We have completed the install of the new FOX splicer. We shall see if it works at 7:30 when net hits the air for Game 1. I will be here to be sure if it smokes, there is a record of it! ;)

We have completed the install of the new FOX splicer. We shall see if it works at 7:30 when net hits the air for Game 1. I will be here to be sure if it smokes, there is a record of it! ;)

foxeng, I'm too lazy to read back through the posts. :) Remind us uninitiated viewers what the splicer will mean for us.

Unlike the other networks, FOX uses something called a splicer that takes the satellite network HD signal and "splices" into our digital signal. We have no control over it other than to put it on air. This is the only way FOX gives us to put the HD signal on the air. They are replacing the older version (v1) from 2004 with new suped up versions (v2). We got a BRAND NEW software update today (we are the first in the country to get it) so we are nervous about tonight. Once we can get past the first time on air with it and works, then we can breath easier. If it blows up, Game 1 will be in 4:3 SD and I will burning the phone lines up from here to LA.

Whoo! Hoo! It works! Dodged another bullet! :D

Got word that our SA8300 is to get "Navigated" Tuesdayish. I'll start recording my saved things today.

Has anyone with an 8300HD DVR been "gatored" this week in the TWC Triad area? I had a phone call a week ago saying it would be done either Tues or Weds of this week but, so far, no "gator".

Has anyone with an 8300HD DVR been "gatored" this week in the TWC Triad area? I had a phone call a week ago saying it would be done either Tues or Weds of this week but, so far, no "gator".

I was off yesterday. Took my 8300HD in traded it for a new 8240HDC right out of the box. No Samsungs yet. POOF hooked it up and now got NAVIGATOR on both my boxes. It was a easy shortcut. Got ODN rather than MDN which was nice. NAVIGATOR picture on 8240HDC blows my old 8300HD away. I could not belive the difference. It is a lot faster also. The HDC boxs have a lot more ram than the older 8300HD and SD units.

I was off yesterday. Took my 8300HD in traded it for a new 8240HDC right out of the box. No Samsungs yet. POOF hooked it up and now got NAVIGATOR on both my boxes. It was a easy shortcut. Got ODN rather than MDN which was nice. NAVIGATOR picture on 8240HDC blows my old 8300HD away. I could not belive the difference. It is a lot faster also. The HDC boxs have a lot more ram than the older 8300HD and SD units.

That's good Woody .... however I have an external drive which we use a lot, so until they get ODN fixed to allow the esata to work I'll wait for MDN. I may switch later if they ever get esata working on the HDCs.

Has anyone with an 8300HD DVR been "gatored" this week in the TWC Triad area? I had a phone call a week ago saying it would be done either Tues or Weds of this week but, so far, no "gator".

I got the same phone message and I too have not yet been Gatored. (I am not complaining.)

I was off yesterday. Took my 8300HD in traded it for a new 8240HDC right out of the box. No Samsungs yet. POOF hooked it up and now got NAVIGATOR on both my boxes. It was a easy shortcut. Got ODN rather than MDN which was nice. NAVIGATOR picture on 8240HDC blows my old 8300HD away. I could not belive the difference. It is a lot faster also. The HDC boxs have a lot more ram than the older 8300HD and SD units.

Thanks for the heads up. If I ever get Gatored and find it slow, I'll keep this in mind as a possible solution.

NAVIGATOR picture on 8240HDC blows my old 8300HD away. I could not belive the difference.

Are you saying the picture quality is better on the 8240HDC than it was on the 8300HD?

Are you saying the picture quality is better on the 8240HDC than it was on the 8300HD?

Yes the picture quality was vastly improved on the 8240HDC over my old 8300HD. I was very supprised at the difference in the HD and Digitial picture quality.The speed was also faster.

My next door neighbor has a 8300Hd and he got Navigator last night. We live off Friendly Avenue and both my neighbors were Navigated last night the other one has a 8240HDC that had SARA but now Navigator.

i traded my 8300hd in for the 8240hdc and i can also tell a big improvement in the motion in basketball games in hd , it looks to have less blurr in programs that have fast movement, TW says boxes are the same but the pic is sure different and i like the navigator guide alot faster than old one

WGHP officially files to move its DTV to 35.

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-2339A1.pdf

WGHP officially files to move its DTV to 35.

Sweeet! :) And the NEW splicer to boot! :D

WGHP officially files to move its DTV to 35.

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-2339A1.pdf

so does this mean instead of FOX8 it will become FOX35?

so does this mean instead of FOX8 it will become FOX35?

No. We will still be FOX8 like WFMY is still channel 2 (RF 51) and WXII is still channel 12 (RF 31).

The notice that Theo1080 lists is the notice for public comment on our filing of Oct 14th. The FCC hasn't granted the channel change yet. It says the FCC agrees with our reasons and wants the public to comment on the change in a 10 day window after it is published in the Federal Register (so the window hasn't opened yet) and a reply period starting 25 days after it is published in the Federal Register, if they so feel like it before they adjudicate our request. It is SOP for the FCC in a matter like this.

My guess is it will be after first of the year before this is adjudicated and Bob (down boy) will not be able to turn up WOLO until sometime in the spring at the earliest since once the FCC (hopefully) approves this, we then have to file more paperwork to be granted a Construction Permit to build what we already have built and on the air. Once that is granted, we can then file paperwork to license channel 35 and then we can look at turning channel 8 off. It isn't as easy or takes place as quick as it looks.

i traded my 8300hd in for the 8240hdc and i can also tell a big improvement in the motion in basketball games in hd , it looks to have less blurr in programs that have fast movement, TW says boxes are the same but the pic is sure different and i like the navigator guide alot faster than old one

Your correct the sports shows are a lot more crisp and clear on the 8240HDC over the 8300HD.

I'm not sure if it's a Navigator issue or a Triad one, but several of my series recordings haven't updated and scheduled for the week. One should be set for Sunday night. I checked - the series recording is still set and the show is labeled as new, but it's not on the list. A few times - since the 'upgrade' - it has taken a day or two after a recording for the list to repopulate for the next week, but I've not seen anything like this.

Since I'm still learning/deciding about Navigator, I was hoping someone might have some advice: Do I need to reboot the box? Manually set only this one showing? Delete and redo the series schedule?

Thanks in advance for any help.

I'm not sure if it's a Navigator issue or a Triad one, but several of my series recordings haven't updated and scheduled for the week. One should be set for Sunday night. I checked - the series recording is still set and the show is labeled as new, but it's not on the list. A few times - since the 'upgrade' - it has taken a day or two after a recording for the list to repopulate for the next week, but I've not seen anything like this.

Since I'm still learning/deciding about Navigator, I was hoping someone might have some advice: Do I need to reboot the box? Manually set only this one showing? Delete and redo the series schedule?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Just to be on the safe side. When I first got Navigator I deleated all my series and reset them. Have not had a single problem. No one told me to do this but in the change from SARA to NAVIGATOR I did it just to err on the side of caution. How it would have worked long term without doing that I have no idea.

When I first got Navigator I deleated all my series and reset them.

I never used any kind of series recording settings before this 'upgrade' so all of the series scheduling is new since Navigator. Since I never got any kind of manual for the box during my install, anything I learned was trial and error. Kind of like I;m doing now, albeit with some expert advice here.

It doesn't help that I'm frustrated right now by burning a recording to DVD. Since the background copy featured was deleted during my software improvement, I can't do anything else with my TV until the recording is finished. :mad:

The future copy to VCR feature in Navigator may respect the copy flags. This could make archiving harder as sometimes they abuse the copy flags. If a channel is marked Copy Once then making an archive of a DVR recording violates the flag. Copy Never is just that. You can't make a copy of it.

If you copy Copy One Gen marked content, after it's done the source is supposed to render the copy on the source unusable (eradicated if possible) not just un-copyable. You get to keep one copy, period.

The cable providers used to play fast-and-loose with copy protection such as marking Copy One Gen content Copy One Gen on output (should be marked "Copy No More" and marking PPV and pay-VOD as "Copy Never" on output, but allowing copies of it to be made on their own leased DVRs, but now that they have to use CableCARDs in their leased equipment, any such games become licensing contract violations. The CableCARD, DFAST and the new <tru2way> licensing agreements (as well as 47 CFR §76.1904) very clearly say what you can do with content which emerges from a CableCARD (protected by DFAST) according to how its marked.

Analog channels can also have this kind of copy protection. Normally they only use copy flags on Premium channels and keep the rest at copy freely. If not they could use it on everything but some channel providers want the flags enabled.

Your correct the sports shows are a lot more crisp and clear on the 8240HDC over the 8300HD.

I swapped out my 8300HD (still SARA) for a 8240HDC (Navigator). I can't tell any difference in the PQ. Doesn't seem much faster than SARA was on the 8300.

My big complaint is there is no progress bar when you pause, etc. a recorded show.

The future copy to VCR feature in Navigator may respect the copy flags. This could make archiving harder as sometimes they abuse the copy flags. If a channel is marked Copy Once then making an archive of a DVR recording violates the flag. Copy Never is just that. You can't make a copy of it.



Analog channels can also have this kind of copy protection. Normally they only use copy flags on Premium channels and keep the rest at copy freely. If not they could use it on everything but some channel providers want the flags enabled.

From what I understand you will be able to make copys from your dvr to the dvd burner of material you have recorded from cable channels. The new software I am told will let you make one copy and one copy only of a paid on demand movie. Their even might be a charge to copy a pay for view movie. It would be like buying a cheap dvd Copying dvr recordings would still be free..

I swapped out my 8300HD (still SARA) for a 8240HDC (Navigator). I can't tell any difference in the PQ. Doesn't seem much faster than SARA was on the 8300.

My big complaint is there is no progress bar when you pause, etc. a recorded show.

My picture quality improved at least 30%. Sports games are now more focused also. If you look at the upper left corner of the banner it gives you your progress. Strange place to put it but it's there.:)

Still waiting (with fear) on Navigator here.

I did go to my brother's house Friday night and didn't feel much better about it when seeing it on his 8240HDC. First off, I didn't notice any particular improvement in image quality (we have nearly identical TV sets). It also looked slow, slow, slow. They were particularly vocal about how much they hated the fact when you scrolled up it wouldn't skip over channels you aren't subscribed to, and then you would get stuck on that channel (without being able to flip away) for a long delay until the screen showed up saying you don't have the channel. Everyone I personally know locally who has it has said they don't like it. (This is around 5 households.)

I was supposed to get it this week, but I am getting a brief respite. I still may consider the 8240HDC after I get it, if it truly runs it better than an 8300HD. If what I saw Friday was faster, then I shudder to think what it will be like on my box when it gets here.

I'm not sure if it's a Navigator issue or a Triad one, but several of my series recordings haven't updated and scheduled for the week. One should be set for Sunday night. I checked - the series recording is still set and the show is labeled as new, but it's not on the list. A few times - since the 'upgrade' - it has taken a day or two after a recording for the list to repopulate for the next week, but I've not seen anything like this.

Since I'm still learning/deciding about Navigator, I was hoping someone might have some advice: Do I need to reboot the box? Manually set only this one showing? Delete and redo the series schedule?

Thanks in advance for any help.
Happen to me with Heroes AND House the week after the update.....had to go back an set it up to record those 2 shows again and now if works fine

had to go back an set it up to record those 2 shows again and now if works fine

I rebooted the box and it had no effect. I have no problem deleting the series and rescheduling any or all of them, but, since this is a new process for a lot of us in the Triad, I wanted to check first to see if others were having similar problems. I read where there were some Charlotte issues (with FOX and CBS I think), but my problem seems to have no pattern as to networks.

I may just go back to scheduling everything manually - if the series scheduling is subject not to work, and I have to check manually to see if it's going to record, I might as well keep my finger on it so I don't inadvertently forget one by trusting the auto settings.

If you look at the upper left corner of the banner it gives you your progress. Strange place to put it but it's there.:)

Problem fixed. There was no progress info in the banner, until I did a hard re-boot. Now all is well.

I rebooted the box and it had no effect. I have no problem deleting the series and rescheduling any or all of them, but, since this is a new process for a lot of us in the Triad, I wanted to check first to see if others were having similar problems. I read where there were some Charlotte issues (with FOX and CBS I think), but my problem seems to have no pattern as to networks.

I may just go back to scheduling everything manually - if the series scheduling is subject not to work, and I have to check manually to see if it's going to record, I might as well keep my finger on it so I don't inadvertently forget one by trusting the auto settings.

After the reset series recording has worked 100% for me. I have arround 40 series includeing several news and sports.

After the reset series recording has worked 100% for me.

After resetting most of mine, it still seems to be hit and miss. I'm hoping that the schedule will fill in before it's due to record, but I'm having to keep watch, defeating the purpose of scheduling.

That reminded me of a question... what's the recommended way of making requests/expressing displeasure to TWC in the Triad? Is there someone local to contact directly? Just call the generic number and talk to a CSR? An e-mail address to use?

Thanks for any guidance.

That reminded me of a question... what's the recommended way of making requests/expressing displeasure to TWC in the Triad? Is there someone local to contact directly? Just call the generic number and talk to a CSR? An e-mail address to use?

Thanks for any guidance.

I had a couple email contacts within TWC Triad's engineering office but the last time I emailed them an issue the emails were bounced by their email server. I plan to send my next request to the regional VP of Operations, Carol Hevey but I am going to have to guess at her email address. Based on previous email addresses I had hers "should" be carol.hevey@twcable.com . Try that and see if it gets through. Let us know if your message gets thru.

My experience with the generic number and the random CSR is that the only solution they have in their bag of tricks is to reboot the box and if that doesn't work to schedule a field tech to come to your house. Sometimes I think I know more about their system than the average CSR.

After resetting most of mine, it still seems to be hit and miss. I'm hoping that the schedule will fill in before it's due to record, but I'm having to keep watch, defeating the purpose of scheduling.

That reminded me of a question... what's the recommended way of making requests/expressing displeasure to TWC in the Triad? Is there someone local to contact directly? Just call the generic number and talk to a CSR? An e-mail address to use?

Thanks for any guidance.
I have two ideas to assist you. First have you rebooted your box since getting Navigator. If not unplug it, wait 30 seconds then replug. See if that helps. Also have you gone to your series manager and under series priority set up your shows priority yet. That may help out a lot. Hope one of these solves your problem. Cheers
:)

Still no Navigator for 8300HD on Tower rd.......

Has TW changed the QAM channels again?

My brother in W-S is only getting a couple of stations, not nearly all the broadcast stations he used to get.

Isn't it a law that the cable companies pass local broadcast station's HD on QAM?

-amos

Still no Navigator for 8300HD on Tower rd.......

I would call TWC and ask when. You could also trade in your box for a 8240HDC and that would mostly assure you of Navigator. Cheers

Still no Navigator for 8300HD on Tower rd.......

You're not alone. I'm in Greensboro as well (down by Sedgefield) and my SA8300HD has not been "gatored". So far, they are late by a week from when they indicated to me it would happen.

You're not alone. I'm in Greensboro as well (down by Sedgefield) and my SA8300HD has not been "gatored". So far, they are late by a week from when they indicated to me it would happen.
Yep me too ... we were notified last week that it would be Tues or Weds, but so far no go. I am not in any hurry to get it, when it comes it comes. I am not interested in any HDC box since the ODN software does not support eSATA and I have an external drive connected to my 8300HD. BTW I live off Westridge near Hobbs.

Hey all,
I have the navigator and also the 8240HDC box. My question is will this new navigator support adding an external drive? Also if anyone is using an extra drive what kind will work with the 8240. THANKS for any help. Rod

Has TW changed the QAM channels again?

My brother in W-S is only getting a couple of stations, not nearly all the broadcast stations he used to get.

Isn't it a law that the cable companies pass local broadcast station's HD on QAM?

-amosYes, the ATSC standard is enacted as law by reference and it includes the use of QAM on cable systems. CFR specifically says that local stations are not to be encrypted. CFR also talks about publishing programming lineups, but for some reason this apparently isn't enforced for QAM clear channel assignments.

Hey all,
I have the navigator and also the 8240HDC box. My question is will this new navigator support adding an external drive? Also if anyone is using an extra drive what kind will work with the 8240. THANKS for any help. Rod

Check out the following thread ... Navigator does not support external drives on HDC set top boxes. It may in the future.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1183217

Hey all,
I have the navigator and also the 8240HDC box. My question is will this new navigator support adding an external drive? Also if anyone is using an extra drive what kind will work with the 8240. THANKS for any help. Rod

Sadly no. The 8300hd boxes did. Both Navigator but different versions.

Yes, the ATSC standard is enacted as law by reference and it includes the use of QAM on cable systems. CFR specifically says that local stations are not to be encrypted. CFR also talks about publishing programming lineups, but for some reason this apparently isn't enforced for QAM clear channel assignments.
has anybody else in the triad noticed the QAM channels missing? What are you guys getting now?

I'm in the Winston-Salem area, and am still getting the ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, 3 UNC-TV channels, THIS (movie channel), and a couple of others whose names escape me. I haven't seen any recent changes (other than Time Warner occasionally moving a couple of them around). I also haven't found any of the new HD channels they were supposed to add (I guess they didn't put them in the clear).

I've had Navigator for almost a month and it's definitely better than SARA. And definitely slower. But one feature I really like is when you're fast forwarding through the commercials and you hit play, even if it's a minute into the show, it will automatically start at the point the show starts.

Also, at work in downtown GSO, we had a old SA 2200 box that was upgraded to Navigator and the channel bar at the bottom of the screen is semi-transparent, a real nice effect and good for plasma screens. But here in WS, my 8240 has only solid channel bars. I wish we had the option to change the transparency or even the colors.

Anyone else have transparent channel bars?

I've had Navigator for almost a month and it's definitely better than SARA. And definitely slower. But one feature I really like is when you're fast forwarding through the commercials and you hit play, even if it's a minute into the show, it will automatically start at the point the show starts.

Also, at work in downtown GSO, we had a old SA 2200 box that was upgraded to Navigator and the channel bar at the bottom of the screen is semi-transparent, a real nice effect and good for plasma screens. But here in WS, my 8240 has only solid channel bars. I wish we had the option to change the transparency or even the colors.

Anyone else have transparent channel bars?
I also love the 15 minute skip feature when you are watching a show or movie and want to move forward fast.

We have beaten the radio stations to the water hole this year. Exclusively for over-the-air viewers WGSR's 47.3 channel is now all Christmas programming, and most of it locally produced.

At present, we are airing Christmas parades from some of your favorite towns and cities from years past, but The Christmas Channel will be THE place to see what's going on for the holidays.

Put us on the television for all of your Christmas parties and see your neighbors celebrating the season. And of course, let us know what you think of the idea.

Later . . . .

Sometime in the past day or so, D* has added to the Program Guides of H20's, HR20's and those receivers with the AM-21 OTA receivers, not only our channel 8 OTA signal, but also the channel 35 OTA signal labeled as WGHPSTA. We didn't tell them to do that. I assume they must have seen the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on our request to go back to 35 permanently and must still have had the channel 35 setup still in place and turned it back on. As far as we know, D* (and E* by default since they use the same receive equipment) still has channel 8 on the satellite. Our plan is to alert the MSO's who receive our signal of the channel change when the Notice is approved and we file for the CP for channel 35. This will give them a short time to go ahead and get switched to 35 so when the License to Cover is filed for 35, we can turn off channel 8.

Last night, (11-9) did those of you on TWC in Greensboro experience any issues on any signal? We have reports that all the local channels in Greensboro were out during prime time and into the 10 o'clock hour.

Last night, (11-9) did those of you on TWC in Greensboro experience any issues on any signal? We have reports that all the local channels in Greensboro were out during prime time and into the 10 o'clock hour.

RoadRunner and all channels on TWC were completely out in my area (Westridge and Hobbs) during that time.

On an unrelated note, anyone else noticing major macro-blocking on WFMY via TWC, especially during sporting events? The college and NFL games have been horrendous the past few weeks. Wondering if it is a local problem (WFMY and/or TWC-Greensboro), or a bigger issues??

Last night, (11-9) did those of you on TWC in Greensboro experience any issues on any signal? We have reports that all the local channels in Greensboro were out during prime time and into the 10 o'clock hour.

Had this occur at my home too. Lost all the broadcast channels and most cable channels. Finally came back on around midnight. I live north of Friendly between Holden and Westridge.

Not on Tower, we had locals as of 9pm last night when we turned the TV off.

RoadRunner and all channels on TWC were completely out in my area (Westridge and Hobbs) during that time.

On an unrelated note, anyone else noticing major macro-blocking on WFMY via TWC, especially during sporting events? The college and NFL games have been horrendous the past few weeks. Wondering if it is a local problem (WFMY and/or TWC-Greensboro), or a bigger issues??


I haven't noticed it on WFMY, but ESPN-HD has looked horrible via TWC recently. Almost as bad as CBScollegesports HD, which looks horrendous.

I haven't noticed it on WFMY, but ESPN-HD has looked horrible via TWC recently. Almost as bad as CBScollegesports HD, which looks horrendous.

College sports and NFL on CBS (WFMY) is what I meant. They have had almost unwatchable macroblocking on TWC (not sure about OTA).

Not on Tower, we had locals as of 9pm last night when we turned the TV off.

It didn't happen until about 9:25.

College sports and NFL on CBS (WFMY) is what I meant. They have had almost unwatchable macroblocking on TWC (not sure about OTA).

I know you meant WFMY. I was pointing out that CBScollegesports looks bad -- even worse than WFMY.

NBC17eng in the Raleigh thread said Time Warner was going to be changing QAM frequencies on Wednesday (I think it was) in the Triangle area. I wonder if that is part of what is going on around Greensboro as well?

A co-worker complained to me that his cable went out during Lie to Me last night. I just skipped through my DVRed episode from last night and we didn't appear to have an issue here out on the NW fringe of Greensboro. (Still no Navigator here either, btw...)

It didn't happen until about 9:25.

I live on Rock Haven, off Westridge near Hobbs and I just checked our recordings of Trauma and Lie to Me and they both cut off around 9:25. Not sure when the stations returned.

BTW still no Navigator (not complaining though). I am one of the rare folks who doesn't mind Sara, it does what I need it to do.

It appears TWC lost a node in that general area and that was the problem according to my contact.

RoadRunner and all channels on TWC were completely out in my area (Westridge and Hobbs) during that time.

On an unrelated note, anyone else noticing major macro-blocking on WFMY via TWC, especially during sporting events? The college and NFL games have been horrendous the past few weeks. Wondering if it is a local problem (WFMY and/or TWC-Greensboro), or a bigger issues??

yeah i have seen same thing on cbssports 590 and 520 but wfmy9 was ok and the weather channel had pixiling too ,sometimes sound breaks up also

Hear are some thoughts of a TWC user in Milwaukee on Navigator. It appears they have had it for quite some time.

As I sit here reflecting over Time Warner's actions the past several months here is my take on Time Warner.

1. Navigator - Still buggy. After 3 stb's in the last 4 months I still get random re-boots. Also series recording is still flawed as I have had several recordings stop after only 5 minutes. Keyword seach - not available. In fact try searching for a movie that is on right now. It is a major task. Also the so called Start Over doesn't work.
2. Theme lineup - Totally useless. Now you must jump around to view your channels. And what is up with that new Digital Choice package? Here I thought I paid for the top tier. Ha! Now I should pay $4 to $5 for a few channels? The only one in the pack I would ever watch is C & I. Plus they are not commercial free.
3. Removing WTTW from the Kenosha lineup. TWC says they did it to save bandwidth. Why not knock off a few of those shopping channels?
4. When will we get the HD channels we all want? Come on TWC, get on the ball.
5. NFL Network - Here again TWC wants to charge for this so we will not get it for free. But watch, when NFL & TWC ever agree, they will probably put the NFL network and MLB network in the Sports Tier and charge us another $4 or $5.
6. The Remote - Still bugs me that I can't control my surround volume without switching modes. What the heck, TWC get with the home theater program.
7. I have two different stb's, the SA8300HDC and the Samsung SMT H3090 and the only differences I see is the Sammy has a stretched program guide and the SA8300HDC is silver and the SMT H3090 is black.

It appears TWC lost a node in that general area and that was the problem according to my contact.

There is a major hub at Westridge and Whitehurst, that is probably the one.

Hear are some thoughts of a TWC user in Milwaukee on Navigator. It appears they have had it for quite some time.


6. The Remote - Still bugs me that I can't control my surround volume without switching modes. What the heck, TWC get with the home theater program.



Why dont you get with the "home theater program" and not use the standard remote. Universal remotes available for a reason.

Hear are some thoughts of a TWC user in Milwaukee on Navigator. It appears they have had it for quite some time.

As I sit here reflecting over Time Warner's actions the past several months here is my take on Time Warner.

1. Navigator - Still buggy. After 3 stb's in the last 4 months I still get random re-boots. Also series recording is still flawed as I have had several recordings stop after only 5 minutes. Keyword seach - not available. In fact try searching for a movie that is on right now. It is a major task. Also the so called Start Over doesn't work.
2. Theme lineup - Totally useless. Now you must jump around to view your channels. And what is up with that new Digital Choice package? Here I thought I paid for the top tier. Ha! Now I should pay $4 to $5 for a few channels? The only one in the pack I would ever watch is C & I. Plus they are not commercial free.
3. Removing WTTW from the Kenosha lineup. TWC says they did it to save bandwidth. Why not knock off a few of those shopping channels?
4. When will we get the HD channels we all want? Come on TWC, get on the ball.
5. NFL Network - Here again TWC wants to charge for this so we will not get it for free. But watch, when NFL & TWC ever agree, they will probably put the NFL network and MLB network in the Sports Tier and charge us another $4 or $5.
6. The Remote - Still bugs me that I can't control my surround volume without switching modes. What the heck, TWC get with the home theater program.
7. I have two different stb's, the SA8300HDC and the Samsung SMT H3090 and the only differences I see is the Sammy has a stretched program guide and the SA8300HDC is silver and the SMT H3090 is black.


Gladly I have had nothing but a great experiece with Navigator. Not any of this fellows problems. I understand keyword seach is to be added early next year. All I can report own are my on experience which has been very pleasant so far. Is Navigator perfect no. But it's a huge upgrade over SARA which almost made me ill to use. I have used TIVO and PASSPORT and at this point both are still superior to Navigator. Haveing said that Navigator is a good 10 years ahead of SARA. SARA was one of the worst IPG's I have ever exoerienced.

I know you meant WFMY. I was pointing out that CBScollegesports looks bad -- even worse than WFMY.

Just to add to the discussion. I mainly only watch the HD channels on TWC, I have notice a sharp decrease in visual quality over the past month or so, as well as pixelation on fast moving scenes. I would get that randomely in the past, it seems to be happening more often. I know its not the tv as my blu-ray looks flawless.

Is it them jamming more HD channels into limited space? Or some other reason?

Hope it gets better soon.

I have notice a sharp decrease in visual quality over the past month or so, as well as pixelation on fast moving scenes.

For me, the pixelation has been in the last week or so, on just about anything we've watched live or played back from the DVR (mainly HD channels for both live and recorded stuff). The quality has seemed really good until this.

Is it them jamming more HD channels into limited space?

Short answer, YES.

For me, the pixelation has been in the last week or so, on just about anything we've watched live or played back from the DVR (mainly HD channels for both live and recorded stuff). The quality has seemed really good until this.

Agreed. I've noticed the degradation of the signal on most of the channels, mainly during fast-moving scenes. I hope TWC addresses this major issue. Of the channels I watch, ESPN-HD has been the worst.

WXII was unavailable for about 10 minutes tonight on DirecTV. It just came back up. DirecTV had a message up about it saying that they were aware of the problem and not to call.

As if you guys weren't having enough fun with Navigator right now...


http://www.wxii12.com/money/21598710/detail.html

As if you guys weren't having enough fun with Navigator right now...


http://www.wxii12.com/money/21598710/detail.html


Thankfully I still have a year and a half on the price lock guarantee.

Besides, I got a letter in the mail today about Clearwire's 4G internet service is available in Greensboro/Winston Salem. So anyone can switch to them and then either get Dish/DirecTV.

So, I guess that everyone is not getting "Free HD", so what is the difference if you pay $10 extra for HD on Dish/DirecTV.

I got a letter in the mail today about Clearwire's 4G internet service

Any pricing info or specific web address given in the letter for further info?

So, I guess that everyone is not getting "Free HD", so what is the difference if you pay $10 extra for HD on Dish/DirecTV.

No one gets "free HD". You pay for it one way or another. It is just called something else if not disclosed up front. Just more marketing BS.

Any pricing info or specific web address given in the letter for further info?

http://www.clear.com

has time warner compressed some of their HD channels in last few days especially espnhd and speedhd just dont have the clairty they did have or maybe its just me idk

It's not just you. Ballgames looked horrible yesterday with tons of compression artifacts. Don't know what's up.

WFMY looked awful yesterday. Usually, I think the networks look just fine on cable, but the pixellation was off the charts for USC/Florida. The other HD games I was watching looked much better at the time.

Still no Navigator to my SA8300HD box. Anyone else in Greensboro that got left behind?

Still no Navigator to my SA8300HD box. Anyone else in Greensboro that got left behind?

Yes, and may I remain behind! :)

Thank God I got Navigator the SARA interface almost made me puke.

Still no Navigator to my SA8300HD box. Anyone else in Greensboro that got left behind?

still not here (Rock Haven and Westridge) and I'm not complaining ....

Not here either.

Just got a call from CS and he said that due to some scheduling problems the downloads have been pushed back but he thinks the boxes should get updated within 1-2 weeks if things go right.

"Besides, I got a letter in the mail today about Clearwire's 4G internet service is available in Greensboro/Winston Salem. So anyone can switch to them and then either get Dish/DirecTV."


Two words for you:

Bandwidth Cap.


And $10 per gig of data that you go over.

$10 PER GIG! That's ridiculous. Streaming video from netflix et al will eat that up.

Have heard from a source that keyword search , manual recording and copy to vcr should be added to Navigator as new features early next year.

Have heard from a source that keyword search , manual recording and copy to vcr should be added to Navigator as new features early next year.I had a call a few weeks ago that Navagator would be deployed to my HD boxes in mid-October.
It was from Time-Warner... also got a nice postcard in the mail... stating the same. It is close to a month's delay from the advertised schedule... and I still have the old SARA interface.

Clearly the deployment is not going according to schedule. I have little faith that any future enhancements will be on schedule either. It is good the features are being re-added next year. who knows... by the time Navigator is deployed to us, they might already be part of it.:D

I had a call a few weeks ago that Navagator would be deployed to my HD boxes in mid-October.
It was from Time-Warner... also got a nice postcard in the mail... stating the same. It is close to a month's delay from the advertised schedule... and I still have the old SARA interface.

Clearly the deployment is not going according to schedule. I have little faith that any future enhancements will be on schedule either. It is good the features are being re-added next year. who knows... by the time Navigator is deployed to us, they might already be part of it.:D

I have 2 8240HDC boxes both have had Navigator deployed on them. My neighbor has a 8300HD and has gotton Navigatpr. Which box or boxes do you have.

two boxes... a 8300HD and a 3250HD

two boxes... a 8300HD and a 3250HD

You should be getting Navigator within the next 7 to 10 days according to TWC. All the new HD channels they have added or are adding put them 2 weeks behind schedule on Navigator. CHEERS

You should be getting Navigator within the next 7 to 10 days according to TWC. All the new HD channels they have added or are adding put them 2 weeks behind schedule on Navigator. CHEERS


I dont mind getting navigator, but I wish they would fix their ****** picture quality as of late, before allocating more company resources to rolling this thing out... If it gets any worse its not going to matter which GUI is on my box, I'm not going to watch it...

I dont mind getting navigator, but I wish they would fix their ****** picture quality as of late, before allocating more company resources to rolling this thing out... If it gets any worse its not going to matter which GUI is on my box, I'm not going to watch it...

I'm glad I'm not the only one that has noticed the crappy picture lately. CBSHD and ESPNHD have looked like garbage. I hope it's not permanent. I don't really care about navigator. Just hope they improve the picture quality.

FYI - For those with 4:3 TV's with tuners that use the AFD aspect ratio code (not all do, some CECB's do and some don't), I have "turned it on" (wish it were THAT simple) and it appears to be working as expected. I tested it yesterday with a LG CECB and a multi thousand dollar AFD decoder and they both worked the same. (whoo hoo!) Those programs in 16:9 that we air are now being letterboxed when broadcast. Everything else is 4:3 center cut. The news is still coded 4:3 center cut even though it is broadcast widescreen (please don't ask, it's a news thing). Our default when no coding is present is 4:3 center cut. FOX Network programming has had the AFD code letterbox for several months now with scripted programming (like House, Lie to Me, Glee, etc) and certain other programming while sports and reality (Dance and Chief Ramsey, etc) has been coded 4:3 center cut. Not sure what they are going to do with American Idol. And not sure how many cablecos are using AFD for the SD downconvert either. I know DirecTV isn't, so far (but they have OTHER issues I wish they would fix first with our signal) and TWC is looking at doing it (talked to their headend engineer yesterday) and those are the only ones I am aware of. This is still all beta at this point, but I would hope we would adopt this as the norm to handle those with 4:3 formatted TV's. Of course the final decision is WAY above my pay grade! I just make it work! :D

Just as a sidebar, WXII appears to be AFD coding during at least network (NBC has been a large supporter of AFD so no surprise there) and coding 4:3 center cut for their news. I am never around to see if their widescreen syndicated programming is coded AFD letterbox yet (my guess is if the code is on the programming it is but I am not sure if they are using it on local programming other than a 4:3 center cut default which many stations are using off their encoders). WFMY doesn't appear to be coding with AFD. They always come up letterbox no matter what the programming. CBS Network doesn't support the use of AFD anyway so they may be following CBS' lead. Haven't talked to anyone over there in a while. WXLV appears to be AFD coding network only that I can see. ABC also supports AFD.

WFMY looked awful yesterday. Usually, I think the networks look just fine on cable, but the pixellation was off the charts for USC/Florida. The other HD games I was watching looked much better at the time.I seem to recall that they must pass OTA broadcasts with the equivalent bandwidth, but whether they actually do is another story. Cable networks are only subject to agreements between the network & the cable company. I think HBO used to have some requirements in this area, but they may have abandoned them as their mangement is taking a very different view towards original programming.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that has noticed the crappy picture lately. CBSHD and ESPNHD have looked like garbage. I hope it's not permanent. I don't really care about navigator. Just hope they improve the picture quality.

Agreed. ESPNHD has been unwatchable.

Agreed. ESPNHD has been unwatchable.

Agreed.

And the Florida/SC game last Saturday looked horrible too on CBSHD. But OTA it looks great. Just sucks when you have to DVR some games.

No one has asked, but I did find out what happened to WXII yesterday. For those on TWC, WXII was off the air from shortly after noon to almost 8pm last night. WXII has a fiber link to TWC so those subscribers didn't notice anything. Anyway, it seems that since the transition, the air conditioning on the mountain is not working as hard since the UHF transmitter is water cooled, there is very little if any heat given off and of course there is no VHF transmitter running producing heat to keep the moisture down when the air is brought in as fresh air since the outside temp is low enough and with it, laden with moisture from all the rain last week, the humidity was up in the transmitter room. Someone mopped the floor yesterday morning and it raised the humidity up enough that it arced one of the power supplies in the transmitter and shut it down and it wouldn't come back up. It took hours to track the problem down and after having to fly in new parts that still didn't bring it up, they found the humidity problem. They brought in dehumidifiers and after the humidity went down, the transmitter fired right up again. They have no backup transmitter nor backup antenna system. That is what happened.

Agreed. ESPNHD has been unwatchable.

I read somewhere, don't know if was here or on another website, that TWC has there SDV channels based in Raleigh and they have it fiber fed into Greensboro and Charlotte. Although, I thought that ESPNHD is not on the SDV unless TWC has moved it to SDV or that Raleigh has the HD channels as well.

I know I did not dream this up. :)

alot of time warners hd channels have been compressed since they have added the new ones recently is what i was told by a tech that came to my house and he said he didnt know if it was going to change anytime soon since bathwith was becoming a big problem with channel missing in some nodes, i think we all should get half price since it seems to be half PQ that it was a month ago , sports are extremely bad now

Does anybody know when Uverse will be here in GSO?

...Someone mopped the floor yesterday morning and it raised the humidity up enough that it arced one of the power supplies in the transmitter and shut it down and it wouldn't come back up.
I'm curious if you know how high the humidity was, or if there is a typical level that would cause such a problem? I'm sure there are operating ranges listed on the equipment, but still, that's pretty crazy.

I'm curious if you know how high the humidity was, or if there is a typical level that would cause such a problem? I'm sure there are operating ranges listed on the equipment, but still, that's pretty crazy.

My guess is, no one thought about it since it hadn't been an issue before when the VHF air cooled transmitter was on the air.

You have to keep air moving around the transmitters, even water cooled ones. When the temp drops low enough (usually below 60 degrees), to save the equipment and operational cost, HVAC units will pull in outside air instead of using the compressors for cool air. When this happens, any moisture in the air gets sucked in too. If you don't have some mechanism to dehumidify the air, condensation (cool, moist air) builds up on surfaces and in a UHF transmitter, you have high levels of voltage on surfaces, starting at 500 volts up to 35,000 volts. Water is a great conductor of electricity and at those volt potential levels, a relatively small amount of moisture can cause an arc over creating havoc.

When we ran the old air cooled tube channel 8 transmitter in the old transmitter building, we had to keep a LARGE amount of air flowing through the building year round (the air intakes were in the back doors of the transmitter racks) due to the radiant heat load coming off the transmitter. We had no heating in the building. Didn't need it with a 25,000 watt heater sitting there running 24/7 (we would recirculate the exhaust to heat the building in the winter). In the winter time, we pulled in outside air and moisture was always an issue. Since the transmitter ran all the time and produced heat all the time, moisture inside the transmitter was never an issue. Moisture everywhere else inside the building was another story! Rust would appear on exposed metal surfaces like the metal clip on clip boards and metal chairs and desks and equipment and racks within a month or two every winter when the temps dropped below 60 degrees and stayed there as outside air was pulled in 24/7 for circulation. Remember this transmitter alone pulled 12,000 CFM to keep it in it's operating temperature range of 150 degrees! That is A LOT of air flow!

I know WXII uses a water cooled Harris UHF transmitter that doesn't produce much ambient heat like the old air cooled VHF transmitters did, even solid state. I also suspect they are not using a variable speed fan on their HVAC system so it is sucking max all the time whether it is needed or not and with all the wet weather over the last week, the humidity builds up since there is no heat to dry the air out, the humidity hangs around and settles on things in and outside the transmitter.

My channel 8 solid state air cooled digital transmitter running 1.2 kW produces way more radiant heat than my water cooled 50 kW UHF digital transmitter does. In the analog days, when the same channel 8 solid state transmitter ran 32 kW of analog, with no HVAC running, it would raise the room temperature 30 degrees in 10 minutes. We ran 30 tons of HVAC to keep that one room at 72 degrees and in the summer with outside temps at 100 degrees, that system was running flat out and was having a hard time keeping up. In contrast, my UHF transmitter room, it too has a 30 ton HVAC system, but unlike the channel 8 HVAC system, the channel 35 system runs not only the that transmitter room, but the rest of the building, less the channel 8 room and it has a variable speed fan that runs at 30% speed because the heat load is so much smaller. This also means that less moisture is pulled in when operating in "economy mode" in the winter when it is pulling in air from the outside and the normal heat that is given off from the equipment keeps the moisture in check. We have FOX to thank for all that one, it was their idea. I would suspect WXII's and WFMY's transmitter buildings are not that sophisticated in their HVAC since it does cost more money to do it this way, but we don't have to worry about moisture though.

Pay me now. Pay me later. Yeah, it is a science and some black art this HVAC stuff! ;)

Does anybody know when Uverse will be here in GSO?

att said it would be in winston salem in mid 2010 when i checked a few months ago , so greensboro souldnt be far off if not ahead of it

Does anybody know when Uverse will be here in GSO?

I heard in 3 years.

Northstate is offering a service called Plex to people in their service area. Beside High Point I'm not sure who else is served by Northstate.

Here's a link to see if it's in your area

http://www.northstate.net/area_search.php

I know Northstate is associated with AT&T so I have wondered if Northstate's Plex service is a rebranded version of U-Verse since Plex is an IPTV service like U-Verse and FiOS. If it is really is U-Verse I wouldn't get it. I've read about some of U-Verse's technical limitations and these would keep me from getting it. However, FiOS doesn't have the same issues and I would love to get FiOS.

Humidity

It's a wonder mold doesn't grow. When you have no sunshine to burn off the humidity, like what we have been having down east for the last few weeks, and have temps not too hot or cold to run the HVAC, the air gets very heavy. Several times at home, I have had to turn on the A/C, even though the temperature wasn't more than 74 F I run the A/C for around a half hour to lower the humidity, then turn on the heat to warm it back to 70. The humidity had been 70% in the house, and that is too high.

I know Northstate is associated with AT&TThat association is only with wireless. AT&T Mobility (formerly Cingular) operates in Northstate's PCS spectrum. Under that agreement they can resell the wireless service.

Did anyone else have trouble watching or recording Flashforward on ABC 45 last night? I tried to watch it about 10 minutes delayed on my DVR but found it unwatchable, with video and audio dropouts, images freezing and/or pixelating, and other issues. The feed also seemed to be switching between HD and SD. I just had DirecTV installed on Wednesday so I'm wondering if there might be a problem on my end.

Did anyone else have trouble watching or recording Flashforward on ABC 45 last night? I tried to watch it about 10 minutes delayed on my DVR but found it unwatchable, with video and audio dropouts, images freezing and/or pixelating, and other issues. The feed also seemed to be switching between HD and SD. I just had DirecTV installed on Wednesday so I'm wondering if there might be a problem on my end.

It happened to me too. I have Time Warner and it was happening on both the HD and SD channels and also with the OTA antenna. Seems like an issue on ABC45's end.

You can view it online for anybody that missed it.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/109167/flashforward-believe

Thanks! I got a little paranoid after reading some posts on dbstalk about problems with D* recordings after the latest update, so I'm glad that's not it. At least the internet comes to the rescue when this happens.


It happened to me too. I have Time Warner and it was happening on both the HD and SD channels and also with the OTA antenna. Seems like an issue on ABC45's end.

You can view it online for anybody that missed it.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/109167/flashforward-believe