"I have the backside of the antenna pointed at PBS, and the front side is off to the side of the main garner tower a bit (maybe 10-15 deg). I had to move the antenna right next to an outside wall on the PBS side. I can pull the garner stations from across most of the attic, but PBS needs to only have the single wall between the antenna and the tower. If I move it closest to the garner side wall, I lose PBS."


In my case I have the front of the 4228 pointed more towards PBS and goet most of Garner stations as well as PAX from an angle of the 4228.

I also have tried the antenna farther from PBS and could not get PBS.

On Sunday around 6 I had no signal instantly on PBS but than at 7pm back to normal.

I was going to watch more on PBS Sunday evening but it was all repeats.

BTW- I was watching All Creatures great and small and kept hearing what sounded like a unrelated audio track in the back ground.

-DonB2

ABC11 and FOX50 are still missing via TW QAM on my SXRD. Everything else comes in. Anyone else having trouble tuning these via QAM on TW?
I just got my 60XBR2 delivered Friday and I'm loving it so far. I had this same problem with the QAM tuner not picking up those channels via TW. As mentioned earlier by some of you, I did figure out that they came in under 113.1 and 113.4 respectively.

I have another interesting dilemma related to the QAM tuner that I hope someone can shed light on. I do not currently have a TW cable box. Has anyone else had the experience of your QAM tuners picking up far fewer HD/digital channels when routing your incoming coax cable through a surge suppressor as opposed to straight out of the wall? I had this happen to mine as I toggled back and forth between the two setups. When I ran through the surge suppressor, several channels were not found (NBC17 17.1 was one of them I believe). When run straight out of the wall into the TV, many more channels were found including 17.1. Is this just a strange coincidence or a common occurrence for some of you? I'd rather use the surge suppressor for my coax, but on the other hand, I want those addditional channels as well. What are most of you doing - using a surge suppressor for your cable feed or not?

By the way, I am also sending in for an antenna from WRAL today via their great antenna giveaway program. It will be nice to have that as a backup and kudos to WRAL for doing this!

Hi all, I just hooked up my HDHomeRun an hour ago (man this thing is SWEET) and I can also confirm that ABC and FOX are MIA! My buddy up in North Raleigh first reported this to me last week. I'm downtown myself.

Oh well, these HDHomeruns have both QAM and ATSC tuners built-in... guess I'll just have to watch those channels OTA... wonder what's up though - hope it isn't permanent.

huggybear

Interestingly enough, my Sharp LC-37D7U is now displaying a message reading:
CableCARD firmware upgrade in progress...
I've never seen such a message before (either on Durham TWC or Arlington, VA Comcast)... Any idea what's in the works?

This quote worked in the Charlotte thread, so maybe it brings good luck and makes things happen :):

"Just found out that ESPN2 HD is up and running in Columbia and Myrtle Beach and Charlotte on Time Warner. What is the freaking problem with TWC Charlotte Raleigh. Can we ever expect to get access? I can't believe yet another baseball season is here and we are still going through this!"

Crossing fingers...

Hi all, I just hooked up my HDHomeRun an hour ago (man this thing is SWEET) and I can also confirm that ABC and FOX are MIA! My buddy up in North Raleigh first reported this to me last week. I'm downtown myself.

Oh well, these HDHomeruns have both QAM and ATSC tuners built-in... guess I'll just have to watch those channels OTA... wonder what's up though - hope it isn't permanent.

huggybear

Very strange...I'm in Cary and also using an HDHomeRun (which I too think is great!) and have no troubles getting all of the local stations including FOX and ABC via QAM.

This quote worked in the Charlotte thread, so maybe it brings good luck and makes things happen :):

"Just found out that ESPN2 HD is up and running in Columbia and Myrtle Beach and Charlotte on Time Warner. What is the freaking problem with TWC Charlotte Raleigh. Can we ever expect to get access? I can't believe yet another baseball season is here and we are still going through this!"

Crossing fingers...

I emailed George Douglas (VP of Marketing for TWC Raleigh) and he was totally unaware of ESPN2HD being added to any TWC markets. No surprise. He's usually pretty good about replies if you'd like to ask (george.douglas@twcable.com).

Very strange...I'm in Cary and also using an HDHomeRun (which I too think is great!) and have no troubles getting all of the local stations including FOX and ABC via QAM.

Oh oh, that's def. a problem - I didn't think anyone in the RTP was getting those channels over QAM which would indicate something going on on their end... my friend isn't receiving them with the tuner built into his TV, nor am I with my HDHomerun.

Can you confirm that you are still receiving them today? What channels are they under in the HDHomeRun Config.

Thanks a lot!

huggybear

QAM Question- If you already have Digi 1000 TWC coming into your house on main tv with a HD cable box and you have another QAM tv in family room. Will the QAM tv display all the digital channels or will you need a second TWC digital box?

-DonB2

I just got my 60XBR2 delivered Friday and I'm loving it so far. I had this same problem with the QAM tuner not picking up those channels via TW. As mentioned earlier by some of you, I did figure out that they came in under 113.1 and 113.4 respectively.

Duh, I guess I should have read the post before mine! I am able to pull in ABC and Fox on 113.1 and 113.4 as well!

However, unlike all the other channels, the station identifier does not appear. Weird.

huggybear

QAM Question- If you already have Digi 1000 TWC coming into your house on main tv with a HD cable box and you have another QAM tv in family room. Will the QAM tv display all the digital channels or will you need a second TWC digital box?

-DonB2

Don - You won't need another box (unless you want to pick up more than just the locals that QAM will give you). In fact, you could even split the connection that feeds the HD cable box and have one input going into the box, the other going directly into the TVs RF in if it has a built in QAM tuner (useful if you want to record something on the HD box while watching something else via QAM).

huggybear

"Don - You won't need another box (unless you want to pick up more than just the locals that QAM will give you). In fact, you could even split the connection that feeds the HD cable box and have one input going into the box, the other going directly into the TVs RF in if it has a built in QAM tuner (useful if you want to record something on the HD box while watching something else via QAM).

huggybear "


So if on the Main TV that has a box for viewing Digi 1000 you can see digital"SD" but not HD USA for example.

On the other TV with a QAM tuner would you be able to see Digital"SD"-USA?

-DonB2

Interestingly enough, my Sharp LC-37D7U is now displaying a message reading:
CableCARD firmware upgrade in progress...
I've never seen such a message before (either on Durham TWC or Arlington, VA Comcast)... Any idea what's in the works?
I saw that on my Sony DVR, just a few minutes after midnight. Coincidentally, I was watching the NCAA final, using the DVR's buffer, and the message appeared while I was watching the end of the game. It was kind of rude to interrupt like that.

Don, if you are using an HD cable box, that box will receive everything you would receive over QAM, PLUS any encrypted channels that you subscribe to. QAM will only allow you to receive the unencrypted locals. The USA channel does not come through on QAM (only CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, CW, UNC). So in short, to watch USA HD you would have to use an HD box and subscribe to it.

In some cities QAM only comes through in SD digital... in the Raleigh area we are fortunate enough to get the locals in full HD!

huggybear

This quote worked in the Charlotte thread, so maybe it brings good luck and makes things happen :):

"Just found out that ESPN2 HD is up and running in Columbia and Myrtle Beach and Charlotte on Time Warner. What is the freaking problem with TWC Charlotte Raleigh. Can we ever expect to get access? I can't believe yet another baseball season is here and we are still going through this!"

Crossing fingers...

George Douglas (VP of TWC Raleigh Mktg) emailed me just now saying that ESPN2HD will launch for TWC Raleigh "today or tomorrow".

From the looks of it, someone at TWC hit the "pause" button on their universal remote -- every single channel is frozen and has been for about 10 minutes -- the signal is live, but nothing's moving. Ironically, there's 3-4 TWC commercials frozen

(Repeatable on QAM, CableCARD and basic cable across multiple receivers.)

EDIT: Well, Fox-HD/SD, ABC-HD/SD, PDS-HD/SD and CBS-HD/SD are moving, everything else (including WNCN) is "paused."

Same here in Cary. Seems all the analog channels, 76 and below are black. Digitals are fine.

George Douglas (VP of TWC Raleigh Mktg) emailed me just now saying that ESPN2HD will launch for TWC Raleigh "today or tomorrow".

Happy now ?????? :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Happy now ?????? :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Yep. You?

I'll be happy if they don't add ESPN2 (or anything else) by compromising the quality of the existing HD channels. Sometimes more is less.

I'll be happy if they don't add ESPN2 (or anything else) by compromising the quality of the existing HD channels. Sometimes more is less.

Apparently, TWC is confident that they will have the technology (see below):

http://www.tvpredictions.com/tw040407.htm

Probably TWC blacked out the Analog to see how much Bandwidth they will gain. :)

-DonB2

Attic Mounted Reception during last nights weather,

Last night I found UNC to be basically "No Signal Found".

WRAL has some very minor glitches.

Watched PAX for two hours and screen would blink every time I caught a flash of lightening off in the distance.

BUT PAX was very watchable if you can put up with their programming choices.

-DonB2

"Don, if you are using an HD cable box, that box will receive everything you would receive over QAM, PLUS any encrypted channels that you subscribe to. QAM will only allow you to receive the unencrypted locals. The USA channel does not come through on QAM (only CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, CW, UNC). So in short, to watch USA HD you would have to use an HD box and subscribe to it.

In some cities QAM only comes through in SD digital... in the Raleigh area we are fortunate enough to get the locals in full HD!

huggybear "

I guess I was high on Pollen yesterday. I was thinking that the SD line up for Digi Pack 1000 was sent over the TWC lines unencrypted sort of like the analog line up.

-DonB2

Apparently, TWC is confident that they will have the technology (see below):

http://www.tvpredictions.com/tw040407.htm
It sounds like they took care of everything this time (unlike when they got ESPNHD when ESPN2HD was only a couple of months away)....something tells me they forgot ESPNU though.

TWC physical question:

I am looking at those Green Silos that we all have near the street which contain the cable connections. On one side almost to the top is a Plastic cover with a shiny metal hollow bolt affair.

Does anyone know what purpose this hollow bolt assembly serves?

It almost looks like a oversize car tire valve stem with the valve removed.

I got three of these Green Silos in my yard :confused:

I realise I don't have a need to know and someone may have to shoot me after they tell me , but I am just curious.

-DonB2

The cable box on the side of my house has a simliar bolt that sounds like what you are describing. And i'm guessing it's to keep people out who don't have the proper tool.

"The cable box on the side of my house has a simliar bolt that sounds like what you are describing. And i'm guessing it's to keep people out who don't have the proper tool. "

Could be the case but the cable company does not appear to be overly concerned seeing as two of the three are loose on the base and tilted over enough to be called Tower of Pizza instead of Green Silo.

Maybe the Silo keeps the RoadRunners in and not the Public out :D

-DonB2

the silo in our front yard is also loose.. I usually hit it with the lawnmower and then have to stuff all the wires back in.

but i haven't been able to open up the box on the side of our house.

I'll be happy if they don't add ESPN2 (or anything else) by compromising the quality of the existing HD channels. Sometimes more is less.

Wait a minute ... TWC is claiming that their technology can deliver 100 HDs. Of course, this is coming from an executive who doesn't even own an HDTV:

http://www.tvpredictions.com/tw030907.htm

its the silo i am referring to.

It looks like you are suppose to pressurize the silo or something.

-donb2

TWC physical question:

I am looking at those Green Silos that we all have near the street which contain the cable connections. On one side almost to the top is a Plastic cover with a shiny metal hollow bolt affair.

Does anyone know what purpose this hollow bolt assembly serves?

It almost looks like a oversize car tire valve stem with the valve removed.

I got three of these Green Silos in my yard :confused:

I realise I don't have a need to know and someone may have to shoot me after they tell me , but I am just curious.

-DonB2

It's a proprietary locking device which takes a special tool to remove.

Wait a minute ... TWC is claiming that their technology can deliver 100 HDs. Of course, this is coming from an executive who doesn't even own an HDTV:

http://www.tvpredictions.com/tw030907.htm

It can (and will) deliver an unlimited amount of content, HD and otherwise. Now all we need is the content.

It can (and will) deliver an unlimited amount of content, HD and otherwise. Now all we need is the content.

Then we'll all be able to help time warner pay for these upgrades.

Attic Mounted Reception during last nights weather,

Last night I found UNC to be basically "No Signal Found".

WRAL has some very minor glitches.

Watched PAX for two hours and screen would blink every time I caught a flash of lightening off in the distance.

BUT PAX was very watchable if you can put up with their programming choices.

-DonB2
I'm betting you were getting signal overload lastnight. I say this because I was actually getting WRAL-DT and WRDC-DT for the first time ever with my settop amplified rabbit ears lastnight with a 75% signal strength. Vary odd considering Troposperic Ducting (http://www.dxinfocentre.com/tr_map/archive/3eam.jpg) was Low lastnight. I get WRAL-DT and WRDC-DT ~70% of the time with my ampped rooftop UHF/VHF antenna but never with my rabbit ears. And I'm down in Pembroke (about 70+ miles south of their towers).

Wait a minute ... TWC is claiming that their technology can deliver 100 HDs. Of course, this is coming from an executive who doesn't even own an HDTVMaybe that's because of misgivings about currently available technology. There are significant drawbacks in CRT, LCD, Plasma and DLP for HD that kept me from jumping in until recently. Add to these prices that are too often far in excess of apparent benefits provided, and I imagine there are still quite a few people who are waiting around for another shoe to drop.

Laser maybe?

As a data point, it appears with TWC that you cannot roll from one retention pkg to another without a gap of paying full fare. I'd considered switching to Dish last year, offered (and accepted) a retention pkg, which finally expired. When I called to cancel, they said there was nothing more they could do. Off to Dish I go :)

Mike

Hi,

We have two TWC Scientific Atlanta 8300HDs in our house. Each unit is hooked up to a separate HDTV (Sharp 37d40u). One unit works fine.

When changing channels on the other one, it will "often" just start rolling the channels. So, if I am on channel 255 and hit the up channel button on the remote, it will go to channel 256 and then 257 and so on. Usually, I can press another button (e.g,. down channel) and cause it to stop rolling.

I called TWC and they switched out the unit. It still continues. I switched the remote with the the first 8300HD (the one that works) and it still continues. I also removed the UPS, but to no difference.

Help? Does any one have any ideas?

Thank you,
James

Off topic question, but I don't really have a more appropriate forum to ask this in:

Last year we got the Orioles games on FSN-South from their CSN-Mid Atlantic broadcast. This season, the Orioles games are broadcast on MASN and I haven't seen any indication that FSN in our area is going to be carrying those games. We are in the Orioles and Nationals broadcast footprint only, so we can't get the Braves games that are shown on FSN-South, so this would be our only regional MLB option (at least on cable). Does anybody know if FSN has an agreement with MASN to show Orioles and/or Nats games?

ESPN2HD is now on TWC ch.289.

Wow, today ESPN2-HD with ESPNU on the way later this year. To quote Lou Gehrig, "Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." :D

Ok, that's a stretch but today's announcements are great for those of us that really wanted to stay with cable.

^Yup...is it up to the local TWC offices when to add these? Raleigh has added ESPN2HD while others havent...I just hope we get ESPNU in time for the NCAA Baseball tournament (I believe they air all of the games)

This made my decision for me -- I called up & cancelled my DirecTV install that was scheduled for Saturday (phew!). Now I just hope I *really* get that $200 I've already been charged for (the HD DVR) credited back soon. That's always fun.

Looks like I'll be getting a TWC HD DVR on Saturday when I move in -- they offered me a rediculously low promo price for the 1st year that I just couldn't turn down, and now with ESPN2HD and ESPN-U hopefully in the pipeline, it's just a no brainer. My house was already wired for cable, makes my life a lot easier. Kudos (FINALLY!) TWC.

^Yup...is it up to the local TWC offices when to add these? Raleigh has added ESPN2HD while others havent...I just hope we get ESPNU in time for the NCAA Baseball tournament (I believe they air all of the games)

Is it coincidence that ESPN2HD became available, or the result of someone simply making the request as noted in an earlier post?

ESPN2-HD is *FAR* overdue on TWC. The "requests" have been pouring for what seems like forever.

Excellent! Now i'll subscribe to the HD tier come football season.

According to the TWC website, ESPN-HD and ESPN2-HD are now part of their regular digital package and not their HD Suite.

.... HD Suite cancelled. :)

.... DirecTV inquiries ended....... for now. :D

Hi All,
I live in Durham (RTP area) and I recently bought a new LCD TV, my first HDTV ever. I’m one of those 15% who don’t subscribe to cable or satellite, so I’m very interested in OTA HDTV. I’m using a $40 RCA UHF/VHF (amplified) rabbit’s ear antenna and I’m getting pretty decent reception given that the antenna is placed in the attic. Signal strength seems to fluctuate between 60% and 80% and I can’t seem to get it better than this. My goal is to get maximum reception without having to install a rooftop/outdoor antenna, and so here are some of my questions.

1. Can I get better reception than this with indoor antennas? If so, what are other antennas that you’ve used and have good experiences with?
2. I was thinking about buying the Terk HDTVa antenna, but I’m not sure if it will pick up all the channels since it’s a directional antenna. Looking at antennaweb website, the towers for all the network channels are located at 136 degree from where I live with one exception, PBS at 265 degree. I would really like to pick up all channels including PBS. Would this be a problem with the Terk antenna?

Thanks in advance.

According to the TWC website, ESPN-HD and ESPN2-HD are now part of their regular digital package and not their HD Suite.

.... HD Suite cancelled. :)

.... DirecTV inquiries ended....... for now. :D

WOW! Even better!

[QUOTE=Tony554]Hi All,


>1. Can I get better reception than this with indoor antennas?

A lot of people recommend the Zenith Silver Sensor (which is also sold under the Philips name).

>If so, what are other antennas that you’ve used and have good experiences with?

Everyone has an opinion about which antenna is best. I have had reasonably good luck with the amplified Winegard Square Shooter, but it is a bit overpriced for what it is. It's big advantage is that it doesn't look like a TV antenna, so doesn't detract visually when mounted outdoors.

>2. I was thinking about buying the Terk HDTVa antenna, but I’m not sure if it will pick up all the channels since it’s a directional antenna.

The general consensus is that TERK antennas are overpriced.

You do know about WRAL's Antenna giveaway? Can't post the URL due to dumb restriction, do a google search.

You will end up with a Channel Master Yagi, which you can mount in your attic with little trouble. Or stick it in your living room and call it an Alexander Calder mobile by hanging stuff from it. It is directional antenna, so pointing will be critical. I have the unreasonable expectation to avoid an antenna rotor.

I have two antennas up right now -- the other is an Antenna Direct DB-2 mounted on the side of my house -- not optimal at all, but it works reasonably well all things considered (Channel Master makes a very similar model). One nice thing is that it is somewhat bipolar, a little less critical about direction.



I am considering replacing the Square Shooter on the roof with a big ugly antenna to combine VHF/UHF reception (analog and digital signals) -- I wondering what people are using?

--hal

Although it undoubtedly won't last, ESPN2-HD is now in the clear on Raleigh TWC 107.1.

Hello all, I live in Goldsboro stationed at SJAFB, My new plasma does not need a STB to receive HDTV signals. But and there is always a but, is it possible to receive ESPN HD and Discovery HD without the STB from TWC?

V/R

Bama

Yes - subscribe to DirectTv or Dish Network and get their HD packages.

Hello all, I live in Goldsboro stationed at SJAFB, My new plasma does not need a STB to receive HDTV signals. But and there is always a but, is it possible to receive ESPN HD and Discovery HD without the STB from TWC?

V/R

Bama

Hello Bama, I too am at SJAFB. I have seen that poeple are saying that both ESPN's are in the clear so I would think that you would be able to pick them up without one. I have been known to be wrong before...lol.

Although it undoubtedly won't last, ESPN2-HD is now in the clear on Raleigh TWC 107.1.

Are you saying you dont need a STB from TWC to receive Discovery HD, TNT HD, ESPN HD, and ESPN2 HD? I would love to return the STB. The only reason i have the STB from TWC is to receive the channels listed above. My new plasma does not need a STB to watch HDTV. However i am under the impression that TWC scambles the single for the above stated channels. Can someone please clarify.

V/R

Bama

If your new plasma can receive the stations because they are "QAM in the clear" - then you could return your box. Or, if your set can use CableCard technology AND TWC is also supporting it. Otherwise - you'll need your Set top box from TWC.

>1. Can I get better reception than this with indoor antennas?

A lot of people recommend the Zenith Silver Sensor (which is also sold under the Philips name).

>If so, what are other antennas that you’ve used and have good experiences with?

Everyone has an opinion about which antenna is best. I have had reasonably good luck with the amplified Winegard Square Shooter, but it is a bit overpriced for what it is. It's big advantage is that it doesn't look like a TV antenna, so doesn't detract visually when mounted outdoors.

>2. I was thinking about buying the Terk HDTVa antenna, but I’m not sure if it will pick up all the channels since it’s a directional antenna.

The general consensus is that TERK antennas are overpriced.

You do know about WRAL's Antenna giveaway? Can't post the URL due to dumb restriction, do a google search.

You will end up with a Channel Master Yagi, which you can mount in your attic with little trouble. Or stick it in your living room and call it an Alexander Calder mobile by hanging stuff from it. It is directional antenna, so pointing will be critical. I have the unreasonable expectation to avoid an antenna rotor.

I have two antennas up right now -- the other is an Antenna Direct DB-2 mounted on the side of my house -- not optimal at all, but it works reasonably well all things considered (Channel Master makes a very similar model). One nice thing is that it is somewhat bipolar, a little less critical about direction.



I am considering replacing the Square Shooter on the roof with a big ugly antenna to combine VHF/UHF reception (analog and digital signals) -- I wondering what people are using?

--hal

Thanks for the great input. I have printed out form for WRAL's free antenna and will submit it today.

In the mean time, I will just use my cheapo RCA antenna until I get the one from WRAL. Thanks

Is anybody else having issues with break-ups on ESPN2-HD and ESPN-HD?

Thanks.

Jeff

If your new plasma can receive the stations because they are "QAM in the clear" - then you could return your box. Or, if your set can use CableCard technology AND TWC is also supporting it. Otherwise - you'll need your Set top box from TWC.

Thanks,
Now if i only knew what channles are QAM in the clear

Thanks,
Now if i only knew what channles are QAM in the clearAll the local network affiliates. There's a fairly good list for Durham in the #1 post for this thread.

All the local network affiliates. There's a fairly good list for Durham in the #1 post for this thread.

Dang it, i wish i could get ESPN, ESPN2, Discovery, and TNT in HD without the STB from TWC. Oh well one day it might happen.

FYI...free HBO 6-11 April. Goto channel 490.

another FYI... FREE PREVIEW of MLB Extra Innings on TWC channels 731-744 through Sunday, April 8th extended to Sunday, April 15th (http://www.timewarnercable.com/nc/products/cable/sports_packages/mlb.html).

another FYI... FREE PREVIEW of MLB Extra Innings on TWC channels 731-744 through Sunday, April 8th.

Actually, they extended the free preview for MLB Extra Innings to Apr. 15th. Check the graphic on http://www.twcnc.com.

According to the TWC website, ESPN-HD and ESPN2-HD are now part of their regular digital package and not their HD Suite.

.... HD Suite cancelled. :)

.... DirecTV inquiries ended....... for now. :D


The only reason I was hesitant to drop the HD suite was because INHD shows HD hockey games and baseball games, but I just went to their site and it looks like they have NO MLB games this season, and with hockey season over (hey, Canes are out, hockey is over ;)), then it's adios HD suite!

Is anybody else having issues with break-ups on ESPN2-HD and ESPN-HD?

Thanks.

Jeff Yes, occasional break up in picture. I haven't watched enough to say how often. I have noticed it over the last few days>

According to the TWC website, ESPN-HD and ESPN2-HD are now part of their regular digital package and not their HD Suite.

Bundling them in the normal digital package was probably what ESPN was forcing TWC to do in order to get ESPN2-HD, and why it took so long to happen. I wonder how long it will be before they raise the price of the digital package to recover their costs.. Especially now that many people's only reason for having the HD Suite is gone, and lots of people will probably cancel if they realize they can get ESPN*-HD without paying extra.

Drew

Dang it, i wish i could get ESPN, ESPN2, Discovery, and TNT in HD without the STB from TWC. Oh well one day it might happen.
Does your new plasma have a slot for a CableCARD? If it does, then you can get those channels by having a CableCARD installed, and you can return the STB.

I wonder how long it will be before they raise the price of the digital package to recover their costs.. Especially now that many people's only reason for having the HD Suite is gone, and lots of people will probably cancel if they realize they can get ESPN*-HD without paying extra.
TWC raised the price of DIGIPiC packages by $3 a few months ago.

I wonder if they will lower the price of the HD Suite.

The only reason I was hesitant to drop the HD suite was because INHD shows HD hockey games and baseball games, but I just went to their site and it looks like they have NO MLB games this season
I think MLB will be on MOJO. :)

TWC raised the price of DIGIPiC packages by $3 a few months ago.

I wonder if they will lower the price of the HD Suite.

I'm pretty sure Lucifer will live in an igloo before TWC lowers the rates for anything. ;)

I wonder if they will lower the price of the HD Suite.

Well, I just lowered the price to zero on mine. I hardly ever watched those channels anyways.

On another topic:

Am I missing something, or is DirectTV and others, like TWC, saying they will have the capacity for a ton of HD channels, or are they (very differently) actually saying they will have that many channels?

TWC raised the price of DIGIPiC packages by $3 a few months ago.

I wonder if they will lower the price of the HD Suite.
Its still the same price as it was when it was only inHD, inHD2, HDNet, and HDNet Movies...they added two channels and never increased it...it still has one more channel than 3 years ago, so its fair that they dont decrease it.

Plus, I think inDemand and MLB did strike a deal for Extra Innings, which includes HD games for inHD. Im going to keep it for now, HDNet and HDNet Movies are worth the price alone.

Well, I just lowered the price to zero on mine. I hardly ever watched those channels anyways.

On another topic:

Am I missing something, or is DirectTV and others, like TWC, saying they will have the capacity for a ton of HD channels, or are they (very differently) actually saying they will have that many channels?

They are saying they will have that many channels.. altho as far as I can tell, its a lot of hooey.. ie. 14 of the HD channels on DirectTV are some sports package (MLB?) that is only part of the year.. etc etc... even they one is supposedly hard pressed to figure out how they add up to 100.

Dish currently has 25, in addition to locals, at the same price as TWC digital base level, so for me it was finally time to switch. I'll be happy with just close to 30 HD channels, and have no illusions about if/when it'll be 50 or 100. I do believe 50 or 100 will come 1st from someone other than the incumbent cable providers tho. The Sat providers, and/or some IPTV entity are more eager to grab market share and negotiate deals. And sometimes I wonder that the content providers will cut a better deal to these competitors as a way to pressure the cable co's. So in that way ILCCs may actually be at a disadvantage.. OTOH, that's not my problem :) My only job is to give my $$ to the provider that gives me the most for my $$.

Mike

D* claims 100-150 National HD channels their total collection of satellites will be able to carry (if the next two ever reach orbit).....

But don't forget the total capacity of the D* SYSTEM must be spread across three timezones (East, West and Hawaii/Alaska).

So divide by three for what any particular location will see....

D* claims 100-150 National HD channels their total collection of satellites will be able to carry (if the next two ever reach orbit).....

But don't forget the total capacity of the D* SYSTEM must be spread across three timezones (East, West and Hawaii/Alaska).

So divide by three for what any particular location will see....

Yea, where I live I can't pick up any OTA, so for 2 1/2 years I been watching Sunrise Earth, the one show a day ESPN puts on, and you get the picture. Just last week I received the 5 LNB dish, so now I gets all the locals and networks. Wow, it's nice to actually see some shows in HD now that I've been paying for it all this time. And those 2 new satellites that provide this have been a long time in coming, so don't look for the next ones to be just around the corner.

In fairness to DTV, their PQ is way better than I used to get on cable at my previous house. JMHO. :o

Does your new plasma have a slot for a CableCARD? If it does, then you can get those channels by having a CableCARD installed, and you can return the STB.

No cable card slot. I'm stuck with the box cause i love ESPN HD and Discovery HD.

D* claims 100-150 National HD channels their total collection of satellites will be able to carry (if the next two ever reach orbit).....

But don't forget the total capacity of the D* SYSTEM must be spread across three timezones (East, West and Hawaii/Alaska).

So divide by three for what any particular location will see....

The way it works is that "national" channels are beamed down to you thru a "Conus" satellite which means the satellite is designed to provide coverage to the whole country. Your local stations, SD and HD as well as the HD RSNs are brought to you via a spot beam. In short, all regions will get the same nationals but your locals are specific to your region/city and therefore, there is no splitting of national channels by region.

I don't think I saw this previously within this forum, but apparently some other ABC/ESPN HD channels will follow ESPN2 some time in 2008...

http://www.tvpredictions.com/tw040407.htm

Mike

D* claims 100-150 National HD channels their total collection of satellites will be able to carry (if the next two ever reach orbit).....

But don't forget the total capacity of the D* SYSTEM must be spread across three timezones (East, West and Hawaii/Alaska).

So divide by three for what any particular location will see....
Are you saying that ESPN-HD for example is on 3 different SATS so that ALL of the USA can see it? If so, you are Wrong.

I have been reading and searching this site for over an hour, and can't seem to find the answer to my one question I have about all this HDTV stuff.

I DO NOT have Time Warner Cable TV. However, I DO have Time Warner High Speed Internet. Will the QAM signals still be getting into my house for the local stations (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, PAX)?

Thanks,
- Jeff

I have been reading and searching this site for over an hour, and can't seem to find the answer to my one question I have about all this HDTV stuff.

I DO NOT have Time Warner Cable TV. However, I DO have Time Warner High Speed Internet. Will the QAM signals still be getting into my house for the local stations (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, PAX)?

Thanks,
- Jeff

yes, i think you will be able to view the clear-QAM channels (the locals).

yes, i think you will be able to view the clear-QAM channels (the locals).

TWC may have installed a filter on you line to remove everything except the forward channel for the cable modem. In that case... you wont get any TV off the cable.

Do you see normal analog tv? 2-99? If no... then the filter is likely in place.

http://www.ppc-online.com/products/trap_line/data/SNBR.php

Anybody else notice that sound was a little out of sync for Masterpiece Theatre on 4.2 last night? 4.1 seemed OK. I get signals via TWC QAM, so there could have been a problem there somewhere.

Yes, two years ago they finally found a filter that let in the full bandwidth of the cable modem and blocked all the analog TV channels. I was afraid that no QAM signals would be passed thorugh, but I expected as much. Thx.

Yes, two years ago they finally found a filter that let in the full bandwidth of the cable modem and blocked all the analog TV channels. I was afraid that no QAM signals would be passed thorugh, but I expected as much. Thx.

clear-QAM channels will still work, even with the filter for analog channels. i think the cable modem uses some of the QAM channels/frequencies, so physical filtering isn't possible.

Are you saying that ESPN-HD for example is on 3 different SATS so that ALL of the USA can see it? If so, you are Wrong.
D* should have the SYSTEM CAPACITY to simultaneously transmit most new channels
(e.g. SCIFI-HD, NGC-HD, CMAX-HD) on three "channels": EAST, WEST and HI/AK.
Programs targeted for Prime Time on East Coast would otherwise be broadcast at 3-5pm in HI/AK.
And "Late-Night TV" would start at 5pm in HI/AK and 8pm on West Coast...totally unacceptable....
There also are SAT beam coverage limitations, as discussed below.

Even with current transponders, it would take three "channels" worth of capacity to carry all three versions.....
Whether on three separate satellites or one within view of all locations (good luck with that).

I also presume most new HD will be MPEG4.
If some of these HD channels are part of the data burst to each "market" via spotbeams,
the definition of "channel" becomes less clear vice with MPEG2 transponders.

It's all in how D* defines a "channel".....
I presume each timezone feed is a different "channel" cuz each needs capacity.
It also allows D* to claim a bigger number than simply counting the number of unique National HD
program sources soon to become available (which reportedly is only on the order of 50 or so).....

PS: ESPN-HD and other sports channels are a special case, since they tend to carry live sports events.
For these, perhaps only two SATs (1 "channel" each) are needed to overcome antenna pointing limitations.....

FYI: Hawaii currently appears to be watching WEST coast feed whether SAT or Cable.
But if one SAT widebeam covers the continental U.S. with an EAST and WEST channel feeds,
then a subsidary SAT narrowbeam would still be needed for HI and a wider one for AK.
So my count is back up to three or four "channels"....

D* should have the SYSTEM CAPACITY to simultaneously transmit most new channels
(e.g. SCIFI-HD, NGC-HD, CMAX-HD) on three "channels": EAST, WEST and HI/AK.
Programs targeted for Prime Time on East Coast would otherwise be broadcast at 3-5pm in HI/AK.
And "Late-Night TV" would start at 5pm in HI/AK and 8pm on West Coast...totally unacceptable....
There also are SAT beam coverage limitations, as discussed below.

Even with current transponders, it would take three "channels" worth of capacity to carry all three versions.....
Whether on three separate satellites or one within view of all locations (good luck with that).

I also presume most new HD will be MPEG4.
If some of these HD channels are part of the data burst to each "market" via spotbeams,
the definition of "channel" becomes less clear vice with MPEG2 transponders.

It's all in how D* defines a "channel".....
I presume each timezone feed is a different "channel" cuz each needs capacity.
It also allows D* to claim a bigger number than simply counting the number of unique National HD
program sources soon to become available (which reportedly is only on the order of 50 or so).....

PS: ESPN-HD and other sports channels are a special case, since they tend to carry live sports events.
For these, perhaps only two SATs (1 "channel" each) are needed to overcome antenna pointing limitations.....

FYI: Hawaii currently appears to be watching WEST coast feed whether SAT or Cable.
But if one SAT widebeam covers the continental U.S. with an EAST and WEST channel feeds,
then a subsidary SAT narrowbeam would still be needed for HI and a wider one for AK.
So my count is back up to three or four "channels"....

I have no idea where you are pulling these numbers from, but I think most of us can figure it out.

D* Ka birds will supply 150 HD Channels Conus over the entire 50 states. HBO-HD has an East and West Coast Feed. Cinemax, Showtime, Starz and TMC has the same. Just like the SD versions, both HD versions will be on D* and eventually cable.

Even though ESPN has the satellite distribution of about 12 ATSC HD Channels, I cannot think of a time where I have seen them use a different feed on ESPN-HD for East and West. As they keep adding HD on their other channels, that transponder space will be available less and less.

HDNET, DiscoveryHD, TNT-HD, MHD, CNN-HD, Weather ChannelHD and others do not have seperate feeds for East and West Time zones.

D* will also supply roughly 1,500 HD spotbeam channels for MPEG4 HD-LIL.

I have been reading and searching this site for over an hour, and can't seem to find the answer to my one question I have about all this HDTV stuff.

I DO NOT have Time Warner Cable TV. However, I DO have Time Warner High Speed Internet. Will the QAM signals still be getting into my house for the local stations (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, PAX)?

Answering this kind of late, but: when I had cable internet through TWC/Durham but no television (I shut off the cable tv for about six months when they annoyed me), I still received all the local digital (SD/HD/WX) channels via QAM, a few extra digital channels (mostly shoppers); also a few analog channels seemed to leak in in the high 70s range (I think it was Food, TOON, and HGTV). Obviously you can't count on the latter to occur, but I think the QAM locals are a safe bet.

In other news, is it just me or did WTVD never flip the switch on Boston Legal tonight?

^ http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=832485

Sox game looks great on ESPN**2**HD! :)

Anyone heard when we will get ESPNU here in the triangle? The Columbia, SC folks have been saying they were getting it by the 14th.

Anyone heard when we will get ESPNU here in the triangle? The Columbia, SC folks have been saying they were getting it by the 14th.

Ask George Douglas (VP of TWC Raleigh)-- he's usually really good about replying with solid info.

goerge.douglas@twcable.com

Ask George Douglas (VP of TWC Raleigh)-- he's usually really good about replying with solid info.

goerge.douglas@twcable.com

Did he ever tell anyone the date that espn2 would be added?

During the heavy rain storm last night, I lost some of my channels on my Directv HR10-250. It only happened on channels around 240 while the other channels were fine. It would sort of make since that the rain was so heavy that it affected the overall satellite reception but it didn't do that. It only affected certain channels. Thoughts?

-gigascott

Different satellites at different points in the sky. As rain moves into area, it obscures one satellite so only the channels on that satellite are lost

Did he ever tell anyone the date that espn2 would be added?

Yep. He told me the day before it was added.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10202504&&#post10202504

Has anyone else noticed that we have TWC channel 732-734 for free this evening? These channels are carrying the 3 East games. Versus is carrying a West game tonight. Is NHL Center Ice doing another free preview to drum up sales for the playoffs? I don't see any mention of a free preview on their website.

Anyone have experience with Center Ice? Do they air a fair number of games in HD? The 3 tonight are not in HD.

Thanks,
Chris

^I dont think Center Ice airs any HD games period...in fact, not sure any HD games are available on any of the sports packages.

Apparently Thursday and Friday VersusHD games will be available on inHD as Versus/Golf will be doing Golf coverage on those days.

Anyone email TWC Raleigh about Versus/Golf? Apparently TWC has a deal now, but its up to each division on when or if they will add it. Im guessing if the Canes had made the playoffs, we might have it already, but no urgency since they are out. I emailed George Douglas about this and ESPNU, but have yet to get a response.

Has anyone else noticed that we have TWC channel 732-734 for free this evening? These channels are carrying the 3 East games. Versus is carrying a West game tonight. Is NHL Center Ice doing another free preview to drum up sales for the playoffs? I don't see any mention of a free preview on their website.

Anyone have experience with Center Ice? Do they air a fair number of games in HD? The 3 tonight are not in HD.

Thanks,
Chris

They are showing MLB through 4/15 and that has opened up the in-demand channels that contain hockey. It has been like this for about a week already :)

Well, I just finished playing with my HDHomeRun and discovering the channels coming through via QAM... thought I'd post it here in case anyone finds it useful.

77.1 - CW (WLFL)
77.2 - MyRDC
85.2 - CBS (WRAL)
90.2 - UNCHD
105.1 - News 14
111.2 - NBC (WNCN)
111.4 - NBC Weather
112.10 - Superstation WGN
113.1 - ABC (WTVD)
113.3 - ABC News
113.4 - FOX (WRAZ)
113.6 - CBS Weather
119.2 - TV GUIDE

Note: I didn't record the Shopping, Religious or Spanish stuff. Also, I only noted the HD versions if both HD and SD were available. In short, this is probably the list you'd get after editing down a complete scan :)

Or you can see the full list here (link from the 1st post in this thread):

http://home1.gte.net/res18h39/channels.htm

BTW, I heard that TWC will send VODs (Video on Demands) unencrypted so it is possible to watch someone else's VOD order over QAM. Can anyone cofirm this? If so, are there a particular set of channels they come in at?

Has anyone had issues with channels with no sound? This seems to hit half of the channels under 100 with our 8300HD DVR.

The bedroom TV has sound but it is connected directly to the cable.

Any ideas? I've rebooted by pressing the power button, called TWC and rebooted by taking the power down. Some channels got sound, but others are still with no sound, like versus.

Watching a hockey game with no sound is very strange.

Francisco

[EDIT: please ignore this. SAP sound was on and most regular channels have no SAP sound]

Please delete

DIRECTV HR20-700 HDDVR SOFTWARE BETA UPDATE TONIGHT

11p-2:30a by force update

reset reciever once welcome screen comes up hit 02468 with the remote

go to www.dbstalk.com
and the directv cutting edge thread for more.

NBC17ENG,

The Ottawa x Penguins game is not in HD. It was during the pre-game but it isn't anymore. Why does this happen? Couldn't it be automated by software?

Francisco

I would like some opinions, preferably of people that are demanding when it comes to image quality, about Time Warner Cable HD. I live in Raleigh, NC, but I really don't want to spend hours reding hundreds of posts in the Raleigh thread. How is the image quality of Time Warner HD compares to OTA? Do they recompress too much or not? How about the channels in the HD suite?

Thanks,

Threads merged.

I would like some opinions, preferably of people that are demanding when it comes to image quality, about Time Warner Cable HD. I live in Raleigh, NC, but I really don't want to spend hours reding hundreds of posts in the Raleigh thread. How is the image quality of Time Warner HD compares to OTA? Do they recompress too much or not? How about the channels in the HD suite?

Thanks,

Here's my two cents. I use a small set-top antenna as well as TWC HD service. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate OTA picture quality as 10 of course (I'm within 15 miles of the towers so I great reception). I woud rate TWC's HD picture quality as a 9. You can see a very slight reduction in sharpness if you switch back and forth and view the same program from both sources. The difference is minute in my opinion.

Is it just me or was the picture quality for NBC17 over TWC (channels 6,217,218,219) absolutely awful yesterday? I tried to watch the Champ Car race and it was almost unwatchable as well as some later programming. I tried all of the channels and reception was just awful. The picture was blurred and the sound and picture kept dropping out. I would blame it on TWC except for the fact that reception on all of the other channels was fine. Is NBC17 just splitting their bandwith too much? If that's is the case, I have a suggestion. They could drop their completely worthless weather channel (219). With about 10 places to get the weather on TWC, who is going to get their weather from this channel? Answer: No One.

"Well, I just finished playing with my HDHomeRun and discovering the channels coming through via QAM... thought I'd post it here in case anyone finds it useful."

I wonder why PAX/ION 47.1 digital is not included in the free QAM line up? The only reason I can think of is it is not a local station.

-DonB2

OTA attic reception:

I have not been able to narrow it down as the weather has been inclimate thru the spring - at least when I have had an opportunity to watch OTA .

But I know my reception has dropped off. PBS is now unwatchable with "No Signal" being the norm.

PAX is questionable.

5 breaks up.


17 has some issues.

11.1 this morning had a couple of very minor issues.

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

This is compared to my winter reception with out leaves of course. During the winter I would say the only issue was 17.

I am using one antenna to receive all because using two antennas with a remote A/B switch was a PITA .

I see I have the 4228 pointed pretty much towards Chapel Hill while all other channels are coming in off the side of the 4228.

Consequently I am not sure how much better I can get 4.1 in since I have sold my powered Square shooter which I use to use for PBS.


-DonB2

What was the date when Analog DVD recorders were no longer to be sold? Or did that date only apply to TV's.

The reason I ask is I was in SAMS on Friday and there was a name brand DVD recorder which obviously was newly enough package to have printed into the cardboard box a statement to the effect of "After 2008 this analog only tuner will no longer be able to receive OTA reception, at that time a ATSC tuner will be required"

To me this seemed to be away around including a ATSC tuner in the DVD recorder.

I also liked the text scrolling across all the HD tvs informing the buyer that they are watching HD tv and the only way a consumer can watch HD tv is thru a cable provider or a SAT provider.

No mention of OTA ATSC capability.

And what was interesting was the obvious pixelization on all action scenes even on the 1080P display.

Oh well I am talking about SAMS club.

-DonB2

ALL TV reception devices brought into the US after 1 Mar 2007 must include an ATSC tuner. What you were seeing was a "firesale" unit.

At least they printed a warning about the digital transition....

I wonder why PAX/ION 47.1 digital is not included in the free QAM line up? The only reason I can think of is it is not a local station.
WRPX is on QAM physical channel 117.9. It is included in the list (http://home1.gte.net/res18h39/channels.htm).

Erik.

Thanks, I was not aware that "The List" existed.

IC TWC does not carry the ION subchannels and or multicast channels.

-DonB2

I wrote the following email this morning to George Douglas, VP of Marketing for TWC:

Mr Douglas,

I was wondering if our local TWC franchise would be carrying the GAMEHD channel listed on the MLB Extra Innings schedule provided by iNDemand? According to the schedule, the Red Sox games are on there in high definition at least once a week, and as a rabid Sox fan living in Raleigh, seeing them in HD would really make my day!

Thank you very much for your help!

Sincerely,

Only 3 hours later I receiving the following response:

Mr. xxxxx,
The HD games that are specifically associated with the MLB package will probably not be available this year. We do expect that there will be some HD baseball games on INHD again this year. These would not actually require someone to buy the MLB Extra Innings package. They would be available to anyone with the HD Suite. Hope this answers your question. We are working to expand our HD channel offerings this year and hopefully we will have all of these games in the future. Thanks very much for taking time to write and thanks for being a Time Warner Cable customer!
George

Not exactly the response I was hoping for, but I really can't complain. He was timely and directly addressed the question I asked.

Thanks, I was not aware that "The List" existed.While this list generally applies to Raleigh TWC as well, there are some differences. Other than some obvious cable channel variations, there are minor differences in what is carried as well. For instance, Raleigh TWC QAM does not have BET but does have Black Family Network (105.9). CNN Headline News was on 118.1 until a couple of days ago, but it's gone now.

TWC doesn't seem to be especially meticulous with its QAM channel housekeeping. Occasional channel scans often turn up added channels and sometimes even an expected one that's missing. I've even caught some adult channels in the clear on more than one occasion. That's a careless error that could easily cause TWC some legal problems.

Currently, digital information isn't available for WTVD channels 113.1 to 113.3 and WRAZ 113.4 to 113.6. As a result, my TV isn't able to remap those digital cable channels to show broadcast channel designations as it does with other digital channels that also broadcast over the air.

Quick question for anyone in Rocky Mount with HD DirecTv.

Ever since my install, my signal strengths on the 103 satellite have been in the 50s or lower. All other satellites are in the low to mid 90s. There was talk that the spot beam for DirecTV HD Raleigh didn't cover the entire DMA. I'm trying to figure out if I'm on the fringe of the signal, thus resulting in lower signal strengths... or if the dish wasn't installed properly.

So, to make a long story short (too late), anyone in the Rocky Mount area have signals on 103 higher than the 50s?

Thanks in advance,

-Matt

Quick question for anyone in Rocky Mount with HD DirecTv.

Ever since my install, my signal strengths on the 103 satellite have been in the 50s or lower. All other satellites are in the low to mid 90s. There was talk that the spot beam for DirecTV HD Raleigh didn't cover the entire DMA. I'm trying to figure out if I'm on the fringe of the signal, thus resulting in lower signal strengths... or if the dish wasn't installed properly.

So, to make a long story short (too late), anyone in the Rocky Mount area have signals on 103 higher than the 50s?

Thanks in advance,

-Matt
Are you in 1 of these zip codes?
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1185822/

Are you in 1 of these zip codes?


Nope. I checked that before I placed my order in February.

I emailed directv and, of course, got a standard reply to schedule a service call. I'd hate to waste their time, which is one of the reasons I was asking.

Thanks,

-Matt

I wrote the following email this morning to George Douglas, VP of Marketing for TWC:

Mr Douglas,

I was wondering if our local TWC franchise would be carrying the GAMEHD channel listed on the MLB Extra Innings schedule provided by iNDemand? According to the schedule, the Red Sox games are on there in high definition at least once a week, and as a rabid Sox fan living in Raleigh, seeing them in HD would really make my day!

Thank you very much for your help!

Sincerely,

Only 3 hours later I receiving the following response:

Mr. xxxxx,
The HD games that are specifically associated with the MLB package will probably not be available this year. We do expect that there will be some HD baseball games on INHD again this year. These would not actually require someone to buy the MLB Extra Innings package. They would be available to anyone with the HD Suite. Hope this answers your question. We are working to expand our HD channel offerings this year and hopefully we will have all of these games in the future. Thanks very much for taking time to write and thanks for being a Time Warner Cable customer!
George

Not exactly the response I was hoping for, but I really can't complain. He was timely and directly addressed the question I asked.


I have a feeling he's incorrect about INHD, since they list absolutely no baseball programming on their site. They have had MLB games since the start of the season on INHD for the past few years, which leads me to believe that they will not this year. If I'm wrong, I guess I'll be adding the HD suite again :rolleyes:

I have a feeling he's incorrect about INHD, since they list absolutely no baseball programming on their site. They have had MLB games since the start of the season on INHD for the past few years, which leads me to believe that they will not this year. If I'm wrong, I guess I'll be adding the HD suite again :rolleyes:

There was a baseball game in the guide last night on InHD (Braves). However, we did not receive the programming. I'm not sure why.

If there are any Attic ATSCers out there:

My all ATSC reception appears to be back to what I was receiving during the winter now that these Spring storms have passed through.

Leaves are still forming on trees though so my summer reception could change for the worse again.

BTW - I had to move my outdoor Sirius antenna several times last night to get solid signal I am blaming it on the leaves.

I was looking forward to getting a ATSC upconvert/downconvert DVD recorder this spring but so far the ones I have read about do not appear to have the latest generation multipath handling capabilities like my Samsung STB DTB-H260F does and I am bummed. ie LG DR787T and LG RC797T.


-DonB2

There was a baseball game in the guide last night on InHD (Braves). However, we did not receive the programming. I'm not sure why.
The guide was wrong. That was an FSN-South HD game I believe, but not one we were eligible for. It used to constantly list Predators games as well, but we didnt get those either. For some reason we are still considered an Orioles market as far as I know, although I havent noticed many of their games listed either. Is MLB ever going to correct this? Theres probably a lot of teams with moderately-sized fanbases in this area, but Baltimore isnt one of them.

As far as I know, every large city must have a designated "home" team to accommodate MLB and TV contract agreements. Though logically Raleigh should have been designated, based on distance and fan base, as a Braves territory, Ted Turner/TBS feared revenue loss and fan support as a result of blackouts, etc. So, there was a successful push for Raleigh to become the Orioles home market. When the Nationals were moved to DC, they, too, became a home market, which explains blackouts for both of those teams on MLB Extra Innings, for example...and allows Braves games to continue to be broadcast generally blackout-free. Orioles games previously seen on TWC Channel 50, FSN, are gone because Peter Angelo (Orioles' owner) has the rights (part of the concessions made to him when the Nats moved to DC) and he has moved the broadcasts to Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), which he owns...and which is not available on TWC.

I'm pretty sure this is an accurate history. As a Boston transplant, and Red Sox fan, it only really irks me personally when the Red Sox play the Orioles...

My all ATSC reception appears to be back to what I was receiving during the winter now that these Spring storms have passed through.


Me too. I even had a flawless recording of This Old House yesterday morning, with my 4228 still aimed at the tower farm, and getting PBS off the back.

I was looking forward to getting a ATSC upconvert/downconvert DVD recorder this spring but so far the ones I have read about do not appear to have the latest generation multipath handling capabilities like my Samsung STB DTB-H260F does and I am bummed. ie LG DR787T and LG RC797T.
What a strange concept! Do they transcode an HD MPEG-2 stream to a standard MPEG-2 DVD resolution that can be played anywhere, or do they transcode to a codec which does better compression and keep the HD resolution? Anyway, just build yourself an HTPC. Then you can choose what tuners to use.

Drew

Drewho,

Darn it I keep forgetting to record This Old House. The last time I remembered to record it was a repeat.

BTW- I keep seeing ads for This Old House to be aired on some Cable Network I don't get. Are these new episodes? And if so have the cut relations with PBS?

The ATSC DVD recorders compress and than decompress the digital signal to get it to fit on a standard DVD. I do not know what Codec or MPEG format they use to do it. The general consensus is that none of them do HD pass thru.


I still wish I could just stick my 80 gig external USB drive on the USB port of my SAMSUNG STB and record away.

-DonB2

BTW- I keep seeing ads for This Old House to be aired on some Cable Network I don't get. Are these new episodes? And if so have the cut relations with PBS?


I believe you're thinking of ads for This Old House on DIY. They advertise it as "the new home for This Old House." While it's possible that will be true in the future, right now they are running old episodes, although only a year or so old (I think they had the fall house on earlier this year on DIY). I sure hope TOS doesn't go exclusive that route, or I'll have to stop watching it, as I won't pay for digital cable and cable cards just to get DIY. I record HD OTA free and analog cable for what I watch.

Hello, I am a Time Warner Cable Cary customer (living in Apex). I just bought an Olevia 437. I plugged the cable into the TV (no STB) and auto-programmed it. It finds all the basic HD channels except ABC and FOX. I saw previous posts where these channels could be manually programmed at 113.1 and 113.4. I am unable to find these channels there (or at 11.1/50.1). Does anyone have any pointers that I may have missed? I thought about upgrading my firmware for the TV....in the hopes it would improve the QAM tuner, but there is none available. I've tried tuning with all the different settings (Auto/Standard/IRC/HRC) but no luck.

I'm surprised to find that the HD channels that I do get can only be found at the lower channels (like PBS at 4.2, CBS at 5.1...instead of 90.1 and 85.2..which I can't receive at all). I do not have an antenna for OTA set up and my auto-program was done via cable. I've confirmed that my QAM does work because I can tune in ABC in digital at 78.10...just not HD.

Thanks in advance for any help,
Dan

Is anybody else having issues with WNCN's digital signal this weekend ? I'm wondering if it is me or them.

BTW - Saturday, I bought a new 14 inch Insignia SDTV with an ATSC tuner. Works pretty well except for WNCN and the WUNC channels (both are showing low signal strength on my Samsung DTB-260F as well).

My UHF setup is a CM3021 with a Winegard 4700 preamp.

Scooper,

PBS and 17 also give me issues. 17 typically has ghost/multipath issues and PBS signal strength has been weak for me ever since the storms and winds blew thru awhile back.

In the past I have had to adjust my attic mounted antenna that I used for "PBS only" every spring and fall to keep signal strength the same.

But I was getting such good reception with my Samsung DTB-H260F and amplified 4228 that I sold the Square Shooter that I previously used for PBS only.

I really don't want to adjust the 4228 as it is pulling in all local stations and PAX nicely except for 17 and PBS.

BTW - I am seeing 2 to 4 bars on PBS at max. Sunday evening I was getting No Signal for PBS and switched to Analog OTA which is giving me a very good picture.

I guess the only good thing is that PBS has been showing a lot of repeats anyway.

Bleak house was bleak the first go around I am not going to watch it a second time.

-DonB2

Late last August, I installed a UHF Yagi with a rotator on my roof top. After that, as long as I left the antenna pointed towards UNC transmitters, the TVGOS grid on my Toshiba TV filled up. If I forgot and left the antenna pointed towards the WRAL antenna farm, the TVGOS would loose its progam grid.

Recently, I noticed the grid was gone. I figured I forgot and left the antenna pointed towards WRAL. Then several weeks later, I noticed the grid was full again, but I think the antenna was pointed at WRAL. Now the grid is gone again, I can't get it back. I'm figuring UNC-TV has stopped the TVGOS broadcast, since I can't believe the leaves on the trees are an issue. Lots of leaves still on trees last October. Can anyone confirm?

BTW, I'm in downtown Raleigh.

Is anyone else having problems with the time being wrong on their guide? I have two different brand tuners, and for over a week, the guides have been wrong most of the time.

Edit......Found a setting that disabled DST on the STB. Now if I can just find a similar setting on the other tuner.

Which guide are you talking about? The EPG that some HDTV's get OTA from the digital broadcast stream? TV Guide On Screen, OTA part of many TVs and STBs? The guide from TW cable?

Weather has been crazy this spring, I have been reading, but haven't had time to respond. I will also need your help soon if you're using an antenna, but more about that in a minute.

1- There is no automation on the HD receiver, and NBC offers 2 NHL games in HD weekly, with one on the East coast feed, and one on the West coast feed. If an assigned game ends early, they will switch the NTSC to another game, but HD has to be manually switched. It don't always happen, so a game will either end up in SD or the wrong game will air on HD, or even worse, Primetime could be 3 hours behind if it's not switched back.

2- A viewer wrote me last week that our PSIP generator time was off by 8 minutes, and sure enough, the PC clock was off. Turns out it runs on Windows 2000, which does not lock to the station GPS clock, nor internet time sync. If anyone knows how to sync Win 2K to internet time like Windows XP does, please let us know. It is very likely a station in the market could be off an hour with the DST change causing the reported DVR issue. That's off air only as TWC inserts their own PSIP, so if you see a station time off, contact the station.

3- PQ varies with program originators and distributors. We have been sending our DTV signals to TWC via fiber for several months now, and if you send me an email or use our web site feedback form, they are very responsive when we contact the right people. Satellite folks are not the same as it took me months of calling and emailing before they did anything about the red color bleed on our SD feed.

4- Now here's where I need your help. If you have an antenna, and if you have problems getting 17-1 off air, as in "all local DTV stations come in except 17, but if I move my antenna 1-2 degrees it locks in" then please make a mental note of this. We are going to run an experiment on the air as soon as the equipment arrives, and I need to know from you if it makes a difference. I'll let you know when to check.

Sorry this was so long, I'm playing catch up!

Here is a small clock setting utility.....


Weather has been crazy this spring, I have been reading, but haven't had time to respond. I will also need your help soon if you're using an antenna, but more about that in a minute.

1- There is no automation on the HD receiver, and NBC offers 2 NHL games in HD weekly, with one on the East coast feed, and one on the West coast feed. If an assigned game ends early, they will switch the NTSC to another game, but HD has to be manually switched. It don't always happen, so a game will either end up in SD or the wrong game will air on HD, or even worse, Primetime could be 3 hours behind if it's not switched back.

2- A viewer wrote me last week that our PSIP generator time was off by 8 minutes, and sure enough, the PC clock was off. Turns out it runs on Windows 2000, which does not lock to the station GPS clock, nor internet time sync. If anyone knows how to sync Win 2K to internet time like Windows XP does, please let us know. It is very likely a station in the market could be off an hour with the DST change causing the reported DVR issue. That's off air only as TWC inserts their own PSIP, so if you see a station time off, contact the station.

3- PQ varies with program originators and distributors. We have been sending our DTV signals to TWC via fiber for several months now, and if you send me an email or use our web site feedback form, they are very responsive when we contact the right people. Satellite folks are not the same as it took me months of calling and emailing before they did anything about the red color bleed on our SD feed.

4- Now here's where I need your help. If you have an antenna, and if you have problems getting 17-1 off air, as in "all local DTV stations come in except 17, but if I move my antenna 1-2 degrees it locks in" then please make a mental note of this. We are going to run an experiment on the air as soon as the equipment arrives, and I need to know from you if it makes a difference. I'll let you know when to check.

Sorry this was so long, I'm playing catch up!

I made the switch from TWC to Dish. So far so good (the 622 DVR is so much more responsive than the 8300) and I have more HD channels than I can keep up with for finding HD material to record :)

I'm _probably_ going to get a "real" antenna, but as a temp hack for OTA channels, I used a spare 50' roll of cable I had to reach out into my garage (down thru the floor just behind the TV with all of my speaker wires) and hung up my trusty "bowtie" UHF antenna (from the 1970's).

I find that I am getting digital signal strengths (according to the 622) of mid-60's to the mid-80's. I had a bit of a yo-yo effect going on where the strengths would bounce up and down, rotating the antenna helped... anyways, the 622 has 2 sat turners plus an OTA tuner, so setting up OTA gains me a free tuner, so I'm working on that.... couple of OTA questions...(I'm in downtown Cary (27513))

a) ignoring the lunacy of my temp setup, how does one aim a bowtie? Should I break out my compass and set it face open, or long axis towards the antenna farm? or would that matter?

b) if I am getting 70-85 as is, would I expect much better from a "real" antenna (even an indoor Silver Sensor, etc)? How good is "good enough".

c) I saw some mention on Satguys of using a DC block ($3 part) on the OTA line.. is that why I'm seeing the yo-yo effect, or is that just because I'm getting away with a crazy setup?

thanks,
Mike

My Pax signal from Rocky Mount worked great for 1.5 hrs last night and than when I left the tv for a few minutes to go up stairs and the better half sat down to watch rest of Wonder Years she got the "NO Signal Found".

It is so hard to get ATSC OTA Better half friendly :mad:

I am guessing Rocky Mount had some inclimate weather last night.

I only receive 47.1 at 3 usually two signal strength at best and last night it had dropped to 1 on my Samsung 260.

Don't laugh I have much more trouble with the "repeat network" PBS and it has much better signal strength.


NBC17ENG, I watched the morning news this morning on 17 and saw no breakups.

-DonB2

I live close enough (about 10 miles or so) to channel 47 / 15 digital that it doesn't matter WHICH direction I point my antenna in - I can receive them clear as a bell. In fact - I had to resort to clamping down 47 analog so it didn't overpower my pre-amp.

a) ignoring the lunacy of my temp setup, how does one aim a bowtie? Should I break out my compass and set it face open, or long axis towards the antenna farm? or would that matter?

b) if I am getting 70-85 as is, would I expect much better from a "real" antenna (even an indoor Silver Sensor, etc)? How good is "good enough".

c) I saw some mention on Satguys of using a DC block ($3 part) on the OTA line.. is that why I'm seeing the yo-yo effect, or is that just because I'm getting away with a crazy setup?

a) A bow tie is prettty forgiving, forget the compass and point it face open towards Garner
b) I used a Silver Sensor in my house with a Radio Shack inline antenna amplifier with limited results: steady signals in the 90s but lots of drop outs, due to multipath issues--the signal arriving at the antenna after bouncing across other surfaces creating microscopic signal delays. Signal was OK if pointed towards PBS 33 miles away-through a glass door-some trees in the way. It was lousy pointed towards Garner-12 miles away due to three interior walls and one exterior wall.
c) I think your yo-yo is due to multi-path. Do you have a clear view towards Garner?

Needless to say, my signal improved dramatically with a UHF Yagi and rotator on my roof. I've moved the Silver Sensor to the bedroom on the other side of the house, and get far less multipath issues-only one exterior wall between me and Garner. Not a usable signal for PBS from the other side of the house.

"I live close enough (about 10 miles or so) to channel 47 / 15 digital that it doesn't matter WHICH direction I point my antenna in - I can receive them clear as a bell. In fact - I had to resort to clamping down 47 analog so it didn't overpower my pre-amp"

It amazes me that I can watch it all night long with no break up on a signal strength of 2 with my Samsung 260.

I have wondered if lower res has anything to do with consistancy of reception aka no drop out.

i.e, the Tuner has less issues to resolve in real time.

But I think it is more a line of site thing.

-DonB2

Time Warner is coming out tonight to install digitial cable + HD-DVR for a 2 month trial to compare to my DirecTV setup. This should be an interesting month or two of side-by-side comparisons...

"Time Warner is coming out tonight to install digitial cable + HD-DVR for a 2 month trial to compare to my DirecTV setup. This should be an interesting month or two of side-by-side comparisons... "

Wow that is impressive!

I assume this includes the HD suite?

Have you got enough coax in your house for all this equipment?

So when is Dish popping by?

Have fun,

-DonB2

It’s not often you see broadcast towers being featured on TV, but check out the Discovery Channel tonight for one of those rare examples. The 1200’ tower of WCPE (89.7) will be featured on Discovery’s “Hazard Pay” show, as host Curt Doussett tags along with the tower crew that climbs the stick. It airs at 8pm Eastern.

"Time Warner is coming out tonight to install digitial cable + HD-DVR for a 2 month trial to compare to my DirecTV setup. This should be an interesting month or two of side-by-side comparisons... "

Wow that is impressive!

I assume this includes the HD suite?

Have you got enough coax in your house for all this equipment?

So when is Dish popping by?

The way they do it is I'm getting the $44.95/month for 6 months deal, but because I've got a satellite I'm getting a credit for the first 2 months. HD Suite is an extra charge on top.

As for coax, they need to run new lines (one to the living room and one to the bedroom).

As for Dish, no. One reason I'm even considering cable is because I have woods behind my house, and my DirecTV dish just barely catches the sat signals over and around them. Looking at some of the Dish dishes in my neighborhood, I don't think I have a hope of reaching the Dish sats. FWIW, the other 2 reasons are the declining DirecTV picture quality as they overcompress everything, and the fact that they want me to pay another $300 to get an MPEG-4 HD-DVR setup when I've already spent $400 for my original HD upgrade 4 years ago and another $300 2 years ago for my first HD-DVR. Now that they are finally going to start delivering on all that HD they promised me 4 years ago, they want me to shell out big bucks again?

Anyway, TWC is not off to a good start. They missed last night's appointment (which is another $20 credit, so now I'm at something like 2.25 months free) and are trying again tonight. I'm laying odds at about 75% that there is no HD-DVR in the truck when he comes by. So far it is as I feared, there is no truly good TV option in the area, there is just the least-sucky one.

"One reason I'm even considering cable is because I have woods behind my house"

Long ago I really wanted to get Voom because I am not into sports that much and Voom had a lot of alternate HD.

When Voom died I thought more seriously about Dish as I can get a package discount with my local telephone.

But now it appears Direct may have more choices.

But .... the more I look at the trees in the backyard the more I know the better half wll not like it if there is reception issues.

At present I fight for OTA signal reception, Sirius reception for house using the antenna outside sucks. DOn't they have a booster for Sirus?

So I am thinking very seriously about going the TWC tier 1 digital route. Dump my DSL for Road Runner light, get rid of the local phone and DSL that is close to $62.00/month. And getting Vonage so I can save $10.00 per month over TWC phone.

Of course I think Vonage is in its deaththrows like Voom but at least I can save on the bill for awile.

-DonB2

OTA ATSC reception:

Finally broke down and adjusted attic antenna.

I now can not get PBS but it was giving me lots of No Signal now that the leaves are on the trees. And besides most everything they are showing that I would be interested in is repeats. They might as well go 24/7 with Antiques Road show like the local PBS in my home town has basically done.

The station that was giving me issues last night was The Unit on 5.1 it appears to be a multipath issue. Also as I mentioned before 47.1 was getting weaker.


I now have PAX/ION with higher signal strength but will have to watch 5.1 for awhile to see if it improves.

Oh well at least I got all channels off the 4228 during the winter.

-DonB2

So far it is as I feared, there is no truly good TV option in the area, there is just the least-sucky one.

No truer words have ever been spoken. If you want anything besides OTA HD you are definitely in least-sucky-land. ;)

Scooper,

PBS and 17 also give me issues. 17 typically has ghost/multipath issues and PBS signal strength has been weak for me ever since the storms and winds blew thru awhile back.

In the past I have had to adjust my attic mounted antenna that I used for "PBS only" every spring and fall to keep signal strength the same.

But I was getting such good reception with my Samsung DTB-H260F and amplified 4228 that I sold the Square Shooter that I previously used for PBS only.

I really don't want to adjust the 4228 as it is pulling in all local stations and PAX nicely except for 17 and PBS.

BTW - I am seeing 2 to 4 bars on PBS at max. Sunday evening I was getting No Signal for PBS and switched to Analog OTA which is giving me a very good picture.

I guess the only good thing is that PBS has been showing a lot of repeats anyway.

Bleak house was bleak the first go around I am not going to watch it a second time.

-DonB2

Just had a thought. What about using 2 antennas with a remote A/ B switcher and remote extender?

No truer words have ever been spoken. If you want anything besides OTA HD you are definitely in least-sucky-land. ;)

Given that I'm in a low point with trees between me and the towers (and I lack the skill to raise a tall pole above my roof to get the antenna even higher than it is), even OTA is in the "sucks somewhat" camp.

kbgl , That is what I had last fall. I used that set up for about 2 years I think.

The biggest issue was the A/B remote extender. I had a 100 ft Radio Shack one and it was marginal at best.

I had to have the sending unit position downstairs in about only one location before it would send the signal 2 floors up to the attic .

I looked at a couple of other repeaters and they also only had 100 ft range.

I really needed a hard wired one. and X10 one, or one with more range like at least 200 ft.

You would think something of this nature was available. In particular I was looking for a wireless A/B switch but I did not find one.

Someone else suggested running two coax lines downstairs and doing the switching downstairs.

I finally got all channels working quite well with the 4228 antenna and the newest Samsung 260 ATSS STB so was hoping problem was solved . But that was winter and now it is late spring with the leaves on the trees.

Life would be so much easier for me if PBS transmitter was located in Garner.

-DonB2

Quote:
Originally Posted by gstelmack
So far it is as I feared, there is no truly good TV option in the area, there is just the least-sucky one.

No truer words have ever been spoken. If you want anything besides OTA HD you are definitely in least-sucky-land.

Well thats disappointing to hear. Coming back to Raleigh area after 5 years in TX. (Thank God!). What do you guys recommend as far as the usual digital TV/internet/phone service. Not sure what area yet but likely Apex/Fuquay/Holly Spings.

(as far as that goes, what about housing values outside Raleigh - you know 2900 sq ft, 3/4 acre? And what are good high schools?)

sorry to be off topic - excited by the move

Quote:
Originally Posted by gstelmack
So far it is as I feared, there is no truly good TV option in the area, there is just the least-sucky one.

No truer words have ever been spoken. If you want anything besides OTA HD you are definitely in least-sucky-land.

Well thats disappointing to hear. Coming back to Raleigh area after 5 years in TX. (Thank God!). What do you guys recommend as far as the usual digital TV/internet/phone service. Not sure what area yet but likely Apex/Fuquay/Holly Spings.

(as far as that goes, what about housing values outside Raleigh - you know 2900 sq ft, 3/4 acre? And what are good high schools?)

sorry to be off topic - excited by the move


TWC has great picture quality as far as TV goes. I have no complaints. I see very little difference between TWC and OTA. I have TWC for Cable/Phone/Internet. I also have an attic antenna and pick up all the locals (except UNC-HD...PBS) with it pointed toward the towers. UNC is in the opposite diretion.

Housing...well, it depends on where you live. If you're going to live in a new house in Cary, you're looking at $400k+ with a .25 acre lot and 3k sq feet. Good luck finding anything with .75 acres.

I can't say for sure about Apex/Fuquay/Holly Springs as they were too far from the schools our kids attend as well as too far from work.

My brother is thinking about moving down here as well. He's going to look in the same areas as you. If I find anything, I'll post it for you. If you need a realtor, feel free to send me a PM. I can recommend a good one (who is VERY patient).

Good luck.

Jeff

DonB2

Two remote extenders in series would give you the 200 feet!

Were you using the wireless A/B antenna switch that Radio Shack sells?

kbgl , That is what I had last fall. I used that set up for about 2 years I think.

The biggest issue was the A/B remote extender. I had a 100 ft Radio Shack one and it was marginal at best.

I had to have the sending unit position downstairs in about only one location before it would send the signal 2 floors up to the attic .

I looked at a couple of other repeaters and they also only had 100 ft range.

I really needed a hard wired one. and X10 one, or one with more range like at least 200 ft.

You would think something of this nature was available. In particular I was looking for a wireless A/B switch but I did not find one.

Someone else suggested running two coax lines downstairs and doing the switching downstairs.

I finally got all channels working quite well with the 4228 antenna and the newest Samsung 260 ATSS STB so was hoping problem was solved . But that was winter and now it is late spring with the leaves on the trees.

Life would be so much easier for me if PBS transmitter was located in Garner.

-DonB2

The way they do it is I'm getting the $44.95/month for 6 months deal, but because I've got a satellite I'm getting a credit for the first 2 months. HD Suite is an extra charge on top.

As for coax, they need to run new lines (one to the living room and one to the bedroom).

...

Anyway, TWC is not off to a good start. They missed last night's appointment (which is another $20 credit, so now I'm at something like 2.25 months free) and are trying again tonight. I'm laying odds at about 75% that there is no HD-DVR in the truck when he comes by. So far it is as I feared, there is no truly good TV option in the area, there is just the least-sucky one.

The saga continues. Tech shows up last night, has the HD-DVR. However, no one bothered to mark down that I needed a new line, or that there was no COD for the service. So he was going to want a check for $109 for the install + service and another $90 to run a line. He's very honest that they'll probably waive the $90, but that plus the "No COD" have to be on his work order.

So they've now blown two appointments to get this set up. I'm not sure I'm going to give them a third chance. This kind of garbage is one of the reasons I left TWC for DirecTV in the first place 8+ years ago (one of the other reasons being that I lost service once a week for no good reason, but I was willing to check it out again because that predates their network upgrade and the introduction of digital).

NBC17ENG,

I watched the morning news this morning on 17 and saw no breakups.

-DonB2

:confused: "Two remote extenders in series would give you the 200 feet! "

Hmm, I honestly did not even think of doing that. Maybe if I had a spare one I would have given it a try. And BTW- I have posted numerous times with this range issue and you are the first to suggest doing it.


"Were you using the wireless A/B antenna switch that Radio Shack sells?"

Yes that is what I was using as well as the Radio Shack repeater.

I am now looking into mounting a second attenna in the attic- again ! For PBS.

I will try combining them first but don't expect it to work and will probably go back to the A/B route.

I am also thinking about a rotator as it would be nice to tweak things now and then.

What is a problem is it appears I am getting all the Garner signals almost at full strength albeit some possible multcasting from the same direction as PBS. This makes it very difficult to combine the signals as the step on each other.

All this just to get one station. :mad: That has been showing mostly repeats as of late :confused:

-DonB2

I may try the same A/B switch / extender setup. Channel 4 sometimes has some really good programing on, then usually followed by a long dry spell. I'm a little closer to their tower than you, but I still have hit or miss reception due to the aiming of my antenna.

I might also try stacking two Yagi antennas and see if it improves the multipath performance.

"
But now it appears Direct may have more choices.


Unless something changed in the past week, I just did the research.. Direct is _claiming_ they will have 100 HD ch, but for what you can get right now, Dish still soundly beats what Direct and TWC offer (for HD)

Mike

zim2dive ,

Does Dish still have what is left of the Voom lineup? I heard a few month back that some other company like Comcast had bought out the Voom portion from Dish.

-DonB2

My cousin is buying a new tv and plans to rely on basic SD cable. I told her she will need to get a tv with an analog tuner as well as a digital, unless she rents a box from the cable co.

The analog tuner is currently needed, right?

"My cousin is buying a new tv and plans to rely on basic SD cable. I told her she will need to get a tv with an analog tuner as well as a digital, unless she rents a box from the cable co."

Hmmm - I guess I am wondering what she would be getting . Are you talking digital teir one from TWC? And if so won't she will also get a TWC box that will take the incoming cable signal and output it to the component or HDMI port of her tv?

Or is she thinking she can just get Digi 1000 without a box and than use QAM to see a limited number of the available SD channels via the TV's built in QAM tuner.

I am guessing but don't know for sure that if you get Digi 1000 for main tv. That a second tv can still watch the analog version of the Digi 1000 lineup with a NTSC tuner.

Just guesses I don't have TWC.

-DonB2

zim2dive ,

Does Dish still have what is left of the Voom lineup? I heard a few month back that some other company like Comcast had bought out the Voom portion from Dish.

-DonB2

Yes, they still have the Voom channels. I have roughly 30 ch of HD (OTA locals + Dish channels). How good all of those 30 are is certainly open to debate, but TWC and Direct only have ~half that many channels, at least for now, and at equal or higher cost. (Dish only has 2 locals in HD over Sat so far, but with an old UHF bowtie antenna I can pick up all the rest... and since their DVR can record OTA too, the locals issue is a non-issue for me).

What will the scene be in 12/18 months? Can't say. For now (and the next 18 months) Dish seemed like the best gamble. I'll have ~30 HD channels + HD DVR over that period for an avg cost of $50/mo. If another operator has a better story at that point, I'll happily switch, but for now this seemed the obvious choice.

Oh, and color me happy, the Dish DVR has a 30-second skip ahead function :)

Mike

NBC17ENG,

Lots of audio and video breakups during 30Rock tonight. Not sure if it's the trees or not. I mounted a rooftop UHF Yagi and rotator late last August, I swear the leaves didn't fall offf the trees til October. My signal is 88-90, I'm downtown Raleigh. I don't recall breakups this badly during the winter.

A viewer wrote me last week that our PSIP generator time was off by 8 minutes, and sure enough, the PC clock was off. Turns out it runs on Windows 2000, which does not lock to the station GPS clock, nor internet time sync. If anyone knows how to sync Win 2K to internet time like Windows XP does, please let us know. It is very likely a station in the market could be off an hour with the DST change causing the reported DVR issue. That's off air only as TWC inserts their own PSIP, so if you see a station time off, contact the station.


Consider yourself lucky - your sister station in tampa is off almost all the time by upwards of 50 minutes.

I've got three HVR-950's hooked up to a vista ultimate running beyond tv 4.6.1. In beyond TV, I can tune all the locals, including 17.1, but in vista, I can't tune to 17.1. Has anybody else seen this issue with nbc? It seems unlikely that it's a signal strength problem, unless vista MCE is actively blocking the channel due to a lower than optimal signal strengh.

PS - the reception adjustment thing in vista seems to think all my channels are just 1 bar, though they play fine in beyond tv.

I am currently in carrboro but moving to hillsborough next month. I have TWC which has been fine but I like the sports options of directv better. needless to say I have signed up for directv and the $49 antenna they offer. I have looked at antennaweb and seems I will be about 40 miles away. would anyone in the hillsborough area mind telling me what stations you are receiving and what antenna you are using? I am considering just keeping twc until they offer hd locals in hillsborough.
thanks for your time.

Quote:
Originally Posted by gstelmack
So far it is as I feared, there is no truly good TV option in the area, there is just the least-sucky one.

No truer words have ever been spoken. If you want anything besides OTA HD you are definitely in least-sucky-land.

Well thats disappointing to hear. Coming back to Raleigh area after 5 years in TX. (Thank God!). What do you guys recommend as far as the usual digital TV/internet/phone service. Not sure what area yet but likely Apex/Fuquay/Holly Spings.

(as far as that goes, what about housing values outside Raleigh - you know 2900 sq ft, 3/4 acre? And what are good high schools?)

sorry to be off topic - excited by the move


Check this site, http://www.fmrealty.com/site/property/search.asp for houses.

We live in the Mckenzie subdivision which has lots from .7 acres. For about $250k.

I am currently in carrboro but moving to hillsborough next month. I have TWC which has been fine but I like the sports options of directv better. needless to say I have signed up for directv and the $49 antenna they offer. I have looked at antennaweb and seems I will be about 40 miles away. would anyone in the hillsborough area mind telling me what stations you are receiving and what antenna you are using? I am considering just keeping twc until they offer hd locals in hillsborough.
thanks for your time.

Hillsborough is in Orange County, right? If so, get Directv to install the 5lnb dish and that way you'll be able to get the hd locals thru Directv.

Hillsborough is in Orange County, right? If so, get Directv to install the 5lnb dish and that way you'll be able to get the hd locals thru Directv.

Unfortunately, my zip code covers two counties, orange and durham. durham side gets the HD locals while orange does not. In carrboro, which is in orange county, local HDs are available.

"Unfortunately, my zip code is covers two counties, orange and durham. durham side gets the HD locals while orange does not. In carrboro, which is in orange county, local HDs are available. "

That is sure too bad!!

-DonB2

NBC17ENG,

I watched the Detective Show that is on Friday at nine pm and had zero breakup!


I than switched to 5 and Numbers and it acted like they have fired all the writers for that show. That chase seen thru the orange groves looked like something from the 70's. Well at least I had no breakups.

-DonB2

NBC17ENG,

I'm having problems even getting a sniff of your digital signal about 1-2 miles east of Youngsville. And this is with my Samsung HTB-260F. The analog channel comes in fine (all this is OTA). All the other digital stations on the farm come in great.

Hillsborough is in Orange County, right? If so, get Directv to install the 5lnb dish and that way you'll be able to get the hd locals thru Directv.


I live even farther from the Raleigh Atennae farm than Hillsborough. I live in Mebane. I get all of the Raleigh stations just fine (in fact I DVR everything). 5.1 (CBS), 11.1 (ABC), 17.1 (NBC albeit I watch 12.1 because they don't compress as much), 22.1 (UPN/WB), 50.1 (Fox). I use the $24 yaggi from radio shack mounted outside on a 30 foot mask peaking from behind a chimney.
I'm in Orange county (barely) and I can't get the HD stations via the 5LNB setup. says looking for signal if I try to tune them via satellite. I think I saw a post from WRAL that the D* spot beam only covers 75% of their area right now and will be 100% by the end of the year.

I live even farther from the Raleigh Atennae farm than Hillsborough. I live in Mebane. I get all of the Raleigh stations just fine (in fact I DVR everything). 5.1 (CBS), 11.1 (ABC), 17.1 (NBC albeit I watch 12.1 because they don't compress as much), 22.1 (UPN/WB), 50.1 (Fox). I use the $24 yaggi from radio shack mounted outside on a 30 foot mask peaking from behind a chimney.
I'm in Orange county (barely) and I can't get the HD stations via the 5LNB setup. says looking for signal if I try to tune them via satellite. I think I saw a post from WRAL that the D* spot beam only covers 75% of their area right now and will be 100% by the end of the year.

greg t, thanks for your response. do you get the UNC HD channel too? do you think the directv antenna for $49 will work okay?

Quote:
Originally Posted by gstelmack
So far it is as I feared, there is no truly good TV option in the area, there is just the least-sucky one.

No truer words have ever been spoken. If you want anything besides OTA HD you are definitely in least-sucky-land.

Well thats disappointing to hear. Coming back to Raleigh area after 5 years in TX. (Thank God!). What do you guys recommend as far as the usual digital TV/internet/phone service. Not sure what area yet but likely Apex/Fuquay/Holly Spings.

(as far as that goes, what about housing values outside Raleigh - you know 2900 sq ft, 3/4 acre? And what are good high schools?)

sorry to be off topic - excited by the move

HPW also has a good site for searching listings. They've got several types of searches including one using google maps where you can highlight different parts of the area. I found it useful and a little bit addicting last fall when my wife and I were house hunting.

http://www.hpw.com/SearchPages/MapSearch.aspx

"I'm having problems even getting a sniff of your digital signal about 1-2 miles east of Youngsville. And this is with my Samsung HTB-260F. The analog channel comes in fine (all this is OTA). All the other digital stations on the farm come in great. "

Have you tried entering 55 directly?

Another issue I have had with my HTB-260F is that it will mysteriously lose a channel.

In these cases I have powered off the HTB-260F and than powered it back up and the station mysteriously reappeared.

-DonB2

The saga continues. Tech shows up last night, has the HD-DVR. However, no one bothered to mark down that I needed a new line, or that there was no COD for the service. So he was going to want a check for $109 for the install + service and another $90 to run a line. He's very honest that they'll probably waive the $90, but that plus the "No COD" have to be on his work order.

So they've now blown two appointments to get this set up. I'm not sure I'm going to give them a third chance. This kind of garbage is one of the reasons I left TWC for DirecTV in the first place 8+ years ago (one of the other reasons being that I lost service once a week for no good reason, but I was willing to check it out again because that predates their network upgrade and the introduction of digital).

Well, they called me without having to call them (which is a huge step forward from the TWC of old I remember) and came out to redo the install. Everything set up correctly as requested, and I'm now doing side-by-side comparisons.

So far I have to say that the SD channels are MUCH sharper than the overcompressing DirecTV was doing. Control is a bit harder to use (when I'm in the Guide, channel +/- should page up and down, not change the channel! I don't need separate Page Up / Page Down buttons!), and setting up my Harmony 676 could be a bit of a challenge. It does feel a bit easier / faster to set up a "season pass" for a particular show I know.

We'll see how it holds up over the next few weeks as we actually watch some TV on it.

[B]Quote:

(as far as that goes, what about housing values outside Raleigh - you know 2900 sq ft, 3/4 acre? And what are good high schools?)

sorry to be off topic - excited by the move

Well, I can give you some good advice since my wife and I just moved to the Raleigh area about 1 month ago. Each area has it's strong and weak points. I am very happy with our decision to go with Clayton, specifically the Flower's Plantation area since it's a planned community. $250,000 will get you .5-.75 acres, 2700sq feet in the subdivision we bought a house in, new. There are a couple in the subdivision we are in that are around 200-220k that are a couple of years old. Trying to move out of a subdivision before it's completed = bad for them, good for you. They just can't compete with new houses.

My Spring Reception with ATSC OTA.

Hard to talk Spring with 90 degrees outside.

Anyway it appears I am having to do a lot more treaking this Spring to keep all the locals coming in as well as Remote PAX/ION on 47.1

THis is compared to the fall when everything worked quite well.

Presently I am having receptions issues with Pax, previous to this it was 5,17 and PBS 4 .

I got 5 and 17 pretty solid by adjusting the attic antenna only to have 28 act up so I moved it once again and now am having issues with PAX.

I love moving targets!

-DonB2

Hello -

I have DirecTV HD which also came with an installation of one of their saucer OTA for local HD. I live in NW Raleigh off Leesville Rd and get WRAL5.1, WTVD11.1, and FOX50.1 pretty consistent and clear. The reception on WNCN17.1 is spotty, and PBS and the others are non-existent. Are there any recommended dealers in the area for installation of a quality roof top antennae to replace the one DirecTV installed? I apologize if this is not the correct forum to solicit opinions on installers/dealers.

Thanks
Jeff

WNCN 17 is having issues - their chief Engineer posts here occaisionally, probably waiting for parts to arrive to fix it. I can't get a sniff of 17 in Youngsville right now. All the other tower farm (5,11, 22,28,and 50) are coming in fine digitally, they all come in to some degree on analog as well.

JCOehler ,

I would welcome hearing from someone who could do rooftop installs for people in this forum.

About two years ago there was one guy who did it but he appears to have "Fell Off" this forum.

Seems like a nice niche industry for someone.

BTW- How come you can't get the MPEG4 HD versions of the local with Direct?

-DonB2

DonB2 -

I have the HR10-250 HD/DVR receiver from DirecTV. Should this allow me reception of the locals in MPEG4 HD via their satellite? Why wouldn't DirecTV let me know? I will check with them. Their HD reception just doesn't compare to OTA but it's better than nothing at this point.

Jeff

BTW- How come you can't get the MPEG4 HD versions of the local with Direct?
-DonB2

I think Direct has all the locals in HD now.

I'm on Dish (without all the locals in HD, but the DVR does OTA too), but even for the ones I have in HD, since I have the DVR space, I record both OTA and SAT. At least for the short term, its an experiment to see which is less affected by bad weather.

Mike

According to DirecTV, my receiver will not receive the locals in HD via their service. OTA only.

Is anyone having any issues with OTA 11.1 (HD) over the last couple of days? I have been getting a bit more momentary sound dropouts and pixelization than ususal.

I'd also be interested in someone who can do an attic antenna installation.

My fiancee and I recently decided to downgrade from TWC Digital to Standard (I really only wanted the digital tier for Speed, which has become the NASCAR channel of late, and no longer holds my interest)...

I've had some strange issues with the digital channel assignments. My Sharp LC-37D7U has both QAM and 8VSB tuners; set to standard, this is what it's found, some of which differ from the list on the first post:

4.1 WUNC-SD
4.2 WUNC-HD
4.3 WUNC-K
4.4 WUNC-Ed
4.5 WUNC-NC
5.1 WRAL-HD
5.2 WRAL-News
5.3 WRAL-SD
5.4 ???
5.5 ???
17.1 WNCN-HD
17.2 WNCN-SD
17.3 WNCN-WT
22.1 WLFL-HD
28.1 WRDC-HD
78.7 WTVD-SD
78.9 WLFL-SD
78.10 BET
78.12 WRAL-SD
105.9 N14C WeatherNow
107.6 ???
113.1 WRAZ-SD
113.2 WRAL-WT
113.3 WTVD-HD
113.4 WTVD-WT
113.5 WTVD News Now
113.6 WRAZ-HD
114.11 ???
116.1 ???
122.2 ???

I have a large number of additional channels (N14C, CSPANs, HSCs, TeleMundial, etc) that show up as unknown sub-frequencies of channel 0...

Does TWC use IRC or HRC, rather than Standard?

Is anyone having any issues with OTA 11.1 (HD) over the last couple of days? I have been getting a bit more momentary sound dropouts and pixelization than ususal.

no problems last night with LOST.

OTA ATSC with latest Samsung and Attic 4228

I am experiencing reception problems which I don't think a larger antenna or a rotator would fix.

Two nights ago Pax was signal strength of 1 to 2 at most and was unwatchable.

Last night I checked it at 9:15 PM and it was 3 to 5 and worked great.

Than as soon as 10pm rolled around it dropped down to 1 to 2 again and was instantly unwatchable.

This morning it is back to about 2 to 3.

On the first night there was no cloud coverage that I know of and radar channel showed none between Holly Springs and Rockymount.

Last night there was some clouds but no huge cloud came over at exactly 10pm.

Meanwhile 17 shows 7 to 8 signal strength not ten like all the other Clayton transmitters. Does 17 have less output power?

I won't even discuss 4.1 which is always changing in signal strength.

-DoNB2

Hi

Sorry for this newbie question but how effective is it to have two directional uHF antennas located on the same mast ? Any guidelines for how far they need to be spaced apart for acceptable results? This will be for an attic installation with about 7-8 feet allowance in height and I'm planning to feed the two antennas to the same cable which will be run down about 80 ft to the family room.

Sorry if this has been asked before - couldn't locate it. Just was wondering if this is even feasible and worth the effort...primary objective is to get both PBS and other local HD stations in a good way.

HT

It's feasible...just make sure the two downleads to the combiner are the exact same length.

hom_tanks ,

I am not sure if I have read of anyone in Raleigh using one mast but that is the approved way of doing it.

I would guess they would both have to be directional antennas.

And that always raises another question I have. Do you ground antennas in the attic? And if you don't is the backplane i.e. the chicken wire found on the back of a 4228 do its job?

-DonB2

For those that care, TWC has a temporary HD PPV channel up (270) to order the De La Hoya vs Mayweather event. Got an email from them the other day.
Should be a good fight.

I watched ER on WNCN-HD 217 (17.1) on TWC lastnight. Did anybody have a problem with the Video and Audio spazzing out lastnight?

It's feasible...just make sure the two downleads to the combiner are the exact same length.

No it's not feasible. I've tried to stay out of this discussion but someone needs to nip this before it gets out of control.

Introducing a second unnecessary antenna into the equation opens a whole new pandora's box of problems and complications; especially when it comes to digital reception, not the least of which are amplified multipath problems. Without belaboring the issue; two antennas diplexed together is a definate no-no. Just say no!

A proper (read: for your location and needs. See www.antennaweb.org) single antenna properly installed and aimed (preferrably on a rotator) will work just fine. Many of us use and have been using them for years from tens of miles from the antenna farms.

Do it with one right antenna and save yourself a lot of headaches. There's a ton of information in this very thread about what works well from what locations 'round here right here in this thread for anyone willing to do their homework. I'd suggest some reading is in order for the OP of this question. That would be the correct course of action. :)

Not to gum up the works... but I am using a dual-antenna indoor setup that works just fine for me.

I have a small directional antenna and a quarter-wave (both UHF) antenna diplexed together and I get all the locals OTA except for channel 40. Basically it is a tradeoff for me to get 40 I have to "sacrifice" channel 47, and since my Spanish is way rusty since high school I figure 47 is the best option for me at the moment.

So multipath issues being what they are... it is still possible for some folks to get good results diplexing two antennas together for maximum coverage. Granted mine is an indoor setup, but I would go for the same outdoors as I have experienced problems in the past with rotors getting out of alignment with the indoor controls and the rotor assembly usually costs more than buying two antennas would cost.

If this has been asked before I apologize. I have DTV with channel 82 NBC satellite feed from NYC. It exhibits regular audio dropouts, especially on remote feeds like sports, less so with studio feeds like news.

Had anyone else experienced this?

JCOehler ,

I would welcome hearing from someone who could do rooftop installs for people in this forum.

About two years ago there was one guy who did it but he appears to have "Fell Off" this forum.

Seems like a nice niche industry for someone.

BTW- How come you can't get the MPEG4 HD versions of the local with Direct?

-DonB2

I know someone (local) in this business: email: OuttaSightSat@Bellsouth.net

Is there any workaround to allow the RF output of the 8300HD to function when the TV is connected via HDMI and turned off?

I am trying to watch the 8300 in another room connected via the standard RF connector; when the TV connected to the box is turned off, the TV in the other room gets a message about unable to watch and I need to use component cables to enable the 8300 output. I've hooked up component cables for now and unplugged the HDMI, but I'd really rather use HDMI.

Is there any work around to keep the 8300 RF out working? Perhaps an HDMI switch would provide a type of "presence" output to the DVR?

Thanks!
Chris

The Kentucky Derby image was full of problems for a long time and into the race. It only got better about 1/2 race.

Was this a general problem with NBC-17?

Francisco

Hey, NBC...
Nice job with all of the pixelation and freezes during the Kentucky Derby! The frozen picture of the crowd during the introduction of the field was an especially nice touch! :mad:

Watching via TWC Fayetteville, the picture was really dismal. I finally switched over to the SD station so that I wouldn't miss the action completely, and recorded the race on HD to watch again.

I poked around some of the other localized threads, and didn't see any mention of these kinds of problems except for the Raleigh station.

They have had severe problems forever with HD transmission. I can't believe they can't seem to get it fixed. Pathetic showing of a premier, once a year event.

Watching via TWC Fayetteville, the picture was really dismal. I finally switched over to the SD station so that I wouldn't miss the action completely, and recorded the race on HD to watch again.

I poked around some of the other localized threads, and didn't see any mention of these kinds of problems except for the Raleigh station.

They have had severe problems forever with HD transmission. I can't believe they can't seem to get it fixed. Pathetic showing of a premier, once a year event.

In fairness to the Raleigh station, I was watching the Derby on 17 from Raleigh when it froze. After a minute I switched to 82, which is a satellite feed of NBC from NYC. It had frozen too, but they switched to SD for a few minutes until the problem cleared. So it seems the problem originated with the network feed. I just don't know how Raleigh handled it, i.e. , whether they switched to SD or not.

In fairness to the Raleigh station, I was watching the Derby on 17 from Raleigh when it froze. After a minute I switched to 82, which is a satellite feed of NBC from NYC. It had frozen too, but they switched to SD for a few minutes until the problem cleared. So it seems the problem originated with the network feed. I just don't know how Raleigh handled it, i.e. , whether they switched to SD or not.

That's interesting. I don't have access to the satellite feed, so I wasn't aware of that. I dont' believe the local station switched over to SD at all, through all of that mess, in fact there was an extended period prior to the race where the video had apparently dropped out, so the picture was frozen for what seemed like an interminal period.

I did find a complaint in the Honolulu thread that the station had switched to SD for the entire race, so apparently the core problem was with NBC, rather than Raleigh, but I guess the locals don't monitor their own signal carefully to make those kinds of changes on the fly. Bottom line for me, though, is that picture quality from NBC is not reliable when it counts.

That's interesting. I don't have access to the satellite feed, so I wasn't aware of that. I dont' believe the local station switched over to SD at all, through all of that mess, in fact there was an extended period prior to the race where the video had apparently dropped out, so the picture was frozen for what seemed like an interminal period.

I did find a complaint in the Honolulu thread that the station had switched to SD for the entire race, so apparently the core problem was with NBC, rather than Raleigh, but I guess the locals don't monitor their own signal carefully to make those kinds of changes on the fly. Bottom line for me, though, is that picture quality from NBC is not reliable when it counts.

P.S. to that. My channel 82 sat feed experiences regular audio dropouts- very annoying. I agree that NBC is not doing a very good job of oversight.

FYI- I was only given 82 sat feed because I couldn't receive any OTA from my location. They gave me NBC and ABC, but not CBC or FOX because of affiliate contracts, so I had to live with that for 2 years. I just got the 5 LNB dish and now receive all locals. What a difference!

I am surprised that there is not more news coverage on TV and the web about this outage since it seemed to effect everyone.

It is a real black eye for NBC. How humiliating, they really look like complete fools. I hope that the responsible people loose their jobs.

I am surprised that there is not more news coverage on TV and the web about this outage since it seemed to effect everyone.

It is a real black eye for NBC. How humiliating, they really look like complete fools. I hope that the responsible people loose their jobs.

Maybe we missed it because we were watching NBC news. :D :D

The Kentucky Derby image was full of problems for a long time and into the race. It only got better about 1/2 race.

Was this a general problem with NBC-17?

Francisco

Switched back and forth between WNCN and WITN. Both had the problem, but for some reason, it was much less pronounced on WITN. While WNCN had a frozen frame for several seconds going into a commercial break, WITN's video recovered much quicker and did not suffer the "hard" freeze.

But NBC, while they seem to be getting better, has way more HD delivery issues than all the other guys combined.

I'm visiting family in New Jersey and we watched the Kentucky Derby on WNBC New York channel 4 with seemingly no problems. I have noticed some problems with WNCN back in Raleigh lately and I'm almost scared to DVR some shows fearing they may be unwatchable in HD.

I cannot receive Universal HD using CableCARD. I started noticing the problem yesterday. It tunes to frequency 771 MHz (physical channel 120), but a blank screen appears. However, the TWC box receives it just fine, but it tunes to frequency 657 MHz (physical channel 101). I called TWC, and they supposedly sent an update to the CableCARD, but it still does not tune to the proper frequency.

Is anyone else having the same problem?

I cannot receive Universal HD using CableCARD. I started noticing the problem yesterday. It tunes to frequency 771 MHz (physical channel 120), but a blank screen appears. However, the TWC box receives it just fine, but it tunes to frequency 657 MHz (physical channel 101). I called TWC, and they supposedly sent an update to the CableCARD, but it still does not tune to the proper frequency.

Is anyone else having the same problem?

Im getting UHD fine in Apex. Channel 295 and frequency 657Mhz PID 66.

I watched ER on WNCN-HD 217 (17.1) on TWC lastnight. Did anybody have a problem with the Video and Audio spazzing out lastnight?
Sorry for the late reply. I had DVR'd the 5/3 ER from WNCN-HD 217 and did not try watching it until tonight. Approximately the last 1/3 of it were nearly unwatchable due to numerous long periods of garbled audio and video.

As others have mentioned above, 217 was a disaster for me during the Kentucky Derby as well.

I kinda recall 17 losing HD signal during Olympics and the feed was also coming from NY and it was attributed to a large snow storm. Can't imagine what the reason was this time unless they have large scale problems like I am experiencing on a small scale as my overall reception is so much worse than the winter and not up to last years summer standards.

Even if I rule out PBS since I dumped the antenna I was using for it. I am still not getting reliable reception with the other Clayton stations.

After adjusting the 4228 since PBS was not watchable so that for the Spring/summer 5 would not break up I now have issues with 28. I tweek it for 28 and 5 and 47 have issues.

It is like trying to hit a moving target.

Plus I find it odd that 5 shows around 7 strength at present while 50 is 100 percent strength on my Samsung.

Both 5 and 50 were always at 100 previously.

If all these stations aside from 4 and 47 were located other than exactly in the same location in Clayton maybe I could understand but not when they all are with in feet of each other.

A rotator may help but how do you adjust it on the fly? First you have to bring up your signal strength meter in order to have even a start at some kind of feedback. And of course the STB manufacturers take it upon themselves to bury the Signal Strength meter about 4 menus down.

So than you get the signal strength meter plastered up on your TV while you are trying to watch a show and which direction do you turn the rotor? With analog tv it was almost instantaneous that as you rotated the antennae you would see the station get less snowy or ghosty or not. But with the marginal signal strength meter which does not measure quality of signal you may or may not notice drop out over a short period of time.

And why can't the signal strength meter be downsized to the corner of the screen so you can continue to watch a show while adjusting the rotor instead of filling the whole screen with a semi transparancy?

At least I think my Pioneer signal Strength meter only covered the very bottom but I will have to go back and look.

Bottom line is I really don't feel anyone higher up gives a darn how good the reception is. All you have to see is where the money from each tv viewer goes and it certainly does not appear to be in OTA seeing how small the percentage of OTA viewers are that are out there compared to Sat and Cable.

-DonB2

I watched ER on WNCN-HD 217 (17.1) on TWC lastnight. Did anybody have a problem with the Video and Audio spazzing out lastnight?

Once again I'm late to the party, but I did notice this in my recording of ER. There was section at about the 40 minute point with Nela was saying something and the pic just froze for like 3 minutes. The other problems were more like 30 second outages. I recorded via MPEG 4 channel on Directv using the HR 20. As long as the local NBC doesn't do a hack job tonight while I'm recording Hero's we will be fine.

No it's not feasible. I've tried to stay out of this discussion but someone needs to nip this before it gets out of control.

Introducing a second unnecessary antenna into the equation opens a whole new pandora's box of problems and complications; especially when it comes to digital reception, not the least of which are amplified multipath problems. Without belaboring the issue; two antennas diplexed together is a definate no-no. Just say no!

A proper (read: for your location and needs. See www.antennaweb.org) single antenna properly installed and aimed (preferrably on a rotator) will work just fine. Many of us use and have been using them for years from tens of miles from the antenna farms.

Do it with one right antenna and save yourself a lot of headaches. There's a ton of information in this very thread about what works well from what locations 'round here right here in this thread for anyone willing to do their homework. I'd suggest some reading is in order for the OP of this question. That would be the correct course of action. :)


Speaking from experience, since I have joined two antenna together with a splitter, it worked perfectly as long as the wind wasn't blowing, but when we had windy days, I would have break-ups about every 15 to 30 seconds on our NBC frequency (32) WITN. This was the only channel that gave me problems. It was convenient in that you could channel surf a lot easier. I did add a rotor to my mast recently that I got a LOWES for $50 (half off the regular price!) and now have no more pixelation with WITN. I use a CM amp also. I found without the amp was better for WITN, but would cause problems on other channels, so I kept it on. With the rotor now, all channels work perfectly in all kinds of wind with the proper orientation. So while it might work at first to join two antenna together, it may not work in windy weather.

"it may not work in windy weather."

It was semi windy yesterday evening when I was attempting to Watch Star Trek at 6 pm on 28.1 and gave up and than at 7pm tried 4.1 for All Creatures and gave up.

I do not recall having Wind issues with NTSC.

What could the difference be?

-DonB2

I suspect multi path and quick ghosting effects to cause the drop-off. What was really weird is that all those channels listed in my daytime sig line would work fine except for WITN, even the ones at 55 & 60 miles out of WIlmington. The strongest one was the troublemaker.

Maybe the processors in these ATSC tuners can not handle multicast when wind is blowing - Too many multipaths to resolve simultaneously.

-DonB2

AFH & akp,

Thx, just making sure it wasn't just due to my cable box or my Fayettville/Lumberton hub having problems

Our satellite earth station developed an intermittant problem Thursday night. Their field technician thought he had it corrected Friday morning, but it acted back up Saturday afternoon. They think they found the problem yesterday (Monday) and we are testing it offline for 48 hours before putting it back in service.

Mid-eighties technology.

interesting

Our satellite earth station developed an intermittant problem Thursday night. Their field technician thought he had it corrected Friday morning, but it acted back up Saturday afternoon. They think they found the problem yesterday (Monday) and we are testing it offline for 48 hours before putting it back in service.

Mid-eighties technology.

So did you guys show Hero's in HD last night or not? I recorded the HD version and I don't want to be surprised to see it's not there when I go to watch it later this week.

Heroes was in HD last night via TWC QAM.

Heroes was in HD last night via TWC QAM.

Thanks

So did you guys show Hero's in HD last night or not? I recorded the HD version and I don't want to be surprised to see it's not there when I go to watch it later this week.
Yep, and without a glitch. :D

I finally had to rotate my attic mounted 4228 Antenna probably 30 degrees clockwise from my Winter position to get most of the stations back reliably. 4.1 is history in this position and I am now tweeking to keep 22 and 28 working.

The latest GEN Samsung worked fine for me during winter but spring/summer coverage has been bad.

I heard this morning that Heros ratings were killed by dancing with the Stars. I don't watch Heroes because of the violence on it which the misses does not like. But I myself liked it when I have watched it. And have no interest in watching the daning with stars.

-DonB2

Anyone in the Cary area using an IR Extender with the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD cable box?

I've seen a reference to this in another thread and was wondering if the one for sale on the SA site will work with the TWC boxes we have here or if the USB port has been disabled?

(see sciatl website for product info)

Heroes came in A-OK on 17.1 via QAM

Anyone in the Cary area using an IR Extender with the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD cable box?

I've seen a reference to this in another thread and was wondering if the one for sale on the SA site will work with the TWC boxes we have here or if the USB port has been disabled?

(see sciatl website for product info)

Verified that the USB port is active. The IR extender only uses this for power.

Hi, I am thinking of replacing my current TWC service with Dish Network for its international programming. Does satellite TV still suffers from weather-related issues? The monthly charge for DN seems much lower than TWC (with HD, local channels, and international programs), any downside to switching? Any opinion or suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Hi, I am thinking of replacing my current TWC service with Dish Network for its international programming. Does satellite TV still suffers from weather-related issues? The monthly charge for DN seems much lower than TWC (with HD, local channels, and international programs), any downside to switching? Any opinion or suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

If you get a proper installation with care taken to align the dish(es) on the roof... I would not expect "rain fade" in this area. I never have rain fade... and often watch my Dish Network through the rain... the only problems come from those dark black storm clouds... if they get in the line-of-sight then I sometimes lose signal for a little bit... could range from a few seconds to maybe 5-15 minutes. Depends on the speed of the storm and the darkness of the cloud.

At least in my area, the cable often would also be fuzzy or out in these kinds of storms, which always amazed me... so at least in my past experience I have never lost my Dish in the 6 or so years I've been with them as I did in probably one year with Time Warner.

A properly done DBS installation will have no more "out of service" issues than the typical cable operation. After 3-5 years, it's about time for me to go re-peak my dish again - rain is causing more issues than it should.

Maybe my recent install wasn't optimum, but I do have some rain fade with Dish. I'm still happy with it, but could be happier without the fade. Still much better value than TWC.

Mike

I have had Satellite for 8 or 9 years. 5 with Dish Net and 3 with DirecTV. The only time I have issues with rain is when there are deluges. Like an inch or so in 30 minutes to an hour. Even then, the most it has been out is 10 minutes or so as a particular cell passes over. PRobably average 1 or 2 outages a year that I am aware of.

I know TWC is far better than 10 years ago, but before I switched to Sat, it was pretty normal to have at least an outage a week. Either that or I would come home to fidn teh cable box locked up so that the VCR did nto record anything. Then I had to call them and put the thing on Ch 30 to wait for a rehit.

I have had Satellite for 8 or 9 years. 5 with Dish Net and 3 with DirecTV. The only time I have issues with rain is when there are deluges. Like an inch or so in 30 minutes to an hour. Even then, the most it has been out is 10 minutes or so as a particular cell passes over. PRobably average 1 or 2 outages a year that I am aware of.

I know TWC is far better than 10 years ago, but before I switched to Sat, it was pretty normal to have at least an outage a week. Either that or I would come home to fidn teh cable box locked up so that the VCR did nto record anything. Then I had to call them and put the thing on Ch 30 to wait for a rehit.

In my last 7 years with TWC ive had 0 outages....

In my last 7 years with TWC ive had 0 outages....

I've live here (Cary) for two years, 0 outages.

In my last 7 years with TWC ive had 0 outages....

Data points like this are always interesting. I'll provide my counter point. Moved into a new house 8 years ago. In the first 2 months I had six outages, one of which lasted the entire weekend. After that the cable modem service never stayed up more than 48 hours in a row, sometimes being down for a day or more at a time. The cable modem issue went on for four years until DSL became available in our area and we switched.

And yes, I called in the outages, well for the first 2 years anyway. They never did anything, the techs never found any problem, and it usually came back within an hour or two.

I think it's safe to say that YMMV. ;)

I think it's safe to say that YMMV. ;)

Cant argue with that.... :)

This may be the wrong place to ask this but is it possible to plug in a basic cable feed from TWC into the off-air connection for locals with the HR20?
thanks

This may be the wrong place to ask this but is it possible to plug in a basic cable feed from TWC into the off-air connection for locals with the HR20?
thanks
Pretty sure that wouldn't work as the TWC locals are over QAM and the HR20 only has an ATSC tuner for OTA locals, not a QAM tuner.

"Data points like this are always interesting. I'll provide my counter point. Moved into a new house 8 years ago. In the first 2 months I had six outages, one of which lasted the entire weekend. After that the cable modem service never stayed up more than 48 hours in a row, sometimes being down for a day or more at a time. The cable modem issue went on for four years until DSL became available in our area and we switched.

And yes, I called in the outages, well for the first 2 years anyway. They never did anything, the techs never found any problem, and it usually came back within an hour or two.

I think it's safe to say that YMMV. "

Not trying to say you were in the same situation but a coworker had the same symptoms and switched to DSL. Then had Direct TV installed. The installer found numerous bad cable connections under the house and fix all issues

A year later this coworked switched back to Roadrunner and now Road Runner is perfect. It appears all the bad connections under the house were causing many intemittant problems which now were removed and presently he has very reliable Road Runner service.

-DonB2

Not trying to say you were in the same situation but a coworker had the same symptoms and switched to DSL. Then had Direct TV installed. The installer found numerous bad cable connections under the house and fix all issues

A year later this coworked switched back to Roadrunner and now Road Runner is perfect. It appears all the bad connections under the house were causing many intemittant problems which now were removed and presently he has very reliable Road Runner service.

Brand new construction, and I oversaw all the cabling. I had everything home run and am using an IBM Home Director distribution system. Even when we bypassed everything and had the cable modem hooked directly to the outgoing line it never got better.

When my DirecTV HDTiVo died we switched back to cable for video content. It has been pretty good so far, and the TWC DVR even performs well enough for me to say it doesn't suck. ;) It's no TiVo, but it's not bad. Of course from what I hear about Navigator (the TWC replacement for Passport/SARA) it may yet achieve full suckiness. :D

To be fair (and I really should have mentioned this the first time) I am at the end of a road in a subdivision that was, at the time, still under construction, so it is possible that the worst of the issues were caused by construction crews doing dumb things to the cable lines.

Changes coming to TWC,

June 15: ESPN Classic will move from Standard Cable to Digital Cable Ch. 141.

August 31: ESPNU will be added to Digital Cable Ch. 140.

I admittedly haven't checked the thread in a while, so I might have missed this... but did they change something with the DVR? I used to have up to 12-15 hours of HD on there without a problem. Now I record one thing and it tells me that it'll be deleted in about 2 days. What gives?

Changes coming to TWC,

June 15: ESPN Classic will move from Standard Cable to Digital Cable Ch. 141.

August 31: ESPNU will be added to Digital Cable Ch. 140.

bye bye espn classic.. i hardly watched you.

How much are they lowering the Basic & Standard rate ?

Changes coming to TWC,

June 15: ESPN Classic will move from Standard Cable to Digital Cable Ch. 141.

August 31: ESPNU will be added to Digital Cable Ch. 140.

Must be making room for NFL Network. :rolleyes: ;) :rolleyes: ;) :rolleyes: ;)

I'm hoping it's to finally add some more Starz, especially the HD feed. However given the weak Starz lineup they have and this statement:

The following agreements with programmers are due to expire soon, and we may be required to cease carriage of these services in the near future.

Service:
WRAL
WRAZ
Starz/Encore

I wouldn't be surprised if Starz/Encore gets dropped.