Thanks, Sony. I'm really focusing on Cubs games in HD.

From the WGN website this might be of interest:

Q: When will Superstation WGN become available in HDTV?
A: At some point in the future but not in the near term. DIRECTV and DISH NETWORK have also expressed interest but DIRECTV is further along in the process of doing so.

Q: Why aren't more Chicago Cubs and White Sox baseball games carried on Superstation WGN?
A: We've been splitting the amount of games we televise with a regional cable sports network (now Comcast SportsNet Chicago) since we became a network affiliate in Chicago several years ago. We had to in order to compete in Chicago with CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox and a multitude of channels that now exist. Also, each team has long-term agreements with specific channels to carry a specific amount of games and telecast schedules are negotiated during preseason. Unfortunately, the television landscape has changed but we continue to carry more baseball than any other television station anywhere. Comcast SportsNet Chicago's Cubs and White Sox telecasts are available on the "MLB Extra Innings" package on digital cable and DIRECTV.

So, it appears Cubs in HD would only be SportsNet Chicago via the Extra Innings package at least in the forseeable future.

I read Cox San Diego adding Natl Geographic HD channel Aug 13.... I wonder if this is national or market by market basis again and Vegas will have to wait another month or so as usual?

From the WGN website this might be of interest:

Q: When will Superstation WGN become available in HDTV?
A: At some point in the future but not in the near term. DIRECTV and DISH NETWORK have also expressed interest but DIRECTV is further along in the process of doing so.

Q: Why aren't more Chicago Cubs and White Sox baseball games carried on Superstation WGN?
A: We've been splitting the amount of games we televise with a regional cable sports network (now Comcast SportsNet Chicago) since we became a network affiliate in Chicago several years ago. We had to in order to compete in Chicago with CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox and a multitude of channels that now exist. Also, each team has long-term agreements with specific channels to carry a specific amount of games and telecast schedules are negotiated during preseason. Unfortunately, the television landscape has changed but we continue to carry more baseball than any other television station anywhere. Comcast SportsNet Chicago's Cubs and White Sox telecasts are available on the "MLB Extra Innings" package on digital cable and DIRECTV.

So, it appears Cubs in HD would only be SportsNet Chicago via the Extra Innings package at least in the forseeable future.

Thanks, VegasDen. So, for those who have the MLB EI package on DirecTV, how many games are available on any given day in HD? And, is the new sat launch going to make the baseball HD availability better or the same? I'm guessing better but to what degree I can't guess on that.

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.

The blackout situation for baseball is a slightly different animal than football. Whereas football's blackouts seemed to be predicated on the facility selling all tickets, baseball's blackouts are in place to protect TV advertising revenue. Meaning that they don't want duplicate broadcasts potentially watering down the numbers that watch a particular broadcast. At least this is the line from MLB. I've written them and told them I have no problem with protecting themselves in that manner. However, when there are ZERO outlets in this valley carrying the A's, Giants and D-Backs I find that the blackout reasoning is weak. MLB has had no reply other than this one: "The blackout remains because the cable system has the ability to carry those teams.". Ummm...what?!? This is the 21st century! I'm pretty sure the local entities can lift blackouts themselves when they refuse to carry the proper RSNs. Or does that make too much sense? The way baseball is seeing it, all operators of cable or sat have ladies with their hair up in buns pulling plugs out of monstrous walls of circuit boards and reinserting them as customers change channels. OK...maybe not that bad but...

However, when there are ZERO outlets in this valley carrying the A's, Giants and D-Backs I find that the blackout reasoning is weak. MLB has had no reply other than this one: "The blackout remains because the cable system has the ability to carry those teams.". Ummm...what?!? This is the 21st century! I'm pretty sure the local entities can lift blackouts themselves when they refuse to carry the proper RSNs.

MLB's position is that there is the opportunity for some broadcaster to make money selling their station to Cox for carriage in the LV market. MLB isnt going to do an end run around those broadcasters by interfering with the "free market" and starting to rule on what can be considered a home area. Otherwise, Cox wouldn't carry any of these networks and just tell their subs to go and buy the package.

The only solution is to write your congressman and tell them to bring the hammer down on MLB and other sports with crazy blackout rules. Impose a geographic limit or something to redo the entire system.

The only solution is to write your congressman and tell them to bring the hammer down on MLB and other sports with crazy blackout rules. Impose a geographic limit or something to redo the entire system.

Consider me signed up!

So, for those who have the MLB EI package on DirecTV, how many games are available on any given day in HD? And, is the new sat launch going to make the baseball HD availability better or the same? I'm guessing better but to what degree I can't guess on that.

I don't have EI...but you can assume next season will be much better. Below is the list of projected RSN's that may be offered by D*:

21 Regional Sports Networks:

Blackout Rules still apply!

Altitude
Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
FSN Arizona
FSN Bay Area
FSN Detroit
FSN Florida
FSN New England
FSN North
FSN Northwest
FSN Ohio
FSN Prime Ticket
FSN Rocky Mountain
FSN South
FSN Southwest
FSN West
New England Sports Network
SportsNet New York
SportsSouth
Sun Sports
YES


Since the D10 sat. goes live (launched in July) on or about Sept. 15 some may or may not be available. The CEO said in a conference today that D* will have 70 HD channels 3rd quarter and more later in the year. An official list has yet to be released.

I don't have EI...but you can assume next season will be much better. Below is the list of projected RSN's that may be offered by D*:

21 Regional Sports Networks:

Blackout Rules still apply!

Altitude
Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
FSN Arizona
FSN Bay Area
FSN Detroit
FSN Florida
FSN New England
FSN North
FSN Northwest
FSN Ohio
FSN Prime Ticket
FSN Rocky Mountain
FSN South
FSN Southwest
FSN West
New England Sports Network
SportsNet New York
SportsSouth
Sun Sports
YES


Since the D10 sat. goes live (launched in July) on or about Sept. 15 some may or may not be available. The CEO said in a conference today that D* will have 70 HD channels 3rd quarter and more later in the year. An official list has yet to be released.

You said, you don't have EI. However are you aware that ALL of those Regional Sports Networks are already available on D*. But ONLY in SD? There are 2 or 3 games each day that are carried in HD, on the lower 700 numbered channels. I would hope that what you mean is that most if not all of them will (after Sept 15) be available in HD.

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.

Sounds like your audio receiver doesn't handle bad dolby digital frames well.

Is ch 3 known to have bad DD frames? My receiver is a Sony str-dg810.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6467359.html


"DirecTV plans to have more than 70 HD channels when it launches its expanded HDTV package the end of the third quarter, and to have 100 HD services by the end of the year, officials said Thursday"

Is ch 3 known to have bad DD frames? My receiver is a Sony str-dg810.

Based on my experience with an ATSC capture card, every one of my captures from KVBC had some bad dolby digital frames. If I had to hazard a guess, it's probably more of a problem with their broadcast frequency (channel 2 is very susceptible to interference) than their equipment. Cox might perform better in this respect because they are supposed to get their feed from a dedicated fiber line rather than OTA.

Thanks for the info, George. I guess I can rule out my equipment, too.

I read Cox San Diego adding Natl Geographic HD channel Aug 13.... I wonder if this is national or market by market basis again and Vegas will have to wait another month or so as usual?Phoenix and Tucson got it at the end of April and Louisiana had it even before that. Which system gets new channels first seems to rotate depending on some logic that no one outside of Cox knows.

Unless Cox Cable gets its act together, Direct TV will leave them groveling in the dust. As I have long predicted.

Or not. Given the amount of inside information you have about Cox (zero), claiming anything now is premature.

Does anyone know if cable internet and DirecTV signals, coexist on the same coax cable? The internal wiring of my house will be used without issue for DirecTV, except for the one line which runs to my "media room" which has my computers and my home theater. I expect that it should be fine, as I already am splitting the coax in that room between a cable modem and an 8300HD DVR, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was an issue.

no you can't run Directv and a cable modem on the same line. You would need to connect the dish to the lines that run to TV's and a seperate line for the cable modem.

Nuts... ok, thanks.

So when did News 3 go HD? It looks good.

So when did News 3 go HD? It looks good.
I was about to come here and post the same thing. HD, new graphics, etc. I didn't notice it when I watched the morning news on Friday so it must have went online either Friday night or today - perhaps they went live on the weekend just in case there were problems, there are less viewers saturday night instead of a weeknight.

I was about to come here and post the same thing. HD, new graphics, etc. I didn't notice it when I watched the morning news on Friday so it must have went online either Friday night or today - perhaps they went live on the weekend just in case there were problems, there are less viewers saturday night instead of a weeknight.

Cool, I'll have to check out their weather ladies? Tony Danza on 8 is getting boring :D

Tony Danza on 8 is getting boring :D

rofl

So when did News 3 go HD? It looks good.

I wonder if that means they have the HD equipment to do Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune in HD as well.

Cool, I'll have to check out their weather ladies? Tony Danza on 8 is getting boring :DThey always seem to have the best luck with the weather ladies dont they.

News 3 has to do more than just go HD to attract me to it. Their reporters, forecasters, readers, etc, are the absolute worst. No talent whatsoever. Did you ever listen to how they pronounce some city names? No clue at all. For example, a small town on Long Island is named "Wantagh". The "great" Jim Snyder called it Wan (heavy on the "an", such as in Ann. And the rest of the word he pronounced as "tag"......so WANN TAG. It's pronounced Won (as in Won Ton Soup),TAH (the g is silent and the AH is pronounced as if expressing satisfaction ....ah.. So WonTah is the correct pronounciation for Wantagh. You would think that they would seek out the correct pronounciation BEFORE going on the air. I'd like to see/hear them trying to pronounce correctly, the name of a Russian musician/conductor named Gennadi Rozhdestvensky. That would be a show unto itself.

News 3 has to do more than just go HD to attract me to it. Their reporters, forecasters, readers, etc, are the absolute worst. No talent whatsoever. Did you ever listen to how they pronounce some city names? No clue at all. For example, a small town on Long Island is named "Wantagh". The "great" Jim Snyder called it Wan (heavy on the "an", such as in Ann. And the rest of the word he pronounced as "tag"......so WANN TAG. It's pronounced Won (as in Won Ton Soup),TAH (the g is silent and the AH is pronounced as if expressing satisfaction ....ah.. So WonTah is the correct pronounciation for Wantagh. You would think that they would seek out the correct pronounciation BEFORE going on the air. I'd like to see/hear them trying to pronounce correctly, the name of a Russian musician/conductor named Gennadi Rozhdestvensky. That would be a show unto itself.

What about channel 5, Faux?

Now thats not news, its entertainment. Then you have rickety cheese on 13. A good reason not to watch news 13.

Channel 8 is still the best. Paula Frances and Sherry Swenk keep it alive reguardless of the marbles in Tedd Flourendo's mouth.

Does anybody with OTA know if News 3 on CW 33 is in HD as well?

What about channel 5, Faux?

Now thats not news, its entertainment. Then you have rickety cheese on 13. A good reason not to watch news 13.

Channel 8 is still the best. Paula Frances and Sherry Swenk keep it alive reguardless of the marbles in Tedd Flourendo's mouth.

What you're really talking about is the utter "provincialism" of this city. The "local" news is actually too localized. Every friggin night, its an arrested public school teacher, a crash on the 215, the Mayor pushing one of his ridiculous projects, or the Las Vegas 51s beating/losing to CrotchRot, Utah. What about what's going in Washington, Iraq, Afghanistan, Teheran, Tel Aviv or Moscow? I know that's NOT local news. But it's a damned site more important than the "Wedding Chapels", and Britney Spears.

All the stations are terrible, but the best of the poor selections is CBS.

PS- I was sorry to hear about the passing of John Fredericks dog, Jordan. But it has had the secondary, (but salutary) affect of keeping his ugly face and his sophomoric attempts at humor off the tube.

I went to the KVBC website to see if there is an official announcement about the addition of local HD news. Not only is there no mention of it....but on Monday morning at 8:45, the top headline is "Merv Griffin in critical condition". I guess being dead for over 24 hours is pretty critical.

As for KTNV, I remember reading several months ago that they ordered all new equipment for the newsroom for an HD upgrade. I bet we'll see them go live with local HD news by the end of the year...maybe even by the fall for the new season.

As for KTNV, I remember reading several months ago that they ordered all new equipment for the newsroom for an HD upgrade. I bet we'll see them go live with local HD news by the end of the year...maybe even by the fall for the new season.

Well anything would be an upgrade from their current newscast. Their studio and production looks like something out of an high school a/v club compared to 3, 5, and 8.

Isnt KTNV building a new building next to their current studio on Valley View & Spring Mtn?

I'm from the east. And I've also spent a few years in LA. The newscasts in NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC., LA, SF, Houston, and several other large american cities put those available in Las Vegas to SHAME. And I think the reason for that must be that the networks don't actually own any of the local LV stations. Here in LV they are all privately owned, where provision of outstanding public service is way down the list in comparison to making a buck. I guarantee you, you wouldn't see any of the bilge reported on the LV local newscasts in any of the large cities I've mentioned.
There is just NO RESPECT for the intelligence of the viewer in this city. That's why LV will FOREVER, be nothing more than a city for tourists and will NEVER establish a "quality" about itself. It's a second rate city and it seems that the bigger it gets, the worse it gets.

[QUOTE=Word Maestro]What you're really talking about is the utter "provincialism" of this city. The "local" news is actually too localized. QUOTE]

That is why it is called LOCAL NEWS. Or did you miss that part while you were trying to say the name of some Russian? You want national news there are many other outlets for that every hour of the day in fact.

So when did News 3 go HD? It looks good.


personally, I prefer the HD news from channel 8 . It looks a bit more vibrant, color rich to my eyes.

Also, I did notice that The Today Show has the local time and temp on the HD broadcast now.

personally, I prefer the HD news from channel 8 . It looks a bit more vibrant, color rich to my eyes.

The biggest difference is that channel 8 seems to have a heads up on 16:9 content right now. News 3 still has a lot of segments produced in 4:3.

Also, I did notice that The Today Show has the local time and temp on the HD broadcast now.

Are you aware that except on weekends the "Today" Show is NOT presented "live" unless special circumstances prevail, such as a threat of terrorism, a death of a celebrity, or some such other reason. It is presented in NY at exactly 7AM there, Recorded for re0broadcast and presented at exactly 7AM here, which in reality is three hours after the NY presentation. So if the time shows at 7:19AM in NY, it will also show as 7:19 in Las Vegas. But its three hours later. I don't know what they do with the temperature. Although at that time of the morning, at this time of year, lets say 7;10 in NY (4:10 in Las Vegas) , the temperatures are at least comparable, if not identical. We'll see what they do in the wintertime about that when there may be a very large differential.

I got this from the TiVo Community forum - this is the list of new HD channels being launched throughout the rest of the year. Note that these dates are when the content providers are making them available to companies like Cox, D*, E*, etc. No idea if/when Cox plans on carrying any of these channels.

August
Animal Planet
Discovery
TLC
The Science Channel

September
Cinemax (MoreMAX)
HBO (HBO2, HBO Family, HBO Signature)
History
Starz (Starz Comedy, Starz Edge, and Starz Kids)
TBS
The Weather Channel

October
CNN

October/November
Cartoon Network
CNBC
FX
SciFi
USA Network

December
Tennis Channel

1Q '07
ABC Family
Disney Channel
Toon Disney
ESPNews

That is why it is called LOCAL NEWS...You want national news there are many other outlets for that every hour of the day...

+1

I prefer our local broadcasts to be mostly local interest. In this day and age, national and international news is hard to miss. You can even get it tailored to your political leanings. In fact, I get rather annoyed when the local news mirrors the mindless tripe that frequently is passed off as "real news" by national news outlets. (B. Spears, P. Hilton et all)

Again, can anybody with an OTA tuner in the valley turn to channel 33 and see if News 3 on CW 33 is being transmitted in HD.

Again, can anybody with an OTA tuner in the valley turn to channel 33 and see if News 3 on CW 33 is being transmitted in HD.

It is 4:3 on 33.1.

I prefer our local broadcasts to be mostly local interest.


Certainly. That would be fine with me as well. But the key word in your statement is "interest".

What's interesting about a wreck on the 215? (Unless of course you or a loved one is involved in it)
They occur every hour, on the hour seven days a week.

Whats interesting about the Mayors latest project?
He's got a different one for every week, month and season

What's interesting about the most recently arrested public school teacher?
NOTHING!! Unless he (or she) has been indicted, convicted and sentenced. Until then, that person is INNOCENT. So where's the story? Except for the fact that it's a juicy piece of gossip.

What's interesting about one of the news anchors on News 3 last night that said the weather will be sunny but cloudy? Well at least it was good for a laugh.

Whats interesting about talentless, news READERS, masquerading as news anchors?

What's interesting about a news reader, who goes absolutely silent when his/her teleprompter fails.

What's interesting about watching a news reader read the news, NOT apparently having read it previously? Doesn't make for a very smooth, professional looking presentation.

What's interesting about the "small talk" made between the news readers when they have air time to fill?
This happens more often than not, because of poor production values and poor (or non- existent) stage managers and program directors. It's ALL a shambles. And being in HD won't save it.

Las Vegas HD Channel Guide 8/14/07

Updated for new channel launches on Dish Network.

Note for DirecTV: soon denotes existing HD channels expected to launch in September when D10 becomes operational


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 soon 9419
Animal Planet soon 9489
Discovery soon 9487
Discovery HD Theater 700 76 9421 555
ESPN 704 73 9424 550
ESPN2 705 72 9425
Food Network HD soon 9462
HDNet 79 9422
HDNet Movies 78 9423
HGTV HD soon 9461
Mojo 706
MHD 725 soon 9469
National Geographic soon 9429 570
Science Channel soon 9490
TLC soon 9488
TNT 709 75 9420 565
Universal HD 708 74 9427 560

Specialty Sports
------------------
NFL Network HD soon 9464
Golf/Versus HD soon 9468


RSNs
------------------
FSN West soon 367
FSN Prime Ticket soon 361
FSN Arizona soon 365
FSN Bay Area soon

Sports Subscriptions
------------------
MLB Extra Innings HD no 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 soon 9458* 530
Showtime HD 720 71* 9460* 520
Starz HD 721 soon 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

Are you aware that except on weekends the "Today" Show is NOT presented "live" unless special circumstances prevail, such as a threat of terrorism, a death of a celebrity, or some such other reason. It is presented in NY at exactly 7AM there, Recorded for re0broadcast and presented at exactly 7AM here, which in reality is three hours after the NY presentation. So if the time shows at 7:19AM in NY, it will also show as 7:19 in Las Vegas. But its three hours later. I don't know what they do with the temperature. Although at that time of the morning, at this time of year, lets say 7;10 in NY (4:10 in Las Vegas) , the temperatures are at least comparable, if not identical. We'll see what they do in the wintertime about that when there may be a very large differential.

I realize that The Today Show is on tape delay by three hours under normal circumstances. But the time and temp is generated locally and inserted over the Today Show graphic. You are always seeing the Las Vegas time and temperature on KVBC's broadcast. Up until this week though, the time and temp was only on the SD broadcast, not on the HD broadcast. Now that the upgraded equipment is in place, the time and temp is now on both the SD and HD broadcast.

GeorgeLV,

I'm very heartened to see that Direct TV has good enough "taste" NOT to include that abominable "Mojo" station in its HD lineup. Shows you the LACK of "taste and class" that Cox Cable has.

When did channel 8 get an HD Helicopter? It's pretty awesome.

What's interesting about a wreck on the 215? (Unless of course you or a loved one is involved in it)
They occur every hour, on the hour seven days a week.
It could provide an explanation of why someone is late, or give you the option of choosing another route.

Whats interesting about the Mayors latest project?
He's got a different one for every week, month and season
It's called NEWS. I assume you find the 9.5 Billion dollar Pulse project boring. Perhaps we should have the news directors and the mayors' office all check with you, to see if its worth mentioning.

What's interesting about the most recently arrested public school teacher?
NOTHING!! Unless he (or she) has been indicted, convicted and sentenced. Until then, that person is INNOCENT. So where's the story? Except for the fact that it's a juicy piece of gossip.
It would be interesting to a parent who had a child at the school, or in his/her class. I agree the rush to judgement is vastly overblown, but its still NEWS when an adult in a position of authority abuses our children.

What's interesting about one of the news anchors on News 3 last night that said the weather will be sunny but cloudy? Well at least it was good for a laugh.
Nothing really, I assume you hate the new local 24hour weather channels as well? If so, I agree with you. But national weather is far less interesting or relevant to local viewers.

Whats interesting about talentless, news READERS, masquerading as news anchors?
Nothing, but if they were focusing on national stories, you'ld find them ok?

What's interesting about a news reader, who goes absolutely silent when his/her teleprompter fails.
Would you prefer they make something up? Perhaps you expect the entire newscast to be committed to memory every night? I suppose such a situation in a national news cast would be different?

What's interesting about watching a news reader read the news, NOT apparently having read it previously? Doesn't make for a very smooth, professional looking presentation.
Damn them for their imperfections eh? It must be nice to be perfect.

What's interesting about the "small talk" made between the news readers when they have air time to fill?
This happens more often than not, because of poor production values and poor (or non- existent) stage managers and program directors. It's ALL a shambles. And being in HD won't save it.
The view must be nice from the cheap seats. I suppose you could do better?

When did channel 8 get an HD Helicopter? It's pretty awesome.
A few weeks ago, I happen to be watching the morning they started using it. I noticed it has a back row of seats, I wonder if they take people for rides or if they just needed a heli capable of lifting all that HD gear into the air.

The view must be nice from the cheap seats. I suppose you could do better?

Of course I couldn't. But then again, I don't try to do a job which I'm incapable of doing correctly, professionally and successfully.
Too bad that our LOCAL news readers, weather forecasters, and assorted other "imposters", don't operate in a similar manner.

Las Vegas HD Channel Guide 8/14/07

Updated for new channel launches on Dish Network.

Note for DirecTV: soon denotes existing HD channels expected to launch in September when D10 becomes operational


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 soon 9419
Animal Planet soon 9489
Discovery soon 9487
Discovery HD Theater 700 76 9421 555
ESPN 704 73 9424 550
ESPN2 705 72 9425
Food Network HD soon 9462
HDNet 79 9422
HDNet Movies 78 9423
HGTV HD soon 9461
Mojo 706
MHD 725 soon 9492
National Geographic soon 9429 570
Science Channel soon 9490
TLC soon 9488
TNT 709 75 9420 565
Universal HD 708 74 9427 560

Specialty Sports
------------------
NFL Network HD soon 9464
Golf/Versus HD soon 9468


RSNs
------------------
FSN West soon 367
FSN Prime Ticket soon 361
FSN Arizona soon
FSN Bay Area soon

Sports Subscriptions
------------------
MLB Extra Innings HD no 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 soon 9458* 530
Showtime HD 720 71* 9460* 520
Starz HD 721 soon 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

George, FSN Arizona HD is available on E* on channel 365.

Of course I couldn't. But then again, I don't try to do a job which I'm incapable of doing correctly, professionally and successfully.
Too bad that our LOCAL news readers, weather forecasters, and assorted other "imposters", don't operate in a similar manner.

I'm with you, Word. There are some local news readers that are virtually fresh from their high school journalism class. I hope their teachers weren't responsible for encouraging their choice of careers. At least channel 3 seems to be a bit ahead of schedule for going HD in the newsroom. I haven't checked yet, but do the two gameshows (Jeopardy and WOF) now have HD presentation?

BTW, I read in the NORM column a week ago or so that Kevin Janison, the long time channel 8 award winning weatherman , (who got unceremonially dumped by that station for a pretty face) , is going to be doing the evening weathercast for Channel 3 starting in a couple of weeks. Welcome back Kevin!

Nice, good he found gainful employment again. I didn't think KVBC would keep Santos as their prime time weatherman...

George, FSN Arizona HD is available on E* on channel 365.

Yes, but last I heard, Dish Network has different blackout rules that DirecTV and the D'backs were blacked out. If that's not the case, I'll go ahead and correct it.

I haven't checked yet, but do the two gameshows (Jeopardy and WOF) now have HD presentation?

Not yet.

It's really good to know that a heroic women like Sue Manterras of News 3 is "watching out for us". It makes me feel so safe and comfortable.
UGH, PUKE, RETCH.!!

Yes, but last I heard, Dish Network has different blackout rules that DirecTV and the D'backs were blacked out. If that's not the case, I'll go ahead and correct it.

It's not blacked out. Of the "local" RSN's, only FSN Bay Area is blacked out on E*.

Las Vegas HD Channel Guide 8/14/07

Updated for new channel launches on Dish Network.

Note for DirecTV: soon denotes existing HD channels expected to launch in September when D10 becomes operational

Note on a recent press release D* announced they will have the following (just to add to your list):

Starz Edge, Starz Comedy, Starz Kids & Family plus Starz's East and West coast HD feeds.

HBO West, HBO2 West, HBO2 East, HBO Family East, HBO Family West, HBO Latino, HBO Signature, Cinemax East, Cinemax West and MoreMax. (Some available Setember...others added as they roll out to years end.)

Showtime (West coast)

Bear in mind you must have D*'s 5LNB dish and either the H20 or HR20 box to receive the new channels.

If one were to contact D* and order the HR20DVR, what's the approximate time it is now taking between the time of placing the order and installation?

If one were to contact D* and order the HR20DVR, what's the approximate time it is now taking between the time of placing the order and installation?

For me, it was the same weekend I ordered. However, I suspect there may be delays forthcoming due to the impending launch of the new channels and the annual Sunday Ticket rush.

If one were to contact D* and order the HR20DVR, what's the approximate time it is now taking between the time of placing the order and installation?

At order I had an option for 2 days after online order. Insure you get the slimline dish (also necessary for the new HD's).

The one negative is the HR20 requires two coaxials (one for each tuner). I couldn't do it due to interior walls and appearance factors. They will have (perhaps by years end) a SWM (single wire multiswitch) that allows multiple signals through a single line. It's being tested now (I read at DBSTalk) and a very slow roll-out (I was told by CSRs). I'll wait...in the meantime I can't one channel and record a 2nd. Life is tough LOL.

If one were to contact D* and order the HR20DVR, what's the approximate time it is now taking between the time of placing the order and installation?


Right now the wait is about 1 1/2 to 2 weeks, at least that's what I was quoted. Just take whatever date D* gives you then call Ironwood Communications directly at 364-8528. Ask if you can get an earlier date and you will more than likely get one. I had two separate appointments this month, an install and a quick troubleshooting visit, where D* gave me dates 2 weeks out. Each time I called Ironwood and got an appointment within 4 days.

If one were to contact D* and order the HR20DVR, what's the approximate time it is now taking between the time of placing the order and installation?

If I were to try to reschedule my install date (which is tomorrow) the next date available is Sep 26.

FWIW, there might be an opening tomorrow if the installers want a lot to install our Hr20 in an interior location. I might just say screw it, and stick with Cox.

If I were to try to reschedule my install date (which is tomorrow) the next date available is Sep 26.

FWIW, there might be an opening tomorrow if the installers want a lot to install our Hr20 in an interior location. I might just say screw it, and stick with Cox.

When you say "interior" location, I assume you mean inside some cabinetry. You wouldn't want it installed outdoors, would you?

When you say "interior" location, I assume you mean inside some cabinetry. You wouldn't want it installed outdoors, would you?

No, a location not on or near an exterior wall.

No, a location not on or near an exterior wall.
I had a similar problem when I lived in Henderson. I had the installer run the cables through an exterior wall into a closet, tack the cables to the closet baseboard and bring them through the opposite closet wall and connect to a wall plate. From there, I used some very thin--@1/8" antenna cable (made by Monster) which I then ran under the carpeting into the interior room and brought it up behind my a/v cabinet.
Now this was when I had the hr10-250. I don't know if this cable is capable of handling the signals for the hr20-700/100, but I would assume it is.
If you don't have carpeting all the way from an exterior wall, the cable is very unobtrusive so it can be run along a baseboard. This cable is not cheap, but it did work well for me.
I think the only place I found it was at Ultimate Electronics.

Good luck,
Rick

btw, the Ironwood guy was very co-operative, as were all of the installers I've dealt with from Ironwood.

Nice changes to the forum.. much easier on the eyes!!

Nice changes to the forum.. much easier on the eyes!!

You think so? I really prefered the old look. The darker colors were a little easier on my sixty year old eyes.

Scroll all the way down and at the very bottom left is a click-down menu where you can choose AVS Forum, AVS Forum black or AVS Forum Retro.

I swtiched it back to the retro look.

Scroll all the way down and at the very bottom left is a click-down menu where you can choose AVS Forum, AVS Forum black or AVS Forum Retro.

I swtiched it back to the retro look.

Thanks. The white was killing me! :)

I just purchased the WD My DVR Expander from the Western Digital Store. It will add 500GB to the SA8300HD. With the fall premiers coming up, I don't want to have to pick and choose which new series I give a shot to. I'm sure The Bionic Woman and Cavemen will probably be pretty bad...but I gotta see the upcoming trainwrecks in beautiful HD for myself. :D

I should get the drive next week and will give a review once I've hooked it up.

WD My DVR Expander LINK (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=334)

Scroll all the way down and at the very bottom left is a click-down menu where you can choose AVS Forum, AVS Forum black or AVS Forum Retro.

I swtiched it back to the retro look.

My right eye thanks you, my left eye thanks you, and I thank you!!!

You think so? I really prefered the old look. The darker colors were a little easier on my sixty year old eyes.

What's killing me is that the text is way too small now on my widescreen monitor. Changing the settings in the browser does nothing.

I have no problems increasing font size - CTRL + and CTRL - to change the font size (at least in Firefox - and if you aren't using Firefox, you should be).

The text size issue seems to be corrected now.

What happened to the "spell checker?"

What happened to the "spell checker?"

I use Firefox so I don't need a spell check since it's built in.

I asked cox if they would be adding any of the HD channels listed a few pages back. It doesn't look good. :mad: I'm considering going to D for the football season and the HD future.

Response:

Thank you for contacting Cox Communications. Cox is committed to providing the best customer service possible.

We have no immediate plans to launch these channels. However, we are constantly evaluating our line-up in an effort to maintain customer satisfaction.

To request that a channel be added, enter your request at http://www.cox.com/LasVegas/ChannelRequest.asp

You will be contacted directly when the channel(s) will be added to our lineup. We value your feedback and work very hard to offer a variety of channels to meet the needs of our customers.

Please note that there are many factors we consider when choosing to add or delete programming. These factors include programming costs, programming ratings, customer requests and the effect the addition or subtraction will have on the remaining line-up.

If you have any further questions, contact Cox Communications at http://www.cox.com/support/lasvegas/contactsup/.
All emails are responded to within 24 hours. You may also contact Cox Customer Care at 702.383.4000.

I'm considering going to D for the football season and the HD future.

After years of having Cox, I've switched to DirecTV. I find Cox's picture quality to be much better than DirecTV, but NFL Sunday Ticket and all those upcoming HD Channels look far better on DirecTV that the blank screen I'd get on Cox.

I think Cox will have a lot of defections once D* goes live with all their new HD channels and it becomes known. A lot of people have paid a lot of money for their new HDTVs and will want a better return on their investment than what Cox can give them.

At order I had an option for 2 days after online order. Insure you get the slimline dish (also necessary for the new HD's).

The one negative is the HR20 requires two coaxials (one for each tuner). I couldn't do it due to interior walls and appearance factors. They will have (perhaps by years end) a SWM (single wire multiswitch) that allows multiple signals through a single line. It's being tested now (I read at DBSTalk) and a very slow roll-out (I was told by CSRs). I'll wait...in the meantime I can't one channel and record a 2nd. Life is tough LOL.

Both OTA tuners are available with a single wire connection. You can record OTA and watch SAT, record 2 OTAs or record 1 OTA and 1 Sat. I'm limping along with this and it works for the most part. Only problem I have is when it records SAT, I can't watch MLB EI in HD...

I just purchased the WD My DVR Expander from the Western Digital Store. It will add 500GB to the SA8300HD. With the fall premiers coming up, I don't want to have to pick and choose which new series I give a shot to. I'm sure The Bionic Woman and Cavemen will probably be pretty bad...but I gotta see the upcoming trainwrecks in beautiful HD for myself. :D

I should get the drive next week and will give a review once I've hooked it up.

WD My DVR Expander LINK (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=334)

I installed the DVR Expander last night and it was easy as pie. I started with 57% Used...and am now at 11% Used. Installation was a breeze with only one small hiccup. I unplugged the 8300HD, plugged the DVR Expander to the eSata port to the 8300HD and powered everthing up. Once the 8300HD booted up, it asked if I wanted to format the new external drive. I clicked the A button...but I still didn't see the extra space yet. So I unplugged the 8300HD, waited about 30 seconds and powered it back up. There was a quick screen showing that it saw the external drive and that was it. Now the 8300HD shows that only 11% of the recording space is used. Woo Hoo!!

Now I don't have to worry about running low on space because I'm recording three different movies from the HD premium channels this weekend.

Now if we can just get some of those new HD channels that every other Cox market seems to already be getting.

After years of having Cox, I've switched to DirecTV. I find Cox's picture quality to be much better than DirecTV.

What are the deficiencies that you see in the D* picture that you don't see in the Cox picture? You said Cox is "much better". In what ways?
Also did you get the HR20 or the HR20 DVR?

What are the deficiencies that you see in the D* picture that you don't see in the Cox picture? You said Cox is "much better". In what ways?
Also did you get the HR20 or the HR20 DVR?

Most of my observations are on a Panisonic 50in plasma, with an 8300HD and an H20 HD Receiver. I make no claims to technical expertise or even high end enthusiasm.

Macroblocking in HD is definitely more prevalent on the H20 vs the 8300HD. I was watching an HD NFL broadcast on CBS so the picture should have been 1080i, my TV's native resolution. Both the 8300HD and the H20 were connected directly to the TV, and I switched the HDMI and Component connections between the two boxes to cover both bases. While the HD picture on the H20 is ok, the 8300HD looked to be more "luxurious". I also miss PBSHD which I can't get on DirecTV.

The major difference is in SD viewing. SD broadcasts on the 8300HD were ok to pretty good. In ALL instances, SD broadcasts on the H20 are "blah" to flat out awful. Detail is a thing of the past, everything is fuzzy. Everything in SD looks like slightly better than a youtube clip.

I only took the time to make direct comparisons using this TV, I suppose I should have done the same on the Pioneer 60" and the Sony 34". SD on the Pioneer looks pretty lame as well. The Sony handles things much better which is no surprise to me. The PQ on the HR20 DVR seems lacking to the 8300HD which had been connected to the Sony. PQ is definitely sharper on the Sony/HR20 than the Panny/H20. No doubt, its mainly because we're talking HD Tube vs. Plasma.

All in all tho, I'm going to stick with DirecTV for awhile because NFL Sunday Ticket and the HD content they will provide. Cox et all can definitely consider us a casualty to their not winning the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket. The aforementioned macroblocking is infinitely better than nothing at all or SD substitutions. We've put far too much money into HD equipment to be swayed by SD broadcasts. For us, the ship has sailed on SD.

The locals in HD should look better on the 8300HD. Vegggas has said many times that Cox passes through whatever is being broadasts over the air with no additional data compression. The only thing happening at Cox's end is a conversion to QAM. So if KLAS channel 8 is sending 14 mbps on their HD, so is Cox for channel 730.

It's also widely known that D* is recompressing the HD feeds of the locals to save bandwidth. It's been talked about numerous times on AVS Forums. The more D* compresses the data....the more detail that is lost; and you'll notice more macroblocking, especially on fast-moving action scenes.

Wouldn't the locals look better using the over the air antenna connection on the back of the D* receiver?. I got the H10 a couple of years ago when I first suscribed to Sunday Ticket. The OTA antenna jack on back is working and I can pull in almost every local for "free" (no $3 upcharge) , although I still mainly watch the locals with Cox.

I don't use Directv at home, but I just installed a slimline dish (AU9 mpeg4 dish) and the high definition H20 at work. Did anyone on here do their own install for the HR-20 or H20?

I have a couple questions.


During the satellite setup on the receiver, do I say it is a 5 LNB dish, or a 3 LNB oval?
I am receiving all the transponders (on a 3 LNB setup) at 65-80%, is that solid enough?
All the HD Channels are fine EXCEPT I don't get the HD locals. I have the local package, so I don't know whats going on.
Does anyone know the Satellite and transponder that the LV HD Locals are on?


Thanks!

I don't use Directv at home, but I just installed a slimline dish (AU9 mpeg4 dish) and the high definition H20 at work. Did anyone on here do their own install for the HR-20 or H20?

I have a couple questions.


During the satellite setup on the receiver, do I say it is a 5 LNB dish, or a 3 LNB oval?
I am receiving all the transponders (on a 3 LNB setup) at 65-80%, is that solid enough?
All the HD Channels are fine EXCEPT I don't get the HD locals. I have the local package, so I don't know whats going on.
Does anyone know the Satellite and transponder that the LV HD Locals are on?


Thanks!


Nevermind on the whole thing. I went back into setup, selected 5 LNB, let it go through all the transponders, and it worked this time. I must have also had a satellite fairy on the roof because my signal levels jumped about 15-20%. I have the locals in HD, and better signal.

Thanks for all the help! ;)

Cox Gears Up HD Boost With Switched Digital Video


http://multichannel.com/article/CA6470803.html

The SARA version is 1.59.19.1.
Does that sound right? Some of the other people I have read about here seem to have a newer version.

And on the COPY PROTECTION info screen, the box says the firewire ports are disabled. I thought they were supposed to be usable.

If I need to specify any more info, let me know.

Cox Gears Up HD Boost With Switched Digital Video


http://multichannel.com/article/CA6470803.html

TiVo better hurry up with their SDV fix...

I'm back in town again after a lengthy work tour and still playing catch-up on all the HD news.
Here's a tidbit from this mornings LVRJ.
http://www.legalnotice.org/pl/reviewjournal/ShowNotice.aspx
NOTICE to COX Communications Customers: Sept. 28, 2007 Cox Communications is adding to their HD channel lineup the following networks: National Geographic, chan- nel 702; The History Channel, channel 703 and A&E, channel 707. PUB: August 28, 2007 LV Review-Journal
I'll post more info later as I get details.

vegggas

Thats great news..every little bit helps. How did they make room without SDV. As far as I've read Cox is only rolling out SDV piecemeal over the next several months and I don't think LV is one of the markets ready for it??

That's good to hear vegggas. I'm just glad that the cable companies have to use the cable cards in their boxes now too. Cox sent out a firmware update for the cards and one of the cards in my mom's TiVo wouldn't upgrade to the new version and locked the TiVo out from viewing Live TV at all. So she called Cox and they told her that it would be a week before they could come out to look at it. So I took the card out and reran guided setup so she could at least use the thing again. So Sunday night I popped the broken card back in and started guided setup again since Cox was coming out yesterday to fix it. The guy shows up yesterday puts a new card in says he don't know how to fix it and that some other guy has to come out tomorrow to fix it. At least the appointment tonight is late enough I can be there to walk the guy through getting the numbers so he can pair the card. If this would of been a box and not a cablecard I could of had her take the box back and get a new one the next day. It really bothers me that Cox treats their cable card customers like second class subscribers.

vegggas, what about KVCW and KVMY? Cox announced a retransmit agreement ages ago.

Well Cox showed up at my parents house. At first there were two of them, but they must of called their buddy that actually had some cablecards, but has never used them. One of the techs knew about cablecards in general but the other two had no clue. The guy that had the card said they gave them to him but he didn't know what to do with them. So they did what I told them to do which was call in and pair the card to the machine. Rebooted it and it works now. If Cox isn't going to bother to train their own people why won't they just give me a card. I can read two numbers to someone over the phone. Directv has been doing this for years.

According to AVS member Bschneider who apparantly has a DirecTV engineering receiver, 79 new HD channels are currently uplinked in engineering mode.

9800 CSTV
9801 FSN Midwest
9802 FSN Bay Area
9803 FSN Houston
9804 Disney Channel
9805 Animal Planet
9806 FSN North
9807 FSN New England
9808 FX
9809 Toon Disney
9810 ESPN News
9811 FSN Northwest
9812 FSN New York
9813 The 101
9814 Cinemax HD
9815 National Georaphic
9816 FSN Pittsburgh
9817 MSG
9818 MTV
9819 HBO West
9820 NBA TV
9821 FSN Rocky Mountain
9822 SportsNet New York
9823 A&E
9824 Starz Edge
9825 NFL Network
9826 FSN South
9827 YES
9828 Starz West
9829 Starz East
9830 NHL
9831 FSN Southwest
9832 Science Channel
9833 History Channel
9834 Showtime West
9835 Outdoor
9836 FSN West
9827 SportsSouth
9838 Discovery
9839 Movie Channel
9840 Tennis Channel
9841 FSN Prime Ticket
9842 Speed
9843 Fuel
9844 HGTV
9845 Spike
9846 Sun Sports
9847 Starz Comedy
9848 Big Ten
9849 CNN
9850 Comcast SportsNet Chicago
9851 FSN Ohio
9852 Sho Too
9853 The Weather Channel
9854 TBS
9855 Cartoon Network
9856 FSN Cincinnati
9857 Starz Kids & Family
9858 Bravo
9859 Comedy Central
9860 Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
9861 FSN Florida
9862 TLC
9863 CSN West
9864 Versus
9865 MASN/ SportsTime Ohio
9866 Altitude
9867 Cinemax West
9863 Sci-Fi
9869 MHD
9870 FSN Arizona
9871 Chiller/ SAC MNT
9872 ABC Family
9873 USA Network
9874 Nickelodeon East
9875 FSN Detroit
9876 NESN
9877 CNBC
9878 The Food Network
9879 VH1

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=11463534&postcount=889

I guess Cox has a lot of catching up to do.
IMO, they will NEVER catch Direct TV.

Sure they will. Once they knock off all the analog stations they could easily add these.

Yeah..but by the time they do that they will have already lost many suscribers. Even with the supposed "50 hd channels" promised by year end by Cox it still wont match up to D*. I will be interested in the Mpeg 4 quality reviews.

I guess Cox has a lot of catching up to do.
IMO, they will NEVER catch Direct TV.

They probably could catch up, if they decided to throw PQ out the window and compress everything like Direct TV.

They probably could catch up, if they decided to throw PQ out the window and compress everything like Direct TV.

So how do you know what DirecTV is going to do with these new MPEG4 sats?

So how do you know what DirecTV is going to do with these new MPEG4 sats?

I'm guessing they are going to offer a ton more HD, that Cox has no chance of matching on their network, unless they start compressing their content like DirecTV. Of course, doing so will lessen PQ, so its a decision to offer quantity vs quality.

I'm guessing they are going to offer a ton more HD, that Cox has no chance of matching on their network, unless they start compressing their content like DirecTV. Of course, doing so will lessen PQ, so its a decision to offer quantity vs quality.

An irony of changing technologies is that Cox's PQ will decrease unless they start "compressing it like DirecTV." Are you aware that many new HD channels (the HBO suite is already confirmed) will actually originate in mpeg4? The tables will turn and it will be the cable companies stuck on mpeg2 platforms that are sacrificing PQ by transcoding content.

But the thing we don't know is how Directv is going to compress all this new stuff. I think they are starting out with like half the number of channels the sat can hold so I think they will keep the bit rates up. There's no good reason not to.

I'm guessing they are going to offer a ton more HD, that Cox has no chance of matching on their network, unless they start compressing their content like DirecTV. Of course, doing so will lessen PQ, so its a decision to offer quantity vs quality.

You speak as if D*s picture is unwatchable. Which it certainly isn't.
I don't spend my time staring at the screen looking for every conceivable pixel and for the ability to read "One Wilshire" behind J. Leno. If I were to rate Cox's picture on a scale of 1:10, and I were to give it the highest possible rating (10), then Direct Tvs picture would receive a 9.95 on the same scale. Plenty good enough for people with normal eyesight. With no discernible diminution in PQ.

You speak as if D*s picture is unwatchable. Which it certainly isn't... Plenty good enough for people with normal eyesight. With no discernible diminution in PQ.

Unwatchable? No

Good Enough? Yes

Discernible Diminution? Easily

IMO, if Cox is 10, then DirecTV is 7.

I have both D* and Cox and I admit, at present, the pic quality is better with Cox. But any HD is a lot better than even the best analog so the more HD channels the better, period .

I have both D* and Cox and I admit, at present, the pic quality is better with Cox. But any HD is a lot better than even the best analog so the more HD channels the better, period .

Agreed

IMO, if Cox is 10, then DirecTV is 7.
I have a different opinion.

New "Slim Libe" Dish vs. 5 LNB Dish i got 1 year ago...

any reason to change/upgrade to this new slim one?

I Kinda need some fast answers, installer will be here tomorrow.

New "Slim Libe" Dish vs. 5 LNB Dish i got 1 year ago...

any reason to change/upgrade to this new slim one?

I Kinda need some fast answers, installer will be here tomorrow.

No, it just looks prettier.

An irony of changing technologies is that Cox's PQ will decrease unless they start "compressing it like DirecTV." Are you aware that many new HD channels (the HBO suite is already confirmed) will actually originate in mpeg4? The tables will turn and it will be the cable companies stuck on mpeg2 platforms that are sacrificing PQ by transcoding content.Sure it might originate as MPEG4, but Cox reencoding to 1920x1080 18mbit/s MPEG2 will still be better than D* reencoding to 1440x1080 7mbit/s MPEG4.

Sure it might originate as MPEG4, but Cox reencoding to 1920x1080 18mbit/s MPEG2 will still be better than D* reencoding to 1440x1080 7mbit/s MPEG4.

It's only a matter of days until the new satellite lights up. Let's reserve our judgment until we see it in action.

As soon as the sat providers provide more, the "COX HAS SUPERIOR PQ" argument comes about.

That is so much BS unless you are a minority in the list of subs who have a screen > 60 inches and sit very close to the TV.

The truth is for most HD owners, the PQ is hardly any difference between the two.

The truth is for most HD owners, the PQ is hardly any difference between the two.

Thanks for the very first sensible thing I've seen you write.

"Thanks for the very first sensible thing I've seen you write".

an insult hidden in a compliment. let's keep it friendly, ok?

Laszlo5.... there has been longstanding strong banter between some members in this forum and most here are used to some sly insults every now and then. Most of us have pretty thick skin here. Sometimes it can add a little spice to the mundane periods of blah postings. :)

Originally Posted by Turd
New "Slim Libe" Dish vs. 5 LNB Dish i got 1 year ago...

any reason to change/upgrade to this new slim one?

I Kinda need some fast answers, installer will be here tomorrow.

I upgraded to the slim dish, and noticed that it has a slot for a future installation of 2 more future LNBs. Which would then make it a 7 LNB dish.

Laszlo5.... there has been longstanding strong banter between some members in this forum and most here are used to some sly insults every now and then. Most of us have pretty thick skin here. Sometimes it can add a little spice to the mundane periods of blah postings. :)

yuck fu, speak for yourself :D:D:D:D:p

My Erect Tv is better than your Cox....NA....NA na.na...NA

To all you Cox guys with HD DVRs, does Cox charge you an additional $4.95/mo for the HD DVR's second tuner in the form of an additional outlet fee? Cox has told me that they don't charge it and they do charge it from two different billing people. I'm writing a complaint to the FCC over the BS fees they charge cable card customers and I need to make sure I have my facts straight.

Here is the fee for an 8300:

DIGITAL SERVICE/DIGITAL GATEWAY 1 @ 7.62
DIGITAL CONVERTER - DVR/HD 1 @ 5.25
COX DIGITAL VIDEO RECORDER SERVICE 1 @ 9.99

So in all you pay 22.86 on top of:

COX LIMITED BASIC 1 @ 10.91
COX EXPANDED SERVICE 1 @ 34.58

or what ever other packages you have.

Does this help?

To all you Cox guys with HD DVRs, does Cox charge you an additional $4.95/mo for the HD DVR's second tuner in the form of an additional outlet fee? Cox has told me that they don't charge it and they do charge it from two different billing people. I'm writing a complaint to the FCC over the BS fees they charge cable card customers and I need to make sure I have my facts straight.

This is not the way the cable co's word it, but in laymans terms, here you go.

There is a license fee appliled to each digital device's MAC address that is put onto the digital router to allow services by the manufacturer. Each cable card or digital device has a unique mac address that has to be licensed on the router to allow services to be recieved. The 8300 and all dual tuner SA STB's only have a single authentication and MAC address and require a single license fee. The 8300HDC, which uses a multistream cable card still only has a single mac address. All 3rd party devices with cablecards at this time are only capable of using single stream cards, so each tuner would need a unique card and MAC address and license fee for each card.
The New TivoHD is the first 3rd party device that may accept multistream cards when they become available in many locals, but initial shipments were made and paired to STB's from the factory to comply with the July Mandate requireing new STB's to use seperable security for decryption. As multistream cards become available TivoHD users may request a multistream card but older devices may never be compatible with multistream cards and require a seperate card and license for each tuner.

vegggas

As soon as the sat providers provide more, the "COX HAS SUPERIOR PQ" argument comes about.

That is so much BS unless you are a minority in the list of subs who have a screen > 60 inches and sit very close to the TV.

The truth is for most HD owners, the PQ is hardly any difference between the two.

I already saw the "Pepsi Challenge" style ads on TV where they pour cola into two glasses and say how even sat users preferred the quality of cable to sat.

vegggas

This is not the way the cable co's word it, but in laymans terms, here you go.

There is a license fee appliled to each digital device's MAC address that is put onto the digital router to allow services by the manufacturer. Each cable card or digital device has a unique mac address that has to be licensed on the router to allow services to be recieved. The 8300 and all dual tuner SA STB's only have a single authentication and MAC address and require a single license fee. The 8300HDC, which uses a multistream cable card still only has a single mac address. All 3rd party devices with cablecards at this time are only capable of using single stream cards, so each tuner would need a unique card and MAC address and license fee for each card.
The New TivoHD is the first 3rd party device that may accept multistream cards when they become available in many locals, but initial shipments were made and paired to STB's from the factory to comply with the July Mandate requireing new STB's to use seperable security for decryption. As multistream cards become available TivoHD users may request a multistream card but older devices may never be compatible with multistream cards and require a seperate card and license for each tuner.

vegggas

Well at least I can get a straight answer about how things work from soneone. Even if I still think its BS and they should give me a $4.95/mo credit on my bill in perpetuity instead of this double standard BS.

I asked the lady in Video support about getting an M-Card and she didnt have the foggiest clue about WTF I was talking about. I'll call later this week and hope for someone brighter to pick up the phone.

Don't ever expect anyone at Cox to know anything about the cable cards. They didn't even bother training the techs on how to use them. I showed three of them last week how they work. The one guy that had the cards told me that they gave him the cards and he had no clue what they were for or how to use them. The real sham is that they won't let you pick them up at the office like they do all the other STB's. Now before Vegggas comes on and says that the guy needs to be there to make sure the auth went through right I can tell the person on the phone that yes channel 700 comes in and so does 200 if you have HBO. Directv has been doing this for years. Also I'm pretty sure the Series 3 TiVo not just the new TiVoHD can use the M-Card's. They might need a software update though. I also told the guy how I've had my Sony SD TiVo running since around 2000 and he was shocked that it was still running after all that time. I guess it shows you how good the SA hardware really is.

But to answer your question doormat yes they charge you a digital gateway fee and rental fee for each cablecard you have.

Well it looks like those with DVRs with two tuners dont get screwed with the additional charge.. more BS from Cox! On to file my complaint with the FCC...

Well it looks like those with DVRs with two tuners dont get screwed with the additional charge.. more BS from Cox! On to file my complaint with the FCC...

It's a single device (dual tuner DVR), so it has a single MAC address, so it's a single license charge. All other devices need a device for each tuner, so there is a license required for each device based on the licenseing fees of the manufacturer. You didn't mention your hardware requirement, but if it's Tivo, they are working on getting the S3 to be able to use multistream cards, like the TivoHD can. Now, as SA and Moto work on manufacturing multistream cards, they will be available to those devices in time, but most of the inventory is tied with pairings for non-integrated STB's.
The monthly licensing fees are there so that smaller systems and cable co's have access to similar or the same equipment as larger systems and cable co's and have to pay monthly royalties for every digital device connected rather than million$ up front in hardware costs.

vegggas

So vegggas are you saying the digital gateway is a licensing fee or just the fee they charge for the card?

So vegggas are you saying the digital gateway is a licensing fee or just the fee they charge for the card?

The way I envision it, It is a licensing fee applied by the manufacturer of the digital router equipment so that fees are paid by usage rather than upfront costs. That way, a multi-million dollar piece of hardware can be used by a small cable company without the outlay of cash, but the vendor gets paid based on usage. Equal upstart costs among cable co's of varying sizes allows the vendor to supply similar equipment to various sized systems, but allow them to recoup costs in the long term with licensing fees. It's highy possible that larger systems can use more upfront cash to pay down per device licensing fees than smaller systems so that they can be paid off earlier, but most high dollar equipment would be licensed rather than purchased and obsolete.
Like Tivo, you gotta pay the fees to keep the support and updates active.

vegggas

I think maybe you misunderstood the question. Is the digital gateway the licensing fee you are talking about or is the licensing fee included in the monthly charge for the card. I always thought the digital gateway fee was for the programming you get like all those Discovery channels.

As I see it;
The digital gateway would be the licensing fee for each digital device. A digital gateway is required as the minumum fee if you do not subscribe to a digital package, to cover the cost of the licensing, which includes the gateway fee for the first included digital device. Additional devices would require the digital gateway/additional digital outlet/licensing fee prices to pay for the licensing.
The monthly rental price of the card, is the lease price of the equipment, which runs about $150 - $200 per cablecard as some users have had to pre-purchase (but do not own) cards on smaller systems without inventory. They still have to pay the digital licensing fees that allow for the MAC address to be authenticated.
ref - http://www.cox.com/lasvegas/digitalcable/pricing.asp

vegggas

After re-reading both posts, take a look at the link in the previous post.
A digital gateway @ $5 does NOT include any programming.
Digital Gateway - (Does not include any tiers or Discovery Channels) $5.00
45 channels of Music Choice, 6 Talk Radio Networks, Access to Entertainment On Demand and Pay-Per-View, and Interactive Program Guide.

The first tier of programming is Digital Cable Level 1 @ $8.95 which appears to be the gateway fee and programming with:
6 new Discovery Channels, 45 channels of Music Choice, 6 Talk Radio Networks, Access to Entertainment On Demand and Pay-Per-View, and Interactive Program Guide AND choose from one of the following Digital options:

Movie Networks (Ch. 300-308)
Sports & Info. Networks (Ch. 320-332)
Variety Networks (Ch. 340-353)

vegggas

Las Vegas HD Channel Guide September Hype Edition

Note for DirecTV: channel numbers/launch month based on a rumored list


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 (launching in September) [launching in October]
------------------
A&E (707) (265) 9419
Animal Planet [282] 9489
Bravo [273]
Cartoon Network (296)
CNN (202)
Discovery [278] 9487
ESPN 704 73 9424 550
ESPN2 705 72 9425
Food Network HD (231-1) 9462
Fox Business [359]
FX [248]
HGTV HD (229-1) 9461
History (703) (269) 9491
National Geographic (702) (276) 9429 570
Science Channel [284] 9490
Sci-Fi [244]
TBS (247)
TLC [280] 9488
TNT 709 75 9420 565
USA [242]
Weather Channel (362)

HD Only Networks
------------------
Discovery HD Theater 700 76 9421 555
HDNet 79 9422
HDNet Movies 78 9423
MHD 725 (332) 9492
Mojo 706
MGM [255]
Smithsonian (267)
Universal HD 708 74 9427 560

Specialty Sports
------------------
Big Ten Network (220)
Fuel TV [612]
Golf/Versus HD (604) 9468
NBA TV [601-1]
NFL Network HD (212) 9464
Speed [607]

RSNs
------------------
FSN West [652] 367
FSN Prime Ticket [653] 361
FSN Arizona 365
FSN Bay Area

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

Premium Networks
------------------
HBO East 70 9456
HBO West 710 (504) 510
Cinemax East (512) 9458
Cinemax West 711 (514) 530
Showtime East 71 9460
Showtime West 720 (540) 520
Starz East (520) 9435
Starz West 721 (521)
Starz Comedy (519)
Starz Edge (522)
Starz Kids & Family (518)

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

It would be a favor to list the HD channels the carriers actually carry now, not rumored.

A friend of mine living in the Cincinatti, Ohio area, reports that the new Direct TV satellites became functional at 3 AM yesterday morning.
Would it be too much to suppose that the same is true here in the Las Vegas area?
Goodbye Cox!!. NOT nice to have known ya.

A friend of mine living in the Cincinatti, Ohio area, reports that the new Direct TV satellites became functional at 3 AM yesterday morning.
Would it be too much to suppose that the same is true here in the Las Vegas area?
Goodbye Cox!!. NOT nice to have known ya.

D10 (one satellite) has been "functioning" in the engineering mode for a few weeks now. However (according to another forum tracking it) it has not reached it's final "parking space". I checked this am; I have no signal from any of the transponders (103b) and, therefore, no new channels.

Different rumors are all over the net, from D* starting up some new channels as early as 9/7...while others refer to the D* press release of 20-40 by 9/14. In either case, Cox will have a lot of catching up to do.

Quick Question for OTA users about CW and MyTV HD offerings (out of area again).
What are the resolutuions of each of these channels, and what, if any, programming is HD on either channel?
Online documentation seems to point to 16x9 480p upconverted to 1080i video and they make no mention of actually broadcasting HD anywhere on their websites, TitanTv, or any other online sources.

vegggas

Quick Question for OTA users about CW and MyTV HD offerings (out of area again).
What are the resolutuions of each of these channels, and what, if any, programming is HD on either channel?
Online documentation seems to point to 16x9 480p upconverted to 1080i video and they make no mention of actually broadcasting HD anywhere on their websites, TitanTv, or any other online sources.

vegggas

CW is 1080i and KVCW passes it through as such. All scripted programming is HD.

MNTV is 720p and KVMY passes it through as such. The "network" is now focusing on reality tv, so I've only seen movies of the week and a repurposed pilot of the FX series Damages in HD on there recently.

As far as "online documentation", if you search this thread you should be able to catch some bitstream analysis I did of the stations a while back.

Thanks.
I was looking for online info from Sinclair or the local stations or even TitanTV and other media outlets, but there are no mentions of true HD anywhere.
Are programs actually in 1080i/720p or is it 480p originated material upconverted to the stations transmitter output similar to what FoxWidescreen used to do and StarzHD commonly does?
I can't find a single link saying that they receive and transmit HD content in HD format.

vegggas

Thanks.
I was looking for online info from Sinclair or the local stations or even TitanTV and other media outlets, but there are no mentions of true HD anywhere.
Are programs actually in 1080i/720p or is it 480p originated material upconverted to the stations transmitter output similar to what FoxWidescreen used to do and StarzHD commonly does?
I can't find a single link saying that they receive and transmit HD content in HD format.

vegggas

I assure you that KVMY and KVCW both receive and transmit HD content in HD format. I even personally bugged the station engineer when they first started and had to "flip the switch".

KVMY HD screen caps
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=8374503&postcount=3781

KVCW HD screen caps
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=8383072&postcount=3794

Could someone please recommend a good indoor HDTV antenna? I'm located a little south of Green Valley Ranch casino and just purchased a Sony KD-L32XBR4. I was also curious, is there a difference between the picture quality viewing HDTV programming on local channels using an OTA antenna compared to the same channels with Cox cable? Thanks.

Could someone please recommend a good indoor HDTV antenna? I'm located a little south of Green Valley Ranch casino and just purchased a Sony KD-L32XBR4. I was also curious, is there a difference between the picture quality viewing HDTV programming on local channels using an OTA antenna compared to the same channels with Cox cable? Thanks.

Most of the stations in Las Vegas on on VHF, so no indoor antenna will offer much improvement over a regular set of bunny ears (or a be technical a standard dipole antenna).

OTA and Cox should be bit for bit identical. Any difference would come from the output of the set top box vs. internal decoding by the television set.

As for your other programming options: DirecTV is recompressed to mpeg4, but the picture quality difference is minimal to imperceptible. Dish Network does not carry Las Vegas HD locals. Additionally, both satellite providers set top boxes support OTA.

DirecTV is recompressed to mpeg4, but the picture quality difference is minimal to imperceptible.

AT LAST.....somebody has finally managed to post the unvarnished truth.

MNTV is 720p and KVMY passes it through as such. The "network" is now focusing on reality tv, so I've only seen movies of the week and a repurposed pilot of the FX series Damages in HD on there recently.One note, Damages was upconverted from the letterboxed 480i source used by FX and was nothing close to HD, though it did fill the entire 1280x720 picture.

Are programs actually in 1080i/720p or is it 480p originated material upconverted to the stations transmitter output similar to what FoxWidescreen used to do and StarzHD commonly does?There has never been anything that originated at 480p. The old Fox Widescreen originated as 480i and was upconverted to 480p by most stations, though a few were doing 720p or 1080i at the time and upconverted to that. Current Fox Widescreen originates as 480i (usually component) and is upconverted to 720p by the network and distributed that way.

Could someone please recommend a good indoor HDTV antenna?


Just so you know, there really is no such thing as an "HDTV antenna". Any $5 pair of rabbit ears can pick up digital signals. Heck, you can pick up HDTV with a coat hanger if you live in an area where the signals are strong. When you see an antenna labled "digital" or "HDTV", it is simply a marketing ploy to get you to think that that particular antenna is somehow better than a "regular" TV antenna. Don't fall for it. There is no need to spend a lot of money on an antenna to receive local digital signals.

How to avoid survaillance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5nuSYzcJXw

Thanks.
I was looking for online info from Sinclair or the local stations or even TitanTV and other media outlets, but there are no mentions of true HD anywhere.
Are programs actually in 1080i/720p or is it 480p originated material upconverted to the stations transmitter output similar to what FoxWidescreen used to do and StarzHD commonly does?
I can't find a single link saying that they receive and transmit HD content in HD format.

vegggas


Since Cox doesn't have it, It must not be true HD.
When Cox has it, then it will be in HD.

.........DirecTV is recompressed to mpeg4, but the picture quality difference is minimal to imperceptible. ......

Amazing that this HD-lite complainer blasts Dish for recompression, but trivializes the Turd Bird for doing the same.

Amazing that this HD-lite complainer blasts Dish for recompression, but trivializes the Turd Bird for doing the same.

Recompression can save bits and be nearly transparent. Just not at the 6 mbps bitrate Dish has adopted to squeeze 6 channels per transponder to try to keep up with DirecTV.

Sinclair's two Vegas stations transmit true HD OTA. 720p on 21-1, and 1080i 0n 33-1 as George's earlier posts clearly point out.

Recompression can save bits and be nearly transparent. Just not at the 6 mbps bitrate Dish has adopted to squeeze 6 channels per transponder to try to keep up with DirecTV.

Please read your chart above and tell me who is trying to catch up to who.

Sinclair HD?
Where can I find an online list of shows broadcast in HD on the CW and My NetworkTV to find out what programs are actually originated in HD and not upconverted SD?
I still can't find any online source anywhere, including the homepages of the two channels that says anything about HD, including their online schedules. I'm trying to find out if the fight leagues, movie nights and other programming is HD or not.

vegggas

Sinclair HD?
Where can I find an online list of shows broadcast in HD on the CW and My NetworkTV to find out what programs are actually originated in HD and not upconverted SD?
I still can't find any online source anywhere, including the homepages of the two channels that says anything about HD, including their online schedules. I'm trying to find out if the fight leagues, movie nights and other programming is HD or not.

vegggas

Here's a link to the AVS HD schedule grid put together by fredfa. The CW actually has more primetime HD (10 hrs) than Fox (7.5 hrs). I have no idea what is in HD on MyNetworkTV other than the basic observations that their reality shows aren't and their movies of the week sometimes are and sometimes aren't.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=88915&d=1189095329

Lets not forget Star Trek OS is on both those stations in nearly HD.
I DVR them on my Dish Network box all the time.

Lets not forget Star Trek OS is on both those stations in nearly HD.
I DVR them on my Dish Network box all the time.

Hmmm..."nearly HD"? Must be a new category from the one member of this forum who seems to care the least about HD. Ironic, as this forum's subject is for those who care about the plain old HD format.

I hope KLAS is getting a lot of money for running the LATV subchannel, because their HD picture is #^%$ on the Broncos/Bills game.

Not defending KLAS or anything, but RED colors are a big problem for mpeg encoders/decoders. A lot of displays push the red level to [over]compensate for the lack of detail, making the image fuzzy and creating video smears and chroma errors. Red Push correcton is a common fix for for many display calibration techs and a specific criteria check for many DVD player tests wether they have a "chroma bug" causing smearing or not.
Having said all that, I agree, the PQ looks pretty rough today.

vegggas

Hmmm..."nearly HD"? Must be a new category from the one member of this forum who seems to care the least about HD. Ironic, as this forum's subject is for those who care about the plain old HD format.

Another Joust, but you fall again.

I care the most about HD, thats why we have Dish Network in our home.
We have more HD than you guys/gals.:p

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."

Ya.

As I see it;
The digital gateway would be the licensing fee for each digital device. A digital gateway is required as the minumum fee if you do not subscribe to a digital package, to cover the cost of the licensing, which includes the gateway fee for the first included digital device. Additional devices would require the digital gateway/additional digital outlet/licensing fee prices to pay for the licensing.
The monthly rental price of the card, is the lease price of the equipment, which runs about $150 - $200 per cablecard as some users have had to pre-purchase (but do not own) cards on smaller systems without inventory. They still have to pay the digital licensing fees that allow for the MAC address to be authenticated.
ref - http://www.cox.com/lasvegas/digitalcable/pricing.asp

vegggas

Thank You, you have proven that Cable is more expensive when you want to duplicate your paid channels onto multiple sets.

Dish you pay 5/6 bucks for programming on extra sets.

What are you all arguing about?
Cox's days as the predominant supplier of TV stations in Las Vegas are numbered.

Another Joust, but you fall again.

I care the most about HD, thats why we have Dish Network in our home.
We have more HD than you guys/gals.:p

I think your point would have been more accurate if you simply used the word "about" two words earlier. Your inane chatter is akin to a 3 year old yammering while the adults are trying to have a conversation. So, let us pat you on your head and you be on your way to play with your toys. Your commentary and retorts to others are ineffective. And the whole thing with using a mediocre dead singer's quote...give it a rest.

And now folks, back to our regulary scheduled HD programming...

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.

What happend?

What are you all arguing about?
Cox's days as the predominant supplier of TV stations in Las Vegas are numbered.

The only thing going for them is internet, and thats only because Embarq does not compete with them for that market.

Expecting to see Embarq bought out soon and Fiber rolling out soon. Then Cox is really bye bye here in Vegas.

What happend?

Your "personality" eventually wears on the most patient of us. That's what "happend".

I was curious as to whether there were minimum standards that need to be met in order to proclaim that a satellite or cable company is providing HD. I couldn't help but wonder how low of a bitrate you can get away with and still advertise that you are providing HD.

My guess would be anything over 480 would be classified as HD.

My guess would be anything over 480 would be classified as HD.


I don't doubt that. It's sad if it's true as it makes the acceptable range far too wide. My point is that as a consumer buying HD equipment, I expect a drastic step up in quality. Not a compromise as is being currently served up in certain sectors of the broadcast industry. It would be nice if there were a sort of "truth in advertising" about HD much the way food makers are held accountable for various claims. But until then I suppose they can get away with whatever and the uninformed will not know the difference and think that their money is going towards HD when in reality they are getting a watered-down version of HD. I suppose the best analogy is that some beer drinkers are OK with Keystone while the more discerning know that there is better out there.

My guess would be anything over 480 would be classified as HD.

In the US implementation of the ATSC standard, I believe the minimum standard for classification as HD is 720P. In Australia, as an example, anything above 576P is considered HD. But it's not just static resolution that matters. If the bitrate is low then 1080i or 720P can look like crap, as we all know. For truth in advertising purposes in the strictest sense, the standard would have to be 720P or higher to be HD although some display manufacturers make statements like 'HD compatible' to describe their displays of less than 720P capability.

For me If I don't like the quality/quantity of anything, I move on to something else.

Its a free market and companies will do what they do. I vote with my wallet. Thats why Direct, Cox(TV), and Embark are out of my pocket books.

The day the PQ and number of HD channels of Dish reduces to that of Direct, I'll move on too.

Hey can anybody with DirecTV that doesn't have Premier/Sports Pack check something out for me?

According to the RSN tool, FSN Bay Area is now available with any base package in the Las Vegas area.

^^^ I do not have any type of sports package and FSN Bay Area comes up with the message "channel not paid for" when I tune to it.

Does the RSN tool also say that FSN Arizona is in the base package for Vegas?

Does the RSN tool also say that FSN Arizona is in the base package for Vegas?

No. It still says Sports Pack/Premier is required to get the Diamondbacks.

Just got home from another trip...
I didn't see this mentioned lately, but Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune are NOW showing in HD locally on KVBC from the syndicated HD feeds at 6:30 and 7:00PM!. Even some of the national commercials have blue sidebars with stars outlining the 4x3 commercial content that goes along with the syndicated broadcast. We had talked about this a while back, but I guess the new equipment purchases KVBC made recently are paying off.

Thanks KVBC

vegggas

I came across this article: http://www.infinera.com/j7/servlet/NewsItem?newsItemID=65
during my travels and consultations. The national cable company Cox, who is also a national Phone company is retrofitting and upgrading their 12000 mile coast-to-coast national backbone to a 100Gigabps send and receive network for complete national distribution of services, including HD. Combine this with the recent announcment of 50 national HD channels before the end of the year and I this is probably the way it will get done.

vegggas

Combine this with the recent announcment of 50 national HD channels before the end of the year and I this is probably the way it will get done.

vegggas

Just to clarify, their GOAL is to have CAPACITY for 50 HD channels. The idea that Cox will have 50 HD channels in place is unlikely.

Heck, they settled with Sinclair on getting us CW in HD back in July and we're still waiting for that...

Just got home from another trip...
I didn't see this mentioned lately, but Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune are NOW showing in HD locally on KVBC from the syndicated HD feeds at 6:30 and 7:00PM!. Even some of the national commercials have blue sidebars with stars outlining the 4x3 commercial content that goes along with the syndicated broadcast. We had talked about this a while back, but I guess the new equipment purchases KVBC made recently are paying off.

Thanks KVBC

vegggas

Just watched Jeopardy HD tonight via DVR. Looked great.

Just got home from another trip...
I didn't see this mentioned lately, but Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune are NOW showing in HD locally on KVBC from the syndicated HD feeds at 6:30 and 7:00PM!. Even some of the national commercials have blue sidebars with stars outlining the 4x3 commercial content that goes along with the syndicated broadcast. We had talked about this a while back, but I guess the new equipment purchases KVBC made recently are paying off.

Thanks KVBC

vegggas

Looked great here too from the Dish Vip622 DVR.
The news is great in HD too. They just need better anchors now.

Any update as to when KTNV will be HD news? it looks absolutely horrible now compared to the others. Hey , even Kevin Janison looks good now on 3 :)

Am I the only one getting the bad DD on KVBC? It's really staring to drive me crazy. I have an hr20-100 Directv receiver and a Sony strdg810 audio/video receiver. I've tried putting the sound through HDMI, coax and TOSlink. Anything else I can try?

KVBC has been having DD issues for some time now. Sometimes it's ok, other times it's worse, but there appears to be bad DD frames coming from the station. The way the AV receiver handles the bad data will determine how long the dropouts occur with each blip. Alternatively, PCM stereo will have less noticable dropouts because the data does not have to be streamed in a compressed format and will only droput the single bad frame rather than interrupt the DD encoding stream.

vegggas

KVBC has been having DD issues for some time now. Sometimes it's ok, other times it's worse, but there appears to be bad DD frames coming from the station. The way the AV receiver handles the bad data will determine how long the dropouts occur with each blip. Alternatively, PCM stereo will have less noticable dropouts because the data does not have to be streamed in a compressed format and will only droput the single bad frame rather than interrupt the DD encoding stream.

vegggas

I read on DBSTalk that KVBC is supposed to be replacing a microwave transmitter in their signal chain that should fix some of the issues OTA (and by extension DirecTV) viewers are having.

Just watched Jeopardy HD tonight via DVR. Looked great.

Looked great here too from the Dish Vip622 DVR.
The news is great in HD too. They just need better anchors now.

Looks like the weather will be getting cooler in some biblical places... These two just agreed and said the same thing.

vegggas

Looks like the weather will be getting cooler in some biblical places... These two just agreed and said the same thing.

vegggas


:)

Now if only the local weathermen would quit playing the "cooler temps 5-6 days out" game, that would be great.

From the dbs thread 9/10

Guys, This is the latest information i received from KVBC and from talking on the phone with the Chief Engineer today.

Hi,

Thanks for your email. We're aware of the issue; it's been a bugger to track down. It's actually been a combination of equipment.
The main piece is our digital microwave transmitter that feeds our main transmitter at the mountain. We are awaiting a replacement unit that will be in tomorrow and should fix the problem.

Regards,

Mark Guranik
Chief Engineer
KVBC Las Vegas

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?p=1104292#post1104292

Watching Jeopardy tonight on KVBC, it is not in HD. It's 4:3 SD pillarbox.

Watching Jeopardy tonight on KVBC, it is not in HD. It's 4:3 SD pillarbox.
It WAS in HD last night. Maybe their reconfiguring of the system for the audio dropouts temporarily took out the syndicated HD feed.
Better luck tomorrow?

vegggas

I came across this article: http://www.infinera.com/j7/servlet/NewsItem?newsItemID=65
during my travels and consultations. The national cable company Cox, who is also a national Phone company is retrofitting and upgrading their 12000 mile coast-to-coast national backbone to a 100Gigabps send and receive network for complete national distribution of services, including HD. Combine this with the recent announcment of 50 national HD channels before the end of the year and I this is probably the way it will get done.

vegggas

Thats 100Gb/s per card. And I'd assume there is more than one card in each city. So it wouldn't surprise me to see them go from 10Gb/s to 100Gb/s per card. Anyways, bandwidth is apparently getting cheaper - even my company is putting their own 2.5Gb/s ring around the city to connect all our remote sites for security and telemetry purposes.

100Gb/s is a lot though, its interesting that they could have an entirely terrestrial video distribution network - no satellites needed, all content is distributed from one central location and multicast over the fiber network. Each SD channel is 3Mb/s, each HD channel is 20Mb/s (with MPEG2). A single 100Gb/s link can carry 5,000 HDTV channels at 20Mb/s.

A single 100Gb/s link can carry 5,000 HDTV channels at 20Mb/s.


The operative word is CAN. Cox may soon have that capability, but will they use it? Or will their be unending promises and no action?
My bet is on the latter.

Sorry for the blast from the past, I used to be on the Vegas board quite a bit. I just checked and I am on page 1 asking when Cox will go to HDTV....time certainly flies.

In any event, I moved to Phoenix about a year ago, but I still have a lot of friends in Vegas. One such friend, is trying to find a local Integra dealer that also can do high end installations etc. From Integra's web page, the following are list as authorized dealers in Vegas:

Audio Integrations
1930 Village Center #3-188
Las Vegas, NV 89134
702-839-2658 (Tel)

Millennium Sound Inc
7936 Indian Cloud Ave.
Las Vegas, NV 89129
702-396-0662 (Tel)

Creative Home Theater
5860 S. Valley View Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89118
702-257-1007 (Tel)

Enhance Home Technologies
5625 Arville Ste E
Las Vegas, NV 89118
702-889-8777 (Tel)

Cinevision
7770 Duneville Street
Suite 9
Las Vegas, NV 89139
702-795-3900 (Tel)

Eagle Sentry
3595 E Patrick Lane
Suite 1200
Las Vegas, NV 89120
702-736-8880 (Tel)

Big Boss Productions
1125 Amercian Pacific Drive
Ste C
Henderson, NV 89074
702-436-1054 (Tel)


Does anyone have any experience with any of these companies? Price is not really a concern for this guy (:mad: ;)

Audio Integrations

Millennium Sound Inc
7936 Indian Cloud Ave.
Las Vegas, NV 89129
702-396-0662 (Tel)

Creative Home Theater

Enhance Home Technologies

Cinevision

Eagle Sentry

Big Boss Productions


Does anyone have any experience with any of these companies? Price is not really a concern for this guy (:mad: ;)

I've no experience with any of these companies, but Millennium Sound is listed at a residential address. I realize its possible that a company could do credible work out of a residential address, but I would at least be skeptical.

Below is what antenna web says about my location. I am a newbie at this and spent a small sum of $ on an indoor HD antenna and got a pretty good signal on NBC, FOX and PBS but couldnt for the life of me get my dishnetwork receiver to find ABC or CBS.

I even tried doing some sort of manual tuning to try and pick up ABC and cant even get a trace of a signal ! I am at the base of Black Mountain around Gibson and Horizon Ridge, since i can get NBC and PBS great am I in the shadow of Black Mountain to get the stations that must be on a hill behind Black Mt ?

I dont want to spend any more money on a better outdoor antenna if I don't have a chance of getting these signals.

Is there anyone else in my area that is getting ABC & CBS OTA and what antenna are you using ?


TIA for any advice.

Antenna





Compass Miles Frequency Type Call Sign Channel Network City State
Orientation From Assignment
yellow - uhf KBLR-DT 40.1 TEL PARADISE NV 133° 1.4 40
yellow - vhf KLVX-DT 10.1 PBS LAS VEGAS NV 138° 1.6 11
yellow - vhf KVBC-DT 3.1 NBC LAS VEGAS NV 135° 1.5 2
red - vhf KLAS-DT 8.1 CBS LAS VEGAS NV 179° 5.8 7
blue - vhf KTNV-DT 13.1 ABC LAS VEGAS NV 179° 5.8 12
blue - vhf KVVU-DT 5.1 FOX Henderson / Las Vegas NV 136° 2.1 9

Well your out of luck like me. You are getting the stations that are on top of Black Mountain, but your being blocked by the mountain for the stations that are near Seven Hills. I have an attic mount antenna and I still don't even get a blip.

So to get those in HD you either need Cox or Directv.

DishNetwork says on their website that i can get the locals in HD based on my address, are they going to do anything different as far as an antenna than I am trying to do myself ? and then when they realize the physical terrain tell me that I cant get all of the locals in HD ?

DishNetwork says on their website that i can get the locals in HD based on my address, are they going to do anything different as far as an antenna than I am trying to do myself ? and then when they realize the physical terrain tell me that I cant get all of the locals in HD ?

Last I checked, the only way to get HD locals from Dish is to use an antenna. If you are out of line of sight (which it appears you are) about the only way you'll get HD locals with Dish is to put up an 800 foot antenna.
OR, you can get the four major HD locals, ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX from DirecTv. With one new sat going on line soon, and another on the way in the near future, it is likely that DirecTv may add other local HDs such as CW. If you want to get all locals in HD right now, you can join Cox hell, with their own set of problems.

Jeopardy is back in HD today on KVBC channel 3.

I can't yet confirm any of this, as it's all happy hour talk, but the past info has been generally reliable if not subject to early changes.
Seems like there is a Lot of movement on the local Cox network for testing new channels. I don't have a list, but there was a specific mention of real HD On Demand movies and other HD content channels in the llineup. There were supposed to be several pages of channel listings in the new test lineup. Getting home and checking my STB's I don't see anyting yet, so it's probably an internal test for now with a launch soon. We know they sent legal notification (no other announcement?) to the franchise holders that new HD channels will be available before the end of September.
Of particular note was the legal mention of the HistoryHD channel launch, although there was NEVER any annoucement or mention in any media of any kind aboout Cox getting the HistoryHD channel carriage agreement anywhere.

vegggas

Veggas,

I don't see how keeping things secret, or under wraps can possibly benefit Cox. If they want to keep their customers and stop the tide from abandoning them and going to Direct TV, I would think that they would be ballyhooing their plans from the rooftops. I'm not in any way blaming you. You're just reporting what you've heard. But their PUBLIC silence on the matter leads me to think that your "unofficial rumors" , are just so much bellywash. I'M FROM MISSOURI, ----SHOW ME!!!

Tonight, (Sat. 9/15) Wheel of Fortune on KVBC is NOT in HD. George, what are you seeing that I'm not?

Tonight, (Sat. 9/15) Wheel of Fortune on KVBC is NOT in HD. George, what are you seeing that I'm not?

I'm guessing the Saturday episodes are reruns which wouldn't be HD unless they were filmed in the last year.

Below is what antenna web says about my location. I am a newbie at this and spent a small sum of $ on an indoor HD antenna and got a pretty good signal on NBC, FOX and PBS but couldnt for the life of me get my dishnetwork receiver to find ABC or CBS.

I even tried doing some sort of manual tuning to try and pick up ABC and cant even get a trace of a signal ! I am at the base of Black Mountain around Gibson and Horizon Ridge, since i can get NBC and PBS great am I in the shadow of Black Mountain to get the stations that must be on a hill behind Black Mt ?

I dont want to spend any more money on a better outdoor antenna if I don't have a chance of getting these signals.

Is there anyone else in my area that is getting ABC & CBS OTA and what antenna are you using ?


TIA for any advice.

Antenna





Compass Miles Frequency Type Call Sign Channel Network City State
Orientation From Assignment
yellow - uhf KBLR-DT 40.1 TEL PARADISE NV 133° 1.4 40
yellow - vhf KLVX-DT 10.1 PBS LAS VEGAS NV 138° 1.6 11
yellow - vhf KVBC-DT 3.1 NBC LAS VEGAS NV 135° 1.5 2
red - vhf KLAS-DT 8.1 CBS LAS VEGAS NV 179° 5.8 7
blue - vhf KTNV-DT 13.1 ABC LAS VEGAS NV 179° 5.8 12
blue - vhf KVVU-DT 5.1 FOX Henderson / Las Vegas NV 136° 2.1 9

You might just have to go with Cox for Hd locals unless you want to do the right thing and get a real rooftop antenna with a rotor or as a minimun try out a channel master stealth antenna with the add on amplifier which works wonders in Las Vegas

Veggas,

I don't see how keeping things secret, or under wraps can possibly benefit Cox. If they want to keep their customers and stop the tide from abandoning them and going to Direct TV, I would think that they would be ballyhooing their plans from the rooftops. I'm not in any way blaming you. You're just reporting what you've heard. But their PUBLIC silence on the matter leads me to think that your "unofficial rumors" , are just so much bellywash. I'M FROM MISSOURI, ----SHOW ME!!!

Cox does unofficial rumors and Erect promises HD channels that don't exist. They both need to be thrown out.

Hi Cox Las Vegans:

Just got HD from Cox today. All is well except for the UniversalHD channel. The Dolby 5.1 signal is not outputting a center channel. It's just empty hiss. All the dialogue is being re-directed to the L/R speakers.

Yet every other HD/Dolby 5.1 channel is working fine with a proper center channel so I know it's not my equipment.

Anyone else experience this?

Universal HD, much like sister network NBC, doesn't adjust the flagging on their audio to match actual content and instead runs in DD5.1 full-time. This occurs on all providers. Your best bet is to set your box to output PCM stereo instead of Dolby Digital when you watch the 2.0 content, and allow your receiver to do the upmixing.

Get ready for 24/7 OJ news coverage !!

Get ready for 24/7 OJ news coverage !!

What happens in Vegas, stays in....nevermind. Too easy.

What about the NBC high-def feed?

Throughout all programming tonight (the entire Patriots/Chargers game and everything after), the Dolby Digital signal kept dropping out every 15 seconds like clockwork. Very annoying!

This didn't happen on any other channel on Cox, nor did it happen on the standard-def NBC feed. But the HD-feed kept dropping audio. It ain't my system, I'm pretty sure of that.

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

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

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

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

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

Sounds familiar?

What about the NBC high-def feed?

Throughout all programming tonight (the entire Patriots/Chargers game and everything after), the Dolby Digital signal kept dropping out every 15 seconds like clockwork. Very annoying!

This didn't happen on any other channel on Cox, nor did it happen on the standard-def NBC feed. But the HD-feed kept dropping audio. It ain't my system, I'm pretty sure of that.

Don't bother, Mr Maestro tried to "fix" these kinda probs a while back :D

Get ready for 24/7 OJ news coverage !!

Forget about the War, thats not important.

There is a great song by Rush called "test for echo" reguarding our media.

"The War in HD", that may never happen.

Stupid reality shows in HD, yes.

Well I e-mailed Cox about the NBC-HD audio dropouts last night. Here's their response:

"Thank you for contacting Cox Communications. Cox is committed to
providing the best customer service possible.

We have sent a signal to your Digital receiver, which will cause it to
reload.

The time will disappear from the front of the box while this process
transpires. When the time reappears, please turn on your TV and the
digital receiver and the problem should be corrected."


I'm at work so I don't know if this fixed it, but somehow I'm doubting it's a problem w/ the cable-box.

Well I e-mailed Cox about the NBC-HD audio dropouts last night. Here's their response:

"Thank you for contacting Cox Communications. Cox is committed to
providing the best customer service possible.

We have sent a signal to your Digital receiver, which will cause it to
reload.

The time will disappear from the front of the box while this process
transpires. When the time reappears, please turn on your TV and the
digital receiver and the problem should be corrected."


I'm at work so I don't know if this fixed it, but somehow I'm doubting it's a problem w/ the cable-box.

Those idiots think that EVERY problem can be fixed with a receiver reset. I hope for your sake that it is fixed. But Cox will NEVER admit that it's their quality control that could be at fault.
It's the first paragraph in that canned response to you that makes me want to puke.

I've had lots of problems with NBC HD - not just audio but picture freeze on my TiVo HD. Its the only channel its happening on. I've given up on watching NBC HD for now...

I've had lots of problems with NBC HD - not just audio but picture freeze on my TiVo HD. Its the only channel its happening on. I've given up on watching NBC HD for now...

OTA or on Cox with a cable card?

Those idiots think that EVERY problem can be fixed with a receiver reset. I hope for your sake that it is fixed. But Cox will NEVER admit that it's their quality control that could be at fault.
It's the first paragraph in that canned response to you that makes me want to puke.

If you think that's bad.. try getting them to admit to an internet connection problem. Don't even begin to tell them you're using a router. they'll always tell you that's the problem

OTA or on Cox with a cable card?

CC

Yep, I noticed that too.


I've no experience with any of these companies, but Millennium Sound is listed at a residential address. I realize its possible that a company could do credible work out of a residential address, but I would at least be skeptical.

Those idiots think that EVERY problem can be fixed with a receiver reset. I hope for your sake that it is fixed. But Cox will NEVER admit that it's their quality control that could be at fault.
It's the first paragraph in that canned response to you that makes me want to puke.

Yeah, and of course their "reset" didn't fix the NBC-HD audio drop-outs. So now I've got a repair guy coming out this week to take a look at it. I'm 99.9% certain this has nothing to do with me or my equipment, it's gotta be the feed. But if it takes this guy coming out to see the problem for himself and report back to Cox HQ, I guess that's what I'll do.

Yeah, and of course their "reset" didn't fix the NBC-HD audio drop-outs. So now I've got a repair guy coming out this week to take a look at it. I'm 99.9% certain this has nothing to do with me or my equipment, it's gotta be the feed. But if it takes this guy coming out to see the problem for himself and report back to Cox HQ, I guess that's what I'll do.

I'm 99.9% sure that the "repairman" will blame NBC.
Cox NEVER takes responsibility for anything. Except for the promptness with which they send you your monthly bill.

What about the NBC high-def feed?

Throughout all programming tonight (the entire Patriots/Chargers game and everything after), the Dolby Digital signal kept dropping out every 15 seconds like clockwork. Very annoying!

This didn't happen on any other channel on Cox, nor did it happen on the standard-def NBC feed. But the HD-feed kept dropping audio. It ain't my system, I'm pretty sure of that.

Don't bother, Mr Maestro tried to "fix" these kinda probs a while back :D

Those idiots think that EVERY problem can be fixed with a receiver reset. I hope for your sake that it is fixed. But Cox will NEVER admit that it's their quality control that could be at fault.
It's the first paragraph in that canned response to you that makes me want to puke.

Yeah, and of course their "reset" didn't fix the NBC-HD audio drop-outs. So now I've got a repair guy coming out this week to take a look at it. I'm 99.9% certain this has nothing to do with me or my equipment, it's gotta be the feed. But if it takes this guy coming out to see the problem for himself and report back to Cox HQ, I guess that's what I'll do.

I'm 99.9% sure that the "repairman" will blame NBC.
Cox NEVER takes responsibility for anything. Except for the promptness with which they send you your monthly bill.
Read back a few posts and also read what others have posted - It's an NBC transmitter problem. NBC has to fix the transmission and they are working on it. Cox doesn't have 1000 or even a 1 HD home theater setups to watch and monitor channels. What they probably do have is a series of industry standard, rack mount monitor panels with three to five, 2 inch monitors that cycle through channels monitoring video loss or anomolies. Even NBC didn't know there was a problem with their own feed until people started calling in about it.
Now if you would lilke NBC, or even Cox for that matter to put a "crawl" across the bottom of the screen, remember that overlays would be in SD, meaning that your picture would revert to an SD feed for the several weeks/months that this has been a problem. Yeah, sure that's what the viewers would rather watch, the SD feed instead of the HD feed. Get real.
My inlaws in another state had a cut phone line and the temp repair has made their line have static noise when they call. Should I call my local Embarq and complain about their local ATT phone service problem because it affects me and I pay for my phone here? The service providers only pass along the signals they get - If they get a poor signal, there is nothing that can be done to remedy the issue until the original problem is fixed.

vegggas

I've now confirmed the test channel listings in the Cox guide. There are about 20 channels in the test lineup, that appear to be HD channels being launched soon. There are confirmed reports of HD On Demand, National Geographic, History, A&E, CW, and other national listings being tested.
Of course, this is subject to change until officially launched. As we all know, HDNet and HDNet Movies have been on the system multiple times over the years in testing, but have never been launched due to corporate agreements not being made, etc.

vegggas

I finally sat down and watched 4 ofthe previews of the new shows in widescreen SD (Bionic Woman, Chuck, Life, JourneyMan). Although the quality was decent, it wasn't HD, but I was able to zoom the widescreen SD to fill the screen and it looked decent. With no commercials, it was worth the viewing, but I would rather watch the HD version once they are launched instead. Hopefully with the new HD On Demand being tested, we will have more HD preview content available. I already watch all of the early premier movies on Starz, so the network stuff was a no brainer.

vegggas

CC

Well, if you can get a signal, switch to OTA. The error correction may be more robust from an OTA source and possibly mask some of the dropouts.

Read back a few posts and also read what others have posted - It's an NBC transmitter problem. NBC has to fix the transmission and they are working on it. Cox doesn't have 1000 or even a 1 HD home theater setups to watch and monitor channels.
vegggas


Yeah, the Cox tech on the phone told me they didn't have a Dolby Digital set-up to test the problem.

I guess I should cancel the repairman coming out, sounds like he can't do anything about it.

I've now confirmed the test channel listings in the Cox guide. There are about 20 channels in the test lineup, that appear to be HD channels being launched soon. There are confirmed reports of HD On Demand, National Geographic, History, A&E, CW, and other national listings being tested.
Of course, this is subject to change until officially launched. As we all know, HDNet and HDNet Movies have been on the system multiple times over the years in testing, but have never been launched due to corporate agreements not being made, etc.

vegggas


When I signed up for Cox HD last week, they told me that starting Oct. 1 they'd start airing A&E and National Geographic in high-def. We'll see.

I finally sat down and watched 4 ofthe previews of the new shows in widescreen SD (Bionic Woman, Chuck, Life, JourneyMan). Although the quality was decent, it wasn't HD, but I was able to zoom the widescreen SD to fill the screen and it looked decent. With no commercials, it was worth the viewing, but I would rather watch the HD version once they are launched instead. Hopefully with the new HD On Demand being tested, we will have more HD preview content available. I already watch all of the early premier movies on Starz, so the network stuff was a no brainer.

vegggas

Speaking of On Demand, I'm very impressed with what DirecTV has been able to do. If the beta is offered again the next CE cycle, I urge all DirecTV subscribers with high speed internet to check it out. IMO, the only thing cable has over it is that HD can't be done in real time on most broadband connections yet.

Well ... I did see a commercial hawking the launch of a NEW Cox channel "coming soon"..... Channel 117...GoScout Auto channel...yea , yea, another waste of bandwidth like their stupid real estate channel, but money talks the loudest to Cox , I suppose

What are the chances of Cox getting TBS HD for the baseball playoffs? Slim or none?

What are the chances of Cox getting TBS HD for the baseball playoffs? Slim or none?

Don't make me laugh!!!

Direct from Cox.

The following is the E-mail i recieved from cox. I emailed them requesting the new discovery channels available in HD.


Thank you for contacting Cox Communications. Cox is committed to providing the best customer service possible.

Three new HD networks will debut on Cox on September 28, 2007:

National Geographic HD (Channel 702)
The History Channel HD (Channel 703)
A&E HD (Channel 707)

If you have any further questions, contact Cox Communications at http://www.cox.com/support/lasvegas/contactsup/.
All emails are responded to within 24 hours. You may also contact Cox Customer Care at 702.383.4000.

Thank you,

Bob S.
Cox Communications
Las Vegas E-Support Team

I'm back in town again after a lengthy work tour and still playing catch-up on all the HD news.
Here's a tidbit from this mornings LVRJ.
http://www.legalnotice.org/pl/reviewjournal/ShowNotice.aspx
Quote:NOTICE to COX Communications Customers: Sept. 28, 2007 Cox Communications is adding to their HD channel lineup the following networks: National Geographic, chan- nel 702; The History Channel, channel 703 and A&E, channel 707. PUB: August 28, 2007 LV Review-Journal

I'll post more info later as I get details.

vegggas

Direct from Cox.

The following is the E-mail i recieved from cox. I emailed them requesting the new discovery channels available in HD.


Thank you for contacting Cox Communications. Cox is committed to providing the best customer service possible.

Three new HD networks will debut on Cox on September 28, 2007:

National Geographic HD (Channel 702)
The History Channel HD (Channel 703)
A&E HD (Channel 707)

If you have any further questions, contact Cox Communications at http://www.cox.com/support/lasvegas/contactsup/.
All emails are responded to within 24 hours. You may also contact Cox Customer Care at 702.383.4000.

Thank you,

Bob S.
Cox Communications
Las Vegas E-Support Team
Yeah, that was posted in the paper under the legal notices back on August 28th and I posted it at that time.

vegggas

What are the chances of Cox getting TBS HD for the baseball playoffs? Slim or none?

Don't make me laugh!!!

TBS is listed in the test lineup...
Now we just need TBS to launch their channel nationally.
Cox announced nationally up to 50 channels by December...

vegggas

TBS is listed in the test lineup...
Now we just need TBS to launch their channel nationally.


I thought it launched on Sept. 1st? Some TWC customers are claiming they have it.

I thought it launched on Sept. 1st? Some TWC customers are claiming they have it.
On a national level, or local to the area market?

vegggas

On a national level, or local to the area market?

vegggas

I read on a message board that TWC customers in Austin, TX have TBS-HD. The channel lineup on TWC's site confirms this: http://www.timewarnercable.com/CustomerService/CLU/TWCCLUs.ashx?ChannelFilter=All&CLUID=231&Zip=&SortByPackage=false

You would think that if it's available in Austin, TX, of all places, it should be available elsewhere to anyone who wanted it. D* will probably have it on Wednesday and I read on TVPredictions.com that it will be available on selected Comcast systems on Oct. 1st.

Are they using SDV for these HD channels or are they just being added to the system like normal?

SDV is being deployed in a few Cox markets this year and many more next year. I have not heard any info when Vegas will go to SDV.
As for channel availability, I have not seen any physical channels, only test lineups in the guide with channel descriptions. TBS was one of the channels in the lineup, as was History. We KNOW they are launching History here very soon according to the legal notice, but there is no mention of History and Cox having an agreement anywhere in the nation.
Until a channel is on, it's speculation. The only thing officiallly announced was that the President of Cox wants 50 HD channels before the end of the year, which is only three months away.

vegggas

I don't understand these test channels. Are they just guide data and descriptions. If that's the case what are they testing?

I don't understand these test channels. Are they just guide data and descriptions. If that's the case what are they testing?
Same as the D* test lineup channels put up a few weeks ago. There are a few dozen guide channel listings as test placeholders with complete IPG info, but the channels are not live or viewable, at least not on the node that I saw them on. The guide data is distributed to all the STB's in the test account, but the physical channels may ony be available in certain areas where they have been added.
Usually if they are just adding 1 or 2 channels, they are put on the network and are viewed by testers a few days before public launch to ensure things are ok.

vegggas

Cox oficially announced the carriage agreements for the suite of Discovery communications channels including Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet and The Science Channel in 1080i as well as the original Discovery Theater.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6479888.html
Cable Operator to Carry HD Feeds of Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, The Science Channel
By Jon Hemingway -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/19/2007 1:24:00 PM
Cox Communications is adding several Discovery Communications high-definition channels to its lineup.
The cable operator said Wednesday that it will now offer Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet and The Science Channel in 1080i as part of its slate of HD offerings. Cox will also continue to offer Discovery’s stand-alone HD network, Discovery HD Theater.
The new networks will be launched on a market-by-market basis and Cox’s HD lineup will vary by market, the company said.
"As our customers' appetites for HD content grow, we will continue to expand our HD lineup with high-quality programming to ensure that we offer a robust selection of the best HD channels in our markets,” Cox president Pat Esser said in statement. “In fact, we have dozens of new HD channels slated for launch this year."
Cox, along with all other pay TV providers, is rushing to make available as much HD content as possible. Earlier this summer, Cox rolled out its HD movies on-demand service in selected markets.

Why does Las Vegas never seem to be a "selected market"?

Because there's no telco with fiber here willing to compete.

Agreed.. its amazing what a little competition can do. Who knows how long it would have been for more HD channels from Cox if D* hadn't launched their new bird and announced their HD additions to come.

I think we were a selected market when it came to rolling out cable modems back before the cable company here was Cox.

I think we were a selected market when it came to rolling out cable modems back before the cable company here was Cox.

Cable modems started testing in 1997 in Boulder City, and got rolled out to the first parts of the city (Summerlin/The Lakes/Desert Shores) in late 1997 and early 1998, and by 1999 or 2000 to the rest of the city. This was back when it was Prime Cable and not Cox. I still have my LVCM.com email account. The speeds were 512kb/s down and 64kb/s up (and after some b*tching, 384/128 and 256/256).

Cable modems started testing in 1997 in Boulder City, and got rolled out to the first parts of the city (Summerlin/The Lakes/Desert Shores) in late 1997 and early 1998, and by 1999 or 2000 to the rest of the city. This was back when it was Prime Cable and not Cox. I still have my LVCM.com email account. The speeds were 512kb/s down and 64kb/s up (and after some b*tching, 384/128 and 256/256).

Yeah, it was pretty cool back when you could see all the open directories in your node :)

That was true file sharing.