Too bad. I really want a HD EOD. I watched last year's Six Feet Under season finale on regular EOD thinking how nice it would be to have HD EOD....


PPV Special Event, they've had it up before for a fight.

There are a few of us getting Gregg Loewen to come to Vegas to get calibration done on our sets in July. Are there any other interested parties who want a top notch calibration done while he is here? You can sign up at his website lionav.com and a $50 deposit is required. This should be set up well in advance so that he can book his time to be here. Please post back if you do sign up or have questions.
I have had a calibration done before, and the cost is well worth the investment. Some people ask why I would get a second one done, but temprature, color, sharpness, and other factors change over time. It's been almost three years and my set should be tweaked again to bring out the quality that only a calibration can bring out. To me, the price is fair and the return is well worth the investment, especially with CRT based projection systems.

vegggas

Isn't it silly that they are blacking out the Padre/Cle game on INHD, so we can watch the SD version of the exact same broadcast on Channel 96.

Isn't it silly that they are blacking out the Padre/Cle game on INHD, so we can watch the SD version of the exact same broadcast on Channel 96.

That's those asinine MLB blackout rules rearing their ugly head again.

There are a few of us getting Gregg Loewen to come to Vegas to get calibration done on our sets in July. Are there any other interested parties who want a top notch calibration done while he is here? You can sign up at his website lionav.com and a $50 deposit is required. This should be set up well in advance so that he can book his time to be here. Please post back if you do sign up or have questions.
I have had a calibration done before, and the cost is well worth the investment. Some people ask why I would get a second one done, but temprature, color, sharpness, and other factors change over time. It's been almost three years and my set should be tweaked again to bring out the quality that only a calibration can bring out. To me, the price is fair and the return is well worth the investment, especially with CRT based projection systems.

vegggas

Already booked with him! I can't wait!

Hi guys!!

Feel free to email me directly with questions (gregg@lionav.com) or to call me at 201 232 3380 in regard to video setup and ISF calibration services in Vegas.

The dates of my visit are flexible at this time, but I am wanting to come during the last part of July. As soon as I get 4 bookings I will book my plane ticket.

Happy viewing,

Gregg
www.lionav.com

I have read various reviews about how much better a properly calibrated television looks, but I just can't get by the cost factor. I mean, my picture right now is pretty damn good just with my own little tweaking, but will it be that much better after spending about $600 to get a full calibration? Its a matter of getting the bang for the buck. If it were only a couple of hundred I'd probably wouldn't hesitate getting it done.

I had Gregg do my Sony RPTV about three years ago and the difference was amazing. He has done a couple touch ups on his subsequent return trips. When I got my projector and set up my dedicated room, Gregg was instrumental in helping answer a ton of questions on what to buy, installation and all the tech stuff I knew nothing about at the time. He then did the calibration on the projector and Atlantic Technology speakers, again, with excellent results.

If anyone is interested, I welcome you to come over to see the TV and the PJ.

Max.........

What kind of a projector are you using?

and what part of town are you in?

Hi again guys!!

Max is running almost the same PJ I am. It is a Marantz VP12L2, I have the VP12L3. The L refers to long throw where most of the reviews label the PJ as a VP12S2 or VP12S3. Max, thanks for the kind words.

I have had a fair # of requests for pricing , and I can never seem to get my web site up to date. So I will post a summary here:

Travel fee $50, paid at time of booking and used in conjunction with the booking form at www.lionav.com Calibration fee is not payable until performed so do not add this to the booking shopping cart.

Calibration fees:
225 Direct view tube, non HD, 1-2 inputs
275 Direct view tube, HD, up to 3 inputs
400 RPTV - digital LCD, DLP, DILA, LCOS up to 3 inputs / scan rates as required
400 FPTV - digital LCD, DLP, DILA up to 3 inputs / scan rates as required
The above displays (depending on type) may require up to 9 gray scales in total

CRT Fees
$400 crt RPTV See site for services, cleaning, focus, convergence etc, 1 gray scale (DVD) add 150 for HD gray scale, HD convergence, overscan, centering, optional of 150 additional for duvetyne cloth lining (material and labor)
$ crt front projector - quoted as required....range from $450 - $1100.

Feel free to email or to call with any questions.

If you are wanting my services for July, please book ASAP. Thank you.

Happy viewing,

Gregg Loewen

Gregg........

My BenQ 8700+ has a bit over 1300 hours on the bulb and is noticably dimmer than when I first set it up.

Is it "worth" doing an ISF on a projector with this many hours..? Or should I get a new bulb, put about 50 hours on it and then have you work your magic?

Thanks,

hi!!

That is your call. I do always recommend bulb replacement after it dims by 30% rather than waiting for bulb failure. If you want to....buy a new bulb and we can calibrate for that (with 50 hours of break in), then we can reinsert the old bulb and calibrate for that (and leave it in). We can record both sets of #s so you will be set either way. This would be done at no extra charge....consider it the LionAV summer sale :-)

Regards

Gregg

Max.........

What kind of a projector are you using?

and what part of town are you in?


I'm in Green Valley.

Max........ what front projector are you running?

I currently have a BenQ 8700+, but being that my home is up for sale, I don't know if the prospective purchasers will want me to leave it or not (probably would take it for free!)

Then were moving up with the "old folks" in Anthem.

I have a Marantz VP12L2. It has the long throw lens. It's about two years old.
Sounds like a good time to upgrade!

Absolutely Max........... wow 2 years old... it's almost an antique!

(progress is great..... ain't it!)

I was flipping through the digital channels on the internal digital tuner on my TV and came across the NFL channel. I switched over to the cable box tuner but the NFL channel was not listed yet. So I assume any of you with a built in digital tuner will be able to get a sneak preview of the channel before Cox actually adds it to the cable box lineup.

In my bill from Cox this month....

"MORE & MORE! Cox Communications is presenting to you a
free preview of NFL Network from July 6 - July 31 on digital
channel 317 as well as Expanded Basic channel 75!"

"Effective July 29th, 2005 Cox Communications is excited to
announce that "NFL Network" will be added to our Sports and
Information Tier on channel 317. Experience the NFL in a
whole new way with NFL Network! NFL Network includes the
only year-around, 24 hour, seven-day-a week network
dedicated solely to NFL. Fans can tune into NFL Total Access,
Emmy-Award winning NFL Film Presents, preseason games
and much more!"

Also, there is now a $2.95 fee to pay your bill with a customer service rep. I guess they really dont want people talking to their CSRs.

In my bill from Cox this month....

"MORE & MORE! Cox Communications is presenting to you a
free preview of NFL Network from July 6 - July 31 on digital
channel 317 as well as Expanded Basic channel 75!"



What do they mean by "free preview"? I thought it was going to be free to begin with.

Its free if you subscribe to the digital sports tier I believe.

That's my understanding as well.




Its free if you subscribe to the digital sports tier I believe.

Hi again guys!!

Max is running almost the same PJ I am. It is a Marantz VP12L2, I have the VP12L3. The L refers to long throw where most of the reviews label the PJ as a VP12S2 or VP12S3. Max, thanks for the kind words.

I have had a fair # of requests for pricing , and I can never seem to get my web site up to date. So I will post a summary here:

Travel fee $50, paid at time of booking and used in conjunction with the booking form at www.lionav.com Calibration fee is not payable until performed so do not add this to the booking shopping cart.

Calibration fees:
225 Direct view tube, non HD, 1-2 inputs
275 Direct view tube, HD, up to 3 inputs
400 RPTV - digital LCD, DLP, DILA, LCOS up to 3 inputs / scan rates as required
400 FPTV - digital LCD, DLP, DILA up to 3 inputs / scan rates as required
The above displays (depending on type) may require up to 9 gray scales in total

CRT Fees
$400 crt RPTV See site for services, cleaning, focus, convergence etc, 1 gray scale (DVD) add 150 for HD gray scale, HD convergence, overscan, centering, optional of 150 additional for duvetyne cloth lining (material and labor)
$ crt front projector - quoted as required....range from $450 - $1100.

Feel free to email or to call with any questions.

If you are wanting my services for July, please book ASAP. Thank you.

Happy viewing,

Gregg Loewen

Reminder alert! If anyone is on the fence about getting a calibration done, Gregg is booking his ticket to Vegas this week. There are a few of us already booked with him, but he needs to know how many calibrations need to be done to determine how much time to stay in Vegas.

vegggas

Reminder alert! If anyone is on the fence about getting a calibration done, Gregg is booking his ticket to Vegas this week. There are a few of us already booked with him, but he needs to know how many calibrations need to be done to determine how much time to stay in Vegas.

vegggas

...and this isn't just ANY calibration. Gregg is one of the best in the business - if not THE best. Do a Google search on him and you will find many satisfied customers. He lives in New England and only gets out to Vegas 1-2 times a year. If you have ever had thoughts about doing this, now is a good time.

I notice that the volume level for channels 3, 8, 13 are much lower than the others. Is that because they are digital transmissions? Its a pain to channel flip and have to constantly raise and lower the volume level going to and from these channels, but the picture quality is great.

Rumor has it that this Tuesday, June 21st, in a sub-committee on Commerce, Science, and Justice, a single senator will propose an amendment, hidden among many others, to re-animate the MPAA's broadcast flag and burn it into law.

We as Nevadans have a full comittee member, Harry Reid. Do your part.

http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=145

I notice that the volume level for channels 3, 8, 13 are much lower than the others. Is that because they are digital transmissions? Its a pain to channel flip and have to constantly raise and lower the volume level going to and from these channels, but the picture quality is great.

I don't notice any difference in volume. Are you talking about OTA / Antenna reception? And are you talking about the difference between the digital channels only, such as the difference between 3.1, 8.1 & 13.1 and the other digital stations, such as 5.1 and 10.1?

Or do you mean between the analog & digital channels, such 3.0 to 3.1? There would be a significant difference in volume (and other qualities) between an analog and digital channel.

I have the analog stations deleted in my TV's tuner setup, so if I switch channels by just pushing the channel Up or Down button on the remote, it skips analog and just goes between the digital channels. For example, if I'm watching NBC digital on 3.1 and go up one channel, it goes directly to Fox digital on 5.1, skipping the analog 5.0 channel. That might be your solution. Why watch & listen to an analog station when even if it's only Simulated Digital (not HD) the digital channel will have better audio & video.

DAVE, sorry, I should have been more specific...I was referring to the volume level difference on channels 3, 8, 13 using the 8300HD DVR cable box. These channels have a much lower volume level with the same tv volume setting than all the other regular cable channels, requiring constant volume level adjustments when going to or from them.

DAVE, sorry, I should have been more specific...I was referring to the volume level difference on channels 3, 8, 13 using the 8300HD DVR cable box. These channels have a much lower volume level with the same tv volume setting than all the other regular cable channels, requiring constant volume level adjustments when going to or from them.

OK, that makes a little difference. :) I used to have Cox digital & HD service and don't remember any difference in volume on those channels. But your problem shouldn't be caused by those channels "being digital", because they're not. 3,8,13 are all analog channels. The digital version of those networks are up the in 700's channels. There shouldn't be any volume difference between any of the analog channels.

Your problem sounds like a question for Cox Cable Customer Service, if they still have any people working there. I still have cable internet, and the last time I tried Cox customer service, I gave up after being on hold for 45 minutes.

OK, that makes a little difference. :) I used to have Cox digital & HD service and don't remember any difference in volume on those channels. But your problem shouldn't be caused by those channels "being digital", because they're not. 3,8,13 are all analog channels. The digital version of those networks are up the in 700's channels. There shouldn't be any volume difference between any of the analog channels.

Your problem sounds like a question for Cox Cable Customer Service, if they still have any people working there. I still have cable internet, and the last time I tried Cox customer service, I gave up after being on hold for 45 minutes.

Dave, you are incorrect. Cox has been remapping the digital (non-HD) versions of NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX from the 120-130 range to their analog equivalents. I'd say the problem is DEFINATELY because those channels are digital.

Actually, they are digitally encoding many of the analog channels and remapping them to the locations such as 3,5,8, etc. The difference between volume levels is because of the differences between you analog volume level (variable) and your digital volume level (fixed, except for dynamic range selection). The digitally encoded channels have digital audio sent out at a fixed level. Analog channels, if connected via digital are converted from the analog channel audio level.
Try adjusting your Dynamic range, and also setting your analog audio level up or down with the Vol+ and Vol- Keys if the settings are in varible mode. There is very little, if any, difference in audio levels coming from the different channels.

vegggas

Thanks Vegggas.....changing the dynamic range setting from normal to narrow increased the volume on those channels. :) :)

Does anyone know if the HDMI output on the Cox 8300HD box is functional? If so, what improvement does it provide over component?

Thanks!

I have my Samsung HLP 5063 connected to the HDMI output of the SA 8300 and it works flawlessly. However, when I switched form component to HDMI output I did not notice much of a change in the quality of the picture.

What choice would be best for my set up, with a Panny 53" that is 1080i. I have the SA8000hd. It has been on fixed since I got the box, but was wondering if another setting would be better. Thanks



Output Mode Explanations:
FIXED- Displays all content at whatever resolution you selected, based on what you selected in the wizard. You force the output to a single output and the box scales to that input. Easily changed in the settings menu of the box. Although all the options WERE available during my beta testing, ONLY this mode is currently available at the time of this writing. I'm told they will enable the other modes in a future update. UPDATE AUG 31 - Passthrough and Auto DVI are in wide Beta release in SanDiego and select beta testers nationally
PASS THROUGH- Passes the input signal through to the output with no change, unless you disable certain resolutions. For example 480i in to 480i out, 480P in to 480P out, 1080i in to 1080i out, 720P in to 720P out. If you disable 720P, 720P in will go to 1080i out.
AUTO DVI- If you are using the DVI port, you will see this option instead of the Pass Through option. Resolution is automatically formatted to the scan rate supported by the TV. DVI not available until Sept/Oct. UPDATE AUG 31 - Passthrough and Auto DVI are in wide Beta release in SanDiego and select beta testers nationally
UpConvert 1 - All 480i and 480P signals get upconverted to 480P. All 720P and 1080i signals get upconverted to 1080i.
UpConvert 2 - All 480i and 480P signals get upconverted to 480P. All 720P and 1080i signals get converted to 720P.

I have mine on pass-through. I used Vegggas tips and tricks link and read the "Removing Bars On SD Channels" section

When "Tivoing" (on a Cox SA 8000HD) on a "record all new shows" setting, is there any way to increase the recording time by a few minutes. When recording a show on USA, it apparantely runs past the top of the hour and the recording cuts off about one minute early. When I try to set the timer to a longer period of time, it defaults back to the original setting.

Any ideas?
"

Does anyone notice a vertical greyish translutent stripe on the right side of the screen on channel 8 HD during the news broadcasts?

Does anyone notice a vertical greyish translutent stripe on the right side of the screen on channel 8 HD during the news broadcasts?
That's the edge of the overlay for the screen graphics. It's the same on the NTSC broadcast and also on other channels news broadcasts.

vegggas

That's the edge of the overlay for the screen graphics. It's the same on the NTSC broadcast and also on other channels news broadcasts.

vegggas

Thanks, I though it was just my setup or the SA8300 causing it.

Quick sound question for those experts out there. I've got a Sammy HLP 5063 hooked up HDMI to the SA 8300 HD. My Sammy manual says that the TV is compatable with "all" sound formats, however, when I set my sound to Dolby Digital (in the menu on the SA 8300) I get no sound through my TV speaker. I'm already running an optical line to my home theater and DD works fine there. It seems that the Sammy is not compatable with the DD? If this is true I will just have to live with it.

BTW, the reason I care is that sometimes it would be nice to simply listen to the audio w/o turning on my HT. I know I can go into the menu everytime and change the sound format when I wish to do this. It's just a pain and I hate unnecessary button pushes if I can avoid them.

Any help/suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

Quick sound question for those experts out there. I've got a Sammy HLP 5063 hooked up HDMI to the SA 8300 HD. My Sammy manual says that the TV is compatable with "all" sound formats, however, when I set my sound to Dolby Digital (in the menu on the SA 8300) I get no sound through my TV speaker. I'm already running an optical line to my home theater and DD works fine there. It seems that the Sammy is not compatable with the DD? If this is true I will just have to live with it.

BTW, the reason I care is that sometimes it would be nice to simply listen to the audio w/o turning on my HT. I know I can go into the menu everytime and change the sound format when I wish to do this. It's just a pain and I hate unnecessary button pushes if I can avoid them.

Any help/suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.
Some TVs, even if they can decode 5.1 sound, may only be able to do that when the signal comes in through their OTA or Cable tuner. In those cases, when the TV's HDMI input gets 5.1 digital sound, the TV may not be able to decode that. Thus it may ask for the set top to send it stereo audio (PCM), when the two handshake.

The 8300 has a way to override the handshake audio selection of HDMI (between TV-8300), which you reference in your post. Obviously, if that is set to Dolby Digital and the TV can only decode PCM on HDMI, the TV will not produce sound.

A quick test to see if your TV asks for and can decode dolby digital (5.1) from an HDMI source...
-on 8300, select Audio: Digital Out to HDMI
-on 8300, select a channel which you know has Dolby Digital 5.1
-Connect HDMI from the 8300 to your TV
-Connect optical or coax audio to your HT
Check to see if your HT display indicates it is getting 5.1 or 2.0? If it is reading 2.0 or something other than 5.1, the HDMI of the TV is selecting PCM audio on the 8300. Since the 8300 uses a common digital signal on HDMI and the Coax&Optical outs, the format HDMI forces will also go to the HT.

So you probably have three choices:
-in the 8300 audio menu, select HDMI. This will let the TV force PCM audio. You should hear audio from the TV, but you probably only get 2 channel audio (PCM) to the HT.
-in the 8300 audio menu, select Dolby Digital. This will give 5.1 to the HT (if the tuned channel has it), but probably will give the TV something it can not handle and thus no sound.
-connect the 8300 to your TV with YPbPr and L-R audio. Then use optical or coax audio to your HT. This seperates the sound output, sending stereo to your TV and full digital 5.1 to your HT.


--Lane

Thanks Lane. Sure enough, I ran your test and on a DD station when I set the audio to HDMI it changed on my HT from DD to PCM. The Sammy must accept "all" audio formats from inputs other than the HDMI.

Joe

I was wondering if anyone has an up to date compiled list of potential new Cox HD channels and when we might see them.

Sorry if this info is already listed in this thread, but I could not find it.

Thanks
Joe

I was wondering if anyone has an up to date compiled list of potential new Cox HD channels and when we might see them.

Sorry if this info is already listed in this thread, but I could not find it.

Thanks
Joe

I don't think Cox has such a list. So how could anyone else have it?
I'm eagerly waiting for ESPN 2 HD and WB. Something tells me I'll be waiting a long time.

I was reading on the SA 8300 thread that a new Sara version is becoming available to some cable systems. Fixes a few annoying things and adds a 4th FF. Vegggas, have you heard any Cox gossip about when we may get this revision?

I was reading on the SA 8300 thread that a new Sara version is becoming available to some cable systems. Fixes a few annoying things and adds a 4th FF. Vegggas, have you heard any Cox gossip about when we may get this revision?

That's a patch to the existing OS DVR1.4 for the 8300DVR specifically for CableVision of NY. Many cable co's will not be releasing that patch in favor of the new OS DVR1.5 a bit later. Due to the problems associated with the patch, Cox Atlanta will instead probably wait to release the new OS this summer. Read the link for my earlier answer.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5820981&&#post5820981

vegggas

Just a message to the Las Vegas crowd to let them know that I successfully installed a Maxtor 300 GB Quickview Expander Drive to the SA 8300 HD box here in Vegas. The drive is an eSata external drive and comes complete with the eSata cable.

It took four tries and reboots of the SA box before it recognized the drive and asked if I wanted to format it. Once formatted my drive space used for recordings went from 94 to 31% full.

I picked it up at buy.com for $276 delivered.

Just in case anyone wants to know, channel 3.2 weather plus is now active OTA

I can't find the NFL Network on Cox. Wasn't it supposed to be added?

July 6th thru the 29th "Free" Preview of NFL Network on Ch 75 and 317......July 29th "officially" added to ch 317.

When (if ever) is ESPN 2 HD going to be added to the Cox line-up?
Many, many HD games are being missed by the Las Vegas viewers because Cox doesn't carry it.

I can't think of a plausible excuse that they might use.

Also today, I read in an Audio/Video magazine that the FOX network has abandoned its widescreen 480P presentation of sports. EXCEPT for the Sat. afternoon "Game of the Week"
They pass it off as being in 720P (genuine HD widescreen) but its apparently NOT. The lack of true HD can be noticed in longshots of fans, which are blurred and unsteady, and in baseball unifiorms which seem to be fraying as you look at them.

Why aren't they in HD? WHY? WHY? WHY?

Is the drive a 7200 and 16 mb buffer...?
Also do you know if I get a 3200hd can I use the firewre out to my pioneer 520hs...

We need ESPN2 HD, TNT HD and Universal HD to complete our HD lineup

When (if ever) is ESPN 2 HD going to be added to the Cox line-up?
Many, many HD games are being missed by the Las Vegas viewers because Cox doesn't carry it.

I can't think of a plausible excuse that they might use.


Hardly ANY provider has ESPN2HD. It's not just Cox. Not even Directv or Dish has it. The "fault" lies with ESPN and not the providers. Write a letter to ESPN and ask them why hardly anyone is carrying this channel.

FYI, on July 9, they are showing three Season One episodes of Battlestar Galactica in high-definition TV on NBC. Season 2 starts on SciFi July 15.

Quick update:
NFL channel is on 317

vegggas

BTW...
Universal HD is already a Cox channel with corporate agreements and available in some markets. Problem here is, there isn't enough space right now for the feed to be inserted locally.

v

I took Bruin95's advice and wrote an email to ESPN about ESPN 2 HD availability. Here's ESPN's response:

Thank you for writing.

ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD are available to any cable system or satellite provider that would like to offer the service to its subscribers. It is, however, the system's decision as to whether or not they are offered to their viewers. You should check with your provider to find out what their plans are to add new services, including ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD, to their lineup.

We hope you are soon able to enjoy ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD programming.

Sincerely,
ESPN Viewer Response
Perhaps it is time to ask Cox once again why we do not have ESPN 2 HD...

I took Bruin95's advice and wrote an email to ESPN about ESPN 2 HD availability. Here's ESPN's response:

Thank you for writing.

ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD are available to any cable system or satellite provider that would like to offer the service to its subscribers. It is, however, the system's decision as to whether or not they are offered to their viewers. You should check with your provider to find out what their plans are to add new services, including ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD, to their lineup.

We hope you are soon able to enjoy ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD programming.

Sincerely,
ESPN Viewer Response
Perhaps it is time to ask Cox once again why we do not have ESPN 2 HD...
The same reason it's not on any other system outside of Adelphia. MONEY! ESPN was price gouging for the ESPN signal during re-negotiations (was that 3.50/base subscriber?), and eventually lowered the price to a more reasonable fee. They figured they would make their money back on the ESPN2 launch. ESPN2 was available during Adelphia's contract negotiations, so it was included.
FWIW, INHD is available to all cable and Sat services too, but D* and E* will not jump on it for the same reason - A set fee per digital subsriber means they have to pay for every subscriber. ESPN2 is ALREADY negotiated as an analog channel to base subscribers (Vegas has over 750,000 base subscriers last I heard) and wants an additional fee from the base subscribers for the HD feed each month. This has to be passed at the corporate level and be charged to each municipality.
Oh, yeah, Locally, the cable plant is maxed out and no more mods are available. Any new content has to replace old content.

vegggas

vegggas,

Will they eventually upgrade and build/buy new "mods" or are we stuck with a set number of HD channels for the foreseeable future?

Thanks for the answer on the ESPN bit, good info.

Joe

They have to start removing analog channels to free up more space.

Example - Not specfic to Las Vegas- Cable/Sat Frequency allocation 0101

Basically if you could imagine that there is frequency space for 100 analog channels (6Mhz ea), we can make some assumptions. For each analog channel modulator removed, in it's place, you could put a 256QAM Modulator. That QAM modulator can put out about 38Mbps. With that 38Mbps, they could put about ten 4Mbps SD digital channels or two HD digital channels. Because of local franchise agreements that mandate that a certain number of basic and advanced basic channels have to remain on an analog tier, or available to each household without the need of a converter, most channels have to remain in an analog format. The attempts to remove some of the analog channels has been met with numerous complaints from various groups, and has thus been halted a few times. If the current space is all there is, and more content is pushed onto the system, then more compression or better utilization of space will be needed. With Stat-Muxing, more channels can be broadcast on the same modulator, as long as the AVERAGE Mbps remains low, or that they all don't go to full usage at the same time. i.e. if 15 channels are inserted into a 38Mbps QAM, and they run at an average around 2Mbps, and a peak of 4Mbps once in a while, things will look ok. If all hit peaks a the same time, there will be pixelation all over the place as the channels are bit starved.
Typically, channel allocation is dependant on usage and need. Music channels require low bandwidth, so as many as 20 or more at under 2Mbps can be put on a QAM. Premium channels will require 4Mbps or more guaranteed dedicated space to remain watchable.
Blah, blah, blah, etc, etc, etc.
The last I heard was that there supposed to be some changes in the summer, but nothing specifically mentioned.

vegggas

Regarding baseball in HD--This from SoundVision Magazine

"Unfortunately, FOX Digital TV stations carry the games in the confusing "Fox Widescreen" (a 480p format), largely abandoned last fall when it switched its prime time shows to 720p (a true HD format).

For real HD baseball on Fox you have to wait for this weeks all-star game, and the World Series."

Why does this have to be?

The explanation offered by Veggas regarding Cox/added HD programming, does not satisfy me.
We are the CUSTOMERS. Cox must find a way to satisfy the demand for more HD channels or it will surely begin to lose coustomers.
Not carrying ESPN2, TNT and WB in HD is (in my view) unforgivable. If "money" is the cause, well then raise the fees. We couldn't possibly be talking about more than a few dollars per month. The fact is that EVERYTHING presented in HD should be AVAILABLE in HD. ESPN2HD, in particular is NOT an O-T-A- station and every effort should be made to provide it to the consumer. The viewer has no other options by which to receive it.

This cities road builders did not anticipate the influx of people and cars, and are making every effort to remedy that situation (although probably will fall short). In a similar manner Cox Cable should be making EVERY EFFORT to carry ALL the HD stations that are available in other cities, Not providing the service at the HIGHEST possible level, short changes the customer, and makes his investment in HD equipment questionable.

Since ALL analog channels are scheduled to disappear by 2009, Cox cable and every other provider should be weaning its recalcitrant customers from dependency on such channels.
Otherwise, I think that HD enthusiasts will be forced to wait until that year to get added HD stations. And even then, Cox will probably find a reason (expressed through its apologists) to deny them to us.

Word,
You don't have to be satisfied with Cox, you also have a D* account. If all it takes is money, then YOU (I don't want the increased fees) should spend a lot of it yourself and get BEV, E* and a B.U.D. too. You might pick up an extra channel here and there. Decisions to carry those channels are not made locally, but are national contracts (Sinclair owns WB) that require negotiations that do not always work out. Usually, the negotiations are not just for the single channel, but a package of channels owned by or are part of partnerships that require that their services be put on the analog feed (i.e. shopping and other useless channels) and the fees are heavy enough per channel to impact the pricing beyond acceptable limits.
As far as all channels going analog in 2009, that is not true. There is only a mandate for Free Over The Air stations (local municipalities) to cease their Analog broadcast transmissions and use only their Digital (SD) transmissions directly into customers homes. Cable channels are not affected, nor are paid television services, so there are no plans for many of the cable only channels to ever go digital. There is NO PROVISION at all for ANY CHANNEL to ever be in High Def.
Unfortunately, due to thousands of people much like yourself, fighting to KEEP analog channels on cable for ease of use with older TV's without a STB converter, the process to convert to an all digital format is being slowed down. While the viewing rights of the many (analog customers) hinder the growth and enjoyment of the few (Digital and HD Customers) progress will be slow.

vegggas

get BEV, E* and a B.U.D. too.

Iwould look into it, if I knew what those letters stood for?
Please clarify. Thank You.

Iwould look into it, if I knew what those letters stood for?
Please clarify. Thank You.
Bell ExpressView, Echostar, Big Ugly Dish (C-Band).
Each has it's pro's and con's.

vegggas

You cannot get Bell ExpressVu in this country. It is strictly for Canada. It's their answer to Directv which, of course, is not available in Canada (legally that is ;) ).

People often confuse the FCC mandate for digital to mean HDTV. I wish it was true. As veggas explained there is only so much bandwidth aavailable for the cable companies to use. Therefore they have to aquire/plan out a channel line up and the conversion of analog to digital channels well in advance. It's not going to happen overnight. Have a BUD and enjoy what we have. By the way from what I understand we have more HD channels than most markets.

Eddie

To Bruin 95 and others: There are a number of local Vegas Valley residents that have a Grey Market ExpressVu subscription. These individuals pay for their subscription with auto-billing to a credit card, and maintain a Canadian address with the Grey Market provider for an additional yearly fee. Whether any of those have the HD package is another question.

On another note: Is Vegggas becoming a little too pro Cox Communications, defending all they do, or don't do?

I don't think so. Before switching to HD myself (about 3 years ago), I was pretty anti-cox. However,over the past couple of years, Cox has been great. They have more HD Content that D*, it is much more affordable (D*'s HD TIVO is still $799) and their PVR has been great. They only nick I would pick is one not of Cox's making, D*'s exclusive right to the NFL TIcket. I think D* realizes this is their only huge advantage over Cox, so that is why they paid so much for it during the renegotiation. The more I hear about how much D* gouges theirs HD bleeding edge customers, the more I appreciate Cox. Not only does it cost 799 for the HD-TIVO, they don't have local HD channels (yet), they charge an extra $99 for HD on the Sunday Ticket (making it over $300) and their HD package is extra. Cox has actgually done a pretty good job providing content.

(plus I am happy that they ended up showing my Padres on channel 96)






On another note: Is Vegggas becoming a little too pro Cox Communications, defending all they do, or don't do?

Hi all -- I'm here in Vegas and using Cox Digital. I have the SA 8000HD. Reading about those of you with the 8300HD leads me to ask whether I should be looking to move to the 8300? Are there any specific advantages to the newer box?

I'm learning about all this as I try to hook up my new Slingbox, so please excuse me if this is a really stupid question :)

Thanks,

-- Bob

On another note: Is Vegggas becoming a little too pro Cox Communications, defending all they do, or don't do?

Do you read any of his posts? He just told Word where he could get more HD if he wanted it and none were Cox. You like Word seem to be reading what you want to read, Vegggas has done nothing but explain the reasons behind why COX and others do what they do program wise.

Do you read any of his posts? He just told Word where he could get more HD if he wanted it and none were Cox. You like Word seem to be reading what you want to read, Vegggas has done nothing but explain the reasons behind why COX and others do what they do program wise.

I agree. Those who seem intent on continually questioning Vegggas' intentions should really try to understand the difference between being a defender of Cox, and just being very informed about Cox (and the industry in general). I, for one, really appreciate having someone with Vegggas' knowledge on this board. More than one of my decisions has been at least partially based on information provided by Vegggas.

I agree. Those who seem intent on continually questioning Vegggas' intentions should really try to understand the difference between being a defender of Cox, and just being very informed about Cox (and the industry in general). I, for one, really appreciate having someone with Vegggas' knowledge on this board. More than one of my decisions has been at least partially based on information provided by Vegggas.


We'd be clueless with out Vegggas, advocate or not.

The day will come (certainly not tomorrow), but in the not too distant future (say 7-10 years) when ALL transmissions will be in HD on ALL channels.

Will Cox still be telling us they don't have the necessary bandwidth to provide the stations to us?? I wouldn't bet against that circumstance.

People (myself included) sometimes get annoyed with Vegggas' seeming excuse making for Cox Cable. He seems to be always explaining why they "can't" or won't" do this or that. Many of us feel that with his apparent "connections" he should be a very strong advocate towards changing those "can'ts" to "cans" and those "won'ts" to "wills".He may be unsuccessful in accomplishing anything, but he (of all people) should hold every one of their toes to the fire. That is NOT to say that I (or anyone else) is unappreciative of the valuable information he does provide.

And just because we have more HD available from Cox than do many other cities, should we be satisfied? I think NOT. When we have the same (or more) HD available than NY or LA does, Then (and only then) might I feel a modicum of satisfaction. Las Vegas is no longer in the "boonies" and shouldn't be considered as such.

Maybe we ought to get Mayor Goodman and Senator Reid in on the deal. THEY seem to be strong consumer advocates. And that's what we need.

Some people don't get more patient and wiser with age!

Some people don't get more patient and wiser with age!

As I have gotten older, I am LESS tolerant of inefficiency and the status quo.

Since I am an "activist" personality, I do NOT readily accept "can't" as an answer. I think every avenue should be pursued to change that "can't be done" to a "will be done". I don't hold Vegggas responsible for this situation in any way, but am frequently disappointed that he doesn't share that attitude.
As a case in point, take the argument regarding the San Diego Padres in HD. Cox provided that to us last year. This year, those telecasts have been relegated to analog channel 96. I am NOT aware that anything replaced them on the HD channels. Cox just dropped them and complained that they didn't have the bandwidth to continue them. How come they had enough bandwidth last year and not enough bandwidth this year?

Smells fishy to me!!!

Perhaps a "sit in" is in order.

Hopefully there will come a day when we can all get what we want. Whether it is a car that goes 0-60 in 3 seconds and get 100 MPG, or a cable company that provides us every channel in high definition for $10 a month, I hope someday that time will come. However, until then, Cox is a business and much be run as such. I agree that complaining and demanding may cause them to change, but they also have pressure from other segments of their demographic. What about the person that wants 10 discovery channels? The person that wants 10 spanish speaking channels? The person that wants 10 lifetime channels :eek:? The person that wants affordable basic cable and nothing else? Cox has to balance all of these concerns and consider the costs of changing/updating/expanding. I believe, for such a large company, that they have done pretty well. We have more HD than most people in the country and they converted to a PVR pretty quickly.

I am pretty satisfied with their service. Granted, it can always be better, I would like NFL Ticket, I would like the Padres in HD (but I am glad we at least have it in SD given they were going to drop it completely), I would like for Cox to give me free cable for life., but we are going to have to wait for such things. Utopia is just around the corner. ;)




Since I am an "activist" personality, I do NOT readily accept "can't" as an answer.

Perhaps a "sit in" is in order.

Hopefully there will come a day when we can all get what we want. Whether it is a car that goes 0-60 in 3 seconds and get 100 MPG, or a cable company that provides us every channel in high definition for $10 a month, I hope someday that time will come. However, until then, Cox is a business and much be run as such. I agree that complaining and demanding may cause them to change, but they also have pressure from other segments of their demographic. What about the person that wants 10 discovery channels? The person that wants 10 spanish speaking channels? The person that wants 10 lifetime channels :eek:? The person that wants affordable basic cable and nothing else? Cox has to balance all of these concerns and consider the costs of changing/updating/expanding. I believe, for such a large company, that they have done pretty well. We have more HD than most people in the country and they converted to a PVR pretty quickly.

I am pretty satisfied with their service. Granted, it can always be better, I would like NFL Ticket, I would like the Padres in HD (but I am glad we at least have it in SD given they were going to drop it completely), I would like for Cox to give me free cable for life., but we are going to have to wait for such things. Utopia is just around the corner. ;)

That was a very long, emotional response (worthy of at least two handkerchiefs) to my last post. But of course you did NOT deal with the question. Like Vegggas often does, you simply defended Cox' way of doing business. Jiust in case you missed it, I'll try again. How come they had enough bandwidth last year to televise the Padres in HD, and suddenly, this year, WITHOUT replacing them with anything on the HD service, they DIDN'T have the available bandwidth? Where did it go??

If I took "can't" for an answer I would be consigned to a wheelchair fior the rest of my life. I lost my right leg (below the knee), and was told by Doctors and other assorted "professionals" that I would never walk again, much less drive a car. But their "can't" was not part of my vocabulary. I walk AND I drive with special prosthesis made for those purposes. One of which is my OWN invention.

So I do not accept the gobbeldygook that Cox offers and that you are willing to defend. They CAN satisfy ALL their customers. They must be made to do so. Even (if necessary) by acts of Congress.

Nah, not emotional. Perhaps whimsical would be a more apt description of the spirit of my post. It is friday.

Good question on the bandwidth saved by the Padres down-rezing to SD. I wonder if the PVR's take up some of the bandwidth/capacity or whether the increase in the number of HD users can affect capacity. I can speculate that there must have been a reason to do that, otherwise they would have just continued to show it in HD. Unless their business model is based on spite and vindictiveness.

I don't think anyone ever said you should not pursue change, I contacted both Cox and the Padres regarding the broadcast of the Padre games. I feel that we were able to effecutate change because they were going to completely eliminate the coverage. I think what irritates most people (it amuses me) is your obsessive dissastifaction.



That was a very long, emotional response (worthy of at least two handkerchiefs) to my last post. But of course you did NOT deal with the question. Like Vegggas often does, you simply defended Cox' way of doing business. Jiust in case you missed it, I'll try again. How come they had enough bandwidth last year to televise the Padres in HD, and suddenly, this year, WITHOUT replacing them with anything on the HD service, they DIDN'T have the available bandwidth? Where did it go??

If I took "can't" for an answer I would be consigned to a wheelchair fior the rest of my life. I lost my right leg (below the knee), and was told by Doctors and other assorted "professionals" that I would never walk again, much less drive a car. But their "can't" was not part of my vocabulary. I walk AND I drive with special prosthesis made for those purposes. One of which is my OWN invention.

So I do not accept the gobbeldygook that Cox offers and that you are willing to defend. They CAN satisfy ALL their customers. They must be made to do so. Even (if necessary) by acts of Congress.

That was a very long, emotional response (worthy of at least two handkerchiefs) to my last post. But of course you did NOT deal with the question. Like Vegggas often does, you simply defended Cox' way of doing business. Jiust in case you missed it, I'll try again. How come they had enough bandwidth last year to televise the Padres in HD, and suddenly, this year, WITHOUT replacing them with anything on the HD service, they DIDN'T have the available bandwidth? Where did it go?? <SNIP>
I have already told you where the bandwidth has gone in a previous long post and your not worth the time to repeat it again. If you always assume that there is more magic space that can be found, mention that to your doctor on your next colonoscopy visit. They could use two or three cameras instead of one to give you all the viewing pleasure you could ever want. I'm sure you will gladly allow them to use more space if you demand a better viewing.

wow, have I missed a lot of stuff! This is the best forum around and has turned into one of the funniest. Vegggas, you rock. Your reply above had me in stitches! And WM, keep on keepin' on, you are amazing. You take more punches than Rocky Balboa and still come back for more! I'm going to have quit watching the Padres on 96 and pay more attention to what's happening here...............

Naturally Vegggas takes an old tack.

Try to obfuscate the question by changing the topic (under the guise of providing humor).

If it were only possible to talk to a Cox executive, I would be more than happy to do so. But they live in seclusion and cannot be reached by telephone. Only by going through layers of intermediate personnel can one hope to gain any satisfaction from them. But of course speaking to an executive would probably do me no good, because they too would attempt to answer questions which I was NOT asking, by providing information that I didn't need or want.

If Cox doesn't have the necessary equipment to provide us with all available HD channels, then they MUST update their equipment. If this necessitates a rate increase for their service, so be it. I for one, am willing to pay for whatever I want. I expect nothing for free or on the cheap. Cox must decide if it wants to look to the future or be mired in the status quo. They should pull out all stops in trying to encourage ALL viewers to switch to HD service. Otherwise, as far as Cox is concerned, it's still 1975.

I have several friends that still live on LI. They report that "Cablevision of LI" provides all the HD stations that Cox provides to us, and still has room to broadcast many Yankee games (on Yes) and Met games (on FSNY or MSG) in HD. How come they have the bandwidth and Cox doesn't???

Simple - They don't have as many resources in use as Las Vegas. There is a finite amount of space avaialble for any and all services. How it is broken down and used is different from place to place. A majority is used for analog channels (~70%), Some is used for digital channels (~20%) some is used for internet connectivity, some is needed for two way communication for STB's, some is used for dedicated school interconnectivity and cable in the classroom. Eventually it all adds up to 100% and there is NO MORE space.
The ONLY answer is simple - Remove the Analog channels, and we have space for over 200 HD channels. Problem is, they are NOT ALLOWED to remove the analog channels yet!!! I've told you this many times before and it still doesn't change that fact. Any additions will result in the loss of something else. Wether it will be other channels or loss of quality. Period.

The ONLY answer is simple - Remove the Analog channels, and we have space for over 200 HD channels. Problem is, they are NOT ALLOWED to remove the analog channels yet!!! .

It seems to me that the operative word in your response is YET.

1)If that is true when WILL they be able to remove the analog channels?

2)What is the holdup?

3)What criteria have to be fulfilled in order to remove the SD stations?

4)If Congress makes that decision, why isn't Congress being absolutely flooded with requests to give permission to remove the analog channels especially by Cable and Satellite providers?

5)Does Cox have a position in this matter, other than to meekly obey the rules, without agitating to change them?

6) Is Cox on the side of progress or on the side of the status quo?

WM...You seem like a bright fellow, yet your responses demonstrate a complete appearance of ignorance.

1) How many Vegas residents rely on the analog channels because they don't want a digital converter on each set? I would bet the majority (if not over 90%) of all households have cable TV on at least one non-digital set. I would also venture to guess over 60% don't have digital at all.

2) because of 1
3) When #1 would not revolt because they have to go digital on every set in the house
4) Congress won't make that decision because of #1
5) Cox must provide (#1) with a level of service that will keep the majority of their subs subscribed
6) Cox is not on your side. However, 5-10 years ago, they had analog converters, limited digital access, no high speed internet access, little (if no) fiber in the streets, VOIP wasn't talked about, DVRs didn't exist and guess how many HD channels they had? They've also added MLB EI, NHL LP, and NBA LP (let alone what services were provided in 1975).

Now...how 'bout putting the bashes to rest and go watch TV....If you want the same services that exist on LI....MOVE !!!!

Great reply Vegggas! He needs a good stiff kick right there!

I kinda like the analog channels too. I find my self only watching digital and HD on the big screen. It is nice to be forced to watch the regular channels on the smaller sets because there is some good programming there.

WM: Part of the bandwidth went to faster internet speeds (last october, the bump from 1.5 and 3 to 4 and 5mbit/s). The bandwidth is all used. They cant get rid of analog channels without causing a shitstorm between their current subs, as well as the contracts they've signed. You want more HD channels? Fine, let cox cut off analog channels before they're contractually obligated to and then they'll get sued and your bill will go up because of litigation expenses and settlement fees. And you'll just complain some more!

OK, let's review.

1. FCC mandate does not include any HDTV whatsoever!

2. No more room until we loss some analog channels.

3. Complain all day long, bandwith capacity doesn't grow! Maybe complaining to the FCC and your congressman to allocate more bandwith is a better approach.

4. Not everybody in Vegas has or wants digital TV!

5. Vegggas's (did I spell that right, I'm sure WORD will inform me if not) reply's, I think most here will agree are informative and very neutral.

6. Word like's to complain allot!

If you always assume that there is more magic space that can be found, mention that to your doctor on your next colonoscopy visit. They could use two or three cameras instead of one to give you all the viewing pleasure you could ever want. I'm sure you will gladly allow them to use more space if you demand a better viewing.

THat's freaking funny!!!!!!!!!!!!

Less the visual!

Maybe they could stitch the three camera views together and give you a 16:9 panorama view!

If you want the same services that exist on LI....MOVE !!!!

Believe me, if my physical condition allowed me to tolerate the winters in the Northeast, I'd move back to Long Island on a moments notice. When going from the junction of Queens and Nassau County (in the west) to the easternmost tip of Suffolk County (in other words ALL of Long Island) the population is at least 10 times what it is in Las Vegas and the number of Cable subscribers is also about 10 times the number that Cox has here. Yet THEY DO provide the services that Cox does not. I assume they have to operate under the same rules of Congress that Cox does. How can they do it, while Cox can't?
However, Las Vegas does have several attributes. I like to gamble for recreation, and I like the 24 hr availability of many services. The service provided by Cox Cable is NOT one of those attributes.
And I will predict that as soon as DirectV begins to provide the local network broadcasts in HD (and that's NOT too far in the future), Cox will be left firmly gripping its groin, and begging for customers. You can then rest assured that they WILL then suddenly find a way to provide every HD channel ever transmitted . And at very reasonable rates as well.

gworkman,

That NHL LP really came in handy last year. I wonder what the viewer ratings for that channel line-up was.

The only advantage that D* has over cox is the NFL Ticket. Period. If you have issues with Cox's behavior, look closely at Direct TV. They completely gouge people in your position, i.e bleeding edge, HDTV, technophiles. Requiring you to spend $1000 for an HDTV PVR, on top of monthly fees, that will probably need to be replaced every 2-3 years is ridiculous. From what I understand, there is still no word on whether Direct TV will replace the converters when they switch to MPEG-4. Moreover, you buy the NFL Ticket and then you have to pay an additional $99 to get them in high def. Direct TV knows that these people are huge profit centers and freely and routinely gouge them.



And I will predict that as soon as DirectV begins to provide the local network broadcasts in HD (and that's NOT too far in the future), Cox will be left firmly gripping its groin, and begging for customers. You can then rest assured that they WILL then suddenly find a way to provide every HD channel ever transmitted . And at very reasonable rates as well.

<SNIP> When going from the junction of Queens and Nassau County (in the west) to the easternmost tip of Suffolk County (in other words ALL of Long Island) the population is at least 10 times what it is in Las Vegas and the number of Cable subscribers is also about 10 times the number that Cox has here. Yet THEY DO provide the services that Cox does not. I assume they have to operate under the same rules of Congress that Cox does. How can they do it, while Cox can't? <SNIP>
The above quote is just plain out WRONG.
Look at the National Cable &Telecommunication Association December 2004 Industry Overview of The Top 25 Systems in The US (http://www.ncta.com/Docs/PageContent.cfm?pageID=280)

As of December, 2004

System Location Operator Basic Cable Customers
1. Houston, Texas Time Warner Cable 721,000
2. Denver, Colorado Comcast Cable Communications 526,155
3. Hicksville, New York Cablevision Systems Corp. 472,953
4. Las Vegas, Nevada Cox Cable Communications, Inc. 410,946
5. San Diego, California Cox Cable Communications, Inc. 408,173
6. Tempe, Arizona Cox Cable Communications, Inc. 385,116
7. Winter Park, Florida Bright House Networks 343,768
8. Nashville, Tennessee Comcast Cable Communications 327,000
9. Manhattan, New York Time Warner Cable 315,734
10. San Antonio, Texas Time Warner Cable 314,640
11. Seattle, Washington Comcast Cable Communications 310,973
12. Brooklyn, New York Cablevision Systems Corp. 292,000
13. Verona, New Jersey Comcast Cable Communications 276,494
14. Bronx, New York Cablevision Sytems Corp. 269,000
15. Honolulu, Hawaii Time Warner Cable 267,773
16. Sacramento, California Comcast Cable Communications 250,760
17. Austin, Texas Time Warner Cable 247,626
18. Elmhurst, Illinois Comcast Cable Communications 242,832
19. Falls Church, Virgina Cox Cable Communications, Inc. 238,901
20. Louisville, Kentucky Insight Communications 230,301
21. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Cox Cable Communications, Inc. 230,000
22. Audubon, New Jersey Comcast Cable Communications 229,393
23. Virginia Beach, Virginia Cox Cable Communications, Inc. 225,545
24. San Francisco, California Comcast Cable Communications 224,815
25. Oakland, New Jersey Cablevision Systems Corp. 223,000

As of official numbers in December last year (actually taken from data gathered between January - June 2004), Cox Cable here in Las Vegas was the 4th Largest cable market in the US. Since then, it has unofficially increased as the area growth still explodes, to be the second or third largest single market in the US. Most of those areas you talk about are individual neighborhood systems with small subscriber bases and individual township franchise agreements (those that make the rules and sets the standards for their township), wheras Las Vegas has about a dozen indivdual townships that each incorporate their rules and practices. Those smaller systems do not have to have as many analog channels (the majority of the bandwidth hogs), nor do they have to support the Nations 5th largest entire school district with Cable in the classroom interconnectivity and educational channels, etc., etc. There are also dedicated services to individual hotels, and some of those hotels have dedicated hotel channels for their employees in their homes, etc.
Space is a physical limitation, not easily overcome, and money is not the deciding factor. Legal Agreements, contracts and local politics are the deciding factor.
vegggas

Does anyone else encounter pixelization on Cox HD? It only happens in moments of high action on any HD channel. I am running the PIO 5040CMX plasma and 8300HD box. Is this something due to overcommpression or is it my hardware that is too slow? Thanks in advance.

It may be a signal issue. Do you know how to get into the service menu of the cable box?

Does anyone else encounter pixelization on Cox HD? It only happens in moments of high action on any HD channel. I am running the PIO 5040CMX plasma and 8300HD box. Is this something due to overcommpression or is it my hardware that is too slow? Thanks in advance.

Of course, I don't know for sure. but if you're using the HDMI connecter, you may have it set to "Passthrough". That is not the best choice you can make. Set your 8300HD to output ONLY 480p (which all the SD stations will be in) and 1080i, (whcih all the HD stations will be in). As an alternative you can choose 480pWIDESCREEN for your SD pictures. But I don'r care for the distortion on the margins of the picture, so I use 480p(Narrow)

You MAY find that this cuts down on the pixelations.

Believe me, if my physical condition allowed me to tolerate the winters in the Northeast, I'd move back to Long Island on a moments notice. When going from the junction of Queens and Nassau County (in the west) to the easternmost tip of Suffolk County (in other words ALL of Long Island) the population is at least 10 times what it is in Las Vegas and the number of Cable subscribers is also about 10 times the number that Cox has here. .



WRONG the population of Vegas and Clark county is around 1.9 mill.
Long Island is.......Long Island is one of the most densely populated regions in the United States. In the 2000 census, the population of the Nassau-Suffolk region totalled 2.78 million

You may have lost your leg WM but your ass is firmly planted on your head.

I also experience the pixelations that sheriffwoody describes. I chalked it up to bandwith issues, however, if I can do something with my set-up to eliminate them, I'd love to hear what I can do.

Sammy 5063 DLP
Cox 8300HD

Thanks,
Joe B

I've noticed minor pixelation on some programs. Most notably on PBS and quick movement on screen graphics, or program intros on CBS, like CSI montages or strobe effects (problems with the cameras encoders). I know there is full bandwidth to all local channels since what Cox gets from them, they turn around and push right back down the line without modification. I fired up the aging OTA STB a few times and noticed the same thing coming via antenna too.
Another culprit of pixelation is processing at the display. If your display is not native of the resolution you are viewing, it must be processed and scaled to that resolution before being viewed. Processing in both domains of the STB and the display often produces the worst results. A good example is a digital display (Plasma, LCD, DLP, etc.) that has a native resolution of 1024x768. If you force the output of the STB to 1280x720, the display will still process it again to 1024x768. The same thing happens with displays at 1366x768, 800x600, etc. The best CONVERSION process happens when the native display is 1920x1080, and scales all 720x1280 up to that resolution and also natively displays 720x480 (CRT based displays).
The time and bandwidth needed to do the conversion, may cause pixelation and macroblocking. Also 3-3 and 3-2 film pulldown, after the STB, can cuse problems too. I've been able to record some demo material on the 8300 and play it back on various displays. Some show pixelation and macroblocking, while others don't. There are good discussions over in the DVD and display forums with similar results, where certain combos look good and certain others are unwatchable.
Back to the problem... Fasteddie is also correct about the signal level and noise affecting pixelation. Low signal levels and higher noise floors result in numerous mpeg errors that will reduce the decoding ability and cause the problems that you see too. Check my sig for the appropriate thread for your STB to find out how to get into your service menus and find your signal levels. Remember values will be different for each channel, and you can change channels while watching the values change. Cable surge protectors are notorious for inserting noise on the ground line of the cable signal while also reducing the signal levels, especially at higher frequencies where the HD channels reside.

vegggas

You may have lost your leg WM but your ass is firmly planted on your head.

You can insult me all you like.
Your reference to my loss of a leg is NOT funny. Not in any context. If it happened to you, you wouldn't be so quick to make jokes about it. Especially to a person that is certainly NOT your close friend and whom you'll never meet. My ass may be "firmly planted on my head", but YOU have demonstrated yourself to be ALL ass.


Whether I was wrong or right about the populations of Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island is irrelevant. THEY still get more HD service than we do. I want to know why and how?

Nevertheless, I am still dissatisfied with the service and available HD channels which Cox provides.

If all of you are correct and there IS no more room for additional HD stations, then tell me why so many people in Las Vegas (myself included) are investing in HD televisions and elaborate supporting equipment?

WILL this shortage of space ever be solved?
CAN this shortage of space ever be solved?

I didn't spend close to $5000 for an HDTV to receive only 11 stations in HD.
The problem may be partially ameliorated when some HD-DVD system is adopted. But that will have nothing to do with Cox Cable, except to give them more time to twiddle their thumbs.

You can insult me all you like.
<SNIP>
Nevertheless, I am still dissatisfied with the service and available HD channels which Cox provides.

If all of you are correct and there IS no more room for additional HD stations, then tell me why so many people in Las Vegas (myself included) are investing in HD televisions and elaborate supporting equipment?

WILL this shortage of space ever be solved?
CAN this shortage of space ever be solved?

I didn't spend close to $5000 for an HDTV to receive only 11 stations in HD.
The problem may be partially ameliorated when some HD-DVD system is adopted. But that will have nothing to do with Cox Cable, except to give them more time to twiddle their thumbs.

This is soooo funny and pathetic at the same time. Is it worse that others invested $10,000 and get only 2 or 3 HD channels? Where were you 5 or 6 years ago, when we were on the bleeding edge, desperate for ANY HD signals at all?
Please take this charade to the main HD threads and ask these same questions. I'm sure you will get no sympathy when you complain about getting 11 HD channels, when most of the country gets far less. It's sort of like going to a poor third world country and complaining about not having a smorgasborg buffet available, while everyone else eats a spoonful of rice. Why can't they just eat cake?
vegggas

You can insult me all you like.
Your reference to my loss of a leg is NOT funny. Not in any context. If it happened to you, you wouldn't be so quick to make jokes about it. Especially to a person that is certainly NOT your close friend and whom you'll never meet. My ass may be "firmly planted on my head", but YOU have demonstrated yourself to be ALL ass.

I agree with you on this one. I'd likely not make a comment like that to a good friend of mine, much less someone I know only from this forum. While I find you a little abrasive sometimes, your participation and input are still appreciated (if only for comedic relief sometimes ;) ).



I didn't spend close to $5000 for an HDTV to receive only 11 stations in HD.


Or you can be like my sister and father, who each purchased HD-capable Sony sets (57-inchers, I believe), and have only digital cable (no HD). What a waste!

WM,

Specifically, what HD channels do you want that Cox does not provide? I can only think of a few, WB (somehow I don't think you are itching to watch WB in HD), Universal in HD, HDNet (D* exclusive)...other than those, what do you want?


Also, following up on HD problems, I still occasionally get the screeching noise from certain HD broadcasts. ANyone else get this? What is the cause?

Thanks

Cox already has an agreement with UniversalHD, as of (I believe) last January / February. The HDNets are on a few cable systems, and Cox is in negotiations with them too. Cox affiliates have already purchased content from HDNet and feel a deal can be done soon. I don't know about TNT-HD, but I was under the assumption that it was already worked out and supposed to be available this fall.
Does anyone consistantly watch WB HD here in Vegas from OTA? I can't seem to get a good lock on it, and when I do, I only see about 10-12Mbs of data on their main channel, with three sub-channels feeding USDTV signals.
These are all National contracts, that apply to the local market, but due to space bandwidth budgeting and limitations are not available yet. Regional SportsNets are not an option here in Vegas, due to regional exclusions.

vegggas

Mr. AVS "Special" Member,

You can cite all the analogies in the world. None of which seems to satisfy my two questions, which your constant "excuse making" for Cox seems to wish to avoid.

1. Will the "space" problem for HD stations ever be solved?
2. Can the "space" problem for HD stations ever be solved?

And if the answer to either of those two questions is "Yes", why aren't Cox customers being informed and updated as to the progress (or lack thereof) Cox is making to solve them, and as to Cox' future plans?

Mr. AVS "Special" Member,

You can cite all the analogies in the world. None of which seems to satisfy my two questions, which your constant "excuse making" for Cox seems to wish to avoid.

1. Will the "space" problem for HD stations ever be solved?
2. Can the "space" problem for HD stations ever be solved?

And if the answer to either of those two questions is "Yes", why aren't Cox customers being informed and updated as to the progress (or lack thereof) Cox is making to solve them, and as to Cox' future plans?
If you actually read my posts, I've answered these questions already!!!!
Yes, the problem will be solved once some analog channels are removed. Plain and simple. Will it happen today - NO. Will it happen tomorrow, who knows? I've told you this MANY times before, but you refuse to listen. You can't create "More" space", you have to effectively use the space provided better. That means removing the biggest waste of space - analog channels. As I've said (and others) many times before they can't remove channels without consequences.

Mr Long Island
Why dont you take your crusade to email or the telephone and direct it towards Cox. You might actually make some progress...and we wont have to listen to your self-centered tirades. Then report back to us if you manage to find out any information.

jb

Mr. AVS "Special" Member,

You can cite all the analogies in the world. None of which seems to satisfy my two questions, which your constant "excuse making" for Cox seems to wish to avoid.

1. Will the "space" problem for HD stations ever be solved?
2. Can the "space" problem for HD stations ever be solved?

And if the answer to either of those two questions is "Yes", why aren't Cox customers being informed and updated as to the progress (or lack thereof) Cox is making to solve them, and as to Cox' future plans?

Mr Long Island
Why dont you take your crusade to email or the telephone and direct it towards Cox. You might actually make some progress...and we wont have to listen to your self-centered tirades. Then report back to us if you manage to find out any information.

jb

Nobody HAS to listen to, or read my "self centered tirades"

Any post of mine can easily be skipped, but you won't silence me.

I am severerly disappointed that other members of this forum don't attack the Cox situation with as much zeal as I do. And for your information, I HAVE sent Cox many e-mails on this matter and called "Customer Relations" many times. Invariably, I get someone on the phone who doesn't either know or care about what I am referring to and the e-mails go unanwered except for the usual diplomatic "thank you for your interest in Cox" response.

One other thing. I watched the Mets-Padres game on Channel 96 tonight. The picture is obviously not only NOT in HD but doesn't even completely fill an SD screen. (Large black borders on both sides, top and bottom). Also subject to momentary loss of picture at least once every minute, and lots of pixilization. If Cox wishes to call what they are providing to us a "favor", so be it. But they seem to be devoting very little in the way of equipment and service to their favor. They do not come on the air until the very last moment (when the first pitch is about to be delivered) and they disappear very quickly after the last out is recorded. No pre-game preparation and no post-game analysis. Why does THAT have to be??

Word,

I can, at least, answer your question regarding the Padre game. The short answer is that the game wasn't broadcast in HD in San Diego. On a few away games, Channel 4 either doesn't send their crew, or they do not get a local HD feed from the opposing team. So for us, we get a SD picture through a SD feed which, for whatever reason, shrinks the picture. You can tell when they broadcast in HD because our SD picture is streteched. I have noticed on the Home games they do have a pre-game and post-game show. And, if I remember right, some away games they do as well. They must not have sent their entire production team to NY (hence the SD).

One thing I wish. I hope you win the lottery, so you can buy a controlling interest in Cox to set their policy anyway you want. At least I know I wll get more HD (although the person that wants their analog channels is probably screwed).



Nobody HAS to listen to, or read my "self centered tirades"

Any post of mine can easily be skipped, but you won't silence me.

I am severerly disappointed that other members of this forum don't attack the Cox situation with as much zeal as I do. And for your information, I HAVE sent Cox many e-mails on this matter and called "Customer Relations" many times. Invariably, I get someone on the phone who doesn't either know or care about what I am referring to and the e-mails go unanwered except for the usual diplomatic "thank you for your interest in Cox" response.

One other thing. I watched the Mets-Padres game on Channel 96 tonight. The picture is obviously not only NOT in HD but doesn't even completely fill an SD screen. (Large black borders on both sides, top and bottom). Also subject to momentary loss of picture at least once every minute, and lots of pixilization. If Cox wishes to call what they are providing to us a "favor", so be it. But they seem to be devoting very little in the way of equipment and service to their favor. They do not come on the air until the very last moment (when the first pitch is about to be delivered) and they disappear very quickly after the last out is recorded. No pre-game preparation and no post-game analysis. Why does THAT have to be??

I bet at least six times Vegggas has mention that one analog channel takes up the bandwidth equaling about around six HD channels. Do the math!!!

Also you guys with possible signal issues, have you looked in the service menu yet?
Look for anything in the first few pages in yelloe or red and tell us what it is.

Eddie

Vegggas, can the SA's ever do 768p for us plasma users?

Now that would be an improvment I'd like!

I bet at least six times Vegggas has mention that one analog channel takes up the bandwidth equaling about around six HD channels. Do the math!!!




I think its the other way around.

Notes:
768P is an SVGA computer resolution, and not an ATSC or HD resolution. With that in mind, 768 is not a format that anything is ever broadcast in, or converted to, except those specific displays have to scale to fit a FIXED resolution size.

Cable 101 again: Generalized (not specific or exact).
American channel allotments are in 6MHz slots, starting at 54Mhz, and going up to around 850MHz for cable frequencies. This allows for about 125 slots of usable slots in any given system after avoiding FM radio, aviation, emergency and radio frequncies peppered around within that spectrum. Each slot can hold, either ONE analog channel modulator, or ONE 256 QAM Modulator (throughput of 38 Mbps for 256 QAM) [sidebar - 64 QAM can handle 27Mbps and is much more stable, while 256QAM handles 38Mbps, but line noise in homes and adjacent noisy frequencies can cause pixelation]. A 256QAM modulator with 38Mbps (max) can be subdivided into multiple digital streams, such as two 19Mbps HD streams or nine 4Mbps HD streams. So you can gain 2 HD channels or 9 SD digital channels by removing one analog channel.
Also as an analogy, since there is a 38Mbps max throughput on data per slot, consider cable modem speeds. With several hundred thousand cablemodem users, simultaneously online, they have to allocate a lot of bandwidth (consider many 38Mbps chunks/slots) to keep the bandwidth high enough and available for all users, both for downloading, and uploading. Throw in digital telephony service starting up and a ton of other services, and eventually, there is no more usable space available.
vegggas

You can insult me all you like.
Your reference to my loss of a leg is NOT funny. Not in any context. If it happened to you, you wouldn't be so quick to make jokes about it. Especially to a person that is certainly NOT your close friend and whom you'll never meet. My ass may be "firmly planted on my head", but YOU have demonstrated yourself to be ALL ass.


Whether I was wrong or right about the populations of Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island is irrelevant. THEY still get more HD service than we do. I want to know why and how?

Nevertheless, I am still dissatisfied with the service and available HD channels which Cox provides.

If all of you are correct and there IS no more room for additional HD stations, then tell me why so many people in Las Vegas (myself included) are investing in HD televisions and elaborate supporting equipment?

WILL this shortage of space ever be solved?
CAN this shortage of space ever be solved?

I didn't spend close to $5000 for an HDTV to receive only 11 stations in HD.
The problem may be partially ameliorated when some HD-DVD system is adopted. But that will have nothing to do with Cox Cable, except to give them more time to twiddle their thumbs.

OK well I didnt think the remark was making fun of your loss of limb, but the point is that people who are in the know have tried to explain these things to you, dont bring the complaint here and bash helpful people, take it to the company that is not providing the service you want. I am no longer a COX user for TV, I spoke with my dollars however small that may be. As far as u spending 5K well maybe you should have looked into the HD situation before you spent that kind of cash.

As far as u spending 5K well maybe you should have looked into the HD situation before you spent that kind of cash.

Good point, speco. I purchased my HD-capable Pioneer when there were a handful (or less) of HD channels (remember the PBS loop?).

Yeah, it is pretty funny. If you go to the first page of this thread, we are talking about Cox initially getting HD.


Good point, speco. I purchased my HD-capable Pioneer when there were a handful (or less) of HD channels (remember the PBS loop?).

Tallen234,

I had the screeching, especially when the sound was coming through my Panny HT setup, but it happened only a few times. Haven't had it lately though, so I don't know what the deal is. I've had my Sammy DLP set worked on over the last couple weeks, board changeout, software update, etc., maybe the repairs fixed the sound? Or maybe it was an 8300HD STB issue and a download may have fixed it?

Funny I hadn't noticed this before...

I didn't spend close to $5000 for an HDTV to receive only 11 stations in HD.
Cox Las Vegas has had 13 HD channels for a very long time now. If you include the HDPPV channel, it's 14 channels.

700 Discovery HD Theater
702 HDPPV Live events (14th channel reserved)
705 ESPN HD
706 INHD 1
707 INHD 2
710 HBO HD
711 Cinemax HD
720 Showtime HD
721 Starz! HD
730 CBS HD
731 PBS HD
732 ABC HD
733 NBC HD
735 FOX HD

They also had the East Coast feeds of HBO and Showtime, until they were replaced with Cinemax and Starz.
Haven't heard any screeching or other anomolies, other than missed network feed switch transfers. Still get the green grid on CBS though...
vegggas

since there is a 38Mbps max throughput on data per slot, consider cable modem speeds. With several hundred thousand cablemodem users, simultaneously online, they have to allocate a lot of bandwidth (consider many 38Mbps chunks/slots) to keep the bandwidth high enough and available for all users, both for downloading, and uploading.
Dont forget the channels allocated for upstream on user's cablemodems. And upstream is at about 6Mb/s per 6MHz channel. So as Cox gets more generous with upstream speeds, more bandwidth (in the electrical engineering sense of the word) is required. Even though the bandwidth is geographically multiplexed, it still requires a good swath of available spectrum.

Is there a list of whats available on Cox QAM unencrypted?

I think its the other way around.

While I was not 100% correct, I was at least close!

Is there a list of whats available on Cox QAM unencrypted?
All of the local channels are unencrypted (at least the last time I checked). I forgot what channels they're on. They're up around 103-106.

Hey there.

We moved to town about a month ago and have the newer/better DVR box from Cox. It seems to be upconverting everything to 1080i, as the 1080i light is on all the time no matter what we're watching. This is frustrating because our TV has a variety of zoom modes including a wide-angle zoom that we like better than any of the zoom options provided by the STB. But in 1080i, our TV refuses to do any kind of zoom and is stuck on full screen.

Is there any way to turn off this conversion? Back home we had a couple of Comcast boxes that only showed HD content in HD resolutions, and let us use whatever TV-based zoom mode we liked when we were watching a non-HD channel. We enjoyed that very much compared to what's going on here.

And lastly, to throw my .02 into the channel listing arguement: Cox provides the same group of channels that Comcast in San Francisco does, effectively. Comcast has an HDSE (Special Events) channel that sometimes airs NFL Network programs but otherwise sits vacant with a static logo and muzak. They also air local ballgames through Fox Sports Net, but air it on top of INHD2 instead of using a dedicated channel.

Prevously, LV even had more. Until this January, Comcast SF didn't even have KTVU-FOX because it was owned by (dun dun dunnn) Cox Communications and there was arguing on both sides about who should providing a service to who.

People who are arguing about how the other big cities in the US have far more HD should chew on this.

michaelc,
Welcome to Las Vegas! I remember you asking about Las Vegas HD a few months back...
Anyway, it sounds like your STB is not set up for your particular display yet. By default, they come with only 1080i enabled and at a "fixed" resolution for compatibility with all HDTV's. Below, in my sig, are detailed instructions for whatever STB you are using, typically located within the first post of the thread.

The short version is this:

Walk up and turn off the STB
From the front of the STB, Press "Giude"and "Info" at the same time.
Follow the on screen instructions (advanced) to set up your TV type and ALL supported resolutions
Once complete and your STB is back on, go into "General Settings" (settings button x2)
Scroll up or down to find "Set: Picture Format" and choose Pass-Through

Pass through will allow whatever resolution coming down the cable to be displayed on your set, depending on what resolutions you allowed in the HDTV setup wizard. After you get it working and are used to the formatting, go back into the advanced setup and see what looks better on your set for the various resolutions, etc. Enjoy.
[Addendum] If you are using a digital connection (DVI or HDMI), you TV may overide certain resolutions, or inhibit analog 480i signals.
vegggas

All of the local channels are unencrypted (at least the last time I checked). I forgot what channels they're on. They're up around 103-106.
I have a PC Tuner that is receiving OTA HD now. I wonder if its worthwhile to hook up to cable.

Just had my calibration and black out done and it's now complete! Whoo hoo! Getting the black out (duvetyne) done to the inner cabinet feels like looking into a "black hole" while the screen is off. All you see are the three color guns in a sea of darkness that you can't even focus on - it just looks like empty nothingness. Black levels are extremly deep now, and contrast between light and dark looks much more solid and defined.
He also did some geometry and brought my overscan in quite a bit as well as the usual color, light and visual correcting items done. Getting this done again really shows how much the displays drift and need yearly tuneups to maintain overall good looking imaging. I mean, it looked good before, but there is always room for improvement, and it can clearly be seen. He also corrected a problem that I've been trying to overcome for a long time. I had a bit of uneven light intensity in one of the corners, that appeared almost like a shadow, confirmed with his measurment device. With the lens striping done, it is now balanced across the entire image and looks solid.
Overall, the entire calibration process was a fantastic job, and well worth the investment.
Thanks Gregg!

Gregg Loewen is calibrating my Samsung HLP5063 tonight. I'll report on the results.

Gregg Loewen calibrated my new Sony LCD panel yesterday. Terrific job. It looked great before, but now, it looks much more realistic, life-like. Well worth it to me.

Ken

I had been having discussions with Gregg prior to his visit, but couldn't get myself to pull the trigger. After reading Vegggas' comments, I wish I would have...

Gregg did a touch up on my Sony RP 57". I didn't realize how much it had drifted over the past couple years. Blacks are now nice and deep, brightness is up and colors are much more realistic. He also cleaned the lenses to remove a bit of haze over the image. Overall, a great improvement!

If anyone is interested in seeing my RP or projector 's calibrated displays, let me know.

I had my Samsung HLP5063 calibrated by Gregg on Friday evening. He used component inputs and a test DVD to set the primary and secondary colors using the CCA method (unique to Samsung) in the service menu. Although SD was much improved the HD programming in certain lighted situations displayed a yellowish cast.

Gregg offered to come back last night and work on it some more. He also consulted with Seth Schnaible, a professional colleague and consultant to Samsung in Southern California. Gregg decided to recalibrate the primary and secondary colors using a HD signal generator through my DVI/Inputs. It took him several tries on each primary and secondary color to get them right on. The result was an essentially perfect CIE diagram. Prior to this second calibration the primary green and secondary yellow was still quite a bit off and presumably the cause of the yellowish cast I was getting on some HD images. Now my HD images are excellent and SD is still as good as SD gets.

Gregg certainly went the extra mile by consulting with other ISF calibrators and coming back and redoing the primary and secondary colors. If anyone is interested in having their set calibrated Gregg is considering coming back in August. I strongly recommend him.

Just a note to anyone considering a calibration with Gregg (or anyone else for that matter) - If you are considering having it done, commit to it and make the neccesary plans and leave a deposit. This is so that the travel arrangements can be made, materials can be purchased, and timelines can be solidified.
This is well above and beyond any type of manufacturer service, or anything you can do on your own (unless you happen to be ISF certified). It's a professional service to enhance the quality view of your display. It has been compared to performance tuning of autos. Where you can take an average vehicle, and with the right amount of cash and the right person and parts, it can become a race car. Some people are willing to performance tune their autos, and others are satisfied with a basic Kia or Hyundai. For visual displays, NONE are calibrated from the factory (and can't be until it's "broken in", so it's like a basic car). Pioneer Elite series are about the nearest to color calibration, but are often way off, and could also use other enhancements to bring out the best image.
YMMV

vegggas

If anyone is interested in having their set calibrated Gregg is considering coming back in August. I strongly recommend him.

I guess that's one advantage of living in Vegas. People are willing to make repeat trips.

Gregg.............

When are you coming back and how long are you going to be here?

(I still need to order that stupid bulb).........

Steve

He is coming back in August? Late August? ;) I should hopefully get my HLR-6168W sometime this week or early next week, and then watch it enough to break it in. I've heard these TVs look great out of the box (I saw it at the frys here and there was tons of MB due to the crappy way Fry's distributes their signal). I bet they'd look even better after a professional calibration.

Here is a quick summary of the HD channel specifics as reported from my STB diagnostics over the weekend. In my particular case, my signal levels are close to zero, and Signal-to-Noise Ratios are very good (all 35 or better). It's also interesting to note that Discovery and PBS are transmitting a 1088 signal instead of a 1080 signal.
My Forward and Return Data Carrier signals are also in the correct range.
I also noted that the frequencies have changed and that personal QAM tuners may need to be rescanned to pick up the different frequncies.
The below data is important when trying to track down signal issues or excessive macroblocking, espcially when the SN ratio is below 27, or the RF dBmV is below 10. With these signal levels, I rarely get major macroblocking or dropouts, however, as reported earlier by another poster, I AM seeing some minor macroblocking at times, and specifically an increase on Jay Leno, but not Conan, right afterword. Nothing that disrupts viewing, but it is noticable, especially when pausing fats movement. Weird.

Name Channel FreqMhz dBmV S/N H-Size V-Size
DISCHD 700 603 1 36 1920 1088
ESPNHD 705 603 1 37 1280 720
INHD1 706 573 0 36 1920 1080
INHD2 707 585 0 36 1920 1080
HBOHD 710 681 0 36 1920 1080
MAXHD 711 687 0 35 1920 1080
SHOHD 720 699 -1 35 1920 1080
STZHD 721 687 0 36 1920 1080
CBSHD 730 669 1 36 1920 1080
PBSHD 731 669 1 36 1920 1088
ABCHD 732 663 1 36 1280 720
NBCHD 733 663 0 36 1920 1080
FOXHD 735 723 -2 36 1280 720

FDC Freq dBmV S/N RDC Freq dBmV S/N
73.750 Mhz -4 32 20.8 Mhz 43 32
YMMV. More later.
vegggas

He is coming back in August? Late August? ;) I should hopefully get my HLR-6168W sometime this week or early next week, and then watch it enough to break it in. I've heard these TVs look great out of the box (I saw it at the frys here and there was tons of MB due to the crappy way Fry's distributes their signal). I bet they'd look even better after a professional calibration.

I would get in touch with Gregg Loewen directly and ask him. He told me he comes to Vegas at least twice a year. He is usually here for CES.

I would get in touch with Gregg Loewen directly and ask him. He told me he comes to Vegas at least twice a year. He is usually here for CES.

And the August date is only tentative.

Just to remind everybody here...
The 8300 series of DVR's operated by SARA software, have the ability to have their storage capacity be increased using the e-SATA connection on the back of the units.

Approved and tested storage modules (by Cox, other cable co's, and myself), so far are from the Maxtor QuickView Expander line, specifically made for this application:
160 GB External Drive, Part # P08K160
300 GB External Drive, Part # J08M300

This is already DIRECTLY supported by the SARA software from the manufacturer, and not a local cable issue for anyone to turn on or enable - It just works at the hardware level.
The standing support for cable companies, who do not have any control over this user upgrade is as follows:
Educating the Customer
Because [cable company] does not sell, rent, install, or repair external hard
drives, customers are asked to contact the manufacturer of the SATA
external hard drive for more information.

This means, it's a self purchased and installed product with no cable company support at this time. If it fails, do not call them, instead, call the drive manufacturer.

Don't let this scare you in the least. The Maxtor QuickView Expander's are a complete ready to go kit with the following parts:
Aluminum enclosed external drive, with built in fan, e-SATA connector, and power connection
A 6.5ft heavy duty e-SATA to e-SATA connector cable
A 12 ft power cable (6ft AC cable, small brick, 6ft DC cable)
A Stand for vertical storage, or rubber feet for horizontal storage
Detailed instructions (about 4 steps :D )
One year warranty
Others have built their own for a few dollars cheaper from various sources as found in the link in my signature. The reasoning being that they can save a few dollars and get a longer warranty on a bare drive. Assembly is easy enough for the average person, but a pre-made kit is virtually error proof.
If you would like to shop around for the Maxtor kits, use the part numbers above as a reference in your search. I was able to purchase from BUY.com and use some coupons (either in email flyers or found on the internet) to bring the price down to 271 with free shipping for the 300GB version. YMMV.
Installation instructions are basically simple:
Turn off DVR and then remove power cord
Plug in power to the new drive (Do not use power outlet on DVR!)
Plug in e-SATA cable to the two devices
Power up the DVR and wait a few moments for it to recognize the drive and then choose yes to format the external drive.

This is a non destructive upgrade that adds external storage capacity. If there is already 160GB on the internal drive, you can add another 160GB to double the current capacity, or add the 300GB to nearly triple the current capacity. So far, everything has worked as before with no performance hit or problems. Location of recorded content goes to the drive with the largest current free space available.

vegggas

Just to remind everybody here...
The 8300 series of DVR's operated by SARA software, have the ability to have their storage capacity be increased using the e-SATA connection on the back of the units.

Approved and tested storage modules (by Cox, other cable co's, and myself), so far are from the Maxtor QuickView Expander line, specifically made for this application:
160 GB External Drive, Part # P08K160
300 GB External Drive, Part # J08M300

This is already DIRECTLY supported by the SARA software from the manufacturer, and not a local cable issue for anyone to turn on or enable - It just works at the hardware level.
The standing support for cable companies, who do not have any control over this user upgrade is as follows:

This means, it's a self purchased and installed product with no cable company support at this time. If it fails, do not call them, instead, call the drive manufacturer.

Don't let this scare you in the least. The Maxtor QuickView Expander's are a complete ready to go kit with the following parts:
Aluminum enclosed external drive, with built in fan, e-SATA connector, and power connection
A 6.5ft heavy duty e-SATA to e-SATA connector cable
A 12 ft power cable (6ft AC cable, small brick, 6ft DC cable)
A Stand for vertical storage, or rubber feet for horizontal storage
Detailed instructions (about 4 steps :D )
One year warranty
Others have built their own for a few dollars cheaper from various sources as found in the link in my signature. The reasoning being that they can save a few dollars and get a longer warranty on a bare drive. Assembly is easy enough for the average person, but a pre-made kit is virtually error proof.
If you would like to shop around for the Maxtor kits, use the part numbers above as a reference in your search. I was able to purchase from BUY.com and use some coupons (either in email flyers or found on the internet) to bring the price down to 271 with free shipping for the 300GB version. YMMV.
Installation instructions are basically simple:
Turn off DVR and then remove power cord
Plug in power to the new drive (Do not use power outlet on DVR!)
Plug in e-SATA cable to the two devices
Power up the DVR and wait a few moments for it to recognize the drive and then choose yes to format the external drive.

This is a non destructive upgrade that adds external storage capacity. If there is already 160GB on the internal drive, you can add another 160GB to double the current capacity, or add the 300GB to nearly triple the current capacity. So far, everything has worked as before with no performance hit or problems. Location of recorded content goes to the drive with the largest current free space available.

vegggas

I have had the Maxtor QuickView Expander 300GB drive over a month now and it works great!

I e-mailed Gregg Loewen inquiring about his possible re-visit to Las Vegas this month. This is his reply;

"Thanks for your inquiry.
I will not be coming back this month. However I will be servicing LA again
in September - early October and would be happy to return to Vegas, as a
side trip, if I get a few clients together.
To book a calibration, simply complete the booking form at www.lionav.com
and use the paypal interface to send the $50 travel fee.
Feel free to email or to call with any questions or any questions,
Regards


Gregg Loewen
President, Lion Audio Video Consultants
240 Knowlton Corner Rd
Farmington, ME 04938
Mobile: 201 232 3380
Office: 207 778 5417"

Anyone know how much the cable card rental is? What to subscribe to to get them to waive the rental fee?

Oh yea, I believe one of the porn channels is not scrambled on the digital side. Thanks. My mom was right behind me as I was showing off my new TV (Samsung HL-R6168W, the tuner picks up NTSC and ATSC). Thanks Cox for that uncomfortable moment.

I was showing off my new TV (Samsung HL-R6168W, the tuner picks up NTSC and ATSC).


Doormat, how's the SD picture look on that set? I'm thinking of purchasing the 56" model.

Anyone know how much the cable card rental is? What to subscribe to to get them to waive the rental fee?

Oh yea, I believe one of the porn channels is not scrambled on the digital side. Thanks. My mom was right behind me as I was showing off my new TV (Samsung HL-R6168W, the tuner picks up NTSC and ATSC). Thanks Cox for that uncomfortable moment.

Cool, time to pick up a QAM/atsc tuner!

Anyone else having issues with FOX 5 OTA HD the past 2 days? All of a sudden day or night I cant pull it in.

I think the cable card rental is $1.99 and requires a service call to correctly verify that it gets the correct hit and authorization needed. There is no provision in current cable card technology to get return info to determine if it is enabled correctly or not from the CableCo.
As for the adult stuff, I think you temporarily tuned into someones private adult PPV session, or a Cinemax on demand late night selection. Cox is currently upgrading all the STB's so they can launch adult VOD services. Upgrades are needed for live stream decryption, so that QAM tuners, like yours, will not be able to scan those wild card feeds. If anyone has had an overnight recording breakup or cut off this past week or so, that's the reason.

Other news - NFL Network Channel kickoff party at the Palms Saturday, complete with Saturday's HIGH DEFINITION game being shown on several screens. Ironic, the NFL had the Palms as one of the hotels that was being warned to NOT show the SuperBowl game on large screens violating the NFL agreements. Should be interesting to see what they will do.

vegggas

Doormat, how's the SD picture look on that set? I'm thinking of purchasing the 56" model.
Not as nice as I had thought/expected. Still pretty good though, the difference now is the garbage in the analog picture is blown up big... the digital SD (via QAM on Cox) channels are clear and look excellent.

Oh yea, that reminds me, I saw a bunch of digital SD channels, TNT, WGN, etc. Are those being simulcast too?

Oh yea, that reminds me, I saw a bunch of digital SD channels, TNT, WGN, etc. Are those being simulcast too?
Yes. They are in the process of doing a complete simulcast of the analog lineup. No details on completion or what is being remapped to STB's (other than main locals) yet. These are not finalised feeds and are not meant to be viewed, so I woudn't depend on them being accurate or error free. They should also be moving around a bit while they find a permanant place in the lineup, so they may dissapear and reappear on other channel slots. All the QAM channels could move around as they look for space. This is transparant to STB users since everything is remapped to a table in the STB, but basic QAM tuners tune by frequency only.

vegggas

specto2003, having the same problem, appears Fox hd is remapped to 9.3 and the fox weather channel is mapped to 9.4

specto2003, having the same problem, appears Fox hd is remapped to 9.3 and the fox weather channel is mapped to 9.4
So what does this mean? I have a directv tivo hr10-250. And I get my local HD off its ant tuner. So FOX was coming in on 5-1, do I need to do something different?

Other news - NFL Network Channel kickoff party at the Palms Saturday, complete with Saturday's HIGH DEFINITION game being shown on several screens. Ironic, the NFL had the Palms as one of the hotels that was being warned to NOT show the SuperBowl game on large screens violating the NFL agreements. Should be interesting to see what they will do.

vegggas


Is the NFL channel an HD channel??? #317?

Any word on if Cox is going to show the NFL Network HD game on INHD2? Maybe they will be too lazy to carry it (see San Diego Padres HD coverage). That is what INHD2 is for.

So what does this mean? I have a directv tivo hr10-250. And I get my local HD off its ant tuner. So FOX was coming in on 5-1, do I need to do something different?


I have the same unit, you will have to go into setup, setting, channels, off air channels and then do a rescan and 9.3 & 9.4 will show up. Only problem with this is that there is no guide and you will have to do a manual record. Hopefully Fox will fix the channel mapping before the new season & football

Lionsfan Thanks I will give that a shot later tonite. Ok tried, BUT I have a camelion remote because my unit was a open box buy at bestbuy and I dont have a thumbs down button sooooo I am going to have to get a tivo remote to do this.

Re: NFL Network. I have not heard specific information, but the general agreement is that INHD will carry the NFL Channel's HD content nationwide. The Padres channel is not a national feed, and limited to Dan Diego with feeds to Las Vegas that requires it's own channel allocation. The HD NFL channel games shown on INHD wouldn't require a subscription for that channel, but all other SD content, including ON-Demand games, etc are via subscription only, like the HBO, Cinemax, and StarZ ON-Demand services.

vegggas

Two more HD channels are coming our way in October!!!
708 UniversalHD
709 TNTHD

This was one of the major releases they wanted to do, but were waiting for final approval of all negotiations. The space was reserved for quite a while, limiting other features and services.
These should be free channels available with a digital subscription.

More specific information later...
Enjoy!

vegggas

Good news on the new HD channels...

I got a question for ya. On my new samsung, the way the TV works is by remapping some of the channels into their proper space on the dial... for example I have chs. 2, 3, 4, 5, 5-1(digital), 6, 7, 8, 8-1 (digital), etc. However NBC and ABC don't show up in this fashion, and PBS shows up as 11-1, not 10-1. I know they are out there (I can tune to them using the complete subchannel information - eg. 103-2, 104-2). Is cox only passing the channel/subchannel information on some channels? I'd be nice if I could get it all w/o needing a cablecard.

SD:
ch 85.
sb ch:
4 WB
9 PBS
11 (spanish lang.)
14 Fox Sports Net
15 NBC
17 FOX
18 CBS
19 ABC

90-26: Some computer hooked up flipping between a word doc called "fab four" and
some Cox Customer Care thing...

HD: (should show up at 13-1 and 3-1 respectively - CBS, FOX and PBS do already)
102
3 ABC
5 NBC

116:
1 WGN
2 Spike
3 FNC
5 ESPN
6 MSNBC
7 TBS
8 CNN
10 CNBC
12 ESPN2
13 Gold 33
24 TNT

First, Great reporting on the data. This is a great example with real data of how a 6Mhz analog channel is used when showing digital signals.
In the above data channel 102, which would be a single, solitary analog channel is being used instead by two HD streams on that channel space, which fills it up. Channel 116, however with SD digital content has 11 streams. This just shows how much more efficient things can be once we get rid of the single analog channels and broadcast them digitally. The 80 analog channels could easily fit into 8 slots, leaving space for 72 more slots to be filled with as many SD or HD streams as could be available.
Looking at your data, it appears the QAM modulator passing those two streams, may not be passing OTA PSIP information. The STB uses different subchannel information to remap to the 700's, which is the primary need for the cable co. CBS, and PBS, on the same QAM do appear to pass remapping info. Fox, is on it's own QAM, so you may want to verify that FOX HD is on 5.1 as reported, and not just a digital SD channel.
I will pass this information to someone this weekend or next week when I see them, but can't guarnatee results. The PSIP information may be being stripped for a cable plant reason, or just overlooked.
As you can see, there is no relevance in any other digital channel mapping, other than the locals for OTA compatibility. You will probably have to rescan once in a while to see things moving around on the network.

vegggas

Yea 5-1 is Fox HD, and reporting DD. Although I dont know if its DD 2.0 or DD 5.1 since I dont have a receiver to tell me.

Great news!! :) :) :)

Two more HD channels are coming our way in October!!!
708 UniversalHD
709 TNTHD

This was one of the major releases they wanted to do, but were waiting for final approval of all negotiations. The space was reserved for quite a while, limiting other features and services.
These should be free channels available with a digital subscription.

More specific information later...
Enjoy!

vegggas

Hello everyone, I’m a new poster here. Retired in Feb 2005 and moved to Henderson.

I really want to get HDTV before the NFL season begins. After browsing this forum, it is a little scary for me since I am really pretty illiterate regarding HDTV. Some of the posts regarding setting up the SA8300HD are pretty intimidating (to me anyway).

I think I want to start off with a smaller HDTV ready LCD TV (around 30 inch) with a QAM/ATSC tuner for the family room. Then later, maybe graduate to a bigger HDTV with the SA8300HD stb for the family room, moving the smaller LCD to my bedroom.

Any suggestions for the LCD HDTV? I’m just an old TV guy. No home sound system, just TV using the TV speakers.

Anyway, any assistance from the experienced posters here will help. I’m old enough to know that it pays to listen to people that have been through the growing pains of this technology.

Thanks

Hello everyone, I’m a new poster here. Retired in Feb 2005 and moved to Henderson.

I really want to get HDTV before the NFL season begins. After browsing this forum, it is a little scary for me since I am really pretty illiterate regarding HDTV. Some of the posts regarding setting up the SA8300HD are pretty intimidating (to me anyway).

I think I want to start off with a smaller HDTV ready LCD TV (around 30 inch) with a QAM/ATSC tuner for the family room. Then later, maybe graduate to a bigger HDTV with the SA8300HD stb for the family room, moving the smaller LCD to my bedroom.

Any suggestions for the LCD HDTV? I’m just an old TV guy. No home sound system, just TV using the TV speakers.

Anyway, any assistance from the experienced posters here will help. I’m old enough to know that it pays to listen to people that have been through the growing pains of this technology.

Thanks
Welcome to the forum. Now do you have a specific amount you want to spend? Also maybe some of the long time residents here can point you to a good mom and pop store that may save you from going to best buy or circuit city. Do you want the NFL Sunday Ticket if so you need DirectTV sat, if you just want the ESPN and Fox and CBS games then you can go the Cox route.

Thanks for reply Speco2003

For this intial tv, I'm looking around the $1500. I really haven't priced things yet, so I don't even know if that is a resonable amount for a good LCD. I will also be looking into plasmas.

Don't want the NFL ticket. I will stay with COX cable. I have my internet with them.

Thanks

OK well like I said I don't know any of the mom and pop stores, but I have been looking at best buy and circuit city for a open box buy on a 30inch LCD for our bedroom wall, they have had some good deals on open boxes. Just don't let them try to sell you into all the expensive cable and add ons they sell. If you need that stuff come here and one of us can guide you to a great price or a do it yourself type of thing if you have the time. I just hate the way I see these people in the big stores try to get it over on people.

Off Topic Rant. I went to the Best Buy by me thats in the best in the west shopping center. I needed a new remote and also wanted a new sony digi cam. Picked both of them up about 300 bucks worth of stuff. Went to the cashier she rang the items up and I had the cash all ready, then she started to talk about the service plan on the remote, I said no thanks I don't want the plan on either item please just take my money. She started in with a but you need this, I once again said no thanks and added if you ask me again I will not be buying these things please just take my money. WELLLLLL she said once again do u want the plan on the camera, and before she could get another word out I said sorry I don't want any thing now and left. I heard her scoff and turn to the other cashier and say can you believe that guy now I have to void all this.
I am only 38 and I know these kids work for just over min wage, but I worked at the same farm store back in MO when I was in high school thru most of my college, I knew this was not going to be my career, BUT I took it serious and helped people, I listened to them helped them when they wanted it and stayed away when they didn't. I don't know if the parents are to blame for how these kids act or if its the lack of training or both, but customer service has gone out the window in most of retail, and I see it in the restaurant biz as well. I have stopped tipping just because it's the thing to do, if I get poor service I let the server know why they are not getting a tip and let the host and mgr know as well. If I did my job the way some people do theirs I wouldn't be working and would need to find another job. Rant over thanks for your time.

Well, you found your way to this forum, so you should be able to check out the flat panel discussion threads too :)
I've heard good things about some of the bargain basement LCD 30" panels from makers like Olivia and Syntax that are around $800 at Costco and Fry's - when available. Right now, there is a good deal at Fry's for a 30" LCD Outpost . com (Fry's chain stores) nationwide (http://shop1.outpost.com/product/4243974?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG) - There may be a better sale at the actual location as each one has individual special sales each week.
Costco has This page (http://www.costco.com/Common/Category.aspx?whse=BC&topnav=&cat=3316&hierPath=79*&Browse=) with a special 27" Sceptre LCD for $699 and a 32" Maxcent LCD for $999.
Most of these panels are made by the same manufacturer, with differnt options and cases for each distributer, so Your Milage May Vary, but still get good results.
Be warned though, I'm not aware of any 32" LCD's in your price range with a built in QAM tuner for cable HDTV tuning. You will need an HDTV STB from Cox, if you go that route. The 8300HD is quite stable, and enough people on here can help you out if needed. The fact that it's a DVR is just icing on the cake, although it's a few dollars more a month. The 3250HD is a small no frills tuner HD tuner, but still requires setup for optimum performance too.
How is your current cable service? If it's decent, you should have minimal problems during installation and use. Welcome to HDTV!

vegggas

It would be nice if there was another mode besides stretch that you could do to the 8300 when the content is in SD. Everybody knows stretch mode sucks and so does zoom. My old HD Toshiba big screen has a mode that does a partial zoom and stretches the sides of the screen to finish filling in the gaps. It works well, the top and bottom are chopped just a little bit, the center does not make people look fat, but if you pay careful attention they get fat as they walk to the edge of the screen. You barely notice it and it looks great.
It would be nice if the SA8300 had other modes besides stretch, zoom 1 and zoom 2. Why doesn't the industry deal with the problem of people with widescreens having to deal with black bars on the side (which are burning my plasma) or stretchy fat people!
Just my 2 cents.

It would be nice if there was another mode besides stretch that you could do to the 8300 when the content is in SD. <SNIP>
Why not use passthrough mode down to 480i and let your TV or display do the stretching and scaling?
I would really like to see a STB that allows for varible adaptive scaling of the image. I would like to be able to adjust the image overscan from the STB in varible increments, rather than just a flat stretch. Ideally, I would have 0% overscan on the sides, where the image is at the edge of the display, and then 5% at the bottom, and maybe 7% at the top. This way, a stretched image could be pulled at the top and bottom more than the sides to look less stretched overall. I used to do this with my HTPC with FANTASTIC results, where SD material looked almost like native HD (scaled to 1920x1080i and filtered) on a widescreen TV. Eventually, the 8300HD simplicity won out over the HTPC, and the fact that my viewing habits are now about 95% HD, the HTPC was no longer needed.

vegggas

speco,

Wow...I've always appreciated your posts in the past, but claiming you're not a tipper in Vegas...that's akin to heresy. You need to fire up all that fancy AV gear of yours and watch the first 5 minutes of "Reservoir Dogs" to realize the error of your ways.

Cheers,
Joe

speco,

Wow...I've always appreciated your posts in the past, but claiming you're not a tipper in Vegas...that's akin to heresy. You need to fire up all that fancy AV gear of yours and watch the first 5 minutes of "Reservoir Dogs" to realize the error of your ways.

Cheers,
Joe
Joe I am a tipper and a very good one at 20-25 percent but its lousy service that does not get rewarded. Just tonight I took a group to Mcormick and Schmidts and had great service, our first time there. We always get great service at Simons in the Hard Rock, Roys at any of the locations, PF Changs, Comanders Palace. Places I have stiffed if you will would be Joes Crabshack, The steakhouses at Sante Fe and Texas Stations, I spend alot of money at the craps tables there and get alot of perks but the service is horrible in the steak house. I think good service needs to rewarded and bad service and servers need to be shown why they dont get tipped the amount they think they deserve. I have no problem tipping, but its a perk as far as I am concerned and it is just not an added on extra that gets automatic payment.

Does anyone here have both Cox and DirecTV? I am thinking of getting the dish in order to get the NFL package. Does this require an annual programming subscription or can you go month to month? Also....can the DirectTV receiver be hooked up to an input on the SA8300 DVR?

Does anyone here have both Cox and DirecTV? I am thinking of getting the dish in order to get the NFL package. Does this require an annual programming subscription or can you go month to month? Also....can the DirectTV receiver be hooked up to an input on the SA8300 DVR?


I have both. In order to get Sunday Ticket you need to subscribe to any Total Choice package. I subscribe to Total Choice Limited. It costs $32 a month, plus $10.99 a month for their HD package. I'm considered a "seasonal" customer. My D* service starts on July 31st each year and ends on the Monday following the last week of the NFL regular season. The rest of the year the programming is shut off, so no D* bill. You don't need to commit to any annual programming package. Just ask to become a "seasonal" subscriber for NFL Sunday Ticket.


And no, you cannot hook up D* through the Cox DVR.

I have both. In order to get Sunday Ticket you need to subscribe to any Total Choice package. I subscribe to Total Choice Limited. It costs $32 a month, plus $10.99 a month for their HD package. I'm considered a "seasonal" customer. My D* service starts on July 31st each year and ends on the Monday following the last week of the NFL regular season. The rest of the year the programming is shut off, so no D* bill. You don't need to commit to any annual programming package. Just ask to become a "seasonal" subscriber for NFL Sunday Ticket.


And no, you cannot hook up D* through the Cox DVR.


Thanks Bruin for the info. I have emailed D* for more info and to see if this option is still available for new customers. Where did you go for your equipment and installation? did you order directly through D* or did you go through a local company?

Thanks Bruin for the info. I have emailed D* for more info and to see if this option is still available for new customers. Where did you go for your equipment and installation? did you order directly through D* or did you go through a local company?
Hi I have directv and nfl ST I know that D* is offering some great deals on PVRs for new customers now as well as free months of progrmming. You should call them and call a couple of different times before you make a deal the reps dont always give you the best offer so play the game of your not sure and mmmm thats alot of money and the cable company is offering me HBO free for 12 months etc....

THere is a deal for new subscribers right now that includes, installation, Total Choice Premier (D*'s all inclusive package) and the NFL ticket for $64 a month for four months. Not sure what the strings are, but that will point you in the right direction.


Hi I have directv and nfl ST I know that D* is offering some great deals on PVRs for new customers now as well as free months of progrmming. You should call them and call a couple of different times before you make a deal the reps dont always give you the best offer so play the game of your not sure and mmmm thats alot of money and the cable company is offering me HBO free for 12 months etc....

Thanks Bruin for the info. I have emailed D* for more info and to see if this option is still available for new customers. Where did you go for your equipment and installation? did you order directly through D* or did you go through a local company?


I've been doing this for eight years now. My HDTV (five years old) has a built-in D* HD receiver. My original receiver (1997) was bought at Best Buy. I still have it. I installed the dish myself. Piece of cake.

There is no reason D* wouldn't let you become a "seasonal" subscriber, even if your a new customer. It would be bad business practice to turn away potential revenue.

Does anybody know who's in charge of quality control at KVBC?

For the past two weeks (and especially tonight), the "Tonight" Show and Conan O"Brien, both advertised to be in 1080i Widescreen HD, have been anything BUT that.
For the past two weeks the "Tonight Show has frequently (at least 3 times) started in SD screen format and somebody finds the error and suddenly switches it to Widescreen in about 30 minutes. This evening those two shows remained in SD for their entire presentations.

So naturally (being annoyed) I called Cox and they said, "Use the Zoom" function on your remote. Apparently NOT realizing that such practice introduces distorions in the image that have no business being there. To those so called "tech support" people a zoomed SD image is the same as a transmitted widescreen HD image. This is Cox's version of "Technical Support". Really helpful isn't it??

I said, "I realize its probably NBCs fault. Can't you alert them to the transmission problem"?

And they bluntly answered "NO THEY CAN'T".

My question is , WHO CAN??

KVBC offices apparently withdraw to a desert island after 6 PM and absolutely nobody can be reached by consumers at that office after that hour. I'm sure engineers are on duty at KVBC 24 hrs a day. Why can't Cox reach them, even though the public cannot?

Meanwhile we are paying Cox for a service that we are NOT always receiving. And they either cannot or will not be our advocates in this situation. It has been explained (I hope truthfully) to me that switching from SDNarrow to HDWide is a manually operated procedure. SOMEBODY has to be on the ball to see that it occurs when it's supposed to. I don't understand why this doesn't bother most of you? That is, unless all you care about is NFL Football and the "Lord of the Rings".

I've noticed NBC having problems too. I record these programs for later condensed viewing, so I don't always see the problems in real time. I have noticed that, except for last night, Leno is in SD, but as soon as Conan comes on, it's in HD. This almost seems to indicate a network feed problem for Leno, but still could be someone sleeping at the switch (yes, it's a manual switch) until Conan comes on. I would look up the number and call during the day and complain. At night, you would have to call the news desk and complain. If you need contact info, go to www.kvbc.com and look for the contact page.
Forget trying to call Cox and complain. They do not know the status of programming, whether it's in HD, or SD - They only take the signal and retransmit what they are given as they are not legally allowed to do anything else. Realistically, if you called Cox after hours, you probably got a network support person located in Atlanta, Ga. anyway.
Has anyone else the picture quality of Leno getting worse over the last few months? There seems to be more macroblocking and softness on Leno, but as soon as Conan comes on, it appears much clearer. Weird.

vegggas

I did notice last week on my OTA of NBC it was not HD. Also near the end of NASCAR on Sunday it went to SD. So i will call as well to voice a complaint.

Last night, I watched the first couple of minutes of Las Vegas, it appears they were trying to turn it to HD, but were unsuccessful. It started in SD, then the screen flickered and only the bottom half of the screen appeared in HD. The top half of the screen was black. Then they went back to SD. I gave up and watched House. SO I never determined if they corrected it.

Well I reached the engineering dept at KVBC this morning. I was only able to do that after about three different persons put me on "hold for a few minutes".

The first person I spoke to knew nothing about the problem, saying he only worked days and since their is little (or no) HD broadcasting during the day he was simply unconcerned. Thern I spoke to the "Chief" engineer. He said that yes there was a problem last night and that their HD transmitter had "locked up". He said the problem has been fixed. We'll see, won't we?

But I asked him why it was seemingly impossible for Cox to communicate with them if a problem existed. He said THAT WAS NOT TRUE and that Cox CAN reach them when they wish to do so, at any time of the day or night. So either NBC or Cox has blatantly LIED to me. He also said that the network feeds of both the Tonight Show and Conan come to Las Vegas from NY and NOT from LA. He could not explain why (as Vegggas has noted) the Tonight show has suffered a loss of definition in the past few weeks while Conan has not.

I further suggested that when a technical problem such as this one is taking place, that a "crawl" regarding it should be placed at the bottom of the screen on Channel 733, confirming that a problem existed, and that they were doing their "all" to fix it as soon as possible. He said that since the same picture is transmitted on Channel 3 and 733 when in SD, such a "crawl" would be "too confusing" to the viewers on Channel 3.

They think we're ALL idiots. So rather than address a problem, they ignore it.

Well I reached the engineering dept at KVBC this morning. I was only able to do that after about three different persons put me on "hold for a few minutes".

The first person I spoke to knew nothing about the problem, saying he only worked days and since their is little (or no) HD broadcasting during the day he was simply unconcerned. Thern I spoke to the "Chief" engineer. He said that yes there was a problem last night and that their HD transmitter had "locked up". He said the problem has been fixed. We'll see, won't we?

But I asked him why it was seemingly impossible for Cox to communicate with them if a problem existed. He said THAT WAS NOT TRUE and that Cox CAN reach them when they wish to do so, at any time of the day or night. So either NBC or Cox has blatantly LIED to me. He also said that the network feeds of both the Tonight Show and Conan come to Las Vegas from NY and NOT from LA. He could not explain why (as Vegggas has noted) the Tonight show has suffered a loss of definition in the past few weeks while Conan has not.

I further suggested that when a technical problem such as this one is taking place, that a "crawl" regarding it should be placed at the bottom of the screen on Channel 733, confirming that a problem existed, and that they were doing their "all" to fix it as soon as possible. He said that since the same picture is transmitted on Channel 3 and 733 when in SD, such a "crawl" would be "too confusing" to the viewers on Channel 3.

They think we're ALL idiots. So rather than address a problem, they ignore it.

Man, I can't decide if you live in a perfect world (where everyone gets everything they want all the time) or in a completely flawed world (where everyone you talk to is trying to deceive you). Very confusing...

Man, I can't decide if you live in a perfect world (where everyone gets everything they want all the time) or in a completely flawed world (where everyone you talk to is trying to deceive you). Very confusing...

I know I don't live in a perfect world. But I do expect tp get what I pay for, or get a reason why I'm NOT getting what I pay for.

In short, NBC says Cox "can",
Cox says they "can't ".

If somebody is so ill-informed they should not be fielding questions at "tech support". Or else somebody (either at NBC or Cox) WAS lying. In either case, I believe my complaint was valid. A "Perfect World" is NOT required to remedy such simple problems. Only interest in satisfied customers is required.

I know I don't live in a perfect world. But I do expect tp get what I pay for, or get a reason why I'm NOT getting what I pay for.
You are getting what you paid for. Cox said you would get KVBC, and you did.

In short, NBC says Cox "can",
Cox says they "can't ".

If somebody is so ill-informed they should not be fielding questions at "tech support". Or else somebody (either at NBC or Cox) WAS lying. In either case, I believe my complaint was valid. A "Perfect World" is NOT required to remedy such simple problems. Only interest in satisfied customers is required.
Speaking as someone who works tech support/customer service (not for Cox), expecting a level 1 tech to contact a third-party supplier like that is crazy. Important people (engineers and high-level management) are certainly able to get ahold of the relevant people when needed. A level 1 tech certainly does not have the ability to do so, and even if you were to try to escalate the issue, nothing would ever be done about it. As vegggas said, Cox merely passes on what they get from providers. If you don't like how the providers do something, take it up with them, not with Cox. If you were having a reception issue with Cox, that would be their problem, but a content issue on something they pass through isn't. Plus, all the important people aren't going to be there after-hours, so expecting anything to get done at night is just foolish.

And for the record, corporations don't care about satisfied customers...they care about paying customers. If they can spend less money and still keep you as a customer, even a pissed off one, they have a responsibility to their stockholders to do so. That may not be something you want to believe, but it's the truth.

Looks like NBC is running OK tonight. I just noticed last nights recording of Fear Factor was chopped in half and unwatchable. Oh well...
For the Leno vs. Conan debate, I would hope that someone else would record and compare the two. There is not a difference in definition, but an overall softness and noticed pixelation moreso on Leno, but as soon as Conan comes on, that veil is lifted and fast motion looks much better. To me, there is a very noticeable difference between the two, now, where I didn't notice it before. Leno used to be an extremely clean and clear image, and Conan followed suit with the same quality. If anyone can confirm the differences, I would like to take this to the programming forum for consensus there.
For local programming, including HD, it's a free service with a cable subscription. You are not charged any extra fees for access to local programming as long as you have the equipment needed to view it. If you need to rent or buy equipment to view content, that is up to the consumer. Off The Air content is free, as long as you buy a TV, and a tuner to tune in the channel, and either an antenna, or paid private cable line to get the programming without an antenna. If you have a problem with the programming, contact the station, it's 100% their problem. Your cable company, or antenna will have nothing to do with it.
As for Cox or somebody lying... Here is my exact quote:
Forget trying to call Cox and complain. They do not know the status of programming, whether it's in HD, or SD - They only take the signal and retransmit what they are given as they are not legally allowed to do anything else. Realistically, if you called Cox after hours, you probably got a network support person located in Atlanta, Ga. anyway.
Nowhere did I say that Cox personnel can't get in touch with a provider. As the previous poster alluded to, the necessary people would be contacted in the event of an emergency or complete loss of service, and probably being disturbed during their sleep too. At no time would anyone call to inquire wether a program is in HD or not during late nite TV. Even the local stations are not always sure if the feed they get is going to be HD or not.

vegggas

I have both. In order to get Sunday Ticket you need to subscribe to any Total Choice package. I subscribe to Total Choice Limited. It costs $32 a month, plus $10.99 a month for their HD package. I'm considered a "seasonal" customer. My D* service starts on July 31st each year and ends on the Monday following the last week of the NFL regular season. The rest of the year the programming is shut off, so no D* bill. You don't need to commit to any annual programming package. Just ask to become a "seasonal" subscriber for NFL Sunday Ticket.


And no, you cannot hook up D* through the Cox DVR.



Bruin....I have been going round and round with these directv people. They insist that I would need to commit to a 1 year subscription of their programming INCLUDING extra 10.99 for HD service!!(again.. a 1 year commitement) The only way to get the games in HD this year is to order the extra $99 superfan package, which I'm willing to do, BUT...I see no reason to have to be forced to get all their other HD channels for at an extra cost. The only HD they have that Cox doesnt is HDNET and Universal , and we will be getting Universal in Oct according to Vegggas. That means I would have to pay 10.99 to get HDNET. BUMMER !!

Bruin....I have been going round and round with these directv people. They insist that I would need to commit to a 1 year subscription of their programming INCLUDING extra 10.99 for HD service!!(again.. a 1 year commitement) The only way to get the games in HD this year is to order the extra $99 superfan package, which I'm willing to do, BUT...I see no reason to have to be forced to get all their other HD channels for at an extra cost. The only HD they have that Cox doesnt is HDNET and Universal , and we will be getting Universal in Oct according to Vegggas. That means I would have to pay 10.99 to get HDNET. BUMMER !!


gvc, I do not think directv has any limited packages any more and require a 1 year commit from anyone with total choice as a minimum. From what i have read on other forums even if you bought a used box they still require a 1 year comit. Try calling again, i do not think you need to get the Hd package but I could be wrong.

gvc, I do not think directv has any limited packages any more and require a 1 year commit from anyone with total choice as a minimum. From what i have read on other forums even if you bought a used box they still require a 1 year comit. Try calling again, i do not think you need to get the Hd package but I could be wrong.


I could not find anyone who indicated that I could order just the regular Total Choice package without the HD package if I bought the HD receiver (actually a customer agreement I read said 24 month commitment on advanced receivers), But nowhere did I find in the agreement contract that I read on their site a mention of having to give the same commitment to the HD package. Why should I pay an additional $10.99/month if I don't have to? Of course I am assuming that the NFL games would still be available on HD on those designated channels with the Superfan package without the regular HD programming package. Should I purchase the HD equipment , have it installed, and then call to activate the programming, I can only imagine the fight I'll have trying to convince them that the HD package is not requrired. I will certainly read the customer agreement that they give me at the store before I sign anything.

I apologize for posting off topic.. this will be my last on this subject. :)

gvc, believe me, you DO NOT NEED to commit for one year to get NFL Sunday Ticket. They are just giving you the runaround because they're trying to get MORE money from you. They know you want it and are trying to reel you in. Tell them you are only interested in Sunday Ticket and already have digital cable, so you really don't need the other channels. If the rep has half a brain they will do everything they can to get you as a customer. You are "required" to have a total choice package in order to get ST so ask for TC "limited". You do NOT need the HD package to get the games in HD. That is what the Superfan Pack is for. If the rep is telling you that you need the HD package, hang up and call again to talk to someone else. A little knowledge on your side will go a long way. They just assume that you don't know anything. Also, it would help if you did have the equipment already installed and were ready to subscribe at the time of the call. They will not let you get away.

Well, I took the plunge and installation for HD directv will be tomorrow morning. I requested the additional installation of Off air antenna. Will be getting the sunday ticket and HD package.

Is there anything else for installation I should ask for? It's my first experience with directv, been with Cox cable all my life.

Well, I took the plunge and installation for HD directv will be tomorrow morning. I requested the additional installation of Off air antenna. Will be getting the sunday ticket and HD package.

Is there anything else for installation I should ask for? It's my first experience with directv, been with Cox cable all my life.

The service and picture quality provided by DIRECTV (if properly installed) makes the Cox service and picture look positively amateurish. Just hope that you live in an area where the O-T-A HD signals from all local stations, can reach you easily. Otherwise you may find yourself re-inatalling Cox Cable as well as retaining DirectV, just to get the local networks in HD.
But the "local networks in HD" on DirectV ARE coming. Probably before the end of 2006. Personally, I think it can't come soon enough. And when that does finally happen, Cox will be "sweating bullets" to retain its customers. Watch them improve their service, tech staff, customer relations and program offerings, then. It will all occur as if by "magic".

Must... resist... urge... to.... feed.... tr011...... aghhhhhh..........

tenwood,
Did you get a chance to try out the Cox /SA 8300 HD-DVR? If all you have ever watched is standard analog on a plasma, then it typically looks like ass. HD is another matter altogether.
[FLAMESUIT=ON]
You can look at all the forums and discover that D* HD is suffering badly, but I'm assuming that you did your homework. It is generally considered that as of right now D* HD quality is nowhere near any cable providers HD signals around the country. The HD-Tivo will still be around for this, and probably next season too, and is a great DVR (check those threads too).
[/FLAMESUIT=OFF]
I would make sure you got the multiple receivers package so that you can view programming in other rooms and other TV's. Sometimes, long time cable users don't realize that you HAVE to have a STB on every set to get any programming and phone lines for PPV purchase and billing. Please come back and tell us about your install and what minimum services you had to get to get the NFL-ST in HD; There are others interested in getting this too. There are also a lot of OTA users here who can give advice for your locals.

enjoy!
vegggas

D* may look bad, but they don't nickel and dime you to death like Cox. I'm still trying to figure out why an HD-DVR uses tiered fees, they charge you for DVR, then stack a secondary charge on top of that for HD-DVR. Plus, they throw channels like History International into their sports package, which is irritating. Lastly, they list their channels by tier instead of by subject. But the last one is just a minor annoyance because once you get the channel list figured out and find out what you are and aren't subscribed to, it's less of a problem.

Locally, compared to other Cox cities, I wish we'd get the regular VOD and SVOD options that other cities like San Diego have.

D* may look bad, but they don't nickel and dime you to death like Cox. I'm still trying to figure out why an HD-DVR uses tiered fees, they charge you for DVR, then stack a secondary charge on top of that for HD-DVR. Plus, they throw channels like History International into their sports package, which is irritating. Lastly, they list their channels by tier instead of by subject. But the last one is just a minor annoyance because once you get the channel list figured out and find out what you are and aren't subscribed to, it's less of a problem.

Locally, compared to other Cox cities, I wish we'd get the regular VOD and SVOD options that other cities like San Diego have.
michael,
I'm not sure I follow what you are talking about. On my bill, there is a rental fee for the STB equipment, and then a fee for the DVR service. This is the same kind of fee that the Tivo had, except that I had to pay for the STB upfront instead of a monthly rental. I can't discern ANY HD tier price anywhere in the bill. The only tiering at all is going from analog only one-way basic subscription, to two-way communication and digital services, but that is voided when you actually order any digital services.
As for the VOD and SVOD, I don't understand what you are saying by "regular" options. I use VideoOnDemand and especially SubscriptionVOD (cause it's included with my premium movies for free) all the time. I can watch anything in HBO, Starz's, or Cinemax's, library on VOD as the same library is available to all cableco's. The only thing missing, is HD-VOD and XXX-VOD, which I hear are coming soon.

vegggas

Well, I took the plunge and installation for HD directv will be tomorrow morning. I requested the additional installation of Off air antenna. Will be getting the sunday ticket and HD package.

Is there anything else for installation I should ask for? It's my first experience with directv, been with Cox cable all my life.


Who did you order from? Please report back with how the install went including activation process. thanks and good luck. I'm 90% sure Ill be getting D* in addition to keeping Cox. Cox's HD lineup , especially with the two new additions in Oct. , cant be beat.

Cox would have to nickle and dime the heck out of you to make up for the upfront equipment costs associated with D*. $750 for a HD Tivo, that you may need to replace every couple of years? D* is notorious for soaking the heck out of its bleeding edge customers, adding an additional $99 for HD NFL games is just one example. As Vegggas said, D* is in trouble. Their HD picture is "soft" compared to Cox. I just watched the Charger/Packer game that I recorded from Cox. I watched the original game on D*. I was suprised how much better the Cox version was, even though it was on an inferior TV. If you want to talk about bandwidth/space, D* has some serious issues because to increase bandwidth they have to launch a new Satellite, which costs a boatload. Hopefully Cox will be able to free up bandwidth by getting rid of analog stations, which will not cost that much. Also, the OTA/antenna issues with D* is getting old, my friend experiences some significant rain fade or issues when it gets windy, etc. But with that said, D* is trying to change their business model because they are getting killed, they are starting to give some equipment away in exchange for 2 year contracts, etc. They are going to MPEG-4 compression which MAY improve their HD picture quality...

Long time Directv guy.First time poster. I do agree with Vegggas on Direc HD not being as good as Cox, but unless you ever had them side by side, like I did, you wouold be hard pressed not to be impressed by HD of D*. ESPN always seems to look really good to me. I just had a bad experience with cox at my location so I dumped them for the HD service, but that doesnt mean I wouldnt come back if I was at another location.

Veggas I checked the Leno, Connan thing the other night. I could see some sort of difference but could pin it down. My wife who is the asst lighting director at our show said she thinks its a different way of lighting each show. Leno seemed to not have as hot a light and a much richer color background. Connan seemed like a brighter studio with a more plain background. Now we could have been fooled into thinking we saw a difference, just like people sometimes fool themselves into thinking they hear changes in sound when there is none.
Just our 2 cents.

Veggas another question. In the LeStaff cafe all the TVs are Plasma I guess, but the picture seems really good and not stretched or zoomed, yet the its on things like CNN which are not broadcast that way. Are they using some type of scan converter at the head end to do this?

[QUOTE=Tallen234] Also, the OTA/antenna issues with D* is getting old, my friend experiences some significant rain fade or issues when it gets windy, etc. QUOTE]

Tallen I may be the only guy in the world that has never had this issue. I really dont know why, but even when we have traveled back to the midwest in an RV and stayed for months ata time we have never had this issue. My folks live in MO and the snow and clouds etc never been an issue. I know it exists as I have seen other with it. Even with the so called monsoon, hello its just summer thunderstorms we had them all the time in the midwest, I have had zero problems. Both mine and my dads dish is mounted low to the ground on tripods. So I wonder if that has anything to do with it?

Who did you order from? Please report back with how the install went including activation process. thanks and good luck. I'm 90% sure Ill be getting D* in addition to keeping Cox. Cox's HD lineup , especially with the two new additions in Oct. , cant be beat.

I called Direc4u, for the extra 50 bux in target gift card, plus I get all the rebates currently available on d tv's site. Weird thing is, the rep told me that the installer will put in the OTA for $50 more, which is fine. Right now, the installer is doing his work and he's not installing the OTA nor does he have one in his truck, told me to call D tv again.

I did not know tivo requires another line, which installer had to drill thru the wall. Will post later with more info.

It's all done, took about 2 hours. I do not recommend Direct4u at all. If you want HD channels, then just call directv directly, don't forget to use anyone you know for referral.

Directv told me that because I ordered my equipment thru Direct4u, then I would have to deal with the other company. Direct4u gave me the runaround about the OTA local Hd channels, first saying they would do it, then told me to call directv, after the third call, I was told to go buy the antenna from fry's or radio shack and called them back, they will install for $20.

by the way, main reason I went with directv was the sunday ticket, a little has to do with the fact that Cox wants to charge me about $200 to install the lines for my house, new house and all.

Tenwood what area do u live in? Maybe I can give you some tips on the OTA. I am in the Cheyenne Durango area. I had to use the old fashion big ant to get all the locals. I tried the ant on the dish and only got about half of them.

<SNIP>Veggas I checked the Leno, Connan thing the other night. I could see some sort of difference but could pin it down. My wife who is the asst lighting director at our show said she thinks its a different way of lighting each show. Leno seemed to not have as hot a light and a much richer color background. Connan seemed like a brighter studio with a more plain background. Now we could have been fooled into thinking we saw a difference, just like people sometimes fool themselves into thinking they hear changes in sound when there is none.
Just our 2 cents.
Actually, Since KVBC was called, the signal looks better on Leno than it has in a while. I still see more pixelation on Leno, then on Conan, but it's not as dramatic a difference as it was in the past. As for the lighting and production, maybe some of the crew was loaned out to Conan when they went HD? Anyway, it's looking better now then befor, but still different.


Veggas another question. In the LeStaff cafe all the TVs are Plasma I guess, but the picture seems really good and not stretched or zoomed, yet the its on things like CNN which are not broadcast that way. Are they using some type of scan converter at the head end to do this?
The basement TV's Plasma and at the EDR are either fed from a media center display (signage)at 1024x768 through the VGA connector, or directly off the MATV using the internal tuner and zoom or stretch mode to fill the screen. Now I'm hungry and will probably go down there and eat!
Let me know if you still want the HD tour and/or the suites! I'm usually hanging around the Mez level (right now...) anyway.

vegggas

Tenwood what area do u live in? Maybe I can give you some tips on the OTA. I am in the Cheyenne Durango area. I had to use the old fashion big ant to get all the locals. I tried the ant on the dish and only got about half of them.

I'm in Aliante area, off 215.

I just called Customer Rentention at Dtv 1-800-600-8977 requested to upgrade to HD tivo receiver and told them I don't want to pay $500 after rebate. The rep offered $299 minus 100 rebate, plus $49 for the OTA, which they will install along with a whole new dish on monday (not very efficient, as they were out here today and I asked for HD dish already). Asked for Superfan for $49 instead of $99, after a few "no I can't do it" (too eeriely similar to my college chicks experience) the rep said ok and tacked on $5 off every month for 6 months.

In the end, I will pay $69 a month for 4 months, ALL channels plus NFL Ticket (which is like free now). Plus Tivo cost, plus 5.99 for another receiver.

One time costs 1. $50for the regular DVR (100 back after rebate) 2. $349 and some taxes for the HD Tivo receiver (100 back after rebate) 3. Superfan Sunday ticket $49. Basically, out of my pocket after rebates will be $249.

Now I'm hungry and will probably go down there and eat!


vegggas

Dude if you are hungry our EDR is no place to go.They did have some halfway decent Buffalo Chicken Nuggs yesterday. I am off til monday. I can get you in to us for a tour as well now too.

I'm in Aliante area, off 215.

I just called Customer Rentention at Dtv 1-800-600-8977 requested to upgrade to HD tivo receiver and told them I don't want to pay $500 after rebate. The rep offered $299 minus 100 rebate, plus $49 for the OTA, which they will install along with a whole new dish on monday (not very efficient, as they were out here today and I asked for HD dish already). Asked for Superfan for $49 instead of $99, after a few "no I can't do it" (too eeriely similar to my college chicks experience) the rep said ok and tacked on $5 off every month for 6 months.

In the end, I will pay $69 a month for 4 months, ALL channels plus NFL Ticket (which is like free now). Plus Tivo cost, plus 5.99 for another receiver.

One time costs 1. $50for the regular DVR (100 back after rebate) 2. $349 and some taxes for the HD Tivo receiver (100 back after rebate) 3. Superfan Sunday ticket $49. Basically, out of my pocket after rebates will be $249.


Great thats the way to play the game!!!

Thinking about switching from Direct TV to Cox. I had bad expieriences in the past (pre 2000) with picture quality from Cox but after reading some of the posts I am wondering if the situation has greatly improved? Shelled out $1000 for a DTV HD Tivo about 8 months ago and have already lost my HDMI output twice. Enough is enough. I know I'll be happy with the HD, but have channels such as TBS, USA etc gotten any better on Cox than what they used to look like? Any comments would be greatly appreciated!

Thinking about switching from Direct TV to Cox. I had bad expieriences in the past (pre 2000) with picture quality from Cox but after reading some of the posts I am wondering if the situation has greatly improved? Shelled out $1000 for a DTV HD Tivo about 8 months ago and have already lost my HDMI output twice. Enough is enough. I know I'll be happy with the HD, but have channels such as TBS, USA etc gotten any better on Cox than what they used to look like? Any comments would be greatly appreciated!
James if u do switch I would like to see about buying the DVR from you. Is it the HR10?

Those of you in the shopping mode this weekend can scratch Good Guys at WOW off your list. Seems as if the employees walked in on Monday and were promptly fired.

James if u do switch I would like to see about buying the DVR from you. Is it the HR10?

Yes it is the HR10.

Picture quality and HDTivo cost was the reason I switched from Di** to Cox.

I SA8300HD (verb, like "TIVOED") Dallas on Soapnet every night and let me tell you, some of the episodes look like HD to me. I stretch it and "ZOOM 1" it from my Vizio 42HDe plasma, and sure it is not really HD and it overscans the top and bottom just like the old tube did in the 80's, but damn does it look good!. :o

DTV just sent us a bribe and I threw it away in the trash.

The only thing i miss from DTV is just paying 5 bucks for digital service for another outlet. Right now I'm using the record to VCR with a long rg-6 trick but the latest firmware coincidentally messes up the picture in this mode.

With Cox this will cost me $18 more per month! for each set! :mad:

...to add to this..

I would not mind paying an $10 for an extra box if the SA8300HD would be flashed into a SA8300HDMR!

Those of you in the shopping mode this weekend can scratch Good Guys at WOW off your list. Seems as if the employees walked in on Monday and were promptly fired.

Yeah, what happened? I went over there the other day and the electronics section was all boarded up.

Thinking about switching from Direct TV to Cox. I had bad expieriences in the past (pre 2000) with picture quality from Cox but after reading some of the posts I am wondering if the situation has greatly improved? Shelled out $1000 for a DTV HD Tivo about 8 months ago and have already lost my HDMI output twice. Enough is enough. I know I'll be happy with the HD, but have channels such as TBS, USA etc gotten any better on Cox than what they used to look like? Any comments would be greatly appreciated!

Anyone know where I can go to see a good demo of Cox HD and HD DVR?

Yeah, what happened? I went over there the other day and the electronics section was all boarded up.


I stopped in there last week and was told that they were bought out by CompUsa

Anyone know where I can go to see a good demo of Cox HD and HD DVR?

Tweeters used to have it set up in one of their demo rooms.

Looks like others around the country have noted that the PQ on Conan is better than Leno on the following thread.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6055859&&#post6055859
Doesn't explain the macroblocking and pixelation that appear to happen more with Leno though.

For HD demo's, I think Abbots Audio & Video across from the WOW store on Sahara has something. I would call ahead and ask. Analog signals will vary, depending on your location and the condition and overall quallity oif the wiring in your residence.

vegggas

Late night TV....I read that Letterman will finally be in HD starting later this month.

Tweeter: Checked it out for the first time the other day. If you go in there , ask for a demo of there home theatre room in the back.. cutting edge technology..will blow ya away !

Yea, the moving chairs were amazing.

Same old crap on NBC tonight. "Law and Order", should have been in widescreen.....wasn't.
Once in a while I can understand an error. But this happens at least 3-4 times a week. And the problem doesn't seem to be gerring any better. If anything, It's getting worse.

Same old crap on NBC tonight. "Law and Order", should have been in widescreen.....wasn't.
Once in a while I can understand an error. But this happens at least 3-4 times a week. And the problem doesn't seem to be gerring any better. If anything, It's getting worse.


It is strange I noticed today they had skateboarding in what looked like Hi Def. Odd the things they choose.

HI folks, i'm new to the area. Just moved to Henderson, NV from New Jersey.
Is there a current listing of whats available in HD via OTA?

thanks,

Winston

Welcome Winston.............

The following list is from Dogpile.com

NV KVVU 5 Henderson/Las Vegas 9
NV KVBC 3 Las Vegas 2
NV KLAS 8 Las Vegas 7
NV KLVX 10 Las Vegas 11
NV KINC 15 Las Vegas 16
NV KVWB 21 Las Vegas 23
NV KFBT 33 Las Vegas 29
NV KBLR 39 Paradise/Las Vegas 40

This list is from Antennaweb.com

* yellow - vhf KTNV-DT 13.1 ABC LAS VEGAS NV 60° 2.9 12
* yellow - vhf KLAS-DT 8.1 CBS LAS VEGAS NV 60° 2.8 7
* yellow - uhf KINC-DT 16.1 UNI LAS VEGAS NV 59° 2.8 16
* red - vhf KLVX-DT 10.1 PBS LAS VEGAS NV 29° 6.9 11
* red - vhf KVBC-DT 3.1 NBC LAS VEGAS NV 29° 7.0 2
* blue - vhf KVVU-DT 5.1 FOX Henderson / Las Vegas NV 33° 6.8 9
* violet - uhf KBLR-DT 40.1 TEL PARADISE NV 29° 7.1 40


There may be a better list elsewhere.

I am curious as to what can be received over in the Anthem area... I am moving over there and have heard a rumor that a number of the digital signals "skip" over that area... I wonder if they can be picked up with a large Yagi section as they bounce off the mountains to the west?

Welcome Winston.............

The following list is from Dogpile.com

NV KVVU 5 Henderson/Las Vegas 9
NV KVBC 3 Las Vegas 2
NV KLAS 8 Las Vegas 7
NV KLVX 10 Las Vegas 11
NV KINC 15 Las Vegas 16
NV KVWB 21 Las Vegas 23
NV KFBT 33 Las Vegas 29
NV KBLR 39 Paradise/Las Vegas 40

This list is from Antennaweb.com

* yellow - vhf KTNV-DT 13.1 ABC LAS VEGAS NV 60° 2.9 12
* yellow - vhf KLAS-DT 8.1 CBS LAS VEGAS NV 60° 2.8 7
* yellow - uhf KINC-DT 16.1 UNI LAS VEGAS NV 59° 2.8 16
* red - vhf KLVX-DT 10.1 PBS LAS VEGAS NV 29° 6.9 11
* red - vhf KVBC-DT 3.1 NBC LAS VEGAS NV 29° 7.0 2
* blue - vhf KVVU-DT 5.1 FOX Henderson / Las Vegas NV 33° 6.8 9
* violet - uhf KBLR-DT 40.1 TEL PARADISE NV 29° 7.1 40


There may be a better list elsewhere.

I am curious as to what can be received over in the Anthem area... I am moving over there and have heard a rumor that a number of the digital signals "skip" over that area... I wonder if they can be picked up with a large Yagi section as they bounce off the mountains to the west?
Just to clarify, the above listed channels are digital channels and not all are HD.
The only HD channels are:
NV KVBC 3 Las Vegas 2 NBC
NV KVVU 5 Las Vegas 9 FOX
NV KLAS 8 Las Vegas 7 CBS
NV KLVX 10 Las Vegas 11 PBS
NV KTNV 13 Las Vegas 12 ABC

Sometimes, WB offers HD programming, but it's been very inconsistant and hard to pick up - YMMV -
NV KVWB 21 Las Vegas 23 WB

Except for the WB, all local HD channels are available free via Cox cable (as a paid sub) if you have a QAM tuner. If not, an HD- STB can be rented.

vegggas

thanks everyone, veyr much for the welcome, as well as the info. I'm in Henderson,
on W. Horizon Ridge Pkwy. Thats the foot of Black Mountain. I only have a small set top
antenna at the moment, and with that i can pick up the following:

21 - KVWB
10 - KLVX
3 - KVBC
33/29.2 - KFBT

Using an RCA-dtc100, and after doing a channel search, the following channels
show in the antenna info page, but they dont come in strong enuff:

9 digital
39 digital
99 digital - this comes in, but looks like some weird demo thing. Shows as
www.usdtv.com, and has 13 smaller screens of various channels.

Winston

It's all done. Directv HD tivo was finally installed yesterday. And sure enough, I tivoed everything that says HD since yesterday to now :) I dunno if my tv enjoyment can be better than now, got the new Vizio 50 inch plasma to go along with HD programming.

For those thinking about HD directv, 2 tips, when requesting the OTA, insist on it being free and under no circumstances pay the installer any money for putting in the second line for DVR.

It's all done. Directv HD tivo was finally installed yesterday. And sure enough, I tivoed everything that says HD since yesterday to now :) I dunno if my tv enjoyment can be better than now, got the new Vizio 50 inch plasma to go along with HD programming.

For those thinking about HD directv, 2 tips, when requesting the OTA, insist on it being free and under no circumstances pay the installer any money for putting in the second line for DVR.

Be careful, if you praise DirectV on this forum, you may become an instant pariah. I know. I've had the experience.

Be careful, if you praise DirectV on this forum, you may become an instant pariah. I know. I've had the experience.
It's not the praising of D* that is the problem - Many here have, or have had the service. It's the untruthful comparisons to other services, whether it's Dish, cable, or OTA, etc that we (me) find to be disturbing. If a good deal or service is to be found, then by all means, let everyone know - we all want to save a buck while getting a quality product.
Example of an untruth - D* HD PQ is better than Cox for the same channels! It's well documented that the D* HD service has been suffering PQ and resolution problems for some time. For some, it's ok and they are unable to see the difference with their equipment. For others the difference is monumental.
Example of a Praise - D* has the HDTivo, which many favor over other DVR's, for a lower price if you are willing to sign a long term agreement! D* will lower the price of the HDTivo, if you are firm and get enough knowledge from forums such as this one to back up what you say.

vegggas

Bruin, Speco, and/or any others who have both Cox Cable and D*..... do you have separate cable runs for each or are you using diplexers to combine both signals into one to feed all your rooms? Does using the same cable to feed both cable tv and satellite degrade either or both signals? Are there any pros or cons to using the same cable to feed both? thanks.

I do not diplex the signal. So I dont know sorry.

Hello there, I just stumbled onto this forum. I have a Sony KDF-55WF655 HDTV and Cox HD Cable and I really enjoy the them both. My problem is that I can get the Program Guide to work fine with the Cox Guide and the Cox remote but I can not get the Sony TV Program Guide to work at all. I would like to be able to access the Sony Program guide as well. What do I have set up incorrectly? How do I go about doing this?

Thank you in advance.

Sony TV Guide???
Do you mean the TV Menu, setting and such?

Eddie

I mean the information banner on when you hit the display button or change channels that gives you the title of the program you are watching and some info about it. Also the guide where you can see what else is playing on different channels. The Cox cable box has one and so does the Sony t.v., but the t.v. one won't work. Just says, no program information is available.

I mean the information banner on when you hit the display button or change channels that gives you the title of the program you are watching and some info about it. Also the guide where you can see what else is playing on different channels. The Cox cable box has one and so does the Sony t.v., but the t.v. one won't work. Just says, no program information is available.

For the SONY Program Guide to be operational, you probably have to be receiving all of your digital broadcasts over the air. Otherwise, no dice. If you have your TV connected to a cable box, you will only get the Program Guide from the cable company.

I mean the information banner on when you hit the display button or change channels that gives you the title of the program you are watching and some info about it. Also the guide where you can see what else is playing on different channels. The Cox cable box has one and so does the Sony t.v., but the t.v. one won't work. Just says, no program information is available.

I have the exact same unit. It only displays program data on the Sony "Infobanner" when the source is connected directly into either the "VHF/UHF" jack or the "Cable/Antenna" jack. Since I'm using the HD box from Cox, I just turned the Infobanner off.

Bruin, Speco, and/or any others who have both Cox Cable and D*..... do you have separate cable runs for each or are you using diplexers to combine both signals into one to feed all your rooms? Does using the same cable to feed both cable tv and satellite degrade either or both signals? Are there any pros or cons to using the same cable to feed both? thanks.


I have separate cable runs so I wouldn't know about signal degration using a diplexer.

Since Monday night, the "David Letterman" show has been telecast in widescreen HD. And there is a great improvement over its former SD configuration.

Comparing that"sharp" looking, telecast to the "weak kneed" "Tonight Show", shows just how good CBS can be and just how bad NBC can be. The "Conan O'Brien" show is more on a par with Letterman than with Leno. Could the difference be that both Letterman and Conan are based in NY, and so the network gets direct feeds from them. As opposed to "Leno" which originates in Los Angeles and must first be fed to NY before its put out on the network?

whats the best hd antenna to get? on las vegas nv 89156

Let the games begin !! I finally have D* . Install was one HDTV , separate RG6 feed. After playing with it for awhile, IMO, Cox digital, including HD, beats D* hands down. Cox analog is another story, but that is to be expected. I also prefer the SA8300 for ease of use over the D* H10 receiver. Now I cant wait for the NFL regular season :)

Let the games begin !! I finally have D* . Install was one HDTV , separate RG6 feed. After playing with it for awhile, IMO, Cox digital, including HD, beats D* hands down. Cox analog is another story, but that is to be expected. I also prefer the SA8300 for ease of use over the D* H10 receiver. Now I cant wait for the NFL regular season :)

Really, where would DTV be without the NFL?
DTV picture quality sucks big time.

Who gives a crap about the NFL at this time of year? In both the National and American Leagues (baseball), their are a total of about 10 teams all with a shot at winning their division or being a wild card.

I don't know how a pre-season or "beginning" of the season NFL game can hold your interest in preference to baseball at this time of year.

Really, where would DTV be without the NFL?
DTV picture quality sucks big time.

Not at my house. D* is all over Cox in terms of picture quality with my equipment. But then again, I've ALWAYS had picture quality issues with Cox in the 13 years I've been at my present location. So many service calls and no resolutions to my problems. I guess I could move, but that ain't happening.

Who gives a crap about the NFL at this time of year? In both the National and American Leagues (baseball), their are a total of about 10 teams all with a shot at winning their division or being a wild card.

I don't know how a pre-season or "beginning" of the season NFL game can hold your interest in preference to baseball at this time of year.

Well, not everyone is a baseball fan. Football is, hands down, the most popular team sport in the U.S. The fact that the team you root for only plays once a week adds to the anticipation of seeing them play. Plus, you can't forget where you are. Vegas, baby!! Football is the most bet on sport, period. Adds alot to its popularity and desire to watch games.

Vegggas, you ever find out about that PSIP info being passed? Should (is) it be passed?

Who gives a crap about the NFL at this time of year? In both the National and American Leagues (baseball), their are a total of about 10 teams all with a shot at winning their division or being a wild card.

I don't know how a pre-season or "beginning" of the season NFL game can hold your interest in preference to baseball at this time of year.

There are people out there who enjoy watching football, but couldn't give a crap about baseball, at any time of the year. I am one of them.

What's the latest on Universal HD and TNT HD for Cox?

I believe Vegggas reported that Universal and TNT HD channels will be coming in October. dont remember when in Oct.

October 13th for UniversalHD and TNTHD

Anyone from Lake Las Vegas or know what cable boxes are in use there. I believe them to be Motorola's but don't know the model numbers.

Thanks, Eddie

By the way, I set up a Logitech Harmony 880 universal remote today. What a great product. Yes it cost $250 bucks retail, but it's great for the "not very non-tech savy".

By the way, I set up a Logitech Harmony 880 universal remote today. What a great product. Yes it cost $250 bucks retail, but it's great for the "not very non-tech savy".

I'm glad you edited that post. Because if you hadn't it would probably have made even less sense than it does.

Don't you mean "it's great for the very non-tech savvy"?

or perhaps;

"it's great for the not very tech savvy"?

A bit of advice "fast"eddie----don't be in such a hurry. :rolleyes: