I Don't Want X1

I hate the x1. less info. vod anoying. changing channels too slow.

@marcshul​ I'm also annoyed at being forced to switch, but I decided to just do it. It's actually not that bad even though I haven't figured everything out yet (wheeee!).
I got an XG1 box and what I absolutely did not want was to see a bunch of squares or apps every time I turned on the TV. Luckily, besides taking a few more seconds to turn on and change channels (which I do find quite annoying), the interface isn't that much different for basic stuff. When I click the Xfinity button, it's a different story. I'm not liking it. It wasn't perfect, but I really miss the old, blue On Demand menu.
However, in some ways, especially with the voice remote (if you get one), finding a show is much faster. For example, if I want to watch a show I missed, I can type the first three or four letters of it (using the number buttons) and it pops up as a suggestion, then I can select it (or you can use the voice button to get there quicker).
Anyway, if you're considering dumping Xfinity over this, it might be worth going for the free upgrade first to make sure you hate it. I found the voice remote still works when I use my angry voice, hahaha.
GOOD LUCK!

@bruelas​ Thank you. Your advice is sensible but I am already sure I hate X1. There would be no going back if I got the free upgraded cable box. Better to do without VOD. Better still would be a provider that delivered interesting programs at a fair price with competent customer service. Is there one?

It appears that I could watch on demand movies on my laptop at xfinity.com/stream. 

@MNtundraRET​ Please say more. Where do I look for this? Thanks

A Comcast Service Center should be able to still get you a Legacy Cable Box. I am still using my RNG150N cable box. I have DSL cable through my local phone company. I have never used Comcast for Internet.

Sounds good but RNG150N cable boxes are listed in the above referenced announcement as requiring replacement. I hope yours keeps working and delivering VOD but it could stop doing so just as my Comcast-provided box did all of a sudden

@andyross​, oh, crumb.  I was hoping that the DVRs with storage on them, like the Arris XG1v3 DVR box they just sent us, WOULD continue to permit watching items recorded there.  I anticipated anything on "the cloud" would be inaccessible.  Looks like we'll be going backwards by upgrading in some sense.  Thanks for the heads up.  br1000

Hello @br1000. It would be my pleasure to help. The Pace XG1v3 offers up to 500 hours of HD recording. We also have our XG1v4, the core difference between the v3 and v4 is running 4k resolution. Our team would love to help ensure you have the perfect home entertainment experience. 

@andyross​ Legacy boxes do not let you watch locally recorded TV shows either if your cable is out - at least I can't with my Comcast DVR. This is another push by Comcast to get everyone onto X1 boxes so they don't have to stock so many different types of DVRs - but it's a ripoff, as an X1 box cost $10/mo extra. And the X1 TV guide is pure garbage, the user interface is horrible - when turning on the TV I do NOT want to have to choose from this list every single time!

• All Channels
• Free to Me (on-demand titles)
• HD channels
• Favorites (channels you've favorited)
• Trending (current popular shows)
• Movies
• Sports
• Kids

Taking away VOD from non-X1 DVRs is just another money grab by Comcast, taking away a resource from legacy boxes to carry more content (which is what, exactly?) without having to expand bandwidth capacity on their lines. I am NOT happy about this - the X1 box is horrible, expensive, and it's being shoved down our throats because Comcast has a virtual monopoly in MD - no alternative TV sources carry the same channels that Comcast provides, and of course those are channels (some non-HD) that I watch almost every day.

@MNtundraRET​ 

You say all the channels you had before are still there after On Demand was disabled. Does that include the pay-per-view channels in the 500s on the regular menu, or are they disabled also?

@andyross​ 

I assume you have Xfinity Internet. I have yet to hear from anyone who uses Legacy Cable and Internet from anyone else say they can get ON DEMAND without Xfinity Internet.

@MNtundraRET​ 

My grandmother had legacy box and swapped to X1 and has no problem using ON DEMAND and she does not have Xfinity Internet.

Which X1 cable-box did she end up with? Who does she use for cable?

@jweaver0312 

@jweaver0312​ 

Did you find out which X1 box cable box and who's Internet your grandmother is using yet. I will need this information before I can go to my local Xfinity center to exchange mt current box. Thank you.

@MNtundraRET​ What is the difference between "Xfinity Internet" vs" Legacy Cable and Internet"? The only way they can be different is if Xfinity uses a different encryption method/code than a legacy DVR - and that only applies to TV boxes - internet service, meaning what comes through the cable to your modem, is the same regardless of what kind of modem you use. IOW, there's no such thing as "Xfinity Internet" - there's just a different DVR (X1 vs. legacy) for watching TV on a TV (not streaming). As far as what SammyFL is talking about, Comcast is just on a money grab, dropping VOD from legacy boxes because they want to force you to pay for the more expensive X1 service, which I refuse to do - I almost NEVER used VOD, but now that it's gone, I suddenly want to use it a couple times a month to catch up on a network TV show I forgot to record - they are not replayed multiple times over several days like most cable networks do - if you miss a network TV show, too bad, you're now SOL.

@Newmark​ 

You are correct about the Xfinity Stream app. The app does work on my Lenovo AIO Desk computer using my DSL Internet. The problem for me is that I cannot get thee app for my 2015 Samsung 65" 3D 4k television. The computer screen is only 17".  The special free programing can be found there being offered this month, but it requires Xfinity Internet. 

Using xfinity.com/stream on your PC or laptop is another work-around.

@SammyFL​ A couple months ago I requested and received the next day, an X1 XG!v4 to possibly switch from my Motorola DCX 3400 (designated as RNG200N on the front of the box) if I wanted to order pay-per-view review boxing. I was still able to order an event on July 30 with my Motorola, as I was informed that after September 4 I would not be able to, and that has happened. However I still have not switched. The next PPV that I to want watch is September 30. The last couple PPV boxing they showed the main event a week or so later on Showtime, so I'm not sure if it's worth buying them, as the undercards haven't been very interesting.

The point I am getting to is, I have paid an extra $10 for the last couple months for the X1 GV1v4 box that I haven't hooked up, although both boxes are activated and I am billed for having two boxes. My thought is you could get the GV1v3 or Gv1v4, which both have 500 GB hard drive storage, which would be activated in your account, but not hook it up and still keep your old box. Maybe that would allow you to switch plans for $10 dollars a month more but that's a fraction of what you would save. You would have verify if that would work. If I do decide to try hooking up the X1 box, they said I could switch back to the old one, which I would hold onto, if I didn't like it. Maybe they don't deactivate it until you turn it in so maybe I wouldn't lose my recordings If I went back to it. I'm not sure how that works.

@NoBundle​ I totally get what you are saying. But the issue they said was that on the new plans, the plan will not activate with ANY older boxes, only X1 boxes being active on the account. So I could keep my old plan and boxes and just have to pay the rate of this grandfathered plan. Now I could add an X1 box to it (still keeping my older boxes) but would still be on the grandfathered triple play plan. But to get on a current plan, it's basically only going to be activate will only X1 boxes, saying the DVR and two bedroom boxes all has to be swapped out.

(I corrected a number of dictation typos in my last comment.) That's what they say but I wonder if that's accurate because I've gotten a lot of wrong information from Comcast representatives. I think it still possible that once you rent the X1 box you might be able to switch plans, and it would still work to whatever extent in your old box. I guess the only way to be sure would be to try it. Do you think the new plan would not be picked up by your old box if it were activated?

@NoBundle​ At first when I spoke to Comcast about this discounted rate plan they said my boxes were compatible and that my DCX3400M would still work as the DVR and its MoCA AnyRoom DVR feature will work, so we can access the recordings from the dcx3200 bedroom boxes. It wasn't until they went to process it, that they were given a road block and they said the system would not proceed and gave them a message saying the current boxes (with the S/N) are not compatible with this plan, to replace with X1 boxes. So they said they would have to ship out new X1 boxes and us to then return ours.... something I would not want to do. So in actuality even *if* I were to get one X1 DVR box and try to activate it on my current plan, and then try to get this discounted plan, it still would probably give them the same error about my old boxes not being comparable. However, even if they were able to activate the discounted plan with my old boxes...I was a bit worried if they could stop the DVR from recording, or the AnyRoom DVR feature stop (which did happen for a few months 2 years ago until the billing codes were fixed).

@SammyFL​ 

I say there a lot of dictation typos in my previous comment talking about a cleaning up previous typos--hopefully you understood, I'm going to correct them though. I just talked to a couple of reps including a tier 2 rep after being repeatedly told that I could not access pay-per-view boxing on Channel 509, for example. Earlier today I went to the channel and it offered for me to rent the program I was interested in next Saturday. So I clicked the buttons to rent it. I didn't see any confirmation, so I tried it again, and it said you have already purchased this program. I called and they didn't have any record of it in my account but maybe they only bill once it's used. Then I realized (after looking online) that I could go back to the menu and click Don't Order this program to cancel it, which I did and then got a notice that said I had canceled the order. Since that interaction is working right I suspected that I would be able to watch these programs. There were some $7.99, and a little later $4.99, junky shows coming up the next couple hours--I didn't want to wait for the $4.99 so I ordered some $7.99 wrestling program in progress, and lo and behold, its comes through on the screen. That's when I called Comcast and selected advanced repair ticket when I asked, which I ignored before because Ididn't know what it was, but it put me through to a tier 2 tech. After discussing the problem, and she had the notes from the previous rep, she confirmed that I would be able to use those channels with my old box, so the whole premise of why I needed to turn it in, in my case, was false--those pay-per-view event channels in the regular channel lineup still work. She also gave me a credit for $13 to cover the test program I ordered, and if I return my X1 box and call back, they will refund three months of $10 totaling $30 charges, because I never activated it. That's when I asked her about your situation, I asked if I could keep my old box connected and can I add an X1 box--she said I could if I had another cable port. I then asked her about the situation with you getting a discounted plan, and she said it should work to allow you to get the plan if you have the new box activated and hooked up, even if you keep the old one hooked up and you will be able to get the same programs on the old one also. I guess the only way to know for sure would be to actually try that with them both hooked up. If it is the same plan or system, just discounted, then it should work with both boxes.

@SammyFL​ I'm not sure a court would allow them to force people who own their own Comcast compatible DVRs to give them up and get an X1 box, especially because of the increased costs of X1 - not only is an X1 DVR $10/mo more expensive than the regular DVR, but it only includes 20 hours of SD storage - it's $10 for 150 SD storage hours, or $20 for 300 (appears 150 hrs may be free now?) - if you only record HD channels you'd be paying extra right away - 1 hour of 720p HD recording takes up about 2.4GB of space, while 1 hour of SD takes only 0.7 GB. Which brings up another pet peeve - Comcast only broadcasts in 720p so they can jam more channels into the bandwidth - I never really noticed that until a few weeks ago when I had to watch a NASCAR race on Peacock streaming, which was 1080 (I'd never set up my TV to play a video stream coming from my modem over WiFi before) - I was shocked at how much more detail I could see in 1080 - NASCAR keeps a running tally of drivers and their positions in a column on the left had side of the screen, but the font displayed is so small I can't read it from my couch - I literally have a pair of low power binoculars on my coffee table so I can read that list during races - didn't need them watching in 1080, font was clear as day. Just to make things even more painful, X1 Cloud DVR recordings have the audio down converted from Dolby 5.1 to to 2.0, which is plain two channel stereo. I know millennials and many others are cutting the cable cord to use streaming services, but didn't know there are at least two important technical reasons why streaming is so much better - 5.1 (or 7.1) audio and 1080 to 4K video. Unfortunately, Comcast owns the rights to my regional sports network (pro and college), and also is the only provider that carries several SD channels I regularly watch, so if I went to DISH or Fios I'd lose access to some of my most watched channels - that's a non-starter.

@user9840​ That's so ironic what you wrote about iGuide - it's one of the strongest reasons I like the legacy boxes, iGuide is so simple and elegant, as opposed to X1's TV Guide GUI, which I despise.