Anyone here have only the 50mb down RR plan from TWC? I've heard that normally if you go internet only, they put a filter at the street to block the unencrypted QAM channels, but with the 50mb plan they can't put the filter on. Wondering if that was accurate or not. If true, it would save me the issue of an antenna lol.

Yeah, I've heard that the HDHR isn't great for reception, but it's always worked for me and the network sharing is a nice benefit.


Yes, the network aspect is quite nice. So nice that when I needed to use ATSC tuners in FreeBSD, I was considering taking an old wireless router, adding some USB sticks, and writing some software to speak the HDHR protocol so that I'd essentially have a "clone" HDHR with tuners that don't suck. But then I stumbled on a project that lets Linux USB drivers work in FreeBSD, so I never got around to it..

Drew

And I'm going to miss Universal Sports. Didn't watch it much, but more than I thought I would.

Same here. A weather map is no substitute. :(

Same here. A weather map is no substitute. :(

Especially when the Directv AM21 tuner still lists the Universal Sports line-up on 17-3... Universal Sports is Directv ch. 625 if anyone has the Sports Pack, but seeing a channel go from free OTA to pay is sad.

Yeah, I've heard that the HDHR isn't great for reception, but it's always worked for me and the network sharing is a nice benefit.

You'll plug it into your extra powerline adapter and it'll be on the network. From there, you go to any PC you want to use it on, go to silicondust.com and download the software, and the PC will automatically find the HDHR if they're on the same network. It's amazingly simple and cool. Well, as long as the firewall isn't an issue. If it doesn't work at first, turn off your PC's firewall/antivirus for a moment and see if it works, then adjust settings if necessary. That stumped me for hours on my first install.

No additional cards needed, and any PC in the house can share the two tuners. And as just mentioned, it can get OTA or QAM depending on what you tell it to do, so use it to check if you have any ClearQAM channels coming through your TWC, you can supplement your OTA with whatever is coming through.

It'll make a lot more sense when your box shows up on Friday.


Alright well I've got it up and running and have TV going on my main HTPC with it. I need to go in and tweak channel names and what not, but I've got all the major networks, so that's all I really care about. Will watch the playoffs with it this weekend, and if that goes well, I'll be bringing my cable boxes in on monday and schedule the 50mb upgrade.

Congratulations! I'm sure there are a bunch of others on here also running OTA TV through their PC's and happy to help make your transition smoother, but sounds like you're well on your way. A good remote and the DVR functionality will make it so you (almost) never look back.

Congratulations! I'm sure there are a bunch of others on here also running OTA TV through their PC's and happy to help make your transition smoother, but sounds like you're well on your way. A good remote and the DVR functionality will make it so you (almost) never look back.

Well like I said, I've had HTPC's set up for a while..harmony remotes upstairs and down.

I've got it all set up now though...

http://www.silicondust.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11985&sid=3a24c8bb1cfcaf2c4fdf811c1ff97500

That thread is actually someone here in the area that wrote up a walk-through on how to add/rename/configure stations that don't come through.


Of course, once I drop cable, we'll see if they put the filter on or not when I upgrade to the 50/5 plan. If they do, I'll have to get an antenna and do it all again.


I do get some pixelation here and there, and I can't watch anything on my laptop (wireless) when the baby monitor is on lol. But I'll survive.

Installed an hdhomerun utility on my phone that shows signal strength, Data rate, etc..

When I started on the 10/1 internet service (no Cable TV service) - I found I had access to most of the local channels in clear QAM (exception being channel 11 - WTVD). There's also a few other clear QAM channels as well.

When I started on the 10/1 internet service (no Cable TV service) - I found I had access to most of the local channels in clear QAM (exception being channel 11 - WTVD). There's also a few other clear QAM channels as well.

TWC has WTVD HD mapped at like 99.3 or something crazy like that. WMC didn't find it, but I added it manually and it was fine.



I'm having ridiculous pixelation/audio breakups trying to watch the football game on NBC right now though. It's on and off..

A lot of the posts in this thread deal with how to stream internet content from a PC to a TV that also receives OTA broadcasts via antenna.

How complicated is that, and how close is that experience to just watching cable or satellite TV?

I assume that all of the connections can be done as wired connections so that everything is secure. How fast of a broadband internet connection is needed, and how much TV content is freely available over the internet?

Finally, if you use a cable TV provider for broadband internet service and you decide to not use that provider for TV, will that provider restrict the content that you can access via the internet?

It looks like we might be moving from Alamance County to Orange or Durham County sometime in the somewhat near future. Playing around on the Directv website to see what non-Raleigh DMA locals were sig-viewed in various towns, I see many towns include WGHP and WFMY, as expected. I was surprised to see many areas have WRIC ch 8 from Richmond, VA listed. Does anyone actually have this channel in NC? It's on the 119 satellite so the regular 3-LNB dish won't see it.

Finally, if you use a cable TV provider for broadband internet service and you decide to not use that provider for TV, will that provider restrict the content that you can access via the internet?

Time Warner restricts ESPN3/WatchESPN access to those who have a cable plan with ESPN (based on TWC username/password). Similarly, HBO Go would be restricted to HBO subscribers.

Outside of that, TWC doesn't restrict access to Netflix, Hulu, or similar items, although if they ever move to data caps, it could be an issue.

Time Warner restricts ESPN3/WatchESPN access to those who have a cable plan with ESPN (based on TWC username/password). Similarly, HBO Go would be restricted to HBO subscribers.

Nothing is restricted on TWC's end. The "restricting" is done by ESPN, and it is a case of ESPN not following internet practices & allowing access to everybody, or only paid subscribers. Rather they're doing something unique: they're requiring ISPs to fork over cash per broadband subscriber in order to be allowed access to ESPN. Eg, they're trying to "bundle" themselves with all broadband subscriptions, the same way they're bundled with (and increase the cost of) traditional cable plans.

TWC has a fairly unique deal. They held out for a long time & refused to pay ESPN's ransom. They finally secured a deal where they paid per cable subscriber, rather than per broadband subscriber. If what ESPN is doing becomes common practice, then we can look forward to the bad old days of cable's bundled enterainment packages when we sign up for broadband. So I applaud TWC for not caving in to ESPN. I'd much rather pay ESPN directly, like every other internet content distributor. This whole "pay per ISP" thing just leaves a terrible, rancid taste in my mouth.

FWIW, I recently moved to VA, where I now have Comcast. They did cave to ESPN, and my broadband is much more expensive than it was in NC (or it will be, once I get out of the new subscriber discount window). I'd love to know how much I'm paying ESPN. I've watched ESPN3 on my XBox360, and the quality is rather impressive. It is mostly better than analog cable, and often near HD quality. But it is streamed, and it is much more glitchy than Amazon VOD. Oh, and there are ads. Usually the same damned 3 or 4 ads every single break.

Drew

I've watched ESPN3 on my XBox360, and the quality is rather impressive. It is mostly better than analog cable, and often near HD quality. But it is streamed, and it is much more glitchy than Amazon VOD. Oh, and there are ads. Usually the same damned 3 or 4 ads every single break.

Drew


I'd love to watch ESPN3 via the Xbox but of course, TWC doesn't support it.

Nothing is restricted on TWC's end.

TWC held out for the deal with those terms, hence I'm terming it TWC's restriction. I don't think that's unfair. (They do the same thing for the Big Ten Network streaming as well, although the ESPN auth process seems to work much better.)

If what ESPN is doing becomes common practice, then we can look forward to the bad old days of cable's bundled enterainment packages when we sign up for broadband. So I applaud TWC for not caving in to ESPN.

I can't in good conscience applaud TWC for enforcing restrictions that merely incentivize people to pay for an entire cable package just to get internet stream content. It's not as if TWC wants ESPN to offer it as a pay service to any subscriber, as that takes the money out of TWC's pockets entirely.

In any case, no ads for me here with ESPN3, though.

I can't in good conscience applaud TWC for enforcing restrictions that merely incentivize people to pay for an entire cable package just to get internet stream content. It's not as if TWC wants ESPN to offer it as a pay service to any subscriber, as that takes the money out of TWC's pockets entirely.


I think its toward the middle of the evil spectrum. Eg:

- ISP's pay per-subscriber for access to ESPN3 (most evil)
- ISP's tie access to ESPN3 to cable ESPN subscription (slightly less evil)
- ESPN learns how to handle money, like all the other streaming services, and people subscribe if they want to (not evil).

I have to say it does suck that they haven't figured out the XBox360 authentication thing. Having dealt with MS from a "partner" perspective at work, I'd be 99.9% sure that ESPN needed some sort of API change to support what they want, and MS has promised to roll it out "in the next update" which takes years sometimes. Though why they just cannot use whatever mechanism Netflix uses baffles me.


In any case, no ads for me here with ESPN3, though.

I wonder if comcast or MS is inserting them? I've only watched a few things, and all of them were live..

Drew

I watch a show on WRDC on my non-HD TV. It's one I've watched for years. Since the change to HD, the audio on the show is terrible. The TV is on TimeWarner cable. The problem is either with TW or with the TV station. Does anybody have a clue what's going on? The sound is very brittle, and it's the same on every TV in the house.

Veedon "A lot of the posts in this thread deal with how to stream internet content from a PC to a TV that also receives OTA broadcasts via antenna.

How complicated is that, and how close is that experience to just watching cable or satellite TV?"

You will find links to what appears to be Streamed ABC, NBC , and so on. But typically the links just take you directly to the ABC website that has a subset of the full days broadcast that you can stream. They are great for catching up on a prime time show you missed like "Panam" :)

There are acceptions but they are not always easy to find or legal.

There are options with XBMC but not always reliable options. i.e. Freecable

Unless of course you are talking UVers which I do not know much about accept it is not free :)

Anyone here have only the 50mb down RR plan from TWC? I've heard that normally if you go internet only, they put a filter at the street to block the unencrypted QAM channels, but with the 50mb plan they can't put the filter on. Wondering if that was accurate or not. If true, it would save me the issue of an antenna lol.

To answer my own question, the guy just left, I now have 50/5 roadrunner, and I still have my unencrypted QAM through my HDHomeRun. Life is good!


Also, the tech I had was very nice. I told him from the start I wanted to use my networking equipment. He said no problem, gave me the admin login to the modem and told me how to switch it to bridge mode and told me how to reset it in case I wanted to use their wireless.

You have all your locals from the clearqam? I have the normal RR and get all clearqam above channel 83, but nothing lower. So no PBS, WTVD, or some others, but get NBC 17, WRAL, and WRAZ. That'd be interesting to know that difference. Glad the TV setup is working out for you.

You have all your locals from the clearqam? I have the normal RR and get all clearqam above channel 83, but nothing lower. So no PBS, WTVD, or some others, but get NBC 17, WRAL, and WRAZ. That'd be interesting to know that difference. Glad the TV setup is working out for you.

I've got PBS, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, CW, MyRDU, News Channel 14, WGN, Ion, Various subchannels (Cool TV, Live Well, etc). I have some I haven't mapped cause I don't have interest (religious channel, BET)..

There are some others but I really don't watch anything past the networks and pbs to be honest.

I have been having break ups / low signal issues this morning, but I don't know if that's my network giving issues this morning or what.

You have all your locals from the clearqam? I have the normal RR and get all clearqam above channel 83, but nothing lower. So no PBS, WTVD, or some others, but get NBC 17, WRAL, and WRAZ. That'd be interesting to know that difference. Glad the TV setup is working out for you.

WTVD is ch. 87-7 for me on QAM, but I am not in the official Raleigh DMA. Weird that I would have it and you wouldn't!

WTVD is ch. 87-7 for me on QAM, but I am not in the official Raleigh DMA. Weird that I would have it and you wouldn't!

99.1 here I believe in Cary

I've got PBS, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, CW, MyRDU, News Channel 14, WGN, Ion, Various subchannels (Cool TV, Live Well, etc). I have some I haven't mapped cause I don't have interest (religious channel, BET)..

There are some others but I really don't watch anything past the networks and pbs to be honest.

I have been having break ups / low signal issues this morning, but I don't know if that's my network giving issues this morning or what.
What's the deal with TWC and clear QAM? Is it less reliable than TWC's digital cable package? If the signals are coming via cable rather than over the air, why should there be any pixelation or any break up at all?

What's the deal with TWC and clear QAM? Is it less reliable than TWC's digital cable package? If the signals are coming via cable rather than over the air, why should there be any pixelation or any break up at all?

Well anything coming from cable is still compressed, where over the air isn't, but my issues are/were most likely my internal network.

The TWC Installer that was out to do my internet on Friday, when we got talking about getting an antenna, he said something like "yeah, I was surprised at how good the networks looked over the air compared to our stuff". I had to explain to him that TWC stuff was compressed, and OTA isn't..

Well anything coming from cable is still compressed, where over the air isn't, but my issues are/were most likely my internal network.

The TWC Installer that was out to do my internet on Friday, when we got talking about getting an antenna, he said something like "yeah, I was surprised at how good the networks looked over the air compared to our stuff". I had to explain to him that TWC stuff was compressed, and OTA isn't..

OTA is compressed... But cable and satellite are just usually compressed more.

Well anything coming from cable is still compressed, where over the air isn't, but my issues are/were most likely my internal network.

The TWC Installer that was out to do my internet on Friday, when we got talking about getting an antenna, he said something like "yeah, I was surprised at how good the networks looked over the air compared to our stuff". I had to explain to him that TWC stuff was compressed, and OTA isn't..

At least here in Raleigh, It would appear that TWC is not doing additional compression of locals. I have two TiVo's with one recording OTA and the other recording cable. Filesizes for broadcast shows shows are nearly identical between the two. For example.. Blue Bloods showed 5.74 GB via OTA and 5.79 for cable. I expect those differences to be explainable by the difference between a TiVo S3 and a Premier reporting methods.

As far as compression, whenever I compare the bit rates of the Raleigh OTA and TWC QAM feeds simultaneously using my HDHomerun, they look identical. So identical bit rates, but for quality, video looks indistinguishable to me, but the audio is different (OTA is louder and superior), so I don't know how that works.
At my house I get both Raleigh and Greensboro OTA stations, and when I compare bit rates of those for the same major network shows, invariably the Greensboro stations are higher bit rates. Generally they're close, say 13 mbps for Raleigh and 14-15 for Greensboro, but for ABC I see WTVD at 6-7 mbps and WXLV at 15 mbps. Those two have a visual quality difference. All so we can have the Live Well subchannel I guess.
If anyone knows the logistics of how TWC and OTA have similar bit rates but different perceptible audio quality, I'd love to learn how it works.

Well shows what I know lol

I like the Live Well HD subchannel on WTVD, and the main ABC channel still looks fine to me. They could get rid of the standard definition Live Well channel, though. Why have two subchannels showing the same programming?

...So identical bit rates, but for quality, video looks indistinguishable to me, but the audio is different (OTA is louder and superior), so I don't know how that works.
...

One possibility is that with OTA, your playback system is using the 2-channel stereo audio track while with QAM, your playback system is using the 5.1-channel surround sound audio track.

Some of the locals channels include both (at least they have done so in QAM in the past) and the stereo track typically sounds louder.

Curious what you all are paying for 50/5 (or even 30/5) without any other cable services. I'm considering ditching cable but have run into issues with antenna placement. I'd like to use 1 or 2 antennas to feed the whole house, but that's proving to be difficult to get the channels off the tower in Clayton and still get PBS (I'm in Garner). I would put one in my attic but it has radiant barrier in it (basically filled with Tin Foil) so I can't imagine that would be great (any suggestions on placement would be great). It would be great if these channels would still be available via TWC QAM after I cancel service.

for a privately owned home. there are generally few things that could prevent you from sticking an antenna outside, where they belong.
See the OTARD of the FCC

BTW - I have the same foil sheathing issue - my antennas are outside above the roof where they work great.

Curious what you all are paying for 50/5 (or even 30/5) without any other cable services. I'm considering ditching cable but have run into issues with antenna placement. I'd like to use 1 or 2 antennas to feed the whole house, but that's proving to be difficult to get the channels off the tower in Clayton and still get PBS (I'm in Garner). I would put one in my attic but it has radiant barrier in it (basically filled with Tin Foil) so I can't imagine that would be great (any suggestions on placement would be great). It would be great if these channels would still be available via TWC QAM after I cancel service.

50/5 is ~100 plus taxes 30/5 is around ~80-85 I believe.

Curious what you all are paying for 50/5 (or even 30/5) without any other cable services. I'm considering ditching cable but have run into issues with antenna placement. I'd like to use 1 or 2 antennas to feed the whole house, but that's proving to be difficult to get the channels off the tower in Clayton and still get PBS (I'm in Garner). I would put one in my attic but it has radiant barrier in it (basically filled with Tin Foil) so I can't imagine that would be great (any suggestions on placement would be great). It would be great if these channels would still be available via TWC QAM after I cancel service.

$77 for 30/5 service. I did not have QAM when I last checked. I have an antenna, and do all my TV watching over it or from Netflix/Amazon or from Blu-Rays/DVDs.

I'm in Fayetteville and use TWC HD (for about 2 years now with no problem). For the last week or so, I am hearing a buzzing in my surround speakers (like a cracked tweeter) on WRAL. It's not all the time, just when there is significant surround activity or music on shows like CSI or NCIS. It is not present on any other channels or on other audio or video sources.
Anyone else noticing this or have any idea what might be causing it? It's VERY annoying!:confused:

I'm in Fayetteville and use TWC HD (for about 2 years now with no problem). For the last week or so, I am hearing a buzzing in my surround speakers (like a cracked tweeter) on WRAL. It's not all the time, just when there is significant surround activity or music on shows like CSI or NCIS. It is not present on any other channels or on other audio or video sources.
Anyone else noticing this or have any idea what might be causing it? It's VERY annoying!:confused:

I have not heard any buzzing on WRAL via OTA. However, when we had TWC, I experienced a similar buzzing on TWC on ESPN, ESPN2, and one of the SD-only sports channels in the 500s in the surrounds on occasion.

99.1 here I believe in Cary

WTVD & Livewell just vanished on me (as well as news channel 14, all were on 99.x)

Welcome to the world of ClearQAM and switched digital video without a tuning adapter. TWC moves channels from time to time, so another channel scan may find where the channels are today. It's a reason I opted for antenna, because those channels don't move. The first time Bachelor didn't tape for the wife because I didn't realize WTVD had moved I realized I had to have a better solution for me, but if you don't mind another rescan from time to time, you should be fine.

WTVD & Livewell just vanished on me (as well as news channel 14, all were on 99.x)
The channel assignment switching wasn't horrible, but enough for me to get an antenna setup that covers what I needed and if necessary still have clear QAM there if need it (say for the TV in my garage).

Oh, I knew what I was getting into. I've rescanned, and haven't found them, however. I was hoping maybe someone here had :).

I'm hesitant on getting an antenna because I'm in a an end-unit town home and it's the far end from the Garner antenna farm. Unless I could get something I could easily stick up on a bookshelf on the second floor and it picks up everything (which I doubt is going to be possible), I really don't have much of an option right now.

There are some indoor antennas that do a pretty good job within 30 miles of the transmitters, especially at night. The problem with indoor antennas, though, is that they have trouble during bad weather.

Oh, I knew what I was getting into. I've rescanned, and haven't found them, however. I was hoping maybe someone here had :).

I'm hesitant on getting an antenna because I'm in a an end-unit town home and it's the far end from the Garner antenna farm. Unless I could get something I could easily stick up on a bookshelf on the second floor and it picks up everything (which I doubt is going to be possible), I really don't have much of an option right now.

You check the mapping on silcondust website? I lost WTVD in Morrisville a year or so ago, it may have gone below the channel trap or close to it. Anyways, I see they do have an amplified version of the Leaf antenna (which I want to give a try). I've helped a few buddies with getting the regular leaf setup (Cary, Fuquay, and Raleigh) and it worked surprisingly well.

You check the mapping on silcondust website? I lost WTVD in Morrisville a year or so ago, it may have gone below the channel trap or close to it. Anyways, I see they do have an amplified version of the Leaf antenna (which I want to give a try). I've helped a few buddies with getting the regular leaf setup (Cary, Fuquay, and Raleigh) and it worked surprisingly well.


Silicondust site still shows the 99.x stations for it. I tried a regular leaf and couldn't get anything. I'm in no rush really, I don't need ABC immediately. Hopefully it'll reappear, otherwise I'll look into an antenna.

Well I am far from any sort of video or audiophile, just try to get things that work well for my situation. In this case, I needed something cool for upstairs which is primarily for some video gaming action and watching movies, mostly for the kids (and me, or course). All while keeping it kid-friendly (i.e. my 8 year old needs to work the equip, keeping the little ones out of jacking with every button and light).

Before->https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0opt0c3W_D4/TxyQvw33B0I/AAAAAAAAB40/PzBEfKjxkkQ/s1024/IMG_1899.JPG

The upstairs bonus room was pre-wired for 5.1 and had a nice cut-out (10 feet) along the main wall. I had just a table to hold the TV and xbox with zero surround setup. Room was painted and I ended up installing a shelving system (some shelves to hold A/V components), a bunch of pull out baskets (for dinosaurs, hot wheels, and star wars figures) moved the TV to the wall, and got a new sectional.

I got the Onkyno HT-S4500 7.1 AVR, new xbox (serves as 7MC extender), Panny DMP-BDT210 BR player. I also got a LED backlighting kit, a power strip with a master control outlet, speaker mounts, and some wire hides (10 feet of small stuff for speaker wires, some larger 1" hides for HDMI, power, etc.). Kept my old but still kicking 42" plasma and the kid favorite Wii.

I have 3 tuners hooked up to a Leaf antenna mounted in my attic that feed my HTPC downstairs to deliver content to the TV upstairs via the Xbox360.

Since I had the 5.1 prewire (with high wall locations for both the front and rear speakers) I figured I would take the chance to setup a Dolby IIz speaker configuration (8 channel with front left and right height speakers). I installed the rear and front height channels the same way I did downstairs, using the wall plate receptacle to mount the bracket to. I then hooked up the LED backlight kit, installed the cable hides behind my shelving unit and hooked it all up. I used the power strip with a master controller which served a few purposes - I used the TV as the master controller, so nothing else has any power in standby mode, so the LED backlight is only on when the TV is on and also prevents the little ones from turning anything on (since they can't reach the TV power switch).

After->https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-iMz3F1BXPUg/TxyP0JFgGCI/AAAAAAAAB4Y/4MYS_H5m9Fk/s1024/DSC_0038.JPG

I'm really happy with how it came out. I still need to do my speaker and TV color calibration, but man, video games sound awesome as well as the BluRays. Those front height speaker do produce a wall of sound. This should work for now until I pull the trigger on either a bigger display or projector. Anyways, just wanted to share, here's the link to some more pics (https://picasaweb.google.com/schisler/201201UpstarisHomeTheaterSetup?authuser=0&feat=directlink)!

Silicondust site still shows the 99.x stations for it. I tried a regular leaf and couldn't get anything. I'm in no rush really, I don't need ABC immediately. Hopefully it'll reappear, otherwise I'll look into an antenna.

Well that stinks. I remember when WTVD disappeared, it was gone for a long time...I haven't plugged a TV in to the cable feed in a while so maybe it finally got resolved here, but the same thing happened down at my parents in Fuquay-Varina and eventually led to an antenna install.

Nice set up! I saw the first pic and missed the "before" and was thinking yikes! lol. Then I scrolled down ;)

Nice set up! I saw the first pic and missed the "before" and was thinking yikes! lol. Then I scrolled down ;)
Ha! Now that was funny.

Silicondust site still shows the 99.x stations for it. I tried a regular leaf and couldn't get anything. I'm in no rush really, I don't need ABC immediately. Hopefully it'll reappear, otherwise I'll look into an antenna.

I believe they moved one of the locals way down into the 100 Mhz region. I will check tonight and post.

Over the weekend, I installed a CableCard in an older Sony which has been downgraded to the bedroom. It had a CableCard years ago before SDV, and I was able to get a dozen or so HD channels on top of the clear QAMs. I was disappointed that the only HD channels that the card currently supports are USA, TNT, ESPN, FoxNews, HBO, SHO. Anybody else getting more?

nitdawg,

That sure looks nice !!!! I had to feed up from crawl space for my four upper speakers. It was not pretty. Each one had its own unique issues. Two outside walls had insulation to deal with. Inside wall were "Where are the studs?? Oh and all the darn water lines in the wall for the upstairs- was that ever scary.

nitdawg,

That sure looks nice !!!! I had to feed up from crawl space for my four upper speakers. It was not pretty. Each one had its own unique issues. Two outside walls had insulation to deal with. Inside wall were "Where are the studs?? Oh and all the darn water lines in the wall for the upstairs- was that ever scary.

Yikes. I was fortunate to have wiring pre-installed when we had the house built. Now, I did not know much about surround sound setups when I got it all done (a few years ago) or I might have changed up speaker locations. The extra side channels for a 7.1 prewire were 3x the price of the 5.1 (no clue why), but it did make the speaker setup upstairs and a smaller setup downstairs pretty easy. Plus, with having the front L and R so high on my walls it was an easy choice to give the Dolby IIz setup a try.

Silicondust site still shows the 99.x stations for it. I tried a regular leaf and couldn't get anything. I'm in no rush really, I don't need ABC immediately. Hopefully it'll reappear, otherwise I'll look into an antenna.

ABC is now at 117Mhz (which is channel 99) PID 1E1

ABC is now at 117Mhz (which is channel 99) PID 1E1

I have to admit I have no idea what this means lol. I'm pretty new to the world of non-cable. All I know is that with my HDHomerun and TWC's QAM in Cary, WTVD-HD was 99.1, Live Well was 99.2. Now the 99's are not there and I'm not quite sure how to tune something else. I've rescanned, but nothing new shows up.

Over the weekend, I installed a CableCard in an older Sony which has been downgraded to the bedroom. It had a CableCard years ago before SDV, and I was able to get a dozen or so HD channels on top of the clear QAMs. I was disappointed that the only HD channels that the card currently supports are USA, TNT, ESPN, FoxNews, HBO, SHO. Anybody else getting more?

Unlikely, in my experience pretty much all of the HD channels are SDV. At one point the news channels were in Clear-QAM+SDV, so they would appear at random locations depending on what the neighbors were watching if you did a channel scan.

Maybe this is why WTVD isn't showing up...
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/154563/

^

"Posted: April 30, 2000"

Dope...:o:o

Got a response from the WTVD Transmitter Supervisor which confirms what was posted earlier...their new frequency is trapped at the street

We are on QAM Channel 99, but unfortunately, unless you’re a TV subscriber the filtering that they have in their system blocks us out.
Back when we were on QAM Channel 78, this was not the case as that is outside their filtering, like every other local Channel on their system. Unfortunately, we had to move from that channel due to interference. They must provide all local channels in the clear for their subscribers per the Must Carry Rule, but unless you are a subscriber, they do not have to. If you are the most basic television subscriber, they have to remove that filtering and then you would be able to see QAM Channel 99.

Got a response from the WTVD Transmitter Supervisor which confirms what was posted earlier...their new frequency is trapped at the street

I'm not trapped, and I was getting it just fine at 99.1 until last week when I posted.

I dunno!

I am having signal issues with MY RDC. On my Directv AM21, the OTA signal meter reads in the 65-95% range for all UHF Raleigh channels, usually WRDC is in the low end of that range. It's reading the usual 99-100% for WUNC, and the usual 40s% for WTVD but WRDC has been in the 25-35% range for the past few days and is all blocky.

Anyone else seeing lower signal quality on MY RDC? It is actually a little worse on the other TV which just has a converter box.

I am having signal issues with MY RDC. On my Directv AM21, the OTA signal meter reads in the 65-95% range for all UHF Raleigh channels, usually WRDC is in the low end of that range. It's reading the usual 99-100% for WUNC, and the usual 40s% for WTVD but WRDC has been in the 25-35% range for the past few days and is all blocky.

Anyone else seeing lower signal quality on MY RDC? It is actually a little worse on the other TV which just has a converter box.I'm 65 miles out and still have 75% signal strength on 28.

Got a response from the WTVD Transmitter Supervisor which confirms what was posted earlier...their new frequency is trapped at the street
Well, I guess if you're not subscribing to cable TV at all, you really don't have a legitimate complaint about not being able to get QAM channels. What I want to know, though, is how TWC can keep digital cable subscribers when it does not even guarantee picture quality that is as good as what you can get by antenna.

I am having signal issues with MY RDC. On my Directv AM21, the OTA signal meter reads in the 65-95% range for all UHF Raleigh channels, usually WRDC is in the low end of that range. It's reading the usual 99-100% for WUNC, and the usual 40s% for WTVD but WRDC has been in the 25-35% range for the past few days and is all blocky.

Anyone else seeing lower signal quality on MY RDC? It is actually a little worse on the other TV which just has a converter box.

I am over 90 miles out, and see WRDC before I see any of the others on the tower. It's coming in loud and clear right now.

Well, I guess if you're not subscribing to cable TV at all, you really don't have a legitimate complaint about not being able to get QAM channels. What I want to know, though, is how TWC can keep digital cable subscribers when it does not even guarantee picture quality that is as good as what you can get by antenna.

Why do you believe that TWC's locals are not as good quality as OTA? Filesizes are nearly identical between OTA and Cable indicating that TWC is not doing additional compression.

Why do you believe that TWC's locals are not as good quality as OTA? Filesizes are nearly identical between OTA and Cable indicating that TWC is not doing additional compression.
Maybe I'm not an objective judge since my experience with TWC digital has only been with the digital QAM channels not with the digital cable package, and I have found and heard from others that the QAM channels are not as reliable as one would think and sometimes don't look as good as the OTA broadcasts.

Perhaps when people fork over money for digital cable, the digital cable box does a better job than most QAM tuners on TV sets. Either that or TWC doesn't want basic cable subscribers to have good QAM channels.

I really dislike the idea of anybody having to have a special box to receive signals. The government should have forced all of the cable companies to promote cable cards a long time ago rather than letting them be so greedy for profits.

I really dislike the idea of anybody having to have a special box to receive signals. The government should have forced all of the cable companies to promote cable cards a long time ago rather than letting them be so greedy for profits.

If you live around these parts you will always need a special box to receive TWC signals outside of OTA transmissions.

If you live around these parts you will always need a special box to receive TWC signals outside of OTA transmissions.

I don't know about Carrboro or wherever you are, but I believe the TWC Raleigh-Durham-Cary service area still offers unencrypted analog cable, so there are dozens of non-OTA channels that come over TWC (the Basic Cable package) that do not need a special box.

Their web site makes it rather difficult to find that, but it is still there (not that it is very interesting at $70/month). It might go away at the first opportunity, e.g. a month from now when broadcast locals no longer need to be provided in analog (or with free convertor boxes) and they might kill all of the analog service at the same time.

When we first got Directv, we still had TWC for 2 days at the same time. My gf cares the least about PQ of anyone I have ever met and barely notices the difference. The FIRST thing she said when we turned on Directv was "WOW, look at that picture!" We switched back and forth between different HD channels (locals, cable, HBO) and it was night-and-day, especially with sports action. Even now, with only QAM, it is noticeable with the HD locals that TWC pic is worse.

WRDC is stable again for me, but still very low on the signal meter. Perhaps there is something that is interfering with it. I often get interference on NBC17 from Fox21 out of Roanoke (both RF17) but I don't know what could be messing with WRDC.

Also, we still have WTVD on QAM, ch 87.7.

When we first got Directv, we still had TWC for 2 days at the same time. My gf cares the least about PQ of anyone I have ever met and barely notices the difference. The FIRST thing she said when we turned on Directv was "WOW, look at that picture!" We switched back and forth between different HD channels (locals, cable, HBO) and it was night-and-day, especially with sports action. Even now, with only QAM, it is noticeable with the HD locals that TWC pic is worse.


That sounds somewhat surprising. Are you sure it wasn't just a consequence of different picture settings on different inputs?

In the whole time I lived in Cary, I never noticed any PQ difference between QAM and ATSC. The only difference I noticed was when TWC would re-shuffle the QAM channels, and all my QAM recordings would fail. That's why I put up an antenna.

Hmmm... Does DirectTV give you WTVD, or does it give you a different ABC affiliate? WTVD overly compresses the ABC HD signal to make room for its secondary HD subchannel. Nearly any other ABC affiliate will look better. When I lived in Cary, I had an antenna pointing to Greensboro to get the triad ABC (WXLV).

Drew

Dish (at least) does not offer the subchannels from the Dish. But otherwise - you should be able to view them.

That sounds somewhat surprising. Are you sure it wasn't just a consequence of different picture settings on different inputs?

In the whole time I lived in Cary, I never noticed any PQ difference between QAM and ATSC. The only difference I noticed was when TWC would re-shuffle the QAM channels, and all my QAM recordings would fail. That's why I put up an antenna.

Hmmm... Does DirectTV give you WTVD, or does it give you a different ABC affiliate? WTVD overly compresses the ABC HD signal to make room for its secondary HD subchannel. Nearly any other ABC affiliate will look better. When I lived in Cary, I had an antenna pointing to Greensboro to get the triad ABC (WXLV).

Drew

The settings are identical on all three of my HDMI inputs. From what I have seen, cable PQ varies SIGNIFICANTLY from town to town, even street to street. I might just be on a bad section. My friend in Graham has worse PQ on TWC then I ever had, but people in Chapel Hill have pretty nice PQ from what I have seen.

Directv does give us WTVD in Alamance County but only in SD, although I do not receive it anymore because we "moved" to Lexington to be within the 75 miles of Charlotte that Directv provides Bobcats games. I have WTVD and all Raleigh channels (with subchannels and Greensboro subs) OTA via the AM21 tuner. For those who don't know, an AM21 is an add-on box that connects to Directv DVRs that puts OTA signals into your guide and allows you to DVR and tune to them as if they were part of your subscription. Because of the "move" we also have WSOC Charlotte (sadly, only in SD). We have WFMY, WGHP, WSOC (via the "move"), (should have) WTVD, WXII, WGPX, WCWG, WUNL, WUNL-EX, WMYV, and WXLV provided as locals on Directv here. But I add WUNC, WRAL, WTVD, WNCN, WLFL, WUVC, WTNC, WLXI, WGSR, and WRAZ and mostly all subs with the AM21.

I'll agree about the over-compressed WTVD pic. WHY DO THEY HAD AN HD SUBCHANNEL AND THE SAME THING REPEATED IN SD!!???!?! I have never seen WTVD on Directv in HD so I can't comment on that. The thing about WXLV that makes me upset is that they are only HD during network stuff, syndicated is still up-coverted SD. They told me in an email that they were going all-HD this year.

I don't know about Carrboro or wherever you are, but I believe the TWC Raleigh-Durham-Cary service area still offers unencrypted analog cable, so there are dozens of non-OTA channels that come over TWC (the Basic Cable package) that do not need a special box.

Analog cable? I wouldn't watch an analog channel any more than I would watch a stretched pan and scan movie edited for time and content.

Analog has no value in this decade and it only serves to be a blight on bandwidth in this area.

Has anyone used combiner to combine two antennas where one antenna is more or less just used for UNC PBS? I tried using one before all the frequencies changed but PBS and 5.1 did not get along. Just wondering if anyone has tried since.

Don, when you say 'combiner', do you mean splitter in reverse? If that did not work, you can get what is called a join-a-tenna, where you buy a type of splitter that for one port is all band, and for the other port it would be tuned for channel 25 which is PBS I believe out of Chapel Hill now.

Analog cable? I wouldn't watch an analog channel any more than I would watch a stretched pan and scan movie edited for time and content.

Analog has no value in this decade and it only serves to be a blight on bandwidth in this area.
I agree that digital signals provide better pictures (both in SD and in HD) than analog signals. That's why I like having the ability to get digital signals OTA. However, I am not at all convinced that TWC provides good value for the money that it charges for digital cable, and I find it especially annoying that its business model is based on giving new customers better deals than existing customers.

I agree that digital signals provide better pictures (both in SD and in HD) than analog signals. That's why I like having the ability to get digital signals OTA. However, I am not at all convinced that TWC provides good value for the money that it charges for digital cable, and I find it especially annoying that its business model is based on giving new customers better deals than existing customers.

TWC doesn't provide good value, but if you want those deals they are easy to get. Phone and ask for a customer retention specialist and say you are cancelling unless you get one of those deals.

Alternatively if you use Facebook post your comments on there and I guarantee within a day or two someone will be calling offering you the deal you want.

It's sad that you have to know these tricks, but TWC never value their customers unless they leave. Far easier to just suck their customer base dry.

Has anyone used combiner to combine two antennas where one antenna is more or less just used for UNC PBS? I tried using one before all the frequencies changed but PBS and 5.1 did not get along. Just wondering if anyone has tried since.
The only time that I have heard of people using a combiner is when one antenna is suited mainly for UHF signals and they want to add a second antenna that is more suited to VHF. Otherwise, why not use a rotor?

About WUNC, does anyone know how strong the WUNC fill-in translator in Garner is? I think it operates on RF 30 while the Chapel Hill transmitter is RF 25.

TWC doesn't provide good value, but if you want those deals they are easy to get. Phone and ask for a customer retention specialist and say you are cancelling unless you get one of those deals.

Alternatively if you use Facebook post your comments on there and I guarantee within a day or two someone will be calling offering you the deal you want.

It's sad that you have to know these tricks, but TWC never value their customers unless they leave. Far easier to just suck their customer base dry.
It's a good suggestion, but doing that would make feel as though I'm just going along with a business model that I abhor and also just leading TWC to raise its rates sooner or stick it to some other person who has never even thought of playing the haggling game.

It's just TV, for crying out loud. It's not a car. The way I figure it, I'll just stick with analog cable until TWC discontinues it or finally realizes that its product is not a necessity and offers some cheaper digital programming packages than it now offers.

The only time that I have heard of people using a combiner is when one antenna is suited mainly for UHF signals and they want to add a second antenna that is more suited to VHF. Otherwise, why not use a rotor?

About WUNC, does anyone know how strong the WUNC fill-in translator in Garner is? I think it operates on RF 30 while the Chapel Hill transmitter is RF 25.

I have combined two indoor antennas... One is a directional Terk antenna, the other is a small omni-directional UHF that I need to pick up PBS.

As to "why not use a rotor"...

First... rotors have to be turned, and it may not be convenient to use with say a Dish or DirecTV DVR if you want to set a timer to record an OTA channel that you need to also turn the rotor to receive.

Second... rotors are notorious for getting out of alignment due to wind... so you can find your indoor indicator not in sync with where the outdoor antenna is actually pointed. I find it much more attractive to combine a couple of antennas and lock them down when optimized.

The only time that I have heard of people using a combiner is when one antenna is suited mainly for UHF signals and they want to add a second antenna that is more suited to VHF. Otherwise, why not use a rotor?

About WUNC, does anyone know how strong the WUNC fill-in translator in Garner is? I think it operates on RF 30 while the Chapel Hill transmitter is RF 25.

The pattern RF30 is transmitting is almost an arrow towards Raleigh - I don't get it in Youngsville, while i do get 25 out of Chapel Hill and 36 from Roanoke Rapids, Sometimes I get a 23 that translates to 25.

1. when you say 'combiner', do you mean splitter in reverse? If that did not work, you can get what is called a join-a-tenna, where you buy a type of splitter that for one port is all band, and for the other port it would be tuned for channel 25 which is PBS I believe out of Chapel Hill now.

2. The only time that I have heard of people using a combiner is when one antenna is suited mainly for UHF signals and they want to add a second antenna that is more suited to VHF. Otherwise, why not use a rotor?


3. I have combined two indoor antennas... One is a directional Terk antenna, the other is a small omni-directional UHF that I need to pick up PBS.
------------------

1. Join-a-tenna is what I meant. I can never remember that name although I own one from Pre Broadcast Frequency Changes.

2.Why not use a Rotor? - mostly same reason as other poster - timed recordings and in my case limited room in my attic. - And timed recording is why I am rethinking using a "Join-a-tenna". I has the situation on Sunday where the Better Half wanted to watch PBS but at the same time wanted to watch at a later date ABC Hallmark. So I recorded Hallmark. Unfortunately the Antenna I had connected to both tuners was the one connected to the PBS pointing Antenna. Needless to say ABC got recorded with tons of pixelation and barely any audio. That is why I am rethinking a Join-a-tenna. Just curious if anyone else had gone this route with any success.

3. Did you use a reverse splitter or a Join-a-tenna ? Splitters are cheap but Join-a-tenna can get pricey. Especially if they do nothing for you like my last one.

Thanks to everyone for their comments.

I should also have mentioned... since my antennas are indoor ones, I am just using a splitter in reverse because of convenience.

IF I ever get around to putting up a proper outdoor antenna configuration, then I might do something different to combine those antennas... but I would still probably need two antennas to get what I want to get.

HDMe2,

So a combiner has been working well for you? I have not tried a reverse splitter since before the stations got their frequencies reordered. Maybe I should revisit this.,

I am tired of depending on a Remote A/B switch to choose between the two.

I must be one of the few lucky ones where I have a rotor, but I don't need to turn it unless I want to watch the Triangle stations. I just keep my antenna pointing southwest toward Wilmington and receive them, plus New Bern, Washington, and Greenville from the north. All the networks are accounted for. The only way I get CW or MyTV in HD though, is to pick up 22 and 28. I also like Antenna TV which is only on 17. Nobody closer carries it.

I am so far behind the times that I didn't even think about DVRs when I mentioned using a rotor. I haven't recorded anything in years. Even when VCR's were popular, I rarely used them for recording.

Veedon. The way the technology accelerates along means you are probably only five minutes behind :)

Hello all. Longtime lurker, VERY infrequent poster. Thank you to all the regular contributors, as this forum thread has helped me with TWC and Clearqam over the past 1.5 years.

Tired of not being able to find WTVD in HD on TWC Clearqam (in Raleigh, near North Hills), I ordered a Mohu Leaf this week. I've never done a roof mounted antenna, while my indoor antenna experience has kept me from getting UNC-TV at all and WTVD on a consistent basis. Wife's desire to watch the Oscars on ABC later this month prompted the antenna purchase.

Plugged Leaf into an aging Samsung DTB-H260F set top tuner. Mounted it inside to an east facing, exterior wall by a window at a height of 10 feet over ground level (255 ft above sea level). Garner tower is 13 miles away SSE. Got all majors including ABC. Problem solved.

Now, I'm greedy and would like to turn in PBS, as a backup to QAM. Is there any chance of UNC-TV (w/o an amplifier) but mounting the leaf in the attic? Raleigh UNC repeater is half power (dbm) of the others that I receive, and Chapel Hill tower is 30 miles away and 2Edge.

Thank you for any advice, Arnold

Again, thank you to this community for sharing your experience.

Higher is almost always better, getting antennas outside helps, good RG6 cable, but in the end - you'll probably need either an amp and/or a rotor and /or a better antenna.

Arnold, I like the Winegard HD8800 UHF antenna. It is light, and has a lot of gain to it for the lower channels like PBS in your area, and wind resistant if you put it outside on the roof or the side peak. Also the price is good at solidsignal.com

Thank you both for your quick replies. I probably would have gone onto the roof a couple of years ago, but I discovered that my TWC internet-only line didn't have a trap on it. With a new antenna (even though it's an indoor Mohu Leaf), it increased my desire to make the OTA option really work completely.

I'll check out the Winegard that you recommended, jspENC.

Mr Ziffel,

Samsung DTB-H260F - Interesting. I still use mine everyday. I see on Ebay a used one for $139.00 . I got my first Samsung which was the first gen Digital Tuner for a Dollar off of Ebay and free shipping. I sold it a year later for $25.00

My DTB-H260F occasionally loses signal and I have to power cycle it. It appears to be caused when I select the EPG and it gets some bad data. Other then that it just keeps chugging along.

Thank you both for your quick replies. I probably would have gone onto the roof a couple of years ago, but I discovered that my TWC internet-only line didn't have a trap on it. With a new antenna (even though it's an indoor Mohu Leaf), it increased my desire to make the OTA option really work completely.

I'll check out the Winegard that you recommended, jspENC.

The problem in the RDU area is that WUNCs tower is in one place, and all the others are elsehwere. The antenna that has been suggested to you is a directional antenna, and is designed only to get the stations in the direction it is pointed. Hopefully, you'd be able to get the WUNC repeater from Garner, but that is not likely. Meaning you'd need a rotor, or some kind of a 2 antenna setup like DonB was asking about. There is also hope that you could aim the antenna at Garner, and get WUNC off the back, as sometimes these directional antennas also have a smaller gain area 180 degrees from where they are pointed. I did this for a while with a CM4228 before the digital transition, when WUNC-HD was in the mid 50s, and it wasn't reliable for me.

I eventually got 2 CM4288s. One for the Garner towers, and one for WUNC & several Greensboro stations (mainly WXLV ABC) that broadcast less compressed signals. I "combined" them via a media center PC where I had several tuner cards, some connected to each antenna.

So, if you run coax to your attic or roof, it would be worth running 2 or 3 coax cables, "just in case".

Drew

Outdoor antennas work best, buy you might try Antennas Direct if you want an amplified indoor antenna. I have one of their Micron models that I bought at a local store. The antenna claims a range of 25 miles. I'm in NW Raleigh about 25 miles from the WUNC transmitter in Chapel Hill, and the antenna brings that station in fine most of the time. In fact, it does a pretty good job for all of the Raleigh market stations (as long as the weather is not horrible) except WRPX, which is hit or miss, and it occasionally gets Greensboro stations.

Is the 17-3 Weather Channel a thing of the past? I see 17-1 and 17-2 just fine but 17-3 says "Searching for signal" despite showing program info.

Is the 17-3 Weather Channel a thing of the past? I see 17-1 and 17-2 just fine but 17-3 says "Searching for signal" despite showing program info.

I had to rescan tonight after moving... (really moving, not "moving")... and I noticed that I too lost 17.3 and wondered if it was a fluke or if they truly dropped it.

Could also be they dropped it for the Superbowl this weekend to increase bandwidth to the 17.1 HD channel too and maybe not permanent?

I had to rescan tonight after moving... (really moving, not "moving")... and I noticed that I too lost 17.3 and wondered if it was a fluke or if they truly dropped it.

Could also be they dropped it for the Superbowl this weekend to increase bandwidth to the 17.1 HD channel too and maybe not permanent?

Good point. I didn't think of that. I haven't decided if I am going to watch the Super Bowl on WXII or WNCN. I hope NBC is on top of their game tomorrow; sometimes football looks "blocky" (like an Internet stream) to me on NBC while it doesn't on CBS or Fox. Since I have seen this in every NBC affiliate I have ever seen, I am going to assume it's not the local affiliates.

I see the blocks on WECT and WITN, so I believe it is NBC more-so than the locals.

Has anyone tried pointing their antenna to the west and receiving the Garner stations from the back side of their antenna? I would think the stations would be so strong that it would not really matter which way you are pointing. I am 40 miles away from the WNCT/WITN tower and I can point my UHF to the WWAY/WECT/WSFX tower to the south and still pick up those two, plus WCTI/WYDO/WUNM 25 miles north as long as their isn't strong wind without any problems.

I haven't tried that recently with the Garner/Raleigh tower sites. However, I do not have a rotor and leave my antenna pointed at the Garner farm 99.999% of the time and from the back I get WGPX and WGSR (15ish miles) and from the side I get WFMY, WGHP, WCWG, WMYV, usually WXLV, and sometimes WLXI at about 35 miles. I used to get WSET from Lynchburg, VA from the back, too, sometimes but not anymore. About a year ago, I pointed it toward Roanoke and I got WDBJ, WSET, WGSR, WGPX, and WSLS clearly. From the back, I got "fluttery" WRAL, WRAZ, WUNC, and very pixelated WLFL and WUVC still came through. I also got same Greensboro stations but WLXI was much clearer.

I haven't tried that recently with the Garner/Raleigh tower sites. However, I do not have a rotor and leave my antenna pointed at the Garner farm 99.999% of the time and from the back I get WGPX and WGSR (15ish miles) and from the side I get WFMY, WGHP, WCWG, WMYV, usually WXLV, and sometimes WLXI at about 35 miles. I used to get WSET from Lynchburg, VA from the back, too, sometimes but not anymore. About a year ago, I pointed it toward Roanoke and I got WDBJ, WSET, WGSR, WGPX, and WSLS clearly. From the back, I got "fluttery" WRAL, WRAZ, WUNC, and very pixelated WLFL and WUVC still came through. I also got same Greensboro stations but WLXI was much clearer.
WCWG must have the most powerful transmitter of the Triad stations. Here in Raleigh it seems to come in better than WXLV or WFMY.

Don't know if it'll last past the game, but I'm getting great bit rates on NBC 17 during the Super Bowl, high 16's-17+ mbps. Great comparatively anyway, looks like I'm getting whatever would have been shared to the weather station now directed into the HD feed. And same bit rate via OTA and TWC.

Is the 17-3 Weather Channel a thing of the past? I see 17-1 and 17-2 just fine but 17-3 says "Searching for signal" despite showing program info.
Dropped it to give the bandwidth to Super Bowl. It's peaking just over 18 Mbps and averaging 16 Mbps tonight. I normally run 17-1 at 14-16 Mbps. The Weather will be back for a short time, but MH DTV will fire up later this month and it will disappear forever.

I noticed how much better NBC looks tonight. Too bad it can't always look this good. But then, why shouldn't it, and why can't it.

I noticed how much better NBC looks tonight. Too bad it can't always look this good. But then, why shouldn't it, and why can't it.
Running a brand new Harmonic Electra MPEG encoder this weekend. This thing is sweet and far more efficient with MPEG compression than the old system. I'm loving it!

You're very brave running any new equipment this weekend, but looks good. What's going on with local ads in HD?

You're very brave running any new equipment this weekend, but looks good. What's going on with local ads in HD?
We run a lot of local HD spots now. Last break had two in it. We are holding back on local promos because there's an issue with HD spots needing a "special" HD spot number. If we run a huge number of special numbers, we'll have a mess to clean up later when some other new equipment goes online. It's just a matter of keeping the numbering manageable.

Nope. Not brave at all. I had decided against running it on air because of some earlier issues testing it Wednesday, but while I had Time-Warner Engineers on the phone Friday, my old encoder decided to croak when I loaded the Olympic catalog file, so I switched. TWC found their equipment reverted to my SAP channel PID and fixed it on the fly.

We've been on the new encoder since Friday afternoon.

Dropped it to give the bandwidth to Super Bowl. It's peaking just over 18 Mbps and averaging 16 Mbps tonight. I normally run 17-1 at 14-16 Mbps. The Weather will be back for a short time, but MH DTV will fire up later this month and it will disappear forever.

Glad I called this :) Also good move and great results for the game tonight.

Call me dumb, though, but what is MH DTV?

Glad I called this :) Also good move and great results for the game tonight.

Call me dumb, though, but what is MH DTV?
I'm not sure if this is what NBC17ENG was referring to, but there is something called the ATSC-M/H standard that is supposed to allow mobile and handheld devices to better receive OTA signals.

I'm not sure if this is what NBC17ENG was referring to, but there is something called the ATSC-M/H standard that is supposed to allow mobile and handheld devices to better receive OTA signals.

I always forget about that... Since I don't have a mobile device that tunes those channels, I forget that we have some (at least WRAL I think) doing that locally.

MH DTV will fire up later this month and it will disappear forever

Is mobile devices seriously what 17-3 will be used for? I hope it is not a third Music video subchannel in the local area.

I probably am the only person that really liked Winter sports on the sub channel that is now been taken away.

Dropped it to give the bandwidth to Super Bowl. It's peaking just over 18 Mbps and averaging 16 Mbps tonight. I normally run 17-1 at 14-16 Mbps. The Weather will be back for a short time, but MH DTV will fire up later this month and it will disappear forever.

You're awesome! I wish all NBC stations had such a great engineer. Here in Richmond, WWBT runs their SD channel with a fixed bit rate of something like 4Mb/s, capping HD at 15Mb/s, with averages in the 11-13Mb/s range. According to mediainfo, my SuperBowl recording peaked at 14.3Mb/s for video.

Some old NBC17 recordings from before I moved look much nicer than anything I can get here.

:(

Drew

I see the blocks on WECT and WITN, so I believe it is NBC more-so than the locals.

I dont think it is NBC. Ever since WITN added a 3rd channel last year, the main channel 7.1 WITN HD has had blocks.

MH DTV will fire up later this month and it will disappear forever

Is mobile devices seriously what 17-3 will be used for? I hope it is not a third Music video subchannel in the local area.

I probably am the only person that really liked Winter sports on the sub channel that is now been taken away.
Officially, I can say the Weather sub-channel is gone forever. We are getting lots of calls and emails about it, but it makes no sense to fire it back up and pull it off again. I can't spare the bandwidth to keep it.

The new encoder is amazing and makes me wonder how low it can go and still look good. I guess we'll find out in a few weeks.

We will use the bandwidth from the third channel for a mobile handheld signal. Beginning later this year, smart phones will be equipped with mobile decoders so you can watch TV at 70 MPH going down the Beltline on your phone. It's an MPG-4 signal and transmitted much like Sirrus-XM radio, where the packets are resent several times and the receiver keeps them sorted out in order. WRAL and WRAZ currently have it on air now. Devices are few and far between at the moment, but were demonstrated at CES in Vegas a few weeks back.

No music channel going on. NBC decided to pull Universal Sports off air and use it as a cable channel along with the re-branded Versus channel they had on Comcast. Their apparent strategy is to compete and blow ESPN out the water with better sports. They are sewing up the NHL games and going after others. That's going to be interesting to see if they convert the ShopNBC channel to sports too.

The new encoder is amazing and makes me wonder how low it can go and still look good. I guess we'll find out in a few weeks.Maybe NBC Sports could get their hands on this new encoder...

NBC17ENG, Thanks for the UPDATE.

Don't quite see the strategy in pulling Universal Sports off air. Why could it not be in both locations?

But then I really do not see any strategy with cable accept to find some ways to raise the monthly. Is anyone old enough to remember when cable was free?


In regards to "Watching TV" while driving. Will this be a monthly expense like Sirius/XM?

I have wanted to "Listen" to TV for years while driving. I use to have a 2hr one way drive twice a week and I never could figure out why some of the less used AM bands could not just reproduce the audio for tv for people on the road. I did try a portable tv but reception was what you would expect. And I do recall a car radio that would tune down just far enough to catch the audio of one tv station.

I am pretty sure Classic Radio on Sirius/XM hosts shows that are not just radio shows but also early TV shows.

I watched 17 HD last night for a while. That signal looked better than the other two NBC's in ENC. I wish WNCT could get some of these new machines.

WNCT getting 17's OLD machines would be an improvement. WRAL's prototype stuff probably looked better in 1996 than WNCT does today.

Dropped it to give the bandwidth to Super Bowl. It's peaking just over 18 Mbps and averaging 16 Mbps tonight. I normally run 17-1 at 14-16 Mbps. The Weather will be back for a short time, but MH DTV will fire up later this month and it will disappear forever.

You're my hero. The game looked great. Thanks!

Does anyone else with Directv and AM21 see 22-2 as WUNWDT2 PBS and NOT WLFLDT2 Country Network? I have never noticed the 22-2 even being an option until the other day but it's clearly wrong!

Don't quite see the strategy in pulling Universal Sports off air. Why could it not be in both locations?

NBC/Universal/Comcast declared it couldn't be OTA. Presumably Comcast thinks they can make more money from cable/satellite fees for the channel than from licensing it to their owned&operateds, especially if they dangle Olympic coverage this summer with it.

Splat!, Thanks for the info. I guess the commercials that were part of the broadcast just did not compare revenue wise.

I have often wondered if I could translate commercials into dollars and come up with an idea how much it costs me to watch a live TV show that I watch in real time.

Splat!, Thanks for the info. I guess the commercials that were part of the broadcast just did not compare revenue wise.

I have often wondered if I could translate commercials into dollars and come up with an idea how much it costs me to watch a live TV show that I watch in real time.

One model for that is how much Hulu charges for commercials for recent TV show episodes.

Hulu is one of the only video "channels" (that and TeamCoco for Conan) where I watch a show with commercials in real time rather than being commercial free (e.g. Netflix or Amazon streaming) or skipping ahead on my PC-DVR for shows recorded off local broadcast channels.

I suppose another model is how much you value your own time (minus the time for commercials you actually find worthwhile to watch for entertainment or information value).

With Universal Sports no longer being available OTA, I'll have to pay for streaming video packages to watch bicycle racing on the various NBC sports channels' web sites. I guess then I'll know how much it is worth it to me...

And I will not pay cable or dish to watch winter Alpine events so I am relegated back to the spotty Olympic coverage every few years :( There is some on Saturday afternoon to watch but I always forget to record the coverage.

BTW - I enjoyed the bike coverage also. I even liked seeing some real estate other than LA and NYC :) And I was okay with the lo res. Although I know drewwho would prefer no bandwidth being wasted

Does anyone know why the Fox50 ACC Network games always look so much worse than the WRAL ACC Network games? The game that appears on WRAL also appears on WFMY and both look great, but Greensboro doesn't usually show the 2nd game and thus I have no comparison for it.

One model for that is how much Hulu charges for commercials for recent TV show episodes.

Hulu is one of the only video "channels" (that and TeamCoco for Conan) where I watch a show with commercials in real time rather than being commercial free (e.g. Netflix or Amazon streaming) or skipping ahead on my PC-DVR for shows recorded off local broadcast channels.

It's also unfortunate that watching something on Hulu is actually a more pleasurable experience than most networks now. Sure you get commercials, but they only last about 30-60 seconds. What you don't get watching on Hulu are bouncing graphics flying across the screen telling you something you don't watch is on next and network bugs festooned with Twitter reminders, "festive" decorations, announcements for other shows you don't watch and placed in the middle of the screen for 4:3 users that shouldn't exist now.

ejb1980,

When you say "much worse", do you mean color wise or resolution wise? I notice the color looks darker on the Miami/ Florida S. game than the Virginia/UNC game. I have two channels of each to compare.

Does anyone know why the Fox50 ACC Network games always look so much worse than the WRAL ACC Network games? The game that appears on WRAL also appears on WFMY and both look great, but Greensboro doesn't usually show the 2nd game and thus I have no comparison for it.Fox50 is a 720p operation while WRAL is 1080i. Could be why.

Fox50 is a 720p operation while WRAL is 1080i. Could be why.

The Raycom ACC games are shot in 720p I believe. I notice though that channel 6 UNC game looks a bit sharper than channel 12. TV 6 is 1080i

It is darker. There is some pixelation around the score graphic and in fast-motion. It's not unwatchable, it's just noticeably not as sharp, crisp, and bright as WRAL and WFMY. I considered the 720 vs. 1080i, too, but football isn't like this (although the Sunday Ticket feeds are always MUCH better than WRAL, WFMY, WGHP, and WRAZ.

I wish there was an HD source for the Syracuse game. I read somewhere that WGSR Reidsville used to show CBS overflow at one point. Since they're HD, you'd think they'd try harder to get it (assumedly from WFMY). Not that anyone in the Raleigh DMA cares about WGSR...

It's also unfortunate that watching something on Hulu is actually a more pleasurable experience than most networks now. Sure you get commercials, but they only last about 30-60 seconds. What you don't get watching on Hulu are bouncing graphics flying across the screen telling you something you don't watch is on next and network bugs festooned with Twitter reminders, "festive" decorations, announcements for other shows you don't watch and placed in the middle of the screen for 4:3 users that shouldn't exist now.

But you do get a "hulu" logo, you also don't get HD, for the most part. :-(

Drew

BTW - I enjoyed the bike coverage also. I even liked seeing some real estate other than LA and NYC :) And I was okay with the lo res. Although I know drewwho would prefer no bandwidth being wasted

Since I moved to the Richmond metro area, I don't really have a dog in this fight anymore. But I do think that the Universal Sports network was one of the few innovative major network subchannels, and a much better use of bandwidth than an SD re-broadcast of the HD sub, mobile TV, music videos, or 40 year old re-runs. I'll admit that I watched curling on it, and if I were still in the area, I'd miss it. But like you, I would not miss it enough to pay $$$ to get it via cable or sat.

I think the most innovative use of bandwidth was what WUNC did years ago, when they ran all their SD subs & turned off HD in the day, rather than waste HD bandwidth on cartoons whose target audience in the 2-5 year old age group could care less about HD. It is a shame that all the hick cable operations could not deal with subchannels coming and going.

Drew

It's also unfortunate that watching something on Hulu is actually a more pleasurable experience than most networks now. Sure you get commercials, but they only last about 30-60 seconds. What you don't get watching on Hulu are bouncing graphics flying across the screen telling you something you don't watch is on next and network bugs festooned with Twitter reminders, "festive" decorations, announcements for other shows you don't watch and placed in the middle of the screen for 4:3 users that shouldn't exist now.
Considering how much energy some of the new sets use, how much energy cable boxes use, and the effects on the environment, all of us should thank the people who are frugal enough to keep using the old analog 4:3 sets until they wear out. There should be some taxes on the new sets to provide money for alternative energy research.

" think the most innovative use of bandwidth was what WUNC did years ago, when they ran all their SD subs & turned off HD in the day, "

I also liked that schedule. What I find annoying is PBS UNC on a Sat morning with 4.1 and 4.2 devoted to child programming. Other networks do that also. It may be some gov thing but I am not sure.

Did you see any curling during the last winter Olympics? I looked for it but never saw it.

I actually think Universal Sports covered Olympic style sports better. But in all honestly the keep adding more and more sports to the Winter Olympics and there just is not enough time to show them all.

Curling was on CNBC and USA I believe. Curling should have it's own channel. One of the things I miss about living in Vermont where CBC Montreal was close enough to receive clearly OTA. It's in HD now, too, which I never saw but would enjoy a lot. CBC shows a lot of curling.

" think the most innovative use of bandwidth was what WUNC did years ago, when they ran all their SD subs & turned off HD in the day, "

I also liked that schedule. What I find annoying is PBS UNC on a Sat morning with 4.1 and 4.2 devoted to child programming. Other networks do that also. It may be some gov thing but I am not sure.

Did you see any curling during the last winter Olympics? I looked for it but never saw it.

I actually think Universal Sports covered Olympic style sports better. But in all honestly the keep adding more and more sports to the Winter Olympics and there just is not enough time to show them all.
The Winter Olympics are much more interesting than the summer games. Maybe the channel that used to be Versus will show some of that stuff. It would fit in nicely with the pro hockey and college hockey coverage.

Curling was on CNBC and USA I believe. Curling should have it's own channel. One of the things I miss about living in Vermont where CBC Montreal was close enough to receive clearly OTA. It's in HD now, too, which I never saw but would enjoy a lot. CBC shows a lot of curling.
Curling rocks the house!

Curling was on CNBC and USA I believe. Curling should have it's own channel. One of the things I miss about living in Vermont where CBC Montreal was close enough to receive clearly OTA. It's in HD now, too, which I never saw but would enjoy a lot. CBC shows a lot of curling.

+1 from me. I grew east of Buffalo and I really miss Canadian TV.

During the Olympics we always watched the Canadian stations. Rather than cutting everything down to basically just highlights to fit in 3-4 hours of prime time, and showing soap-operas or infomercials when the events were actually happening, the CBC would show events live and forgo their normal schedule. They'd also subcontract coverage to other, non-CBS stations so that more than one event was on at the same time. I remember watching the USA / USSR hockey game live on Canadian TV in the 1984 winter olympics, and then watching the game again on our local Buffalo station later that evening.

I also miss live broadcast TV coverage of Formula-1. I remember getting up at 5am to watch the F1 races live.

I hope they're still doing decent coverage like this. I moved away after graduating college in the early 90s.

Drew

1. I grew up in UP state NY around Binghamton. As a kid my best friends father had a huge outdoor antenna and my friend claimed his Dad could pick up Canada stations.

We were lucky to have rabbit ears and 3 channels at my parents house.

But when I could afford it I bought an outside antenna and rotator and hooked it up on the second floor roof antenna of my parents house.

But.... still could not get any Canada stations. Only Elmira and Syracuse. Now that I know more about transmission I cant say as I would ever expect to pick up Canadian signals that far south unless there was atmospheric bounce or whatever.

I miss the Winter and the Winter sports. Sucks this year so far in Raleigh. I was lucky to see some ice on the road yesterday but that is it so far for signs of winter other then the temp.

I saw Eric Hayden get his last Skating Gold Metal at the Olympics but missed the "Big" Hockey game.


2. Well getting back to topic. And getting back to Antenna Combiners. I was at RS yesterday and they have about four splitter joiner choices. Should I steer clear of any of them that our Sat Frequencies? I see one that combines signal for a UHF antenna and also from a VHF antenna - what Frequency is UNC Chapel hill on? Is it UHF or VHF?

I eventually will look into ordering a antenna combiner when I get motivated or at least give my old one a try again. But for now I was thinking about just using a splitter in reverse.

3. BTW - during that big wind a few days ago my OTA reception sucked. It amazes me how much my signal gets interrupted by ghosting changes caused by the wind blowing the trees.

2. Well getting back to topic. And getting back to Antenna Combiners. I was at RS yesterday and they have about four splitter joiner choices. Should I steer clear of any of them that our Sat Frequencies? I see one that combines signal for a UHF antenna and also from a VHF antenna - what Frequency is UNC Chapel hill on? Is it UHF or VHF?

I eventually will look into ordering a antenna combiner when I get motivated or at least give my old one a try again. But for now I was thinking about just using a splitter in reverse.

All stations in the Raleigh Durham are on UHF channels except channel 11 (WTVD), which is on RF channel 11.

3. BTW - during that big wind a few days ago my OTA reception sucked. It amazes me how much my signal gets interrupted by ghosting changes caused by the wind blowing the trees.

try living in a forest and see what happens....I hear you on the wind driven trees causing multipath / poor OTA signal reception. It's kind of ironic that DBS is actually better in poor weather .

what Frequency is UNC Chapel hill on? Is it UHF or VHF?


WUNC is on channel 25 physical. You can order a joiner that is tuned to channel 25 and point that antenna to the west, and join your other all channel antenna in the other port and point it east. This will take care of multi-path confusion at your tuner and both antennas won't be trying to pick up all channels from both directions. However, they are a bit expensive, and it might be BETTER to just run two coax lines to your TV and use an A/B switch. I think it would be easier, and a guarantee it will work instead of a guess.

Also, run two coax lines down to the ground from both antenna instead of joining them on the roof. This way you can experiment with splitters/combiners/switches if you wish to try different ideas.

Thanks for the joiner info

This might be old news because I never watch these channels, but I noticed that both 22 and 28 are now broadcasting syndicated HD product.

This might be old news because I never watch these channels, but I noticed that both 22 and 28 are now broadcasting syndicated HD product.
When did the broadcast TV networks start creating shows in HD? I've seen some HD syndicated sitcoms that I would have thought were too old to have ever been produced in HD.

When did the broadcast TV networks start creating shows in HD? I've seen some HD syndicated sitcoms that I would have thought were too old to have ever been produced in HD.

Depends on how you phrase the question.

Do you mean when did the first network shows start shooting with digital cameras for HD?

I don't know.

But lots of TV shows were shot on film... and film is way higher than 1920x1080... so a little investment in scanning the film and you have HD versions of lots of old TV.

When did the broadcast TV networks start creating shows in HD? I've seen some HD syndicated sitcoms that I would have thought were too old to have ever been produced in HD.
CBS went HD for all episodic filmed programming, excepting reality and news, in the fall of 1999.

Depends on how you phrase the question.

Do you mean when did the first network shows start shooting with digital cameras for HD?

I don't know.

But lots of TV shows were shot on film... and film is way higher than 1920x1080... so a little investment in scanning the film and you have HD versions of lots of old TV.
That's interesting information. I didn't know that it was possible to produce HD material from TV shows that were shot on film rather than on videotape in the era prior to digital TV cameras. That does make sense, though. I would imagine that the high quality scanning would make economic sense for only the most popular shows.

That's interesting information. I didn't know that it was possible to produce HD material from TV shows that were shot on film rather than on videotape in the era prior to digital TV cameras. That does make sense, though. I would imagine that the high quality scanning would make economic sense for only the most popular shows.

Two examples of shows shot on film being converted to HD would be how they started running Seinfeld in HD later in syndication as well as the upcoming Star Trek The Next Generation Blu Ray releases.

Check out Andy Griffith on Netflix instant. It's only 4:3 HD but the clarity is amazing.

Video (and HD video) is an electronic format. Film is an optical format. I wish people could get the apples and oranges straight !!!!!!!!!!!!!

If the original production was on FILM, it can be scanned and tranmtted in HD, if it was produced on standard definition VIDEO, you're f%$$ed.

I didn't know that it was possible to produce HD material from TV shows that were shot on film...

The word you're looking for is telecine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecine) believe it or not. Just rolls off the tongue doesn't it? Not for me either. ;)

There are still some current TV shows shot on film apparently. Early seasons of Burn Notice were shot on S16, early seasons of Castle on S35. I don't know if those productions are still using film, though the Panavision website (http://www.panavision.com/spotlight/panavision-shows-return-tv-week) still claims Castle as a film shoot (using Panavision cameras / lenses of course).

The current "it" camera for non-reality TV productions is apparently the Arri Alexa (http://www.arri.de/camera/digital_cameras), which is a hell of a camera.

Nearly all of the feature film work that still uses film uses telecine as part of the workflow to produce a digital intermediate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_intermediate). So all the editing (the razor-blades-and-tape era of editing film are long over), color grading, and effects are done digitally. All that film is used for anymore is the original capture. And, or course, for the final delivery format, but that is changing too as more theaters move to digital projectors.

Enough -- probably more than anyone wanted to know on the subject.

Tried to record the Amazing Race tonight but the DVR said Recording Not Permitted (TWC). The other day, two recordings failed. Seems like they broke the software with some recent update.

Anybody else had similar issues?

The word you're looking for is telecine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecine) believe it or not. Just rolls off the tongue doesn't it? Not for me either. ;)

There are still some current TV shows shot on film apparently. Early seasons of Burn Notice were shot on S16, early seasons of Castle on S35. I don't know if those productions are still using film, though the Panavision website (http://www.panavision.com/spotlight/panavision-shows-return-tv-week) still claims Castle as a film shoot (using Panavision cameras / lenses of course).

The current "it" camera for non-reality TV productions is apparently the Arri Alexa (http://www.arri.de/camera/digital_cameras), which is a hell of a camera.

Nearly all of the feature film work that still uses film uses telecine as part of the workflow to produce a digital intermediate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_intermediate). So all the editing (the razor-blades-and-tape era of editing film are long over), color grading, and effects are done digitally. All that film is used for anymore is the original capture. And, or course, for the final delivery format, but that is changing too as more theaters move to digital projectors.

Enough -- probably more than anyone wanted to know on the subject.
Yes, but can you explain Technicolor in 40 characters or less? Just kidding. I know there must be a lot of expertise needed to do good conversions from film to high definition video.

Two examples of shows shot on film being converted to HD would be how they started running Seinfeld in HD later in syndication as well as the upcoming Star Trek The Next Generation Blu Ray releases.

Better examples would be the already released Blu-rays of the original Star Trek and Twilight Zone TV series.

Of course there are numerous films (theatrical films) on Blu-ray as well... but limiting the scope to TV shows, Twilight Zone is (I believe) the oldest TV show to be released on Blu-ray at this point... though there are others older that could be if demand is there for them.

Better examples would be the already released Blu-rays of the original Star Trek and Twilight Zone TV series.



Yeah but I like Seinfeld and TNG better ;)

Two examples of shows shot on film being converted to HD would be how they started running Seinfeld in HD later in syndication as well as the upcoming Star Trek The Next Generation Blu Ray releases.

When they re-transfer old film, I think there can be some quality issues due to the age of the film. I've been watching the re-mastered HD Seinfeld eps, and I notice that a very small number of them have moments where the colors get brighter & dimmer & brighter again in the span of a few seconds. I was worried about my TV, but it doesn't do it on any other shows , so I'm assuming it is something about the remastered eps. It is one of these things that if you notice it, it bugs the heck out of you.

Drew

Are the original TV shows that were recorded on mag tape even up to SD quality?

They get pretty close on the video reproduction of old film but not all the old stuff has good audio. Come to think of it isn't the audio track on film magnetic anyway?

I tip my hat to Twilight Zone and Original Star Trek since I grew up in the town that Rod Serling was born and went to High School in. Sort of like a local Andy of Mayberry is to Raleigh.

Those of you with an OTA antenna, how was your reception during the snow Sunday night? I'm particularly interested in your experience if your antenna is in the attic. My second-floor indoor antenna, which usually gets solid reception, gave me lots of pixellation and break-ups on WRAZ (Fox 50). I don't know how other channels fared, because I didn't record anything except WRAZ.

Those of you with an OTA antenna, how was your reception during the snow Sunday night? I'm particularly interested in your experience if your antenna is in the attic. My second-floor indoor antenna, which usually gets solid reception, gave me lots of pixellation and break-ups on WRAZ (Fox 50). I don't know how other channels fared, because I didn't record anything except WRAZ.

My DVR recordings from WRAZ and one from WRAL had breakups Sunday night. I have an indoor antenna, not in the attic... and usually have solid signal... just not Sunday night when the wet stuff was falling.

I was watching WVTD during the transition from rain to sleep to snow. It was at the end of the LINSANITY game and there was a brief time when the signal broke up. I also had break ups at the same time on WXLV (on Directv, not OTA. OTA, WXLV was "no signal" during the sleet). This was the only time I had break ups. During the heaviest snow here in Burlington, there were no unusual break ups in my signals on Directv or OTA.

Watching UNC 4.1 from 9 to 11 and do not think I experienced any issues. This is a amplified Pre HD 4228 in the attic. But.... we did not get much snow in Holly Springs and wind was minimal. I sure have issues when the wind gets above ten knots however as we are in the middle of a lot of tall pines.

2-24-12 update. I wonder what kind of reception I will have this evening with this storm blowing through ;)

Tried to record the Amazing Race tonight but the DVR said Recording Not Permitted (TWC). The other day, two recordings failed. Seems like they broke the software with some recent update.

Anybody else had similar issues?

Well, had 4 more recordings fail with no explanation. Time to call TWC and see what's going on with the latest software update.

Well, had 4 more recordings fail with no explanation. Time to call TWC and see what's going on with the latest software update.

Ironic. Our DVR has lately started recording programs that are not set in our program manger to record, but in a timeslot/channel that formerly had a program we did record. The new program name is accurately reflected in the guide, but the DVR seems to ignore that.

We have one of the Samsung whole house boxes if that matters.

Frank

What does TV-14 [LV] mean?

I saw it last night while watching Hawai50 on 5.1

Rated 14 and up for foul language and violence

Wow I guess I best quit watching that show :)

Looks like more windy reception forecast for this evening.

Oops did not mean to post two in a row. Please forgive me. :(

Sorry in advance if this has been covered, went through the forum, but I didn't find if there was a resolution. Please let me know if I am mistaken ...

I currently am trying to receive all of the local digital channels through TWC. I am only subscribed to Roadrunner so I have a filter on my line. In the past I was able to do this, but now I can get all except ABC11 (WTDV). When I called TWC, I was eventually told that ABC11 was moved and is now behind the filter I have on my line.

My question for the forum is:

1: Has anyone been able to successfully receive ABC11/WTVD through TWC with the "filter" ie. someone that just has Roadrunner? Did I just get bad information from TWC?

2: Is this legal? I was under the impression that as long as you had a service from TWC (even just Roadrunner), they had to provide all of the QAM channels (not allowed to filter them).


Thanks

I have TWC's Roadrunner but no cable service, so same filter situation.

I do not currently get WTVD or WUNC over QAM, only WRAL and WNCN and WRAZ. So their info matches my experience.

WTVD is QAM ch. 87.7 (in SD only), at least here in Alamance County. It, like all of the channels in the 87-115 range, comes and goes on what seems to be a daily basis. Currently, it is not there, but it was the other day. WTVD is the only Raleigh channel TWC offers here, so I can't comment on the others.

...2: Is this legal? ....
Maybe ask if it is moral. So you expect Cable channels you're not paying for if I understand you correctly.

I get all the Raleigh stations EXCEPT WTVD and its subchannels on my Roadrunner only subscription. However, I rarely watch them there, preferring either OTA or my Dish subscription. I MIGHT watch the cable provided if everything else went out completely - but that's not too likely to happen. One plus on the TWC - the extra channels available from WUNC that are not OTA !

Sorry in advance if this has been covered, went through the forum, but I didn't find if there was a resolution. Please let me know if I am mistaken ...

I currently am trying to receive all of the local digital channels through TWC. I am only subscribed to Roadrunner so I have a filter on my line. In the past I was able to do this, but now I can get all except ABC11 (WTDV). When I called TWC, I was eventually told that ABC11 was moved and is now behind the filter I have on my line.

My question for the forum is:

1: Has anyone been able to successfully receive ABC11/WTVD through TWC with the "filter" ie. someone that just has Roadrunner? Did I just get bad information from TWC?

2: Is this legal? I was under the impression that as long as you had a service from TWC (even just Roadrunner), they had to provide all of the QAM channels (not allowed to filter them).


Thanks

Correct - ABC11/WTVD was moved behind the filter so you'd need to get an antenna for it.

2. Gray area I guess? I don't see what's wrong with getting channels that are available free OTA through the cable if it's there for you to receive.

I disagree with IamtheWolf in his statement "Maybe ask if it is moral. So you expect Cable channels you're not paying for if I understand you correctly.".

These aren't cable channels. They are the same channels you would get with an antenna that are broadcast over the air.

These aren't cable channels. They are the same channels you would get with an antenna that are broadcast over the air.

And it would cost you time and money to put up an antenna which could get the same reception as you'd get from cable. So when you receive cable w/o subscribing to it, there is a moral issue as you're receiving the value of the TWC antenna (or digital link to the station) for "free". Note that the original point of cable tv was to distribute the signal from a community antenna. In the beginning, there were no cable-only channels.

Of course, TWC's moral high ground goes away if they charge you as much or more for just RoadRunner than they would to bundle RoadRunner and basic cable service...

Drew

Thanks for the replies. I will probably just switch back to antenna...

As for the legality question, I was under the impression cable companies had to broadcast (were not allowed to block) the free (ie. local) digital channels over QAM as part of the mandate to switch to digital. So as long as you had any service with them and were connected to their network, they were required to make the local digital QAM channels available. I didn't mean to say I wanted to be able to receive "cable" channels. However when I googled I wasn't able to find any documentation - perhaps it was just wishful thinking.

And it would cost you time and money to put up an antenna which could get the same reception as you'd get from cable. So when you receive cable w/o subscribing to it, there is a moral issue as you're receiving the value of the TWC antenna (or digital link to the station) for "free". Note that the original point of cable tv was to distribute the signal from a community antenna. In the beginning, there were no cable-only channels.

Of course, TWC's moral high ground goes away if they charge you as much or more for just RoadRunner than they would to bundle RoadRunner and basic cable service...

Drew

Meh, we're far from "the beginning". The few channels I'm receiving via TWC's cable into my house is the same stuff I could get with a 20 dollar antenna from Radio Shack. Even those I still don't watch to be honest lol, but they're there. They still get 100 bucks a month from me, so yeah.

As for the legality question, I was under the impression cable companies had to broadcast (were not allowed to block) the free (ie. local) digital channels over QAM as part of the mandate to switch to digital. So as long as you had any service with them and were connected to their network, they were required to make the local digital QAM channels available.

My understanding is they're not allowed to block them as long as you're paying them for TV of some sort. If you're only paying for internet, they don't have any obligations. I don't have chapter and verse on that, though.

My general feeling is that if TWC figured it was really a problem - they would find a way to economically block them. I'm not going to lose sleep over the morality of it, because I very rarely will watch them - it's nice to have the "backup" if it comes down to it. I put my Samsung DTB-H260F on the cable and scanned for cable just to see if there was anything.

I get all the Raleigh stations EXCEPT WTVD and its subchannels on my Roadrunner only subscription. However, I rarely watch them there, preferring either OTA or my Dish subscription. I MIGHT watch the cable provided if everything else went out completely - but that's not too likely to happen. One plus on the TWC - the extra channels available from WUNC that are not OTA !

This is a great point, and basically the only thing I ever use QAM for - UNC-MX. Does Dish have the guide info for UNC-MX? You can add it to your guide with Directv (with the AM21 OTA tuner) to see what's there but you can't actually watch it via Directv. For some reason, UNC TV is a mess on Directv:

22-1 WLFL CW (guide infro is correct)

22-2 WLFL TCN (guide data has never been correct, for some reason it's a repeat of a UNC channel)

26 UNC HD (correct)

26-2 UNC-EX (info is correct but should be ch 26-3)

26-2 WUNL-2 UNC-Kids (guide info is correct and 26-2 is also correct)

26-5 WUNL-5 UNC-MX (guide info is correct, but is only on QAM. It is QAM ch 4-4 even here in the Greensboro DMA. There is no option to add 4-4 to the guide on Directv, which would be annoying in the Raleigh DMA because you wouldn't be able to group all of the UNC channels together).

My general feeling is that if TWC figured it was really a problem - they would find a way to economically block them. I'm not going to lose sleep over the morality of it, because I very rarely will watch them - it's nice to have the "backup" if it comes down to it. I put my Samsung DTB-H260F on the cable and scanned for cable just to see if there was anything.

Exactly. Look, it's not like I'm stealing it. They're feeding it to my house. I didn't go splice the neighbor's cable and take something that didn't belong to me. If they don't want me to be able to get them, they would disable them in some manner.

Exactly. Look, it's not like I'm stealing it. They're feeding it to my house. I didn't go splice the neighbor's cable and take something that didn't belong to me. If they don't want me to be able to get them, they would disable them in some manner.

You mean like they have done with WTVD?

If they bring the cable to your house and you subscribe to internet and you also get some free channels... cool beans... but you can't complain that they are "required" to give you the OTA channels.

That's what the moral debate really is here... if you get some free bonus channels because they can't block them, great... but you can't honestly complain that they don't give you more free things, right?

Sorry in advance if this has been covered, went through the forum, but I didn't find if there was a resolution. Please let me know if I am mistaken ...

I currently am trying to receive all of the local digital channels through TWC. I am only subscribed to Roadrunner so I have a filter on my line. In the past I was able to do this, but now I can get all except ABC11 (WTDV). When I called TWC, I was eventually told that ABC11 was moved and is now behind the filter I have on my line.

My question for the forum is:

1: Has anyone been able to successfully receive ABC11/WTVD through TWC with the "filter" ie. someone that just has Roadrunner? Did I just get bad information from TWC?

2: Is this legal? I was under the impression that as long as you had a service from TWC (even just Roadrunner), they had to provide all of the QAM channels (not allowed to filter them).


Thanks
If you're subscribing only to the internet service, not to the TV service, I don't think that the cable company has to provide any kind of TV signals at all.

The tougher question is what about an analog cable subscription. In that case, does the cable company have to provide digital QAM signals for all of the local broadcast stations? From what I have seen, the QAM signals can sometimes be unreliable without the kind of cable box that the cable company provides.

Has anyone heard whether TWC plans to discontinue the analog package?

You mean like they have done with WTVD?

If they bring the cable to your house and you subscribe to internet and you also get some free channels... cool beans... but you can't complain that they are "required" to give you the OTA channels.

That's what the moral debate really is here... if you get some free bonus channels because they can't block them, great... but you can't honestly complain that they don't give you more free things, right?
Well, it's funny to speak of anything from a cable company being free since they are notorious for raising their rates all the time. Their advertising for digital cable says that they offer "free HD" but another way of looking at that is to say that they don't give you the option of paying less and getting just a standard definition digital signal the way satellite does.

As for the morality thing, I think the cable company should be required to clearly tell its customers whether the internet subscription will also provide QAM signals for the local broadcast TV stations. The cable companies don't even want people to know about the existence of QAM, do they? But the cable company has a regulated monopoly within a certain service area, so the government should force the company to provide clear information to consumers about the availability or lack of availability of QAM signals.

Thanks for the replies. I will probably just switch back to antenna...

As for the legality question, I was under the impression cable companies had to broadcast (were not allowed to block) the free (ie. local) digital channels over QAM as part of the mandate to switch to digital. So as long as you had any service with them and were connected to their network, they were required to make the local digital QAM channels available. I didn't mean to say I wanted to be able to receive "cable" channels. However when I googled I wasn't able to find any documentation - perhaps it was just wishful thinking.
You may be thinking of the "must carry" rules that require a cable system to carry all of the local broadcast stations unless a particular broadcast station wants to be paid retransmission fees and the cable company is not willing to pay those fees .

But I don't think that those "must carry" rules apply at all to cable internet service.

During the conversion to digital broadcasting, a lot of cable companies touted the fact that customers would not need to have a converter box to continue watching the local broadcast channels. But what they meant by that, I think, is that the cable company would continue to provide analog signals to analog cable subscribers. I don't think that the cable companies made any commitments regarding QAM.

The truth is that the cable companies have a lot of clout and are often able to persuade the government not to enact rules that benefit consumers.

You mean like they have done with WTVD?

If they bring the cable to your house and you subscribe to internet and you also get some free channels... cool beans... but you can't complain that they are "required" to give you the OTA channels.

That's what the moral debate really is here... if you get some free bonus channels because they can't block them, great... but you can't honestly complain that they don't give you more free things, right?

I guess I missed when I complained. When they moved it yeah, I said bummer, but if you look back a few pages you'll also notice I mention buying an antenna when I feel I need to get WTVD.

The truth is that the cable companies have a lot of clout and are often able to persuade the government not to enact rules that benefit consumers.

Speaking of which, the FCC is considering allowing cable companies to encrypt even the locals: http://www.multichannel.com/article/477203-NCTA_to_FCC_Let_All_Digital_MSOs_Encrypt_Basic_Tier.php

I think the time for comments has already passed..

Drew

I guess I missed when I complained. When they moved it yeah, I said bummer, but if you look back a few pages you'll also notice I mention buying an antenna when I feel I need to get WTVD.

I wasn't necessarily speaking to you specifically... but to anyone who thinks cable is "obligated" to provide those OTA via unencrypted QAM. There are a lot of complaints typically from people who can't get them, and it's one thing when you are paying for TV but another when you aren't.

I was making a more generic post in terms of the expectations of some people and it was just kickstarted by reading the recent discussions.

I wasn't necessarily speaking to you specifically... but to anyone who thinks cable is "obligated" to provide those OTA via unencrypted QAM. There are a lot of complaints typically from people who can't get them, and it's one thing when you are paying for TV but another when you aren't.

I was making a more generic post in terms of the expectations of some people and it was just kickstarted by reading the recent discussions.

Sorry, I was little ornery this morning.

Sorry, I was little ornery this morning.

No worries... I looked back and realized my post was ambiguous as to whether I was speaking about the topic or responding directly. I meant it more generically than it came across.

The WTVD situation is ridiculous.

I have digital cable and on Sunday night at 11.30pm I was watching WTVD over ClearQAM on my Homerun. During prime time it's just a test card.

What the hell are they doing?

update: now it's on 117.1

How long for? Who knows?

Would you pay $12 a month to watch the local broadcast stations using a tiny remote antenna that sends the programming to you over the internet? What's going on with Aereo in NYC might be something to watch. I doubt that Aereo will be able to win in court, though, so the experiment could be short lived.

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/27624/

"The company says it will do this by embedding small broadcast antennas in data centers that can then pipe the programming over the Internet to its customers, who will pay $12 a month."

This is confusing. "Broadcast" it would seem they need receiver antennas not Broadcast antennas.

Plus I don't see why local broadcast stations would care as long as their commercials are included.

Didn't channel 17 tell us a few posts back that they were going to use part of the bandwidth that was the sports subchannel that got dropped to provide Portable Digital TV to folks? Maybe it was channel 5 I forget.

I remember about five years ago there was a company that was buying up or renting subchannel bandwidth from broadcaster to provide a few "Cable" stations OTA to folks for about $20/month. I think Weatherchannel was one of the channels that would go out on a SD subchannel. You had to own a receiver that descrambled these channels to receive them.

They actually sold the receivers at Walmart for awhile. The Digital rcvr could receive non scrambled ATSC as well as scrambled. Of course the RCVR did not get the Weather Channel here as it was not in this local market.

I think the biggest market was Las Vegas and North of NYC,.

I thought it was kind of interesting for folks on a fixed budget.

The down side is it sucked up some HD quality.

I think it failed as I have not seen it advertised in years.

Plus I don't see why local broadcast stations would care as long as their commercials are included.

The broadcast commercials are included on cable, Dish, Direct, Verizon, UVerse....etc....too.

Retransmission consent issue?
Someone is now making money on what can be picked up for free.
Aereo is repackaging a free product and selling it to customers........

What's wrong with CBS putting the Wolfpack game on TruTV? This is the best game I've seen yet.

DO you mean This TV as opposed to Truetv?

Question are Mentalist and Blue Bloods and other such prime time shows being prempted or are they all on hold across the country until March Madness is over?

I looked at early morning time slots and did not see them rescheduled so I am hoping they are just on hold.

DO you mean This TV as opposed to Truetv?

Question are Mentalist and Blue Bloods and other such prime time shows being prempted or are they all on hold across the country until March Madness is over?

I looked at early morning time slots and did not see them rescheduled so I am hoping they are just on hold.

Truth TV, the satellite/cable channel. Games are either on CBS, TruTV, TNT, or TBS. North Carolina is coming up now on TBS.

What's wrong with CBS putting the Wolfpack game on TruTV? This is the best game I've seen yet.

CBS isn't "putting" any specific game anywhere. This is a joint Turner/CBS venture as of last year... where CBS and the Turner family (TBS, TNT, TruTV) carry all of the games.

CBS gets the final four and championship game... but all the rounds leading up to that were negotiated before the tourney began. My guess is that they divvied up the regions before the selections were made so the networks didn't know what games they were going to get (thus no cherry picking for anyone) until after selection Sunday.

The broadcast commercials are included on cable, Dish, Direct, Verizon, UVerse....etc....too.

Retransmission consent issue?
Someone is now making money on what can be picked up for free.
Aereo is repackaging a free product and selling it to customers........
Yes, the issue is copyright law and retransmission consent. Aereo is claiming that it is just renting a TV antenna and DVR to customers, with the equipment being housed remotely at Aereo's facility rather than on the individual customer's property.

I think the courts will side with the broadcasters and shut Aereo down.

I discovered that there is a thread already devoted to the topic.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1394206

CBS isn't "putting" any specific game anywhere. This is a joint Turner/CBS venture as of last year... where CBS and the Turner family (TBS, TNT, TruTV) carry all of the games.

CBS gets the final four and championship game... but all the rounds leading up to that were negotiated before the tourney began. My guess is that they divvied up the regions before the selections were made so the networks didn't know what games they were going to get (thus no cherry picking for anyone) until after selection Sunday.

It still isn't a great system. The local CBS affiliates SHOULD be able to have first say in what games are shown on their station, even if it is duplicated on pay tv, so that people close to home who do not subscribe, or receive as part of their stupid PAY package, can see their teams play.

I know that the cable lovers and cable operators want to do away with local TV, but I DON't.

It still isn't a great system. The local CBS affiliates SHOULD be able to have first say in what games are shown on their station, even if it is duplicated on pay tv, so that people close to home who do not subscribe, or receive as part of their stupid PAY package, can see their teams play.

I know that the cable lovers and cable operators want to do away with local TV, but I DON't.

Why would Turner buy into that system, though? Imagine if you are Turner and the local CBS station got first pick of the feeds... then who would be watching the Turner channels?

If I didn't have satellite, I wouldn't like it either... but back in the olden days you only got one game via OTA and that was it and it might not be your local team anyway.

There's no way Turner would have bought into this deal if CBS got the first pick of all the games... I gather the NCAA wanted more money, and CBS didn't want to pay so that's where the marriage of Turner + CBS came from.

I remember lots of years (though it has been a while) where we couldn't see the NC State game if UNC or Duke was playing... and certainly not any of the non-triangle ACC teams... so I'm glad to be able to see the games.

Prior to this deal with Turner + CBS, even with satellite I didn't get all the games since WRAL provided extra feeds to Time Warner but not to satellite companies.

I have Directv, so I see all the games too. It just seems wrong that the local CBS isn't carrying the home teams, and not everyone can view it since not everyone has a dish or cable. I guess some can watch on their small screened phone from the internet, but to me that is not much fun. Bright side is like you say HDme, they are on some channel out there, like prior years ago when CBS would shift back and forth.

Look on the bright side. Lehigh versus Duke was on free broadcast TV (WRAL), so everybody in the Triangle, rich or poor, could share the joy of seeing Duke lose. It doesn't get much better than that.

I have Directv, so I see all the games too. It just seems wrong that the local CBS isn't carrying the home teams, and not everyone can view it since not everyone has a dish or cable. I guess some can watch on their small screened phone from the internet, but to me that is not much fun. Bright side is like you say HDme, they are on some channel out there, like prior years ago when CBS would shift back and forth.

Yep. I know it would suck if I was OTA only... I think yesterday only the Florida St and the Duke games were on WRAL. so even the UNC game wasn't OTA locally.

In a perfect world all of these games would be OTA... but that would have taken a joint-effort with a bunch of networks... like CBS + ABC + NBC + FOX, and I don't think they could ever manage a collaboration like that.

look on the bright side. Lehigh versus duke was on free broadcast tv (wral), so everybody in the triangle, rich or poor, could share the joy of seeing duke lose. It doesn't get much better than that.
:d

Yep. I know it would suck if I was OTA only... I think yesterday only the Florida St and the Duke games were on WRAL. so even the UNC game wasn't OTA locally.

In a perfect world all of these games would be OTA... but that would have taken a joint-effort with a bunch of networks... like CBS + ABC + NBC + FOX, and I don't think they could ever manage a collaboration like that.

No, it would have just taken WRAL showing 4 SD streams like they did a few years ago. A few years ago, they also had TWC allocate a few "extra" HD channels, so that if you had cable, you still got to see all the games in HD.

I'll bet that the problem is the deal that the NCAA, and/or CBS signed with all those cable channels to show 75% of the games eliminated CBS affiliates options to show all of them.

Drew

No, it would have just taken WRAL showing 4 SD streams like they did a few years ago. A few years ago, they also had TWC allocate a few "extra" HD channels, so that if you had cable, you still got to see all the games in HD.

I'll bet that the problem is the deal that the NCAA, and/or CBS signed with all those cable channels to show 75% of the games eliminated CBS affiliates options to show all of them.

You must not have read the discussion on this above... The new deal with Turner is exactly why these games aren't on OTA.

Having extra feeds only on Time Warner (like in the past) was no better than having the games on the Turner networks since those Turner networks are usually in the basic cable packages... and people like me on Satellite like Dish or DirecTV didn't get those extra feeds from WRAL in HD.

Those SD feeds that WRAL did for a few years were OK... but they were kind of crappy crammed in there SD... plus as noted, none of the CBS old feeds like that were discrete feeds. They would all whip around to closer games... so often you had 4 feeds with 3 of them showing the same game!

The new setup gives us discrete channel feeds so you can change around.

When all the games were on CBS only, via OTA, there was no incentive to show discrete feeds because CBS had the whole audience... that's what the new contract with Turner does, because it forces the games to be spread around to the networks.

That's why I said the only way to do it OTA would be multi-network. IF CBS had the monopoly again, there would be no reason for them to have multi-feeds... but if ABC or NBC or FOX were in on the deal (like Turner is now) then you can believe those other networks would want discrete feeds too.

You must not have read the discussion on this above... The new deal with Turner is exactly why these games aren't on OTA.


I did, I was trying to bring the point up, but I did so awkwardly.



Having extra feeds only on Time Warner (like in the past) was no better than having the games on the Turner networks since those Turner networks are usually in the basic cable packages... and people like me on Satellite like Dish or DirecTV didn't get those extra feeds from WRAL in HD.


Those SD feeds that WRAL did for a few years were OK... but they were kind of crappy crammed in there SD... plus as noted, none of the CBS old feeds like that were discrete feeds. They would all whip around to closer games... so often you had 4 feeds with 3 of them showing the same game!

The new setup gives us discrete channel feeds so you can change around.


Unless you're OTA only, in which case you're now doubly screwed -- you get to see only one out of 4 games, and there are not even any "look ins" to the others.

Your main complaint about the way WRAL did things was that the feeds were not discreet. I do not remember that being a huge issue, but maybe the games I watched were close, or such massive blow-outs that I would have switched away myself.

Drew

Yeah but it only costs 4 bucks to stream all the games on a PC or phone/tablet. Or it gives you an excuse to go drink some beer at your local sports bar :)

Your main complaint about the way WRAL did things was that the feeds were not discreet. I do not remember that being a huge issue, but maybe the games I watched were close, or such massive blow-outs that I would have switched away myself.

Really there were multiple complaints:

1. The feeds were not discrete, so when a game was close the other feeds would switch to that one. If a game was a blowout, the feed would switch to another closer game too.

2. Cramming the channels into one OTA channel meant only 1 HD feed at poor quality, and 3 VERY poor SD channels.

3. HD feeds were provided to Time Warner but not to satellite customers.

The ideal scenario for OTA customers would be if multiple OTA networks had bid on the package... then we could have multiple OTA networks sharing the feeds like CBS and Turner are doing now.

I can only assume the other OTA networks didn't try to bid on such a deal, though... or perhaps CBS locked them out of the negotiations.

I would be annoyed as an OTA customer, except that traditionally before digital OTA we never had the possibility of more than 1 game at a time anyway.

A lot of people forget too... many many years ago ESPN used to carry games in the early rounds... so the only way you could watch those games was on cable or satellite.

So... there was only a very small window recently of being able to watch those poor quality SD feeds via OTA.

I have not checked to see how WRAL is handling its subchannels during the tournament, but I have watched the HD broadcasts on 5.1, and they have looked good. During the regular season, I noticed that sometimes WRAL or WNCN would broadcast a primary game on the main channel (5.1 or 17.1) and then at the same time put a secondary game (usually from a different conference) in standard definition on a subchannel (5.2 or 17.2). The standard definition broadcasts did not seem to harm the quality of the HD broadcast on the main channel. WTVD breaks its channel into two HD subchannels (11.1 and 11.2) and one SD subchannel (11.3), and both of the HD channels look fine to me, so bandwidth may not be much of a problem.

I don't know how broadcasters set advertising rates for the subchannels. They may have to be careful not to cannibalize the audience for the main channel.

4. All regular broadcasting during the games was prempted

4. All regular broadcasting during the games was prempted

CBS programming during the NCAA tournament is not preempted. The tournament is CBS programming so your not missing anything. CBS programming is preempted during the ACC Tournament because WRAL and others chose to carry Raycom's coverage of the tournament instead of regular CBS programming.

I was hoping someone would tell me that.

Darn I just heard they are not bring back Terra Nova.

Thinking about going the cablecard route for my HTPC. The combo rates for digital cable plus broadband is only $24 more a month than my basic internet charge. I've had little to no issues with my OTA setup but I'm oh so tempted to give it a shot!

I'd love to hear any local cablecard experiences too. I was thinking the same thing. I pay $29.99 a month for internet now, paired with my OTA Windows Media Center. In November my internet deal ends, and I'm heavily leaning towards cable too then. I even called TWC to price things out, and most of the cost would come from boxes and DVRs, which I've already got covered without their rented gear. My argument that cable is too expensive isn't very strong if I can get it for less than a dollar a day on the same deal you just described.

I was surprised to find that the bill for the $79.99 cable and internet, plus a DVR and two secondary boxes would come to $135 a month. A $2 cable card looks more reasonable each month with gear I've got, and a HDHR prime.

I'd love to hear any local cablecard experiences too. I was thinking the same thing. I pay $29.99 a month for internet now, paired with my OTA Windows Media Center. In November my internet deal ends, and I'm heavily leaning towards cable too then. I even called TWC to price things out, and most of the cost would come from boxes and DVRs, which I've already got covered without their rented gear. My argument that cable is too expensive isn't very strong if I can get it for less than a dollar a day on the same deal you just described.

I was surprised to find that the bill for the $79.99 cable and internet, plus a DVR and two secondary boxes would come to $135 a month. A $2 cable card looks more reasonable each month with gear I've got, and a HDHR prime.

My TWC Carolina's (Apex) has been very good. Its not perfect.. but its very good. Beats the heck out of their POC DVR.

My cablecard (TWC - Raleigh) and tuning adapter for SDV have been quite reliable after initial setup. My HTPC with a Ceton tuner however has not been completely reliable with "no tuner" errors every 5-6 days requiring a reboot to continue. I have just updated the Ceton firmware and have set up a Windows scheduled task to reboot every morning at 6 AM so hopefully that will resolve the problems.

I have Linksys media extenders in both the bedroom and dinette areas and while their interface is a bit clumsy they do the job.

nMEDIAPC HTPC-2000B ATX Media Center HTPC Case (not recommended)
Antec NEO ECO 400C P/S
Intel BOXDH67BLB3 LGA1155 MicroATX Motherboard, Intel H67 Chipset
Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge 3.10GHz Dual-Core Processor, Retail cooler
Crucial 2 x 2GB SDRAM
Ceton InfiniTV 4 PCIe tuner
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
Sony BR-5100S 2X BD-ROM 8X DVD-ROM 24X CD-ROM
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit

Whoo hoo !
I replaced the preamp I had an AP4800 UHF only with a AP2870 (inputs for both UHF and VHF) - now WTVD is as good as the UHF channels.

In case you're wondering - I have separate UHF and VHF antennas - a VHF CM Crossfire for VHF, and a CM4221 4 bay for UHF.

Excellent scooper. I like to see people have good results when they work on their antennas. I worked on mine today too. Cleaned the balun ends and tightened the feed lines on my Winegard UHF 8bay. They were loose, and refitted the screen I added on for VHF reception because I have a few channels on that band, and kept getting drops when the wind blew, and now I have increased signal and no drops no matter how strong the wind blew today, and with the antenna in the wrong direction. Hurricane Irene apparently caused my antenna to get fouled up, and I just hung it back up without really checking it out. I also added a new pre-amp a few weeks ago, and hooked up an additional TV. So I have 5 devices running off my antenna with no problem.

Hello there,

I was wondering if someone could tell me whether all of the local broadcast channels on TWC in Raleigh/Durham are still clear QAM. I am considering using a couple of lifetime TivoHDs with cablecards and TWC's broadcast cable package as I have had an inconsistent experience with OTA in my location. I have no interest in repeating my Tuning Adapter experience, but cablecard+clear QAM seem pretty reliable from what I have read.

Thanks,
Ted

I have Roadrunner Internet only (not subscribing to Lifeline, basic, digital or any TV) and I can get all the Raleigh digital stations EXCEPT WTVD (channel 11 / ABC) as clear QAM. Now since I can get most everything (except PBS) OTA and I subscribe to Dish - I don't usually bother with the clear QAM. I would imagine that if you are subscribing to ANY cable - you should be able to get all the digital channels from our local broadcast stations.

I was wondering if someone could tell me whether all of the local broadcast channels on TWC in Raleigh/Durham are still clear QAM.

Judging by a channel scan, you get everything except the HD Univision feed. So, mostly all.

ETA: Actually, they picked that up too recently. So, yes, everything. (I've got digital cable, but this is on a TV that's just connected to the wall outlet.)

Hello there,

I was wondering if someone could tell me whether all of the local broadcast channels on TWC in Raleigh/Durham are still clear QAM. I am considering using a couple of lifetime TivoHDs with cablecards and TWC's broadcast cable package as I have had an inconsistent experience with OTA in my location. I have no interest in repeating my Tuning Adapter experience, but cablecard+clear QAM seem pretty reliable from what I have read.

Thanks,
Ted

I don't think you can get cablecards unless you get a digital package? At least it used to be that way.

I don't think you can get cablecards unless you get a digital package? At least it used to be that way.

Hmmm... Thanks. I'll find out and post the answer here.

Is anyone else experiencing difficulties with receiving WRAL/WRAZ? Their signals seem very hard to tune to recently. I know I am a little far out, but I have never had trouble tuning to either channel in the past. It should be noted that 4, 11, 17, 22, and 40 are still coming in perfectly and 28 is a little fluttery but watchable, like usual. Last night, WRAL came in for a few minutes during the news but 99% of the time it's "Searching for signal." This has been happening for almost 2 weeks now and is annoying. A friend in Carrboro is experiencing the same issues, although the signal is slightly better.

Yesterday I was having issues with WRAL. I too am far out but I have a clean shot straight to Garner and usually get Raleigh with better quality than my locals.

Same here; I don't have the entire slate of Triad locals and those I do get are not perfect but the Garner stations are usually a lock, even WVTD. I just got home to find no WRAL and a very fluttery WRAZ but crystal clear other Garner stations. I wonder if it's because they're on adjacent RF channels and they interfere with each other?

Did the antenna possibly move? Did it possibly get water in the connections? Rain recentlh?

I'd bet on water in a connector outside. Otherwise squirrels chewing wires, etc. Look at it as three bands of frequencies to be concerned with:
WTVD is high VHF on channel 11
WNCN is low UHF on channel 17

WLFL is mid UHF on channel 28
WRDC is mid UHF on channel 27

WRAL is high UHF on channel 48
WRAZ is high UHF on channel 50

Tree leaves, atmospheric conditions, or any number of things can roll off the sensitivity on the higher frequencies. Normally, Pine trees are tuned perfectly to attenuate channel 17, so I know about natural obstacles.

The frequency response of the antenna system may have changed, either by rust, water in a connector, or a splitter going bad. A quick look at your signal meter on your set will tell you how the system is performing for the three main channel areas.

A chain saw can fix those pesky trees unless they are in the neighbor's yard. In that case, move the antenna. And don't forget wet leaves or pine straw on the roof in the valleys can affect an attic antenna.

I fiddled with it some after I posted earlier. Tightened everything, re-aimed it, re-did the AM21, and it's not much better. It has rained recently, yes, but the other Raleigh channels are fine, like I said earlier. I am watching the WRAL news right now, but it's dropping out a lot. WRAZ is better, though. A few weeks ago, I lost WLFL for almost a week for no reason. It was gone one day and several days later, it was back and has been fine. WLFL is always the "go-to" Garner channel as it, WGPX, WCWG, WUVC, and WUNC are the channels that I can with an indoor antenna without much effort.

To NBC17ENG: WFMY is fine, too, which is ch 51. Although WGSR (RF47) is alot worse than it usually is. WLXI is RF 43 and actually it's been BETTER than it usually is recently, maybe when I aimed it earlier, I aimed it a little too much toward the Greensboro towers. I'll fiddle more later. But you'll be happy as I am watching the NBC17 news now!

I haven't been able to watch ANY Triangle stations lately. I seem to favor distant reception from South Carolina these days. Also after I decided to ground the rotor bracket that holds the antenna mast to the bracket that mounts to the main pole, some channels dropped in strength while others went up. I'm glad I did it though for lightning reasons... I don't think it had any way to drain the static the way it was built without a ground wire.

What effect do rapid changes in atmospheric temperature have on OTA reception? And does rainfall actually reduce the signal strength, or is that more of a multi-path issue?

I have noticed, on my antenna, that rain causes the UHF channels issues but WTVD is perfect in the rain. In fact, during heavy rain is the only time I can get blips on WSET from VA anymore. (I used to get WSET perfectly at night and sometimes during the day nearly until the WTVD antenna work last year. Not sure how related the antenna work was, but it haven't seen it without heavy rain since!) After big storms, if the storms are still between me and the towers OR even near the towers, usually signals are gone for me, regardless of where the signals are located. WGPX is my closest, strongest signal (the proverbial "able to be tuned with a paperclip") and even that station after rain, is very pixelated. Post-rain interference is usually quick to clear up, within a couple of hours tops. I am sure this interference varies significantly by set up.

My experiance at my location is that the biggest issue with wind / rain is the effect they have on leaves and THAT is what causes multipath / signal breakup on ATSC broadcasts . Then again, I live in the middle of a forest, about 23 miles at 020 from the Garner antenna farm.

PBS is difficult at best for me, but everything else is fine. Draw a line between the antenna for WUNC and the one for WUNP in Roanake Rapids, and go about halfway in between, then go about 3-5 miles perpendicular (SE) to that line. Puts me at about 40 miles to either one, dealing with the trees.

Anyone having audio issues with WTVD 11-1? We get audio on commercials and local news updates audio, but not on the network feed audio. Appears to be digital sound, not analog. It happened during Good morning america, analog sound appeared to be fine. Kelly Rippa was fine??

Anyone having audio issues with WTVD 11-1? We get audio on commercials and local news updates audio, but not on the network feed audio. Appears to be digital sound, not analog. It happened during Good morning america, analog sound appeared to be fine. Kelly Rippa was fine??

Check your TV, Dish / Direct receiver or cable box for the SAP setting. I think you have it turned on. Turn it to normal stereo audio.

Check your TV, Dish / Direct receiver or cable box for the SAP setting. I think you have it turned on. Turn it to normal stereo audio.

Thanks for responding.

TV does not allow MTS on digital reciever. MTS is listed as Stereo however.
DVR is set to Dolby Digital/PCM with no option for SAP/MTS

What is weird is that sound can be heard when TV set to external speaker (note TV and DVR are connected to AV receiver via optical connections). I think it is a problem with network/broadcaster sending digital audio on 11-1. All the other stations including 11-2 and 11-3 are not an issue.

Since WRAL had not come back yet, I decided to move my antenna, replace the coax, and put the amplifier where it should be (closer to the antenna.) Amazing what doing things right will do. WRAL is back and at the highest level I've ever seen it (70-80% on the AM21 OTA Directv tuner). WTVD and WLFL seem to have lost a little bit of strength, though. Oh well, fine tuning will likely fix that.

I am hearing audio distortion on WNCN on Dish for the last 3 day. Anyone else?

I am hearing audio distortion on WNCN on Dish for the last 3 day. Anyone else?

I was hearing it on Directv, but I have since switched to TWC, and I have not experienced it there. Maybe there is a problem in the mpeg2 to mpeg4 transcoding on that channel. Make sure you notify Dish.

Does anyone know what Time Warner Cable's current QAM number for WUNC on the Raleigh cable system is? The UNC PBS channels (UNC-HD,UNC-KD, and UNC-EX) no longer show up when I do an auto scan.

Also, doesn't it seem that there is neither rhyme nor reason to the QAM mappings? WRAL maps to 85, WNCN maps to 84, and WTVD maps to 99. Where is the sense in that? Why not group all of the locals together at adjacent QAM numberings?

Do congress and the FCC need to have a talk with TWC?

Do congress and the FCC need to have a talk with TWC?

What about?

They are supposed to provide the OTA channels in the clear (i.e. not encrypted) but that's only true to subscribers.

If you are not a subscriber, then you aren't entitled.

If you are a subscriber, you have a set-top box or a cable card.

There is no entitlement to hook up cable to a TV and get free clear-QAM channels even if sometimes you can get such channels without subscribing to TWC services.

And being an Internet only subscriber is NOT the same as taking basic cable, even though you can view a number of the local broadcast channels.

What about?

They are supposed to provide the OTA channels in the clear (i.e. not encrypted) but that's only true to subscribers.

If you are not a subscriber, then you aren't entitled.

If you are a subscriber, you have a set-top box or a cable card.

There is no entitlement to hook up cable to a TV and get free clear-QAM channels even if sometimes you can get such channels without subscribing to TWC services.
I think you're forgetting that there is such a thing as a very basic cable TV subscription and that the cable companies are required by law to offer that very basic service. Also, the local channels that are offered under that service are supposed to have picture quality comparable to what can be received OTA. It is logical then that the cable company should also be required to tell customers what the QAM channel numbers are so that they do not have to rent or buy a set-top box.

Instead of complying with the intent of the FCC regulations that predated DTV, cable companies are now trying to get permission to encrypt every channel, including the local channels, so that they can eliminate clear QAM entirely and charge everyone for a box.

What about?

They are supposed to provide the OTA channels in the clear (i.e. not encrypted) but that's only true to subscribers.

If you are not a subscriber, then you aren't entitled.

If you are a subscriber, you have a set-top box or a cable card.

?

You are badly confused. Currently, the law states all cable providers must provide local HD in clear QAM, if they carry it on their system. Yes, one has to be a paying subscriber to have access to these channels, but nowhere does the OP say he isn't.

Having a cable box or CableCARD device is not a requirement for viewing local channels in HD.

As noted, the FCC is currently considering a proposal to allow any cable system that is all digital to encrypt all channels, including local HD. If this is approved, and it appears it will be, expect to see most all cable system go all digital and all encrypted, legally.

?

You are badly confused. Currently, the law states all cable providers must provide local HD in clear QAM, if they carry it on their system. Yes, one has to be a paying subscriber to have access to these channels, but nowhere does the OP say he isn't.

Having a cable box or CableCARD device is not a requirement for viewing local channels in HD.

As noted, the FCC is currently considering a proposal to allow any cable system that is all digital to encrypt all channels, including local HD. If this is approved, and it appears it will be, expect to see most all cable system go all digital and all encrypted, legally.
No, I am not confused. I know that cable companies will try to get away with whatever they can get away with. My real complaint is that congress and the FCC have not been zealous enough about looking out for the interests of the public. The FCC has been too concerned with corporate profits for cable companies.

In the days of analog broadcasting, many people who had the lowest tier of cable TV service could simply connect their TV sets directly to the wall jack without any set-top boxes or other equipment, and that would allow them to receive all of the local channels through the cable system with a picture quality as good or better than OTA.

Now there is this wonderful world of digital broadcasting, but if a cable TV customer wants to get those local channels through the cable service rather than OTA, many cable companies may require the customer to accept (or even pay for) a cumbersome set-top box that the customer does not want.

The FCC should require that all of the local channels on the very basic service tier be made available in both digital and analog format so that all consumers can receive (with the least cumbersome equipment possible) through the cable system the same type and highest quality of signal that their TV set will support.

Put the consumer and the pubic interest first, FCC. Tell the cable companies that they have had it too easy for too long.

Does anyone know what Time Warner Cable's current QAM number for WUNC on the Raleigh cable system is? The UNC PBS channels (UNC-HD,UNC-KD, and UNC-EX) no longer show up when I do an auto scan.Did you look in all possible QAM locations? Sometimes they get moved to completely different locations. If you are sure they are missing, you'll most likely have to call and try to find someone that knows what QAM is. In all cases I'm aware of, when this happens it's a just a mistake. None of these companies would intentionally violate a known FCC regulation, especially the second largest cableco in the US. It may take more than one call to find the right person to help. Good luck.

Also, doesn't it seem that there is neither rhyme nor reason to the QAM mappings? WRAL maps to 85, WNCN maps to 84, and WTVD maps to 99. Where is the sense in that? Why not group all of the locals together at adjacent QAM numberings?Usually the reason is system requirements. Remember they have digital cable, analog cable, VOIP, and Internet to deal with.

Do congress and the FCC need to have a talk with TWC?Probably not worth the effort.

No, I am not confused.I wasn't replying to you with that comment.

Sorry, Ken H. I thought that your reply was to my post, but I now see that you were replying to someone who had replied to one of my posts.

Sorry, Ken H. I thought that your reply was to my post, but I now see that you were replying to someone who had replied to one of my posts.

Not a problem, thx.