Anybody with Adelphia's Moxi DVR have their video output setting at 720p, if so what type of connection are you using and how did you get it to work? I'm assuming you are using a component connection as I cant get the DVI output to pass a signal. The installer knew absolutely nothing when it came to DVI connections and if the DVI on the moxi is even supported yet.

I tried to select the 720p option but the screen cuts in and out and finally defaults back to 480p.

I'm wondering if it is just better to use my Sammy's Genesis chip to upconvert the signal? I'm not sure if it is better than the moxi output.

Overall pq is really good for HD, but the rest of the channels are worthless once you view HD.

thanks again for all the great posts.

Wow. I don't have any specific knowledge, but I can't imagine that sending the HD to your TV in 480p and upconverting would be half as good as real HD. In fact, the real resolution would be about half, I think. You want to keep fighting until you get to someone at Adelphia who knows what they're talking about (good luck)... Or hopefully someone here knows.

Cack,

I went with Adelphia to try their HD DVR service and I lasted for one week. The DVI port is not active and they have no plans to make it active. I spoke to a senior tech and he explained this to me. The other problem is that Adelphia broadcast channels 2 through 99 in analog. This includes all the networks, TBS, TNT, USA, etc. and the picture quality on an HDTV is horrible!! I strongly recommend staying away from this service. Also Adelphia lists KRDO (ABC - Channel 713) in their HD Package. As it turns out it is just analog. You may have also noticed in the Gazette that in March Adelphia will be implementing an accross the board rate increase of 14%. I went back to Directv and couldn't be happier.

~Josh

Do you mean that the SD channels are much worse on Adelphia's HD box than compared to the same SD channels on an HDTV with a different HD STB? I mean, SD usually looks like crap on a large HD display for the most part.

I've heard that it's best to run their analog signal through a tuner other then the HDTV STB, because it looks terrible through them. That would be a pain though IMO.

Plus you would have to get an SD DVR for the same room...ridiculous

Here's my experience so far with the Adel Moxi. HD looks wonderful of course. Analog channels are absolutely unviewable. We use a monster splitter of good quality and send the analog directly to the TV tuner bypassing the box which is on another input. Only then are those channels watchable.

DVI, having issues here. My LCD in the bedroom has a straight up DVD-D input and it works great with the Sammy HD DVD player's DVI out. I've tried having them zap the box with the latest upgrades and still get the 2 second on/off syndrome. They are not saying the port is not active. They are saying it should work. I have another guy coming out on Saturday to see if they can get it working. When it is "on" for the 2-4 seconds it looks all washed out anyhow, so it may not be worth the effort.

This weekend we are going to try one of those Moto cable signal boosters to see if that will help with the signal throughout the house. I'll get back to you guys with results of DVI and signal booster.

Cack,

We are getting all resolutions to the TV including 720P from the Moxi box. Your TV may not support 720p. Have you tried the 1080i? You may try a good quality splitter and send your analog to the TV, only thing is having to switch inputs all the time for those channels gets old. I've been told that Adel has been trying to clear up the problems with the analog and that's what brought down all the DCT hd boxes a few weeks ago. I doubt they will ever get it good through the HD boxes since it's not that great to begin with straight from the coax.

Someone just turned me on to this info. It's the channel elections by the Colorado Springs stations. This is what they have elected their final digital channel number to be('Cur' is their current analog channel number):

Cur Station Final
-------------------------------
  5   KOAA    42
  8   KTSC      8
11   KKTV     10
13   KRDO    24
21   KXRM    22
57   KXTU    No Selection Made


Not many surprises here. But, I researched the same thing for the Denver stations, and basically 1/2 of them are going to be using their current analog channel assignments for their permanent digital channel. The bad news there, is that most of the people putting in new antennas, went for UHF only antennas. I warned them!

....jc

Adelphia tech support called me today wanting to know exactly what is wrong with the box since they are seeing everything OK on their side. I told them the DVI port. The woman said of course it doesn't work, they still haven't fixed the software issues with the port and the boxes are coming from the vendor with the port not activated.

OK, so a few folks here in town are getting boxes that came from the vendor with port intact and software working?? I have spoken to two people who say their DVI ports are functional. And why were they trying to download upgrades to the box? Why does this not surprise me? In any event they canceled the Saturday house call. They are hoping for a July fix. Same thing about the analog problem.

Originally posted by TotallyPreWired
The bad news there, is that most of the people putting in new antennas, went for UHF only antennas. I warned them!
If they put in UHF, they should notice right away if they can't get KKTV-HD, which should make them want to return it.

Interesting that PBS will move from 26 to 8 (someday).

Originally posted by TallGuy
If they put in UHF, they should notice right away if they can't get KKTV-HD, which should make them want to return it.
I was talking about Denver, where all of the current digital broadcasting is using UHF. In C/S of course, one would think that people with UHF antennas would've already noticed the problem.
....jc

Thanks for the responses.

My TV does in fact accept all signals up to 1080i. My Bravo D2 has no trouble sending 720p or 1080i to my DVI input on my TV. I'm just wondering if the problem is the HD Component input that I currently have the Moxi box connected to. The manual states that all signals are supported via the HD component output.

Well we will live with it for another 10 days, then we are ditching Adelphia for E* or Voom. We would like to try out a different provider on the cheap for a few months. Besides who wants to pay another 14% of an already outrageous price for inferior pq (besides HD).

I'll continue to play with the settings and see if I can get 720p or 1080i to work in the interim.

Voom is closing up shop at the end of March.

http://www.voom.com/

Anyone heard rumors on another satellite service taking over Voom?

E* was looking at buying VOOM a while ago, haven't heard anything lately. Check WWW.DBSTalk.com.

Ha! So much for Voom. I was just at there website 24 hours ago and it was business as usual. Well E* here we come, until we can save up for D*.

I was wondering what the advantage to running 1080i over 720p. I understand more pixels but why would you want to run a interlaced signal?

I got the Moxi box to output 1080i, I can tell the difference but my wife says it looks the same...go figure.

1080i is great for detail, but 720p is the better choice for rapid action/sports programming.

VOOM-GATE (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=39408)
Interesting read.

For Adel users with the Moxi HD-DVR,

Have you lost your VOD for HBO premium movies etc.? They are telling me the problem is an over-worked headend that lost all the HBO VOD listings.
Just like to compare notes with anyone else having this problem.

Hello All!

Since our H-79 and Screenplay 7210 projection demo units are in, we will be hosting an informal shootout here on Saturday, March 12th. We will also have the 7205 and Panasonic AE700 to compare, plus possibly a SIM HT300E. These are all front projection units ranging from just over $2000 on up.

The shootout will be held at my location here on the extreme north end of Colorado Springs, right off I-25 across from the Air Force Academy. Anyone interested in attending is welcome to contact me here by PM or via the e-mail address or phone number in my signature line.

We are planning to get together Saturday at 1:30 pm, and go until dinnertime or whenever we run out of steam, whichever comes first.

As always, there will be NO sales pitch, just an informal gathering to play with projectors and have fun. It's also a chance to meet some of your fellow AVSers!

See ya there! Sorry about the short notice, but we just got the units and had several requests to see them right away!

John

What OTA HD antennas are folks having good luck with locally? I live in Mountain Shadows and want to get an antenna to plug into my Dish HD receiver for OTA HD content, want to know what works well locally, thanks.

Originally posted by cmarsh90
What OTA HD antennas are folks having good luck with locally? I live in Mountain Shadows and want to get an antenna to plug into my Dish HD receiver for OTA HD content, want to know what works well locally, thanks.

I'm in Monument and use the amplified SquareShooter on my HD-TiVo. It pulls in all the locals great except for KRDO (13), but they don't count anyway. :)

Originally posted by cmarsh90
What OTA HD antennas are folks having good luck with locally? I live in Mountain Shadows and want to get an antenna to plug into my Dish HD receiver for OTA HD content, want to know what works well locally, thanks.
'90, do you have LOS to Cheyenne Mtn?(been a while since I've been over there!). If so, I would think that most antennas would work just fine. However, no LOS, I'd upsize the antenna. Also, can you mount it on your roof? Makes a big difference!
....jc

In my own opinion with my own experiences, a $15 indoor amplified antenna works the best for me. I have bought a total of 6 antennas (some indoor, some outdoor) since I got HD for Christmas and they all work for some channels, but none of them work for all channels with out adjusting the antenna. Outdoor antennas are not easily adjusted, so that is why I would say an amplified indoor antenna. I do not know if it is my location, I am less then 8 miles from Cheyenne Mtn with a clear line of site, or the antennas I chose to buy are just plain crap. But again, with my $15 indoor antenna, I have to adjust the amplifier down on it to get CBS (11-1) or adjust it up to get Fox (21-1). The other digital channels PBS (8-1) and ABC (13-1) both come in with no problem. I do not use OTA analog channels, so I can not comment on those.

I do have LOS to Cheyenne Mtn. I'd rather not put it on my roof, but instead in the attic above my garage, so it would have to go through the roof of my house, how much difference does that make?

I'm looking for specific recommendations of brands models and places to buy them as I don't know much about this, thanks.

Hi,

I have a roof mounted radio shack amplified antenna....it looks like a flat round plate...its omnidirectional model number 15-1634. I am near Chapel Hills mall on the north end of town, have good LOS to Cheyenne Mountain, and recieve all the digital channels just fine on my DTV HD-Tivo.

John

I use a Zenith (http://www.zenith.com/sub_prod/product_Display.asp?cat=49&id=131) antenna. Works fine.

Cmarsh,

I did a lot of research on this exact situation. First off, I live a bit East, approximately two miles East of Constitution and Powers. I would say that is around 25 miles from Cheyenne Mountain. I also have a decent LOS to the mountain. The first trick I tried was to take two amplied indoor antennas and connect them together using a diplexer and then run this into my tv. This worked alright, but I still got pixelation frequently on CBS HD and FOX HD. Finally after a lot of research on various A/V forums I settled on the Terk UHF Antenna (TV32) from Citcuitcity. ( http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Terk-UHF-Antenna-TV32-/sem/rpsm/oid/74029/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do ) This antenna is only 1' x 2' and would easily fit in the space above your garage. This antenna also works great. I now get all the local HD and Digital channels and have never had any pixelation at all.

~Josh

beatboy, is your antenna diplexed in with your sat or cable signal, or fed directly to OTA tuner??

David,

My antenna is fed directly into my OTA (DTV HD Tivo). I am completely satisfied with this antenna, it works great.

~Josh

I use this RCA (http://www.rca.com/product/viewdetail/0,2588,PI45483-CI210,00.html?) with a Winegard preamp. I purchased it at HD and put the antenna in the attic. I am 5 miles N of Falcon without LOS so it would probably work without a preamp if you have LOS and live in CS. Can be found for under 30.

Celfon,
Holy Crap! Haven't seen you post in a long time!

Thanks Frank, seems like the theater takes all my spare time and I get here to view all the great discussions less and less.

Originally posted by ay221
KOAA updated their website: http://www.koaa.com/info/

The FCC granted KOAA their Construction Permit (CP) for Digital Television (DTV). KOAA has purchased the associated digital transmitter equipment from the manufacturer, and will begin construction on the Cheyenne Mountain transmitter building when the snow thaws.
Installation of the equipment on Cheyenne Mountain will follow the completion of the building, and KOAA-DT should be on the air by the fall of 2005.

I talked to the marketing and branding director for KOAA the other day and he told the timetable for Digital is slated to start Dec. of 05 with HD in spring of 06. Anyone else hear anything different?

Originally posted by eichenberg
I talked to the marketing and branding director for KOAA the other day and he told the timetable for Digital is slated to start Dec. of 05 with HD in spring of 06. Anyone else hear anything different?
Please clue me in here. Isn't KOAA broadcasting a digital signal now? By 07/01/05 the major networks are supposed to have HD, at full power, online.

From my location Cheyenne Mtn is not an option, so my only real options are Denver. And, due to lawsuits, it ain't gona happen in Denver by 07/05.
....jc

No, DTV signal from KOAA.

Originally posted by TotallyPreWired
Please clue me in here. Isn't KOAA broadcasting a digital signal now? By 07/01/05 the major networks are supposed to have HD, at full power, online.

From my location Cheyenne Mtn is not an option, so my only real options are Denver. And, due to lawsuits, it ain't gona happen in Denver by 07/05.
....jc

I don't think, unless something has changed, that they are required to have HD. They are only required to be broadcasting in digital, which means they could simply send their 480i signal via DTV and call it good. Of course, if they have to spend the money to go digital, I don't think it's all that much more to go HD, and that is the only way they might possibly make it worth anything anyway.

--Eric

Originally posted by eichenberg
I talked to the marketing and branding director for KOAA the other day and he told the timetable for Digital is slated to start Dec. of 05 with HD in spring of 06. Anyone else hear anything different?
Geez, I thought '05 was going to be the year we got to 5 out of 5 big network stations.

I just got an email from the Chief Engineer at KRDO and he said his station will be broadcasting in HD by the end of the second quarter of 2005.

~Josh

Anyone else using adelphia's moxi box and having problems watching CBS? On mine the signal will go black and the tv will say no signal, then it wil come back, then go away agian? anyone else having these problems watching basketball?

Edit: It only does it when i have the moxi box set to 720 or 1080, when it is set on 420p it does not do it, but then agian that defeats the purpose of HD.

Ok, I didn't have the ability to read all 90 pages of replies, though I did read the last 10 pages or so. Anyhow, having finally taking the dive into HDTV, I find the local stations here to be sub par for the most part.

My biggest complaint is with KKTV. They intentionally broadcast all content in 16:9. "It was set up this way as not to burn bars in the sides of the viewers HDTV monitors." That was the response I got from Tim Timora when e-mailing the general manager. I'm going to draft up a reply basicially stating that by doing so, they remove the choice from the consumer to see the signal how they want to. I highly dislike watching incorrect aspect ratio content, and bought a DLP unit to avoid having a TV with burn in problems. And even for people who do stretch content, this could be annoyning. My unit at least refuses to let me change the options to any of the "panaroma" modes when it is getting a 16:9 signal.

Anyone else here also annoyed by this? I think that if more of us write in about it, they might change this. I much prefer to be in control of how I watch TV.

Reading here, it seems KRDO is going to HD sometime this year, so that will elliminate my complaint with them. Since the Voom box only picks up digital channels, KOAA is a no show. Voom also combines the satelite and antenna into one coax cable outside, so splitting the antenna off for analog is near impossible without another cable run from the outside.

KXRM seems to be decent for the HD content, but the SD content audio sounds really weird. Their news cast sounds like it is being sent through a tin can.


And Old^Style, the issue you are describing with KKTV via Adelphia is mirroring my problems as well, but I use an off the air antenna into a Voom box to watch KKTV. Recently I have been watching the signal drop for no reason on KKTV, and thus rendering the channel black. The response from Tim on that was he believed I have a UHF only antenna, but the information I have on the Squareshooter antenna the installer put up says it is a VHF/UHF antenna.

Oh, and one last question for the locals here in the Springs. Anyone have any luck picking up stations out of Denver? Mostly I'd like to get KWGN, so I could completly dump Dish Network. (Right now I keep the box around for the superstation package only)

Originally posted by drakino
Ok, I didn't have the ability to read all 90 pages of replies, though I did read the last 10 pages or so. Anyhow, having finally taking the dive into HDTV, I find the local stations here to be sub par for the most part.
....
Oh, and one last question for the locals here in the Springs. Anyone have any luck picking up stations out of Denver? Mostly I'd like to get KWGN, so I could completly dump Dish Network. (Right now I keep the box around for the superstation package only)
As someone in the C/S DMA who can't get C/S stations OTA, I think that I can answer you. Compared to Denver, C/S is not sub par. All stations in Denver are broadcasting at very low power. So, low that people in the metro area have trouble picking up the stations. And, almost nobody can pick up KMGH(ABC). But, for some weird reason, I can, and I'm 53 miles away! The stations from my location:
PBS - Always
CBS - Once in a while(I get it from Cheyenne solid)
ABC - Always
NBC - Never
WB2 - Never(So good Luck!)
FOX - Never(This hurts - Football is here!)

I'm at 8,900 with a clear shot to the North(for at least 25 miles). The bad news is that the Denver stations may not be broadcasting at full power for years! So, if at least 1 stations in C/S is broadcasting an HD signal at full power, you've got Denver beat(and they are the 18th largest DMA!)
....jc

Originally posted by drakino
My biggest complaint is with KKTV. They intentionally broadcast all content in 16:9. "It was set up this way as not to burn bars in the sides of the viewers HDTV monitors." That was the response I got from Tim Timora when e-mailing the general manager.

Has something changed recently? Are you saying that they are broadcasting 4:3 content, stretched to the 16:9 frame? I haven't tuned in lately to check it out, but that isn't how I remember it. They used to broadcast all HD content in 16:9, and all 4:3 content pillar-boxed in a 16:9 frame (bars on the sides). That forced you to view in proper aspect, unless you happen to have a TV that allows you access to non-standard modes on the 16:9 signals (as you said, most TV's don't allow aspect changes on HD content).

--Eric

Originally posted by EHHoffman
Has something changed recently? Are you saying that they are broadcasting 4:3 content, stretched to the 16:9 frame?

Not sure how it used to be, as I just recently started tuning into the digital broadcasts here. But so far random sampling of KKTV has shown both a bloated news team, and bloated contestants on the Price is Right. I have never seen the pillar box format on KKTV. At night, the HD content looks fine since it is 16:9 native. Changing my TV over to KXRM shows a thinner, more normal news team, and black bars on the left and right.

Equipment wise, I have a Voom receiver with the off air channels set up on it. The TV stays set to "Wide TV' for the input. The Voom box has settings on what to do when it is showing 16:9 and 4:3 content. I have both set to maintain aspect ratio, thus the Voom box adds the pillar box on SD channels when it knows it is getting a 4:3 feed. This works fine on KXRM and the local PBS feed, along with all the SD channels over the dish. Watching KKTV though means I must manually force my TV to 4:3, then reset the setting once I change channels.

KKTV has always stretched non HD content to 16x9. They even do it for local commercials during shows that are in HD.

Frequently they will be off on the timing. During the NCAA tournament this weekend, there would be a stretched local commercial. Then they would go back to the game. It would be stretched for a moment, then become unstretched. National commercials that are part of the HD feed from the network are not stretched, so the black bars on the sides are visible at those times.

Once in a while, they will "flip the switch" early and a show like 60 minutes will be shown in pillarboxed 4x3 followed by shows in 16x9 HD. Maybe EHHoffman has happened to catch KKTV-DT at those times.

Roy

Originally posted by royrose
KKTV has always stretched non HD content to 16x9. They even do it for local commercials during shows that are in HD.

Frequently they will be off on the timing. During the NCAA tournament this weekend, there would be a stretched local commercial. Then they would go back to the game. It would be stretched for a moment, then become unstretched. National commercials that are part of the HD feed from the network are not stretched, so the black bars on the sides are visible at those times.

Once in a while, they will "flip the switch" early and a show like 60 minutes will be shown in pillarboxed 4x3 followed by shows in 16x9 HD. Maybe EHHoffman has happened to catch KKTV-DT at those times.

Roy

I have seen the case when they forget to "flip-the-switch" and commercials are messed up. It has been a while since I've used my MyHD card to watch/record any CBS programming OTA, but I know I used to record Survivor all the time for the wife, and it never had an issue with aspect. This show isn't in HD either, it is just a 4:3 aspect show. That is about the only 4:3 show I can think of that I have ever watched with any regularity on KKTV-DT. Anything else would have just been bits-n-pieces, but I would think I would have noticed the stretched 4:3 content.

I guess I'll have to break out an old TV ant and hook it up to the MyHD and see what gives. I haven't gotten around to getting a good ant on the roof since I moved, so I've been with out any HD for a while now.

--Eric

Actually, I think that Survivor, like 60 minutes is a non HD show at the begining of prime time followed by HD shows for the rest of prime time. For those circumstances, they do seem to leave the shows in 4x3, but I think that they stretch the local commercials during those shows like they do during true HD shows. They also stretch their local news.

Anyway, I am one of those who would rather that they don't stretch anything.

Roy

Originally posted by royrose
KKTV has always stretched non HD content to 16x9. They even do it for local commercials during shows that are in HD.

Frequently they will be off on the timing. During the NCAA tournament this weekend, there would be a stretched local commercial. Then they would go back to the game. It would be stretched for a moment, then become unstretched. National commercials that are part of the HD feed from the network are not stretched, so the black bars on the sides are visible at those times.

Once in a while, they will "flip the switch" early and a show like 60 minutes will be shown in pillarboxed 4x3 followed by shows in 16x9 HD. Maybe EHHoffman has happened to catch KKTV-DT at those times.

Roy

What you are seeing is coming from the network most likely. CBS does the same thing down here in PHX. It's really annoying when watching CSI sometimes they forget to put it back on 16:9. They'll flip it over to 4:3 10-15 seconds before they go to break sometimes as well.

I work for the ABC affiliate here in PHX. We used to do the stretched 4:3 for everything, also. After many complaints, our chief engineer flipped it back to send everything out in it's native resolution. Not a big deal from what I understand...at least with the equipment we use.

Be cool!

Great. If somebody has the e-mail address of an appropriate person at KKTV, we should forward this post to them. Thanks for the info.

Roy

Originally posted by Old^Style
Anyone else using adelphia's moxi box and having problems watching CBS? On mine the signal will go black and the tv will say no signal, then it wil come back, then go away agian? anyone else having these problems watching basketball?

Edit: It only does it when i have the moxi box set to 720 or 1080, when it is set on 420p it does not do it, but then agian that defeats the purpose of HD.

Old^Style

Yeah I am having the same problem. I've had issues with CBS, FOX and HBOHD. They work sometimes, but have now regressed to not working for the last week or so. I have a tech coming out on saturday to investigate. Hopefully I will get someone that knows what they are doing.

Just curious if you ever had issues switching the moxi output to 720p. I have a sammy 5685w and 420p along with 1080i work fine. When I try 720p the screen flickers then reverts back to 720p.

I'll let you know what happens from saturdays tech visit.

I have two questions; 1) Am I seeing things, or is CH 13,KRDO transmitting
HI DEF Daily?
2) If so many of you are having many conntinuous problems with cable,
why don't you switch to DIRCTV, and get perfect quality at a lower cost ???
Jan C. Hoigaard.

KRDO is not broadcasting an HD signal, a weak digital signal, but no HD.

1) Unfortunately, KRDO 13 doesn't have anything that looks remotely like HD. Hopefully soon.

2) I am a customer of DirecTV and see it as the best available option all things considered; but it's not 'perfect quality' when it comes to HD. Both their HD and SD are compressed quite a bit. Hopefully when they get these new MPEG4 satellites up, they will break with tradition and go for quality first and quantity (of channels) second.

After reading here, I am glad I have DirecTV hardware instead of Adelphia hardware. Sure would love to have INHD and INHD2 though.

Thanks for the reply. I newer seem to watch anything on KRDO anyhow,
so no big loss. Yes ,I realize all programming is compressed, but at least on my LCD TV, even standard def is sharp and clear, and I thought that MPEG4 uses even higher compression,resulting infurther picture degradation. They simply like it because it preserve bandwidh better.
Not so ??
Jan.

Jan

It does do higher compression, but it is also MUCH more efficient. So basically they can make the files much smaller, and still keep them as good, or better than MPEG2 compression.

Hi Vaggeto. Yes, I have read technical articles stating the same result.
(I'm an engineer). Let's hope it is not just propaganda.
Jan

Oh, it's not.

A codec simlar to mpeg4 is WMV9... you can download sample HD vidoes at DVD file sizes. I don't know the website offhand, but it should be able to be found on microsofts windows media player area.

Originally posted by cack

Just curious if you ever had issues switching the moxi output to 720p. I have a sammy 5685w and 420p along with 1080i work fine. When I try 720p the screen flickers then reverts back to 720p.

I'll let you know what happens from saturdays tech visit. [/B]


Yeah i can not get 720 to work on my sammy hlp4663w either.from what i understand it has somthing to do with the software in the moxi. let me know what the tech says tomorrow about the other issue with the moxi.

Originally posted by Old^Style
Yeah i can not get 720 to work on my sammy hlp4663w either.from what i understand it has somthing to do with the software in the moxi. let me know what the tech says tomorrow about the other issue with the moxi.

Have you noticed any weirdness when switching the Moxi to 480P? I do this when viewing the SD VOD movies which look terrible stretched. The screen will jump in and out of sync. 480P is supported of course on my Sony WS. I think the Moxi update to 3.2 will fix some of these problems but Adelphia is giving me an early fall date for the upgrade.

I just got a Sanyo 32" and hooked up a Terk amplified antenna. Much to my surprise, I was able to get KXRM (about 40 percent strength) and KTSC (about 20 percent) just fine all the way up in Larkspur.

For some reason, I have to put the antenna on the left side of the TV to get Fox and the right side to pick up PBS -- that seems kinda backwards, doesn't it?

I haven't been able to grab KKTV yet, though. On the channel search, it pauses there (and at Ch 24, is that KRDO?), but can't aquire the signal.
Anyone got any suggestions other than going to a rooftop antenna?

Originally posted by AndrewW
I haven't been able to grab KKTV yet, though. On the channel search, it pauses there (and at Ch 24, is that KRDO?), but can't aquire the signal.
Anyone got any suggestions other than going to a rooftop antenna?

I have a buddy/co-worker that lives in Larkspur and he pulls in KKTV just fine with a SquareShooter antenna on the South side of his chimney. He bought another SS, put it on the north side of the chimney and summed them together. That way he pulls in DEN and COS.

Originally posted by AndrewW
For some reason, I have to put the antenna on the left side of the TV to get Fox and the right side to pick up PBS -- that seems kinda backwards, doesn't it?
LOL - very observant of you :D The political leanings would be correct if you stood behind the TV though...

I haven't been able to grab KKTV yet, though. On the channel search, it pauses there (and at Ch 24, is that KRDO?), but can't aquire the signal.
24 is KRDO but it's DTV, not HDTV, and is at low power now. If they do actually go HD in the next few months, they are supposed to increase the power so you very well could be OK then.

Duke Mich state.... no HD? anyone elses just coming in in standard def?

Yeah, they're screwing up right now. I checked an hour ago and 11-1 was HD, just beautiful. Hope they don't do that all weekend...plus it's tough to reach anyone at the station on the weekend...

Originally posted by Old^Style
Yeah i can not get 720 to work on my sammy hlp4663w either.from what i understand it has somthing to do with the software in the moxi. let me know what the tech says tomorrow about the other issue with the moxi.

Old^Style,

Sorry it took a while to get back with my tech visit from Adel. Been super busy, the life of a casualty adjuster! The tech came out while I wasnt home (my wife was home) and of course she said "I didnt pay attention to what he did!" So, what I was able to get out of her was that there was a problem with the connection coming into the house in our garage, she said that "he went to that garage and 'fiddled with things'". He told her that the signal was weakening from the garage through the house into the moxi. He made a few adjustements in the garage and wa la! So far no problems with any channels in hd. The 720p option still does not work, and a few time this week the audio for hd channels was choppy. Have you encountered this problem? It seems to last for 15-30min then just cleans up and comes in clear. I apologize if I didnt provide enough detailed info, but my wife could give "2 s%$&s, as long as csi comes in hd!"


Jan C. Hoigaard,

Yeah I wish i could get directv. The entry price for directv w/out dvr is what is holding me back. We've ve never had a dvr until the moxi, now were addicted to it. Plus, correct me if i'm wrong, when they switch to mpeg4 wont you have to buy new compatible equipment?

Maybe i will have to have a tech come out and look at my set up. I also noticed tongiht while watching HBO-HD (Die Hard With Vengence) Whenever there was subtitles the TV would loose the signal from the box. I find this very strange. I am about to ask if i can get the HD box without the DVR on it, and look into getting a Tivo.

Old^Style, if you did get a TiVo you could not record in HD unless you had DirecTV and got the HD TiVo. You would also have to switch inputs and your receiver anytime you wanted to watch TiVo and/or HD. I have a DirecTiVo and DirecTV HD and have them in 2 inputs and it is not bad to switch between them but I have a Harmony Remote and it is just one push of one button to switch all my AV from one to the other. Nether the less, I do not watch TiVo that often any more and I really miss being able to pause and rewind live TV, but not as much as I like seeing it in HD. But my point is, in my opinion I would like to have my Cake (HD) and eat it (TiVo) too.

Yes, I used to have [HD] or [TiVo] and I can tell you that [HD and TiVo] is light years better!

Hopefully DirecTV will give us a decent deal to switch to the MPEG4 STBs, but either way that a few years away.

Cack.
DIRECTV doesn't have to be expensive. Programming,of cource, is not negotiable, but I got all the required HI DEF gear, including receiver,
3- satellite dish and complete installation and set-up, free-gratis.I sold the old receiver,so I came out on the plus side. At the time, I already had a DVR with a hard drive,and a 7 channel Denon, but i suspect you could get a DVR free, or for a song. Of cource, I had to sign-up for one year for the minimum program package. I added The HI DEF package ($ 11.00) on top of that.
Im sure you pay the same or more for cable.
I got my deal through a local independent contractor. He had a flyer in
the Sunday paper. Check the Sunday TV store flyers. They almost allways have no-cost offers.
PS: Sorry, I can't remember the contractor's name.
J.C.H.

But is that the HD-DVR or SD-DVR? The SD-DVRs are cheap but I've never heard of a DirecTV HD-DVR going for under $800.

Did anyone try to catch the Masters in HDTV on KKTV 11-1 this afternoon? I know there were some rainouts. I emailed KKTV a few days ago to carry it on their digital channel. Either way, I have it recorded on the HD-TiVo from Universal-HD, but I assume that CBS-HD OTA would look better. Did anyone out there compare PQ between the two channels?

KKTV didn't switch to the Masters. But since the second round was a rainout anyway and they replayed this morning's play, no great loss.

I do want to know how many Colorado Springs households had an HDTV showing the Oprah show on the digital signal 11-1 this afternoon, stretched to kingdom come. (I didn't know people's proportions could be square!). I say less than 5.

Well, now that Voom is going away I'm exploring other options. I've been getting Adelphia basic extended for channels like Altitude and FSN while I've had Voom.

Now I'm wondering who to go with?

Adelphia is most likely right now. I really would like to check out InHD and see HDNet again since it's been so long.
Can anyone give me a breakdown of their hardware offerings? (Digital boxes, DVRs, HD-DVR?)
My main issue with them is their bad analog cable tuner in their HD-DVR receivers. Is it any better in their other receivers? Or is the only possibility to run it straight to the TV leaving the guide out etc?

How is the quality of their HD channels? Do they recompress? Can you tell the difference between OTA and the locals they provide? I should be able to compare DiscoveryHD to theirs if I get the service in time.

I'm aware of the other satellite providers, but their HD-lite and lack of channels really turns me off. I would love an HD-DVR but there's no chance I'd pay $900-1000 for a 30 hour one at this point in time. Does anyone know of any good offers? Most I see online seem to be similar for D*.

well here in the springs adelphia will give you a motorola moxi box with dvr for $12 a month. it is pretty good.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Vaggeto
[B]Well, now that Voom is going away I'm exploring other options. I've been getting Adelphia basic extended for channels like Altitude and FSN while I've had Voom.

Vaggeto, Adelphia Moxi HD-DVR service is running fine for me after a few glitches, nothing serious. With HD Plus added, ( five bucks extra) you'll get your 2x INHD and 2x HDNET, ESPN HD & Discover HD. The local HD's are inlcuded in the price of the box. Add a premium like HBO and you'll get their HD movie channel plus all the SD HBO and all the Video on Demand which is also SD. So far the DVI port is not working, neither are the USB or ethernet ports, but this is going to change according to Adel. I'm still splitting for the analog channels, best way to go so far. Add the broadband and this all costs me 130 bucks a month. But I have two Moxi boxes.

Right now the Moxi software is in the process of being upgraded to 3.2 or something. There will be some improvements to the functionality of the box which you can read about on the Adelphia/Moxi forum right here at AVS. I've looked at the other HD options and for me this is best way to go for now.

Looks like the way I will be going also.
Do they have any regular DVRs?

How does the capacity of the moxi work out for you? 8 hours of HD seems small compared to the rest, but I've always had zero hours anyway.

Originally posted by Vaggeto
Looks like the way I will be going also.
Do they have any regular DVRs?

How does the capacity of the moxi work out for you? 8 hours of HD seems small compared to the rest, but I've always had zero hours anyway.

I don't think they have any other DVR besides the Moxi. Haven't run out of room on the HDD yet, but I don't record many things, just some INHD stuff, Deadwood and Survivor, which I delete after a few days anyway. I know you can't record any VOD content but you can record PPV to watch at a later time. Premiums can be recorded and saved.

You have a lot of options on how to handle series recordings and how long to keep recorded content. Now if they would activate the USB ports we could add extra storage. The unit should have come with a larger drive, I mean storage is so cheap these days. But from what I hear Adel is going to be going to the model up version of the Moxi in the near future which has a built in DVD and lots more functionality, even a card reader.

I have stuff recording almost every night (most of it HD) and i have never had a problem with running out of space.

Cool. It's being installed Thursday :-)

I always have between 20 and 30 hours of HD stored on my hd.

Hmm, is that with the Moxi? If so, I read on their site that it can hold 40 hours of digital SD, 22 hours of analog cable, and 8 hours of HD.

Sorry, no, I meant on the D* DVR (the expensive one)

Oh, ok. I assumed that. Hopefully they upgrade these before too long.

Anyone else see the report on the Today show regarding the NFL returning to NBC? Looks like there's going to be a Sunday night game on NBC and Monday Night Football is switching from ABC to ESPN.

http://www.sportsterminal.com/sports/news.asp?league_id=644&news_id=138564&VIEW_MORE=5

Hmm.. haven't heard much about that. I thought they would be pretty far off from a final decision though.

Regarding the Moxi:

Seems great! Some issues with recording repeats, not enough space, etc... but nothing serious except for one issue:

On KKTV-HD: I get some weird horizontal tearing mixed with some weird lines. It's the only channel it does it on consistently. The other night it did have sound drop out and some pixelation every 5 or so seconds(on all HD), but a reset seemed to take care of that. The CBS problem is a pain though, anyone else having any issues with 711?

oh, now that I have their digital tier: They are pretty bad quality. Worse then their analog, luckily I don't watch too much on them. But the SD premium seem like great quality.

I just hope KOAA launches there HD channel buy the time football starts. I am going to write the station manager both an e mail and regular asking this question. maybe if we all do it, they will make it high priority to get it done by the time football starts.

Originally posted by Old^Style
I just hope KOAA launches there HD channel buy the time football starts. I am going to write the station manager both an e mail and regular asking this question. maybe if we all do it, they will make it high priority to get it done by the time football starts.
It's still 16 months away(2006), so I don't expect them to jump on it. Remember, most stations are still regarding HDTV, as a pain in the ass.

....jc

Originally posted by TotallyPreWired
It's still 16 months away(2006), so I don't expect them to jump on it. Remember, most stations are still regarding HDTV, as a pain in the ass.

....jc

What's 16 months away? If you mean the HD mandate thing... that is not a correct date, and won't be enforced at all. 2010-2012 is a more realistic date.

I really hope they do get setup in time though. But now that ABC is left without SNF... I really don't care about them going HD as much now. I don't know of any shows I watch there other then that.

Originally posted by Vaggeto
What's 16 months away? If you mean the HD mandate thing... that is not a correct date, and won't be enforced at all. 2010-2012 is a more realistic date.
September 2006 is when MNF goes to ESPN, and SNF goes to NBC. As far as the analog cutover date, it's still officially 12/31/06, but we all know that the chances of that happening are, at best, slim.

And, please remember, that Denver is probably the only DMA, in the top 20, that doesn't have the top four(ABC, CBS, FOX & NBC) already broadcasting a digital signal at full power.

I really hope they do get setup in time though. But now that ABC is left without SNF... I really don't care about them going HD as much now. I don't know of any shows I watch there other then that.
ABC does a good job with MNF. I expect that they'll put their expertise into the college football games that they broadcast on Saturdays.
....jc

Gotcha... for some reason I thought it was this upcoming season when the change was going to start.

Which is why I asked what you meant by 2006.(thought you mean until the cutover date.)

KOAA needs to go HD before the next Olympics in February, but it doesn't sound like they will. Grrrr....

I still wonder about KRDO by the fall, for Monday Night Football and the new seasons of everything. Time to start calling KRDO again: 575-6213

Here is an e-mail reply from the general manager when i asked about hdtv at koaa:


Mr. ********,

We anticipate we'll have a DTV signal by September.

David Whitaker
President & General Manager
KOAA-TV
Colorado Springs/Pueblo, CO
(719) 632-5030
whitaker@koaa.com

Originally posted by Old^Style
Here is an e-mail reply from the general manager when i asked about hdtv at koaa:


Mr. ********,

We anticipate we'll have a DTV signal by September.

David Whitaker
President & General Manager
KOAA-TV
Colorado Springs/Pueblo, CO
(719) 632-5030
whitaker@koaa.com

Hmmm. What about an HDTV signal by September? I don't care about any digital signal, only an HDTV one. Thanks for asking!

--Ron

Originally posted by rvaniwaa
Hmmm. What about an HDTV signal by September? I don't care about any digital signal, only an HDTV one. Thanks for asking!

--Ron

Well i asked about HDTV, and that was the answer i got.. So at least that is a step forward.

They always talk about getting HD up until they're actually close... then it switches to DTV. KRDO did it... I really hope KOAA doesn't do the same.

Just been scrolling thru the last 5 pages of posts, and thought I'd chime in with a couple of comments (sorry if some of this has been discussed before):

1. I have had no problem with the 720p output of the MOXI box - works fine with every front projector I have had in here (about 5 different models since I got the box, and I got one of the very first ones). Haven't tried any rear projection sets, since I have made it a personal crusade to talk everyone out of rear projection and into front projection for the better picture and sheer size! ; )

2. When watching 480, standard definition stuff, you will get a much better picture if you switch to 480i output on the box. It appears that the deinterlacer/scaler in the MOXI does a pretty horrible job upconverting to 720 or 1080. The deinterlacer/scaler in most of your displays will do a better job converting 480i signals to the native resolution of your display than the one in the box. Of course, it is a hassle switching the box output resolution back and forth, but if you want the best possible picture quality, set the output to 480 for standard def and the native resolution of your display for High Def (more on that in point 3).

3. Set the output resolution of your cable box to the native resolution of your display for HD!!! If you have a DLP or LCD display that is 1280 x 720 native, for example, set the box to output 720P. In most cases, there is no benefit in setting the box to the 1080 resolution. Here's why:

For a 720P native display (almost all LCD and DLP front and rear projectors) with the box set to 1080 output:

If the program you are watching is 720P native (like anything on FOX or ABC, for example), the cable box has to convert it UP to 1080i, then your display as to convert it back DOWN to 720P. At that point the picture has been rescaled TWICE, when it should have been passed unaltered. This is NOT a good thing - scaling ALWAYS adds artifacts to the image.

For a 1080i native device (many CRT based rear projection TVs) with the box set to 720P output:

If the program you are watching is 1080i native (like anything on CBS or HBO, for example), the cable box has to convert it DOWN to 720p, then your display as to convert it back UP to 1080i. At that point the picture has been rescaled TWICE, when it should have been passed unaltered. This is NOT a good thing - scaling ALWAYS adds artifacts to the image.

The HD scaler in the MOXI box seems to work pretty well, so it makes sense to leave it set for the native resolution of your display except when watching standard def, where the scaler/deinterlacer in the box does an unusually bad job. If your set has an excellent scaler/deinterlacer (like one of the Faroudja chipsets), you could probably improve picture quality even more by setting the output of the box to match the native resolution of the programming you are watching, and allow all scaling to be done by your set. Of course, this means finding out what the broadcaster is outputting and switching the output of the box everytime you change channels to one with a different output resolution.

John

[The HD scaler in the MOXI box seems to work pretty well, so it makes sense to leave it set for the native resolution of your display except when watching standard def, where the scaler/deinterlacer in the box does an unusually bad job. If your set has an excellent scaler/deinterlacer (like one of the Faroudja chipsets), you could probably improve picture quality even more by setting the output of the box to match the native resolution of the programming you are watching, and allow all scaling to be done by your set. Of course, this means finding out what the broadcaster is outputting and switching the output of the box everytime you change channels to one with a different output resolution.

John [/B][/QUOTE]

Which is why we are all awaiting the next Moxi upgrade which will pass through the native resolution of the broadcast. Switching isn't that bad, I only do it for the VOD stuff which looks awfull on my Sony RPTV when the Moxi is scaling to 1080I. Some areas already have the 3.2 upgrade and the users are generally pleased with the updates. Of course Adelphia is still having trouble at their headends with the VOD catalogs and Moxi menu updates will sometimes bring my box down. All in all, it's good!

I agree - overall, it's a good system! The older, non DVR box passed thru the native resolution of the broadcast, and I was disappointed that the MOXI forced you to choose a resolution. I was unaware that there was a firmware update in the works - thanks for the info!

John

So no one else has issues with 711? I get this tearing image only on their upconverted material. Anything in 1080i is perfect, but if the shows isn't broadcast in HD, or its a commercial, it tears a lot. It only does it on 711.

I was actually enjoying the Elvis mini-series, until I had to watch the last hour in SD stretch-o-vision. Throw the switch, already, KKTV!

Originally posted by MalcolmG
I was actually enjoying the Elvis mini-series, until I had to watch the last hour in SD stretch-o-vision. Throw the switch, already, KKTV!


That's the most annoying thing, isn't it? It's like they are on some kind of delay with some content. For example, Thursday evening CSI didn't pop in to HD until a half hour into the show. The last explanation I heard had to do with broadcasts coming from the west coast were being delayed for some reason. Doesn't make much sense, the other channels don't have that problem. And then there is the commercial senario. They have a break which is in SD and it never recovers back into HD, like with the Elvis broadcast. Time to email them again.

As far as Adelphia goes, no telling when we'll see the 3.2 firmware upgrade. They have got to get their VOD under control first. I'm getting all the premium VOD's, when I should only be getting HBO VOD. Don't tell!! LOL

Any word on when KTSC (PBS) will finally begin broadcasting HD?? I thought for sure it would ahve happened by now.

Thanks

Susan

Owner of Directv HD TIVO and praying they offer a cheap swap for the new box when the MPEG4 switch is made.

Susan, welcome to our little forum. We need more new people!

KTSC told me that they're having some equipment difficulties in the path of bouncing it down here from Denver (all part of Rocky Mountain PBS) and the manufacturer thinks they have some answers. They didn't want to estimate a date since they've been delayed so long, but they're hoping in the next couple of months. It is a priority for KTSC, they said.

Hopefully KOAA/NBC and KRDO/ABC by the new TV season in September as well...

Originally posted by Joanr
That's the most annoying thing, isn't it? It's like they are on some kind of delay with some content. For example, Thursday evening CSI didn't pop in to HD until a half hour into the show. The last explanation I heard had to do with broadcasts coming from the west coast were being delayed for some reason. Doesn't make much sense, the other channels don't have that problem. And then there is the commercial senario. They have a break which is in SD and it never recovers back into HD, like with the Elvis broadcast. Time to email them again.

Not only does it mess up the picture but the audio as well. My AV receiver auto detects DD 5.1 and switches to DD when a signal is detected. There is nothing more annoying than when KKTV does not swith aduio and video path to HD and you can not hear any sound what so ever becuase the adio path feed is DD, but KKTV has not switched it back on after commercials. I got do sick of this that I stoped watching in DD on KKTV. I watch in simulated 6 CH. I will be calling them as well. I receive LA's NBC HD feed from DTV and they don't have this problem when switching from HD to non-HD content.

i live in pueblo but i cant seam to get krdo,s singnal past 49 present on my dish 811 receiver are they at full power yet any thing can help thanks

Nope, they are still sending out a weak-assed signal. I don't even have them programmed on my 921.

They tell me that when they go HD, it will be stronger. Not worth watching now...

The temporary power of KRDO is only 1.58 kW, so the signal doesn't get out too far. It's authorized full power is 200 kW, so it's currently operating at less than 1% of that.

Remember this? From KOAA's website...
KOAA and HDTV - Updated 11-12-04
The FCC granted KOAA their Construction Permit (CP) for Digital Television (DTV). KOAA has purchased the associated digital transmitter equipment from the manufacturer, and will begin construction on the Cheyenne Mountain transmitter building when the snow thaws.
Installation of the equipment on Cheyenne Mountain will follow the completion of the building, and KOAA-DT should be on the air by the fall of 2005.
Which leads to this...

Yep, they told me just 2 weeks ago that they would be building on the mountain as soon as the weather allowed.

Did you capture that frame from your Dish PVR? Or did you add a HTPC?

Copied it from their web site.

It's great that they are building a DT tower and should be broadcasting by this fall, but the big question (that I haven't seen an answer for yet) is:

Will they be broadcasting in HD this fall, or just DT like KRDO is doing?!?


Speaking of KRDO, anyone heard an update on them? Seems like the last I heard was that they were supposed to be broadcasting HD by this fall?

Rob

I talked to both KOAA and KRDO 2 weeks ago and they both told me they were trying for full-power HDTV by late summer or by the new season's start in September. (Yes even HD for KOAA, although the previous report from their President/GM was vague on that point.)

I'm sure that many technical things have to go well in order to get all that working within 3 months though!

That's fantastic news!!

That would finally have our little HD-challenged city with the 4 biggest networks all broadcasting in HD.

While tuning in to the Nascar race on Fox last night, I found that KXRM is multicasting a signal on 21-02. Anybody know when this started and to what purpose. It was showing only music videos. I'm wondering if this is going to degrade HD quality. I couldn't really tell on the race if it was degraded.

Interesting, I will have to check that out. I wonder if it's on 24-7. It would have to take away bandwidth, however 720p bandwidth requirements are less than 1080i so maybe it would be less noticeable for a FOX or ABC, I don't know exactly. There can't be that many people watching 21-2 in the near future so it's probably a negative. The HD fans in cities with multicasting generally despise it because of the degraded HD picture.

We may have to ask KXRM engineering what the thought is. If we all speak up early, we might be able to shape their practice on this.

While tuning in to the Nascar race on Fox last night, I found that KXRM is multicasting a signal on 21-02. Anybody know when this started and to what purpose. It was showing only music videos. I'm wondering if this is going to degrade HD quality. I couldn't really tell on the race if it was degraded.


I had to do a channel scan as 21-1 was not coming in for me. I found the Nascar race on 22-3. And there is nothing listed in the guide data for 22-3 either. Very strange. Even today no signal for 21-1, but programing on 22-3.

I found nothing on 21-3, but 21-2 is broadcasting a network called "The Tube" It is music videos and the picture quality is very poor.

Edited:

I found this article about The Tube - looks like it might be here to stay. Does Raycom own our local fox?

sorry - I don't have priviledges to post the URL I will post the text instead

Susan

Raycom Launching Tube Music
April 25, 2005
By Katy Bachman

Raycom Media announced Monday it would launch The Tube Music Network, a new, 24-hour digital TV channel as a multicast channel in 29 markets where Raycom owns TV stations. Planned for second quarter, the launch marks the official debut of The Tube in more than 10 percent of all U.S. TV households.

For TV broadcasters looking to recoup their HDTV investment, there aren’t a lot of programming options for multicasting, a market The Tube decided to target. “The difficult challenge [when launching a new network] is distribution,” said Les Garland, president of The Tube.

Garland, who is also co-founder of MTV and VH1, found out the hard way when he tried to get distribution for The Box, another music channel in the '90s. “It took us seven years to get to 25 million homes,” said Garland, who is in discussions with other TV groups for The Tube.

The Tube is Raycom’s second multicast initiative. The group’s 13 NBC stations have also agreed to carry NBC Universal’s Weather Plus on its 13 NBC stations.

“We spend between $50 and $60 million to transition to HDTV. We may have to do another $10 million before it’s over. That’s a lot of money for a middle-market, privately held TV company,” said Paul McTear, CEO of Raycom, which has been testing The Tube for the past three weeks on WFLX-TV, Raycom’s Fox affiliate in West Palm.

Raycom has also negotiated local cable carriage of The Tube in its local TV markets, such as Cincinnati, Cleveland, Memphis, Albuquerque and Albany.

To differentiate The Tube from MTV and other music channels, The Tube intends to appeal to a broader demographic by programming the best music, artists and songs of all time regardless of genre or decade. Commercials are limited to six units an hour (five for national and one for the local TV station). About 14 videos, will air per hour with about 700 videos in rotation at any one time.

In a sense, the channel harkens back to MTV’s roots as a pure music channel. “I love MTV, but it’s become a bit institutionalized and has a lot of non-music shows. A lot of music channels profess to be music channels, but they arent,” said Garland.

The Tube will also have a Web component, what Garland describes as a “see it, hear it, buy it” site.

Stations can also air some of the programming as part of their regular lineup. Next week, for example, WFLX plans to air a sample hour of The Tube between 4 and 5 p.m.

They must be testing something. 22-3 is the People's Court, same as 21-1. Gotta go check out 21-2 now.

After a re-scan, I now get "The Tube". PQ is sad. I wonder if they're transmitting 3 signals simultaneously (21-1, 21-2, 22-3) or if 21-1 and 22-3 are from the exact same bits transmitted once.

That article makes The Tube sound permanent. Not a good sign for our HD PQ.

grrr... I'm not happy about that either. At least 720p can get away with it easier.

I don't see any degradation in PQ on the main channel. Given the PQ on the Tube, I don't think they are using much bandwith for it.

I wonder if they are going to promote it in any way.

Roy

Does anyone else ever have issue with there motorola moxi not receiving program information? Mine has done it for the 2nd ime and a tech has to coe out here, in order to call back to customer service to fix it. kind of annoying. also does anyone know if there box has 3.2 yet? since min has not been able to connect for a couple weeks now, and adelphia wont fix it till middle of next week.

I still have issues with 711 that I'm assuming no one else has since no one has commented on my posts about them. Probably need a new box, but waiting for the 3.2 update first. I did the menu+OK thing and checked a couple days ago and I still don't have 3.2.

Hello all.

New reader of this forum...have posted a few times over on the Moxi forum.

I do visit the KOAA site every few months and found this from 5/25:

...
The on air date of KOAA-DT is tentatively scheduled for November of 2005. Programming will be all “standard definition” digital and will have 4 hours of High Definition in prime time hours, as well as a few programs during the daytime schedule when it is available. The format (4X3 vs. 16X9) will depend on the supplier of the programs, our NBC HDTV should always be in 1080i.
...

Not much new info, but at least the date of the posting is diiferent :-)

D

Definently a good thing... means there were no delays since the last update.

Programming will be all “standard definition” digital and will have 4 hours of High Definition in prime time hours, as well as a few programs during the daytime schedule when it is available.
This is a confusing way to say it - all SD and 4 hours HD - you'd think it would be 'all SD except for 3 hours of HD in prime time'...

Thanks for posting the update!

This is a confusing way to say it - all SD and 4 hours HD - you'd think it would be 'all SD except for 3 hours of HD in prime time'...

Thanks for posting the update!


They are probably including jay leno in with that. it probably hsould state 4 hours of HD in the evening.

Heh... even with it worded weird... I got from it that:

1) It will always be upconverted to 1080i like KKTV-DT.
2) Anything available in HD will be shown in HD.
3) SD content that's upconverted will be stretched to fit the screen or will have bars depending on how it comes to them. (IMO I don't know anyone who sends them a signal already stretched, so I think this means they will be like Fox and have bars on the side unless it's widescreen or HD.

Heh... even with it worded weird... I got from it that:

1) It will always be upconverted to 1080i like KKTV-DT.
2) Anything available in HD will be shown in HD.
3) SD content that's upconverted will be stretched to fit the screen or will have bars depending on how it comes to them. (IMO I don't know anyone who sends them a signal already stretched, so I think this means they will be like Fox and have bars on the side unless it's widescreen or HD.


thats pretty much what i got from it to. I hope they dont strech it. I wish kktv would not strech it. I wonder what the shows are originally sent in, 1080i or 720p? Does NBC have a standard?

Also does anyone know if they plan on doing the local newscast in HD?

Question, if they do not stretch it like Fox, what effect does the bars have on my TV? I watch Fox the most and think that someday i am going to have burn in from the black bars. Any thoughts?

Question, if they do not stretch it like Fox, what effect does the bars have on my TV? I watch Fox the most and think that someday i am going to have burn in from the black bars. Any thoughts?


Depends on what kind of tv you have? I have a RP DLP and there is no burn in problems with DLP, or RP LCD.

Question, if they do not stretch it like Fox, what effect does the bars have on my TV? I watch Fox the most and think that someday i am going to have burn in from the black bars. Any thoughts?

My Hitachi RP CRT recommends that I not watch 4:3 with the built in grey pillarboxes more than 15% of the time. It has a setting to turn them black, but warns that's even worse. I imagine the same goes for the black Fox bars.

The way I understand it, it's not so much burn in as uneven wear on the phospers. The ones within the 4:3 image will wear out at a faster rate than the ones on the sides.

D

thats pretty much what i got from it to. I hope they dont strech it. I wish kktv would not strech it. I wonder what the shows are originally sent in, 1080i or 720p? Does NBC have a standard?

Also does anyone know if they plan on doing the local newscast in HD?
NBC's standard is 1080i.

Without having any information, I can say that I would be shocked if any local station in Colorado Springs had the funds to jump to HD in their newsroom in the next several years.

They are probably including jay leno in with that. it probably hsould state 4 hours of HD in the evening.
Good point. I've seen The Tonight Show in HD and it's really gorgeous - sharp and vivid. I still think the "SD and HD" in KOAA's posting is weird.

As far as burn-in, I think the stations shouldn't stretch. SD looks bad enough on HDTVs, don't distort it intentionally. Most of us could watch SD on non-HDTVs if we want to (I suppose it depends if your HDTV is in your main location). Also, many TVs have a zoom function to hone in on the middle part of the screen. I was going to say that we could switch our receivers to 480i and let the TV stretch the 4:3 picture to 16:9, but now I think that would still keep the gray bars. At least gray is better than black, and I still try to mix 4:3 with 16:9 to avoid burn-in on my CRT RPTV.

See... we normally stretch all SD material and have gotten so used to it, that I prefer CBS over Fox. I'm all about OAR on DVDs etc, but haven't had any issues with stretched SD since we got it because of the burn in risk I guess.
ESPN gets left on way too much overnight here though... and I fear if I do check for ESPN bars on a white screen, I might see something, or will before too long.

My parents live in iowa, and i know the nbc station from des moines does do there newscast in HD, and also on there secondary channel they alwasy have a live Forcast going along the bottom, and there doppler radar image going. which is kind of cool, and it is in a low resoltion so it doesn't effect the bandwith of the HD channels. I wish more stations would do somthing like that.

It doesn't use much bandwidth but it definently uses some... I already see pixelation on KKTV... if they took 1-2 MBPS way for a channel like that, I'm sure I'd see even more. I really hope they don't do anything like that. A 2nd channel on a 720p channel wouldn't be as bad though.

Thanks Old^Style, and every one else, for your answers. I have a RP LCD and have heard that i should not have a burn in problems, but when you have that much invested in a TV you got to make sure.

anyone else notice that VOD demand is gone off of the moxi boxes?

I've never been able to use it the couple times I've tried. It's always said please try again later. But I don't care about it.. so it's not a big deal to me.

I've never been able to use it the couple times I've tried. It's always said please try again later. But I don't care about it.. so it's not a big deal to me.


I only use it to see what is on the HBO VOD, i wont pay to use it, because it has horrible pixilation, and according to the CS the only way t fix it is keep starting it over, then that section wont have pixilation, show antoher words it takes 12 hours to watch a 2 hour movie. I wish they would get rid of it, and maybe add some new HD channels. Like TNT HD, UNIVERSAL HD.

I only use it to see what is on the HBO VOD, i wont pay to use it, because it has horrible pixilation, and according to the CS the only way t fix it is keep starting it over, then that section wont have pixilation, show antoher words it takes 12 hours to watch a 2 hour movie. I wish they would get rid of it, and maybe add some new HD channels. Like TNT HD, UNIVERSAL HD.

I've had it for a few weeks now; it's not quite ready for primetime. Pixilation has gotten worse and worse, but the problem is not just with MOXI box though. DCT2000 has same issues here.

We're moving back to the Springs in a few months. I sure hope ABC (KRDO) can get HDTV in time for the fall lineup, but I'm not holding my breath. Lost and Alias look awesome on our plasma in high def.

I got a postcard forwarded to me a few months ago that Adelphia is being bought out. Does anyone know when and who is buying the Springs. Is it going to be Comcast in our area? I've been pleased with them out here in CA.

-Kelly

Yes, Comcast, but I haven't heard when. I actually want to change my email address to avoid the spammers who've got mine now.

I got a postcard forwarded to me a few months ago that Adelphia is being bought out. Does anyone know when and who is buying the Springs. Is it going to be Comcast in our area? I've been pleased with them out here in CA.

-Kelly

Yes, Comcast is going to be the provider here. I haven't heard anything in detail yet on what that will entail, other then the changes will be happening over the course of the next year.

I'm not too sure I like the idea...even as much as I dislike Adelphia... Adelphia just upped my cable-inet service to 6Mbps/840Kbps, and Comcast in Denver is still stuck at 3Mbps/256Kbps in most areas. I hope I don't end up loosing features over this deal (including my email address) I wonder if they plan to keep the adelphia domain active?

--Eric

I have the Adelphia high speed internet in our Springs place too. I assumed they would continue to offer the upgraded speeds that Adelphia recently bumped up to though. :confused: We shall see....

It just seems better for the channel lineups to be with a company that hasn't gone bankrupt and can infuse some $$$ into the system. (fingers crossed)

Yes, Comcast, but I haven't heard when. I actually want to change my email address to avoid the spammers who've got mine now.

Yes, yes!!! Actually, we still have our house in the Springs and email and I don't get any spam on my DSL e-mail out here in CA but I get several a day from the Adelphia address. :mad: I would be thrilled just to start fresh with a comcast domain e-mail.

...Adelphia just upped my cable-inet service to 6Mbps/840Kbps, and Comcast in Denver is still stuck at 3Mbps/256Kbps in most areas.
Stuck at 3Mbs? Geez, I just dumped satellite(had to hold on to it till June for no penalties), to get cable @ 1Mbs(fairly new up here). And compared to satellite @ 400Kbs & latency, it's the difference between night & day. They are talking about 2 Mbs, but it isn't gona get much better than that up here 'in the sticks'.
....jc

Actually i have ready where comcast in the next couple months is going to start offering 6mb and 8mb service in most markets. So i can't imagine them going backwards, hopefully just forwards, maybe we can get adelphia extreme service before they switch (currently only offered in leesburg, va and offers 15mb download and 2mb upload service)

According to the Denver Post today, customers who already subscribe to Comcast's internet service will see an automatic no cost upgrade to 6 mps download, 384 Kbps upload speeds by late summer. You can pay $10 more per month for 8 mps download, 768 Kbps upload speed. Current cost is $42.95 per month with cable TV service.

According to the Denver Post today, customers who already subscribe to Comcast's internet service will see an automatic no cost upgrade to 6 mps download, 384 Kbps upload speeds by late summer. You can pay $10 more per month for 8 mps download, 768 Kbps upload speed. Current cost is $42.95 per month with cable TV service.

This is exactly what I'm afraid is going to happen when Comcast takes over. The down speed doesn't really matter much to me once it gets past about 3Mbps. It's the UP speed that matters. Up until now, most service providers have hamstrung broad band with feeble upload rates making stuff like VOIP, video conf and that sort of thing an exercise in frustration.

I happen to work from home, and LOVE the new 840Kbps upload speeds I get. Makes VPN, webcam, whiteboard, remote desktop, VONAGE etc... much more usable.

--Eric

What do you use for a speed test? It's not like we actually get the promised speeds. I used to use dslreports.com but have had trouble with their newer Java plug-in or whatever it's called. I'm looking for a good new speed test site.

...I'm looking for a good new speed test site.
TG, try this. (http://home.cfl.rr.com/eaa/Bandwidth.htm) Multiple worldwide sites.

BTW, where is your head? I'm not sure, from the pic, if it's just cut off, or that you have a shrunken one.
....jc

Just that tall, the camera couldn't find it... actually only 6' 5"

I think we should all put faces to our names so we can picture each other, but nobody seems to want to

I think we should all put faces to our names so we can picture each other, but nobody seems to want to

Avatars are small graphics that are displayed under your username whenever you post. AVS Forum requires the use of your actual photo, a head shot.
The purpose of Avatars on this board is so that people can put a face to who they are conversing with. It also helps to identify each other when we get together for gatherings. You don't have to use an Avatar if you do not wish to, but if you do, you MUST use a recent photo of yourself, a headshot showing your face. It should be a recognizable likeness of you and your face should not be obscured. It should be clear enough for people to see. If you have a custom avatar and want to keep it as it is, leave the fields below as they are.
Shhhh! I won't say a word. However, as I write, The Avatar Police are probably surrounding you. Unfortunately, they are bound by the rules of the Patriot Act, and they can burst in at any time. It's really too bad, I'm sure that you are innocent. However, as they say, Comply or Die!

I used to have 10 toes. Now, my neighbors complain about the 'clomping' noises.
....jc

I for one would welcome comcast here in the springs if it meant we could get altitude in HD. They did a ton of nuggets games last year in HD and with hockey coming back this fall, having altitude HD which is currently only available in denver would be HUGE. I would drop satellite in a heart beat if it mean watching nearly 100 nugget and avs games in HD.

Are you sure Altitude did a ton of Nuggets games in HD? I saw their announcement about "up to" 40 games http://altitude.tv/news/newsDetails.aspx?NID=64, and then didn't hear much about them actually doing it.

I know the Nuggets' opponents' networks did several (vs. Timberwolves, Mavs, etc.) but those even on DirecTV were only available to that team's market.

Anyway, hopefully DirecTV will add Altitude HD as soon as the new satellites get going...

I for one would welcome comcast here in the springs if it meant we could get altitude in HD.

This would be the only reason I would concider getting CTV again. Gotta watch the AVS.

What do you use for a speed test? It's not like we actually get the promised speeds. I used to use dslreports.com but have had trouble with their newer Java plug-in or whatever it's called. I'm looking for a good new speed test site.

I use DSLReports most of the time, but I've got a few others as well. The trick to getting the DSL reports stuff working is installing the latest Java stuff from Sun.

http://netspeed.stanford.edu/ (The best alternative to DSLReports)
http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/

As far as getting reported speeds or not, it is hit or miss. I'm supposed to be getting 6Mbps down and 768 up, and I see anywhere from 2.5Mbps to 5Bmps down, with the average being right around 3.5Mbps. The up actually ends up being around 840Kbps though, a little higher then advertised.

Unless you are doing a lot of mutli-site downloads or using a DL manager and doing lots of file downloads, there isn't much point in going above 3Mbps for the standard internet access. Many sites limit bandwidth per connection, so you can't even fill a 3Mbps pipe on the down-stream side anyway.

Up-Stream is a whole nother issue though.

Thanks!

Interesting... I hadn't ran any speed tests in a couple of months, and not since I got my latest computer and am back on ethernet.

I'm getting between 7Mbps and 8Mbps on the down and between 850Kbps and 890Kbps on the up.

A friend of mine who works at the Adelphia call center here in the Springs says that they have been communicated to that it will actually be Time Warner that takes over for Adelphia here in town and that the transition will take place over the next two years. I have no idea of knowing as I am a Directv customer and I only use Adelphia for my Internet. I can say this. I am a Supervisor for a cable company which has its call center is here in town too (We provide service to the mid-west) and I can confidently tell you that the last company you want is Comcast. They are the one cable company which traditionally ranks lower then Adelphia in customer service and reliability. They are such a hugh corporation that you are only and will always be only a number to them. I am not saying Time Warner is much better, but they do tend to do better in customer service and reliability ratings.

A friend of mine who works at the Adelphia call center here in the Springs says that they have been communicated to that it will actually be Time Warner that takes over for Adelphia here in town and that the transition will take place over the next two years.

Huh.. that is exactly the opposite of the information I received in the mail from Adelphia a month or so ago. They specifically said it would be Comcast, and the transition would occur over the course of the next year. I wonder if me being monument has any bearing? It sure would seem to make sense that comcast would be the one, otherwise CoSp would end up being an island in the sea of Comcast.


They are such a hugh corporation that you are only and will always be only a number to them.
I think that is the case with every single CATV and SAT company today. When I first moved to monument, I was in shock with the poor level of service I was getting from Adelphia as compared to what I came from (ATTBI at the time).

I must say that Adelphia has done a great job, for me, improving the quality of their product, particularly with respect to the Inet service. I had their cable service for a while when they were first bringing out HD too and I liked it quite a bit. But that was during the time when they were giving away every HD channel, including the premiums for no additional cost other then for the HD STB. Once they went to their current pay-for-HD-service system, I dropped cable TV all together and now simply get everything from OTA and Netflix. That pretty much exemplifies my complaint with all of the media providers... they are to expensive for what they offer. It just isn't worth it to me to pay that kind of money when my viewing habits amounted to 80% network TV. (Never watched that much "tv" anyway.) DVDs make up the largest share of my watching by far.

--Eric

Any Adelphia customers notice channel 703? Just an "Events InDemand" banner right now. Wonder if it's a permanent PPV channel...

Hey all,

Planning on moving to the Springs from Los Angeles in August and starting to think about my HD options. I currently have (bankrupt) Adelphia here in LA with limited HD channels so I've been pondering satellite, but it sounds like Adelphia in the Springs has more of the HD channels I want (Discovery, HDNet, INHD, etc). Can someone list the HD channels available via cable? What about locals in HD over cable? And same question for OTA?

Thanks!

Hey all,

Planning on moving to the Springs from Los Angeles in August and starting to think about my HD options. I currently have (bankrupt) Adelphia here in LA with limited HD channels so I've been pondering satellite, but it sounds like Adelphia in the Springs has more of the HD channels I want (Discovery, HDNet, INHD, etc). Can someone list the HD channels available via cable? What about locals in HD over cable? And same question for OTA?

Thanks!

Current HD Channels:
InHD (701)
InHD2 (702)
HDNET Movies (755)
HDNET (754)
ESPN (733)
Discovery (746)
HBO (750)
Showtime (751)
Starz (752)
FOX-KXRM(721)
CBS-KKTV (711)
ABC-KRDO (713) Not in HD, Just Digital.
PBS-KTSC (703) Not in HD, Just Digital.

Local HD Information:
The local NBC Station Should Be HD by years end acording to there website.
The ABC sations is currently Digital, but not HD. And they should hopefully also be HD by years end.

Any Adelphia customers notice channel 703? Just an "Events InDemand" banner right now. Wonder if it's a permanent PPV channel...

I noticed this also. When you press enter and click "watch" you get a notify about being a subscriber. They don't give any other info.

Is anyone else getting Showtime VOD for free without being a subscriber to Showtime?

Any word on the latest Moxi 3.2 upgrade that's supposed to happen? The upgrade that will allow the box to detect and send in native instead of upconverting the SD content?

Is anyone else getting Showtime VOD for free without being a subscriber to Showtime?

Yes..shhhhhhh ;)

Any word on the latest Moxi 3.2 upgrade that's supposed to happen? The upgrade that will allow the box to detect and send in native instead of upconverting the SD content?

Last I heard...nobody knows for sure :)

The one Moxi employee on the Moxi thread said he heard they'd be making an announcement soon (next month?).

Again I have heard from another Adelphia employee that it will indeed be Time Warner who will be taking over Adelphia here in Colorado Springs. This employee has told me that this was communicated to her whole department and they were reassured that their jobs will be safe here in Colorado Springs under Time Warner. She also said that she was told by her Supervisor that Time Warner really wanted to gain some market share here in the West, that is why they were given Colorado Springs and areas of California. Once again this is from a reliable source, so please take with a grain of salt.

~Josh

Again I have heard from another Adelphia employee that it will indeed be Time Warner who will be taking over Adelphia here in Colorado Springs. This employee has told me that this was communicated to her whole department and they were reassured that their jobs will be safe here in Colorado Springs under Time Warner. She also said that she was told by her Supervisor that Time Warner really wanted to gain some market share here in the West, that is why they were given Colorado Springs and areas of California. Once again this is from a reliable source, so please take with a grain of salt.

~Josh

Actually we are going to become comcast. Here is the official thing from Adelphia:

That's not great news...I'd MUCH rather have Time Warner than Comcast, as I've had them both (I've moved around a lot).

I haven't seen Time Warner's DVR firsthand, or Adelphia's for that matter, but Comcast's is a piece of crap compared to the original (TiVo).

That's not great news...I'd MUCH rather have Time Warner than Comcast, as I've had them both (I've moved around a lot).


I think we all would. My brother has time Warner in Minneapolis and loves it. although on that chart i noticed the minneapolis market is now going to be comcast. Although since Denver has Comcast, maybe we will end up getting some of the channels they have up there, including there local HD channels. SO that could be a plus for us down here.

I haven't seen Time Warner's DVR firsthand, or Adelphia's for that matter, but Comcast's is a piece of crap compared to the original (TiVo).

From what i understand each market will keep the equipment that is already in place since it would probably be extremely costly to go through and replace all the boxes, and head end equipment already in place.

Was that chart mailed to you from Adelphia? I do not understand why Adelphia would be telling their local employees that it will be Time Warner who will be their new employer? Maybe Comcast will service this area, but Time Warner will take over the call center for their own needs?

~Josh

Was that chart mailed to you from Adelphia? I do not understand why Adelphia would be telling their local employees that it will be Time Warner who will be their new employer? Maybe Comcast will service this area, but Time Warner will take over the call center for their own needs?

~Josh

No it was not mailed. It was released along with the officiel press release fom time warner, comcast and adelphia. Anyways it makes more sense that we get comcast since they already have denver. I am thinking your friend on the inside is mistaken. You might want to show them that chart. Because that chart has been out for almost 3 months now. I actually got the chart from the techs that post in the DSLReports.com adelphia forum.

Hi folks-

I live in Manitou current and have an HDTivo via DirecTV. I love my Tivo, though I'm not exactly thrilled with the PQ on the "HD Lite" channels from DirecTV. Due to my location in Manitou, I have waivers for all 4 networks, so I get the west coast feeds for them from DirecTV. In 2 months I'll be moving up to Cascade. I've read that DirecTV will no longer provide the distant locals if you're able to receive their spot beam. Assuming this is true, if I want HD networks I either need to try my luck at OTA signals, wait for the new D* birds to start sending HD locals (and have to deal with all new equipment and a new dish) or switch to Adelphia HD. I talked to Adelphia yesterday, and they do provide HD up in Cascade, and say they now have HD-compatible PVR's available.

So, a few questions:


I love my Tivo, but am willing to consider their HD PVR. How bad is it? I know the recording time is significantly less (they quoted me 9 hrs. HD or 35 std., vs. 30 HD and 200 std. that my Tivo provides), but it does have 2 tuners. How fussy is the user interface?
Is the cable HD PQ better than DirecTV's?
Does Adelphia's PVR do something similar to Tivo's Season Pass?
Anybody know how likely I'll be to pick up OTA HD in Cascade? Antennaweb indicates I'll have better luck than my current location in Manitou, but would love to hear from someone who's tried it.


Any other thougts on my choice would be welcome. From a price perspective, the quote they gave me will be pretty much comparable to what I have now, so that's not a huge factor.

Thanks,
Sean

Sean,

The HD channels will be comparable between Directv and Adelphia. Where Adelphia falls short is on their channels 2 through 99. Adelphia broadcasts these signals in analog. So if you have an HDTV, which obviously you do having the HD-Tivo, channels 2 through 99 from Adelphia will look horrible as compared to Directv. Of course channels 2 through 99 with Adelphia are some of the best channels (Networks, USA, TBS, TNT, Sci Fi, Discovery, Food Network, etc.). All of these channels on Directv are 100% digital and look quite good on HDTV's. I personally tried Adelphia with their HD Moxi box out for a week and it was a very poor experience. I went directly back to Directv. These are just my opinions.

~Josh

Sean-
-The adelphia DVR is not that bad.
-Yes the PQ is a heck of a lot better over cable than directv. Over cable you are getting true HD, where as over DTV current system i beleive it is barley like 480p. And if you have a decent HDTV you will notice a huge difference.
-I am not sure what the season pass is, but the DVR does have a Series record option, where you have options like, record only new, record only repeats, and record both repeats a new. Now the interface and options are not nearly as good as the tivo. BUt i think for the average user it will have everything you need. FOr more infor on the DVR (Motorola Moxi) go to this thread http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5931646#post5931646

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5961537#post5961537

TG, Thanks for the link. Not sure what's going on but I haven't been getting email notification consistently lately.

Did they take off that simulcast feed of the Tube Channel 22.2? I don't see it anymore.

I am not getting it either, seems to be gone.

Roy

I am still receiving it.

~Josh

Although I have DirecTV, my parents have Adelphia and I want to help them get set up with DVR(s) . . .

It looks like from tyler2you that Adelphia has the Motorola BMC9012, which records HD, for $15/month. Do they also have a non-HD DVR? If so, what is the per month charge for that one?

My parents have a 32" non-HD set in the family room that they do most of their watching on, but they do go down to the basement to watch some things in HD on the 65" Mits (CSI, NFL, etc.) So getting one of each for those 2 rooms would be great for them. (Now this assumes that Adelphia doesn't have that Motorola box that hooks up to 2 TVs. Do they?)

As always, thanks in advance for the help!
Rob

Did they take off that simulcast feed of the Tube Channel 22.2? I don't see it anymore.
Yes, it's still on, maps to 21-2.

Sorry, don't know about Adelphia but they have to have an SD DVR.

I will check tonight. Also I got an email response stating that KXTU (UPN 57) plans to go digital in about 2 years when the high power stations remove their analog signals.

I rescanned. I am getting it again now. They might have had it off for a while causing some tuners to lose it in memory.

Also, the signal strength for both of their digital channels was low after I did the rescan, now is strong again. When the signal was low, I tried it with a second tuner I have and also found a low signal. I think they were playing with it. A moment ago, the KXRM-DT logo flashed on the screen and the sound went dead on The Tube, then returned to normal.

Has anybody checked lately with KTSC, KOAA or KRDO about whether they are making any progress towards HD?

Roy

Nope, it's time to check back with them. 3 months ago I called them all and posted here. It would be good if someone else here would do it. The engineers are generally friendly enough if you let them know you're an interested HD viewer and you keep the conversation down to just a couple minutes.

Yeah, I see the tube channel. But was looking at CBS tonight (Sunday), and they listed on the tv guide that they were supposed to show the movie Deep Impact, but they are showing cold case. Are they playing with the line up?

The golf tournament ran way over because they had to make up for the rain out on thursday.

I e-mailed the stations for updates, will post if I get a reply.

Roy

ahh, maybe thats why they couldnt put this in HD. Well aint gonna watch it then.

The main thing is that this weekend's PGA Championship IS in HD on CBS. It's also on TNT-HD for Thursday/Friday and I think early coverage for Saturday/Sunday but that doesn't mean much to us poor DirecTV saps.

I got a brief e-mail reply from KOAA saying that they expect to begin digital broadcasting in mid November. This is in keeping with previous announcements. I assume that means that they are making progress towards that goal. He did not answer my question about whether they will have HD capability from the start.

Roy

I got a reply from the director of engineering at Rocky Mountain PBS:

We're currently working on installation of a digital microwave system that will enable us to get the PBS and RMPBS HDTV signals to the KTSC transmitter on Cheyenne Mountain. I can't commit to a certain date, but we're hopeful that we can have this up and running within the next two months.

Thanks for your interest.

Not sure if there's a better forum/thread for this, but figured it can't hurt to ask - who do you guys recommend for home theater gear in the Springs? I'm moving to a new house that will have a dedicated room for HT, and am thinking about going with a front projector setup, a new receiver, and new speakers. I'm not looking for anything super-high-end, but want to take it a notch or two above the big box offerings. I've know of the Sound Shop and Listen Up downtown (opinions?), but not sure if there are any others that sell this sort of gear in the area. I may even want some help with the installation, but that'll depend on what I need to do to the room. I've heard some mention of Integrity Home Theater, but no actual reccomendations.

Thanks,
Sean

Contact John at Integrity Home Theater. (http://www.integrityhometheater.com/)

John at IHT is GREAT!! I also like Soundtrack for a chain store. They are negotiable on prices and will meet and beat any price locally or on the internet if that internet dealer is an authorized dealer for the product you are purchasing.

~Josh

Thanks Roy!

I sure hope ABC (KRDO) gets their poop in a group in time for Monday Night Football! Then again, that's about 4 weeks away so it doesn't look good...

I have also used Integrity Home Theater and also recommend them. I like The Sound Shop better than Listen Up. Mostly because Listen Up seems to discount less when you haggle.

Any contact information for The Sound Shop? I have never been there.

~Josh

I would again recommend John at ITH. I've been to a few of his projector shows and have recommended him to a couple of my friends who were not disappointed.

--Eric

I deal with Bob (salesman) at the Sound Shop. I have only purchased an Anthem AVM 30 and a Panamax 5300, so not a ton of gear, but they have treated me very well. I've had a few service issues with the Anthem and they've replaced it twice now, in less than 4 days. This was mostly an Anthem decision, to replace the AVM 30, but the SS expedited it as quickly as possible. They have certainly earned my repeat business.

Re: Listen up - I get a sick feeling every time I walk into that store. They criticize my gear, my setup, my room, my choices.... they just make me feel plain bad every time I go in there. Why would I want to spend my money there and extend this relationship.

Some shops seem to take the approach that if they convince you that you are dumb and they are smart, then you will blindly accept all of their expensive recommendations.

Meanwhile, I have not been able to get an over the air lock on KRDO-DT for the last couple of days. I get a signal strength of about 45% on my Dish Network 811 reciever. KKTV and KTSC come in strong, around 90%. KXRM has been off and on, was not locking for a while but now is 90%. Anyone else having trouble with KRDO?

I am on a hillside near the Garden of the Gods with a clear view of Cheyenne Mountain, never had trouble with KRDO before.

Edit at 6:45 PM: Now it is locking!


Roy

Anyone in the northeast part of town, specifically the Stetson Hills area? I'm moving there at the end of the month and just want to make sure that I can get the full boat of HD channels from Adelphia at that location. Here in LA your HD channel lineup on Adelphia is highly dependent on your location; hopefully it's not the same way in the Springs.... :)

I live in that area. I get CBS and FOX in HD via OTA and NBC and ABC in HD via Directv (waiver). Adelphia only offers CBS and FOX in HD.

~Josh

I believe Adelphia offers the full slate of satellite HD channels in all parts of town - (other than CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX) - i.e. you always can get ESPN-HD, INHD, Discovery HD, etc. no matter where in their service area you live.

Beatboy, did you just get that waiver recently or did you have grandfathered waivers from years back before DirecTV carried the SD locals? There's been a lot of confusion under the new SHVERA law whether you can get out of market HD from D* if they have SD locals available. In other words, I understood that HD-specific waivers were nearly impossible. Tell us your story.

I've also had a good experience with Bob at The Sound Shop. I would do business again with them on the big gear before going to a big box store or chain.

Roy, I've given up trying to receive KRDO-DT. I'm further away from you but the low power signal is just too weak. Hopefully they are really going to go full power whenever they go HD.

TallGuy, for what it's worth, here's my story-

I'm in Manitou and receive all four major networks from D* in HD and SD. I got these about 1 year ago when I first got my HDTivo. I was "pre-qualified" for three of the four networks (all but CBS) based on my address and the lack of signal that their DNS database showed for me (which, by the way, is currently offline and has been for a while, presumably because they need to update it for SHVERA). I contacted KKTV last September to get a waiver and they granted it. Now, this was pre-SHVERA, but it was well after D* was providing SD locals for the Springs area. So basically I get SD locals from D* in addition to all four networks in HD and SD from the West Coast DNS feed.

I did get a letter recently saying that I am no longer eligible for the East Coast feeds of these networks. But so far nothing about my West Coast DNS feeds, though I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

-Sean

Really my story is very simple. I got NBC last fall and got ABC a few weeks ago. All I did was keep calling until I got a Supervisor to help me out. For ABC I got a Supervisor in their Florida call center and explained that I live so far east of my town that it is difficult to get good quality on OTA signals. She put me on hold and came back and said she activated it. NBC was a similar story. For whatever reason, they also activated CBS from Los Angeles too, didn't even ask for that one. My suggestion is to just call a few times each week after 6:00 p.m. (This way you do not get one of their overseas customer service centers which can barely speak English), ask for a Supervisor and explain your situation. Eventually you will get what you want, you just have to be patient.

~Josh

mtnsean, I totaaly understand your case because of your location. beatboy's really surprises me.

And you mean you called DirecTV, not ABC, for a waiver, right? And you are in city limits? Everything I've ever seen on this board said it is usually impossible anymore unless you're in some extremely rural area between DMAs where D* doesn't provide locals. Manitou I can understand because it's in the part of the map where even the SD OTA signal is not possible to receive. But Stetson Hills, I figured no way. SHVERA was interpreted very non-consumer-friendly in the beginning. I'm glad if they are loosening this up, I may have to change mine...

Some people have even changed their service address to NY or LA because that was the only way to get network HD DNS channels...

Tallguy,

I actually live in Claremont Ranch, which is several hundred feet east of Marksheffle on Constitution, which is considered county, not city limits. I do not think this mattered though because the many times I tried for the Network HD's, I always got denied. I just kept relentlessly calling until I got what I wanted. You just need to get the right person at Directv.

~Josh

Interesting. What was their stated reason for denying you all those times? You were very fortunate! I have a feeling that the denials were following the rules and then getting the waiver was the exception/mistake for those rules...

By the way, we're all coming over to your house for the first Broncos game on Monday Night Football on ABC-HD... :)

They kept denying me saying my local affiliates denied me a waiver, but as I mentioned I was very persistent until I got what I wanted. Yeah, you can all come over for the Broncos game, but I must warn you, I am a Patriots fan, have been since 1986. I am a big Red Sox fan too. Recent times have been GOOD!!!!

~Josh

Anyone in the northeast part of town, specifically the Stetson Hills area? I'm moving there at the end of the month and just want to make sure that I can get the full boat of HD channels from Adelphia at that location. Here in LA your HD channel lineup on Adelphia is highly dependent on your location; hopefully it's not the same way in the Springs.... :)

I believe the Stetson Hills area has it all (check Old^Style's post from 7/18 for list).

Only thing I'm not sure about is VOD...know they were slow rolling it as of a few weeks ago. The quality issues I was having with it in July are gone now. Works as advertised. I'm about 3-4 miles west of where you're moving to.

RMD

Is anyone getting the PGA Championship in HD in KKTV (CBS)? According to the forums and the CBS website it is supposed to be HD today, but my Adelphia channel 711 is just showing a stretched non-HD signal. Is there someone we need to call at KKTV to have them "flip the switch" or something?

Is anyone getting the PGA Championship in HD in KKTV (CBS)?
OTA, yes & no. KCNC in Denver is broadcasting it in HD. However, KGWN in Cheyenne is not. Go Figure! As of this time I can't get KKTV.
....jc

I just checked out TitanTv, and they don't specify KKTV as broadcasting it in HD. For Denver & Cheyenne they do(Even though it's not in HD in Cheyenne!).
....jc

I can't believe KKTV is missing it. It's just like when they forget to look for the HD feed at the beginning of most Broncos games last year. You should try to call engineering or the control room because if the guy on duty knows, he can probably correct it.

It is in HD on the New York WCBS station and I'm sure most of the country's CBS HD stations. We may have to go over to beatboy77's house. ;)

I just checked out TitanTv, and they don't specify KKTV as broadcasting it in HD. For Denver & Cheyenne they do(Even though it's not in HD in Cheyenne!).
....jc
The onscreen guide for DirecTV does show KKTV as HD for this program. Their HD stuff was working last night during prime time for the show NUMB3RS.

Anyone know the number for the KKTV control room or engineering? You can PM me if you don't want to post. I emailed various people, but I doubt that most of the managers are there over the weekend.

I am getting it in HD from KKTV over the air.

Roy

Yea! They flipped the switch at 1:23 pm - hopefully they will keep it HD for all of today and the 5 hours tomorrow.

Did anyone here call in and get a live person?

Well I am at work right now, but feel free to come over tomorrow. Here are the channels I get from Directv:

~Josh

I hooked up my new Sony LCD E50A10 this weekend and am very pleased. I have a question about Adelphia's feed of HD channels. I'm scanning in three lower channels at 8.1, 80.1 and 80.2 direct coax to TV, split from the Moxi box, that are in HD. That would be ESPN HD, PBS DT and Discovery HD. Is Adelphia feeding local CBS or FOX HD somewhere in the basic cable band? I thought they were required to do this?? Thought I had read this a while back. I'm pulling in OTA CBS and FOX in HD and they actually look better OTA with a little Terk TV55 than with the Moxi box. Not surprising.

Yesterday was wierd with the Bronco game. Adelphia/Moxi HD CBS was all screwy. Changed to OTA antenna and got it in HD, at least with the close up cameras. Wide angle zooms looked awful. CBS had that problem last year with most of their games, not to mention the local not switching to HD until the second half. Fox does football better overall.

Yesterdays game was not in HD. Wide shots always look lousy in SD.

Yesterdays game was not in HD. Wide shots always look lousy in SD.

Ok, that's even stranger. OTA sure looked HD, and I think a few others said they were getting OTA HD. Anyhow if it wasn't I'm even more impressed with this model. I don't remember pushing the display button during the game which would have detected the signal. It seemed to me the picture improved greatly after the first quarter.

I watched the whole game on KKTV-DT and saw nothing but SD. The broadcast was via the CBS local from Denver (Channel4). Unless things have changed in the very recent past, they do not have the capability to produce an HD program.

Yes the sideline and close up shots look better than the wideshots, but none of the game was in HD.

Unless things have changed in the very recent past, they do not have the capability to produce an HD program.
or the money to produce in HD...

I was really looking forward to the PGA this weekend on CBS in HD and then with the weather delays, they're not going to finish it until tomorrow morning. And who knows if KKTV will get the memo that it's supposed to be an HD feed at 8:00 on a Monday morning... :o

And then again, will I be able to go the entire workday not hearing or seeing the news about who has won...

Anybody live out near Meridian Ranch?

What would be the best Antenna that I could get that wouldn't be large and obnoxious looking. I have to try to keep it by the dish on the side of the house to avoid trouble from the HOA.

Also, what is specifically available for OTA HD in the Springs?

Thanks for the help!

I live somewhat near Meridian Ranch and I use this antenna:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Terk-UHF-Antenna-TV32-/sem/rpsm/oid/74029/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

This works really well.

~Josh

Well, just bought a brand new house this weekend (near Powers and Carefree -- Pronghorn Meadows Circle is the street). The builder mentioned that it could take some time to get Adelphia out there to connect everything since it's a new house in a fairly new neighborhood. Anyone experienced this? I'm hoping everything is already well established since there have been people living on that street for about a year, and it's just a matter of "flipping a switch" to get me hooked up...

Josh,

Is that something that could be mounted on the side of the house? Will it work just as well?

I also thought I read in one of the posts that you got DirecTV to turn on your HD networks after calling several times?

I have DirecTV and got denied for the waivers and called and tried again (inspired by your post) and was unable to get the rep to turn on the feeds. Any advice in this regard?

Does anyone know if I got Adelphia if I could run the feed into the antenna port of the HR10-250 and be able to record anything?

Someone at work mentioned a "yagi" antenna and said that I'd be able to pull in as far away as Cheyenne, WY, and they also mentioned a Winegard Sensar Model GS-2VRD. What's the opinions on these?

Thanks.

This antenna works well mounted to the side of the house. I actually have mine mounted to the side of the house, facing West. As far as the Directv thing goes, you have to speak to Supervisors, not just Reps.

~Josh

Josh,

I'll try it again tonight. What specifically did you say that you think resonated with them to get them to do it?

If you'd rather continue this away from public eyes, please feel free to e-mail me at my profile e-mail address.

Thanks.

I am trying to pursue OTA in parallel with my attempts to get HD over DTV. In doing so, I went to antennaweb.org and put in my address. Since I live in a new development, I guess it wasn't able to find it, but by navigating the street level map I was able to approximate my location. Here's what I found (showing digital stations only):

Antenna Type.........Call Sign......Channel/Freq.....Network...........Compass/Miles
yellow - uhf............KOAA-DT......42 / 42...............NBC -- live 11-05.....211 / 21.9
green - uhf.............KTSC-DT.......8.1 / 26............PBS .........................211 / 21.8
green - uhf.............KXRM-DT......21.1 / 22............FOX.........................211 / 21.9
green - vhf.............KKTV-DT........11.1 / 10...........CBS.........................211 / 21.9
blue - uhf...............KRDO-DT........13.1 / 24..........ABC.........................211 / 21.8

So now I have a few questions:

(1) All the channels are UHF with the exception of CBS which is VHF. Can the same antenna get all the channels or will I need 2 separate antennas? (if separate, what do I need for VHF?)

(2) NBC isn't available yet, but I thought ABC wasn't either? (I am going through most of this trouble to get Lost and Alias in HD, is ABC available now?)

(3) beatboy originally recommended this antenna: Terk UHF Antenna (TV32). Do you still stick by your original recommendation? Does anyone else have a recommendation?

(4) At the distances I show from the broadcasters, can I expect to get good reception if I mount the antenna on the side of the house (where my dish is) with a clear view of the SW sky? (I also don't want to pole mount the antenna above the roofline, so it will only be about 10-15 feet off the ground)

I apologize for being such a "newbie" and asking so many questions, but I want to get it right the first time. I really appreciate everyone's patience and help as I get this done (I'm sure I'll have more questions when it comes time to install and set-up the channels with my HR10-250). Thanks again!

Yes, I still stand by that as a good antenna for reception of in-town tv stations. I was thinking of going with this one to pick-up channels up to 190 miles away:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F003%5F001%5F002%5F000&product%5Fid=15%2D2156

I would be able to get signal from basically Cheyenne to Pueblo.

~Josh

I can't have that type of antenna, although it would be nice to get signals from a few different markets.

Any ideas on the other questions I asked?

Thanks.

(2) NBC isn't available yet, but I thought ABC wasn't either? (I am going through most of this trouble to get Lost and Alias in HD, is ABC available now?)

(

the ABC station is only available in DTV not HDTV. and i believe they are broadcasting art a relatively low power right now, and i know many people do have problems picking it up.

Speaking of witch anyone here any updates or talk to anyone lately that knows when they will start broadcasting in HD? I would really like to watch some MNF in HD this year.

I can't have that type of antenna, although it would be nice to get signals from a few different markets.

Any ideas on the other questions I asked?

Thanks.
FCC Reg's trump all HOA's. You can legally put up any type of antenna you choose. Don't get me wrong, getting along with neighbors is important but don't let the HOA tell you that you can't put up an antenna.

Almost forgot...
http://salestores1.com/zezhhddiinhd.html
That's the one I use..works great.

Frank is correct. No HOA has the authority to prohibit you from placing either an antenna or satellite dish on your home. The FCC rules supercede the HOA rules. I remember reading that you can actually have an antenna on your roof, but it can not be any higher then 12ft. above the highest point of the roof. Also as far as a satellite dish goes, an HOA can tell you what part of your home to place it on, unless that area does not allow for reception. These are all things I have read on other forums and this is in no way legal advice.

~Josh

(1) All the channels are UHF with the exception of CBS which is VHF. Can the same antenna get all the channels or will I need 2 separate antennas? (if separate, what do I need for VHF?)

TechPrep,
The ChannelMaster 4228 UHF antenna works quite well for upper VHF channels. With its flat form factor, it can be mounted against the side of a house, but it is also fairly directional, so you need that side of the house to be facing the transmitters. It's about $60 delivered from Warren Electronics or SolidSignal.

Josh,
The Palmer Divide will pretty much rule out reception of Denver HDTV signals, regardless of what antenna you use, at least until they go full power from Lookout Mountain (or other high spot). You might be able to get KWGN (WB, DT-34) and KDVR (FOX, DT-32), since both transmitters are already on Lookout, but I believe neither is broadcasting above half power yet.

Frank:

The antenna you use, would it pick up UHF and VHF from about 22 miles away? Also, where inside the house can it be? (my theater/HDTV is down in the finished rec-room/basement.

Malcom:

How do you mount one of those to the side of the house?

Thanks!

I'm near County Line Road (~25miles LOS fron Cheyenne Mt) and use an amplified Winegard Squareshooter (SS-2000). Works great and even pulls in KRDO's crappy signal. Plus, it's in an attractive package:

http://www.*********************/accessories.htm#off%20air%20antennas

Frank:

The antenna you use, would it pick up UHF and VHF from about 22 miles away? Also, where inside the house can it be? (my theater/HDTV is down in the finished rec-room/basement.

I pick up both UHF and VHF channels with it. I have the located in my garden level HT, but as far as distance is concerned, I don't have a good answer for you. I live near Powers and Stetson Hills Blvd and get all of the DT signals except, of course, KRDO. :rolleyes:

A big ugly mast antenna in an attic is probably going to receive more than a small one inside, but it depends on your location.

Also, whatever you do, avoid the good-looking but worthless Terk TV55. I had to buy it and return it. Not sure it would receive the signal if it was attached to the tower itself.