Comcast analog customers may not be seeing things ‘ON TV? for much longer if they don’t call the company to get a free converter box.
‘Comcast has let (the Cable Commission) know, effective January 15, 2008, they are moving our PEG channels to a digital tier,? said Orion Community Cable Communications Commission (OCCCC) Administrator Diane Griffiths.
The PEG channels (public, education, government) will still be available on basic service level, but delivered digitally, Griffiths explained.
For Comcast customers that have basic or preferred basic cable, they will need to get a digital converter, which analog customers can get free for one year with no installation charges.
The other options are to upgrade to digital service or purchase a digital television, Griffiths said.
According to Griffiths, Comcast has given multiple reasons for this move.
‘The reason Comcast is doing this, they say, is because it will be a sharper signal, sharper picture for (access),? she said. ‘Plus, everything is going digital.?
Comcast has been notifying their customers of the change since last month with notices inside their bills.
‘At Comcast, we are committed to making public, education and government (PEG) programming readily available to all of our customers,? Comcast Government Affairs Manager, Michigan Region, Olivia Visperas said in a memo to Village Council last month.
Orion Neighborhood Television’s public access channel 10 will now become digital channel 916, education access channel 22 will be digital channel 902 and government channel 20 will become digital channel 915. For those individuals choosing not to get a converter box, this will prevent them from viewing the Lake Orion Village Council and Orion Township Board meetings (previously seen on channel 20) as well as looking for school closings, Lake Orion School Board meetings, and building and sports schedules (previously seen on channel 22).
According to Griffiths, channels 902, 915 and 916 are already up and running, and the Cable Commission wants to make sure everyone is informed of the changes. Unfortunately, she added, OCCCC has no control over the changes.
‘We can’t tell Comcast where to put our (access) channels,? Griffiths said, noting that this is the third time the access channels have been changed in past years, but it is the first time that new equipment is required to watch them. ‘We’re not happy with it, but there’s really nothing we can do.?
According to Griffiths, there are more digital customers in the area than analog, and those customers don’t have to ‘do? anything besides look for the channels at their new numbers.
‘It just makes our job a little harder,? Griffiths, who is also the executive director of Orion Neighborhood Television, said. ‘We’ll just try to make sure people know where we are and what we have showing.?
She said ONTV hopes to start web-streaming in 2008, so viewers can watch from their computers.
For those analog customers that want to get a digital converter, they can contact Comcast at 1-877-824-2984.
Griffiths added that anyone who has questions is also welcome to contact the Orion Community Cable Communications Commission (OCCCC) at (248)693-7420.