Comcast - Premium HD Cable TV
TV showes a scrambled signal!

When I bought my new HD TV, I upgraded to the Premium HD Cable TV service from Comcast last year after having regular TV service with them for the previous 2 years.

I soon discovered that there were still some "manufacturing defects" in their new HD Cable TV set top box. At times my TV would change channels inadvertently, or would "freeze frame" the picture, or loose the sound entirely. Thinking this was a problem with my cable box, I went to Comcast and exchanged my defective box for another one. But, to my surprise, the same problems started within a month of getting the new HDTV Cable box. A call to Comcast tech service cleared this up. But, the problem would come back in a few days to a week. This got to be very frustrating. After a few complaints to the customer service department I was finally told they were aware of defects in the HD Cable box and that Comcast and the manufacturer were working on them.in the meantime the tech support recommended that I leave the Comcast set top box ON at all times (even when the TV is off)... This will keep the box from getting "de-tuned". I resolved that I would just have to put up with this until the fixes were made. But, after 3-weeks of keeping my cable box on 24/7, the TV suddenly showed a scrambled signal on all channels. I called comcast who sent a tech out to find the problem. The tech determined that the problem was in the TV, not in the cable box. Comcast charged me $25 for the service call, since it wasn't cable related. So, I called a TV repair service and they discovered that the cause was a burnt out circuit board on my TV... The power circuit board (PCB.) Fortunately for me, this was a warranted repair. Over the next 5 months, I watched my TV keeping the Comcast cable box on 24/7. Then, suddenly, again my TV showed a scrambled signal just as before.

This time I called the TV repair first. They determined that I had the same PCB problem as before... Only this time I was over the warranty date. I had to pay for the new PCB, but the labor was still covered under my warranty. The repairman asked me if I had any input power to my TV other than the power cord. I told him that Comcast has me keep the Cable set top box on all the time regardless of TV on or off. He said that a lot of customers have experienced problems including circuit board problems from keeping their cable box on. So, I discovered it was the Comcast cable box, with it's "manufacturing defects", that was the cause of my TV problems. I called Comcast with this information to get redress for my out of pocket expenses, including a refund of the $25 service charge they hit me with. Comcast denied any knowledge that their equipment caused any problems with customer TV sets. I wrote a letter of complaint to Comcast, but did not receive an answer. I have now canceled my Cable TV service and switched to a satellite service. If you have had any similar problems please leave a comment here and do as I did and quit Comcast and write a letter to the FTC.

Company: Comcast - Premium HD Cable TV
Country: USA

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