Ok, this may be a dumb question, but I was wondering if you could do this. How do you combine the signal from two antennas into one line?

The cheapest solution would be to use a regular splitter turned backwards to connect two 75 ohm cables. If you're not satisfied with the results Winegard makes a couple devices just for this. (no pun intended)

http://www.winegard.com/offair/couplers.htm

Warren sells some similar items from both Channelmaster and Winegard. http://www.warrenelectronics.com/Antennas/joiners.htm

Might want to give Zager a call as well if you're still having trouble. http://www.dishmanusa.com/

Ok, this may be a dumb question, but I was wondering if you could do this. How do you combine the signal from two antennas into one line?

As mentioned by others, use a simple coax cable splitter in reverse. Instead of splitting one input into two outputs, you combine two inputs into one output. Get a good quality splitter rated at 4-2000 mHz.

Don't confuse a coax splitter/combiner with a diplexer, which looks almost identical. A diplexer combines satellite and digital signals so you can run them both through one coax cable. It will not work to combine the signals from two antennas.

With analogue signals it is difficult to use more than one TV antenna due to multi-path reception. Each antenna would receive the signal, sending two signals to your analogue TV. Analogue tuners display any signal it receives, so you would see both images on your TV - creating a ghost image. With digital signals, this problem is virtually eliminated, because your digital tuner will now just lock on to the strongest available signal from one of the antennas, not all of them. So, you can use more than one antenna usually without any problem.

For some receivers combining can still be a problem with multi-path as the Digital receiver will try to lock on on one signal or the other. On the bar graph signal strength you will see it going up and down every 20 seconds or so if you have a multi path problem with DTV.

Anyone know a solution to this? I also would like to combine two but always run into multi path issues in HDTV DTV.

For some receivers combining can still be a problem with multi-path as the Digital receiver will try to lock on on one signal or the other. On the bar graph signal strength you will see it going up and down every 20 seconds or so if you have a multi path problem with DTV.

Anyone know a solution to this? I also would like to combine two but always run into multi path issues in HDTV DTV.
Maybe one of the antennas is out of phase with the other, so you see destructive combining???
Did you try it with the balun leads reversed going to one of the antennas?

KMTV-HD will be airing the early rounds of the Masters Golf Tournament Thursday and Friday between 3 and 6PM.

"Maybe one of the antennas is out of phase with the other, so you see destructive combining???
Did you try it with the balun leads reversed going to one of the antennas?"

When you say out of phase could this be caused by not using the proper cable lenghts between the two antennas and the combiner. I am not sure what they should be.
What do you mean by balun leads reversed?

Hi folks,

Living in Lincoln, I've had my directional antenna aimed at Omaha for the past few years and watch WOW, KETV, KMTV, and KPTM. However, this weekend I noted that I am getting 0-13% signal from KETV. I rotated my antenna and was able to get a strong signal when I rotated 30 degrees, but then I couldn't get WOW. Has KETV changed antenna locations recently or am I just having a bizarre situation?

Sarc

Can someone point me to a station guide so i know what the digits are for all the HD channels in omaha.

I just found 26.5 last night after about 6 months of having me HD tv. I only use over the air antenna. My tv picked up have 3.1, 6.1, 6.2, 7.1,7.2, and the PBS's- i cant find kvxo and kptm. Any others?

http://www.schaeferstv.com/updates/Digital_TV_Stations/digitalstationsupdate.htm

http://www.dishmanusa.com/

KTVG-DT (Ch 17) Fox out of G Island is back on the air after going off the air from the ice storm.

"Maybe one of the antennas is out of phase with the other, so you see destructive combining???
Did you try it with the balun leads reversed going to one of the antennas?"

When you say out of phase could this be caused by not using the proper cable lenghts between the two antennas and the combiner. I am not sure what they should be.
What do you mean by balun leads reversed?
In order to combine two antennas, the two signals need to be in phase.
Unfortunately, if a twin-lead to coax balun transformer is used with each antenna,
it is not always obvious which of the two unmarked leads is "+" and which is "-".
Reversing the leads on one of the baluns will reverse the phase.

FYI: Although it does not address the balun reversal issue, I posted a few Stacked Antenna refs here:
http://hdtv.forsandiego.com/messages/1/5643.html#POST28123

"Maybe one of the antennas is out of phase with the other, so you see destructive combining???
Did you try it with the balun leads reversed going to one of the antennas?"

When you say out of phase could this be caused by not using the proper cable lenghts between the two antennas and the combiner. I am not sure what they should be.
What do you mean by balun leads reversed?

Scott,

As holl_ands has stated, the signals from two antennas can actually cancel each other out. With two near-by antennas, there can be a "dead spot", where the two signals are out of phase coming down a combined wire. Sine wave plus cosine wave = 0. Reversing the leads can put the two signals back in phase. However, usually just moving one antenna a couple of feet away from the other eliminates the dead spot.

Also, make sure both of your antennas are directional. It's hard to use an omnidirectional antenna with another antenna - multipath is virtually guaranteed. Omnidirectionals are usually for single antenna solutions. Desktop antennas are mostly omnidirectional.

Remember, since multipath problems result from your digital tuner receiving two fairly strong signals from each antenna, the solution is to try to make one signal stronger and dominant, and the other signal weaker and ignored by the tuner. Again, directional antennas usually accomplish this. Also, you can selectively place signal amplifiers on one antenna (before you combine the antennas).

Scott,

As holl_ands has stated, the signals from two antennas can actually cancel each other out. With two near-by antennas, there can be a "dead spot", where the two signals are out of phase coming down a combined wire. Sine wave plus cosine wave = 0. Reversing the leads can put the two signals back in phase. However, usually just moving one antenna a couple of feet away from the other eliminates the dead spot.

Also, make sure both of your antennas are directional. It's hard to use an omnidirectional antenna with another antenna - multipath is virtually guaranteed. Omnidirectionals are usually for single antenna solutions. Desktop antennas are mostly omnidirectional.

Remember, since multipath problems result from your digital tuner receiving two fairly strong signals from each antenna, the solution is to try to make one signal stronger and dominant, and the other signal weaker and ignored by the tuner. Again, directional antennas usually accomplish this. Also, you can selectively place signal amplifiers on one antenna (before you combine the antennas).

Ok, I am pretty new to this stuff. If I am trying to combine 2 silver sensors, I don't think that there are any leads that I can reverse. Is there something I should buy? When you say to move the two antennas apart, is the important factor in spacing the actual physical distance or the length of the cables going to the combiner...... or both?

Ok, I am pretty new to this stuff. If I am trying to combine 2 silver sensors, I don't think that there are any leads that I can reverse. Is there something I should buy? When you say to move the two antennas apart, is the important factor in spacing the actual physical distance or the length of the cables going to the combiner...... or both?

I don't think using two Silver Sensors will work. The reason is because desktop antennas are not true directional antennas, even though the SS tries to be. For a desktop, the SS is about as good as you can get, but desktop antennas are really best used as a single antenna. They are omnidirectional, meaning they receive tv signals from every direction. The SS tries to narrow it's reception, but still is too omnidirectional for it to work in combo with other antennas. Thus, both antennas capture signal from a tv station, which creates multipath, which causes the problem.

Since the SS have some omnidirectional properties to them, each SS will pick up signals from a tv station. These signals will always be slightly out of phase with each other. In theory, if you could get them in exact phase, the two receptions would become one signal, but it's impossible to achieve this, even by switching leads, or moving the antenna. So there will always be two signals (multipath), and both will both run down the single line to your tv or set-top-box tuner. With the old analogue tuners, both signals would be displayed on your tv screen, creating a double image (called ghosting). But with digital tuners, only one signal is used - the strongest signal. If there is a big discrepency in the strength of the two signals from each antenna - no problem, because the digital tuner will stay locked on to the stronger signal. But if both signals are fairly equal, then the tuner gets "confused". It will lock on to one, then the other, back and forth. Your signal meter will bounce up and down, from 0 to 70, very erratically. Your picture will freeze, pixelate, drop, then dispaly - and this occurs continually, making it unacceptable to watch.

The solution, therefore, is to strenthen the signal from one antenna, and weaken the signal from the other antenna. It's just very hard to do with desktop antennas like the SS.

As mentioned, usually using directional antennas is all it takes to eliminate multipath problems. These antennas pick up signals from a narrow direction, not from all directions. Just point each antenna to the tv station you want to receive. The other antennas may pick up some stray signals, but the multipath will be too weak to cause problems.

Also, these directional antennas will get signals from stations that are relatively in the same direction. They don't have to be pointed exactly in the direction of the tv station. So if you have a few tv stations that are all to the northeast, for example, one directional antenna will usually get them all. But - and here's the key - it won't get signals from the south or west, like an omnidirectional would.

Hope this makes sense.

Well, according to the tech at antennas direct and terrestrial digital, there really is no such thing as an omnidirectional HD antenna. All the antennas that are sold are listed as multidirectionl (or directional). This means that they have about a 90 degree swath of signal reception as well as a small reception radius on the back side. Being that I am in Ralston (68127), most of the channels would fall into the 90 degree range, but I want to be able to pick up KPTM-DT as well. As soon as I pick op some decent plenum coax, I am going to be putting some antennas in the attic and doing some experimenting. I have one silver sensor so I'll see what I can get in either direction with that. Might end up with a medium to large multidirectional and a small to medium directional (possibly silver sensor). Since it is only one channel, I am thinking I might pick up a jointenna and see if I can get that to make it work. On the other hand, I might not get any of the KPTM signal from the other antenna so I might not even need one. We'll see I guess.

Anyone have a recommendation for a signal amplifier for OTA in Lincoln?

Well, according to the tech at antennas direct and terrestrial digital, there really is no such thing as an omnidirectional HD antenna. All the antennas that are sold are listed as multidirectionl (or directional). This means that they have about a 90 degree swath of signal reception as well as a small reception radius on the back side. Being that I am in Ralston (68127), most of the channels would fall into the 90 degree range, but I want to be able to pick up KPTM-DT as well. As soon as I pick op some decent plenum coax, I am going to be putting some antennas in the attic and doing some experimenting. I have one silver sensor so I'll see what I can get in either direction with that. Might end up with a medium to large multidirectional and a small to medium directional (possibly silver sensor). Since it is only one channel, I am thinking I might pick up a jointenna and see if I can get that to make it work. On the other hand, I might not get any of the KPTM signal from the other antenna so I might not even need one. We'll see I guess.

Omnidirectional and multidirectional mean the same thing.

Antennas are grouped very simply. They are either a VHF or UHF antenna (or combined for both), and they are either directional or multidirectional. Also, all antennas are HD antennas - there's nothing special about an antenna to make it a HD antenna.

VHF and UHF refer the the bandwidth the antenna is designed to receive, of course (VHF 2-13, UHF 14 and above). Directional antennas generally pick up signals from one general direction - the 90 degree swath you describe above. (Yes, directional antennas will pick up "stray" signals from the rear, but these signals will be very weak). Multidirectional antennas pick up signals equally from a 360 degree swath - all directions.

Currently digital signals are being broadcast from the UHF range. For example, WOWT channel 6 broadcasts digital signals from UHF channel 22, which is remapped to channel 6.1. This will probably change once digital broadcasting completely replaces analogue signals in a couple of years. WOWT will probably then broadcast digital from channel 6. So, right now most of us need a UHF antenna to receive digital signals. We might need to change to VHF antennas in the near future.

I would disagree that there is no such thing as an omnidirectional HD antenna. Antennadirect sells the DB2, for example, which is a multidirectional (omnidirectional) antenna. In fact, this might be the perfect antenna for you. Ralston is so close to the Crown Point stations (3,6, and 7) and the KPTM (42) broadcast tower near Gretna, that you should be able to capture all of them with one multidirectional antenna like the DB2. If you only have one antenna, you shouldn't get any multipath problems at all. If the signal received by the multidirectional antenna is too weak, get a larger one, or use an amplifier. I would guess a medium sized antenna is all you would need, but if you can fit a large multidirectional in there, the bigger antenna, the stronger signal reception. Jointenna might work well with your setup too. Remember that if you get a jointenna for Channel 43 (the KPTM DTV channel), it will atennuate adjacent channels (e.g. 41,42,44 and 45). KMTV broadcast DTV from channel 45, so your jointenna make degrade the KMTV signal. But, since you are so close to KMTV broadcast tower at Crown Point, reducing the signal strength somewhat might not even matter. Remember, it doesn't matter if your signal strength is 70 or 95% with DTV - as long as your tuner can lock on and stay locked on, and you don't get pixelization, freezes and dropped video, it's not a problem.

Good luck with everything, you're definately on the right track. Please post your results.

Here is the latest information I have for final DTV channel elections for Nebraska stations. Use this to plan ahead for your antenna setups. If anyone has any corrections let me know.

KPTM – 43
KXVO – 15
KMTV – 45
WOWT – 22
KETV – 20
KUON – 12
KLKN – 8
KOLN – 10
KOWH – 51
KGIN – 11
KHGI – 36
KHAS – 5
KTVG – 17
KSNB – 34
KNOP – 2
KSTF – 29
KSNK - 12
KDUH – 7
KWNB – 18
KHNE – 28
KLNE - 26
KMNE – 7
KPNE – 9
KTNE – 13
KYNE – 17
KXNE - 19

Notice that two stations - KHAS Hastings and KNOP North Platte have elected to remain on low band VHF. Wonder why they chose to remain there and none of the other stations have?

VHF and UHF refer the the bandwidth the antenna is designed to receive, of course (VHF 2-13, UHF 14 and above). Directional antennas generally pick up signals from one general direction - the 90 degree swath you describe above. (Yes, directional antennas will pick up "stray" signals from the rear, but these signals will be very weak). Multidirectional antennas pick up signals equally from a 360 degree swath - all directions.


Ok, I guess this is where I am confused. I asked the tech at antennas direct about their "omnidirectional antennas" and she interrupted me midsentence saying that there are no omnidirectional antennas, only multidirectional. Looking at the Lacrosse, a "multidirectional" antenna, it has the average 90 deg swath. If you look at the charts they have, it looks like it will do pretty well up to about 150 deg. And according to them all their multidirectionals have about the same swath. Anyway, I guess it doesn't matter much, just need to get working on it and see what works. I'll let you all know what I find out.

So looking at the final channel numbers, this might be a good thing.

Point your UHF Ant to Omaha and buy a combiner for VHF and point a 2nd VHF Ant to Lincoln/Hasting.

Right now its hard with the Ant combining all on UHF.

As for KHAS and KNOP, they are very poor stations, maybe they cant aford it, or they are hoping the FCC will give them a money bail out break as the FCC want to really sell those very low VHF channels in an auction. Should be an interesting year when they turn off Analog.

Anyone have trouble with Music Choice on Cox?

channels 901-905 say temp offair

ajwees41

Here is the latest information I have for final DTV channel elections for Nebraska stations. Use this to plan ahead for your antenna setups. If anyone has any corrections let me know.

KPTM – 43
KXVO – 15
KMTV – 45
WOWT – 22
KETV – 20
KUON – 12
KLKN – 8
KOLN – 10
KOWH – 51
KGIN – 11
KHGI – 36
KHAS – 5
KTVG – 17
KSNB – 34
KNOP – 2
KSTF – 29
KSNK - 12
KDUH – 7
KWNB – 18
KHNE – 28
KLNE - 26
KMNE – 7
KPNE – 9
KTNE – 13
KYNE – 17
KXNE - 19

Notice that two stations - KHAS Hastings and KNOP North Platte have elected to remain on low band VHF. Wonder why they chose to remain there and none of the other stations have?

I wonder if channels will continue to remap or if WOWT, for example, will start to appear as 22.1 and identify on-air as "22 News" or something like that? Or will we see indefinite remapping (such as to 6.1)? It seems it would avoid confusion in the long run if stations would rebrand to the new numbers, but I kind of doubt that will happen.

I wonder if channels will continue to remap or if WOWT, for example, will start to appear as 22.1 and identify on-air as "22 News" or something like that? Or will we see indefinite remapping (such as to 6.1)? It seems it would avoid confusion in the long run if stations would rebrand to the new numbers, but I kind of doubt that will happen.Under the FCC's PSIP rules, they can continue to brand themselves as channel 6.

Your tuner is still going to remap it, but you have to admit, there will likely be some confusion because you're still going to need UHF antennas for these stations even though they may be calling themselves channels 3, 6 and 7. Plus, if these stations have mapping trouble, as they sometimes do, you may want to know what channel they're "really" on in order to find them without doing a complete rescan. (Lincoln's KLKN and KOLN and Grand Island's KGIN won't have this issue since they'll be going back to 8, 10 and 11 respectively, so their "actual" channel and their "mapped" channel will be the same after they shut off the analogs.)

Newbie here with a question. I've combed through most of this thread, but I didn't see the answer to my question. I'm going HD (finally), and trying to decide between a few different options. I've been reading over the pros and cons of getting an HDTV w/ tuner vs just an HD Monitor. How does that translate to the Omaha market? If I get dish or cable do I really need a tuner? I plan on going with either DirecTV (preferably) or Cox depending on your replies. Since DirecTV doesn't carry Omaha HD locals, I obviously have to get them over the air. Can I do that with just an HD Monitor & HDDVR? If so, can I still record the over the air locals on the DirecTV HD-DVR?

Regarding Cox, I guess my question is whether you can record KETV in HD (ota obviously) on their DVR. Also, would having a built in tuner do anything when having Cox?

Pardon my ignorance, I appreciate your information.

I picked up a cheapie LCD at Sams Club yesterday for my bedroom (32" Vizio)... I was sorta intrigued because it has a built-in tuner, ATSC/QAM/8VSB or whatever... I hooked my Cox cable line directly into it and let it do its channel scan...

I was expecting to see all the HDTV locals show up, but the only one it's able to see is WOWT HD, mapped to channel 6-1.

I'm confused - shouldn't I be seeing CBS & FOX as well? I tried manually entering 3-1 (my guess for KMTV HD, and the TV doesn't detect a channel there...)

Newbie here with a question. I've combed through most of this thread, but I didn't see the answer to my question. I'm going HD (finally), and trying to decide between a few different options. I've been reading over the pros and cons of getting an HDTV w/ tuner vs just an HD Monitor. How does that translate to the Omaha market? If I get dish or cable do I really need a tuner? I plan on going with either DirecTV (preferably) or Cox depending on your replies. Since DirecTV doesn't carry Omaha HD locals, I obviously have to get them over the air. Can I do that with just an HD Monitor & HDDVR? If so, can I still record the over the air locals on the DirecTV HD-DVR?

Regarding Cox, I guess my question is whether you can record KETV in HD (ota obviously) on their DVR. Also, would having a built in tuner do anything when having Cox?

Pardon my ignorance, I appreciate your information.

Buy a set with a built in HD tuner IMO. It will give you a buffer for the issues that always seem to come up with the service providers.

Also, without the built in tuner I do not know of any provider that will give you all the digital sub channels that you can get over the air. Dish and Direct do not provide local hd at this time as you stated. It may be a while and when it is it may be a scaled down version of HD. With the built in HD tuner as long as you get a signal you will get the BEST QUALITY PICTURE available with your TV and tuner and not something that has been scaled down and / or retransmitted more times than it is needed.

Buy a set with a built in HD tuner IMO. It will give you a buffer for the issues that always seem to come up with the service providers.

Also, without the built in tuner I do not know of any provider that will give you all the digital sub channels that you can get over the air. Dish and Direct do not provide local hd at this time as you stated. It may be a while and when it is it may be a scaled down version of HD. With the built in HD tuner as long as you get a signal you will get the BEST QUALITY PICTURE available with your TV and tuner and not something that has been scaled down and / or retransmitted more times than it is needed.

Duly noted, thanks for the reply. Assuming I go with DirecTV, will I be able to record the OTA programming with my DirecTV HD-DVR?

Duly noted, thanks for the reply. Assuming I go with DirecTV, will I be able to record the OTA programming with my DirecTV HD-DVR?

Can't help you with that but I am sure someone can. Try http://www.satelliteguys.us for questions specific to Direct or Dish and their service and equipment. I have been a DISH customer for about 8 years and have been VERY happy. So far I have just over the air HD I have not decided yet if I want to go HD with Dish, or COX since I have COX in the house for internet, there is an obvious benefit to bundle. By football season I am sure I will have expanded beyond OTA broadcast but for now, with the watching time available, I am in aw of what I get OTA. Have watched more PBS HD in the last two months than all PBS programing in the last 10 years total. Love Ausin City Limits in HD and some of the wildlife programing. The local produced program on Crane migration through central Nebraska was awsome. also HD might make me a NASCAR fan if I am not careful. I have never gotten into NASCAR but I find myself locked in to watching just because it is in HD and AMAZING.

A lot of stuff is more watchable in HD in MHO. Like hockey, it's so much sharper following the puck is easy. An the golf in HD, you can pick up the contours of the greens from some of the camera angles, and the flowering shrubs at the Masters are incredible. I'll second the Nascar, I think the wide screen helps them out a lot, like with basketball.

Duly noted, thanks for the reply. Assuming I go with DirecTV, will I be able to record the OTA programming with my DirecTV HD-DVR?

Yes, I have DirecTV and record OTA with my DirecTV TiVo. Looks and works great. I do no have a built-in tuner on my Sammy, and haven't felt the need for one.

Mike

I would disagree that there is no such thing as an omnidirectional HD antenna. Antennadirect sells the DB2, for example, which is a multidirectional (omnidirectional) antenna. In fact, this might be the perfect antenna for you. Ralston is so close to the Crown Point stations (3,6, and 7) and the KPTM (42) broadcast tower near Gretna, that you should be able to capture all of them with one multidirectional antenna like the DB2. If you only have one antenna, you shouldn't get any multipath problems at all. If the signal received by the multidirectional antenna is too weak, get a larger one, or use an amplifier. I would guess a medium sized antenna is all you would need, but if you can fit a large multidirectional in there, the bigger antenna, the stronger signal reception. Jointenna might work well with your setup too. Remember that if you get a jointenna for Channel 43 (the KPTM DTV channel), it will atennuate adjacent channels (e.g. 41,42,44 and 45). KMTV broadcast DTV from channel 45, so your jointenna make degrade the KMTV signal. But, since you are so close to KMTV broadcast tower at Crown Point, reducing the signal strength somewhat might not even matter. Remember, it doesn't matter if your signal strength is 70 or 95% with DTV - as long as your tuner can lock on and stay locked on, and you don't get pixelization, freezes and dropped video, it's not a problem.

Good luck with everything, you're definately on the right track. Please post your results.
Another newbie here, and the more I look at antennas, the more confused I get. I'm looking to go HDTV in the next month or so, but I have Qwest Choice cable TV, which I like because the channel selection is better and the rate is $13 less a month than Cox. But no HD service...and I kind of doubt if they'll ever have it.

So, I'm looking at an antenna (and a TV with 2 RF inputs, but that's another issue). The TV will be in a family room in the basement, so I'm kind of expecting to have to mount something outside. ChannelWeb says that I'm 8 miles from Crown Point for 3,6,and 7, but 15 miles (and need Red) for 15/42 in almost the opposite direction at 150th & Dodge. Do I stand any chance with an indoor antenna, or should I just go ahead and order a DB2/DB4 now and have it ready to go. I'd almost like to air on the side of too much antenna and get Lincoln stations than goof around with multiple antennas.

Do most folks in Omaha (especially West Omaha) using OTA use indoor antennas or do they have outdoor antennas? Do they make a choice between 3,6,7 and 15/42? I'd like to think I have decent view of the horizon both NE and SSW, though there is a hill SW.

I picked up a cheapie LCD at Sams Club yesterday for my bedroom (32" Vizio)... I was sorta intrigued because it has a built-in tuner, ATSC/QAM/8VSB or whatever... I hooked my Cox cable line directly into it and let it do its channel scan...

I was expecting to see all the HDTV locals show up, but the only one it's able to see is WOWT HD, mapped to channel 6-1.

I'm confused - shouldn't I be seeing CBS & FOX as well? I tried manually entering 3-1 (my guess for KMTV HD, and the TV doesn't detect a channel there...)

Yeah, I asked this question a while ago when I got my plasma (my first HDTV) and I didn't get any answers. It seems that all I could get with cox was 6-1 (NBC) and 40-5 (NET2). Now I have a silver sensor in the basement window hooked up to my HDHomerun and I can get KETV, KMTV and WOWT all OTA. Soon I am going to get a large antenna in the attic and see if I can't add KPTM and some of the other PBS channels to the lineup. We'll see how it goes.

I live in West Omaha near 168th and Q. I have a small indoor antenna in my basement that I picked up from Walmart. I can get all the locals with that antenna. The only issue I have run into is to obtain the PBS HD, I have to elevate the antenna off the floor and then the channel comes in. Otherwise, everything else comes in fine with the antenna sitting on the basement floor.

Yeah, I asked this question a while ago when I got my plasma (my first HDTV) and I didn't get any answers. It seems that all I could get with cox was 6-1 (NBC) and 40-5 (NET2). Now I have a silver sensor in the basement window hooked up to my HDHomerun and I can get KETV, KMTV and WOWT all OTA. Soon I am going to get a large antenna in the attic and see if I can't add KPTM and some of the other PBS channels to the lineup. We'll see how it goes.

Well, I just called up Cox... First, the guy tells me it's impossible, and I need a cable box or an antenna to get the channels. I tell him 'no', and I see two over the cox coax line. He goes away for a bit.

He comes back, and tells me that 'Yes, we do send two channels over in the clear, but that's because you can get those over the air with an antenna.' Since I have an antenna on my set downstairs, I tell him 'So, where is Fox and CBS? I get those just fine with an antenna as well'. He said the only way to get them is to get another antenna, or get a cable box.

I then asked if Cox was charging me for HD locals. He said no. I then asked him how I get them over Cox cable, and he said by getting a converter box. I asked him if I would have to pay for that box (bringing the total up to 3 in my house). He said yes.

Sigh. I give up. Time to load up my Apple TV with Seasons 1-3 of the Office I guess.

To my eyes, WOWT-DT is very, very sharp -- to the point of nearly being "high definition." On local newscasts, it looks great, although it isn't 16:9 ratio. Their video quality (even when not broadcasting NBC HD) is outstanding. This is true for both OTA and on Cox, so I don't think it's related to Cox. I'm kind of surprised that KETV-DT OTA doesn't look as good since the two channels always seem to be quite competitive.

(No, I don't work for WOWT nor did they pay me to say this.)

Can anyone describe just what they are doing differently than the other locals? Kudos to WOWT!

"I'm kind of surprised that KETV-DT OTA doesn't look as good"

One reason for WOWT-DT and KETV-DT to look differently is the difference in resolution. I.e. WOWT-DT uses 1080i and KETV-DT uses 720p.

1080i is a higher resolution than 720p.

Depending on your TVs native resolution, scaling capabilities and so forth, one may look better than the other.

That of course does not explain why WOWT-DT would look better than e.g. KMTV-DT.

Well, I just called up Cox... First, the guy tells me it's impossible, and I need a cable box or an antenna to get the channels. I tell him 'no', and I see two over the cox coax line. He goes away for a bit.

He comes back, and tells me that 'Yes, we do send two channels over in the clear, but that's because you can get those over the air with an antenna.' Since I have an antenna on my set downstairs, I tell him 'So, where is Fox and CBS? I get those just fine with an antenna as well'. He said the only way to get them is to get another antenna, or get a cable box.

I then asked if Cox was charging me for HD locals. He said no. I then asked him how I get them over Cox cable, and he said by getting a converter box. I asked him if I would have to pay for that box (bringing the total up to 3 in my house). He said yes.

Sigh. I give up. Time to load up my Apple TV with Seasons 1-3 of the Office I guess.

It's been a couple of years since I played with my ol' Fusion HD tunder card to tune QAM, but more channels used to be available. Try to manually tune channels 105 - 111. Also, Cox Oma is using HRC, in case you have an option between IRC and HRC. I believe the HL-R series of Samsung DLPs have that option from what I can remember.
But then; you have already found two stations, so that may not be the issue ;)

Antennas: I have a channel master 4221, which I got from Mid State Electronics a few years ago for ~ $20. It sits in the attic above the garage, pointing east (I'm at 168 & Blondo). I get all the Crown pointe stations at 100% and also the Gretna stations (Fox, CW) at 99%. So although I supposedly have a directional antenna pointing east, I get the stations that are directly to the south as well.
The PBS stations come in OK as well. I can't get the Lincoln stations though. Ch. 25 comes in at 8 - 10 %, which is not enough for my tuner.

To my eyes, WOWT-DT is very, very sharp -- to the point of nearly being "high definition." On local newscasts, it looks great, although it isn't 16:9 ratio. Their video quality (even when not broadcasting NBC HD) is outstanding. This is true for both OTA and on Cox, so I don't think it's related to Cox. I'm kind of surprised that KETV-DT OTA doesn't look as good since the two channels always seem to be quite competitive.

(No, I don't work for WOWT nor did they pay me to say this.)

Can anyone describe just what they are doing differently than the other locals? Kudos to WOWT!

With the HD in full gear, to my eyes KETV looks as good if not better than WOWT on my set (Panny TH-42PX60U). Lost looks amazing! Now for SD broadcasts (news and everything else before 8:00) I would say that WOWT looks better. This is more than likely do the equipment they are using. Now if I could just get KPTM in HD I would be a happy man. 24 kind of stinks with the crappy SD signal COX is sending me. If I get it working, I might just dump COX.

I may not have been clear in my earlier post. I am not talking about watching a network broadcast in HD. All of the locals look fine when doing that. I am talking about WOWT-DT when they are local and particularly during their newscasts. The level of detail -- if this is SD -- is amazing to me. Very sharp. None of the other locals come anywhere near it. I'm guessing they have some equipment in the line that is doing this, or perhaps their studio is all-digital (though not yet HD)? Would someone from WOWT care to chime in? :)

I just compared five local newscasts (3, 6, 7, 8, and 10) using a computer tuner and software, and 6 does definitely stand out from the rest. While it's 4:3 aspect ratio, it is at minimum all-digital and quite possibly a form of narrowscreen HD. The other four are 480i, enlarged to fit the DTV dimensions and resolution. My computer reports the incoming signal on WOWT as actually being 1080i, for what it's worth.

Of the remaining 4, KLKN seems second sharpest but still 480/SD. They also have the station ID down in the far right corner of the widescreen picture, but with black bars on the left and right. KMTV flunked on my tuner. The text on the time bug is barely readable considering the video is 480 expanded to fit 1080.

(By the way, my tuner is a Miglia USB 2.0 "TV Mini HD".)

motorola DVR's I pickedup a 3416 today and it has rfout to tv. Before I recorded anything it says it had the same amount of room 33hours like the 6412 phase3 did. I thought it would hold more since it had a bigger hard drive.

ajwees41

Hey aj, is the 3416 running as hot as the 6412? The 6412 gets pretty toasty.

Hey aj, is the 3416 running as hot as the 6412? The 6412 gets pretty toasty.


I don't think so. It seems cooler to the touch, but it also is running at the max temp and I haven't seen any reboots except last night. I wokeup this morning and it was off and when I turned it back on it had a full 7 days of guide data.

That 's funny you said the 6412 gets toasty. The last 6412 I had before I got the 6412 phase3 that the 3416 replaced got so hot that you could fry an egg on it.

ajwees41

I still have the phase 2 6412, i.e. the model w/o the extra fan and it runs pretty hot.
But it has been very reliable and I have a well vented rack for it, so there has been no reason to replace it.
A cool running 3416 could be of interest for other rooms of the house.

3416 rebot this morning . It looks like it downloading something.

Firmware is now 16.35


ajwees41

I'm new to OTA HD. Picked up a silver surfer last night and plugged into my Dish 622. I'm at 156 and Giles. pointed it north and I'm getting 95 to 100% on KMTV, WOWT, and KETV. NET 1-5 are all floating between 70 and 75% I get nothing from the Gretna stations. Granted, the antenna is in my basement, but should I expect anything at all from KPTM? If I turn the antenna to the west, I begin to lose the stations up north.

I am in the same boat, except I am not getting the NET stations OTA. This weekend I am going to try to get the coax run into the attic and I am going to pick up a large multidirectional to see if I can't pull them all in. If that doesn't work I am going to try to combine a couple of antennas. We'll see how it goes.

I bought a large antenna, but I don't know how I can get a cable from the attic to the basement.

I bought a large antenna, but I don't know how I can get a cable from the attic to the basement.

I ran mine through the garage. I mounted a PVC pipe on the garage wall and ran the cable from the basement through the garage up to the attic above the garage. From there I got great reception so I never had to go any further, but from the garage attic I can easily access the house attic.

I even used the PVC conduit to run some cat5e and wired most of the upstairs bedrooms that way.

It seems like this question has been asked a few times, but I have yet to see an answer.
I'm looking for a list of the channels that would be available for a Cox customer who was tuning unencrypted QAM. I hope it is more than the two that was stated a few posts earier.
I have been so frustrated with Cox regarding their digital cutover. My last post in this thread was pertaining to how my Sony set was able to tune many QAM channels prior to the cutover, then *POOF*, nothing! In order to tune anything, Cox required me to purchase CableCard service and the basic Digital Gateway.
I'm trying to build a HTPC that will work with MCE2005 and I was looking to purchase a ATI TV Wonder Elite (550) and a HDHomerun, but if the forcast of 2 unencrypted QAM channels is all I have to look forward to, I may just change tack and go with an AverTV Combo card and save $150. Anyone else having any luck tuning QAM channels with a PC tuner? Any encouraging words for my plight?

Thanks for caring,

Bryan

It seems like this question has been asked a few times, but I have yet to see an answer.
I'm looking for a list of the channels that would be available for a Cox customer who was tuning unencrypted QAM. I hope it is more than the two that was stated a few posts earier.
I have been so frustrated with Cox regarding their digital cutover. My last post in this thread was pertaining to how my Sony set was able to tune many QAM channels prior to the cutover, then *POOF*, nothing! In order to tune anything, Cox required me to purchase CableCard service and the basic Digital Gateway.
I'm trying to build a HTPC that will work with MCE2005 and I was looking to purchase a ATI TV Wonder Elite (550) and a HDHomerun, but if the forcast of 2 unencrypted QAM channels is all I have to look forward to, I may just change tack and go with an AverTV Combo card and save $150. Anyone else having any luck tuning QAM channels with a PC tuner? Any encouraging words for my plight?

Thanks for caring,

Bryan

Thy only ones that should be unencrypted are the locals.

ajwees41

Ajwees41,

Thanks! Does that mean KMTV & WOWT? (I'm aware of the KETV debacle.) Or would you also get KXVO and KPTM? Any I'm missing?

Thanks again,

Bryan

Ajwees41,

Thanks! Does that mean KMTV & WOWT? (I'm aware of the KETV debacle.) Or would you also get KXVO and KPTM? Any I'm missing?

Thanks again,

Bryan



As far as know it includes KMTV,WOWT,KPTM,KXVO, and the nebraska public HD channel.
ajwees41

I bought a large antenna, but I don't know how I can get a cable from the attic to the basement.

I am going to try to run mine through the cold-air return. It is a pretty direct shot into the wall next to our bedroom upstairs which leads right into the attic above our bedroom. One disclaimer I should add: if you are going to run cabling in air handling systems, make sure your run plenum (CMP, not CM or CMR).

It seems like this question has been asked a few times, but I have yet to see an answer.
I'm looking for a list of the channels that would be available for a Cox customer who was tuning unencrypted QAM. I hope it is more than the two that was stated a few posts earier.
I have been so frustrated with Cox regarding their digital cutover. My last post in this thread was pertaining to how my Sony set was able to tune many QAM channels prior to the cutover, then *POOF*, nothing! In order to tune anything, Cox required me to purchase CableCard service and the basic Digital Gateway.
I'm trying to build a HTPC that will work with MCE2005 and I was looking to purchase a ATI TV Wonder Elite (550) and a HDHomerun, but if the forcast of 2 unencrypted QAM channels is all I have to look forward to, I may just change tack and go with an AverTV Combo card and save $150. Anyone else having any luck tuning QAM channels with a PC tuner? Any encouraging words for my plight?

Thanks for caring,

Bryan

I was playing with the QAM tuner on my TV the other night, I was manually forcing into specific channels. I was able to find a number of extra channels including CBS and CW. So what I have been able to find so far is:

NBC (WOWT) - 6-1
NET2 - 40-5
CBS (KMTV) - 105-1
CW (KXVO) - 105-2

Some Cox preview pages:
Sports Zone - 116-1
News Zone - 116-2
Kids Zone - 116-3
NBA league pass - 117-1

I think NBC and WOWT show up somewhere arounf 106, but they are remapped to the lower numbers. For some reason KMTV and KXVO are not remapped as far as I can tell. Still no KPTM however.

I have almost the same setup that you are wanting to run. I have the dual tuner Hauppauge analog card and the HDHomerun. I am using the HDHR for OTA because I can get WOWT, KMTV, and KETV all with a silver sensor in the basement window. This weekend I am hoping to get the cable run for the antenna, then I will just need to scrounge up the money for a good antenna and test it out.

This is exactly the information I was looking for! You are awesome!
How are you finding the HDHR? Could you quantify the difference between the OTA/QAM through the HDHR?

I'm about to pull the trigger on this one but I want to get aclimated to the ATI TV Wonder first. (Plus I need to find a kludge to get the Remote Wonder to work in MCE2005!) :rolleyes:

Please keep us, well...me, abreast of how things come out when you get yourself a new antenna. I've heard that a nice amplified one can make ALL the difference.
Personally, my experiences with one left me rather cold (lots of interference caused by the amplification itself). I'd love to hear a happy ending.

Again, cheers for the full-fledged response!

Regards,

Bryan

Hey, no problem. I'm glad it was intelligible, I think I had 4 beers in me when I wrote it a midninght last night.

As far as the HDHR, I have not messed with QAM on it since at first I only knew of 2 channels. Right now I have my TV tuner running on the cable input so if there was ever anything on KXVO or NET2 that I wanted to watch (not like there ever would be), I can just turn switch to the TV input and watch it on HD or settle for SD through the media center. Most of my TV watching is done through the media center via the XBOX 360.

If it helps at all though, I really can't tell the difference betweet WOWT QAM through my 42 inch panny plasma tuner or OTA through the HDHR/MCE/360. One thing I must add though, Lost looks PHENOMENAL in HD! This is the main reason I am sticking with OTA for the meantime. Now if I could just watch 24 in HD I would be a happy man!

Now if I could find my damn fish tape I could work on getting the coax run.

What a coincidence! I had the same number of beers in me whist I was cursing COX cable for dropping a Digital STB in my lap for a trial promotion and lying to me that it wouldn't conflict with my CableCard. Guess what?!? No dice! I packed the f***er up and dropped it off at their counter this A.M..

Anyhoo, thanks for the feedback regarding the OTA vs. QAM. Looks like for this viewing area it would make more sense to use it as a dual digital OTA tuner. Can I tell you how pissed I was when COX basically emasculated my set's tuner. I can't even get the digitial music channels WITH the CableCard!!

.....*rage.. subsiding*.....*pulse.......slowing*.............*anger..... ......fading*....

You'll have to hip me to how you're running your shows to your extender.
I guess that is the benefit of the HDHR being a networked tuner, any computer or extender can use it.

Oh well, back to work!

Cheers,

Bryan

I have a 7 year old 56" Panasonic HDTV free for the taking. Come get it Saturday morning before NFM takes it away. :D

Where? Does it work? If so, I gots dibs :)

Where? Does it work? If so, I gots dibs :)
It works. Send me a PM with your email address and we can discuss offline.

One disclaimer I should add: if you are going to run cabling in air handling systems, make sure your run plenum (CMP, not CM or CMR).

Sorry I can't cite a reference, but it seems there was some controversy as to whether or not plenum cable was actually any safer than regular. Something about the decomposition products do come off at a higher temperature, but are far more toxic because of the fluorocarbons.

Does anyone recall this?

I have a 7 year old 56" Panasonic HDTV free for the taking. Come get it Saturday morning before NFM takes it away. :D

Regretfully, I cannot accept the HDTV. I assume the original offer stands.

Cox wants to drop 3 public access channels update

Tuesday the 8th and the 15th the Omaha city council is holding discussions on the matter. If you want more HD and digital I suggest you attend and suport the droping of three channels. From what I hear it looks like the people who want cox to keep offering the 6 public access channels that are in the present contract have thesupport to defeat it.

ajwees41

Regretfully, I cannot accept the HDTV. I assume the original offer stands.
No problem. And, yes, the offer still stands.

Sorry I can't cite a reference, but it seems there was some controversy as to whether or not plenum cable was actually any safer than regular. Something about the decomposition products do come off at a higher temperature, but are far more toxic because of the fluorocarbons.

Does anyone recall this?

Well, if that is true, it is unfortunate. CMP is required by my city code. I would be interested in seeing the source of this.

That's why I posted here. My recollection is around 5 years ago some pets were killed from smoke from plenum cable, but, it's heck to get old and not be able to remember stuff.

Just got a smaller HDTV for the kitchen and experimented with a Silver Sensor. Upstairs, the SilverSensor works great, except for Iowa PBS (Red Oak-36 came in better than Council Bluffs-32). Downstairs, where I want to put a plasma set was another matter entirely.

3,6, and 7 come in great, as does 26. KUON-12 out of Lincoln is spotty (no big deal), but KPTM-42 and KXVO-15 are pretty much nonexistent. Did get some spotty results on 42 by propping the Silver Sensor on top of a CD rack, though.

So, I'm thinking attic antenna. Any recommendations? I'm thinking ChannelMaster 4220 or AntennasDirect DB-2. I even was toying with an AntennasDirect DB-8 to see if I could pull in KLKN-8 and KOLN-10 out of Lincoln; might be worth it since sometimes they carry different football games. I'm out west (150th & Dodge), so Lincoln might be pushing it (around 60 miles away via AntennaWeb...)

Or would putting the Silver Sensor in the attic and running a 50 foot cable suffice for the Omaha stations?

HiDefHusker
Is the TV still available?
If so I can be in Omaha (or wherever) late Saturday morning to pick it up.

HiDefHusker
Is the TV still available?
If so I can be in Omaha (or wherever) late Saturday morning to pick it up.
Sorry, I should have updated the post. It has been spoken for.

{Please disregard this inquiry if this is not a proper discussion topic}

I had a customer ask about connecting an external hard drive to a Cox Motorola HD cable box to bump up recording time available as much as possible. His work schedule takes him out the country 2 weeks at a time throughout the year and he is losing quite a bit of programming when the unit gets full. I suggested a second cable box, but he seemed to think even doubling the capacity would not be enough.

I have a standard SD 80 hour D* TIVO and a 250 hour HR10-250 at my house and I have gobs of storage capacity, but I never am gone longer than a weekend, so I guess I can see having 500 hours might be useful.

Any one know of something?

{it just occured to me, should I just ask Cox??}

{Please disregard this inquiry if this is not a proper discussion topic}

I had a customer ask about connecting an external hard drive to a Cox Motorola HD cable box to bump up recording time available as much as possible. His work schedule takes him out the country 2 weeks at a time throughout the year and he is losing quite a bit of programming when the unit gets full. I suggested a second cable box, but he seemed to think even doubling the capacity would not be enough.

I have a standard SD 80 hour D* TIVO and a 250 hour HR10-250 at my house and I have gobs of storage capacity, but I never am gone longer than a weekend, so I guess I can see having 500 hours might be useful.

Any one know of something?

{it just occured to me, should I just ask Cox??}

I don't think external storage works yet. What does he dvr HD, or Non HD?

How many hours does he need before he can watch the stuff? They have a 6416 and 3416 now that can hold up to 50 hours of digital.

ajwees41

He records a great deal of sports, and prefers HD whenever possible.

He records a great deal of sports, and prefers HD whenever possible.


How many hours does he need between when he records and can watch them? He might get more room atleast by upgrading t a 6416 or 3416.

ajwees41

National Geographic HD

It looks like Omaha will get if they are allowed to drop 2 public access channels. People need to show up on May 8th and voice thier support.


ajwees41

National Geographic HD

It looks like Omaha will get if they are allowed to drop 2 public access channels. People need to show up on May 8th and voice thier support.


ajwees41
I called city hall on Monday to support Cox in there effort to drop 3 public access channels, I wondering if this will help Cox in the long term, they are going to need room for 50 or 75 hd channels by early 08, I had Directv from 1997 thru 2004 and went back to Cox for Hd dvr and High speed internet, but if Cox is out of bandwidth and will not have all the Hd offerings, I may have to switch back to Directv by 2008.

Ronald there's not that many HD channels. If you mean the fact that the governent is shutting off Analog it has no effect on cable.


ajwees41

Anyone else having issues with Action 3 News cutting in and out during Jericho in HD?

Ronald there's not that many HD channels. If you mean the fact that the governent is shutting off Analog it has no effect on cable.


ajwees41

There will be many new Hd channels by the end of 08, I can count many now Cox is not carrying National Geographic hd, Food network Hd, Mhd-hd, Nfl network Hd,Starz hd, Hdnet hd, Hdnet Movies, with many more going Hd in late 08, Cox better step up to the plate and Hd or many customers will jump to Directv.

There will be many new Hd channels by the end of 08, I can count many now Cox is not carrying National Geographic hd, Food network Hd, Mhd-hd, Nfl network Hd,Starz hd, Hdnet hd, Hdnet Movies, with many more going Hd in late 08, Cox better step up to the plate and Hd or many customers will jump to Directv.


They don't carry HDNET at all. Are you sure many more are going HD by 08? Name some. I can't

Hello all,

I got my beautiful new Samsung HP-T4264 plasma at The Mart the other day and giddily hurried home to unbox and hook it up, but I'm a little peeved that I can't seem to find a single digital channel via my QAM tuner. Actually, the signal is so weak on the analog stations that I have to manually enter them and then the TV uses a fantastic auto fine-tuning function that clears the signal up beautifully.

Unfortunately this leaves me with a hideously unattractive antenna bulging out from behind my sleek flat panel to get even basic local HD broadcasts. I called Cox and the predictably useless service rep said "well we don't support those channels so I don't have any information." Sweet. Really great folks to deal with.

Any ideas on why I can't find any digital channels? I've even tried manually entering stations starting at 1-1 and going up to about 30-5, but to no avail.

Hello all,

I got my beautiful new Samsung HP-T4264 plasma at The Mart the other day and giddily hurried home to unbox and hook it up, but I'm a little peeved that I can't seem to find a single digital channel via my QAM tuner. Actually, the signal is so weak on the analog stations that I have to manually enter them and then the TV uses a fantastic auto fine-tuning function that clears the signal up beautifully.

Unfortunately this leaves me with a hideously unattractive antenna bulging out from behind my sleek flat panel to get even basic local HD broadcasts. I called Cox and the predictably useless service rep said "well we don't support those channels so I don't have any information." Sweet. Really great folks to deal with.

Any ideas on why I can't find any digital channels? I've even tried manually entering stations starting at 1-1 and going up to about 30-5, but to no avail.
Does it take cable cards? To get digital from cox you need a box or cable cards.

skablaw,
it sounds like maybe something isn't hooked up right for you. I get all the local hd channels ( except abc, because of the ketv and cox battle) through my sony qam tuner with a streaight coax hookup from the wall to the back of my tv. you analog channels should look good and you shouldn't have to individually tune them in. If you do an auto scan, you should also be getting most of the cox digital music channels along with a few on demand odds and ends.

Make sure you are on the cable input and have the coax going from the wall to the tv. Assuming you have done that, I'm not sure, I'll have to think on it. :rolleyes:

Hello all,

I got my beautiful new Samsung HP-T4264 plasma at The Mart the other day and giddily hurried home to unbox and hook it up, but I'm a little peeved that I can't seem to find a single digital channel via my QAM tuner. Actually, the signal is so weak on the analog stations that I have to manually enter them and then the TV uses a fantastic auto fine-tuning function that clears the signal up beautifully.

Unfortunately this leaves me with a hideously unattractive antenna bulging out from behind my sleek flat panel to get even basic local HD broadcasts. I called Cox and the predictably useless service rep said "well we don't support those channels so I don't have any information." Sweet. Really great folks to deal with.

Any ideas on why I can't find any digital channels? I've even tried manually entering stations starting at 1-1 and going up to about 30-5, but to no avail.
First let's check the Samsung website:
1) Yup the Samsung HP-T4264 Brochure describes unencrypted QAM support,
although there's no mention of this in the Owner's Instructions other
than a separate DIGITAL setting for STD/HRC/IRC cable system type.

2) There are two coax imputs:
ANT1IN (Air) ------ connect to On-The-Air antenna.
ANT2IN (Cable) --- connect DIRECTLY to cable coax.
Connect as shown in the Owner's Inst. on pg 10 for a "Cable without a Cable Box".
The "ANTENNA" button on your R/C selects one or the other for viewing (see pg38).
You can also enable/disable a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) to possibly improve
ANT1IN sensitivity.

3) Per instructions at top of pg17 (and again pg19), enter "Plug N Play" setup menu (see pg15).
Select "Air+Cable" to rescan BOTH OTA and Cable or just "Cable" to rescan Cable.
Select "STD" for BOTH Analog and Digital Cable and select "START" to rescan.

4) Note the number of channels found during the "STD" search.
Even though you might have found some cable channels, REPEAT the scan,
except this time select "HRC" and note the number of cable channels found.
Finally rescan with "IRC" to see if additional cable channels show up.
Repeat the scan with whichever setting found the most cable channels.

They don't carry HDNET at all. Are you sure many more are going HD by 08? Name some. I can't

There are a good 5-6 that Cox doesn't have yet that Ronald mentioned above. Here are some others current or will be by '08:

Golf HD
ESPNNEWS HD
Hallmark HD
History Channel HD
Weather Channel HD
Sleuth HD
The regional FSN's in HD
Altitude HD (Qwest cable in Omaha carries the Altitude SD channel)
USA Network HD
6 new Discovery HD channels
Bravo HD
MHD
The Tennis Channel HD
Chiller HD
Toon Disney HD
Disney Channel HD
ABC Family HD
Sci-Fi Channel HD
CNN HD
Cartoon Network HD
Speed HD
FX HD
TBS HD

If Cox needs more bandwidth to support all of these that DirecTV claims they will have by the end of this year or early next year, Cox is going to have to do more than remove 3 public access channels to support that and keep up.

They are upgrading and hopefully by 2008 will have another 100MZ to use.

ajwees41



There are a good 5-6 that Cox doesn't have yet that Ronald mentioned above. Here are some others current or will be by '08:

Golf HD
ESPNNEWS HD
Hallmark HD
History Channel HD
Weather Channel HD
Sleuth HD
The regional FSN's in HD
Altitude HD (Qwest cable in Omaha carries the Altitude SD channel)
USA Network HD
6 new Discovery HD channels
Bravo HD
MHD
The Tennis Channel HD
Chiller HD
Toon Disney HD
Disney Channel HD
ABC Family HD
Sci-Fi Channel HD
CNN HD
Cartoon Network HD
Speed HD
FX HD
TBS HD

If Cox needs more bandwidth to support all of these that DirecTV claims they will have by the end of this year or early next year, Cox is going to have to do more than remove 3 public access channels to support that and keep up.

Any ideas on why I can't find any digital channels? I've even tried manually entering stations starting at 1-1 and going up to about 30-5, but to no avail.

I just went through this same exercise, and found WOWT on 6-1... About 2 pages back in this thread, someone jumped in with a couple others I can also get (125-1 or something??)..

They are upgrading and hopefully by 2008 will have another 100MZ to use.

ajwees41

Cox better do something Quick because Directv is going to start adding Hd around Labor Day, I also believe in late 07 Directv will add Omaha's locals in Hd, if this happens and Cox does not have all the hd Directv has, I going back to Directv.

I wondering if this will help Cox in the long term, they are going to need room for 50 or 75 hd channels by early 08
They need to get rid of their analog signal and go all digital. That would free enough bandwidth for another 120+ HD channels.

There are a good 5-6 that Cox doesn't have yet that Ronald mentioned above. Here are some others current or will be by '08:


If Cox needs more bandwidth to support all of these that DirecTV claims they will have by the end of this year or early next year, Cox is going to have to do more than remove 3 public access channels to support that and keep up.


The reason Cox can't have more HD is because they still have Analog, but Dish,DirecTV don't have Analog.

If you can't wat drop cox.

ajwees41

The reason Cox can't have more HD is because they still have Analog, but Dish,DirecTV don't have Analog.

If you can't wat drop cox.

ajwees41


I don't won't to drop Cox but they are slow to add hd and they know hd is the future and have been sitting on there hands and its add hd or lose customers!!!!!!!

You have to remember they can only upgrade as fast as they can get the equipment. Also like I posted before if they did the whole upgrade at once they would have to increase the cable bill more than a 1 or 2 dollar increase. Just wait the will have room in 2008. You also have to think of people who don't have HD, but have Digital we haven't had any new channels since the NFL network and a few others.
You have ESPN2HD and A&EHD even if you don't watch those it's two channels were digital could of had more.


ajwees41

Also there are people like my grandmother who just don't want to have to absorb a bigger cable bill just cause a few people want more HD channels. They have to think about all segments of there paying customers.

Does it take cable cards? To get digital from cox you need a box or cable cards.

You are correct for the regular digital channels, but you don't need a cable card the standard HD channels from COX (FOX, NBC, CBS, CW, PBS, maybe more). You just need a QAM tuner.

Until this morning! Anyone else having problems getting the unencrypted QAM channels? They seem to have all disappeared this morning. 107.1, 107.2, etc. etc., none of them work.

EDIT - well they are back on now. Must have been a problem with Cox or something in my neighborhood. Analog and internet was working, just the HDs weren't.

You are correct for the regular digital channels, but you don't need a cable card the standard HD channels from COX (FOX, NBC, CBS, CW, PBS, maybe more). You just need a QAM tuner.

Until this morning! Anyone else having problems getting the unencrypted QAM channels? They seem to have all disappeared this morning. 107.1, 107.2, etc. etc., none of them work.


But those are free and avalable over the air and he wouldn't need Cox, so it sounds like he wants more than the OTA channels.

Until he reply's we are just guessing.


ajwees41

http://www.cox.com/omaha/public_access.asp

New channels and services

ajwees41

KHGI-DT (NTV) (ABC), Kearney is back on the air after the ice storm took it out.

Is there something up with the OTA broadcasts? i'm getting nothing tonight.

Is there something up with the OTA broadcasts? i'm getting nothing tonight.

I'm getting all of the Omaha and Lincoln DTV stations in Gretna... having a little trouble getting KXVO tonight (pixellation due to multipath) but everything else is normal.

everything is back. had to restart my tuner. strange...

http://www.cox.com/omaha/public_access.asp

New channels and services

ajwees41

One (1) HD channel, Directv is going to eat their lunch come the fall if they actually rollout 100+ HD channels.

EdL

One (1) HD channel, Directv is going to eat their lunch come the fall if they actually rollout 100+ HD channels.

EdL


They where probably waiting for the vote to sign new contracts. If read the whole page it says Additional launches will be rolled out later this year.


ajwees41

Can anyone get ESPN2 with a TimeWarner Cable Card?? It works fine on a cable box.

Can anyone get ESPN2 with a TimeWarner Cable Card?? It works fine on a cable box.

If you're referring to ESPN2 HD, I'm pretty sure it's using SDV.

In this graphic in the tiny print at the bottom, they state that ESPN2 HD is not available with a Cable Card.

http://www.timewarnercable.com/Nebraska/programming/emailGfx/NewChannels.html

If you're referring to ESPN2 HD, I'm pretty sure it's using SDV.

In this graphic in the tiny print at the bottom, they state that ESPN2 HD is not available with a Cable Card.

http://www.timewarnercable.com/Nebraska/programming/emailGfx/NewChannels.html
Thanks for the help.

Thanks for the help.

No problem. I don't know how many Cable Card customers there are, but I'm sure they aren't thrilled about this.

Currently all of my TV watching is via a CableCard. It's unfortunate they are doing SDV, as TWC Nebraska had told me they had plenty of bandwidth available to add HD channels without using SDV. It's why I bought a TiVo.

Currently all of my TV watching is via a CableCard. It's unfortunate they are doing SDV, as TWC Nebraska had told me they had plenty of bandwidth available to add HD channels without using SDV. It's why I bought a TiVo.
I hope someone from Time Warner is reading these. Dish network and Directv both has ESPN2 HD.

Bah, I will be canceling my TWC service at the end of the month. It's not worth it anymore. I'm not going back to Navigator.

Bah, I will be canceling my TWC service at the end of the month. It's not worth it anymore. I'm not going back to Navigator.

Curious as to where you're going next - Direct, Dish, or strictly OTA. I am looking to ditch TWC and Navigator as well.

Curious as to where you're going next - Direct, Dish, or strictly OTA. I am looking to ditch TWC and Navigator as well.
I'm not sure. I will probably go OTA-only until the fall season (and football) starts again. I want to see if Direct or Dish can solve their quality/bandwidth issue.

I'm not sure. I will probably go OTA-only until the fall season (and football) starts again. I want to see if Direct or Dish can solve their quality/bandwidth issue.

Please keep us posted on what you eventually decide on. I've been putting the decision off, hoping that TWC would improve Navigator. It seems apparent that I'll be waiting a long time.

During tonight's Stanley Cup final broadcast, channel 6's signal seemed to be extremely flaky. The signal strength meter was bouncing around on my set, and the picture kept pixelating and going black. When I'd check 3 and 7, they seemed just fine. Anybody else notice?

I'm not sure. I will probably go OTA-only until the fall season (and football) starts again. I want to see if Direct or Dish can solve their quality/bandwidth issue.

Is there a good place (online or brick and mortar, doesn't matter) to get a good ATSC digital tuner to pick up OTA HD broadcasts? I've been looking for one for quite sometime due to ABC's refusal to supply HD via Cox, but they seem to be kind of sparse and hard to find as standalone units. Any suggestions?

J & R has two (www.jr.com) a Samsung and an LG

Time Warner Boasts of ‘Virtually Unlimited’ HDTV Capacity

Cable Operator to Launched Switched-Digital-Video Technology in One-Half of Systems By Year-End

By Steve Donohue -- Multichannel News, 6/4/2007 10:41:00 PM

Boasting that it will be able to boost channel capacity to carry more HD networks, Time Warner Cable plans to deploy switched-digital-video technology on one-half of its systems nationwide by the end of 2007, chief operating officer Landel Hobbs said Tuesday.

Hobbs acknowledged that Time Warner’s direct-broadcast satellite rivals such as DirecTV have done an effective job of marketing HDTV offerings. “Shame on us because we haven’t really done a good job of marketing [HDTV],” Hobbs said at a Deutche Bank Securities conference in New York Monday.

But he added that SDV technology -- which allows Time Warner and other cable providers to deliver channels to subscribers based on demand, rather than broadcasting hundreds of channels simultaneously -- will give Time Warner “virtually unlimited” HD capacity.

Time Warner Boasts of ‘Virtually Unlimited’ HDTV Capacity

Cable Operator to Launched Switched-Digital-Video Technology in One-Half of Systems By Year-End

By Steve Donohue -- Multichannel News, 6/4/2007 10:41:00 PM

Boasting that it will be able to boost channel capacity to carry more HD networks, Time Warner Cable plans to deploy switched-digital-video technology on one-half of its systems nationwide by the end of 2007, chief operating officer Landel Hobbs said Tuesday.

Hobbs acknowledged that Time Warner’s direct-broadcast satellite rivals such as DirecTV have done an effective job of marketing HDTV offerings. “Shame on us because we haven’t really done a good job of marketing [HDTV],” Hobbs said at a Deutche Bank Securities conference in New York Monday.

But he added that SDV technology -- which allows Time Warner and other cable providers to deliver channels to subscribers based on demand, rather than broadcasting hundreds of channels simultaneously -- will give Time Warner “virtually unlimited” HD capacity.

Gary, this news is good but, when are they going to rollout the Hd channels, there are many hd channels Cox Comm does not carry, its time to start adding hd channels now!

I hope someone from Time Warner is reading these. Dish network and Directv both has ESPN2 HD.


Omaha also has ESPN2HD on Cox.

ajwees41

Dish Network has added guide info for KOLN-DT's My Network Channel 10.2

Now if they would only do the same for us viewers of KGIN 11.1 & 11.2

Gary, this news is good but, when are they going to rollout the Hd channels, there are many hd channels Cox Comm does not carry, its time to start adding hd channels now!


Ronald do you have a tivo S3? If you do and the cable company goes to switched digital the Tivo will not get the channels that are sent that way.

ajwees41

Is there a good place (online or brick and mortar, doesn't matter) to get a good ATSC digital tuner to pick up OTA HD broadcasts? I've been looking for one for quite sometime due to ABC's refusal to supply HD via Cox, but they seem to be kind of sparse and hard to find as standalone units. Any suggestions?

I got mine from here. (http://www.*******.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=34596)

EdL

Dish Network has added guide info for KOLN-DT's My Network Channel 10.2

Now if they would only do the same for us viewers of KGIN 11.1 & 11.2

Is MNTV available on regular Dish locals or only on a HDTV tier? I've only found KHAS, KLKN, KOLN, KUON, KHGI, KTVG, and KCWL on Dish. No sign of subchannels such as MNTV or NET2/3...

Is MNTV available on regular Dish locals or only on a HDTV tier? I've only found KHAS, KLKN, KOLN, KUON, KHGI, KTVG, and KCWL on Dish. No sign of subchannels such as MNTV or NET2/3...

No, My Network is not on the Dish locals lineup. Don't know why 10/11 hasn't pushed for it since it's on Directv.

Reply from KOLN/KGIN:
I hope so in the future. We would certainly like to be carried on dish, but they have told
our corporation that they do not currently have room for us.

Does anyone get ABC through Cox in HD? I pick up all the other locals except for ABC. Or, does anyone get ABC over the air if you use antennae?

http://www.ketv.com/station/9972702/detail.html

KetvHD is not on Cox.

Does anyone get ABC through Cox in HD? I pick up all the other locals except for ABC. Or, does anyone get ABC over the air if you use antennae?

KETV is on channel 20 over-the-air
KLKN is on channel 31 over-the-air
both carry HD programming

i was thinking about dumping cox and going to dish. Seems like a better deal for hd. Does anyone in omaha have any problems with it?

Have a friend near 370 and 168th street. Anyone have a suggestion for what antenna is best to pick up HD OTA?

I'm just a few miles west of there and get all the digital TV in a 70-mile radius with a Terk TV5 (bowtie-shaped antenna). The houses around there are newer, and it's relatively high elevation (at least near the top of the hill) so unless your friend is in an old house, or in that house with the thick block-style walls, or right down near Wehrspann Lake, an indoor antenna like the Terk will work fine.

Thanks for the help

The DirectTV juggernaut is about to begin, will cable be able to keep up.

http://www.tvpredictions.com/dlaunch070207.htm

As for me, I'll be adding DirectTV (NFL Season Ticket) to my line-up.

EdL

The DirectTV juggernaut is about to begin, will cable be able to keep up.

http://www.tvpredictions.com/dlaunch070207.htm

As for me, I'll be adding DirectTV (NFL Season Ticket) to my line-up.

EdL


Hey Ed Cox doesn't have the bandwidth right now. Did you even read the link you posted it will be september at the earliest for the new HD DirecTV channels.

ajwees41

Hey Ed Cox doesn't have the bandwidth right now. Did you even read the link you posted it will be september at the earliest for the new HD DirecTV channels.

ajwees41


The NFL starts late August (almost September), when October rolls around I'll be in HD heaven :p I'm just pointing out the fact that DirecTV is putting in the infrastructure to deliver on it's promise to deliver more HD. Last I read, Cox was adding one(1) new HD channel.

EdL

The NFL starts late August (almost September), when October rolls around I'll be in HD heaven :p I'm just pointing out the fact that DirecTV is putting in the infrastructure to deliver on it's promise to deliver more HD. Last I read, Cox was adding one(1) new HD channel.

EdL


Cox plans to add up 50 HD channels by the end of the year.

http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6453819


ajwees41

Cox plans to add up 50 HD channels by the end of the year.

http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6453819


ajwees41


That should actually read, "is aiming to have the capacity to offer 50 HD channels across its systems by the end of 2007". That article does not speak to Omaha. For instance, there are Cox stations in other cities that carry ABC in HD, but not here. Cox has not announced the lineup of 50 channels, but the competition has and itshere. (http://hdtvmagazine.com/articles/2007/06/directv_-_the_m.php)

EdL

That should actually read, "is aiming to have the capacity to offer 50 HD channels across its systems by the end of 2007". That article does not speak to Omaha. For instance, there are Cox stations in other cities that carry ABC in HD, but not here. Cox has not announced the lineup of 50 channels, but the competition has and itshere. (http://hdtvmagazine.com/articles/2007/06/directv_-_the_m.php)

EdL


I just counted them and only come up with 52 HD channels. Thats not counting the nfl sunday ticket since cox doesn't carry also they only carry one channel of ABC,NCBC,CBS Fox sports. Comcast spoets.

why are you counting the ABCHD?

As far as I know if Hearst Argyle owns any local channels in a cox market they are not on cox in hd.

ajwees41

The current Cox HD lineup in San Diego, CA (http://www.cox.com/sandiego/digitalcable/hdtv/programming.asp) includes ABCHD and HD on Demand. Omaha (can you say small market) has consistently lagged on the HD front - look at how long it has taken to get HD OTA firing with the locals.

The addition of DirecTV will enable me to receive more HD content. I'm thru waiting & relying on Cox. The NFL ticket combined with the additional channels should result in a significant increase in the overall HD ROI (satisfaction) at my house this fall. :p

EdL

Cox in Omaha really needs to add more HD programming ASAP, I had Directv for 7 years and went back to Cox 2 years ago for the Triple play package from Cox, then Hd offerings were about equal,by years end Directv will have many more Hd stations and Cox (Omaha) will say they are adding 1 or 2 Hd channels.

The current Cox HD lineup in San Diego, CA (http://www.cox.com/sandiego/digitalcable/hdtv/programming.asp) includes ABCHD and HD on Demand. Omaha (can you say small market) has consistently lagged on the HD front - look at how long it has taken to get HD OTA firing with the locals.

The addition of DirecTV will enable me to receive more HD content. I'm thru waiting & relying on Cox. The NFL ticket combined with the additional channels should result in a significant increase in the overall HD ROI (satisfaction) at my house this fall. :p

EdL


Ed Sandiego is a bad comparison omaha has all those except for the local sandiego channel and MHD. Are you saying it's Cox's job to provde local channels in Hd ota? The oly reason we don't have ABCHD s because kETV are being idiots.


ajwees41


ajwees41

Complain all you want about Hearst-Argyle's relationship with Cox, but they aren't idiots.

Let's face it: Sinclair Broadcasting -- which owns Fox in Des Moines and CBS in Cedar Rapids -- played even more hardball with Mediacom and took its digital and analog off Mediacom for about a month.

Sinclair is now getting paid for ALL its signals, not just the DT/HD, and most people will agree that Sinclair runs stations which don't have anywhere near the stature of a KETV, a KCCI or any other Hearst-Argyle station. Meanwhile, Mediacom is trying to recover thousands of lost subscribers.

the only reason I mentioned KETV was because Ed asked about ABCHD on Cox.

ajwees41

Ed Sandiego is a bad comparison omaha has all those except for the local sandiego channel and MHD. Are you saying it's Cox's job to provde local channels in Hd ota? The oly reason we don't have ABCHD s because kETV are being idiots.

ajwees41


Whatever the reason, ABCHD & MHD are 2 more channels than we receive in Omaha. The locals slowness to HD is typical of smaller market cities. As a smaller market city we will be further down on the HD content food chain. The parent company will make sure that larger markets get the services first.

Cox New England (http://www.cox.com/newengland/digitalcable/hd.asp)

Cox Las Vegas (http://www.cox.com/lasvegas/digitalcable/channellineup.asp)

Can anyone tell me what HD channels Cox will be bringing us this fall, besides National Geographic?

EdL

Whatever the reason, ABCHD & MHD are 2 more channels than we receive in Omaha. The locals slowness to HD is typical of smaller market cities. As a smaller market city we will be further down on the HD content food chain. The parent company will make sure that larger markets get the services first.

Cox New England (http://www.cox.com/newengland/digitalcable/hd.asp)

Cox Las Vegas (http://www.cox.com/lasvegas/digitalcable/channellineup.asp)

Can anyone tell me what HD channels Cox will be bringing us this fall, besides National Geographic?

EdL

Ed if you want to know why don't you ask cox? Also the web page I posted in an eariler post said additional launches will be rolled out later this year. We will probably see MHD.

I wish we had had more digital channels, but I have to wait just like people who want more hd. Last year I couldn't watch my favorite baseball team for awhle because cox didn't carry there new channel, but they quit doing that and are now on FSN.

Again Omaha has most of those except for StarzHD,CinemaxHD,MHD

ajwees41

Ed

There is a lot of propoganda out there floating around, much of it very mis-leading. DirecTv is floating a lot of 100 channel HD fluff at the moment, most of that capacity is local into local which in reality won't do you much good outside of our affiliates.

Sure DirecTv does have the NFL ticket, but if you're like me and prefer college ball over NFL than this isn't a great deal breaker, if your decision criteria for a change truly lies with more HD please read on.

Currently Dish is the leading HD content provider, they have been for years. Dish "currently" has the capaciity to add content on it's existing satellite fleet. Charlie is negotiating "NOW" to fill current extra channel capacity with more HD.

DirecTV has promised 100 more hypothetical channels once their new satellites are up and ready.

Dish is launching another satellite this fall, and they've another scheduled to launch in early 2008.

Dish has begun the cutover to total MPEG4, all their new equipment including the industry leading PVR Vip622 is MPEG4 compatible. The Vip series receivers, 211, 222 and 622 all have excellent over the air HD tuners.

As I said earlier Dish currently has more HD and once content providers have more HD Dish currently has the capacity to carry it and will have more capacity once the next two birds are online.

If the NFL channel isn't the deal breaker I'd reconsider your next acquisition and go with the true leader in HD.

Please don't shoot the messenger, just trying to lead the horse to water.

Regards, John

Here are my thoughts on rumors and projections on what Cox could do.
It could be 2 Years or it could be next summer depending on Rate increases by Cox and how they market spin the FCC required cable box changes.

NO facts- just things to think about. All in all, starting in December, HD talk should get real interesting on this forum again with Direct TV, Dish, and Cox makin there moves.


1.
Look at Cox Cables track record. It took them 2 years just to do the upgrade that they just finished so they could add the couple of extra HD channels and more On Demand.

I would expect the design to be finished on paper for the 50 HD channels by December with an other year to roll it out.

Omaha, being a smaller Cox market will be towards the end. So I would expect the 50 HD channels on Cox 1 1/2 years from now.

2.
One thing that could change this is Rate hikes. If Cox increases everyones rates by a lot, and I do mean a lot. They could then out source most of the work to do the upgrades and we could see the 50 HD channels much sooner.

This rate hike method does work. Look at Dishnetwork. Direct TVs HD package $10.99. Dishnetworks $20 extra. Dish has T ripple the HD channels right now over Direct TV as they used the money to buy into extra HD channels sooner than all the rest. Dish is the HD leader for now and once Direct gets more channels I am sure they will then re match Direct TV HD package rate.

3.
With all the talk of Cable rate hikes over the FCC required Cable box upgrades, this might be what Cox is planning. Do large rate increase, then blame it on the FCC and the required change to all HD in 2009, then out source the work to get to 50 HD channels faster.

4.
Who Knows Cox might even go as fare as blaming the FCC and the Cable box requirements to cut the Analog channels down to the Top 30 channels and then making everything else all Digital. This would then free up the 50 HD channel space by also using switched video. In theorey they could even CUT all Analag requiring cable boxes for all TV you never know what design they may come up with.


5. Don't forget about Dish, it was slipped out on the Sat Guys board with there CEO quoted as saying they have a New 100% all MPEG4 sat going up which will need only one smaller dish pointing to a new location. This will allow Dish to have 1,000 HD channels also as the system will be all new AND all Mpeg4.

Here are my thoughts on rumors and projections on what Cox could do.
It could be 2 Years or it could be next summer depending on Rate increases by Cox and how they market spin the FCC required cable box changes.

NO facts- just things to think about. All in all, starting in December, HD talk should get real interesting on this forum again with Direct TV, Dish, and Cox makin there moves.


1.
Look at Cox Cables track record. It took them 2 years just to do the upgrade that they just finished so they could add the couple of extra HD channels and more On Demand.

I would expect the design to be finished on paper for the 50 HD channels by December with an other year to roll it out.

Omaha, being a smaller Cox market will be towards the end. So I would expect the 50 HD channels on Cox 1 1/2 years from now.

2.
One thing that could change this is Rate hikes. If Cox increases everyones rates by a lot, and I do mean a lot. They could then out source most of the work to do the upgrades and we could see the 50 HD channels much sooner.

This rate hike method does work. Look at Dishnetwork. Direct TVs HD package $10.99. Dishnetworks $20 extra. Dish has T ripple the HD channels right now over Direct TV as they used the money to buy into extra HD channels sooner than all the rest. Dish is the HD leader for now and once Direct gets more channels I am sure they will then re match Direct TV HD package rate.

3.
With all the talk of Cable rate hikes over the FCC required Cable box upgrades, this might be what Cox is planning. Do large rate increase, then blame it on the FCC and the required change to all HD in 2009, then out source the work to get to 50 HD channels faster.

4.
Who Knows Cox might even go as fare as blaming the FCC and the Cable box requirements to cut the Analog channels down to the Top 30 channels and then making everything else all Digital. This would then free up the 50 HD channel space by also using switched video. In theorey they could even CUT all Analag requiring cable boxes for all TV you never know what design they may come up with.


5. Don't forget about Dish, it was slipped out on the Sat Guys board with there CEO quoted as saying they have a New 100% all MPEG4 sat going up which will need only one smaller dish pointing to a new location. This will allow Dish to have 1,000 HD channels also as the system will be all new AND all Mpeg4.


Scott there is no FCC requirement for all HD,or all digital for Cox.

ajwees41

Here is what DirecTV is bringing in HD come September. I'd say that's quite a bit.

Coming in September:

A&E
Animal Planet
Big Ten Network
CineMax East
CineMax West
Discovery Channel (simulcast)
Food Network
HBO West
HGTV
History Channel
MHD (MTV)
NFL Network (Full-Time)
Science Channel
Showtime West
Starz! East
Starz! West
Starz! Edge
Starz! Comedy
Starz Kids & Family
The Movie Channel
The National Geographic Channel
TBS
TLC
The Weather Channel
Versus/Golf


Fall 2007:

Bravo
Cartoon
Chiller
CNBC
CNN
FX
HBO2 East
HBO2 West
HBO Family East
HBO Family West
HBO Latino East
HBO Signature East
MoreMax East
Sci-Fi
Sleuth
Speed
USA

Some of those Cox doesn't even carry.

ajwees

No there is no requirement for all HD or DTV for Cox, but my point is they can use Marketing Hype like Direct TV is to change things. Since the public knows over the air must go DTV by 2009 Cox could spin this also and say we are doing away with half or ALL of our Analog channels also.

If they did this it would free up space for more HD channels than what Direct has planned.


Good News, I see the new Direct TV went up this week. That means about 100 HD channels this fall. Sept or Oct?

Dish Network will probably counter and try to match the best they can. Dish is moving the Voom HD to all Mpeg4 to make more room for HD so they can try to match.

Competition is good, with Direct TV and Dish having sooooo many more HD channels, than Cox, they will have to speed things up to get more HD channels sooner. This fall will be a hard time for Cox as they will have so few HD channels compared to Direct TV and Dish network. I do not know why anyone with an HD TV would stay with them.

I predict many will switch to Direct TV and Dish to get the extra HD, then go back to Cox in 2008 2009 after there contracts are up to get the Cox HD on demand that they will have by then.

No there is no requirement for all HD or DTV for Cox, but my point is they can use Marketing Hype like Direct TV is to change things. Since the public knows over the air must go DTV by 2009 Cox could spin this also and say we are doing away with half or ALL of our Analog channels also.

If they did this it would free up space for more HD channels than what Direct has planned.


Good News, I see the new Direct TV went up this week. That means about 100 HD channels this fall. Sept or Oct?

Dish Network will probably counter and try to match the best they can. Dish is moving the Voom HD to all Mpeg4 to make more room for HD so they can try to match.

Competition is good, with Direct TV and Dish having sooooo many more HD channels, than Cox, they will have to speed things up to get more HD channels sooner. This fall will be a hard time for Cox as they will have so few HD channels compared to Direct TV and Dish network. I do not know why anyone with an HD TV would stay with them.

I predict many will switch to Direct TV and Dish to get the extra HD, then go back to Cox in 2008 2009 after there contracts are up to get the Cox HD on demand that they will have by then.

It 's already been said that Cable can continue to brodcast analog for as long as they want. As far as I know Cox has no plans to drop analog for awhile. I don't really thing compairing cable to direct TV or dish since they don't offer the same channels and use different technology to offer it.

ajwees41

Looks like Dishnetwork announce today in a press release many more National HD channels starting Aug 15th.

They already have Fox Sports Net Midwest HD and Fox Sports Net Rockey Mnt HD for Omaha. Hope that means Huskers Football in HD this fall!!!!!

THey are adding many more Fox sports nets in HD if you have the sports pack.

These are being added this week
========================
SNY HD
FSN Arizona HD
FSN Northwest
FSN Cincinnati
FSN Pittsburgh
FSN Detroit
FSN North
Sportstime Ohio

These are being adding Aug 15th
==========================

MTV HD MHD (Requires AT100 and Dish HD package)

Discover HD (Requires AT100 and Dish HD package),
This is different than the Discovery Theater channel / Show case like Cox & Direct TV already have, which is the best of the Discovery HD networks)

Learning Channel HD (Requires AT100 and Dish HD package)

Animal Planet HD (Requires AT200 plus DishHD package)

The Science Channel in HD (Requires AT250 and Dish HD package)

GolfHD and VersusHD sharing a channel (Requires AT250 and Dish HD package)

History Channel HD Which launches September 1st (Requires AT100 and Dish HD package)

Adding Mid September
====================
The press release just says adding more mid Sept, but I bet they will be adding more to match what ever Direct TV puts up, or at least try to match it.

I would guess more HBO and Starz in HD feeds as they are released.


Looks like Cox will be very short on HD for the rest of the year compared to Direct TV and Dish. I would switch to SAT if you own a HD TV.

Here is what DirecTV is bringing in HD come September. I'd say that's quite a bit.

Coming in September:

The Weather Channel

Fall 2007:

Bravo
CNBC
CNN


What the #$&( do you need CNBC, CNN, or the Weather Channel in HD for?

What the #$&( do you need CNBC, CNN, or the Weather Channel in HD for?

Speaking for myself, I want to see everything in HD.

EdL

Speaking for myself, I want to see everything in HD.
I'd just put CNBC, CNN, Faux News, and the Weather Channel at the bottom of the list. It will probably be many years before field reporters are equipped with HD, so most reports will still be SD. Maybe I'd put Nick at Nite reruns at the very bottom of the list since I doubt they'll be reshooting Mork & Mindy in HD...
But news and weather channels otherwise should be at the very bottom of the list.

What the #$&( do you need CNBC, CNN, or the Weather Channel in HD for?

Perhaps you may not watch those channels that often, but for me, the three you named happen to be among my most-watched channels. As they say, "different strokes..." So, you're welcome to your favorites in HD, and please allow me to enjoy mine in HD! :)

Scott

I just read that latest Dish press release and was on my way here to post when I noticed that you've beat me to it.

Drats foiled again!

I agree with Mike on this point I can't say I'd care to watch CNN in HD, or SD.

I'm still champing at the bit for the SPEED and SCi-Fi in HD news relelase......

John

Perhaps you may not watch those channels that often, but for me, the three you named happen to be among my most-watched channels. As they say, "different strokes..." So, you're welcome to your favorites in HD, and please allow me to enjoy mine in HD! :)
Don't get me wrong... I just don't see the advantage of those channels in HD. I guess the weather maps might be more detailed... And with news channels, it will only be the studio that will be HD. Certainly all of the reporters and news video will all be SD.

I just question how much of the programming on these channels will actually be HD.

It's not just in the studio. CNN announces it's first HD documentary.

Anderson Cooper 360 - Planet in Peril (http://turnerinfo.turner.com/newsitem.aspx?P=CNN&CID01=09f454c7-3dd2-41dd-bc5a-de71dca28889)

EdL

Cox (if you're out there) let us know something.... Your customer service reps have no info on your HD plans.

Comcast adds 4 HD channels (http://ibc.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=162967)

EdL

Cox (if you're out there) let us know something.... Your customer service reps have no info on your HD plans.

Comcast adds 4 HD channels (http://ibc.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=162967)

EdL


Ed cox already carries A&E HD they said they are launching National Geographic HD.

ajwees41

Ed cox already carries A&E HD they said they are launching National Geographic HD.

ajwees41

What is the date for National Geographic HD?

EdL

What is the date for National Geographic HD?

EdL


There is none, but the webpage said by the end of the year.

ajwees41

Don't get me wrong... I just don't see the advantage of those channels in HD. I guess the weather maps might be more detailed... And with news channels, it will only be the studio that will be HD. Certainly all of the reporters and news video will all be SD.

I just question how much of the programming on these channels will actually be HD.

I could see these channels immediately taking advantage of this. Just think of all that extra real-estate. Instead of the small news ticker at the bottom of the screen, scrolling - you could use the left 3rd of the screen to display news in a newspaper-ish kinda way.

CNN/FoxNews are already information-overload channels - going HD would just give them much more room to display this info.

This is a little off topic, but I thought you guys might be the ones who would know. Does Omaha have any second-run theaters? These are theaters that show movies after they've left the main theaters, but before they are out on DVD. I moved here from Sioux City last year, we had two of them up there. But everyone I ask down here has heard of no such thing.

Westwood Theaters at about 130th and West Center. It's also called the dollar theater (even though it costs $2.50).

I could see these channels immediately taking advantage of this. Just think of all that extra real-estate. Instead of the small news ticker at the bottom of the screen, scrolling - you could use the left 3rd of the screen to display news in a newspaper-ish kinda way.

CNN/FoxNews are already information-overload channels - going HD would just give them much more room to display this info.
Not a bad idea. I'd still like to see a bunch of other channels go HD first. I think at some point, everything will be HD except possibly "TV Land".

I think at some point, everything will be HD except possibly "TV Land".

Not so fast. :rolleyes:

Take a look at what WOWT-HD does for its newscasts. Not full HD but the picture is noticeably sharper than its regular channel (and, more important, than the competition).

Couldn't the same technology be used for old TV shows? The HD version could use whatever that system is to make everything pop!

(Having said that, guys, yes, I agree that some channels lend themselves more to HD than others, but I'm not prepared to rule anything out.)

Westwood Theaters at about 130th and West Center. It's also called the dollar theater (even though it costs $2.50).

There is (was?) also a second-run theater at about 32nd and L Street in the Stockyards Plaza in Omaha.

Not a bad idea. I'd still like to see a bunch of other channels go HD first. I think at some point, everything will be HD except possibly "TV Land".


I would add public access and the tvguide channel to the list channels that will not go to HD.

ajwees41

Having Cox installed tomorrow after living out of town for awhile. Looking at things, I should hope/ask the installer for a 3400 series box right? Are there any major bugs with that series in the Omaha area? It will be connected to an older HDTV with DVI or component.

Is anyone using a HDMI switcher with these boxes with success, if so which one? I am going to get an HD-DVD player and would like to use the DVI input for both. I was looking at the Monoprice brand for a 4 in 1 with remote.

Any ideas for a cheap OTA HD-DVR to get KETV?

Having Cox installed tomorrow after living out of town for awhile. Looking at things, I should hope/ask the installer for a 3400 series box right? Are there any major bugs with that series in the Omaha area? It will be connected to an older HDTV with DVI or component.

Is anyone using a HDMI switcher with these boxes with success, if so which one? I am going to get an HD-DVD player and would like to use the DVI input for both. I was looking at the Monoprice brand for a 4 in 1 with remote.

Any ideas for a cheap OTA HD-DVR to get KETV?


You might even get a box that uses cable cards.

The fcc is requiring cox and other cable companies to seperate the security out of the box. You could try ask for the 3412-3416 dvr.

If you only want HD I don't know what they give out.


ajwees41

For those of you who do not get KETV in HD since Cox doesn't have it or you don't have a built in tuner to get it with an antenna, you can now watch the HD episodes of ABC's shows online. They now have an HD player.

http://dynamic.abc.go.com/streaming/landing

Cox to add National Geographic HD on Aug 28, this is a start but in Sept Directv will be adding a bunch of Hd channels, how will Cox compete? |I want more Hd or I may have to switch back over to Directv. I don't want to but Cox needs to step up and be competive

Cox to add National Geographic HD on Aug 28, this is a start but in Sept Directv will be adding a bunch of Hd channels, how will Cox compete? |I want more Hd or I may have to switch back over to Directv. I don't want to but Cox needs to step up and be competive


How you hear this?

ajwees41

How you hear this?

ajwees41

I read in the OHW on Thursday, Cox is moving some public access to Digital and adding National Geographic hd.

I need to find an installer to install my OTA antenna on my roof. I can't seem to find anyone who will do it in Omaha. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I bought my antenna online (Terrestrial Digital DB4). I called their customer service number to attempt to find someone who would help me install this on my roof.....they had no one in Omaha they could recommend.

I read in the OHW on Thursday, Cox is moving some public access to Digital and adding National Geographic hd.


thanks I don't usally read the paper unless I hear there a story I want to read.



I just looked and couldn't find any mention of it in Thursdays paper. If you remember the changes I would like to know which channels are moving to digital.


ajwees41

Time to switch to DirecTV and get the cable monkey off your back. :-)

You could also switch to Dishnetwork they are adding 7 more hd channels on Aug 15th and will more HD than Direct TV for a while. THey already have 34 national HD channels plus all regional Fox Sports nets in HD.

Direct TV and Dish should have about 100 national HD channels soon. Cox will be very behind for about a year.

I have 5 tv sets all over the house. If I were to switch from Cox to DirecTV or Dish, I would need 5 satellite boxes or the equivalent, right? With Cox I just need a cable connection to the older sets and I get the analog channels. Without Cox, if I don't get good OTA reception or want a non-OTA signal, I'm out of luck for extra TVs, right?

How do I do the equivalent with the satellite providers? Better question for those on satellite: How do YOU deal with that?

Thanks.

Westwood Theaters at about 130th and West Center. It's also called the dollar theater (even though it costs $2.50).

FYI: It's on the back side of the strip mall there so you might not notice it from the Center street side.

Thanks for the info on the theater guys.

I only have 2 TVs in the house. I ran a small antenna outside to pick up high-def locals which I only watch on my HDTV. The other TV receives locals via satellite. In September, or soon after, DirecTV will be sending high-def locals, so my little outside antenna won't be needed anymore. With 5 TVs, a lot more cable will need to be run, naturally. I've heard that D* is coming out with single-wire multiswitch, which will allow both tuners on the satellite box to run on one wire instead of two, which is nice. I've been with D* for eight years and I still like what I see.

Your results may vary. :-)

I have 5 tv sets all over the house. If I were to switch from Cox to DirecTV or Dish, I would need 5 satellite boxes or the equivalent, right? With Cox I just need a cable connection to the older sets and I get the analog channels. Without Cox, if I don't get good OTA reception or want a non-OTA signal, I'm out of luck for extra TVs, right?

How do I do the equivalent with the satellite providers? Better question for those on satellite: How do YOU deal with that?

Thanks.


It really boils down to how many different TV's you want to watch on different channels at the same time. I have 6 TV's hooked to Two Sat receivers. That means that I can watch two different shows at once and that works for our house. IT is more a matter of where not how many different channels for us. Some receivers are duel tuner and let you watch two stations off of one receiver.

Make sure you get a receiver or add on a UHF remote. I have purchased extra UHF remote and then I can control the receiver from any room in the house without a line of sight issue. I run the output of the receiver via RCA jacks to the primary TV and the the coax output goes to a amp where it is in turn distributed to other locations in the house. This is the set up for both receivers. The HD I get so far is just over the air so keep that in mind but the same setup would work with a HD receiver with HD being feed to a primary TV and stand. def to the others..

I only have 2 TVs in the house. I ran a small antenna outside to pick up high-def locals which I only watch on my HDTV. The other TV receives locals via satellite. In September, or soon after, DirecTV will be sending high-def locals, so my little outside antenna won't be needed anymore. With 5 TVs, a lot more cable will need to be run, naturally. I've heard that D* is coming out with single-wire multiswitch, which will allow both tuners on the satellite box to run on one wire instead of two, which is nice. I've been with D* for eight years and I still like what I see.

Your results may vary. :-)
Yes, but DirecTV charges $5 a month extra for locals, so you might want to consider keeping the antenna. Or invest the money in one of those Terk antennas that snaps onto the Dish.

I just compared the cost of Qwest Choice versus Cox as a possible upgrade to get HD service. Turns out that even after you package in phone and internet access, switching to Cox to gain HD service will cost over $30 a month more. Yikes! Looks like I'm sticking with Qwest for now, as the only HD channels Cox has that I'd be interested in is ESPN and ESPN2. (And that's not worth $30 a month!) At some point, I'll probably drop Qwest Choice TV service if they don't add HD service and switch to a dish, as it definitely looks cheaper than Cox.

Yes, but DirecTV charges $5 a month extra for locals, so you might want to consider keeping the antenna. Or invest the money in one of those Terk antennas that snaps onto the Dish.

I just compared the cost of Qwest Choice versus Cox as a possible upgrade to get HD service. Turns out that even after you package in phone and internet access, switching to Cox to gain HD service will cost over $30 a month more. Yikes! Looks like I'm sticking with Qwest for now, as the only HD channels Cox has that I'd be interested in is ESPN and ESPN2. (And that's not worth $30 a month!) At some point, I'll probably drop Qwest Choice TV service if they don't add HD service and switch to a dish, as it definitely looks cheaper than Cox.


Some parts of Omaha can't get qwest choice. How do you figure $30 more?

ajwees41

Some parts of Omaha can't get qwest choice. How do you figure $30 more?

ajwees41
Qwest Choice TV & internet is only available west of I-680 to about 168th street (more or less), Giles to Maple or Fort, I believe. So yes, it's not available to everyone.

Phone service is $26 a month + taxes. Cable modem is $26.99 with a 2 year committment; $39.99 otherwise. Choice TV is $33.99 with phone service. As I figure it out, it's about $120 a month without the 2 year internet commitment, and about $107 with the commitment. (I don't know the exact amount since I also get my long distance included each month on the Qwest bill, so I'm guestimating.)

I called Cox to get their price, since I couldn't find it on their web site. They quoted me $137 a month for digital HD cable, phone, and internet. So that's a $30 savings. Since the only HD channels on Cox I particularly care for are ESPN and ESPN2, I don't see the reason.

If I drop Qwest TV and get DirecTV, DirecTV would be $75 a month for 4 TVs with HD service. Perhaps a little more than Cox, but DirecTV's HD lineup is so much better than Cox's that it's probably worth it.

Qwest Choice TV & internet is only available west of I-680 to about 168th street (more or less), Giles to Maple or Fort, I believe. So yes, it's not available to everyone.

Phone service is $26 a month + taxes. Cable modem is $26.99 with a 2 year committment; $39.99 otherwise. Choice TV is $33.99 with phone service. As I figure it out, it's about $120 a month without the 2 year internet commitment, and about $107 with the commitment. (I don't know the exact amount since I also get my long distance included each month on the Qwest bill, so I'm guestimating.)

I called Cox to get their price, since I couldn't find it on their web site. They quoted me $137 a month for digital HD cable, phone, and internet. So that's a $30 savings. Since the only HD channels on Cox I particularly care for are ESPN and ESPN2, I don't see the reason.

If I drop Qwest TV and get DirecTV, DirecTV would be $75 a month for 4 TVs with HD service. Perhaps a little more than Cox, but DirecTV's HD lineup is so much better than Cox's that it's probably worth it.

does the qwest price include taxes?

What exactly did you price with cox

were the packages/channels, internet speeds, and phone features the same on both?


I just priced what we pay and Cox digital cable three tiers(HD/DVR+ service) plus basic digital phone plus cable internet 7MB down without taxes is $100.25




ajwees41

I'm bumping so I can get reminder emails again about this thread. I used to contribute but have been busy lately. Can't bookmark every computer cause I access the internet from about 5 or 6 different puters. How's everyone been?

for anyone who didn't notice the channel changes for the end of the month.

http://www.cox.com/omaha/nu_channels.asp

ajwees41

does the qwest price include taxes?

What exactly did you price with cox

were the packages/channels, internet speeds, and phone features the same on both?


I just priced what we pay and Cox digital cable three tiers(HD/DVR+ service) plus basic digital phone plus cable internet 7MB down without taxes is $100.25


I must have wasted 2 hours trying to figure out the prices on the Cox site, so I called them. I specified basic and digital cable, 2 HD sets, 4 TV's total, basic digital phone (only phone features I use are Caller ID and very rarely, call waiting), and cable modem. I'm not sure what speed Qwest's cable access is, but speed hasn't been an issue. Cox quoted me a price of $137 after tax. Sounds like you got a better deal than I was offered by Cox.

I went back and calculated my current bill, and it is $37 for phone after tax and $78 for cable/internet after tax. Internet should go down about $13-$14 next month, which should put me right around $100 after tax with Qwest.

That's were they get you you need a converter for each digital, or HD on cox.
after you reposted here is our total bill
$176.96

1 Cable+Digital Cable three tiers additional outlets are only the cost to rent the box which we have 1 additional digital outlet.

2 CHSI 7MB/512kb

3 Cox Digital phone + voice mail,control plus voicemail

did you try using the website ordering, or the rate cards?

ajwees41

Any word on Cox using SDV? I just purchased a TiVoHD and would hate to not get all the channels.

When is Cox in Omaha going to get Hd movies In Demand ? I see many Cox cities already have this, its seems Cox in Omaha we have to wait longer for new HD programming than some Cox franchises in other cities.

Any word on Cox using SDV? I just purchased a TiVoHD and would hate to not get all the channels.


I don' think they are, but they might have to if people start wining for more HD before the upgraded cable plant is done.

ajwees41

When is Cox in Omaha going to get Hd movies In Demand ? I see many Cox cities already have this, its seems Cox in Omaha we have to wait longer for new HD programming than some Cox franchises in other cities.

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=76341&p=irol-newsArticle&t=Regular&id=1022121&

I don't think 2 cities are many.



You mean Ondemand HD movies? I don't think any Cox location has them indemand, but they do ondemand.


Omaha also had to wait for the digital simulcastng to be done since they tried to do the upgrade when the CWS was in town.


ajwees41

Any word on Cox using SDV? I just purchased a TiVoHD and would hate to not get all the channels.
They must not be yet because I get all the channels with my cablecard in the Sony.

I am sure the city of Omaha and state of Nebraska love the $76 and change you pay to them every month in taxes.

1st Post

Originally Posted by ajwees41
"...I just priced what we pay and Cox digital cable three tiers(HD/DVR+ service) plus basic digital phone plus cable internet 7MB down without taxes is $100.25"


That's were they get you you need a converter for each digital, or HD on cox.
after you reposted here is our total bill
$176.96

1 Cable+Digital Cable three tiers additional outlets are only the cost to rent the box which we have 1 additional digital outlet.

2 CHSI 7MB/512kb

3 Cox Digital phone + voice mail,control plus voicemail

did you try using the website ordering, or the rate cards?

ajwees41

I am sure the city of Omaha and state of Nebraska love the $76 and change you pay to them every month in taxes.

1st Post

Originally Posted by ajwees41
"...I just priced what we pay and Cox digital cable three tiers(HD/DVR+ service) plus basic digital phone plus cable internet 7MB down without taxes is $100.25"



I was using the basic pricing off of the website for my first post. I didn't include the taxes, or the 2nd digital outlet, or a feature package for the phone.

I also forgot the $41.95 for the CHSI


taxes are $19.41

ajwees41

One thing you can do to curtail extra set top box fees is to go with dual-tuner models such as Dishs' Vip622 and Vip222.

Both support two televisions, the primary set can be either HD or SD and a second SDTV can be supported in the same room or in another room using the built in frequency agile UHF modulator(s) and the included second UHF remote.

The Vip622 will support PVR playback to both its' televisions at once and the Vip222, although not a PVR device, will allow tuning of two separate satellite channels at once for two separate televisions. Further both the Vip622 and Vip222 support satellite PIP on the primary set when the secondary set is not in use, great for fall football.

There are affordable multi-television support options other than cable out there.

Looks like the Dish VIP 622's external Hard Drive will be activated Aug 15th and will support external HDs up tp 750 Gigs. This is important for storing all those HD DVR recordings.

**and**

The Ethernet port will be activated for updates Aug 15th with later Video on Demand via the internet being activated in Sept/Oct with Starz being up first.


Direct TV also has a lot of new things plan for this Sept/Oct

Time to leave Cox if really one HD

Looks like the Dish VIP 622's external Hard Drive will be activated Aug 15th and will support external HDs up tp 750 Gigs. This is important for storing all those HD DVR recordings.

**and**

The Ethernet port will be activated for updates Aug 15th with later Video on Demand via the internet being activated in Sept/Oct with Starz being up first.


Direct TV also has a lot of new things plan for this Sept/Oct

Time to leave Cox if really one HD


Scott do you you work for Dish or Direct TV? What do you have agianst cox?


ajwees41

Sorry if this has been posted already but I just got a new TV and everything looks great with the exception of CBS. On both KOLN and KMTV the picture looks grainy and just plain bad. Its more difficult to see on my smaller TV but on the 40" its easy to see that something bad is happening on CBS. Has anyone else seen this?

I've been wondering if KMTV is having problems with their CBS HD signal; I've been getting some cutouts on channel 3 during CBS HD programming, though it's fine for local stuff. Maybe it's just a coincedence...

BTW, nice atmospheric skip last night... I was playing with my tuner as my wife accidentally added a cable channel to the digital tuner and suddenly was picking up KLKN-DT in Lincoln (why do they broadcast the same program on 8.2?), KOLN-DT in Lincoln, KTIV-DT from Sioux City, and KPTH-TV from Sioux City... all gone this morning though...

BTW, nice atmospheric skip last night... I was playing with my tuner as my wife accidentally added a cable channel to the digital tuner and suddenly was picking up KLKN-DT in Lincoln (why do they broadcast the same program on 8.2?), KOLN-DT in Lincoln, KTIV-DT from Sioux City, and KPTH-TV from Sioux City... all gone this morning though...

Good skip a few nights ago as well... I got all the full-powers out of Des Moines (even KCCI-DT over the top of KLKN-DT, which normally is extremely reliable here...) and everything in Sioux City except for KCAU-DT. Reception of WHO-DT actually continued all the way into the next day until around 1:30 PM.

As far as KLKN... the 8.2 feed is intended for digital SDTVs.

Sorry if this has been posted already but I just got a new TV and everything looks great with the exception of CBS. On both KOLN and KMTV the picture looks grainy and just plain bad. Its more difficult to see on my smaller TV but on the 40" its easy to see that something bad is happening on CBS. Has anyone else seen this?

I haven't noticed any picture problems on either KMTV or KOLN in the last couple days... actually, the picture on both channels looks better to me than either ABC or Fox due to CBS being 1080i rather than 720p. What kind of TV do you have? I'm assuming you're getting OTA HD reception (right?).

Yeah its a mits 1080p 40" LCD, using OTA everything looks great. Maybe its the upconvert on the 1080i? HDNet looks great though, the 720p stuff on 7 is awesome and 6 looks great also. The preseason game on KPTM was perfect as well. CBS on both feeds (KOLN and KMTV) just looks grainy.

...

Time to leave Cox if really one HD

I saw a list of new HD channels coming out between now and Q1 08 and emailed Cox to see if they would be carrying any of them. This was the reply I got this evening:

Dear Valued Cox Customer:

Thank you for your inquiry.

Cox will have the ability to add up to 70 HD channels to our line up by
the end of the year. Depending on availability of these channels in our
area we will add them as soon as they are available to do so.

Thank you for choosing Cox Communications as Your Friend in the Digital
Age!

I didn't expect them to comment on actual channels, but this was a welcome response. We're HDTiVo users so we're curious about how these will be added too!

-Sean

Way cool, they added Animal Planet HD, Discovery HD (its in addition to t Discovery HD theater that every one has already), Discovery Science Channel HD, MTV HD, TLC HD, Golf/Vrs HD, and the History Channel in HD will be Sept 1st.

Direct TV will be adding them in about 3-4 weeks and Cox will be adding them maybe by Dec and January.

HD is looking good for all.

I saw a list of new HD channels coming out between now and Q1 08 and emailed Cox to see if they would be carrying any of them. This was the reply I got this evening:



I didn't expect them to comment on actual channels, but this was a welcome response. We're HDTiVo users so we're curious about how these will be added too!

-Sean

They will probablly have to sign contracts also.

ajwees41

I've got a Vizio 37" lcd with QAM tuner, and i get CBS,NBC,and Cw in high def. Do other HDTV's with QAM tuners not get Fox and ABC? I thought i read somwhere that ABC wouldn't be unscrmabled, but I thought my tv would have picked up fox.

Also, What kind of reception would I get with an indoor antenna(near Westroads). Or if an indoor antenna wouldn't work, where would i be able to find a cheaper outdoor antenna?

I just got a Samsung LCD 3253 and after an hour of messing around, I got some of the HD channels to come in. What channels should I be able to get? Any chance I can get Lincoln channels as well?

Right now I just have a separate coax cable just sitting down the TV stand, but have an old antenna somewhere. Should I just be able to use that or should I get an "HD Antenna"?

Are there any Digital channels available that I can receive with my QAM tuner? If so, what are the channels?

What channels should I be able to get?

If you are trying to get over the air (free) programming then you should use this link to check: http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx

Thanks for the link. I was also wondering if I can get any Cox Digital channels using the QAM tuner just by having extended basic?

Also, what antenna would you recommend? I don't want to spend more than $50-$75. Will I be able to receive Lincoln channels or any other cities channels OTA from Omaha?

We're HDTiVo users so we're curious about how these will be added too!

Here's the question that I posed to my contact at Cox. I'll wait for something more definitive before I buy some HD TiVo's and switch back from DTV.

Q. Can you confirm or deny that Cox is planning to use SDV? If so, what is the timeframe?

A. So far, there has not been a decision to launch SDV in Cox Omaha. That could change as demands for bandwidth increase.

I would say if Omaha keeps getting people that want more HD before the digtal upgrade is done that's supposed to add 100 Mhz to Omaha we will see SDV sooner rather than later.

just my opinion.

ajwees41

Hey will all this bandwidth talk, anyone heard anything about omaha getting FIOS?

Hey will all this bandwidth talk, anyone heard anything about omaha getting FIOS?

Qwest doesn't do FIOS, so probably will not see it any time soon.



ajwees41

Cox just put the KETVHD FAQ back up on the local cox page.

HidefHusker can you see if any progress was made yet?

ajwees41

Yeah, I asked that question too. :)

Q. What is the state of negotiations between Cox and KETV? It seems unlikely that KETV will be sold. How/when will you get this resolved?

A. The situation remains the same... they want us to pay for a signal you can receive free with an antenna. We will not sign a contract that is not in the best interest of our customers.

Anyone hear anymore on Cox switching to the Iguide?

ajwees41

I think Cox will very likey go to SDV here. There planning to roll it out in there other markets real soon here.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6470803.html

That link details there plans for some of there other markets.

I don't think they will do anything until the upgrade is done.

ajwees41

Does anyone have a list of the QAM channels Cox offers?

Can any local people help me on this?
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=896204

Screen Question

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

I have a Hitachi 42" similar to the 55HDS69, sometimes the picture does not fill up the whole screen and I hate that, how do I fix it?

I'm not sure I understand the problem. Do you mean it doesn't fill the screen when you are watching material that is 16:9 to begin with?

Can any local people help me on this?
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=896204

Is it the 42HDS69?

Yes.....I guess I do not know how to explain it. Some channels I think some HD channels what is on the screen does not fill the whole screen

Some channels I think some HD channels what is on the screen does not fill the whole screen
........so we are talking about TV, right? What is your source for HDTV (ie. cox, over the air, sat.).?

I guess I do not know how to explain it.
When it does not fill the whole screen, are the black bars on the sides or the top and bottom?

Some of the source material on an HD channel is not actually HD. A lot of commercials are still in SD and just converted to a digital signal for your HDTV, which would be an example of the black bars on the sides. Also, the material might have a wider aspect ratio than 16:9, ie. cinescope (2.35:1) which would be the bars on the top and bottom.

Does it 'not fill the screen' during the show you are watching or only on certain commercials?

I have Cox HD service. Yes, there are bars over there, but if I am watching ESPN the bars say ESPN, other shows they are just black. I am not sure if I have it set on the right aspect or if I should have that set to auto

Are you sure you are watching ESPN HD (channel 821) and not just ESPN?

Is ESPN the only channel you having trouble with?

When you first get to an HD channel, many tv's will flash what the source is in a corner like 720p or 1080i.........do you see that ever.

821 I am sure. But I think that channel is ok. No I have never seen that before

Maybe the set top box from Cox was not setup properly (this is what I would guess). I would check to make sure the signal that is being sent to the tv is HD. I don't have a Cox box but I would guess that there is a set up menu or a switch in the back of the box for 480i, 720p, 1080i....etc. Also, make sure the box knows you have a 16:9 tv.

Check if there is an 'info' button or something similar like 'display' on your tv's remote. That should tell you what signal is being fed to the tv.

Have you ever tuned in a channel that has filled the entire screen? If you are getting the ESPN logo on the sides then it is a SD signal, I just don't know if your STB (Set Top Box) is converting it or your tv. Or maybe the show from ESPN is not in HD.

I am not sure if I have it set on the right aspect or if I should have that set to auto Do you mean the tv or the STB?

One more basic question: What type of cable is connected to the tv from the STB?

What do you mean by STB?

I mean:

STB (Set Top Box) The cable box from Cox.

Do you mean the tv or the STB?[/QUOTE]


I mean TV

HDMI from Cable DVR to TV

HDMI from Cable DVR to TV
That's good news. I looked at the user's manual for your tv and it looks like the info button (shown in the first file attached remote.GIF) will show you what signal is coming into the set. See second file attached from page 26 of the manual (pg26manual.GIF).

I am not sure if I have it set on the right aspect or if I should have that set to auto
Do you mean the tv or the STB?
I mean TV

OK now I think I understand. You were asking about the aspect button on your tv's remote. The manual says,
Aspect
Use this function to select the Picture Format Aspect
Ratio.
Auto Aspect
Automatically adjust the Aspect Ratio depending on
the input signal to fill the screen.
Mode
Manually select the Aspect Ratio.
Vertical Position
This function allows you to select when aspect style is
either 4:3 EXPANDED/ZOOM1/ZOOM2 or 16:9
ZOOM. Vertical position can be changed with these modes. For example, it will be useful for centering the
picture area at both the top and bottom of the picture with 480i/480p signal. Adjustable range is -10 (video
center is toward bottom of screen) to +10 (video is toward top of screen).

If you set it to auto it should fill the screen. I would set it to 16:9 because I hate to see things get distorted just to fill the screen, but that's just me. I still think you need to check the Cox box to verify it is sending the HD signal.

Awesome DUDE huge help!!!

A. The situation remains the same... they want us to pay for a signal you can receive free with an antenna

Sure but they'll repackage it and sell it as a bundle, so they still want something for nothing, cheap bastards! :rolleyes:

Speaking of Cox, someone at Cox disconnected our internet feed at the box (neighbors backyard) earlier this week. :confused: Tech had to come out and reconnect it.

It was cr@p like this with our ex-cable service that drove us to Dish seven years ago. This happens again I'm going DSL and will cut my Cox entirely off. :p

You sure it wasn't the weather or some kid playing pranks on you?

Sure but they'll repackage it and sell it as a bundle, so they still want something for nothing, cheap bastards! :rolleyes:

Speaking of Cox, someone at Cox disconnected our internet feed at the box (neighbors backyard) earlier this week. :confused: Tech had to come out and reconnect it.

It was cr@p like this with our ex-cable service that drove us to Dish seven years ago. This happens again I'm going DSL and will cut my Cox entirely off. :p



How do they sell it as a bundle? I am still waiting for KETV to explain how Cox is charging for the HD. The only charge is the same as renting a dish/directv box.

ajwees41

You sure it wasn't the weather or some kid playing pranks on you?

Yeah those thunderstorms were pretty serious the other night, could have vibrated the fitting loose. If it were kids you'd think they'd have chosen more than one to disconnect.

So AwJeeze you're telling me that for a monthly STB fee I can get all the other locals for free, no basic subscription (package) is required? :rolleyes:

Cox is a reseller, they rack and stack, put their label on it and ship it down the fiber and they don't do it for free!

Alright Lincoln HDTV experts, I posted this in another thread but was directed to this one. I chose originally not to post here because it was soooo long and I was afraid I would not get a response.

I plan to have a 42" Visio LCD set up at a tailgate for all Husker home games. My parking spot is a couple blocks from the stadium. I recently bought a Winegard HA0130 to pick up over the air HD channels. My question is whether this will work or if there is some way to boost the signal. ABC and CBS are the only channels that are important. Also, what channels should I be looking for in Lincoln - Lincoln ABC broadacasts in HD don't they?

Thanks

Yeah those thunderstorms were pretty serious the other night, could have vibrated the fitting loose. If it were kids you'd think they'd have chosen more than one to disconnect.

So AwJeeze you're telling me that for a monthly STB fee I can get all the other locals for free, no basic subscription (package) is required? :rolleyes:

Cox is a reseller, they rack and stack, put their label on it and ship it down the fiber and they don't do it for free!



No the way I see it is KETV thinks since Cox charges to rent the HD?/HDDVR they should be paid for a free signal.

ajwees41

So AwJeeze you're telling me that for a monthly STB fee I can get all the other locals for free, no basic subscription (package) is required? :rolleyes:

Cox is a reseller, they rack and stack, put their label on it and ship it down the fiber and they don't do it for free!

How much did Cox lower their price when KETVDT was pulled? That's how much people were being charged for it.