A rant against stupid channel numbering, and related idiotic engineering

In particular, Come-on-cast, er, Cr@pcast, er I mean Crumbcast. SD channels starting from 1 or 2 (stupidly unneeded but that is another thread http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/why-are-there-still-standard-definition-channels.429514/). Then, the HD channels are shifted by some weird number like 270. Sheesh! At least U-Verse shifts the HD channels by 1000, so channel 9 is 1009 in HD.

If you are connected to an HD TV, why oh why can't you program the thing to simply BLANK OUT non-HD versions of those channels? Oh, must be laziness. After all, who gives a flying fig about the CUSTOMER, they just PAY through their…anyway…

I will give some kudos to Crummycasts new system, where if you choose an SD channel it automatically switches to the HD version if available. Now if U-Verse would get off their butt and do that…

And U-Verse kudos for getting a DVR that when you stop, skips back to the scene change so you don't have to fiddle trying to rewind 17 seconds or whatever.

Insert your own rants (or kudos) here.

 

Sounds like your crankshaft's been torqued.

 

On TW they adjusted channels in this way, but I am glad local channels, in HD, can be accessed on my system, by their original channel numbers - even though there are two places for them in the system. KTLA is 5, KNBC 4 etc. KLCS is 30 and still broadcasts in SD & probably always will. Hated having to remember 3 numbers for local channels.

 

DirecTV allows that; you can set the guide to only display HD channels.

 

So does Comcast. OP must have an older box. You can also set it to automatically tune to the HD channel if you accidentally turn on its SD counterpart.

 

I know on DirecTV, you can configure the tuner to only allow you to watch all-standard-def or all-high-def. I do the latter so I won't be annoyed by standard-def anything in 2015. This won't stop a channel from uprezzing a standard-def show and putting it out on HD, but that kinda thing happens.

Damn, BeatleJWOL beat me to it! Great minds, etc.

 

I am permanently peeved by the Shopping Channel getting some single digit number channel.

 

I'm one of the few who basically likes Comcast, except for the monopolistic control they have and their prices. FIOS is not in my area, nor is any other option. But Comcast has always been very responsive to issues and I think the longest outage I've ever had was maybe 4 hours when a neighbor down the street took down a tree which took down the cable.

But I want to blank out ALL CHANNELS MY PACKAGE DOESN'T HAVE. I know they are trying to entice me to buy premium channels. Some of the ones I don't get perplex me on why they aren't included. But no, I don't need to see the ever-growing list of Spanish language channels they have. Nor do I need to see the other languages. (Here in the Seattle area we do have a number of them.)

I know I have my favorites list, but I would also like to block channels that I never ever and will never ever watch, such as the religious based begging for cash channels, and the home shopping ones.

 

Moreover, the SD and HD channels have the same channel number! Having the ability to see the SD channel came in handy for me the other day when one of the HD channels was temporarily unavailable, but the SD version was OK. As it was a news channel, it was no big deal to switch to SD until the HD version re-appeared.

 

Comcast's Xfinity TV Remote app for iOS and Android devices has a similar if not identical function: it displays real-time TV listings and allows you to filter the listings to only display the HD channels. It's effectively the same thing if you use the app instead of the standard remote for most common functions besides powering the cable box on and off.

 

That's what happens when you get 5,000 channels, of which you watch, maybe a dozen or so - none of it makes any sense

 

Oh, Amen to that! Somebody used to do that-Charter? "GUIDE" would toggle through like 3 views: only channels you had, all channels, and I forget what the 3rd was. U-Verse at least I see a blank picture-in-picture, but it will let me select things to record that then give me a "you're not subscribed" message.

 

That's very true. I routinely come up with a "custom" channel selection on the satellite so I won't see the channels I hate (generally avoiding politics, foreign languages, shopping channels, religious stations), and just center on the handful of channels I actually might watch. I would love a forced "ala carte" plan where you only pay for the channels you really watch. I think that would be well under 20 channels for me, including Pay TV.

 

Given a functional alternative, Comcast and TWC would have no customers; a change is a comin'. I'm sure.

 

I have U-Verse, which at least increments the numbers by 1000. Is it possible to set this to automatically switch to HD versions of the channels? the Comcast box was indeed older and the new Xfinity box lets you do that at least. Now, to just get them to actually credit the free HD for a year that was promised due to service interruption...

 

Doesn't always work though. I still get a few duplicate listings at times and I have no idea why. It's better now, but last month I had both KCBS SD and KCBS HD listed in my guide.

 

Insofar as stupid channel numbering ... Here in the Tampa Bay area Brighthouse has a channel exclusive to Brighthouse: "Bay News 9" which has always been at channel 9 and 9.1 (HD). Recently Brighthouse renumbered the HD channel as 18.2. I mean like their own channel! Crazy.

 

Just about everyone would. Unfortunately, the prices would skyrocket, and there would be a lot of channels that would just flat out be dropped by the provider.

 

I'm Canadian, maybe we use better hardware or something. I can choose to see channels I don't get or I can grey them out or I can choose to not see them at all. If I tune into an SD channel it asks me if I want to switch to the HD version. My HD channels start at 1 and the SD ones start at 300. As for only paying for what you want, Canada is getting ready to do that and it will almost certainly destroy a lot of smaller Canadian channels that are currently subsidized by being packed with the American channels everybody wants to watch. I am not looking forward to that.

 

Welcome to Australia. We're not really upside down but when it comes to TV we are very back to front!

Let's start with free TV. We have five networks. ABC, like PBS, SBS, which used to specialise in foreign language content but is now more of an "alternative" network, Seven, Nine and Ten, so called because they originally broadcast on VHF 7, VHF 9 and VHF 10. I think you can guess which network broadcast on which channel. Each channel has a main channel: ABC1, SBS, 7, 9 and 10. Each channel has a sub-channel: ABC2, SBS2, 7TWO, GO! and 11. Each channel has another sub-channel: ABC News 24, SBS HD, 7mate, gem and one. These sub-sub channels are the ONLY free-to-air HD channels in Australia. SBS HD is the only one that is the same as the "main" channel. All channels are widescreen, even the SD ones. Also, ABC has ABC3 for teens and the 7/9/10 networks each have two additional shopping channels!

Our main subscription television provider, which has cable in some ares but satellite in most, is Foxtel. They have heaps of channels but only about two dozen are available in HD, at an extra $10/month. None of their time shifted channels are available in HD. 101-145 Entertainment. 148-199 Time shifted entertainment. 200-299 all HD channels. 401-499 Movies. 501-599 Sports. 601-699 News and documentary channels. 700-799 Kids channels. 800-899 Music video and radio channels. 901-998 Pay per view channels. 999 Help. Note, these are ranges. There are not 99 movie channels or 99 sports channels, for example.

Our version of A&E the slogan is "Real life". It has nothing but "fly on the wall" reality shows. So why the hell is there an A&E HD but not a TheComedyChannel HD? All of the "Drama Pack" and "Foxtel Movies" are available in HD but not all of the "Entertainment Plus" pack or "The Documentary Pack". We have two commercial free drama channels but some other channels are as bad as free-to-air for commercials. Most first run shows on the Fox8 channel are from The CW channel in America. Which makes me go HMPH! But most shows on ABC3, which is free, are off YTV in Canada, which I believe is a cable channel, so I guess we're even there. All in glorious standard definition!

 

Yes, YTV is a Canadian youth cable channel. I get a lot of channels in HD but not all. I get Detroit's PBS station in HD, but not a west coast one, which is where I live. There are also a bunch of Canadian cable channels where I only get the Toronto feed in HD, not the western ones. I'm on satellite and only got my local TV station last year and it's in SD. My sister next door has cable and gets it in HD.

 

Not my problem. Good channels will survive; crappy channels will die out. It's always been this way. People should only have to pay for what they actually consume, not what the vendor needs to sell.