Hi pbykowski,
A digital outlet is a RG6 cable run directly from the main spitter to the outlet without spitting it off. It really depends on the quality of the cable you already have.
From what I understand (former cable dude) you can pick up a box at Cox. Or they charge $50 for installation of HDTV box, including cheap YPbPr cables and any jumpers needed. As well they will generally ensure that fittings/wire/splitter is good from tap at street to the cable box. Program the remote and teach you how to use it. Provided you have expanded service and not going through a cheap amp the cable box should work. If you attempt an install yourself and run into problems they will charge you for a service call.
But considering all they do for the install and they ensure it's working well it's really not a bad deal. Plus any problems they will fix it free.

Hope this helps!

Eddie

I agree with fasteddie. They are basically coming out to ensure that you have two-way communication to enable the digital service. Analog just requires a push of the signal to get to your set. Basic house wiring usually is good enough, but people add splitters, cables, one way amplifiers and other stuff, that could wreck the return signal when needed for the digital path.
If you are confident of your house wiring and it's abilities then you could probably take a chance. Consider this first - If you were to get a sat system, would you run new cables or use the existing llines? If you think you would need to run new lines, it might be better to have someone come out and check it out, or run your own new dedicated lines. (former sat and HT installer :D)
It's quite common for a cable user to complain about quality of the signal, but then add a sat system and run all new wires because the existing wiring was not good enough to provide a decent signal. Go figure - they require the same quality of wiring and equipment for the best possible picture, but analog signals are much more forgiving and just give a progressively worse signal until the point they are completely gone.

The RGB and matched audio cables that came with the 2350HD appear to be much better than the cheap ones that came with the 3100HD and much longer too.

vegggas

Has anyone seen what TiVo is doing? You will be able to take your shows recorded on TiVo and transfer them to your laptop to take mobile. Pretty cool! Do you think SA will follow?

Anything new on 8000HD?

Originally posted by Outflying
Has anyone seen what TiVo is doing? You will be able to take your shows recorded on TiVo and transfer them to your laptop to take mobile. Pretty cool! Do you think SA will follow?

Anything new on 8000HD?

Thats what we have been doing all along with ReplayTV and DVArchive, not to mention passing the shows from one Replay to someone else's Replay around the country.

SA had a press release and announcement of the 8000HD DVR and the 8300 DVR unit for whole house distribution using existing coax wiring. No specific mention of the 8300DVR transferring HD to multiple machines, but there's no reason it wouldn't work from HD DVR box to HD receiver box.

Got to meet moderator Ken H. at the CES AVS party - Nice Guy -Aas well as seeing the rest of the forum creators.
vegggas

Pioneer had their HDPVR cable box at CES. It looks different from the one I remember seeing pictures of last year. I spoke to a Pioneer guy about it and he said they had been in negotiations with Cox to have them carry the Pioneer box. He said they are about two months from roll out and there are some last minute bugs to fix. Soon after he said that, the box crashed! It has 120GB hard drive and he said they want to put a 160 out, but the drive runs too hot at this time. They don't want to sell them at retail (or thru the cable company), just rent them.

Followup on SA products: LInk to SA press release and upcoming technology (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3173166#post3173166)
It sounds like SA8000HD PVR is awaiting deployment here locally within the next few weeks. No hard dates, but I still expect it to be available sometime in January. Wisconsin already has regular customers using this box in a non-beta manner.
The Media center whole home distribution system SA8300DVR should be available in a few months and the HD distribution system SA8300HD DVR should be available in the summer. Archiving and expansion to be done with Serial ATA drives and devices.
This all depends on SA actually releasing the product to MSO's during spring and summer releases and product availability at that time.

vegggas

Whats the price premium for the rental of the 8000HD over the 8000? (is pricing set?)

Originally posted by doormat
Whats the price premium for the rental of the 8000HD over the 8000? (is pricing set?)
Is there a price difference with HD vs. non-HD boxes now? I don't see any reason for an increase from 8000 to 8000HD. I have not seen or heard any pricing structures on any equipment rentals.

vegggas

Vegas that is good news about the 8000HD. I want to be first in line. I was getting ready to ask you about this as from what I heard Hughes is releasing their DirectTivo in March for $999.


Keep us in the loop, cause I am definately buying the 8000HD.


What else looked cool at CES? I missed it this year...I need to plan ahead!

Well, you can't actually buy an 8000HD unit, you have to rent it. SA is not letting these go to consumer outlets, like some of their other boxes in other markets. You can buy ATA hard drives to expand the storage, assuming that the box I saw on the floor is the same model we will get here. Don't rush out to buy anything cause until it's in our hands, nothing is definite. My only thought is if there is such a high demand for the HD DVR, will Cox buy too many and have to hold off buying the later models until inventory gets low?

My opinions for CES and our neck of the woods???
The VooM HD distribution demo was great. HD DVR with multi room support from the start. Since they are an HD provider, they are skipping the SD version altogether. Their delivery method is almost exactly like SA's version, but SA did not actually show HD distribution, just hinted at it. Competition is great for consumers!

There is another company in Utah, coming to Las Vegas this year. They have negotiated with local stations to use their "extra" digital bandwidth to provide an OTA digital cable solution, along with local HD channels only. Good news is that you will get some "cable only" (non HD) stations via OTA, including ESPN and other ABC/Disney owned stations as well as the other stations cable partners. They may even be able to harness some low bandwidth internet relay with the phone lines.
Bad news is that it is yet more equipment and subscriptions to purchase as well as using up valuable bandwidth used for HD to carry all the sub channels. Some parts of the country are starting to experience a lot of artifacting and blocking because of sub channel usage, so I'm leary of this technology for now.

Mirror Screens and other flat novelties. Since I work with hotels, I see these hitting the market, like last years "hot tub with a plasma" idea. The Mirror sets look exactly like a stylish fully functional mirror, and then it turns on and it's a video monitor, with no apparent loss of visual quality. They even had one in portrait mode with the image on the bottom 1/3 screen and the rest was a mirror. Other ideas were the Painted plasma, where an actual canvas painting scrolled over the screen when not in use. cabinet makers have made some of these products look like actual show furniture instead of the usual plastic. I also saw some made from hardwood and even leather.
There was even a 7 inch deep 61" rear projection DLP set that could be hung on the wall for much less than a plasma.

vegggas

Does anybody know about digital ota channel 29? It is showing 6 video and audio streams, including ESPN, ESPN2, and Food Network. It would be very cool to get these programs, but there is no video, only audio. The only working video stream shows some kind of internal test with the URL www.usdtv.com on it. Can we expect these channels to be available in the near future?

Originally posted by jflatt
Does anybody know about digital ota channel 29? It is showing 6 video and audio streams, including ESPN, ESPN2, and Food Network. It would be very cool to get these programs, but there is no video, only audio. The only working video stream shows some kind of internal test with the URL www.usdtv.com on it. Can we expect these channels to be available in the near future?
That's the company I was talking about in my previous post!
They are probably testing the signals right now, so they are not fully encrypted. To actually view the channels, you have to buy the USDTV reciever for $100 and subscribe to the service for $20/month.
WARNING: This does not give you ANY additional HD channels and never will. Just what is currently available for free with a standard digital tuner plus some SD cable access channels heavily compressed into the 8vsb stream.
Think about the math for a moment. If there is 19.2 mb/s total bandwidth available from the station and there are 6 streams on that channel, that leaves about 3mb/s per stream. If the station has HD, how much are they going to cut back on bandwidth to add a few subchannels? Add just two channels, and the HD availability drops to about 14 mb/s

vegggas

Hey Vegggas,

A few months ago, you hinted that Cox would begin broadcasting a digital simulcast of the analog line-up....and that at least the locals would be on Cox with a SD signal by December 2003.

Any more news regarding the topic?

Originally posted by Demodave
Hey Vegggas,

A few months ago, you hinted that Cox would begin broadcasting a digital simulcast of the analog line-up....and that at least the locals would be on Cox with a SD signal by December 2003.

Any more news regarding the topic?
This is the reason Cox never announces anything until they are actually finished with a project.
I have not had any updated information from my contact about this issue since the last time I posted about it. The last I heard, there were two hurdles. The first was a realignment and re-allocation of channel space. The second was agreements from the broadcasters to show the digital channels. The cable companies can't change or alter the signals without the consent of the broadcasters.
"Theory Alert": With consent being a possible issue, I wonder if the USDTV digital channels may be blocking some of those agreements? Why would local broadcasters give up digital channels for no charge to cable, when they can sell those channels to USDTV customers for a monthly fee?
I don't know what's going on either, but I'm still awaiting more information about this issue myself.

vegggas

Any update on the HD DVR from Cox?

Toby

I hope Cox gets us hooked up with NBC-HD in time for the Daytona 500. I'm not a NASCAR fan, but i actually would be interested in that one!

Originally posted by jb1219
I hope Cox gets us hooked up with NBC-HD in time for the Daytona 500. I'm not a NASCAR fan, but i actually would be interested in that one!
Than you better call the NBC station and ask them if they are going to broadcast it in HD! Our local NBC station is not broadcasting HD yet, so no HD for anybody here. Cox gets their local HD feeds from the stations. That's why there is no NBC, FOX, or WB in HD - They are not broadcasting in HD now, or for the forseeable future.

HD DVR - There is a report that there are still some floating around Vegas, but not in customer homes. The ones at CES worked well and there appears to be no problem, other than getting inventory from SA and final approval from Atlanta (corporate). No word on release dates, but at this stage in the game, I would have to say after the SuperBowl because they are so busy with those feeds and all the new hookups associated with that event.

I also heard they are testing a consumer device from Pioneer that will replace the digital cable box this summer??? I don't know what it is, but it's said to be an off-the-shelf retail item that allows you to subscribe to get scrambled digital cable signals. No details at all, just a "heads up" from a contact.

If anyone went to CES, and noted any cable cards or POD modules in use, the all came from Cox Las Vegas. It appears they are ready for the consumer deployment of POD enabled sets already, but are not mandated until later this year to provide them. Does anyone have a POD set? I think only Panasonic is making one available at this time.

No update on the digital lineup either. It would have been nice to have a clearer picture during the playoffs on Fox, but it didn't happen. According to the news reports, another cable company servicing only a few thousand customers (as opposed to a few hundred thousand here) just became the FIRST all digital cable system in the US. No Analog at all, so they have a lot of room to grow very fast.

I'll report it as I hear it.
vegggas

Vegggas this is why I had thought NBC might be coming soon in HD. Remember this post from september? YOu're right though, i guess it isn't Cox that is holding things up.
-jb

Originally posted by HeinePaul
Ok, folks! I just spoke with the FCC attorney (I'm not kidding) and I've been authorized to tell you.

KVBC has just placed an order for a full power ATSC transmitter, a high-def capable studio/transmitter link, and high-definition switchers. We expect delivery of the equipment within the next 2 months, and should be transmitting NBC network programming in high definition both over the air and through Cox cable some time after that.

I

We've had three things that have held us up regarding HD in Las Vegas:

1. Digital transmitters, studio-transmitter links, and switching systems that are much in demand had to be ordered, delivered, and installed. As you know, KVBC-DT Channel 2 has been on the air for several months now, although only transmitting SD content. (I must set the record straight, however.. the "urban myth" about our transmitter being diverted to NYC due to 9/11 is totally false)

2. FCC licenses for studio-transmitter links had to be granted. As you can imagine, transferring the enormous bandwidth of HD content from our studios on Foremaster to the top of Black Mountain requires a state-of-the-art link, and new uses of public airwaves require a timely process by a federal agency that's been politicized and under attack by Congress. Governmental delays are increased by sideshow activites.

3. As you've undoubtedly seen, we've transformed our news set, and that process took more than a month of round the clock engineering effort. Now that we've completed the transition and our engineers have had a chance to rest, we move on to our next project.

It's our hope that we will be on the air with HD content by the broadcast of the Daytona 500.

(and still beating the Cox HD PVR's to the marketplace :D )

Good News! I am glad to hear that the project hasn't been 86'd.


I hope Cox hears this and races you to market with their HD PVR!

Ok, so here is my question. HDTV is free right? Cox doest charge for "basic" HD (locals, InHD, ESPN HD). But if I plug my QAM decoder into the wire, I dont get any of the free channels because they're scrambled. So I have to rent one of Cox's HD boxes to get it for free, thus its really not free. Isnt there a FCC mandate that people can use their own STBs instead of being forced to rent one? Whats the deal?

Great news about NBC. Love to see Law & Order in HD! Anybody know if KTUD will have a digital signal? AntennaWeb.org doesn't show them as having anything planned and there is no web site for KTUD.

Originally posted by doormat
Ok, so here is my question. HDTV is free right? Cox doest charge for "basic" HD (locals, InHD, ESPN HD). But if I plug my QAM decoder into the wire, I dont get any of the free channels because they're scrambled. So I have to rent one of Cox's HD boxes to get it for free, thus its really not free. Isnt there a FCC mandate that people can use their own STBs instead of being forced to rent one? Whats the deal?
The channels are free, but the access is restricted.
Think of a cell phone's free minutes. Sure, you get free minutes, but you have to buy the phone and have access to the service.
You can get "free" HDTV if you buy an antenna, buy a digital 8vsb tuner, and get it OTA. To get a service with free channels, you must subscribe to the service and use the approved equipment.
You are fully allowed to use your own equipment, as long as it has complete two way communication, or is addressable by the system to allow only the authorized channels to be viewed. Cable POD cards are available to do just that as long as your set is POD capable. Other markets have sold STB's over retail. The next 6 months to a year will see an explosion of consumer devices that are addressable to allow premium services to consumer devices.

vegggas

It is my understanding that Direct TV will broadcast the CBS HD feed in those cities where the affiliate is owned and operated by CBS. I take it because our local CBS affiliate is not O&O by CBS that we will not get the Direct TV HD feed.

Let's hope we have a good clean OTA signal tomorrow.

That is correct, our local CBS affil. isnt O&O by CBS, so either have Cox or a good antenna. I'm also in the latter category.

I mentioned USDTV from the CES show earlier in this thread. You should all read this more informed thread about USDTV and users, etc (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3197707#post3197707) There is some ranting in the latter part of the thread, but read through it anyway, it has some decent information.
Las Vegas is next on the list for this service (already here?) and some are starting to experience problems with OTA broadcasts already.
I hope I'm wrong, but I believe that this will not only affect OTA users, but cable and future Local sat HD broadcasts too. If the bandwidth limitation is in the mixing equipment, all of those services will be affected. If it's just in the tower, then cable will be clear of problems, but OTA and Sat users will suffer. Either way, we should keep an eye on this and track what is happening here.

Basic explanation again for those not keeping track:
1) USDTV "buys" bandwidth from local digital broadcasters.
2) USDTV broadcasts (encrypted) pay TV stations on those stations antennas, using part of their allotted bandwidth.
3) Consumers purchase STB's that pick up the Original HD and DTV signals and also decodes the pay TV stations for $20/ month.

Pros:
1) Cheaper alternative to Sat and Cable
2) Less filler channels, weeding out the junk on cable and sat.
3) Available at Wal-Mart

Cons:
1) Limited spectrum of local TV stations is narrowed by pay TV sub-channels. Possible pixelation and macroblocking from stations sharing bandwidth.
2) Digital, but Non-HD stations, selling most of their bandwidth may not go HD because there is no more space available, like local Fox and WB.
2) HD STB is only activated and usable when paying monthly fee. No free HD if you drop service. Doorstop scenario.
3) Only the current local stations are HD. There is NO additional HD content, only SD Pay TV content is provided.
4) Available at Wal-Mart

vegggas

I'm waiting for the HD Tivo before going HD here. I have a friend that is currently receiving OTA locals pretty well it seems. He said the super bowl was great.

Can we start a list of local DT stations here in Vegas and their current status in regards to HD availability? I'm sure more than just me will be interested in this.

Antennaweb.org lists the following DT stations in vegas.
I know CBS and ABC are broadcasting HD of some sort.

* yellow - vhf KVBC-DT 2.1 NBC Las Vegas NV 87° 15.7 2
* yellow - vhf KVVU-DT 5.1 FOX HENDERSON NV 88° 15.7 9
* yellow - vhf KTNV-DT 13.1 ABC LAS VEGAS NV 105° 15.3 12
* yellow - vhf KLVX-DT 10.1 PBS LAS VEGAS NV 88° 15.7 11
* yellow - vhf KLAS-DT 8.1 CBS LAS VEGAS NV 105° 15.3 7
* yellow - uhf KINC-DT 16.1 UNI LAS VEGAS NV 105° 15.2 16
* green - uhf KBLR-DT 39.1 TEL PARADISE NV 87° 15.7 40
* red - uhf KVWB-DT 22.1 WB LAS VEGAS NV 87° 15.7 22
* red - uhf KFBT-DT 29.1 IND LAS VEGAS NV 87° 15.7 29

CBS, ABC, and PBS are the only ones broadcasting HD at this time. NBC has plans. WB and FOX have no plans that I know of.

All of my friends are raving about the Cox Cable PVR and that the "techie" of the group (me) doesn't have it. They better release the HD PVR soon or I may have to get the non HD PVR to tide me over for a while....

Funny you say that Tallen, I'm in the same boat. Of course, when I talked to my friends to see if their PVRs got all of Survivor they said, "uh, no". Did my VCR? yea (only because I set it to record from 700 to 845 and by then I was watching it).

I had a strange problem come up while recording the Superbowl to the Cox DVR...

I set it to record the SB game using the guide...which was 3p to 7p. I then went to the options and reset the end time to 8p. Today, when I checked the recorded LIST, it recorded 4 hours and 7 minutes; instead of the full five hours. I have read about bugs in the SA software...I guess I got stung by one of those bugs Sunday night.

Anyone else have issues when manually changing the record times?

About HD, lvthunder is correct, we only have three local HD stations in this market. Fortunately, NBC should be going HD soon to give us a fourth. There are currently 11 HD channels on Cox, 12 when NBC gets on board, and probably 16 when Starz, Cinemax, and TMC are added.

DVR's, superbowl and Survivor. My Replay faithfully started recording at 7:00 PM, and promptly shut off at 8:00, missing most of the show. Good thing there is another showing on Tuesday to get a good recording. Did the Tivo fair any better than the Cox DVR or the ReplayTV's???
Nationally, Cox is still waiting for the Atlanta office to roll out the HD-DVR. I keep hearing that it's coming, but still no hard dates. Tivo just announced lower prices for the standalone SD DVR to combat the cable versions, so Cox better get moving soon, or may lose some DVR customers.
For the software side of the 8000HD, it seems hit or miss with the quality. Some versions are dead on awesome, and others can't get a good picture at all. My theory is there is some truth to the different software versions and image quality, but I think the majority of problems may be STB setup settings not configured correctly. We asked for so many options, the average user may never set their STB to the correct settings for their particular viewing device.
Even here in Vegas with the SD DVR, some love it, some hate it. I'll still wait for the HD version.

vegggas

Any thoughts on the USDTV service coming here?

Anyone willing to try it?


vegggas

TiVo would of done the same as the Replay. They probibly use the same guide data. TiVo did send out an email newsletter that suggested padding the superbowl and survivor by 2 hours so that you would get the whole thing. As fot the USDTV thing I highly doubt I will for two reasons. The first reason is if it's not HD I probibly get it with Directv. The other reason is I live too close to Black Mountain to get half of the OTA stations anyway. I can't get CBS analog or digital because of it. I'm thinking about filing a waiver request to get CBS-HD via Directv. The weird thing is the only station I get good is Fox.

Anyone with the new hi-def box from Cox see an improvement using the DVI output?

Anyone with the new hi-def box from Cox see an improvement using the DVI output?

Well for programs I KNOW don't have a definite start time, I'll record a couple shows after the show I want to record. re: survivor

I couldn't handle Cox cable (even digital) on my 65 inch HDTV. It was a terrible picture compared to DirecTV so I won't be switching to Cox anytime soon. Also Tivo is far superior to any of the other DVR's at this point.

I never did try Cox HD though. I'll have to see what 11 channels they have. As long as I can get OTA fine I'll be happy, although UPN/WB in HD would be very nice as well. Actually I'm not sure I watch anything on UPN anymore.

Just checked Cox HD lineup, nothing worth switching for at the moment. Does Cox use an equivalent amount of bandwidth to send CBS/ABC that you can get OTA?

To-mA-tO, to-MAH-to...
Not trying to convert anyone, YMMV.
I switched from D to Cox because the D pic was terrible in comparison. I ran both side by side for about 9 months The digital Cox feed was far less compresed than the same channels on D on my 65 Mits before and after getting an ISF calibration done from Craig M. I also favor the Replay over the Tivo especially when recording from multiple analog sources, loaning out to friends/traveling, not paying any fees and swapping files with other users over the internet - Go figure.

For HD, CBS, ABC, and PBS are the only ones broadcasting HD at this time. NBC has plans. WB and FOX have no plans that I know of. This is the same information I heard and nothing has changed. Local HD offerings are very limited, and require cable or Sat for any benefit of multiple HD channels. Also, cox does not alter the HD signal in any way other than to retransmit the signal on a Qam carrier instead of an 8vsb carrier. There is no known difference in PQ between the two.

I personally feel that INHD1, INHD2, ESPNHD, and all HD locals on the free basic package outweigh the D* paid HD package, but that's my opinion.

vegggas

That's amazing that Cox digital looked better than D*. Like I said we had D* then went digital Cox...my fiance finally had enough of the terrible picture and demanded we switch back to D*.

Originally posted by DoritoOfDeath
That's amazing that Cox digital looked better than D*. Like I said we had D* then went digital Cox...my fiance finally had enough of the terrible picture and demanded we switch back to D*.
Technically speaking, there should be no difference in quality. The source feeds are from the same broadcast sats, except that D* adds another link when it transmits back up to the bird from the ground receivers. Each of the delivery methods are effectively the same digitally encoded content over a carrier. The only difference is the rate of compression used on each channel and the receiver used to display that content.
With D* I had plenty of artifacts, "mosquito noise" and pixelating, especially with the lesser movie networks where static parts of images would "float" around. With Digital cable, I usually have none of that and often have DVD quality images.
As for the analog, there is some ingress from channel 3 and FOX 5 and UPN 14 are usually just plain soft or bad. I can fix channel 3 ingress problems as they appear by making sure my unused connections are properly terminated and that the shielding of my cables are not letting any outside signals get in. Beyond that, I have 1 TV out of 5 (32" Panny) that has poor shielding on the actual TV tuner. This allows the strong signal from Black mountain to insert ingress onto the picture on most local channels. It's a set design problem and unavoidable at my location.
Once again, YMMV.
I also happen to live in a new neighborhood with a new fiber node within blocks of my house. The signal is clean at the street, and my home RF network is secure. My previous condo/apartment had good signal at the street, but bad wiring in the building, causing all kinds of problems.

vegggas

jflatt, lvthunder and other OTA users,
Can you still tune and hear the USDTV channels off the digital transmitters, especially KFBT 29?
My T-150 is not showing anything other than 29-1 on that transmitter or any other tower after several attempts to retune and edit channels.
I'm kind of curious to determine what towers and how many sub channels are going to be used.
The Salt Lake area has changed their PSIP info to reflect the "cable" channels off the towers as channel 99-X for all those channels. My tuner only goes up to 69, so I wouldn't be able test those channels.

I did finally notice the PBS sub channel 11.2 (10.2) as local programming and national on 11.1, but not many sub channels anywhere else.
All sub channels?
11.1 & 2 - National and local versions
13.1 & 2 - HD and SD versions
16.1 & 2 - Sub 2 is blank
Anything else?

vegggas

I noticed a reference to someone doing local ISF calibrations.

I'm looking for someone to give my PT-65WX51 the works.

Please post your local experiences and recommend your favorite tech.

PT

Las Vegas NV

Also any local deals on OTA hd tuners?

I used Craig M from, I believe, over at the Home Theater Spot website. He is NOT local, but travels around the country in his motorhome. I asked him to stop by on one of his "tours" between Utah and California. I did most of the geometry and other functions before he showed up. He was able to reprogram the IC's (I2C) to remove the common "Red Push" problem on the inputs and he then brought out the color and lighting equipment to set the color and intetnsity to spec.
For local techs, I heard Abbot's is able to calibrate a TV, but have not heard of any specific information or techs. Maybe someone else has local info.

vegggas

Originally posted by primet
Also any local deals on OTA hd tuners?

I was able to score a Samsung SIR-T165 open box at Fry's for $199. Lowest price online is $390 for this tuner. There are usually lots of open box OTA tuners available since people aren't knowledgeable about antennas and can't get all the OTA channels so they return the box.

In response to my email to Cox on the availability of HD PVR's I received this response:

Dear Valued Cox Customer:

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

Unfortunately, we do not have any information when can we offer you
this
service at this time. We (Cox) are always finding ways to provide our
subscribers the latest technology, services and products that are
available to consumers. However, we do not have a specific date or time
frame when can we offer you this service in Southern Nevada.

For more information, you can also visit
http://www.cox.com/newservices/


At www.cox.com/lasvegas/ you can order online, check service
availability, access your account, pay your bill and find answers to
many commonly asked questions -- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at your
convenience. Just Click!

Thank you,

Cox Communications
E-Support Team


I really hate canned responses!
:mad:

Cox corporate Atlanta has not released the SA 8000HD yet based on their software compatibility with the MSO headends. Until that time, Las Vegas can't even get on the list to order the DVR for anything other than testing purposes because the purchase funds will not be approved. Corporate is supposed to approve the box sometime soon, but no dates are set and nothing is ordered until that time.
I have a few good sources waiting for this release, and I should know the basics within hours after an announcement is made to the general company employees and probably before a public announcement is made. I know it seems like a long wait, but only Time Warner has released the box, and they are getting mixed results. The current software has either worked great on some systems, or looked horrible for other systems. I feel lucky in that there have not been any bad releases here in Vegas, especially compared to other systems with the same hardware going through hundreds of service calls "testing" out new hardware.

vegggas

Say goodbye to DVI and 1394. Cox is shutting off the ports for these on all HD boxes. 1394 will be back April 1. DVI is unknown (at least as long as 1394). See my thread here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=364505

Does anyone have any trouble getting ESPN HD from Cox? My friend has digital cable and HD and when he turns on ESPN HD it says he is not authorized. When he called COX (yesterday) they told him ESPN HD was another $7 a month with Discovery HD. This makes no sense. I thought ESPN HD has been free for months. Has anyone else had this problem?

Vegggas...I saw the USDTV stuff a few weeks ago. It has since disappeared from my receiver as well.

Originally posted by pbykowski
Does anyone have any trouble getting ESPN HD from Cox? My friend has digital cable and HD and when he turns on ESPN HD it says he is not authorized. When he called COX (yesterday) they told him ESPN HD was another $7 a month with Discovery HD. This makes no sense. I thought ESPN HD has been free for months. Has anyone else had this problem?

Send them to this page (in quotes)
http://www.cox.com/lasvegas/Digitalcable/hdpricing.asp

You can check it out yourself attheir website (http://www.cox.com/lasvegas/Digitalcable/hdpricing.asp)

vegggas

4 days and counting. Will KVBC offer the Daytona 500 in HD?

Originally posted by gworkman
4 days and counting. Will KVBC offer the Daytona 500 in HD?

I spoke with engineering this morning, and was told that we are having difficulties with the automated switching system that flips between SD and HD when NBC changes format on their digital feed.

However, the staff here says "even if we have to switch it by hand, we'll be in HD for the race."

That's the latest from KVBC. :D

(now, where are those Cox HD PVR's?)

So does that mean it will show up on cable on channel 123 even if it's HD or does Cox have to do something too?

Darn it, still no HDPVR. Maybe Pioneer will win out!
Regarding the ISF calibration, I've used Gregg Loewen for my 57" Sony. First time was August 02, then he did tweeks duing CES for the past two years. He did an excellent job and I highly recommend him. He does tours to LA regularly, and he's going to be here in April or May to do my projector, so I'm sure he'd love to get some business while he's here. I believe he's done another LV board members set as well this past January. If you are interested in seeing what my set looks like, let me know!
For Gregg's site, do a search for Lion AV or email me for the link

Pat

Looks like KVBC is in HD for Third Watch tonight! Looks good except for the black bars around the screen. I don't think they have it formatted for 16x9 yet.

Which channel are you seeing this on? I've tried 123 and it looks like a very good digital picture to me...but, not quite HD. I don't see it being carried in the 700 tier. Am I missing something?

OTA channel 2 with an antenna.

OK...the light bulb just went off in my Cox-centric mind! :)

OTA looks good so far, but I don't see any subchannels. I only see the main HD upconvert signal in the place of the previous SD signal. Has there been ANY HD content on this channel yet (first time viewing it)?
Cox is still getting the SD digital signal and displaying it on 123. My contacts are in the dark about the HD retransmission of the race tomorrow.

Paul, what do you know about the feed going to Cox? Is the fiber providing both the SD and HD, or just the SD signal?

The last thing I heard about Cox was a channel realignment and new HD channel additions in March, but no specific names or numbers.

vegggas

I just got in on the (H)DTV scene. H is in parentheses because I only have the cheap and crappy WinTV-D as my tuner. Right now I can receive CBS (7), Fox (9),
PBS (11), and ABC (12) on a homemade dipole cut for channel 7 thumbtacked to my ceiling. I've also made contacts with Gold 33 (29) on a silver sensor and WB (22) using a shoddier dipole I tried to cut for channel 2 which I don't use now because it didn't hold the 2 actual HD stations 7 and 12 in.

Anyhow, I wonder who's having success on bringing in channel 2 and OTA and what they're using. Is it even possible with an indoor antenna? Also, to anyone thinking of going the OTA route, don't waste the money on a silver sensor, it just doesn't have enough gain for HDTV.

I'm actually getting all 9 digital stations with an old UHF hoop antenna sitting on the top shelf of my closet. Channel 29 gets 70% signal, all others (including KVBC) are 80 and above. It also gives me a clear analog picture for KTUD. I live near DI and Eastern, and can see Black Mountain from my bedroom balcony. I have a Dish Net 6000 rcvr.

gworkman, unfortunately, I'm on the other side of the strip in the central valley so I have all those pesky hotel towers in my way. From what I've read up on antennas multipath is really killer on low vhf on which KVBC-DT 2 lies. I'm optimistic that I'll be able to pull it with the right gear, so hopefully someone else facing the same topography can guide me in the right direction.

never mind

Hmmm...no HD-NBC on the Cox guide yet.

KVBC must be having problems, race is in 4 x 3 format not 16 x 9. Sat box & internal tv tuner indicate HD. Its the same format as CBS when they are not showing an HD program

Originally posted by Tallen234
Hmmm...no HD-NBC on the Cox guide yet.

Probably not until March, assuming that KVBC NBC actually has any HD by that time and provide a retransmit signal to Cox. So far I have not seen any HD from NBC OTA.
The race is not in HD locally, oh well. Didn't think it would happen anyway.

The Nascar In Car Freeview on channels 523 - 529 are great though.
I'm using PIP to watch the main NBC feed in one window and switching from the seven different in car cameras in the other window. That's cool. I think all digital customers get that for free today so enjoy it while you can.

vegggas
edit to above statement: I have not seen any "real" HD content from NBC yet, just the SD signal transmitted at 1080i in 4x3 format.

v

Looks HD to me. I've been watching KVBC-DT since they started and last nights shows must have been HD. They looked completely different. I could see details in the picture that I couldn't see prior to Friday.

Originally posted by pbykowski
Looks HD to me. I've been watching KVBC-DT since they started and last nights shows must have been HD. They looked completely different. I could see details in the picture that I couldn't see prior to Friday.
It's the 1080i signal, but the content is 480i SD. What you are seeing is the SD signal on the HD format. Just like CBS or ABC when they are not broadcasting in HD, they show the 4x3 upconverted. An HD signal will be MUCH cleaner and 16x9.

vegggas

I hope KVBC gets the HD going soon. So far it's the first channel I have hopes of getting in HD OTA. The other digital station I can get is Fox and as far as I have heard (which has been a while) is they have no plans to do Fox Widescreen. I see now that they are broadcasting a 1080i signal. This makes one more station for the HD TiVo I pre-ordered to record. Since I get no signal from KLAS I had Directv request a waiver so with the TiVo I'll be able to record NBC, CBS, HDNet, HDNet Movies, HBOHD, ESPNHD (doubt I'll record anything here), and Discovery HD Theatre.

So when NBC actully broadcasts something in HD I'm going to send another email to our Fox station asking when they are going to broadcast thier networks digital signal. They will be the last of the big 4 to do this (and I'm going to let them know that).

NBC info...
The Analog (3) and Digital (123) NBC feeds to COX went out at around 11:40PM Sunday night. The analog feed came back around 12:30 AM, but at the time of this writing, the digital feed on 123 is still out. There is no update on the IPG in the 700's for an HD feed from NBC (733) either, but there is something going on with the retransmit signal tonight.
I see no change in the digital OTA signal and it appears unaffected. Maybe NBC is reconfiguring their feed to Cox for retransmit of the HD signal?

After 1:00AM, I'm going to have to wait until morning to find out.

vegggas

lvthunder, Fox is switching to real 720p hdtv so at this point the station is going to be looking at that instead of the outgoing 480p digital widescreen. While you're fighting the good fight make some noise to Sinclair about carrying the WB hdtv feed. I'm suprised you only get KVBC and KVVU, especially since KVBC is the only english station I haven't been able to pull in at all with indoor antennas. [At least I've finally got it to (barely) register on the signal meter.]

GeorgeLV,

I live at the base of black mountain so I can only get the stations that are on the top of it. The others like CBS and ABC I can't even get the signal meter off 0 with an attic mount antenna.

lvthunder, have you tried an attenuator? Maybe the signal is actually too strong, or are you the guy that lives directly on the other side of the mountain that the transimitters are on?

I have tried an attenuator. Unfortaniatly I do live on the opposite side of the mountain as the transmitters for CBS and ABC. I live almost directly below the transmitters that are on Black Mountain. So when NBC starts broadcasting in HD it will be the first station that I can get OTA. I can also get Fox digitally but since they don't do Fox Widescreen I don't really care.

There is no hope for lvthunder. I live on the other side of Black Mountain (closer to CBS and ABC). I have tried EVERYTHING to get those stations. I finally got ABC with a very weak signal, but my antenna was so high it eventually blew down. I have it in the attic now and all I get is NBC and FOX. Antennaweb is wrong, I've tried every size antenna available in the valley with no luck.

Sure there is hope for me. I just have to sell my house and move somewhere else. Next time I'm looking for a house I'm definitely going to bring my HD receiver to the house and make sure I can get the channels I want. As for antennaweb they probibly don't take elevation into account so they don't see the tons of rock between the tower and my antenna.

I'm starting to think antenna priniciples that work for analog, don't necessarily hold for digital tv. Following theory I cut out a director and reflector for the dipole I made. With the tuner set to analog my picture on 8, 10, and 13 became crystal clear and 3 was acceptable. However, it totally killed my digital reception. Removing the director brought the digital back. I know my thumbtack Yagi isn't close to being technically correct, but I wonder how an adjustment that drastically improves analog can kill digital. Any engineer types can explain this?

KTNV is having a lot of problems with the HD feed of Jurassic Park 3. They've already dropped down to the SD feed twice. Is this par for the course with them?

No most of the time I've watched KTNV lately they have been almost perfect. The only problems I've had with them is when they switch from DD5.1 (National) to DD2.0 (local). The local stuff is the local commercials. Other than that I haven't had any more problems with them then anyone else.

lvthunder, that's good news. The bad news is that it doesn't look like the HD feed of JP3 is coming back up.

Originally posted by vegggas
NBC info...
The Analog (3) and Digital (123) NBC feeds to COX went out at around 11:40PM Sunday night. The analog feed came back around 12:30 AM, but at the time of this writing, the digital feed on 123 is still out. There is no update on the IPG in the 700's for an HD feed from NBC (733) either, but there is something going on with the retransmit signal tonight.
I see no change in the digital OTA signal and it appears unaffected. Maybe NBC is reconfiguring their feed to Cox for retransmit of the HD signal?

After 1:00AM, I'm going to have to wait until morning to find out.

vegggas

I've been told that after a frustrating day of trying to get NBC's HD signal to synch up to the NBC supplied HD reciever that we weren't able to get the Daytona 500 out in HD as we had hoped.

Later on Sunday night, the Cox - supplied fiber optic cable box that gets our signal directly from the control room and transmits it digitally to the Cox head-end malfunctioned, and we were dark on 3 and 123 for about half an hour. We contacted Cox, and they took our on-air signal and placed it on Channel 3.

We continue to work on getting NBC-supplied HD content to Cox and to our Black Mountain ATSC transmitter.

Keep up the good work. I'm sure you guys will figure it out.

Thanks for the effort (and the communication).

Urrrrrrrrrrrr, Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh. . . does the above indicate that the local NBC affiliate will soon be broadcasting in hi-def???? Boy--I sure hope so. I just moved here from Florida and was spoiled by watching all my NBC favorites in hi-def in Florida. Heck, even the local FOX affiliate was broadcasting in widescreen SDTV.

Thanks for the update Paul.
We, the viewers, really ARE actively watching the progress of NBC moving to HD.
I still watched "Las Vegas" and Leno in SD on Monday, but look forward to the HD versions real soon.

Bgluigi,
The only OTA HD stations in Las Vegas are ABC 12, CBS 9, and PBS 11.
NBC was trying to go live by last weekends race, but should be up soon in HD at 2. All other locals are SD 480i transmitted digitally.
Cox also offers those local HD stations and other HD channels for varying levels of prices and service packages.


vegggas

Does anybody here have a problem with Scientific Atlantas 3250HD? The black levels on it are too high.............The HD channels are fine........but the other channels come out too dark..........Adjusted the brightness to the highest level.

Yesterday evening I spoke with our CE, who told me that we're now upconverting SD content to 1080i in 4/3 format. He's pleased at how it looks, and I'll tell you that watching two identical monitors in engineering side by side looking at news footage we've shot gives a clear indication of just how much the picture quality has improved. Close-ups of skin show many more blemishes with our upconverted signal. That's not good for some but it's better than staring at test patterns. :)

We're waiting for a replacement HD receiver to place in our satellite chain to get HD content. Part of the problem is that NBC doesn't offer us much in HD and so our window of opportunity to test our chain is limited to some primetime and late night.

Please remember that we are in the middle of "sweeps" and that our #1 priority for the next two weeks is to keep our SD signal up and running. Sadly, homes with digital televisions are NOT currently metered by Nielsen (nor those with HTPC's or PVRs from Cox, DirecTV, Dish, Replay or Tivo) so we don't get a ratings boost by offering HDTV content. :(

We do, however, look to the future and know that in a 250 channel world, if KVBC can be one of a handful of stations offering HD content that people want to see, we will continue to be a market leader instead of just another SD channel.

Originally posted by HeinePaul
Yesterday evening I spoke with our CE, who told me that we're now upconverting SD content to 1080i in 4/3 format. He's pleased at how it looks, and I'll tell you that watching two identical monitors in engineering side by side looking at news footage we've shot gives a clear indication of just how much the picture quality has improved. Close-ups of skin show many more blemishes with our upconverted signal. That's not good for some but it's better than staring at test patterns. :)

We're waiting for a replacement HD receiver to place in our satellite chain to get HD content. Part of the problem is that NBC doesn't offer us much in HD and so our window of opportunity to test our chain is limited to some primetime and late night.

Please remember that we are in the middle of "sweeps" and that our #1 priority for the next two weeks is to keep our SD signal up and running. Sadly, homes with digital televisions are NOT currently metered by Nielsen (nor those with HTPC's or PVRs from Cox, DirecTV, Dish, Replay or Tivo) so we don't get a ratings boost by offering HDTV content. :(

We do, however, look to the future and know that in a 250 channel world, if KVBC can be one of a handful of stations offering HD content that people want to see, we will continue to be a market leader instead of just another SD channel.


ahhhhhhhhhhh---thanks for the update. I too look forward to when KVBC will elevate itself beyond just being another SD channel and strive to become a market leader. . . but I don't think the local CBS affiliate is exactly shaking in its boots right now:p

Originally posted by Bgluigi
but I don't think the local CBS affiliate is exactly shaking in its boots right now:p

:confused:

Actually, since I'm the first person in Las Vegas to see the overnights every single morning, I imagine that, thanks to CSI and Megabucks giveaways, the folks at KLAS are extremely happy to finally be in the running for the title of "news leader" they've claimed for the past year or so. KVBC has been by far the dominant station in both news and overall market share since Nielsen started metering Las Vegas in 1998*.

It's easy to be confused by some of their promotional announcements, however. KLAS has been quietly slapped by NSI in the past for using inaccurate or misleading ratings, sourcing, and promotions, including the amusing "Source: Nelson Ratings" (sic):D In fact, a misleading open to their 11pm weeknight newscast was changed just this month after a telephone discussion with Nielsen.

*If you would care to know the facts, I'll be happy to share them with you via PM. I do not wish to further sully this pleasant, useful HDTV forum with bristled responses to a fallacious statement made by an anonymous poster.
:p

HD talks, SD walks

Thanks for the update Paul. If your testing on the transmitter instead of just the internal monitors, maybe we could help??? You could leak the approximate times out and we could give CONSTRUCTIVE criticism back to you either via this forum, PM or email at KVBC. You know we love to see test patterns too!

I'm staying away from the OTA for now because I can't stretch the 4x3 on my TV or OTA STB and don't want burn in. I'll still check it out one in a while though.

vegggas

Originally posted by tazlv
Does anybody here have a problem with Scientific Atlantas 3250HD? The black levels on it are too high.............The HD channels are fine........but the other channels come out too dark..........Adjusted the brightness to the highest level.
I have noticed that mine has an almost "Negative" type image in dark scenes, when using the s-video through a HTPC. Straight to the TV with both composite and component seems ok, but with a faint amount of shadow detail loss.
I've also noted that EVERY DAY, my box resets to a 480i FIXED output, even on the HD channels. I have to manually go in and change it back to PASS THROUGH to get all resolutions for the HD channels. The guide data is also not automatically loading anymore either. I'll have to go back and rewire and check my levels again. I was back there reconnecting the OTA tuner and assorted wiring for the race last weekend in hopes it would have been in HD. I think I jacked something up back there, cause it started having these problems a day or two later.:( Unfortunately, it requires a lot of time and effort to get back there to work, so I have been putting it off until the weekend.

vegggas

Originally posted by HeinePaul
:confused:

Actually, since I'm the first person in Las Vegas to see the overnights every single morning, I imagine that, thanks to CSI and Megabucks giveaways, the folks at KLAS are extremely happy to finally be in the running for the title of "news leader" they've claimed for the past year or so. KVBC has been by far the dominant station in both news and overall market share since Nielsen started metering Las Vegas in 1998*.

It's easy to be confused by some of their promotional announcements, however. KLAS has been quietly slapped by NSI in the past for using inaccurate or misleading ratings, sourcing, and promotions, including the amusing "Source: Nelson Ratings" (sic):D In fact, a misleading open to their 11pm weeknight newscast was changed just this month after a telephone discussion with Nielsen.

*If you would care to know the facts, I'll be happy to share them with you via PM. I do not wish to further sully this pleasant, useful HDTV forum with bristled responses to a fallacious statement made by an anonymous poster. m
:p

Shucks, I don't see any "overnights every single morning" to tell me who's king of the hill as far as news watching is concerned. What I would like to watch is a little more high definition television and we know who's king of the hill in that department. HDTV is what this forum is all about and when I read misleading PR statements like KVBC leading us into the future after having read all of this thread in which I get the impression that KVBC is dragging its feet with one excuse after another for not going into hi-def broadcasting, I get a little testy. Believe me, I understand that hi-def viewers are an extreme minority and don't count in those Nielsen ratings and for this reason KVBC is reluctant to spend money on updating their equipment---but don't you see--this is what makes CBS commitment to HDTV all the more remarkable. Anyway, I'm happy to get this one person's viewpoint expressed in an open forum - pleasant or otherwise as it just galls me that the CBS affiliate has been broadcasting in hi-def now for what---2+ years now and the NBC affiliate has yet to get its feet wet. Why's that? BTW I don't consider myself as "an anonymous poster" but rather as an intrested new high definition Las Vegas TV viewer.:p :) :(

You are so correct except try about 5 years that KLAS has had HD. I am happy that KVBC is finally trying to catch up, and they have good dedicated engineering personel. But I think their owner was just reluctant to invest any $$ into his plant untill the FCC made him, and he saw how good his competition looks. Because you can bet there's probably a real nice HDTV sitting in his living room. And the excuse that they have 12 stations to convert to DT is lame as well. Like my mom always said, "if you can't feed em, don't breed em."

Anybody else notice the audio disappear on KFBT?

Both 33 (DT29) and 21 (DT22) had no audio starting at 10 last night. Didn't have it on either one this morning. I'm at work now so haven't got a clue if both are still down.

Well I have to admit the Tonight Show looked mighty fine in HD last night on KVBC-DT ch 2-1.
At least they beat Fox to the HD punch ;)

Does anybody know if KVBC-DT is at maximum power yet? I'd like to watch it now that it's in HD, but the signal strength is too low for me here in the central valley.

Although we are certainly disappointed at not having NBC in HD yet, let's not gang up on Paul. He has been a nice inside source for information. He certainly doesn't have to post anything on AVS.

Originally posted by SteveRS
Well I have to admit the Tonight Show looked mighty fine in HD last night on KVBC-DT ch 2-1.
At least they beat Fox to the HD punch ;)
That's not the HD version of the Tonight show, yet... You were still watching the SD 480i version on the upconverted NBC signal. They are still(?) awaiting the HD recievers to get and rebroadcast the HD version soon. Paul will probably tell us after they are installed, but we will notice the difference immediately.
Comparitively, you could just choose the output resolution of your STB to 1080i for any source (including Fox) and see similar results.

vegggas

Originally posted by vegggas
That's not the HD version of the Tonight show, yet... You were still watching the SD 480i version on the upconverted NBC signal. They are still(?) awaiting the HD recievers to get and rebroadcast the HD version soon. Paul will probably tell us after they are installed, but we will notice the difference immediately.
Comparitively, you could just choose the output resolution of your STB to 1080i for any source (including Fox) and see similar results.

vegggas

You are cracking me up!

KVBC appears to be HD tonite, put on shrek and its in 16 x 9 format. Can not be sure if its HD or not as it is animation. Will watch to see if law & order SVU is HD

Originally posted by vegggas
That's not the HD version of the Tonight show, yet... You were still watching the SD 480i version on the upconverted NBC signal. They are still(?) awaiting the HD recievers to get and rebroadcast the HD version soon. Paul will probably tell us after they are installed, but we will notice the difference immediately.
Comparitively, you could just choose the output resolution of your STB to 1080i for any source (including Fox) and see similar results.

vegggas
I stand corrected! Just turned on the OTA box to see how Shrek looks, and BAM, there it is, in GREAT looking 16x9 HD! So it looks like SteveRS could have seen the "Tonight show" in HD Friday. I thought they didn't have the replacement recievers installed yet.
So, when was the first true HD signal sent out? Was it Friday night's episode of the "Tonight Show"?

FWIW, I heard that this Monday's "Las Vegas" will not be in HD for the entire Network, but I look forward to the next HD showing in March.

vegggas

Indeed, Law & Order was in true HD 16x9 as well. Nice, now the question is when will it be on Cox...

Originally posted by doormat
Indeed, Law & Order was in true HD 16x9 as well. Nice, now the question is when will it be on Cox...
Looks like there is a new "test" channel on 888. They could be evaluating the signal and/or awaiting permisssion from KVBC???

I guess SNL is not in HD either?

vegggas

We were watching to 6PM news Friday on KVBC and they went off the air (DT) for a few seconds and came back pillarboxed in 1080i. The first show they ran in HD was Third Watch and the switch was seemless. They have run every HD show available since. Shrek looked outstanding in HD.

Originally posted by hdtvxpert
We were watching to 6PM news Friday on KVBC and they went off the air (DT) for a few seconds and came back pillarboxed in 1080i. The first show they ran in HD was Third Watch and the switch was seemless. They have run every HD show available since. Shrek looked outstanding in HD.

Hope NBC gets their signal to Cox soon. I don't watch NBC that much or at all because I am watching the other HD channel(CBS/ABC/PBS/Discovery/ESPN) instead. Once you see it in HD...all the others look like 1950 TV...:-)

Jack

I agree. Paul keeps thinking they are losing viewers because they are going HD (archaic Nielson rating). At that rate, they've already "lost" about 20,000 cable customers here alone that have HDTV, or DVR from Cox. I only watched a few shows on SD NBC, because the competition was in HD. In this case, I would actually watch more NBC if it was in HD. I actually watched L&O SVU last night for the first time, BECAUSE it was in HD. Other than that, I would have found something else to watch.

Cox has another channel realignment in March with more channels being added. I was under the impression that there was a reserved space for NBCHD at 733 (testing on 888?). This means that either they will re-broadcast it on Monday or Tuesday, or wait until the re-alignment to add the modulator back into the mix.
When that happens, I can change my sig to say 12 HD cable channels...

vegggas

[QUOTE]Originally posted by NevadaJack
[B]Hope NBC gets their signal to Cox soon. I don't watch NBC that much or at all because I am watching the other HD channel(CBS/ABC/PBS/Discovery/ESPN) instead. Once you see it in HD...all the others look like 1950 TV...:-)


Boy, ain't that the truth. Whoever said a picture is worth a thousand words knew what they were talking about. I find myself watching programs on the hi-def channels I never would have dreamed I'd be watching----travel programs for God sake just cause the picture is so captivating. Before HDTV I watched mostly cable - movies, some reruns but very few network shows. Now, just about all I watch are CBS shows because they were hi-def originally but now just because they're very good---I have yet to see an episode of the "The Guardian" that wasn't 1st rate. I guess its like the movie theaters years ago when they were terrified of the impact of TV and started coming out with widescreen movies to lure people back to the theaters. CBS has sure lurned me back to network television. Which brings up the subject of NBC. If memory serves they were the 1st network to broadcast in color. I think the Tonite show with Johnny Carson was the 1st show I saw in color and it was amazing. Somewhere along the line NBC lost its creative talent - than they lost baseball, football and so forth and so on to the point where I watch an occasional Law And Order from time to time. So much for the history of television from my worms eye view but I've been an avid tube watcher now for 60 years and still going strong.

What I find most annoying is now I am getting used to HD. So, whenever I see something in SD, I get mad. This is particularly so in Football on Rear Projections TV's. The picture is SO bad in SD and so good in HD. Given that I now know what HD looks like, I find SD Football almost unwatchable!

Cox has another channel realignment in March with more channels being added.

Any ideas on what channels are being added?

Should NBC be in DD 5.1 now that they are HD? I'm getting 2 channel sound. Is this something they are working on or will it stay this way? I haven't received ABC in a while, but I think I remember getting 5.1 sound.

Originally posted by GeorgeLV
Does anybody know if KVBC-DT is at maximum power yet? I'd like to watch it now that it's in HD, but the signal strength is too low for me here in the central valley.

In Spring Valley ch 2-1 has a 88% signal strength, 8-1 85%, 11-1 90%, 13-1 98%.
Using a Dish DVR-921 and rooftop antenna with clear line of sight to Black Mountain.

For some reason the DVR-921 tuner won't receive KVBC-DT but my Mitsubishi WS-65813 will.
I also had problems with Dish 6000 and 2-1.

I don't know why KVBC-DT can be difficult for some ATSC tuners.
All I know is that I won't be watching much with that bright peacock and olympic rings burning in my CRT RPTV.

SteveRS, I use a WinTV-D, which if you haven't heard, is sort of a piece of crap (downcoverts everything to 480i, no transport stream recording). However it's about the only way to get ATSC for under a hundred bucks. It don't get percentages, only a db reading. You need to get about 16db of signal strength for a signal to display. KVBC only hits 6db.

BTW, do you actually use all 3 tuners?

Originally posted by pbykowski
Should NBC be in DD 5.1 now that they are HD? I'm getting 2 channel sound. Is this something they are working on or will it stay this way? I haven't received ABC in a while, but I think I remember getting 5.1 sound.

So, two days go by with KVBC-DT in 1080i, and already the moaning about no 5.1 starts? :rolleyes:

Although no one wants 5.1 sound more than me, it's not going to happen in the forseeable future. Let's remember that NBC, as a network, was the last to the table when it came to HD content, and their use of 5.1 sound is incredibly limited.

Enjoy the picture. Try ProLogic II, IIx, Neo6, or CircleSurround for more than two speakers with KVBC audio. I do. :p

Originally posted by HeinePaul
So, two days go by with KVBC-DT in 1080i, and already the moaning about no 5.1 starts? :rolleyes:

Although no one wants 5.1 sound more than me, it's not going to happen in the forseeable future. Let's remember that NBC, as a network, was the last to the table when it came to HD content, and their use of 5.1 sound is incredibly limited.

Enjoy the picture. Try ProLogic II, IIx, Neo6, or CircleSurround for more than two speakers with KVBC audio. I do. :p

No complaints here...channel 123 looks a 100% better! When can we see it on 700+ in full HD format?

So does that mean that KVBC doesn't have the equipment to do DD5.1 or does it mean NBC doesn't send DD5.1? In my mind there is a huge difference here. I know CBS doesn't send DD5.1 very much at all yet. I also know that KLAS doesn't have the equipment to send it anyways. I can't blame KLAS for this because they were broadcasting in HD for years before CBS could send them DD5.1.

I did not notice on my equipment if Shrek was in dd 5.1 or not. But I can tell you it was in full 5 channel surround and it filled my living room with the best sound I have ever heard on KVBC. With 1080i now they have KLAS on the ropes. The transistions from 4:3 content to 16:9 are perfectly seemless and their local SD stuff looks sharp with nice chroma and black levels. I am glad they don't stretch the 4:3 stuff like KTNV. That stuff is ok and prevents burn in, but it looks too soft. I hope the WB and Fox stations follow ch 3 and 8 when they do their switches to 1080.

I watched Leno in HD last night, and the PQ looked great. The intro looks almost 3D. During the opening monologue, on the HD channel, you could see his shirt had a grid pattern, but comparing to the digital on 123, it looked like he had vertical stripes. Interesting comparison on how much detail is lost...

vegggas

Originally posted by NevadaJack
No complaints here...channel 123 looks a 100% better! When can we see it on 700+ in full HD format?

That's a question best directed to the folks at Cox.

Originally posted by HeinePaul
That's a question best directed to the folks at Cox.

I did just that, and I received a lovely form letter (the duplicative paragraph is from Cox) :mad:

Dear Valued Cox Customer:

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

Dear Valued Cox Customer:

Thank you for contacting Cox Communications. Cox is committed to
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Has anyone been listening? The CSR's and anyone dealing with the public will not answer these types of questions until it is already done. You will never get a specific date mentioned in an email or anything other than word of mouth, unless it's a corporate directive and an official announcement. The CSR's will not even know of any changes until they happen. Since these are all COX employees, it's likely they do not have OTA and are not even aware of the upgrade. Only the engineering and MTC staff will have that information, and they were probably given very short notice to physically insert that channel (looks like testing on 888). Once that is inserted and mapped across the valley, it has to be tested for stability and other things like EBS (emergency signal) type of service insertion, which is mandatory of all channels leaving their Headend. Also factor in the Political things that have to be signed between the two entities for agreements, etc, for legal reasons and then it should be remapped to a consumer channel and all the boxes will have to be updated with new IPG data.
With Leap year this Feb 29th, they may be waiting until that date passes before making any more changes to the software and lineup. They are currently busy with the 8000 DVR software snafu from SA that "forgot" about leapyear.
My "guess" is availability on March 1st or soon after when a complete channel realignment is done sometime in March. Worst case scenario is mid April, when they remove some of the analog channels to make more room for HD and EOD services.
I'ts not like we haven't waited the last three years for NBC to get their signal up anyway...

vegggas

Rough night?


Originally posted by vegggas
Has anyone been listening?

Originally posted by Tallen234
Rough night?
Yes, actually, but that doesn't matter (DA** rain). Sorry for the rant...

I'm watching NBCHD on COX Channel 884 right now!

I had rebooted my box, because it was not updating the guide, and now it's there, right after the DVR channel. I think this is temp location, but it's there. Also, right now it's just "Apprentice" in 4x3, but the West Wing" is on later and it may be HD.

vegggas

Sweet, you are right. Nice catch. I am not sure, but I hope West Wing is in HD.

Looks like we got some HD West Wing on 884!

I would still expect changes to the final location. The lineup sheets they have passed out earlier were showing NBCHD on 733.

This may just be another test that leaked out.

vegggas

Just got some information about StarzHD and CinemaxHD being added to the local Cox HD lineup. Looks like this will take place in April, along with a few more channel changes, additions and deletions.

I'll hopefully get more information tomorrow and provide some specifics.

vegggas

That's great news... Has there been any update on HDNet?

Toby

Hmm.. Can't access NBCHD 884 again...

Good News!:)
StarzHD and CinemaxHD will be added to the lineup the third week of April for a total of 7 new channels added - Relax, only those two are HD. To get those channels, it follows the same pattern as HBO and SHO. If you subscribe to the package, you get the HD versions at no added cost. Assume the same content and scenarios as other users on this thread in other cable systems.

Bad News!:(
Looks like those two channels will be on 711 and 721. Thats where the current East coast versions of HBO and SHO are located. It looks like we lose the East coast feeds, but gain more variety with these new channels.

On HDNET
There were negotiations last year that fell throuogh. At this point, Cox is not getting that channel.

vegggas

Hey all...I've got some questions about COX HD Service in Las Vegas.

1. I have DIrecTV/HD with a Zenith 520 set-top box. I get my local HD channels from a dish-mounted antenna.

2. I am moving to a new house at the end of March and am probably going to switch to Cox Cable.

3. I assume that if I subscribe to digital cable, that the HD signal is always present in the line anyways and can I use my Zenith set-top box to decode the signal without having to rent the box from Cox?

4. If I *do* have to rent the box from Cox, does there box have DVI output?

5. Is it true that COX does not carry SpikeTV? (Channel 325 on satellite?)

You cannot use the Zenith STB to decode Cox HD. Cable use Quam system and the Zenith is 8vsb, both completely incompatible.

Originally posted by Shawn C
3. I assume that if I subscribe to digital cable, that the HD signal is always present in the line anyways and can I use my Zenith set-top box to decode the signal without having to rent the box from Cox?

4. If I *do* have to rent the box from Cox, does there box have DVI output?

5. Is it true that COX does not carry SpikeTV? (Channel 325 on satellite?)

3. That box isnt compatible w/ Cox HD.
4. Yes, the box has DVI out but its not operable right now (i think) (SA3250).
5. Spike TV is on 29.

Veggas, I see a few QAM PC tuners hitting the market. But they are unable to decrypt. Does COX encrypt all digital channels?

Thanks, Eddie

Originally posted by fasteddielv
Veggas, I see a few QAM PC tuners hitting the market. But they are unable to decrypt. Does COX encrypt all digital channels?
Thanks, Eddie
As far as I know, yes to all those that matter. I think there are a few info or preview screens not encrypted, but why bother. Consider the same scenario that sat has. You get a new reciever, and only the preview and marketing channels are available until you subscribe to service. Even new recievers will not get free OTA until you subscribe and activate the box. Sat equipment has the ability to be authorized, as designed, from the start as a one way system only. Consumer cable equipment is only starting to use authorization techniques hammered out by the FCC for cable cards and one way devices and soon, two way devices. All other equipment has been maintained and sold by the provider.
Some people complain about that being harsh, but a cable system is a private, closed, wired network. In that enviroment, tampering, unauthorized hookups and equipment can dramatically affect other users and bring the overall system quality down. As explained to me, the MSO's move to digital and encryption on all channels is a way of eventually getting rid of all the unauthorized connections and thereby providing a better product for customers.
This can be talked and debated about for several pages though...

vegggas

Yes, all the channels in digital on cox are scrambled except for the PPV preview and sports PPV preview channels. I've hooked up my QAM demodulator up to the coax and surfed through the digital channels and nothing of interest was found.

Hopefully my Mits 55511 will one day support those CAM modules so I can have that as my STB (there is a card slot on my TV).

Thanks for the reply, I kinda figured it was just a dream. I was not interested in receiving illegal cable channels, just the OTA HDTV that COX broadcasts. But oh well I guess.

Thanks again, Eddie

Not really inferring illegal hookups, but half the problem with cable is the amount of noise and ingress on the system from, poor connections and devices that can back feed into the system. MSO's are trying to get the integrity of their signal to be better to provide higher bandwith with less noise. This gives us more content and better quality from the same equipment.

vegggas

Heard some info today that Cox might be rolling out the 8000HD DVR along with the additional HD channels. If that's true, it will be mid to late April for the DVR's to be available. I'll have something more specific to print when I hear about it. In the meantime, There is supposed to be a firmware update for current boxes to help with the audio dropouts and some boxes experiencing the blacklevel issues.

vegggas

vegggas, any word on what SA 8000 HD part we're gunna get? Whats deployed in other Cox markets? The PDF (http://www.scientificatlanta.com/customers/Source/4004400.pdf) list 4 models, two with firewire ports, two without, each with 80GB or 160GB. 80 GB is only 10 hrs of HD...

Will the 8000hd have regular component connections rather than DVI? My TV doesn't have DVI or firewire, but I still want to have the HDPVR. I really don't care about recording HD, but I certainly want to watch.

Not a clue (about model)... Just heard that we were going to get some... eventually.
For component, it should be there.

Still can't get the NBC test channel any more on 884. It must have been a fluke that it was on my box for those few short hours of happy HD bliss.
The OTA NBC HD feed for "Las Vegas" is not in HD. Still haven't been able watch this program in HD yet. Other posts say the Network feed is SD, so it's not a local issue. Maybe next season... Off to watch the CBS lineup in Real HD!

vegggas

Thanks for the info guys. I have one more question. When I called COX to find out how much $$$$ it was going to take to get everything I wanted, they told me they wouldn't install a DVR unit and an HD box on the same TV. That didn't make much sense to me. Can't you just get a splitter and run the two boxes seperately? I would just have to change inputs on my T.V.

I told the guy I knew that the HD box and the PVR don't work together, but there's no reason I can't use them on the same T.V.

I think you cant have 2 boxes on the same TV because the remote cotrols use the same signaling....

That is not a problem.... just turn one on manually... either one.

From then on whenever you push the power "on" button... one will turn on and the other off...

Then select the TV input for whichever you are viewing...

Go in and pick up your boxes and do a "self-install" then they will not know that both are hooked to the same TV.

Steve

I think the downside to that is... you will have two boxes and from cox's perspective, two digital gateways. I.E. $20 for one tv instead of $10.:mad:

No outflying I don't think that's true. The second box charge is the box/remote rental only. No addition charges for services,

There is supposed to be a firmware update for current boxes to help with the audio dropouts and some boxes experiencing the blacklevel issues.

Will they update the firmware from COX or do they have to come out to my house?......Need to fix the blacklevel on my box. I have the SA 3250HD

Every update is from the Head End, no visit is required.
The black level issues are typically found on the s-video out when doing resolution or format conversion. Composite suffers a small bit, but is hardly noticeable. Component HD outputs and DVI will have no problems with native resolutions. The problem appears to be the by-product of video conversion within the box.

vegggas

On the diagram for installing the cable box......it shows that I have to connect both the component cables AND the composite(yellow video RCA) cables.........do I have to do that....because Im only using the component out to my TV.....is that why I am having black level problems?

No, only one hookup is required. I use the second output to my vcr.

It depends on your preference. Most people do not like the "look" of the component out on analog or non HD material, so they use the composite out.
Check out the 3250 thread located here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3478110#post3478110) . This is just a link to the current thread post, but you should check out the entire thread, especially the start for more information about the 3250 box and it's problems and how to diagnose them.

vegggas

vegggas,

Are the updates automatic or do I have to ask for them?

Whenever SA makes an update available, they give it to the MSO markets one at a time. When the updates are available to our system, the MSO will distribute it all at one time and it will be automatic to users. Typically between 1:00 and 5:00 AM a download will be sent to the entire system. The boxes will get the download, reboot and then remain off.
Don't bother calling. The most a CSR will ususally do is reboot your box and force the same download that you already have. This can also be done by pulling the power plug, holding the power button and plugging it back in.
I heard the next update may be in mid to late March.

vegggas

A buddy of mine just pre-ordered the new DirectTV HD-PVR which should be about the very end of March. Now that there is actually a "date" for the DirecTV box, let's hope that Cox is soon right behind with their own HDPVR.

As y'all know I am a bit frustrated that my non-HD friends are ahead of me on the PVR tech curve!

NBC - HD (733) is now operating. :-)

Great! You can now put 12 channels and counting Vegggas....now I hope they work on KVVU for the fall when Fox goes to HD.

Originally posted by JoustGod
NBC - HD (733) is now operating. :-)

Great!! Makes my day!! Thanks to those at Cox and local NBC that made this happen!

Originally posted by tazlv
Great! You can now put 12 channels and counting Vegggas....now I hope they work on KVVU for the fall when Fox goes to HD.
The last I heard, KVVU was not going HD anytime soon. The Fox network will have HD broadcasts, but the local station may still only show the SD signal.

Anyone hear anything different about Fox and WB in Las Vegas?

Looks like April 22 is the launch date for StarzHD and CinemaxHD. On that date they will replace the East coast HD feeds of HBO and SHO. Still no date on the 8000HD box, but the "rumor" is right around the same time as the new HD channel launch in April.

vegggas

Yea, there was an article on the removal of the premium pay channels from the analog system, forcing users to get a digital box...

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Mar-05-Fri-2004/business/23363252.html

So if Cox removes these 4 channels from analog, any ideas on what will replace them? Part of the lower tier in digital? More HD? The new HD channels are just replacing other ones, so its no net gain there.

Originally posted by doormat
Yea, there was an article on the removal of the premium pay channels from the analog system, forcing users to get a digital box...

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Mar-05-Fri-2004/business/23363252.html

So if Cox removes these 4 channels from analog, any ideas on what will replace them? Part of the lower tier in digital? More HD? The new HD channels are just replacing other ones, so its no net gain there.
The irony is that legal customers already had to have an STB to get those channels, so switching to a digital box from an analog box is no big deal. The price increase of $5 for digital gateway gets any current single movie subscriber tha same channel plus all the other extra premium channels in that package. Those with multiple premium channels will see a decrease in their bill and get a lot more premium programming.
Those that will cry the loudest are the "black box" users who will no longer have any use for those devices, because all the analog programming will be available to basic and expanded basic customers.
The idea of getting rid of those channels helps clear more bandwidth for digital channels, including HD. I would rather see a replacement of the basic analog service lineup repeated in digital. With 4 analog channels taken out, we could see up to as many as 40 SD channels duplicated digitally. I don't know what else will be added other than the 5 new digital tier channels previously mentioned, but it looks like a step in the right direction.

vegggas

Am I the only person in Vegas with an HD set that notices when ch. 13 does not switch to HD when a network show in HD comes on? Saturday night when the ABC movie " Frequency" came on, 13-1 was still in SD stretch mode, then they switched to HD mode for a second, and then back to SD stretched! Even when the ABC HDTV logo appeared on the screen, they still sat in SD mode. I had to call KTNV master control and wake up the operator, and while she was on the phone with me, she made the switch to HD and said "is this the right mode?" Hello??? Wake up channel 13! This happens a lot. The master control operators need some training I think.

Has anyone in the Las Vegas Area been able to get the DVI port to work ?

Thanks

A few users have, read back a few pages about their experiences...
The DVI port is not a "turned on" port, but was enabled by default without specific software for it. SA and COX have been specifically told to turn it off now until better HDCP software is available sometime after the 1394 ports are activated.

vegggas

NBCHD is finally on Cox channel 733. Just thought you might want to know.

Originally posted by lvthunder
NBCHD is finally on Cox channel 733. Just thought you might want to know.

You are nine posts too late! ;-)

I wonder why the system didn't notify me there were more replys here. Oh well.

Article on USDTV coming to Vegas next month...

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=528&e=2&u=/ap/20040317/ap_on_bi_ge/digital_broadcast_tv

Interesting note found on their webpage:
"IMPORTANT NOTE : The enclosed HDTV receiver will not receive ANY channels without a USDTV service agreement."
No free lunch for OTA HD reception here....

Spite :)


Originally posted by lvthunder
I wonder why the system didn't notify me there were more replys here. Oh well.

As mentioned earlier on this thread from right after CES there is no service for locals without a paid service contract. Once there is no service agreement, locals will not be available anymore. It's a paperweight without serevice fees.
The bad news is that USDTV is using so called "spare" bandwidth from our local DTV stations to transmit the channels. Two main problems are current DTV stations not broadcasting HD will sell their bandwidth for this service (like FOX, UPN and WB???) and have no HD here at all. IF, and this is a big IF, the current HD channels try to sell a few megabits of bandwidth, we will see more problems with scenes that use more than average bandwidth.
Secondary problems will be for users like lvthunder who can't get the DTV signals from some of the locations already. This service may get some, but not all the stations.

vegggas

KLAS is once again covering the March Madness Tourney on it's analog, digital and multicast feeds on Cox. Each feed will have unique programming, so the Analog channel 8 will show a different game than what's on the multicast channels. All HD games will be shown on 8.1 OTA and on Cox 730 CBSHD and the other multicast feeds will be on channels 337, 338, and 339, which are free for digital customers. It looks like there is NO CBS HD on Thursday, but a full day of 4 HD games on Friday and more details for Saturday and Sunday games coming soon.
The local March Madness coverage is being shown for free to Cox local digital subscribers thanks to KLAS and Cox agreements.

vegggas

Edit: Specific Game information can be found in Ken's post HERE (NCAA TOURNY) (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3450257#post3450257)

Sweeeeeeet! I was worried that DirecTV had exclusive rights to the NCAA tourney multicast this year..........thanx Vegggas.

Same setup as last year!
Turning on the Wayback machine to post #271 from this time last year...
link to last years post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=1950428#post1950428)

It's up to each local affiliate to be able to recieve and multicast all the CBS feeds. AFAIK The local station needs a reciever for each subchannel.

vegggas

I've been told that Cox LV is now re-broadcasting the HD locals (730-733) unencrypted. Can someone with an HD QAM tuner check this out and post the channel designations for these?

Thanks
vegggas

Do you think they broadcasting them twice? Or do you think they just unencrypted 730-733. It doesn't make sense to me to broadcast them twice. I'll take a look with the Cox box I have when I get home. It says if the channel is encypted or not.

No, they are not broadcasting them twice. They are just not encrypting them anymore. I'll check a box when I get home, but that may not be until tomorrow. I'm looking for confirmation on the unencrypted channels and what the real world channel ID's would be.

vegggas

Unencrypted digital channels on Cox Las Vegas:
94.1 (SD) NCAA Tournament Silmulcast
94.2 (SD) NCAA Tournament Silmulcast
94.3 (SD) NCAA Tournament Silmulcast

103.1 (HD) ABC HD
103.2 (HD) PBS HD

106.1 (HD) CBS HD
106.2 (HD) NBC HD

Cha-ching! Finally! Now how long will this last...

That’s great news! I can use my new C32V37 Zenith's digital QAM tuner at last!!!

Let's hear some comparisons using your internal tuners, between OTA and cable. This may be the best test using the same tuner for both sources.

vegggas

Comparison? OTA Sucks, I have a dinky $15 set of rabbit ears from BB and I'd have to get up and move them if I wanted to get more than 1 HD channel (far west side of town). My Mits doesnt seem to have signal strength indicators. But I'd say its easier w/ Cox. I just need to rewire my tv now...

That's funny... or pathetic...:)
I've been able to compare OTA with an outboard tuner against the cable STB's, but each were through seperate component inputs. The signals were virtually identical, albiet a little soft, but on different equipment and different inputs, so some amount of adjustment had to be made when the signals were converted to analog component. Each have their own quirks, but neither were direct digitally tuned and displayed, so there is room for improvement.
We now have the chance to do a direct digital comparison, which should yield a better looking result since there is no analog conversion at all. With this one test, we can see if there is any softening through the cable conversion process using the exact same equipment for each source. Only the delivery method will be different.

vegggas

I'm hearing more rumors that the SA8000HD will be available at the end of April, possibly sliding into early May. Nothing confirmed yet, just more rumors.

vegggas

Greetings fellow Las Vegans,

I'll be getting my HDTV delivered Monday and can't wait to see something other than the HD demo loops that play in all the stores..

Currently I have Cox expanded cable - a couple questions for the experts:

- I understand I'll need to subscribe to digital cable to get the HD channels. Does HD come automatically with the cable box, or is that a separate subscription service like HBO/Showtime?

- There is a self-install option. Is this a good idea or am I a cheapskate for trying to save $10? I'm pretty sure I can find the TVs component jacks/coax jacks..

- I noticed Discovery HD is extra. Is it worth it? I'm a discovery channel fan. Is it separate programming or just a better looking version of what I already watch?

Thanks for your help.

Mike

Greetings.

You will need to lease the HD cable box, which is around 6 bucks more than the standard digital cable box. The HD service is free, except for DiscoveryHD, which is $5 a month. If you will already be subscribing to other premium channels (HBO, Showtime, etc.), you will receive the HD channels for free. Please review this thread, as it contains a bunch of useful information for fellow LVers getting into HD.

Enjoy!

Originally posted by mdk2

- I noticed Discovery HD is extra. Is it worth it? I'm a discovery channel fan. Is it separate programming or just a better looking version of what I already watch?

Thanks for your help.

Mike

I hesitated initially about ponying up the 5 bucks per month for Discovery's HD offering. However, I'm glad I got it as I'm a fan of Discovery Channel also. The programming is all HD and not upconverted from regular Discovery content. If Discovery is your cup of tea, then this is for you.

My only worry about this particular channel is that I hope we don't run into a whole group of channels down the road that are offered in this "ala carte" manner. Cox almost went that way with how they initially offered ESPN. I'm glad that didn't last long.

John

MDK2,

Does your new HDTV have a receiver built in? What model HDTV?

Their are two different type of cable boxes, digital( $10 install special) and digital with HDTV ($50 install).

Cox usually doesn't offer any specials with HDTV installs, but you could always try. Includes the component cables and the needed jumpers etc. It's worth it if you ask me, plus if you have issues with it they will trouble shoot/repair free.

If you don't want all the channels you could just get the HDTV box with out any premium channels.

But I'd say go for it all for a month or two and enjoy that new set. Then reduce the channels/cost later :D

Eddie

Also, I don't think you can do a "self-install" for HD, since the installer has to call to activate the HD content. At least that's how it's worked in the past.

Former install, I don't know for sure if you can now self install an HDTV box, but it really just the same as activating a regular box. Hook it up, wait for the clock to come on, call in the number of the box. Check all HDTV channel, hang up. The big thing is cost of component cable $40 or more and free service calls. If you self install then need a technician they charge for an install I think.

Fasteddielv,

The television I'm getting is a Sony 60" LCD Rear-projection. It doesn't have the OTA HD tuner built-in, so Cox seems like the best bet for me.

Thanks for the info regarding the self-install. I called Cox after typing the last message and it sounds like for $10 I'd also get a month of premium channels too.

Mike

Since you say you have an LCD, it probably does 720P natively. I would make sure you request the 3250HD box so that you can use the pass through feature for all resolutions. There's a lot of options (and a few problems) on this box, so make sure you either read the setup instructions or look at my other thread in the hardware section about the "3250 review and setup guide" (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3145627#post3145627)

There should be a "self install" available if you go pick up the box, or have it mailed to you. You should have no problems if you already have cable, and the link above will have tons more info about the box than the tech that comes out will ever know.
With just a minimum digital tier ($5) and the already mentioned expanded basic, and the HD rental, you will get the following in HD for no extra charge (locals when available, of course):
705 ESPNHD
706 INHD1
707 INHD2
730 CBSHD
731 PBSHD
732 ABCHD
733 NBCHD

700 DiscoveryHD is $5/mo extra
HBOEastHD and HBOWestHD are included if you subscribe to the HBO pack
SHOEastHD and SHOWestHD are included if you subscribe to the SHO pack

Be aware that on April 22nd, we will lose the duplicate East coast Premium HD feeds and get STARZHD and CinemaxHD in their place. Each has to have it's corresponding subscription for each service to be authorized and viewable.

You may want to hold off on getting a DVI cable. Cox is still working with SA on a better solution. Some users have had good reports, while others have not. The cable is still expensive enough that you may want to wait unto SA get it's stuff together a few months down the road.

Vegggas

So are they offering a HDTV cable box self-install?
The $10 you mentioned is that for a regular digital or Digital/HDTV box?

Eddie

I can only watch the NEV game on 8 or 730. Is there a channel to get the Duke game??? Channel 337 shows a banner with info on it, no game. I have company and they'd like to watch Duke. Please help.

:mad: NO!!!!!!

Why subtract??? I need to watch Sopranos and Deadwood in HD at 6pm and 7pm respectively. So, I can watch Alias and the Practice in HD at 9 and 10. How dare Cox interfere with my Sundays.

They better get the HD PVR very soon.....


Originally posted by vegggas
Be aware that on April 22nd, we will lose the duplicate East coast Premium HD feeds and get STARZHD and CinemaxHD in their place. Each has to have it's corresponding subscription for each service to be authorized and viewable.


Vegggas

If someone has a phone number to the control room for Cox, they can ask them to flip the switch.


Originally posted by Outflying
I can only watch the NEV game on 8 or 730. Is there a channel to get the Duke game??? Channel 337 shows a banner with info on it, no game. I have company and they'd like to watch Duke. Please help.

They had some problems with the feed earlier. The tech reset my box and now I'm watching it. Thanks. :)

Thanks for the tip. Just reset it and I am set.

Fasteddielv - here's what I just copied from the Cox LV website:

Current Basic subscribers upgrading to digital can get HBO / Cinemax and 1 month of Wirelink service FREE for 1 month. Professional Installation $10 for 1 Digital, 1 DVR or 1 HD outlet only. (Monthly DVR fee of $9.99 applies) Expires 3/31/04.



I have no idea what Wirelink service is, but is sounds like for $10 I can get the HD cable box installed.

Mike

Channel 13 (ABC) is in HD. It's Fox and WB that's not. WB is owned by Sinclair, but I don't know about Fox.

DJ..What does LA's HD problem have to do with Las Vegas? You'd probably be able to find a group in here somewhere to discuss LA..just not here.

The DVI Port just was enabled on my cable box this week. It's nice to have the Auto Dvi set the correct screen size. I did not see any version update on my box.

Mike

When I connected my DVI cable to my Toshiba 46HX83 DVI/HDCP input I got a screen saying:

"DVI Alert, Your HDTV does not suport HDCP. Please use YPrPb component connection to watch TV"

I checked my TV owners manual and it shows the DVI connection is HDCP compliant.

Wuzzup with that???

..........Lonnie

Software Versions

PTV OS: OS High Definition Edition 1.0
Flash: 1.52.3.1
Apps: Sara V 1.52.3.1

Anyone else see these adds for Voom TV? Looks interesting. I haven't heard any details, but the website shows a load of HDTV content and all of the local HD feeds too. Looks like they have a package for $40 or so a month with pretty much all of the good cable channels and HD content.

Had the same issue with my cable box. Just unplug the cable box and it should be ok.

Padres in HD
I just emailed Cox about bringing the Padres back to Las Vegas, since they are broadcasting in HD this season. I know INHD is showing MLB games, but the Padres would be blacked out here. Cox could use INHD2 to show the Padres. Not holding my breath though on getting these games on...LOL

I can't for the life of me understand why the Padres are blacked out. San Diego is over 300 miles away. The Chargers are not blacked out. I don't think any other station is showing the Padres. I can understand, somewhat, why the Dodgers are blacked out as they are showing on Fox Sports West. Is there anyone we can petition? Is this a baseball thing? TV thing?

I miss the Channel 4 Padres that they broadcasted here on Channel 48 for the first 3 years I lived here. They stopped doing that a couple of years ago....

It's a MLB thing......Also, the Angels, Diamondbacks, A's & Giants are all blacked out here as well.........its beyond me why teams over 300 miles away are not shown here.......thats why I only had MLB Extra Innings for one season.

mseagrov,

Do you see any improvement in picture quality with the DVI output?

Yes I think there is improvment to the picture. Also you can just leave it set to video 1 or what ever port you are using for regular tv viewing, because the output will resize to you picture. No black bars unless you are on a HDTV station and it's not in HD.

Mike

Originally posted by Tallen234
I can't for the life of me understand why the Padres are blacked out. San Diego is over 300 miles away. The Chargers are not blacked out. I don't think any other station is showing the Padres. I can understand, somewhat, why the Dodgers are blacked out as they are showing on Fox Sports West. Is there anyone we can petition? Is this a baseball thing? TV thing?

I've gone 'round and 'round with all parties involved with this blackout situation last year. The end result was this reply from the InDemand folks who are the distributing entity for the MLB package:

Since the other California teams (and the Diamondbacks) claim Las Vegas,
what they are essentially saying is that Cox falls within territory to carry
Fox Sports Bay Area (Oakland and SF) Fox Sports Arizona, and all of the
other California Fox Sports Nets.

Cox may choose not to offer all of those Fox Sports Nets and that decision
is up to them, however, the blackout remains in place because Cox is allowed
to carry the other Nets, they just choose not to.

So, in essence, unless Cox decides to actually give us the Fox Sports Nets that carry the blacked-out teams, we are up a creek without a paddle. That is sad as we are on the verge of a great treat in having INHD presenting HD baseball. However, if it's a west coast team, I'm afraid we're out of luck in the same manner that we were out of luck with NBA broadcasts that involved the Lakers.

If anyone has ideas on how to successfully petition Cox on this issue, I'm all ears. Wouldn't it seem that the HD broadcasts circumvent the blackout status as there is no possible way at this point for the game to be carried any other way in this format?

What makes it even more troubling is that I don't think the Padres are on Fox Sports Net. In fact, they broadcast on Channel 4 in San Diego, which I think is affiliated with Cox!

Have the same thing with MLB on Direct, i ordered the sports pak a couple of years ago on the assumption that if i paid for the fox sports channels then i would not be blacked out on MLB for games involving the west coast teams that claim Las Vegas as their market, WRONG. Found out that the reason they black out the games is to protect the local rights ( OTA broadcasts ). Tried to explain that we dont get OTA games from LA,SF.Oak, Ect.

MLB does not care, if a team claims your city as their market, blackout.

Example: Detroit plays oakland, not shown on Fox sports bay area, not shown on local OTA in oakland, but is on Fox Sports Detroit = blackout. The reason is the OTA or Fox sports bay area could show it, they have the rights so to protect their rights blackout.

It is MLB rules that suck.

I've been on the same quest to get the Giants on down here. Talked with MLB, Cox, InDemand and finally Rainbow Media (owner of FSBA). With this response, I called Cox and was told I needed to contact the "Marketing Team" at 384-8084. Tried, left messages 3 times, nobody called me back. The bottom line is, Rainbow Media won't give up the rights to the Giants and A's and Cox will not throw up another Fox Sports Channel. Understandable on Cox's part as most of the programming is duplicated on FSW & FSW2 and the Warriors and Sharks would be blacked out down here. Las Vegas is simply not a baseball friendly market. Amazingly, the only games available on Extra Innings with a 7:00 PT start time are games involving the Seattle Mariners (unless, of course, they are playing the A's or Angels!)

Dear Mr. Workman:

FSN Bay Area has the distribution rights to take Giants and A's baseball into Las Vegas via cable. We have always wanted Cox Communications to put all of our games on a channel, even if it is a digital channel...

We encourage you to contact your local Cox Communications programming representative with your issue and forward the following name/number to them:

Chris Geer - VP of Sales & Affiliate Relations, FSN Bay Area
(415) 296-8900 phone #
cmgeer@rainbow-media.com

Go Giants!

Jay dela Cruz
FSN Bay Area

GREAT NEWS!
I emailed Channel 4 San Diego about the Padres broadcasting here in Vegas and here is the response!
*Thank you for your interest in Channel 4 San Diego and for visiting our web site. We are happy to report that Cox Communications in Las Vegas will carry High-Definition games on channel 707. Please contact your local Cox Communications office at 702-383-4000 to subscribe to Cox High-Definition Television, or for further information.
Thanks for watching!
Channel 4 San Diego*

FANTASTIC!!! Go Pads!! Maybe someday we'll have a team worth watching. Looking forward to the new park as well.

Doing a quick "Browse By" THEME and choosing Baseball, I noticed the following:
Thursday 4/8 at 7:00 PM Giants at Padres from PETCO Park in San Diego on channel 706. InHD is showing this game, but it is already on the INHD schedule, along with the following weeks game between Dodgers and Padres.
These are regularly scheduled InHD games, so it's hard to tell if we are getting anything beyond normal content.

On another note, I was told this weekend that Las Vegas now has the HDCP software from SA working on the HD boxes. All HDCP capable ports should now be working. This would include both the DVI and 1394 ports. Cox is aware that some people are having some HDCP issues, but actually want customers to call in so they can be documented and sent to SA for enhancements.

vegggas

Do the 1394 ports support HAVi? Or just normal 1394 w/ 5C protection?

This better not be a late april fools joke!

I emailed cox and I was hyping the HDTV aspect and I received the exact same "form" response that I received 2 years ago when I complained about losing Channel 48 Pads:

Dear Valued Cox Customer:

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

Due to a decision made by our Marketing Department, the San Diego
Padres
will no longer be shown on channel 48. This was determined by the small
demand we have received from our viewers. If you have any questions,
please contact us at (702) 384-8084.



Originally posted by tazlv
GREAT NEWS!
I emailed Channel 4 San Diego about the Padres broadcasting here in Vegas and here is the response!
*Thank you for your interest in Channel 4 San Diego and for visiting our web site. We are happy to report that Cox Communications in Las Vegas will carry High-Definition games on channel 707. Please contact your local Cox Communications office at 702-383-4000 to subscribe to Cox High-Definition Television, or for further information.
Thanks for watching!
Channel 4 San Diego*

Originally posted by doormat
Do the 1394 ports support HAVi? Or just normal 1394 w/ 5C protection?
AFAIK, just the normal 1394 transport stream data with the copy protection flags enabled. I don't have any 1394 devices to test theories, but I was considering an AV drive, like the ones described in other threads, to make some recordings. Since there is probably no easy playback control, I think I'll wait for the 8000HD DVR that should be out soon.

Tallen,
The schedule for InHD only shows the two Padres games, one each Thursday. Check the Padres schedule for other games and check InHD to see if there are any wild card feeds. If there are HD games available, InHD is supposed to be the place where we can find them.

vegggas

i think InHD has their own schedule for MLB in HD (yes!!!)....but InHD2 will pick up local games in various areas of the country. I noticed the previous poster said channel 707 which is InHD2...and thus it is very possible that we'll get the HD padre games on 707....like vegggas said, the games on 706 were scheduled already.

bad news

http://www.4sd.com/padres/padres2004schedule.php

this link says yesterday and todays padre games are the HD version. so if we're really getting these hd feeds on 707, they were supposed to have started. i'll look tonight if the game is on...

Alright, I emailed Channel 4 in San Diego and received the following response:

Thank you for your interest in Channel 4 San Diego and for visiting our
web site. We are happy to report that Cox Communications in Las Vegas
will carry High-Definition games on channel 707. Please contact your
local Cox Communications office at 702-383-4000 to subscribe to Cox
High-Definition Television, or for further information.
Thanks for watching!
Channel 4 San Diego

Now, I was a little nervous as the phase "will carry High-Definition games on Channel 707" does not necessarily mean Padre games. So, I called Cox and confirmed from their representative that the Padre games will be shown on Channel 707. She believes that it should mean all of the games. I wouldn't worry about the earlier games as they were exhibition games. The proof will be when the Padres come home to Petco park. Right now I am optimistic (this may change....;) )

You are right tallen I will believe it when I see it.

I consulted the magic 8-ball about all the Padres games in HD today and got this response:
"It is most decidedly so"
With a disclaimer at the end that said:
"*but probably starting by this weekend...".

The 8-ball says it will happen. Not today, but as Ken would say,"soon, very soon".
I would bet money on it, unless, of course, my name is Pete...

vegggas

well....i can quit fretting now! Pads are on in HD on 707!! This absolutely great news!!!

Thank you Cox!!!

PS- the PQ looks amazing! is this what HDNet baseball looks like? never seen it but have heard rave reviews

Quite a surprise as I channel-surfed tonight only to find the Padres-Dodgers game up and running! Very nice picture. Is channel 4's HD transmission in 720 or 1080?

Originally posted by jb1219
well....i can quit fretting now! Pads are on in HD on 707!! This absolutely great news!!!

Thank you Cox!!!

PS- the PQ looks amazing! is this what HDNet baseball looks like? never seen it but have heard rave reviews

That's interesting, because I tuned in around 9PM and 707 was showing a travel program about Greece. I saw no Padre game. What gives? The game was still going at 9 so I don't know why I didn't get it.

That's interesting as I watched the game until its conclusion with the Dodgers pulling out a win in the 9th. There was also a postgame show afterwards. Not sure how Greece worked its way into your box! :confused:

Originally posted by bruin95
That's interesting, because I tuned in around 9PM and 707 was showing a travel program about Greece. I saw no Padre game. What gives? The game was still going at 9 so I don't know why I didn't get it.


you got me....maybe reset your box??

The PQ looked great.....It was the first baseball game I've seen in HD.......Channel 4 SD will be showing 104 games in HD....all Home games and road games in LA, SF, Arizona and Colorado.

You gotta be kidding me!

I watched the game last night on channel 50! I didn't even bother to check channel 707! Errr!

KVBC HD went on the fritz last Sunday night. I have not seen any NBC HD since. Did their HD receiver take a dive again? Any news when they will be back on line with HD?

I am in heaven. Channel 707 is great. They are going to have over 100 games in HD. Baseball is great in HD. Very happy.

That may get Cox a week or two reprive on the HDPVR! ;)

WoW! Great PQ from Petco Field on tonights game! I might even have to say it was about perfect. Only distractions were the slight delay in audio, but it was a good 5.1 mix.
It was funny looking at the 706 and 637? seeing MLB blacking it out on those two channels, but the dellivery on 707 was much better anyway.

Cox, I'm impressed. Keep up the good work.
btw, Cox owns the SD4 station, HD equipment and production facility.

vegggas

FYI,
The 1st shipment of Explorer 8000HD have arrived at the warehouse, deployment should be very soon! I'm hoping that software issues will be fixed for this release, I'm guessing that they'll be available this weekend or early next week. I'll post when they're ready for us to load up into the trucks. Yeah!!

Thanks for the info. I didn't get my usual weekend update from my contact because they are on vacation this week, but it was thought they would be here around mid- April with a deployment around the third or fourth week unless there were problems that pushed it back to May.

vegggas

Very cool. Let us know, I will breakdown the door to get mine.

Do you know if we will be able to self-install the PVRs?


Originally posted by vegggas
Thanks for the info. I didn't get my usual weekend update from my contact because they are on vacation this week, but it was thought they would be here around mid- April with a deployment around the third or fourth week unless there were problems that pushed it back to May.

vegggas

Called Cox customer service twice today about the HD PVR. According to both reps I talked to I was told, "Don't look for it anytime soon." Asked why, they said they didn't know. I'm getting a little frustrated with this whole situation. I spent alot of money on HD equipment and cannot watch much programming due to my work schedule. I need this damn HD recorder already!! Maybe if we all storm their offices....

Are you guys watching tonights Pads game?

There is a mexican broadcast coming through on of the channels. I am getting it in my rear left speaker. Weird

Originally posted by Tallen234
Are you guys watching tonights Pads game?

There is a mexican broadcast coming through on of the channels. I am getting it in my rear left speaker. Weird

I had the same problem during the warm up program but it stopped.

Why is the sound not sync'd with the picture. Seems someone was trying to pull them together last night but it is still off. Anyone know what the problem is?

Coverage has been great!

Any 8000HD updates??? When can I go down and pick one up?

I called last night and spoke with a CSR who said that the rollout would be in May sometime - no specific date set yet. Take this for what it's worth - I am sure that if you call and get a different CSR you could get a different answer......

Keith

I'm still going with the late April/early May release times I heard a while back. Nothing new to report about these, but I've heard rumblings about a lot of firmware fixes in other markets and MSO's, that hopefully, will be worked out by release time.

Less than one week away (04/22) from getting StarzHD and CinemaxHD and losing the East coast feeds of HBOHD and SHOHD. I'll miss the East coast feeds, but look forward to the variety the two new channels will provide.

With NAB starting here this weekend, I'm hoping for a lot of HD announcements for the rest of the year.

vegggas

For those that care, USDTV is back up on digital 99. Demo on 99.1, ESPN and the like on the sub channels with sound but no picture.

Why aren't we in HD tonight on ABC? Alias is a new episode.

Has anyone seen the USDTV set top box? They had one on display at Walmart. I picked up a brocheir that I can scan if anyone wants to look. $20 for 12 channels. I'd be surprised if they last a year.

I just received a call from Cox saying they had the 8000HD box ready and was I going to keep my SD 8000. I told him I was trading in the SD DVR for the HD DVR. Then he asked if I was still at 5501 Fifth St. Turns out he was calling from the San Diego market and somehow my email for info on the 8000HD ended up with them. Anyway, the point is, they are installing the boxes in San Diego so I'm hoping Las Vegas will follow shortly.

The signup for the HD box has been on their (San Diego) website for a while now. Cox San Diego website (http://www.cox.com/sandiego/)

Two more nights until we see Starz...

vegggas

Originally posted by vegggas
The signup for the HD box has been on their (San Diego) website for a while now. Cox San Diego website (http://www.cox.com/sandiego/)

Two more nights until we see Starz...

vegggas

You will only see Starz or Cinemax if you have the package for those programs and pay for them. I have Starz in my regular package and that is being received. However, I called Cox when Cinemax was not available and was told that since I was not subscribed to Cinemax Package I would not get the Cinemax HD. I have Showtime and HBO so I never questioned whether they were part of the standard HD package.

My understanding was that 711 and 721 would have the HBOE and SHOE removed and be replaced with StarzHD and CinemaxHD...but they did not say you had to have those packages. I thought the HD Package would include them.

Anyone having a similar problem?

Back to 11HD Channels and counting backwards...

Unfortunately that's the way all the movies channels work. You only get the HD channel if you buy all the SD channels. I've never heard of it being any other way.

I already subscribed to Cinemax and Starz, so the HD versions are working great for me.

lvthunder is correct in that there are no HD packages available that include premium channels from any MSO provider. The content providers will not allow any a-la-carte channels to be shown without purchase of fees for the entire service. This has been debated and lamented over on the DBS side with their "HD" package costing $10 and not getting any premium content.

I don't know if I understand your statement Back to 11HD Channels and counting backwards... unless you are referring to the fact that you are not subscribing to all the HD content that's available.

Next HD additions could happen in June or July and might include TNT (just guessing of course).

vegggas