I got my equipment from Direct TV. I was able to upgrade the hr10-250 to a hr20 for $99 around Oct last year and was able to keep the old box. Hopefully we'll get locals a little after D10 goes live being we are still on the next list to go live.

I got my equipment from Direct TV. I was able to upgrade the hr10-250 to a hr20 for $99 around Oct last year and was able to keep the old box. Hopefully we'll get locals a little after D10 goes live being we are still on the next list to go live.

Hope so.

For some reason, I am not getting emails when someone posts to this thread, even though I am subscribed. I just come back and monitor periodically. Maybe that is the reason activity on the thread seems to have decreased.

anything happening in Panama City HD?

Don't be surprised if the the 2009 "cut off" of the analog channels gets pushed back again.

Alarm! Alarm! (Reuters Story) (http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN2738723820070727?feedType=RSS&sp=true)

Is 5.X transmitting at reduced power? For the last several weeks I am getting a very low signal and it comes and goes or has 1 or 2 second blanks. Previously, 5DT was my best signal from a Mobile station. I'm in Pensacola.

Is 5.X transmitting at reduced power? For the last several weeks I am getting a very low signal and it comes and goes or has 1 or 2 second blanks. Previously, 5DT was my best signal from a Mobile station. I'm in Pensacola.

For awhile, channel 5 had folks that monitored this thread. They may still be doing so and can respond with correct information.

I have not noticed any problems with 5x lately, but, as they say, your mileage may vary!

Responding to the cut off date, I don't believe it will be changed as the FCC has announced the auction for the vacated frequencies and they must guarantee the start up date for the users.

Responding to the cut off date, I don't believe it will be changed as the FCC has announced the auction for the vacated frequencies and they must guarantee the start up date for the users.

I am certainly not advocating moving it back, but when I consider the effect that short- term policical considerations have on governmental decisons theses days I often have to use the term "sadly predicable".

I got angry and cancelled Directv this week, effective 8-21. I have ordered the Medicom HD cable service with their Motorola DVR service. I live in Spanish Fort.

I am leaving the door open, however, if I am not able to stand Mediacom.

I just got tired of having to constantly unplug and re-boot my HR 10-250 in order to get it to function. I bought a 20-700 and a new 5lnb dish from an ebay Directv dealer, but when I called to ask about activating the new unit, I was told the new dvr would have to be leased, and that I could not own it, but since I was an "Alist" customer, I could activate it without having to re-up for another two years. I would, however, have to talk to another customer rep to do that, and when I was connected, they wouldn't even let me do that!

The rationale, I am told, is that the 20-700's are sold at a subsidized price. So be it. I just don't want to re-up for another two year committment with a company that has not met my expectations for the past two years.

What experiences are you all having with Mediacom, if any Mediacom users are monitoring this thread? Am I wise, crazy, misguided, well- informed, nor "none of the above" ? Help!

I am anxious to see what digitial high def cable looks like. Any horror stories from anyone? Most visitors to this forum seem to be discussing OTA or the satellite providers. There have got to be some of you who are using Mediacom.

You're in luck mobilelawyer, as I'm in Theodore right now visiting my aunt.

I set her up with Mediacom's basic HD package last year after she got her 50" Panasonic PDP.

So far she's been happy with the quality.

Every time I come down I try to squeak in at least a little HDNet since I can't get it where I live.

I'll go through all the HD channels later tonight after my grandmother and aunt have gone to bed, since they're glued to the TV right now, and give you a report. ;)

Mr Zoid

Sad to hear your experience mobilelawyer. I am afraid that you jumped ship at the wrong time.. With the new sat up there and a mid-September planned launch of a bunch of HD for Directv the future looks good.. I love the HR20 HDDVR.

And with Dish Network already in the lead on HD right now with their ViP 622 HDDVR it is going to be a race to the finish on who wins the HD Race.. I just don't see it being cable. I love the ViP 622 also. I have Dish and Directv both at my house.. I am going to win no matter which company ends up on top..

i agree with mark, direct and dish are the way to go. we are a custom directv dealer but recommend either over mediacom, with both having pros and cons. The biggest con of mediacom is non hd looks terrible and for us doing custom home theater we usually get the blame about the tv we choose for our clients. when we show them what dish, directv, dvd and bluray/hddvd looks like they tend to back down, but non hd on mediacom is bad, unwatchable on a projector

The Mediacom intaller was able to get me hooked up in short order. Boy what a mixed bag.

This is the first time I have watched analog TV ever on my plasma, and it has been an eye opening experience.

First, Mediacom does have WEAR, WPMI, WALA, and WEIQ in HD, along with HDNet, ESPN, and HBO, since I subsribed to that service. The installer told me I would be limited to 480p resolution with their service, and I did not believe him until I turned on the Motorola DVR and started tuning through the channels. By Jove, I think he is right! In comparing the cable HD signal with OTA HD, the OTA blows it away with finer detail. I am limited to 780p resoulution with my 42" plasma, but it is easy to discern the difference between those two resolutions with the naked eye. I am still thinking that this may be a problem with the DVR, but I cannot find any settings on it to change the resolution, and the button to change the aspect ratio does nothing -- it has no effect whatsoever.

The noise and hash on the anlog channels is noticable, but from a distance it might be more acceptable if I could get the screen sized right. If I adjust the zoom on my Panny to not cut off the edges of the screen and the logos and such on analog channels, I get black horizontal black bars on the top and bottom of the HD channels. That issue is about to drive me crazy. I never had it with any of the Directv HD equipment: I could toggle between 480 and 720p on the HR 10-250 (which I had to do to watch it through my Slingbox) but cannot get to or find any such setting on this equipment.

Interestingly, the cable installer told me Mediacom has lots of customers who are quite happy with cable cards, and I noticed that the new $300 Tivo is out with dual cable card slots. The issue that I never considered, however, is that so much of the content, in fact all the not non- HD content is going to be in analog. Not sure that's going to be workable. The DVR seems to work just fine, but none of the analog content would be worth keeping, in my opinion. Just too much noise.

I am going to play with this stuff for awhile and see if I can tweak it. Until all the programming comes out the head end in digitial, however, I do not think the product is something I could live with unless I had to. And I don't have to.

If anyone has any more insight or experience with Mediacom, please let me know.

I don't think Mediacomm has WALA, don't you mean they carry WKRG. I just always got the impression from Mediacomm when I had them, they are in no hurry to add more HD. Got a better chance of Comcast having it. The bad part of cable cards, is that you won't be able to do VOD on a tivo series 3.

MobileLawyer, how do you have the HD/DVR connected to your TV? It sounds like it may be connected via coax or composite video. Neither of these connections supports HD resolutions, but will still output a picture. This would explain why you are unable to change the resolution and why you have bars at the top and bottom of HD channels. If you have component or HDMI connected (which are both capable of displaying HD) and also have coax, it's possible that your TV is just on the wrong input. If this is the case, disconnect the coax from the box to the TV. You absolutely do not need it. Unfortunately, a lot of cable installers still connect it out of habit. Hope this helps!!

I agree with graham, i went to a site survey today where a customer has mediacom and it has hdmi hooked up, but it is running via composite into the tv. All i had to do was switch inputs and show the customer, that said they are switching to directv due to the bad analog channels.

on the cablecard, doesn't the tivo 3 have an ethernet connection? My understanding on a 1 way cable card is it could receive the info, then you could use ethernet to send info for vod and ppv. I know the lifeware media centers have 1 way cable cards but the ethernet side of the media center works great in most areas to handle 2 way communication. Not sure about mediacom.

I don't think Mediacomm has WALA, don't you mean they carry WKRG. I just always got the impression from Mediacomm when I had them, they are in no hurry to add more HD. Got a better chance of Comcast having it. The bad part of cable cards, is that you won't be able to do VOD on a tivo series 3.

They now have WPMI- NBC, WKRG - CBS, WALA - Fox, WEAR - ABC and WEIQ - PBS. They don't have WSRE, WJTC, or WBPG, but it is not broadcasting in high def anyway.

MobileLawyer, how do you have the HD/DVR connected to your TV? It sounds like it may be connected via coax or composite video. Neither of these connections supports HD resolutions, but will still output a picture. This would explain why you are unable to change the resolution and why you have bars at the top and bottom of HD channels. If you have component or HDMI connected (which are both capable of displaying HD) and also have coax, it's possible that your TV is just on the wrong input. If this is the case, disconnect the coax from the box to the TV. You absolutely do not need it. Unfortunately, a lot of cable installers still connect it out of habit. Hope this helps!!

My hookup is with the 3 component cables and a stereo pair for the video. That should pass a high def signal. I do have a coax connected to the TV, but it supplies a feed from my UHF OTA antenna up in the attic, and should not affect the component signal. I need to make sure, however, that the signal from the component cable is not passing through my receiver, but I do not think that is the case. I think maybe the converter is defective, but I am going to play with it when I go home tonight and verify.

I agree with graham, i went to a site survey today where a customer has mediacom and it has hdmi hooked up, but it is running via composite into the tv. All i had to do was switch inputs and show the customer, that said they are switching to directv due to the bad analog channels.

on the cablecard, doesn't the tivo 3 have an ethernet connection? My understanding on a 1 way cable card is it could receive the info, then you could use ethernet to send info for vod and ppv. I know the lifeware media centers have 1 way cable cards but the ethernet side of the media center works great in most areas to handle 2 way communication. Not sure about mediacom.

I would not be all that upset about not having the VOD service. I would want to order the Alabama pay-per-view games, but I am told you can do that over the phone.

The analog video does bug me. I think that some of the more postive reports about Mediacom or other cable providers looking so good in comparison to satellite would come from systems that are ditital between the head end and the ultimate receiver. I thought that some of the Directv SD channels, particularly the locals, looked over compressed, lacked detail, and looked pasty. I might be willing to go back to that shortcoming when I consider the alternative. We shall see.

You're in luck mobilelawyer, as I'm in Theodore right now visiting my aunt.
I set her up with Mediacom's basic HD package last year after she got her 50" Panasonic PDP.
So far she's been happy with the quality.
Every time I come down I try to squeak in at least a little HDNet since I can't get it where I live.
I'll go through all the HD channels later tonight after my grandmother and aunt have gone to bed, since they're glued to the TV right now, and give you a report. ;)
Mr Zoid

See my further comments. The analog video quality has really bothered me. I have been a Directv customer for two years and have never looked at analog signals over the plasma. I had the ota tuner on the tv set for digital only.

If I am bothered by the noise and hash with my 42", I would think that the 50 inch screen would further amplify the "bad" aspects of the picture. Maybe Theodore has newer technology, however. I would be interested in your comments after watching the service for awhile.

See my further comments. The analog video quality has really bothered me. I have been a Directv customer for two years and have never looked at analog signals over the plasma. I had the ota tuner on the tv set for digital only.

If I am bothered by the noise and hash with my 42", I would think that the 50 inch screen would further amplify the "bad" aspects of the picture. Maybe Theodore has newer technology, however. I would be interested in your comments after watching the service for awhile.

I'm not trying to downplay satellite here, but to my eyes, the SD channels looked fine on my aunt's 50" Panasonic plasma.

Very little noise on most national channels. The HD channels all looked fantastic. Bits lost here and there, and I hate to say this, but on cable or satellite I expect that to happen every once in a while.

The sad thing is, I miss her PDP compared to my 42" LCD. :(

Like I said, through my eyes at any rate, SD looked fine, and HD looked excellent.

Mr Zoid

Maybe Theodore is a new system and is all digital. But I am also sure that if you saw my picture, you would not be satisfied. The problems are not subtle.

Maybe Theodore is a new system and is all digital. But I am also sure that if you saw my picture, you would not be satisfied. The problems are not subtle.

Two things I should clarify for the record.

After my aunt had her plasma installed, I calibrated it to the best of my ability using a SpyderTV.

Additionally, my aunt's Panasonic is connected via a CableCard.

She/I went this route due to the fact that my soon to be 95 year old grandmother needs to be able to turn the TV on/off, and change the channels without multiple remotes or multiple buttons.

So it might be that the internal tuner is that much better than the STB Mediacom leases out.

Otherwise, sorry to hear about your trouble.

Just so you know, where I live we have Comcast, and I will admit that SD channels are pretty lousy. There are no SD tvs in the house, so it sucks sometimes.

Mr Zoid

Is it just me???

Is anyone else having a problem receiving WEAR 3-1 HD?

J C

Is it just me???

Is anyone else having a problem receiving WEAR 3-1 HD?

J C

Not that I have noticed on my end. WPMI 15-1 is acting up for me of late.

Is it just me???

Is anyone else having a problem receiving WEAR 3-1 HD?

J C
It has not been on Cox for a couple of days now. I'm not sure if they are having reception problems or if they have moved the channel around. Are you receiving it OTA?

It has not been on Cox for a couple of days now. I'm not sure if they are having reception problems or if they have moved the channel around. Are you receiving it OTA?

It was very blocky on Cox Sunday evening and gone from both Cox and OTA the next day. SDTV on Cox was not affected.

The ABC-HD issue has been confirmed as a broadcaster issue. Cox is awaiting resolution from WEAR.

Thanks,

Graham

Mr. Zoid,

the internal tuner from most tv's, especially lg, is night and day better than what mediacom puts out. Whether it is the atsc tuner for hd locals or the cable card, it just makes everything look better. 99% of my experience is with LG tv's in this regard, but definately an improvement. also, the atsc tuner in lg tv's destroys the tuners in directv boxes.

For those of you considering Sat. service, I can say I have been with D* since '95 and have been very satisfied. I currently have a 60" XBR2 and SD looks good, MPEG2 HD is very, very good, and OTA HD is fantastic through my HR20 DVR. My neighbor has Cox cable on a 50" and D* has, IMHO, overall better PQ.
A big consideration now is, with the new bird up and the new HD National and local feeds coming on line in mid Sept., getting scheduled for installation. The demand in many areas is causing shortages of receivers and long installation waits. Additionally, D* is making offers now that they will not be making when everything is "on line". To each his own, I can only speak for myself. I will never go back to cable. One man's trash is another man's gold. No insult intended. :)

just wanted to throw out that the best option if you can find one is a custom directv dealer in your area. I'm not saying a large directv dealer isn't the way to go if you can get scheduled, but a custom dealer can usually get you scheduled faster, has fewer clients and sells, installs and understands a variety of home theater setups. We became a custom dealer primarily for our clients and friends so that we had control of installation timing and could hook up a system with everything in a closet and tv's around the house. i think there is a dish/directv dealer on this site as well other than my custom company, being on avs forum i'm sure they can handle things quickly as well.

I have been with D* for over 10 years and will stay with them for as long as they are the only source for NFL ST. (Gotta see the 'boys in HD every week.)

I have the HR10 and I have to reboot it often, but I have mixed feelings about the new 5LNB dish and HR20. I love the TiVo options that aren't available in D*'s branded products (mainly TiVo suggestions). Also, even though I am in very far west Mobile, I get pretty good OTA reception for the HDs. WKRG used to give me fits, but it has improved.

So, when D* increases the HD line up I will be faced with a dilema. Do I give up real TiVo for the extra HD channels?:confused:

I have been with D* for over 10 years and will stay with them for as long as they are the only source for NFL ST. (Gotta see the 'boys in HD every week.)

I have the HR10 and I have to reboot it often, but I have mixed feelings about the new 5LNB dish and HR20. I love the TiVo options that aren't available in D*'s branded products (mainly TiVo suggestions). Also, even though I am in very far west Mobile, I get pretty good OTA reception for the HDs. WKRG used to give me fits, but it has improved.

So, when D* increases the HD line up I will be faced with a dilema. Do I give up real TiVo for the extra HD channels?:confused:


I did it last week and got it for 99$ and a 19.95 install fee, I don't see any difference in PQ but it takes a little getting used to. I been a Tivo user since it came out in 99 and I still have 2 series 2 hooked to other TV's in the house.

GreatPig, I have been with D* for a while now and I had a TIVO box for the longest time and i have changed to the HR20-700. Over the last month D* has an agreement with TIVO to use some of the TIVO software to help out the D* boxes. On the last update they have to skip back function when you are fast forwarding. They are working on other updates too. I like the HR20 now that I have had it for a few months.
I also like the fact that I can hook up the OTA and record off the OTA. The PQ is better with the OTA and being in Daphne I get all the locals.

Hope this helps you decide if you want to make the jump to the HR20.

I have been with D* for over 10 years and will stay with them for as long as they are the only source for NFL ST. (Gotta see the 'boys in HD every week.)

I have the HR10 and I have to reboot it often, but I have mixed feelings about the new 5LNB dish and HR20. I love the TiVo options that aren't available in D*'s branded products (mainly TiVo suggestions). Also, even though I am in very far west Mobile, I get pretty good OTA reception for the HDs. WKRG used to give me fits, but it has improved.

So, when D* increases the HD line up I will be faced with a dilema. Do I give up real TiVo for the extra HD channels?:confused:

I just asked for and got the $99 deal to lease the HR-20 with a two year committment and free installation. They can't get out to do it until September 17! I figure that by that time, some of the new channels will be turned on and maybe even Mobile's HD locals, but then, again, I am an eternal optimist!

My stint as a Mediacom customer lasted about a week. BTW-- I thought the Mediacom people were quite courteous and understanding. They asked my why I was leaving, and I told them the analog picture quality was just not accepable on my 42" plasma. I suspect, but did not check out whether the use of a cable card would have improved the picture. I am thinking, based on what others have said that it might have.

At any rate, I reinstated my Directv subscription and got the above- referenced deal. I will report the results of the install in about 3 weeks!

A few months ago WSRE changed their programming on 23-1 for the worse. What had been a channel with a good amount of HD is now down to maybe 2 or 3 shows a week. Please call or email them and ask for a return of the HD programming.


http://www.wsre.org/about_contact.asp

I will post their response to my email .

A few months ago WSRE changed their programming on 23-1 for the worse. What had been a channel with a good amount of HD is now down to maybe 2 or 3 shows a week. Please call or email them and ask for a return of the HD programming.


http://www.wsre.org/about_contact.asp

I will post their response to my email .

Please do so. I miss all of the HD shows they used to show. I complained back in May and posted their response. Check out post #2707 to see their reply.

A few months ago WSRE changed their programming on 23-1 for the worse. What had been a channel with a good amount of HD is now down to maybe 2 or 3 shows a week. Please call or email them and ask for a return of the HD programming.


http://www.wsre.org/about_contact.asp

I will post their response to my email .

Dear Mr. --------,
The programming you previously saw on 23-1 was the PBS HD channel, which was only true HD about 15% of the time. The rest was simply programming that was upconverted to HD. It still has pretty good quality but is not true HD. Many of the PBS member stations across the country have discontinued airing the PBS HD channel due to this and the many repeats that occured. We have been putting pressure on PBS to produce more of their core programming in HD, and they are telling us by fall of 2008, they will have significantly more in HD. Unfortunately, it has all been an issue of money and the significantly more expensive cost of producing in HD.

WSRE has been airing as much programming as possible in HD on 23-1. If you receive our monthly member guide, you can clearly see each program that will air in HD denoted by the WSRE HD logo. Below, I have included a list of all programming for the month of September that will air in HD. We have even produced our first HD documentary, which will premiere on Thur, Sept 20 at 7:30pm, called Khaki Coast: How the Panhandle Helped Win WWII. We hope you will bear with us during this transition from analog to all digital.

Sat, Sep 01, 2007
8am PIANO GUY

Sun, Sep 02, 2007
7pm NATURE - LIFE IN DEATH VALLEY

Sun, Sep 02, 2007
12am NATURE - LIFE IN DEATH VALLEY

Tue, Sep 04, 2007
10:30pm SAVED FROM THE WRECKING BALL

Wed, Sep 05, 2007
4:30am SAVED FROM THE WRECKING BALL
8pm LORDS OF THE GOURD: THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE

Thu, Sep 06, 2007
2am LORDS OF THE GOURD: THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE

Fri, Sep 07, 2007
1pm PLEIN AIR, PAINTING THE AMERICAN LANDSCAPE

Sat, Sep 08, 2007
8am PIANO GUY

Mon, Sep 10, 2007
10:30pm PBS PREVIEWS: THE WAR - A KEN BURNS FILM

Wed, Sep 12, 2007
4:30am PBS PREVIEWS: THE WAR - A KEN BURNS FILM
8pm AMERICAN MASTERS TONY BENNETT: THE MUSIC NEVER ENDS

Thu, Sep 13, 2007
2am AMERICAN MASTERS TONY BENNETT: THE MUSIC NEVER ENDS

Fri, Sep 14, 2007
1pm PLEIN AIR, PAINTING THE AMERICAN LANDSCAPE

Sat, Sep 15, 2007
8am PIANO GUY

Wed, Sep 19, 2007
7pm SEEING IN THE DARK

Thu, Sep 20, 2007
1am SEEING IN THE DARK
7:30pm KHAKI COAST: HOW THE PANHANDLE HELPED WIN WWII

Fri, Sep 21, 2007
2am KHAKI COAST: HOW THE PANHANDLE HELPED WIN WWII
1pm PLEIN AIR, PAINTING THE AMERICAN LANDSCAPE
8:30pm KHAKI COAST: HOW THE PANHANDLE HELPED WIN WWII

Sat, Sep 22, 2007
2:30am KHAKI COAST: HOW THE PANHANDLE HELPED WIN WWII
8am PIANO GUY

Sun, Sep 23, 2007
6pm KHAKI COAST: HOW THE PANHANDLE HELPED WIN WWII
7pm THE WAR - A NECESSARY WAR
9:30pm THE WAR - A NECESSARY WAR

Mon, Sep 24, 2007
12am THE WAR - A NECESSARY WAR
2:30am 12am THE WAR - A NECESSARY WAR
7pm THE WAR - WHEN THINGS GET TOUGH
9pm THE WAR - WHEN THINGS GET TOUGH

Tue, Sep 25, 2007
1am THE WAR - WHEN THINGS GET TOUGH
3am THE WAR - WHEN THINGS GET TOUGH
7pm THE WAR - A DEADLY CALLING
9pm THE WAR - A DEADLY CALLING

Wed, Sep 26, 2007
1am THE WAR - A DEADLY CALLING
3am THE WAR - A DEADLY CALLING
7pm THE WAR - PRIDE OF OUR NATION
9:30pm THE WAR - PRIDE OF OUR NATION

Thu, Sep 27, 2007
12am THE WAR - PRIDE OF OUR NATION
2:30am THE WAR - PRIDE OF OUR NATION
9:30pm KHAKI COAST: HOW THE PANHANDLE HELPED WIN WWII

Fri, Sep 28, 2007
3:30am KHAKI COAST: HOW THE PANHANDLE HELPED WIN WWII
1pm PLEIN AIR, PAINTING THE AMERICAN LANDSCAPE

Sat, Sep 29, 2007
8am PIANO GUY

Sun, Sep 30, 2007
7pm THE WAR - FUBAR
9:30pm THE WAR - FUBAR

Mon, Oct 1, 2007
12am THE WAR - FUBAR
2:30am THE WAR - FUBAR



Robin McArthur
Manager Marketing & Promotions
WSRE
1000 College Blvd.
Pensacola, Florida 32504
p. 850.484.1211
f. 850.484.1255
http://www.wsre.org

WSRE, PBS for the Gulf Coast!
>>> Info 08/24/07 8:05 AM >>>


>>> < > 8/23/2007 7:01 PM >>>
From: ----- ----------
Email Address:
Subject: Where's the HD ?

A few months ago WSRE made a change for the worse on the digital channel. The lack of HD and programming in general has made for a less watched channel in my household. I am a Big supporter of public broadcasting but with the lack of interesting shows and no HD content I have gone to Discovery HD. When will we see a return of HD to 23-1 ???

I suggest that you withhold all support and donations of money to PBS. Don’t give them a dime, don’t support their advertisers and don’t watch their programming until they straighten up their act.

It’s a shame the way PBS has lied to the American people concerning HD.

http://www.current.org/dtv/dtv0704felland.shtml

Last Friday thunder storm in the Spanish Fort area must have gotten to close to my house. My DirectTV was out. After researching the problem on my own, I think I have the following problems:

1.) My 4x8 Diplexer box is bad. My regular boxes keep showing searching for signal on Sattelite 2.

2.) My HR10-250 is bad. The HR10-250 actually works but the HDMI part does not. You can unplug the HR10-250 and a screen comes up with the blue DirecTV sign and says a few minutes more and then it goes to a blank screen. This tells me nothing is wrong with my TV or wiring.

What I hate is talking with customer service that does not have a clue about what they are trying to fix. They are just reading off of a computer screen from over in India. Then, I know when the DirecTV guy shows up he will not have anything he needs to fix my system. So I will end up taking 2 days off of work.

Chances are they are going to wind up replacing your HR 10-250. You may want to think about asking for a free HR 20-700 since you will need it for the new upcoming tier of HD programming, including the HD locals that have long been advertized as "Coming Soon" to the Mobile market. Of course, you'll also have to have the 5LNB dish to support the HR 20 if you go that route. Some don't want to give up their Tivo- based HR 10's just yet.

Some new Comcast channels showed up on the box this afternoon. 214 HGTV HD and 215 Food Network HD are in the channel guide but there is no program information yet.

I'm in Mobile w/ Comcast Digital HD. My 202 (ESPNHD) and 232 (NBCHD) are down. Can anyone else confirm?? I've been on hold w/ Comcast for over 45 minutes now :mad:

Apparently it had to do with a blackout of the Wisconsin - Wash State game. Anyone whose local ABC affiliate carried BC - Wake had ESPN HD blacked out, even though ESPN wasn't blacked out in SD. Makes no sense to me.

Chances are they are going to wind up replacing your HR 10-250. You may want to think about asking for a free HR 20-700 since you will need it for the new upcoming tier of HD programming, including the HD locals that have long been advertized as "Coming Soon" to the Mobile market. Of course, you'll also have to have the 5LNB dish to support the HR 20 if you go that route. Some don't want to give up their Tivo- based HR 10's just yet.

I ended up getting the HR20-700 and a new diplexer box. Directv is coming back out here on 09/29/07 to install a 5 LNB dish. The HR20-700 is alright but, I loved my HR10-250 though.

The installer told me the local HDTV channels should be coming by the End of Sept. 2007. I hope there will be more HDTV channels other than the locals because I pick up most of them flawless off my OTA here in Spanish Fort.

Does anyone know if comcast in panama city is going to get food hd and hgtv-hd?

I ended up getting the HR20-700 and a new diplexer box. Directv is coming back out here on 09/29/07 to install a 5 LNB dish. The HR20-700 is alright but, I loved my HR10-250 though.

The installer told me the local HDTV channels should be coming by the End of Sept. 2007. I hope there will be more HDTV channels other than the locals because I pick up most of them flawless off my OTA here in Spanish Fort.

If all goes as scheduled, my new dish and HR 20 should be installed on the 17th. Looks like we will both be just in time for the new tier of channels.

I am over in Ft Walton and I have a HD antenna but I still get the wpmi and wkrg signal's, the only problem is that when watching mainly football the background will be pixalated and fuzzy during quick pans especially the reds. I notice this on every HD show. I have a couple sony's with a digital tuner's but I also get the same problem when I go thru my dish system OTA and also thru cox via coaxial or the 8300 so it seems to be the stations broadcasting a weak signal. I am new and have a slow interenet so I haven't been able to find any info here yet, I was hoping someone would now what the problem could be. thanks

Greetings:

Does anyone on this thread get digital signals from 3-1, 5-1, 10-1 & 15-1 from Irvington area using outside antenna mounted in the attic.

Please PM me your response .....

Thanks J C

I bought it three weeks ago(early order discount- $100 for the whole season), thinking I would be able to watch the Bama game. Wrong of course. I had to go to a friend's house to watch the PPV as it was blacked out, and also blacked out this week becuase the Vandy game was the Lincoln SEC game of the week on WJTC.

Bunch of games available, though. Tenn- So. Miss and Florida- Troy State this week. PQ is really a mixed bag- the Tenn. game was awful: washed out, fuzzy-- poor, poor picture quality. I would compare the general PQ to the way that local channels 44,53, and 55 look on Directv-- fuzzy and somewhat washed out. At least they did not have the blasting audio like the locals do!

Hope this issue may be corrected with the new satellite!

Did anybody else here have issues with CBS OTA HD today? I get 100% signal and it still breaks up every 5-10 during the college football games.

I have been getting the same thing on Ch 5.1 for several days.

Did anybody else here have issues with CBS OTA HD today? I get 100% signal and it still breaks up every 5-10 during the college football games.

I was flipping back and forth during the Fla.- Tenn. game, and noticed no break ups or problems at all.

Both last weekend and the weekend before, I was unable to watch college football on WEAR HD. I have an OTA antenna hooked up to a Windows MCE 2005 box. Up until now, I hadn't had any problems. What happens to me is the show will come on and play for a minute or 2 and then MCE gives me a "video error". If I hit "play" again (MCE acts like a TIVO always recording live TV) it will come back, but only for another minute or so before giving me the error again. This doesn't happen with any of my other HD channels, so I find it hard to believe it's an MCE issue.

My signal strength is full bars for all of my HD channels, including WEAR. I'm in Pensacola. It's almost like some corrupt data is coming over WEAR which fouls up the signal enough to trigger the error. It may not affect set-top boxes like it does MCE.

Any info would help. Does WEAR transmit at a different resolution than the other channels (WKRG, WALA, WPMI), like 1080i vs. 720p. I hate messing with my MCE or video card driver settings if the problem lies with the transmission itself.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

WEAR and WALA broadcast at 720p. CBS and WMPI broadcast at 1080i. I haven't watched WEAR outside of football games. I'm not sure if the issue you are having is a MCE, driver, or a reception issue. Does your software have a signal strength meter that you could watch for a few minutes straight to see if the signal strength fluxuates a lot(multipath issue). If it dips too low you'll like to have the issues you are having. One question is that we are assuming you are getting WEAR via Over the Air and not via QAM over cable TV?

You may be having multipath problems. You can have 100% signal, but if errors are occuring from multipath it corrrupts the data being received. This may be causing your problem. My TV shows errors in the diagnostics menu and when I get drop-outs on video, it's usually due to those, not loss of signal strength.

I have the EXACT same issue fl_litig8r. All my other channels play just fine, but any HD sporting event on WEAR gives me the video error.
It does not seem to occur during their non-HD broadcasts (left and right black bars)...just during HD sporting events. Very very frustrating.

I was able to record an HD show from WEAR last night. I wasn't home to watch it live, but it recorded and played back without issue. In my mind that would tend to eliminate it being a multipath issue. (this is all OTA and not via QAM)

I read an announcement that Cox is adding 4 new HD channels, Discovery, TLC, Animal Planet, and Science channel. They said that it would be in "select markets". Does anyone know if Cox Gulfcoast is a "select market"? If so, any idea when we might get these new channels?

You may be having multipath problems. You can have 100% signal, but if errors are occuring from multipath it corrrupts the data being received. This may be causing your problem. My TV shows errors in the diagnostics menu and when I get drop-outs on video, it's usually due to those, not loss of signal strength.

So is there anything I can do to correct multipath issues? I am OTA, BTW. I am going to see if I have the same problem tomorrow.

Thanks for everyone's help.

You can try by turning your antenna in a slightly different direction(up, down, left, right or combination of the two) till the problem goes away. With a little tweaking you may be able to correct the issue.

I don't think you're having a multipath issue, fl_litig8r. I tried watching sports on WEAR this weekend and again got the video error. I then shutdown MCE and started up the WatchHDTV app from watchhdtv.net (it's free) and watched the entire NASCAR race on Sunday without a single glitch. The WatchHDTV app also has a signal meter built-in and mine stay consistently at 92% through-out the day.

What puzzles me is why these Video Errors in MCE only occur during the Sat/Sun HD Sports broadcasts but do not occur during weekday primetime HD shows.

For those of you with D*, I'm sure you're aware of all of the new HD channels that are now on. Excellent PQ from the D10 MPEG4 channels. No HD Lite. History Channel and TBS are not so good, Stretch-O-Vision for SD programming, but History is very good with an HD program. More HD channels are coming in October and anyone considering a switch should find a friend with D* and have a look to compare for yourself. Personally, I am extremely pleased and looking forward to the next rollout of HD. Will never go back to cable. One problem, though, the locals are not yet in HD. All they will say is soon. I get all my locals OTA and have the on screen menu on the DVR for them. Just some info to consider. The HR20 is now a very stable DVR and the H20 has not given me any problems in 18 months. I have a roof mounted antenna for the DVR and rabbit ears on the HR20 upstairs for OTA. I'm in NE Pensacola.:)

I have already got my HR-20 and B-Band convertors installed. Hopefully the installers will show up Saturday morning with my 5 Lnb dish. Then, I will be able to see what all the fuss is about.

I also, have just bought a larger hard drive (1tb) for my HR-20. It might be here by this weekend also. So, hopefully I will have it all done before Sunday.

Well, I'm giving up my TiVo HD receiver from D* in exchange for their new HR20 DVR. Now that there are more HD channels available I couldn't resist. But, I'm going to miss by TiVo suggestions.:(

I asked the D* rep when Mobile locals would be available in HD from D*. She said she didn't have an exact date, but Mobile is in the group to have them before June 08. I only wish I could believe her. I want to be rid of my OTA antenna.

could someone help me pick out an antenna that would allow me to pick up some HD channels? my tv has a tuner installed and it is the 32'' westinghouse with built in tuner. I live in Freeport, fl off of bay grove road. I can not use an outdoor antenna but i am game for anything else. Your help would be greatly appreciated for i am tired of going without football ;)

thanks in advance.

could someone help me pick out an antenna that would allow me to pick up some HD channels? my tv has a tuner installed and it is the 32'' westinghouse with built in tuner. I live in Freeport, fl off of bay grove road. I can not use an outdoor antenna but i am game for anything else. Your help would be greatly appreciated for i am tired of going without football ;)

thanks in advance.

I'm in Crestview and I've been able to pick up the Dothan CBS station, Pensacola's ABC and PBS stations, and Mobile's NBC station. All broadcast in HD. I've used an indoor amplified RCA antenna. If you have Cox cable, then you can get the locals in HD with a QAM tuner. You might be able to pick up Panama City's ABC, NBC, and Fox stations with an indoor antenna.

bmwboyee: Go to http://www.antennaweb.org and it will tell you what size antenna that you need for Crestview.

I live in Spanish Fort, Alabama and I tried 3 indoor amplified antennas. They would worked 90% of the time but, the 10% that they did not work is enough to get you very angry. If I had to do it all over again, I wished I would have just gotten the big outdoor antenna and let the wife and neighbors be angry.

I don't think you're having a multipath issue, fl_litig8r. I tried watching sports on WEAR this weekend and again got the video error. I then shutdown MCE and started up the WatchHDTV app from watchhdtv.net (it's free) and watched the entire NASCAR race on Sunday without a single glitch. The WatchHDTV app also has a signal meter built-in and mine stay consistently at 92% through-out the day.

What puzzles me is why these Video Errors in MCE only occur during the Sat/Sun HD Sports broadcasts but do not occur during weekday primetime HD shows.

Thanks for the link to the program. I'll give that a shot. I just noticed this week that I had no problem watching a normal non-sport HD program on WEAR. I wonder what makes sporting events different? Some different transmission method for a live feed? I'll let you know if that freeware program works for me today. I want to watch USC v. Washington in HD (at least until it becomes a blowout -- though I'd love to see USC lose, I don't see it happening tonight).

I wonder if ABC/WEAR is setting the "Broadcast Flag" on their HD Sporting events and MCE is detecting that and kicking out the video? Anybody know if this is the case?

I think that the multipath thing isn't my problem. I can record and watch normal primetime HD shows on WEAR without issue. In fact, it appears that the problem with watching college football only appears when they switch to the actual game. The brief pre-show high-def stuff never freezes, but once they switch to a live shot at the stadium, I get the video error. If this is a broadcast flag issue, I'm going to be pretty ticked off.

I'll have to try using my old HDTV set-top box to see if I get any weirdness watching WEAR college football games using that. I just hate fiddling with the TV when I could be watching the game!

For those of you with D*, I'm sure you're aware of all of the new HD channels that are now on. ...I'm in NE Pensacola.:)


I am enjoying them too. Bring on the HD locals!

I found the answer to my problem with WEAR HD sports and my Windows MCE box on another avsforum board. It's Microsoft's fault! An update to MCE that I installed through Windows Update had caused the error. Once I uninstalled the update (KB925766) and rebooted, my old HD football game from WEAR that I kept for test purposes (USC v. Washington) played flawlessly. No more video errors! I'm assuming this means my live games for next weekend will play without problems.

I read the MS page on this update I removed and it really doesn't seem to do anything useful, so I'm not going to miss it. When you go to uninstall it, windows will give you this dire warning that a whole bunch of programs may not work anymore (not just MS stuff, they add practically all of your 3d party software to the list) if you continue the uninstall. IGNORE that warning and get that POS update off of your box.

Hope this helps anyone else with Windows MCE 2005.

On a sad note, both of my alma maters lost this weekend (UF and Rutgers). A moment of silence please for the fallen. . .

TBSHD is now on Cox 711

Anybody having trouble with Channel 5 HD cutting completely out every 2 or 3 minutes? My signal strength goes all the way to zero just for a second. This is the only channel that is having the problem. I double checked with my father's LG LST-3100A OTA tuner and have no problems with WKRG or any other channel with that tuner on my system.

Any suggestions?

The NC State vs FSU game started a while ago and WEAR was broadcasting the NC State vs FSU game on analog and the Tenn vs Ga game on Digital. They finally figured it out and switched over to the FSU game, but NOT IN HD.

As a follow-up, removing that Microsoft media center update (KB925766) fixed my problem with WEAR giving a video error on my MCE box during live football games. I never would have thought to look at that without the help of these forums.

The Tennessee/Georgia game was carried on CBS in HD. FSU/NC State was regional ABC while most of the country received Texas/Oklahoma in HD on ABC. I watched some of FSU/NC State on WEAR while switching to Texas/Oklahoma on WLOX Biloxi.

Does anyone know what all HD channels we receive now that the new satellite is up?

1.) SciFi Channel!
2.) Science Channel
3.)
4.)

Check out dbstalk.com for good info.

A&E (Channel 265)
Animal Planet (Channel 282)
Big Ten Network (Channel 220)
CNN (Channel 202)
The Discovery Channel (Channel 278)
The History Channel (Channel 269)
The Movie Channel East (Channel 544)
NFL Network (Channel 212)
Showtime West (Channel 540)
Showtime too (Channel 538)
The Smithsonian Channel (Channel 267)
The Science Channel (Channel 284)
Starz Comedy (Channel 519)
Starz East (Channel 522)
Starz West (Channel 521)
Starz Edge (Channel 520)
Starz Kids and Family (Channel 518)
TBS (Channel 247)
TLC (Channel 280)
Versus / The Golf Channel (Channel 604)
The Weather Channel (Channel 362)

Cinemax East (Channel 512)
Cinemax West (Channel 514)
HBO West (Channel 504)
Bravo (Channel 273)
SciFi Channel (Channel 244)
USA Network (Channel 242)
Comcast SportsNet Chicago HD (Channel 640)
Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic HD (Channel 629)
New England Sports Network/NESN HD(Channel 623)
SportsNet New York HD (Channel 625)
YES HD (Channel 622)

MHD Channel (332)

Looking good so far. Quite frankly, far less problems with my HR20-700 than with my HR10-250. Still using the 250 on one of my drops with only one cable. Works fine that way, but, of course, you lose the ability to watch one channel while recording another.

They must have worked most of the major bugs out of the hr20. Mine does not seem to over heat or lock up, and seems to handle my OTA antenna feed somewhat better than the hr10.

The recording features are not as sophisicated as the hr10: no Tivo, but no major complaints so far.

WKRG Morons strike again.

As of 1532 on Sunday 14 Oct, WKRG is advertising the Dallas Patriots game on HD, but showing the Chargers game. The analog signal is showing the Cowboys game.

How much do they pay the engineer to turn on the right switch?

Good thing these morons denied my request to get the nationals.

As a follow-up, removing that Microsoft media center update (KB925766) fixed my problem with WEAR giving a video error on my MCE box during live football games. I never would have thought to look at that without the help of these forums.

Thanks for the update on that. I've been AFK on vacation but will check to see if I too have that same update and remove it to see if it resolves my issues as well.

Will let you know how it turns out.

Does anybody else have trouble picking up NBC and Fox? I live in Pensacola, and I can't pick up Fox at all, and 15-1 (NBC) can't seem to keep a good signal. The funny thing is, Channel 15, NBC's SD OTA channel, comes in fine. I'm using an indoor antenna. Any suggestions would be great. I would use an outdoor antenna, but I'm renting and can't have one installed.

Does anybody else have trouble picking up NBC and Fox? I live in Pensacola, and I can't pick up Fox at all, and 15-1 (NBC) can't seem to keep a good signal. The funny thing is, Channel 15, NBC's SD OTA channel, comes in fine. I'm using an indoor antenna. Any suggestions would be great. I would use an outdoor antenna, but I'm renting and can't have one installed.

Fox digital broadcasts on VHF channel 9, and small rabbit ears type antenna are rather poor at receiving this VHF band transmission. I've tried it in 3-4 locations in Pensacola with different units with no success.

NBC digital broadcasts on UHF channel 47 and can be picked up on a small indoor loop antenna. However, aiming it is critical. Finding the exact position where you maximimize signals from ABC (broadcasting on 17), CBS (broadcasting on 27), PBS (on 31) and NBC can be challenging. Again, I can get NBC, but I also loose it occasionally.

has anyone noticed the audio on WEAR during sporting events going up and then sounding like it gets clamped severely down?

Hello all. I'm trying to get my JVC RS1 system calibrated by Eliab Alvarez from Avical. He's got a southern tour running January 2008. Unfortunately he doesn't normally travel as far as Mobile, AL but can if a few more folks sign up. Info is at avical.com under the "Tours" tab. All those in the southern alabama area sign up!
Thanks.
Joe

Comcast Mobile added CNN HD and NFL HD yesterday. Also, Wal Mart stores have a hell of a deal on HDDVD players today only. They have the Toshiba A2 for $98. The west mobile supercenter had several still in stock this morning. I saw a number of people walking around with them under their arms. Better than that for those of us who already bit the bullet, they have a big selection of HDDVD's for $13.96. The receipt showed a regular price of $18.96. Added a big handful of discs to feed my addiction.

Wal Mart stores have a hell of a deal on HDDVD players today only. They have the Toshiba A2 for $98.


Thanks for the heads up! I got two. Even if HDDVD goes the way of Betamax, for $98 you can't go wrong.

For some good info regarding 1080i vs 1080p and DVDs check out this link: http://blog.hometheatermag.com/geoffreymorrison/0807061080iv1080p/

Thanks dctpbs!

I also bought 2 of them. Now to find someone in Daphne or Spanish Fort to rent the movies from! :)

I almost forgot - Toshiba is running a special offer - 5 Free HD DVDs with the purchase of ANY Toshiba HD DVD Player between 10/1 and 2/28

http://www2.conns.com/promotions/Toshiba%20Free%20DVD%20Rebate%2010.1.07-2.28.08.pdf

http://a1708.g.akamai.net/7/1708/110/AH075708451241/www.shopnbc.com/images/cc/pdf/10-1_5DVD_V37976-V49139.pdf

The two links point to different rebate forms with - one has Troy and Swordfish among options the other has TMNT and Syriana among movie options.

imdocjoe, I'm not sure if you're aware, but there is a local ISF option for you. WOW Factor (that's me) is located in Pensacola, FL and services from Mobile to Tallahassee. I won't go much further here so as not to be accused of self-promotion on the board, but please contact us at 777-1289. We'd love to keep your business local. You can find us listed on the ISF page under Florida. Also, I saw that you have a front projection setup. We have recently acquired Sencore's new non-contact OTC-1000 meter which is perfect for front projection setups. We even took a trip to Sencore's factory for training direct from their engineers. :) Again, please give us a call and a chance to keep your business local. Thanks!!

I got Toshiba HD DVD player last Friday for $100.00 at the Wal Mart in Saraland. Does anyone know what they are having on their special sale this Friday? I was told they might have a bunch more HD stuff this week.

I got Toshiba HD DVD player last Friday for $100.00 at the Wal Mart in Saraland. Does anyone know what they are having on their special sale this Friday? I was told they might have a bunch more HD stuff this week.

The website is http://holiday.ri-walmart.com/?section=secret but right now they don't have any products. It says to check back later.

BTW - According to engadget, there were 90,000 HD DVD players of all brands sold last weekend nationwide (most were the Toshiba). There were only 90k sold the entire first year HD DVD players were on the market.

Does anyone know what channels you can pick up on Mediacom with a QAM tuner? I went to their website to see if the local HD channels were unscrambled but I couldn't find any info on this. I'm trying to find out for my parents who are thinking of buy their first HDTV.

Has anyone noticed an intermittent stuttering in the audio of WPMI? I especially notice it two or three times during the NBC HD network news.

Just signed up to the forum and thought I would ask a question. I have D* with an H20-100 with an OTA antenna. I live in West Mobile at the Cody/Gretlot intersection.

I have had no problems until the SUperbowl on Sunday night. The WKRG signal is a 90% but every 30 seconds it drops to zero for about a half a second and then returns to normal. I thought it may be some electrical device in my house causing the problem, so I turned off all of the electical devices (motors), adjusted my Terk indoor antenna, and threw out a few curse words and the problem did not change. Is this an issue with WKRG? Have any of you seen this problem just all of a sudden manifest itself for no reason? Is it the cold weather? Comments or suggestions would be helpful.

In Biloxi I have the same problems with WKRG all the time. Like you I get 90% signal with drop outs. I don't have these issues with other stations from mobile or new orleans. Wish It could be fixed...

I may be repeating a previous conversation but I read through quite a few... I am not having a problem with signal strength, (I don't think, anyway), but why can't we see college football games on channels 3, 5 and 10??? I have DirecT and tv shows come in HD but not the games that state they are in HD. CBSsports advertise the games tomorrow in HD but I bet we won't see them in HD. Is there anything we are doing or not doing??? Thanks in advance.

Right now you can not pick up the local stations in HD unless you have an off the air antenna (OTA). DirectTv says the are going to be offering the locals in HD soon but, I don't know when.

Thanks for the response. Will the OTA help a lot with high def? Is it worth getting? Our 'signal' is good but not HD. I don't really understand since the national network of ABC, CBS, NBC offer it up in HD but our locals cannot broadcast it in HD. I know for the past 5 yrs it has been an issue but does it take them convert their analog system over before we can reap the benefits? Anyway, if the OTA is worth it and really makes a difference, I will go get one. What is your opinion of that?

Thanks for the response. Will the OTA help a lot with high def? Is it worth getting? Our 'signal' is good but not HD. I don't really understand since the national network of ABC, CBS, NBC offer it up in HD but our locals cannot broadcast it in HD. I know for the past 5 yrs it has been an issue but does it take them convert their analog system over before we can reap the benefits? Anyway, if the OTA is worth it and really makes a difference, I will go get one. What is your opinion of that?

Until Feb. 2009, all the "locals" are broadcasting on two separate channels, the first is analog and the other is digital:

ABC WEAR-TV Channel 3 and WEAR-DT Channel 3-1 broadcasting on Channel 17-1
CBS WKRG-TV Channel 5 and WKRG-DT Channel 5-1 broadcasting on Channel 27-1
FOX WALA-TV Channel 10 and WALA-DT Channel 10-1 broadcasting on Channel 9-1
NBC WPMI-TV Channel 15 and WPMI-DT Channel 15-1 broadcasting on Channel 47-1
and some others...

As someone has already mentioned, DirecTV is only providing the analog signals. They have been promising the digital stations since October 2006 but we don't have them yet. Perhaps during the first quarter of 2008.

HD television must be broadcast in digital-- not analog. So, without an antenna (indoor or outdoor), an HDTV television set and digital tuner, you cannot watch HD TV. The locals have been broadcasting HDTV for many years now.

Since you live in Daphne, it will probally be pretty easy to get most local HD channels OTA. I live just north of Spanish Fort on Hwy. 225 and I tried an indoor amplified antenna and I did not like the results. I knew my wife would not like an outdoor antenna, so I put an outdoor antenna in the attic.

That set up works flawlessly 99.9% of the time. The OTA channels on the antenna look better than the ones on Direct TV. My only problem is when watching football on Channel 5.1, my stereo receiver keeps jumping from Dolby Digital to PCM. I think it is the feed from Channel 5.

Overall after you get it all set up, you will love watching football and other sports OTA. I do not even like racing but, sometimes flipping through channels I will stop and watch NasCar for a few minutes because the picture and sound is so clean. ;)

Since you live in Daphne, it will probally be pretty easy to get most local HD channels OTA. I live just north of Spanish Fort on Hwy. 225 and I tried an indoor amplified antenna and I did not like the results. I knew my wife would not like an outdoor antenna, so I put an outdoor antenna in the attic.

That set up works flawlessly 99.9% of the time. The OTA channels on the antenna look better than the ones on Direct TV. My only problem is when watching football on Channel 5.1, my stereo receiver keeps jumping from Dolby Digital to PCM. I think it is the feed from Channel 5.

Overall after you get it all set up, you will love watching football and other sports OTA. I do not even like racing but, sometimes flipping through channels I will stop and watch NasCar for a few minutes because the picture and sound is so clean. ;)
Thanks for your help with the OTA.... I have been told both sides of it but I think we will wait. We love stopping on ALL the HD channels since we got our Sony a year ago. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas! Thanks Again!

Until Feb. 2009, all the "locals" are broadcasting on two separate channels, the first is analog and the other is digital:

ABC WEAR-TV Channel 3 and WEAR-DT Channel 3-1 broadcasting on Channel 17-1
CBS WKRG-TV Channel 5 and WKRG-DT Channel 5-1 broadcasting on Channel 27-1
FOX WALA-TV Channel 10 and WALA-DT Channel 10-1 broadcasting on Channel 9-1
NBC WPMI-TV Channel 15 and WPMI-DT Channel 15-1 broadcasting on Channel 47-1
and some others...

As someone has already mentioned, DirecTV is only providing the analog signals. They have been promising the digital stations since October 2006 but we don't have them yet. Perhaps during the first quarter of 2008.

HD television must be broadcast in digital-- not analog. So, without an antenna (indoor or outdoor), an HDTV television set and digital tuner, you cannot watch HD TV. The locals have been broadcasting HDTV for many years now.
Beachrez....I think you explained it to where we finally understand. We wanted to make sure it was nothing we were NOT doing here that caused it not to be in HD. I will be glad when they get all of it away from analog but I know that takes time. Of course, I have seen post that go back 5 yrs that customers were conversing with CBS on this problem. Oh well, we will watch FSU and the Gators regardless!!! Go Noles!
Thanks again!!! Merry Christmas!!!

Ok, I just read both responses again - more slowly ----- :rolleyes:
Thanks to you both, KillerBox and Beachrez for the explainations. I just need to figure out whether to wait or get the OTA antenna. Since the locals are in fact broadcasting in HD, that changes my line of thinking. (I have called Directv a couple of times and I am not sure why they don't know how to explain!!! :o ) The OTA sounds like a good way to go. I don't know how large the antenna is, but when you said you put it in your attic, it must not be real tall, right??? Thanks!!!

Ok, I just read both responses again - more slowly ----- :rolleyes:
Thanks to you both, KillerBox and Beachrez for the explainations. I just need to figure out whether to wait or get the OTA antenna. Since the locals are in fact broadcasting in HD, that changes my line of thinking. (I have called Directv a couple of times and I am not sure why they don't know how to explain!!! :o ) The OTA sounds like a good way to go. I don't know how large the antenna is, but when you said you put it in your attic, it must not be real tall, right??? Thanks!!!

Go to Walmart or Radio Shack (or similar) and for $10-15 you can get an indoor loop antenna for UHF and try it. Chances are you can return it if it doesn't work for you. I use one here in Pensacola for the stations broadcasting from Mobile on UHF-- that is all but Fox-- and it works just fine. For FOX, you would need "rabbit ears" but it is likely that it won't work very well for you. The antenna that you get will have both the loop and the rabbit ears. Also, keep in mind that not all programming on the local channels is in HD. So, get the antenna, connect it to the proper spot on the back of the DirecTV box, and do the proper set up.

Watching the Seminoles lose in HD is really a great experience!

Go to Walmart or Radio Shack (or similar) and for $10-15 you can get an indoor loop antenna for UHF and try it. Chances are you can return it if it doesn't work for you. I use one here in Pensacola for the stations broadcasting from Mobile on UHF-- that is all but Fox-- and it works just fine. For FOX, you would need "rabbit ears" but it is likely that it won't work very well for you. The antenna that you get will have both the loop and the rabbit ears. Also, keep in mind that not all programming on the local channels is in HD. So, get the antenna, connect it to the proper spot on the back of the DirecTV box, and do the proper set up.

Watching the Seminoles lose in HD is really a great experience!
I am taking it that you are a Gator fan. We won't hold that against you because you have been pretty nice explaining all of this!!!!! I have a bad feeling that you may be a happier person this evening but I sure hope I am wrong!!!! Thanks again for the great info.

Cox Cable in Pensacola just added about 10 more HD channels this morning. I think its hgtv, cnn, A&E, NGeo, Hist., TLC, Disc., nfl, foodN, animalPlanet, and maybe another I might be forgetting. Gotta stay in line with the dish:D

The NFL channel has been there. 719, it is the NFL channel most of the time. Other times they show Versus or Sun HD broadcast games.

Anybody having trouble with Channel 5 HD cutting completely out every 2 or 3 minutes? My signal strength goes all the way to zero just for a second. This is the only channel that is having the problem. I double checked with my father's LG LST-3100A OTA tuner and have no problems with WKRG or any other channel with that tuner on my system.

Any suggestions?

Bumping this since I'm having the same problem. Anyone know if it's WKRG's problem or if it is a problem with the DTV receiver?

KENNY: IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME TO ME....AND ONLY FOR A SEC.. i am in west mobile and i am obsessive about my tuning te antenna, and it still happens

Bumping this since I'm having the same problem. Anyone know if it's WKRG's problem or if it is a problem with the DTV receiver?

KENNY: IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME TO ME....AND ONLY FOR A SEC.. i am in west mobile and i am obsessive about my tuning te antenna, and it still happens

No problems noted here, but we are in Baldwin County, next to the transmitter.

Thanks for the responses - I live out at Magnolia Grove so I guess it's just something I'll have to put up with. Strange though that channel 3 never drops out and it's a Pensacola station.

I have had on-again off-again issues with WKRG since I first "went HD" over a year ago. I have recently started having signal fading issues with NBC but only during Sunday Night Football (the only thing I care to watch on that network other than Law and Order).

I put up a larger antenna and that hasn't helped. No large trees or large buildings to affect the signal.

I live in west Mobile near Johnson Rd and Dawes Rd, so all the towers are within a 10 degree angle from my vantage point.

Maybe D* will get the Mobile locals in HD soon.

No HD Locals for awhile

Eleven Additional Local HD Markets Named; More than 75 Percent of U.S. Television Homes Will have Access to Local HD Channels from DIRECTV

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 5, 2007--Continuing its momentum for delivering the best quality HD programming available, DIRECTV (NASDAQTV) will offer local HD broadcast networks in 76 markets, representing more than 75 percent of U.S. TV households, when it rolls out 11 additional local HD markets by mid-2008. DIRECTV began the rollout with the launch of HD local channels in the Flint, Mich. and Waco, Texas designated market areas last week.

DIRECTV will deliver HD programming from each of the primary broadcast networks - ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC - where available, to customers who subscribe to any TOTAL CHOICE(R) programming package that offers local channels. DIRECTV HD customers will continue to pay only a $9.99 access fee, allowing them to receive DIRECTV's premier HD technology and all channels broadcast in HD that are tied to their particular base programming package.

The 11 local markets to receive HD programming from DIRECTV include:

-- Albany/Schenectady/Troy, N.Y. -- Paducah, Ky.
-- Cedar Rapids/Waterloo, Iowa -- Tucson, Ariz.
-- Flint/Saginaw/Bay City, Mich. -- Waco/Temple/Bryan, Texas
-- Lincoln/Hastings, Neb. -- Wichita/Hutchinson, Kan.
-- Louisville, Ky. -- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pa.
-- Omaha, Neb.
"While offering the most quality national HD channels is important, we believe that it is equally important to deliver popular local HD programming that will give our customers the most comprehensive HD experience available," said Derek Chang, executive vice president, Content Strategy and Development, DIRECTV, Inc. "Delivering local channels in HD to 76 markets will solidify our position as a leader in HD and enables us to compete even more aggressively with cable providers across the country."

No HD Locals for awhile

Eleven Additional Local HD Markets Named; More than 75 Percent of U.S. Television Homes Will have Access to Local HD Channels from DIRECTV

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 5, 2007--Continuing its momentum for delivering the best quality HD programming available, DIRECTV (NASDAQTV) will offer local HD broadcast networks in 76 markets, representing more than 75 percent of U.S. TV households, when it rolls out 11 additional local HD markets by mid-2008. DIRECTV began the rollout with the launch of HD local channels in the Flint, Mich. and Waco, Texas designated market areas last week.

DIRECTV will deliver HD programming from each of the primary broadcast networks - ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC - where available, to customers who subscribe to any TOTAL CHOICE(R) programming package that offers local channels. DIRECTV HD customers will continue to pay only a $9.99 access fee, allowing them to receive DIRECTV's premier HD technology and all channels broadcast in HD that are tied to their particular base programming package.

The 11 local markets to receive HD programming from DIRECTV include:

-- Albany/Schenectady/Troy, N.Y. -- Paducah, Ky.
-- Cedar Rapids/Waterloo, Iowa -- Tucson, Ariz.
-- Flint/Saginaw/Bay City, Mich. -- Waco/Temple/Bryan, Texas
-- Lincoln/Hastings, Neb. -- Wichita/Hutchinson, Kan.
-- Louisville, Ky. -- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pa.
-- Omaha, Neb.
"While offering the most quality national HD channels is important, we believe that it is equally important to deliver popular local HD programming that will give our customers the most comprehensive HD experience available," said Derek Chang, executive vice president, Content Strategy and Development, DIRECTV, Inc. "Delivering local channels in HD to 76 markets will solidify our position as a leader in HD and enables us to compete even more aggressively with cable providers across the country."

Disappointing, but not surprising. For what it is worth, I was in the Daphne Home Depot this weekend and spoke to a Directv rep who was there at a sign-up display and asked him about he HD locals. His answer -- the problem lies with local RF interference (caused by a peculiar situation with some of the commerical towers in Baldwin County) with the spot beaming -- a problem they have known about and are trying to solve.

Could be total BS, but that's what he said.

No HD Locals for awhile

...

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 5, 2007--Continuing its momentum for delivering the best quality HD programming available, DIRECTV (NASDAQTV) will offer local HD broadcast networks in 76 markets, representing more than 75 percent of U.S. TV households, when it rolls out 11 additional local HD markets by mid-2008. DIRECTV began the rollout with the launch of HD local channels in the Flint, Mich. and Waco, Texas designated market areas last week.


It's a shame. Isn't Mobile DMA #61? So there are several smaller markets with HD locals. Are any of the local affiliates holding up the show with unreasonable demands?

I have not heard about any negotiation problems. What do you think about the story I got from the Dirctv rep regarding RF interference?

Does it sound credible, and has anyone else heard that explantion?

this is really annoying, we were listed already for last december, then bumped to august... september... october... now this... argh

Does anybody know what local HD channels that DirectTV has deals with? I really doubt that they have one worked out with WALA Fox10 being their parent company is owned by LIN. Does WKRG, WEAR,WMPI have a deal worked out with DirectTV? I hope its not a contract that they have to get worked out.

I was having some issues getting fox back in the winter (pensacola), I ended up speaking to the engineer of the station, and he indicated that D* had installed all of the equipment needed to broadcast their HD feed. My guess is it has more to do with the size of our market and that they were having some issues with their spot beam capability on the new d*10 sat. My guess is our local HDs are tied to the launch of D*11 in early 08. I was hoping they would get the spotbeams worked out and find the bandwidth to provide them before the close of 07 but that door is quickly closing. I have my attic antenna issues worked out now, so the wait is not that big of deal.

The issues with the spotbeams on D10 only affects the NW areas of the US. D11 won't likely launch till about March, there is another device that is waiting to launch before D11 and that might not launch till January.

Steelers-Patriots (12/9/07)


Listed as HD on CBS WKRG-DT OTA but only getting SD!

Fixed! (Maybe they read my post!)

I watched the game on NFL ST Superfan, it was HD throughout and looked good.

For you D* guys with their DVR service:

I'm looking to get rid of Comcast and switch to D* (I hate Comcast - espcecially since they cannot seem to get WALA - Fox on their HD) - If I get the HD DVR, are there any issues of recording shows from OTA HD feeds? I know that I can use my antenna to watch OTA feeds through the D* HD DVR box, correct? I would love to record my fav Fox shows in HD . . .

The HR20 works great for me, however the new HR21's have No antenna input, so you'd be out of luck if they give you one of those.

Thanks for that info Cinder - I'll be sure to request an HR20 when/if I go to sign up.

Chazon: Good luck on requesting a HR20. I already have a HR20 and wanted 3 more. Direct TV said they could not guarantee if the boxes would be HR20s or HR21s. Hopefully I will find out this weekend.

DirectTV installation's company called Bruister & Assc. has missed their past 2 installation dates already. 2 weeks ago, installer was sick and did not show up. 1 week ago, 8 am til 12 pm appt. time. He showed up at 3 pm but, I was already gone. Trying again this Sat.

I requested Cinder's company but, they said I could not request my own installation company and still receive my free installation.

I might be able to get you an hr20, are you new to directv? ( i know i have a customer with an hr20 that is 3 months old that she wants to sell and get the hr21. She doesn't need antenna and just wants the newest and likes that it's black...L)

killerbox? are you an existing directv user? Call my office at 621-8300, maybe i can work something out. Ask for Brenda and tell her your situation.

Daniel

Bruister and Asscociates are absolutely terrible. They NEVER show up when they are supposed to, and the when they do, more often than not, they send an incompetent tech. I have complained to Directv many times about their service level, but apparently somethings never change.

Unfortunately, just like in other sectors, when there is a high demand for service and a low number of techs, they (DirecTV, in this case) will send what they can get.

true in a way, but i know of two companies i outsource directv/dish to when either we can't handle a particular directv install or it's outside our scope of clients and they do great jobs, especially one in particular. they always are there within 3-4 days, but directv doesn't refer to them either, only breuster's. if directv would randomly go through their dealer list or allow customers to pick who they want that would be helpful.

that said, for new customers no one in the world has to go through directv. all deals are good with small customs like mine, as well as the larger true directv dealers that aren't called breuster's. It only really comes into effect in teh moving plan (where i have gladly paid twice to move and didn't deal with breusters, wasn't a dealer then, or if you are an existing customer and want new HD boxes or the new 5lnb (New?) dish installed for free.)

all we can do is complain, for me it's only an issue with my customer as directv is a breakeven scenario for me and only a service i offer to my clients, their friends/referrals and anyone who is an avs member. My techs make too much to do directv all the time, but given how many other companeis deal with it it's a good service for my clients to have and leads to goodwill. whereas when breuster's doesn't show up three times, they don't call directv and cuss them out, they call me because we're the "tech" guys, even though we had nothing to do with the directv side. (other than always being there after any directv/dish/cable guy touches our equipment to make it work again.)

I had a pissed customer call me yesterday due to mediacom. they told him that the way i arranged his rack (fans, coolant, etc) lead to their cable box dying and the hdmi going out. I told him to hang tight, i drove from mobile to fairhope, and shockingly when i plugged the hdmi cable that had come undone on the integra he had picture. and the cable box was cool to the touch.

Oh well, i digress.

Anyway, if anyone needs anything let me know. I'm liquidating some inventory and want to move some equipment that i have. Can also get equipment for anyone who needs it.

Thanks for listening to the rant,

Daniel
(by the way, there are other good custom directv dealers and a cpl good custom dealers, you'll get much more service sticking to those guys than the big companies who no longer care about service.)

You are 100% correct Cinder. I would never "dis" qualified techs, but too often big corporations low bid their work out and the trickle down theory on the $$ means you end up with less than quality techs. There is nothing like chasing down other people's problems when you go to fix something. And too often it is the client, or customer, who is left irritated and frustrated by somebody else's lack of expertise. As long as your clients know that you can actually fix their problem instead of blaming the other guy, you will do well.
Dave

For what its worth we have one hR20 in stock if anyone wants it. $300 is the price on it i believe unless it dropped.

Thanks Cinder -
I'm still debating the switch, but my outlay will be high (too high to make the switch, I think - 3 rooms , all HD with one HD-DVR for the living room - and if I want local in HD - which I do - they all have to have antenna input - meaning I have to have a HR20 for the living room). If I do decide to make the switch from cable, I'll be glad to go through you to make it though.

If you decide to do it and you've never had directv it's a lot more affordable.

free install, free 5 lnb dish, then you can get two h21's(non hd dvr) for $100 then you get a $100 rebate in a month. Then the hr20 for $300 and you get $100 back from that as well.

(These plans may have changed since last i looked, i focus mostly on audio/video, theaters and automation.)

If you decide to do it and you've never had directv it's a lot more affordable.

free install, free 5 lnb dish, then you can get two h21's(non hd dvr) for $100 then you get a $100 rebate in a month. Then the hr20 for $300 and you get $100 back from that as well.

(These plans may have changed since last i looked, i focus mostly on audio/video, theaters and automation.)

I believe that you can only get 1 advance receiver $100 rebate (be it a DVR, a HD or a HD/DVR) per account. You can't get $100 for every advanced receiver you get.

good to know, that must have changed recently. I know i had a customer get a $100 rebate for an h20 and a $100 rebate for an hr20 a few months ago, but they were more expensive then.

Does anyone know why channel 719 now says "not authorized"? It is the HD events channel and was showing NFL Network HD.

Bruister and Asscociates are absolutely terrible. They NEVER show up when they are supposed to, and the when they do, more often than not, they send an incompetent tech. I have complained to Directv many times about their service level, but apparently somethings never change.

We used them to, unknowingly. They were terrible. they ran the cable from the dish (horizontally) across the mid section of the front of my house!!!! It was dark when they got through so i did not see it until the next morning! I cried! I could not believe it! I called and complained. I can't remember exactly but DirecTV did get it starighten out. I would never recommend them! Good luck!:(

Bruister handled my recent upgrade. They put a pole in the ground for my new 5 LNB dish, but were able to use the existing cable (I wanted it that way). They sent two installers and they showed up on time (8am on a Saturday). They were very friendly and cleaned up after themselves.

They left the HD TiVo unit even though D* had told them to take it. D* has since told me to keep it since the installers forgot to get it.

Bruister handled my recent upgrade. They put a pole in the ground for my new 5 LNB dish, but were able to use the existing cable (I wanted it that way). They sent two installers and they showed up on time (8am on a Saturday). They were very friendly and cleaned up after themselves.

They left the HD TiVo unit even though D* had told them to take it. D* has since told me to keep it since the installers forgot to get it.

I am glad you had a good experience with them. I want to think they were sub contracting because they were so busy. They were very cordial, just not too smart. When I saw the front of my house and the black or brown cable was stretched across my beige home about a couple of feet above the bottom where it would have been more feasible to do, I about freaked...and I am not the type that allows things to get to me!! It was terrible. But, it's over. Yea!!:rolleyes:

I am glad you had a good experience with them. I want to think they were sub contracting because they were so busy. They were very cordial, just not too smart. When I saw the front of my house and the black or brown cable was stretched across my beige home about a couple of feet above the bottom where it would have been more feasible to do, I about freaked...and I am not the type that allows things to get to me!! It was terrible. But, it's over. Yea!!:rolleyes:

My 5LNB dish install was the first time I have ever let anyone but myself install anything. I have installed 4 previous dishes myself. I am very particular when it comes to things like that, especially cabling. I can't understand why people think it is ok to run cables along the outside of walls (inside the house or outside). I know it is much easier (and cheaper) to do it that way, but easy is not always best.

Cerk, it should still be active on 719. I've double checked it here (I work for Cox in P'cola) and show no problem. We may just need to refresh your box. The only requirements for that channel are HD service and the Sports and Info digital tier. If you have both, you should be getting it. If you're still having trouble, I'd recommend calling in late (like between 9pm and midnight) if possible. If you run into any trouble, ask for Graham. I'm here till 10pm tonight and midnight tomorrow. Hope we can help!

Graham

Thanks Graham, it came back on last night. I'm enjoying the Steelers - Rams game. We lost our local HD channels except for Fox this morning but they are back on tonight.

Hi Gramham,

Has Cox decided to no longer show NFL Network HD? The channel said not authorized again. I spoke with Cox and their rep said that they were only going to show HD sporting events. Kind of a bummer since I was enjoying watching the NFL replay in HD

Thanks
Chris

Chris, no we haven't gotten rid of it. It's a multi-purpose channel used for various sporting events including NFL, NHL, and boxing. We have just recently changed the way that it displays when nothing is scheduled to be broadcast. Now, when there is nothing scheduled to show, the channel will display the "not authorized" message. Stay tuned as that may change! :D

Comcast in Mobile has added new HD channels to the lineup.

217 - USA-HD
224 - Discovery HD
226 - Animal Planet HD
227 - SciFi HD

Now if they would only get Fox on in HD I'd be a happy man!

hello. i`m thinking of going with an attic mount antenna. I live in Fairhope and have no trees around the house. which antenna should I go with? I was thinking the cm-4228 since wala was a high vhf. any thoughts?

Now Cox is doing a simulcast of MOJO HD on ch 719 while they are showing it on its regular HD channel. What is going on Cox????

Sorry about that, I've reported it and we're looking into it. :) Stay tuned. The Pats game should be playing on that channel as far as I know.

The Pats game should be on CBS, WALA, and NFL network. All in Glorious HD. You finally get to choose the least obnoxious announcers.

We don't get pick better announcers. It will be the same broadcast(NFL Network) on all three networks.

Just an update for Cox...Apparently, they want to keep the stream open on that channel to ensure a solid switch happens when the game goes live. In order to do that, we're simulcasting Mojo until then.

And Kevin is right, it'll be the same announcers on all three channels. They should be identical broadcasts. We shall see if there's a noticeable difference in quality between them. :)

Graham

For those of you interested in getting something stirred up in the Comcast / WALA fox 10 issue:

I e-mailed Mike Brantley with the Registrar about Comcast still not carrying Fox in HD - he's interested in maybe doing a story on it. If this issue bugs you as well, let Mike know how you feel about it: mbrantley@press-register.com (mailto:mbrantley@press-register.com)

Hopefully we can get a grass-roots effort and get this channel on the air in HD!

The Super Bowl is only a month away and on Fox . . .

Bruister and Asscociates are absolutely terrible. They NEVER show up when they are supposed to, and the when they do, more often than not, they send an incompetent tech. I have complained to Directv many times about their service level, but apparently somethings never change.

+1

If you are a new subscriber to Direct, if you tell them that you are switching from cable and make a point of the fact that Direct does not provide your locals in HD, tell them you must get an H20 or HR20 to be able to get the locals OTA in HD or you will send the installer packing and stick with what you have now. I have referred 2 new customers in the last month and both got the 20s that way. The second person said the installer showed up with an H21 and she sent him away. D* called her and rescheduled for the next day and she got the H20. They just need to know that in order to get your business (and the 2 year contract) they must meet your needs or it's no deal.

For those of you interested in getting something stirred up in the Comcast / WALA fox 10 issue:

I e-mailed Mike Brantley with the Registrar about Comcast still not carrying Fox in HD - he's interested in maybe doing a story on it. If this issue bugs you as well, let Mike know how you feel about it: mbrantley@press-register.com

Hopefully we can get a grass-roots effort and get this channel on the air in HD!

The Super Bowl is only a month away and on Fox . . .

I sent him an email as well. But I added that Mediacom doesn't have it either and to check to see if there will be hangup for DirectTV when they add our locals in HD.

Just got my HDTV and as a 7 yr customer of DISHNET, I stayed with them, but having trouble trying to find out how to get the local HD waiver for the local Mobile/PCola, FWB, PC local HD signal through DISHNET....can anyone recommend a remedy?

THANKS! jpkFWB

You would contact Dish Network and tell them you want to apply for HD DNS waiver to get the major networks from NY. That process could take 6-8 weeks. I don't know if they are still granting HD DNS waivers. Could you tell us which city you are in? You should be able to pick up HD locals via Over the Air antenna. Go to this site http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx
and type in your address to see what locals you should be to recieve with an antenna.

You would contact Dish Network and tell them you want to apply for HD DNS waiver to get the major networks from NY. That process could take 6-8 weeks. I don't know if they are still granting HD DNS waivers. Could you tell us which city you are in? You should be able to pick up HD locals via Over the Air antenna. Go to this site http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx
and type in your address to see what locals you should be to recieve with an antenna.

I'd wager he's in Fort Walton Beach...

I live in Ft Walton Beach, FL. I am led to believe with those with Direct TV in this area that they receive local HD channels. I will have to double check and determine if this is true. Otherwise they must receive the NY or other major outlet HD signals. I will also check with the anttenna suggestion you made. THANKS

jpk

What is the latest on what all the area stations will be doing next February, in terms of broadcast frequencies and transmitter power?

Hello,

Curious if anyone here is from Marianna/Alford area..near Panama City.

I ask because thats where my parents live...Compass Lake....they currently have regular dish network...but recently got a 37" Vizio HDTV and have been trying to see what they can get HDTV wise OTA. Currently they just have some crappy old rabbit ears.

They ask me for help but as much as I am considered the tech guru of the family...i know next to nothing about OTA DTV.

I am pretty sure considering their location they need pretty significant antenna...would appreciate any help/advice on picking one for them...hopefully something not to hard to install/setup.

I went to tvfools.com and put in their lat/long...ive attached the results. I really do not know how to interpret the data.

FYI with the rabbit ears the only sucess they have had is with (WMBB), NBC (WJHG) from PC and CBS (WTVY)from Dothan.

Thanks,

Hello,

Curious if anyone here is from Marianna/Alford area..near Panama City.

I ask because thats where my parents live...Compass Lake....they currently have regular dish network...but recently got a 37" Vizio HDTV and have been trying to see what they can get HDTV wise OTA. Currently they just have some crappy old rabbit ears.

They ask me for help but as much as I am considered the tech guru of the family...i know next to nothing about OTA DTV.

I am pretty sure considering their location they need pretty significant antenna...would appreciate any help/advice on picking one for them...hopefully something not to hard to install/setup.

I went to tvfools.com and put in their lat/long...ive attached the results. I really do not know how to interpret the data.

FYI with the rabbit ears the only sucess they have had is with (WMBB), NBC (WJHG) from PC and CBS (WTVY)from Dothan.

Thanks,

Try this: http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx Much easier to understand what antenna there.

Hello,

Curious if anyone here is from Marianna/Alford area..near Panama City.

I ask because thats where my parents live...Compass Lake....they currently have regular dish network...but recently got a 37" Vizio HDTV and have been trying to see what they can get HDTV wise OTA. Currently they just have some crappy old rabbit ears.

They ask me for help but as much as I am considered the tech guru of the family...i know next to nothing about OTA DTV.

I am pretty sure considering their location they need pretty significant antenna...would appreciate any help/advice on picking one for them...hopefully something not to hard to install/setup.

I went to tvfools.com and put in their lat/long...ive attached the results. I really do not know how to interpret the data.

FYI with the rabbit ears the only sucess they have had is with (WMBB), NBC (WJHG) from PC and CBS (WTVY)from Dothan.

Thanks,

The table on the right lists all the TV stations ranked from strongest to weakest. Rows that have a green background at the top are the strongest and therefore easiest channels to get. Your success with WMBB, WJHG, and WTVY are an example of these stronger channels.

The "Azimuth" column tells you which direction the stations are coming from. The three stations you're getting come from the southern (~190°) and north-western (~308°) directions. The other "green" channel, WDHN, is coming from the north (~1°), so you might need to relocate the antenna to get it. The direction to all the transmitters is shown graphically in the plot on the left.

Rows with a yellow or red background are weaker and therefore tougher to get. In order to get these channels, you'll probably have to install a medium to large directional antenna in the attic or on the roof.

You should also pay attention to the real channel number column since that's where each broadcaster is actually transmitting. The virtual channel number is how the channel number will appear on your TV, but that's not what matters when it comes to choosing an antenna.

It looks like you have a few VHF channels to deal with (2-13 are VHF, 14-69 are UHF) which means you should be looking for UHF/VHF combo antennas. Any antenna capable of handling VHF channels will tend to be large because they need to handle the longer wavelengths at those frequencies. There are decent UHF/VHF combo antennas available from Radio Shack, Channel Master, and Winegard. If you don't mind losing the VHF channels, then you can go with a UHF-only antenna, which will tend to be smaller.

Another issue you're going to face is the fact that the channels come from many different directions. Your antenna can only be aimed at one cluster of channels at a time, so you should also consider getting a rotator (example here (http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/9521A.htm)). I would recommend staying away from the so-called omni-directional antennas. They will not have enough reception capability to get stations at this distance.

Best regards,

I'm going to disagree with some of the above posters. I think that a large antenna with a rotor may be overkill, especially since some of the results on that printout are based on facilities that are not even built (WDHN, WTLF, and most of the LPTV stations). Also, if they are using rabbit ears now, I suspect they aren't wanting a huge setup, but enough to get the major networks reliably.

What I would do is try a Winegard MS 2000 (http://www.winegard.com/offair/metrostar.htm), as it would be easy to install and easy to return if it doesn't work out. It should give you solid reception of WTVY 36 (CBS/CW/My), WJHG 8/7 (NBC/CW/My), and WMBB 19/13 (ABC). I think you will probably get either WFSU 32 or WFSG 38 (PBS), and WPGX 9 (Fox). WDHN 21 (ABC) should be watchable when it goes to full power, and WBIF 51 (Retro TV) will have to go digital in 2/2009, and should be receivable.

If the Winegard doesn't work out, they could try a high-VHF antenna pointed at the Panama City stations (south) and a UHF pointed at one of the PBS stations (east or southwest). WTVY should be easily received off the back or side of the antenna, since it is quite strong. The cost would be higher, installation more complex, and these types of antennas are harder to return.

I'm going to disagree with some of the above posters. I think that a large antenna with a rotor may be overkill, especially since some of the results on that printout are based on facilities that are not even built (WDHN, WTLF, and most of the LPTV stations). Also, if they are using rabbit ears now, I suspect they aren't wanting a huge setup, but enough to get the major networks reliably.

The reference to "large" antenna was in regards to the longer antenna elements necessary to pick up VHF frequencies on a VHF/UHF combo antenna. Within the family of VHF/UHF combos, there are smaller and larger varieties.

You are correct that all the major networks are within reach without having to resort to "extreme" antenna choices. It's quite likely that a VHF/UHF combo antenna from the smaller end of the spectrum will serve well.

Larger combo antennas are not necessary in this case, but might be desireable to help reduce the effect of errors and signal fluctuations. Higher antenna gain (which results in higher signal-to-noise ratio) will reduce the likelihood of seeing pixellation, dropouts, and other artifacts caused by signal variations (e.g., weather related, seasonal changes, aircraft, interference, etc.).



What I would do is try a Winegard MS 2000 (http://www.winegard.com/offair/metrostar.htm), as it would be easy to install and easy to return if it doesn't work out. It should give you solid reception of WTVY 36 (CBS/CW/My), WJHG 8/7 (NBC/CW/My), and WMBB 19/13 (ABC). I think you will probably get either WFSU 32 or WFSG 38 (PBS), and WPGX 9 (Fox). WDHN 21 (ABC) should be watchable when it goes to full power, and WBIF 51 (Retro TV) will have to go digital in 2/2009, and should be receivable.

The MS-2000 (or similarly, the Channel Master SMARTenna 3000A) might work, but it raises a couple of concerns:



1) The antenna itself (not referring to the built-in amp) has very low gain. Antenna pattern is what determines the achievable antenna gain, and with an omni-directional pattern, these antennas will only deliver roughly 0-3 dB of gain. In contrast, even a small combo antenna will have gain in the neighborhood of 7-8 dB. The amp merely boosts a low-SNR signal (increases power, but does not improve the SNR), so it won't actually improve the intrinsic qualities of the antenna.

Due to the low gain, I'd be concerned that these omni antennas would not have enough pulling power to work with any of the channels in the red zone. Also, for the channels that do work, there would be little margin for any kind of signal impairments/fluctuation. Being close to the borderline means a greater likelihood of seeing artifacts and dropouts.



2) Another potential problem with omni antennas is the susceptibility to multipath. If there are signal reflections in the environment (caused by other buildings, mountains, etc.), then an omni antenna will take them all in and pass that on to the receiver. These multipath images ("ghosts" in the analog world) make decoding of DTV signals much more difficult and can lead to visible artifacts and/or dropouts.

Directional antennas only take in energy from particular directions and thus help reject some of the unwanted multipath signals that may be floating around. As the directionality of an antenna goes up (meaning a tighter antenna "beam width"), it becomes more selective and thus more resistant to multipath effects.



So, the MS-2000 might work, but be prepared to return it if it doesn't. The rotator plus combo antenna is more likely to just work and have a greater margin for signal realiability, but it is a more involved setup.

The rotator approach does have a downside in regards to unattended recording of shows. If your VCR/DVR/PC does not have the ability to issue remote control commands to control external devices (e.g., cable box, satellite receiver, antenna rotator, etc.), then you might not get all of your shows recorded correctly.

Going with a multiple combined antenna approach (to eliminate the need for a rotator) is more tricky and would involve balancing a number of tradeoffs to get a combination of channels that is satisfactory.

Best regards,
Andy

for anyone else doing research i installed a channel master 4228 in the attic. i mounted it on a satellite dish arm. ran the wires down the wall to the other tv cables. replaced the cable face with a three hole cable outlet. (direct has two going to the set). i have not had time to dial it in for signal strength but i get all the local channels at first try. works great, no problems. i could have gone a little smaller but i wanted to do it right the 1st time. ordered through solidsignal.com. paid them with paypal. the antenna is about 40 inches by forty inches sq. i live in fairhope. hope this helps.

A WARNING and a question:

I had 3 new HDTV - DVRs installed a few weeks ago for a total of 4 HDTV - DVRs in my house. This means that the installer had to do 3 more cable drops in my house.

Since all 3 drops are behind furniture, I did not go check the installers work. But, I have since realized the installer put 3 big holes in my walls. One hole is about 1 foot long going the same direction up the wall as the cable.

I have since contacted Bruister & Assc. and they sent someone out to take pictures. Their representive told me to get 3 estimates and their insurance company would call me back. That has been about 3 weeks ago and I have not heard a word from them.


My question is do you all know of anyone in the Spanish Fort or Bay Minette area that does sheet rock repair? I don't know anyone in that buisness. :(

A WARNING and a question:
My question is do you all know of anyone in the Spanish Fort or Bay Minette area that does sheet rock repair? I don't know anyone in that buisness. :(

I will ask around and try to get reccomendations. I need some repairs done, also, but not because of wall fishing issues.

I have found it hard to get good dry wallers for small jobs. If you have the time and the patience, it is possible to it yourself, but the job will take significantly longer that if a pro were handling it.

wow that is terrible. Call my office at 621-8300, tell them you are friends with me (Daniel) and bruisters and associates really messed up part of your house. She can get you the number of a very good painter who does sheetrock repair and can match the paint for the job. In any retrofit work somethings can happen and we keep someone good to take care of problems. We of course are open and honest with our customers when this happens. Making a mistake is one thing, making a hole that big is insane and not telling you is just dishonest.

Anyway, call her and she'll hook you up. If you want to just talk to me pm me and i'll give you my cell phone and i'll get some good people to take care of you.

As an alternative i know a very good handyman that does a lot of work but he is $600 a day and you'll still need a painter to finish up. If you have other things that can be done around the house he is great, otherwise stick with the painter.

If you need anythign else feel free to ask.

Daniel

I am selling my Sencore audio and video calibration gear. We have changed the gear we are using and i'm looking to get some of my money back on this gear. If anyone is interested in this or in the business and wants another set for in the field pm me.

Daniel

As a side note, if anyone ever needs subs for any work, please aks. I keep a list of good ones for jobs we do and the good ones who helped me build my house. I would only recommend quality.

The handyman i dealt with completely rebuilt my master closet and worked with the a/c company to move the a/c into where my laundryoom was, then stack the washer/dryer, create two rooms (one for washer/dryer and one for ac gear) then redid walls, sheetrock and trim. My painter then came in and painted and it all looks like it was built that way. Can't recommend them enough for home projects. They aren't cheap but anything cheap in my opinion is rife with problems.

Well - I'm in the market for a privacy fence for my house if you have anyone that does this . . .

KillerBox, make sure that you document the damage and the actions that you have taken with this problem. Since the company does not want to take responsibility for their actions, you will probably need to take legal action.

I need some repairs done, also, but not because of wall fishing issues.

Is it really that easy to damage walls just running cabling? I was planning to add some ethernet wiring to our house by buying bulk cable and connectors from monoprice and a $5 fish tape from Harbor Freight. Do I run a good chance of messing up my walls?

It's not common, especially the more experience you have with it, but it can happen if you're not careful. You just want to make sure when you drill your hole through your beams in the attic and down through any fireblocks that you use a quality bit that is long enough to handle the job and go straight down.

The easiest and biggest rookie mistake (which honestly we haven't done in 4.5 years...) is to get off center and come out of the sheetrock with your bit. The longer the drill the more difficult, and the one we messed up on was a 5' bit going through a middle wall.

Now if your house doesn't have fireblocks (or other beams further down) you should be in great shape and very low risk if any of messing things up.

As for the actual wall, just use a drywall saw, cut your square, fish the wire down and use a redo box (i prefer the ones with no back, but to each their own) and a nice plate to cover it up with an rj45 connector on it.

I will say one thing, harbor freight is cheap but their stuff breaks a lot. I won't use them anymore.

I prefer to use fish rods vs fish tape, easier to handle and sturder in case you push through insulation. You can find these at home depot.

I agree with cerk65, document everything. I did a job fixing a problem another company did (they are thankfully out of business now) and it was a nightmare.

The biggest thing they did is they told the client they had to do inwall speakers in their kitchen (even though a dual voice coil in ceiling speaker would have performed much better with their decor and setup) and they cut it into a wall. They hit the drain pipe in the wall. Then instead of stopping there, they cut out the sheetrock behind the drain pipe in the laundry room, got a L pipe, brought it out of the wall then L'd it back to the wall then sheetrocked around it but left the pipe exposed. They then installed their cheap $50 speaker and left the jobsite.

This was just one of many many things that got them in a pretty big lawsuit with this client and one other client of theirs. Again, thankfully they are gone. There are some quality companies in our area, but there are also some very terrible ones.

I'm actually in the middle of doing a fixit job for a pensacola based company that ran 20/2 speaker wire non shielded, technics receivers, a $500 projector in a themed theater room, old centralite lighting (the new stuff is actually pretty good), and a mish/mash of cheap and good speakers throughout the house with no instructions, no teaching of the client and no followup with service calls. (which is why we are now helping the guy out.) Keep in mind this is a 10 million dollar 16,000 sq ft house built and done this way.

I digress....

Chazon,

This is who i used, extremely happy with the price, the quality and the laborers they sent. Only negative is they were slow to get started, but once started they moved quickly.

I went with a shadowbox 8' tall fence with thick middle beams and copper tops. My neighbor hates me now (though i had $1k in hollies planted for them to appease them) but a good fence is a better neighbor anyday. Really happy with it. Getting my sister (who is a high end painter) to stain the fence now and it is really looking good.

Here's their info:

Consolidated Fence Company
Free Estimates - Expert Installation - Licensed & Insured. Industrial Chain Link, Residential Chain Link, Vinyl Coated Chain Link, Privacy Slat Chain Link, Aluminum Fence, PVC/ Vinyl Fence, Privacy Wood, Shadowbox Wood, Board & Batten Wood, Custom Picket Wood, Ornamental Steel Fence, PVC & Wood 3-Rail Fence, Farm & Field Fence, Silt Fence, Temporary, Const. Fence, Custom Gates w/Operators.

Additional Phone Numbers
Mobile Phone
(251) 583-8426

If anyone needs any ohter names, i really have a lot:

Concrete Countertops
Granite/Marble
Carpet/Tile
Scored Concrete
Electrican (existing homes.)
Painter (can handle high end faux finishes as well as repairs.)
Working wooden storm shutters
Website Design
California Closets (actualy competing company, but same thing.)
High end whole house air filters and water conditioners and reverse osmosis.

Oh yeh, me :) home theater, automation, lighting controls, etc. If you are looking for something, things have really slowed down so i'd be happy to help anyone out. We're offering a 10% discount on any products purchased in february and a 15% discount on systems over 10k.

Thanks - I gave them a call for an estimate.

wow that is terrible. Call my office at 621-8300, tell them you are friends with me (Daniel) and bruisters and associates really messed up part of your house.
Daniel

Thanks for your help Daniel and everyone else. I called your office today and got the number of the painter. She is going to look at it Sunday or Monday.

As I said before, I wish DirectTV would let me use you for my upgrades but, they insist on getting Bruister to do the upgrades even though I have requested to use you.

I do appreciate the help everyone!

Ryan

TNT, TBS, and CNN HD are showing up in the channel guide with Mediacom. I'm watching
Laura Croft, Tombraider on TNTHD right now, looks awesome. The other channels don't come in yet, will check with mediacom in the morning. I just love it how all the sudden new channels show up, keep them coming.

ok, new to this forum. Just got a couple of flat screens and noticed I now get digital channels plus analog on Cox local basic channels. I have Dish for the rest of my programing.
My question is...are the digital channels ie...3.1, 5.1 etc HD or could I expect better quality if I subscribed to the locals thru Dish or even Cox Cable? There pretty awesome right now.:)

From what i have read the difference in quality you will see will be related to the amount of compression on the channel.

OTA has the least compression
Cable normally would be the next level of compression since they typically have more band with.
Satellite has the most compression due to bandwidth restrictions.

Has anyone heard how much longer it will be before D* has Mobile locals in HD?

By my accounting, there are 3 larger DMAs (Designated Market Areas) than Mobile that do not have HD locals, but 20 smaller that do.

Has anyone heard how much longer it will be before D* has Mobile locals in HD?

By my accounting, there are 3 larger DMAs (Designated Market Areas) than Mobile that do not have HD locals, but 20 smaller that do.

I wrote D* a detailed email asking whehter Mobile was still scheduled for HD locals, and, if Mobile was not on the list any longer, what issues existed to take the market off the expansion list, since a 2006 press release had us scheduled.

I got a fairly stock reply to the effect that Mobile was not scheduled for HD locals at this time, but not offering any explanation as to why.

A D* employee at a Home Depot kiosik told me a couple of months ago there were RF interference issues with local broadcasters that had prevented deployment so far. Now, whether that story has any basis in fact, who knows?

I am afraid that, for whatever reason, HD locals are not going to be soon in coming, and that is disappointing.

If anyone else had heard anything, I am hoping they will post it, and that the news will be positive.

Did anyone notice that "Welcome to the Captain" as in SD last night and not high def? Did WKRG forget to flip the switch? "The new adventures of Old Christine" was in HD.

I have a SA Explorer 8240 HD DVR from Cox, and for some strange reason it will break up the Sarah Connor Chronicles into multiple recordings. These recordings will range from 1 - 26 minutes. Luckily the breaks always seem to happen on commercials. Does anyone have a similar problem with their DVRs? It only happens on this one show.

Chris, what you've been experiencing is a known issue that is only affecting the 8240 model boxes. It only happens on certain channels in certain circumstances. :) What's happening is a problem with the box handling the change of resolution between the program (720P) and inserted commercials (1080i). SA has developed a fix for the problem and, from what we're being told, it is in the hands of our lab in Atlanta to verify that it doesn't create any other issues before rolling it out. Your DVR should receive an update overnight when we roll it out and all should be well. Stay tuned!

Graham

Thanks Graham.

Does Cox have any new HD channels coming to the lineup? I saw that they were showing NHL games from VS HD on the HD Events channel. That was cool.

Chris, at this time I don't have any news to report. However, I think you'll likely see some channels added in the not-too-distant future. Also, keep an eye on OnDemand. Starz HD Ondemand is available, but we're having some horrible tiling problems with it. Showtime HD Ondemand was just added and is running smooth. We're adding content there as fast as possible. I'll try and pass on any news I hear!

Graham

Graham: I recorded the Nascar race on Foxhd and got it in about 10 segments.
I guess I will call tech support and let them know this is totally unsat and I want to replace the 8240 with a a 8300 or take my DVR fee off my account...... When is this fix supposed to happen?
Thanks for your continued support!!

Bill

"Chris, what you've been experiencing is a known issue that is only affecting the 8240 model boxes. It only happens on certain channels in certain circumstances. What's happening is a problem with the box handling the change of resolution between the program (720P) and inserted commercials (1080i). SA has developed a fix for the problem and, from what we're being told, it is in the hands of our lab in Atlanta to verify that it doesn't create any other issues before rolling it out. Your DVR should receive an update overnight when we roll it out and all should be well. Stay tuned!"

Graham

It did it to me on the NASCAR race on FoxHD. I got a bunch of segments. I have the 8240dvr.
I'm gonna call tech support and see about getting it replaced or have the DVR fee dropped. Not worth paying for
IMO.

BillD

I have a SA Explorer 8240 HD DVR from Cox, and for some strange reason it will break up the Sarah Connor Chronicles into multiple recordings. These recordings will range from 1 - 26 minutes. Luckily the breaks always seem to happen on commercials. Does anyone have a similar problem with their DVRs? It only happens on this one show.

Bill, sorry about the trouble! I'm sending you a PM with my extension. I have an offer for you. ;) Chris, I'll send you one as well. As of yesterday, the latest update is that we have no update. I'll keep digging on it!

Graham

Has anyone heard about new Cox Channels coming to our area?

I am in in the market for a good OTA HD antenna to compliment my switch from Cox communications for cable.

http://www.jasonbiel.com/jbiel/antenna.JPG

Antenna web reports that. I have a friend who used some $50 radio shack antenna and was able to pickup all the good local feeds, but I figured I would ask the pros before I ran out and bought something from radio shack. I am mainly only concerned with the ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX channels, anything past those are a plus.

...that I bought trying to get locals here in Niceville, because D* said I should be able to receive them.

I posted about this here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8625556#post8625556 and I think it was about a year ago that I put it all together and gave it my best shot, but the hole that I am in just won't let the equipment do what it needs to.

I bought in a vain attempt to receive HD locals, either out of Panama City, Pensacola, Mobile or Dothan the following, and it is all for sale:

A Channel Master 3020 Deep Fringe antenna.
A Channel Master Antenna Rotor w/remote Model #9521A
A Radio Shack 15-2507 Antenna-Mounted High-Gain Signal Amplifier

It was up for about a day or two, then I bought more masting, trying to get to that signal, at which point the mast said "nope, I think I'll bend". It was just too high. But it didn't work. So it is all barely used. Since then it has been in my garage. I guess I thought one day I'd try again, but I'm not going to.

I spent about $245 on all of that, plus some masting, 4 sticks or so, at $20 a stick. I'm selling it all for $150, if anybody that is closer to a major market is in need of some great equipment. Well, great if you can take advantage of it. I'll throw in the masting that didn't bend for free, but you can have that too if you want it. I've got some brackets for mounting it to the house as well, turnbuckles, etc., it all goes!

PM me if you're interested, If this was supposed to go in the "For Sale" forum I apologize, I thought that this was something better suited for a local, as shipping this would be pretty pricey.

Thank you,

Bruce

Bruce, I know you probally do not want to go through the hassle of putting all that back up for a gamble. But, my HDTV channels seem to be coming in better now than they were just 1 year ago. I have not changed my equipment in over 2 years.

I can only assume the broadcasters are putting out a stronger siginal now. Maybe someone else knows and can tell us for sure.

Killer

at least for Dish subscribers

WALA-10 and WBPG-55 (http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080313005536&newsLang=en)

DirecTV is where the money is... their agreement can't be too far behind Dish. Either way, good news!

Well, since the response for my sale items (a few posts above) has been underwhelming, I decided to drop the price. I was going to take $25 off, to bring it down to $125 for everything, then I decided, "why not just take it down to an even $100?"

So I did.

$100 for everything, Deep fringe antenna, rotor with remote, rotor cable, and signal amplifier. And the masting too, if you want it.

Was it just me or did anyone else not have audio on WKRG-HD (via OTA) today - Saturday- during the Masters?

My D* SD channel had audio as did the OTA SD signal, but not for HD.

Anyone having problems with WPGX Fox-28 in Panama City? Their HD signal is nowhere to be found for me during the ballgame & Nascar race. SD seems fine.

Edit: HD signal came back up around lap 100. Must have been equipment issues.

Can anyone in niceville receive CW in panama city with an indoor antenna? It's pissing me off that I can't get WBPG through Cox.

Your best chance from Niceville would be WTVY. They carry it in SD on channel 4.3. They transmit on channel 36 (tower is north of Bonifay), so tune your set there and try adjusting your indoor antenna.

Is anyone having any issues today with WKRG-DT 05-01. I did some work moving things here and now the signal is wobbling all over the place from low 70's back up to 100. Not having any issues with any others Digital channels that I can see.. Always got a rock solid 100 until today. Don't want to go into major troubleshooting mode unless I know for sure it's not the station having issues today..

I can get it already through SD from cox which is what I'm watching HD through right now anyway. I'm looking for a way to watch SmackDown in HD since I read WBPG doesn't have an HD channel and won't get one till the transfer.

I have a 75ft section of OLD rg-59 cable. Wondering if it 's worth the hassel to replace it with rg-6 and possibly get a better picture all the way around. Any thoughts?
BillD

Can anyone in niceville receive CW in panama city with an indoor antenna? It's pissing me off that I can't get WBPG through Cox.

I am in PC and have an antenna mounted on an old chimney and receive it as a subfeed of WJHG just fine. ABC, NBC & CBS all come in fine but my problems are with FOX28 (weak signal).

I have a 75ft section of OLD rg-59 cable. Wondering if it 's worth the hassel to replace it with rg-6 and possibly get a better picture all the way around. Any thoughts?
BillD

If it's old cable, it's probably also old connectors. I think it would be worth it if you can get at the cable easily enough, especially if you're near the fringe. You might get the one or two extra dB you need to keep a stable picture.

It will also probably help stabilize your internet if you have it and digital/HD over cable if you replace with RG6 (no quad shield needed).

I am in PC and have an antenna mounted on an old chimney and receive it as a subfeed of WJHG just fine. ABC, NBC & CBS all come in fine but my problems are with FOX28 (weak signal).

That's all good for you but Niceville is nearly 2 hours away. I'm not even sure if a roof mounted antenna will receive let alone an indoor antenna.

That's all good for you but Niceville is nearly 2 hours away. I'm not even sure if a roof mounted antenna will receive let alone an indoor antenna.

Well then YOUR WELCOME!!!!!!!!! And it is ALL GOOD FOR ME!!!

Any more?! Geez!

I'm 2 hours from the CBS tower and receive it fine, your point? If NBC main comes in, then there should be no reason the subs don't. If you can't get the main feed, then it's a loss. Get a larger pole, preamp or try for Ft Walton/Mobile!

Well then YOUR WELCOME!!!!!!!!! And it is ALL GOOD FOR ME!!!

Any more?! Geez!

I'm 2 hours from the CBS tower and receive it fine, your point? If NBC main comes in, then there should be no reason the subs don't. If you can't get the main feed, then it's a loss. Get a larger pole, preamp or try for Ft Walton/Mobile!

Chill dude I wasn't being nasty about it. All I meant was being so far away from PC in the first place, I wasn't sure if I could get a clear reception with a roof antenna let alone one blocked by walls.

Has anyone built a Hi-VHF antenna to get the horribly weak FOX HD OTA? I made the mistake of building a nice antenna for a few friends and now everyone wants FOX HD. It's analog channel 9 for us.

I have an older antenna mounted on my roof. It has the (what I think is) UHF with these LONG fingers reaching out in all directions at the top. Then mounted lower on the tripod is the one (I think is VHF) that looks like an arrow with all the tines on it. Anyway, I can get analog reception, AWESOME! Picture is as good as cable. I had just ran new RG6 down to my living room. I have an LG LCD TV that is capable of digital tuning. But I have no digital signal strength. I don't know if I have to aim something better? I tried aiming the arrow looking antenna all over the place. No change. I know I don't need a special antenna. I'm guessing digital is a little pickier to interference. Any ideas? Thanks.

Ok my first post here--I haven't been able to tune WEIQ (Mobile PBS) all afternoon. Ran a new scan, and am now getting the FOX affiliate WFTX from Ft. Myers, FLA. Is anyone else having trouble with WEIQ--or getting any extra stations?

FWIW, I'm using a Terk HDTVa antenna plugged into a Vizio VX32L.

Has anyone built a Hi-VHF antenna to get the horribly weak FOX HD OTA? I made the mistake of building a nice antenna for a few friends and now everyone wants FOX HD. It's analog channel 9 for us.I live over in Gulf Breeze and 48 miles away from the WALA tower and I use a Radio Shack VU-120 UHF/VHF combo. I’ve never had a problem with WALA.

They do indeed have a rather weak signal but its on high VHF (9) and easy to pick up. My antenna is only 20 feet off the ground. And FYI, WALA analog in on channel 10. Channel 9 is the digital signal.

My problem is getting WPMI on channel 47! I’m getting repeated dropouts from them. Hell, I miss key words in the punch lines on Saturday Night Live. I presume that others are getting the dropouts as well.

I’m going to wait until next year when WPMI switches their digital broadcast from 47 back to 15 and hope for an improvement!

Ok my first post here--I haven't been able to tune WEIQ (Mobile PBS) all afternoon. Ran a new scan, and am now getting the FOX affiliate WFTX from Ft. Myers, FLA. Is anyone else having trouble with WEIQ--or getting any extra stations?

FWIW, I'm using a Terk HDTVa antenna plugged into a Vizio VX32L.

You answered your own question.

WZVN-DT 41 comes from the same place as WFTX, and so since you're getting WFTX-DT 35, WZVN-DT 41 is interfering with WEIQ-DT 41.

- Trip

Dish Network added Fox-10, Wkrg-5, and Wear-3 in HD today. Wpmi-15 got left out.. Now we are going to have to find out why WPMI-15 is holding out..

Dish Network added Fox-10, Wkrg-5, and Wear-3 in HD today. Wpmi-15 got left out.. Now we are going to have to find out why WPMI-15 is holding out..Most likely they don't want their picture degraded.

Dish Network added Fox-10, Wkrg-5, and Wear-3 in HD today. Wpmi-15 got left out.. Now we are going to have to find out why WPMI-15 is holding out..

Question on this, I'm in Mobile. They're not showing up in my program guide, am I just blind or do I need one of those wing dishes for the 61.5 sat?

You must have a wing dish pointed at 61.5 to pick up these channels. Contact Dish or your local retailer for upgrading to a wing dish if you need it.

Comcast added ABC Family HD, Science Channel HD and Disney HD yesterday as well.

Since Dish now has Mobile locals in HD maybe D* won't be far behind - once they get their new sat parked in the correct orbit.

Let's hope DirectTV gets us locals soon, they announced it we would have them by the end of 2006.

Just got my Dish 722 and ATSC antenna going at my new place. As at my previous location, I have the most trouble locking onto WPMI 15.

Right now, I'm getting a fat zero on channel 47 (that's where 15 currently has their digital broadcast, right?), while at the same time getting about an 85 strength from WALA Fox 10. Is WPMI down or something?

Also, I called my Dish Network installer back out for a follow up and asked him about the new satellite HD locals and the wing dish. He said they were only on satellite 61.5 as a "test" and that I didn't really need to get the wing dish. He stated that the Mobile HD locals would soon be on one of the birds I could see. Any truth to any of that?

I watched a show the other night that seemed to be in high def and presented in 16X9, but, of late, many of their broadcasts that are in high def on WSRE, show up in standard def on WEIQ, but in a letterboxed format. This was on the 41-1 sub-channel.

Does anyone know what is going on with WEIQ?

I watched a show the other night that seemed to be in high def and presented in 16X9, but, of late, many of their broadcasts that are in high def on WSRE, show up in standard def on WEIQ, but in a letterboxed format. This was on the 41-1 sub-channel.

Does anyone know what is going on with WEIQ?

Was this on Monday evening? My tuner "lost" WEIQ then; initially I thought it was interference from somewhere else. But later it showed up on RF channel 41, but with "virtual" channels 10-1 to 10-4.

The only thing I could think of is that they take the main APT feed from Birmingham and "brand" it with the WEIQ label and vitural channels 42-1 to 42-4, and for some reason that didn't happen Monday evening. So what got passed through on their RF channel still had the B'ham information (where APT does use virtual channels 10-1 to 10-4).

This is just my guess--who knows. There was some "wierd" OTA behavior on Monday/Tuesday--Monday evening I was pulling in a Fox affiliate from Ft. Myers; Tuesday morning I got a Spanish channel from Tampa and a couple of channels from New Orleans.

There was some "wierd" OTA behavior on Monday/Tuesday--Monday evening I was pulling in a Fox affiliate from Ft. Myers; Tuesday morning I got a Spanish channel from Tampa and a couple of channels from New Orleans.

Here' s an interesting Wikipedia article on long distance TV reception:

TV DX (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV/FM_DX)

Looks like upper atmospheric conditons can also send digital signals over a great distance, but problems at the studio or transmitter can obviously keep them from travelling 10 or 20 miles!

Just got my Dish 722 and ATSC antenna going at my new place. As at my previous location, I have the most trouble locking onto WPMI 15.

Right now, I'm getting a fat zero on channel 47 (that's where 15 currently has their digital broadcast, right?), while at the same time getting about an 85 strength from WALA Fox 10. Is WPMI down or something?

Also, I called my Dish Network installer back out for a follow up and asked him about the new satellite HD locals and the wing dish. He said they were only on satellite 61.5 as a "test" and that I didn't really need to get the wing dish. He stated that the Mobile HD locals would soon be on one of the birds I could see. Any truth to any of that?

HD Locals except for NBC15 are up on Dish. They are not in Test Mode. They are working and there. You need a dish pointed at 61.5. If a local retailer told you any different then you need to change retailers. They are not going to change off of 61.5 to any other bird that we are aware of.. They will be staying on 61.5.. So get the wing dish put at 61.5 if you want them. There are rumors of something else happening in the near future, but those rumors will still involve 61.5 so unless you want to wait for rumors to happen, I suggest getting the wing dish installed. This is not going to help your WPMI-15 problem though.. Not until the contract with Dish get fixed and they make NBC-15 available to the masses.. Didn't see where you were so I don't know if I know any retailers in your area to recommend.. I am out of Bay Minette, Al and work mostly Central and Northern Baldwin county.

Thanks Mark.

With a little antenna pointing and a powered antenna amp, I was able to finally pull in WPMI with a "60-65" on my Dish OTA meter. Not great, especially considering the "90+" I get from FOX, but still servicable.

Even though I'm able to get most of the local channels I want now, I'm a little sad at the Dish guy's lack of either knowledge or forthrightness. It would not have been bad to have satellite backups for my local HD stations. (especially since I'm thinking the 722 can only record from one ATSC channel at a time)

On the other hand, my system was a complicated install with 6 total tuners (4 being dedicated to HD). The installer did a great job integrating this setup with a new mast antenna, switch and new internal wiring.

WKRG-DT3 5-3

According to the program guide from DirecTV, WKRG digital is adding another sub-channel. It looks like they will be broadcasting on weekdays, and presenting old-- very old, in some cases-- programming such as "Ironsides". This additional sub-channel is likely to lead to a deterioration of the main HD signal. Perhaps, they are trying not to affect weekend sports and not using this on the weekends. Let's hope that they continue to avoid interfering with programming that requires almost full bandwidth.

Hello All,

I've been a DTV customer for years, but recently having a problem with my H20 HD receiver (I keep losing a signal) 5LNB installed today, still having a problem with HD, SD works. I've recent purchased a TIVO DVR for my bedroom TV and love it and thinking about dropping DTV and going to Cox/HD with Tivo Series2 DVR. I would like to hear your opinion. I know TIVO doesn't support HD DVRs for Satellite, hence the reason I'm considering Cox, being able to transferrer shows from my Macbook Pro or PC to Tivo and from Tivo to my computers is a luxury. I look forward to hearing your feedback.

Hello All,

I've been a DTV customer for years, but recently having a problem with my H20 HD receiver (I keep losing a signal) 5LNB installed today, still having a problem with HD, SD works. I've recent purchased a TIVO DVR for my bedroom TV and love it and thinking about dropping DTV and going to Cox/HD with Tivo Series2 DVR. I would like to hear your opinion. I know TIVO doesn't support HD DVRs for Satellite, hence the reason I'm considering Cox, being able to transferrer shows from my Macbook Pro or PC to Tivo and from Tivo to my computers is a luxury. I look forward to hearing your feedback.

Not really a discussion about local networks, but from what you say it sounds like you either have a dish alignment problem or the little B-Band converter on the back of your receiver is bad. Can't tell you much else without more information.. As far as The HD-DVR, you should just get one from DirecTV if you want DVR equipment.. I would never recommend cable. :)

What HD Channels are you having problems with? Can you post signal strengths numbers for 103 c? I thought you had to have a Tivo Series 3 to get HD on a Tivo for Cable.

I have a Tivo Series 2 in the bedroom not HD. I have 3 receivers and I only lose a signal on the H20 receiver. I can reset the H20 and able to get all channels again for a while. Last night when I called DTV I reset it and it was ok for a few minutes but lost signal while I was on the phone with support. I reset it this morning and its been up all day. I was thinking of getting a new HD DVR but backed out due to the 2 year commitment and the HR21 doesn't support OTA from what I've read. I may rethink this if I could get a HR20 instead. I may rent a cable box for a month just to see how well it is compares to DTV, but I pretty sure I already know the result will be.

I checked the signal strength I don't have 103 c, I have 103 b and its 80 percent. The other signals were 97.

Any new info now that DISH has them available?

Any new info now that DISH has them available?

The new D* sat (D11) is almost parked in orbit. According to recent investor new, D* said it should begin broadcasting this summer.

I would assume that Mobile will get locals in HD at that time.

The new D* sat (D11) is almost parked in orbit. According to recent investor new, D* said it should begin broadcasting this summer.

I would assume that Mobile will get locals in HD at that time.

I hope that's correct and that the hold up is neither contractural or technical.

Just got a letter in the mail that Mediacom will be going all Digital in June and hopefully adding more HD to their lineup.

Just got a letter in the mail that Mediacom will be going all Digital in June and hopefully adding more HD to their lineup.
That letter was vague. I wonder if they are adding digital feeds of the analog channels or discontinuing analog cable all together? Will I need to get cable boxes for tvs that don't have one now?

I wouldn't think think they are getting rid of all analog cable. I think there is a FCC ruling that stops that for a few years(2011 or 2012) but it only talks about local channels. All cable companies nationwide are removing analog cable stations and moving them to digital cable channel by channel to improve their bandwidth so they can add more high definition,,digital channels, VOD, etc. To get the channels when they move to digital you will need a digital cable box and then you'll be paying a convertor fee. With all HD that Direct TV has and hopefully soon locals in HD instead of OTA, I don't see myself ever going back to Mediacom.

Hey guys,
Just bought a condo in Gulf shores. Why am I getting wbiq on 10.1 and not wala? I tried to look it up in the forum but could not find anything on it. Thanks in advance.

Hey guys,
Just bought a condo in Gulf shores. Why am I getting wbiq on 10.1 and not wala? I tried to look it up in the forum but could not find anything on it. Thanks in advance.

Several of us have noticed that, see the "Thunderstorm" thread over in HDTV Technical.

I've been seeing a 5-3 in my guide and I haven't been able to pick up this station. I get great signal on 5-1 and 5-2 but nothing on 5-3. Has anybody been able to view this station?

I've been seeing a 5-3 in my guide and I haven't been able to pick up this station. I get great signal on 5-1 and 5-2 but nothing on 5-3. Has anybody been able to view this station?

From what I've heard, due to Equity's financial situation, a lot of scheduled RTN launches got pushed back. It's entirely possible that WKRG intended to have RTN up by now and thus the guide information has already started, but has been unable to get Equity to provide them with the feed.

Co-owned stations WJAR in Providence and WVTM in Birmingham are having the same problem from what I've heard, as is unrelated station KAZT in Prescott/Phoenix.

- Trip

Has anyone heard why WPMI was not added by Dish. I heard that the station was sold right before Dish added the others. Maybe they have to negotiate a deal with the new owners. Anyone heard anything.

Didnt Cox just add about 10 new HD chnls on June 2??

They added:

USA HD 722 USA HD provides of original series and feature movies, sports and entertainment events, off-net television shows, and blockbuster theatrical films.

SCI FI HD 727 SCI FI HD fuels the imagination of viewers with original series, events, blockbuster movies and classic science fiction and fantasy programming.

Lifetime HD 729 Lifetime HD is a diverse, women-oriented channel committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and informational programming for women and their families.

CNBC HD 736 CNBC HD is the recognized global leader in business news, providing real-time financial market coverage and business information.

The Weather Channel HD 738 The Weather Channel HD broadcasts from its new state-ofthe- art, eco-friendly, High Definition TV studio with the latest forecasts and weather news — all in vivid HD!

Golf/Versus HD 742 Golf/Versus HD takes viewers dangerously close to the action, including over 30 PGA TOUR, exclusive live events and original shows covering competition at its highest level.

Bravo HD 749 Bravo HD plugs people into arts, entertainment and pop culture with original programming, movies, acclaimed off-network dramas, comedies and music specials.

Lifetime Movie Network HD 771 Lifetime Movie Network HD offers nearly 200 exclusive film and cable titles each month including contemporary films, Lifetime Original Movies, miniseries, and independent film acquisitions.