Is this a trend we spot, or just a small flurry of Comcast expansions that sadly won't affect the rest of the nation? While we're obviously hoping, praying, pleading for the former to be true, citizens of Chicago, Illinois can expect a whopping 15 new high-def stations to arrive on their EPG in a matter of days. Aside from the highly-anticipated Big Ten Network launch, users will also find Weather Channel HD (270), FX HD (267), Fox News HD (265), Bravo HD (278), NFL Network HD (234), SPEED HD (237) and our personal favorite, QVC HD on slot 282. Check the read link for the full list, or just turn to QVC HD and zone out for a few days.

[Thanks, cypherstream]

Vermont and some Pennsylvania Comcast subscribers should have a few additional HD choices on their sets in short order. Harrisburg and Hershey, PA subscribers can expect 10 new high definition channels Friday, with AMC HD, Animal Planet HD, Big Ten Network HD, CNN HD, Fox New Channel HD, FX HD, The History Channel HD, NHL Network HD, Speed Channel HD and The Weather Channel HD. Vermont launched nine new networks today, including Disney HD, ABC Family HD, TLC HD, AMC HD, Science Channel HD, Animal Planet HD, Sci-Fi HD, The Movie Channel HD and Showtime 2 HD. Go forth, and feed your HDTV the episodes of Mad Men and Battlestar Galactica it's been wanting.

Read - Vermont
Read - Pennsylvania

Warner Bros. is all over digital distribution in celebration of its 85th anniversary, pushing 85 of its classic flick onto video on-demand, most in high definition and many of them available in HD VOD for the first time. Anyone with Time Warner, Comcast, Cox, Charter, Rogers, DirecTV or DISH Network should have access to flicks including Doctor Zhivago, Casablanca, Chariots of Fire, Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome straight from their remote starting today. Additionally Time Warner has lined up a series of indoor and outdoor screenings in LA and New York so keep an eye out for those. Great films in high quality without having to leave our couch, if we could stop watching the Olympics we'd take a look, check out the full list after the break. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

After what felt like an endless battle, Comcast and the Big Ten Network were finally able to hammer out broadcast details earlier this year. Right on schedule, the channel is expected to go live in the Big Ten region tomorrow, August 15th, on its expanded basic level of service. Of course, the HD feed will be included as well, and fanatics in the footprint can get set as the action begins with Indiana taking on Western Kentucky on August 30th. Are you ready for some football?

If you can pull your eyes away from the Olympics, Comcast and MGM are launching Impact, the first video on-demand channel featuring only action programming. Need flicks and TV shows like Terminator, James Bond or Robocop a button press away at all times? Consider it done, as Impact will have 25-30 titles available every month from MGM's deep -- apparently deep enough satisfy this channel and MGM HD -- with "many" in HD. MGM is apparently in talks with other carriers about the adding the network, but it should roll out to Comcast systems throughout this week. According to Variety, the channel will also go online next year, allowing subscribers to stream movies to their PCs at no extra cost.

[Via Variety]

Not that a survey necessarily assures us that this will happen, but Comcast is at least thinking about offering its subscribers the option of buying a DVD or Blu-ray (HD DVD is mentioned, though we're hoping its an egregious oversight) once a video-on-demand movie is finished. No specific prices look to be hammered out just yet, but the questions revolved around how many discs users would buy at given price points or how many they'd buy if the cost of the VOD rental was discounted. Interestingly enough, rival Cablevision has been doing this with new release DVDs since February, though we're not sure if Comcast would be looking to Popcorn DVDs On Demand for its iteration of the service. Even if this does launch, would any of you buy your flicks in this manner?

[Thanks, Nathan]

For high-def lovers in Danbury, Connecticut, chances are that you've already witnessed the addition of five new HD channels in your EPG. If you're frantically shouting "No, I didn't!" this very moment, take a chill pill and have a read. According to a local Comcast subscriber, Science HD, AMC HD, ABC Family HD, Disney HD and TLC HD were just added in, giving you -- as our eloquently speaking tipster put it -- "another reason to not go to work today." That's the spirit!

[Thanks, meskinct]

For fans of HD in Adrian, Michigan that haven't already signed up with DISH Network or DirecTV (yeah, all five of you), help is on the way. Comcast will finally be bringing high-definition to Lenawee County later this month after years of pleading from locals. Aside from seeing a number of channels find new homes as many of its analog signals are replaced with digital alternatives, high-definition will apparently be introduced for the first time -- or at least in a substantial capacity. All we know thus far is that Big Ten Network will land just in time for the college football season, though we'll have to wait until August 18th to see what other changes are in store.

Comcast's obsession with adding these three HD channels seems to be over, but that doesn't mean it's not slotting 'em in at a slower pace. A little while after gifting Boston with its so-called favorite trio, summer dwellers in Cape Cod / Plymouth, Massachusetts can now check out Disney Channel HD (783), ABC Family HD (784) and Science HD (785) whenever the gorgeous weather influences you lucky souls to come inside. So yeah, you'll be dusting off the remote and checking things out in October, right?

[Thanks, Chris]

Comcast isn't known for adding in vast quantities of high-definition channels in Jacksonville, but rather, it prefers to spice up the northern Florida city with a few at a time -- to keep things "interesting," we presume. Whatever the case, a local has just noticed that the carrier has added in Fox News HD, SPEED HD and FX HD, making them the first newcomers in the area since late June. Hang tight Jacksonville, maybe you'll get a whopping four new ones next time.

[Thanks, Matthew]

The FCC finally acted on Comcast's "data management", finding against the company because it had arbitrarily decided which applications subscribers would have access to. Of course, the judgement did not include a fine, and while it enforced a policy for open access to the internet, it doesn't seem to do much for possible bandwidth caps. Comcast does have stop its blocking practice by the end of the year, and provide details to the commission on what exactly it's done so far, and to customers on whatever it plans to do in the future. With online video distribution growing more ubiquitous and even Comcast working with BitTorrent-style technologies like GridNetworks on how to deliver HD over the internet, we're sure we haven't heard the last of this.

Read - Commission Orders Comcast to End Discriminatory Network Management Practices (Warning: PDF link)
Read - Comcast Statement on FCC Internet Regulation Decision
Read - Verizon Statement on FCC's Comcast Decision

Comcast subscribers in the Charm City have been clamoring for a bit of HD love for what seems like eons, and thankfully, said carrier has finally obliged. Just this week, the outfit added five new high-definition channels to its Greater Baltimore lineup: ABC Family HD, Disney Channel HD, Science HD, WUTB MyNetworkTV 24 and WGN HD. A good start to the second half of 2008, Comcast, but we're pretty sure we speak for all of Baltimore when we say "we want more."

You may not remember so vividly the fiasco surrounding Comcast's data meddling ways unless you were directly affected, but FCC chief Kevin J. Martin is looking out for us all by backing sanctions against the carrier in a stand for net neutrality. Essentially, Mr. Martin isn't asking that Comcast be fined; rather, he wants the provider to "change its practices and give the commission more details on what it did in the past." Essentially, he's aiming to establish a standard that will "make it difficult for an ISP to discriminate against users based on what they want to do online," which we couldn't possibly support more. Of course, there's nothing saying that sanctions will indeed be levied against Comcast, but whatever happens, we'd love to see a precedent set that forbids providers from tampering with those 1s and 0s.

[Thanks, Matt]

We're not sure what got into Comcast (though we hear Verizon may know...), but the cable carrier is apparently aiming to boost its HD lineup in the area in a huge way. Reportedly, Comcast is looking to add eight new high-def channels in the Hartford, Plainville, Vernon, Seymour, Waterbury, Old Lyme and Norwich systems, with the first three receiving their newcomers by August 7th (with some filtering in as early as July 22nd) and the rest of 'em getting gifted by August 12th. So, what channels are we talking? SNY HD, Disney HD, ABC Family HD, Science HD, TLC HD, AMC HD, The Movie Channel HD and Showtime Too HD. Huzzah!

[Thanks, Erik]

New England cable customers better get used to the digital cable box, as both RCN and Comcast made moves in the last week to shrink analog lineups with an eye towards eliminating them entirely in the future, making room for more HD. Comcast says its HD stations in Western Massachusetts will go from 30 to 50 by the end of the year, plus more VOD options, while analog customers can expect to have their channels halved within the next two years. Meanwhile RCN kicked off project Analog Crush on July 4 to go all digital, planning to double its current 40 HD channels and increase to more than 100. Dedham is first on the chopping block, while other Boston-area residences will go digital throughout the rest of the year. Got a TV still connected to analog? Check out the links below to find out when you'll be moving to digital or losing service entirely.

Read - RCN
Read - Comcast