XfinityTV and Equipment

[jetermacaw]

As with everyone else I have had this issue for over a year, all the phone calls, techs, corp. headquarters etc., yet we still have to live with this problem while they continue to take our money. I know there are other options but when it works it is GREAT, my picture is crystal clear, sound is great. When will they actually address the problem and how about a little pay back to those of us who have stuck it out and been loyal. I have been with Comcast for over 23yrs. and I feel they REALLY don't give a ..... .

[Agilis]

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guziol wrote:

Most of times when I rewind video is normal with pixelation, no blackouts.  I have two RNG 200N boxes in my house and both are doing same thing. I had numerous technicians coming and looking for problem in and outside with no luck. Signal levels are good with some fluctuations, so they can't or don’t want to find interference causing pixelation and signal loss . Video that I posted is most violent in my collection, normally it is just a black screen for few sec. I know that I might have two different problems but I thought that they might be related. Thanks for reply.

---

With my issue, and most, it's a black screen for a few seconds which seems to happen at radom times. Ironically, when it does occur, it is usually at an important point of the program, or seems to at least. Never seen it happen during commercials, go figure.

You issue in the video was very violent and I've never seen picture freezes to that degree. Sure, on the DVR, I experience audio drop outs, video freezes, etc. but not as repetitive as the one in your video or as extensive.

I believe you are right when you say you are experiencing 2 separate issues and the fact it is happeing on 2 boxes canot be a coincindence.

Good luck. I suggest calling Comcast and demand talking to someone on the board of directors.

[dsaul9]

Hey ComcastTeds: any new news on the identification and resolution of this problem?

[ComcastTeds]

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dsaul9 wrote:

Hey ComcastTeds: any new news on the identification and resolution of this problem?

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Unfortunately, the teams have not yet uncovered the root cause of this issue and are still analyzing the diagnostic logs and data from a few boxes where this has been observed. There are a few theories but nothing conclusive yet.

[jetermacaw]

Hey Ted does this mean we don't have to make our full monthly payments?

[truerock2]

I installed a Cisco RNG200N (manufactured 10/19/2011) in my upstairs master bedroom in January.  I have a Scientific Atlanta 8300HD in my downstairs family room.

The Cisco RNG200N had periodic audio drops that lasted about 1/2 of a second.  If I re-played the same program by "re-winding" - the audio drop-outs would occur at different points.  Obviously the audio drop-out problem was not being caused by the Comcast signal or recording technology.

I removed the HDMI cable that I used to attach the Cisco RNG200N to my Panasonic TH-37PD25 plasma TV.  I attached the DVR to the TV with component video cables and L-R RCA stereo audio cables.  The audio problem has not occurred over the last 6 days.

[alinmass]

thanks for the updates comcast ted - please continue to stay with this issue; there are many of us quietly waiting for a fix

[contactcr]

Bump, this is ridiculous.

Ted, if they still haven't figured out the problem then they must not be putting much effort in to this particular issue.  The summer will come and go at this point and once again you will miss the estimated time

[ComcastTeds]

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contactcr wrote:

Bump, this is ridiculous.

Ted, if they still haven't figured out the problem then they must not be putting much effort in to this particular issue.  The summer will come and go at this point and once again you will miss the estimated time

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Apologies that the root cause analysis for this issue is taking as long as it is taking, that is unusual. 

I agree that this is very frustrating.

This is still an open and high priority issue. It is under active investigation by Comcast and Cisco. Actually there is a second meeting with Cisco and Comcast engineering teams this afternoon focused.solely on this topic

A fix (once the root cause identified) will be included in a release as soon as possible. The team needs to understand what is causing this issue before they can attempt to fix it.  

To be clear and to level set expectations, the upcoming summer guide release for SA-Cisco areas is currently scheduled to go out with or without this specific fix. There are many customer facing issues that are addressed and resolved in the summer release along with a few new features, including the following:

- DVR Boxes losing functionality of 15 second rewind and 5 minute skip back after being online for a significant period of time.

- DVR over-recording issues with New and Repeat episodes

- RNG 200s only: When watching live TV, pressing rewind may rewind all the way to the beginning of the buffer and bring the customer back to live TV.

- RNG 200s only: Audio /video occasionally cuts in and out after swapping channels.

We have seen significantly reduced instances of the unintended Not Authorized screen as part of the software patch that was distributed to all of our SA-Cisco locations.

We have also worked with Cisco to make important and necessary firmware changes in the upcoming guide release. These additional firmware changes have been shown to eliminate the unintended Not Authorized occurrences that have been observed.

The firmware update included in this upcoming summer release also has the HDMI cables working very well with the HD Pass-Through feature.

Depending on the timing, a fix for this specific issue (momentary black screen on the Cisco RNG 200N) may have to go out in a follow-up firmware or software update after the full summer release. I wanted to share that current thinking with this group.    

[ComcastTeds]

We appear to possibly have a viable solution for this issue.

We need to run some additional tests in our labs and QA environments next week to confirm and verify that all is working as designed and that this issue is indeed truly resolved.

Once that is done and there are no issues, we expect to have this fix included in the upcoming summer release.

Apologies for the delay and thanks for your continued patience.  I will update this thread next week with our results.      

[ahauman]

Great News Thanks Ted.

[GCHSR]

Great news!

I switched to an SA 8300 HDC a while back to avoid the problem. Looking forward to getting back to the RNG 200N with more available storage.

[BobD8487]

This is great news, Ted. I have been monitoring this thread for months not seeing any end in sight.  I finally had enough of the new RNG video drops (always during the best parts of a show) and dropped back to the older version (silver) a couple of months ago.  The old version *frequently* loses audio (live and during DVR playback), but a quick channel change (live) or rewind/play (DVR) usually restores it.

Still have frequent video problems (freeze frame & tiling) with the HD feed from WCBS TV in New York - only during their news casts!  Affects Channel 233 and 802 HD, but never the standard def channel (or boxes) using Channel 2.  That is not a box problem, and is probably their feed which *may* be outside Comcast's control.

[Gingergirl40]

OMG! I finally found people with the same problem!! I also replaced the new,black RNG200N with the older , silver RNG200 and that fixed the problem!! Unfortunately, i still have another RNG200N in my kitchen and I took it to my local office to switch it but they did not have any of the RNG200s so I  still have the problem in the kitchen but the TV in living room is fine!! So it is the box not the cables! I have tried the RNG200N on a third tv of my daughter's and it did the same thing! I also use all HDMI cables! I tried everything else! I will see if they can order me a RNG200!! but yes, now we PAY a charge to switch boxes!!!! INSANE!!!

[BobD8487]

I, too, switched back to the older silver RNG200.  While the video black-out problem does not exist on the older box, I now have the problem that caused me to upgrade to the newer model - audio drop-outs.  I get them on live broadcasts and DVR playback.  I have to switch channels away and back to what I was watching to clear it on live TV, and hit Rewind/Play to clear it on playback.

Both problems stink, but more so with the new box because this problem has been reported in this forum and elsewhere on the Internet for well over a year.  There is no excuse for Comcast not to have worked with Cisco to resolve this sooner.

I work with Cisco on a regular basis with other broadband cable equipment and it is not a difficult process to work with their TAC engineers.  If I had the authority to open a Service Request on this set-top-box I would have done so long ago when I knew darn well it was the STB and not the long list of excuses and reasons for service calls by Comcast:  bad house cabling, poor signal strength, problems on the pole, bad connectors...the list goes on and on.  I'm a Quality Assurance engineer and I know how to troubleshoot a problem.  Too bad Comcast can't or at the very least, listen to their subscribers who have been reporting a very real problem for a very long time.

[Mike150]

If you contact customer service to report the problem they act like it's the first time they've heard of it. Their only solution is to set up a service call. Then prior to the service call you get a phone call from the tech in his vehicle acknowledging that it is a know problem and suggesting that the call be canceled.

[ahauman]

Comcast Ted,

What date is the summer release, including the fix for this issue, scheduled to be implemented?  And what was the cause of the issue?

[Julie8000]

I have the silver Rng200 and the same problem with the black outs. Seemed to be getting worse. My two cents

[dsaul9]

Is it possible to let us know when the fix is pushed to a given area and how to check that the fix has been applied? thx

[tlovejoy]

Seems like lots more drop outs to me....last night at least 8 or 10 in a few hours! Comcast's overall service seems to be getting better, but they don't seem to be addressing this issue or dealing with financial compensation for a service we are paying for and not gettint

[ComcastTeds]

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ahauman wrote:

Comcast Ted,

What date is the summer release, including the fix for this issue, scheduled to be implemented?  And what was the cause of the issue?

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This particular issue was in the Cisco firmware, a timing of two different processes which created a race condition.

The fix is included in the upcoming guide software release that will include additional guide features. We are well underway with employee trials in several Comcast locations and getting the results we are looking for.

The release will start to be available to customers after the successful completion of our trials where we can further validate that this (and other issues) have been corrected.

We are targeting to deliver this release to customers starting in July. This will be a rolling site by site deployment so some areas will have it before others.

I will be able to share the specifics once we get closer to the first deployment locations. Thanks for your patience.

[ComcastTeds]

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dsaul9 wrote:

Is it possible to let us know when the fix is pushed to a given area and how to check that the fix has been applied? thx

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The fix comes with additional guide features so the easy way to tell is to look for those features (below) and also an iTV button will appear on the Quick Menu.

Some of the new features that are included in the summer release are listed below:

myDVR Manager: From the internet and the Xfinity TV app, customers can: set recordings, view/modify scheduled recordings, view completed recordings, modify series priority lists, etc. http://xfinity.comcast.net/mydvr/how-to/

Caller ID to the TV See who's calling, right from your TV and PC! Comcast Universal Caller ID takes the guesswork out of incoming calls. http://www.comcast.net/callerid

Xfinity TV Application: The ability to use your iPad to schedule and manage DVR recordings.
http://www.xfinity.com/help/internet/mobile-tv-app/

HSN Shop-by-Remote: A convenient, new way to make HSN purchases simply by using your remote. http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV_Guide_Shop-By-Remote_0110.pdf

Request for Info: Know more, save more! Introducing an easy way to request valuable coupons and info from advertisers simply by using your remote. http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Request%20For%20Information.pdf

Ready Remind and Ready Record: Now you can conveniently set program reminders or recordings directly from certain TV show and movie advertisements. http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Ready%20Remind%20Record.pdf

The version number of the on-screen guide for your cable box can be found in the guide's setup menu.

Press the Menu button twice on the silver Comcast remote control, select Setup, then Cable Box setup, arrow down to Configuration and Select to display and press OK/Select.

The line immediately underneath the Review Configuration header will show you the version of the guide currently on your cable box. The first few characters (S25p3) indicate the guide code number. A change in guide code number on that box (to S26) would indicate an update to the guide.

Don't worry. You will hear about the new guide from us in advance in a few different ways (other than having to constantly check your guide code number via the above)!

[ahauman]

Thanks for the update Ted.  Have a good weekend.

[Starbrite13613]

ComcastTeds,

Since its already into July and nothing's been posted yet, I was hoping you would have the summer rollout schedule available.

I've been dealing with problems centered around the RNG200N, but I had been assured by Comcast that the problem was on MY end. Imagine my surprise when, after I went out and bought a NEW TV, my problems got even WORSE! The constant flickering and loss of sound is incredibly annoying, and knowing that a fix is available but not being delivered en masse to everyone who has an RNG200N because Comcast is waiting to do a feature rollout is maddening!

I've tried calling into Comcast support, and it is worse than useless. No one on the front line has any idea what I am talking about when I ask about a summer rollout or an update to the RNG200N firmware. Maybe if I felt like there was any kind of sympathy on Comcast's end it wouldn't feel so bad. But listening to techs say they haven't heard of this problem before, or telling me the problem was with my TV just really ticks me off.

I'd appreciate any information you can provide on the schedule for the Florida/Palm Beach market, and I'm sure everyone else in the other locations would as well.

Looking forward to your response...

[regnal]

Wouldn't we all handle this better if Comcast had just told us the problem existed and sent us updates???

[regnal]

I've had 13 service calls from "techs."  If these issues are not resolved by August I will painfully call DirecTV.  I really don't want a dish out back but what could be worse than techs who know nothing, who admit to having DirecTV, who come unprepared, who don't bring the DVR for exchange, yada, yada, yada.

[Mike150]

This has been ongoing for at least a year. It totally ruins the TV watching experience. My wife and I have a few shows we really enjoy and I have to constantly hit the short rewind button to back it up so we can hope to catch what we missed. We've resorted to using subtitles because sometimes when the image comes back the subtitles are still on the screen and we can read what we missed. This is really sad.

Sometimes our sons drop in to watch a game on the large screen and they can't believe what's happening. They also can't believe we don't get the DVR fees reimbursed. I think that's why when you call tech support Comcast never admits that there is a problem. Once they acknowledge it people would be calling for credits. A class action suit couldn't be too far behind.

[Starbrite13613]

I use the CC trick, too. But the new kicker is my 10-second rewind button NO LONGER WORKS! If only we could get the highest speed DSL from our telco and not depend on Comcast for our Internet, I would cancel in a HEARTBEAT!

[Agilis]

ComcastTed

How bout an update. It's July, well into the Summer, when the rollout for this update was to be expected, yet, we do not have, nor have we heard of, any updates from you within a month.

Thanks.

[regnal]

If Comcast doesn't get this corrected in July, maybe they'll send us all $20 for being late! Ha!

[spottedlady]

Let us all know when you get that $20.  I have been waiting since the guide came out last May (2011) and started all the issues.  All we get are excuses and empty promises.  

[ScottieBones]

having the same problems with the RNG200N. eagerly awaiting the update/fix

[hofiveo1]

Waiting for the same thing, UPDATE!!! I just wonder how many customers have scrapped their tvs or other equipment to solve this issue. I know i researched my tv, receiver and cables trying to figure this problem out, even put in for warranty repair for my receiver and tv until i found these posting in the Comcast forums. So annoying paying alot of money for the service and still getting screwed!!!

[eden4ever]

Hi fellow black-out sufferers. I am from the Memphis area and suffer your same ills. I've spent hrs on the phone arguing with customer service. Had 2 missed appoinments in 2 weeks. I won't even go into the number of times e-mail by people at the call stations was sent to have supervisors call me who never did.  The 4th technician was here today who took out the hdmi cable and hooked up component cables.  None of them knew anything about the problems with the rng200n or so they claimed. I spent over an hr on the phone with a supervisor in the expedite department who had no knowledge either till I directed him to this page. I even pointed out to him that on this page comcast is finally admitting the fault is in their equipment. I also told him I felt it was unfair to expect their customers to keep on paying full bills for a problem that has been going on since 2011. I told him it would be good for public relations all around to start giving people with these problems credit on their bills till the problem is fixed. He said that was above his station so to speak. He said he would check into it ( when the problem will be fixed) and call me back when he found out something, but I am not going to hold my breath.  Mine blacks out on all channels all day and all night. Maybe we should call local news stations and show them where comcast is admitting the fault is their equipments and see if they can help?????? Anyone else have any ideas???

[Mike150]

To Eden4Ever. There will still be breakups in the video and audio with the component cables it just won't be as intense as with the HDMI cable.

I'm sure the technicians know about the problem. But they like their jobs and they don't want anyone calling Comcast management and quoting them by name.

[eden4ever]

This is so true Mike. You know you would think that Comcast would care and want to do everything possible to develope brand loyalty and good will with their customers as they have admitted the faults lie with their equipment and whatever arrangement they have going with Cisco which is still them. Maybe they think they are too big to fail, but I bet so did other companies like circuit city and blockbuster to name a few and where are they now. What is the #1 customer complaint these days----- poor customer service!!!!!!!!! It would behoove them greatly to show their customers with these problems of their (comcast) making some much deserved good will for their patience and loyalty with credits on their bills for the poor service of their equipment and we shouldn't have to ask for it either. Why wouldn't they want to drum up some good will for themselves as it would probably go along way.

[hofiveo1]

Eden4ever I am also from Memphis area(Bartlett), I would be intrested in calling one of the local stations or help proving the story. Keep us posted on what the supervisor tells yeah. I think I will call and try to get one of the supervisors and tell them about this thread. Any pointers Eden4ever? Thanks to all. 

[Agilis]

If using a Home Theater A/V receiver, use HDMI with separate optical (TOSLINK) and you can avoid having any audio dropping out when the black screen rears its ugly head.

[eden4ever]

Hofiveo1 the only advice on getting a supervisor to call is keep calling and having the call center people keep sending e-mail to the supervisors in hopes that one gets sent to someone who actually cares and will call. I can't tell you how many times I was told someone would call me within 48 hrs and no one did. I was shocked when I got the call from Patrick in Nashville. I really don't expect him to call back though, but who knows. I have a question for you. How did they run the cable at your house??? Mine is wrapped around the outside and runs through my downspout on my gutter and it looks like garbage. I thought they were suppose to run it through the attic.I am on my 8th dvr box in less than year.

[eden4ever]

Agilis------- I don't have anything but the tv, a vcr and a play station hooked up. The man who came today took off my hdmi cord and put on a component cord which he said was better.  It's still blacking out though.

[Starbrite13613]

Just got off the phone with John at Comcast. Now my DVR has decided that it will not allow me to schedule a recording when it doesn't feel like it. It gives an error message that says the service is currently unavailable, and to call Comcast.

John said he did a 'rolling refresh' to update my box, and miraculously it allowed me to record again. He said he checked the box's codes before he did it and they were all correct, so I'm not sure what the refresh was supposed to do. But while I had him on the phone I figured I'd take a shot and complain again about the DVR and ask about the summer rollout.

He immediately understood the problem, but said he had no prior knowledge of it. He said that on the front lines they are not informed of coming updates until probably a day before they hit customers' boxes, and that he didn't know when we could expect it. He said that that was a question for the higher ups, and requested permission to call me back when he got an answer. I'm not holding my breath either, but maybe if the powers that be get enough people clamoring for attention they'll tell us SOMETHING!!!

I will definitely post again if I hear something back. If anyone else hears anything, I'm sure we'd all appreciate it if you would let the rest of us know.

[Mike150]

It's a carefully delegated system of denial. Tell each customer their problem is unique. It's mandatory in a competitive field. Car manufacturers have refined it to an art form because sales suffer when recalls hit the media.

[Starbrite13613]

Well, I never got a call back from John - surprise, surprise! And I checked up on ComcastTeds, too. While he logged into the system today, he evidently is ignoring our pleas for information or has decided that he's said too much already and is keeping his distance.

Maybe he got in trouble with the powers that be for admitting publicly that there is a fix available but that they are holding it back for a feature update with no release schedule in place.

When I discussed this with my husband today he thought that maybe it was time to get our local news channel's consumer affairs lawyer interested in Comcast's tactics. I wonder if they'd be interested...

[eden4ever]

Surprise, surprise that John never called back------(NOT)!!!!!!!!!!!!! Patrick hasn't called me back either. I suggested the same thing about getting the news station involved. I mean they claim they have the fix in Jan, but aren't releasing it till sometime this summer and yet keep sending regular bills. Does everyone who has been lied to already so much by comcast really believe they have a fix and just aren't releasing it or could this be more stall tactics???????? I don't know where everyone is at and how many locations are envolved, but maybe if a whole lot of different news stations picked up this story and ran with it they might could get to the truth.

[Starbrite13613]

I actually bit the bullet and sent a message to the reporter that is carried by my local station. I didn't realize it, but it's a syndicated report, so he actually covers lots of different markets. I also asked if he wasn't interested in the story, if he may know someone else who was. If I hear from him, I will post again.

I can't believe that somewhere in Comcast's domain that there isn't a lawyer having these problems and hasn't gone after them with a vengeance already. Kinda makes me wish I'd gone to law school now!

[ajkellyonthebas]

At one time or another since I started the beta trial of the new guide with this box I have experienced all of these issues. Now an outage in my area (Miami) has left me with no Internet or tv for 2 days. All normal troubleshooting steps have been taken and nothing works. After last attempt to reboot STB I am confronted with an error code of "cannot find DCD ref: SARN200N-0410". Tech is scheduled for this morning but if my past experience is an indicator of the probable outcome, it won't be much help.

[Starbrite13613]

Thanks for sharing.

How did you get to be a part of the beta program? I'd be interested in finding about more about that, so at least I'd get to give Comcast some kind of feedback and get this issue solved! I'm not a technophobe, and my husband is the CTO of a software company, so we're usually pretty good beta testers for all kinds of technology.