"EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 23, 2007--DIRECTV, the nation's leading satellite television service provider, continues to set the stage for its unprecedented expansion of HD services. With agreements in place to launch four Discovery HD channels, five HD channels from Starz, CNBC and Chiller in HD, along with recently completed deals with The History Channel and A&E, DIRECTV is on schedule to roll out up to 100 national HD channels by year-end to satisfy the appetite of its HD customers, who have doubled over the last year."

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=127160&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1006125&highlight=

......What could the "sportsless" DISH network provide that could be better, or even preferable? I'll answer my own question. ....ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!


A heck of a lot more HD programming, the best HD DVR in the industry and way better picture quality SD and HD.

How 'bout the 30 sec skip feature? Does D* give you that?
Multirooom DVR with 1 RF and one UHF remote (via agile modulator)? Does D* have that?

Yes, I've had 30 sec skip on my D* TiVo for about 4 years now.

So foghorn how is it better then the TiVo Series 3?

A heck of a lot more HD programming, the best HD DVR in the industry and way better picture quality SD and HD.

How 'bout the 30 sec skip feature? Does D* give you that?
Multirooom DVR with 1 RF and one UHF remote (via agile modulator)? Does D* have that?
How about major network locals in HD without an OTA antenna? Does D* give you that? Yep.
How about the ability to record two network programs at the same time? Does D* give you that? Yep.
How about VOD? Does D* give you that? Nope, but soon.
How about MLB,NFL and NHL season passes? Does D* give you that? Nope, but you can subscribe if you want.

Listen, for you, Dish is obviously the best and only choice. For others, D* or even Cox may provide the particular features/service that they want or need.
We are all obviously biased towards the service we have chosen to pay for, or else we would go elsewhere. This bias should not be an excuse not to try to be objective when giving information about our experiences with our particular dvr.
When someone asks on these forums for recommendations, what we, as consumers can do is try to point out what we find attractive with the choice we have made. I happen to find that D* meets all my needs with picture quality I find to be very good, reliably recording the programs I am interested in, at a cost that is not sending me to the poor house. If someone else finds that E* meets their needs, then I am happy for them and it's no skin off my nose that they don't subscribe to D*.
When people ask for recs on what service to buy, I will recommend D* based upon my experiences, but will always mention that SOME people still experience problems with the hr20. I will also point out that although the hr20 was not ready for prime time when introduced, that MOST people find it to now be reliable and providie good picture quality. I can make no claim that the hr20 is the best hd dvr in the industry, only that it has the features and quality that make it best for ME.
And by the way, I am not affiliated with D* in any way, other than being a paying customer.*

*(This disclaimer appears to be necessary. It seems that some folks will believe that only D* employees or paid shills will ever say anything good about the hr20.)

Yes, I've had 30 sec skip on my D* TiVo for about 4 years now.

So foghorn how is it better then the TiVo Series 3?

Way better, so much better that Tivo wants to sue E*. BTW, the DTivo is a dead unit slow as molasses. D* no longer promotes it and will not see the new sats and mpeg4. They are killing it and I'm surprised you even mentioned this relic.

I'd rather use a SA8300HD any day and thats saying alot.

Yes, I've had 30 sec skip on my D* TiVo for about 4 years now.

So foghorn how is it better then the TiVo Series 3?

A Dtivo is not a Series 3. Good try but no dice :p

Here's a good review of the 2 sat companies from a very respected guy in the industry:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=98307

Scott's DirecTV Review (DirecTV -VS- Dish)

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

When the idea first came into my head to get DirecTV I really wanted to give DirecTV a shot, as I knew this was not just a system test, but a two year commitment.

As you might have seen over the past few years DirecTV has been making some bold claims about their future and I wanted to be there for all of the great stuff that DirecTV is advertising coming down the line.

For my trek into DirecTV I opted to do it myself, I installed the new Slimline Dish and three of DirecTV's current most poular receivers. The receivers I selected and installed were the R15 SD DVR, The D20 MPEG4 Receiver and the top of the line HR20 MPEG4 HD DVR.

Out of the box I was impressed with the quality of the packout of the Slimline Dish and the D20 and HR20. When you opened the boxes you felt like you were opening quality, this was compaired with the many Dish Network dishes and receivers I have opened which were packed like they were shipped in bulk, with everything just thrown in the boxes so it would get there.(Although the R15 looked like a Dish packout with the receiver with two stirophone holders on the end thrown in a box with the manuals and wires thrown on top)

As you have read in my diary, my install went well. I was VERY impressed with the Slimline Dish, it was very well thought out and not difficult to install, this dish was a big upgrade compaired to the AT9 which was a lot harder to install.

While my install went well I had a few annoying issues that were all on DirecTV's side and it took a few calls (from myself and also Brewer4) to get fixed. It seems to me that something screwed up on DIrecTV's side and while I have the DIrecTV Plus HD DVR package plus 3 months free of HBO, Showtime and Cinemax. my Local HD channels and HBO and Showtime HD were not turned on like they were supposed to. I am told this is due to a bug in the system for this package. This is a bug that needs to be fixed for all future customers.

So now I have had DirecTV for a week and here are my honest opinions on DirecTV and their offerings. Do not consider my opinions as scientific fact as I did not use any measurements to come to my opinons, I just used my two eyes.

My review will use the 10 point system, where a 10 is best and a 1 is the worst.

So lets get into it.

CHANNEL LINEUP
Being a long time Dish Network customer I still am not use to DirecTV's lineup, what makes it more confusing is that if you dont setup a favorites list you see every channel DirecTV offers, so you see lots of channels you cant get (even if you wanted to subscribe to them such as XM for Business, the Business Channels, Retailer Channels etc)

IN addition for being America's Sports Leader, the sports channels are hard to find, hidden way up in the 600 channel range.

In addition some channels that I am use to having on Dish are not available to me such as the Outdoor Channel.

The lineup will take awhile to get use to, I had AT&T Uverse and their lineup was laid out better then DIrecTV's.

I give the DirecTV Channel Lineup a 5 out of 10. I am sure this will improve when I use it more.

I do like channel 101, although the programming seems out of date, I watched an episode of CD USA and on it they had something on and said if you want to get more information go to their website, yet the website does not exist anymore.

I do also like the News Mix Channel, I have kept this up while I am at work. However I cant figure out why I can't tune to the Mix Information Channel on Channel 105, when I tune to it, I am told "Channel Not Purchased (721)"

I big waste of time and resources is DirecTV's Game Lounge, it is SO SLOW that you get annoyed trying to play any games at all. Just loading the Game Lounge main screen takes 20 - 30 seconds. Loading a game such as UNO takes about 45 seconds. In playing Uno it takes around 3 seconds for each card to move across the screen, plus there is no sound on the games. I will admit the graphics are much better then Dish Networks Interactive Games, however the game play (because of the speed) and some of the actual games themself are just BAD. I give DirecTV's Interactive games a 3 out of 10.

THE EQUIPMENT
Since I have been mainly been using the HR 20 I will focus on it. The HR20 is a nice looking receiver, I found it neat that the heat vents on the top of the recever are laid out in the DirecTV logo.

In the center of the front panel is this LED circle, which is way too bright out of the box, however you can turn the circle down or off if you wish. (I like the LED's on the R15 better though, it looks much cooler)

Hookup was a snap, and it came with everything you need to hook it up including a HDMI cable (hey Dish hear that? They including the HDMI Cable!)

Thoughts on the HR 20 system.

THe HR-20 was almost 2 years later coming to the market over the Dish 622 and yet still the HR20 still feels unfinished, it is slow and clunky. I feel that the interface on the R15 is slightly better and faster then the HR20. Compaired to the Dish 622, the HR20 seems like a receiver that is a few generations behind. While I was testing a Cutting Edge (CE) software version was released and I updated my box to the CE Release, and I must say that it was a nice improvement, yet still the box feels slow and unfinished. When the Dish 622 came out it worked out of the box, with the HR20 it came unfinished, yet improvements have been made over time to enable new features. The HR 20 is not yet all it can be, and I feel it will be awhile before we see all that this box can do.

In addition the HR20 is buggy, once while using it a few of my channels stopped coming in, to get them back I needed to go online and do a refresh, then later my DVR lost its abaility to be a DVR, again this was fixed by going to DirecTV.COM and doing a refresh. At one time DirecTV receivers were really reliable and they did not require much help (they were set it and forget it) however with this new generation the rock solid equipment and software is a thing of the past.

Before the CE update I would have given the HR20 a 5 out of 10. But with the CE it is now a 6 out of 10. I have seen some upcoming stuff coming for the HR20 such as their VOD service I expect this rating to improve and in time this box could be better then the Dish 622.

PICTURE QUALITY

Over the past few days I have tried being very objective on PQ. What I watched on DirecTV I recorded on Dish, and at times I did a flip between the 622 and HR20 using a manual component switch.

The PQ on the DirecTV channels I watched we much move heavily compressed then they were on Dish Network. You could see pixels and big blocks appear on the screen, especially when there was any kind of motion. As you may remember I had AT&T Uverse last month.

If I had to rank the PQ of Dish Network, AT&T Uverse and DirecTV here is how I would rank them...

AT&T Uverse 9 out of 10
Dish Network 7 out of 10
DirecTV 5 out of 10

I was really not impressed with the SD Picture quality on DirecTV, and at points last night parts of WWE were almost unwatchable.

HD Quality

Ok here is the big one, the one most are waiting for... how is the picture quality of DirecTV?

When I got my service turned on I turned on HD Net and I turned it on both my 622 and HR20, the was a major difference in the pictue quality and the DirecTV HD quality did not look good at all. I was very disapointed with the HD quality.

And then...

I checked out my locals which are available on DirecTV in MPEG4 and from what I saw floored me, yet gave me great hope about DirecTV. The picture quality on the DirecTV MPEG4 was just as good as receiving these channels via my off air antenna! I also checked out YES Network and SNY HD which are also in MPEG4 and was VERY impressed with the PQ!

So here is how they rank.

MPEG2 HD

Dish Network 8 out of 10
DirecTV 6 out of 10
AT&T UVERSE (All HD channels are MPEG4)

MPEG4 Quality
(Now because Dish does not have any MPEG4 channels which I get off of DirecTV this ranking comes from overall MPEG4 perfomance. I do understand that the PQ varies by area as other areas may be using older MPEG4 encoders, I am basing my findings on what I am seeing in Hartford, CT)

DirecTV 9.5 out of 10
Dish Network 8 out of 10
AT&T UVERSE 4.5 out of 10

While the MPEG4 PQ on Dish was very good, the DirecTV MPEG4 seemed to be more colorfull, lifelike and more detailed. I was truely blown away by the PQ of DirecTV's MPEG4 channels, and if all of the new channels look like this DirecTV could indeed be the true HD leader.

My review wont end here, as I said before I am locked in here for 2 years, but in saying that I feel I will be able to watch DirecTV and their HD equipment bloom into something which could be great. DirecTV has a lot of work to do though, the SD PQ needs a lot of work and they also need to put all the of MPEG2 HD channels up in MPEG4 and give its customers the best HD quality ASAP.

Thanks for reading and commenting on my journey to DirecTV over the past week. It has been very interesting and a true learning experiance for me. I look forward to continuing reporting on all of the exciting changes coming from BOTH COMPANIES as they happen.

Thanks for being SatelliteGuys members, I hope you enjoyed my review."

A Dtivo is not a Series 3. Good try but no dice :p

I didn't say the Dtivo was a Series 3, but you said the Dish was the best in the industry. Last I checked Cable was part of the industry.

I didn't say the Dtivo was a Series 3, but you said the Dish was the best in the industry. Last I checked Cable was part of the industry.

Right, and Cable will kill Tivo with Switched Digital.

Good luck in your "investments".

Does series 3 have 30 second skip LvThunder?

So, can we write you down for a DirecTV HR20 in September?

Here's a good review of the 2 sat companies from a very respected guy in the industry:

*snip*

"While the MPEG4 PQ on Dish was very good, the DirecTV MPEG4 seemed to be more colorfull, lifelike and more detailed. I was truely blown away by the PQ of DirecTV's MPEG4 channels, and if all of the new channels look like this DirecTV could indeed be the true HD leader."

Way better, so much better that Tivo wants to sue E*. BTW, the DTivo is a dead unit slow as molasses. D* no longer promotes it and will not see the new sats and mpeg4. They are killing it and I'm surprised you even mentioned this relic.

I'd rather use a SA8300HD any day and thats saying alot.

Yet you list no specific reason why. My DTivo is not slow.

And what are you talking about TiVo wanting to sue E*. I believe they did and won. So when all the appeals are done E* will either be out a lot of cash and a licensing agreement with TiVo or they will be DVRless.

Also I just saw an article saying that D* may reach a new agreement with TiVo once D* changes owners.

Does series 3 have 30 second skip LvThunder?

Yep just like every other TiVo. Select Play Select 30 select. Then it has a 5 sec. replay button to go back.

Yep just like every other TiVo. Select Play Select 30 select. Then it has a 5 sec. replay button to go back.


Until you reboot.
Why not just 1 button all the time like with the Vip622?

What you state is not a one button permanent feature.

Yet you list no specific reason why. My DTivo is not slow.

And what are you talking about TiVo wanting to sue E*. I believe they did and won. So when all the appeals are done E* will either be out a lot of cash and a licensing agreement with TiVo or they will be DVRless.

Also I just saw an article saying that D* may reach a new agreement with TiVo once D* changes owners.

Tivo never won. By the time E* is done with the countersuit, Tivo will be bankrupt.

So, can we write you down for a DirecTV HR20 in September?
Originally Posted by foghorn2
Here's a good review of the 2 sat companies from a very respected guy in the industry:

*snip*

"While the MPEG4 PQ on Dish was very good, the DirecTV MPEG4 seemed to be more colorfull, lifelike and more detailed. I was truely blown away by the PQ of DirecTV's MPEG4 channels, and if all of the new channels look like this DirecTV could indeed be the true HD leader."






It said "could be" if all the channels in the future wold look so good. By that time E* will have all the channels in MPEG4 with more bandwidth with their new Sat.

Scott had to at least say one good thing about D*.

So, can we write you down for a DirecTV HR20 in September?

Why would I get that peice of junk:

"Thoughts on the HR 20 system.

THe HR-20 was almost 2 years later coming to the market over the Dish 622 and yet still the HR20 still feels unfinished, it is slow and clunky. I feel that the interface on the R15 is slightly better and faster then the HR20. Compaired to the Dish 622, the HR20 seems like a receiver that is a few generations behind. While I was testing a Cutting Edge (CE) software version was released and I updated my box to the CE Release, and I must say that it was a nice improvement, yet still the box feels slow and unfinished. When the Dish 622 came out it worked out of the box, with the HR20 it came unfinished, yet improvements have been made over time to enable new features. The HR 20 is not yet all it can be, and I feel it will be awhile before we see all that this box can do.

In addition the HR20 is buggy, once while using it a few of my channels stopped coming in, to get them back I needed to go online and do a refresh, then later my DVR lost its abaility to be a DVR, again this was fixed by going to DirecTV.COM and doing a refresh. At one time DirecTV receivers were really reliable and they did not require much help (they were set it and forget it) however with this new generation the rock solid equipment and software is a thing of the past."

This sure is funner than posting stupid Internet speeds from different parts of Vegas aint it? :D

I didn't say the Dtivo was a Series 3, but you said the Dish was the best in the industry. Last I checked Cable was part of the industry.

But Cable is not supplying the Tivo you mention. :p

From Cnet.com


http://reviews.cnet.com/4323-6531_7-6509119.html?tag=more


DVRs (TiVo)
Product Editors' rating Price Summary
Dish Network ViP622

8.7
Excellent
Review date:
04/10/2006 Compare prices on the Dish Network ViP622 at mySimon. The Dish Network ViP622 is the most fully featured, versatile, and future-ready high-def DVR you can buy today.
Specs: Remote control, 11 lbs


TiVo Series3 HD DVR

8.3
Excellent
Review date:
09/11/2006 $400-$800

from 10 stores

The Series3 delivers dual-tuner HD recording and some worthwhile networking features to cable customers, but the exorbitant price tag will be too much for all but the most devoted TiVo fans.
Specs: Remote control


DirecTV HR20 (DirecTV Plus HD DVR)

7.8
Very good
Review date:
10/03/2006 $259-$300

from 2 stores

What does that prove? TiVo got a worse score because they thought the price was too much. Big deal. If you want the best you must be willing to pay for it.

Are you trying to say that TiVo is not in the DVR industry?

As for the 30 second skip. My TiVo's go months without a reboot. Maybe your DVR is different, but mine doesn't need to reboot.

And TiVo will never go bankrupt. They own too many patents. Someone will buy them out before that happens.

But after all is said and done, DISH is indeed "SPORTSLESS"

Hey, Cox subscribers, you're finally on the track to getting some new HD channels. Cox just signed a deal to carry the HD signals of KVCW and KVMY. That means you can finally watch all you favorite CW programming like Smallville in 1080i HD and, uh, whatever exactly My Network TV broadcasts in 720p HD.

Great! When??

Great! When??

Who knows? Cox Las Vegas used to be the best Cox franchise for HD. Now it's just about their only franchise that doesn't even have National Geographic HD yet.

I'm still hoping for HD Net too. They are doing a really cool thing all summer of showing a bunch of different concerts in HD. Come to think of it...isn't this something MHD should be doing? Instead, MHD keeps recycling the same several shows over and over and over again. I was excited at first...but MHD is a real waste of bandwidth.

Hopefully when SDV becomes a reality, Cox Las Vegas will add the two HD Nets.

But after all is said and done, DISH is indeed "SPORTSLESS"

Great for me, I play sports, I don't like to watch other men play sports.

I'm still hoping for HD Net too. They are doing a really cool thing all summer of showing a bunch of different concerts in HD. Come to think of it...isn't this something MHD should be doing? Instead, MHD keeps recycling the same several shows over and over and over again. I was excited at first...but MHD is a real waste of bandwidth.

Hopefully when SDV becomes a reality, Cox Las Vegas will add the two HD Nets.

And those with s3 Tivos will be without :(

What does that prove? TiVo got a worse score because they thought the price was too much. Big deal. If you want the best you must be willing to pay for it.

Are you trying to say that TiVo is not in the DVR industry?

As for the 30 second skip. My TiVo's go months without a reboot. Maybe your DVR is different, but mine doesn't need to reboot.

And TiVo will never go bankrupt. They own too many patents. Someone will buy them out before that happens.

Maybe Charlie will buy them out before they go bankrupt. :D

Can anyone fill me in on Dish HD local channel reception here in Las Vegas - will dish be getting them soon or do I need an OTA? Do both Cox and Directv have them already?

If OTA is the way to go - which OTA seem to work well here?

Can anyone fill me in on Dish HD local channel reception here in Las Vegas - will dish be getting them soon or do I need an OTA? Do both Cox and Directv have them already?

If OTA is the way to go - which OTA seem to work well here?

Cox and D* have them. Don't expect E* to have them any time soon. 2009, if your lucky. I don't know what you mean by which "over-the-air" works well here. Are you talking about antennas?

Great for me, I play sports, I don't like to watch other men play sports.

Not too many people agree with that. Many people "play" sports. But they can't compete at the level of the "professionals". And it is the "professionals" that are missing from E*.
No MLB, NO NFL, which, since they are "professional" leagues are sorely missed by viewers unless they have D* or Cox. Can you argue with that?

Can anyone fill me in on Dish HD local channel reception here in Las Vegas - will dish be getting them soon or do I need an OTA? Do both Cox and Directv have them already?

If OTA is the way to go - which OTA seem to work well here?

You need an antenna with D*. SD locals are present but you need an antenna for HD, or better SD PQ.

This is the way to go since local OTA via ATSC tuner gives you the best picture and the best DVR, the Vip622, has the best tuner than all the Dvr's out there.

Do not buy a UHF antenna marketed as a "HDTV Antenna". You need VHF in LV so if you are pretty close but not right underneath Black Mountain, the regular clip ons (the dish) work pretty well or even rabbit ears. If you are in the in the middle of the valley, you might want to try the amplified channel master stealth antenna. If you are a Yankee, get a real rooftop antenna and hope for the best!

Not too many people agree with that. Many people "play" sports. But they can't compete at the level of the "professionals". And it is the "professionals" that are missing from E*.
No MLB, NO NFL, which, since they are "professional" leagues are sorely missed by viewers unless they have D* or Cox. Can you argue with that?

You do not understand, not all of us want to pay to watch overpaid lame brained idiots (you call "professional") play sports while we ourselves can go and play the same very sports in living true full blown HD that mother nature provides us which is called OUTSIDE. :D

Can anyone fill me in on Dish HD local channel reception here in Las Vegas - will dish be getting them soon or do I need an OTA? Do both Cox and Directv have them already?

If OTA is the way to go - which OTA seem to work well here?

Dish Network does not carry the Las Vegas HD locals. It is not likely they will until 2009 when the Ciel 2 satellite launches. To get local HD service with a Dish system you'll have to arrange for installation of an OTA antenna.

In Las Vegas an OTA antenna should be a VHF/UHF model. Do not allow your installer to put in an UHF only antenna. A UHF only antenna (good for channels 14-69) you almost certainly will not get NBC (DT frequency 2), and may get poor or no reception on CBS (DT frequency 7), Fox (DT frequency 9), PBS (DT frequency 11), or ABC (DT frequency 12).

Both Cox and DirecTV carry Las Vegas HD locals.

You need an antenna with D*.

Confusing acronym alert!

Dish Network is E* (short for Echostar). D* is short for DirecTV. You need a separate OTA antenna with E* for HD locals not D*.

You need an antenna with D*. SD locals are present but you need an antenna for HD, or better SD PQ.

This is the way to go since local OTA via ATSC tuner gives you the best picture and the best DVR, the Vip622, has the best tuner than all the Dvr's out there.

Do not buy a UHF antenna marketed as a "HDTV Antenna". You need VHF in LV so if you are pretty close but not right underneath Black Mountain, the regular clip ons (the dish) work pretty well or even rabbit ears. If you are in the in the middle of the valley, you might want to try the amplified channel master stealth antenna. If you are a Yankee, get a real rooftop antenna and hope for the best!

Foghorn, please be aware of the following:
You do NOT need an antenna to receive the major local nets on D*. ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX have all been available off the sat for several months now in glorious HD as well as SD. The "minor" nets and PBS are only available in SD off the sat at this time. D* is, however expected to expand their HD offerings once they get the next two sats active. This _may_ include the other net HD signals such as CW and PBS. (I have read that nationally, all PBS locals refuse to grant HD carriage to the sat providers unless they agree to carry all the sub-channels. I can't verify this.)

No MLB, NO NFL, which, since they are "professional" leagues are sorely missed by viewers unless they have D* or Cox. Can you argue with that?

To be fair, you see just as many NFL games with E* as you would with Cox.

I just got cox cable installed along with a explorer 3250 hd receiver can I view 720p channels? I noticed on the cox web site they say they only support 108i? lol...I compared over the air 720p with the receivers local hd picture on the fox channel and the atenna had a much more rich detailed picture compared to the receivers..

I just got cox cable installed along with a explorer 3250 hd receiver can I view 720p channels? I noticed on the cox web site they say they only support 108i? lol...I compared over the air 720p with the receivers local hd picture on the fox channel and the atenna had a much more rich detailed picture compared to the receivers..

Then you have something configured wrong on your television or a weak (or wrong) connection from the STB to your TV. Cox does not add any more data-compression to the original signal sent OTA. The OTA signal should look identical to Cox.

Most modern TV's have unique adjustments for each input. You will probably find that the settings for the input that the 3250 is connected to are different than the settings for your antenna input. And I am assuming that you have hooked the 3250 to your television via the red-green-blue componet cables or the HDMI connection. Connection via RF (using channel 4) or a single composite video cable will give you sub-standard results.

Go HERE (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=346428) for a complete guide to setting up the 3250 correctly.

Yes got it working following the guide thanks alot..

You need an antenna with D*. SD locals are present but you need an antenna for HD.



Apparently, your head is befogged as well as your horn.
You are such a proselytizer for E*, that you will tell (what I believe) are deliberate lies to keep people away from D*. Or maybe you are very exhausted from engaging in the sports you like, rather than seeing them on TV, and as a result you don't think too clearly.
Mr. Blaski has delineated the services offered by D*. Why don't you bother to learn them?

You do not understand, not all of us want to pay to watch overpaid lame brained idiots (you call "professional") play sports while we ourselves can go and play the same very sports in living true full blown HD that mother nature provides us which is called OUTSIDE. :D

What is this outside you speak of? You mean I can enjoy a higher quality of high definition viewing than the MPEG 4 channels I watch from DirecTV? Do tell! :) lol

What is this outside you speak of? You mean I can enjoy a higher quality of high definition viewing than the MPEG 4 channels I watch from DirecTV? Do tell! :) lol

I guess you are right, Direct Tv is the best thing on the Planet. It has the most amount of sports.

Directv from the heavens shall be worshipped and praised by everyone. When we have seen all there is to be seen at the age of 50. We shall float to the ceilings.

Anyone defecting to reach sanctuary wiil be sought out and "retrained" by the Directv police.

Confusing acronym alert!

Dish Network is E* (short for Echostar). D* is short for DirecTV. You need a separate OTA antenna with E* for HD locals not D*.

The acronym for D* is now officially for Dish Network owned by Echostar.

Directv is now referred by T*, which by the Dictator Rupert MurDoc means "Turd" in reference to Turd Bird. :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Apparently, your head is befogged as well as your horn.
You are such a proselytizer for E*, that you will tell (what I believe) are deliberate lies to keep people away from D*. Or maybe you are very exhausted from engaging in the sports you like, rather than seeing them on TV, and as a result you don't think too clearly.
Mr. Blaski has delineated the services offered by D*. Why don't you bother to learn them?

I know all I need to know about T*. I was with them for 4 years.
I was with C* also for many years.
Before that I was back and forth between Dish and TCI cable in San Jose, CA.
Back then I hated Dish and sweared I would never go back thanks to their terrible PQ and Equipment.

The Dtivo made me switch to T*. When the Furor took ownership of the Turd Bird,
I defected to Cox when I learned he was killing off the Dtivo. I was pretty happy with Cox until they decided to cann the MR-DVR scheme in favor of Switched Digital.

I tried the Vip622 and Dish's HD service, and guess what, WHAT A SURPRISE!
Truely better TV for better price all the way around.

Fog you may "love" whomsoever you wish........

We all have our own priorities and the reason's behind them... and to date absolutely no entity provides the "perfect" video service... each of them have their own short-comings.

I would suggest we would all be better served if you would not give out mis-information about your "ex" or couch opinion as fact.

Fog you may "love" whomsoever you wish........

We all have our own priorities and the reason's behind them... and to date absolutely no entity provides the "perfect" video service... each of them have their own short-comings.

I would suggest we would all be better served if you would not give out mis-information about your "ex" or couch opinion as fact.

I will give out any opinion I wish. And the Fact that my opinion is that Dish has the best service and the price will never be stifled by the T* thought police.

I would suggest we would all be better served if you let people express their opinions even if you don't agree with them.

As for Facts, we will see by the end of this year 200 HD channels from T*, right?

We will come back to this at the end of the year HiHo.

I will give out any opinion I wish. And the Fact that my opinion is that Dish has the best service and the price will never be stifled by the T* thought police.

I would suggest we would all be better served if you let people express their opinions even if you don't agree with them.

As for Facts, we will see by the end of this year 200 HD channels from T*, right?

We will come back to this at the end of the year HiHo.

As I stated in a previous post, Dish is obviously the best service and price for YOU.
Others, including me, have stated that there is not one service that is the best for EVERYONE.
In my case, I have no access to cable and cannot receive OTA HD signals due to those pesky mountains between me and the broadcast towers.
The only possible way for me to receive and record 2 HD network broadcasts at the same time is by using DirecTv (universally known as D*).
So for ME, D* is the only game in town.
Is it just possible that you could agree with this premise?
If a new subscriber to this forum with my exact circumstances asked for advice, and specifically wanted to receive and record HD network programming, what would you honestly recommend to him? Could you honestly tell him that E* was the best service?

As I stated in a previous post, Dish is obviously the best service and price for YOU.
Others, including me, have stated that there is not one service that is the best for EVERYONE.
In my case, I have no access to cable and cannot receive OTA HD signals due to those pesky mountains between me and the broadcast towers.
The only possible way for me to receive and record 2 HD network broadcasts at the same time is by using DirecTv (universally known as D*).
So for ME, D* is the only game in town.
Is it just possible that you could agree with this premise?
If a new subscriber to this forum with my exact circumstances asked for advice, and specifically wanted to receive and record HD network programming, what would you honestly recommend to him? Could you honestly tell him that E* was the best service?

Sure, I guess T* would be the best for YOU if you live in Purrumph.

Directv is now officially the best service for those in P* who want to record 2 distant locals at the same time in HD.

Anyone who comes to this board who live in the outskirts of the valley who want to record 2 HD channels from Las Vegas. The turd bird is for you. I recommend it.

The problem now is that you cannot record all the Las Vegas locals in HD. 33, 21 and KLVX are not available to those in P* because T*, the supposed leader in HD, can't provide it.

With all the people posting here from pahrump asking for HDTV advice, I think we should start a new thread for pahrump.

And here it is: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=860244

Welcome all Pahrump dwellers, lets talk about HDTV!

I will give out any opinion I wish. And the Fact that my opinion is that Dish has the best service and the price will never be stifled by the T* thought police.

I would suggest we would all be better served if you let people express their opinions even if you don't agree with them.


Yes you may.... that was exactly my point....

However, what product or device is "best" is not as simple as your declarative statement. What is "best" for one person is not the same for others... so your "claim" that the 622 is the "best" DVR is subject to many variables..... and as a declarative statement is inaccurate and misleading.

By the way.... has Dish finally fixed the bug in the 622 which limits the HDMI output to 2 channel stereo?

Seems a little disappointing that the "best" DVR available would only be able to reproduce 2 channel stereo.... you would have thought they might have noticed that before shipping......

Mr. Blaski,
Why do you bother responding to the "Fog"?
He isn't worth your time

Yes you may.... that was exactly my point....

However, what product or device is "best" is not as simple as your declarative statement. What is "best" for one person is not the same for others... so your "claim" that the 622 is the "best" DVR is subject to many variables..... and as a declarative statement is inaccurate and misleading.

By the way.... has Dish finally fixed the bug in the 622 which limits the HDMI output to 2 channel stereo?

Seems a little disappointing that the "best" DVR available would only be able to reproduce 2 channel stereo.... you would have thought they might have noticed that before shipping......

Most people have a real 5.1 amp that uses optical cables, which the Vip622 does have. Sending a 5.1 signal to a TV that has only 2 speakers seems silly to most people.

Your quote "Seems a little disappointing that the "best" DVR available would only be able to reproduce 2 channel stereo.... you would have thought they might have noticed that before shipping......"IS VERY MISLEADING.

I would suggest we would all be better served if you would not give out mis-information about your "ex" or couch opinion as fact.

Can anyone fill me in on Dish HD local channel reception here in Las Vegas - will dish be getting them soon or do I need an OTA? Do both Cox and Directv have them already?

If OTA is the way to go - which OTA seem to work well here?

Where do you live?

Threads merged.

Threads merged.

I guess the interest in Parumph just isn't there :confused: .

Cpanther95?

Are you the same guy who frequents the SatGuy forums in the Directv forums. You are a Moderator here?

Mr. Blaski,
Why do you bother responding to the "Fog"?
He isn't worth your time
Word,
It's just a cheap source of entertainment. ;-)

Seriously,
If a newbie comes on this forum and finds Fog's declarations with no rebuttal, they could end up with information that may not lead them to the best solution for their needs.

And Fog; I am completely serious when I state that E* is YOUR best option. You know what you want/need in a source of tv service and you have found it in E*.
I believe I speak for a lot of people on this forum when I say that your insistence, without qualification, that E* is THE BEST source of television is what is irksome.
I find that D* is my best source, and when making statements in this forum, try to make sure that I qualify them as to what I find important. I also usually state that D* did bring out the hr20 too early for most people, but D* has made incredible progress in the reliability and function of the machine.
I believe no one here begrudges you having an opinion, but do bristle at your condescention when others give theirs.

Most people have a real 5.1 amp that uses optical cables, which the Vip622 does have. Sending a 5.1 signal to a TV that has only 2 speakers seems silly to most people.

Your quote "Seems a little disappointing that the "best" DVR available would only be able to reproduce 2 channel stereo.... you would have thought they might have noticed that before shipping......"IS VERY MISLEADING.

I would suggest we would all be better served if you would not give out mis-information about your "ex" or couch opinion as fact.

When you "borrow" someone else's comments it is proper to frame them within quotation marks.

While "many" people have "real" amps with optical inputs it may surprise you to know that there are also "many" folks with what they perceive as "real" amps that have HDMI inputs in addition to optical toslink or digital coax, so that one can input lossless audio codecs (via HDMI) from those sources (such as HD-DVD or Blu-ray) capable of decoding them or DD 5.1 (via HDMI) for those sources that have that available....... you know... like those DVR's that you claim are less capable than yours!

When you "borrow" someone else's comments it is proper to frame them within quotation marks.

While "many" people have "real" amps with optical inputs it may surprise you to know that there are also "many" folks with what they perceive as "real" amps that have HDMI inputs in addition to optical toslink or digital coax, so that one can input lossless audio codecs (via HDMI) from those sources (such as HD-DVD or Blu-ray) capable of decoding them or DD 5.1 (via HDMI) for those sources that have that available....... you know... like those DVR's that you claim are less capable than yours!

Ok, for all of those of you out there, in Parhump or not, if you route your HDMI through your Amp and then to your TV and dont want to use a optical cable for whatever reason, or have a TV capable of playing 5.1, then don't go with the provider that has a dvr a majority of reviewers say is the best one out there.

then don't go with the provider that has a dvr a majority of reviewers say is the best one out there.

Maybe their DVR is the best out there (electronically), but their Programming is NOT, if you are a professional sports enthusiast.

Maybe their DVR is the best out there (electronically), but their Programming is NOT, if you are a professional sports enthusiast.

Ok if you are a "Professional Sports Enthusiast", then the Turd bird is for you.

Any more?

Btw,


I did not now that there was a class of professionals that were sports enthusiasts :D :D :D

?

?

I did not know that there were regular sports enthusiasts and then another class of "professional" sports enthusiasts. No wonder T* has so many professional class of sports lover subscribers.

Yes you may.... that was exactly my point....

However, what product or device is "best" is not as simple as your declarative statement. What is "best" for one person is not the same for others... so your "claim" that the 622 is the "best" DVR is subject to many variables..... and as a declarative statement is inaccurate and misleading.

By the way.... has Dish finally fixed the bug in the 622 which limits the HDMI output to 2 channel stereo?

Seems a little disappointing that the "best" DVR available would only be able to reproduce 2 channel stereo.... you would have thought they might have noticed that before shipping......

Please don't be so innacurate and misleading, The VIP622 does pass 5.1 through the HDMI ports, although maybe only .0005% of subs really need this feature.

I remember there used to be someway to leave a static picture on my 8300 that left just grey bars on either side of my widescreen plasma. It could be left on the screen for many hours causing the grey end bars to 'catch' up in wear to the inside portion. I cant figure out how to do it, so if anyone remembers please help. Thanks, Dave :)

?
The question mark was to indicate that I was wondering if this forum was still active. It's unusual that there have not been any posts for such a long time.
Come on people, let's annoy one another!

I remember there used to be someway to leave a static picture on my 8300 that left just grey bars on either side of my widescreen plasma. It could be left on the screen for many hours causing the grey end bars to 'catch' up in wear to the inside portion. I cant figure out how to do it, so if anyone remembers please help. Thanks, Dave :)
Ummmm, not trying to be smart, but just watching 480 content without stretching it will do the same thing without burning the center. Go to the 8300 tips link in my sig and read the first post for specific details about getting onto the setup wizard, etc.

vegggas

My dad's TV has been acting strange lately. So i'm trying to check to make sure the signal strength is OK. He has a cablecard and when I go into diagnostics on the TV I get these settings.

In Band (FAT)
SNR (dB): 27
AGC (%): 54
Interleaving I=128,J=1

Out of Band (FDC)
Freq (kHz): 73750
Symbol Rate: 772
SNR (dB): 28

So my questions are.

SNR is Signal to Noise Ratio right?
What range should it be?
What is AGC and what should it's range be?
Do I need to look at any other settings?

Hey guys, I was wondering if anybody has been having any audio problems with NBC-HD lately. I was watching the US Open last weekend (I think it was on NBC) and every 30 seconds or minute the audio would cut out for a second or two. At first I thought it was just a problem with the live broadcast, but then later in the week I watch something else that wasn't a live sports broadcast and had the same issues.

I started to think it was my Cox SA8300HD DVR or my new Onkyo 605 AVR, so I switched channels... no problem. Fox, ABC, UHD, Discovery, etc... they are all fine, but NBC seems to keep doing this.

Is this a known issue with Cox cable, or should I consider doing something with my SA8300HD DVR (like a hard reboot or swap it out for a new one)? Thanks in advance for any help you guys can offer.

-Scott

Please don't be so innacurate and misleading, The VIP622 does pass 5.1 through the HDMI ports, although maybe only .0005% of subs really need this feature.

Do you really think only 5 out of 1,000,000 subscribers use HDMI and pull their audio from that? I know there aren't that many AVR's that do HDMI, but I believe a LOT of TV's will accept HDMI in, then strip the digital audio and send it back out to the AVR over an optical or coax cable. I would bet more than 5 in every million subscribers have a setup like this. Just my thoughts.

-Scott

Do you really think only 5 out of 1,000,000 subscribers use HDMI and pull their audio from that? I know there aren't that many AVR's that do HDMI, but I believe a LOT of TV's will accept HDMI in, then strip the digital audio and send it back out to the AVR over an optical or coax cable. I would bet more than 5 in every million subscribers have a setup like this. Just my thoughts.

-Scott

Yes I do. Look at how many TV's can do just what you mention.
And even if they could,, most of them go straight coax or optical to the AMP anyways.

Yeah foghorn you may be right today, but I bet it changes very soon.

Yeah foghorn you may be right today, but I bet it changes very soon.

And the point is also moot now since all 3 providers here in the valley provide 5.1 through the HDMI port.

One good thing about Directv is that it will be controlled by Malone and not the Furor anymore. There is hope for them after all.

As for Cox, where is their lastest technology and new channels?

Veggas do you know anything?

My dad's TV has been acting strange lately. So i'm trying to check to make sure the signal strength is OK. He has a cablecard and when I go into diagnostics on the TV I get these settings.

In Band (FAT)
SNR (dB): 27
AGC (%): 54
Interleaving I=128,J=1

Out of Band (FDC)
Freq (kHz): 73750
Symbol Rate: 772
SNR (dB): 28

So my questions are.

SNR is Signal to Noise Ratio right?
What range should it be?
What is AGC and what should it's range be?
Do I need to look at any other settings?


SNR is way, way to low if that is the incoming signal strength. A good SNR is in the mid to upper 30's for digital cable (mine is at 37dB). For Digital cable, levels are usually less than 29 = failure, 30-32 = marginal, greater than 32 are excellent (see SNR jpeg). Usualy SNR issuses are more related to excessive noise rather than too low of a signal. Bad or misused consumer home amps and poor connectors are the most common culprits of excessive noise. Any amp or node on a cable plant with a SNR rating of 32dB or less will immediately cause a system failure condition and have a truck roll to investigate the issue (all cable boxes and phones connected to the geographinc area would be in a failure mode and not responding) That low of a SNR would indicate a local problem with wiring in the home or the tuners preamp circuit.
AGC is the automatic Gain Compensation of the tuner. This is mostly useful in lower strength analog signals to boost the level much like a preamp circuit. No idea what the range should be, but at 54%, it doesn't sound good. This could also point to a bad signal or faulty tuner. This wouldn't hapen to be tuner two of the Tivo would it? Their failure rate is getting rather high for their tuners.

vegggas

And the point is also moot now since all 3 providers here in the valley provide 5.1 through the HDMI port.

One good thing about Directv is that it will be controlled by Malone and not the Furor anymore. There is hope for them after all.

As for Cox, where is their lastest technology and new channels?

Veggas do you know anything?
Theree are a lot of users now using HDMI for 5.1 audio. Go check the multichannel audio and receiver forums for that. As for TV with 5.1 inputs, it's extremely rare to the point where it would be very difficult to find a display that requests a 5.1 audio signal over HDMI.

For Cox, they don't make any technology and STB makers are revamping their inventories for the new mandates imposed by the FCC fo cablecard (or other external decryption) STB's. The consumer industry is lurking in the shadows waiting for OCAP deployments to sell their wares. Samsung already released their OCAP DLP TV and is hitting the industry with LCD's very soon. Moxi, Panasonic, Samsung, and others are rolling out Consumer STB's to use OCAP technology this year. Time Warner is rolling out about 80% of their headends to be OCAP capable in the next few weeks with almost all of them OCAP capable by the end of the year (save a few systems needing major upgrades). Cox and Comcast will have "some" (undisclosed amount) of OCAP capable headends this year with major rollouts to be nearly complete by summer fall 2008.
Part of the changes are SDV or Switched Digital Video conversions by ALL cableco's over the next 12 months. Time Warner is committed with the start of most of their headends ready and started converting already with a complete rollout for all headends later this year. Comcast and Cox are a few months behind, but are doing about the same thing. With SDV, the possibilities for 800 HD channels (as noted by Comcast reports) are possible. All cable cos are reported to say that with SDV infrastructure, there is no problem with HD bandwidth.
I've reported here before that insiders at Cox have said that when asked how many HD channels will be available in LV, they said "all of them". The details are in the contract negotiations and timing, and as we all know, cable co's are not in the habit of making announcements of new channels, even after they launch. I've heard rumors that the next round of HD additions for Cox will be concurrent nationwide with some new technology bringing the systems together from the same source rather than individually from each system. Politically, that takes more paperwork and negotiations for each area and provider for release.
Where was I going again...???
vegggas

Wow, Just after posting that last post, I saw this thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=864087
I swear I didn't see or hear that article first (been busy)
It is rare that Cox makes any types of public announcements like this.

Original link http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6453819
Cox Targets 50 HD Channels by Year-End
Cable Operator Readying Campaign to Take On DirecTV
By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 6/20/2007 11:26:00 AM
Orlando, Fla. -- Cox Communications president Pat Esser said the operator is aiming to have the capacity to offer 50 HD channels across its systems by the end of 2007, and it hopes to double that to 100 by the end of 2009.

“We’re seeing an explosion in interest [from subscribers], and I think we have to get ready for that,” Esser said, speaking on a CEO roundtable here at the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers’ Cable-Tec Expo 2007.

Esser said Cox recently revised its goals for the number of HD channels it would be able to deliver. The operator will get there using a combination of bandwidth-optimization tools and techniques, including system upgrades, retiring analog channels, statistical multiplexing of HD signals and switched digital video, he said.

“I’ve asked Chris [Bowick, chief technology officer of Cox] and his team to find the capacity to offer 50 HD channels by the end of this year, going into 2008,” Esser said. “Whether we do or don’t offer that many channels, I want to have the capacity to do that.”

What Esser didn’t say explicitly is that Cox -- along with the rest of the cable industry -- is looking to blunt the effect of DirecTV’s HD hypermarketing push. Backed by aggressive TV spots, the direct-broadcast operator is promising “a future of 150 HD channels.”

According to Esser, Cox will soon launch a Pepsi Challenge-style marketing campaign that will compare the quality of Cox’s HD picture against satellite. “The industry just did a taste test … [and] consumers thought our product was better,” said Esser, who declined to provide further details.

Comcast last month kicked off a similar campaign, citing a survey that found that two-thirds of consumers preferred Comcast’s HDTV to satellite. DirecTV promptly sued Comcast, alleging false advertising and deceptive trade practices.

Asked about the DirecTV suit, Esser replied, “Well, that’s the response if you want to suppress the information … You don’t want to let it get out.”

Esser did acknowledge that historically, DBS operators “got a product jump on us with digital and DVRs [digital-video recorders].” But he added that satellite growth has slowed, and that what’s driven growth for the sector is reseller partnerships with telephone companies.

vegggas

^^

So is Cox going to be deploying new mpeg4 boxes or will the be transcoding to mpeg2 at their head ends?

Now that we know that at least 20 of the newly available HD channels (the HBO/Cinemax suite) will only be originating in mpeg4, cable companies have to reevaluate their plans.

http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=127163&site=cdn

^^

So is Cox going to be deploying new mpeg4 boxes or will the be transcoding to mpeg2 at their head ends?

Now that we know that at least 20 of the newly available HD channels (the HBO/Cinemax suite) will only be originating in mpeg4, cable companies have to reevaluate their plans.

http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=127163&site=cdn
Probably all three choices.
Zitter estimates that each HDTV feed will be delivered in that format at 8 Mbit/s, which provides the necessary amount of bits to produce a high-quality picture but leaves enough headroom (about 1 Mbit/s) to ensure the quality of the signal is not damaged when transcoded to MPEG-2. "We think we've reached the tipping point for high-def," Zitter said.
Some of the main channels may be transcoded to Mpeg2 as noted above, some may be available as direct mpeg4 streams, but all will be available as SDV channels.

vegggas

^^

So is Cox going to be deploying new mpeg4 boxes or will the be transcoding to mpeg2 at their head ends?

Now that we know that at least 20 of the newly available HD channels (the HBO/Cinemax suite) will only be originating in mpeg4, cable companies have to reevaluate their plans.

http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=127163&site=cdn

Looks like cable is goona play catch up! I can see it now, its 2009 and LV Cox users are still using the Volvos (SA8300HD) and receiving transcoded MPEG2.

If Cox is going to implement SDV, will channel changing latency increase? I think its already poor. Are we going to have to wait several seconds more for our channel request to come through the pipe?

If Cox is going to implement SDV, will channel changing latency increase? I think its already poor. Are we going to have to wait several seconds more for our channel request to come through the pipe?
I don't understand that comment? Using all the SA series of digital STB's, the channel changing is less than one second for each manual channel change (with the 8000 being the slowest). It's much faster than directly using the digital tuner in several displays that I use. For any digital tuner (Cable, Sat, OTA), it must buffer and cache the first few moments of data to get the data stream started for decoding.
This brings me to an important question for everyone.
There are two methods for tuning digital channels and they are both the same speed. The first is to lock on the frequency and wait until the cache is full to display the first video frame. This looks like a moment of blank video between channels. The second way is to lock on the frequency, and immediately show the first frame of video, then keep that single frame locked until the cache is full to display the rest of the video. This looks like a pause each time you change channels while the rest of the video buffers.
Which way does everyone prefer, and why?

For the SDV testing I have seen, there is not much, if any, noticeable delay when changing channels. There was only a slight delay when going from linear channels to SDV channels and back (maybe an additional 50 - 100ms). Do we have thousands of posts from the TWC SDV users complaining about increased channel changing times? SDV is NOTHING like the current VOD model that uses low bandwidth QPSK return data for Headend commands (which can take up to 1.5 seconds). SDV uses high speed, high bandwidth QAM return data for communication protocols. The network has to be more stable to use the higher speed return connectivity, so that is one of the main factors in rolling out SDV.
Let me know about the tuning method you prefer in the middle of this post.

vegggas

Hey guys, I was wondering if anybody has been having any audio problems with NBC-HD lately. I was watching the US Open last weekend (I think it was on NBC) and every 30 seconds or minute the audio would cut out for a second or two. At first I thought it was just a problem with the live broadcast, but then later in the week I watch something else that wasn't a live sports broadcast and had the same issues.

I started to think it was my Cox SA8300HD DVR or my new Onkyo 605 AVR, so I switched channels... no problem. Fox, ABC, UHD, Discovery, etc... they are all fine, but NBC seems to keep doing this.

Is this a known issue with Cox cable, or should I consider doing something with my SA8300HD DVR (like a hard reboot or swap it out for a new one)? Thanks in advance for any help you guys can offer.

-Scott

Anybody?

I wouldn't swap out anything. Only one channel having a problem is probably related to the local station having issues. Maybe NBC was having some audio problems recently? It's summertime, and the lack of programming and extended daylight hours means people are not in front of their sets as much right now to give any feedback... .

vegggas

Anybody?

Not here. I get NBC HD locally with an OTA and have had no problems.

Channel 8 was having problems last week, but that went away.

NBCHD audio update - I just caught the end of the NBC 6:00 news (and now Jeopardy) and heard a slight audio "glitch" in the audio using Dolby Digital. I switched to PCM audio output and also heard a minor audio "glitch", but even less. I changed STB's and heard it on multiple platforms. I then switched to my antique first gen OTA reciever and was able to duplicate the same audio glitch.
Analyzing the audio stream as well as I can, there seems to be no break in either the DD or PCM streams, but that the audio is just missing for a fraction of a second. It sounds like you would be getting a pop or missing syllable on a bad cell phone conversation. My wife didn't notice until I pointed it out, but once found, it does pop up about once every 1 to 2 minutes, but sometimesa as long as several minutes, where it might happen between words, etc.

vegggas

SNR is way, way to low if that is the incoming signal strength. A good SNR is in the mid to upper 30's for digital cable (mine is at 37dB). For Digital cable, levels are usually less than 29 = failure, 30-32 = marginal, greater than 32 are excellent (see SNR jpeg). Usualy SNR issuses are more related to excessive noise rather than too low of a signal. Bad or misused consumer home amps and poor connectors are the most common culprits of excessive noise. Any amp or node on a cable plant with a SNR rating of 32dB or less will immediately cause a system failure condition and have a truck roll to investigate the issue (all cable boxes and phones connected to the geographinc area would be in a failure mode and not responding) That low of a SNR would indicate a local problem with wiring in the home or the tuners preamp circuit.
AGC is the automatic Gain Compensation of the tuner. This is mostly useful in lower strength analog signals to boost the level much like a preamp circuit. No idea what the range should be, but at 54%, it doesn't sound good. This could also point to a bad signal or faulty tuner. This wouldn't hapen to be tuner two of the Tivo would it? Their failure rate is getting rather high for their tuners.

vegggas

No it's not a TiVo. It's my dad's Sony TV that has the cable card in it. Thanks for the information.

I don't understand that comment? Using all the SA series of digital STB's, the channel changing is less than one second for each manual channel change (with the 8000 being the slowest). It's much faster than directly using the digital tuner in several displays that I use. For any digital tuner (Cable, Sat, OTA), it must buffer and cache the first few moments of data to get the data stream started for decoding.
This brings me to an important question for everyone.
There are two methods for tuning digital channels and they are both the same speed. The first is to lock on the frequency and wait until the cache is full to display the first video frame. This looks like a moment of blank video between channels. The second way is to lock on the frequency, and immediately show the first frame of video, then keep that single frame locked until the cache is full to display the rest of the video. This looks like a pause each time you change channels while the rest of the video buffers.
Which way does everyone prefer, and why?

For the SDV testing I have seen, there is not much, if any, noticeable delay when changing channels. There was only a slight delay when going from linear channels to SDV channels and back (maybe an additional 50 - 100ms). Do we have thousands of posts from the TWC SDV users complaining about increased channel changing times? SDV is NOTHING like the current VOD model that uses low bandwidth QPSK return data for Headend commands (which can take up to 1.5 seconds). SDV uses high speed, high bandwidth QAM return data for communication protocols. The network has to be more stable to use the higher speed return connectivity, so that is one of the main factors in rolling out SDV.
Let me know about the tuning method you prefer in the middle of this post.

vegggas

i understand the comment. Changing channels is a whole lot slower now then it used to be with pure analog. It's really annoying when you have people like my grandpa who go channel by channel instead of using the guide to see what's on. That reminds me I need to map out all the Spanish stations. He has some health problems that sometimes he falls asleep in the middle of chaning channels and he leaves it on the Spanish channels.

As for which way I prefer the channel change delay to take it really doesn't matter to me either way.

I prefer the still image then go, at least that way I can see what is on that channel. I think my parent's D* system works that way.

PSA: At least one local DirecTV installer (Ironwood) is now refusing to install 5LNB dishes on stucco. So be aware if you're looking for a new installation or moving that there's a good chance you'll need to stick a pole in the ground.

PSA: At least one local DirecTV installer (Ironwood) is now refusing to install 5LNB dishes on stucco. So be aware if you're looking for a new installation or moving that there's a good chance you'll need to stick a pole in the ground.


What is the stated reason for their refusal?

What is the stated reason for their refusal?

The 5LNB dishes have increased wind loads which causes cracks in the stucco.

DirecTV adds MHD for a "sneak peak" before the new satellites come online.
Can some one help me out on what Cox has been doing with sports since INHD became Mojo?


Las Vegas HD Channel Guide 6/25/07

Broadcast Networks OTA Cox DirecTV Dish CMA (Pahrump)
------------------ ----- ----- --------- ------ -------------
ABC (KTNV) 13-1 732 13
CBS (KLAS) 8-1 730 8
Fox (KVVU) 5-1 735 5
NBC (KVBC) 3-1 733 3
PBS (KLVX) 10-1 731
CW (KVCW) 33-1
MyTV (KVMY) 21-1

Cable Networks (*part time)
------------------
A&E HD 9419
Discovery HD 700 76 9421 555
ESPN HD 704 73 9424 550
ESPN2 HD 705 72 9425
Food Network HD 9462
HDNet 79 9422
HDNet Movies 78 9423
HGTV HD 9461
Mojo 706
MHD 725 332*
National Geographic HD 98* 9429 570
TNT HD 709 75 9420 565
Universal HD 708 74 9427 560

Specialty Sports (*part time, %NHL Hockey Only)
------------------
[Note that INHD used to carry these for Cox cable, now that they're Mojo things are ???.]
NBA TV HD ??? yes* 9466*
NFL Network HD probably* yes* 9464
Versus HD ??? yes% yes%


RSNs
------------------
FSN West HD yes* 367
FSN Prime Ticket HD yes* 361
FSN Arizona HD yes*
FSN Bay Area HD yes*

Sports Subscriptions
------------------
MLB Extra Innings HD ??? yes no
NBA League Pass HD ??? yes yes
NHL Center Ice HD ??? yes yes
NFL Sunday Ticket HD no yes no

Premium Networks (*East Coast Feed)
------------------
HBO HD 710 70* 9456* 510
Cinemax HD 711 9458* 530
Showtime HD 720 71* 9460* 520
Starz HD 721 9435*

Voom Networks
------------------
Animania HD 9474
Equator HD 9471
Family Room HD 9486
Film Fest HD 9480
Gallery HD 9472
GamePlay HD 9485
HDNews 9482
Kung Fu HD 9479
Monsters HD 9481
Rave HD 9470
Rush HD 9476
Treasure HD 9477
Ultra HD 9478
World Cinema HD 9475
WorldSport HD 9473

I believe that NBA-HD, NFL-HD and VS-HD all use Mojo's channel of 706 part-time when needed. As long as you have the sports tier, you will also get the HD version when available. INHD used to show a few HD baseball games every week. It appears that Mojo did not renew their deal with MLB....so no games on Mojo this year.

So far, I have never seen Fox Sports West or Prime Ticket's HD games available on Cox. And the same goes for San Diego's Channel 4-HD. No games this season in HD on Cox.

As for the sports subscriptions, there is no HD content available on Cox. But the big PPV events like Boxing, UFC and WWE are usually available on Ch. 701.

I believe that NBA-HD, NFL-HD and VS-HD all use Mojo's channel of 706 part-time when needed. As long as you have the sports tier, you will also get the HD version when available. INHD used to show a few HD baseball games every week. It appears that Mojo did not renew their deal with MLB....so no games on Mojo this year.

Thanks. And given the example of MLB on INHD, it's worth noting that the seasons for basketball, hockey, and football are over and there's no guarantee any of these deals for part-time carriage will be renewed.

Thanks. And given the example of MLB on INHD, it's worth noting that the seasons for basketball, hockey, and football are over and there's no guarantee any of these deals for part-time carriage will be renewed.

I'm sure that those HD games will still be on. It was not Mojo (or INHD) showing or producing those games. The source was NBA-HD, NFL-HD, or VS-HD. I believe that Cox would manually switch the programming on Channel 706 from Mojo/INHD to those networks for the duration of the game....then back to Mojo/INHD.

The MLB games were actually a production of INHD last season.

Speaking of MLB-HD, I know that Vegggas once said:

My understanding is that the FSN networks are terrestrial, and not delivered by them through sat distribution. Any out of market channel offered has to be brought in via dedicated land lines...

How do all of the different cable companies spread out over the southern California area get that HD feed for FSN West-HD and Prime Ticket-HD (which is probably the same feed)? Is it done by fiber, microwave, or private satellite links?

Vegggas, any idea?

I'm sure that those HD games will still be on. It was not Mojo (or INHD) showing or producing those games. The source was NBA-HD, NFL-HD, or VS-HD. I believe that Cox would manually switch the programming on Channel 706 from Mojo/INHD to those networks for the duration of the game....then back to Mojo/INHD.

The MLB games were actually a production of INHD last season.

Not quite what I was getting at.

Versus didn't have a full-time channel at the start of last hockey season. Now they do and Cox is saying they'll have the capacity for 50 HD channels by the end of the year. Do they hold out for a channel slot (easy enough to do since DirecTV will be carrying them) or do they continue to let cable companies preempt HD paint-drying on Mojo for their best content?

While the subject matter is sports.....The BigTen Network is slated to go online in late August . All their game content will be in HD. But if you want to see it , Im sure you'll have to get DirectTV. I sincerely doubt Cox will pick it up. It was hard enough to twist their arm to carry the Mountain West Network.

Speaking of MLB-HD, I know that Vegggas once said:



How do all of the different cable companies spread out over the southern California area get that HD feed for FSN West-HD and Prime Ticket-HD (which is probably the same feed)? Is it done by fiber, microwave, or private satellite links?

Vegggas, any idea?
That was the loophole the cable companies used and what kept Cox SD4 Baseball in the local market and off the sats. All transmission had to be terrestrial and ground based.
Theory: At one time San Diego and Las Vegas had a ground link for those games in HD, but that was presumeably used for phone service and no longer available. As Cox builds their nationwide backbone for the 50HD channel capacity, it could come back in the near future.

vegggas

Here's the thing that gets me about that whole 50 HD channel capacity plan:

“I’ve asked Chris and his team to find the capacity to offer 50 HD channels by the end of this year, going into 2008,” Esser said. [B]“Whether we do or don’t offer that many channels , I want to have the capacity to do that.”

They could have capacity for 1000 channels, but it doesn't mean they are going to use it...

Anyone know what the 2 additional PBSish channels are? They are not listed on the cox/las vegas site nor on titan. They both have IDs of 10.5 D3_5_ED and 10.6 D3_6_ED and do not follow the PBS line up.

edit: I do see a listing for 110 and 111 for educational on the cox listing and titan shows it as UNLV and Reno. But I am unsure if this is it since I dont have a digital cable package and currently there is no list for these stations on 110 and 111

That was the loophole the cable companies used and what kept Cox SD4 Baseball in the local market and off the sats. All transmission had to be terrestrial and ground based.
Theory: At one time San Diego and Las Vegas had a ground link for those games in HD, but that was presumeably used for phone service and no longer available. As Cox builds their nationwide backbone for the 50HD channel capacity, it could come back in the near future.

vegggas

I'd hope they don't forget about all the requests for FSN West HD and Prime Ticket HD (both already available on DirecTV and Dish).

The Padres in HD is nice, but the Dodgers, Angels, Lakers, Clippers, Kings, and Ducks in HD is nicer.

I noticed that the Padres vs. Dodgers game on Ch 96 (SD4) is the widescreen high-def feed "squeezed" in to a 4:3 aspect ratio. Using the "stretch" function on the TV gives a pretty decent looking widescreen version of the game; considering that it is in SD. The picture quality is much better than FSN Prime Ticket and using the "smart stretch" function on my Sharp TV. It's too bad I can't marry Vin Scully from FSN to SD4's video!

It's also too bad that everyone with a standard TV has to watch a "sqeezed anamorphic" picture on Ch 96. I know that Cox San Diego shows both an HD and SD version. Why would they send a "squeezed" version of their HD feed for the Las Vegas SD feed?

I'd hope they don't forget about all the requests for FSN West HD and Prime Ticket HD (both already available on DirecTV and Dish).

The Padres in HD is nice, but the Dodgers, Angels, Lakers, Clippers, Kings, and Ducks in HD is nicer.

...and in case any of you HAVEN'T requested those channels...

http://www.cox.com/LasVegas/ChannelRequest.asp

Anyone know what the 2 additional PBSish channels are? They are not listed on the cox/las vegas site nor on titan. They both have IDs of 10.5 D3_5_ED and 10.6 D3_6_ED and do not follow the PBS line up.

edit: I do see a listing for 110 and 111 for educational on the cox listing and titan shows it as UNLV and Reno. But I am unsure if this is it since I dont have a digital cable package and currently there is no list for these stations on 110 and 111

I have OTA, so 10.1 is the HD feed (National), 10.2 is the KLVX local feed, and 10.3 is Create, an arts and crafts channel.

Anyone know what the 2 additional PBSish channels are? They are not listed on the cox/las vegas site nor on titan. They both have IDs of 10.5 D3_5_ED and 10.6 D3_6_ED and do not follow the PBS line up.

edit: I do see a listing for 110 and 111 for educational on the cox listing and titan shows it as UNLV and Reno. But I am unsure if this is it since I dont have a digital cable package and currently there is no list for these stations on 110 and 111

Where did you find this information? I always wondered why Vegas PBS did not broadcast 110 and 111 via OTA as 10.4 and 10.5. Maybe an exclusivity clause with COX? I will ask tomorrow and let you know what I find out :)

Where did you find this information? I always wondered why Vegas PBS did not broadcast 110 and 111 via OTA as 10.4 and 10.5. Maybe an exclusivity clause with COX? I will ask tomorrow and let you know what I find out :)

Talked to some engineers at KLVX today and there are no current plans to broadcast 110 and 111 on digital channel 11 OTA. Not sure what you are seeing.....

Talked to some engineers at KLVX today and there are no current plans to broadcast 110 and 111 on digital channel 11 OTA. Not sure what you are seeing.....

The HD feed on KLVX-DT OTA is already nearly unwatchable because it's limited to 10Mbps on a first generation HD encoder by the exiting subchannels. It just isn't feasible to add any more and keep the 24/7 HD feed.

I just returned from a visit to Long Island, where I saw "Cablevision of LI" in action. They also use the 8300HD, and the friend whose home I visited has the exact same HDTV that I do.
The picture quality in terms of clarity, sharpness, color saturation and "real-life" look, (on the networks) was FAR superior to that which Cox provides for us in Las Vegas.
In addition the ENTIRE MLB EXTRA INNINGS package was available in HD, IF it was being transmitted in HD. YES HD and SNY HD were also available as local feeds. No audio problems, no HDCP incompatabilities (clicking or lag time in the picture appearing). were evident. This, after about 10 hrs of viewing.

This of course re-inforces my long held view that Cox Cable provides us with an inferior product and does not give us the "quality" we should be getting on the stations they DO provide. I'm waiting for a good reason why this should be so.

I just returned from a visit to Long Island, where I saw "Cablevision of LI" in action. They also use the 8300HD, and the friend whose home I visited has the exact same HDTV that I do.
The picture quality in terms of clarity, sharpness, color saturation and "real-life" look, (on the networks) was FAR superior to that which Cox provides for us in Las Vegas.
In addition the ENTIRE MLB EXTRA INNINGS package was available in HD, If it was being transmitted in HD. YES HD and SNY HD were also available as local feeds. No audio problems, no HDCP incompatabilities (clicking or lag time in the picture appearing). were evident. This, after about 10 hrs of viewing.

This of course re-inforces my long held view that Cox Cable provides us with an inferior product and does not give us the "quality" we should be getting on the stations they DO provide. I'm waiting for a good reason why this should be so.

I agree, Cox in Veggas sucks. I got a mailer with an offer for $20 for BOTH video and telephone for a year.

I tore it up and threw it in the trash.

The HD feed on KLVX-DT OTA is already nearly unwatchable because it's limited to 10Mbps on a first generation HD encoder by the exiting subchannels. It just isn't feasible to add any more and keep the 24/7 HD feed.

Nearly unwatchable? That's a bit of a stretch to say the least! Looks awesome on my TV. Do you get out much?

Nearly unwatchable? That's a bit of a stretch to say the least! Looks awesome on my TV. Do you get out much?

KLVX looks great here.

Remember Georgie is one of those HD-Lite complainers.

The only true HD is the one mother nature gave us ....which is OUTSIDE.

I just returned from a visit to Long Island, where I saw "Cablevision of LI" in action. They also use the 8300HD, and the friend whose home I visited has the exact same HDTV that I do.
The picture quality in terms of clarity, sharpness, color saturation and "real-life" look, (on the networks) was FAR superior to that which Cox provides for us in Las Vegas. <snip>
This of course re-inforces my long held view that Cox Cable provides us with an inferior product and does not give us the "quality" we should be getting on the stations they DO provide. I'm waiting for a good reason why this should be so.
Then there is something wrong with your setup. Are you sure you are not connected with HDMI and the display is forcing a 480 signal?
There is no difference between quality of signal between providers that would amount to seeing any noticeable difference. I travel around the country on a frequent basis and compare feeds from dozens of providers across dozens of display types. Cox Las Vegas quality is actually very high when compared to a majority of providers and is not considerred "less" to any other provider. You can also ask the guys that travel around the country to do ISF calibrations on displays. They will tell you the exactly same thing. If you saw a difference, it was not because of the signal quality from Cox. You get EXACTLY the same quality through Cox as you get from the original provider. How it is setup in your home is the only difference in perception of quality.

vegggas

KLVX PBS-HD - Is THE WORST HD channel available in the Las Vegas market. The continued macro-blocking on virtually any movement shows how bit starved this station really is.
Of course, Foghorn, will think that it looks great because everything going through his Dish reciever is magically fixed and puts in some added extra information where nothing exists. Somehow it makes lower resolution (30% less than true HDTV) and lower bandwidth signals appear better than their true high resolution counterparts. :rolleyes:

vegggas

a question for those that have the opportunity to see hd in other parts of the country.

how does cox compare with verizon's fios?

With the new CableCard law now in effect, whats the new box options from Cox going to be? I also read that rental fees for the new equipment is going up. Dont know if it applies to all box rentals or just the new cablecard ones.

KLVX PBS-HD - Is THE WORST HD channel available in the Las Vegas market.
in your opinion....

The continued macro-blocking on virtually any movement shows how bit starved this station really is.
are we looking at the same channel? Can't be because the "Capital Fourth" Washington DC 4th of July celebration was some of the best HD I've ever seen.

some people are never pleased. Foghorn, you are right on the money about the true HD being OUTSIDE. Guess people wouldn't know what true HD is if they never go outside? :)

With the new CableCard law now in effect, whats the new box options from Cox going to be? I also read that rental fees for the new equipment is going up. Dont know if it applies to all box rentals or just the new cablecard ones.

Can you clue me in on the new CableCard law? I'm not familiar with this one. :)

in your opinion....


are we looking at the same channel? Can't be because the "Capital Fourth" Washington DC 4th of July celebration was some of the best HD I've ever seen.

some people are never pleased. Foghorn, you are right on the money about the true HD being OUTSIDE. Guess people wouldn't know what true HD is if they never go outside? :)

You are so right. To Veggas true HD is all the programming that is never shot in full 1080i to begin with that looks better only if it comes from Cox through their Volvo SA8300HD and its counterparts.

BTW, where is Cox's DVR through a Sprint Cell Phone?

KLVX PBS-HD - Is THE WORST HD channel available in the Las Vegas market.
in your opinion....

The continued macro-blocking on virtually any movement shows how bit starved this station really is.

are we looking at the same channel? Can't be because the "Capital Fourth" Washington DC 4th of July celebration was some of the best HD I've ever seen.

some people are never pleased. Foghorn, you are right on the money about the true HD being OUTSIDE. Guess people wouldn't know what true HD is if they never go outside? :)
I stand by the comment that the PBS HD feed is the worst HD channel in the Las Vegas market. Where some content can be quite good with still images, overall, it breaks up with even moderate fast motion when they are simulcasting.
I did not see the 4th of July show (I was actually outside watching), but it is possible they may have limited or even ceased the subchannel feeds for that event. It's sad because some of the content can be quite amazing with stuff from NHK and WRAL, who are known to be pioneers at HD quality since the start. Some of those programs were shown when PBS LV first sent out an HD signal and were near reference quality. The same shows now are just barely better than a DVD, until it starts to macroblock and gets worse as it becomes heavily bitstarved.

vegggas

With the new CableCard law now in effect, whats the new box options from Cox going to be? I also read that rental fees for the new equipment is going up. Dont know if it applies to all box rentals or just the new cablecard ones.
I've been using the new 8240HDC (8300HD all dgital version) . It's the same as the old 8240HD/8300HD, except it has a cable card inserted for seperable security. If you didn't know there was a physical difference, you wouldn't know it uses a cable card.
There are RUMORS that STB prices are going up because of the increased cost for cablecard hardware. That may wind up being true in some markets, however, Cox Las Vegas just lowered their prices for STBs a few months ago and there is no indication of any increase in rental fees.
Can you clue me in on the new CableCard law? I'm not familiar with this one. :)
As of July 1st 2007, cable companies can only purchase and deploy NEW equipment (current or previously used equipment is exempt) that has seperable security that is not embedded in the STB's electronics. The cable card is one way of using seperable security not integrated within the STB. OCAP (Open Cable Applications Platform) and DCAS (Downloadable Conditional Acess) will also be approved methods as cosumer equipment becomes available.

vegggas

a question for those that have the opportunity to see hd in other parts of the country.

how does cox compare with verizon's fios?
My opinion is that there is not much, if any difference between the transmission quality, but the reception quality differences may be between the Newer generation MOTO STB's. Both transmit the channels at full resolution and bandwidth in IP/QAM format. Fios converts it to QAM at the Home, where Cox converts it to QAM at the local neighborhood Node.
Fios started with fiber to the home and didn't have to upgrade an existing subscriber base. Cable is upgrading from coax to Hybrid fiber-coax with fiber to the node, then coax to the "last mile". As buildouts are completed, the number of homes passed by each node becomes smaller as they keep splitting the nodes into smaller and smaller service areas. Splitting fiber is more efficient and has less loss than coax, so an all fiber plant has less loss associated with multiples of homes passed than a coax plant. As the node splits for coax get smaller, the differences become less.

vegggas

You are so right. To Veggas true HD is all the programming that is never shot in full 1080i to begin with that looks better only if it comes from Cox through their Volvo SA8300HD and its counterparts.

BTW, where is Cox's DVR through a Sprint Cell Phone?
No, I expect a provider, ANY provider to not alter the programming to reduce it's quality. To reduce the effective HD quallity by 30% as some providers do to 1080i content is a travesty to the format. Just because the "new (i.e. flat panel)" HD users don't have displays capable of showing a 1080i native signal they think that it's alright to cut costs and no one would ever know. Those with displays that can utilize a 1080 interlaced signal are getting the shaft as well as some of the few flat panel dispays that can corrrectly scale and deinterlace a 1080i signal.
Wouldn't you get mad if the menu said "Ribeye steak" and they brought you hamburger. They could say that it's still meat, and because you may not have strong teeth, it wouldn't matter anyway so they are doing you a favor. If you sell hamburger, advertise it as hamburger, not steak. Those with teeth want whats advertised, not regurgitated in a different format.
Oh, the phones are available in a few select markets, including, I think San Diego, Oklahoma and Arizona and is called Pivot. Las Vegas is still in the finishing stages of it's network build out for digital home phone, and then Pivot.
quick google result = http://www.cox.com/pivot/


veggas

On the subject of Cox DVR's:

Is there any chance of remote programming of our home DVR's from the internet? I remember that this was being talked about quite a long time ago. TIVO has had this feature for quite a long time now. It would be great to log on from work and schedule that forgotten recording.

On the subject of Cox DVR's:

Is there any chance of remote programming of our home DVR's from the internet? I remember that this was being talked about quite a long time ago. TIVO has had this feature for quite a long time now. It would be great to log on from work and schedule that forgotten recording.

yes, with your Sprint (their old "competitor") Cell Phone :eek:

On the subject of Cox DVR's:

Is there any chance of remote programming of our home DVR's from the internet? I remember that this was being talked about quite a long time ago. TIVO has had this feature for quite a long time now. It would be great to log on from work and schedule that forgotten recording.


Probably not exactly what you were looking for, but....

I have a Slingbox, a device that lets you watch your TV Signal anywhere in the world where you get internet access. Because when you launch it, it provides a remote that is exactly like the cox SD8300 remote, it also lets you program the 8300 just like you were sitting in front of the box. I have on many occasions from the road, logged into the slingbox to reprogram the 8300 to record something I forgot to program before I left.

My understanding is the device will work with any input (OTA tuner, satellite, etc) but I know it works with the 8300.

I think it is "slingmedia.com" for more info.

-bob

I stand by the comment that the PBS HD feed is the worst HD channel in the Las Vegas market.
I don't agree with you but I respect your opinion. You are entitled to have your opinion just as I am entitled to mine... Just don't represent your opinion as fact because it's not!

(I was actually outside watching)
Good to hear you get out every now and then :)

but it is possible they may have limited or even ceased the subchannel feeds for that event.
They didn't. The other two subchannels were there too.

Some of those programs were shown when PBS LV first sent out an HD signal and were near reference quality. The same shows now are just barely better than a DVD, until it starts to macroblock and gets worse as it becomes heavily bitstarved.

Didn't own an HDTV back then but I would love to compare 10-1 HD then and now. Back then they only had the one SD subchannel with the HD. Perhaps there was more bandwidth available in the beginning to allocate to the HD service??

As you all know I'm really impressed with Dish Network and their equipment.

The Dish VIP622 recorded all 12+ hours of Live Earth in HD, several episodes of Leave it to Beaver, Star Trek OS (local OTA) while both sets hooked up the one STB were playing back different recorded shows. NO hiccups or reboots whatsoever.

About a month ago, Sinclair and Cox signed an agreement to bring the CW HD channel to the Las Vegas market. When is that supposed to happen?

About a month ago, Sinclair and Cox signed an agreement to bring the CW HD channel to the Las Vegas market. When is that supposed to happen?
At the speed with which Cox usually follows through on its announcements, probably sometime between 2015 and 2020.

yeah...and why do I seriously doubt the "50" HD stations by year end ??!! I'd be shocked if we get more than a couple if any.

CNBC (35 Cox) seems to be on infomercials instead of normal market news. Has anyone noticed this too?

yeah...and why do I seriously doubt the "50" HD stations by year end ??!! I'd be shocked if we get more than a couple if any.

I have to agree. We don't even have HD VOD yet. Isn't that in quite a few Cox markets already?

While cox gives you nothing, here is what Dish announced is coming:

<from Satelliteguys.us>

MHD (Requires AT100 and Dish HD package)
Discover HD (Requires AT100 and Dish HD package)
Learning Channel HD (Requires AT100 and Dish HD package)
Animal Planet HD (Requires AT200 plus DishHD package)
The Science Channel in HD (Requires AT250 and Dish HD package)
GolfHD and VersusHD which will be sharing a channel (it comes this way) (Requires AT250 and Dish HD package)
History Channel HD Which launches September 1st (Requires AT100 and Dish HD package)

Don't forget about Directv, here's what they say is coming.

<From the Programming Forum> (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=851257)

-- A&E
-- National Geographic
-- Bravo
-- NFL Network
-- Cartoon Network
-- SciFi Channel
-- CNN -- Speed
-- Food Network
-- TBS
-- Big Ten Network
-- The History Channel
-- HGTV
-- The Weather Channel
-- MTV
-- USA Network
-- Disney Channel
-- Versus HD
-- Toon Disney
-- TLC
-- ABC Family
-- Animal Planet
-- ESPNNEWS HD
-- The Science Channel
-- Starz E/W feeds
-- Discovery Channel
-- Starz Edge
-- The Tennis Channel
-- Starz Comedy
-- Showtime West
-- Starz Kids & Family
-- The Movie Channel
-- CNBC
-- Chiller

For all you DISH subscribers, how's this for a screwing?
As you know they were shut out/or refused to agree TO the fees and programming involved in the MLB-EI package. So they made a big ballyhooed announcement that they will be carrying the REGIONAL SPORTS NETWORKS in HD. except they failed to mention that out-of-towners like we Las Vegans will still be blacked out of the HD telecasts.

For all you DISH subscribers, how's this for a screwing?
As you know they were shut out/or refused to agree TO the fees and programming involved in the MLB-EI package. So they made a big ballyhooed announcement that they will be carrying the REGIONAL SPORTS NETWORKS in HD. except they failed to mention that out-of-towners like we Las Vegans will still be blacked out of the HD telecasts.

The HD broadcasts via Fox Sports West, Fox Sports Arizona, and Prime Ticket are available in Las Vegas. The rest aren't.

The HD RSN's are already up, the announced HD channels will be up by August 15th from Dish.

When will T* put up those announced HD channels?
When will Cox put up "ALL HD Channels" that VeGas states will happen?

For all you DISH subscribers, how's this for a screwing?
As you know they were shut out/or refused to agree TO the fees and programming involved in the MLB-EI package. So they made a big ballyhooed announcement that they will be carrying the REGIONAL SPORTS NETWORKS in HD. except they failed to mention that out-of-towners like we Las Vegans will still be blacked out of the HD telecasts.

They really don't want you as a customer.



















And thats a good thing. :)

The HD broadcasts via Fox Sports West, Fox Sports Arizona, and Prime Ticket are available in Las Vegas. The rest aren't.

Well maybe you can explain to me why the rest aren't?

I'm no expert on this, but arn't they REGIONAL sports networks?

Well maybe you can explain to me why the rest aren't?

Because they are NOT part of the Las Vegas market. Plain and simple.

Because they are NOT part of the Las Vegas market. Plain and simple.

Well, I don't really want to berate the issue, BUT....I have Direct TV. They make ALL the REGIONAL SPORTS NETWORKS available to Las Vegas viewers (for a fee of course). However ir you want any PROFESSIONAL sports (EX: NBA, MLB, NFL, Soccer) you must also subscribe to their individual Sports Packs,
But if Collegiate and other amateur games interest you, those games ARE provided by D* on their Regional Sports Networks with NO blackouts. Why can't Dish do that as well?

Well, I don't really want to berate the issue, BUT....I have Direct TV. They make ALL the REGIONAL SPORTS NETWORKS available to Las Vegas viewers (for a fee of course). However ir you want any PROFESSIONAL sports (EX: NBA, MLB, NFL, Soccer) you must also subscribe to their individual Sports Packs,
But if Collegiate and other amateur games interest you, those games ARE provided by D* on their Regional Sports Networks with NO blackouts. Why can't Dish do that as well?

You may or may not be aware of this but, both D* and E*, are under the SAME EXACT RULES regarding blackouts on RSN's. Cox is too, for that matter. But since they do not provide "out of market" RSN's they are not included in this discussion.

D* provides the Extra Innings package, which you pay a pretty penny for, in order to view "out of market" games. You also have to pay extra for the privilege of seeing a scant amount of games in HD. D* offers RSN's in HD to it's customers, in those selected markets, just like E* does. But, even if you have EI and the Superfan pack for HD, do you get to see all those games in HD? No you don't. You get 2 or 3 games a day, on average, and that's about it. So maybe you should be asking D* how come you can't watch the Mets game on SNY in HD even though you sub to EI and superfan, instead of critizing E* for not letting someone in Las Vegas watch a Cardinals game or whomever in HD. The simple reason is because they can't under the current rules set out by MLB. E* currently does not provide EI so you're not going to see out of market games there at all at this time.

As far as college sports on the RSN's, you're going to see the same exact games on those channels, whether you have D* or E*. There is NO difference. Same rules apply to each and every provider. You're not getting anything extra with D* in this regard.

D* offers RSN's in HD to it's customers, in those selected markets, just like E* does. But, even if you have EI and the Superfan pack for HD, do you get to see all those games in HD? No you don't. You get 2 or 3 games a day, on average, and that's about it. So maybe you should be asking D* how come you can't watch the Mets game on SNY in HD even though you sub to EI and superfan...

One possible reason:

Maybe D* and E* are using spot beams to send the HD feed of each region's RSN. That would make it technically impossible for me to see SNY in HD in Vegas because I'm too far away from the focused coverage of the spot beam.

One possible reason:

Maybe D* and E* are using spot beams to send the HD feed of each region's RSN. That would make it technically impossible for me to see SNY in HD in Vegas because I'm too far away from the focused coverage of the spot beam.

Very true, I probably do not get any RSN's because I rerouted the 129 lnb to a dedicated 61.5 dish. I do get more channels this way, but loose my RSN's. I'll see if I get the east coast RSN's (since 61.5 sat is located way east) when I figure out where they are in the channel line up and from which sat they are coming from.

One possible reason:

Maybe D* and E* are using spot beams to send the HD feed of each region's RSN. That would make it technically impossible for me to see SNY in HD in Vegas because I'm too far away from the focused coverage of the spot beam.

They are all currently on conus beams so there goes that argument.

What's a "conus" beam?

What's a "conus" beam?

It's an acronym for "continental United States." It means the signal covers the entire United States. In contrast a "spot" beam only covers a local or regional area.

D* provides the Extra Innings package, which you pay a pretty penny for, in order to view "out of market" games. You also have to pay extra for the privilege of seeing a scant amount of games in HD. D* offers RSN's in HD to it's customers, in those selected markets, just like E* does. But, even if you have EI and the Superfan pack for HD, do you get to see all those games in HD? No you don't. You get 2 or 3 games a day, on average, and that's about it. So maybe you should be asking D* how come you can't watch the Mets game on SNY in HD even though you sub to EI and superfan...

I think you hang around here enough to know that D* is limited until the new satellite is turn on (around Sept 15). Until then they are limited to delivering a "scant few" HD games. (BTW, they have been delivering significantly more than the "up to 10" HD games a week advertised.)

I think you hang around here enough to know that D* is limited until the new satellite is turn on (around Sept 15). Until then they are limited to delivering a "scant few" HD games. (BTW, they have been delivering significantly more than the "up to 10" HD games a week advertised.)

I am really sick of hearing about D*'s "limited" space. Doesn't seem to effect them during the NFL season though, does it? As stated, D* offers quite a few HD RSN's in various markets around the U.S. They are only "live" when a game is being broadcast, though. Also, as stated, they are on conus beams and it would be very simple for them to "mirror" the game for EI, but they don't. Why? Ask D*. I thought that was the whole reason why these feeds are on conus beams to begin with, to provide HD games for EI subs. Perfect example, tonight's Mets-Reds game was available in HD on both SNY and FS Cincinnati, but was it shown in HD to subs of EI? That would be a big fat NO. You would have to live in the NY and Cin DMA's to receive the HD version of the game. Makes you feel real good about spending extra money for the Superfan pack, does it? :rolleyes:

Very true, I probably do not get any RSN's because I rerouted the 129 lnb to a dedicated 61.5 dish.

Why? I'm guessing low signal levels on 129.

I do get more channels this way

How? 61.5 is basically a mirror of 129.



I'll see if I get the east coast RSN's (since 61.5 sat is located way east) when I figure out where they are in the channel line up and from which sat they are coming from.

You're not going to get any of the HD RSN's on 61.5 so don't even bother. There are only a few on there anyway. Most of them are on 129, including some east networks such as Pitt, Cinn, Det. The SD versions of all the RSN's are available on either 110 or 119.

I am really sick of hearing about D*'s "limited" space. Doesn't seem to effect them during the NFL season though, does it? As stated, D* offers quite a few HD RSN's in various markets around the U.S. They are only "live" when a game is being broadcast, though. Also, as stated, they are on conus beams and it would be very simple for them to "mirror" the game for EI, but they don't. Why? Ask D*. I thought that was the whole reason why these feeds are on conus beams to begin with, to provide HD games for EI subs. Perfect example, tonight's Mets-Reds game was available in HD on both SNY and FS Cincinnati, but was it shown in HD to subs of EI? That would be a big fat NO. You would have to live in the NY and Cin DMA's to receive the HD version of the game. Makes you feel real good about spending extra money for the Superfan pack, does it? :rolleyes:

You are misinformed.

The HD RSNs will not be on conus beams full time on DirecTV until about September 15, when DirecTV 10 reaches operational statues. Until then, HD RSNs are being broadcast on spot beams in mpeg4 from Spaceway 1 and Spaceway 2 to their some cities only. Up to two selected games at a time are uplinked onto conus transponders in mpeg2 on channels 730 and 731 for Extra Innings Superfan.

BTW, DirecTV's limited (until D10 becomes operational) transponder space greatly affected them during NFL Sunday Ticket. You may or may not have noticed that every Sunday during the NFL season DirecTV had to turn off all pay-per-view channels and either TNT HD or HDNet. Give the length and frequency of the baseball season and the revenue Extra Innings generates it would not be economical or wise for customer goodwill to shut down all pay-per-per channels and some other full-time HD channels for the baseball season.

If you wait until September, your assumed facts might become true. In that case, feel free to resubmit your gripe. But as for right now, they're doing the best they can and in the particular case of Extra Innings delivering more than promised.

Why? I'm guessing low signal levels on 129.



How? 61.5 is basically a mirror of 129.



You're not going to get any of the HD RSN's on 61.5 so don't even bother. There are only a few on there anyway. Most of them are on 129, including some east networks such as Pitt, Cinn, Det. The SD versions of all the RSN's are available on either 110 or 119.

61.5 has free PI channels like the Pentagon Channel and Free Speech TV that 129 does not have. And yes, 129 wobbles and 61.5 is way stronger, the dish points at my neighbors house downwards!

Were going all MPEG 4 for HD with Dish II at 110 or 119 soon so 129 might not be needed at all.

61.5 has free PI channels like the Pentagon Channel and Free Speech TV that 129 does not have. And yes, 129 wobbles and 61.5 is way stronger, the dish points at my neighbors house downwards!

Were going all MPEG 4 for HD with Dish II at 110 or 119 soon so 129 might not be needed at all.

"Dish II" is rumored to be located at 86.5 and 97. It is also rumored to use reverse DBS frequencies for downlink.

In English, it means best case, you'll have to repoint a Dish 500, install a new LNB kit, and upgrade your (mpeg4 compatible) receivers firmware. Worst case new dish and new receivers will be required. Also, in any case, if you have any SD receivers they'll definitely need to be replaced.

You are misinformed.



Hardly.

And yes, 129 wobbles and 61.5 is way stronger, the dish points at my neighbors house downwards!



The elevation for 61.5 is around 20 deg. here in Vegas. I figured if you didn't have an absolutely clear view of the horizon at that spot, it would be hard to get that bird, but I guess not. Are you getting much stronger signals on 61.5 or are they just marginally better? My levels on 129 are slowly starting to deteriorate. On most of the Tp's I'm currently under 50 now and starting to see picture break ups. I can just imagine what I'll be like when we start getting some bad weather (monsoon season). The problem for me is that there are just way too many obstructions around where I live. I doubt I can switch over to 61.5, but I guess I can call an installer and have him check it out.

The elevation for 61.5 is around 20 deg. here in Vegas. I figured if you didn't have an absolutely clear view of the horizon at that spot, it would be hard to get that bird, but I guess not. Are you getting much stronger signals on 61.5 or are they just marginally better? My levels on 129 are slowly starting to deteriorate. On most of the Tp's I'm currently under 50 now and starting to see picture break ups. I can just imagine what I'll be like when we start getting some bad weather (monsoon season). The problem for me is that there are just way too many obstructions around where I live. I doubt I can switch over to 61.5, but I guess I can call an installer and have him check it out.

I have a Dish 500 dedicated to 61.5 and get 80-102.
My Dish 1000 pulls 110 around 80-102 and 119 around 70-90 and 129 around 40-60.

So for me 61.5 is the strongest bird and yet the horizon is not visible at that spot.

"Dish II" is rumored to be located at 86.5 and 97. It is also rumored to use reverse DBS frequencies for downlink.

In English, it means best case, you'll have to repoint a Dish 500, install a new LNB kit, and upgrade your (mpeg4 compatible) receivers firmware. Worst case new dish and new receivers will be required. Also, in any case, if you have any SD receivers they'll definitely need to be replaced.

Sounds like a lot of fun for me and more revenue for installers!

I have a Dish 500 dedicated to 61.5 and get 80-102.
My Dish 1000 pulls 110 around 80-102 and 119 around 70-90 and 129 around 40-60.

So for me 61.5 is the strongest bird and yet the horizon is not visible at that spot.

Just goes to show you what a piece of junk that 129 bird really is.

Just goes to show you what a piece of junk that 129 bird really is.

Which begs the question as to why they're deploying satellites for Dish Network II while Dish Network I has some major issues. 129 has poor signal strength and 61.5 has transponders out of operation.

I wonder if their plan is to just transition all their HD customers ASAP to Dish Network II so they can forget about the wing slots.

Been gone a while again, so I'm catching up.
Looks like Cox has a nationwide agreement for NatGeo HD for every customer they have. The national HD sat (Primary 4d distributor for cable and sat) for Food HD, HGTVHD, A&EHD and something else? is selling them as a package, so they could all be available soon since Cox already buys into the package as individual channels in some markets. Note that Cox marketing is leaning torwards making every market have the same kind of channels and lineups.
With the added channels in the National Sat HD package, the announcement of NatGeoHD, and Sinclair agreements, my best guess is that there will be about a half dozen new HD channels planned relatively soon for us. I'm hearing that the phone rollout and upgrades are nearly complete, so that new services can be deployed once those are finished.
Doing a quick scan on my Qam tuner, I noticed that there is an HD movie channel in the lineup. Not sure of the testing phase or rollout, but it looks good. There is a second HD feed, but it's encrypted. Both feeds were running about between 16 - 21 mbps each, averaging around 19mbps each.
That's all I gleaned from emails and press releases for now. I'll should have more info later.

vegggas

Last night (Wedneday), no HD on either "Criminal Minds" or "CSI NY".
Is the usually dependable CBS letting us down, or was it the fault of the virulent COXsackie virus?

Last night (Wedneday), no HD on either "Criminal Minds" or "CSI NY".
Is the usually dependable CBS letting us down, or was it the fault of the virulent COXsackie virus?
How can it be Cox, they pass along the HD as they get it from the station. They don't have the capability to change the HD signal to SD.

Word, did you ever check your system after we last exchanged ideas? Somthing about your friend with the same display looking better.

vegggas

Word, did you ever check your system after we last exchanged ideas? Somthing about your friend with the same display looking better.

vegggas

No I haven't checked it, but I suspect what is wrong. And that is that the "lamp" has lost its vigor. I have a Mitsubishi DLP. It's almost 2 years old now, and a message has begun to appear each time I turn it on regarding how to order a new lamp. Can a lamp growing dimmer, affect the clarity and sharpness of the picture? Or is it like any other light bulb providing maximum output until the point of total failure?

No I haven't checked it, but I suspect what is wrong. And that is that the "lamp" has lost its vigor. I have a Mitsubishi DLP. It's almost 2 years old now, and a message has begun to appear each time I turn it on regarding how to order a new lamp. Can a lamp growing dimmer, affect the clarity and sharpness of the picture? Or is it like any other light bulb providing maximum output until the point of total failure?
A lamp will affect the PQ and will provide the best image when new and the right type for your display. I don't know the specifics, but it's something lilke the lamp in a DLP will lose 20% of it's output and quality within a few hundred hours of use and the settings will have to be re-adjusted to attempt to compensate. The best solution is to replace the bulb for better PQ and keep your old bulb as a spare in case it fails completely (which sucks).
It is also possible that besides just diminished bulb life caused by the release of photons and electrons, where the actual layers of metal are thrown off the fililment to make light, that in Las Vegas, the dust here can coat the bulb causing a flatter, softer, darker picture. I clean my CRT lenses and mirror every year, and even though they are in a sealed cabinet with no fan or ventilation, they get coated with dust. It may be possible to clean a bulb in a similar manner, but there are a lot of precautions for handling the bulb, where the oils on you hand can cause it to shatter when it heats up.
I would google your display and bulb and on check on AVS for more information about what options you have. With a 2 year old DLP, the lamp is only rated to about 3 years anyway, so a direct replacement may be the best solution before it fails.

vegggas

my best guess is that there will be about a half dozen new HD channels planned relatively soon for us.


Define relatively soon

Define relatively soon

Well.... Dont hold your breath

Define relatively soon

Any time between tomorrow and 31 December 2009.

Here's the dealy-o.
Cox Las Vegas, just like many other cable systems, is going through a MAJOR renovation to go to an all digtal system. Basically, everything will be digital and sent to various nodes around the city and local neighborhoods, and the basic package will be converted back to analog for the basic users, but digital subscribers will have everything in digital format, including the original analog channels. By converting everything to digital at the main lines, there is a huge savings in bandwidth that can be carried out to the neighborhoods. At that point forced conversions can be done for the basic people at the local level, but everything is still digital to anyone with the digital STB. Major channels can be sent to all homes in the current digital format, but lesser watched channels can be sent, virtually on demand, as you change the channel. This frees up even more space that HAD to be dedicated to the each and every channels people rarely watch.
When is this happening? It's already underway (since last year actually), but will take many months before it's complete and the old system can be removed to take advantage of the savings. They basically have to move and shift channels in chunks and repeat certain aspects of bandwidth to keep it online so that it's invisible to the user. The commitment dates are before the end of the year, and then a great expansion should happen.
When asked about including more HD channels and what channels are they expecting, the answer seemed to be to expect all of them.

Please make use of the above link for requesting new channels and/or if you call in, ask then to make a note that you want specific HD channels (that exist). Ask for HD-Net and HD-Net movies while you are at it. Those channels are currently up for negotiations again, and POSITIVE feedback will help bring them to Cox.

Another note to consider is that Cox corporate policy has been to offer the HD channels at NO ADDITIONAL COST, meaning that there is no programming price increase for an HD channel compared to a standard channel. A Digital subscriber has no additonal programming fees to watch the HD version of Sopranos over the SD version, etc.
Some programming negotiations get pushed back when the prices demand individual pricing per subscriber, but if anyone is open to that scenario, let them know that too. An example would be if you want HDNet and HDNet Movies, or ESPN2 or the Voom HD pak, it would be an additional $5/ month/ per package or bundled together at a lesser cost. This is very similar to what ComCast and other cable companies do to keep programming costs down for subscribers who do not have HD.

I will, as always, keep my ear to the ground and let the forum know if anything is approaching that can be revealed...

vegggas

This was posted over a year ago. Note the quote, " When asked about including more HD channels and what channels are they expecting, the answer seemed to be to expect all of them."

Yeah Right :eek:

This was posted over a year ago. Note the quote, " When asked about including more HD channels and what channels are they expecting, the answer seemed to be to expect all of them."

Yeah Right :eek:


If that was posted a year ago then the sentence that pops out at me is :

"The commitment dates are before the end of the year, and then a great expansion should happen. "

Where's that "great expansion" that was supposed to be at the end of 2006?? MHD???

This was posted over a year ago. Note the quote, " When asked about including more HD channels and what channels are they expecting, the answer seemed to be to expect all of them."

Yeah Right :eek:

Somewhat amazing that you have the free time to seek out an old post that has nothing to do with your service of choice simply to state "Yeah Right". Thanks so much for forwarding the mission of this thread. Perhaps you got this forum mixed up with sniping.com's forum for unemployed teens.

I think most of us accept that statements from virtually all services can be taken with a grain of salt in regards to time frames that are projected. No, it doesn't mean we are satisfied by any means. But, the reality is that unforeseen setbacks (whatever they may be) and simply the fact that humans are involved in such matters makes solid time frames on a conversion of this size a bit tentative. No excuses for Cox or anyone else for that matter. It is what it is and all the griping in the world won't change it. Action is all these businesses understand...the bottom line. If you're going to change things, it will have to be with money (switch providers!). They understand that and will respond swiftly when revenues begin being affected.

Honestly, please try and keep posts informative rather than having the tone that you are merely on a mission to point out faults of out-dated posts. Especially ones that have nothing to do with your service. Is there an agenda that we're all missing? Sheesh.

Somewhat amazing that you have the free time to seek out an old post that has nothing to do with your service of choice simply to state "Yeah Right". Thanks so much for forwarding the mission of this thread. Perhaps you got this forum mixed up with sniping.com's forum for umemployed teens.

I think most of us accept that statements from virtually all services can be taken with a grain of salt in regards to time frames that are projected. No, it doesn't mean we are satisfied by any means. But, the reality is that unforeseen setbacks (whatever they may be) and simply the fact that humans are involved in such matters makes solid time frames on a conversion of this size a bit tentative. No excuses for Cox or anyone else for that matter. It is what it is and all the griping in the world won't change it. Action is all these businesses understand...the bottom line. If you're going to change things, it will have to be with money (switch providers!). They understand that and will respond swiftly when revenues begin being affected.

Honestly, please try and keep posts informative rather than having the tone that you are merely on a mission to point out faults of out-dated posts. Especially ones that have nothing to do with your service. Is there an agenda that we're all missing? Sheesh.

If Cox (or any other entity) makes announcements or "promises", they should keep them. If they can't keep them, THEY should explain why, while apologizing to consumers of their service. The fact that they make such announcements/promises, without definite time frames for their establishment, smacks of self promotion on their parts. Its only an attempt to attract customers without REALLY fulfilling the promises which entice those customers to their product. And really the FCC (or whatever the proper entity is) should levy FINES against Cox for mouthing such empty words and for making such unfulfillable promises. And believe me, when Direct TV launches its satellites this Sept. and puts them on-line, sensible people are gonna be leaving Cox in droves. And I'm one of em'

And believe me, when Direct TV launches its satellites this Sept. and puts them on-line, sensible people are gonna be leaving Cox in droves. And I'm one of em'

+1

Originally Posted by Word Maestro
And believe me, when Direct TV launches its satellites this Sept. and puts them on-line, sensible people are gonna be leaving Cox in droves. And I'm one of em'

+1

I'll look forward to having you guys join me in D* land.

Frankly, right now I get as much HD as I need. But if the new channels offer something really interesting, and VOD (coming soon) has anything good, I may have to increase my daily tv consumption by an hour or so!

If Cox (or any other entity) makes announcements or "promises", they should keep them. If they can't keep them, THEY should explain why, while apologizing to consumers of their service. The fact that they make such announcements/promises, without definite time frames for their establishment, smacks of self promotion on their parts. Its only an attempt to attract customers without REALLY fulfilling the promises which entice those customers to their product. And really the FCC (or whatever the proper entity is) should levy FINES against Cox for mouthing such empty words and for making such unfulfillable promises. And believe me, when Direct TV launches its satellites this Sept. and puts them on-line, sensible people are gonna be leaving Cox in droves. And I'm one of em'
that's the point. I don't think Cox never made any announcements or promises with any sort of dates. Vegggas just passed on info he was told by some of the people he knows. I wouldn't complain too much or Vegggas will keep this information to himself and not share. This is exactly why these companies don't release dates. There are too many things that can go wrong. It's not like all this equipment can be bought at Fry's.

Originally Posted by Word Maestro
And believe me, when Direct TV launches its satellites this Sept. and puts them on-line, sensible people are gonna be leaving Cox in droves. And I'm one of em'



I'll look forward to having you guys join me in D* land.

Frankly, right now I get as much HD as I need. But if the new channels offer something really interesting, and VOD (coming soon) has anything good, I may have to increase my daily tv consumption by an hour or so!


youll have to get the 5LBN dish to reveive the new HD offerings. I just have the 3LBN for Sunday Ticket. I'm hoping they dont move those HD games to the new satellite for this season's games.

youll have to get the 5LBN dish to reveive the new HD offerings. I just have the 3LBN for Sunday Ticket. I'm hoping they dont move those HD games to the new satellite for this season's games.

I would be surprised if they didn't put it on the new sats. They had to turn off some channels last year when the games were on.

If Cox (or any other entity) makes announcements or "promises", they should keep them. If they can't keep them, THEY should explain why, while apologizing to consumers of their service. The fact that they make such announcements/promises, without definite time frames for their establishment, smacks of self promotion on their parts. Its only an attempt to attract customers without REALLY fulfilling the promises which entice those customers to their product. And really the FCC (or whatever the proper entity is) should levy FINES against Cox for mouthing such empty words and for making such unfulfillable promises. And believe me, when Direct TV launches its satellites this Sept. and puts them on-line, sensible people are gonna be leaving Cox in droves. And I'm one of em'

I couldn't agree more with you, Word. I'm leaning towards a possible defection to DirectTV in order to receive more MLB in HD as well as their EI package that is superior to what cable entities have to offer. However, I think lvthunder makes a very valid point that we all need to keep in mind. Vegggas is merely letting our collective ears be pressed to the wall as somewhat of an insight into what Cox has on the drawing boards. To expect Cox (or any other TV provider for that matter) to fulfill promises that weren't even made to the public, is a bit unreasonable. I think Vegggas does our forum a great service as his insider info gives us a heads up as to what's down the road.

Now if Bud Selig would get off his duff and eradicate the antiquated blackout rules, THAT would be something to look forward to. Very irritating not being able to see all of the Cubs/Giants series this past week. Same goes for the DA-Backs at Wrigley.

On another note, does anyone know if Cubs Comcast/WGN HD programs will ever be available outside of the Chicago area? If not, what is the problem with providing such a broadcast? Is the EI package with DirectTV able to present the Cubs home games in HD on a consistent basis?

Somewhat amazing that you have the free time to seek out an old post that has nothing to do with your service of choice simply to state "Yeah Right". Thanks so much for forwarding the mission of this thread. Perhaps you got this forum mixed up with sniping.com's forum for unemployed teens.

I think most of us accept that statements from virtually all services can be taken with a grain of salt in regards to time frames that are projected. No, it doesn't mean we are satisfied by any means. But, the reality is that unforeseen setbacks (whatever they may be) and simply the fact that humans are involved in such matters makes solid time frames on a conversion of this size a bit tentative. No excuses for Cox or anyone else for that matter. It is what it is and all the griping in the world won't change it. Action is all these businesses understand...the bottom line. If you're going to change things, it will have to be with money (switch providers!). They understand that and will respond swiftly when revenues begin being affected.

Honestly, please try and keep posts informative rather than having the tone that you are merely on a mission to point out faults of out-dated posts. Especially ones that have nothing to do with your service. Is there an agenda that we're all missing? Sheesh.

Jousting again? Perhaps you got this forum mixed up with sniping.com's forum for unemployed teens.

If Cox (or any other entity) makes announcements or "promises", they should keep them. If they can't keep them, THEY should explain why, while apologizing to consumers of their service. The fact that they make such announcements/promises, without definite time frames for their establishment, smacks of self promotion on their parts. Its only an attempt to attract customers without REALLY fulfilling the promises which entice those customers to their product. And really the FCC (or whatever the proper entity is) should levy FINES against Cox for mouthing such empty words and for making such unfulfillable promises. And believe me, when Direct TV launches its satellites this Sept. and puts them on-line, sensible people are gonna be leaving Cox in droves. And I'm one of em'

You are so correct. We will talk again when T* has 100+ HD channels at the end of the year. THIS YEAR.

Get your Laywers ready Word.

Jousting again? Perhaps you got this forum mixed up with sniping.com's forum for unemployed teens.

I guess this would qualify under the old saying, "Better to have others think you as a fool rather than open your mouth and remove all doubt."

On another note, does anyone know if Cubs Comcast/WGN HD programs will ever be available outside of the Chicago area?

WGN-HD is available outside of Chicago, the problem is you have to live in Canada to get it. It is available on Expressvu, a Canadian satellite company affiliated with D*. Whether or not it will ever be available to those of us in the states is anyone's guess.

I couldn't agree more with you, Word. I'm leaning towards a possible defection to DirectTV in order to receive more MLB in HD as well as their EI package that is superior to what cable entities have to offer. However, I think lvthunder makes a very valid point that we all need to keep in mind. Vegggas is merely letting our collective ears be pressed to the wall as somewhat of an insight into what Cox has on the drawing boards. To expect Cox (or any other TV provider for that matter) to fulfill promises that weren't even made to the public, is a bit unreasonable. I think Vegggas does our forum a great service as his insider info gives us a heads up as to what's down the road.

Now if Bud Selig would get off his duff and eradicate the antiquated blackout rules, THAT would be something to look forward to. Very irritating not being able to see all of the Cubs/Giants series this past week. Same goes for the DA-Backs at Wrigley.

On another note, does anyone know if Cubs Comcast/WGN HD programs will ever be available outside of the Chicago area? If not, what is the problem with providing such a broadcast? Is the EI package with DirectTV able to present the Cubs home games in HD on a consistent basis?

Here is an article written by Jeff Passan (of Yahoo Sports in May of this year). This will illustrate just how bad things are regarding "blackouts"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Now is the time to right a wrong. Though sometimes I wonder if that is asking too much of Major League Baseball.
For the amount of hand-wringing it took to settle the Extra Innings-DirecTV brouhaha, I cringe to think how baseball will try to remedy a problem that affects millions of fans instead of thousands: The frustrating – and unnecessary – television blackouts.
MLB president Bob DuPuy plans to officially address the blackout troubles in front of the sport's powerful executive council two weeks from today at the quarterly owners meetings in New York. How seriously the eight-man council treats the concerns will go a long way toward proving whether baseball is serious about rewriting its archaic rules or simply raising the issue to muzzle all of the fans who are not allowed to buy the product baseball is selling.
Sound familiar? Throughout spring training, when it seemed as though the Extra Innings package would be offered only on DirecTV, commissioner Bud Selig showed a haughty disregard for the fans, mocking the thousands of cable customers orphaned by the league's proposed money-grabbing exclusive deal. In the end, MLB got its promise from cable companies that they would launch the Baseball Channel in 2009, and the majority of fans now have access to every game, every night.


Well, in theory at least. The reality is much different. Some areas are blacked out from 40 percent of the games on a full schedule. No one in Iowa can watch the Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs, Royals, Twins and White Sox. Las Vegas has its own hexagon of darkness with the A's, Angels, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants and Padres.
Think about that. Baseball, which has made billions of dollars through MLB.com and its national television packages by knocking down the barriers that prevented mass consumption, is more than happy to ignore its own Great Wall.
The reasoning is simple: MLB doesn't stand to make money off lifting the blackout restrictions. More than 40 years ago, baseball created the territorial-rights rules that gifted every team a specific geographic area in which they could market to a regional fan base. Without the luxury of guaranteed national exposure, these cordoned-off realms made some sense.
No more. Most teams distribute their games on television through regional sports networks, like the Kansas City Royals with Royals Sports Television Network. The Royals' situation is a good example of how asinine the blackout rules can be. They have the fifth-largest blackout area, covering all of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and most of Missouri. Fans in those states whose cable or satellite providers do not carry RSTN will be blacked out from every Royals game.
For a franchise mired in a decade-long struggle, limiting the availability of the product seems counterintuitive to developing a fan base outside of the Kansas City metro area.
"You build a following by exposing an area to a team where they get to know the players," Royals owner David Glass said. "If you never, ever get to watch them, you wouldn't be as inclined to go and see them. I'm glad it's coming up, and I'm glad we're going to discuss it."
When DuPuy was in Kansas City last week, he and Glass discussed the blackout issue. Glass told DuPuy he had received a number of complaints from fans, and DuPuy relayed the same. At the All-Star break last year, Selig said he, too, had heard plenty of feedback – and had been a blackout victim at times as well.
He's far from alone. Fans in Eugene, Ore., have to drive more than 500 miles to see a San Francisco Giants game. St. Louis Cardinals blackouts extend to pieces of nine states. Even in the crowded East Coast television market, Pittsburgh Pirates blackouts cover all of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, some of Ohio and slivers of Maryland and New York.
The principal owners of those teams hold a seat on the executive council. So does Glass. Hopefully the four of them can convince San Diego Padres owner John Moores (whose team's blackout area is among the smallest), Boston Red Sox owner John Henry (whose New England Sports Network is perhaps the best of the regional sports networks in covering blacked-out territories) and Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos (who already know something about sharing territorial rights) that blackouts must go.
"There are 30 teams and 30 interests we take into account," Glass said. "For the commissioner and Mr. DuPuy to make that all come together is sometimes difficult."
He's right. By lifting blackout rules, baseball would be asking owners to give up something they've held for almost half a century. Even if territorial rights are worth far less than they used to be, their value is higher to some than others, and the idea of sacrificing for the greater good rarely resonates with businessmen.
The point: This might take a while.
So, in the meantime, status quo reigns. Sneaky fans will use IP spoofing programs to fake out MLB.com or have a family member install a Slingbox to send local programming over the Internet and onto a computer. And those with neither the technological wherewithal nor the money for a fancy gadget will be stuck in the dark with no rational explanation why.
That doesn't suffice for Joseph Parra. In Buffalo, N.Y., where he works as a staff sergeant at the Army recruiting station, fans are blacked out from four teams, including the Cleveland Indians. When he tried to watch an Indians game on Extra Innings recently, a black screen greeted him.
"I need help," Parra said. "What can we do?"
Just wait and see if baseball is willing to right something so obviously wrong

I guess this would qualify under the old saying, "Better to have others think you as a fool rather than open your mouth and remove all doubt."

I guess this would qualify under the old saying, "Better to have others think you as a fool rather than open your mouth and remove all doubt. :D

But really, please don't tell us what we can or cannot post.

WGN-HD is available outside of Chicago, the problem is you have to live in Canada to get it. It is available on Expressvu, a Canadian satellite company affiliated with D*. Whether or not it will ever be available to those of us in the states is anyone's guess.

Thanks Bruin95.

The new abbs are working:

D* is Dish Network
T* is direcT (Turd Bird).

Congradulations!

You know there are enough abbreviations in this field that you guys don't need to go making up new ones. It's a long established fact that D* is Directv E* is Echostar (Dish Network).

I guess this would qualify under the old saying, "Better to have others think you as a fool rather than open your mouth and remove all doubt. :D

But really, please don't tell us what we can or cannot post.

If you can point out where I told you to post or not...please feel free to point out. It was expected that the quote would bypass you. Feel free not to respond as this is already old and this road has met its stop sign where I'm concerned. Have a great day.

Here is an article written by Jeff Passan (of Yahoo Sports in May of this year). This will illustrate just how bad things are regarding "blackouts"
---------------------------------------------------------------------


Thanks for the post, Word. I know that there are some of us in this forum who've gone round and round with MLB via phone, e-mail and any other means to have our voices heard on this issue. It gets pretty tiring at times and I hope that we're getting more than lip service. I guess the next step is to start contacting local congressional representatives. The one thing that MLB would absolutely hate is to lose their exemption from anti-trust laws that they've managed to hold on to. I think John McCain brought that up during the whole EI/DirectTV debacle and, lo and behold, action began. Perhaps it's time for this trump card to be played again.

Thanks for the post, Word. I know that there are some of us in this forum who've gone round and round with MLB via phone, e-mail and any other means to have our voices heard on this issue. It gets pretty tiring at times and I hope that we're getting more than lip service. I guess the next step is to start contacting local congressional representatives. The one thing that MLB would absolutely hate is to lose their exemption from anti-trust laws that they've managed to hold on to. I think John McCain brought that up during the whole EI/DirectTV debacle and, lo and behold, action began. Perhaps it's time for this trump card to be played again.

One would think that our ludicrous clown of a Mayor (Oscar Goodman) would take the lead in at least trying to overcome the "blackouts" in the Las Vegas area. He's supposed to be buddy-buddy with "Bud" the Commissioner. But all of MLBaseball knows Goodman is a joke and pays no attention to him. I did write to Senators Reid and Enright about this problem. But apparently it's not an important enough matter for them to even answer me, let alone do something about it.
The really sad part is that not enough of the public is steamed up about it. Whether that's because of ignorance or sloth, I don't know. And also of course, Direct TV should be the viewers advocate in this matter. But as long as they collect their MLB-EI fees, blackouts or not, they too, don't give a damn.

Word,

Isn't there anyone or anything that you don't agree with that you don't call names?

New information about the new series 3 TiVo HD has been released by Engadget:

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/2007/07/tivolite_2.jpg
We got some very reliable information from an inside source on TiVo's newest DVR -- and guess what, it's called the TiVo HD (good luck trying to trademark that one, TiVo). Granted, we've heard most of this already, but our sources confirmed the TiVo HD will launch with a 160GB drive (or, as TiVo likes to put it, 160 hours SD / 20 hours HD), two CableCARD tuners, and possibly also an ATSC tuner. We can also further confirm it won't have THX certification, frontal display, or the Glo remote, but the $300 price tag is set, so it won't pinch the pocketbook quite so hard. Supposedly it's launching this week, possibly as early as tomorrow. Given that the cheapest box TiVo sells is still $100 (or sometimes free), it stands to reason this will be the new mid-range model, but from what we understand TiVo is on its way to phasing out the Series2 brand entirely.

Also in TiVo news, we understand the eSATA port will be enabled for external storage in short order, and Best Buy will have the retail exclusive on the external drive, which will supposedly be a small striped RAID array. Oh, and big time bonus for current users: TiVoToGo is on track to finally be re-enabled on Series3 boxes, but there's a fairly huge caveat: SD shows only, HD shows will have to stay safely stowed on the box. Bummer.

At that pricepoint, I think I might be ready to give up the 8300HD and move on to my first TiVo. This will be using cablecards....so my question for those using cablecards: Will I get the double-digit channel numbers in analog or will I get the digital simulcasts that all digital cable boxes get?

Word,

Isn't there anyone or anything that you don't agree with that you don't call names?
Yeah, I don't call "reasonable" people, names.
But Mayor Goodman is not reasonable, intelligent, moral, or able to accomplish things other than the mundane. And as a politician he certainly is open to name calling and derision. I don't really think that calling him a "ludicrous clown" is so bad. Not when you consider what I REALLY think of him.

Thanks Bruin95.

The new abbs are working:

D* is Dish Network
T* is direcT (Turd Bird).

Congradulations!

No.
If you call a horse's tail a leg, the horse still only has four legs.
D*=DirecTv
E*=Echostar (Dish Network).

And believe me, when Direct TV launches its satellites this Sept. and puts them on-line, sensible people are gonna be leaving Cox in droves. And I'm one of em'
D* 10 was launched July 7. They are testing it now. By the FCC filing, the "on" date is Sept. 15. There is also a planned D*11 sat. launch slated for later this year.

In order to receive the new sat. channels you'll have to have the H-20 or HR-20 receiver and the 5LBN dish.

I just joined D* and can hardly wait for the new sat. to go on line. And the quality of the signal now is much better than I had with Cox.

(FYI: I never knew you could take your Cox box to any Kinkos and they ship it back for free...no standing in line)

D* 10 was launched July 7. They are testing it now. By the FCC filing, the "on" date is Sept. 15. There is also a planned D*11 sat. launch slated for later this year.

In order to receive the new sat. channels you'll have to have the H-20 or HR-20 receiver and the 5LBN dish.

I just joined D* and can hardly wait for the new sat. to go on line. And the quality of the signal now is much better than I had with Cox.

(FYI: I never knew you could take your Cox box to any Kinkos and they ship it back for free...no standing in line)


I am waiting to make the switch to the new Dish. I currently use Cox as my main feed and D* for Sunday Ticket. I am curious about the H20 receiver .. my H10 has an active external rf antenna jack on the back which I have a pair of rabbit ears hooked up to that receive the OTA locals. I was wondering if the H20 had the same jack and if it was active? I thought I read elsewhere that it was an inactive input until a future software update was pushed through.

Is there anybody using cable cards here? Here is my question again:

....so my question for those using cablecards: Will I get the double-digit channel numbers in analog or will I get the digital simulcasts that all digital cable boxes get?

My parents do, but I'm not sure if the double digit channels are analog or digital. I think they are digital because in the past they have not been able to watch the local SD channels. I think if it was analog they would get a little snow with the picture.

I am waiting to make the switch to the new Dish. I currently use Cox as my main feed and D* for Sunday Ticket. I am curious about the H20 receiver .. my H10 has an active external rf antenna jack on the back which I have a pair of rabbit ears hooked up to that receive the OTA locals. I was wondering if the H20 had the same jack and if it was active? I thought I read elsewhere that it was an inactive input until a future software update was pushed through.

OTA has been active on the H20 for years. Also, the software update to enable it on the mpeg4 HD DVR, the HR20, was months ago.

OTA has been active on the H20 for years. Also, the software update to enable it on the mpeg4 HD DVR, the HR20, was months ago.

also the hr20 is finally rock solid 100% stable. (to be fair, i still haven't dared hook it up to my tv via hdmi, but by component which has just as good PQ, it has been flawless for many months now.

is d* ever going to upgrade the quality of their hbo signal?

If anyone is intersted the $300 TiVo HD is already in stock at the local Best Buys. It also seems like they opened up two more - on one N. Decatur near Elkhorn and the other one in the SW on Maule (south of southern beltway) between Buffalo and Durango.

Sadly, I ordered mine online at midnight when it came out and am waiting for it to show up via UPS...

I have the Cox expanded analog package. When I programmed the channels in the Qam tuner on my new Plasma I found HDnet movie channel on channel 72.2 Anybody know what's going on since HDnet in not on our local channel lineup.

If anyone is intersted the $300 TiVo HD is already in stock at the local Best Buys. It also seems like they opened up two more - on one N. Decatur near Elkhorn and the other one in the SW on Maule (south of southern beltway) between Buffalo and Durango.

Sadly, I ordered mine online at midnight when it came out and am waiting for it to show up via UPS...

The one on the southern beltway is under construction. BTW, their store locater map is wrong, it's located at Rainbow and the 215, not between Buffalo and Durango.

Heh, I wonder why I can order products online from a store that is still under construction? Wont that be confusing...

And the TiVos all look OOS for the LV area.

I have the Cox expanded analog package. When I programmed the channels in the Qam tuner on my new Plasma I found HDnet movie channel on channel 72.2 Anybody know what's going on since HDnet in not on our local channel lineup.


The last time that happened it was during a convention in town and the signal was only added temporarily. But , who knows..mabey its a Cox test for a future channel addition.

The last time that happened it was during a convention in town and the signal was only added temporarily. But , who knows..mabey its a Cox test for a future channel addition.

I hope its a test because i really enjoy this channel. I am hopefull that i can get a couple months of service before it gets taken away.

I tried 72.2 and only got static. Perhaps its on only certain headends.

Hi guys need some help please.

Today I hooked up a 3250HD box to my Toshiba 57hx83 CRT television via a DVI cable. High def looks great, standard def the picture is shifted to the left several inches. Any idea how to cure this problem? Component cable works perfectly BTW.

Thanks

Chris

I have just watched the preview to starz early premier on channel 1 for the movie The Prestige and it says also available on "STARZ HD INDEMAND"

Is starz HD INDEMAND available in Vegas? If not when will it be avaibable?

Thanks :)

Is starz HD INDEMAND available in Vegas?

No.

If not when will it be avaibable?

When Hell freezes over? :D

its available in arizona and san diego etc. etc.

Why are we always last in Vegas with everything!!!

anybody got an ETA of STARZ HD INDEMAND????

thanks

I tried 72.2 and only got static. Perhaps its on only certain headends.
I'm in NLV and just checked this out and it comes in nice and clear. Any way to get this through the STB?

Hi guys need some help please.

Today I hooked up a 3250HD box to my Toshiba 57hx83 CRT television via a DVI cable. High def looks great, standard def the picture is shifted to the left several inches. Any idea how to cure this problem? Component cable works perfectly BTW.

Thanks

Chris
Just wanted to add I searched and found others with the same problem but no cure. So, I will stick with component cable.

Thanks

Chris

So I checked again last night, 72.1 was there but blank (just a black screen) and 72.2 had SD previews for PPV or something.

Why was ESPN 2 blacked out on Cox Cable (in the Las Vegas market) of the Giant-Dodger game last night? After all the hype about "Barry Bonds, the HR record and steroids", you would think they would want the largest possible audience.
By the way DISH was also blacked out. But Direct TV wasn't. They had the game on, in all its HD splendor for everyone to see.

Why was ESPN 2 blacked out on Cox Cable (in the Las Vegas market) of the Giant-Dodger game last night? After all the hype about "Barry Bonds, the HR record and steroids", you would think they would want the largest possible audience.
By the way DISH was also blacked out. But Direct TV wasn't. They had the game on, in all its HD splendor for everyone to see.

I think it has something to do with DirecTV being the only provider to make FSN Bay Area available in Las Vegas.

edit-tonights game is still available on ESPN2HD and is also on FSN Prime Ticket HD on DirecTV.

Why was ESPN 2 blacked out on Cox Cable (in the Las Vegas market) of the Giant-Dodger game last night? After all the hype about "Barry Bonds, the HR record and steroids", you would think they would want the largest possible audience.
By the way DISH was also blacked out. But Direct TV wasn't. They had the game on, in all its HD splendor for everyone to see.

Is because Directv is better than everyone else. Everyone else sucks.

I think it has something to do with DirecTV being the only provider to make FSN Bay Area available in Las Vegas.

edit-tonights game is still available on ESPN2HD and is also on FSN Prime Ticket HD on DirecTV.

Sorry George, you're wrong about that.
It is on FSN Prime Ticket, but its blacked out on ESPN2 (SD or HD) on ALL systems. Including Direct TV, DISH and Cox. I don't think they even understand their own rules.

Why was ESPN 2 blacked out on Cox Cable (in the Las Vegas market) of the Giant-Dodger game last night? After all the hype about "Barry Bonds, the HR record and steroids", you would think they would want the largest possible audience.
By the way DISH was also blacked out. But Direct TV wasn't. They had the game on, in all its HD splendor for everyone to see.

Much ado about nothing as I see it. While I'd love to have the HD broadcasts of these Giants games, I'm afraid we'll see none of them in HD. We are only going to get the channel 96 and 50 SD versions of Barry's pursuit. Barry won't homer this week anyway, so if watching Giant games is for this purpose, we're all really screwed thanks to the foot-dragging of MLB and its lovely blackout policies. Once the Giants get back home, we will be totally shut out unless we're glued to SportsCenter for three hours or so during the game as they will probably cut into their programming for each of Barry's at bats. If a miracle happens and Barry hasn't done it by August 14, then we'll get a shot at watching the Giants via TBS as the Giants go to Atlanta then. Argh...nice going MLB.

I saw the game on FSN on Dish, and it was in HD (ch 361 I think)

Sorry George, you're wrong about that.
It is on FSN Prime Ticket, but its blacked out on ESPN2 (SD or HD) on ALL systems. Including Direct TV, DISH and Cox. I don't think they even understand their own rules.

Well, they certainly are complex and arbitrary. For instance, I recall that ESPN can override the home market blackouts 3 times a year per team. Considering that Las Vegas has a ridiculous six "home market" teams, I'm sure cable operators are confused on how to apply something like that.

In any case, the blackouts the really get me are for games that are only available on local stations in other states (Dodgers on KCAL, D'backs on KTVK, etc.).

Does anyone know if you need a land based telephone line to access NFL Sunday Ticket on DirecTV?

The sales reps tell me NO. The brochure says YES. I'm confused.

If I do have to get a phone line, anyone know what the ABSOLUTE cheapest way to go is? Vongage? etc?

Does anyone know if you need a land based telephone line to access NFL Sunday Ticket on DirecTV?

The sales reps tell me NO. The brochure says YES. I'm confused.

If I do have to get a phone line, anyone know what the ABSOLUTE cheapest way to go is? Vongage? etc?

The phone lines are used primarily for pay-per-view and they say sports subscriptions but I've read that it isn't really necessary. I've disconnected mine before without any problems. It may be needed just for blackout rules. area code verification?

The phone lines are used primarily for pay-per-view and they say sports subscriptions but I've read that it isn't really necessary. I've disconnected mine before without any problems. It may be needed just for blackout rules. area code verification?

Thanks for your response.

Thats the problem, theoretically they need to know where you are for blackout restrictions.

If you dont use a landline, then they need to know where you are from some other method.

Or they might not enforce the rule.

But I dont want to get a 2 year contract, and then find out that I can't hook it up because all I have is a cell phone.

Do you know what a wireless jack is? DirecTv told me that this will work for the phone line? Is that a broadband phone line like Vonage?

Broadband phone is cheap, like $15/month. I can't afford $50 for a standard land line or whatever it costs.

A wireless phone jack is basically a portable phone line plug. You plug the receiver into the phone line in your wall and you can put the transmitter pretty much anywhere in the house. You do have to have an active phone line for it to work, though. And I have a local line (can't dial long distance) with Embarq for my Tivo and my alarm system...it's $15 / month.

I have never had my phone line connected and I have had sunday ticket for several years now.

Broadband phone is cheap, like $15/month. I can't afford $50 for a standard land line or whatever it costs.
I pay $18/mo for a plain phone line from Embarq. No features, but it doesnt matter since I use my iPhone most of the time.

Thanks for your response.



Do you know what a wireless jack is? DirecTv told me that this will work for the phone line? Is that a broadband phone line like Vonage?

Broadband phone is cheap, like $15/month. I can't afford $50 for a standard land line or whatever it costs.

rca wireless phone jack:

http://reviews.pricegrabber.com/other-cell-phone-accessories/m/3142446/

Is Cox carrying the NFL Hall of Fame game in HD?

Thanks for your response.

Thats the problem, theoretically they need to know where you are for blackout restrictions.

Broadband phone is cheap, like $15/month. I can't afford $50 for a standard land line or whatever it costs.

The first line: They don't use a phone line to determine where you are/live. On set-up your Zip Code (or lat./long.) is input to the receiver. That determines your location.

I pay $16 a month for Embarq...no extras line. I see in their ads Cox has a no-frills broadband phone line for something less than $10 (before taxes). The RCA wireless isn't going to help you unless you have phone (Embarq or Broadband)

The phone line for DirectTV serves one purpose....to allow you to easily order Pay For View. If you don't have the receiver hooked up to a phone line and order Pay For View via your cellphone, there is a surcharge. You can order PPV via the internet and there is no surcharge. In the past the TV guides were sent to your Sat. receiver via phone, but on the newer models it is done via Sat.

So yes, you can get sat. tv installed without the phone line and still be able to enjoy football.

Is Cox carrying the NFL Hall of Fame game in HD?

Not on in HD here. Last year the HD games were on 707 (INHD-2). No 707 this year so it looks like we won't be getting HD games from the NFL network. I will be looking into D*. Cox hasn't added any HD channels in a VERY long time, and at least I know I can get all the NFL games in HD on D*.

Keith

OK. After looking at DirectTV's site, I'm still not clear on what LV valley residents can get in the way of sports. On one hand it looks as though we're restricted to west coast RSNs, but their Premier package shows us getting all RSNs as well as a few Comcast sports channels. Does this mean that all RSNs that carry MLB in SD also have HD versions of those games? I would like to be able to watch Chicago Cubs games in HD if possible. Does anyone currently subscribe to DirectTV's Premier service so as to confirm what the channel lineup is for us here in the valley? Thanks in advance for any responses.

Not on in HD here. Last year the HD games were on 707 (INHD-2). No 707 this year so it looks like we won't be getting HD games from the NFL network. I will be looking into D*. Cox hasn't added any HD channels in a VERY long time, and at least I know I can get all the NFL games in HD on D*.

Keith


Last couple of years, on Sunday Ticket, CBS only had 3 games / week broadcast in HD. All the rest of the AFC games were regular crappy SD and most were almost unwatchable. Hopefully they increased their HD equipment to broadcast all their games in HD this year

OK. After looking at DirectTV's site, I'm still not clear on what LV valley residents can get in the way of sports. On one hand it looks as though we're restricted to west coast RSNs, but their Premier package shows us getting all RSNs as well as a few Comcast sports channels. Does this mean that all RSNs that carry MLB in SD also have HD versions of those games? I would like to be able to watch Chicago Cubs games in HD if possible. Does anyone currently subscribe to DirectTV's Premier service so as to confirm what the channel lineup is for us here in the valley? Thanks in advance for any responses.


All major professional sports (MLB, NBA, NHL) will be blacked out on the out-of-market RSN channels unless you have the appropriate sports subscription (Extra Innings, League Pass, Center Ice). You do get much of the other programming on those channels such as most college sports, coaches shows, and sometimes replays. Also Premier is not necessary, adding the Sports Pack to your package will also get you the same access to the RSNs,

To do what you want you need to wait for DirecTV to move the HD RSNs to the new HD satellite (hopefully around September 15th) and subscribe to Extra Innings w/ Superfan.

Last couple of years, on Sunday Ticket, CBS only had 3 games / week broadcast in HD. All the rest of the AFC games were regular crappy SD and most were almost unwatchable. Hopefully they increased their HD equipment to broadcast all their games in HD this year

CBS will be broadcasting up to 6 HD games a week this year.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=838266&highlight=NFL+CBS

All major professional sports (MLB, NBA, NHL) will be blacked out on the out-of-market RSN channels unless you have the appropriate sports subscription (Extra Innings, League Pass, Center Ice). You do get much of the other programming on those channels such as most college sports, coaches shows, and sometimes replays. Also Premier is not necessary, adding the Sports Pack to your package will also get you the same access to the RSNs,

To do what you want you need to wait for DirecTV to move the HD RSNs to the new HD satellite (hopefully around September 15th) and subscribe to Extra Innings w/ Superfan.

Thanks, George. That sounds like something to think about for next season for sure. It would be nice to receive all available HD baseball broadcasts via Extra Innings like that.

OK. After looking at DirectTV's site, I'm still not clear on what LV valley residents can get in the way of sports. On one hand it looks as though we're restricted to west coast RSNs, but their Premier package shows us getting all RSNs as well as a few Comcast sports channels. Does this mean that all RSNs that carry MLB in SD also have HD versions of those games? I would like to be able to watch Chicago Cubs games in HD if possible. Does anyone currently subscribe to DirectTV's Premier service so as to confirm what the channel lineup is for us here in the valley? Thanks in advance for any responses.

It's not HD, but you can get the Cubs games on WGN, they don't seem to be blacked out. Perhaps they're blacked out when the Cubs are playing in LA or SF, I'm not sure, but in that case, the games should be available on the relevant RSN.

Of course, I could be completely wrong thanks to the bizarre and convoluted blackout rules. I just got DirecTV last week, so I'm still figuring everything out. The RSNs at this point don't have much of interest to me on, hopefully that will change during college football season.

It's not HD, but you can get the Cubs games on WGN, they don't seem to be blacked out. Perhaps they're blacked out when the Cubs are playing in LA or SF, I'm not sure, but in that case, the games should be available on the relevant RSN.

Of course, I could be completely wrong thanks to the bizarre and convoluted blackout rules. I just got DirecTV last week, so I'm still figuring everything out. The RSNs at this point don't have much of interest to me on, hopefully that will change during college football season.

Thanks, Sony. I'm really focusing on Cubs games in HD. I already subscribe to the MLB EI package. Unfortunately, that doesn't get me very far in regards to receiving baseball in HD outside of the national broadcasts (ESPN, Fox). That's why I'm inquiring as to how DirectTV runs things. I hope what George says is right as far as an increase in HD offerings for MLB. That might be the thing that gets me switched off cable if it pans out.

Thanks, Sony. I'm really focusing on Cubs games in HD. I already subscribe to the MLB EI package. Unfortunately, that doesn't get me very far in regards to receiving baseball in HD outside of the national broadcasts (ESPN, Fox). That's why I'm inquiring as to how DirectTV runs things. I hope what George says is right as far as an increase in HD offerings for MLB. That might be the thing that gets me switched off cable if it pans out.

What has ro be done is to get MLB or the US Congress to lift ALL of those ridiculous "blackouts". Phoenix, Oakland and San Francisco are all at least 350 miles from Las Vegas. How in the world can LV be considered their home territory? Although I would like to be able to do it, I can't decide on a moments notice to attend those games. And the real INSANITY is that the ROAD games of those teams are also blacked out, When the Giants play the Mets, its bad enough that I can't go to SF on a moments notice, but the game is also blacked out when they play in NY. Those blackout restrictions are archaic rules devised by money grubbing owners who have no regard for the fans and enforce them without a modicum of thoughtful reality.

HD viewers will probably once again be "screwed" by the broadcasters this fall.
Beginning this year, TBS will be televising the MLB Divisional Series in both the American and National Leagues and will be carrying the National cLeague Championship series.
In past years BOTH Fox and ESPN gave us many of those telecasts in HD. But this year (unless further information becomes available) the games will ALL be in good ol' 4:3, 480i, SD.
Screw the viewer, it's all about money.

HD viewers will probably once again be "screwed" by the broadcasters this fall.
Beginning this year, TBS will be televising the MLB Divisional Series in both the American and National Leagues and will be carrying the National cLeague Championship series.
In past years BOTH Fox and ESPN gave us many of those telecasts in HD. But this year (unless further information becomes available) the games will ALL be in good ol' 4:3, 480i, SD.
Screw the viewer, it's all about money.

TBS HD is launching September 1st. It will be carried by DirecTV, no word yet from Dish and, as always, Cox is silent on the HD front.

"Once the feed goes live, all TBS fare––including its coverage of Major League Baseball’s Division Series Playoffs and the National League Championship Series––will be available in high-def."

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=866874&highlight=TBS

TBS HD is launching September 1st. It will be carried by DirecTV, no word yet from Dish and, as always, Cox is silent on the HD front.



If Cox wouldn't even maintain the San Diego Padres HD channel (which they carried two years ago, but not after that), what hopes could we have about them carrying TBS-HD?
Las Vegas is just NOT a hot enough baseball town to put the necessary pressures on Cox. And if the original Seinfeld episodes were not filmed in widescreen HD, how could they possibly be upconverted to 1080i WS without using the stretch-o-vision rechniques?

And if the original Seinfeld episodes were not filmed in widescreen HD, how could they possibly be upconverted to 1080i WS without using the stretch-o-vision rechniques?

They won't stretch it. It will remain 4:3. It will be similiar to how Hogan's Heroes and Charlie's Angels are presented on HDNET. Since you have Cox I'm sure you have never seen these presentations, but others, including myself, can comment on the quality. It's rather good, IMO.

I had my hr20-100 installed yesterday. Every once in a while I get an audio stutter on the KVBC-3 HD channel. I had a similar issue when I was pulling it in via OTA with my 10-250. Just wondering if this could be an issue at Ch 3's station or something with my equipment.

We haven't noticed any audio problems with Cox 3 or 733 (NBC) on either of our 8300HDs. I really hope there is no problem with the HR20 and our local NBC affiliate, as we are moving to DirecTV soon.

It's really not much to worry about. It happens so intermittently, once or twice an hour for a split second, that it's not much of an issue, but I was curious about. Like I said, I got it with the 10-250 (OTA) and now with the hr20 (over satellite). I also have a pretty new receiver that I swapped out twice and it still happens. So right now I don't think it's an equipment issue.

I did a bit more experimenting and I didn't get the issue at all when I switched to PCM, but then I dont get DD 5.1.

After a missed appt by the installer yesterday, a supervisor or chief tech finally came out today and tried to install the CCs in my new TiVo HD. He brought four and one didn't work off the bat. The second one paired fine in slot one. The third one didn't seem to be pairing properly, so he went to replace it with the fourth.

The problem is the guy on the other side of the phone call (at Cox, someone named Wayne) kept telling the installer to hard boot the tivo - even when it was booting up. So the installer unplugged it from the back and plugged it back in. If you know about how the insides of a TiVo works you can probably tell where I am going with this -- green screen of death after about five reboots. The linux file system that the TiVo uses is very fragile and can be screwed up very easily if the system loses power during a write. So it took two hours for the TiVo to rebuild itself and from there I had one working cable card in slot 1. He is coming back tomorrow at 5PM to see about getting the other card working.

Also, anecdotally, the 2007 card crapped out, while the 2005 cards seem to work the best in our situation - SA PowerKey cards. Common wisdom says that the newer cards work better... go fig.