast. Now I have a DVR at home with Comcast, which has the silver remote, and from the comcast 6412 thread, was able to program my remote with the 30 sec skip function to move through commercials more easily.

I have been unsuccessful programing this into the black remote provided by Metrocast. Has anyone been able to do it?[/QUOTE]I havent been able to do it either, not with the remote they provide nor with a logitech harmony. I think they have applied something in the software of the device that turns it off, overriding everything else. Really annoying.

[efeatherston]

[QUOTE=xamphear]I havent been able to do it either, not with the remote they provide nor with a logitech harmony. I think they have applied something in the software of the device that turns it off, overriding everything else. Really annoying.[/QUOTE]

Okay, since it doesn't work with your Harmony either, then they must have done something to override it in the box itself. Sign of things to come. The advertisers don't want us to be able to easily skip their commercials I guess!

[xamphear]

[QUOTE=efeatherston]Okay, since it doesn't work with your Harmony either, then they must have done something to override it in the box itself. Sign of things to come. The advertisers don't want us to be able to easily skip their commercials I guess![/QUOTE]Yeah... It's just amazing they were able to find the legal basis to support their claims, that's the part that blows my mind. Of course companies are going to do what's best for their bottom line, but they were able to prove that under federal law that other companies can't make buttons whose un-stated function is to skip ads.

Personally, I like the 30s skip feature, but using the FF button doesnt cost me too much extra time.

[xamphear]

Not that many people read this thread, but I wanted to post that I've had an absolutely terrible experience with Metrocast that has led to my cancelling service with them. They gave me no real choice, it was either pay $20 for a service call so they could replace my broken 6412 DVR or cancel my service. I chose the latter, as I don't think it's anywhere near the realm of reasonable to expect that the customer pay $15 a month to rent the box and then have to pay more to get it fixed.

[jawgee]

[QUOTE=xamphear]Not that many people read this thread, but I wanted to post that I've had an absolutely terrible experience with Metrocast that has led to my cancelling service with them. They gave me no real choice, it was either pay $20 for a service call so they could replace my broken 6412 DVR or cancel my service. I chose the latter, as I don't think it's anywhere near the realm of reasonable to expect that the customer pay $15 a month to rent the box and then have to pay more to get it fixed.[/QUOTE]

That's just ridiculous, xamphear. So are you saying that they don't even give you the option to provide your own box? If so, that almost sounds illegal. :eek:

I wish I could dump Metrocast, but the alternatives aren't all that appealing to my frugal wallet. :(

What service are you going to switch to?

Thanks,
jawgee

[xamphear]

[QUOTE=jawgee]That's just ridiculous, xamphear. So are you saying that they don't even give you the option to provide your own box? If so, that almost sounds illegal. :eek:

I wish I could dump Metrocast, but the alternatives aren't all that appealing to my frugal wallet. :(

What service are you going to switch to?

Thanks,
jawgee[/QUOTE]Well, there are no high def DVRs on the market that will work on any/all cable systems yet, so providing my own box isn't an option. I'm sure that down the road, as those options do become available, they'll have to support them.

I'm not sure at this point what I'm going to do... I may see if Metrocast will make things right, or I may forego cable/satellite tv all together. I've had DirecTV in the past, and the video quality just plain sucks.

In the end, though, it seems (aside from the customer service snafu I last posted about) like Metrocast is as big a victim as I am. They dont make the 6412 boxes or the software that runs them.

Metrocast provides excellent SD and HD channels, at a comparable (to comcast) but still expensive (~75 bucks minimum if you want to DVR HD channels) price, it's just that the only DVR option right now is so lame it ruins the whole experience for me. If I could buy a RELIABLE box for a few hundred and save the 15 a month, it'd be great, but... I can't.