I watched my Chiefs go 7-0 in analog last night. Thanks WOI, you suck.

I need to find a company in Des Moines that will install some kind of ota HD antenna outside. I get awful, spotty reception with ALL the ones I've tried (terks, rs, attic-type, & some real monster sized). Is there a local co. that installs ota hd antenna's and can get them to work?

bb offers an atenna install

-Andrew

So does American

Terks dont work well, I know, have one!!!

I was listening to KXNO (sports radio) today during Steve Deace's show. In the last hour every Friday he gives his Loser of the Week. This week's Loser of the Week....WOI for their poor programming choices. Apparently Saturday they have chosen to air Oklahoma State versus Texas A&M, two teams few around here follow. He then added that he wants his damn Monday Night Football in HD too! I was laughing my ass off, but it's nice to know someone in the media is on our side.

Watched my Vikes go 6-2 last Sunday in HD. The outcome sucked but the HD was splendid!

Ultimate Electronics also offers antenna installs.

The Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team will be playing Louisville on November 29th on HDNet! :)

Hope it's not blacked-out or anything!

thnaks for the "heads up", I'll try to catch that game.

Well,

I GET WOI IN DIGITAL!!! Well, I finally broke down and bought an antenna, LOL, a channel master 3016. I get a signal strength of 94-98 for KCCI and 96-100 for WHO on my DTC-100. And the BIG news, for WOI, a signal strength of 26-28, right here in Grimes. Which means no picture!!!

So, when will they be running with more power?

Mark

I actually get a choppy pic on WOI, and sig strength of about 50... but it not HD anyway... is it? Just digital... right? WOI stinks, they should boost rthe signal and give us Mon Night Footbal in HD like the rest of the civilized world!

OK, anyone else in this area get a survey from DirecTV about being a beta tester for their HD Tivo?

From their questions, I gather they are looking for a geographically diverse test group.

I haven't seen this mentioned on the big boards yet. Hate to ask anywhere else and get so off topic that you can't focus.

Haven't heard anything about this, but I'd be VERY interested in participating!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Wish you all the best! I'm watching KCCI, (Dallas vs Dolphins) in HD!!!! Sorry I'm so excited, I work so much, don't get to watch to much tv.

So, who else is watching the game?

I hear that WOI is now on Dish. Is that true?

Shawn

I don't know that Shawn, good question. They say they are up and broadcasting digital channel 59, I can't get them, but they're only sd anyway.

Originally posted by mtmdesmoines
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Wish you all the best! I'm watching KCCI, (Dallas vs Dolphins) in HD!!!! Sorry I'm so excited, I work so much, don't get to watch to much tv.

So, who else is watching the game?

Did you notice KCCI cut the high def feed before the game was over?
What's up with that?

Thanks,
Bryan

Bryan,

??? I didn't notice that. I watched the game for the most part, until say the last minute.

Originally posted by mtmdesmoines
Bryan,

??? I didn't notice that. I watched the game for the most part, until say the last minute.

Yeah it was a blow out and not that important but it was switched right at 6:30. What happens if a close game goes over the allotted time period?
I fired off an email to the general manager of KCCI. Will see what comes of it.
Bryan

Is anyone still getting FOX digital? I am no longer getting 17-1.
I also can't seem to pick up 13-1 or 13-2 anymore either.
8-1 is reading 100% so I am pretty sure the antenna is working and pointed correctly.

Thanks,
Bryan

Originally posted by btw2003
Yeah it was a blow out and not that important but it was switched right at 6:30. What happens if a close game goes over the allotted time period?
I fired off an email to the general manager of KCCI. Will see what comes of it.
Bryan
Bryan, what you probably saw was the control room taking control getting ready for the news. The switcher in the master control area and news production aren't capable of passing through the HD signal. The production department likes to have control of the station especially when special events go long so that they can dump out of the coverage as soon as possible and then jump into the news. Obviously, tonight you were able to notice the difference.

You'd be able to see the same thing if you watch on any other night right before the 10:00 news. All the other CBS HD shows don't have squeezeback credits, but the one before the news does...that's because news production is in control of the on-air signal. (I think that should make sense anyway...)

btw2003,

I haven't been getting 17-1 for a while also. I am still receiving channel 13 and 8's digital feeds, but 17's not there. I haven't moved my antenna or changed any equipment.

5-1 now shows up on my channel guide but the best I ever got was a signal strength of 6 one day with no picture.

Originally posted by kc0bsn
Bryan, what you probably saw was the control room taking control getting ready for the news. The switcher in the master control area and news production aren't capable of passing through the HD signal. The production department likes to have control of the station especially when special events go long so that they can dump out of the coverage as soon as possible and then jump into the news. Obviously, tonight you were able to notice the difference.

You'd be able to see the same thing if you watch on any other night right before the 10:00 news. All the other CBS HD shows don't have squeezeback credits, but the one before the news does...that's because news production is in control of the on-air signal. (I think that should make sense anyway...)

Thanks for the detailed explanation. But I am going to be pissed if it is a close game. Why can't they just throw the switch ASAP AFTER the game is over?
Bryan

PS
eagerly awaiting the general manager's response.

Originally posted by clones83
btw2003,

I haven't been getting 17-1 for a while also. I am still receiving channel 13 and 8's digital feeds, but 17's not there. I haven't moved my antenna or changed any equipment.

5-1 now shows up on my channel guide but the best I ever got was a signal strength of 6 one day with no picture.

Thanks for the confirmation. I still can't get 13-1, did they reduce the power of their digital channel or something? I am about 25 miles from the transmitting towers. Also I heard a rumor FOX 17-1 was transmitting from downtown instead of the usual place in Alleman (SP?). Any truth to that rumor?

Is Fox updating their equipment? Does anyone know how long 17-1 has been down? Hoping they are just updating to at least pass through the "widescreen" feed.

I have NFL Sunday Ticket and they blackout the FOX games available on the local channels. Even though our local FOX can't/doesn't provide "enhanced resolution".

Thanks,
Bryan

Yes, I can confirm that WOI is live on Dish Network.

Hi everyone,
I am thinking about dropping DirectTV and getting the Mediacom HDTV package. Those with it right now, are you happy and would you recommend it? Also, what stations are they showing in HDTV right now?? Any other info you want to give would be great also.

Thanks,
Ron

Ron,

Mediacom has Kcci & Hbo in Hd, that's it I believe. You have to have the Motorola 5100 box.

Fireshoes has Mediacom Hd.

Do a search under username and see what he has written.

Best of luck

mtmdesmoines,
Thanks for the reply. I called Mediacom today and they have the locals in HD I believe and HBO and Showtime. I read on another forum that they are also changing to the 6200 receiver, or the non-tivo receiver. Can anyone verify this? Thanks.

Ron

Ron,

The only locals in Hd are Kcci & Who. Kdsm & Woi (weak signal) are just standard SD. I cannot even pick up Woi from my location, 28 signal on my dtc-100.

Just a FYI for everyone, KDSM will be down about 6 weeks, waiting on a "Part", this info was obtained through the company that I work for, so I dont know anything else, sorry!!! Are they gonna switch to HD? That would be cool!!!

Hi Ron, I have Mediacom HD right now. They've been field testing a new receiver box that is supposed to have PVR on it. No ETA on it though. At this point the only HD they are passing through is KCCI, HBO East and West, and Showtime East and West. I've had it since May, but I am really leaning towards dropping them due to the lack of HD programming and the awful picture quality of their standard definition broadcasts. I probably wouldn't recommend the switch right now.

Mediacom has been and, likely, will always be a joke. We have them here in the Quad-Cities, and they never give you a straight answer when you ask about anything new. It doesn't surprise me that they have a lack of HD programming and their SD quality is poor. While I would love sports HD programming, I may just have to live with my OTA HD stuff on PBS and ABC. CBS here will probably never go HD, and, unless NBC decides to broadcast sports in HD someday, ABC will be it for me (for HD sports). But I do love PBS HD. In my opinion, that makes it all worth it And PBS is dropping the loop programming effective next week. They'll be putting out regular shows on HD, and, while there undoubtedly be a lot of repeats, it'll be nice. I live for HD shows like Soundstage, Nova, Tracks Ahead, etc.

By the way, did anyone else catch the Iowa-Louisville basketball game on HDNet on Saturday? I was working so just got a few glimpses but it looked pretty good.

I was receiving 8-1 (KCCI), 11-1 (when broadcasting), 13-1 and 2 (WHO), and 17-1 fairly consistently. Lately I rarely receive a picture or audio on 8-1 (although signal strength is 69% on my Samsung SIR-TS160), nothing at all on 17-1 (although a post below may explain that problem - off the air for a few weeks waiting on a 'part' - apparently they feel that their digital customers won't mind them being off the air). I also have 5-1 on my listings now showing up, but have never seen any signal, let alone programming, on WOI.

Originally posted by clones83
btw2003,

I haven't been getting 17-1 for a while also. I am still receiving channel 13 and 8's digital feeds, but 17's not there. I haven't moved my antenna or changed any equipment.

5-1 now shows up on my channel guide but the best I ever got was a signal strength of 6 one day with no picture.

I've read with interest the latest posts. I still get great reception for 8-1 and 13-1 but I've noticed that Fox now looks like a snowy analoge signal. Which is upsetting given the Iowa basketball broadcasts. 5-1 comes in but has been worse lately. Monday night football was unwatchable last night with the constant signal breakup.

I would like to start a campaign to get National network feeds on satellite if the local station isn't doing HD.

I'm new to HDTV. I live in W Des Moines and am having DirectTV installed tomorrow with a Zenith 6200 receiver that also has a HDTV over-the-air tuner built in. Looking forward to it. However, I just found this forum (HD Des Moines) last night and have been reading the recent posts and am dissappointed with the fact that HD reception is very inconsistent and not available with WOI and Fox17.

I was looking on channel 8's web site for programming and it's not clear as to what is actually being broadcasted in HD. Does anyone know if the Chiefs/Vikings game going to be in HD this Saturday?

Thanks,
Jeff

Welcome Jeff

This thread is in the HDTV Programming Section http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=300612

It shows the Chiefs/Vikes game as HD. Normally KCCI is very good about passing on whatever HD is available from CBS.

MAKE SURE TO WATCH CSI ON KCCI TONIGHT. In my opinion, CSI is the best looking HD material currently being broadcast today. I never watched the show until I started watching in HD, now I am hooked.

KCCI and WHO are very reliable with their signal strength and normally pretty good about sending any HD the networks provide them. KDSM, while not sending any HD, was pretty good before they began experiencing whatever technical troubles they currently have. WOI is a cruel and tasteless joke. PBS is capable of sending good signal, but they are state funded and only get what money the govt. gives them. They simply don't have the funds to power extra transmitter.

Have you checked into DirecTV (D*)or Dish? I personally have and mostly enjoy D*. They are offering some pretty nice HD content, hopefully it will keep improving. Rumors abound regarding that of course.

Happy viewing

jtuck,
Thanks for the info and the welcome. I actually won't have HD until tomorrow, but I do watch CSI Miami on Mondays so I'll check it out next week and maybe start watching the CSI on Thursday as well.

What is D*? Is that DirectTV's HD package? I haven't ordered my DirectTV service yet. I'm assuming that the installer will walk me thru that. I was thinking about getting the HD package thru DirectTV.
Thanks,Jeff

D* is slang around the boards for DirecTV. Your installer should walk you through their offerings. HD package from D* is 10.99 extra/month with a Total Choice package. Their website details the channels.

The speculation is that there could be more channels available soon without a jump in the package price. Pure speculation, but that sounds about right.

If you're a sports buff, I don't see how you couldn't get the D* HD package. ESPN HD will be up to 4-5 events a week in high def, plus HDNet does an outstanding job with hockey and other sports. HDnet also has a lot of other great shows, and Discovery is pretty awesome too. You'll get HBO and SHowtime HD with subscription to the analog versions, which is nice for all the movies and Showtime Boxing when it's in HD. This weekend we'll have Chiefs-Vikings, Patriots-Jets, Bills-Dolphins, and Broncos-Colts all in HD. :-D

I am now receiving 13-1 and 13-2 again. Still no 17-1 yet.
Channel 8 never responded to my email.

Bryan

What happened to KCCI's digital signal yesterday (12/28/03) for the Green Bay game? I just got D* and local HDTV channels installed on the 19th and the HD stuff have been GREAT! Then yesterday I tuned in for the Green Bay game and at first didn't have a signal. So I called KCCI and they said they WERE sending out the signal. In fact the engineer was watching it. I then went back to my TV and it was there. However the the signal was going in and out. So I went up to my attick to move the antenna around. I had my wife on the phone while she was watching the signal. I couldn't get a signal again for the rest of the game and into the evening. Channel 13's dig channel was coming in just fine but channel 8 (KCCI) wasn't. KCCI had been coming in just fine before yesterday.

Did anyone else experience this yesterday? I haven't called back or emailed KCCI yet.

I was very bummed because I had family in from northern IA, which are major Cheez Heads and wanted to show him the game in HD. Unfortunately they didn't get to our house until half time so didn't get to see what little HD signal I was getting in the first quarter.

Thanks.

Did anyone else experience this yesterday? I haven't called back or emailed KCCI yet.

hmmm.. i tuned in shortly after the start of the 2nd quarter and watched the entire game with no problems.

HD is crazy; i'm not even a football fan and i've watched more football than i can count since getting HD.

Hopefully someday soon; I'll be able to watch F1 in HD. I'd love to chear Minardi on to a last place finish in wonderful HD. :D

The game seemed to be coming in okay while was at work. Unfortunately I was unable to see the Ravens-Steelers game in high def since Mediacom apparently has no interest in picking up ESPN HD or the other dozen channels that are available besides KCCI, HBO, and Showtime.

Originally posted by fireshoes
Unfortunately I was unable to see the Ravens-Steelers game in high def since Mediacom apparently has no interest in picking up ESPN HD or the other dozen channels that are available besides KCCI, HBO, and Showtime.

I did see a little of the Ravens/Steelers game in ESPN HD and it seemed to me that HD on ESPN doesn't have as much depth as KCCI's HD broadcast (when I can get it).

My problem with not getting the signal apparently is the antenna in my attick. I am going to look at buying a new (larger one) for the roof. But first I will probably try an antenna amp.

Are there any recommendations for a brand/model of antenna amplifier? I was thinking about going over to Radio Shack sometime this week and take a look.

Thanks,
Jeff

Jeff,

Whenever I glanced at the Packers game it was coming in fine. The Saturday game (Pats VS Bills) was really bad. Had to watch that one in SD since the HD digital feed was hit or miss. Not sure what the problem was for that game. It is very hard to track down the cause of these problems since the station would blame the network and vice-versa.

Also, since you said 13 digital was coming in fine, all the local channels broadcast from the same area so if you are picking up a channel great then the antenna should be properly pointed for the other channels also. That is my understanding anyway.

Bryan

I received Green Bay game fine on Sunday via KCCI. I also picked it up with the Sunday Ticket and spent most of my time there because they were sending it in 5.1 as well. I did not watch the Sat. games, but I have rarely had any reception problems with KCCI.

I live a lot farther away from the transmitters (between Pella & Knoxville) and have good signal with a Radio Shack amp on my cheap RCA aerial that is in my garage attic. Bryan is correct about the signals. The transmitters for KCCI and WHO are in Alleman (near Ankeny). If you are getting WHO-DT well, you should be getting KCCI, so antenna postion is not the issue. Might be bad or weak cables, a cheap splitter, bad connection, etc. I have had all of those issues bite me in the past. Try the amp and see what you get. Mine is a Radio Shack catalog #15-1113C 25dba FM/AM/UHF/VHF amplifier. It is powered.

The difference in the picture with CBS vs. ESPN is resolution.

CBS is broadcasting in 1080i.
I think that ESPN is 720p. That is not a DirecTV limitation, rather it is coming from ESPN in 720p.

Have a great New Year's.

I noticed that ABC will be broadcasting the Sugar Bowl as well as some of the NFL playoff games in HD this year. Is there any chance that WOI will be up and running by then? If not, what is the latest word on when they will be broadcasting HD?

Thanks!

Ryan & jtuck,
Thanx for the info. Last night I bought an amp from Radio Shack. Not sure what model it is (I'm at work right now). But it was $70. I will hook it up tonight and let you know if it makes a difference.

The KCCI vs ESPN's format makes sense. You can really see the difference between the 720 and 1080.

Thanks.
Jeff

WOI's chances for broadcasting ANY receivable digital signal, HD notwithstanding, is so close to ZERO that it is not measurable.

WOI will not make any changes to their current setup (a very low power digital signal) until the digital transition happens and they get issued their permanent broadcast frequency. While it is crappy for most of us who have digital equipment, I do understand it from a business aspect. Don't like it at all, but at least the Super Bowl this year is on CBS.

I installed the amp last night and it did make a signal increase from Normal to Good on channel 13's digital, but I still do not get channel 8's digital channel.:( I just don't understand why I was getting it the first week I installed the HD receiver then all of a sudden I wasn't.:confused:

I think I will now go and buy a new "good" antenna from Radio Shack and put it on the roof. My current "old" Radio Shack ant is in the attick and not only that, I live in a valley and have a large hill and houses directly behind my house (to the north, which is the direction to Alleman where the transmitters are).

First let me apologize if this subject has been discussed before. I really don't have the time to go through and search every post however, as I just found out my projector shipped yesterday (was supposed to be the end of Jan.) and so I need to try and get as much setup as I can before it gets here.

That said, I also will be new to HDTV so if I word something wrong or don't ask the right question, you know why.

Anyway, now the post.

A friend of mine that is going to help me get my system all setup requested that I check and see what kind of OTA antenna folks in Des Moines are using to pick up the local HD channels. For right now, that is all I would be able to get until I decide if I want to switch to D* or try mediacom.

Like so many others in this thread, I have no love loss for mediacom so not sure how I feel about even trying them out. OK, back on the subject.

I live in a development in Johnston so there is not a lot of open space, but at the same time there is not a lot of tall buildings either. I will be connecting to a HTPC using a HD card.

Specifically what this friend wanted me to find out is if anyone is using rabbit ears to pull in the signal and if not, which antenna seems to work best? I have a open deck (to go under) or an attic (second floor) that one could go in, but obviously this would involve running wire and for now I would like to avoid that if possible.

Let me know what my options are and if I need to be more specific on some stuff. Thanks.

I just wanted to introduce myself and let you know about my set-up:

Hughes E-86 w/d* and HD package
Sony 36XBR450
Kenwood A/V reciever
NHT speakers all the way around

I live in the western part of Johnston and I get 100% from 8-1, 13-1, 13-2, and 11-1 (during the fair). Believe it or not I get this great reception with one of the now famous Radio Shack double bowtie (discountued). It's only about a foot tall and really ugly but it does a great job of bringing in the HD content and cost me $8. I've used this for the last 1 1/2 that I've had HD.


5-1 just showed up on my guide about 2 weeks ago but I've yet to receive anything above 0% signal.

The only thing I'm missing is HD Tivo but when it comes out I'll be al over it.

cstrand,

Don't even try to use rabbit ears, you will get the signal, but every time you walk around your antenna, you will get drop outs (picture turns blocky, like satelite during a heavy rainstorm)!!! I know from trying this.

I wouldn't put an antenna under the deck for the same reasons!!!

I live about 3 miles to the west of you in Grimes, I use a good Channel master antenna, about $60 purchased at a dealer in Johnston :)

Put it in your attic, I did, and it works well!!!!

Best of luck

Mark

On the WOI front, it would appear that the reciever you have plays a big part in the reception of OTA signals. I just put a new Sony HD TV in the rec room and bought a LG 3200A to go with it. I bought this receiver because it was the cheapest available with a DVI output and I'm hoping to get a new receiver with Hard Drive when they become available. In fact, the DirecTV guy I talked to when hooking it up said they would be available this quarter.

My observations so far are that the guide in this unit absolutely sucks. But the signals (which come from my antenae) are much stronger on this receiver than the Mitsubishi I have with my HD TV in the familiy room.

On New Years day I watched the rose bowl straight through with a fairly good (almost Sat quality) signal for the whole game. The station doesn't come in as well on my receiver up stairs. In fact, I get better reception on Fox and I get the WB which doesn't register on the Mits.

I would personally like to thank WOI for their wonderful coverage of the BCS Championship Series and the BCS Championship game between Oklahoma and LSU.

For those of you werent lucky enough to watch the game on WOI's Digital station, let me tell you it was a fabulous game to watch.

While most of the country watched the actual football game in HDTV, we in Central Iowa were lucky enough to watch the NO SIGNAL text from our receivers along with the sound of silence during the game. I cant imagine a better way to watch the BCS championship game then in complete darkness and silence. Way to go WOI!!!

========
Note to WOI -- This will be one of the last few times I will watch ABC this year.

All I know fellow HD guru's of Des Moines is that everytime I saw the ABC promo during the game that said "Presented in HDTV" and then in small print below it 'where available', I said "WOI SUCKS". Everyone at my house was giving me a weird look, wondering what the hell I was doing, but I didnt care.

I guess the funny part was what a girl (who knows nothing about HDTV) said after my first WOI Sucks comment -- it was "Yeah they do suck. Their news people look like muppets".

OK WOI -- here is your top 3 TO DO List for 2004:

1) Power up your antenna (you couldnt run a blender on the power of your current signal)
2) Display all ABC HDTV programs in HD. No more crappy SD signal
3) Get non-muppet looking news personalities

Well, I ended up taking my existing antenna out of my attick where I was no longer getting channel 8's HD channel and put the antenna on a 10' mast on my roof. I also have a 28db antenna amp hooked up to it. I now get both channel 8 and 13's digital channels. They are not 100%, however. my receiver doesn't show a percent. Rather a Bad..Normal..Good. Both channels are at about the first "o" in Good, which is probably about 75-80%, probably. What's weird is putting the antenna on the roof didn't make a difference with channel 13-1. I was getting the same signal strength while the antenna was in the attick. Also, channel 17 (analog) came in better when the antenna was in the attick. Now that it's on the roof, I hardly get a picture at all on 17. But that's ok because I got the local channel package thru D*. Any idea if/when D* will broadcast the local channels (at least 8-1 and 13-1) in HD? Not that it's big deal to me because I now get them both thru the antenna. Just curious.

MOSSDADDY - I also got the LG 3200 receiver. I didn't realize that the brand of receiver makes a big difference in reception...good to know. I, on the otherhand, like the guide on this receiver. At least much better than my other standard "free" receiver (can't remember the brand) that D* gives you for a regular TV. What I don't like about the LG receiver is that there is a long pause going from channel to channel as well as when you Exit the guide and just go back to the same channel as you were on. I really don't like that pause! But oh well...what are you going to do.

Thanks. Jeff

Originally posted by mtmdesmoines
cstrand,

Don't even try to use rabbit ears, you will get the signal, but every time you walk around your antenna, you will get drop outs (picture turns blocky, like satelite during a heavy rainstorm)!!! I know from trying this.


Mark

I wouldn't say this is true for everyone. I live on the western part of Johnston (Grimes phone) and I've used that radio shack antenna for 1 1/2 and have got 100% from 13-1,13-2, and 8-1 the whole time. This is a short 1 foot tall indoor antenna that I just stuck behind my TV. It's very sensitive in where it's placed but once you find that sweet spot it stays locked in. It has even worked at times that my DirecTV and Cable have been out.

n/m

Anyone picking this up on 8-1?

Thanks,
Bryan

I've got it fine here in Ames...

Thanks.

I got last night's game fine and I am getting 93% on 13-1 right now so I don't understand why I am not getting 8-1 today.

Bryan

I'm picking it up at 100%

Well I re-booted my reciever and re-scanned but still no 8-1.
I usually get 8-1 at 100%. Frustrating. Any ideas???

Thanks,
Bryan

Originally posted by Quench
hmmm.. i tuned in shortly after the start of the 2nd quarter and watched the entire game with no problems.

HD is crazy; i'm not even a football fan and i've watched more football than i can count since getting HD.

Hopefully someday soon; I'll be able to watch F1 in HD. I'd love to chear Minardi on to a last place finish in wonderful HD. :D

I think I'd watch a test pattern if it were in HD.

Been lurking through this thread for awhile. Not much to add to it, I have Mediacom. Same channels, new year. Though I think i live near some of you. I live off 100th St just north of the Johnston Middle School.

-Corey

Bryan,
I had the same problem with 8-1 a couple weeks ago. When I first got D* and a OTA receiver, I got 8-1 the first week I had it. Then went to watch Green Bay the Sunday after Christmas and I got nothing on 8-1. I received 13-1 rather strong. I had my antenna in the attick and ended up moving it to a 10' mast on my roof and 8-1 now comes in strong. I live in a valley and have a large hill and houses at the direction of the transmitters (Allaman). I think KCCI is a little touchy in there HD broadcast.
Jeff

Yesterday I had a message on my Mediacom receiver that some changes would occur in the digital package on january 15th. Tonight the program guide lists channels 901 and 902 as unavailable, They are right next to the other HD channels (808, 880, 881, 890, and 891), so it looks like they may finally be adding some new HD.

Shhh... don't tell anyone but KCCI forgot to throw their local programming on rather than CBS programming. Nights where I can avoid the political process and all the mindless chattering are nights where I could marry my DTV receiver. ;-)

I've seen them do that a couple of times on 8-1. I don't know if they do it on purpose but it sure is nice.

For all the people that have mediacom and are expecting to get HD. Do you have recievers that are going to broadcast HD? Is mediacom going to provide these. Maybe this is why they are raising rates again. I just wish I didn't like their cable internet so much:(

I've heard their next big thing is getting into the phone business with VOIP.

Anyone hear when or if KDSM is going back to the digital signal?

I don't think that KCCI leaves the network feed on on purpose on the digital channel, but I agree that it is nice. At least we will get rid of the political ads just in time for the seed corn and herbicide commercials to begin. :-(

I'm sure they aren't doing it on purpose, but considering the on-air monitor for the feed is right next to all the rest of the master control monitors I can't see how they could forget either. Maybe there's just too much going on tonight.

Originally posted by dmclone
I've seen them do that a couple of times on 8-1. I don't know if they do it on purpose but it sure is nice.

For all the people that have mediacom and are expecting to get HD. Do you have recievers that are going to broadcast HD? Is mediacom going to provide these. Maybe this is why they are raising rates again. I just wish I didn't like their cable internet so much:(

I've heard their next big thing is getting into the phone business with VOIP.

Mediacom is already offering HD. CBS, and an E/W of both Showtime and HBO. They are using the Motorola 6200. They cost $11 a month rather than whatever they charge now for digital boxes.

Unfortunately the channels that were on the mediacom guide last week are gone and no new hd channels have shown up.

I also was very happy to be able to watch CSI in HD instead political crap.

Well at least it's something new for Mediacom subs (Bravo HD being added)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=355308

I just spoke with a source at Mediacom. They just had a meeting detailing changes including HD additions. Official annoucements should be soon with new channels "by about Feb." Couldn't get said person to list channels but HDNet, ESPNHD, and Discovery HD, and local channels were "talked about at the meeting." Take that as you will.

That would definitely be huge if they came through with all of those. I'm not getting my hopes up too much yet.

With D*, the HD package includes HDNet, HDNet Movies, ESPN-HD, and Discovery HD, *HBO-HD and *SHO-HD (*if you subscribe to those premium movies). Discovery HD is awesome. They have HD content almost ALL the time. I hope D* adds additional HD channels soon. ESPN-HD has NFL and NBA games only in HD. Haven't seen any college sports in HD on ESPN-HD. On ESPN-HD, the games/shows that are not in HD are sent in the 9 x 16 format, which stretches the image and so it looks distorted and in order to watch it normally, you have to shrink the screen. When you change channels and go back to ESPN-HD, it's stretched again. I wish ESPN-HD wouldn't send all broadcasts in the 9 x16 format unless it is truly HD content.

I emailed Mediacom to ask about more HD channels. The reply I got said to look for the upgrade in the near future. They will offer an HD tier which will include ESPN HD and Bravo HD among other channels. I emailed them back to see if they would reveal the other channels and what the cost of the HD tier would be.

Could WB-DT be coming soon... interesting web page found tell me what you think of this...

http://www.desmoinesbroadcasting.com/stations-misc/kdmi-lives-again-tv.html

other stuff i found

$1,000,000 KDMI-DT CP Des Moines from Caroline K. Powley to Pappas Digital Television of Des Moines-Ames LLC. $600K upon grant of CP final order, balance in cash at closing. Duopoly with KPWB-TV. CP is DTV-only for Channel 56. KPWB is a recent sign-on, a Fox affiliate on Channel 23. In a timing anomaly, it was not assigned a transitional DTV sister channel. It proposes to acquire this DTV-only CP to fill that gap, anticipating that pairing of the two stations will be legal pending court and Congressional attendance to the FCC's 6/2/03 broadcast ownership ruling. [File date 12/15/03.]

I just got my 3100A a couple days ago, and I'm pulling in WOI, KCCI, and WHO with no problem. I assume KDSM (Fox) is still having some sort of problem? I've received about 10 frames total, but I show a good signal strength.

Picture quality is amazing compared to my cable feed, even for SD programming. Now I want American Chopper and HD! lol

Dunno if WOI decided to turn on the juice from what I've read here, but I'm getting excellent signal from them. Too bad the golf game between Trevino, Nicklaus, Palmer, and Watson is only SD, but that's not WOI's doing.

I also really like 13-2 being WHO's doppler radar feed, especially with today's winter storm warning. I hope they never get rid of it.

FYI, KPWB is WB, not Fox.

oops my bad

Originally posted by fireshoes
I emailed Mediacom to ask about more HD channels. The reply I got said to look for the upgrade in the near future. They will offer an HD tier which will include ESPN HD and Bravo HD among other channels. I emailed them back to see if they would reveal the other channels and what the cost of the HD tier would be.

Got a response back just now. He said the hd tier price has not been determined. He said the other channels were Discovery and HDmovie Net (sic).

Darn it!!!

So, WHO else is getting WOI OTA SD??? I am not here in Grimes, Integrated 65" Mits with a channel master 3016 (i believe) antenna in the attic.

If you are getting the signal, please post your town name and your equipment.

Thanks!!!

Mark

ESPN HD, Bravo HD, HDNet, and HDNet Movies are now showing on the Mediacom guide. though they are not active yet. Channels are 830, 840, 850, and 851 respectively. No sign of Discovery or WHO yet, but I'll keep you posted.

Originally posted by fireshoes
ESPN HD, Bravo HD, HDNet, and HDNet Movies are now showing on the Mediacom guide. though they are not active yet. Channels are 830, 840, 850, and 851 respectively. No sign of Discovery or WHO yet, but I'll keep you posted.

I called Mediacom their call center didnt know about it so they transfered me to the local DM office. DM office rep, really nice lady BTW, told me they are still testing things but that unofficially these will be availble before the end of the month. She also said there is no final decision on pricing, when I brought up DirectTV she said "We will have the same number of channels as DirecTV, with Bravo instead of Discovery. I expect us to be competitive and possibly cheaper than they are."

Originally posted by mtmdesmoines
Darn it!!!

So, WHO else is getting WOI OTA SD??? I am not here in Grimes, Integrated 65" Mits with a channel master 3016 (i believe) antenna in the attic.

If you are getting the signal, please post your town name and your equipment.

Thanks!!!

Mark


I can't pull WOI with a smallish (green-directional) sized antenna in my attic, and I live in Huxley, about 5 miles north of the towers in Alleman. I can see the towers from my yard, and if I stand on my roof, nothing but nothing is between me and them. My receiver (Hughes DirecTV HD) says I have a max signal of about 12% but I cannot see a picture. WHO doesn't come in overly well for me either, but KCCI and KDSM (back on line now, yay!) come in fine.

So, WHO else is getting WOI OTA SD??? I am not here in Grimes, Integrated 65" Mits with a channel master 3016 (i believe) antenna in the attic.

As far as I know, WOI has not, nor have plans to broadcast in HD or digital anytime soon.

I emailed a couple people there a few weeks ago asking when they plan on broadcasting in HD and have not heard back.

Jeff

Sorry, I thought the orginal question was who is seeing WOI in HD, but now see that it said "SD". Disregard my last post (first sentence anyway).

Jeff

Darwin, unless things have changed, WOI-DT is transmitting from the water tower north of Merle Hay Mall, not the big towers everyone else uses in your backyard.

BTW, no WOI-DT for me in Knoxville, but that is old news.

When I lived in Ankeny, I was able to receive the WOI-DT with a pair of 25db amplified bunny ears. I had to play with them to receive the signal and get it locked in, which usually meant I couldn't receive anything else, but I would think they are broadcasting from Alleman if I could get it and so far very few if anyone else in Des Moines can receive it. I was using the Samsung T-151 as well. Alas, now I have moved away to the land of no HD except for UPN, and don't want to install a real antenna for CBS or ABC as I am renting and don't think that would go over well. Enjoy it boys, because once you lose it, tv is never the same....(play cheesy violin music, exit south to arkansas)

I get the strongest signal from WOI. heh
I live on the NW side of Ankeny on the SE side of a 2nd story apartment. I have a 3100A and a silver sensor antenna pointed at maybe 030 compass. (assuming my walls are N/S) My antenna is maybe 6' in the air, taped to a cardboard box on top of my audio stack, and very sensitive to me moving around. I put a powered radio shack inline amp on (10db?) and it improved my signal, but didn't help with the dropouts caused by me moving around. I'm still not getting any AV from Fox, tho I show good signal.

I have Mediacom with the Motorola 5100 STB here in Ames. Today ESPN-HD, Bravo-HD, HDNet, and HDNet Movies showed up on my guide. They aren't active yet, I get the "this channel will be available shortly." Anyone else experiencing this?

Hi Sam, check the posts from about 2 days ago. ;)

Is anyone else experiencing very low reception from 13-1 and 13-2 the last couple of days (2/4 & 2/5/04)? I can't get in the channel at all. I live in a low valley in WDM and I don't know if it's something to do with that and the snow or what. Normally I get a Good signal from 13-1. Channel 8's HD channel has been very good. I have an antenna on a 10' mast on my roof.

Jeff

Haven't noticed anything lately, got a little pixelation last night with KCCI-DT during CSI. At least WHO-DT didn't have the school closing picture frame. It would have been nice if it was in HD widescreen, but we'll take what we can get.

I am on hold with a Mediacom rep now. She said "It don't believe they are active yet because they are still testing things. I know they are planning to add those channels as part of an HD tier for $9.95"

edit: after holding she said there was no ETA yet.. just "soon."

Is anyone else having audio problems with WOI and KDSM? It sounds like I'm listening to it through a bad drive-thru window speaker. (Think Wayne's World)

I'm still having problems getting KDSM, I get about 10 frames of video and this morning I was getting about 10 seconds of slow audio, then it just freezes and the audio turns to a buzz.

Signal strength for both is around 75-80% I'd guess. I really want to know if I'm the only one having problems.

Shockwave,
I'm NOT getting Fox's digital channel. The signal strength is about 20% which gives me nothing. I'm assuming that Fox channel is 17-1, it that right?

When you are talking WOI, are you talking digital? I didn't think that WOI was broadcasting anything digital, are they? If so, is it 5-1, because if it is, I don't get that either.

Jeff

Correct, FOX is 17-1. (CH 16 unconverted) Thier signal strength is pretty low at the moment, I'm not sure if they're ramping it up and down or what. I'm not getting any useful signal at the moment. When I do get 80% -ish signal, I can get maybe 10 frames of video before it freezes on a frame. 80% signal on any other channel is more than enough.

WOI 5-1, digital yes. :) They are broadcasting Standard Def only as far as I've seen. They're on 59, fyi. At any rate, WOI's audio is working correctly again.

Hi all,
Anyone notice that WHO-DT hasn't been show their material in HD? For example, right now as I am writing this, Las Vegas should be in HD but it isn't. I have noticed this the last couple of weeks with other shows on the digital channel as well. This is starting to annoy me a little!!!

Anyway, here is a status report from Colo, IA on getting Des Moines Digital Stations. (This is with the ole' Radio Shack Double bowtie and a dish 6000)

13-01 = 80 - 100 (no problem with signal)
13-02 = 80 - 100 (no problem with signal)
17-01 = 70 - 85 (no problem with signal)
08-01 = 80 - 100 (no problem with signal)
05-01 = yea right!

FYI, Colo is about 35 mi NE of Des Moines, Intersection of 65 and 30.

Bill

Well I officially DO receive channel 59.01 in sd, FINALLY!!!

I can receive the signal with a strength of 40-47, on my dtc-100, my integrated tuner couldn't pick up the signal though. Standard sd picture with no video or audio drop outs. If you haven't tried to lock in the channel in a while, you may want to try now, it appears they did increase their signal. Who, Kcci & kdsm all have a 90+ signal here in Grimes.

Bill, my wife watched Las Vegas tonight and also noticed it wasn't in HD, Last week it was with Paris Hilton though!!!

So, will woi be broadcasting in hd soon? Has anyone heard? Just give me MNF, that's all I want!!!

Mark

No idea about HD on WOI, might be worth an email to our old buddy Marshall Porter thanking him for turning up the juice, begging for HD.

I am not sure what is going on with WHO-DT. They sure as hell better have the HD fired up for NASCAR this weekend. I really don't care much about the Non Athletic Sport Centered Around Rednecks (NASCAR), but I would like to watch a little of it just to see what it looks like. I know for a while Mark (mtmdesmoines) was calling someone at WHO and reminding them to switch over to the HD feed.

Wow

I haven't called them in the Longest time!!! I had to look back at the 1st page of this thread. This thread is almost 2 years old!!!

The number is 282-1313 for Who, they get kinda mad sometimes as this is a number for BREAKING NEWS, not for telling them to turn on the HD!!! :)

Well they advertise "Hd" and make a BIG deal about it, so we should hold them true to it!!!! I e-mailed WOI's chief engineer about the hd questions.

I'll report back, if I hear anything.

Mark

As a former WHO employee...I never minded when getting calls like that. The problem in the system is that there's no master control operator on site. So, if a prime time show isn't switching over to the HD feed it's a problem in the server. Chances are 11 times out of 10, the engineers don't have a clue that HD isn't passing through. I'm never home during prime time hours myself, but I have noticed at at least Leno is being passed through, so that makes me believe it's a problem in the schedule on the server.

After checking incessantly over the past week.... the new HD channels are up on Mediacom! Looks like NHL and Bikini Destinations on HDNet and Michigan State vs Illinois on ESPN HD for me tonight! :-D

Well, same old idiots at Mediacom. Instead of the New Jersey-Philadelpia hockey game on HDNet, they are passing the blackout feed of Dartmouth versus Brown in college basketball. I called Mediacom in hopes of finding someone smart enough to switch to the main feed. My hopes were quickly crushed. First they told me I did not have an HD cable box. Hard to believe I've been getting HD broadcasts from them since last May without it. Then they told me I shouldn't be getting HDNet because I'm not subscribed to the HD tier. Ok, sign me up. "It is impossible to sign you up for the HD tier because it is not available in your area. I have no idea how you are getting it. It is amazing!" Then she said I have not been getting charged the $11/month rental for the HD cable box since I got it (I have), instead being charged $5, so she is changing my bill to charge me the $11/month. Whatever, I guess I'll go watch some HD college basketball that is impossible for me to be getting.

AWESOME. I checked it this morning and it wasn't there yet. Still saying "One Moment Please..." Wonder when they turned it on.

OK question... has TNT-HD launched yet? I didn't think it was until May. Because now Mediacom guide lists TNT-HD on 800. No signal, just the "One Moment Please" message.

Mediacom'ers.. Curious, is your Bravo-HD not there now? I change to it and the picture of the channel I am on just freezes, guide flips tho. BTW... I love options. :)

Bravo is not working for me either. Maybe it has something to do with me emailing them to tell them the guide is wrong since it shows the SD Bravo schedule. I also have TNTHD - that is huge news man! If you go to the menu on the cable box you can view the schedule for individual channels and this weekend we are getting the NBA All-Star events!

Saturday
7pm NBA All Star Tip-Off
7:30NBA All-Star Saturday Night

Sunday
7pm NBA All Star Tip-off
7:30 NBA All-Star Events

Sweet!

I've got the Lakers-Rockets ESPN HD game on right now. It looks good. The crowd doesn't jump out at you like it could, but it's still nice.

BTW SnakeEyes, if you turn the power off on the cable box and hit menu, you can change the setup options. The box doesn't change the output for 1080i/720p automatically. It is just assigned for one or the other for component output, so if you want you can change it to 720p for ESPN HD when you are watching it. AFAIK all the other channels are native 1080i broadcasts.

I saw the TNT-HD schedule. Really hope it's active this weekend. Thanks for the output tip, already knew it and my TV doesnt support 720, but thanks again. ESPN-HD just went out tho. I want em back! ;)

Yeah I noticed it ESPN HD was off now. I've been watching HDNet since the Rockets punked out the Lakers. :)

How much are you guys paying for the top of the line package w/o movie channels but including HD ? Can you run an OTA antenna through the cable box?

I'm trying to compare it to what I get on Directv. If cable keeps adding these HD channels it will be better the Directv. I would still find it hard to switch to Mediacomm though. One downside is that Mediacom probably won't have TIVO for HD for another 3-5 years.

I don't want to go out on a rant here but doesn't anyone else think it sucks that Mediacom doesn't publish any of their rates? Why do people in some towns in Iowa pay more then others? Is it because of competition? Its little things like this that keeps me away.

I'm really just on Mediacom because I can't get satellite because of trees. The analog picture is completely horrible and I really wouldn't recommend it to anyway who has the option of satellite. The HD picture is very good, but it's just a handful of channels. They did send out a schedule of packages and costs a month ago afte the rate increase but I don't think I have it anymore. I think I have every channel plus broadband internet and it is $119 plus tax. I guess it will be going up $9.95 for the HD tier as well. By the way, they are supposed to have the HD cable box with digital video recorder this summer. No OTA thru the cable box.

Mediacom has added WHO-DT on 813! Things keep getting better and better :)

Guess i will have to keep an eye on Daytona on Sunday now.

Mediacom will have the Motorola DVR unit this summer, I think it's one of the 6200 series. They have to give us firewire equipped STB's due to that FCC mandate on April 1.

Right now I think we get 11 HD channels: TNT, CBS, NBC, ESPN, Bravo, HDNet, HDNetMovies, HBO1, HBO2, Showtime1, Showtime2. I don't know what my bill is because I just switched packages last month. Now I have basically every service they offer, it's around $125 w/ taxes I think.

Originally posted by SamMiller0
Mediacom will have the Motorola DVR unit this summer, I think it's one of the 6200 series. They have to give us firewire equipped STB's due to that FCC mandate on April 1.

Right now I think we get 11 HD channels: TNT, CBS, NBC, ESPN, Bravo, HDNet, HDNetMovies, HBO1, HBO2, Showtime1, Showtime2. I don't know what my bill is because I just switched packages last month. Now I have basically every service they offer, it's around $125 w/ taxes I think.

Curious, I've noticed when I change channels downward to WHO-DT.. I get a please wait message. Then the others do the same until I switch to a non-hd channel and then back up. If I go directly to WHO or move up from KCCI it's ok tho.

BTW.. does WHO-DT not broadcast overnight, the same as KCCI?

Hey everyone,

It is great to see all of the new HD channels on Mediacom!! I've been watching the race in Daytona this afternoon. Maybe it is just me -- it looks good, but not nearly as good as KCCI-DT.

I just looked at the 13.2 multicast on another receiver and their "mega" doppler isn't even working; it's locked up. I've been tempted to call them up and ask if they are able to switch it off, especially on clear days and during primetime/big events. My fear is that KCCI might start doing the same thing, which would really be disappointing.

I have that same thing happen on the 5100. If I change to 800, then upward, the locals work. Otherwise, "please wait." I notice the HDNet guide info. is off in time too. I figure they must be sending out some corrupted data.

-Loren

Just got home from work. It's great to see WHO-DT on cable finally. I saw a little of the race today OTA and it looked like they were using a lot of SD cameras, but even the HD cams weren't spectacular. Glad I get to see a little bit of the TNT HD broadcast tonight!

Well the NBA All-Star game on TNT HD looked great Sunday night. I can't wait for them to air the Western Confernce Finals. Bravo HD+ is back up on Mediacom, although guide is still showing the Bravo SD schedule instead of the HD schedule. The channel up-down bug is still affecting KCCI and WHO though, so hopefully they clear that up soon.

a little off topic but did everyone notice WB is now avail on Directv. Thank you just in time for smallville

Andrew

Mediacom users... has TNT-HD and WHODT gone off your guide listing? TNT-HD, well it's not on the air yet (was only for the NBA All Star Game) so that is fine but I hope it's not a case of them being unable to work out a contract with WHO. Sucks to see it go away today, I wanted to watch Shreck :/

Heh, late last night I had just filed a TiVo lineup report to get them to add WHO.

800 (TNT HD) and 813 (WHO NBC HD) are now gone for me, too. Hopefully they'll be back soon, who knows?

Originally posted by statman
800 (TNT HD) and 813 (WHO NBC HD) are now gone for me, too. Hopefully they'll be back soon, who knows?

WHO is back :)

I see that too, now I don't have to get all po'd about it. :cool:

Is anyone getting FOX ota? Antennaweb says I'm 6 miles from the source (I'm in Ankeny), but I can't get more than a few frames before it cuts out.

I seem to be only getting sound from Fox. I am between Knoxville and Pella. Signal strength looks good on my Sony.

I'm in West Des Moines and get nothing on Fox (17-1). In checking the signal strength, I get about 20% but no picture or sound at all.

Originally posted by Shockwave
Is anyone getting FOX ota? Antennaweb says I'm 6 miles from the source (I'm in Ankeny), but I can't get more than a few frames before it cuts out.

I live in Huxley, also about 6 miles from the source, but in the other direction. I can get Fox ota fairly well, but I had to use a 6db attenuator because I was getting interference from having TOO STRONG of a signal. Without the attenuator, I only see a few frames at a time, off and on; with the attenuator, it looks great most of the time. 'Course the attenuator makes pulling WHO harder, but it isn't really watchable with or without the attenuator. KCCI still looks fine.

I am in Ames and I get KCCI, WHO, FOX and PBS (whenever they are testing).

Using a MyHD 120 card with rooftop CM 4228 I get 100 % signal on WHO and KCCI, about 70% on Fox (used to be 100% before their malfunction and down time), and 100% on PBS (when broadcasting).

Never have seen WOI. I get sporadic bumps of signal from 0% to 15% but never a picture. So I do not watch ABC at all. The only thing that even interests me on WOI is some of the the sports. I have a BUD so I can catch most all of it as a direct feed.

I received a letter from Mediacom a few days ago regarding ESPN-HD, Bravo-HD, HDNet and HDNet Movies...

It basically said they are currently testing these channels and to enjoy it them while they are free. Because in March, these channels (no new ones) will be added to the $9.95 per month tier.

Mediacom customer here with a DCT6200.

My DVI port is working! Sort of. The screen sort of flickers, several channels are not defined, several non-channels are defined, there is some goofy stuff on the bottom of the screen with standard def sources, and standard def stuff is getting stretched to 16:9.

Also, my component video connection is giving me the message 'Not Supported Mode', so I can't see a picture here. My component video port on the TV requires (at least upconverted) 480p, 720p or 1080i signals as input.

S-Video and Composite seem to be relatively unaffected, but at times flickering (other than several channels not being defined, particularly the HD channels).

Hopefully this all means that we're in the midst of a firmware upgrade to enable our firewire and DVI ports. I'll report back once I notice an improvement (hopefully relatively soon).

I have the DTC5100 from Mediacom. There was an automated message left in my voicemail yesterday about some testing going on. My HD channels have been off almost all day. I have channels 911-940 as To be Announced. KCCI and Showtime East and West are back in the guide now at channels 809, 890, and 891. 891 doesn't work though.

Ah, yes. I am experiencing all of the things fireshoes mentioned. I also recently received the letter Toolboxx mentioned.

any of you watching Survivor on KCCI-DT on Mediacom? I'm seeing distortion and audio drop outs tonight. Never happened before.

Didn't watch Survivor, CSI looked great though.

SnakeEyes,
Yes, I experienced the audio dropouts on Survivor, but not the distortion. I don't have Mediacom, I get KCCI-DT ota.
Jeff

Don't forget the Hawks play on ESPN HD today at 1:30pm

I figured out why my component video and DVI sources have been giving me grief since the Mediacom software upgrade. Needed to go into the menu w/ power off in order to reset it to 720p (or 1080i) and 16:9 screen instead of 480i & 4:3 screen. We're up to 7.7 on firmware now, so DVI and probably other ports like firewire are now active. Can't tell that much difference between DVI and component.

Originally posted by statman
I figured out why my component video and DVI sources have been giving me grief since the Mediacom software upgrade. Needed to go into the menu w/ power off in order to reset it to 720p (or 1080i) and 16:9 screen instead of 480i & 4:3 screen. We're up to 7.7 on firmware now, so DVI and probably other ports like firewire are now active. Can't tell that much difference between DVI and component.

My Mot 5100 series STB doesn't have the DVI connection. Do you have one of the 6200s?

My Mot 5100 series STB doesn't have the DVI connection. Do you have one of the 6200s?

Yes, got it around Thanksgiving time when I first had HDTV hooked up.

Does anyone know whether KCCI will be multicasting 4 regional games anytime during the tournament this year? I know someone there I can ask, but don't want to if they've been getting tons of questions.

No idea about KCCI, I didn't know they had the ability to multicast. Keep us informed.

I don't think KCCI has the ability to do it on their own, but I think if they grab the CBS feed that has multicasting it would work. I'll check on it this morning and post what I find out.

Nope, I was wrong... just got a reply back and they don't have the capability to multicast...

can you check on 5.1 for KCCI. Launch date ?


Andrew

I know 5.1 (WOI) is sending out test signals. You can catch them every once in a while. Some people have said its live all the time now but haven't been able to tune them in when installing antennas.

He meant 5.1 audio for KCCI.

Duh! Sorry! Don't know that one. Hopefully that will be soon.

I'm still waiting for an email from the Chief Engineer @ KCCI. Maybe I should suggest KCCI & WHO trade equipment. WHO has a 5.1 encoder already, but NBC doesn't do 5.1 programming. Seems backwards to me, but the more I work in broadcasting, the more I find that backwards is the norm. :p

BTW, anyone know how I can get email notifications turned back on for this thread? It's the only one that doesn't seem to work for me.

Did anyone experience audio problems with KCCI's (CBS) on Monday night (3/22)? I've noticed this before on KCCI. The audio kinda like had dead spots that only lasted less than a second at a time, but it was happening all evening. It's very annoying. It got so bad that I ended up switching over to the analog channel. Does anyone know the cause of this?
Thanks, Jeff

Jeff,

No problems tonight (Weds) with Kcci's broadcast during "King of Queens", using an antenna in my attic, my strength is about 97-99 on my Dtc-100, here in Grimes. I have no signal from Woi-dt, now though :(

Mark

Anyone having problems getting KDSM-DT? I live in State Center and can get KCCI and WHO no problems at all. KDSM-DT locks on and the signal looks good just a black screen. Thanks!

Apparently KCCI knows they are having audio problems. The permanent solution is some new equipment but the temporary solution is to reboot something in their configuration. Someone is supposed to be paying attention in the evening but it doesn't always happen. If you're getting a lot of auio dropouts call and complain and they should do the reboot.

Sarcoptic, that has been status quo with KDSM for me for several weeks now. They had some sort of equipment problem, no idea of when they will be back. Until NFL season, I couldn't really care less about KDSM.

I think we need to start a whining petition to KDSM to get their equipment fixed. I am still subscribing to local channels with DISH just cause the wifey would freak without KDSM. Here is to hoping they resolve the problems soon!!!

I just recieved an email from KDSM saying they should be broadcasting and everything is fixed. I am suppose to give the chief engineer a call about my problem. Now really curious who all is having problems with KDSM. I doubt its my setup considering I get 85% on KCCI and WHO, also I get 85% on KDSM just no picture and no sound just black....

I will double check on KDSM tonight. I haven't had the TV on since this weekend. At that point (Sunday eve.) I had sound but no picture on KDSM-DT.

I look forward to your response jtuck2

Haha well I just got home and tried KDSM, guess what simpsons is on. Definitely strange hopefully it stays working now!

It sounds like Mediacom will be offering an HD DVR in Des Moines very soon, if not now. I talked to a Mediacom employee that is doing some installation work at American and he said they are now available. However when I called to get one, the CSR said they weren't available. (Typical CSR's, eh?) So hopefully I can pick one up somehow.

The HD DVR will replace the existing HD cable box. Instead of $11 rental, it will be $14. The DVR service is $4.95/month. At this time, the DVR only has one tuner, so you have to watch the show you are recording. A two tuner version will be available in the future. It's recording capacity is 60 hours of standard definition programming or 10 hours of high def. A 14 day program guide will be available. The memo the Mediacom employee had said the guide is 50% faster, although it didn't mention if that was versus the standard digital box or the current HD tuner. He said only regular customers are allowed to have them at this point, not employees (hard to believe lol). That's all I can remember at this point. Good luck trying to get one!

The mediacom office in Ames has been unwilling to accomodate me with a HD box that offers IEEE 1394 or DVI output. I was under the impression they were required by the FCC to have both of these outputs enabled by April 1, 2004. My current DCT5100 STB has neither a firewire port or a DVI port. Has anyone else run into this situation? Is there someone else at Mediacom I should talk to their talking to the incompetant CSRs?

Maybe try asking for a supervisor? There is a thread about STB's with firewire in the hdtv recorders forum. You might look in there for more info. I don't have anything with firewire besides my computer so it's not a real big issue for me. I don't know if it's possible but if I could use my comp for additional archiving space that would be cool though.

I was wondering if anyone has problems with WHO since around Saturday. I put my antenna up on my roof over the weekend however I am unable to get 13.1 or 13.2 solid, however when it does come on my box says good strength. I am guessing this could be multipath issues but dont know for sure. Is it safe to say that I should be able to get 13 if I can get 8.1 and 17.1 just fine considering they are all located at Alleman. Thanks!

Sarcoptic,
I had similar problems when I first put up my antenna. You probably just need to tweek the direction of the antenna just slightly.

I first got 8-1 & 13-1 just fine then I secured down my antenna with tethers (wire) and 13-1 didn't come in consistantly. I moved it slightly while on my cell phone with my wife in front of the TV checking the signal and finally got a consistant signal on both 8-1 & 13-1. I never have been able to get 17-1 in. It show a very week signal but no picture or sound. Also, some people say they have been getting 5-1 in as well (just digital, not HD), but I haven't been able to get anything from 5-1 either.

Check out this web site: http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx. Here you will find what types of antenna should be used and the direction (in degrees) you need to point your antenna to get certain stations.

Hope this helps! Jeff

A mediacom note (not an HD issue). Anyone else noticed mediacom is pulling those "left-on" basic and extended cable connections? Like when you cancel cable, you could still get it and for a loooong time - free. Guess they never bothered to actually climb the pole and snip the connection. But now, they are. If you enjoy free basic/extended cable, it has or will end. However, if you get mediacom high speed internet, you probably get basic cable too, as part of the package. So if your basic cable goes to fuzz, and you subscribe to hign speed internet service, call mediacom and tell them they pulled your plug and shouldnt have. Mediacom internet is $2 more a month for basic added. Most were put in that package without even asking, when they first installed the internet service. So if you lost your basic, let them know.

I just got a call a little before 9pm last night from someone at Mediacom asking if I'd like to upgrade to a DVR HDTV receiver (presumably the DCT6208) for and extra approx $5/mo fee over my current DCT6200. They are coming to install it on Saturday between 1 and 5 pm. The guy on the other end said that I was the first person he's sold it to.

I called and asked for the HD DVR again and the CSR didn't think it was available yet. She put me on hold and when she came back told me it is just becoming available to the public and someone would call me back in the next day or so to give me the details. Keeping my fingers crossed that I will finally get one...

Mediacom just called to set up my appointment for the HD DVR. With my work schedule, Monday is the first available time for them to come out, so I should have it that morning. He confirmed the $4.95/month charge, but said the box rental would cost the same, which conflicts what the other person told me, but I'll take cheaper. ;) The first month of the service is free, as is the installation. They also are going to send me coupons good for $25 worth of Video-On-Demand. Cool!

Originally posted by fireshoes
The first month of the service is free, as is the installation. They also are going to send me coupons good for $25 worth of Video-On-Demand. Cool!

I also heard free 1st month and free installation, but didn't think to mention it earlier. I don't remember hearing $25 of VOD coupons, but that seems like a detail I'd forget.

Should be a fun toy to play with, as I never took the PVR leap before now.

I've been reading in the hd programing that fox will have up to 6 NFL games a week in hd along with the superbowl. Has anyone herd if KDSM is going to upgrade to and hd signal anytime soon?

Andrew

They told me $11 per month plus $4.95 for the DVR. Also, ESPN is now an extra tier so for an entire HD package, it's approaching $100 per month. These prices are getting a little crazy. Plus, the $180 per year DVR rental is just too much. I'm getting rid of cable as soon as I move someplace where I can get the new HD Tivo.

Dave

The thing is the HD Tivo for Directv is $999. The rental fee for the HD DVR is $132 for the year. Both providers charge $4.95 IIRC. I know on regular Tivo, D* does waive the monthly charge if you subscribe to their top programming package. The HD tier for Mediacom is $9.95 and D*'s is $10.99. So the monthly fee are about the same, it's just a matter of whether you want to shell out the grand up front or pay monthly. 7.5 years is the break-even point. Obviously D* has better picture quality versus Mediacom on the analog channels. The sports subscriptions are also a big draw. NFL Sunday Ticket this year will be incredible with all the HD games.

Just got the DCT6208 hooked up from Mediacom. Haven't played with it much yet, but all seems fine after going into the menu while powered off to adjust it to 1080i. DVR functions seem to work well, and like the blue (or black or purple) menus instead of yellow.

The guy doing the install mentioned that HD Starz and VOD Starz is coming soon as is mentioned here (http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040419/lam098_1.html). He also said that HD Discovery should be coming near the end of this quarter. Sounds like they've had talks with KDSM, WOI and PBS, but nothing has been decided yet.

That's great news about Starz! I hope they have some HD VOD too. My install is still scheduled for Monday but I was thinking about calling to see if I could get two of the HD DVR's instead of one. I figure double the recording capability would be nice, as well as the ability to watch one thing and record another. Don't know if they have enough boxes on hand to let me though.

The Mediacom office in Ames does not have the 6200 or 6208 available for customers. I spoke to a technician on the phone on Thursday this past week and informed him of the April 1 FCC deadline. His response was they will "get back to me." Their reason for the 6200 or 6208 not being available to me is "the firewire port and DVI port are not activated by Motorola." I told them BS since people in Des Moines currently have them installed.

They currently have no timeframe for the 6208 availabiliy aside from "sometime soon" according to the CSR. It's stuff like this that makes me want to switch to Voom or D*, not to mention my $155/month cable bill!

Originally posted by fireshoes
That's great news about Starz! I hope they have some HD VOD too. My install is still scheduled for Monday but I was thinking about calling to see if I could get two of the HD DVR's instead of one. I figure double the recording capability would be nice, as well as the ability to watch one thing and record another. Don't know if they have enough boxes on hand to let me though.

I doubt if they give you two of them, but it's worth a shot--worst that can happen is that they say no. I didn't think to ask the cable guy about if/when TNT-HD might become available, so that might be something worth inquiring about. I know we had it for the NBA all-star game and I understand it's supposed to be launched in late May, in time to broadcast the NBA western conference finals, but I'm not certain if Mediacom will get that channel when it first launches.

I got the 6208 installed this morning. The installer said that people are supposed to only get one HD box per household right now, although he has seen a few people with 2 or 3. So it was a no-go on getting 2 of the DVR's lol. After the installer left, I noticed ESPN HD, Bravo HD, and HDNet Movies were coming up as Not Authorized, so I had to call in to get a hit to the box. They are working fine now.

I did a little bit of recording this afternoon. It seems like something might be a little goofy as far as the capacity indicator goes. It said I was at 9% capacity with only 2 two hours of SD recorded. Definitely will have to keep an eye on that. I plan on recording the Avs-Sharks game on EPSN HD tonight, so that should be a good test.

I see a lot of folks getting excited about Fox TV doing HDTV, especially football. But then I read the head sports guy under Rupert saying HDTV is overated and they may do the All Star Baseball game in hd.

Quote:
For instance, in a profile of Fox Sports Chairman David Hill in the May 12th edition, USA's
TV-sports columnist Michael Hiestand writes this in the eighth paragraph.

"Although Fox's (Baseball) All-Star Game will be shown in High-Definition TV, (Hill) says, 'I can't
understand the excitement about it. It just lengthens and broadens the picture, makes it sharper
but doesn't change it.' "


Rupert may give out HD if he can figure out a way to get you to pay through the nose for it. But don't hold your breath for HD from Fox.

Sorry
I meant to post a link to the article I quoted.


http://www.tvpredictions.com/murdochhdtv051204.html

If you check the HDTV Programming Synopsis under "HDTV Programming" you'll see that Fox is going 720p this fall (same as ABC HD, which you're probably not getting right now in central Iowa). Other threads have pointed out that Fox has a system for helping its affiliates transition from widescreen to 720p.

The opinion expressed by that Fox Sports executive is merely one man's opinion and may or may not indicate which direction the network as a whole is going. Some executives at Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns your Fox affiliate (KDSM) and my area's CBS affiliate (KGAN), have been bad-mouthing the whole DTV transmission standard for years. Yet as of right now KGAN-DT has the only full-power CBS HDTV signal in Iowa east of KCCI.

(Edit: Should have said CBS HDTV; the ABC and NBC stations out here also carry network HD.)

KDSM has been broadcasting a digital signal for some time now (they had a little down time there this winter). It might be worth an email to find out if they are planning on transmitting Fox's HD signal. It seems like someone asked them a LONG time ago and they had no HD capability, but that makes sense as they had no access to any HD content from Fox. They did not broadcast any of the widescreen NFL games last season.

I hope they get the ball rolling, the Sunday Ticket blacks out our locally broadcast games in standard definition, I would assume with more HD next season, they will be blacking those out too. Fox has the Super Bowl this year too.

I am not incredibly hopeful given Sinclair's poor track record of HD support, but then as dline pointed out they sometimes get it right.

I emailed KDSM and their chief engineer said they hope to have the HD equipment installed and ready this fall. Not sure what else Fox is planning to do in HD, but all I care about on Fox is NFL!

NFL Sunday Ticket didn't black out any High Definition games last year on CBS even when KCCI was showing the same game. They did black out the Fox Widescreen games that were showing on KDSM however. Even though KDSM wasn't able to transmit anything better than 480i (standard definition). I complained to DirectTv about that and they claim it was out of their hands and was mandated by Fox and the NFL.

By the way... has anybody else been having trouble with 8-1? It has been really hit or miss lately. Unwatchable for about the last 2 weeks. It was much better last night though, no dropouts at all.

Thanks,
Bryan

My KCCI-DT has been pretty good, but I mostly watch Thursday nights. I think I was watching something on there Sunday and had no complaints.

Thanks for checking with KDSM, I think I will follow it up in a few days, just so they know there is more than 1 person in the area with an HD set.

D* must be getting ready to move satellites, I have gotten called twice this week with some helpful idiot wanting me to tune to channel 400 to make sure that I will be able to keep receiving locals. I was polite AGAIN last night, but it is getting a little old.

Have a good weekend.

I've been receiving the locals from afar, and they called me back in January to verify I could receive channel 400. I hope they don't call again, as I have to change my address once the spot becomes active.

Hope it works out with Fox 17. Depending on how my own affiliate goes, I may need to prod my relatives in central Iowa to convert to HD for the NFL (and come back to Cedar Rapids for Monday Night.)

For what it's worth, I saw something interesting in my newspaper recycling pile: the Des Moines Register reported last Wednesday that KDSM manager Ted Stephens is leaving Sinclair for Pappas (KPWB-23's owner). Don't know if it means anything but I just thought I'd mention it.

Got the HR10-250 HD TiVo from DirecTV installed today and it's pretty nice. The only trouble I'm having is getting the local over the air channels. I live on in an apartment building and am using the silver sensor but am not getting much of a signal. What kind of antenna do you recommend (one that I can mount to a balcony) and where can I get it?
Also, I just read about using a channel master amplifier to boost the signal. Which model works well for my setup? Thanks.

Dave

edit: have looked around some more and saw the Winegard SS-1000 SquareShooter. Anyone know anything about this?

Sorry, don't know much about antenna. My plain jane RCA UHF/VHF/FM in the attic of my garage works pretty well. I have a 15? (I think) db powered booster from Radio Shack inline. I usually run in the high 90's to 100% on all of the digital channels (except for WOI's squirrel powered signal of course). Since you will be looking at this, I can see how you might want a unit that has a little aesthetic appeal.

You might try posting a query over in the "HDTV Hardware section. There are some fairly knowlegable guys over there if they don't flame you for not searching the archive.

Though I don't live in central Iowa anymore, I'm in a similar situation. I live in the southeast corner of a Cedar Rapids apartment building, most of the towers are about 15 miles north of me. Unfortunately I don't have a balcony.

You didn't say which way your apartment was facing. I would think that if you're facing north toward the small town of Alleman, where the towers are, you should be set for everything but WOI-DT 59 (and if you don't see them, it's generally not your fault.)

A good place to start is to figure out exactly what your reception problem is. How's your analog reception on channels 17 and 23? (They're two UHF channels in the same general area as most of your digitals.)

Thanks. It's kind of funny but I just moved into this new apartment (in the same apartment complex) to get DirecTV. My old apartment had a clear view of the north too. Anyway, My apartment faces west and I do have a partial view of the north but the direction of the anetennas is blocked by a few other apartments in this building. I just tried a 10dB signal booster from radio shak but it didn't help. The only analod reception I get is 13 and 8 (kind of fuzzy) but no digital stations.

Dave

Ok, well I guess I didn't mess with it enough. I moved it around alot and finally get a singal strength of 70-80 on KCCI-DT (31 I think) and WHO-DT (19). Nothing else comes in with the position the silver sensor is in now. I mainly wanted NBC so I'm happy. Should I get a Channel Master pre-amp? Would that help bring in PBS and maybe Fox?

Dave

PBS (UHF channel 50) hasn't been on that I have noticed since the state fair in August, so it will be a rare occasion that you even get to test that signal. They used to have it on once in a while, but even that hasn't happened lately. They are under the same budget problems as every other state resource. Transmitting two channels takes a lot of power, which most likely wrecks their limited budget,

Not sure where Fox is broadcasting from, I thought they were transmitting from the big towers in Alleman as well.

Sometimes messing with that antenna is what you have to do. I've got three fourths of my building and 15 miles or so between my antenna and my towers. That Silver Sensor is quite directional, too.

Don't know where KDSM-DT is, either. I know their analog is near the rest of the towers at Alleman, but they could be using a temporary digital transmitter somewhere else, perhaps at the studio site, while they gear up their big stick for Fox HD this fall. I know that's what their sister station KGAN in Cedar Rapids did.

Originally posted by statman
The guy doing the install mentioned that HD Starz and VOD Starz is coming soon as is mentioned here (http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040419/lam098_1.html). He also said that HD Discovery should be coming near the end of this quarter. Sounds like they've had talks with KDSM, WOI and PBS, but nothing has been decided yet.

I'm now getting Discovery HD Theater on channel 841 from Mediacom. :cool:

I was surprised to see that Mediacom added Discovery HD Theater to their lineup today. I've been looking for Starz since we know they have an agreement with them, or perhaps TNT HD because it is a new channel, but this is still a welcome addition.

Mediacom's HD lineup now consists of WHO-DT, KCCI-DT, ESPN HD, Bravo HD+, Discovery HD Theater, HDNet, HDNet Movies, HBO HD East & West, and Showtime HD East & West, plus Starz! HD coming soon. They sure have made a huge improvement in their HD offerings over the past year!

damn, statman beats me to the punch lol

both of you beat me by hours.. it wasnt here earlier today.. here now. Excellent!

Also, just got a mailing stating that HBO HD is disappearing to be replaced by Starz HD 'on or around June 1st." Personally I'd prefer they drop Showtime HD West since i don't watch Showtime :)

Are they dropping HBO HD totally or just the west coast feed? I haven't got the mailing yet. It really isn't completely necessary to have east and west feeds now that the DVR is out, other than the whole one tuner issue. The two tuner model should be out this fall or winter anyway.

Just the West

HBO HD West and Showtime HD West have been removed from Mediacom now, and they have added Starz!HD and TMC HD to the guide. I'm not subscribed to any premiums right now so I haven't been able to tell if they are broadcasting on them yet. StarzHD says 'channel not available' and TMC HD says 'subscription required'. Anyway, Mediacom continues to forge ahead with HD in this market, so good news for us.

i got a mailing stating my HBO-W-HD was going away and was being replaced by Starz!HD and that I would be recieving it for free along with all the Starz! Digital channels until the end of the year. It says "channel not available" here as well. Maybe it's not up just yet. There was no mention of Showtime-HD-W and TMC-HD, though I am only currently subscribed to HBO (Sopranos isn't over yet ;) ) so that could be why.

StarzHD says 'channel not available'

And I thought you guys were always first to be rolled out.

Mediacom customer in Minneapolis/St.Paul suburb. Both STARZ!-HD and Discovery-HD went live today (Tuesday).

Don't subscribe to TMC so don't know if it went live or not.

Has anyone heard if DirecTv is planning to add any channels to their HD package any time soon?

About a month ago, I emailed them and they said that they will be adding channels in the future but couldn't tell me anything specific (as far as timeframe or channels).

They currently have HDNet, HDNetMovies, Discovery, ESPN-HD and HBO-HD and showtime-HD if you subscribe to those. They don't offer local HD channels. I wish they did because I don't get WHO-DT in very well because I live in a low spot in WDM with a large hill and houses toward the direction of Alleman.

Jeff

Starz!HD is up and running in Des Moines.

HDJeff, the talk on the other forums was that with their new satellite in place, Directv wil be able to add more high def programming in Jul-Sept. Starz and TMC both say subscription required for me now, which makes sense since I'm not subscribed yet, but I think I'm going to go back to the full premium package. At least I can let them know that way that more HD for me means more dollars for them.

Also, at American TV this morning, we are having a meeting to go over details of signing HD subscribers up for Mediacom at the store, kind of like what we do for Directv. If there is anything newsworthy, Mark (mtmdesmoines) or I will pass it on.

I asked the chief engineer at KDSM if they were going to increase the power once Fox goes HD...

He said, not until a lot more digital receivers are around and/or the FCC mandates it.

So if you ain't getting a good signal now on 17-1 don't look for any increase any time soon.

I only get a reading of 69% with my antenna and pre-amp setup.
Bryan

Bryan, have you actually heard any committment out of KDSM that they will have the equipment to transmit HD once Fox begins? They are a Sinclair station, Sinclair has a semi notorious reputation as being a HUGE roadblock in the digital transition.

jtuck2,

Yes, the chief engineer at KDSM said HD was a go this fall.
In another thread here, sorry don't have a link, it was stated that ALL FOX stations will have HD equipment installed and operating this fall!!

FOX is apparently providing and installing all the HD equipment to every single one of their stations.

Bryan

Hello central Iowa!

Last weekend I visited relatives back in Ames, and just for the heck of it I took my Samsung T351 and Silver Sensor with me to see what DT I could get.

I was a little disappointed, considering I get the following five channels in Cedar Rapids with the same equipment:
- KCRG (ABC, HD when available)
- KGAN (CBS, HD when available and when they remember to throw the switch)
- KWWL (NBC, HD when available)
- KFXA (Fox, does not pass Fox Widescreen, low power transmitter in town)
- KPXR (Pax, four SD subchannels, marginal but obtainable reception)

And here's what I got in Ames:
- KCCI (CBS, HD when available)
- WHO (NBC, HD when available)
- KDSM (Fox, marginal reception; I hear they're working on their facilities)

Of course my biggest disappointment would be having to give up ABC DT/HD if I were to move back there. I've noticed a lot of bars in Ames now have widescreen HD sets, yet they're not getting the NBA Finals or Monday Night Football because the WOI-DT signal isn't strong enough to cover their city of license -- which is still Ames, NOT West Des Moines.

It can't be helping the transition.

I emailed Ray Cole at WOI a couple of weeks ago to discuss the non-HD situation there. I got this response yesterday.

Thank you for taking the time to check in with us -- again.

As you clearly know, we are currently broadcasting a low-power, standard definition digital signal. We are continuing to hold off on the build out of a full-power, high definition transmission system at this time for a couple of reasons. First, the FCC assigned us what's known as an "out of core" digital channel (#59). That means that we will have to move to another channel in the future as part of our migration from analog to digital--something that no other station in Des Moines has to deal with. We are waiting for the FCC to move on this so we can firm up (finally) our plans. Second, I was at an ABC Affiliates meeting in California just last week and learned that there are still only 1.2 million DTV receivers across the country. Obviously, we will be motivated to move much faster as the penetration of digital receivers grows...and the ROI on the capital investment helps support it.

I must confess that I did watch Game #3 of the NBA Finals in HD while in California last week...and it looked great. I will also tell you that I have an HD receiver in my home, and am even more anxious than you are for WOI to make HD programming available here. We just need to clear some of the remaining regulatory and economic hurdles that remain in our way.

Again, thank you for your continuing interest.


Ray Cole, President
Citadel Communications
3903 Westown Parkway
West Des Moines, IA 50266
Phone: 515-457-9645 (Ext. 127)
Fax: 515-457-1033
rcole@woitv.com

The Channel 59 assignment for WOI-DT is probably the one reason I'm merely "disappointed" at what I saw from Ames, and to be fair it's actually a double whammy for them since their analog is a low-VHF Channel 5. While WHO, for example, will likely be able to choose between 13 and 19 when analog disappears, 59 will DEFINITELY go away and 5 may very well go along with it. So where will WOI-DT settle?

Whether you think WOI-TV is a good station or not, it's too bad the FCC won't allow their DT to sink or swim ENTIRELY on its owner's own merits by giving them a decent channel assignment.

Still, though, not being able to get the Big Three in HD probably won't help sell sets. "Not enough sets" is the reason Ray Cole gives for not upgrading the station. "Not enough content" is a reason viewers can give for not buying the sets Mr. Cole wants us to buy to justify giving us the content.

Nothing personal against Mr. Cole or anyone else at 5, but that's the kind of deadlock we're in.

Only 1.2 million receivers?

What does that translate into percentage of households? About 1%? 1 out of every 100 homes and the number is growing? (Arriving at this figure using this method. High estimate of 300 million people in America, a shot in the dark that there are on average 3 people per household.)

Heck, if there is a good show on ABC and a good show on NBC or CBS, I'll pass on ABC and go with the other just to watch it in HDTV.

1 out of every 100 households is still a lot! And the number is growing.

It'd be funny if the WB station beats WOI on HD programming.

How well does HD come in without a roof antenna? I'm thinking about purchasing a HDTV. I might wait till fall when it seems there will be more TVs with built in OTA turners, but the TV will be in the basement and I rent a townhouse so I probably wouldn't be putting a roof antenna up. Also does Mediacom have many HD channels over cable? I wont be getting a dish as I have cable internet and get TV channels in with that too. I'm trying to decide if its worth waiting for new TV models to come out with tuners, or just pick up a 50" Panny LCD I'm leaning towards (with whats out right now) while there's cheaper prices on it to make way for the new models. Its just for now any HD I get will be over the air or anything that mediacom has if I decide their HD package is worth the $$. xbox then DVDs are the main use of the TV tho.

Mediacom has KCCI-DT, WHO-DT, ESPNHD, BravoHD, DiscoveryHD, HDNet, HDNet Movies, HBO HD< SHowtime HD, StarzHD, and The Movie Channel HD. It's $11/mo box rental, you get the premium HD's with subscription to their respective premium channels, and $9.95 for the other HD channels.

Originally posted by xsoul
How well does HD come in without a roof antenna? I'm thinking about purchasing a HDTV. I might wait till fall when it seems there will be more TVs with built in OTA turners, but the TV will be in the basement and I rent a townhouse so I probably wouldn't be putting a roof antenna up...

When I was in high school in Ames I had a TV in the basement capable of picking up KDSM (analog, of course) fairly well with just a loop. It's not ideal but not impossible, either. And Ankeny is closer to the towers than Ames.

As for DTs, when I visited Ames with my DT box and Silver Sensor, I was getting rock-solid 80-90% reception from WHO and KCCI from the first floor of the house I was in. KDSM was more marginal, around 50% with quite a few breakups; its reception was more stable on the second floor. The other stations were either not broadcasting DT yet or were too weak to pick up in Ames.

Again, though, you're closer. Try seeing how your KDSM and KPWB analogs come in.

xsoul-

I was able to pick up KCCI, WHO, KDSM and IPTV (when broadcasting) with no problems using just a RCA bunny ears and loop. When I bought a pair of RCA amplified bunny ears, I could get WOI, but usually lost one of the other stations when trying to adjust to get WOI. Only about 5 people have ever seen WOI-DT, my wife and I being 2 of those. Good luck!

thanks for some quick replies. when I first moved in before I got cable I was able to get analog sigals over rabbit ears in the basement. I dont remember not being able to get a channel, but that doesnt mean I didn't. I only used it for a week or so before cable was setup. I've since gave the rabbit ears to a friend who needed one so I cant go check it at the moment.

Now I just have to figure out if I pull the trigger now, or wait to see all the new models this late summer/fall.

xsoul, with this hobby, if you are waiting for the next best thing, you will never purchase. I currently have my D* HD package turned off until football season resumes. My TV viewing (HD or not) goes to nil during the summer. I am in the country and can't get Mediacom, but to my ear their offer doesn't sound half bad. That way you aren't tied to a box purchase that will become obsolete in a couple of years or if they offer a TIVO you can upgrade guilt free. I wish D* offered something like this. My $.02.

Long-time lurker here with a question...

I currently receive Digital Cable with the HBO package and internet for $111/month. What would the actual cost of adding HD through Mediacom be?

I assume that $11 for the box would be partially offset by turning in the current $5 box. Then, for the $9.95 would I get the following HD channels:
KCCI-DT (CBS)
WHO-DT (NBC)
BravoHD
DiscoveryHD
HDNet
HDNet Movies
HBOHD (because I have the HBO package)

Is the total then roughly an additional $16/month?

I really wish Mediacom spelled the fees out clearly. I could not find any pricing info on their web site.

Edit:
Also, what outputs (audio and video) do the new boxes offer?

Yes, it's $16 more, although $111 seems kinda high for what you are getting now. You might see if there is a better package available, maybe by getting other premiums.

The DCT6208 DVR box has analog audio, optical, and digital coax for audio, and composite, s-video, component, and DVI for video.

Thanks. I'll look into other available packages and compare prices.

I want HDTV, but I don't want a $127 cable bill!

I know this is way off topic, but I currently live in Clearwater, FL and am considering a relocation to the Des Moines area. My wife and I are originally from MN and IL, respectively, and would like to move back to be closer to family. We've been down here about 10 years so the winter will take some re-adjustment, but we figure we can toughen up. Thanks for any info.

P.S. I currently get around 12 Digital Channels, sounds like things are a little leaner there, I guess I'll have to activate DirecTV.

In central Iowa we get 11 HD channels through Mediacom, and I think you can pick up an additional 3 using an OTA receiver. I am not sure about DirecTV since I have never used it.

Thanks Sam,

I'm not overly concerned about the Digital TV situation. I'm more interested in people's opinion about living in the area (especially if you moved there from elsewhere). I'm flying up this weekend to check it out and interview early next week. Any opinions?

T. Schwartz-

I moved from the Ankeny area last September, and must admit, I really miss the area. Depending on where you choose to live, there are many pros and cons. The biggest con is the I-235 construction project, high property taxes, and high home costs. Also, you will have a state income tax which you don't contend with in Florida. On the other end, you have an adundance of nice areas to live, more cultural events than most people realize, one of the strongest education systems in the country. My wife who only lived with me in the state for 4 years before I relocated out of state is ready to move back, as she really enjoyed all the area had to offer. Don't look though just at Des Moines, the suburbs are very strong economically there, West Des Moines, Clive, Urbandale, Johnston, and Ankeny are areas to look at as well if you are internet surfing the area. If you need a bigger city to visit for a weekend, Minneapolis, Omaha, Kansas City, Chicago, and Milwaukee are all a easy drive away. We plan on relocating back in the near future if things work out for us to be able to. As for the winters, yes they are cold, BUT the summers are not half as warm and humid as Florida, and it is much easier to get your car warmed up than cooled down!

nj829,

Thanks for the info. I have yet to hear someone who has actually lived in the area say anything negative. All of the negative comments come from people who have never been to the midwest. You're right about the Florida summers. I did a bunch of landscaping over the weekend (95F and 90% humidity). I thought I was going to melt!

I live on the southside of DSM and my HD reception fo KCCI can be shaky at times. Can I boost my reception some way? will moving the antenna help or will it cost me the other stations?

Cad-

What type of antenna do you have? Also, are you able to get WHO and KDSM in? Any amplifier on the antenna? If your signal strengths are not as strong on KCCI as they are for the others, you may need to tweak it a bit, but I wouldn't think much. An amplifier may also help you out. It could also be just KCCI's signal. Are you near the airport at all?

Sorry not sure on the antenna. I do get who and fox although they all can be weak at different times. about 3 miles from the airport. As for the amplifier, how does that work? where do I get one? are they all the same? where is it installed? Thanks so much for your help nj829

Radio Shack sells amplifiers, they will go somewhere inline to the antenna. Mine is next to my receiver, as it needs power. There are different dB amplifiers available, I think mine is a 25dB amp.

Since you are getting signals, I guess you may just need to get an amplifier. Especially if it is an older antenna that may have some weather wear and tear on it, you may have some loss of sensitivity. Also, the wiring may not be the best. I would definitly try an amplifier, just buy Radio Shack where you can return anything if it doesn't make a difference.

Thanks a bunch guys! I'll give it a try

I finally got a Motorola 6208 cable box through Mediacom yesterday. DVI is active and looks great, firewire is active and I can record to my powerbook but the video appears pixelated with very poor quality. After a little researching I think it's due to the 7.07 firmware of my 6208, most people have reported the 7.10 firmwave (at least, Comcast customers) fixes the firewire recording issues. What do other users of the 6200 or 6208 have as far as the firmware version?

I finally got a Motorola 6208 cable box through Mediacom yesterday. DVI is active and looks great, firewire is active

Did you have to ask for a 6208 with active 1394 port? I have Mediacom in Minneapolis area. Have asked for a replacement 6208 box with active firewire but have not gotten a reply.

No, I just asked for the "DVR Service." It is my understanding the 7.07 firmware enables firewire and DVI output. What version of the firmware do you have?

I was wondering if someone could offer some advice.
I live in an apartment on Park Avenue here in Des Moines. I live on the west side of the apartment building and have a clear view of the sky up to about 0 degrees north. I think most of the towers are at 6 degrees and 19 miles away from the towers. I had the silver sensor but wasn't able to get consistent signal strengths above 70 so I would have the signal cut in and out. I decided to buy a big antenna and got the Channel Master 3021 which is a 40" tall 4 bay antenna (large directional). It is now mounted on my balcony (2nd floor) and I still can't get NBC above 70 on the signal strength and I'm still having the problem where the signal will cut out for a second then come back so I get that pixelated effect. CBS won't come in at the same time NBC does either.
Any advice? I thought for sure getting a large antenna like this and putting it outside would help. \Is the Channel Master 7775 Titan2 UHF Preamplifier a good option? I would think I wouldn't need it with such a large outdoor antenna though. Thanks.

Dave

Dave,

I can't offer any advice for the antenna since I don't live in DM nor do I have an OTA tuner. If mediacom broadcasts the local HD channels in an unscrambled format you could get a QAM tuner and receive them that way.

Wouldn't I have to subscribe to Mediacom? I just ditched them for DirecTV and now am stuggling to get the local channels in HD. Thanks.

No, I just asked for the "DVR Service." It is my understanding the 7.07 firmware enables firewire and DVI output. What version of the firmware do you have?

Same. 7.07. But screen for Interface Satus reports

1394 I/O DEVICE: INST
Active Ports 0

I'm also looking into the Winegard Squareshooter and winegard MS-2000 omnidirectional antennas but I don't want to have to spend so much if a simple wire one will do.

update: after some messing around, I get a low 70s signal (measured on the signal strength section of the DirecTiVo HD) that sometimes dips too low on NBC and CBS. Good enough to get a picture but it cuts out every once and awhile.

Dave

Dave

I have had good luck with just a simple Radio Shack inline amplifier. My signals are high 90's between Knoxville and Pella. Might be worth a shot, you can always return it.

Sam,

How is the interface on the 6208?. I'm considering ditching my TIVO and getting Mediacom HD w/ the 6208. How does the interface compare to TIVO or any other DVRs you've used?

The interface is the TV Guide interface like the moto 6200 and 5100. I have no complaints. I have not had a great deal of time to play around with it yet, but so far I don't believe there's a "season pass" feature like TiVo has. Also, there is no "commercial skip" button on the remote, you have to manually fast forward through commercials. The hard drive size leaves something to be desired. I had 3 HD movies record right now and they take up 66% of my hard drive space. When the firewire output works without dropped frames, I can archive old movies to my computer hopefully.

I'm quite satisfied with the unit, it is only an extra $5 per month on my cable bill I believe.

Is KDSM broadcasting an HD signal yet? Mediacom does not carry Fox-HD (if it's available) and I'd like to watch the MLB all-star game this tuesday in HD if possible. I may be forced to look for an open-box OTA receiver at Best Buy or something... SD on Fox looks horrible enough...

No HD from KDSM, they have promised it in time for NFL. We will see.

The Mediacom DVR is very primitive. You can only fast-foward or rewind at 4x. As far as I know, there is no way to jump ahead any significant amount of time like 15 , 30, or 60 minutes, which is definitely a pain. It only has one tuner so you can only record the how you are watching and can't chnnel srf durng commercials. The two tuner model should be out in the fall. It will record about 10 hours of HD. I'm not sure how much analog it will recod but it's no great amount. It's a DVR, but it's no Tivo. It's better than nothing though.

I also live on Park ave. I have the winegard square shooter and it is facing almost directly to the north. I get KCCI and WHO. I never get WOI and I rarely get KDSM. If you come across a better idea, I would love to hear about it.

Hmm, not good news on the Mediacom DVR. Lack of a "season pass" feature is pretty much a deal killer for me along with such little recording capacity. What a PITA to have to select each show to record individually.

Maybe its time for me to look into DirecTV or Dish. I just hate to pay $1000 upfront for the D* HD DVR. I'm moving into a newly remodeled older home near Waveland next month. With all of the moving expenses I can't really justify a purchase like that right now. I don't really want to fiddle with OTA reception either. Does anyone know how much of a premium Mediacom charges for cable internet if you are not a cable TV subscriber?

Maybe my best bet is just to go Mediacom w/ the 6208 for HD recording and keep my Tivo around for my daily DVR needs. Any suggestions?