Colorado Springs, CO - HDTV [Text View] - Page 26

Satcom15

09-21-09, 12:52 AM

Nice pictures! I love spectrum analyzers and desperately want one of my own.

Channel 55 is Qualcomm's MediaFLO. Qualcomm owns channel 55 across the US.

Channel 45... could that be KWHD-DT 46 in Castle Rock?

Channels 30 and 32... can you get a closer shot of them? I can't really make them out at that resolution.

I see an analog on 23 in your closeup of 22/24. I also think I see an analog on 41 in your 42 closeup.

- Trip

Ask and you shall receive.
Attached are screen captures of Ch 30 and Ch 32.

The peaks are:

Ch 30:
567.25 MHz, -34.2 dBm
571.75 MHz, -39.6 dBm

Ch 32:
579.25 MHz, -36.6 MHz
583.75 MHz, -45.8 MHz

Checked Ch 45 in more detail. It really is Ch 45, not Ch 46. Strange. Yes, there is an analog on Ch 41. Could be K41JO I suppose.

Wish I had my own spec an too. An HP/Agilent 8592, 8593, or Anritsu 2724B preferred. :D

Cheers.

gman76

09-21-09, 08:26 PM

Has anyone noticed that Comcast has reassigned Fox-HD (I think it's KXRM) from virtual ch 21.1 to 0.0? I rescanned my Sony LCD and found this oddity. The reason I ask is that my aver combo tuner and Win7 Media Center does not detect it. Anything I can do?

Trip in VA

09-21-09, 08:36 PM

Somehow, I missed your reply last night. :eek:

Ask and you shall receive.
Attached are screen captures of Ch 30 and Ch 32.

Thanks. :)

Checked Ch 45 in more detail. It really is Ch 45, not Ch 46. Strange.

KTLO-LP maybe? Is their channel 51 still on the air?

Yes, there is an analog on Ch 41. Could be K41JO I suppose.

Any idea what's on it? W9WI says it repeats KUSA but I'm not sure I believe that.

Wish I had my own spec an too. An HP/Agilent 8592, 8593, or Anritsu 2724B preferred. :D

Cheers.

I want a Tektronix simply because it's what I've used before. But I'd be happy with just about anything that works. :)

- Trip

Satcom15

09-27-09, 10:33 AM

Part 1 of 2

Continuing on with my spectrum analyzer saga, I took a look at the Comcast cable in Colorado Springs and here are the results. The cable bandwidth is 864 MHz. A Tektronix 2712 spectrum analyzerwas connected to the cable and 20 dB of attentuation was applied to the signal. The reference level was -20 dBm. All images were obtained by keeping Max Hold on.

Notes:

01 Entire Spectrum.jpg is an end to end snapshot of the cable band transmission. The Center Frequency was 500 MHz and the span was 1 Ghz. The drop off around 550 MHz (just to the right of mid screen) is the transition from analog to digital channels.

02 Low End.jpg is a close up of the low end of the spectrum. The Center Frequency is 50 MHz and the span is 100 MHz. Note the two spikes to the left. Those are in the T-Subband region. The first large signal to the right of midscreen is the Ch 2 video carrier. Not sure what the sike to its left is since the Ch 2 audio carrier will be the left bump on the next signal to the right.

03 100 MHz.jpg. A closeup of the 100 MHz span centered at 100 MHz. Not sure what the null is between ~104 and 113 MHz (Ch1?).

04 200 MHz.jpg. A closeup of the 100 MHz span centered at 200 MHz. note the flat spot btween 234 and 239 MHz. There was another similar spot at 324-329 MHz. Any ideas?

05 550 MHz.jpg. This 100 MHz span centered at 550 MHz shows the analog to digital transition portion of the spectrum. Analog channels are to the left, digital to the right.

Satcom15

09-27-09, 10:35 AM

Here's the second part of the note on Colorado Springs cable.

06 Hi End.jpg. 20 MHz span centered at 860 MHz shows the top end of the bandwidth. No signals are above this.

07 Analog Closeup.jpg. This 10 MHz span is centered on at 57 MHz (half way through Ch 2). Video carrier is the large signal to the left and the audio carrier is the small signal to the right. Ch 3 video carrier is the next signal to the right.

08 Digital Closeup1.jpg. A 20 MHz span centered on 750 MHz to show the difference between digital and analog signals. Channels are the elevated signals between negative spikes.

09 Digital Closeup2.jpg. 10 MHz span centered on 753 MHz to show what a digital channel looks like. Note that it occupies nearly the entire 6 MHz bandwidth. Compare this with the bandwidth occupied by an analog channel (see 07 Analog Closeup.jpg). You can see why there is so much interest in converting from analog to digital. A lot more information can be sent over cable on a digital channel than over an analog channel.

Trip in VA

09-27-09, 10:46 AM

04 200 MHz.jpg. A closeup of the 100 MHz span centered at 200 MHz. note the flat spot btween 234 and 239 MHz. There was another similar spot at 324-329 MHz. Any ideas?

It looks like a digital signal on cable 26 or so.

- Trip

Rmassey

10-05-09, 06:58 PM

Any chance RMPBS will get the stuff figured out before the end of 2009?

2009 Austin City Limits started last week with The Dave Mathews Band and sure enough it was in glorious 480i low def crap-O-vision. Not only that but, they chopped off the first 5-6 mins with another program and then just jumped into the middle of the ACL program.

Next week is Ben Harper and it'd be nice to see it in HD, and all of it, thank you.

I'm getting really tired of this nonsense and I'm just going to find ACL in HD on B1t T00r3nt.

GatoViejo

10-06-09, 02:06 PM

Any chance RMPBS will get the stuff figured out before the end of 2009?

Apparently they can do it when they want to do it. According to their website, they managed to do 2 hours of HD per night for the National Parks broadcast. I wish I had known earlier; it would have been interesting to compare their multicast-HD with the recordings I made off of Ku band.

Satcom15

10-09-09, 10:38 PM

Apparently they can do it when they want to do it. According to their website, they managed to do 2 hours of HD per night for the National Parks broadcast. I wish I had known earlier; it would have been interesting to compare their multicast-HD with the recordings I made off of Ku band.

Ahhh, finally got my computer back after a power supply, mother board, and CD drive went *poof* last weekend. Grrrr. At least the hard drives were good and no data was lost. Now I have the equivalent of a new computer, System 7 ready :D - All for $600 repair bill *sigh* Oh well, runs great. Fast too!

Anyway back to Gato's comment. I keep seeing digital artifacts on the cable. (i.e. break-ups, freezes, etc.). I doubt that they exist on the Ku-Band feed. Gato, I'm presuming you watch PBS programming off the satellite feed? Or, do you ever check the cable or OTA transmission? I'm curious if you see any of the same artifacts we see up here in Colo Spgs. You don't have to watch very long before they show up. Seems like something happens every 5 min or so. Yeah, it would be nice if they would turn off the SD at night for prime time and devote all BW to an HD program. I feel your pain Rmassey.

Cheers

Rmassey

10-10-09, 02:44 PM

springsHD=Horrid

10-10-09, 05:52 PM

what the heck with Conan being in SD lately?!? :mad:

scottlindner

10-10-09, 06:14 PM

what the heck with Conan being in SD lately?!? :mad:

Your username is wrong. It should be springsHD=nil :rolleyes:

Satcom15

10-10-09, 08:28 PM

re: RMPBS>> Apparently they can do it when they want to do it.

So WTH? ACL is not worthy of and HD broadcast in their minds?

I used to regularly record/watch/archive (all in HD)
Austin City Limits
SoundStage
American Masters
Great performances

there's also an upcoming Santana performance on Latin Music USA that I'd like to see/keep.

Oh well, it took me all of 5 mins to find DMB on ACL in HD via B1T T0rr3nt.

Looks like RMPBS lost a pair of eye balls.

Um, OK. Not to sound ignorant (there's a lot of things I don't know), but what is DMB and B1T T0rr3nt? Bit torrent? Will mentioning that phrase get your post deleted? And just what is it? Can I use it to get real full bandwidth HD PBS programming? Alright, I'll go out and G00gl3 it. :D
Cheers

Trip in VA

10-10-09, 08:40 PM

I believe DMB is referring to Dave Matthews Band.

- Trip

GatoViejo

10-11-09, 12:23 PM

Anyway back to Gato's comment. I keep seeing digital artifacts on the cable. (i.e. break-ups, freezes, etc.). I doubt that they exist on the Ku-Band feed. Gato, I'm presuming you watch PBS programming off the satellite feed? Or, do you ever check the cable or OTA transmission? I'm curious if you see any of the same artifacts we see up here in Colo Spgs. You don't have to watch very long before they show up. Seems like something happens every 5 min or so. Yeah, it would be nice if they would turn off the SD at night for prime time and devote all BW to an HD program. I feel your pain Rmassey.

I don't get cable at my location and I really never check RMPBS OTA any more. I accidentally tuned it in a few weeks ago and it was showing something that I had just watched in HD; I recoiled in horror (not to be overly dramatic). If they ever resume HD programming I will make a point of taking a closer look.

Ku-Band reception problems are practically nonexistent. I would guess that I get a minor glitch in a single frame about once every four hours. Unless I can get a no-fly zone set up over my house I think that is the best I can do.

Of course, 1080i is suboptimal for lots of motion and randomness. I still see some artifacts in extreme cases (closeup of a breaking wave or cheetah bringing down an antelope, for instance) but it is far from unwatchable. Most PBS programming is flawless.

Rmassey

10-11-09, 12:32 PM

Um, OK. Not to sound ignorant (there's a lot of things I don't know), but what is DMB and B1T T0rr3nt? Bit torrent? Will mentioning that phrase get your post deleted? And just what is it? Can I use it to get real full bandwidth HD PBS programming? Alright, I'll go out and G00gl3 it. :D
Cheers

yes DMB = Dave Matthews Band.... as shown in my original post.

Seems AVS did not like my BT reference and filtered it out of my original post, so I geeked it up with the 'B1T T0rr3nt' syntax to bypass their filter.

my point is, if RMPBS cannot fix their delivery issues of HD content, I'll find it elsewhere.

... Looks like today I need to spend a few mins to find Ben Harper on ACL in HD :D

scottlindner

10-11-09, 12:59 PM

Seems AVS did not like my BT reference and filtered it out of my original post, so I geeked it up with the 'B1T T0rr3nt' syntax to bypass their filter.

bit torrent

Rmassey

10-11-09, 02:54 PM

bit torrent

whereas mine shows up as ********** :confused:

scottlindner

10-11-09, 04:30 PM

whereas mine shows up as ********** :confused:

Should we try a full fledged dirty word test? :)

Satcom15

10-12-09, 07:38 PM

Should we try a full fledged dirty word test? :)

So do you think ********** is forbidden? If so, why? :D

Cheers

Satcom15

10-12-09, 07:40 PM

So do you think ********** is forbidden? If so, why? :D

Cheers

Wow, as soon as I posted the "dirty word" (B T) it was banned (masked with ***). Hmmm

Satcom15

10-12-09, 07:50 PM

I don't get cable at my location and I really never check RMPBS OTA any more. I accidentally tuned it in a few weeks ago and it was showing something that I had just watched in HD; I recoiled in horror (not to be overly dramatic). If they ever resume HD programming I will make a point of taking a closer look.

Ku-Band reception problems are practically nonexistent. I would guess that I get a minor glitch in a single frame about once every four hours. Unless I can get a no-fly zone set up over my house I think that is the best I can do.

Of course, 1080i is suboptimal for lots of motion and randomness. I still see some artifacts in extreme cases (closeup of a breaking wave or cheetah bringing down an antelope, for instance) but it is far from unwatchable. Most PBS programming is flawless.

Thanks for the note Gato. A couple of questions:

1. How big is your antenna (reflector diameter).
2. Only 1080i? Is that what they feed the affaliates? Curious.

satcom

scottlindner

10-13-09, 09:44 PM

So do you think ********** is forbidden? If so, why? :D

Cheers

OMG! I can't believe you just said that! You **********!! :cool:

GatoViejo

10-14-09, 10:52 AM

Thanks for the note Gato. A couple of questions:

1. How big is your antenna (reflector diameter).
2. Only 1080i? Is that what they feed the affiliates? Curious.

satcom

1. 36".
2. Yes, 1080i, because that is what the locals should be broadcasting. Imagine the begging and whining that would ensue if they received h.264 from the satellite and had to transcode it for broadcast.

Satcom15

10-14-09, 08:58 PM

2. Yes, 1080i, because that is what the locals should be broadcasting. Imagine the begging and whining that would ensue if they received h.264 from the satellite and had to transcode it for broadcast.

So there is no 1080p PBS feed? Bummer.

Satcom15

10-14-09, 08:59 PM

OMG! I can't believe you just said that! You **********!! :cool:

Is B T illegal? Is that why its banned? I really don't know and am curious. Thanks

RockyMountainD

10-15-09, 10:58 AM

Is B T illegal? Is that why its banned? I really don't know and am curious. Thanks

It's not illegal. But many use it for questionable transfer of copyrighted material, so discussion is discouraged on this site :)

Satcom15

10-15-09, 08:10 PM

It's not illegal. But many use it for questionable transfer of copyrighted material, so discussion is discouraged on this site :)

Hmmm. Interesting. Thanks for the insight. Wonder if that is spelled out anywhere in the AVS use policy.

scottlindner

10-16-09, 05:36 PM

Wow, as soon as I posted the "dirty word" (B T) it was banned (masked with ***). Hmmm

Huh.. not me.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=17335744&postcount=6267

Satcom15

10-16-09, 07:11 PM

Huh.. not me.

Looks like you used 2 words. My entry was one word. Apparently a single word gets censored. :D

Cheers

scottlindner

10-16-09, 09:54 PM

Looks like you used 2 words. My entry was one word. Apparently a single word gets censored. :D

Cheers

**********

scottlindner

10-16-09, 09:55 PM

**********

wow... yep, it does. I just tried it.

How incredibly lame and utterly pointless.

Satcom15

10-17-09, 11:29 AM

wow... yep, it does. I just tried it.

How incredibly lame and utterly pointless.

Wonder what other words are on the "banned" list. DirecTV? Echostar? Dishnetwork (or is it DISH network? LOL)

Cheers

scottlindner

10-17-09, 02:42 PM

Wonder what other words are on the "banned" list. DirecTV? Echostar? Dishnetwork (or is it DISH network? LOL)

Cheers

Bush

Hmm... surprised that one made it through.

rockinricky

10-24-09, 09:13 PM

lsilvest

10-24-09, 09:54 PM

Is anybody else having problems picking up KXRM-DT1 (21.1) and KXRM-DT2 (21.2) over the air? It stopped coming in this week, it was working fine last week and now Windows 7 Media Center says that there's no TV station on that channel and WinTV 7 doesn't even pick it up when scanning for channels.

No problem on any of my tuners (BeyondTV, Dish, 2 TV's). Did you rescan Win 7 MC? With the playoffs on Fox, if there was a problem it would be well known. Do you have an ATSC tuner on a TV, and if so, do Fox & CW come in?

Has to be a tuner or software problem (most likely software).

chanceG

10-25-09, 11:13 AM

radckh

10-28-09, 06:05 PM

lsilvest

10-28-09, 08:48 PM

Has anyone heard anything recently about KRDO getting their HD channel up on DirecTV anytime?
I sent an email to Tim Larson & Joe Reed over a week ago and did not get a response.
I also asked them about Dolby Digital.

I talked to Reed a couple of months ago about Dolby and the response was it's not in the budget right now. My guess is that the only thing they care about is the news and that's probably where the money went. In this economy I don't hold out a lot of hope for Dolby anytime soon. I mainly watch sports on ABC anyway, but I'm a country music fan and ABC gets some of their specials which really suck in analog when you hear a concert on KKTV in good Dolby.

radckh

10-29-09, 12:58 PM

Has anyone heard anything recently about KRDO getting their HD channel up on DirecTV anytime?
I sent an email to Tim Larson & Joe Reed over a week ago and did not get a response.
I also asked them about Dolby Digital.

Here's the response I got from Joe Reed:
-----------------
I have no time frame as to when we will be completed with the negotiations on the DirecTV issue.
As of this writing we have an unapproved capital budget to add Dolby 5.1 in fourth quarter 2010.
-----------------
Not good news on either front!! :mad:

Satcom15

10-31-09, 09:34 AM

RockyMountainD

11-03-09, 11:55 AM

Has anyone heard anything recently about KRDO getting their HD channel up on DirecTV anytime?
I sent an email to Tim Larson & Joe Reed over a week ago and did not get a response...

Need to pester NPG (http://www.npgco.com), KRDO's parent company. They are the ones who don't play well with D* in any of their markets.

I got tired of waiting and ordered an AM21 a while back. Couldn't stand watching another season of Lost in SD :(

SoCoViewer

11-03-09, 06:07 PM

I have a question....I used to be able to get the local stations HD feeds on my HDTV even though I don't subscribe to an HD package. I have Comcast as my cable provider. Does anyone know where those channels moved to or can be found?

Jayhawker2

11-05-09, 10:46 AM

Has KRDO changed something on their transmitter. I live north of Divide and I've never been able to get any Springs stations OTA because of Pikes Peak being in line of site with Cheyenne Mountain. I have my antennas pointed north to get the Denver stations and last week I did a rescan and KRDO showed up. I thought it might be the weather because I was getting Cheyenne WY. at the time as well, but KRDO has been solid ever since even though my antennas are about 100 degrees off point.

TallGuy

11-06-09, 01:33 AM

Here's the response I got from Joe Reed:
-----------------
I have no time frame as to when we will be completed with the negotiations on the DirecTV issue.
As of this writing we have an unapproved capital budget to add Dolby 5.1 in fourth quarter 2010.
-----------------
Not good news on either front!! :mad:

KRDO is always so lame, it's ridiculous. I've called J.R. and their GM several times and they won't call back. If I happen to get J.R. live, he gives evasive answers and doesn't really care. The above is more informative, but just shows that the powers that be at the station (or owners) don't really care about the quality they present vs. their competition, and they don't care whether DirecTV customers watch them in HD. Most new DirecTV receivers don't include an antenna, and people who see HD from the other 3 networks won't be too likely to stay tuned to ch. 13 in SD.

Also, it cannot be that expensive to PASS THROUGH the stupid DD 5.1 audio from the national feed. They act like it takes a massive bunch of equipment to produce this, but other markets and many other smaller stations have figured it out. Simplify, people. Let it go.

Makes me want to move to Denver or get LOST from other methods. KRDO really encourages you not to watch KRDO.

George Molnar

11-06-09, 08:00 AM

KRDO is always so lame, it's ridiculous. I've called J.R. and their GM several times and they won't call back. If I happen to get J.R. live, he gives evasive answers and doesn't really care. The above is more informative, but just shows that the powers that be at the station (or owners) don't really care about the quality they present vs. their competition, and they don't care whether DirecTV customers watch them in HD. Most new DirecTV receivers don't include an antenna, and people who see HD from the other 3 networks won't be too likely to stay tuned to ch. 13 in SD.

Also, it cannot be that expensive to PASS THROUGH the stupid DD 5.1 audio from the national feed. They act like it takes a massive bunch of equipment to produce this, but other markets and many other smaller stations have figured it out. Simplify, people. Let it go.

Makes me want to move to Denver or get LOST from other methods. KRDO really encourages you not to watch KRDO.
Why not buy them a Dolby 5.1 encoder and see if they'll install it for you?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dolby-DP569-Multichannel-Dolby-Digital-Encoder_W0QQitemZ260472443700QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDo main_0?hash=item3ca55e1334

springsHD=Horrid

11-06-09, 02:12 PM

Questions:

What the heck with KOAA and not showing Conan in HD?

How can we tell what resolution KKTV and KRDO are broacasting in for their news? I have heard that they are not using true HD camera but are only using ones that are shot for 16x9.

Satcom15

11-06-09, 08:47 PM

Questions:
From SpringsHD=Horrid
What the heck with KOAA and not showing Conan in HD?

How can we tell what resolution KKTV and KRDO are broacasting in for their news? I have heard that they are not using true HD camera but are only using ones that are shot for 16x9.

And from TallGuy:

KRDO is always so lame, it's ridiculous. ...

I go back to my earlier comment:

Examples of how living in a small market results in bush league service.:(

Oh one other thing that drives me nuts about our local cable company: How come they refuse to move KTSC from Ch8 on the cable to another channel (like they did for Ch 11 to Ch 10 back in the analog days). With cable leakage inevitably there was multipath interference. It was really bad where I lived before. Shouldn't be a problem with the digital signal, but my cable analog cable Ch8 is still the worst signal of all networks (i.e. snowy). And, to add insult to injury I get periodic digital aritacts (pixilation, freezing frames, frame dropouts). What is wrong with things arround here? :mad:

rockinricky

11-07-09, 06:33 PM

Satcom15

11-08-09, 10:28 AM

I swear KTSC does not know how to do HD right. They don't seem to know when to flip the switch.

Dear KTSC,

"The New Yankee Workshop" is NOT shot in HD. Stretching the picture makes Norm look fatter than he already is.

Is it KTSC or RMPBS? I swear after RMBPS took over KTSC, quality went downhill. Also, I wish RMPBS would stop SD programming during primetime major programs and devote all bandwidth to HD. Imagine what the National Parks program would have looked like in full HD ...

scottlindner

11-08-09, 10:48 AM

Is it KTSC or RMPBS? I swear after RMBPS took over KTSC, quality went downhill. Also, I wish RMPBS would stop SD programming during primetime major programs and devote all bandwidth to HD. Imagine what the National Parks program would have looked like in full HD ...

I think it'd be nice if RMPBS could simply get the aspect ratio correct.

TallGuy

11-10-09, 07:24 PM

Why not buy them a Dolby 5.1 encoder and see if they'll install it for you?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dolby-DP569-Multichannel-Dolby-Digital-Encoder_W0QQitemZ260472443700QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDo main_0?hash=item3ca55e1334

I'm not sure whether an affiliate absolutely has to do the encoding at the local station, but even if they do, have some pride in your major network's product and provide some industry-standard DD5.1 audio, instead of just stereo which was the standard how many decades ago??

Again, KRDO is the only one in the market without surround sound, and is the only station not carried in HD on DirecTV. Either KRDO is somehow smarter than all 3 other affiliates of major networks, or they're the cheapest/dumbest...

I try not to watch ABC as a result, but I know LOST would be even more compelling and engrossing if the spooky sounds were coming from behind us... Yeah, it's a first world problem, I know...

rockinricky

11-24-09, 02:03 PM

Yesterday I noticed that KKTV Channel 11 is now showing Jeopardy! in HD. Did this just start this week? I didn't notice if Wheel of Fortune is also in HD, it probably is.

I also found out that KWGN Channel 2 in Denver will be showing the Broncos-Giants game on Thanksgiving. No Broncos-Giants game in HD for me :(

TallGuy

11-24-09, 10:46 PM

That is cool if KKTV finally gained the ability to time-shift syndicated HD. I wonder if that will apply to Oprah as well (for my wife, not me).

I think the Broncos will be on NFL Network in HD nationally - I thought that would carry through to the Colorado Springs market too though it would likely be blacked out in the Denver market to protect KWGN.

ProjectSHO89

11-25-09, 02:12 PM

Has KKTV ever moved to RF 49? They were an early VHF nightmare and I see they have a CP for 49.

Trip in VA

11-25-09, 03:07 PM

It's not happening until Spring.

- Trip

rockinricky

11-25-09, 05:01 PM

Oprah in HD on KKTV Channel 11 CONFIRMED!

rockinricky

11-26-09, 08:27 PM

If you don't have NFL Network and you live in Pueblo, you're not watching the Broncos and the Giants play. Apparently, the local Denver channel showing the game is KDVR which isn't on Comcast in Pueblo :(

Satcom15

11-27-09, 09:18 PM

scottlindner

11-28-09, 07:48 AM

Has anyone heard any news about Comcast's analog reclamation plans (project Cavalry/World of More)? BTW get ready for sending even more $$$ to Comcast. See the FAQs on their website.

http://digitalnow.comcast.com/FAQs.aspx?map=all_faq_map

QAM tuner on your TV? Forget it, it won't work without a CableCard (which of course has a monthly fee if leased from Comcast - though I think you can buy them). Looks like in addition to offering many more channels that I don't want, a side benefit of the project will be their ability to encrypt signals and make you use more equipment (which they will gladly lease). TiVo (series 3 only) will require a CableCard. If you don't have a Series 3 - you're outta luck. Buy a new one or use a Comcast provided Set Top Box or DTA. Oh, and forget time shifting with your VCR/DVD recorder unless you have a STB, DTA's won't let you record in advance. Bottom line: look for higher cable bills. What else is new. :mad:

That is exactly what this is all about. That's why I dumped my cable addiction over a decade ago. I looked at what I was paying per hour and going to movies at a theater in Hollywood on the night they release would be cheaper per hour! For me that is.

You can get cable card tuners for PC's, so there's a third option to consider. I haven't checked into it in a long time so I don't know the full details.

Scott

rockitdoc

11-29-09, 01:06 PM

I just got a Panny G10 50 incher and would like to figure out if certain channels are available in digital, eg, 24, 27, 36, 39, 64, etc. in the Denver area. They don't seem to be with Comcast (not sure, though), but what about satellites?

mtnsean

11-29-09, 04:32 PM

scottlindner

11-29-09, 05:40 PM

I only subscribe to Comcast for internet, however I plugged in the Comcast coax into my HDTV (with built-in QAM tuner) and scanned for channels, and was able to pick up all the local channels in digital except for FOX 21-1 for "free". Any reason for this exception? I get 5-1, 8-1, 11-1, and 13-1 no problem, but not 21-1.

Thanks,
Sean

Is it possible you're picking up those stations simply because you connected a wire into the tuner? A friend of mine found he can get all stations with a pair of vice grips, and I can get half of the stations with nothing at all.

Scott

mtnsean

11-29-09, 11:51 PM

Is it possible you're picking up those stations simply because you connected a wire into the tuner? A friend of mine found he can get all stations with a pair of vice grips, and I can get half of the stations with nothing at all.

Scott

I don't think so, because when I plug in an actual antenna all I can pick up are the two VHF stations (CBS and PBS). With the Comcast coax, I get a bunch more, and analog stations too. It's definitely coming from the Comcast feed. Just strange that 21-1 is missing.

-Sean

HateNewNHL

12-01-09, 11:36 PM

Not sure if this has been posted but I have reliable source who says the KOAA is going HD after the first of the year for local news. Not sure if this will allow timeshifting HD or not.

eddie_d_lopez

12-02-09, 09:22 AM

koaa can already timeshift, it's just they've had (according to them) a host of ongoing equipment problems.

recently, they've been back in the timeshifting business...

rockinricky

12-02-09, 03:23 PM

Not sure if this has been posted but I have reliable source who says the KOAA is going HD after the first of the year for local news. Not sure if this will allow timeshifting HD or not.

The thought of Mike Madson in HD terrifies me. :eek:. But it is about time they do this. KKTV local news is in HD, but it doesn't look very HD to me. KRDO local news does look good in HD.

pg_rider

12-02-09, 05:01 PM

The thought of Mike Madson in HD terrifies me. :eek:. But it is about time they do this. KKTV local news is in HD, but it doesn't look very HD to me. KRDO local news does look good in HD.

KKTV news is not HD-- it's widescreen SD.

eddie_d_lopez

12-02-09, 05:16 PM

The thought of Mike Madson in HD terrifies me. :eek:. But it is about time they do this. KKTV local news is in HD, but it doesn't look very HD to me. KRDO local news does look good in HD.

madson will be a peach compared to douglas...

royrose

12-02-09, 07:28 PM

The thought of Mike Madson in HD terrifies me. :eek:. But it is about time they do this. KKTV local news is in HD, but it doesn't look very HD to me. KRDO local news does look good in HD.

Mike Madson? How about Lee Douglas? I might switch to radio or actually read a newspaper once in a while!

rockinricky

12-03-09, 01:04 AM

Mike Madson? How about Lee Douglas? I might switch to radio or actually read a newspaper once in a while!

Now that I think about it, is there anyone at Channel 5 that would at least look passable in HD? Lisa Lyden is getting up there too.

rockinricky

12-03-09, 01:06 AM

KKTV news is not HD-- it's widescreen SD.

Yeah, I noticed the news doesn't look as sharp as real HD stuff like The Price is Right or The Young and The Restless. It's blurry, like SD commercials.

eddie_d_lopez

12-03-09, 09:23 AM

Now that I think about it, is there anyone at Channel 5 that would at least look passable in HD? Lisa Lyden is getting up there too.

i like georgiann, she is more likable than lyden. there's also something about hynes that is appealing to me... :)

mtnsean

12-04-09, 11:07 AM

FYI, just to close the loop, I found HD FOX on 129-2 on the QAM signal. Free HD w/out an antenna!

-Sean

Rmassey

12-06-09, 12:54 PM

What the heck is wrong with audio on KOAA/NBC lately? Watching musical performance on Conan and Leno has the Lead vocals in the surround right channel - forced it to stereo and it switches to front right. pulled up a Tivo HD archived performance from a few months back and it sounds fine with correct DD 5.1 audio.

C'mon guys is this really so hard to figure out?

scottlindner

12-06-09, 01:54 PM

Satcom15

12-07-09, 12:03 AM

The answer to that question is obvious. For *some* it is that hard.

Cheers,
Scott

I'd say we can also chalk it up to our small market. Not going to attract top notch personnel with the salaries likely here.

scottlindner

12-07-09, 05:31 PM

I'd say we can also chalk it up to our small market. Not going to attract top notch personnel with the salaries likely here.

I agree. I was making humor of the comment. Although my wife and I love it here, Colorado Springs (the West for that matter) isn't exactly for everyone.

Scott

HateNewNHL

12-09-09, 12:30 AM

I just heard that John Owens of KKTV is retiring? If so, THANK GOD!! When they gutted that anchor lineup a few years ago, I was shocked that they changed out everyone but Owens.

eddie_d_lopez

12-09-09, 12:51 AM

... When they gutted that anchor lineup a few years ago, ...

gutted is right. the crew replaced was way better than the replacements. i didn't understand that decision...

HateNewNHL

12-09-09, 11:41 AM

gutted is right. the crew replaced was way better than the replacements. i didn't understand that decision...

it got rid of Mike Madson so as long as that was part of the move, it was a great thing in IMO. If they could have nixed Madson and Owens, it would have been perfect right there.

pookers

12-16-09, 04:25 PM

fill me in, and forgive me if i haven't read the complete post, but what's up with DIRECTV not having the Digital channel, i have an antenna, so its no big deal but come on!

Forum, please enlighten me, and KXTU does have a digital channel? or what, i'm confused, yes i am new to the area.

thanx in advance

eddie_d_lopez

12-16-09, 05:50 PM

krdo (parent company) is holding out for payment that directv is not willing to pay. apparently, krdo is demanding more than the other local stations are getting from directv.

i think it's become a negotiation pi$$ing match with personalities colliding.

springsHD=Horrid

12-17-09, 05:06 PM

http://springstvtalk.freedomblogging.com/2009/12/17/krdodirect-tv-hd-agreement-still-up-in-the-air/2863/

KRDO/DirecTV HD agreement still up in the air
December 17th, 2009, 8:00 am · 6 Comments · posted by Paul Kavanaugh

It’s been over a year since DirecTV sent out a press release announcing that local TV stations are going to be carried in HD by the satellite television provider.

But, as most people know KRDO isn’t one of them.

After talking recently with all of the parties, there appears to be no quick answer coming.

The News-Press & Gazette (NPG), parent company of KRDO, is still negotiating with DirecTV about carrying the station in HD.

Some background. When NPG bought KRDO in 2006, it inherited a DirecTV contract that Harry Hoth, the previous owner had negotiated with DirecTV. The contract extends through the end of 2010 and calls for DirecTV to carry KRDO in standard-definition.

The current local management at KRDO in Colorado Springs was not involved in negotiations — then or now. “I haven’t talked to anyone at DirecTV,” said Tim Larson, general manager of KRDO. “The negotiations are going on at our parent company.” he said.

Meanwhile, I asked representatives of DirecTV, in an e-mail, how negotiations were coming along and when they expect some kind of agreement?

“We don’t discuss details of carriage negotiations, nor do we speculate on when we think we’ll reach an agreement, said Vanessa Dunham, coordinator, DirecTV public relations. She also indicated that each carriage negotiation is different and there is no standard time frame.

I asked her if DirecTV plans to continue to charge $10 per month extra to Colorado Springs area customers, while one of the main network affiliates is not being carried in HD?

“The HD fee provides our customers access to up to 130 national channels. We do not charge an additional fee for HD local channels – our customers who subscribe to HD and have the correct equipment automatically receive their HD locals, when they are available,” Dunham said. “That said, it does not make sense to reduce the fee because one local channel is not available in our lineup,” she said.

NPG said in a statement, read by Larson, that they apologize for the inconvenience caused by a settlement that is still on-going and they hope an agreement will be reached soon.

So, as people shop for an HD TV this holiday season, one thing is certain. You’ll receive KRDO in HD on Comcast, the Dish Network or on some smaller cable systems in southern Colorado.

As for when DirecTV will join the bandwagon? It’s still up in the air.

Satcom15

12-17-09, 07:27 PM

Ahhh, the joys of living in a small market. KRDO on DirecTV? Fuhgehdubout it. Probably won't ever happen unless the Government steps in. In the scheme of things from DirecTV's perspective, KRDO is a nit. They aren't going to bring in big $$$ for DirecTV so why bother. There are more important fish to fry.

eddie_d_lopez

12-17-09, 11:56 PM

Satcom15

12-18-09, 12:29 AM

important to note is that all stations owned by the parent company of krdo are not being carried by directv. the quote above makes it sound like it's about an existing contract previously negotiated by hoth. that's not the whole story.

Hmmm interesting. Wonder what the real story is. What market sizes are all the other stations are in? Small? Medium? Large? Also, think the parent to KRDO is trying to squeeze DirecTV and they aren't flinching? Curiouser and curiouser.

eddie_d_lopez

12-18-09, 08:59 AM

when i looked into this about a year ago, NPG controlled only a handful of stations and all in small to midsize markets. el paso is one of them.

when dish reached agreement with all locals recently, that indicated to me that negotiations between NPG and directv may have become personal.

pookers

12-18-09, 07:18 PM

ok, i will stop whining about KRDO, and i want to whine about KKTV on my DIRECT HD DVR, i get "NO SIGNAL" it worked yesterday

what's up?
yes, i have a VHF antenna

Please advise

Satcom15

12-20-09, 12:12 PM

All,
For those on Comcast Cable in Colo Spgs with an interest in KTSC (RMPBS CH 8). There is a discussion thread over on the RMPBS website discussing the problems we are seeing with periodic, brief disruptions in service (i.e. digital noise artifacts like pixelization, freezes, audio dropouts etc.).

In trying to isolate the problem we are also looking for viewer observations who receive their Ch 8 PBS programming from OTA as well as cable companies other than Comcast in Colo Spgs. As for those on Comcast in Colo Spgs we'd like to know what part of town you are in (there might a "local" problem).

So here is what we're looking for:

1. Are you seeing any sort of digital noise/interference on your Ch 8 reception?
2. Can you characterize who often you see it? About every 10-15 min, every 30 min etc.
3. How long does it typically last? A couple of seconds, varies etc.
4. What does it look like? Pixelated frames, frozen frames, brief loss of audio, etc.
5. How do you receive your signal? OTA or Cable - Please specify your cable company and if its in Comcast Colo Spgs, approximate location. This is important even if answer to #1 is No.
6. Do you receive it via Analog service (basic or extended basic service) or digital (HD)?
7. Any other observations or thoughts.

Here is my response:

1. Yes
2. About every 10-15 minutes
3. Varies from a brief burst to a second or more.
4. Pixelated frames, frozen frames, brief loss of audio
5. Comcast Colorado Springs - Briargate area
6. Analog - Extended Basic service
7. Put a spectrum analyzer on my cable outlet and watched for noise spikes but did not see anything. I think the RF carrier is OK, it may be a modulation/digital problem.

Here is the link to the RMPBS thread if you want to follow along or contribute:

http://www.rmpbs.org/panorama/index.cfm/entry/434?CFID=9634758&CFTOKEN=14435891

Right now we are on page 29.

Thanks in advance for any observations and assistance.

scottlindner

12-21-09, 06:14 AM

lsilvest

12-21-09, 11:22 AM

Satcom15

12-21-09, 11:49 PM

I have OTA only in Pueblo West (rooftop antennae aimed at Cheyenne Mtn). Have never had any problems with PBS signals. Always record using BeyondTV, occasionally Dish DVR(with OTA feed), no playback issues.

I am not a regular PBS viewer anymore - fed up with crappy programming and virtually all SD.

I've often wondered if all the SD programming they transmit doesn't affect the signal somehow. Its a shame they push all that SD programming at the expense of a good HD signal :(

scottlindner

12-29-09, 09:30 AM

Satcom15

12-30-09, 05:23 PM

This is a long read but could explain some of the troubles we've been seeing locally.
Broadcasters' woes could spell trouble for free TV (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Broadcasters-woes-could-spell-apf-2851780791.html;_ylt=AmFfrEBzlKHEUNSbby5NBD.7YWsA;_ylu=X3oDM TE1MnIxZ2dkBHBvcwM2BHNlYwN0b3BTdG9yaWVzBHNsawNicm9hZGNhc3Rlc nM-?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=4&asset=&ccode=)

Cheers,
Scott

There was also this interesting article on CNN:

"Can Steve Jobs unplug cable TV?"

http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/12/22/can-steve-jobs-unplug-cable-tv/

My money says that within 2 years (probably less) television (or more appropriately media content and delivery) as we know it will be radically different from what it is today. The bottom line: Break out the checkbook because it will cost more.
Cheers

Rmassey

12-31-09, 05:47 PM

Considering the way they drug their feet on the analog cut off so grandma can still watch jeopardy for free, I wouldn't be surprised if Congress blocks this move for at least a decade.

Personally, I am for Free OTA HD, so I hope 'grandma's rights' are preserved.

Satcom15

01-01-10, 10:08 AM

scottlindner

01-01-10, 10:54 AM

I'm wondering if an "earthquake" in media production and distribution is underway. This article was on the CNN website this morning.

Cablevision drops Food, HGTV networks

http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/01/news/companies/cablevision_scripps/index.htm

Wonder if this will embolden TWC to tell Fox: We will not pay the fee. Could be interesting.

I think so. How media is distributed is changing rapidly due to high speed Internet, fast computers in the home, computers & DVRs in our living room, home theaters, high capacity hard drives (multiple TBs on a single PC), and the prevalence of high quality portable media players.

Too bad for my family, we refuse to pay $100+/mo for 25+% commercial laden crap shows to get the 3 stations we want, and too bad for me for spending all of the hard effort to attic mount a nice antenna pointed directly at all of the broadcast antennas that will surely be taken down within a decade.

All of the old rules are changing, and the digital divide is only going to grow.

Scott

Satcom15

01-01-10, 12:01 PM

I think so. How media is distributed is changing rapidly due to high speed Internet, fast computers in the home, computers & DVRs in our living room, home theaters, high capacity hard drives (multiple TBs on a single PC), and the prevalence of high quality portable media players.

Too bad for my family, we refuse to pay $100+/mo for 25+% commercial laden crap shows to get the 3 stations we want, and too bad for me for spending all of the hard effort to attic mount a nice antenna pointed directly at all of the broadcast antennas that will surely be taken down within a decade.

All of the old rules are changing, and the digital divide is only going to grow.

Scott

Yeah, I agree. A few thoughts:
1. HD content "pulled on demand" by the consumer will require a lot more bandwidth than currently available. It really hinges in FiOS to the house which here in Colo Spgs is probably a long way away. Also, it may require some internal rewiring or growth in short range (within the home) wireless networks.

2. The commercial thing really bugs me. I think you are being generous in your 25% assessment. A friend of mine timed all the commercials on a network show. Of 60 minutes, only 42 were actual content. That works out to 30% commercials. I recall growing up (showing my age here :D ) 10 minutes was considered extreme. Another annoying thing I see a lot of (it happens on Discovery and History a lot) is constant repetition of things I've already seen. For example, if there is a program on about tsunamis they will show the same images or model simulation 3 or 4 times. Come on. I'm sure there's more material than that. Reusing the same footage or stating the same thing several times in the same program is an insult to the viewer. BTW this seems to be an American thing. Programming from overseas is a lot different (wish we could get the "real" BBC or ITN programming here - I've also seen some really good shows produced in Australia when I was in New Zealand).

3. Hopefully the revolution in media distribution will kill off our cheap, small market mentality affiliates. Yeah, I know you put that antenna up. But talk about bush league. I'd like to see them go. And PBS - Sheesh. Why is that signal so bad on my cable. Gato says he gets the national feed direct from the satellite broadcast with great image quality. Think I may go that route at some point. I get so tired of the digital interference. There was one program on the other night, over 20 minutes was unwatchable because of artifacts. I wish they would dump their SD programs during prime time and devote all the bandwidth to their .1 channel programming too. :mad:

Anyway a few thoughts on a holiday morning when I should be doing something more productive. BTW was over at Best Buy the other day, the salesman said their Sony rep told them Sony will be making some major changes in their HD TV product line - possibly announced at CES in the comming week. Since I don't have an HDTV, I'm curious what they will do. More LED TVs? I have to say image quality on most of the LCD/LED TVs I've looked at in the store is impressive (compared to my 13 in analog TV :eek: ). Now if we could just get the content part of the equation fixed ... :D

Cheers

P.S. I pay ~$105/mo for enhanced basic (analog service) and high speed internet. I suspect the analog service will disappear soon with Project Cavalry/World of More analog reclamation efforts. Haven't heard anything about when that will happen here. All I know is digital = more $$$ :(

scottlindner

01-01-10, 01:34 PM

BTW was over at Best Buy the other day, the salesman said their Sony rep told them Sony will be making some major changes in their HD TV product line - possibly announced at CES in the comming week. Since I don't have an HDTV, I'm curious what they will do. More LED TVs? I have to say image quality on most of the LCD/LED TVs I've looked at in the store is impressive (compared to my 13 in analog TV :eek: ).

Send me a private note to talk about HDTVs. This isn't the forum for it. I have learned a lot about picture quality and HDTVs since purchasing our first. Be careful about comparing images in a TV show room, they are rigged to only show you the strengths and not the weaknesses, and each store may rig them to overemphasize more expensive units (search for the Monster Cable HDMI cable comparison at a Circuit City).

Scott

springsHD=Horrid

01-01-10, 10:31 PM

Anybody know what's going on with KKTV channel 11.3? They had a crawl saying it was going away but are they going to replace it with anything?

iowegian3

01-02-10, 12:02 AM

Yeah, I agree. A few thoughts:
1. HD content "pulled on demand" by the consumer will require a lot more bandwidth than currently available. It really hinges in FiOS to the house which here in Colo Spgs is probably a long way away. Also, it may require some internal rewiring or growth in short range (within the home) wireless networks.(

That's like the railroad vs. freeway analogy. Railroads run on a schedule, you don't get what you want when you want it, but it's more efficient in transporting passengers per capita than cars and the road system. Broadcast will be inherently more efficient delivering mass appeal content. And, you can bet that telecom companies will measure how many megs or gigs are delivered to your home each month.

Broadcasters are in the business of delivering mass appeal data. Just like railroads have always been in the transportation biz. Not the railroad biz. Had rail execs thought that way 50 or 60 years ago, they would have invested in airlines. Some lesser tier broadcasters may evolve into distributors of data, say delivering on-line newspapers, but I think there will always be a role for broadcast if the industry is able to adapt successfully to a new model.

Satcom15

01-02-10, 02:12 PM

That's like the railroad vs. freeway analogy. Railroads run on a schedule, you don't get what you want when you want it, but it's more efficient in transporting passengers per capita than cars and the road system. Broadcast will be inherently more efficient delivering mass appeal content. And, you can bet that telecom companies will measure how many megs or gigs are delivered to your home each month.

Broadcasters are in the business of delivering mass appeal data. Just like railroads have always been in the transportation biz. Not the railroad biz. Had rail execs thought that way 50 or 60 years ago, they would have invested in airlines. Some lesser tier broadcasters may evolve into distributors of data, say delivering on-line newspapers, but I think there will always be a role for broadcast if the industry is able to adapt successfully to a new model.

I agree 100%. Broadcast will always be around, though with some sort of evolution likely. However, if we ever did get to a delivery model that places more emphasis on subscriber pull of HD programming instead of provider push the bandwidth demands probably could not be satisfied with the current infrastructure. I think an hours worth of uncompressed HD programming is around 8.5 GB. To move that much data in an hour would require a data rate of around 19 Mbps (not including overhead bits) unless some form of compression is used. So scaling that up, you can see an 860 MHz bandwidth cable (like ours here in Colo Spgs) would not have the capacity to support all those wanting the service as well as the broadcast service unless its broken down to nodes/hubs serving small numbers of subs with fiber to the nodes. Or better, FiOS :D

As for springsHD=Horrid's question on KKTV. Gosh, wouldn't it be nice to give that freed up bandwidth back to the 11.1 and 11.2 channels? :D

Cheers

HateNewNHL

01-03-10, 10:46 PM

Yeah, I agree. A few thoughts:
1. HD content "pulled on demand" by the consumer will require a lot more bandwidth than currently available.

I thought SDV would fix this and once implemented, would give the HD content advantage to cable.

Satcom15

01-03-10, 11:02 PM

I thought SDV would fix this and once implemented, would give the HD content advantage to cable.

Maybe. Like you said, when (if) its implemented. It hinges on subscribers having equipment that can talk back to the hub. And, I'm not sure if there is any sort of standard used across all consumer and cable company equipment. Anyone know how Switched Digital Video (SDV) implementation is going?

RockyMountainD

01-07-10, 07:49 AM

http://www.krdo.com/Global/story.asp?S=11778899

KRDO is pleased to announce we have come to an agreement with DirecTV for them to carry KRDO's high definition signal. Thursday morning at 4am KRDO will be added to DirecTV's HD tier. That means football fans on DirecTV will be able to watch the National Championship game in HD on Thursday evening.

"I'd like to thank all of our DirecTV viewers for their patience in resolving this situation and we sincerely hope you enjoy seeing all of the KRDO newscasts in HD along with all the great ABC programming", says KRDO General Manager Tim Larson.

DirecTV will begin airing KRDO in high definition early Thursday morning.

eddie_d_lopez

01-07-10, 11:16 AM

i wonder which side budged? NPG had more to lose by not being in the lineup and i'd have to think they decided to be reasonable in negotiations.

no matter, it will be nice to have them in my favorites list now.

radckh

01-07-10, 11:49 AM

So I can tune to channel 13 in HD, but it doesn't show up in the guide.
(The analog 13 is gone now too - not that I want that to show up.)
Is there something we have to do to get the new channel to show up in the guide?

eddie_d_lopez

01-07-10, 11:52 AM

it shows in my guide, so not sure what your issue might be.

RockyMountainD

01-07-10, 12:23 PM

radckh

01-07-10, 12:34 PM

Turns out I just had to enable that channel in the Change Favorites List -> Edit Settings window.
Ooops! :o

bnwrx

01-07-10, 08:03 PM

Glad this is settled. I am not getting DD sound though. I get it on other locals(5/11/21). Is any one else experiencing this?

lsilvest

01-07-10, 11:15 PM

Glad this is settled. I am not getting DD sound though. I get it on other locals(5/11/21). Is any one else experiencing this?

Everyone's experiencing this - KRDO doesn't broadcast in Dolby. I'm not an ABC fan to begin with and what little I do watch on it, especially football really sucks in comparison to the other networks.

TallGuy

01-08-10, 10:01 AM

radckh

01-08-10, 10:24 AM

Glad this is settled. I am not getting DD sound though. I get it on other locals(5/11/21). Is any one else experiencing this?

I got an email from KRDO General Manager Tim Larson on Wednesday to tell me they had gotten the deal done with DirecTV for their HD broadcasts. (I had emailed him a few times asking about this and he had evidently saved my emails.)
So when I replied back to him to thank him for the update I also asked about the Dolby Digital situation.
He replied: "Hopefully by May but it could be in June."
So those of us that are soccer fans could have DD for ABC's World Cup bradcasts!

TallGuy

01-08-10, 11:12 AM

I got an email from KRDO General Manager Tim Larson on Wednesday to tell me they had gotten the deal done with DirecTV for their HD broadcasts. (I had emailed him a few times asking about this and he had evidently saved my emails.)
So when I replied back to him to thank him for the update I also asked about the Dolby Digital situation.
He replied: "Hopefully by May but it could be in June."
So those of us that are soccer fans could have DD for ABC's World Cup bradcasts!

Good to hear they think they're getting close. I have called Tim Larson and J.R. the head engineer several times each and they rarely return calls. If/when I happened to catch them live, they would always say they had no idea when DD5.1 was coming or when they would be able to budget for the equipment.

But it will be right after LOST is done for good. :mad:

radckh

01-08-10, 12:55 PM

But it will be right after LOST is done for good. :mad:

I was thinking the EXACT same thing! :(

smahon

01-08-10, 06:17 PM

Is there a word that describes being simultaneously happy, PO'd, annoyed, and still lacking surround sound? I guess I am krdoed. :o

KRuDO !! That's the word you are looking for.

scottlindner

01-09-10, 12:20 PM

KRuDO !! That's the word you are looking for.

Sounds too much like kudos, which is a good thing. Unless it's supposed to be pronounced crud-doh!

Scott

Satcom15

01-10-10, 02:12 AM

scottlindner

01-10-10, 08:31 AM

Looks like we'll have the pleasure of paying more for cable. See this article on CNN's website:

Why cable is going to cost you even more

http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/06/news/companies/cable_bill_cost_increase/index.htm

I wonder how much of this is due to the FTC allowing these mega merges, and how much is due to the real costs they are seeing?

Scott

TallGuy

01-12-10, 01:37 AM

I just got a notice that DirecTV is jacking their prices next month - I calculated 5.2%. For most of us, our household income is down in the last year or two - inflation is zero - how can they justify +5.2% for my bill...?

eddie_d_lopez

01-12-10, 10:30 AM

i heard comcast did the same starting the 1st of the year. they follow each others move it seems.

RockyMountainD

01-12-10, 01:36 PM

pookers

01-12-10, 07:03 PM

When will KKTV move to channel 49? I am hit a miss with their signal, yes i have a VHF/UHF attenna, and i have LOS to Cheyenne Mountain, as i am up high, Woodmen and Lexington

Trip in VA

01-12-10, 07:12 PM

When will KKTV move to channel 49? I am hit a miss with their signal, yes i have a VHF/UHF attenna, and i have LOS to Cheyenne Mountain, as i am up high, Woodmen and Lexington

Not before Spring.

- Trip

Satcom15

01-12-10, 07:23 PM

When will KKTV move to channel 49? I am hit a miss with their signal, yes i have a VHF/UHF attenna, and i have LOS to Cheyenne Mountain, as i am up high, Woodmen and Lexington

How's your Channel 8 reception? Just curious.
Cheers

pookers

01-13-10, 04:04 PM

KTSC comes in fine for me, i always check, as ia put a big honking antenna in my attic, i get channel 48 good also

Satcom15

01-14-10, 07:07 PM

I've been having sporadic internet outages that have been associated with system upgrades to my Comcast cable (my internet provider). In talking with the service rep today, I found out that Project Cavalry/World of More digital reclamation is about to begin in Colorado Springs. The marketing campaign and public announcements will start in Feb or Mar. DTA boxes will become available soon. Stay tuned.
Cheers.

HateNewNHL

01-17-10, 10:46 PM

Satcom15

01-18-10, 07:19 PM

Did they mention what new HD channels would be coming?

Unfortunately, no.

lsilvest

01-19-10, 02:39 PM

Satcom15

01-19-10, 11:30 PM

KBDI has just started broadcasting from Cheyenne Mountain. Channels 12-1 (PBS), 12-2 (Documentary) and 12-3 are coming in perfectly (I'm in Pueblo West). Unfortunately all they have right now is in SD, but it's a very good quality - looks good on my 42" plasma which is picking up the signals as either letterbox or 16:9 so I'm getting a full screen with no distortion. For those having problems with KTSC you might want to give it a look. The SD on 12-1 is far better than KTSC.

I just happened to notice it when I was scanning channels on a new HTPC I'm building. I had gotten these channels intermittently before from their Denver feed. The SD on 12-1 is far better than KTSC.

Interesting. I wonder how their programming compares to RMPBS, I'll have to look at the schedules. Wonder if they will do any OTA HD broadcasting in the future. When I lived in Ft Collins back 90-92, their programming was better than Ch 6. But that was then, this is now and I haven't looked into their schedule since it was hard to get here.

Also, GatoViejo uses a small dish (1m class) satellite system for receiving PBS off their Ku-Band satellite feed. If all you were interested in was PBS, I'll bet you could put one of those up and no one (Homeowner Assn) would be the wiser. They'd probably think it was a DirecTV or Dish system. See his posts back around page 209 and 210.

Cheers

Satcom15

01-23-10, 12:54 PM

Here is a picture of the Digital Transport Adaptor accessory Comcast will be handing out free (up to 3 per household) when they start the analog to digital conversion in the next few months. You can see how small it is. I believe there is a controller which will be used to select channels. Your TV, DVR, etc. will have to be set to Ch 3 which of course limits the ability to record programming. I'm not sure if lifeline service (local channels and public access) will need a DTA or not (depends if they keep that service analog). We'll probably hear more soon. The media/marketing campaign should start next month (maybe March) I think. BTW the picture was originally posted by Marcus Carr over on the Comcast HDTV thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=17984223

Cheers

http://www.wickedlocal.com/medford/archive/x215404874/g258258bbc2fd5d7761d90ee124c8bc16f7e366b5d33c3c.jpg

Rmassey

01-23-10, 07:28 PM

Something tells me this ^^^ is gonna suck for S3/HDTivo users that do not use CableCards. In other words all my blury analog SD programming will disappear.

Satcom15

01-24-10, 01:06 PM

Something tells me this ^^^ is gonna suck for S3/HDTivo users that do not use CableCards. In other words all my blury analog SD programming will disappear.

You are probably correct on that point. I asked about the implication for DVR and TV channel tuning over on the Comcast HD forum and got an answer that supports your thought. :(

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=424081&page=337

Cheers

Satcom15

01-24-10, 01:34 PM

PaulGo over on the Comcast HD site posted this link to the DTA setup guide. Its not clear to me whether you can tune channels with your VCR (or other recording device). I'm doubtful given the need to keep your TV on Ch 3 and tune with the DTA controller. Its probably the same thing with recording device operation. :(

http://digitalnow.comcast.com/Contents/DTA_online_ver_2.pdf

scottlindner

01-24-10, 02:27 PM

Satcom15

01-24-10, 09:55 PM

If it uses an IR remote to change channels, there are products that allow other devices to change channels as if it were one nicely integrated package. It's been a long time since I checked into this, but I recall a product named IR Blaster for this situation.

Scott

Now consider this problem: Setting up a recording device to record multiple channels when not present. For example, I'd like to record Ch 8 at 8PM and Ch 46 at 9PM. If I'm not at home to change the DTA channel, the recording device will record Ch 8 at 9PM since its always set on Ch 3. At least that is my understanding of how it will operate. Of course if the recording device has a CableCard, it shouldn't be an issue (there's no need for a DTA). I think there are going to be a lot of surprised people out there since I'd suspect many recording devices in place don't have the CableCard option installed or are too old to accept it.

Cheers

scottlindner

01-25-10, 06:11 PM

Now consider this problem: Setting up a recording device to record multiple channels when not present. For example, I'd like to record Ch 8 at 8PM and Ch 46 at 9PM. If I'm not at home to change the DTA channel, the recording device will record Ch 8 at 9PM since its always set on Ch 3. At least that is my understanding of how it will operate. Of course if the recording device has a CableCard, it shouldn't be an issue (there's no need for a DTA). I think there are going to be a lot of surprised people out there since I'd suspect many recording devices in place don't have the CableCard option installed or are too old to accept it.

Cheers

I have not done this, but I know people that have solved this exact problem with satellite systems already using the tools I mentioned in my previous post. The IR Blaster (or whatever the modern tech is called) will change the channel for you. It mimics a remote control. That's how it works. The biggest problem is if you want multiple tuners, then you need multiple units, multiple blasters, etc. People are using high quality analog capture devices that work just like this as a way to circumvent the need for CableCard using an approach I described. It works very well, and people seem to be satisified with it, even though you're going Digital to Analog to Digital.

Scott

Satcom15

01-26-10, 07:31 PM

I have not done this, but I know people that have solved this exact problem with satellite systems already using the tools I mentioned in my previous post. The IR Blaster (or whatever the modern tech is called) will change the channel for you. It mimics a remote control. That's how it works. The biggest problem is if you want multiple tuners, then you need multiple units, multiple blasters, etc. People are using high quality analog capture devices that work just like this as a way to circumvent the need for CableCard using an approach I described. It works very well, and people seem to be satisified with it, even though you're going Digital to Analog to Digital.

Scott

Hmmm. There must be some sort of timer that can be used to comand the controller to issue a channel change?

Satcom15

01-26-10, 07:37 PM

Here's an interesting question and answer from the Comcast Augusta GA digital upgrade program. Looks like encryption with higher fees could be in the future once the digital conversion is complete. :mad:

"Q. What if I have a digital TV set, such as one using a QAM tuner? Do I still need to use a digital device or CableCARD?
A. Digital QAM tuner TVs will be able to continue to receive Limited Basic cable channels without requiring a digital device. At the completion of our digital transition, which is anticipated to occur shortly after the February 1, 2010 transition date, Expanded Basic channels will be encrypted for security purposes. At that time, all televisions, including those using QAM tuners, will not be able to view Expanded Basic channels without a digital device or CableCARD. So we recommend that customers use a digital device or CableCARD for all TVs."

http://www.comcast.com/dtaaugusta/faqs.html

There was a fair amount of discussion on this over on the AVS Comcast thread

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=424081&page=339

scottlindner

01-27-10, 06:07 PM

Hmmm. There must be some sort of timer that can be used to comand the controller to issue a channel change?

I see where you're missing it. Some DVRs and certainly any PC will have the connections to connec the "Blaster" to it. So the DVR changes the channel for you.

Scott

Satcom15

01-27-10, 08:01 PM

I see where you're missing it. Some DVRs and certainly any PC will have the connections to connec the "Blaster" to it. So the DVR changes the channel for you.

Scott

I guess my adled brain is not catching it. I thought the channel change was being done by the DTA or other cable company provided box (unless a CableCard is used). If that is so, then the DVR and/or TV will have to be set to Ch 3 or 4. There will be no channel changing by the DVR/TV unless the IR Blaster changes the channel on the cable box. The cable converts and sends a Channel 18, 23, 42, etc, signal over what appears to be Ch 3/4 to the DVR/TV. As far as the DVR is concerned it only sees a Channel 3/4 signal. Am I confused? :D

GatoViejo

01-29-10, 10:31 AM

... unless the IR Blaster changes the channel on the cable box.

That is exactly what the IR blaster does.

Satcom15

01-29-10, 07:22 PM

That is exactly what the IR blaster does.

But, does the IR blaster have a timer function? Can I program the IR blaster to change channels at a particular time? Say record on Ch 8 at 7PM and Ch 46 at 8PM? Otherwise I'd have to be there to change the channel. Are there any manufacturers and/or models I should look at to get an idea of how they work? Thanks for any information.

On another note, I saw an interesting article on Free to Air (FTA) satellite TV in Monitoring Times. There was dicussion on the Pansat 200HD receiver - Cool. I was wondering what receiver and antenna you were using for your PBS reception. Also, do you watch any other channels? Finally, can one still subscribe to encrypted channels (paying a fee for the service of course). I'm wondering if a Ku-Band system might be the way to go instead of cable or Dish/DirecTV.

Cheers

lsilvest

01-29-10, 09:31 PM

Are there any manufacturers and/or models I should look at to get an idea of how they work? Thanks for any information.

This is the most popular one: usb-uirt (http://www.usbuirt.com/overview.htm)

scottlindner

01-30-10, 08:42 AM

But, does the IR blaster have a timer function? Can I program the IR blaster to change channels at a particular time? Say record on Ch 8 at 7PM and Ch 46 at 8PM? Otherwise I'd have to be there to change the channel. Are there any manufacturers and/or models I should look at to get an idea of how they work? Thanks for any information.

On another note, I saw an interesting article on Free to Air (FTA) satellite TV in Monitoring Times. There was dicussion on the Pansat 200HD receiver - Cool. I was wondering what receiver and antenna you were using for your PBS reception. Also, do you watch any other channels? Finally, can one still subscribe to encrypted channels (paying a fee for the service of course). I'm wondering if a Ku-Band system might be the way to go instead of cable or Dish/DirecTV.

Cheers

Your DVR does that. You don't have to be there to change channels, that's what your DVR does. All this IR device does is send the IR to the tuner box so the channel can be changed. It's a dumb device. It's kinda like telling your DVR to pick up the remote and change the channel. If you build an HTPC to act as your DVR you definitely can do this. As for regular DVRs, you'll need to check if it supports an external IR function for changing channels on your tuner box. So for finding what you want, check your DVR product information to see what it supports.

I'm using an Antennas Direct ClearStream 4 antenna in my attic pointed directly at Cheyenne Mountain. I have clear line of sight. It looks bigger in the pictures than it really is. It's about 1ft high by 2ft wide. I could have gone much larger in my attic, but I'm glad I didn't because my reception is perfect even in really bad weather. I watch the following OTA stations. Rather, these are the ones that I didn't hide, so I can't really say that I watch them, but more that they didn't annoy me enough to hide them. Here's the list: 5.1, 5.2, 8.1, 8.3, 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 12.1, 12.2, 12.3, 13.1, 21.1, 21.2.

Scott

GatoViejo

01-31-10, 11:10 AM

I was wondering what receiver and antenna you were using for your PBS reception. Also, do you watch any other channels?

Dish:http://www.wsidigital.com/ws9036-90cm-36-inch-offset-fta-ku-satellite-dish.htm

LNB:http://www.wsidigital.com/dmx521-single-standard-ku-band-digital-lnbf.htm

Receiver:http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Products/WorldDVB/DVB-S2_USB_BOX2104C_WorldDVB_DVBWorld_USB_HD_Satellite_Receiver. htm

I do not have a dish motor so I am pointed only at AMC-21. I have not tried repointing it and testing other channels, so this is PBS only.

suzeo99

02-01-10, 05:33 PM

I am at Woodmen and Rangewood and can hardly ever get KKTV. I started way back when they first started transmitted digitally and it was great then. Glad to hear I am not alone and desperately awaiting their move.

When will KKTV move to channel 49? I am hit a miss with their signal, yes i have a VHF/UHF attenna, and i have LOS to Cheyenne Mountain, as i am up high, Woodmen and Lexington

Satcom15

02-01-10, 09:17 PM

I am at Woodmen and Rangewood and can hardly ever get KKTV. I started way back when they first started transmitted digitally and it was great then. Glad to hear I am not alone and desperately awaiting their move.

I live over by Lexington and Research with a clear line of sight to Cheyenne Mtn. However I'm currently on cable. I'm thinking of OTA though. Wonder what the reception is like up here?

Cheers

suzeo99

02-02-10, 01:56 PM

Satcom15

02-02-10, 07:35 PM

I would just wait until KKTV moves its freq. to 49. Once that happens I think you can be pretty secure in your OTA signal strength.

You could always attach a pair of cheap rabbit ears to your current TV if it has a digital tuner and just see what you can get. Upstairs in my house I get all channels with only rabbit ears. Downstairs is more of a problem

Susan

Hmmm. Your problem may be too much signal if you are connected to an antenna with more gain than the rabbit ears upstairs. There's been a fair amount of discussion on strong digital signals affecting reception over on the AVS Antenna thread. See:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=381623&page=363

You may have to back a few pages to see some of the discussion. So the solution may be to insert an attenuator between your antenna and the receiver. It depends on how much gain your antenna has. That seems counterintuitive, but there's certainly a possibility the signal is overloading the reciever if its too strong.

According to TV Fool, at Woodman and Rangewood, KKTV comes in as the strongest signal with a Noise Margin of 60.7 dB at that location. That's pretty high.

Anyway, something to think about.
Cheers

scottlindner

02-02-10, 08:56 PM

I live over by Lexington and Research with a clear line of sight to Cheyenne Mtn. However I'm currently on cable. I'm thinking of OTA though. Wonder what the reception is like up here?

Cheers

We live very close to each other, and after spending the effort to attic mount my ClearStream4, I tried a 20+ year old rabbit ears in the same position with nearly identical results. If you have rabbit ears, give 'em a try in the position you think you'll do best. Very cheap test. If you need cable or anything to make the test happen let me know.

Scott

Satcom15

02-03-10, 07:52 PM

We live very close to each other, and after spending the effort to attic mount my ClearStream4, I tried a 20+ year old rabbit ears in the same position with nearly identical results. If you have rabbit ears, give 'em a try in the position you think you'll do best. Very cheap test. If you need cable or anything to make the test happen let me know.

Scott

Hi Scott,
Thanks for the offer. Unfortunately I have no digital TV at the moment, just a 13 inch analog on cable. For the amount of TV I watch, its fine. At some point though I'll do an upgrade, maybe later this summer. I was looking at the new Sony NG (not yet on the market but advertiesed on their site - Very nice! Industrial design is great).
Cheers
satcom

scottlindner

02-04-10, 06:39 AM

Hi Scott,
Thanks for the offer. Unfortunately I have no digital TV at the moment, just a 13 inch analog on cable. For the amount of TV I watch, its fine. At some point though I'll do an upgrade, maybe later this summer. I was looking at the new Sony NG (not yet on the market but advertiesed on their site - Very nice! Industrial design is great).
Cheers
satcom

Right now you're just doing your homework? I used rabbit ears in a first floor window for a year. It worked fine for all channels exception when there was bad weather.

Scott

eddie_d_lopez

02-04-10, 10:01 AM

... Unfortunately I have no digital TV at the moment, just a 13 inch analog on cable. ...

is it a black and white set?

just kidding... ;)

Satcom15

02-04-10, 07:31 PM

Right now you're just doing your homework? I used rabbit ears in a first floor window for a year. It worked fine for all channels exception when there was bad weather.

Scott

is it a black and white set?

just kidding...

Yup Scott, 'fraid so. There's no hurry to spend $$$ for a new TV since I watch so little these days.

And no eddie, its not black and white. Nice touch with that comment though made me laugh. For a long time I didn't even own a TV. :D

Cheers.

springsHD=Horrid

02-07-10, 10:23 AM

Anybody catch Saturday Night Live last night with Them Crooked Vultures?
The vocals were barely coming through the mix and it seemed like KOAA kept jacking up switching from SD to HD.

suzeo99

02-08-10, 04:34 PM

My TV has extensive signal info. This makes no sense to me but perhaps someone here could decode:

Errors (between 60 - 200)
SNR (dB) ~15
IF-AGC (%) 35

I attached an antennuator that I happened to have around and it didn't help.

Thanks

Susan

Hmmm. Your problem may be too much signal if you are connected to an antenna with more gain than the rabbit ears upstairs. There's been a fair amount of discussion on strong digital signals affecting reception over on the AVS Antenna thread. See:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=381623&page=363

You may have to back a few pages to see some of the discussion. So the solution may be to insert an attenuator between your antenna and the receiver. It depends on how much gain your antenna has. That seems counterintuitive, but there's certainly a possibility the signal is overloading the reciever if its too strong.

According to TV Fool, at Woodman and Rangewood, KKTV comes in as the strongest signal with a Noise Margin of 60.7 dB at that location. That's pretty high.

Anyway, something to think about.
Cheers

royrose

02-08-10, 08:15 PM

RichButler

02-09-10, 01:06 AM

Does anyone know the newest DVR hardware that Comcast is distributing?
I am upgrading my service to HD + DVR this week.
I don't want them to try to pawn off an older box on me.

Thanks.

bnwrx

02-09-10, 10:36 AM

Looks like KOAA is getting ready to go HD, or at least wide screen. They are remodeling their news set and meanwhile have changed their sidebars to have a moving blue image instead of a static HD logo.

Glad to see this finally. It is probably set to coincide with their Olympics coverage which starts Friday. They should have a bump in viewer numbers this weekend.

RockyMountainD

02-09-10, 10:57 AM

Any fellow Springers trying out DirecTV's new multi-room viewing beta?

Been running it for about a week. Not too bad for an add-on feature.

bnwrx

02-09-10, 01:27 PM

Any fellow Springers trying out DirecTV's new multi-room viewing beta?

Been running it for about a week. Not too bad for an add-on feature.

Would like to have it but I don't have SWM. You need that to make it work.

RockyMountainD

02-09-10, 01:53 PM

Would like to have it but I don't have SWM. You need that to make it work.

:( did not know that. Thought the SWM requirement was only for the DECA implementation.

MalcolmG

02-09-10, 02:02 PM

:( did not know that. Thought the SWM requirement was only for the DECA implementation.

That's correct. While it is likely DirecTV will only officially support the DECA network implementation, MRV works fine for me on CAT5, no SWM.

bnwrx

02-09-10, 02:16 PM

That's correct. While it is likely DirecTV will only officially support the DECA network implementation, MRV works fine for me on CAT5, no SWM.

So do you run cat5 between the DVRs? or thru your computer?

MalcolmG

02-09-10, 02:30 PM

So do you run cat5 between the DVRs? or thru your computer?

If you just want to MRV between DVRs, yes, Cat5 between them will work, but you will need to manually set up the network parameters on each box. I have my four DVRs connected to my home network router and DSL modem to also enable DOD and mediashare.

bnwrx

02-09-10, 02:40 PM

If you just want to MRV between DVRs, yes, Cat5 between them will work, but you will need to manually set up the network parameters on each box. I have my four DVRs connected to my home network router and DSL modem to also enable DOD and mediashare.

Thanks for the reply. If I just ran cat5 between 2 DVRs, would that mean I could record on both and have access to the playlist on both from either tv? (I have 2 DVRs only)

MalcolmG

02-09-10, 03:30 PM

Thanks for the reply. If I just ran cat5 between 2 DVRs, would that mean I could record on both and have access to the playlist on both from either tv? (I have 2 DVRs only)

Yes, assuming you have the latest national release and you opt-in to the MRV beta. Lots of additional info on dbstalk forum, DirecTV HD receivers.

Satcom15

02-09-10, 08:13 PM

My TV has extensive signal info. This makes no sense to me but perhaps someone here could decode:

Errors (between 60 - 200)
SNR (dB) ~15
IF-AGC (%) 35

I attached an antennuator that I happened to have around and it didn't help.

Thanks

Susan

Hi Susan,
Are those numbers you show obtained before or after you inserted the attenuator? Having numbers with and without the attenuator in might prove helpful. What kind of TV is it (manufacturer and model)? Also, do you have a manufacturer and/or part number for the attenuator? Alternatively do you know what the attenuation and operating frequency is of the attenuator? Sorry to be so nosey here, but hopefully with a little more information we can get greater insight into your problem.

Cheers
satcom

ay221

02-13-10, 09:52 PM

KKTV was approved for their move from channel 10 to channel 49 today.

- Trip

Hey Trip. Is KKTV still the TVGOS carrier? My Sony PVR was acting up. I read the fix was to do a couple of factory resets. My time came up as well as the ads that appear in the menu, but not the channel guide. Still all blank. Maybe I will leave it off overnight again. Or maybe the guide data only comes in on the weekdays?

bnwrx

02-16-10, 11:17 AM

rockinricky

02-16-10, 01:38 PM

So KOAA did a complete remodel of their news set, but they are still in SD? I don't quite understand why they would go to that expense and then not broadcast their local news in HD. :confused::confused:

I think they're getting ready to make the jump. I noticed that the anchors look different, they did something with either the makeup or the lighting, or both. Mike Madson still looks like Trevor from the old Æon Flux cartoon on MTV :eek:

bnwrx

02-16-10, 05:59 PM

...Mike Madson still looks like Trevor from the old Æon Flux cartoon on MTV :eek:

That's funny..:D

Trip in VA

02-16-10, 07:11 PM

Hey Trip. Is KKTV still the TVGOS carrier? My Sony PVR was acting up. I read the fix was to do a couple of factory resets. My time came up as well as the ads that appear in the menu, but not the channel guide. Still all blank. Maybe I will leave it off overnight again. Or maybe the guide data only comes in on the weekdays?

I meant to post a public answer to this question, and I forgot. :o

For the benefit of others, I will post the PM I sent to you.

Hello:

Unfortunately, I do not have a permanent contact in the market. My last set of data was taken during an atmospheric event by a person in the Denver area. As such, I cannot confirm either way whether or not KKTV is the station carrying it at this time, though I have heard nothing about them dropping the service.

I can only speculate that the TVGOS gear is acting up, which is not an unusual occurrence. The local station can only reboot the box if told to by Rovi, or remove it from the system entirely--the whole rest of the process is controlled by Rovi by remote control. On top of this, the gear is not the most reliable in the world, with failures being pretty frequent. Plus the TVGOS stream has known incompatibilities with some converter boxes which has led to occasional downtime both from stations trying to keep their viewers able to watch and Rovi trying to fix it.

I'm sorry I can't be more helpful. I would recommend you call Rovi and complain to them, as they would be more likely to have a solution for you than the local station.

Best of luck, and let me know how it turns out.

- Trip

idividebyzero

02-24-10, 12:50 PM

Has anyone experienced random channel changes when watching analog on comcast? Sometimes if I leave the channel on cartoon network late at night the signal switches to another channel and the box and audio system goes kind of haywire trying to figure out what signal its receiving, it happens for like 30 seconds then its back to normal. Its like theyre testing something, could it have anything to do with a digital transition? Its similar to when youre watching a local HD station and then they decide to show their stupid logo on the screen which plops the signal out of HD causing the audio to cut/blast and its back to normal when they switch back, but instead of switching to SD it switches to another channel.

rockinricky

02-27-10, 12:54 AM

I was just watching Olympics on KOAA channel 5 and the news came on. Channel 5 news is in HD now. When did they flip the switch?

bnwrx

02-27-10, 09:18 AM

Last week, I think the 26th was there first night of local HD.

eddie_d_lopez

02-27-10, 11:57 AM

tues or wed. is when i first noticed...

gman76

03-08-10, 01:53 PM

I just rec'd this email from Comcast. I hv analog cable service up thru Ch 99 and use QAM tuners for the digital channels (4 HD + 20 digital SD). They want to switch me over to a STB or DTA but am I going to lose my 20+ digital channels? (I realize that the box outputs to ch3 or 4, so I won't be using my QAM tuner) I read that if you get a DTA, they will encrypt many of the digital ch. Do I *really* need the STB/DTA or can I go "box-less" and still get the current digi channels? Does anyone know the story?

Here's the email:

"Our latest network enhancement is underway to provide customers with more HD channels, more On Demand choices and faster Internet speeds.

With this enhancement, your Expanded Basic channels 25, 27-40, 42-77 and 95 will be broadcast exclusively in digital format. To continue receiving all your channels, you will need to order digital equipment for each TV in your home that isn't connected to a digital set-top box.

Depending on your current level of service, you can receive one digital set-top box and up to two digital adapters at no additional monthly service charge."

jbichsel

03-08-10, 05:17 PM

gman76

03-08-10, 07:09 PM

What's tiling?

lsilvest

03-08-10, 07:50 PM

I am planning of either Dis or DirecTV. Anyone have comments?

My son lives in your area and he switched from Comcast to D* a while back. I have Dish and tried to get him to sign up with them (now he says he wishes he'd listened to me - that never happens). He does like them better than Concast, but then who likes Concast anyway. I really wish someone would explain to me why anyone would choose Concast if they could get satellite. I put up with them for all of 4 months when I moved here 4 years ago.

I had D* before I switched to Dish a couple of years ago. I like Dish better for a number of reasons. Better DVR's by a long shot, lower prices for comparable programming and I've had fewer weather issues with Dish than with D* for some reason and the satellite dish is in the same place, but I didn't find either to be a major problem with weather (although I live in Pueblo West, not Monument). Also, I think Dish has better SD than D*, although I watch mainly HD programming. I also have an antenna so I don't get locals through them. As to service, I haven't had any problems with either of them - no equipment issues or billing issues. I think the only advantage D* would have is if you are a huge NFL fan and want that extra coverage.

jbichsel

03-09-10, 07:41 AM

What's tiling?

Tiling is when the picture sputters and breaks up looking like hundreds of little 'tiles'. During this the audio also craps out.

We have been forced into Comcast since we've been renting and the landlord won't allow a dish.

We were DishNetwork customers from 1998-2006, but then had some issues and had to rent since and haven't been able to have satellite due to landlords or trees.

We had very few weather related issues here in Colorado, but moved to Texas (Texas sucks, so glad to be back) and had issues during the spring thunder storms. Weather issues in Colorado were solved by brushing the snow off the dish.

It looks like DishNetwork has more receivers available for sign-up specials than D*.

Also looking for more HD since the theater gets used quite a bit.

P.S. I will say that we do love Comcast Internet service. Very few problems. But their TV service is horrible.

bnwrx

03-09-10, 10:31 AM

Be sure to do the math with DISH. The first rec'vr is a good deal, but the charges add up quickly when adding more rec'vrs, especially HD DVR types.

gman76

03-09-10, 11:48 AM

Oh, I'm used to the term "macro-blocking".

lsilvest

03-09-10, 01:24 PM

It's also called pixelation. In fact, it's apparently so common with Concast that someone put a video about it on YouTube: Comcast HDTV Pixelation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT30UW80N0I)

RichButler

03-09-10, 01:40 PM

jkozlow3

03-10-10, 03:14 PM

(Texas sucks, so glad to be back)

What part of Texas and why didn't you like it? Just curious as I'm considering moving to Dallas or Houston. Lots more job opportunities for me and I kind of just need a change of pace.

HateNewNHL

03-13-10, 01:45 AM

We live in Monument (Woodmoor) and have been fight 'tiling' for over a year. I finally gave up having the techs come out 1-3 times a week since we will be moving (staying in Woodmoor) soon.

I am planning of either Dis or DirecTV. Anyone have comments?

We will be remodelling a room for our HT. HD Yamaha LPX-510 projector on a 120-140" screen.

My tiling / macro-blocking went away once I bought one of these.

http://www.amazon.com/Bi-Directional-Amplifier-Splitter-Booster-Passive/dp/B000WDR94U/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1268462592&sr=1-3

8 channel at the incoming junction to the house and another 4 port at the main TV. We went from 10 or so incidents a day to 0. I think I have seen 1 in the 6 months since I installed. HSI seemed also a tad faster but that could be my imagination.

scottlindner

03-13-10, 08:59 AM

My tiling / macro-blocking went away once I bought one of these.

http://www.amazon.com/Bi-Directional-Amplifier-Splitter-Booster-Passive/dp/B000WDR94U/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1268462592&sr=1-3

8 channel at the incoming junction to the house and another 4 port at the main TV. We went from 10 or so incidents a day to 0. I think I have seen 1 in the 6 months since I installed. HSI seemed also a tad faster but that could be my imagination.

I have one of those as well. That's all, nothing to report on it. :)

Scott

HateNewNHL

03-21-10, 09:01 PM

I have one of those as well. That's all, nothing to report on it. :)

Scott

And I should share a unique story about this amp that I just experienced.

I went out and bought a new DOCSIS 3.0 Moto SB6120 modem. I had read about so many people getting better speeds on the 3.0 setup now that our town can support it. (its true, I see better speeds)

Well after 2 modems and less then helpful Comcast support, I figured out that this new SB6120 modem cannot get online after a power cycle while connected to this amp if the amp is powered. If the amp isnt powered, then it is more or less a fancy splitter and the modem gets online with no issue at all. You can stay online just fine if you then power up the amp after the power cycle on the modem is complete. Very strange.

I know this belongs in a different thread (which I will post in too) but figured I would share as I expect some are going to eventually go the route of the getting the amp to fix their macro blocking/tiling issue.

GatoViejo

04-10-10, 10:04 AM

I just noticed that KVSN (48-1) a.k.a. Univision has started broadcasting in HD.

ew2x4

04-27-10, 07:19 PM

Is anyone having problems getting any signal at all from KKTV CBS? It came in just fine, but for the past few days, nothing at all.

springsHD=Horrid

04-27-10, 07:21 PM

Is anyone having problems getting any signal at all from KKTV CBS? It came in just fine, but for the past few days, nothing at all.

Fine here near Peterson RD and Palmer Park.

lsilvest

04-27-10, 07:41 PM

I'm in Pueblo OTA and it's fine now. I recorded a couple of shows last night and they're good. Are you getting it OTA or cable or satellite.

ew2x4

04-27-10, 07:50 PM

I'm in Pueblo OTA and it's fine now. I recorded a couple of shows last night and they're good. Are you getting it OTA or cable or satellite.

OTA. CBS has been the most solid signal of them all for me and the past 2 or 3 days I've gotten absolutely no signal. It's strange. I'm on Garden of the Gods, just west of I-25, fyi.

lsilvest

04-27-10, 08:13 PM

Have you tried rescanning? I've had to do that in the past a couple of times when a signal was lost on one of the channels (used to be KOAA all the time).

Unless something unusual happened to your antenna or equipment it's strange to just lose one station.

ew2x4

04-27-10, 09:58 PM

Yep. Tried adjusting the antenna and everything. Absolutely no signal. It's really strange. But I guess I know it's on my end now. Which isn't exactly what I wanted to hear.

Do you think any kind of interference would be messing with it? One thing that is kind of strange, is right around the same time CBS went out, my Lenovo multimedia remote's range on my HTPC went to abysmal.

lsilvest

04-27-10, 10:16 PM

pg_rider

04-28-10, 08:45 AM

ew2x4

04-28-10, 12:39 PM

What software and tuners are you using on the HTPC? Is there no signal to the TV tuner as well as the HTPC tuners or other TV's. If it were interference it should affect all the channels since the los is the same for all of them.

You might try calling KKTV's engineer tomorrow and asking him. I've talked to him before and he's a nice guy and helpful.

Right now, I'm running directly from my antenna to my TV and using my HTPC for hulu and other streaming. A tuner card is in the works.

Thanks for the tips though. I'll give him a call later today.

http://www.kktv.com/station/misc/48082407.html is it Mark Doan, you've spoken with?

lsilvest

04-28-10, 04:25 PM

is it Mark Doan, you've spoken with?

Yes.

Let us know when you figure out the problem. I don't have a clue at this point and since no one else has jumped in with advice I'd say we're not alone.

You might also try an antenna thread or your specific TV thread on this forum. There are some pretty sharp people on here that may have an answer or at least a direction.

ew2x4

04-28-10, 10:36 PM

I sent an email off to Mark, I'll let you know what I find out.

Something I just noticed- both KKTV and Mytv (11-1 and 11-2) are acting the same way. Are they both CBS stations?

lsilvest

04-29-10, 12:37 AM

I sent an email off to Mark, I'll let you know what I find out.

Something I just noticed- both KKTV and Mytv (11-1 and 11-2) are acting the same way. Are they both CBS stations?

I don't think it's affiliated with CBS, but it's a national network called MyTV. It is a sub of KKTV, though.

ew2x4

04-29-10, 01:04 PM

I've been talking with Mark and he seems to think it's my antenna for a few reasons. He's actually stopping by my house over lunch and trying a few out. I'll let you guys know what he comes up with

ew2x4

04-29-10, 03:07 PM

lsilvest

04-29-10, 06:19 PM

So for the signal their tower is giving off, it really helps to have a directional antenna. He showed me how fussy an omnidirectional can be. They are also in the process of switching over to new towers, so that transition may be one of the reasons. Kind of an open ended problem, but it is what it is. I'll look into an attic antenna.

That's one nice thing in this market - all the towers are in the same place. That switching may be the problem, though. I noticed the last few days, my CBS recordings have been flickering, but I had made some changes to the system including the video card, so I'm not sure if that wasn't the problem. I just reset everything so I'll find out soon enough.

As close as you are, you might be able to get by with an indoor antenna. My daughter is in Longmont and uses a Philips that spreads out kind of like a web and picks up everything in Denver perfectly and I think she only paid about $10 for it - not bad for 40 miles away.

Anyway, glad you're getting the problem worked out.

ew2x4

04-29-10, 06:23 PM

Hey, thanks for all the helpful replies as well. He recommended this one: http://www.winegarddirect.com/ss-3000/winegard-ss-3000-antenna.asp He brought one over and it picked up a pretty good signal. You can definitely tell when people walk in front of it though.

brianblank

04-29-10, 08:02 PM

Just got my DTA boxes from Comcast the other day and much to my surprise they don't support the local HD channels. Is that by design? Before, I had the cable plugged straight into my TV and could receive channels 2-99 as well as the digital HD channels -- now with the DTA box I only get 2-99. Grrrr.....

Ain't it grand, gotta love Comcast. You can upgrade the DTA boxes to the HD boxes "for a small monthly fee", not sure what the fee is, instead I installed a AntennasDirect ClearStream 2 to pull in all the local HD channels, its working great and the picture is even a little better than with Comcast (and FREE!)

brianblank

05-04-10, 09:13 PM

So clearly Comcast was up to something here in Monument overnight. This morning, I can't get most of the channels below 99 on my Win7 MCE + ATI DCT. And I note that a few channels that used to be in the 20 - 99 range now show up above 100 (e.g., CNN).

I tried rerunning tv setup in media center, but it did not fix the channel mappings. Anyone have any ideas? I was thinking about running the procedure to completely wipe the tuning database & starting from scratch. Maybe I should give it a day or two instead, huh?

Mark

I believe the digital conversion went into effect yesterday, 5/3. Comcast turned off the analog channels and is forcing everyone to get converter boxes (http://digitalnow.comcast.com/). I switched my setup over to mix of DTA boxes and a nice HD antenna a few weekends ago.

Brian

gman76

05-10-10, 02:57 PM

What's happening w comcast? This morning I found out that they've killed or reallocated some of the analog, not just the digital channels. I'm going to call them now.

idividebyzero

05-17-10, 12:42 AM

When is Comcast going to give us new HD channels? I thought it was supposed to start right after/during the digital conversion.

Rmassey

05-22-10, 12:45 PM

When is Comcast going to give us new HD channels? I thought it was supposed to start right after/during the digital conversion.

Right after they raise your bill ;)

Digital Man

05-24-10, 12:04 PM

When is Comcast going to give us new HD channels? I thought it was supposed to start right after/during the digital conversion.

I just received a card in the mail from Comcast saying that I will be receiving 65 new HD channels on June 2.

Guy

brianblank

05-24-10, 01:08 PM

I just received a card in the mail from Comcast saying that I will be receiving 65 new HD channels on June 2.

Guy

I received the same card, I'm too lazy to type the list, but here is a scan of the new lineup. My question is, which channels are in each of the HD tiers.

Brian

RockyMountainD

05-25-10, 08:04 AM

I received the same card, I'm too lazy to type the list, but here is a scan of the new lineup. My question is, which channels are in each of the HD tiers.

Brian

Nice list. Wonder what the quality will be like.

jksfam

05-28-10, 11:59 PM

I'm moving to Colorado Springs in late June. Currently a Dish customer here in Alabama but would like to build an HTPC using the soon to be released Ceton card (I'm too new to post links but google cetoncorp.com for details) and ditch the dish box.

Am curious the experiences anyone might have had in COS with Comcast and cablecards. Any issues to be aware of? Do they require a truck roll for installation?

Also, anyone know the following?
1) Does Comcast in COS use SDV and, if so, what type of headend are they using (Cisco or Motorola)?
2) What strategy is Comcast using for copy flags in COS? Apart from premium channels, is everything else marked copy freely?

Thanks for the intel!

lsilvest

06-22-10, 01:37 PM

If anyone's interested or recording anything today on 21.1 or 21.2, they have a transmitter problem and have been off the air for a couple of hours and not back as of this time (11:36AM).

springsHD=Horrid

07-09-10, 08:47 PM

wow...nobody's posted in several weeks....
anybody notice that Fox21 has been broadcasting the repeats of the syndications of King of Queens and Two and a half men in HD lately?

Satcom15

07-14-10, 10:36 PM

lsilvest

07-14-10, 11:34 PM

Don't know what you mean by "Is it that bad?"

Using Blu-Ray as a comparison, I'm not that big on movies, so have only sampled BD, but find that some of it is crap also. Was very disappointed in some of it.

Anyway, I mainly watch OTA - have been since 2006 as many others on this forum have and have seen the vast improvement since infancy and now it's very consistent and overall the PQ is very good - better than any other source. The best is outdoor sports and I think CBS has by far the best PQ and dolby for that, with Fox a close 2nd. ABC sucks here because of lack of Dolby - and because it's ABC.

Also have Dish and the PQ is much better overall than a couple of years ago, excellent on some channels and mediocre on others. The source content and the individual channels can vary greatly in quality, but that is true with all sources.

Some claim D* has better PQ than Dish, but my son has D* and I don't see the difference. In fact, my 4-yr old plasma still looks better than his new Sony LCD, so PQ is dependent on equipment also.

Satellite is far better and has more HD than cable, especially since the only provider here is Concast. In all honesty I haven't seen their HD lately, but it was lousy the last time I saw it and I have no inclination to even consider it.

Satcom15

07-15-10, 12:23 AM

Don't know what you mean by "Is it that bad?"

That was meant as a tongue in cheek reference to springsHD=Horrid. ;)

scottlindner

07-15-10, 05:22 PM

My wife and I watch mostly OTA but do watch a couple of BR movies a month (Netflix). We don't really like the huge cable/sat tax for the few extra stations so between OTA and Netflix we save a bundle and are quite happy. As for HD quality I can only talk to OTA and BR movies. OTA quality is all over the map depending on station and show being broadcast. If it's prime time OTA, the quality is awesome and I'd dare say is better than the average BR movie we rent. Who knows why, I could speculate, but that's my opinion.

Lately I have been noticing many of the non-prime time crap shows that we do occasionally record and watch have extra garble on the top like a digital signal. This is new to me and is only related to my home built PVR which I recently updated but doesn't show up on my TV. I don't know why there would be a difference, but I do find it annoying and it only seems to be associated with certain non-prime time shows.

What bugs me most is how the locals dork with the audio and picture quality when they feel everyone must know RIGHT NOW and CONTINUOUSLY that some place 100miles east of us is having heavy rain and lightning. Sometimes that crap is so loud they risk killing more people with weak hearts than the storm itself if it produced a twister. The way I see it.. if it's that bad I ALREADY KNOW ABOUT IT. OK.. done with rant.

Scott

lsilvest

07-16-10, 08:43 AM

What bugs me most is how the locals dork with the audio and picture quality when they feel everyone must know RIGHT NOW and CONTINUOUSLY that some place 100miles east of us is having heavy rain and lightning. Sometimes that crap is so loud they risk killing more people with weak hearts than the storm itself if it produced a twister. The way I see it.. if it's that bad I ALREADY KNOW ABOUT IT. OK.. done with rant.Scott

I'll join your rant, Scott. Those weather alerts get ridiculous. They also screw up the commercial skip processing in BTV. If anyone needs a weather report they can get it on the internet or on KOAA sub or KKTV sub. I never watch anything live anyway, so these alerts are useless to a lot of us anyway.

Satcom15

07-16-10, 11:15 AM

I'll join your rant, Scott. Those weather alerts get ridiculous. They also screw up the commercial skip processing in BTV. If anyone needs a weather report they can get it on the internet or on KOAA sub or KKTV sub. I never watch anything live anyway, so these alerts are useless to a lot of us anyway.

I'm wondering how much of this weather warning traffic is dictated by their operating license (i.e. "in the public interest") or because of some marketing hype.

scottlindner

07-16-10, 04:13 PM

I'm wondering how much of this weather warning traffic is dictated by their operating license (i.e. "in the public interest") or because of some marketing hype.

That's a good point, and you're probably correct. However, the obnoxiousness of their methods and poor quality of some of the tools involved I'm sure are not mandated by law. Heck.. I may be wrong about that since most the crap our government does is stupid.

springsHD=Horrid

07-18-10, 04:05 PM

Satcom15

07-19-10, 04:38 AM

They put up them stupid alerts so in case there is some sort of "weather event" they'll have bragging rights and then inundate us with stupid commercials about how great their weather detection is and they were first on scene to report. :mad:

That's a pretty callous comment. Who'd have thought they were doing this for anything but the public good ... :D

springsHD=Horrid

07-20-10, 07:40 PM

Seinfeld in HD!!?!?!?

So, I'm flipping channels around noon today and Seinfeld is on KOAA, and it's in HD!!! How is this possible? It wasn't stretch-o-vision either..it was real HD

RockyMountainD

07-22-10, 12:34 PM

Since I don't have HD (yet), I was wondering if there were any opinions out there (I'm sure there are - :D ) on the HD experience here in Colo Spgs. How do people like:

1. HD OTA
2. Comcast (xfinity - puhleaze)
3. DirecTV
4. Dish
5. Internet delivery

Compare and contrast with BluRay for example (the only true HD source in my opinion).

Thanks :D

HD OTA is good, really good. Probably the best after BRD for 1080i and 720p programming.

Comcast was OK when I had it, but was getting worse.

DirecTV is good. More and more 1080p offerings every month. Best HD I've seen besides BRD.

Can't speak to Dish or Internet.

lsilvest

07-22-10, 01:14 PM

The internet is really a mixed bag. I've watched some on my 42" plasma and was surprised by the quality on sites like Hulu, CBS, ABC and NBC. Fox is passable, but not great PQ. Most things like YouTube and some other videos aren't high enough quality for large screens, but even some of that isn't too bad. I don't use iTunes so don't know what their quality is like. I haven't tried NetFlix, but would think it should be pretty good if the networks have as good a quality as they do.

Obviously, though, you need a high-speed connection. Right now I have Qwest and where I live the best I can get is 2.5MB speed but that works OK for streaming. My granddaughter streams a lot from Disney's site and only has a 1.5MB Qwest connection and that works well for her. Of course, though, you're not getting Dolby with any internet stream that I know of.

scottlindner

07-22-10, 04:08 PM

Obviously, though, you need a high-speed connection. Right now I have Qwest and where I live the best I can get is 2.5MB speed but that works OK for streaming. My granddaughter streams a lot from Disney's site and only has a 1.5MB Qwest connection and that works well for her. Of course, though, you're not getting Dolby with any internet stream that I know of.

As for ISP speed I have a QWest 7Mbps connection and I get the highest quality streaming from Netflix.

Satcom15

07-24-10, 06:45 PM

As for ISP speed I have a QWest 7Mbps connection and I get the highest quality streaming from Netflix.

Hi Scott,
I'm curious how this Netflix streaming works given all the Netflix enabled TVs and DVD/BluRay players out there. So are you just getting a streaming video/audio signal from NetFlix over your internet connection? Is there any recording/buffering possible in the DVD players? What happens if there is a service interruption (like my Comcast cable has had the last two days - internet only, TV has been fine)?

Are there any download limits (I think Comcast has a 250 GB/month limit in some markets before they push you into a higher pricing tier, maybe in Colo Spgs too). Consider that 1 hour of uncompressed full quality HD is ~8.5 GB. If an uncompressed signal is transmitted by Netflix that would limit you to ~30 hours of streaming before crossing the higher price tier.

Does Netflix streaming give you a full 1080p PQ uncompressed? Or, do they compress the signal. I know I asked a lot of questions but am curious (as others that are just putting their toe into this water might be).

Cheers.

P.S. We can only get the 7 Mbps here too even though there is a fiber termination in the box next to my apartment complex according to the Qwest tech that was here to restore phone service during a recent outage. He said check back periodically, the higher rates show up from time to time for reasons he can't figure out. :D

scottlindner

07-24-10, 08:25 PM

Hi Scott,
I'm curious how this Netflix streaming works given all the Netflix enabled TVs and DVD/BluRay players out there. So are you just getting a streaming video/audio signal from NetFlix over your internet connection? Is there any recording/buffering possible in the DVD players? What happens if there is a service interruption (like my Comcast cable has had the last two days - internet only, TV has been fine)?

Are there any download limits (I think Comcast has a 250 GB/month limit in some markets before they push you into a higher pricing tier, maybe in Colo Spgs too). Consider that 1 hour of uncompressed full quality HD is ~8.5 GB. If an uncompressed signal is transmitted by Netflix that would limit you to ~30 hours of streaming before crossing the higher price tier.

Does Netflix streaming give you a full 1080p PQ uncompressed? Or, do they compress the signal. I know I asked a lot of questions but am curious (as others that are just putting their toe into this water might be).

Cheers.

P.S. We can only get the 7 Mbps here too even though there is a fiber termination in the box next to my apartment complex according to the Qwest tech that was here to restore phone service during a recent outage. He said check back periodically, the higher rates show up from time to time for reasons he can't figure out. :D

You definitely asked the right guy these questions.

Think of Netflix streaming just like watching videos on Youtube, but there's a nice sexy Silverlight player instead of a crappy webpage. Yes, it buffers. there is a load time before it starts playing. I'd say around 15-30seconds for my ISP service. If service is interrupted it stops playing and will resume once service is restored.

If you already have Netflix you can do this online with any PC. It requires you to install Silverlight (Microsoft's version of Flash, but more tailored to streaming media).

There are no limits unless you have the lowest limited Netflix service which is "2 a month" or something like that. I think that one is $5.99/mo. We have the "1 out at a time + BluRay" which is around $13/mo I think and the online streaming is truly unlimited.

The quality is HD but it depends on the movie. Some movies are awful but most are good, and more and more are outstanding HD. I dont' know the resolution but my peeps tell me it's 1080p. However, it is compressed highly compressed. I'd say they have found the sweet spot over the last year. The biggest issue I have now isn't quality, but lipsync problems. I'd say 1:10 movies (maybe even 1:7) have lipsync problems.

There are two negatives to the service. It is stereo only, and the movie selection for streaming favors older titles and I don't believe ever has new releases. I'm certain this is due to contract agreements with the production companies. They tend to have a lot of TV shows including HBO and Showtime so if you like things like Dexter, 24, etc. you can catch up to all but the last season. It's like they want you to pay for the rental for last season.

I use Netflix on the PC, on my Media Center using the plugin, on my PS3, and on my Wii. There are subtle differences in the players for all of these but it's the same service regardless of the player. So if you get a TV with Netflix built in, all you need is a network connection. Based on my personal experience I highly recommend a wired connection for streaming content.

I hope that is what you were looking for.

Scott

lsilvest

07-25-10, 08:16 PM

scottlindner

07-25-10, 08:45 PM

I don't watch much on the locals during the summer, just the new dramas like Rookie Blue, Persons Unknown, Lie To Me, The Good Guys and Friday Night Lights (I'm still watching everything I recorded during the winter). I don't know if it's my imagination, but the PQ on these shows seems to be perfect. The PQ is generally very good during the regular season, but some shows are a little grainy at times and some seem to be compressed. Every one I've watched this summer is just as bright and sharp as I've ever seen.

Just wondered if anyone else has the same impression?

I have a similar impression but I do have more to add to it. In general, anything prime time or a major show is awesome HD. I do agree that it seems to be very consistent over the past year, where over a year ago even prime time shows were messed up and not the best quality. I hadn't thought about the change to regular and consistent great HD PQ until you mentioned it.

One thing I have noticed is they appear to be doing some experiments with non prime time stuff during the day. Over the past couple of months I am finding a couple of day time shows with digital crap on the top of them. I have been meaning to investigate this further. I just haven't had time. What confuses me is that it apparently only shows up on my DVR but doesn't show up on the TV. Is the TV overscanning all of the time to hide stuff like that, or is there something in the broadcast that tells the display how to handle it and my DVR doesn't know how to handle it?

Final note. Last week I lost half of "Wipeout" because they felt it was so import to annoy the hell out of people with their weather information they just overran the entire first 30 minutes of the show.

Scott

lsilvest

07-25-10, 09:14 PM

Final note. Last week I lost half of "Wipeout" because they felt it was so import to annoy the hell out of people with their weather information they just overran the entire first 30 minutes of the show. Scott

Yes, but it did keep you from wandering out east and avoiding the tornados didn't it?

One nice thing about missing prime time shows on the major networks is that they're all available on the internet and the PQ is very good and commercials short.

Anyway, thanks for the input. Nice to know it wasn't just my imperception.

scottlindner

07-25-10, 10:11 PM

Yes, but it did keep you from wandering out east and avoiding the tornados didn't it?

One nice thing about missing prime time shows on the major networks is that they're all available on the internet and the PQ is very good and commercials short.

Anyway, thanks for the input. Nice to know it wasn't just my imperception.

Of the shows we watch we feel "House" has the best HD simply because of the low light scenes and vivid colors. I'm sure there are others that are better, but for us that's a great HD test for local broadcast.

Scott

sophic

07-26-10, 05:53 PM

lsilvest

07-26-10, 06:10 PM

I'm sure this question has been asked a million times before, but I was wondering if anybody knew when KKTV was going to start broadcasting a stronger signal. I have read before that they are moving to channel 49 and will have the strongest signal in Southern Colorado.

I'm tired of never being able to receive their signal, and with football season coming I was hoping they would finally get this fixed in the next month, though I'm sure its not likely.

Call the station and talk to their engineer. I remember seeing a target date for the change some time ago, but don't remember what it was.

Where are you and what kind of antenna do you have? I get KKTV fine in Pueblo West but I have a VHF/UHF antenna.

scottlindner

07-26-10, 08:41 PM

I am in Briargate and get excellent KKTV reception. I too am using a UHF/VHF antenna.

sophic

07-27-10, 01:20 AM

Call the station and talk to their engineer. I remember seeing a target date for the change some time ago, but don't remember what it was.

Where are you and what kind of antenna do you have? I get KKTV fine in Pueblo West but I have a VHF/UHF antenna.

I e-mailed him today, so we will see what he says. At home in Pueblo West I can pick up the signal with rabbit ears, it just takes them being in the perfect position. But I'm trying to get the signal at work inside a building, the other stations come in fine, but not channel 11. Theres a roof antenna, I would assume its a VHF/UHF, but I'm not completely sure.

I don't have much time to mess with it at work, I was just hoping they would start sending a stronger signal the antenna will pick up before football season starts. That way I can keep up with the Bronco games while I'm working on Sundays.

lsilvest

07-27-10, 09:51 AM

I e-mailed him today, so we will see what he says. At home in Pueblo West I can pick up the signal with rabbit ears, it just takes them being in the perfect position. But I'm trying to get the signal at work inside a building, the other stations come in fine, but not channel 11. Theres a roof antenna, I would assume its a VHF/UHF, but I'm not completely sure.

I don't have much time to mess with it at work, I was just hoping they would start sending a stronger signal the antenna will pick up before football season starts. That way I can keep up with the Bronco games while I'm working on Sundays.

If you're getting the other stations ok at work then los isn't the problem, so it would seem to be the antenna. Although, I have heard of some atmospheric stuff affecting VHF signals - couple of posters on this thread have mentioned it.