DescentBB

is anyone happy with their Comcast Digital Cable and Internet?

my parents are about to move, and DSL is not offered where they are moving to.

now most of you guys know me, i cant stand Cable Internet. Comcast as usual is sporting their 3.0Mbit bandwidth. everyone i know here in ATL has told me they have never been able to touch the 3.0Mbit bandwidth. they also told my mother they assign 300 users to each node.......... to my knowledge a cable internet node can only support a maximum of 256 users. the IP addressing is the limit, being its ###.###.###.0-255 . is comcast lying or is this true?

another thing..... they want to purchase Generic Digital TV Decoders.....will Comcast still beable to detect these and charge the $4.80 per Box rent fee? or will these "Generic" boxes be undetectable? also, what is the usual fee to get these boxes programmed and ready for use?

AceCombat wrote:they also told my mother they assign 300 users to each node.......... to my knowledge a cable internet node can only support a maximum of 256 users. the IP addressing is the limit, being its ###.###.###.0-255 . is comcast lying or is this true?

They're probably splitting them up in a subnet or something.

another thing..... they want to purchase Generic Digital TV Decoders.....will Comcast still beable to detect these and charge the $4.80 per Box rent fee? or will these "Generic" boxes be undetectable? also, what is the usual fee to get these boxes programmed and ready for use?

No. The only way they'd know is if you went to them about it, or mentioned it over the phone. I haven't gotten any calls from Direct TV about me capturing Gargoyle episodes, so I seriously doubt Comcast will pick up a PVR.

edit: Doh! Thought you were talking about a personal vid recorder, not a descrambler. Those things will get your ass thrown in jail if not a bunch of fines dude.

Comcast sucks in my area, and given that they charge an arm and a leg for it per month, its not worth it.

If you install a decoder of any type, they WILL detect it and possibly cancel your cable service and even go as far as suing you. It goes against federal law. If they do and you want to use it again, you got to pay a hefty fee.

Happy with my service, yes - rock solid and fast. Unhappy with the fact that they made me buy basic cable, but hey, now I watch Simpsons reruns.

I'm quite pleased with mine also, I very seldom have problems.

Comcast is about half-ass here.

Generic cable boxes are legal. You have every right to use one, and not the providers. No rental fee..but the things cost $200 or thereabouts. It's the chip you put in it to get more channels is what's illegal.

okay, so the Decoder Box's are legal... how much does it cost to program one?

and so Comcast's 3.0Mbit guaranteed Bandwidth is "almost" completely true

Yes, it is subnetted, and on 300 to each node, i love my internet, but ive also used my friends (who is in the next city over) internet and he has high usage neighbors on comcast to so his internet ends up sucking most of the time.

Wait, I think I misunderstood.

If you need a box to decode your signal, then its perfectly fine and legal. They just wont give you "support" cus they dont know what it is.

But if you were talking about a descrambler, then thats illegal.

As long as you are not using it to get additional channels (which is what I thought, silly me) then its fine.

Sorry for the confusion.

they also told my mother they assign 300 users to each node.......... to my knowledge a cable internet node can only support a maximum of 256 users. the IP addressing is the limit, being its ###.###.###.0-255 . is comcast lying or is this true?

This is not true. A node has no direct control over how many users there are on it. What they probably meant was that there were only 300 homes passed on each particular node. It varies depending on the design of the cable system. IP's are given out by the CMTS (essentially a router for cable modems) which will have likely several ip ranges alloted to it for use (depending on how many modems the CMTS is set up for)

As for your dislike of Cable Internet, let it be known that not all cable systems are created equally, even among the same company in different towns. A well designed, well built cable system run by people who know what they're doing, you will generally have few or no problems with. However, if the engineer was an idiot and there are idiots running amok as techs in your cable system, then you're gonna be an unhappy customer.

another thing..... they want to purchase Generic Digital TV Decoders.....will Comcast still beable to detect these and charge the $4.80 per Box rent fee? or will these "Generic" boxes be undetectable? also, what is the usual fee to get these boxes programmed and ready for use?

Why would they want to purchase a Generic Digital TV Decoder? You won't be able to use them except MAYBE for digital off-airs that your TV may not be able to recieve, but if you have cable tv, this is a non issue, you wouldn't be using an antenna and the signal would have already been converted back to analog in the cable head-end.

Not to mention, if you aren't signed up for digital, its probably trapped out anyway. In addition, if you Did have a digital box, it still wouldn't work without being authorized at their digital hit center. They only authorize boxes from the cable provider. So, you have to have the box the cable provider gives you.

A Node Supports a Maximum of 400 Users Most companies split a Node when it reaches +200 ( I see them Everywhere, but I know what Im looking for) Regulates upload and Download caps etc etc!

95% of Comcast in the SoutheastUS is All Fiber, so called "Last Mile" is coax

Plus unless you have SDSL(business Class) Cable Smokes ADSL!

Just keep your firewall uptodate! ( cough ) Ace! PS: do not let people upload Virri to your FTP

Thats all done by the CMTS Bubba. Nodes are basicly fiber-to-coax converters. A good designer won't put more homes passed on a Node than the node can handle, or be upgraded to handle.

Capm.."Good Designer" and "Comcast" are usually at opposite ends of the spectrum!

Testiculese wrote:Capm.."Good Designer" and "Comcast" are usually at opposite ends of the spectrum!

Thank you Testi.....my exact thoughts

True enough

Comcast is ..um.. well.. it's fast. Yea, it's fast. but it ends there.

I had Comcast for a year or two and the followoing things happened.

1) I lost connection for over an hour every night about 2AM.

2) they probe the helloutta your ports.


3) The software they install to "make it easy for you" installs spyware that will periodically call out without "saying anything". My firewall shut it done a couple of times.

4) And last but certainly not least, if you use a router, thier tech guys call you up and threaten to disconnect you and press charges.


Now THAT's Customer service. :\

Duper wrote:2) they probe the helloutta your ports.

That's your neighbors not Comcast!

3) The software they install to "make it easy for you" installs spyware that will periodically call out without "saying anything". My firewall shut it done a couple of times.

As soon as the tech walks out your door....Um you uninstall it. The so called ATTBI/COMCAST Spyware/Software is NOT required except for the intial tech to register your Cable Modem's Mac Address

4) And last but certainly not least, if you use a router, thier tech guys call you up and threaten to disconnect you and press charges.

Yeah that is correct, But ONLY if you attempt to obtain another IP address for the additional Computer (IOW you F'd with the router settings)instead of sharing the one you already have assigned!

I love CaBlE mYtHs

MUEahahahah MY Turn....

BUBBALOU wrote:

Duper wrote:2) they probe the helloutta your ports.

That's your neighbors not Comcast!

Actually, my nieghbor had this happen. My firewall just brushes this stuff aside. I get a couple thousand "hits" a day anymore.

BUBBALOU wrote:

Duper wrote:3) The software they install to "make it easy for you" installs spyware that will periodically call out without "saying anything". My firewall shut it done a couple of times.

As soon as the tech walks out your door....Um you uninstall it. The so called ATTBI/COMCAST Spyware/Software is NOT required except for the intial tech to register your Cable Modem's Mac Address.

Did that. Dorks. Was like watching Currlie-Joe and Larry.

BUBBALOU wrote:

Duper wrote:4) And last but certainly not least, if you use a router, thier tech guys call you up and threaten to disconnect you and press charges.

Yeah that is correct, But ONLY if you attempt to obtain another IP address for the additional Computer (IOW you F'd with the router settings)instead of sharing the one you already have assigned!

I love CaBlE mYtHs

Naw, again, my neighbor has a Linxy router and shared with his roommate. He covered all his bases, just local ATT/Com guys being dorks.

Duper wrote:Naw, again, my neighbor has a Linxy router and shared with his roommate. He covered all his bases, just local ATT/Com guys being dorks.

Actually, if he is leasing the modem then well they cover up to the modem, if he owns the modem they can kiss his ass... go check Comcast/ATTBI TOC

4) And last but certainly not least, if you use a router, thier tech guys call you up and threaten to disconnect you and press charges.

That depends entirely on who you get on the phone when you call tech support. I had some connectivity issues with Comcast a while ago, and one day, I got a person on the phone who asked about my network configuration, told me to immediately disconnect my router, and never addressed my problem. The next day I called up, got a different operator who couldn't be arsed to care about my router.

As for Comcast's overall quality, it really depends on where you live. You might get stuck on a busy node and have a local office full of idiots, or you could get lucky, be the only person on your node, and have a local office run by people who actually know what they're doing. Yeah, it's a roll of the dice, but if you're moving to an area without DSL, you can roll the dice or go with dialup.

According to the sales rep. they do carry the LinkSys Cable Modem.

i know the Motorola SB-400 has a serious firmware issue. so ive already told my parents to stay away from the Motorola modem at all costs.

BUBBALOU wrote:

Duper wrote:Naw, again, my neighbor has a Linxy router and shared with his roommate. He covered all his bases, just local ATT/Com guys being dorks.

Actually, if he is leasing the modem then well they cover up to the modem, if he owns the modem they can kiss his ***... go check Comcast/ATTBI TOC

Yes he does and Exactly!

It used to be that you could by your own modem. Now they make it nearly impossible too. You also get charged something like 6 extra dollars to use your own.

well....i have to admit, my parents are getting the 3.0 Mbit guarantee



Dad's PC


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