UMD’s Oakland Hall will pilot new Comcast HD channels

HDTV graphic

Comcast will bring high-definition channels to Oakland Hall residents on Wednesday after months of delays because of technical issues. 

If Oakland Hall transitions smoothly during the pilot program, the rest of the University of Maryland campus will switch to HD during a two-day period likely in the first week of December, Residential Facilities Director Jon Dooley said. Depending on how the rollout goes, he said, the upgrade schedule will be published after Thanksgiving break.

There will be Comcast technicians assisting students in Oakland Hall between noon and 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dooley said. Students will be required to rescan for channels when the change happens.

Due to a one-year contract extension struck between Comcast and Residential Facilities in August, students should soon have access to 115 channels, 90 of which will be in HD. Students previously could watch 85 channels. 

Comcast initially was expected to deliver the HD channels in September, according to an Aug. 25 email sent by the Department of Resident Life and Department of Residential Facilities. 

READ MORE: UMD dorms, housing get HD channels after Comcast contract extension

In an Aug. 31 interview with The Diamondback, Dooley said he expected the change to happen no later than October.

However, Comcast has dealt with technical and equipment issues across the campus, Dooley said, and checking the gear to ensure it is ready to receive the digital HD signal has taken longer than anticipated.

“It’s been more complicated than they originally thought, which has contributed to delays we’ve experienced this semester,” Dooley said, “but they’ve continued to work through their challenges where we are now able to do a pilot in the next 48 hours.”

Dooley said he understands it has taken time for Comcast to transition.

“I do have empathy for a company who’s delivering TV service to more than 12,000 users on our campus through just under 2.6 million square feet of building space,” Dooley said. “I have to give them credit for checking all of the gear, some of which was installed back in July 2000.”

Sophomore government and politics and sociology major Tzvi Glazer expressed some frustration about the drawn-out process.

“The delay is understandable because cable companies are a little hard to work with,” said Glazer, chairman of the Resident Hall Association’s Resident Facilities Advisory Board. “It’s a little aggravating that what we have been told we were getting we haven’t gotten yet.”

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After the transition, basic cable channels, such as TNT, TBS, Comedy Central, ESPN, ESPN2 and Big Ten Network, will be available in HD, according to a preliminary draft release of the channel lineup.

RHA was involved in picking two additional channels. The group decided to add Movieplex and a sports overflow channel at an Oct. 27 senate meeting.

Sophomore environmental engineering major Colin Wagner said the change, even delayed, will be welcomed.

“I’m pretty pumped,” the Montgomery Hall resident said. “Basically, the cable now is horrible, so it’s good that they’re upgrading. Sports are the biggest reason.”