Comcast HDTV

Comcast HDTV is the high definition service from the company that according to its website is 'one of the world's leading communication companies, focused on broadband cable, commerce and content.'

Comcast HDTV is a high definition TV cable service that is provided as a premium service alongside the company's existing digital cable service.

Depending on the TV you have, Comcast will either supply you with an HDTV set-top box, or an HDTV CableCard. The CableCard provides the ability to watch encrypted cable HDTV content on your HDTV without the need for a box, but you need a TV with a CableCard slot. However, CableCard doesn't provide access to additional features such as interactive TV, pay-per-view and On Demand.

The Comcast HDTV channel line-up varies from area to area, so to find out which channels are available in your area, you should check the Comcast website.

Comcasts HDTV content includes HBO, ESPN, Starz, Showtime, TNT, and Discovery. The company's website has a demo of its HDTV programming, but to be honest the window in which the video is so small that its very difficult to tell that it's showing HDTV footage, rather than well encoded regular video.

If you haven't experienced HDTV and want a better demo than the one on Comcast's site, Apple has a number of high definition movie trailers on its QuickTime movie trailers page. You'll need to download QuickTi8me 7 (free) and have a fast Mac or PC to watch them, but you'll get a great demo of the quality of HD.

Comcast's Digital Video Recorder (DVR) can also be used to record its HDTV programming, although due to the higher bandwidth of HDTV compared to NTSC broadcasts, you won't be able to record as much HD content on the DVR as NTSC.

The precise amount of HDTV you can record on the DVR, depends on the unit you have, which in turn depends on the area you live in. The Scientific Atlanta SA 8000 HD, for example, has a 160GB hard drive which can record up to 20 hours of Comcast HDTV.