RandyRants.com: “I just noticed that I COULD NOT Fast Forward, Rewind, etc. through “24” or “American Idol” when watching them via MyDVR last night. My neighbor reports the same thing… anyone got news on WHY Comcast is disabling this?! Thast’s a terrible move.” — Larry
Uh-oh. Anyone else want to weigh in on this? I don’t watch either show, so I haven’t seen this. Both are on Fox, so it might be a network deal that they made with Comcast – it could be particular for these two shows. Or it coulda been a malfunction (although I don’t think it was). Hell, it could even been something the Comcast is funking with – I’ll be TiVo’ing recording The Apprentice tonight, so I’ll try skipping around in it.
Complete bunk, if this is the coming trend for Comcast – maybe I’m not completely done with TiVo or ReplayTV, after all…
Update: More on this here thanks to Tommy. I’m also going to record “American Idol” on HD (FOX) tonight and see what happens… I won’t be watching the show tho. Honest.
man, i noticed the same thing and i thought it was just my comcast dvr. this sucks ass. A $49.99 Tivo looks attractive to me now.
http://www.tivo.com/2.0.1.asp
Not bad for a refurb… I’m still going to stick with the Comcast DVR for now – with the two tuners, the HD recording, and the simple fact that I *never* miss a channel change (I missed a bunch of shows because of that) seem to make it worth it. For now. If other channels start to do this, it’ll be a difference story.
I have not had this, but I have cox. What cox has done though is in order for me to record ER and point pleasant—wait I can’t. Recently, they have been starting shows at 10pm but ending other ones at 10:01. This means that if I record more than one show I can’t really.
It’s out of control. This is a DVD from cox….makes me wonder.
Ya, that’s NBC trying to be foxy – what Comcast DOES do is pad their show recording times by a couple of minutes on both sides. If you are only recording one thing, you’ll never notice and if two shows overlap, you will be asked if it’s OK to change the channel (like TiVo used to). But this whole “no FF for you” is bunk.
just got my comcast DVR. it sucks. it always screws up games by not knowing when the game ends.
plus it can’t guess what shows you want.
Not sure that TiVo would stop recording when a game ended or extended if it hadn’t finished… Does another PVR do that? As to the suggestions that TiVo does do, I turned that off after one day: found that it recorded a bunch of kid shows because I told it to record a bunch of Anime shows… if it can’t tell the difference between anime (which sometimes have TV-MA) and Nickelodeon cartoons, it’s not worth using :)
This is a problem, but it is *not* related to the Broadcast Flag.
http://slate.msn.com/id/2091723/
What about the new high-definition digital recorders? Will they allow me to time-shift shows, skip commercials, or pause live broadcasts?
Yes. One of the biggest myths about the broadcast flag is that TV networks are pushing the flag to end time-shifting and to force viewers to watch the commercials. In reality, the flag’s purpose is to stop file-sharing, not time-shifting. ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC, want to protect their audience-share by offering programming that’s as good as what’s on HBO without having it go straight to KaZaA.
I get my television via cable or satellite. Does the broadcast flag apply to me?
No. Cable and satellite are regulated separately from traditional through-the-air broadcasts, so your set-top box won’t be watching for the flag. Cable-satellite copy-protection mechanisms are negotiated individually between the maker of your television’s tuner, such as Sony, and the content providers, such as Time Warner.
But if you’re a cable-viewer seeking an excuse to fume at the Feds, take heart. The FCC has mandated that all televisions of more than 13 inches must include a digital tuner by 2007. You’ll have to pay an extra couple of hundred bucks for one in your next set, even though you’ll never use it.
I got my Comcast DVR in December and have had the constant problems. The system seems to “overload” very, very easily. When using the remote control, the entire system shuts down repeatedly when accessing the menu, or dvr settings, or almost any other function, other than merely changing channels. After repeated calls and visits from Comcast, it has gotten no better. I am ready to have it taken away.
Anyone else had similar problems? Solution?
Alan, I had that problem on our first unit. Comcast came out (next day), replaced the unit, and the problem went away.
They also did an inspection of the outside cable wiring and notced that there was no grounding, etc., and fixed up that, too.
TV station in Boston looking to do a story about people having troubles with Comcast DVRs breaking over and over. If you have had a bad experience, and are willing to tell us about it on camera, send me an email.
Not it, sorry :)
Just curious, out in Boston, are they running the Microsoft version or the Comcast version of the software?
The Motorola 6412 is old and often a refurbished unit. Had problems with freezing, not recording, etc. Just had it replaced by Comcast with the new Motorola 3416 and so far no problems.
I am on my second 3416. It intermitantly thinks the DVR memory is full when I know it is only 10% full. The symptom is you come home turn on the TV wanting to look at the program you have recorded and get the memory full message. Really sucks
We had Comcast come install our Digital service yesterday 5/18/07 Later in the evening we realized the DVR and other features didn’t work.. We called them this morning, and the tech support rep told us they could NOT help us OR send a technician because we had a past due bill….. Why in the world would they even install the service then? This is our last time with Comcast… We’ll do without TV completely as they are the only “ballgame” in town… THANKS for the service Comcast.
When first got my Comcast DVR, I thought it was great to have 2 tuners and be able to record 2 programs while watching a third I had recorded earlier. Unfortunately, I’ve had constant problems with my Comcast DVR. Comcast even replaced my cable box, and I still have problems with it. After working for about two months my DVR is not working YET AGAIN. None of the DVR functions(pause, rewind record) work, it’s as if my cable box “forgot” that it is a DVR! I am about to call the cable company now and see whats up. Comcast’s Internet service & cable is pretty decent, but their DVR feature’s reliability is DREADFUL.
I’ll keep posting any additional problems here.
Never mind the DVR, my cable TV’s been completely out for three days. Oh, and what I said about their Internet service being decent? You can scratch that – my Internet access has been out or extremely slow for about the same length of time, even thouh it seems to be OK right at this moment, knock on wood.
Thank God, they are sending a technician out Friday. I just hope he knows what the hell he’s doing.
the comcast dvr sucks, when you record a show that is 720p it plays back at 420p. I will be buying the new tivo(have worked a deal where if I come back they will only charge 6.95 for service).
I was a long time subscriber to Comcast and one day, my remote became very sluggish. I tried everything, changing the batteries, pressing the A/B button on the front of the receiver, unplugging the receiver, everything and nothing worked. Soon after, I began working at DISH Network and I thought it was best if I tried out their service. Let me tell you, I will not be going back to Comcast any time soon. There is a reason that DISH Network has beaten Comcast in customer satisfaction 10 years in a row. DISH also provides you with so much more value because you no longer have to pay for your HD programming and DISH provides the lowest priced digital channels 24/7. I invite people to explore the endless possibilities with DISH and experience what it feels like to watch TV in the best quality possible.
*Danielle