Comcast Enthusiast (Or XFINITY as they are now calling it)

Showtime Free Preview on Xfinity

2012-01-02T16:19:00.000-05:00

This coming weekend, January 6, 2012 through January 8, 2012 Xfinity will be having a Showtime Free Preview. Based on the Showtime website it looks like this free preview will include On Demand Content.

Xfinity Readable Voicemail

2011-11-12T08:57:00.000-05:00

I got a service announcement email from Xfinity the other day that they added a new feature to their voice phone service called Readable Voicemail. It basically takes a voicemail that has been left, converts it to text and sends it to you in an email message.

To enable this feature:

Sign in to XFINITY Connect
Click on the Email button
Click on the Preferences tab in the top navigation bar
Click 'Notifications' from the Preferences box on the left
Input your email address into the email notification box
Check 'Send transcripts via email'

The first time I tested it it sent me an email saying that the audio quality was to low to convert but it has been working pretty good since then. You also can have the emails sent to multiple addresses. Pretty cool.

Xfinity Internet Speed Increase

2011-10-27T23:02:00.000-04:00

Got an email from Xfinity yesterday that they have increased my Internet speed by 25%. Haven't really noticed that it is any faster but it is nice to see that they are still investing in their network to make things faster. According to the fine print my new download speed is 15 mbps.

I did a quick test on speedtest.net and it registered 16.17 Mbps. So even better than they claim.

Xfinity Mobile App for Blackberry

2011-08-15T23:15:00.000-04:00

Xfinity announced today that they are releasing a version of their Mobile app for Blackberry devices. To download the app and get additional information click the below link:

Xfinity Mobile App for Blackberry

Xfinity released their Mobile app for the iPhone and shortly after released a version for the Android. Nice to see they are supporting the Blackberry (which I use). Unfortunately the app will not run on my two year old Blackberry 8330 so I cannot review the app here. I guess it is time for an upgrade.

In order to run the app you need to have Blackberry OS 4.6 or higher and the app will run on the following devices models:

Curve 8900
Curve 8520
Curve 8530
Curve 9300
Curve 9330
Bold 9000
Bold 9650
Bold 9700
Storm
Storm 2
Tour
Torch

The App seems to include the same features on the Blackberry, iPhone and Android versions of the app. These features include

Access to your email inbox and voice mail messages
Schedule DVR Recordings
View and filter TV listings
Synchronize your Xfinity address book with your Blackberry contacts

Now I just need to get on the phone with Sprint and see if I am eligible for an upgrade so I can actually check this app out.

Xfinity Connect

2011-06-20T23:19:00.000-04:00

I got an email a couple weeks ago from Comcast that they would be upgrading the existing SmartZome Communication Software Email software to something called Xfinity Connect. When I logged in to check my email this weekend I was connected to the new interface. I was surprised that at first glance it looked very similar to the old interface. This is good thinking on Xfinity's part as they won't get a lot of calls from customers wondering where their address book button has moved to. There are some new features though that some will find useful.

New Homepage with an inbox preview and calendar interface
Homepage also has in interface for social networking which allows you to connect directly to Facebook and Twitter
You can also view all of you external email accounts from the homepage
As I mentioned the email interface looks very similar to Smartzone. A couple small changes; they changed the coloring of some of the buttons and fonts styles. The major difference that I have noticed is that Xfinity Connect appears much faster. Not just loading but when scrolling through, reading and deleting emails there is a huge improvement for me.

Most of the new features on Xfinity Connect like the calendar and social networking stuff I probably will noit use. Bust I am happy to see the performance improvement on the new interface.

Contant Guard from Xfinity

2011-04-28T20:38:00.000-04:00

Xfinity has rolled out a new product called Constant Guard. According to their website it is a security dashboard that will protect your passwords, credit card information and access to online accounts. This is all offered at no cost with your xfinity subscription.

Looking at this a little closer Constant Guard has four components:

Norton Security Suite - This has been offered to xfinity customers at no cost for the past couple years.
Secure Backup and Share - This is the online backup software that xfinity has offered to their customers for the past couple years. The free version gives you 2 gigabytes of backup space which is pretty useless for most users. The pay plans are $5 per month for 50 gigabytes or $10 per month for 200 gigabytes
Online Account Protection - This is the new component of Constant Guard. It is basically a password safe that remembers and secures your online account passwords ans credit cards. I have used this type of software in the past and I usually end up disabling it as it annoys me with constant pop-ups. I have my own methodology for remembering passwords. But I may give this a shot just to see how they implemented it.
Identity Guard - Provides lost wallet protection, ID recovery Services from the Identity Theft Assistance Center. There are also options to upgrade you identity protection for $8 month which gives you periodic credit monitoring. Or you can upgrade to the premier plan for $13 / month which gives you credit bureau scores and ongoing credit monitoring.

Really except the Online account protection xfinity is just re bundling Norton Security Suite and Secure backup and share. The Identity Protection isn't software but a service you sign up for that I assume you need to give your SSN to. T think they are offering thsi to Xfinity custmers for free hoping they will sign up fo the pay plans. I don't think I would sign up for the identity protection unless I had a problem but it is nice to know it is there just in case.

Comcast / Xfininy Provides Free Calls to Japan

2011-03-15T21:08:00.000-04:00

Comcast announced today that they will be providing free calls to Japan from March 11 through April 10th for all Comcast Voice Customers. Nice to see a big corporation like Comcast stepping up to help people keep in touch with their loved ones during a tragedy. Kudos Comcast!!!!

Xfinity Signature Support

2011-03-13T22:03:00.000-04:00

Xfinity / Comcast is in the process of rolling out a new service called Xfinity Signature Support. This service will (for a fee) offer technical support and hardware protection for your home electrtonics. The equipment protection would cover computers and or flat panel TVs.

They appear to have a couple Personal Technical Support Plans available.

Complete Home Support Plan - $19.95 / Month

Provides 24/7 phone support for up to 4 computers, your wireless neetwork, cameras, gaming systems and IPODS.

Wireless Networking Support - $5.95 / Month

Provides setup and 24/7 support for wireless networking questions

Computer Maintenance Plan - $4.95 / Month

Provides Services to Optimize, clean and secure all of the PCs in your home.

They are also offering various One Time Fix Services:

Internet Security and Virus Removal - $129.95
Compuer Tune Up - $49.95
Wireless Networking Setup - $79.95
General Help - $49.95
Computer or Software Setup and Installation - $49.95 - $149.95

Being a fairly technical IT person I handle my support issues myself, so I do not see myself using these support services. But I do find myself gettnig random calls from family and friends when they have issues, so this may be something for them to try before calling me, hopefully. I must assume that Xfinity is going directly at Geek Squad with these services. Not sure how competetive they are price wise vs Geek Squad but for a customer Xfinity already has on the line with an issue they can just trannsfer them over to signature support rather than sending them away to another service for help with their PC issues. My guess is the calls will be routed to a call center somewhere in India which may turn some customers off a bit. Will be interested to see how these services get promoted in the upcoming months.

Verizon FIOS Media Manager

2011-02-07T21:11:00.000-05:00

In the mail this week I got my bi-weekly advertisement from Verizon Fios tempting me to switch to their service. I usually browse though to see if they are offering any compelling new features that Comcast does not offer.

In this week's flyer they have a new feature called Verizon FIOS Media Manager that allows you to stream photos and videos from you PC to your TV. I have in the past wondered why Comcast does not offer such a feature as it seems it has all of the necessary components in place. Concast seems to be focusing a lot of recources lately toward the IPAD and movie streaming services there which makes sense as it is the hot new product. But it is a product that is in less that 1% of US households.

I am pretty sure there is a much larger percentage of Concast customers that subscribe to both internet and cable service that would find a media streaming from PC to TV much more useful.

I recently purchaed a Sony PS3 game console that along with allowing me to wirelessly stream Netflix movies also allows me to stream music, video and pictures to my TV from my PC. Sony's implementation of PC to TV streaming is a bit buggy but is workable. One big issue I have is that it does not allow me to stream wmv files from my flip campcorder which is 99% of the videos i would stream. Must have something to do with their competition with Microsoft's Xbox console.

I would love to see Concast jump into the PC to TV streaming arena and see what they could do with it. At the very least to keep up with Verizon.

3D Movies available on HBO On Demand through Xfinity

2011-01-04T22:45:00.000-05:00

I came across an article this morning about HBO making a few 3D movies available On Demand. When I got home tonight I checked it out and low and behold there is a new menu selection in HBO section with three movies available

The three movies they are making available are Coraline, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Monsters vs. Aliens. All seem to be kids movies but it is interesting that HBO is jumping out there and making content available. I am still not buying into 3D really catching on but content providers are definitely making an investment. It will be interesting to monitor the movies they make available to see if the number of selection increase over time.

Showtime Free Preview

2011-01-04T22:27:00.000-05:00

This coming weekend January, 7 2011 through January 10, 2011 Xfinity will be having a Showtime free preview. Based on the Showtime website it looks like this free preview will include all Showtime channels as well as On Demand Content. I used to subscribe to Showtime but switched to HBO a while back. Based on the content on the Showtime website they seem ti have a much better movie selection than HBO. Looking forward to checking it out this weekend.

Comcast 3D

2010-12-07T23:22:00.001-05:00

Last month my old Rear Projection HDTV finally died. I purchased this TV about 10 years ago when High Definition was just gaining buzz. Comcast did not even offer HD at the time but I knew it was coming so invested in the new technology and was ready when it became mainstream. I think they were making Plasma screens at the time but they were extremely expensive so I went with Rear Projection technology. It was great TV for 5 or so years until prices started coming down on plasma and LCD and I started having flat screen envy. But I just couldn't justify a new TV while the old one was still working. So I was pretty excited when the old RPTV finally died.

I immediately went online and started reviewing the latest technologies and models. For energy efficiency reasons I decided to go with LED technology and since my old TV was a Sony (which I was very happy with) I decided that I wanted to stick with Sony. I decided on the Sony Bravia KDL55HX800. One of the features of this TV that really was of no interest to me is that it is 3D ready. I like having the latest technology but 3D technology is of no interest to me because I am one of the estimated 5% - 10% of the the population that is not capable of seeing 3D. But when I purchased this model Sony was having a special promotion where they would include a PS3, 3D Sync Transmitter and 2 pairs of 3D glasses for a dollar more. Obviously they are really promoting their 3D technology. Can't really say no to that promotion so I bit. While the TV is great I never even really looked into all of the 3D stuff until this past weekend when I noticed while surfing through the Comcast HD channels that they offer a couple 3D channels.

Comcast has a section of their website dedicated to 3D but I will give you the basics below. In order to view HD content you will need the following. A HDTV capable of displaying 3D content, active shutter 3D glasses and one of the following 3D Compatible cable boxes:

Motorola DCX3200, DCX3400 or DCX3416 (I have the DCH3416 which was not on the list on the Comcast website but works)
Cisco (Scientific Atlanta) RNG150 or RNG200
Pace RNG110
Samsung RNG150

You will also need to call Comcast Sales and Support and ask them to enable 3D access to your account in order to view the 3d channels. At this point there is no additional charge for viewing the 3D channels but I assume as more channels become available in the future there will be an additional charge added. Comcast currently has two 3D channels in my area, the first is channel 333 which broadcasts live special events like the Masters, screenshot of that channel's current splash screen below:

The other channel currently being broadcast is ESPN3D (channel 334 in my area). Tonight during prime time they were broadcasting college basketball but there is still limited content so most of the time there is nothing being broadcast. I also read a recent press release that Discovery is current developing a 3d Channel that should be launching in 2011 so there is a chance for more 3D channels at some point next year.

According to the Comcast 3D website there is no 3D OnDemand content but I think the website is a bit out of date as I did find some OnDemand 3d Content. There were about a half-dozen pay movies that you can watch for $4.99. Another half-dozen short free movies which basically seem to be showcasing the 3D technology. There were also about a dozen sporting events that you can watch for free.

As I mentioned earlier, I am unable to see 3D content because of eye focus issues but I was curious to see if Comcast was in fact broadcasting 3D content. So this week I finally called Comcast to enable my 3D access, hooked up my 3D transmitter for my TV and enlisted my 3 year old daughter and wife to demo the 3d content for me. I had my daughter watch one of the short movies which had a water splashing screen and she thought she was actually getting splashed so I guess that is a thumbs up from her. I had my wife also watch a couple of the free OnDemand titles, although she was a bit more critical. While she though the technology was cool she couldn't see herself watching daily programming or even a whole movie with the bulky active shutter3D glasses on.

There has been a lot of press around 3D technology since the release and popularity of Avatar, but also a lot of critics saying that 3Dis just a fad that is going to come and go. I may be bit biased since I can not see the technology but I don't see 3D ever becoming mainstream or even as popular as High Definition technology. I think it may take off in certain segments like gaming but the mass population just will not adopt this technology. The reasons I feel this way are:

It is estimates that 5% of the population cannot view 3d technology (like me). It is also reported that up to 25% of people claim headaches or nausea from viewing 3d content
Lack of Content - There is currently very little 3D content so people are not going to shell out extra $$$ for 3d capable sets if there is little to nothing to watch.
3D Glasses are bulky and expensive

Comcast doesn't seem to be promoting their 3D content very heavily at this point but at least it is taking the initiative/risk and putting some content out there. Whether 3D actually catches on or not matters very little to me but it will be interesting to see where the technology goes as prices come down and more content becomes available over the next few years.

New Comcast HD Channels in New England

2010-12-05T23:19:00.000-05:00

It has bee a while since I have browsed through the HD channel guide. Looks like a few bew channels have been added including a couple 3D channled. A couple old channels have moved around as well.

333 - Comcast 3D Programming new
334 - ESPN3D new
612 - TEAMHD - NBA League Pass new
635 - GAMEHD - NHL Center Ice new
771 - HBO Signature HD *
772 - HBO Family HD *
773 - HBO Latino HD *
774 - HBO Comedy HD *
775 - HBO Zone HD *
776 - More MAX HD *
777 - Action MAX HD East *
778 - 5 Star MAX HD East *
779 - Thriller MAX HD East *
780 - WMAX HD East *
782 - Outer MAX HD *
784 - Travel Channel HD
785 - Encore 1 HD *
786 - G4 Video Game Television HD
787 - Style HD
788 - Lifetime Movie Network HD
789 - Fox Business Network HD *
790 - Hallmark Movie Channel HD
791 - QVC HD
792 - DisneyXD HD *
793 - Fuse HD
794 - Bravo HD
795 - CNBC HD
796 - ESPNEWS HD *
797 - Biography HD
798 - Independent Film Channel HD
799 - Women's Entertainment HD
800 - HDPPV
802 - PBS - WGBH
803 - ION HD - WBPX (formerly PAX)
804 - CBS HD
805 - ABC HD
806 - FOX HD
807 - NBC HD
808 - CW HD - WLVI
809 - ABC - WMUR (New Hampshire Affiliate)
810 - NECN HD
811 - WZMY - MYTV
814 - WSBK 38
816 - WUNI - Spanish new
817 - WUTF - Spanish new
821 - National Geographic HD
822 - NHL HD
823 - Discovery Channel HD
824 - Disney HD
825 - Nick HD
826 - ABC Family HD
827 - MTV HD
828 - Palladia HD
829 - VH1 HD
830 - FX HD
831 - TBS HD
832 - HGTV HD
833 - TNT HD
834 - E! HD
835 - USA HD
836 - Lifetime HD
837 - A&E HD
838 - The Tennis Channel HD *
839 - HD Theater
841 - Fox News HD
842 - CNN HD
846 - Univeral HD
847 - The Weather Channel HD
848 - Golf HD
849 - ESPN HD
850 - ESPN2 HD
851 - NESN HD
852 - Comcast Sports Network HD
853 - NFL Network HD
854 - Food Network HD
855 - Spike HD
856 - CBS College Sports Network HD *
858 - Comedy Central HD
859 - American Movie Classics HD
860 - Cartoon Network HD
862 - SciFi Network HD
863 - Animal Planet HD
864 - Country Music Channel HD *
865 - Versus HD
866 - Science HD
867 - TLC The Learning Channel HD
868 - Cinemax HD *
870 - HBO HD *
871 - HBO 2 HD *
872 - History Channel HD
873 - Starz Edge HD *
874 - Stars Kids HD *
875 - Starz HD *
876 - Starz Comedy HD *
877 - Showtime HD *
878 - Showtime 2 HD *
879 - Showtime Showcase HD *
880 - Showtime Extreme HD *
883 - The Movie Channel HD *
884 - The Movie Channel Xtra HD *
885 - The Big Ten Network HD *
899 - NFL Redzone HD
900 - ESPNU new
903 -Turner Classic Movies HD new
901 - MSNBC HD *
902 - Tru TV HD
904 - MGMHD *
911 - GRNHD
912 - TVONE
913 - NBAHD
914 - MLBHD

XFINITY WiFi

2010-10-14T22:20:00.000-04:00

I came across a press release about a new feature Comcast is rolling out to its customers called XFINITY WiFi. It is basically a couple thousand Wifi Hotspots that Comcast customers can access for no additional cost. Most of the hotspots are in fairly public places like train stations, parks and shopping centers. You can fine additional information here: http://www.comcast.com/wifi/

The website includes the below map feature where you can type in your address and find the hotspots near you

Most of the available hotspots are in the Greater Philadelphia area which makes sense as this is Comcast's home base. There are some scattered throughout New Jersey, Delaware, New York and Connecticut. Unfortunately there is nothing in Boston (or Massachusetts) at all. Looks like there are plans to roll out a couple thousand more hotspots by the end of the year so we may be seeing some up our way soon.

Water in the Cable Line

2010-10-13T22:49:00.000-04:00

Over this past summer my wife (who is a teacher and was home for the summer) started complaining that our Internet would go down around noon every day. She said it would usually be out for an hour then come back for a few minutes then go back down again. Usually by the time I got home from work in the evening it was fine so I never bothered calling Comcast support. This went on for a couple months until finally I was home one Saturday and noticed the problem. Initially when my wife reported this to me I figured maybe they were performing maintenance but surely any maintenance couldn't be going on this long.

So I got on the phone with Comcast Support and they performed some diagnostics over the phone and determined that I did have an extremely weak signal and they would have to dispatch a technician as they suspected the issue was with the line. A couple days later the tech came out while I was at work. My wife was told that we had water in our cable line and it would need to be replaced. Now, I am not sure how water got in the cable line in the first place as we had the driest summer in years in this area. Nonetheless it fixed my issue.

I assume what was happening was in the morning the water in the line was cool and didn't affect the signal. As the sun rose through the morning the water in the line would get hot and degraded the signal. Then as the sun set in the evening the water would cool down and my signal would come back. Not sure how common this is but I just thought it was kind of interesting.

Comcast DVR - TIVO Software update

2010-05-31T22:43:00.000-04:00

Go an email from Comcast last week about some updates to the TIVO DVR software. Nothing really groundbreaking, mostly functionality and reliability updates. I played around with the new features the other day and I probably woudln't have noticed anything new if it were not for the email. The highlights of the emial are below:

Improved stability and recording reliability
Faster and more consistent responsiveness, including for menu and Guide navigation and scheduling recordings
New "Turbo Mode" continuous scrolling in Guide and continuous channel change
With the grid Guide displayed, users can now continuously press (i.e. press and hold down) the arrow keys (up/down/left/right) to more rapidly scroll
"Turbo Mode" also works in the Guide for paging up/down using the Channel/Page keys, paging left/right using the RWD/FF keys, and 24hr skip forward/back using the Advance (aka skip-to-tick) and Instant Replay keys
In Live TV, users can now continuously press the Channel Up or Down key to enter "Turbo Mode" for channel change

They also had a link in the email for a coupon for a free on-demand movie rental.

Free Showtime On Demand

2010-03-27T13:02:00.000-04:00

This weekend only Comcast is offering free On Demand Showtime movies and original shows. The Freeview as thet are calling it actually started on Thursday March 25th and goes through Sunday March 28th. This does not include the regular Showtime channels just the On Demand content. Comcast used to offer free previews of Premium Channels quite often but it doesn't seem to happen much any more so it is nice to take advantage when it is offered.

Fancast Infinity.tv Online Issues

2010-03-13T14:26:00.003-05:00

This morning my 2 year old daughter and I were sitting at the computer watching a trailer for the new Disney movie when I noticed the Comcast's Infinity.tv now offers epidodes of Dora the Explorer that can be viewed online. It seems that for some of the content (premium channels and Nickelodeon) that you can view online you also need to have that channel included in your cable plan. When I clicked on the episode to view it I was prompted to launch Comcast Access to authorize my computer to use Infinity.tv. This process involves downloading and installing a program and then logging in using your comcast.net account. According to the website you can authorize up to three computers to use this service.

Unfortunately I only got as far as logging into my Comcast account and then got error code: 3013. There was no explanation on this error code just a link for Comcast support. I usually don't have much luck with Comcast's online chat help system but I didn't feel like calling the regular support line so I figured I would give it a shot. The transcript of my chat is below:

Corazon> Hello Steve_, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is Corazon. Please give me one moment to review your information.
Corazon> Hi Steve. Welcome to Comcast World! You can call me Cora. How are you doing today?
Corazon> I apologize for the inconvenience that it has caused you. Nevertheless, we will do our best to fix the issue.

Steve_> very well thanks

Corazon> I am glad to know that you are doing very well, Steve. I understand that you are having issues accessing infinity TV. Is that correct?

Steve_> yes

Corazon> I can certainly relate to your needs, Steve and to have you in this chat is as good as fulfilling my own. I am committed in wanting to provide you with the best customer service experience. You can surely take your worries out.
Corazon> In order to assist you better, I need to pull up your account first. Could I please have your comcast 16 digit account number?

Steve_> xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Corazon> Thank you so much. Please give me a moment to check the account.
Corazon> Thank you for patiently waiting, Steve.
Corazon> Have you accessed xfinity TV before?

Steve_> No

Corazon> All right.
Corazon> Let me check first if Xfinity is already available in the area
Corazon> The reason why you are receiving an error message is
Corazon> I’m sorry, but XFINITY is not yet available in your neighborhood. We apologize for creating any confusion. The ad was shown because XFINITY is available in some areas that are close by. You can visit XFINITY.com and sign up to receive an email alert once XFINITY is available in your neighborhood.

Steve_> ok, thanks anyway

Corazon> Is there anything else that I can help you with today, Steve? I'll be more than happy to answer any other questions you might have.

Steve_> Just wondering why I can watch some infinity tv programs but not others

Corazon> The process is not yet complete.

Steve_> Ok, Thanks

Corazon> You are very much welcome, steve It has been a pleasure assisting you today.Thank you for bringing Comcast to your home! We appreciate your business and value you as a customer. I would also appreciate feedback from you about how I can continue to serve you better by taking the quick survey after clicking on the 'End Session' button. Thank you for choosing Comcast and have a nice one!
Corazon> You may now click the END SESSION button on the right-hand corner and then, the YES button located on the bottom of this chat window.

A couple interesting things about this chat transcript....Based on some of Cora's responses I am assuming that their chat support is located overseas. Not that I really have a problem with that but I just found some of her responses really funny. Such as...

Corazon> I can certainly relate to your needs, Steve and to have you in this chat is as good as fulfilling my own. I am committed in wanting to provide you with the best customer service experience. You can surely take your worries out.

So accorrding to Cora, Infinity.tv is not available in my area but I should go to http://www.xfinity.tv/ and sign up for email alerts to find out when it will be available in my area. So I signed up for the email alerts but also noticed that there was a dialogue box where you can enter your zip code to see if xfinity.tv is available in your area. After entering my zip I got the following response...

It may be available in my area...what does that mean??? Why is Comcast rolling this product out on their website if it is not yet available in all areas? Kind of frustrating. They have been advertising Xfinity like crazy on TV I am surprised that it is not completely ready to go. Hopefully they get this resolved soon and it becomes available in my area.....I promised my daughter she could watch Dora.

3/14 Update

I tried to view the subscription content again tonight and I am no longer getting the 3013 error code. I was able to log in and authorize my computer and then I was able to watch the videos. Looking at the page statistics for this blog I noticed that I got a lot of hits from people googling the 3013 error so I am apparently not the only one who was having this issue. Not sure if it was fixed for everyone but if not hopefully it will be soon.

Comcast Data Usage Meter Launched

2010-02-16T21:01:00.000-05:00

About a year ago there was some buzz about Comcast limiting the amount of data that users were allowed to download/upload per month. Apparently some users were sent a letter warning them that they were consuming too much bandwidth and if they continued their account would be closed. I never did hear of anybody that actually got their account closed but the threat was there.

The amount of data that Comcast allows you to download per month is 250 gb, which is quite a bit. Given that a High Definituin movie is about 5 GB, that would allow you to watch about 50 movies per month. According to Comcast, 99% of their customers get nowhere near that limit. The problem was that there was no way to know how much bandwidth you were consuming.

Comcast now has a solution to the issue with the launch of the Data Usage Meter. To access this tool you need to log into your Comcast CustomerCentral. Once logged in click on the Usage and Settings tab and then click View Details under High Speed Internet Data usage. You should see a screen that looks something like this:

It looks like you can see the current month's data usage as well as the past 3 months. Fortunately I am not even getting close to the data limits. But I don't currently watch many movies online or download that much data. But I can see how some customers may have an issue with the data limits. With everyone in a family having a computer now I can see a large family hitting the limit if there are kids in the family streaming movies and such all day long. At this point movie streaming is not as common place as it will be in a couple years from now. Even Netflix only offers a small percentage of their movies for download. But eventually I think we will see DVDs go away and all movies will be streamed. When this happens Comcast will either have to bump up the data usage limits or offer a new pricing tier for high data usage customers.

A couple more details about the Data Usage meter:

The email I recieved announcing the launch said it was now available in my area (North of Boston). It may not be available in your area yet.
The data usage meter tracks total household data usage (not individual users/computers).
The data usage calculation includes downloads and uploads.
The usage meter is only available to primary user accounts and unrestricted secondary user accounts with billing access.

xfinity

2010-02-14T22:31:00.000-05:00

Comcast is apparently in the midst of rebranding its product line as xfinity. According to the Comcast website xfinity represents the future of Comcast and their promise to keep innovating. So guess the products will now be called xfinity TV, Internet and voice. They will be changing the logos on all of their vans and marleting materials in the upcoming weeks as well.

I guess the xfinity name is a bit cooler and younger sounding than Comcast but it does seem like an expensive undertaking that will just confuse some of the older customers. Same products just a different name, guess we will have to wait and see if it sticks.

Comcast adds NECN HD in New England

2010-01-27T21:46:00.000-05:00

On January 18th Comcast added NECN HD on channel 810.

Our current High Definition channel lineup is:

771 - HBO Signature HD *
772 - HBO Family HD *
773 - HBO Latino HD *
774 - HBO Comedy HD *
775 - HBO Zone HD *
776 - More MAX HD *
777 - Action MAX HD East *
778 - 5 Star MAX HD East *
779 - Thriller MAX HD East *
780 - WMAX HD East *
781 - Outer MAX HD *
784 - Travel Channel HD
785 - Encore 1 HD *
786 - G4 Video Game Television HD
787 - Style HD
788 - Lifetime Movie Network HD
789 - Fox Business Network HD *
790 - Hallmark Movie Channel HD
791 - QVC HD
792 - DisneyXD HD *
793 - Fuse HD
794 - Bravo HD
795 - CNBC HD
796 - ESPNEWS HD *
797 - Biography HD
798 - Independent Film Channel HD
799 - Women's Entertainment HD
800 - HDPPV
802 - PBS - WGBH
803 - ION HD - WBPX (formerly PAX)
804 - CBS HD
805 - ABC HD
806 - FOX HD
807 - NBC HD
808 - CW HD - WLVI
809 - ABC - WMUR (New Hampshire Affiliate)
810 - NECN HD new
814 - WSBK 38
815 - Planet Green *
816 - TV One HD *
817 - NBA TV HD *
818 - MLB Network HD
821 - National Geographic HD
822 - NHL HD
823 - Discovery Channel HD
824 - Disney HD
825 - Nick HD
826 - ABC Family HD
827 - MTV HD
828 - Palladia HD
829 - VH1 HD
830 - FX HD
831 - TBS HD
832 - HGTV HD
833 - TNT HD
834 - E! HD
835 - USA HD
836 - Lifetime HD
837 - A&E HD
838 - The Tennis Channel HD *
839 - HD Theater
841 - Fox News HD
842 - CNN HD
845 - WeatherScan HD
846 - Univeral HD
847 - The Weather Channel HD
848 - Golf HD
849 - ESPN HD
850 - ESPN2 HD
851 - NESN HD
852 - Comcast Sports Network HD
853 - NFL Network HD
854 - Food Network HD
855 - Spike HD
856 - CBS College Sports Network HD *
858 - Comedy Central HD
859 - American Movie Classics HD
860 - Cartoon Network HD
862 - SciFi Network HD
863 - Animal Planet HD
864 - Country Music Channel HD *
865 - Versus HD
866 - Science HD
867 - TLC The Learning Channel HD
868 - Cinemax HD *
870 - HBO HD *
871 - HBO 2 HD *
872 - History Channel HD
873 - Starz Edge HD *
874 - Stars Kids HD *
875 - Starz HD *
876 - Starz Comedy HD *
877 - Showtime HD *
878 - Showtime 2 HD *
879 - Showtime Showcase HD *
880 - Showtime Extreme HD *
883 - The Movie Channel HD *
884 - The Movie Channel Xtra HD *
885 - The Big Ten Network HD *
899 - NFL Redzone HD
901 - MSNBC HD *
902 - Tru TV HD
904 - MGMHD *

Comcast Secure Backup and Share

2010-01-20T22:24:00.002-05:00

A few months ago I posted about Comcast's lack of offering any kind of online backup product to their customers. At the time there were a few articles floating around the web stating that Comcast would be offering Online backup soon but the pricing structure seemed a bit out of line with the competition.

Just today I found a new page on the Comcast Security Site offering Online Backup to its customers. The product is called Comcast Secure Backup and Share (powered by Mozy). It appears Comcast has partnered with Mozy to offer their software to its customers with a couple additional features that I will discuss later in this post.

I was a but surprised though that Comcast Secure Backup and Share has a bit different pricing structure than the Software you get directly from Mozy.

Mozy Offers:

2 GB - Free
Unlimited Backup - $55 year

Comcast Secure Backup and Share Offers:

2 GB - Free
50 GB - $50 year
200 GB - $100 year

So if you can get the same product directly from Mozy for less money what is the incentive to purchase the product from Comcast?

Multuple Users - With regular Mozy for each additional PC you need to backup you need to pay an additional $50/year. With Comcast Backup you can add 6 additional users/computers to the backup plan.
File Sharing - Access any of your backed up files from any PC or mobile device through the Comcast Vault application

The key feature for me is the ability to add multiple PCs. This is a feature that none of the online backup providers offer. I currently have Carbonite Online backup running on one PC in my home that has about 15GB backed up. On another PC, I am using Mozy's free 2GB plan. So since I am currently well under the 50GB limit for the Comcast Secure Backup and Share plan it would make a lot of sense to move to the Comcast plan and have everything managed under one account as well as have the ability to easily access my files from any device. Unfortunately I am signed up with Carbonite for another 6 or so months so I will have to wait. In the meantime if anyone out there is using Comcast Secure Backup and Share let me know if you like it and if it will be worthwhile for me to make the switch.

Free Norton Security Suite / Anti Virus from Comcast

2010-01-20T22:18:00.000-05:00

Looks like Comcast has parted ways with Mcafee and is now offering Norton Security Suite to its customers for free. No details on the reason why they are no longer offering McAfee but the Security page now allows dowloads of Norton Security Suite for PC or Mac.

I downloaded McAfee a couple years ago when Comcast started offering it for free and have been pretty happy with it. I had it installed on two PCs in my home and have never had a virus problem. Years ago, I did have an early version of Norton Anti Virus installed on my PC and I seem to remember needing to uninstall it as it was slowing down my PC so much. Remembering this I was a little hestitant to install Norton Secuity Suite. But a quick google search confirmed that the product is much improved performance wise and overall is one of the highest rated Security / Antivirus products available.

So I downloaded the product and installed it and I have to say I am pretty impressed. The initial download was pretty large, almost 100 mb and the install took about ten minutes. It automatically uninstalls McAfee for you so no need to manually uninstall. It has all of the features that McAfee had (parental controls, identity protection, backups) and does not seem to be affecting performace at all. Best of all it is free!!!

comcasttheworldofmore.com

2010-01-19T21:44:00.000-05:00

I got a letter in the mail today from Comcast that at first glance looks like a counter-punch to the intense advertising campaign that Verizon Fios has going on in my area right now. The letter thanks me for using Comcast and tells me that they have recently upgraded the network in my community.
It goes on to inform me of the new HD channels in my area, 50mbs High Speed Internet Service and Digital Voice, all of which I already subscribe to. The website then asks me to visit a website to see how I can take advantage of all that Comcast has to offer. The website was not a Comcast site that I had seen before and seems to be customized for me...

FirstNameLastName.comcasttheworldofmore.com

Of course the real link has my actual first and last name but the above link brings you to the same site. The site again is trying to sell all of the Comcast products that I already have but there is a link at the bottom to download a coupon for a free On Demand movie. Cool!!!! So I click on the link and get the below error:

Invalid Password? I was never prompted for a password or a username for that matter. Anyone else out there able to download the coupon. I can't imagine Comcast sent out a link to a website that doesn't work. If so I gotta think someone is going to get fired.

New Concast Guide and DVR Features

2010-01-12T23:00:00.000-05:00

I just found this page on Comcast's website announcing a bunch of new/upcoming features to the Cable Guide Software. Seems like Comcast is giving the the standard guide software some similar features to the Comcast TIVO Guide software. Some of the highlights are:

Watch In HD - The Watch In HD button allows you to instantly watch programs in HD with a click of your remote.
On Demand - Skip Ahead / Skip Back - Allows you to skip ahead or back 5 minutes by using the page up and page down buttons on the remote.
Interactive TV - Shop by remote or request coupons from advertisers using your remote
Caller ID - See who is calling on your TV, This feature is not really new, it became available in my area about 4 months ago.
myDVR Manager - Schedule DVR recordings online. This has been available on the Comcast TIVO software for quite a while. Looks to be the same software being used on the standard Guide.
DVR Search and Record - Enter a search term and the DVR will aoutomatically search and record programs related to your search.
DVR History - The DVR will remember shows you have already recorded and will not record them again.
DVR Folders - Categorized programs in folders
DVR Clean up - Allows you to delete more than one DVR Program at once.

Many on the new DVR features are features that have been always been available on the Comcast TIVO DVR, But you pay an extra couple dollars a month for the TIVO DVR. One of the reasons I pay a little more for the TIVO DVR is because I was always having lag problems with my standard DVR. With these new features it may not make sense to play the extra money for the TIVO DVR (as long as the lag issues are gone). Will be interesting to see these features in action.