Fox Business NewsHD (ch 154)
The Weather ChannelHD (ch 136)

2/3/08 Animal PlanetHD was supposed to be on ch 155 but still channel is empty.

Animal PlanetHD was supposed to be on ch 155 but still channel is empty.
Interesting that you should mention this because my Digital Cable Ready HDTV with ATSC tuner is still pulling in KENS-DT on channel 112-155. I thought that was strange, since Animal Planet was supposed to be there (on 155.) I know KENS is appearing on TW cable boxes at 105 already, but it looks like TW has not yet fully remapped all channels yet. When they do finish I expect KENS to show up someplace other than 112-155.

Stay tuned.

Is Kens news already in HD, but not in "widescreen" but 4x3 view?

The picture is REALLY clear and nice but again it has the black bars on the left/right side of the screens...just wondering when they go full Screen HD?

Is Kens news already in HD, but not in "widescreen" but 4x3 view...just wondering when they go full Screen HD?
We're working on it, Saturn.

The KENS studio cameras are HDTV cameras. They have been for over a year. We are in the process of replacing our studio video switcher, adding HD video router components, new graphics systems and more. We hope to be on the air with HDTV news in the near future.

You see, almost none of the standard-definition (SD) equipment in TV stations today is capable of delivering HDTV content. For that reason, many major components must be replaced, involving a substantial project that takes time and money - lots of money. Going full-screen HD is not done by just flipping a switch.

I have written about this in an earlier post. Take a look back and you'll get an idea of where we are and where we are going.

Thanks Jerry...always enjoy your explanations...You should start a column in the Express-News.

Does D*TV carry the sub-stations (not sure what the best term is for them, ie. 4.2, 5.2 and soon 9.2, 9.3 and 9.4) for the locals when they are providing the Local HD signals.

With the new agreement with PBS, I am looking forward to having PBS HD through D*TV but didn't know if we will lose the other PBS channels. The new D*TV HDDVR does not have a feed for OTA signals and trying to figure out if I need to go with the old box or the new.

D* carries only the primary channels. Still no PBS in HD, but D*'s ads now claim more HD channels (90) than they actually have (87 +/-?), so we're hoping for an additional release soon. I'm getting all the additional local channels OTA. My HDDVR box does have an OTA input, but the installer advised keeping the coax connected directly to the TV. It's a little cumbersome to switch, but I lost nothing and gained a lot by ditching TWC. I have never regretted it for a second. Normal monthly is a little less and frequent promo credits keep it substantially less.:):):)

TWC has added 4 channels to its HD lineup.

115 - Discovery ScienceHD

129 - DiscoveryHD

149 - TLCHD

155 - Animal PlanetHD (finally turned on!)

While I'm sure it's not as simple as flipping a switch, you'd think someone would be smart enough to want to be the first fully high definition news channel in this city, sure it's not cheap, but neither is your advertising space.

It says I have to order 115, I don't know if that's temporary or not...

Also, I'm most looking forward to USA and MTV in HD, with those two I'll never feel the need to watch SDTV again...

While I'm sure it's not as simple as flipping a switch, you'd think someone would be smart enough to want to be the first fully high definition news channel in this city, sure it's not cheap, but neither is your advertising space.
I think you might want to read Realthogue's earlier post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12760754#post12760754) (#3217 in this thread) to understand the dynamics and the economics behind the conversion. In a nutshell, the desire and the money for the HD conversion at each station come from very different directions. :)

D* carries only the primary channels. Still no PBS in HD, but D*'s ads now claim more HD channels (90) than they actually have (87 +/-?), so we're hoping for an additional release soon. I'm getting all the additional local channels OTA. My HDDVR box does have an OTA input, but the installer advised keeping the coax connected directly to the TV. It's a little cumbersome to switch, but I lost nothing and gained a lot by ditching TWC. I have never regretted it for a second. Normal monthly is a little less and frequent promo credits keep it substantially less.:):):)

I keep doing the math and I don't find dish cheaper. Possibly I'm figuring it out wrong.

I have one HD tv which gets basic and standard tier, HD channels, and Encore movies. I opted against the digital channels in the 200's in favor of the standard tier,I have no sports package (I get plenty of sport already in HD), I have two analog tv's with DVD players in the bedroom and one guest room (no boxes) which get basic and standard channels. If I go with dish, by the time I add two additional boxes, and HD channels, my bill is higher. Besides it seems that the additional HD channels that dish offers, are channels that I don't care for anyway.

Right now, I have a special promo that starts out low. Then it increases by $5.00 every six months. But when It gets to a certain point, I call and get a roll back to a lower price.

Next year, however, I will probably need two additional boxes for the analog tv's. It might be more cost effective to go with dish then.

American Gladiators finale on WOAI-TV last night was NOT in HD. Anybody know why?

American Gladiators finale on WOAI-TV last night was NOT in HD. Anybody know why?

I think WOAI was having problems with their HD feed last night because I during Knight Rider, it started pixelating and going in and out. After a minute of that, it switch to SD feed. It never went back to HD after that.

n3vino --

There is a $100 credit promotion going on for AAA members on D*.

Jerry,

For the past couple of weeks, the Wheel of Fortune (weekday) broadcast has been switching to SD at a commercial break near the end of the program. Is this CBS or you?

Thanks,

Sherrill

...For the past couple of weeks, the Wheel of Fortune (weekday) broadcast has been switching to SD at a commercial break near the end of the program. Is this CBS or you?

Sherrill,

It is KENS, actually. Our Creative Services Department is taking advantage of the closing credits segments of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune to do a "squeezeback." That lets them insert a news promo in those few seconds. This is something they like to do during "sweeps" periods (February, May, July and November) in an effort to attract more viewers to the featured special stories.

We do not yet have HD production and editing capability so this effect has to be done in SD.

I do not know how many viewers the squeezeback draws to watch the story they promote, but it certainly draws comments. I answer a few phone calls about this very thing every sweeps period.

Oh? So after all my raving last night about how superior you guys were on your HD Spurs broadcast, that wasn't actually your camerawork? I kept trying to figure out which guy was you! I didn't see it all but what I saw was superb.

I do not know how many viewers the squeezeback draws to watch the story they promote, but it certainly draws comments.If it's another one of those great chupacabra updates that magically appear during sweeps, I'm all over it!:eek:

Do any of you folks with TWC use your own DVR like Tivo or some substitute such as owning the DVR rather than renting from TWC? If so, how does this integrate with TWC?

Am I missing something? I now have an HD cable box from TWC. I've seen the Spurs in HD on 105-KENS HD, 150-Fox Sports Southwest HD, 127-TNT HD and 112-KSAT HD (with great pictures). But when the Spurs are on 107-KMYS HD all I get is a standard 4x3 telecast. In fact I've never seen any HD programming on 107. I know digital TV does not imply HD but TWC and KMYS show 107 as an HD station.

Am I missing something? I now have an HD cable box from TWC. I've seen the Spurs in HD on 105-KENS HD, 150-Fox Sports Southwest HD, 127-TNT HD and 112-KSAT HD (with great pictures). But when the Spurs are on 107-KMYS HD all I get is a standard 4x3 telecast. In fact I've never seen any HD programming on 107. I know digital TV does not imply HD but TWC and KMYS show 107 as an HD station.

I called KMYS about this earlier this year and they said they were still trying to budget HD equipment to broadcast the Spurs games they have on their schedule. I'm hoping that between them and KABB (Fox and KMYS are owned by the same company) something gets worked out soon.

KMYS does have some primetime HD programming on and at different times of the day. I was watching "The Waterboy" earlier today and had thought it would be in HD when I was changing the channel. Noticed that it was in 4x3, which was a little puzzling.

I called KMYS about this earlier this year and they said they were still trying to budget HD equipment to broadcast the Spurs games they have on their schedule. I'm hoping that between them and KABB (Fox and KMYS are owned by the same company) something gets worked out soon.

KMYS does have some primetime HD programming on and at different times of the day. I was watching "The Waterboy" earlier today and had thought it would be in HD when I was changing the channel. Noticed that it was in 4x3, which was a little puzzling.


I hope the Spurs give more of the broadcasts to FSN next year. The games sure look good in HD.

I hope the Spurs give more of the broadcasts to FSN next year. The games sure look good in HD.I totally agree. And with the price of decent tickets to the game + parking + plus adult beverages + food, that HD picture looks better all the time. Same with NASCAR.

I hope the Spurs give more of the broadcasts to FSN next year. The games sure look good in HD.

I don't really care who carries them so long as they are in HD. Here we are in 2008 and we can't even watch the world champion NBA team in HD with our home announcers?!?! Is FSN carrying all of their Spurs games in HD now? That wasn't the case last season.

I don't really care who carries them so long as they are in HD. Here we are in 2008 and we can't even watch the world champion NBA team in HD with our home announcers?!?!
The point has been made here many times that HD TVs may be cheap, but HD production equipment is not. Upgrading production equipment and facilities to produce and deliver HD pictures requires a significant investment. San Antonio is one of the smallest TV markets in the NBA, which means the revenue generated by TV coverage is less than in larger markets. Despite the team's performance, the market size makes it perfectly logical that this would be one of the last NBA markets to have games carried in HD.

So Sad But So True

The point has been made here many times that HD TVs may be cheap, but HD production equipment is not. Upgrading production equipment and facilities to produce and deliver HD pictures requires a significant investment. San Antonio is one of the smallest TV markets in the NBA, which means the revenue generated by TV coverage is less than in larger markets. Despite the team's performance, the market size makes it perfectly logical that this would be one of the last NBA markets to have games carried in HD.

Cost of HD production equipment may be a factor. However stations in Los Angeles began broadcasting HD over the air in 1999. Nine years is more than long enough to invest in new equipment!! The DTV transition has been eminent since the mid 90's, it is time these stations get with the program.

ARE WE 9 YEARS BEHIND TIMES??????? Five or six maybe. Then again look at the number of posts on this thread compared to the other markets.

The point has been made here many times that HD TVs may be cheap, but HD production equipment is not. Upgrading production equipment and facilities to produce and deliver HD pictures requires a significant investment. San Antonio is one of the smallest TV markets in the NBA, which means the revenue generated by TV coverage is less than in larger markets. Despite the team's performance, the market size makes it perfectly logical that this would be one of the last NBA markets to have games carried in HD.

I thought the Spurs did the TV production and just gave the signal to whichever station was broadcasting. No? The same graphic is used for "Spurs Studio" or whatever it is called where the station announcer gives his reports.

And doesn't the Spurs broadcast get fed to surrounding cities in our area?

I feel compelled to comment a little on some of the recent traffic. I guess one thing I need to point out is that we are far from being one of the smallest markets. There are 210 measured Nielsen markets in the country and we are number 37. There are 173 markets smaller than we are.

John P. wrote, "...stations in Los Angeles began broadcasting HD over the air in 1999...The DTV transition has been eminent since the mid 90's, it is time these stations get with the program." While that is true, the DTV system was quite a bit more primitive in 1999 than it is today. I had the privilege of watching our flagship station WFAA broadcasting limited material in HD as early as 2000, but there was not much to watch. Those fledgling broadcasts laid the groundwork for what DTV was to become. Just because the transition has been imminent does not mean everyone has had the cash to invest in a completely new and separate system on a whim. Please remember that not one DTV station in this market has yet earned a penny from any of our digital broadcasts, HD or otherwise.

Oh, and please don't compare San Antonio to Los Angeles. Our pockets are nowhere near as deep.

Technology also has evolved since the first DTV broadcasts by CBS in 1997. KENS is fortunate to partner with CBS, drawing on their vast engineering expertise to help develop our own DTV plant. Not every station is so lucky. Smaller stations even in this market may struggle to make budget revenue from month to month, making the investments required for DTV much more difficult.

Texasdvdr wrote, "...I thought the Spurs did the TV production and just gave the signal to whichever station was broadcasting. No?" Yes, that's true. But please remember that the HD signal is quite different from the SD signals most TV plants are designed to handle. The station receiving the HD signal must have the correct HD decoder to receive and process the incoming HD program. They must have a way to route an HD signal and at least a minimal HD switcher with some means of managing the audio and closed captioning. It should be obvious that the station also must have facilities for delivering that switched HD signal to a DTV transmitter in order for viewers to enjoy it.

By now all of the San Antonio stations have DTV transmitters and varying capabilities to receive and deliver HD programs. We are in the last year of analog SD transmission but we must maintain those analog facilities in perfect condition because they are the revenue generators in our reality. Beginning February 18, 2009 our DTV facilities become the revenue generators in a paradigm shift the industry has never seen before.

Some of you may be disappointed to learn that many of the programs you see in 4x3 SD today will remain 4x3 SD tomorrow. It will take some time before the bulk of TV programs are produced and delivered in HD. Please remember that your local stations will not magically inherit a library of 16x9 HD material overnight. When programming is available in HD and your station has the capability to transmit the HD signal, that's what you will get.

In short, while I appreciate everyone's enthusiasm with HDTV and I share it, I beg your patience, along with all the other San Antonio DTV broadcasters. We know HD is not evolving fast enough to suit everyone. Please be assured that all of us are working as hard and as fast as we can to bring you the best in HDTV. You are the reason we are here.

I feel compelled to comment a little on some of the recent traffic. I guess one thing I need to point out is that we are far from being one of the smallest markets. There are 210 measured Nielsen markets in the country and we are number 37. There are 173 markets smaller than we are.
Most of the smaller 173 don't have NBA teams, though. My point about San Antonio being a small market is that it is small compared to the other NBA markets. As you can see from the list below, San Antonio is third from the bottom in NBA markets ranked by Nielsen DMA. (Markets with NBA teams are displayed in bold.

1. New York City
2. Los Angeles
3. Chicago
4. Philadelphia
5. Dallas/Fort Worth
6. San Francisco/
Oakland/San Jose
7. Boston/Manchester, NH
8. Atlanta
9. Washington, D.C./Hagerstown, MD
10. Houston
11. Detroit
12. Phoenix
13. Tampa/St. Petersburg/
Sarasota
14. Seattle/Tacoma
15. Minneapolis/St. Paul
16. Miami/Ft. Lauderdale
17. Cleveland/Akron/Canton
18. Denver
19. Orlando/Daytona Beach/
Melbourne
20. Sacramento/Stockton/
Modesto
21. St. Louis
22. Pittsburgh
23. Portland, OR
24. Baltimore
25. Charlotte
26. Indianapolis
27. San Diego
28. Raleigh/Durham/
Fayetteville
29. Hartford/New Haven
30. Nashville
31. Kansas City, MO
32. Columbus, OH
33. Cincinnati
34. Milwaukee
35. Salt Lake City
36. Greenville/Spartanburg/
Asheville
37. San Antonio / Del Rio
38. West Palm Beach
39. Grand Rapids/
Kalamazoo/
Battle Creek
40. Birmingham/Anniston/
Tuscaloosa
41. Harrisburg/Lancaster/
Lebanon/York
42. Hampton Roads, VA
43. Las Vegas
44. Albuquerque/Santa Fe
45. Oklahoma City
46. Greensboro/High Point/
Winston-Salem
47. Memphis
48. Louisville
49. Jacksonville
50. Buffalo, NY
51. Austin, TX
52. Providence/New Bedford
53. New Orleans

If Memphis and New Orleans have games in HD and San Antonio doesn't, that'd be an issue worth griping about. I doubt that is the case, though. :)

My point about San Antonio being a small market is that it is small compared to the other NBA markets...If Memphis and New Orleans have games in HD and San Antonio doesn't, that'd be an issue worth griping about. I doubt that is the case, though. :)

Good point and you're absolutely right.

Thanks for adding the extra detail, too.

Not wanting to get into this argument, I'm still compelled to say that there's a difference between size of television market and the proportionate interest in the NBA team...

Having lived in Dallas/Ft. Worse for over 30 years and being a basketball junkie... I never saw the backing for the Mavericks that the Spurs have in the San Antonio area.

I'm just saying that if you have a market size of 3 million and only 30,000 watch the game... well you get my point.

... there's a difference between size of television market and the proportionate interest in the NBA team...

That's right. San Antonio is phenomenal in our support of the Spurs. As you clearly point out it is not that way in every NBA city, without regard to size.

I always find it interesting that the Spurs can come so close to the championship almost every year - while other teams (who shall go nameless here) never make it to the finals! And their coaching staffs remain employed!

I am just happy to play a small part in broadcasting Spurs games in HD on KENS, but we enjoy a very tenuous advantage only for the moment. As our San Antonio DTV brethren ramp up their facilities, there will be many more HD choices for viewers - and that is a great thing.

Question for Jerry (and anyone else in the know...)
As we approach the January switch date, does that mean that all analog stations will switch to their digital channels? And will KENS 5 then become KENS 55? Please clarify.

BTW: Jerry, I concur with many of the readers... you're wealth of knowlege on the subject is great, and you should have a forum on the website for this type of info.

Ken.

As we approach the ... switch date, does that mean that all analog stations will switch to their digital channels?
Ken,

Thanks for your kind compliment. The plan calls for all full-power analog TV stations to shut down their transmitters at midnight (or thereabouts) February 17 of next year. That's the simple part.

In San Antonio I believe all the full-power stations already operate a digital channel. We have done so since 2002. Here's the tricky part. On February 18 next year, (take a deep breath and fasten your seat belt) WOAI leaves DTV 58 and signs on to DTV 48. KENS leaves DTV 55 and signs on to DTV 39. KSAT leaves DTV 48 and signs back on to DTV 12. KLRN leaves DTV 8 and returns to DTV 9. KWEX leaves DTV 38 and returns to DTV 41 and KVDA leaves DTV 39 and moves to DTV 38. This is not everyone but it does cover the most dramatic channel changes.

Ironically none of us will identify with our new channel allocation. KENS will continue to brand itself as KENS-5, not 55. We won't be on 55 anyway. WOAI more than likely will continue to fly the "News Four WOAI" colors, and so on. The ATSC and the FCC both have ordered that DTV stations identify themselves with their current analog major channel number and DTV sub-channel. That means our main KENS digital service is (and shall remain) 5-1; that analog vestige is not going away - or so they say.

(Warning - editorial rant follows)

Years from now you may quote me as having said,
"...when I am long gone from this mortal coil the folks who have control over such things will have gotten over the notion of keeping the arcane channel number of the analog past for 'branding.' If TV in the future remains anything like the linear delivery system we use today, our call letters should be the only 'branding' we need..."
Even early versions of DTV receivers emulating the first generations of PSIP (Program Stream Information Protocol) software would display whatever channel number the operator told them to show. That's called channel mapping and it pretty much obseletes the need for channel numbers - but it looks like we will hold on to that piece of the past for a while longer.

That's just my opinion, not the position of anyone I work for.

(End of editorial rant.)

Sorry about that. Several things about the DTV transition simply do not make sense to me and that is one of them. Interestingly, low-power (LP)analog stations, including repeaters and translators, do not need to shut down next year and so far have no deadline to convert to digital! So, if you have a "legacy" TV set and you watch any of the low-power offerings over the air, keep that set handy. It will continue to receive the LP stations as long as the government permits.

I was at an analog TV turnoff seminar at Bjorn's this morning. After the discussion one of the attendees asked how he could tell what digital channels will be available after the DTV transition. In fact most if not all of the future digital channels are on the air right now. I promised to repeat a post from a few weeks back that identifies local clear-QAM cable channels on the Time-Warner lineup, over the air digital channels and Time-Warner cable box channel numbers. Here it is once more.

KENS Director of Technology Rich Barton compiled a table that shows the relationship between Clear-QAM, Time-Warner cable box and Over-The-Air channelnumbers for the San Antonio local HDTV stations. He assigned separate descriptors, Clear-QAM 1 (Q1) and Clear-QAM 2 (Q2) for the two known variations on Digital-Cable-Ready channel plan implementations in consumer Digital television sets.

This listing is in Time Warner Cable (TWC) box (DBox) number order. The blue lines are not on the cable system, but are included for those that receive the channels Over The Air (OTA). The green lines are those that are OTA and on TWC. For brevity, only the local HD channels are included here. Orange channels are the few cable-only Clear-QAM.

At the bottom I have added the few Grande cable local HD channels in red but I do not yet know where they appear on Clear-QAM channels. I will include that information in a future post.

If any Forum member would like the entire list of channels, please PM me and I will email you the Excel original. The numbers in parenthesis in the "Ch" column is the OTA channel allocation after 17 Feb 2009.

Our channel (KENS-DT) on Time-Warner Cable changed in Mid January from 155 to 105, but its Clear-QAM designation actually remained 112-155/112-3, depending on the channel plan adopted by your TV or STB manufacturer.

Q1=none Q2=none DBox=none OTA=5-2 Ch=55 (39) KENS-DT Vipir-5 3d
Q1=none Q2=none DBox=none OTA=23.1 Ch=16 (23) KHCE D1
Q1=none Q2=none DBox=none OTA=23.2 Ch=16 (23) KHCE D2
Q1=none Q2=none DBox=none OTA=23.3 Ch=16 (23) KHCE D3
Q1=none Q2=none DBox=none OTA=23.4 Ch=16 (23) KHCE D4
Q1=none Q2=none DBox=none OTA=23.5 Ch=16 (23) KHCE D5
Q1=none Q2=none DBox=none OTA=38.1 Ch=39 (38) KVDA
Q1=none Q2=none DBox=none OTA=41.1 Ch=38 (41) KWEX Univision
Q1=none Q2=none DBox=none OTA=41.2 Ch=38 (41) KWEX Telefutura

Q1=119-80 Q2=119-1 DBox=80 OTA=4.2 Ch=58 (48) WOAI WeatherPlus
Q1=110-81 Q2=110-3 DBox=81 OTA=12.2 Ch=48 (12) KSAT LATV
Q1=111-91 Q2=111-1 DBox=91 OTA=9.1 Ch=8 (9) KLRN D1
Q1=110-93 Q2=110-4 DBox=93 OTA=9.3 Ch=8 (9) KLRN D3 Vme
Q1=111-94 Q2=111-2 DBox=94 OTA=9.4 Ch=8 (9) KLRN D4 Create
Q1=110-104 Q2=110-1 DBox=104 OTA=4.1 Ch=58 (48) WOAI
Q1=112-107 Q2=112-1 DBox=107 OTA=35.1 Ch=(35) KMYS MY 35
Q1=112-108 Q2=112-2 DBox=108 OTA=9.2 Ch=8 (9) KLRN DT D2
Q1=111-111 Q2=111-3 DBox=111 OTA=29.1 Ch=30 (29) KABB DT FOX 29
Q1=110-112 Q2=110-2 DBox=112 OTA=12.1 Ch=48 (12) KSAT-DT
Q1=112-155 Q2=112-3 DBox=105 OTA=5.1 Ch=55 (39) KENS-DT

Q1=16-10 Q2=16-2 DBox=239 OTA=no Ch=n/a NICK TOO (Pacific)
Q1=16-6 Q2=16-1 DBox=408 OTA=no Ch=n/a R&B Hits (audio only)
Q1=0 Q2=103-1 DBox=988 OTA=no Ch=n/a SA on Demand (loop video only)

Grande Cable local HD only

304 WOAI-DT
305 KENS-DT
310 KLRN-DT
311 KABB-DT
312 KSAT-DT


I hope you find this information useful.

I turned on our kitchen TV (a Visio 20") this AM and noticed that the HD broadcast of the ABC affiliate wasn't available over our Time-Warner connection (sans cable box). All other HD channels are working. I tried to manually tune the channel (110-112) and it couldn't find it. I ran thru the TVs "channel scan" and it failed to detect it as well.

Not sure what's going on because the other HD TV in the house (a Samsung DLP) which is hooked up to the same cable feed is showing the ABC HD channel just fine.

I'm puzzled - anyone have an idea of what could be happening?

Thanks

I turned on our kitchen TV (a Visio 20") this AM and noticed that the HD broadcast of the ABC affiliate wasn't available over our Time-Warner connection ... All other HD channels are working...

Tisha,
try this. Move the 20" Visio to another cable outlet in the house. Try the cable feed from the Samsung into the Visio to see if it will tune 110-112 on that port. If it works on the line that feeds the Samsung, the cable outlet (or the wire or splitter feeding it) may have a problem, like a bad connection, loose wire or something like that.

If the Visio will not tune 110-112 on the other cable connection, maybe the TV itself has a problem. How does it work for 110-104 and 111-91?

Jerry,

Was there anything unusual about tonight's Spurs broadcast OTA? I got horrible jaggies on the court lines as if the broadcast were 480i, but the resolution seemed to be there. OTA through a DirecTV HR20 outputing 1080i to an Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 (Reon chip) deinterlacing to 1080p for a 61" 1080p display. Anything? Tuned to an ESPNHD college game on DirecTV and all was fine.

Sherrill

Jerry,

Was there anything unusual about tonight's Spurs broadcast OTA?
Sherrill,

before the start of the game we had a problem getting the remote audio synched up with the video. By half time the audio was normal. I reset the decoder early on and verified its settings, 1080i/29.97/59.94, 4:2:2 sampling (even though the broadcast is only 4:2:0) with stereo audio. I watched the game intently through half time and the video looked good, but my viewing was limited to a Sony 42" plasma via Time Warner Pace box and a 22" Acer WSXGA LCD on a Zenith 1080DTV OTA STB in my office.

I personally did not care for the way the sound was mixed for the game but I'm being picky. I thought the video looked normal compared to other Spurs games I have watched on similar gear.

Jerry,

Thanks for your response. All I can say is that on my setup the picture was not up to what I usually see on 5-1 as the best HD basketball broadcast from any source. Nearly horizontal lines on the court had prominent jaggies and the center court logo twinkled when being panned across. Checking a college game on ESPNHD looked smooth as should be. I can't comment on the sound because I had switched from Dolby 5.1 to PCM for another unrelated reason.

Again, thanks for all you do to bring us state-of-the-art HD.

Sherrill

Thanks for the reply Jerry,

Had a chance to look at the problem with the missing channels this AM and realized it wasn't just 110-112 but also 110-104.

Before trying your suggestion I ran the channel-scan again - still, no joy.

But on a hunch, I disconnected the rg-6 cable and then reconnected it again and performed the channel scan. BINGO! All the channels are now showing up.

Not sure why but I'm not going to complain.

Again, Thanks!

I hope the Spurs give more of the broadcasts to FSN next year. The games sure look good in HD.
They do indeed, though I'm not sure that's FSN in particular. As long as I can both go HD and keep Sean Elliott as an announcer, I'll be happy. So far games on CBS seem to be consistently well done.

They do indeed, though I'm not sure that's FSN in particular. As long as I can both go HD and keep Sean Elliott as an announcer, I'll be happy. So far games on CBS seem to be consistently well done.

True, bit most of the games are on 35/7 or FSN with just a few on KENS. I prefer our announcers to the national announcers too.

I just read where Clear Channels sale of its TV stations has been completed. Maybe now we can get WOAI HD on DISH Network.

Hey guys, fairly new to the forum and glad to find a San Antonio discussion. Just picked up a panasonic 42pc77u from costco and hooked it up to TW via a scientific atlantic 8240 hddvr. I seem to be having some issues when watching hd channels with the sound when I have the surround sound turned on. I have the tv connect via hdmi and the stereo reciever via digital optical audio. The sound will go from super loud to almost inaudible while watching tv. It is not just during commercials either. Does anybody have any clues as to what the problem might be? Also how do I check to see what output my cable box is putting out and how do I change that? Thanks for everything.

I watch with great trepidation all the basketball stuff on CBS in the evenings. Well,,,,, I don't watch it. But CBS has announced that the coming week will have mostly new episodes in its shows. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, here in SA which will we see??????

Will they broadcast the basketball stuff at 2AM,,,,,, please, please.

After getting the lineup from SchedulesDirect I see only CSI: Miami is new. If Without A Trace, CSI and the other Thursday and Friday stuff is/was new we won't know. Gleep.

Gleep.

Allen, I sent you a PM concerning an alternative. I often overlook the PM notices so give it a peek.

With the Spurs on tonight I see CSI:Miami at 3:07 to 4:07 tomorrow morning. I allowed for a 30 minute begin error and will start recording at 2:30. Will stop at 4:30. Hope that covers the spread.

Allen

Allen,

watch the KENS 10 PM news. if it starts on time, the show will air as scheduled at 0307.

Thanks Jerry, will do.

Allen

I like not having a box. I have two tvs with cable cards. That being said, TW has added a bunch of HD channels that do not work with cable cards. I heard a rumor that they were trying to get people off cable cards because they get more for rent on a cable box. Plus there is no pay per view with a cable card. I don't care about pay per view. I do have one box, a hd dvr.

They are close to losing me. Unless this cable card issue if fixed, I will be gone.

I have no problem getting local stations over my off air antenna.

I went to Time Warner today and have a tech coming out on Monday to install a cable card. While I was there I picked up their new channel guide and when I got home and started to look at it I was not a happy camper. There is a little red rectangle denoting that these channels can not be picked up with cable card. Of the hdtv tier (not PPV, or movie channels) there are about 31 channels and of those 31 channels, about 21 of them have that red rectangle. I already have their DVR and was going to add the cable card so I would have a complete PIP option. Guess that's too much to ask!

Is anyone here using TW cable card and if you are, is it still only about 10 HD channels or has the number increased since they published this guide?

Thanks for any help.

It's TWC's little way of telling you they really don't care for cable cards since you can't use them to buy other services like PPV, etc.

Sorry for the ignorance, but what are cable cards?

Hello, hoping this the right thread for this question.

I just purchased TWC Package that include HD Cable, Digital Phone, and hi speed internet w/ Turbo upgrade (i've had turbo alone, w/o the other services for over a year now).

Anyway, Casino Royale was on last night on Showtime HD and i gotta say, it was nearly unwatchable. There was a serious amount of pixelation during every action scene.

No other channels have stuck out like Showtime HD did last night. The HDNet trailer show which showed did show alot of high action scenes looked good.
CBS HD College Basketball looks good as well.

Anybody else out there have the same problem w/ ShoHD? Is there anything TWC can do to resolve this issue?

Scientific Atlanta
8240HDC DVR

Thanks in advance for any responses.

S

It's TWC's little way of telling you they really don't care for cable cards since you can't use them to buy other services like PPV, etc.

Yes, and I get the message. I looked at the channel guide a little closer, and with the cable card I would get a grand total of 11 HD channels (out of 32 HD channels with box). Out of those 11 HD channels, my QAM tuner without a card gets 6. A whopping grand total of 5 extra HD channels with the cable card! On top of that, if I put the card in, it looks like I would lose 2 of the 6 that I already get. Channel 111 FOX & 107 My Network.

I made that dreaded call to TW customer service to confirm the channel line up from the pamphlet published in March 2008.

MESSAGE RECEIVED, INSTALL CANCELED!

ElusivEmu

CableCard makes your set Digital Cable Ready (DCR), eliminating the need for a set-top box from your cable provider to get both standard and high-def programming.

world of pain

I don't have Showtime so I cant help there, but I see that you have the latest HD-DVR. I guess since the cable card is worthless for HD, I should at least try to get the best box I can. Can you or anyone else using this new box share your experience.

Thanks for any help.

Yes, and I get the message. I looked at the channel guide a little closer, and with the cable card I would get a grand total of 11 HD channels (out of 32 HD channels with box). Out of those 11 HD channels, my QAM tuner without a card gets 6. A whopping grand total of 5 extra HD channels with the cable card! On top of that, if I put the card in, it looks like I would lose 2 of the 6 that I already get. Channel 111 FOX & 107 My Network.

I made that dreaded call to TW customer service to confirm the channel line up from the pamphlet published in March 2008.

MESSAGE RECEIVED, INSTALL CANCELED!

ElusivEmu

CableCard makes your set Digital Cable Ready (DCR), eliminating the need for a set-top box from your cable provider to get both standard and high-def programming.

world of pain

I don't have Showtime so I cant help there, but I see that you have the latest HD-DVR. I guess since the cable card is worthless for HD, I should at least try to get the best box I can. Can you or anyone else using this new box share your experience.

Thanks for any help.
COOLRIVER,

I'd be happy to try to answer any specific questions you have.

This is my first DVR so i don't have anything to compare it to. But I'm general satisfied w/ it so far.

I think the Interface/GUI/navigation leave alot to be desired.

I recorded a part of a HD movie on HDNet and noticed no artifacts. Not sure what type of compression is used but i was pleased w/ the quality of the recording.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

S

There line-up leaves a lot of room for improvements over the next few months. My desire is for there to offer UsaHD and ScFiHD along with a few others but those are my 2 that I would love for them to be offering SOON!

Pixel issue continues on channel 134 MHD. Is there anyway they can do something about the pixels?

Tech came out today and replaced the entire cable line from the box outside to my apt. Seems to run better on channels like FoodNetworkHD and CnnHD and TLCHD, which seemed to "stick" and freeze at points (a lot).

OVerall I have been disappointed with TWC over the past 15 months or so. I hope they continue to give us more HD channels and not stupid "On Demand" crap but REAL channels, they say they have 46 HD channels but a lot of they are "crap" to me. Just my opinion.

TWC has added a new HD channel

153 - HallmarkHD


Just an FYI.

Fox not in hd tonight for american idol have the bars on the side pissed.
also it went to like network not found with the rainbow screen anyone have this problem

CableCard makes your set Digital Cable Ready (DCR), eliminating the need for a set-top box from your cable provider to get both standard and high-def programming.

Thanks for the reply, never knew those existed. Thought the only option was a set top box.

We also have an 8240HDC DVR and am content with it. The boxes could always be faster in my opinion, and the menus are a little less than what I would expect in something in 2008. We have had to have it replaced once although the reason for that is still a little unclear to me. I was asleep at the time and my wife handled the whole visit. The original call was to get a new box working in a room I just ran a line to, and he ended up having to replace the DVR in another room? Anytime I asked my wife she mumbles about losing her recorded shows and me sleeping and her having to deal with the guy going all over the house, so I learned not to ask anymore.

There line-up leaves a lot of room for improvements over the next few months. My desire is for there to offer UsaHD and ScFiHD along with a few others but those are my 2 that I would love for them to be offering SOON!

Pixel issue continues on channel 134 MHD. Is there anyway they can do something about the pixels?

Tech came out today and replaced the entire cable line from the box outside to my apt. Seems to run better on channels like FoodNetworkHD and CnnHD and TLCHD, which seemed to "stick" and freeze at points (a lot).

OVerall I have been disappointed with TWC over the past 15 months or so. I hope they continue to give us more HD channels and not stupid "On Demand" crap but REAL channels, they say they have 46 HD channels but a lot of they are "crap" to me. Just my opinion.
I am actually kind of alright with the HD line up right now - provided they continue to expand. I find myself going between the discoveries, history and sports channels - which is what I did on normal cable. I look at it this way, about 75% of the channels I pay for on regular cable are "crap" to me, so why be upset when the same ratio applies to the HD line up? I'll be really happy when I can buy channels "a la carte" and 0% are crap!

Sorry all didn't mean to come off that way, just frustrated to the max with TW right now. Can't seem to get anything to work longer than a few hours without another hiccup in the signal.

After they replaced the line the cable box seemed to work "okay" for several hours all evening. Then today I planned to tape a certain channel at a certain time and once again it only taped the 1st show it only taped about 14 mins then "froze" and the 2nd program only recorded 6 mins. I replaced the HD-DVR again with a "New" one today, this would be my 6 box so far (I had a Digital Box 3 times, and a HD box and now my 2nd HD-DVR box = 6) over the past 15 months. Just outrageous! I guess we will see how this one runs when I go to tape again. If I can't get it right this time I am seriously thinking of dumping TW and going with a Dish company. I don't mind paying extra for MORE HD channels and not HD-On Demand channels ((FREE)). I don't even watch any of the "On Demand" channels. I have enough issues trying to go through the first 260+ channels.

I am actually kind of alright with the HD line up right now - provided they continue to expand. I find myself going between the discoveries, history and sports channels - which is what I did on normal cable. I look at it this way, about 75% of the channels I pay for on regular cable are "crap" to me, so why be upset when the same ratio applies to the HD line up? I'll be really happy when I can buy channels "a la carte" and 0% are crap!
That would be the route I would go if TW offered that service!

A la carte......HERE I COME! Ha Ha.

its the 8240 a new box I have the 8300hdc and im not happy with it Im not familar with teh 8240

its the 8240 a new box I have the 8300hdc and im not happy with it Im not familar with teh 8240

wondering the same, ive got 2 of the 8300HDC's and ive just about had it with the sporadic recording and audio dropouts with it.

wondering the same, ive got 2 of the 8300HDC's and ive just about had it with the sporadic recording and audio dropouts with it.


After looking around AVS some more, ( I love this place ) I found more on this New BOX 8240 and it does not look good. I think I will stick with the Evil I know (8300). :rolleyes:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=988052&highlight=8240+VS+8300

For the past year or so that I've been watching a few programs on Dish FX channel, I notice that on each commercial break there is a segment where Dish themselves can throw in a minute's worth... and they've always been without sound. Does nobody at Dish even notice this? Or is it to do with FX themselves?

Another thing on FX... many of the regular programs are in Spanish, much as if they have the SAP mixed up with the primary audio... does this happen on DTV and TW?

But really I just think it's hilarious that Dish never has even noticed what bumbleheads they appear to be when this happens over and over and over without notice.

Saturnhd, Sorry to hear about your many problems with TWC. I have only had a few minor issues with picture and never had an issue with recordings (knock on wood). I think one of the main problems with TWC is they don't have a minimum (I think) signal strength from the node or neighborhood box. I tried to get AT&T Uverse a few months back and couldn't because we were too far from the box and the phone line signal wouldn't support the service. Case closed, no work around. Now when I originally moved into this house my cable signal was pretty weak at the box in the back yard so they reran a new underground line to the house, then replaced just about all lines in the house, then removed all the filters on the line in the box in the back yard to get me a decent signal. I still have to have an amp in the attic to split my signal 4 ways and occasionally will see digital blocking. I am sure it would be better if they focused more on getting the max signal to that box out in the yard though instead of just optimizing the crappy signal all over my house.

Anyone have issues with the audio skipping on recorded shows on the DVR.
I have a HD-DVR.
8240 HDC model.

I just got a SA8300HDC box today. So we shall see how this one works!

Hey Jerry,

The new graphics for the weather look great! I noticed there is a slight anamorphic squeeze. Getting ready for HD? :)

Hey Jerry,

The new graphics for the weather look great!

Thanks, Chris. Still working out the bugs. I'm sure you know almost everything we have been doing for a while has qualified as getting ready for HD, so the answer is yes. It is a busy time for all TV stations.

Thanks, Chris. Still working out the bugs. I'm sure you know almost everything we have been doing for a while has qualified as getting ready for HD, so the answer is yes. It is a busy time for all TV stations.LOL, yes I'll bet. I was in Sacramento, CA last week and turned on their NBC affiliate with HD local news. It looked great. Once you guys get that going, I'm sure it will be well worth the effort (and money).

Last night Bill Taylor was having a blast with all the bells and whistles. You can tell he was in heaven. Paul this morning though looked like he was still learning the system (at least the part I saw). I'm sure he will get better as time goes on.

I have been a long time viewer of Kens5 and I am happy to hear that Kens5 is still working on the bugs to get us FULL HD content with their newcast.

As far as all the advancements you all have made, BRAVO BRAVO! Everything looks really GOOD! I am so proud of all the work and effort everyone is doing on their part to give us HD local news. GREAT WORK! :)

Is Fox-HD out right now for OTA viewers? It's out on TWC (channel #111) but that is the only channel that is not working correctly. Fox-SD is working perfectly (channel #11).

Why during my favorite race of the year?? :confused:

Is Fox-HD out right now for OTA viewers? It's out on TWC (channel #111) but that is the only channel that is not working correctly. Fox-SD is working perfectly (channel #11).

It's working for me OTA.

TW has added:

170- Outdoor Channel-HD
158- Travel Channel-HD


175- BioHD (coming 05/01/08)
152- Fox News ChannelHD (coming 05/01/08)


I'm still waiting for 2 channels to become active on their lineup:

UsaHD
SciFiHD

General question to those folks here who choose to not use a cable receiver but do take advantage of TWC unencrypted QAM locals over your TV's HD tuner.

Are you able to pick up any additional unencrypted channels as in NGC (HD) or the like? I think I get Nick in HD but honestly, I haven't had the time to sit and cycle through the vast array of digital channels that my Sharp picks up on a scan. I know most of the results are nothing but blank channels but I'm thinking their may be a gem or two in there.

General question to those folks here who choose to not use a cable receiver but do take advantage of TWC unencrypted QAM locals ...
Are you able to pick up any additional unencrypted channels?
In my experience, no. Depending on when you perform a channel re-scan you may pick up the tail end of a video-on-demand showing but not with any predictable regularity. The Nick channel you see is an alternative Nick, Nick Too (Pacific), but it is not HD. You might also receive the San Antonio On-Demand loop on channel 0 or 106-1, depending on your TV's tuner and channel plan, but no "gems."

So I have finally decided to dump Time Warner and go with DirecTV and get plenty more HD channels. I will be getting about 70 with the package I got.
It gets installed on Sat 05/09/08 so excited about it! I'll post back here once it gets installed and I can see what type of signal I get and the HD channels.

The 101 HD
ch. 101

A&E HD
ch. 265

Animal Planet HD
ch. 282

Big Ten Network HD
ch. 220
ch. 266

Bravo HD
ch. 273

Cartoon Network HD
ch. 296

Cinemax HD East
ch. 512

Cinemax HD West
ch. 514

CMT HD
ch. 327

CNBC HD
ch. 355

CNN HD
ch. 202

CSTV HD
ch. 610

Dicovery Channel HD
ch. 278

Disney Channel HD
ch. 290

ESPN HD
ch. 206

ESPN2 HD
ch. 209

ESPNews HD
ch. 207

Food Network HD
ch. 231

Fox Business HD
ch. 359

Fuel HD
ch. 612

FX HD
ch. 248

Golf Channel HD
ch. 604

HBO HD East
ch. 501

HBO HD West
ch. 504
ch. 76

HDNet Movies
ch. 79

HDNet Movies
ch. 78

HGTV HD
ch. 229

The History Channel HD
ch. 269

MGM HD
ch. 255

The Movie Channel HD
ch. 544

MTV HD
ch. 331

Music HD
ch. 332

National Geographic HD
ch. 276

NBA TV HD
ch. 601

NFL Network HD
ch. 212

NHL Network HD
ch. 215

Nick HD
ch. 299

SHOWTIME HD
ch. 537

SHO TOO HD
ch. 538

SHOWTIME HD West
ch. 540

Smithsonian Channel HD
ch. 267

Speed Channel HD
ch. 607

Spike HD
ch. 325

Starz Comedy HD
ch. 519

Starz Edge HD
ch. 522

Starz Family HD
ch. 518

Starz HD East
ch. 520

Starz HD West
ch. 521

TBS HD
ch. 247

TLC HD
ch. 280

Toon Disney HD
ch. 292

TNT HD
ch. 245

The Science Channel HD
ch. 284

Sci-Fi HD
ch. 244

Tennis HD
ch. 217

The Weather Channel HD
ch. 362

Universal HD
ch. 74

USA Network HD
ch. 242

Versus HD
ch. 604

VH1 HD
ch. 335


Local HD Channels Included*
ABC HD
CBS HD
Fox HD
NBC HD

Experience your favorite shows, local news and sports like never before with DIRECTV HD. We offer local HD coverage in more areas than ever. Find out if you are eligible.

Regional Sports Network Channels
CSN Chicago HD
ch. 640

CSN Mid-Atlantic HD
ch. 629

FSN Detroit HD
ch. 636

FSN New York HD
ch. 624

FSN PrimeTicket HD
ch. 653

FSN Southwest HD
ch. 643

FSN West HD
ch. 652
ch. 621
ch. 623
ch. 625
ch. 622


And coming soon ABC FamilyHD

Also by the end of 2008 they will have 100+ HD channels.

I might be switching also im fed up with time warner and the lack of HD channels and there cable box sucs

After reviewing prices and channels that I watch the most I have finally dumped Time Warner and am a proud customer of DirecTV!
I have about 70 HD channels and am very pleased so far in the service I have been receiving.

With Time Warner I was paying well over $100 a month for their service, now with DirecTV I am playing about 50-55 a month.

After reviewing prices and channels that I watch the most I have finally dumped Time Warner and am a proud customer of DirecTV!
I have about 70 HD channels and am very pleased so far in the service I have been receiving.

With Time Warner I was paying well over $100 a month for their service, now with DirecTV I am playing about 50-55 a month.

I am seriously considering the switch also, but do have a few questions. How does the picture quality compare? How does the box compair to TW's? Did order directly through Direct or did you go through a local contractor? How did the installation go?

So far no issues at all, as far as pixel issues as I was having on some stations with Time WarnerHD channels. And issues with TW boxes, don't even get me started. I went through at least 6 boxes in the past 6-9 months with no resolution to only have tech's come out to the apt and find "no issue". So after the 5th tech came out I had it and just said to heck with all the hassle (it's really not worth the fight) if they are/can't fix the issue.

As far as picture. WOW! I live in an apt and I get a great signal! The HD channels are really GOOD (much better signal) than with TW.

I am not advocating everyone to dump TW. But if you have had issues with boxes, service, signal on HD channels (that you are paying EXTRA for) then it would be "wise" to give DirecTV or Dish another look at and compare the prices/packages/channels/service/signal between the two or three companies. And the HD lineup is so awesome. I am enjoying almost 3x the amount of HD channels I had with TW.

As far as a downside? I don't really know besides you have to sign an agreement with DirecTV (im on a 24-month contract). But now TW has the price lock thing, if you cancel early you could be charged a fee, look into it, it's true.

And you get the locals at no extra cost either with DirecTV, I though there would be an addlt charge, but nope.

I am seriously considering the switch also, but do have a few questions. How does the picture quality compare? How does the box compair to TW's? Did order directly through Direct or did you go through a local contractor? How did the installation go?

The picture to me is REALLY good.

I went directly through DirecTV, no contractor.

Professional Install was done and it cost me $0.00!

I have a DirecTV-HD box and HD Satelite.

There is a difference between a "Regular" and an "HD" dish so when you order HD service make sure you request the HD dish (it should get better signal).

Also if you opt to get a tripod be very careful, the HD dish is "bigger" and will need a bigger tripod than most stores carry like Radio Shack or Home Depot. I had to buy a few before I gave up and just had the guy bolt it to the wall of the apt. The HD dish is BIG and HEAVY so if you self-install be careful.

I am not here to bash Time Warner just to discuss the difference's between TW and DirecTV and/or Dish.

Here is the deal pulled directly from Time Warner's website (location: San Antonio): Check your local city website for difference price amount's.

*$89.85 Get ALL 3 (1 Yr) LIMITED OFFER:
Valid for NEW Time Warner Cable customers only. Must order and maintain all 3 services: DIGIPiC 1000, Digital Phone Local and Road Runner High Speed OnlineTM 7Mbps product, to receive offer of $89.85 per month for 12 months.


*****If qualifying service(s) is terminated prior to the end of the 12-month commitment period, a pro-rated early termination fee of up to $150 will apply.*****



Price Lock Guarantee program will automatically renew for up to two additional 12-month commitment periods unless customer contacts Time Warner Cable to cancel automatic renewal of program prior to the end of the 12-month term. To receive all services, Digital Cable and lease of an HD set-top box are required. Some services are not available to Cable Card customers. Digital Phone does not include backup power and, should there be a loss of electrical power, Digital Phone, including the ability to access 9-1-1 services, will not be available. Additional charges apply for calls outside the Time Warner Cable Digital Phone calling area, installation, operator services, directory assistance, and taxes and fees. Caller ID On TV requires Digital Phone and Digital Cable. Subject to credit approval. Actual speed may vary. Not all Road Runner products and services are available to customers using the Microsoft® Windows VistaTM operating system. Windows VistaTM is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. ©2008 Time Warner Cable Inc. All other corporate brands and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. TM & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (s08). Security software is not currently available for Macintosh computers. Internet Security Suite software must be downloaded on Road Runner and registration is required. Terms and conditions of this offer are subject to change at the discretion of Road Runner and/or CA at any time. LOONEY TUNES characters, names, and all related indicia are trademarks of Warner Brothers. TM & © WarnerBros. Entertainment Inc. (s08) Not all equipment supports all services. Prices exclude applicable taxes. All services may not be immediately available in all areas. Offer is not transferable and may not be combined with any other offer. Other restrictions may apply. Offer expires 6/30/08.


The same issue with 24-month "contract", fee of $150.00 will apply.

Ok this was a fun topic about direct tv but lets get back on target and not thread hijack i can see this getting to be a long discussion and im sure there are threads on this already.

Does anyone know when Time Warner will be adding addlt HD channels to it's line -up?

I know they just added the FoxHD channel (152) and BioHD channel.







*sorry to go "off topic" with DirecTV.

...I am not advocating everyone to dump TW. OK, then I will. There's really no comparison. More HD on TW will further degrade their signal. D*'s new satellite will be operational soon with many more HD channels on the way! No provider is perfect, but I haven't missed TW even one little bit.

Apologies to the thread hijack police...

Sorry to see the VOOM channels are now gone from DishHD... picked up some channels that don't make much difference if they're in HD, but VOOM channels were different and beautiful. A shame.

And you get the locals at no extra cost either with DirecTV, I though there would be an addlt charge, but nope.

Are these NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX HD locals?

I only have one HD set but would I need boxes for additional analog TV's and is there extra charge for each additional set. If you know.

What's a tripod?


The reason I ask all these questions is because that info would help me decide if I switch or stay with TW. Thanks for any info you can provide.

What's a tripod?

I don't have a dish, so that question of yours is the only one I can answer. :)

You'll understand immediately what tripod mounts are when you see the examples of them on this page (http://sadoun.com/Sat/Order/Dishes/satellite-Dish-mounts.htm).

I just left Dish after 11 years to go for the TW package deal. They hooked everything up last Saturday and I have almost everything hooked up like I had it with Dish except my LG TV is a DVI input and the 8240 is HDMI. This is the same as Dish so I had an HDMI to DVI cable hooked up and I got DVI picture on the LG. I also had the component input hooked up and could see the picture on that input. The tech hooked up the 8240 thru the component but when he plugged in the HDMI to DVI cable the component input went black but you could see the DVI input. Then he unplugged the HDMI to DVI cable and the component input came back on. My question is this: Is there any way to get the input on the component and the DVI input to be active at the same time? I know you are going to ask why I would want both inputs to work and the answer is that since the TV is DVI I have to turn on my separate audio receiver to get the sound. I generally only switch over to DVI when there is a special show on that I want in the best HD with stereo. Otherwise component with the TV sound is just fine.

Hope this all makes sense.

Is there any way to get the input on the component and the DVI input to be active at the same time?

If you can find out, let me know! I also have TWC and in my media room i have a computer at one end and a big screen on the other. We just bought a new computer with a 19" widescreen that has a DVI input. When I plugged the DVI cable from the 3250HD to my new monitor I got a picture, but no picture on the projector - which is connected via HDMI.

Since this is across 2 different set top boxes, it leads me to believe it is a TWC restriction. Anyone know anything about any settings to access?

OK - just a quick sidetrack here, I hope. This may be a whole thread somewhere - HDTiVo (using cablecards) customers with TWC in SA can't get those channels from the service that are "switched digital video". But, there are reports a solution (tuning resolver) is on the way that will allow reception of those channels. Anybody in the room know anything about a time table for this?

I just left Dish after 11 years to go for the TW package deal. They hooked everything up last Saturday and I have almost everything hooked up like I had it with Dish except my LG TV is a DVI input and the 8240 is HDMI. This is the same as Dish so I had an HDMI to DVI cable hooked up and I got DVI picture on the LG. I also had the component input hooked up and could see the picture on that input. The tech hooked up the 8240 thru the component but when he plugged in the HDMI to DVI cable the component input went black but you could see the DVI input. Then he unplugged the HDMI to DVI cable and the component input came back on. My question is this: Is there any way to get the input on the component and the DVI input to be active at the same time? I know you are going to ask why I would want both inputs to work and the answer is that since the TV is DVI I have to turn on my separate audio receiver to get the sound. I generally only switch over to DVI when there is a special show on that I want in the best HD with stereo. Otherwise component with the TV sound is just fine.

Hope this all makes sense.
Certain satellite receivers (set-top boxes) block the component output when HDMI is being used (designed that way and explained as such on some D* receivers). Could be that way on other companies receivers also.

OK...I have to ask about this because I keep seeing these channels advertised as being available on Dish, but have not gotten an answer about if you actually receive them. Since we're in San Antonio, do they only give you FSN SW, or do you get a choice of the ones listed below, or do you get all of them? If I could get CSN Chicago, I would switch, but if I have to keep watching Astros games, forget it.



Regional Sports Network Channels
CSN Chicago HD
ch. 640

CSN Mid-Atlantic HD
ch. 629

FSN Detroit HD
ch. 636

FSN New York HD
ch. 624

FSN PrimeTicket HD
ch. 653

FSN Southwest HD
ch. 643

FSN West HD
ch. 652
ch. 621
ch. 623
ch. 625
ch. 622


And coming soon ABC FamilyHD

Also by the end of 2008 they will have 100+ HD channels.

OK...I have to ask about this because I keep seeing these channels advertised as being available on Dish, but have not gotten an answer about if you actually receive them. Since we're in San Antonio, do they only give you FSN SW, or do you get a choice of the ones listed below, or do you get all of them? If I could get CSN Chicago, I would switch, but if I have to keep watching Astros games, forget it.

You can get the channel with the Multi-Sport package but unless I'm mistaken, you don't get the games. I think the games are blacked out unless they go over the time allotted in the EPG.

http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/whats_on_dish/pay_per_view/sports/multi_sports_packages/packages.aspx

OK...I have to ask about this because I keep seeing these channels advertised as being available on Dish, but have not gotten an answer about if you actually receive them. Since we're in San Antonio, do they only give you FSN SW, or do you get a choice of the ones listed below, or do you get all of them? If I could get CSN Chicago, I would switch, but if I have to keep watching Astros games, forget it.


I get The SW channel 0643 but the others I think you have to purchase in other packages. I have the Choice Xtra Package and get about 200 +/- channels including lots of HD channels that TW doesn't carry on any of their tiers. I didn't care much for the Video On Demand crap so that's 1 reason I dumped TW for DirectvHD.

OK...I have to ask about this because I keep seeing these channels advertised as being available on Dish, but have not gotten an answer about if you actually receive them. Since we're in San Antonio, do they only give you FSN SW, or do you get a choice of the ones listed below, or do you get all of them? If I could get CSN Chicago, I would switch, but if I have to keep watching Astros games, forget it.

You get FSN SW which shows Rangers and Astros games. if the Rangers and Astros are playing at the same time, then Dish has ALT channels that will show one of the games (usually the Astros games) Here's the good thing about dish: If you add the sports package for $5.99/mo. you get all the RSN channels. They black out when mlb, NHL, NBA games are on from say 6pm-9pm. Once the clock turns to 9pm, it comes back on. So say the Cubs are playing the Dodgers and the game starts at 6:05pm and it's in the 8th inning at 9:00 you can switch over to CSN Chicago and watch the last few innings. If you have the HD package, you also get the HD channels. I'm a big cubs fan and have been able to watch the end of many Cubs games and other MLB games because they usually go over the 3hr. time limit.

Anyone else getting spotty reception of FOX OTA? I've only seen one brief mention of it in the thread lately.

FOX is normally 99-100% signal strenght OTA on our Dish VIP622, but it will occasionally drop to <70% and cause picture loss. Sometimes this lasts a split second, sometimes several minutes. It seems to have most often in the evening during prime time shows. We're in Cibolo.

Anyone else getting spotty reception of FOX OTA? I've only seen one brief mention of it in the thread lately.

FOX is normally 99-100% signal strenght OTA on our Dish VIP622, but it will occasionally drop to <70% and cause picture loss. Sometimes this lasts a split second, sometimes several minutes. It seems to have most often in the evening during prime time shows. We're in Cibolo.Could it be air-traffic related? I live near the flight path of San Antonio International and occasionally get OTA dropouts when planes pass between my location and the towers to the south on final approach.

In Cibolo, you'd have Randolph Field between you and the KABB tower. Randolph probably has some unusual air traffic movement on occasion. :)

I'd thought it could be related to Randolph as well. I guess if no one else is noticing any signal dropouts that that's likely what it is.. that or ghosts...

Looks like KENS is preparing for an HD kickoff on 30 JUN (based on some promos during the news today), no?

Looks like KENS is preparing for an HD kickoff on 30 JUN (based on some promos during the news today), no?I have been seeing a teaser promo that began running about a week ago for the station's "biggest announcement ever." HD was my thought, too. Especially since today's Jeanne Jakle column indicated that Chris Marrou is not retiring. ;)

Just wander if there is any news on the upcoming HD channels for Time Warner

I'm having reception problems with KLRN's digital broadcast. Sometimes, the audio & picture are stable (and stunning, I might add). At other times, I'll get audio dropouts, blocking, and picture breakup, most often in the bottom 1/3 of the picture (I wonder why it's there?).

I might go through an entire program, like the News Hour, with few problems. But every time I watch Austin City Limits, I experience significant audio & picture problems. I can't tell that the time of day matters. I watched Charlie Rose last night and the broadcast signal was perfect.

According to Antennaweb, I'm 20 miles from the tower, and I need only a small (yellow) multi-directional VHF antenna for this station. In fact, I've got a large directional antenna (see attached picture). It's not blocked by any nearby obstructions. I've got it pointed about 3 degrees off the KLRN tower to split the difference between its direction and the direction to WOAI et. al.

There are currently no new channels listed as of yet for June and I called Customer Service to see and they didn't have anything listed for new channels debuting.

I only have Road Runner through them as I have said I wanted to try something different new and cheaper and am now a DirectvHD customer.

Pirspilane,

I too experience audio and video dropouts during KLRN-DT programs. I live on the NW side of the city and use a rooftop antenna for local channels. I have DirecTV HD as well. The dropouts on KLRN don't appear related to signal strength according to my TV's built in meter. I recall reading a post some time ago that KLRN-DT uses statistical muxing to broadcast their four channels. I wonder if their processor gets overwhelmed at times. In my experience the video and audio seem stable and then as the NOVA intro begins, for example, I see a lot of dropouts. As the program starts the video and audio stabilize followed by occasional dropouts during the rest of the program.

Should you change your antenna, I'd like to know if you improve or eliminate these drop outs.

Just wander if there is any news on the upcoming HD channels for Time Warner
Did you notice the *new* HD channel called Planet Green? Forgot the channel number, but looking at TW website it says Discover Home changed to Planet Green on June 4th. It was located at 220, but is now on HD though. Haven't got a chance to see any programming as of yet, but the show Greenovate intrigues me. Anything to help me lower my electric bills is a plus!

Did you notice the *new* HD channel called Planet Green? Forgot the channel number, but looking at TW website it says Discover Home changed to Planet Green on June 4th. It was located at 220, but is now on HD though. Haven't got a chance to see any programming as of yet, but the show Greenovate intrigues me. Anything to help me lower my electric bills is a plus!

I will have to check this out.

Pirspilane,

I too experience audio and video dropouts during KLRN-DT programs. I live on the NW side of the city and use a rooftop antenna for local channels. I have DirecTV HD as well. The dropouts on KLRN don't appear related to signal strength according to my TV's built in meter. I recall reading a post some time ago that KLRN-DT uses statistical muxing to broadcast their four channels. I wonder if their processor gets overwhelmed at times. In my experience the video and audio seem stable and then as the NOVA intro begins, for example, I see a lot of dropouts. As the program starts the video and audio stabilize followed by occasional dropouts during the rest of the program.

Should you change your antenna, I'd like to know if you improve or eliminate these drop outs.

Thanks mac1951,

I just checked it using the signal meter on my Sharp set. It was fluctuating between 27 & 38 (out of 100). Unfortunately, the picture was mostly stable on this Lawrence Welk rerun.

For comparison, I get:

WOAI - 94
KENS - 94
KSAT - 85
KABB - 85
and they are all rock solid.

My Panasonic is a lot more generous, giving KLRN a 92, and the others 100. Hopefully, KLRN will weigh in on this issue. They previously said that they were hoping to boost their power at some point. I'm thinking that the antennaweb recommendation was wrong.

saturnHD,

Do you get WOAI's HD broadcast via DirecTV??

Locals in HD.

Yes I get the San Antonio locals in HD

WOAI
KENS
KSAT

Even though none of the above have HD programming yet, they feed off their Base Channels for HD content:

WOAI feeds off NBC-HD

Kens feeds off CBS-HD

Ksat feeds off ABC-HD

Locals in HD.

Yes I get the San Antonio locals in HD

WOAI


I was just curious because Dish doesn't have WOAI in HD.

Thanks!

Just notices disney channel HD and familyhd on 142 141

and sometimes TW just adds HD channels without notice which I guess is a GOOD surprise! :eek:

to bad there is nothing on these channels that I would watch plus there was remeber the titans on last night and it was croped and I had black bars on the side. Not the qaulity i was hoping for.

Just an FYI...

I saw an earlier post where someone said maybe Dish would have better luck dealing with the new owners rather than Clear Channel. I fired off an email to the new owners, Newport Television, and I received an email today from a VP of operatations. He said they were indeed in negotiations with Dish and that hopefully they will come to an agreement. No timeline but at least they are talking!

Hopefully they can get WOAI HD on Dish. I have an antenna on top of my entertainment center that connects to my Dish 722 DVR, so I am able to pull WOAI and record on the channel/scroll through guide without any problems. Highly recommended to get one if you have Dish

Just notices disney channel HD and familyhd on 142 141

Nice that they added them, but so far I don't see the point. As another poster mentioned, they are showing movies in 4:3 when there is obviously a 16:9 source.

On the plus side, shows that were originally in 4:3 are staying that way instead of being shows in the atrocious stretch-o-vision. I was most hoping to see some Gilmore Girls in widescreen HD, as I never got to with the WB and CW never broadcasting in HD around here. But they are showing those in 4:3 as well. I've also noticed horrible audio-synch problems on ABC Family HD during Grounded For Life, which I quite like, but hopefully those will go away.

Hi All,

Does anyone know when DirecTV is going to roll out the KLRN HD feed in the San Antonio, TX market?

We've all been seeing the teasers for 'the biggest announcement in KENS history' slated for 6-30-08 for over a month now.

At 3:18 KENS aired a promo containing vintage footage and stills of significant local news events that included Gary DeLaune's live coverage of the fiesta sniper over 20 years ago, major snowfall in San Antonio, Spurs first championship, Katrina coverage and the OLLU fire. At the end of the spot it said Eyewitness News was going HD beginning 6-30-08.

I can't help but wonder that 10 days out of the big announcement that someone placed this spot on air in error.

Jerry, you can come out of hiding now! Is there more to the announcement, or did someone screw up?

John911
lonnnnnnng time lurker

I guess its no fluke. They just showed the spot again at 4:26...

It also included the Comfort flood with the 'original' Chooper 5, Selena's murder, and Dan Cook's retirement.

There is no mistake.

There is nothing to hide; quite the contrary there is a lot to promote and do before June 30.

Stay tuned.

Nice that they added them, but so far I don't see the point. As another poster mentioned, they are showing movies in 4:3 when there is obviously a 16:9 source.

On the plus side, shows that were originally in 4:3 are staying that way instead of being shows in the atrocious stretch-o-vision. I was most hoping to see some Gilmore Girls in widescreen HD, as I never got to with the WB and CW never broadcasting in HD around here. But they are showing those in 4:3 as well. I've also noticed horrible audio-synch problems on ABC Family HD during Grounded For Life, which I quite like, but hopefully those will go away.

I notice this also horible audio sync and picture qaulity and the 4:3 when watching remember the titans on the family hd this is horible in the 4:3 aspect. Hopefully since these are new channels they might have to work out the kinks. Maybe thats what is going on.

There is no mistake.

There is nothing to hide; quite the contrary there is a lot to promote and do before June 30.

Stay tuned.
This is great news! Looking forward to see what you have in store for us Jerry. I visited you over 2 1/2 years ago and I remember you talking about this way back then. Great to see things will finally come to pass.

I'm sure many things have changed but if anyone would like to read about my visit to KENS, here are the posts complete with pictures. Take note of the HD Camera in the news room. If the same camera is still there, at least it will finally get used the way it was intended. :)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=6919475&postcount=2162

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=6919485&postcount=2163

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=6919492&postcount=2164

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=6919500&postcount=2165

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=6919511&postcount=2166

Nope.
According to 1 source of programming over at WOAI they do not plan to HD anytime soon....sucks for them I guess! :confused:

Will be waiting by the TV on 06/30 when Kens goes HD! :D

Nope.
According to 1 source of programming over at WOAI they do not plan to HD anytime soon....sucks for them I guess! :confused:

Will be waiting by the TV on 06/30 when Kens goes HD! :DThat's interesting. Usually it's always NBC that gets this stuff first. I remember they were first with MTS Stereo (at least in the area I was in back in the 80's, not San Antonio).

Jerry,

Something is wrong. This morning and this evening (Sunday) they keep saying that the newscast is in HD. It's not. As a matter of fact the picture is slightly stretched with black bars on the side. Someone didn't flick the right switch. :)

Jerry,

Something is wrong. This morning and this evening (Sunday) they keep saying that the newscast is in HD. It's not.
Nothing exactly wrong, Chris. Saturday and Sunday's broadcasts were what we call a "soft launch." That means that we moved out of our Standard Definition control room and into our High Definition control room, running through a day and a half of "live rehearsals" if you will, to work out most of the minor bugs before actually going on the air in HD on schedule this morning. You saw at least one of our gremlins in the stretched-looking video. Other viewers noticed our audio woes Sunday afternoon and evening. We had a couple of misdirected audio pairs that had engineering scratching its collective head until late into Sunday evening, but we found and corrected everything we could.

In spite of that a few bugs remained early this morning but our Integration crew found some of the last annoyances even while we were on the air with San Antonio's first newscast in High Definition. We will continue to refine our process as time goes by.

Stay Tuned!

Thanks Jerry. I noticed this morning everything looked great. Fantastic work you guys are doing!

Curious about something. On the remotes, are those cameras HD or are you simply placing the cameras in widescreen mode? If they are non-HD, they look pretty darn good.

Is the HD camera in the newsroom still the same camera you showed me a couple of years ago?

Jerry, thought the newscast looked great as well, few observations, though:

- Lipsync was off a few times
- SERIOUS pixelization during the traffic segments when the map moved
- Inconsitent use of 4:3 video, some had neat blue bars on the sides, others were stretched
- Station Logos often covered important graphic elements in weather and traffic

I'm assuming some of these (the stretching and logos) are part of the growing pains that will go away once y'all stop briadcasting SD all together and can tailor them to widescreen TVs exclusively (though there's gonna be 4:3 TVs with cable/sat or digital-to-analog convertor boxes for at least another decade... I did not flip over to the analog version of the broadcast, are y'all croping of the sides, showing it in widescreen, or do y'all have a second set of cameras feeding the analog transmission?

Anyway, the broadcast looked great!

Curious about something. On the remotes, are those cameras HD or are you simply placing the cameras in widescreen mode? If they are non-HD, they look pretty darn good.

Is the HD camera in the newsroom still the same camera you showed me a couple of years ago?

And another, are y'all croping of the sides, showing it in widescreen, or do y'all have a second set of cameras feeding the analog transmission?
Thanks for the kind words and the critique; our team of KENS engineers, led by Director of Technology Rich Barton have worked many extra hours over the past few weeks to make today's debut HD broadcast a reality. I am proud to work alongside the many capable and professional people who worked together to deliver live HD to San Antonio on time.

Chris, our remote cameras remain SD for the time being. It will be a while before we can replace them with HD counterparts. The newsroom camera is the same one we have had for several years, but now it can show what it can do in HD.

John, our analog channel 5 broadcast is a center-cut down conversion of the HDTV show. We have only HD cameras; it would be laborious indeed to attempt two cameras on every position with all the technical effects necessary to make all of it look good.

The more we work in HD the better it will look.

Center cutting makes sense with the analog broadcast. It think that's how everyone does it these days. I'm guessing that the studio cameras have templates on them to make sure objects stay within the boundries of 4X3.

I also noticed the lip sync issue. Thought it was my stuff at first but I guess not.

For what it's worth Jerry, the SD cameras look great for the remotes. I would bet that most people watching would think they are HD. You definitely can get away with using those for some time to come.

Congratulations Jerry, Rich, and Crew. Local HD news looks great!! I saw some minor lipsync yesterday, but I also see some on Dave's show. I have to stare at the person's lips to pick it up, so it was not grossly off. I'm with Chris on the wide screen SD field shots, definitely not HD, but they look really good and do not apper to be stretched. They actually seem to look better than the 4:3 with bars, but maybe some of those segments are from an outside source.

Anyway, it's great to be watching Local HD news.

Keep up the hard work, It is much appreciated.

Nice work KENS, I'm glad to see local news in HD....

Can't wait for the other cameras to be in HD...

KENS is my new news station of choice.

Very nice picture in studio. Outside shots like others say don't seem to be stretched but "blurry" at times........

The in studio shots in HD are AWESOME! I am so happy that Kens5 was able to bring up Local HD news.....

I have been a long time viewer of both WOAI and Kens5 but wanted to give kudos to Kens5 for being the 1st to bring us local news in HD.....

GREAT JOB everyone that brought this project together (im sure there are lots of people that did)! :p

I emailed a fellow over at WOAI and he said there was no plans in the works to bring us HD anytime soon....no real timeline was given but from what I gather let's not hold our breathe.....:eek:

KSAT12....anyone know if they plan to launch HD anytime soon....:confused:

I am so sick of hearing about DTV...who gives 2 craps about DTV...bring us HDTV....on all channels! (yeah, it's my dream to have every channel in HD). :rolleyes:

Nice work KENS, I'm glad to see local news in HD....

Can't wait for the other cameras to be in HD...

KENS is my new news station of choice.

+1

I noticed some audio discrepanies during the 5 pm broadcast yesterday. Audio would be normal at one point, then dip. I had to use the volume control on my remote to compensate. Other than that, great picture!

Jerry,

This mornings broadcast looked better to me somehow than Monday and Tuesday... Hardly noticed any stretched material and there was no pixilization during the traffic segment I saw (on Monday "traffic girl" almost disappeared due to pixelization when the map panned really fast, today she was visible the entire time).

KENS 5 has always been my preferred channel for news, now its position is further cemented!

Kens5 HD looks good! No more worthless KSAT news for me!

KENS 5 has always been my preferred channel for news, now its position is further cemented!

I've always been a WOAI man myself, but I can't stand watching SD anymore and avoid it as often as I can...

Jerry,

One thing.

When you guys are showing old footage that needs to stretched, since you are center cutting for the standard def channel, the sides are getting cropped when watching the standard def channel.

Don't think you can do anything about that but just thought I would let you know. When I was watching the Dan Cook tribute this morning I noticed it.

Audio problems (phasing and distortion) on KENS-DT this afternoon (Monday, 7/14)?

A number of problems maybe, Jim. Automation decided to spit up, a few other things dominoed; it was not a pretty afternoon.

We should be running better today.

Yes - Jerry. Things are back to normal - that is - "great"!

Thanks,

Jim

I emailed a fellow over at WOAI and he said there was no plans in the works to bring us HD anytime soon....no real timeline was given but from what I gather let's not hold our breathe.....:eek:

KSAT12....anyone know if they plan to launch HD anytime soon....:confused:

I am so sick of hearing about DTV...who gives 2 craps about DTV...bring us HDTV....on all channels! (yeah, it's my dream to have every channel in HD). :rolleyes:
From what I've learned, KSAT12 is going local HD in September with all new cameras, new editing gear, new everything. And there's so much attention to the DTV transition because there are over 150,000 homes in the South Texas market who do not have cable or satellite in the home! One of the highest concentrations in the country!

Just some quick info for all those who have Time Warner. I contacted customer service and was wondering if new HD channels would be added for the Olympics. I got this response:

Thank you for contacting customer service. Your feed-back is appreciated. So far, we will have the Olympics available on HD channels - 102 NBC Basketball Olympic Channel , 103 NBC Soccer Olympic Channel, 131 USA HD, and 137 CNBC HD. The only network not available, will be the MSNBC in HD. By the end of August about 10 HD Channels will be added. Please contact customer service, if we can be of further assistance.

Will
Time Warner Cable
San Antonio Division
210-244-0500

USA HD?

I've been waiting for USA and MTV...

Hello Everyone,

I moved to San Antonio a few months ago from New England and recently subscribed to Time Warner digital cable (and phone and internet). I'm thinking I made a mistake. In New England, I had Comcast and I hated it. After using Time Warner for a few months, I never realized how good I had it with Comcast.

The Scientific Atlanta boxes from Time Warner and software are horrible. For example: Why can't I search for a program using more than the first letter of the show? Do you know how many 'Paid Program' shows are listed when searching for show beginning with 'P'. No guide editting. I want to remove channels from the guide that I do not subscribe to. Seems like I need to reset my DVR box at least once a week. Some of my scheduled recordings do not record. My digital phone has terrible reception.

Is anyone else upset with Time Warner? Anyway, I'm thinking about switching to satellite and Tivo. I've never subscribed to satellite (Dish Network, Direct TV, etc.) before. Is any satellite service in the SA area better or worse than the others? What about satellite internet service and/or phone service?

Thanks for any help you guys may be able to provide!

Ahhh, another potential convert to D*. No service is perfect, but Directv gives you a lot more entertainment for the dollar while you complain. With their latest satellite recently activated, more good stuff is coming very soon. Come join the fun!

Stinks that we lost the last week or so of posts. I wrote a recap of my Dish install and posted it yesterday, but now it's lost.

Dish install was adventurous. Installer showed up at 1pm on Saturday. I was getting Americas Top 200, Silver HD, and local package with 2 VIP 612 receivers, one for the TV downstairs and one for upstairs. The previous owners of my house had DirectTV, but the tech (Mario) did not like the location of the base; he thought it was too low. So the plan was to mount the new dish higher, about 4 feet below the roof line on the back corner of the house. He mounted the dish, hooked up the 612 and we had a signal strength of 68 on sat 119. He didn't like that. He said it should be over 100 initially and after the receiver downloads everything, the signal drops in half. So if it was at 68 now, it would drop to 30-something after the download. He got up on the ladder and I started calling out signal strengths as he fiddled with the dish. The strength never got above 70. He thought that maybe the roof overhang was interfering with the signal, so he lowered the dish. Still got 68 signal strength. He mounted it a third time on the side of the house. Still had 68. By this time, he was completely exhausted. He said he could get a better signal strength if he mounted it on the roof. It's approaching 5pm and he doesn't know what's going on. He's feeling light headed, probably from heat exhaustion, and can't re-mount the dish on the roof. So he calls his boss and another tech who said he could come out on Sunday and finish the install. He gave me the number of the new tech (Juan). Mario reconnected my TWC and said that the cable boxes need to reboot and I'd be back in business. So he took off. Well, TWC service never came back on. I called TWC and they told me that they lost signal from my TVs around 1pm and couldn't see them now. They thought maybe Mario had done something to the amplifiers.

So now I have no TV. I call Southern Star to confirm that a tech would be coming out on Sunday. I get their voicemail which is full, so I can't even leave a message. I finally call Juan, the new tech and left a message telling him my situation. He called back and said he was on his way. The second tech showed up a little after six. I told him the situation and told him to just mount the thing on the roof. He connects the 612 and gets a signal strength of 68. I told him that's what we got like 4 hours earlier. He said that the old software (L4.77) cut the signal strength in half, but the new software (L6.00) does not, that the signal strength you get initially is what you have. You can tell if you have the new software by looking at the signal strength meter. If the '0' and '10' are red, you have the new software. So we begin the download on both receivers while he buttons up the wiring outside. After the download, I finally have a picture! Around 7:15. Finally!

As of yesterday afternoon, my signal strength was 69 on sat 119 and 40 on sat 129. Now I'm off to watch some TV. :)

Stinks that we lost the last week or so of posts. I wrote a recap of my Dish install and posted it yesterday, but now it's lost.

Dish install was adventurous. Installer showed up at 1pm on Saturday. I was getting Americas Top 200, Silver HD, and local package with 2 VIP 612 receivers, one for the TV downstairs and one for upstairs. The previous owners of my house had DirectTV, but the tech (Mario) did not like the location of the base; he thought it was too low. So the plan was to mount the new dish higher, about 4 feet below the roof line on the back corner of the house. He mounted the dish, hooked up the 612 and we had a signal strength of 68 on sat 119. He didn't like that. He said it should be over 100 initially and after the receiver downloads everything, the signal drops in half. So if it was at 68 now, it would drop to 30-something after the download. He got up on the ladder and I started calling out signal strengths as he fiddled with the dish. The strength never got above 70. He thought that maybe the roof overhang was interfering with the signal, so he lowered the dish. Still got 68 signal strength. He mounted it a third time on the side of the house. Still had 68. By this time, he was completely exhausted. He said he could get a better signal strength if he mounted it on the roof. It's approaching 5pm and he doesn't know what's going on. He's feeling light headed, probably from heat exhaustion, and can't re-mount the dish on the roof. So he calls his boss and another tech who said he could come out on Sunday and finish the install. He gave me the number of the new tech (Juan). Mario reconnected my TWC and said that the cable boxes need to reboot and I'd be back in business. So he took off. Well, TWC service never came back on. I called TWC and they told me that they lost signal from my TVs around 1pm and couldn't see them now. They thought maybe Mario had done something to the amplifiers.

So now I have no TV. I call Southern Star to confirm that a tech would be coming out on Sunday. I get their voicemail which is full, so I can't even leave a message. I finally call Juan, the new tech and left a message telling him my situation. He called back and said he was on his way. The second tech showed up a little after six. I told him the situation and told him to just mount the thing on the roof. He connects the 612 and gets a signal strength of 68. I told him that's what we got like 4 hours earlier. He said that the old software (L4.77) cut the signal strength in half, but the new software (L6.00) does not, that the signal strength you get initially is what you have. You can tell if you have the new software by looking at the signal strength meter. If the '0' and '10' are red, you have the new software. So we begin the download on both receivers while he buttons up the wiring outside. After the download, I finally have a picture! Around 7:15. Finally!

As of yesterday afternoon, my signal strength was 69 on sat 119 and 40 on sat 129. Now I'm off to watch some TV. :)

Tell me what your signal strength is on 129 transponder 6 and 31. That will tell me how good the installer has your dish peaked. Check it, write it down and then do the same thing about a half hour later as the signal on 129 fluctuates. Your ordeal with the install does not suprise me as nowadays it seems like it gets harder and harder to get good techs.

The rain this morning caused my signal to go out. Is this normal? I wasn't home and was stuck in meetings all morning, but my wife says it was out for a couple hours. If this happens every time it rains, that is unacceptable. When I got home for lunch, I called Dish and told them the error messages I was getting on the TV. After pressing the power button for 10 seconds, I got a picture. It was choppy for a while. We lost sat 129 for a bit and then it came back on. All this while talking with tech support. They scheduled a technician to come out tomorrow to "tune in" the dish. Taking off work from noon to 5 tomorrow. What a pain.

Here are my signal strengths on sat 129 from this afternoon:
at 2:45pm on 8/12 sat 129, transponder 6 was 26
at 2:45pm on 8/12 sat 129, transponder 31 was 43
at 3:20pm on 8/12 sat 129, transponder 6 was 31
at 3:20pm on 8/12 sat 129, transponder 31 was 51

Are these good?

The rain this morning caused my signal to go out. Is this normal? I wasn't home and was stuck in meetings all morning, but my wife says it was out for a couple hours. If this happens every time it rains, that is unacceptable. When I got home for lunch, I called Dish and told them the error messages I was getting on the TV. After pressing the power button for 10 seconds, I got a picture. It was choppy for a while. We lost sat 129 for a bit and then it came back on. All this while talking with tech support. They scheduled a technician to come out tomorrow to "tune in" the dish. Taking off work from noon to 5 tomorrow. What a pain.

Here are my signal strengths on sat 129 from this afternoon:
at 2:45pm on 8/12 sat 129, transponder 6 was 26
at 2:45pm on 8/12 sat 129, transponder 31 was 43
at 3:20pm on 8/12 sat 129, transponder 6 was 31
at 3:20pm on 8/12 sat 129, transponder 31 was 51

Are these good?


Those are lower than what I get. You should be getting over 60 on the average off of transponder 31. You should also get high 30's to low 40's on transponder 6. I think you are getting at least 10 points or more lower than me. Have the point DISH set to transponder 6 on 129 when they peak and get it as high as possible. I also sent you a PM back. Let me know how it goes as I have had the same problem but once you get the DISH peaked right you should be ok.

Has anyone else been having trouble with Fox Sports SW HD lately? This is 150 on TWC. Last week, during a Rangers - Yankees game, I had picture but no audio. When first tuning to the station, I would get audio cutting in and out for a few seconds and then just silence. I called, and the girl who answered said they weren't having any problems. I asked her to check their TV there on that station and if they had both picture and audi - she was real evasive but eventually said she did check and it was fine, though I thinks he might have just been saying that. They scheduled a service call the next morning, which was pointless as 150 isn't on the air all the time. The tech called the next morning to point that out and said he would have no way to test the station, so we canceled the appointment.

Now tonight (Tuesday 8/12) I'm having the same issue. The feed is on for an Astros game, but I get video and no audio. This station only, every other one seems to work fine. Anyone else having this problem?

I am watching Fox Sports SW HD now on DirecTv and the audio and video are fine. It's the bottom of the 7th, the bases are loaded and there is one out. Oh, the Astros just scored 2 runs to take a 4 to 3 lead.

Thanks, Mac. Any TWC customers notice a problem with #150 lately?

Thanks, Mac. Any TWC customers notice a problem with #150 lately?

Checked it a couple of times briefly over the last couple of days and noticed no problem. Stereo tv speakers only.

Noticed this weekend that the sound during the PGA broadcast would fluctuate in volume. Jerry, does this relate to your new setup to deal with normalizing audio from programming to commercials?

Noticed this weekend that the sound during the PGA broadcast would fluctuate in volume...
Joe,
I thought we had corrected that problem! Apparently not; unfortunately during Sunday's PGA broadcast I was troubleshooting problems on the analog side, so I missed any goings-on with the digital. I honestly have not watched much golf, absent any complaints.

I will look at the dtv audio again. Is the problem worst in Dolby Digital or is it uniformly volatile across all deliveries, like DD (5.1), PCM and analog?

The rain this morning caused my signal to go out. Is this normal?
Rain fade is one of the biggest reasons my household is a former subscriber to Dish. It drove us crazy not to be able to watch the TV we paid for when the weather is at its worst.

Rain fade is one of the biggest reasons my household is a former subscriber to Dish. It drove us crazy not to be able to watch the TV we paid for when the weather is at its worst.

Rain Fade had a lot to do with what DISH you have and also how well you Dish is peaked. I have the newer 1000.2 and my Dish is peaked as well as I can get it. I do not have rain fade 99% of the time now. The older Dish 1000 was much worse as far as rain fade went. To me the slight chance of rain fade far outweighs the alternative of TWC. DISH has much much better DVR's and more HD channels. Just my opinion but I have had both and would never go back to TWC unless they were to somehow get DVR's as good as DISH which I doubt is going to happen.:D

I'm waiting until my wife gets back from vacation before I schedule an appointment to tune in the dish. I can't take off another half day from work.

Any problems with me trying to optimize my singal strength? How can I tell if I have a 1000 dish or 1000.2 dish?

I'm waiting until my wife gets back from vacation before I schedule an appointment to tune in the dish. I can't take off another half day from work.

Any problems with me trying to optimize my singal strength? How can I tell if I have a 1000 dish or 1000.2 dish?

I would almost be 100% sure you have a 1000.2. The DISH 1000 is older and the 1000,2 is now the standard Dish for 110,119,and 129. I would not try to peak the Dish unless you know what you are doing. Good Luck.

Ugh, no more USA for now...

Is anyone from San Antonio area attending CEDIA Show in Denver next week? I will be there Wednesday through Sunday, maybe we could arrange to meet.

Ugh, no more USA for now...

I know why did they do that, they already had it working why take it off doesnt make since.

i just bought a insignia lcd tv.... and i bought a phillips vhf/uhf/fm/hdtv antenna.

i get ksat,fox,my35 in hd... but i dont get a signal from kens 5 or woai or pbs

do i need something else to get a signal?

whatever happened to those 10 HD channels TWC said they were supossed to add before the end of August? any updates?

i just bought a insignia lcd tv...and...a phillips vhf/uhf/fm/hdtv antenna...but i dont get a signal from kens 5 or woai or pbs

do i need something else to get a signal?
Maybe, jg.

Please tell me a little more about that Philips antenna and where (what part of town) you live. With enough information I may be able to help you. Is that an indoor antenna (rabbit ears with loop) or outdoor? Do you live in an apartment or in a single-family home?

Tell me more.

Maybe, jg.

Please tell me a little more about that Philips antenna and where (what part of town) you live. With enough information I may be able to help you. Is that an indoor antenna (rabbit ears with loop) or outdoor? Do you live in an apartment or in a single-family home?

Tell me more.


this is the exact antenna that i bought
http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/5b/03/beae8bacd7a0441d751e6110.L.jpg

* Channels 2-69
* 34" VHF dipoles
* UHF element with 180 degree tilt radius
* Includes 75-300 ohm indoor transformer with attached 6' coaxial cable
* 12 Position fine tuning for a better defined signal

and i live on the southside of town and i live in a house.

jg,

I see that you bought the Philips SDV2210 set top antenna. Living on the south side as you do is a good thing, because you are more close to the TV transmitters than viewers living on the north side. While reading the literature for your antenna - and there isn't very much - I could not tell whether the UHF element (the boxy-looking part that folds up/down from the base) can be rotated left or right when it is in the "up" position. If it can be turned (and I believe it can be,) here is a method you can try to improve reception. Oh, if that UHF loop can't be turned in its base, you can just rotate the whole antenna base itself to get the same results.

Your Insignia TV should have a feature that allows you to check signal strength. It may be a button on the remote control or it may be buried in a menu. Once you have found the feature that permits checking signal strength, tune your TV to KSAT-DT, channel 12-1 or KABB-DT, 29-1. the KSAT and KABB transmitters are very close to KENS and WOAI. Now select the signal strength feature on the TV and slowly rotate the UHF loop (you know, the boxy-looking part) or the antenna base until you get the best indication of signal. TV sets differ in how this is shown. Some have a horizontal bar that increases from left to right as the signal improves. Others may have "bars" like a cell phone to indicate the signal level. Experiment with this. You may need to step away from the TV antenna to make sure your body is not affecting the signal. Since your antenna has "fine tuning" you might try that feature to increase the signal as well.

Once you have the best signal possible on channel 12-1 or 29-1, go into your TV set menu and choose the option that scans or memorizes channels. You should now receive KENS and WOAI along with KSAT, KABB, KWEX, KNIC and KVDA. You may also receive KMYS, even though it is in the opposite direction from the rest of the stations.

PBS might be a little more difficult, since they are operating at lower power than they would like. To tune in KLRN (PBS) you will need to force the TV to channel 9-1 by keying in the channel on your remote. Set up the signal strength feature again and this time, move the rabbit ear rods (that's the VHF part of your antenna) to see if you get any improvement in the signal. Do not change the position of the UHF loop or move the base of the antenna or you may lose the channels you have just tuned in. You should pick up KLRN after some experimentation with the rods. You might try the "fine tuning" feature on your antenna again. Before you change the fine tuning, remember the setting so that you can return to it when you want to. Once you have gotten a good signal on KLRN, re-scan or memorize channels again to get the PBS station in your lineup.

Let me know how this works for you. Given your location you should not need an amplified antenna, but I cannot know what might be between you and a clear shot at the TV towers. If these steps are successful you will be in good shape.

this is the exact antenna that i bought
http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/5b/03/beae8bacd7a0441d751e6110.L.jpg

* Channels 2-69
* 34" VHF dipoles
* UHF element with 180 degree tilt radius
* Includes 75-300 ohm indoor transformer with attached 6' coaxial cable
* 12 Position fine tuning for a better defined signal

and i live on the southside of town and i live in a house.

My advice would be to box that Phillips up and take it back. A friend of mine brought the exact antenna to my house in New Braunfels and we compared it to a 1/2 the cost RadioShack antenna. The Phillips picked up nothing. The RatShack antenna picked up all channels except PBS which I was not expecting to get because of their low power. The loop on the Phillips antenna is too small.

Give the RatShack antenna a try, it's $12-13 dollars, I think the model is 15-1874.

Good luck

Does anyone else have audio problems with ABC HD? I noticed the audio for last week's afternoon football game was really low. All this week, primetime shows on ABC have lows and high's in volume. sometimes when the show goes to commercial, it is so loud that I have to turn down the volume. The show comes back on and it is so low that I have to turn up the volume again. It seems like the volume goes up and down during the show too. I have dish network, but I noticed the problem also occurs with OTA. Hopefully ABC or KSAT will fix this.

I have noticed that KSAT is much lower than most other stations. I have TWC. Haven't check OTA.

Haven't been able to see it OTA or over DirecTV since yesterday afternoon. Anyone else notice? This morning 4.2 seems to be there, but green screen on 4.1. 4 analog comes in OTA.

OK. I went to the WOAI.com site and found the explanation. DUH! They've switched their 4.1 programming to 4.2 until Monday

Yeah, looks like stupid woai is going to screw up the first week of Notre Dame HD football and the first week of NFL in HD! Way to go WOAI!! it's nice to see that your going to fix this right away on Monday. We wouldn't want you to wait until next week to fix it.

Way to be looking out for your football fans WOAI! Not like there is going to be a huge audience for NFL opening weekend....

Normally, I would watch the football game if it was available in HD, but since it is unwatchable in SD, bring on the Mets vs. Phillies!

Anybody know what's going on between TW and KSAT? It looks like KSAT may be dropped from TW because they can't seem to agree on a contract.

Here's a link from KSAT's site. Looks like TWC doesn't want to negotiate a deal and expects for KSAT broadcast on TWC for free.

http://www.ksatcommunity.com/

Looks like TWC doesn't want to negotiate a deal and expects for KSAT broadcast on TWC for free.

Surely you don't believe TWC is trying to broadcast ABC for free, right? That website is the most one sided thing I have read in a while. Heck the NFL Network position on that fiasco wasn't nearly as bad. All the bashing of TWC by KSAT is rubbing me the wrong way. I think I'll call TWC and let them know I can get KSAT fine for FREE over the air so do whatever they want.

If KSAT wants a penny more than WOAI or KENS is getting, drop them like their hot!

Surely you don't believe TWC is trying to broadcast ABC for free, right? That website is the most one sided thing I have read in a while. Heck the NFL Network position on that fiasco wasn't nearly as bad. All the bashing of TWC by KSAT is rubbing me the wrong way. I think I'll call TWC and let them know I can get KSAT fine for FREE over the air so do whatever they want.

If KSAT wants a penny more than WOAI or KENS is getting, drop them like their hot!

Ditto!! I am about sick and tired of Jim Josolin (or how ever you spell it) I expect to see him cry in his next editorial.

If TWC knuckles under to whatever fees KSAT is demanding for carriage, those fees will just be passed along to us customers of T-W.

I made sure that I let KSAT know yesterday that I didn't appreciate them charging fees for something that didn't previously cost T-W anything, because T-W will simply turn around and raise our rates to recover that cost.

It feels strange to be siding with a cable company, but I believe that they're on the right side of the issue.

It feels strange to be siding with a cable company, but I believe that they're on the right side of the issue.

I know what you mean. I had to go take my temp after thinking the same thing.

It really has little importance to most of us on here, because we can or have hooked up antennas to get their FREE signal. I went to my grandparents house though and she is MAD at twc - totally bought into Joslen's argument. I let her know that we could hook her up with an antenna and she wouldn't miss anything IF they end up dropping, which I don't think will happen. She still is mad, but a little calmer knowing that she will still see her shows.:)

Hey all besides HD set-top boxes like hd dvd and bluray I am ignorant to HD broadcasting. I you all don't mind I have a few newbie questions.

My new Plasma (Vizio) picks up the local channels (KSAT, KENS, etc..) through my standard TWC connection - I think, or maybe its picking it up with its built in tuner. Anyway my HD ready tv in the living room does not pick up any channels. Besides an antenna what else would I need? an HD receiver? Is there such a thing as an HD antenna?

Lastly, is it necessary to calibrate my new plasma? can it be done without costing an arm and a leg?

Thank you for assisting this HD reception virgin.

The Vizio has a QAM tuner built in. I have a new little Vizio in the kitchen and it picks up the local HD channels with that tuner. This is great because I did not want to get a box for the kitchen.

My big screen is HD but old and has no HD tuner at all, so I have a TW HD DVR in order to get HD everything.

I also have a couple of sets with cable cards and get HD that way. Problem is TW will not give you all the HD channels with a cable card. That is the biggest problem I have with them. I do not want any more boxes.

And I have an HdTiVo with TWC cable cards and we don't get everything. BUT - a tuning resolver (connected via the TiVo's USB) is on the way to provide two-way communication needed to get those SDV channels.

I think to stop this, they should post what all the other local station contact are, this should be public information, and this bickering would stop.

My HD tv does not have an HD tuner. I would need a settop box to pick up KSAT over the air. Does anyone know if those boxes that are being furnished, due to the conversion to digital, work as an HD tuner?

I don't think the basic models that are being given/discounted are able to do HD. You can get one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-DTBH260F-HDTV-Terrestrial-Receiver/dp/B000JV6TQY

Surely you don't believe TWC is trying to broadcast ABC for free, right?

Well, I apologize and stand corrected. According to what I've gleaned from both one-sided webpages, all three networks are rebroadcasted for free on TWC. It looks like KSAT is the first to start wanting something in return though.

Here is TWC's site:
http://thetruthhurtsksat.com/main.php

And KSAT's:
http://www.ksatcommunity.com/

So how did the KABB deal shake out when we did without their HD for so long? I'm telling you guys, Directv doesn't seem to have all these fights over signal availability. This may be KSAT's fault, but isn't it at least a little curious that TWC has had this fight with KABB, the NFL network and now KSAT when other providers haven't????:confused:

All cable companies have had this fight with NFL network. Sinclair Broadcasting (KABB) had the dispute with cable companies and satellite companies. And now KSAT's parent company is in dispute with TW but not with satellite carriers.

What kind of deals are satellite companies getting, is the question. I don't see how they can pay out all that money, not charge their customers extra, and still stay in business.

My advice would be to box that Phillips up and take it back. A friend of mine brought the exact antenna to my house in New Braunfels and we compared it to a 1/2 the cost RadioShack antenna. The Phillips picked up nothing. The RatShack antenna picked up all channels except PBS which I was not expecting to get because of their low power. The loop on the Phillips antenna is too small.

Give the RatShack antenna a try, it's $12-13 dollars, I think the model is 15-1874.

Good luck

i agree. i bought the terk HDTVa antenna from best buy @ 410/san pedro yesterday and it works great.

i have dishnetwork and as you may already know they dont carry NBC HD. that means no sunday night football, chuck or heroes - hell to the no.

i plugged the antenna into my vip 722's built in ota tuner and picked up 16 channels (i live at broadway/lawndale in a 2nd story condo). all i cared to see was ksat, kens, kabb & woai. i deleted the rest of the channels it picked up from my guide. all stations are registering between 70-75 on the meter. they look crisp.


my rig:
Onkyo tx-sr604
Onkyo dv-sp404
VIP 722
XBox 360
Bic Acoustech 5.1
Samsung PPM50M7HB

i agree. i bought the terk HDTVa antenna from best buy @ 410/san pedro yesterday and it works great.Good move! Anything you can do to avoid being held hostage in this mess is a good thing.

hoomook,

Which Terk antenna did you pick up? I'm thinking of getting an OTA antenna since I have Dish Network without WOAI HD (hated watching the Cowboy game last night). Using your 722's tuner, can you record your OTA signals?

I bought the Terk indoor ota antenna from Best buy (around $75) I also have Dish network and it works perfectly. all you do is hook it up to your dish receiver (722) do a local channel search and it will add the channels to your linup. WOAI HD will be 004-01. The programing Guide will be there just as normal and you can set things to record just like normal. There is nothing different with 004-01 as 004-00. I live off of 1604 and judson and I just aim my terk towards downtown. I get 100% reception on WOAI. It's well worth it.

hoomook,

Which Terk antenna did you pick up? I'm thinking of getting an OTA antenna since I have Dish Network without WOAI HD (hated watching the Cowboy game last night). Using your 722's tuner, can you record your OTA signals?


Which Terk antenna did you pick up?
Terk - Indoor Amplified HDTV Antenna. $73 at best buy. cheaper online.

Using your 722's tuner, can you record your OTA signals?
Yes. That's the best part. I can set timers and record ota. I can record 3 shows simultaneously (1 ota, 2 dvr) or i can record 2 shows simultaneously and watch 1 live (w/ a few caveats).

I'm thinking of getting an OTA antenna since I have Dish Network without WOAI HD (hated watching the Cowboy game last night).
That's freaking unbearable. be sure to visit www dot antennaweb dot org

good luck

So wait a second here, you can record OTA transmission on your satellite set top box? That is crazy. With me being too lazy, can anyone tell me if I can do the same with a TWC box? I've told the wife she has to go back to VCR for the ABC stuff if/when the 15th comes and there isn't an agreement. She doesn't like me much right now.

So wait a second here, you can record OTA transmission on your satellite set top box? That is crazy. With me being too lazy, can anyone tell me if I can do the same with a TWC box? .

Yes to the first question--no to the second. DISH dvr's are great!

So wait a second here, you can record OTA transmission on your satellite set top box? That is crazy. With me being too lazy, can anyone tell me if I can do the same with a TWC box? I've told the wife she has to go back to VCR for the ABC stuff if/when the 15th comes and there isn't an agreement. She doesn't like me much right now.

...you can record OTA transmission on your satellite set top box?
yyyup.

the cisco/sci atl 8300hd dvr cant get ota that i know of. it's definitely a feature of the vip 722 from dishnetwork though.

She doesn't like me much right now.
tell her not to shoot the messenger.

Which Terk antenna did you pick up?
Terk - Indoor Amplified HDTV Antenna. $73 at best buy. cheaper online.

Using your 722's tuner, can you record your OTA signals?
Yes. That's the best part. I can set timers and record ota. I can record 3 shows simultaneously (1 ota, 2 dvr) or i can record 2 shows simultaneously and watch 1 live (w/ a few caveats).

I'm thinking of getting an OTA antenna since I have Dish Network without WOAI HD (hated watching the Cowboy game last night).
That's freaking unbearable. be sure to visit www dot antennaweb dot org

good luck

That's great. Looks like I'm on my way to Best Buy...

Let us know how it works out for you.

I just started to play with a little loop/rabbit ear antenna up here in New Braunfels and read something about frequency changes after the switch. I think KSAT (ABC) is the one we have to worry about.

FROM:

DTV tentative channel designations for first and second round.

Current DTV Channel(Freq)/Tenative Channel Designation

KABB 30 same uhf 30
KENS 55 uhf 39
KLRN 8 vhf 9:(
KSAT 48 uhf drops to vhf 12:(
WOAI 58 uhf 48

You guys buying antennas need to remember that ksat will be changing to vhf signal feb 09

Current DTV Channel(Freq)/Tenative Channel Designation

KABB 30 same uhf 30
KENS 55 uhf 39
KLRN 8 vhf 9
KSAT 48 uhf drops to vhf 12
WOAI 58 uhf 48
***************************************************
The KSAT switch is a real bummer. I've got a 40' tower with a 7' parabolic UHF antenna thats does a fantastic job up here in Kerrville. And KSAT throws a big monkey wrench at me.

Using your 722's tuner, can you record your OTA signals?
Yes. That's the best part. I can set timers and record ota. I can record 3 shows simultaneously (1 ota, 2 dvr) or i can record 2 shows simultaneously and watch 1 live (w/ a few caveats).
************************************************************ ***
Let me see, I can, simultaneously, record 5 OTA, 1 off my DirecTV box and watch a seventh program off DirecTV. All in HD of course.

Sorry, couldn't pass it up;)

That does stink about KSAT. I've never been able to get KLRN reliably, even when I lived a few miles from the towers (I'm in Cibilo, now - much further) probably will be the same for KSAT once they change as well... though ch 12 should be a little better than ch 8/9, no?

KSAT-DT will be 500 feet higher up and twice the power of KLRN-DT now. Hopefully it will help reception.

- Trip

Using your 722's tuner, can you record your OTA signals?
Yes. That's the best part. I can set timers and record ota. I can record 3 shows simultaneously (1 ota, 2 dvr) or i can record 2 shows simultaneously and watch 1 live (w/ a few caveats).
************************************************************ ***
Let me see, I can, simultaneously, record 5 OTA, 1 off my DirecTV box and watch a seventh program off DirecTV. All in HD of course.

Sorry, couldn't pass it up;)

Good Lord!
Is that all done with one directv plus hd/dvr?

You guys buying antennas need to remember that ksat will be changing to vhf signal feb 09And that KLRN won't be transmitting full power on its DTV signal until the analog sunset in '09. It's not a good use of time/money to great lengths to receive KLRN at its current flea power.

Went to Radio Shack after work today and picked up a 15-1868 antenna for $17 (thought I'd try an inexpensive antenna first). Hooked it up to my Vip612 Dish DVR upstairs, and I must say it works much better than expected. Right out of the box, my tuner picked up 15 channels. Here are the signal strengths of the network channels:

4 WOAI-D 87
5 KENS-D 99
12 KSAT-D 74
29 KABB-H 78
35 KMYS-H 87

No KLRN (probably need to do some tweaking). I live across 151 from SeaWorld in 78251. The antenna is located on a floor speaker next to the TV on the second floor of my house. Now that I have the networks in HD, I'm thinking of canceling my 'local channel' subscription on Dish. Save $10/month.

Now that I have the networks in HD, I'm thinking of canceling my 'local channel' subscription on Dish. Save $10/month.

Awesome!

I thought about dropping the locals from dish also but once i discovered the added flexibility of having 3 tuners I decided I'm going to keep them.

Remember:
You cant' record 2 shows simultaneously ota or record one show and watch another ota since its only one tuner.

You also would not receive any OTA Guide Data and your OTA channels would only say "ditgital channel". You would then have to set up a manual timer for each OTA recording. The savings is only $5. They get you one way or another......

So the question is,,,,, are the networks going to delay all programming past 8 while the prez has his say or what? Got 3 recordings set up, one at 8 and two at 9 and I don't have a clue.

Allen,

CBS will very likely go off the clock by whatever amount the President consumes - and of course the inevitable comments by those who would interpret what he meant. The estimate is 15 minutes; we do not know for certain how long it will run, but here is what CBS had to say:

"We will "slip" the Network for stations on the New York Origination and CRIMINAL MINDS and CSI: NY will air in their entirety immediately following the conclusion of the President’s Address."

TYVM and we'll see how it plays out.

This is a belated thanks to KENS for putting the local Houston CBS affiliate on sub-channel 2 when Ike hit. I had several displaced Texas City residents staying with me and they appreciated the extra effort to provide local information. Thanks to your and your staff, Jerry.

This is a belated thanks to KENS for putting the local Houston CBS affiliate on sub-channel 2 when Ike hit. Thanks to your and your staff, Jerry.I will definitely second that. We have friends and family in Houston, so the wall-to-wall coverage was very helpful.

I tried to find out by reading the posts, but unfortunately, I am not clear.
All I want to know is:

Is it possible to buy an antenna and disconnect from TW or any other provider and simply use an antenna to get whatever local channels I can? I'm tired of paying for channels I never have time to watch.

Any suggestions?

I tried to find out by reading the posts, but unfortunately, I am not clear.
All I want to know is:

Is it possible to buy an antenna and disconnect from TW or any other provider and simply use an antenna to get whatever local channels I can? I'm tired of paying for channels I never have time to watch.

Any suggestions?Yes, it is possible. But what kind of antenna you'll need to receive local stations (inexpensive rabbit ears on top of your set vs. large metal outdoor antenna on a tower) depends greatly on your location. The map at the link in my signature shows what antenna some other folks in the area are using to receive Digital TV over the air.

Is it just me or did WOAI revert Conan back to SD? I know it was HD for a few weeks there, why go back? That's not cool

Why no DD 5.1 audio on WOAI anymore? Since they went out of service last month, they do not have 5.1 audio. Anyone know why?

Why no DD 5.1 audio on WOAI anymore? Since they went out of service last month, they do not have 5.1 audio. Anyone know why?

I noticed this too, but for some reason I thought it was error on my part O.o

What is up with them? I want Conan back in HD!

Anyone see a big signal drop for KENS this morning? I was getting mid-50s and could not get a lock, had to switch to the satellite feed (still in HD, fortuneately).

Anyone want to give odds on whether KSAT actually disappears from TWC?

I wish they would go away or stop the whining. Looks like the only winner will be Dish.

I will just use my antenna to pick it up for free. Other than college football I don't watch ABC (they even suck at that).

Did anyone else notice a problem on the SA Locals last night in HD on DirecTV?

Mine was having a really bad pixelation issue on the Local HD content, but the national feeds were just fine (ESPNHD, TBSHD, etc...).

Did anyone else notice a problem on the SA Locals last night in HD on DirecTV?
Mine was having a really bad pixelation issue on the Local HD content, but the national feeds were just fine (ESPNHD, TBSHD, etc...).
Absolutely!!!!

And I thought I saw a bit of it the night before. Went to the OTA tuner and all was OK.

Glad I wasn't the only one... I ran to all three of my HD Receivers and they were all doing it. Thought I was going crazy there for a little while

Apparently, a lot of folks have been affected by this pixelation problem. I was over on the tech forum on Directv's site and there were a number of people from San Antonio and all over having problems.

I first noticed the problems with all of my locals around 6:30am on Monday. The same thing happened Monday evening during primetime programming. I checked it again this morning around 6:30am. Same problem. Are these times similar to those everyone else is experiencing?

I didn't check it this morning, but last night during Primetime was almost unbearable. I think it got slightly better at around 8:45pm or so, but from 7pm until then was horrid.

I could hear the shows (usually) but the ghosting and pixelation was as bad as I've ever seen it.

Mine was really bad too, unwatchabe yesterday. Sound distorted. ABC and Fox, Cbs seemed ok, other than the screen blacking out every few minutes or so. I have Grande HD cable. It was the same when we plugged directly into the wall and not going through the box. It was during The Dancing with the stars show.

I think I had some issues a few days ago too, especially with KSAT, it looked like everything was robotic. Like it wasn't fluid. Not sure how to explain it better. It was watching Ugly Betty and Dirty, Sexy, Money. I thought it was my HD box at first.

I find it interesting that other HD locals are being reported with various problems on Dish and DirecTV. In all honesty I can tell you that KENS-DT has had two major equipment failures since Ike, but I believe we are in good order now. Repairs are underway on the failed equipment at the manufacturer. I was pretty certain we had everything working when I still kept getting calls from viewers that KENS was "pixelating," going to black, going to green and so on. Maybe KENS is okay after all but something in the delivery chain between San Antonio and Colorado or Wyoming has gone sour.

The KENS 5-2 service is off the air as a result of one of the above failures and will likely remain down for the immediate future. Meanwhile we will continue to monitor everything we do to eliminate all the faults.

My locals were good last night.

I wonder if something was going on yesterday... when I was driving home along Huebner and Blanco Rd on Monday evening, my GPS in my car wasn't able to receive a satellite signal (which is unusual), then the pixelation when I was at home.

I dunno, just something I noticed. Yesterday I didn't loose the GPS signal and the TV was good. :shrugs:

Anyone want to give odds on whether KSAT actually disappears from TWC?

I wish they would go away or stop the whining. Looks like the only winner will be Dish.

I will just use my antenna to pick it up for free. Other than college football I don't watch ABC (they even suck at that).

I just noticed the scare message last night for the first time. What is the deal?

Everything on my local HD's on Directv seemed to be perfectly fine this morning. No pixelations, picture breakup, going to green... any of that.

As for those messages, I know KSAT and TWC are negotiating a new carriage agreement, but it looks like KSAT may pull the plug on TWC if a deal doesn't get done. Something like they did in Austin with KXAN. That happened last week and as far as I know, the company that owns KXAN and TWC have not reached a deal.

Is it just me or is there now no picture on KENS 5.2, viper radar? If I missed a discussion upstream, I apologize.

Is it just me or is there now no picture on KENS 5.2, viper radar? If I missed a discussion upstream, I apologize.Ooops, I did miss it. Sorry!

DirecTV was having issues with their DVR's on Monday. It wreaked all kinds of havoc with everyone including pixelation of local channels. See this thread over on DBSTalk:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=141604

I noticed the directv problem again this morning, but it wasn't on my dvr box. Just my regular HD box and it was only on the local hd's.

Yeah, it was pixelating again this morning. I called DirecTV and they are sending a tech to my house on Saturday. The lady on the other end said that there have been a lot of reports about this in San Antonio and that it's an issue they are trying to resolve. She was surprised that it was still happening today though, mainly she was referring to Monday/Tuesday.

Great thread ya'all! I live in Pipe Creek (Medina Lake) and subscribe to Dishnet and use an outdoor (OTA) antenna for local channels. The antenna and RG59 cable were installed April 99. I have (2) D/A converter boxes, one RCA and one Philco. Both boxes work great on my analog Sony 32". KSAT-12 however will pixelate, and drop signal regularly at any time during the day/nite. The other local channels (4,5,29,35) come in fine! I have not been able to pickup KLRN (9) since installing the boxes. I sent an email to KSAT earlier this week and no reply yet. If I replace the RG59 cable w/quad shielded, copper conductor RG6 cable will this solve my reception/signal problem on 12-1? I pickup a strong signal on 5-2 but have no picture, I suspect they've suspended broadcasting on 5-2? Iused to pickup my favorite real time weather channel!

**NOTE** Even before installing the D/A coverter boxes someone in the Elm Creek Cove area (PR37 and Harbour Way) has some equipment which interferes w/UHF and VHF reception. It causes massive horizontal lines and snow on most channels and, lines, snow and a high pitch sound on others. Interference usually starts around 23:00 and ends around 04:30. Being a shift worker this directly conflicts with my tv viewing.......thoughts? suggestions? I thought getting the D/A boxes would eliminate this ^%&$$ interference?????

As to KENS 5-2, see my post #3488, above. On the other OTA channels, you do not mention whether you have an antenna preamp mounted. Did you optimize antenna pointing with the signal strength indicator on either converter box? By trying to peak your most intermittent station you may improve its performance. An antenna preamp may help as well, given your distance from the towers.

If you can identify the individual who is causing the interference, you can ask him politely to fix the cause in his equipment. If he does not, the FCC will actually send him a greeting once they correlate his address to a license (or lack of one) on file.

Anyone want to give odds on whether KSAT actually disappears from TWC?
I'm almost certain they'll disappear at the deadline this month. All of KSAT's campaigning is intended to give them the leverage by making viewers think that once they go from TW's lineup, they'll be gone forever.

But I also predict that KSAT will blink first and get the signal back on TWC before the end of the month because they won't want to lose access to thousands of TW subscribers during November sweeps. Being absent from thousands of San Antonio TV households for more than a month could create a shift in the news ratings that would take KSAT years to recover from. Losing that much audience during a ratings period would probably cost more in lost ad dollars than this new revenue stream would create.

They'll disappear for a while, but be back by Halloween. Mark my words. ;)

Thanks for the quick response! REALTHOGUE yes, there is an amplifier on the OTA antenna (I will check the make/model # if you need me too)! Distance from antenna to preamp roughly 30'-35'. I used the RCA coverter box to optimize my signal strengths between channel 5 and channel 29. The RCA has more of a realtime strength meter than the delayed signal strength meter on the PHILCO box. Once I found the happy median I locked it down. I may need to re-align using 12 and 29 instead. Sorry KENS is having problems w/5-2. I did a fair amount of research in locating the transmission towers (NW around 330 degrees). Used a compass and walkie talkies and everything to align!

I contacted the FCC some time ago about locating the radio(?) operator interference and was told the FCC doesn't fund that program anymore. If you have a good OPR for locating this person I would appreciate that info!

FWIW - it's nice to see a person in this forum who has a working knowledge and can get things done. Perhaps other stations should take note(s)!