You can reboot hte box by holding down the power button (on the box) for several seconds until is says "boot."

If you have HD-DVR box, you might also want to change it so that it only outputs one signal type (under options). For example, I have a 720p monitor so I only allow the box to output this signal instead of all of them. This helped a little with my picture freezing.

Hey, is there anything special about hooking up the HD-DVR box? I currently have HD service and just want to changet over to the DVR box but I don't want to take time off of work to wait for someone who may never show. It's happened too many times to me! If I pick the box up and just plug up coax and power what else is involved? I spoke with TWC and they said you have to sign a waiver if you elect not to get the install. Is it that big a deal?

Originally posted by dropzone7
Hey, is there anything special about hooking up the HD-DVR box? I currently have HD service and just want to changet over to the DVR box but I don't want to take time off of work to wait for someone who may never show. It's happened too many times to me! If I pick the box up and just plug up coax and power what else is involved? I spoke with TWC and they said you have to sign a waiver if you elect not to get the install. Is it that big a deal?

You hook it up exactly as you have it now. About ten seconds is all it takes. Of course you have to use component cables which you didn't mention above.

Originally posted by HughScot
You hook it up exactly as you have it now. About ten seconds is all it takes. Of course you have to use component cables which you didn't mention above.

Thanks for the quick reply Hugh. Yeah, I'm running component now and meant to include that step of course. Now I'm wondering if I should leave well enough alone. As I read back through this thread the SciAt box does'nt exactly get glowing reviews! My Pioneer HD box has been "okay". HD channels look great but SD channels are yucky. It does'nt help that I'm projecting a picture about 112" either. I may run a seperate cable (S Video) for my SD channels as the Faroudja processor in the projector may improve the quality of those.

Oh, by the way. When I spoke with the customer service rep at TWC a while ago, she just laughed when she pulled up my account and saw all the credits for "no show" appointments I had. She said, "I can see why you want to do this yourself!" Many a wasted days and weekends waiting for a guy that knew no more than I did. I'm really nice to them though because I don't want to crawl under my house! :D This time should be easier though as only the box is being changed out. That's why I wanted to do it myself.

Originally posted by dropzone7
Thanks for the quick reply Hugh. Yeah, I'm running component now and meant to include that step of course. Now I'm wondering if I should leave well enough alone. As I read back through this thread the SciAt box does'nt exactly get glowing reviews! My Pioneer HD box has been "okay". HD channels look great but SD channels are yucky. It does'nt help that I'm projecting a picture about 112" either. I may run a seperate cable (S Video) for my SD channels as the Faroudja processor in the projector may improve the quality of those.

You can't output from the HD-DVR box except for archiving recorded programs to a recorder. You can split the signal before it goes in the DVR box and send one line direct to your TV and the other to the DVR box. If you don't want to record HD then you don't need the DVR, but if you do then the box is great.

Originally posted by HughScot
You can't output from the HD-DVR box except for archiving recorded programs to a recorder. You can split the signal before it goes in the DVR box and send one line direct to your TV and the other to the DVR box. If you don't want to record HD then you don't need the DVR, but if you do then the box is great.

Hmmm. All I'm interested in doing is retaining the HD programming I currently have and adding the ability to record some HD content only. For example, the movie previews that play on INHD would be nice to play before I show my own DVD movie. Other than that, I'm really not looking to do much else with it. So, are you saying I will need a coax cable into the box and then one out of the box, kind of like a VCR hookup? Right now I have cable out of the wall, into a surge arrestor plug strip (coax in) and then out of that (coax out) into the Pioneer box. I have component cables and digital audio coax running from the box into an Audio Authority component cable switcher. From there, I have a component cable running out to the projector.

Originally posted by dropzone7
Hmmm. All I'm interested in doing is retaining the HD programming I currently have and adding the ability to record some HD content only. For example, the movie previews that play on INHD would be nice to play before I show my own DVD movie. Other than that, I'm really not looking to do much else with it. So, are you saying I will need a coax cable into the box and then one out of the box, kind of like a VCR hookup? Right now I have cable out of the wall, into a surge arrestor plug strip (coax in) and then out of that (coax out) into the Pioneer box. I have component cables and digital audio coax running from the box into an Audio Authority component cable switcher. From there, I have a component cable running out to the projector.

No, you will not come out of the box with coax cable. You would use a splitter to have two runs of coax coming out ..........with one going direct to the TV for SD and one to the box for HD and recording HD. Sounds like you might not need the DVR box.

Originally posted by HughScot
No, you will not come out of the box with coax cable. You would use a splitter to have two runs of coax coming out ..........with one going direct to the TV for SD and one to the box for HD and recording HD. Sounds like you might not need the DVR box.

Okay, now I'm really confused. Does the HD-DVR not take the place of the regular HD box? Will I still need the box I have? I thought this was just an HD cable box with a built in hard drive for recording. I just assumed it worked as normal while watching live tv and then acted as a playback device for the content it records through the same component cables.

Uh oh. I guess I asked too many questions. I will just experiment with the thing myself. I'm sure I'm making it much more complicated than it really is.

Originally posted by dropzone7
Uh oh. I guess I asked too many questions. I will just experiment with the thing myself. I'm sure I'm making it much more complicated than it really is.

Yes you are:) Just hook it up like the one you currently have except you cannot send a second signal from the new box. It will output only recorded programs to a VCR or DVD recorder.

Since we have an OTA thread for Charlotte and this seems to be primarily TWC discussion, I'm going to re-title the thread to distinguish the two.

Okay, I picked up the box and other items at lunch time with minimal hassle. I went to the Arrrowood office and spent about 15 minutes there. I had to sign a work order saying that TWC is not responsible for the install as I will be doing it myself. The rep looked very confused when I walked in and asked to take this box with me. Two phone calls to "someone in the back" later and I was walking out with it.

I can't believe they let you do they. I practically begged them to let me install my own HD box (before the HD-DVR box came out) and they refused. I also asked if I could pick up and install my own HD-DVR box to save the $40 install fee and they said no. Either they have changed their policy or they are treating customers inconsistently... I'm guessing the latter. :rolleyes:

Well, I was very matter of fact and basically said that I was not leaving without one. I think they saw where another rep had noted on my account us having discussed this earlier this morning. I told them they had wasted enough of my time with late and or cancelled appointments and that I thought they could let me at least try this for the $130+ a month I spend with them. I can be an ass if I need to. I prefer to be nice though.:)

I was having a lot of issues with my SA8000HD as far as freezing (and then rebooting), backing up 5 or 10 minutes in a movie on its own and not being able to get past a certain part of a movie, so I swapped out my DVR and the new one seems to be working much better. I'm glad to have one of these DVRs, but I'm glad I don't own it. This is my fifth DVR in about two years, with two SD DVRs having died with bad hard drives, one SD DVR that was dead on arrival (and left at my house by an installer (do they not test them before they leave?)) and now I'm on my second HD DVR. With me not owning it, I don't get quite as angry, but I still find it annoying to lose my recordings.

Yeah, the reasonably priced HD-DVR is probably the only reason I am still with Time Warner right now as they seem to be falling behind in HD offerings. I just can't bring myself to pay $1000 outright for one of those things (i.e. direct tv). I would be very upset if I paid that much and it broke. I have only had my SA HD-DVR box from TW for a month and the HD has already died (see my previous post). I'm no computer expert, but given the fact that the hard drive is constantly recording (even when off) I wouldn't expect these things to last too long.

Any word on if TW is planning on adding new HD channels anytime soon? Bravo-HD? Cinemax-HD? Starz-HD? PPV-HD? Anything? I would think it would be in their best interest to add as much HD as they can since many people (myself included) are getting pretty fed up with the ESPN-HD situation.

Originally posted by HughScot
Go to Titantv.com and follow the directions.

Thanks. I did that. It's great. But it doesn't indicate that any programs on WSOC, like MNF, are in HD. What's up with that?

Well, I got my new HD-DVR hooked up last night. Hugh, as I suspected I was making it more difficult than necessary. Everything worked fine after a call to TWC to have them authorize the box or whatever it is they do on that end. My initial reaction is this: SD channels are more clear and better looking than they were with my Pioneer HD box. However, the HD channels appear a little softer than before. I even pumped up the brightness and contrast on my projector which helped some. Another thing I noticed was in the aspect ratio setup which before I had set as 16:9 wide tv type, zoom 4:3 picture, now looks better in the stretch 4:3 mode. However, the sidebar 4:3 looked so good that I decided to compromise with that for now. Maybe this is why SD looked so bad on my other box. I guess if it's not broadcast in widescreen then I will just live with the gray bars because the picture in between is much better in this native aspect ratio. My screen is a 16:9 aspect ratio and this is what I watch HD in of course but I believe I will be watching SD in it's native 4:3 mode now. Unfortunately, this is more than 90% of the programming but I know that will change with time. As for the recording capability of the HD-DVR, I really have no benchmark because this is my first recording device other than a VCR which I have always hated. I have not learned all of the controls but quickly scheduled some short programs to record off of INHD1 and 2 and HDNET. I like the "In Theaters" 30 minute segments they play and this was part of my motivation for getting the HD-DVR, to play HD movie trailers in my home theater prior to playing the DVD movie feature. This morning I checked the recordings and everything appears fine, good quality still. So far I am pleased with the overall performance. I have to admit that I may miss the "pop" of HD with the Pioneer box but perhaps this "softer" quality is actually more realistic. I think once I get my projector settings dialed in for this new device I will be satisfied. One other thing of note is the sharpness and clarity of the picture. I found myself playing with the focus on my projector trying to make things more clear. There seems to now be a very fine point of focus to bring the HD picture in clearly. Before, with the Pioneer box this range of focus seemed to be much more broad and easier to define. Again, I was only able to spend a few hours with the new setup so I will give it time.

You're not imagining it, dropzone. The HD picture from the SA8000HD-DVR is indeed softer than the equivilent picture coming from my DISH 6000. I've done innumerable A-B comparisons on every HD channel and there's no question about it. OTA channels via the 6000, especially, are significantly sharper and crisper than the equivalent cable channels from the 8000.

I don't know if this is "fixable" with future firmware upgrades. Might just have to live with it as a deficiency of the box. The other advantages of this DVR make it a little bit easier to take, though. All-in-all, this is a superb product, and we don't have to pay a ridiculous king's ransom for it <cough...HD Tivo, DISH 921...cough>

Two problems I've noticed, however:
First, it won't let me watch a channel that's currently recording. It just freezes a frame and stays there until I change channels. When I come back to the recording channel, I get another (different) freeze frame.

Secondly, we need to get the firmware upgrade that allows us to see a "snapshot" of how full the hard drive is. Naturally, because this box records both HD and SD, such an indicator cannot give you how much time is remaining, but knowing how many "bits" remain can give us an idea; just do the math. Some TWC systems apparently have this option available. It's needed here as well.

Originally posted by archiguy
You're not imagining it, dropzone. The HD picture from the SA8000HD-DVR is indeed softer than the equivilent picture coming from my DISH 6000. I've done innumerable A-B comparisons on every HD channel and there's no question about it. OTA channels via the 6000, especially, are significantly sharper and crisper than the equivalent cable channels from the 8000.

I don't know if this is "fixable" with future firmware upgrades. Might just have to live with it as a deficiency of the box. The other advantages of this DVR make it a little bit easier to take, though. All-in-all, this is a superb product, and we don't have to pay a ridiculous king's ransom for it <cough...HD Tivo, DISH 921...cough>

Two problems I've noticed, however:
First, it won't let me watch a channel that's currently recording. It just freezes a frame and stays there until I change channels. When I come back to the recording channel, I get another (different) freeze frame.

Secondly, we need to get the firmware upgrade that allows us to see a "snapshot" of how full the hard drive is. Naturally, because this box records both HD and SD, such an indicator cannot give you how much time is remaining, but knowing how many "bits" remain can give us an idea; just do the math. Some TWC systems apparently have this option available. It's needed here as well.

I did not notice the freeze on channels that were recording. I tuned to INHD1 while recording the "In Theaters" segment and watched with no problem. The recorded version this morning looked fine too. Off topic a bit, what is the deal with MLB on INHD1? The TWC guy said the game last night was blacked out! Granted, I'm not a big sports nut but that is 3 or 4 hours of programming that I'm paying for! He said the channel would come back up after the game and it did. Now I wonder what else I'm missing when games are on. Well, I guess if I did not want to watch it then it doesn't matter anyway. However, my gripe is that I'm paying for it either way.

Originally posted by archiguy
Two problems I've noticed, however:
First, it won't let me watch a channel that's currently recording. It just freezes a frame and stays there until I change channels. When I come back to the recording channel, I get another (different) freeze frame.

Secondly, we need to get the firmware upgrade that allows us to see a "snapshot" of how full the hard drive is. Naturally, because this box records both HD and SD, such an indicator cannot give you how much time is remaining, but knowing how many "bits" remain can give us an idea; just do the math. Some TWC systems apparently have this option available. It's needed here as well.
I don't seem to have the first problem you mention, but it certainly would be nice to have a GUI method for looking at how much HD space remains.

If you put the box is diag mode, you can check to see how much space is left, but it is kind of a pain...I don't turn my box off, so I can usually change to channel 611 and check really quick if I want to. I think the space remaining is somewhere under the DVR tab in the menu.

Originally posted by dropzone7
The TWC guy said the game last night was blacked out! Granted, I'm not a big sports nut but that is 3 or 4 hours of programming that I'm paying for! He said the channel would come back up after the game and it did. Now I wonder what else I'm missing when games are on. Well, I guess if I did not want to watch it then it doesn't matter anyway. However, my gripe is that I'm paying for it either way.

I still haven't figured out why half of those games are blacked out, but all you can do is just enjoy the ones that aren't...

Originally posted by doppler1
I don't seem to have the first problem you mention, but it certainly would be nice to have a GUI method for looking at how much HD space remains.

If you put the box is diag mode, you can check to see how much space is left, but it is kind of a pain...I don't turn my box off, so I can usually change to channel 611 and check really quick if I want to. I think the space remaining is somewhere under the DVR tab in the menu.

So, all you have to do is tune to channel 611? Okay, thanks doppler, I'll try that when I get home. Wouldn't it be sweet if you could pull up a nice pie chart for the disk, blue showing how much space is being used, red showing how much remaining....? Shouldn't be that difficult to do....

Originally posted by doppler1
I still haven't figured out why half of those games are blacked out, but all you can do is just enjoy the ones that aren't...

In Charlotte NC all Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles & Cincinnati Red games are under the local black out rules for MLB. I can understand Atlanta Braves as almost all of there games are covered on a local station such as turner or sports south. A few Baltimore games are carried on Sports South but I have never seen a Cincinnati game carried on any local channel (perhaps on satellite?) If any game for any of these three teams are on indemand HDTV they will be blacked out on Time Warner Charlotte Cable system. If you think that's unfair I subscribe to MLIB extra innings and can never see any Baltimore or Cincinnati games. I'm a Yankee fan and every time they play Baltimore I'm out of luck except for one or two games that may be carried on Sports South (40). I guess if you are a Baltimore or Cincinnati fan living in Charlotte you are out of luck.

Thanks for clearing that up, e137811...I didn't realize that the blackouts were that extensive on purpose.

Originally posted by archiguy
So, all you have to do is tune to channel 611?

As long as:
1.) You have already accessed 'diag' mode once by pushing and holding select and exit at the same time (on the box, NOT the remote) until you hear a chime and the LED on the box reads diag and

2.) You have not shut off the box at all since completing step 1(cold OR warm boot).

If you have turned off the box, you must repeat step 1 before tuning to channel 611.

Is WSOC broadcasting in HD?

On Titantv.com it indicates that they are not. I thought that Monday Night Football was shown in HD on WSOC, but on the schedule it shows WSOCDT as showing ABC News.

Is Titantv wrong? If so, where can I get an accurate HD schedule? Thanks.

Originally posted by archiguy
You're not imagining it, dropzone. The HD picture from the SA8000HD-DVR is indeed softer than the equivilent picture coming from my DISH 6000. I've done innumerable A-B comparisons on every HD channel and there's no question about it. OTA channels via the 6000, especially, are significantly sharper and crisper than the equivalent cable channels from the 8000.


The box I acquired last week gives me an HD picture that is so close to OTA that very few people could tell the difference. I had to look very hard and long before I realized that the OTA picture has a depth or 3-D effect that the box does not have. The details are the same, nothing is left out or smoothed over. The prior box was smoother/softer and the difference was quite evident. I have used the US Open on CBS for testing purposes. On network shows I could not see any difference. It takes 1080i live to see it. It is a far better picture than I used to have with DirecTV HD.

All in all TWC is doing a far better job, in my opinion, than the sats. More programming in HD and no huge upfront costs. If there was a better way to view HD programming I'd be using it regardless of the cost. So if you don't like what you have now please go elsewhere.

Hugh

Originally posted by jimnc
Is WSOC broadcasting in HD?

On Titantv.com it indicates that they are not. I thought that Monday Night Football was shown in HD on WSOC, but on the schedule it shows WSOCDT as showing ABC News.

Is Titantv wrong? If so, where can I get an accurate HD schedule? Thanks.

Yes, it's wrong. MNF is in HD. I use www.ilovehdtv.com. In addition to programming we have what we call the Tips List. It will cost you $35 per year.

Originally posted by HughScot
Yes, it's wrong. MNF is in HD. I use www.ilovehdtv.com. In addition to programming we have what we call the Tips List. It will cost you $35 per year.

Thank you.

Originally posted by HughScot
So if you don't like what you have now please go elsewhere.

Hugh

I certainly hope that unnecessary and acerbic comment was not directed toward me or anyone else who has commented on the softness of the HD picture through the SA8000. This is not your courtroom and you have no more rights or privileges here than anyone else. This is the AVS Forum and it exists for members to comment, criticize where warranted, and provide assistance to others whenever possible. This box has its shortcomings and they need to be pointed out, but as I said in the post above that you selectively quoted (perhaps you just didn't read far enough before firing off your last post), it's a terrific product that does a number of things very well. Picture quality, however, is not among them....yet.

Only by pointing out shortcomings with the box can TWC understand what needs to be done to remedy them. Being the only local beta tester for this box (I was promised one but they didn't deliver it to me before general release), you should understand that. I've had HDTV for 5 years now with a variety of equipment and I know a "soft" picture when I see it.

Originally posted by archiguy
I certainly hope that unnecessary and acerbic comment was not directed toward me or anyone else who has commented on the softness of the HD picture through the SA8000. This is not your courtroom and you have no more rights or privileges here than anyone else. This is the AVS Forum and it exists for members to comment, criticize where warranted, and provide assistance to others whenever possible. This box has its shortcomings and they need to be pointed out, but as I said in the post above that you selectively quoted (perhaps you just didn't read far enough before firing off your last post), it's a terrific product that does a number of things very well. Picture quality, however, is not among them....yet.

Only by pointing out shortcomings with the box can TWC understand what needs to be done to remedy them. Being the only local beta tester for this box (I was promised one but they didn't deliver it to me before general release), you should understand that. I've had HDTV for 5 years now with a variety of equipment and I know a "soft" picture when I see it.

No, no. That remark was intended for anyone (with one in mind) who constantly says they are going to go over to one of the sats because TWC will not provide certain programming. When you see post after post with the same comment and threat it gets tiresome.

If the shoe fits wear it and if not don't worry about it. "Archiguy" this had nothing to do with you personally so relax.:) Chill. I have absolutely nothing against constructive criticism about the box in particular. And I've done my fair share. But to constantly make threats does no one any good and TWC is very aware of those comments and it does not make friends.

Oh, well okay then. I actually love this box in spite of the soft HD picture. This is coming from someone who's waited and waited and waited - for 5 long years - for the ability to easily time-shift HDTV. I'd try your approach of getting a new 8000, but I've got too much unwatched material on the disk now - an unfortunate side effect of having a DVR. ;)

My SA3250 gives a soft picture too (relative to the E*6000), but not quite to the extent of the 8000. Perhaps it's not the boxes...? I'm beginning to wonder if TWC is applying too much filtering or compression to the HD signals.

Somebody asked earlier about how to see what is coming on in HD with the DVR. What I do is: bring up the program guide (which by default is sorted by "Time"), then at the bottom using the "A" "B" and "C" remote selections you can resort the list by either Alpha or by type of program (similar to "Replay Zones" on a replaytv). Under the "C" selection sort (by theme/type of program) there is a "HDTV" sort feature. Now I cannot opine on the accuracy of the sort, but it has helped me from having to hit the "go right" scroll button on the remote. Maybe this will help some folks who haven't seen it.
PS... speaking of which, is there a way to 'page right' instead of going in 30min. increments. I've got the 'page up and down' program in my remote, but was always wondering about this one??? thanks, joe

Originally posted by HughScot
No, no. That remark was intended for anyone (with one in mind) who constantly says they are going to go over to one of the sats because TWC will not provide certain programming. When you see post after post with the same comment and threat it gets tiresome.


OK, I'm pretty sure you are talking about me here. I agree with everything that archiguy said and that comment was unnecessary no matter who it was intended for. This purpose of this thread is to discuss TW services and opinions of TW whether they be good or bad. Everyone has the right to post their thoughts without being told to “go elsewhere.” Maybe some people think your constant defending of Time Warner (yes, I know you made a negative comment about them last week) is equally as tiresome as you think others criticizing TW is...

If you had been through what I have in the past year with Time Warner, I guarantee you would not be thrilled with them either.

Correct, I started this thread to talk about Time Warner HD GOOD OR BAD so post whatever you like. If there were never any negative comments all would be well and we wouldn't be in this thread. I doubt we'll ever see that day though lol

Originally posted by HughScot
The box I acquired last week gives me an HD picture that is so close to OTA that very few people could tell the difference. I had to look very hard and long before I realized that the OTA picture has a depth or 3-D effect that the box does not have. The details are the same, nothing is left out or smoothed over. The prior box was smoother/softer and the difference was quite evident. I have used the US Open on CBS for testing purposes. On network shows I could not see any difference. It takes 1080i live to see it. It is a far better picture than I used to have with DirecTV HD.

All in all TWC is doing a far better job, in my opinion, than the sats. More programming in HD and no huge upfront costs. If there was a better way to view HD programming I'd be using it regardless of the cost. So if you don't like what you have now please go elsewhere.

Hugh

Go elsewhere? Like where? I have only had the box for 3 days. This is certainly softer than my old Pioneer box.

Originally posted by dropzone7
Go elsewhere? Like where? I have only had the box for 3 days. This is certainly softer than my old Pioneer box.

By elsewhere I was referring to the sats. Nothing more.

As I mentioned this new box is not softer as was the previous HD-DVR box I had up until last week. I'm referring to my "new" box only, not everyone's box. On the football game tonight with ABC in 720p I could not detect any difference between OTA and the box. That confirms for me that CBS with 1080i offers more depth or 3-D effect than ABC with 720p.

One thing working differently tonight was the "last" button. I was switching back and forth between channels 28 and 235 and each time it would buffer what I wasn't watching and when I went back it would start from where I left off until I hit the "live" button. Never before have I had this happen. It might be a good thing as you don't miss any of the action.

Originally posted by HughScot
By elsewhere I was referring to the sats. Nothing more.

As I mentioned this new box is not softer as was the previous HD-DVR box I had up until last week. I'm referring to my "new" box only, not everyone's box. On the football game tonight with ABC in 720p I could not detect any difference between OTA and the box. That confirms for me that CBS with 1080i offers more depth or 3-D effect than ABC with 720p.

One thing working differently tonight was the "last" button. I was switching back and forth between channels 28 and 235 and each time it would buffer what I wasn't watching and when I went back it would start from where I left off until I hit the "live" button. Never before have I had this happen. It might be a good thing as you don't miss any of the action.

So, do you think it might just be the unit I have? Should I get another one and compare? My wife watched it for the first time last night and she immediately noticed the difference. She said it looked blurry and not nearly as clear as the Pioneer HD box I had before.

Originally posted by dropzone7
So, do you think it might just be the unit I have? Should I get another one and compare? My wife watched it for the first time last night and she immediately noticed the difference. She said it looked blurry and not nearly as clear as the Pioneer HD box I had before.

Based on my experience I would get a new one. Without the problems I had after the upgrade I would still be using the HD-DVR I got back in May. My PQ is now as good as the Pioneer HD box, I think. Without side by side comparisons I can't be positive. Worth a try.

A little off topic but I have noticed that since the upgrade my standard def DVR is working much better. I hated the thing before because changing channels was such a slow process. Surfing was almost impossible with that box. But it works really well know, still slower than my Pioneer HDTV box but much better than before.

Originally posted by sccofer
A little off topic but I have noticed that since the upgrade my standard def DVR is working much better. I hated the thing before because changing channels was such a slow process. Surfing was almost impossible with that box. But it works really well know, still slower than my Pioneer HDTV box but much better than before.

What upgrade? Are we talking about a TWC fix?

All of the boxes in Charlotte on TWC were updated on 8/31.

GOOD NEWS BOYS!!!! If you haven't already heard, TW is finally getting ESPN-HD!! It will be included in the HD tier... should start within the next 30 days. Some cities are already reporting it as working. Let me know if you find it in Charlotte.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4329747#post4329747

Yawn...

Originally posted by bdfox18doe
Yawn...

A man with no interest in sports. Isn't that unamerican?:D

There are a few sports that draw my interest! but espn doesn't carry that!

I want my ESPD-HD! And will hold my breath until TWC adds it to the linup So let's hurry it up before I turn blue :D

Originally posted by bdfox18doe
There are a few sports that draw my interest! but espn doesn't carry that!

Yep... unamerican.



:p

Originally posted by HughScot
A man with no interest in sports. Isn't that unamerican?:D

I'm happy for you guys that have waited patiently. As for myself, I would rather watch grass grow than watch most sports!

The following was posted by Charles Layno on the NCHDTV mailing list and I thought some real men would be interested: :)


This weekend marks the first official HD programming on the FOX network and
all of FOX's games will be in HD (except for the Ariz/St Louis game, next
week all 6 games will be in HD). FOX will also be providing at least 50% of
their prime time programming in HD as well, meaning shows like The OC, North
Shore, Bernie Mac, True Calling, Arrested Development and the new season of
24 will be in true 720p HD.

The only blemish on this wonderful news is that the Carolina Panthers will
open their season on ABC's Monday Night Football with the Green Bay Packers
and in several parts of the state will be unavailable in HD due to Sinclair
ABC stations that are not ready to pass the ABC HD signal yet. But in Week 2,
the Panthers will be in HD on FOX in the markets that have the FOX HD Splicer
on line (which includes, Charlotte, the Triad and the Triangle.)
_______________________________________________
NCHDTV mailing list
NCHDTV@nchdtv.com
http://www.w4cl.net/mailman/listinfo/nchdtv

Thanks for the news, chief and hugh. I watched my first HD football game in my house on Thursday night, nine feet diagonal, and it was sweet.

Well, it seems that TWC has finally added ESPNHD!!! The unfortunate thing is that we don't have it in Charlotte yet. One thing that bugs me is reading about how happy the other regions are that it's up and running for tonights games... I have no patience at all....add it now please.

Here is an email I got today from TWC in Charlotte after I wrote and asked when we could expect it in Charlotte:

"Dear Hugh,

Thanks for writing. If the information you received was on a web site please forward that to us. At this time we are still in negotiations with ESPN HD.

Sincerely,

Daniel
Time Warner Cable Charlotte
High Speed Data Services
24-Hour Technical Support Help Line 704-943-2337
http://www.twcarolina.com"

Send them this link if you need one. They can't deny another TWCNC website (http://www.timewarnercable.com/nc/).

Originally posted by Daryl L
Send them this link if you need one. They can't deny another TWCNC website (http://www.timewarnercable.com/nc/).

Thanks very much, I just sent it to the guy who wrote to me.

I just sent an email along with the link as well.

At this time we are still in negotiations with ESPN HD.

I find that kind of humorous. Does TW keep their staff "in the dark" for a reason? I can't believe that people on a message board knew about this almost a full day before some of their staff (maybe longer if Hugh hadn't informed them). Maybe it had something to due wiht the deal getting done right before the weekend.

Anyways, thanks for the info Hugh. Let us know what he says. It sure would be nice to have it for Sunday night football tomorrow. It seems like a pretty quick change to add it since a lot of cities got it last night.

Here is the reply I received from my email inquire:

Dear Jason,

Thanks for writing. We understand that you are interested in ESPN HD. This is currently available in the Raleigh, Durham, & Fayetteville area. At this time Charlotte is still in negotiations with ESPN. Once ESPN HD is available in the Charlotte area it will be listed on the http://www.timewarnercable.com/charlotte/ website.

Sincerely,

Daniel
Time Warner Cable Charlotte
High Speed Data Services
24-Hour Technical Support Help Line 704-943-2337
http://www.twcarolina.com

Hopefully that is not true..

I doubt that every individual TWC has been negotiating with ESPN separately.

I got something similar...



Thanks for writing. Currently Charlotte NC is still in negotiations with ESPN. Once this channel is available it will be listed on the http://www.timewarnercable.com/charlotte/ website. Let us know if you have further questions.

Sincerely,

Daniel
Time Warner Cable Charlotte
High Speed Data Services
24-Hour Technical Support Help Line 704-943-2337
http://www.twcarolina.com


Surely each city doesn't have to negotiate sepratley. This was a national deal, right? What is he talking about?

My email to TWC as to me this is unfregging believeable.

Daniel,

I saw your reply to "Jason" stating that Charlotte was still in negotiations with ESPN. It sounds
unbelievable to me as a business man that the Charlotte Division of TWC is the only one in the
entire nation doing this as a solo act. Why would almost the entire nation get ESPN-HD two days ago
and only the Charlotte Division is still in negotiations? Surely your corporate headquarters does
the negotiating for the company and not a group of individual divisions. It would cost TWC ten
times as much if every division negotiated their own arrangements with ESPN or any program provider.

Regards,
Hugh
Hugh R. F. Campbell
Gastonia, NC
hcampbell1@carolina.rr.com

HughScot:

Great email. I anxiously await their reply.

FYI -- Posted from the HDTV Programming thread:



Today 06:41 PM

Deez04
New Member

Registered: Sep 2004
Location: Charlotte,NC
Posts: 1
Charlotte,NC
Well I live in Charlotte and I talked with a supervisor at TW. They were shocked to hear about the news of ESPNHD in Raleigh and I even went on hold so they could go and check Raleigh's website. He came back and told me that he knew nothing about it and that he was still unsure as too when it would be added. However, on a positive note he did say that it had to be on a whole corporate level for the agreement and that once one system received ESPN HD the others would soon follow. However SOON has been a four letter word for us TW subscribers for a long time..........I just hope it comes soon!



POST #49 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

This is what I received from TWC-Charlotte, in response to my inquiry about ESPD-HD:

Dear Chuck,

Thanks for writing. The Charlotte area is still in negotiations with ESPN. Once ESPN is available it will be listed. We are unable to specify a date at this time. Let us know if you have additional questions.

Sincerely,

Daniel
Time Warner Cable Charlotte
High Speed Data Services
24-Hour Technical Support Help Line 704-943-2337

It's hard to believe that little ol' TWC is negiotiating on their own with big, bad ol' ESPN, isn't it? :rolleyes:

Originally posted by chuckf1
It's hard to believe that little ol' TWC is negiotiating on their own with big, bad ol' ESPN, isn't it? :rolleyes:

I hope you mean "little ol'" Charlotte TWC as Time Warner is a huge company consisting of Time, Warner, HBO, AOL, etc.

Right you are sir, I did mean "little ol' Charlotte"---the stress of not having ESPN-HD when everyone else has it must be getting to me. ;)

It seems like it's been this way from the beginning. Raleigh and other cities had NBC and other channels long before us if my memory serves me right. Hopefully you guys have lit a fire under some of the TWC people over there. We'll see what happens...

TW does seem to "flip the switch" in Raleigh before Charlotte on new stuff. They had digital telephone service in Raleigh first as well. I'm not sure, but I think that may be standard operating procedure.

Not necessarilly. Charlotte got the HD-DVR's before Raleigh and if I remember correctly Charlotte got DiscoveryHD, TNT-HD, InHD1 & 2, HDnet & HDnet Movies first also. So Raleigh doesn't always get stuff first.

Watching the Washington game on Fox. Whats with the "FOX" bug in the lower right? It seems to be cropped or cut off. Nothing appears to be wrong with my settings. Anybody else getting this?

my box has gotten horrible. channels take forever to change..if they do change at all. the pic in pic is even worse. half the channels are nothing but grey. im really irritated.

The bug is cropped on MOST sets due to two issues:
1) Excessive monitor overscan, in excess of 5%
2) Differences in the mpeg decoders output in the STB being used.

The Pioneer STB from TWC is especially bad.

We have expressed our concerns to FOX over these issues.

I just received the following letter from TWC sales in Charlotte. Following their letter is my response. Personally, I think tomorrow will be an interesting day at TWC in Charlotte. My letters have been "cc'd" to everyone I know over there. The more email they receive from different people the better as long as it is not mean spirited and without four letter words.

"Dear Hugh,
I can understand your frustration but all divisions are separate and are not necessarily bound to carry stations or services that other divisions carry. I'm sure, if you have communications with other divisions, you will see quite a discrepancy in programming from one division to the other not only in ESPN-HD but other channels as well. We also differ in products that we offer including Digital Phone, high speed providers, tiers of business services and tiers of residential services not even to mention the type and variety of equipment that we all carry. We are in the process of negotiating our ability to broadcast ESPN-HD as was stated before, I am truly sorry that you do not already have this product thru us but if and when it does become available in the Charlotte area I am sure you will hear about it quite fast as it is our number 1 requested station. If you require further information please let me know.

Sincerely,

Sean
Time Warner Cable Charlotte
High Speed Data Services
24-Hour Technical Support Help Line 704-943-2337
http://www.twcarolina.com"
***********************************************************
Dear Sean,

Thanks for your note. While I understand what you are saying I find it interesting that you would not carry the number one requested station when your other divisions have it available for their viewers. I assume that the various divisions vary as to programming due to different socio/economic viewer dynamics. The dynamics of this area is very sports oriented, well educated and white collar. Just the sort of dynamics to which TWC of the Carolinas would seem to want to cater.

Having spend my life in sales and marketing I am having a difficult time figuring out this conundrum.

Sincerely,

Hugh
Hugh R. F. Campbell
Gastonia, NC
hcampbell1@carolina.rr.com

Originally posted by swamphhh
Watching the Washington game on Fox. Whats with the "FOX" bug in the lower right? It seems to be cropped or cut off. Nothing appears to be wrong with my settings. Anybody else getting this?

Same thing here...On my Sony 32XBR400 (4:3) set being fed by a Hughes E-86 I only see the 'F' and the 'O'...the rest is cropped off...

hh

There is a "Charlotte" that is below the FOX, but ya can't see it.

Originally posted by bdfox18doe
The bug is cropped on MOST sets due to two issues:
1) Excessive monitor overscan, in excess of 5%
2) Differences in the mpeg decoders output in the STB being used.

The Pioneer STB from TWC is especially bad.

We have expressed our concerns to FOX over these issues.

Since FOX moved it, that bug is in a bad spot and for some reason, the bug for out FOX station in Greensboro isn't active. Just the FOX score bar across the top.

has anyone done a search for hidden channels around the 290 range? I'll look tonight when I get home for ESPN...

I did on Saturday and found nothing. I'll check on it today also.

Let me get this straight now. The ESPN corporate office has reached an agreement for ESPN-HD and it has apparently been added almost everywhere else in the country, except for the Charlotte market. Is that correct? If so, that is unbelievable! On second thought, it's not. It has always appeared to me that the Charlotte TWC division is not very concerned about customer desires and issues. They listen, but most of the time, they continue to ignore their customers wishes. By the way, the Sunday night NFL game on ESPN-HD was the BEST PQ of any football game I've ever seen. I'm sorry you guys had to miss it. As I've said before...

Happy waiting!!!

I checked yesterday and even rebooted the box, but it still wasn't there. I would expect it to show up around 282 or so but who knows...

Originally posted by herrfish1
Let me get this straight now. The ESPN corporate office has reached an agreement for ESPN-HD and it has apparently been added almost everywhere else in the country, except for the Charlotte market. Is that correct? If so, that is unbelievable! On second thought, it's not. It has always appeared to me that the Charlotte TWC division is not very concerned about customer desires and issues. They listen, but most of the time, they continue to ignore their customers wishes. By the way, the Sunday night NFL game on ESPN-HD was the BEST PQ of any football game I've ever seen. I'm sorry you guys had to miss it. As I've said before...

Happy waiting!!!

So I guess you have satelitte? Yes, TW Charlotte keeps telling us that they are still in negotiations, or that they don't have to offer the same programming as they do in other cities. I have a feeling that it will be worked out this week (at least I'm hoping). It was kind of depressing reading the thread about SNF and how everyone thought it was the best HD pq football game they have ever seen as I watched it in SD. :(

I just checked on diag mode and found no ESPN HD. I did find on channel 860 an updated version of the Weather Channel. The only difference I could see is the local weather forecast as it reads it the forecast to you. Oh, the radar is slightly different as well.

This is Sean from TW Charlotte.. I will now open the floor to questions....

Originally posted by TWSean
This is Sean from TW Charlotte.. I will now open the floor to questions....

Welcome to the board Sean. It will be nice to get answers from Time Warner directly instead of guessing and hearing things through the grapevine.


Question #1: Now that Disney and TW have agreed to a contract, when can we expect to have ESPN-HD in Charlotte??? :D

Originally posted by TWSean
This is Sean from TW Charlotte.. I will now open the floor to questions....

Thanks and please don't take anything personally.

Hugh

Every one thinks we are so full of it when I say this but it is the gods honest truth on my daughters eyes.

There is no update. I understand that other Divisions have this and I will ASSUME that we will be getting as well. I have personally spoken with the director of marketing here in charlotte and there is no official update. When this is comin out I have no clue and to promise you that this is coming out would be foolish on my part as I have not heard the difinitive word "yes we are going to broadcast ESPN-HD". All I'm asking is to be patient you guys arent the first ones to ask for this channel I've been dealing with this question for over a year now. People are working to get this done they know you want it, trust me they want to make money off of offering it. But to sit there and barrage someones inbox because you think it will make things go faster is lunacy. So as they say "dont shoot the messenger" but as soon as I have more info, which could be a week could be 6 months I have no idea, we will lt you know.

Now does that answer your questiosn?

So, with all that said, when will we have ESPN-HD?

Seriously Sean, Welcome and glad to have you here..finally!:)

Originally posted by TWSean
Now does that answer your questiosn?

Not exactly what I was hoping to hear, but I suppose it is an answer. ;) I will remain ignorantly optimistic that since a national agreement has been reached, it is just a matter of time before the word gets passed down to all of the TW cities.

what is your official capacity with Time Warner Charlotte? also what is your email address??

My official Title is Electronic Support Specialist. I handle all abuse incidents with the RR network. I also handle all inbound email support. Unfortunately that also includes cable but the job does say other duties as assigned. You can reach me at the support email address support@twcarolina.com sorry but I'm not gonna give out my personal email. As far as information you guys are looking for I will be more than happy to be a non official rep for your TW info as long as you guys understand that what I tell you is what the official news about TW is, I can not disclose any confidential information as I could loose my job.

Originally posted by dropzone7
Well, I was very matter of fact and basically said that I was not leaving without one. I think they saw where another rep had noted on my account us having discussed this earlier this morning. I told them they had wasted enough of my time with late and or cancelled appointments and that I thought they could let me at least try this for the $130+ a month I spend with them. I can be an ass if I need to. I prefer to be nice though.:)


thats awesome they let you do that but it irrititates the ever living hell out of me. I asked to do the same thing and they told me no. I had to spend $40 for some schmuck to come out and "figure out" how to set it up.

Now I have to get a new box and the lady on the phone said that TW does not carry the hd dvr box in their office. So now I have to take off work for the 6th time in 4 months so that someone can bring the box to me.


i need a better alternative to TW. This is not good for my health having to deal with their complete bs.

ESPN HD on Channel 294 starting later this week. It will be part of the HD tier

Originally posted by David Krueger
ESPN HD on Channel 294 starting later this week. It will be part of the HD tier

Thank you for the info sir. Do you work for Time Warner too?

Welcome Dave!

Originally posted by chief17
Thank you for the info sir. Do you work for Time Warner too?

Thanks Dave, we appreciate the information very much.

Dave does work for TWC in Charlotte. Be nice to him.:D

SWEET!!!! What a great day (this news and our Monday Night Football game). Thanks for the information and welcome to the forum TWSean and David.

TWSean or David Krueger:

Can you tell me if the Weather Channel feed on 860 will be added soon. It seems to have some sort of digital feed and the updated Local on the 8's is great. I found this in diag mode. Thanks

Originally posted by Davew0670
thats awesome they let you do that but it irrititates the ever living hell out of me. I asked to do the same thing and they told me no. I had to spend $40 for some schmuck to come out and "figure out" how to set it up.

Now I have to get a new box and the lady on the phone said that TW does not carry the hd dvr box in their office. So now I have to take off work for the 6th time in 4 months so that someone can bring the box to me.


i need a better alternative to TW. This is not good for my health having to deal with their complete bs.

I feel your pain man. Unfortunately, it appears that the reps are very diverse in what they do and do not know. You can talk to 10 different people and get 10 different stories. They also told me that the HD-DVR was not available until I really pushed them on it. 10 minutes on hold later they come back to the phone and say, "oh yeah, I guess we do have it". Luckily I work really close to the office near S. Tryon so I can go down there at lunch time and get things done. Sometimes you have to talk to 3 or 4 different people to get what you want but I have come to expect that from TWC. I work in the sales/customer service industry myself and I could NEVER get away with some of the things they do. My advice, be persistent and most importantly be NICE, until it's time to not be nice.
;)

Welcome David and Sean! I've spoken to David in the past and know he's high up at TWC. My question is when will other outputs on the HD DVR box be enabled? I'm waiting on the DVI output and also a SD output (either coax, svideo or video output as the SD looks terrible thru component. Are you aware of plans to enable at least one of the SD outputs? Thanks again.

guru - As has been posted many, many times (reading through the threads on the SA8000 is really very helpful as nearly any question you have has already been asked and answered), if you activate PIP on your box you also activate the composite output for the resulting small window. Whatever is in that window is sent out via composite.

Yes, I know that workaround. I want to know if one of the regular SD outputs will be enabled so I don't have to do that.

Good question, but highly doubtful. Maybe Dave can shed some light on that one....?

Anyone else notice lip-synch issues with Monday Night Football on the HD DVR last night? Just curious, I haven't noticed anything like this before and hopefully it won't happen any more, but several times I noticed it on ABC HD last night.

Other than that it looked good (except for the outcome of the game, or course...)

ABC HD is always out of synch. At leats on my two boxes and TV's. ABCHD through TWC is unwatchable, most of the time because of the Lip-Synch issues

- Scott

I have noticed the synch issue on ABC-HD occasionally, but not all the time. There is also a "clicking" about every 20 seconds or so on ABC News Now (236). I also hear it on ABC-HD sometimes, but not as often. I have never heard it on any other channel, so I guess it is an ABC issue but I don't know for sure. Has anyone heard that?

Originally posted by David Krueger
ESPN HD on Channel 294 starting later this week. It will be part of the HD tier

Awesome! Thanks for the great news! My couch and beer cooler thank you.

Next question: Will TWC be adding ESPN2-HD when it is launched in January?

I'm just kidding, that was a cheap shot and an egregious party foul! Penalize me for unnecessary roughness and mark off 15 yards! :eek:

Seriously though, just between us guys... you are going to add it right? I mean, what else will we have to b-tch about? :D

I tried the workaround to getting SD a little yesterday and it's just too much work. I have to change inputs, turn on PIP, get the channel in PIP, change the aspect ratio, audio output, etc. It's way too cumbersome and I hope at least the Svideo out gets turned on for us to use for SD viewing. Even the digital channels look bad thru component. From what I've seen ONLY HD looks good through component with this box. Can anyone from TWC comment on this issue?

thanks

Well I making the switch from DirecTv back to TWC Cable. Some may think I'm crazy (including myself), but DirecTv is very slow in the HDTV world (yes, even slower than cable)

Here's what induced my switch

1. ESPN HD right around the corner for TWC
2. Affordable HD-PVR solution (D* charges $999)
3. Locals, Locals, Locals in HD (D* promise sometime in 2005, and I can't use an antenna)
4. Price - paying just under $100/month for all of this HD stuff, showtime, and cable modem (and a $100 credit because I'm a sat. customer). The same was costing me close to $120

What I know I'm in for

1. Potential audio-sync issues on ABC-HD? yikes
2. Subpar PQ on SD - at least less than D*
3. No DVI support
4. No DirectTivo – this is going to be the tough one


Anyone else made this backward switch? Will i regret this? So many decisions - all in the name of HDTV

Originally posted by jl0810
Well I making the switch from DirecTv back to TWC Cable. Some may think I'm crazy (including myself), but DirecTv is very slow in the HDTV world (yes, even slower than cable)
Here's what induced my switch
1. ESPN HD right around the corner for TWC
2. Affordable HD-PVR solution (D* charges $999)
3. Locals, Locals, Locals in HD (D* promise sometime in 2005, and I can't use an antenna)
4. Price - paying just under $100/month for all of this HD stuff, showtime, and cable modem (and a $100 credit because I'm a sat. customer). The same was costing me close to $120
What I know I'm in for
1. Potential audio-sync issues on ABC-HD? yikes
2. Subpar PQ on SD - at least less than D*
3. No DVI support
4. No DirectTivo – this is going to be the tough one
Anyone else made this backward switch? Will i regret this? So many decisions - all in the name of HDTV

I personally think at the present time you are making the correct decision. I've had DirecTV and Cable at the same time and I dropped the dish. I didn't notice any audio sync problems mentioned above, last night. SD is poor but I believe you will find the HD to be better due to less compression. With the HD-DVR I don't think you will miss DirecTivo, I've got Tivo on another TV so I am very familiar with it. No DVI is correct but the picture improvment is not all that big a deal from what I have seen.

And should one of the sats come out with something better than TWC we can all change........but I doubt that will happen. I'm very happy with TWC 90% of the time. The NTSC signal can be improved if you split the cable signal and take one direct to the RF input on your TV and the other to your box. You won't get the premium channels but the picture will be greatly improved on the other channels.

Originally posted by HughScot
The NTSC signal can be improved if you split the cable signal and take one direct to the RF input on your TV and the other to your box. You won't get the premium channels but the picture will be greatly improved on the other channels.

Can you explain the NTSC signal? So if i run one feed directly to the TV, my non-premiums, such as CNN, FOX news, whatever, will be better, than if I had run them through the box?

Originally posted by jl0810
Can you explain the NTSC signal? So if i run one feed directly to the TV, my non-premiums, such as CNN, FOX news, whatever, will be better, than if I had run them through the box?

If you take the cable box out of the equation (i.e. split the cable so that one side goes to your box, one side directly to your TV), what you're left with is "basic cable", channels 2 thru 20-something on the non-box side. You can take that basic cable and plug it directly into other devices, and likely get a better picture than SD through the box.

I take that a little to the extreme. I split my cable signal 5 ways. Two go to TWC boxes (SA3250 and SA8000) and 3 go directly to the TV and a couple of VCR's. And I also have DISH network's HD pak going to yet another STB. Gives me lots of options. :D

Originally posted by jl0810
Can you explain the NTSC signal? So if i run one feed directly to the TV, my non-premiums, such as CNN, FOX news, whatever, will be better, than if I had run them through the box?

In other words the basic cable signal that comes into your house before it reaches the SA8000 cable box. Yes, the improvement is dramatic for me. The NTSC....non HD....signal coming to my TV via component cables from the SA8000 really sucks. Assuming your TV will accept an RF input give it a try and then compare that picture on say the regular ESPN channel, with the same channel via your box. If you are feeding your audio through a pre/pro or receiver all you have to do is swap inputs on your TV via the remote.

The NTSC signal is the signal we have all been watching for years prior to HD which is an ATSC signal. This is a gross oversimplification but I think you get the point.

I think you're making the right choice as well. As much complaining as you see us do we do enjoy the HD and just want the SD and digital to be better.

My question is whether Cable SD will be much worse than D* SD? I'm assuming it will be somewhat worse


Hugh - you said you had both at one time? any ideas?

ESPN HD is almost here!! My lack of patience had me searching through daig mode a few minutes ago and saw that ESPN HD is listed on channel 285. Currently you only see the station banner along with the show information. There is no audio or video.

*edit for channel* Now have audio and video.... IT LOOKS GREAT........

Are you sure about that channel 385 ESPN-HD info. My channel385 says Encore Action and it's a subscription movie channel

We all want our ESPN-HD!

You have it!!! ESPN HD is currently broadcasting on channel 285 in diag mode only. SportsCenter looks great in HD baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally posted by jl0810
My question is whether Cable SD will be much worse than D* SD? I'm assuming it will be somewhat worse


Hugh - you said you had both at one time? any ideas?

Not Hugh but for the past week I've had both. I've had D* w/only the Sunday NFL ticket for the past two years (I get everything else from TW; the digital channels + HBO, Showtime and TMC) and decided to take them up on their HD upgrade offer...I had to commit to a year of Total Choice... to make a long story short the D* guy came today and couldn't get enough clearance over the trees to have a clear line of sight to satellite 119 which has the HD channels for D*. I cancelled my D* HD upgrade and am back to only having the NFL Sunday ticket in SD. My intention was to cancel TW cable and keep it for Roadrunner only.

Back to your question:

The SD channels on D*, at my house and on my tv, looked noticeably better than Time Warner's. It was very obvious watching the tennis US Open on USA. The lines of the tennis court weren't as blurry. I also compared CNN, Turner Classics and ESPN. I thought that the main difference was that colors (like somebody's shirt, or face) didn't bleed as much.

I don't watch that much SD but to my eyes the difference was there. I have the Pioneer non-DVR HD box, by the way. Your mileage may vary as everybody's house is wired differently. But in my opinion I don't think it's the wiring because the TW digital channels also looked inferior to the same channels on D*.

Originally posted by KramerTC
....................... I have the Pioneer non-DVR HD box, by the way. Your mileage may vary as everybody's house is wired differently. But in my opinion I don't think it's the wiring because the TW digital channels also looked inferior to the same channels on D*.

The key here is the box, "Kramer" has the old Pioneer Box and it was better than the current SA8000 HD-DVR box. I would not be switching inputs if I had my old box back. It will not cost you anything to try it and if you don't like it you can keep your Directv.

I live in the University area of Clt, and have a problem with Channels 225, 226 and 227 which are the CBS HD and Digital Channels. At first, it was freezing and blocking, but now it is strictly a black screen. Is anyone else having these same problems?

BTW, I just switched back to TWC from DirecTv, and I love it since I can get my locals in HD. I live in an RF Hole, and used three different OTA antennas, and no luck with my DirecTV HD Receiver.

No problems with WBTV digital here...sounds like a signal issue. Probably best to give them a call.

Originally posted by namcap
You have it!!! ESPN HD is currently broadcasting on channel 285 in diag mode only. SportsCenter looks great in HD baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Don't know how to get into the diag (hidden) mode but if it's there now, then the rest of us should soon be getting our ESPN-HD :D

Thank you for taking the time to answe my question a little bit earlier this evening

Originally posted by HughScot
The key here is the box, "Kramer" has the old Pioneer Box and it was better than the current SA8000 HD-DVR box. I would not be switching inputs if I had my old box back. It will not cost you anything to try it and if you don't like it you can keep your Directv.


I was using the s-video output of the Pioneer against the s-video output of the D* box when comparing SD channels. The component output of the TW back at 1080i for SD channels blurs the image even more. I only use it for HD channels.

I did keep my Directv... for the NFL Sunday ticket :)

I just got a call that ESPN-HD will be on channel 285 permanently and as already been reported you can view it now if you go into diag. Unfortunately it is not on in Gastonia and they don't know why. I also got an email from TWC telling me it was going to be added "soon". :) Gotta love that communication over in Charlotte.

Does this mean it will not be part of the HD Tier and will be "free"/no extra charge for all HD subscribers?

Originally posted by uscgamecocks
Does this mean it will not be part of the HD Tier and will be "free"/no extra charge for all HD subscribers?

I doubt it - it seems to be a national decision to put it in the HD Package.

Either way, I won't watch it :)

Originally posted by uscgamecocks
Does this mean it will not be part of the HD Tier and will be "free"/no extra charge for all HD subscribers?

No, it will be part of the HD Tier so if you don't subscribe to that now you will not be able to view it via "diag". The HD Tier is currently INHD 1 & 2 and HDnet 1 & 2. Hopefully they will let it be viewed for free for a couple of weeks but I don't know.

I don't subscribe to the tier now, and I could watch it the few seconds I flipped to ESPN-HD this afternoon...I am confident that that will change once the channel is officially launched (or shortly thereafter if there is a preview).

Originally posted by jl0810
My question is whether Cable SD will be much worse than D* SD? I'm assuming it will be somewhat worse


Hugh - you said you had both at one time? any ideas?

Yes, it will be noticeably worse because cable consists mostly of analog channels and satelitte is all digital. Cable will be all digitall eventually, but that is several years off. TW has a nice selection of HD channels though, especially now that we are getting ESPN-HD so I think you will be happy.

Does anyone know where TWC Charlotte stands on IN Demand HD? I know for a while could be found active in diag mode but it has not been there for some time.

Originally posted by namcap
Does anyone know where TWC Charlotte stands on IN Demand HD? I know for a while could be found active in diag mode but it has not been there for some time.

This has been available for a very long time. INHD 1 and 2 are found on channels 290 and 291. This is part of the HD tier for which TWC charges a premium. It also includes HDnet and HDnet movies on channels 292 and 293.

Sorry, let me rephrase. On Demand Movies in HD. I believe it was on channel 860 or 820 and they were charging 4.99 per movie.

On a side note... ESPN HD is now listed on the guide.

Originally posted by namcap
Sorry, let me rephrase. On Demand Movies in HD. I believe it was on channel 860 or 820 and they were charging 4.99 per movie.
Wasn't there only one or two movies? Anyway, I too am looking forward to such a feature, because as of now, I would rather go out and rent a DVD than to watch the movie in 4:3 or letterboxed 4:3 on a 16:9 television.

juicy gossip of the day. Look for HBO HD On Demand in the not to distant future....

Originally posted by namcap
On a side note... ESPN HD is now listed on the guide.

and on their web site for the channel listing it is color coded for the HDTV Tier - gotta pay.

Although I think that's absurd. We already have espn - why should we have to pay for the HD version of it? I don't have to for any of the network channels...

Originally posted by sbirnie
and on their web site for the channel listing it is color coded for the HDTV Tier - gotta pay.

Although I think that's absurd. We already have espn - why should we have to pay for the HD version of it? I don't have to for any of the network channels...

Oh really. Well the networks don't charge TWC for their HD content. However, the cable channels do charge the providers for their HD content. Now if TWC could have gotten it for free that would be a different story.

We don't get charged for Discover or TNT HD....

[/B][/QUOTE] Although I think that's absurd. We already have espn - why should we have to pay for the HD version of it? I don't have to for any of the network channels... [/B][/QUOTE]


Who cares! We finally have it and the HD tier costs one lunch a month.

Originally posted by sbirnie
We don't get charged for Discover or TNT HD....

No, but do you know how much TWC pays for their content? And TNT-HD is not HD except on a couple of rare occassions. ESPN has a history of charging a lot of money for their programming be it NTSC or HD. I believe you are comparing apples to oranges. When ESPN puts on a program in HD they have to use HD trucks and HD cameras, etc. which are very expensive while Discovery HD and TNT do not have these costs at all.

Originally posted by sccofer
juicy gossip of the day. Look for HBO HD On Demand in the not to distant future....

Interesting... how does that work? Can you watch any movie HBO-HD has ever shown anytime you want, or do you just have a handful of choices? If you just have several choices, it is kind of pointless if you have the HD-DVR. If you can watch anything, it might come in handy, but then there si not point in having the regular HBO channels.

I think I would rather see Cinemax-HD or Starz-HD added first.

Originally posted by chief17
Interesting... how does that work? Can you watch any movie HBO-HD has ever shown anytime you want, or do you just have a handful of choices? If you just have several choices, it is kind of pointless if you have the HD-DVR. If you can watch anything, it might come in handy, but then there si not point in having the regular HBO channels.

I think I would rather see Cinemax-HD or Starz-HD added first.
I agree 100% with you chief17 - definitely add CinemaxHD or StarzHD first (Why don't we have CinemaxHD anyway?!). Besides, you will probably have to subscribe to HBO on Demand for $6 a month or so to watch it - for that much, I'll stick with recording the shows/movies on the HD-DVR.

Regarding the HBO-OD, the programming is limited, but changed weekly or so. There is usually a good number of movies as well as several episodes of HBO's shows. Here for more info on HBO-OD (http://www.hbo.com/hboondemand/)

Originally posted by chief17
I think I would rather see Cinemax-HD or Starz-HD added first.

Absolutely! Those 2 channels need to be added now! Both have compelling content, unlike TNT-HD which is basically worthless as an HD channel. Now that ESPN-HD has been added, perhaps the gadflys will now turn their attention to persuading TWC to add these channels. Voom has them, why not TWC?

Thanks for the info doppler. After seeing that, it doesn't really interest me (especially for and additional $6/month). With the HD-DVR I can just record any movies I am interested in whenever they come on... then I always have something to watch on the hard drive.

Sean or David: If you read this, put my vote in for Cinemax-HD or Starz-HD instead of HBOHD-OD. These two channels would be much more useful to HD-DVR owners. I assume that most HD customers have (or will have in the near future) the HD-DVR. I think most all providers (sat. and cable) offer these... some have east and west feeds. I think the west feeds are also a waste of bandwidth for DVR owners... don't bother with those either. ;)

I'm not complaining... just suggesting. :) I am still excited to check out ESPN-HD when I get home from work. :D

I'm counting the minutes till work is done so I can rush home and check out ESPN-HD. Yippee :D

And next....my vote is for Cinemax HD

Originally posted by HughScot
No, but do you know how much TWC pays for their content? And TNT-HD is not HD except on a couple of rare occassions. ESPN has a history of charging a lot of money for their programming be it NTSC or HD. I believe you are comparing apples to oranges. When ESPN puts on a program in HD they have to use HD trucks and HD cameras, etc. which are very expensive while Discovery HD and TNT do not have these costs at all.

Good points. I already have the HD-Tier so it's not a problem for me, but I'm just trying to argue the point. I know TNT isn't REALLY HD, but when you said we have to pay for cable channels I had to throw those channels out at you.

What's with the gray "HD" bars on the sides of the ESPN-HD picture? Is that always going to be there? The signal did not look that good either as I watched a little baseball last night.

welcome to the wonderful world of non-hd on ESPN-hd! Get used to it. Aside from Sportcenter and a few games a week that is what you will be seeing a lot of!

Yes, not everything on ESPN-HD is in HD. The digital picture is still much better than analog channel 39 though. Here is where you can find out what will be shown in HD.

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tvlistings/espnhd/index

Just wanted to find out if anyone else has had this problem.

I turned on my HD-DVR box yesterday, and all of my recorded stuff is gone, along with the series that I had programmed to record. Also, it seems that it's freezing a decent amount of the time, on all channels. Anyone had this problem? I'm going to call them and get them to swap out the box, since something obviously went very wrong. Now, will I have to schedule an appointment, or can I just take the box to their office and get a new one?

Originally posted by clintyarborough
Just wanted to find out if anyone else has had this problem.

I turned on my HD-DVR box yesterday, and all of my recorded stuff is gone, along with the series that I had programmed to record. Also, it seems that it's freezing a decent amount of the time, on all channels. Anyone had this problem? I'm going to call them and get them to swap out the box, since something obviously went very wrong. Now, will I have to schedule an appointment, or can I just take the box to their office and get a new one?


tw is SUPPOSED to be coming out today (for the sixth time in 4 months) to switch out my box. I have the same freezing problem. I was told they had to come out and check our signal strength and tW does not keep any hd dvr boxes at their offices. :rolleyes: Maybe they will finally figure out we have a signal problem like I told them 3 months ago. Maybe I can then put a tv back in my office and not get an answer like this from a tech, " you cant have a tv and internet hooked up to one outlet. you need to get another cable out installed in your office if you want to use both."

sorry for the rant.

My box died completley after i had it about a month. It came up with some kind of message that said "cannot read from hard drive - call for service." Or something to that effect. TW brought out a new one and it has worked fine so far (about 2 weeks).

Originally posted by Davew0670
tw is SUPPOSED to be coming out today (for the sixth time in 4 months) to switch out my box. I have the same freezing problem. I was told they had to come out and check our signal strength and tW does not keep any hd dvr boxes at their offices. :rolleyes: Maybe they will finally figure out we have a signal problem like I told them 3 months ago. Maybe I can then put a tv back in my office and not get an answer like this from a tech, " you cant have a tv and internet hooked up to one outlet. you need to get another cable out installed in your office if you want to use both."

sorry for the rant.

I picked up my HD-DVR from the Arrowood office a few weeks ago. They have plenty of them.

Does anyone know when C-SET will be up and running? I thought some of you TW people might have some inside info for us. :D (If you don't know, C-SET is the new local station started by Rob Johnson that will be showing Charlotte Bobcat games as well as other local college games.) I am assuming that Time Warner will be carrying it since they said it will only be on cable and not satelitte. Hopefully they will show a bunch of Charlotte 49er games. :)

linkage:
http://www.c-set.tv/programming.htm

They state on the C-Set website it will launch in October. Probably Mid to Late October to coincide with the start of the NBA season. The first game to be broadcast is on October 22nd against Portland (Pre-season).

Cool. I guess they don't have an official schedule of what games they will be showing yet? I assume they will put that up on their website once it gets worked out.

There is a link on the C-Set web site home page that gives an overview of what they will be showing, but it does include some "important" games that will be shown. http://www.c-set.tv/press_release_7.htm

Originally posted by uscgamecocks
There is a link on the C-Set web site home page that gives an overview of what they will be showing, but it does include some "important" games that will be shown. http://www.c-set.tv/press_release_7.htm

This was an interesting statement from their web site:

"C-SET will be offered as a digital channel on Time Warner Cable systems. By providing C-SET digitally, we can offer higher quality reception of the network’s signal and place C-SET’s viewers ahead of the technology curve as it relates high definition, video on demand, interactive television and the latest television innovations."

Originally posted by uscgamecocks
I live in the University area of Clt, and have a problem with Channels 225, 226 and 227 which are the CBS HD and Digital Channels. At first, it was freezing and blocking, but now it is strictly a black screen. Is anyone else having these same problems?

Well, after four tech's visiting my house and now swapping converter boxes today, I still have no picture or audio on channels 225, 226 and 227 after almost a month. All the tech's say my signal level is great. Is anyone else in the University Area having these same problems?

There is a lot heat over on the D* threads. Appearently D* is putting three HD channels on one transponder. I just barely know what that means. I understand that only so much bandwidth is available and now that total available bandwidth is being split between three channels.

My question would be how does the bandwidth at TW compare to that of D*?

Also I see on the D* site that they plan to offer a lot more HD programming over the next two years by launching 4 satelites between 2005 and 2007.

What does TW plan on doing to meet this offering? Do they plan on using WMV9 (or similar flavor) or continue with MPG2? What is the limit of coax? It seems unlimited. I have TW HD, Road Runner and Digital Phone. All seem to work fine. I joke and tell people not to touch the main coax line coming to my house the damn thing should be glowing red with all the data flowing through it!

When I came home from dinner out last night I had a message on the answering machine from TWC announcing that ESPN-HD was now available on Channel 285. I already knew this, obviously, from reading this thread but I was surprised to get the message. Did any one else in the Charlotte area get a call?

Originally posted by Bookworm
When I came home from dinner out last night I had a message on the answering machine from TWC announcing that ESPN-HD was now available on Channel 285. I already knew this, obviously, from reading this thread but I was surprised to get the message. Did any one else in the Charlotte area get a call?

Yes, ever since I have had digital cable here in Charlotte I have gotten pre recorded phone messages from TWC whenever a new channel had been added or the channel line up has changed.

Originally posted by Bookworm
When I came home from dinner out last night I had a message on the answering machine from TWC announcing that ESPN-HD was now available on Channel 285. I already knew this, obviously, from reading this thread but I was surprised to get the message. Did any one else in the Charlotte area get a call?

Yeah, I got the call too. I guess they called all of their HD customers. I watched my first HD game (SNF) on ESPN-HD last night and it looked great! I think it looked better than CBS and Fox.

I wish they'd take the cost of doing such calls, which annoy the heck out of me, and put it to reducing my cable bill. Use the box's email function.

Originally posted by uscgamecocks
Well, after four tech's visiting my house and now swapping converter boxes today, I still have no picture or audio on channels 225, 226 and 227 after almost a month. All the tech's say my signal level is great. Is anyone else in the University Area having these same problems?

I would be interested in attempting to correct your issue. Perhaps you could call me at (704) 378-2753

Dave

Originally posted by uscgamecocks
Well, after four tech's visiting my house and now swapping converter boxes today, I still have no picture or audio on channels 225, 226 and 227 after almost a month. All the tech's say my signal level is great. Is anyone else in the University Area having these same problems?

Nope. I live around Harris Blvd/Sugar Creek area - I have sound loss and blocking usually for a few seconds after I change channels, but that's about it.

Originally posted by e137811
Yes, ever since I have had digital cable here in Charlotte I have gotten pre recorded phone messages from TWC whenever a new channel had been added or the channel line up has changed.

I guess that's the key to the phone call. I just recently switched to digital and a DVR when I got my Panasonic TV.

I've had digital for over 2 years and never got a phone call, but TiVo is relatively quick to tell me when a lineup change occurs - I just got the message about ESPN-HD this weekend.

Originally posted by doppler1
I've had digital for over 2 years and never got a phone call, but TiVo is relatively quick to tell me when a lineup change occurs - I just got the message about ESPN-HD this weekend.

You have a cable/tivo hd receiver?

No, but TiVo passes along all the channel lineup changes. I wish there was a Cable HD TiVo.

Does anyone know how to access an info screen in Charlotte's Passport system revealing how much disk space has been used and how much is available (SA8000HD)? It apparently is a quickly accessed feature on the SARA platform.

That would be my most wanted feature, if it's not available now. Dave or anyone at TWC...how about it?

is anyone receiving sound on WBTV DT (225)? HD pic but no sound

No, no sound on WBTV-HD here.

Same here. I just called TWC and after going through "menu hell" the phone rang about 20 times before I gave up and hung up so I guess they're getting a lot of calls.:mad:

I had this problem with CBS last night as well. Anyone with OTA have this problem?

Originally posted by archiguy
Does anyone know how to access an info screen in Charlotte's Passport system revealing how much disk space has been used and how much is available (SA8000HD)? It apparently is a quickly accessed feature on the SARA platform.

That would be my most wanted feature, if it's not available now. Dave or anyone at TWC...how about it?
You can access the disk info in diag mode (push and hold select and exit on the box (NOT remote) until it says diag. Scroll down the the DVR menus at the very bottom and you will see disk space information in there somewhere. After you have the box in diag mode once, you can tune channel 611 until the box is powered off.

A real diskspace meter would be nice, but I can't wait for them to implement the search:
http://www.pioneerbroadband.com/images/pdt/echoguidesearch.jpg

Originally posted by Bookworm
Same here. I just called TWC and after going through "menu hell" the phone rang about 20 times before I gave up and hung up so I guess they're getting a lot of calls.:mad:
Might have better luck calling WBTV's control room...hopefully they will have this fixed by 10:00 for CSI: Miami.

same here with no sound on 225 in the Dilworth area

I just switched back to 225 and the sound was on during a promo for the local news and then went out when the show came back on so they must have a problem with their national feed.

Sound is out OTA.

There is no audio OTA so it's either WBTV or CBS.

It's NOT CBS, the sound is loud and clear(although out of sync) on WSPA-DT Spartanburg.

sound back on 225 in Dilworth area!

Originally posted by doppler1
You can access the disk info in diag mode (push and hold select and exit on the box (NOT remote) until it says diag. Scroll down the the DVR menus at the very bottom and you will see disk space information in there somewhere. After you have the box in diag mode once, you can tune channel 611 until the box is powered off.

A real diskspace meter would be nice.....


Thanks, that works (although a nice diskspace meter, as you mentioned, would be sweet). I know that HD material takes up about 9 Gb per hour. Does anyone know how much (on average) SD material takes per hour? If HD takes 6 times as much space as SD, then that calculation would be 1.5 Gb per hour for SD material. If that's correct, one might then use those figures to puzzle out how much "time" remains in both SD and HD, I'm thinkin'.

The numbers above look accurate, although SD might be as high as 2GB though, because the SD 8000's with 80GB hard drives are usually advertised as 40 hours.

Originally posted by doppler1
The numbers above look accurate, although SD might be as high as 2GB though, because the SD 8000's with 80GB hard drives are usually advertised as 40 hours.

I wonder if there's any difference in size of the recording between SD analog and SD digital? I only watch the "digital" (HD) channels, by and large which, of course, don't always broadcast in HD. When one records an SD show on an HD channel, is it being recorded at the 9 Gb/hour rate or the 2Gb/hour rate? I'd wager the latter, but I'm not sure about it.... seems that, judging by what I've got recorded on the disk now, which is mostly SD stuff recorded from HD channels, I've got a lot less space remaining than I should.

Originally posted by dropzone7
I picked up my HD-DVR from the Arrowood office a few weeks ago. They have plenty of them.

I swapped mine out yesterday at the Arrowood office. The lady told me that they don't usually have many of them at the office, and asked if someone told me that I could swap it out there. I told her yes, (I had called and they did tell me I could just take it up there and swap it out). She then said that they didn't have any left and that they shouldn't have told me to bring it in, and that they usually don't keep them in stock. Then she left and got someone else to track one down, and said that it was the last one.
So, if you are going to take one and swap it out, just tell them that you called and they told you to take it in and swap it out. Maybe they will have them in stock, maybe not.

Is it just my imagination or has the HD picture quality improved in recent weeks using the 8000HD? It seems like when I first got it, HD programs were soft and lacked the 3-D pop that I had grown accustomed to. Have the updates improved the picture quality or have I gotten used to worse PQ?

Originally posted by Mhorn
Is it just my imagination or has the HD picture quality improved in recent weeks using the 8000HD? It seems like when I first got it, HD programs were soft and lacked the 3-D pop that I had grown accustomed to. Have the updates improved the picture quality or have I gotten used to worse PQ?

There has been an improvement in the PQ since I first got mine back in May. This is by comparing the HD-DVR with an OTA picture.

Last night I looked at some new programming...not live----on the network channels and the picture OTA is better than with my HD-DVR. In other words, when watching a live sports feed from the networks in the past few weeks the PQ has been excellent and very, very close to OTA, but when watching a program like CSI-Miami the OTA PQ is better. Going to MNF and closeups in the booth there was almost no difference. Perhaps network recorded shows are somehow compressed via cable and not via OTA. Why live shows don't have this difference is a mystery to me.

Is there a way to "remove" from the guide, the channels you don't subscribe to? So I don't have to scroll and scroll... I'd also use it for parental controls later.

Overall, my hddvr has given zero problems. (Other than the minor ones already mentioned in this thread.) Functionality is still not up to par with ReplayTV, but there is that little thing about recording HD which makes it great! Only thing I can't figure out is... I had it record UF vs. Tenn. Saturday CBS... It was 2 hours into the game when I turned on the TV to watch from the beginning and the thing would not rewind/skip back/play from the beginning. It's like it was at some imaginary point during the game and would let me only start from there. After the game was done recording, it did let me go all the way to the beginning, but I'd already seen the score through 3 quarters, so didn't matter to watch. Am I doing something wrong?
Thanks to everyone...
Joe

Originally posted by HughScot
Going to MNF and closeups in the booth there was almost no difference. Perhaps network recorded shows are somehow compressed via cable and not via OTA. Why live shows don't have this difference is a mystery to me.

I agree that live shows (sporting events) look better than most dramas (CSI for example). I always thought it was due to the face that sporting events are always played under bright lights (or during the daytime). A lot of dramas have mostly dark scenes and very few bright ones. I was under the impression that Time Warner didn't compress any signals... they just pass along what they receive.

And miamijoe: I don't think you can remove channels from the guide, although that would be a nice feature to add as well. I guess you know that you can set channels as favorites and just flip through those with the "FAV" button.

Originally posted by HughScot
Why live shows don't have this difference is a mystery to me.

It's a mystery to me too. I find all HD programming viewed on the SA8000HD, video or telecined from film, to be softer and muddier than OTA. The picture is a bit darker too. There are a number of folks in the general 8000 thread in the recorders forum who make the same complaint. Thus, it would seem logical that this problem is with the device itself and not related to TWC's transmission of the HD signals or the software package. There's some filtering going on somewhere....

Originally posted by archiguy
It's a mystery to me too. I find all HD programming viewed on the SA8000HD, video or telecined from film, to be softer and muddier than OTA. The picture is a bit darker too. There are a number of folks in the general 8000 thread in the recorders forum who make the same complaint. Thus, it would seem logical that this problem is with the device itself and not related to TWC's transmission of the HD signals or the software package. There's some filtering going on somewhere.... I agree. I had my LG LST-3510A connected to cable and the SA8000HD DVR and compared the picture of Fox's and CBS's football games Sunday on the 3510A to Fox and CBS games on the 8000HD DVR and the picture on the 8000H was slightly darker and muddier. I had to bump my tv's contrast and brightness up two clicks each for the 8000HD's picture to match the 3510A's. I got the exact same results last weekend with Fox and CBS OTA on the 3510A compared to Fox and CBS on the 8000HD.

Originally posted by miamijoe
Is there a way to "remove" from the guide, the channels you don't subscribe to? So I don't have to scroll and scroll... I'd also use it for parental controls later.

No answer here, but I second that question.

off topic, but does anyone know a charlotte retailer that sells the Wingard Square Shooter ?

A quick search on their site shows the only retailer within 50 miles is:

Dedc Inc Dba Dow Elect
10709 Granite St Ste Q
Charlotte, NC 28273
Phone: 704-583-5340
Fax: 704-583-5339

Probably best to give them a call.

this is both on & off topic...

do any of you have a standalone dvd recorder that records standard cable or digital cable channels? how does it get along with your cable box overall (Obviously the HD channels don't feed into it right)

Anyone hear anything new about possibly turning on the DVI port?

Can I get a reply from someone from TWC on getting either the svideo output or one of the other standard def outputs turned on so SD channels are watchable? They are just terrible thru the component outputs and I would like to watch some of those channels again soon.

I second the motion (see previous post on wanting DVI output turned on)

Originally posted by dvdguru
Can I get a reply from someone from TWC on getting either the svideo output or one of the other standard def outputs turned on so SD channels are watchable? They are just terrible thru the component outputs and I would like to watch some of those channels again soon.

I don't think it's a matter of turning something on, I believe the box was designed this way. In any case all you have to do is split the cable signal before it goes to your box and send one line direct to the RF input on your TV with the other to the box. Then just change inputs on the TV using your remote when you watch non-HD programming.

The DVI output was designed not to work? So they put the jack on the back of the box but it's not hooked up to anything? That doesn't make much sense. Or did I misunderstand the answer?

I thought that TWC had turned it off from a settings point of view, but that it should work.

Originally posted by HughScot
I don't think it's a matter of turning something on, I believe the box was designed this way. In any case all you have to do is split the cable signal before it goes to your box and send one line direct to the RF input on your TV with the other to the box. Then just change inputs on the TV using your remote when you watch non-HD programming.

That won't work in my case (Projector). It also wouldn't work for people that have plasmas without a builtin tuner.

and it won't work for the digital channels which is why I want it. I already have it split for the analog channels...

Originally posted by sbirnie
The DVI output was designed not to work? So they put the jack on the back of the box but it's not hooked up to anything? That doesn't make much sense. Or did I misunderstand the answer?

I thought that TWC had turned it off from a settings point of view, but that it should work.

I was not referring to the DVI output, only the s-video and composite outputs which were designed to output recorded programs to a device for archiving. The whole thing, in my opinion, is to prevent making copies of HD movies and selling them. The copywrite issue I believe is to blame. But then maybe not.

Originally posted by clintyarborough
That won't work in my case (Projector). It also wouldn't work for people that have plasmas without a builtin tuner.

nor will it work if you are switching both audio and video thru your a/v receiver. The audio will be several seconds behind the picture due to the DVR.....

Hey- Just received my SA8000HD yesterday. Being a DirectTV sub., I have a little of the tivo-blues -but I think the SA8000HD will work for now.

However, I do have on question re: the remote (AT8400 D).

I have a Denon receiver and cannot get the remote to control the receiver. The guide does not even list codes for the Denons. I've tried the global search to no avail.

anyone else have this issue?

Originally posted by jl0810


I have a Denon receiver and cannot get the remote to control the receiver. The guide does not even list codes for the Denons. I've tried the global search to no avail.



There is a yahoo group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/explorer_8000/) that has a wealth of info on the SA8000 and SA8000HD. It also has the codes list for the AT8400 remote.....
denon 3016 3018 3063 3064

Originally posted by jl0810
...I have a little of the tivo-blues...

I have a Denon receiver and cannot get the remote to control the receiver. The guide does not even list codes for the Denons. I've tried the global search to no avail.

anyone else have this issue?

(1) I hear you on the tivo-blues. And the picture quality for the analog channels is quite the dissapointment switching from dtv.

(2) I have a denon and had the same problem. Someone pointed me in the direction of a different remote that has worked great - The Harmony remote (http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/features/harmony/US/EN,CRID=2078). I have model 659 and love it. I got it primarily to help the other members in the family easily switch between watching a dvd, tv, and video games since they each required changing the tv and receiver input plus turning on the dvd, etc. Now they just press one button (Watch Movie, Watch TV, etc) and everything sets itself up and they're ready to go.

I think they even have a forum here for them.

Originally posted by sbirnie
(1) I hear you on the tivo-blues. And the picture quality for the analog channels is quite the dissapointment switching from dtv.

(2) I have a denon and had the same problem. Someone pointed me in the direction of a different remote that has worked great - The Harmony remote (http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/features/harmony/US/EN,CRID=2078). I have model 659 and love it. I got it primarily to help the other members in the family easily switch between watching a dvd, tv, and video games since they each required changing the tv and receiver input plus turning on the dvd, etc. Now they just press one button (Watch Movie, Watch TV, etc) and everything sets itself up and they're ready to go.

I think they even have a forum here for them.


Your info is great. As I've mentioned in earlier posts, I'll probably be a short timer for TWC - once D* has all locals avail in HD AND HD tivo is under $200, then I'll jump back to D*

The Harmony remote sounds like the way to go. I'll just have to justify paying over $100 for a remote control now ...any suggestions? :)

Originally posted by jl0810
\I'll just have to justify paying over $100 for a remote control now ...any suggestions? :)

Just buy it...it's worth it...really. Honestly, it was hard for me to justify spending over $100 on a remote, but in the end, it was definitely worth it.

Originally posted by sbirnie
(1) I hear you on the tivo-blues. And the picture quality for the analog channels is quite the dissapointment switching from dtv.


Yeah, but at least the HD PQ should be better on TWC.

jlo810 - you might also want to check out the Home Theater Master line of remotes from Universal Remote Control. The MX-500 is quite popular and can be had for around $100. I have an MX-800 which controls a ridiculously complicated 12 device HT system with incredible ease. The best place to learn about remotes is: remotecentral.com. They've tried and reviewed all of 'em.

Anyone know why Lost (ABC) is not in HD tonight? Is this a local issue?

Nevermind... they finally flipped the switch. :)

FINALLY is right. UGH

I called during the first commercial break. WSOC has always been good about a quick response - somebody just needs to call and let 'em know.

Has anyone else been having problems with the SA800HD-DVR box rebooting for no apparent reason? It has happened to me 3 or 4 times now in the past week. It seems to happen randomly when I am changing channels or scrolling through the guide. The screen turns completley gray and you can't do anything (not even turn the box off). It stays like that for a couple of minutes and then reboots itself. It is very annoying when you are in the middle of watching (or recording) a show. I haven't heard anyone else mention this, so maybe it is just a bad box and not a software issue that effects all boxes.

This is the second HD-DVR box I have had. The hard drive on my first one completley died after only having it for a month.

I had a couple of reboots last week, I was trying to play a recorded HD show, and everytime I tried to play it, it would have the gray screen and not respond to any command (just like you said above) Finally, I hit play and fast forward quickly and it let me play the show normally after that. Luckily I wasn't recording at the time. Other than that, no reboots while changing channels or scrolling the menu/guide.

Add me to the mysterious "reboot" list with the SA8000HD-DVR. Happened to me for the first time last night. All the same symptoms as described by chief and doppler (gray screen, completely frozen up). The only thing I've been able to do is to unplug it and plug it back in, letting it reboot that way. It's only happened when I've tried to play a previously recorded show... so far. Anybody else seeing this?

archiguy: if you wait long enough, it will eventually reboot instead of "reboot" (pulling the plug).

Ah, impatience leads me to the most immediate solution. This seems to be a new problem, at least for me. I wonder if this is some software glitch; perhaps they just uploaded a new version that has some bugs....? If this proves to indeed be a common, new issue, it would be nice if Dave Krueger or somebody from TWC could chime in with their thoughts....

Yeah, it would be nice to have this resolved quickly as it is very annoying. I have a couple of movies taped with three minute gaps in them.

I could be wrong, it seems to be triggered by pressing 'list' or 'guide' while recording or watching something that is recorded. Not every time, but occasionally. Like others have said, I have only noticed it in the last week or so.

Same problem here. When I choose a movie from LIST that I have recorded I get the "grey screen of death".

Originally posted by doppler1
I had a couple of reboots last week, I was trying to play a recorded HD show, and everytime I tried to play it, it would have the gray screen and not respond to any command (just like you said above) Finally, I hit play and fast forward quickly and it let me play the show normally after that. Luckily I wasn't recording at the time. Other than that, no reboots while changing channels or scrolling the menu/guide.

I started having this problem last Thursday. It's happened to me 3 times since. I go to play a recorded show while I am recording a current show & all I get is a gray screen. After around a minute the box reboots. Last Saturday night it happened while I was currently recording two programs. The box actually rebooted 6 times in a row. I thought my box was shot for sure but I have not had another occurrence until last night and after one reboot the box was OK. I was starting to think that there was something wrong with my box but now I'm not so sure as I see other folks posting the same problem. Strange that this started happening all of a sudden as I don't believe any software upgrades have been sent out since the end of August.

Both my DVR boxes (one HD, one SD) had some of these symptoms last night; the HD one was frozen up and seems OK after a couple of reboots (just holding down the power button, no unplugging), but the SD box did a lot of flashing codes on the display on the front of the box, as if it's doing a firmware update, and it still didn't resolve when I had to leave for work this morning.

I'm waiting 'til tonight to call TW, but add me to the list of those experiencing problems...

Originally posted by uscgamecocks
Well, after four tech's visiting my house and now swapping converter boxes today, I still have no picture or audio on channels 225, 226 and 227 after almost a month. All the tech's say my signal level is great. Is anyone else in the University Area having these same problems?

I wanted to publicly thank Dave Krueger @ TWC for looking into the problems I was experiencing. It turned out to be a problem at the Head End with the Laser. Also found a bad cable under a street between the Head End and my house. I now get CBS in HD, and it is absolutely wonderful.

See, not everyone @ TWC is bad. There are quite a few people there that know what they are doing.

What is with Fox today? I'm getting all kinds of buzzing and flicking of the picture during the Panthers game... anyone else notice this?

Originally posted by chief17
What is with Fox today? I'm getting all kinds of buzzing and flicking of the picture during the Panthers game... anyone else notice this?

It's the national feed - not a local problem.

okay - comparing HD PQ between Fox NFL footbal; versus CBS ...

is it me, or is Fox alot better?

Any info on the SA8300 HD DVR hitting Charlotte? I read in another thread here that is has HDMI and it is active (at least in Bradenton, Florida). Of course I would be happy if they would just turn on the DVI on the SA8000 for the time being.

Brian

Originally posted by jl0810
okay - comparing HD PQ between Fox NFL footbal; versus CBS ...

is it me, or is Fox alot better?

I don't know if I'd compare to CBS especially a non-multicast 1080i football presentation - but today's Panther game is the closest to matching the best ABC / ESPN game I've seen. Better yet, it has consistently improved every week. (Of course there's only 2 4pm games fighting for bandwidth, so I doubt we'll see as dramatic an improvement in the coming weeks)

I agree that Fox PQ is much better than CBS. I think some of the fox games from the first few weeks were better than this afternoon's game though.

The Pats/Bills game on CBS had terrible pixellation on fast moving scenes.

Freeze/Reboot problems here too. Since having the box, I've never had issues until last week... seems like once a day I get the death-screen when trying to access the recorded show "List." Last night had to do 2 reboots to get things going again.?. Any thoughts from TWC about this?

Originally posted by chief17
I agree that Fox PQ is much better than CBS. I think some of the fox games from the first few weeks were better than this afternoon's game though.

The Pats/Bills game on CBS had terrible pixellation on fast moving scenes.

And that's why Fox decided on 720p. I've got a big ol' 65" RPTV, and on static scenes, CBS in 1080i (of course) looks a hair crisper than Fox (or ABC) in 720p. But for moving scenes, you can't beat progressive scan. I thought my TV was gonna explode during the Georgia/LSU game on CBS when they showed a crowd scene with a bunch of red pom-poms shaking in the stands.

But considering that Fox was the straggler in the HDTV race, they've really done a great job with getting up to speed quickly.

And will continue to do so, as it is still early on in FOX's HD implementation.

I've been having a small issue recently. I have my 8000hd box set to stretch 4:3 pictures. Sometimes when I'm on an HD channel and I switch to an analog one, it doesn't stretch it - it displays the grey bars on the sides. I have to go back ton an hd channel and then back to the analog channel to fix it.

On the SA8000HD, does anyone else notice the volume changes (sometimes dramatically) between channels? It's very annoying

I use optical-out, if that makes a difference


-jl

Originally posted by sbirnie
I've been having a small issue recently. I have my 8000hd box set to stretch 4:3 pictures. Sometimes when I'm on an HD channel and I switch to an analog one, it doesn't stretch it - it displays the grey bars on the sides. I have to go back ton an hd channel and then back to the analog channel to fix it.

I've had the same thing happen to me, on my 8000HD box since, I believe, TWC had the software upgrade a month or so ago. So it ain't us----maybe TWC will address this issue in a future software upgrade.

Originally posted by jl0810
On the SA8000HD, does anyone else notice the volume changes (sometimes dramatically) between channels? It's very annoying

I use optical-out, if that makes a difference


-jl

That's not the box. Different channels seem to have different volume levels. ESPN is quite loud, for instance.

Originally posted by sbirnie
I've been having a small issue recently. I have my 8000hd box set to stretch 4:3 pictures. Sometimes when I'm on an HD channel and I switch to an analog one, it doesn't stretch it - it displays the grey bars on the sides. I have to go back ton an hd channel and then back to the analog channel to fix it.

This does occur.

Originally posted by archiguy
That's not the box. Different channels seem to have different volume levels. ESPN is quite loud, for instance.

The digital channels are always louder and if in 5.1 may be even louder still. My analog channels all sound the same.

Originally posted by bdfox18doe
And will continue to do so, as it is still early on in FOX's HD implementation.

What, if any, of Fox's post-season baseball coverage will be in HD?

The Championship and World Series games will be HD if memory serves me correctly..

Originally posted by Charles C
I thought my TV was gonna explode during the Georgia/LSU game on CBS when they showed a crowd scene with a bunch of red pom-poms shaking in the stands.

Was your signal on channel 225 good all day? Mine kept freezing, pixelating and completely going away. Maybe it's just being in Concord.

anyone having problems with picture freezing up and skipping on the hd channels?

My Pioneer was working fine on DSC HD..tried to tune to WCCB on 240
and the box went nuts..then re-downloaded..rebooted..and it seems fine now..

Bob - you should try an antenna, it's much more reliable. :)