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]

RCN has been delivering the Analog Crush in a number of its markets, but this particular one was just too succulent to pass up. According to the carrier, it has "unfurled digital freedom" on its Delaware County, Pennsylvania subscribers, loosing them from the bondage that is analog. Starting next month, the company will begin transitioning said market to all-digital service, enabling it to "reclaim existing analog channels, improve the picture quality, make the network easier to maintain, and dramatically increase the number of standard and HD channels it can offer to subscribers." If RCN CEO and President Peter Aquino isn't blowing smoke, the outfit will be able to "increase its HD channels to more than 75 channels at launch -- with many more on the way." Man, maybe "unfurl" was the best explanation.

Coming right back is DirecTV, just a few days after activating HD locals in New York and Nebraska comes word that Johnstown-Altoona, PA, Chattanooga, TN and Augusta, GA are the latest in its 44 planned local rollouts this summer/fall. Better hurry DirecTV, the days are already getting shorter. Beyond the read links is the list of newly-added local networks, proceed with caution, or reckless abandon, it's pretty much the same to us either way.

Read - Johnstown-Altoona, Pa
Read - Chattanooga, Tenn
Read - Augusta, Ga

There are a few must-do things when you wind up in the City of Brotherly Love: see the Liberty Bell, check out Independence Hall, scarf down an authentic cheesesteak and... peek the HD Video Wall at the Comcast Center? Shortly after wowing locals and making customers suddenly aware of where their money was going, the official visitor site for the Great Philadelphia area is now pushing the wall as a can't-miss tourist attraction. Comical though that may be, we can't say that it's really that absurd -- after all, who wouldn't want to see 2,000 square-feet of beautiful LED action when waltzing through a city on vacation? On that note, have any of you actually stopped and checked it out?

[Via Gadling]

Vermont and some Pennsylvania Comcast subscribers should have a few additional HD choices on their sets in short order. Harrisburg and Hershey, PA subscribers can expect 10 new high definition channels Friday, with AMC HD, Animal Planet HD, Big Ten Network HD, CNN HD, Fox New Channel HD, FX HD, The History Channel HD, NHL Network HD, Speed Channel HD and The Weather Channel HD. Vermont launched nine new networks today, including Disney HD, ABC Family HD, TLC HD, AMC HD, Science Channel HD, Animal Planet HD, Sci-Fi HD, The Movie Channel HD and Showtime 2 HD. Go forth, and feed your HDTV the episodes of Mad Men and Battlestar Galactica it's been wanting.

Read - Vermont
Read - Pennsylvania

Late last year, we heard that Comcast was ready to drop some bills in order to improve its aging infrastructure in the Northeast, and while we can't say for certain that these new HD channels are the fruits of that labor, there's certainly a good possibility. Whatever the case, messages are now going around to set-top-boxes in the Steel City informing subscribers that a new slate of high-definition channels are coming on July 15th. Unfortunately, it seems that some parts of the city will see fewer newcomers than others, but the two lineups posted above and below (the break) should give you a good idea of what to look forward to.

[Thanks, Daniel]

Atlantic Broadband last gifted its subscribers with new HD channels in December 2007, which means those loyal customers are definitely due for a few more. Thankfully, said carrier is in complete agreement, as the Altoona and Johnstown areas of Pennsylvania can now enjoy nine new high-def channels along with ESPNU in SD. As for the newcomers, you'll find A&E HD (785), ESPN2 HD (782), Discovery HD (786), Disney HD (778), Animal Planet HD (787), TLC HD (788), TBS HD (790) and Showtime HD (794). Mum's the word on when any others will be added, but hopefully these will keep you occupied for some time yet.

If you thought Comcast's rollout of Science HD, Disney HD and ABC Family HD was all over, think again. We just received word from the City of Brotherly Love that the aforementioned trio is heading to Philadelphia's lineup in mid-May. Of course, you're probably still keeping busy with the five newcomers that landed earlier this week, but come May 15th, you'll have to whittle out even more time for three more. Not a bad problem to have, huh?

[Thanks, J]

With Comcast doling out the HD love elsewhere in the Northeast, it's about time the city of brotherly love got a dose of its own medicine. According to a fresh message delivered to a subscriber shacked up in the outskirts of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the aforementioned carrier will be adding five new high-def channels on April 4th. Included in the bunch are CNN HD (217), AMC HD (238), TLC HD (225), History Channel HD (217) and Animal Planet HD (230). Surely you can hang on just 2.5 more weeks, right?

[Thanks, EPaps]

A month after Comcast showed just how much it appreciated those subscribers parked in the Southeast, it's apparently getting set to show the same courtesy to those in Central Pennsylvania. While actual locations in which new HD channels are scheduled to appear are still unclear, we are hearing that State College and surrounding locales will soon be enjoying A&E HD, HGTV HD, Food Network HD, TBS HD, USA HD, Discovery Channel HD, TLC HD and Sci-Fi Channel HD. Reportedly, customers will have to have at least the Expanded Basic Service level to indulge in these fine offerings, and it's also noted that MHD and MOJO HD are being added to the same lineup in Adams and York counties. The proposed go-live date? None other than February 14th -- how heartwarming.

[Thanks, MRCUR]

Comcast has been on quite the tear of late, and it seems it's not quite done for the year just yet. Apparently, the carrier will be making "infrastructure improvements to its Beaver Valley and Myersdale systems, which were acquired from Adelphia last year." Additionally, the North Hills / South Hills areas will be seeing unspecified "network upgrades" by next year, and the company's fiber network will be expanded from Morgantown, West Virginia to Myersdale in order to "launch its digital voice phone service." On the lineup front, users in the Pittsburgh region will reportedly gain History HD, USA HD, Sci-Fi HD, CW HD and Discovery HD, while customers in the ex-Adelphia sectors will receive Universal HD, HGTV HD, Food Network HD, A&E HD, National Geographic HD and MHD.

While HD VOD has quite a ways to go before it becomes decently ubiquitous, Atlantic Broadband has decided to bless its Johnstown, Pennsylvania area customers with the luxury. Reportedly, an undisclosed amount of high-definition films will be available for renting at $5.99 a pop, and as if that wasn't reason enough to celebrate, these same customers are also getting two new additions to the HD lineup. Sports fans in particular should greatly appreciate getting both NFL Network and Fox Sports Pittsburgh in HD, both of which will now be included in the "regular HD package." Dave Dane, vice president of Atlantic Broadband's Pennsylvania operations, also noted that it had "some proposed HD launches for the first quarter of next year," but we're left to wonder precisely what those will be.

Currently in Pennsylvania, cable franchising involves negotiating a deal with each of the 2,565 municipalities individually. For Verizon, who has laid fiber in about 1,600 of these, getting deals done is a long, slow process making it nearly impossible to quickly move in on their cable competitors. Verizon hasn't actually started offering its FiOS TV service and the included two-dozen or so HDTV channels in Pennsylvania but when they do, they'd like to negotiate one deal for the whole state all at once. That's the idea of a bill submitted by State Senators Dominic Pileggi and Anthony Williams, proposing the creation of a single state-administered uniform agreement for anyone offering video services. The President of Verizon Pennsylvania stated their network could carry everything the cable companies have and up to 220 high definition channels at the same time, while cable in the area is limited to only twelve. Of course we're still -- anxiously -- waiting for there to be 220 HDTV channels but you get the point.

Naturally, the resident cable companies sort of like the system the way it is, arguing that change will take power away from local communities, give Verizon an unfair advantage and don't see change as necessary. Any HD Beat Pennsylvania readers plan on stopping by Penn State's Delco campus August 8th and pleading for 220 HDTV channels giving the legislature a piece of their mind?