Getting 85% with one of my antennas (Outdoor $20 Radio Shack Yagi) pointed towards WXII. This reading was taken on a D* HD Tivo in Mebane, NC. I really couldn't tell the difference in the Panther Game between your feed and WRAZ out of Raleigh. Looked about the same picture quality wise. Now I need to do a rescan on my other 4 receivers.
Thank you FOXENG!

That's a pretty big difference, I had no idea. Your signal is doing really well comparatively to the other towers. How tall was your old digital tower compared to the new one?

Not everyone can put up a 2000 ft antenna. We can't because of other stations on channels 7, 8 and 9, but our 1250 ft antennas do pretty well and have for the last 45 years.

Both towers are 1250 ft tall but the low power antenna was 950 ft and only 4200 watts and the new one is 1140 ft with 1 million watts. Channel 2, 20, 45 digital, 48 are 2000 ft, 61 digital is 1800 ft.

i hate to be a spoiler, but something's wrong here. i could get wghp-dt fine before (if i got the antenna pointed in the right direction, good signal, no drops)... and during the 5 o'clock news it looked fine, too.
but during the football game i can't watch it at all. the signal strenght is great, but it drops and pixels horribly. could i have too MUCH signal?
i'm off kivett drive, between east high point and jamestown. dillon rd, broadstone village. just 9 miles from the tower. third floor apartment with a CM-4221 inside on a tripod, and a 15db electroline 2100 amp. i can watch (with no problems) wdjb-dt and wsls-dt in roanoke, plus all the locals. sometimes i even get wbtv-dt charlotte and wunc-dt chapel hill.
i guess i'll try without the amp and see what happens. any ideas?

-amos

edit: must be atmospheric... i just checked, and it's hard to get the roanoke stations tonight, too.

Yes, try it without the pre-amp. No one else is seeing any dropouts and here in north Greensboro, I haven't seen any dropouts either through the entire football game.

Thanks FOXENG,

Just in time for the new football season. I am in Stoneville (Rockingham Co.) about 6 miles from the Virginia border. I am getting a steady 70% signal on a Direct H-20 with a CM 4228 in the attic.

KEVECU :)

You may have the distance award so far!! We were really wondering how well the signal would perform in Rockingham County with all the hills with the tower north of Asheboro.

Thanks for checking in!!

Foxeng,

Congrats!! This has to be a very satisfying day for you and everyone at WGHP.

It's good to be able to watch our local Fox station in HD OTA. I have been watching Fox from Charlotte for the last year or so from Downtown Winston Salem. I am getting a solid 80% signal using an indoor Silver Sensor. I have been getting between 60-80% signal from Charlotte, but it was not always consistent like our local channels. (I guess due to weather/climate conditions) By comparison I get a 100% signal from WFMY. I get between an 80-100% signal for all other local stations, except of course, the WBWT station.

Thanks again for all of your hardwork.

Thank you all for the nice comments about our powering up. It is most appreciated. A long saga has now passed that started in 1998 and has been through many reiterations just to get to this point. I do admit it was very strange last night during the game to think that the signal strength was much higher than it had ever been. I had to check the signal strength several times to be sure I wasn't dreaming.

Everyone at the station was pretty happy as well. Things happened so fast that the news department didn't even get a chance to get a photog down to the site to record the "historic moment" (and I have already heard about that :) ) but of course there is nothing visually stimulating in watching someone push a button! Like I told my wife, no brass bands played. No show girls danced through. No confetti fell. Just the sound of fans running and circulating water, the same sounds it has been making for the last 6 months. The only difference was the antenna switches were in a physically different position and if I screwed up, I would have the transmitter off the air. In reality, it was all pretty anticlimatic after the long wait to be honest. It was more of a relief that it was finally done. But then it should have been. Even the factory admits that transmitter has been the most evaluated transmitter in the companies history with all of the tube problems we have had so at least I know the cabinets are sound! I did miss the usual hoopla that goes along with commissioning a new transmitter. Usually you have the transmitter sitting there ready to go, the tower crew is finishing up the antenna and the general manager or station owner is breathing down your neck to hurry them up so you can get it on the air faster! That didn't happen this time since everything was done and we still couldn't turn it on so when it happened, it happened quick and unceremoniously. It just happened. I guess I just missed the pressure!

The other day in doing some clean up in the old transmitter building, I found the original 1963 "Proof of Performance" when WGHP signed on in 1963. It is a document each station has to have for every transmitter and is updated yearly for each transmitter. It shows that the transmitter meets the FCC specs before it is put on the air. With todays state of the art, Proofs are done in a couple of hours tops (the new channel 8 transmitter took 2 hours and the DTV transmitter took about an hour once everything was set up) and you usually do not find any problems. In 1963, it took them 10 days, from October 1 through October 11 to get the original RCA TT25DH transmitter to make Proof! Shows you how far we have come and how routine these transmitter christenings have become. Back in those days, you put on a new transmitter and it was a celebration. Today the engineers celebrate and the rest of the world yawns. We are a fickle bunch aren't we!! ;) (HHMM, I will have to steal part of this for my blog!! More poetic than I thought!)

Well time to start the next chapter!

My Dad who lives in Sanford was able to pick you guys up off the side of his directional antenna which is pointed North towards Raleigh. Before you powered up he wasn't able to pick up your digital signal at all. He has always been able to pick up the analog signal.

No reception at my location in North Raleigh, (70 miles) but I really didn't expect it. My location favors stations to the east (WITN/WNCT are rock solid at 77 miles), but has everything working against it for stations from the west. I guess the fact that analog 35 out of Jacksonville was pretty strong last night didn't help.

WFXI is usually my stronger analog 8.

The only DT I've ever gotten from the Greensboro market is WXII. The Norfolk stations are frequent vistors at my house. I'll keep trying.

4228/7777 in attic.

excuse my ignorance - but where is the Fox HD channel located on a digital tuner - 8.1??

excuse my ignorance - but where is the Fox HD channel located on a digital tuner - 8.1??

It will be after you do a channel scan. But to access it before you rescan your channels, try 35.1.

Last night I discovered Fox 8 Digital on channel 35 for the first time.
Comes in good in Chatham County.

Last night I discovered Fox 8 Digital on channel 35 for the first time.
Comes in good in Chatham County.

I was going to call you today to say hi, but didn't get around to it!! Glad to hear we are making out your way now.

Go back a page or two and see some piks of the beast!

WFMY, WXLV and WUPN's antennas are all about 800 feet higher than our antenna so I would not expect the signals to be exact.

That 800 feet must help a little. I'm at the edge of Durham Co./Wake Co. on Hwy 98, and I'm getting 66-72 with normal/below normal ... which translates to a breakup every min or so. By contrast, 2.1 and 45.1 come in at 94 Good, and 48.1 is at 88 Good.

I guess I need a better antenna!

P.S.
Please convince them to change the score bar on the NFL games! ;)

Thanks,
-Jim

FOX 8 Coming in at 82-88 range here in Martinsville Va. With FOX 27 out of Roanoke coming in strong also and FOX 50 out of Raleigh when weather permits can give me three FOX networks to choose from. (Just in time for the football season)

Set up includes :
winegard PR-9032 antenna mounted 20ft high
channel master 7777 amp
channel master 9521A remote controlled antenna rotor

That 800 feet must help a little. I'm at the edge of Durham Co./Wake Co. on Hwy 98, and I'm getting 66-72 with normal/below normal ... which translates to a breakup every min or so. By contrast, 2.1 and 45.1 come in at 94 Good, and 48.1 is at 88 Good.

I guess I need a better antenna!

That is on the edge of our coverage area. A better antenna would probably work most of the time.

P.S.
Please convince them to change the score bar on the NFL games! ;)

Thanks,
-Jim

I have nothing to do with that. Sorry!

How much power is WXLV broadcasting?

WFMY-DT - 1 million watts at 1860 ft - Level Cross
WGHP-DT - 1 million watts at 1200 ft - Randleman
WXII-DT - 814kW at 1900 ft - Sauratown Mt
WGPX-DT - 95kW at 700 ft - Reidsville
WCWG-DT (ex WTWB-DT) will be 800kW at 1890 ft - Level Cross (I hear the transmitter is installed and the antenna is scheduled to be here anytime and when that is installed they will go full power and will have The CW in HD)
WUNL-DT - 197.5 kW at 1570 ft - Sauratown Mt
WXLV-DT - 990kW at 1890 - Level Cross
WMYV-DT (ex WUPN-DT) - 700kW at 1890 - Level Cross
WLXI-DT - 105kW at 1730 ft - Level Cross

You can go to http://www.fcc.gov/mb/video/tvq.html and get the technical info on any licensed TV station in the US.

No reception at my location in North Raleigh, (70 miles) but I really didn't expect it.

You are just out of the coverag area. Those in the western part of the Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville Market should be able to receive it if the Longely-Rice projection knows what it is talking about. Someone with a TALL antenna, 100 ft plus in your area should be able to see something of channel 35.

Here is a file for our Longley-Rice coverage from a freebee program I found on the web called SPLAT. It isn't quite as acurate as the $10k programs the lawyers and consultants use, I see a bunch of errors in it, but you get the idea of what you might get. The file it generates is HUGE. This started out as a 37 MEG file and I got it down to 1 meg so it may be a little blurry when you zoom on it. http://www.w4cl.net/fox/wghp-dt48dbpathloss.jpg

I never got Fox here until you went full power. Now I got 85-90% signal in Winston at Miller and Hawthorne. Looks great!

Foxeng:

I didn't know when I'd get a chance to speak to you again, so I figure I'll just post this here...

Lookie what I got this morning! (Attached)

(EDIT: Added a second one)

- Trip

COOL!! I knew 35 would be a good channel! Glad you finally got a signal to look at, even though it is just tropo. I had been looking around to see if anyone on the known DX sites would list it but alas, no one did, until now!

foxeng, Congratulations and thanks a million for putting Fox HD at full power. I live in the Greensboro-West area off West Market Street and Edwardia Drive. I was scanning for new locals over the weekend and got WGHP-DT at 8.1 at a signal strength of 86%. Was able to enjoy the Star Wars Ep. 2 HD broadcast.

I have only a basic 6 year old RCA UHF/VHF Indoor Antenna from Radioshack.

Here are the signal strengths for the other channels I get:
WXLV-DT: 68-70%
WFMY-DT: 86-88%
WMYV-DT: 76-80%
WLXI-DT: 70%

I have not been able to receive the WXII-DT signal at all. I don't know if that's because my antenna is too weak or my location is too far.

Can you please post here and confirm whenever you hear that WCWG-DT will go full power?

Thanks again.


WFMY-DT - 1 million watts at 1860 ft - Level Cross
WGHP-DT - 1 million watts at 1200 ft - Randleman
WXII-DT - 814kW at 1900 ft - Sauratown Mt
WGPX-DT - 95kW at 700 ft - Reidsville
WCWG-DT (ex WTWB-DT) will be 800kW at 1890 ft - Level Cross (I hear the transmitter is installed and the antenna is scheduled to be here anytime and when that is installed they will go full power and will have The CW in HD)
WUNL-DT - 197.5 kW at 1570 ft - Sauratown Mt
WXLV-DT - 990kW at 1890 - Level Cross
WMYV-DT (ex WUPN-DT) - 700kW at 1890 - Level Cross
WLXI-DT - 105kW at 1730 ft - Level Cross

I have not been able to receive the WXII-DT signal at all. I don't know if that's because my antenna is too weak or my location is too far.


Most likely because your antenna is pointed in the wrong direction.

Most likely because your antenna is pointed in the wrong direction.

FYI....

Someone has applied for a low power DT in Durham on channel 31. Might cause you problems on the eastern fringe of your viewing area. You should probably file an objection.

I can't imagine why anyone would want a channel that will get beat up regularly from tropo reception from WXII.

foxeng, glad to see you're at full power now. Tonight is the first time that I've tried to pickup channel 8 in quite a while. In the past, I've not been able to receive any signal at all, though tonight, I'm getting about 60% with occasional drop out. I have a quad stacked CM4248 and a SR-T451 tuner. The antenna is currently about 10 feet off the ground and squarely behind a hill and some serious foliage. I'm going to raise the antenna probably another 8 - 10 ft in a day or two, so I'll hopefully get a little better results.

What's going on with channel 2 and 48? I lost them both at the same time, about 2 - 3 weeks ago. Anything changed with them that you know of?

BTW, I am in Avery County. :cool:

What's going on with channel 2 and 48? I lost them both at the same time, about 2 - 3 weeks ago. Anything changed with them that you know of?

BTW, I am in Avery County. :cool:

Thanks for the signal report from Avery County! That is quite a ways to the west from our tower into the Charlotte market!

To my knowledge nothing has changed with either WFMY-DT or WMYV-DT. WFMY-DT is channel 51 and WMYV-DT is channel 33. It might be a station has come on or increased power (many have in the last several months) either on those channels or the next channel over and might be causing some interference. With your height up in the mountains, it could also be atmospherics and since their antennas are about 600 ft higher than ours, the signal is being directed over or under you and they would return later and you would lose our signal. When you have a hurricane in the region, the atmosphere enhances. Sunday morning was a very good day for DXing FM and TV with what it is called tropo ducting. I would suspect it to continue for the next 24 to 48 hours and once the storm passes things could return to normal.

Please keep me posted on our signal up there!! Thanks.

FYI....

Someone has applied for a low power DT in Durham on channel 31. Might cause you problems on the eastern fringe of your viewing area. You should probably file an objection.

I can't imagine why anyone would want a channel that will get beat up regularly from tropo reception from WXII.

Maybe the only thing available right now in the Triangle.

In looking at the app for that LPTV-D, the antenna is a log periodic yagi antenna (Scala CL1469 http://www.kathrein-scala.com/catalog/CL-1469.pdf#search=%22scala%20cl-1469%2 )with a pattern that is HIGHLY directional like TV receive antennas and it would be colocated at the WUBX-CA 13 transmitter site (could be their attempt at a digital channel). The site is located north of Durham and WUBX's pattern is an offset figure 8 that lays over northeast Durham. ( http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=CA182129.html )The field pattern applied for channel 31 has a due south pattern that has hardly anything to the west, east or north shooting straight into downtown Durham. (you can see the pattern on the above pdf file and the application shows all of the power oriented to the south.)

Maybe the only thing available right now in the Triangle.

In looking at the app for that LPTV-D, the antenna is a log periodic yagi antenna (Scala CL1469 http://www.kathrein-scala.com/catalog/CL-1469.pdf#search=%22scala%20cl-1469%2 )with a pattern that is HIGHLY directional like TV receive antennas and it would be colocated at the WUBX-CA 13 transmitter site (could be their attempt at a digital channel). The site is located north of Durham and WUBX's pattern is an offset figure 8 that lays over northeast Durham. ( http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=CA182129.html )The field pattern applied for channel 31 has a due south pattern that has hardly anything to the west, east or north shooting straight into downtown Durham. (you can see the pattern on the above pdf file and the application shows all of the power oriented to the south.)

Do we really need these LPTV channels??? Of the half a dozen or so over in Raleigh, they ALL simply plug in a DirecTV receiver, that more often than not, has the "searching for satellite signal" screen.

In fact the HSN transmitter on channel 58 has had a frozen screen for over THREE months now.

Does ANYBODY watch these channels???

Do we really need these LPTV channels??? Of the half a dozen or so over in Raleigh, they ALL simply plug in a DirecTV receiver, that more often than not, has the "searching for satellite signal" screen.

In fact the HSN transmitter on channel 58 has had a frozen screen for over THREE months now.

Does ANYBODY watch these channels???

Does anyone watch full power home shopping channels?

Does anyone watch full power home shopping channels?

Or the biggest waste of electricity, bandwidth, and real estate: PAX/ i

Hi guys,

I was wondering if I could get your opinion on something...

How many of you scoured the Internet and brick and mortar stores when purchasing that expensive HD TV? I know I must have looked everywhere to make sure I was getting the best price...

Why should I waste all that time looking for the best price, isn't there some website out there where I can post what I am looking for and have reputable vendors bid on my purchase?

Thanks in advance,

Just Curious.

Any word on whether or not WFMY will be carrying Wheel and Jeopardy in HD?
Does anyone know the answer to this? Does WFMY have the equipment to record the feed in HD and then replay it?

Hi guys,

I was wondering if I could get your opinion on something...

How many of you scoured the Internet and brick and mortar stores when purchasing that expensive HD TV? I know I must have looked everywhere to make sure I was getting the best price...

Why should I waste all that time looking for the best price, isn't there some website out there where I can post what I am looking for and have reputable vendors bid on my purchase?

Thanks in advance,

Just Curious.

Froogle (http://www.froogle.com)

Hi guys,

I was wondering if I could get your opinion on something...

How many of you scoured the Internet and brick and mortar stores when purchasing that expensive HD TV? I know I must have looked everywhere to make sure I was getting the best price...

Why should I waste all that time looking for the best price, isn't there some website out there where I can post what I am looking for and have reputable vendors bid on my purchase?

Thanks in advance,

Just Curious.
There are several sites like www.streetprices.com , www.pricegrabber.com , etc...
But I've found that checking with the other forum members here usually leads me to the best price from a reputable dealer. Some of those sites will turn up great "deals" from the gray market boys up in Brooklyn.

TWC issues:

1) I emailed TWC asking for ESPN2-HD and got a reply that they were in negotiations with ESPN to get it, no speculation on time frame.

2) I also asked for National Geographic HD, but they said they were not planning to add that. I love their programming, to me, better than Discovery Channel. So if anyone else is interested, please email.

3) The TiVo Series 3 is rumored to hit the streets in September. But I can't get a hold of anyone at TWC that knows anything about switched digital transmission. I don't want to spend a lot of money on a Series 3 if they have put or plan to put the HD channels on a switched tier. Does anyone have a knowledgeable TWC contact? Or is that an oxymoron? :)

Is anyone else having trouble with the Fox digital signal? I have been having trouble with both the WGHP or the Charlotte signals tonight. Right now I am getting no signal, earlier was getting intermittent drops. I can get the Analog signal without a problem. It is not good timing with the start of new episodes. I am not having any trouble with any of the other networks.

Transmitter is running at full power and has been since last Thursday. If you have an unusually strong lightning strike close by it will cause momentary dropouts.

Transmitter is running at full power and has been since last Thursday. If you have an unusually strong lightning strike close by it will cause momentary dropouts.


I am not talking about momentary drops. They happened for at least the last 30 minutes of Bones and now I am not getting any signal at all. The Charlotte Fox signal just came back, but still 0 signal from WGHP. I have not have any problems with either of the ABC signals, the local NBC or CBS signals tonight, just Fox.

Both Fox signals started dropping and then went completely out. Seems a little too coincidental. I have been getting an 80-90% signal from WGHP since you went full power. I was wondering if anyone else was having similar issues tonight. I'll try re-scanning again.

I am not talking about momentary drops. They happened for at least the last 30 minutes of Bones and now I am not getting any signal at all. The Charlotte Fox signal just came back, but still 0 signal from WGHP. I have not have any problems with either of the ABC signals, the local NBC or CBS signals tonight, just Fox.

Both Fox signals started dropping and then went completely out. Seems a little too coincidental. I have been getting an 80-90% signal from WGHP since you went full power. I was wondering if anyone else was having similar issues tonight. I'll try re-scanning again.

The WGHP signal just came back, without having to do anything, but they are still both experiencing intermittent drops.

I did finally get someone at TWC Greensboro to call me back about switched digital and the TiVo Series 3. He said that TWC DID plan to roll out switched digital just about everywhere and said that just about all of the channels would end up on a switched system (I guess that makes sense from their perspective?)

But he said that they had just received an email that they were aware that some customers might be getting the TiVo S3 and that the "guys at the head end wanted to know about them and keep track of them". He said he didn't know what that meant, whether there was anything that they could do for us or not, and he would try to get more info for me next week when they had a meeting.

Don't know if any of you guys are sick of the SA8300 like me, but I'll keep you posted.

The WGHP signal just came back, without having to do anything, but they are still both experiencing intermittent drops.

I have been at the transmitter all night and watched Bones and Justice via the DTV transmitter and I saw no dropouts here and we had no transmitter problems tonight at all.

If I remember correctly (and please correct me if I am wrong) but I think you said you were using an indoor antenna. In storms, indoor antennas may or may not work. It depends on the atmospherics, the amount of local RF noise and the severity of the storm and distance/power/antenna height and signal strength of the transmitted signal.

I have been at the transmitter all night and watched Bones and Justice via the DTV transmitter and I saw no dropouts here and we had no transmitter problems tonight at all.

If I remember correctly (and please correct me if I am wrong) but I think you said you were using an indoor antenna. In storms, indoor antennas may or may not work. It depends on the atmospherics, the amount of local RF noise and the severity of the storm and distance/power/antenna height and signal strength of the transmitted signal.

I was guessing the problem was weather related. It just seemed odd that the only 2 signals I had a problem with were Fox from Charlotte and Greensboro. I would not have asked any questions if I had also been experiencing issues with any of the other stations, but given I completely lost both of those signals and did not experience any interruptions with the others, I had to ask. I have had the same antenna setup for 2 years and the only signal I have ever had a problem getting consistently (regardless of the weather conditions) was Fox from Charlotte, which I can understand given the distance. Tonight I had no problem with ABC (from Charlotte or Greensboro), WXII, or WFMY. I didn't check all of the smaller stations.

Thanks for checking.

I have been at the transmitter all night and watched Bones and Justice via the DTV transmitter and I saw no dropouts here and we had no transmitter problems tonight at all.


I also noticed occasional artifacts while watching "Bones" on FOX-HD last night. I assumed it was weather related. I have TW digital cable.

Does anyone know the answer to this? Does WFMY have the equipment to record the feed in HD and then replay it?
To answer both questions yes and yes. There may be some minor annoyances with setups on this end at first, and that will pass quickly. I wasn't inclined to answer this question untill I saw the tests work. It works! Master control will have their hands full however, switching two program streams and possibly two tape machines simultaniously. Enjoy. Rickey.

Hi Foxeng,

Just wanted to add my thanks for all the info you have provided over the past months. Sounds like you really enjoy your work.

Last December when I went HD WGHP was impossible to receive. I'm in Lewisville very close to Davie county. Called the station and asked to speak with an engineer. Very quickly I had very useful suggestions on receiving equipment. I wonder if it was you that I spoke to ? Anyway, I purchased a new high gain directional UHF antenna and along with a preamp and rotor the signal strength on my D* HR10-250 went from 0-5 to around 60-65 good enough for reception most of the time. Saved me from moving the antenna out of the attic and onto the roof.

Fast forward to last week. I go down to our theater fire up the pj before the Panthers game with the intention of dialing in the rotor position. Lo and behold there is local FOX news announcing the upgrade to ONE MILLION WATTS. Check signal strength and now it's at 92.

So I thank you, and my Pop Warner QB son #17 also sends his appreciation. Jake and crew in glorious HD on a 133" screen all season!! Just hope Mr. Kasay gets some help in point production.

Go Panthers (and FC Broncos).

Regards,

Joe

Thanks Joe.

You may have spoken to me, but I would suspect you talked to someone else in Engineering since I was at the transmitter getting the site ready for the new DTV transmitter and antenna from June of 2005 pretty much up to today! We have several people who have HD OTA setups in the department so they are pretty good with what works and what doesn't. Of course if it wasn't for the people who post here saying what works and what doesn't, we wouldn't know what to tell people like you who call so it is very much to you as a viewer as us as the broadcaster to have that information.

Glad you are enjoying our programming in digital!

I don't know if it is intentional or not but ABC-45 is showing the Rutgers/UNC game on 45 and Oregon/Stanford in HD on 45.1. Pretty cool if you ask me. I'm obviously watching UNC/Rutgers but during commercials and other breaks in the game I can flip it over to the HD game.

By half-time 45.1 was showing UNC/Rutgers.

Is there a listing somewhere of the HD channels I should be able to receive on TWC with a QAM tuner? I just got a Westinghouse 32" hdtv and went through the channel scan routine, but I'd like to be sure it found everything there is to be found.

Just to give everybody a heads up. Got my HR20 installed this morning. Installer said they just got a shipment in this morning and I was the first install. Sweet!!!!

Couple of questions regarding the HR20?

1. Did you have to purchase it or did they swap out with a HR 10-250? If they did a swapout, was it a direct exchange or did they charge you? I'm interested in this because I've got 3 HD Tivo's and I don't want them to hammer me with charges.

2. How do you like it? Is the speed better than a Tivo? Is it simple to use?

Okay, maybe that is more than 2 questions, but I look forward to your responses.

Just to give everybody a heads up. Got my HR20 installed this morning. Installer said they just got a shipment in this morning and I was the first install. Sweet!!!!
Did D* contact you for the upgrade or did you have a friendly installer that let you know they had them in? ...... and all the questions sbarrier asked!

Actually I needed a DVR for sunday ticket. I called last wednesday trying to order the hr20 but was told they weren't available. So I went ahead and ordered the hr10. I called the retention number and got it free like I read on these forums. I thought it was a swapout for the h20. I insisted for him to take it but he said it wasn't a swapout. He said they may send me a pre-paid box to send it back. I never used the hr10 so i can't compare, but it is much faster than the h20. This thing is fast!! One downside is the OTA is disabled supposedly until october. Going to have to break out the old DTV reciever.

Actually I needed a DVR for sunday ticket. I called last wednesday trying to order the hr20 but was told they weren't available. So I went ahead and ordered the hr10. I called the retention number and got it free like I read on these forums. I thought it was a swapout for the h20. I insisted for him to take it but he said it wasn't a swapout. He said they may send me a pre-paid box to send it back. I never used the hr10 so i can't compare, but it is much faster than the h20. This thing is fast!! One downside is the OTA is disabled supposedly until october. Going to have to break out the old DTV reciever.
Did they give you the HD locals too, or was it just the receiver. Their website says it won't be until October before we get the locals. Didn't know if, in your situation, they gave them to you early or not.

I have asked this before and got little to no response but I will ask again.

With the new TV season starting and more interest in HD, is there any interest of getting together either at a restaurant or some other place and just talk "HD?" Cable, or OTA or programming or upcoming HD events?

I would be happy to bring some pictures of the building of our new tower and show those in attendance and maybe some other goodies! :)

If so, sound off here and then let's set something up and "git 'er dun!"

I have asked this before and got little to no response but I will ask again.

With the new TV season starting and more interest in HD, is there any interest of getting together either at a restaurant or some other place and just talk "HD?" Cable, or OTA or programming or upcoming HD events?

I would be happy to bring some pictures of the building of our new tower and show those in attendance and maybe some other goodies! :)

If so, sound off here and then let's set something up and "git 'er dun!"

I would be interested, let me know if you work something out.

I have asked this before and got little to no response but I will ask again.

With the new TV season starting and more interest in HD, is there any interest of getting together either at a restaurant or some other place and just talk "HD?" Cable, or OTA or programming or upcoming HD events?

I would be happy to bring some pictures of the building of our new tower and show those in attendance and maybe some other goodies! :)

If so, sound off here and then let's set something up and "git 'er dun!"

Count me in as well!

If no schedule conflicts, we can be there!

I'm game!

Sounds good to me. Let us know the time and the place.

May I suggest Foothills Brewery in downtown Winston? They have a very good room for
informal meetings. Great beer to :)

C Snyder

Ok. Does the week or weekend work better and what town works better, Greensboro, Winston, or High Point?

Greensboro for us
weekend

GSO or HP would be better for me.

GSO would be better for me too. No preference on day of the week.

Any place is good.

If it doesn't coincide with a NC State game, I may be up for it.

Please not Foothills, though......servise is terrible and the food ain't much better.

If it doesn't coincide with a NC State game, I may be up for it.

Please not Foothills, though......service is terrible and the food ain't much better.

I'd come, but you guys always just want to talk about antennas and coordinates and full power, etc... :D

I absolutely need to pull signal tomorrow. The omni directional antenna that DTV installed absolutely right next to the house is not allowing any signal (0%) for 45 and I need to at least see the OSU/TX game tomorrow. Any quick fix ideas? This has been ongoing for oh so long but I have yet to find anyone who will install an antenna for me........

I'd come, but you guys always just want to talk about antennas and coordinates and full power, etc... :D

I thought that is what EVERY HD fan wanted to talk about!! :D

I absolutely need to pull signal tomorrow. The omni directional antenna that DTV installed absolutely right next to the house is not allowing any signal (0%) for 45 and I need to at least see the OSU/TX game tomorrow. Any quick fix ideas? This has been ongoing for oh so long but I have yet to find anyone who will install an antenna for me........

You can go to Radio Shack and buy the $19.95 UHF only antenna and a couple of lengths of pole with some RG-6 coax and mount it on anything convenient like your deck. Aim it south towards Asheboro (channel 45's analog and digital are NOT in the same location, analog north of Winston-Salem on Sauratown Mt and digital south of Greensboro at Level Cross) and that should be enough for a quick fix.

I thought that is what EVERY HD fan wanted to talk about!! :D
I'm too lazy to do all that antenna tweaking! :)

You can go to Radio Shack and buy the $19.95 UHF only antenna and a couple of lengths of pole with some RG-6 coax and mount it on anything convenient like your deck. Aim it south towards Asheboro (channel 45's analog and digital are NOT in the same location, analog north of Winston-Salem on Sauratown Mt and digital south of Greensboro at Level Cross) and that should be enough for a quick fix.

Thanks, FOXENG. I'm on my way now. I have the projector on the third floor so I'm thinking I may try pointing it out the window...?

TWC issues:

1) I emailed TWC asking for ESPN2-HD and got a reply that they were in negotiations with ESPN to get it, no speculation on time frame.



That's the standard response - I got the same thing 4 months ago. Yeah, those negotiations must be really intense, just like the talks with Sinclair to get ABC in HD. The UN makes quicker progress. Why does satellite get new channels very quickly (ESPN-2 HD, ESPNU, etc.) but Time Warner takes forever?

I think cable cos in general still have a monopoly mindset, they think they have a fairly captive audience.

I think that a large majority of those that have cable and have never hat sattelite for some reason can not see themselves ever having sattelite and that cable is the only way to go. Alot of people I speak to that have cable think that sattelite is "always" out due to wind, rain, or snow. They are quite surprised when I tell them how reliable my sattelite connection has been for the last 6 years.

I think the Sattelite companies should do more educational advertising or intergrate that into their specials and I think they would get more customers.

As for the Cable companies, they are large and complacent because they know that for the most part their clientelle is "technologically ignorant".

my 2 cents.

I spoke with D*TV on Friday and they do confirm that the HR20 is here and available for installation in Greensboro. They offered me 2 specials as an existing customer that I did not find that special.

1. Normal cost of HR20 and installation of $450 minus $x plus the discounted purchase of sunday ticket and super fan for free. The end cost was $425 giving a savings of $25 cash. They must think I am a moron or something, like it costs them anything to flip the switch to allow programming through to my sattelite.

2. $100 discount making it $350, which seemed ok, but...

Also, they confirmed that HD Local is NOT yet available in this area via D*TV, however should be here next month sometime and that once it was available you would start to get it.

Anyway, I will be ordering mine later today.

itms,
Why did you go with D* over Dish? Dish has a lot more HD content, doesn't it?

I will more than likely go back to digital cable vs a Sat. package. The reason being
is after I pay for the packages that include the same channels and HD content that
I want, there is not any substantial savings over what TWC has to offer. If the
hardware for Sat. was a lot cheaper, then I might seriously consider it. For you
folks that do have Sat., did you install yourself or have it installed for you?

C Snyder

I would have considered satellite if they had TiVo. Now with the S3 coming in a week or two, I'm staying with cable..

I self installed my sat equipment. It isn't as hard as many make it out to be. You do have to go slow and be careful, but it isn't beyond most DIY'ers, just like installing an OTA antenna is not beyond most DIY'ers either, but you need to plan out what you are going to do and not just jump in feet first.

I had TWC for years and when I dropped them 9 years ago and went sat, I haven't looked back one time. I have no plans to go back to TWC, I don't care how much more HD content they may or may not have. I don't care how much I can supposedly save with bundling services. Is sat a panacea? No. Do they do things I don't like, Yes, but at this point it isn't all about HD content or price or bundled services. It has to do with many other things like customer service, overall service quality and since I deal with the local TWC on a one to one level, there are things I see, most people don't and that plays into my reasons for staying with sat as well.

If cable is something you like, then by all means go ahead. The way I look at it, as long as I don't have to pay for your service and you don't pay for mine, why should you or I care what the other one has?

The way I look at it, as long as I don't have to pay for your service and you don't pay for mine, why should you or I care what the other one has?
If everybody took this approach, then this board and all the other similar boards would dry up from lack of activity. ;)

Oh I think we would find something else to complain about!! ;)

I know I picked on you guys about antennas, but now I'm thinking again. I've only been using my Zenith Silver Sensor indoor antenna occasionally to pick up the ABC HD stuff. The quality seems better (no compression artifacts) than the stuff I'm getting over TWC. But it was always a hassle to switch inputs on my TV, so I didn't bother with any of the other locals via antenna.

But with the TiVo Series 3 coming, it should tune the OTA channels and the cable channels and integrate them into the same interface, so I won't have to worry with switching.

SO, I was thinking it would be even better to try to get the other locals OTA for the best HD quality. I'm still too lazy to turn a rotor and go through that hassle. But if there's an attic antenna that I could set up that would tune most of the local networks, I'd do it.

I live in Summerfield, right by Lake Brandt. I have a 3rd story attic right over my theater. What would you guys get given my situation?
1) I won't put anything on the roof
2) I won't bother with turning a rotor
3) I would spend up to $500 for something that met my criteria

This isn't too bad of a deal:
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?prod=HR20

If anybody has any luck with getting the new HD DVR for existing customers cheaper, please let us know.

This isn't too bad of a deal:
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?prod=HR20

If anybody has any luck with getting the new HD DVR for existing customers cheaper, please let us know.

I have 3 HD-Tivos. I thought that they were going to do a straight swapout?

If anybody has any luck with getting the new HD DVR for existing customers cheaper, please let us know.
I've seen on other forums that some people have gotten the HR20 for free. I think it depends on the CSR roulette game you have to play.


FWIW, I have a Radio Shack UHF-75 antenna in my attic. I have it pointed north to get WXII and WUNC off the front of the antenna (stronger side). The back of the antenna pulls WMFY, WXLV, WGHP, and WMYV. I can't get WCWG.

For years I've had 2 Samsung 160s but yesterday I replaced one of them with a D* H20. That did wonders for what I can pick up. All of the channels I could pick up before got a lot better. I can also now get 3 channels from Roanoke. They are 7 (CBS), 10 (NBC) and 27 (Fox).

I currently do not have any HD TiVo boxes, only HD receivers. (One is a Samsung SIR-TS360 and the other is a H10) I've heard you can get a free swap if you already have an HD DVR, but I'm not sure what kind of deal I can get upgrading to a HD-DVR.

I would not pay anything for the HR20. Call DirecTV retention 800-824-9081. You may have to hang up and call again if you don't get the deal you are looking for. They just flat out offered it to me on the first call for free with 19.95 S&H. If I had to come up with something I would say I LOVE LOVE LOVE Directv but how can I possibly pay $400 when I can go to cable and get it for free. My wife just won't let me spend that kind of money. Get creative. Ask for programming discounts or anything to get the price down so you don't have to go to cable. If it doesn't work hang up and call back. Try this and I bet you will get it by the 5th call. Be very nice and you should be able to get it for free, everybody else is. Good Luck.

If you don't feel like making a few phone calls to Directv for a free DVR at least buy from beach audio or value electronics for $299. They will start shipping on the 13th. Directv will still come install it for free. Also you can buy me a few rounds for saving you some money.

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the useful information. For those with questions as to why DirecTV over Dish and why not cable:

1. Because of tall trees I can not get Dish and actually I wanted them some time back.

2. Last year I tried cable for like 12 hours and then switched back to my Sattelite. All non digital channels are the worst reception I have seen!!! I will NEVER go back to cable until they can give me the reception I deserve for the money I am spending.

I will be on the retention line with D*tv tonight and we will see what happens, however I think I might be on the hook for a contract already, not sure though. We will see.

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the useful information. For those with questions as to why DirecTV over Dish and why not cable:

1. Because of tall trees I can not get Dish and actually I wanted them some time back.

2. Last year I tried cable for like 12 hours and then switched back to my Sattelite. All non digital channels are the worst reception I have seen!!! I will NEVER go back to cable until they can give me the reception I deserve for the money I am spending.

I will be on the retention line with D*tv tonight and we will see what happens, however I think I might be on the hook for a contract already, not sure though. We will see.
I thought long and hard yesterday about switching from D* to E* after D*'s TNT-HD fiasco. But I ultimately decided to stay with D* (and even bought a H20). The first and foremost reason is the fact that E*'s MPEG-4 HD-DVR only has one OTA tuner. Couple that with the fact that our market is nowhere on E*'s list of upcoming HD LiL markets and I would be stuck with only being able to record or watch one OTA channel at a time. Can't do both at the same time and can't record 2 OTA at the same time. For me that is a deal breaker since I watch more network HD than the other channels (except for maybe ESPN-HD/ESPH2-HD). As most of you all probably know, D* will roll out HD LiL here by the end of October.

Also, while the HR20's 2 OTA tuners are currently disabled, they should be active around the time we get HD LiL from D*. While E* has more HD content than either D* or TWC, D*'s long term plan with give them more capacity than E* which should translate to at least as many channels as E*.

Lastly, I would have to replace 5 receivers, which would cost a lot of money, plus my wife and 2 children know where to find their favorite channels.

Ok...I spoke with rentention at D*tv...They offered me the HR20 for $150, plus 4 month of HD for free, $10 off my bill for 12 months, plus showtime for 3 months for free, and installation, and the dish...

Seems like a fair deal to me...The guy that has to do the installation will be here for at least an hour possibly 2...

What do you all think?

I feel confident that I can get the H10 swapped out for the H20 free of charge. My main goal is to get the new HD DVR as cheap as possible. I know it's unlikely that I'll get it free, but less than $300 would be nice. Do you think they will want to take my Samsung Sir-ts360? I got it on eBay and own the unit. I'd like to keep it if I could.

Ok...I spoke with rentention at D*tv...They offered me the HR20 for $150, plus 4 month of HD for free, $10 off my bill for 12 months, plus showtime for 3 months for free, and installation, and the dish...

Seems like a fair deal to me...The guy that has to do the installation will be here for at least an hour possibly 2...

What do you all think?

That's a sweet deal. I assume you are a new DirecTv customer right?

That's a sweet deal. I assume you are a new DirecTv customer right?

I have been with DirecTv for 6 years now...

Was on the phone with DTV the other night....the retention department....and the CSR informed me that while there were 2 OTA antenna inputs they were not programmed to work...and won't be until an October software update....so I decided I'd wait.

Oh....only got Superfan....will try later...

Was on the phone with DTV the other night....the retention department....and the CSR informed me that while there were 2 OTA antenna inputs they were not programmed to work...and won't be until an October software update....so I decided I'd wait.

Oh....only got Superfan....will try later...

How come you need the OTA if in Oct. we will get the local HD? Am I missing something?

Ok...I spoke with rentention at D*tv...They offered me the HR20 for $150, plus 4 month of HD for free, $10 off my bill for 12 months, plus showtime for 3 months for free, and installation, and the dish...

Seems like a fair deal to me...The guy that has to do the installation will be here for at least an hour possibly 2...

What do you all think?

Are you swapping out the HR20 for another receiver, or is this a new receiver?

Are you swapping out the HR20 for another receiver, or is this a new receiver?

New

How come you need the OTA if in Oct. we will get the local HD? Am I missing something?
Couple of reasons. For the most part, D* is only including CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox on the spotbeams for HD LiL. A few markets have the CW in HD but I haven't heard if our market will get either the CW or My Network TV in HD from D*. I haven't heard of anybody that is getting their local PBS in HD. So if you want the CW, My Network TV or PBS in HD you will still need an OTA. Also D* won't be putting any of the sub channels on their spotbeams. That means you won't get stuff the 2.2 or 12.2 weather channels. PBS has several sub channels and 48.2 has The Tube Music Network on it. I will admit that some of these sub channels aren't worth it but I do watch channel 2's and channel 12's weather sub channels since we don't get the local Weather Channel from D*.

Then there will be those times when rain fade will knock out the channels from D* but if you have an OTA you still can watch local programming which can be very important in the case of severe weather.

Finally, while a lot of reports I've seen says that the PQ with the MPEG-4 channels is pretty good, it will never be as good as the PQ you get with an OTA antenna.

Keep in mind that since CW is going to our (current) WB station, there will be no HD CW (OTA or otherwise) around here for a while.

Ok...I spoke with rentention at D*tv...They offered me the HR20 for $150, plus 4 month of HD for free, $10 off my bill for 12 months, plus showtime for 3 months for free, and installation, and the dish...

Seems like a fair deal to me...The guy that has to do the installation will be here for at least an hour possibly 2...

What do you all think?

Pretty nice deal. Basically they are paying you $40 to get the HR20. Better deal than what I got. I believe I need to call back and get some more programming discounts!!!

I feel confident that I can get the H10 swapped out for the H20 free of charge. My main goal is to get the new HD DVR as cheap as possible. I know it's unlikely that I'll get it free, but less than $300 would be nice. Do you think they will want to take my Samsung Sir-ts360? I got it on eBay and own the unit. I'd like to keep it if I could.

I traded my h20 for the hr20 for free so you should be good. You can keep the Samsung. Peace

Has anyone gotten the HR20 yet in the Triad? The guy at retention seem to believe it was not out yet here...

Keep in mind that since CW is going to our (current) WB station, there will be no HD CW (OTA or otherwise) around here for a while.

Really? Then I guess you know something the guy who is install it doesn't know because he told me last week, all of the gear is sitting at the station awaiting installation while he installs the high power transmitter.

I just got off the phone with retention and am getting the HR20 with new dish and HD programming for $19.95. I have been a customer for 7yrs. They are going to move my R15 to my daughters room where I currently have an old Sony DTV reciever. I ended up having to call in about 4 different times over the course of a week to get this deal. Thanks all for all the great info!

Quoted from another thread:

Originally Posted by mrg2k
I am a customer in San Diego for 4 years. Called CR 800-824-9081 today and asked for an upgrade to HD. I currently own an old Phillips DVR (Tivo) with no HD, no HBO, etc. Nothing but regular programming.
The guy on the other end said I was a "good customer" for a "long time". I told him my "friends" had been "good customers" and were given the $19.95 deal. He said he'd check and sure enough, in a few minutes, he said I'd be given the $0 - pay $19.95 shipping for the whole package, HR20 and 5 LNB dish. A two year contract was mandatory, but 4 months free of HD programming (no Sunday ticket necessary).
He called the installation company to make sure they had the right equipment and verified an install in 13 days.
Thanks for this forum and all who posted - it paid off big for me.

I too am considering D* as I now have TWC. I would love to get ESPN2HD but the others I can get on TWC. Also if the HD by satellite only has the main channels and not the subs, remember that CBS usually runs 3-4 games of March Madness at a time on the subs locally. My neighbor has D*, so I'll see how the locals are before considering a switch. Right now I get ABC by indoor antenna on a 26" samsung with a tuner. My main TV, a 50" Toshiba was bought pre-internal tuner.

Also, foxeng, I can get Fox8 in HD with an indoor tabletop antenna near Battleground and HorsePenCreek. Thanks for the power boost

Also, foxeng, I can get Fox8 in HD with an indoor tabletop antenna near Battleground and HorsePenCreek. Thanks for the power boost

Your welcome, but don't thank me. Thank the FCC!! :)

This isn't directly HD, but the newly remastered to HD original series Star Trek from the 60's will be re-released to broadcast stations. They have gone back to the original negatives and cleaned them up and redid all of visual effects in CGI. There was no attempt to change the original effects other than to make it viewable in HD, something the original effects would not be able to pull off. (the crude and cost cutting 1960's effects would be very noticable on modern HD sets). The opening theme music has been re-recorded with the original score with a 29 piece orchestra and new wailing siren and the 1966 William Shatner monologue over it. startrek.com and YouTube both have samples of the rework and it is amazing what they have pulled off. The remade opening sequence is just like the original. The CGI Enterprise looks like the model. It would appear they have done a very good job.

This coming weekend. CBS (who owns the TV rights and Paramount owns the movie rights after the Viacom break up) hasn't released it in HD yet, but the HD remastered SD version will be broadcast on OTA stations for the first time (OTA stations are being limited to weekend runs only so not to conflict with the SciFi/G4/TVLand weekday runs) in almost 10 years with the HD version sometime in the near future, maybe next season.

WXLV and WMYV will both air the same episode in the same weekend. WXLV on Sat at 11:30 pm, on WMYV Sun 5:00 pm. According to CBS, the episodes will not air in any particular order but the speculation is on some kind of mysterious "fans favorite." First up, "Balance of Terror."

Also, Star Trek:Enterprise begins airing tomorrow night (Wednesday) on HDNet in HD.

Thanks for the Star Trek info, foxeng!

OK, calling Retention right now to see about this 19.95 deal...

OK...I called back the retention line and got a better rep, however the deal is the same, but the difference is I do not have to call back in 2 weeks like the rep yesterday wanted me to. The HR20 and Dish will be installed Friday.

Seems that they use a rating system to determine what specials you get. It appears I am a "3 heart" customer while those getting the 19.99 deal are "A List" clients. He was explaining to me that they have much higher monthly bills due to things like pay per view and special services like the sports packages.

Oh well...

1. are there different channel numbers for the local channels that are HD and those that are not?

OR

2. Do you watch one channel and if the show/event is broadcast in HD then you see it in HD?

3. Also, I understand that there are dedicated stations like Showtime HD, ESPN HD, etc... that are full HD all of the time. However what if I am watching a station that is not always HD and at the bottom of some shows it says broadcasted in HD where available...Do I then see it in HD?

Thanks

OK, calling Retention right now to see about this 19.95 deal...

Any luck?

1. are there different channel numbers for the local channels that are HD and those that are not?

OR

2. Do you watch one channel and if the show/event is broadcast in HD then you see it in HD?

3. Also, I understand that there are dedicated stations like Showtime HD, ESPN HD, etc... that are full HD all of the time. However what if I am watching a station that is not always HD and at the bottom of some shows it says broadcasted in HD where available...Do I then see it in HD?

Thanks

1) The main channel numbers are the same except for the -1, -2 etc are the HD channels and other sub channels. For example, 45 on my HD receiver is ABC over satellite, while 45-1 is the same channel OTA in HD. You can really see the time lapse when you switch between the two. (OTA is a few seconds faster).
2) If the show is offered in HD, I watch it in HD, no doubt about it.
3) Yes there are dedicated channels for HD 24/7 like HBO and Showtime. Not to mention ESPN 1 and 2, Universal HD, Discovery, HD Net, HD Net movies, and TNT.
If you see "broadcasted in HD where available" I guarantee you'll get it in HD as long as you can tune the channel. The only time I can think of that it might go out of HD is if there is a severe weather alert or something like that.

Hope this helps. I love DirecTV, and you will too if you decide to go with them. All the channels are digital and put most of the analog channels that TWC offers to shame.

Really? Then I guess you know something the guy who is install it doesn't know because he told me last week, all of the gear is sitting at the station awaiting installation while he installs the high power transmitter.

I wasn't aware they were close to upgrading. That's good to hear! Does anyone know if there should be any obstacles to TWC providing their HD signal when it goes online?

I was told they wanted to have everything ready for the launch of TheCW, but the transmitter was late in arriving and the antenna was to be here end of last month but it too was delayed for different reasons and isn't scheduled to be here until the end of this month now and then it has to be installed, weather permitting. My own opinion is they will not be at full power until the end of October and they have to get the HD equipment installed at the studio. I know they are updating the microwave now so by the end of the month I would think the studio link to the transmitter would be in place and running just waiting for the high power transmitter to go on line and then install the HD studio equipment.

It takes a little time to install a UHF transmitter. In our own case, when we installed our new channel 8 transmitter, we had it on the air in 10 days. The channel 35 took over 3 weeks just to get it to the point we could turn the AC power on to it and then it had to be checked out which took about a week and so it took almost a month before we could say it was ready to put on the air.

I went by their transmitter site about 2 weeks ago and some of the same electricians who wired our transmitter were there wiring WCWG's transmitter. It was good to see those guys!

As far as if it will be available on cable, I have no idea, but my guess would be not in the beginning. I know that now is the time that retrans negotiations are going on so maybe after that is resolved, they may be available on cable, but that is just an uninformed opinion.

[QUOTE=MilChad]1)3) Yes there are dedicated channels for HD 24/7 like HBO and Showtime. Not to mention ESPN 1 and 2, Universal HD, Discovery, HD Net, HD Net movies, and TNT.
If you see "broadcasted in HD where available" I guarantee you'll get it in HD as long as you can tune the channel. The only time I can think of that it might go out of HD is if there is a severe weather alert or something like that.
QUOTE]

Ok...I do not plan on having any OTA channels as I am not putting an antenna in. So, for example...Let's say I am watching channel "A" that is not a dedicated HD channel via D*TV and it's just a regular channel. However a show comes on and it says that it is also being broadcast in HD...Now remember there is no dedicated channel for this network...So, Do I get to see it in HD on this channel or not?

I want to take a minute to give props to WFMY for broadcasting Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy in HD. I wasn't home Monday to see if they were broadcasting shows in HD on Monday but yesterday I noticed that they were. I don't know if they had to do anything special to show them but I know that not all TV stations are doing it. For instance channel 7 in Roanoke wasn't showing the shows in HD so it must not be something done quite so easily.

[QUOTE=MilChad]1)3) Yes there are dedicated channels for HD 24/7 like HBO and Showtime. Not to mention ESPN 1 and 2, Universal HD, Discovery, HD Net, HD Net movies, and TNT.
If you see "broadcasted in HD where available" I guarantee you'll get it in HD as long as you can tune the channel. The only time I can think of that it might go out of HD is if there is a severe weather alert or something like that.
QUOTE]

Ok...I do not plan on having any OTA channels as I am not putting an antenna in. So, for example...Let's say I am watching channel "A" that is not a dedicated HD channel via D*TV and it's just a regular channel. However a show comes on and it says that it is also being broadcast in HD...Now remember there is no dedicated channel for this network...So, Do I get to see it in HD on this channel or not?

I get Fox out of New York channel 88 which is an HD channel. When I watch Fox out of NYC and there is SD content, I see gray bars at the left and right sides of my TV. When a show like 24 or the NFL is on, I see it in true HD 16X9 ratio. I'm pretty sure that is how the future local HD channels will be presented.

[QUOTE=itms1022]

I get Fox out of New York channel 88 which is an HD channel. When I watch Fox out of NYC and there is SD content, I see gray bars at the left and right sides of my TV. When a show like 24 or the NFL is on, I see it in true HD 16X9 ratio. I'm pretty sure that is how the future local HD channels will be presented.


Ok...now flip that around...let's say you are watching a channel that is normally only SD content...How will we see something on that channel that is broadcast in HD? Do we need to tune to another channel?

[QUOTE=MilChad]


Ok...now flip that around...let's say you are watching a channel that is normally only SD content...How will we see something on that channel that is broadcast in HD? Do we need to tune to another channel?

Please allow me to jump in and completely confuse everyone! ;)

Stations, OTA or cable do not change resolution. If a channel is listed as a HD channel it will always be transmitting a HD signal, whether a program is in SD or HD, same as a SD channel will only transmit a SD signal, whether a program is SD or HD.

If a program is listed as being in HD, you must watch it on the HD channel for the full HD resolution. It will also be shown on a companion SD channel, if there is one, and if could be shown in one of two ways. One could be in "letterbox" (bars at the top and bottom of a 4:3 screen) as the original aspect ratio and more and more shows are beginning to be shown like this like the new MyNetworkTV network on SD or it could be in "center cut" where the center of the 16:9 picture is "cut out" and it fills the screen of a standard 4:3 TV and you only see that center portion of the picture and you do not see the outer edges of the 16:9 picture. The resolution will be downconvtered from HD to SD for those channels.

If you are watching a HD channel and they transmit a SD program, the resolution will be SD upconverted to HD, but it will not have the same "look" of HD since it doesn't have the correct number of lines to start with. (480 SD vs 720 or 1080 HD) What they do is reuse the same lines to fill in what isn't there. On a 16:9 HD set, you will see "side curtains" or black or gray bars outside of the 4:3 area to fill up the 16:9 screen. SD on a HD set being sent in upconverted mode does look better than a standard SD analog signal.

Now to complicate things a little, you can have a program that is transmitted on a HD channel that is not HD, but is SD but is 16:9. FOX is about the only network that will use that format for shows to fill out the screen that are not HD such as Cops and FOX News Sunday. And weekly MLB games on FOX are shown in this SD 16:9 format along with the rare 7th NFL football game on a Sunday. FOX does show the All Star Game, LCS games and World Series in HD though along with NASCAR in full HD.

Sometimes you need a score card to keep up with the players!

I really need to create some 4:3 and 16:9 pictures to post when people ask this question. It seems to help them.

Please allow me to jump in and completely confuse everyone! ;)

Stations, OTA or cable do not change resolution. If a channel is listed as a HD channel it will always be transmitting a HD signal, whether a program is in SD or HD, same as a SD channel will only transmit a SD signal, whether a program is SD or HD.

If a program is listed as being in HD, you must watch it on the HD channel for the full HD resolution. It will also be shown on a companion SD channel, if there is one


NOT confusing at all, in fact quite helpful. Other than the channels listed in the D*TV HD Package and the local channels they will offer next month in this area. Are there any other "companion" HD channels available?

Other than the channels listed in the D*TV HD Package and the local channels they will offer next month in this area. Are there any other "companion" HD channels available?

Nope. Not on D*.

I know I'm about the only TWC person on this thread, and probably the only one who's been anxiously awaiting the new High Def TiVo for 4 years, but in case anyone's interested:

TWC is telling me that they plan to put ALL of their channels on a switched digital system. This would effectively render all cable cards (version 1) completely useless. So if you had a TV using cable card or a HiDef TiVo using cable card, you wouldn't even be able to tune any of the channels, much less record them.

Of course Cable Card 2.0 would solve this problem, but that may be a year or more away. I've written an email to every TWC executive locally and nationally that I can find an email address for. I'm sure it will be futile and I'll either have to suck it up with the SA8300 or switch to Dish, but I gave it a college try. Just FYI if anyone's interested.

So what stations actually broadcast in HD and have alternate channels or dedicated channels for their reception and via which provider are they available.

For example:
_______________________________________________
|Channel Name | Dedicated | Alternate Available | Providers
|______________________________________________
| ABC No Yes All but TWC
| NBC No Yes All
| ESPHD Yes NA Not sure

Ok I have no idea if the info in the example is accurate or whether anyone will understand what I am asking for...But hopefully someone will understand.

LOL

I know I'm about the only TWC person on this thread, and probably the only one who's been anxiously awaiting the new High Def TiVo for 4 years, but in case anyone's interested:

TWC is telling me that they plan to put ALL of their channels on a switched digital system. This would effectively render all cable cards (version 1) completely useless. So if you had a TV using cable card or a HiDef TiVo using cable card, you wouldn't even be able to tune any of the channels, much less record them.

Of course Cable Card 2.0 would solve this problem, but that may be a year or more away. I've written an email to every TWC executive locally and nationally that I can find an email address for. I'm sure it will be futile and I'll either have to suck it up with the SA8300 or switch to Dish, but I gave it a college try. Just FYI if anyone's interested.
I am also TWC, jacksonian - you are not alone! Thanks for the heads up on the cable card.

I know I'm about the only TWC person on this thread, and probably the only one who's been anxiously awaiting the new High Def TiVo for 4 years, but in case anyone's interested:

TWC is telling me that they plan to put ALL of their channels on a switched digital system. This would effectively render all cable cards (version 1) completely useless. So if you had a TV using cable card or a HiDef TiVo using cable card, you wouldn't even be able to tune any of the channels, much less record them.

Of course Cable Card 2.0 would solve this problem, but that may be a year or more away. I've written an email to every TWC executive locally and nationally that I can find an email address for. I'm sure it will be futile and I'll either have to suck it up with the SA8300 or switch to Dish, but I gave it a college try. Just FYI if anyone's interested.

There are plenty of TWC customers on here, we just happened to be talking about D* since they are coming out with some new stuff right now. Speaking of new stuff, does anybody know if the new TiVo series 3 will work with TWC? Just curious.

So what stations actually broadcast in HD and have alternate channels or dedicated channels for their reception and via which provider are they available.

For example:
_______________________________________________
|Channel Name | Dedicated | Alternate Available | Providers
|______________________________________________
| ABC No Yes All but TWC
| NBC No Yes All
| ESPHD Yes NA Not sure

Ok I have no idea if the info in the example is accurate or whether anyone will understand what I am asking for...But hopefully someone will understand.

LOL


You didn't specify if you meant locally or nationally. I will try and list as many as I can remember.

Locally every OTA station has an analog and digital channel up 24/7 and all program at least primetime and sports in HD except WGPX, WLXI and WCWG (ex WTWB) which will start programming some HD after they increase to full power and install the HD equipment in the studio. Nothing has been announced if WLXI or WGPX will ever program any HD.

As far as cable channels, The NBCU cable channels, SciFi, USA, Bravo pool their HD programming on Universal HD. The Discovery Channel family of channels like all of the different Discovery Channels, the Science Channel and A&E share their HD programming on Discovery HD Theatre. This is how those channels are able to be HD 24/7.

TNT has a HD channel, HGTV and Food Network has come out with an HD chsnnel. National Geographic Channel has a HD channel. MTV has a separately programmed 24/7 HD channel called MHD. Outdoor Channel and Outdoor Channel 2 both have HD channels. ESPN and ESPN 2 have separate HD channels as well. HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, The Movie Channel and Encore has HD channels as well.

This list is not complete and no one provider, cable or sat carries anywhere near the total amount that is available, but you can go to this link and see a more complete list for cable. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=1297963&&#post1297963

Just remember, at this point, it isn't the amount of HD a provider carries, but the quality they carry in content as well as PQ. Everyone is in a bandwidth crunch right now and so no one can carry all that is available, but that is changing fairly fast. D* is in the middle of launching new sats that are dedicated to HD only and will have that completed within the next 12 to 18 months. When complete, they will have enough bandwidth to offer 1500 local HD stations (there is only about 1800 total stations in the US and it is a given not all will go HD) and 150 national HD channels. As SD subs change over to HD, over the next several years, those channels that offer HD and SD channels, the SDs will go away and that will open even more bandwidth so it is a win-win for everyone.

Dish hasn't announced any such major plans. They seem to be playing a "follow the leader" mentality. Whatever D* does, they do but they don't have the bandwidth to keep up.

Cable is undergoing many changes and switched is only one for more bandwidth and it too is bringing problems.

Nothing is fool proof yet, but if you understand that going in, HD is a wonderous experience!

There are plenty of TWC customers on here, we just happened to be talking about D* since they are coming out with some new stuff right now. Speaking of new stuff, does anybody know if the new TiVo series 3 will work with TWC? Just curious.
That's exactly what I'm talking about. The TiVo S3 relies on cablecard. With TWC going to this SDV, cablecard devices like the TiVo S3 won't even be able to tune any channels on the SDV, much less record them. It will essentially render any device relying on cablecard non-functional.

Will TWC customers EVER see these HD channels?

"Thank you for contacting Time Warner Cable's Customer Care email department. We cannot anticipate when or if ESPN2-HD or ABC-HD will be added to our lineup. Time Warner is willing to accept an equitable alliance with each of these networks. However, it cannot accept just any terms. It must be an arrangement that is viable for Time Warner and its customers. Time Warner will continue to try and obtain these networks."

Might be a good enough reason to switch back to D*TV soon.

If TWC had a cable box with a built-in OTA tuner, the ABC HD issue wouldn't be that big of a deal. As far as I know, they don't offer one, and not everybody has a TV with a built in HD tuner. DirecTV's new HR20 has a built in OTA tuner but appareltly (correct me if I'm wrong) it can't be used with a diplexer which could bring about install problems. I'm looking to have 3 RG6 lines feed the HR20. Two from the dish and one from my antenna.

To me, the ESPN2-HD is a bigger issue, I can get ABC-HD off rabbit ears(just no DVR).

I want to take a minute to give props to WFMY for broadcasting Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy in HD. I wasn't home Monday to see if they were broadcasting shows in HD on Monday but yesterday I noticed that they were. I don't know if they had to do anything special to show them but I know that not all TV stations are doing it. For instance channel 7 in Roanoke wasn't showing the shows in HD so it must not be something done quite so easily.
You are correct about the process not being easy. Rather complicatd both on the Viacomm and WFMY end. And if anything is fouled up on either end we get to start the recording over. The HD recorder only cost about 75 Grand so we only have one. Give credit to our master control operator for starting two tape machines at the same time, and running breaks while keeping things synchronized. We are learning from this experience, and consistency will improve with time. Thanks. Rickey.

DirecTV's new HR20 has a built in OTA tuner but appareltly (correct me if I'm wrong) it can't be used with a diplexer which could bring about install problems. I'm looking to have 3 RG6 lines feed the HR20. Two from the dish and one from my antenna.
The problem here isn't with the receiver itself. It is the frequencies the new satellites are on. Here's a thread from dbstalk that talks about this.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=54140&highlight=diplexer+5lnb

Good old MPEG2 satellites are using 950-1450MHz. Satellites at 103 are using/will use 1650-2150MHz. Satellites at 99 will use 250-750MHz which overlaps the UHF band. Right now, Spaceway 1 is at 103 and Spaceway 2 is at 99. DirecTV 10 will be at 99 and DirecTV11 will be at 103. DirecTV 9S is scheduled to go up in July at 101 so there looks to be MPEG 4 programming inside 950-1450MHz before too long. If you diplex, you won't get programming from Spaceway 2 or DirecTV 10 when they start up.
Here's a thread from somebody who feels that they have a solution. I'd be curious to hear what foxeng thinks about this and if it is a good idea or not.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=62299&highlight=diplexer

Ok...I bought a 15' HDMI cable today for the projector got it pulled through the ceiling attached to the projector, and ready for the HR20 to only realize that I had purchased a 25' cable sometime last year that was sitting on the side. Oh well, looks like I have an extra cable.

The D*TV installer should be here tomorrow between 12 and 5, hopefully he shows like he is supposed to and everything goes smoothly for my entry into the HD world.

Needlesss to say, I am excited!!!!

Hey Foxeng. The rumor over on the Charlotte board is that Sunday's Panthers game won't be in HD. I know it's out of your control, but what gives?

I have been under the weather today so I haven't been at work so I have no idea. They usually don't say why they do or don't do something, just this is the way it is. I suspect this was decided before the season started so it may have something to do with availablity of or location of equipment. Just a guess.

Hey Foxeng. The rumor over on the Charlotte board is that Sunday's Panthers game won't be in HD. I know it's out of your control, but what gives?

Apparently the NFL can't have but so many games in HD at one given time on any given Sunday. If the Panthers game is in SD, we're the ones missing out this week. Here's a quote from the NFL on Fox:

FOX Sports' 2006 NFL broadcast schedule once again boasts an unmatched offering of high-definition programming. Starting with three preseason broadcasts in August, six games each week during the regular season and complete coverage throughout the NFL postseason for the third straight year, FOX Sports presents 104 games in 720p high-definition this season, representing 90 percent of all games covered. FOX Sports remains the only NFL broadcaster to produce as many as six NFL regular season games in HD each Sunday.

According to this site http://www.gribblenation.net/ , all games will be in HD Sunday, except GB


http://www.gribblenation.net/nflmaps/02-FOX.gif

Well that changed fast! Now it says all games but Carolina... :(

Ok...here goes...Let me first preface this post with "I swear this really did happen and is happening as I type"

The D*TV guy is here right this second, but the thing is, He is the second technician because the first one quit, that's right, he quit, right in the middle of my installation. He was really ticked off at his boss because D*TV was back charging him $300 for some previous installation. Anyway, during my installation, the projector was not picking up a signal and he did not know what to do, so I was calling tech support because he didn't know what he was doing. He tells me while I am on the phone that he was going to get a phone number for tech support from the van, so I was like, ok. Well he never came back, he just up and left. I called the local sub-contractor and they said they were investigating and would call me back with their plan. Well it turns out they called me back in about 10 minutes and said they were sending someone out right away.

The second guy shows up and looks at the setup and straight away says "no wonder it's not working, the technician did not put on the filters"...He puts on the filters and nothing, that's right nothing. The receiver was DOB (that apparently is D*TV lingo for Dead out of Box.

Anyhow, luckily the second technician has a second one in his van and brings it in. Fires it up and were in business. He is on the phone right this second as I type getting it activated, but there is a software update going on so we are waiting.

I spoke to D*TV retention while waiting for the second technician and explained to them what happened and that I lost my entire day. Anyway, the credited me another $133.

So here is what this whole thing cost me: $16 plus tax and I get the HR20, New Dish, Installation, 12 months of $10 off my bill, 4 months of HD for free, 3 months of Showtime...All and All I think it's more than fair...

Well let me go the update is at 85% and I can't wait for this thing to activate...

Will post feedback of the HR20 and HD later tonight or tomorrow.

Have a good weekend.

We got confirmation yesterday that the Panthers game will not be in HD. I have no information why. It will be in SD widscreen.

Apparently the NFL can't have but so many games in HD at one given time on any given Sunday.

That is not the reason. FOX only has capacity for 6 HD games. About 3 or 4 weeks a year, FOX has 7 games scheduled. Someone has to be in SD. Last week was a 7 game week like this week is and it was SF vs AZ who was in SD last week. Since you don't just set these trucks up in a day, there has to be scheduling to get the correct trucks in the right places. Like I said in an earlier post, I suspect this was planned from the beginning due to the 6 HD game technical limit of FOX. Remember CBS only does 3 HD games a week no matter how many games they show and CBS has the double header this week.

Even when the Panthers are playing well, not many other markets pick up the Panthers game. With MINN in the dumper, and the Panthers still not a marque name team yet, we get the bad end of the stick sometimes. In FOX's defense, they do try and spread the suffering around when they can. Like I said, whatever the reason is, I suspect this decision was made months ago.

As an example, here is the CAR/DAL game from Dec 24 last year. Other than the areas that are DAL areas no other market took this game. Even though the Panthers looked strong then but there was doubt if they would make it in the playoffs. As a must watch team, we aren't there yet.

http://www.gribblenation.net/personal/jp/2005wk16-fox.gif

Another too common occurence with ABC-45. A game (Miami vs. Louisville) that is supposed to be in HD isn't being broadcast in HD. Other markets are showing the game in HD.

Another too common occurence with ABC-45. A game (Miami vs. Louisville) that is supposed to be in HD isn't being broadcast in HD. Other markets are showing the game in HD.
Yes its true, most of the game was not in HD on WXLV due to a receiver problem. At the beginning of the game there was some jittery audio on the SD and HD receivers. After rebooting them the HD came back up with other problems. It was fixed at about 5:53PM.
Zane

^ And yet you want TWC to pay extra to carry your digital signal.

^ And yet you want TWC to pay extra to carry your digital signal.

I agree. ABC 45 is a complete joke. I am more shocked when it broadcasts correctly than when it doesnt. TWC should never pay them extra.

Was the Panther's game in "Fox Widescreen" today?

Was the Panther's game in "Fox Widescreen" today?
Yes it was and it looked terrible.

But at least you CAN see it now!! :)

I thought it looked quite good as upconverted, and I'm viewing on a 133" screen. So long flight back for Mr. Gamble ?

Joe

Yeah, it was certainly better than the usual SD, but nowhere close to the great HD we're used to.

I am thankful that our local station is running at full power and we no longer have to get the OTA signal from Charlotte, but Fox's HD coverage of Panther's and Saturday MLB games is not very good. Today's upconverted signal was almost as good as their regular HD, which is not good. I hope they are working to improve it, but there is no comparison between FOX and all of the other network's coverage of HD sports. (ABC, NBC, CBS, ESPN, and even TNT) Their coverage of special events (MLB All star and Playoff games) is better, but the week to week coverage is far behind the others. I understand that not all of the cameras are HD, but it seems like they would use an HD camera for the main Full-Field shot for the NFL games. Some of the close-up angles look OK, but none of the wide shoots look any where close to HD. I have not seen any difference between the picture from Charlotte or Greensboro, so I am assuming the poor PQ it is coming from the Main Fox feed. Their regular Network TV Shows look terrific, it is only their sports coverage that is so poor. It kind of follows with how bad the Panthers have played so far, I am hoping that both can improve as the season goes on.

So long flight back for Mr. Gamble ?

I had the TV sound down and the audio from the radio up for the game and the radio guys couldn't believe they would use that play when they did. They admitted it was in the playbook but never thought they would use it. Fox later took the blame for it when the radio guys interviewed him post game. Fox didn't come out and say it, but you got the impression that play will not be part of the playbook anymore.

I agree. ABC 45 is a complete joke. I am more shocked when it broadcasts correctly than when it doesnt. TWC should never pay them extra.
Maybe I've just gotten lucky, or maybe its because I didn't get into OTA HD until fall of 2005 and I was not watching through a lot of the growing pains of the OTA stations, but my experience with ABC 45 HD OTA has, overall, been very good. The only problems I have experienced has been with their audio. Now granted, that was during the Super Bowl and some of the bowl games last year which was annoying. I TiVo a lot of primetime ABC shows and never seem to have problems. The occasional, opps we forgot to switch back over to HD after a commercial happens, but I've seen that with many of the other local stations too.

One thing that I do find interesting is the whole stalemate between ABC 45's parent company and TWC. It reminds me a bit how AOL's content was developed during its reign atop the internet world in the 90's. During that time, content providers were paying AOL to have their content on AOL. I worked for a company then that was considering a contract in the millions just to have our content on AOL. We were out-bid by a competitor. In this scenario ABC 45 would be paying TWC to have its HD content on their HD tier. Since the .com bust, there seems to be a bit of a role reversal. AOL is now paying people like WebMD, just to name one, to provide content that is only available on AOL. I guess AOL finally got smart and realized that with broadband people would not need AOL. The difference in this case would be that there are other means to get the ABC 45 content.

I don't know if this is similar to anything that has happened in the broadcasting industry or not and the members that are part of the broadcasting community could better answer that question, but I find it interesting that the same concept or even business model seems to be carrying over to many different communication mediums.

Now, does that mean I am in favor of what TWC is doing? No. Does that mean I am in favor of what ABC 45's parent company is doing? No. I think they are both being stupid and the only people that are losing out are the TV watchers. The TV watching community is bound to get annoyed enough to go to OTA or D*. Not that it is a bad alternative, its just different than what they currently have. I do find it interesting that they were able to come to terms with D* without any problems.

Just some thoughts of my own :D

I just bought a CM 3221 UHF 4 bow tie outdoor antenna. From East Charlotte I can get WFMY-DT with a very good signal. WXLV-DT comes in but the signal is in the red and goes in and out. Eventually I want to get the antenna higher but I have to wait till there are some strong arms around here!

itms1022...

I'm interested in hearing the latest on the HR20. Are you able to get local HD channels already? I thought Oct. was the soonest we were able to get HD locals. Anyway, let us know what you think.

itms1022...

I'm interested in hearing the latest on the HR20. Are you able to get local HD channels already? I thought Oct. was the soonest we were able to get HD locals. Anyway, let us know what you think.


I should (assuming all goes well with the installer) have two HR20's by Wednesday afternoon. I will be glad to give some info after I'm up and running. I know the OTA tuners are not enabled yet (October per other forums) and October as well for locals over the satellite. Foxeng--do you have any "inside" info on the timeline for DirecTV that you can share?

If you want the latest on the HR20--check out DBSTalk.com (http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=112) That's where you'll find it.

Bill

So long flight back for Mr. Gamble ?

Joe

Does anyone else think he was throwing to the referee by mistake? I replayed several times and I'm convinced he saw the referee out of the corner of his eye (remember--they were in white jersey w/black & blue trim) and that affected his throw--started that way and then couldn't correct his motion

Bill

I should (assuming all goes well with the installer) have two HR20's by Wednesday afternoon. I will be glad to give some info after I'm up and running. I know the OTA tuners are not enabled yet (October per other forums) and October as well for locals over the satellite. Foxeng--do you have any "inside" info on the timeline for DirecTV that you can share?

If you want the latest on the HR20--check out DBSTalk.com (http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=112) That's where you'll find it.

Bill

What's the total price tag on your future install? (If you don't mind me asking). I'd like to have an idea of what to expect when I order the new stuff.

I've heard that they are going to swap out the HR20s for a HD-TIVO for no charge. Can anyone who has a HR20 confirm or deny this?

itms1022...

I'm interested in hearing the latest on the HR20. Are you able to get local HD channels already? I thought Oct. was the soonest we were able to get HD locals. Anyway, let us know what you think.

So far the HR20 has been pretty good. I have no complaints. There are no locals yet, but I am ready for them. I am using a PJ with 110" screen, the HD pictures are AMAZAING...

If you have any specific questions on the HR20, let me know, I will do my best to answer.

Hey fellas, hopefully someone can help me. I have TWC with the Pace 550P STB, i used to be able to access a blue menu screen by pressing the "Display" button on the front panel, this doesnt work for reason. nothing happens when I press display button when the machine is on/off regardless of what channel it is on.(wether that matters or not) I see people mention that if U press and hold the "#" button it should bring it up but all that does is let me choose normal.zoom modes, (pressing and holding or quick pressing.... Basically I want to set the box to passthrough and I cant do it. I can change to 420I 420P 720P and 1080i with some button combinations on the front but no pass. any help would be greatly appreciated. sorry for the lenght. thanx in advance.

Donniewb420 ,

Welcome!

I know that TWC "upgraded" the Pace box back in June - it messed up a bunch of things for folks that had them. I finally went to the DVR SA 8300 .

What's the total price tag on your future install? (If you don't mind me asking). I'd like to have an idea of what to expect when I order the new stuff.

Not at all--I called the retention department (800-824-9081--they can make the best deals) three or four times in the last 2 weeks with no luck. They claimed the HR20 wasn't in their system yet.

I called again last Friday the 15th and got lucky. I got an offer to upgrade one of my HR10's and swap the other for $99 each. (One I own--they aren't getting it--ever!! The other is a lease I got for $19.99 a couple of months ago--I want to keep it too, but it's not a deal breaker.) The CSR said I should be able to keep both if I wanted to keep it active anyway. The best part is that one of the earlier reps had put a note to give me a $150 credit when I was able to order a HR20. I didn't even remember that part, I guess being nice really does pay off. I also got 4 months of the HD pack for free.

So--(2 X $99) - $150 - (4 X $10) = approximately $25 after tax. I did have to pay the $200 up front on a credit card, but not a big deal to me. My $150 credit has already posted--so no check to DirecTV this month and a little one next month!

I'll let you know Wednesday if all goes well with the install and if I was able to keep both HR10's. I assume as long as I keep it activated, DirecTV will be happy to let me keep paying $5 lease fee/mirroring fee on it.

I would like to get some of the basic installation stuff out of the way b4 the installer comes out. I got a spool of high quality RG6 and plan on running my own coax and moving my dish location due to some tree issues. The main reason for this is I want the job done nice and clean and I'd rather not have the D* guy at my house all day. Anyway, I know that the new AT9 dish requires a 2" outside diameter mast. I'd like to go ahead and setup the mast in my new location that way all the installer has to do is put the dish on it. I've heard that 2" outisde diameter pipe is hard to come by for some reason. Does anybody know where I could get a pole mount that size around here?

Thanks.

I know that the new AT9 dish requires a 2" outside diameter mast. I'd like to go ahead and setup the mast in my new location that way all the installer has to do is put the dish on it. I've heard that 2" outisde diameter pipe is hard to come by for some reason. Does anybody know where I could get a pole mount that size around here?

PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS PART. The alignment of the AT9 is CRITICAL. More so than the older 3LNB dish. If the mounting pole does not set properly, they WILL NOT USE IT and will install their own. Even if it is set correctly, D* may NOT let them use it. It has to do with liability in the future.

PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS PART. The alignment of the AT9 is CRITICAL. More so than the older 3LNB dish. If the mounting pole does not set properly, they WILL NOT USE IT and will install their own. Even if it is set correctly, D* may NOT let them use it. It has to do with liability in the future.


I guess that means they are going to have to dig the hole and set the mast in some ready-mix? My only location where there is not a tree issue is a small spot in the front yard next to an old fence that is in no condition to attach a dish to.

I've heard that they are going to swap out the HR20s for a HD-TIVO for no charge. Can anyone who has a HR20 confirm or deny this?
I thought D* severed all ties with TiVo?

I thought D* severed all ties with TiVo?

They recently extended the TiVo contract until 2012 I believe it was.

I guess that means they are going to have to dig the hole and set the mast in some ready-mix? My only location where there is not a tree issue is a small spot in the front yard next to an old fence that is in no condition to attach a dish to.

Please remember that the AT9 is a heavier dish than the 3 LNB and with 5 LNB's to align, with 2 of them KA band, it is a nightmare to set and get running. It is not for the faint of heart. In the past if your post was off a hair, you could live with it. With the newer dishes that use both KA and Ku, that post has to be exact in all three planes and have to be a certain size and mass to support the AT9 in all weather conditions. And yes, they will set it in Ready-Mix. They have to if they are to keep that dish still in all weather conditions from sun to ice with wind. It will move around enough to knock the KA band out if not careful.

If D* was to accept a post that was consumer installed and something happened to it, then D* would be responsible for service on that post and if they have to keep sending people out on service calls because the post isn't the correct spec or in the wrong place, they lose money. That is why they are not allowing self install on the AT9.

I have seen the video (I have have a copy of the files) for the installation of the AT9 and it is more complicated to set up than the 3 LNB dish and may be beyond most DIY types. The new smaller version, when available, may make it DIY'able again. The biggest headache is to be sure you have a clear shot of 20 degree of sky to cover all 5 birds from 99 to 119 and that is harder than you might think and it may not be where you think it is. In my own case, I know I have 4 of the 5 from my present dish location. The 99 position is an if and they may decide they need to put the AT9 somewhere else.

Thanks for the info Foxeng. I've done a lot of research on the AT9 and have seen the video as well. I'd hate to have to try and dial that thing in. As far as seeing all 5 birds and predicting a good spot for a dish I found this tip on the net somewhere and I figured I'd share it:

1. Use a plastic protractor and drew the elevation angle on a piece of paper.
2. Then fold the paper, like a little tent, and scotch taped it to a level.
3. Finally, tape a compass on the level and by holding the level like a rifle, you can see exactly where to (or where not to) aim your dish.

They recently extended the TiVo contract until 2012 I believe it was.
Oooh! That might make me reconsider D*. But E* has all the HD! Now if I could just get TiVo + lots of HD from the same provider..... :eek:

The new smaller version, when available, may make it DIY'able again.
Any idea of when those may be out? Last I heard they were going to use up all of the larger ones before they start shipping the smaller versions. Has anyone heard any different?

Oooh! That might make me reconsider D*. But E* has all the HD! Now if I could just get TiVo + lots of HD from the same provider..... :eek:
The contract that D* signed with TiVo is for continued support of the current D* TiVo boxes like the H10-250. No future D* boxes (at least will Murdoch owns D*) will be TiVo boxes. The contract also states that TiVo can't sue D* for anything, like patent infringements. E* probably wishes they had that same deal with TiVo since TiVo has successfully sued E*.

Oh well. I guess I'm stuck until we get CC2.0 or OCAP or a better DVR from TWC.

Any idea of when those may be out? Last I heard they were going to use up all of the larger ones before they start shipping the smaller versions. Has anyone heard any different?


The earliest timeframe I've heard is December of this year. Keep in mind, that's just a rumor.

You can find out more here:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?p=670808#post670808

Oooh! That might make me reconsider D*. But E* has all the HD! Now if I could just get TiVo + lots of HD from the same provider..... :eek:

Mr Murdoch said yesterday that by Christmas, D* will have 100 more HD channels up. Nothing was said about any being HD LIL.

http://www.transmitternews.com/NewsWire/91906newsletterupd.html

It says "100 channels of HD by Christmas", so I guess that's a total #. But that's till a ton more than anyone else. I didn't know there were 100 channels in HD to broadcast.

And just where exactly are these 100 channels of HD coming from ??? He didn't specify a year when he said by Christmas, did he ???

This really puts the pressure on Charlie Ergen, because now he'll have to come up with 1000 HD channels...

I'm dubious of this too. Where is the bandwidth going to come from to have 100 HD by Christmas? They obviously don't have any right now if the have to turn off an HD channel during Sunday NFL Ticket. Either he was referring to HD LiL channels or Christmas 2007.

I think they are talking about locals. An installer in this area said in January they would be
removing the second dish (72.5) for people who have the HD AT9. That's the only possibility
that makes any sense from Murdocks statement. Where would they get 100 channels otherwise??

Mr Murdoch thinks out of the box. Maybe if you thought out of the box too it would make sense.

Hmm, I feel like I'm playing "Treasure Hunters" with foxeng as the host :D I'm not good at puzzles, so I'll wait for Christmas and see what happens. :)

I'm relatively new to the world of HD and ran into this thread. Really great info here.

Here is my question. What indoor antenna would you guys recommend for best OTA HD reception in the Reedy Fork Ranch area off of HWY 29N? I bought an antenna from Radio Shack but so far the only true HD channel I can get reliably is WFMY. I'm not receiving Fox, NBC or ABC OTA HD transmissions. Would an amplified antenna help? I've got the HD package from TWC but I'm looking for a backup in case the cable goes out.

Hmm, I feel like I'm playing "Treasure Hunters" with foxeng as the host :D I'm not good at puzzles, so I'll wait for Christmas and see what happens. :)

Sorry but no Treasure Hunt here. All I am saying is that Mr Murdoch didn't get to where he is by thinking in the box only. There is obviously some plan in place (what it is I have no idea) or he wouldn't have mentioned it in public. FOX doesn't just "let things slip" without a reason. I have worked too long for the company not to know that much.

Over in the programming section there is much speculation on what it might be, everything from HD LIL to all of the RSN's. I truly don't know what it is. Even though D* and the stations group are all over the FOX Entertainment banner, we are two complete separate divisions and so we don't talk much and certainly they don't know our secrets and we don't know theirs! Wish I did!

I'm relatively new to the world of HD and ran into this thread. Really great info here.

Here is my question. What indoor antenna would you guys recommend for best OTA HD reception in the Reedy Fork Ranch area off of HWY 29N? I bought an antenna from Radio Shack but so far the only true HD channel I can get reliably is WFMY. I'm not receiving Fox, NBC or ABC OTA HD transmissions. Would an amplified antenna help? I've got the HD package from TWC but I'm looking for a backup in case the cable goes out.

Couple of questions so we can help you better.

What model antenna did you get from RS?
You're not down in a basement are you?
Have you pointed the RS antenna towards all the towers and still no luck with anything other than WFMY? (See antennaweb.org for tower location)

I apologize if this has already been mentioned, but is the CW station broadcasting
a digital feed OTA? I didn't see anything listed in the past few posts. Thanks!

*EDIT* Nevermind, I see that the digital is on ch19. Anyone in W-S able to pick it
up?

C Snyder

Currrently no one can pick them up. WCWG is running at low power and has been since early 2003. When they first started, you could see them in Greensboro and Winston-Salem. In 2004 sometime, they suffered a problem with the transmitter and reduced the power further so even though it is on the air, even 5 miles from it, you can't see it. Good news is that they should now have the new full power transmitter installed and being tested while their antenna is scheduled for delivery next week I believe it is so they should be at full power within 30 days from what I have been told. They wanted to be up at full power when the CW launched, but the antenna was delayed and that threw the schedule out the window.

Their digital channel and post transition permanent channel is 19.

Over in the programming section there is much speculation on what it might be, everything from HD LIL to all of the RSN's.

Foxeng,

What does "LIL" and "RSN" mean?

Thanks in advance.

What does "LIL" and "RSN" mean?
LIL means local in local. Basically that is when a satellite company beams local channels to a particular market. For instance we get Greensboro's standard definition local channels from D* and we are scheduled to get Greensboro's HD locals by the end of October.

RSN stands for regional sports network, such as Fox Sports South.

Yeah, what he said!! ;)

I apologize if this has already been mentioned, but is the CW station broadcasting
a digital feed OTA? I didn't see anything listed in the past few posts. Thanks!

*EDIT* Nevermind, I see that the digital is on ch19. Anyone in W-S able to pick it
up?

C Snyder
I was disappointed that WCWG was not going to be available next week until I discovered WJZY in Charlotte was also a CW channel and also broadcasting in HD. I have been able to consistently pick up their OTA signal for a while now out of W-S at 80% with my indoor antenna. I thought I would mention this in case anyone else could pick up the Charlotte signal.

I was disappointed that WCWG was not going to be available next week until I discovered WJZY in Charlotte was also a CW channel and also broadcasting in HD. I have been able to consistently pick up their OTA signal for a while now out of W-S at 80% with my indoor antenna. I thought I would mention this in case anyone else could pick up the Charlotte signal.


What indoor antenna do you use? I live in Winston Salem and I was just wondering, I have an indoor antenna but I'm looking to get another one.

What indoor antenna do you use? I live in Winston Salem and I was just wondering, I have an indoor antenna but I'm looking to get another one.
Silver Sensor

Concerning FOX8 at full power:

I have one of those flying saucer TV antennas pointed at Poor Mt in Roanoke. The only OTA that I could get reliably was WDBJ-HD.

I just got the HD Tivo. Whatever chip in there gets us the ATSC signal is fabulous, I get all kinds of channels, even WUNC-HD which is far away in the wrong direction. I get FOX8 with signal strength of 85. This is better than FOX27 in Roanoke (although that's a directional signal).

Once these chips make their way into other ATSC OTA boxes, a lot of complaints will go away.

If you are talking about the new HR20 DVR, it is suppose to have the LG 5th gen chip in it like the H20 receiver. The older HR10-250 has either a 3rd or 4th gen chip depending on when it was manufactured. The H20 (non DVR) receiver I have is much better on multipath than any of the other receivers I have. I can pick up all of the local stations with the antenna pointed in one direction where with the other receivers with 4th or 3th or 2nd gen chips, I have to turn the antenna.

[snip] Yowch, sorry for the off-topic post - just found the forum index, and saw I was out-of-bounds.

Has anyone used the OTA with this yet? Is it working yet?

If you are talking about the new HR20 DVR, it is suppose to have the LG 5th gen chip in it like the H20 receiver.
...I was referring to the new Series 3 Tivo.

Has anyone used the OTA with this yet? Is it working yet?

From what I've read OTA is still disabled at the moment. My question is when would be a good time to pull the trigger and call D* to have them come out and install the new AT9 and get the new HR20? If we get it now, the OTA input is disabled and I don't think HD locals are (spot beamed) in the Triad market yet. Theay are due to be in our area next month according to everything I've heard. Does anybody have the latest on the HR20 for the Triad market?

Thanks,
Chad

I did see a pair of HR20s at Best Buy in Greensboro over the weekend. For me I won't get one until the OTA tuners are enabled which rumor has them being activated by the end of October, which is also when we are suppose to get HD LiL from D*.

From what I've read OTA is still disabled at the moment. My question is when would be a good time to pull the trigger and call D* to have them come out and install the new AT9 and get the new HR20? If we get it now, the OTA input is disabled and I don't think HD locals are (spot beamed) in the Triad market yet. Theay are due to be in our area next month according to everything I've heard. Does anybody have the latest on the HR20 for the Triad market?

Thanks,
Chad

Chad,

I have 3 now. The latest word on OTA is now "hopefully" by the end of October, so there may be some slippage. There are still bugs/issues with Dolby Digital, title searches, missing/deleted recordings among others. That being said, it is a pretty impressive box. I wish they would have spent a little more time beta testing, but once the wrinkles are ironed out, I expect it to be quite good. As good as a HD Tivo?--no, but better than most of the competition and much faster than the Tivo interface. I do wish DirecTV had decided to keep Tivo as their software source, but they didn't and you can't blame them for wanting to keep all the revenue in house. D* seems to be making a real effort for this box to work well and be successful. I am optimistic the end result will be good, but there are still some bumps in the road first. I am worried about the timeline for OTA--D* acknowledges there are conflict issues to be clarified before they can activate--well, they still have issues with satellite only feeds they need to fix first!

I don't want to appear too negative. I would rate my HR10-250's as 9 or 9.5 out of 10 (interface speed issues only real negative.) Right now, I would say the HR20 is about a 6-7, but assuming the bugs will be corrected, it would rise to a 8 or 8.5. Not a Tivo, but pretty darn good, and the only game in town for MPEG 4 which is the future.

Thanks for the antennaweb tip. I went there and plugged in my address and according to it I need a small multidirectional antenna to pick up wxlv and wxii. So far I'm only able to pick up wfmy with the cheap antenna from RS. I'm not in a basement, it's a single story house.

The antenna I have from RS is Model: 15-1868.

If I spend more money on a more expensive indoor antenna, am I likely to get better reception you think?


Couple of questions so we can help you better.

What model antenna did you get from RS?
You're not down in a basement are you?
Have you pointed the RS antenna towards all the towers and still no luck with anything other than WFMY? (See antennaweb for tower location)

If you need an indoor antenna, I would recommend you get the 14.95 RS bowtie antenna model 15-624. http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103058&cp=2032057.2032187.2032189.2032204&pg=2&parentPage=family

http://rsk.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pRS1C-2265499w345.jpg

I use this antenna at work and I can pick up WXII-DT from Sauratown Mt north of Asheboro at 30 miles with no pre-amp. The rest of the antennas I have no faith in them. They don't always stock it so you may have to order it from them but they can have it in a couple of days max. In my opinion, well worth the wait.

Thanks for the antennaweb tip. I went there and plugged in my address and according to it I need a small multidirectional antenna to pick up wxlv and wxii. So far I'm only able to pick up wfmy with the cheap antenna from RS. I'm not in a basement, it's a single story house.

The antenna I have from RS is Model: 15-1868.

If I spend more money on a more expensive indoor antenna, am I likely to get better reception you think?

RS makes a pretty good Yagi antenna for about $25 but it's made for attic or outdoor installations. I got one and can pick up channels out of Charlotte. However, it is very directional. Try the one that Foxeng suggested and let us know how it works out. If you find it doesn't do the trick, you can get pretty good deals on antennas from solidsignal.com.

Thanks guys. I'll give foxeng's suggestion a try and report back with results.

FYI - This weeks Saints/Panthers game is the A game this week with Buck/Aikman as the announcing team. Of course this means it is in HD! ;)

Just goes to show you that you never know what you are going to get! One weeks feast is the next weeks left overs!

http://www.gribblenation.net/nflmaps/04-FOX.gif

Nice graphics foxeng. :D

Nice graphics foxeng. :D

Not mine. These are from gribblenation.net.

[QUOTE=foxeng]If you need an indoor antenna, I would recommend you get the 14.95 RS bowtie antenna model 15-624.

Foxeng,
I tried to buy the RS 15-624 last week and I was told that it has been discontinued.
The salesperson did a check and none could be found in Greensboro.
ww

[QUOTE=foxeng]If you need an indoor antenna, I would recommend you get the 14.95 RS bowtie antenna model 15-624.

Foxeng,
I tried to buy the RS 15-624 last week and I was told that it has been discontinued.
The salesperson did a check and none could be found in Greensboro.
ww

It had been discontinued but was brought back about 6 months ago. It is usually not stocked and it has to be ordered. I bought the one I have at the transmitter at the Randleman RS store and they had to order it. Sounds like the RS you went to must not have wanted to order it. It is still listed on the RS website as an in store only purchase.

Foxeng,
I tried to buy the RS 15-624 last week and I was told that it has been discontinued.
The salesperson did a check and none could be found in Greensboro.
ww

I had the same thing happen today when I visited the Radio Shack at Four Seasons. The salesperson looked it up and said it was discontinued and he couldn't order it. He said whatever stock anyone has would have been in inventory already and when it's gone, it's gone. So I ended up purchasing Model: 15-1892 and I must say there has been a marked improvement in the number of stations I can pick up now. In addition to WFMY I now get WXII, WGHP, several PBS stations and some other digital but non-HD stuff. So I'm much happier.

The one major station that still eludes me is WXLV. According to antennaweb, I should be able to pick them up easily since they are in my yellow zone, especially since I'm picking up some of the PBS stuff which is in the red zone. What gives?

WXLV-DT is not at the same place as WXLV-TV. WXLV-TV is located on Sauratown Mt north of Winston-Salem. WXLV-DT is located south of Greensboro on the same tower that WMYV, WLXI and WCWG are located on at Level Cross. Are you pointing in the right direction?

Does any know or have heard what the process will be once D* releases HD LiL to Greensboro? I wasn't sure if it was going to be something where I'd have to constantaly call them to see if its available yet or if they would contact their HD subscribers.

If you already have the AT9 dish and either a H20 or HR20 receiver and SD locals or the HD package, you won't have to do anything. They will just show up. I don't know what they will do if you don't have the right equipment. I'd hope they would give you a call, email or snail mail but you can never tell. Best bet is to watch this thread because you know somebody will post it here.

Ok, I've been browsing the thread, trying to get caught up, and would appreciate confirmation of a couple findings.

First, is WCWG still broadcasting low power only? I saw foxeng's post about this from less than a week ago, so I assume it's current.

Second, is WMYV-DT (48.1) broadcasting from the same location as WXLV-DT (45.1)? I know the local stations are owned by the same company, and antennaweb has them at the same compass orientation and distance. Weird thing is, I can get 45.1 beautifully if I adjust the orientation, but I can't get 48.1 at all. In fact there's a very specific sweet spot for 45.1 that I can hit by mounting my Radio Shack DA-5200 on the brass stand for my fireplace implements and aiming it out the window, so I'm pretty sure I'm aiming dead on. Any ideas?

As I mentioned, I'm using the DA-5200 indoor antenna, the one that looks like a beige rectangle. I called the Bridford Pkwy RS a few minutes ago about the 15-624 and got the same "There's none in any store in Greensboro," wiloliwad reported. I'm out on Friendly Ave near the airport. Basically I got the antenna for Lost, but it'd be nice to pick up 48.1 for the Star Trek reruns. Last week I compared the first run Saturday on 45.1 to Sunday's repeat on 48 (actually cable 14) and despite the lack of HD found the digital feed much more vibrant. This wouldn't be a problem if only PBS would move its re-runs of Red Dwarf, or if my DVR could record two stations at once, but I'm only paying for the $8 cable from TWC, so it'd be a heck of an upcharge to snag their box.

If you already have the AT9 dish and either a H20 or HR20 receiver and SD locals or the HD package, you won't have to do anything. They will just show up. I don't know what they will do if you don't have the right equipment. I'd hope they would give you a call, email or snail mail but you can never tell. Best bet is to watch this thread because you know somebody will post it here.

UNCrules,

When you say they will just be there, where is there? How do we know what channel they will be on? Or does the local SD turn into the HD?

UNCrules,

When you say they will just be there, where is there? How do we know what channel they will be on? Or does the local SD turn into the HD?

They will appear in the program guide with the regular channel number (2, 8, 12, 45). Also there will be a specific order of local channel types.

MPEG-4 HD Sat Based
MPEG-2 SD Sat Based
OTA

Example:
2 (MPEG-4) HD satellite
2 (MPEG-2) SD satellite
2.1 (OTA)
2.2 (OTA)
8 (MPEG-4) HD satellite
8 (MPEG-4) SD satellite
8.1 (OTA)

Anyone here experiecing lower than advertised speeds on your DSL or Roadrunner service...especially during peak times. PM me. Thanks.

WXLV-DT is not at the same place as WXLV-TV. WXLV-TV is located on Sauratown Mt north of Winston-Salem. WXLV-DT is located south of Greensboro on the same tower that WMYV, WLXI and WCWG are located on at Level Cross. Are you pointing in the right direction?

The wierd thing is that I can get WMYV's signal but not a peep from WXLV-DT. What could be a possible explanation for this?

The wierd thing is that I can get WMYV's signal but not a peep from WXLV-DT. What could be a possible explanation for this?

Have you done a rescan lately? WXLV has dropped the second subchannel and maybe your receiver isn't responding correctly?

foxeng,

Last night during the Celebrity Duets show, there were several freezes and drops from HD to SD. I also noticed the severe weather crawl would appear at some of those times. Am I to assume they are related? I have TWC in Greensboro.

Thanks!

I just went to Radio Shack at Brassfield and all they had was a 15-2187. I'll see what I can pick up with that, but I'm not hopeful.

foxeng,

Last night during the Celebrity Duets show, there were several freezes and drops from HD to SD. I also noticed the severe weather crawl would appear at some of those times. Am I to assume they are related? I have TWC in Greensboro.

Thanks!

Yes they are. The way we have had to intergrate the SD weather crawl equipment with the splicer requires us to do a hard insertion and during that split second we interrupt the stream and that is what casues that glitch. I personally tried to do it several different ways but none were as reliable as the way I ultimately wound up doing it. I keep asking if the network has come up with a better way to do these and all I get is silence.

I know this is old news but this issue is what's facing DirecTV customers right now in the Triad market. Wait for free upgrade or pull the trigger now and pay for upgrade? I'm leaning towards waiting and see what kind of deal I can get when they turn off the HD nationals that are in MPEG2 transmission.

From TVPredictions.com:

DIRECTV Charges $99 For 'Free' HDTV Upgrade
If you had a choice, would you pay $99 for DIRECTV's new High-Definition TV system or get it for free?

That may seem like a trick question -- and it is. Let me explain. You might just save $99.

DIRECTV is now offering local HDTV channels in five cities: Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, San Francisco and Atlanta. (Seven more cities will get local HD by year's end -- and many more will be added in 2006.) To receive the local HD channels, however, you must get the new DIRECTV H-20 MPEG4 receiver and the new five LNB dish.

DIRECTV said last September that current HDTV subscribers would get a free upgrade to the new dish and receiver. This was said in response to customer concerns that they would have to buy a brand new system after just shelling out up to $400 for their current one, which can not display the local high-def signals.

However, beginning Saturday, TVPredictions.com began receiving e-mails from readers in the five launch cities complaining that DIRECTV was charging $99 for the new MPEG4 system.

"They (DIRECTV's Customer Service) said they didn't know anything about a free upgrade! But I got an e-mail from them a few months ago that said the upgrade would be free! Can you please help me?!" one reader asked.

DIRECTV confirmed late tonight that it was indeed charging $99 rather than giving it away for free, as expected.

DIRECTV spokesman Robert Mercer said the free upgrade would not happen until the company converted from its current MPEG2 transmission to MPEG4. Mercer said it was unclear when that transfer would happen, but it would likely occur in most cities sometime in 2006. (Although the MPEG4 transition will not occur until later, DIRECTV customers still need the new MPEG4 system to get local HD channels now.)

"We are still planning a free upgrade program,
one that will be phased in over time to ensure that customers do not lose their HD programming when the MPEG4 conversions occur," Mercer said. "HD
customers who want the new equipment ahead of schedule - before the free upgrade offer in their city is available - can pay a substantially reduced price of $99 for the...dish upgrade and receiver -- including installation - and $99 for each additional receiver."

When asked if the $99 charge was a "bait and switch" because people were led to believe that the upgrade would be free immediately, Mercer said: "We respectfully disagree with those customers (who might say that.)."

So, if you have to pay $99 for the upgrade, how would you get it for free without waiting for the MPEG4 transition?

TVPredictions.com on Monday received several e-mails from readers who said that DIRECTV's Customer Service department waived the $99 charge after they complained and asked to talk to a supervisor.

"I threw a fit and said I wanted to talk to a supervisor. They came back and said it would be free...They're coming next Monday to install it," one reader wrote.

Another reader accused TVPredictions.com of inaccurately reporting that some subscribers were being charged $99.

"I just called DIRECTV and was upgraded to the new receiver and dish for free and the install is only $49," the reader wrote.

Several other readers noted that in cities where local HDTV is being offered, DIRECTV has partnered with retailers to sell the H20 MPEG4 receiver for $199 to new and existing customers. However, the deal includes a $200 rebate. (See Best Buy offer.)

Yes, that would seem to make it free.

However, the rebate receiver does not come with the 5 LNB dish, which has to be purchased separately from DIRECTV for, you guessed it, $99.

So, is DIRECTV's new HDTV system free -- or $99? Or perhaps -- free, with $49 for the installation?

It depends upon who you talk to.

© TVPredictions.com

foxeng,

Not sure if its just me or if since I've only been able to get your signal since you went full power have just noticed it. When I have been watching 8-1, the local programming, ads, news and other programming put on by WGHP all come through at the same relative sound volume. I have a couple of FOX HD shows that I TiVo and when watching them, the sound during the show is low. That is, the talking and dialog are low, but the background music and special effects are at the same sound level as everything else. After turning up the volume to hear the dialog, the commercial breaks come through loud enough to make you jump. I have tried this both through my home theater and through the speakers on my TV and I have the same result. Does the national FOX HD programming purposely have their audio like this or is my receiver just screwing it up?

Thanks.

Any other good places to shop for a decent antenna around Greensboro?

Dow Electronics is famous and in Greensboro.

In response to the person with issues getting WXLV, I had problem getting any audio but still got video. This was until I deleted the substation from my Samsung's scan. Maybe the 2 of them are causing an interference with your tuner? See if just having the -1 station preset makes a difference, did for me.

Rich Tisovec

foxeng,

Not sure if its just me or if since I've only been able to get your signal since you went full power have just noticed it. When I have been watching 8-1, the local programming, ads, news and other programming put on by WGHP all come through at the same relative sound volume. I have a couple of FOX HD shows that I TiVo and when watching them, the sound during the show is low. That is, the talking and dialog are low, but the background music and special effects are at the same sound level as everything else. After turning up the volume to hear the dialog, the commercial breaks come through loud enough to make you jump. I have tried this both through my home theater and through the speakers on my TV and I have the same result. Does the national FOX HD programming purposely have their audio like this or is my receiver just screwing it up?

Thanks.

That is a FOX network issue. The stations have complained about this since the splicers came on line 2 years ago with little effect (Bob Davis at WCCB has complained the loudest I hear. He has a more direct line in that I do believe it or not.)

Since we use the splicer for network on the digital side, it is down stream from everything else. We literally switch out the local program stream and switch in the network straight to the transmitter. This is a double edge sword. It allows us to send true 5.1 when network is on line and we do not have to do anything to the data stream so you get exactly what we get. A down side is we can't do anything locally to it except stay in upconvert mode which defeats the whole purpose of the splicer for HD. That is why we have to switch back to SD for weather crawls.

FOX Network has decided that they will not use any audio processing on the digital side. They are suppose to be making sure the audio levels are correct for network playback on the splicer. They don't always so the audio levels sometimes do not match when switching from local to net or back from net to local.

We have set the audio levels locally to the digital standard and then locked it in with a digital audio processor. Network hasn't done that and their audio is all over the place as you have observed.

I think most TV shows these days pump up the music way too high. It makes it very hard to listen too wether we keep the volume down or turn it up.

Today's Georgia Tech vs. Virginia Tech game on WXLV is in standard definition, right? I'm getting a 4:3 feed off the air. I usually use Time Warner Cable and only pull out the antenna and HD receiver for high definition ABC programming.

The picture quality from the tuner is MUCH better than what I'm getting over cable. There are none of the pixelation, saturation, and blurriness problems I get with cable. I've noticed that all of the standard definition channels have this problem on TWC - it is especially noticeable on syndicated reruns like The Simpsons and Friends on local channels. I've also noticed HD from the antenna is a lot better than cable's HD - the best football PQ I've ever seen was on an ABC HD game a couple of weeks ago. It was noticeable better than HD through TWC.

I actually got my wife to notice the difference today without prompting. I switched between the cable box and receiver, and she noticed how much better the antenna feed is. I'd say the difference is almost as dramatic as standard vs. high definition.

So what's the solution, switch to satellite?

Also, I'm getting some reception problems today over the air. Usually ch. 45-1 is rock solid when I put an indoor antenna on the front porch. I was even able to use the antenna inside a couple of weeks ago. Average signal strength is probably 86%, but every few minutes it dips below 50% and the audio/video cuts out.

I've noticed that the OTA HD for ABC is much better than what's coming from TWC as well. But I don't know that satellite is doing any better with their compression. I have just been using a Zenith Silver Sensor sitting on top of the armoire to pick up ABC, I only get a 30% signal, but it's good enough. I just bought a couple of CM4228's to put in the attic, so I'll see what I can get with those.

Well, another week and another Saturday afternoon football game that is supposed to be in HD but isn't on ABC-45. This seems to happen just about every week.. :mad:

And speaking of local channels, does anybody know what local channels already have carriage agreements worked out with D*. I know some markets don't get all of the big four from D* due to problems getting carriage agreements. Raleigh for example doesn't have CBS or Fox.

For our area, I suspect we will get 45 and maybe 48 because Sinclair boasted during the TWC/Sinclair Superbowl fight that they have carriage agreements with D*. I'd also imagine that 8 will also be carried since they are owned by Fox. I wonder if 2, 12, or 20 have agreements with D*.

I've noticed that the OTA HD for ABC is much better than what's coming from TWC as well.

Does TWC have ABC in HD? I thought that TWC and the owners of the local ABC were embroiled in a dispute that prevented TWC from sending their HD signal to us.

Have you done a rescan lately? WXLV has dropped the second subchannel and maybe your receiver isn't responding correctly?


Yes I did a rescan when I hooked up the new antenna earlier this week. That's when I picked up WMYV. But for some reason WXLV remains elusive. Any other ideas? Thanks for your help.

Does TWC have ABC in HD? I thought that TWC and the owners of the local ABC were embroiled in a dispute that prevented TWC from sending their HD signal to us.
No ABC HD from TWC. I think it's supposed to be digital on 530. Whatever it is, the quality is not good.

OK all you guys with satellite.....
Do you have high speed internet, and if so, what carrier do you use?
Just checking out my options.

OK all you guys with satellite.....
Do you have high speed internet, and if so, what carrier do you use?
Just checking out my options.

I have DirecTV and a cable modem from TWC. (Phone is through Bell South). I've heard from a couple of people that basic cable channels have slipped through the cracks for free when they have road runner, but not in my case. No problem though, I've seen some pretty crappy looking analog basic cable channels at friends houses.

OK all you guys with satellite.....
Do you have high speed internet, and if so, what carrier do you use?
Just checking out my options.

I have D*Tv and TW RoadRunner. I have had this combination for a long long time.

WXLV-DT is not at the same place as WXLV-TV. WXLV-TV is located on Sauratown Mt north of Winston-Salem. WXLV-DT is located south of Greensboro on the same tower that WMYV, WLXI and WCWG are located on at Level Cross. Are you pointing in the right direction?

How many towers are down there now? I haven't been down that way since WFMY's tower just about bit the bullet. And out of curiosity, why did WXLV put their DT tower there instead of Saurtown? And on a third totally unrelated question, have you seen/heard of any issues with 2.0 mixes loosing the center channel in the past 7 days (especially since some of the software updates that were done earlier this month to the Fox Mux?) on some of the NFL and MLB games?

OK all you guys with satellite.....
Do you have high speed internet, and if so, what carrier do you use?
Just checking out my options.
I have Roadrunner for Internet, D* for TV, and North State for phone. I have recently been contemplating dropping RoadRunner and getting Northstate's DSL service. The have better speeds available than TWC.

http://www.northstate.net/consumer/speeds.shtml

Sign up or switch and get:

FREE Installation
FREE Modem
FREE Email Virus & Spam Filters
FREE wi-fi modem & set up*

* (On 9 & 15 Mbps plans)

SPEEDS PRICE**

up to 768 kbps $29.95

up to 3 Mbps $39.95

up to 6 Mbps $44.95

up to 9 Mbps $69.95

up to 15 Mbps $89.95

**Prices shown are standard monthly rates. Promotional and discounted rates may be available.