A respected Wall Street analyst has suggested that Comcast should buy TWC. (http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2009/09/10/will-comcast-buy-time-warner-cable/) According to the story, "an FCC rule limiting cable companies to 30% U.S. market share has been struck down by a federal court." This is apparently plausible on a nationwide basis. Comcast really is that rich.

Locally, I figured the only salvation for the little ol' Comcast Brunswick MSO and its remaining subs was to have TWC buy it, finish upgrading it and integrate it into the TWC system that surrounds it. But, maybe Comcast will have to spent its own bucks to upgrade the former SusCom cable plant it now owns after all. Ha!

I'm not holding my breath.

Dana

If I were making the decisions for TWC, I would buy Comcast / Brunswick and integrate it into my Statewide network of TWC systems. Of course, I wouldn't buy it now. I would wait until I finished upgrading all of the existing TWC systems in the State and the funding and other resources for the job were fully available.

Oh yeah, I guess that was you, wasn't it? What a coincidence!

When I got the letter about exchanging my cablecard for a box, I got the impression that a number of new HD channels would be added when SDV begins on 9/15. Now, I believe that will not be the case. The newspaper notice says MAV HD will be added and I won't be surprised if it appears 9/15 but I would be surprised if there is anything else. The girl at the TWC counter told me that they have had several different dates for when channels will be added. Most recently, they were told "by the end of the year." They said TWC wants to get the cablecards out and the boxes in before they make the tests to determine how many channels they can add without problems.

For the most part, it's difficult for me to work up much genuine interest, anyway. I am looking forward to FOX NEWS HD and MSNBC, however. Also, FX would make a good entertainment channel to have available. Beyond that, I can't get excited. Wish I could, but can't. Too old, I guess.

I have surfed through all of the digital channels that came with the box about 3 times. That's enough for me. I noted a couple that I might check occasionally. As I recall, they would be the Fox Movie Channel and the Major League Baseball Channel. Hundreds of channels available and only about a dozen (or so) drops to drink ............ or something like that.

Which area is this for, I live in Caribou,ME and we've just had some system maintenance and have Iguide A28 waiting on SDV.

Which area is this for, I live in Caribou,ME and we've just had some system maintenance and have Iguide A28 waiting on SDV.

The Augusta system.

What's the story with TWC? It seems the former Adelphia customers are treated like red-headed step children. Maine isn't that big to have so many different cable systems, how difficult is it to get uniformed? Also 30 HD channels for L/A? Really? Is anything being added? I would order to supplement it my Directv, but can't say it's worth it. If they offered an HD only pack...

I sent HDnet's Mark Cuban an email about the Time Warner/HDnet situation, and here is his response -



"its their call , we cut the price to the bone, and we would love to be there.

call your local office and let them know you are upset

and we are on Satellite, Fios, ATT , RCN if that helps

thx

mark"




So it doesn't sound like we'll see HDnet anytime soon on Time Warner.

Steve

What's the story with TWC? It seems the former Adelphia customers are treated like red-headed step children. Maine isn't that big to have so many different cable systems, how difficult is it to get uniformed? Also 30 HD channels for L/A? Really? Is anything being added? I would order to supplement it my Directv, but can't say it's worth it. If they offered an HD only pack...

TWC is working its way North from extreme Southern Maine making the physical changes necessary for the additional channels. I'm guessing the Lewiston / Auburn area is next, followed by the Augusta area. The job won't be done until they reach the Northernmost border of the State.

The former Adelphia customers receive the channels in the HD tier without an extra charge as part of the Adelphia legacy.

A TWC representative told me that TWC intends to make the Maine systems uniform.

............... Why would you use TWC to supplement DirecTV? From what our pal, Dana, tells us, DirecTV is just about perfect. Ain't that right, Dana?

...
............... Why would you use TWC to supplement DirecTV? From what our pal, Dana, tells us, DirecTV is just about perfect. Ain't that right, Dana?

Well, nothing is perfect. :rolleyes: But, it sure beats the hell out of Comcast Brunswick's cable system. And D* has HDNet and HDNet movies. :cool:

Dana

Does Augusta still have moto boxes?

Well, all, I'm moving on.... Finally got a job after 4+ months of being laid off by Fairchild... I've relocated to Raleigh/Durham NC.... My family is still here -- mortgage is "underwater" so I need to hold off selling it.... So I'll be back now & then...

take care,

joe

Well, all, I'm moving on.... Finally got a job after 4+ months of being laid off by Fairchild... I've relocated to Raleigh/Durham NC.... My family is still here -- mortgage is "underwater" so I need to hold off selling it.... So I'll be back now & then...

take care,

joe

Joe,

Congratulations on finding a job in this economy! We'll miss you. You added a lot to our discussions.

Dana

What's the story with TWC? It seems the former Adelphia customers are treated like red-headed step children.

That's the way the former Adelphia employees have also been treated.

Hey, anyone else think Fox's HD on TWC Portland is "herky jerky"? The flow of the picture skips a bit. Watching Giants game now, noticed it with coverage of The World Series last year also. No other channel does this for me.

Cravenfan, this is a widespread issue with FOX HD and certain Scientific Atlanta cable boxes. Take a look at this thread. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1163878)

I hope this gets fixed soon as it is making FOX programming nearly unwatchable for me.

Hi guys,

Do you know if there is any possibility thet WMTW might return to Mount Washington with either its main transmitter or a repeater ? I have a house near Sherbrooke, Quebec and can no longer receive WVNY (ABC Burlington VT) since they went to digital with an unbelievably low power. I hear that many people in Eastern Vermont and Northern NH do not get ABC either. A transmitter on top of Mount Washington would be fantastic.

Thanks.

Yagi Bear

Hi guys,

Do you know if there is any possibility thet WMTW might return to Mount Washington with either its main transmitter or a repeater ? I have a house near Sherbrooke, Quebec and can no longer receive WVNY (ABC Burlington VT) since they went to digital with an unbelievably low power. I hear that many people in Eastern Vermont and Northern NH do not get ABC either. A transmitter on top of Mount Washington would be fantastic.

Thanks.

Yagi Bear

There's a discussion here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WMTW#History) of the history of WMTW-TV on the mountain. Looks like the answer is "no."

Dana

OK thanks.
I was thinking that maybe, since NHPTV is considering moving WLED on the mountain, other channels might be interrested and benefit from the larger coverage. However I read somewhere that power supply was a significant problem on Mount Washington. If a major investment is needed to provide power, maybe NHPTV will seek partners up there. I guess I'll wait and see. Who knows...
YB

here we go with this weeks HD additions...

YC: basically more "extra" premiums again this week. matter of fact, they're all premiums. but MAV is finally on the list for those who've asked. now can someone please tell me WTF it is? lol :-D

CC: same as YC last week as far as i can tell seven premiums, style, g4, and WE.

sebago/arundel: pretty decent adds for you guys, finally. scifi, vs, disney xd, bravo, bio, abc fam, and several more.

kinda disappointing aside from the sebago adds. i want my MTV!!! heh. and others. but if half of the "100 hd channels" are gonna be these fringe premiums, then that's gonna suck.

oh... also... conway/middleton has some additions as well, if anyone's interested.

here we go with this weeks HD additions...

YC: basically more "extra" premiums again this week. matter of fact, they're all premiums. but MAV is finally on the list for those who've asked. now can someone please tell me WTF it is? lol :-D

CC: same as YC last week as far as i can tell seven premiums, style, g4, and WE.

sebago/arundel: pretty decent adds for you guys, finally. scifi, vs, disney xd, bravo, bio, abc fam, and several more.

kinda disappointing aside from the sebago adds. i want my MTV!!! heh. and others. but if half of the "100 hd channels" are gonna be these fringe premiums, then that's gonna suck.

oh... also... conway/middleton has some additions as well, if anyone's interested.

http://www.mavtv.com/

Another waste of a channel...tho they do have HD programming which is more than Rural TV HD

Yesterday was the first day of SDV on the Augusta system. I can't say that I noticed a pronounced lag in switching among the HD channels. On the other hand, it SEEMED a little slower and, each time, the selected channel showed a quick flash of the picture and, then, a black screen until the new channel kicked in.

I'm a little vague on my judgements because I don't watch tv on the HD set in the playroom every night. Once the new season starts, there will be more of a reason to go to another room after the evening news.

We didn't pick up any new channels in the SDV switchover, if it actually took place, and the box works ok as a replacement for the cablecard. I did get the basic digital channels with the box and, presumably, there is no increase in the monthly cost. I've made a little list of 4 or 5 channels to check once in a while if there isn't anything else, but for the most part, they are channels that I would not be willing to purchase for a nickel a month.

Yesterday was the first day of SDV on the Augusta system. I can't say that I noticed a pronounced lag in switching among the HD channels. On the other hand, it SEEMED a little slower and, each time, the selected channel showed a quick flash of the picture and, then, a black screen until the new channel kicked in.

I'm a little vague on my judgements because I don't watch tv on the HD set in the playroom every night. Once the new season starts, there will be more of a reason to go to another room after the evening news.

We didn't pick up any new channels in the SDV switchover, if it actually took place, and the box works ok as a replacement for the cablecard. I did get the basic digital channels with the box and, presumably, there is no increase in the monthly cost. I've made a little list of 4 or 5 channels to check once in a while if there isn't anything else, but for the most part, they are channels that I would not be willing to purchase for a nickel a month.

Is there a way in IGuide to tell which channels are SDV?

Is there a way in IGuide to tell which channels are SDV?

I don't know, but I have a list if I can find it. It includes a lot of the premium "extra" channels. I think it is also every one of the HD channels (Augusta, of course). It is intended to be the channels that people watch the least. Actually, the only difference it makes is a reported slight delay in acquiring the channel from the system.

Is channel 6 available on cable now? The signal is gone via off air.

Bunch of new Cinemax HD and HBO HD channels today, and that MavTV...........anything else I'm missing?

Where is my SpikeHD??
LOL


Steve

Well, I received my first TWC bill since turning in my cablecard for a box. A review of the bill and a conversation with a customer service representative produced some good news and some bad news.

TWC changed us from Classic Cable with Road Runner at $105.95 to Watch and Surf at $95.36, an improvement of $10.59. Good, huh? Wait a minute. Now, I am also being charged $4.95 for the 4 HDTV tier channels, which were not charged when I was using the cablecard because I was an Adelphia legacy customer. The cost improvement is, now, $5.64.

My issue is that, although they are only charging $1.75 for the box to match what they were charging for the cablecard, this only lasts for a year and, presumably the price will go to the normal $7.95. When I stop to think that I will soon have a total of 3 HD sets to equip, I am looking at $23.85 per month in box rentals to be able to watch "free HD" on TWC. This will be in addition to Watch and Surf and the 4 channels on HDTV tier.

The implementation of switched digital video makes it necessary, if you want to watch high definition digital television, to use a rental box for every tv in your home and most homes have 2, 3 or more tv sets. This makes the advertising of "free HD" on TWC a false claim, if the HDTV tier channels were not part of the subscription.

TWC does not claim free digital tv, they claim free HD digital. A customer has to pay for standard definition (SD) digital channels via a box rental in order to get "free" HD digital channels. What a gimmick! HD channels are simply additional digital channels, so you ARE paying for the HD channels.

I don't want the box; I don't want the free SD digital channels; I don't want the subscription SD digital channels and I would easily give up the HDTV tier. I only want the "free" HD channels, the SD "analog" channels and the internet.

When I get done checking this all out and comparing cost, I just might make the move to DirecTv.

I have directv hd dvr package. I signed on last year and got the NFL package. I thought it was HD but was SD, so complained and they upped it to HD at no charge. They also gave me the game package which I did not order and it took three months to get that off, so they gave me $10 off for six months (actual charge was less than $25).

So, to date, my charges, which includes the maintenance package, have not exceeded $90 and I get too many channels and lots of HD channels with a two channel HD DVR recorder that has loads of features.

When the smoke settles and I get back to the actual fee, it will be in the $90-$100 range. I was with Comcast and am so glad I made the shift.

Thank you drbonbi.

I just might make the move to DirecTv.

I'm pretty sure the cable companies are the best sales people for DirecTV.

Any Dish Subscribers out there who can receive WPFO 23 Over-The-Air using your Dish Network receiver...is there any information in your Electronic Program Guide?
My EPG just says 'Digital Service', whereas all the other Portland channels and sub-channels have the proper station information. Dish blames it on my (out of market) location. I would like to know if anyone who is actually in the Portland DMA see OTA WPFO channel 023-01 with the correct EPG.

John

I watched my ten year old granddaughter play a soccer game yesterday afternoon - Cumberland vs. Brunswick - on a Brunswick field. A gorgeous fall day. The all-girl team plays quite well as does she, and it's a lot of fun to watch! The players' parents are very well behaved.

So, by the time I got home and turned on the PATS-Jets game, it was in the third quarter. The picture looked overly green to me. Anyone else see the same thing? I quickly went to the NESN Red Sox game and that seemed OK. I didn't stick around for the post-game wrap up so don't know if it cleared up. Channel 13 seems OK this morning.

Dana

Tampa, FL was some nice warm and humid fun! Now I'm on the road again. This time, I'm at the La Quinta Inns and Suites in Portland. Like the "cable" I had last February in Chicago, the remote looks awfully familiar. Can you say Lodgenet? And...like Tampa, four ESPN services. Enough! Isn't there a hotel anywhere that has that city's expanded basic lineup anymore? Ugh! Anyways, here what I get here:

2- WMTW (ABC) channel 8 Poland Spring
3- WGME (CBS) channel 13 Portland
4- WPFO (FOX) channel 23 Waterville
5- WCSH (NBC) channel 6 Portland
7- WCBB (PBS) channel 10 Augusta
9- ESPN 2
10- ESPN Classic
11- ESPN News
12- ESPN
14- VH1
15- USA
16- The Weather Channel [national feed]
17- TNT
18- TBS
19- Syfy
20- Nickelodeon
21- MTV
22- HBO
23- MSNBC
24- Lifetime
25- TLC
26- History
27- FOX News Channel
28- E!
29- Discovery
30- TRU-TV
31- Comedy Central
32- Headline News
33- CNN
34- CNBC
35- Cartoon Network
36- Bloomberg TV
37- ABC Family
38- A&E
39- Food Network
40- Travel Channel
41- HGTV
42- NESN

Notice anything missing? I sure do! Where are WPME-DT (MY) channel 35 of Lewiston/Portland and WPXT-DT (CW) channel 51 of Portland? Is there a real reason why something like Time Warner's expanded basic lineup isn't here?

Hey Skippy...............what's on the list for this week in York County?

Steve

Hey Skippy...............what's on the list for this week in York County?

Steve

honestly not much for york county. qvc and cbs college sports. that's it.

again cc is getting the channels that yc got last week.

as of last week york is officially at 100 hd channels. so for now, i'm assuming we'll be playing catch up to get the rest of the service area to that same level.

IFC in HD is whacked. Not very crisp.

IFC stretches their non-hd programming, making it look horrible. When they do, on occasion, show a movie in hd the picture quality is outstanding.

Anyone notice that MavTV has little or no volume?

I have to crank the volume to even hear it a little bit, then when I switch channels I have to drop the volume super quick or I get blasted.


So 100 HD channels is a gimmick as well, since about 50 of them are HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, and Starz.

Steve

Anyone notice that MavTV has little or no volume?

I have to crank the volume to even hear it a little bit, then when I switch channels I have to drop the volume super quick or I get blasted.


So 100 HD channels is a gimmick as well, since about 50 of them are HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, and Starz.

Steve

That particular angle is not a surprise. Certainly, they are going to count all HD channels as being ........... HD channels. On the other hand, they are of no use to me, since I have no interest in paying for them.

They all play the numbers game. I think D* started it by claiming it had "over 100 HD channels" last year. I don't think that's true unless you count on demand programs that aren't really channels.

I saw a Comcast truck recently in Brunswick with some national advertising on it claiming it had more HD than any other provider. Again, based on video on demand. Here's the actual HD channel list for Brunswick.

425 HBO HD °° ***
446 Cinemax HD East °° ***
449 Showtime HD °° ***
501 WMTW (ABC) HD +
502 WGME (CBS) HD +
503 WCBB (PBS) HD +
504 WCHS (NBC) HD +
507 WPFO (FOX) HD +
521 Discovery HD ++
522 NESN HD ++
523 ESPN 2 HD ++
524 TNT HD ++
525 HD Theater ++
526 ESPN HD ++
527 National Geographic HD +++
528 A&E HD ++
529 Universal HD ++

Now I could live with that list if the subscriber fees Comcast charged were proportionate to their HD listings vs. the competition - even what Comcast offers elsewhere. But, you know it's not. So, my choice is clear in this case.

The footnotes indicate that the channels on this list require a sub to pay more than the minimum for certain tiers.

Dana

Here is the current HD line-up for York County, 99 channels - 27 are premium movie channels, and 5 are in their premium HD tier. And there are still a few good channels missing that we should have in HD......Spike, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, and HDnet come to mind.


483 The Movie Channel HD
484 Starz Edge HD
485 Starz Kids and Family HD
486 Starz Comedy HD
487 More Max East HD
488 Action MAX - E HD
489 ThrillerMAX East HD
490 W Max HD
491 @ Max HD
492 Outer Max HD
493 Five Star Max HD
494 HBO 2 East HD
495 HBO Family East HD
496 HBO Signature East HD
497 HBO Comedy East HD
498 HBO Zone East HD
499 HBO Latino East HD
500 HBO HDTV East
501 HBO HDTV West
502 Cinemax HD East
505 HD On Demand
506 WCSH 6 HDTV NBC
507 WPFO FOX HDTV
508 WMTW 8 HDTV ABC
510 MPBN
512 CW HD
513 WGME 13 CBS HDTV
517 MYTV HD WPME
518 Biography HD
519 The Movie Channel HD
520 Showtime HDTV East
521 Showtime HD West
522 Showtime 2 East HD
523 Showtime Showcase East HD
524 Showtime Extreme - East HD
525 Starz HD East
526 Outdoor Channel HD
527 New England Sports Network
528 Comcast SportsNet HD
529 TBS HD
530 The Golf Channel HD
531 MAV
532 Smithsonian Channel HD
533 Rural TV HD
534 ESPN-HD
535 Universal HD
536 ESPN2 High Definition
537 NHL Network HD
538 GAME HD
540 MGM HD
541 ESPN News HD
542 Disney HD
543 Toon Disney HD
544 ABC Family HD
545 Discovery Channel HD
546 TLC HD
547 Animal Planet HD
548 Science Channel HD
549 Versus HD
550 Discovery HD Theater
551 TNT HD
552 Palladia
553 A & E HD
554 The Travel Channel HD
555 History Channel HD
556 Food Network HD
557 HGTV HD
558 Lifetime Movie Network HD
559 National Geographic HD
560 CNN HD
561 Fox Business Network
562 CBS College Sports HD
563 Tennis Channel HD
564 Weather Channel HD
565 Bravo HD
567 Cartoon Network HD
568 G4 HD
569 Planet Green HD
570 Style HD
571 We TV HD
574 E! Entertainment Television HD
576 Hallmark Movie Channel HD
577 AMC HD
578 TCM HD
579 Independent Film Channel
580 Encore HD
581 Crime & Investigation Network HD
584 USA HD
585 SyFy HD
586 SPEED HD
587 FX HD
588 ESPNU HD
589 MLB Network HD
593 CNBC HD+
594 Headline News HD
595 MSNBC HD
596 Fox News Channel HD
597 Fuse HD
599 QVC HD



Steve

Here's a switch. According to a column in the Boston Globe, (http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/wilbur/2009/09/24/sports_bar_sunday_for_much_of_new_england/) Maine is one of only two NE states - Rhode Island is the other - that will see the PATS vs. Falcons game on Sunday at 1 PM on FOX affiliates everywhere in the state. It's on WPFO/FOX 23 here in our market.

Portions of the four other New England states will get the Giants-Bucs game. Apparently the FOX affiliate in Albany, NY has control over what VT., parts of NH and Western MA. viewers will watch at 1 PM. It won't allow an alternate feed to be carried on cable in those states. I'm not sure what satellite carriers will do. D* may get lots of new subscribers to its Sunday Ticket that provides access to every NFL game live.

The Globe writer suggests sports bars will benefit.

CT. has so many Giants fans that getting the PATS game there is a lost cause evidently.

I dare say that FOX station in Albany hasn't heard the end of this tale. What a way to alienate viewers!

Dana

PS. Hawaii gets to see the Pats vs. Falcons game! Go figure.

The closest station to Hartford getting the Patriots on television would be WGGB-DT 40-2 of Springfield, MA. That subchannel is known as FOX 6. I don't get even a hint of it here in New Britain, CT. I do know that WTIC-DT (FOX) in Hartford has the Giants game. Their sister station, WTXX-DT (CW) of Waterbury, is not allowed to air the Patriots game.

Here's a switch. According to a column in the Boston Globe, (http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/wilbur/2009/09/24/sports_bar_sunday_for_much_of_new_england/) Maine is one of only two NE states - Rhode Island is the other - that will see the PATS vs. Falcons game on Sunday at 1 PM on FOX affiliates everywhere in the state. It's on WPFO/FOX 23 here in our market.

Portions of the four other New England states will get the Giants-Bucs game. Apparently the FOX affiliate in Albany, NY has control over what VT., parts of NH and Western MA. viewers will watch at 1 PM. It won't allow an alternate feed to be carried on cable in those states. I'm not sure what satellite carriers will do. D* may get lots of new subscribers to its Sunday Ticket that provides access to every NFL game live.

The Globe writer suggests sports bars will benefit.

CT. has so many Giants fans that getting the PATS game there is a lost cause evidently.

I dare say that FOX station in Albany hasn't heard the end of this tale. What a way to alienate viewers!

Dana

PS. Hawaii gets to see the Pats vs. Falcons game! Go figure.

Here are the coverage maps for the big three for today's games.
http://www.the506.com/nflmaps/

Skippy, is there anyone you can ask as to when the work begins to add new HD channels to the Augusta system? Presumably, we have been on SDV for a couple of weeks, now. I'm not looking to find out which particular channels are coming, although I'm eagerly anticipating the news channels.

Skippy, is there anyone you can ask as to when the work begins to add new HD channels to the Augusta system? Presumably, we have been on SDV for a couple of weeks, now. I'm not looking to find out which particular channels are coming, although I'm eagerly anticipating the news channels.

Wanna ask about the Aroostook system too? Appreciate it.

Boucher

Wanna ask about the Aroostook system too? Appreciate it.

Boucher

honestly guys, i'm not privy to that info. as i've said before the main focus for now is getting the scientific atlanta areas to 100 hd channels.

as for the remainder of the service area... all i know is "after that". which could mean next week or next year. no idea.

WCSH - anyone know what happened to their OTA signal? It's been gone for a day or so. My free HD is gone ;)

Saw it yesterday and now.

Sure enough, you're right about that. I have two TVs using OTA signals. One has its own tuner and one uses a set-top box. The one with the built-in tuner isn't finding it even after a rescan....time to debug..;)

Found out what the problem was with the OTA signal. Signal strength. Interesting how one tuner could capture the signal whereas the other couldn't. I never move my antenna either. Go figure....

Can anyone help me figure out if I'm remembering wrong? I don't recall before this TV season having Fox 23 drop to SD for station id, but I saw it several times during the Broncos/Cowboys game on Sunday. Is this really something new or did I just not watch enough shows on Fox to see it before? I thought the Fox Splicer made it easy for the local affiliate to overlay graphics on the HD feed, as evidenced by the (ugly) red-and-blue Fox 23 bug during primetime HD programming, so this seems like a step backwards.

Can anyone help me figure out if I'm remembering wrong? I don't recall before this TV season having Fox 23 drop to SD for station id, but I saw it several times during the Broncos/Cowboys game on Sunday. Is this really something new or did I just not watch enough shows on Fox to see it before? I thought the Fox Splicer made it easy for the local affiliate to overlay graphics on the HD feed, as evidenced by the (ugly) red-and-blue Fox 23 bug during primetime HD programming, so this seems like a step backwards.
I noticed that also. These local stations need to get with the rest of the county. Other areas have gotten rid of this issue years ago. Also the issue of the local news and local programing in 4x3 screens is VERY outdated.

I noticed that also. These local stations need to get with the rest of the county. Other areas have gotten rid of this issue years ago. Also the issue of the local news and local programing in 4x3 screens is VERY outdated.

I have noticed some steps forward - WMTW 8 now does station id without dropping to SD. That station was by far the worst because you'd get 1 second of repeated audio when the SD started, and lose 1 second of audio after the switch back to HD. Even the lottery numbers are on the HD feed now, as annoying as they might be.

WCSH 6's promos are HD now, too. (Not the "coming up on news 6 at 11" ones, but the "This man/woman is on the news, so he/she is similing at the camera" ones ;) )

Can anyone help me figure out if I'm remembering wrong? I don't recall before this TV season having Fox 23 drop to SD for station id, but I saw it several times during the Broncos/Cowboys game on Sunday. Is this really something new or did I just not watch enough shows on Fox to see it before? I thought the Fox Splicer made it easy for the local affiliate to overlay graphics on the HD feed, as evidenced by the (ugly) red-and-blue Fox 23 bug during primetime HD programming, so this seems like a step backwards.

The Fox splicer allows for only a bug in the corner and an ID. Things like crawls or other graphics require the station to drop to SD.

- Trip

Something was screwy with WTIC-DT (FOX) channel 61 in Hartford during Family Guy, as it relates to this. Their station ID popped up at the bottom center and you couldn't even see the "WTIC-DT Hartford/New Haven" graphic under the "FOX 61" logo. FOX then put up a quick mention of the LCS (baseball) playoffs and the date. Just afterwards, WTIC puts their tiny "FOX 61" bug in the bottom right over the black pillar bar (since the show is in 4:3). There was then a tiny picture jitter and the audio hesitated just slightly. Strange!

WMTW is looking pretty good these days. I think a couple of months ago they either tweaked their encoder or got a new one, because all of my big issues with their picture quality disappeared sometime in August.

For the technically minded, this trade journal (http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/357421-Level_3_Tests_Uncompressed_HD_For_NFL_Feeds.php) story provides some interesting info about a test underway this NFL season of "... the delivery of uncompressed high-definition feeds of Denver Broncos home games from Invesco Field to the broadcaster carrying the game, using (a) national fiber-optic network."

Read the story for all the technical details. This is not pie in the sky stuff.

After monitoring it during the first three quarters of the Sept. 20 game between the Broncos and Cleveland Browns, the network did go to the uncompressed feed during parts of the fourth quarter.

“It looked wonderful,” says Bob Mincieli, director of broadcast operations for CBS Sports. Mincieli says that if the uncompressed link looks as good in pre-game monitoring this Sunday, CBS is likely to use it again during the pivotal matchup between the Broncos and the New England Patriots.

The PATS-Broncos game by the way is at 4 PM tomorrow (Sunday) on WGME TV (CBS) channel 13 in this market.

Dana

For the technically minded, this trade journal (http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/357421-Level_3_Tests_Uncompressed_HD_For_NFL_Feeds.php) story provides some interesting info about a test underway this NFL season of "... the delivery of uncompressed high-definition feeds of Denver Broncos home games from Invesco Field to the broadcaster carrying the game, using (a) national fiber-optic network."

Read the story for all the technical details. This is not pie in the sky stuff.



The PATS-Broncos game by the way is at 4 PM tomorrow (Sunday) on WGME TV (CBS) channel 13 in this market.

Dana

The article describes how the signal would be delivered to CBS in New York (via fiber rather than satellite). The transmission from New York to Portland would still be by satellite, which would still require the usual compression, it would seem. Perhaps, the improvement is that the New York headquarters has a better picture to begin the process of providing a (compressed?) satellite signal to its affiliates.

Maybe, there will be an additional explanation during the game.

Thanks for the info.

The article describes how the signal would be delivered to CBS in New York (via fiber rather than satellite). The transmission from New York to Portland would still be by satellite, which would still require the usual compression, it would seem. Perhaps, the improvement is that the New York headquarters has a better picture to begin the process of providing a (compressed?) satellite signal to its affiliates.

Maybe, there will be an additional explanation during the game.

Thanks for the info.

Stan,

Yes, the same thought crossed my mind. But, I guess the fewer compression stages the better. If the signal gets to New York hqtrs in better shape than usual, perhaps we'll also benefit down the line.

Dana

I can't say that the picture for the game looked any different than usual.

I can't say that the picture for the game looked any different than usual.

I thought it looked GREAT, but I'm a Broncos fan. :D

I agree, though, that there wasn't a noticeable improvement on PQ for this game - but the NFL games on WGME always look great, so I'm not complaining.

Well, the big move IS on. Many HD channels have been added to the Augusta system. I saw some of them last night and I just saw more on the TWC internet channel listing for Augusta, so I imagine I will see those as well when I turn on the set this evening.

The only wrinkle is that Fox and MSNBC news channels were not on the list, but I think they will be coming along because they have them on the Cumberland listing. I would rather have those 2 channels along with CNN than any of the others. They are just probably saving the best for last.

The folks in Waterville and Bangor are next on the list, I would think.

Wrong!!!! The additional channels that were listed on "ZAP 2 IT" were not on last night. The channels they added a couple of days ago were still there, but we'll have to wait for the others, I guess. USA is one of the channels according to the list and that can have something every now and then. FX wasn't listed, but it would be a worthy addition. Still hoping for FOX NEWS and MSNBC.

Wrong!!!! The additional channels that were listed on "ZAP 2 IT" were not on last night. The channels they added a couple of days ago were still there, but we'll have to wait for the others, I guess. USA is one of the channels according to the list and that can have something every now and then. FX wasn't listed, but it would be a worthy addition. Still hoping for FOX NEWS and MSNBC.

Although Zap2It is supposed to be the "last word' on TV listings, I have had problems with its accuracy in the past. I use TitanTV (http://www.titantv.com/default.aspx) instead.

Nonetheless, the HDTV lineup that apparently is migrating to many of the TWC cable systems is impressive. Poor Comcast Brunswick subs.

Dana

Although Zap2It is supposed to be the "last word' on TV listings, I have had problems with its accuracy in the past. I use TitanTV (http://www.titantv.com/default.aspx) instead.

Nonetheless, the HDTV lineup that apparently is migrating to many of the TWC cable systems is impressive. Poor Comcast Brunswick subs.

Dana

I have to say that Zap2It was really quick in listing the channels that were added and TOO quick in listing the channels that were not added. Probably, TWC informed them of their plans and, then, couldn't maintain the schedule.

Well, the big move IS on. Many HD channels have been added to the Augusta system. I saw some of them last night and I just saw more on the TWC internet channel listing for Augusta, so I imagine I will see those as well when I turn on the set this evening.

The only wrinkle is that Fox and MSNBC news channels were not on the list, but I think they will be coming along because they have them on the Cumberland listing. I would rather have those 2 channels along with CNN than any of the others. They are just probably saving the best for last.

The folks in Waterville and Bangor are next on the list, I would think.


Aroostook is on Tap for 15 in the next two weeks. thats alot for us.

Aroostook is on Tap for 15 in the next two weeks. thats alot for us.

How were you able to find out?

How were you able to find out?

A tech on the phone said that by November 15 we would have 15 new HD channels and A hundred by the end of the year. The list included discovery, nat geo, disney, disney xd, abc family, tlc to name a few.

TWC just added a bunch of new HD channels this morning.

News from the Bangor thread.

Dana

Well, boys and girls, it HAS taken place. TWC Augusta, now, offers 62 bright and sparkling high definition channels. I have to confess that it was a tiny bit exciting to surf my way through them several times last night. They look really good and come up quickly with the switched digital video. ................ We have come a long, long way since that day in January 1953 when WABI channel 5 logged on with their 5,000 watt signal and we peered through the snow at the new wonder in our lives.

There is just one very important step left to take and that is to add newschannels MSNBC, CNN HEADLINE and, of course, FOX NEWS. That will make the job complete as far as I am concerned.

Lookin' good in Central Maine!

Well, boys and girls, it HAS taken place. TWC Augusta, now, offers 62 bright and sparkling high definition channels. I have to confess that it was a tiny bit exciting to surf my way through them several times last night. They look really good and come up quickly with the switched digital video. ................ We have come a long, long way since that day in January 1953 when WABI channel 5 logged on with their 5,000 watt signal and we peered through the snow at the new wonder in our lives.

There is just one very important step left to take and that is to add newschannels MSNBC, CNN HEADLINE and, of course, FOX NEWS. That will make the job complete as far as I am concerned.

Lookin' good in Central Maine!

Stan,

As a one time resident of Bangor and Old Town, let me advise you where "Central Maine" really is. As a former resident of Gardiner, I'd have to say you are "up river" from Bath. ;)

In any event, TWC has certainly delivered the HD "goods." With Comcast Brunswick continuing to offer a paltry dozen or so HD channels (at the same price as TWC), it is an embarrassment. I hope for its subscribers that it merges with TWC ASAP.

Dana

Apparently, (according to word of mouth in a small sample) there is a wide spread outage involving several towns in the 11 community Comcast Brunswick service area. Folks evidently have been without cable TV or internet service for the last two days.

Nothing about it in the Brunswick Times Record newspaper. Comcast is a big advertiser so only good news gets reported there.

Dana

I was without comcast internet for over 16 hours. It got restored at least for us at around 2 pm. Did not have any probs with the cable side


Chris

I was without comcast internet for over 16 hours. It got restored at least for us at around 2 pm. Did not have any probs with the cable side

Chris

Thanks, Chris. My daughter who lives in Brunswick on the River Road near Rocky Hill has been without cable (both) for two days and was still out late this afternoon.

Dana

Thanks, Chris. My daughter who lives in Brunswick on the River Road near Rocky Hill has been without cable (both) for two days and was still out late this afternoon.

Dana

I'm sorry to hear that. Comcast has allowed their system to go downhill. If they keep this up they will have no customers.

Chris

I'm sorry to hear that. Comcast has allowed their system to go downhill. If they keep this up they will have no customers.

Chris

Yes, you are right on both counts. My son went to work this AM and heard the same from coworkers in other towns. I saw a Comcast truck working for quite a while on Bailey Island today, but don't know if this area is affected since I'm on D* for TV and Fairpoint DSL for internet.

Dana

Apparently the Comcast problem is with internet, not cable TV. Sorry. :o

Comcast never has migrated off of the suscom-maine.com internet service (provided by gwi.net). Just another example of a "holding action" on its part while Comcast tries to unload the Brunswick MSO.

Dana

Any word on Spike HD coming to TWC soon?

We just got PPV HD last week........that will be good for the UFC fights.

Steve

The Brunswick Times Record did attempt to report on the midcoast area cable internet problems in its Wednesday (http://www.timesrecord.com/articles/2009/10/28/news/doc4ae87d17d290e386804732.txt) edition.

No help from Comcast, however.

Attempts to reach a representative of the company — seeking details on how many clients lost service, for how long and what the cause of the outage was — did not elicit a response by press time today.

Typical. So the paper did the best it could.

Based on anecdotal reports provided by readers throughout the Mid-coast region, the cable Internet blackout stretched from Freeport in the southwest to Wiscasset in the northeast. Topsham residents were among those to first report losing service on Monday evening, while some cable Internet clients, such as those in downtown Bath, were not reconnected until after 6 p.m. Tuesday. The outtage also affected The Times Record's web site, preventing editors from updating web site content until the following morning.

GWI provides the Comcast mid-coast cable internet service using suscom-maine.net as the domain, a holdover from the days when the cable company was owned by Suscom. Since direct customers of GWI's own branded internet service also were without a connection to the internet, it's a likely conclusion that it caused the outage. No thanks to Comcast for providing any explanations, however.

No information about outages was posted on the GWI web site.

Dana

Internet is still not working properly in Topsham. Service was restored Tuesday night but was down all day yesterday. Since being restored last night we are still have drop outs in service about every 15 minutes that last 5 to 10 minutes at a time. For example I had to wait 10 minutes to post this. This is a real problem for those of us who use vonage. As usual the only info we can get from Comcast is a recording that they are aware of the problem :(

Things are confused here. GWI does not provide internet service to CC, they may not even provide email service anymore. I was told, when I shifted to D* and GWI for both internet and email that were in the process of shifting email to CC and they no longer would be supporting CC.

It seems it was the web that was disrupted, so I cannot see how GWI is at fault. I never lost anything.

Things are confused here. GWI does not provide internet service to CC, they may not even provide email service anymore. I was told, when I shifted to D* and GWI for both internet and email that were in the process of shifting email to CC and they no longer would be supporting CC.

It seems it was the web that was disrupted, so I cannot see how GWI is at fault. I never lost anything.

Hmm. Well, as I noted earlier, I'm on what was Verizon 7 meg DSL service now unfortunately Fairpoint. (Don't touch a thing; it's working.) And my internet service hasn't been interrupted at all. So, don't accept the excuse that the entire internet was disrupted 'cause it wasn't. ;)

I based my comments about GWI being at fault because the newspaper reported that the Brunswick town office was without internet service and they apparently are supported by GWI. I'll believe that Comcast itself is providing email service to its cable customers when they drop the suscom-maine.net domain. But, you may be on to something if Comcast email support is migrating from GWI to another behind-the scene provider. That might account for the disruption.

We can all agree that confusion is rampant. I'm sorry that Topsham is still a trouble spot.

Dana

An update on the Times Record web page to which I linked above reports the following:

Marc Goodman of Comcast issued the following statement on Wednesday afternoon:

“Our Brunswick area Internet service customers experienced a technical malfunction that took longer than expected to resolve and repair.

We worked aggressively to fix this problem that affected our Brunswick Internet customers as soon as possible in this highly unusual event.

We’re investigating what happened, and if appropriate, will take steps to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”

From prior contacts, I recognize Marc Goodman as a PR person for Comcast in its Boston area office.

Dana

An update on the Times Record web page to which I linked above reports the following:



From prior contacts, I recognize Marc Goodman as a PR person for Comcast in its Boston area office.

Dana

Boy, Comcast isn't going to get away with much where you're concerned, Dana. I feel sorry for those poor buggers. They have you in hot pursuit!

Seriously, these cable companies seem to be very reluctant to offer information on anything. I suppose they think that if they offer information, it will only stimulate more questions and comments from their customers.

It's my impression, however, they would be better off in the long run to get out front in everything that might interest their customers. Staying quiet or, at least being reluctant to talk causes people to assume the worst. The cable companies are important members of the community in that they directly affect the daily lives of people in a very significant way. Good and honest back and forth communication would win friends and influence people and create happier customers.

The sad thing is that they probably think they are communicating effectively with websites and newspaper notices, but they are not. The info you see at those sources is guarded, limited and inaccurate. People would really like to know what is going on and not have to make like an agent of the CIA in order to find out.

Stan

I agree completely about damage control. Openness and factual answers go a long way to clear things up and kill speculation in its tracks. I think it's characteristic of Comcast at least that there is no one authorized to talk to the press north of Boston. The local Brunswick office manager is responsible for sales and payment collections - and not much else. If there's a service manager, it's not publicized.

Telephones are answered by reps in far away places with no knowledge of the local scene. We may never know what happened.

Even when we were in email contact a few years ago with Mary, the Comcast area V-P (in NH), she was guarded in her comments. It's a big outfit with lots of layers. I suspect being a V-P with Comcast is like being a bank V-P; the title sounds impressive until you find out how many there are.

I could call GWI and see what they know. They are excellent with customer service and info. But, I am no longer their customer so it's really a fishing trip.

Of course Fairpoint is no prize either, but at least we have the PUC to call. With Comcast there is really no oversight. The PPH local area reporter called the Freeport town official who handles its contract with Comcast to ask what he knew. Answer: nothing. (The reporter wrote a little note on the PPH web site to show that he tried, I guess, but the answer is buried in bureaucracy. Collaring a line crew member might be the only way to get an honest answer.)

Dana

Been a while since I posted, Up here in L/A area has been a 2 week process but we seem to have all the new HD channels here now. I am very impressed with the quantity and quality of the channels. Just looking for SpikeHD and I am really missing HDnet and HDnet movies from the switcheroo. I quickly called and cancelled the HDTV Tier after that happend. I only found about about the upgrade coming by one of my SA boxes crapping out and going to the Lewiston Office and switching it out about 5 weeks ago. I must of got another areas new box because everything didnt match up for channels and I had to call the customer service line and got a real cool rep who clued me in on the upcoming upgrade and re hit my box. Anyway my point is why cant TWC let customers know whats coming or in the process via billing or e-mail? I bet alot of customers were lost due to this lack of communication and switched to DTV or DISH due to the amount of time we had to wait to get these HD channels. If customers just got a simple e-mail I bet lots of customers could have been retained. I was very close to switching back to DTV then this upgrade came.
Good job TWC but you need to communicate.

I called GWI and they do not have anything to do with CC any more. They did support suscom email but not the web. They were not involved with CC and its loss of service.

As noted, when I shifted from CC to GWI, I had to deal with CC to transfer my email to GWI, which CC botched royally. I still have a "we will call you right back" that has not happened. Just gave up.

I have nothing but good things to say about GWI. Great tech support 24/7.

I called GWI and they do not have anything to do with CC any more. They did support suscom email but not the web. They were not involved with CC and its loss of service.

As noted, when I shifted from CC to GWI, I had to deal with CC to transfer my email to GWI, which CC botched royally. I still have a "we will call you right back" that has not happened. Just gave up.

I have nothing but good things to say about GWI. Great tech support 24/7.

Yes, I agree. My experience with GWI was excellent. I'd still be with them if they offered a higher speed DSL internet here. But, they don't have their own equipment at this switch house and are limited to what Fairpoint will share with them - which isn't much. After Fairpoint took over from Verizon, GWI now can offer only dialup here. GWI was a cooperative service partner with Verizon but has been treated badly by Fairpoint, according to GWI's president in a public statement.

I did some research of my own last night including a WHOIS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WHOIS) lookup that traces the suscom-maine domain back to two gwi servers and a third to tucows. I came across unofficial statements that GWI has moved its email support to tucows. It is possible that GWI has a contractual commitment not to disclose its support for Comcast. It was a silent partner when it supported Suscom Brunswick's internet before Comcast acquired it.

Since all internet traffic moves over phone lines at some point in time, it's entirely possible that Fairpoint was involved in the interruption.

This is all speculation on my part, exactly what Stan noted would not happen if Comcast was more forthcoming. As it is, Comcast internet customers may be looking for a more reliable internet host since they are left with an apology but no explanation.

Dana

Oh my gosh! The eagle has landed! TWC Augusta has added still more HD channels and at long last they include FOX NEWS, MSNBC and Headline News. Now, the HD lineup has CNN, FOX Business News, CNBC, CNN Headline News, FOX NEWS and MSNBC all side by side on the "dial." Man, I am in pig heaven. Maybe I'll spring for one of them HD recorder things for 24, The Office, The Big Bang Theory and a couple of the others that I like and play them on weekend evenings when the news channels seem to be at low ebb.

I think we, now, have all of the additions that we are going to have for a while. I have compared the Augusta system listing against the Portland listing and they are the same. Actually, there are only 22 channels left in the 700 series that TWC uses for HD. We have 78 channels available and I receive 66 of them. That seems to be plenty for me. I will probably only use about 20 at the most, anyway.

Things are looking good on the tv front.

Yes, I believe that cable companies and, I suppose, satellite companies do themselves far more harm than good when they do not offer a constant flow of honest, staight-forward information. As I indicated earlier, the sad part is that they probably believe they are doing that already, but they most certainly are not.

The old duffers that I hang out with were completely unaware this morning that a very large number of new HD channels had been added beginning 2 weeks ago. They didn't even know that TWC was working on delivering more channels. It seems to me that a small press release other than the standard fine print legal notice might have been in order and would have served to sort of warm-up the audience for what was coming.

Of course, I'm sure that TWC would say that they were concerned that the system might not have been able to handle all of the additional activity and that TWC would be seen as having failed and unable to deliver. This fear might be justified, but by the same token, I'm sure that they have lost many customers to Direct TV and Dish by not being aggressive in supplying information. Some people just won't wait when they cannot acquire information regarding the company's plans. ......... I waited because I just don't care all that much and would prefer cable in the long run, anyway. It was an irritating wait, however.

Oh my gosh! The eagle has landed! TWC Augusta has added still more HD channels and at long last they include FOX NEWS, MSNBC and Headline News. Now, the HD lineup has CNN, FOX Business News, CNBC, CNN Headline News, FOX NEWS and MSNBC all side by side on the "dial." Man, I am in pig heaven. Maybe I'll spring for one of them HD recorder things for 24, The Office, The Big Bang Theory and a couple of the others that I like and play them on weekend evenings when the news channels seem to be at low ebb.

I think we, now, have all of the additions that we are going to have for a while. I have compared the Augusta system listing against the Portland listing and they are the same. Actually, there are only 22 channels left in the 700 series that TWC uses for HD. We have 78 channels available and I receive 66 of them. That seems to be plenty for me. I will probably only use about 20 at the most, anyway.

Things are looking good on the tv front.

Well, I would say so!

Contrast that with the nine (count 'em, nine!) HD cable channels and five HD broadcast channels offered by Comcast (plus three HD movie channels if you want to pay for HBO, Cinemax and Showtime to get them) and one can see why Comcast in the mid-coast is not even close to being comparable.

And, as far as I know, there is no hope for improvement. Comcast wants to sell it "as is."

Dana

Well, I would say so!

Contrast that with the nine (count 'em, nine!) HD cable channels and five HD broadcast channels offered by Comcast (plus three HD movie channels if you want to pay for HBO, Cinemax and Showtime to get them) and one can see why Comcast in the mid-coast is not even close to being comparable.

And, as far as I know, there is no hope for improvement. Comcast wants to sell it "as is."

Dana

You know, Dana, it seems that I recall reading back when the big change in ownership of cable franchises took place, TWC was supposed to take over that Brunswick franchise after they completed the full process of taking over (and improving?) the Adelphia franchises.

The way things move, however, makes me think that it will be at least next summer before anything happens with Brunswick. They sure are getting a bad break in that area. Reportedly, Brunswick was supposed to be a major growth area from the Portland spillover, but I would think this might make things a little less attractive for people.

It's a long sad story but rather than expect new readers to go back on this thread 50 pages to catch up, I'll summarize.

There was speculation at the time of the TWC acquisition of Adelphia in 2006 that it would make sense for TWC to absorb Comcast mid-coast, too. TWC surrounds the 11 community Comcast territory. The two buyouts were not related of course. TWC's acquisition of Adelphia nationally because of Adelphia's bankruptcy was not connected to Comcast's purchase of Suscom's cable operations in York, PA., (the primary acquisition target) although the two happened coincidentally about the same time. Suscom's cable plants in a few small communities elsewhere were included in the purchase by Comcast. (SusCom was owned by the Pfaltzgraff family and after the death of a family member, the survivors decided to sell its cable holdings.)

The then-Maine AG grumbled that if there were any more consolidations of cable plants under one owner, he's investigate. (He had political aspirations which motivated his remarks, I think.)

At the time, Comcast insisted that it would integrate the former Suscom-Maine cable operation into the Comcast "backbone." It would look like any other Comcast cable operation such as the one serving Kittery and the Berwicks. But, it never happened. Then, in 2008 it was leaked that Comcast had 46 small, rural cable plants nationally it wanted to sell and the mid-coast Maine plant was included on the list. Meanwhile, Comcast has done nothing to finish the cable plant upgrade that SusCom-Maine had almost completed before it was sold.

A lot of Comcast cable subs fled to satellite providers when Comcast failed to add WPFO/FOX 23 to its HD lineup in time to watch the Red Sox in the World Series in 2007. The excuse given at the time was technical. "Bandwidth constraint." Somehow, after bleeding subs, Comcast overcame its technical problems and added WPFO/FOX 23 in HD in time to watch the PATs in the 2007 Superbowl.

By then I had left Comcast in disgust. My great expectations were dashed. I rejoined D* and have never regretted it.

Not all mid-coast residents can switch to satellite providers for TV. Sometimes there are terrain problems, big trees, etc., blocking access. Availability of broadband internet service by telephone is sketchy. Internet access by satellite (not the same providers as TV) is expensive and not the equal of cable or DSL I am told.

Comcast mid-cost Mainers are entitled to the same level of cable TV and internet access that their neighbors get from TWC. They pay the same rates for inferior service.

Dana

Been a while since I posted, Up here in L/A area has been a 2 week process but we seem to have all the new HD channels here now. I am very impressed with the quantity and quality of the channels. Just looking for SpikeHD and I am really missing HDnet and HDnet movies from the switcheroo. I quickly called and cancelled the HDTV Tier after that happend. I only found about about the upgrade coming by one of my SA boxes crapping out and going to the Lewiston Office and switching it out about 5 weeks ago. I must of got another areas new box because everything didnt match up for channels and I had to call the customer service line and got a real cool rep who clued me in on the upcoming upgrade and re hit my box. Anyway my point is why cant TWC let customers know whats coming or in the process via billing or e-mail? I bet alot of customers were lost due to this lack of communication and switched to DTV or DISH due to the amount of time we had to wait to get these HD channels. If customers just got a simple e-mail I bet lots of customers could have been retained. I was very close to switching back to DTV then this upgrade came.
Good job TWC but you need to communicate.


I have a feeling it's going to be a long time until we see HDnet again on TWC. As I posted earlier in this thread, I emailed Mark Cuban about this, and he said it's TWC's fault that this all happened............money, money, money.

I would really like to see Spike HD, Comedy Central HD, and MTV HD. Once those come on, I will never have to stray out of the "500" channels again.

Steve

It's a long sad story but rather than expect new readers to go back on this thread 50 pages to catch up, I'll summarize.

There was speculation at the time of the TWC acquisition of Adelphia in 2006 that it would make sense for TWC to absorb Comcast mid-coast, too. TWC surrounds the 11 community Comcast territory. The two buyouts were not related of course. TWC's acquisition of Adelphia nationally because of Adelphia's bankruptcy was not connected to Comcast's purchase of Suscom's cable operations in York, PA., (the primary acquisition target) although the two happened coincidentally about the same time. Suscom's cable plants in a few small communities elsewhere were included in the purchase by Comcast. (SusCom was owned by the Pfaltzgraff family and after the death of a family member, the survivors decided to sell its cable holdings.)

The then-Maine AG grumbled that if there were any more consolidations of cable plants under one owner, he's investigate. (He had political aspirations which motivated his remarks, I think.)

At the time, Comcast insisted that it would integrate the former Suscom-Maine cable operation into the Comcast "backbone." It would look like any other Comcast cable operation such as the one serving Kittery and the Berwicks. But, it never happened. Then, in 2008 it was leaked that Comcast had 46 small, rural cable plants nationally it wanted to sell and the mid-coast Maine plant was included on the list. Meanwhile, Comcast has done nothing to finish the cable plant upgrade that SusCom-Maine had almost completed before it was sold.

A lot of Comcast cable subs fled to satellite providers when Comcast failed to add WPFO/FOX 23 to its HD lineup in time to watch the Red Sox in the World Series in 2007. The excuse given at the time was technical. "Bandwidth constraint." Somehow, after bleeding subs, Comcast overcame its technical problems and added WPFO/FOX 23 in HD in time to watch the PATs in the 2007 Superbowl.

By then I had left Comcast in disgust. My great expectations were dashed. I rejoined D* and have never regretted it.

Not all mid-coast residents can switch to satellite providers for TV. Sometimes there are terrain problems, big trees, etc., blocking access. Availability of broadband internet service by telephone is sketchy. Internet access by satellite (not the same providers as TV) is expensive and not the equal of cable or DSL I am told.

Comcast mid-cost Mainers are entitled to the same level of cable TV and internet access that their neighbors get from TWC. They pay the same rates for inferior service.

Dana

The only place where I would differ is the "entitlement" angle. It would seem that you are only entitled to what your provider offers for sale and you agree to pay for. You were not happy with your entitlement and went elsewhere. So would I. It's hard to believe that a cable company would offer so little and hope to compete.

Otherwise, you sure know the history of what took place. Still, in the back of my mind I am thinking that I saw something that said TWC and Comcast had full intentions to straighten out the orphans left around the country and that involved more than the orphans from Adelphia. In other words, they didn't want to leave systems intermixed with large areas that one or the other dominated.

On the other hand, mine is probably only wishful thinking for the people in your area as opposed to fact. I hope that someone picks up the cable ball in your locale.

I have a feeling it's going to be a long time until we see HDnet again on TWC. As I posted earlier in this thread, I emailed Mark Cuban about this, and he said it's TWC's fault that this all happened............money, money, money.

I would really like to see Spike HD, Comedy Central HD, and MTV HD. Once those come on, I will never have to stray out of the "500" channels again.

Steve

Ah, the Comedy channel! That would be a good one and I hope TWC finds room to sneak it in on my system.

The only place where I would differ is the "entitlement" angle. It would seem that you are only entitled to what your provider offers for sale and you agree to pay for. You were not happy with your entitlement and went elsewhere. So would I. It's hard to believe that a cable company would offer so little and hope to compete.

Otherwise, you sure know the history of what took place. Still, in the back of my mind I am thinking that I saw something that said TWC and Comcast had full intentions to straighten out the orphans left around the country and that involved more than the orphans from Adelphia. In other words, they didn't want to leave systems intermixed with large areas that one or the other dominated.

On the other hand, mine is probably only wishful thinking for the people in your area as opposed to fact. I hope that someone picks up the cable ball in your locale.

"Entitlement" was a poor word choice. Nobody is "entitled" to anything in this life. "Deserve" may be a better word. If a Comcast customer pays the same amount for TV service as a TWC customer, he or she deserves to get the equivalent number of channels.

You may be on to something about TWC and Comcast "straightening things out." I recall a couple of years ago there was speculation along these lines. Trading territories nationally. At the time I think it had more to do with rationalizing the territories TWC picked up from Adelphia. I haven't heard anything about it this year.

Dana

I spotted this announcement on the Freeport town web site. (http://www.freeportmaine.com/news.detail.php?news_id=141).

November 2, 2009

NOTICE TO COMCAST CUSTOMERS

For those customers who experienced an interruption in their internet/e-mail service last week, Comcast will rebate $10 to those customers who call and ask for the rebate.

The $10 figure is above the actual lost time cost. The calculation they used is as follows:

Average monthly CHSI cost $53.95 for the 7 MB service, which is roughly
$1.79 per day
Each subscriber was allotted 5 days out of service (even though it was less) It was then rounded up to $10.00.

PLEASE NOTE: Customers MUST call and ask for a rebate. It will not be automatic. The number to call is 729-6663. Follow the voice prompts to “billing.”

Still no word - not that I expected any - about what happened.

Dana

I have read that ads are beginning to appear on TV for D* claiming "200 HD channels soon." I haven't seen them myself.

The claim refers to the launch of the so-called D12 satellite as referenced in the DirecTV Q3 conference call on Nov. 5, 2009 (http://seekingalpha.com/article/171671-directv-group-inc-q3-2009-earnings-conference-call?page=-1):


We are also planning to launch a new movie service next year, where customers will be able to access more than thousands of movie from either their PC or TV to view on their big screen TV. This service will be greatly expanded upon the successful launch of our next satellite D12, which becomes operational in the first half of next year. This new satellite will also increase DIRECTV's HD capacity by 50% over 200 national channels.

In the land of TV ads, "soon" could be months away.

TiVo is also supposed to bring its new service to D* in the first half of 2010. (Apparently, it's not going to be hardware but rather firmware for existing D* HD DVRs.)

So, particularly for mid-coasters who are "stuck" with Comcast cable, more competitive alternatives are coming up for HDTV.

Dana

I have read that ads are beginning to appear on TV for D* claiming "200 HD channels soon." I haven't seen them myself.

Dana
I have been seeing the ads since last May. I know the launch of D12 has been moved back a few times slowing the process down.

I hope when they do launch D12 they will add some of the channels that the other services offer. Like Travel Channel HD, WGN America, and the wife's favorites Lifetime HD and Lifetime Movies HD. The last satellite, D11, filled up very fast with local HDs and national channels and HD PPVs.

"...........customers will be able to access more than thousands of movie.................."

Wow! Imagine! ......... Millions of movies!! That's got to be SOME satellite.

(By the way, Dana, how's that Direct TV workin' out for ya?)

"...........customers will be able to access more than thousands of movie.................."

Wow! Imagine! ......... Millions of movies!! That's got to be SOME satellite.

(By the way, Dana, how's that Direct TV workin' out for ya?)

Actually, the D* VOD service is available now. But, I can't watch millions, thousands or even more than one movie at a time! ;)

So, I don't get too excited. Besides most of the movies made these days aren't worth watching. :rolleyes:

Dana

Actually, the D* VOD service is available now. But, I can't watch millions, thousands or even more than one movie at a time! ;)

So, I don't get too excited. Besides most of the movies made these days aren't worth watching. :rolleyes:

Dana

Plus the VOD HD versions are $5.99 each. I just buy Premier package and wait for the movies we want to see to come on HBO, Starz, Max, Showtime or Movie Channel, and record them on my DVR. That way when you get a bad one you haven't thrown away $5.99. You can just pick another one to record and watch.

Now that TWC has increased its HD offerings considerably just about everywhere including Bangor, it raises questions about how valid the Comcast claims are about its bandwidth constrained wire plant.

Can all these former Adelphia and existing TWC wire plants have been upgraded and only the mid-coast Comcast nee Suscom-Maine one wasn't? Does TWC still have some backwater spots lacking the capacity for delivery of 70+ HD channels? Or, is TWC using some new transmission technology?

It makes me wonder.

Dana

Now that TWC has increased its HD offerings considerably just about everywhere including Bangor, it raises questions about how valid the Comcast claims are about its bandwidth constrained wire plant.

Can all these former Adelphia and existing TWC wire plants have been upgraded and only the mid-coast Comcast nee Suscom-Maine one wasn't? Does TWC still have some backwater spots lacking the capacity for delivery of 70+ HD channels? Or, is TWC using some new transmission technology?

It makes me wonder.

Dana

SDV with iguide A28.

Beyond SDV, I believe I have read that cable tv plants are of at least two different power levels measured in megahertz. If this is the case, I suspect that "Suscom is at the lower level. What I read indicated that those systems have to be entirely rebuilt to handle HDTV and the associated channel requirements.

Beyond SDV, I believe I have read that cable tv plants are of at least two different power levels measured in megahertz. If this is the case, I suspect that "Suscom is at the lower level. What I read indicated that those systems have to be entirely rebuilt to handle HDTV and the associated channel requirements.

there are three main MHz levels 750MHz, 870MHz, and 1000MHz. I believe the comcast system is 750MHz which can handle HD. My system is 870MHz and has 51HD.

Aroostook is 750 to my knowledge and has 41 either Comcast doesn't give two S**** about Brunswick or it's an ancient 500 something system, which is possible.

Anyone have any news about new HD in Aroostook?

Anyone have any news about new HD in Aroostook?

Considering how difficult it is to get information about TWC, I would suggest a telephone call directly to the Portland headquarters. They call the shots according to the Augusta office. I had occasion to talk to the Portland office two different times when it became necessary to change from cablecard to a box. I found the people I talked with to be very helpful.

Another technique would be to find a cable technician up a pole somewhere and tell him you won't let him come down until he provides you with information. ............. Of course, it's November in Aroostook , so any technician is probably only standing on a snowbank to service the lines.

Good Luck.

I was in the Augusta TWC office Thursday. During my conversation with desk representative, I mentioned that there has been no public notice of all the HD channels added during the last month and she told me that they don't announce that it is going to happen or is even going to happen because they're afraid it might not work out. ........... It's no wonder we don't feel as if we're in real contact with the cable company.

she told me that they don't announce that it is going to happen or is even going to happen because they're afraid it might not work out.
Wow!! That shows they have a lot of confidence in their own system.

Aroostook is 750 to my knowledge and has 41 either Comcast doesn't give two S**** about Brunswick or it's an ancient 500 something system, which is possible.

AFAIK, the "bandwidth constrained" Comcast Brunswick system is 550* which I have begun to believe is just a big excuse for your second assumption which is right on the money.

Dana

Considering how difficult it is to get information about TWC, I would suggest a telephone call directly to the Portland headquarters. They call the shots according to the Augusta office. I had occasion to talk to the Portland office two different times when it became necessary to change from cablecard to a box. I found the people I talked with to be very helpful.

Another technique would be to find a cable technician up a pole somewhere and tell him you won't let him come down until he provides you with information. ............. Of course, it's November in Aroostook , so any technician is probably only standing on a snowbank to service the lines.

Good Luck.

Aroostook now has SDV but is only using it on one channel bio HD? Idk what to say.

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?
...
Dana

I went back to the information provided by the Area V-P for Comcast that I reported on this thread two years ago. The Comcast system is according to her, a 550 MHz cable plant. I was supposed to be impressed that there was 120 wire miles that needed to be upgraded. What she failed to mention is that SusCom had already upgraded 730 wire miles and Comcast had only to finish the remainder to complete the upgrade.

Obviously, they have no intention of doing so. So, as I said one day short of exactly two years ago, it's a self-imposed restriction.

Dana

WPXT-51 was added to Directv in HD today.

And there was much rejoicing...

The new HD channels have been on TWC for some time now and the newspaper classified notice by TWC, still, does not reflect mention of them. They started adding them about a month ago and I would wager there are people that don't know that they are there.

I need help getting 3 OTA channels. I'd like to get 8, 35, and 51. 6 and 23 would be a nice added bonus, but wouldn't bother me in the least if I didn't get them, and it's certainly not worth going to any extra trouble or expense to get them. I've attached a pic from tvfool.com Wondering what antenna I should get? This HAS to be a low profile antenna, and also MUST be outside (Metal Roof). Is it even possible?
Thanks!

The TWC classified notice was in the newspaper today and it, still, contained no notice of all the HD channels they have added over the last couple of months on the Augusta system. I can understand waiting a few days to be certain that the technicalities worked out ok, but this is foolish. The channels look great and people should know about them. One might think that people would stumble on them without prompting, but a lot of folks are lost with this new era of digital television, so they only punch in the channel numbers they are familiar with and go no further.

Most of this stuff is not particularly mysterious to readers of the Forum, but it is to people that have not taken interest in finding out what it is all about. Try telling someone 60 or 70 years old about the QAM channels if they only plug the cable directly into their new flat screen tv set and have little if any interest in the digital age. They get a look on their face like you're discussing inter-planetary travel.

Some people think they are watching HD when they plug the cable into the new flat screen and punch in the same old analog channel numbers. The first clue that something is amiss is when they tell you that they haven't seen that it is much different than before, ............ in fact, maybe it's not as good.

It really is a shame and unfortunate that basic information can't be made available in such a way that the average person could get a solid handle on things.

A TV industry columnist (http://www.tvpredictions.com/timewarner120309.htm) suggests that TWC is getting ready to drop some HD channels.

Time Warner last week launched a marketing campaign called "Roll Over or Get Tough," in which it urges subscribers to vote on whether the cable operator should, well, "get tough" with networks who are asking for higher programming fees to carry their channels. (The subscribers can vote at a Time Warner web site, rolloverorgettough.com.)

Get tough, you see, means refusing to pay if Time Warner thinks the networks are asking for too much money. And when that occurs, that means that Time Warner won't be able to carry those channels.

He thinks that this is part of a corporate plan to drop some HD cable channels and blame it on viewers who voted to get tough.

We try to keep this thread focused on Maine news, but TWC so dominates the Maine cable scene that I thought it was worth mentioning here. We've noticed before that national trends do wind up affecting Maine.

Dana

A TV industry columnist (http://www.tvpredictions.com/timewarner120309.htm) suggests that TWC is getting ready to drop some HD channels.



He thinks that this is part of a corporate plan to drop some HD cable channels and blame it on viewers who voted to get tough.

We try to keep this thread focused on Maine news, but TWC so dominates the Maine cable scene that I thought it was worth mentioning here. We've noticed before that national trends do wind up affecting Maine.

Dana

they fail to realize that the HD channels in question are not secondary HD channels they are mainstream such as FOOD HD,FNC HD,SPEED HD,STARZ HD,NGC HD, FX HD, E! HD, FSN HD.

A TV industry columnist (http://www.tvpredictions.com/timewarner120309.htm) suggests that TWC is getting ready to drop some HD channels.



He thinks that this is part of a corporate plan to drop some HD cable channels and blame it on viewers who voted to get tough.

We try to keep this thread focused on Maine news, but TWC so dominates the Maine cable scene that I thought it was worth mentioning here. We've noticed before that national trends do wind up affecting Maine.

Dana

I answered TWC and asked them to get tough, while acknowledging that it would be tough to lose ABC, CBS, FOX or NBC. Actually, I think that the tv providers should pay the cable companies for extending and improving their signals.

I answered TWC and asked them to get tough, while acknowledging that it would be tough to lose ABC, CBS, FOX or NBC. Actually, I think that the tv providers should pay the cable companies for extending and improving their signals.

Stan,

There are lots of TV channels I don't watch so I'd never miss them. But, what I fear happening with this gambit is that the number of HD channels will go down - but not the cost to the subscriber. They might claim that cost savings from "getting tough" will be passed along to subscribers - I think that's the implication - but I am very skeptical.

Dana

Stan,

There are lots of TV channels I don't watch so I'd never miss them. But, what I fear happening with this gambit is that the number of HD channels will go down - but not the cost to the subscriber. They might claim that cost savings from "getting tough" will be passed along to subscribers - I think that's the implication - but I am very skeptical.

Dana

Dana, I, also, fear "that the number of HD channels will go down - but not the cost to the subscriber." .......... We're together on that one!

On the other hand, I KNOW that the cost to the subscriber will go UP if cable companies are forced to pay more to television providers.

Providers SHOULD try to get more money for their programming. ........ That's the American way. ............ I just don't want to assist them by being overly concerned about, temporarily, losing a little mind - numbing television.

This isn't like cutting your vitally important pills in half in order to hold costs down. We're only talking about television channels.

Like Chris Matthews says, "It's time to play hardball."

I count exactly 100 HD channels listed for the Augusta TWC system.

I count exactly 100 HD channels listed for the Augusta TWC system.

Impressive.

The same TV columnist I quoted about the TWC initiative reports today (http://www.tvpredictions.com/dlaunch120409.htm) that D* is moving ahead to launch another bird in the sky.

Washington, D.C. (December 4, 2009) -- Boeing announced yesterday that DIRECTV 12, a new satellite that promises to raise the satcaster's HD channel capacity to 200 channels, was shipped November 25 to the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch facility in Kazakhstan.

The satellite is expected to be launched by International Launch Services on December 29; if all goes well, it could be operational in 3-6 months after that.

While DIRECTV has said the satellite will increase its national HD channel capacity to 200, the satcaster has not promised to increase its current high-def lineup by any specific number after the satellite is operational.

DIRECTV now claims to have 130 HD channels, but that number includes PPV channels and other non-traditional channels such as distant network signals.

I think the competition is good for the consumer who otherwise has no leverage. Let the big boys duke it out over who has the most HD channels.

Dana

Many of the channels that I referenced were premium channels (and their children).

A story here (http://hometheatermag.com/news/120809fcc/) confirms what we've known in Maine for some time. CableCARD and its intended successor Tru2way are dead.

In my mind, they were never likely to succeed. They were inventions of the cable industry to placate the FCC and keep it from doing something more serious about proprietary STBs.

Another story is here (http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/12/fcc-admits-cablecard-a-failure-vows-to-try-something-else.ars).

Dana

A story here (http://hometheatermag.com/news/120809fcc/) confirms what we've known in Maine for some time. CableCARD and its intended successor Tru2way are dead.

In my mind, they were never likely to succeed. They were inventions of the cable industry to placate the FCC and keep it from doing something more serious about proprietary STBs.

Another story is here (http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/12/fcc-admits-cablecard-a-failure-vows-to-try-something-else.ars).

Dana

This is a shame. The cablecard that I used for more than 3 1/2 years was great. I had no desire for 2 way ordering capability, but of course, TWC had that desire. Now, I have a box (reduced $1.75 price) to accomodate switched digital video. Never again will I have the ability to watch HDTV beyond the QAM channels only using a tiny hidden away authorization card. I miss my cablecard.

This is a shame. The cablecard that I used for more than 3 1/2 years was great. I had no desire for 2 way ordering capability, but of course, TWC had that desire. Now, I have a box (reduced $1.75 price) to accomodate switched digital video. Never again will I have the ability to watch HDTV beyond the QAM channels only using a tiny hidden away authorization card. I miss my cablecard.

I wonder what TiVo will do since - I think anyway - its current models require two-way CableCARD to work. Perhaps the cable operators will keep some on hand. I think up to now they have been required to make them available when requested. (Kept out of sight of course and never offered up front.) That may still apply until a successor device is available.

I'm not holding my breath. The cable industry lobbyists in DC promise anything and everything, but the cable operators aren't giving up easily on the rental of STBs.

Dana

I thought the transmission of the PATS game today from Foxborough on WPFO FOX23 HD via D* was pretty bad technically. What I saw was black screens throughout the game as they shifted from one camera angle to another. The audio never broke so it was a video glitch. In the first half - starting in the second quarter - there was an annoying glitch that occurred every minute or so that sort of scrambled the audio. That did seem to go away after the half time break.

Finally, the use of a 4x3 standard def station ID should be an embarrassment to WPFO.

Dana

I thought the transmission of the PATS game today from Foxborough on WPFO FOX23 HD via D* was pretty bad technically. What I saw was black screens throughout the game as they shifted from one camera angle to another. The audio never broke so it was a video glitch. In the first half - starting in the second quarter - there was an annoying glitch that occurred every minute or so that sort of scrambled the audio. That did seem to go away after the half time break.

Finally, the use of a 4x3 standard def station ID should be an embarrassment to WPFO.

Dana

I was back and forth to the Colts game so I can't say that I saw what you did. In the second half, however, I noted a number of brief feeze-ups and I wonder if it was only on Augusta TWC.

What's the deal with QAM channels with TWC in portland. Last year I was able to get a bunch of HD channels directly to my tv tuner. I then stopped using cable until recently and am trying to do this again but all the digital stations I find are "scrambled" according to my panny plasma. Do I need to get a box now to tune in HD?

Thanks,
hoowahman

What's the deal with QAM channels with TWC in portland. Last year I was able to get a bunch of HD channels directly to my tv tuner. I then stopped using cable until recently and am trying to do this again but all the digital stations I find are "scrambled" according to my panny plasma. Do I need to get a box now to tune in HD?

Thanks,
hoowahman
I have noticed they get moved around from time to time. Last summer my neighbor lost some of them, and we had to do a rescan of the HDTV tuner, and got some of them back.

Another thing about WPFO FOX23 HD. During the PATS game yesterday, I noticed that the picture was "soft." I switched to WGME channel 13 in HD to watch the Colts game for a little bit and the picture was razor sharp as usual.

I have read that FOX broadcasts sports in 720p while CBS broadcasts in 1080i. But, ESPN also broadcasts sports in 720p and those telecasts are sharp when viewed here. (All HD signals get upconverted to 1080i by my D* HD DVR and the display de-interlaces to 1080p.) I have no idea what is happening. I am just observing FWIW.

Dana

I thought the transmission of the PATS game today from Foxborough on WPFO FOX23 HD via D* was pretty bad technically. What I saw was black screens throughout the game as they shifted from one camera angle to another. The audio never broke so it was a video glitch. In the first half - starting in the second quarter - there was an annoying glitch that occurred every minute or so that sort of scrambled the audio. That did seem to go away after the half time break.

Finally, the use of a 4x3 standard def station ID should be an embarrassment to WPFO.

Dana

Saw the same black screens but not just the game but other fox shows.

I thought the transmission of the PATS game today from Foxborough on WPFO FOX23 HD via D* was pretty bad technically. What I saw was black screens throughout the game as they shifted from one camera angle to another. The audio never broke so it was a video glitch. In the first half - starting in the second quarter - there was an annoying glitch that occurred every minute or so that sort of scrambled the audio. That did seem to go away after the half time break.

Finally, the use of a 4x3 standard def station ID should be an embarrassment to WPFO.

Dana

This was terrible yesterday, almost unwatchable in the first half. I have notice similar problems on WPFO in prime time shows as well. It makes me wonder if they have a terrible digital encoder that desperately needs replacing. Also, I completely agree with you about the SD station ID they post at the top of every hour. It just shows us that they have no internal HD capability still, they have an encoder that can pass through HD from the network but no ability to do anything of their own. Unfortunately these upgrades are expensive and involve quite a bit of work, so I would doubt we see them change that anytime in the near future and as long as the FCC keeps requiring station IDs we are going to have to live with the SD downsample and the incredibly loud audio that goes with it.

What's the deal with QAM channels with TWC in portland. Last year I was able to get a bunch of HD channels directly to my tv tuner. I then stopped using cable until recently and am trying to do this again but all the digital stations I find are "scrambled" according to my panny plasma. Do I need to get a box now to tune in HD?

Thanks,
hoowahman

Here is the latest as of yesterday 12/13/09 for the TWC Portland Headend:

81-1 Create (172 on a cable box)
81-2 PBS World (173 on a cable box)
81-3 WMTW-DT (508 on a cable box)
81-4 WPFO-DT (507 on a cable box)
81-5 News8now (165 on a cable box)

82-11 WCSH-DT...remaps to 6-1. (506 on a cable box)
82-12 MPBN (170 on a cable box)
82-13 MPBN 2 (171 on a cable box)
82-16 MPBN-HD (510 on a cable box)

83-1 WPME-DT (517 on a cable box)

84-1 WPXT-DT (512 on a cable box)
84-2 WGME-DT (513 on a cable box)

It just shows us that they have no internal HD capability still, they have an encoder that can pass through HD from the network but no ability to do anything of their own.

Actually this is incorrect as FOX does not operate HD prior to the station's encoders. The FOX HD path is actually downstream of the station's encoders, muxes and other equipment. When FOX HD is on the air, it is bypassing all the internal station equipment and is basically "taking over" the entire output stream. The device, known as the FOX splicer, basically passes through SD streams from upstream devices for sub channels, and can either retransmit or pass through the station PSIP and EPG information. The splicer re-generates the HD channel PID and VCT structure so that it is invisible to the receiving equipment at home.

So if the FOX HD was soft, I would be more willing to bet it's an issue with the FOX HD equipment. Now, as far as putting the logo in HD, the current splicer configuration does not allow local HD logos to be inserted without switching back to the station's feed which is in SD. The new splicer, when installed, as I understand it, will allow for this. (We're still on the old splicer at my station, so I can't attest to the new one's capabilities).

Actually this is incorrect as FOX does not operate HD prior to the station's encoders. The FOX HD path is actually downstream of the station's encoders, muxes and other equipment. When FOX HD is on the air, it is bypassing all the internal station equipment and is basically "taking over" the entire output stream. The device, known as the FOX splicer, basically passes through SD streams from upstream devices for sub channels, and can either retransmit or pass through the station PSIP and EPG information. The splicer re-generates the HD channel PID and VCT structure so that it is invisible to the receiving equipment at home.

So if the FOX HD was soft, I would be more willing to bet it's an issue with the FOX HD equipment. Now, as far as putting the logo in HD, the current splicer configuration does not allow local HD logos to be inserted without switching back to the station's feed which is in SD. The new splicer, when installed, as I understand it, will allow for this. (We're still on the old splicer at my station, so I can't attest to the new one's capabilities).

Many thanks for taking the time to explain the details!

Dana

WPFO - Terrible audio glitches during Lie to Me. Same problem, another night.

WPFO - Terrible audio glitches during Lie to Me. Same problem, another night.

They had to bleep out the lies.

"Actually this is incorrect as FOX does not operate HD prior to the station's encoders."

Does this mean that the station does not receive an HD signal, but the encoder creates the HD signal that it transmits?

I think it means that the station doesn't encode HD at all but rather just broadcasts what is coming directly from Fox. Whatever it is, it's definitely HD. Still, there must be some level of re-encoding going on to insert the Fox 23 logo into the HD stream.

During prime time programming I think WPFO looks very good. The other broadcast channels could probably look better if they dropped their worthless bandwidth-sucking subchannels.

Here is how it works. Let me see if this comes out OK on AVS forums.
[HD UPconverter]
--V--
[ Local HD Encoder]
--V--
[ MUX/PSIP generator]
--V--
[FOX Splicer] <--- [FOX HD receiver]
--V--
[ Transmit path (310 converter for TX, ASI DA for Cable]

So when the FOX HD is in FOX HD mode (Network mode), the FOX HD receiver, goes to the splicer, to the TX path.
When in local mode, the path goes through the UPConverter, to the HDEncoder, to the MUX/PSIP then into the Splicer.
The FOX HD rack (old splicer) had a downconverted SD output. Station can take that D/C feed, through a logo inserter, put it through the up converter.
UNSPLICE fox, get the U/C feed with logo. RESPLICE FOX, and go back to HD.

FWIW, I don't believe this information is proprietary. It's been posted on other mailing lists and forums in the past.

Here is how it works. Let me see if this comes out OK on AVS forums.
[HD UPconverter]
--V--
[ Local HD Encoder]
--V--
[ MUX/PSIP generator]
--V--
[FOX Splicer] <--- [FOX HD receiver]
--V--
[ Transmit path (310 converter for TX, ASI DA for Cable]

So when the FOX HD is in FOX HD mode (Network mode), the FOX HD receiver, goes to the splicer, to the TX path.
When in local mode, the path goes through the UPConverter, to the HDEncoder, to the MUX/PSIP then into the Splicer.
The FOX HD rack (old splicer) had a downconverted SD output. Station can take that D/C feed, through a logo inserter, put it through the up converter.
UNSPLICE fox, get the U/C feed with logo. RESPLICE FOX, and go back to HD.

FWIW, I don't believe this information is proprietary. It's been posted on other mailing lists and forums in the past.

The toe bone's connected to the foot bone ............ The foot bone's connected to the ankle bone ............ The ankle bone's connected ....................... NOW HEAR DA WORD O' DA LAWD!

I generally do not bother with the Weather Channel on Direct since it had a lousy local on the 8s compared to Comcast, but that has changed. Much better local info. Just wish they carried the local sub channels - I think they were 8.?? and 6.?? with local weather.

I generally do not bother with the Weather Channel on Direct since it had a lousy local on the 8s compared to Comcast, but that has changed. Much better local info. Just wish they carried the local sub channels - I think they were 8.?? and 6.?? with local weather.
It would be nice, but I don't ever seeing them doing that. It would require to much bandwidth for the little view each channel would receive. It gives us a good reason to put up an antenna, to get the rest of the locals that DirecTV doesn't offer.

It would be nice, but I don't ever seeing them doing that. It would require to much bandwidth for the little view each channel would receive. It gives us a good reason to put up an antenna, to get the rest of the locals that DirecTV doesn't offer.

I recalled vaguely something about the demise of NBC's Weather Plus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC_Weather_Plus) channel that WCSH (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCSH) caried on an alternate channel. Turns out I was half right.

In October 2005, the two stations began offering NBC Weather Plus on new second digital subchannels. It could also seen on their websites via live streaming video and Time Warner digital cable channel 166. The channel featured WCSH's weather team and WLBZ meteorologist Steve McKay. Known on-air as "NewsCenter Weather Plus", the channel was simulcasted in Bangor on WLBZ's second digital subchannel. In late-December 2008 as a result of the shutdown of Weather Plus on a national level, WLBZ-DT2 and WCSH-DT2 shifted to a format featuring a loop of news headlines and weather forecasts. The two channels continue to simulcast each other, are known by the same name, and can still been seen on digital cable.


But, here's the kicker. It's in 480i, not HD.

Dana

I recalled vaguely something about the demise of NBC's Weather Plus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC_Weather_Plus) channel that WCSH (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCSH) caried on an alternate channel. Turns out I was half right.



But, here's the kicker. It's in 480i, not HD.

Dana
I was expecting to see a new version of it, run by The Weather Channel, but nothing so far.

It would be nice, but I don't ever seeing them doing that. It would require to much bandwidth for the little view each channel would receive. It gives us a good reason to put up an antenna, to get the rest of the locals that DirecTV doesn't offer.

What are the OTA channels those in the Bath/Brunswick area pick up with an antenna?

Way back when, I had a very good outside rotating antenna and had no problem with the locals and could pick up 5 (Bangor) and Boston if conditions were right.

Would the same be true with digital signals?

And what antenna do you use?

What are the OTA channels those in the Bath/Brunswick area pick up with an antenna?

Way back when, I had a very good outside rotating antenna and had no problem with the locals and could pick up 5 (Bangor) and Boston if conditions were right.

Would the same be true with digital signals?

And what antenna do you use?

That's a good question. There were stories in the papers not long after the big switch to digital from analog about folks saying they no longer could get good reception OTA. One such story was from Bath (I cheated and looked it up.) about a couple who used to get all the stations they wanted OTA with rabbit ears! The digital cutover turned them into cable users which is exactly what they wanted to avoid.

There were enough stories along the same line - "What they didn't tell us about digital" - for me to conclude that digital reception OTA was more problematic.

Of course the same three factors affect OTA reception that also affect real estate property value. Location, location and location. :p

Dana

What are the OTA channels those in the Bath/Brunswick area pick up with an antenna?

Way back when, I had a very good outside rotating antenna and had no problem with the locals and could pick up 5 (Bangor) and Boston if conditions were right.

Would the same be true with digital signals?

And what antenna do you use?
I currently don't have anything hooked up in our Maine home for OTA, I just have the ones we receive on DirecTV. I have played a little with some rabbit ears and gotten digital signals for 6, 10, 13 and one or two others.

But in our Florida home (Central Florida area) we have an antenna system set up in the attic and we pickup 33 HD/digital stations. DirecTV gives us only 17 of the 33. The big advantage to the digital signals vs the old analog is the quality of the video and more channels with the sub channels.

Weird I just did another scan and was able to get all those stations now. This is really good :) Oops this was a response to a post I had few weeks ago, dang time flies.

For those who don't get the PPH or a sister newspaper via home delivery and haven't ventured out to get one on this inclement New Year's Day, there's a story in the PPH this morning - and I assume also in the KJ and WMS - here (http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=306147&ac=PHnws) from which I took the header on this post.

The bottom line is that the FOX TV - TWC dispute involves national corporate entities and may affect FOX Network (News Corp.) O&O stations. But, not the FOX affiliates here in Maine.

There you have it boys and girls.

A Happy New Year to us all!

Dana

There's a story in today's Brunswick Times Record newspaper that shows literally how disconnected these big cable and telephone companies are from the communities they serve.

Unfortunately, the story isn't on the paper's web site yet. But, I'll summarize.

The boom truck of a local fuel dealer knocked down a fiber optic cable on a pole in a Brunswick industrial park on the west side of town Wednesday morning. The driver forgot to lower the boom after installing a propane tank. Oops.

The Brunswick police were called. They thought the line belonged to Comcast. But, according to the story, the police "were unable to contact the Comcast office..." which is on the east side of town. So, they sent a cruiser to the office "to motivate a worker to respond."

Meanwhile, a CMP line worker arrived and said the downed line belonged to Fairpoint. The police in the cruiser standing by were unable to get through to Fairpoint with the numbers they had been given so they asked the police dispatcher to contact Fairpoint. He couldn't either. A Brunswick police officer said "They presented certain challenges in contacting personnel."

Eventually, a different cruiser saw a Fairpoint truck in town and flagged the driver down. He responded to the scene.

About three hours elapsed from the time of the accident to the time a phone line worker arrived.

A police officer who stayed at the site said that the comical part was that about an hour later, the Fairpoint worker on the pole got a call from his dispatcher saying that he had received another work order for a downed line on the same road and was it a separate incident?

The road was closed from 11 AM to 4:30 PM.

Pretty scary. What if it was a public safety emergency?

Dana

WOW! It's pretty bad when you can't communicate with people in the COMMUNICATIONS BUSINESS!

WOW! It's pretty bad when you can't communicate with people in the COMMUNICATIONS BUSINESS!

Good point!!! :p

Dana

We've often talked on this thread about the self-serving monopoly hold that cable providers have in our communities. They often are the only broadband ISP in town, too.

Well, there's a story here (http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/10/want-50mbps-internet-in-your-town-threaten-to-roll-out-your-own.ars) that shows what happens when a town decides to offer its citizens something better.

The sub-heading is "ISPs may not act for years on local complaints about slow Internet—but when a town rolls out its own solution, it's amazing how fast the incumbents can deploy fiber, cut prices, and run to the legislature."

:p

Dana

That annoying network audio glitch was back again on the CBS feed from Foxborough for the PATS-Ravens game as carried by D*. It affected at least one of the commercials, too. Possibly more but the PATS played so poorly that I gave up and didn't watch much of the game after the first quarter.

It's hard to describe - sort of an electronic oscillation sound. I hope it can be fixed before the PATS play again at Foxborough - next August. (That's not the only thing I hope will be fixed.) :(

That sound is not heard on other channels or other Channel 13 programs so it's apparently a Foxborough issue.

I did watch the Bengals-Jets game yesterday on Channel 6. I didn't think the NBC HD PQ was the equal of CBS although both feeds are supposed to be 1080i. But there was no audio glitch. And I actually saw one local commercial (for a bank) that was in HD!

Dana

It's hard to describe - sort of an electronic oscillation sound. I hope it can be fixed before the PATS play again at Foxborough - next August. (That's not the only thing I hope will be fixed.) :(

That sound is not heard on other channels or other Channel 13 programs so it's apparently a Foxborough issue.

Dana

Same buzz/cut off sound on this am morning weather on 13, so it is a local 13 issue on D*.

Same buzz/cut off sound on this am morning weather on 13, so it is a local 13 issue on D*.

Maybe that info will help to track down the problem. I don't watch enough of channel 13 or other broadcast channels to really know. I shouldn't have made such a broad statement. :o

Dana

I contacted DirecTv. They determined it was their receiver used to pickup our over the air signal in Portland. They switched to a backup receiver this morning. (1/14/10). The audio did stabilize after they made the switch. Hopefully this was the problem and its know fixed.

Craig
Direct email crclark@wgme.sbgnet.com

I contacted DirecTv. They determined it was their receiver used to pickup our over the air signal in Portland. They switched to a backup receiver this morning. (1/14/10). The audio did stabilize after they made the switch. Hopefully this was the problem and its know fixed.

Craig
Direct email crclark@wgme.sbgnet.com

Craig,

Outstanding! Thank you!

Dana

Audio problem returned after Letterman last night. We are working with Directv to track this problem down.
Craig

Audio problem returned after Letterman last night. We are working with Directv to track this problem down.
Craig

It was pretty prominent last night during the Ravens-Colts game. It seemed to me to get louder and more frequent as the game went on. :confused:

Dana

I'm surprised that DirecTv picks up the signal over the air rather than being wired in.

I was in West Palm Beach, Florida last week and they had the same audio glitch during the Patriots game on Comcast.

I was in West Palm Beach, Florida last week and they had the same audio glitch during the Patriots game on Comcast.
It was OK, in Orlando, OTA.

It was pretty bad this afternoon - but all of a sudden, it has cleared up! Let's hope it stays that way.

Dana

Now the noise is back again.

Dana

Now the noise is back again.

Dana
Not much help to you guys, but no problems down here. I have the game on now and video and audio are both good, via DirecTV and OTA.

At some point in the 4th quarter, the noise went away again. Thanks, Loudo38. The chief engineer at channel 13 has acknowledged it's a local problem. If others elsewhere are experiencing auidio issues, it must be coincidental.

Dana

Talked to D again this morning they are sending out a field tech this week to see what is going on. Hopefully they will have this repaired soon.

Talked to D again this morning they are sending out a field tech this week to see what is going on. Hopefully they will have this repaired soon.

Sounds good to me! Thanks, Craig.

Dana

hey skippyrulz, any information on new HD channel additions?

Anyone having issues with sound on Fox with Directtv? Getting the stutter that we have be gettting with CBS :mad:

Anyone having issues with sound on Fox with Directtv? Getting the stutter that we have be gettting with CBS :mad:

Hey Bob,

I'm not watching FOX but you reminded me that I didn't get any audio interference while watching the Jets-Colts game on CBS WGME 13! So, congrats to Craig for an apparent fix.

Dana

No, But the mentalist was unwatchable on thursday night. Also, the audio on WPFO is terrible tonight during the NFC Championship.

No, But the mentalist was unwatchable on thursday night. Also, the audio on WPFO is terrible tonight during the NFC Championship.

It seems direct shifted the problem from CBS to Fox. However it was just in the pregame show and was gone for the game.

It seems direct shifted the problem from CBS to Fox. However it was just in the pregame show and was gone for the game.

It was bad until midway in the 2nd quarter, after that it was fine again.

I hope the audio problem is behind us, but please continue any feedback good and bad. We made a change to our signal path in our transmitter Saturday afternoon. Its been a difficult problem to track down as the problem was only with Directv, our over the air signal and all other signal provides had no issues. If we have changed out the offending equipment, the next step is to see what the difference is between the one on the air now and the other unit. Troubling, but interesting at the same time.

Thanks again for your feedback.

Craig

I hope the audio problem is behind us, but please continue any feedback good and bad. We made a change to our signal path in our transmitter Saturday afternoon. Its been a difficult problem to track down as the problem was only with Directv, our over the air signal and all other signal provides had no issues. If we have changed out the offending equipment, the next step is to see what the difference is between the one on the air now and the other unit. Troubling, but interesting at the same time.

Thanks again for your feedback.

Craig

Your earlier post suggested that DirecTV picks up your signal OTA. Is that not true?

Dana

Your earlier post suggested that DirecTV picks up your signal OTA. Is that not true?

Dana
Hi Dana,
Directv and Dish use our over the air signal for rebroadcasting. Many cable companies do also. Only Time Warner and some of Comcast's systems are fibered to our control room.

Craig

Your earlier post suggested that DirecTV picks up your signal OTA. Is that not true?

Dana

Somehow, I just knew that you would pick right up on this, Dana.

At various point, the question gets asked why haven't any Maine TV stations started broadcasting local news in HD. There's a story here (http://www.tvpredictions.com/localhd012610.htm) that provides some insight as to what is required.

Washington, D.C. (January 26, 2010) -- WFOR-TV, the CBS affiliate in the Miami area, is now broadcasting its local news programs in High-Definition.

The station, which made the switch on Sunday, January 24, has been working on a new studio for the past six months, according to the station's web site. Known as CBS4, the station has also changed its logo.

"The quality of the video is impressive," said CBS4's Director of Operations Marcelo Sanchez who supervised the addition of seven high-def cameras, a new control room switcher and 22,000 feet of cable running through the station.

There are now approximately 200 local stations in the U.S. that produce local news programs in high-def.

With the addition of WFOR, now all local Miami network affiliates broadcast the news in high-def.


I suspect that until the economy gets going again with increased advertising revenue, local stations will have to put off the switch to originating news programming in HD.

Dana

At various point, the question gets asked why haven't any Maine TV stations started broadcasting local news in HD. There's a story here (http://www.tvpredictions.com/localhd012610.htm) that provides some insight as to what is required.



I suspect that until the economy gets going again with increased advertising revenue, local stations will have to put off the switch to originating news programming in HD.

Dana
Many of the stations in the Orlando market have had high definition local news for over 2 years. Would be nice to see the Portland stations news in HD.

Many of the stations in the Orlando market have had high definition local news for over 2 years. Would be nice to see the Portland stations news in HD.

The Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne FL DMA is ranked 19th nationally while the Portland-Auburn DMA is ranked 77th according to info here (http://www.tvjobs.com/cgi-bin/markets/market2.cgi). That translates to a smaller advertising revenue stream for stations in our market while the cost of outfitting a HD TV broadcast studio must be relatively fixed.

Even national advertising is off. I read that "Super Bowl advertising prices down" (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10012/1027481-28.stm) for only the second time in SB history. A while ago on this thread, I recall a story that local advertising revenue was down because of all the car dealerships that closed.

It will happen and it probably will take only one station in our market area to go HD to force the others to follow suit. But, I'm not holding my breath it will be anytime soon.

Dana

BTW. Hello to you in Melbourne where the weather is high 60°s - low 70°s!!!

It will happen and it probably will take only one station in our market area to go HD to force the others to follow suit. But, I'm not holding my breath it will be anytime soon.

Dana

BTW. Hello to you in Melbourne where the weather is high 60°s - low 70°s!!!
That is what happened here. Channel 9 was the first to go HD and shortly after the other 3 followed.

I am sure the economy has a lot to do with the timetable for a lot of local HD start ups around the country.

Time Warner has begun offering channels 1-98 in digital format in Cumberland County, at least. A converter box is required. Analog signals are still be transmitted for CATV ready sets.

In case you missed it here, (http://www.nesn.com/2010/01/nesn-expands-2010-spring-training-coverage-with-15-hours-of-red-sox-spring-break-live-hosted-by-tom-caron-and-peter-gammons.html) the Red Sox released their 2010 Spring Training TV Schedule on NESN.

NESN’s nine (9) game spring training broadcast schedule will kick off on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at 6:00 PM when the Red Sox host Boston College. Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy will team up for their 10th season together in the NESN broadcast booth with Red Sox reporter Heidi Watney joining them for her third season with the network.

NESN’s 2010 Spring Training
Wednesday, March 3: Boston College at Fort Myers, 6p
Sunday, March 7: Baltimore at Sarasota, 1p
Saturday, March 13: Pittsburgh at Fort Myers, 1p
Sunday, March 14: Minnesota at Hammond Stadium, 1p
Wednesday, March 17: New York Mets at Fort Myers, 1p
Saturday, March 20: Baltimore at Fort Myers, 1p
Sunday, March 21: Houston at Fort Myers, 1p
Sunday March 28: Minnesota at Fort Myers, 1p
Monday, March 29: Tampa Bay at Fort Myers, 7p

In addition from info here, (http://www.nesn.com/2010/01/red-sox-announce-2010-spring-training-broadcast-schedule.html) ESPN will televise two games - March 30 at Tampa Bay 1 PM and April 1 Minnesota at Hammond Stadium 1 PM.

The regular season starts April 4 at New York 8 PM.

No info on whether these NESN preseason games will be in HD. They haven't been in past years. The ESPN preseason games have been in HD. Maybe NESN will do so this year.

Also good to know Jerry Remy will be back.

Dana

While I certainly agree with drbonbi that the economy will play a large role as to when WCSH, WGME and WMTW upgrade their studios to HD, we may see an intermediate step being taken.

A year or so ago the chief engineer for one of the "locals" told me he expected to see the three upconvert - if that's the correct term - their signals sometime during 2010 so the image would completely fill the 16 x 9 frame....in other words, no more pillarboxing.

Being somewhat of an HD "snob,":D I'm not sure if I'll like this change - if it actually comes to pass - or not.

Any thoughts from the members here?

Be skiing you,

h2osports

...

A year or so ago the chief engineer for one of the "locals" told me he expected to see the three upconvert - if that's the correct term - their signals sometime during 2010 so the image would completely fill the 16 x 9 frame....in other words, no more pillarboxing.

Being somewhat of an HD "snob,":D I'm not sure if I'll like this change - if it actually comes to pass - or not.

Any thoughts from the members here?

Be skiing you,

h2osports

Oh God, I hope it's not "Stretch-O-Vision." We had a go-round with MPBN TV about that. That's where they take the 4x3 image and stretch it to 16x9. So everything is short and w-i-d-e. Fortunately, they aborted it. Our bitching may have helped kill it. IMHO, it's right up there with "colorizing" B&W movies in terms of how to screw things up.

Most if not all 16x9 TVs can s-t-r-e-t-c-h a 4x3 image if the home viewer wants to do it. So, leave the broadcast aspect ratio alone!

Dana

Oh God, I hope it's not "Stretch-O-Vision." We had a go-round with MPBN TV about that. That's where they take the 4x3 image and stretch it to 16x9. So everything is short and w-i-d-e. Fortunately, they aborted it. Our bitching may have helped kill it. IMHO, it's right up there with "colorizing" B&W movies in terms of how to screw things up.

Most if not all 16x9 TVs can s-t-r-e-t-c-h a 4x3 image if the home viewer wants to do it. So, leave the broadcast aspect ratio alone!

Dana
Dana, I couldn't agree with you more. I refuse to watch Stretch-O-Vision on channels like History, A&E or any that use it. If I go to watch a program and it is in Stretch-O-Vision, I am off to another channel. If it is 4x3, up convert it with black pillar bars, and I am OK with that. Fortunately more and more 16 x 9 HD programing is becoming available and we are seeing less and less stretched 4x3 video. If I was an advertiser and saw my commercial in Stretch-O-Vision, it would be canceled in a heart beat.

Time Warner has begun offering channels 1-98 in digital format in Cumberland County, at least. A converter box is required. Analog signals are still be transmitted for CATV ready sets.

"A converter box is required." I guess this means they're all encrypted? If so, that's too bad. Otherwise I could ditch the two analog capture cards in my HTPC and get myself another HDHomeRun.

"A converter box is required." I guess this means they're all encrypted? If so, that's too bad. Otherwise I could ditch the two analog capture cards in my HTPC and get myself another HDHomeRun.

The local broadcast channels in both HD and SD are available in clear QAM in the 81- , 82- , 83- , and 84- series on the Portland system. Keep in mind that after 2012 cable can do away with all the analog offerings and go all digital. I suspect that much like Comcast is doing now, TWC will go all digital (QAM) and encrypt the signals. At that point, I'd dump the cable and go with satellite if a cable box is required on each set. The advantage of satellite over cable is a better selection of channels at a lower cost. For the local broadcast stations, including any sub channels, I'd use an antenna.

If cable were smart, the current "1 - 98 basic/standard cable" would be clear QAM so cable ready ATSC/QAM sets could be connected much as they are now for analog service. A set top box would only be required for premium or non broadcast HD services. Under current FCC cable regulations, TWC could drop the analog signals, if they provide every customer a free set top box. Only people with multiple NTSC sets would then require a set top box for the standard/basic tiers. If TWC dropped the "1 - 98" analog service they'd also free up a tremendous amount of bandwidth for additional digital services. However, cable prefers the idea of encrypting and will use the set top boxes as a way to enhance their revenue stream. I would look for more and more channels to migrate to "digital only - set top box required" as a way to nudge customers in the direction of using set top boxes. By 2012, cable customers will find themselves "boxed in".

More info: The simulcast in being rolled out to the Portland, Saco, and Sebago headends and is 80% complete. I had a tech visit yesterday and it sounds like it is being delivered via SDV. That would mean a TV with a tru2way CableCard could also tune it.

With all the upbeat reports of HD channels being added in the various TWC territories in Maine, I was struck by the latest news about Comcast nationally and why it does not bode well for any improvement in the Comcast Brunswick mid-coast area HD TV offerings. My latest count from the Comcast channel lineup here (https://www.comcast.com/Customers/Clu/ChannelLineup.ashx) is that it offers 20 HD channels. That includes the three premium cable channels HBO, Showtime and Cinemax. Also, several other Comcast HD channels are available only as part of other packages. Can you spell $$$?

The latest report of Comcast as provided here (http://www.tvpredictions.com/comcast020410.htm) indicates that Comcast is losing ground with its HD customers nationally.

Washington, D.C. (February 4, 2010) -- Comcast continues to lose video subscribers despite an increase in profits due to growth in its Internet and voice divisions, the company revealed Wednesday.

The cable operator said yesterday that fourth quarter profits jumped to $955 million, compared to $412 million in the previous fourth quarter. Comcast added 247,000 Internet customers and 243,000 digital phone subscribers in the fourth quarter.

However, Comcast lost 199,000 video customers in the fourth quarter, meaning the company lost 623,000 TV subs for all of 2009. The setback follows a substantial decline in 2008 when it lost 575,000 video subscribers.

The cable operator blamed the sluggish economy and increased competition from rivals such as DIRECTV and Verizon. However, the video sub decline could also be a case of the chickens coming home to roost.

In most of the 2000s, Comcast was slow to embrace High-Definition TV, offering fewer than 30 HD channels in many major markets throughout the decade. In contrast, DIRECTV, Dish Network and other TV providers introduced 100 HD channel lineups.
...



About the only hope for Comcast Brunswick subs is for Comcast to sell its midcoast cable system to TWC.

Dana

I just noticed one audio boink on the CBS Super Bowl telecast Sunday night, occurring just before the half-time break on WGME-HD channel 13 via DirecTV.

Dana

DirecTV subscribers, notice the new music service today. No more Sirius/XM. New service is Sonic Tap, with 84 channels of music.

I'm wondering if TWC or any cable company can swap the "Clear QAM" channels anytime they would like. I ask this because tonight I was watching Create TV around 8pm and then the station went to "digital signal strength low"...When I called TWC they informed me that there were no outages in the area and it was my end that was the problem...

My old Chn map was something like, 94-4 was Fox in HD, 94-3 was ABC etc..the new one has 100-4 as fox and I have not found ABC...

I know on "regular" cable channels (2-76ish) the company must obey a '30 day' notification in the paper/or other print media, but do they have to follow the same thing on the Clear QAM channels??

Thanks!

I'm wondering if TWC or any cable company can swap the "Clear QAM" channels anytime they would like. I ask this because tonight I was watching Create TV around 8pm and then the station went to "digital signal strength low"...When I called TWC they informed me that there were no outages in the area and it was my end that was the problem...

My old Chn map was something like, 94-4 was Fox in HD, 94-3 was ABC etc..the new one has 100-4 as fox and I have not found ABC...

I know on "regular" cable channels (2-76ish) the company must obey a '30 day' notification in the paper/or other print media, but do they have to follow the same thing on the Clear QAM channels??

Thanks!

I have chased QAM channels from time to time for 4 years. There appear to be no rules on changes. I sat down to watch American Idol with my wife tonight and FOX 94-4 was not there, as well as well as ABC and NBC QAM. There was not enough time to search, so we watched in analog.

Most people don't know about these QAM channels and some even watch on the analog channels and think that this new HD stuff doesn't do much for the picture.

I'm wondering if TWC or any cable company can swap the "Clear QAM" channels anytime they would like. I ask this because tonight I was watching Create TV around 8pm and then the station went to "digital signal strength low"...When I called TWC they informed me that there were no outages in the area and it was my end that was the problem...

My old Chn map was something like, 94-4 was Fox in HD, 94-3 was ABC etc..the new one has 100-4 as fox and I have not found ABC...

I know on "regular" cable channels (2-76ish) the company must obey a '30 day' notification in the paper/or other print media, but do they have to follow the same thing on the Clear QAM channels??

Thanks!

QAM = Digital cable.

However, cable boxes utilize "out of band" tuning while your QAM capable TV tuner utilizes "in band" tuning. The QAM numbers (like 94-1) correspond to actual frequencies. When you physically move a channel, you change the QAM number. However, a cable box uses virtual channel numbers (like 506) that are mapped to a given QAM number. So, changes in QAM numbers are often transparent to cable box users since the old and new QAM numbers are simply mapped to the same vitual channel number on the set top cable box. The local broadcast HD channels have changed QAM frequencies on digital cable at least 3 times in the past two years. Yet, their channel number on the set top cable box has not changed at all. Cable is under no legal obligation, and in fact provides little or no support for clear QAM. They would prefer you rent a set top box. Cable also won't publish changes in the location of clear QAM signals. You're on your own with clear QAM.

Stan:

For me Fox in HD is 100-4, the channels are all there, just in different areas (jerks)..and just as I was getting used to them

I thought the locals that are broadcast via digital cable, are part of "must carry" agreements that the cable company has with the local stations (hence why these channels are not encrypted but all others are Discovery/Viacom networks etc), and as part of that they would have to alert the public to these changes..

edit spelling

Stan:

For me Fox in HD is 100-4, the channels are all there, just in different areas (jerks)..

I thought the locals that are broadcast via digital cable, are part of "must carry" agreements that the cable company has with the local stations (hence why these channels are not encrypted but all others are discovery/viacom networks etc), and as part of that they would have to alert the public to these changes..

In some cases the new agreements are not "must carry" but retransmission agreements for compensation. Also, a loop hole exists in "must carry" where they can give you the locals in analog or standard definition to satisfy the "must carry" requirement. After 2012, cable can drop analog entirely. They could drop analog now, and go digital with all QAM signals encrypted, as long as each customer account is provided with one free set top box. Unfortunately, the writing is on the wall for clear QAM, as it was for the cable card with the arrival of SDV (switched digital video). :(

We seem to be going backwards quite quickly in regards to cable TV technology and ease of use. In the 1980s I remember having annoying cable boxes, then by the mid 1990s all TVs had good cable-ready tuners. The big ugly boxes were gone for a decade or so. Now they're back, with TWC clawing for box rental revenue and video on demand. The FCC generally acts as if they couldn't possibly care less. SDV is worthless to me; I don't need any more channels and there's plenty of bandwidth for what we've got.

Here's hoping WMTW gets their UHF translator going so I can seriously think of cutting the cord. The latest 10% rate increase was ridiculous, especially after that farcical "Roll Over or Get Tough" marketing campaign. The $792 I'm going to pay Time Warner in 2010 for a bunch of ad-supported content is a bad value that keeps getting worse.

I see that this translator would be on channel 26. Any idea where the fill-in transmitter would be located? Also, would the typical digital TV still map the station as "8-1" or whatever?

I am looking forward to the possibility of using my PC as my primary source of HDTV. Ceton (http://cetoncorp.com/) has a quad tuner CableCard PCI card coming out in April, and SiliconDust has the dual tuner CableCard version of their popular HDHomeRun (http://www.hdhomerun.com/press) coming out sometime this year. My hope is to shed the ridiculous (almost $20!) monthly fee for the Time Warner cable box in exchange for the reasonable $1.75/month CableCard rental fee.

Here's hoping WMTW gets their UHF translator going so I can seriously think of cutting the cord. The latest 10% rate increase was ridiculous, especially after that farcical "Roll Over or Get Tough" marketing campaign. The $792 I'm going to pay Time Warner in 2010 for a bunch of ad-supported content is a bad value that keeps getting worse.
Rate increases are an annual event with cable and satellites companies. Kind of like your birthday, you know it will happen once a year.

Where is WMTW putting their UHF translator? That is the only station I can't currently get OTA, with my indoor antenna. Wish they would have left their transmitter on Mount Washington.

I do agree with everyone here, we are taking a step backwards. If twc starts charging for the channels I get in Clear QAM, I will cut the chord, and get the programming through OTA or other means.

I find it funny they cable company claims they can't do A La Carte offerings when they already do (they just call it premium channels).

I see that this translator would be on channel 26. Any idea where the fill-in transmitter would be located? Also, would the typical digital TV still map the station as "8-1" or whatever?

From the FCC map and lat/lon data, it appears that the WMTW-DT signal on UHF 26 will be transmitted from the roof of the Time and Temperature building
in Monument Square.

We seem to be going backwards quite quickly in regards to cable TV technology and ease of use. In the 1980s I remember having annoying cable boxes, then by the mid 1990s all TVs had good cable-ready tuners. The big ugly boxes were gone for a decade or so. Now they're back, with TWC clawing for box rental revenue and video on demand. The FCC generally acts as if they couldn't possibly care less. SDV is worthless to me; I don't need any more channels and there's plenty of bandwidth for what we've got.

Here's hoping WMTW gets their UHF translator going so I can seriously think of cutting the cord. The latest 10% rate increase was ridiculous, especially after that farcical "Roll Over or Get Tough" marketing campaign. The $792 I'm going to pay Time Warner in 2010 for a bunch of ad-supported content is a bad value that keeps getting worse.

I remember as a child in rural upstate New York when cable was first installed in 1969. The giant spools of wire being installed on the telephone poles and wondering what it was. The original CATV systems were 12 channels (VHF 2-13) with a balum to adapt 75 ohm coax to a set of lugs to connect to the 300ohm screws for VHF. You received a clear picture with multiple ABC/NBC/CBS affiliates, and the three New York superstations WNEW-5, WOR-9, and WPIX-11. It cost $6 per month in 1970. I recently found a yellow copy of the September 1970 bill from Sammons Communications in a box of basement junk. The basic selection of cable channels required today, to view the same sports and entertainment those 12 channels provided, would run you about $75 in 2010. Adjust the $6 cost for inflation and you realize just how badly you're getting screwed. :eek:

The original CATV line up:
2 - local weather with a camera that rotated past individual analog instrument displays of temp/rh/wind and barometric pressure ...this was replaced by HBO in 1979.

3 - WSYR-TV NBC Syracuse (now WSTM-TV)
4 - WNEW-5 ind NYC (now FOX WNYW)
5 - WHEN -5 CBS Syracuse (now WTVH)
6 - WXXI - 21 PBS Rochester
7 - WOR - 9 ind NYC (now WWOR)
8 - WROC-8 NBC Rochester (now CBS -swapped network affil with WHEC)
9 - WNYS-9 ABC Syracuse (now WSYR-TV)
10 -WHEC-10 CBS Rochester (now NBC - swapped network affil with WROC)
11 - WPIX-11 ind NYC
12 - WENY-36 ABC Elmira
13 - WOKR-13 ABC Rochester (now WHAM-TV)

HBO arrived in 1979 on my CATV system with a simple set top decoder required to view it.

I remember as a child in rural upstate New York when cable was first installed in 1969. The giant spools of wire being installed on the telephone poles and wondering what it was. The original CATV systems were 12 channels (VHF 2-13) with a balum to adapt 75 ohm coax to a set of lugs to connect to the 300ohm screws for VHF. You received a clear picture with multiple ABC/NBC/CBS affiliates, and the three New York superstations WNEW-5, WOR-9, and WPIX-11. It cost $6 per month in 1970. I recently found a yellow copy of the September 1970 bill from Sammons Communications in a box of basement junk. The basic selection of cable channels required today, to view the same sports and entertainment those 12 channels provided, would run you about $75 in 2010. Adjust the $6 cost for inflation and you realize just how badly you're getting screwed. :eek:

The original CATV line up:
2 - local weather with a camera that rotated past individual analog instrument displays of temp/rh/wind and barometric pressure ...this was replaced by HBO in 1979.

3 - WSYR-TV NBC Syracuse (now WSTM-TV)
4 - WNEW-5 ind NYC (now FOX WNYW)
5 - WHEN -5 CBS Syracuse (now WTVH)
6 - WXXI - 21 PBS Rochester
7 - WOR - 9 ind NYC (now WWOR)
8 - WROC-8 NBC Rochester (now CBS -swapped network affil with WHEC)
9 - WNYS-9 ABC Syracuse (now WSYR-TV)
10 -WHEC-10 CBS Rochester (now NBC - swapped network affil with WROC)
11 - WPIX-11 ind NYC
12 - WENY-36 ABC Elmira
13 - WOKR-13 ABC Rochester (now WHAM-TV)

HBO arrived in 1979 on my CATV system with a simple set top decoder required to view it.

With the sole exception of the news channels, I wouldn't feel terribly abused if I was forced to go back to the above type lineup. Naturally the channels would have to be in HD and PBS would have to do all of the National Geographic and Discovery sort of thing. Oh yeah, I would want FOX entertainment in the mix.

Wow....Is TWC of maine run by a bunch of amateurs, who don't care about their customers?
One day (my first post), all the Clear QAM channels moved, then a few days later they are moved back to where they were before (today)?
It's like they don't have the customer's as priority number one, moving channels around with out repercussions on what it does to them?

Wow....Is TWC of maine run by a bunch of amateurs, who don't care about their customers?
One day (my first post), all the Clear QAM channels moved, then a few days later they are moved back to where they were before (today)?
It's like they don't have the customer's as priority number one, moving channels around with out repercussions on what it does to them?

I've been off cable for some years now so can't speak from experience. But, according to info here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAM_tuner):

Many cable providers offer little or no details about unencrypted QAM channels and often insist that a set top box from the cable company is required to watch any digital cable channels, including unencrypted channels. QAM channels may move without notification and some channels may have odd numbering schemes.

My impression is that the less viewers know about and the less reliable QAM is, the better the cable cos like it.

Dana

I've been off cable for some years now so can't speak from experience. But, according to info here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAM_tuner):



My impression is that the less viewers know about and the less reliable QAM is, the better the cable cos like it.

Dana
I noticed last summer that it had to rescanned my neighbors TV several times. I am sure when I get back it will need to be done again. I never really considered it any big deal, when I saw stations were missing, I would just rescan.

It's more of an annoyance then anything...The first time it happened it was 7pm at night, just before the start of American Idol, when done we had a nice login screen for a red hat box as one of the digital channels. I know that this is part of Clear QAM, but I once heard the squeeky wheel gets the grease, so hopefully if people notice that we use them and when/if they go away we complain.

It's more of an annoyance then anything...The first time it happened it was 7pm at night, just before the start of American Idol, when done we had a nice login screen for a red hat box as one of the digital channels. I know that this is part of Clear QAM, but I once heard the squeeky wheel gets the grease, so hopefully if people notice that we use them and when/if they go away we complain.

Just my 2¢ but my guess is that the cable cos will continue to do what they can to annoy users of free unencrypted QAM. The cable cos want you to rent a $TB. Ka-ching! They resisted CableCard until the industry came up with something called switched digital video that made it go away legally. They do not want you to be content with QAM.

Dana

I was in Mass over the weekend and noticed NECN was HD there. Anyone heard anything about TWC bringing us NECN HD?

I was in Mass over the weekend and noticed NECN was HD there. Anyone heard anything about TWC bringing us NECN HD?

Here's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NECN) what I found out about NECN in HD:

On January 18,2010, NECN launched an HD version on Comcast systems. Although NECN-SD is generally part of limited basic, it appears one needs to subscribe to the Digital Starter Tier to get NECN-HD. Other systems that currently carry NECN-SD do not have NECN-HD. Most Boston area viewers that subscribe to Comcast's Digital Starter tier can get NECN-HD on Channel 810.

I doubt very much that it's carried on the Brunswick Comcast-lite system.

Dana

NECN HD is not available on comcast in Brunswick.

It would be nice to see NECN added to DirecTV and DISH, but it being owned by Comcast it would be almost a impossibility. Even though it would be extra revenue for them. It would be nice to have a group of regional news channels from different areas around the country to watch.

Years ago NECN used to be on C-Band satellite until they went to optical delivery. We watched it in Florida on a daily basis.

I got a notice from Time Warner Cable today that they will soon be switching their DVR software over to Navigator. Does anyone have an exact date as to when this will occur?

I got a notice from Time Warner Cable today that they will soon be switching their DVR software over to Navigator. Does anyone have an exact date as to when this will occur?

Where do you live? I am in South Portland and I got a notice today that on April 15th 3 analog channels are moving to only digital. Maybe both events will occur at the same time. Does the letter say if you are gonna need a new box?

Where do you live? I am in South Portland and I got a notice today that on April 15th 3 analog channels are moving to only digital. Maybe both events will occur at the same time. Does the letter say if you are gonna need a new box?

I am on the Augusta system and received the same notice. (I think your DVR will be flash updated for Navigator, but I don't really know.)

Here's what I found:
6-0 NBC HD
81-3 ABC HD (lots of commercials, like all majors)
81-4 Fox HD (good for 24)
81-5 24 hr Weather WMTW
81-6 ABC-(Standard Definition)
83-12 MPBN (one is NH, one is ME)
82-13 MPBN
82-14 NBC (SD)
82-14 NBC (SD)
82-16 MPBN HD
84-1 CW HD
84-2 CBS HD
84.3 CBS (SD)

I get those 6 HD channels with my new 32 incher (monitor mostly, but tuner at times).

I am on the Augusta system and received the same notice. (I think your DVR will be flash updated for Navigator, but I don't really know.)

Well anything is better than whatever the hell software we have now. If I see "Sorry this channel is currently unavailable please try again later" message again I think I'm gonna pick up my box and throw it on the ground! Not to mention it forgetting to record things and on-demand that works maybe one third of the time.

I'm in Old Orchard Beach. I'm pretty sure we'll keep the same boxes we use now as they accidentally pushed the Navigator update to my box about 6 months ago but it was quickly changed back. From the little of it I saw, I liked the look of it, much more modern looking than the antiquated SARA software.

Our TWC SA HD DVR was upgraded last night to Navigator. The new interface is definitely an improvement over the previous one, though there was really no place to go but up!

One thing I did notice....When the box is off, the "1080i" and "HDTV" icons are displayed as well as the "time of day." Before, only the "time of day" would be lit when the DVR was off.

Be skiing you,

h2osports

Has anyone who's had the software change and also uses an external hard drive with the DVR had any issues? I've got the SA 8300HD in South Portland, but it wasn't updated last night. Hoping there's no problem, but I've got close to 60 hours of stuff I'd hate to have magically disappear once they update....

Dan

I wish I could help, but I don't use an external hard drive. However, I did check this morning to verify that all my "saved" programs were still on the internal hard drive and they were.

Be skiing you,

h2osports

Straight from Foxborough, (http://www.patriots.com/news/index.cfm?ac=pressreleasesdetail&pid=42336&pcid=47) here's the PATS pre-season schedule.

2010 PATRIOTS PRESEASON SCHEDULE
WEEK DATE OPPONENT TIME AFFILIATE NETWORK
Preseason Week I Aug. 12 New Orleans Time/TBA WBZ-TV Patriots Preseason TV Network
Preseason Week II Aug. 19 AT Atlanta Falcons 8:00 p.m. ET WFXT-TV FOX (Nationally Televised)
Preseason Week III Aug. 26 St. Louis Time/TBA WBZ-TV Patriots Preseason TV Network
Preseason Week IV Sept. 2-5 AT N.Y. Giants Time/TBA WBZ-TV Patriots Preseason TV Network

Times for New England's preseason games in Weeks 1, 3 and 4 will be announced at a later date.

Three of the Patriots' preseason games will be televised in the Boston market on WBZ-TV. A network of regional affiliates will also broadcast the games in Preseason Weeks 1, 3 and 4 on the Patriots Preseason TV Network. Fans throughout New England should check their local listings for exact stations and times. The Patriots' August 19 game at Atlanta will be broadcast to a national audience by FOX and can be seen in the Boston market on WFXT-TV.

Possibly we'll continue to get our pre-season games in HD over WMTW-TV Channel 8.

One interesting slant on the game with the NY Giants. It will provide a peek at their new home venue to be called Meadowlands Stadium. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadowlands_Stadium)

Dana

Also, let's not overlook the obvious. The Red Sox open at Fenway Park Sunday April 4 at 8 PM versus - guess who? The Bronx Bombers. NESN HD and for those out of the reach of NESN, ESPN2 will also carry the game.

The weather forecast here for Sunday is sunny and in the 60°s. As long time (28th year) Red Sox radio broadcaster Joe Castiglione would say "Can you believe it?"

Dana

First time post, folks; I registered because the Navigator upgrade removes one feature that has me furious: Manual Recording. With this software, there is no way to tell my DVR to record a set block of time on a station; you have to use the program guide and the limited number of before & after time extensions they give you. So, trying to catch a program on CBS Sunday when they've pushed everything back 40 minutes? Or, trying to record Portland's Charter Commission meetings off the public access channel, which run 5:30-8:30? Good luck. In fact, for the latter, I'm already recording 2 programs at 8 Pm, but if I say to cut the charter commission recording off at 8 to accommodate those... it can't be done! This is a tremendous misfeature of the new upgrade IMHO.

First time post, folks; I registered because the Navigator upgrade removes one feature that has me furious: Manual Recording. With this software, there is no way to tell my DVR to record a set block of time on a station; you have to use the program guide and the limited number of before & after time extensions they give you. So, trying to catch a program on CBS Sunday when they've pushed everything back 40 minutes? Or, trying to record Portland's Charter Commission meetings off the public access channel, which run 5:30-8:30? Good luck. In fact, for the latter, I'm already recording 2 programs at 8 Pm, but if I say to cut the charter commission recording off at 8 to accommodate those... it can't be done! This is a tremendous misfeature of the new upgrade IMHO.

Although I can count on one hand the time's I've used the manual record feature, I agree that losing it is unacceptable. Hopefully the update fixes the multitude of other problems with the old "SARA" software though. What I would suggest in your case is to get a cheap DVD recorder and put it in line before the DVR box. This way you can manually record the Charter Commission meetings on a re-writable DVD and still be able to record 2 other shows on the DVR at the same time. It won't help you if CBS is running "Cold Case" 55 minutes late because of a football game, but hopefully Time Warner has a software fix for the problem in time for the next football season.

Has anyone who's had the software change and also uses an external hard drive with the DVR had any issues? I've got the SA 8300HD in South Portland, but it wasn't updated last night. Hoping there's no problem, but I've got close to 60 hours of stuff I'd hate to have magically disappear once they update....

Dan

Well I just got the new upgrade last night and bad news...external hard drives don't work. In fact, I lost all the shows I had recorded and if the external hard drive is hooked up all DVR functionality is lost (even though a pop-up indicates that it works) I called Time Warner and a local rep confirmed that they disabled external drives with the Navigator update. So if you haven't got the update yet and have an external drive, start offloading!

Yup - same problem - I'm not happy about it at all. All the shows I had recorded for my daughter, and all kinds of stuff that my wife and I hadn't watched yet - about 65 hours of stuff ... all gone. At first I thought it was fine, because the listing of everything on the drive was there when I went into the DVR list, but nothing would play back. They'll be hearing from me quite loudly this afternoon.

Yeah, they heard from me quite loudly as well. The best they could do is refund my DVR service fee for one month. So how many HD hours do we get now that it's impossible to expand? 20?

I've had a few responses via e-mail, and while they won't come out and say that they definitely will - they seem to be implying that some features were disabled during the rollout, and will be turned back on once that's complete. I'm waiting for my next response for confirmation that the external hard drive use is one of those features ... still not holding my breath though.

Well, my external drive is being recognized, and the DVR is working .... but it's not recognizing any of the old recordings on the external drive - which is just so frustrating. Waiting on one more back-and-forth with customer service to see if they have any "last hope" suggestions. As little as I thought of Time Warner before this whole Navigator fiasco ... nothing compared to where I'm at now. Really disappointing.

Well, my external drive is being recognized, and the DVR is working .... but it's not recognizing any of the old recordings on the external drive - which is just so frustrating. Waiting on one more back-and-forth with customer service to see if they have any "last hope" suggestions. As little as I thought of Time Warner before this whole Navigator fiasco ... nothing compared to where I'm at now. Really disappointing.

Careful...I had mine working too until I woke up the next morning and everything I had recorded the evening before was gone. I have Time Warner coming out on Saturday morning to check it out and I'll let you know if they have any working solutions.

Careful...I had mine working too until I woke up the next morning and everything I had recorded the evening before was gone. I have Time Warner coming out on Saturday morning to check it out and I'll let you know if they have any working solutions.

Yup - same thing happened to me last night / today - it appeared to have recorded programs last night with the external drive attached, but nothing would play back, and I'm right back where I was today with the DVR not functioning if the external drive is attached. Just spent 20 minutes on the phone with them, and the only things they would do is want to schedule a service call. Just annoying.

Sounds like a typical Time Warner boondoggle. And they want to sell me phone and internet service, too. We'll tell you want you want, and you'll take what we offer. No thanks.

I'm not surprised they can't figure out how to properly plan and notify customers about the limitations of a new DVR firmware upgrade. Or better yet, build DVR firmware that doesn't remove features that people are relying on the device to provide.

The reality is that cable companies do not spec the STBs they use nor write their own firmware. A bold statement that I would be delighted to see corrected. But, there is confirmation here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explorer_8300) about the Explorer 8300/8300HD.

The Explorer 8300 is a digital video recorder (DVR) manufactured by Scientific Atlanta and used by many digital cable companies. It works like a regular cable box with DVR capabilities and features an 80, 160 or 320 GB PATA internal hard drive. Some versions can also be used with an external SATA hard drive through the eSATA connector on the back. The firmware/software generally comes from one of two sources: the Scientific Atlanta Resident Application (SARA) or the PASSPORT software from Aptiv Digital (a spin-off of Pioneer). The choice of firmware is determined by the cable operator and the equipment available at the cable head-end.

This is a distinct difference between cable and satellite operators. The latter spec their own boxes and have their own brand on them albeit manufactured by several electronics companies under contract. DirecTV writes and beta test its own firmware and controls national release of same

As big, powerful and profitable as cable cos now are, they don't dictate the equipment or write the firmware they use. They depend on third parties. This is a legacy blind spot that apparently goes 'way back to the beginnings when cable operators were small and territories disjointed.

So, when something goes wrong the cable operators have to turn to the providers to get a fix. I know this for a fact regarding a problem I had when I was a Suscom Brunswick cable customer.

This is NOT a defense of cable operators. Just an explanation of why their response usually is limited when it involves firmware or STB hardware issues. They don't spec the boxes and don't write the firmware.

Dana

Well the tech from Time Warner came by this morning and I can report success...so far anyway. He was completely stumped as to what was causing the problem, so I made him switch out the box. The new box appears to have an older version of Navigator on it that allows the external hard drive to work. Two features lost by the older software include the ability to sort the program guide by favorite channels, and the original air date listing of shows in the guide.

After reading the nightmare people have gone through above I can thank my lucky stars I don't have a cable box. I have a mythdora pc in my basement movie theater, I have over 1 TB of information, and access to online movies (virtual machine for netfilx, amazon ondemand) and hulu. That costs me just the power to run per month (something the cable box is already doing, i'm at 80watts full power, a cable box is running 40 watts 24/7)..

I have never been so glad that I left the box.

I'm in the Portland, ME area, and looking to switch to OTA ONLY (Directv has just become TOO expensive, as have cable and dish, which I have been looking at.)
I've included tvfool's info on the area. The channels I HAVE to get are 6, 8, 23, 35, and 51. 10 and 13 are fine if I can grab the, but not necessary. This is what I'm thinking of doing, wanted to run it by you guys (I have NO real OTA experience) and see what you think.
Purchase a Channel Master 4228HD antenna. Would that get me everything I need? Also, would this mount onto the mount from a Directv Phase III dish?
Run this into the new Tivo Premiere DVR. Total cost monthly would then reduce from anywhere from $150-$200 with Directv to I guess $13 with Tivo?
Would this antenna grab ALL the channels I want? Since I intend to use this with a DVR, a rotator is NOT an option.

I'm in the Portland, ME area, and looking to switch to OTA ONLY (Directv has just become TOO expensive, as have cable and dish, which I have been looking at.)
I've included tvfool's info on the area. The channels I HAVE to get are 6, 8, 23, 35, and 51. 10 and 13 are fine if I can grab the, but not necessary. This is what I'm thinking of doing, wanted to run it by you guys (I have NO real OTA experience) and see what you think.
Purchase a Channel Master 4228HD antenna. Would that get me everything I need? Also, would this mount onto the mount from a Directv Phase III dish?
Run this into the new Tivo Premiere DVR. Total cost monthly would then reduce from anywhere from $150-$200 with Directv to I guess $13 with Tivo?
Would this antenna grab ALL the channels I want? Since I intend to use this with a DVR, a rotator is NOT an option.

Getting TV channels OTA is not unlike real estate. The three most important things are location, location and location. Yours, the stations and what's in between. I had an antenna that D* installed before local channels became available in HD on satellite. I managed to get just one. WGME channel 13 in HD. But, I have a problem location obviously. And that was before the digital transition.

Reception OTA has become more problematic with digital transmission according to the reports that were published around the time of the cutover.

Find a source for the antenna that will take it back if it doesn't work. I tried a so-called better antenna and it made no difference so I returned it. I'm not sure why you think a rotator is not an option if you have a DVR.

Finally, talk with someone else who uses an antenna in your neighborhood if you can find one. Like politics, OTA reception is all local.

Dana

PS. There was a OTA antenna mast available at the time - six years ago - that was compatible with the DirecTV round three LNB dish mount hardware. It might be still available from a source such as solidsignal.com. In any event, if you remove the dish, the so-called "J" mount mast should be more than adequate to support an antenna.

Getting TV channels OTA is not unlike real estate. The three most important things are location, location and location. Yours, the stations and what's in between. I had an antenna that D* installed before local channels became available in HD on satellite. I managed to get just one. WGME channel 13 in HD. But, I have a problem location obviously. And that was before the digital transition.

Reception OTA has become more problematic with digital transmission according to the reports that were published around the time of the cutover.

Find a source for the antenna that will take it back if it doesn't work. I tried a so-called better antenna and it made no difference so I returned it. I'm not sure why you think a rotator is not an option if you have a DVR.

Finally, talk with someone else who uses an antenna in your neighborhood if you can find one. Like politics, OTA reception is all local.

Dana

PS. There was a OTA antenna mast available at the time - six years ago - that was compatible with the DirecTV round three LNB dish mount hardware. It might be still available from a source such as solidsignal.com. In any event, if you remove the dish, the so-called "J" mount mast should be more than adequate to support an antenna.

I don't think a rotator would would (If I need one), because of it recording different channels at the same time (What if it wants to record 2 channels that are in opposite directions), or I wouldn't remember to move it.
Do you guys think this antenna would grab all the channels I want though?

Well the tech from Time Warner came by this morning and I can report success...so far anyway. He was completely stumped as to what was causing the problem, so I made him switch out the box. The new box appears to have an older version of Navigator on it that allows the external hard drive to work. Two features lost by the older software include the ability to sort the program guide by favorite channels, and the original air date listing of shows in the guide.

Well, unfortunately, I didn't have much luck with my service appointment yesterday. While the tech who came was quite friendly & apologetic that he couldn't get it to work - he admitted that he just didn't know much about using an external drive with their boxes. He did offer to switch out my box to one of the new Cisco ones with a larger internal drive - but he knew from a couple other service calls that the eSATA port was disabled on those. And even if somebody could get a combination to work, he said that he was told that external drive would not work going forward. Really a boneheaded policy if you ask me - he had no explanation for why that would be the policy going forward, only speculating that perhaps it had something to do with contract and agreements with the manufacturer or content owners. My guess is that they want more people using their on demand channels, but who knows.

So I'll probably burn through what's left on the DVR and then get the newer box. Really wish that satellite was more of an option for me, but oh well. If it wasn't for live sports (Red Sox specifically) then I would strongly consider a home theatre PC set-up and maybe buying just what I wanted through iTunes.

I don't think a rotator would would (If I need one), because of it recording different channels at the same time (What if it wants to record 2 channels that are in opposite directions), or I wouldn't remember to move it.
Do you guys think this antenna would grab all the channels I want though?

The Channel Master 4228HD is a well-regarded Long-Range Outdoor Rooftop HDTV Antenna. But, if you're in East Baldwin, hell, some TV station towers may be line of sight from your location. The 4228 may be more antenna than you need = too strong a signal.

You won't know until you try it.

Dana

I don't think a rotator would would (If I need one), because of it recording different channels at the same time (What if it wants to record 2 channels that are in opposite directions), or I wouldn't remember to move it.
Do you guys think this antenna would grab all the channels I want though?

I'm going to say yes if you have the antenna pointed between 23 and 8. I'm in Manchester, NH and get 6,8,13 w/a very strong signal w/a roof top pointed 50-55 degrees. Ideally a rotor would be best. I'm sure you are aware that WMTW is vhf digital signal, but the antenna you have in mind should be okay for high vhf. As Dana said make sure you know the return policy before buying. Good luck.

I have read good reports about http://www.antennasdirect.com/ and they have free shipping and will take back the antenna if it doesn't work. You may be able to consult with them before you order. They have the equivalent of the 4228.

Dana