Raleigh, NC - HDTV [Text View] - Page 49

SingleBbl

07-31-09, 04:36 PM

The tech quickly determined that it's not a signal strength problem and a scan after removing the filters was no help either. When I mentioned that the 3576 was getting all the channels OK (50-1 came back sometime while we were out of town this week), he started making phone calls. Net-net, there is a known (to TWC) problem with Panny's getting the HD signals. One of the other managers in his office is experiencing it himself and they are working to resolve it. He mentioned in passing that they have had a number of calls for the same thing.

He left me with a phone number to contact his manager by Wednesday if the HD channels don't come back. This is far from perfect but it sure beats being told that there's a problem with "one of the cables in the wall".

Sorry for the delay in posting this update. I've been wrestling with a health issue.

I won't bore you with a blow-by-blow account. In summary, TWC continues to own up to an issue with their current QAM signal and some Panny HDTV's but I have not seen any real progress on a solution. In my last exchange with them yesterday, I was asked for the model of my TV which I provided.

I would appreciate it if anyone having this problem would provide their Panny TV model numbers.

Will

kckranz

08-01-09, 07:09 AM

Sorry for the delay in posting this update. I've been wrestling with a health issue.

I won't bore you with a blow-by-blow account. In summary, TWC continues to own up to an issue with their current QAM signal and some Panny HDTV's but I have not seen any real progress on a solution. In my last exchange with them yesterday, I was asked for the model of my TV which I provided.

I would appreciate it if anyone having this problem would provide their Panny TV model numbers.

Will

I'm having the same issue, plus no 5.1 = no TV GOS :(

TH42PX600U

prerunnerv6

08-03-09, 04:48 PM

I'm only 15 miles from the transmitter for WTVD, and I only get 24% signal strength (yes, the antenna is VHF/UHF). It's really annoying seeing as I can get pretty good lock on WITN in washington, nc and WYMY in greensboro (reflection of something I suspect) on this same antenna. I just checked tvfool, and it actually listed WTVD as 1Edge instead of LOS too. Prior to the channel shift, I got every channel perfectly. About the only thing I can think to try now is to raise the height, but that means climbing on the roof.

I'm still getting used to how these signals work. I live 39 miles from the WTVD transmitter and the signal comes in 70-80%. But I live 26 miles from PBS transmitter and I still can't pick it up....even though it used to come in 80-90% before the transition.

Trip in VA

08-03-09, 04:51 PM

prerunnerv6

08-03-09, 04:59 PM

Best suggestion I have is to use a proper hi-VHF antenna - using one I have no problems getting WTVD, but then, I'm about 23 miles @ 020 from them as well.

This is what I had to do also. Modifying my coat-hanger antenna to include longer V lengths helped more with VHF signals.

ziltink

08-03-09, 05:52 PM

Last I heard, WUNC-25 hopes to be on their top-mounted antenna by the end of the week. That comes from someone I consider to be VERY reliable. Of course, if something goes wrong, that could be delayed.

The power level will still be reduced, but they'll gain almost 500 feet. There's still another month worth of work before they can up the power to 1000 kW from the 45 kW or whatever they're running now.

- Trip

I just started picking up UNC today and I couldn't receive it at all since the switch over. Not sure if it will go in and out while they're finalizing things or if this is permanent. I was getting about 80 percent, just like before the switch. I'm using a Channel Master converter box and an amplified in door antenna in my attic in North East Raleigh.

Trip in VA

08-03-09, 07:05 PM

Well, keep us updated. I'll pass along reception reports if he's not reading here already.

- Trip

Ictusbrucks

08-03-09, 08:02 PM

Does anybody else have a SA 8300HD box and notice that the black levels seem gray, almost like it is outputting RGB instead of YCbCr???

It seems the box is capable of outputting black... when I change channels the screen goes all black except for the info-box at the bottom, but then a split second later the background is dark gray instead of black.

I have a Kuro Elite so its very noticeable. Is this just the broadcast signals themselves that are not true black? I tried every channel I could think of and its the same across the board.

It looks exactly like what I see if I play a regular DVD with my Oppo-83 and set colorspace to RGB instead of YCbCr. But for the SA8300hd I cannot find any colorspace options. In fact alot of options seem missing for the last year of so since TWC switched to the 'new' box firmware...

Ictusbrucks

08-03-09, 08:22 PM

I just reconnected the SA8300hd with component cables instead of HDMI, and the blacks are jet black. So its definitely something to do with the SA8300HD and the Kuro 141FD. Receiver is a Pioneer SC-05 that does no video processing over HDMI.

scsiraid

08-03-09, 08:34 PM

Ictusbrucks

08-03-09, 09:35 PM

I suspected it's outputting RGB... I was hoping it would output YCbCr... guess not. I called TWC and they said there's no way to modify the colorspace.

I went into the input options for my Pioneer 141FD and found I could change between RGB (0-255) and RGB (16-235). I had it on 'Auto' because all of my inputs like bluray and gameconsoles all go through my receiver as one HDMI cable so setting 16-235 would be clamping all my other devices, and wouldn't let them choose YCbCr.

But setting the TV itself to 16-235 does fix the black issue of the SA8300HD.

Only way I can think to fix this is to get a 1x2 HDMI splitter and use another input when watching TV so I can set the 2nd input to use RGB 16-235.... my harmony remote can automatically switch inputs when switching activities.

But I was hoping to get YCbCr over HDMI which would also probably fix it without needing an HDMI splitter.

Not sure why the 'Auto' mode isn't correctly using 16-235 from the DVR... that would be nice.

HDMe2

08-03-09, 11:04 PM

Hmmm... I can't really get it reliably, but I saw a blip of signal on WUNC today... so maybe good things are coming soon. I'll have to start paying attention again.

sjay

08-04-09, 10:09 AM

Erik Garci

08-04-09, 10:45 AM

Not sure why the 'Auto' mode isn't correctly using 16-235 from the DVR... that would be nice.
I suspect that the 8300HD is sending the wrong flag. That is, the 8300HD is sending the video data as Limited RGB (16-235) but sending the flag for Full RGB (0-255). When the TV is in Auto mode, it relies on the flag to determine what type of signal it is, even if the flag is wrong. By setting the TV itself to Limited RGB, you are forcing the TV to ignore the flag and to treat the video as Limited RGB.

scsiraid

08-04-09, 01:43 PM

I suspect that the 8300HD is sending the wrong flag. That is, the 8300HD is sending the video data as Limited RGB (16-235) but sending the flag for Full RGB (0-255). When the TV is in Auto mode, it relies on the flag to determine what type of signal it is, even if the flag is wrong. By setting the TV itself to Limited RGB, you are forcing the TV to ignore the flag and to treat the video as Limited RGB.

The Edge VP is detecting my 8300 as RGB with Video levels (not PC).. which results in correct black levels even when processed by the Edge whose output is set to Ycc. That seems to indicate that the flagging is correct.

Ictusbrucks

08-04-09, 01:50 PM

Thanks for the information

So somehow my TV is not getting the correct flag... maybe the receiver is somehow messing with it? Tonight I will try a direct hookup bypassing the receiver. I will be surprised if the Pioneer SC-05 is changing the signal since it doesn't even let you modify the HDMI video options.

frankpc

08-04-09, 05:57 PM

I have been seeing the "..channel not available message try again.." a lot lately - today it is USA-HD,Bravo-HD and SyFy-HD. Yesterday it was Hist=HD and Bio-HD. They all seem to come back after awhile(5 minutes to over 2 hours). This seems to be getting worse over the last few weeks. Is anybody else seeing this?

TW brought us a new box (Samsung) to replace our second bad SA box. We had a number of channels "not available" until we rebooted the box. That brought them all back .
I was hoping for better performance from the Samsung box but in recorded playback mode it performs worse than the SA box.

Frank

cucamelsmd15

08-04-09, 06:05 PM

Well, despite having my new CM4228HD, I still cant pull in UNC-TV. :(

jimholcomb

08-04-09, 07:52 PM

I have been seeing the "..channel not available message try again.." a lot lately - today it is USA-HD,Bravo-HD and SyFy-HD. Yesterday it was Hist=HD and Bio-HD. They all seem to come back after awhile(5 minutes to over 2 hours). This seems to be getting worse over the last few weeks. Is anybody else seeing this?

A few weeks back I was getting it a lot and I contacted support and was told to cold boot my box. I didn't really feel like doing that so I ignored that bit of advice but the problem went away the next day. A coincidence, I'm sure.

toadfannc

08-05-09, 07:41 AM

ziltink

08-05-09, 08:36 AM

Well, despite having my new CM4228HD, I still cant pull in UNC-TV. :(

I'm still picking it up in North East Raleigh since Monday I think. Not sure what changed, but I'm not complaining. Not much on networks at certain times, I like having a UNC alternative.

Trip in VA

08-05-09, 09:22 AM

Last night, I was getting some amazing tropo. Once of the things I managed to lock in was WNCR-LD 41 from Tarboro. It has three SD streams, all labeled WNCR-TV, all airing the same programming which I could not identify before the signal vanished on me. (Didn't manage to get a data capture for my website in time, either.)

Amusingly, the 41-3 stream on it had the whole bottom half of the picture garbled for some reason, while 41-1 and 41-2 were fine.

- Trip

VisionOn

08-05-09, 09:45 AM

A few weeks back I was getting it a lot and I contacted support and was told to cold boot my box. I didn't really feel like doing that so I ignored that bit of advice but the problem went away the next day. A coincidence, I'm sure.

That's their answer to everything because the CSR technical knowledge is non-existent when it comes to SDV.

Problems like this that randomly appear are nearly always TWC issues with SDV implementation or very occasionally a problem with your outside drop. The box is rarely a factor.

ncsugrad

08-05-09, 12:27 PM

Anyone else getting picture break ups on their SA8300HD? I've rebooted but it's still happening (as of Wed AM, 8/5). I don't see it on other HD stations, although I do see a lot of SDV ("xxx not available, try again") issues on channels like ESPNews HD, History HD, and Biography HD. I'd call TWC but I know the CSRs are pretty useless. Just wanted to see if it's only me.
I've noticed ESPN-HD (TWC Ch. 290) breaking up over the past few days also. No problems with any other HD channels.

I recorded the Pocono race Monday afternoon only to get home and find it virtually unwatchable. Funny thing was, Sunday afternoon when the race was originally scheduled the signal was perfectly fine.

I know one thing... TWC better get this figured out before football season starts. Dish and DirecTV have some pretty good deals right now! ;)

IamtheWolf

08-05-09, 05:51 PM

Anyone else getting picture break ups on their SA8300HD? I've rebooted but it's still happening (as of Wed AM, 8/5). I don't see it on other HD stations, although I do see a lot of SDV ("xxx not available, try again") issues on channels like ESPNews HD, History HD, and Biography HD. I'd call TWC but I know the CSRs are pretty useless. Just wanted to see if it's only me.

Had that problem awhile ago. Signal strength. Check all your connections, check the Diag screen(s) and then call for a visit (if necessary).

I know, everything was fine....Same here. They boosted the signal and added a better (newer?) splitter.

deepblueNC

08-05-09, 11:19 PM

Just a quick question. I'll appreciate your help.

Is there anyone in Raleigh/Durham area getting DD 5.1 audio from Time Warner Cable without a cable box?

I've basic cable and I'm watching clear QAM channels. Many TV shows state that they are in DD 5.1, but my receiver shows only 2.0 channels. I also tried OTA as an alternative, but still I could not get DD 5.1 when watching CSI. With OTA, the signal level was 77%, I don't know whether that would make a difference, that is, whether you need to be above a certain level to get DD.

Before asking Sony to repair my TV (Sony V5100), I wanna make sure that the problem is the TV not Time Warner cable.

toadfannc

08-06-09, 07:09 AM

I've noticed ESPN-HD (TWC Ch. 290) breaking up over the past few days also. No problems with any other HD channels.

I recorded the Pocono race Monday afternoon only to get home and find it virtually unwatchable. Funny thing was, Sunday afternoon when the race was originally scheduled the signal was perfectly fine.

I know one thing... TWC better get this figured out before football season starts. Dish and DirecTV have some pretty good deals right now! ;)

Yeah, I've noticed that ESPN-HD has been breaking up. And, virtually everything that I DVR breaks up and skips, etc. Might be my box after all.

vidiot1985

08-06-09, 07:36 AM

...

Is there anyone in Raleigh/Durham area getting DD 5.1 audio from Time Warner Cable without a cable box?

...

I believe I'm able to receive 5.1 audio over TWC clear QAM without a cable box.

Looking at some HD shows my BeyondTV DVR has recorded, during some commercials the audio stream shows only Stereo being available while during the HD program a 5.1 audio stream is available.

How do you have your receiver hooked up? Is it from the digital audio output from your TV? If so, your TV's digital audio output might downmix all inputs it receives to a stereo output. My TVs do that, unfortunately.

nitdawg

08-06-09, 10:19 AM

I believe I'm able to receive 5.1 audio over TWC clear QAM without a cable box.

Looking at some HD shows my BeyondTV DVR has recorded, during some commercials the audio stream shows only Stereo being available while during the HD program a 5.1 audio stream is available.

How do you have your receiver hooked up? Is it from the digital audio output from your TV? If so, your TV's digital audio output might downmix all inputs it receives to a stereo output. My TVs do that, unfortunately.

I can get 5.1 over QAM either direct through my TV or through my HTPC. I agree, the culprit can be your TV. Only the digital audio output on the TV will throw 5.1 to the receiver via a TV source. If the source is something external (i.e. not using the tuner in the panel) then it only sends 2 channels.

deepblueNC

08-06-09, 10:29 AM

I believe I'm able to receive 5.1 audio over TWC clear QAM without a cable box.

How do you have your receiver hooked up? Is it from the digital audio output from your TV? If so, your TV's digital audio output might downmix all inputs it receives to a stereo output. My TVs do that, unfortunately.

Thanks, this was very helpful. Now, I know the problem is the TV for sure. The digital audio out of the TV is connected to the receiver.

I talked to Sony Tech Support yesterday, they told me that if the source is my TV's tuner, I should be able to get DD 5.1 audio, so, I guess my TV's tuner may be defective.

zim2dive

08-06-09, 10:39 AM

Thanks, this was very helpful. Now, I know the problem is the TV for sure. The digital audio out of the TV is connected to the receiver.

I talked to Sony Tech Support yesterday, they told me that if the source is my TV's tuner, I should be able to get DD 5.1 audio, so, I guess my TV's tuner may be defective.

Many TVs will not output 5.1 audio b/c of DRM. You may want to find a thread for your specific TV model here at AVS and double check how it handles audio from the QAM tuner.

Oldemanphil

08-06-09, 09:08 PM

prerunnerv6

08-06-09, 11:56 PM

Well, despite having my new CM4228HD, I still cant pull in UNC-TV. :(

I did a re-scan yesterday. Finally got UNC-TV for a little while. But only at 10% signal and frequent drop outs. This morning it didn't come in at all and a rescan removes the channels.

I'll see how it goes next week.

vidiot1985

08-07-09, 08:06 AM

Many TVs will not output 5.1 audio b/c of DRM. You may want to find a thread for your specific TV model here at AVS and double check how it handles audio from the QAM tuner.

One other thing to try is to go the TV's setup menus (if the original poster hadn't already tried that). There might be a configuration screen for the audio output that lets you choose the type of output from the digital audio out. DVD players and cable boxes commonly have these and so might some TVs I guess (especially if the Sony tech support claims the TV can output 5.1 from its internal tuners, though maybe they meant from the ATSC tuner, which may have different capabilities in this regard than the QAM tuner).

drewwho

08-07-09, 01:47 PM

Hi,

I just got a new toy (Zotac ION A-U) and I'm re-evaluating my PVR solutions. Last night, I recorded a test clip 2 times on 2 different tuners. The recording was last night's Mentalist. I've been playing it back on 3 different front devices (ION Windows 7RC with Windows Media Center, ION Ubuntu 9.04 with MythTV VDPAU, and SageTV HD100 extender) and looking for defects in playback.

On all 3, I see at least 2 small skips in the first 30 seconds or so of the show. The first skip is when the crow flies off the parking meter, and the second skip is a few seconds later, when the camera pans to the "Missing" poster. In the last skip, it is almost like a frame is out of order as the poster moves quickly back to the left, and then back to the previous position.

If anybody has that on their DVR, can you confirm these glitches? It seems strange that 2 different tuners on 2 different computers would have glitches in the recording at the same point. Also, the recording and playback logs from MythTV did not mention any problems with the recording, and they're usually very verbose about damaged recordings.

Thanks,

Drew

nitdawg

08-07-09, 02:06 PM

On all 3, I see at least 2 small skips in the first 30 seconds or so of the show. The first skip is when the crow flies off the parking meter, and the second skip is a few seconds later, when the camera pans to the "Missing" poster. In the last skip, it is almost like a frame is out of order as the poster moves quickly back to the left, and then back to the previous position.

If anybody has that on their DVR, can you confirm these glitches? It seems strange that 2 different tuners on 2 different computers would have glitches in the recording at the same point. Also, the recording and playback logs from MythTV did not mention any problems with the recording, and they're usually very verbose about damaged recordings.

Thanks,

Drew

So I will check tonight, but it sure sounds like it was the broadcast coming in to your HTPC if the playback glitches were independent of either tuner or front-end.

7MC is pretty slick.

drewwho

08-07-09, 04:06 PM

So I will check tonight, but it sure sounds like it was the broadcast coming in to your HTPC if the playback glitches were independent of either tuner or front-end.

7MC is pretty slick.

Thanks for checking. Yes, 7MC is really slick.. The HD100 with Sage is slick as sandpaper, but it seems to have the best playback. But it is otherwise so clunky I was really hoping that the Ion could match it.

Drew

tommy122

08-09-09, 02:12 PM

Does anyone else besides me find the 720p commercials inserted by TWC on 1080i channels to be annoying?

scsiraid

08-09-09, 02:33 PM

Does anyone else besides me find the 720p commercials inserted by TWC on 1080i channels to be annoying?

Yes....

jrelmore

08-11-09, 09:29 PM

NCN 17.1, normally the strongest signal is the worst tonight during America's got Talent. Seems all local broadcasters have their bad days. Have communicated with a couple stating they have times when they are not transmitting at full power. Why not? shouldn't there be an On switch, then put a lock on it so no one accidentally turns it Off?

This OTA DTV is not all it was promised to be.

scsiraid

08-11-09, 09:33 PM

Trip in VA

08-11-09, 09:56 PM

The tropospheric ducting is intense this evening. I'm decoding WNCT without turning the antenna, WNCR-LD made my signal light flash (and got me a clean decode when aimed that way), and my signal is way down on several local signals.

Your issues with WNCN might be related to ducting bringing in either WFXR or WLTX.

- Trip

gstelmack

08-12-09, 02:57 PM

Does anyone else besides me find the 720p commercials inserted by TWC on 1080i channels to be annoying?

I'm more interested in the fact that local commercials seem to be 15 seconds off as what appear to be TWC-inserted ads into national streams (including an ad for how great TWC advertising is) keep cutting in to the middle of commericals that appear to be national ads.

My favorite has been the ad for TWC advertising that cuts off another ad to say how great they are :D

drewwho

08-12-09, 03:09 PM

Does anybody know what happened to WRAL's mobile DTV signal? They seem to be broadcasting about 3.5Mb/s of null pids rather than mobile DTV these days..

Thanks,

Drew

Trip in VA

08-12-09, 04:31 PM

Does anybody know what happened to WRAL's mobile DTV signal? They seem to be broadcasting about 3.5Mb/s of null pids rather than mobile DTV these days..

Thanks,

Drew

It comes and goes. Sometimes it's there and sometimes it isn't. I caught it as recently as last week with the M/H on the air.

- Trip

nitdawg

08-13-09, 08:14 AM

Trip in VA

08-13-09, 11:33 AM

I've sent off another e-mail, I'll let you know when I hear a response.

- Trip

bakerm5

08-13-09, 02:27 PM

Trip in VA

08-13-09, 09:48 PM

Definitely possible. My contact at UNC has yet to answer me, so maybe he's been busy with it all day...

- Trip

kestep

08-15-09, 09:54 PM

I don't know what changed, but I can get UNC digital for the first time on my Sony in the bedroom (extra splitter inline). The LG in the living room could get it all along.

Apparently there is now enough signal to overcome the extra splitter :cool:

ldmccall

08-16-09, 02:04 AM

Many TVs will not output 5.1 audio b/c of DRM. You may want to find a thread for your specific TV model here at AVS and double check how it handles audio from the QAM tuner.
Thanks for making this point. I have an HTPC and when I try to pass on audio from my Sony TV to the receiver it only passes stereo. Of course Sony's manual doesn't detail anything.

LazyTom

08-16-09, 08:24 AM

For the past two weeks I have not been getting audio on a single channel on TWC cable - the SYFY HD channel. All other of my HD channels are fine - no problems at all.

When I called it took some time for TWC to acknowledge that there was a problem at the head-end which they say they have fixed - but not for me - I still have the problem. TWC now says they will send out a tech rep, but... how can it be my home equipment if it is a single channel?

Anyone have a clue how a single channel can lose audio?

LT

scsiraid

08-16-09, 01:54 PM

dundakitty

08-17-09, 08:26 AM

I've lost audio on a channel before. A rescan of the channels brought it back. I don't have a set-top-box, TWC feeds directly to my TV. I do get ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and PBS in HD.

kckranz

08-17-09, 10:39 AM

Trip in VA

08-17-09, 11:54 AM

I lost the WUNC signal around noon for about 10 minutes today, and then the signal came in strong (was breaking up prior). My daughter wasn't too happy, no Curious George during lunch. But not a problem with it since it came back. Was this perhaps the movement/swapping of the antenna?

I just got word back that yes, they're now on the top-mounted antenna, but still at reduced power. If all goes as planned, they hope to power up to 1000 kW by the end of the month.

- Trip

LazyTom

08-17-09, 04:13 PM

Thanks all for your suggestions and confirmations.

I called my neighbor and they also do not have audio on 267 (SyFy HD), although they do have the picture.

Tech rep said "oh, we'll get back to you". Not holding my breath here.

LT.

HDMe2

08-17-09, 11:11 PM

I just got word back that yes, they're now on the top-mounted antenna, but still at reduced power. If all goes as planned, they hope to power up to 1000 kW by the end of the month.

- Trip

Good to know.

I noticed that I am able to scan it now... not really watchable, lots of breaking up... but still progress. Leaves me with hope that when they boost their power I'll be ok again without having to do anything to my config.

ziltink

08-18-09, 07:50 AM

Good to know.

I noticed that I am able to scan it now... not really watchable, lots of breaking up... but still progress. Leaves me with hope that when they boost their power I'll be ok again without having to do anything to my config.

I have been receiving it for a while now, occasionally it will drop for about 1 or 2 minutes at the time, but it's been a pretty good signal, 80 - 100 percent.

Trip in VA

08-18-09, 10:39 AM

SugarBowl

08-18-09, 11:16 AM

drewwho

08-18-09, 11:26 AM

WUNC is currently at about 45 kW, so going up to 1000 kW is about 12 dB or so. 12 dB is a lot of signal--there are some people who currently get no reception on WUNC other than a tiny blip on the meter that will start receiving it reliably when the power increases.

- Trip

Can you remind us what power / elevation they were at before the transition?

I guess I'm just lucky, but I've found that even with the lower elevation and lower power, I could actually receive them *better* post transition than I ever could pre-transition. This is using a CM4228 and an LG 5th gen tuner based PCI card. I guess it must have something to do with them using UHF twenty-something rather than UHF 59, and them being across the RDU flight path from me.

I'm really hoping that after they go full power, I can start getting them off the back of my tower-aimed 4228, and fold my UNC dedicated tuner back into the pool.

Drew

Trip in VA

08-18-09, 11:33 AM

It was something like 1400' 893.2 kW on channel 59. They had been at 1007' 45 kW on channel 25 but now should be at 1522' 45 kW, and will go up to 1522' 1000 kW.

- Trip

HDMe2

08-18-09, 03:58 PM

It was something like 1400' 893.2 kW on channel 59. They had been at 1007' 45 kW on channel 25 but now should be at 1522' 45 kW, and will go up to 1522' 1000 kW.

- Trip

So when all is said and done, they'll be on higher power and higher elevation than pre-transition.

That should bode well for me then as I was getting WUNC quite nicely pre-transition with my current setup.

RSMoonwalks

08-24-09, 08:24 AM

What has happened.....

No messages in the past 5-6 days.......

has this forum been MOVED ???????

I don't normally send post here but I do enjoy reading it...

Thanks,

jspENC

08-24-09, 09:10 AM

I picked up WUVC and WTNC-LP last night down in Onslow county. lol Even WTVD! although weaker than the LP.

HDMe2

08-24-09, 03:48 PM

I've been getting channel 4 for a few days now... so something definitely improved right around the end of last week.

posg

08-30-09, 08:57 AM

What has happened.....

No messages in the past 5-6 days.......

has this forum been MOVED ???????

I don't normally send post here but I do enjoy reading it...

Thanks,

It's become a hangout for cheapskates who spend thousands on a TV then hook it up to a coat hanger so they can watch all that GREAT :rolleyes: network TV for free.

posg

08-30-09, 09:00 AM

Who's switched to U-verse ??? It's available where I live now, but I've never seen their HD. Does it really suck as bad as what I read ???

SugarBowl

08-31-09, 04:17 PM

Who's switched to U-verse ??? It's available where I live now, but I've never seen their HD. Does it really suck as bad as what I read ???

we got a flyer in the mail saying it was available. It certainly didn't look any cheaper than time warner so i don't think we'll be switching.

nitdawg

09-01-09, 09:31 AM

It's become a hangout for cheapskates who spend thousands on a TV then hook it up to a coat hanger so they can watch all that GREAT :rolleyes: network TV for free.

I'm all up for discussing all the great cable programming out there, where to start?

roybishop

09-01-09, 11:34 AM

Please post your city and subdivision where it's being offered. My address shows not available and I'm curious what they're deploying it. Thanks!

nitdawg

09-01-09, 03:06 PM

Please post your city and subdivision where it's being offered. My address shows not available and I'm curious what they're deploying it. Thanks!

According to AT&T my street in Morrisville doesn't even exist, so still waiting.

dslate69

09-02-09, 02:01 PM

Who's switched to U-verse ??? It's available where I live now, but I've never seen their HD. Does it really suck as bad as what I read ???
Hello old friend.
I'd be interested to hear your findings on the U-verse shortcomings as I hold your knowledge on this particular subject in somewhat high regard. ;)
I am happy with D* but love to fill my head with facts that I can spout off at the water cooler. The knock I have heard is the number of simultaneous HD streams are limited, although I don't know to what extent that would effect someone recording and sending multiple streams around the house.

posg

09-04-09, 06:18 PM

Hello old friend.
I'd be interested to hear your findings on the U-verse shortcomings as I hold your knowledge on this particular subject in somewhat high regard. ;)
I am happy with D* but love to fill my head with facts that I can spout off at the water cooler. The knock I have heard is the number of simultaneous HD streams are limited, although I don't know to what extent that would effect someone recording and sending multiple streams around the house.

I'll give you the scoop of what I know when I get caught up. I'm in NYC this week installing two hotel HD head ends at a couple of upscale boutique hotels. I had the thrill of a lifetime riding up one of those cage elevators attached to the outside of a 52 story project at 30th and Ave of the Americas. Not for the faint of heart.:eek::eek::eek:

Scooper

09-04-09, 07:16 PM

Hello old friend.
I'd be interested to hear your findings on the U-verse shortcomings as I hold your knowledge on this particular subject in somewhat high regard. ;)
I am happy with D* but love to fill my head with facts that I can spout off at the water cooler. The knock I have heard is the number of simultaneous HD streams are limited, although I don't know to what extent that would effect someone recording and sending multiple streams around the house.

Well - according to this thread - http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1138881 - You may not want U-Verse after all..

thess

09-06-09, 09:45 AM

nitdawg

09-06-09, 09:53 AM

It's Sunday a.m. and I doubt anyone will reply all that soon, but...

I picked up a HDDVR from the Southpoint mall TWC kiosk on Friday to use with a new bdrm tv. They gave me a battered SA8350 that looks like it's been through a house fire and is missing a 'foot'. I didn't really notice the extent of the damage till I got home, but I also really didn't care. I propped up the missing foot, hooked everything up, set up some shows to record and whatever, and then discovered over the course of the weekend that the box regularly locks up, requiring a hard boot, and resets all settings to default each time, including any recording setups. So, it's basically useless.

I looked up the hours for the Southpoint kiosk and they're open today at noon, but it also says "Box swap upgrade ONLY". Does this somehow mean they're going to refuse to swap out this broken box for a working one?

I know from experience that a) at least one of the employees there has a phenomenally bad attitude and b) they don't actually answer the associated phone number so I can't call and ask this in advance. If anyone has an idea of what 'box swap upgrade only' is likely going to mean to me, let me know.

Perhaps it means "drop off the SA and go buy a HDTiVo instead."

Unfortunately when you are the local cable co monopoly there is no incentive to care about much of anything. When they loose more customers they just keep raising the rates. Try the TWC place in Cary to swap our your box, they usually have quite a stash on hand. Sometimes it like going to the DMV with the most miserable people, but other times its been a breeze.

HDTivo brings on the cablecard and maybe some more headache, but I can't speak on that (although I'm sure you can get some feedback here an on other forums if you go that route).

-NitDawg

Bruce Watson

09-06-09, 12:39 PM

It's Sunday a.m. and I doubt anyone will reply all that soon, but...

I picked up a HDDVR from the Southpoint mall TWC kiosk on Friday to use with a new bdrm tv. They gave me a battered SA8350 that looks like it's been through a house fire and is missing a 'foot'. I didn't really notice the extent of the damage till I got home, but I also really didn't care. I propped up the missing foot, hooked everything up, set up some shows to record and whatever, and then discovered over the course of the weekend that the box regularly locks up, requiring a hard boot, and resets all settings to default each time, including any recording setups. So, it's basically useless.

I looked up the hours for the Southpoint kiosk and they're open today at noon, but it also says "Box swap upgrade ONLY". Does this somehow mean they're going to refuse to swap out this broken box for a working one?

I know from experience that a) at least one of the employees there has a phenomenally bad attitude and b) they don't actually answer the associated phone number so I can't call and ask this in advance. If anyone has an idea of what 'box swap upgrade only' is likely going to mean to me, let me know.

Perhaps it means "drop off the SA and go buy a HDTiVo instead."

I have felt your pain in the past. That's why I dropped TWC like the rotten apple they seem to be a couple of years ago.

Next week (if it's cool enough and all the parts show up) I'll haul my lazy tail and an HDTV antenna to the roof. With an HDTV antenna, a blu-ray player, and Netflix, who needs TWC?

Sod 'em if they provide crappy customer service!

scsiraid

09-06-09, 12:43 PM

Perhaps it means "drop off the SA and go buy a HDTiVo instead."

Come on in... the water is fine....

thess

09-06-09, 12:58 PM

Thanks for the replies.

After talking it over with the husband at breakfast, we went and bought a HDTiVo and I guess I'll begin the process of obtaining a ccard/TA from TWC. I didn't bother going to the mall kiosk because it's just going to irritate me if they won't take the SA back there. I'm pretty sure they insist on a service call for the cablecard anyway, I'll give the SA box to the tech at that time.

(Backstory: I'm a longtime TiVo user (series 1/series 2), eventually ditched it and built a lvrm HTPC, been screwing around with that ever since, with and without TWC service depending on how much they are irritating me at any given time. (Sometimes I just grab clear QAM + ATSC and shut the tv service off.) We just bought a decent tv for the bedroom and I have been unable to think of any better DVR solution because there just isn't room for a HTPC unless I buy a case with a better form-factor and blah blah blah. I can't find an extender device that really looks like it would do what I want. And I had forgotten exactly how much the SA DVRs suck or I would have skipped that whole step and bought the tivo in the first place.)

Now to figure out whether this thing will tune anything on its own until I get a cablecard.

pkscout

09-06-09, 08:24 PM

Perhaps it means "drop off the SA and go buy a HDTiVo instead."

Or it could mean cancel cable and throw an antenna on your roof. If you don't watch much sports you can get some of the cable stuff from Hulu or Amazon Video on Demand. That's what we did and we spend way less on a few Amazon on Demand TV shows than we did for just analog cable.

thess

09-06-09, 08:29 PM

Like I said, I do go through phases of ATSC or clear QAM only. I've got a channelmaster out back.

Believe me, I'm not thrilled to be beholden to TWC but I've still got too much of a dependency on instant-gratification network and basic-cable television. :)

Does anyone know the current time frame or procedure for getting a tuning adapter? I've tried to fill out the webform but it's giving me a vague error. I'm hoping this just means the form won't work until my account shows an active cablecard.

rttaylor619

09-07-09, 10:41 AM

Does the local Cary/Raleigh/Durham TWC still push the local HD channels out without requiring a set top box? I heard that they used to, but then recently, as of june, no longer rebroadcast them in clear QAM ... can anyone confirm this?

I got an HDTV this weekend, and have the basic cable package (no box, just 2-26) ... and was hoping that I could still get the UNC-TV HD broadcast, and local sports broadcasts.

I guess I can go out and get an antennae, but I was hoping to just get it via digital QAM transmission.

drewwho

09-07-09, 01:50 PM

Does the local Cary/Raleigh/Durham TWC still push the local HD channels out without requiring a set top box?

Yes.

Drew

drewwho

09-07-09, 01:54 PM

isn't room for a HTPC unless I buy a case with a better form-factor and blah blah blah. I can't find an extender device that really looks like it would do what I want

What do you want an extender to do? Have you considered the tiny SageTV HD200? That will do everything regular SageTV does -- TV playback with automatic commercial skipping, ripped DVD & blueray playback, video podcasts, photos, music, and will (slowly) work with a PlayOn server to view Hulu, NetFlix, etc.

Drew

Bruce Watson

09-07-09, 03:59 PM

I'm going to install an HDTV antenna (CM 4220HD, props and thanks to WRAL) on the roof this week if all the parts show up. Just about every local station I'm interested in has a transmitter at the Garner antenna farm. Even WUNC is rumored to be installing a (low power) repeater there (when will it be active?).

Since most everything is at the Garner antenna farm I thought the smart thing to do would be to aim at the center of the farm and see if I can do without a rotator. Part of the KISS principle and all.

The question is, how can I locate the center? IOW, who's broadcasting from the center tower?

This may be a moot question as I'm over near Meridith College. AntennaWeb shows me a whopping two degree spread (145 - 147 degrees, at 12.6-12.7 miles). Perhaps my antenna can't provide enough resolution to differentiate the various towers at this distance anyway. Still, while I'm at it I might as well try and do the best job I can, yes?

Any tips/pointers for a newbie on pointing an antenna are gratefully received!

jspENC

09-07-09, 04:07 PM

Terrestrial TV antennas are not like satellite dishes. They usually DO NOT have to be spot on to get a signal, and sometimes they actually work better turned slightly away from the tower depending on the surroundings of the particular area you are in. Best thing to do is just put it out there, and aim approximately and see what happens. If the signal is a little low, turn antenna back and forth, or up and down until signal peaks. It may take a few times doing this before you get the best results.

Scooper

09-07-09, 05:40 PM

sooke

09-07-09, 09:40 PM

Hi,

My SA 8300HD just died after 3 years of loyal service. I'll be exchanging it tomorrow. Not sure what I'll be given as a replacement. Any recommendations on if I should ask for another 8300HD or try the newer 8300HDC?

Oh, I don't use an external drive at this time, but might like to try in the future.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Sooke

larc919

09-08-09, 01:34 AM

If you can receive WRAL, and WTVD - you can receive everything in Garner. Only WTVD is on it's own tower right now, all other stations are on the same tower.There are three towers at the farm. Any idea what the third one is for? Is that just somebody's spare in case one gets brought down as WRAL's did by ice in Dec 1989?

Scooper

09-08-09, 08:38 AM

There are three towers at the farm. Any idea what the third one is for? Is that just somebody's spare in case one gets brought down as WRAL's did by ice in Dec 1989?

It was WNCN's analog tower. They may be keeping it as a "just in case" like you said.

Retspin

09-08-09, 10:16 AM

It was used for the analogs for WRAL, WRAZ and WRDC. There are at least two FM's on it now, WQDR and WRAL-FM. According to the FCC database, WRDC digital is on that tower also. I guess they are using the old analog 28 antenna.

thess

09-09-09, 08:25 AM

Would be interested to hear from anyone who has very recently, or is able to this week, obtain a Tuning Adapter for a TiVoHD from TWC Carolinas.

The webform doesn't seem to work (I was told 24 hours after cablecard install it would; going on 48 now..."Order not Accepted"), and the CSRs either hang up on me or tell me someone will call me back.

I don't understand why dealing with them always has to be an enormous hassle.

Also, can someone confirm that quite a lot of channels are SDV now? I had it in my head that it was mostly just the HDs added this year, but that seems not to be the case. This is making the TiVO HD into an expensive semi-brick if I can't get a TA.

Thanks in advance.

Lee L

09-09-09, 11:12 AM

According to AT&T my street in Morrisville doesn't even exist, so still waiting.

Well, they know I am here in off Morrisville-Carpenter, but they will only give me 3.0 DSL instead of 6.0 even though we have fiber running on the curb here. I would like to get Uverse just for the internet and phone service. I would not get TV from them though, I'm happy with DirecTV and the "cheap over the air TV".

toadfannc

09-10-09, 10:36 AM

For those who were hoping that TWC would add the NFL Network (and/or NFL RedZone) for the 2009 season ... forget it.

http://blog.timesunion.com/sportsmedia/nfl-network-releases-statement-in-regard-to-time-warner/2410/

Looks like the model that the NFL used to make a deal with Comcast (and just about every other cable/sat company) is not good enough for TWC.

jspENC

09-10-09, 12:07 PM

Those of us on Directv lost Versus, and ESPN classic. These companies keep putting themselves first, and not their customers. Comcast is the reason we lost VS.

NCCaniac

09-10-09, 02:53 PM

Those of us on Directv lost Versus, and ESPN classic. These companies keep putting themselves first, and not their customers. Comcast is the reason we lost VS.

Hmm....I'm on Dish, which has recently been touting the option of adding NFL RedZone as an add-on channel. Dish still has Versus and ESPN Classic, but of course, only Directv has NFL Sunday Ticket.

Not as much impact from competition as I would like to see, but having TWC, Directv, Dish, and now AT&T U-verse coming into the mix....the more the better.

popweaverhdtv

09-10-09, 05:38 PM

Those of us on Directv lost Versus, and ESPN classic. These companies keep putting themselves first, and not their customers. Comcast is the reason we lost VS.

ESPN Classic is currently available on Ch. 208 via D* (watching it right now: featuring the 1982 NCAA Final of Georgetown vs. UNC).

Bruce Watson

09-10-09, 07:25 PM

If you can receive WRAL, and WTVD - you can receive everything in Garner. Only WTVD is on it's own tower right now, all other stations are on the same tower. I don't know where WUNC is planning on putting their channel 30 translator out there, but you should be OK what ever they do.

Got the last of my antenna installation parts delivered this afternoon, and it was cloudy and cool. No time like the present and all that...

Long story short, I forgot my compass, so I just stuck the antenna mast in the mount, took a wild-ass guess and pointed it to where I thought Garner might be, and tightened it finger tight (knowing I'd be back making aiming adjustments). Went down to the TV room and had the TV make a sweep though the channels. I was hoping to get one or two. Damn if it didn't come up with like 27! The TV's software signal strength meter says I hit WRAL 5-1 at 88 out of 100. Not bad for wild-ass guess.

Interestingly, I picked up all three of WUNCs channels (my little 4220HD is pointed like 170 degrees *away* from Chapel Hill) with excellent strength. I'm assuming that's the repeater in Garner? My TV isn't telling me what frequency it's actually seeing so I don't know for sure.

Also, I'm picking up all three of WTVD's channels. This I did *not* expect since the 4220HD is just a couple of UHF bowties. Am I seeing a UHF repeater? Or is 11 close enough to the bottom of the UHF band for the antenna? IOW, how am I picking this up with a lowly 4220HD?

Anyway, thanks to everyone in the group for the encouragement. Pretty cool to just stick an antenna on the roof and get such good results. Piece of pie!

Scooper

09-10-09, 07:48 PM

Bruce Watson

09-10-09, 08:05 PM

It is quite possible if you're close enough to get WUNC off the backside. and that your antenna works well enough on 11 to get it (my UHF antenna doesn't - I'm too far away in a bad environment - trees - but I do have VHF antenna that works great for 11 and FM). No UHF repeater for 11, and the last I knew WUNC's channel 30 translator isn't up yet. So, you're doing great !

What's that sayin'? Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while? I guess today was my day. ;-) It *is* a little like hitting 10 green lights in a row. Doesn't happen often, but I'll take it when I can get it.

jspENC

09-10-09, 09:38 PM

What's that sayin'? Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while? I guess today was my day. ;-) It *is* a little like hitting 10 green lights in a row. Doesn't happen often, but I'll take it when I can get it.

If you're not seeing any errors or breakups in the pictures, then you're all set! Next, you might try for eastern NC channels. :cool:

thess

09-11-09, 07:43 AM

When I post here with a problem, and then get it resolved, I usually like to post a follow-up in case some poor sod comes along with the same problem. In this case it's not going to be that useful. I was struggling to get a Tuning Adapter (necessary for SDV channels on a HD TiVo) from TWC, because the online form just kept spitting Order Not Accepted for me (and you can probably image how productive my five or six phone calls to customer support were). In the end, a friend of a friend managed to get an installer to bring one out on the truck--I'm still not sure how and I believe this would be difficult to accomplish with a regular call to customer support. So my solution isn't too useful to others. However, I did want to mention that if the webform doesn't work, if you take yourself down to the office (not a mall kiosk but a real office) the csrs there can get into a form on their terminals to have one mailed to you via FedEx from Raleigh. Or so I was told.

I don't get the sense there are too many TWC-HDTiVo users on this thread, as I recall, but I did want to post the follow-up for posterity. Sorry for any interruption.

DrJoe

09-12-09, 01:32 PM

Hi folks,

I'm new to the area -- just relocated from Central Maine into an apartment on the Morrisville/Cary line.

I've been getting ATSC reception for my tunerless HDTV monitor. I have an old VOOM satellite receiver using it just for OTA receptio. I've found there is a problem with both area CBS stations (WRAL-5 RF 48 & WFMY-2 RF 51) -- they cause the VOOM box to shut down and reboot when you tune to them. This problem has been reported elsewhere:

http://www.highdefforum.com/local-hdtv-info-reception/18340-local-pbs-hdtv-resets-voom-fta-reciever.html

The top PBS engineer from the PBS corporation wrote back to me and said that he was able to obtain a VOOM box for his test lab and was able to re-create the problem. He told me all the nitty gritty details about why the problem is happening and confirmed that my local station did change their broadcast signal they just probably are not aware of the change because this particular change would have been made by PBS corporate. From what I gathered, he said that even with their digital broadcast they were using an analog carrier to send the TV guide information. They changed this to a digital signal for the TV guide and it causes the Voom box to crash. He said that he would work to correct the problem. He said if VOOM was still in business they would probably have issued a firmware upgrade to fix the problem. He was very nice and sounded very authoritative on the subject but I still cannot get PBS to work.

I get the crashes for all of the channel 2 subchannels, and for channel 5-1 (5-2 tunes OK).

Has anyone experienced similar problems? Does anyone know how to contact the engineers at WRAL or WFMY?

I'm trying to look for a more modern ATSC tuner, but it isn't in my budget. I was shocked to see tuners still > $100.

Thanks,

Joe

Scooper

09-12-09, 03:48 PM

While it isn't HD, you could consider finding an converter box for much cheaper. It would get you by until you can swing something better.

vidiot1985

09-13-09, 07:08 AM

Have you considered a tuner for your computer (assuming you have one capable of HD playback through your HDTV monitor)?

You can get an ATSC tuner card or USB stick for ~$30 and up these days (e.g. search for "atsc tuner" at newegg.com), and you get recording capability with it.

Lee L

09-14-09, 11:15 AM

Those of us on Directv lost Versus, and ESPN classic. These companies keep putting themselves first, and not their customers. Comcast is the reason we lost VS.

ESPN CLassic has been moved to a higher programming package as part of the deal to move ESPNU down to the lower level package and also to allow DirecTV to (eventually, when they lauch their next satellite in like February 2010) carry ESPNU HD. It has not been removed from DirecTVm just exchanged for another ESPN channel. This came out of ESPN's desire to have ESPNU moved down to the basic package for all cable and sat companies and was negotiated by them with all the providers over a 1 or 2 year period. They are not sure what to do with ESPN Classic long term and may eventually change it around as well.

They did take Versus down, but in the past, DirecTV has been really good about getting deals done and has not been holding channels hostage like Dish Net and some cable companies routinely do. Either, they have changed their negotiation strategy from the past or the Versus thing is an exceptionally difficult negotiation. Lots of accusations back and forth, but that fact that Versus is owned by Comcast makes me want to give DirecTV the benefit of the doubt on this one.

jspENC

09-14-09, 11:53 AM

I'll admit, I do like having ESPNU, since I watched it over the weekend for college football.:)

However, I do miss Versus. I hope they get this worked out before my hockey starts next month.

MattWarner

09-14-09, 10:20 PM

...DirecTV has been really good about getting deals done and has not been holding channels hostage like Dish Net and some cable companies routinely do. Either, they have changed their negotiation strategy from the past or the Versus thing is an exceptionally difficult negotiation. Lots of accusations back and forth, but that fact that Versus is owned by Comcast makes me want to give DirecTV the benefit of the doubt on this one.

From DirecTV's Twitter Account:
Many asked about terms. DIRECTV already pays Versus more than any independent distributor and yet Comcast seeks a 20%+ hike on that rate. We offered to carry Versus through Sept while talks continued -- Comcast declined. We've heard you - its time Comcast hears from you!

So, I would agree with Lee that I'm giving DirecTV the benefit of the doubt. I'm not sure I want any provider able to hike rates up 20% for a single channel.

tarheelone

09-16-09, 05:45 PM

The following channel additions have been announced on the Charlotte TWC channel change page. Since TWC has been adding channels at the same time statewide for the past year one can assume(and hope) that we will get them here as well.

October 28, 2009: The following channels will be added:

Lo Mejor On Demand - (Free On Demand)
HBO2 HD - (requires subscription to HBO)
HBO Signature HD - (requires subscription to HBO)
HBO Family HD - (requires subscription to HBO)
HBO Comedy HD - (requires subscription to HBO)
HBO Zone HD - (requires subscription to HBO)
HBO Latino HD - (requires subscription to HBO)
BBC America HD - (Digital Basic)
Fox Sports Carolinas HD - (Basic Cable plus HD converter)
Headline News HD - (Basic Cable plus HD converter)
Investigation Discovery HD - (Digital Basic)
MSNBC HD - (Basic Cable plus HD converter)
truTV HD - (Basic Cable plus HD converter)
TCM HD - (Basic Cable plus HD converter)

Splat!

09-16-09, 07:40 PM

October 28, 2009: The following channels will be added:

Lo Mejor On Demand - (Free On Demand)
HBO2 HD - (requires subscription to HBO)
HBO Signature HD - (requires subscription to HBO)
HBO Family HD - (requires subscription to HBO)
HBO Comedy HD - (requires subscription to HBO)
HBO Zone HD - (requires subscription to HBO)
HBO Latino HD - (requires subscription to HBO)
BBC America HD - (Digital Basic)
Fox Sports Carolinas HD - (Basic Cable plus HD converter)
Headline News HD - (Basic Cable plus HD converter)
Investigation Discovery HD - (Digital Basic)
MSNBC HD - (Basic Cable plus HD converter)
truTV HD - (Basic Cable plus HD converter)
TCM HD - (Basic Cable plus HD converter)

Well, we already get FSC HD. Unless they're making it a full-time channel?

Also, how is a 'HD converter' different from their other digital boxes?

tarheelone

09-16-09, 08:16 PM

Well, we already get FSC HD. Unless they're making it a full-time channel?

They already have it in Charlotte as well. So the guess is that Fox Sports is finally getting around to making it a full time channel.

drewwho

09-17-09, 10:41 AM

A while back, there were complaints from people with vizio TVs about not being able to correctly view some material broadcast on our local 720p channels due to Vizio bugs handling TFF/RFF telecine flags in 720 material. I'm now being bit by this for a different reason, and I was wondering if any of you had contacted WRDC?

WRDC recently started showing ST:TNG re-runs, and their encoder is doing the TFF/TFF thing. I can *watch* them fine (since I use a hardware based extender), but when I try to compress them, the fast motion is jerky, because the SageTV transcoding software (based on ffmpeg) doesn't understand the TFF/RFF flags.

So, have any of you with Vizios had problems watch ST:TNG on 28.1 at 11pm?

Thanks,

Drew

gstelmack

09-18-09, 10:17 AM

The following channel additions have been announced on the Charlotte TWC channel change page. Since TWC has been adding channels at the same time statewide for the past year one can assume(and hope) that we will get them here as well.

Oh sure, NOW they add all the HBO HDs, announcing it the day after I dropped HBO and Cinemax because we were using the HD OnDemand for movies more than the two of them combined...

tamarawadams

09-18-09, 04:59 PM

Ok guys - I need your help! I am in Garner, and I can get UNC TV(PBS) on all of my TVs except the main TV for which we use the same antenna type as the other TVs. The only difference is instead of a traditional converter box, this TV has the DTV-Pal DVR. Some of the rooms that get PBS are more hindered with obstacles for the antenna than the main TV, so I don't think this is the problem. Any suggestions? My 2 & 4 year olds are dying to get PBS back (and frankly, so am I)!

HDMe2

09-19-09, 12:06 AM

You might be surprised how antenna work (or don't).

I have 2 Dish receivers... and the exact same antenna in my bedroom picks up more channels than in my living room... and in my living room I can put the antenna higher AND go through 1 less wall towards the antenna farm.

I don't have any concrete answers for you... but antenna adjustment sometimes does act like the sum-being-greater-than-the-parts.

neumannu47

09-20-09, 08:58 AM

zim2dive

09-20-09, 10:44 AM

We have the TW SA 8300 DVR. My Toshiba LCD TV reports that all HD shows are 1080i. Is that resolution the maximum that is available from TW or from this box? Is there no 1080p? The TV is 1080p capable.

We don't have a Blu-Ray player yet, so I guess I have never even seen 1080p. Or am I misunderstanding something?

I don;t think there is any broadcast 1080p material (or probably the material is there, but no one broadcasts 1080p)

Dish and Direct (and maybe TWC) do some limited PPV 1080p movies (but a majority are not)

drewwho

09-21-09, 08:48 AM

Trip in VA

09-21-09, 08:50 AM

Probably tropospheric ducting. The WTFDA mailing list lit up last night with people seeing Virginia and North Carolina stations in New York.

- Trip

drewwho

09-21-09, 09:42 AM

Probably tropospheric ducting. The WTFDA mailing list lit up last night with people seeing Virginia and North Carolina stations in New York.

- Trip

So you're saying that another, non-local channel overwhelmed WNCN's transmitter on UHF 17? Do you have any idea what station it might have been? I've got a CM4228 pointed at WNCN and I'm only 20 miles from it.. I generally have excellent reception. Is there anything I can / should do to prevent this from happening again? This never happened when WNCN was at its pre-transition frequency in the 50s.

Thanks,

Drew

Trip in VA

09-21-09, 09:45 AM

That's because channel 55 was relatively clean. The nearest digital 55 was... probably 0.9 kW worth of WHAG in Hagerstown. The nearest analog 55 was WMYT in Charlotte, but ATSC was designed to better handle co-channel analog interference.

Channel 17 has competition from WFXR-DT in Roanoke, WKTD-CD in Norfolk, and WLTX-DT in Columbia. There's not a whole lot you can do about tropospheric ducting; it's pretty rare that it's strong enough to wipe out a local signal but it does happen.

- Trip

drewwho

09-21-09, 09:58 AM

Trip in VA

09-21-09, 10:03 AM

At some point, I've had all of my locals wiped out from signals off the back and/or sides of my antennas. Tropospheric ducting can make signals from distant locations stronger than even local signals. My antenna is aimed at Roanoke, 90 degrees off from Raleigh, and yet WFXR does sometimes get wiped out by WNCN. I can tell because WRAL and some of the others will be maxing out my signal meters and WFXR just disappears.

All it has to do is raise the noise floor under the signal you want high enough that the tuner can't decode it. (ATSC requires a 15 dB signal/noise ratio to decode.)

- Trip

Lee L

09-21-09, 10:31 AM

I hope this past weekend was not what we can expect from WRAL from now on. The ACC game went long due to multiple rain delays at the site in Clemson. At 3:30 when the Tennessee Florida game was supposed to be starting, the Clemson BC game had just started the second rain delay which would have been at least 30 mintues and ended up being about 45. The announcers were just chatting and showing filler mixed with shots of the empty stadium and rain. This went on for some time.

I can understand not switching to the national CBS game if there is still action going on, but to show nothing but rain?

How about using the subchannel you have to show one or the other instead of some old movies on this and that TV or whatever it is called?

How about throwing up a crawl saying what is going on so that the viewers can be informed?

They eventually cut over to the Tenn-FL game after 20 or 30 minutes, but this was only after lots of calls (at least I assume so, I got busy signals for at least 15 minutes trying to call them.)

Luckily I was able to watch the beginning of the Tenn-FL game on CBS.com but this is not what I expect from the leading station in the area.

Plus, I would really like it if WRAL would fix the sound screw ups every time they do a logo insertion. IT was very obvious on the Emmys last night. It is better than last year, but still quite noticeable.

Trip in VA

09-21-09, 12:03 PM

In regard to our discussion about ducting earlier, someone on the mailing list in Massachusetts is STILL able to decode WGPX-14 as of 11AM. This is a very unusual event.

- Trip

drewwho

09-21-09, 12:51 PM

In regard to our discussion about ducting earlier, someone on the mailing list in Massachusetts is STILL able to decode WGPX-14 as of 11AM. This is a very unusual event.

- Trip

No offense to the DX-er crowd, but I'm hoping it doesn't happen again. Especially during a close SNF game!

Drew

Trip in VA

09-21-09, 05:19 PM

drewwho

09-21-09, 05:23 PM

It can and will happen again, though as I said, it's usually not intense enough to wipe out local reception at such a close distance.

When it happens, you might try looking for other signals of the same network affiliation. For example, try putting in 32-1 and you might see WITN 7-1, or 44-3 might give you WECT 6-1.

- Trip

I almost never watch live tv, though, so by the I'd normally notice this, a few days or weeks would pass. I just happened to be "lucky" enough to see this last night... :)

Drew

Trip in VA

09-23-09, 12:27 AM

WTVD has requested to increase power from 20.7 kW to 45 kW.

- Trip

Kevad

09-23-09, 08:37 AM

WTVD has requested to increase power from 20.7 kW to 45 kW.

- Trip

That's good news! WTVD has been the one channel that's borderline for me, so increased power is always welcome.

Any idea on the possible timeframe?

jspENC

09-23-09, 09:40 AM

That's good news! WTVD has been the one channel that's borderline for me, so increased power is always welcome.

Any idea on the possible timeframe?

No way to know how long it will be. First it has to be approved by the FCC. Then the station will test things and make sure there is not too much interference to other stations. Often times (from what I understand) something might look OK on paper, and what actually occurs in the real scheme don't always match up exactly as expected. Four or five other channels had to agree to interference from this move. If it does work out, WTVD would have a killer signal that goes further than any of the other channels (in most fringe spots) from the same area it appears from the coverage map I saw.

drewwho

09-23-09, 09:45 AM

If it does work out, WTVD would have a killer signal that goes further than any of the other channels (in most fringe spots) from the same area it appears from the coverage map I saw.

Now, if they'd only scale back 11-2 to 480i and boost the bandwidth on 11-1, people might actually want to watch them.

Drew

tarheelone

09-23-09, 12:58 PM

toadfannc

09-23-09, 01:31 PM

October 28, 2009: The following channels will be added:

Classic On Demand - Channel 512
Thriller On Demand - Channel 513
Kids/Teens On Demand - Channel 514
Action On Demand - Channel 515
Comedy On Demand - Channel 516
Drama On Demand - Channel 517
Lo Mejor On Demand - Channel 547
HBO 2 East HD - Channel 414
HBO Signature East HD - Channel 415
HBO Family East HD - Channel 416
HBO Comedy East HD - Channel 417
HBO Zone East HD - Channel 418
HBO Latino East HD - Channel 419
BBC America HD - Channel 235
Fox Sports Carolina HD - Channel 272
Headline News HD - Channel 232
Investigation Discovery HD - Channel 236
truTV HD - Channel 242
MSNBC HD - Channel 233
TCM HD - Channel 243

Nice additions. Weather Channel HD (which TWC already has a national distribution agreement for and is on many TWC division line-ups) would be nice for us blue-hairs.

And, of course-- NFL Network (and Red Zone) and MASN would be very welcome for us sports nuts. But, TWC has taken a hard line with these 2-- I don't see it happening in this lifetime, unfortunately.

HDMe2

09-23-09, 03:02 PM

Now, if they'd only scale back 11-2 to 480i and boost the bandwidth on 11-1, people might actually want to watch them.

Drew

I 2nd that. While WTVD is lower signal for me than many others, I do get it pretty solid... but haven't watched nearly as much since the 11.2 sub-channel went to pseudo HD and cut into the main channel bandwidth.

Retspin

09-23-09, 04:41 PM

I 2nd that. While WTVD is lower signal for me than many others, I do get it pretty solid... but haven't watched nearly as much since the 11.2 sub-channel went to pseudo HD and cut into the main channel bandwidth.

Yeah I agree, I can get WCTI out of New Bern and it looks so much better than WTVD. But they only have one sub-channel instead two, and that makes all the difference.

Lee L

09-24-09, 10:23 AM

I called WRAL regarding the issue I posted about the Game going long this past weekend. Thay actually called me back pretty quickly. They said that had gotten a decent number of complaints. Their contract with Raycom requires them to carry the whole broadcast, so they were kind of screwed. I suggested that if this happens again to just use 5.2 for the CBS national game until the ACC game is on and everyone would be happy and they said they would look into that. The only issue I see is that peopel who were expecing a movie on This TV might not be happy, but maybe they can plan around that. Hopefully none of the games will go long enough again to matter.

But, at the very least, they do care about listeners enough to actually return a call.

Unlike WTVD, who I called the same day (Monday) and I have yet to hear back from regarding the sound issues I am having with my Denon 1909. The center channel is often way low and the surround is shifted hard left. I know in the past others have mentioned similar issues, but not recently. Am I crazy. Has anyone noticed sound problems on WTVD lately?

StinDaWg

09-24-09, 06:10 PM

I have a Windows 7 htpc and I'm considering getting a few tuners so that I can record QAM to my pc. I already have a HD DVR from Time Warner but with the small hard drive they give us and only having 2 tuners it makes it difficult to record everything I want at all times. My question is this... I have read reports that cable systems are pretty flaky when it comes to assigning QAM channel numbers. Constantly changing numbers, having to rescan to find where they went to ect. Does Time Warner do this? If that is the case I might be better off just getting a $10 antenna from Wal-Mart and using a ATSC tuner. At least that way I would know the channel numbers won't change. Any suggestions?

Also, do the channels show up in Media Center as actual or virtual as shown by this chart?

http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/lineup_web/US:27540#lineup_800232

roybishop

09-25-09, 11:17 AM

Windows 7 is much better for QAM. It shows both the guide and live TV channels as the virtual numbers.

I have a Windows 7 htpc and I'm considering getting a few tuners so that I can record QAM to my pc. I already have a HD DVR from Time Warner but with the small hard drive they give us and only having 2 tuners it makes it difficult to record everything I want at all times. My question is this... I have read reports that cable systems are pretty flaky when it comes to assigning QAM channel numbers. Constantly changing numbers, having to rescan to find where they went to ect. Does Time Warner do this? If that is the case I might be better off just getting a $10 antenna from Wal-Mart and using a ATSC tuner. At least that way I would know the channel numbers won't change. Any suggestions?

Also, do the channels show up in Media Center as actual or virtual as shown by this chart?

http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/lineup_web/US:27540#lineup_800232

drewwho

09-25-09, 02:25 PM

Windows 7 is much better for QAM. It shows both the guide and live TV channels as the virtual numbers.

Just make sure your tuner has windows support for QAM. I could never get my el-cheapo Kworld USB tuner to work with 7MC and QAM. It works fine with 7MC and ATSC, and it works fine with MythTV and QAM under Linux, but even after 2 driver versions, and a few hours trying registry hacks, I still couldn't make it work on 7MC for QAM.

As to cable flakiness.. The biggest problem I've seen is that TWC will screw up the CVT (cable virtual channel table) that controls mapping logical channels (eg, 5-1) to physical channels (85-4). This freaks MythTV out (or did back when I used QAM regularly a few years ago). I cannot speak to 7MC, since I could never get QAM to work at all with it. I decided to go with an attic antenna for a variety of reasons..

Drew

StinDaWg

09-25-09, 05:25 PM

Just make sure your tuner has windows support for QAM. I could never get my el-cheapo Kworld USB tuner to work with 7MC and QAM. It works fine with 7MC and ATSC, and it works fine with MythTV and QAM under Linux, but even after 2 driver versions, and a few hours trying registry hacks, I still couldn't make it work on 7MC for QAM.

Is this the tuner you have?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1182508

nitdawg

09-25-09, 07:01 PM

drewwho

09-25-09, 07:52 PM

Is this the tuner you have?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1182508

Yep. As I mentioned in the PM, even though it doesn't work for QAM in 7MC, it has a really good ATSC tuner.

Drew

StinDaWg

09-25-09, 08:00 PM

Yep. As I mentioned in the PM, even though it doesn't work for QAM in 7MC, it has a really good ATSC tuner.

Drew

That even makes it more confusing because there are reviews on Newegg of QAM working on Windows 7 just fine. You said you were using the RC. I have the final RTM (7600) perhaps that will work? I guess the only way to find out is to buy and try unless someone else has this tuner.

drewwho

09-25-09, 08:25 PM

That even makes it more confusing because there are reviews on Newegg of QAM working on Windows 7 just fine. You said you were using the RC. I have the final RTM (7600) perhaps that will work? I guess the only way to find out is to buy and try unless someone else has this tuner.

They appear to have released new drivers on 2009/08/25, which is about 3 weeks after I got the box and played with QAM on 7MC. I have not tried these drivers, perhaps they allow for QAM support on 7MC. I had been using the previous drivers, which are like a year older (and didn't explicitly support Win7). If I get a chance, I'll try the new driver..

Drew

drewwho

09-25-09, 08:27 PM

I've used both OTA and QAM on with 7MC. Both work well, but it took more work up front for setting up the QAM. All the channel data is there, but I had to manually assign channel data for a handful of channels, like WUNC, and a few others, but that's not that big of a deal. OTA was a bit easier and I can't honestly say I see any PQ difference between the 2.

Will 7MC allow you to record 2 sub-channels from the same multiplex with the same tuner? Eg, if you're using QAM and you want to record something from both 50-1 and 11-1 (which are both subchannels on the same physical QAM channel on TWC) and have only one tuner will that work?

Thanks,

Drew

drewwho

09-27-09, 08:37 AM

They appear to have released new drivers on 2009/08/25,

Still no QAM with the latest kworld driver on 7MC (7100) for me. Its possible I'm just being an idiot. 7MC thinks the tuner is ATSC only, and only talks about "antenna" stuff in setup, and finds no channels when connected to TWC. I even tried an "ATSCMode=2" hack I found in the GBPVR forums. The hardware is fine -- MythTV works well on the same box with QAM.

Drew

nitdawg

09-28-09, 11:47 AM

Still no QAM with the latest kworld driver on 7MC (7100) for me. Its possible I'm just being an idiot. 7MC thinks the tuner is ATSC only, and only talks about "antenna" stuff in setup, and finds no channels when connected to TWC. I even tried an "ATSCMode=2" hack I found in the GBPVR forums. The hardware is fine -- MythTV works well on the same box with QAM.

Drew

That's goofy. I would say its a driver/hardware issue with 7MC. QAM is supported in Media Center in Vista (with TV pack installed) and is supported out of the box in 7MC

When you go to setup your TV signal in 7MC, instead of selecting the automatically determine my TV signal, so to manual setup of your tuner, select QAM and then continue through the setup to see if that works.

Like here:
https://b2gwqw.bay.livefilestore.com/y1mZQRurE94F5wOTij9YkWwvI3DrhCQFVLGA1JIpq7YMnbBGZV6mxgZHXwU_ qXUqA0EBgnn_0fKC9vLfS38za1oINYZweqoL1G53H3gVsu4ba7G-LQKsTjd4vOSCD1rIVjxjef-hnuKZY5Gmh6k14vE-g/20090604_1548385.png

nitdawg

09-28-09, 11:51 AM

Will 7MC allow you to record 2 sub-channels from the same multiplex with the same tuner? Eg, if you're using QAM and you want to record something from both 50-1 and 11-1 (which are both subchannels on the same physical QAM channel on TWC) and have only one tuner will that work?

Thanks,

Drew

Granted you have 2 tuners, yes.

drewwho

09-28-09, 12:21 PM

When you go to setup your TV signal in 7MC, instead of selecting the automatically determine my TV signal, so to manual setup of your tuner, select QAM and then continue through the setup to see if that works.

I'm never given that screen, it just automatically starts detecting TV signals. Maybe this is a difference between 7100 and the RTM builds?

Drew

drewwho

09-28-09, 12:22 PM

Granted you have 2 tuners, yes.

So thats a "no" then. ;)

MythTV can record 2 digital channels with a single tuner (as long as they share the same physical channel). It has so many cool features like this, I just wish its handling of telecined material didn't suck so badly.

Drew

nitdawg

09-28-09, 12:40 PM

I'm never given that screen, it just automatically starts detecting TV signals. Maybe this is a difference between 7100 and the RTM builds?

Drew

Hmmm, I'm running 7100. Under settings, TV, configure TV signal (trying to remember here at work)...I'll dig more when I get home.

nitdawg

09-28-09, 12:44 PM

So thats a "no" then. ;)

MythTV can record 2 digital channels with a single tuner (as long as they share the same physical channel). It has so many cool features like this, I just wish its handling of telecined material didn't suck so badly.

Drew

That's slick...didn't know that about Myth. Me (and more importantly my wife) is so used to the 7MC gui I'll probably never get around to messing with Myth and Sage. It does the job with my tuner card quite well (Hauppage 2250) and I've found OTA a bit more pain-free than QAM just in terms of channel mapping, guide data, etc.

modforce

09-28-09, 09:43 PM

I just picked up a 5' extension pole to get my antenna higher then my roof peak. I don't have a ladder high enough to reach the peak and the roof is 12/12 pitch so I am not climbing that, now that I am older I am not as roof freindly as I used to be! My question is, must I ground my antenna with a grouding rod since I will be elevating it higher then roof peak? I am using the rod that Radio Shack sells.

CCsoftball7

09-29-09, 08:41 AM

modforce

09-29-09, 08:51 AM

The antenna should be grounded regardless. If it is outside, ground it.

What is the best way to ground it? A grounding rod or can I tie it into the grounding rod that the electrical panel uses?

CCsoftball7

09-29-09, 09:02 AM

What is the best way to ground it? A grounding rod or can I tie it into the grounding rod that the electrical panel uses?

I would use a separate grounding rod just for the antenna.

Scooper

09-29-09, 09:36 AM

I would use a separate grounding rod just for the antenna.

NEC says ALL grounds should be tied together.

jspENC

09-29-09, 10:50 AM

What is the best way to ground it? A grounding rod or can I tie it into the grounding rod that the electrical panel uses?

Yes. Ground to the rod below your electric panel or meter. If you use a second ground rod, it must be bonded to the main ground.

rlchew

09-29-09, 02:26 PM

I would use a separate grounding rod just for the antenna.
Tie both grounds together so they will be at the same potential. Otherwise, a near by strike could cause a voltage difference between the two grounds and the current will flow from one ground to the other via your equipment.

Just because both are ground doesn't mean that they will be at the same potential with a nearby strike.

Bruce Watson

09-30-09, 05:51 PM

I've got a little CM 4220-HD (two bow-ties) roof mounted and pointed toward WUNC in Chapel Hill (I'm over near Meridith College so I've got reasonable elevation). The signal strength meter in my set says I'm getting strong signal (92-100%).

Yet, in the bad weather we had on Monday I was getting some drop outs. A scattering of pixels visually, and some random loss of audio. Just enough to annoy my wife. :eek: Clear-ish nights like last night I got a good solid picture with no drop outs at all in the two hours I was paying attention.

So... here's the dumb newbie question: what causes the drop outs?

I did enough research to learn WUNC is broadcasting on UHF channel 25 (537.25 MHz). At least I think they are. That works out to a wave length of something around 22 inches I think (if I did the math right). So a quarter wave is like 5.5 inches which puts us in the range of pine tree leaves, yes?

Is it possible that I'm just seeing interference from moving leaves on trees? And rain would of course cause a lot of leaf motion. I'm just guessing here. :rolleyes:

If not that, what are the likely causes? And what can I do about them?

And yes, I'm already thinking bigger antenna. But it would be nice if I can get the little one to work since it's already here. And no, I can't really go any higher. To clear the tree tops I'd likely need another 75+ feet anyway and that's just not going to happen.

jspENC

09-30-09, 08:35 PM

modforce

09-30-09, 09:40 PM

Thanks for the advice on the ground. I guess I will do this later in the week as I am ready to say good bye to cable and save that $52 per month!

jspENC

10-01-09, 08:22 AM

$52 a month is all you pay in the Triangle? Down here in Jacksonville, cable is $64 a month for just ANALOG!

nitdawg

10-01-09, 11:51 AM

LIkely you were experiencing multi-path. Turn the antenna a bit and see if that helps next time it rains, (which I think will be Saturday) If not, consider a narrow antenna like a yagi or an 8 bay bowtie.

So I've heard about multi-path alot, what exactly is it in regards to reception? Is it simply something that disrupts the path of the incoming signal causing the original and the disrupted signal to be out of phase at the point of the antenna?

I take it this is most likely caused by physical impediments?

jspENC

10-01-09, 12:31 PM

Multi path is just as simple as it sounds... Two or more signal paths from the same channel coming into your antenna. One would be from the tower, and the others could be off of another house, or structure nearby. There could be reflections off of trees too. The idea is to receive only one signal, and that is done by turning the antenna to disrupt all but the desired path, or to put up an antenna that can be aimed and that rejects signals from the sides of the transmitter.

Bruce Watson

10-01-09, 01:42 PM

LIkely you were experiencing multi-path. Turn the antenna a bit and see if that helps next time it rains, (which I think will be Saturday) If not, consider a narrow antenna like a yagi or an 8 bay bowtie.

I would have expected multi-path to be more or less constant -- not weather related. I mean, the buildings aren't moving. But the tree trunks are... Interesting thought.

tarheelone

10-03-09, 12:08 AM

Looks like FS Carolinas had finally gone HD full time! Oh color bars how we will miss thee. Also looks like they will be showing a good chunk of Canes game in HD this year.

nitdawg

10-03-09, 10:47 AM

neumannu47

10-03-09, 07:09 PM

Has anyone noticed the distorted sound on the TWC analog channels are in Cary? It's way overmodulated.

vidiot1985

10-04-09, 01:24 AM

I don't know what you mean by "overmodulated", but I've noticed that the few things I record on my DVR from WNCN 7 analog on TWC have audio sync problems, while stuff I record from WNCN 217 digital on TWC are fine. I don't know if it's a problem with my DVR or the signal.

I've also noticed that WRAL 255 digital's audio is *very* loud compared to the other channels I watch regularly.

Sebaz

10-04-09, 08:22 PM

Has anybody noticed in the past week or so that NBC17 has a very annoying flicker often? Other than the huge annoyance, I'm posting here to make sure that it's happening to everybody and not just me, because recently I put an Avermedia ATSC/ClearQAM tuner card and I'm getting the regular HD channels from Time Warner Cable, using Windows Media Center from Windows 7 RC to watch and record. The flicker is not present in any other channel, so the obvious conclusion would be that it's NBC17's problem, but I would like to know if anybody else noticed it to be sure before I call them. It might be a problem on TWC's side.

The flicker gets recorded, I paused some of the shows where it was more evident (last week's The Office and Heroes in special) and I went frame by frame and I could see how some frames were either more bright or less bright than normal. Right now I'm watching Heroes from last Monday and it's really distracting.

StinDaWg

10-04-09, 10:24 PM

Today a family member went to pick up another HD DVR box from Time Warner (Cary Towne Center) to use in the bedroom. When she came home I was excited to see she had the box waiting for me because I was not going to pick it up until next week. Anyways, I was surprised to see that the box she brought home was just in a plastic bag that said Time Warner. It had the box, power cable, coax cable, and remote with batteries. At first inspection the box was obviously used because it had scratches on it and it was not even the same model number of the box we have in the other room. The box we have in the living room is a 8240HDC with a manufacturer date of March 2009. This box was a 8300HDC with a manufacturer date of June 2007! It also had an older style remote that I have never seen before and it was not backlit like the one we have in the living room. It also did not have some of the buttons on it like On Demand. It was also very dirty and was crusted with gunk on the sides. Now, I have no problem getting a used box it if works, but I have probably got a dozen boxes from Time Warner over the years and every time it has been a new or at least looked new box that came in an official Time Warner cardboard carry case, complete with a fresh remote, power cables, component cables, instruction manual, welcome kit ect. They also told me the lady asked her if she needed a "HD cable" and if so it would cost an extra $30. She declined because I have 3 or 4 HDMI cables laying around but are they seriously trying to charge $30 for a component cable now? They have always gave me one for free no questions asked. Is this a new policy for Time Warner to give out old boxes and remotes and just throw them in a plastic bag? And charging $30 for a Component cable I mean come on. Do you think it was because she went to the one at the Towne Center mall and not an official Time Warner office? My relative said the lady working there didn't really seem like she knew what she was doing or knew anything about the product.

Is there any major differences between the 8300HDC and 8240HDC boxes? I'm guessing they run the same software and the guide and everything looks the same so I will probably keep the box and just go back and ask for the newer remote because I really don't like the one they gave me.

I'm getting a bunch of "This channel is not currently available try again later" on some of the HD channels as well. I'm guessing this is a SDV issue and happens quite often from what I hear.

vidiot1985

10-05-09, 08:00 AM

...
The flicker gets recorded, I paused some of the shows where it was more evident (last week's The Office and Heroes in special) and I went frame by frame and I could see how some frames were either more bright or less bright than normal. Right now I'm watching Heroes from last Monday and it's really distracting.

I have not noticed this on NBC, but have noticed it on CBS, in particular on The Late Show with David Letterman in HD, but not The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson in HD.

alex7577

10-05-09, 10:14 AM

I just got an email from TWC about a cable box software upgrade on Oct. 6th. Does anyone have an details on this?

cgreco

10-05-09, 10:26 AM

GT2554

10-05-09, 12:49 PM

I don't know how mobile TV works but I do know that it takes away more of the bandwidth from WRAL's HD channel 5.1. As soon WRAL added this Mobile TV service the main HD channel suffered a large quality loss. They are now down to ridiculously low bit rates for 1080i. Visible macro blocks on fast movement is a constant joy. WRAL, once one a leader in local HDTV technology, has degraded it's picture down to the point of being one of the worst CBS affiliates in the country. Raleigh HDTV is pitiful now as far as picture quality is concerned with WRAL CBS and WTVD ABC. WTVD has the idiotic dual 720p and one 480i fighting for bandwidth. Pretty soon it will all look worse than youtube.

tarheelone

10-05-09, 01:19 PM

I just got an email from TWC about a cable box software upgrade on Oct. 6th. Does anyone have an details on this?

Where do you live? Greensboro and the surrounding areas are finally getting "upgraded" from SARA to Navigator starting tomorrow. I suppose it is also possible that we are also getting a new navigator update as it has been a while since we got one and we are now several versions behind. 8300HDC boxes in Charlotte were updated last week.

StinDaWg

10-05-09, 03:17 PM

csimon2

10-05-09, 03:19 PM

Where do you live? Greensboro and the surrounding areas are finally getting "upgraded" from SARA to Navigator starting tomorrow. I suppose it is also possible that we are also getting a new navigator update as it has been a while since we got one and we are now several versions behind. 8300HDC boxes in Charlotte were updated last week.I got this email (x2) today as well. I live in Apex (TWC Cary) and have 8300HD and 4250HD boxes. Pretty sure I am running Navigator on both boxes though (definitely on the 8300).

easternncnewswat

10-05-09, 03:23 PM

jspENC

10-05-09, 03:50 PM

I hate complaining about things, but I also noticed over the weekend that WRAL now looks as bad if not worse than WTVD. Their news (WRAL) looked like it was almost standard def being aired in just a wide screen 16:9 format. Wasn't sure whether to place blame on TW cable or what was being transmitted. I think they better back off some bandwidth on THIS TV.

I am now glad I get ENC broadcasts, at least for network viewing. WNCN still looks half way decent, and that's amazing considering they used to be the worst.

tarheelone

10-05-09, 03:58 PM

I got this email (x2) today as well. I live in Apex (TWC Cary) and have 8300HD and 4250HD boxes. Pretty sure I am running Navigator on both boxes though (definitely on the 8300).

All boxes in the Triangle are running Navigator now so I guess it just means that maybe we are going to get an update. Raleigh and Greensboro are run out of the same head end now so they may be applying the newest version across the board. Guess we'll find out early in the morning.

tarheelone

10-05-09, 04:07 PM

I read on another forum that Time Warner is starting to roll out new boxes to replace the SAs. Samsung SMT-H3090 is the model number I believe. They come in either 160GB or 320GB. They are already available in Charlotte, NY, Orlando and a few other places. Anyone have any insider info on when we may be getting these boxes in the Raleigh area?

http://www.samsung.com/us/system/consumer/product/2008/05/09/smt_h3090twc/SMT-H3090_dimensien.jpg

http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/tv-video/digital-set-top-box/hdtv-tuners/SMT-H3090/TWC/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail

There have been a few reports on here since June that people have been getting this boxes in the Triangle. I know at one time there was a report that they where handing them out from the service center in Chapel Hill. Folks who have used them in Charlotte and other markets have been having problems with them. They run the ODN version of Navigator(same as the 8300HDC) which has been spotty. They just got an update the other day that seems to have helped with some issues. Other than the larger hard drive there isn't much benefit to them yet. They do have a 16X9 guide but it's just the regular guide stretched with no extra data. Although the extra hard drive is nice, I'm sticking with my 8300HD until they get all the navigator issues worked out.

GT2554

10-05-09, 04:40 PM

Today I took one of my 8240HDC's to the Raleigh TWC office to exchange for another. This one was spontaneously rebooting watching recorded programs and also mysteriously jumping to the end of recorded programs. I SPECIFICALLY asked for a Samsung and was told they were not giving them out anymore due to all the issues they had with them. I said to the CSR, "You mean they're worse than this!!!", while pointing at the 8240 and she just gave me a blank look. She gave me an older, beat up 8300HDC and said they have given less trouble. While it is loud and looks rode hard and put up wet, it appears to work so far. I was a DirecTivo user for nearly 8 years. In those 8 years and through two generations, I never had the problems with two of them that one SA DVR from TWC has in a week. I don't know how any DVR could possibly be worse than these Scientific Atlanta boxes from Time Warner. Seriously, someone should be fired.

Trip in VA

10-05-09, 05:55 PM

I see on rabbitears.info that WRAL is supports Mobile TV. I get that Mobile TV is TV on a mobile, or handheld, device like a phone, but exactly how does it work? Does the handheld device require a special antenna? Is it IPTV? Is there a charge?

Thanks.

In no particular order:

1) No special antenna other than maybe a pole like you'd see on the old LCD watchman TVs.

2) No charge. Free.

3) It is not IPTV. It's just like any TV stream. However, there are ways to have the device store a program, or something.

4) As far as how it works, I am not really certain. I know it consumes some of the bandwidth from the stream, but I don't know the details. jsmar from the Denver thread has been studying it extensively and would be able to answer better than I can.

- Trip

IamtheWolf

10-05-09, 06:13 PM

Received a voice message when I returned home from work. 1 or more of my boxes they said. I have 2 x SA8300HD, 1 SA8300HDC and 1 x 4240. We'll see....

drunet

10-05-09, 07:43 PM

fasterthanyours

10-05-09, 11:17 PM

Got the same phone call today on my cell, my main account contact #. Also got an email on my acct email address.

This should be interesting, can't wait to see what it does now.

jspENC

10-06-09, 10:38 AM

Looks like WTVD was granted their STA of 45kW. Most of you should see a big jump on your meter when they turn up the juice.

Lee L

10-06-09, 11:30 AM

That is good about WTVD. I wonder how long it will take them to up the power?

drewwho

10-06-09, 11:39 AM

4) As far as how it works, I am not really certain. I know it consumes some of the bandwidth from the stream, but I don't know the details. jsmar from the Denver thread has been studying it extensively and would be able to answer better than I can.

I don't have dvbtraffic output handy, but the introduction of this nonsense took the file sizes of 1 hour primetime recordings from roughly 6.75GB/hr to 6.06GB/hr for me. After this drop, I've noticed an increase in macroblocking in fast motion, and even some glitching in scenes with a lot of panning (eg, opening scenes of The Mentalist are great to demonstrate this) where it looks like frames have been dropped by the WRAL encoder.

As far as I know, the only market for this mobile DTV seems to be the captive audience on city buses in Raleigh. The least they could do would be to turn this useless nonsense off during primetime and during sports, or at least throttle its bandwidth back to nothing.

I'm thinking about moving my antenna outside so that I can pick up WFMY 100% reliably and avoid WRAL.

Drew

Trip in VA

10-06-09, 11:45 AM

I don't have dvbtraffic output handy, but the introduction of this nonsense took the file sizes of 1 hour primetime recordings from roughly 6.75GB/hr to 6.06GB/hr for me. After this drop, I've noticed an increase in macroblocking in fast motion, and even some glitching in scenes with a lot of panning (eg, opening scenes of The Mentalist are great to demonstrate this) where it looks like frames have been dropped by the WRAL encoder.

Last I looked, the Mobile DTV was taking up 2.75 Mbps on WRAL. I actually have this number listed on RabbitEars under Technical Data. (Mobile DTV is static bitrate and cannot be varied like the other streams.)

As far as I know, the only market for this mobile DTV seems to be the captive audience on city buses in Raleigh. The least they could do would be to turn this useless nonsense off during primetime and during sports, or at least throttle its bandwidth back to nothing.

At the moment, that's the case. Once consumer hardware becomes available next year, it should be available in laptops/netbooks, cell phones, and other portable devices. Whether or not that actually happens... we'll see.

I'm thinking about moving my antenna outside so that I can pick up WFMY 100% reliably and avoid WRAL.

Drew

Not the worst idea. They have an SD weather sub and a blank sub that uses no bandwidth.

- Trip

drewwho

10-06-09, 11:54 AM

The main story on newsandobserver.com is "Light voting reported in Wake, Durham"

Let's hope that our local stations don't slice and dice our primetime HD tonight with results from elections that very few people even care about enough to bother to vote in. Personally, I early voted, and if I want to see the election results, I'll look at newsandobserver.com, or wral.com..

Drew

drewwho

10-06-09, 12:02 PM

At the moment, that's the case. Once consumer hardware becomes available next year, it should be available in laptops/netbooks, cell phones, and other portable devices. Whether or not that actually happens... we'll see.

As I posted before, even the gadget crazy Koreans don't bother to use mobile DTV, so I doubt that it will catch on with Joe Sixpack. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/12/korea_mobile_tv_flop/ From the article "TMC found that only 1.17 per cent of the mobile TV-equipped audience was watching - peaking at 3.58 per cent during the commute rush hour"

Since there's essentially no effective mass transit here, I doubt we'd see even that much of a peak during commute time (or else we'd see a lot more collisions).

Drew

frankpc

10-06-09, 03:32 PM

I've also had the TW Samsung box for a few months. The reboots have settled down a bit and the larger hard drive is nice. That said, no former Sat user would be happy. Clunky to use, even basic things like fast forward and rewind in recorded material is inconsistent. If I had a reasonable look angle to the Sats, I would ditch TW in a heartbeat.

Frank

Satch Man

10-06-09, 03:32 PM

I read on another forum that Time Warner is starting to roll out new boxes to replace the SAs. Samsung SMT-H3090 is the model number I believe. They come in either 160GB or 320GB. They are already available in Charlotte, NY, Orlando and a few other places. Anyone have any insider info on when we may be getting these boxes in the Raleigh area?

http://www.samsung.com/us/system/consumer/product/2008/05/09/smt_h3090twc/SMT-H3090_dimensien.jpg

http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/tv-video/digital-set-top-box/hdtv-tuners/SMT-H3090/TWC/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail

The new TWC boxes are the Samsungs 3090 and the newest just released is the Samsung 3270. For some strange reason, PIP has been disabled on the 3270. BUT the 3270 does have a 300GB hard drive, (as opposed to 160GB in the 3090's and 8300's.) The 3270's main release area is San Diego. TWC Division President Bob Barlow has said that Samsung's 3270 box is not supporting PIP. Others say the lack of PIP in the 3270 is a bug and Samsung and TWC are playing the blame game with responsibility for it. So there is no PIP in the 3270's (for now.)

The SA-8300 HDC and the Samsung 3090 run the same OCAP version of Navigator with the same functions and features. The Samsung 3090 is the newest widestream box.

The current MDN boxes will still be supported with updates. The latest version being reported in NYC is now 2.4.6-21. The widespread update is now, or soon will be 2.4.6-19. Navigator 3.0 for MDN is being tested and Keyword Search is being worked on for all versions of Navigator (MDN/ODN) Longer program listings and remote DVR management are also being tested for Navigator. No word on release dates, but I would estimate not till next year.

Jack