Shutting down analog should not be a loss for subscribers. The replacement digital signals simply should not be encrypted. Only analog television sets should require adapters.



Time Warner's latest filing with the FCC which mentions their Central Maine digital cable migration. They point out to the FCC that scrambling all digital signals, including the clear QAM broadcast signals, is to the consumers benefit! :eek:

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/comment/view;jsessionid=TdnGxyZYp9k0QBw2dPjmZcJjy1hrsG22WzCDK1qn2KKb 2MKNnF8N!1386112933!NONE?id=6016876547

Time Warner's latest filing with the FCC which mentions their Central Maine digital cable migration. They point out to the FCC that scrambling all digital signals, including the clear QAM broadcast signals, is to the consumers benefit! :eek:

Thanks a lot for posting a link to that. It is an amazing read! Essentially TWC only cares about the installation and deactivation experience, and nothing at all about the lack of options about consuming the content while somebody is actually a paying customer. (Plus don't forget about evil cable theft!)

Let's make 99.999999% of the experience very closed and annoying so that the remaining 0.000001% of the experience can happen very quickly and without having to send somebody to the location between the hours of X and X + 6.

Reading the FCC's proposal is perhaps even more depressing: Most people already have a lame box or a cable card, so it's OK to screw those remaining 25% who don't want a box. Just make sure there's some "transitional period" where you provide that fifty-cent digital adapter for free. The fact is that TWC doesn't even want to work with cable cards. They're talking about encryption allowing them to further exploit IP video and SDV.

Thanks a lot for posting a link to that. It is an amazing read! Essentially TWC only cares about the installation and deactivation experience, and nothing at all about the lack of options about consuming the content while somebody is actually a paying customer. (Plus don't forget about evil cable theft!)

Let's make 99.999999% of the experience very closed and annoying so that the remaining 0.000001% of the experience can happen very quickly and without having to send somebody to the location between the hours of X and X + 6.

Reading the FCC's proposal is perhaps even more depressing: Most people already have a lame box or a cable card, so it's OK to screw those remaining 25% who don't want a box. Just make sure there's some "transitional period" where you provide that fifty-cent digital adapter for free. The fact is that TWC doesn't even want to work with cable cards. They're talking about encryption allowing them to further exploit IP video and SDV.

If they are going to be allowed to encrypt the channels there should be a few restrictions:

no additonal outlet fees "duplication fee"

ban SDV for limited basic channels period

No CCIx02 on any limited basic channels

at least 1 to 2 free basic boxes to the subscriber for free no charge at all as long as you are a subscriber (dta or HDdta).

With the pending price increase with TWC coming next month...............that finally pushed me over the edge.
We bought MagicJack this week for the house phone(that we barely use, but for $20/year we'll keep it going).
And DirecTV is coming Saturday to install the full package in the house.
Anything special I should ask for during the install, or anything I should watch for?

I tried to swap internet over to GWI, but they don't offer service on my road......so we have to stay with Roadrunner for now.

Thanks,

Steve

Just to add some options out there for people:
I've always looking to get the most for my dollar from TWC.

An option out there for cheap phone prices, is the Obihai box:
http://obihai.com/
Which I just discovered, starting using it a few months ago, and it's been great. It can couple to mulitple GoogleVoice accounts, all through one VOIP device, therefore, after purchase, it's FREE home phone service (since GoogleVoice is free and has tons of bells and whistles for forwarding and filtering and transcribing voicemails). It has been the best quality voice service I've used so far in my NH/ME TWC area (i'm in eastern NH)

I've dropped TWC phone service a few times now and I think I wont' need to go back.
I'm using an HTPC with CableCARD, and 25-28Mbps net speed for only $110 a month with a bunch of HD, so calling and complaining/threatening to drop services AND spread the bad word, can get you somewhere with TWC in this area.

If anyone is wondering how to setup an HTPC with a CableCARD, feel free to PM me, and I'll help you along/point you in the right direction. I've used 2 different CableCARD tuners than work in my pc for the greater Portland,ME TWC zones.

Ostrogoth, do you know if channels you're capturing via your HTPC on TWC are marked "copy once?" I'd consider buying an HDHomeRun Prime tuner and shove a cable card into it, but I'm reading (http://www.silicondust.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10806) that TWC sets everything but basic cable to copy once. I would not be able to record and play the video on my Linux-based HTPC because of this flag being set. I could see them setting this on premium channels like Showtime or HBO, but encryption + copy once on something like USA Network is completely ridiculous.

With the TWC price increase going into effect, and my bill scheduled to jump from about $135 to $149 a month, I called Time Warner today and managed to get it down to $113 month. It took almost 45 minutes and two different customer service reps, and it probably helped that I was prepared to cancel my service if I wasn't happy enough with their offer.

I finally took their fourth offer back:

1st - Offered to add Showtime for 3 months at no charge ($149/month)

2nd - Same service package (Cable, Internet, HD DVR) at the old monthly rate for 12 months. ($135/month)

3rd - Same service package at $125/month (12 months)

4th - Same service package at $113/month (12 month)

I tried to get one more offer out of them, but was told that was as far as they could go today and keep the same service package.

My main complaint was the flood of new customer promotion TV spots for triple play service w/DVR @ $89 per month that I've been seeing - without offering any significant deal to current customers like myself, who've paid regular price for over 10 years (I know, pretty foolish if me).

It's annoying how they are just blatantly overcharging loyal customers, but I guess it can pay off to complain at times.

Ostrogoth, do you know if channels you're capturing via your HTPC on TWC are marked "copy once?" I'd consider buying an HDHomeRun Prime tuner and shove a cable card into it, but I'm reading that TWC sets everything but basic cable to copy once. I would not be able to record and play the video on my Linux-based HTPC because of this flag being set. I could see them setting this on premium channels like Showtime or HBO, but encryption + copy once on something like USA Network is completely ridiculous.

Im not sure about the Portland area, but up here in Oakland, I have also set up a CableCARD HTPC Self Install with Ceton InfiniTV 4 and everything but locals are Copy Once. Not that it makes a difference but I believe Portland is on a Cisco Headend, and were on a Motorola Headend up here.

It's annoying how they are just blatantly overcharging loyal customers, but I guess it can pay off to complain at times.

I found this column from the Minneapolis Star Tribune kind of interesting. It covers this subject.

The high price of loyalty
http://www.startribune.com/business/yourmoney/131887333.html

Jayne Hergott is sick of jumping through hoops to receive the best price for her newspaper, garbage and cable TV. A longtime Chaska resident, Hergott knows that her newer neighbors pay less for garbage service than she does. She also knows that if she calls to complain, the company will probably cut her a deal.

"Why is it that I have to beg to get the best rates for these services?" asked Hergott, 54.

It's a vexing part of being a consumer in America. Companies roll out the hot deals to lure potential customers, leaving existing customers in the cold.

Yet it's a common business practice, especially in industries where success is measured by how many new customers companies can attract.

What do you guys know about antennas? I'm looking to pick up one to receive METV and other of the subchannels. I live about a mile from Bowdoin College and in a one story apartment. So the antenna would be about 4 ft. off the floor.

What do you guys know about antennas? I'm looking to pick up one to receive METV and other of the subchannels. I live about a mile from Bowdoin College and in a one story apartment. So the antenna would be about 4 ft. off the floor.

Add outside antennas for the Bath/Brunswick area. What luck did anyone have in this area? I did try a cheap indoor "HD" antenna and got nothing.

When I left Suscom because they hadn't reached an agreement with Sinclair to carry Channel 13 in HD (and thus no Pats games in HD on cable) about 2004 (?) DirecTV installed a Winegard Model GS1000 non-amplified antenna that solved the problem on Bailey Island. BUT, it was located on the peak of the roof of a two story house.

Later I tried a different antenna - supposedly more powerful - and it didn't do any better. I was able to return that antenna so nothing lost.

My conclusion then was that antennas are governed by the same law as selling real estate. The three factors for success are location, location and location. Try anything as long as you can return it if it doesn't work.

Best Buy and Radio Shack sell TV antennas locally. Amazon sells antennas on the web.

Dana

Try antennaweb.org for some independent information on which signal you can expect to receive and which antenna might best serve you.
Click on choose an antenna and it'll guide you.

Try antennaweb.org for some independent information on which signal you can expect to receive and which antenna might best serve you.
Click on choose an antenna and it'll guide you.

Agreed, Antennaweb.org is probably the best resource to go to when figuring out what type of antenna you need. The biggest problem we have around here is that all of our signals come from a long way off and all in different directions. To get everything you either have to move a directional antenna often or have multiples.

A quick check of current transmitter locations based on Wikipedia:

WGME-TV | Raymond
WMTW-TV | West Baldwin
WCSH-TV | Sebago
WPFO-TV | Litchfield
WCBB-TV | Litchfield
WMEA-TV | Sanford

Corrections welcome.

Dana

Thanks for the responses. I'll probably pick one up after the holidays.

A quick check of current transmitter locations based on Wikipedia:

WCSH-TV | Raymond
WMTW-TV | West Baldwin
WCSH-TV | Sebago
WPFO-TV | Litchfield
WCBB-TV | Litchfield
WMEA-TV | Sanford

Corrections welcome.

Dana

WPME-TV and WPXT-TV | Gray

Other good sites for a reception estimate at your location are...

www.dtv.gov
www.tvfool.com

Please note it is WGME's tower that is located in Raymond, not WCSH's. The latter's tower is in Sebago, as the chart indicates.

Please note it is WGME's tower that is located in Raymond, not WCSH's. The latter's tower is in Sebago, as the chart indicates.

Thanks. I thought I'd fixed that. Obviously I didn't. I went back and corrected my original post.

Dana

Anyone else only getting 2-channel audio on WCSH-HD? I'm on TWC in York County.

Ostrogoth, do you know if channels you're capturing via your HTPC on TWC are marked "copy once?" I'd consider buying an HDHomeRun Prime tuner and shove a cable card into it, but I'm reading (http://www.silicondust.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10806) that TWC sets everything but basic cable to copy once. I would not be able to record and play the video on my Linux-based HTPC because of this flag being set. I could see them setting this on premium channels like Showtime or HBO, but encryption + copy once on something like USA Network is completely ridiculous.

I think there are a few options out there to cover concerns for streaming the recorded shows to 'elsewhere'. I'm under the impression the 'copy once' only allows shows to play locally from the recording device. I have no problem streaming recorded shows from my HTPC to another Win7 pc in the house. I guess this is because win7 plays nicely with WMC recordings.

I think you do have a few more options though:
1) Check out Remote Potato. You can stream any recordings in WMC to a common web browser. Both LAN, and WAN (inside and out to the net). It's kind of nice to watch your recording while away on business or on vacation. It also allows you modify and set WMC DVR recordings through the web interface.
2) Another product, MCEBuddy, does wonders for your scenario also. You set it to monitor a folder with the WMC recordings. It then, on a timed setting, transcodes the WMC files into a target folder with target file type...avi, mk5, etc. Oh, and it also strips out all commercials, if you want it to :) Then, you can share that folder to the network, and media player that can play those file types can read it.

I use MCEBuddy, well once...since I set it once a few years ago, and it just automatically runs every night for me. :)
It's great. I watch all my TV (WMC recordings) through Boxee now.

If anyone wants more info on this, feel free to PM me.
This posting is mostly off-topic for this thread.

I think there are a few options out there to cover concerns for streaming the recorded shows to 'elsewhere'. I'm under the impression the 'copy once' only allows shows to play locally from the recording device. I have no problem streaming recorded shows from my HTPC to another Win7 pc in the house. I guess this is because win7 plays nicely with WMC recordings.

I think you do have a few more options though:
1) Check out Remote Potato. You can stream any recordings in WMC to a common web browser. Both LAN, and WAN (inside and out to the net). It's kind of nice to watch your recording while away on business or on vacation. It also allows you modify and set WMC DVR recordings through the web interface.
2) Another product, MCEBuddy, does wonders for your scenario also. You set it to monitor a folder with the WMC recordings. It then, on a timed setting, transcodes the WMC files into a target folder with target file type...avi, mk5, etc. Oh, and it also strips out all commercials, if you want it to :) Then, you can share that folder to the network, and media player that can play those file types can read it.

I use MCEBuddy, well once...since I set it once a few years ago, and it just automatically runs every night for me. :)
It's great. I watch all my TV (WMC recordings) through Boxee now.

If anyone wants more info on this, feel free to PM me.
This posting is mostly off-topic for this thread.

I have a feeling you might have copy freely channels, or shows down there. I have seen channels up here listed as copy once, but some shows will pop up every once an a while as copy freely (Palladia does this sometimes on concerts). When trying to watch copy once shows on another pc over the network I get an error message saying "this show can only be watch on the pc it was recorded on".

Also MCEBuddy is a good program, but not for copy once, because in order to eliminate the commercials it will edit, ruining the copy once, and wont play.

I do use Remote Potato, but for the guide options, I never quite liked the video portion. You have to have a somewhat decent upload speed. I have the regular Time Warner internet (I think its 15/1 not 100% sure though, haven't done speed tests laity) to actually watch a show without too much buffering, and even at that, the quality of the picture is barely watchable and pixelated...at least on the android app, never played with the iphone app, so cant comment there, but id assume its the same. And again, copy once shows wont work on Remote Potato ether.

Bottom Line, the only way to watch a Copy-Once show that im aware of is an extender. I have a Xbox 360 that I occasionally use as an extender and works.

I have a feeling you might have copy freely channels, or shows down there. I have seen channels up here listed as copy once, but some shows will pop up every once an a while as copy freely (Palladia does this sometimes on concerts). When trying to watch copy once shows on another pc over the network I get an error message saying "this show can only be watch on the pc it was recorded on".

Also MCEBuddy is a good program, but not for copy once, because in order to eliminate the commercials it will edit, ruining the copy once, and wont play.

I do use Remote Potato, but for the guide options, I never quite liked the video portion. You have to have a somewhat decent upload speed. I have the regular Time Warner internet (I think its 15/1 not 100% sure though, haven't done speed tests laity) to actually watch a show without too much buffering, and even at that, the quality of the picture is barely watchable and pixelated...at least on the android app, never played with the iphone app, so cant comment there, but id assume its the same. And again, copy once shows wont work on Remote Potato ether.

Bottom Line, the only way to watch a Copy-Once show that im aware of is an extender. I have a Xbox 360 that I occasionally use as an extender and works.

Yeah, that all makes sense, and I agree/think that is the way it's supposed to work. I guess I have never pondered it too much since my pcs are all win7/Homegroup, so they'll play everything from any of the pcs that recorded through WMC. My HTPC has 2 tuners, and another pc has 1 tuner, so they can independently be set up/record and each can watch each others shows shared to the network.

Also, just in case you haven't tried, or others reading are interested... besides the phone apps, you can view recorded shows via Remote Potato via a web browser in 2 modes also...with silverlight, or without silverligth plugins. It's a nice way to say....watch recorded tv on a laptop or tablet in the same LAN with some good quality pictures, or 'ok' pq while away from home.

It seems strange that WGME/WPFO, just built new studios and bought new equipment and they are still in 4 x 3 SD, instead of 16 x9 HD. Does anyone know what their plans are?

It seems strange that WGME/WPFO, just built new studios and bought new equipment and they are still in 4 x 3 SD, instead of 16 x9 HD. Does anyone know what their plans are?

According to info here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WGME-TV#History):

WGME commenced broadcasting news in high definition on December 18, 2011, the second station in the Portland market to convert after WCSH. WGME set itself apart from WCSH by having high definition acquisition in the field and live reports in widescreen standard definition.

Dana

According to info here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WGME-TV#History):

Dana
OK, I see 13 is in HD this noon. But this morning we were watching "Good Day Maine" on 23 and it was still in SD, but they talked about all of the new equipment, and you could see new backgrounds.

OK, I see 13 is in HD this noon. But this morning we were watching "Good Day Maine" on 23 and it was still in SD, but they talked about all of the new equipment, and you could see new backgrounds.

Info here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WPFO) may be relevant.

A two-hour long morning show was launched on WPFO called Good Day Maine also produced by WGME. It is a talk, entertainment, news, weather, and sports program that airs from 7 to 9. The show is the only local morning broadcast during the time slot and competes against The Early Show (on WGME), Good Morning America, and Today. This newscast airs from the secondary set at WGME's facilities (which received an update) along with a new secondary weather set (while also using the main weather center outside of WGME's Early Show cut-ins) to deliver weather reports. There is also a live interview desk that was previously used on WGME during news headline updates on that station's weekday morning show and a new light story room which includes a nighttime backdrop of the Portland skyline along with several couches and armchairs. WPFO's website hosts video from both of the WGME-produced newscasts.

Note that WFPO uses a "secondary" set at the WGME facilities (that may not be equipped with HD cameras).

Dana

Info here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WPFO) may be relevant.



Note that WFPO uses a "secondary" set at the WGME facilities (that may not be equipped with HD cameras).

Dana
On 23 this morning, they did mention new cameras that would give us a crisper, sharper picture, but nothing about HD. I am sure it will come in time, just found it strange that they made all the changes and the picture was still in SD.

The newscasts are produced in HD at WGME's facilities, but WPFO does not currently have the necessary equipment to broadcast the HD signal. Look for it to go at least SD widescreen soon.

WGME is still 720p... Is there some special reason why they are allowed to do this by CBS?

WGME is still 720p... Is there some special reason why they are allowed to do this by CBS?

Maybe for the same reason Hearst stations are converting ABC to 1080i. Some stations are settling for a particular format not necessarily based on what the network sends but what the needs are of the facility and/or the company that owns them. If done correctly it should still look pretty good.
http://www.milwaukeehdtv.org/forums/showpost.php?p=57472&postcount=5

I'm in trying to setup my antenna in Scarborough and don't get WPFO fox 23 at all. I get abc, nbc, cbs, cw, mynet, pbs... but not fox. Is their broadcast on 23? I get a 0% signal, which seems very very odd. I'd expect something small at least. Anybody watch fox with an antenna?

Anybody watch fox with an antenna?

FOX 23 comes in for me in the Central NH Lakes Region. Most of the time it is around 65%, some days it is stronger, some days weaker, some days I get nothing. All the major Portland stations (6,8,10,13,23,35,51) come fairly well. If I turned my antenna rotor I could get 26 from Biddeford, but since I all ready get 10, whats the point. WGME 13 is the strongest at almost 100%.

It took me a while to get all these stations, a lot of experimentation with antenna location. I walked the yard and roof with an antenna on a pole while monitoring a TV. My final solution was a good Channel Master UHF antenna on the roof for 6,13,23,35 & 51 and a VHF yagi antenna on the ground for 8 & 10. Both antennas are fitted with Channel Master pre-amps.

BTW, Antennaweb.org says I should not be getting ANY station. TV Fool is a bit more accurate, but only gives me 6,8 & 13 as possibilities.

John

I'm in trying to setup my antenna in Scarborough and don't get WPFO fox 23 at all. I get abc, nbc, cbs, cw, mynet, pbs... but not fox. Is their broadcast on 23? I get a 0% signal, which seems very very odd. I'd expect something small at least. Anybody watch fox with an antenna?

I used to get FOX easily, but something changed and I'm not sure what it was. An email to the FOX Engineer a few weeks back and he said they hadn't changed anything at their end. I got up and redirected the antenna to point right at their tower and I was able to pull it in. Unfortunately I lost all the other channels! (I'm in Cumberland, so most channel towers are roughly westerly from me, and FOX is northerly).
So today I'm waiting for an antenna rotator to arrive. That ought to do it!

I used to get FOX easily, but something changed and I'm not sure what it was. An email to the FOX Engineer a few weeks back and he said they hadn't changed anything at their end. I got up and redirected the antenna to point right at their tower and I was able to pull it in. Unfortunately I lost all the other channels! (I'm in Cumberland, so most channel towers are roughly westerly from me, and FOX is northerly).
So today I'm waiting for an antenna rotator to arrive. That ought to do it!

How well I remember when my parents' antenna went up in Gardiner during early January of 1953. We had a yagi on top for WABI which was due on soon and bow ties for WCSH and WGAN due on later. WMTW showed up somewhere during that time.

WABI was 5000 watts at the beginning and difficult to see considering the distance, but it was all we had for a while. In the late fifties, after I started working, I bought my parents a rotor and it made a big difference.

The picture quality was never satisfying until cable became available in the mid-sixties. Then it became a matter of just switching stations (2, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 13) and no fumbling with questionable antenna adjustments.

Even cable, however, had quality issues as far as I was concerned, until the company beefed up the system about 10 or 12 years ago in conjunction with the switch to fiber and limited digital.

After that, I became very happy with what cable does for television. The only problem, now, is the price. In 1966, the monthly price was $4.95 with no channel choices other than the locals. I think, today, it is about 4 times as much for the very basic tv service which includes a few cable channels tossed in.

Unfortunately, we have all seen the big city, now, and find it almost impossible to resist the bright lights and temptations of the news, sports, information and movie channels, as well as internet, so we stand a good chance of running the monthly bill up to $200. This is not to mention a monthly fee of $8.45 to rent a box that provides us the priviledge of protecting the cable company from a potential theft of signal by evildoers.

Actually, the services, options and billing combinations are so numerous and complicated that it sometimes defies comparative analysis.

In any case, I understand what you are trying to do and you have my sympathy. You have taken the off-ramp and I hope you succeed in avoiding the Time Warner tolltaker.

I used to get FOX easily, but something changed and I'm not sure what it was. An email to the FOX Engineer a few weeks back and he said they hadn't changed anything at their end. I got up and redirected the antenna to point right at their tower and I was able to pull it in. Unfortunately I lost all the other channels! (I'm in Cumberland, so most channel towers are roughly westerly from me, and FOX is northerly).
So today I'm waiting for an antenna rotator to arrive. That ought to do it!

I'm experiencing some difficulty with 10 and 23. I can see the aviation beacon at night and 17 miles away. I receive them from the side of a 4228 but reception has become more difficult to receive lately. I notice weather will affect reception. Never happened before. Only thing I can guess is they changed something or it's time to check for oxidation on connectors.

You have taken the off-ramp and I hope you succeed in avoiding the Time Warner tolltaker.

I jumped the track back in September. I was nearing $200/mo (w/voice and data) with TWC and it was getting ridiculous. So I pulled the plug.

Now:
Antenna for all major networks. Works great, minor reception issues lately w/FOX that I hope to resolve with the rotor.
Using Netflix & Amazon Prime with Sony Blu-Ray player to stream movies and TV.
Also have PlayOn on a local PC which allows for more streaming of content, particularly NHL Network and Hulu (w/o going +).

I already had Netflix, Amazon and PlayOn, so no additional expense there, but I did sport for the NHL Center Ice package (which I may have done anyway..I'm a Flyers fan - grew up watching the Maine Mariners)

The only real issue I see is baseball, but I look forward to listening to it on the radio. That's what I did last September, but the Sox were in their late season free fall so I didn't care THAT much! :)

I'm experiencing some difficulty with 10 and 23. I can see the aviation beacon at night and 17 miles away. I receive them from the side of a 4228 but reception has become more difficult to receive lately. I notice weather will affect reception. Never happened before. Only thing I can guess is they changed something or it's time to check for oxidation on connectors.

Not sure what happened, but something changed. Although 10 has been just "good" enough to bring in. Notta from Fox.

Have noticed a "stuttering" problem on ABC/8. I thought it was my Box/TV having conversion issues, but I'm not seeing it anywhere else. Anyone else see that OTA or is it just me?

Have noticed a "stuttering" problem on ABC/8. I thought it was my Box/TV having conversion issues, but I'm not seeing it anywhere else. Anyone else see that OTA or is it just me?

My Zenith DTT901 has an issue with WMTW in which the sound will periodically mute for a split second but the signal level and picture remain rock stable. This has been going on for as long as I can remember. I chalked it up to some kind of obscure compatibility issue between WMTW and my box or perhaps multipath.

Have noticed a "stuttering" problem on ABC/8. I thought it was my Box/TV having conversion issues, but I'm not seeing it anywhere else. Anyone else see that OTA or is it just me?


I see the same on abc/8 with CC but no box, just coax feed and only on the commercials. Only channel that has the problem, so my guess is it is the local station, not a network problem.

For all of us paying big prices for cable/satellite "bundles" in order to watch a few favorite channels, there's a ray of hope as reported here (http://www.tvpredictions.com/apple122911.htm).

Washington, D.C. (December 29, 2011) -- Is Apple planning to offer 'a la carte' pricing for ordering programming on its new company-branded TVs?

That's the buzz of the day after Wall Street analyst Shaw Wu issued a note to investors saying that Apple might let viewers subscribe to specific channels or shows rather than buy a package of channels, as is required by cable and satellite operators.

CNET notes that Apple already offers individual TV shows for purchase at its iTunes store. But Wu seems to think that Apple is trying to persuade programmers to offer their entire channels as individual subscriptions. In that scenario, a consumer would only pay for the channels he or she wants to watch rather than buy a package of channels which might include numerous channels the viewer would never watch...

... Apple has yet to launch that much-anticipated company-branded TV. Some analysts have said it could be forthcoming in 2012.

Dana

Thanks for all the feedback. I had been just using a CM4221HD in a second story bedroom. It was odd that fox 23 registered a 0. I was able to put the antenna on the roof yesterday as it was quite warm for december. I was able to get fox at around 75% now :)

I have it pointed at ~15*. The only channel I don't really get is PBS, channel 26. I have a dtvpal dvr connected, and haven't gotten TVGOS (tv guide on screen) after several days. From what I can tell, 51 and 13 carry the info. Anybody else have issues, or should I just keep waiting?

http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=tvgos

Price comment on the most basic cable service bill, they just went up a little (annual fee increase as the rep called it):

$20.99 basic cable service
$1.48 taxes & fees ( of which .06 Maine Service provider tax, 1.29 franchise fee, .08 FCC regulatory fee and .05 ConnectME )
Total $22.49

Note that the monthly payment due amount seems to vary by a penny or two. Seems like I always have to adjust my bank's billpay.
TWC billing says the amount varies due to taxes & fees?????
Now why would that be? If the monty bill was/is 19.99/20.99; shouldn't the fee be a fixed rate on top of that? ... fishy!

I have a dtvpal dvr connected, and haven't gotten TVGOS (tv guide on screen) after several days. From what I can tell, 51 and 13 carry the info. Anybody else have issues, or should I just keep waiting?

http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=tvgos

If you look carefully, my page is saying that 13 does not carry it (thus the X) while 51 does.

- Trip

TWC pulled the plug on the all the locals in analog.
There is nothing analog left 2-24, save for channel 18 TV Guide.
All "Basic" channels now the "Get your signal back, get an adapter" (-ish) banner.

So, goodbye analog gear. Too cumbersome to deal with Digital Cable Adapters and keeping the channels in check on any recording device or two tvs/devices in the same space.

All we have left are the Clear QAM channels.

But, with the cable companies aiming to take those away ... :mad:

How to go about really getting the word out about that all-encrypted proposal that MisterEEE posted on page 158 in #4730 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=21123375#post21123375) ? ?

the link is: http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db1014/FCC-11-153A1.pdf

Also google these two phrases in quotes:

"Broadcasters Warn Reps of Spectrum Reclamation Border Issues"

"FCC Requests Comments on Scrambling Basic Digital Cable Services"

Clear QAM is toast...and maybe most free over the air broadcast TV. Most people won't find out about this until after its a done deal and approved by the FCC and/or Congress. Money talks in this country.

I really really really don't want to lose clear-qam. It is one thing to be without analog and gain HD, but to kill off every modern device's tuning capacity is one step too far for me.

TWC pulled the plug on the all the locals in analog.
...
I really really really don't want to lose clear-qam. It is one thing to be without analog and gain HD, but to kill off every modern device's tuning capacity is one step too far for me.

My parents live in the TWC analog dark area and I warned them when it all started that their VCR would end up useless. I told them to call up and complain every time they recorded that stupid "Get your picture back" image, but I don't think they did. For a brief period early in the process, the "get your picture back" notice was even showing up on their Motorola cable box, which they found to be pretty confusing.

It seems quite clear that there's going to be no regulation to protect consumers here. People will just have to vote with their wallets. I know I'm making plans to do so.

It seems quite clear that there's going to be no regulation to protect consumers here. People will just have to vote with their wallets. I know I'm making plans to do so.

Yes, I'm foaming at the mouth waiting for the day they kill the analog on the TWC Portland system. It is going to be a real pleasure to tell them where to stick their STB!

I have an outdoor antenna fed via coax through the whole house. With a low pass filter, I can use a tuner rack (comprised of several cheapo over the air digital to analog tuners with their analog audio/video outputs fed to agile RF modulators) and piggyback the NTSC with the ATSC signals on the same coax. Any device attached to the coax will receive either ATSC or NTSC depending on it's built in tuner. I also piggyback the Dish network dual tuner RF modulated output onto this coax feed. I can then use my flat screens and VCR's with no problem. I'm really going to enjoy telling TWC to take a hike! :D

Kennebec Journal letter posted:

http://www.kjonline.com/opinion/letters/cable-company-seeks-to-encrypt-all-channels_2012-01-16.html

I'm in trying to setup my antenna in Scarborough and don't get WPFO fox 23 at all. I get abc, nbc, cbs, cw, mynet, pbs... but not fox. Is their broadcast on 23? I get a 0% signal, which seems very very odd. I'd expect something small at least. Anybody watch fox with an antenna?

I'm in Scarborough too (east side behind and below Oak Hill) and I had to use a pre-amplifier to pick up Fox, PBS, and 35.
Rock solid since I added the amplifier though. Home made "stealth hawk" antenna mounted in an attic. I'm a longtime Time Warner/Dish Network subscriber and am trying to go OTA supplemented with streaming content. Couldn't be happier with the results I've received from my $3 homemade antenna and $30 preamp. Feels good to save $75 a month!

I'm in Scarborough too (east side behind and below Oak Hill) and I had to use a pre-amplifier to pick up Fox, PBS, and 35.
Rock solid since I added the amplifier though. Home made "stealth hawk" antenna mounted in an attic. I'm a longtime Time Warner/Dish Network subscriber and am trying to go OTA supplemented with streaming content. Couldn't be happier with the results I've received from my $3 homemade antenna and $30 preamp. Feels good to save $75 a month!

Congratulations on the antenna and preamp and of course the resulting savings. When times are tough, reduce costs. TV should be one of the first things to go in a tight budget.

I'm not truly on a tight budget, but if it weren't for the news channels and a very occasional sports event on ESPN, I would like to do the same thing. It does seem that you can pick up a few shows on the internet if you should actually want them. My problem is that I am in a very poor area for an antenna and I do like that right purty HD picture that TWC provides.

I still find the online programming selection pretty poor and very, very fractured.

Even on Netflix & Hulu there are a very limited number of seasons of any given show one can watch. Some other broadcasters' websites only allow you to view a couple episodes at a time, after a certain delay from the time it aired and then only for a few weeks.

It is better than nothing, and we've certainly spent many hours watching online TV from different stations' websites; but like for morning or evening news? I don't know that there is an online equivalent. Last time I tried to watch a US news broadcast - when we had that big TV cable outage - I came up empty. ABC ran two days behind. Didn't matter whether PC or iPad app ... it seemed all old bits & pieces and online newspaper style viewing. Click on this, that, ...

I'm not sure why I can in three mouse clicks (or finger taps) tune a full news broadcast that is an hour old from some European countries ... and there is no equivalent for that in the US ... other then starting to think about certain protectionism, cable contracts, advertising rules, revenue streams, ... Anyway.

Thumbs up to slsl for his antenna setup :)

Hopefully an increasing drop out rate from customers will send a signal that enough is enough.

If cable gets their all-encrypted wish granted by the FCC, I fear I will be forced to go the antenna route - or be forced by the family to get satellite (I can't imagine piping that signal to every room).

So far, I've only hooked up one DCA box ... and I really refuse getting a bunch more. It just doesn't / can't work for anything but a single TV in a room. Bye Bye Picture-In-Picture. Half a dozen cable related devices are sitting idle. They weren't as actively used as they once were (blame netflix hulu and the ipad??) but they weren't obsolete last summer. My family is getting used to tuning the nn-nn channels. And, as long as Clear QAM stands that's what I'll stick to :)

[once again a problem where I log-in to the forum, it has my name on top, I want to comment, then it says I'm not logged in????]

This is news to me. I haven't checked to see if these rates are available in Maine. If so, it is likely that the cable co. aren't advertising it.

Can Low-Cost Packages Save Cable TV? (http://www.tvpredictions.com/cabletrend012512.htm)

... many consumers would like to keep a basic cable TV service, particularly one that includes the local channels, but can not afford a sports/basic cable package that might cost around $60. ...

Time Warner Cable was the first to introduce the low-cost package concept, unveiling its $29.99 a month TV Essentials plan last September. Comcast later offered a $24.95 a month plan. Nether package includes ESPN.

Dana

An Aunt of mine in Mechanic Falls has such a basic package, locals only afaik. She's not HD. Alaska.

Interesting they're seemingly deciding to offer an "essentials" package ... which is what basic cable is!

Seems like a new name, with less channels, and higher price.

TWC $25 (roughly) basic cable gives 24 channels.
So now they're doing $29.99 and $34.95 essentials.

(In the tone of that one tv commercial with two guys toasting some beer brand): BRILLIANT !

TWC could give away channels and I wouldn't use them if they're encrypted.

Question, does WPFO have a 23-2, and if so, what is on it?

- Trip

Question, does WPFO have a 23-2

No, WFPO 23 is the only Portland station with no subchannels. All the others have XX.1 and XX.2 except for WCBB 10 which has 10.1, 10.2 and 10.3.

The site RabbitEars.Info (http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php) gives you extensive information on any market in the US. The Portland DMA is number 72. Not only do you get a listing of channels, but also broadcast information and technical data.

No, WFPO 23 is the only Portland station with no subchannels. All the others have XX.1 and XX.2 except for WCBB 10 which has 10.1, 10.2 and 10.3.

Just checking. Heard a rumor.

The site RabbitEars.Info (http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php) gives you extensive information on any market in the US. The Portland DMA is number 72. Not only do you get a listing of channels, but also broadcast information and technical data.

I would know, I run it. ;)

- Trip

Just checking. Heard a rumor.

That is interesting...any details on the rumor?

Posted Jan. 30, 2012. TWC wraps up digital conversion in central Maine. (http://mattw.bangordailynews.com/2012/01/30/business/twc-wraps-up-digital-conversion-in-central-maine/)

Time Warner Cable said it would wrap up its digital conversion in its central Maine market early Tuesday, when the remaining analog channels on its lineup are transitioned to the all-digital format in 17 communities, including Lewiston, Auburn and Norway.

The cable company said the conversion to an all-digital lineup means that customers in the affected communities will need a palm-sized digital adapter or digital set-top box in order to continue to receive their TV programming.

“The vast majority of our customers have already secured their digital adapters and are ready for the transition to all-digital,” said Paul S. Schonewolf, area vice president for Time Warner Cable of New England. “If they haven’t already done so, customers will need to pick up and install a digital adapter so they don’t miss any of their favorite shows like American Idol, NCIS or Parenthood.”

Time Warner said once consumers who subscribe to the basic cable package get the digital adapter, they will receive up to 14 additional channels, including C-SPAN2, EWTN and PBS World. Customers who receive Time Warner Cable’s Classic/Standard cable package will receive those channels plus CMT, TruTV, Oxygen, Travel and Speed.

Residential customers can get as many digital adapters as they need at no cost through December 2013. Beginning in January 2014, digital adapters will cost only 99 cents a month, per adapter.

Digital conversion communities for January 31:

Auburn

Bethel

Buckfield

Greenwood

Greene

Lewiston

Leeds

Lisbon

Newry

Norway

Paris

Sabattus

Turner

Wales

Waterford

West Paris

Woodstock

That is interesting...any details on the rumor?

If I thought the rumor was true, I would share. I thought it was false before I asked the question. I don't want to be responsible for spreading incorrect information if I can help it.

- Trip

Comcast in Brunswick launched 3 3d channels. They launched xf3d and ESPN3d. They also launched a ppv 3d channel. I don't have a 3d tv but it showed up on the channel guide. Just some info.

Chris

Comcast this morning launched me-tv on channel 175.

The two coax cables from the splitter should be reversed. The digital adapter outputs on VHF 3 or 4 and can be connected to the over the air coax input on the TV. The other cable that will allow you to tune the clear QAM should be connected to the cable tv coax input on the TV.

I actually got around to trying this today (after the usual cable input shuffle to get something onto the big screen) and cannot the signal from the wall and that from the Digital Cable Adapter to merge gracefully onto channel 3/4.

Using two splitters, one from the wall and one from the DCA ... I tried to recreate that setup, basically dedicating one splitter to merge the signal to the big screen HDTV.

Disconnected cable coax from wall to HDTV.
Deleted the analog channels from the HDTV.
Partial rescan of analog channels on HDTV with just the DCA attached on 3.
Channel 3 shows clearly.
Nothing else works (no passthrough of the Clear QAM 70+)
Attached the cable line to the splitter that feeds to the HDTV and I get a scrambled mess on 3 (or 4) because TWC pushes that "get your signal back" banner on regular cable.

Anybody know what I could possibly do or attach inline to eliminate analog cable on that one leg? So that it would be analog from the DCA and digital from the wall?

Note that all our TVs have only one cable coax input, as far as I recall.

I actually got around to trying this today (after the usual cable input shuffle to get something onto the big screen) and cannot the signal from the wall and that from the Digital Cable Adapter to merge gracefully onto channel 3/4.

Using two splitters, one from the wall and one from the DCA ... I tried to recreate that setup, basically dedicating one splitter to merge the signal to the big screen HDTV.

Disconnected cable coax from wall to HDTV.
Deleted the analog channels from the HDTV.
Partial rescan of analog channels on HDTV with just the DCA attached on 3.
Channel 3 shows clearly.
Nothing else works (no passthrough of the Clear QAM 70+)
Attached the cable line to the splitter that feeds to the HDTV and I get a scrambled mess on 3 (or 4) because TWC pushes that "get your signal back" banner on regular cable.

Anybody know what I could possibly do or attach inline to eliminate analog cable on that one leg? So that it would be analog from the DCA and digital from the wall?

Note that all our TVs have only one cable coax input, as far as I recall.

your going to need to get an A/B switch a quality 2-way splitter and put the splitter at the line coming from the wall and put that cable in the input on the spliter and hook up a cable on one output to the dta and one out put to the a/b switch and then hook another cable from the DTA to the switch and and a cable from the output on the switch to your tv. Yeah that is complicated!

I personally have line coming in -> two splitter -> one leg goes to a three way amp and the other a direct line to my cable modem and then - from the 3 or 4 way amp I have 3 output and the output in my room has a three way splitter which one output goes to my SAMSUNG HDTV and the other goes to my DCX3400 so that I can do picture in picture through my TV.

Thanks Kevin.

I'll just break down and do the switch setup then at some point. No biggie & not confusing to me. I've wired plenty of A/V stuff since I was kid and have a couple cable amps & various quality splitters handy. Just a tad sad to have to tear stuff apart and have to go back to those switch days.

Anyway. I had thought to understand that it was possible to "merge" (for lack of a better word) the two coax signals onto one cable, but for that I would clearly need some kind of filter in-line to block the obsolete analog from TWC carrying the "get the adapter" messages.

One thing I observer last week, is that there are a bunch of channels > 100 on the Digital Cable Adapter.

122 speed, 156 wmtw, 165 news 8, 166 wecsh weather, 180 mpbn, 181 pbs plus, 182 pbs create, 183 pbs world, 195 rttv, 292-296 shopzea, 1999 ontwc

---

Have any of you had technical issues with your Digital Cable Adapter(s)?

I am only using one so far, on secondary smaller tv, but it seems somewhat of an ongoing issue where some channels are not available and show the black "service interruption ... call" screen. I don't think it is a wire line issue as the box is probably within 10 feet of wire of the service entrance to the house.

I typically haven't worried about it and just watched something on the primary TV in Clear QAM.

But, we were missing channel 4 tonight and enjoy a laugh with two and a half men while using the big screen as a computer display ... so I decided to call TWC. Btw: channel 4 has been fine for weeks.

The tech support line said that there was no outage or other network issue and that the digital cable adapter had to be reset & re-authorized onto the network ... which would also reset the channels we're allowed to receive.

He reset the adapter remotely and said to wait 45 min to an hour for the missing channels to re-appear. Of course doing so also took out channel 3 & 5. No 3 4 5 7 23 24 ... now for close to 50 min post call.

10 hours later, still no # 3 4 5 ...
As I suspected stuff doesn't auto-magically re-appear after 45-60 min.
So I'll put in another phone call, I guess ...

The fight against Clear-QAM encryption may finally get some traction with some tech sites reporting on Boxee's complaint

http://gigaom.com/video/boxee-fcc-clear-qam/

An AP story here (http://apnews.excite.com/article/20120215/D9STQVV00.html) reports that nationally, Comcast lost fewer customers in its 4th quarter of last year than in the past five years! Why you may ask? Comcast says more TV channels and better service are responsible! No kidding!!

Gee. If you give customers more for their money and are more responsive to their requests, they might stick around? WOW. What a concept!

We have no way of knowing specifically what is happening with Comcast in the Brunswick area. But, based on significant improvement in the number of HD TV channels offered, new TV STBs plus the addition of phone and broadband internet service - all of which work very well at my location - Comcast has come a long way once it decided to fully adopt the orphan SusCom 11 community MSO into the Comcast Xfinity network.

Dana

In looking through this thread, the last time I noticed a mention of a problem with lip/audio sync was in 2008. Unfortunately I have a big problem with it at this time.

I live in Thomaston and have Time Warner Cable (via Augusta) including TW HD channels. When I began to notice the problem in the HD channels, I had TW come out and take a look. While the service man could easily see the problem, he did not have a solution for it. He called back to the local office (Rockland) and was told that the problem arises because of the way some of the HD channels get to TW. (I have no technical knowledge of this point but am just repeating what he told me.) He said that some of the HD channels come in a group to TW via Channel 18 and then are upconverted by TW into HD quality and that the problem is that the sync issue is due to the way TW gets the channels in the first place.

He said they are trying to work out the issues but don't know when that will happen.

Is anyone else having this issue (particularly with TW Augusta)...and perhaps more importantly are there people with TW Augusta who are NOT having the problem?

Last night's Academy Awards broadcast on ABC (Channel 708 for me) was particularly bad...the sync problem occured throughout the program as well as on commericals, both network and local.

In looking through this thread, the last time I noticed a mention of a problem with lip/audio sync was in 2008. Unfortunately I have a big problem with it at this time.

I live in Thomaston and have Time Warner Cable (via Augusta) including TW HD channels. When I began to notice the problem in the HD channels, I had TW come out and take a look. While the service man could easily see the problem, he did not have a solution for it. He called back to the local office (Rockland) and was told that the problem arises because of the way some of the HD channels get to TW. (I have no technical knowledge of this point but am just repeating what he told me.) He said that some of the HD channels come in a group to TW via Channel 18 and then are upconverted by TW into HD quality and that the problem is that the sync issue is due to the way TW gets the channels in the first place.

He said they are trying to work out the issues but don't know when that will happen.

Is anyone else having this issue (particularly with TW Augusta)...and perhaps more importantly are there people with TW Augusta who are NOT having the problem?

Last night's Academy Awards broadcast on ABC (Channel 708 for me) was particularly bad...the sync problem occured throughout the program as well as on commericals, both network and local.

I am on TWC Augusta and have only seen very brief and very occasional occurences of sync problems. Very rare.

From reading the Forum for years, the problem can be anywhere in the system from the set back to the source and relates to the difference in time that it takes to process video and video. Most of the problems are probably at the converter / tv set location if it is a constant issue.

Your cablebox can be instructed to send a 480i picture to the set or 480p, 720p and 1080i. New sets in the last couple of years can convert the signal received to 1080p. If the box is set to send 480 the tv set has to upconvert a long way to get to 1080p. I ASSUME (don't know, no expert), it might take an extra second to do this.

You might check the twc box to see what level signal is being sent to the tv.
"The User Settings menu can be accessed with your remote control by powering OFF the DCX3200 set top and then pressing the MENU key on the remote control within 2 seconds."

If you don't have this particular converter box, check TWC's website for your make and model. I was suspicious of this little DCX3200 because it was so much smaller than its predecessor, but it has been just fine for more than a year, now.

There are other settings available on the user settings menu and you might want to look them over. The TW installer left the wrong aspect setting on my box and I had to change it.

I am on TWC Augusta and have only seen very brief and very occasional occurences of sync problems. Very rare.

From reading the Forum for years, the problem can be anywhere in the system from the set back to the source and relates to the difference in time that it takes to process video and video. Most of the problems are probably at the converter / tv set location if it is a constant issue.

Your cablebox can be instructed to send a 480i picture to the set or 480p, 720p and 1080i. New sets in the last couple of years can convert the signal received to 1080p. If the box is set to send 480 the tv set has to upconvert a long way to get to 1080p. I ASSUME (don't know, no expert), it might take an extra second to do this.

You might check the twc box to see what level signal is being sent to the tv.
"The User Settings menu can be accessed with your remote control by powering OFF the DCX3200 set top and then pressing the MENU key on the remote control within 2 seconds."

If you don't have this particular converter box, check TWC's website for your make and model. I was suspicious of this little DCX3200 because it was so much smaller than its predecessor, but it has been just fine for more than a year, now.

There are other settings available on the user settings menu and you might want to look them over. The TW installer left the wrong aspect setting on my box and I had to change it.

Thanks for the suggestions...That was the first thing the TW guy checked on and it is at 1080i. Also, I went back and switched through the various audio options on the cable box...auto/pass through/L-PCM....but no change in results. The worst station seems to be 768 (Weather Channel HD). Another station where it is usually very noticeable is MPBN (712). CNNHD (760) will sometimes be bad and sometimes not.

Thanks for the suggestions...That was the first thing the TW guy checked on and it is at 1080i. Also, I went back and switched through the various audio options on the cable box...auto/pass through/L-PCM....but no change in results. The worst station seems to be 768 (Weather Channel HD). Another station where it is usually very noticeable is MPBN (712). CNNHD (760) will sometimes be bad and sometimes not.

Are you using the tv set's speakers or routing off into separate audio epuipment?

Are you using the tv set's speakers or routing off into separate audio epuipment?

I get the same results with both the internal and external speakers.:(

I get the same results with both the internal and external speakers.:(

Ok. Cable direct to cablebox and HDMI direct to tv is the way to diagnose the problem.

Ok. Cable direct to cablebox and HDMI direct to tv is the way to diagnose the problem.

Not sure I understand you. Yes, my cable goes direct to my cable box and I then connect the cable box via HDMI directly to my tv.

Not sure I understand you. Yes, my cable goes direct to my cable box and I then connect the cable box via HDMI directly to my tv.

That's exactly what I said and what I meant. Some people do all kinds of things with their connections and, then, wonder what the problem is.

Unfortunately, I don't have a solution, but if the problem is constant, you will surely want to resolve it. If possible, check with your neighbors to see if they experience the same thing. After that, try the set manufacturer's customer service. Also, someone on AVS should have suggestions. Sync used to be a fairly frequent issue, but sees to be less common, now.

Not sure I understand you. Yes, my cable goes direct to my cable box and I then connect the cable box via HDMI directly to my tv.

There are probably some channels "in the clear" like MPBN, so try a direct connection, bypassing the box, to your tv. You will need to do an automatic search. Then shift back to the box.

When you get the sync problem with the box, shift the cable to direct to the tv and see if it still there. At least you will be able to isolate the problem to either the box or the direct signal.

All this is predicated to having some non-scrambled channels, which should be there.

There are probably some channels "in the clear" like MPBN, so try a direct connection, bypassing the box, to your tv. You will need to do an automatic search. Then shift back to the box.

When you get the sync problem with the box, shift the cable to direct to the tv and see if it still there. At least you will be able to isolate the problem to either the box or the direct signal.

All this is predicated to having some non-scrambled channels, which should be there.

There are plenty of unscrambled channels. His problem will be in finding an unscrambled channel that matches the offending channel from the box. The only unscrambled HD channels are local broadcast stations.

Does anyone know if TWC has the HD version of the adapter, yet? Last year, their website said they would make it available by the end of that year.

Thanks for the various suggestions. I will try and see what I can come up with...but as I noted in my first post TWC seems to be claiming responsibility for this problem though I have not followed up with them yet to see if they are actually doing anything about it. It is interesting though that there are no other reports of this problem.

Couple of other things:

The problem only seems to arise when using HDMI, not component connections. And the problem also arises when using the box at 1080i...it does not arise when I am viewing another tv which is only 720p.

By the way, I have switched boxes without any change of results.

There are plenty of unscrambled channels. His problem will be in finding an unscrambled channel that matches the offending channel from the box. The only unscrambled HD channels are local broadcast stations.

He said MPBN was one and it is unscrambled with CC so my guess is his is also.

The problem only seems to arise when using HDMI, not component connections. And the problem also arises when using the box at 1080i...it does not arise when I am viewing another tv which is only 720p.

I have found differences in performance with HDMI cables. I got some on Amazon and regretted it. Check out Monoprice

http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp

for excellent quality at great prices.

So you might want to try a different cable.

I have found differences in performance with HDMI cables. I got some on Amazon and regretted it. Check out Monoprice

http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp

for excellent quality at great prices.

So you might want to try a different cable.

Thanks...but actually that was one of the first things I did. I have not yet had time to try to search for "unscrambled" channels...but will get to that over the next few days.

Thanks...but actually that was one of the first things I did. I have not yet had time to try to search for "unscrambled" channels...but will get to that over the next few days.

I believe you are on TWC Augusta, so:
74-4 WGAN HD
85-1 WPME HD
85-2 WMTW HD
88-6 WABI HD
97-1 WPXT HD
97-2 WGAN HD (duplicate)
98-4 WPFO HD
99-11 WCSH HD
106-6120 Ovation HD
99-16 MPBN HD

99-11 is NBC / WCSH HD (not 98-11)

Then there's also

79-10 Create
81-11 MPBN/PBS
99-16 MPBN/PBS

on TWC Augusta.

Last night I watched the Red Sox first televised game from the new jetBlue stadium in Florida. This year for the first time these games will be in HD (1080i) and DD 5.1 audio. Here's the remaining schedule.

NESN's 2012 Red Sox Spring Training Game Schedule
DATE OPPONENT TIME

Sunday, March 4 Minnesota 1:30 PM
Monday, March 5 at Minnesota (Fort Myers) 7:00 PM
Friday, March 9 Pittsburgh 7:00 PM
Saturday, March 10 Tampa Bay 7:00 PM
Sunday, March 11 at Baltimore (Sarasota) 7:00 PM
Sunday, March 18 at Tampa Bay (Port Charlotte) 1:00 PM
Tuesday, March 20 Toronto 7:00 PM
Thursday, March 22 New York Yankees 7:00 PM
Saturday, March 24 Philadelphia 1:30 PM
Sunday, March 25 at Toronto (Dunedin) 1:00 PM
Sunday, April 1 Minnesota 1:30 PM

Dana

99-11 is NBC / WCSH HD (not 98-11)

Then there's also

79-10 Create
81-11 MPBN/PBS
99-16 MPBN/PBS

on TWC Augusta.

There are a fairly good number of SD channels in the clear if you run automatic program.

True, there's another dozen or more of various kinds, which I've never watched. I was just adding the MPBN channels.

Again...thanks for all your comments/suggestions regarding my Sync issues. For the past few days the problem has gone away. Here's crossing my fingers that it remains that way.

I can no longer find the QAM channel for WCSH HD using automatic programming. Is it entirely gone or is the automatic search on my tv simply not picking it up?

If you know what the QAM channel # is on the TWC Augusta system, I would appreciate knowing what it is so that I can try directly punching it in.

I'm on TWC Augusta also and they're starting to give me grey hair, for at least the past month.

For one, I have troubles receiving some low channels on the DCA, like 4, 5 ... being totally gone. While in Clear-QAM I always have trouble with 98-4 stuttering (no matter which tv or cable length) in the evening for our laugh of the day with two and a half men. A couple times I've intended to call TWC in the morning, and guess what 4 and 5 are back on my box. Two evenings later, they're gone again.

Secondly, the past week I'm having trouble with my clear-qam channels. Some have gone dark like 99-16 and 99-11. Checked with another TV. Same thing.

Finally did a rescan this morning. It now lists 60 digital and 16 analog channels.

Turns out they slotted 99-11 to 7-11 and 99-16 to 7-16 and made a few other moves with for instance WABI 88-6 and FOX 98-4 ... but I haven't figured out yet where to, because of all the commercials. It is like a small soup of digital channels in the low channel #s.

Of course they couldn't have done it logically like put WABI5 on 5-1 & 5-2. NBC WCSH6 on 6-1 & 6-2, etc.

As any time before when I've had trouble with Clear-QAM I dread trying to talk to someone in TWC customer service because they're always ignorant about clear-qam channel availability and mapping.

I fully expect this week to be the start of one of those long periods, again, like a few years ago, where digital channels are going to be on/off for days or weeks, moved around to different channel #s, ...

I'm hoping this could be a thing where ultimately they're going to put the digitals on 2-1, 3-1, 4-1, etc. but why can't they JUST DO IT and get it over with? Everybody rescans all their tvs once, everything is in a logical place and we're done.

:(

TWC Augusta
Today's CLEAR-QAM channel line-up ... as far as I can gather, lots of infomercials & commercials on without channel designation, that's where a few ? come in.


2 blank
3 blank
4 missing
5 missing
6 missing
7-11 NBC hd
7-14 NBC sd
7-15 PBS MPBN sd
7-16 PBS MPBN hd
8-1 CBS hd
8-3 CW
8-4 CBS
9-1 ? sd
9-2 FOX
9-5 HSN
9-6 TVA (french)
9-7 CBS
9-8 HSN
10-1 -2 -3 -4 TV Guide
10-5 CSPAN2 BOOKTV
10-6 CBS
10-7 ? (local)
11 missing
12 missing
13 missing
14-4 ?
15 -> 22 missing
23 blank
24 blank
59 -> 70 blank
74-4 CBS hd
75-5 CBS sd
79-1 infomercial
79-2 religious
79-3 shopping
79-4 infomercial
79-5 shopping
79-6 RT (french)
79-7 WMTW 2 sd
79-8 twc infomercial
79-9 local
79-10 CREATE
81-1 shopping
81-2 local
81-3 CANADA
81-5 WCSH 2 hd
81-6 thecooltv
81-7 shopping qvc
81-8 CSPAN
81-9 ?
81-10 religious ewtn
81-11 MPBN
85-1 infomercial
85-2 WMTW hd
85-4 WMTW sd
85-6 ? local
87-9 twc infomercial
97-1 CW hd
97-2 CBS hd
97-4 CBS sd
98-4 ? infomercial
98-5 WMTW 2 sd
102-22 -33 -44 -55 twc junk
105-5178 and up junk audio only



Note the number of channels CBS is on???

The problem really with these channel shifts is that you have to rescan all your tvs and remove any channels you don't want and edit your favorites if your tv has such a feature. Kinda really tedious.

I can no longer find the QAM channel for WCSH HD using automatic programming. Is it entirely gone or is the automatic search on my tv simply not picking it up?

If you know what the QAM channel # is on the TWC Augusta system, I would appreciate knowing what it is so that I can try directly punching it in.

Try 7-11 for WCSH6 hd that went missing on 99-11

Try 7-11 for WCSH6 hd that went missing on 99-11

Thanks, Ice. I have them all, now. I didn't look at what the scan produced in the lower #'s. They were there.

I don't use the tv that doesn't have a box very often, but it's nice to have the HD channels plugged into a list of favorites for ready access when I do use it.

You are just the opposite of me then. I only have one analog LCD TV that is hooked up to a digital cable adapter and I watch pretty much any other TV. Probably 99% clear-qam hd 720 & 1080 :)

I was surprised about those stations moving to lower channel numbers as well. I suspected it, while scanning, because during the digital tuner phase it seemed to pick up stations very early on. For years (in Maine) the [digital] tuners only started to add up numbers over half way or two thirds of the progress bar (70 & up). This time it started right off the bat, then a big gap and then the bulk of stations.

The mapping just doesn't make any sense to me and really makes me wonder what the end goal will look like ... and what long road we have ahead of us with these unannounced moves.

This must be the longest that this thread has gone without a comment. Not even a word from old friend Dana. He must be happy with his cable system, now that he is free of his satellite dish.

Ice Rabbit must be enjoying his digital adapters.

No complaints or grievances. Just satisfied smiles all around.

This must be the longest that this thread has gone without a comment. Not even a word from old friend Dana. He must be happy with his cable system, now that he is free of his satellite dish.

Ice Rabbit must be enjoying his digital adapters.

No complaints or grievances. Just satisfied smiles all around.

Good to hear from you, Stan.

I am satisfied with the upgraded Brunswick Comcast cable system. Not so much in terms of the monthly bill - we have Comcast phone, internet and HDTV here. It's very hard to be selective because desirable channels are intentionally scattered across several bundles. But the quality of the signal and broad array of channel offerings certainly equals what I used to get via satellite. And the terrible problem I had last year with NESN DD 5.1 audio on Red Sox games has gone away.

Of course Comcast isn't satisfied. Now they are marketing home security systems in this area. What next?

Dana

Murphy's LAW. As soon as I said I was satisfied with Comcast service in Brunswick, a problem popped up. The cable internet went out last night about 11 PM. I decided just to go to bed and hope it would be up when I awoke. No such luck.

So, I called the infamous Comcast customer service line. The first rep asked me to pull the power plug and disconnect the coax from the modem to test it. That disconnected me since I use the Comcast phone service! Not a good test of rep brain power.

Rep number two wanted me to test everything to do with our home wireless network. When I objected he said he'd be in trouble if he dispatched a network technician and the problem wasn't with the network. I said a customer was already in trouble and that should be his primary concern. Whereupon he "discovered" I wasn't authorized to order internet repair service. Just TV repair. WHAAT? I hung up.

Finally, my daughter called customer service and found out almost immediately that there was an area internet outage that did not affect Comcast phone or TV. It was being worked on and probably would be fixed by late morning. Now if only the first two reps had been so alert ...

Actually, the internet was back up by 9 AM!

Comcast has a bad rep as reported in this article "Comcast seeks reputation change with Xfinity brand." (http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/02/09/comcast-xfinity-idUSN0515328620100209) The name change to Xfinity was supposed to herald a change for the better in customer service.

The importance of customer service cannot be underestimated, analysts said, pointing to a strong correlation between customer satisfaction and subscriber growth.

It's hard to say that it has, based on my experience this morning.

Dana

TWC is sometimes unavailable first thing in the morning. I can only assume they do their housekeeping at that time because, otherwise, it is always there, it seems.

Glad to hear that cable is working for you. I can't help but needle you a little bit due to your past experience with cable and satellite.

I had the same problem this morning. My problem calling tech support is if you just want to know if there is a problem you still have to jump through hoops to get info. i've had this service long enough to know what to do to try to solve the problem myself. I'm just trying to find out if there is an outage. If they just had a message on the phone system it would help alot.

Chris

I had the same problem this morning. My problem calling tech support is if you just want to know if there is a problem you still have to jump through hoops to get info. i've had this service long enough to know what to do to try to solve the problem myself. I'm just trying to find out if there is an outage. If they just had a message on the phone system it would help alot.

Chris

When my daughter called, the rep who answered said there was a note on her computer about the internet area trouble in Brunswick. Why the other reps missed it, I don't know. But, your point is well taken. Next time there's an outage, I'll start the conversation by asking if it's area wide. ;)

Dana

This must be the longest that this thread has gone without a comment. Not even a word from old friend Dana. He must be happy with his cable system, now that he is free of his satellite dish.

Ice Rabbit must be enjoying his digital adapters.

No complaints or grievances. Just satisfied smiles all around.

LOL :)

Thanks for thinking about me :) and the nudge. Nothing new to report, really.

Still only using one DCA, on a small tv without tuner. All the rest of them are clear-qam or die ... and I strictly watch a few channels in HD and Create (mainly TOH, Rick Steves, etc) ;)

Off topic 1) A retired family member in FL was faced with the loss of clear-qam after a local move, just two streets over, and amazingly enough was fed the same lies & ignorance about clear-qam ... and got the big up-sell to upgrade to the $69.99 service level to get those HD channels back (which I don't think would have been HD actually, just sounded like classic 2-70 to me). Fortunately after resetting the TV and playing around with an antenna scan & back to tuner scan, everything came back. Keeping the bill the same.

Off topic 2) For those who may have Smart Vizio TVs ... our big screen Vizio TV now crashes from time to time, without rime or reason, about twice a week, after they pushed an automatic firmware update down the pipe a few weeks ago ... of course you can't decline the update. TV worked fine for one year. Now they have to mess it up???

Oh, I did see several hundred comments added to the FCC proposal regarding going all-encrypted, thanks to an organization in DC with a post on their website, public knowledge. One night I read every single comment (half of them were boilerplate, but read all the other ones). At least we're no longer just two dozen people commenting about keeping clear-qam clear and hd.

Is anyone else suffering a partial time warner cable outage?

Im on a cableCARD and have been without cable for about two days now. I got about 50% of the channels back on the cableCARD today, while the HD box downstairs has all the channels back :confused: This is the waterville area

and my father in the Pittsfield area (which i think is out of the bangor time warner office) was without cable just for Sunday. but was all good this afternoon, but he said nesn has gone back out......but i get nesn is one of the channels that comes in just fine on my cableCARD :confused:

just wanted to know if anyone else is having issues?

[QUOTE=OneAn9ryN00b;21969332]Is anyone else suffering a partial time warner cable outage?

Im on a cableCARD and have been without cable for about two days now. I got about 50% of the channels back on the cableCARD today, while the HD box downstairs has all the channels back :confused: This is the waterville area

and my father in the Pittsfield area (which i think is out of the bangor time warner office) was without cable just for Sunday. but was all good this afternoon, but he said nesn has gone back out......but i get nesn is one of the channels that comes in just fine on my cableCARD :confused:

just wanted to know if anyone else is having issues?[/QUO

I lost channels several times when I had cable card, but it only took a phone call to have them back up and running in minutes. Very easy and quick.

FWIW ... I did not observe cable outages on basic basic in the greater Augusta area.

ME-TV has launched on 83-16 in clear qam on the TWC Portland system.