Has anybody heard what the recording capacity of the HD DVR will be? Will it be able to record two HD streams simultaneously?

I have not heard the OFFICIAL specs on the box, but the inside word I've heard is that it's comparable to the existing box.. which can vary from 40-80 hours depending on what you're recording. (Closer to 80 if you stick to digital channels, closer to 40 if you record analog channels, since they take up more bandwidth) So, the HD box will probably also be closer to 40 if using HD, and closer to 80 with SD.

Originally posted by macnbc
I have not heard the OFFICIAL specs on the box, but the inside word I've heard is that it's comparable to the existing box.. which can vary from 40-80 hours depending on what you're recording. (Closer to 80 if you stick to digital channels, closer to 40 if you record analog channels, since they take up more bandwidth) So, the HD box will probably also be closer to 40 if using HD, and closer to 80 with SD.

Unless TWC is seriously compressing the HD stream (and lowering the quality), your going to need about 400gigs of drive space to record 40 hours of HD. That same 400 gigs would give you around 400 hours of SD content. The specs I'm hearing about on other boards are about 7 hours of HD recording on the HD boxes from TWC. What that means to me is they are using the same size drive as the current units, but that doesn't equate to the same amount of recording time for HD.

If recording strictly HD content - the capacity is roughly 20 hours. With a mixture of analog and digital - up to 40.

The High Definition Tivo shows the ratio of SD capacity to HD capacity to be about 6.5 to 1. With a 250G HDD that unit can store around 30 hours of HD and 200 hours of SD.

The 'sweet spot' for HDD's these days seems to be 120 or 160GB which would translate to about 20 hours of HD and 130 hours of SD. 120G would be 14 HD and 100 SD.

TWC could be artifically limiting capacity of SD stuff just to keep the indexing and fragmenting to a minimum. Could you imagine using the scroll up/down interface with that many programs in it... yuk.

I could live just fine with 20 hours of HD recording. I would record all the other SD stuff on my Tivo. 7 hours of HD would be a bit weak....

Has anybody heard if TWC box can record two HD streams at the same time?

From Scientific Atlanta:

There are two models, 80GB and 160GB.

"The 160 GB model will allow up to 20 hours* of HD programs or up to 90 hours* of SD programs to be recorded and stored using DVR functions (*The total program hours that can be stored depends upon the format and data rate of the programming source.)"

Let's hope they bought the 160 GB models, because the 80 GB would only have about 10 hours of HD recording room.

You can record 2 HD shows at once.

From what I have gathered, TWC will deploy the 160 GB model - holding up to 20 hours of HD.

gwall, I spoke with one of the technicians again testing the boxes.

He said that it could store 180 GB, so either TWC ordered them custom, or he meant the 160 GB model and was just mistaken.

He wasn't EXACTLY sure how much HD it could store, but he said he had about 30 hours of mixed HD and SD content, and that it was only about half full.

Great!! I can deal with 20 Hours of HD just fine. The box is probably using Maxtor 'QuickView' drives. I have attached a data sheet on that line of drives.

Question - for those of you with QAM capable HDTV tuners, does our local TWC broadcast the DTV signals of our local stations unencrypted, or must you use a box you rent from them ?

Originally posted by Scooper
Question - for those of you with QAM capable HDTV tuners, does our local TWC broadcast the DTV signals of our local stations unencrypted, or must you use a box you rent from them ?

I just recently got an LG HDTV tuner/DVD player combo - which has a QAM tuner and am able to receive ...

TNT-HD - ch 84-3 (sound issues)
CBS-HD - ch 85-2
PBS-HD - ch 90-2
DiscHD - ch 93-1
NBC-HD - ch 111-1
ABC-HD - ch 113-1
FOX-HD - ch 113-4

There are also a few other channels, in SD, scattered around.

DeArgila,
Welcome to the LG club. I have an LST3100A and I too have sound issues on TNT-HD. :(
I contacted LG support and they said they would replace my unit with one that at least has a firmware upgrade.
I am going to try that next week and see what happens.

Originally posted by WildBill
DeArgila,
Welcome to the LG club. I have an LST3100A and I too have sound issues on TNT-HD. :(
I contacted LG support and they said they would replace my unit with one that at least has a firmware upgrade.
I am going to try that next week and see what happens.

WOW!!!!!!! - if they deliver on that, let me know!!! I would love to have TNT-HD work "properly" - and I have a buddy that just bought the LG HD-DVR and has the same issues with TNT-HD.

According to a thread in the HDTV Programming forum, NBC is now producing NASCAR races in 16:9 SD. Granted we would all prefer HD, but 16:9 is definitely an improvement. I didnt get to see any of the race except for the last 4 laps and postrace today because I was out of town, but NCN17 was showing 4:3 SD. Hopefully this will be fixed by the next time NBC is covering a race? (I think TNT has the next one). NBC17ENG, what can you tell us? :)

ENDContra... i sure hope you are correct.... I miss my 16:9 Nascar already.... If Fox can do it then NBC surely should be able to!!!! Now what about races done on TNT... 16:9? Please......

**Possible HD-DVR News**


Talked with a Time Warner Tech while he was in my parents neighborhood and asked him about the HD-DVRs. He said that they were having problems with Dolby Digital Sound not being recorded or some problem with Dolby 5.1.

Because of this they are having to delay it, and he thought it was going to be awhile. He thought a few months.

This may or may not be true. Just thought I would post.

I have talked with this Tech over the years and he usually knows what he is talking about unlike some of TWC other people.

Who knows......

Windmiller, the tech I spoke with the other day said that the surround sound issue has been fixed just recently, there's only one or two more bugs left to work out, which he felt that could be sufficiently addressed before the end of the month.

NBC17ENG -

I'm assuming you guys are all prepared for the Olympics?

Meaning, you're going to broadcast the HD feed on the digital channel instead of simulcasting the analog one?

And ESPECIALLY meaning that we won't have to deal with some of the past issues we've all experienced with NBC17?

I'm really looking forward to NBC Olympic coverage in HD.

Also - yesterday, my QAM reception with my LG box started to go in and out.

Pulling up the signal meter shows that the signal bounces wildly from "weak" to "strong"

Any ideas as to what might be causing this?

I even went to the NBC 17 website and emailled the engineer after the first 20 minutes were 4:3 and of course, no change.

^ Supposedly that is the best way to get it fixed....lot of good it does huh?

Anyone else having horrible audio issues with the All-Star game on FOX 50? I was expecting HD since theyve been in 720p for a long time now, but no such luck....but Ive also been getting audio pops all through the game, not to mention its one of the worst "high resolution" broadcasts FOX has put together. No ones really mentioned the audio problems in the official thread, so Im thinking its a local issue?

Macnbc,

Thats great to hear!

Have the TWC techs mentioned if the DVI is enabled on the HDDVR?

Originally posted by ENDContra
Anyone else having horrible audio issues with the All-Star game on FOX 50? I was expecting HD since theyve been in 720p for a long time now, but no such luck....but Ive also been getting audio pops all through the game, not to mention its one of the worst "high resolution" broadcasts FOX has put together. No ones really mentioned the audio problems in the official thread, so Im thinking its a local issue?

I noticed this, too - sounded like a periodic "popping" coming out of the right front speaker. VERY annoying.

I, too, was disappointed with the non-HD broadcast.

SCSI, the DVI port is actually the remaining main reason for the hold-up from what I hear.. TWC's having problems getting the software to output properly through the DVI port, and since they know most HD users are using their DVI ports currently, they want this problem fixed before release.

Thanks mac.... I would take one and go component untill the DVI gets fixed to get the ball rolling! :D Another question I have is will the unit be able to output the source format or will it scale everything to 1080i. I hope it is the former since my DLP is native 720 and I dont want to see double scaling going on for true 720 sources being converted to 1080 and then back to 720 in the TV..

Really! Give me my component DVR!

I can't imagine most of their HD customers are on DVI. I bet component still has the majority.

Brian

Here's the latest from my trusted sources-

The DVI is inactive. TWC expects an update by the fall to get it functional. They are still planning to release them once the initial beta tests are complete in Charlotte-- very soon- early August at the latest. From the early reports - the wait will be well worth it.

Also, it can output in various formats- (such as 720) - similar to the current SA3250 and Pace boxes.

Originally posted by pkscout
So here's the thing. I've decided that when the new HD TiVo comes out I'm going to switch from TWC to DirecTV. When I get the dish installed, I'm also going to see if I can have them move my OTA HD antenna onto my roof (I don't really want to deal with putting a grounding post in and bonding it to the house's ground system). I'd like to get some recommendations on a good installer in the Durham area who could do this work as well as come out (for a fee if necessary) to confirm that the location for the dish and HD antenna are really OK. I've been up on the roof with a compass, and it looks fine to me, but I'm planning on running the cabling from the central closet to the roof myself so the installer doesn't have to do that (and I don't have to pay for it). I'd hate to run the cable and have it be in the wrong place.

Related to the antenna, has anyone actually done a roof install and all the grounding? How hard was it really? What sorts of supplies and tools did you need?

TIA.

Did you ever get an answer to this? A quick scan of the thread did not see any replies. I'm in about the same boat, except over in Cary, but can't seem to find an antenna installer. I may end up having to give a crack at moving the antenna myself, but my first attempts at fixing the cabling from the original OTA install did not go very well.

Originally posted by gstelmack
Did you ever get an answer to this? A quick scan of the thread did not see any replies. I'm in about the same boat, except over in Cary, but can't seem to find an antenna installer. I may end up having to give a crack at moving the antenna myself, but my first attempts at fixing the cabling from the original OTA install did not go very well.

Nope. I finally just scaled the roof myself and installed everything. It was actually kind of neat to learn everything, but I'd say it took me a week to get everything done, including the antenna and satellite mount, the grounding, and all the cabling. It probably cost me more than having someone do it, but I know the quality of the work at least. ;)

re; NASCAR in 16:9 SD
I got the information Friday morning at 11 AM. I'm sure the Saturday program log was done on Thursday, so they did not get the changes in it, and being sunny in Miami, I bet they hit the beach at 12 PM. We've complained enough they seldom miss the regular program switches (lately), but it's the new additions they seem to miss. I have no clue why no one saw the e-mail, unless it was between shifts, (my morning guy leaves at noon and my evening guy comes in at 3) but your e-mail was received at 3:55.

I'm trying to update a master list of OTA HD stations. Raleigh has not yet been updated. Can somebody that knows what networks are broadcasting in HD or HD/DD5.1 go to the following link and post the info?

National List of Stations Broadcasting HD / DD5.1 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=422073)

Just need the Network, Re-mapped Channel#, and if they're DD 5.1. For any of the networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, UPN & WB) that are currently broadcasting in HD.

Thanks....

Another little piece of news on the upcoming HD-DVRs from TWC:

The current word going around is that when the HD-DVRs are rolled out, they will only be available from technicians by appointment. In other words, TWC currently is not planning to stock the boxes at their service centers.

I think this is an inventory management decision.. a lot of people are waiting on the HD-DVRs, so it would be difficult to keep the service centers stocked when they do arrive, and it would also be extremely difficult for TWC to figure out how many boxes the different service centers should receive.. so it would make sense that they just assign them to technicians to install on a need-to-have basis.

This may change by the time they're released, but this is the policy they're currently working towards.

Originally posted by macnbc
so it would make sense that they just assign them to technicians to install on a need-to-have basis.


Umm, should we assume a technician visit is going to cost money ($20~$30)? Maybe that is what makes cents.

Thanks for the heads up though.

Sooke

Umm, should we assume a technician visit is going to cost money ($20~$30)? Maybe that is what makes cents.

It's TWC policy that service calls don't cost anything, unless something heavy-duty needs to be done like rewiring your house or something.

I would have to believe that service calls would really slow down the rollout of the DVR's... and be a real pain to the customers. The Olympics are right around the corner and a lot of folks wont be happy (me included) if the DVR's arent rolled out and in our hands by then. If DVI is the only issue then they should really think about going ahead and enabling DVI later or at least opening up to the hardcores early adopters. I sure hope they have enough stock in place to meet the demand. Its getting harder to remain patient....

The DVI isn't holding up the rollout -- the beta test in Charlotte is.

macnbc is correct about the installation, I've heard the same thing - but I doubt there will be any charges at the onset - especially if you're trading out a box for it.
You can bet that TWC is wanting to ensure that the hardcore early adopters get a first crack - plus they're going to contact people via email that have asked for info.

so for all those inside sources, can i get any somewhat reliable precentage that these will be rolled out by the time the first HD NFL fox broadcast of the regular season? i think its like august 18th ish something

if it makes that window im a happy man

if it doesnt, i think im going to trade my existed DVR in for a plain HD box and then upgrade from there.

Originally posted by deArgila
Also - yesterday, my QAM reception with my LG box started to go in and out.

Pulling up the signal meter shows that the signal bounces wildly from "weak" to "strong"

Any ideas as to what might be causing this?

Im in Char. and Im getting signal bounce also...channels above 100 are very bad....Did yours go away?

Originally posted by FlameRT
Im in Char. and Im getting signal bounce also...channels above 100 are very bad....Did yours go away?

Well, I had a TWC guy come out and the problem seems to have been caused by my distributor/amplifier that I have connected to the main line.

I'm not sure what the deal was - because I've had it hooked up like that for a while without much problem.

Anyway, it was also interfering with my roadrunner signal - so he came out, we bypassed the dist/amp for roadrunner, turned down the booster (it's adjustable), and everything seems to be just fine now.

He also replaced a few of the connectors - so who knows what the actual problem was.

So - if you have an amplifier between the main line and your box, try removing it, swapping it out, etc.

I think they have dropped some signal strength!!!
I had a 2 way splitter...that has been on they for months...removed it and its OK now.
They also did a channel line up change here in Charlotte...now I have 2 channels without sound.
I use the LST-3100a hooked to a Hitachi 65S500 with a DVI cable....
and channel
92-49 TNT...picture/no sound
116-2 UNC HD....picture/no sound
It is also on some of the SD channels...picture and no sound.
I still get these HD channels OK
83-5..not on air. all the time??
83-6 ABC
92-12 Discovery
100-51 WB
100-164 NBC
101-38 Fox
101-53
114-152 CBS
So if they would get the sound fixed...I would have 10 HD channels.
Anyone found a way to fix this?
Thanks
Jeff

[QUOTE]Originally posted by kainen1
[B]so for all those inside sources, can i get any somewhat reliable precentage that these will be rolled out by the time the first HD NFL fox broadcast of the regular season? i think its like august 18th ish something

I would say the chances are very good - like 90% they'll be out by Aug 18.

My concern will be one of supply... will there be enough to meet demand. I will be out of town the first week of August so its is virtually guaranteed that this is when they will roll out :p I called TWC yesterday and they said end of July to first of August for availability and mentioned that no 'waiting list' has started yet.

FYI- The upcoming Democratic and Republican conventions will be available in HD in their entirety on WRAZ -- wall to wall coverage from 3pm to 11pm each day.

FYI, the WRAL News channel will be carrying a downconverted version of the conventions as well (OTA 5.2 TWC 256)

Originally posted by psockett
FYI, the WRAL News channel will be carrying a downconverted version of the conventions as well (OTA 5.2 TWC 256)

He is right!

HD on WRAZ or SD with way too many graphics on the screen on the Newschannel...I think its pretty obvious which way most of us will go ;)

Where did you get this info gwall? I dont see anything on their site about it.

Also, what was up with FOX not even bothering to show the high-res version of Legally Blonde last night? Granted I wasnt even planning on watching it (there was a Scrubs marathon), but I flipped over there once and noticed the gray FOXDT bars during the movie, when I know this movie aired in OAR earlier this year.

Originally posted by ENDContra
Also, what was up with FOX not even bothering to show the high-res version of Legally Blonde last night? Granted I wasnt even planning on watching it (there was a Scrubs marathon), but I flipped over there once and noticed the gray FOXDT bars during the movie, when I know this movie aired in OAR earlier this year.

They bothered, for about the first 15 minutes. It jumped to SD with the grey bars in the middle of the movie. I waited through a couple of commerical breaks, sent an email, heard nothing back (even now a day later), and ended up watching it in SD so my display could do non-linear stretching to fill the screen.

Do any of these stations actually monitor their feeds anymore? How do they know if it's working if nobody's paying attention?

^ I dont think they even bother reading email...I sent one in regards to the All-Star game not being in HD (it was in HD in Charlotte, FOX50 has been doing 720p for quite awhile now, I thought it was safe to assume they would carry it too), and Ive yet to receive a response.

I also noticed last night that "The Jury" was 4:3 with gray bars - so I set the tivo and changed the channel.

I want my HD! (or at least my 16:9 ED!)

Anyone in the RDU area recieve the Greenville NC channels.
If so Any problems geting a signal from WNCT 9.1?

I'm out in the woods of chapel hill. Lately my fox50 OTA signal has dropped into the 30's (and I'm unable to pick it up). The other networks (sans upn and wb) are coming in fine... anyone else notice a signal drop on fox50?

Originally posted by mikedaul
I'm out in the woods of chapel hill. Lately my fox50 OTA signal has dropped into the 30's (and I'm unable to pick it up). The other networks (sans upn and wb) are coming in fine... anyone else notice a signal drop on fox50?

I just upgraded / worked on my antenna this weekend. Immediately after the DirecTV install, I got Fox 50 all the time, WRAL-5 some of the time, and nothing else. Fast-forward a couple of months, I finally raise the antenna and replace the Winegard MetroStar2000 with an RCA 80" directional, and now get 5, 11, and 17 in both analog and digital pretty well, Fox 50 in analog so-so (good color, but lots of interference), and Fox 50 digital not at all.

So yes, it appears Fox 50 has something going on, as raising the antenna and getting a stronger one should not have resulted in a worse signal...

This is in Cary, although I'm in a bit of a low spot.

Originally posted by mikedaul
I'm out in the woods of chapel hill. Lately my fox50 OTA signal has dropped into the 30's (and I'm unable to pick it up). The other networks (sans upn and wb) are coming in fine... anyone else notice a signal drop on fox50?

Mike,

You are on target. The WRAZ-DT transmitter took a hit resulting in a bias board failure. Also, one of the filament transformers did not survive and a replacement transformer is on the way. Currently the WRAZ-HD transmitter is running at 50% power and should be back up as soon as we receive the new transformer.

Hang in there!

cdecourt,

Am I correct that WRAZ-DT uses a directional antenna or have never gone completely to full power? I live down in Pembroke about 45 miles south of Fayetteville and I usually receive WRAL-DT almost all the time (atleast 90% of the time) but rarely receive WRAZ-DT (30% of the time when tropspheric ducting is on my side).

I realize WRAZ-DT currently transmits a 720p signal but is there any word on the splicer install?

Daryl,

According to this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=409554

the splicer is installed. But CPanther95 did not cite his source for the info, so who really knows.

Sooke
-----
I want my HD PVR, dag nabbit.

sooke,

Thanks. I usually look in on that thread daily but hadn't today. Yesterday when I looked Raleigh was listed yellow as not having the splicer yet.

What is a splicer?

I'm no expert, as you will see, but as I understand it, the splicer will allow the local fox station (WRAZ in our case) to receive an HD data stream from Fox's national/central/whatever broadcast source and splice in local graphics (eg. severe weather crawls, WRAZ logo, etc.). The splicer allows this without decoding the MPEG2 (it works directly on the encoded HD stream). Somehow. I think. Could be wrong.

Anyhow, the splicer is necessary in order for the local station to start broadcasting Fox's national HD feed this fall (ie. we needed WRAZ to get the splicer before NFL season).

There is a Fox engineer out of Charlotte who frequents the HD Programming forum. I think his handle is something like, uhm... foxeng. Anyhow, I am explaining the splicer based on my memory of his explanation. So any errors are mine. But one neat thing I remember is that since the HD feed is not decoded and re-encoded by the local affilliate, but instead passes through relatively unmolested, there should theoretically be less compression artifacts than the way other networks do it. Apparantly it also saves Fox some money.

Hope I got all that close to right.

Sooke

Oops, foxeng is out of Greensboro, not Charlotte. His posts are real informative. Glad he's active on the forum.

Sooke

Originally posted by sooke

the splicer is installed. But CPanther95 did not cite his source for the info, so who really knows.


OK, this is where Cpanther95 got his splicer info:

"A lot of these recent additions are not coming from the individual markets/affiliates or the FOX side of things, but from a grapevine leading back to the installation/testing side. Something like a friend, of a friend, of a friend, of a friend, of a friend who's cousin is sleeping with the guy who's sister schedules the splicer installation-test itinerary for Thomson/GVG :D "

Sounds solid enough to me. :)

Hey, anyone know anyone who is sleeping with the SA8000HD release engineer at Time Warner?

:D

Sooke

I'm not sleeping with anyone from TWC, but I can say that the HD-DVR release is extremely close.

Spoke with someone higher-up in the company yesterday, they said that there had been plans to begin the roll-out THIS WEEK, but it had pushed back a little bit because of another last minute glitch.

Almost there though..

I'm sorry to hear that macnbc.

About the HD-DVR delay I mean.

Thanks for the update.

Sooke

sooke,

I saw you post this in another thread. I figured answering it here would be better.So I noticed that Raleigh's Fox station (WRAZ) was broadcasting the Dems convention in HD last night. Does that mean they were already using the splicer to rebroadcast Fox's national HD feed?

Otherwise, how did WRAZ get an HD signal?WRAZ-DT has been sending a 720p signal for a few months now. They did 1080i for awhile before that. They show local games in true HD like some of the Hurricanes hockey games. They've also broadcasted some HD games for WRAL-DT. Lastnight HDnet carried the Democratic Convention in HD and since WRAL-DT carries some of HDnets proramming during the daytime they probably was tapped into HDnets HD converage to show it.

By the way, WTVD-DT ABC 11-2 (52-2) is now carrying ABC's new national digital news channel ABC News Now and its also on TWC ch.212

WRAZ-HD is carrying both the Democratic and Republican conventions in 1080i. The feeds are from The High Definition-National News Consortium (HD-NNC) in association with NHK-Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) to produce high-definition television (HDTV) coverage of this summer's 2004 Republican National Convention. The HD-NNC will provide live HDTV pool switched feed to all interested, accredited broadcasters at each convention site.

HD-NNC is an association of approximately 40 broadcasters, media producers and others advancing the use of digital, high-definition, and/or wide-screen format for newsgathering and news programming in the United States.

The 2004 Democratic National Convention is scheduled for July 26 through July 29 at the FleetCenter in Boston. This is the first time the city of Boston has ever hosted a political convention. There will be 4,353 Democratic delegates voting and 611 alternate delegates attending the convention.

The 2004 Republican National Convention is scheduled for August 30 through September 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. This is the first time in Republican National Committee history that New York will host the Republican National Convention. There will be 2,509 delegates and 2,344 alternate delegates attending the convention.

The conventions will also be streamed gavel to gavel on WRAL.com and on the WRAL 24 Hour News Channel.

Thanks for the info cdevourt. :) WRAL-DT carries some of HDnets proramming during the daytime they probably was tapped into HDnets HD converage to show itThat's why I said probably, I wasn't sure. ;)

Mike,

You are on target. The WRAZ-DT transmitter took a hit resulting in a bias board failure. Also, one of the filament transformers did not survive and a replacement transformer is on the way. Currently the WRAZ-HD transmitter is running at 50% power and should be back up as soon as we receive the new transformer.

Hang in there!

Thanks for the info!! I was going crazy trying to adjust my antenna :)

TWC put out a TV ad for the HD DVR a couple days ago saying it was ready. I called them a few mins ago and they said it was a mistake and that it would be 2-3 more weeks before they released the boxes. Im really getting sick of this. The olympics is two weeks away.... If they screw this up I for one will be very unhappy with them.

I saw it too. I spoke to some folks there and the ad was supposed to run in Greensboro- not here.

At any rate, the launch is happening soon - probably next week/definitely out before the Olympics. The customer service reps said they are sending emails to announce the launch, then sending postcards shortly after.

FYI: The Tyson/Williams fight is being offered in high definition and is available on TWC channel 270 (PPV obviously). Just saw that it had popped up today, though I guess its a temp channel just for the fight.

And for anyone that doesn't already know - Voom is offering the fight in HD for FREE on channel 711

Scsi,

I feel your pain about the olympics, rest assured TWC is trying to get the HD-DVRs out with all deliberate speed. They know how many people are waiting and they want to get them out just as badly as we want to have them.

Personally, I'm glad that they're taking the time and effort to release a quality product, rather than release something that's not ready yet, and then having to update them remotely a half dozen times to get it right.

How would YOU feel if you got your brand spanking new HD-DVR and it corrupted a half dozen recordings of the Olympics? I want to know that when this thing is put out, that it's going to do the job right.

This is still uncharted territory and brand new technology, Voom's not even going to have their HD-DVRs until at least OCTOBER by their own count. That's no Olympics, and no start of the NFL season. So if TWC gets theirs out within the next month, they're AHEAD of the game. They are still far, far away from screwing this one up. If we still don't have them by the time deArgila has one, THEN we can start talking foul-up.

While we're on the topic.. I've heard some more details on the plan on HD-DVR distribution, as of the last word I've heard, they're still planning to only have technicians install them, without stocking them in the payment centers. The rationale behind this tactic, at least according to the rep I was speaking to, is that since the HD-DVR has a much larger recording capacity than the standard one, they want to be absolutely sure that only customers with HDTVs are receiving them, rather than people with standard TVs just trying to con the boxes out of them to get more recording space.

Has anybody noticed which MLB games (if any) are subject to blackout in the RDU on INHD (through TWC obviously)?

I'm not a big baseball fan but a friend of mine is interested in the Mariners v. Orioles game next week but I wasn't sure if it would be blacked out or not.

Thanks in advance.

Ican on a good night recieve WRAZ here in Washington NC, every night I get
5,11,17, and some nights 22
Have a channel master 3020 with a preamp.

I agree with macnbc about the concept of getting the HD-recorder operating properly BEFORE releasing it. As a long time Dish Network subscriber using a SD PVR (721) I've been fence sitting about which way to get source material for my new HD monitor.

I'd been hoping that the Dish HD-PVR (921) would be the answer, however after reading months of postings from frustrated 921 owners (on the DBStalk site) I've concluded that the TW HD box is the better route because I won't have to OWN a questionable product. The Dish 921 has been buggy from the start and there seems to be no end in sight.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the TW unit will be relatively problem free - at the expense of a delayed release.

Originally posted by wjarrettc
Has anybody noticed which MLB games (if any) are subject to blackout in the RDU on INHD (through TWC obviously)?

I'm not a big baseball fan but a friend of mine is interested in the Mariners v. Orioles game next week but I wasn't sure if it would be blacked out or not.


Youre out of luck...MLB considers this area to be an Orioles market (I have no idea why as Ive never met an Orioles fan ever), so all Orioles games on inHD are blacked out...you will have to watch on FOX Sports Net. This is also why we dont get Turner South because MLB doesnt consider us a Braves market (apparently no one from MLB has ever been to Raleigh).

Let's see, I could drive 5+ hours to Baltimore or 6+ hours to Atlanta to see a MLB game. I'm sure that showing the games in this market is definitely going to take away from the stadium gate. :(

I've never understood the blackout rules from this perspective. I'm glad my favorite sport is soccer, where there are no blackout rules (since most of the games come from Europe anyway).

I'm with you - if I want to see LIVE Pro Baseball - I'll go to the Bulls or Mudcats games - more fun anyway...

Anyone have a built-in QAM tuner in their set that can tune the digitial signals sent by TWC in the Triangle area? I have a Toshiba 57h93 and was able to get some of the channels a while back but they seem to drop in and out.

If you have cable, can you try tuning to 93-1 which I believe should be HD Discovery?

Also, can I confirm that people in the area have successfully connected a DVI capable TWC STB to their DVI input on their set? Do you notice an improved picture quality? If it is better, I'd consider upgrading. Thanks!

pats, I am running DVI cable out of my TWC SA3250HD box to my HDTV.. works wonderfully.

Maybe it's just me, but I've never really noticed a significant difference between the component cables and the DVI signal. I studied both carefully and I'm just not seeing any significant change. Maybe I just have bad eyes or I'm not looking for the right things though..

NOt sure if this has been brought up since this thread is a little long to go through :)

ANyways I couldnt sleep so as I was scanning through the channel guide and i noticed there is a new channel entry for HD PPV on channel 270 . There is no info on it yet since it just appeared tonight.

Originally posted by macnbc
pats, I am running DVI cable out of my TWC SA3250HD box to my HDTV.. works wonderfully.

Maybe it's just me, but I've never really noticed a significant difference between the component cables and the DVI signal. I studied both carefully and I'm just not seeing any significant change. Maybe I just have bad eyes or I'm not looking for the right things though..

I'm running DVI from my TWC Pace box and also component cables. I see no discernible difference to my eyes in HD. On SD channels, I notice some "sparklies" on the DVI output but they're not there on the component.

Jarrett

Originally posted by macnbc
Maybe it's just me, but I've never really noticed a significant difference between the component cables and the DVI signal. I studied both carefully and I'm just not seeing any significant change. Maybe I just have bad eyes or I'm not looking for the right things though..
What kind of display are you using? Is it CRT-based?

Originally posted by wjarrettc
I'm running DVI from my TWC Pace box and also component cables. I see no discernible difference to my eyes in HD. On SD channels, I notice some "sparklies" on the DVI output but they're not there on the component.

Jarrett

BTW, I'm using a Toshiba CinemaSeries CRT-based monitor.

Ch. 270 was the Tyson vs Williams HD PPV event- it looked great.

Jarrett - what length are you running the DVI cable? I have seen a number of posts stating that too long a run for a given DVI cable and/or quality of cable is the cause for sparklies. Runs over 25'-30' are tough, and shorter runs of poorer quality cables have been noted. Do a search in the projector and/or DVD player forums.

Are the 'sparklies' only visible on SD content? I am running a Pace HD box with a 1m cable to a dtronics switcher with a 1m cable to my TV. Works great. I really dont see much difference between DVI and Component but am going to stick with DVI since Ive invested in the switcher.

Erik, My display is an LCD-type.

Hi All,

I've been a long time lurker here on AVS, but I just signed up. I ordered a Samsung HLN567W a couple of days ago (I couldn't wait for the new HD2+ model anymore) and will get it early next week. I want to switch my regular Time Warner digital cable box for a new one that can handle HDTV. I don't plan on getting the DVR option (which I know a lot of you are waiting for), so I'm wondering which model is the best one to request? I would like to get a box with the DVI output enabled. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Druze

druze, the key piece of advice is to make sure that TWC does NOT give you a SA3100 box. That box is old and does not have any DVI output. I've also heard it has inferior picture quality.

The other two boxes in TWC's circulation right now (the SA3250 and the Pace box) are both popular, and both have people who love them and hate them.

I have the SA3250, and like it better. It strikes me as a well-built box that's pretty reliable and has a good picture quality. When it was first released, the DVI port did not function, however, it has since been activated, so this is no longer a problem. Some people really dislike how the 4:3 pillars are a light gray color on it. I'm fine with this since my HDTV is a silver color, so it blends well with it. This, however, might be an issue for some people.

Other people prefer the Pace box, as it's more recent, and was DVI compatible right out of the gate. I believe it has some additional ports that the SA3250 does not, HOWEVER, it does NOT have an RF output jack, which has peeved off a lot of people who use it for Tivos or what-not. Another complaint with the Pace boxes is that they have a much higher rate of failure than the SAs. I used to work for TWC-Raleigh, (I finished my job there last week, which is why I had a lot of insider information, I didn't want to say so at the time though because I didn't want to risk my job on it.), and while I was there, we had a whole bunch of people return defective Pace HD boxes. Some of them were fried entirely, many of them just had their clock displays screw up. While I was there, I saw no SA3250s come back defective. The Pace boxes do have black 4:3 pillars, and are more adjustable with their picture output options, which many owners love.

It's really a personal decision between the two.. both boxes have pros and cons working for them, you just have to decide what aspects of the box are more important to you. Either the SA3250 or the Pace will serve you very well. Good luck with your purchase.

Does anybody know what happened to the SD digital feed of WTVD (ABC) on TWC? I used to get the HD feed on 211 and the SD feed on 212. I'd use 212 when recording from my TiVo because I felt the picture quality was a little better when played back on TiVo (not sure why). But the last few times I've tried to tape something, I've ended up taping ABC News Now. It seems to be playing on this channel 24 hours a day.

WVTD's site was useless to me...

ABC (the network) started ABC NOW, and all the O&O (WTVD is one of these) are doing exactly you see.

MACNBC of anyone else with a 3250HD box, I'd like to clarify how the picture controls work and how it would affect me. I am still using the older 3100HD box and here is how it works with my Pioneer Plasma.

If I have an NTSC channel I select the video input (which comes from the video composite output of the 3100 HD) can change the screen size to 4:3, zoom, full, or wide. If I go to an HD channel, my screen is blank.

If I select the HD input (which comes from the 3100HD component output) the only mode I get is full screen which means on an HD channel I get a full screen, letterbox, or 4:3 depending on what is being broadcast. I cannot for example make the 4:3 full screen by stretching it. If I tune the 3100 to an NTSC channel I get 4:3 with no ability to stretch it.

I've looked through all the 3250 Documentation at Scientific Atlanta and through the forum and it appears that depending on how I set up the 3250HD I can have my plasma work the same way as it does now, or if I have a remote with a # key I can stretch the HD picure to full screen when necessary. Is that correct? Thanks.

Earlier in this thread a few folks mentioned TWC broadcasting in QAM. I'm interested in this and would like to know more. I'm pretty much a novice to HD and QAM so forgive if these are elementary questions:

1) Is it just HD channels or is it all of the digital channels for the locals?
2) Is this a "supported" mode by TWC...in other words, as a TWC subscriber, is this "legal" and if so, what level of service do you need to keep to receive these channels.
3) Is this temporary and these channels will soon be encrypted or is their long-term plan to keep these in the clear?

Any info you guys have is appreciated. Although I like the fact that I can get locals in HD over TWC, there analog tier of programming looks horrible on my HDTV monitor and I want to go back to DISH as my primary provider (good thing I never cancelled the account!)

Thanks so much, macnbc. I really appreciate the information. I think that if I had to purchase the box myself, I would go with the SA3250. However, since the box is free along with any maintenance, I believe I'll get the Pace HD box. I like the black borders for 4:3 material and with the DLP TV I don't have to worry about burn-in.

macnbc-
what department did you work in at TWC?

wjarrettc-
From what I know, with a QAM tuner you can pick up the local HD networks and possibly TNT and Discovery HD - but it is not supported by TWC.

As far as your analog channels go, try adjusting the color levels (you've probably done this). I spent a few hours getting the levels right on the HD side of things as well as the analog and digital channels. The time spent made a world of difference and my stuff looks great.

while we're talking about TWC and QAM support - any idea if you can pick up the other digital cable channels with a QAM tuner? ESPN News, MTV2, SpeedTV, Fox sports world, etc.?

if so i'd be mighty interested since there's no HD DVR in the area yet, i'm not willing to get the regular DVR and have two set top boxes to deal with, my replaytv can't record those channels as of now (without the major kludge that i'm using for now)...but i might be willing to setup my PC to do the recording with a QAM tuner....

Originally posted by mikea28
while we're talking about TWC and QAM support - any idea if you can pick up the other digital cable channels with a QAM tuner? ESPN News, MTV2, SpeedTV, Fox sports world, etc.?

if so i'd be mighty interested since there's no HD DVR in the area yet, i'm not willing to get the regular DVR and have two set top boxes to deal with, my replaytv can't record those channels as of now (without the major kludge that i'm using for now)...but i might be willing to setup my PC to do the recording with a QAM tuner....

Here are the QAM channels that I've mapped out. My TV doesn't do a good job filtering out channels that have no signal, so it's really tedious to find the channels.

84.2 Local religious channel
84.3 TNT-HD
85.1 WRAL-DT (CBS)
85.2 WRAL-HD (CBS)
85.3 WRAL News Channel
90.1 PBS DT
90.2 PBS HD
90.3 WUNC Kids
90.4 WUNC Educational
90.5 WUNC North Carolina
93.1 Discovery HD Theatre
104.9 League pass in demand preview loop
106.1 Icontrol preview loop
106.3 Indemand preview loop
111.1 News 14 Carolina (SD)
111.2 WNCN HD (NBC)
111.3 WNCN DT (NBC)
113.1 WRAZ HD (FOX)
113.2 WRAZ DT (FOX)
113.3 WTVD HD (ABC)
113.4 WTVD DT (ABC)
113.5 WTVD Weather
113.6 WRAL Weather
114.1 ESPN Now (SD)

Mswilson, that is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for the post! However, I used to be able to tune to most of the channels that you've listed but can't seem to lock onto the signals anymore. What level of service do you have from TWC?

DIGIPiC 1000 (digital cable, first tier)

also, I think there's ESPN and ESPN2 on something like 119 - a friend of mine with an LG-3410a can pick it up - but my signal is too weak.

HI All,
I moved from Denver Colorado to Mebane (the back of Mill Creek) about 3 weeks ago. Being the HDTV geek that I am, I've already mounted a 40 foot mast with two Radio Shack UHF only antennas (one pointed towards Greensboro, the other towards Raleigh) being combined into a Channel Master Spartan pre-amp. I'm getting.....

14, 16.1 WGPX-DT 60%
15 hops up to 20% not sure what station it is.
29, 45.1 WXLV 45 65%
31, 12.1, WXII-DT 90%
32, 26.2 UNC-HD 88%
33, 48.1 WUPN 48 85%
36 hops to 13% not sure what station it is
38, 40.1 WTNC 71%
42, 30.1 WRAY-DT 68%
43, 61.1 WLXI-DT 76%
49, 50.1 WRAZ HD 85%
51, 2.1 WFMYHD 92%
52, 11-1, WTVD1 90%
53, 5.1 WRAL DT 91%
55, 17.1 NBC17 90%
57, 22.1 WLFL HD 47%
59, 4.2 UNC-HD 92%

WGHP has come in sparsely a few times, but generally not watch able

So, do I need to point another Antennae North to get UPN and or WB in HD? What are the local plans for UPN and WB to do HD? WLFL is doing gray bars. WXII's upconvert to 5.1 sounds horrible (doesn't use center channel). So, I'm using 17.1 as my NBC station. Too bad because it looks like WXII isn't multi casting.

WLFL (WB) and WRDC (UPN) in Raleigh are Sinclair owned stations - don't expect HD from them if they can help it. Eventually,(say, 2 years from now) they will be forced to increase their power from their anemic 9.1 KW and you should at least be able to receive them. All HD transmitters in Raleigh are in the same general location (except for WUNC and the PAX affiliates), so you're doing good. WRAL is probably the nation's leader in HDTV - ALL local programming is done in HD - even the news. WRAZ is also owned by Capital Broadcasting - and they're just waiting on FOX Network to get on board

Theres a thread in the HDTV Programming forum about Sinclair pushing HD with their WB affiliates....will be interesting if that has any effect on us in the Triangle. Right now with those two networks not being available in HD here, I have a tendency to forget they exist since they are at complete opposite ends of my program guide.

Originally posted by Scooper
All HD transmitters in Raleigh are in the same general location (except for WUNC and the PAX affiliates), so you're doing good.

What location is that? Thanks!

Most of them (5, 11, 17, 22(DT), 28, and 50) are out east of Clayton along US70 and the Wake County line - Auburn. You can see them as you drive by on I40 also.

22 Analog is west of there, 4 is out in Chapel Hill, and 40 (38 DT) is between Chapel Hill and Fayetteville. 30 (42) is out in Wilson.

Originally posted by wjarrettc
What location is that? Thanks!

Best way to find station locations is here (http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx), at AntennaWeb.org. Enter your address and you can receive antenna info, compass direction for stations, and street level maps.

Originally posted by j2jones
Best way to find station locations is here (http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx), at AntennaWeb.org. Enter your address and you can receive antenna info, compass direction for stations, and street level maps.

Thanks. That is a great resource. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of whether or not we can get OTA signals with a small antenna or have to go with big aerial.

I've had digital cable with TWC for several months and have experienced several problems. Note that I have the SA3850HD with IEEE 1394 output and I'm only refering to HD channels. I'd like to know if anyone else is having similar problems:

1) Video and audio drop-outs. I see this problem more on HBO and Showtime than INHD or HDNET. I've almost never been able to watch a movie on HBO all the way through without numerous drop-outs. Do others have similar problems with HBO?

2) I don't get any audio over the IEEE 1394 with Showtime. Anyone else with this box have the same problem?

Thanks,

Why no Nascar 16x9 HD today?

Who knows, I sent a note to engineering there as NBC17ENG suggested in the past, but I havent seen it change yet.

gillcup,

I have the SA3250HD box (but without firewire). I have not noticed audio drop outs. Although, I don't watch much HBO lately. I have noticed an rare lip sync issue lately that I never used to. No channel in particular though.

Sooke

NBC!!! Come on!

I just hope they remember to show the HD feed for the Olympics - they are SOOO FREAKING UNRELIABLE!!!

This isnt exactly HD related, but....I just noticed that the Panthers-Redskins game next Saturday is on ABC11 rather than FOX50. I know the past few years FOX50 has carried the Panthers network preseason games, so apparently WTVD has acquired these this season (as well as the weekly show Im assuming...I saw a recap show on one of the subchannels the other night).

Also, I checked this info on the Panthers website and it also mentions that there will be 4 preseason games as part of the Panthers Network coverage. With 2 nationally televised Panthers games by CBS and FOX, will these be blacked out in our area in favor of the Panthers Network coverage?....would be ashame since I think both national games will be in HD or widescreen.

Actually, to make this HD related, is it safe to assume the late night showing of The Kid on ABC (preempted for the above game) will not be in HD? Im not sure who has the ability to record and playback HD material in this area other than WRAL.

Well...... 4.5 days till opening ceremonies and still no HD DVR.... This isnt looking good..... Anybody heard anything?

I've heard it's either going to be later this week or next. One of their techs told me they received the software release this past friday so it's just a matter of time now.

I talked to a roadrunner tech on Sunday about an unreleated problem and asked about the HD-DVR while I was on the phone. He said he was confident it would be before the end of the month (said something about the tone of the internal memos which have been promising becoming much more positive recently), and that they had quite a bit of hardware sitting around ready for the rollout.

Originally posted by ewtroan
I talked to a roadrunner tech on Sunday about an unreleated problem and asked about the HD-DVR while I was on the phone. He said he was confident it would be before the end of the month (said something about the tone of the internal memos which have been promising becoming much more positive recently), and that they had quite a bit of hardware sitting around ready for the rollout.

I was on the phone today with TWC ordering the English Premier League PPV soccer package and inquired. I was told "this month" and "check our website for the latest info".

Jarrett

Originally posted by wjarrettc
I was on the phone today with TWC ordering the English Premier League PPV soccer package and inquired. I was told "this month" and "check our website for the latest info".

Jarrett

This is the EXACT same response I've gotten from TWC for the last 2 months.

Sigh...
Rob

Anyone feel like starting an online petition to TWC threatening that a significant number of area HD users will be switching to satellite if TWC does not manage to release the HD-DVR before the Olympics?

Maybe that's a bit overboard but I'm just getting entirely too frustrated of being told that they'll be out by the end of the month (which I started hearing back in May).

Rob

Here is a link to some info from the Charlotte thread where it seems they have been getting HD-DVR boxes installed since late July. Read the last 6 or 7 pages and you will see the good, the bad, and the ugly with respect to folks' experiences in the Queen City.

Something to whet your appetites until we get things rolled out here!

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=128876&perpage=20&highlight=charlotte&pagenumber=57

Bob

Originally posted by willobandb

Something to whet your appetites until we get things rolled out here!


Ugh, more like lose my appitite.

Originally posted by mswilson
Ugh, more like lose my appitite.

No kidding -- reading that thread has me looking at DirectTV once again. Time to check out antennaweb I guess...

Erik

Originally posted by ewtroan
No kidding -- reading that thread has me looking at DirectTV once again. Time to check out antennaweb I guess...


I've had my DirecTV HDTiVo since June and love it. It's been working flawlessly for me. Tthere have been reports of issues with the DVI not working, but DTV has been replacing those boxes and I don't have DVI anyway. Also some issues with audio dropout on HDNet, but that seems to be an issue with HDNet, and I didn't spring for the HD package anyway, so that doesn't affect me either. The only big gripe I have is that the HDTiVo is running the older 3.x version of the TiVo software. I had a standalone running 4.x, got used to having folders in my now playing list (i.e. all the episodes of one show in a separate folder so the list isn't as long).

DTV is also running a special right now of 6 months of the HD package for free (then 6 months at 10.99). they have ESPN HD, Discovery HD, HDNet, and the HD version of premium channels (but only if you already get that premium channel), so it still isn't worth it to me. I wish they had TNT HD so I could have recorded The Grid in HD. Oh well.

Reading that Charlotte thread makes me nervous. Not being able to output via the s-video jack all the time is almost a showstopper for me. I have a scaler (htpc) that I'd like to use to display the SD channels. Hopefully this will be fixed!!

Brian

Originally posted by pkscout
I've had my DirecTV HDTiVo since June and love it. It's been working flawlessly for me. Tthere have been reports of issues with the DVI not working, but DTV has been replacing those boxes and I don't have DVI anyway. Also some issues with audio dropout on HDNet, but that seems to be an issue with HDNet, and I didn't spring for the HD package anyway, so that doesn't affect me either. The only big gripe I have is that the HDTiVo is running the older 3.x version of the TiVo software. I had a standalone running 4.x, got used to having folders in my now playing list (i.e. all the episodes of one show in a separate folder so the list isn't as long).


Are you using OTA for locals? Any problems with doing that? What does the Tivo output for the non-HD digital OTA channels, 480p?

Erik (who thinks a trip to Durham to poke at pkscout's setup might be in the cards)

Originally posted by ewtroan
Are you using OTA for locals? Any problems with doing that? What does the Tivo output for the non-HD digital OTA channels, 480p?

Erik (who thinks a trip to Durham to poke at pkscount's setup might be in the cards)

I'm not pkscount, but I've got DirecTV HD working here in Cary. I'm in a bit of a low spot between two small hills, so the Winegard MetroStar2000 antenna DirecTV gave me did not work (tech also chose to use my single-story garage roof for the antenna rather than way up on the second story house roof where the dish is). I raised the mast another 2 feet and put a Radio Shack 80" boom directional antenna on ($60) and I'm getting everything but FOX50 in HD, and as noted earlier in the thread FOX is running at low-power.

I have the HD package, and watch it just enough to be worth keeping (especially if it encourages DirecTV to add more). HDNet and HDNet Movies are great, ESPNHD has fits when showing upconverted stuff (synch issues on commercials or SD bits they play), but their HD stuff (studio and games) is great. I used to have HBO, but they keep showing all their series during PrimeTime (when I have time to watch), so I back to CineMax which actually shows movies most of the time. With any luck CineMaxHD will get added soon (rumors have DirecTV tripling their HD lineup as soon as they get local stations moved to the new satellite).

Monday Night Football in HD from the OTA antenna was awesome.

I have not yet found the $1000 for the HDTivo, so I cannot comment on the DVR capabilities.

Well I have a HDTiVo in Clayton. The off the air guide is seemlessly integrated with the DTV guide. You can change the output of the unit from 480i all the way to 1080i on the remote. The upconverted stuff looks fine. Not HD mind you....

Matt

Originally posted by ewtroan
Are you using OTA for locals? Any problems with doing that? What does the Tivo output for the non-HD digital OTA channels, 480p?

Erik (who thinks a trip to Durham to poke at pkscount's setup might be in the cards)

I have the local package from DTV so that I can record stuff in SD if the show isn't actually in HD and also have an OTA antenna for the digital locals. That said, the HDTiVo allows you to output in 480i, 480p, 720p or 1080i (I think I got all the i's and p's right). If the recording isn't in the output selecting, the HDTiVo scales it. There is no "native passthrough" function. So if you record a digital broadcast that isn't HD, you can output it in any resolution you'd like. If you have the output set to 480i then it outputs on both the s-video setup and the component (or HDMI) output. Any other resolution is output only over the component (or HDMI) output. I say component or HDMI because if you plug and HDMI cable in, the component output is disabled (I'm using component).

BTW, who is the pkscount of whom you speak? (note the extra 'n') :D

Just called TWC and the CSR's have at least been told to give a consistent message. "End of the month or perhaps early September."

Thanks guys... that's the Olympics, most of the preseason NFL, and the beginning of the college football season. Not to mention we still don't have ESPN-HD... guess I'll be looking into Voom.

Rob

^ Ummmm, you do realize that the VOOM DVR was delayed until 2005, right?

EndContra, actually no I didn't... so the only HD-capable DVR around right now is the Tivo-DirecTV combination?

Rob

Dish Network's Dish Player-DVR 921 has a 250 GB hard drive... Pricy, though...

http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/products/receivers/hd/index.shtml

Apparently so....I know I cant justify $1000 for a DVR when soon, hopefully, we will have them from TWC. Ive waited this long, might as well wait a little longer.

What bothers me is that they are rolling these boxes out in Charlotte right now. Other places have had them for months. Why is RTP so late? Full disclosure by TWC as to what is going on would at least help.

I've also got an HD-TiVo.

I'm using this onexpensive Radio-Shack indoor antenna (http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F003%5F001%5F001%5F000&product%5Fid=930%2D0998) in my attic to pick up all the OTA digitals broadcast from Raleigh. It works slightly better for me than the Silver Sensor. WLFL and WRDC are transmitting at low power and not HD, but I still get them.

I used a regular splitter/combiner to add my Silver Sensor pointed towards Chapel Hill to get WUNC, so I now get all the OTA Digital Channels currently available.

I know some good people who work over at TWC.
TWC rolled them out in Charlotte b/c they were the beta test site for the Pioneer Passport Divisions. Raleigh isn't too far behind. They are just waiting on the official release from their corporate office-- basically since Raleigh is one of the largest cable companies they want to make sure the kinks are ironed out before they deploy - makes sense.
They've been monitoring the Charlotte launch very closely from what I've been told. Other twc places launched b/c they are on the scientific atlanta platform- whereas raleigh operates on pioneer.
Some employees have them in their homes. I haven't personally seen it - but I've been told it is incredible and seems to operate more smoothly than the standard dvr (with regard to channel surfing, fast-forward speeds, capacity, pic quality obviously, etc).

They'll be out this month- whether it's next week or the week after, it's coming and I'll be happy to wait a few more weeks if need be. patience is a virtue.

As far as I know, Pioneer is a Scientific Atlanta OEM. That is, Scientific Atlanta builds the boxes, Pioneer puts their name on it.

I'd really like to see a switch to something based on the Moxi platform. Everything that has been built on Scientific Atlanta's platform has sucked. The boxes are underpowered and dated.

If Moxi comes out with a Cable Card driven system for consumers, I'll definitely consider buying it - unless TiVo beats them to it.

With the NFL season coming up, I'm so close to dumping TWC (except for RoadRunner of course) and getting DirecTV. The "4-for-free" promo with the NFL Season Ticket and six months free of the HDTV package looks pretty darn good. Is there any reason besides personal preference that I shouldn't do this?

Two questions from a long time listener of this thread:

#1 - What's up with WRAZ? I live in Apex and I use to be able to pick them up ok but now I get nothing. Are they not transmitting anymore?

#2 - Anyone else noticed that titantv isn't showing WNCN NBC's olympic coverage as HiDef? This has me worried :(

Thanks!

See the attachment. When did this start and does this mean that WLFL-DT will be in HD soon?

(Took tons of pics while at the beach and while on the road to/from the beach)

Speaking of which, I couldn't get a picture out of WRPX-DT or WFPX-DT. Is something up with them? Like, I'd have 50% signal from WFPX-DT and it'd show up as 62-1, etc. I'd tune to it, and it'd disappear--and show up again at 36-2. Then, I'd tune 36-2, and it'd move back to 62-1 and start over again.

- Trip

I have had problems the past couple days receiving WFPX-DT also. I normally lock on them 24/7. This morning I was having the same problem with WFPX-DT as Trip in VA. Right now they seem to be locking in just fine.

Oddly though I locked onto WHRO-DT 15-1 thru 15-4 this morning for a brief period which I've never gotten before. Appeared to be PBS. 15-1 was widescreen HD while 15-2 thru 15-4 was SD all on at the same time.

Originally posted by aldamon
With the NFL season coming up, I'm so close to dumping TWC (except for RoadRunner of course) and getting DirecTV. The "4-for-free" promo with the NFL Season Ticket and six months free of the HDTV package looks pretty darn good. Is there any reason besides personal preference that I shouldn't do this?

read the fine print my friend...each year directv tries to bundle up the sunday ticket into a new subscriber package.

A buddy of mine did this last year and regretted it big time -- all he really wanted was sunday ticket but got sucked in having to sign a year contract.

I appreciate the concern, but there's really no fine print involved. The 1-year contract is clear as day. I want the Sunday Ticket anyway and they're throwing in four months of their best programming package. After that, we're only required to have their basic Total Choice package. Also, their HD tier is free for the next six months and it <gasp> actually includes ESPN-HD. I figure we'll give it a shot. Our cable bill is too high. We're not going to save much money for the first 4 - 6 months, but at least the cash will be going towards something we actually watch. I haven't been able to watch the Browns consistently for about 20 years and my wife's a Packers fan. We were forced to watch the Panthers last year and were pleasantly surprised. We kind of felt like bandwagon fans though. It's going to be a treat to watch "our" teams.

Originally posted by ENDContra
^ Ummmm, you do realize that the VOOM DVR was delayed until 2005, right?

Is this fact or just pure speculation? I hadn't heard this at all. Link?

Originally posted by aldamon
With the NFL season coming up, I'm so close to dumping TWC (except for RoadRunner of course) and getting DirecTV. The "4-for-free" promo with the NFL Season Ticket and six months free of the HDTV package looks pretty darn good. Is there any reason besides personal preference that I shouldn't do this?

Having made the jump, I'll only warn you that cabling can be a real bear. I ran 5 lines from my roof (4 for the satellite and one for the OTA HD) to my distribution center and then one more line (for a total of three) to my living room for the HD TiVo. To get the dual tuner functionality, you need two cables connected to the HD TiVo. I ran a third line so I didn't have to diplex the OTA signal into one of the satellite cables (didn't want to reduce the signal quality any).

If you already and two or three cable runs where you want the HD TiVo, then you're good to go. Otherwise you need to do it yourself or plan on paying the installer ("basic" DTV install usually doesn't include complicated wiring - check in advance).

TWC box shut off by itself twice just a bit ago. From what I have heard before, this usually means there has been an update. I was hoping there was a new channel, maybe Bravo or Cinemax HD or, HAHA, ESPNHD (yeah right)....would have even settled for WB-HD, but I dont know that thats anywhere near happening. Anyone know what the update was?

I did go to the diagnostics channel and did a tune to "222" (where, if WB22 ever got a digital channel running at decent power, it would almost certainly be located on TWC)...rather than saying out of range, it said "not authorized"...does this mean anything at all?

ENDContra... I noticed the reboots as well although I don't see any new channels (at least no "new" HD channels). There are a couple of "hidden" channels that usually don't have anything on them but are nevertheless there:
205 PBS4
214 WTVD3 (ABC)
222 & 223 (WB22)
228 UPN
247 PAX
258 WRAL3 (CBS)
259 WRAL4 (CBS)
270 HDPPV
299 HDonDemand

Rob

Rob, are you actually able to turn to any of these, even if only through the diagnostics menu? Ive never even been able to do that, although I heard some people were able to turn to TNTHD a week before it officially started (not sure what market they were in though).

Originally posted by pkscout
Having made the jump, I'll only warn you that cabling can be a real bear. I ran 5 lines from my roof (4 for the satellite and one for the OTA HD) to my distribution center and then one more line (for a total of three) to my living room for the HD TiVo. To get the dual tuner functionality, you need two cables connected to the HD TiVo. I ran a third line so I didn't have to diplex the OTA signal into one of the satellite cables (didn't want to reduce the signal quality any).

If you already and two or three cable runs where you want the HD TiVo, then you're good to go. Otherwise you need to do it yourself or plan on paying the installer ("basic" DTV install usually doesn't include complicated wiring - check in advance).

Wow, that's a lot of wiring! I really have no interest in HD-TIVO and our house is pretty small. I don't anticipate any major cabling issues. We have cable runs in three rooms, but we're only installing two rooms with satellite. We figure the last TV can go on rabbit ears. It's just not used very often. I think the hardest thing will be getting phone lines in the two rooms we're installing so we can get the Sunday Ticket. I'm going to have to put a larger splitter on my Vonage line. Our house is old. I wish we had a "distribution box." LOL.

Originally posted by ENDContra
TWC box shut off by itself twice just a bit ago.

I noticed this too. Happened right at 2am as I was going out to watch the meteor shower. Screwed up both of my TiVos.

On MAJOR problem I have with TW cable boxes over my old DISH boxes is that after a reboot or a power outage, the TW boxes return to a "Power Off" state rather than turning themselves back on. TiVo, on the other hand, reboots itself and picks up recording where it left off.

So, if the power goes out in the middle of the program, TiVo tries valiantly to recover the recording as soon as it reboots but the TW box stays off, making me miss the end of the show.

Does anyone know of a way to configure these boxes to return to a "Power On" state after a power outage. Do the TW DVRs come back to Power On or Off (I have regular Pace/SA boxes with my two TiVos instead of a TW DVR).

Originally posted by aldamon
Wow, that's a lot of wiring! I really have no interest in HD-TIVO and our house is pretty small. I don't anticipate any major cabling issues. We have cable runs in three rooms, but we're only installing two rooms with satellite. We figure the last TV can go on rabbit ears. It's just not used very often. I think the hardest thing will be getting phone lines in the two rooms we're installing so we can get the Sunday Ticket. I'm going to have to put a larger splitter on my Vonage line. Our house is old. I wish we had a "distribution box." LOL.

Ooo. You might want to do some checking regarding Vonage issues with DTV boxes. I know that the DTiVos and HDTiVos have a hard time dialing out using Vonage. I have no idea if the same will be true with other DTV boxes.

Originally posted by ENDContra
TWC box shut off by itself twice just a bit ago. From what I have heard before, this usually means there has been an update. .. Anyone know what the update was?

I experienced the same problem (messed up my recording of "Vanishing Point" on INHD) so I called in and I talked to the head HD guru and he told me they had a major software upgrade last night. Unfortunately I didn't think to ask him what the upgrade was for but I'm hoping this is in preparation for the HD-DVR rollout

I also got an update on my Pace box. The ResApp date changed from April to July and my OS Date changed from October to May. I think my RessApp Version was PASSPORT 3.2 build 019 and changed to PASSPORT 3.3 build 017. Can't remember old OS Version.

Originally posted by dwalton22
Two questions from a long time listener of this thread:

#1 - What's up with WRAZ? I live in Apex and I use to be able to pick them up ok but now I get nothing. Are they not transmitting anymore?

#2 - Anyone else noticed that titantv isn't showing WNCN NBC's olympic coverage as HiDef? This has me worried :(

Thanks!

#1 I was over there last week, and they had taken a severe lightning strike and were still at reduced power. I'm sure they will be back up soon, if not already.

#2 Titantv just called me yesterday to ask. We are airing the full HD version with no local commercial interruptions 24/7 beginning tonight at 8:00.

Regarding last Sunday's NASCAR race, Miami did not interpret widescreen digital as needing a switch since it was not listed as true HD. They have re-read the e-mail, and should have corrected their information for the remaining races.

Speaking of email, the first viewer email came in at 2:10, but my guy did not read them until 5:30. He then switched it, but it was a bit late for that. I'm sorry it took him so long to catch it.

Originally posted by NBC17ENG
#2 Titantv just called me yesterday to ask. We are airing the full HD version with no local commercial interruptions 24/7 beginning tonight at 8:00. [/B]

At 8:00 or 9:00? Everything I've seen so far has said HD feed starts at 9pm.

Originally posted by LarryNC
There seems to be another "enhancement" with the 3250HD upgrade. The zoom/stretch/sidebar feature now works on HD channels. So if you had zoom turned on to stretch the SD channels it will also zoom the HD channel instead of passing through untouched. If you are watching a true HD widescreen broadcast you don't need any zooming or stretching so now you have to turn it off when you surf to a HD channel.


Looks like this problem has finally been fixed with the latest software upgrade.

Thanks NBC17ENG. titantv has updated their listing for you guys now and it is showing that you will air olympic coverage in HD.

Originally posted by wjarrettc
At 8:00 or 9:00? Everything I've seen so far has said HD feed starts at 9pm.

There's a 1 hour "special" re-capping the Salt lake City Games, then the opening ceremnonies at 9:00

Originally posted by NBC17ENG
There's a 1 hour "special" re-capping the Salt lake City Games, then the opening ceremnonies at 9:00

Sweet! Perhaps I'll see myself in Hi-Def (well then again, I doubt there will be many shots of the crowd at the Curling venue where I was)

Echo echo echo NBC! :(

Yeah, hope they clean that up by 9:00.

Wasn't me! It sounded great over the air. It was awful on TWC. I had no choice but to shut off the 5.1 and go with stereo since they aren't passing it correctly. It still looks great though!

I'm glad it was TWC and not NBC. DirecTV is coming tomorrow if Charley doesn't eat the installer :) Hehe.

Hey, anyone else using a QAM receiver lose the WRAL channels tonight? I am of course watching the olympics on NBC but all the WRAL sub-channes are gone. I have re-scanned and zip.
Woops, looks like the WRAL weather sub-channel (113.6) is still there but not the 85.x set. QAM reception of the 85.2, 85.3...etc are MIA? I wonder what's up?

Originally posted by NBC17ENG
Wasn't me! It sounded great over the air. It was awful on TWC. I had no choice but to shut off the 5.1 and go with stereo since they aren't passing it correctly. It still looks great though!


Odd, I heard the echo on my OTA on my dish network 811. That was the early 8:00 special, 9:00 opening ceremonies sounds good, but no 5.1 though.

I have the SciAtl 3250 HD box, and would like to set the output format (to try 720 which is the native resolution of my Sammy)--the controls from the sci atl website (hold down select until the message light blinks) don't seem to work, maybe because TWC uses Pioneer Passport software.

Anyone know how to change/set the output of the box?

BTW, opening ceremonies looked great on TWC, echo problem went away by about 8:45 or so.
Mike

Originally posted by felke001
I have the SciAtl 3250 HD box, and would like to set the output format (to try 720 which is the native resolution of my Sammy)--the controls from the sci atl website (hold down select until the message light blinks) don't seem to work, maybe because TWC uses Pioneer Passport software.

Anyone know how to change/set the output of the box?

Mike

Mike,

To change the output format, do the following:

1) press the "settings" button on your remote
2) press the "more settings" button (yellow triangle)
3) scroll down to "output format" in the "my preferences" section
4) use the left arrow to change the setting
5) press the "exit" button to save your changes

I have a Samsung DLP with native resolution of 720 and I find leaving the setting to 1080i is much better. The reason is that the Samsung does a much better job of scaling than the SA 3250. Since most HD channels are 1080i, it is better to have the 3250 pass the signal unchanged and let the Samsung do the scaling. YMMV of course.

I checked the threads for my sister stations in Philly, DC, New York, Dallas and the affiliate in Hampton Roads. They are reporting more video / MPEG-2 pixillation, break-up, and audio dropouts. Several report no 5.1, but no mention of the echo we had last night. I am confused about one thing: I switched back to stereo at a little after 8:00 after the calls started and I confirmed the echo on TWC and the OTA Sony Wega in my office, (stereo only, no 5.1, but my main demod 5.1 audio was great), which cleared up when I switched to stereo. Mike above reports it cleard up about 30 mins. later, so was this a local issue or a network issue? Can anyone else confirm when the echo audio cleared up? I'll read the instructions again, because it was difficult to understand since there were no pictures in it.
There's also a thread dedicated to the whole Olympic confusion at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=434059&perpage=20&pagenumber=1

Mark--
Thanks for the reply. For some reason i have aspect ratio but not output format on the options under the more settings....maybe I have an outdated software/firmware/hardware?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by WildBill
[B]Hey, anyone else using a QAM receiver lose the WRAL channels tonight? I am of course watching the olympics on NBC but all the WRAL sub-channes are gone. I have re-scanned and zip.

Hmm. Just the opposite of what's happening here in Cary for me. We lost the NBC17 digital channels sometime in the last few days. The channel scan picks up 111, but all the subchannels show up as "no signal". Just in time of the Olympics. Lovely.

I also lost the sound to PBS-HD in the last few days. Maybe I got nailed by the recent software upgrade at TWC. But WRAL is fine.

Looks like its rabbit ears for me..


Drew

Originally posted by felke001
Mark--
Thanks for the reply. For some reason i have aspect ratio but not output format on the options under the more settings....maybe I have an outdated software/firmware/hardware?

Did you scroll down after pressing "more settings"? You need to push the down arrow to see all the options. There are a bunch of options, not just the few that initially show up.

Yes, I scrolled down until I was back where I started, but no output format...strange.

Everything looks fine outputing at 1080i, just wanting to experiment.

Hmm - no WRAL via QAM for me, either.

I lost the PBS HD sound as well. It is not acting just like the TNT-HD feed where the audio is from the adjacent channel.

DREW...
You said you lost nbc but still have cbs. However do you have a QAM receiver that is NOT supplied via TWC? If so what is it? Internal to the TV or an LG unit or what?
THANKS

I have a Zenith C32V37 with a QAM tuner internal to the unit. I think that Zeniths are made by LG..
I never knew that the TNT audio was on another channel. Rather than boxing like all the other channels, non-HD content on TNT seems to be squished.

Also, I just dropped "standard" cable (which we signed up for during basketball season and kept neglecting to drop). The PBS problem appeared before they installed the filter to block standard cable, but I didn't notice the NBC problem until after that.

I wouldn't really mind loosing the HD PBS, but, darn it, PBS is the best thing about Digital TV for us. And switching back and forth to get different channels over broadcast (PBS-HD, NBC) and cable (PBS-ED, PBS, PBS-NC, CBS) is a royal PITA with my Zenith.

Drew

Will NBC17 show any Olympic events in HD, or will it just continue to loop the opening ceremonies repeatedly?

Thanks,

Drew

Hi Drew. I noticed that myself last night. I couldn't believe it when I saw that. NBC17 is the worst and most unreliable of the HD channels that I've watched.

Events are posted at www.nbcolympics.com
The 8 hours of new coverage appears to start at 4:00 AM, and repeats a totoal of 3 times to fill the day: at Noon and 8:00 PM.

Originally posted by NBC17ENG
Events are posted at www.nbcolympics.com
The 8 hours of new coverage appears to start at 4:00 AM, and repeats a totoal of 3 times to fill the day: at Noon and 8:00 PM.

Ah, I see. And I also found that the HD coverage of events is delayed by at least 24 hours. See http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,64552,00.html. I wonder if they are sending physical media by FedEX or something.

If they are unwilling or unable to show HD events in a timely fashion it seems like a better use of bandwidth might be to split into the 4 subchannels and show live coverage of all the events, rather than just cherry picking the most marketable and showing them repeatedly, and 24 hours late. Eg, what CBS did for the NCAA basketball tournament.

I really miss the CBC coverage I used to get when I lived in Buffalo, NY in the 80s and early 90s. They made an effort to show things as they happened, and really put the American coverage to shame. They showed more of each event because the broadcast all day, and on multiple channels. So you got to see what really happened, and not just the highlights an American network decided to show you.

Sigh.

Drew

The Olympics is just another typical NBC HD failure to provide HD just like its failure to show the US open golf tournament in HD. I was really looking forward to having the Olympics in HD and thought I was going to have it with the pre-Olympic advertising. NBC channel 6 is also one of the worst looking NTSC channels on TWC.

Fortunately CBS has the PGA golf tournament this weekend and I have something to watch in HD.

In the main HDTV forum, I believe they've said that NBC is "purposely" delaying the HD feed because they don't want to detract ratings from the "normal" feed, where advertisers were promised x numbers of viewers.

Supposedly, this was requested by the local markets.

IMO, it just makes for a poor impression of NBC. In fact, I'm watching PGA on CBS and baseball on ESPN-Hd tonight.

PS - on a side note, I noticed that on the SD feed, NBC consistently kept putting in too many commercials during breaks of the basketball game, resulting in missed action. That's just RIDICULOUS!!!

Screw NBC. Thank God for Tivo.

Quick question. I know that TWC has already screwed up our Dolby Digital 5.1 audio feed of the Olympics. Are they also responsible for the low quality of the images (compression?).

I had several folks over today and they were commenting on on how poor the picture looked when the gymnasts were in motion. I've found the picture to be "fuzzy", especially in the presence of high motion (good thing there's not too much motion involved in the Olympics :( )

So I'm curious if this is an NBC problem or a TWC problem. I'm waiting on a Dish 811 to come in the mail so I can compare the two feeds, but for the time, what do folks here that are watching Dish, OTA, and TWC think of the picture quality (regardless of what you think of the content and timing of the feed).

Jarrett

Originally posted by wjarrettc
Quick question. I know that TWC has already screwed up our Dolby Digital 5.1 audio feed of the Olympics. Are they also responsible for the low quality of the images (compression?).

I don't know, but I agree the picture is pixelated during movement. I sure hope this isn't typical of HD in the future. I see it more and more. I also actually prefer to watch the analog NBC station (06) instead of the digital SD station.

Is there a diagnostic mode on the SA3250HD box to display the bits/second of the HD stream (so as to know how much a channel is compressed)?

Sooke

Originally posted by deArgila
In the main HDTV forum, I believe they've said that NBC is "purposely" delaying the HD feed because they don't want to detract ratings from the "normal" feed, where advertisers were promised x numbers of viewers.

I've read this too. But then... why even bother with the expense of producing an HD broadcast if you don't want anyone to watch it?

Sooke

Originally posted by sooke
I've read this too. But then... why even bother with the expense of producing an HD broadcast if you don't want anyone to watch it?


Question for NBC17ENG: where is the appropriate place to lodge complaints about this? I'm in the same boat: I was eagerly awaiting HD competitions on Saturday, only to keep finding the opening ceremonies. 24 hours late means I'm not watching any HD coverage. Who do we lodge complaints with? Our local station? A national NBC e-mail address? I checked nbcolympics.com and did not see a contact listed anywhere.

Even the delayed HD coverage is pitiful. I've seen the same scenery of the greek country side and ocean damn near every time I flip over to see if they are actually showing some Olympics.

I noticed the same thing about the NBC Olympic site--no contact to complain to.

On the the bright side, the CBS PGA golf coverage in HD was trouble free.

UPDATE ON QAM Reception issues

A known and trusted resource at WRAL sent an email and said he would look into the issue with TWC's messed up QAM broadcast received via means OTHER than their boxes. (TV's with built in QAM decoders and the LG STB units)

Nothing promised but a 'try'. Which is good enough with me.

If anyone else has QAM reception issues then please speak up. I told the WRAL guy to look in the AVSForum for details.

As of this writing I still don't have access to the WRAL digital channels. ANY OF THEM.

If something DOES come of this, which I hope, perhaps the LG units will be deemed out of spec or if TWC has some kind of signal modulation scheme they can apply then this 'might' fix the WRAL and TNT-HD sound issues but that's all hopeful wishing and NOT fact.

Has anyone out there tried to view TWC channels with the QAM capable (sort of) Fusion III card? From what I've been reading about the Fusion III it is a little flaky on picking up QAM channels (for some folks it works great for others next to nothing) so I was curious if anyone has tried it out with our local TWC.

Email address to lodge complaints (from nbc.com, contact info):

nbcolympicsfeedback@nbcuni.com


Originally posted by bobjdan
Even the delayed HD coverage is pitiful. I've seen the same scenery of the greek country side and ocean damn near every time I flip over to see if they are actually showing some Olympics.

I noticed the same thing about the NBC Olympic site--no contact to complain to.

On the the bright side, the CBS PGA golf coverage in HD was trouble free.

re: trouble tuning in QAM channels on TWC.

I have been able to tune them using the off-air IDs instead of the QAM channel. Meaning 5.1 for WRALHD, 5.2 for The News Channel. 11.1 for WTVD. 17.1 for WNCN and so on.

Originally posted by gwall
re: trouble tuning in QAM channels on TWC.

I have been able to tune them using the off-air IDs instead of the QAM channel. Meaning 5.1 for WRALHD, 5.2 for The News Channel. 11.1 for WTVD. 17.1 for WNCN and so on.

Do you have an antenna set up? What box are you using for QAM?

I just tried this with my LG LST-3510A (the one with the DVD combo) - and no luck.

Originally posted by mhs1970
Email address to lodge complaints (from nbc.com, contact info):

nbcolympicsfeedback@nbcuni.com

I sent an email to that id and got back

To: Feedback
Subject: Olympic HD Coverage
Sent: Mon, 16 Aug 2004 14:56:55 -0400

did not reach the following recipient(s):

Feedback on Mon, 16 Aug 2004 14:57:44 -0400
The message could not be delivered because you do not have create
permissions on this folder or it is only available to folder owners at this
time

I guess they don't really want to hear any complaints.

Originally posted by bobjdan
I sent an email to that id and got back

To: Feedback
Subject: Olympic HD Coverage
Sent: Mon, 16 Aug 2004 14:56:55 -0400

did not reach the following recipient(s):

Feedback on Mon, 16 Aug 2004 14:57:44 -0400
The message could not be delivered because you do not have create
permissions on this folder or it is only available to folder owners at this
time

I guess they don't really want to hear any complaints.


More than likely they had to shut down the mailbox because they were running out of disk space from the volume of complaints.

Originally posted by gstelmack
Question for NBC17ENG: where is the appropriate place to lodge complaints about this? I'm in the same boat: I was eagerly awaiting HD competitions on Saturday, only to keep finding the opening ceremonies. 24 hours late means I'm not watching any HD coverage. Who do we lodge complaints with? Our local station? A national NBC e-mail address? I checked nbcolympics.com and did not see a contact listed anywhere.

www.nbc.com has a fedback button buried at the bottom of the page.

gwall,
Thanks but I put my current house up for sale a month ago or so and because I had such 'great' HDTV offerings via cable I took my roof mounted antenna down. :( I will wait upon a fix or find one.

I just wonder if anyone using any OTHER type of QAM receiver (other than LG brand) gets perfect reception on all channels?

Originally posted by sooke
I don't know, but I agree the picture is pixelated during movement. I sure hope this isn't typical of HD in the future. I see it more and more. I also actually prefer to watch the analog NBC station (06) instead of the digital SD station.

Is there a diagnostic mode on the SA3250HD box to display the bits/second of the HD stream (so as to know how much a channel is compressed)?

Sooke

The HD is running at 15 Mbs and the SD is running at 3.5 Mbs. The rest of the 19.4 Mbs is taken by metadata and audio.

Originally posted by WildBill
gwall,
I just wonder if anyone using any OTHER type of QAM receiver (other than LG brand) gets perfect reception on all channels?

I am new to the HDTV world. I have recently ordered a Sony CRT HDTV (KD-34XS955) that has internal receivers (QAM and 8-VSB). It should be delivered in the next couple of days.

I am keenly interested in finding out if I'll have to use an antenna (indoor is my hope -- 20.5 miles from digital tower) and/or if I'll be able to use the QAM tuner with TWC. I'm on sub-standard cable (ie. basic) but I'm hoping that the unscrambled digital signals will be available via the QAM tuner as well.

G.

The silliest thing about the delay is that they want it both ways. On one hand they say there is no one watching HD so why should we go to the trouble of producing stuff in HD, then for the Olympics, they have to delay it so the "massive" amount of HD viewers won't skew the ratings?

G - Thanks for your response. Yes, with the basic cable (what I have) you get all the unscrambled digital content. A few pages back someone laid out the (at that time) list of channels. That story changed a few days ago but TWC didn't attempt to lock out this hardware, rather I believe it is just some incompability issues.

I will be interested in your response about reception with your Sony. Another person using a SONY box a few months back didn't have a sound issue with TNT-HD so unfortunately I am beginning to think it is an LG issue. :(

It would of course be a shame if I am forced to upgrade to a nice new HDTV with an integrated tuner. hmmmm.....

Originally posted by Lee L
The silliest thing about the delay is that they want it both ways. On one hand they say there is no one watching HD so why should we go to the trouble of producing stuff in HD, then for the Olympics, they have to delay it so the "massive" amount of HD viewers won't skew the ratings?

We are still rated by the little 4:3 picture, which is why it is distributed on the various NBC 4:3 channels including Telemundo, USA & Bravo. There are no Neilson ratings on HD yet. That one Sony commercial is paying for this HD broadcast, because it just supplied them with cameras. OK, maybe also the big Panasonic screen in the background also helps pay for it, but the real money is still paid to the analog program streams.

While Raleigh, Durham, and the surrounding area is years ahead of the rest of the country- even major markets, the majority of the country has not seen anything in HD. Keep in mind Washington, Greenville, New Bern, and Wilmington just put their signals on the air in the last few months. This is their first exposure to it.

wildbill/deargila-
My pops has a splitter with one feed going to a SA 3250HD. The other feed goes to the built-in QAM tuner on a Panasonic PT 53TWD63G projection HD.
The off-air broadcasters are now tuning via off-air IDs, not QAM channel and program number. This has been working on his set just fine.

They just started selling them- like a few hours ago they said. You have to call them to set up an installation - 1-866-4-TWC-NOW.

Just a heads up - boxes won't be available at their payment center offices - so you'll need to call in to set everything up.

They mentioned they are contacting a handful of customers tomorrow via an email.

It's all good - unlike other places I've read on this forum - they are offering a free installation/box exchange. I think charlotte is charging upwards of $40. Plus, if you don't have the HD Suite - they are throwing it in free for 3 months.
the monthly hd dvr charge is the same as std def dvr - and equipment prices are the same.

The rep on the phone was really knowledgable about the box (i was writing like mad)-
- same funtionality as the standard def dvr
- no picture degradation when watching a recorded HD program
- can change aspect ratio/output formats
- holds 20 hrs HD-only (capacity ranges from 30-50 hrs depending on what you record)
- dolby digital is working and was the source of the holdup - at least initially
- DVI isn't active - probably not until this winter
- No pass through like on the Pace box I have - fine with me
- s-video, cable out, video out are not active. only way to hook it up is with component. this kinda thwarts anyone that doesn't have an hdtv to get a hold of these boxes. I'm good with that.

got my appt. fri between 8-12pm. I'll report back then with an update. It's gonna be a great weekend.

Yep, down here in the Lumerton area (below Fayetteville) the guy called me this morning saying he's getting the HD DVR boxes in the morning and he'll send the tech out with mine either tomrrow or Thursday morning.

Hi all, we are working with both TWC and LG to figure out why the QAM decoders can's find us. If anyone has any other interseting points / observations, please let us know.

Thanks.

WOOHOO.. Thanks edvedd... mines coming Thursday....

Originally posted by NBC17ENG
...There are no Neilson ratings on HD yet....

How can this be changed? What is gating it?

Sooke

i'm in for friday! woohoo!

Just called and got mine scheduled for Friday afternoon. I asked about the HD Suite free for 3 months but the rep couldn't find anything on it :(

Oh well, getting the HD DVR finally more than makes up for that!

--Brian

Thursday afternoon for me!!! Woohoo!!!

Sweet! I just got my DISH 811 receiver today and was scratching my head how to integrate both the cable box and the dish box to my TiVo since the new dish box didn't have an RF output.

Now I can just grab the HD-DVR and use it for my cable DVR needs. I'm going to give TW and DISH a 3 month head-to-head and see which one I like better!

psockett,
Thanks, I take it from your post your probably with capital broadcasting? I am on vacation next week and would give you my LST-3100A for the week if this would help. (although you guys might have all the equipment you need)
I sent this note via PM as well.
THANKS FOR CHECKING!

Originally posted by edvedd
- No pass through like on the Pace box I have - fine with me


Do you mean no passing through of various signals (480p, 720p, 1080i) but everything is upconverted to 1080i, or do you mean no pass through as in I can connect something like my Xbox to the box so that when I turn off the box, I get my Xbox? I can deal with the first but if its the second then thats disappointing as I only have two component inputs on my TV (I dont think it will really keep me from upgrading though).

I have an appointment on Monday from 1-5, wish I could have gotten one a little sooner but oh well. I already have HD Suite, whats the chance I could get 3 months free too I wonder :)

Thanks for the heads up edvedd. Just had an agonizing 17 min call but think she finally got the new box coded correctly. Install on 8/24 between 1-3. Confirmed 3 months free hd suite.

Originally posted by bmduncan
Thanks for the heads up edvedd. Just had an agonizing 17 min call but think she finally got the new box coded correctly. Install on 8/24 between 1-3. Confirmed 3 months free hd suite.

I know this sounds like the classic "Four Yorkshire Gentlemen" sketch from Monty Python, but you were LUCKY to only be on the phone 17 minutes.

After about a 10 minute initial hold time, my CSR told me that I could just stop in by one of the regional offices and pick up an HD-DVR. When I insisted that this was not the case, he put me on hold while he opened an Adobe Acrobat document (which apparently takes several minutes on the slow computer he had). After reading the document, he still wasn't sure, so he put me on hold again while he went to find someone to help him. After 5 minutes or so he came back and said that I was indeed correct and he had to schedule an appointment.

When trying to schedule an appointment, he couldn't find the correct code so he had to re-open the acrobat document. His computer froze. We waited "just another minute" for about 5 minutes and then he said he was going to transfer me to someone else that could help. Instead of patching me through directly to another CSR, he put me back in the main queue.

10 minutes later, I got another CSR. He at least knew about the HD-DVRs but unfortunately, couldn't get into my account because it was locked by the the first CSR still being logged into it. He put me on hold while he called the first CSR to get him to log it (of course he couldn't, because his computer was crashed). Another 5 minutes or so passed and the second CSR came back on said that he couldn't input the HD-DVR into my account right now but did go ahead and schedule an appointment for the install. Now I've got to call them back this morning to make sure everything was setup correctly (it would be the first time...when I had my cable and VoIP phone installed, everything was FUBAR on arrival).

Someone please remind me why we deal with TWC? Oh yeah, it's locals in HD, HD-DVRs, and video on demand.

I called and scheduled my HDDVR install for Monday afternoon in Cary. HDSuite is free for 3 months. Also, he said I needed to pay the installer $5.61 fee. Anyone know what this is for? Am I the only one paying?

Originally posted by NBC17ENG
We are still rated by the little 4:3 picture, which is why it is distributed on the various NBC 4:3 channels including Telemundo, USA & Bravo. There are no Neilson ratings on HD yet. That one Sony commercial is paying for this HD broadcast, because it just supplied them with cameras. OK, maybe also the big Panasonic screen in the background also helps pay for it, but the real money is still paid to the analog program streams.

What about the money DirecTV paid to carry the HD stream? That's part of the reason I'm annoyed: I paid money to DirecTV for their HD package, they then paid NBC (okay, maybe I'm wrong, maybe NBC is allowing them to distribute that feed for free) to carry the HD Olympic coverage, and now we find out it's a 24 hour delay that means it's all a complete waste.

Originally posted by NBC17ENG
We are still rated by the little 4:3 picture, which is why it is distributed on the various NBC 4:3 channels including Telemundo, USA & Bravo. There are no Neilson ratings on HD yet. That one Sony commercial is paying for this HD broadcast, because it just supplied them with cameras. OK, maybe also the big Panasonic screen in the background also helps pay for it, but the real money is still paid to the analog program streams.



Oh, believe me I'm fully aware of this, Neilsen even called me once and when they found out I had HD stuff they said see you later (though I think I read here that they would be metering HD boxes soon). My real gripe with it is that the constant complaint of both local and network people all over the country is that there are so few people watching HD that there is no reason to bother doing anything in HD since it will not matter. In fact, while I really do appreciate all you have done and your participation here and with all due respect, this same attitude is evidenced in NBC 17's repeated issues with HD bradcasts not being HD when they should be because the switch bit was not set by someone in Miami. I feel pretty certain that if the NTSC broadcast went out as black and white instead of color or was static filled for whatever reason, we would not have to be emailing someone and hope they check the email before the show is over. If this happened more than once or twice because someone in Miami forgot something, they would be hitting Monster.com real soon. (I certainly do not think anyone should be fired for messing the HD broadcasts up either, but I do want the issue corrected).

My point is that if the pool of people watching HD is so small that there is no reason to even care whether the broadcast is correct, there is really no viable argument that tiny group of people would really affect the ratings at all. If the number of HD veiwers is so large that it will affect the ratings, then step up and act like it in other aspects.

Originally posted by wjarrettc
INow I've got to call them back this morning to make sure everything was setup correctly


So when I called back this morning, the CSR tells me there is absolutely no record of my call from last night and that I do not have an appointment for Monday! She gladly will setup one for Tuesday though, if I would like.

Argh!

Originally posted by wjarrettc
So when I called back this morning, the CSR tells me there is absolutely no record of my call from last night and that I do not have an appointment for Monday! She gladly will setup one for Tuesday though, if I would like.

Argh!

Thanks for the updates guys!

Got my appointment for Tuesday between 8-12. They offered an appointment for tomorrow but I am unavailable then. I will be trading in the Pace box, keeping the regular DVR for the SD TV. Will probably record only HD stuff on the HD DVR. Might be a pain to manage 2 boxes / lists but will get more recording capacity that way.

Thanks,
Bob

i had a good CSR lady. i had to remind her about the 3 free mo. HD Suite tho. she had to key it in

she told me installation was free and they are coming out on friday. I am really excited.

Only legitimate worry I have is two fold.

1. Digital Audio -- how the hell is this routed on these boxes? I have a receiver with two digi ports, one coax one lightpipe and they are both being taken up (1 xbox , and dvd player) so i dont know what im going to do

2. Stretching -- my 16:9 is only 30' so i have to use theatrewide stretching -- its a great stretching routine, but im worried that i will have to constantly switch between hardware tv stretching after switching off an hd channel (when the tv automatically goes full screen)

This is cool news. Does the 8000HD DVR support black bars when displaying 4:3 material?

I heard the echo last night (8/18), but I assume it was part of the mix.

It did not seem that offensive, and TWC has no way of manipulating ac-3 audio like that (to cause echo; in the end it is just (audio) data passed through.

I was surprised to see the 5.1 turn on during the Olympics. Had a great time listening to ambient audio on the surround channels. Keep it up!!

UNCTV has a very simple QAM demod...I can feed the signals to several MPEG decoders in-house. Most of these boxes are professional devices, the ones that ignore the PSIP information or allow you easily to work around it.

Everybody has their audio and video on TWC....but some store-bought set top boxes to not like
the PSIP...or metadata associated with it since TWC went to using off-air PSIP about a week ago (8/12). The LG STB's have issues that I have seen.

TWC boxes reproduce everybody's signals as expected.

All broadcasters want to be seen! We are working with all of the above mentioned parties on the QAM tuner/missing channels, etc. issue.



Originally posted by WildBill
gwall,
Thanks but I put my current house up for sale a month ago or so and because I had such 'great' HDTV offerings via cable I took my roof mounted antenna down. :( I will wait upon a fix or find one.

I just wonder if anyone using any OTHER type of QAM receiver (other than LG brand) gets perfect reception on all channels?

Got my appt for Saturday, thanks for the heads up.

Originally posted by Bob Michael
This is cool news. Does the 8000HD DVR support black bars when displaying 4:3 material?

Thats funny...Id like to know if it supports gray bars :).

I talked with a CSR to get the HD-PVR, but he couldn't find anything mentioning 3 months free of HD Suite. He could only find the 1 month free offer. Where did you all see or hear about the 3 months free?

Allen

I was reading the email that I got from TWC.

Am I correct in the assumption that the 8000HD dvr can replace my current 3250HD box?

The 3 months of HDSuite is what they call a 'campaign'. I have the campaign number written down at work... I will try and remember to post it tomorrow. They also have a campaign for 3 months of the digital sports package.

Did anyone else ask if he DVI port was enabled on the 8000HD. One person said they were told that it wasnt. I asked and was told that it was. I would love it to be true that it is enabled but Im not gonna hold my breath....

Originally posted by WildBill
psockett,
Thanks, I take it from your post your probably with capital broadcasting? I am on vacation next week and would give you my LST-3100A for the week if this would help. (although you guys might have all the equipment you need)
I sent this note via PM as well.
THANKS FOR CHECKING!



The LG LST-3100A will now be able to “see” WRAL DT on Time Warner Cable (channels 255, 256, and 257 respectfully as 85-2, 85-3, and 85-4). We have put into place a fix that will allow you to see our digital channels on Time Warner cable, you can manually tune the channels as 85-2, 85-3, 85-4, or you can re-scan your cable box. We cannot verify the LG LST-3510A as of yet, so could you please post your results once you re-scan your LG LST-3510A over the air/cable box?

Originally posted by psockett
We have put into place a fix that will allow you to see our digital channels on Time Warner cable

Is this a fix that each broadcaster will have to do separately, or is it something that TWC did? I'm asking because although I never lost WRAL, I lost NBC17 and the sound on PBS-HD. I also have an LG tuner integrated into my "Zenith" HDTV.

FWIW, My Zenith does not understand any of the TWC PSIP info. But it does understand the over-the-air PSIP info when I switch to my rabbit ears.

Thank you!

Drew

Originally posted by psockett
The LG LST-3100A will now be able to “see” WRAL DT on Time Warner Cable (channels 255, 256, and 257 respectfully as 85-2, 85-3, and 85-4). We have put into place a fix that will allow you to see our digital channels on Time Warner cable, you can manually tune the channels as 85-2, 85-3, 85-4, or you can re-scan your cable box. We cannot verify the LG LST-3510A as of yet, so could you please post your results once you re-scan your LG LST-3510A over the air/cable box?

I can confirm that I now have 85-2, 85-3, and 85-4 using the 3510A.

However, in addition to the TNT-HD audio being off (having the audio for 84-2), the PBS-HD audio is now off, too (using the audio from 90-1).

Got my appt. for the HD DVR on Friday!! I'm not sure who's looking forward to this more...me or the Mrs!
Finally!!!! A DVR in the living room!

Originally posted by ENDContra
Do you mean no passing through of various signals (480p, 720p, 1080i) but everything is upconverted to 1080i, or do you mean no pass through as in I can connect something like my Xbox to the box so that when I turn off the box, I get my Xbox? I can deal with the first but if its the second then thats disappointing as I only have two component inputs on my TV (I dont think it will really keep me from upgrading though).

Loop through or pass through -- meaning you wouldn't be able to pass a progressive scan dvd player (or xbox in your case). There is only one set of comp. outputs - not two like the pace.

Originally posted by wjarrettc
So when I called back this morning, the CSR tells me there is absolutely no record of my call from last night and that I do not have an appointment for Monday! She gladly will setup one for Tuesday though, if I would like.

Argh!

send them an email on their website - www.twcnc.com - they've been really responsive lately.

Originally posted by sowensga
I was reading the email that I got from TWC.

Am I correct in the assumption that the 8000HD dvr can replace my current 3250HD box?

that's what I'm doing -- well, swapping out my Pace HD box. But- yes it will replace your 3250HD.

The 'campaign' number for the 3 months of HDSuite is 4411
The 'campaign' number for the 3 months of Digital Sports is 4399

Originally posted by scsiraid
The 'campaign' number for the 3 months of HDSuite is 4411


4411 - is only one month free. I had this a few months back.

3 months free is 4425. The rep i spoke noted there were two promotions out there- but this one was for 3 full months.

Thanks edvedd... The CSR I spoke with must have been mistaken. She wasnt able to add it to my work order since it was already in process when I called to inquire. I have to wait until tomorrow to get it added. My box comes this afternoon..... Fingers crossed!

One interesting note... Your post indicated that your CSR said DVI wasnt enabled... The CSR I spoke with said it was... I hope mine was right.... however her credibility is already damaged with the wrong campaign number.

Thanks!!!!

Here's the email I received from TWC yesterday afternoon - it notes some of the current limitations,

Time Warner Cable is excited to announce that High Definition Digital Video Recorders (HD DVR) are now available to our Digital Cable customers with an HDTV! We appreciate your patience over the last few months as we prepared to launch this exciting new product. As a Thank You we want to give you the opportunity to be one of the first customers with an HD DVR!

For a limited time, we are offering a Free Installation for the HD DVR! The service costs $6.95 a month, the same price as our standard definition DVR. Equipment charges still apply.

To take advantage of this offer, please call 1-866-4-TWC-NOW (1-866-489-2669) to schedule your free installation. Hurry, supplies are limited. At this time, HD DVRs will not be available at Customer Service Front Counters or mall kiosks.

HD DVR Features:
- View and record your favorite shows including HD programming
- Watch one show and record another at the same time
- Record two shows at the same time
- Pause Live TV and create instant replays
- Pause, fast-forward and rewind recorded programs
- Watch two live shows at the same time with the picture-in-picture feature
- Set parental controls on what can be viewed and recorded
- The box is capable of holding up to 20 hours solely of HD programming.
Note- Overall, the storage capacity varies depending on programming recorded. This box is capable of holding between 30 and 50 hours of mixed content.
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Please note there are a few technical limitations associated with the HD DVR:
- The DVI output on this box is currently inactive in software. We anticipate having the software update by the Winter.
- Pass-through or Loop-through, a feature on the current Pace HD boxes, is not available with the HD DVRs. Pass-through allows you to loop another device such as a progressive scan DVD player (or another signal that utilizes HD component inputs) through the digital box to your HDTV.
- Firewire (1394)- is not currently active or supported in this version of the DVR.
- S-Video, Cable Out and Video Outputs are not active at this time. To hook up the HD DVR you must use the Component Outputs (RGB Cables) to the HDTV.

To schedule your free HD DVR installation, please call 1-866-4-TWC-NOW. Plus, ask your Customer Service Representative about HD Suite, our high definition package featuring INHD, INHD2, HDNet and HDNet Movies!


HDTV and HD box required to receive High Definition programming from Time Warner Cable. HD DVR service is $6.95 a month. Equipment rates still apply. Digital Cable service is required. Some restrictions may apply. HD DVR supply is limited. Storage capacity varies depending on programming recorded.

Just got mine installed... First impressions:

* Record and playback functionality works nicely
* Not as quick to flip channels as the 3250 but not nearly as slow as the old DVR
* Can sometimes have small hiccups when switching from recorded HD to live HD content, basically small pauses for about 2-3 seconds

Overall, I'm very pleased.

Originally posted by Rob!Todd
Just got mine installed... First impressions:

* Record and playback functionality works nicely
* Not as quick to flip channels as the 3250 but not nearly as slow as the old DVR
* Can sometimes have small hiccups when switching from recorded HD to live HD content, basically small pauses for about 2-3 seconds

Overall, I'm very pleased.


Quick question. Do you have to select an output format (say 1080i) and everything not in that format is upconverted by the box. I prefer my signals to pass in native format and let my monitor do any stretching or "barring" on its on.

Currently, I can do this with my Pace box.

wjarrettc, you do have to select an output format in the settings menu (similar to how the 3250 worked) and all non-HD signals, at least according to my TV are upconverted. I'm unsure if there's any way to change this but it appears as if it doesn't have the functionality that your Pace box offers.

Rob

Whoops... let me retract that. It appears as if you can select *multiple* output formats so for non-HD channels, it will output in one of the lower resolutions and on HD channels it will output a higher resolution.

Rob

Thats good.... So If I understand you... you can list a set of resolutions that are OK to send to the TV and it will comply. What I want to happen is for SD to be output at 480p, 720p to be output at 720p and 1080i to be output at 1080i. That lets the TV (which should have a MUCH better scaler) do the scaling.

Thanks!!!

My 8000HD should be here in the next two hours... cant wait.....

I will miss my DVI connection.... I hope the installer has component cables.

scsiraid, not sure if it'll distinguish between 720p and 1080i signals and output them accordingly but it'll definitely switch between SD at 480p and HD at 1080i (which is what I have it set to right now).

Rob

Edit: I added 720p to my output list and it DOES distinguish and output the proper resolution. For example, for ABC-HD it'll output 720p but for HBO-HD it'll output 1080i. Very nice.

Originally posted by Rob!Todd
It appears as if you can select *multiple* output formats so for non-HD channels, it will output in one of the lower resolutions and on HD channels it will output a higher resolution.

Rob Is that format switching automatic? How did you go about setting it up to do this? Mine should be here by 5pm. I'd like 480i and 1080i auto switching.

DarylL,
Under, settings (More settings)->Output Format it allows you to select 1080i, 480p, etc. But on this particular box you can select multiple formats... and yes, the switching is completely automatic based on the format of the channel.

Rob

How about black side bars vs gray side bars?

Have you noticed any difference in HD Picture quality compared to the 3250 or Pace box you had previously (some people have suggested that HD did not look as good on the 8000)

Congrats on your new box. I'm out of town for the first part of next week so no HD DVR until next Friday for me.