24 months is for advanced products, ie HD and possibly DVR. http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=105136


Haven't had a chance to check this website yet (on my way to work) but this still isn't really making sense. When I checked into upgrade to the HD DVR they told me 18 mo's for that. As I said maybe it's different for new subscribers vs existing customers?

I am hoping to upgrade after the holiday's, I can live with the HD OTA feed's, but as I said my wife thinks DVR is more important than PQ and it appears to be a battle I'm not about to win.....

My understanding is the DTV HD DVR will record HD programming. However the amount you can record is about 1/4 of the normal amount. ie. I think i've seen HD dvr's that say they can record 50 hours of HD programming and 200 hours of regular programming.

I would switch from D* to DTV except that the D* receiver setup fits my house better (the fact i can run 2 TV's off one receiver/DVR is really nice).

As far as the pq i really can't comment on which is better... I'm sure someone with far more technical knowledge might be able to give you a good answer.


I have the DirecTV HD DVR and I've never even come close to filling it up. I don't save whole seasons of shows either. Once I watch something I delete it. If you think you might fill it, there is the ability to use an external e-sata hard drive to give you more recording space.

Before DirecTV I had Comcast cable in Nashville. The PQ on DirecTV is better than Comcast. I've never seen the Dish Network picture myself but my Brother-in-Law, who is a Dish subscriber, was here for Thanksgiving and he said the PQ was comparable.

Haven't had a chance to check this website yet (on my way to work) but this still isn't really making sense. When I checked into upgrade to the HD DVR they told me 18 mo's for that. As I said maybe it's different for new subscribers vs existing customers?

I am hoping to upgrade after the holiday's, I can live with the HD OTA feed's, but as I said my wife thinks DVR is more important than PQ and it appears to be a battle I'm not about to win.....
Maybe you are getting an extra special deal. ;) When I upgraded I was charged 2 years. Anyways, doesn't matter.

If you already have D* maybe you could see if they can decrease the price of the HD DVR. If you are in good standing with them and have been a customer for a while you might be able to get some money off of it. If not they offer (you ask) paying the price in either 2 or 3 installments so it's not so much up front. That might help your side of the situation.

12 helpful words......"I'd rather not pay that much money just to lease a box"

Well according to the customer service rep I talked to the other day D* is offering the HD DVR essentially free right now, so there's not much lower they can get....

I will try those 12 helpful words though!!!

Well according to the customer service rep I talked to the other day D* is offering the HD DVR essentially free right now, so there's not much lower they can get....

I will try those 12 helpful words though!!!
Curious, what was the price she gave you? How long have you been a D* customer.

Thanks for the info. I didn't even consider D* because someone told me that DirectTv was better. I guess I should look at them too. To make things clear for you and anyone else reading this, D* = DirecTV. E* = Echostar which is the parent company of Dish Network. This comes from the old satellite company abbreviations P* = Primestar and A* = Alphastar.

I'm also a recent convert to the new DirecTV DVR. I like it. My wife LOVES the speed of it. The picture quality of the new MPEG4 channels are great. If they are downrezzing them, I can't tell it and I'm watching on a 103" screen.

-Robert

I have the DirecTV HD DVR and I've never even come close to filling it up. I don't save whole seasons of shows either. Once I watch something I delete it. If you think you might fill it, there is the ability to use an external e-sata hard drive to give you more recording space.
I actually came very close to filling it up earlier this season.

We have always been a season behind in Smallville watching it on HDNet. With more space we decided to try to catch up, and also I read that this might be the last season. We had episodes 11 thru the end of last season on our HD DVR from WLMT-DT, the beginning of this season, in addition to other HD shows from OTA, and a few HD movies. I was almost at the point of having to change all of the season passes to the D* feed to save room. We decided to do the 2 week Netflix thing and started with the first 3 disks which covered the shows we missed.

I was really surprised just how much programming you can get on the stock hdd. The lowest percentage of space available we got to was 12%. Of course now we are at 20% used with a few movies on there we haven't finished watching. We decided to keep Netflix temporarily to get caught up on some movies we haven't seen in a while. We will be dropping it probably later this month or January and try to catch more movies on the movie channels we get from D*. But yeah, it has a butt load of space on it.

Adding a 500 gb an even bigger makes it unfathomably big. For us at least.

I actually came very close to filling it up earlier this season.

We have always been a season behind in Smallville watching it on HDNet. With more space we decided to try to catch up, and also I read that this might be the last season. We had episodes 11 thru the end of last season on our HD DVR from WLMT-DT, the beginning of this season, in addition to other HD shows from OTA, and a few HD movies. I was almost at the point of having to change all of the season passes to the D* feed to save room. We decided to do the 2 week Netflix thing and started with the first 3 disks which covered the shows we missed.

I was really surprised just how much programming you can get on the stock hdd. The lowest percentage of space available we got to was 12%. Of course now we are at 20% used with a few movies on there we haven't finished watching. We decided to keep Netflix temporarily to get caught up on some movies we haven't seen in a while. We will be dropping it probably later this month or January and try to catch more movies on the movie channels we get from D*. But yeah, it has a butt load of space on it.

Adding a 500 gb an even bigger makes it unfathomably big. For us at least.

I'm still using the internal HD on my HR20-100. Currently I have four unwatched episodes of Torchwood (From HDNet) for me. An hour long HBO special and two episodes of Cold Case that my wife still needs to watch, all in HD. I still have 80% free space.:)

Curious, what was the price she gave you? How long have you been a D* customer.

Go up and look at post #4990 for the details from the Dish customer service.. That's basically what they told me.

short version - $100 at install for HD DVR, with $100 rebate (making free after the 8 weeks to process the rebate).

Programming would be $20 a mo, with the first 6 mo's being free with the 18 mo commitment. Only other change to my bill would be a $6 lease fee for the reciever, which i'm currently not paying.

Go up and look at post #4990 for the details from the Dish customer service.. That's basically what they told me.

short version - $100 at install for HD DVR, with $100 rebate (making free after the 8 weeks to process the rebate).

Programming would be $20 a mo, with the first 6 mo's being free with the 18 mo commitment. Only other change to my bill would be a $6 lease fee for the reciever, which i'm currently not paying.
Ok forget everything I said, I thought we were talking about D*. My bad.

No my bad, I was thinking D* = dish and DTV = DirecTV...

However, I know a guy I work with called and complained long enough to D* that he got an HD DVR installed for free... Guess it took him about an hour of pleading his case to people on the phone, but eventually he got them to give him one.

No my bad, I was thinking D* = dish and DTV = DirecTV...

However, I know a guy I work with called and complained long enough to D* that he got an HD DVR installed for free... Guess it took him about an hour of pleading his case to people on the phone, but eventually he got them to give him one.

I also thought the same thing, and I think we're not the only two confused.

Thanks, rlj5242, for clarifying.

The game on 5 is looking pretty bad. There is a lot of blocking.

mx can you grab the bit rate?

I've been having problems with all of HD programming from DTV all weekend. During the SEC game yesterday and any HD channel today.

I switched to my Terk Antenna and its having periodic blocking problems as well.

The game on 5 is looking pretty bad. There is a lot of blocking.

mx can you grab the bit rate?
My hdd crashed recently and I haven't had the chance to load all of my programs on my backup pc yet. I wont get the chance to do it tonight but I'll try to do it next weekend.

I can only guess they are probably sending it ~12 mpbs. I checked a minute of the game in the 3rd quarter and think it looks pretty bad also.

I switched to my Terk Antenna and its having periodic blocking problems as well.
Is the kind of blocking problems you having when you lose signal, or when there is a medium amount of action of the screen? Which local channels?

Like when it loses a signal for a quick second or two.

Channel 13-1 earlier and 5-1 during the steelers game.

forgive me for interrupting...

Hello All,
I signed up to gain more knowledge on the ins and outs of HDTV, specially after buying my first HDTV. I have a few questions that I would like to ask everybody's opinion.

1. I currently have regular SD with DirecTV and I called in to order HD services. For some reason, I could not make them credit the whole fee of $99 for the receiver and the handling of $19. I only got a $75 credit towards it. Meaning I am still $44 out of pocket. Do you guys think this is a good deal?

2. What model HD receiver are they currently installing? Can anyone from Memphis chime in?

3. I heard H20 is the way to go if I feel the need to use OTA. If not H21 would be fine. How useful is OTA in general? Again, will somebody local chime in?

4. My dish is currently mounted on a pole standing beside my garage door. How much bigger is the 5LNB dish compared to the regular one? Will pole mount suffice? I do want to install it on my roof but its kinda steep.

Opinion and or your own .02 cents will be worth a lot to me before I sign in two years on my tv life with DirecTV this saturday.

Thanks

1. I currently have regular SD with DirecTV and I called in to order HD services. For some reason, I could not make them credit the whole fee of $99 for the receiver and the handling of $19. I only got a $75 credit towards it. Meaning I am still $44 out of pocket. Do you guys think this is a good deal?
Depends on how long you have had D*, the package you sub to, and if you have had any late payments. You could probably call back and get a better deal. You could maybe even see if you could get an HD DVR for pretty cheap. You would probably still have to pay S&H though.
2. What model HD receiver are they currently installing? Can anyone from Memphis chime in?
HD receivers: H20 (OTA), H21
HD DVR: HR20 (OTA), H21,
3. I heard H20 is the way to go if I feel the need to use OTA. If not H21 would be fine. How useful is OTA in general? Again, will somebody local chime in?
Personally I find it very useful. OTA very rarely goes out once you have a get signal. D* will go out when there is a pretty bad storm and/or the clouds are pretty thick. When the lighting strikes are pretty close is the only time I will have issues with OTA, and that’s just a quick second or 2 delay. Plus the HD PQ is better with OTA than it is with D*. Also D* doesn’t carry all the local HD stations, and subchannels if you are interested in that.
4. My dish is currently mounted on a pole standing beside my garage door. How much bigger is the 5LNB dish compared to the regular one? Will pole mount suffice? I do want to install it on my roof but its kinda steep.
You probably have a single lnb dish. It’s heavier and bigger than the 3 lnb, which is bigger than the 1 lnb. The 3 lnb’s have a single rod to hold it up, these new ones have the single rod and 2 supporting rods on the side. If you wont be mounting it I guess you would need a tripod for it. I haven’t seen a 5 lnb dish not on a house yet.

forgive me for interrupting...

Hello All,
I signed up to gain more knowledge on the ins and outs of HDTV, specially after buying my first HDTV. I have a few questions that I would like to ask everybody's opinion.

1. I currently have regular SD with DirecTV and I called in to order HD services. For some reason, I could not make them credit the whole fee of $99 for the receiver and the handling of $19. I only got a $75 credit towards it. Meaning I am still $44 out of pocket. Do you guys think this is a good deal?

2. What model HD receiver are they currently installing? Can anyone from Memphis chime in?

3. I heard H20 is the way to go if I feel the need to use OTA. If not H21 would be fine. How useful is OTA in general? Again, will somebody local chime in?

4. My dish is currently mounted on a pole standing beside my garage door. How much bigger is the 5LNB dish compared to the regular one? Will pole mount suffice? I do want to install it on my roof but its kinda steep.

Opinion and or your own .02 cents will be worth a lot to me before I sign in two years on my tv life with DirecTV this saturday.

Thanks

mx6bfast pretty well covered it.

As for OTA: The newer H 21 series boxes don't currently include OTA. If your TV has a DTV tuner you can allways plug the antenna directly into the TV you just lose the OTA data intergrated into the D* program guide.

It seems to me that the D* HD signals are a bit more sensitive to rainfade than the SD. So having the OTA option also gives you something to watch durring bad weather...like local weather reports.

I aggree that the picture quality of the locals on OTA is better than via D* on average. If you watch anything on CW, MyNetwork or PBS the only way to get it in HD is with an antenna.

Haven't had a chance to check this website yet (on my way to work) but this still isn't really making sense. When I checked into upgrade to the HD DVR they told me 18 mo's for that. As I said maybe it's different for new subscribers vs existing customers?

I am hoping to upgrade after the holiday's, I can live with the HD OTA feed's, but as I said my wife thinks DVR is more important than PQ and it appears to be a battle I'm not about to win.....
I have Dish's HD DVR. I'm able to record the OTA HD onto the DVR. Just make sure your package includes SD locals. This allows the HD DVR to use the program guide info to set up your OTA HD recordings. The OTA picture is slightly better than the Dish HD channels.

Another bonus on Dish's HD DVR is the dual tuners. My box is connected to my HDTV. It is also connected to the house coax splitter. My 3 SD TVs can watch or record programs simultaneously with the HDTV off the same box. The only downside is the SD TVs must all watch the same show. The 2nd tuner for the SD TVs is controlled from anywhere in the house with RF remotes. I only have to pay to lease one box.

Will the Liberty Bowl be broadcast in HD this year?

Will the ESPN signal be available in Memphis? Do they still blackout local games or is that history?

Will the Liberty Bowl be broadcast in HD this year?

Will the ESPN signal be available in Memphis? Do they still blackout local games or is that history?
I think we got it in HD last year. Apparently it's sold out so I see no reason why we wouldn't get it.

I think even the Hawaii Bowl might be in HD. They had the Hawaii/BSU game in HD.

I think we got it in HD last year. Apparently it's sold out so I see no reason why we wouldn't get it.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9500E4DC1438F936A15751C1A964948260&sec=&spon=

That wasn't the case in 1982. I'm still sore about that. Bear Bryant's last game. Sold out way in advance. Bud Dudley still blacked it out in Memphis "out of fairness to the fans". What crap!

I think even the Hawaii Bowl might be in HD. They had the Hawaii/BSU game in HD.[/QUOTE]

The ESPN website http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2836420 seems to indicate that the Hawaii game is one of the few NOT in HD, but the Liberty Bowl is!

I just noticed in the EPG that Comcast has picked up History Channel HD. Just tried it, and Modern Marvels is in stretch-o-vision. What a waste!

At least Comcast seems to be adding a few more HD channels...

anthony.j,

I live in Memphis and just upgraded to DirecTV HD, so I think I can answer some of your questions.

1. We've been a DTV customer since 1995 and have had DTV the 1 1/2 years we've lived here. When we signed up they were offering a free HD receiver upgrade (which they still are), but we didn't need it at the time. When I first called them two weeks ago I was told the offer wasn't good for existing customers and that the receiver would cost $99 with a S&H fee of $19.95. When I told the lady there is no S&H fee if you order online (from DTV's site), she said, "You can order online then. I can't waive the fee."

Not content with that, I called back the other day and this time got a man. He gave me the same "$99 plus $19.95" line. When I asked if the offer was still good since we had never taken advantage of it, he said he'd check, and he came back on the line and said the receiver would indeed be free. I asked about the S&H fee, and he said they'd waive that, too. So it depends on who you get. Some will work with you. Others won't give an inch. If you don't like what one says, call back later and try again.

2. We have the H21-200, and they're sending a replacement next week. The thing hasn't worked right since it was hooked up. It resets itself several times a day, and it seems the more bells and whistles they add to these things, the longer they take to reinitialize. The old 2nd and 3rd generation DTV receivers would reset in a matter of seconds.

This one is particularly bad about reseting (after locking up for several minutes) if you scroll through the channels. It double and triple keys every number you hit on the remote, and it does this with the old remote as well as the new one. Once you do successfully land on the channel you want, it takes a looooong time to tune in. I'm hoping all these issues are due to it being a defective receiver and not characteristic of them all. If they are, I'm not going to be a happy camper!

3. I don't have an OTA, so I can't advise you there.

4. The HD dish is elliptical, and the mounting arm and bracket are slightly larger. Ours is mounted on the brick on the side of the house (I didn't want it on the roof), and the installer just had to move the bracket down a few inches to accommodate the slightly longer mounting arm. The dish is the same height as the old round dish, but it's a few inches wider due to the shape. The LNB is larger and sticks out a little farther.

I'm thinking you might have to have a new pole because the mounting bracket is a larger diameter. They may have an adapter to make it work with the smaller pole, but the installer will advise you there. If the current location works with the old dish, it should work with the new one. The size isn't much of a factor.

The HD programming is good - what there is of it. The local channels don't broadcast that much in HD. This TV, a 46-inch Sony KDL-3000W, like most LCD TVs, does HD very well, but SD leaves a lot to be desired. It's definitely a trade off.

And DTV, in my opinion, certainly beats the alternative in Memphis!

Someone mentioned a 5 LNB dish. They installed a 3 LNB dish with my upgrade. I take it the 5 LNB is newer? Do you get better reception with the 5 LNB?

Someone mentioned a 5 LNB dish. They installed a 3 LNB dish with my upgrade. I take it the 5 LNB is newer? Do you get better reception with the 5 LNB?
The newer dishes were first called 5 lnb but the new version of the 5 lnb's are called slimlines. Does your dish say slimline on it? Do you get local HD channels from D*? If yes to either one of those you have a slimline.

My new dish does say "SlimLine" on it, but it looked like a 3 LNB to me. Guess I need to look more closely. Thanks for the correction.

It looks like this:

http://www.hometech.com/home/picshow.html?http://www.hometech.com/video/gc-au9sabig.jpg&DIRECTV%20AU9S%20MPEG4%20Compatible%20Dish

My new dish does say "SlimLine" on it, but it looked like a 3 LNB to me. Guess I need to look more closely. Thanks for the correction.

It looks like this:

http://www.hometech.com/home/picshow.html?http://www.hometech.com/video/gc-au9sabig.jpg&DIRECTV%20AU9S%20MPEG4%20Compatible%20Dish
Yeah that's the newer dish, so you're covered.

The "old" 5 lnb's had a sidecar type thing with the other 2 lnb's. D* figured out a way to make it aesthetically better looking. It is easy to get the slimline and 3 lnb confused. They do look similar. If you turned the slimline around, you will see there are still other slots for lnb's.

So the Pats game Saturday night will be on 3 channels, NFL Network, WREG, and WMC. Which one will you be watching?

I'll be watching NFL Network. Although it still suffers from motion blocking, it's not near the amount of WREG and the massive amount on WMC.

Absolutely NFL Network. It can't possibly look as bad as WREG or WMC, the worst HD channels ever.

Wow! I was not aware of this simulcast until now. This is the first-ever three-network simulcast of a live NFL game, and the first simulcast of any kind since Super Bowl I in 1967, which was broadcast by both CBS and NBC, according to Adweek.

Since I don't have access to NFL Network, so I will have to choose between WREG and WMC. I usually get better OTA reception of WREG, so...we'll see.

NFL Net for me, but I may flip around to see which has the best PQ.

NFL Network for sure. 3 is bad and 5 is even worse!! I'll probably check out 3 and 5 to see how bad it looks compaired to NFL.

WREG. PID 00031 is the HD feed, which I have my mouse by.
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/5540/wreg122907gg1.th.jpg (http://img179.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wreg122907gg1.jpg)

WMC. Yes, they are still sending 1.6 mbps for telling us the Tube is no longer available.
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/8082/wmc122907el0.th.jpg (http://img264.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wmc122907el0.jpg)

Looks like Comcast has added SciFiHD on 864. Making some progress....:)

Now if HistoryHD would stop the stretch-o-vision madness!

Any Comcast customers having problems getting a picture on ESPN HD? I've just had a black screen since Tuesday and I want to check with someone else before I call Comcast.

I had a similar incident with WREG on New Year's Day. I unplugged the unit, waited a while, replugged it and it came back.

I've had similar incidents since I got my HD receiver. A couple of times I called the Comcast number and had it send a signal to reset the box, rebooted and it worked fine again.

MrBill

Did ya'll hear about the problem Comcast had Tuesday morning? As the news says, someone was celebrating the new year and shot their gun a few times, apparently hit a line or something, and knocked out tv and internet service to a few thousand people Tuesday morning.

Only in Memphis....

This may be the complete wrong place to ask this, but does anyone have Dish HD?? I am thinking about upgrading now that I have an HD TV, but my wife is worried about the costs (we're young and planning kids, so money is sort of tight).... Just curious what the upgrade costs are, and what a "normal" monthly bill might be. I know it's $10 a mo. for their HD package, but the upgrade cost has alluded me so far. We have dish right now, so I'd threaten to switch if it would force their hand. My issue is I HAVE to get an HD DVR. We can live w/ OTA HD local programming for a while, but I don't think I'd survive more than a couple days without my DVR.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can shed some light for me so that I don't have to call and deal w/ some idiot csr from Dish network.

I left comcast Hd to go to dish HD. I have been very pleased with it. you can record the OTA channels on your DVR from Dish. My only complaint on that is that the signal is a little weaker through the DVR than direct connect to the TV. another bonus with Dish HD DVR is if you use an OTA antenna you essentially have a three tuner DVR. You can record on 2 dish channels at the same time and also record over the antenna. you also get one box but two TVs can be watched on it. But only the main TV is HD.

Picture quality is way better than comcast and IMHO slightly better than Dirctv. I prefer the customer support with Dish over Direct and definatly over comcast. Dish will have the Memphis locals on their system in the first half of 2008 (rumor is first quarter). they have a new sat going up which means way more HD channels. Dish says they try not to add until the channel is tru HD, but the History channel HD shows that aint always true.

I found the prices are comparable no matter which Sat comapny you go with. Over all they both beat Comcast. Just an FYI, i have the top 180 with locals and HD and only pay $45 with $20 a month in rebates. So $65 a month. and to make it even better I get Cinamax for 1 cent a year for the next three years by signing up for autopay on my credit card and paperless billing. They do not advertise this but it is there if you ask.

Goods luck with whatever you choose.

Wednesday night I set my DTV dvr to record the new 2 hours of Law and Order. When I started to play the recording the last 20 minutes of hour 2 was playing and then went into what should have been hour1. At the end of that complete show the message was to delete or save although the recorder showed a full 2 hours. Did anyone else have this problem or did anyone watch these programs live. I don't know if it was a channel 5 problem, and NBC feed or dvr, but I don't see how the dvr could have recorded the end of a program first. Very weird.

Wednesday night I set my DTV dvr to record the new 2 hours of Law and Order. When I started to play the recording the last 20 minutes of hour 2 was playing and then went into what should have been hour1. At the end of that complete show the message was to delete or save although the recorder showed a full 2 hours. Did anyone else have this problem or did anyone watch these programs live. I don't know if it was a channel 5 problem, and NBC feed or dvr, but I don't see how the dvr could have recorded the end of a program first. Very weird.



Sounds like a DVR problem to me. I have had similar happen when I had a comcast DVR. Remember a DVR is essentially a computer and hard drive. It will do what it wants when it wants, lol.

Bitrate of tonight's NFL game. Looks every bit as bad as it shows. All but 1 minute of this was during the actual game.

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/8053/wmc1508nh4.th.jpg (http://img89.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wmc1508nh4.jpg)

Does anyone know when local channels will be in High Def through Dish Network in Memphis?

Does anyone know when local channels will be in High Def through Dish Network in Memphis?

No time soon, I fear. They just announced the next 11 locations and Knoxville is there, but no Memphis.

Man, I went back tonight and read the first couple of pages of this thread.....we sure were willing to put with alot of trouble and expense to get HD OTA back then!! But sounds like we were getting alot better PQ and service as well...............

I have been without HD since before we moved over a year ago....haven't put up an amp, sold my HD-TiVo as D* really was getting to me, and my E86 appears to have burnt out............

Things were so much more fun in the OTA HD world 5 something years ago!!!

Was good to see some familiar names still hanging around though!!

Yah dirk! The difficult thing is for the many new visitors here to stay focused with the 169 pages of this thread. It would be nice to have a mod or group thereof quickly run through the thread and delete any posts known to be off focus or stating nothing that supports the topic or provide insights as to the reception of HDTV. I don't want to eliminate current conversations, but some of 3-5 year old stuff could be weeded out and probably 80-90% deleted to make this a better thread (and cut out 100+ pages.)

I am sure many of you see the pile of old equipment laying around your home like I do. I am glad I didn't buy one of the expensive first models of HDTV as technology and supply catching up with demand has sure made it a lot easier to get into these days.

It seems Dish will continue to provide HD locals only OTA. I don't mind as they all come in great where I live. Same reception situations typically apply to me as the other contributors here. I believe my picture quality is better than friends of mine who have comcast or DirectTV.

Man, I went back tonight and read the first couple of pages of this thread.....we sure were willing to put with alot of trouble and expense to get HD OTA back then!! But sounds like we were getting alot better PQ and service as well...............

I have been without HD since before we moved over a year ago....haven't put up an amp, sold my HD-TiVo as D* really was getting to me, and my E86 appears to have burnt out............
Nationally yes, locally, no. A few years ago not all of the stations that multicasts currently did.

Man, how can you do it without HD? :)

Yah dirk! The difficult thing is for the many new visitors here to stay focused with the 169 pages of this thread. It would be nice to have a mod or group thereof quickly run through the thread and delete any posts known to be off focus or stating nothing that supports the topic or provide insights as to the reception of HDTV. I don't want to eliminate current conversations, but some of 3-5 year old stuff could be weeded out and probably 80-90% deleted to make this a better thread (and cut out 100+ pages.)

I am sure many of you see the pile of old equipment laying around your home like I do. I am glad I didn't buy one of the expensive first models of HDTV as technology and supply catching up with demand has sure made it a lot easier to get into these days.
I agree with what you are saying, but it would take a very long time to clean this thread up. Since there is a much lower amount of people reading this thread I don't think it is a big deal if someone asks a question that has already been asked and answered many times before. That's just my .02.

I got my first HDTV in January 2003. At $1800 for a 42" RPTV it wasn't that bad, until 4 months later the price dropped $300! :eek: I have a 30" Sharp Aquos LCD bought in May 2003 that to my knowledge they haven't made that size in a while, which I bought open box for $3500. I could get a whole house full of HDTV's for that price! My first E86 cost $699. I have since bought 2 more for $39 each from ebay.

That was back when I had money. ;) Now daycare has all of it.

mx6bfast, you have provided many contributions to this thread and have often posted thoughts similar to what I thought about saying. Amazing what you have for a track-record in HDTV! I followed this thread for a couple years before joining here.

I have played the cheapo game, my first HDTV was an Infocus X1 connected by a computer monitor cable to a DirectTV RCA DT100 (I am pretty sure that was it) and I limped along on that for a couple years before upgrading to a 720P projector and Dishnetwork HD sub. Remember how exciting it used to be to watch PBS programming as most of the network stuff wasn't HD?

I live about 100 miles from Memphis. Would it be possible to get OTA in HD? I can't even get sd networks with Dish Network to my address.

I live about 100 miles from Memphis. Would it be possible to get OTA in HD? I can't even get sd networks with Dish Network to my address.
It's possible, but you would have to have a kick ass setup. And you would probably only able to get the channels with certain atmospheric conditions. That being said, someone was able to pick up HD channels in Alabama at night, more than 100 miles away. The towers in the Memphis area are on the other side of Memphis from where you live. If you were closer to Jackson it would be easier to get them.

Some other people on here are in NE Arkansas, they might be able to help you out.

mx6bfast, you have provided many contributions to this thread and have often posted thoughts similar to what I thought about saying. Amazing what you have for a track-record in HDTV! I followed this thread for a couple years before joining here.
Thanks for the kind words. I try to help out as much as I can. I remember how confusing it was for me at first and the easier we can make it on newbies the better.

Sometimes my thoughts can lead to no responses at the local affiliates or late responses in emails that I've sent to them. Some bridges are close to being burned. Personally I've given up caring what WREG and WMC look like because I rarely watch them anymore, so it doesn't bother me how bad they look since I barely even have it on those channels. (But that doesn't mean other people can't complain. :D )And the fact that NBC now is spamming the screen hocking other shows full time has me waiting for Scrubs and er (wife) to end so I don't have to see that bug anymore. I'm looking forward to the Olympics, but not the HD PQ that we will get here. Maybe by that time 5-2 will not be telling us that the Tube still isn't available. :rolleyes:

I live about 100 miles from Memphis. Would it be possible to get OTA in HD?I'm in Paragould, and get OTA OK. Not great though, with a high gain antenna and pre-amp on a 50ft tower! How is the analog reception from Memphis over there in Walnut Ridge? You can expect the HD to be a little more difficult than analog, at least until NBC and FOX move their digital to the channels they now use for analog. Then HD reception should be about the same as analog is now.

Oh! Have you checked www.tvfool.com for reception info? Very useful web site to see what you may be able to receive.

What's up with Comcast cable-ready (no converter) HDTV?

They are sending 24-1 and 30-1 through, but not 3-1,5-1 or 10-1.

If it's a ploy to get people to pay for converters, why send any HD down. If they are going to send something, why not the main OTA channels.

Also, there's SD 4:3 digital on 86-100:103 of the Memphis OTA stations.

Anybody have any insight on what they are doing?

What's up with Comcast cable-ready (no converter) HDTV?

They are sending 24-1 and 30-1 through, but not 3-1,5-1 or 10-1.

If it's a ploy to get people to pay for converters, why send any HD down. If they are going to send something, why not the main OTA channels.

Also, there's SD 4:3 digital on 86-100:103 of the Memphis OTA stations.

Anybody have any insight on what they are doing?

The other local HD's are there, just not on those channels. If I remember right, WHBQ-HD is 80.1, WMC-HD is 80.2, WKNO-HD is 84.1, and WREG-HD is 84.3.

I think the digital feeds of the main 5 locals are 86.1-86.5.

The other local HD's are there, just not on those channels. If I remember right, WHBQ-HD is 80.1, WMC-HD is 80.2, WKNO-HD is 84.1, and WREG-HD is 84.3.

I think the digital feeds of the main 5 locals are 86.1-86.5.

I just rescanned (again) and I don't get anything on any of the digital channels you reference on Comcast in Collierville. Does anyone else see them?

Does anyone know what's up with WMC's sound??? Their commercials are about 10db louder than any of their programming. Its that way on both my TIVO Series 3 and my Directv HD DVR.

thanks,

I get these:
FOX 80-2 & 86-102, NBC 80-3 & 86-101, CBS 84-2 & 86-100, ABC 86-103

I just rescanned (again) and I don't get anything on any of the digital channels you reference on Comcast in Collierville. Does anyone else see them?

My Dad's house in G'town doesn't get those channels either (80-2 to 84-2), only 24-1 and 30-1. However, I get them all in my house in Memphis. I figured it had to do with his signal strength, but it's odd that others have this issue too.

I live in Walls MS, 12 miles south of Memphis, and I'm getting "searching for satellite" and error 771 with my Direct TV for almost every channel. Could this be due to the wind storm we had yesterday? Anyone else having this problem?

I live in Walls MS, 12 miles south of Memphis, and I'm getting "searching for satellite" and error 771 with my Direct TV for almost every channel. Could this be due to the wind storm we had yesterday? Anyone else having this problem?
More than likely it is due to the high winds. Luckily I didn't have any problems last night. Other than our gazebo coming off the posts.

My Dad's house in G'town doesn't get those channels either (80-2 to 84-2), only 24-1 and 30-1. However, I get them all in my house in Memphis. I figured it had to do with his signal strength, but it's odd that others have this issue too.

I'm guessing Comcast is putting out different channels in inner Memphis than in the suburbs. With the digital build out, they can easily do that.

Wish they would pump out the HD signal on cable ready. I only want OTA channels in the bedroom.

Does anyone know what's up with WMC's sound??? Their commercials are about 10db louder than any of their programming. Its that way on both my TIVO Series 3 and my Directv HD DVR.

thanks, HD carries Dolby Digital sound. Standard def commercials are plain stereo which is 10db louder than DD. I just fast forward through the commercials so I don't have to hear them.

I live in Walls MS, 12 miles south of Memphis, and I'm getting "searching for satellite" and error 771 with my Direct TV for almost every channel. Could this be due to the wind storm we had yesterday? Anyone else having this problem? Me. I got all channels great when the new dish was installed in Oct. By Jan I noticed a few channels with the 771 error. Now, most of the MPEG 4 channels get it. I just haven't had time to call and complain.

My older Phase III dish made it through "Hurricane Elvis" without any problems but a breeze seems to move this new dish around. I'd adjust it myself if I had the equipment.

And why list Memphis in your profile when you live in Walls?

-Robert

I just moved from Comcast to a 5LNB Directv system with the HR21 HD DVR system. I was hesitant to go with Directv because I've heard that they have "HD Lite". I was happy with the comcast PQ, but their HD offerings were out-weighed by Directv. I am happy with the channel line-up of D* but the HD channels leave a little to be desired. It's hard to explain the difference in the PQ on D*. It's like the HD PQ is incosistent on the same show. Parts of what you are seeing are vivid and others very soft. The colors seem to bleed as well. Has anyone else experienced these issues and possibly have a better description? I am running component...should I try HDMI? I hear of people saying D* PQ is excellent on their HD, but when compared to the Comcast I'm underwhelmed. I just want it to be the best it can be.

Me. I got all channels great when the new dish was installed in Oct. By Jan I noticed a few channels with the 771 error. Now, most of the MPEG 4 channels get it. I just haven't had time to call and complain.

My older Phase III dish made it through "Hurricane Elvis" without any problems but a breeze seems to move this new dish around. I'd adjust it myself if I had the equipment.

And why list Memphis in your profile when you live in Walls?

-Robert

Thx for the reply. I guess I'll call D*TV tech supp tonight, and see what they say.

I just moved from Memphis to Walls a few months ago, and didn't remember to update my profile.

Here's the OTA channels I get right now.

24.1 ABC HD
30.1 CW HD
80.2 Fox HD
80.3 NBC HD
84.2 CBS HD
84.3 WKNO HD

Along with the random SD local channels and C-Span 2 and whatnot.

But I was just wondering if there were any others out there that I'm
not picking up. I just have basic Comcast cable and I live in
Bartlett. A few months ago I was picking up Cinemax, HBO 2 and HBO
family over the air. They were in SD but I was still getting them
nonetheless. Any idea on why that suddenly stopped?Butcher, your post was lost when the AVS server crashed yesterday, so I quote you now so that maybe others can see it and answer your question.

While the networks in your list are available OTA, the channels in your list look like cable channels, not over the air channels. And from what you wrote about HBO, etc., it is clear you are talking about digital cable and not over-the-air reception. So someone in you area will have to answer your question about changes in the in-the-clear HD channel line-up on your cable system. They probably just expect you to pay extra for HD channels, that's the way my local cable company looks at it. They don't provice any HD at all in-the-clear.

Wow! That was some bad weather last night. It was relatively mild here, but judging from the news this morning, Memphis got hit hard. Hope you are all OK.

Wow! That was some bad weather last night. It was relatively mild here, but judging from the news this morning, Memphis got hit hard. Hope you are all OK.
Yes it was. My family is ok. I was out of work sick yesterday and decided to get my son from daycare early yesterday. It was a good thing because right around the time I get him, was about the same time as the tornadoes in Bartlett. I live 3 miles north of the Wolfchase Mall, abut 2 miles form the 5/24/30 tower, and actually saw the tornado that hit Bartlett go past my skyline no more than 4 miles from me. A guy I work with wife was at home with their 3 year old and 6 month old and even though there wasn't a tornado in his subdivision, the one that went over them (which I saw) is the same one that went into Arlington.

My wife is a nurse and had an appointment at 5:30, so she drove from Bartlett to the Germantown office near Poplar in that time frame. And sure enough, the patient was there. On the way home she had to stop at the Kroger at G-town/Dexter since she was heading right back into the teeth of the storm. She eventually made it home. Luckily the 2nd wave wasn't more than 20 mph winds and light showers.

On a side note, my wife went to Union and lived in those dorms that had the bad storm damage.

But like Neil said I hope everyone is ok. Days like yesterday makes me happy I have an antenna as a backup.

Days like yesterday makes me happy I have an antenna as a backup. D* faded out for me as soon as the storms got to Hernando. I watched Dave Brown and his Viper radar track rotation in the first round of storms while watching a black, rotating cloud go over my house. Scary.

The tornado that hit Southaven also hit my old office on Raines, across from the old Coors plant. I got some pictures from a guy that still works there. Cars were trashed in the parking lots. Windows blown out of the buildings. And the logistics company about 100 feet away was destroyed. I think it is the one where 3 people died.

-Robert

Has WHBQ aired Tuesdays episode of House that we missed because of the weather? They were saying they would let us know when it would be shown, but I never heard. Have I missed it?

Has WHBQ aired Tuesdays episode of House that we missed because of the weather? They were saying they would let us know when it would be shown, but I never heard. Have I missed it?
Someone up at work told me they were going to air AI and House Wednesday night at 10. Of course that was a few days ago, so I don't know if they actually aired them.

I still have 88 so I tivo'd from that channel.

Hey Memphis DirecTV folks! Am I seeing things or did D* just start airing an SD feed of WMAV (PBS) ch 18 from Jackson MS? Has it been there a while or did it just come on this week?

Hey Memphis DirecTV folks! Am I seeing things or did D* just start airing an SD feed of WMAV (PBS) ch 18 from Jackson MS? Has it been there a while or did it just come on this week?
I just checked and I'm getting it too. Should we be getting it? I don't know if Jackson is a separate DMA.

Did anyone else experience any issues with Smallville Thursday night? I'm watching right now and every few seconds there will be a line of artifacts in different areas of the screen. It's not a signal going in and out, its something with the actual program.

I just checked and I'm getting it too. Should we be getting it? I don't know if Jackson is a separate DMA.


Maybe it had something to do with the national aggreement D* signed with PBS a few months back. None of my TV's or my HR20-100 can pick up the channel OTA.

It allows the Memphis DMA viewers in Mississippi to get the Mississippi Public Broadcasting. The station is actually WMAV in Oxford.

Is the program guide showing WMAV or WMPN? The WMAV transmitter is in Oxford, and since Oxford is in the Memphis DMA, it (WMAV) should be available to all of the Memphis DMA unless DirecTV is restricting it to Mississippi addresses only. (I'm a E* customer, in the LR DMA).

Programming is standardized on MPB (WMAV, WMPN Jackson, WMAO Greenwood) much like AETN here in Arkansas does (except I believe MPB does a better job as programming and DTV issues go--AETN has a slavish devotion to VHF-DTV except for one transmitter, KETJ in Jonesboro).

Anyone else notice the bug for WHBQ is now grey?

Anyone else notice the bug for WHBQ is now grey?

I did. Or course, I'm the one who made the change!

It's not quite as transparant as I would like, but at least it's better than the bright version.

I did. Or course, I'm the one who made the change!

It's not quite as transparant as I would like, but at least it's better than the bright version.
I like it better too.

Go Tigers!

Hey Cameron, good to see you in here.........

To chime in on what others have said, it will take some work to get OTA where you are at. I was closer than you, Trumann, when I still was doing OTA. With a VU-190 (about 13 feet long) antenna on a 30 foot mast, I got about 80% reception. Of course this was using I belive 2nd and 3rd generation tuners. I hear they are quite a bit better now.......

Trying to think of the lay of the land in Walnut Ridge.....I belive it would be pretty flat, and I think you would have to deal with Crowleys Ridge between you and Memphis. I really belive you will have to be around 50 foot or so on your tower.........

Any chance of you local cable company carrying the HD feeds?? I think our smallish provider, Ritter, has finally picked them up.......and depending upon your zip you may qualify for Memphis locals via DirecTv. Dish did not have them last time I checked.

Good luck to you.......and if you try OTA be sure and post back, with the changeover coming (to ATSC) and the growth of the HD market in general, there will be others looking for advice in our part of the world!!

I'm getting NBA TV and USA HD now.

I guess it's QAM. I just have basic Comcast cable, no set top box or anything.

But 112.5 is NBA TV
Channel 0 is USA HD

Do we have any idea of when WMC 5 will move from 52 back to 5 for their final digital station assignment? I am trying to buy a new antenna and need to know whether to take this into consideration. If it is going to be at least 2-3 years I won't worry about it because I will probably move my then. Any guesses?

I don't know the answer to your question, but you can email Dave Evans at devans@wmctv.com and see if he would know. I pulled his email from this page http://wmctv.com/Global/category.asp?C=24311&nav=menu59_9_1_3.

Report back and let us know.

Emailed him. Will let you know if I hear anything back.
Mike

The more I think about it you actually raise a good question. WHBQ is moving to 13. David when are ya'll moving?

I am very interested in this as well, because I expect my reception to improve greatly when they do switch. My guess is that they won't make the switch until they have to, and my understanding is that when the analog shut-down occurs in Feb. 2009, the UHF channels above 50 will no longer be available for TV. So they will have to make the switch by then.

I remember asking one of the engineers on this thread about this, maybe a year ago, and his reply was something like, 'when we have to, unless most of our viewer have already switched to digital, then we might switch back earlier.'

The more I think about it you actually raise a good question. WHBQ is moving to 13. David when are ya'll moving?

The date that has been set for the analog cutoff is February 17, 2009. At midnight, we will turn the channel 13 NTSC and the channel 53 DTV transmitters off, and turn a new channel 13 DTV transmitter on. Channel 53 then goes to whatever wireless service wins the FCC auction.

As it stands, that will be the same date for everyone to make the change. I don't plan to take the channel 13 NTSC transmitter apart for a few days, just to be sure that they don't change their minds when the phone calls to Congress start coming in!

Below is the response from WMC 5. I cannot receive any local stations in the 50's range for some reason with my setup and was planning to get a new antenna and maybe redo some wiring. Looks like I need to make sure it is a low range VHF.
Mike

Mr. Douglass, we will be turning off our NTSC channel 5 transmitter and our Channel 52 DTV transmitter on February 17th 2009. We will then turn on a Channel 5 DTV transmitter at that time.

If you go to www.wmctv.com and click on the "Big Switch" link there is a lot of information about what exactly is going to happen in February 2009.

Thanks for your email.
David


David M. Evans
WMC TV-5
Director of Engineering

For anyone that has Comcast dig Cable, do they now have CBS, NBC and ABC On-Demand, and if so do they offer any of this in HD. I have DTV right now but this may make me think about switching

Has anyone else lost their Comcast QAM channels? They ALL went out on me last night (even the SD ones), and they're still out this morning. I'm only picking up analog stations.

I have a hvr 1800 and never could get Comcast channels in my pvr over clear QAM. But then I have problems getting on demand as well, I only use them for analog anyway. As of right now I would suggest finding another provider if possible!

Has anyone else lost their Comcast QAM channels? They ALL went out on me last night (even the SD ones), and they're still out this morning. I'm only picking up analog stations.

In Collierville:

I just scanned again. I get 24-1 and 30-1 in HD. 86-100/104 are SD 3,5,13,24,30. Also get 3 SD on 89-1.

Now getting NBA TV HD on 113-1 and USA HD on 121-7.

Why can't the Comcast guys put HD versions of 3,5,10,13 on clear QAM!

I upgraded my DirecTv service and got their new HD DVR. I'm not going to use the HR10-250 any longer. If any one is interested in buying it, PM an offer to me. I've also got the 5X8 Eagle/Aspen multiswitch.

I'd suggest holding off on giving up/selling your HR10-250 until you live with your new HR20/21 for a couple of months. I've had the HR20 for a while and still don't trust it as much as the TiVo.

What problems are you having? I got the HR20.

I haven't had any problems with my HR20's since I've had them.

I have 2 HR21's and an HR10-250.
I've been completely satisfied so far with the new DVR's. Having zero problems with my recordings, season passes etc.
The new features so far out weight the one (DLB) that I gave up.
But I still use my HD tivo in the bedroom, but on an SD TV....Once I buy an HDTV for the bedroom, I will not hesitate to replace the HR10-250.

I have 2 HR20's. For the most part, they've worked pretty well. But, there have been a few times where they have failed to record something, or appeared to have recorded something and the recording was blank or not watchable. Also, one time, one HR20 decided to delete everything (essentially reformatted the drive) for no apparent reason. This has all been within the past 4 months or so since I've had the boxes.

With the HR10-250 TiVo, I never had a doubt that I could just set things to record and leave town -- for weeks if needed -- everything would be recorded as it should when I came back. And short of a physical hard drive failure, nothing would ever happen to recordings. The HR20's are just not quite that reliable.

I use the HR20 for my main box, but if there is something I really want to make sure I don't miss (Lost, for example), I also set it on the HR10-250 as a backup.

I record most network prime-time OTA because the picture quality is a little better. The only reason I've migrated to the HR20 for my main box is that it has better OTA tuners - multipath drives my HR10 nuts every time the breeze blows. Otherwise, I'd still be using the HR10 as my main DVR and using the HR20 only for the MPEG4 sat channels that the HR10 can't receive.

Head over to DBSTalk and you can read about other issues with the HR20.

In Collierville:
Why can't the Comcast guys put HD versions of 3,5,10,13 on clear QAM!

Has anyone here used a CableCard with Comcast Memphis? I have a friend that wants to use Windows Vista Media Center to record, but without scrambled QAM, can't get much off Comcast...

So far the only problem I'm having with the HR20 is that it seems to stop recording before the show is over. Do others have this problem?

So far the only problem I'm having with the HR20 is that it seems to stop recording before the show is over. Do others have this problem?
No

So far the only problem I'm having with the HR20 is that it seems to stop recording before the show is over. Do others have this problem?

There was a bug reported a few months ago that was causing recordings to start late. It seems to have been cleared up though.

You might want to force a software download to make sure you are on the latest national release.

Thanks, but the problem I'm having is that the recording stops before the show is over - not starting late.

Originally Posted by pav1268
If Anyone is interested Toshiba HD-XA2 Closeout Price:$199.50 In Store Only, Call for Availability at electronicexpress.com Tennessee locations,
1-888-257-7500
http://www.electronicexpress.com/pro...&refer=6&cpc=6
http://www.electronicexpress.com/stores

Anyone in Tennessee willing to pick one up for a fellow AVS member? I'll add $75.00 for your time. PM me. TIA

Originally Posted by pav1268
If Anyone is interested Toshiba HD-XA2 Closeout Price:$199.50 In Store Only, Call for Availability at electronicexpress.com Tennessee locations,
1-888-257-7500
http://www.electronicexpress.com/pro...&refer=6&cpc=6
http://www.electronicexpress.com/stores

Anyone in Tennessee willing to pick one up for a fellow AVS member? I'll add $75.00 for your time. PM me. TIA

Electronic Express is mainly a Middle Tennessee chain. You'd have better luck in the Nashville thread.

Has anyone with a Vizio had issues with picking up all the local HD channels via QAM? I just exchanged a Sceptre for Vizio at Costco, and now I don't pick up NBC, CBS or FOX. I checked out the Vizio forum, and this does appear to be an issue for some. Just wondering if anyone local has dealt with this, and if there's a solution? cheers.

Has anyone with a Vizio had issues with picking up all the local HD channels via QAM? I just exchanged a Sceptre for Vizio at Costco, and now I don't pick up NBC, CBS or FOX. I checked out the Vizio forum, and this does appear to be an issue for some. Just wondering if anyone local has dealt with this, and if there's a solution? cheers.

Are you talking about QAM over Comcast or ATSC over the air?

Comcast randomly seems to change their unencrypted QAM. I haven't re-scanned it in a while, but when I was it was kind of frustrating to keep up with. Channels would work one week, and not the next.

The new station channel 14-1 is now on-line, WYWW or something like that. I don't know how long is has been on-line but I noticed it when I re-installed all of my software.

There is a ton of motion blocking during the NCAA's on WREG. I can only imagine how bad the D* feed looks.

That would be WTWV. Just out of curiosity, can you tell me what's airing on it? I'm under the impression it's a religious station, but can you tell if it's from any particular network?

Thanks.

- Trip

That would be WTWV. Just out of curiosity, can you tell me what's airing on it? I'm under the impression it's a religious station, but can you tell if it's from any particular network?
I'll try to look at the programming guide on my pc upstairs. I've tried to add it to my hd-dvr but a scan wont pick it up.

I got home about 15 minutes after the Tigers game started today and was like "what the crap is up with the HD picture?" Turned out I asked my wife to tivo the game for us if we would be late coming home and she selected the D* feed, not OTA. When I caught up I quickly switched to OTA.

When I was watching the D* feed, there were many video glitches. Is this normal?

When I was watching the D* feed, there were many video glitches. Is this normal?

Glad to see it wasn't just me.
WREG seems to glitch alot on D*.
I have no problems with the other Locals

That would be WTWV. Just out of curiosity, can you tell me what's airing on it? I'm under the impression it's a religious station, but can you tell if it's from any particular network.
It does appear to be religious. I was able to get my E86 to pick it up and it was showing the same programming as 50-4, which is WPXX.

Does anyone want to start a drive to try to get WREG to drop the subchannel for the next Tigers game?

Does anyone want to start a drive to try to get WREG to drop the subchannel for the next Tigers game?

Sure, I'm in! I doubt it will work but it's worth a try.

Sure, I'm in! I doubt it will work but it's worth a try.
Your probably right, but please email ron.walter@wreg.com and ask to turn off the subchannel during the games so we can see the Tigers win in better HD.

When you get the chance go to wrvr.com and check out their poll.

Your probably right, but please email ron.walter@wreg.com and ask to turn off the subchannel during the games so we can see the Tigers win in better HD.

When you get the chance go to wrvr.com and check out their poll.


Just dashed off a note to WREG.
Now it's all about positive thinking and crossed fingers. :)

Hoping for the best.

Has anyone with a Vizio had issues with picking up all the local HD channels via QAM? I just exchanged a Sceptre for Vizio at Costco, and now I don't pick up NBC, CBS or FOX. I checked out the Vizio forum, and this does appear to be an issue for some. Just wondering if anyone local has dealt with this, and if there's a solution? cheers.

I'm on Comcast in Collierville, and have a Vizio VZ37L. It's hooked directly to the cable coax (no converter). I get 24-1 and 30-1 in HD. I get all local stations in digital SD on 86-100+, and TNT or something else on a high channel.

No other local stations in HD clear QAM. :mad:

Best part of this game this past weekend. There are 34 slides so you might want to let it run for a few minutes to update all of them. Not to mention the website is going very slow right now. http://img223.imageshack.us/slideshow/player.php?id=img223/6208/120750156033p.smil

I recently installed a db2 antenna and it has done a much better job than my previous Radio Shack. However; I am having one problem. It shows WHBQ as 1531 and my signal is green (using Windows Media Center), but when I go to that channel everything is black. The guide properly reflects what is being shown but there is no picture.

I am experimenting with this setup before I use it on my den HDTV. I am looking for alternatives to Comcast since I don't watch a lot of cables offerings.

Any assistance would be appreciated. I live close to Southwind if that is any help.

I recently installed a db2 antenna and it has done a much better job than my previous Radio Shack.

In case you are not aware, Channels 5 and 13 will be moving from their current UHF channels back to VHF in Feb. of 2009. The db2 antenna is UHF only - ie 14 and above (however, it may be able to receive 13). When they move, the digital signals will be on 5 and 13 which is where analog is now. At that point you will need a VHF and UHF antenna. Might be best to find a more appropriate replacement now. Of course, you could just add a small VHF antenna to the mast later.

Thanks for the reply. I will check into a replacement antenna. With that being said why can't I get a picture on 53-1 right now? The signal shows green but no picture.

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide.

Well, I just looked up 38125 at antennaweb.org. It appears the towers are within a 20 deg arc from your location. Channel 13 is the furthest east (about 345 deg on a compass from you). The other digital channels are between 349 and 4 degs. I would assume 13 is at the edge of your antenna. Try pointing it directly at 13 and see what you get.

To get a better location of the towers from your location, go to antennaweb.org and type in your complete address. It will also ask if you have a 2 story home (assumes you will mount the antenna on the roof at second story height) and whether there are any trees, tall buildings, etc. between you and the towers.

Good luck.

Thanks for the reply. I will check into a replacement antenna. With that being said why can't I get a picture on 53-1 right now? The signal shows green but no picture.

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide.

I have the same problem, funny thing was I had 13 on my media center pc last year but when January came to record the terminator chronicles it showed green but no picture. I still get 13 on my hdtv ota connection without a problem. I did not know 13 and 5 were changing back to vhf next year, I just bought the uhf antenna from radio shack I will have to take it back since it will not work next year correctly.

GLAlexander

My post should have read that the 13 tower is the furthest WEST from your location. Sorry for any confusion.

OK WMC gets the nod for worst weather coverage ever for breaking into HD coverage.

I was out of town and got back yesterday. We watched Earl from Thursday night and were amazed by the scrolling text above and below the letterbox picture, and a huge radar on the top left, pinpoint 5 bug, and then a WMC channel 5 bug at times. There was so much stuff going on it was EXTREMELY hard to even watch Earl.

We also have Scrubs and ER to watch. Good grief I hope those 2 programs aren't like that also.

Was this storm really that bad? We are watching CSI and haven't seen a radar or mention of it yet?

Thanks so much for the replies. I will try these ideas.

Is there any reason WMC does not show the Today Show in HD on the weekends?

There is probably no one at the controls to flip the switch early in the AM on weekends.

I'd email them and ask them to pay attention.

What the heck is gping on with WPTY 24 lately. It goes in and out on my DTV HR-20 all the time now. I used to have trouble with the OTA 24-1 but nerver the DTV HD feed. Thos has been going on for a couple of weeks now. Anyone else seen this issue

What the heck is gping on with WPTY 24 lately. It goes in and out on my DTV HR-20 all the time now. I used to have trouble with the OTA 24-1 but nerver the DTV HD feed. Thos has been going on for a couple of weeks now. Anyone else seen this issue
I noticed it last night. The OTA audio was going in and out so I put it on the D* feed. It wasn't much better. The audio was stuttering and was very annoying.

Someone posted over in the dbstalk forum at http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=126446 about this.

I love the NBA Playoffs, but this WPTY problem is unbearable. I get the electronic stutter on 24 on my HR20-700, and when I switch to 24-1 OTA, I get complete audio dropouts for minutes at a time, punctuated by a few seconds of good audio. This is ridiculous. The games on ESPN have been fine.

Just wanted to throw in my two cents on the ABC24 issue. The audio and picture sucks on the DirecTV feed and the audio just completely cuts in and out on the OTA feed. I think we all need to call DirecTV and let them know the local affiliate is at fault. Not that they can do anything about it, but at least the issue will be reported.

I'm planning on contacting the engineer at WPTY tomorrow. If anyone else has anything to say please post it.

My wife will shoot someone if she misses Grey's.

Yes, I'm also experiencing the audio and video issues on WPTY on D*. The audio is what is making it unbearable to watch. I finally gave up on tonight's Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters episodes. This is the only channel (local or otherwise) that I'm having reception problems with on my satellite service.

I emailed ABC24 last night and received a response this morning that states they are aware of the issues and are working towards a resolution. They expect everything to be fixed by Tuesday night. As long as it's fixed before Lost premiers, I'll be a happy guy!

I just watched a recording of last nights "Brothers & Sisters" and the audio would screw up about every 30 seconds. The video would go wonky about every minute or so also. It's been going on at least since the sunday night airing of "Eli Stone"

HR20-100 Recorded off of the DirecTV feed.

I emailed ABC24 last night and received a response this morning that states they are aware of the issues and are working towards a resolution. They expect everything to be fixed by Tuesday night. As long as it's fixed before Lost premiers, I'll be a happy guy!
I just emailed also before coming to this thread. Thanks for getting it started!

I emailed ABC24 last night and received a response this morning that states they are aware of the issues and are working towards a resolution. They expect everything to be fixed by Tuesday night. As long as it's fixed before Lost premiers, I'll be a happy guy!

good!! i'm getting very tired of it... especially now that the playoffs have started... thanks for info!

I got a response saying they are replacing some equipment and should be fixed by Tuesday night.

My Wife watched "Samantha Who" on channel 24 last night and said there were no audio or video troubles. :)

Good.

lately when my kids watch disney channel on ch. 290 or 292, they noticed that the volume and or sound sounded like mic static but in a very subtle note..and it sticks to the program / actors dialouge for a little while then goes out.

i tried other channels and it did not do it or I probably just did not watch long enough to observe.

i got dtv h21 i think, can't remember and a Sony 40VL130 that I got from costco.

Hey, folks. I have been an analog OTA watcher for years on older tvs. I bought a digital converter box a couple of weeks ago and new uhf/vhf antenna. Hooked it up and am receiving all Memphis channels pretty well, except for WMC. I live in Memphis within 15 miles or so of all the towers. Is something going on with WMC? Thanks.

Has anyone been having problems with receiving WMC content in HD lately? The Office for me was letterbox but no HD (bars on top and sides). I've got two HR-20's doing the same thing. HD on all other OTA and D* channels are fine.

I haven't tried viewing WMC lately, but it looks like at least two of us are having issues. Must be a station problem then, huh?

WMC is usually the channel that most people have problems with. I've actually had some problems with WMC and WHBQ in the past 2 weeks. I haven't touched my antenna. I guess I need to go back up in the attic and check it out if I am still having problems.

Next time you see WMC (or any HD channel at all) not showing HD I'd advise to call the station and ask to turn the HD feed on. Do a search for phone numbers in this thread and it will give you a couple of posts with contact info for each station. Call the news tip line.

I don't know if anyone has noticed, but channel 14 is doing something to their tower. I carpool and the person I drop off lives in the subdivision right by the 14 and 50 towers. I noticed Wednesday(?) that the tower was half as tall. I haven't checked to see if the signal is completely down or not.

Has anyone been having problems with receiving WMC content in HD lately? The Office for me was letterbox but no HD (bars on top and sides). I've got two HR-20's doing the same thing. HD on all other OTA and D* channels are fine.
Earl wasn't in HD Thursday night, and if the office wasn't in HD then I'm pretty sure er is not in HD either.

Below is the email that I received from WMC last Friday. I am still not sure I understand why WMC's reception is so lousy while all other channels are good; and most of the antennae are basically within a few miles of one another.
______________________________

We are broadcasting currently on channel 52 which will require a decent antenna to be received reliably. If you are using an indoor antenna you will need to rescan if you move the antenna to help improve reception. The converter boxes are a little particular on how the antenna is connected. If you can use an outdoor antenna it should vastly improve your reception probability. But any time you move or adjust your antenna you will have to go through the automatic scan procedure in the box. They will not recognize the signal automatically you have to use the scan procedure.

In February 2009 we will be moving back to Channel 5 which should greatly improve your ability to receive us using an indoor antenna.

I hope this helps.

David

David M. Evans

WMC TV-5

Director of Engineering

As long as your HD receiver has the specific channel selected, you will not need to rescan each time you move your antenna. The HD box will automatically pick it up because it is already looking for it.

I went in my attic yesterday after getting quite a few breakups during the TPC, and moved my antenna head about this much (-). The breakups went away and the signal increased maybe 2 - 4%. I was surprised how delicate the signal is for them. I noticed the breakups happened when there was a hard wind gust. I'm 2 1/2 miles from the tower, so I'm confused why I am having these issues.

I went in my attic yesterday after getting quite a few breakups during the TPC, and moved my antenna head about this much (-). The breakups went away and the signal increased maybe 2 - 4%. I was surprised how delicate the signal is for them. I noticed the breakups happened when there was a hard wind gust. I'm 2 1/2 miles from the tower, so I'm confused why I am having these issues.

OK, this is going to sound as if I'm making this up, but when the trees start to green out, the size of the leaves becomes a multiple of the UHF wavelength. This makes them little antennas, re-radiating and reflecting the signal so that it sometimes adds up, but sometimes cancels out. This changes when the wind blows. Once the leaves grow out some more, this should get better.

Really!

By the way, lightning static plays havoc with the digital signal. What would be just a glitch in the analog signal will usually make a digital receiver have to re-lock!

Just wanted to say I'm glad I'm not the only one who is having problems with wmc reception with the dtv converters. WMC and WKNO were the only stations I received clearly with just rabbit ears, and now WMC is the only station I don't get at all.

I also get the pixelated reception at times with channels 24 and 30.

Kind of stinks - I hope it improves with time. But again, glad to hear it's happening to others, not just me. Otherwise, I would have tried to return my dtv converter box to radio shack, thinking that was the problem.

I live near the intersection of Summer and Graham in case that helps anyone else.

Quick followup. I found my rabbit ears weren't extended all the way, so I did so, and I do get wmc channel 5 now, (5-1, 5-2, and 5-3), althouth all of them are extremely weak signals and therefore unwatchable. Maybe I need a better set of ears.

WMC-DT is broadcasting on channel 52 presently. Rabbit ears are for VHF. Is your antenna rabbit ears only, or does it have a small UHF loop also?

In fact, all the Memphis channels are on UHF channels now. WMC and WHBQ will be moving to VHF next year, but are not their now. So anyone trying to use an indoor antenna will find that positioning the antenna is the most important thing, and if you live within 20 miles of the transmitters, you probably are wrecking your reception if you are trying to use an amplified antenna.

I bought a new indoor vhf/uhf antenna when I bought my converter box a few weeks ago. I receive all channels except WMC fine. I ran across this on a WMC webpage: "For the time being, WMC-HD is only broadcasting at half-power on channel 52. I am not sure how old the webpage is; however, I do wonder if this is our problem with OTA digital reception.

I would like to add some detail to my earlier email that was posted. I have been in contact with many other CE's around the country and we have been talking about the new converter boxes and how they perform. This is only applicable to the converter boxes, not to the ATSC tuner in an HD set. If you have one of the converter boxes and you are having reception issues you will need to rescan for all channels to try and bring in a channel that an earlier scan did not find. This is not true of every box but the majority of the new converter boxes will require this. There is some logic in the box that prevents it from locking on the signal.

As for adding an amplifier increasing signal level will also bring up the reflected signals as well thus degrading the phase stability of the primary signal. Don’t think in analog terms, in digital, phase stability counts for more than signal level. You want just enough signal level with a lack of reflected images. The adaptive equalizer (think ghost canceller) in these sets/boxes only have so much ability to improve the phase stability of the digital signal. In some situations adding an amplifier may be called for but if you live very close to the transmission site it could make the problem worse.

When we do begin to broadcast on Channel 5 next February a lot of these type problems should go away.

David

What Dave said. I live just a few miles from the towers, and was having issues, and put in a cheap Radio Shack attenuator to reduce the signal strength and solved most of my problems (although my HR10 still has problems with WMC; I just use my HD Tivo, which has a better tuner, instead for WMC).

Great Forum!

I'm moving to Arlington, TN this summer. I've been searching what type of high-speed internet, basic phone, and HDTV are available. The best I can figure is going with Comcast Triple Play.

What is the added fee to the $99/mo intro rate for HD - is it just the $5 HD programming???

What is the basic Comcast HD Programming Line-up?
Discovery?
ESPN?
History?
TLC?
TNT?
Others?

Any input, thoughts, or suggestions woudl be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Eric

Great Forum!

I'm moving to Arlington, TN this summer. I've been searching what type of high-speed internet, basic phone, and HDTV are available. The best I can figure is going with Comcast Triple Play.

What is the added fee to the $99/mo intro rate for HD - is it just the $5 HD programming???

What is the basic Comcast HD Programming Line-up?
Discovery?
ESPN?
History?
TLC?
TNT?
Others?

Any input, thoughts, or suggestions woudl be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Eric

Eric
There is another charge for the HD box as well. I can't remember just what it is off hand. You can see the Comcast HD lineup at www.comcast.com and enter your zip code in the box on the left side of the screen. There are around 25 HD channels including the ones you mentioned and not including pay channels like HBO and Starz and they have been adding new ones regularly.

Hello fellow Memphians. I am new to the HDTV game and I was wondering if the fine people on this board could offer me some help. I am thinking about getting an antennae to pick up local channels on my new plasma and I have some questions. I logged on to AntennaWeb and the following are the channels I would like to watch.

Call Sign/ Channel / Network / Compass Heading/ Miles From/ Frequency
WMC-DT/ 5.1 /NBC /61° /16.7 /52
WPTY-DT 24.1 ABC MEMPHIS, TN 61° 16.7 25
WREG-DT 3.1 CBS MEMPHIS, TN 83° 11.6 28
WHBQ-DT 13.1 FOX MEMPHIS, TN 85° 10.9 53

Does anyone have any suggestions for particular antennaes to buy?

PS. What is the PQ of Comcast vs. Dir***TV? I DEFINITELY want the best picture quality for my Kuro. Thanks!

Hello fellow Memphians. I am new to the HDTV game and I was wondering if the fine people on this board could offer me some help. I am thinking about getting an antennae to pick up local channels on my new plasma and I have some questions. I logged on to AntennaWeb and the following are the channels I would like to watch.

Call Sign/ Channel / Network / Compass Heading/ Miles From/ Frequency
WMC-DT/ 5.1 /NBC /61° /16.7 /52
WPTY-DT 24.1 ABC MEMPHIS, TN 61° 16.7 25
WREG-DT 3.1 CBS MEMPHIS, TN 83° 11.6 28
WHBQ-DT 13.1 FOX MEMPHIS, TN 85° 10.9 53

Does anyone have any suggestions for particular antennaes to buy?

PS. What is the PQ of Comcast vs. Dir***TV? I DEFINITELY want the best picture quality for my Kuro. Thanks!

I have Comcast and have never had D**TV. Comcast PQ is very good when it is working properly. I have had several times when many of the HD channels have gone "blocky" and had audio and video drop outs. Many of them get totally unwatchable. I have had to call them to make a service appointment and take off work to meet them at my house so they could go to a local distribution area and correct the signal. They always want me at home even though it has never been a problem at my house, but trouble with their signal strength. Just getting them on the line to make the service call is usually a long hold time and then several days before they can come out.

Thanks for the reply Tom. I may just switch to HD service with Comcast because it would be easier than the alternative (plus I can't sign a 2 year contract/get the better prices with a dish company due to a move 1 year away.)

Regarding Comcast, do they send someone to the house for installation or do you just pick up an HD capable box from the nearest service center?

Thanks for the reply Tom. I may just switch to HD service with Comcast because it would be easier than the alternative (plus I can't sign a 2 year contract/get the better prices with a dish company due to a move 1 year away.)

Regarding Comcast, do they send someone to the house for installation or do you just pick up an HD capable box from the nearest service center?

If it is a first time hook-up they will send someone out. If you are just upgrading to HD from their digital service then you may be able to pick up the box and install it yourself if you don't want them to do it.

Nice. If I could avoid waiting on them to come to my house that would be great. They would probably just %^&* it up anyways

Hello fellow Memphians. I am new to the HDTV game and I was wondering if the fine people on this board could offer me some help. I am thinking about getting an antennae to pick up local channels on my new plasma and I have some questions. I logged on to AntennaWeb and the following are the channels I would like to watch.

Call Sign/ Channel / Network / Compass Heading/ Miles From/ Frequency
WMC-DT/ 5.1 /NBC /61° /16.7 /52
WPTY-DT 24.1 ABC MEMPHIS, TN 61° 16.7 25
WREG-DT 3.1 CBS MEMPHIS, TN 83° 11.6 28
WHBQ-DT 13.1 FOX MEMPHIS, TN 85° 10.9 53

Does anyone have any suggestions for particular antennaes to buy?

PS. What is the PQ of Comcast vs. Dir***TV? I DEFINITELY want the best picture quality for my Kuro. Thanks!
Since you are only 17 miles from the furthest tower you could really use almost any antenna, even indoor ones.

I have D* and am happy with their PQ. I still see motion blocking on some of their mpeg-4 stations, but I think that unless we get Uverse/FIOS here we will pretty much have to deal with what we have.

We watched Lost from Thursday night and did anyone else notice the amount of motion blocking that was evident during a few scenes? I used to never see blocking on WPTY OTA. I'm checking the bit rate right now and they are currently sending 8 1/2 mbps of video and 9 1/2 of null data. I hope it isn't a sign of things to come from them.

Speaking of wasting bandwidth, should we take bets here as to how much longer WMC will continue to tell us that the Tube is no longer available? It's been 9 months since that channel has been dead and yet they are still wasting the bandwidth on it. Why not take that 1.6 mbps you are using for that message and put it towards the main feed to make it tolerable. Add in 2 mbps of the null data being sent and I'm pretty sure the HD PQ would increase quite a bit.

Watching the 5/8 episode of ER right now and it wasn't in HD. In the last video segment, no more than about 20 minutes before the episode was over WMC was scrolling a "BREAKING NEWS alert that a mid south teacher had been found guilty of sex with a student, or something like that. They are staying on top of it. Stay tuned to WMC for further info. " :mad:

This kept going until the end of the episode. Come on, was this that big of a deal to break HD programming to display this alert? I don't know if any other shows before it were not in HD. You can't wait 20 minutes? What's next, showing a crawl when a person is shot? :confused:

I don't recall any other station doing this.

So I decided to stay with Comcast because I'm only going to be here for another year and didn't want to mess with antennas or dishes. Well, my roommate went to exchange the box at the local Comcast and they sent him home with a box that didn't have a power cord. Typical.

It's especially annoying knowing that WMC is capable of HD crawls (they run one during the Today show).

It's especially annoying knowing that WMC is capable of HD crawls (they run one during the Today show).
Really? I didn't know that. Yeah that does make it even more annoying.

Do they have crawls on both the bottom and the top of the screen? If they have the ability to insert crawls then there really is no reason to break into HD programming to say there is a lightning strike on the very top edge of the viewing area is there?

WXIX now a sister station of WMC?

http://wmctv.com/Global/Link.asp?L=185515

To the best of my knowledge, WMC and WXIX have been co-owned by Raycom for quite some time.

- Trip

O. I've never seen a cross promotion like that before.

Holy crap the game tonight looks awful on WPTY. They still have the bitrate down at 8.5 mbps. This looks just as bad if not worse than WMC.

I have read that between now and 2/2009 some low VHF stations will be reassigned elsewhere since pretty much all stations now assigned to low VHF are trying to move. Is that true of WMC? I know they have elected to stick with channel five, but is that still the plan, or has the thinking changed? Most engineers seem to think high VHF is the place to be, and since there are some high VHF channels available in Memphis, I was just wondering what the thinking is on this now.

Anyone else think the NBA Finals have looked lousy in HD?

me

WPTY has royally f'd up their HD channel.

Did anyone else have issues with WMC and WHBQ tonight during the rain? I very rarely had a signal. I'm thinking I need to tweak my antenna again, or cut down all the leaves around me.

Did anyone else have issues with WMC and WHBQ tonight during the rain? I very rarely had a signal. I'm thinking I need to tweak my antenna again, or cut down all the leaves around me.

I've had terrible rain fade since my new dish install. Signal strength in the 90's without rain, but it sure doesn't take much rain to completely wipe out the signal.

D* installed the new "Slimline" megadish about 2 weeks ago - I was hoping this monster would never lose a signal.:confused:

I've had terrible rain fade since my new dish install. Signal strength in the 90's without rain, but it sure doesn't take much rain to completely wipe out the signal.

D* installed the new "Slimline" megadish about 2 weeks ago - I was hoping this monster would never lose a signal.:confused:The KU band frequencies that are used with the MPEG4 signals are more prone to rain fade than the KA band frequencies. You would need a dish the size of a BUD (big ugly dish) to eliminate rain fade. Also, the new dishes are more prone to mis-alignment. I had a Phase 3 dish installed for 4 years and even made it through Hurricane Elvis without moving. The new one was mis-aligned within a few months. D* wanted their standard $90 service call to re-align something that they were required to install. I spent more time on the phone arguing with the customer service rep than it took to re-align the dish. This time all of the bolts are tightened and it won't move without taking part of my roof with it.

-Robert

The KU band frequencies that are used with the MPEG4 signals are more prone to rain fade than the KA band frequencies. You would need a dish the size of a BUD (big ugly dish) to eliminate rain fade. Also, the new dishes are more prone to mis-alignment. I had a Phase 3 dish installed for 4 years and even made it through Hurricane Elvis without moving. The new one was mis-aligned within a few months. D* wanted their standard $90 service call to re-align something that they were required to install. I spent more time on the phone arguing with the customer service rep than it took to re-align the dish. This time all of the bolts are tightened and it won't move without taking part of my roof with it.

-Robert

I had to have my slimline repositioned about three months after it was installed. I have the service plan so it didn't cost me anything except the day to wait for the tech to show up (He was within 15 min. of on time).

The Mpeg4 channels still are more prone to rainfade than the other channels but it takes a BIG Thunderstorm to knock em out completely and it usually lasts no longer than 5-10 min. when it happens.

WHBQ-DT will be off the air for much of today. An MLGW transformer shorted out and is being replaced, and our main generator has a problem that causes it to bog down under the load of the DTV transmitter. If the transformer change takes until prime-time, we may look at changing to our auxiliary analog transmitter (it has its own generator), and see if dropping the load of the main analog transmitter will allow the main generator to run with the DTV transmitter on. I'll keep you posted!

Thanks,

Thanks for the update.

[QUOTE=DTV Dave;14156911]WHBQ-DT will be off the air for much of today. An MLGW transformer shorted out and is being replaced, and our main generator has a problem that causes it to bog down under the load of the DTV transmitter. If the transformer change takes until prime-time, we may look at changing to our auxiliary analog transmitter (it has its own generator), and see if dropping the load of the main analog transmitter will allow the main generator to run with the DTV transmitter on. I'll keep you posted!QUOTE]

The transformer has been replaced and we're back on!

Is there a list of channels for people that dont have a comcast box that are in hd?

Like 24-1 is ABC in HD

I just brought home my samsung ln40a550

Thanks guys

Are you talking about OTA using an antenna?

Is there a list of channels for people that dont have a comcast box that are in hd?You are looking for a list of un-encrypted HD channels on Comcast, right? If so, I don't think you will find a list any other way than connecting the cable to your TV, and doing a channel scan. Cable companies don't really want you to know about the channels in the clear (if they provide any at all, they don't over here) so they seldom provide a list. In fact, they often change the channel assignments to make them difficult to find without a cable box.

Anyway, like I wrote above, finding the channels is as simple as doing a channel scan.

Are you talking about OTA using an antenna?

I am connected directly to the wall coax.

You are looking for a list of un-encrypted HD channels on Comcast, right? If so, I don't think you will find a list any other way than connecting the cable to your TV, and doing a channel scan. Cable companies don't really want you to know about the channels in the clear (if they provide any at all, they don't over here) so they seldom provide a list. In fact, they often change the channel assignments to make them difficult to find without a cable box.

Anyway, like I wrote above, finding the channels is as simple as doing a channel scan.

ahh okay. Basically i found most of the local channels in HD. Like fox, cbs, abc, stuff like that.

I was hoping to pick up MUSICTV, USA, A&E and some other HD channels.

Maybe i will need to pick up another box from comcrap.

Yeah, local broadcast channels is about all you can expect to find in-the-clear, without a box, these days.

Finally some compitition for Comcast!

From Multichannel News:

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6574962.html

AT&T Files For Statewide Video Franchise In Tennessee

Telco Announces Plan To Invest $400 Million In U-verse Throughout Volunteer State

By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 7/1/2008 3:01:00 PM

AT&T as expected filed an application Tuesday in Tennessee for a statewide certificate of franchise authority to offer video services under a recently passed franchise-reform law. The telco said it plans to invest $400 million in network upgrades to roll out U-verse TV in the Volunteer State.

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen (pictured) signed the cable franchising bill (http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6563358.html) into law last month after two years of lobbying by AT&T.
The law allows AT&T and other new providers to deploy broadband services in the state 10 days after they make a complete application to the office of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority, which oversees utilities in the state.
“We look forward to bringing Tennesseans not only choice and competition but also advanced video, voice and Internet service technology,” AT&T Tennessee president Gregg Morton said, in a statement. "It will take time to enhance our network to offer these exceptional services, but we will move as quickly as possible to compete for Tennessee customers.”

I was really looking forward to Uverse in Memphis, but then I read from a lot of people that Uverse severely degrades their HD channels. I'd probably still try it out though.

Does this mean Bellsouth customers will have the option for more than 6 mpbs?

Just got this thru RSS

http://www.wmctv.com/global/story.asp?s=8611045

WMC-TV 5 to launch the Mid-South's first High Definition newscast

Updated: July 2, 2008 03:07 PM

Tonight at 5pm, WMC-TV 5 will launch the debut of the Mid-South's first newscast in High Definition.

WMC-TV 5 has long been the Mid-South's leading television station. Its rich history includes being the first television station to broadcast in the state of Tennessee, the first station in the Mid-South to report live via satellite, and the first to use a helicopter for news coverage.

Wednesday, that leadership has a new meaning with the launch of the area's first High Definition newscast. The high definition launch will be accompanied by a station-wide graphics and equipment overhaul, highlighted by brand new, state-of-the-art High Definition studio cameras.

Viewers will also notice a dramatic difference in Action News 5's weather technology. Action News 5's StormTrack Doppler 5, combined with the exclusive Vipir 5 Tornado Indicator (VTI), will give early warning of storms to viewers. Action News 5 will bring viewers information about approaching weather systems in the highest resolution of any station in the Mid-South, and will be able to warn viewers of danger with unrivalled accuracy.

Viewers without a High Definition television will still be able to watch Action News 5 newscasts as they normally do on any Standard Definition television.

For more information about High Definition and digital television, click here.

Tonight at 5pm, WMC-TV 5 will launch the debut of the Mid-South's first newscast in High Definition.

I just posted this over at DBSTalk a little while ago as well... Definitely good news... Although I wish it was a different station, I'll still be watching... :)

I tivo'd the 6 pm news program and these are my thoughts:

Props:
Giving us HD news
Sidebars with Action News 5 on them
Weather maps look clean
Same with other weather images and other stuff on the screen
Crawl during weather and sports segment not high up on the screen
Amount of field HD/WS shots

Cons:
Snipe with news persons name waaaaay too high on screen
Not sure about field cams. Some look extremely filtered, while a couple looked pretty good. Are they using different types of cameras?
Field cams had some stuttering when moving across

Overall I thought it was done pretty good for a 2nd public program. I'm surprised they got rid of the message that the tube is no longer available. I was sure they were going to hit the 1 year anniversary of it. But the channel is still up. :(

Missed last night (working) but the newsbreaks in the Today show this morning look good (the DopplerHD maps are gorgeous; the 7-day forecast graphics less so).

I'm just impressed they spent the money. It's almost like living in a real TV market.

I missed the 5pm news but did catch the 10 pm show. Overall it looked pretty good, studio shots, weather maps, and HD sidebars. I'll agree that the field cameras looked a bit hit and miss.

Does WMC have an HD camera on the helicopter?

I was in the Nashville area a couple weeks ago and saw the local HD newscast on their Ch 5 WTVF (CBS). They have an HD camera on their Helo and it got some impressive shots. WTVF has more HD field cameras but they have also been doing HD for close to two years.

Overall WMC compares well to the WTVF broadcast.

Is everyone getting lip sync problems on 5-1 OTA lately, or is it just me? It's happening with two different tuners and only on channel 5. The video is ahead of the audio.
Thanks,
Stephen

Yes, the audio has been slightly out of sync with the video for several days now.

Yeah I noticed a sync problem during the Olympic Trials last night.

I'm watching Wimbledon now and it seems ok.

I've been on TW, then Comcast HD here in Memphis for several years now. Like many Comcast subscribers, I have been pretty disappointed with their slow rollout of HD content, not to mention losing the HDnet channels.

I'm considering moving to Directv, but I have a few questions and concerns.

Has the PQ of D* improved with the move towards Mpeg-4?

How many channels does D* really offer in HD that aren't PPV, sports packages (PPV), or HBO, CMAX, Starz, etc.?

I'm currenty running 3 8300HD/DVR boxes, one of which has an external 300GB SATA drive.

What models is D* now distributing on a new install? I'd need one HD/DVR and two HD boxes.

How bad does the weather actually have to be to lose the signal?

What local channels are being carried through D*?

I've been talking to Thadius at Bartlett Home Theater. They seem like a top notch outfit. Any one else had dealings with them?

I appreciate your patience with all the questions.:)

Thanks,
Jeff

1) Yes it has. It's still not as good as it used to be (pristine) but it is still pretty good.
2) Just a guess, maybe a little more than 50 removing all extra packages
3) On the DVR front HR20 (OTA) and HR21 (no OTA) are your only options. As far as to which one you will get, you'd have to arrange that thru your installer. For the regular HD boxes drop the R
4) Pretty bad. You will lose the mpeg-4 signals first, but I rarely lose it. But I am usually watching OTA if they weather is that bad.
5)In HD: 3, 5, 13, 24. Soon 10 and maybe even 30.

If you don't have anyone already, send me a pm and I can provide you with my account number so we can both get $10 off our next 5 bills if you join.

mx6bfast,

I appreciate all the information. It leads to to a couple of more questions.

I realize to get OTA, you need an antenna. If I end up with an HR20(or H20 for 2nd, 3rd STB), is the OTA signal picked up by the dish, or would you need an antenna?

If I end up with an HR21, isn't there another box that works in conjunction with the HR21 called an AM-21 that will pick up OTA signals?

This is kind of a stupid question. Because I will have 3 receivers (STB), I could watch 3 different HD or SD channels on all 3 of my HDTVs?

PM me and I'll see if I can use your acct to get the discount.

Thanks,
Jeff

Your welcome. No problem with the other questions.

1) The signal will be picked up by the antenna, but the channels will show up on the HD box you are receiving. So for WHBQ you would see:
ME 13: SD channel
WHBQ 13: D* HD signal
WHBQ-DT 13-1: OTA signal
You would still get the OTA guide data

2) You are correct on that. I've never seen one being used in person so I don't know how good it works. I got my boxes before the 21 line came out. I think the AM-21 used to cost like $99.

3) Yes. The multiswitch would take care of that. As long as each box has it's own line, unless you do something techie.

Jeff,

Just got D* here a couple weeks ago after debating it quite a while. I've got the 5-LNB slimline dish, 1 H-21 and 2 regular receivers. I'm glad I got it and wished I hadn't waited. One of my main concerns was with rain fade, as I had heard/read it had gotten a lot worse with the move to newer technology. I had D* about 10 years ago while in college, and it was rock solid - it took a VERY heavy rain - I mean biblical - to drown out the signal, and we were aiming through a gap in the branches of a tree in our backyard.

After the thunderstorms the last couple of days, replete with lightning, rain coming down so hard I had a river across my driveway, I had 2 TVs running (one on HD channels), and not a single fadeout or missed pixel. Needless to say, it's exceeded my expectations.

As far as PQ with MPEG-4, it's also better than I expected, but I can see a difference channel to channel. Some, like HDNet, tend to look the best, while other 'lesser' channels, like CNBC and Food Network, tend to be a little softer focus. Now, I can't necessarily blame D* for that, the networks themselves could play a role, as well as the content. I've also noticed they change somewhat, also depending on the content. But bottom line, I've been pleased.

I had cable where I lived in Iowa (not Comcast), and I wished I'd switched to D* back there - they blow away our old CableCo's offerings, and I'd imagine Comcast as well, from everything I've read.

Did any other DirecTV subscribers get the call today that we will be losing the NY Fox HD feed on 8/7? It seems they are dropping all non-local HD network channels in markets where they have local HD channels thru satellite.

Did any other DirecTV subscribers get the call today that we will be losing the NY Fox HD feed on 8/7? It seems they are dropping all non-local HD network channels in markets where they have local HD channels thru satellite.
No, and I hope they don't call.

I got the call, too. :-(

I got the call as well. But I rarely tune into the national Fox channel other than NFL if they show a different game.

-Robert

I got the call about 88 as well. We actually watch 88 pretty often, esp for a different game than the local is carrying.

Re Rain fade: We had the Slimline dish installed with 2 HR 21s and the AM21s - it basically just needs to sprinkle for us to lose the signal on the MPEG4 feeds. MPEG2s stay pretty solid.

Re AM21s: They seem to work as well as the older HD TIVO tuners. There may be a slight improvement, nothing world shattering, but slightly higher strength on the meter.

Re Rain fade: We had the Slimline dish installed with 2 HR 21s and the AM21s - it basically just needs to sprinkle for us to lose the signal on the MPEG4 feeds. MPEG2s stay pretty solid. I had the same problem and it slowly changed into not getting any MPEG4 signals. I had to re-align my dish. This time I tightened the bolts better than the "professional" kid that installed it.

-Robert

I had the same problem and it slowly changed into not getting any MPEG4 signals. I had to re-align my dish. This time I tightened the bolts better than the "professional" kid that installed it.

-Robert

Robert,

Did you realign by hand or did you have access to a meter? If by hand, tips you want to share?

Ron

By hand and by myself. I used my cordless phones with intercom system to listen to the receiver's signal strength tone.

The elevation and tilt were not off. The azimuth setting had moved about 1/4" to the right. I loosened the bolts and turned the adjustment screw. As I tightened, I listened for a change in tone to be sure I didn't knock the alignment out of whack.

It took more time to drag the ladder out of the garage than it did to actually make the adjustment.

-Robert

I recently installed a db2 antenna and it has done a much better job than my previous Radio Shack. However; I am having one problem. It shows WHBQ as 1531 and my signal is green (using Windows Media Center), but when I go to that channel everything is black. The guide properly reflects what is being shown but there is no picture.

I am experimenting with this setup before I use it on my den HDTV. I am looking for alternatives to Comcast since I don't watch a lot of cables offerings.

Any assistance would be appreciated. I live close to Southwind if that is any help.

Hello, I'm researching this problem and have found the answers for Windows Media Center (MCE) over at thegreenbutton.com. Check it out. I now have WHBQ and am able to view in MCE. The other channels, no go. Here's a link to the fix and an explaination. (http://thegreenbutton.com/blogs/pnear/archive/2006/09/12/202708.aspx)

Basically, the channel info for WHBQ in MCE is incorrect. The fix is in the link and you will be able to view that channel.

For WMC and WPTY, it is the TV station's fault! We cannot fix it and have to live without those channels in MCE. We will have to contact the channels and give them the link to that blog. Maybe, if they are not busy (or if we can even get ahold of the engineers), they will have time to troubleshoot with one of us to get this corrected.

As it stands, you can watch WHBQ in media center (I use MCE2005). But, we cannot watch WMC or WPTY. Please, let's make an effort to contact these guys.

For WMC and WPTY, it is the TV station's fault! We cannot fix it and have to live without those channels in MCE. We will have to contact the channels and give them the link to that blog.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=11821127#post11821127

Very cool, thank you. I missed that post! Any help you might be able to offer getting their attention would be awesome. I don't know if you have any kind of special pull.

Actually, this is just with WMC and not WPTY.

Hello, I'm researching this problem and have found the answers for Windows Media Center (MCE) over at thegreenbutton.com. Check it out. I now have WHBQ and am able to view in MCE. The other channels, no go. Here's a link to the fix and an explaination. (http://thegreenbutton.com/blogs/pnear/archive/2006/09/12/202708.aspx)

Basically, the channel info for WHBQ in MCE is incorrect. The fix is in the link and you will be able to view that channel.

For WMC and WPTY, it is the TV station's fault! We cannot fix it and have to live without those channels in MCE. We will have to contact the channels and give them the link to that blog. Maybe, if they are not busy (or if we can even get ahold of the engineers), they will have time to troubleshoot with one of us to get this corrected.

As it stands, you can watch WHBQ in media center (I use MCE2005). But, we cannot watch WMC or WPTY. Please, let's make an effort to contact these guys.

I have had a vista mce pc since 5-07. When I first hooked it up I got all the major networks except for channel 10's PBS info was always giving me the SD channels info and not the hd channels info. I was getting the hd channels picture and program though. Around the fall all of the sudden WHBQ dissapeared. Thanks for the link to the fix. Funny thing is I can get 5 and 24 without a problem on my vista machine.

By hand and by myself. I used my cordless phones with intercom system to listen to the receiver's signal strength tone.

The elevation and tilt were not off. The azimuth setting had moved about 1/4" to the right. I loosened the bolts and turned the adjustment screw. As I tightened, I listened for a change in tone to be sure I didn't knock the alignment out of whack.

It took more time to drag the ladder out of the garage than it did to actually make the adjustment.

-Robert

Thanks. The installer didn't set tilt or elevation before taking the dish up on the roof. Once up there he started tilting up/down, twisting right/left while watching the meter. He hit 80% on 101, then fine tuned 119 (I think is what he said). Once that hit the 80+ signal strength, he said "there it is perfect", and picked up his tools.

When I search in good weather, I have good signal strength, but I loose signal lock even before the rain begins, and it doesn't have to be hard rain.

I'll give it a go and see if I can improve what i have.

Ron

101, transponder 4 should be 100 on the receiver's signal strength meter.

-Robert

101, transponder 4 should be 100 on the receiver's signal strength meter.

-Robert

I looked at the signal strengths again last night and I'm showing 98 on 101/4, but some really low #s on some of the other transponders. I need to do a search and see which transponders are used for this area.

Ron

Some of the even numbered transponders on 101 are spot beams. #4 is ours. I just make sure that 4 and the odd numbered transponders on 101 are good. IIRC, they use odd numbered transponders on 119 for spots. None are used in our area so I just make sure that the evens look good.

-Robert

I have had a vista mce pc since 5-07. When I first hooked it up I got all the major networks except for channel 10's PBS info was always giving me the SD channels info and not the hd channels info. I was getting the hd channels picture and program though. Around the fall all of the sudden WHBQ dissapeared. Thanks for the link to the fix. Funny thing is I can get 5 and 24 without a problem on my vista machine.

Thanks for letting me know. If you can get 5, then maybe it's just me! They never did reply to my email. I sent it out to 2 different people.

David from WMC wrote me back this morning! Although, from the other post I assume this is an issue with me and not the station. He pretty much confirmed that, saying he has a media center he recently built and can see WMC just fine. Oh well, I guess I'm left without WMC until I move out of this apartment.


We just recently built a Media Center PC here to record our HD Newscasts and we did not have any problem. I also looked at the information you sent and then dug into our PSIP tables to see if I could find any conflicting information which I could not. If you are still having problems let me know and I will see about escalating it to Harris Corporation who we used as a vendor for our new DTV rack. They may be able to help us further.



Just give me an update if you are still having issues.



Thanks for your viewership.

David





David M. Evans

Director of Engineering

WMC DT-5


I thanked him profusely for looking in to it. I thought it was really cool that he really did look through the blog link I sent him.

Just got a free DirecTV H23-600 upgrade today since I was told my old H10 receiver won't work anymore after awhile.

Well now I'm just now finding out that there is no OTA hookup. Crap!!! We used to watch CW 30 in HD thru an antenna before (my wife usually watches Smallville on Thursdays), and now we can't get it in HD. Quite disappointing. When oh when will CW 30 be available in HD thru the satellite???

When oh when will CW 30 be available in HD thru the satellite???
More than likely sometime after D11 goes live. WKNO-DT will probably go live around the same time too.

D11? What is that?

Also, what exactly happens when a new local HD channel is added to the satellite lineup? Does the receiver have to get an update, or do I have to reset the box or anything, or does it just suddenly appear in my channel lineup?

D11? What is that?

Also, what exactly happens when a new local HD channel is added to the satellite lineup? Does the receiver have to get an update, or do I have to reset the box or anything, or does it just suddenly appear in my channel lineup?
D11 is the new sat that is currently in testing mode. Hopefully it will go live in the next couple of weeks.

If a new channel is added the only thing you will need to do is update your channel list if you use a custom channel guide. If you are using the all channels option it will just show up.

okay, I think right now I just have it set to hide duplicate SD channels when an HD channel is available.

I sure hope that WMC decides to up the bitrate for it's HD station in time for Heroes and Earl in the fall. 11 mbps is even worse than last year. Will they add an extra subchannel after they replace the tube? :rolleyes:

Based on the commercial I've seen on their station I think the people who said they would have another sub to take the place of the Tube are probably right. The person in no certain words said with WMC digital there are "additional opportunities."

I sure hope that WMC decides to up the bitrate for it's HD station in time for Heroes and Earl in the fall. 11 mbps is even worse than last year. Will they add an extra subchannel after they replace the tube? :rolleyes:

Based on the commercial I've seen on their station I think the people who said they would have another sub to take the place of the Tube are probably right. The person in no certain words said with WMC digital there are "additional opportunities."

I'm with you. The Olympics on WMC looked pretty bad at times. There was severe pixelation frequently, anytime there was full screen motion such as the NBC logo flying across the screen as it was prone to do often. Clearly, this was because there was not enough bandwidth allocated to keep up with full-screen, full-motion video. I hope at some point in the future, those in charge at WMC will realize how bad this really is. Maybe as more people get HDTVs and learn what they should expect in terms of picture quality, this will become more unacceptable to the general public and more people will start complaining.

This South Carolina - NC State game looks horrible. Kudos to FSN however because the Wake Forest game looks great.

Yeah no kidding. FSN looks so much better than ESPN and ESPN2.

And what is up with channel 50 and NFL games??? I realize it is also on channel 5 so does that mean that it isn't supposed to be on 50?

So what's up with WLMT not broadcasting the Raycom SEC football games in HD?

So what's up with WLMT not broadcasting the Raycom SEC football games in HD?
I was down in Oxford this weekend. Did the EPG have an HD in it?

Actually I didn't notice if it was marked as HD in the Comcast EPG or not. Historically, the 11:30AM SEC football broadcasts on WLMT have been broadcast in very poor SD but Raycom acquired Lincoln Financial Sports over the offseason and has been touting their SEC HD coverage for the 2008 season. I assume this is a local affiliate issue with WLMT.

I assume this is a local affiliate issue with WLMT.
More than likely. I'd send them a message via their website to remind them so they don't forget to flip the switch again.

Here is the reply from the WLMT-CW30 GM:


We are in the process of purchasing the necessary equipment and hope to have it installed by week three of the SEC season.

Best,

Jack L. Peck

Vice President and General Manager Newport Television Memphis

Do they need to purchase additional equipment for HD? What have they been using for HD?

The GM didn't really specify what type of equipment they were needing. It does seems odd since they already broadcast other programming in HD.

Was the SEC game in HD on channel 30 Saturday morning? I wasn't home.

Nope. Here is the latest from the WLMT GM (received last Friday 9/12/08):

===

We are wiring the plant and have ordered the HD receiver. Unfortunately we are a week or two away.

Jack L. Peck
Vice President and General Manager Newport Television Memphis

Has WLMT been showing HD at night?

Anyone else not getting the local channels this morning through Comcast?? 3 has a blue screen, 5 is static, and the others are just black. Not good considering it's college football day.

WPTY HD during the emmy awards Breaking up pretty bad for me tonight on comcast. Anyone else have this problem or is it my signal. Just had Comcast installed last week, hope this is not the norm

Anyone else not getting the local channels this morning through Comcast?? 3 has a blue screen, 5 is static, and the others are just black. Not good considering it's college football day.

It was a overall outage. I lost them and my Dad did as well and he is just on SD

WPTY HD during the emmy awards Breaking up pretty bad for me tonight on comcast. Anyone else have this problem or is it my signal. Just had Comcast installed last week, hope this is not the norm
Been going on that I know of since last night. I'm planning on emailing the dud from WPTY tomorrow.

Was the game on WLMT in HD yesterday?

Been going on that I know of since last night. I'm planning on emailing the dud from WPTY tomorrow.

Was the game on WLMT in HD yesterday?

No the game was not.
wpty was messed up alot this weekend during the football games and the nascar race yesterday. I tried both ota and directv but both pictures were messed up.