COMCAST locked out the Digital Cable Box when the Tornado Warning was issued. I was watching SPONGEBOB and then the screen went blank. Then the display on the digital cable box read EAS. And on the screen was an EAS Message mentioning the Tornado Warning. And it said message from WTICAMFM. You couldn't change channels or turn the box off when this message was up.
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Tornado Warning Hartford County Comcast Cable
- Thread starter MarcB
- Start date
The Emergency Alert System was obviously activated.
mescutia said:
Unless the TV was plugged into the electrical outlet on the box instead of the wall, it could not turn the TV on automatically. Some analog cable boxes had an outlet in which you plug your TV into there, so you can turn the box and the TV off in one click, though I have not seen anything like that on digital boxes.
That being said, you could still turn off the TV instead of the box.
MarcB said:
That's how it works now Marc. And, might I add, that's company-wide with Comcast. At least, in your case, there was an actual emergency to report. The same thing happens on the first weekday of each month - as a test - here in Illinois. Unfortunately, there are 3 different jurisdictions in our area with the authority to test EAS (2 counties and the state EMA), so it happens multiple times between 10 and 11 am on that day. Once or twice, I was home with the little one - trying to watch Sesame Street with her - and the EAS test froze for more than 2 hours! Thus the box was disabled for all that time until they released it. And, no, it wasn't just my box or account. In the end, I called Comcast to complain but was connected with some clueless individual with an IQ of 70 who didn't know/understand what I was saying. Yeah, you're probably all shocked to hear that one! :
I get what you're saying about wanting to have a choice of channels when there's an emergency message. However, the way the technology works, Comcast has to do it this way to ensure that you're getting the message whether you're watching HBO or Spongebob or HGTV. In your case, WTIC-AM has long hosted the state of CT's EBS/EAS system - so at least they are making sure that you are getting the information from the 'horse's mouth'. A tornado warning is definitely a good reason to activate EAS.
DToTheJ said:I think the real reason why the alert was triggered on the cable box was because Marc was watching "Spongebob."
Truth be told I wasn't really watching Spongebob. I was flipping through channels, landed on Nickelodeon went to the bathroom, came back sat down and with-in 30 seconds of my return The EAS had taken over.
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necrat123
Guest
In Springfield, WWLP got a waiver to have Comcast no longer block their signal during cable originated EAS messages.
I won't get into the details, needless to say, broadcasters can get cable companies to not do that, but it requires a lot of paperwork.
The cable EAS thing could be handled a lot better and more efficiently by the manufacturers than it did.
I won't get into the details, needless to say, broadcasters can get cable companies to not do that, but it requires a lot of paperwork.
The cable EAS thing could be handled a lot better and more efficiently by the manufacturers than it did.
MarcB said:DToTheJ said:I think the real reason why the alert was triggered on the cable box was because Marc was watching "Spongebob."
Truth be told I wasn't really watching Spongebob. I was flipping through channels, landed on Nickelodeon went to the bathroom, came back sat down and with-in 30 seconds of my return The EAS had taken over.
Wow, TMI!
Most companies EASs work in this way on the digital boxes. They send the EAS on a separate digital bubble, saving untold thousands in having to have a separate encoder for every video stream they have. One encoder, one stream. Cox works this way as well.
But it sounds like your box missed the all-clear signal, for whatever reason. Things break... its not "incompetent people" or "stupid and worthless", everything happens for very good reasons, some you may or may not agree with.
If you disagree with this method of sending EAS via digital cable boxes, you are free to petition the FCC as any concerned citizen can.
Necrat said:
Not entirely true and not all that bad....
Its a simple letter to their governmental compliance officer, and its done. I bothered to respond to the periodic queries from Cox, I just don't care otherwise. I signed it, they sent it back fully executed, and it lives in the public file.
There is a clause in the letter though that the station will still be interrupted on digital. That means even if you are watching the "analog" 2-99 stations, on a digital box, you are watching a digital stream. I explain why this is so in the response above.
I tested Cox after sending the letter at the next RMT, I watched the actual analog... cable ready... analog on one TV and the digital stream on my digital box, and sure enough, no break on analog, digital was steered to the EAS "channel" with the display saying "EAS".
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necrat123
Guest
Ron said:
With all due respect Ron, you weren't there, you don't know the situation. I was part of it, seeing as I dealt with the EAS situation and know exactly what we had to go through. Another thing, you were dealing with Cox, not Comcast. Our situation was with Comcast not Cox. It wasn't as cut and dry as your situation was.
Necrat said:
I've started but never finished the process with Comcast as well, its identical.
You must have had someone in the Governmental Compliance office on a bad day, or you dealt with the totally wrong people.
With Comcast you have to just kind of figure they are taking another channel off or moving another channel around.
But yes, Marc, Comcast blocks the entire system for an emergency alert. Nothing pisses you off more than being in the middle of a good program and the EAS notification comes on.
But Spongebob? Seriously?
But yes, Marc, Comcast blocks the entire system for an emergency alert. Nothing pisses you off more than being in the middle of a good program and the EAS notification comes on.
But Spongebob? Seriously?
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