Washington, D.C. (December 21, 2008) -- Comcast last week added 16 more High-Definition channels to its Chicago area lineup, apparently bringing its total there to more than 80 HD channels, according to a count on its web site.
The cable operator has been able to convert most of the Chicago area from analog to digital over the last year, enabling it to expand its capacity for high-def channels and other services. (See: Comcast and Chicago.)
The exact number of high-def channels available in any single Chicago community is unclear because some lineups are different than others due to different stages in the digital conversion.
In most other markets, Comcast is still bound at this point at delivering around 40 high-def channels or less due to bandwidth constraints. However, the cable operator is rapidly moving to expand its HD lineup in some markets. Boston, for instance, now has around 70 HD channels, according to the Comcast web site.
Comcast, the nation's largest cable operator, has struggled to keep pace with satcasters DIRECTV and Dish Network, which offer around 100 high-def channels (not including PPV channels). Verizon's FIOS also delivers more than 100 HD channels in some markets.
The new HD channels added by Comcast in Chicago last week include HBO 2, HBO Family, HBO Comedy, HBO Latino, HBO Signature, HBO Zone, MoreMax, ActionMax, Showtime 2, Showtime Extreme, Showtime Showcase, The Movie Channel, The Movie Channel xtra, The Tennis Channel, CBS College Sports and HDNet.
The cable operator also added a PPV HD channels, Game HD (for MLB Extra Innings games and Team HD (NBA League Pass games.
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The cable operator has been able to convert most of the Chicago area from analog to digital over the last year, enabling it to expand its capacity for high-def channels and other services. (See: Comcast and Chicago.)
The exact number of high-def channels available in any single Chicago community is unclear because some lineups are different than others due to different stages in the digital conversion.
In most other markets, Comcast is still bound at this point at delivering around 40 high-def channels or less due to bandwidth constraints. However, the cable operator is rapidly moving to expand its HD lineup in some markets. Boston, for instance, now has around 70 HD channels, according to the Comcast web site.
Comcast, the nation's largest cable operator, has struggled to keep pace with satcasters DIRECTV and Dish Network, which offer around 100 high-def channels (not including PPV channels). Verizon's FIOS also delivers more than 100 HD channels in some markets.
The new HD channels added by Comcast in Chicago last week include HBO 2, HBO Family, HBO Comedy, HBO Latino, HBO Signature, HBO Zone, MoreMax, ActionMax, Showtime 2, Showtime Extreme, Showtime Showcase, The Movie Channel, The Movie Channel xtra, The Tennis Channel, CBS College Sports and HDNet.
The cable operator also added a PPV HD channels, Game HD (for MLB Extra Innings games and Team HD (NBA League Pass games.
Comment on this article!
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