Just talked with Cox and they told me the monthly charge for the card is $1.99. So I'm getting hooked up with that as soon as they can get out to the house. $29.95 connection fee. I guess I'm already paying the "gateway" fee by getting digital cable, according to the last bill. Maybe they are still adding HD channels, but it will be nice to have ESPNHD, Discovery, and the INHD channels.

Johnson, when the Cox guy gets out there, ask him if the Digital Tier subscription is a
requirement for the gateway fee waive. Also, is that $30 connection fee a one-time thing
for them to plug a card into the TV and call in to the CSR to activate it?? When you
get it going, please provide a list of new HD channels you are getting because of the
cablecard (chans you could not get before the card). Thanks.

My appt is scheduled for next Friday afternoon so I will let you know the outcome in about a week. Yes, the $30 is a one-time connect/activation fee. My last bill from Cox listed a $4.99 gateway fee < assuming for the digital tier that I have >, so I won't add anything to the bill there. $1.99 should get me DiscoveryHD, ESPNHD, INHD1, INHD2, UniversalHD, and some sort of music-HD channel ( It lists MTv, VH1, and CMT HD/Dolby broadcasts on the Cox website ). I asked this afternoon and they do not have TNT-HD yet.

I will let you know exactly what's what next week.

JB

The following are the HD Channels that Cox Offers:

601 ABC
603 NBC
604 FOX
605 WB
606 UPN
607 PBS
610 HBO
612 CBS
614 STARZ
615 SHOWTIME
620 ESPN
621 DISCOVERY (different than analog Discovery)
622 iNHD 1
623 iNHD 2
624 UNIVERSAL NBC
625 MHD (Music HD (MTV, CMT, VH1))
670 PBS Multiplex
671 PBS-XP

Gateway only allows the digital channels to come through. NO TIERS!!!

If you would just go to Cox.net like I did, you would get all the information you need. It's all there.

Yes, the $29.95 fee is just for the tech to install the card. Its not always as easy as just putting in the card into the set and calling in a few numbers. Most of the time signal levels are off and if you have one of the few TV's that are causing problems NATIONWIDE, it takes even longer.

If you already have digital, then you are already paying the gateway fee.

The following are the HD Channels that Cox Offers:

601 ABC
603 NBC
604 FOX
605 WB
606 UPN
607 PBS
610 HBO
612 CBS
614 STARZ
615 SHOWTIME
620 ESPN
621 DISCOVERY (different than analog Discovery)
622 iNHD 1
623 iNHD 2
624 UNIVERSAL NBC
625 MHD (Music HD (MTV, CMT, VH1))
670 PBS Multiplex
671 PBS-XP

Gateway only allows the digital channels to come through. NO TIERS!!!

Surely you would not get the premium HD's from your list (HBO, STARZ, SHOWTIME) just by
paying for the gateway and a cablecard.

Surely you would not get the premium HD's from your list (HBO, STARZ, SHOWTIME) just by
paying for the gateway and a cablecard.

That's about right...you get the HD version of a channel if you subscribe to it otherwise...example: Subscribe to HBO tier, get HBO HD.

The following are the HD Channels that Cox Offers:

601 ABC
603 NBC
604 FOX
605 WB
606 UPN
607 PBS
610 HBO
612 CBS
614 STARZ
615 SHOWTIME
620 ESPN
621 DISCOVERY (different than analog Discovery)
622 iNHD 1
623 iNHD 2
624 UNIVERSAL NBC
625 MHD (Music HD (MTV, CMT, VH1))
670 PBS Multiplex
671 PBS-XP

I see you have listed as one of your HD offerings -- Channel 605 WB. Is this a new offering? While scrolling through the HD channels as recently as yesterday, I didn't come across a Channel 605. At last check, I don't believe the WB affiliate in Wichita has ANY capablility to do HD program delivery through their infrastructure. If these listings are true, then maybe KWCV has finally invested in the equipment necessary to deliver an HD feed to Cox and hopefully over the air on 33.1 soon. I'll keep checking the HD lineup to see if they are up and running.

I see you have listed as one of your HD offerings -- Channel 605 WB. Is this a new offering? While scrolling through the HD channels as recently as yesterday, I didn't come across a Channel 605. At last check, I don't believe the WB affiliate in Wichita has ANY capablility to do HD program delivery through their infrastructure. If these listings are true, then maybe KWCV has finally invested in the equipment necessary to deliver an HD feed to Cox and hopefully over the air on 33.1 soon. I'll keep checking the HD lineup to see if they are up and running.


Sorry, my bad...

606 KSCC HD

I've noticed a lot of pixelization and audio drop outs on the Cox hi def tier the last two or three days. Anyone else having that problem? Thought I would ask here before calling Cox, in case it was a system problem and not just my service. BTW, I live in Sterling.

Gateway only allows the digital channels to come through. NO TIERS!!!

Previously in this thread you mentioned that all you need to get the local digitals was a QAM tuner. Do you also need the gateway to "allow the digital channels to come through"?

Previously in this thread you mentioned that all you need to get the local digitals was a QAM tuner. Do you also need the gateway to "allow the digital channels to come through"?

One thing I had heard, which may be bunk, is that if you have cable modem service, that also allows the digitals to come through, because of the fact that the cable internet service is in the same frequency as digital cable, much higher than the analog channels.

I may, however, be totally wrong.... :D

One thing I had heard, which may be bunk, is that if you have cable modem service, that also allows the digitals to come through, because of the fact that the cable internet service is in the same frequency as digital cable, much higher than the analog channels.

I may, however, be totally wrong.... :D

Cox (at least here in Manhattan, and down in the Wichita area where I used to live) is not very consistent in what they send into your home. I've seen people get the HD locals with nothing but the $10/month basic package, and I've seen people not get them unless they subscribe to digital cable. From what I've seen, typically if one subscribes to the Extended Basic (2-74 analog) they typically have the HD digital channels come into their home. If they don't trap the digital channels during the initial install, they don't have to roll a truck and an installer when the customer wants to upgrade to digital cable.

I may also be totally wrong, however..just my observations, combined with what makes some sense.

Brian

Previously in this thread you mentioned that all you need to get the local digitals was a QAM tuner. Do you also need the gateway to "allow the digital channels to come through"?

Check my post #1221 for what digitals/HD I'm getting with just the Extended Basic analog subscription and a QAM capable TV, from Cox in Wichita. I'm NOT paying any digital
gateway fee. My original Cox install was made in Jan 2001. As Brian mentioned, it could
vary from house to house, if they put traps in for the digital stuff or not. KScableguy could
probably comment better on that issue.

Do you have cable internet with them?

I'll try to make this clear to everyone:

Cox doesn't trap digital channels. They are encoded at the MTC. NO TRAPS.

To get HD channels, you either have to have a STB (set top box) or a TV with a QAM tunner.

If you have a QAM tunner TV, you "should" be able to get any un-encrypted digital channel. Problem: My Sony won't let me tune to digital channels without a cable card installed.

Cable Internet has nothing to do with it. The downstream for HSI is a digital channel. But once again, it's always there, even if you just have limited cable. It takes a device to decode the QAM (i.e MODEM).

So again: NO TRAPS, ALL digital channles there all the time, but most are encrypted. If un-encrypted (Local HD Channels), and you have a QAM TV that will tune to the channels and you know the channel number (not 601, 603 and ect; check earlier posts) you "SHOULD" get the channels.

Any questions still?

Do you have cable internet with them?


Nope. Just extended basic analog only. After reading KScableguy's post, I guess I should
change my comment from "could vary from house to house" to "could vary from QAM TV
to QAM TV". My Sony does allow digital tuning without the cable card, so I'm able to tune
in all the un-encrypted digital's/HD chans.

Any questions still?

Not here. That cleared it right up for me.

Curiosity is getting the best of me now.... I've been picking up 'repeat' broadcasts of FOX the past couple days on channels 27-5 and 27-6 which are labeled 'East' and 'Mntn'. They're the exact same broadcast as the regular 24-1 channel and my signal strength is virtually identical. Anyone have some insight to what these are all about?

As much as I would like to say it was an experiment in 3D HDTV, it was simply a bug in our splicer courtesy of the Fox network.

Kind of scary that our network could have such control over our signal. What was simply a software bug of some sort on their end, ended up looking like new network affiliates locally.

I'm just glad there wasn't a channel 27 in town that we would have been automatically affiliated with.

We weren't the only affiliate to fall victim, I guess that makes me feel better.

jon

I haven't checked so I apologize if this info was already presented:

Cox has added some interactive channels for those that have a HD DVR:
Channel 980: Interactive Weather
Channel 981: Interactive Games
Channel 996: Kids Zone
Channel 997: News Zone
Channel 998: Sports Zone

Beginning September 5th, UPN Kansas-KSCC (Channel 36, Cable Channel 6) will join News Corp.’s newest network, MyNetworkTV, the first all Hi-Definition broadcast network. Targeted to Adults 18-49, MyNetworkTV will air twelve hours of original primetime programming Monday through Saturday. The rest of the station’s schedule will remain as is, including shows like “Friends”, “That 70’s Show”, and “Will and Grace.”

“We’re pleased to make this affiliation change and add another FOX owned network to our operation,” says Kent Cornish, Vice President and General Manager of Clear Channel Television, which also owns FOX Kansas (KSAS Channel 24, Cable Channel 4). “What’s even greater about this for our viewers is there will not be any reruns Monday-Friday nights,” he added.

MyNetworkTV will launch with the new scripted primetime drama strips “Desire: Table for Three” and “Secret Obsessions: Fashion House.” Produced by Twentieth Television, each of the hour-long programs will feature a 65-episode story arc stripped Monday through Friday over the span of 13 weeks. Every Saturday, re-cap episodes highlighting the two programs’ previous week’s storylines will air. “Desire: Table for Three,” follows two close brothers on the run from the mafia who both fall in love with, and then passionately battle for, the same woman. Immediately following “Desire” will be “Secret Obsessions: Fashion House,” starring internationally renowned actress and sex symbol Bo Derek. The drama takes an in-depth look at the dreams, successes and tragedies found everyday in the fashion industry.

MyNetworkTV will also provide a new form of interactive media via the internet, allowing viewers to download video files to their computers and cell phones. This great web experience will be provided on the new web site which will be announced at a later date.

KSCC (36/6) is owned by Mercury Broadcasting Company and managed through an LMA (Local Management Agreement) by Fox Kansas (KSAS-24/4). KSCC began programming in Wichita in the fall of 2000 as a UPN network affiliate.
KSCC provides quality entertainment programming 24 hours a day, seven days a week to the people of Wichita, and the State of Kansas.

Beginning September 5th, UPN Kansas-KSCC (Channel 36, Cable Channel 6) will join News Corp.’s newest network, MyNetworkTV, the first all Hi-Definition broadcast network. Targeted to Adults 18-49, MyNetworkTV will air twelve hours of original primetime programming Monday through Saturday. The rest of the station’s schedule will remain as is, including shows like “Friends”, “That 70’s Show”, and “Will and Grace.”

Jon,
Couple of questions:
1) Is MyNetworkTV going to be carried by Cox on basic cable?
2) Is MyNetworkTV going to carry the KU Jayhawk basketball games that UPN used to
show?

1) Yes, channel 6. The only thing that changes on our end, is I take out 3 CBS/UPN receivers, and replace them with 3(? not sure their system yet) Fox receivers.
It's only 2 out 24 hours of our programming a day for 6 days a week.

2) Yes, the KU games agreement hasn't changed for now.

I saw snippits of the pilot episodes, and the first show of the night definitely looks like the OC mixed with a touch of 24. It definitely has the Fox look. The idea of new episodes and a new cast every 13 weeks is definitely out of the 24 playbook, and makes a lot of sense.

I found it newsworthy for this forum because it is all 720p HD.

jon

ALL digital channels are there all the time, but most are encrypted. If un-encrypted (Local HD Channels), and you have a QAM TV that will tune to the channels and you know the channel number (not 601, 603 and ect; check earlier posts) you "SHOULD" get the channels.Why not channels in the 600's? THAT'S where all the local HD channels are. I'm reading back over recent posts, but I guess I'm blind.

Edit: Never mind.All local HD channels are clear channels, not encrypted. So you can receive them if your TV can decode QAM. Also, most TV's, you have to enter in the channel (i.e. 115.1, 116.2 and ect), not the COX number (i.e. 601, 603 and ect).After doing some poking around, here is the list of HD/Digital channels I'm getting with just
expanded basic (analog) subscription from Cox, which are un-encrypted, and only need a
QAM tuner to receive:
...
114.5 - KWCH HD (CBS)
115.1 - KSNW HD (NBC)
115.2 - KAKE HD (ABC)
116.3 - KSCC HD (UPN)
116.10 - KSAS HD (FOX)
...

I am recieving zero signal strength from the KSAS translator up here in salina. The analog is fine. I can recieve the digital signal from Wichita, but not well enough to get a lock.

Anyone know what's up with Fox Salina transmission? Its less than half an hour until 24!

Thanks,

Jeff


I am getting FOX HD with the Cox DVR cable box now, and their feed has been breaking up all week.

waterfitz-

Are you still having problems? I saw a very small amount of macroblocking on Monday on 604 only, not OTA. But since then I haven't spotted any regular occurences. Cox is monitoring 604 along with me.

Have you noticed problems with any other Cox HD channels? The signal levels on your coax need to be just right for the HD boxes, or they will act up. Sometimes on one particular channel, other times on multiple channels. (personal experience)

If it's constant, you might want to trade in your box or have Cox check your signal level at the point feeding your box.

Anyone else noticing any problems with 604? It's for the most part the same feed for the entire state on Cox's system.

jon

Hey Jon,
Just wanted to say thanks to you and KSAS (KAAS) for providing the All Star game in HD last night. It was a great picture and a very good game. If not for you all, I would be watching in fuzzy analog.

tim

Hey Jon,
Just wanted to say thanks to you and KSAS (KAAS) for providing the All Star game in HD last night. It was a great picture and a very good game. If not for you all, I would be watching in fuzzy analog.

tim


I agree, from what I saw the feed was awesome.... thanks for the great HD programming... :)

The follwing are channels that are now digital simulcasting if you have a digital box:

Ch. 18 C-SPAN
Ch. 19 C-SPAN
Ch. 22 Kansas Now

Might be another channel or two, just can't remember right now.

More channels will come in the following months. Other area's of Kansas might have different channels.

Digital simulcast
The follwing are channels that are now digital simulcasting if you have a digital box:

Ch. 18 C-SPAN
Ch. 19 C-SPAN
Ch. 22 Kansas Now

Care to divulge the physical digital channel numbers for these? (I'm referring to
the 115.x/114.x channel no., not 18.1 or 19.1)

waterfitz-

Are you still having problems? I saw a very small amount of macroblocking on Monday on 604 only, not OTA. But since then I haven't spotted any regular occurences. Cox is monitoring 604 along with me.

Have you noticed problems with any other Cox HD channels? The signal levels on your coax need to be just right for the HD boxes, or they will act up. Sometimes on one particular channel, other times on multiple channels. (personal experience)

If it's constant, you might want to trade in your box or have Cox check your signal level at the point feeding your box.

Anyone else noticing any problems with 604? It's for the most part the same feed for the entire state on Cox's system.

jon

I called my buddy who lives across town and we monitored all the channells at the same time. They were all breaking up some more than others. But we were seeing the exact same break up on both ends at the exact same time therefore I am guessing that it has to be a cox Salina issue I guess.

I havent watched anything in HD on fox lately. I will check it out the next time there is something i can view. Thanks alot for the help.

I have been seeing channell 670 CREATE and channell 671 PBS-XP showing up in my guide the last few weeks. Although when trying to access the channells, I receive the temporarily off the air message from COX. Does anybody know if these are going to be working soon? I am guessing yes otherwise I dont know why they would be showing on the guide.

Anyone else notice this?

I have been seeing channell 670 CREATE and channell 671 PBS-XP showing up in my guide the last few weeks. Although when trying to access the channells, I receive the temporarily off the air message from COX. Does anybody know if these are going to be working soon? I am guessing yes otherwise I dont know why they would be showing on the guide.

Anyone else notice this?

I would guess they start working for you soon. We've got them here in Manhattan. 670 is create, I don't remember what they call 671, but it is basically a digital simulcast of PBS's analog feed out of Topeka.

I have been seeing channell 670 CREATE and channell 671 PBS-XP showing up in my guide the last few weeks. Although when trying to access the channells, I receive the temporarily off the air message from COX. Does anybody know if these are going to be working soon? I am guessing yes otherwise I dont know why they would be showing on the guide.

Anyone else notice this?


I'm not sure if they are active in Salina yet, but you might want to call Cox and ask about them. It might be a signal issue not allowing you to view the channels.

Also, those having problems with Fox HD might want to call and check with Cox. Again it might be a signal issue. If your signal isn't at the correct range, you will receive tiling or the "temp off air" message.

Also Cox is adding more Digital Simalcast channels in Wichita all the time. They have the following channels as far as I can tell: Cspan, Cspan2, KsNow 22, QVC, Inspirational (ch. 49), Ewtn (ch. 50), Discovery Health (ch. 51), HSN (ch. 54).

KSCableGuy, thanks for updating us on which channels are being simulcast. Any word on when they'll start simulcasting the more popular channels?

I hope not soon. Too many problems as far as I've been told. But unknown right now. This was all suppose to be done by the end of June, so if that says anything.

Alright folks, I have been searching the thread tons -- and I find bits and pieces of helpful information, but nothing solid...

I just got a new TV that has a QAM tuner -- and it picked up several digital channels when I scanned, but I wonder if there is a difinitive list of what channels are available?

I live in Newton, KS -- and I've got Cox standard cable (coax) running into the TV.

If anyone knows of a message that contains this info, let me know. Again, I'm looking for a lineup, such as:

KSN=____.__ (I can't find KSN, at least not in the 3.x range anyhow...)
KAKE=____.__ (I think this is 3.01, which seems odd?)
KWCH=__12.01__
KWCH WX=__12.02__

Etc. and so forth. I'm not sure if there is a difference in location between OTA and what Cox is sending thru, but that would be important to know.

Also, if my TV didn't automatically find the channel, does that mean the digital signal is too weak -- or should I try manually entering the channel?

Thanks for the help. My other HDTV (family room tv) uses COX HD DVR with no QAM tuner, so I've never had a need to get this info.

Chris
(moreinc)

dr0doom's post #1221 is the most definitive list to date:After doing some poking around, here is the list of HD/Digital channels I'm getting with just
expanded basic (analog) subscription from Cox, which are un-encrypted, and only need a
QAM tuner to receive:

82.5-82.50 - Music choice digital music
83.4 - Azteca America (spanish)
83.5-83.10 - Audio infomercials / talk radio
89.5 - Biography Channel
90.9 - PPV preview
93.1 - NBA League pass preview
114.1 - KPTS (e|i)
114.2 - NASA
114.3 - KPTS HD (PBS)
114.4 - KPTS (create)
114.5 - KWCH HD (CBS)
114.6 - KWCH WX (weather radar)
115.1 - KSNW HD (NBC)
115.2 - KAKE HD (ABC)
115.3 - Pentagon Channel
116.3 - KSCC HD (UPN)
116.10 - KSAS HD (FOX)
120.1 - NBA League Pass Preview

If anyone else knows of any others, please post.

Thanks for the help. That gave me a great start. So I checked these out and dug around more, and here's what I found... Some of these channels from the previous list are incorrect. Here's what I've found on my TV with my built-in QAM tuner:

82.5-82.50 -- The music channels
89.5 -- Biography Channel
90.9 -- PPV Preview Channel
93.1 -- NBA League Pass Preview Channel
114.1 -- KPTS (e|i)
114.2 -- KPTS
114.3 -- KPTS (Create)
114.4 -- KWCH (CBS HD)
114.5 -- KWCH Weather
114.6 -- NASA
115.1 -- KSNW (NBC HD)
115.2 -- KAKE (ABC HD)
115.3 -- Pentagon Channel
116.1 -- KSCC (UPN HD)
116.2 -- KSAS (FOX HD)
120.2 -- QVC
120.3 -- Was on, but didn't watch long enough to figure out what it was.
120.4 -- HSN
121.3 -- ShopNBC

There are others coming in down in the double digits, such as 8.1 - 8.3 and 12.1, etc. but I think they are repeats of this channels listed above.

Hope this helps. If you have others, let's see 'em. It would be nice to have a difinitive list of every channel that's available.

Chris
(moreinc)

I have been complaining ever since I got my DVR from Cox (Motorola DCT 6412), that it did not provide a way to QUICKLY move through a long program. The fastest speeds of rewind and fast forward are still awfully slow when you want to move forward or back by 30 minutes.

The feature is there, I just didn't know how to use it until now.

While fast-forwarding, press the right arrow (cursor) button to jump forward by 15 minutes with each press. When rewinding, press the left arrow button.

The following pdf document is where I learned this little "trick"
PASPORT echo Getting Started guide (http://www.pioneerdigital.com/pdf/passportecho1.6gettingstarted.pdf)

I still miss my ReplayTV, but the Motorola software has been updated a few times, each time adding some desired features. I understand another update is coming at the end of the month. For one thing it will fix a bug where space is not reclaimed when shows are deleted, requiring the box to be "rebooted" to reclaim the space. One thing I REALLY miss is 30 second skip. That feature is actually THERE, but has been disabled by Cox.

One thing I REALLY miss is 30 second skip. That feature is actually THERE, but has been disabled by Cox.


Had to disable this feature to keep Commercials Customers happy. How do you sell ad time to businesses, but then give consumers the chance to fast forward through the ad's without even seeing them. So get rid of the 30 sec skip and just only allow them to FF.

Who told you another download was coming down at the end of the month?

Had to disable this feature to keep Commercials Customers happy. How do you sell ad time to businesses, but then give consumers the chance to fast forward through the ad's without even seeing them. So get rid of the 30 sec skip and just only allow them to FF.

One of the main reasons I bought my own 3rd party dvr (panasonic). No silly monthly fees
on that bad boy, and I can skip commercials till the cows come home! Uses the TV guide
channel for its downloading of program info for free. Works great too. Burns DVD's with
the commercials edited out easily. I guess Dish & DirectTV don't have that problem of
having to bow down to the sponsors. I'm pretty sure you can skip commercials with
their dvr's.

Who told you another download was coming down at the end of the month?Cox CSR. Is he wrong? If so, that would be unfortunate because I was told this update would fix a bug that causes the 6412 to lose track of free space. It requires a hard reboot.

You can't force people to watch commercials. What you could do is implement some "feature" that disables fast-forward during commercials. All that would accomplish is piss everyone off, and people like me would vote with our wallets and switch to DirecTV. Disabling 30-second skip does not prevent me from fast-forwarding through commercials, although I suppose it DOES actually force me to watch them, albeit at 8x speed.

One of the major attractions of a DVR is that I can watch programs in less time. Baseball games and football games in particular, but also regular programming. I don't like being spoon-fed - I want my television intravenously.

dr0doom, is that an HD-DVR? If not, then it's of absolutely no value to me. A program has to be pretty special for me to watch it if it's not in high definition.

dr0doom, is that an HD-DVR? If not, then it's of absolutely no value to me. A program has to be pretty special for me to watch it if it's not in high definition.

No it is not HD, but I did not pay a lot for it ($340). And the built-in DVD burner is great for
building a library of stuff I want to save. Sony does have an HD version that is
very similar, but I dont think it burns DVD's. It's got built-in QAM & HDTV tuners, but is a
little pricey for my taste. ~$600 I think.

I'm going to "argue" because I'm in a surly mood and because I rather enjoy a good debate... :-)

The QAM tuner part is the real catch. A QAM tuner will only receive channels that are "in the clear." In order to pick up anything that's encrypted (which can even be some of the basic channels, unfortunately), you need a cable box that's recognized and authorized by the cable company. You can't just plug anything into the cable network and expect to receive all the channels you are paying for.

Being able to burn programs to DVD would be awesome, but I come back to the HD/SD thing - if a show isn't in HD, I'm not going to be all that keen about archiving it anyway.

The Sony unit, for a whopping $600, would require 5 YEARS to pay back at $10 per month, the cost of renting a DCT6412 from Cox. 30 second skip isn't worth THAT much to me, and any DVR will likely be obsolete long before 5 years.

I am not in the habit of defending Cox, and yet their HD-DVR for $9.95 per month is a screaming bargain, and I have been very pleased with their quality of service of late. I do get some breakups on the HD channels, but it hasn't been so bad that it's bothered me all that much. My biggest wish is for a larger capacity DVR - the 120 GB drive in the DCT6412 fills up pretty fast. Also high atop my wishlist are a couple more HD channels - ESPN2HD, and National Geographic at the very least.

I understand that Cox has a new HD-DVR that has HDMI. Do you know if that DVR has a bigger hard drive than the one I have in my "old" HD-DVR that has the DVI input?

I assume maybe someone has checked with them on this already? They told me I could just bring in my "old" one for the new HDMI unit -- but I'm not sure what the benefit is.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Chris
(moreinc)

My biggest wish is for a larger capacity DVR - the 120 GB drive in the DCT6412 fills up pretty fast.

Wow. That is awfully small. Especially for HD content. My cheapie panasonic has 160GB
and can store 36 hrs of SD in the highest resolution, much more in the lower res (which
I never use). I hear you on the HD Vs. SD pic, however,
my Sony 36XS955 with its Super-Fine pitch trinitron picture tube renders analog SD
(or digitally recored SD) VERY close to DVD quality picture, if your cable signal is good
(which mine is). Of course the HD pic on the TV is better, but not by all that much.
Besides, I'm cheap and refuse to give Cox more than $50 per month. :-)
Does Cox not carry ESPN2 in HD at all??

I understand that Cox has a new HD-DVR that has HDMI. Do you know if that DVR has a bigger hard drive than the one I have in my "old" HD-DVR that has the DVI input?
(moreinc)


There is a version with the 160 gig Hard Drive that is out there. Cox Wichita got in a very few and they are handed out at random. There is no way to reserve one for yourself. Also just casue it has HDMI doesn't mean it has the bigger Hard Drive.

People complain about renting boxes, but if they get hit by lighting, or just die on you, all you do is call and you get another box. If you own your box, you are out the 300 to 700 bucks and now have to either buy another one, or start renting one. Also how quick things change, you never have to worry about owning something out of date.

I really can't wait for more HD channels, but that might not happen til early 2007. Cox is getting ready to do a system upgrade to add bandwidth for more services. Right now they are at the limit for adding channels and ect. The channels I would like to see are TNT, ESPN2, HDNet, HDNet Films, HGTV, FX, USA, NFL Network (do they do HD?).

Cox CSR. Is he wrong? If so, that would be unfortunate because I was told this update would fix a bug that causes the 6412 to lose track of free space. It requires a hard reboot.



Just haven't heard of a new update. Not sure a CSR would know about new updates before others would. But that doesn't mean it won't happen. The space issue has been in soft fix for a month or so....the MTC has set up a refresh hit to all boxes on Tuesdays night I believe to "reclaim" that free space. I haven't had a problem in over two months with that issue.

How many people here use the Cox DVR and do you use the Mosaic Channels (Ch 996, 997 and 998) and do you play the interactive games (ch. 981) and the weather (980)? Nice to see the stuff, but rather have more HD channels instead.

The DVR's with HDMI are just the latest version of the DCT 6412. I believe they call them the "series III" boxes.

Channel on 980 is the only one of the new channels that interests me, but I assume those are relatively low bandwidth channels, and that all of them combined might not be enough for one new HD channel. If Cox is up against the limits now, then an infrastructure upgrade is our only hope for more HD channels. Bummer.

Reclaiming space once a week hasn't been enough for me. The 120 GB drive stores roughly 24 hours of SD programming, but a heck of a lot less than that of HD. But I also wouldn't want my box rebooted more than once a week unless I could schedule when it's going to happen, for like 5 AM or something when I would virtually never be recording anything.

Wow. That is awfully small. Especially for HD content.Yes it is.

My cheapie panasonic...$340 would rent you an HD box for nearly 3 years.

...has 160GB and can store 36 hrs of SD in the highest resolution, much more in the lower resThe highest resolution of SD is still...SD. Something less than SD? I would have to be PRETTY desperate...

my Sony 36XS955 with its Super-Fine pitch trinitron picture tube renders analog SD (or digitally recored SD) VERY close to DVD quality picture, if your cable signal is good (which mine is). Of course the HD pic on the TV is better, but not by all that much.All that means is the resolution of your TV is "SD", or at least something less than HD. On such a TV, HD isn't going to look much better, since it's being downrezed to SD quality, either by the set-top box, or simply "optically" by the limited resolution of your display. On a true HD television (like a Sony 60" SXRD for example), the difference between standard TV and high definition is...dramatic.

Does Cox not carry ESPN2 in HD at all??Yes, just not in HD.

From the Motorola website (http://broadband.motorola.com/dvr/dct6412.asp):An integrated 120 GB hard drive lets you record up to an estimated 90 hours of standard digital TV or 12–20 hours of HDTV. That is complete...fiction. 24 hours of standard TV, and I'd be pleased if I got 12 hours of HD. Maybe that just means some cable companies are compressing their signals more than Cox is. I hope Cox doesn't try to squeeze more channels out of the same bendwidth. I want more HD channels, but not if it means reducing the quality of the existing ones. Besides, one of the reasons I prefer Cox to DirecTV is that Cox isn't reducing the quality of their HD channels the way DirecTV has. Maybe 99% of people don't notice, but I have a big-a$$ 1080p TV, and I want all the resolution I can get.

The Sony 36XS955 is ostensibly an HDTV. What that means is you can feed it an HD signal and it will display it. But you need to keep two things in mind:A 36" 4:3 TV is only 33" @16:9. The THX recommended viewing distance (http://www.myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html) (36 degree viewing angle) for a screen that size is 3.7 feet. The maximum recommended SMPTE viewing distance (30 degree viewing angle) is 4.5 feet. If you are appreciably further away than that, you won't be able to fully appreciate HD programming.
The actual resolution of a $1K CRT is going to be something less than 1080. If you displayed a 1920x1080 test pattern, such a TV would be unable to resolve all of that detail. Exactly what the true vertical resolution will be is hard to say for any CRT, but it's not 1080. And then again, it'll be a moot point if your viewing distance is more than a few feet.
Here (http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?showtopic=9241&hl=resolution) is a good thread on the subject of how much resolution the human eye can actually resolve.

Here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/printthread.php?t=434681&page=21&pp=30) is a forum thread that discusses the 36XS955.

Haysdb, you are on a roll!!! I agree with all your points concerning Cox and the HD-DVR box. I routinely record movies during the week (HD only) to watch on the weekend. I definitely notice the space bug as I watch the movies, delete them, and schedule others. I have manually rebooted a few times to remove the problem. I normally get a max of 12 hours of HD recorded also. As for the breaking up of the digital signal, I added an amp to the line and that corrected the problem (nine outlets on one drop required a boost). As for the mosiacs and games, never watch them. Sure, I cringe when I see the monthly Cox bill but the HD-DVR box is and will remain a fixture in my house.

Looks like Cox is going to add TiVo to it's DVR box. Suppose to come out sometime in 2007.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060825-7594.html

Also was printed in the Wichita Eagle too.

I saw the article in the Eagle. There is an additional fee (of course). I guess if you're in love with TiVo, it's a good option. But for the average DVR user, I think it would appear to be a duplicate service they're not willing to part with more money to receive.

Thought I would drop a post that I'm leaving this station group to work in public radio. A lot of the regulars in this thread were crucial in helping us troubleshoot small quirks for particular receivers, and we appreciate it.

I'll be here Monday 9/4/06 to make sure MyTV (36 OTA, 6 Cox, 606 Cox HD) starts ok, but then on, if you have a problem with MyTV or Fox, contact the Chief Engineer here, David Caruso. He's a great guy and likes to hear from viewers. But he does prefer phone calls to email, so just call the main line and ask for him.

As for me, I get to build an HD Radio transmission system from the ground up. HD Radio seems to be gathering some steam, so if you want more radio choices and higher quality, but no subscription fees, check out HD radio.

Now when one of these channels go down, instead of driving in here, I can just change channels. :)

Take care
jon

Good luck Jon. I wish there were more engineers on here like you that are willing to help.

Yep, thanks for all the great support you've given us in the last few years and best of luck.

Dave G.

I've noticed a lot of pixelization and audio drop outs on the Cox hi def tier the last two or three days. Anyone else having that problem? Thought I would ask here before calling Cox, in case it was a system problem and not just my service. BTW, I live in Sterling.

I have started seeing this problem within the last month, I have DirecTV TiVo.

What I've found is that if I go to the TV audio menu and change the setting from stereo to mono the sound comes back immediately and I'm then able to set it back to stereo without a problem for some number of hours.

I've also had trouble sometimes when I turn the TV on that it doesn't actually initialize, the screen stays black and the audio is mute. If I go through the exercise of turning it off and on a couple more times it usually straightens out but then sometimes I have to reset the audio again.

I'm about to call for service on it unless anyone has a better idea.

So are the idiots at KAKE-TV not going to show the Deutsche Bank championship final round for their silly Jerry's Kids telethon?

That's ridiculous! There is the Hd-Feed they could show the golf on (even though it's sd) or kansas now 22 (great quality btw bleh!)!

While we are bagging on the locals, KWCH dropped the ball yesterday(Sunday) morning on the audio for US Open Tennis for the first 20 or so minutes. Not that I cared much, but if they start forgetting to flip the switch on football...

Lets not talk about KAKE TV and there damn picks for what they show. Durring the World Cup they decided to show church programing instead of the Sunday Morning games. When I emailed the station, I was told the advertiser's the buy the time on Sunday Mornings have been with the station for over 20 years and that the station was sticking with them. Also that ABC says if you show their stuff, it has to be on all stations and not just on the HD part of KAKE. Plus KAKE couldn't put any of the games on Channel 22, since it's cable and not broadcast. I might post the whole email later.

Cox will be launching Video on Demand on October 1st. This is a soft date, not set in stone, so it could get moved back.

https://cox.com/digitalcable/ondemand/

Should be a great new product to test out and enjoy.

Hi all - first time poster. Just got HD about a month ago from Cox (HD DVR/42" Samsung DLP set). I have noticed since last Thursday 8/31 that channel 603 is "jumpy" - I don't really know how else to describe it (the picture isn't smooth when the camera is panning/zooming or if there is a lot of action on the screen). It was really bad while watching the Nascar race on Saturday evening. No other HD channels are behaving this way. I called tech support, did the standard power cycle/turn off & on troubleshooting, and then was told it was a broadcast issue. Anybody else noticing this? Thanks :)

Cox will be launching Video on Demand on October 1st. This is a soft date, not set in stone, so it could get moved back.

https://cox.com/digitalcable/ondemand/

Should be a great new product to test out and enjoy.

KScableguy,

Will this launch include HD content?

Hi all - first time poster. Just got HD about a month ago from Cox (HD DVR/42" Samsung DLP set). I have noticed since last Thursday 8/31 that channel 603 is "jumpy" - I don't really know how else to describe it (the picture isn't smooth when the camera is panning/zooming or if there is a lot of action on the screen). It was really bad while watching the Nascar race on Saturday evening. No other HD channels are behaving this way. I called tech support, did the standard power cycle/turn off & on troubleshooting, and then was told it was a broadcast issue. Anybody else noticing this? Thanks :)


I also noticed this happening on 603, it seems to come and go, a few weeks ago when the nascar race was on I noticed it was real choppy, and it continued through into the evening pre-season football game.
However, since then i haven't noticed it. One thing I have to do every so often is completely shut down the cable box, unplug it, let it sit for a few minutes, then fire everything back up and it seems to clear up the 'choppiness'
I also wrote an email to the people at KSN, but haven't heard back from them!

Darin

KScableguy,

Will this launch include HD content?

Unknown right now...but I doubt it.....haven't heard anything about HD content.

To butcher a Dire Straits tune: "I want my HDTV"
I know the demand isnt killer yet but we need some more HDTV choices from Cox!

Hey all...

FYI, I just went to my local COX office and swapped out my old DCT6412 that had a DVI-D output ---- for the newer DCT6416 III (series III) HD DVR box.

Anyone else using the new 6416 series III box? I got it for the HDMI output, but I wonder if anyone has any other experience with this newer box? Any better features? Does it have a bigger Hard Drive, etc. etc. ???

Hey all...

FYI, I just went to my local COX office and swapped out my old DCT6412 that had a DVI-D output ---- for the newer DCT6416 III (series III) HD DVR box.

Anyone else using the new 6416 series III box? I got it for the HDMI output, but I wonder if anyone has any other experience with this newer box? Any better features? Does it have a bigger Hard Drive, etc. etc. ???


If it's a 6416, it has a bigger hard drive, i believe 160GB instead of 120GB. Are you sure it's a 6416? Cause the 6412 phase 3 box has HDMI output. So just cause it has a HDMI output does not mean it's a 6416 box.

Hi everyone,

I just got COX HD service with the Motorola DCT6412 a few days ago. I am having only one problem with the service so far. Haven't called COX yet, thought I'd see if anyone else is seeing the same thing.

On 604 FOX HD, there are constant audio drop outs and picture pixelization every thirty seconds or more often. This occurs during HD and SD programming, day and night, recorded and live programming. All the other channels are fine (so far).

I have OTA tuners as well, and they don't exhibit this problem.

I'm in Salina, so I'd be interested in knowing if anyone else here is seeing this.

Thanks,
Jeff

PS: Jon, sorry to hear you are leaving. You have been a great resource here. I hope you enjoy your new job!

If it's a 6416, it has a bigger hard drive, i believe 160GB instead of 120GB. Are you sure it's a 6416? Cause the 6412 phase 3 box has HDMI output. So just cause it has a HDMI output does not mean it's a 6416 box.

It definitely is the 6416 -- It says DCT6416 III on the front-right-bottom corner of the box.

The lady at the Cox office told me it had all the same features, but I assumed since it was a higher number (6416 instead of 6412) that it would have to have different features to some degree.

First thoughts about my DCT6416 III...

Well, I've had my new 6416 box from Cox for a couple days now, and it's been problematic.

1. The Hard Drive is extremely noisy compared to the old 6412 I switched from.

2. Several times since I hooked it up, when I turn on my TV it says "non-supported mode" and makes me go into the settings and switch the 4:3 override (can't remember the exact name" back to "stretch" mode. It should save the setting and not keep reverting back to the default setting. I think it's doing it every time the DVR gets turned off.

I called Cox this afternoon and they did a hard reset from their end. After the hard reset, it seemed to keep the "stretch" setting and worked without being re-set-up, so we'll see if that fixed the issue. The hard drive noise is still a big nuisance either way.

Just thought I'd share my thoughts.

I am a new Cox Cable subscriber from D* and the High Def pictures are amazing!

Lately been noticing lots of glitches in the signal, loss of sound, and then picture pixelates. Tried watching the US Tennis Open Women's Championship on KWCH 612 on HD and was filled with glitches. It was so bad I had to switch to the SD channel to watch the match. Occasionally also get some channels with audio sync off from the video.

Anyway don't know if it because of the thunderstorms near Wichita interrupting the satellite downlink or not?

Anyone else getting the case of the glitches especially during the U.S. Open tonight?

Went channel surfing through some of the SD channels and getting glitches also, so wondering if it is my signal strength or a transmission problem.

I also noticed this happening on 603, it seems to come and go, a few weeks ago when the nascar race was on I noticed it was real choppy, and it continued through into the evening pre-season football game.
However, since then i haven't noticed it. One thing I have to do every so often is completely shut down the cable box, unplug it, let it sit for a few minutes, then fire everything back up and it seems to clear up the 'choppiness'
I also wrote an email to the people at KSN, but haven't heard back from them!

Darin

Cox tech came and switched out my DVR and it seems to have corrected the problem. He switched my gen 3 box with a gen 1 and all seems fine now (actually everything is much faster - the guide, etc).

Cox tech came and switched out my DVR and it seems to have corrected the problem. He switched my gen 3 box with a gen 1 and all seems fine now (actually everything is much faster - the guide, etc).


Gen 1 Box has a really poor MPEG convertor. Makes the analog pic look horrible.


The 6416 just has a bigger hard drive..nothing specail.

KScableguy,

Thanksgiving night, Denver @ KC on the NFL network. Any news from Cox about making the HD signal available? Maybe on INHD?

When this new CW channel begins on the 20th, I'm wondering if that means it'll start broadcasting in HD and if Cox would start broadcasting the digital version (605?). I'd love to see Smallville in HD and would hate to see Veronica Mars go away from it.

When this new CW channel begins on the 20th, I'm wondering if that means it'll start broadcasting in HD and if Cox would start broadcasting the digital version (605?). I'd love to see Smallville in HD and would hate to see Veronica Mars go away from it.

Seeing as how we've never had anything in HD either over the air or through Cox Cable from KSCW (previously KWCV), I am seriously doubtful that we'll see any HD content from them when the CW network begins next week.

Even though they were the first digital station (480i only) on the air in the Wichita/Hutchinson market in May 2002, they will be the last station here to broadcast in HD. Maybe if enough of our voices are heard, they'll implement a plan to upgrade their infrastructure to bring Kansas the CW in HD. Don't get your hopes up, though...

KScableguy,

Thanksgiving night, Denver @ KC on the NFL network. Any news from Cox about making the HD signal available? Maybe on INHD?


It's good to see someone else caring about this! We need a full-on blitz to the Cox support people telling them that we want NFL HD for at least the Chiefs game on Thanksgiving!

KScableguy,

Thanksgiving night, Denver @ KC on the NFL network. Any news from Cox about making the HD signal available? Maybe on INHD?


I have no clue. My best advice has already been said: You need to call and tell them you want more HD Channels. Call, Email, Write and ect. If they don't hear the demand for the more HD channels and which ones that are wanted, you won't get what you want.

A code download went through last night. Didn't have a thing to do with DVR's and the problems with them. Unknown what it fixed if anything really. DVR code is expected soon, maybe sometime in October. Video on Demand is still in the works sometime in October also. Hopefully VOD and the DVR rock after the code downloads.

Hi all - first time poster. Just got HD about a month ago from Cox (HD DVR/42" Samsung DLP set). I have noticed since last Thursday 8/31 that channel 603 is "jumpy" - I don't really know how else to describe it (the picture isn't smooth when the camera is panning/zooming or if there is a lot of action on the screen). It was really bad while watching the Nascar race on Saturday evening. No other HD channels are behaving this way. I called tech support, did the standard power cycle/turn off & on troubleshooting, and then was told it was a broadcast issue. Anybody else noticing this? Thanks :)

I rarely post here also, but the HD feeds on KSN are killing me. The Cowboys/Redskins game is nearly unwatchable. Commercials are fine, -replays- even seem to be fine, but live action is a stuttering, jerky mess. Very unpleasant to watch. I've rebooted, all that jazz. All other 6xx channels work perfectly, but KSN live feed is hurrendous. Just throwing in my 2 cents.

I have a 6416-III (which I hate more than you can comprehend), but this time I don't think I can blame it on the box.....

Anyone else? Who's at fault here, the NBC network, or KSN?

FWIW my reception via Cox on 603 was fine during the Cowboys-Skins game, and if there was I'd have noticed. I don't think NBC's HD production is as pristine as CBS or Fox or ESPN but there was certainly no stuttering or jerking.
I did notice some "issues" with the Nascar race though in the last few weeks.

I've noticed the same 'choppyness' from the over-the-air broadcast on NBC before. In the last couple months (since I started getting the Cox feeds), I've seen the stuttering but I think it's been more widespread than on just NBC.

I have a 6416-III (which I hate more than you can comprehend), but this time I don't think I can blame it on the box.....

Hey Filthyc,

I recently got the 6416-III myself, and I wonder what problems you're having that make you not like it.

The Hard Drive in mine is extremely noisy, I've noticed the guide is slow to pop up -- and it also seems to tell me my HD channels are not subscribed to from time to time (although it always pops up after a short wait.)

moreinc

Hey Filthyc,

I recently got the 6416-III myself, and I wonder what problems you're having that make you not like it.

The Hard Drive in mine is extremely noisy, I've noticed the guide is slow to pop up -- and it also seems to tell me my HD channels are not subscribed to from time to time (although it always pops up after a short wait.)

moreinc

Sounds like the same problems I am having. But I don't have the 6416. I have the 6412-III box. So I doubt its the box itself that is causing the problems, probably just software problems.

On the channels that say not subscribed, I've found if I just turn the station and then turn it back I have no problems.

Has anyone had the following problem: You are on a station and try to rewind or pause and can't as there is no buffer? This has been happening more and more to my box. I found I have to change both channels on both tuners to get the buffer to come back.

One question: is it the hard drive that is loud or is it the fan in the box you hear? Don't diss the fan, as it does help on overheating problems.

Hey Filthyc,

I recently got the 6416-III myself, and I wonder what problems you're having that make you not like it.

The Hard Drive in mine is extremely noisy, I've noticed the guide is slow to pop up -- and it also seems to tell me my HD channels are not subscribed to from time to time (although it always pops up after a short wait.)

moreinc

Hey moreinc - you'll be sorry you asked, but here goes! Heh.

Nah, nothing earth moving, but I was an original TiVo adopter when they first came out, and was a TiVo fanatic (still am, I guess). Only one thing stood above my passion for TiVo - my hatred for Directv. So off to Cox I went, and to get an HD-DVR, I had to swallow my pride and get the 6416.

Anyway, major points of disgust:

Audio dropouts
Small drives
Whack interface (as compared to TiVo)
Remote is clunky
Noise (HD clicks all the time)
Having to reboot to reclaim HD space
No way to FF to end of programs, or even 15 minutes ahead
No keyword WISH lists


But the deal breaker to me is the way it (mis)manages season passes. This POS has no clue it has recorded a specific episode, even if you tell it to record first runs only. TiVo had the smarts. Moto6416 doesn't. If I have to tell it not to record the American Chopper episode where they visit a fan in Arizona ONE MORE TIME...... ARGH!

I have a season pass to The Family Guy. I tell it to record on any channel, anytime. They repeat the same episode twice a day, so guess what - I get duplicates every day.

To those of you who don't know any better (never used Tivo), you may shrug your shoulders. But trust me, a week with TiVo and you'll cringe every time you use the 6416. Or 6412. Or whatever.

Sorry, I'm sure someone will come to the defense of the 6416, but it's a piece of junk. I really can't afford $800 for the new Series 3 ($1600, actually - one up and one down), but I can't take much more of the Moto. It serves its purpose, I suppose, but requires WAAAAAY to much babysitting. Don't you dare tell it First Run Only on a show you care about. I can't count the number of times it decided to not record something. (Yes, top priority also).

Oh yeah - did I mention how, if you have two episodes you want recorded, say an hour show at 7PM, and another hour show at 7PM, but something is recording from 7-7:30 with a higher priority, it will record the 30 minute show, then give you the last 30 minutes (7:30-8) of the other one you requested. This is just silly. Who would want that? Tivo, again, has the forsight to warn you about these types of situations.

So there you have it. The obvious stuff. There's probably a dozen more issues I have, but these are the ones that are going to get me to spend way too much for the new Series 3 boxes.

Thanks for asking.

You said someone would come to defend the 6412/6416, and you were right. Now the Moto box isn't the best thing in the world, but I've worked with the TiVo box and still isn't the best either. To answer some of your complaints:


Audio dropouts - Known bug, but I wonder what channels you are seeing this on. I've haven't had the problem in months in regular programing. Only time I now see the problem is when a Cox Ad is airing.
Small drives - Not sure why everyone needs a huge drive. I record alot of HD stuff and haven't ran out of space. But then again I don't use the box as an archive device either. Not made to be an archive device. There are ways to burn to DVD or transfer to your computer, just Google it.
Whack interface (as compared to TiVo) - No Comment
Remote is clunky - Which remote do you have? The sliver remote is better of the two. I can run it without looking at the buttons, so not to clunky.
Noise (HD clicks all the time) - Don't have a 6416, so can't say much about the HD noise. But the 6412 isn't loud, even with the fan.
Having to reboot to reclaim HD space - Known bug and should be fixed by mid-October.
No way to FF to end of programs, or even 15 minutes ahead - Actually there is: After you hit FF, then hit the arrow forward button (the one you use while nav. in the guide). It will then FF 15 mins per push or RW the same way.
No keyword WISH lists - Coming Soon, sometime next year.


I use the series manager all the time, have about 20 to 30 shows listed at this moment. The only time I have a problem is I wish it had three tuners, instead of two.

Please remember the box get's the information from the guide and what the company who does the guide puts in the description. If you have it set to record first run only, but they never put in the description it's a new episode, then the box doesn't know to record. I've seen this happen for LIVE programing, especially for live sports. We record "Airline" and it never says NEW in the description. So if I pick "first-run", it won't ever record. So I have to pick "all episodes" and just deal with the repeats, but it is easy to erase repeats.

I understand what you say about it recording the last part of a hour long show that was 3rd inline of priority. Doesn't make sense, maybe it will be fixed soon.

Like you, I don't have $800 for a new TiVo, plus I would have to buy the extended warranty on the box, as I would hate for something happen and it die in a year. At leats with the 6412/6416, if it dies, I call Cox and it's replaced.

The Moto 6412/6416 isn't perfect, but give me a TiVo and I could also come up with a list of compalints on that box. Nothing is ever perfect and nothing can please everyone. If there was such an item, it's maker would be set for life.

But that's my point - "known bugs", "should be fixed by....", "coming soon", etc. Tivo has it, -has- had it, for years. It's like driving an automatic, then being forced to drive a stick. (Well, not forced, I *did* choose to get the Moto).

Have you actually used a Tivo for any amount of time? Sure, I have the silver remote, and I wouldn't even put it in the same league as the 'peanut'. But much of what you say is subjective. Who said anything about archiving shows? I have a very full-time job, a 14 month old daughter, two hyper dogs, and a wife who likes to keep me busy. It's not unusual for me to be 3,4, sometimes 6 weeks behind on my series, like ER, The Office, etc. Doesn't take much to fill 'er up.

And therein lies much of my issue - I just don't trust the Moto to make the wise decision for me. I'm not convinced that it will automatically clear some space if a high priority show needs to be recorded (and I have shows marked "erase as needed). There's nothing more aggravating and maddening then flipping on the TV to watch a new episode of the Sopranos and finding out the 'ol Moto got confused and decided not to record it.

Matter of fact, I can't believe I forgot to mention Thumbs Up/Down with the Tivo. With the Moto, I have to TELL it what to record. I mean, EVERY SPECIFIC EPISODE (if it's not set up as a season pass). I spend half an hour going through that guide, picking shows to record. With Tivo, I just give something one, two, or three thumbs up if I really like it. Guess what? I check it in a day or two and I've got tons of shows that pertain to my interests.

And as far as audio dropouts, I can't tell you exactly when or where they happen, but it's usually without reason. The only way I can fix it is to change tuners, or channels, maybve power off and back on, and it comes back. NEVER had this issue with a Tivo.

Listen, I guess I don't mean to argue about it, but I'm obviously very passionate about Tivo. I'm a technology freak, and I can appreciate the Moto, but it's simply a clone, a sad knock-off of the real thing. I have a friend that I hounded for years to get a Tivo. He finally broke down and got the Moto. He LOVES it. But, sadly, he doesn't know the difference. I do.

But you raise one of the more important points - renting vs. buying. I've had one Tivo go bad on me, and I ate it. Well, not literally, but you're screwed with a Tivo (without a warranty). Moto craps out? Down to the train station to get a new one. (Usually) no questions asked. That can be a huge factor. But I just can't take it anymore, and I'm willing to risk it.

Anyone know of anyone in ICT who has gotten a Series 3 with the dual cable cards from Cox?

Lively discussion guys... Thanks "filthyc," for your reply to my original question about the 6416 III.

It's good to know what others are experiencing. Hopefully Cox sends an update to these boxes soon that fixes some of these issues.

Lively discussion guys... Thanks "filthyc," for your reply to my original question about the 6416 III.

It's good to know what others are experiencing. Hopefully Cox sends an update to these boxes soon that fixes some of these issues.

An update should be sent out mid-October. Will fix some of your concerns, not all.

I've experienced many of the same problems as FilthyC in regards to the audio dropouts (seems to only happen on the HD channels to me, but has happened on ALL of them at one time or another). The only way I've found to fix it is to switch channels and come right back a couple seconds later. Not a big problem usually, but when I'm trying to go back an hour to watch the beginning the show I caught the end of it's problematic. Unless I hit the record button to save the entire show currently airing, I lose the ability to watch what's on.

Sometimes I also get about a 4 second signal 'drop' and then everything resumes, but it's like clockwork. I'll get a skip one second and then about 10 seconds later it chops 2x and then everything goes black for about 4 seconds and it returns. It seems to happen at the most inopportune times during sporting events.

That's really my only complaint about the box I've got. The hard drive noise is noticeable to me, but only when the audio disappears out or the signal drops.

My unit is the 6416 III model.

And I've sure everyone's heard that Cox has partnered with Tivo for 2007, so who knows, maybe there'll be something there for all of us. Though considering Cox's track record with business in general, I'm sure they'll find a way to make a mess of it. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Ideally, you'd be able to swap out a Moto for Tivo hardware, but from what I understand, it will be a software download.

A couple points:

1. The problem I have with the hard drive noise on the 6416 III is when the TV is off but I'm in the room. It's annoying to always hear it running in the background. But I guess I could just turn the DRV off when I'm not watching TV.

2. I heard the Cox DVR with Tivo was going to be an additional charge of around $5 a month on top of what you're already paying for the DVR box you have.

A couple points:

1. The problem I have with the hard drive noise on the 6416 III is when the TV is off but I'm in the room. It's annoying to always hear it running in the background. But I guess I could just turn the DRV off when I'm not watching TV.

2. I heard the Cox DVR with Tivo was going to be an additional charge of around $5 a month on top of what you're already paying for the DVR box you have.

I agree 100% with the noise, that's when I notice it too. I'm a VERY light sleeper, and it sometimes annoys me when I'm trying to go to sleep. But then again, I sleep with the TV on. My wife LOVES it. Not. Heh.

I had heard there would be an upcharge, typical Cox. Of course, like an oaf, I sat in front of the TV tonight, flipping throught the channels one at a time. Nothing was on worth watching (well maybe Chopping Mall..... HA), and it made me realize, I'm paying a gazillion dollars to Cox to watch Monday Night Football. Time to make some adjustments.

Ever thought that TiVo is charging Cox to provide the service to us? So you expect Cox to pay TiVo for the service and provide it for free to us? I don't know too many businesses that do that.

I also noticed that TiVo doesn't offer a lifetime subscription for it Version 3 box that just came out. The longest they offer is 3 years and if you bought a lifetime subscription for an older TiVo box, you can't transfer it to the new box.

All I have to say is both companies provide the same service, and both have pro's and con's. Each has the one they enjoy and support. So to each their own.

Ever thought that TiVo is charging Cox to provide the service to us? So you expect Cox to pay TiVo for the service and provide it for free to us? I don't know too many businesses that do that.

Thanks for the business lesson. My assumption was that Moto or iGuide or Passport or whoever it is that provides my 6416 with guide date -also- charges Cox. Since I would no longer be using their service, I wouldn't be paying for it too. So in theory, it should be en even swap.

But you're also assuming that Cox is just doing good business. Simply passing on the costs they incur. Please. Cox is shagging each and every one of us, I know it, they know it. But who else is gonna give me broadband (via cable)? Or cableTV? You wanna play, you gotta pay.

My point was Cox just found one more item to charge me for, when in fact, I would actually be discontinuing something. Trading one service for the other. Sheesh - ever look at your bill? Nothing but fees and taxes. Which is also why I switched to Vonage. Just waiting for a better TV solution next.....

Great thread, guys. I just got this Moto 6416 III and hate it. I returned my Moxi box for this one b/c the hard drive was much bigger for HD shows. Three major issues for me:

1. It has no real menu system like Tivo or even the Moxi box. It takes forever to find a show to record. No good search features to find the shows to record.

2. I'm a golf fanatic, so I want a season pass for "PGA golf" and "golf" - just like I had on my Tivo and my Moxi box. These shows do not come up with season passes on this box! WTF??

3. The remote control is a joke. Someone here mentioned a silver remote? I have a black remote that is AWFUL. It says Time Warner on the bottom of it. Can you guys give me more info on your remote? Maybe I can get it switched.

I've only had it one day and the $800 Tivo is looking more and more like a value!

I realize that it's easy to get and discuss our local hardware issues on this thread but I nicely and diplomatically hope that we will stay on topic and use the HD recorders area for motorola 64xx issues. There are a few really good threads on those boxes there. I don't advocate that we never bring up local hardware issues, but let's be careful that the thread isn't hijacked by this topic.

My .02

This is a Motorola issue, but I consider it a local Cox issue so I'm going to bring it up here.

All of a sudden my guide doesn't remember my settings. I keep getting EVERY channel rather than just the one's I haven't set to "Skipped." I THINK I got a software update recently, because it seems there are some new features, although it may just be stuff I never noticed before. There was supposed to be a new download that fixed the missing space issue, at least according to a Cox CSR I spoke with a few weeks ago. My belief is that in addition to some fixes, the new software introduced some new bugs. ::sigh::

I came from ReplayTV, and sure do miss some of THOSE features (especially 30 second skip), but I have gotten used to the Motorola box. It doesn't suck nearly as much as it did a year ago, thanks to periodic software updates.


There are a couple or three HD channels I would really like to see added to the Cox lineup. ESPN2HD, National Geographic HD, and WB/UPN. Oh, and a SciFi HD, if there is such a thing. When is Cox next big infrastructure upgrade?

Speaking of the Tivo software, when Cox makes it available for their boxes, is there any chance that TivoToGo will work with it?

This is a Motorola issue, but I consider it a local Cox issue so I'm going to bring it up here.

All of a sudden my guide doesn't remember my settings. I keep getting EVERY channel rather than just the one's I haven't set to "Skipped." I THINK I got a software update recently, because it seems there are some new features, although it may just be stuff I never noticed before. There was supposed to be a new download that fixed the missing space issue, at least according to a Cox CSR I spoke with a few weeks ago. My belief is that in addition to some fixes, the new software introduced some new bugs. ::sigh::

I came from ReplayTV, and sure do miss some of THOSE features (especially 30 second skip), but I have gotten used to the Motorola box. It doesn't suck nearly as much as it did a year ago, thanks to periodic software updates.


There are a couple or three HD channels I would really like to see added to the Cox lineup. ESPN2HD, National Geographic HD, and WB/UPN. Oh, and a SciFi HD, if there is such a thing. When is Cox next big infrastructure upgrade?


There hasn't been a download to the DVRs as of late. The next update is scheduled from Mid-October from what I hear.

Your box seems to be going back to factory settings. Not sure why, but maybe power outages or box re-sets. Haven't heard of this problem before.

But I just had a new one tonight. As I went to watch a recorded program, it acted like it started as the banner said the recorded shows name, but never started playing. Even when I hit stop it asked me to either erase or save. To fix this problem I had to power cycle the box. After the power cycle some of my personal settings had change back to factory settings.

Thanks for the business lesson. My assumption was that Moto or iGuide or Passport or whoever it is that provides my 6416 with guide date -also- charges Cox. Since I would no longer be using their service, I wouldn't be paying for it too. So in theory, it should be en even swap.

But you're also assuming that Cox is just doing good business. Simply passing on the costs they incur. Please. Cox is shagging each and every one of us, I know it, they know it. But who else is gonna give me broadband (via cable)? Or cableTV? You wanna play, you gotta pay.

My point was Cox just found one more item to charge me for, when in fact, I would actually be discontinuing something. Trading one service for the other. Sheesh - ever look at your bill? Nothing but fees and taxes. Which is also why I switched to Vonage. Just waiting for a better TV solution next.....


Passport probably does charge Cox and that's why they have a base digital charge. The fee's and taxes are passed on from Federal, State and City gov't. Vonage is nice since you don't have to pay all the extra taxes, but that could be changing soon also.

I'm pretty sure the Cox offering TiVo comes from the TiVo lawsuit against Dish. TiVo says they own the rights to DVR technology. So I'm guessing Cox offers TiVo service to keep from getting added to the lawsuit.

http://biz.yahoo.com/usnews/060825/060825_25tivo.html?.v=1

Other companies that could be targets of future TiVo lawsuits include Time Warner Cable and hardware manufacturers including Scientific-Atlanta and Motorola, Bernoff says.

Tivo and ReplayTV pretty much have all the intellectual property related to DVR features between them. Pretty much every idea was pioneered by one of those two companies. Don't know who ended up with ReplayTV's IP, but pretty much anyone making a DVR is probably subject to lawsuits if they are not paying royalties or licensing or whatever, for the use of that IP. Of course, winning those lawsuits is another matter.

Sorry, way OT.

Anyone watching the game tonight? (9/24)? Same issue. Live action on NBC is horrible (stuttering, jerky, just enough to make watching difficult), but commercials, replays, CBS games, FOX games, all fine. Again, I'd LOVE to blame the 6416, but it appears that are good 'ol local affiliate is having issues. Or the mothership at NBC. I guess I don't care - I just WANT A SMOOTH GAME. Sheesh.

I wonder if the same issues happen on DTV HD?

Clear as a bell, no issues whatsoever on 603 via the 6416 for the Denver-NE game. You have a box problem or a signal problem.

Clear as a bell, no issues whatsoever on 603 via the 6416 for the Denver-NE game. You have a box problem or a signal problem.

Two points - one, it's not blatantly obvious. My wife doesn't seem to mind/care, but it's like nails on a chalkboard to me (meaning, perhaps you just don't see it). Two, what are the odds that it's -only- on 603, and -only- on live broadcasts? I don't think my hardware/software knows the difference....

i see your point, but i am viewing on a 110" screen with a $11,000 hd projector, if there wa s a slight problem i'd dang sure notice. i stand by my original analysis

I also noticed the choppy & jerky stuff on the game tonight. I get NBC HD direct off of the
cable (cox) into my QAM TV (no cable box). I was just about to switch over to off-the-air HD
(indoor antenna), to see if it was doing it there also, but it seemed to get clean towards the
end of the game. The ABC game last night was doing the same thing on Cox, but it was NOT
doing it on the off-the-air signal. (Glad I kept my indoor antenna. I dont trust cox's locals HD
signal much anymore).

Being in Manhattan, I obviously get KSNT's HD feed on Cox and not KSNW's. I've noticed the same kinds of things on it. Severe pixelation on panning and any kind of high speed action. I've always suspected that KSNT lowers its bitrate before it goes out. A firewire capture on my Cox Motorola 6412 reveals a 14.99 mbps bitrate in the metadata of the stream for NBC-HD, while the full 19.2 for other HD streams from the box.

The other thing to remember, NBC's HD reputation is less than sterling. There were many issues with their Olympic coverage. (not all of them their fault, 50hz to 60hz conversion, etc). Some of other NFL coverage and College football games have also suffered from poor quality nationwide.


I also noticed the choppy & jerky stuff on the game tonight. I get NBC HD direct off of the
cable (cox) into my QAM TV (no cable box). I was just about to switch over to off-the-air HD
(indoor antenna), to see if it was doing it there also, but it seemed to get clean towards the
end of the game. The ABC game last night was doing the same thing on Cox, but it was NOT
doing it on the off-the-air signal. (Glad I kept my indoor antenna. I dont trust cox's locals HD
signal much anymore).

I agree that NBC HD is not up to the others standards. But this has to be a issue with signal in the cox feed neighborhood(s) wise or some of the HD boxes, since my PQ was stellar last night as was my neighbors.
I learned something interesting this summer, unrelated to the above problems. We were having PQ issues for 2-3 weeks and we finally called and a tech came out, tested our signal and everything was fine, and the PQ was fine too by then. He then explained to me that when the temps get way up there, the fiber-optic cabling gets hot and distorts resulting in poor signal and the associated symptoms with it. Hmmmm.

Not sure I agree, but I have no answers either. I do know I was having the issue on both of my 6416's, and it's generally only during the 'live' feed (not replays, commercials, etc).

Perhaps your eyes aren't as sharp as others? You could have a $50,000 projector for all I care. I know on my 60" LCD it's VERY noticeable, but on the 32" LCD it's harder to tell. Of course logic would say that since you have a 1xx" screen, it'd be even more noticeable, but then I defer to my first point (some folks can see things others can't. Like dead people. Or jerky motion.).

He then explained to me that when the temps get way up there, the fiber-optic cabling gets hot and distorts resulting in poor signal and the associated symptoms with it. Hmmmm.

Not correct. Heat doesn't bother the Fiber Cable. Heat would effect your coax cable if there were chew, cuts, or any other way for water to enter into the cable. Then the heat would after time allow it to corrode and you would have resistance on your cable (drop, outlet and ect.).

Yeah...if heat could actually affect the fiber, all kinds of stuff would get messed up pretty bad in the heat...internet(as a whole), most long distance phone calls, etc.

Not correct. Heat doesn't bother the Fiber Cable. Heat would effect your coax cable if there were chew, cuts, or any other way for water to enter into the cable. Then the heat would after time allow it to corrode and you would have resistance on your cable (drop, outlet and ect.).

Well, we all know the level of expertise we should expect from Cox. I know I've been thoroughly impressed with the techs at my property. I especially like it when they forget to hook up part of my service. (Come out for phone service, accidentally unhook my broadband. Out for broadband, accidentally unhook my tv). The tops, these guys are - the tops!

Note to self - always check every service -before- the tech leaves......

I've always been pretty impressed with their service up here in Manhattan, and when I used to live in El Dorado. They came on time, they seemed pretty knowledgable and they rarely left without an answer to the problem.

As always, your milage may vary, there's always a bad apple every once in a while.

Well, we all know the level of expertise we should expect from Cox. I know I've been thoroughly impressed with the techs at my property. I especially like it when they forget to hook up part of my service. (Come out for phone service, accidentally unhook my broadband. Out for broadband, accidentally unhook my tv). The tops, these guys are - the tops!

Note to self - always check every service -before- the tech leaves......

Nah, you're right, I shouldn't lump them together. I've had some pretty good ones too. But you always remember the cr*ppy ones......

Fitlthyc:

I'm trying to be helpful, why you dis'in my eyes?? Be nice!

You sound upset with me that it is okay at my house. I don't get it. I am the most picky person you'll find when it comes to PQ, jaggies, macro-blocking, pixelization, audio drop outs and the rest of the sundry characters that show up from time to time. The only way to solve our problems is to get a handle on them with input from those on this board. If it is okay at my house and not at yours the the problem isnt with the network feed and it is... well you know what I mean.

Kscableguy: It's not surprising to me that that the heat isssue was not true, hence my Hmmm at the end of the post. Thanks for your input there.

Fitlthyc:

You sound upset with me that it is okay at my house.

Actually not. I don't get upset at posters, just annoyed. -You- think it is okay at your house. Great. The fact remains that several other people are experiencing issues too, so there's always that chance that -you- just aren't sensitive to it. You've already kind of matter-of-factly proclaimed that you know the cause, and I disagree with your theory. Simple as that.

You see, you (should) use simple logic in these issues.

1) Choppiness on all channels?
1.A - No - just on 603

2) Choppiness all the time on 603?
2.A - No - just during live feeds

3) Only on one box?
3.A - No - on both of mine

4) Am I the only one experiencing this?
4.A - No - others report same issue

This tends to lead one to the conclusion that it is a KSN/NBC issue. You don't see it at your house? Don't know what to say. Maybe you truly don't have the issue, and if so, lucky you. But it is actually a subjective answer, like what is ugly, or hot, or blue. Ask ten people, there's bound to be different answers. Just because you say boiling water isn't hot, doesn't mean that it isn't.....

Besides, I like trolling while searching for answers.

The live feed issue is indeed perplexing and I agree with your logic. The fact that I am fine should be helpful though rather than annoying. Good science dictates that we aren't always pleased with the answers if they don't support our hypothesis. I'm good either way as long as everybody is in PQ nirvana.

Cheers and good luck

The live feed issue is indeed perplexing and I agree with your logic. The fact that I am fine should be helpful though rather than annoying. Good science dictates that we aren't always pleased with the answers if they don't support our hypothesis. I'm good either way as long as everybody is in PQ nirvana.

Cheers and good luck

I admire your attitude.

Down with NBC.

OUT

Anyone have any info on:

1. When is Cox going to (finally) launch their "On Demand" service?

2. Will their "On Demand" service have HD Programming as well?

I understand that "On Demand" only works with whatever movie channels you have, so since I have the Starz & Encore Tier, does that mean Starz HD will also be "On Demand."

Thanks for any insight.

Anyone know why Prison Break and Vanished on FOX didn't air in HD tongiht, at least here in Salina? I checked both OTA and COX. I'm not sure if COX pulls in our translator or gets the signal from Wichita.

Times like this, it was nice to have Jon as a contact at FOX.

Thanks,
Jeff

This is of no help to anyone, but speaking of Jon @ Fox it made me wonder - does the entire country have these same issues with HD, or is it just us bible-thumpin' farmers who are scared of technology that can't seem to grasp the concept?

What I mean is, issues like having to call the program director to 'tell him to flip the switch' or whatever it is they do when they forget to broadcast in HD(!)? Or issues like the last poster, or even things like I see tonight during the MNF game commercial breaks (appears the national feed starts, then about 3/4 of the way through the first commercial, our local feed starts a commercial. If memory serves, this has been going on all season.

I'm just thinking out loud, I guess. I get this mental image of some old guy who has been running the 'technical' things at the station since 1973 saying, "High what????"

It's no wonder the general public hasn't overwhelmingly jumped on the HD bandwagon. Personally, I think (most of) our local affiliates and providers are uneducated and/or don't care when it comes to providing HD signal. It's just so sloppy and inconsistent, and you never know what you're gonna get.

Sorta OT, the SNF game last night was still a choppy and stuttering mess. I -almost- resorted to OTA, until I saw the quality of channel 3.......

I get peeved every morning during GMA when KAKE flips to SD about 30 seconds before the local break starts, during the national weather. They seem to be able to switch back to HD fairly accurately, so why do they need to go out of HD so early? They have to know the exact time of the breaks (or they wouldn't know when to talk!)

Jeff

Excuse my lack of knowledge, but will we ever see a day when 'flipping' isn't necessary? Our local stations obviously don't seem real concerned about it.

Will we ever see local news produced in HD? Is there any buzz on this down there in Wichita? Surely someone wants to brag about being the first to HD. All those super doppler HD radars would sure look good..... IN HD!!!!

Heh - I think KAKE blew their wad on that ridiculous weather set. There's about 50 LCD screens in there. Sheesh - I can be wrong on the weather forecast with ONE screen.

On a serious note, just what is involved with producing the news in HD? Or are we talking re-wiring the whole station? I figured a couple of cameras, a new top-secret HD conversion gamma-ray device, and you're cooking with fire.

Anyone have any info on:

1. When is Cox going to (finally) launch their "On Demand" service?

2. Will their "On Demand" service have HD Programming as well?

I understand that "On Demand" only works with whatever movie channels you have, so since I have the Starz & Encore Tier, does that mean Starz HD will also be "On Demand."

Thanks for any insight.

1. Soon....testing starts soon on the service. I would guess maybe November or December.

2. No HD Stuff......Not happy about that.

If you have HBO, Starz or Cinemax, you will access to their On DEMAND service. Plus there will be alot of free content from channels like MTV, Comedy Central, Local Content and other cable channels. There will be subscription contant also. And of course Movies, Adult content, and access to PPV events that have already happen. This could all change, but this is what I've have learned from others.

1. Soon....testing starts soon on the service. I would guess maybe November or December.

2. No HD Stuff......Not happy about that.

If you have HBO, Starz or Cinemax, you will access to their On DEMAND service. Plus there will be alot of free content from channels like MTV, Comedy Central, Local Content and other cable channels. There will be subscription contant also. And of course Movies, Adult content, and access to PPV events that have already happen. This could all change, but this is what I've have learned from others.

ARE YOU A COX MOLE? Seriously, though... Thanks for the info; you seem to always know a lot about what's happening over at Cox!

At any rate, with everything I've heard about On Demand, I'm sure it will be a letdown over my hyped-up expectations.

On the subject of locals and their HD, I agree with what everyone's saying here. It would seem to me that the local networks don't really know what they should. When you talk to them, they don't seem to know what you're talking about.

I have noticed that during football on the HD channels, some of the commercials are in HD. Does that mean they're running two commercial during that slot (one for SD and one in HD?) -- or does the HD commercial "downconvert" for displays on SD TVs? If they automatically downconvert, then the local networks should just run their news and everything in HD. There should be very little being broadcast in standard definition anymore.

If they're serious about getting everybody on the digital and HD, then they need to show that they give a d@mn about it themselves. Otherwise, it's "do as I say" and not "do as I do."

As someone who gets my Fox in HD from Wichita (via the Salina tower)but am in the Topeka market, I have to say I sure don't see much in the way of the issues with the 2 Topeka stations that I watch in HD. I think on our CBS, which I think is associated with KAKE, they are automatically switched in and out of commercials. Don't know about KSNT, but they do a very good job too. Tradeoffs I guess, since we don't have nearly as many stations as you guys do.

Any one get the NLDS game on Fox tonight. I'm not receiving a signal...

I'm glad to see that someone else is having the same problem, but I'm also getting a little upset because the football games are about to start and I'm not sure I can watch them in standar definition.

I take it HD doesn't get any priority if broken or they just don't care if its up or not.

I was going to post some email links so people can contact FOX. But AVS limits URL links until you have 5 or more posts.

i'd love to hear an explanation for why kc is on 12 but not 612. i like having more games to watch, but i betcha the natives are restless that kc aint in hd.

i'd love to hear an explanation for why kc is on 12 but not 612. i like having more games to watch, but i betcha the natives are restless that kc aint in hd.


I tuned to 612 and it was on. Not sure what you are talking about. But I wish NFL would let CBS show only HD Games on their HD channel.

jets and jags were on 612 and kc v. az on 12 for most of 1st quarter

Because of the FOX issue I was playing with my turner and found 2.1 and 2.2 KJRH in Tulsa, OK. Just a bit higher signal and I would have it.

Oh, man... Are you guys saying the Chiefs game was on HD after the first quarter? I saw the other game on CBS HD and just assumed that the Chiefs game was one of the few that was NOT in HD. AARRRRGGGGG!!

On another note, I just called Cox and their rep said "On Demand" would be available some time 1Q 2007 in the Wichita market. So much for "coming soon."

no, the chiefs were sd all the way, everywhere, but 612 started w/ hd of the other game,then went back to kc in sd

Whew... Thanks for the clarification, dresf. I HATE watching football (sports in general) in Low-Def. ---- But I ESPECIALLY HATE watching sports in SD and then finding out it was available in HD.

Anyone else notice that on a TV built for HD, you can hardly even see the football on a standard-def. broadcast?

yes! sports in sd is unwatchable now. sd movies on the digital channels are tolerable, but barely

yes! sports in sd is unwatchable now.

I agree. To have to watch the Cards/Padres game last Saturday on ESPN2 (due to Cox's inability and/or lack of desire to carry ESPN2HD) was painful for many reasons.

I just hope FoxKansas will carry the Cards/Mets game tomorrow night and put the Tigers/As on F/X. (Damn I miss Jon@KSAS when we have questions.)

United Cable Direct?

I had a sales rep stop by our home tonight trying to get us to switch to United Cable Direct/DISH Network. She sung their High-Def. praises -- but she's a salesperson.

Obviously interested in HD experiences, but also any experiences in general.

Thanks.

We have Dish VIP 622 receiver here in Goddard and subscribe to the Dish Silver HD package.

Receiver is excellent and reception is excellent on all the local digital channels with an outside antenna.

We receive around 26 HD channels with the Silver package plus we subscribe to HBO so we get HBO-HD also.

Good Luck,


Dale

United Cable Direct?

I had a sales rep stop by our home tonight trying to get us to switch to United Cable Direct/DISH Network. She sung their High-Def. praises -- but she's a salesperson.

Obviously interested in HD experiences, but also any experiences in general.

Thanks.


Just remember not ever house is perfect for Dish. If you have any trees to the south of your house, you could be in for problems. Dish need direct line of sight to work in all kinds of weather.

I looked into the Dish for there HD stuff, but the pricing after the specails were done, was mostly more than Cox, so few extra, nothing specail channels was not worth it for me.

I would check all Dish providers web sites and compare prices (after promo's run out) to see if you are getting a good deal. Also remember you are in a contract if you get free equiptment. Most charge 150 to just come to your house to look at any problems also. If you own the equ, you are responsable for the replacement cost of equ.

I know people who love Dish, my dad and uncle, and I know people who would never go back to Dish. If they could save me money and have decent repsonse times for tech. calls, I would think of switching.

Things that make me think about switching:

1. Number of High-Def channels. Why do the dishes have tons more than Cox?

2. All-Digital. Why are the dishes all-digital -- and Cox is only digital from 101-up?

I sure wish Cox would allow you to have the HD without the digital tier. I'd probably just do the HD Channels and nothing else :-) Especially if they'd add ESPN2HD and NFL Network HD.

I'm an HD junkie, what can I say... I guess that's why I hang out on this forum...

Things that make me think about switching:

1. Number of High-Def channels. Why do the dishes have tons more than Cox?

2. All-Digital. Why are the dishes all-digital -- and Cox is only digital from 101-up?

I sure wish Cox would allow you to have the HD without the digital tier. I'd probably just do the HD Channels and nothing else :-) Especially if they'd add ESPN2HD and NFL Network HD.

I'm an HD junkie, what can I say... I guess that's why I hang out on this forum...

Direct TV only offers 4 other channels Cox doesn't (TNT, ESPN2, HDNet Movies, and HDNet. And what I can see, they don't offer the major broadcast channels in HD, only in select markets.

Dish Network does offer alot more HD channels. About 26 total, about 22 different than Cox. But again, you don't get broadcast channels in HD.

Those with OTA wouldn't have a problems not getting NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX and others. But if you don't have an OTA and don't want to buy more equiptment, you are out of luck.

Cox is constantly adding to their Digital Simalcasting. Its taking time, but it's getting there.

Playstation 3 Anyone?

Since the PS3 will have blue-ray, I figure this question is in the right forum... Alright, I know it's not HDTV, but still I wonder if any of you HD junkies have already reserved a PS3 at EB or GameStop?

I haven't been this excited about a new piece of equipment since, well, about 2 months ago when I bought my 2nd High-Def Television ;-)

-moreinc

Playstation 3 Anyone?

Since the PS3 will have blue-ray, I figure this question is in the right forum... Alright, I know it's not HDTV, but still I wonder if any of you HD junkies have already reserved a PS3 at EB or GameStop?

I haven't been this excited about a new piece of equipment since, well, about 2 months ago when I bought my 2nd High-Def Television ;-)

-moreinc

I'll pass, not for $600 for a gaming system. Ya it does Blue-Ray, but who's to say in two years Blue-Ray goes the way of Beta Tapes? I'll wait for them to figure out a format and for the PS3 to come down to a resonable price.

Yea, the best thing to do in regards to HD-DVD and Blueray is to wait. The more people that sit it out, the faster it will get fixed. My guess is a dual format drive will come out eventually.

In my case, I'd just be frustrated if I bought either format right now. Everytime a movie came out on the other format exclusively, I'd be pissed. The only way I'll jump in is for a dual format player, or possibly if the players get dirt cheap (like $100-$200), I'd get both.

Dave G.

I'm picking up the $200 HD-DVD drive for the Xbox 360 on Nov 7th. Since I already have a Xbox 360 its not that bad of a upgrade.

Wow, $200.....not too bad since you already have a 360. I have one also, but doubt I drop that much on something that might be out of date in year or two. Wouldn't want to buy all the new DVD's to play on it, to just have to re-replace them in a few years. I guess I'll just wait for someone to make their minds up.

Side note: anyone notice white sparkles on NBC's HD signal? I noticeds it on Friday Night Lights and on Law & Order: SVU. Only really noticed them when the screen was black. Don't notice them on other channels, only NBC.

I usually don't come here that often, but I wanted to see if anyone has lost their KSN digital signal. I have a 30" HDTV upstairs and I am still getting enough digital signal to for a good picture. My 55" downstairs has not been able to receive the signal consistently for over a week. It would sometimes tune it in a week or so ago. For the last week, I have not been able to get a strong enough signal for a picture. I believe their signal has degraded recently and I was wondering if anyone else has noticed it. All of my other digital signals are as strong as normal and my antenna has not been touched. I have one UHF antenna in the attic for both sets. I live half way between the tower and Goddard. Sometimes I think I am too close for the best signal. Please let me know how you OTA KSN signal is coming in?

I usually don't come here that often, but I wanted to see if anyone has lost their KSN digital signal. I have a 30" HDTV upstairs and I am still getting enough digital signal to for a good picture. My 55" downstairs has not been able to receive the signal consistently for over a week. It would sometimes tune it in a week or so ago. For the last week, I have not been able to get a strong enough signal for a picture. I believe their signal has degraded recently and I was wondering if anyone else has noticed it. All of my other digital signals are as strong as normal and my antenna has not been touched. I have one UHF antenna in the attic for both sets. I live half way between the tower and Goddard. Sometimes I think I am too close for the best signal. Please let me know how you OTA KSN signal is coming in?

Have you tried doing a channel scan? I know they were down last week sometime. It's possible they changed something in their PSIP data which is causing your receiver problems. Sometimes rescanning will fix it.

Oh, and I'm showing 91% signal here on the east side of Wichita with a small indoor antenna, so I doubt they're running at reduced power.

Dave G.

Thanks for the response. I have a Dish High Definition receiver hooked up. I did a rescan on it. I found all the channels fine except for 3-01. It hung on 45 for a long time and then passed by indicating it found a channel. I then saved all the channels if found. I turned it to 45-01 which I believe is KSN and it get 49% signal strenght. After a few minutes, it briefly tuned it in at 85% strength and lost it within 15 seconds. It only shows 49% for a long time and then tunes it in again. I am watching it now at 85-87% until I switch it and then I come back and it takes minutes for it to find a strong enough signal. All other channels work fine. I am starting to wonder if it is my Dish HD receiver 811. It has been buggy since new and KSN would not tune in at all for months when I first got it. All other channels have been fine and I have been using it for almost two years now.

Wow, $200.....not too bad since you already have a 360. I have one also, but doubt I drop that much on something that might be out of date in year or two. Wouldn't want to buy all the new DVD's to play on it, to just have to re-replace them in a few years. I guess I'll just wait for someone to make their minds up.

I don't buy DVDs since I only watch movies once or twice at most using Netflix. So its not a big deal. Plus if you buy a HD-DVD or Bluray drive and then buy movies for it doesn't mean your going to need to re-replace anything. Its not like your new player is going to stop working at midnight and turn into a punkin.

Also WTF Fox your HD channel looks like a cheap internet video. I'm trying to watch baseball and it looks like its snowing from all the compression artifacts.

Also WTF Fox your HD channel looks like a cheap internet video. I'm trying to watch baseball and it looks like its snowing from all the compression artifacts.

Yeah, I noticed the same thing. Love the World Series in HD, but I'm seeing sporadic "snow" as you call it. I noticed it really bad when one of their backstop advertisements was white. The white looked really fuzzy.

Hey all - in my ongoing effort to beat a dead horse.....

I've had enough. I don't want to pay Cox another dime to use the Moto 641X. It is without a doubt the biggest POS I have used. I have two of them in the house, and I don't care that the S3 is $800. Hell, I spend more time babysitting the Moto that I'd probably -save- money.

Anyway, does anyone know of anybody using the S3 in Wichita with Cox and the dual cablecards? Given Cox's high level of attention to things like this <insert sarcasm>, I'm real curious to hear about someone's experience here locally.

For that matter, I may even just go back to OTA signals if I got the S3. Maybe I don't understand the process, but watching Cox surgically (with a chainsaw) inserting local commercials, I could just get the network feed itself and bypass Cox altogether.

Of course, I haven't even seen them at Best Buy yet, but I guess I could always order online. But I can't take another day of the 641X madness. We've been down this road before, but trust me, if you've never used a Tivo, you just wouldn't understand.

Thoughts?

I have 2 TiVo boxes and I understand.

Unfortunately, the Moto boxes are the best game in town to record HD (from cable). That's why I put up with the problems, plus the price is right. I have better things to do with my $800 (invest in HDDVD, XBOX360 goodies, trip for the family, etc.)

Actually, my Moto Series 3 box has been behaving well lately, sorta like Sawyer on Lost tonight! Sure, I have to slap it around once and awhile to reclaim hard drive space, but we've come to an understanding.

I can only wait for the day that TiVo comes to Cox (probably won't be for a while I would assume).

BTW, Lost on ABC looked incredible tonight! Wow!.

Oh, I agree it's the only game in town, or was, anyway. $800 is a lot to swallow, especially that I'm sort of, uh, in between jobs. But I've found somewhere that sells them for $679 shipped to my door, so that helps.

I think the final straw for me was football again last Sunday. I had paused a game that was in HD to go do something. Came back about 30 or 40 minutes later, and just happened to find that little dialog box had popped up saying it was going to record another show (and was counting down, 25, 24, 23, 22, etc).

Fortunately (or so I thought), I got there in time to cancel it. Woooo....close one. 20 seconds later - BAM. The channel changed anyway. So I missed 40 minutes of the game, and the icing on the cake is it was changing the channel to a series pass that I had told to only record three shows, and I already had 8 or 10 on the drive! ARGH.

Which is also one of my biggest complaints - I have, oh, let's say 25 series passes. They're all setup basically the same way, but for some reason, the Moto gets on some kick and starts recording tons of one show, even though it may be one of the lowest priority shows. My wife gets pissed, our bedroom Moto will record 200 Family Guys, though I tell it to keep no more than 10. Heh.

I've begun to treat it more like a 'digital VCR' than a TiVo knockoff. It can't be trusted, has glitches all over the place, and all in all is a real pain to use. If nothing else, I'd like to stick it to Cox. I called them the other day and discovered they have a 'retention dept'. Maybe that's common knowledge, but news to me. I was having broadband issues, and was thinking of switching to DSL (I don't do a lot of downloading, so speed is not of real great importance). Wow, they were quick to remedy my issue and get me to stay. I thought only DirecTv was that desperate.....

Anyway, speak up! I'm interested in hearing about Wichita and the S3.

My biggest complaint about the Moto boxes is the guide sucks compaired to the TiVo guide. They are also painfully slow. But it is cheap to own (rent) and does record in HD. Recording in HD is the only reason why I put up with the problems.

I know what ya mean..... that Moto box drives me crazy sometimes, but I just can't pony up $800 for that Tivo.... much rather have HD DVD or Blu-Ray. Also, I would be very concerned about the tech support you would get with those cable cards from Cox. Plus you are probably looking at $4 or $5 bucks a month for the cards, plus the $12.95 a month for the Tivo service..... so I guess I can live with the Moto for now........ and remember... "Cox is our friend in the digital age" :D

and remember... "Cox is our friend in the digital age" :D

LOL. Yeah, we're good buddies alright. Heh.

I did some reading over on tivocommunity.com, seems like some folks are getting anywhere from $1.99 per card up to $8.95 per card, though this also includes Cablevision and some other providers. Which is why I'd like to get Cox's prices. I guess I could call in, but I was trying to avoid a 20 minute phone call to find out they don't know.

I really don't watch a -lot- of TV, but when I do, I want everything working right, dang it! I've found I really miss thumbs up/down, too. My big concern is just those stinking cable cards. I just don't trust Cox to know the answer to these questions.

Of course, I also read on the Tivo board that Tivo invites you to conference them in on the phone call if your cable provider gives you some grief or doesn't understand the setup. I know that'd be hard to imagine with Cox......

I second all the comments on the moto boxes v. Tivo. On another issue, I am moving my office to an area that does not and will not be served by cox anytime in the near future (they say). My options are a satellite arrangement or AT&T's new Uverse. There is not a whole lot of info on it yet. It's up and running in San Antonio or Houston. Anybody with scuttlebutt on this new technology? I was told perhaps available 2nd-3rd Q 2007.

I second all the comments on the moto boxes v. Tivo. On another issue, I am moving my office to an area that does not and will not be served by cox anytime in the near future (they say). My options are a satellite arrangement or AT&T's new Uverse. There is not a whole lot of info on it yet. It's up and running in San Antonio or Houston. Anybody with scuttlebutt on this new technology? I was told perhaps available 2nd-3rd Q 2007.


Type AT&T and Uverse into Google to pull up their page. Can't get a channel lineup from that site, so not sure what they are offering. Their internet speeds are a joke, the fastest they have is 6MB?

Only can have 4 TVs hooked to their service, if you have more, you are out of luck. HD costs $10 per month. No prices on internet as I can tell, but their Elite package is 6MB/1MB. All channels are digital. Offer video on demand. Prices are from $74 to $114, plus extra for HD and movie channels. I just wish they would put their channel guide up so we can see what they are offering. Plus are their prices with the lowest interspeed? I would assume so, then their prices would go up alot to just hit 6MB download speeds.

CC from Cox are 1.99 each plus Digital Gateway fee of something like 4.95 per month. So you are looking at 9.95 or so a month.

Uverse seems pretty lame from what I can tell. Looks like I will be rolling with a satellite. Sure wish Cox would put in some lines up there! I'll miss their data service and tv service for my business. The alternatives are not very good.

I'm needing some advice.

We are considering moving to a new house that has so many trees that I probably won't be able to move my Dish Network service over there. The only other option is Cox. I know they don't offer as much HD and that's about all I watch.

I really like the Dish Network receivers, guides, and DVR services. Am I going to hate Cox bad enough that I should look for a different house?

My motto has always been "Don't be a "Cox Sucker".

I really like the Dish Network receivers, guides, and DVR services. Am I going to hate Cox bad enough that I should look for a different house?
My motto has always been "Don't be a "Cox Sucker".

Sounds like you've already made up your mind. And would you seriously not buy a certain house because of one provider over another? Sheesh. I thought I was a little extreme.....

Of course I'll say the Cox HD DVR sucketh. Do you want HD DVR? If not, than maybe it's not so bad, but I imagine the regular DVR sucks just as bad. Got the loot? Buy a Tivo Series 3.[BTW, regarding the Tivo S3, I spoke with Cox tonight, they told me (after some decent hold time to check with someone else) that they could supply the cable cards, they were $1.99 each per month, and it would require a service call - Digital Gateway is also still required].

Better call your realtor.

I've got a couple of questions:

1. If I were to buy a Motorola DVR from Ebay and use it in place of Cox's Motorola box, would it work?
The idea is that since I would own the box, I would be able to open it and put the hard drive in my PC to copy the videos directly, instead of having to stream them over firewire.


2. KScableguy said that Cox was simulcasting some of the analog channels. But when I go into the box's diagnostic menu and check the channel status, it says the channel type is Analog. If I were getting the digital simulcast, it should say Digital, shouldn't it? Could it be a problem with my box?

I've got a couple of questions:

1. If I were to buy a Motorola DVR from Ebay and use it in place of Cox's Motorola box, would it work?
The idea is that since I would own the box, I would be able to open it and put the hard drive in my PC to copy the videos directly, instead of having to stream them over firewire.


2. KScableguy said that Cox was simulcasting some of the analog channels. But when I go into the box's diagnostic menu and check the channel status, it says the channel type is Analog. If I were getting the digital simulcast, it should say Digital, shouldn't it? Could it be a problem with my box?


Ummm....NO IT WOULD NOT WORK!!!! I type in caps to try to save you money. There is long process to get the box to work right in the Cox system. So your self some time and money and forget about it.

Yes they were, but have stoped to fix some bugs and ect. I guess that's why they started with some of the crappy, unwatched channels first, to see how it would work.

I'm needing some advice.

We are considering moving to a new house that has so many trees that I probably won't be able to move my Dish Network service over there. The only other option is Cox. I know they don't offer as much HD and that's about all I watch.

I really like the Dish Network receivers, guides, and DVR services. Am I going to hate Cox bad enough that I should look for a different house?

My motto has always been "Don't be a "Cox Sucker".


Cox offers the same amount of HD content as DirectTV. Only channels you would gain would be TNT, and ESPN2, both which will be on Cox by early 2007 if not sooner. You'd also gain the Mark Coban HDNet Stations.

If you went with Dish Network you would gain many more HD channels, but look at what you are paying for and ask yourself are you really going to watch Animania HD? The stations they offer are pretty lame. Plus both charge you a monthly fee for HD content.

You also do not get our local broadcast stations in HD. So you would have to do OTA.

Cox is going to be adding TNT, ESPN2, and the Scripts networks (HGTV and Food Network) in HD soon. Might even add National Geographic too.

Cox is going to be adding TNT, ESPN2, and the Scripts networks (HGTV and Food Network) in HD soon. Might even add National Geographic too.


Hummm, that is interesting, I would be very happy to see that......

Cox is going to be adding TNT, ESPN2, and the Scripts networks (HGTV and Food Network) in HD soon. Might even add National Geographic too.

I agree, interesting, but so far it's always "coming soon". I'll believe it when I see it. I haven't seen them upgrade/add/fix anything to do with their crack-HD package since I've been a subscriber.

Do tell, your information is based on..........?

I agree, interesting, but so far it's always "coming soon". I'll believe it when I see it. I haven't seen them upgrade/add/fix anything to do with their crack-HD package since I've been a subscriber.

Do tell, your information is based on..........?


Crack-HD package? When did you subscribe? And what do you mean by Crack-HD?


Not telling how i know.....i have ways of finding the stuff out.....

Whoa, the food network...

By Crack-HD, I meant crack, like crack-HOUSE. And I've been subscribed long enough to get sick of the few interesting HD channels they have. UHD? MHD? INHD? crap crap crap.

Nonetheless, I'm waiting for a reason to stay with Cox. Tivo in late 2007? Sheeesh. I'm paying ridiculous amounts of money every month for a flaky broadband connection, choppy phone service and a handful of HD channels on the biggest POS DVR I could even dream up. I personally can't WAIT for AT&T services. Sure, they'll probably suck as bad as Cox, but at least I've got somewhere else to go and get screwed.

And BTW, it's 'Scripps'.

By Crack-HD, I meant crack, like crack-HOUSE.. :D

I think even the crack-houses have more HD channels than we do!! :D

Seriously though, Cox has to get more HD channels to get me to stay. The last time I called, the guy told me they didn't have any plans to add more HD channels, but he was trying to give me this crap about the On Demand service, which by the way isn't even in HD. Now granted that has been a few months back so maybe kscableguy knows more up to date info.
But I don't even think they have rolled out their On Demand stuff and that was supposed to be "very soon" and that was 3 months ago......
I will wait and see, I would be happy with ESPN 2 and TNT and even HGTV, however I would really like to see NFL Network..... I will keep my fingers crossed.

Do tell, your information is based on..........?


FILTHYC, KSCableGuy is a Cox Mole, I just know it. I've suggested it before. He always seems to be in the know about what's up over at Cox. A mole set up here to keep us anticipating new HD channels, new services, and other stuff to keep us from switching to another provider?

Of course, I could just as likely be way off the mark and have no idea what I'm talking about.

I guess I've never taken the time (nor do I want to) to analyze all CableGuys' statements to see how many (if any) have turned out accurate.

Nonetheless, KSCableGuy, keep the rumors/insight coming. Keeps it interesting anyhow...

That's kinda my point - what's the track record here? As far as I can tell, there isn't one. I can make up all kinds of fun stuff (you did hear that Cox is going to start including broadband at no charge with HD service, didn't you?), but until I see these 'predictions' come true, it's laughable at best. Of course, even a blind squirrel.......

I just seriously doubt a local Cox 'insider' is going to 1) actually know what the Cox corporation is planning on doing, and 2) post it on this forum. It's an obvious prediction (Cox is surely trying to add more HD programming, figure out the most popular channels we -don't- have, and voila! You're an insider.)

I think the delay is Cox trying to figure out what to call the next assortment of HD channels so they can charge more for it. Hmmm..... SUPER HD Variety Pack! $8.95 per month to watch Rachel Ray. Which I might pay for...... Heh.

I enjoy reading his posts. I'd rather everybody not trash him because I'm afraid he'll stop posting. If I recall correctly, he's called several things correctly in the past. I believe he said the Emmis NBC affiliates would be added in time for the olympics, among other things. He also correctly called an update to the Motorola DVRs that was coming out in October...guess what? One night my box rebooted and the versions changed.

KSCableguy is the real deal. If you don't believe him that's fine, just leave him alone because some of us do believe him and want to hear what he has to say.

I also appreciate the posts from KSCableguy and I've found them to be helpful and insightful, and they give me hope. The guy is a valuable asset to the forum.

'nuff said

He also correctly called an update to the Motorola DVRs that was coming out in October...guess what? One night my box rebooted and the versions changed.

KSCableguy is the real deal. If you don't believe him that's fine, just leave him alone because some of us do believe him and want to hear what he has to say.

Again, even a blind squirrel gets an acorn. Nobody's bashing/trashing anyone, I'm just questioning the 'inside information'. Updates to the DVR are hardly top-secret. Adding numerous HD channels is.

Give me a date to expect it, and we'll see what happens.

By Crack-HD, I meant crack, like crack-HOUSE. And I've been subscribed long enough to get sick of the few interesting HD channels they have. UHD? MHD? INHD? crap crap crap.

Nonetheless, I'm waiting for a reason to stay with Cox. Tivo in late 2007? Sheeesh. I'm paying ridiculous amounts of money every month for a flaky broadband connection, choppy phone service and a handful of HD channels on the biggest POS DVR I could even dream up. I personally can't WAIT for AT&T services. Sure, they'll probably suck as bad as Cox, but at least I've got somewhere else to go and get screwed.

And BTW, it's 'Scripps'.


Funny you say crap, because if you look at what Direct TV offers for an extra $10 bucks a month, you get the same stuff. As I've pointed out before, they have ESPN2, TNT, Bravo and Mark Cuban's stuff, that's the only difference. You don't get any local's in HD, so no ABC, NBC, CBS, or FOX. You get no MHD, InHD 1 or 2 or Universal HD. I enjoy MHD and InHD very much as they show alot of "live" concerts in HD and I'm a music lover.

So once Cox add's ESPN2, TNT, and the Scripps Netorks, you have more HD channels then any others. Even Uverse doesn't even have HD, at all.

I could care less about the NFL Network in HD, as they don't show much, expcept highlight shows and men in suites telling my why my team won or loss. I don't care what these experts think. And, yes I know the NFL Network is showing a live game each week starting Thanksgiving, but good luck watching that on cable. Better find yourself a bar now, as it's highly unlikely the games will be shown on Cox. NFL Network is trying to break it's signed contract by not allowing Cox to show the games, unless they pay more money for the rights. Not just here, but in Green Bay and across the country.

Not sure what you want as HD service, as you've never posted what you want, just that you don't like what you have.

[QUOTE=moreinc]FILTHYC, KSCableGuy is a Cox Mole...QUOTE]


Not a mole, don't work for them, never have.

Don't care who you go with for service. Go to dish, go to AT&T when it arrives. There is a message board for Uverse users, just google Uverse users. I like some of the stuff AT&T is trying, but too many drawbacks at first (only 4 sets, only 1 dvr, no HD, and interspeeds are not faster than Cox). I do like the fact the DVR can record 4 streams at once, but I'm wondering if you can watch anything on your other TV's if this happens.

http://www.gribblenation.net/nflmaps/

nice link to see what games are being aired in the different parts of the US

[QUOTE=moreinc]FILTHYC, KSCableGuy is a Cox Mole...QUOTE]


Not a mole, don't work for them, never have.

.

Humm, must own some stock then or something ;)
One reason I have looked at DirecTV is the Sunday Ticket... in HD, all of those wonderful football games in HD, however it is pricey. Locals will be available in HD here in Wichita soon so that is a moot point...... And they also have On Demand HD movies.
However I will say this for Cox, I have had very little trouble with their service, and like I said before, if they do add those channels I think I will be very satisfied for awhile, until the next great thing comes along..... :)

Not sure what you want as HD service, as you've never posted what you want, just that you don't like what you have.

Well, not being an insider, I have no idea what else Cox -could- broadcast. I just know what they -do- broadcast is very limited......

Funny, I just got my cable bill today, and I just can't believe I'm stupid/gullable/desperate enough to pay Cox's prices. I have:

Limited Basic
Expanded Basic
Digital Gateway
Variety Tier
HBO
Cox DVR Service (x2)
Digital Converter-DVR/HD (x2)
Cinemax (no charge)
Showtime (No charge)
FCC Fee


All of this is $94.51. $94.51!

Sigh. Almost a hundred bucks a month, $1200 a year for this 'service'. I loves me some HD, but WOW, I guess I've never realized how much it all is. Especially when I have a perfectly good OTA HD antenna up in the attic from my DirecTV days. Maybe Tivo wouldn't be so bad after all.....

Oh, and while I'm at it, here's a quote from Cox regarding the cable cards and the Series 3:

Them: There is a one-time $49.95 charge for each cable card installed and a
$1.99 monthly charge per card.

Me: Seriously - $100 to have a tech stick two cards in two slots and call
you with the numbers?

Them: That is correct 49.95 per card. The TIVO is no different than two TV's.
Two TV's two cable cards two install charges.

Seems the writings on the wall for a disgruntled Cox customer like me. Of course, this is the HDTV forum, not the Cox HDTV forum, so I digress. I'll come back and bitch some more when I get my OTA/Series 3 hooked up. ;)

Wow.... talk about easy money....
Lets us know when you decide to get the series 3, I am somewhat interested in that... Good Luck!!

This has been an interesting discussion, for sure.

KSCableGuy, I meant no disrespect when I called you out as a mole. It really was more of a compliment that you always seem to have information. I never really paid much attention to the rate at which your information turns out accurate, as I just enjoy pondering what Cox might have coming down the digital pipeline.

Honestly, I think Cox is a bit pricey, but I like the fact that I don't have to buy equipment, they've always had great customer service, and I've never had problems with their service.

I did threaten to leave them and go another direction for my Internet, and they dropped my fee. Won't say how much I'm paying, but let's just say I'm getting 6-megs for less than I used to pay way back when for dialup. :-) Digital Cable, on the other hand, is a different issue...

I think I've figured out what I want to do as well. I think I'll give up HD-DVR's for now, buy a cheap-o Series 2 Tivo with extended basic, and use my OTA for HD stuff. I think I can save quite a bit, and I can quit agonizing over HD-DVR's for awhile. Like how it kept freezing up at the beginning of The Office tonight. Lovely.

I mention this because I too figured Cox would try and pony up something to retain me. It'd have to be a heckuva discount, because at this point it's really more about my dislike for the Moto than it is the fees.

Honestly, I think Cox is a bit pricey, but I like the fact that I don't have to buy equipment, they've always had great customer service, and I've never had problems with their service.


IMO, they're customer service is crap. One of the biggest reasons I dumped them.

Dave G.

Just bought a home in Wichita and was curious if it is possible to get the major networks over the air in HD. I think I am leaning toward Dish Network, so I'm curious if I can get the locals for free. Thanks in advance for any help.

Just bought a home in Wichita and was curious if it is possible to get the major networks over the air in HD. I think I am leaning toward Dish Network, so I'm curious if I can get the locals for free. Thanks in advance for any help.

Very likely. I get all of them with a simple set top antenna on the southeast side of Wichita.

Dave G.

I live just southwest of Andover and get them all with no problems. Sorry, though, I don't remember which brand of antenna I was using.

I picked one up at Radio Shack that is 75 ohm and hd capable. I will be using it on a Sharp Aquos. I'm sure this is a stupid question but which coax connection do I use on the back? I would assume that I would use the digital? What are the channels for the HD stations? Thanks for the quick respsonses.

I picked one up at Radio Shack that is 75 ohm and hd capable. I will be using it on a Sharp Aquos. I'm sure this is a stupid question but which coax connection do I use on the back? I would assume that I would use the digital? What are the channels for the HD stations? Thanks for the quick respsonses.


Unfortunately it's not that simple, unless your TV has a built-in High-Def tuner. I was using a Samsung HD tuner. The antenna went into the tuner, then into the TV (or receiver, whatever).

Unfortunately it's not that simple, unless your TV has a built-in High-Def tuner. I was using a Samsung HD tuner. The antenna went into the tuner, then into the TV (or receiver, whatever).

The TV that I will be hooking it up to has a built in tuner, so I would assume that I don't need anything else?

As long as it's a built-in HD tuner, you should be good to go. I'm not familiar with your TV or it's inputs, but it should be as simple as attaching the coax to the appropriate input......

How lame is KWCH?

Once again today at the beginning of the football games they had the rear channels fed to the main channels.

Now the late game they are showing in SD when it is in HD. Luckily I can see it in HD on DISH network.

Jeff

Yeah -- it's bad enough the Chiefs were not available in HD, then to have CBS (local) not switching the HD on for the late game that IS being broadcast in HD. Idiots.

How lame is KWCH?

Don't get me started. I emailed them to complain a few weeks ago, and basically got the toddler explanation of how they have no control over what CBS airs, blah blah blah.

I don't know enough about it, but I thought basically -all- NFL games were broadcast now in HD? I thought D*TV was all HD on the Sunday Ticket?

Oh well. I just cancelled my HD-DVR's Friday and got my OTA HD box going. Worked great for the -amazing- Redskins game (did you SEE that ending???). But yeah, I switched over to KWCH, saw the final minutes of Miami, then KABLOOEY! SD Steelers.

Of course, considering KWCH in general (local news, CBS shows, etc), it doesn't surprise me. I've always considered KWCH the "old persons" network. Give me FOX anyday (for NFL, anyway.....)

I don't know enough about it, but I thought basically -all- NFL games were broadcast now in HD? I thought D*TV was all HD on the Sunday Ticket?


No, CBS only has 3 games a week in HD and FOX has 6. Rarely does FOX have 7 games, so nearly all of theirs are in HD.

I don't know how they (CBS) can get away with not getting more of their games in HD. It seems like the NFL would have something to say about it, but it was the same way last year.

Jeff

How lame is KWCH?

Once again today at the beginning of the football games they had the rear channels fed to the main channels.

Now the late game they are showing in SD when it is in HD. Luckily I can see it in HD on DISH network.

Jeff

So does everyone experience the sound problems with KWCH? It happens all the time to me, both during the NFL and during the SEC football games.

Jason

Try reboot your Cox Reciever Box. A few days ago I had the audio go out regularly on several other stations, then I reboot my HD DVR Receive Box and fixed it.

Try reboot your Cox Reciever Box. A few days ago I had the audio go out regularly on several other stations, then I reboot my HD DVR Receive Box and fixed it.

I should have been more specific. I am a DTV customer and I am using a Terk antenna to get the local HD channels. I have only noticed the sound issues with KWCH and not the other stations so I am thinking it is a problem with the station and not my reception.

I have a standard TV and have the Cox HD DVR box. Normally when watching something that is in HD or Wide Screen there are black bars on the normal view TV, but this broadcast is showing the full picture and is distorted. The part of the picture I see is the blown part in the middle and much of the graphics are off screen.

Called COX and the guy did not know what I was talking about. Anyway while on the phone with him the picture is now ok, full screen with no distortion, so must have been with the head feed at VERSUS?

Called COX and the guy did not know what I was talking about. Anyway while on the phone with him the picture is now ok, full screen with no distortion, so must have been with the head feed at VERSUS?

I would have to say it was on VERSUS end. Next time have the person you talk to get off their butt and walk to one of the many TV's they have in the Call Center and turn to that station to see what type of picture they are getting on their end.

Also if you have prob. noticed on SpikeTV and A&E the screen goes black and "Poor Signal" pops up on the screen. That's a problem with the feed also, and nothing wrong with the cable signal or your TV.

ONDemand is in Beta testing with Cox Employees at the moment.

ONDemand is in Beta testing with Cox Employees at the moment.

I noticed on my box, I can click the OnDemand button and it takes me to Channel 1 with what looks like PPV Preview on it. I feel like I'm being teased... I JUST WANT MY ONDEMAND!!!

Speaking of Cox, does anyone have this problem: The interactive channels that show you six news, sports, or kids channels at the same time... On my TV (set to 1080i or 720p), I get a "non supported mode" error from my TV when trying to view those channels.

I have an HD-DVR 6416 (HDMI) from Cox. The interesting this is when I connect to my HDTV that has HDMI input, these channels show up fine. But on my 'main' HDTV that doesn't have HDMI (I use component), I get this error.

I know this is "off-topic," but anyone else had any problems with cox's interactive tv channels on their HDTV?

That reminds me of a question I was going to ask. I have a 6412 (I think) with DVI output. I only have it hooked up by component connections. Is this unit supposed to have PIP? It has pip buttons on the remote, but when I press on, no PIP is displayed. However, if I press swap, the channel changes as though it did the swap. I haven't taken the time to hook it up via DVI to see if it worked that way.

Thanks,
Jeff

Watched ABC and they turned up the quality during the KState game. Virtually no compression artifacts. It looked awesome. Todays Chiefs game is in SD again. God I hate CBS.

FYI:

"The decision is not ours to make. CBS makes the decision which games to broadcast in HD. The reason is that the CBS Broadcast Center cannot handle more than 4 HD feeds at any one time right now. They are working to upgrade but it will take time. It’s really luck of the draw on which games are shown in HD and which are not. If you would like to contact CBS Sports their viewer number is 212-975-4775."

That reminds me of a question I was going to ask. I have a 6412 (I think) with DVI output. I only have it hooked up by component connections. Is this unit supposed to have PIP? It has pip buttons on the remote, but when I press on, no PIP is displayed. However, if I press swap, the channel changes as though it did the swap. I haven't taken the time to hook it up via DVI to see if it worked that way.

Thanks,
Jeff

PIP doesn't work, not activated by Motorola or the software vendor. Don't hold your breath, as the box has been out for 3 years and all the remotes issued have had the PIP button. Also, you've probably noticed that the inputs on the box don't work either. So you can't hook your XBox game system up to the DVR if your TV only has one set of inputs.

I know this is "off-topic," but anyone else had any problems with cox's interactive tv channels on their HDTV?


No problem on my end, but then again I don't watch those use those channels. And I'm only useing HDMI from box to Sony TV.

I noticed on my box, I can click the OnDemand button and it takes me to Channel 1 with what looks like PPV Preview on it. I feel like I'm being teased... I JUST WANT MY ONDEMAND!!!



That is the channel the ON DEMAND will be served through.

Watched ABC and they turned up the quality during the KState game. Virtually no compression artifacts. It looked awesome. Todays Chiefs game is in SD again. God I hate CBS.

FYI:

"The decision is not ours to make. CBS makes the decision which games to broadcast in HD. The reason is that the CBS Broadcast Center cannot handle more than 4 HD feeds at any one time right now. They are working to upgrade but it will take time. It’s really luck of the draw on which games are shown in HD and which are not. If you would like to contact CBS Sports their viewer number is 212-975-4775."

The game may not have been in HD, but KWCH was not passing the signal straight to us because of the grey bars making the game look worse than it had to. If they were passing a straight signal (which they should have) we would have black bars.

Help me out if I am wrong, but don't we always get grey bars with 612 with SD broadcasts? I also did not know that grey bars meant they were not passing a straight signal. So does that translate into KWCH never passes a straight signal? What does it mean that they are not passing a straight signal? Personally I hate the grey bars from a picture qualtiy standpoint. I think at some point in this thread we've beat that horse pretty hard already though. Forgive me for starting a grey v. black war if that comes to pass.

Help me out if I am wrong, but don't we always get grey bars with 612 with SD broadcasts? I also did not know that grey bars meant they were not passing a straight signal. So does that translate into KWCH never passes a straight signal? What does it mean that they are not passing a straight signal? Personally I hate the grey bars from a picture qualtiy standpoint. I think at some point in this thread we've beat that horse pretty hard already though. Forgive me for starting a grey v. black war if that comes to pass.

Anything that comes from CBS and formated 4x3 will have black bars. Watch Survivor on Thursday. It looks pretty good (not HD but good) and it has black bars.

When KWCH runs local programming (news, local breaks, syndicated shows) they use grey bars. In fact, if you look closely they have grey bars and black bars... so any so called benefit of the grey bars is gone.

I just checked and the soap Bold and the Beautiful is on right now and has grey bars. I suspect KWCH didn't flip the appropriate HD switch because of the newscast that airs at noon.

KWCH has problems flipping the switch a lot. After the Chiefs game Sunday, they switched to another game (San Diego, I believe). This game was broadcast in HD, but not shown that way on KWCH (gray bars present). On DISH, I was able to see the end of that game in HD, so I know some stations got it right.

I prefer gray to black bars, but I like being able to tell if it is local vs. national 4x3 by the difference. KSAS does (or at least used to) the same thing. Gray when local, black when from FOX.

Jeff

Besides the gray vs. blacks bars in determining if you're watching a "straight" HDTV feed from the network or a local station upconversion, your ears can also tell by the type of audio feed you're receiving as well.

For example, on both KSAS (Fox) and KAKE (ABC), whenever they're passing the network HD feed, the audio is ALWAYS Dolby Digital 5.1, even if the show happens to be fed in Dolby Digital 2.0. KWCH and KSNW have to turn on the Dolby 5.1 audio, which has we all know has been a problem in the past for KWCH, in particular.

So, just to reiterate for KAKE and KSAS: Dolby Digital 5.1 audio ON=Network HD Feed pass through; Dolby 2.0 ON=Local station network upconversion...

Cox and the NFL Network have come to an agreement and Cox will air all 8 NFL Network games LIVE. Plus all 8 games will be in HD on ch 623. Not sure if this is just HD for those 8 games or if Cox is adding the NFL Network in HD.

Cox and the NFL Network have come to an agreement and Cox will air all 8 NFL Network games LIVE. Plus all 8 games will be in HD on ch 623. Not sure if this is just HD for those 8 games or if Cox is adding the NFL Network in HD.


Well it looks like Christmas came early this year!! :D Does that mean that the Chiefs Broncos game will be in HD on Thanksgiving Night??

Cox and the NFL Network have come to an agreement and Cox will air all 8 NFL Network games LIVE. Plus all 8 games will be in HD on ch 623.

Cox is a big company. Does this include Cox in Salina?

Jeff

Cox and the NFL Network have come to an agreement and Cox will air all 8 NFL Network games LIVE. Plus all 8 games will be in HD on ch 623. Not sure if this is just HD for those 8 games or if Cox is adding the NFL Network in HD.

It's about time we get some exciting news out of Cox's HD lineup. Hope it's permanent.

Now if they'll just get their OnDemand service going, I'll be good. Well, at least or awhile... :-)

Cox is a big company. Does this include Cox in Salina?

Jeff

I would assume so. If I find out otherwise, I'll let you know.

Yes the Thanksgiving KC v Denver game will be in HD on ch. 623

Now if they'll just get their OnDemand service going, I'll be good. Well, at least or awhile... :-)


Don't hold your breath....too many bugs right now....I would guess public launch coming Jan 2007, but if things get smoothed out sooner, then sooner the launch in Wichita.

I would assume so. If I find out otherwise, I'll let you know.

Yes the Thanksgiving KC v Denver game will be in HD on ch. 623

That's great news!! Thanks for the inside tip KScableguy!

Regarding NFL Network on Cox HD 623...
I spoke with a Cox rep today who told me that they would NOT be adding the NFL Network HD to their HD lineup; however, they WILL be broadcasting all NFL Network NFL Games on channel 623 in High Def. Just the games, no other NFL Network material.

Thought everyone who has Cox HD would be pleased to hear it.

Regarding NFL Network on Cox HD 623...
I spoke with a Cox rep today who told me that they would NOT be adding the NFL Network HD to their HD lineup; however, they WILL be broadcasting all NFL Network NFL Games on channel 623 in High Def. Just the games, no other NFL Network material.

Thought everyone who has Cox HD would be pleased to hear it.

So, what package do you have to subscribe to in order to get these games? I only have basic cable, so I don't get channels like Universal HD, INHD1, INHD2, or MHD. I just get the Locals in HD (no CW or MyTV in Salina)

Jeff

So, what package do you have to subscribe to in order to get these games? I only have basic cable, so I don't get channels like Universal HD, INHD1, INHD2, or MHD. I just get the Locals in HD (no CW or MyTV in Salina)

Jeff

If you get Cox Standard with an HD box, you would recieve all HD content provided by Cox, except for the premium movie channels. Add the Sports and Info tier to get the NFL Network in SD 24/7.

Yes, the NFL Network will only be in HD for the games only.

Ok, I know that the Chiefs game wasn't in HD, but what's with the gray bars on KWCH during the game. Doesn't this mean that KWCH didn't pass the network signal on? After the game was over and they had switched to anohter SD game, I did some vid-caps to demonstrate what another channel with the same game looked like. What gives?


http://piii.dnsalias.com:81/nfl/wbbm.jpg
from WBBM Chicago

http://piii.dnsalias.com:81/nfl/kwch.jpg
from KWCH

Ok, I know that the Chiefs game wasn't in HD, but what's with the gray bars on KWCH during the game. Doesn't this mean that KWCH didn't pass the network signal on? After the game was over and they had switched to anohter SD game, I did some vid-caps to demonstrate what another channel with the same game looked like. What gives?

I have been frustrated with CBS all NFL Season.

-- CBS National for not having the Chiefs in HD very much at all. I think last week was the 4th week in a row in SD -- which, by the way, looks horrible on a widescreen HD television. Come on, invest in more equipment like Fox, who features almost every game in HD.

-- And CBS Local for really just not caring or being too stupid to man the HD Switch. I understand that they cannot do anything about which games are broadcast in HD, but on more than one Sunday I've noticed they don't switch to the HD feed once the early game is over and the 2nd game is in HD.

All around, it just seems like Fox gets it and CBS doesn't. Maybe they should give up their NFL license to a network dedicated to High-Def broacasts.

In general though, across all networks, it seems that there is a general lack of regard for high definition programming. Like they want to talk it up, but they really don't put their programming where their mouth is.

Maybe it's just me, but another thing that frustrates me is that the Eagle doesn't list which games are in HD. Seems to me that they would do their readers a good service to just note which games are in HD. Again, it's a general lack of care, I think. They'll use space in the technology section to tout the wonders of HD, but then not carry it through to where they're discussing specific programming.

Alrightee now, I think I've rambled enough here...

Maybe it's just me, but another thing that frustrates me is that the Eagle doesn't list which games are in HD. Seems to me that they would do their readers a good service to just note which games are in HD.

Go here http://www.gribblenation.net/nflmaps/
It will tell you what games we are getting and if it's in HD or SD. Don't need the Eagle.

Go here http://www.gribblenation.net/nflmaps/
It will tell you what games we are getting and if it's in HD or SD. Don't need the Eagle.

Great - THANKS! Appreciate the resource. I never relied on the Eagle for the info, I just got annoyed they didn't list the HD.

This chart allows me to go back over all the games this season and prove my point that CBS has SQUAT in HD compared to FOX.

Thanks again, CableGuy.

Has anybody on this board called KWCH to complain about the dude on the HD switch? I tried to call on a Sunday and the phones are not answered. It was a fortunate thing! I noticed it with US Open Tennis as well. Is there anybody with technical insight to explain to us why there even needs to be a manual switch?
Surely, we do have the technology.

Oscar Goldman

Has anybody on this board called KWCH to complain about the dude on the HD switch? I tried to call on a Sunday and the phones are not answered. It was a fortunate thing! I noticed it with US Open Tennis as well. Is there anybody with technical insight to explain to us why there even needs to be a manual switch?
Surely, we do have the technology.

Oscar Goldman

I have never called KWCH, but have called KSN when they had audio problems durring a NASCAR race. The guy that answered gave me some stupid answer that they have no control, but I insisted they had control and didn't throw the "switch". After some more words said, he put me on hold and transfered me to another person. I repeated myself to him and he said they would look into and get it fixed soon. Not more than 2 mins later the audio was good to go. So the first person you talk to will be some Min Wage worker who could careless if you get the best picture/audio, so just keep bitching til you get the right person.

Chiefs-Broncos on NFL Network HD on Cox 623

Hey guys.... Is it just me, or are you seeing lots of pixelization during the game? It just seems to me like the HD broadcasts from the other Networks are really good, and this broadcast is having some issues.

Maybe I'm just looking at the broadcast with an extra-critical eye because I'm aware that it's their first live NFL broadcast - and it's in HD.

Anyone else have any early thoughts on the HD broadcast?

EDIT: The PQ has improved as the game went on. Now in the early 3rd quarter I'm not noticing the pixelization much at all.

same for me, 2nd half good, pretty bush league that halftime analysis was 4:3 though. and Gumble is no Al Michaels or Joe Buck. thanks 2 cox for making the hd happen!

same for me, 2nd half good, pretty bush league that halftime analysis was 4:3 though. and Gumble is no Al Michaels or Joe Buck. thanks 2 cox for making the hd happen!


I'm just glad the Chiefs were FINALLY back in High-Def after several weeks of having to watch them in Low-Def. THANKS COX for the simulcast!

Chiefs get one more on NFL Network HD, I think Dec. 23rd against Oakland. The NFL Network Crew should have all the broadcast/HD kinks worked out by then!

Chiefs-Broncos on NFL Network HD on Cox 623

Hey guys.... Is it just me, or are you seeing lots of pixelization during the game? It just seems to me like the HD broadcasts from the other Networks are really good, and this broadcast is having some issues.

Maybe I'm just looking at the broadcast with an extra-critical eye because I'm aware that it's their first live NFL broadcast - and it's in HD.

Anyone else have any early thoughts on the HD broadcast?

EDIT: The PQ has improved as the game went on. Now in the early 3rd quarter I'm not noticing the pixelization much at all.

This was an issue on DTV as well. It did seem to even out after halftime. All in all it was a great game and I am glad it was carried in HD.

OT: OnDemand service?

I've started noticing Cox's OnDemand service being advertised... Anyone (KScableguy?) spoken with Cox about when it might be available?

Back on topic... I have a QAM Tuner on one of my HDTVs, and every time I scan it it doesn't seem to pick up the digital channels... It picks up a few of them, but others are not picked up. It should be noted that I can manually tune in the channels and they come in perfect that way, but the scan will not lock in on them.

Alright, since no one had an answer for me about Cox's OnDemand service, I went ahead and called Cox. They told me "by the end of the year." So I keep waiting..........

Does anyone have an answer to my question regarding the QAM tuner not picking up digital channels when it auto-scans - even though I can manually tune them in just fine?

Alright, since no one had an answer for me about Cox's OnDemand service, I went ahead and called Cox. They told me "by the end of the year." So I keep waiting..........

Does anyone have an answer to my question regarding the QAM tuner not picking up digital channels when it auto-scans - even though I can manually tune them in just fine?


End of the year is probably a good bet. They wanted to launch right before Thanksgiving, but still too many problems. Interface is extreamly slow. I would say by X-mas, but maybe not til after New Years.

No clue on the QAM tuner. Your TV is skipping them for some reason. Can't you just manual add the channels?

Thanks to KWCH for not showing any shows tonight in HD. Called and all I got from Cindy (I'm guessing the news reader lady) was she would talk to the guys in the control room to see if it can be fixed. Gotta love them.

Yeah I noticed that too, KWCH and their weather closings suck. At least KAKE switched back to the HD signal for Day Break (although without the proper sound for about 10 minutes.).

Wondering how you were going to watch the KU game this weekend as it was only going to be on ESPN-U only? Well no worries, as Cox will be adding ESPN-U on December 1st in Kansas. So no need to worry about missing the KU or WSU games this Saturday or in the future.

Wondering how you were going to watch the KU game this weekend as it was only going to be on ESPN-U only? Well no worries, as Cox will be adding ESPN-U on December 1st in Kansas. So no need to worry about missing the KU or WSU games this Saturday or in the future.


That's GREAT news, cableguy. It really sucks that Cox has to carry 32 different ESPN networks for us sports junkies to get all the games we want to watch.

Now, if DirecTV would just give up it's license to NFL Sunday Ticket...

Now, if DirecTV would just give up it's license to NFL Sunday Ticket...


That will not happen for at least 10 years. It's all DirecTV has going for them. Cable providers tried to buy the contract but DirecTV just kept meeting the price to a point where Cable providers were not going to be able to make a profit or sell the product at a decent price. Look at how DirecTV charges for HD content and all the other special stuff that use to be all one price.

I bought a samsung set top box at BB to try and recieve cable hdtv. It is picking up some of cox's channels but they kind of skip and and dont work like they should. I only have basic cable channels 2-74. Is it possible to just use cable and this box to get some hdtv or do I have to upgrade to a hd cable program and use cox's cable box?

I bought a samsung set top box at BB to try and recieve cable hdtv. It is picking up some of cox's channels but they kind of skip and and dont work like they should. I only have basic cable channels 2-74. Is it possible to just use cable and this box to get some hdtv or do I have to upgrade to a hd cable program and use cox's cable box?


What do you mean a Samsung Set Top Box??? Do you mean a Samsung TV with a QAM tuner built-in? If it's a STB and can decode QAM channels, it will de-code the unencrypted QAM channels that Cox sends out, only Local channels in HD.

But if the channels are 'skipping', that means your signal levels are off. Not sure if a tech would be sent out to fix a problem for channels you are subscribed. You'll have to call in and tell them your problem.

As stated in previous posts (could have done a search), Cox does send out some HD channels and a few digital channels unencrypted and a QAM tuner will pick them up. You don't have to upgrade to HD cable to get these unencrypted channels. Others have posted a list of "open" digital channels, again do a search.