Comcast hits the sauce a little too hard, claims more HD than DirecTV

by Darren Murph posted Sep 12th 2008 at 3:53PM

We know our evaluation is a few months old now, but we're pretty darn sure Comcast hasn't made up the huge gap between its HD lineup and DirecTV's in a few short months. Nevertheless, said cable company has apparently lost its mind with a new 30-second spot themed after Deal or No Deal. In the ad, a contestant is asked to guess which provider has more HD options at 7:12PM in Chicago, and after he correctly guesses DirecTV, the badly misinformed host tells him that he's flat-out wrong. Then, a graphic shows up touting "500" HD options for Comcast and just 95 or so on DirecTV, and as if that weren't misleading enough, the spooky narrator reminds us that "Comcast always has more HD." It's not that we don't believe the guy, we just can't figure out on what planet this scenario is actually true. The mind-boggling spot is after the jump.

[Via CNET, thanks Isaac]

Filed under: Cable, Satellite, Advertising

Tags: ad, advertisement, advertising, comcast, commercial, directv, marketing, spot

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Highly Ranked

WhoCares @ Sep 12th 2008 4:03PM

They're not talking about HD channels, they're talking about HD content...so, Comcast is adding their HD-on demand content to it's HD channel listing to get to that 500 number.

Highest Ranked

Patrick @ Sep 16th 2008 3:00PM

right. but most people don't care about HD content or "options." they want HD channels. it's misleading and i'm glad someone is calling comcast out. comcast knows exactly what they're doing in these commercials.

Highly Ranked

Bob @ Sep 12th 2008 4:53PM

That is what that little fine print note on the bottom of the ad is saying.

Highest Ranked

Jeremy W @ Sep 12th 2008 5:14PM

The worst part is, they don't include DirecTV's HD VOD content. That's straight up fraud.

Highly Ranked

Tony @ Sep 13th 2008 12:20PM

This is America why let facts get in the way of a good commercial :) I have been watching Apple commercials for years where all they do is bad mouth the PC with out facts or proof?

Did you know Coke is better than Pepsi and Tide gets clothes cleaner than Surf,
and 4 out of 5 dentist prefer Crest.

And I am better than everyone else 9 out of 10 Engandet readers say so :)

Neutral

Smoke_Dawg_187 @ Sep 14th 2008 10:52AM

@ Tony,

Bravo!

Brilliant comment! It's excellent comments like that which makes Engadget one of the best out there. = )

Highest Ranked

rti92si @ Sep 12th 2008 4:11PM

I questioned our market Comcast rep about the ad and he said the ad is reffering to content not channels. They are factoring in VOD and PPV into that number which is very misleading as we assume they mean channels. Of course DirecTV now has VOD and they have PPV as well so I still call shenanigans on the ad. Thought I would share

Highest Ranked

Marrvia @ Sep 12th 2008 4:08PM

I've seen this ad many times, and for months, they have had other commercials claiming to have more HD than anyone. They are referring to On Demand HD content, which is a total cop out, but if you count that, Comcast isn't lieing. On Comcast at 7:12 in Chicago, technically, you can view 500 different HD programs. I still would rather have more HD channels though.

Neutral

Garst @ Sep 12th 2008 5:59PM

I'm more concerned with the quality of the shows than the quality of the picture of the shows. Who cares if you can get x number of shows/VoD if all you can get is things you don't want to watch anyways?

Who wants Comcast anyway? They'll make you shop the "magnificent mile" nake, get tackled by Brian Urlacher, or re-marry your ex or they'll take away their cable television.

Highly Ranked

Jim @ Sep 12th 2008 4:19PM

Yeah I flipped when I saw this add for the first time. This is outright criminal. For anyone slightly knowledgeable about such things it is obviously a blatant lie, but there will be those that get suckered in by this BS.

Highest Ranked

Rob @ Sep 12th 2008 4:43PM

Well, Comcast also offers "unlimited internet service." However, when you pay attention, you'd see that they have a way to screw with their customers. I'm just glad I don't live in their reign.

Neutral

JD @ Sep 12th 2008 4:45PM

There's no way that they have 500 Channels of HD to view at 7:12, for them to have 500 of anything at that certain time, they would also have to have 500 channels to show it. At least they're lying right to your face, instead of just on the phone a they normally do.

Highly Ranked

The Fuzz 53 @ Sep 12th 2008 4:50PM

Why doesn't Comcast take the money they spent on that farce of an ad and use it to upgrade their network instead?

Neutral

The Fuzz 53 @ Sep 12th 2008 4:54PM

Also, a buddy of mine is dieing to dump Comcast for DirecTV but her can't because he lives in South Jersey and Comcast won't give up the Comcast Sportnet to channels to any other providers . So he's stuck because he won't be able to see the Phillies or 6ers on DirecTV because Comcast holds their channels hostage. Anybody have any suggestions as to if there are any solutions for him?

Neutral

mitchelljd @ Sep 12th 2008 5:03PM

yeah they have to complain to their congressmen and senators because Comcast is actually preventing carriage of those channels by other companies like Directv or Dish.

Neutral

why not the LS2LS7? @ Sep 12th 2008 10:23PM

There are a lot of Comcast Sportsnets on DirecTV. But there is no NJ one on there. I wonder why they picked that one to withhold.

Highly Ranked

Phour ZwanZig @ Sep 13th 2008 8:57PM

They can do it.. Fox is doing the same here to Cable and their HD feed.. And Fox has the Exclusive rights to the Packers.. Check out the TWC & Fox WLUK 11 issue in the Greenbay Area and you see the same.. Its not right but it happens..

Exlusive rights to anything in my opinion is Wrong.. And the NFL started it all w/ Madden Football..

Neutral

mitchelljd @ Sep 12th 2008 5:02PM

Yeah, Comcast actually sucks with HD.

I have Directv and am actually pretty happy ... now that they have 2 new HD sats in the sky. :-)

but... who knows if comcast actually starts launching new channels like HDNET, HDNET MOVIES, which they have balked at for years, why? they own part of MOJO. god forbid they actually carry a channel they don't own a piece of.

Neutral

Casey Vincent @ Sep 12th 2008 5:10PM

Not to mention while they may be "HD" resolution wise, the content looks anything but. In fact, my analog signal zoomed in looks better than some of their HD channels with their nasty compression.

Neutral

Mike @ Sep 12th 2008 5:18PM

I live in VT and Comcast has run similar ads on tv and newspapers here. I also counted the options up a couple of months ago (before they added a more channels and more VOD) and there were over 400 choices then. While many of you may think the add is bullshit consider this: do you want 500 choices or 95? Both have PPV included in their count as well as their share of stretch-o-vision and bullshit channels. I say the more the better and I watch VOD HD often (it also leaves more room on the DVR).

Highly Ranked

David @ Sep 12th 2008 6:10PM

Yeah except an hour later 450 of those 500 "choices" are the same, where as (in theory) directTV's HD channels will be showing new content.

The big lie is, of course, that the number of channels/choices/whatever matters. We currently have way more HD bandwidth than actual HD content so if you sign up for any of these services, you'd better REALLY like CSI: Fargo.

Neutral

why not the LS2LS7? @ Sep 12th 2008 10:24PM

The ad counts Comcast's HD VOD but not DirectTVs HD VOD. Very misleading.

Neutral

rob @ Sep 14th 2008 1:43AM

I agree its misleading... but, if you look at it this way, those with Comcast and a capable receiver automatically has HD VOD. if you have DirecTV, you can have HD VOD also, but since that content doesn't come through the satellite and requires the receiver to have a connection to the internet, it doesn't work right out of the box as it does with Comcast.

I do really like DirecTV's HD VOD though!

Neutral

John B @ Sep 12th 2008 6:04PM

What does it matter? Comcast compressed their HD signals so much that some channels look like badly encoded DVDs! No, I'm *not* kidding! I was watching either History HD or Discovery HD, and the scene was zoomed in on running water. The pixellation was so awful that I ended up changing the challen because I couldn't look at it any more.

So, Scamcast can claim what they want. If they keep pushing HD like this in order to gain new customers, there's eventually going to be a critical mass when people are going to start bitching and moaning like crazy. Any old ladies with hammers willing to join the revolt?

Neutral

mote @ Sep 12th 2008 6:38PM

I enjoy my DirecTV HD. Quality over quantity I say. Even though this ad is a blatant lie and anyone who is in the know knows this. Sadly consumers will buy into this horse shit.

Neutral

Randall Lind @ Sep 13th 2008 8:10PM

I wish Brighthouse would get the channels DirectTV has. I was over at my friend house and he has all the HD channels I want. USA,FX,Fox News, LifeTime, SciFi etc etc.

Knowing Brighthouse I will lose USA, Lifetime etc 2/17/2009 and it will take 3 years or more to get the HD channels. I don't think they have digital channels.

Neutral

Phour ZwanZig @ Sep 13th 2008 9:10PM

Hey dude.. Check out this link and it may help you.. If your on cable you have nothing to worry about come Feb 09.. many of those stations have been digital for quite some time.. The shut off only affects Off-Air channels, which are Local stations, not national networks..

http://www.ncta.com/IssueBrief.aspx?contentId=2688

Hope this helps you.. Theres just been alot of BS floated around by the D* companies saying PPL will lose channels and it isnt true..

And also this is an Analog Air Broadcast shutoff and transition to Digital, Which HD is only a form off..

Neutral

Nick @ Sep 12th 2008 7:35PM

It's a lie they can get away with.
I drive a school bus in between classes as a college job. As a techno-nut, one of my hobbies to pass the time is to count satellite dishes. The slimline dishes are popping up EVERYWHERE. When I was waiting to get mine, 1 in 10 dishes were slimline. Now it's more like 1 in 5 or 6. That's pretty anecdotal, and I live in a more affluent area, but the point is that directv is kicking ass in the HD market. I talked some friends into getting DTV HD over comcast HD (with VOD) and they say they'll never look back. Can't say I blame them, can you? Honestly, I have a decent internet line and I get Directv on demand as fast as I can watch it, in HD or SD, and I never use it because I like the shows on my DVR better.

Neutral

lucyfan62 @ Sep 12th 2008 9:46PM

Maybe we should all file a class action lawsuit against Comcast for fraudulent and misleading advertising. Most people are stupid sheep and will believe anything that they see on TV. I'm actually surprised Comcast just doesn't spam email people, because that's a surefire way to make 95% of the recipients fall for their lies!

Highly Ranked

Boo Radley @ Sep 12th 2008 10:00PM

I currently have DirecTV and love it, except for the wormhole effect on Atlantis the signal very rarely gets all "youtubey" as I like to call it, since most people give me the cock-headed dog face when I say "artifacts". Comcast HD looks like a full screen youtube feed if more than someones mouth moves.

When I first saw this commercial, and it's accompanying billboards, I about shit. It's a complete and total lie and no amount of fine print at the bottom of the screen should make this legal. Who or what is in charge of truth in advertising, because I want to file a complaint.

The new Mpeg-4 channels on D* look really good too. I spent the entire length of Meet Joe Black switching between the HDnet movies on 70-whatever and the one in the 500s and it's a pretty noticeable difference.

Highly Ranked

Kevino @ Sep 13th 2008 9:36AM

I'm glad you found something to keep you occupied during that movie; one of the most boring films I have ever sat through!

Highly Ranked

Charles @ Sep 13th 2008 1:26AM

I've been putting up with these bullshite ads for several weeks now.

I am flat out disgusted.

Neutral

John @ Sep 20th 2008 12:52PM

CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT for FALSE advertising !!!!!!!!!

Neutral

Alex @ Sep 14th 2008 8:21PM

I've been seeing this ad in my locale for awhile now. Don't really know why Comcast has to advertise so hard here (in Minneapolis). There's absolutely no decent competition. Qwest DSL has fiber-to-the-node on the way though. I'm hoping they can get a good TV partner figured out soon.

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