Hey, I apologize if the answer to this is buried in the thread somewhere, but I wanted to throw this out to the group.

I have a new LCD TV, and I am hooking my Comcast Moto DVR to the TV, using a DVI to HDMI cable. All is well until the screen flickers and then after about 4 seconds, goes black. Sound is still coming through, but no pic.

Now, if I switch inputs on the TV (to another port) and then switch back, the picture comes back.

Also, this doesn't happen if I run through my Tuner (but my DVR is running composite to the tuner, not DVI).

What is going on here? I just don't know enough to even find a good "Google" answer. So I thought I would try y'all.

Thanks for any thoughts!

Hey, I apologize if the answer to this is buried in the thread somewhere, but I wanted to throw this out to the group.

I have a new LCD TV, and I am hooking my Comcast Moto DVR to the TV, using a DVI to HDMI cable. All is well until the screen flickers and then after about 4 seconds, goes black. Sound is still coming through, but no pic.


Thanks for any thoughts!


Question: Are you coming out of the moto DVR with DVI and then converting to HDMI into the TV?

Hey, I apologize if the answer to this is buried in the thread somewhere, but I wanted to throw this out to the group.

I have a new LCD TV, and I am hooking my Comcast Moto DVR to the TV, using a DVI to HDMI cable. All is well until the screen flickers and then after about 4 seconds, goes black. Sound is still coming through, but no pic.

Now, if I switch inputs on the TV (to another port) and then switch back, the picture comes back.Sounds like the dreaded HDCP handshake issue. Try another Moto DVR or ask if a firmware upgrade is available for the Moto. With a new TV and an old DVR the Moto is likely the culprit. Still, it would be a good idea to check the TV manufacturer for possible FW upgrades, as well.

Sounds like the dreaded HDCP handshake issue. Try another Moto DVR or ask if a firmware upgrade is available for the Moto. With a new TV and an old DVR the Moto is likely the culprit. Still, it would be a good idea to check the TV manufacturer for possible FW upgrades, as well.

...or swap out your current DVR with one that has an HDMI out. You can swap it out free at the local office.

Grrrr. I know someone that can help. I'll send you a PM.

Comcaster is the man! :D

...or swap out your current DVR with one that has an HDMI out. You can swap it out free at the local office.

I second this suggestion. Go get the DCH3416 and say good bye to DVI :)

I am sort of the tech support for a company condo in Silverthorne and we use the Comcast HD-DVRs up there. The Comcast office there has one choice of cable box - the old Motorola 6412. I've seen online that they are probably all refurbished and shipped up there from somewhere, and they run really hot. It's kind of the Henry Ford thing - you can have any color you want as long as it's black. It would be nice to have a choice of something with a decent size hard drive or HDMI. I'm pretty surprised they can stay with a 3-4 year old box as their only offering.

I am sort of the tech support for a company condo in Silverthorne and we use the Comcast HD-DVRs up there. The Comcast office there has one choice of cable box - the old Motorola 6412. I've seen online that they are probably all refurbished and shipped up there from somewhere, and they run really hot. It's kind of the Henry Ford thing - you can have any color you want as long as it's black. It would be nice to have a choice of something with a decent size hard drive or HDMI. I'm pretty surprised they can stay with a 3-4 year old box as their only offering.

You should suggest they get a TiVo HD :)

Hey, I just wanted to thank folks for the their responses on my "hdcp handshake" problem. I'd never heard of that before, but once you gave me the phrase, Google allowed me to really do my homework. I have a new Sony 46W3000, with current FW, and no one thinks that is the problem.

So, I am going to have to change out my old Moto DVR one of these days (it's 95% full tonight, so it may be a little while!).

But I wanted to ask: has anyone in C-Springs gotten an upgraded Moto? I have the old 6412, and I'm wondering what to expect from the new box (aside from the hoped for cure for the the HDCP sync). Primarily I'm wondering about any new features/capabilities/storage. And just generally what anyone thinks of the newer boxes.

Thanks for any opinions!

Hey, I just wanted to thank folks for the their responses on my "hdcp handshake" problem. I'd never heard of that before, but once you gave me the phrase, Google allowed me to really do my homework. I have a new Sony 46W3000, with current FW, and no one thinks that is the problem.

So, I am going to have to change out my old Moto DVR one of these days (it's 95% full tonight, so it may be a little while!).

But I wanted to ask: has anyone in C-Springs gotten an upgraded Moto? I have the old 6412, and I'm wondering what to expect from the new box (aside from the hoped for cure for the the HDCP sync). Primarily I'm wondering about any new features/capabilities/storage. And just generally what anyone thinks of the newer boxes.

Thanks for any opinions!

The box looks quite similar but the front panel display is a blue/white color instead of the orange. Your hard drive will go from 120GB to 160GB, so 33% more storage. My old 6412 had a nasty remote lag issue if you hadnt given a remote command in some time. I rarely see a similar issue on the new box. The 34 series also seems to run cooler for me.

There are more ports on the back like eSata but of course they are not enabled so you can just stare and say, what if?

Other than that, the boxes seem quite similar.

My only complaints are not unique to the 3416, mostly that the USB and other ports are not alive. To me, 160GB is about 20% of what should be a standard size.

The box looks quite similar but the front panel display is a blue/white color instead of the orange. Your hard drive will go from 120GB to 160GB, so 33% more storage. My old 6412 had a nasty remote lag issue if you hadnt given a remote command in some time. I rarely see a similar issue on the new box. The 34 series also seems to run cooler for me.

.

Keep in mind that there is a DCT3416 and a DCH3416. They are both all-digital, meaning no analog tuner (and frankly IMO have a higher quality digital tuner than 64XX series = better picture). The DCH is the newest of the series as it has separable security built in. The DCH arguably has a refeshed look as described by HateNewNHL above. The DCT3416 has a front panel that looks nearly identical to the 64XX series.

My additional two cents is that the lack of an analog tuner makes it run cooler and probably related, the fan is not so loud (I can have a 3416 in my bedroom now without the constant sounds of a fan running).

Last Monday I was going to setup a recording on my Dish DVR 622 for the show Medium on ch 5 KOAA. The guide data showed that show started at 8PM. This was incorrect as the show started at 9PM. I see the same for this Monday's episode. Is anybody else having a discrepancy with KOAA guide data? I also noticed that it was incorrect in Mondays Gazette tv listing. Any idea on how to get corrected?

Last Monday I was going to setup a recording on my Dish DVR 622 for the show Medium on ch 5 KOAA. The guide data showed that show started at 8PM. This was incorrect as the show started at 9PM. I see the same for this Monday's episode. Is anybody else having a discrepancy with KOAA guide data? I also noticed that it was incorrect in Mondays Gazette tv listing. Any idea on how to get corrected?

I noticed this last week also, so I checked 3 sources that I use regularly: DirecTV, Beyond TV and Titan TV. Both DirecTV and Beyond TV showed Medium at 8:00PM, but Titan showed it at 9:00. This surprised me because Titan is usually by far the worst of the 3 with accuracy, but they are the one that the locals use for their listings online. Checked them for next Monday and it's the same as last week with all 3. Both NBC and KOAA online are showing it at 9:00PM for next week also. I guess the only thing that could be done is let Dish and Direct know that their info is incorrect. Curious to know what they use for a source since so many of the guides are incorrect. Figures they'd screw up one of the few network shows worth watching right now.

Last Monday I was going to setup a recording on my Dish DVR 622 for the show Medium on ch 5 KOAA. The guide data showed that show started at 8PM. This was incorrect as the show started at 9PM. I see the same for this Monday's episode. Is anybody else having a discrepancy with KOAA guide data? I also noticed that it was incorrect in Mondays Gazette tv listing. Any idea on how to get corrected?

I plan on taking the paranoid approach: record both hours (or more).

I noticed I had a couple of things record an hour off as well - just thought that a box had the wrong time temporarily, but I didn't chase it down. One was definitely KOAA over a week ago, and I can't remember the other right now. I suppose the problem could be with KOAA too. Good luck trying to find anyone who cares... I had a couple very frustrating phone calls with a number of companies trying to get the guide data to be accurate on one of the new HD channels a few years back.

Last Monday I was going to setup a recording on my Dish DVR 622 for the show Medium on ch 5 KOAA. The guide data showed that show started at 8PM. This was incorrect as the show started at 9PM. I see the same for this Monday's episode. Is anybody else having a discrepancy with KOAA guide data? I also noticed that it was incorrect in Mondays Gazette tv listing. Any idea on how to get corrected?

I found out the source of the problem is Tribune Media that supplies the programming information for all the electronic guides (Dish, Cable, DirecTV, BeyondTV, etc.) and for the newspapers. KOAA said they were aware of problem and notified Tribune, who said it takes about 3 weeks to correct. I can see that for the printed guides, but how difficult would it be for the electronic guides? Anyway, the correct info is on KOAA's website or Titan TV's site.

Lsilvest, Thanks for the update and I will take appropriate action for tonights episode.

I found out the source of the problem is Tribune Media that supplies the programming information for all the electronic guides (Dish, Cable, DirecTV, BeyondTV, etc.) and for the newspapers. KOAA said they were aware of problem and notified Tribune, who said it takes about 3 weeks to correct. I can see that for the printed guides, but how difficult would it be for the electronic guides? Anyway, the correct info is on KOAA's website or Titan TV's site.

I thought Gemstar/TV Guide provided listings for many of the cable companies (including Comcast). Guess it doesn't matter as they have it wrong too. I'm wondering if NBC isn't the source of the bad info. since both major providers have incorrect listings.

has anyone else noticed that AltitudeHD is MIA in pueblo? or is this an issue on my end only?

comcaster?

has anyone else noticed that AltitudeHD is MIA in pueblo? or is this an issue on my end only?

comcaster?

The Av's v. Calgary game is not being broadcast by Altitude in HD tonight (see www.altitude.tv). AltHD kicks in over Mojo when there is a Nuggets or Av's game in true HD. Since it isn't in HD tonight, MOJO stays on.

i see, this must be a recent change, "timesharing" the two channels like that. at least i know now to tune in to mojo when the nugs are playing.

thanks comcaster.

i see, this must be a recent change, "timesharing" the two channels like that. at least i know now to tune in to mojo when the nugs are playing.

thanks comcaster.

Eddie - Turns out that I was wrong. While the Av's/Calgary game wasn't supposed to be in HD, there has been a larger issue with other games not showing when they were supposed to. This should now be fixed and life should continue as normal.

we all make mistakes occasionally... you're forgiven. :)

i'm just glad to hear that i can still watch the nuggets in HD, although they havn't been playing very well lately.

Looks like 701 is not showing the game as it normally would since this is a HOME game. Very disappointing to not see Forsberg's first game back in HD! :(

Looks like 701 is not showing the game as it normally would since this is a HOME game. Very disappointing to not see Forsberg's first game back in HD! :(

I wonder why it's not in HD. Did Altitude rent their HD gear to someone else for the night? According to their TV schedule, they are not broadcasting tonight's game in HD - http://www.altitude.tv/hd/avs.aspx

That is weird, isn't it. They really planned ahead to skip this one home game.

I wonder why it's not in HD. Did Altitude rent their HD gear to someone else for the night? According to their TV schedule, they are not broadcasting tonight's game in HD - http://www.altitude.tv/hd/avs.aspx

Talk about strange timing. Glad to see it wasnt a programming issue on the Comcast side although I imagine there were several calls. You would have thought that Altitude would have found a way, all things considered.

Looks like UPN57 will never go digital since it is a "low powered" station.

Looks like UPN57 will never go digital since it is a "low powered" station.

Could you elaborate? I was under the impression that the analog frequencies would be taken away - so I would assume they either switch to digital or no longer exist.

I have been wondering when they will switch so I can actually pull it in with my rabbit ears.

Susan

Could you elaborate? I was under the impression that the analog frequencies would be taken away - so I would assume they either switch to digital or no longer exist.
There are different rules for 'Low Powered Stations'. Especially in the mountains! Things like weather(God forbid) come into play. LPS are not on the same timeline as High Powered Stations. I can't remember the specifics, but they will have longer to convert to digital.
....jc

Can anyone tell me if the Colorado Springs dtv's are at full power yet? I really don't have time to look through 100+ pages of the Colorado Springs HDTV forum.

Thanks for any info - if there is a direct link to a particular page where I can read about it, please share.

Jim Thomas
Milliken, Colorado (near Greeley)

Jim, the following stations are broadcasting HDTV

Call Sign Network Frequency
KOAA-DT 5.1 NBC 42
KRDO-DT 13.1 ABC 24
KKTV-DT 11.1 CBS 10
KTSC-DT 8.1 PBS 26
KXRM-DT 21.1 FOX 22

That is good news if the low-powered stations have to convert "eventually". I thought I read somewhere they never had to convert, but it makes sense they eventually would have to go digital.

Not that there is much on the UPN anyway (besides Everyone Hates Chris), but they have the worst picture of any local station and even with a good rooftop antenna pointed at NORAD, my Ch 57 picture is snowy. It will be nice when they actually go digital like the other stations.

Can anyone tell me if the Colorado Springs dtv's are at full power yet? I really don't have time to look through 100+ pages of the Colorado Springs HDTV forum.

Thanks for any info - if there is a direct link to a particular page where I can read about it, please share.

Jim Thomas
Milliken, Colorado (near Greeley)
I think they're pretty much at the fullest power they're going to go to, but I'd be surprised if the signal reaches Denver or Greeley, given the distance and Monument Hill in the way.

mrradiohead:

This file will help you out.

That is good news if the low-powered stations have to convert "eventually". I thought I read somewhere they never had to convert, but it makes sense they eventually would have to go digital.
Low-power and translator TV broadcast stations, will be exempt from the analog to digital transition deadline and will be able to continue broadcasting in analog after February 17, 2009. Only the full-power TV stations will have to switch to all digital at that time.

No deadline has been set for these stations to go all digital. While some low-power and translator stations will convert to digital by February 17, 2009, others will transition after February 2009, and many will continue to broadcast in analog until required to change by the FCC.
There's not many options for them anyway. Almost all new TV's will continue to have an NTSC tuner in them, but they all must have an ATSC tuner. So, the clock is ticking on the old technology.

I have noticed that KRDO, channel 13 has done something to improve their image. The local news and commercials are much sharper and more clear than before. It is not the blurry, fuzz-o-vision that we were seeing previously on their SD transmission. Anybody else notice or know what they did to improve? I have also noticed that the signal strength is now at 100 where as before it was in the mid 80s.

I think they're pretty much at the fullest power they're going to go to, but I'd be surprised if the signal reaches Denver or Greeley, given the distance and Monument Hill in the way.

Hey TallGuy, do you have an outside UHF antenna? I have a Channel Master 4228 @ 20' on a rotator. I am now using an Insignia CECB (Best Buy's), which has the latest 6th generation LG chip, which is technically the best of what is currently available.

Last summer I was using a 2005 USDTV Hisense dtv box (4th gen. chip) and on two ocassions, had ALL of the Springs dtv signals very strong, but the Hisense wouldn't decode them to a picture, probably because the signals were unstable. Now, with the Insignia, having it less than a month, I've seen two signal instances of KKTV-DT 10-1, and I understand they're ONLY running 20.1 kW. I really look forward to this late Spring-early Summer, when I expect to see ALL of them on the Insignia, plus many others from Nebraska and Kansas.

There's also a thing called 'tropospheric ducting', which doesn't happen in Colorado all that much because of the dry climate. But on a few occassions, it does happen and I expect to see the Springs dtv's up here crystal clear, @ 108 miles. I'm a member of the Worldwide TV-FM Dx Assn (www.wtfda.org www.wtfda.info), a non-profit organization that monitors long distance reception of tv and fm signals. There are several members that have already received DTV signals beyond 300 miles. (One member in Pennsylvania holds the DTV record of 900+ miles for a Florida station.) I expect 108 miles won't be much of anything. I've been doing this *dx* thing for 35 years and running. IF you try it, you might get hooked.

mrradiohead - I'm impressed! Colorado Springs to Milliken? That's pretty darn good. Is it a line of sight shot? Hard to believe the signal gets over Palmer Divide. Must be some form of wierd propagation at work there, maybe some ducting or "knife edge" refraction caused by obstructions? And the distances people are getting through tropo. That's pretty impressive. Didn't think digital signals could make it that far and still be decoded. Analog yes, digital? That's way cool. Used to anomolous propagation support for AF radars years ago.
Cheers.

Didn't think digital signals could make it that far and still be decoded. Analog yes, digital? That's way cool. Used to anomolous propagation support for AF radars years ago.
Cheers.Before I moved from Woodland Park, one of the most powerful digital signals that I had was from KGWN(CBS - Cheyenne) from 147 miles. It was nice as sometimes they had a different NFL game than KKTV or KCNC.
....jc

Totallywired,
That's pretty amazing. I remember as a boy in San Jose we'd pick up Sacramento stations periodically (those were analog B&W in those days - LOL). I always wondered how the signals made it across the coastal range. Then we had the big Air Force Radar on top of Mt Umanhum. Its signal was so strong it would always cause a little buzz in nearly every electronic device (radios and TVs only then) as it swept across your area. I always wondered what the effective radiated power was given the size of the antenna, had to be in the MW range. Oh yeah, forgot to mention the picket fence multipath interference when Navy aircraft (like P3s) made their landing approaches to Moffitt Field. Tube construction and discrete components you could replace. Amazing the diagnostics you could perform on a TV even with just a volt meter and a schematic. Ahh, a trip down memory lane. LOL

In my Comcast bill, it mentioned that March 20-23 was a free HBO preview weekend. I am trying to find out details on this so I can make sure I take advantage of it. It mentioned HBO VOD being free as well. I've been googling and looking at websites and can't find any details.

Is it just HBO, or is it Cinemax as well?

Does it apply to the HD versions of the channels?

Is it all HBO & all Cinemax channels, or just a subset?

Will I view it on the regular channel number or some other channel?

I should be able to record these to my DVR like any other show right?

Thanks,
Guy

Totallywired,
That's pretty amazing.
Yea, I must have been in 'Sweet Spot'. There was a time when KMGH - ABC Denver, was broadcasting from a toothpick from the top of their building(which is in a low area), and it was also a very strong signal for me. The problem was that 90% of the people in Denver couldn't receive it. I could tell people thought that I was lying to them. I was 53 miles away at the time.

Then the big day came and they moved it to the top of Republic Plaza. I knew that would be trouble, and it was. From then on I could only receive it about 50% of the time. The good news is that most of the people who had tried before and failed could now get their digital signal.
....jc

mrradiohead - I'm impressed! Colorado Springs to Milliken? That's pretty darn good. Is it a line of sight shot? Hard to believe the signal gets over Palmer Divide. Must be some form of wierd propagation at work there, maybe some ducting or "knife edge" refraction caused by obstructions? And the distances people are getting through tropo. That's pretty impressive. Didn't think digital signals could make it that far and still be decoded. Analog yes, digital? That's way cool. Used to anomolous propagation support for AF radars years ago.
Cheers.

I'm guessing its more like the tropospheric ducting like I mentioned, when you catch an opportunity of refraction (temperature inversion) - cold over warm air. At a distance of 108 miles, I believe thats a bit distant for 'line of sight', although, there is a ridge about 3 miles north of my house where there is a very clear view of Pikes Peak and Cheyenne Mtn. I'd love to know if anyone on that ridge can pick up the Springs dtv's, but I don't know anyone up that way to check it out. There are many times in the spring through early summer (May to early July) when the Springs fm radio stations will boom in up here, and its during those times I'll be looking for your DTV channels. I'll also get two or three opportunities during the spring when fm radio stations come booming in from Omaha or Wichita, so I'll be watching for DTV channels from those areas also.

BTW, the gentleman in Massachusettes (I originally thought he lived in PA) that fully decoded the Tallahassee FL DTV station (ch. 2 via ionospheric skip) on February 9, 2008, had a fully decoded signal for over 1 minute and captured the full PSIP information. The logged distance is 1,019 miles, the furthest known to date for a DTV signal to travel and fully decode. If you would like to read a bit more about it and see his screen capture, follow this link...

http://www.wtfda.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=115&Itemid=53

Jim Thomas
Milliken, Colorado

HBO free preview will be for all HBO channels (not max) and will include VOD. You will find them on their normal channels and your DVR will record the shows.

sounds like you have some movies to watch!

HBO free preview will be for all HBO channels (not max) and will include VOD. You will find them on their normal channels and your DVR will record the shows.

sounds like you have some movies to watch!

OK, so it's only HBO, not Cinemax? When googling I found these links that indicate it's HBO and Cinemax on Comcast, but I suppose it could vary in different areas. I was hoping it was Cinemax as well since when I looked at the schedule I found more movies I was interested in on Cinemax HD vs. HBO HD. It looks like Cinemax and HBO and owned by the same people according to http://www.hbo.com too.

http://dealspl.us/HBO-Cinemax-Free-Preview-3-20-3-23_82108

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=761947

http://freepreviews.blogspot.com/2008/03/hbo-and-cinemax-free-preview.html

Also, can you confirm the times for this. Will it be for the full 24 hours on the 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd? So from midnight Thursday morning until midnight Sunday night?

Thanks,
Guy

i believe it will only be hbo in southern colorado (perhaps the racy nature of skin-a-max is too much for southern colorado). It will likely go on when the engineers get in on the morning of the first day and off at midnight on the last day.

Wouldn't it be cool if KKTV would decide to show 2 different NCAA games on their SD and HD channels? That would give viewers options on which teams they wanted to see.

Wouldn't it be cool if KKTV would decide to show 2 different NCAA games on their SD and HD channels? That would give viewers options on which teams they wanted to see.

Yes it would, but unfortunately I don't think it can happen because of CBS's deal with DirecTV to show all of the games. So far today there's only been a couple of games worth watching anyway. Hate it when it's all chalk and blowouts.

We will be moving to the North West part of town in April. The neighborhood is called Peregrine.

I was wondering what OTA Antennas you guys may recommend for this area to pick-up the local HD stations? We would prefer something somewhat low-profile.

~Josh

We will be moving to the North West part of town in April. The neighborhood is called Peregrine.

I was wondering what OTA Antennas you guys may recommend for this area to pick-up the local HD stations? We would prefer something somewhat low-profile.

~Josh

I honestly don't know why anyone is using anything other than the Winegard Squareshooter SS-1000. I use it up in Monument (23 miles away according to antennaweb.org) and I get all the stations in perfectly (most of them are a signal strength of 100). It's easily the smallest & best looking outdoor antenna as well.

I DO have a clear view of Cheyenne Mountain though, so I'm sure that helps.

Here's a link to purchase from:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882172010

I honestly don't know why anyone is using anything other than the Winegard Squareshooter SS-1000.

Well, because other antennas work just as well and cost less. Besides I don't ever go look at my antenna, nor can it be seen from the street, so who cares what it looks like.

I live in Monument too and use a DB4 and also get most stations near 100 signal strength.
http://www.antennasdirect.com/DB4_HDTV_antenna.html

Josh, good luck in Perigrine, it' basically in a valley. Unless you are located at the very top area, you may have no luck getting a good OTA signal.

I honestly don't know why anyone is using anything other than the Winegard Squareshooter SS-1000. I use it up in Monument

Agreed. I'm a couple miles South of County Line Rd. and I use the SS-2000. I get >90% on all channels and it's mounted on the front of my deck (~10' off the ground).

Rumor has it, 4/22 new HD channels coming for Comcast in Colorado Springs/Pueblo:

- HGTV
- Food Network
- TLC
- ABC Family
- Disney Channel
- Discovery Science channel
- History (in Pueblo, Colorado Springs already has it)
- Discovery (in Pueblo, Colorado Springs already has it)

Thanks! What about the ScFi channel? When will we get that in HD?

Hi Comcaster,

Comcast signed contracts for CNN-HD last year and I still don't see any info on getting this channel. Have you heard of anything about this?

Also, do you know if Comcast will be trying to get competitive with Dish Network's "All HD" package for only $30 a month? That deal of there's is getting pretty tempting since I only watch the 700-grid for over 2 years but have to pay mega bucks just to watch that grid of channels.

Thank you,
Larry

Rumor has it, 4/22 new HD channels coming for Comcast in Colorado Springs/Pueblo:

- HGTV
- Food Network
- TLC
- ABC Family
- Disney Channel
- Discovery Science channel
- History (in Pueblo, Colorado Springs already has it)
- Discovery (in Pueblo, Colorado Springs already has it)

Thanks for the "rumor", Comcaster.

Like jlachanc, I'm wondering about SciFi. Any rumors regarding it?

Also, do you know if Comcast will be trying to get competitive with Dish Network's "All HD" package for only $30 a month? That deal of there's is getting pretty tempting since I only watch the 700-grid for over 2 years but have to pay mega bucks just to watch that grid of channels.

+1
If CC would offer a competitive package of All HD in the $30 range, I'm interested...provided it's not mostly sports/News programming ;)

Any chance of HDNet/HDNet Movies coming back to CC (Adelphia)?

Any of you guys seen this thread in the HDTV Programming section about Comcast degrading their PQ by squeezing more channels into the same (limited) bandwidth?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1008271

I for one have noticed the degradation recently (it's very obvious in scenes with movement) and then ran across that thread which confirmed what I'd been seeing. Comcaster, any insight?

How sure are you of this rumour Comcaster? I trust you ....Comcast...mmmmmm anyhow hope you're right!!
Thanks for the updates.

It was listed in the paper under the notices section i think a week ago.

Any of you guys seen this thread in the HDTV Programming section about Comcast degrading their PQ by squeezing more channels into the same (limited) bandwidth?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1008271

I for one have noticed the degradation recently (it's very obvious in scenes with movement) and then ran across that thread which confirmed what I'd been seeing. Comcaster, any insight?

I don't think anything HD is currently compressed beyond what the programmer provides. There is a lot of ability to statmux out there - DTV, E* and cable. I would imagine that all providers are getting as much out of the bandwidth that is possible.

Any of you guys seen this thread in the HDTV Programming section about Comcast degrading their PQ by squeezing more channels into the same (limited) bandwidth?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1008271

I for one have noticed the degradation recently (it's very obvious in scenes with movement) and then ran across that thread which confirmed what I'd been seeing. Comcaster, any insight?D* was able to overcome the lack of bandwidth by launching 2 new satellites and using MPEG4 for their compression of HD. Neither, are viable options for cable, so I guess their PQ will continue to decline as they add more content. Quantity over Quality and playing catch-up will be very costly for the cable guys.

D* was able to overcome the lack of bandwidth by launching 2 new satellites and using MPEG4 for their compression of HD. Neither, are viable options for cable, so I guess their PQ will continue to decline as they add more content. Quantity over Quality and playing catch-up will be very costly for the cable guys.

It's all about SDV (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switched_video) with cable. I sure hope their quality doesn't degrade to that of sat :(

D* was able to overcome the lack of bandwidth by launching 2 new satellites and using MPEG4 for their compression of HD. Neither, are viable options for cable, so I guess their PQ will continue to decline as they add more content. Quantity over Quality and playing catch-up will be very costly for the cable guys.

Why is using MPEG4 not viable for cable companies?

Why is using MPEG4 not viable for cable companies?

It is. Check out the upcoming Motorola DCX boxes (http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/01/03/motorolas-new-lineup-of-mpeg4-hd-stbs/).

I'll ask again since my question was overlooked:

Comcaster, any word on CNN-HD becoming available since contracts were signed on this last year and some markets have already had it online for months?

Thank you,
Larry

Any idea HOW Comcast decides what to add to the HD lineup???

Food network? So we can see every crumb? Who asked for that???
Discovery Science? I really can't say I've ever even SEEN it. Ditto!

We (well us nerds anyway!) are DYING for SCI-FI HD! How do we get that message across????

I'll ask again since my question was overlooked:

Comcaster, any word on CNN-HD becoming available since contracts were signed on this last year and some markets have already had it online for months?

Thank you,
Larry

I think we will see cnnhd and scifi (and others) in the next round. Probably in the early summer.

I think we will see cnnhd and scifi (and others) in the next round. Probably in the early summer.

Good news. Thanks.

I hope we don't see the degredation of PQ here like some are seeing in other Comcast markets. I can only speak for myself, but I'd rather the quality remain high have to wait a bit longer (for SDV rollout) to get more HD channels than to have a ton of HD channels that look bad :)

Why is CNN-HD a priority for anyone? what's the point/need for HD news, with static head shots of newscasters talking and/or poorly shot SD video of news footage upconverted to HD?

Why is CNN-HD a priority for anyone? what's the point/need for HD news, with static head shots of newscasters talking and/or poorly shot SD video of news footage upconverted to HD?

Do you watch NBC nightly news on KOAA? They have HD from the field quite often and do a good job of integrating the SD material that they do use. I find it much more visually appealing than CBS and ABC news.

Roy

agree w/royrose.

i used to avoid brian williams due to his whiny and irritating voice. however, the HD presentation has converted me into a regular viewer.

Do you watch NBC nightly news on KOAA?
No. I don't watch any news programs. They either stress me out, or bore me to tears.... I've taken proactive steps to reduce both of these in my life. :)

Now that we are starting to see more agressive advertising announcing the switch from analog to digital TV and with that HUGE $600 check coming its time to do my patriotic duty and help the economy - Buy an HDTV (or maybe just use it for gas :D ). Aside from the display specs, resolution, format, etc. I'm wondering from a tuner and OTA/cable/satellite interface perspective, what features I should look for? I'm presuming an ATSC tuner is required for OTA reception, but what else is needed to ensure compatibility with service providers (regardless of source)? Thanks in advance to the group for any comments and suggestions.

Isn't it sad, I have a perfectly good Panasonic 26 inch TV purchased in 1988 that's been through several rough moves and used heavily. It still works like a champ. I doubt I'll get 20 years of service from any HDTV that I buy. Sheesh. Oh, and I wonder what environmental issues loom from the disposal of all the CRT TVs and flat panels down the road. Maybe I should just buy a digital settop box and forego the LCD - Digital programming? Eh who needs it, especially when providers don't take advantage of technical capabilities in supplying full resolution HD to squeeze more useless channels down the pipe all in the name of the almighty $$$ ;) With BluRay, hmmm, that's a different story.

Last thing, I ran across an AMERICAN company that makes what sounds like a really neat product. Runco International produces a digital video processor that can convert standard definition digital and analog video to near HD quality (so they claim). Check out this link: www.runco.com/dhd_ds.html

Cheers

I have Comcast digital and HD service with a Moxi box on my main TV. On my second TV (kitchen) we do not have a box - just a coax cable connection. Since last year, I have been receiving several HD channels (e.g. 108-1 NBC, 106-2 PBS, etc.) on the kitchen tv - basically the HD in-the-clear channels (not scrambled). Last week my husband disconnected this TV to use it as a computer monitor for a few days, and when we hooked it up again and ran the Auto channel search, we've lost all the HD programming that we used to get. For instance, 108-1 and 106-2 now just produce a "No Signal" message.

Did Comcast do something to block all these channels, and it just didn't affect us until we re-programmed the channel lineup?

JoanB

I have Comcast digital and HD service with a Moxi box on my main TV.

Did Comcast do something to block all these channels, and it just didn't affect us until we re-programmed the channel lineup?

JoanB

Joan
I think you'll find that Comcast moved the local HDs to:
PBS - 88.1
ABC - 88.2
CBS - 129.1
Fox - 129.2
NBC - 130.1

Happy reprogramming!

Rich

Now that we are starting to see more agressive advertising announcing the switch from analog to digital TV and with that HUGE $600 check coming its time to do my patriotic duty and help the economy - Buy an HDTV (or maybe just use it for gas :D ). Aside from the display specs, resolution, format, etc. I'm wondering from a tuner and OTA/cable/satellite interface perspective, what features I should look for? I'm presuming an ATSC tuner is required for OTA reception, but what else is needed to ensure compatibility with service providers (regardless of source)? Thanks in advance to the group for any comments and suggestions.


Cheers

It is important to note that if you have cable or satellite, you don't need to do anything to keep getting the broadcast signals after the digital transition. The only reason you would need to take any action is if you get your tv service OTA in a non-HD format. If you have cable - any TV hooked up to it will not be affected (whether you have a digital box or not). Sorta similar for satellite - any TV that has a box hooked to it will be perfectly fine.

Now if you are using this as an excuse for getting a shiny new TV without your spouse getting angry...then forget what I said ;-)

Joan
I think you'll find that Comcast moved the local HDs to:
PBS - 88.1
ABC - 88.2
CBS - 129.1
Fox - 129.2
NBC - 130.1

Happy reprogramming!

Rich

Great post! I have the same issued as Joan but was afraid to auto-reprogram -- now I can just add these manually. :)

Joan
I think you'll find that Comcast moved the local HDs to:
PBS - 88.1
ABC - 88.2
CBS - 129.1
Fox - 129.2
NBC - 130.1

Happy reprogramming!

Rich

Thank you, THANK YOU!!! I just turned on my TV to watch the NCAA Championship only to find a "No Signal" message. Off to reprogram and hopefully not miss the tip-off.

Thanks again,
Brian

Joan
I think you'll find that Comcast moved the local HDs to:
PBS - 88.1
ABC - 88.2
CBS - 129.1
Fox - 129.2
NBC - 130.1

Happy reprogramming!


Odd. A scan with my HDHomeRun finds all QAM encrypted. I figured at the very least the locals would be in the clear. Oh well, my antenna works just fine.

Odd. A scan with my HDHomeRun finds all QAM encrypted. I figured at the very least the locals would be in the clear. Oh well, my antenna works just fine.

There's a big brouhaha over this, but it seems as if they (Comcast) can encrypt the local digital (ATSC) broadcasts - at least for now.

Here (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19176496-) is a good explanation of the current situation.

Here (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19176496-) is a good explanation of the current situation.

Interesting. Thanks for the link.

Sounds like a good time for a company to start doing pre-orders on a box that can capture HD over component and encode in real time in MPEG4. Oh wait! they already have.

http://registration.hauppauge.com/webstore/hardware2.asp?product=hd_pvr

I've pre-ordered mine :)

-Mike

Joan
I think you'll find that Comcast moved the local HDs to:
PBS - 88.1
ABC - 88.2
CBS - 129.1
Fox - 129.2
NBC - 130.1

Happy reprogramming!

Rich

I have an Avermedia PCIe combo tuner (M780) which works with VMC/MCE2005. I wonder if anyone else reading this thread has this tuner card. I rescanned and found CC indeed has moved the HD channels. But also possibly removed a couple. Media Center shows a list of the digital channels starting at 1001. I can only see 4 HD ch's now, missing 2 (don't care about the SD digital ones). 1001 is History HD, 1046 is KTSC (PBS) HD, 1047 is ABC, and 1289 is NBC. Other than History HD, these reassignments seem to correlate with what RSLann stated. Does anyone else have this problem?

There's a big brouhaha over this, but it seems as if they (Comcast) can encrypt the local digital (ATSC) broadcasts - at least for now.

Here (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19176496-) is a good explanation of the current situation.

RockyMountainD,
That's quite an interesting story told in that link. So correct me if I'm wrong, to recap: There currently is no "Must Carry" rule for local TV using ATSC (i.e. digital) signals but a new rule may go into affect after Feb 2009. The "Must Carry" rule applies to the current NTSC (analog) transmissions which end in Feb 2009. Theoretically local channels could go "dark" or encrypted on cable after that date? Alternatively, it could mean higher fees (surprise!).

Makes you wonder why we should invest any $$$ in TV. Programming is poor, costs are high, equipment does not last, we probably won't see the true promise of HD from service providers: local TV stations, cable, or satellite (i.e. they will limit bandwidth of HD to less than its full capability except in some cases), and service? Hot and cold on that one. Oh let's not forget there will probably be unending court cases between all the players as they vye for control, market share, and our $$$. What a rosey future is in store for us.

Cheers.

RockyMountainD,
That's quite an interesting story told in that link. So correct me if I'm wrong, to recap: There currently is no "Must Carry" rule for local TV using ATSC (i.e. digital) signals but a new rule may go into affect after Feb 2009. The "Must Carry" rule applies to the current NTSC (analog) transmissions which end in Feb 2009. Theoretically local channels could go "dark" or encrypted on cable after that date? Alternatively, it could mean higher fees (surprise!).

Makes you wonder why we should invest any $$$ in TV. Programming is poor, costs are high, equipment does not last, we probably won't see the true promise of HD from service providers: local TV stations, cable, or satellite (i.e. they will limit bandwidth of HD to less than its full capability except in some cases), and service? Hot and cold on that one. Oh let's not forget there will probably be unending court cases between all the players as they vye for control, market share, and our $$$. What a rosey future is in store for us.

Cheers.

I think it depends on whether or not the networks charge Comcast to carry the digital signal. If they do, Comcast will charge us, if not, they won't (hopefully). But don't quote me on that :)

As for investing...a good TV and antenna will get you some very high quality, free HD - throw in a Blu-Ray Disc player and you're set!

im not sure that must carry has a relational effect on qam encryption before or after the dtv transition. must carry and it's friend retransmission consent provide a contractual relationship between a broadcaster and the cable or satellite provider. while qam encryption or conditional access systems are means to protect a company from signal theft.

im not sure that must carry has a relational effect on qam encryption before or after the dtv transition. must carry and it's friend retransmission consent provide a contractual relationship between a broadcaster and the cable or satellite provider. while qam encryption or conditional access systems are means to protect a company from signal theft.

Let's flash-forward a year. No more analog signal from the local stations. If they did NOT charge Comcast for the digital signal (must carry?), do you think the stations would be "in the clear" or encrypted?

I totally understand encrypting a signal you're being charged for.

Let's flash-forward a year. No more analog signal from the local stations. If they did NOT charge Comcast for the digital signal (must carry?), do you think the stations would be "in the clear" or encrypted?

I totally understand encrypting a signal you're being charged for.

I believe that the OTA digital signal will not be encrypted (though that is a fascinating and evil thought).

I also believe that the digital transition, nor must carry will have any impact on whether the broadcast digital signals will be encrypted by pay tv providers. I believe that pay tv providers could encrypt digital signals now, but for whatever reason may not do so today. I don't think the digital transition changes that. I think the only thing that causes a pay tv provider to start encrypting the broadcaster signals when they were not previously is likely someone at that pay provider saying, "hey, we ought to encrypt that - people are getting it for free".

Even though the broadcaster is providing a digital (and analog) signal free OTA, doesn't mean it is defacto free when you subscribe to a pay-tv service. You have to subscribe to a pay-tv service and the broadcaster signals are part of that subscription - ie, not free and therefore encrypt-able at the pay tv providers' whim. Now it may be possible (I have no idea) that the broadcaster could force the pay-tv provider to encrypt the signal, but I don't think they would do that as they are after as many eyeballs as they can gather.

...Or i could be missing the point of your question.

I have a RANT to post.

Someone, somewhere needs to come up with a consumer definition of high definition. HD is being bantered about like it is one standard - and of course that standard is true HD. But rarely is something in full HD glory - whether that be upconverted and stretched schtock from a programming provider or a compressed signal from a pay tv company or a rate shaped signal or line doubled SD programming. This has gotten ridiculous. Directv claiming 100 HD channels is a marketing slogan - show 'em to me - 24 hours per day of uncompressed, full mb 1080i or 1080p. It doesn't exist. HD is like interest rates prior to the gov't imposed APR statements. The average consumer has no idea what is actually HD and what is not - but we are told it is all HD which is a complete and total lie.

Eat a beef hamburger and you are reasonably assured it is 100% ground beef. Get HD and it is probably over 75% non-HD filler being passed as HD.

End of Rant...please return to your regularly scheduled non-HD HD programming.

I believe that the OTA digital signal will not be encrypted (though that is a fascinating and evil thought).

I also believe that the digital transition, nor must carry will have any impact on whether the broadcast digital signals will be encrypted by pay tv providers. I believe that pay tv providers could encrypt digital signals now, but for whatever reason may not do so today. I don't think the digital transition changes that. I think the only thing that causes a pay tv provider to start encrypting the broadcaster signals when they were not previously is likely someone at that pay provider saying, "hey, we ought to encrypt that - people are getting it for free".

Even though the broadcaster is providing a digital (and analog) signal free OTA, doesn't mean it is defacto free when you subscribe to a pay-tv service. You have to subscribe to a pay-tv service and the broadcaster signals are part of that subscription - ie, not free and therefore encrypt-able at the pay tv providers' whim. Now it may be possible (I have no idea) that the broadcaster could force the pay-tv provider to encrypt the signal, but I don't think they would do that as they are after as many eyeballs as they can gather.

...Or i could be missing the point of your question.

Yeah, I guess I was being a bit obtuse. What I mean to ask is: If none of the local station owners charge Comcast to carry their local digital signal (the same ATSC signal we can pick up today with a set of rabbit ears), do you think Comcast would encrypt the retransmission of that signal? I'm talking KOAA, KKTV, KXRM, etc.

I have a RANT to post.

Someone, somewhere needs to come up with a consumer definition of high definition. HD is being bantered about like it is one standard - and of course that standard is true HD. But rarely is something in full HD glory - whether that be upconverted and stretched schtock from a programming provider or a compressed signal from a pay tv company or a rate shaped signal or line doubled SD programming. This has gotten ridiculous. Directv claiming 100 HD channels is a marketing slogan - show 'em to me - 24 hours per day of uncompressed, full mb 1080i or 1080p. It doesn't exist. HD is like interest rates prior to the gov't imposed APR statements. The average consumer has no idea what is actually HD and what is not - but we are told it is all HD which is a complete and total lie.

Eat a beef hamburger and you are reasonably assured it is 100% ground beef. Get HD and it is probably over 75% non-HD filler being passed as HD.

End of Rant...please return to your regularly scheduled non-HD HD programming.

I agree. So what do you say about this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1008271)?

I agree. So what do you say about this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1008271)?

Ever since that article came out, I've been thinking that I have NOT seen any degredation of PQ. Guess we're just lucky:

Former Adelphia systems appear to be one exception to that rule; a number of former Adelphia systems are passing the original source feeds as is...

I guess we're OK here in the Springs.

For now...

but we are told it is all HD which is a complete and total lie.
so do you claim CC is not part of this lie, or will not be at some point in the future?

Also last time I had an HD capture card in the PC, my CC unencrypted QAM signals were in the 60% range, whereas my OTA signals for the same channels were all in the 90+% range. So what is the point of CC QAM locals, if the signal strength (not the same as PQ, I know) is insufficient to lock/record HD?

[QUOTE=Rmassey;13616497]so do you claim CC is not part of this lie, or will not be at some point in the future?
QUOTE]

My statement/rant is that all HD programmers (Discovery, ESPN, ABC, et al) and all HD providers (Dish, Directv, comcast, FiOS, Falcon, Porchlight) are living and propagating the lie in some form or another. I claim no bias in this subject except as a consumer that knows that 'we have a gazillion HD channels' statements from anyone should be a crime.

Ever since that article came out, I've been thinking that I have NOT seen any degredation of PQ. Guess we're just lucky:



I guess we're OK here in the Springs.

For now...

there are no 3:1 muxes in colorado springs....today.

Yeah, I guess I was being a bit obtuse. What I mean to ask is: If none of the local station owners charge Comcast to carry their local digital signal (the same ATSC signal we can pick up today with a set of rabbit ears), do you think Comcast would encrypt the retransmission of that signal? I'm talking KOAA, KKTV, KXRM, etc.

I think i get it. Comcast is required by the FCC to provide an analog version of the broadcast signals (KKTV, KOAA, KRDO, KTSC, KXRM) for three years after the digital transition. Broadcaster signals typically are required to be included in lowest level of service packages. So everyone that gets the broadcasters today will get them after the DTV transition without change or cost.

there are no 3:1 muxes in colorado springs....today.

After reading through the thread (and discarding much FUD), I've come to the conclusion that some 3:1 can be done with minimal degradation to PQ, but it would be tricky and would require careful consideration.

My statement/rant is that all HD programmers (Discovery, ESPN, ABC, et al) and all HD providers (Dish, Directv, comcast, FiOS, Falcon, Porchlight) are living and propagating the lie in some form or another. I claim no bias in this subject except as a consumer that knows that 'we have a gazillion HD channels' statements from anyone should be a crime.

Well, this is essentially why I have opted for OTA HD only. It seems to be the only 'real' HD available and it's free. :cool:

I agree. So what do you say about this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1008271)?

EEEK! That's a depressing thread. Again, I have to ask the question: Why invest $$$ for HD. Is it worth it just for Blu-Ray and OTA (and there are concerns about OTA HD too) since cable and satellite appear unlikely to give us the full potential of HDTV? I doubt we'll see FiOS here in Colo Spgs for a long time. I used to work near the Comcast facility in Englewood, didn't realize the ostensibly nefarious activities discussed in the link above were taking place there. LOL
Cheers.

D* was able to overcome the lack of bandwidth by launching 2 new satellites and using MPEG4 for their compression of HD. Neither, are viable options for cable, so I guess their PQ will continue to decline as they add more content. Quantity over Quality and playing catch-up will be very costly for the cable guys.

Sorry to reach back to a previous page, but this post has had me thinking.

MPEG4 is not limited to satellite, it will be in new cable boxes by this summer. MPEG4 is technology anyone can use, but you have to get it into all of your customer premise equipment (tres expensive).

On the second point, two new satellites mean virtually nothing - otherwise DBS would have dumped additional birds in their primary full CONUS orbital slots - instead of spreading across 101d, 110d and 119d They are limited by license and bandwidth within frequencies - and I'm pretty sure that Directv is 'full' at this point (and Dish would be if their last satellite had actually reached full orbit).

Hey my local Springs hdtv afficianados, need some info / help.

My vista media center no longer autodetects KOAA NBC. I looked at antennaweb.org, but I'm confused to what info to add for the missing channel. Any media center expert advise would be greatly appreciated. I'm just doing the OTA stuff, no comcast.

:)

-Nic

Hey my local Springs hdtv afficianados, need some info / help.

My vista media center no longer autodetects KOAA NBC. I looked at antennaweb.org, but I'm confused to what info to add for the missing channel. Any media center expert advise would be greatly appreciated. I'm just doing the OTA stuff, no comcast.

:)

-Nic

When you say it no longer autodetects, do you mean it just disappeared from your menu/guide or that it won't detect at setup? I had a problem with my Plasma losing KOAA occasionally a while back (but not recently) and always had to rerun my installation setup to get it back. It was apparently just a quirk with that TV/Tuner because my PC tuners didn't have the same problem. That was the only station I had that problem with, though.

lsilvest,

thanks for the response. when i re-did my tv settings in media center, it would no longer have KOAA as one of the channels. i ended up going to the 'add missing channels' and added digital tv channel 5-1 with frequency of 42, and named it KOAA. This actually worked. It was able to get the guide listings as well, so it seems like the guide info was there, but for some weird reason, it wasn't coming up as a channel on 'digital tv strength' section.

lsilvest,

thanks for the response. when i re-did my tv settings in media center, it would no longer have KOAA as one of the channels. i ended up going to the 'add missing channels' and added digital tv channel 5-1 with frequency of 42, and named it KOAA. This actually worked. It was able to get the guide listings as well, so it seems like the guide info was there, but for some weird reason, it wasn't coming up as a channel on 'digital tv strength' section.

This happened to me as well, using Vista Media Center. Must be a weird quirk of the program.

For all of the USA & SciFi fans screaming for HD with Dish they were just turned on along with CNN on tue. so it looks like Dish is at long last adding some HD. Hope we get speedHD some day then I'll be happy.

KOAA has got to pull their head out of their butt.....

Watching last nights ER on the Tivo (OTA HD) they mutilate the first few minutes with...

PROGRAMMING NOTE - DIGITAL TV CONVERSION
w/ a scroll telling us analog OTA is going by-bye....

Why is this necessary on their DIGITAL OTA broadcast? Obviously I already have a digital OTA solution, otherwise I could not be viewing the broadcast and the alert.

Does anyone there have a brain and can they please stop borking up HD broadcasts for people that already have it figured out?

The only viewers that need to see this alert are analog OTA users. Don't they have the technology to only display this message on analog OTA?

+1 :(

Good point - I've always wished the stations would read this message board. I suggested it once a while back to Quentin Henry at KOAA, a manager of the engineering group I think it was, and his response, filled with scorn, was basically I have so much to do that I would never have time to do that (i.e. listen to our customers about our product and how to improve it).

By the way, does anyone else still have an audio/video sync problem on KOAA-HD? I haven't noticed lately because I haven't been recording much on NBC. It's not too noticeable when an actor is speaking, but is very noticeable when a band is playing like on The Tonight Show and the drummer's hits visually are nowhere near the sounds. It's always been that way on my HR10, more drastic on KOAA, but I should test my HR20's.

By the way, does anyone else still have an audio/video sync problem on KOAA-HD? I

I use OTA with audio sent through an AV receiver, and I hadn't noticed any problem. Out of curiosity I checked just now and the sync does seem OK.

KOAA has got to pull their head out of their butt.....

Watching last nights ER on the Tivo (OTA HD) they mutilate the first few minutes with...

PROGRAMMING NOTE - DIGITAL TV CONVERSION
w/ a scroll telling us analog OTA is going by-bye....

Why is this necessary on their DIGITAL OTA broadcast? Obviously I already have a digital OTA solution, otherwise I could not be viewing the broadcast and the alert.

Does anyone there have a brain and can they please stop borking up HD broadcasts for people that already have it figured out?

The only viewers that need to see this alert are analog OTA users. Don't they have the technology to only display this message on analog OTA?


The first time this happened, I called the station. They realize it is dumb to put it on the HD feed, but according to them, this is an FCC rule that the scroll must run on both analog and digital feeds. This will be happening until March 2009. Our government at its best! :confused:

If anyone's interested in more information regarding the compression of cable signals, I ran across the following article which is mostly a rehash, but offers further proof that it exists and no solution readily available as of yet.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iiPYwYib2axruGqnjHWVYBagm3WQD905PKIO0

I heard today that the 6 new Comcast HD channels in colorado springs was delayed until early May. Same for Pueblo. :-(

I heard today that the 6 new Comcast HD channels in colorado springs was delayed until early May. Same for Pueblo. :-(

Saw them appear in my TiVo HD guide w/data yesterday, but no signal. Oh well, maybe if they're delayed until May, they can figure out how to three-pack 'em without degredation of quality ;)

i for one am tired of cable's high cost and delayed rollouts; i'm within days of switching to the all HD offer from dish.

the 3:1 degradation is the final straw for me...

What was up with ABC last night. At first I thought I had a poor signal but then they switched to the non-HD feed so I knew something was wrong. I hate watching Lost in SD.

doesnt seem like all affiliates were affected, based on feedback on the lost thread

What was up with ABC last night. At first I thought I had a poor signal but then they switched to the non-HD feed so I knew something was wrong. I hate watching Lost in SD.

Crap, sometimes KRDO is pretty lame. How much of the hour was trashed and/or SD? I have it recorded for watching tomorrow. If it was a lot of the show, I will have to watch on ABC.com including the commercials instead...

Don't know if there are any baseball fans here, but it's been nice recently to see Colorado Rockies games in HD this year. There were probably some available last year in certain situations but not for me on DirecTV MPEG2 before. They have 85 games this year - looks like it's on DirecTV, Dish and Comcast. I searched around and finally found the HD schedule - includes both home and away games: http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/col/downloads/y2008/hd_schedule.pdf

I've been slowly losing patience with Comcast, and this past week's signal breakups and all-around crappy picture has been the straw to break the camel's back. I'm thinking about going with DirectTV but had a few questions I was hoping you guys could answer.

1) What can we get here in terms of locals in HD via DirectTV? Anything? Or do you have to simply use an OTA antenna?

2) Do they have an HD DVR with two tuners available to rent monthly? Or do you need to buy one outright?

3) Any concerns I should be aware of (weather-related drop-outs, etc)?

4) Do I need a phone landline connection for the DVR to work? (don't currently have a phone line)

Thanks!

1) What can we get here in terms of locals in HD via DirectTV? Anything? Or do you have to simply use an OTA antenna?

>>> D* does not offer HD locals in COS. OTA HD is your only option.

2) Do they have an HD DVR with two tuners available to rent monthly? Or do you need to buy one outright?

>>>They offer leased DVR w/ dual tuners -
HR20-700 (http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/08/16/directv-hd-dvr-hr20-700-exposed/) - has an OTA input (discontinued? - hard to find)
HR21-700 (http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9896534-1.html) - no OTA input, but there is an add on OTA tuner (AM21 (http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/01/09/directv-intros-two-atsc-tuner-am21-to-piggyback-hr21/) ) via USB to the HR21 for additional cost.

3) Any concerns I should be aware of (weather-related drop-outs, etc)?

>>>Rain fade due to snow, Compressed HD lite, no 'Tivo' UI driven DVR, endless 2 year contracts

4) Do I need a phone landline connection for the DVR to work? (don't currently have a phone line)

>>>Not sure on the new HR hardware, I used to use an 10-250 (Tivo) that required a phone line. they may let you use a broadband connection, but not sure.

Also, visit dbstalk.com for more details on D* HR2x DVRs

Do we have a final list of the new stations on Comcast? Heard FOOD, HGTV, and Discover Science. Others?

Oh, and what are the new channel numbers going to be?

Thanks for any insight!

Crap, sometimes KRDO is pretty lame. How much of the hour was trashed and/or SD? I have it recorded for watching tomorrow. If it was a lot of the show, I will have to watch on ABC.com including the commercials instead...

Based on a number of messages in alt.tv.tech.hdtv, I believe that this was a nationwide issue this time, and not the fault of KRDO. There were locations that missed the entire last half of the show. Getting it in SD is better than nothing.

Do we have a final list of the new stations on Comcast? Heard FOOD, HGTV, and Discover Science. Others?

Oh, and what are the new channel numbers going to be?

Thanks for any insight!

Comcaster posted this a while back:

Rumor has it, 4/22 new HD channels coming for Comcast in Colorado Springs/Pueblo:

- HGTV
- Food Network
- TLC
- ABC Family
- Disney Channel
- Discovery Science channel
- History (in Pueblo, Colorado Springs already has it)
- Discovery (in Pueblo, Colorado Springs already has it)

No word on the channel numbers but some might be the 700 version of the channel ie ESPN is 33 and 733. Not sure what Disc Science will be since the SD is 102.

1) What can we get here in terms of locals in HD via DirectTV? Anything? Or do you have to simply use an OTA antenna?

>>> D* does not offer HD locals in COS. OTA HD is your only option.

2) Do they have an HD DVR with two tuners available to rent monthly? Or do you need to buy one outright?

>>>They offer leased DVR w/ dual tuners -
HR20-700 (http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/08/16/directv-hd-dvr-hr20-700-exposed/) - has an OTA input (discontinued? - hard to find)
HR21-700 (http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9896534-1.html) - no OTA input, but there is an add on OTA tuner (AM21 (http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/01/09/directv-intros-two-atsc-tuner-am21-to-piggyback-hr21/) ) via USB to the HR21 for additional cost.

3) Any concerns I should be aware of (weather-related drop-outs, etc)?

>>>Rain fade due to snow, Compressed HD lite, no 'Tivo' UI driven DVR, endless 2 year contracts

4) Do I need a phone landline connection for the DVR to work? (don't currently have a phone line)

>>>Not sure on the new HR hardware, I used to use an 10-250 (Tivo) that required a phone line. they may let you use a broadband connection, but not sure.

Also, visit dbstalk.com for more details on D* HR2x DVRs
Wow, great info -- thanks! I get a sense that you're not a big D* fan though! :) I used to not even consider them based on what I read about HD Lite, but now that my Comcast is looking so crappy I figure it can't be any worse than that.

Wow, great info -- thanks! I get a sense that you're not a big D* fan though! :) I used to not even consider them based on what I read about HD Lite, but now that my Comcast is looking so crappy I figure it can't be any worse than that.

Comcast isn't doing the 3:1 here yet. I really haven't noticed any drop in HD PQ lately. I have noticed that many of the newer "HD" channels don't show much (if any) HD material, but instead show stretched SD.

What STB do you have?

thanks! I get a sense that you're not a big D* fan though!

No problem. You are correct, I'm not a D* fan... but really just not a content provider (D*, E*, CC) fan at all. I don't like the business model of any of them and choose not to do business (accept CC Broadband - work necessity for me) with them for TV content.

I looked briefly at the Dish all HD pkg, but considering it's about half sports programming and I do not value this content, I'll pass. I would be interested in Verizon FIOS, if it ever comes our way, but I suspect it would be similar with about half sports/news programming.

Let's say I am a FREE OTA HD fan that likes the Tivo UI.

Let's say I am a FREE OTA HD fan that likes the Tivo UI.

Rmassey - Have any recommendations for businesses here in Colo Spgs that really understand OTA? Thanks!

Comcast isn't doing the 3:1 here yet. I really haven't noticed any drop in HD PQ lately. I have noticed that many of the newer "HD" channels don't show much (if any) HD material, but instead show stretched SD.

What STB do you have?
I don't think the issues I'm having are necessarily tied to the 3:1 channel compression issue. Rather, it's been the constant signal breakups on NBC and FOX that are driving me crazy. Every day for at least two weeks the NBC Nightly News that I DVR has breakups every minute or two that last anywhere from 2-10 seconds, sometimes giving me the blue "You do not subscribe to this channel" screen. Fox has been doing it as well.

A separate issue is the horrible macroblocking on PBS anytime there's motion on the screen. That, I do believe, is compression related.

For the record, I have the "Moxi" HD DVR...

Rmassey - Have any recommendations for businesses here in Colo Spgs that really understand OTA? Thanks!
Sorry, No. I picked up most of my knowledge from many here on this forum and trial/error. It's pretty easy here in COS.... LOS to Cheyenne Mt, Good Ant + pre-amp (if needed) = FREE OTA HD.

I don't think the issues I'm having are necessarily tied to the 3:1 channel compression issue. Rather, it's been the constant signal breakups on NBC and FOX that are driving me crazy. Every day for at least two weeks the NBC Nightly News that I DVR has breakups every minute or two that last anywhere from 2-10 seconds, sometimes giving me the blue "You do not subscribe to this channel" screen. Fox has been doing it as well.

A separate issue is the horrible macroblocking on PBS anytime there's motion on the screen. That, I do believe, is compression related.

For the record, I have the "Moxi" HD DVR...

It sounds like the moxi is acting up. I have two HD/DVRs (DCT3416 and DCH3416) and have not seen the issues you seem to be having. I know when I had a moxi, I would get the blue screen - especially when the box heated up. You would likely be fixed with a swap out. The problem with that is that you would have to let your moxi and it's guide set up go - Comcast won't let you have another one because they stopped using them (for reliability reasons) after Adelphia left town. Or, you can have a tech out to make sure you don't have ingress, but the tech will likely want to take away your moxi too. Have you checked all of your connections?

BTW - regarding PBS. My understanding is that each of the broadcasters is allowed their full 19.x mb, so it is likely not compression unless the broadcaster is filling their bandwidth with a lot of sub channels (more than two). I believe that KTSC, doesn't have any other sub channels.

[QUOTE= I believe that KTSC, doesn't have any other sub channels.[/QUOTE]

KTSC does have one subchannel on 8.2 - it's an all Spanish Language broadcast.

No problem. You are correct, I'm not a D* fan... but really just not a content provider (D*, E*, CC) fan at all. I don't like the business model of any of them and choose not to do business

I agree. These unilateral contracts and excessive programming packages are geared to generating revenue, not to meet consumer needs.

My D* contract is up in a month and I'm going to get rid of it. Not because of any specific problem, just the fact that at least 75% of what I watch is OTA HD and spending $60 a month for the other 25% which is not HD doesn't make sense. Also, doing my own recordings lets me do what I want with them instead of having them locked into a proprietary DVR.

I will give Dish credit for their HD only package. The cost is reasonable and with free equipment it's a good package for sports since I understand you can add thier sports package for only $6 a month. If they add USA and Sci-Fi it'll be a great deal. At least it's a change in offering a viable low cost package instead of the usual entry level garbage as a come on.

My D* contract is up in a month and I'm going to get rid of it. Not because of any specific problem, just the fact that at least 75% of what I watch is OTA HD and spending $60 a month for the other 25% which is not HD doesn't make sense. Also, doing my own recordings lets me do what I want with them instead of having them locked into a proprietary DVR.


I've slowly come to the same realization myself. As of the 1st of May, I'll be canceling DirecTV, Qwest landline and DSL. OTA and Cable Modem only for us. The HDHomeRun and MacMini based PVR with wireless content distribution has proven stable enough over that past few months. The Wife is slowly coming around as she's a TiVoAholic (however she IS impressed by the automatic commercial skipping) :) I won't miss the 300+ channels o'crap that I never watched and I certainly won't miss spending the extra $160/mo...

I don't think the issues I'm having are necessarily tied to the 3:1 channel compression issue. Rather, it's been the constant signal breakups on NBC and FOX that are driving me crazy. Every day for at least two weeks the NBC Nightly News that I DVR has breakups every minute or two that last anywhere from 2-10 seconds, sometimes giving me the blue "You do not subscribe to this channel" screen. Fox has been doing it as well.

A separate issue is the horrible macroblocking on PBS anytime there's motion on the screen. That, I do believe, is compression related.

For the record, I have the "Moxi" HD DVR...

I'm with Comcaster, I think it's the Moxi. Very signal/temp sensitive.

I went from the 9012/MOXI (great software/bad hardware) > DCT6412 (bad software/OK hardware) > DCH3416 (bad software/better hardware) > TiVo HD (great software/OK hardware).

I think if you go down to the Comcast office and trade your 9012 for a 3416, you'll see a noticeable picture improvement, but it comes with iGuide. iGuide does what it's supposed to (mostly), but that's about it. Plus, it's free.

Then, of course, there's TiVo...not free, but it's expandable and has a (mostly) great interface.

I will give Dish credit for their HD only package. The cost is reasonable and with free equipment it's a good package for sports since I understand you can add thier sports package for only $6 a month.

Unfortunately, you cannot add the local RSNs to the HD only package. In our case that would be Altitude and Fox Sports Rocky Mountain. If you could, a lot more people would be signing up.

Roy

does anyone know what is the issue with ABC's HD feed, someone mentioned it was a national problem? I just watched my recorded Desperate Housewives from Sunday and it was in SD as well. Whatever it is I hope it gets fixed before Thursday, I hate watching Lost in SD.

will give Dish credit for their HD only package. The cost is reasonable and with free equipment it's a good package

I like the idea of an all HD pkg, The 'no sports' add on does not affect me personally. Also, with Dish, if you opt to pay the install fee ($49) and not accept the three free months, you preserve your cut and run options without being locked into a 18 month contract. I like this a lot. Total cost with DVR (no Locals) is $36/mo for all HD pkg. Still, looking at the actual HD channel lineup, there are prob about half of them that I would have any interest in, and none are essential to me.

New DishHD $29.99 HD Only Package Details (http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-network-forum/121634-new-dishhd-29-99-hd-only-package-details.html)

Unfortunately, you cannot add the local RSNs to the HD only package. In our case that would be Altitude and Fox Sports Rocky Mountain. If you could, a lot more people would be signing up.

Roy

I had called Dish a couple of weeks and also a guy came by soliciting for Dish and both said you can get the $5.99 Multi-sports package with the HD only. I know this is different from what their website infers, but then their website (as is typical for all of the providers) isn't that informative anyway. I just called Dish again this morning to verify and again was told you can combine the two.

does anyone know what is the issue with ABC's HD feed, someone mentioned it was a national problem? I just watched my recorded Desperate Housewives from Sunday and it was in SD as well. Whatever it is I hope it gets fixed before Thursday, I hate watching Lost in SD.

Per KRDO it's a technical problem caused by the ABC commercials feed that is causing a disruption in the signal. It's only happening in prime time and they say they are watching it closely and trying to correct it as soon as it starts but have not yet been able to come up with a permanent solution.

I had called Dish a couple of weeks and also a guy came by soliciting for Dish and both said you can get the $5.99 Multi-sports package with the HD only. I know this is different from what their website infers, but then their website (as is typical for all of the providers) isn't that informative anyway. I just called Dish again this morning to verify and again was told you can combine the two.

Unfortunately, customer service reps don't always give accurate info. Here is a link to a discussion about the HD only pack and sports nets:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-hd-discussions/128126-hd-only-pack-rsn-s.html

[QUOTE=royrose;13756686]Unfortunately, customer service reps don't always give accurate info.

I wouldn't commit to anything without getting it in writing, so I sent an e-mail to Dish and got this reply:

"Thank you for your email. Unfortunately, you are not able to add the Multi Sports Pack with the dishHD Standalone package.

Your business is greatly appreciated and we thank you for allowing us to be of assistance to you. If you have any further questions or concerns, please refer to www.dishnetwork.com or reply to this email.

Sincerely,

Christopher B.

DISH Network eCare

Pine Brook"

And they wonder why they have no credibility. It's also why it's difficult to get anything in writing from them.

What's hard to understand is why they wouldn't want the extra revenue when it doesn't involve additional equipment. Any other time they'd jump at the chance to sell extra programming.

Based on a number of messages in alt.tv.tech.hdtv, I believe that this was a nationwide issue this time, and not the fault of KRDO. There were locations that missed the entire last half of the show. Getting it in SD is better than nothing.

I ended up buying Lost on the Apple TV in HD for $1.99, sort of as a test of the picture quality, but also to see the whole thing in HD without breakups. It was really a pretty good experience. Not quite OTA HD, but not bad at all.

1) What can we get here in terms of locals in HD via DirectTV? Anything? Or do you have to simply use an OTA antenna?

>>> D* does not offer HD locals in COS. OTA HD is your only option.

2) Do they have an HD DVR with two tuners available to rent monthly? Or do you need to buy one outright?

>>>They offer leased DVR w/ dual tuners -
HR20-700 (http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/08/16/directv-hd-dvr-hr20-700-exposed/) - has an OTA input (discontinued? - hard to find)
HR21-700 (http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9896534-1.html) - no OTA input, but there is an add on OTA tuner (AM21 (http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/01/09/directv-intros-two-atsc-tuner-am21-to-piggyback-hr21/) ) via USB to the HR21 for additional cost.

3) Any concerns I should be aware of (weather-related drop-outs, etc)?

>>>Rain fade due to snow, Compressed HD lite, no 'Tivo' UI driven DVR, endless 2 year contracts

4) Do I need a phone landline connection for the DVR to work? (don't currently have a phone line)

>>>Not sure on the new HR hardware, I used to use an 10-250 (Tivo) that required a phone line. they may let you use a broadband connection, but not sure.

Also, visit dbstalk.com for more details on D* HR2x DVRs

I would add:

1) COS locals in HD are coming to DirecTV - just not sure when or which satellite...could be September, could be in a year

3) the new MPEG4 channels have a much sharper and better look to them - I wouldn't call them HD-Lite like a lot of the older MPEG2 channels... Most everything is headed in the MPEG4 direction.

I have windows media center hooked up to rabbit ears and the guide data for KTSC HD (8.1) feed is off by one hour. I don't know where they get their guide data - titantv has it right. Does anyone know what the deal is? Any work arounds?

I have windows media center hooked up to rabbit ears and the guide data for KTSC HD (8.1) feed is off by one hour. I don't know where they get their guide data - titantv has it right. Does anyone know what the deal is? Any work arounds?

I don't know who MCE uses for their guide data. Titan uses Tribune services which is what the newspapers generally have. I have Beyond TV which uses Gemstar, which is TV Guide and their listings are correct. I have the listings set up on my Yahoo home page and I just checked and they are wrong also - tonight they show Carrier from 8-10 instead of 7-9. You can report the error to Yahoo and maybe they'll correct it with the provider. Contacting KTSC may help.

We had the same problem with KOAA's listings a couple of months ago and it was only the Springs listings that were wrong and it took a couple of weeks for them to straighten it out.

I had recorded NCIS and Shark on Tuesday night OTA and began watching it Wed evening and to my surprise both shows were in UGLY SD. Anybody know why KKTV did not broadcast in HD?

I heard today that the 6 new Comcast HD channels in colorado springs was delayed until early May. Same for Pueblo. :-(

Any updates? Still on for "early" May?

I had recorded NCIS and Shark on Tuesday night OTA and began watching it Wed evening and to my surprise both shows were in UGLY SD. Anybody know why KKTV did not broadcast in HD?

Same thing happened weeks ago for the final episodes of Jericho. Common denominator is primary election coverage. KKTV (and KCNC in Denver) have stated that the network satellite feed to the mountain time zone that is normally used for prime time HD delivery is preempted for election coverage. I believe I saw primary coverage in HD during the SD NCIS, which would make sense.

I just called KKTV and behold they have yet to get an HD overlay for thier fricking weather forecasts. " We are planning to get this this spring"...IS it my imagination or is it not Spring yet???
Also asked about NCIS and yes KKTV says it is the main feed's fault.
I realy appreciate CBS's concern that I get updates of the elections.
Obama vs Hilliiary VS Cain mmmmmm wonder what NCIS looked like in HD last night.
Believe me I take my country seriously. I just wish our political parties would return the favor with real candidates :)

...
Believe me I take my country seriously. I just wish our political parties would return the favor with real candidates :)

Ditto.

And to keep this on topic - I hope there's lots of good HD programming here in southern Colorado over the next 4 years; we're going to need something to look forward to ;)

Anybody know when CW 57 plans to go High Def?

Any updates? Still on for "early" May?

sometime between monday and wednesday night.

sometime between monday and wednesday night.

Thanks for the update.

KKTV going high def?

I don't usually watch KKTV news but caught it the other night. They have promos for the digital transition that say that their news and weather will be crystal clear and show a wide screen image. They don't actually say they are going high def but they sure do imply it.

Andrew Wineke, the Gazette TV writer, said in his blog that the parent company of KKTV announced that they are getting HD cameras and equipment for 21 of their stations apparantly including KKTV. I would assume that they would aim to be ready by the analog cutoff in February.

Roy

Three new comcast HD channels on the air so far - science, disney and abc family! I dont see the other three yet

Can you list or post a link to a list of all of the HD channels that are now available on Comcast?

I have been a long term Dish Network customer. Over the last couple of days they added some HD channels but removed the 15 Voom channels that made the DishNet offerings unique. I am now starting to look into DirectTV and Comcast to see how they compare. I get the locals by OTA, so that doesn't matter.

Roy

Comcaster, I have all six HD channels today. TLC, Disc Sci, Food, Disney, HGTV & Family
Thanks for keeping us updated. Do you think they may add more this summer?

Can you list or post a link to a list of all of the HD channels that are now available on Comcast?

I have been a long term Dish Network customer. Over the last couple of days they added some HD channels but removed the 15 Voom channels that made the DishNet offerings unique. I am now starting to look into DirectTV and Comcast to see how they compare. I get the locals by OTA, so that doesn't matter.

Roy


701 - MOJO HD
705 - KOAA-DT (NBC)
708 - KTSC-DT (PBS)
711 - KKTV-DT (CBS)
713 - KRDO-DT (ABC)
721 - KXRM-DT (FOX)
733 - ESPN HD
734 - ESPN2 HD
735 - TNT HD
746 - HD Theater (Discovery)
750 - HBO HD
751 - Showtime HD
752 - Starz HD
753 - Cinemax HD
754 - Golf Channel/Versus HD
755 - Universal HD
756 - MTV HD
757 - National Geographic HD
758 - A&E HD
759 - TBS HD
760 - NFL Network HD
761 - History Channel HD
762 - The Discovery Channel HD
763 - Disney HD
764 - ABC Family HD
765 - TLC HD
766 - Food HD
767 - HGTV HD
768 - Science HD

Thanks. No HDNet, I see. That is one of my favs.

Roy

Thanks. No HDNet, I see. That is one of my favs.

Roy

Nope. Cuban and Comcast don't play well together :)

Also no FX-HD :mad:

Is there any actual HD content on either Disney HD or ABC Family HD? Haven't seen any yet.

Related note -- how is Comcast adding new HD channels (and hence using more bandwidth) to what I would have assumed was already a "full pipe"? Does it have to do with reducing their analog channel count? Or is it tied to the added compression topic we've been hearing about lately? Just curious...

Is there any actual HD content on either Disney HD or ABC Family HD? Haven't seen any yet.

Related note -- how is Comcast adding new HD channels (and hence using more bandwidth) to what I would have assumed was already a "full pipe"? Does it have to do with reducing their analog channel count? Or is it tied to the added compression topic we've been hearing about lately? Just curious...

I did see some HD on ABC Family the other night whilst adding it to my "favorite" list. It was 700 Club or something I think.

According to the official AVS guide (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=164671), both are just HD mirrors of the SD channels.

Related note -- how is Comcast adding new HD channels (and hence using more bandwidth) to what I would have assumed was already a "full pipe"? ...

The pipe probably isn't totally full especially with fiber to the node infrustructure. The cable system in colorado springs is a pretty robust 860 mhz. With that said, I'm sure there will be some bandwidth hunting going on to get to the announced 100 HD channels. Probably by moving some lesser channels from analog to digital because each time you do that you get 6mhz back which is 2-3 hd channels or 8-12 sd digital channels. But there is also the benefit from 256qam, possibly switched digital video, mpeg4 (or other variant) and of course remultiplexing.

Looks like the Motorola tunning adapter is getting closer to delivery. EngadgetHD got their hands on (http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/05/18/hands-on-with-the-motorola-tuning-adapter-mtr700/) one yesterday.

Good news for us Comcast / TiVo users.

Comcaster, please don't hesitate to let us know if you need local testers :)

Looks like the Motorola tunning adapter is getting closer to delivery.

They also say it still not ready for public consumption (http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/05/20/tuning-adapters-hit-cablelabs-testing-lair-still-not-ready-for/)

It is good to see some progress, but I also suspect Ccast will leverage this device to extract even more monthly garbage fees from HD customers. IMO, they (FCC/Moto) should just let people buy the device outright and eliminate the potential revenue abuse.

Is it true that KTSC will go back to broadcasting on channel 8 after the conversion (instead of 26)? It will stink if we have two channels we need rabbit ears for - right now the ears are used for 11 and the bow tie-ish thing for all the others. I ran into that somewhere on the web (not antennaweb) and I have forgotten where to recheck. Anyone else read that?

Susan

Yes, KTSC-DT will be returning to channel 8, but the good news is that they'll likely apply to have something like 105 kW on channel 8, which would mean you can probably get away with using the bowtie on channel 8.

At the moment they only have a permit for 2.5 kW, but they originally applied for 105 kW. Once the FCC lifts their "freeze" on station power levels, I imagine they'll try for the 105 kW again.

- Trip

*sigh* Wonder why the FCC just couldn't have mandated all digital TV signals will be in the UHF portion of the spectrum. Then they could auction off the VHF spectrum with proceeds used to offset the cost of VHF channels migrating to UHF. Surely there is enough UHF spectrum to accomodate all the VHF channels even in major markets. If everything was UHF we could dispense with the large antennas. :D Ok, Ok I know VHF has greater range. But still ...

Who would buy the VHF spectrum?

UHF is what's in demand. As you said, UHF uses smaller antennas (important in small devices like cell phones), and UHF is what's already in use for cell phones and wireless internet services, and so it's what would be useful. Honestly, VHF is clearing out in a lot of places due to real and perceived problems with it.

For example, consider yourself lucky you're not like me and living with a digital on the low-VHF (channels 2-6). Those have issues with lightning, electrical motors, e-skip, etc. Even with a roof antenna which worked great for all the local VHF and UHF analogs, I cannot hold my local digital on channel 3 90% of the time. If I ever needed evidence that low-VHF is useless for most digital applications, I've seen all of it first-hand with my digital station on channel 3.

The upper VHF channels really aren't so bad in the grand scheme of things. A lot of UHF antennas will handle it decently enough that you can get away with them. Plus they have great power savings for the stations without encountering the problems of low-VHF.

Especially if KTSC gets their 105 kW, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. That's what we commonly call an "insane" amount of power. =) Most stations aren't even close to that much, though it's not unheard of. (KNTV in San Francisco is on channel 12 and has 103.1 kW)

And lastly, in fairness to the FCC, they originally DID plan to make digital TV all UHF. After doing a bunch of testing, they determined that upper-VHF would also be applicable for digital TV. The original final DTV band was going to consist of channels 7-59. Then the broadcasters started complaining that they wanted channels 2-6 because of the excellent propogation the signals have with analog signals. Eventually, the FCC gave in and gave them 2-6 in exchange for channels 52-59. Then when WBBM-DT 3 in Chicago signed on, all the broadcasters suddenly realized why the FCC had removed 2-6 from the band. After the shutoff next year, only 40 stations will end up on 2-6 in the whole US.

- Trip

Trip,
Yeah I hear you on the Low VHF frequencies. Sorry to hear you have a low VHF channel to contend with. That's the pitts. Even a Deep Fringe antenna with preamp doesn't help I take it. Bummer. What about an antenna array (i.e. multiple antennas)? Have any space to put up an aluminum forest? Or, what about a frequency specific Yagi? Force12 Antennas might be able to make one for you at reasonable cost.

Guess I should be thankful our local channels are on 8 and 11. You bring up an interesting point though, I wonder how well a UHF antenna would do for those two channels, even though not tuned for VHF frequencies. We may have enough signal that it might overcome the loss. All our stations are on Cheyenne Mtn so could just aim the antenna in that direction (clear line of sight) and see what happens. Though aren't most preamps VHF or UHF? Wish I had a spectrum analyzer. LOL Well good luck to you.
Cheers.
satcom

Trip,
Yeah I hear you on the Low VHF frequencies. Sorry to hear you have a low VHF channel to contend with. That's the pitts. Even a Deep Fringe antenna with preamp doesn't help I take it. Bummer. What about an antenna array (i.e. multiple antennas)? Have any space to put up an aluminum forest? Or, what about a frequency specific Yagi? Force12 Antennas might be able to make one for you at reasonable cost.

I've been thinking about a lot of different options. My dad is talking about satellite, but I imagine the rain fade will go over about as well as current signal problems. Except it'll be all the signals at once and not just PBS. Grand.

If he'd let me go on the roof, I'd have done some things myself by now.

Guess I should be thankful our local channels are on 8 and 11. You bring up an interesting point though, I wonder how well a UHF antenna would do for those two channels, even though not tuned for VHF frequencies.

My Silver Sensor is an indoor antenna and it shows upper VHF analogs reasonably well for its size. It's not great, but it gets the job done. I'd be interested to see how it handles upper-VHF digital.

We may have enough signal that it might overcome the loss. All our stations are on Cheyenne Mtn so could just aim the antenna in that direction (clear line of sight) and see what happens. Though aren't most preamps VHF or UHF? Wish I had a spectrum analyzer. LOL Well good luck to you.
Cheers.
satcom

I wish I had a spectrum analyzer as well. I could use one. And thanks for the luck. =)

Honestly, I'd be hoping that KKTV-DT applies to boost power just as much as KTSC plans to. 105 kW is nothing to sneeze at, and would likely overcome the UHF antenna issue.

Most amps will handle both VHF and UHF coming through a single input. In fact, I'm not aware of an amp that won't do that.

Best of luck to you as well. If you can get KKTV-DT now, I'd say you'll have little or no trouble with KTSC-DT so long as they get their massive power boost they want. Remember, they want five times the power that KKTV-DT is doing.

- Trip

I believe KKTV will be on channel 10, not 11, at analog cutoff.

Watching the EliteXC : CBS Primetime Event tonight, in glorious HD, first time MMA is on network television, and it's all leading up to the main event Kimbo Slice vs James Thompson! Then our Podunk channel 11 puts it's stupid weather warning up resulting in a SD image and skewed aspect ratio. Then the weather guy breaks in and talks for what seems like forever, repeating himself, basically making me want him to drop dead.

feeling helpless, I send this email to weather@kktv.com. The email address they scroll across looking for weather pics or some such thing:

Turn off your dumb warning before the main event please. Every other channel in town can put their warning over a HD signal, why can't you?

So to my amazement, they actually do turn off the stupid warning and go back to HD midway through the big fight. So I got to watch half of it in HD. Thanks KKTV, only half the fight ruined!

Hey Comcaster, looks like Cox is going to provide the tuning adapters for free to S3 customers.

Cox to give Phoenix TiVo users free tuning adapter to cope with SDV (http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/06/03/cox-to-give-phoenix-tivo-users-free-tuning-adapter-to-cope-with/)

if/when needed here in COS, what is Comcast's plan for these devices? Fee or Free?

Hey Comcaster, looks like Cox is going to provide the tuning adapters for free to S3 customers.

Cox to give Phoenix TiVo users free tuning adapter to cope with SDV (http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/06/03/cox-to-give-phoenix-tivo-users-free-tuning-adapter-to-cope-with/)

if/when needed here in COS, what is Comcast's plan for these devices? Fee or Free?

Boy, I hope they are free. Frankly, I am more interested in SDV with tru2way. Either way, I haven't heard of a launch date of SDV in the springs, much less adapter plans. They are testing SDV in Denver, but there hasn't been mention of when it may show up in southern colorado.

Boy, I hope they are free. Frankly, I am more interested in SDV with tru2way. Either way, I haven't heard of a launch date of SDV in the springs, much less adapter plans. They are testing SDV in Denver, but there hasn't been mention of when it may show up in southern colorado.

Free is always good! Keep your TiVo HD/S3 customers happy - they're savvy and like to spend money. Well, maybe we don't like to spend it, but we do. :)

We know how important SDV is to cable - about as important as TiVo is to its fans. I've hear the next gen TiVo will be tru2way - best of both world.

Just wanted to let you all know that I got my Hauppauge HD-PVR a couple of days ago. I have a Motorola DCH3200 STB and it is so nice to be able to record HiDef off cable without any DRM restrictions. For anyone using SageTV or BeyondTV I highly recommend this product.

-Mike

Just wanted to let you all know that I got my Hauppauge HD-PVR a couple of days ago. I have a Motorola DCH3200 STB and it is so nice to be able to record HiDef off cable without any DRM restrictions. For anyone using SageTV or BeyondTV I highly recommend this product.

-MikeHi Mike; Any coments on the PQ of the Hauppauge HD-PVR? As I understand it, it records HDTV via USB to your HDD from the component output of your STB (or other device) :). You can then burn the HD recording to a DVD-R SL or DL :D. Anyone know of a hardware thread for the device?
Snuffy

...Anyone know of a hardware thread for the device?
Snuffy

Check here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1015617) and here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=974885).

Hi Mike; Any coments on the PQ of the Hauppauge HD-PVR? As I understand it, it records HDTV via USB to your HDD from the component output of your STB (or other device) :). You can then burn the HD recording to a DVD-R SL or DL :D. Anyone know of a hardware thread for the device?
Snuffy

I cannot see a difference on my 110" screen between driving my projector directly with the STB over component, and running through the HD-PVR. I can't really do a side by side comparison which I believe is necessary to really see the differences between the 2 pictures, but switching back and forth the quality looks the same. I'm very pleased with the results.

-Mike

Hi Mike; Any coments on the PQ of the Hauppauge HD-PVR? As I understand it, it records HDTV via USB to your HDD from the component output of your STB (or other device) :). You can then burn the HD recording to a DVD-R SL or DL :D. Anyone know of a hardware thread for the device?
Snuffy

A good HD-PVR review on ZatzNotFunny (http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2008-06/hauppauge-hd-pvr-%e2%80%93-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly/)

I've been debating between one of these or an HD Homerun for my SageTV setup. I am leaning towards the HDHR so I can get away from paying Comcast for my HD box entirely, but then I will loose a few HD channels that are only available with the Comcast box. Decisions, decisions, decisions... It will have to wait until I get the new PS3 setup and running though...

A good HD-PVR review on ZatzNotFunny (http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2008-06/hauppauge-hd-pvr-%e2%80%93-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly/)

I've been debating between one of these or an HD Homerun for my SageTV setup. I am leaning towards the HDHR so I can get away from paying Comcast for my HD box entirely, but then I will loose a few HD channels that are only available with the Comcast box. Decisions, decisions, decisions... It will have to wait until I get the new PS3 setup and running though...

Not just a few, most of the HD channels will not be available on the HDHR. I have friends at work that use an unencrypted qam with MythTV and they can only really get the locals and HistoryHD. Not much of an upgrade over an OTA tuner.

-Mike

Rockies Vs White Sox on WGN America, Dish Network, right now. picture quality looks excellent. I assume it is 1080i. On my SXRD it looks sharper than FSRM which my set must convert from 720p.

Roy

I still have one of the Moxi DVR's from the Adelphia pre-Comcast days and we like the Moxi interface so much better than the interface on the new Motorola DVR's like the DCH3416 we have on another TV.

We got a letter in the mail that says Comcast has had trouble with the Moxis being unreliable, which I believe to be true. The letter says they are discontinuing the Moxis which I have known for a long time.

However, now they say they want my Moxi back and want to trade it for a Motorola. They said that now there is an option of getting an HD DVR like the 3416, or an SD DVR. Does anyone know what model the SD DVR is and what size hard drive it has in it? They say the SD DVR is cheaper which would be nice because this one is for our SD TV.

We are seeing the picture break up a lot on our Moxi, but I haven't yet determined if it's the cabling or the Moxi itself causing the problem. We're just having a hard time giving up the Moxi for the Motorola.

Guy

Digital Man - Everyone must be on vacation, so I will take a stab at your post.

I agree, the moxi interface is significantly more "weblike" than the utilitarian DCT/DCH platform. While both do the same thing, it is pretty amazing how differently the "same thing" can seem. I have heard that there is going to be a new weblike interface for the DCT/DCH platform in 2009. Then again, a TiVO interface has been promised for a couple of years now. With that said, I had a Moxi and got the blue screen of death and pixelation whenever the ambient temperature near the box was above 78 degrees. I haven't had the same issues with the DCT/DCH platform.

I have one of the SD/DVRs. It is manufactured by "Pace Electronics" - not Motorola. The guide system is identical to the HD/DVR with the same functionality. The hard drive is the same size as the HD box. Near as I can tell, about the only difference is the price and the lack of a front panel clock display (which i miss). It has the same remote too.

good luck.

Digital Man - Everyone must be on vacation, so I will take a stab at your post.

I agree, the moxi interface is significantly more "weblike" than the utilitarian DCT/DCH platform. While both do the same thing, it is pretty amazing how differently the "same thing" can seem. I have heard that there is going to be a new weblike interface for the DCT/DCH platform in 2009. Then again, a TiVO interface has been promised for a couple of years now. With that said, I had a Moxi and got the blue screen of death and pixelation whenever the ambient temperature near the box was above 78 degrees. I haven't had the same issues with the DCT/DCH platform.

I have one of the SD/DVRs. It is manufactured by "Pace Electronics" - not Motorola. The guide system is identical to the HD/DVR with the same functionality. The hard drive is the same size as the HD box. Near as I can tell, about the only difference is the price and the lack of a front panel clock display (which i miss). It has the same remote too.

good luck.

Not on vacation...yet :)

Thanks for the info. Didn't know they had Pace SD DVRs here. Don't know much about them other than a Pace employee is active in the forum (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=903826).

Joan
I think you'll find that Comcast moved the local HDs to:
PBS - 88.1
ABC - 88.2
CBS - 129.1
Fox - 129.2
NBC - 130.1

Happy reprogramming!

Rich
Does anyone know if Comcast has moved the local HD lineups again? PBS had been showing up on 88.1, and ABC had been on 88.2. Both of those channels are now showing the 'Scrambled Video' notice now.

Thanks,
Joan

Joan,
PBS HD is now on 87.1
ABC HD is now on 87.2

Rich

Joan,
PBS HD is now on 87.1
ABC HD is now on 87.2

RichLooks like comcast is a real crap shoot every time you turn it on. One of the reasons I haven't had cable for a long time. :) I can't remember when D* last swapped channels for the stuff I watch.

Looks like comcast is a real crap shoot every time you turn it on. One of the reasons I haven't had cable for a long time. :) I can't remember when D* last swapped channels for the stuff I watch.

Snuffy - It is important to note that these folks are getting the HD channels via unencrypted qams (and for free). They are doing it without a comcast box. HD channels procured via an actual comcast receiver have never moved.

Try to get any HD channels without your directv box.

So what's the point of Comcast moving the actual frequency? just to screw with these folks getting the HD channels via unencrypted qams (for free)? Is there a valid reason for this other than to get these people to maybe rent a CC box?

So what's the point of Comcast moving the actual frequency? just to screw with these folks getting the HD channels via unencrypted qams (for free)? Is there a valid reason for this other than to get these people to maybe rent a CC box?

That is a great question. I don't think the unencrypted QAMs are intended to be viewed and generally weren't by the general public until more people started getting their own digital tuners and TVs with built in tuners. From what I've read, many if not most cable systems encrypt all QAMs now. So that raises three questions:
1. Why do they move them around (the original question): Cable QAMs are intended to be viewed via a cable box attached to a channel map not directly, so engineers move them around to maximize bandwidth based on changing throughput needs without consideration of who might be hitch hiking on the signal. I would bet that D* and E* flip signals around all of the time, but no one knows because they cannot access signal without a receiver.
2. Why aren't all QAMs encrypted? Two words; expense and bother. Encrypting a signal has a cost to it and if few to none have access or know-how, what is the point? That leads to the last question:
3. Will they encrypt at some point? Most assuredly, yes. No one gives stuff away for free for very long. This last one is actually a bummer since critical thinking skills would say that unencrypted HD channels could be a selling point for cable - not unlike analog channels going to any tv in the house without a box (another selling point undersold by cable companies).

2. Why aren't all QAMs encrypted? Two words; expense and bother. Encrypting a signal has a cost to it and if few to none have access or know-how, what is the point? That leads to the last question:
3. Will they encrypt at some point? Most assuredly, yes. No one gives stuff away for free for very long. This last one is actually a bummer since critical thinking skills would say that unencrypted HD channels could be a selling point for cable - not unlike analog channels going to any tv in the house without a box (another selling point undersold by cable companies).
Uh, no. It's called the law. Specifically Digital Must Carry. Yup the primary digital channel of local stations must be carried and it must be 'In The Clear'.

So, ya, there is a reason for them being there. :cool:

Uh, no. It's called the law. Specifically Digital Must Carry. Yup the primary digital channel of local stations must be carried and it must be 'In The Clear'.

So, ya, there is a reason for them being there. :cool:

My limited understanding of this was that the current "must carry" applied only to the analog signal and only until February.

It's the local station owners that will decide the future. They can either charge (via a "retransmission consent") or not charge (invoking "must-carry") cable companies to carry their digital signal. If they charge, the cable companies can (and most likely will) encrypt.

My sources are here (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19176496-) and here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Must-carry).

My limited understanding of this was that the current "must carry" applied only to the analog signal and only until February.

In September, 2007, the Commission approved a regulation that requires cable systems to carry both analog and digital signals if the cable system uses both types of transmission. Small cable operators were allowed to request a waiver. The regulation will end three years after the digital TV transition date, and applies only to stations not opting for retransmission consent.
Yes, it's a mess. But, I wouldn't really worry. the loss of households, is a loss of ad revenue($$$), and the major networks won't let that happen(neither will the customers).

One way or another, these stations will be rebroadcast and ITC.

BTW, I've recently been in Omaha & CT, and the digital locals are available in both places on cable systems and ITC.
....jc

I stand corrected. Or not. ;-)

Three new HD channels coming to colorado springs and pueblo by the end of July:
- SciFi HD
- Animal Planet HD
- USA HD

I stand corrected. Or not. ;-)

Three new HD channels coming to colorado springs and pueblo by the end of July:
- SciFi HD
- Animal Planet HD
- USA HD

Excellent news. Been waiting for SciFi HD.

Thanks.

Any word on when we might get HD news channels such as CNN?

I've asked numerous times on that one myself; good luck getting a confirmed date on that one. CNN and Fox News channel I would estimate anywhere from 9-12 months behind everyone else. It's ridiculous, but the Springs is always that much far behind. Other Comcast markets have had CNN for over 6 months now. I won't even dare mention the other highly demanded channels Speed-HD and FX-HD which the satellite guys have already.

Regards...

Yeah I've been following this thread for quite some time just hoping a HD cable news channel would be coming. Fox, CNN, MSNBC or any of the financial channels.

Coming from the Chicagoland market I am in full agreement that the Springs Comcast guys need to quit listening to their wives and at least give us HD news over cooking or home design channels.

Snuffy - It is important to note that these folks are getting the HD channels via unencrypted qams (and for free). They are doing it without a comcast box. HD channels procured via an actual comcast receiver have never moved.

Try to get any HD channels without your directv box.You talk about your customers like they're free-loaders. To get the "unencrypted qams" they have to be connected to your RG-6 cable and I doubt that it's free ;) Since you plug your service on a regular basis, here is my plug for D* which is still a better value for HD.

Nice to see the three new HD Channels tonight, just hope they actually have some HD programming on them and not just the upscaled SD stuff like Disney HD and ABC Family HD are showing. Comcast is a big improvement over Adelphia, my service stays up and so does the internet connection, not so in the ole Adelphia days. I haven't had to re-set my cable card in weeks....lol.

These new channels are nice. IMO, the only channels left that are badly missed is some sort of news HD (preferably CNNHD) and ESPNEWSHD. With those 2 channels, I would be pretty content. My only real beef left would be a DVR with a HDD that was at least 500GB.

the only channels left that are badly missed FXHD ?

</behavior mode on> ;)

These new channels are nice. IMO, the only channels left that are badly missed is some sort of news HD (preferably CNNHD) and ESPNEWSHD. With those 2 channels, I would be pretty content. My only real beef left would be a DVR with a HDD that was at least 500GB.

Agree. No need to pump up HD channel numbers with SD content :)

DirecTV to provide Colorado Springs locals in HD between August and year-end:
http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/news/2008/07/directv_to_offer_hd_local_channels_in_121_markets_by_year-end.php

I will sure miss the occasional OTA dropouts and freezes.

That is GREAT news. I hope they hit the Springs sooner rather than later.

Well, I'd still like to see HDnet again someday. But yes, I'm happy about the new channels, especially SciFi. Now it's really up to the networks to make more HD programming...not something Comcast can really control.

However, I had another Comcast issue yesterday that really annoyed me. Who wrote the crummy user interface for their OnDemand system? You'd think after testing similar systems in hotel chains for decades that they would have learned something about the interface.

Yesterday I was watching a Preview. But because of this annoying remote control "lag" issue that happens sometimes (where the DVR appears frozen for like 30 seconds while it queues up all of your remote commands), I accidentally pressed the "Prev" button on the remote while looking at the movie description.

Guess what? Pressing the Prev button when the "Buy now" command on the toolbar interface is highlighted actually causes you to BUY the movie!!! You'd think that it would ask to confirm that you actually want to buy it, but no. And when trying to watch a preview, it displays this huge annoying dialog asking you to either Stop the preview or Buy the movie. It covers up a huge portion of the screen, and the Buy option is the default, so again, if you have remote lag, it's too easy to accidentally buy something.

I'm sure this was done by design to make it really easy for people to accidentally buy something they don't want. Probably gives them a lot of extra income. Especially since there is no way to cancel a movie once purchased, and if you call customer support, they can't do anything for several days until it actually shows up on the bill.

The OnDemand system could be a real "killer app" for cable over satellite, so you'd think they would actually put more effort into the user interface. I'd use OnDemand a *lot* more if it had a better interface and was easier to find stuff (like a global list of *all* movies, regardless of whether they are Premium, free, or whatever).

Pressing the Prev button on every other screen goes back to the previous screen, and I just don't see why this doesn't work properly when viewing the "Info" of a PPP movie.

DirecTV to provide Colorado Springs locals in HD between August and year-end:
http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/news/2008/07/directv_to_offer_hd_local_channels_in_121_markets_by_year-end.php

I will sure miss the occasional OTA dropouts and freezes.

Very good news. The one big thing they were missing here were digital locals. Wonder if they'll have PBS as well?

Well, I'd still like to see HDnet again someday. But yes, I'm happy about the new channels, especially SciFi. Now it's really up to the networks to make more HD programming...not something Comcast can really control.

However, I had another Comcast issue yesterday that really annoyed me. Who wrote the crummy user interface for their OnDemand system? You'd think after testing similar systems in hotel chains for decades that they would have learned something about the interface.

Yesterday I was watching a Preview. But because of this annoying remote control "lag" issue that happens sometimes (where the DVR appears frozen for like 30 seconds while it queues up all of your remote commands), I accidentally pressed the "Prev" button on the remote while looking at the movie description.

Guess what? Pressing the Prev button when the "Buy now" command on the toolbar interface is highlighted actually causes you to BUY the movie!!! You'd think that it would ask to confirm that you actually want to buy it, but no. And when trying to watch a preview, it displays this huge annoying dialog asking you to either Stop the preview or Buy the movie. It covers up a huge portion of the screen, and the Buy option is the default, so again, if you have remote lag, it's too easy to accidentally buy something.

I'm sure this was done by design to make it really easy for people to accidentally buy something they don't want. Probably gives them a lot of extra income. Especially since there is no way to cancel a movie once purchased, and if you call customer support, they can't do anything for several days until it actually shows up on the bill.

The OnDemand system could be a real "killer app" for cable over satellite, so you'd think they would actually put more effort into the user interface. I'd use OnDemand a *lot* more if it had a better interface and was easier to find stuff (like a global list of *all* movies, regardless of whether they are Premium, free, or whatever).

Pressing the Prev button on every other screen goes back to the previous screen, and I just don't see why this doesn't work properly when viewing the "Info" of a PPP movie.

Forgot about HDNet Movies - that rocked.

Agree about the VOD interface. They used to not have the screen 1/2 covered; hate that.

I'd call them up and get credited for that movie.

I've heard the next gen software will have a much better VOD interface, but that's probably years away.

DirecTV to provide Colorado Springs locals in HD between August and year-end:
http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/news/2008/07/directv_to_offer_hd_local_channels_in_121_markets_by_year-end.php

I will sure miss the occasional OTA dropouts and freezes.


I've checked to see if Dish plans on adding the local HD channels, but couldn't find anything. Does anyone know when/if Dish is going to add local HD to their service in our market?

Has anybody noticed that KRDO 13 is broadcasting the local news in HD? That is a nice step in the right direction. I have noticed one issue and don't know if it is my receiver or the braodcast. Whenever they are in a local commercial and the scene has a lot brightness to it, my picture blinks. I am using a E* VIP 622 receiver. This only happens on KRDO 13 and only on local transmission. Anybody else have this issue or thoughts?

Has anybody noticed that KRDO 13 is broadcasting the local news in HD? That is a nice step in the right direction. I have noticed one issue and don't know if it is my receiver or the braodcast. Whenever they are in a local commercial and the scene has a lot brightness to it, my picture blinks. I am using a E* VIP 622 receiver. This only happens on KRDO 13 and only on local transmission. Anybody else have this issue or thoughts?
I haven't noticed the brightness/blinking issue (watching OTA via D* H20) but the picture seems to lack contrast. They do tend to ignore the fact that some HD TVs still have as much as 5% overscan so tops of heads are cropped on their News broadcasts. Doesn't happen on all sets. Even with these issues, It is good to see local HD at last. :)

if/when Dish offers HD locals, the 722 VIP will be very cool as it allows recording from the dual sat tuners + one from OTA - Three tuners recording at once :)

Has anybody noticed that KRDO 13 is broadcasting the local news in HD? That is a nice step in the right direction. I have noticed one issue and don't know if it is my receiver or the braodcast. Whenever they are in a local commercial and the scene has a lot brightness to it, my picture blinks. I am using a E* VIP 622 receiver. This only happens on KRDO 13 and only on local transmission. Anybody else have this issue or thoughts?

Caught this last night - very nice. Mr. Wineke covered it in today's Gazette (http://www.gazette.com/articles/krdo_38760___article.html/new_high.html).

. I am using a E* VIP 622 receiver. This only happens on KRDO 13 and only on local transmission. Anybody else have this issue or thoughts?

I just noticed the KRDO HD and watched only briefly, but didn't notice the problem you mentioned. I have a 722 with OTA for locals and was watching through the DVR. Nice to have an alternative to KKTV which I usually watch since NBC and FOX both use those obnoxious colored/patterned pillarboxes.

If anyone's interested, the E* HD only package for $30 is changing Aug. 1. I switched a month ago from D* and have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the HD and the 722 DVR is very impressive. While the channel selection may not be for everyone, they offer almost everything I normally watched before, and some channels I hadn't seen like the Smithsonian (which has great HD), Universal, HDNet, MGM, MusicHD are very good. The only thing missing is FSN, which they say they may offer in the near future in the sports package. News is lacking, though, since CNN and CNBC are just a waste of bandwidth.

Only dissapointment is that their dish seems to be much more sensitive to the weather than D* was, but that's the nice thing about having OTA and a separate recorder.

If anyone's interested, the E* HD only package for $30 is changing Aug. 1.

What's changing? I have this package now.

What's changing? I have this package now.

Apparently they're changing the HD package options, but those of us already subscribed are supposed to retain the same channels. I don't know is this is all gospel - I ran across it in this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=971635&page=30

I didn't think at that price they would keep offering it for long. I'm going to keep an eye on their site and see what changes are in store.

What's changing? I have this package now.

Update:

The new HD "Turbo" packages are now listed on the Dish site. There are now 3 levels of HD only. It appears current subscribers are grandfathered in to the top package which is all of the channels we now have, plus they added Lifetime, Lifetime Movies, CBS College Sports, Green, and WGN (all HD) as of today. No mention is made of any price increase for current customers. They have essentially increased the HD only for all of the channels by $10.00, but offer 2 lower level options, so the worst scenario would be a $10.00 increase. In all, it's still a good deal, especially if they keep adding HD channels without exhorbitant price increases.

Comcaster,

I see Comcast is rolling out Speed HD, FX HD, Fox News HD, and AMC HD in other markets.

Any estimated time frame for those channels in Southern Colorado?

We've been waiting 7+ months for CNN-HD, and all of those channels you mentioned would be awesome to match the satellite guys, but I wouldn't expect any of those until next year. Colo Springs is the worst Comcast market in the States when it comes to timely delivery of channels that rollout in other markets....just the way it is. The new channels that have been added recently are over compressed because of bandwidth issues I would guess. USA-HD doesn't have that clear look to it on it's primetime shows. Hope they can address this very soon as picture quality has went down this past year.

...Colo Springs is the worst Comcast market in the States when it comes to timely delivery of channels that rollout in other markets....just the way it is...

We're not leading edge, that's for sure :)

Reading through this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1011955) thread however leads me to believe we're probably somewhere near the middle of the pack.

I wish DirecTv & Dish would hurry up with digital locals so there'd be some real competition!

Hey everyone,

New forum member here. I live up in the NorthEast Briargate area close to Explorer Elementary school. I'm currently a DishNetwork subscriber and who knows when they're ever going to make local HD channels available. Until they do, I'm considering the purchase of an OTA HDTV Antenna to pickup the locals in HD.

Does anyone have any recommendations? A friend of mine who lives within a couple of blocks of me has the RCA ANT1251 and says it works pretty well as an indoor antenna. My preference would be to stick with an indoor one as opposed to an outdoor one as I'm not overly fond of having cables on the outside of my home.

Any help would be appreciated. :)

Hey everyone,

New forum member here. I live up in the NorthEast Briargate area close to Explorer Elementary school. I'm currently a DishNetwork subscriber and who knows when they're ever going to make local HD channels available. Until they do, I'm considering the purchase of an OTA HDTV Antenna to pickup the locals in HD.

Does anyone have any recommendations? A friend of mine who lives within a couple of blocks of me has the RCA ANT1251 and says it works pretty well as an indoor antenna. My preference would be to stick with an indoor one as opposed to an outdoor one as I'm not overly fond of having cables on the outside of my home.

Any help would be appreciated. :)

Others here will probably have more specific information, but check Antennaweb (http://antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx) if you want to get an idea of what to look for.

We're not leading edge, that's for sure :)

Reading through this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1011955) thread however leads me to believe we're probably somewhere near the middle of the pack.

The way CC has different offerings and prices (pkg prices, CC fees, Digital outlet fees) in different markets is just annoying IMO. E* and D* with consistent content and prices is just so much easier for consumers. Only difference with sat prividers is if they offer HD locals or not. I'm sure there is some reason CC does this, but it totally escapes me.

The fact that a thread like that even exists is pretty stupid (comcast, not posters) IMO.

Hi Guys.
I've been watching the Olympics on Comcast ch. 705 and it seems like the picture is going "pixelly" every minute or so. It even stops and goes to a still picture for sometimes a second or two. I'm in the Stetson Hills area. Anybody else seeing this kind of signal problem.?

Hi Guys.
I've been watching the Olympics on Comcast ch. 705 and it seems like the picture is going "pixelly" every minute or so. It even stops and goes to a still picture for sometimes a second or two. I'm in the Stetson Hills area. Anybody else seeing this kind of signal problem.?
I have been having this problem for a while. At first I thought it was one of my DVR's going bad, but have now observed it on my other DVR as well. I am assuming it is some sort of a signal quality problem in my house. I'm swapping out a few feed cables, and if that doesn't resolve it I'll have Comcast come out and check out my signal quality. It varies widely. Sometimes we don't see it at all, but most of the time we see regular break ups where the picture breaks up into little squares. Occasionally it's really bad on a show.

I still assume this is something limited to my household, but I'd be curious if other Comcast customers are seeing it.

Guy

Have been reading this forum for awhile but don't post much. We've had Direct TV for 10 years and HD for the last year and a half. We're enjoying HD locals OTA and reception is excellent. I got the following info from dbstalk.com on D*'s upcoming local HD rollouts now that D11 is up and transmitting. Looks like if this is accurate, CS will be getting HD locals in October. We plan to keep the OTA for PBS if it's not included. Here's the source: http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/moreInfoText.jsp?assetId=1620002


October:
Boise, Idaho; Charleston, S.C.; Colorado Springs-Pueblo, Colo.; Columbia-Jefferson City, Mo.; Davenport, Iowa-Rock Island, Ill., Moline, Ill.; Dayton, Ohio; Evansville, Ind.; Fort Smith, Ark.; Greenville-New Bern-Washington, N.C.; Harlingen-Brownsville, Texas; Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Ark.; Macon, Ga.; Norfolk-Newport News, Va.; Savannah, Ga.; Springfield-Holyoke, Mass.

Lots of issues on NBC with Comcast here as well, dating back for more than 6 months (and on more than just NBC, although they're the worst). Found some coax in my house that was low quality, and when the tech replaced it things improved notably. However, the problem still persists and has been especially noticeable during the Olympics.

We are in the Stetson Hills area too, we have the occasional picture issues, but almost every commerical break has audio issues. We are in a new home with home run coax, using the QAM tuner in our Panny plasma, haven't had a chance to check the signal quality on the DVR.

Hi Guys.
I've been watching the Olympics on Comcast ch. 705 and it seems like the picture is going "pixelly" every minute or so. It even stops and goes to a still picture for sometimes a second or two. I'm in the Stetson Hills area. Anybody else seeing this kind of signal problem.?

I keep meaning to check the OTA signal; I'm wondering if the problem's with the origination signal in China, since there are reports of pixelation and macro blocking from other markets. I guess I haven't watched NBC since football season ended, so I have no historical basis for comparison.

I keep meaning to check the OTA signal; I'm wondering if the problem's with the origination signal in China, since there are reports of pixelation and macro blocking from other markets. I guess I haven't watched NBC since football season ended, so I have no historical basis for comparison.

I've been watching the Olympics via OTA and haven't had a problem at all during the entire games. Sounds like it is a Comcast issue.

I have been seeing Comcast pixelation issues as described for the Olympics in the Cottonwood Park area.

I've been watching the Olympics extensively with a combination of OTA and Dish and have seen no issues at all. The picture has been excellent with both OTA and Dish and I've been recording every minute that has been available so I can see some sports that aren't shown on primetime (and in their entirety).

I'm not generally an NBC fan, but they have done a great job in covering everything. In fact, some of the best competition (especially team sports) has been on USA and Universal HD.

Have been reading this forum for awhile but don't post much. We've had Direct TV for 10 years and HD for the last year and a half. We're enjoying HD locals OTA and reception is excellent. I got the following info from dbstalk.com on D*'s upcoming local HD rollouts now that D11 is up and transmitting. Looks like if this is accurate, CS will be getting HD locals in October. We plan to keep the OTA for PBS if it's not included. Here's the source: http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/moreInfoText.jsp?assetId=1620002


October:
Boise, Idaho; Charleston, S.C.; Colorado Springs-Pueblo, Colo.; Columbia-Jefferson City, Mo.; Davenport, Iowa-Rock Island, Ill., Moline, Ill.; Dayton, Ohio; Evansville, Ind.; Fort Smith, Ark.; Greenville-New Bern-Washington, N.C.; Harlingen-Brownsville, Texas; Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Ark.; Macon, Ga.; Norfolk-Newport News, Va.; Savannah, Ga.; Springfield-Holyoke, Mass.

Joy - thanks for the date for DirecTV locals. October will be here soon. I am hopeful that the MPEG4 versions of the local channels will be good quality and more reliable than some of my OTA reception of HD locals.

Joy - thanks for the date for DirecTV locals. October will be here soon. I am hopeful that the MPEG4 versions of the local channels will be good quality and more reliable than some of my OTA reception of HD locals.

We're keeping our OTA in case PBS isn't included in the first rollout of locals. It will probably be the big four to start with as there are some issues with PBS. We also like the sub-channels on OTA. We were having some reception problems with OTA at first but it seems to have settled down over the past three months. NBC was rock solid throughout the Olympics and the PQ was outstanding.

KOAA-HD (5-1) is MIA for me tonight. analog KOAA is up, but no HD.

anyone else missing/getting KOAA-HD?

KOAA-HD (5-1) is MIA for me tonight. analog KOAA is up, but no HD.

anyone else missing/getting KOAA-HD?

Yes, I also noticed that KOAA DT 5.1 has not been broadcasting this afternoon / evening.

Just found this on the KOAA site:

HDTV technical issues
Story By:
Source: KOAA

Colorado Springs Published 7 hour(s) ago
KOAA-TV is having technical issues with its HDTV signal. It's busted. The part is ordered. HDTV should be restored by 2:00 p.m. Friday. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Wow, good thing that didn't happen during the Olympics

Anybody know where the old KOAA on channel 130.1 went? Did it move, or am I just having problems with my TV tuner?

Anybody know where the old KOAA on channel 130.1 went? Did it move, or am I just having problems with my TV tuner?

I'm still seeing it there this morning.

Joy - thanks for the date for DirecTV locals. October will be here soon. I am hopeful that the MPEG4 versions of the local channels will be good quality and more reliable than some of my OTA reception of HD locals.

Made the switch today now that we have a date for HD locals. I, too am hoping the PQ is good. I've heard it sometimes takes a while when new locales are brought online.

Did you see TiVo is coming back (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=138443) to DIRECTV next year? Wonder if you'll need new hardware or if it'll be a TiVo overlay of existing DVRs?

First let me say I haven't been reading thru all the posts lately so if my questions below duplicate some already asked, please forgive me and direct me to the appropriate location. So here are my questions:

1. I keep hearing these ads on the radio from Mr. Martin of the FCC about the upcoming analog to digital conversion in Feb. It seems there is some miscommunication (no surprise I knew this roll-out would be chaotic). The messages leave the impression that if you have cable there is nothing you need to do for the conversion. I think that is wrong. If you have analog cable and no set-top box (like many do) you DO need a set-top box conversion box or ATSC compatible tuner in your TV. There is no mention of that in the ads. He only mentions that if you have OTA you will need to change out TVs (for one with ATSC tuner) or get a converter box, no word about analog cable. Am I correct in saying that if you have analog cable you will need a TV with ATSC tuner or converter box?

2. I have a Replay DVR that has done yeoman's service. Can anyone point me to a forum on Replay or know if it will work in the post digital and HDTV world? It does not have an HDMI connection (its several years old). So is it time to replace it? I really hate to do that since it has worked very well over the years. Not to mention spend the $$$. Any suggestions on DVR forums would be helpful too (particularly DVR 101 in the post digital/HDTV world).

I work in satellite communications (have been for years) and know quite a bit about technical matters (even some realated to DTH satellite technology), but jeez this digital TV conversion and HDTV implmentation is driving me nuts. So much confusion and hype (HDMI 1.2 or 1.3 cables? At those prices in the stores? Yikes!). Pitty poor granny. Sheesh

Editorial comment:
Where are all the old analog TVs and other related electronic devices going to wind up? I see a looming environmental mess from a lot of it winding up in the landfill.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions/comments.

First let me say I haven't been reading thru all the posts lately so if my questions below duplicate some already asked, please forgive me and direct me to the appropriate location. So here are my questions:

1. I keep hearing these ads on the radio from Mr. Martin of the FCC about the upcoming analog to digital conversion in Feb. It seems there is some miscommunication (no surprise I knew this roll-out would be chaotic). The messages leave the impression that if you have cable there is nothing you need to do for the conversion. I think that is wrong. If you have analog cable and no set-top box (like many do) you DO need a set-top box conversion box or ATSC compatible tuner in your TV. There is no mention of that in the ads. He only mentions that if you have OTA you will need to change out TVs (for one with ATSC tuner) or get a converter box, no word about analog cable. Am I correct in saying that if you have analog cable you will need a TV with ATSC tuner or converter box?

Nope. There is no requirement for analog cable to go anywhere just yet, though 2012 seems stuck in my head for some reason. Cable doesn't even use ATSC, it uses its own standard called QAM.

Editorial comment:
Where are all the old analog TVs and other related electronic devices going to wind up? I see a looming environmental mess from a lot of it winding up in the landfill.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions/comments.

I'd hope most of them will end up attached to converter boxes, but who knows.

- Trip

Trip,
Thanks for the note. It was my understanding that cable was rolling over to digital as well (why does the FCC have the set-top box coupon deal? Just for OTA?). QAM (like 16QAM, 64QAM, etc.) are just modulation schemes that could very easily be adapted to digital could they not? Doesn't cable use FM signalling (like current OTA analog broadcast) with the entire video, audio, and guard bands requirement making each analog channel take up ~6 MHz of bandwidth? My head hurts trying to stay on top of all this. LOL Thanks for any info on this to clear up the confusion. Maybe I should go to the FCC website - That could be an exercise in obfuscation. :)) Cheers.

Yes, the boxes being advertised on TV are just for OTA. Digital cable already uses QAM (not sure if it's 16, 64, or 256, I'm an OTA guy and don't know much about cable).

Good luck with the FCC site, I've been using it for years and have only recently gotten my head around the whole thing... I think. ;)

- Trip