COMCAST's OnScreen Guide

[MarcB]

I was just wondering why the on-screen guide on Comcast sucks so badly. In some cases you can't even get listings for 8 hours later. It often time just says To Be Announced until it gets closer to the time and then the names of the shows get inserted. I never had this problem when I had Dish Network where I used to live. (I could often get a weeks worth of listings on their on-screen guide). My parents didn't have this problem when the used to have DIRECTV. (They usually had 5 days worth of listings). And they still don't have this problem now that they have switched to COX. (again about 5 days worth of listings).

 

[ssetta]

I know how you're feeling. I just switched to Verizon FiOS recently and if you compare them, Comcast's guide totally sucks. I would never go back there. It looks like it's about 10 years old. Do you have AT&T U-verse in your area? I've heard they're pretty good.

 

[KTU_Fan]

I dont have problems with it besides the sometimes freezing. Most of the time I could get listings for 2 weeks in advance.

 

[MarcB]

Do you have AT&T U-verse in your area?

U-verse is available in Bristol CT, but apparently I can't get it where I live. Last time I did a service check it said Unavailable on my street (or building).

 

[johnnyu]

Here in the Borough of Hanover in the beautiful Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, I have had no problems whatsoever.

 

[Bill_W]

Which Comcast box do you have, Motorola or Scientific Atlanta? Both have different software. I had Scientific Atlanta boxes in South Jersey (Comcast-Garden State Cable) and have Motorola now in Chester County, PA and have not seen problems. Both good for setting the DVR.

 

[BRNout]

I was just wondering why the on-screen guide on Comcast sucks so badly. In some cases you can't even get listings for 8 hours later. It often time just says To Be Announced until it gets closer to the time and then the names of the shows get inserted. I never had this problem when I had Dish Network where I used to live. (I could often get a weeks worth of listings on their on-screen guide). My parents didn't have this problem when the used to have DIRECTV. (They usually had 5 days worth of listings). And they still don't have this problem now that they have switched to COX. (again about 5 days worth of listings).

My standard digital (little) box in the bedroom has been doing the same thing for a few months now. It used to do better. Meanwhile, the larger HD capable box in the living room gives the full listings (with descriptions) at least one week out. Same house, two different outcomes.

 

[Mediafrog+]

Which Comcast box do you have, Motorola or Scientific Atlanta?

Here in Houston, I've got Comcast with a couple of the original General Instrument digital boxes from 1999 (GI was later bought out by Motorola.) When digital cable was new, with relatively few channels, we had three to four days of listings on the program guide. As channels were added, we noticed that the listings got shorter and shorter. Now we're lucky to get 24 hours ahead. I have long suspected that the box has very limited memory for the program guide, so there is a tradeoff. The graphics are pretty rudimentary by today's standards. The newer boxes probably have a lot more memory.

Of course huge strides in software and memory have taken place in the past decade. For instance, ten years ago 64MB of RAM was considered more than adequate for a computer. Nowadays that is tiny.

 

[BRice16]

I was just wondering why the on-screen guide on Comcast sucks so badly. In some cases you can't even get listings for 8 hours later. It often time just says To Be Announced until it gets closer to the time and then the names of the shows get inserted. I never had this problem when I had Dish Network where I used to live. (I could often get a weeks worth of listings on their on-screen guide). My parents didn't have this problem when the used to have DIRECTV. (They usually had 5 days worth of listings). And they still don't have this problem now that they have switched to COX. (again about 5 days worth of listings).

My standard digital (little) box in the bedroom has been doing the same thing for a few months now. It used to do better. Meanwhile, the larger HD capable box in the living room gives the full listings (with descriptions) at least one week out. Same house, two different outcomes.

Same thing happened to me. Reported it to Comcast, they traded out my second box and now it works perfectly. Alot of the older boxes are having problems with listings.

 

[crainbebo]

Same with me in Bothell, WA, near Seattle. On my room's TV, and the bedroom's TV, I'm lucky to get 18-26 hrs ahead. On the HD box in the living room, it's two WEEKS full of listings. On the bedroom and my room's tv, it's one of those older black boxes with the yellow light for On and the red light for messages. What brand?

-crainbebo

 

[kenrayc]

On Comcast Fresno , Both standard digital and DVR are Motorola, the Two Tuner HD DVR has a full two weeks of listings , the standard boxes are about 4- 5 days of listings.

 

[JeeperOne]

I was just wondering why the on-screen guide on Comcast sucks so badly. In some cases you can't even get listings for 8 hours later. It often time just says To Be Announced until it gets closer to the time and then the names of the shows get inserted. I never had this problem when I had Dish Network where I used to live. (I could often get a weeks worth of listings on their on-screen guide). My parents didn't have this problem when the used to have DIRECTV. (They usually had 5 days worth of listings). And they still don't have this problem now that they have switched to COX. (again about 5 days worth of listings).

When I had Comcast (And before I switched to DirecTV, whom I'm now forced to leave because I'll soon be moving to a satellite-unfriendly apartment building & my services at my present apartment were cut off anyway), I usually get about 3-4 days worth (I'll be switching back to Comcast as soon as I can get an installation appointment next month if not sooner with the current cable, which needs replacing).

That said.....At least you can skin the Comcast guide to your liking whereas it doesn't suck balls so much (Unlike DirecTV's guide, which is LIKE IT OR LUMP IT). Since I've never been a subscriber to DISH Network or any of the other services (Cable or otherwise), I can't speak about them, so I reserve judgement.

Just my $.02 worth.....

Cheers

 

[vchimpanzee]

Which Comcast box do you have, Motorola or Scientific Atlanta?

Here in Houston, I've got Comcast with a couple of the original General Instrument digital boxes from 1999 (GI was later bought out by Motorola.) When digital cable was new, with relatively few channels, we had three to four days of listings on the program guide. As channels were added, we noticed that the listings got shorter and shorter. Now we're lucky to get 24 hours ahead. I have long suspected that the box has very limited memory for the program guide, so there is a tradeoff. The graphics are pretty rudimentary by today's standards. The newer boxes probably have a lot more memory.

Of course huge strides in software and memory have taken place in the past decade. For instance, ten years ago 64MB of RAM was considered more than adequate for a computer. Nowadays that is tiny.

25 years ago I took computer science classes where some of the PCs had 64 KB.

I'm on Time Warner and I got TiVo because I thought that would allow me to record digital TV. I was wrong. The machine Radio Shack sold me was designed only for cable or satellite. The good news is that one of my VCRs broke and, since it was connected to cable, that gave me an opportunity to use the TiVo. I don't know precisely when it phones the cable company, but when it does I have two weeks of listings. One time I knew something was going to be on in two weeks and I tried to put it on my list of shows to record it wasn't there. I realized that the listings for that date must not be there yet.

 

[vchimpanzee]

There's a topic about this somewhere, but I was at the beach and Time Warner, as far as I know, had no channel with listing. I have such a channel at home. Sure, if I had remembered to bring my Charlotte Observer TV section, I could have seen what was on. And there was a channel guide on top of the TV.

But there was no way for me to find out what was on! I suppose I could have gone out and bought a paper. I'm not sure whether the listings would have been complete enough.

This is not right.

 

[imhomerjay]

I was at a beach place with no scrolling guide either. I lived with it. Wasting the spectrum for a handful of people who don't care to look online or deal with the listings in a newspaper, etc., doesn't make sense if you can fill that slot with something better.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I was at a beach place with no scrolling guide either. I lived with it. Wasting the spectrum for a handful of people who don't care to look online or deal with the listings in a newspaper, etc., doesn't make sense if you can fill that slot with something better.

Wait a minute. It was 8 at night. It was dark. The room had no Internet access. And you want me to go out for a paper when I don't even know where one is?

That's a great way to make your subscribers happy, even if they are just places that rent rooms.

Of course, these are the people who couldn't be bothered to give me a WB affiliate in the room a few years back, when homes had the WB. And on top of that, Music Choice was out. When there were community announcements or real estate ads, there was just a buzzing noise instead of good music.

 

[imhomerjay]

They should devote a channel to that because you're not willing to plan ahead or just flip through what's available? The world doesn't revolve around isolated cases.

 

[sack]

If Comcast offers an on screen guide, why shouldn't they be expected to do it right. We are paying PLENTY for cable, so it shouldn't be too much to ask that everything that we pay for is there and working.

They should devote a channel to that because you're not willing to plan ahead or just flip through what's available? The world doesn't revolve around isolated cases.

I never thought I would see the day when anyone defended the cable company.

 

[RonTheEngineer]

If Comcast offers an on screen guide, why shouldn't they be expected to do it right. We are paying PLENTY for cable, so it shouldn't be too much to ask that everything that we pay for is there and working.

Did any of you ever, I don't know, CALL CUSTOMER SERVICE?? Or was your first reaction to post it on an internet chat board?

 

[sack]

If Comcast offers an on screen guide, why shouldn't they be expected to do it right. We are paying PLENTY for cable, so it shouldn't be too much to ask that everything that we pay for is there and working.

Did any of you ever, I don't know, CALL CUSTOMER SERVICE?? Or was your first reaction to post it on an internet chat board?

Actually yes, I have called them. And "they make every effort blah blah blah", which means nothing. I've called, the guide still sucks. Next suggestion......