The Memphis area hasn't seen any new HD channels from Comcast since April, so it's about time the carrier did its subscribers there a solid and threw in a few more. Starting now, users can find FX HD, Speed HD and FOX News HD on their EPG, though we wouldn't celebrate too loudly -- Comcast might take that as a sign that you're a-okay with even more price hikes. Shhh.

[Thanks, Tristan]

Don't even think about saying we didn't warn you. Just as we expected at the first of the year, Comcast is gearing up to hike rates on unsuspecting cable customers, and it's consoling us all by stating that the increase is still well below the rate of inflation (wait, for real?). Beginning on November 1st, the carrier will be raising rates on most cable TV services, DVRs and HD STBs on the average of 4.6%. Interestingly, we're told that high-speed internet and digital home phone services won't see bumps, and neither will bundles. You know what that means? Bundle up or switch out.

[Via ABC, image courtesy of Flickr; thanks Garst]

It looks as if the last sliver of hope for MOJO HD has vanished, as we're now facing yet another report pounded out in the all-telling black and white that spells out MOJO's demise. A recent bill sent to an Oregon Comcast subscriber explained that MOJO HD would be falling off of the EPG "on or after December 1st," although SPEED HD (723), Versus HD (732), Golf HD (733), FOX News HD (748) and FX HD (753) would be added. Interestingly, this also points out the separation of Versus / Golf HD as a single station, though we're unsure if this will end up being a sweeping change or simply a localized one.

[Thanks, Brad]

No this isn't another demo at a trade show, but instead a real life solution for TiVo owners to address the incompatibility with 3rd party CableCARD host devices and recently very popular Switched Digital Video (SDV). Late last week Comcast sent some of its customers that were renting CableCARDs, a letter letting them know the Tuning Adapter would be available today and Jesse, a lucky member of TiVo Community, scored a Cisco STA1520 Tuning Adapter today from Comcast in NJ and finally gained access to all those new HD channels he'd be denied up until now -- assuming SDV is even already deployed where he lives. So if you've been waiting over a year to get your hands on one of these, now might just be the time to start calling your provider and giving them a hard time. The full picture after the jump.

[Thanks, Jesse!]

Looks like Chattanooga isn't the only Comcast market waking up to news of fresh HD channels bulging from the DVR, as word from Bean Town has it that Boston will also be blessed with a new heap. Without further ado, here's what you folks can expect: Encore HD (785), Fox Business HD (789), Hallmark Movie HD (790), Toon Disney HD (792), Fuse HD (793), Bravo HD (794), CNBC HD (795), ESPNews HD (796), Biography Channel HD (797), Independent Film HD (798), Women's Entertainment HD (799), MGM HD (819), FX HD (830), FOX News HD (841), Starz Edge HD (873), Starz Kids HD (874), Starz Comedy HD (876), and Big Ten Network HD (885). Phew.

[Thanks, Mike]

With U-verse coming to Chattanooga "sooner rather than later," Comcast has been doing its darnedest to push out new HD channels as fast as possible. After locals received four more in May, one particular tipster has passed along a message from his DVR noting that Hamilton County residents will see CNN HD (423), FOX News HD (428), AMC HD (429), ABC Family HD (444), Disney HD (445), Science HD (446), Speed HD (450) and FX HD (451) on October 28th. Mmm, thanks competition!

[Thanks, Michael]

It has been a long time coming, but those 14 HD channels that Comcast promised back in May are just about ready for primetime. Based on a followup in The Longmont Times-Call, we're told that the carrier is around 80% complete with its $6 million infrastructure upgrade, which will bring 14 new high-def channels and 35 pay-per-view stations to the lineup. When all's said and done, LoMo residents will have access to the same lineup that's currently in Denver and Boulder, and if everything stays on schedule, that 80% figure should reach 100% within six weeks. Huzzah!

Shortly after hearing that Comcast SportsNet would be broadcasting an awful lot of Washington Capitals in HD this upcoming season, along comes this. Philadelphia residents should be in high-def heaven for the foreseeable future, being that Comcast SportsNet has just vowed to deliver "all Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games -- home and away, regular season and playoff -- in high-definition for the first time." Fans will also be treated to high-def versions of pre- and post-game shows, and if you're interested in some exact figures, you'll see 64 Flyers and 69 Sixers games, all in high definition, beginning with the Saturday, October 11 Flyers vs. New York Rangers tilt and the Wednesday, October 29 Sixers vs. Toronto Raptors matchup.

[Via HDSportsGuide, thanks Todd]
[Image courtesy of TheLineupCard]

The times, they are a-changin', and with February 2009 getting closer by the minute, we should probably expect even more situations like this. Put simply, western Washington's local PBS channel had a long-standing history of pleasing HD junkies with a whole swath of unique HD programming on Comcast slot 108 (OTA channel 9.5). Due to the transition to all-digital (or so it says), the HD channel has been shifted to Comcast slot 109 and OTA slot 9.1; that there isn't the problem, though. The issue is that with the move, many of its best high-def programs have been nixed, and the leftovers are being presented "in low-quality DTV," as stated by our tipster. The reaction has been overwhelmingly negative, with pages upon pages of angry comments piling up in a matter of hours. Thankfully, management has posted a note that it is taking notice, but only time will tell if the channel will ever return in its full glory.

[Thanks, Aaron]

October 17th sure seems like a long ways out, but on that fateful day, Comcast will be adding twelve new high-def channels in Knoxville, Tennessee. According to a local, a friendly message recently popped up on his EPG informing him of the forthcoming additions, and if you're anxious to know which dozen you'll be receiving, here goes. CNN HD, TLC HD, AMC HD, FX HD, Speed HD, FOX News HD, Science HD, Fox Sports HD, NFL HD, TBS HD, ABC Family HD and Disney HD will all be arriving in around a month, so just hold tight till then, okay?

[Thanks, Eric]

The last time Montgomery County, Maryland received any new high-def stations from Comcast was back in May, and even then, it wasn't made to feel special. After all, hasn't Comcast given Science HD, Disney HD and ABC Family HD to pretty much every market it's responsible for? That aside, MoCo residents now have something new to cheer about: five fresh HD stations on the EPG. Effective immediately, CNN HD, AMC HD, History HD, TLC HD and Animal Planet HD are available for viewing, which brings it pretty much in line with Baltimore County's lineup. We're thrilled for locals affected by this, but we'd like to take this opportunity to remind the carrier that even at 7:12PM, it doesn't have the most HD.

[Thanks, Jerry]

It's just about that time, hockey fans, and for those of you who proudly rock an oversized Caps jersey each and every Friday to work, we've some excellent news to share. 73 Washington Capitals games will be televised by Comcast SportsNet during the 2008 - 2009 season, and a full 50 of those will be aired in high-definition. The team's season starts on October 10th at Atlanta, and the following night will see the home opener shown in high-def when Chicago comes to the District. Sure, the NHL may not have the same following as say, the NFL, but this is definitely a trend we could stand to see catch on.

[Image courtesy of OnFrozenBlog]

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]

They said they were going to do it, and do it they did. While Samsung's tru2way "demonstration" was barely more than a hack job used to show off what the technology was about, Panasonic demoed the real deal at its CEDIA booth. The 50-inch TH-50PZ80Q plasma contained a real CableCARD (yes, we checked) and was receiving a live signal from Comcast. Denver is just one of a few markets where tru2way is theoretically ready to rock, and according to a Panny rep, the set we saw today is a production unit that will ship sometime "later this year." The idea here is to provide buyers with the ability to insert any CableCARD from any carrier (if you move, for example) into an HDTV, thus eliminating the cable company's stranglehold (best known as a "carrier-issued set-top-box") on you. The demo we saw went over very well -- everything was responsive and image quality was excellent. See for yourself in the gallery below.