Portland, ME - HDTV [Text View] - Page 10

AccidenT

10-02-07, 02:47 PM

The HR-20 is the only HD DVR that D* offers. It comes in a couple of different series #s that have slight technical differences but from what I've read you're usually limited to what the installer brings rather than being able to request a particular series.

FWIW, I just promoted my HR20 to my main TV, and put my old HD-Tivo in the family room upstairs, because the Tivo can't receive the new MPEG-4 HD channels. So far there have been some minor annoyances in gettting used to the new interface (I didn't really use it much when it was in the other room), but overall it's a very capable DVR. It remains to be seen if the long term scheduling reliability is at the same level as the Tivo.

Webini

10-02-07, 03:17 PM

It took me a bit to get used to the HR20, but after a few weeks I found I liked it better. The speed of the guide and deletion of season passes is definitely better than the Tivo based box. The addition of native resolution passthru is a great feature. I do miss the dual live buffers, but I've adjusted.

Keep in mind that you don't buy the HR20 or any D* box anymore- they are leased with a 2 year contract. Retail lease up-front fee is $299, but if you call D* you can get most of that waived as an existing customer. Not sure what the deals are for new customers but I'll see what I can find out.

egiroux

10-02-07, 03:36 PM

on the signup website they were offering $100 off the $299 fee. $199 signup fee still seems pretty steep to me.

Stan54

10-02-07, 04:02 PM

TBS HD arrived on TWC Augusta yesterday. Looks pretty darned good.

FSNE HD has a different looking graphic for a channel marker, so I suspect that it is CSN or whatever, now. Does anyone know, yet? Will it still show the Celtic home games, which is the only thing I have ever seen on it except for a very few miscellaneous football games? So far, (about 1 year) it has been pretty much wasted bandwidth. Thank goodness TWC dropped the NFL Network which is even a more extreme waste of bandwidth (8 games per year).

I'm guessing from what I have been reading, TWC will add a few more HD channels in October. CNN HD will be greatly welcomed. Hopefully, Fox News and MSNBC won't be far behind. I love those news channels.

loudo38

10-02-07, 06:14 PM

TBS HD arrived on TWC Augusta yesterday. Looks pretty darned good.
Most of what I have seen on TBS HD has been in Stretch-O-Vision. Same with TNT and several others.

FSNE HD has a different looking graphic for a channel marker, so I suspect that it is CSN or whatever, now. Does anyone know, yet?
They are officially now Comcast NE, show on D* as CSNE.

I'm guessing from what I have been reading, TWC will add a few more HD channels in October. CNN HD will be greatly welcomed. Hopefully, Fox News and MSNBC won't be far behind. I love those news channels
CNN HD has a really nice clean picture, although most of their HD is 4x3 with pillar bars, but it is really clean video.

Webini

10-03-07, 08:33 AM

D* launched additional HD channels this morning:

* Comcast SportsNet Chicago HD (Channel 640)
* Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic HD (Channel 629)
* New England Sports Network/NESN HD(Channel 623)
* SportsNet New York HD (Channel 625)
* YES HD (Channel 622)
* Cinemax East (Channel 512)
* Cinemax West (Channel 514)
* HBO West (Channel 504)
* Bravo (Channel 273)
* SciFi Channel (Channel 244)
* USA Network (Channel 242)

Webini

10-03-07, 08:36 AM

on the signup website they were offering $100 off the $299 fee. $199 signup fee still seems pretty steep to me.

Check out this thread (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=62089&page=120).

drbonbi

10-03-07, 09:40 AM

Webini

10-03-07, 09:43 AM

Webini,

Great posts! This thread rocks!

My second D* installation for three more rooms - one more HD box and two SD boxes - is underway as I write. Going well. By the end of the day, I will be off Comcast except for basic TV/internet. :)

Dana

NP, thanks. The two biggies for me today are NESN HD and SciFi ND. If D* launches Comcast Sports New England (used to be FSNE) in time for the Celtics I'll be a happy camper.

The only thing I use Comcast for my Internet service.

egiroux

10-03-07, 09:45 AM

Webini

10-03-07, 09:48 AM

what's generally the turn around time for a D* installation? Do you think there's a chance I could get it up and running in time for the world series, which the Sox are sure to be a part of this year?

I called D* last Wednesday to have my dish aligned for the new sat and they had someone here on Friday. He did tell me they were getting extremely busy with new installs for new customers because of the HD content.

The sooner you call the sooner you will get on the list. :)

loudo38

10-03-07, 10:09 AM

It was a real treat to turn on my D* receiver, this morning, and go NESN to watch "Sports Desk" and found it to be in HD. Hope they get our Florida Sports networks on in HD soon.

drbonbi

10-03-07, 10:22 AM

what's generally the turn around time for a D* installation? Do you think there's a chance I could get it up and running in time for the world series, which the Sox are sure to be a part of this year?

I called Monday to get another three room install and they offered me AM today! But, word is out and the installer who is here now says they are getting busy in the mid-coast area.

Dana

drbonbi

10-03-07, 01:28 PM

Bobcalkin

10-03-07, 03:24 PM

After a few sad stories, I am thrilled to report that I had an excellent three room installation today. It's no coincidence that the area supervisor, Tim, assigned this installer to my work order. He is very experienced, knowledgable, neat about his wire management, etc. He has worked for various satellite providers and knows a few tricks to expedite the installation. For instance, he calls an automated 800 number for STB authorization. It took him about ten minutes to do what the novice installer I had on Monday took two hours to accomplish. I kid you not.

His name is Mike, Tech #16042. I suggest you call Claire at 878-3322 ext. 1 not only to confirm your scheduled D* installation but to request that Mike be assigned to the job. It can't hurt and it definitely could help you.

You can bet that I gave this fellow a nice tip, too.

Dana

Dana,
My installation went smoothly as well. I had a different installer, I believed Tom was his name. He was very experienced and knowledgable. Obviously, I was thrilled to see more channels this morning :) I have not been able to watch much since installation but my first impression is that picture quality is not quite as good as comcast even the Mpeg 4 ones. The exception seems to be the locals which look very good. Later this week as I empty my comcast DVR I will do some side by side comparisions of the same show. Even if the PQ is not as spectacular as I might like, having a hundred channels and FOX will make it worth it.

Webini

10-03-07, 03:43 PM

Dana,
My installation went smoothly as well. I had a different installer, I believed Tom was his name. He was very experienced and knowledgable. Obviously, I was thrilled to see more channels this morning :) I have not been able to watch much since installation but my first impression is that picture quality is not quite as good as comcast even the Mpeg 4 ones. The exception seems to be the locals which look very good. Later this week as I empty my comcast DVR I will do some side by side comparisions of the same show. Even if the PQ is not as spectacular as I might like, having a hundred channels and FOX will make it worth it.

Regarding PQ, the mpeg2 channels are definitely a bit softer than Comcast. I'm very impressed with the mpeg4 channels - almost impossible for me to tell the difference between them and OTA in my setup.

The mpeg2 channels are leaving soon anyway. ESPN HD is now available mpeg2 and mpeg4. I quickly deleted the mpeg2 channel from my list. :)

drbonbi

10-03-07, 03:44 PM

Bob,

Delighted to hear it. I haven't watched much TV either yet. (I did watch the final episode of "The War" on MPBN channel 10 last night which PQ was poor in SD on my HD screen. That will be about it for my viewing MPBN unless they let D* carry at least their digital channel.) But, the increase in HD channels just in time for the baseball playoffs is awesome.

Dana

drbonbi

10-04-07, 09:17 AM

loudo38

10-04-07, 09:24 AM

Bob,

Can you determine from your BB in-house inventory system, when your store will be carrying the D* H21-200 HD (black) receiver? (Not the DVR HR21.) I don't have the SKU. Reports (and photos) indicate they are on the shelf at a BB in Orlando.

Thanks.

Dana
Just a reminder, if you use OTA. The H21 has no OTA tuner in it. All you can receive is what D* give you via satellite. You will loose NBC Weather Plus and any PBS stations you can get now OTA.

drbonbi

10-04-07, 11:17 AM

Just a reminder, if you use OTA. The H21 has no OTA tuner in it. All you can receive is what D* give you via satellite. You will loose NBC Weather Plus and any PBS stations you can get now OTA.

Thanks for the heads up! Yes, I'm aware it has no OTA capability. I only got one HD station OTA at my location here when I had D* with a three LNB dish and OTA antenna from 2004-6. Fortunately, it was WGME13/CBS so I got the Pats! But, now that we get locals in HD by satellite, I have no need for OTA.

loudo38, if you come across any H21 stock at a BB near you in Melbourne, I'd appreciate getting the SKU.

I've stayed a few times at the Ramada in Satellite Beach near Melbourne. My late parents retired years ago in the Vero Beach area and I used to fly in to see them occasionally using the Melbourne Airport. That's a nice area.

Dana

Webini

10-04-07, 11:32 AM

Dana:

I'm curious as to why you are interested in the H21 rather than the HR21? I'll never get another receiver without DVR capability. Is it just that your application for this box does not justify the $4.99/mth DVR fee or is there a technical reason?

loudo38

10-04-07, 11:46 AM

Thanks for the heads up! Yes, I'm aware it has no OTA capability. I only got one HD station OTA at my location here when I had D* with a three LNB dish and OTA antenna from 2004-6. Fortunately, it was WGME13/CBS so I got the Pats! But, now that we get locals in HD by satellite, I have no need for OTA.

loudo38, if you come across any H21 stock at a BB near you in Melbourne, I'd appreciate getting the SKU.

I've stayed a few times at the Ramada in Satellite Beach near Melbourne. My late parents retired years ago in the Vero Beach area and I used to fly in to see them occasionally using the Melbourne Airport. That's a nice area.

Dana
I will PM you on this.

drbonbi

10-04-07, 11:47 AM

Bobcalkin

10-04-07, 10:42 PM

I finally had a chance to watch some TV tonight and while I still have Comcast I was able to make a good comparison of the PQ. On the local channels there was virtually no difference although if I had to choose I might give a very slight edge to Comcast. However, OTA was noticeably better than either so this is an advantage for D* since their box allows you to record OTA. A&E was the only channel that I could compare a C* to an D* Mpeg 4 channel and like the locals it was even with maybe a very slight edge to C*. As expected when I compared HD theater and HBO to their D* Mpeg 2 counterparts there was major and very noticeable advantage to C*. As of right now, I am happy with my choice to switch. D* now has three times the channels, most of which, have equal picture quality. Their DVR, while no TiVo, is still light years better than SA8300 from C*. It will be interesting to see if D* will maintain the picture quality as they add channels. If they do then they will be the HD leader that they always claimed to be.

drbonbi

10-04-07, 10:52 PM

Bobcalkin

10-04-07, 10:58 PM

Bob,

Good report. Very consistent with my brief experience so far. Now that I'm back with D* I realize what I've been missing. I doubt I'll ever go back to C*.

Any info on the availability of the new D* H21 black receiver at your store, Bob?

Dana

Haven’t heard anything and probably won’t since we don’t actually own the boxes. They will probably just show up. Personally, I don’t like the idea of them since they won’t have an OTA tuner. One thing I have noticed in the last couple of the days is that the PQ on the Mpeg 4 channels seems to vary a little. I was disappointed the first day but the next day they looked great. Today, they were good but not as good as yesterday. From what I have read on other boards they are still tweaking them. There were some bad lip sync issues a couple of day ago on some of the movie channels that seemed to be fixed now.

drbonbi

10-05-07, 04:40 PM

Haven’t heard anything and probably won’t since we don’t actually own the boxes. They will probably just show up. Personally, I don’t like the idea of them since they won’t have an OTA tuner. One thing I have noticed in the last couple of the days is that the PQ on the Mpeg 4 channels seems to vary a little. I was disappointed the first day but the next day they looked great. Today, they were good but not as good as yesterday. From what I have read on other boards they are still tweaking them. There were some bad lip sync issues a couple of day ago on some of the movie channels that seemed to be fixed now.

I bought the last black H21 D* receiver the Portland BB store had, after checking Topsham and Auburn stores first. (BTW, Bob. The automated voice on the BB Topsham phone pronounces the town as Top-sHam - just like it's spelled. ;) Rather amusing to locals I imagine.)

The SKU (from my receipt) is 8504022. It is not active on BB.com.

I haven't had an opportunity to play with the H21-200 much but it seems 'way faster out of the box. Also 'way cooler than the H20-600 (which locked up last night and had to be rebooted). The new H20-100 seems to be working fine.

For those who don't know, (and probably don't care so I'll keep it short) the numbers after the dash tell us which mfgr made the box. -100 = RCA; -200 = Samsung; -600 = LG. Although the boxes are made to D* specs, there are some idiosyncratic differences.

I am a happy camper.

Dana

Etnier

10-10-07, 05:48 PM

drbonbi

10-10-07, 06:31 PM

I've been spending some time checking out MPBN HD since aquiring a new plasma set. Here's what I think is happening:

I think they're obtaining SD content and upscaling it at their end, at very low quality. Talking-heads programs have this very odd look, as if the participants were being shot through a series of scrims in a gentle breeze.

It's very distracting.

Of course, my own TV can stretch SD content much more effectively than this. It seems like most of the content on the HD channel is SD, and rather than let users' sets do the work, as HBO does with Curb Your Enthusiasm, MPBN is trying to do the work at their end.

Does this make sense? If I'm right, it sux.

Yes, I think you're right. Here's the justification the chief engineer no less has offered, as forwarded to me by MPBN's PR person last month:

The programming on MPBN HD is all upconverted and stretched to fill the widescreen format. The decision was made to stretch the content rather than transmit the programs in the traditional 4x3 format. Why? The vast majority of consumers with a widescreen television will stretch programs at home to fill the screen. While it appears to distort the picture somewhat, viewers prefer that view to the pillar box view, black bars to the left and right of the picture. Our equipment allows for a graceful distortion, rather than a simple stretch making the bulk of the image appear correct while still filling the entire screen. There may be some viewers who will take issue with this decision. Until all content is widescreen, we are still watching old black & white shows 40 years later, there is no perfect solution.

I am appalled with this explanation for many reasons but I have given up.

Dana

Etnier

10-11-07, 04:08 AM

Wow.

It's all upconverted and stretched??? That's even worse than I thought.

jkurlanski

10-11-07, 07:58 AM

To be fair, its not ALL upconverted. I know we were spoiled with the 24x7 PBS-HD feed, but MPBN is now on a par with the rest of the broadcast stations in the Greater Portland area. When HD content is broadcast, usually a national broadcast, it is passed on. Just like prime time on any of the other stations.
The rest of the time, its an upconvert, which, IMO, is actually not half bad compare to some other hatchet jobs we've seen! I'd prefer they passed on OAR though.

drbonbi

10-11-07, 09:38 AM

I could send Bob a PM on this issue but i thought it was of sufficient importance that others might benefit. Consider this friendly advice. Do nothing without consulting a licensed electrician which I am not.

My recent D* sat dish installation did not include grounding the dish or coax system. The area supervisor, Tim, said Direct Tech no longer does it. Never mind that the printed installation handbook for the SlimLine sat dish (available on line) calls for it to be done as part of the installation. The installers did route the cable lines through a grounding block close to the ground where a ground rod might be installed.

At first I was surprised. But the more I've learned, I now better understand why the Direct Tech installers don't do it. Grounding the cable system is more complicated than I first thought. What you don't want to do is pound a new ground rod into the dirt and connect up the grounding block, thinking you've done the right thing.

The ideal ground connection for the dish/coax cables is to be tied into the house electrical ground. You do not want multiple, independent ground rods here and there. In my case, I had a licensed electrician ground the sat system. In the process, we discovered that the house 220 volt, 200 amp underground service was grounded at the pole on the road where the underground service to my house begins - and the transformer is located! Apparently, that was not uncommon when the electrical service was installed in 1985 and may have met the NEC standards at the time. The electrician gave me a couple of vivid examples of why this is no longer considered a good idea.

We now have a single ground rod for all electrical service to the house which includes the new D* satellite dish and coax cables. It might behoove others to determine just how their house is grounded whether or not you have a satellite cable system.

Dana

drbonbi

10-11-07, 04:55 PM

I no longer keep tabs on the Bangor AVS Forum thread. Presumably, this item has been posted on it, since the BDN is the source of the story. Here's the link http://www.tvpredictions.com/superbowlsuit101107.htm

This does not bode well for WABI and TWC to agree anytime soon over carriage of its HD signal on Bangor area cable.

Once again $$$ trumps public interest.

Dana

Davinleeds

10-11-07, 05:43 PM

These grounding issues I learned in my C-Band days. Common ground, otherwise it's like they fight each other.

drbonbi

10-11-07, 06:20 PM

These grounding issues I learned in my C-Band days. Common ground, otherwise it's like they fight each other.

Right. From what reading I've done - incidentally, D* provides some good links and advice on its own user forum - when you have two or more grounding points, there is what is called a "difference in potential." If lightning strikes closer to one point or the earth itself is a better conductor at one point than another, the current may race between the two or more grounding points to equalize itself, with your equipment in the path between the two. Ouch.

Incidentally, one of the vivid stories my electrician told involved the electrocution of a woman in Auburn some years ago whose house had been grounded to a power pole. The ground line on the pole was removed without any realization that it involved her residence. So, the only path to ground left was her cold water pipe. One day she touched the refrigerator while her hand was on the faucet. Bam. My electrician was involved in the investigation afterwards so knows firsthand what happened.

Nuff said.

Dana

drbonbi

10-14-07, 07:52 AM

Watching the ball games the last two nights on FOX HD and the preliminaries on NESN HD as carried by D*, I had a good chance to judge D* PQ vs. Comcast Brunswick. Not a side-by-side comparison but the next thing to it watching the identical, familiar scenes - the NESN studio and Fenway Park. No difference. I did increase the sharpness setting on my monitor. Bottom line: terrific PQ.

And of course if it had been side-by-side last night, I'd have seen the Red Sox in SD from Comcast and HD from D*. :rolleyes:

We had a heavy rain here at times Friday. No picture issues from D*. What rain fade?

Finally, the Friday night Brunswick Times Record carried a front page story about lightning striking a cottage on Orr's Island early Friday morning causing heavy damage. :(

Dana

Webini

10-14-07, 08:15 AM

drbonbi

10-14-07, 08:30 AM

I can count on one hand the number of times I've had "rain fade" in the 10+ years I've had D*. "Rain fade" is FUD from the cable companies. On the other hand I lose my cable Internet connection about once a month from Comcast...

Only once a month? My SusCom internet (The underlying provider remains GWI.) acts up more frequently than that here. :mad:

Dana

sawCME

10-15-07, 09:23 AM

Longtime lurker, first time poster!

I receive WGME-DT via D* and have since it went live about a year ago. I have seen the following issues since the beginning:

1.) The infamous out of focus blur. That is to say, elements of the image that are out of focus are blurry. There have been several threads about this in the Programming forum and the last I saw this was caused by a setting on the HD Encoder, Adaptive Filtering (?).

2.) Split second image breakup. This happen most frequently during HD programs and it literally looks like the picture gets lost for about a millisecond.

3.) Brightly colored objects, like the line to go marker in a football game, seem to stutter, or tear. When the camera pans across these objects, the image I see shows the object in the new location, but I also see a remnant of the previous location of the object. This highly noticeable during the early football game yesterday, but less noticeable during the Patriots game.

Being in Waterville, there is no way I'm going to get WGME-DT via OTA, although I do receive WABI-DT. WABI-Dt suffers from item 1 above, but not the others.

I do receive WGME-DT from TWC, and do not see any of these issues there.

Does anyone else see any issues like this from any source?

I am really trying to determine if this is a WGME issue, a D* issue, or an issue with my equipment. The nature of the problems lead me away from my equipment, but you just never know...

drbonbi

10-15-07, 09:56 AM

jkurlanski

10-15-07, 10:07 AM

No problems like that with WGME-DT via TWC or OTA.

sawCME

10-15-07, 10:09 AM

Welcome to this thread for your first post!

Just having jumped back on board D*, I've been paying attention to PQ issues but I can't say I've seen what you describe. Certainly not on the Pats game yesterday. How is your D* signal strength on all of the transponders? Have you checked lately? It might be that your dish needs tweaking.

Perhaps some of those with more D* experience can offer a better diagnosis.

Dana

Thanks for the welcome!

My signal strengths on 99(b) appear fine at 98 98 0 96 46 and 97.

Most of these issues do not appear as the standard signal loss type problem.

Do you watch WGME-DT frequently?

Scott

drbonbi

10-15-07, 10:16 AM

Thanks for the welcome!

My signal strengths on 99(b) appear fine at 98 98 0 96 46 and 97.

Most of these issues do not appear as the standard signal loss type problem.

Do you watch WGME-DT frequently?

Scott

Just about every Sunday afternoon. ;)

Dana

sawCME

10-15-07, 10:22 AM

Just about every Sunday afternoon. ;)

Dana

Pretty much what I thought, as I've been following your return to D* and expected you to report any issues that you saw.

Sigh...I've been with D* for 13 years and have never had to call them about issues like this. With all the calls their getting these days, I don't look forward to the call.

I suspect it's a bad LNB, but it's just odd that I never get 771 messages. I do have the AT9 sidecar dish, so I may get a new Slimline out of it!

h2osports

10-15-07, 03:58 PM

TWC here in Cumberland County added the Fox Business Network (Ch. 179) today. Unfortunately, they didn't add the HD version (or, more importantly, any other HD channels at all.:() I may just have to join drbonbi (and many others) and sign up with D*. I want my HD!:)

As an aside, when I briefly tuned in FBN; the video was constantly locking up (freezing). Very annoying.

Be skiing you,

h2osports

Webini

10-15-07, 08:35 PM

Only once a month? My SusCom internet (The underlying provider remains GWI.) acts up more frequently than that here. :mad:

Dana

While my bill is from Comcast I have the same GWI based connection as you do through the old SusCom network. Grrrr

Webini

10-15-07, 08:41 PM

D* launched several new HD channels this morning:

* Cartoon Network (Channel 296)
* Fox Business (Channel 359)
* Fuel TV (Channel 612)
* FX (Channel 248)
* HGTV (Channel 229-1)
* Speed (Channel 607)

Davinleeds

10-15-07, 08:44 PM

No problems like that with WGME-DT via TWC or OTA.OTA it's pristine here. Colors off CSI Miami just oozes all over.

Webini

10-15-07, 08:45 PM

Below is the list of the new HD channels from D* since the end of Sept. Keep in mind that this is not the complete list of what is available, just what is new or is going to be launched soon:

September 2007

1. A&E
2. Animal Planet
3. Big Ten Network
4. CNN
5. Discovery
6. Food Network*
7. HGTV*
8. History Channel
9. MHD (MTV brand channel)
10. National Geographic
11. NFL Network
12. The Science Channel
13. Smithsonian Channel
14. TBS
15. TLC
16. Versus
17. Weather Channel
18. Cinemax-E
19. Cinemax-W
20. MoreMax
21. HBO-W
22. HBO2-E
23. HBO2-W
24. HBO Family-E
25. HBO Family-W
26. HBO Signature
27. The Movie Channel
28. SHO-W
29. STARZ-E
30. STARZ-W
31. STARZ-Edge
32. STARZ-Comedy
33. STARZ-Kids
Fall 2007
34. Bravo
35. Cartoon Network
36. Chiller
37. CNBC
38. Fuel
39. FX
40. MTV
41. NBA TV
42. VH1
43. SciFi Channel
44. Sleuth
45. Speed
46. USA Network
47. SHO TOO
December 2007
48. The Tennis Channel
Spring 2008
49. ABC Family
50. Disney Channel
51. ESPN News
52. MGM
53. Toon Disney
Channels in Test Mode with no official carriage announcement
54. NHL Network
55. Outdoor
56. Spike
57. Comedy Central
58. Nickelodeon East
59. CSTV

Regional Sports Networks
Available nationally, but local blackout rules still apply.
Fall 2007

1. Altitude
2. Comcast SportsNet Chicago
3. Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
4. FSN Arizona
5. FSN Bay Area
6. FSN Detroit
7. FSN Florida
8. FSN New England
9. FSN North
10. FSN Northwest
11. FSN Ohio
12. FSN Prime Ticket
13. FSN Rocky Mountain
14. FSN South
15. FSN Southwest
16. FSN West
17. New England Sports Network
18. SportsNet New York
19. SportsSouth
20. Sun Sports
21. YES
Channels in Test Mode with no official carriage announcement
22. FSN Midwest
23. FSN Houston
24. FSN New York
25. FSN Pittsburgh
26. MSG
27. FSN Cincinnati
28. Comcast SportsNet West
29. MASN/SportsTime Ohio

Foreign Language Channels

1. HBO Latino - 9/07

__________________

drbonbi

10-15-07, 10:28 PM

Thanks to Comcast neglect, I never had seen WPFO/Fox23 in HD until I signed up with D*. The PQ from Cleveland for the Red Sox game tonight has been terrific in HD as viewed here.

The idea that Comcast somehow can't get WPFO/Fox23 on its HD lineup until "maybe later this year" is really a slap in the face to mid-coast cable viewers who literally don't know what they are missing. Outrageous considering that WPFO is willing and able to provide Comcast with the HD signal. Grrr.

Dana

sawCME

10-16-07, 11:04 AM

AccidenT

10-16-07, 11:48 AM

It'll be nice when the local commercial breaks during Network programming are actually inserted by WPFO. I hate that blank FOX screen...

I'll take the blank FOX screen over a local car dealer ad any day. :D

sawCME

10-16-07, 12:10 PM

I'll take the blank FOX screen over a local car dealer ad any day. :D

Well, I agree with that, but the other one that has the annoying audio is really bad.

Gr8St8oMaine

10-16-07, 02:57 PM

drbonbi

10-16-07, 03:50 PM

I pulled the trigger and have scheduled DirecTV installation for next Monday. Goodbye Comcast---though we're keeping basic cable and internet.

Trying not to get too excited because when we tried to switch three years ago the installer said we didn't have line of sight from the house and would have to put the dish on an outbuilding and bury 100 feet of cabling to the house. After I came across the thread saying the sun aligns with the satellites on a couple of afternoons in March and October, I followed the directions and found that installation at the house should be feasible. Took pictures to show the installer if necessary, but I hope it won't be.

Thanks to this thread, I know I want to call DirecTech tomorrow to ensure that I'm on the schedule and they have the order right.

I ordered DirecTV online to take advantage of certain online-only aspects of the current promotion. The online ordering process didn't allow me to specify an RF remote. Does anybody know if I need to phone DirecTV for that or can I do that when I'm talking to DirecTech?

Every one of the D* high def receivers H20/H21 and standard def D11 STBs - a total of five altogether - I got came with the RC64 remote packaged in the boxes with the receivers. The installers don't have separate stock. Whatever they have is what you get.

Here's what a knowledgeable poster on another forum said: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=11895296#post11895296

The RC64 seems to have replaced the RC32 since it has more codes but is only IR.
The RC64R is RF.
The RC64RB is replacing the RC-32RF [back lit]
And I think the RC64RBK is the "kit" that comes with an antenna.* (* He is correct. I confirmed it elsewhere.)

He reports that the H20 boxes need an RF antenna with an RF remote. The new H21 receiver (black) has an RF antenna built in but doesn't come with an RF remote. At least mine didn't.

You may be able to exchange directly with D*.

Good luck.

Dana

Gr8St8oMaine

10-16-07, 05:32 PM

Dana, thanks for the info.

Gr8St8oMaine

10-22-07, 01:21 PM

My installation this morning went well and I am now enjoying D* and gladly kissing Comcast goodbye (except for internet and basic TV).

A two-room installation took 2-1/2 hours. David, the installer, arrived shortly before 9am (we had an 8-12 window). We got one standard receiver and one HD DVR (HR20-100).

David had absolutely no problem siting the dish on the house. As soon as he got out of the van, he said it should be fine. We mentioned that the installer we had come out almost 4 years ago said our line of sight was blocked by trees and he could only install the dish on an outbuilding. We couldn't do it at the time because the ground was frozen and we'd have needed to bury cabling to the house. It was only recently that I found the info on dbstalk about using the sun to determine where you could put the dish and, following its directions, saw that installing on the house should be no problem. Anyway, David had a few choice words to say about the earlier installer. ;)

Thanks to all on this thread for your help and great info.

drbonbi

10-22-07, 01:38 PM

Great news! While watching the Red Sox again last night on D* in HD, I kept thinking how fortunate I am to have switched to D*. And now the World Series on FOX23 in HD. And the Pats play the Redskins next Sunday in HD on FOX23. And maybe the Pats make it to the SuperBowl also on FOX...

And to think that Comcast Brunswick has been offered the HD feed from WPFO but is "thinking about it..." Unbelievable.

Dana

Webini

10-22-07, 01:53 PM

Davinleeds

10-22-07, 06:58 PM

Another Comcast negative ?: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071019-evidence-mounts-that-comcast-is-targeting-**********-traffic.html

AccidenT

10-22-07, 07:27 PM

Another Comcast negative ?: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071019-evidence-mounts-that-comcast-is-targeting-**********-traffic.html

Apparently the forum rules censor one of the words that is part of that URL. I took a quick look @ the arstechnica site and found the url you were talking about. Here's a version that will work: http://*******.com/yspzer

Edit: rofl, that didn't work either. Here's one that actually will: http://www.thurgoodmart.com/arstechnica.html

Davinleeds

10-22-07, 07:58 PM

Didn't realize. Thanks. I'm not a torrentor, and generally don't promote it, but am leery of actions to choke the like.

Gr8St8oMaine

10-22-07, 08:05 PM

drbonbi

10-22-07, 11:11 PM

Dana, I was definitely aware that the World Series and Super Bowl will be on Fox, which definitely factored into our decision to make the switch. However, I didn't realize that next weekend's Pats game is on Fox. If I'd known that, I wouldn't have been so blithe about scheduling!

When we took our Comcast box over to our friends at Comcast Brunswick, they didn't even ask why we were downgrading our service from digital to local. I wonder if they would have asked if we'd cancelled all tv programming.

My guess is that at this point the counter staff knows without asking. In any event, from prior comments by V-P Mary McLaughlin, it's apparent to me that she doesn't listen to them. She said as much.

I don't think that anything Comcast does elsewhere applies to the former SusCom Brunswick system. It's been rebadged as Comcast and a few channels changed to conform to its contractual carriage agreements, but it remains essentially the same as when it was acquired in May 2006. The local manager is the same person. The lack of effort to promote HD service by simply adding the WPFO/FOX23 HD feed when both the Red Sox and Pats are hot tickets speaks volumes. Comcast corporate officers aren't paying any attention to it. When I queried Mary as to whether this was just a little backwater orphaned cable system, she stopped responding to my emails instead of denying it. :(

Dana

egiroux

10-23-07, 07:39 PM

I'm not sure why anyone who wants HD content would be a customer of Comcast at this point. Comcast is >$, much less content. The only reasons I can think of would be 1) no line of sight, or 2) does not want a dish period.

How do you figure Comcast is more $? I'm still mulling over this switch. I pay about $75 per month for Comcast with an HD DVR and the extra HD package, no premium packages.

It looks like to get the same setup on DirecTV it's going to cost me $199 for the HD DVR, $70 per month for the Plus HD DVR package and then to get the HD Extra Pack is another $5 per month. Throw in the hardware protection plan of $6 per month and we're up to $81/month. Granted, there are more HD channels, but it's not cheaper than Comcast. If I could get them to comp the $199 up front fee it wouldn't be bad, but I think it's ridiculous I have to pay that much to use the equipment.

Wish Comcast would just get off their @$$ and make this decision easier for me. Just Fox 23 HD would keep me happy for a little while.

Webini

10-23-07, 08:45 PM

It works out cheaper for me with Total Choice Extra + HBO + HD pack & 2 DVRs. I've never paid a cent for equipment.

Comcast has virtually no HD content!

drbonbi

10-23-07, 08:48 PM

As far as the $199. for the D* HD DVR goes, that's a one-time upfront lease fee. No monthly fee but a two year commitment. With Comcast you pay $15.74 monthly for their HD DVR I believe. At the end of two years, you will have paid Comcast $377.76 with no end in sight.

I didn't have a Comcast HD DVR so I used the fees listed on their latest rate sheet. Please correct me if I'm in error.

Dana

egiroux

10-24-07, 01:29 PM

loudo38

10-24-07, 03:02 PM

My $75 monthly includes the fee for their HD DVR. So, what's the magic words to say to get D* to waive the $199 up front? It's kinda crazy you can get an HD receiver or a DVR receiver for free from them right now, but not the receiver that has both.
There is about $200 difference in the cost of the SD DVR vs the HD DVR. That is where the $199 comes from. But how much an existing customer pays for any equipment depends on how long they have been with D*, how much programing they buy from D* and how well you pay your D* bill.

Stan54

10-24-07, 03:13 PM

How do you figure Comcast is more $? I'm still mulling over this switch. I pay about $75 per month for Comcast with an HD DVR and the extra HD package, no premium packages.

It looks like to get the same setup on DirecTV it's going to cost me $199 for the HD DVR, $70 per month for the Plus HD DVR package and then to get the HD Extra Pack is another $5 per month. Throw in the hardware protection plan of $6 per month and we're up to $81/month. Granted, there are more HD channels, but it's not cheaper than Comcast. If I could get them to comp the $199 up front fee it wouldn't be bad, but I think it's ridiculous I have to pay that much to use the equipment.

Wish Comcast would just get off their @$$ and make this decision easier for me. Just Fox 23 HD would keep me happy for a little while.

Whoa! What is this $6 per month for a "hardware protection plan?" Does D* run a protection racket, too? Shades of Tony Soprano.

How does the plan work? $72 per year is a significant throw-in cost. Please enlighten me.

By the way, I agree that if Comcast would just provide FOX HD you could be happy. Now that TWC has added CBS HD in Central Maine (January 07), I am perfectly content with the HD channels that I have. The other channels that I have read about (other than CNN HD) hold minimal attraction for me. Once you have the big networks, sports, news and an extra entertainment channel or two, you're pretty well set.

loudo38

10-24-07, 04:08 PM

Whoa! What is this $6 per month for a "hardware protection plan?" Does D* run a protection racket, too? Shades of Tony Soprano.

How does the plan work? $72 per year is a significant throw-in cost. Please enlighten me.

By the way, I agree that if Comcast would just provide FOX HD you could be happy. Now that TWC has added CBS HD in Central Maine (January 07), I am perfectly content with the HD channels that I have. The other channels that I have read about (other than CNN HD) hold minimal attraction for me. Once you have the big networks, sports, news and an extra entertainment channel or two, you're pretty well set.
Here is the information on it: http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPage.jsp?assetId=3310015

Webini

10-25-07, 09:13 AM

Whoa! What is this $6 per month for a "hardware protection plan?" Does D* run a protection racket, too? Shades of Tony Soprano.

How does the plan work? $72 per year is a significant throw-in cost. Please enlighten me.

By the way, I agree that if Comcast would just provide FOX HD you could be happy. Now that TWC has added CBS HD in Central Maine (January 07), I am perfectly content with the HD channels that I have. The other channels that I have read about (other than CNN HD) hold minimal attraction for me. Once you have the big networks, sports, news and an extra entertainment channel or two, you're pretty well set.

The protection plan is totally optional. I've never had it in 10+ years with D*.

You don't know what you are missing without dozens of HD channels. To each their own.

Stan54

10-25-07, 11:31 AM

The protection plan is totally optional. I've never had it in 10+ years with D*.

You don't know what you are missing without dozens of HD channels. To each their own.

Yeah, you may be correct, maybe I don't know what I'm missing, but the channels D* is adding just don't set off a spark with me. I keep looking at cable's list of digital (non HD) channels to see if I can't get myself interested enough to to sign up for them. The Fox Movie Channel looks like it is something that I might spend a few hours with every now and then, however, the other channels would only be something to surf in between network programs, sports and news. I can't imagine lingering very long with any of them. Oh yeah, the MGM HD channel that D* has is bound to be pretty good.

I can't wait for MSNBC, CNN and FOX NEWS to show up in HD.

It's always nice to be able to spin through a lot of great looking channels. On the other hand, I suspect that most of us don't pay much attention to most of the channels in the long run.

Webini

10-25-07, 12:50 PM

Yeah, you may be correct, maybe I don't know what I'm missing, but the channels D* is adding just don't set off a spark with me. I keep looking at cable's list of digital (non HD) channels to see if I can't get myself interested enough to to sign up for them. The Fox Movie Channel looks like it is something that I might spend a few hours with every now and then, however, the other channels would only be something to surf in between network programs, sports and news. I can't imagine lingering very long with any of them. Oh yeah, the MGM HD channel that D* has is bound to be pretty good.

I can't wait for MSNBC, CNN and FOX NEWS to show up in HD.

It's always nice to be able to spin through a lot of great looking channels. On the other hand, I suspect that most of us don't pay much attention to most of the channels in the long run.

MSNBC, CNN, and FOX Business are already on D*. I think Fox News is on the way.

I'm just at the point where if content is not in HD I just won't watch. I watch the networks, sports, news, and alot of the science/nature shows now. And movies. That having been said everyone has different priorities.

Not sure what cable company you are on, but if it is the old Suscom system don't hold your breathe for any more HD in the near future.

Enjoy!

Stan54

10-25-07, 03:29 PM

MSNBC, CNN, and FOX Business are already on D*. I think Fox News is on the way.

I'm just at the point where if content is not in HD I just won't watch. I watch the networks, sports, news, and alot of the science/nature shows now. And movies. That having been said everyone has different priorities.

Not sure what cable company you are on, but if it is the old Suscom system don't hold your breathe for any more HD in the near future.

Enjoy!

Thank goodness I'm on TWC in the Augusta area. Good lineup and picture. Is MSNBC on D* in HD? They do list CNN. FOX NEWS hasn't revealed their plans as far as I know.

drbonbi

10-25-07, 03:55 PM

Thank goodness I'm on TWC in the Augusta area. Good lineup and picture. Is MSNBC on D* in HD? They do list CNN. FOX NEWS hasn't revealed their plans as far as I know.

Stan,

A quick check indicates that MSNBC apparently isn't originating in HD yet. Fox Business News (FBN) is on D* in HD; Fox News Channel (FNC) is not.

If we had TWC in the mid-coast area, I don't think switching to D* would have been so attractive to me. But, now that I've done so, I can't image going back to Comcast cable.

Dana

AccidenT

10-25-07, 04:03 PM

I think Webini meant CNBC, which is in "HD" on D*. I put the quotes around it because the video portion is upconverted SD and the extra space provided by the 16:9 ratio is filled with expanded graphics. The graphics are HD however, and actually do a great job of taking advantage of the space. You can see a scaled-down screenshot here: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3e/CNBCHD%2B.jpg

Webini

10-25-07, 04:25 PM

Bobcalkin

10-28-07, 04:35 PM

Anyone else notice that Fox 23 HD, on D*, looks terrible today. It has lots of video noise and shimmering. It is really noticable on the graphics. I have Sunday ticket and the game looks much better on 719 even though it is MPEG-2. I hope they get this straightened out by the world series tonight.

Bobcalkin

10-28-07, 05:26 PM

I talked to the engineering department at Fox and they are aware of the problem. They said that D* was attempting to get the closed captioning to work on the station and had unexpected side effects. They said that they are aware of the significance of tonights game and are making a big stink with D* to get it fixed. Glad I have Sunday ticket for this afternoon :)

Webini

10-28-07, 08:22 PM

Yeah, it was brutal PQ on Fox for the Pats.

AccidenT

10-28-07, 09:03 PM

I noticed the same thing during the NYG game but thought it was a problem with transmission from across the pond. By the time the Pats game came on and it was still a problem, it was too late for me to check my NYC Fox HD feed, because that station didn't have a doubleheader due to the Jets game on CBS there.

Webini

10-28-07, 10:13 PM

NYC Fox HD feed for the World Series is perfect.

Bobcalkin

10-28-07, 11:04 PM

They finally fixed it around the 5th, picture went down for a couple of minutes and when it came back it looked great. Hopefully, just in time to watch the celebration :)

Gr8St8oMaine

10-29-07, 07:59 AM

I had the same problems with Fox HD yesterday (SD was fine). I also switched to Sunday Ticket for the Patriots game, so that was OK. The Sox game was horrible. Tons of pixilation in the third inning, even worse in the sixth until the whole picture was gone for a couple of minutes.

Davinleeds

10-29-07, 05:29 PM

FYI. Now that the leaves are falling, I'm getting 35-1 again and (new?) 35-2 (SD)

Valve1138

10-29-07, 05:47 PM

FYI. Now that the leaves are falling, I'm getting 35-1 again and (new?) 35-2 (SD)

I had to readjust my antenna. For some odd reason I could get everything but 13. But I could pick up 35 and 51 perfectly all of a sudden which I was not able to do previously.

Gr8St8oMaine

10-31-07, 11:53 AM

I had a lot of pixilation and both video and audio breakups on Fox HD local channel 23 during House and then for the first half hour of Boston Legal on ABC HD local channel 8. No problems on the SD channels.

Anybody else?

egiroux

11-01-07, 08:04 PM

drbonbi

11-01-07, 08:48 PM

I e-mailed Mary McLaughlin earlier this week to get an update on Comcast in the Brunswick area offering Fox23 in HD. Here's part of her response:

I hope you will have FOX 23HD by end of year and Comcast will do everything within its power to make that happen. In short, we haven’t received approval from FOX 23 to carry its HD broadcast. My Divisional programming partners have been trying to secure permission from the local broadcaster for some time now, but to no avail.

In mid October, we notified our Brunswick area customers that we’d be dropping some premium channel West Coast feeds in order to free up channel space for additional HD launches. Our hope was to have permission from the local broadcaster to launch FOX 23HD upon dropping these other channels. Unfortunately, we do not yet have permission to launch the service.

After getting her response I sent a note to the general Fox 23 customer e-mail via their website. I have not heard back from them yet.

Good for you to have gotten a response. But, she directly contradicts Tom MacArthur, General Sales Manager at WPFO/FOX23, who I quoted in a prior post here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=11576236#post11576236

Our problem is that Comcast does not have us ... we would like them to but, at this time they aren’t carrying us. I would suggest that you contact them.

:confused:

Dana

PS. I haven't seen the notice about Comcast dropping "premium channel West Coast feeds..." in any bills from Comcast nor in the local paper. But, I do get my bills online and not in the mail. Hmm.

Stan54

11-02-07, 02:06 PM

Dana's quote from Fox 23:

"Quote:
Our problem is that Comcast does not have us ... we would like them to but, at this time they aren’t carrying us. I would suggest that you contact them."

Dana, notice that Fox 23 did not say that they had signed an agreement with Comcast. They simply said that Comcast does not have them. They would like to be carried, but at this time are not.

Nobody wants to be the bad guy. I'm guessing that Fox 23 has not accepted any offer that Comcast may have made. The FIRST THING that any cable company wants is the local channels. Anything else is a distant second, although I'm sure that ESPN and NESN rate pretty high on the list.

drbonbi

11-02-07, 05:33 PM

...

Nobody wants to be the bad guy. I'm guessing that Fox 23 has not accepted any offer that Comcast may have made. The FIRST THING that any cable company wants is the local channels. Anything else is a distant second, although I'm sure that ESPN and NESN rate pretty high on the list.

Stan,

I think the impression you have is the one Comcast is promoting. It's the "other guy's fault." If it was Sinclair Broadcasting or WABI, I'd be more inclined to believe it. But, when I'm watching the WS on FOX23 in HD on D* and I know that other Mainers are watching it on TWC in HD while mid-coast Comcast viewers are stuck with SD, I say shame on Comcast. Obviously, these other carriers came to terms with FOX23. But Mary is telling us that the largest cable co. in the USA can't? Come on.

Who are her "Divisional programming partners?" That gobbledegook suggests someone else has been involved in the negotiations, not her. So she may only know what she's been told. I think this has been a low level priority for the Comcast corporate types.

Dana

Stan54

11-02-07, 11:06 PM

Stan,

I think the impression you have is the one Comcast is promoting. It's the "other guy's fault." If it was Sinclair Broadcasting or WABI, I'd be more inclined to believe it. But, when I'm watching the WS on FOX23 in HD on D* and I know that other Mainers are watching it on TWC in HD while mid-coast Comcast viewers are stuck with SD, I say shame on Comcast. Obviously, these other carriers came to terms with FOX23. But Mary is telling us that the largest cable co. in the USA can't? Come on.

Who are her "Divisional programming partners?" That gobbledegook suggests someone else has been involved in the negotiations, not her. So she may only know what she's been told. I think this has been a low level priority for the Comcast corporate types.

Dana

So is it your impression, Dana, that Fox 23 has authorized Comcast to carry them, but Comcast just won't do it?

drbonbi

11-03-07, 08:15 AM

Stan,

Here's what I know that's factual. I wrote Mary McLaughlin over a year ago and suggested then that getting FOX23 onto the Comcast Brunswick system would be a no-brainer in that - while it wasn't broadcasting in HD - it was providing the HD feed to TWC by closed circuit. In other words, if TWC can do it, surely Comcast can.

On Nov. 29, 2006 she wrote me:

Apparently, some time ago, Suscom did attempt to work with WPFO to gain access to the signal but nothing came of it. I will work with our marketing and engineering teams to take another look at this and determine whether it is now technically possible and economically feasible to gain access to this channel.

In response to my inquiry, she wrote me on Feb. 6, 2007:

FOX23 continues to be work in progress, as is NESN HD. My goal is to launch NESN HD as soon as possible. As soon as I have a launch date for either, I’ll let you know.

On April 17, 2007:

I still owe you a response on the local Fox affiliate. We continue to work on this initiative. For several reasons, getting access to the signal is a bit complicated. I will endeavor to keep you updated.

On May 14, 2007 in response to my inquiry about getting Turner Classic Movies:

We still have the channel constraint issues facing as a result of 120+/- miles of 550MHz plant. We have a small amount of channel bandwidth available that I am holding onto for some additional HD launches, so I am not hopeful that TCM is in the immediate future. Clearly, when bandwidth becomes available, this will be on the list.

Marc Goodman, a Comcast PR guy in Boston wrote me on Sep. 21, 2007:

We hear the call loud and clear about HD. If we could sit down at the table with WPFO, we would add the channel as soon as possible to our lineup. Currently, we’re evaluating opportunities to adjust our lineup to enable us to maximize our channel offerings within the existing system constraints. Customers will be seeing additional HD channels (and hopefully, WPFO HD) later on this year.

During this period Comcast did bring NESN HD onto the Brunswick system. They found bandwidth to add other channels and in some cases made swaps with HDNet and HDNET Movie channels being dropped.

It makes no sense to me that FOX23 would provide its closed circuit feed to TWC and D* but not Comcast, especially when FOX23's sales manager says he's willing. So, for whatever reason, yes, I point the finger at Comcast. I say again that it is the largest cable co. in America. It has the resources to do anything it wants to do. For whatever reason, it has not been a high priority. If it is doable by the end of this year, it was doable a year ago.

But, all of the above is water over the dam. Now that Mary says "Comcast will do everything within its power to make that happen," I assume it will happen.
:)
Dana

Stan54

11-03-07, 04:02 PM

jkurlanski

11-03-07, 04:45 PM

drbonbi

11-03-07, 04:53 PM

Pure speculation on my part, but there may be another hitch: Fox 23 provides content to TWC via fiber link from their station. As we know, they are not broadcasting OTA in HD and TWC has a lot of fiber running through Greater Portland. Comcast is really an isolated block of subscribers around Brunswick. It may be that getting that feed also means that TWC and Comcast need to reach a deal on the fiber transmission to get there. Probably a stretch, I know, but its something I was thinking about the other day.

Well, apparently D* solved the problem. ;)

I wonder the extent to which there have been any business negotiations. Note the PR guy's comment "If we could sit down at the table with WPFO, we would add the channel as soon as possible to our lineup." (My emphasis.) Doesn't sound to me as if negotiations have taken place. Bandwidth constraint is the excuse Comcast has offered since May. Now maybe they are doing something about it. I guess time will tell.

Dana

drbonbi

11-04-07, 07:26 AM

As I was browsing the D* HD channels last night, discovering that The Weather Channel is now in HD - with the best coverage anywhere of the coastal storm that glanced by on its way to the Maritimes - I thought about the contrast in carrier technologies. With Comcast there's all this hullabaloo about adding one local HD channel to its lineup. Meanwhile, D* not only has all the local HD channels up and running, but it is providing many more HD channels than Comcast will ever offer - unless it completes the upgrade of its plant which it seems loath to do.

BTW. During the blustery storm here last night on the coast, my reception with D* was rock-solid.

The above comment is intended to focus on the technologies involved - cable vs. satellite - and not on the brands involved. I do wonder if the cable era is over now that HD is coming to the fore. If not over, then cable may be taking a back seat to satellite not unlike the way landline phones have given way to cell phones.

Dana

drbonbi

11-05-07, 09:46 AM

If your cable system is deciding for you that you can't watch the NFL Network in HD - and I believe no Maine cable system carries it in HD at present and TWC says even the SD channel is "coming soon" to channel 469 - then you're not alone. Peter King of Sports Illustrated says 70% of cable systems in the USA aren't carrying it. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/peter_king/11/04/mmqb/3.html

Why does he mention it? Well, The Green Bay Packers happen to be 7-1 and Dallas is also 7-1 at the moment. They play each other on the NFL Network Nov. 29 at 8:15 PM. Neither state's capital city cable system carries the channel. Ouch!

The availability of the NFL Network has local interest. The NE Patriots, who may be headed for a 16-0 regular season, play their final regular season game at the NY Giants Saturday Dec. 29 8:30 PM on the NFL Network. That could be an historic game that determines if the Pats have an undefeated regular season.

D* carries the NFL Network in both SD and HD. Isn't this another example of the emergence of satellite as superior to cable?

Dana

PS. Some Maine communities have no other choice. For example, Arrowsic, Georgetown and Five Islands have no cable service.

egiroux

11-05-07, 06:53 PM

Good news. I e-mailed Tom MacArthur at Fox23 and Mary McLaughlin at Comcast on the same note and got a quick response from Tom. Here it is:

Eric,

As a matter of fact, I received a contract on Friday from Comcast for carriage of our station. I am hopeful that this will move quickly and FOX 23 will be on their system soon. I don’t think anyone is “not” in favor of this happening! I have recently been promoted to President/General Manager of the station and will now be directly working on this contract. Prior to now, the former General Manager dealt with it and I was not “in the loop”. I will do my best to get this done as I have been contacted by many viewers over the past few months about this issue.

Hope to have you watching us soon…

Tom Mac Arthur

From the sounds of that I think we'll have FoxHD in time for the Super Bowl.

drbonbi

11-05-07, 07:29 PM

Maineah

11-08-07, 11:43 AM

I am in the Bangor market but thought it was worth sharing

Thank you for your email. We are anticipating adding at least 9 new HD channels by year's end. These are set to include HGTV, Food Network, VS, CNN, Lifetime Movie Network, History, NHL, Fox Business News, and MyTV. We do have additional channels that are in the planning stages right now, and we hope to have more information regarding their addition very soon. Talks with WABI continue, and as of right now, they have not granted us the broadcast rights for their HD signal. As you have noticed, WABI is the only local channel not available in HD in the Bangor system. This is not due to Time Warner not wanting to show CBS programing in HD, but due to the fact that we do not have legal permission to show the signal. As soon as WABI grants that permission, we will begin broadcasting. Updates to both of these HD questions will be posted on our website http://www.timewarnercable.com/newengland as they become available. Thank you for contacting Time Warne! r Cable of New England. Please contact us if we may be of assistance in the future.

PCBliss

11-09-07, 08:51 PM

drbonbi

11-09-07, 09:16 PM

Not sure if this is the correct place for this...

I am very new to HD things. I live in Oxford, ME and currently have Time Warner regular cable (coax). I am wondering what kind of offerings Time Warner has for HDTV, as I just got a 42" plasma TV. Does anyone know? Is the time warner digital cable HDTV in Maine??

Sorry in advance for my confusion

Welcome to this friendly Mainers thread! You did fine by posting your question here. Digital cable is not the same as high definition cable. If you check out the TWC listings in your area here http://www.timewarnercable.com/CustomerService/CLU/TWCCLUs.ashx you'll be easily able to spot the HD channel lineup.

Dana

drbonbi

11-13-07, 11:35 AM

A recent story in the Boston Globe here http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2007/11/comcast_expands.html underscores the difference between Comcast holdings elsewhere in New England and its operation of the former SusCom midcoast Maine MSO.

The addition of the History Channel HD, the Discovery Channel HD, and the USA Network HD brings the total number of high-definition TV channels that Comcast offers New England subscribers to 30, Philadelphia-based Comcast said.

Dana

Webini

11-14-07, 10:35 AM

loudo38

11-14-07, 10:44 AM

Directv launched additional HD channels this morning - including Comcast Sports New England. HD Celtics!!!

* 299: Nickelodeon (NIK1HD)
* 325: Spike HD
* 327: Country Music Television (CMTHD)
* 331: MTV HD
* 335: VH1 HD
* 620-1: Comcast Sports Net New England HD
+ 5 additional PPV HD channels

On my system I show 83 HD channels available to me. That includes 12 PPV HD channels. There are a handful of HD channel that are available that I don't use so they are not in the 83 number.

Take that Comcast.

Plus the following for those that subscribe to the RSN Sports package:

630-1: FSN South HD
631-1: SportsSouth HD
632-1: Sun Sports HD
634-1: FSN Florida HD
637-1: FSN Ohio HD
638-1: FSN Cincinnati HD
641-1: FSN North HD
644-1: Altitude HD
645-1: FSN Rocky Mountain HD
649-1: FSN Arizona HD
651-1: FSN Northwest HD
654-1: FSN Bay Area HD

LongbowJim

11-14-07, 08:59 PM

Is anybody seeing the Celtics on 620-1?

Webini

11-15-07, 10:38 AM

Is anybody seeing the Celtics on 620-1?

Nope. The feed was not uplinked for some reason last night. I know a bunch of people have complained.

Friday's game is in HD on 95.

cmaine

11-15-07, 01:01 PM

Comcast added on HD the versus/golf HD on channel 520.

Chris

Stan54

11-15-07, 02:21 PM

Nope. The feed was not uplinked for some reason last night. I know a bunch of people have complained.

Friday's game is in HD on 95.

Fortunately, last night's Celtics game was on Time Warner Cable. The HD was great for the win.

egiroux

11-15-07, 05:05 PM

why the heck would I care about GOLVS. Golf TV (mostly infomercials) and Versus in HD? Please Comcast. I would much rather have seen CSNNE, Comcast Sports Net New England, so we could watch the Celtics games in HD.

jkurlanski

11-15-07, 09:49 PM

I little bird told me that TWC should be rolling out Versus-HD shortly. Personally, as one of the 12 remaining hockey fans, I'm looking forward to it.. I can't stand watching hockey in SD anymore...even worse, on the analog Versus..blech.

Shek

11-15-07, 10:58 PM

This is maddening. HD Golf in the middle of winter, with Celtics basketball in full swing?

What kind of cruel joke is this?

Maineah

11-16-07, 07:43 AM

Confirmed Coming to TWC HD

HGTV, Food Network, VS, CNN, Lifetime Movie Network, History, NHL, Fox Business News, and MyTV

The new HD channels are set to be launched in Bangor, Presque Isle, Augusta, Portland, and New Hampshire broadcast areas, so all the new channels will be available to you. I have just received word that the proposed launch date is just before Christmas. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Webini

11-16-07, 02:08 PM

The Celtics game is confirmed to be on Comcast Sports New England HD for Directv tonight on 620-1.

loudo38

11-16-07, 02:11 PM

This is maddening. HD Golf in the middle of winter, with Celtics basketball in full swing?

What kind of cruel joke is this?
That reminds me why I only live in Maine during the summer.:D

lilcasino

11-16-07, 04:40 PM

drbonbi

11-16-07, 09:40 PM

I am not a Celtics fan so haven't been watching them. But, apparently the problem with lack of HD broadcasts of some Celtics games specifically involves road games. There's a reassuring story here http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/ quoting Skip Perham, who is the Marketing & Communications Manager for Comcast SportsNet New England.

Perham said that putting the Celtics road games in HD is their "number one priority" and he expects this to be done sometime during this 2007-2008 Celtics season. Right now, their focus is on making this happen.

So while the exact date is still up in the air, Celtics fans can rest assured that before the end of the season, all Celtics games, both home and away will be shown in crystal clear High Definition.

Dana

drbonbi

11-17-07, 09:58 AM

I thought it was worth mentioning that Skip Perham noted in the same interview reported above that HD has become the broadcasting standard for sports teams in the Boston market.

He also acknowledged that the "standard telecast in this market for local teams is in high definition" both (home) and away. NESN has been broadcasting all Red Sox and Bruins games in HD, and it is a rare occasion when the Patriots are not shown in HD. (I don't think it will happen at all this season, and might've happened once last season.) Held to this standard, CSN has thus admittedly fallen short so far, but plans are in place to change that.

HD has matured from a footnote to the standard for sports telecast. Clearly some cable providers are behind the curve but competition from satellite may force them to upgrade sooner than later.

Dana

Webini

11-17-07, 10:07 AM

I thought it was worth mentioning that Skip Perham noted in the same interview reported above that HD has become the broadcasting standard for sports teams in the Boston market.

HD has matured from a footnote to the standard for sports telecast. Clearly some cable providers are behind the curve but competition from satellite may force them to upgrade sooner than later.

Dana

Except cable areas like the old Suscom (now Comcast) system that will not have bandwidth to upgrade for at least a year.

drbonbi

11-17-07, 10:52 AM

Except cable areas like the old Suscom (now Comcast) system that will not have bandwidth to upgrade for at least a year.

Personally, I think the "lack of bandwidth" is no excuse for Comcast. When Mary first wrote me months ago that the "120± miles of 550 MHz cable" was a constraint on adding channels, I accepted it. But, just before I switched to D*, I found out by reading SusCom's 10K reports on line that SusCom had upgraded most of its 850 wire mile midcoast plant before Comcast bought it. So, why hasn't Comcast with its tremendous financial resources completed the remaining 14% of the system?

Clearly, it's a management decision. It's a self-imposed constraint. It's like my saying I can't drive to Portland today because I don't have enough gas in my car. It may be true but it begs the question of why I don't get more gas if I really want to go to Portland.

If Comcast doesn't have the capacity to be competitive, it has no one to blame but itself. The "woe is me!" act is getting old.

Dana

Stan54

11-17-07, 03:50 PM

Personally, I think the "lack of bandwidth" is no excuse for Comcast. When Mary first wrote me months ago that the "120± miles of 550 MHz cable" was a constraint on adding channels, I accepted it. But, just before I switched to D*, I found out by reading SusCom's 10K reports on line that SusCom had upgraded most of its 850 wire mile midcoast plant before Comcast bought it. So, why hasn't Comcast with its tremendous financial resources completed the remaining 14% of the system?

Clearly, it's a management decision. It's a self-imposed constraint. It's like my saying I can't drive to Portland today because I don't have enough gas in my car. It may be true but it begs the question of why I don't get more gas if I really want to go to Portland.

If Comcast doesn't have the capacity to be competitive, it has no one to blame but itself. The "woe is me!" act is getting old.

Dana

What do you suppose Comcast's ulterior motive is for the self-imposed constraint? Are they trying to create an unbearable burden of new customers for Direct and Dish TV?

Webini

11-17-07, 05:27 PM

What do you suppose Comcast's ulterior motive is for the self-imposed constraint? Are they trying to create an unbearable burden of new customers for Direct and Dish TV?

If they are then their plan is working pretty well. I've seen a lot of new Directv dishes in Brunswick / Topsham over the last few weeks.

drbonbi

11-17-07, 07:42 PM

What do you suppose Comcast's ulterior motive is for the self-imposed constraint? Are they trying to create an unbearable burden of new customers for Direct and Dish TV?

Stan

I think you summed it up in a prior post. "I've said it before. It's only business."

There's no profit in it aka return on investment. The midcoast is about to get economically whacked with a big time exodus of well-paid military folks. It will eventually recover but not in the short-term. And that's the only term that American business operates in these days.

Dana

Stan54

11-18-07, 05:02 PM

Stan

I think you summed it up in a prior post. "I've said it before. It's only business."

There's no profit in it aka return on investment. The midcoast is about to get economically whacked with a big time exodus of well-paid military folks. It will eventually recover but not in the short-term. And that's the only term that American business operates in these days.

Dana

So, they must figure that business in general for them is going down the drain for them anyway due to local economic conditions and they would never retain enough customers or generate enough new customers to justify the cost of finishing the upgrade to the plant. Is that the way you see it, too?

On the other hand, Comcast is a lot bigger than the Brunswick, Maine area and has the resources to do the upgrade even if the area is going to take an economic hit.

By the way, I would wager that the hit will only be temporary as your area will change a great deal once the military is out. Things may end up better than ever. ............. How about a SUPER casino with its own airport to fly in gamblers from all over the world. Fun, huh? Top flight entertainment including boxing and other sporting events.

droobie

11-18-07, 06:18 PM

eh why can't we get the discovery/animal planet/tlc hd channels.

Don't worry, i'm sure they'll offer those later in time attached to a 4$ a month rate hike. :)

I wouldn't let them take away my Science HD for anything on Dish. It's probably the HD channel I watch the most.

jkurlanski

11-18-07, 07:19 PM

Stan54

11-19-07, 12:20 PM

Does anybody out there on TWC know what has happened to HD Net for the last week? HD Net Movies is still there, but HD Net has gone black.

droobie

11-19-07, 01:04 PM

IMO (I know, I know, me and my opinions...) I bet that Comcast is hoping to dump, er, trade the Brunswick system with TWC in the near future. Ergo, they don't want to put any more money into it. On the otherhand, if they keep losing customers to D*, they won't have much to trade!

When Dish started Bangor locals at the end of last year, the flood of Dish installs was enough that they had to bring in additional installers. People are trying hard to get away from the never-ending fees and nonsense known as cable.

It's not just here though, it's in other markets that are even better served by cable. When both D* and E* have more HD channels than most cable plants and usually overall better prices, there's just little reason to keep cable. E* was first in the race, D* is catching up, and E* will level it out once their additional satellites launch. Satellites are fantastic for broadcast.

With all that in mind - I think people would be happier as a TWMaine market than a Comcast market anyway. Comcast is the same company that offers 'limited' unlimited net service. They've been sending out letters to tell people they've used 'too much' unlimited net, then when asked what the limit is, they're told it's unlimited.

drbonbi

11-20-07, 11:21 AM

For those who feel they are stuck with Comcast because of its cable modem internet service (actually provided by GWI), I discovered a viable alternative at my location. GWI now offers a bundled digital phone/internet broadband service that for me at least is significantly cheaper than my Verizon landline/Comcast internet combo. And GWI has an intro deal.

By the EOM I will be able to kiss Comcast completely goodbye - and save money doing so.

BTW. GWI is a Maine company with HQ in Biddeford. www.GWI.net.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Dana

Webini

11-20-07, 12:01 PM

Dana:

Great information - I'm going to check that out. I assume it is still cable and not DSL at those speeds.

There is no cost savings for me since I use USA Telephone not Verizon, but I can eliminate one bill and increase my Internet speeds. And kiss Comcast goodbye!

Webini

11-20-07, 12:04 PM

Hmm, further research shows that this is DSL. Not at all excited about that.

droobie

11-20-07, 01:28 PM

BTW. GWI is a Maine company with HQ in Biddeford. www.GWI.net.

I've been a GWI customer since 2004 and a GWILine customer since 2005. Their support is open 24/7, staffed locally in Maine, and I've had pain free service.

The modem they provide is not too great at distances though, so I found the 30$ 2Wire Homeportal 2700HG off Ebay to be much better. When in doubt, it's not hard to trade out a DSL modem.

droobie

11-20-07, 01:29 PM

Hmm, further research shows that this is DSL. Not at all excited about that.

GWI does DSL up through 20000/1000 kbit/s using ADSL2+. Even here in Bangor TW doesn't touch that. As it goes I have their 3.0/768 service and I scrape the edge of 400K/s downloads at 15000 feet out.

I kicked cable out of here a while ago. They won't be welcome back.

Webini

11-21-07, 01:40 PM

GWI does DSL up through 20000/1000 kbit/s using ADSL2+. Even here in Bangor TW doesn't touch that. As it goes I have their 3.0/768 service and I scrape the edge of 400K/s downloads at 15000 feet out.

I kicked cable out of here a while ago. They won't be welcome back.

Do you have to put the DSL line filters on every phone jack? I have a wall mounted phone and I'm not sure where the filter would go. Or is the filter on the incoming line?

droobie

11-21-07, 01:51 PM

Do you have to put the DSL line filters on every phone jack? I have a wall mounted phone and I'm not sure where the filter would go. Or is the filter on the incoming line?

I have a "HomeRun", basically it's a box that's smaller than an outdoor wiring box from the Telco and it splits DSL at the source. It's a great thing to have for really long distances. However, it's also a pain to install one, since you have to run a dedicated wire to your DSL modem from the side of the house. Basically you connect your phone line from the Telco NID box to the Outdoor Filter, then connect your phone lines to it. You have to run a DSL only feed from the box to your DSL modem. Usually this involves using taps or rewiring the house, which isn't a real big fun situation. :) It does avoid needing individual filters though.

http://i6.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/9a/42/925e_1_b.JPG

Assuming you're not using a HomeRun - Yes, any non-DSL Modem device (fax machine, tivo, Sat Box, dial-up modem, etc) would need a filter. However, you're in luck for your Wall mounted needs. Go to eBay and use the search Wall Mount DSL Filter. Basically it sticks onto the existing wall mount, and then gives you a passthru for your wall mounted phone. It'll make it stick away from the wall a little more (half an inch or so), but it works very well. :)

http://i21.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/c6/0d/2cd8_1.JPG

GWI provides filters, and I think if you request a Wall Mount filter they will send you one. They send 4 regular filters by default.

For regular filters - The pig-tail goes away from the device, not to it. This is important because people tend to stick the pigtail into the back of a Tivo, etc. and then complain that they have crappy DSL service.

All in all, once it's set up, it just works. GWI doesn't use PPPoE or anything weird like that (like Verizon DSL does). It basically works like a cable modem. Plug in and go.

drbonbi

11-21-07, 01:54 PM

Do you have to put the DSL line filters on every phone jack? I have a wall mounted phone and I'm not sure where the filter would go. Or is the filter on the incoming line?

When I had Verizon DSL, a filter was required on every phone. But, they provided a filter for a wall mounted phone. It's a slim pad that fits between the phone and the wall mount. Connect it up with a short cable from the wall to the filter pad, then another short cable from the pad to the phone. It's hardly noticeable. I believe GWI provides the same option as I was asked if I had any wall mounted phones. (I kept the Verizon filters and I think they will work with GWI.)

Dana

droobie

11-21-07, 01:59 PM

The filters are universal and work between services. The wall mount ones I've used didn't have anything I had to plug in, they just literally 'docked' to the wall and acted as a passthru. I'm not sure what type GWI uses, but I am under the impression (as you are) that they will provide them if you need them.

drbonbi

11-21-07, 06:06 PM

droobie,

Loads of good info here. Thanks for sharing. Verizon provided the same filters as your pix shows - made by 2wire. I happened to get two line phone filters but they look identical to yours.

Dana

Webini

11-22-07, 10:24 AM

Thanks for the info everyone. One more question. Does the ADSL modem that GWI provides have wireless built-in or not?

droobie

11-22-07, 11:37 AM

Thanks for the info everyone. One more question. Does the ADSL modem that GWI provides have wireless built-in or not?

I received a Lucent Cellpipe 22A-GX from them when I signed up and that did not have built in wireless. You can always ask them, maybe they offer such a thing now.

I bought a 2Wire Homeportal 2700HGV on eBay, which has wireless (11G - 400mW), 4 port switch, router and ADSL2+ modem in one package. They're going for around 30 bucks including shipping on there. 2700HG-B or 2700HGV works fine. If you decide to go that route and need help, drop me a PM.

Webini

11-22-07, 01:42 PM

I received a Lucent Cellpipe 22A-GX from them when I signed up and that did not have built in wireless. You can always ask them, maybe they offer such a thing now.

I bought a 2Wire Homeportal 2700HGV on eBay, which has wireless (11G - 400mW), 4 port switch, router and ADSL2+ modem in one package. They're going for around 30 bucks including shipping on there. 2700HG-B or 2700HGV works fine. If you decide to go that route and need help, drop me a PM.

I actually don't want the modem to include wireless so that Lucent would be OK. I assume it has an Ethernet port in back that I would run to my router?

Also, how long was the install from when you placed the order? I work from home sometimes and can't afford downtime.

droobie

11-22-07, 01:49 PM

I actually don't want the modem to include wireless so that Lucent would be OK. I assume it has an Ethernet port in back that I would run to my router?

Yep the westell and Lucent modems have a single ethernet port (the lucent also has a USB port if needed).. I don't know if you still have to, but when I signed up I had to call and give the MAC address of my router (I had a linksys at the time) so they could add me to their DHCP table. Just works after that though, much like with cable modem. They provide paperwork to tell you what you have to do when it activates. Not much to it if they still require you register the MAC, you just look it up in your router web page and then call their 800# and get it added, takes 5 minutes.

Also, how long was the install from when you placed the order? I work from home sometimes and can't afford downtime.

it's under 7 days. If you have DSL right now, they'd have to do a conversion install. You'd stay with whoever you use for DSL and they'd automatically disconnect you once GWI took control. You'd have 5-10 minutes of downtime while they moved the pairs at the Central Office.

If you want to know what speeds you'd qualify for, send me a PM with your phone number you want to use for DSL and I can look it up in prequal. I don't work for GWI but I can still look that stuff up no problem.

Webini

11-22-07, 02:02 PM

I'm on Comcast / Suscom cable right now, so no DSL conversion.

PM on the way. Thanks!

drbonbi

11-23-07, 06:15 PM

I thought those of us on this thread might find the above-referenced column interesting. Like most if not all stories, it isn't completely balanced. You judge for yourself.

Interestingly enough, little ol' Comcast Brunswick carries the NFL Network on its digital channel 122; the digital tier costs $13.95 and includes many channels. It is not a sports tier. The NFL Network is a legacy holdover from when SusCom owned the Brunswick MSO.

Of course while all the squabble goes on about which land line cable cos are or are not carrying the NFL Network and who is/isn't doing what on behalf of viewers, D* is carrying it in SD and HD. :cool:

Link: http://business.mainetoday.com/smallbusiness/internetmarketing/018808.html

A more complete and balanced column is in The Boston Globe here http://www.boston.com/sports/nesn/wilbur/sports_blog/blog/2007/11/21/network_noose/

Dana

droobie

11-23-07, 07:21 PM

D* is carrying it in SD and HD. :cool:

E* has had NFL Network in HD and SD for a very long time. I know because I watch it, especially this time of the season where there's a live game.

The cable co can keep shooting itself in the foot. The 40$ a month I save from no longer being their customer pays for my DSL... I also don't miss the slow Motorola DCT2000 that I gave up for those brief 3 months I had digital, until realizing it was costing me 7$/tv/mo for those additional TVs... :)

I would, however, rather be a cable customer than a D* customer. I've already been down that road in the past and it's not one I wish to repeat.

AccidenT

11-23-07, 08:21 PM

Everyone to whom I've described the NFL network/TWC/Pats scenario with seems to think "oh, they'll work it out if the Pats are 15-0 by then". I'm not so sure, but if that is the case, the "they" in that situation would be TWC. The NFL network will have even more leverage at that point, and I imagine D* and E* will have a deluge of installs being scheduled in the weeks leading up to the game.

Meanwhile, I'm getting some friendly jabs in at work by telling my TWC-subscribing co-workers that they'll have to compete for the final spot at the viewing party I'm having at my house that night. :D

Stan54

11-24-07, 12:11 PM

We used to have the NFL HD Network on TWC Augusta and I am glad it is gone. That one game will hurt for sure, but I think I will survive somehow and the NFL HD Network will still be gone. It will be worth it, I think.

If you have missed my earlier tirades about this channel, you probably wonder why anyone would want to be without a channel and a football channel to boot. ..... Well, this is one useless channel that ties up bandwidth all year for only 8 games per year that represent about 24 hours of broadcasting value. The other hours that they have to fill in during the rest of the year are about as close to "nothing" as you can ever get.

We don't seem to be able to deny ourselves one single thing in this country, from Twinkies to a single, highly popular and desireable football game. If this Network could be denied financial success from such a tiny offering (8 games), it would disappear into the mist. Bandwidth would be saved and, perhaps, the entertainment networks might find themselves in some sort of an enhanced bargaining position with the NFL.

Such a condition would be in the best long term interests of viewers. You go, Cable! Do not come to terms with the NFL Network.

Etnier

12-02-07, 09:16 AM

drbonbi

12-02-07, 09:24 AM

Well, I am now on DSL with GWI. It was a bit of a struggle because I use a wireless router but excellent customer service and tech support = success. I even drove to Biddeford to swap modems after we screwed up the first one. Everyone pleasant and cooperative. Good humored Maine people helping other Maine people.

GWI previously assured me that our present suscom-maine.net email addresses would continue to work with GWI since it is also the underlying ISP for Comcast. GWI tech support suggested that when Comcast asked for a forwarding email address, that I use ~@GWI.net which would serve as an alias. So, yesterday, after confirming that my GWI account was indeed acting normally, I called Comcast to cancel. (I prefer doing business at the Brunswick office but since I own the cable modem, there was no equipment to return so I called instead.)

The young lady who answered - she sounded a million miles away and maybe she was - said she'd be glad to cancel my internet account! When I asked if she needed my new email address to forward email, she replied "Oh, we don't forward emails." Internet account closed. Period. No inquiries as to why, thanks for your business, can we get your business back, etc. She couldn't have cared less. Over with. Done. Goodbye.

I've switched ISPs several times in the more than 10 years I've been on the internet. Always it has involved having emails forwarded for at least 30 days. In the present case, the issue is nonexistent thanks to GWI. But, if anyone switches from Comcast/SusCom to an ISP other than GWI, watch out.

Another example of Comcast corporate arrogance.

An installer comes Tuesday to switch my landline telephone from Verizon to GWI digital service. My cost for internet and phone service will drop by 50% vs. Verizon/Comcast! That's after the GWI four month free internet promo ends. GWI DSL is 3 MB service here. Comcast cable internet claimed 5 MB. But, surfing the internet, doing emails, etc., I can't tell the difference.

But, there sure is a difference in the way GWI does business.

Dana

drbonbi

12-02-07, 09:47 AM

This is not an HDTV topic per-se but people seem quite knowledgeable here.

I think TWC Portland's Roadrunner speed has slowed considerably in recent weeks. Paranoid me thinks it's deliberate: to push power-users to their $10.00/month boosted-speed upgrade.

Anyone have any info?

It's been pointed out to me that the nature of cable internet is such that speed is affected by the number of users active at any given time on a particular node. Does the slowdown occur at specific times? That might be a clue.

On the other hand, I don't dismiss the possibility that it's deliberate.*

Dana

* I am old enough to recall riding the Maine Central RR in the 1950s during which passenger service deteriorated badly and eventually ended. There were accusations that it was deliberate made by passengers, editorial writers, etc. Maine Central denied the charge and blamed the automobile, the sun, the moon and the stars. In the 1960s I made the acquaintance of a retired Maine Central executive and I asked him if it was deliberate. He said "Of course it was. We wanted to get out of the passenger business."

The old story. Do you believe what they say - or your lying eyes. :rolleyes:

myram

12-08-07, 10:26 PM

myram

12-08-07, 10:32 PM

I forgot one question..............

Does anyone have the email for the local TWC HD programming director? Or a person to contact about the lack of HD programming?

Thanks,

Steve

drbonbi

12-09-07, 07:50 AM

I've been very annoyed with TWC's HD offerings lately..............DirectTV is offering 100 channels by year's-end, but with TWC we are only getting about 20-25.

I'm very tempted to go to DirectTV , and keep TWC for my phone & internet.
...

Thanks,

Steve

I've been very satisfied with D*. They are already at 100 HD channels with more coming. A new bird will fly in 2008 = even more HD channels next year.

Also, my conversion to GWI for phone and internet is now complete and I am very satisfied even though DSL here is only 3 MB down due to limitation of Verizon equipment at the local switch house. But, I will save 50% of what I was spending for cable internet and Verizon land line after the four month free GWI internet promo period! And they are a Maine company sweet to deal with.

Dana

Maineah

12-09-07, 01:36 PM

From a customer servie rep;

Before the end of December in the Portland, Bangor, Augusta and Presque Isle service areas

HGTV, Food Network, VS, CNN, Lifetime Movie Network, History, NHL, Fox Business News, and MyTV.

I also heard NGC at that same time and in addition to those above from a different customer service rep who also said that they are working on SCIFI, Discovery and USA for next year.

theo871

12-11-07, 02:12 PM

i received this info from a customer service rep.
time warner cumberland/york counties hd lineup additions by years end:

537 nhl network (must subscribe to sports tier)
549 vs/golf
555 history
556 food
557 hgtv
558 lifetime movie network
560 cnn
561 fox business news
562 national geographic

they were not able to provide an exact date but i would bet on this happening by next week.

Webini

12-11-07, 05:07 PM

myram

12-12-07, 07:00 PM

Well I'll take those 8-10 channels for sure..............I just hope they keep adding as many as they can.

Did you call up to get this info, or does anyone have an email address for the HD contact?

Steve

theo871

12-12-07, 07:16 PM

i called the tech support line and asked about their plans for adding more hd channels. the customer service rep. read me the list of channels from a memo.

the sooner they add these channels, the better. their last channel addition in september was weak: TBS-HD, and CSN-HD, neither of which have more than 10 hrs/week of true HD content combined.

myram

12-14-07, 06:53 AM

Have to wait and see what pops up in the next couple of weeks.

I just read elsewheres that NYC just received these new channels yesterday, so maybe we're not too far behind.

Steve

ron33a

12-15-07, 08:45 AM

Comcast will add ten new hd channels in Jan. !!!

drbonbi

12-15-07, 01:46 PM

Comcast will add ten new hd channels in Jan. !!!

Do you mean nationally?

Dana

ron33a

12-16-07, 09:25 AM

drbonbi

12-16-07, 10:00 AM

no, I was doing a funeral last tuesday and I ran into someone from the local comcast-Brunswick office and i quickly asked her when we would be seeing more hd channels she said she had just seen a memo the day before saying we would be getting 10 more in jan. She said the lack of bandwith had held them back. That is all I know for now--- which one's they are I am not sure. I had to do the Funeral so I was busy at the moment. I hope she was on the up and up i sure would like to get my celtics and fox in hd. Hope I am not leading people astray but i was so excited to hear it! My sony 30 in. xs 955 can hardly wait!-- No church today-Let it snow let it snow!! ! These are the first my first posts ever. I have learned a lot from reading all the comments!!

I am remiss in not welcoming you to the AVS Forum and this thread in particular for your first post! Happy to have you with us! You can only report what you're told and we appreciate hearing the news! Let's hope it's true. I will be among those offering praise to Comcast if they add ten HD channels in January. But, too late for me. I love D* HD and won't be returning to Comcast regardless.

Strange that the alleged lack of bandwidth for Comcast midcoast aka SusCom-Maine apparently has been resolved. Hmm.

Dana

jkurlanski

12-16-07, 10:12 AM

Hey Dana - Let us know how your D* experience is today..high winds, lotta snow, freezing rain. All the good stuff!

Webini

12-16-07, 10:20 AM

Hey Dana - Let us know how your D* experience is today..high winds, lotta snow, freezing rain. All the good stuff!

I can give you feedback on that. No issue at all. Never has been. My wife is watching TV right now. I can count on one hand the number of times that I have lost signal from D* in 10 years.

That having been said my cable Internet went out early this morning for about 40 minutes. Provider - Comcast (old Suscom system).

drbonbi

12-16-07, 10:35 AM

Hey Dana - Let us know how your D* experience is today..high winds, lotta snow, freezing rain. All the good stuff!

I'll let you know if I experience any problems. But, in the 18 months I had D* before switching back to cable (I thought Comcast was going to transform the SusCom operation - which didn't happen.), I had no problems - none - with a D* dish and D* supplied OTA antenna in all kinds of weather. The claim that weather bothers satellite TV is cable industry FUD.

But, when the power goes out for any length of time, cable goes out, too. (They have pole-mounted battery backup to cover short-term outages.) Not so with satellite. Since I have a home generator, I will get D* even if utility power fails. GO PATS! :cool:

No problems this AM with GWI DSL.

Dana

droobie

12-16-07, 11:09 AM

I have E* and there's no outages here. It all just works.

My actual outage time in the course of any given year is < 30 minutes total. It pretty much happens when we have torrential downpour and only when the storm is directly overhead. Basically 5-10 minutes at a time.

If it was more often or was caused by snow then I'd put a heater on the dishes and be done with it.....

However, I do remember several times where the cable line was down in the middle of the road after snow storms up here. :)

Smooth sailing for GWI DSL up here as well, but then again I never really have problems with GWI DSL.

myram

12-16-07, 11:29 AM

Webini

12-16-07, 11:44 AM

A friend of mine has DirecTV and he says he looses signal all the time in snow storms, so that kind of made me nervous about switching over. Now, I'm starting to think he might have a bad setup or something. Hearing that you guys have no loss of signal makes me think again about getting way from TWC.

Steve

If you have a clear line of sight to the satellites then snow / rain should not be a problem. It's snowing very hard right now and my dish has snow on it but I'm not having any issues at all.

It's possible your friend may have a marginal installation with partial blockage of the line of sight. Good weather - no problem. Snow might just degrade his signal strength enough to causes issues.

drbonbi

12-16-07, 12:14 PM

If you have a clear line of sight to the satellites then snow / rain should not be a problem. It's snowing very hard right now and my dish has snow on it but I'm not having any issues at all.

It's possible your friend may have a marginal installation with partial blockage of the line of sight. Good weather - no problem. Snow might just degrade his signal strength enough to causes issues.

Yes, it could be as simple as a loose cable connection or one that isn't waterproofed.

We see dishes in use everywhere for police and emergency microwave radio transmission that have to work in all kinds of weather. The cable cos use sat dishes themselves as do TV stations. Check out MPBN in Lewiston on Lisbon St. and WGME-TV 13 at Northport in Portland to see big dishes tilted upward that can catch a lot of snow. The cable industry apparent thinks it's okay for them to use the technology but not consumers. Ha!

Dana

Gr8St8oMaine

12-17-07, 10:48 AM

We switched to D* in October and have been loving it. No weather-related outages here in Woolwich. Like you, Dana, we also had a couple of hours of Comcast internet outage, though.

We're enjoying everything about DirecTV, but maybe our favorite is having Turner Classic Movies. It's just so great to see all these old time movies with no commercials. Some of the old serials are a riot.

I do have to complain that DirecTV has caused me to spend more money than I wanted. ;) We love the HD so much we started running into frequent conflicts about what to watch on the Samsung LN-T5265F we got in September. Couldn't stand the idea of spending a ton of money on another HD TV, though. The solution was a front projector to be used in the "man cave" for sports. Since it was for sports, we went with a 720p, the Mitsubishi 1500, which we got for $750. Wow, the thrill of watching the Patriots in bright, clear 100" diagonal! Not to mention all the college basketball games this winter. We already have a bunch of family planning to be here for the first weekend of March Madness.

By the way, a belated thanks for all the GWI info. We will definitely be looking into that to replace the Comcast internet and Verizon phone service. Just a few weeks after dropping down to Comcast basic (so that we could keep the Comcast internet), suddenly we're having low-signal problems with the internet. Hmm, after all these years, what a coincidence!

UncleJemima

12-19-07, 09:45 PM

Just after 8pm tonight I noticed 6 new HD channels on TWC Augusta went live:

#755...History Channel HD
#756...Food Network HD
#757...HGTV HD
#758...LMN HD
#759...NGHD
#760...CNNHD

TV Guide onscreen still shows them all as TBA.

I'm on the computer because there's nothing on :rolleyes: BUT....except for a couple of commercials I haven't seen any stretch-o-vision on any of them.

Unk

theo871

12-20-07, 01:36 AM

All of the channels I mentioned in post #2411 are now live on Time Warner here in O.O.B.

drbonbi

12-20-07, 07:41 AM

A bit of Christmas cheer. There's a report here http://www.tvpredictions.com/dpbs121907.htm that D* has come to an agreement with the Association of Public Television Stations (which I didn't know existed) that will enable D* to carry local SD and HD PBS stations in 2008. D* said it would carry two national standard-def PBS channels as part of the new agreement.

Unfortunately, as discussed a few pages back on this thread, MPBN has converted its HD channel to a simulcast of its SD broadcasts instead of using the national PBS HD feed. Even worse, it employs stretch-o-vision. But, that may change. Anyway, the last local HD channel not available on D* will be added soon, possibly when the new bird flies.

From a press release posted here http://www.satelliteguys.us/directv-hd-discussions/118337-directv-carry-public-television-stations-hd.html we learn that

The terms of the deal were unanimously approved by the APTS Board of Trustees yesterday and are pending approval by the PBS Board of Directors. The agreement must be ratified by local Public Television stations.

Dana

zutmin

12-20-07, 09:27 AM

Stan54

12-20-07, 05:56 PM

31 channels of HD on Augusta Time Warner via cablecard. Number 32 should show soon (MyTv).

myram

12-20-07, 07:54 PM

All of the channels I mentioned in post #2411 are now live on Time Warner here in O.O.B.

Yup............same here in Biddeford.

What is up with the Golf/VS channel................I would prefer getting rid of Golf and having VS only.

Steve

droobie

12-20-07, 07:57 PM

What is up with the Golf/VS channel................I would prefer getting rid of Golf and having VS only.

Unfortunately that isn't a choice. It's uplinked from the programmer that way. We've had Golf/VS channel on Dish Network for a while.

h2osports

12-23-07, 11:43 PM

I noticed this evening that 5 of the HD channels (CNN, Lifetime Movie, HGTV, Food & History) that TWC added a few days ago here in the Greater Portland market have disappeared. Are they being placed in TWC's "HD Tier" or is something else going on?

Be skiing you,

h2osports

sauerwald

12-24-07, 08:48 AM

myram

12-24-07, 09:05 AM

Webini

12-24-07, 09:10 AM

Stan54

12-24-07, 11:32 AM

They are working fine for me...............they were blank the other night for a few hours, but since then they have been fine.

For $190 a month, TWC better be bringing even more HD channels quickly.

Steve

Why $190?

By the way, folks, if you lose your HD channels, don't be hesitant to call TWC. I have lost mine 6 or 7 times in the last 2 years, but they only had to push a couple of buttons to restore them.

myram

12-24-07, 12:34 PM

drbonbi

12-24-07, 12:52 PM

$190 includes Digital Phone service, Road Runner Internet service, DVR service, HDTV tier, and all the cable channels...............it's their "All-in-One" package.

I've been looking at Direct TV, but the purchase of the HD DVR + 2 other boxes adds up quickly.

Steve

The D* fees are down payments on leased boxes. BUT, D* has a holiday on line special save $20./mo. for 12 months that should ease the pain. I saved big time by switching to GWI for phone and internet also, as previously discussed here.

Dana

droobie

12-24-07, 12:55 PM

I wouldn't be a D* customer again if they paid me. Their practices of suing paying customers on a witch hunt is ridiculous along with their fees.

My Dish HD-DVR was free of any fees, no monthly fees, no nothing. I get Bangor locals too (though in SD, probably in HD when the new sats go up). As it goes I have an antenna up in the meantime, which I kind of prefer since that means I have 3 tuners I can record from, but it would be better if I could record 1 OTA and 1 HD over the sat. :) I pay about 100 a month (DVR Advantage Top 250, Starz, HBO, HD Pack, 2 HD boxes, 1 HD-DVR, 1 SD box, 1 penny Cinemax until 2010).

I, too, have GWI for dialtone on one line, and dialtone+DSL on another.

Webini

12-24-07, 02:40 PM

My understanding was that the Dish HD-DVR only could record HD on one tuner, not both. Is this true?

droobie

12-24-07, 02:46 PM

As far as I know the Dish DVR can record HD on OTA and both sats at the same time. However, it's a 2 TV (2 room) DVR, so it can only show SD on the 2nd output. It downsamples the HD programming to SD on that output if you use it.

I use mine in Picture in Picture mode (single TV mode), so this isn't really all that relevant to me.

AccidenT

12-24-07, 03:52 PM

AFAIK, the DISH HD-DVR has 2 satellite tuners but only 1 OTA tuner. The upside is that you can record from all 3 at once. The downside is that you can only record one OTA program at a time. Since they don't currently offer any Maine locals in HD and most of my HD recording is off of the big 4 networks, that wouldn't be acceptable for my use.

droobie

12-24-07, 04:01 PM

Correct, 1 OTA tuner, 2 sat tuners. But, it cost me nothing, no monthly fees, and I still get the networks in SD. DirecTV doesn't even have Bangor locals in SD.

As it goes, over the air, we don't have CW or FOX in HD. I watch more stuff on FOX than anything. Which means, yes, football isn't in HD.. It's in SD Digital.

Yes, yes it does suck. :) I was glad the Patriots game was on CBS.

drbonbi

12-26-07, 05:48 PM

More here http://www.bostonherald.com/business/media/view.bg?articleid=1062906

Dana

drbonbi

12-30-07, 12:07 PM

no, I was doing a funeral last tuesday and I ran into someone from the local comcast-Brunswick office and i quickly asked her when we would be seeing more hd channels she said she had just seen a memo the day before saying we would be getting 10 more in jan. She said the lack of bandwith had held them back. That is all I know for now--- which one's they are I am not sure. I had to do the Funeral so I was busy at the moment. I hope she was on the up and up i sure would like to get my celtics and fox in hd. Hope I am not leading people astray but i was so excited to hear it! My sony 30 in. xs 955 can hardly wait!-- No church today-Let it snow let it snow!! ! These are the first my first posts ever. I have learned a lot from reading all the comments!!

I was checking online to see my final bill from Comcast/SusCom Brunswick and noticed this footnote.

New Digital Channels available 12/11/07! 126 Oxygen; 127 Style; 128 TCM; 129 Sprout; 130 Bloomberg; 131 ESPN Classic. 520 VS/Golf HD; 521 Discovery HD.

It's eight channels, not ten and only two are HD, but I wonder if this is what your source had reference to. I hope not in that ten HD channels would be better. (BTW. I think VS/Golf HD is a channel owned by Comcast.)

Curious isn't it that there's bandwidth for these additions but still no WPFO/FOX23 in HD. I don't get it.

Meanwhile, I'm happy as a clam at high tide with D*.

Happy New Year to all!

Dana

rscme

12-31-07, 08:33 AM

This is a realatively new channel that came on line after the FCC assigned UHF channels to be used for digital broadcasting (and/or the conversion to digital). Since you need digitial to broadcast in HD, they simply came around too later after the party started.

After February 17, 2009 when all signals are required to be digitial, FOX 23, WPFO will transit their digital signal on their existing analog channel number.

This is not to say the Fox 23 doesn't have the capabilities ready. They do have an exclusive arrangement with Time Warner to provide an HD signal but if you are not with Time Warner you have to wait until 2/17/09.

I have corresponded with the general manager of WPFO and I got this information from him. It is not that they don't want to provide the HD signal over the air or to cable/satellite subscribers, there are just not being allowed to.

I personally believe they could do it but it would take a large investment which they aren't willing to take on when they can just wait a year or so. Considering the high investment costs a station must take on for HD I do understand their predicament but who's to say for sure.

In general I don't believe there are enough HD channels of substance that make it worth paying for, YET. That's why I stick to over-the-air with my antenna until I see how all this will play out. Keep in mind that some stations that claim to be HD channels do not provide ALL of their content in HD. A quick example is TBS. Seinfeld, Friends, and Sex in the City, which they base a large part of their programming on, were never filmed in HD so they can not possibly replay them in HD.

drbonbi

12-31-07, 09:13 AM

Hello,

The Sound of Music was playing in HD on the ABC network last night. AFAIK, it's not offered for sale on HD discs yet, so I thought I'd watch it in glorious HD and Dolby Digital in spite of the incessant commercials.

WMTW-TV channel 8's local commercials were in SD but that's OK - gave me time to get coffee - until about 9:45 PM last night when they didn't return to the HD network broadcast after a local SD commercial. For the next 15 minutes or so, there was an SD signal on both the HD and SD channels. Picture was 4x3 with side bars. Ugh. Dolby sound continued so I assume the problem was with WMTW - either equipment failure or human error in the control room. I gave up and went to bed.

Anyone else notice this? Just for curiosity's sake, any idea when/if the HD broadcast resumed? Too bad it happened because the HD PQ was excellent while we had it.

Dana

AccidenT

12-31-07, 09:28 AM

WMTW is easly the worst of the local stations at monitoring their HD feed. Many, many times during various primetime shows I have seen/heard a loss of center channel audio (which means the dialog can't be heard) and whole segments of HD shows shown in SD (alseep at the switch after a commercial)

In addition, they're also the station with the most intentional mistreatment of the HD feed. The drops to SD for the lottery numbers or station identification are annoying and last way too long. Worse than the PQ loss is the fact that a few seconds of audio are lost during the transition. Not to mention that the volume difference between the HD feed and the locally upconverted commericials/promos is huge. I'm afraid Gray Stabley's going to blow my speakers one of these days. :eek:

egiroux

01-02-08, 04:50 PM

miniz

01-02-08, 07:52 PM

Anyone have a complete in-the-clear QAM list for TWC Greater Portland? My father lives there and asked me where he could find a list with channel numbers. He said that his QAM tuner wasn't able to find NBC HD in the clear or PBS HD. He found CBS on 93.1, CW on 72.1, ABC on 110.3 and Fox on 110.4. He says there are two other channels that he has no idea what they are. One is channel 0/110.1 and it says "create". The other doesn't say anything but looks like some type of a PBS-like broadcast (but it isn't PBS).

I would think that there are more digital channels in the clear? 6 total. Is that right?

And he also asked me this:
He has one HDTV that has a CableCard and he said that TWC added new HD channels recently (Food-HD, HGTV-HD, Hist-HD, ect..) and his CableCard cannot see those channels. I asked if they were SDV, but he has no idea.

Any help?

drbonbi

01-02-08, 08:31 PM

I've been in e-mail contact with both Tom, GM at Fox, and Mary, VP at Comcast, who have both told me the deal and contract are in the works to get Fox in HD in the Brunswick area. It's not there yet and the NFL playoffs are upon us with the Super Bowl soon to follow. Hopefully they get it done.

I'll believe it when I see it. Or, to be more precise, when you see it. I left Comcast/Suscom Brunswick after more than 20 years of continuous subscription - a done deal - because of all the unfulfilled promises, contradictions, etc. My post here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12108300#post12108300 sums it up.

WPFO/FOX 23 in HD is available NOW on D*. No need to tolerate Comcast excuses.

Dana

Webini

01-02-08, 08:35 PM

WPFO/FOX 23 in HD is available NOW on D*. No need to tolerate Comcast excuses.

Dana

Especially when the GM states that they cannot provide the HD signal to satellite viewers. Sure looked like HD on D* to me a few minutes ago. Sad that the GM does not know who is getting the HD signal.

droobie

01-02-08, 08:38 PM

How's about HD OTA? heh. FOX is the only channel here (besides CW, they don't matter anyway) that isn't in HD.

I've seen a lot of excuses but cmon. :)

miniz

01-03-08, 10:38 AM

Anyone able to help me out?

drbonbi

01-03-08, 11:48 AM

Anyone able to help me out?

Sorry. Looks as if our Greater Portland TWC posters are not available at the moment. But, here's a response from last June that may be helpful.

I'm up in Portland and use an HDHomerun QAM tuner. I get the free-to-air stations, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, and PBS, plus something called Create.

The link is http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10704560#post10704560

He says "PBS" and at the time, Maine Public Broadcasting Network was using the HD national feed from PBS on its HD channel. It has since changed for the worse by using a simulcast of its analog/digital channel on its HD channel.

TWC says it has added these channels to its Greater Portland lineup

Time Warner Cable has added HD channels to the following service areas: ...

Cumberland and York Counties service areas:

Versus/Golf Ch 549
Lifetime Movie Network Ch 558
CNN Ch 560
History Channel Ch 555
Food Network Ch 556
Home & Garden Ch 557
NHL Network (subscription to the Sports Tier required) Ch 537
Fox Business Network Ch 561
National Geographic Ch 559

Link: http://www.timewarnercable.com/NewEngland/products/cable/HD_adds.html

Hope this helps until a Greater Portland TWC poster using QAM can follow up.

Dana

DrJoe

01-03-08, 12:42 PM

I'm going to try looking for clear QAM in Time Warner's Lewiston service area tonight. It should be interesting -- I subscribe to "broadcast basic" + broadband -- the only reason I have broadcast basic is that my HDTV monitor uses an antenna for OTA HDTV but I use the broadcast basic for a ReplayTV DVR -- I don't get the analog OTA signals good enough for recording.

My girlfriend has moved in with me and we have her LCD HDTV -with- clear QAM tuner in our bedroom. I'm going to try hooking it up tonight and see what we get.

The Time Warner service rep I spoke to on the phone had never heard of "clear QAM". She had to ask a tech about it. The tech said that the local broadcast HDTV is in clear QAM (but did not give me a complete list). He also said the filter that knocks out channels 22-99 will not affect the QAM. I'm skeptical, but it is true I have high speed broadband over the same wire as the analog cable + filter.

Can anyone give me tips of how a channel scan will work with an ATSC/clear QAM tuner and cable TV?

Thanks!

Joe

drbonbi

01-03-08, 12:54 PM

Happy New Year Joe! Long time, no see.

Dana

Webini

01-03-08, 02:12 PM

loudo38

01-03-08, 02:22 PM

BTW, if anyone is looking to move from cable to D* and is a AAA member, check out this offer: http://www.aaa.com/aaa/215/discounts/retail/partner/directv/index.htm

$50 rebate for existing D* customers too if you have AAA.

Thanks for passing that along. Been a DirecTV customer for years. Just called to get the rebate.

Webini

01-03-08, 02:25 PM

No problem! Did you have any issue getting the rebate?

loudo38

01-03-08, 02:31 PM

No problem! Did you have any issue getting the rebate?
You just have to agree to keep DirecTV for another year. But that was no problem as last month I upgraded my H20, to a HR20 and had to commit to two years.

drbonbi

01-03-08, 02:50 PM

BTW, if anyone is looking to move from cable to D* and is a AAA member, check out this offer: http://www.aaa.com/aaa/215/discounts/retail/partner/directv/index.htm

$50 rebate for existing D* customers too if you have AAA.

WOW! Webini, you are da MAN! I just called and got $50. discount on my current bill and another $50. on bill #13 a year from now = $100 total! While the web page says "Not valid with other discounts, promotions or coupons." and I have multiple discounts already with D*, I qualified! I got an offer confirmation number. Simple. :)

This thread rocks! Thank you! :cool:

Dana

DrJoe

01-03-08, 02:59 PM

Happy New Year Joe! Long time, no see.

Dana

Hi Dana,

I've been lurking, LOL -- not much for me to talk about with little or no action in the local HD market, and not having DirecTV, DishNetwork, or Time Warner digital service.

I hope this "clear QAM" thing works -- one of my big gripes has been not having Fox HD. It'll make the bedroom TV much more useful too -- I have hook the basic cable up to my second ReplayTV for time shifting.

Happy New Year to you too.

A subtopic that came up recently:

Coupons are now available (two per household, limited in total quantity to the amount budgeted by congress) from the government for discounts for STB's for non-ATSC televisions. My supervisor is ready to use two when they "activate" in Feb/Mar -- because he thinks Time Warner is going to do away with "analog" NTSC. He was under the impression that they would continue with ATSC and he'd need one of these so he wouldn't need a digital cable box. My understanding was that these government subsidized STB's are for OTA ATSC, and not QAM (clear or with cable card).

Does anyone have an idea:

1) What Time Warner is going to do with analog cable?
2) What the capability of the government subsidized STB's is going to be?

take care

Joe

droobie

01-03-08, 03:05 PM

Does anyone have an idea:

1) What Time Warner is going to do with analog cable?

I have a feeling it will dwindle down to stuff that schools can use and nothing more. I don't suspect cable companies will keep a 'regular cable' analog line forever. The STB situation is entirely too lucrative for them and they would rather recover the bandwidth for digital.

2) What the capability of the government subsidized STB's is going to be?

It won't shoot out to HDMI, DVI, etc. It will basically just be a box to get analog antenna folks access to digital programming and nothing more. We should see them available before 2nd quarter. The coupon program coupons are supposed to go out Feb 17th according to online tech blogs.

miniz

01-03-08, 03:20 PM

Sorry. Looks as if our Greater Portland TWC posters are not available at the moment. But, here's a response from last June that may be helpful.

The link is http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10704560#post10704560

He says "PBS" and at the time, Maine Public Broadcasting Network was using the HD national feed from PBS on its HD channel. It has since changed for the worse by using a simulcast of its analog/digital channel on its HD channel.

TWC says it has added these channels to its Greater Portland lineup

Link: http://www.timewarnercable.com/NewEngland/products/cable/HD_adds.html

Hope this helps until a Greater Portland TWC poster using QAM can follow up.

Dana

Thanks for trying, but we already knew that. No one seems to know what the exact channel numbers are for clear QAM. Why can't he find NBC-HD and PBS-HD?

DrJoe

01-03-08, 03:55 PM

It won't shoot out to HDMI, DVI, etc. It will basically just be a box to get analog antenna folks access to digital programming and nothing more.

This is my guess too -- cut corners to be as cheap as possible -- although from documents on the FCC website it seems they are making "minimum" requirements for manufacturers to participate in the program and no requirement NOT to add additional features.

I told my supervisor I suspected that the boxes would NOT have the ability to tune "clear QAM" or a cable card feature. Then we got into the discussion of what "tuning ATSC" versus "tuning NTSC" means -- and that OTA NTSC is different than over cable N TSC (which is why there is usually a button on the set to tell the TV if it is an antenna or cable that is connected). He (I believe) wrongly assumed that OTA ATSC and over cable QAM is the same thing.

I think that STB manufacturers could open up a larger market by including clear QAM as a capability -- lots more people would be interested in avoiding cable box fees -- but I don't expect they will. If they do they will be more expensive.

We should see them available before 2nd quarter. The coupon program coupons are supposed to go out Feb 17th according to online tech blogs.

He already has two $40 coupons, but he says the FCC doesn't expect the boxes to be available until Feb/Mar.

Joe

drbonbi

01-03-08, 04:31 PM

...

A subtopic that came up recently:

Coupons are now available (two per household, limited in total quantity to the amount budgeted by congress) from the government for discounts for STB's for non-ATSC televisions. My supervisor is ready to use two when they "activate" in Feb/Mar -- because he thinks Time Warner is going to do away with "analog" NTSC. He was under the impression that they would continue with ATSC and he'd need one of these so he wouldn't need a digital cable box. My understanding was that these government subsidized STB's are for OTA ATSC, and not QAM (clear or with cable card).

Does anyone have an idea:

1) What Time Warner is going to do with analog cable?
2) What the capability of the government subsidized STB's is going to be?

take care

Joe

Joe,

Doing a little poking around, I found here http://dtvfacts.com/latest/516/cable-dtv-transition/ that cable systems have to provide carriage of both analog and digital signals for "must carry" stations until 2012.

Also, there is info about the basic coupon-eligible converter box here http://dtvfacts.com/digital-tv-converter-box/

Finally, the link to info for satellite customers is http://dtvfacts.com/digital-tv-facts-for-satellite-viewers/

Dana

Davinleeds

01-03-08, 04:54 PM

This one has the potential, but will it be fully utilized in the coupon stb:http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=121862&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=976509&highlight=

DrJoe

01-03-08, 04:57 PM

Joe,

Doing a little poking around, I found here http://dtvfacts.com/latest/516/cable-dtv-transition/ that cable systems have to provide carriage of both analog and digital signals for "must carry" stations until 2012.

Also, there is info about the basic coupon-eligible converter box here http://dtvfacts.com/digital-tv-converter-box/

Finally, the link to info for satellite customers is http://dtvfacts.com/digital-tv-facts-for-satellite-viewers/

Dana

Interesting Dana...

This still means that analog cable channels 22-99 (i.e. CNN, ESPN, USA, Food, etc etc etc) can indeed "go away" to QAM space freeing up present analog bandwidth... they could cut the analog channels down to the broadcast stations only (say analog cable 1-10) -- and probably further. It notes that only "must carry" stations are included in the dual carriage requirements -- not stations with retransmission agreements.

How many "must carry" stations are there in Maine? Maine PBS? The others all have agreements, no? -- remember this is why WGME-HD wasn't carried until recently. I wonder if ANY of the local networks are "must carry".

take care,

Joe

drbonbi

01-03-08, 05:13 PM

Interesting Dana...

This still means that analog cable channels 22-99 (i.e. CNN, ESPN, USA, Food, etc etc etc) can indeed "go away" to QAM space freeing up present analog bandwidth... they could cut the analog channels down to the broadcast stations only (say analog cable 1-10) -- and probably further. It notes that only "must carry" stations are included in the dual carriage requirements -- not stations with retransmission agreements.

How many "must carry" stations are there in Maine? Maine PBS? The others all have agreements, no? -- remember this is why WGME-HD wasn't carried until recently. I wonder if ANY of the local networks are "must carry".

take care,

Joe

Joe,

When I complained to MPBN probably three years ago now that SusCom Brunswick wasn't carrying the MPBN HD channel in the home town of one of the founding colleges of the network, I got a speedy reply from their Public Info person (a lady, not the current know-nothing) noting that MPBN wasn't "must carry." Now, that was many moons ago and I might be wrong. But that's what I recall. (More digging needed.)

Well, maybe what she said was that HD channels weren't "must carry" which would make more sense I guess.

Dana

DrJoe

01-03-08, 05:30 PM

Dana,

I think that until this regulation you cited passed in September, digital broadcasts were not covered by must carry unless the broadcast station was digital only (there was one station in Florida that was covered by this rule, I think).

Joe

DrJoe

01-04-08, 07:58 AM

Well, well, well -- clear QAM works!

I was able to get the following channels:

75-1 Preview channel
75-2 classic movie channel of some sort
75-3 Noggin

All on 75 blocky and pixellated, not watchable (only detected if I have an amplifier on)

87-1 Movie preview channel
88-1 through 88-48 digitalmusic channels
89-1 Portland CW (WPXT)
89-2 Portland CBS (WGME)
93-1 Portland NBC (WCSH)
93-2 MPBN (PBS)
94-1 Portland ABC (WMTW)
94-2 Portland Fox (WPFO)
94-3 WMTW News 8 Now
94-4 PBS HD Feed (at least, McNeil Leher was on last night)
100-1 NBA Preview
107-1 ABC/FOX from Bangor (WVII/WFVX)

Only missing broadcast channel was My Portland (WPME)

This is for Time Warner Cable, Lewiston Maine service area(former Adelphia)

take care,

Joe

ftaok

01-04-08, 10:08 AM

Only missing broadcast channel was My Portland (WPME)

This is for Time Warner Cable, Lewiston Maine service area(former Adelphia)

take care,

JoeI don't think TWC carries that channel. At least it didn't show up in the Channel listing when I looked yesterday. So you probably wouldn't get it even with the TWC cable box.

Bobcalkin

01-04-08, 10:09 AM

I was checking online to see my final bill from Comcast/SusCom Brunswick and noticed this footnote.

It's eight channels, not ten and only two are HD, but I wonder if this is what your source had reference to. I hope not in that ten HD channels would be better. (BTW. I think VS/Golf HD is a channel owned by Comcast.)

Curious isn't it that there's bandwidth for these additions but still no WPFO/FOX23 in HD. I don't get it.

Meanwhile, I'm happy as a clam at high tide with D*.

Happy New Year to all!

Dana

Hi Dana/Everyone,

Havn't posted in a while, really nothing to complain about with D* these days :) I am amazed that Comcast has yet to get their act together. I can say that at Best Buy I personally sign up at least one Comcast customer a day to D* and usually several on the weekends. At this point it really is a no brainer especially considering that we give a big discount on a new television if you sign up ;) I don't know if it is something that Comcast tells people but many people believe that you have to have Comcast's TV service in order to get their internet. Once they learn that isn't true they are thrilled to switch. I would have to think that they are feeling the effects of the lost subscibers, by now, especially since these are typically premium customers. An interesting note is that I was having trouble with my internet and I asked the Comcast guy about this and he said that there is rumor that the Brunswick area will be traded to Time Warner at some point in the future. Comcast corporate doesn't want to invest money into infrastucture prefering to let Time Warner do that. I guess this makes as much sense and anything else.

drbonbi

01-04-08, 10:52 AM

I don't think TWC carries that channel. At least it didn't show up in the Channel listing when I looked yesterday. So you probably wouldn't get it even with the TWC cable box.

I was able to find WPME listed as Channel 3 here http://www.timewarnercable.com/CustomerService/CLU/TWCCLUs.ashx

Dana

drbonbi

01-04-08, 11:22 AM

Hi Dana/Everyone,

Havn't posted in a while, really nothing to complain about with D* these days :) I am amazed that Comcast has yet to get their act together. I can say that at Best Buy I personally sign up at least one Comcast customer a day to D* and usually several on the weekends. At this point it really is a no brainer especially considering that we give a big discount on a new television if you sign up ;) I don't know if it is something that Comcast tells people but many people believe that you have to have Comcast's TV service in order to get their internet. Once they learn that isn't true they are thrilled to switch. I would have to think that they are feeling the effects of the lost subscibers, by now, especially since these are typically premium customers. An interesting note is that I was having trouble with my internet and I asked the Comcast guy about this and he said that there is rumor that the Brunswick area will be traded to Time Warner at some point in the future. Comcast corporate doesn't want to invest money into infrastucture prefering to let Time Warner do that. I guess this makes as much sense and anything else.

Bob,

Hey! Good to hear from you.

I think that rumor makes sense and explains a lot. Of course the incumbent Maine Attorney General made noises at the time of Adelphia's takeover by TWC that if TWC grew any larger, he's have to look into whether it was a monopoly, etc. But, he won't be in office forever and in any event, for the former SusCom system subscribers, acquisition by TWC would be a giant leap forward.

Looking at the communities it currently serves in the lineup I linked to in the preceding post, TWC literally surrounds the towns SusCom serves.

I continue to think also that the short-term future for the former SusCom mid-coast system is bleak with lots of well-paid military leaving the area and no immediate replacements in the economy. Still, Comcast could have done a much better job of placating its existing subscriber base.

If you talked with a local Comcast cable internet technician, it is likely to have been a GWI employee. Comcast has made no move to integrate local cable internet into its own backbone, preferring to leave SusCom's arrangements with GWI in place. So, after switching to GWI DSL, my suscom-maine.net internet address still works fine - because it never was a SusCom operated ISP in the first place. Just another indication that Comcast is treading water.

Like you I am a very satisfied D* customer with no plans to return in any event.

Keep those choice rumors coming! ;)

Dana

DrJoe

01-04-08, 12:13 PM

I was able to find WPME listed as Channel 3 here http://www.timewarnercable.com/CustomerService/CLU/TWCCLUs.ashx

Dana

Dana,

I think he means that it is not listed as being carried in HD by Time Warner.

It lists

704 WPFO HD FOX
706 WCSH HD NBC
708 WMTW HD ABC
710 WPXT HD CW
712 Maine PBS HD
713 WGME 13 HDTV CBS

Joe

drbonbi

01-04-08, 12:36 PM

Dana,

I think he means that it is not listed as being carried in HD by Time Warner.

Joe

As best I can determine, WPME doesn't have an HD channel. Just analog and digital. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WPME

Dana

DrJoe

01-04-08, 01:13 PM

As best I can determine, WPME doesn't have an HD channel. Just analog and digital. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WPME

Dana

Of course it does. The "digital channel" is in HD when network programming (that is, "MyNetwork TV" programming) is in HD. It is in SD when there is local/station programming. They had a bunch of network pretty-people broadcast-softporn (ummm... I mean prime time soap opera telanovellas) in HD when MyNetworkTV debuted (Desire, Fashion House, etc); the network has changed formats and I'm not sure what is in HD now. It looks like they are reality shows (probably in SD) and a Thursday and Friday movie in HD.

But it is available over the air. I receive it via a rooftop antenna.

Looking at a week's worth of programming for WPME on Titan TV shows the following in HD:

Friday
12:30- 1:00 AM Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen
9:30-11:30 PM "Bubble Boy" (movie)

Saturday
12:30- 1:00 AM Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen
10:00-11:00 PM Control Room Presents (music)

Tuesday
12:30- 1:00 AM Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen

Wednesday
12:30- 1:00 AM Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen

Thursday
12:30- 1:00 AM Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen
8:00-10:00 PM Bad Company (movie)

Friday
12:30- 1:00 AM Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen
8:00-10:00 PM Jason's Lyric (movie)

When digital broadcasting was rolling out in Austin, several of the minor network/non-affiliate channels took a while to be picked up by Time Warner -- TW said they didn't have enough HD programming to justify carrying them. This could be the problem here, or it could be there isn't a retransmission agreement (which is less likely, I think, because WPXT has the same owner and they are carried).

I should also specify that I am more than willing to trade WPME for WPFO any day of the week. My home theater TV doesn't have a clear QAM tuner, so I can continue to get WPME on it via the antenna.

Joe

Davinleeds

01-04-08, 04:59 PM

There's 35-1, 720p, and 35-2, 480i OTA here.

miniz

01-06-08, 08:40 PM

Still looking for a list of clear QAM channels on TWC Greater Portland.....

Stan54

01-06-08, 11:34 PM

"Must Carry" occurs when a local broadcast station tells the cable company, "My signal is local to the area that your system covers and you MUST carry my signal." Pretty good deal for stations. They can withhold their signals in search of payment and, when they choose, they can require carriage.

Time Warner will be carrying WPME HD soon on channel 703 and, presumably, on a QAM channel as they do other Maine local broadcast stations.

We have acquired a fairly good number of HD stations on TWC and they really look great. I can honestly say that there are no HD channels available that I wish TWC would add. On the other hand, I am very anxious for FOX NEWS CHANNEL and MSNBC to become available in HD. Above all, I am very happy that TWC operates a very fine system here in Central Maine. The HD picture is always high quality. Maybe that will change as they add channels, but for now, it's great.

egiroux

01-07-08, 12:41 PM

droobie

01-07-08, 12:46 PM

Dish Network announced they will have Portland locals coming soon in HD. They'll probably have FOX23 in HD before cable too.

However, looks like I'm still SOL right now for HD locals in Bangor. If they'd just shoot FOX over the air in HD, then I'd not care.

Maineah

01-07-08, 12:53 PM

What service areas will get WPME? Bangor? Augusta? Portland?

Time Warner will be carrying WPME HD soon on channel 703 and, presumably, on a QAM channel as they do other Maine local broadcast stations.

droobie

01-07-08, 12:57 PM

EDIT -

Screwed this up. WPME is the MYNetwork affiliate (deaths door for sitcoms), WPFO is the FOX Affiliate.

We do not get WPME on Dish Network in Bangor, however My Network programming is often on FOX22 in Bangor, since they are a FOX/My Network combination channel. WPME is also not on Time Warner Bangor.

For FOX - WPFO serves Skowhegan to York. WFVX serves north of there to Houlton or Caribou. WAGM's FOX 8 serves north of there to the top of the state.

drbonbi

01-07-08, 01:09 PM

looks like Fox23 and Comcast are officially "dropping the ball" (no pun intended) on getting us HD coverage of the NFL playoffs on Fox. Would be nice to have the Fox games this weekend in HD. If they don't have it in time for the Superbowl that's the last straw for me. D* here I come.

There's no reason to think that Comcast will provide carriage of WPFO/FOX23 in HD any time soon. And I put all of the blame on Comcast since WPFO has made its FOX HD feed available to TWC and D*. Comcast's claim that "bandwidth constraints" have delayed carriage on the former SusCom mid-coast cable system have no credibility now that it added two more HD channels and six SD channels in December. So much for customer interest in FOX23 HD.

I wouldn't wait too long since D* installations may not be available in the same week you place your order. Bobcalkin is signing up Comcast cable converts to D* left and right! ;)

Dana

Maineah

01-07-08, 01:09 PM

Isn't WPME a MYTV affilliate?

droobie

01-07-08, 01:21 PM

Bandwidth constraints isn't a concept that will fly with people, when FOX has most of the popular sports programming on TV. I would give up all the other locals in HD to have FOX.

droobie

01-07-08, 01:27 PM

Isn't WPME a MYTV affilliate?

Yep, I frigged up my post a little, so I went back and edited it. WPME is the MY affiliate on the former UPN35 allocation.

They don't cover Bangor either, on cable or on Sat. We get MYTV programming through FOX22 in the odd hours of the night. :)

drbonbi

01-07-08, 02:00 PM

Bandwidth constraints isn't a concept that will fly with people, when FOX has most of the popular sports programming on TV. I would give up all the other locals in HD to have FOX.

There's a lot who feel that way. Bobcalkin meets them every day. Think of the HD self-promotion Comcast/SusCom Brunswick cable is missing! They missed out on the runup of the Red Sox to and playing in the WS and now the same thing regarding the Pats run to the Super Bowl (we hope).

All of which gives credence to Bobcalkin's post that Comcast is rumored to want to trade the SusCom cable system to TWC. Meanwhile, it is doing nothing to hold onto its mid-coast HD subscriber base, let alone add to it. It's got to be something along those lines - or gross negligence.

Dana

droobie

01-07-08, 02:08 PM

drbonbi

01-07-08, 03:11 PM

I was happy with some of the playoffs on TBS solely because I had TBS in HD on Dish. Having to go from that to FOX in SD over the air on chan 7.2 here in Bangor was painful.

Supposedly a lot of the OTA mess will be taken care of by 2009 because they can move the legacy feeds over to VHF. However, in the meantime, we're stuck with this.

The ABC affiliate here should dump ABC to SD and FOX to HD for the Super Bowl. I don't see why they can't do it.

You're right of course. We don't have to go further than WAGM-TV in Presque Isle for a fine example of a community service-oriented TV station. It carries CBS and FOX although apparently only CBS is in HD. http://www.wagmtv.com/fox8.php

In April of 2002, in accordance with laws enacted by the U.S. Congress, WAGM began operating a digital television transmitter in addition to its older analog transmitter. In the intervening years the two transmitters have simulcast identical signals until, in February of 2006, WAGM converted its digital signal to CBS HD (High Definition). Then on September 12, 2006 WAGM launched a digital multicast channel called FOX8. Digital television stations are capable of broadcasting 2 or more distinct signals simultaneously. In the case of WAGM the digital signal is divided into 8.1 FOX8 (providing Fox Broadcasting Network programming) and 8.2 CBS8 HD (providing CBS programming, much of which is in High Definition).

A great example of a "little TV station that could." At one time in the '80s it was the only TV station in the country to carry all four networks at the same time! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAGM-TV

My sense is that this station is close to its community roots and has an entrepreneurial spirit. By contrast we have too many stations (and cable systems) these days owned and operated by large corporations with hqtrs far removed from their customers.

Dana

droobie

01-07-08, 03:22 PM

drbonbi

01-07-08, 04:12 PM

We used to have FOX51 here on cable. We had FOX locally while Portland didn't for several months. Kind of crazy how some places are out of touch with reality.

I think the only local owned here (short of PBS) in Bangor is WABI (CBS/CW 5). ABC/FOX are owned by Rockfleet, NBC is owned by Gannett.

I wouldn't consider WABI to be local. It's owned by Diversified Communications (aka the Hildreth family) with corporate offices in Portland, ME. It owns another TV station in Gainsville, FL. and true to its name, has expanded into the publishing and trade show business with offices in CA, UK and AUS. http://www.divcom.com/history.htm Do family members watch WABI-TV? I doubt it.

Dana

droobie

01-07-08, 04:17 PM

I had forgotten about that, it does make the the case of them being 'local' hazy if not totally blow it out of the water.

In all seriousness I'd rather have raw feeds from NY and LA again. I used to have NY and LA FOX on Dish. At least the ads were tolerable, but more importantly I could have FOX in HD right now. The 'locals' are actually a hindrance.

I think other people in other markets probably feel that same way.

sauerwald

01-07-08, 04:31 PM

I live in Cumberland, ME, and currently get my HD signal from TW. I am considering moving to DirecTV. I get the basic package, which includes a handful of HD stations, along with the HDTier on which I watch HDNet Movies. I also get my phone and internet connections from TWC. I figure my cost to be approx $63 per month for the TV ($132 cost for the package, less the $82 cost for tel+internet combined, plus $8 for the DVR rental and $5 for the HDTier).

Looking at the DirecTV web site, it is difficult to figure out what their costs are going to be - they are anxious to tell you all about the promotional deals, but I am more interested in what the long term contract price is going to be.

They also have little information on their site about what the options for receivers and DVRs are - is this something that I buy, lease or what? -

My current setup includes the Panasonic 42PZ700 1080P plasma display, a Panasonic BD-30 Blu-Ray player, connected through an Onkyo SR705 all using HDMI. I would like to keep an HDMI connection between the Satelite receiver and the AV receiver.

Anybody in here able to shed some light on what costs I can expect - both startup, including the installation and any equipment that I will need to buy, and the ongoing costs for a package with HD programming, but minimal paid movie channels?