Does anyone have the new Samsung DTB-H260F OTA receiver? I just bought one last night at BB and am so far very pleased with it. It is very close in reception to the LG 5th gen chip in my H20.

Just curious as to why you would get the Samsung DTB-H260F if you have D* with a built in tuner? Just for kicks?

Just curious as to why you would get the Samsung DTB-H260F if you have D* with a built in tuner? Just for kicks?

People can't have 2 HDTV tuners?

The average D* HD Customer has 1.2 HD irds after all.

I did have the Radio Shack Accurian that was sold for $89 last year. A friend of mine bought one and his friend wanted one very badly so I sold him mine and I bought the Samsung to replace it.

I actually have 3 OTA receivers. Samsung SIR-TS160 (D* HD IRD), H20, and the DTB-H260F. When D* turns on the OTA receiver in the HR20, I will buy one of those, for the DVR function since I only have a SD DVR.

I got the DTB-H260F to have and try it since a lot of people are buying them. I wanted to see if the Samsung version of the 5th gen chip was as good as the LG 5th gen chip that is in the H20. My H20 is the 600 version with the LG 5th gen chip.

I also have a FusionHDTV5 Gold Plus computer card that has the 5th gen chip in it and the pcHDTV card for linux with the 4th gen chip in it. You can never have enough ATSC receivers!! ;)

Please tell us about how the receivers compare. How do you like the Fusion card?
I am considering one for my HTPC.

C Snyder

The TS-160 is a 3rd gen receiver and it has good sensitivity, but of course lacks the multipath circuits that the current receivers have. It does have a better RF equalizer than the 1st gen RCAs and the second gen Samsung SIR-T150's (which I have two at work). The Radio Shack Accurian was late 3rd or early 4th gen and had a still better RF equalizer but the receiver sensitive wasn't quite as good as the 160, but it was close enough you only noticed it when doing a one to one comparison. The Accurian would catch a breakup more often than the 160, but it wasn't very often. It received the Raleigh stations as well as the 160 and that is the benchmark I use on the receiver sensitive and the location of my 4228 and how often the signal would drop as I rotate it was my benchmark for the multipath.

The H20 and the DTB-H260F seem to be very close in all around performance. I just got the DTB-H260F Friday so I haven't had a really good chance to play with it yet and it has a 5db disadvantage right now when compared to the H20 with the way I hooked it up Friday night but even with that, it seems to keep up with the H20. I was watching WRAL-DT Friday night with the DTB-H260F video and the H20 audio and they both broke up at about the same point (the DTB-H260F dropping out before the H20 due to the difference in signal levels) when moving the antenna to drop signal strength and when I rotated the antenna on local signals to check multipath, the DTB-H260F didn't do quite as well, but again, with a 5db difference in signal level, I really wasn't comparing apples to apples but I was certainly impressed with the way it handled multipath with the signal difference. I would suspect when I get the signal strengths equal, I will see comparable multipath performance.

The pcHDTV card is a 4th gen. It isn't for the faint of heart to set up because it uses Linux as the OS and if you are not that familiar with Linux, it can be difficult. Anyone who has used Linux before, it is not that hard. It gave good performance, with good selectivity but since it doesn't use any real multipath cancellation like the new Samsung and LG chips, it's multipath performance equals other 4th chip sets.

The Fusion HDTV5 I have is one of the first ones shipped. It exhibited good sensitivity and good selectivity for multipath like all LG 5th gen chip sets do. It really needs a high horse power CPU to properly work and since I have been busy building the new transmitter site, I have never upgraded it from the P3-850 machine I tested it in. A P3 will run the 480 mode stations, will try and run on 720 and will totally choke on 1080 because of the amount of CPU required for the different formats. I want to build a HTPC box (which is why I bought it in the first place) and will use that card when I do.

Hope that helps.

foxeng, we might have bumped into you Friday night at BB - we were there snooping around...bought a component/HDMI adapter for the PS3.

foxeng, we might have bumped into you Friday night at BB - we were there snooping around...bought a component/HDMI adapter for the PS3.

I was there about 6:15. I saw a lady there at the counter with a 42" TV. Was that you?

I was there about 6:15. I saw a lady there at the counter with a 42" TV. Was that you?
Nope,

I was the redhead checking out PS3, receivers, and 1080p screens (I still can't find anything to beat my CRT picture from Pioneer - Elite Pro 710. 1080p will be the closest, but I'm not willing to shed bucks for that just yet). I had a blond 13 year old son and my husband along for the ride. I saw the woman with the 42", though! (This is too funny!! :cool: )

I think I remember you. I had my grey wool FOX8 pullover on.

I couldn't believe that sale person. He saw me standing at the check out with a box and he looked right at me and kept walking back toward the TVs and when I call him over, he looked liked, "what me?"

I think I remember you. I had my grey wool FOX8 pullover on.

I couldn't believe that sale person. He saw me standing at the check out with a box and he looked right at me and kept walking back toward the TVs and when I call him over, he looked liked, "what me?"
I believe it - However, there are a few folks that work there that are plenty nice and helpful.
PS - We've GOT to stop meeting incognito like that :D

The Best Buy folks in Winston need to go to a training class or something. I was talking OTA HD with them last week and they said can't get Fox 8 in HD at the store and thought that it was still at low power. (Apparently they don't know how to setup an antenna). Also, they have never heard of Antennaweb.org. And these are the guys pushing new HDTVs?

The Best Buy folks in Winston need to go to a training class or something. I was talking OTA HD with them last week and they said can't get Fox 8 in HD at the store and thought that it was still at low power. (Apparently they don't know how to setup an antenna). Also, they have never heard of Antennaweb.org. And these are the guys pushing new HDTVs?

They aren't much smarter up here in Ohio.

and since I have been busy building the new transmitter site, I have never upgraded it from the P3-850 machine I tested it in.


What new transmitter site? Don't you have 2 now?

What new transmitter site? Don't you have 2 now?

Yeah, that is the new one. I spent 2 years working on that. We started the physical work on it in Oct 2004 and finished the old site as a backup site in October of 2006.

At the Best Buy down here they swore up and down that there is such a thing as an HD antenna, and that if I didn't have one labled "HD" I wouldn't get any channels. Also they didn't know my city could receive a "FOX" DT channel OTA either. I told them I don't buy Terk antennas because they are junk-and they still kept trying to build up the product!

When using the term "HD antenna" it's just a marketing ploy.

When using the term "HD antenna" it's just a marketing ploy.
When I first started to look into HD OTA I had a funny experience. I forget where it happened. I think it was RS but it may have been BB or CC. The salesperson was showing me these 2 different antennas. They were Terk and were the kind you clip on the back of your dish. The one that was "HD capable" was about $10-$15 more than the other. It was the exact same antenna! I fell for the marketing, but a week or 2 later I took it back because it sucked. It was right around then that I found this forum. It sounds like the antenna marketing people are hoping for the ignorance of their customers so they can charge more because it is "HD". Thanks again foxeng for helping me with my learning curve.

Hi guys..I am not sure if this has been discussed, but What the F##$. I was on the D*TV site today and Greensboro is no where on the list to be rolled out this Fall for local HD, they have changed the list and removed GSO.

Any insight?

Hi guys..I am not sure if this has been discussed, but What the F##$. I was on the D*TV site today and Greensboro is no where on the list to be rolled out this Fall for local HD, they have changed the list and removed GSO.

Any insight?

As far as I know we are still on track before the end of the year. I haven't heard anything different. I will see if I can get D* to tell me something in the next day or so. I have heard that the big four do have agreements with D* at this point so when it launches ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC should be available.

FYI:
The Thanksgiving night broadcast between Denver and Kansas City will be in HD on channel 95, the satcaster's channel for special HD events.

Yeah, that is the new one. I spent 2 years working on that. We started the physical work on it in Oct 2004 and finished the old site as a backup site in October of 2006.

I figured it must be wind loading and that you could not put a second antenna there for ATSC and thus the second tower (though that could easily be a bad assumption - but then again- given the age of that tower).

I'm trying to remember now but I know back long before you they would not let anyone else (FM) go up on it (wind load or just because) and I thought it was Channel 2s that finally let 92 Rock and Magic go up on it when that was constructed - but that very fuzzy from my youth.

So you are keeping both?

FYI:
The Thanksgiving night broadcast between Denver and Kansas City will be in HD on channel 95, the satcaster's channel for special HD events.

I believe that the game will be on 93.

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPageIF.jsp?assetId=1800006&page=Packages/NFLSundayTicket

I figured it must be wind loading and that you could not put a second antenna there for ATSC and thus the second tower (though that could easily be a bad assumption - but then again- given the age of that tower).

I'm trying to remember now but I know back long before you they would not let anyone else (FM) go up on it (wind load or just because) and I thought it was Channel 2s that finally let 92 Rock and Magic go up on it when that was constructed - but that very fuzzy from my youth.

When the original tower was built in 1963, it was built to hold just the antenna and microwave antennas and not much else. In those days no one was thinking down the road other than getting the station on the air. We had a study done in the 90's to see if it could be beefed up to hold a full power DTV antenna. The study came back saying the weight of the steel that would be used to strengthen the tower would be too much for the rest of the steel and would bring the whole tower down so we didn't have a choice but build a new tower.

It was 1979 when WFMY built their tower and a year or so later is when WMAG moved to that tower. A couple years later when WGGT (channel 48) went on the air they put it on WFMY's tower also. In 1985 when Rock 92 went on the air, they built their own tower between ours and WFMY's. It was around 1980 when WOJY 100.3 built their tower north of WFMY's and channel 20 went on that tower. In 2000 channel 20 built a 2000 ft candlelabra tower and WUPN (channel 48) moved from WFMY's tower and WXLV (channel 45) built their DTV there with plans to move channel 45 there but it never happened. WLXI (channel 61) put their DTV on that tower as well so now you have 6 stations on that tower, WCWG (channel 20/19) WMYV (48/33) WXLV-DT (29) and WLXI-DT (43).

So you are keeping both?

Yes. We originally were not going to keep it. When we started planning in 1998, the original plan was to build the new tower beside the old tower and take it down and expand the current transmitter building. After 9/11 it was decided that there wasn't a technical reason to take the tower down, it is still in very good condition, and we had enough land there that we own to build a new tower and building on the other side of the property. We were one of the few FTS stations not to have any backup facilities at all. One antenna, one feed line, one tower and if you lost any one of them, you are off the air. FOX has this nasty habit of NOT wanting us going off the air so when we started to finalize plans in late 2001 early 2002, it became obvious that it was cheaper to keep the old tower and antenna and building in place and use it as an auxiliary site and build a new facility on the other side of the property so we took the tower design we had and moved it across the field, literally! We had installed our low power DTV on the old tower in early 2002 and so it made sense to use the old tower as an aux site since both channels can be broadcast from that tower. So we have three antennas for each channel now, two transmitters for each channel and two towers. So we should be able to stay on no matter what now or so the theory goes.

FOX has been very good to allow us to do this. They could just as easily kept with the original plan and saved a lot of money, but you have to weigh the potential loss of revenue if you loose a tower or antenna or feed line or a whole transmitter or even a whole building. When do you that, the additional building cost over the life of a facility is nothing and the insurance that is provided of staying on the air is HUGE.

FOX always plays to win and even though FOX has its moments in public at times, as far as a company to work for, which is all I really care about, they are the best I have ever worked for. If we are sold before I leave, I will mourn that day. I speak from experience. I have worked for many companies over the years. Just from 1992 (when I started at WGHP) until FOX bought the station in 1996, we had been through 3 owners in those 4 years and it was what could they get out of us before they had to sell us for profit. FOX comes in and does what it takes to make money in the long run and that is I believe why FOX has owned us for the last 11 years even though we are not a NY or LA or DC or Atlanta. FOX has been very good to us and for us and I think we have been good for FOX.

Antenna success story in case anybody lives in the Wallburg / southern Forsyth County area. I helped a friend of mine this past weekend with his attic setup. I recommended getting a couple Radio Shack U75R yagi antennas and doing the combo method since the towers are in opposite directions from him. As expected, he got all the locals, no problem with the weakest channel being NBC @ 80-85%. Just for fun I tried to pull in all the Charlotte channels and what do you know, he got them all! I told him to forget about WXII and go for all the Triad locals (minus NBC) and all the Charlotte locals. The setup used nothing more than the yagis stacked on top of each other on the same mast, a gold splitter/combiner and about 25' of RG6. No pre-amp, or power source of any kind was used. Since some antennas are successful in particular areas and some are not, I figured I would pass this along for anybody that lives near my friend.

I go all Charlotte locals on OTA with a Winegard HD9095P. I get the Triad locals via TWC. This way I get ABC in HD from Charlotte and boycott Sinclair.

I go all Charlotte locals on OTA with a Winegard HD9095P. I get the Triad locals via TWC. This way I get ABC in HD from Charlotte and boycott Sinclair.
Although this is a Sinclair issue in the Triad, it seems as though other TV ownerships are doing this elsewhere. If any of you all listen to the HDTV podcast check out episode #108. One of the listeners is from Oklahoma and is having the same problem with Cox cable and their local ABC Hearst-Argyle station. Hearst-Argyle owns WXII and broadcasts on TWC. They didn't mention if there was a Sinclair station there was was broadcasting on Cox. I'd be curious to find out. I wonder if their Hearst-Argyle -- Cox battle is the same as our Sinclair -- TWC battle, or if it is just that single station that has a problem with Cox.

Does anybody know whether of not the D*'s future FTM (Frequency Translator Module) will work with standard DVR receivers such as the R-15? If so, I could avoid having to run another coax line through my wall.

Antenna success story in case anybody lives in the Wallburg / southern Forsyth County area. I helped a friend of mine this past weekend with his attic setup. I recommended getting a couple Radio Shack U75R yagi antennas and doing the combo method since the towers are in opposite directions from him. As expected, he got all the locals, no problem with the weakest channel being NBC @ 80-85%. Just for fun I tried to pull in all the Charlotte channels and what do you know, he got them all! I told him to forget about WXII and go for all the Triad locals (minus NBC) and all the Charlotte locals. The setup used nothing more than the yagis stacked on top of each other on the same mast, a gold splitter/combiner and about 25' of RG6. No pre-amp, or power source of any kind was used. Since some antennas are successful in particular areas and some are not, I figured I would pass this along for anybody that lives near my friend.
Hmm... I live just a few miles west, this sounds like an interesting setup. Unfortunately the tv I have only has one RF input. If I switch from cable to OTA I have to rescan all the channels. Maybe a separate tuner connected to the antennas for OTA, feeding one of the tv's inputs would work.

Hmm... I live just a few miles west, this sounds like an interesting setup. Unfortunately the tv I have only has one RF input. If I switch from cable to OTA I have to rescan all the channels. Maybe a separate tuner connected to the antennas for OTA, feeding one of the tv's inputs would work.

A tuner certainly would work, but there might be a cheaper option. Would it be possible for you to feed your one RF input with an A/B switch and not have to rescan the channels? If so, you could get a remote controlled A/B switch so you don't have to get up every time you want to watch HD.

Radio shack has a remote controlled A/B switch.

I told him to forget about WXII and go for all the Triad locals (minus NBC) and all the Charlotte locals.

I would suggest a rotator so as not to lose WXII. :D If for nothing else than WXII contributing less bandwidth to WX Plus than WCNC currently does.

WFMY is having some problems. Digital is off the air at 10:30 tuesday night. Analog also out for a short time.

You aren't the only one with problems. 2-1 never breaks up for me. Now it's been acting up and there for a while it was at 0% SS.

As of 10:45, it seems to be working fine. Maybe it had something to do with the local weather alerts.

Not to mention all the wind and rain!

D* has HD locals as of this morning! However, all of the programming is not showing up in each time slot for some reason (like the Today show was not available on the HD WXII channel). I scrolled through the program guide and noticed holes in various time slots on all channels throughout the day. Also, D* does not have any programming tagged with the 'HD' label on the program guide, but not sure if that means anything or not.

Not to mention all the wind and rain!

Our power was interrupted several times at the transmitter facility last night. PamW you are correct, this was apparently due to the stormy conditions. Our back-up generator is only adequate to back up our analog transmitter. We are trying to remedy that situation soon. Thanks for the reports. :)

Rickey.

D* has HD locals as of this morning! However, all of the programming is not showing up in each time slot for some reason (like the Today show was not available on the HD WXII channel). I scrolled through the program guide and noticed holes in various time slots on all channels throughout the day. Also, D* does not have any programming tagged with the 'HD' label on the program guide, but not sure if that means anything or not.

Here's more info on HD locals in the Triad:

DIRECTV, Inc., the nation's leading satellite television service provider, is now offering local HD programming to customers in the Greensboro DMA. The following local broadcast networks are available in HD: WXLV/ABC, WFMY/CBS, WGHP/FOX and WXII/NBC. With the addition of Greensboro, DIRECTV now offers local HD broadcast channels in 49 cities, representing more than 65 percent of U.S. TV households. DIRECTV plans to launch an additional eight HD local markets throughout the remainder of the year.
DIRECTV's roll out of local HD channels in Greensboro is part of a nationwide expansion of HD programming that will culminate in 2007, when DIRECTV will have the ability to deliver more than 1,500 local HD channels and more than 150 national HD channels, establishing DIRECTV as a leading provider of HD programming.

WHEN:

Beginning today, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2006

HOW:

Customers who subscribe to a programming package that includes local channels receive both the standard-definition and HD signals at no extra monthly charge. Customers can receive local HD channels by purchasing an H20 HD receiver or the new HR20 DIRECTV Plus(R) HD DVR and satellite dish. Existing HD customers can upgrade their HD receiver and dish for $99 per receiver. New customers can take advantage of a $100 mail-in rebate on all DIRECTV HD and HDDVR receivers.

Eligibility for local channels is based on service address within certain designated market areas as defined by Nielsen Media Research, Inc. Visit DIRECTV.com for more information.

Contacts:
DIRECTV,
Inc. Robert Mercer,
310-964-4683 or PainePR for DIRECTV Danielle Kowalski,
212-613-4912

Copyright Business Wire 2006. All Rights Reserved

So I was looking at the thread on INHD2 going away in January, and I was wondering if any of you folks know what TWC was going to give us instead. Cause I know if I turn on my TV January 2 and there is one less channel I'm paying for I will throw a royal fit at TWC.

So I was looking at the thread on INHD2 going away in January, and I was wondering if any of you folks know what TWC was going to give us instead. Cause I know if I turn on my TV January 2 and there is one less channel I'm paying for I will throw a royal fit at TWC.

I would get ready to show my arse if I were you! TW does that all the time down here.

A tuner certainly would work, but there might be a cheaper option. Would it be possible for you to feed your one RF input with an A/B switch and not have to rescan the channels? If so, you could get a remote controlled A/B switch so you don't have to get up every time you want to watch HD.
I don't know if that would work. The cable system has the HD channels mapped to different channel numbers than OTA. For example, on my tv, UNC HD is 82.4, NBC HD is 82.5, and Fox HD is 92.1 Now, it may be that if I switch to an antenna, and don't rescan, I could manually enter the correct channel numbers, I haven't tried that yet. If so (if I don't get the dreaded "Channel unavailable"), then that might be a viable alternative. I can get UNC, Fox, NBC, and CBS HD channels via TWC now (along with Discovery HD and the various other UNC channels I wasn't getting before), so all I'd really be gaining would be ABC HD. It's worth a try, though. The TV I originally bought didn't allow you to manually enter HD channels. Luckily, the QAM tuner crapped out and they gave me a new, updated set in exchange.

I don't know if that would work. The cable system has the HD channels mapped to different channel numbers than OTA.

Not only that but channel numbers on cable above channel 13 are not the same as OTA. OTA channel 35 isn't the same as cable channel 35. With OTA you have large sections of spectrum that is used for other services. With cable, they can use all of the spectrum without having to leave large sections of spectrum open.

You would need to check to see if your tuner has a setting that will allow you to use both OTA and cable tuner at the same time. The Samsung DTB-H260F will let you scan both OTA and cable at the same time but not all tuners allow that.

Is anyone else having trouble with Showtime East HD 436. I've had 3 TWC repair men here and another SI8300HD box installed and still the same problem...only on that channel. It pixelizes. The last TWC repair man called his wife at home, they live in High Point and had her tune to the same channel and their TV was doing it too. It sucks because that's my favorite channel with Dexter, Masters of Horror, etc. When are they going to get that fixed and why am I the only one in this area to complain about it. I'm going to call them and get a refund on a month's worth of Showtime.

It appears that D*TV heard me complain the other day. Heading down to the theater to check it out...

Report back later.

Happy Turkey Day!!!

Is anyone else having trouble with Showtime East HD 436. I've had 3 TWC repair men here and another SI8300HD box installed and still the same problem...only on that channel. It pixelizes. The last TWC repair man called his wife at home, they live in High Point and had her tune to the same channel and their TV was doing it too. It sucks because that's my favorite channel with Dexter, Masters of Horror, etc. When are they going to get that fixed and why am I the only one in this area to complain about it. I'm going to call them and get a refund on a month's worth of Showtime.Yes... same issue... only at times... usually at night when outside temps drop..

So did anybody in the Triad score any sweet electronics deals on Black Friday?

Anyone who has HD LIL on D*, what does it look like? I don't have mine installed so I haven't seen it yet.

Anyone who has HD LIL on D*, what does it look like? I don't have mine installed so I haven't seen it yet.

I've read on dbstalk.com that people in the Triad are very pleased with the HD LiL PQ. I'm glad we are getting all the major locals. I figured ABC would try and be the spoiler like they are on cable. After my wife talked to the D* CSR, I'm getting the HR-20 installed for $69.00. She can negotiate like nobody I've ever seen.

So did anybody in the Triad score any sweet electronics deals on Black Friday?
I picked up a Mini DV camcorder to replace my old one that broke - $129 down from $239 at BB. I purchased it on Wednesday, then took back the receipt around 8:45 AM BF. No lines to wait in (except customer service - 25 minutes total) and I was out of the store!

On another note, my son's PS3 came in on Friday - got it on cc dot com release day. We had fun last night setting it up. We watched Ice Age - the Meltdown. It was incredible!!!! I could count the blades of grass and Manny's fur was unbelievably detailed! Mind you, we only have 1080i component output (Pioneer Elite Pro 710 CRT), but it was still really incredible!

Anyone who has HD LIL on D*, what does it look like? I don't have mine installed so I haven't seen it yet.

It appears that D*TV might be having some issues with HD. When I look at the program list, programs in HD have the HD beside them, but that appears to maybe be on the regular stations guide. Then while watching the HD channel the picture is being published in 16x9 fashion but is most definatley not in HD. However on the regular stations the image is broadcast with the bars on the side and the picture is Amazing, but yet not 16x9.

I would call but who wants to talk to a phone rep that only reads from the computer monitor and has no idea what they are talking about.

Anyone else seeing this?

Will check some more today during the day though

Can you be a little more specific like which stations and programs you saw this on?

Does anyone know if they have fixed the issue with the OTA antenna input on this yet?

Last I heard, you couldn't input the OTA antenna for HD broadcasts, right?

Thanks!

I've read on dbstalk.com that people in the Triad are very pleased with the HD LiL PQ. I'm glad we are getting all the major locals. I figured ABC would try and be the spoiler like they are on cable. After my wife talked to the D* CSR, I'm getting the HR-20 installed for $69.00. She can negotiate like nobody I've ever seen.

No PBS in HD through DirecTV?

Does anyone know if they have fixed the issue with the OTA antenna input on this yet?

Last I heard, you couldn't input the OTA antenna for HD broadcasts, right?

Thanks!

You can get OTA with the H20 but not the HR20 (HD-DVR) Some say that the OTA feature on the HR20 wll be activated Dec. 1st. We'll see.

No PBS in HD through DirecTV?

Nobody that I know of is getting PBS via D* LiL. You'll still need your OTA antenna if you want to watch PBS in HD.

I figured ABC would try and be the spoiler like they are on cable.
Sinclair and D* came to an agreement for carriage of all of Sinclair's local channels across the country a long time ago. Back at the beginning of the year during the time leading up to the Super Bowl, TWC and Sinclair's dispute over carriage of ABC-45 HD was a hot topic in these parts. Sinclair was boasting then how they already had a deal in place with D*.

So did anybody in the Triad score any sweet electronics deals on Black Friday?

Picked up the 42 inch Panasonic Plasma TH-42PX60U for less than a grand at BB way early Friday morning. Was expecting to get HD channels through standard Time Warner cable since it has the QAM tuner built in, but got nothing :confused: . Actually, I did pick up 1 digital channel (not HD).

The OTA tuner does work very well, however, and I can pick up all locals (Fox, NBC, CBS, ABC) with a Terk HDTVi antenna.

I've read on dbstalk that people in the Triad are very pleased with the HD LiL PQ. I'm glad we are getting all the major locals. I figured ABC would try and be the spoiler like they are on cable. After my wife talked to the D* CSR, I'm getting the HR-20 installed for $69.00. She can negotiate like nobody I've ever seen.

I watched some of the football games last night for the first time on D* HD LIL. The ND vs. USC game looked really good, especially compared to how poor ABC's analog football broadcasts typically look. The only bad looking shots was the one from the Goodyear blimp...wonder if they haven't upgraded to a HD camera for the blimp?

MilChad, curious what your wife said to get the cheap upgrade to the HR-20. Any hints?? Would love to consolidate my Series 2 Tivo & HD D* receiver into one box and be able to record in HD on top of it. My wife & kids wouldn't complain about the simpler setup either!

I just recently got a HDTV. Right now I have an indoor antenna and seem to get all the locals ok. None are full strength and 2 and 45 seem to go out totally some times, or when cars drive by.

I live downtown Winston (4th street). I was wondering if anyone has experience on the best method of picking up OTA HD from all the stations, and maybe even Charlotte too if it's possible.

I have heard this antenna (http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=AD-DB2) is about the best for indoor reception you can get, though
I do not have any first hand experience. Check out Electronic Dist., right down the
street from you at 920 Brookstown Ave. They carry Winegard and Antennas Direct last
time I checked.

C Snyder

I watched some of the football games last night for the first time on D* HD LIL. The ND vs. USC game looked really good, especially compared to how poor ABC's analog football broadcasts typically look. The only bad looking shots was the one from the Goodyear blimp...wonder if they haven't upgraded to a HD camera for the blimp?

MilChad, curious what your wife said to get the cheap upgrade to the HR-20. Any hints?? Would love to consolidate my Series 2 Tivo & HD D* receiver into one box and be able to record in HD on top of it. My wife & kids wouldn't complain about the simpler setup either!

True story... We had a guy from Time warner stop by the house pushing their HD and DVR service for a really good deal. Basically we told D* what a good deal they offered us and D* wanted to keep us as a customer so they offered us a good deal too.

I have heard this antenna (http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=AD-DB2) is about the best for indoor reception you can get, though
I do not have any first hand experience. Check out Electronic Dist., right down the
street from you at 920 Brookstown Ave. They carry Winegard and Antennas Direct last
time I checked.

C Snyder

It is their version of the 4228. They both should work about the same.

I just put myself on the waiting list for the HR20. I noticed on their website that it said the upgrade was $300. I was reassured when I bought my HR10-250 (HD TiVo) that there would be something close to a free swap when the HR20 came out. I called the customer retention number and was told they had a deal for current HR10 owners. It will cost me $99 to get the HR20 and have it installed with the new dish. Does this seem to be the norm? Anyone else with the HD TiVo getting a better deal?

My confirmation to the waiting list said I would be contacted in about 2-3 weeks to schedule an install.

I just put myself on the waiting list for the HR20. I noticed on their website that it said the upgrade was $300. I was reassured when I bought my HR10-250 (HD TiVo) that there would be something close to a free swap when the HR20 came out. I called the customer retention number and was told they had a deal for current HR10 owners. It will cost me $99 to get the HR20 and have it installed with the new dish. Does this seem to be the norm? Anyone else with the HD TiVo getting a better deal?

My confirmation to the waiting list said I would be contacted in about 2-3 weeks to schedule an install.

That deal seems to be pretty typical but I think you could squeeze a little more out of them considering you probably paid several hundred $ for the HD TiVo. You can look over www.dbstalk.com and see what kind of deals people have gotten. There is a whole topic dedicated to what deals people have gotten and how they went about getting them. Good luck!

5.1 update: We have the Dolby(tm) Digital equipment! A seamless install is preferred by all concerned. Acheiveing this however is a difficult matter. And depending on it's final configuration we may need an additional processor. The really complicated matter in this install is that apparently no other broadcaster has the same equipment configuration as us. And we are somewhat uncertain as to how the new equipment will interact with the old. So if there is some audio "weirdness" in the next few days I personally apologize in advance. Rickey

Rickey, any update on the status of DD 5.1 for WFMY?

For those out there that receive WCNC (36-1) out of Charlotte, has anybody had any problems with OTA reception the past couple of days or is it just me? I can't seem to lock on their signal for some reason.

Does anyone know anyone in Greensboro who can install a wall mount for a 50 inch Plasma?
I am trying to get the $200.00 Panasonic Mail In Rebate on a "Delivery and Install" so I would need a receipt.

Thanks

Yes... same issue... only at times... usually at night when outside temps drop..

I got a $26 credit from TWC even though the problem isn't fixed, and it's probably in the mainline or broadcast frequency because I noticed the same pixalating on Fox South 51. Anyway, I told them my service was down about two weeks, that seemed to be the only way they could understand the problem and give me credit.

For those out there that receive WCNC (36-1) out of Charlotte, has anybody had any problems with OTA reception the past couple of days or is it just me? I can't seem to lock on their signal for some reason.

I can't get WCNC either. It's usually my strongest Charlotte station.

I have heard this antenna is about the best for indoor reception you can get, though
I do not have any first hand experience. Check out Electronic Dist., right down the
street from you at 920 Brookstown Ave. They carry Winegard and Antennas Direct last
time I checked.

C Snyder

Thanks a lot. :) I didn't even think about them. I'll post my thoughts on it if it is indeed what I get.

Does anyone know anyone in Greensboro who can install a wall mount for a 50 inch Plasma?
I am trying to get the $200.00 Panasonic Mail In Rebate on a "Delivery and Install" so I would need a receipt.

Thanks

I've used Zane Payne [Audio By Zane]. He's a one man show, just a good ol' country boy with his own A/V installation business. He does good work, he's honest, and he'll make sure you're satisfied. His mobile # is 215-3193. Tell him that Brent Joye gave you his #. I've had him hang 2 of my plasmas and install speakers and wiring for a whole house audio system. He can give you an official receipt.

I can't get WCNC either. It's usually my strongest Charlotte station.

We must be going through a bad atmospheric phase right now for distant OTA reception. I can still get 3-1 pretty much all of the time and 9-1 and 18-1 all of the time except for late in the evening. WCNC hasn't locked in several days now.

Does anyone know anyone in Greensboro who can install a wall mount for a 50 inch Plasma?
I am trying to get the $200.00 Panasonic Mail In Rebate on a "Delivery and Install" so I would need a receipt.

Thanks

I would suspect most any handyman can and if all you need is the receipt, that would seem to be the way to go.

I would suspect most any handyman can and if all you need is the receipt, that would seem to be the way to go.
You are correct that it's not technically difficult, but Zane does this all the time and knows how/where to hang one and to run any extra wiring like remote sensors, etc...and has all the equipment. I'm not sure I'd trust anybody. And I don't get any kickbacks from Zane :) He's just a good guy with a one man business. I like to support honest hard working people like him.

milchad, having the same problem here. i'll have a good signal and watch 36.1 for a while , then when i try to go back, can't lock in. also last night 12.1 kept having like a video skip. no pixelation or drop in audio. switched over to the dtv hd side and getting getting the same thing.

milchad, having the same problem here. i'll have a good signal and watch 36.1 for a while , then when i try to go back, can't lock in. also last night 12.1 kept having like a video skip. no pixelation or drop in audio. switched over to the dtv hd side and getting getting the same thing.

Well I guess it's good to know that I'm not the only one having problems with 36.1. The analog channel 36 (not that I care about it) comes in pretty good. Since I'm getting the other 3 major networks most of the time, part of me wonders if there is something wrong at WCNC's broadcast tower. You never know. I looked up info on their transmitting power and I read where they output 828 kW of power. Assuming the info I read is correct and up to date, the other channels output the following:
ABC: 370 kW (seems low to me)
Fox: 1000 kW
CBS: 1000 kW
and PBS: 150 kW

Can anyone recommend someone local to Greensboro that could help me run some coax from my attic down to my living room? I want to put a DB2 or a DB4 in the attic but haven't found a good way to get the connection down to the outlet behind my TV. The attic is above my living room so it is only a 20-30 foot run. Thanks for any help.

milchad, having the same problem here. i'll have a good signal and watch 36.1 for a while , then when i try to go back, can't lock in. also last night 12.1 kept having like a video skip. no pixelation or drop in audio. switched over to the dtv hd side and getting getting the same thing.

I had the same thing going on last night, and again this morning with 12.1. My signal strength was almost 100% too. It's good to know it's happening to everyone.

I have heard this antenna is about the best for indoor reception you can get, though
I do not have any first hand experience. Check out Electronic Dist., right down the
street from you at 920 Brookstown Ave. They carry Winegard and Antennas Direct last
time I checked.

C Snyder


Well, I went down there and they didn't carry it. :( Are there any other places locally that carry the DB2 or the 4228. Also, is the DB4 any better? I've got enough room if there is a noticable improvement.

Well, I went down there and they didn't carry it. :( Are there any other places locally that carry the DB2 or the 4228. Also, is the DB4 any better? I've got enough room if there is a noticable improvement.

Dow Electronics in Greensboro carries the 4228 for around $50.

Dow Electronics in Greensboro carries the 4228 for around $50.

Thanks, the 4228 is bigger than the other two, but it still might fit.

Nobody that I know of is getting PBS via D* LiL. You'll still need your OTA antenna if you want to watch PBS in HD.

From what I've read, it sounds like local HD channels aren't as bad over DirecTV as they are over cable. Will I still notice that OTA is better?

Due to my location in Kernersville just north of I-40, NBC and PBS are almost 180 degrees from CBS, FOX, and ABC. I'm also at the bottom of a hill. One option would be to use LiL for everything except PBS, then point a directional antenna towards PBS. I'd still have to wait until the OTA tuner is enabled in the HD20.

If locals are still noticeably better OTA, then I'd probably need a large multi-directional antenna or a more exotic setup. However, I don't have great confidence a multi-directional will pick up all stations. I'm about 25 miles from both antenna clusters. I currently have a Terk HDTVi indoor antenna (small directional, picked up quick just so I could receive ABC) which has to be placed outside and pointed right at the antenna to get a signal. Does anyone know about the Channel Master 3010 or 3000A?

I have HD cable and OTA. The OTA is much better! I had the pleasure of (finally) watching Boston Legal for the first time in HD, and boy, is it way better than the SD junk they've been sending us via cable! The musical underscoring alone made it worth us getting the equipment to get OTA.

The other day we were going between OTA Panthers football and HD cable Panthers football. There is definitely an improvement in the OTA over cable.

From what I've read, it sounds like local HD channels aren't as bad over DirecTV as they are over cable. Will I still notice that OTA is better?

From what I have been told, D*'s LIL is as close as you can get to OTA without being OTA. They are only transcoding from MPEG2 to MPEG4 so the PQ isn't suffering like it does on some cable systems that are bandwidth strapped.

Quick question guys, I think Ive decided to make the switch from TWC to Direct. Ive seen a lot of talk about being able to have local programming(nbc,fox,abc,cbs) in HD for our area( I am currently in winston salem) do they offer this through the receiver box? so I dont have to add another antenna to the top of the dish? If G'boro has this does that mean that winston salem can receive it as well. Thanx!

DirecTV has added locals in HD within the last 10 days. This should be available for the entire Triad.

You'll need one of their newer receivers in order to get them, but that shouldn't be a problem if you are a new customer.

If you want the DVR HR20 receiver, you'll have to wait on it. I'm on their waiting list and my confirmation email said between 2-4 weeks.

On that same note, does anyone here have the HR20? Just curious if D* turned on the OTA tuner today like they said they were going to.

At this point still no OTA for the HR20.

The HR20 Q& A section of DBSTalk.com is the best place to find out about the OTA status in the HR20.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=69780

http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=112

Guys I have to tell you that the PQ on HD*TV is amazing. I use a 720p native projector throwing 120" and its simply amazing. I watched some of my regular shows on it this week and was just astonished.

What was really cool is that when watching non hd programming the picture was absolutley crystal clear compared to a normal channel which is not. Anyone else seeing this?

It was well worth the wait, I waited about 14 months for this.

I have the HR20 and it too is pretty awesome.

Does anyone have a Directv installer they would recommend in the Winston Salem area? I wasn't overly impressed with the random installer D* sent 3 years ago to do the initial install. If possible, I wanted to try and have a little more input to who they send this time around. Any recommendation would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Anyone else watching HD on D*TV right now? I'm watching cbs and fox football pre-game shows and PQ is great but there seems to be some intermittent video/audio issues. It's quite annoying. I wonder if its something we will have to put up with all of the time or if there is something else going on.

I would suggest a rotator so as not to lose WXII. :D If for nothing else than WXII contributing less bandwidth to WX Plus than WCNC currently does.
MR12,

You mentioned your bandwidth a while back in relation to your WX Plus subchannel. I was wonder if you and any of the other members that work for our local stations that multicast could tell us what your typical bandwidth allocations are for your multicast channels. You can push out a max of 19 megabits, right?

Thanks for the info.

Fashion show blacked out again this year on WFMY...

In case anybody was interested in the Victoria Secret fashion show, you'll have to tune into 3-1 out of Charlotte to get it. (And you guys wonder why I want Charlotte channels so bad). Don't you love it when other people decide for you what you can and can't watch on TV? Oh yeah, did I mention it's in HD?

Fashion show blacked out again this year on WFMY...

In case anybody was interested in the Victoria Secret fashion show, you'll have to tune into 3-1 out of Charlotte to get it. (And you guys wonder why I want Charlotte channels so bad). Don't you love it when other people decide for you what you can and can't watch on TV? Oh yeah, did I mention it's in HD?
Are you serious? How lame.

Where is the Zenith Silver Sensor avaialble for purchase in Greensboro? I thought it would be available for pick-up at Radio Shack, but their website says it's web only via RS.

Thanks.

Don't know if I've seen it retail, I bought mine from Buy dot com

Don't know if I've seen it retail, I bought mine from Buy dot com
They are sold out, so I'll keep looking. If I recall from you previous posts, you're using one in NW Greensboro to pick up 45.1? Have you been satisfied with it?

Works like a charm and small enough to stick out of the way.

Works like a charm and small enough to stick out of the way.
Thanks for the reply. This may be a stupid question, but to pick up WXLV-DT, do you tune your set to 45.1 or to 29 (the "frequency assignment"). I'm already able to pick up the other local digital channels via my built-in ATSC/QAM tuner on TWC cable, so I thought I'd give WXLV-DT a shot OTA.

Where is the Zenith Silver Sensor avaialble for purchase in Greensboro? I thought it would be available for pick-up at Radio Shack, but their website says it's web only via RS.

Thanks.
They were also originally available at Sears, but that was a while ago. I don't see them listed on their site any longer. A few months ago I found one at Circuit City, but they do not list them on the website either. It looks like it is a hit or miss item locally. I have used one for a couple of years and it works great most of the time. I can get most of the Charlotte stations from Winston Salem. I hope it works for you. It works in very specific locations, moving it a couple of inches can make a big difference. I was lucky enough that it works sitting on top of my TV cabinet.

They were also originally available at Sears, but that was a while ago. I don't see them listed on their site any longer. A few months ago I found one at Circuit City, but they do not list them on the website either. It looks like it is a hit or miss item locally. I have used one for a couple of years and it works great most of the time. I can get most of the Charlotte stations from Winston Salem. I hope it works for you. It works in very specific locations, moving it a couple of inches can make a big difference. I was lucky enough that it works sitting on top of my TV cabinet.
I actually picked one up at Sears Friendly Center last month. I think it was the last one they had. I get ABC really well with it. Saw my first "Boston Legal" in HD last Tuesday night - all I can say is "Wow!" It sure is better than that stuff we've been getting via cable.

Check Amazon as well for an online purchase.

Thanks for the reply. This may be a stupid question, but to pick up WXLV-DT, do you tune your set to 45.1 or to 29 (the "frequency assignment"). I'm already able to pick up the other local digital channels via my built-in ATSC/QAM tuner on TWC cable, so I thought I'd give WXLV-DT a shot OTA.
I tune to 45-1

Where is the Zenith Silver Sensor avaialble for purchase in Greensboro? I thought it would be available for pick-up at Radio Shack, but their website says it's web only via RS.

Thanks.

Check Circuit City. They had them in Greensboro under the Phillips name brand (but it said Silver Sensor in small print on the package and looked the same).

This may be a stupid question, but to pick up WXLV-DT, do you tune your set to 45.1 or to 29 (the "frequency assignment"). I'm already able to pick up the other local digital channels via my built-in ATSC/QAM tuner on TWC cable, so I thought I'd give WXLV-DT a shot OTA.

If your tuner has never received WXLV-DT (or any OTA station for that matter) you will need to do one or both of the following: If you can manually tune to an actual channel, tune to 29. Once the tuner locks in, you can then tune to it using 45. If you can't manually enter 29, do a channel scan and then you can enter 45.

Does anyone know where I can find antenna guy-wire stuff locally? I've tried radioshack, lowes and dow electronics, but no luck.

I need the wire, anchors, turnbuckles, a guy ring, etc, to do a one-level 3 or 4 point guy installation. It's in the mountains, up above stuart, va, where the wind whips up so i really need to guy it. the antenna is already up, i just need the guying parts. i can probably order it, there's some of that stuff on ebay, but i'd like to find it locally and get it installed this weekend.

any ideas?

thanks
amos

Does anyone know where I can find antenna guy-wire stuff locally? I've tried radioshack, lowes and dow electronics, but no luck.

I need the wire, anchors, turnbuckles, a guy ring, etc, to do a one-level 3 or 4 point guy installation. It's in the mountains, up above stuart, va, where the wind whips up so i really need to guy it. the antenna is already up, i just need the guying parts. i can probably order it, there's some of that stuff on ebay, but i'd like to find it locally and get it installed this weekend.

any ideas?

thanks
amos

Try Electronic Distributor's in Winston-Salem.

Try Electronic Distributor's in Winston-Salem.

thanks for such a quick reply foxeng...

electronic distributing, 920 brookstown av, w-s... is that the place? i'll go there tomorrow!

thanks!
amos

thanks for such a quick reply foxeng...

electronic distributing, 920 brookstown av, w-s... is that the place? i'll go there tomorrow!

thanks!
amos

That is the place.

For those with HD locals via DirecTV, are any of you receiving neighboring locals from places like Raleigh? I've read where people in Raleigh can get some of our locals over satellite, I was wondering if it was possible to pick up their spot beam here in the Triad?

It doesn't have anything to do with technical issues but legal ones dealing with what is called "significantly viewed" channels. In areas on the border between markets, people can pick up stations from both markets. If enough people watch both markets, and the stations allow, you will be able to pickup both markets. Most people in our market are too far away from the borders to partake in that unfortunately. If you live in Siler City or some place like that, then certain stations are available to you. If you live in the three major cities, you are out of luck.

This just posted in the hardware section:

OTA activated in latest HR20 software

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As of software version 0x104, the dual OTA tuners in the HR20 are active. This software is just starting to roll out on the west coast and may take over a week before it is nationally available. For all the details, go here:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=72036

Hey guys, I am a customer of TWC in Winston Salem, just a quick probably dumb question, At times when watching mainly HD programming on TWC,thru the 8300 HD DVR box there are times where artifacting or blocky pixels show up and a loss of audio for a quick second, almost like its lagging or whatnot. Its not very often but it did do, it say 10 or more times while watching a movie. Is there a basic reason as to why this happens? Am i not getting enough db's pumped to my box... is this just something that TWC have to get used to and cant fix? Any remedies? Any comments would be appreciated. thanx guys.

Hey guys, I am a customer of TWC in Winston Salem, just a quick probably dumb question, At times when watching mainly HD programming on TWC,thru the 8300 HD DVR box there are times where artifacting or blocky pixels show up and a loss of audio for a quick second, almost like its lagging or whatnot. Its not very often but it did do, it say 10 or more times while watching a movie. Is there a basic reason as to why this happens? Am i not getting enough db's pumped to my box... is this just something that TWC have to get used to and cant fix? Any remedies? Any comments would be appreciated. thanx guys.

Definately sounds like a signal issue, I'd give them a call and have them come out and check. In the mean time you can try putting the DVR on another outlet and see if the problem is still there. That will tell you for sure if its a signal issue.

Definately sounds like a signal issue, I'd give them a call and have them come out and check. In the mean time you can try putting the DVR on another outlet and see if the problem is still there. That will tell you for sure if its a signal issue.


Thanx for the reply, luckily they are able to come out tomorrow morning. I hope that is something that is fixable without diggin up the line in the yard... thanx again!

Hey MR12 or anybody who might know. When will WXII get the time/temp registering on the HD feed of the Today show? My wife misses it enough to insist on the SD version--yuch!

Hey MR12 or anybody who might know. When will WXII get the time/temp registering on the HD feed of the Today show? My wife misses it enough to insist on the SD version--yuch!

Well it was either no time/temp or no HD. We went with no time/temp. At last check it shouldn't be long before we have both.

Now that DirecTV has HD locals in the Triad and the OTA feature is active, has anybody seen any "SlimLine" dishes installed around town? So far all I've seen is the AT9. That's the last thing I'm holding out for before I make the call.

Someone awhile back asked for the actual major/minor channel numbers (before remapping) for TWC. Since the Greensboro and Winston headends use different numbers, the following Greensboro numbers may not help you, but here they are straight from the TWC techs in Greensboro. (they said they didn't know what Winston was using since they don't deal with that headend)

Call OTA Actual Remap
WFMY 2-1 - 113-1 (520)
WFMY 2-2 - 113-2 (521)
WGHP 8-1 - 113-3 (510)
WXII 12-1 - 116-3 (540)
WXII 12-2 - 116-4 (541)
WUNL 26-1 - 116-13 (500)
WUNL 26-2 - 116-14 (501)
WUNL 26-3 - 116-15 (502)
WUNL 26-4 - 113-16 (503)
WUNL 26-5 - 113-17 (504)

This just posted in the hardware section:

OTA activated in latest HR20 software

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As of software version 0x104, the dual OTA tuners in the HR20 are active. This software is just starting to roll out on the west coast and may take over a week before it is nationally available. For all the details, go here:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=72036

If I am getting HD via my HR20, why would I want to use the OTA also, what's the added benefit? Am I getting some channels that I would normally not get? Better Quality?

If I am getting HD via my HR20, why would I want to use the OTA also, what's the added benefit? Am I getting some channels that I would normally not get? Better Quality?

Not all of the local digitals are on D* yet and to watch them you will need to have an antenna. Plus any subchannels on stations that are on are not currently carried either.

Well it was either no time/temp or no HD. We went with no time/temp. At last check it shouldn't be long before we have both.

Thanks MR12--Correct decision of course! Just wasn't sure if it was an equipment/software issue you would resolve soon, or just an oops no one had noticed.

If I am getting HD via my HR20, why would I want to use the OTA also, what's the added benefit? Am I getting some channels that I would normally not get? Better Quality?PBS-HD maybe?

If I am getting HD via my HR20, why would I want to use the OTA also, what's the added benefit? Am I getting some channels that I would normally not get? Better Quality?Besides the previously mentioned PBS-HD, there would be the CW-HD (when channel 20 gets it up and running), My Network-HD (if you like cheesy nighttime soaps) plus WFMY and WXII have local 24/7 weather channels on sub channels and PBS has some extra sub channels as well. Plus having the HD channels on OTA gives you a backup to rain fade that you may occasionally get when you have a dish. While the MPEG-4 HD LiL you get from D* may be very, very close to OTA in PQ quality, I would doubt that MPEG-4 will ever give you better PQ than you can get with OTA. On the other hand I believe the MPEG-4 LiL will take up less space on your DVR that OTA HD channels.

Another advantage to OTA is some of us can get local HD from other markets like Raleigh and Charlotte. Speaking of Charlotte, I finally got WCNC to lock after being missing for over 2 weeks.

Don't forget the Roanoke stations either.

Now that DirecTV has HD locals in the Triad and the OTA feature is active, has anybody seen any "SlimLine" dishes installed around town? So far all I've seen is the AT9. That's the last thing I'm holding out for before I make the call.
A friend of mine got his install last week. He is a new customer switching from TWC. When they came out the first time right after Thanksgiving, they installed the AT9 and did a poor install. He ended up taking everything back to circuit city and then setting up an install directly with D*. He said the same guys came back out but this time they installed the slimline dish. He did not request anything special, mainly because he did not know there were 2 different dishes. I guess this means they are starting to install these. Awesome news since the AT9's look kinda like a science experiment :)

A friend of mine got his install last week. He is a new customer switching from TWC. When they came out the first time right after Thanksgiving, they installed the AT9 and did a poor install. He ended up taking everything back to circuit city and then setting up an install directly with D*. He said the same guys came back out but this time they installed the slimline dish. He did not request anything special, mainly because he did not know there were 2 different dishes. I guess this means they are starting to install these. Awesome news, the AT9's look like a science experiment :)

Good to hear. The AT9 is pretty ugly (in my opinion) especially the 2-part LNB assembly and the larger surface area the dish uses. When I make the call, I'm going to see about requesting the SlimLine if at all possible.

I've been reading the thread for a while, but do not quite understand what this is. For those of us with digital cable and a tv with an ota tuner, are these channels that we can get by putting the cable line into the tuner and then trying to tune these? If so, I can't seem to do it. Or does this apply to tvs with built in tuners but without a Cablecard (my tv doesn't have cablecard)
Thanks,
Rich Tisovec


Someone awhile back asked for the actual major/minor channel numbers (before remapping) for TWC. Since the Greensboro and Winston headends use different numbers, the following Greensboro numbers may not help you, but here they are straight from the TWC techs in Greensboro. (they said they didn't know what Winston was using since they don't deal with that headend)

Call OTA Actual Remap
WFMY 2-1 - 113-1 (520)
WFMY 2-2 - 113-2 (521)
WGHP 8-1 - 113-3 (510)
WXII 12-1 - 116-3 (540)
WXII 12-2 - 116-4 (541)
WUNL 26-1 - 116-13 (500)
WUNL 26-2 - 116-14 (501)
WUNL 26-3 - 116-15 (502)
WUNL 26-4 - 113-16 (503)
WUNL 26-5 - 113-17 (504)

I've been reading the thread for a while, but do not quite understand what this is. For those of us with digital cable and a tv with an ota tuner, are these channels that we can get by putting the cable line into the tuner and then trying to tune these? If so, I can't seem to do it. Or does this apply to tvs with built in tuners but without a Cablecard (my tv doesn't have cablecard)
Thanks,
Rich Tisovec

Search QAM. That should answer your question.

I've been reading the thread for a while, but do not quite understand what this is. For those of us with digital cable and a tv with an ota tuner, are these channels that we can get by putting the cable line into the tuner and then trying to tune these? If so, I can't seem to do it. Or does this apply to tvs with built in tuners but without a Cablecard (my tv doesn't have cablecard)
Thanks,
Rich Tisovec

Try to think of it this way. Unlike the old way of using TV channels, the QAM channels as they are called are like a mall.

You can have a McDonalds as a standalone - or you can have a McDonalds as one of many restaurants in the Four Seasons Mall.

Thus 113 is one mall and set of store
WFMY 2-1 - 113-1 (520)
WFMY 2-2 - 113-2 (521)
WGHP 8-1 - 113-3 (510)
WUNL 26-4 - 113-16 (503)
WUNL 26-5 - 113-17 (504)


116 is another mall and another set of stores
WXII 12-1 - 116-3 (540)
WXII 12-2 - 116-4 (541)
WUNL 26-1 - 116-13 (500)
WUNL 26-2 - 116-14 (501)
WUNL 26-3 - 116-15 (502)

The older NTSC tuner that have been in most TVs for the past 20 years could receive VHF(2-13)/UHF(14+) and QAM Cable Channels (14-99) (all on different frequencies).

The newer ATSC can receive the corresponding VHF/UHF Frequencies, however they cannot receive and decrypt the QAM frequencies that digital cable uses.

The Digital QAMs are the Malls - they have multiple stores or stations in each as Digital is much more efficient than analog - just as a Mall is more efficient than a stand alone store with common parking, restrooms, eating area etc.

So you must have a tuner that can receive the digital QAM channels.

Just like the Four Seasons Mall that has a store number on each store if you look on the Directory, those are just Mall numbers. The actual legal street address on High Point Road is different than their Mall Number (220 or whatever).

The cable assigns every channel a 3 digit "mall number" such as 510 for WGHP. If you use a cablecard or a cable box, then this is the number you use.

However, your QAM tuner must have the legal address (on High Point Road) which is 113-3 to receive the channel.

Now this is where it gets screwy. Too make it even more confusing, there is an inconstancy in QAM numbering among tuner/set designers and some may display the legal address as 113.3, 113.30 or 113.300 - so it becomes even harder to find these channels. Imagine an ambulance trying to find an address that might be different.

To make things even more interesting, the cable company can shuffle these channels allocations at any time (and they do constantly look for ways to maximize bandwidth) so WGHP might not be at 113.3 tomorrow (though this doesn't happen that much at this point).

Confusing? Yes.

That's why most people have a cable box with numbers that will remain consistent most likely until 2009 - so anything done behind the scenes will be invisible.

Though I'd still love to know why they did not give WFMY 502, WGHP 508 and WXII 512.

Though I'd still love to know why they did not give WFMY 502, WGHP 508 and WXII 512.

According to a tech at TWC headend, it was to give each station a block of consecutive channel numbers for any subchannels and since UNC had the most to start with, they got 500-509.

I talked to Don Moore at WCWG yesterday and he said the transmitter is ready, the antenna is on site and the tower crew's lead people are on site getting things ready. The rest of the crew is finishing up on a job and then will go on Christmas break and then should be here the first of January to begin the antenna erection process.

Just bought a 50” Sony SXRD KDS-50A2000 and I want to report that the OTA tuner is excellent. I have several antennas, the one that came with the house is attic mounted and of unknown type (looks like a motor home antenna). I use this one with a distribution amplifier for analog OTA. Both of my other HD receivers, a Dish 811 and a Viewsonic LCD, will not recognize ANY digital signals at all from this antenna but the Sony picked up all the locals. I have yet to see a dropout. Using my rooftop antenna with rotor and pre-amp, I need to reposition the antenna for NBC – PBS, CBS, FOX and Roanoke stations with the Viewsonic (the 811 is a little better). The Sony receives all locals and most Roanake’s with the antenna pointed on only one direction. That 811 needs to be replaced.

Only negative is no signal quality meter on the Sony and the guide info only displays the current program (Viewsonic displays list full evening programs for the current station). Picture is fantastic on HD (but you really need to back off for the CBS upconverted SD stuff)! Fox upconverted SD is better.

Sweet TV ee1993. A friend of mine has a Sony HDTV and we found the digital signal meter under "channel settings" then "diagnostics" option in the menu. See if you can't find it there.

Sweet TV ee1993. A friend of mine has a Sony HDTV and we found the digital signal meter under "channel settings" then "diagnostics" option in the menu. See if you can't find it there.

You are correct, it's in the diagnostics menu. Lots of good info including signal to noise ratio.

Thanks! :)

Y'all will be relieved that I won't be on here griping about TWC anymore. DirecTV welcomed me back with free DVR service for a year and 6 months of free HD Pack. Today I'm getting 2 HD and 2 regular boxes and a 5LNB dish installed, and 2 HD DVRs coming (hopefully) next week from BB online to replace the SD boxes.

You can always come back and gripe about DirecTV :D

Y'all will be relieved that I won't be on here griping about TWC anymore. DirecTV welcomed me back with free DVR service for a year and 6 months of free HD Pack. Today I'm getting 2 HD and 2 regular boxes and a 5LNB dish installed, and 2 HD DVRs coming (hopefully) next week from BB online to replace the SD boxes.

Welcome back. Let us know what kind of dish they use for your install. (AT9 or SlimLine).

Slim dish, but there seems to be some kind of problem getting power to my den........nevermind, the light just came on.....they're hitting the boxes now....

roland, note that while OTA has been activated in the HD-DVR, the update hasn't been rolled out to everybody yet. D* is taking it slowly to make sure there isn't major problems with it before they give it to everybody. That said, everybody should have it soon.

Watch dbstalk for all the latest info.

http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=60&f=112

Interesting note from Earl at DBS talk about the OTA rollout.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=72983

As you know DirecTV is implementing a staggard rollout for the 0x108 release. The primary reason why this is done, is to limit the impact of any unexpected issues.

However; If you are so incline and want to "take a risk" and force download the 0x108 software version... here is your opportunity.

I have the impression that tonight: 12/13/2006 between 11pm and 2am (EST); 8pm and 11pm (PST), you may be able to get the new 0x108 code by the 02468 method.
Tonight: 12/13/2006 between 11pm and 2am (EST); 8pm and 11pm (PST) you can may be able to get the new 0x108 code by the 02468 method

If you do attempt to get 0x108; then you assume all the risks with the software version.

I can not stress it enough: If you force download 0x108, DO NOT CALL the call center if you are having problems. Come back here, and report the problem. And if it is to the point that you can "live" with it, do another forced update to revert back to 0xFA.

What Earl is talking about the "02468" method is this:
Reboot your HR20 and when the first screen comes up that says "Welcome" punch in 02468 on the remote (in progression, not all at the same time). The HR20 will then look for a software update and download it.

I wonder if my HR20 is a lemon...If for some reason power is lost or shut off, it seems it takes an act of congress to get it to boot back up.

anyone else experiencing this?

I wonder if my HR20 is a lemon...If for some reason power is lost or shut off, it seems it takes an act of congress to get it to boot back up.

anyone else experiencing this?
Did you get your HR20 by getting on the waiting list, or did you already have it? I've been reading on some of the DBSTalk forums that some people are getting a call back within a week. I've been on the list since just after Thanksgiving. Just curious what your situation was.

I got on the waiting list last night after talking to a CSR. You would think the CSR could have put me on there rather than telling me to go to the internet and do it. I just hope they don't compromise quality in order to get quantity out the door to satisfy the high demand.

Can anyone tell me which, if any, channels TWC in Winston-Salem transmits unencrypted via QAM? I've got a MythTV setup and have SD working very well, but I'd like to add an HD HomeRun to the setup so that I can ditch the SA8300HD altogether. Yes, I could use both of the HDHR's tuners for OTA ATSC, but I'd like to know all of my options before getting started.

Did you get your HR20 by getting on the waiting list, or did you already have it? I've been reading on some of the DBSTalk forums that some people are getting a call back within a week. I've been on the list since just after Thanksgiving. Just curious what your situation was.

I called back at the end of September and they put me on a waiting list. I was sure that was crap, because other people on here had mentioned they had gotten it, so I called back a few days later and they signed me right up and sent it right out to me.

Check this post. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8919503&&#post8919503)

This another list a few posts down, but everyone's QAM mileage seems to vary. I can
vouch for NBC, FOX, CBS, PBS, DiscoveryHD, and TNTHD (plus all the sub-channels) in
my area (Hwy 150 near Davidson county). Channel mapping also seems different on
various hardware.

C Snyder


Can anyone tell me which, if any, channels TWC in Winston-Salem transmits unencrypted via QAM? I've got a MythTV setup and have SD working very well, but I'd like to add an HD HomeRun to the setup so that I can ditch the SA8300HD altogether. Yes, I could use both of the HDHR's tuners for OTA ATSC, but I'd like to know all of my options before getting started.

I'm thinking about getting the TWC bundle. Anyone care to comment on the relative HD quality vs. Dish and Direct? I believe that OTA is the best available. I have Dish now and view mostly OTA locals. My Sony has a QAM tuner as well as 8VSB OTA.

Thanks.

TWC is evil. More money, fewer HD channels, and no ABCHD. Poor customer service, and diminishing PQ over the past year. Concerts are unwatchable b/c of the low bitrate. If you have a home alarm, if the power is cut to your house, it can't call the alarm co.

Go with a satellite.

HD from TWC is close to my OTA picture quality when I use the DVI from my cable box
vs component (Pace 550). My area has complete digital on the SD channels. The PQ
is ok, better than than analog for my setup, but is nothing to brag about. I mainly went
back to TWC digital cable because of convenience, plus the on-demand channels
come in handy for my kids.

C Snyder



I'm thinking about getting the TWC bundle. Anyone care to comment on the relative HD quality vs. Dish and Direct? I believe that OTA is the best available. I have Dish now and view mostly OTA locals. My Sony has a QAM tuner as well as 8VSB OTA.

Thanks.

This another list a few posts down, but everyone's QAM mileage seems to vary. I can
vouch for NBC, FOX, CBS, PBS, DiscoveryHD, and TNTHD (plus all the sub-channels) in
my area (Hwy 150 near Davidson county). Channel mapping also seems different on
various hardware.

C Snyder

Thank you very much - I assumed there'd be a few posts about it in this thread, but I couldn't find them with the search function. If I can pick up Discovery HD, I feel like it's worth it to devote one of the HDHR's tuners to TWC's QAM channels.

Anyone else notice the "awesome" new channels TWC has added recently? Up in the 490's they have added what appears to be new primarily (if not all) shopping channels. Bravo TWC. (claps)

Sweet! Are they in High Def? Just kidding. TWC does really need to step up their game.

TWC is evil. More money, fewer HD channels, and no ABCHD. Poor customer service, and diminishing PQ over the past year. Concerts are unwatchable b/c of the low bitrate. If you have a home alarm, if the power is cut to your house, it can't call the alarm co.

Go with a satellite.

lol...a satellite is going to call an alarm company with no power? I'm not advocating cable telephones, but that is one of the weaker excuses I've seen.

Anyone who doesn't realize that thieves will cut your phone line on the side of the house before they try to enter hasn't talked to many people that have been victims before. Quite frankly, they don't even need to cut it - they can just unplug the connector that is in the phone junction box on the side of the house.

Years ago I put bogus telephone and cable connectors on the outside of my house - and buried the real ones underground in metal conduit into the garage - not technically what the cable company and telco company demand to be legal, but wtf - they aren't going to reimburse me if I am a crime victim.

If the bogus cable connection or phone connection is tampered with or cut, the alarm will go off first with a different code indicating that is what has happened. If followed by the second alarm, then its a sure sign its a break in at the monitoring station (who happen to not to be the regular consumer monitoring services but do bank alarm monitoring) and not a false alarm.

Anyone who does not have a UPS on their cable modem - and uses cable for telephone service is nuts anyhow.

HDTVFanAtic,
Do you recommend the cellular phone type backup systems then?

HDTVFanAtic,
Do you recommend the cellular phone type backup systems then?


When I went IP Telephones I had ADT put in a Cellular connection for the alarm and it works fine. If someone goes to cut my phone line on the side of the house they are in for a surpise, I already unplugged that connection and have routed the signal from the Vonage device throughout the entire house.

Anyone else notice the "awesome" new channels TWC has added recently? Up in the 490's they have added what appears to be new primarily (if not all) shopping channels. Bravo TWC. (claps)

Yeah, I ran into them this weekend and was really disappointed. I mean while we're here screaming for more HD content, TWC goes and loads us up with more shopping channels? I'm seriously contemplating taking my business to Dish. They seem to have the most HD content out there. Anyone have experience with them?

To keep your options open, you might want to wait until DirecTV launches their new HD satellites in a few months. They say when they launch, they will have over 40 HD channels available. Dish also doesn't offer HD locals and DirecTV does. If you get Dish, you will need an outside antenna for the local stations.

Just something to think about as you consider what to do.

My parents have Dish and I'm not a big fan of their product. Confusing hardware, bulky equipment, hard to navigate remote and guide. I might like it better if I spent some time getting familiar with it but it doesn't seem to be nearly as intuitive as D* or digital cable for that matter. Sure they have lots of HD content right now, but most of the 30 channels they offer aren't exactly what I would call "must see TV".

For anyone on this thread who has TWC in Greensboro and a QAM tuner--does TWC pass TNT-HD in the clear? Using my set's built-in QAM tuner, I can pick up FOX, CBS, NBC, Discovery-HD, WUNC-HD, and a few sub-channels. Can't seem to find TNT-HD.

Thanks.

HDTVFanAtic,
Do you recommend the cellular phone type backup systems then?

lol...I am the redundancy king....so I always go for overkill with multiple layers in anything that is important to me :D

I try to anticipate what can go wrong and prepare for it in advance.

The weaker point these days in alarm systems is the monitoring and response - as there are so many false alarms, law enforcement has these on about the lowest priority you can get.

That's why I use the companies that monitors financial institutions, instead of say, the more common consumer companies.

For anyone on this thread who has TWC in Greensboro and a QAM tuner--does TWC pass TNT-HD in the clear? Using my set's built-in QAM tuner, I can pick up FOX, CBS, NBC, Discovery-HD, WUNC-HD, and a few sub-channels. Can't seem to find TNT-HD.

Thanks.

TNT-HD was apparently removed my lineup several months ago-TW in WS.

We still have TNT in Greensboro on 551, not sure about the QAM stuff, don't use that.

Anyone else noticing how compressed the ESPN HD signal over TWC seems to be? Lots of moving grass, even when watching PTI at %:30, the borders seems to move. Are they severely compressing this signal? HDNet and the others still look good relative to ESPN HD.

Anyone else noticing how compressed the ESPN HD signal over TWC seems to be? Lots of moving grass, even when watching PTI at %:30, the borders seems to move. Are they severely compressing this signal? HDNet and the others still look good relative to ESPN HD.

Yeah, it is noticeably crappy on Monday Night Football, especially if I sit close to the TV.

Been really compressed all football season.

Is there any word on what they may do since they are taking away one of the HD channels we all agreed to pay for in the HD Pack.(INHD2) are they bounded by a contract to lower the price of the pack since they are taking out a channel that was in when we agreed to pay?? Are they going to add another. just trying to stir the pot.

Call them and ask. I haven't heard anything yet, but I know folks in other markets have said they weren't getting anything new, or they just moved something like Universal that was free before, into the HD Pack. Hopefully we'll get something good.

yea lets hope, espn2 hd, i dont really care as long as they add something for taking away something, its mainly the principle of the thing;) the scary thing is I wonder if we will have to pay for additional channels they add to the pack over the original # they offered.

I saw this posted by the General Manager of WDBJ Roanoke in the Roanoke, VA thread. For those of us who receive WDBJ-DT OTA this could be interesting.

The production company that does ACC sports has announced that it will probably produce and distribute this year's ACC basketball tournament in HDTV, pending the outcome of a test in mid-January. WDBJ will participate in the test and broadcast the HD version of tournament coverage if it becomes available. The origination will be produced in 1080i so ACC broadcast stations with a 720p plant may have some conversion issues to deal with.

__________________
Bob Lee

thanks Foxeng-that's good to know!

I agree that sometime between 2005's football season and 2006's football season that ESPNHD's picture on TWC has just become horrible.

It's funny how going HD has flipped my attitude towards Sattelite TV. I still have a lot of objections to certain aspects of Sat TV, but TWC is just so completely dreadful and showing no signs of improvement that when we move into our permanent house in the next few years, I will be seriously re-evaluating where we get our TV from. A year ago I would not even have considered sattelite as an option. I wonder if TWC will have ESPN2HD by even then....

I saw this posted by the General Manager of WDBJ Roanoke in the Roanoke, VA thread. For those of us who receive WDBJ-DT OTA this could be interesting.

The production company that does ACC sports has announced that it will probably produce and distribute this year's ACC basketball tournament in HDTV, pending the outcome of a test in mid-January. WDBJ will participate in the test and broadcast the HD version of tournament coverage if it becomes available. The origination will be produced in 1080i so ACC broadcast stations with a 720p plant may have some conversion issues to deal with.

__________________
Bob Lee

I saw something about that on InsideCarolina.com's message board last week but dummy me forgot to share that with you guys. ABC45 has been broadcasting the Raycom football games this season. 48 has done a couple as well. Both are 720p so they will have to deal with the conversion issues. Maybe Zane can comment if they will be able to do the necessary conversion.

Speaking of the ACC and HDTV... Does anybody know whether or not Raycom Sports has upgraded to HDTV? Highly doubtful considering it looks like they are on a tight budget but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Those of you that are on TWC HD, what kind of boxes and connections are you using?
Mine is setup through a Pace DC550P box via DVI connector. My PQ was certainly
compromised using component output. The DVI output made a big difference. Just
wondering if there is a pattern with the bad quality issues beyond TWC's less than
stellar signal.

C Snyder

Those of you that are on TWC HD, what kind of boxes and connections are you using?
Mine is setup through a Pace DC550P box via DVI connector. My PQ was certainly
compromised using component output. The DVI output made a big difference. Just
wondering if there is a pattern with the bad quality issues beyond TWC's less than
stellar signal.

C Snyder

I have the SA 8300 HD DVR box via HDMI connector to a phillips 42pf9630a. I used to have that same box that u had and hooked it up thru a dvi to hdmi adapter. Have never used component. I think i saw a bit of improvement when switching to the newer 8300 but nothing extreme. TWC compresses their signal soo much its hard to tell.

Those of you that are on TWC HD, what kind of boxes and connections are you using?
Mine is setup through a Pace DC550P box via DVI connector. My PQ was certainly
compromised using component output. The DVI output made a big difference. Just
wondering if there is a pattern with the bad quality issues beyond TWC's less than
stellar signal.

I've got the SA 8300HD hooked up via HDMI/DVI but I've also tried component cables with the box - to my eye, there was no discernable difference between the two. I only left it plugged in via HDMI because that's what I tried 2nd and since it didn't make the picture worse, I didn't see a reason to climb behind my home theater and swap back to component cables. OTA signals look much better than the picture from TWC on my display,

My old Hitachi 43" RPTV bit the dust, so I got a new Samsung 40" LCD with ATSC tuner. I bought the $30 Philips HDTV tuner at Walmart (50db gain) and I can now get all the local HD channels on the ATSC tuner! This is from inside my townhouse near Guilford College. Now I can watch Lost in HD since Sinclair won't let TWC carry the HD feed. Yay.

My old Hitachi 43" RPTV bit the dust, so I got a new Samsung 40" LCD with ATSC tuner. I bought the $30 Philips HDTV tuner at Walmart (50db gain) and I can now get all the local HD channels on the ATSC tuner! This is from inside my townhouse near Guilford College. Now I can watch Lost in HD since Sinclair won't let TWC carry the HD feed. Yay.


Yea i do the same, abc seems easier to pick up, i bought a cheap uhf antenna and actually have it hidden behind all of my equipment and it still picks up abc very well. twc needs to get their head out of their ass.

Yea i do the same, abc seems easier to pick up, i bought a cheap uhf antenna and actually have it hidden behind all of my equipment and it still picks up abc very well. twc needs to get their head out of their ass.


More like Sinclair needs to get a clue.

More like Sinclair needs to get a clue.

very true, i also meant in terms of lack of channels, compression, lack of vision ;)

Yea, I would like them to add a few more HD channels. I wonder if anyone has a way to measure the bitrates TWC is sending out?

...and I can now get all the local HD channels on the ATSC tuner!

Ah, music to my ears!! :)

Seems from this report (http://www.tvpredictions.com/twaehd121906.htm) that TWC may be adding MHD and A&E HD to the lineup sometime. No telling when this will reflect in the Triad though cause they are adding it in "select" markets.

If TWC doesn't significantly bump up the number of HD channels in this area I'm going to bolt.

I checked the signal strength of FOX8 with my indoor tuner and I was shy 1 bar from maximum on my new Sammie. That is from Guilford College inside a 2 story townhouse. Philips indoor tuner (50 db gain preamp)

The software update for the HR20 that enables OTA has finally gone national. Those of you that have the HR20 you should have gotten this update early this morning. I've waiting for OTA activation.

For those that haven't seen it, here's the release notes for the last three non-national releases that are now national.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=73209

Since the last National Release; 0xFA
Items in Black are from 0x104
Items in Blue are from 0x108
Items in Purple are from 0x10b

This release was originally designated as a Release Candidate, and was available for forced download on 12/15/2006
This release is now being pushed out as a national release.

National Release this release has now gone national.

Fixes

* Manual Scheduled Recordings
* Improved Reliability of Recordings
* Additional stability fixes , continued improvement, continued improvements
* Closed Caption Text Accuracy
* Music/Picture - ViiV fixes
* During FF, occasionaly you will see it go BACKWARDS
* Live TV Tuner Conflicts
* Multiple HDMI compatibility fixes
* Improvements to Dolby Digital Drop Outs
* eSATA corrections for setups greater then 1TB


Improvements

* Improvements to Parental Controls
* Trickplay playback
* Improved Caller-ID Compatibility
* Record options seperated into two distinct windows (no longer tabed) (Special Discussion Thread: Here)
* History features will no longer include future canceled items, when caused by a reboot
* History feature will now contain updated information on "why" things occured (Special Discussion Thread: Here
* Prioritizer corrections


New Features

* ATSC tuners activated; to allow the reception of Over the Air channels (Special Discussin Thread: Here
* Added support of playing Music and Photos from a home network ViiV personal computer

Ah, music to my ears!! :)

Goes to show show what a good tuner can do. My new Sony get all locals 100% from an antenna that yields no reception at all on an older 811 and a recent Viewsonic.

I just ordered the HR20 HD-DVR over the phone with Directv. Just starting today you don't have to go on the waiting list to get the HR20. The CSRs still think you have to go on a waiting list so you need to have them look it up in their system and then they will see you don't have to get on the waiting list. I also ordered the R15 SD DVR. I get them installed on January 7th.

I just ordered the HR20 HD-DVR over the phone with Directv. Just starting today you don't have to go on the waiting list to get the HR20. The CSRs still think you have to go on a waiting list so you need to have them look it up in their system and then they will see you don't have to get on the waiting list. I also ordered the R15 SD DVR. I get them installed on January 7th.
Did you just call their main number or was it a special one like the customer retention line? I've been on the waiting list since Thanksgiving and haven't heard anything yet.

this is probably stupid, but when you say they haev enable ota on the hr20, does this mean that you can record thru the dvr from OTA signals???

I checked the signal strength of FOX8 with my indoor tuner and I was shy 1 bar from maximum on my new Sammie. That is from Guilford College inside a 2 story townhouse. Philips indoor tuner (50 db gain preamp)

Yep, it seems to be a nice little antenna. My Brother lives in the Cardinal neighborhood down Fleming road and he can pick up all locals and some of the Roanoke stations with his. All local channels are in the 80-82% range on his 55" Hitachi LCD. I'm still not giving up my Zenith Silver Sensor but it seems like a good indoor antenna that can be found locally.

this is probably stupid, but when you say they haev enable ota on the hr20, does this mean that you can record thru the dvr from OTA signals???
From my understanding, it will work like the HR10 does now. You can view and record both satellite and OTA on the dvr.

this is probably stupid, but when you say they haev enable ota on the hr20, does this mean that you can record thru the dvr from OTA signals???


Yes, you will be able to record OTA and sat HD. Keep in mind that with the new 5 LNB dish, you won't be able to diplex the antenna siganls like you used to. So if you want to have an antenna and dual tuners, you will need to have 3 runs of coax to the sat receiver. 2 from the sat and one from the antenna. From what I've read, next year D* will have the ability to run both tuners with one coax which will save you a coax run. I went ahead and ran three lines to the back of my receiver. Now all I need is the installer to come out and upgrade my dish and receiver.

I saw something about that on InsideCarolina.com's message board last week but dummy me forgot to share that with you guys. ABC45 has been broadcasting the Raycom football games this season. 48 has done a couple as well. Both are 720p so they will have to deal with the conversion issues. Maybe Zane can comment if they will be able to do the necessary conversion.
We do not at this point have any non network HD receivers, except for the old UPN HD receiver that had no reference input. We will have to ship that back to CBS at some point. The 1080i to 720p conversion can be done but will take some software manipulation. We had to do that when we switched from UPN to My Network.

Did you just call their main number or was it a special one like the customer retention line? I've been on the waiting list since Thanksgiving and haven't heard anything yet.I called 1-800-353-4388. The automated service recognized my phone number and from that recognized that I'm an "A List" customer. I didn't have any wait time. If you aren't an "A List" customer you might get rerouted to a slower response service. I don't know.

this is probably stupid, but when you say they haev enable ota on the hr20, does this mean that you can record thru the dvr from OTA signals???
Like others have stated you will be able to record OTA with the HR20. A couple of things to keep in mind. The HR20 has two OTA tuners inside but you only need one OTA coax run. It has an internal splitter. However, the HR20 can only record two things at once. 2 sats, or 2 OTAs, or 1 sat and 1 OTA. E*'s Vip 622 can record 2 sats and 1 OTA at the same time. However, it only has 1 OTA tuner and E* doesn't yet offer HD LiL for this market and doesn't seem to have plans to do so anytime soon. So in this market you would only be able to record 1 network program at a time. For me that is deal breaker and would keep me from getting E*.

As previously stated in this thread the advantages of having OTA is getting all sub channels, get all 5 PBS channels including PBS-HD, getting CW-HD when it becomes available early next year, getting channels from outside our market, and protection against rain fade that you get sometimes from the dish.

Here's a look inside at the HR-20's dual OTA tuners:

http://www.dbstalk.com/hr20/images/Small/15-insidebackright.jpg

I called 1-800-353-4388. The automated service recognized my phone number and from that recognized that I'm an "A List" customer. I didn't have any wait time. If you aren't an "A List" customer you might get rerouted to a slower response service. I don't know.
Worked like a charm! Thanks for the heads up. The CSR said she couldn't guarantee the slimline dish though. She said if the installer had it I could request it, but she could not specify the type of dish. Install scheduled for the 4th.

Worked like a charm! Thanks for the heads up. The CSR said she couldn't guarantee the slimline dish though. She said if the installer had it I could request it, but she could not specify the type of dish. Install scheduled for the 4th.Like you the CSR couldn't tell me what dish I would get. However, there is a post on satelliteguys that claims that as of December 18th dealers will install the slimline. I hope that it works out that way for both of us.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=84664

I have just received word that as of 12/18 dealers will start installing the new Slimline KA/KU Dish instead of the AT9 Dish.

Installing them will be easy like the phase 3 dish. The LNB is a one piece unit. The mast size is 2".

I can hear all your installers out there yelling THANK GOD.

I had a slimline installed in Winston on the 13th, so they're around.

Anyone having issues with PBS HD? I've recorded two shows recently that had no audio. I was watching a few weeks ago and had no center channel audio.

How do I get PBS on OTA in G'boro? Are they broadcasting on VHF and not UHF? I can get all the other locals on OTA.

How do I get PBS on OTA in G'boro? Are they broadcasting on VHF and not UHF? I can get all the other locals on OTA.
PBS out of Winston (26-x) broadcasts at channel 32. PBS out of Chapel Hill (4-x) broadcasts at channel 59. I'm in Greensboro and I can pick up both; depending on where my antenna is pointed at the time.

Here's what I pick up on DTV with my inside antenna:

2-1
2-2
8-1
45-1
48-1
48-2
61-1

What is the NBC station? Are they full power?

WXII is the NBC affiliate for the Triad. They are on channel 31 digital. The transmitter is located on Sauratown Mt north of Winston-Salem. Unless they are having transmitter problems, they are operating at a full power of 814 kW.

All stations in the Triad except WCWG-DT 19 are at full power.

Just to review for those who are new to the area or new to digital TV:

WFMY - CBS - 51 Level Cross
WGHP - FOX - 35 - Randleman
WXII - NBC - 31 - Sauratown Mt
WGPX - ion (PAX)- 14 - Reidsville
WCWG - CW - 19 - Level Cross
WUNL - PBS - 32 - Sauratown Mt
WXLV - ABC - 29 - Level Cross
WMYV - MNT - 33 - Level Cross
WLXI - TBN - 43 - Level Cross

For those in the southeast of the market:
WUNC - PBS - 59 - Carboro

And southwest:
WUNG - PBS - 44 - Concord

What is the NBC station? Are they full power?

If you are in Greensboro, try pointing your antenna to the northwest and see if you can get WXII to lock. Bring up your tuner's signal meter to help fine tune it. If you can get it to lock, it helps to put some sort of marker on the antenna and on the surface where it sits so you can go back to the same point without having to dial it in every time.

I'm not sure how to tune manually, I used the auto find function and could only get:

2-1 CBS
2-2
8-1 FOX
45-1 ABC
48-1
48-2
61-1 WLXI

Do I need to extend the VHF rabbit ears? I was only using the UHF part

All of the Triad stations are on UHF. In 2009 WGHP will move back to channel 8 and the rest will stay on their current digital UHF channels.

CBS 2 will stay on 51
FOX 8 will leave 35 and move back to 8
NBC 12 will stay on 31
ion 16 will stay on 14
CW 20 will stay on 19
PBS 26 will stay on 32
ABC 45 will stay on 29
MNT 48 will stay on 33
TBN 61 will stay on 43

PBS 4 will move from 59 to 25
PBS 44 will stay on 44

Here is a map of where the analog and digital transmitters are located:

http://www.triad-hdtv.org/graphics/triad-map.jpg

Hope that helps.

My TV shows Fox8 as 8-1 and not 35....

I do get 45-1 fine but can't seem to get the other ones off that side of town

My TV shows Fox8 as 8-1 and not 35....

I do get 45-1 fine but can't seem to get the other ones off that side of town

That is as it should be. All stations are required to map their analog channel number no matter what their actual channel number is from now on. A station will always be known by their analog channel, never their digital channel.

Channel 45's digital and analog transmitters are not located at the same place. The analog is on Sauratown Mt north of Winston-Salem where channel 12 and 26 have both their analog and digital transmitters and channel 45's digital is located south of Greensboro at Level Cross, the same place as channel 2, 20 and 48. Channel 8 is 5 miles farther south.

Then I can't seem to get the Sauratown Mtn broadcasts. I get great signal from Level Cross (nearly full strength)

Then I can't seem to get the Sauratown Mtn broadcasts. I get great signal from Level Cross (nearly full strength)


Turn to 12-1 and bring up your signal meter. Then slowly turn your antenna and watch the meter at the same time. What is the highest number on your meter when doing this? If you can't get it above 50%, you most likely will need a larger antenna either in the attic or outside your house. WXII has had PSIP issues in the past but I haven't had any problems with that in a few months. I used to have to tune to another HD channel to get the resolution to change and then turn back to 12-1 in order to get it to come in.

If you never have picked up WXII OTA, tuning to 12-1 will not help you. You will need to tune to 31 (which is their actual digital channel) and then let it lock up and you will then be able to enter 12-1 from then on.

In case anyone is interested, Bestbuy in WS has what I am guessing is their demo HDDVD A-1 for sale $249.

For those of you on the DirecTV HD-DVR waiting list, it took them about 10 days to contact me after I filled out the form on their website. What happens is you'll get an automated call from a "toll free number" (that's what the caller id. said) Then it instructs you to call a D* rep and let them know you are ready to upgrade your equipment. My install is scheduled for Sat Jan 20th. I could have had it done sooner but I wanted to be at the house to make sure everything went smoothly. BTW, I tried to request the SlimLine but the rep had no power over what dish is installed. Also, you guys may have noticed that the HR-20 is now available in gloss black, so who knows what color we'll end up getting.

I've been on that waiting list since right after Thanksgiving. Still no call. Luckily I took uncrules advice and called them and got one; install on the 4th. I REALLY like that black, glossy box. The only thing in my cabinet that isn't black is my sat receiver. Like the slimlines were, you probably can't get the black glossy ones until the silver stock is gone. Although since there is a "waiting list" due to not enough stock maybe they will come out sooner than later. I called the installation support number they gave me with my confirmation number and asked if I could specify the color of the receiver. The woman pretty much laughed at me. Funny thing is, she didn't even know they come in black. I explained to her that they come in 2 colors now and I don't think she believed me. Oh well, I tried.

Tell her to look at their website and she can see that they are now offered in black. Good greif, you'd think that D* would inform their employees about their products. You can see it here:
http://directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPage.jsp?assetId=2980017

I've been on that waiting list since right after Thanksgiving. Still no call. Luckily I took uncrules advice and called them and got one; install on the 4th. I REALLY like that black, glossy box. The only thing in my cabinet that isn't black is my sat receiver. Like the slimlines were, you probably can't get the black glossy ones until the silver stock is gone. Although since there is a "waiting list" due to not enough stock maybe they will come out sooner than later. I called the installation support number they gave me with my confirmation number and asked if I could specify the color of the receiver. The woman pretty much laughed at me. Funny thing is, she didn't even know they come in black. I explained to her that they come in 2 colors now and I don't think she believed me. Oh well, I tried.

Not surprised, but looks like D* holds some stock for new subscribers. I called on 12/23 to switch from cable, they came out yesterday (12/27) and installed the slimline and the HD DVR. Didn't get black, though - it was silver. FWIW, calling instead of using the website to sign up was the right move. Financially came out well ahead of the internet offers.

Telemike,

Did you ever pick up WXII-DT?

No, I can't seem to get any of those stations at that location. Must be too much interference from the buildings I am in and I am lower in elevation than parts of the city west of me.

All the Level Cross stations get good reception except some times there must be atmospheric conditions that cause the signal to drop and pixellate.

No, I can't seem to get any of those stations at that location. Must be too much interference from the buildings I am in and I am lower in elevation than parts of the city west of me.

All the Level Cross stations get good reception except some times there must be atmospheric conditions that cause the signal to drop and pixellate.

What are you using for a digital tuner?

Tell her to look at their website and she can see that they are now offered in black. Good greif, you'd think that D* would inform their employees about their products. You can see it here:
http://directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPage.jsp?assetId=2980017
I called them back just to see what a different CSR might say. This one actually acknowledged that there was a black model available. Unfortunately, like the slimline dishes, she could not specify which receiver would be installed at my house. Also like the slimline, she said I could ask the installer if they had one when they came out. Other than that, there was not much she could do for me. Hey, at least this one tried to help me.

The CSR I talked to said the same thing. Basically the best we can do is hope they have the equipment we want in the truck when they arrive to do the install. Maybe they will have a black and silver receiver and then we can choose the one right for us. (All of my components are silver). I read where you can tell the difference by looking at the part number on the box. The silver is HR20-700S, and the black is HR20-700B.

According to the information in the thread from DBSTalk.com the new Black HR20 is not available and there is no ETA.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=74328

As for the Slimline Dish, the installer that set mine up a couple of weeks ago said they only had the new Slimline in their local warehouse. This contractor worked out of an office from Elkin (They cover the triad area) and I think there is another group that works out of the Greensboro area. I had them add a note when I placed the order that I only wanted the slimline and to call me if they were not in stock at the local installer before they came. You can also call the number left in the automated message received a couple of days before your install is scheduled. Someone at that number should be able to get you in touch with the local installation company that has been assigned your install. I am guessing that you will get the new slimline, they have been out for a few months now.

TWC users:

1) Anyone else notice that the bowl games on ESPN-HD are looking miraculously better today without all the compression artifacts?

2) Anyone know what they're planning to do now that INHD2 is gone?

TWC users:

1) Anyone else notice that the bowl games on ESPN-HD are looking miraculously better today without all the compression artifacts?

2) Anyone know what they're planning to do now that INHD2 is gone?

Unfortunately I didnt catch any of the games, will have to over the rest of the schedule to see....

I hope to god they add a channel whatever it may be, or I want my fee reduced..

Wow. I can't believe how quiet the thread has been for new HD users. I know for a fact that MANY HD sets were sold for Christmas around here and I expected we would be up to our ears in newbies by now, but alas, I seem to be wrong.

If you are new to HD and have questions, please feel free to jump in! We all were newbies once and had more questions about what questions to ask! No question is a dumb question but only the unasked question.

Of course at work I have a special newbie to take care of. We jokingly say in the shop "Hell has finally frozen over." My boss, who for years has said that basic cable and a 27 inch SD set was all he needed, went out and bought a Sony 50 inch SXRD and I think every HD package TWC has to offer! His first comment to me was, how bad SD looked compared to HD. It was all I could do to not laugh. I said "yeah, you can see all of the NTSC artifacts that we have for years tried to hide and make better. It is like when you listen to a CD with material recorded in the 50's on it. You hear every imperfection." He agreed.

One of the anchors (who shall remain nameless, but he loves "old stuff") got one too and he likes Discovery HD Theatre, A LOT!! I told him back in the day (of 4 years ago) when everything on DHDT rotated every three hours! He got a kick out that.

I think Santa also left some HD sets for some people who work in the Creative Services department. It will be interesting to see what our commercials start to look like after they have viewed some HD for a while.

God, I love newbies!!

I wish the NFL would let us have more of these double double headers! At 1pm on FOX you get Panthers at Saints on WGHP and for those in the north of the market than can receive WFXR Roanoke, Lions at Cowboys. On CBS WFMY and WDBJ Roanoke both have Steelers at Bengals. At 4pm on FOX you get Falcons at Eagles on WGHP and WFXR on CBS you get Dolphins at Colts on WFMY and WDBJ Bills at Ravens! What a nice New Years present from the NFL!

And for those of us with D* Sunday ticket it is pigskin heaven. I think 2007 will be a very happy HD new year.

Happy holiday to all,

Joe

Wow. I can't believe how quiet the thread has been for new HD users. I know for a fact that MANY HD sets were sold for Christmas around here and I expected we would be up to our ears in newbies by now, but alas, I seem to be wrong.


God, I love newbies!!

If only the stores would throw a sticker on their products that indicate......
"For More Information Go To AVSForum.com" :)

I wish the NFL would let us have more of these double double headers!

I agree completely. I know NFL rules the sports roost now, but one of many reasons I greatly prefer college football is that you can always flip between 2-4 games at a time (except during the lame spread out bowl season of course). I don't understand why the NFL doesn't allow both networks to do doubleheaders every week. I know it probably boosts their sunday NFL ticket sales, but at the same time, if they really wanted to boost those sales they should propgate it to Dish and the cable companies....

I just want to wish you all a very Happy New Year! I enjoy the banter (and arguments ;) )
in our Triad group very much.

On my way to the neighborhood New Years Eve party - Woo Hoo!!!

What are you using for a digital tuner?

Samsung LN-S4051 TV built in OTA tuner.

Last week, I upgraded from a 30" sammy CRT to a 47" Westinghouse 1080p LCD - despite some initial apprehension on my part over getting an LCD, I'm really happy with the display. A few days ago however, I noticed two strange problems when watching some content from TWC in W-S.

First, during some SD content, there is a line of seemingly random garbage across the top of the picture area. I've been trying to nail down a better description than "some SD content", but I can't find a pattern to which channels have it and which don't. Some channels only display it during commercials, others during a show, and others still only during some shows. I watched an entire epsiode of M*A*S*H without seeing it, but then an episode of Scrubs had the problem for the entire length of the show (but NOT during commercials). Some channels (like WCWG) never seem to show the problem, while others (CNN HLN) always seem to have it. Pictures of this problem are attached to the post.

The second problem so far has only occured on Discovery HD. Whenever the DiscHD logo or the program rating logo are on screen, there is a 1-2 pixel wide white line that appears on the left side of my display. The line goes away as soon as the logo(s) disappear and only seems to happen on this one channel.

Has anyone else with TWC seen this behavior?

I'm watching a Scientific Atlanta 8300HD connected via HDMI to the Westy. I switched to component cables and both problems persisted there as well. I don't see any similar problem when watching SD DVDs via component (I tested with my player set to output at both 480p and 480i), nor with a Wii connected via composite (480i only, obviously).

I never saw these problems on my Samsung CRT (1080i), but these artifacts are on the far edges of the display, so the CRT's overscan would've clipped them off if they were there.

I'd really hate to find out it's the display that's causing this, because I've been very happy with it so far. Honestly, after experimenting with different settings, cables, input sources, etc I'm inclined to believe that the problem is with the feed from TWC or the 8300, but I'd like to know for sure. I'll also post this in the LCD forums to see if anyone there with the Westy has seen the problem, but thought maybe some of you folks have seen it with TWC as well.

Here are two pictures of the problem that I see on Discovery HD.

Brad,
Sounds like at least the first problem is overscan, it happens with digital displays using HDMI. My Pioneer plasma has an option under HDMI to move the screen in either direction to cover up the "trash" you're seeing. Check your Westy menu for an overscan or HDMI position option.

Not sure what's happening on the second problem, never had that with the logos on my plasmas.

Brad,
Sounds like at least the first problem is overscan, it happens with digital displays using HDMI. My Pioneer plasma has an option under HDMI to move the screen in either direction to cover up the "trash" you're seeing. Check your Westy menu for an overscan or HDMI position option.

Not sure what's happening on the second problem, never had that with the logos on my plasmas.

Thanks for the speedy reply - I'll check the Westy to see if I can move the picture up 1-2 pixels and see how that effects the problem. I'm fairly confident that it's not related to the HDMI connection however, since I also see the problem when the 8300 is connected via component. I'm tempted to try plugging the 8300 in via a composite cable just to see if it happens there too.

It is overscan. CRTs have about 3% to 5% overscan to handle edge issues that CRTs have in convergence and other issues. Non-CRT displays do not have those issues and so hardly any overscan.

In the NTSC world, the first 20 lines of both fields are used to send timing signals and test signals and that is the "trash" you are seeing at the top of the picture. Video tape playback also has timing signals called VITC that you sometimes see at the top of the screen. You don't have those in the DTV world since they are not there but upconverts you do see it.

The DHDT issue seems you need to center your STB display to your monitor.

From all of us FOX8 WGHP, I want to wish everyone on the thread a Happy and Prosperous New Year filled with lots fun and HD!!

D*TV HR20 Update...

Lately I have been losing picture on all channels other than locals. I received locals and local HD without issue, however all upper channels only show program bar. Resetting the receiver seems to fix everything, but this is obviously not normal operation.

Support had me check software version, Whether or not Native Resolution was on or off, and my HDMI cable. All checked out. He then had me check the signals by feeding the HR20 with the signal from one of my other rooms. The problem did not go away so he decided to send me a different reciever.

He says they are sending me out a refurbished HR20, which kind of bugs me but that's the rule.

I do not think it's the HR20 myself, seems kind of weird that the receiver would decide to stop working for the upper channels only. I think it's the access card or programming options on their end.

Anyone else experience anything like this before with the HR20 or another box?

D*TV HR20 Update...

Lately I have been losing picture on all channels other than locals. I received locals and local HD without issue, however all upper channels only show program bar. Resetting the receiver seems to fix everything, but this is obviously not normal operation.

Support had me check software version, Whether or not Native Resolution was on or off, and my HDMI cable. All checked out. He then had me check the signals by feeding the HR20 with the signal from one of my other rooms. The problem did not go away so he decided to send me a different reciever.

He says they are sending me out a refurbished HR20, which kind of bugs me but that's the rule.

I do not think it's the HR20 myself, seems kind of weird that the receiver would decide to stop working for the upper channels only. I think it's the access card or programming options on their end.

Anyone else experience anything like this before with the HR20 or another box?


This is currently a common issue with the HR20. See the Black Screen Bug that is being discussed in various threads on DBSTalk.com. There currently is no solution, waiting for the next software update. I didn't have the issue until after the last release a couple of weeks ago, for some it happens almost daily, others every few days, and some say they have only had the issue 1 or 2 times since the release.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=74448

UNC is having an Andy Griffith Marathon on UNC-NC the -5 channel of the OTA transmitters. For the newbies, here is a map of the UNC digital stations:

http://www.unctv.org/unctvdtv/where/assets/maplg.gif

Last week, I upgraded from a 30" sammy CRT to a 47" Westinghouse 1080p LCD - despite some initial apprehension on my part over getting an LCD, I'm really happy with the display. A few days ago however, I noticed two strange problems when watching some content from TWC in W-S.

First, during some SD content, there is a line of seemingly random garbage across the top of the picture area. I've been trying to nail down a better description than "some SD content", but I can't find a pattern to which channels have it and which don't. Some channels only display it during commercials, others during a show, and others still only during some shows. I watched an entire epsiode of M*A*S*H without seeing it, but then an episode of Scrubs had the problem for the entire length of the show (but NOT during commercials). Some channels (like WCWG) never seem to show the problem, while others (CNN HLN) always seem to have it. Pictures of this problem are attached to the post.

The second problem so far has only occured on Discovery HD. Whenever the DiscHD logo or the program rating logo are on screen, there is a 1-2 pixel wide white line that appears on the left side of my display. The line goes away as soon as the logo(s) disappear and only seems to happen on this one channel.

Has anyone else with TWC seen this behavior?


Take a look at the various threads on Westinghouse displays. You'll see these mentioned quite a bit. I haven't noticed the vertical line on Discovery HD, but have seen something similar on NBC-HD (also on TWC).

Take a look at the various threads on Westinghouse displays. You'll see these mentioned quite a bit. I haven't noticed the vertical line on Discovery HD, but have seen something similar on NBC-HD (also on TWC).

After some research in the 47W1 thread and playing around with my display I've found that the VBI data isn't visible if I view SD content by tuning to the corresponding SD channel on TWC (e.g. channel 10 for WGHP instead of channel 510). However, this only seems to hold true for local channels, and isn't consistent for the standard cable channels (CNN, SciFi, etc.). I only watch a handful of SD shows these days though (Scrubs, BSG, The Daily Show), and I'm content to watch those on the CRT if the VBI data becomes unbareable.

The Westy doesn't seem to have any way to adjust the display to account for overscan, but I suppose that makes some sense on a 1080p set that claims 1:1 pixel mapping on the HDMI/DVI/VGA inputs. If this is the worst problem I end up having with this display, I'll be praising Westy for a long time.

Thanks everyone for your help on this.

This is currently a common issue with the HR20. See the Black Screen Bug that is being discussed in various threads on DBSTalk.com. There currently is no solution, waiting for the next software update. I didn't have the issue until after the last release a couple of weeks ago, for some it happens almost daily, others every few days, and some say they have only had the issue 1 or 2 times since the release.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=74448

Thanks. That is what I was looking for. You would think that their tech support would know or better yet, "admit" to the bug and just tell us to hold tight.

UNC is having an Andy Griffith Marathon on UNC-NC the -5 channel of the OTA transmitters. For the newbies, here is a map of the UNC digital stations:

http://www.unctv.org/unctvdtv/where/assets/maplg.gif

Do you have any idea what they did about an ATSC transmitter at WUNE? Considering how you had to get to that site (you needed a state owned 4wheel drive complete with Snow Plow to get up the side of Grandmother Mountain) - not to mention there was no room in that building - has me curious what they did.

I realize that this isnt the right market, but its not like Beech Mountain, Banner Elk, Linville, Boone or Blowing Rock have their own DMA :D

Do you have any idea what they did about an ATSC transmitter at WUNE? Considering how you had to get to that site (you needed a state owned 4wheel drive complete with Snow Plow to get up the side of Grandmother Mountain) - not to mention there was no room in that building - has me curious what they did.

I realize that this isnt the right market, but its not like Beech Mountain, Banner Elk, Linville, Boone or Blowing Rock have their own DMA :D


Most of the installations have been solid state since the power levels the FCC specified have been between 100 and 500 kw ERP. They have tried to maximize where they could. Since UNC does a "cellular" approach, it isn't necessary to cover a market as the above map shows as long as the area is covered by one or more transmitters since all 11 sites are 100% simulcast 100% of the time.

I have seen where the FCC has started approving many of the UNC translator sites in the western part of the state to digital so I suspect that will start soon.

Did anyone else notice some problems last night on the FOX BCS game when the flood warnings popped up? I had a lot of problems at the very start of the game. It seems like every time the weather warning appeared, the audio and video cut out before the warning, then the warning popped up and the resolution was low, then things went back to normal when the warning disappeared. It seems like the local overlay isn't seemless for HD. This was over TWC - I didn't try OTA.