i had a run of unused cable under the house. it was connected to a splitter but not terminated or ran through the floor. its been there since i bought the house. i don't need it. i decided to remove that line at the splitter and install a 75ohm terminating resistor.
there are 2 splitters in my installation. i think i could probably do without 1 splitter. i imagine removing one could only help. i do get some drop outs and pixelization occasionally.
the main line goes into a 4 way splitter outside the house. #1 output is plugged by the cable co. ((and i cant figure out how to remove that terminator. its about 2" long, is threaded onto the splitter, the other end has male threads and is hallow about an inch, when i try to unthread it from the splitter it just turns loosely like its a sleeve over something else there is nowhere to put a wrench or anything. what is it?)) output #2 is the one that had cable but wasn't being used. i removed the cable and installed the terminating resistor. #3 is going to a bedroom. #4 goes to a 3 way splitter under the house. this 3 way splitter supplies lines to the other 2 bedrooms and the living room. seems like, unless i find a need for the extra leg, there is no reason to have the 3 way splitter. provided i can remove the TW termination on the 4 way i may just buy some coax and make 4 new runs off that. is there enough justification in doing this considering cost? would it be cheaper to let the cable company take care of it?
things to consider: I'd have to buy cable, ends, crimp tool, masonry drill bit (gotta make 1 more hole in the foundation for the 4th line in). the house was built in 1990 i don't know what type of coax it has cant find anything written on the cable.

The 8300hd and 8300hdc is it with the later being the OCAP box.

I just talked my parents into digital cable and HD and they got that OCAP box. Man that thing sucks. Takes forever to boot up and the guide and menu structure is terrible. I hope nothing happens to my regular HD8300DVR.

Buddy had service call yesterday after returning 3 of new boxes w/Maestro software, was told by tech that software issue is with HDMI port, apparently if using component - new software is ok, no issues??? Gave him passport box, all seems to be working!

i had a run of unused cable under the house. it was connected to a splitter but not terminated or ran through the floor. its been there since i bought the house. i don't need it. i decided to remove that line at the splitter and install a 75ohm terminating resistor.
there are 2 splitters in my installation. i think i could probably do without 1 splitter. i imagine removing one could only help. i do get some drop outs and pixelization occasionally.
the main line goes into a 4 way splitter outside the house. #1 output is plugged by the cable co. ((and i cant figure out how to remove that terminator. its about 2" long, is threaded onto the splitter, the other end has male threads and is hallow about an inch, when i try to unthread it from the splitter it just turns loosely like its a sleeve over something else there is nowhere to put a wrench or anything. what is it?)) output #2 is the one that had cable but wasn't being used. i removed the cable and installed the terminating resistor. #3 is going to a bedroom. #4 goes to a 3 way splitter under the house. this 3 way splitter supplies lines to the other 2 bedrooms and the living room. seems like, unless i find a need for the extra leg, there is no reason to have the 3 way splitter. provided i can remove the TW termination on the 4 way i may just buy some coax and make 4 new runs off that. is there enough justification in doing this considering cost? would it be cheaper to let the cable company take care of it?
things to consider: I'd have to buy cable, ends, crimp tool, masonry drill bit (gotta make 1 more hole in the foundation for the 4th line in). the house was built in 1990 i don't know what type of coax it has cant find anything written on the cable.


Well if you were in Charter Territory and had wire maintenance you'd be able to request a re-work at no additional charge - I'd think TW would have simliar options, but of course only TW can tell you that. Also I know our standard is to use RG6 for in house wireing - however depending on your install you may have RG59 (Prestiege was known for using RG59 w/crimp on connectors for in house wireing when I lived in Statesville - I would hope that Adelphia and TW had higher standards.)

When considering splitters you want to use at least 1ghz / 1000mhz two way splitters - otherwise you're likely to have return signal issues and might have problems with 2 way services like Video On Demand and SDV when launched.

Kudos for using Terminators - many people don't realize open splitter connections are an open door for signal interfearance

Generally a professional grade 4 way splitter will give a signal loss of 7db at each leg - Normal 3 way splitters give two legs at 7 and one at 3.5 as such you're looking at a total signal loss of 7 on three of the first connections and 14 to 10.5 on the last two (depending on which leg it's on)


You didn't mention if you have a cable modem, generally those are given an early split to make sure they have the best signal, I'll assume you do not have one.


I'm counting 6 connections here, generally I'd do the following to wire those -

Main Drop to a 2 way splitter (3.5 db loss) and from here go to two "Balanced" 3 way splitters - these will have a 5.5 db loss per leg - that gives a total signal loss of 9db on each leg - which is better than what you had on those last connections.

you could also go with a 6 way splitter if you can find them (they are not so common) but those will give the same signal loss (9db)

Other techniques

1) 2 way (3.5 db) and then split each to a seperate Amp'd splitter - this is not too common, usually they'll put a single amp on a larger splitter - but this would probably give you 6 to 8 outlets with strong video signal - but Amps tend to amplify line noise etc - so two way services and modems are frequently skewed by them.

2) This is what I've done on my own residence and encourage techs to offer as an option where performance counts - Have a second drop run from the main tap - each drop is then fed to a balanced 3 way splitter (5.5 db signal loss) - this method pretty much guarentees that you'll have no issues with Cable Modems, DVRs, VOD or any advanced services - however if you get anything that needs to communicate with other boxes via the coax network (MoCA devices, Digeo's Moxi Mate) it won't be able to bridge that gap - you'll be limited to the 2 other devices on that splitter. To date the only device I know in common MSO usage that would be affected by this is the Moxi Box and it's Moxi Mate Companion.

Needless to say because it requries a second drop, TW would have to be brought in on that one.

^^
thanks james.
actually i only have 4 tv's so only need 4 lines. i don't have cable internet or phone. i was thinking it would be best to just remove the 2nd splitter which is a 3 output and connect all 4 lines to the main 4 output splitter.
running a second drop from the main tap would probably be quite expensive. all lines to my house are buried. the main tap is approximately 200' from the service entrance. and I'm pretty sure those buried lines go under a concrete slab.

attached is a quick diagram of what i have now.

^^
thanks james.
actually i only have 4 tv's so only need 4 lines. i don't have cable internet or phone. i was thinking it would be best to just remove the 2nd splitter which is a 3 output and connect all 4 lines to the main 4 output splitter.
running a second drop from the main tap would probably be quite expensive. all lines to my house are buried. the main tap is approximately 200' from the service entrance. and I'm pretty sure those buried lines go under a concrete slab.

attached is a quick diagram of what i have now.

Sorry, I didn't pay close attetion to the number terminators! :D

Those terminators you can't get off on the first splitter were put on with a special tool, I have those terminators, but not the tool, so mine are generally easy to talk off - but in your case, you'd probably be better disconnecting the lines and replacing the splitter.

if your lines look worn or have crimp on connections, I'd replace those too - I know crimp tools (compression tool and a stripper) run about $30 @ Home Depot - I believe RG6 has better shielding and less signal loss, but it's very difficult to tell the difference if they put compression ends on 59

with 4 lines you really shouldn't need a second drop, with no data services you should have no problems adding an AMP if need be.

Sorry, I didn't pay close attetion to the number terminators! :D

Those terminators you can't get off on the first splitter were put on with a special tool, I have those terminators, but not the tool, so mine are generally easy to talk off - but in your case, you'd probably be better disconnecting the lines and replacing the splitter.

if your lines look worn or have crimp on connections, I'd replace those too - I know crimp tools (compression tool and a stripper) run about $30 @ Home Depot - I believe RG6 has better shielding and less signal loss, but it's very difficult to tell the difference if they put compression ends on 59

with 4 lines you really shouldn't need a second drop, with no data services you should have no problems adding an AMP if need be.

all the cable ends outside the house and inside have new type ends. they're a little bigger with green or blue print on them. the cable co did this last time i had them out for drop outs and such. this was about a year ago.
they didn't go under the house at all. the ends on the cable at the 2nd splitter under the house are the old type small crimp on.
the problem a year ago ended up being an amp at another location that was overloading... they said.
i believe this house was built when prestige was the cable company here. it probably has 59.
i think I'm gonna call TW out for the drop outs then suggest they also replace the cable under the house and remove the unnecessary splitter.
(i imagine at one time that unused line i disconnected probably went to the living room so previous owners could move the TV and rearrange the space. i don't plan on ever moving my set)
thanks for all your help

all the cable ends outside the house and inside have new type ends. they're a little bigger with green or blue print on them. the cable co did this last time i had them out for drop outs and such. this was about a year ago.
they didn't go under the house at all. the ends on the cable at the 2nd splitter under the house are the old type small crimp on.
the problem a year ago ended up being an amp at another location that was overloading... they said.
i believe this house was built when prestige was the cable company here. it probably has 59.
i think I'm gonna call TW out for the drop outs then suggest they also replace the cable under the house and remove the unnecessary splitter.
(i imagine at one time that unused line i disconnected probably went to the living room so previous owners could move the TV and rearrange the space. i don't plan on ever moving my set)
thanks for all your help


Yeah, if there were crimp ends on any of that, chances are it's Prestiege and it's old RG59 and due for replacement - Hopefully TW will take good care of you, I know they've got at least one pair of eyes on this forum ;)

I know there was an issue a few years ago with Radio Shack amps - alot of people where buying their own amps from there and those amps were not only pumping up the signal inside the house, but the return going back to us - it would kill the return for an entire node - which was not good when you've got modems and VOD out there!!!!

TW just left. and as usual the problem disappeared as soon as i made the appointment. he measured -1db. he went ahead and replaced the 4 way splitter outside the house with a 2 way and even installed a plastic box for everything to fit in. under the house he replaced the 3 way splitter with a 2 way and replaced the crimp ons with compression.
he confirmed that i did have rg6 which surprised me.

i guess we'll see if the problem returns....hopefully not.

I'm a little disappointed in the picutre quality of A&E HD (283). I know i've read that TWC does not limit bandwidth on the HD channels, but it sure does look like there's not enough bandwidth for this channel (slight micro-blocking). It also looks like most of the content is not HD. Any insight or is it just one of those things I have to deal with. Most of the other HD channels look much better.

jcb3716: I'm up here in statesville, and A&E HD does the same thing here and there is not alot of hd programming on that channel either

^^
hum...i haven't watched alot of A&E but what i have watched has been in HD. i have never seen an HD station not broadcast everything in HD. it may be at different resolutions for example WSOC broadcast the news and prime time in 16x9 1080 but talk shows and such are 720 4x3.
perhaps what yall are seeing is the old movies that they have converted. i know alot of the movies on TNTHD look bad, they are broadcast stretched. making people short and wide looking. we call it "stretch o vision".
i have noticed TNTHD and a couple others (may have been a&e)broadcast older movies that aren't as clear as other HD material i assumed this was A. because its an old movie B. they didn't process it properly maybe because the original film material was poor quality C.its broadcast at a lower resolution. 'good morning vietnam' looked like crap the other day but 'a beautiful mind' looked real good today on the same channel. 'carrie is on A&E right now. its stretched and everyone is short but the PQ is sharp and definately HD. my TV says its 1080.
benny i'm talking about channel 671 A&EHD up here. we don't have channel 283.
wonder how we are on the same system as Charlotte but have different channel numbers?
BTW. there are several resolution that can be broadcast and is still considered HD. thats how DirectTV got away with HDlite for so long. it was still within set standards.
i wish it all looked as good as HDNET.

^^
hum...i haven't watched alot of A&E but what i have watched has been in HD. i have never seen an HD station not broadcast everything in HD. it may be at different resolutions for example WSOC broadcast the news and prime time in 16x9 1080 but talk shows and such are 720 4x3.


WSOC is a ABC/Disney affial. No 1080 for them. 720p.

Not sure what the local news is in, though.

^^
hum...i haven't watched alot of A&E but what i have watched has been in HD. i have never seen an HD station not broadcast everything in HD.

You must not have ever watched ESPN because they and a lot of other HD channels do not broadcast everything in HD. Applies to local channels as well.

You must not have ever watched ESPN because they and a lot of other HD channels do not broadcast everything in HD. Applies to local channels as well.

Hum... well i've got the box set to send all resolutions to my TV as broadcast. my TV will tell the resolution that is being input. it says that the news and prime time such as house and bones on wsochd is 1080i. if i tune to the wsoc analog station the TV reports 480i, if i tune to the digital channel it reports 480p during the same programs.

i do watch some ESPNhd though not much. my TV says that most of it is 720p. the occasional boxing that i watch is 1080.

I can tell you with 100% certainty that all DISNEY/ESPN/ABC HD feeds are only in 720p. If you are seeing anything else indicated on your TV it is a false indication or your cable box is doing a transcode of the signal for some reason. All HD content provided by DISNEY/ESPN/ABC is always 720p, even shows that are not HD in their original form are upconverted to 720p at the broadcast center with pillar bars added on the sides to fill the raster. Fox also uses 720p. CBS and NBC 1080i.

it says that the news and prime time such as house and bones on wsochd is 1080i. .

You have your cable box improperly set up. house and bones are 720p as well.

You have your cable box improperly set up. house and bones are 720p as well.

strange i was thinking the same thing was possible before even reading your post. you are correct. it has been awhile since i actually checked resolutions using the TV. i went back through the box and found that i didn't have the 720 resolution checked. therefore everything that was broadcast at 720 was being upconverted to 1080 by the box causing the tv to say 1080.

if nothing else comes out of this discussion at least i realized this improper set up

Hum... well i've got the box set to send all resolutions to my TV as broadcast. my TV will tell the resolution that is being input. it says that the news and prime time such as house and bones on wsochd is 1080i. if i tune to the wsoc analog station the TV reports 480i, if i tune to the digital channel it reports 480p during the same programs.

i do watch some ESPNhd though not much. my TV says that most of it is 720p. the occasional boxing that i watch is 1080.

Not sure what this has to do with your original statement that "i have never seen an HD station not broadcast everything in HD." If the programming is not in HD, regardless of the channel you are watching, you will not see HD. CBS and NBC broadcast their HD in 1080i, ABC and ESPN broadcast in 720P regardless what your TV or Cable box may say to the contrary. And this has all been said before.

Hi everyone. I am in the process of moving to the CLT area from Richmond. I am happy to move back to NC but I will certainly miss my Verizon FIOS ;)

Due to some past customer service issues with Direct TV I am looking at cable for my HD needs. When I went to the TWC site it said I had multiple options. I am moving to the Wynfield neighborhood in Huntersville. Can someone in the know let me know what provider covers that area?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Hi everyone. I am in the process of moving to the CLT area from Richmond. I am happy to move back to NC but I will certainly miss my Verizon FIOS ;)

Due to some past customer service issues with Direct TV I am looking at cable for my HD needs. When I went to the TWC site it said I had multiple options. I am moving to the Wynfield neighborhood in Huntersville. Can someone in the know let me know what provider covers that area?

Thanks in advance for the help!

I'm in Huntersville and have TW. I think Wynfield is close enough to where I am that you would have TW also.

Thank you. I went to the TWC site and priced things out as best I could. I have heard lots of horror stories about TWC, so can anyone here share insight as it relates to TWC/Dish/DTV?

Also, how is the roadrunner? I remember a few years ago some had problems with the shared bandwidth. is that still a problem? I had Verizon 15Mb in Richmond which was awesome, would it be worth it to get RR turbo or does Bellsouth have better speed?

I'm in Huntersville too, Birkdale Village, and we're on TWC, but it's the old Adelphia TWC Mooresville which may or may not be changed to TWC Charlotte at a date in the near or distant future

can anyone here share insight as it relates to TWC/Dish/DTV??

I have TWC, DirecTv, and Dish. IMHO, there is no best choice that works for everyone. You will need to reasearch the details of each carefully to see what works best for your particular situation. DirecTv has the best channel offering, but you have to consider all the other issues such as contracts,multiple sets,quality,customer service and support, etc.
I do prefer Bellsouth DSL, (having never tried RR) :)

I do prefer Bellsouth DSL, (having never tried RR) :)

I had DSL for a couple of years, then got Road Runner bundled in with my cable bill. Cable modem is noticeably faster.

Thanks, that does help. I should have been more specific in my question about the 3 providers.

I am the most interested in PQ. I know in Richmond people complained that DTV was HD lite (from what I have seen in town that doesn't seem to be the case)

Huntersville, just got rebuilt like the Statesville system, so by March the channel line-up and PQ will be exceptional..

Hmm - has the Monroe system been rebuilt?

Huntersville, just got rebuilt like the Statesville system, so by March the channel line-up and PQ will be exceptional..

Would you mind expounding upon how the picture quality will improve?


Additionally, it appears TWC must be heavily banking on switched digital to be the answer to the bandwidth dilemma.

http://www.tvpredictions.com/twhd121807.htm

If TWC doesn’t announce something soon all those new HDTV’s purchased this holiday season may be switching to DTV or Dish. My wife is even getting frustrated with the lack of HD additions to match DTV. I would assume TWC would hate to loose any of us on this forum since we probably all pay well over $100 a month for services.

it appears TWC must be heavily banking on switched digital to be the answer to the bandwidth dilemma.

I hope not, otherwise my TiVoHD is, as they say, goosed... Until they bring out the little dongle they announce a few weeks back by then.

So March sounds like the switch over date?

Hmm - has the Monroe system been rebuilt?

No, just Statesville,Troutman, and Huntersville.


"Would you mind expounding upon how the picture quality will improve? "

Alot of the QAM's in that system are still 64, so when the switch is made to 256, alot less compression artifacts in the picture. Plus it will be a 1-ghz system with alot less house counts per node than the old Adelphia set-up.

Huntersville, just got rebuilt like the Statesville system, so by March the channel line-up and PQ will be exceptional..

Was that only the old Adelphi in Huntersville that was rebuilt or the whole area?

Was that only the old Adelphi in Huntersville that was rebuilt or the whole area?


The old Adelphia...

cable tech was just out again. if you recall the last guy replaced some splitters and stuff. the next day the drop outs returned. wouldn't you know it everything has been OK today. the guy that came today happened to be the same guy from a year ago that diagnosed an amp overload problem. he checked for errors and said they were real slow right now. said the box corrects for slow errors and i probably don't even see those. said the fast errors get through and cause the A/V dropouts and pixelating. He checked all the QAM's at the road and got the same thing. he said it wasn't bad enough to call and get them on it right now but that he would put in a report to "mayberry" (dont know if thats someones name or what) and maybe they'll look at it. he said he's positive its an amp again. that the cold weather is causing the problem especially since he was out here last year in Nov. when it was cold. said the bad thing is that he's seen certain areas that when they adjust it to clear it up during the cold that i may get problems in the summer when its warm.
he explained that with it being intermittent its hard to adjust for. so he gave me his cell number to call him when it starts again. he also said he knows it will get worse.

3 more HD channels coming Monday December 24

Charlotte
HGTV-HD channel 260
Food Network HD channel 261
National Geographic HD channel 265

Statesville
HGTV HD - channel 651
Food HD - channel 652
National Geographic HD - channel 636

Hi all-

I am thinking about getting a new TV (KDL-52W3000) to replace my aging 42" plasma.

Are there any problems w/ the 8300hd and HDMI Connections?
If the DVR is connected to a TV via HDMI, will it still output a signal over the component cables? Right now, I have the dvr connected to both my TV and a front-screen projector.

Thanks,

-jamie

3 more HD channels coming Monday December 24


Aww.. We want ESPN-U in HD.. ;)

ESPNU goes HD next summer. It will be up to the cable companies and DTV to decide to carry it in HD though.

Hi all-

I am thinking about getting a new TV (KDL-52W3000) to replace my aging 42" plasma.

Are there any problems w/ the 8300hd and HDMI Connections?
If the DVR is connected to a TV via HDMI, will it still output a signal over the component cables? Right now, I have the dvr connected to both my TV and a front-screen projector.

Thanks,

-jamie

I used to have my 8300HD-DVR connected to my Sony KDF-50E2000, via HDMI, and I did have "handshake" issues with the hi-def channels from time to time. The picture would get squeezed into the middle of the screen and I'd have to switch to a standard def channel and then back to the hi-def channel to correct the problem.

So I switched to component cables and couldn't be happier. I think that the color saturation is a bit better with component over HDMI. I never had both component and HDMI connected at the same time so I can't answer that part of your question.

Best of luck with your new television!

I used to have my 8300HD-DVR connected to my Sony KDF-50E2000, via HDMI, and I did have "handshake" issues with the hi-def channels from time to time. The picture would get squeezed into the middle of the screen and I'd have to switch to a standard def channel and then back to the hi-def channel to correct the problem.

So I switched to component cables and couldn't be happier. I think that the color saturation is a bit better with component over HDMI. I never had both component and HDMI connected at the same time so I can't answer that part of your question.

Best of luck with your new television!

I did a lot of comparison of HDMI and component from the 8300 DVR to my CRT projector and I would say that the component connection is an overall more pleasing picture than it's HDMI connection. I think the 8300 crushes blacks over HDMI so that is a big reason to stay with component. I am running HDMI from my HD DVD player but component from the cable box. If I remember correctly, only one output will function at a time but it's been a while since I had all of that connected.

3 more HD channels coming Monday December 24

Charlotte
HGTV-HD channel 260
Food Network HD channel 261
National Geographic HD channel 265

Statesville
HGTV HD - channel 651
Food HD - channel 652
National Geographic HD - channel 636

sweet, thanks for the heads up

3 more HD channels coming Monday December 24

Charlotte
HGTV-HD channel 260
Food Network HD channel 261
National Geographic HD channel 265


Thats great news! I look forward to National Geographic HD myself.

3 more HD channels coming Monday December 24

Charlotte
HGTV-HD channel 260
Food Network HD channel 261
National Geographic HD channel 265


Aw, c'mon TWC, fercryinoutloud. Where is Cinemax-HD, Starz-HD, and SciFi-HD - you know, the channels people actually want??

(I'm not saying that people don't want those three, just that most folks would love more HD movie channels and a way to see BSG first-run in HD a whole lot more.)

Hi all-

I am thinking about getting a new TV (KDL-52W3000) to replace my aging 42" plasma.

Are there any problems w/ the 8300hd and HDMI Connections?
If the DVR is connected to a TV via HDMI, will it still output a signal over the component cables? Right now, I have the dvr connected to both my TV and a front-screen projector.

Thanks,

-jamie


Currently if HDMI is connected, component is inactive. This was not true a liitle over a year ago, but a firmware update fixed that

Aw, c'mon TWC, fercryinoutloud. Where is Cinemax-HD, Starz-HD, and SciFi-HD - you know, the channels people actually want??

(I'm not saying that people don't want those three, just that most folks would love more HD movie channels and a way to see BSG first-run in HD a whole lot more.)

Next you will want the firewire to work for your D-VHS Deck...Come on instead of one channel at a time you are getting three...pretty soon more will come and I hope they wait to the last minute for your final 3...:D

Aw, c'mon TWC, fercryinoutloud. Where is Cinemax-HD, Starz-HD, and SciFi-HD - you know, the channels people actually want??

(I'm not saying that people don't want those three, just that most folks would love more HD movie channels and a way to see BSG first-run in HD a whole lot more.)

i agree that there are probably better choices than those channels but i am of the mind that more HD is better than none. personally I'd like to see scifi hd, animal planet hd, comedy central Hd. if cinemaxhd was offered i'd probably sub to the max tier. but i don't because its not.

BTW, i think yall should inquire in mass about starz hd, yall should get it.we do.

BTW, i think yall should inquire in mass about starz hd, yall should get it.we do.

Been waiting on this one for about 4 years now. And the absence of Cinemax-HD is especially galling since the channel is owned by TimeWarner! :rolleyes:

Certainly, there is more content on those two HD movie channels that people would be interested in seeing than on those three they just added put together. It sure would be nice if someone from TWC would join this discussion with an explanation of what criteria drives their choices. High-paying digital-tier customers with inquiring minds want to know. :mad:

Next you will want the firewire to work for your D-VHS Deck...

Ah, someone who remembers some of my previous posts. ;) That's another sore spot....

Tonights Panthers game looks good on WCNC-HD, better than Fox on the everyday Season.

I agree, it does look very good!

Yep, that's some of the best PQ I've seen in a long time. Watched OTA.

3 more HD channels coming Monday December 24

Charlotte
HGTV-HD channel 260
Food Network HD channel 261
National Geographic HD channel 265


HGTV-HD Clear on QAM 109-2, and FOOD-HD on 109-3.. No NatGeo..

109-1 for NatGeo-HD

109-1 for NatGeo-HD


I suspected that, but All I get is black..:(

yes, that is all I see too on 265

Right now, ALL my cable is out..Good thing I have antenna, D and E as a backup!

Are you in the Mint Hill area?

Are you in the Mint Hill area?

Yep..Farmwood..Can see the old visioncable tower from the backyard.

TW seems to be having a problem with the Mint Hill area this morning.

Severe blocking/pixilization here on all of the 3 new HD channels.

I have not been having blocking on any other channels for quite some time.

Worst blocking seems to be on NatGeo. It's unwatchable. The other two settled down after a minute and are fine now. But NatGeo needs a boost.

I hear they are working on the 3 new HD Channels Monday morning 11am 12/24.

Please give them patience.

Worst blocking seems to be on NatGeo. It's unwatchable. .

same up here. the other 2 look good though.

Well, looks like its all better now. I wonder what the deal was. Anyway, I'm glad to get some new HD on TWC. This makes 7 in the last couple months. I look forward to more this spring. I've actually been looking into DirecTV lately, but if TWC can get off there butts with the HD channels I'm more than happy to stick with them.

BTW, are the new channels in the HDTier or are they free?

Well, looks like its all better now. I wonder what the deal was. Anyway, I'm glad to get some new HD on TWC. This makes 7 in the last couple months. I look forward to more this spring. I've actually been looking into DirecTV lately, but if TWC can get off there butts with the HD channels I'm more than happy to stick with them.

BTW, are the new channels in the HDTier or are they free?

According to the TWC-Charlotte website, they are free:

http://www.timewarnercable.com/charlotte/products/hdtv/hdprogramming.html

I was watching the NATGEO HD channel last night and it had lots of blocking and pixel noise. Did anyone else see this?

I noticed three or four instances of pixelization during a half hour show on the Food Channel HD last night.

HGTV-HD Clear on QAM 109-2, and FOOD-HD on 109-3.. No NatGeo..

Stupid question here (I just got a TV with a QAM tuner for Christmas). Am I able to get these channels without a cable box? I get the local HD channels fine (225-1, 240-1, etc.) but I don't get 109-1, 109-2, 109-3, etc.

Thanks.

Stupid question here (I just got a TV with a QAM tuner for Christmas). Am I able to get these channels without a cable box? I get the local HD channels fine (225-1, 240-1, etc.) but I don't get 109-1, 109-2, 109-3, etc. Thanks.

You should get them if they are in the clear. They may have encrypted already. The only QAM's that stay in the clear all the time are the locals. They're "free" if you get the digital/HD package from TWC with their converter box.. or, if you have a cablecard slot, you can get a cablecard.

The Food Network in HD, what's next Local Classified channel in HD? For crying out loud it's just cooking, who needs it in HD? Give me Sci-Fi or Spike.

You should get them if they are in the clear. They may have encrypted already. The only QAM's that stay in the clear all the time are the locals. They're "free" if you get the digital/HD package from TWC with their converter box.. or, if you have a cablecard slot, you can get a cablecard.

they must have encrypted them... I ran autoscan twice and it didn't find them. Oh well...

The Food Network in HD, what's next Local Classified channel in HD? For crying out loud it's just cooking, who needs it in HD? Give me Sci-Fi or Spike.

Obviously you've never watched Giada in HD...:)

Obviously you've never watched Giada in HD...:)

One of my coworkers has a major thing for her... Hopefully we'll get that one soon... my wive would love Rachel Ray in Hd... Me, I'd get a giggle out of Alton Brown, Iron Chef or even Ace of Cakes...

Though I would personally get more interest in SciFi HD... (Dr Who in HD... :D:cool::D - yeah, I'm a geek)

HD and Giada, a perfect dish.

Obviously you've never watched Giada in HD...:)

You think that's bad, I think Lois on Family Guy is hot! ;)

Anyone getting problems with WBTV Analog Feed?

I've noticed issues here - anlog only, HD's fine - So far confirmed in Catawba, Alexander and Caldwell Counties.

Picture is garbled with lines - like a very bad antenna connection - thought audio does not seem to be affected.

Yes, WBTV analog looks terrible today. All sorts of diagonal lines and a high noise level.

Yes, WBTV analog looks terrible today. All sorts of diagonal lines and a high noise level.

Ok, So I guess the good news means it's got to be coming from then if it's hitting both TW and Charter

Though I would personally get more interest in SciFi HD... (Dr Who in HD... :D:cool::D - yeah, I'm a geek)

the Dr. is almost the only thing i watch on scifi. it wood be cool if it was in HD. have you watched torchwood on hdnet?

have any idea when the new season of Dr Who starts on scifi ? i'm getting tired of reruns on the BBC channel.

the Dr. is almost the only thing i watch on scifi. it wood be cool if it was in HD. have you watched torchwood on hdnet?

have any idea when the new season of Dr Who starts on scifi ? i'm getting tired of reruns on the BBC channel.

If they follow suit with the last few seasons it will start to air here about mid summer, after the season ends in the UK

My best friend downloads them once they go up in the UK, quality isn't so great, but for me it's beats waiting ;)

Can anyone tell me what happened to the UNC-TV channels? I am using QAM and they have been gone for a couple weeks.

Can anyone tell me what happened to the UNC-TV channels? I am using QAM and they have been gone for a couple weeks.

No Problem here..You most likely have an issue with your cable feed affecting that particular QAM that TWC needs to service.

That's interesting, b/c my father-in-law has the same problem, and he lives five miles away. No one else has had this problem?

BTW, Bob, what did you mean that the cable needs to be serviced--the physical cable coming down into the house is the problem?

UNC-Tv is on QAM # 110 @ 711 Mhz. I get 34 db SNR here, so it's specific to your area.

UNC-TV is just like the locals free and in the clear. Sounds like a service call, I agree with Bob..

Can anyone tell me what happened to the UNC-TV channels? I am using QAM and they have been gone for a couple weeks

I had the same issue, I did a new scan and it showed up ok.

Can anyone tell me what happened to the UNC-TV channels? I am using QAM and they have been gone for a couple weeks.

We are getting them here In Hickory - I know here they only have enough transport bandwidth for one or the other so UNC HD is up during prime time and 701 - 703 are up the rest of the time.

For those of you reading this and have the power to make a change. Is there any way to adjust the volume of commercials to be more in-line with the TV shows? Over the past several months it seems to have gotten worse. We have to keep the mute button handy because it’s so bad. Typically we watch shows that we record and FF though the commercials, but some shows we watch live. I’m sure advertisers don’t want another reason for potential consumers not to watch their advertisements.

Any help or insight is much appreciated.

Sound levels are controlled at the network master control room for national spots, and at the local stations for local insertions. There is nothing the cable or satellite companies can do to control the levels of the commercials.

Plus the networks are often not at fault. Commercials are produced with the audio levels highly compressed in order to maintain a consistently high audio level. The dynamic range of most commercials is very low. So what you are hearing is the wider dynamic range of most TV shows, which lets you have quieter moments and range, slammed up against a car commercial that pegs the meter at 100% the entire time no matter what the content.

Is there any way to adjust the volume of commercials to be more in-line with the TV shows? .

Well, as Zax says, it's not that simple. In the analog days, we'd just compress the hell out of it, killing all dynamic range and be done with it. It's not that simple with Dolby Digital and 5.1..for example, with the FOX splicer,
we can't alter network audio (nor video) at all. So we have to match our local
to the ever moving target of network. It's easire if you're an ABC affiliate, and harder if you're a CBS affilaite. There are many, many posts here regarding audio and loudness at AVS, you can read for days on the issue.

Thanks for the insight. I figured it wouldn't be an easy issue to address. Perhaps in the future additional industry standards will be agreed upon that will allow for better volume control between programs and commercials.

For those of you reading this and have the power to make a change. Is there any way to adjust the volume of commercials to be more in-line with the TV shows? Over the past several months it seems to have gotten worse. We have to keep the mute button handy because it’s so bad. Typically we watch shows that we record and FF though the commercials, but some shows we watch live. I’m sure advertisers don’t want another reason for potential consumers not to watch their advertisements.

Any help or insight is much appreciated.

I have noticed this problem more with 5.1 audio. If I have my center channel level too low, the commercials will blow me out of the room, but when the 5.1 programming comes back after the commercials everything is good. I prefer more surround and less center channel, but it does cause that problem during commercials.

Just for some perspective, here's the HD offered to York County residents via Comporium:

* BIG 4 locals only (no CW, MNTV or PBS)
* ESPN
* ESPN2
* UHD
* DHDT
* NGC HD
* HDNet
* HDNM
* HBO (only premium HD movie channel)

Don't know if the person that said this a few months ago is still around here, or anyone else in the Comporium areas of York County can chime in, but I have a question about their HD service.

I currently have their HD service on an older rear projection tv, w/ the giant cable box/dvr, no big deal in that room, but I'm putting up a flat panel in another room over a pool table, so there's no where to put a cable box, especially one that's 17" x 13" geez! I've been racking my brain about this all day. At first I was just gonna see what I could get w/ the TV's QAM tuner, which I may still do, but something telling me this tv will get some action on game day, and I'd sure like to see some stuff in HD.

My fear is that the QAM tuner won't pick up the high numbered channels off my cable feed for HD, 300+, right? So, I could go over the air, but isn't that a pain, I don't think I can put an external antenna up in my neighborhood anyway, so don't know what I'd get there, and that won't get me ESPN, etc.

I've seen some neighbors w/ a small modem sized cable box, but I guess those aren't hi-def, coz I called Comporium and all they have for HD are the giant monster boxes, or so they say on the phone. I have a place I can wire a smaller box, but I can't figure out anything to do w/ the giant box. It's too wide to build a cut-through cubby between the studs on my load bearing wall (can't widen the studs), it's too deep to put on a floating shelf above the tv, and I can't put it below the tv or else will be in the way of playing pool. I even though about putting it above my kitchen cabinets on the opposite side of the tv wall, and getting a remote infrared extender, thought I could hide it behind the cabinet's crown molding, but guess what, they're only 12" deep, so the cable box won't even fit up there.

I'm running out of ideas, I hope someone has some, either on where to put it, or how to get a smaller hd box from comporium, or an easy, cost effective way w/out a big antenna to get OTA, or something, I'm all ears.

Thanks,

Karz

Don't know if the person that said this a few months ago is still around here, or anyone else in the Comporium areas of York County can chime in, but I have a question about their HD service.

I currently have their HD service on an older rear projection tv, w/ the giant cable box/dvr, no big deal in that room, but I'm putting up a flat panel in another room over a pool table, so there's no where to put a cable box, especially one that's 17" x 13" geez! I've been racking my brain about this all day. At first I was just gonna see what I could get w/ the TV's QAM tuner, which I may still do, but something telling me this tv will get some action on game day, and I'd sure like to see some stuff in HD.

My fear is that the QAM tuner won't pick up the high numbered channels off my cable feed for HD, 300+, right? So, I could go over the air, but isn't that a pain, I don't think I can put an external antenna up in my neighborhood anyway, so don't know what I'd get there, and that won't get me ESPN, etc.

I've seen some neighbors w/ a small modem sized cable box, but I guess those aren't hi-def, coz I called Comporium and all they have for HD are the giant monster boxes, or so they say on the phone. I have a place I can wire a smaller box, but I can't figure out anything to do w/ the giant box. It's too wide to build a cut-through cubby between the studs on my load bearing wall (can't widen the studs), it's too deep to put on a floating shelf above the tv, and I can't put it below the tv or else will be in the way of playing pool. I even though about putting it above my kitchen cabinets on the opposite side of the tv wall, and getting a remote infrared extender, thought I could hide it behind the cabinet's crown molding, but guess what, they're only 12" deep, so the cable box won't even fit up there.

I'm running out of ideas, I hope someone has some, either on where to put it, or how to get a smaller hd box from comporium, or an easy, cost effective way w/out a big antenna to get OTA, or something, I'm all ears.

Thanks,

Karz

Your QAM tuner will work just fine on Comporium. The local stations are in the 70's. I've setup a couple of friends down there with HD sets. One in particular went on for 3 hours on how his set wouldn't get anything directly from the cable. He shut up as soon as I dialed in the locals for him in HD. No cable box required. Just tell your set to scan. It'll find the clear-QAM stuff no problem on that system.

Your QAM tuner will work just fine on Comporium. The local stations are in the 70's. I've setup a couple of friends down there with HD sets. One in particular went on for 3 hours on how his set wouldn't get anything directly from the cable. He shut up as soon as I dialed in the locals for him in HD. No cable box required. Just tell your set to scan. It'll find the clear-QAM stuff no problem on that system.

Wow, ok, that is good to know. I'm just anxiously awaiting delivery of the new tv, and trying to have all my gear ready when it gets here, and you start thinking about how to run cables, which cables to buy, etc., and you start remembering little details you didn't think of before. Not having any reference point, I was left to assume I would have to be able to pull in channels in the 300+ range like they're numbered in set top boxes, and didn't think the QAM tuner went up that high. I'm new to the QAM thing, so I was fearing the worst. Thanks for the pompt reply, as well.

Now, maybe I can get my plans back on track and order up some cables for my other gear then.

Regards,

Karz

Wow, ok, that is good to know. I'm just anxiously awaiting delivery of the new tv, and trying to have all my gear ready when it gets here, and you start thinking about how to run cables, which cables to buy, etc., and you start remembering little details you didn't think of before. Not having any reference point, I was left to assume I would have to be able to pull in channels in the 300+ range like they're numbered in set top boxes, and didn't think the QAM tuner went up that high. I'm new to the QAM thing, so I was fearing the worst. Thanks for the pompt reply, as well.

Now, maybe I can get my plans back on track and order up some cables for my other gear then.

Regards,

Karz

There are no physical cable channels in the 300+ range. The maximum frequency a QAM tunner can "tune" is 135 (some stop at 125). The high numbers that cable uses are actually broadcast on lower channels (frequencies). The cable signal contains information that says "show this as channel XXX". The cables boxes and some TVs use this information to let you punch in 300 and get HBO. If the channel is "scrambled" then the QAM can't do anything unless there is a cable card to decrypt it.

Does anybody have a list of QAM channels that I should get without a set-top box from Time Warner in the Charlotte area? Seems like my TV gets a different set of channels everytime I auto program it. Also, I have some friends who notice they get a different set of channels from their QAM tuner on different TVs in their house. Sorry if this is an FAQ somewhere...

The link below is a story about the SDV rollout in Raleigh.

http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/855233.html

I know it's Raleigh, but they are a fellow Passport system like us in Charlotte so I figure that the timelines are similar. As I understand it, Greensboro is a SARA system and SDV has already been implemented there which is why they have more HD channels than us.

The link below is a story about the SDV rollout in Raleigh.

http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/855233.html

I know it's Raleigh, but they are a fellow Passport system like us in Charlotte so I figure that the timelines are similar. As I understand it, Greensboro is a SARA system and SDV has already been implemented there which is why they have more HD channels than us.

interesting. thanks for posting it.

The company will automatically upgrade all customers by mid-2008 without any change in prices, he said.

Wow, ok, that is good to know. I'm just anxiously awaiting delivery of the new tv, and trying to have all my gear ready when it gets here, and you start thinking about how to run cables, which cables to buy, etc., and you start remembering little details you didn't think of before. Not having any reference point, I was left to assume I would have to be able to pull in channels in the 300+ range like they're numbered in set top boxes, and didn't think the QAM tuner went up that high. I'm new to the QAM thing, so I was fearing the worst. Thanks for the pompt reply, as well.

Now, maybe I can get my plans back on track and order up some cables for my other gear then.

Regards,

Karz


My experiences here inside of Charter is most QAM tuners will give the QAM channel which, as posted before is lower. Generally a Clear QAM tuner (no card) will only see the open channels and report them by QAM number whereas once a cable card is installed the TV performs like a box and uses the same virtual channel map your normal box would.

Again, this is just what I've seen, so as a heads up don't be suprised if you get unusual channel numbers. I know when we had issues with VOD streams being unencrypted clear QAM tuners would pick up 109-1 109-2 etc

I know when we had issues with VOD streams being unencrypted clear QAM tuners would pick up 109-1 109-2 etc

He-He..installed an HD set for our business manager here at home several years ago when TWC had first started VOD and the QAM's were unencrypted.
Her husband was channel surfing the new Tv that evening, and just as she walked into the room he had landed upon one of the QAM's with adult VOD.
He had a hard time explaining to her how he got those two girls going at it...:eek:

He-He..installed an HD set for our business manager here at home several years ago when TWC had first started VOD and the QAM's were unencrypted.
Her husband was channel surfing the new Tv that evening, and just as she walked into the room he had landed upon one of the QAM's with adult VOD.
He had a hard time explaining to her how he got those two girls going at it...:eek:

We had quite a fiasco here when it blew up

The big powder keg occured when a couple got a high end LG (I want to say 52in) from a local Speciality TV and Electronics shop -

All was great until thethe kids were watching Spongebob squarepants one moment then double-x and a half (yeah, they make half ratings...) porn the next... randomly and unexpectedly...

They called our support which walked them through Vchip blocks and removing the channels - all's fixed right?

Nope, here's where it got WORSE, because LGs will delete channels from it's lineup if there was no feed and auto re-add them when there was - so if you locked out the channel it was deleted and re-added with the next video stream... and ON TOP OF IT ALL... apparently VOD movie content (other than stuff provided for Subscription services on normal channels) carrys it's metadata differently - so VChip parental controls would not apply to 90% of the adult content...

So there was *NO* blocking of it on the TV without installing a cablecard or forcing the TV to connect through to a box.

but call center had no idea of course and figured the TV was at fault (most would assume a faulty V-chip not knowing that LG treats each stream as the creation of a new channel... nor knowing that VOD movie suppliers put ratings information in a spot other than line 24 of the programming metadata...) - heck I didn't know till I got our corporate testing labs in on it...

But the customer didn't blame us, since we showed them how the TV should be blocking it, they blamed the TV... and when a second one did the same thing, they demanded a refund. The store owner did so, but then came to the local office (he kept in touch with local management as well as me personally) and was very, VERY unhappy.

We finally tested the very same TV with a Card - which forced it onto our channel map - and offered it up to the customer (without a card rental charge on their account) and all was good for them.

But it's encrypted now :D

Though that is much to the dismay of all the OTHER people who were digging it *L*

I had one guy who's only complaint was it kept changing titles on him, often without finishing the current one. I told him he'd have to find out who's ordering it and tell them "Watch the entire movie dang it"

Most of the people who brought it to our attention were visibly upset until I explained it was an issue on our side, they were not being billed for it, would not be billed for it and we can offer then a free card or box if they want to keep the content from kids... after that they were like "um... do you mind if I keep watching it then?" ;) (to which I'd say "Hey, it's out there and it's unencrypted, if you like what you see, enjoy it while it's out there... Just bear in mind the content is completely random!)

channel G4 is providing CES 2008 coverage.

Monday, 1/7, 7pm EST, G4 ,CES 2008 first day coverage

Tuesday, 1/8, 7pm EST, G4, CES 2008 second day coverage

My experiences here inside of Charter is most QAM tuners will give the QAM channel which, as posted before is lower. Generally a Clear QAM tuner (no card) will only see the open channels and report them by QAM number whereas once a cable card is installed the TV performs like a box and uses the same virtual channel map your normal box would.

Again, this is just what I've seen, so as a heads up don't be suprised if you get unusual channel numbers. I know when we had issues with VOD streams being unencrypted clear QAM tuners would pick up 109-1 109-2 etc

I'm in Salisbury with TWC out of Charlotte. I've got a Samsung Plazma. When tuning cable channels using QAM, most channels tune/show using the same numbers that may SA8300HD uses, a few don't. This TV has a cable-card slot, but I don't have a cable-card installed. Maybe that is why is uses the same numbers (just a SWAG)

I'm in Salisbury with TWC out of Charlotte. I've got a Samsung Plazma. When tuning cable channels using QAM, most channels tune/show using the same numbers that may SA8300HD uses, a few don't. This TV has a cable-card slot, but I don't have a cable-card installed. Maybe that is why is uses the same numbers (just a SWAG)

Could also be headend based, I know TW is an SA based system and up here in Charter Hickory we are a Motorola Based system

Cisco unveils new DVRs - no more Sci Atl name

http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2008/prod_010708c.html?POSITION=CESPressKitLink8&COUNTRY_SITE=us&CAMPAIGN=CES2008&CREATIVE=The+Cisco+8550HDC+DVR+Set%2DTop+Series&REFERRING_SITE=NewsatCiscoPressKit

Hey Guys,
Im in Charlotte (south central, near Southpark) and am on Time Warner Cable. I have the 8300HD Scientific Atlanta box. Im running it via HDMI to a Samsung 4665f. Ive been enjoying the HD channels immensley.

Now, I have heard other SAMMY owners who use their QAM tuners to pick up PPV stations in the upper ranges of their tuner i was thinking of running a splitter so that one end goes into my SA8300, and the other goes directly into my QAM. Hoever if all the Charlotte NC Time Warner PPV items are encrypted, then its probably not worth it.

Also Ive read some about Digital Switching comming in March, is this correct? Would l have to give up my 8300 for the latest box? (the OCAP one).

Lastly, is there any great difference with the OCAP box that I should try and upgrade to anyway?

Thanks!

D.

did ya'll see the chairman of comcast today at CES when he announced 1000 HD offerings to all areas served by them by the end of 2008? is there even that many channels available in HD? sure wish TWC would make a similar statement.

maybe that means ppv will be going hd? and he's counting all those channels? i'm just thinking out loud, but depending on how many ppv channels they have, that could count for a few hundred channels or something... still though, that's a lot, i mean most cable systems i've been on have a lot of dead channel ranges, and bs fluff, they don't even add up to 1k channels really, of any kind of programming, so i'd like to know more about what he's talking about....

karz

According to the article I've read, a lot of that content is going to be in their On Demand offerings.

According to the article I've read, a lot of that content is going to be in their On Demand offerings.

that makes sense. i didn't read an article or even see the whole announcement. i was watching on G4 and they clipped a lot of it out. that 1000 "offerings" could easily be 1000 shows not 1000 channels. i had assumed he meant 1000 channels because the bar graph behind him showed direct tv with 150 and comcast with 1000. and I've seen DTV saying they will have 150HD channels. of course that graph could have been marketing garbage comparing apples to oranges.

Hey Guys,
Im in Charlotte (south central, near Southpark) and am on Time Warner Cable. I have the 8300HD Scientific Atlanta box. Im running it via HDMI to a Samsung 4665f. Ive been enjoying the HD channels immensley.

Now, I have heard other SAMMY owners who use their QAM tuners to pick up PPV stations in the upper ranges of their tuner i was thinking of running a splitter so that one end goes into my SA8300, and the other goes directly into my QAM. Hoever if all the Charlotte NC Time Warner PPV items are encrypted, then its probably not worth it.

Also Ive read some about Digital Switching comming in March, is this correct? Would l have to give up my 8300 for the latest box? (the OCAP one).

Lastly, is there any great difference with the OCAP box that I should try and upgrade to anyway?

Thanks!

D.

As far as splitting the cable at the set, go for it your not going to really hurt anything. keep your box, there is no need to switch out to OCAP, everything is pretty much identical, minus the cable card..

As far as splitting the cable at the set, go for it your not going to really hurt anything. keep your box, there is no need to switch out to OCAP, everything is pretty much identical, minus the cable card..


Hey thanks for that, but I dont want to go through the trouble of splitting my cable into the QAM tuner, if all I find there is encrypted stuff. I already have the Time Warner Digital HD package. My question is that on other cable systems you can use your QAM tuner to surf whatever PPV items your neighbors are watching, as a fortuitous side affect of QAM.

Does anyone know if this is viewable in the Charlotte Time Warner area?

Does anyone know if this is viewable in the Charlotte Time Warner area?

They are not.

I just bought a vizio for my bedroom. I have the new SA 8300HDC dvr box. I programmed the remote to control my tv, but how do you program your remote to automatically know how to control the tv volume and not the cable box volume... with out pressing MODE TV each time.

I have a dvr in my den and the TWC cable guy did this for me where ever time I press VOLUME up or down it changes the volume on the stereo.

Now I need it for the TV in my room.

Suggestions?

I just bought a vizio for my bedroom. I have the new SA 8300HDC dvr box. I programmed the remote to control my tv, but how do you program your remote to automatically know how to control the tv volume and not the cable box volume... with out pressing MODE TV each time.

I have a dvr in my den and the TWC cable guy did this for me where ever time I press VOLUME up or down it changes the volume on the stereo.

Now I need it for the TV in my room.

Suggestions?

That feature is generally referred to as "punch through". Where you punch through your volume buttons to the dvr keys. Not sure how to do it on these remotes but maybe that'll help you.

. I have the new SA 8300HDC dvr box. I programmed the remote to control my tv, but how do you program your remote to automatically know how to control the tv volume and not the cable box volume... with out pressing MODE TV each time.
Suggestions?

perhaps ask over in the navigator thread or passport thread whichever it is. there are some really knowledgeable folks over there. not saying there arent some here too. but if you want a quick answer it cant hurt to pose the question here and there.

I just bought a vizio for my bedroom. I have the new SA 8300HDC dvr box. I programmed the remote to control my tv, but how do you program your remote to automatically know how to control the tv volume and not the cable box volume... with out pressing MODE TV each time.

I have a dvr in my den and the TWC cable guy did this for me where ever time I press VOLUME up or down it changes the volume on the stereo.

Now I need it for the TV in my room.

Suggestions?
Check the instructions for the remote that TWC should have given you. If you don’t have that check check http://www.timewarnercable.com/Corporate/answersondemand/remotecontrol/chooseyourremote.html#scientific for your remote and you can then download the instructions in a PDF file. I have the CheckMate IV RT-U49C. You can find the PDF file on this at http://www.timewarnercable.com/MediaLibrary/1/1/FAQ/documents/CheckMate%20IV%20RT-U49C%20Universal%20Remote%20Control%20Guide.pdf
Hope this helps.

Thanks for everyone's help...
I found the exact link to the pdf file for my remote.
http://www.timewarnercable.com/Media/11/FAQ/documents/SynergyV.pdf

BTW- The new SA HD8300HDC DVR they are issuing sucks! The Guide is slower than previous DVRs and it doesn't display as much info for movies as the previous program guide did.

Thanks for everyone's help...
I found the exact link to the pdf file for my remote.
http://www.timewarnercable.com/Media/11/FAQ/documents/SynergyV.pdf

BTW- The new SA HD8300HDC DVR they are issuing sucks! The Guide is slower than previous DVRs and it doesn't display as much info for movies as the previous program guide did.

It's not the machine; it's the software. You've been "navigatored".

That's about how I feel about TV guide's A24 on motorola boxes...

it's not the hardware....

I'm pretty new to digital cable/HDTV service (just got ours last week). We've had quite a few issues, and I'm trying to figure out where the fault may lie.

1) On Demand content wasn't available. Worked after rebooting the box. No further incidents.

2) Complete audio loss on every channel. Worked after rebooting the box. No further incidents.

3) Watching one of the games last weekend (I think it was Patriots v. Jacksonville), the game was unwatchable on the HD channel. The signal kept dropping (picture gets blocky, audio drops out) and would only come back for a few seconds at a time. The issue didn't happen when watching on the non-HD version of the channel.

4) While watching the other games, I would very rarely, maybe once or twice an hour, get the same effect. Only lasted a few seconds and then everything was fine.

5) Last night while watching HGTVHD the audio kept dropping out. Picture was fine.

The tech who did the install said we had a borderline signal strength and might need a dedicated line (the line is split in two spots). Had someone out today to run the dedicated line, but he said the signal strength is fine.

Before we got digital cable I was hooked up via standard cable (which includes the major networks in HD) and had no problems watching the games on the HD channels.

Hardware is a SA HD8300HDC DVR hooked up to a Sony 55" A3000 TV via HDMI cable.

Any thoughts? Is this just the way digital cable is sometimes? I'm having people over for the SuperBowl and I'm worried that I'm going to end up with nothing but pixelization on the HD channel.

The tech who did the install said we had a borderline signal strength and might need a dedicated line (the line is split in two spots). Had someone out today to run the dedicated line, but he said the signal strength is fine.

Before we got digital cable I was hooked up via standard cable (which includes the major networks in HD) and had no problems watching the games on the HD channels.



OK after the dedicated line today are you still having problems..? If not than the problem with that station line could have been the problem..... If it is still bad call for a service call and have the Tech check MER and BER on the channels in question.

OK after the dedicated line today are you still having problems..?

They actually didn't run a dedicated line. After barreling through one of the unused splits, my signal strength was at 3.9, which he said is pretty good. The thing is even before they did that it was at -0.1, which he said is right in the middle of the operating range, and shouldn't cause any issues. So it's unlikely that signal strength was the culprit and any action they took probably didn't fix the problems I've seen.

I haven't had a chance to watch anything HD since they came. I'll likely try to tune in something tonight or tomorrow just to check.

If not than the problem with that station line could have been the problem..... If it is still bad call for a service call and have the Tech check MER and BER on the channels in question.

The tech mentioned that if it was a problem with Time Warner, that all the stations should be showing the same issue and that it was likely a problem with the station's feed to Time Warner. Is that not the case? Could I be having an issue with one station that everyone else wouldn't have?

I'm getting a very pixelized picture on every channel now when I first turn on the TV. If you go up or down one channel it fixes the problem but when I DVR a show sometimes it has this problem and then no amount of channel changing fixes it because it recorded that way. Problems started about a week ago when I saw a TWC truck in the neighborhood. They were working on a green enclosure in someones yard and I suspect whatever happened there is causing my problem. I really don't have time to wait around for a service person that wont show up. It's a big deal for me to take time off of work only for it to be wasted like that. I don't look forward to calling for service but I guess it's either do that or live with it. This only a few weeks after having a 2 hour conversation that got very heated regarding my bill and how it is ALWAYS wrong. Sometimes I just wish TWC had a little competition around here. When it works it's great but when you have a problem just be prepared to waste a lot of your time getting it resolved.

i've been having drop outs and pixelating since Nov. I'm tired of calling them. when they come out its never doing it and their meters say the errors they are getting are "slow". apparently they can only fix "fast" errors and if its not doing fast errors when they are here they wont do anything. one guy told me to DVR the errors so i did . the next guy didn't want to see the DVR'd programs. another guy says he knows its an amp because i had the same problem a year ago and thats what it was then, but when he's here the errors are slow and as previously stated apparently they don't work on slow errors. also he believes cold weather is to blame for the problem. well hell ,if they wont fix the problem I'll always have the problem when its cold.

Basically we are screwed until another player enters the game or until HD and digital becomes so mainstream that the customers demand a better product. I mean what good is it to pay thousands of dollars for a TV only to have it look like crap. Sometimes I wonder why I even have digital cable and an HDTV. We get a handful of channels that look great sometimes and then another hundred channels that look like ass on a nice big TV. Thank goodness for HD-DVD, Blu Ray, Xbox 360 and PS3.

I’m in the University area and have had digital cable since TWC first offered it. I have had this issue of pixilation on specific channels several times over the years. Each time I called Time Warner they would send someone out and they would have a different story as to what was happening. Eventually the issue would get fixed but that would sometimes take a year. The last time this happened (about a year ago) I started talking to several neighbors and found out that they were having the same issues. We all called at once and the next day there was a TWC truck on our block. The tech spent the day going from street switch box to street switch box. I asked him what he was doing and he said that he was cleaning or changing the cable connections at all of the switch boxes as they will corrode from the weather after time. When he finished the pixilation issue we were all having was gone. My suggestion is check with your neighbors’ to see if they have the same issue and complain as a group. If this is not possible or if you are the only one having problems call TWC anyway just to voice a complaint. Tell them you want a tech to come out & check the connections in the street before you have to lose a days pay and set up an appointment. All they can say is no but they still have to count the call as an issue. Good luck and keep calling.

I’m in the University area and have had digital cable since TWC first offered it. I have had this issue of pixilation on specific channels several times over the years. Each time I called Time Warner they would send someone out and they would have a different story as to what was happening. Eventually the issue would get fixed but that would sometimes take a year. The last time this happened (about a year ago) I started talking to several neighbors and found out that they were having the same issues. We all called at once and the next day there was a TWC truck on our block. The tech spent the day going from street switch box to street switch box. I asked him what he was doing and he said that he was cleaning or changing the cable connections at all of the switch boxes as they will corrode from the weather after time. When he finished the pixilation issue we were all having was gone. My suggestion is check with your neighbors’ to see if they have the same issue and complain as a group. If this is not possible or if you are the only one having problems call TWC anyway just to voice a complaint. Tell them you want a tech to come out & check the connections in the street before you have to lose a days pay and set up an appointment. All they can say is no but they still have to count the call as an issue. Good luck and keep calling.

it was exactly 1 year 2 months ago when i had my most major issues, just after subbing to HD. at that time we were in transition from Adelphia. after 4 service calls they finally decided it was an amp further up the road. after they diagnosed the problem they had 6 guys working the hood and had it fixed in no time. i haven't had any more issues until exactly 1 year later in Nov. '07.
i don't get the drop outs on anything but HD channels. none of my immediate neighbors have HD cable. either side and in front have satellite. only 2 people on my road i know of have HD TV's and they have satellite. i don't think complaining as a group will work for me. but it is a good idea.
I'm gonna keep calling whenever i can be available. hopefully, eventually, they'll get tired of me and replace the dang amp with a new one.

I think it takes a year off of my life every time I have to call TWC. It makes a trip to the dentist or the DMV seem like a day spa.

I have "regular" cable from TWC (not digital, no converter box). I can get local HD channels on channels like 235.005 (ABC) and others (There seems to be no rhyme or reason where they appear in the lineup).

However, the only local channel I don't get in HD is WBTV, the CBS station. Is this being broadcast somewhere that I am not seeing (due to a low signal, perhaps?). I have re-auto-scanned the channels several times, but never found it. And I can't seem to find a list of these channels.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

I also get digital versions of channels (but not the HD signal) on channels like 5.11 (WTVI-EN SD) and 8.9 (WJZY-EN SD).

Thanks for any info.

Here's the list of my HD channels:

220.001 WCNC NBC
230.007 WTVI PBS
235.005 WSOC ABC
240.001 WCCB FOX
250.003 WJZY The CW
255.003 WWWB MyTV
??? WBTV CBS

WBTV is 225

Does anyone know what I'm talking about? ??? WBTV CBS

Based on the channel numbers you list, you should see WBTV on 225. I don't recall the actual QAM WBTV is on now.. (WCCB 240 is actually on cable channel 101). YBsane should know, I'm too lazy to re-route my cable to my analyzer here at home to look now..:o

There is a problem in your cable feed that is preventing the tv from decoding that QAM, so a service call to TWC is in order. They don't openly support reception of the Locals this way, they want to charge you. :)

WBTV-HD is QAM 114

I can get local HD channels on channels like 235.005 (ABC) and others

You may also want to toggle your audio..especially on 240 and 242..:)

Based on the channel numbers you list, you should see WBTV on 225. I don't recall the actual QAM WBTV is on now.. (WCCB 240 is actually on cable channel 101). YBsane should know, I'm too lazy to re-route my cable to my analyzer here at home to look now..:o

There is a problem in your cable feed that is preventing the tv from decoding that QAM, so a service call to TWC is in order. They don't openly support reception of the Locals this way, they want to charge you. :)

Time Warner supports customers with set-tops and with out for HDTV,plus cable cards...

WBTV-HD is QAM 114


You are right as always sir...

Except when my wife says Im not.

Time Warner supports customers with set-tops and with out for HDTV,plus cable cards...


I can't seem to find the web page that explains how to get local HD channels
with a HDTV's QAM tuner.. can you send us that so we can provide it when we get asked? And you might want to tell the CSR's the link too ;)

Just to follow up on my prior issues, I watched both playoff games yesterday and the only problem I noticed was that once in each game the audio dropped out for less than a second, so either removing one of the splits in the line fixed the issue, or it just decided not to show itself.

On a side note, as further evidence that these boxes are pretty poor, I switched over to News 14 this morning from Fox HD while the TV was warming up and was greeted with a static-y picture and no audio. Flipped up and down a few channels and had the same issue. I jumped up to an HD channel and then back and that seemed to clear it.

I suppose that could be my TV to blame, but with the number of startup issues I've seen so far with the box, it's easier to blame it instead.

FWIW, I have an old rear projection hooked up to a a cable box, which is in turn hooked up to a home theater via digital audio, and I have a new plasma hooked up to straigh cable feed via an internal QAM tuner, and the tv sends digital audio to another home theater, and I do get HD channels on it.

I find a lot more audio loss from the box than I do from the straight cable feed so far. I've always thought the boxes lose things in process, and can now confirm it to some degree. I think the picture quality of the QAM tuner on the new tv is better, of course the tv is better, but some pixelization etc on the old tv is from the box I believe.

Regards,

Karz

Something weird happened a few nights ago, as I'm in Huntersville and waiting on this long drawn out changeover from adelphia to TWC, I had to rerun the guided setup on my TiVo HD, picking the 3 channels it uses to determine the guide...

It gave me the Statesville/Irdell package as the basic channel numbers are basically the same, and man, we're getting gypped here in Huntersville.

Anyways, TiVo cant give me correct data guide due to this unless I select the MI Connection as my provider, which they are not, weird but true

I was watching FOX Charlotte Got Game last night and Bruce mentioned that they were not in their regular studio. Could FOX Charlotte be going high def with the news? Or, is it just wishful thinking... Those in the know speak up if you can. Bob?

Is anyone here in the Charlotte TWC service area successfully using TIVO + Cable Card(s) to get all channels + bells & whistles? What happens with On Demand?
Pat Dennis

Is anyone here in the Charlotte TWC service area successfully using TIVO + Cable Card(s) to get all channels + bells & whistles? What happens with On Demand?
Pat Dennis

On Demand won't work, not unless you've got a 2 way cable card (just now starting to gain major usage) with 2 way equipment (most is not enabled for tru 2 way) and OCAP applications for VOD (which are not fully tested and so far I've not heard of any major MSO deploying one wide spread yet)

However, the cards and OCAP should be comming soon - by this time next year we'll all be digital and OCAP will hopefully be a reality.

My 8300HD DVR is dieing and I'm soooo not looking forward to this new software in the current boxes. My parents got service a few weeks ago and the menus are so ass backwards and channels are slow to change. Things just get worse instead of better...

One of my HDDVR boxes died a few weeks ago, and I now have one of each. The new box is painfully slow. The menus are somewhat more crisp (I think they are in HD now), but everything else is worse. Besides being slower, I really miss the ability to move forward through a program 15 minutes at a time and say I've missed part of a program and want to see the next time that it is on, you can know no longer hit the search button and have it start with the assumption that you are looking for repeats of that program. You have to enter in the name from scratch. Also the descriptions of the programs are worse, and you have to hit the info button to get the star rating of a movie for example. There have got to be some improvements, but I've not noticed any. In the past, I've always clamored for the newest box, but I'll keep my old one as long as possible.

One of my HDDVR boxes died a few weeks ago, and I now have one of each. The new box is painfully slow. The menus are somewhat more crisp (I think they are in HD now), but everything else is worse. Besides being slower, I really miss the ability to move forward through a program 15 minutes at a time and say I've missed part of a program and want to see the next time that it is on, you can know no longer hit the search button and have it start with the assumption that you are looking for repeats of that program. You have to enter in the name from scratch. Also the descriptions of the programs are worse, and you have to hit the info button to get the star rating of a movie for example. There have got to be some improvements, but I've not noticed any. In the past, I've always clamored for the newest box, but I'll keep my old one as long as possible.

I had not heard that Navigator has not retained the "15-minute jump" from Passport. Of course we all know about how slow a Navigatored box is to respond, but I wonder how many other Passport features we've come to know and love that have been dropped from this infernal abomination of an "upgrade"...? :rolleyes:

infernal abomination of an "upgrade"...? :rolleyes:

Crapigator:D

Anyone else getting lots of pixilation on CBS HD last few days

Anyone else getting lots of pixilation on CBS HD last few days

Yes, I have noticed it as well.

OK...I think I'm going to blow my top here.

The UNC-Duke game on 2/6 is slated to be shown in HDTV by ESPN. Raycom sports in also doing the game and willo be carried locally by the local CBS affiliate. I'm gouessing that the ESPN feed will be blacked out and we will have to watch the crummy SD feed that Raycom provides.....grrrr!!

Raycom is finally doing the game in HD, and it's my understanding that WBTV is showing the feed in HD. Same for the ACC tournament.

*sigh*

We can send Raycom nastygrams, not that it will do any good besides perhaps making us feel better.

Edit:

Raycom is finally doing the game in HD, and it's my understanding that WBTV is showing the feed in HD. Same for the ACC tournament.

Outstanding. So maybe last year's nastygrams did some good then?

*sigh*

We can send Raycom nastygrams, not that it will do any good besides perhaps making us feel better.

Edit:



Outstanding. So maybe last year's nastygrams did some good then?

I doubt it was so much the nastygrams as it was stations needing to be upfitted to receive HD content from Raycom....

I doubt it was so much the nastygrams as it was stations needing to be upfitted to receive HD content from Raycom....

Would they need anything special to receive HD content from them, compared other broadcasters? I've seen other events, football, golf, sitcoms, you name it, on HD from the local CBS affiliate for years. Why would Raycom be singled out as not being able to receive HD content from them? Is there really a technical reason that could happen?

I always assumed it was Raycom that fell short in this regard. Not only was their feed in standard definition, but it was likely one of the worst SD broadcasts on televesion in the last decade. I mean it was horrible. I used to cringe when I had to watch a Raycom game, after watching other SD and HD programming, the Raycom games were HORRIBLE.

I hope it's all in HD and whether it's Raycom or the local station, they both have their act together now!

Karz

Raycom is finally doing the game in HD, and it's my understanding that WBTV is showing the feed in HD. Same for the ACC tournament.


Are you sure? The game shows up in my program guide on the Hi Def station (225) but the "info" doesn't indicate that it will actually be broadcast in HD.

http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-baskbl/08raycomschedule.html

This game is one of four regular season games that Raycom is doing in HD. The tournament will also be in HD.

Ok...Raycom is going to feed in HD...now will WBTV broadcast Raycom's feed in HDTV? I still can't find confirmation of that anywhere.

http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-baskbl/08raycomschedule.html

This game is one of four regular season games that Raycom is doing in HD. The tournament will also be in HD.

One of FOUR games in HD by Raycom? Raycom seems slower than even Time Warner to grasp the importance of HD.

Ok...Raycom is going to feed in HD...now will WBTV broadcast Raycom's feed in HDTV? I still can't find confirmation of that anywhere.

WJZY broadcast the game last week in HD that Raycom sent out. My guess would be yes, but it is just a guess.

Well..it looks promising. I guess we will have to wait and see.

I wonder if the 4 games that Raycom is broadcasting in HD are really video feeds from ESPN/etc. with Raycom audio.

Well..it looks promising. I guess we will have to wait and see.

I wonder if the 4 games that Raycom is broadcasting in HD are really video feeds from ESPN/etc. with Raycom audio.

To answer your question, yes and no. They use a mix of Raycom and ESPN cameras. Look at post #19 for the breakdown.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=987143

Would they need anything special to receive HD content from them, compared other broadcasters? I've seen other events, football, golf, sitcoms, you name it, on HD from the local CBS affiliate for years. Why would Raycom be singled out as not being able to receive HD content from them? Is there really a technical reason that could happen?

I always assumed it was Raycom that fell short in this regard. Not only was their feed in standard definition, but it was likely one of the worst SD broadcasts on televesion in the last decade. I mean it was horrible. I used to cringe when I had to watch a Raycom game, after watching other SD and HD programming, the Raycom games were HORRIBLE.

I hope it's all in HD and whether it's Raycom or the local station, they both have their act together now!

Karz

All broadcasters of Raycom content would need to have the facilities to receive Raycom's HD feed. Be it a microwave uplink, sat, fiber or smoke signals.

As far as Raycom and the local station having their act together ... well, that'll, atleast be the case at WBTV ... they'll be the same company by the end of the year. :)

edit -- fixed my rushed typing

WBTV carried the tourney in HD last year IIRC..

We'll be carrying it here on WOLO again.
If I push the one right button it would end up on WCCB-DT........ :)

WBTV has had the capabilities to broadcast games in HD for some time. Not all games are shot in HD.

WBTV DT off air is just fine. Seems to be only on Time Warner.

Anyone else getting lots of pixilation on CBS HD last few days


yes and natgeohd too.

The game that is on tonight will be shown in HD on WBTV...

Did not notice any pixilation during game. Hopefully all fixed...:)

I had a MUCH different experience watching UNC-Duke. The broadcast was terrible. There were multiple times when the video stuttered, etc. The Audio was terrible. It sounded as if was coming out of a big tin can. I don't know if it was a Raycom, local CBS, or Time Warner issue. All I know is that I wished I was watching it on ESPNHD where I almost never notice any issues.

I will say that when there were no video issues that the picture was incredible!

Posting from today's Swanni Sez website. http:///www.tvpredictions.com/twhd020708.htm

We can only hope the TWC--Charlotte gets some of these channels, and soon.

Posting from today's Swanni Sez website. http:///www.tvpredictions.com/twhd020708.htm

We can only hope the TWC--Charlotte gets some of these channels, and soon.

My problem with the article was that TWC was so vague about every point. There is nothing concrete that we can hold them responsible on.

I had a MUCH different experience watching UNC-Duke. The broadcast was terrible. There were multiple times when the video stuttered, etc. The Audio was terrible. It sounded as if was coming out of a big tin can. I don't know if it was a Raycom, local CBS, or Time Warner issue. All I know is that I wished I was watching it on ESPNHD where I almost never notice any issues.

I will say that when there were no video issues that the picture was incredible!

I noticed lots of video stuttering during the UNC/Duke game as well.

I'm looking to re-do some of my in-house wiring and was wondering about connectors. I've heard that sometimes TW will just come out and put connectors on the cables for you in the interest of keeping interference off of their system. Any experiences with this? If not, I'll pick up a compression tool and some fittings, but I'd rather just have them do it if they will. I'd fish the lines myself. My current plan is to have one line that runs from every room back to the box outside - if a room has more that one outlet, I'd use a splitter and connect that room's lines to the main line since I'd only use one of those lines at a time.

Thoughts?

I apoligize if this is the wrong place to ask this. I searched around on here and couldn't find any other threads with so many TWC Charlotte customers.


Thanks!

Why not give TW a call and ask if they will come out to redo the connectors? 377-9600

There is nothing concrete that we can hold them responsible on.

Yeah, that's pretty much the way they do business. :(

I'm looking to re-do some of my in-house wiring and was wondering about connectors. I've heard that sometimes TW will just come out and put connectors on the cables for you in the interest of keeping interference off of their system. Any experiences with this? If not, I'll pick up a compression tool and some fittings, but I'd rather just have them do it if they will. I'd fish the lines myself. My current plan is to have one line that runs from every room back to the box outside - if a room has more that one outlet, I'd use a splitter and connect that room's lines to the main line since I'd only use one of those lines at a time.

Thoughts?

I apoligize if this is the wrong place to ask this. I searched around on here and couldn't find any other threads with so many TWC Charlotte customers.


Thanks!

You should try to avoid using splitters at all costs. If you're going to repull the cable you might as well pull enough so you don't have to use splitters.

I personally like the Snap N Seal (SNS) connectors. But the good compression crimpers are pretty expensive. I can put you in touch with some good vendors of this stuff if you'll send me a PM.

Is anyone seeing total breakup of the picture on Ch. 225 and 227?

I've got a question. Since TWC is in the heart of Nascar country, wouldn't they have The Speed Channel in HD or am I missing it?

Everybody call or write in......

I have it... Zoom-Zoom-Zoom.!! :)

Finally, after some 4 months after they announced a change over, TWC is moving Huntersville over on Wednesday to a program lineup that nearly matches Statesville, Irdell and all them up north

http://www.timewarnercable.com/Charlotte/Customer/welcometwc.html

Sweet!

Anyone know if there has been a recent update to the SA 8300 on our system (I'm in TWC Monroe)

Both of my SA8300s have rebooted in the past week or two, at separate times

I don't know about any recent updates, but I have noticed that my 8300 box is acting up. Last night, it would not record my scheduled recordings (i.e., it would say that it was going to record, but it wouldn't actually do it, so I had to manually record the shows instead). Also, while watching a movie last night, I could fast forward or rewind through the movie, but whenever I pressed play it would jump to the end of the movie after a certain point in the movie. Also, I have noticed that when watching a recorded show, it does not keep in its buffer the show that is live, so you have to remember to record it manually (for example, halftime of the ballgame, so you switch over to a recorded show, you then stop it, realize you've missed some of the game, you can no longer go back). Ridiculous that crap like this gets put out, particularly since it's a regression.

The only improvement that I have noted is that it does tell you how much recording space has been used.

I don't know about any recent updates, but I have noticed that my 8300 box is acting up. Last night, it would not record my scheduled recordings (i.e., it would say that it was going to record, but it wouldn't actually do it, so I had to manually record the shows instead). Also, while watching a movie last night, I could fast forward or rewind through the movie, but whenever I pressed play it would jump to the end of the movie after a certain point in the movie. Also, I have noticed that when watching a recorded show, it does not keep in its buffer the show that is live, so you have to remember to record it manually (for example, halftime of the ballgame, so you switch over to a recorded show, you then stop it, realize you've missed some of the game, you can no longer go back). Ridiculous that crap like this gets put out, particularly since it's a regression.

The only improvement that I have noted is that it does tell you how much recording space has been used.

Mhorn--How are you accessing the information on how much recording space you've used? Thank you for your input.

Something strange happened to both my 8300's. I always keep them set at 1080i. One evening I turned the box on and it would not "sync" with the television using the hdmi connection. So, I disconnected the hdmi cable and connected the component cables up to the TV and the output resolution was set to 480i, 480p, 720p, and 1080i. I reset the box to 1080i, turned everything off, disconnected the component cables, hooked up the hdmi cable, and everything worked fine. Checked the other 8300 box and it was the same thing. Reset everything to 1080i and everything's working well.

We don't have children, wife doesn't "touch" that kind of stuff, hmmmm...?

Bob.

Chuckf1 - On my newer boxes with the newer software, the % of space used is shown on the initial List screen.

Finally, after some 4 months after they announced a change over, TWC is moving Huntersville over on Wednesday to a program lineup that nearly matches Statesville, Irdell and all them up north

http://www.timewarnercable.com/Charlotte/Customer/welcometwc.html

Sweet!

As of 8:30pm yesterday I didn't notice the change over to the new lineup in Huntersville. I have not checked today, when I get home I will see if we changed.

Chuckf1 - On my newer boxes with the newer software, the % of space used is shown on the initial List screen.

Well that explains it. I got my box when it first came out a little over 3 years ago.

I appreciate your input.

Something strange happened to both my 8300's. I always keep them set at 1080i. One evening I turned the box on and it would not "sync" with the television using the hdmi connection. So, I disconnected the hdmi cable and connected the component cables up to the TV and the output resolution was set to 480i, 480p, 720p, and 1080i. I reset the box to 1080i, turned everything off, disconnected the component cables, hooked up the hdmi cable, and everything worked fine. Checked the other 8300 box and it was the same thing. Reset everything to 1080i and everything's working well.

We don't have children, wife doesn't "touch" that kind of stuff, hmmmm...?

Bob.

I keep a composite cable connect form the 8300 to the TV all the time. It seems to always work, it's active even if you are using component or HDMI. So when something like you just memtioned, I switch the TV to the composite input & fix the problem.

I keep a composite cable connect form the 8300 to the TV all the time. It seems to always work, it's active even if you are using component or HDMI. So when something like you just memtioned, I switch the TV to the composite input & fix the problem.


I haven't tried that, but I will. Thanks for the tip. :)

Bob.

I don't know about any recent updates, but I have noticed that my 8300 box is acting up. Last night, it would not record my scheduled recordings (i.e., it would say that it was going to record, but it wouldn't actually do it, so I had to manually record the shows instead). Also, while watching a movie last night, I could fast forward or rewind through the movie, but whenever I pressed play it would jump to the end of the movie after a certain point in the movie. Also, I have noticed that when watching a recorded show, it does not keep in its buffer the show that is live, so you have to remember to record it manually (for example, halftime of the ballgame, so you switch over to a recorded show, you then stop it, realize you've missed some of the game, you can no longer go back). Ridiculous that crap like this gets put out, particularly since it's a regression.

The only improvement that I have noted is that it does tell you how much recording space has been used.

Mine did the exact same thing. I fixed it by going through my series record options and accepting them again. I had to do it for each series that I record, but it "updated" my recordings and started recording shows on its own again. As far as recent updates, I work third shift and come home around 3 or 4AM, and my SA8300HDC was updating. After that was when it quit recording, so I think TWC screwed something up.

I'm moving into a new construction home in 3 weeks and I am considering having both DirecTV and TimeWarner. I want D* to be my primary TV provider because of Sunday Ticket but I'm considering Time Warner for my Internet and perhaps for basic cable TV (No HD) for some of the other rooms in house so I don't have to pay for and have a receiver. 1. Is this feasible? 2. Does this seem logical?

Thanks.

I'm moving into a new construction home in 3 weeks and I am considering having both DirecTV and TimeWarner. I want D* to be my primary TV provider because of Sunday Ticket but I'm considering Time Warner for my Internet and perhaps for basic cable TV (No HD) for some of the other rooms in house so I don't have to pay for and have a receiver. 1. Is this feasible? 2. Does this seem logical?

Thanks.

I think that it is both possible and logical.
You might even want to consider TWC for phone service as well, I have had as much luck with them as with the previous carrier we had here.

If it isn't too late, make sure that all of the cable is home-run, and have them put a few drops from the attic into the hub, it will make life easier (but if it is only three weeks, might not be possible).

I thought about the same thing (TWC + DTV), but opted only for the TWC-- but the house is wired to allow me to switch. I didn't want to pay for 10 receivers, when I can get cable in each room for a flat rate.

I'm moving into new construction home in 3 weeks and I am considering having both DirecTV and TimeWarner. I want D* to be my primary TV provider because of Sunday Ticket but I'm considering Time Warner for my Internet and perhaps for basic cable TV (No HD) for some of the other rooms in house so I don't have to pay for and have a receiver. 1. Is this feasible? 2. Does this seem logical?

Thanks.

If your TV has an QAM tuner then you will be able to watch the local HD
channels even with basic cable.

If your TV has an QAM tuner then you will be able to watch the local HD
channels even with basic cable.

Are you sure about that?

When I took my vizio to my parents to try this out (they only have basic cable), they didn't work, while at my house they worked fine.

If your TV has an QAM tuner then you will be able to watch the local HD
channels even with basic cable.

That is a fact...:)

Are you sure about that?

When I took my vizio to my parents to try this out (they only have basic cable), they didn't work, while at my house they worked fine.

if they have had cable more than 5 years, their "cable cable" is most likely sub-par and won't carry the HD signals, my wife's parents had this very problem

if they have had cable more than 5 years, their "cable cable" is most likely sub-par and won't carry the HD signals, my wife's parents had this very problem

I thought RG-6 has been around for a good 20-years now...?

Are you sure about that?

When I took my vizio to my parents to try this out (they only have basic cable), they didn't work, while at my house they worked fine.

Not all QAM tuners are created equal. I had a Samsung LCD TV that received all the local digital and HD channels. Unfortunately, I returned the TV because I was not pleased with the picture and replaced it with a Panasonic plasma TV. The Panasonic only receives a couple of digital and HD channels. The tuner in the Samsung was superior to the Panasonic's tuner. Both are QAM tuners.

Bob.

Not all QAM tuners are created equal. I had a Samsung LCD TV that received all the local digital and HD channels. Unfortunately, I returned the TV because I was not pleased with the picture and replaced it with a Panasonic plasma TV. The Panasonic only receives a couple of digital and HD channels. The tuner in the Samsung was superior to the Panasonic's tuner. Both are QAM tuners.

Bob.
Their house is over 5 years old, but they had a new cable dropped not long ago, maybe a year.

The tv that I used was a 20" vizio, pretty new, with a pretty good tuner. Channels that I get on it don't work at their house-- and they live next door. In addition, the cable feeds come out of the same post.

I will try again someday, since they will be needing to replace their tv soon.

Thanks,

-jamie

Not all QAM tuners are created equal. I had a Samsung LCD TV that received all the local digital and HD channels. Unfortunately, I returned the TV because I was not pleased with the picture and replaced it with a Panasonic plasma TV. The Panasonic only receives a couple of digital and HD channels. The tuner in the Samsung was superior to the Panasonic's tuner. Both are QAM tuners.

Bob.

I am not sure that I understand where you are going with the difference in
QAM tuners, but you can have a bad tuner in any TV, VHF-UHF..QAM...8-VSB, but there are not different tuners in general to my knowledge...?

Bad Signal yes...:)

I am not sure that I understand where you are going with the difference in
QAM tuners, but you can have a bad tuner in any TV, VHF-UHF..QAM...8-VSB, but there are not different tuners in general to my knowledge...?

Bad Signal yes...:)

I believe some manufacturer's tuners are better than others. My Panasonic (37px60u) QAM tuner received only a couple of digital and hd channels. My Samsung (LNT3253H) received all the local digital and hd channels with ease using the same cable inlet.

Bob.

Is anyone besides me having trouble getting On Demand to work? It nearly always says that On Demand is unavailable at the present time.

Is anyone besides me having trouble getting On Demand to work? It nearly always says that On Demand is unavailable at the present time.

This has happened to me a few times. Every time it has a reboot fixed it. It's crazy how often I have to reboot this box (usually 2+ times a week) to fix random problems. The other day I had sound drop off on most channels on my HDMI connection (some channels worked over HDMI, component cables worked for all channels). Rebooting fixed that too. Wouldn't be *that* bad if rebooting didn't take 5 minutes.

Has anyone else lost channel 225? All I get is a blank screen.

Has anyone else lost channel 225? All I get is a blank screen.

@ 9:45 p.m. I still have 225.

must be something in my part of town

The local CBS-HD station was unwatchable for me last night as well. I had to change to Channel 2 to watch the UNC- Florida State basketball game.

The local CBS-HD station was unwatchable for me last night as well. I had to change to Channel 2 to watch the UNC- Florida State basketball game.

I think WBTV had some major issues last night - we had issues with the Analog Feed for quite a while as well as some cuttoffs and freezes on the HD feed up here in Charter Territory

Turns out there is a bad section of line on my street. TW will fix it in a few days.

The storms did indeed wreak havoc on WBTVs transmitter facility. That was the cause of the problems on Tuesday.

None of my digital (QAM) channels are coming in (2.5, 8.9, 9.6, 235.5, etc.), but all my analog channels come in. Perhaps this had something to do with the recent storm (a tree fell on my power lines, knocking out the power in the neighborhood).
Is it possible for damage to the cable line to disrupt the digital channels with little or no quality loss to analog?
Guess I need to call TWC.

just got a letter from TW saying navigator was going to be pushed through soon. did everyone else get this letter or just Statesville?

just got a letter from TW saying navigator was going to be pushed through soon. did everyone else get this letter or just Statesville?

I got the letter too a few days ago, here in Charlotte.

just got a letter from TW saying navigator was going to be pushed through soon. did everyone else get this letter or just Statesville?

Salisbury got the letter last week

I got the letter too, and from the looks of the pics in the letter, navigator looks like my ocap box

Got the letter a little over a week ago, but it looks the same as what's currently running on my box (which I got in January) too.

For the last two days I've been unable to tune channel 225 on the QAM tuners in two TVs and my PC TV card that are all connected to TWC. Anyone else experiencing this problem? It comes through fine on my 8300HD DVR and the 4250HDC cable box.

225,226,227 and 18 have been remapped to another QAM. Do a rescan of the QAMs and you will find them.

225,226,227 and 18 have been remapped to another QAM. Do a rescan of the QAMs and you will find them.
Thanks for that vital bit of information! WBTV-HD is back. Thank you! :)

Salisbury got the letter last week

Me too.

That means digital switching is close, right?

I received the letter last week. It stated TWC would call me a few days in advance before the upgrade (downgrade?) takes place.

Bob.

So weird. All the channels this morning are mis-mapped. CNBC is on Ch. 8, ABC Family is on 4. BBC-A is on 14. None of the local nets are available at their analog channels. Works fine via a cable box, but not on any of the sets with straight cable.

So weird. All the channels this morning are mis-mapped. CNBC is on Ch. 8, ABC Family is on 4. BBC-A is on 14. None of the local nets are available at their analog channels. Works fine via a cable box, but not on any of the sets with straight cable.

http://www.charlotte.com/news/story/531416.html

"There is no word from Time-Warner as to what caused the problem."

Can we say..just like all this other digital stuff..overly complex and finicky.??

Starting tomorrow.. Monday, March 17th.. we'll be airing Raymond in HD twice
daily @ 630pm and 1230am..

I currently have digital cable, digital phone, roadrunner in the house, but I have a shed out back that I would like to get a cable line run out to (just for TV). The shed is about 100-150' from the cable box on the end of the house. Any idea how much TWC would charge me to run a line out there and bury it?

thanks.

When will TWC Charlotte implement switched digital video?

Soon from what I hear.

When will TWC Charlotte implement switched digital video?

First post here on the AVS, but I've read plenty.

According to a rep at TWC, it will be done in phases from 3/31 to 6/10. According to the rep, that is when some new HD channels will be added. When all of the areas have been upgraded. I hope she was just pulling my leg there. The Triad just got the Discovery suite of channels yesterday. And the new Disney HD channels are debuting next week I believe.

Who knows with TWC what will happen. I was told about 2 months ago when NG HD and the other two started that they were SDV channels being tested. This was over the phone with a TWC technical rep. The plan was to roll out several HD channels at a time over a period of months. Does anyone know how to tell if these channels are indeed SDV - Food HD, etc.? I do know that according to posts here that Greensboro area and now Columbia area have the Discovery suite HD channels as of this week. Hopefully we are not too far behind. I had received my navigator letter a few weeks ago too but as of today I still do not have navigator.

First post here on the AVS, but I've read plenty.

According to a rep at TWC, it will be done in phases from 3/31 to 6/10. According to the rep, that is when some new HD channels will be added. When all of the areas have been upgraded. I hope she was just pulling my leg there. The Triad just got the Discovery suite of channels yesterday. And the new Disney HD channels are debuting next week I believe.

I think the "upgrade" the rep was referring to was the download of the Navigator guide to all of the existing cable boxes. It is my understanding that the version of Passport Echo we have is not compatible with SDV so the Navigator software has to be downloaded first and then TWC can implement SDV.

The June date is consistent with the time frame mentioned in the Raleigh News and Observer a few pages back. Charlotte and the Triangle both have Passport Echo whereas the Triad has SARA. The version of SARA they use is compatible with SDV which is why they have more HD channels than us.

Take this for what its worth, but I just signed up for the MLB Extra Innings package like I do every year. When I did, I asked the Time Warner rep if any games were going to be broadcast in HD this year. He said 'not at this time'. I further asked him if that meant there would be no HD for this entire baseball season and he confirmed that.

Ridiculous.

-----------------------
Yea I know that DirecTV is an option, but for my house its really not. In my opinion, DirecTV only makes sense for someone with a tv or two in their house. We have 4 sets in our house and another one in the garage. 2 of those just use the cable line to get basic channels and the other 3 have digital HD boxes. When I have priced DirecTV, the start up costs for that many tv's is just WAY out of our budget.

Take this for what its worth, but I just signed up for the MLB Extra Innings package like I do every year. When I did, I asked the Time Warner rep if any games were going to be broadcast in HD this year. He said 'not at this time'. I further asked him if that meant there would be no HD for this entire baseball season and he confirmed that.

Ridiculous.

It could be worse.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1008271

I'd rather have fewer higher quality channels then just a pure HD channel count, myself.

And really, until TW gets it through their head (and investors heads) that FTTH is the way to go, it is going to be limited for a long time.

It could be worse.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1008271

I'd rather have fewer higher quality channels then just a pure HD channel count, myself.

And really, until TW gets it through their head (and investors heads) that FTTH is the way to go, it is going to be limited for a long time.

those compression photos look alot like what i get from natgeo, TNT, UHD, A&E & VHD. it doesn't stay that way for me though. the picture will look good then for a second or 2 it will look like those pictures then go back to normal. this will happen about every 10-15 min sometimes more often. TW has been out here at least 8 times. the latest time they installed a house amp. the issue still exists.
i wouldnt stay with TW if it were like that all the time. i feel sorry for the comcast folks.

It could be worse.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1008271

I'd rather have fewer higher quality channels then just a pure HD channel count, myself.

And really, until TW gets it through their head (and investors heads) that FTTH is the way to go, it is going to be limited for a long time.

I thought that our 3 newest HD channels(TLC HD, HGC HD and FOOD HD) were all on the same QAM just like the Comcast thread you referenced. Is that not the case?

NGC breaks up at my house any time there is movement on the screen. It also has frequent audio dropouts.

Over here at my house in Concord tonight, we've had a lot of interference. The analog channels have frequent lines (almost static-like at times) running through them and the digital channels are virtually unwatchable with all of the macroblocking. Is this happening anywhere else tonight? Wonder what can cause that...

I have a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300 HDTV DVR from TWC. My wife has recorded some shows that she would like to save. Some are in HD and some not. I have gone into BestBuy and Queen City and looked at DVD Recorders and the kid that worked in Best Buy said he didn't think I could record off of a DVR and the guy at Queen City said the same thing. I think they're wrong.

Is it possible? If so, what would I need to buy, would I need extra cables? How do I hook up the equipment to get this done.

Thanks so much!!!

I have a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300 HDTV DVR from TWC. !!!

You'd be better off looking in the HDTV recorders section. Many posts there on how to do what you want.:)

I have a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300 HDTV DVR from TWC. My wife has recorded some shows that she would like to save. Some are in HD and some not. I have gone into BestBuy and Queen City and looked at DVD Recorders and the kid that worked in Best Buy said he didn't think I could record off of a DVR and the guy at Queen City said the same thing. I think they're wrong.

Is it possible? If so, what would I need to buy, would I need extra cables? How do I hook up the equipment to get this done.

Thanks so much!!!

To be 100% sure I'd follow the advice from bdfox18doe - but generally you should be able to - though you can expect to only record through an analog output. Most recorders I've seen are SD, but truth be told I haven't looked lately.

Also make sure if you're using a digital output (DVI / HDMI) that the Explorer doesn't kill other outputs (Digeo Moxi boxes do this)

I have subscribed to the MLB Extra Innings package thru Time Warner for the last few years. During that time, they have never offered any games in HD, like many other providers do.

When you tune to one of the MLB channels [971-984] when there is NOT a game playing, you see an online list of the games being shown that day and what channel that game is on. Today I bring up that list of games and notice that 3 of the games have "HD" listed next to it. I have NEVER seen that "HD" before on this list.

I was thrilled to see that Time Warner has finally decided to start showing MLB Extra Innings games in HD. Well, that game started at 1:30 today [Cubs vs. Pirates] so I tune to it to see if it is in HD. Shockingly...the game is NOT in HD.

It was bad enough before when they didnt show games in HD, but now they tease the customer with online guides that it will be shown in HD but of course its not. Classic Time Warner.

I have subscribed to the MLB Extra Innings package thru Time Warner for the last few years. During that time, they have never offered any games in HD, like many other providers do.

When you tune to one of the MLB channels [971-984] when there is NOT a game playing, you see an online list of the games being shown that day and what channel that game is on. Today I bring up that list of games and notice that 3 of the games have "HD" listed next to it. I have NEVER seen that "HD" before on this list.

I was thrilled to see that Time Warner has finally decided to start showing MLB Extra Innings games in HD. Well, that game started at 1:30 today [Cubs vs. Pirates] so I tune to it to see if it is in HD. Shockingly...the game is NOT in HD.

It was bad enough before when they didnt show games in HD, but now they tease the customer with online guides that it will be shown in HD but of course its not. Classic Time Warner.

The HD capacity was just added recently (when they added the additional channels last year I believe - used to just be 10 channels) - I haven't tried ours here in Charter to see if there was really a difference, but I don't think most systems have installed the extra equipment needed to push the HD games out in HD

...but I don't think most systems have installed the extra equipment needed to push the HD games out in HD

Well thats an encouraging sentence...

*snip*Today I bring up that list of games and notice that 3 of the games have "HD" listed next to it.
*snip*

It was bad enough before when they didnt show games in HD, but now they tease the customer with online guides that it will be shown in HD but of course its not. Classic Time Warner.

You do know that TW doesn't write the guide info don't you? Kinda like when MTS stereo came out with the "where available" disclaimer was always underneath it at the start of a show.

I'd apply the "where available" disclaimer on ANYTHING HD these days.

You do know that TW doesn't write the guide info don't you? Kinda like when MTS stereo came out with the "where available" disclaimer was always underneath it at the start of a show.

I'd apply the "where available" disclaimer on ANYTHING HD these days.


Well, this "HD" on-screen confused me today because, like I said, I have never seen it before in the last 3 years of having MLB Extra Innings.

Doesn't the HD indicator you're referring to just mean it is produced that way? It may be shot with HD equipment but that doesn't mean that you can receive it so.

Big Cubs fan myself, and was very happy to see that WGN is doing all of the Cubs stuff in HD this year (Sox too I think, like anybody cares :)) but alas, it does no good until we have WGNHD. I'm holding my breath don't you know.

I'm getting no center channel sound on WBTV HD (225) Criminal Minds. All is good on 227 and other channels. Of course the commercials are working just fine.:mad:

Doesn't the HD indicator you're referring to just mean it is produced that way? It may be shot with HD equipment but that doesn't mean that you can receive it so.

Big Cubs fan myself, and was very happy to see that WGN is doing all of the Cubs stuff in HD this year (Sox too I think, like anybody cares :)) but alas, it does no good until we have WGNHD. I'm holding my breath don't you know.

Life long Sox fan, over 60 years. I care. Family originally from Chicago. Hopefully WGNHD will be forthcoming on TWC soon.........:D

Good Morning,

I noticed this last night between 6 and 8pm:

WBTV having a picture issue in which it looked like the entire picture was jumping (rising upward and returning)

There was no distortion in picture quality or audio, just a odd jump or jitter.

I'm just looking to see if this only occured within the Charter system or if this was a feed issue affecting WBTV in general.

We've gotten quite a few questions by phone and in office and I just want to isolate if it's us or not before having our headend techs dig deeper

Life long Sox fan, over 60 years. I care. Family originally from Chicago. Hopefully WGNHD will be forthcoming on TWC soon.........:D

:eek:, I managed to find a south-sider...close. There goes the neighborhood. You even live in South Charlotte while I, being a Cubs fan and therefore a better person, live North of Charlotte. :D

Seriously, I hope so too. Otherwise, we are left to the mercy of the fickle ESPN (both of us) and the one Braves series (Cubs) as far as HD goes this season. Have you noticed that the PQ is somewhat better this year since they started using HD gear, or am I just a victim of the placebo effect?