Gary J, are you saying that everyone that gets Time Warner HD gets the 8300HD top of the line SA box? It shows on the specs that it has an HDMI output which I wasn't really expecting from an HD box.



The 8300HD is the only unit with active HDMI. While you can request an HDMI unit the easiest thing it is to take your HD TV manual to the front counter on Trolly Road and pick up a unit. That way if there is an 8300 you can most easily get it.

You can call in and request a truck roll and request an HDMI connection, but if your install is on a Friday and the Tech picked up equipment on Monday and he is all out of 8300s, then you might (at least temporarily) have to use the 8000.

TWC only supplies component cables with equipment. If you wish to use the HDMI connection, you must furnish the connection.

Not for 800 bucks, forget it. The cable cos wont offer this for a long time to come.

Very true. I did some reading in other forums and most people think the same way. Tivo is late to the ballgame with a HD DVR and the cost is not worth it. Both Sats and all Cable co's offer a better deal. Most people are not gonna pay $800 + $12.95 per mowhen they can pay $10 per mo. Hell, you can buy the new HD DVR from D* right now at Best Buy for $399 and it will probably get cheaper with upgrade deals. Tivo is not very smart.

we DO NOT COMPRESS HD SIGNALS at TWC South Carolina.

bdfox18doe begs to differ but has never offered up an evidence.

Hello - after reading this in your post I spoke with the Tech Ops Manager to understand why you thought we were compressing signals. He could not explain it because he and tech who went to your home did not ever address any such issue. Bottom line, we are NOT compressing signals, especially not that of ESPNHD. We pass through HD signals EXACTLY as we get them, we DO NOT COMPRESS HD SIGNALS at TWC South Carolina.

Please let me know if you have any other questions,


Well, the tech did not actually tell me about any compression of ESPNHD. I was told about compressing the analog channels. Anyway, all of the problems started when the switch to analog signals started switching to digital. I can't tell you what is going on. All I can tell you is that whatever TWC has done is unacceptable. For years everything has looked great. I may try to change out the converter box to insure that is not the problem but if it is, the timing will be just to coincidental. I am also going to check at some friends houses on other services or ask others on this forum is they too see any issues with ESPNHD when football is played.

Thanks again for your help.

The 8300HD is the only unit with active HDMI. While you can request an HDMI unit the easiest thing it is to take your HD TV manual to the front counter on Trolly Road and pick up a unit. That way if there is an 8300 you can most easily get it.

You can call in and request a truck roll and request an HDMI connection, but if your install is on a Friday and the Tech picked up equipment on Monday and he is all out of 8300s, then you might (at least temporarily) have to use the 8000.

TWC only supplies component cables with equipment. If you wish to use the HDMI connection, you must furnish the connection.



Thanks Diana.

I just found out that I will be able to pick up my TV from the Yellow trucking terminal on Friday after work.

I have a couple questions for you though. Normally I would call the local office but I'll be in seminars all day for the rest of this week so I won't get a chance to call during their office hours. What does it take (other than the new box) to get my digital cable changed to HD? Will someone need to physically be at my place to make the swap? Is there an extra charge for the box (monthly rental fee)? Is there any extra charge for the HD service (I'll probably be wanting the HD Tier as well for $6.95/month)? Finally, will I be able to get it hooked up by Friday or possibly Saturday? I could pick up the 8300HD box on Saturday from the local office if I have to.

Thanks
Steve

Just received my new Series 3 off the Fedex truck. I'm going to be setting it up tonight... though I have to wait to next Tuesday before my 2 cablecards arrive on the truck! I think it's ridiculous that there's such wide variety in cablecard installation policy. Some cable cos (even within Comcast) let you install them yourself - others (like in Charleston) make you wait for installation.

Anyway I'll post the blow-by-blow. Can't wait to say buh-bye to that SA 8300HD POS! :)

Robert.

Did you say buh-bye to that eight hundred dollar bill?

Just received my new Series 3 off the Fedex truck. I'm going to be setting it up tonight... though I have to wait to next Tuesday before my 2 cablecards arrive on the truck! I think it's ridiculous that there's such wide variety in cablecard installation policy. Some cable cos (even within Comcast) let you install them yourself - others (like in Charleston) make you wait for installation.

Anyway I'll post the blow-by-blow. Can't wait to say buh-bye to that SA 8300HD POS! :)

Robert.

POS is a strong statement. Personally, I think its a nice DVR. I cant find 800 reasons to replace it.

Thanks Diana.

I just found out that I will be able to pick up my TV from the Yellow trucking terminal on Friday after work.

I have a couple questions for you though. Normally I would call the local office but I'll be in seminars all day for the rest of this week so I won't get a chance to call during their office hours. What does it take (other than the new box) to get my digital cable changed to HD? Will someone need to physically be at my place to make the swap? Is there an extra charge for the box (monthly rental fee)? Is there any extra charge for the HD service (I'll probably be wanting the HD Tier as well for $6.95/month)? Finally, will I be able to get it hooked up by Friday or possibly Saturday? I could pick up the 8300HD box on Saturday from the local office if I have to.

Thanks
Steve

You can go to Trolley Road from 9am to 2pm on Saturday and exchange your existing converter for the 8300 (don't forget your HD manuel).

When the front counter rep puts the new equipment on your account that will activate the HD Broadcast channels and free HD channels - no one has to be at your residence for this to take place.

There is no additional charge from SD to HD. I don't know if you have a DVR now, but the monthly rate for the HD DVR is $15.20 the same as the SD DVR. If you have a digital basic converter at $9.95 per month then you will be paying $5.25 more per month for the DVR capability. The only way to get HDMI is with the DVR.

If you want HD Tier, then there is the $6.95 monthly rate for the 6 channels, but no other additional costs apply for HD.

Fastest way for this to happen is you pick it up Saturday. Our installations are booking out further than this weekend right now. BUT remember we will have the USC game on PPV this weekend, so there will be unusually high walk in traffic for digital equipment this weekend, you should get there first thing in the morning if you don't want to be disappointed.

bdfox18doe begs to differ but has never offered up an evidence.

Yeah - isn't that something.....

Well, the tech did not actually tell me about any compression of ESPNHD. I was told about compressing the analog channels. Anyway, all of the problems started when the switch to analog signals started switching to digital. I can't tell you what is going on. All I can tell you is that whatever TWC has done is unacceptable. For years everything has looked great. I may try to change out the converter box to insure that is not the problem but if it is, the timing will be just to coincidental. I am also going to check at some friends houses on other services or ask others on this forum is they too see any issues with ESPNHD when football is played.

Thanks again for your help.


Analog channels that are digitally simulcast for switched digital video are changed into a digital signal, so rather than taking up 6 mhz, they take up 2.8 mbs in space. So, from that angle you might consider them compressed because they are smaller, but they are now being transmitted exactly as all other digital channels (2.8) and they are traditionally not thought of as compressed signals.

I apologize for the dip in quality you have seen over the past couple of weeks. It is our highest priority to work through this transitional phase to successfully provide sdv to our customers so that we can continue to expand the programming choice, especially when it comes to HD channels.

Did you say buh-bye to that eight hundred dollar bill?

I could not agree more. If I was going to WASTE $800 it would be on a Blu Ray player.

I could not agree more. If I was going to WASTE $800 it would be on a Blu Ray player.

I went with the HD-DVD player. Completely satisfied !

I went with the HD-DVD player. Completely satisfied !

I almost bought one a couple of weeks ago, I'm just waiting now to see if there is a more dominant format. It's killing me though, I'm such an impulse buyer.

Did you say buh-bye to that eight hundred dollar bill?

Sure - just like I said bye to 2 grand on a TV etc. etc. Since when was HD a cheap experience?

Anyway - I'm glad some people enjoy using the 8300 HD - I just found that missing shows, wasting space on repeated recordings and just generally not enjoying using it was not worth my time.

Well whatever. I get the message: Some HD components are worth spending money on, others aren't I guess.

Robert.

Only advice i can offer is to do the research yourself. The idiots in blue at BB and the sales staff at CC are brainwashed into thinking and promoting BD as the better format. My own reasoning said otherwise.

BD is having various troubles at this point.

Only advice i can offer is to do the research yourself. The idiots in blue at BB and the sales staff at CC are brainwashed into thinking and promoting BD as the better format. My own reasoning said otherwise.

BD is having various troubles at this point.

I agree, the price of HD DVD players are killing me right now. Probably will breakdown soon.

Sure - just like I said bye to 2 grand on a TV etc. etc. Since when was HD a cheap experience?

Anyway - I'm glad some people enjoy using the 8300 HD - I just found that missing shows, wasting space on repeated recordings and just generally not enjoying using it was not worth my time.

Well whatever. I get the message: Some HD components are worth spending money on, others aren't I guess.

Robert.

Hey I'll blow money on tech crap like the next guy(spent $2800 on my panny plasma last year), BUT to spend $800 on the tivo when there is stuff just as good at half the price. I dont get it.

Sure - just like I said bye to 2 grand on a TV etc. etc. Since when was HD a cheap experience?

Anyway - I'm glad some people enjoy using the 8300 HD - I just found that missing shows, wasting space on repeated recordings and just generally not enjoying using it was not worth my time.

Well whatever. I get the message: Some HD components are worth spending money on, others aren't I guess.

Robert.

Not to throw salt in your wound but, in the 2 years ive had my 8300 ive never had any of those problems. Im sure you have but i will ask, did you swap out the box with your cableco? Maybe ive just been lucky (knock on wood). I do have to say that the Tivo software is very nice.

Until there is a reasonably priced universal HD DVD player I will not settle for half the movies released.

Not to throw salt in your wound but, in the 2 years ive had my 8300 ive never had any of those problems. Im sure you have but i will ask, did you swap out the box with your cableco? Maybe ive just been lucky (knock on wood). I do have to say that the Tivo software is very nice.

Well I'm surprised you say that because soon after I got the 8300 I went to the avsforum for it to see if I could fix some of the obvious nagging issues - like kicking out of playback of a time delayed show just because the actual show finished recording and then having jump through ridiculous hoops (like skip to the end then rewind back to where you got kicked out) to get back to where we were. The wife acceptance factor for that little game is way below 0 :). Anyway the forum seemed to confirm that the 8300 HD was pretty warty.

Pretty soon I learned to make do and simply not record many shows on it because it's just too unfriendly - so I'm not getting much value out of the HD experience (and therefore my big HDTV). With the TiVo I expect to get much better ROI.

Robert.

I'm not getting much value out of the HD experience (and therefore my big HDTV). With the TiVo I expect to get much better ROI.

Robert.
$800, $13/month and a box that is worthless whenever cablecard 2 comes out equals "value" and "ROI"? Must be the new math. :confused:

Robus, in MtP as well. What did comcast tell you the price was on the cablecards. I am being told $14.95 each.

By the way, I have been using the 8300 as well and I will gladly fork over $800 of my wife's money for a Tivo. :)

Warren

Well I'm surprised you say that because soon after I got the 8300 I went to the avsforum for it to see if I could fix some of the obvious nagging issues - like kicking out of playback of a time delayed show just because the actual show finished recording and then having jump through ridiculous hoops (like skip to the end then rewind back to where you got kicked out) to get back to where we were. The wife acceptance factor for that little game is way below 0 :). Anyway the forum seemed to confirm that the 8300 HD was pretty warty.

Pretty soon I learned to make do and simply not record many shows on it because it's just too unfriendly - so I'm not getting much value out of the HD experience (and therefore my big HDTV). With the TiVo I expect to get much better ROI.

Robert.

I do agree with the many downsides that it has. Especially when I select record only new programs and I get copies of CSI at midnight along with the normal time slot. I'm eagerly awaiting the cable companies to offer the new service as I'd rather spend $800 on a second HDTV.


On a side note, did anyone catch WCBD's newscast on there getting CW and how it was great with the features of Digital TV that they could broadcast a second channel. Of course no talk on how crappy the HD signal will be.

Still no word back from WCBD on the "fuzz out" of the football coverage. May try and call Sam today.

Robus, in MtP as well. What did comcast tell you the price was on the cablecards. I am being told $14.95 each.

By the way, I have been using the 8300 as well and I will gladly fork over $800 of my wife's money for a Tivo. :)

Warren

Hey Warren,

It's not totally clear - but when I was in the Mt P. comcast office I asked the guy there (while trying unsuccessfully to get a couple of cablecards handed over :)) and he said the first was included as part of the digital package and the second would be $6.95. But I've heard stories about being charged extra because they think the second is for a separate outlet (which it isn't). So I'm waiting for the installation and the bill and I'll try and figure out what I should be paying from that.

Perhaps a Comcast rep might want to step in and comment on CableCard pricing?

Robert.

$800, $13/month and a box that is worthless whenever cablecard 2 comes out equals "value" and "ROI"? Must be the new math. :confused:

This whole CableCard shenanigans is being manipulated so that the Cable Cos can continue to monopolize the delivery hardware of their premium content - I think the general quality of the cable co hardware is a testament to that - it seems like stuff produced in the Soviet Union in the 80's (i.e. no competition) :P.

And the CC 2 specs will be dragged out as long as possible to retain their monopoly and spread FUD like you've mentioned above - so I don't expect anything to arrive soon.

I say hats off to TiVo for working through all the delays and rigamarole of supporting the CableCard "standard" and actually providing us with some choice.

Robert.

..I do agree with the many downsides that it has. Especially when I select record only new programs and I get copies of CSI at midnight along with the normal time slot...
X2.
And the other workaround so you didn't get a bunch of episodes was "record this time slot only," but that still didn't work right. My definition of time slot would be just that day, not every day at that time.
Example: The "record new episodes" didn't work. I don't know why; apparently no "new" flag was broadcast. You'd get every single episode recorded even though you didn't want them. I would schedule Deadwood to be recorded Sunday at 9 with "record time slot." I'd still get 3 episodes recorded a week with the reruns that ran Wed at 9 and Fri at 9. The Charleston Comcast 8300 is flaky and in need of an update.

I've fallen in love with my new E* DVR. :D And my sat only went out for 3 minutes during the rains of Ernesto. I think that's pretty good. :)

Robert,
I have been down that road as well as I currently have a cablecard in my tv as well as the 8300. They were charging me for two outlets initially which I successfully argued out and then it reverted back to the extra outlet charge on a later bill. I was unsuccessful on the second attempt to have it removed.

I am failing to see the logic in $14.95 for a cablecard when the dvr is $10. If the $14.95 price holds than they are gouging, pure and simple. Looks like TW's local price is $1.75 per card and Knology is $1.95.
Warren

Im really surprised by everyones problem with the 8300. When a new fall season starts i choose to record a particular show then choose

ALL EPISODES/
appropriate time to record/
FIRST RUN ON THIS CHANNEL ONLY/
LENGTH OF TIME TO SAVE/

Its never missed a beat.
Are these problems due to individual cableco software issues?

I am failing to see the logic in $14.95 for a cablecard when the dvr is $10. If the $14.95 price holds than they are gouging, pure and simple. Looks like TW's local price is $1.75 per card and Knology is $1.95.
Warren
And as I remember and if it hasn't improved, CableCard has no guide either. I enjoy looking around for stuff to watch too much to sacrifice my guide. Add that to no DVR and just having your TV look pretty with no set-top box attached just doesn't seem worth it to me either. Just my $.02.

Im really surprised by everyones problem with the 8300. When a new fall season starts i choose to record a particular show then choose

ALL EPISODES/
appropriate time to record/
FIRST RUN ON THIS CHANNEL ONLY/
LENGTH OF TIME TO SAVE/

Its never missed a beat.
Are these problems due to individual cableco software issues?
That's why I specified "Charleston Comcast 8300." And I should also specify that I got my box in Oct of 05. Maybe it's been resolved since then.
You have Knology right? I think it's a software-dependent issue. The only time your method worked for me was when it was a show that definitely came on only one time a week like Lost. Shows like Deadwood, Sopranos, Rescue Me, CSI(syndicated all over the place now), Without a Trace(TNT), etc never recorded correctly for me when I had the Comcast 8300. I'd get a few episodes recorded. Either reruns(Deadwood, Sopranos, Rescue Me) or syndicated shows that happened to come on at the same time on a different channel.
I'm really glad we're discussing this. Chris can read it and take it to his higher-ups and maybe get it resolved. I'd love to have it fixed should I return to Comcast.

And as I remember and if it hasn't improved, CableCard has no guide either. I enjoy looking around for stuff to watch too much to sacrifice my guide. Add that to no DVR and just having your TV look pretty with no set-top box attached just doesn't seem worth it to me either. Just my $.02.


No guide - CableCARD is one-way device, and IPG is two-way product

Im really surprised by everyones problem with the 8300. When a new fall season starts i choose to record a particular show then choose

ALL EPISODES/
appropriate time to record/
FIRST RUN ON THIS CHANNEL ONLY/
LENGTH OF TIME TO SAVE/

Its never missed a beat.
Are these problems due to individual cableco software issues?

I think the problems are split between defective guide data and bugs (or user unfriendliness) in the DVR.

For the regular channels the guide data is OK - but for series on HBO and SHO where a single episode gets repeated multiple times during the week not being able to snag *just* the new episode is really annoying. (A guide issue)

And during the Olympics I had a hard time getting it to handle the varying schedule for each day - you can only have one schedule for a single show, so I had to nurse it through - lots of fun! (an 8300 issue).

The final straw for me with the guide is getting just a single week of guide data and not being able to search the entire weeks worth of shows (you have to pick the day you want to search!) And too many times I'll have missed a show that day (say the show came on at 8 and it's now 9:30 pm) and then not be able to select it to record for next week because the guide data is missing and you can't go back before the current time!)

Stuff like this just adds up until you hate to use the thing and can't wait for something else to replace it with. Perhaps I've been spoiled by TiVo - but really picking shows to record and maintaining your recording schedule shouldn't be that hard!

Robert.

True no guide with the cable card and a marginal guide thru the 8300. The tivo guide is far superior to anything offered by the cable co's.

We have a sd tivo and an 8300 and I am the only one who uses the 8300 because everybody else in the house hates it for its reliability and interface. I tend to think the reliability problems are a manifestation of the interface.

Warren

True no guide with the cable card and a marginal guide thru the 8300. The tivo guide is far superior to anything offered by the cable co's.

We have a sd tivo and an 8300 and I am the only one who uses the 8300 because everybody else in the house hates it for its reliability and interface. I tend to think the reliability problems are a manifestation of the interface.

Warren

Ha - same here. Nobody wants to figure out what all the buttons are for to navigate the 8300 HD - a, b, c buttons - what's up with that? It's almost like they had more buttons on the remote than they knew what to do with so they wired them all up! :)

We have the SD TiVo running as a backup recorder in case either the 8300 cocks up or the broadcaster does - how many ABC HD shows have been ruined because they forgot to switch the sound over when they switched to HD so we get a beautiful picture and no sound? It's quite ridiculous.

Robert.

In case anybody cares, Robert and I are practicing online rationalization of our Tivo purchases.

Warren

Im really surprised by everyones problem with the 8300. When a new fall season starts i choose to record a particular show then choose

ALL EPISODES/
appropriate time to record/
FIRST RUN ON THIS CHANNEL ONLY/
LENGTH OF TIME TO SAVE/

Its never missed a beat.
Are these problems due to individual cableco software issues?
Not only that but my TWC 8300HD is still set to pick up where it left off with last years shows. And as far as using the a,b,c buttons on the remote it's not exactly rocket science.

In case anybody cares, Robert and I are practicing online rationalization of our Tivo purchases.

Warren
:D You've got that right but it is good that there are choices. It amounts to a cost/benefit analysis.

Okay, I've been trying to follow the thread regarding the HD8000, the 8300, cablecards, etc. I have the HD8000 (got it from Comcast in 2005 when I got my HDTV). I don't do a lot of "exotic" recording with the DVR; mostly recording sporting events and some regularly scheduled daytime programming. My question is, should I be "happy" or satisfied with the HD8000? Also, why do some Comcast customers have the 8300 (which I had never heard of before reading about in the forum)? What does the 8300 do or purport to do that the HD8000 doesn't? Does it have more features?

If anyone has time to answer online or PM, I'd appreciate it.

8300HD has better SD picture, S-Video out enabled, and pass-through resolution option. Do a search for the 8300HD thread.

Also, why do some Comcast customers have the 8300 (which I had never heard of before reading about in the forum)?

This situation is not unique to Comcast. Equipment vendors like Scientific Atlanta continually work to improve

(I know guys, everyone snicker here because its not enough work on a fast enough time table for you) :D

this equipment and on a regular basis they issue new model numbers when there is a significant change in design and / or functionality. No company can afford to go back and switch out all old units when the new units come out - the capital expenditure would be staggering. We have to depend on the natural ebb and flow of the transaction video market to 'retire' older units.

This situation is not unique to Comcast. Equipment vendors like Scientific Atlanta continually work to improve

(I know guys, everyone snicker here because its not enough work on a fast enough time table for you) :D

this equipment and on a regular basis they issue new model numbers when there is a significant change in design and / or functionality. No company can afford to go back and switch out all old units when the new units come out - the capital expenditure would be staggering. We have to depend on the natural ebb and flow of the transaction video market to 'retire' older units.

The slowness is entirely due to lack of competition. SA really only needs to implement the bare minimum to nominally keep up with the "state of the art" and probably spends more effort supporting PPV features than DVR because that's where the money is. Customers have very little choice - they have to take what's available. CableCard is/was supposed to help this along by opening up the endpoint hardware market but the effort to get certified is apparently very high (and of course the standards are evolving) - and then of course you have to deal with CableCo CSRs saying things like "Oh for the TiVo Series 3? We don't support that." (Not my personal experience - but something that's being frequently reported over on the TiVo community forums.)

Robert.

Im really surprised by everyones problem with the 8300. When a new fall season starts i choose to record a particular show then choose

ALL EPISODES/
appropriate time to record/
FIRST RUN ON THIS CHANNEL ONLY/
LENGTH OF TIME TO SAVE/

Its never missed a beat.
Are these problems due to individual cableco software issues?


I NEVER have problems recording on my 8300 like those mentioned. Like Shuttermaker, I use mine to record all of the new shows without a glitch... it even keeps going over the summer break and starts back with the new season without any input from me.

I really like the 8300, especially compared to the Motorola I was forced to use in Mobile with Comcast earlier in the year. The PIP was a cool feature, my only complaint about the 8300 is the guide SUCKED.

When I first moved to Charleston I got a Tivo series 2, loved the software as everyone does, but the fact the PQ is reduced when using the tivo is no good. I gave it to my dad back in Mobile.

Due to more bang for the buck I swapped to Directv and now am pretty happy. I'm using the R15 in my bedroom which is a nice unit and is better than the 8300 IMHO, and I have the HR10 HD Tivo with OTA HD in my L Room which is a great dvr. Once again the great tivo software.

Question is, will the new Directv HD DVR for the new Mpeg 4 stuff be as good as the HD Tivo. I'll be keeping the HR10 for awhile but will never buy the HD box from tivo if I go back to comcast for some reason. Why pay $800 and a service fee when you can just pay a service fee.

Directv also gave me the HR10and the R15 for FREE which was even better. 2 DVR's for free is hard to beat.

Here's what I do not get:

1) Yes tivo software is great, BUT with what's out there the benefits do not justify the cost IMHO.

2) Now that the HD tivo is only for cable, it will hurt them even more so why the outrageous cost.

3) For the box to be late to the party, why is it not any more spectacular than any HD DVR out there,other than taking cable cards, whats so new about it other than the price?

Analog channels that are digitally simulcast for switched digital video are changed into a digital signal, so rather than taking up 6 mhz, they take up 2.8 mbs in space. So, from that angle you might consider them compressed because they are smaller, but they are now being transmitted exactly as all other digital channels (2.8) and they are traditionally not thought of as compressed signals.

I apologize for the dip in quality you have seen over the past couple of weeks. It is our highest priority to work through this transitional phase to successfully provide sdv to our customers so that we can continue to expand the programming choice, especially when it comes to HD channels.


Thanks for your concern and looking into this issue. The words that were used to me from the TWC rep I talked to was "We are compressing 12 digital channels into the space of one normal channel." So, I have not done the math or anything but you can see where my statement came from. That being stated along with the noticeable decline in picture quality can easily lead one to believe things are amiss.

Here is the latest. Watching the analog channels that are now digital with a box, you can see major issues with fast moving images. I actually switch over to the analog tuner for items like that. Football still shows problems. Basically, same stuff no difference. Hopefully, I can report better success soon.

So, am I the only one seeing these issues? If so, maybe my 8300 is the problem. Anyone care to chime in?

It seems like no one else is seeing these issues so it must be something with your particular setup like signal strength, grounding, connections, etc.

I NEVER have problems recording on my 8300 like those mentioned. Like Shuttermaker, I use mine to record all of the new shows without a glitch... it even keeps going over the summer break and starts back with the new season without any input from me.
That's why I think it's specific to just Comcast 8300s now.
You-TWC, no problems "recording new episodes"
Shuttermaker-Knology, no problems
Me, Robus, Lancer1991-Comcast, problems
Anyone else I'm missing?

Granted it's a very small sample. But since Robus, Lancer, and I all have/had the exact same problems recording new episodes, I think it's safe to say there's something wrong. I think it's Comcast not sending out a "new episode" flag so the Comcast 8300 thinks every episode is "new" and therfore records them all. So the DVR recognizes "record new episodes" and "record all episodes" as the same thing.

The quirk with "record episodes in this time slot only" is just a bad "definition" in the the DVR's programming. Define "time slot" as the day as well and not every single day. More specific and we won't get all the reruns that come on the same time on different days.

I NEVER have problems recording on my 8300 like those mentioned. Like Shuttermaker, I use mine to record all of the new shows without a glitch... it even keeps going over the summer break and starts back with the new season without any input from me.

Do me a favor and try to record regular CSI this season and let me know what you get. I bet you get the midnight on Sunday re-run and a couple of others.

It's very annoying, especially if you tend to record a lot of show during the week and maybe try and catch up on the weekend to find that you have 3 copies of CSI and ended up losing a show or two because your hard drive is full.

My problem is new first run shows is just that, a new show, it shouldn't record reruns during their season breaks, World Series, etc. If I've seen it, I don't want it to record again, if the paper says it is new record it, if not don't, that is the type of problem I have with it.

Just my opinion, I've dealt with it because I have to, but would be nice if someone could/would fix it.

Man, you guys read the paper today. There will be some happy TWC subs who only have basic considering the CW will be offered only to digital customers. Dumb. Are TWC and Comcast owned by the same people?

Hatfield,
Just to add to your list... I'm on Comcast with the 8300HD, along with my Dad and best friend. The three of us spend many evenings griping about just how awful it is.
1) Cuts off the program that you are watching if the recording ends while your in the middle of it. Then you have to go into "My DVR" select the program again and fast forward to where you left off.
2) Doesn't record new episodes (like you said), must be a Comcast thing.
3) When Comcast reprogrammed the channels my recordings didn't follow. We had to delete them and set-up the recording again.
4) When Daylight Savings changed, all of our set recordings were an hour off (recording the wrong shows). We had to delete them and set-up the recordings again.
5) If you pause a show and switch channels you lose everything that was paused. Even if you flip right back.
6) If you pause a show for one hour it automatically starts playing again... even if you have plenty of drive space.
7) The guide is poorly designed when moving around the days or searching for a program.
7) It only has one week of listings.

Most of the problems seem specific to Comcast and they are really frustrating... so I can understand why you'd spend the money on a tivo. Maybe the folks that are happy with the 8300HD on other carriers just don't feel the pain.

*please comcast get the tivo series 3 and offer it to subs instead of the 8300hd.

Spoke with Sam Barclay today, and it was a pretty good conversation. He did look into the issue with the "fuzz outs" during Sunday Night Football. He stated he had all the latest firmware and correct settings already and he did talk to someone else and had heard that they have a problem with one of the cameras. Problem is, it wasn't just one camera. I asked him to try and watch the broadcast to see it himself and see if there was anything else that could be done.

He mentioned they are in the works to get a new encoder to replace their current Harris encoder (didn't give a time frame, but it didn't sound like it was in the immediate future). This new encoder is suppose to be pretty good according to other networks he spoke to. He was told that apparently one market had one and they were capable of broadcasting a couple HD stations on one channel with no degradation. Of course he said hard to believe until he gets to see it himself. This new encoder will have DD 5.1 capabilities, but he also stated he is in the works to get 5.1 before that, with no definitive date when this would happen.

We also talked about picture quality and he stated that when CW starts, he will not change the ratio that is currently out there. Meaning the picture quality on HD will not get any worse, but if you're a fan of CW, you're stuck with the quality that you see now on 2.2. This was really good to know as I wouldn't want NBC HD to get any worse. He did say that when they get the new encoder that may start pumping out Live VIPR again if the equipment turns out to be as good as he is told. We also talked about the quality of their newscasts on the digital side, where I think it looks really good for non HD, and he said the cameras they have are actually pumping out about 600 lines of resolution. As to if WCBD is ever to get HD cameras, that appears to be well out of the question unless some type of grant is given, as the price tag would be somewhere around 5 million. He did say that in 09 when the switch is required to go all digital they would go to 16:9 standard digital cameras (wow, 09 seems so far away when the switch was suppose to have already happened when NTSC to Digital was first discussed).

Well that all I can think of right now, sorry it was so long, but wanted to get this out to everyone. Of course as I'm typing this I'm watching WCBD and I forgot to ask about the audio drops as I'm hearing them, but right now I think it is more of a signal drop than just an audio issue (watching through Comcast).

Sorry double post.

It seems like no one else is seeing these issues so it must be something with your particular setup like signal strength, grounding, connections, etc.

Thanks for the advise. All of that has been checked and rechecked. The only thing that could possibly cause the issue is the 8300. I have not exchanged it so that is the last chance.

After posting my last message, I received an email from the local engineer from TWC. He is setting up a meeting to go over the problems. It seems that TWC does care... at least on a local level. Thanks Diana! I'll keep all updated as things go on.

Do me a favor and try to record regular CSI this season and let me know what you get. I bet you get the midnight on Sunday re-run and a couple of others.

It's very annoying, especially if you tend to record a lot of show during the week and maybe try and catch up on the weekend to find that you have 3 copies of CSI and ended up losing a show or two because your hard drive is full.

My problem is new first run shows is just that, a new show, it shouldn't record reruns during their season breaks, World Series, etc. If I've seen it, I don't want it to record again, if the paper says it is new record it, if not don't, that is the type of problem I have with it.

Just my opinion, I've dealt with it because I have to, but would be nice if someone could/would fix it.


Actually, I always record all CSI first run shows. So far, no reruns, no duplicates, no problems. If I see a problem when it returns to the new season, I will let you know. So far though, nothing going on here with that problem.

To me it sounds like a program guide issue and that will be with your cable provider. If so, they will have to fix that on their end. Good luck!

Actually, I always record all CSI first run shows. So far, no reruns, no duplicates, no problems. If I see a problem when it returns to the new season, I will let you know. So far though, nothing going on here with that problem.

To me it sounds like a program guide issue and that will be with your cable provider. If so, they will have to fix that on their end. Good luck!

I think your right that it a Comcsat thing if your system has met the great CSI syndication nightmare. Thanks for the info.

The Fuzzy issue seems to be a little different tonight. I've actually seen the picture fuzz in and out where before it would be fuzzy and come into focus, now it will stutter between both. You can reallyl see it do this if you look at the score line at the bottom.

If you read some of the messages on the programming section of this forum you'll see many complaints about macroblocking. I've brushed most of it off to typicall motion artifacts, but after noticing some stationary shots of Washingtons sideline of players stading pretty motionless, I couldn't believe how bad it was. The entire maroon of the jersey was all blocked up. I'm thinking what little bit of bandwith the CW is or may be taking is doing this, as CBS's coverage looked pretty good today and shines in comparsion to this broadcast.

The fuzziness in the game is annoying (and as mentioned above, still with us this week), but the audio drops that seem to be affecting all the programming on WCBD HD is unacceptable. It's not a big deal when you miss a couple seconds of commentary on the game or part of the commercial, but with the new programming starting tomorrow we'll certainly be unlucky enough to miss punch lines and key dialog as well.

Or am I the only one having this problem?

The fuzziness in the game is annoying (and as mentioned above, still with us this week), but the audio drops that seem to be affecting all the programming on WCBD HD is unacceptable. It's not a big deal when you miss a couple seconds of commentary on the game or part of the commercial, but with the new programming starting tomorrow we'll certainly be unlucky enough to miss punch lines and key dialog as well.

Or am I the only one having this problem?

No, I also get it and I forgot to ask Sam about it when I spoke with him on Friday.

The fuzziness in the game is annoying (and as mentioned above, still with us this week), but the audio drops that seem to be affecting all the programming on WCBD HD is unacceptable. It's not a big deal when you miss a couple seconds of commentary on the game or part of the commercial, but with the new programming starting tomorrow we'll certainly be unlucky enough to miss punch lines and key dialog as well.

Or am I the only one having this problem?


I see it here too...I didn't understand what everyone was talking about until tonight...definitely annoying! :eek:

I see it here too...I didn't understand what everyone was talking about until tonight...definitely annoying! :eek:

Same here. I hope Sam can get it fixed soon! I have not been following any of the NBC shows for a while due to lack of HD at the house for that channel. I now have it and I have the same problems as everyone else. I do not know that I will watch much more than football on NBC until the problems are corrected. Even then, football is hard to watch with the focus and audio.

The first time I saw the focus thing, I thought my eyes were messing up and almost just went to bed. Good thing one of the kids came in and saw it also. We both thought we were crazy.

SAM... Please Help!

Getting CableCards installed in the TiVo tomorrow and just called Comcast today to get the "final" skinny on the charges.

Delivery and Install - no charge, thank goodness!

First cable card - no charge (covered under my Digital Gold "plan")
Second cable card - $6.95 per month - because it's considered a second line - even though the guy (named Matt) acknowledged that it was not a second outlet. Basically because I'm getting 2 digital decoders I need to pay for the second one.

When I pointed out that the HD DVR going back had dual tuners and I wasn't being charged for a second line - he said - well you were being charged $9.95 a month for it - and apparently the $9.95 covered the second line too.

Seems a bit off to me - but there you have it.

Robert.

Getting CableCards installed in the TiVo tomorrow and just called Comcast today to get the "final" skinny on the charges.

Delivery and Install - no charge, thank goodness!

First cable card - no charge (covered under my Digital Gold "plan")
Second cable card - $6.95 per month - because it's considered a second line - even though the guy (named Matt) acknowledged that it was not a second outlet. Basically because I'm getting 2 digital decoders I need to pay for the second one.

When I pointed out that the HD DVR going back had dual tuners and I wasn't being charged for a second line - he said - well you were being charged $9.95 a month for it - and apparently the $9.95 covered the second line too.

Seems a bit off to me - but there you have it.

Robert.

I believe thats what they call "Comcastic" :)

Same here. I hope Sam can get it fixed soon! I have not been following any of the NBC shows for a while due to lack of HD at the house for that channel. I now have it and I have the same problems as everyone else. I do not know that I will watch much more than football on NBC until the problems are corrected. Even then, football is hard to watch with the focus and audio.

The first time I saw the focus thing, I thought my eyes were messing up and almost just went to bed. Good thing one of the kids came in and saw it also. We both thought we were crazy.

SAM... Please Help!

Sam sent me back an e-mail this morning and said he saw the issues last night and was in the manuals this morning trying to find out what it was and hoped to have it fixed this week.

Update on Crazy problems with my TWC HD stuff...

The engineers that Diana set up to meet with me have come by and seen what I am seeing... turns out that I am not crazy. They were somewhat baffled as well. Some of the problems I am seeing are confirmed issues at their HE in Columbia (we are feed out of Columbia.. how about that.) The problems with ESPNHD were more complicated. They do not compress the HD feeds at all so my problems are not there. To make this short, I have exchanged my 8300HD-DVR with a new one. The obvious problems that were present seems to have disappeared for the moment. I guess when football comes on this weekend we will know for sure.

What I am theorizing right now is that the 8300 must write to the HD and then read it back and show the picture, my HD must have been going bad, therefore the picture showed problems that no one else saw. I guess the decoding part of the box could be messed up. Anyway, only time will tell if that indeed was the problem.

Bottom line, TWC does have issues and are working to correct them... but they are on the SD channels that they are going digital with. The HD issues may be my box... no one really knows for sure yet.

I can say that the men that came out were very professional, and knowledgeable. I have never really had any problems with the techs that have come before but these guys seemed to know their stuff and showed a genuine concern. I appreciate their taking time out of their day to track down an unusual issue. I had two engineers and eventually another tech at the house just to find the problem. Thanks again to Diana and Jody with TWC for all of their help. I hope that all of my issues will be gone soon.

What I am theorizing right now is that the 8300 must write to the HD and then read it back and show the pictureIt does. That is why the rewind buffer is instantaneous.

Good news and bad news...

The good news is the first CableCard went into the TiVo and got working pretty much without a hiccup.

The bad news is the second CableCard seems to be unhappy. It's unclear whether it's an account configuration thing (because of course this is being treated as a second outlet even though it's eventually connected to a single TV) or if the CableCard itself is busted. A tech is coming out again on Friday with more cards so hopefully that'll clear it up.

The very good news is that I've got more HD shows lined up to record than I've ever had before (thanks to the great TiVo guide - and confidence that TiVo will actually record only new shows) - so finally I can really get some value out of my big HDTV. :)

Robert.

Speaking of Tivo, any news on the alleged Tivo-software-on-comcast-boxes project? Setting up new shows for the new season reminds me of how much I dislike the software running on the Comcast box. The only thing the Comcast software does better is allow you to browse your recorded programs while still watching the program that's playing -- but everything else is much worse.

This new channel MHD looks good - but it's not the new MTV HD we fear ;) but some new Movies in HD channel... It actually looks like a great channel. Some reruns of recent HBO series (HBO, Deadwood etc) and movies.

And what's happened to Universal HD? And finally can someone please get that awful Tube out of the HD area - it's a disaster! :eek:

So does anyone have a definitive list of the current Comcast HD channel lineup (excluding the HBO type channels)?

Thanks,

Robert.

Sorry - found my Comcast channel guide - and answered my own question - sort of (because MHD isn't listed)

200 Braves in HD
202 ESPN HD
204 TNT HD
205 Discovery HD Theater
206 INHD
207 INHD2 - which is now defunct
209 MHD - new and decent looking channel.
231 ABC HD
232 NBC HD
233 CBS HD
234 FOX HD
236 UPN HD
240 PBS HD
300 HBO HD
319 Cinemax HD
339 Showtime HD
369 Starz HD

Robert.

Sorry - found my Comcast channel guide - and answered my own question - sort of (because MHD isn't listed)

200 Braves in HD
202 ESPN HD
204 TNT HD
205 Discovery HD Theater
206 INHD
207 INHD2 - which is now defunct
209 MHD - new and decent looking channel.
231 ABC HD
232 NBC HD
233 CBS HD
234 FOX HD
236 UPN HD
240 PBS HD
300 HBO HD
319 Cinemax HD
339 Showtime HD
369 Starz HD

Robert.

Not that I am doubting Comcast or anything but.... INHD2 is still up on TWC and no one seems to know anything about it going dark. The website still lists schedules for it. Sounds to me like a Comcast choice. Congrats on the MHD though.

For two days now NBC HD has been out, in Legend Oaks, Summerville
anyone else having problems. I have 3 HD DVRS, same on all.....


Paul

I am not able to provide detail, but WCBD pulled their digital feed from our headend. We have requested they return asap.

Anyone notice Comcast's free weekend of STARZ didn't include the HD channel? What's up with that.


Allright, I'm fed up with this crap of getting kicked out of a show that I've paused when the top of the hour starts. When are these cable companies going to get the box providers or whoever they need to get with to straighten this out. It's so nice they charge us for a system they know if flawed. It's like let me sell you and install a tire I know is flat.

I am not able to provide detail, but WCBD pulled their digital feed from our headend. We have requested they return asap.


WTF? They just pulled it for no reason? I had a couple of engineers from TWC here when it went dark. They seems pretty surprised. Any idea if it will be back online before Sunday? Will it help if we call / email them?

Anyone notice Comcast's free weekend of STARZ didn't include the HD channel? What's up with that.


Alright, I'm fed up with this crap of getting kicked out of a show that I've paused when the top of the hour starts. When are these cable companies going to get the box providers or whoever they need to get with to straighten this out. It's so nice they charge us for a system they know if flawed. It's like let me sell you and install a tire I know is flat.


I agree. Funny thing. When the TWC engineers were here, I took the opportunity to go over all of the issues including the recording issue you just mentioned. The thing is, it did not do it when he was here .... of course, tonight it did. I think it must only do it when one recording ends and another one is starting or something. Anyway, it happened to me again tonight so even my new 8300 HD-DVR does it also. TWC engineers are now aware of the complaint and are supposed to bring it up to SA. We can only hope that it will help.

WTF? Will it help if we call / email them?

be my guest

TWC engineers are now aware of the complaint and are supposed to bring it up to SA. We can only hope that it will help.


I made SA aware of it in a meeting 3 years ago - they knew it was just about the number 1 complaint at that time.

I made SA aware of it in a meeting 3 years ago - they knew it was just about the number 1 complaint at that time.

Amazing how responsive companies can be when when they've had no effective competition... ! ;) Well they have some now - though definitely not on a level playing field. Hopefully they'll start responding to enhancement requests...

Perhaps you cable companies should start offering two different company's cable DVRs to your customers and only pay these companies based on the number of installs they get - that way there would be at least some competition and thus potential for rapid improvement?

Robert.

Perhaps you cable companies should start offering two different company's cable DVRs to your customers and only pay these companies based on the number of installs they get - that way there would be at least some competition and thus potential for rapid improvement?

Robert.


Because the 'proposal' of having the vast variety of headend hardware and software work correctly with more than one equipment vendor is daunting.

One of the primarly reasons TWC South Carolina is a beta test and launch site for advanced video technology is because we are exclusively SA. If we had to launch HOD, Start Over, Quick Clips, Sports Alerts, etc on more than one platform ... well, we would be doing all these great cutting edge products because its just not possible at this time.

(she whistfully says) Once we reach the Open Cable platform .....(queue "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow" here)

I am not able to provide detail, but WCBD pulled their digital feed from our headend. We have requested they return asap.

That's not really good enough, over the past weeks i have untold problems with TWC and my DVR's...now this...and still no FOX, you are lucky you guys have a monopoly here in Summerville......watch out for TWCSCsucks.com......

Sorry - I am not at liberty at this time to say anything other than WCBD cut the feed to us, we didn't turn it off.

Have you set up a service call? Can I assist you with this?

We don't have a monopoly anywhere.

That's not really good enough, over the past weeks i have untold problems with TWC and my DVR's...now this...and still no FOX, you are lucky you guys have a monopoly here in Summerville......watch out for TWCSCsucks.com......

Nothing against you Diana since you actually seem to give a rip about your customers.... But Paul, TWC doesn't have a monopoly. There's always DISH and D*. And D* has a new HD DVR.

That's not really good enough, over the past weeks i have untold problems with TWC and my DVR's...now this...and still no FOX, you are lucky you guys have a monopoly here in Summerville......watch out for TWCSCsucks.com......


Some parts of Summerville are in the Knology service area.

http://www.knology.com/content/index.cfm

Nothing against you Diana since you actually seem to give a rip about your customers.... But Paul, TWC doesn't have a monopoly. There's always DISH and D*. And D* has a new HD DVR.

I used to have Dish, wasn't that happy with them when i was in west ashley
I've nothing against Diana, she has helped us out in the past, but just the General incompetence of the Summverville staff is unbelievable.

For instance, i wanted to change out my last regular cable box last week to a HD DVR. Went to the office, queued for 45 mins, traded, got home set it up, box was new and went through a software download for 30min then was not authorized for the TWC network, nothing could be done over the phone, took it back to the office, queued again for 65 mins, outside because office was full.... got a replacement, got it home set it up, it had 145 recordings on it and a parental pin, so on the phone again, on hold for 30 min, the guys tried to reset it for 20 mins, so yes you guessed it.... we took it back, queued again for another 45 mins...to replace a 3rd box was taken home....shall i go on...

This happens every time we need something, over the past two years i have had 18 DVR's all with issues.... QC it seems is not a factor for TWC... we have had a new main drop installed, that fixed major problems with our signals last year,

It is endless......and when you pay $177 (3 HD DVRS, Cable Modem) a month you expect a little better....

The only other person who has been helpful was Jody...

For instance, i wanted to change out my last regular cable box last week to a HD DVR. Went to the office, queued for 45 mins, traded, got home set it up, box was new and went through a software download for 30min then was not authorized for the TWC network, nothing could be done over the phone, took it back to the office, queued again for 65 mins, outside because office was full.... got a replacement, got it home set it up, it had 145 recordings on it and a parental pin, so on the phone again, on hold for 30 min, the guys tried to reset it for 20 mins, so yes you guessed it.... we took it back, queued again for another 45 mins...to replace a 3rd box was taken home....shall i go on...

This happens every time we need something, over the past two years i have had 18 DVR's all with issues.... QC it seems is not a factor for TWC... we have had a new main drop installed, that fixed major problems with our signals last year,

It is endless......and when you pay $177 (3 HD DVRS, Cable Modem) a month you expect a little better....

The only other person who has been helpful was Jody...

First, I agree Diana is great, I wish the Comcast folks were as in touch.

But now you are scaring me. My mother is in "Summerville" TWC only area, actually in Wescott Plantation, and she is having her install today. My experience with TWC so far has been good, they were out just two days after the request. I just requested a straight digital box, because we haven't got her HD set yet. I figured it would be easy (and was told so by the guy who set up the appointment) to just swap out the box at the office when I was ready, or to switch to the DVR. But I don't want to spent 45 or 65 minutes in a line, forget about making two trips to the store.

My experience with Comcast and box switches has been very positive, about 5 minutes in line and no problems. But, I guess we will wait and see.

Anyone notice Comcast's free weekend of STARZ didn't include the HD channel? What's up with that.


Allright, I'm fed up with this crap of getting kicked out of a show that I've paused when the top of the hour starts. When are these cable companies going to get the box providers or whoever they need to get with to straighten this out. It's so nice they charge us for a system they know if flawed. It's like let me sell you and install a tire I know is flat.

I'm not sure I understand, but you mean that you are pausing a show and when you get to the next show, or just top of the hour whether it is 5 minutes or 2 hour pause, it pops you out. Because, I am pretty sure the buffer in the 8300 is 90 minutes and if you pause for more than that on "live" TV then it jumps out. Otherwise if it is any top of the hour, I have never seen it.

I used to have Dish, wasn't that happy with them when i was in west ashley
I've nothing against Diana, she has helped us out in the past, but just the General incompetence of the Summverville staff is unbelievable.

For instance, i wanted to change out my last regular cable box last week to a HD DVR. Went to the office, queued for 45 mins, traded, got home set it up, box was new and went through a software download for 30min then was not authorized for the TWC network, nothing could be done over the phone, took it back to the office, queued again for 65 mins, outside because office was full.... got a replacement, got it home set it up, it had 145 recordings on it and a parental pin, so on the phone again, on hold for 30 min, the guys tried to reset it for 20 mins, so yes you guessed it.... we took it back, queued again for another 45 mins...to replace a 3rd box was taken home....shall i go on...

This happens every time we need something, over the past two years i have had 18 DVR's all with issues.... QC it seems is not a factor for TWC... we have had a new main drop installed, that fixed major problems with our signals last year,

It is endless......and when you pay $177 (3 HD DVRS, Cable Modem) a month you expect a little better....

The only other person who has been helpful was Jody...

Diana,

After the your recent phone conversation i was just informed about... THANK YOU...
you probably see the whole story now...

Thanks, Paul

First, I agree Diana is great, I wish the Comcast folks were as in touch.

But now you are scaring me. My mother is in "Summerville" TWC only area, actually in Wescott Plantation, and she is having her install today. My experience with TWC so far has been good, they were out just two days after the request. I just requested a straight digital box, because we haven't got her HD set yet. I figured it would be easy (and was told so by the guy who set up the appointment) to just swap out the box at the office when I was ready, or to switch to the DVR. But I don't want to spent 45 or 65 minutes in a line, forget about making two trips to the store.

My experience with Comcast and box switches has been very positive, about 5 minutes in line and no problems. But, I guess we will wait and see.


Andrew,

It was probably just my luck and the times that i was there, the office had been closed for the holiday weekend, Fri-Mon, so it could just have been a build up of customers...btw not many people switching out boxes, just people with billing questions etc...

Paul

I'm not sure I understand, but you mean that you are pausing a show and when you get to the next show, or just top of the hour whether it is 5 minutes or 2 hour pause, it pops you out. Because, I am pretty sure the buffer in the 8300 is 90 minutes and if you pause for more than that on "live" TV then it jumps out. Otherwise if it is any top of the hour, I have never seen it.


I have had this on my boxes, if you are watching a show, that you are recording, then you pause and get behind, if the next program starts at say 10pm, then the show you are watching ends and takes you to live TV. So then you have to go to list to bring back the show you were watching and go back to your last location....

Now if you are recording the following show... this does not happen...

This is on the 8300HD, was the same on the older 8000HD's also

Paul

But Paul, TWC doesn't have a monopoly. There's always DISH and D*. And D* has a new HD DVR.

That is not entirely true, where I live TWC has a monopoly. I live in a condo with no exclusive use area outside. Under FCC regs they(HOA)then can ban dishes. You must have an exclusive use area like a porch to put up a dish, we don't have porches in our condos.

We been round and round with FCC regs, etc and the above is correct.

Further our builder signed a deal with Jones Cable which later became TWC that lasts ten years for exclusive use and Jones paid for all the wiring etc. The kicker in the use agreement is that either side can extend the agreement for another ten years. TWC just did that about a year ago. So we can't even kick TWC out and put in a master dish system if we could get our 288 units to agree to that plan.


Seems in our case, if we want any TV other than rabbit years we have to have TWC. -- Lucky us :p

Not that NBC HD is working or anything (TWC), but I did notice a channel listed as "NBC-2" on channel 807...is that the the new CW?

Oh, and glad WCBD went full power on their tower...I can get the HD feed via some rabbit ears :D

So whats the big secret, tiff, between WCBD and TWC? Why isnt it available?

Not that NBC HD is working or anything (TWC), but I did notice a channel listed as "NBC-2" on channel 807...is that the the new CW?

Oh, and glad WCBD went full power on their tower...I can get the HD feed via some rabbit ears :D

Yes, it's the CW. Looks like crap and takes away from NBC quality.

This new channel MHD looks good - but it's not the new MTV HD we fear ;) but some new Movies in HD channel... It actually looks like a great channel. Some reruns of recent HBO series (HBO, Deadwood etc) and movies.


It may not be the MTV channel you fear, but it is a MTV HD channel. It is not a HD simulcast of regular MTV, but it certainly isn't a movie channel. It looks like it occasional music related movie. But I agree it does look good, but so far I haven't stumbled on anything I would watch for a whole 1/2 hour, but YMMV.

From a press release:
MHD will carry music-based native-HD programming including MTV Unplugged, VH1 Storytellers, and CMT Crossroads, music events such as the MTV Video Music Awards, new shows from its Vail studio including UnCompressed, and the exclusive concert series Music With Altitude featuring live performances from Dashboard Confessional, the Goo Goo Dolls, and country recording artist Gary Allan. All of the above programs will be broadcast using Dolby Digital 5.1.

More info at http://www.mhd.tv/

Yes, it's the CW. Looks like crap and takes away from NBC quality.

I know there is more to it than it seems but why would TWC let Media General (WCBD's parent) jerk them around regarding the NBC feed, but then carry their piggyback low quality station, that most of there customers could care a lot less about than NBC.

It may not be the MTV channel you fear, but it is a MTV HD channel. It is not a HD simulcast of regular MTV, but it certainly isn't a movie channel. It looks like it occasional music related movie. But I agree it does look good, but so far I haven't stumbled on anything I would watch for a whole 1/2 hour, but YMMV.

Well that's what's weird - the published MHD schedule bears no resemblance to the Guide info on TiVo. It's all movies and HBO series - not a music related show in sight!

Robert.

Well I just got a second visit from a Comcast installer (Craig - if anyone's interested) and after skeptically looking at the TiVo and saying things like "I doubt it's compatible with CableCards" - despite it already working with one CableCard, we try to get the second one working.

After basically a repeat performance: CableCard goes in, gets hit, seems happy, but no channels - except for basic cable and local HD the "official" word comes back: "Oh we can't support two CableCards on a single outlet!" How f'ing retarded is that?

People around the country are installing dual cablecards and our local cable co. can't handle it?

I'm calling it ******** and more due to a general lack of enthusiasm about supporting CableCards - installers don't mind moaning about them in front of their customers which is a pretty sad thing to say about your own tech! - but I guess Comcast doesn't mind giving up the revenue? Though actually with the time they've wasted (not including mine) they would have been lucky to make any money off of the second card.

Bogus crap.

Robert.

Well I just got a second visit from a Comcast installer (Craig - if anyone's interested) and after skeptically looking at the TiVo and saying things like "I doubt it's compatible with CableCards" - despite it already working with one CableCard, we try to get the second one working.

After basically a repeat performance: CableCard goes in, gets hit, seems happy, but no channels - except for basic cable and local HD the "official" word comes back: "Oh we can't support two CableCards on a single outlet!" How f'ing retarded is that?

People around the country are installing dual cablecards and our local cable co. can't handle it?

I'm calling it ******** and more due to a general lack of enthusiasm about supporting CableCards - installers don't mind moaning about them in front of their customers which is a pretty sad thing to say about your own tech! - but I guess Comcast doesn't mind giving up the revenue? Though actually with the time they've wasted (not including mine) they would have been lucky to make any money off of the second card.

Bogus crap.

Robert.


That is a pretty crappy state of affairs. My best suggestion would be to start climbing the ladder ranks of TiVo customer support for installation help and along the way tell TiVo people what the problem is and that your local Comcast needs some installation info.

That is a pretty crappy state of affairs. My best suggestion would be to start climbing the ladder ranks of TiVo customer support for installation help and along the way tell TiVo people what the problem is and that your local Comcast needs some installation info.

It just amazes me how anti-tech Comcast people seem to be. For a "Comcastic high-tech" company most of the employees seem to fear anything that they haven't seen a thousand times. If I were in the business I'd be more like - "hey cool - one of those new TiVo's - can't wait to get that sucker working..." You know - the fun of doing something new. But really I think the woe of dealing with all this proprietary crap and its magic incantations (they have two read of 2 sets of numbers *and* a string of characters to get a card activated) has sucked all the enthusiasm out of the workers. They basically dread being confronted with something new because it'll probably not work and they'll have to deal with disgruntled customers like me.

But really the "it'll never work" attitude is stunning and depressing - it's like dealing with Eeyore! :eek:

Robert.

The information I have been able to obtain is this...


TWC has decided to put the CW on the digital tier requiring customers to have the digital box to get it. This is not a good option for me as my other TV's can not get the CW with this format. My kids will not get to watch stuff they want to see because I will not play it on my set. My Mother and Grandmother also will be out of luck and unable to see some of the shows they like. This pisses me off as well as many other people. :mad: It seems that the owners of NBC were rather pissed about it also and pulled the HD and CW feeds in protest. They are insisting that TWC put the CW back on channel 3 like the WB was. To me, that makes since. I am not sure that I agree with NBC pulling their feed but if that is why they did it, at least someone is doing something. I plan on continuing to call TWC and voice my complaints and hopefully TWC and NBC will work out the issues soon.

Looks like I am going to have to get my OTA stuff back from my friend so I can watch football on NBC and Fox in HD. I may even have to use it to see Smallville at all when it returns for the new season. Man ... this blows! :mad:

robus,

Can you get your money back on the TIVO? (Or at least 1/2 since it's only 1/2 useful now)

robus,

Can you get your money back on the TIVO? (Or at least 1/2 since it's only 1/2 useful now)

Ha - I'm fine with the TiVo and really we don't have any schedule conflicts that is dying for a second tuner. I was just hoping to get the full deal. Still v. happy with the TiVo :) Just wish we had a cable co. with half a clue.

Robert.

I still don't get how you can be happy with the tivo. $800 for box plus a monthly fee that only has %50 of it's capability. Guess it's other use could be holding down the entertainment center in high wind.

Sounds like you should have just leased the SA8300 for $10 a month and you'd have the same thing you do now, except you'd actually be able to record two things at once.

The information I have been able to obtain is this...


TWC has decided to put the CW on the digital tier requiring customers to have the digital box to get it. This is not a good option for me as my other TV's can not get the CW with this format. My kids will not get to watch stuff they want to see because I will not play it on my set. My Mother and Grandmother also will be out of luck and unable to see some of the shows they like. This pisses me off as well as many other people. :mad: It seems that the owners of NBC were rather pissed about it also and pulled the HD and CW feeds in protest. They are insisting that TWC put the CW back on channel 3 like the WB was. To me, that makes since. I am not sure that I agree with NBC pulling their feed but if that is why they did it, at least someone is doing something. I plan on continuing to call TWC and voice my complaints and hopefully TWC and NBC will work out the issues soon.

Looks like I am going to have to get my OTA stuff back from my friend so I can watch football on NBC and Fox in HD. I may even have to use it to see Smallville at all when it returns for the new season. Man ... this blows! :mad:


WCBD has restored their signal to us, so NBC HD is back on 805 and The CW is back on 807.


I'm glad you enjoyed the WCBD side of the story. Please remember every story has two sides.

WCBD opted to purchase this franchise for The CW and they are opting to carry it on their digital subchannel. Negotiations are going on for Media General to obtain a second broadcast tier slot (6 mhz of space) for The CW on the Summerville lineup. I'm sure this will take place some day, but I just can't say when. I can say that even after it does happen their HD feed will always be impacted by the carriage of The CW on their digital sub-channel... because this will remain the basis of how they provide it.

I still don't get how you can be happy with the tivo. $800 for box plus a monthly fee that only has %50 of it's capability. Guess it's other use could be holding down the entertainment center in high wind.

Sounds like you should have just leased the SA8300 for $10 a month and you'd have the same thing you do now, except you'd actually be able to record two things at once.

You must have missed my rant on the shortcomings of the 8300HD - I suffered with that for a year. And now it feels like the dawn of a new day. My wife and I work odd hours and like to relax with a show when we're ready. The 8300HD was causing domestic strife as I tried to explain why a show was not recorded because it thought it more useful to record every repeat of Rome instead!

My time and stress level is important to me - so I find the TiVo to be a worthwhile investment. Others find the 8300HD to be a pleasure to use. I found it to be a royal pain. YMMV.

I really don't understand this aversion to spending money? If I buy a luxury car am I stupid because I get the same "functionality" out of a Yugo?

Robert.

WCBD has restored their signal to us, so NBC HD is back on 805 and The CW is back on 807.


I'm glad you enjoyed the WCBD side of the story. Please remember every story has two sides.

WCBD opted to purchase this franchise for The CW and they are opting to carry it on their digital subchannel. Negotiations are going on for Media General to obtain a second broadcast tier slot (6 mhz of space) for The CW on the Summerville lineup. I'm sure this will take place some day, but I just can't say when. I can say that even after it does happen their HD feed will always be impacted by the carriage of The CW on their digital sub-channel... because this will remain the basis of how they provide it.


Just checked and I'm back up! Yea!!! Thanks. As for their side, it is the only side I could get. Anyway, I am very aware of there always being two sides. I agree with the channel 3 issue since my kids will drive me nuts to see wrestling and all but I am also good with seeing it on digital with as little degradation as possible with what NBC is giving us.

Overall, I can say that TWC has been a good system. It is much better than any other cable system I have ever delt with. Diana has been such a BIG help. She definitely deserves a raise for putting up with some of us picky jerks. That being said...., Where is FoxHD! LOL I could not resist.

Thanks to whoever got the signals back up for us. Now I can sit back and at least watch the NBC football Sunday night. I am looking forward to seeing Hero's in HD also. Thanks again.

You must have missed my rant on the shortcomings of the 8300HD - I suffered with that for a year. And now it feels like the dawn of a new day. My wife and I work odd hours and like to relax with a show when we're ready. The 8300HD was causing domestic strife as I tried to explain why a show was not recorded because it thought it more useful to record every repeat of Rome instead!

My time and stress level is important to me - so I find the TiVo to be a worthwhile investment. Others find the 8300HD to be a pleasure to use. I found it to be a royal pain. YMMV.

I really don't understand this aversion to spending money? If I buy a luxury car am I stupid because I get the same "functionality" out of a Yugo?

Robert.

You would be stupid if you bought a corvette and only used it to drive 5mph under the speed limit to get groceries once a week.

Hey, it's your money so don't let me tell you how to waste it. Just don't see how you can rationalize buying an $800 pc of equip that also requires a service fee, which at the end of the day is only marginally better than what is out there for a cheaper price. Let's not even get into the fact that you aren't getting the full capability due to the morons at comcast.

This is not an attack on you, it comes from my disgust with tivo and the fact they have the balls to charge $800 for this thing. I have the DirecTivo HR10-250 HD box and love the tivo software, also had a series 2 box. It just pains me that a company that loses money and has great software does not even try and be competetive. Tivo needs to get out of the box making and strictly develop software for boxes for sat and cable co's.

I not hear anything new on the NBC focus issue. Did anyone else?

Just don't see how you can rationalize buying an $800 pc of equip that also requires a service fee, which at the end of the day is only marginally better than what is out there for a cheaper price.

This is the key - how much better do we each think it is. To me it's *much better* - even with just the single tuner. To you it's only marginally better. And so we agree to disagree :)

Robert.

Well after waiting all day for Comcast with the cablecards for the TiVo, they show up at 6pm and say that all the guys in the plant are gone and they will have to reschedule. Unbelievable. They knew the reason for the appointment.

By the way Robus, the installer said he installed two cards in a unit downtown that worked fine. You might consider getting TiVo customer service involved.

Well after waiting all day for Comcast with the cablecards for the TiVo, they show up at 6pm and say that all the guys in the plant are gone and they will have to reschedule. Unbelievable. They knew the reason for the appointment.

By the way Robus, the installer said he installed two cards in a unit downtown that worked fine. You might consider getting TiVo customer service involved.

Ouch - sorry to hear that :( But thanks for the info on the downtown install. I know it should work - I just got tired of the incompetence and bogus excuses...

I'll give it a go again in a couple of weeks. Perhaps when they've done a few more successful installs ;)

BTW - after the installer left I called Comcast and tried to get a hold of some expert CableCard tech support. A CSR said (Shirley?) she'd leave a question for the cable card expert (apparently he's so special he can't talk to the public) and then call me back with the response. I give her the "I want to install a second cable card in my DVR and want to know if there is any reason this wouldn't work" - of course this whole CableCard not going into a TV blows her mind - never heard of such a thing, etc!. So a couple of hours later I get a message (sadly missed the call). All kinds of provisos about how it might not work (basically no expert information at all - just the standard spiel) and it would cost something like $29.99 for the install and $16.95 for the card - completely ridiculous! It's like she had no idea of my history at all - and of course the installs so far have been free (and not just because they've failed to install the second card).

It's enough to make you weep. :(

Robert.

I guess it is not a TIVO but I am liking my 8300HD better all the time.

I guess it is not a TIVO but I am liking my 8300HD better all the time.


Ditto, and so does my wallet.

From what I gather from Robus' thread is that the TIVO will only record actual "new" programs when set up in advance. I have had a lot of problems with my 8000/8300 "filling up" with the same episode of a show over and over and then missing a new episode of something that was a must watch(like a football game).

Robus--is what you are saying that the Tivo is smart enough to know that an episode is actually new and not a repeat? The 8300 does not. I called Comcast about this and they said you just have to set the thing up each week. Well that is a pain in the ass! I agree with the others on the pricing and that is why I still have the 8300, it just seems that if Tivo can make the thing smart enough to know when a show is actually "new" and when it is not then SA should be able to as well.

From what I gather from Robus' thread is that the TIVO will only record actual "new" programs when set up in advance. I have had a lot of problems with my 8000/8300 "filling up" with the same episode of a show over and over and then missing a new episode of something that was a must watch(like a football game).

Robus--is what you are saying that the Tivo is smart enough to know that an episode is actually new and not a repeat? The 8300 does not. I called Comcast about this and they said you just have to set the thing up each week. Well that is a pain in the ass! I agree with the others on the pricing and that is why I still have the 8300, it just seems that if Tivo can make the thing smart enough to know when a show is actually "new" and when it is not then SA should be able to as well.

I dont believe it to be a Scientific Atlanta problem. I believe its a problem with your provider. I have Knology and do not experience the same problem with my 8300.

The 8300HD does not have that problem with TWC either. So until they fix it your choices are to spend 5 seconds per duplicate delete or $800 for a TIVO.

Comcast problem? That blows. I'll be making calls on Monday.

Does anyone here get close captioning on HD signals OTA or cable? I have trouble hearing certain frequencies, old age :( . I don't always need it but on some shows I just can't understand everything they are saying. Of course it is usually the part that is most important. You know the part where the two main characters are in the middle of the desert by themselves and they whisper the answer to the plot! Anyway I get CC fine as long as it is not HD. Really irritating to have a great HD pic but not be able to understand dialog and know that CC is available. If show is interesting enough I have switched back to old analog signal just for CC, yuk!

Tom

Does anyone here get close captioning on HD signals OTA or cable? I have trouble hearing certain frequencies, old age :( . I don't always need it but on some shows I just can't understand everything they are saying. Of course it is usually the part that is most important. You know the part where the two main characters are in the middle of the desert by themselves and they whisper the answer to the plot! Anyway I get CC fine as long as it is not HD. Really irritating to have a great HD pic but not be able to understand dialog and know that CC is available. If show is interesting enough I have switched back to old analog signal just for CC, yuk!

Tom
CBS during the Ala-Ark has , NBC during the Ryder cup has, PBSHD during Grand View has it, but ABC didn't seem to have it duirng the Ohio State game and FOX had a old movie on, local (non-HD stretched picture) and no CC there either. This was all through the CC option on the SA box through Comcast. It could be that national feeds have it and that ABC doesn't have it because it is actually a ESPN game.

Hope that helps.

I am installing a new Dish that will replace my single LNB one on my roof.

If you have done this can you tell me if the new two LNB unit will mount with
the bracket that is now mounting the single LNB or do you have to replace
the entire mounting bracket ?

Thanks, Charlie criecke@charleston.net

I'm not sure I understand, but you mean that you are pausing a show and when you get to the next show, or just top of the hour whether it is 5 minutes or 2 hour pause, it pops you out. Because, I am pretty sure the buffer in the 8300 is 90 minutes and if you pause for more than that on "live" TV then it jumps out. Otherwise if it is any top of the hour, I have never seen it.

No, I paused a show at the top of the hour so I didn't have to rewind and probably started watching about 20 after or so. I wasn't able to completly catch up to Live so at the top of the hour I was still watching the show that I paused and was actually recording and had another channel programed to tape (only 1 show for that time) and I was kicked out and it automatically kicked to the other channel.

You must have missed my rant on the shortcomings of the 8300HD - I suffered with that for a year. And now it feels like the dawn of a new day. My wife and I work odd hours and like to relax with a show when we're ready. The 8300HD was causing domestic strife as I tried to explain why a show was not recorded because it thought it more useful to record every repeat of Rome instead!

My time and stress level is important to me - so I find the TiVo to be a worthwhile investment. Others find the 8300HD to be a pleasure to use. I found it to be a royal pain. YMMV.

I really don't understand this aversion to spending money? If I buy a luxury car am I stupid because I get the same "functionality" out of a Yugo?

Robert.

Well put. I'm just jealous you had that money to throw at it.

Does anyone here get close captioning on HD signals OTA or cable? I have trouble hearing certain frequencies, old age :( . I don't always need it but on some shows I just can't understand everything they are saying. Of course it is usually the part that is most important. You know the part where the two main characters are in the middle of the desert by themselves and they whisper the answer to the plot! Anyway I get CC fine as long as it is not HD. Really irritating to have a great HD pic but not be able to understand dialog and know that CC is available. If show is interesting enough I have switched back to old analog signal just for CC, yuk!

Tom

It's probably not your hearing, probably just an WCBD broadcast and their great audio drops. :-)

I not hear anything new on the NBC focus issue. Did anyone else?

I didn't get anything back from Sam Barclay at WCBD whether or not he was able to find anything in the manual for how to correct this.

I guess we'll find out tonight. Keep an eye out and let me know and I'll follow up with Sam on Monday.

CBS during the Ala-Ark has , NBC during the Ryder cup has, PBSHD during Grand View has it, but ABC didn't seem to have it duirng the Ohio State game and FOX had a old movie on, local (non-HD stretched picture) and no CC there either. This was all through the CC option on the SA box through Comcast. It could be that national feeds have it and that ABC doesn't have it because it is actually a ESPN game.

Hope that helps.

Yes it did, thanks. Have it on the Ryder Cup this morning. Seemed to be only HD but realize the reason now. I don't need it on sports and news so never turn CC on then because it is distracting. Movies, sitcoms, etc. is where I sometimes have trouble understanding so that is where I noticed it. Wonder why they don't send it with those. My TV has a bunch of settings for CC (CC1, CC2,etc.) but no explanation of them. I tried all but none work.


Tom

I didn't get anything back from Sam Barclay at WCBD whether or not he was able to find anything in the manual for how to correct this.

I guess we'll find out tonight. Keep an eye out and let me know and I'll follow up with Sam on Monday.

I think he has it fixed. Game looked pretty good tonight.

I think he has it fixed. Game looked pretty good tonight.

I haven't noticed it tonight, so i guess it looks pretty good from that respect. Maybe he can fix the bandwidth problem because there is still a lot of macroblocking/motion effects/artifacts, that you never see on ESPN or CBS. It really is by far the worst football presentation in"HD" there is. I don't know if it is a national feed issue but I doubt it. Anyone who thinks that multicasting can be done without major effects on the HD signal only has to watch football on WCBD.

It is pretty apparent from the Programming forum that while NBC doesn't have the best HD football presentation, the areas that report the especially bad problems are all in areas with multicasting. Most just have a NBC weather channel, we have another live action channel. I wonder if there is something that can be done. I wonder what NBC thinks of spending all the money they do for the broadcast rights and for the HD production to have local affiliates ruin the picture with multicasting and degrading the signal.

I expect that we will hear that HD ratings don't matter, and this must be the motivation of MediaGeneral and WCBD.

AndrewG,

I couldn't agree more.

I've always enjoyed NFL on FOX HD even though Sinclair is the only reason I have an antenna permanently mounted to my house. CBS has always looked good, and big thanks to them for leading the revolution here locally. NBC just does not seem to care about the quality. I think your right; there is not much we can do about it. I would hope the NFL would do something about it, but the NBC Sunday Night contract is good for 6 years. I only noticed a few of the "macroblocking/motion effects/artifacts" tonight, which is a major improvement compared to the last 2 weeks. I still don't think its acceptable, but it is an improvement.

I have watched some of the new Prime Time shows on CBS. Most notably was Jericho, and the sound was amazing. I found my self cranking the sound because it sounded so good.

I haven't noticed it tonight, so i guess it looks pretty good from that respect. Maybe he can fix the bandwidth problem because there is still a lot of macroblocking/motion effects/artifacts, that you never see on ESPN or CBS. It really is by far the worst football presentation in"HD" there is. I don't know if it is a national feed issue but I doubt it. Anyone who thinks that multicasting can be done without major effects on the HD signal only has to watch football on WCBD.

It is pretty apparent from the Programming forum that while NBC doesn't have the best HD football presentation, the areas that report the especially bad problems are all in areas with multicasting. Most just have a NBC weather channel, we have another live action channel. I wonder if there is something that can be done. I wonder what NBC thinks of spending all the money they do for the broadcast rights and for the HD production to have local affiliates ruin the picture with multicasting and degrading the signal.

I expect that we will hear that HD ratings don't matter, and this must be the motivation of MediaGeneral and WCBD.



I noticed the focus seemed better and the macro seemed about the same as normal. With all of the problems I have been having with my set, I am glad that someone else said it first. I do not notice it as much on most shows but Football seems to be the real test of an HD signal.

:) Good news on my front. The major Macro Blocking issue seems to be mostly gone now. The Hard Drive must have been bad on my 8300. Replaced the unit and things are much better. I still notice the blocking on Switched Digital channels when football is played and SciFi is still not that great... those are TWC issues elsewhere but at least my HD is back to a watchable level. Just keep in mind that if your HD goes a little blocky... it could be the box. Monday night football with tell me for sure tonight.

Background - while there are DVRs with the model number 8000 and 8300 on the front of all DVRs, some of the 8000's are actually 8010's. You can't tell by looking at them if you have an 8010 - only by looking them up in the DNCS.

Last week we added a software patch to the 8010s to alleviate a black screen SDV bug. We were not told by SA the features of version 1.4.3 were in this patch (1.88) - so when some of you started talking about upgraded features, I started asking questions and found this out. Tonight this upgrade will be applied to all remaining DVRs.

Here is the full extent of the features involved:
1. Firewire Port (IEEE 1394) is active on all model 8300 HD units. Previously only 8300 HD Units manufactured after July 18, 2005 had this port active.

2. Between 1:00 am and 6:00am, the DVR hard drive will power down if no remote control activity is conducted for 2 hours. Previously the entire DVR unit would power-down.

3. Customers who wish to view a program currently being recorded will have the option to “Play from beginning”. Previously they had to rewind back to the start of the show if they wanted to perform this function.

4. A fourth, Fast-Forward and Rewind speed has been added.

5. The “Live” button is now active to take a viewer from a recording playback directly into Live TV. Previously customers had to channel off to quickly achieve this result.

6. Auxiliary inputs are now active for camcorder, VCR or gaming systems.


No mention in the documentation about the kick to live feed at the end of a 'recording show' so I don't think you got that one. Hope you enjoy what is included. Your equipment will receive a forced reboot during the maintenance window to achieve the download.

Comcast did not totally admit defeat and today an installer returned to try and get the 2nd cablecard working after hearing from superiors that it should work. Apparently he was also told to call a particular (senior) CSR who would know how to work the necessary account setup magic to get it working.

Long story short: he plugged the same card we'd tried last week back into the TiVo - it said it was authorized right away and then he called into the CSR. She configured the account to authorized the digital channels for the second cablecard and voila - instant HD on the second cablecard.

So apparently it's all down to CSR expertise.

My thanks to Comcast for sticking with it. :)

Robert.

3. Customers who wish to view a program currently being recorded will have the option to “Play from beginning”. Previously they had to rewind back to the start of the show if they wanted to perform this function.

.
This is great, I wonder if Comcast will do the same with their boxes. Comcast folks out there are you listening.

This is great, I wonder if Comcast will do the same with their boxes. Comcast folks out there are you listening.

Ditto that.

Hey there - headed to a conference and won't be back in the loop until Friday morning.

Call CS if you have any issues 866-892-7201

Here is the full extent of the features involved:
1. Firewire Port (IEEE 1394) is active on all model 8300 HD units. Previously only 8300 HD Units manufactured after July 18, 2005 had this port active.



Diana,

Great news on the updates, re number 1 will this allow us to connect a pc via firewire to record off to dvd etc?? I can't see any documentation on it's uses...access to recorded programs etc...

I guess i will try it when i get home.....

Paul

No mention in the documentation about the kick to live feed at the end of a 'recording show' so I don't think you got that one. Hope you enjoy what is included. Your equipment will receive a forced reboot during the maintenance window to achieve the download.


Diana, and all

From what 've been reading on various other threads on this avsforum, if you go to the channel and start viewing a program that you are recording from the guide, then you will get kicked out, but now on this updated version, if you go in via list and then start from beginning, it should not kick you out at the end of the hour/next program start, i will confirm when i watch it tonight....

Paul

Background - while there are DVRs with the model number 8000 and 8300 on the front of all DVRs, some of the 8000's are actually 8010's. You can't tell by looking at them if you have an 8010 - only by looking them up in the DNCS.

Last week we added a software patch to the 8010s to alleviate a black screen SDV bug. We were not told by SA the features of version 1.4.3 were in this patch (1.88) - so when some of you started talking about upgraded features, I started asking questions and found this out. Tonight this upgrade will be applied to all remaining DVRs.

Here is the full extent of the features involved:
1. Firewire Port (IEEE 1394) is active on all model 8300 HD units. Previously only 8300 HD Units manufactured after July 18, 2005 had this port active.

2. Between 1:00 am and 6:00am, the DVR hard drive will power down if no remote control activity is conducted for 2 hours. Previously the entire DVR unit would power-down.

3. Customers who wish to view a program currently being recorded will have the option to “Play from beginning”. Previously they had to rewind back to the start of the show if they wanted to perform this function.

4. A fourth, Fast-Forward and Rewind speed has been added.

5. The “Live” button is now active to take a viewer from a recording playback directly into Live TV. Previously customers had to channel off to quickly achieve this result.

6. Auxiliary inputs are now active for camcorder, VCR or gaming systems.


No mention in the documentation about the kick to live feed at the end of a 'recording show' so I don't think you got that one. Hope you enjoy what is included. Your equipment will receive a forced reboot during the maintenance window to achieve the download.



I am SO excited about the new upgrade. I will be testing it tonight. Thanks TWC!

AndrewG,

I couldn't agree more.

I've always enjoyed NFL on FOX HD even though Sinclair is the only reason I have an antenna permanently mounted to my house. CBS has always looked good, and big thanks to them for leading the revolution here locally. NBC just does not seem to care about the quality. I think your right; there is not much we can do about it. I would hope the NFL would do something about it, but the NBC Sunday Night contract is good for 6 years. I only noticed a few of the "macroblocking/motion effects/artifacts" tonight, which is a major improvement compared to the last 2 weeks. I still don't think its acceptable, but it is an improvement.

I have watched some of the new Prime Time shows on CBS. Most notably was Jericho, and the sound was amazing. I found my self cranking the sound because it sounded so good.

I can't remember if I posted it here or on the Programming forum, but the Redskins game a couple of weeks ago was horrible. Their maroon jersey really seemed to show major macroblocking and this was shots of guys on the sidelines with limited motion.

On another note (sorry if this is already discussed as I haven't finished reading the post following this), but has anyone noticed the major graininess of NBC on the analog station via Comcast? It horrible on an 13" analog TV and even worse on a 51" HD. Just had to switch to analog as the signal through cable was breaking in and out and couldn't hear a thing.

Is the Panthers game in HD today? The picture loses focus on the far away shots and the close ups look kind of bloted like they are just filling the screen with a lower grade signal.

Looks fine on TWC. You neglect to say what you are watching it on.

I am watching it on Toshiba 52HM84 DLP on the HD channel. Just does not look right. My cable provider is Comcast.

I am watching it on Toshiba 52HM84 DLP on the HD channel. Just does not look right. My cable provider is Comcast.

It is suppose to be HD, but it is not on Comcast nor OTA. I thought it was a WTAT issue and one can't get ahold of them as the 529-2250 number is disconnected.

Pre-game wasn't in HD either.

Thanks lancer so everyone gets to enjoy the game in HD except those of us that are lucky enough to be in Comcast territory. Is there anyone on this board that represents Comcast? I see alot from the Time Warner people but nothing from Comcast.

Thanks lancer so everyone gets to enjoy the game in HD except those of us that are lucky enough to be in Comcast territory. Is there anyone on this board that represents Comcast? I see alot from the Time Warner people but nothing from Comcast.

No, actually I believe it is a WTAT thing. I believe Gary gets his reception from MB, but I may be wrong. I switched it over to the antenna and it still wasn't in HD, so it's not a Comcast thing.

My TWC HD channels are a mix from all over the place. My Fox is WFXB.

My TWC HD channels are a mix from all over the place. My Fox is WFXB.

That's what I thought, so it is definitely a WTAT thing and they're no where to be found.

Looks like crap on Knology as well.

We have a sad state of affairs here in the Low Country. We have no HD on both early games and the NASCAR race. Pathetic.

Scratch that. The race is in HD. I must have caught it during an in car camera shot. Flipping between 4 programs.

It looks like Fox WTAT isn't broadcasting HD at all. I noticed, as everyone else did, that the game wasn't in HD. Well, 'Til Death isn't in HD either and it usually is. So as of 8PM, no HD on WTAT.

Comcast customer... :(

Just noticed it again on one of the cameras and score line.

Tivo series 3 – Success

Just to let everybody know. Comcast (Mount Pleasant) installed 2 cable cards in my tivo last Tues. 9/26 and it has been working great since them. The only problem that I've run into is tivo is sending me the incorrect listing for MHD. But since that isn't really causing me any problems I haven't put in a problem report.

Interestingly the OTA tuner in the tivo is doing a much better job than my Mitsubishi WS-55813. I can place my antenna just about anywhere (currently on the floor behind the TV) and get great reception: No pixelization or drop outs. I run component output thru my Denon AV receiver to Mitsub. The picture is much better on SD digital cable channels than what I was receiving from a SA3250HD cable box. I really can't tell a difference in the HD digital channels.. They looked great before. The analog channels look better than the output of either my old tivo series 2 or the SA3250HD box but maybe not quite as good as the picture from a direct cable into the TV (but very close).

Yes I do think $800 is very expensive but I am extreme happy with my series 3.

If it wasn't for HBOHD I think I could drop my digital service and be very happy with just extended analog cable and OTA HDTV.

Tivo series 3 – Success

Just to let everybody know. Comcast (Mount Pleasant) installed 2 cable cards in my tivo last Tues. 9/26 and it has been working great since them. The only problem that I've run into is tivo is sending me the incorrect listing for MHD. But since that isn't really causing me any problems I haven't put in a problem report.

Congrats on getting it going - it is nice isn't it? :)

On the MHD - yeah - I was mistaken. The guide info looked great for Movies in HD... but sadly it is the MTV HD channel. And yeah I'm not watching it either. Now if we had Universal HD that would be great. I'd love to be getting the new Battlestar Galactica in HD.

OTA is good for me too - using a RadioShack in/outdoor antenna. But I still occasionally see glitches - so I'm not sure I could drop the Comcast HD package. And that new Atlas series on Discovery HD looks great too.

Robert.

The October issue is out and supposedly Comcast is killing INHD2 - yet the guide is schizo about it...

The Channel Directory pages don't list it - but do list MTV HD.

But then on the next page (the HDTV listings) has what's coming up on INHD2! Very helpful!

Of course the HDTV listings page also lists the available HD channels (including INHD2 - and not MTV HD) but doesn't actually list all the HD shows. The only channels mentioned are: INHD, INHD2, DSCHD - what's up with that??

Not that I really care - but there's no listing for what's showing on MTV HD that I can find.

Hopefully next month will be more accurate?

Robert.

The FOX HD issue is a WTAT issue and not just Comcast. I get it only OTA now(E*) and it hasn't been HD since yesterday's Panthers game either. Tonight's Prison Break is not in HD either. I'm watching the DVR so I'll report if they got it fixed before the end of Vanished....but I seriously doubt it. :rolleyes: If you'll notice the FOX logo in the lower right corner, right now it's the plain FOX logo in white letters. That means stretched/zoomed HD. Authentic FOX HD has the black rectangular box with FOX24 in grayish letters. Just FYI.

EDIT: Well 29 minutes in, it has switched to authentic HD. Cross your fingers it holds...forever. :p

I monitor the site for Comcast. Whenever I see someone has a question that refers to Comcast I will hop in and help out. I do apologize I am unable to check the forum over the weekends. As already noted by Hatfield, the WTAT is a station issue and not a comcast issue.

If you ever need anything from me directly, feel free to contact me at the office.

Chris George
Product Manager
266-3050
chris_george@cable.comcast.com

Got a question, fellas. Where is the new CW channel here in Charleston? :confused: I've actually gotten into Smallville after watching a lot of the reruns on HDNet and I want to watch this season. How did the UPN channel spilt work exactly here in Charleston. I know UPN36 turned into MyTV, but they seem to only be showing Fashion House and Desire. :rolleyes: MyTV is only showing Smallville's 3rd season right now it seems.
Where's CW OTA? Is it OTA? Where're new episodes of Smallville here in Charleston?

EDIT-OK. I figured out it's supposed to be on 2-2, but I'm scannin' and scannin' and my sat receiver sees it, but won't let me add it. Is it up?

Got a question, fellas. Where is the new CW channel here in Charleston? :confused: I've actually gotten into Smallville after watching a lot of the reruns on HDNet and I want to watch this season. How did the UPN channel spilt work exactly here in Charleston. I know UPN36 turned into MyTV, but they seem to only be showing Fashion House and Desire. :rolleyes: MyTV is only showing Smallville's 3rd season right now it seems.
Where's CW OTA? Is it OTA? Where're new episodes of Smallville here in Charleston?

CW is on 2-2 OTA. You might need to do a new channel search to get it. Cable channels and schedules can be found at

http://yourcwtv.com/partners/charleston/index.php

Don't know the rest.

Tom

Yeah, I finally got it and was just about to delete the post. The E* VIP611 is flaky with OTA locals. They really don't want to make it easy to get your locals free. They want you to pay for Sat locals. I don't even get a schedule; I have to schedule it all manually. I had to finesse it to add new channels. Still love sat though. :D
Thanks for the help.

I have a question.

Has anyone seen Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy broadcast in HD on WCBD?

I dont usually watch "Wheel" but i do occasionally catch Jeopardy and have seen that they do make it available in HD. However, ive not seen it shown in HD on WCBD. Is this because someone isnt flipping a switch or what?

Hi guys - I have some news.

I have accepted a promotion to our Corporate office in Stamford, CT. I will be the Director of Product Development for Video. I start up there Nov 1.

Over the next 3 weeks I'll be finishing up things here - as I begin to learn about my new job responsibilities... which include Mystro Digital Navigator, SDV, Digital Simulcast, HD (but not specific programming deals), video packaging and other cross-functional initiatives like Caller ID on TV.

Over the years I have discovered you are a very valuable source of information and I believe if the company wants to succeed we need to listen to what you want. As such, I have started a new thread. I hope you will be so kind as to share your opinions with me here

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=733414


I want you to know that I am sad to leave you... well, most of you ;)

And now - a three day vacation in Asheville. I'll be back in the loop late Tuesday, so if you have any issues please call Customer Service at 866-892-7201

Diana, I have never been a Time Warner customer. I used Comcast for quite some time and now I use E*. Although you never "worked for me," :p I'll miss you. You have gone above and beyond the call of duty by pleasing your customers and even those not your customers by informing the masses of changes in the industry. I applaud you. You are the prime example of great customer service.
Cheers and Godspeed.





...and remember. You can always take a girl out of the South, but you can never take the South out of the girl. :D

Diana,

As I'm sure your up in Asheville enjoying the colors of fall, you'll really enjoy CT. I came down about 4 years ago from Norwalk, and I'd have to say fall is the season I miss the most. It's a nice area up there, just stay away from sections of Stamford and Bridgeport, but many great areas. I had to get away from the cold, but of course it is all relative, as cold now is 50's and 60's.

Enjoy, and I'd be more than happy to answer any northerner (yankee) questions for you. As Hatfield has said you provided a good service to this forum. Only if all the local stations could be as involved in the forum as you were, we'd have a great market.

NBC PQ was awful Sunday. The race and football was unwatchable with the motion artifacts. Our local NBC affiliate really needs to examine this multicasting. Multicasting is going to be the downfall of HD.

NBC PQ was awful Sunday. The race and football was unwatchable with the motion artifacts. Our local NBC affiliate really needs to examine this multicasting. Multicasting is going to be the downfall of HD.

Hey, I'd be happy if they could fix the audio drops. Tried watching Hero's and Studio 60 last night and there had to a half a dozen times I completely lost what they were saying. I think everyone needs to e-mail WCBD and press them to get this solved. They are the only station that suffer this much dropout via cable.

Hey, I'd be happy if they could fix the audio drops. Tried watching Hero's and Studio 60 last night and there had to a half a dozen times I completely lost what they were saying. I think everyone needs to e-mail WCBD and press them to get this solved. They are the only station that suffer this much dropout via cable.


I agree completely, do you have an appropriate email addy for sending complaints and/or suggestions?

I just want to tell you that I enjoy your station but I am very disappointed by the High Def quailty that I am seeing from you. It is very annoying to have audio dropouts happen as frequent as they are happening. They always seem to happen during important dialogue in a program. Are you doing anything to fix this? Why is it only happening on you HD feed and not during your analog channel?
Also the picture quality on the HD feed has diminished alot since your multicasting of the CW Network. It is nowhere near as sharp and has a lot of macroblocking. I am just letting you know these things because we HD viewers, although small now, will be growing alot here in the next few months. We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for equal treatment. If there was a constant problem with your analog feed, I am sure it would have been fixed by now. We just want a quality signal just like the analog viewer. If we feel slighted by your station, then the majority of the time we will view other stations that show a commitment to providing a good signal for us. Thank you for reading my e-mail and I hope you can understand a little where I am coming from.

Dear Mr. King,



I too am an HD viewer and I can appreciate exactly how you feel. I will bring your concerns to our Chief Engineer to investigate. He is on vacation this week and I clearly do not have the expertise to address your issue, so I ask your patience until he returns next week.



Sincerely,



Joe Pomilla

VP/ General Manager

WCBD-TV/ CW

843-216-4870

I agree completely, do you have an appropriate email addy for sending complaints and/or suggestions?

Here is Sam Barclay's e-mail removethisCBARCLAY@WCBD.COM he is the chief engineer.

Hi guys - I have some news.

I have accepted a promotion to our Corporate office in Stamford, CT. I will be the Director of Product Development for Video. I start up there Nov 1.

Over the next 3 weeks I'll be finishing up things here - as I begin to learn about my new job responsibilities... which include Mystro Digital Navigator, SDV, Digital Simulcast, HD (but not specific programming deals), video packaging and other cross-functional initiatives like Caller ID on TV.

Over the years I have discovered you are a very valuable source of information and I believe if the company wants to succeed we need to listen to what you want. As such, I have started a new thread. I hope you will be so kind as to share your opinions with me here

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=733414



I want you to know that I am sad to leave you... well, most of you ;)







I am VERY sorry to see you go but you deserve the promotion. I am sure that I will still contact you about suggestions and stuff. Thank you very much for all of the help that you have given me and others on this forum. Now that you are moving up.... go get them about the FOXHD in Charleston! :) I could not resist.

Good luck. You will be missed here in the south.

BTW, do you know of a replacement that will monitor this forum? JW .... I know.. I am one of those you are not sorry to leave.... lol.... I am such a pain!

Good Luck again.

Mr. Barclay,

Its wonderful to once again find enjoyable programming to watch on WCBD. The new fall schedule has some very entertaining shows in it. However, the multicasting of NBC and The CW on the same digital signal has made watching NBC a horrible experience.

Both audio and video quality are extremely poor. I hope you can direct some attention to this matter.

Thanks

Mr. Barclay,

Its wonderful to once again find enjoyable programming to watch on WCBD. The new fall schedule has some very entertaining shows in it. However, the multicasting of NBC and The CW on the same digital signal has made watching NBC a horrible experience.

Both audio and video quality are extremely poor. I hope you can direct some attention to this matter.

Thanks


It's not too hot on the CW either.

It's not too hot on the CW either.

Im sure...although, theres nothing on CW that I watch. If WCBD doesnt do something soon, i wont watch it either.

FYI all: I have OTA only and same problems with ABC and CW :mad:

I have OTA also.
On three of my receivers the NBC issues are audio drop-outs (and of course the macroblocking). But on my primary machine, the HD Tivo, it shows up as video and audio drop-outs, which is even more annoying.
Before NBC moved to their Awendaw tower I continually had video drop-outs, but since their signal was so poor I attributed it to low signal strength. I wonder if some of the drop-outs back then were actually the same problem I'm seeing now. Only now, with the stronger signal, I assume it's actually a source issue?

Mr. Barclay,

Its wonderful to once again find enjoyable programming to watch on WCBD. The new fall schedule has some very entertaining shows in it. However, the multicasting of NBC and The CW on the same digital signal has made watching NBC a horrible experience.

Both audio and video quality are extremely poor. I hope you can direct some attention to this matter.

Thanks

I didn't get what everyone was saying about WCBD's signal being poor (HD) until the other day when I was watching NASCAR...terrible PQ, and it had tons of what I think everyone is calling "macroblocking." What seemed odd was, several weeks ago I was watching football and the PQ was great (maybe before the CW started)...but then it had that focus problem.

Time to way in. After all of the problems I had with TWC and stuff, I can say that I am not seeing hardly any of the problems that you guys are having OTA with NBC and CW on TWC. It is mostly very clear with very little macro and I have seen no audio drops. I only watch a few shows on NBC but they have all went off without a hitch. I did miss Sunday Night Football this week though so I can't comment on that.... well, I caught about 30 minutes without problems.

Good luck.

Time to way in. After all of the problems I had with TWC and stuff, I can say that I am not seeing hardly any of the problems that you guys are having OTA with NBC and CW on TWC. It is mostly very clear with very little macro and I have seen no audio drops. I only watch a few shows on NBC but they have all went off without a hitch. I did miss Sunday Night Football this week though so I can't comment on that.... well, I caught about 30 minutes without problems.

Good luck.

Try watching Jeopardy from 7:30 - 8:00. It hasnt been without problems for at least 2 weeks.

Try watching Jeopardy from 7:30 - 8:00. It hasnt been without problems for at least 2 weeks.


Missed it tonight but normally I watch it and have no problem... other than it is not in HD that is.

Another comcast customer here who is very annoyed by the NBC issues. Like was mentioned, Jeopardy seems to drop audio every 60 seconds or more. Also, why have I seen the "JeopardyHD" logo at the bottom of the screen, yet my Jeopardy is not HD?? Wierd.
I also religiously watch The Office, and it has been having it's fair share of audio drops as well. I will be emailing removethisCBARCLAY@WCBD.COM today also.

So what the deal with WTAT-HD tonight? Completely off the air on Comcast -- I'd be pretty pissed if I was a baseball fan. Interesting that not only is it off the air but the label on the cable guide says FOXHD instead of WTAT like it usually does... almost like someone just deleted it and they're trying to put it back together.

It looks like Fox (24-1) is totally off the air now? Has it been like this for a while?

This is terrible timing considering I was expecting the game to be recorded...

Copy of email sent to "General Comments" email at Fox:

Is WTAT-DT (24-1/Freq.40) having transmission problems? I have not been able to receive OTA signals from Fox since yesterday (Friday). I am a DirecTV subscriber and can receive the analog feed off the satellite now, but there is dead air on the digital frequency. Is this something that is known and being addressed? If so, do you have any timelines for repair? If not, please take note that I am not the only one complaining about it. It appears to be an issue for a couple of other people in the area: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=221319&page=79&pp=60&highlight=Charleston+++SC (second and third posts…so far).

**********************
Will this generate a response this weekend...? Doubtful, but I am hoping.

I just got off the phone with Live5 News(the "News" referral phone number from the Fox number 744-2424). I talked to a very nice girl who showed concern when I told her that Fox was dark. She put me on hold and called Fox master control. They told her that they are aware that the Fox digital feed is down and they don't know when they'll get it back up.
So yes they are aware of the problem, but don't know when they'll get it resolved.

Thanks for the indirect approach...seems odd how that works, but okay.

It was very odd...at first. I called FOX at their 744-2424 number and got a recording saying they were closed, but if you needed the news dept. to call 577-6397. Live5 News picked up. I got confused for a second but then realized that Live5 handles Fox's news hence why you see Debi Chard anchoring on Fox @10pm with a Fox backdrop behind her. Both news studios are in the same building IIRC. That's the connection between the two. The girl said it was the fourth call they'd gotten about the situation and stil put me on hold to make the call. Very helpful.
Luckily I don't really like the Mets or the Cards. They better have it up before Monday night's Prison Break or I'm crackin' skulls. :D

For the last two days, Comcast has the following information posted on their HD channel 234:

ATTENTION: DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES BEYOND OUR CONTROL, FOX HD IS OFF THE AIR. PLEASE TUNE TO CABLE CHANNEL 6 FOR FOX PROGRAMMING. THE ENGINEERING STAFF AT FOX IS WORKING TO RESTORE THE HD SERVICE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

Reading between the lines, it appears that WTAT has a serious problem. Like many others, I had to endure Baseball in SD and will probably have to do the same with Football tomorrow. Hopefully, they will get things corrected soon. :mad:

Anybody know how to program the volume buttons on Comcast Scientific Atlanta HD DVR remote? I've got everything working except the volume button, which I have to grab my TV remote for.

Go to the SA web site and you should find the information you need. I cannot tell you how to do it but I did find it there a few years back. It deals with switching the volume from your TV to your remote and involves the select key

Fox/WTAT you guys blow! How can you present HD all year and then football rolls around and you haven't had the capability for weeks now? 2 weeks ago they had the Panthers game on but it was just a blown up standard def signal. Pitiful. I for one will not be advertising with Fox anymore.

FOX/WTAT, thanks for pitiful service with no explanation!

Is FOX Digital OTA signal showing NOTHING for others too????

My first thought when I saw this yesterday was that this was yet another network vs. cable company issue, but it seems that this is actually a serious issue at WTAT. Comcast has a "difficulties beyond our control..." message up and from reading the posts, apparently there's no OTA signal at all. Anything on TWC?

Any guesses? My theory is that somebody tripped over a cord, but the guy who's authorized to plug cords back in only works M-F.

All these network/cable people need to realize that we pay money to see these games in HD, both in equipment and monthly fees. It is simply not acceptable that they can go weeks and produce an inferior product or not produce it all. Basically the cable company has a monopoly and the network gains access to these games at a very high level so that the failure of one particular station has no real repurcussions.

I'm thoroughly frustrated with this whole situation. I wish I could switch to the games I want to see to the networks/companies that have proven to have a quality product. FOX/WTAT certainly have proven that they are way behind the curve technology wise.

To their customers: "We're sorry, but we're nice people."

Give me a break and spend the money to hire someone that knows what they are doing or purchase quality equipment that won't leave you looking like fools.

bbarie-

They haven't had an HD signal for a few weeks. The few things that I have seen on the HD channel have simply been SD signals blown up to fill the screens of HD televisions.

My first thought when I saw this yesterday was that this was yet another network vs. cable company issue, but it seems that this is actually a serious issue at WTAT. Comcast has a "difficulties beyond our control..." message up and from reading the posts, apparently there's no OTA signal at all. Anything on TWC?

Any guesses? My theory is that somebody tripped over a cord, but the guy who's authorized to plug cords back in only works M-F.


TWC doesn't have the Sinclair deal yet... so no FOX HD on TWC ever.

Darthtom I'm disappointed you let this opportunity slide :)

For the last two days, Comcast has the following information posted on their HD channel 234:

ATTENTION: DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES BEYOND OUR CONTROL, FOX HD IS OFF THE AIR. PLEASE TUNE TO CABLE CHANNEL 6 FOR FOX PROGRAMMING. THE ENGINEERING STAFF AT FOX IS WORKING TO RESTORE THE HD SERVICE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

Reading between the lines, it appears that WTAT has a serious problem. Like many others, I had to endure Baseball in SD and will probably have to do the same with Football tomorrow. Hopefully, they will get things corrected soon. :mad:

What I don't understand is why there is no program info for FOX on Comcast's program guide.

What I don't understand is why there is no program info for FOX on Comcast's program guide.

The most likely explanation is that since the digital transmitter is down, no EPG is being fed to the computer which handles Comcast's guide. One of the neat things that can be done with Digital Transmission (besides multicasting) is the ability to transmit many differrent data streams in "the background" of the main feed. Think of the enhancement to sports when stats can be fed real time along with the program. Think NEXTEL's Fanveiw scanner technology.

Hope it's back soon, but I'm not surprised considering WTAT's overall performance with regard to HD. "At WTAT, we're not happy, 'till you're not happy"

Cheers,

Hightechredneck

The most likely explanation is that since the digital transmitter is down, no EPG is being fed to the computer which handles Comcast's guide. One of the neat things that can be done with Digital Transmission (besides multicasting) is the ability to transmit many differrent data streams in "the background" of the main feed. Think of the enhancement to sports when stats can be fed real time along with the program. Think NEXTEL's Fanveiw scanner technology.

Hope it's back soon, but I'm not surprised considering WTAT's overall performance with regard to HD. "At WTAT, we're not happy, 'till you're not happy"

Cheers,

Hightechredneck

Well, not to dipute your theory but, Knology still has program guide info for WTAT-DT thru next Saturday nights game 1 of the World Series. Of course it doesnt amount to a hill of beans without the actual broadcast to go with it.

I do agree that Sinclair(WTAT) could care less about our market and its desires for a halfway descent performace of its FOX affiliate.

I do agree that Sinclair(WTAT) could care less about our market and its desires for a halfway descent performace of its FOX affiliate.
What would they have to gain by that?

The Sinclair thing is a little like the NFLN deal. Sinclair wants more than TWC is willing to pay. If you Google Sinclair you will see that they are not the nicest folks in the world!

The word we have received at Comcast is the Fox HD broadcast should be fixed by tomorrow afternoon (10.17.06). When the Channel comes back up the menu guide will also be up and running.

REISB - Did you get your SA remote to work for your TV volume? Let me know if you did not. My office line is 266-3050 or email is chris_george@cable.comcast.com.

TWC doesn't have the Sinclair deal yet... so no FOX HD on TWC ever.

Darthtom I'm disappointed you let this opportunity slide :)


Sorry I have been away! I see that others are now feeling the pain with Sinclair and WTAT that I have been complaining about for years. NO FOXHS in the Charleston area on TWC ... EVER! Sinclair is truly the worst of the bunch! I have written letters, emails, posted complaints on EVERY board I can find and generally pitched a fit to everyone from TWC, WTAT, Sinclair, The Fox Network, The NFL, the FCC, and anyone else that I could force to listen. I have sent these complaints to all levels of people in each and every organization. TWC (Diana) is the only one to actually reply with an honest answer. Basically, our local Fox channel has been behind the curve for years and seems to be in no hurry to catch up. As the digital deadline approaches I foresee many fines for WTAT unless the get their s--- together. Personally, I have refused to watch anything on Fox for years due to the lack of service. Since finally going full power in "HD" (that's a joke for them) I have allowed myself to watch a couple of things ... mostly Football. Without their presence on TWC it makes life difficult to view them so I just don't.

Over the last few years I have requested that everyone write/email Sinclair and WTAT and found no support. I personally was emailing everyone as many as four times a day for about a year but no one else really joined in. Unless WTAT and Sinclair see that there is a large base out there that will not tolerate their incompetence, they will do nothing to improve. We are a small group right now but we are growing. We can make a difference if we let them know we will not accept the current situations and we are the ones that do the advertising and purchasing that supports their substandard station.

Now that I have put in my two cents worth... lets go get them!

Reply from our local NBC affliate:

First of all I want to thank you for watching Count On 2.

Now to meat of the matter, are you watching off cable or off air. I am noticing that our cable signal from Comcast (at work and Time Warner at home) does not look as good as our off-air signal I receive both at home and at work. I feel the cable companys are limiting the bandwidth making our signal look worse on cable than over the air. We did not change the bandwidth of our NBC signal when we put the CW on the air. We are still at the same bandwidth as when we had the VIPIR radar signal up. I have not noticed any changes here on my over-the-air receiver.

If you have any other questions I will answer themif I can.

Again, thank you for watching Count On 2.

WCBD-TV/DT

A Division of Media General, Inc.
Charles S. “Sam” Barclay
Chief Engineer/Operations Manager

210 West Coleman Blvd., Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464
E-Mail: CBARCLAY@WCBD.COM

TWC has repeatedly stated they pass on the HD signal exactly as they receive it.

Even if they didn't modify the "2-1" data stream from when they had the VIPIR radar sweep before the CW launch, wouldn't the presence of more and constantly changing audio and video data on the 2-2 stream cause somedegredation in the 2-1 stream? Sorry if this is an overly-simplistic question, but it seems that the total volume of data being passed through the pipe would increase when you add motion and audio to the secondary stream. Granted the PQ of the 2-2 stream blows, but are the two streams truly independent? :confused:

Reply from our local NBC affliate:

First of all I want to thank you for watching Count On 2.

Now to meat of the matter, are you watching off cable or off air. I am noticing that our cable signal from Comcast (at work and Time Warner at home) does not look as good as our off-air signal I receive both at home and at work. I feel the cable companys are limiting the bandwidth making our signal look worse on cable than over the air. We did not change the bandwidth of our NBC signal when we put the CW on the air. We are still at the same bandwidth as when we had the VIPIR radar signal up. I have not noticed any changes here on my over-the-air receiver.

If you have any other questions I will answer themif I can.

Again, thank you for watching Count On 2.

WCBD-TV/DT

A Division of Media General, Inc.
Charles S. “Sam” Barclay
Chief Engineer/Operations Manager

210 West Coleman Blvd., Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464
E-Mail: CBARCLAY@WCBD.COM

Reply from our local NBC affliate:

First of all I want to thank you for watching Count On 2.

Now to meat of the matter, are you watching off cable or off air. I am noticing that our cable signal from Comcast (at work and Time Warner at home) does not look as good as our off-air signal I receive both at home and at work. I feel the cable companys are limiting the bandwidth making our signal look worse on cable than over the air. We did not change the bandwidth of our NBC signal when we put the CW on the air. We are still at the same bandwidth as when we had the VIPIR radar signal up. I have not noticed any changes here on my over-the-air receiver.

If you have any other questions I will answer themif I can.

Again, thank you for watching Count On 2.

WCBD-TV/DT

A Division of Media General, Inc.
Charles S. “Sam” Barclay
Chief Engineer/Operations Manager

210 West Coleman Blvd., Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464
E-Mail: CBARCLAY@WCBD.COM

I dont want to call the guy a liar but, if he doesnt admit to a problem that he cant fix due to multicasting issues then he is able to pass the buck to some other party i.e. CableCos

Even if they didn't modify the "2-1" data stream from when they had the VIPIR radar sweep before the CW launch, wouldn't the presence of more and constantly changing audio and video data on the 2-2 stream cause somedegredation in the 2-1 stream? Sorry if this is an overly-simplistic question, but it seems that the total volume of data being passed through the pipe would increase when you add motion and audio to the secondary stream. Granted the PQ of the 2-2 stream blows, but are the two streams truly independent? :confused:

It really just depends how they set the encoder. The COULD have it set so that it can't take any of the bandwidth from 2-1. To my eye, the PQ on 2-1 is definitely worse than it used to be though. I just wish they put the CW on 36-1 instead, that new network seems pretty worthless to me.

Even if they didn't modify the "2-1" data stream from when they had the VIPIR radar sweep before the CW launch, wouldn't the presence of more and constantly changing audio and video data on the 2-2 stream cause somedegredation in the 2-1 stream? Sorry if this is an overly-simplistic question, but it seems that the total volume of data being passed through the pipe would increase when you add motion and audio to the secondary stream. Granted the PQ of the 2-2 stream blows, but are the two streams truly independent? :confused:


The stations can set the amount of compression that each signal gets. I know that 2-1 is supposed to to maintain a low level of compression leaving very little bandwidth for the CW. Anyway, I still am not seeing the issues that most of you are seeing. Everything here on TWC seems to look great... well.... at least with the HD stuff. The SDV still looks bad on sporting events, but the HD looks real good... even NBC.

Chris, I haven't tried the remote yet.

any chance you know the main Samsung TV codes (42" LCD) so I don't have to go through "toggle" session?

Reply from our local NBC affliate:

First of all I want to thank you for watching Count On 2.

Now to meat of the matter, are you watching off cable or off air. I am noticing that our cable signal from Comcast (at work and Time Warner at home) does not look as good as our off-air signal I receive both at home and at work. I feel the cable companys are limiting the bandwidth making our signal look worse on cable than over the air. We did not change the bandwidth of our NBC signal when we put the CW on the air. We are still at the same bandwidth as when we had the VIPIR radar signal up. I have not noticed any changes here on my over-the-air receiver.

If you have any other questions I will answer themif I can.

Again, thank you for watching Count On 2.

WCBD-TV/DT

A Division of Media General, Inc.
Charles S. “Sam” Barclay
Chief Engineer/Operations Manager

210 West Coleman Blvd., Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464
E-Mail: CBARCLAY@WCBD.COM

Time Warner Cable in South Carolina passes the signal EXACTLY as we receive it. I will be reporting is inaccuracy to my Senior Management.

Seeeee.

You sure you have to go?

I watch NBC from WSAV -3-1 from Sav Ga, they went from radar on 3-2 to MYTV a few weeks ago.The NBC feeds on 3-1 are just as good as they were when the radar was on.
So it looks like WCBD does not know what they are doing.
Jim in Beaufort

Im gonna have to start bugging Knology if this continues much longer. Maybe if they get tired of hearing from me they will investigate WCBD to see what can be done.

The stations can set the amount of compression that each signal gets. I know that 2-1 is supposed to to maintain a low level of compression leaving very little bandwidth for the CW. Anyway, I still am not seeing the issues that most of you are seeing. Everything here on TWC seems to look great... well.... at least with the HD stuff. The SDV still looks bad on sporting events, but the HD looks real good... even NBC.

So you're saying you have not experienced any of the audio dropouts? Or are you just saying you don't see the larger amounts of macroblocking on NBC that other networks have? Now I'm not saying the other networks don't have it, it just appears that NBC has more.

Of course as I'm writing this I'm watching swimming grass at Arizona on ESPNHD and shades of red appear to be tough for the cameras, as the most macroblocking occurs in those colors.

EDIT: Okay, I decided to watch a little of tonights shows both on Comcast and OTA. While watching Heroes on Comcast there was one part where audio dropped out an couldn't her what one of the actresses was saying. Flipped over to OTA and watched Studio 60 where there was a couple of occasions where it seemed to be a signal drop, one got artifacts and audio loss and the other time was just artifacting with audio fine. I did flip over to Comcast during a commercial and no sooner I flipped over there was an audio drop and artifacting occurance. While flipping over to Comcast while my audio was still on OTA (my setup right now only allows digital audio via optical on OTA) was that the signal on OTA is a couple of seconds ahead of Comcast. I know while watching HD channels that they are behind analog (both on cable), so I'm sure it would be roughly the same as it needs to be re-broadcasted.

So, I'd have to say the audio drops may be a little more on Comcast, however there didn't seem to be as many audio drops on Comcast this evening. As for PQ, it was hard to say, one time I thought OTA was better, I realized I was on Comcast, but I think there is a slight advantage to OTA.

Reply from our local NBC affliate:

I feel the cable companys are limiting the bandwidth making our signal look worse on cable than over the air. We did not change the bandwidth of our NBC signal when we put the CW on the air. We are still at the same bandwidth as when we had the VIPIR radar signal up. I have not noticed any changes here on my over-the-air receiver.

[/email]
He appears in denial, does he really watch before and after the CW switch on his own station, with a set that can show it.

I don't know how he can say they didn't change bandwidth when they added the CW. For a few months before the CW went on, they were simulcasting the upconverted SD signal on 2.2, and it looked absolutly terrible. Similar if not worse than "The Tube" with constant macroblocking and other artifacts. It appeared that they were using the bandwidth the weather radar was using, in otherwords unwatchable for a live action show. The CW now, while still not looking very good, looks better than that simulcast. The bandwidth clearly looks increased and at the same time the signal for 2.1 got significantly worse.

I have watched on both Comcast and OTA and the same problems with PQ exists. The audio drops that exist on Comcast, I always attributed to dips in the OTA signal from WCBD, because you see similar things OTA with drops or break ups of the signal.

Clearly passing the buck. First, we heard about some decoder issue that they denied existing even though it to was described elsewhere. Then we hear that nothing will change until they get their new decoder (next year?) and then they will try to send two HD signals in on channels bandwidth. I wouldn't expect solutions any time.

Time Warner Cable in South Carolina passes the signal EXACTLY as we receive it. I will be reporting is inaccuracy to my Senior Management.

I hope Comcast is monitoring the forum and responds to this as well, since they have a corporate policy of no additional compression of HD OTA signals.

My 2¢ worth.

I receive all my local signals OTA. I have four different tuners. Two are on one outside UHF antenna and the other two have their own rabbit ears / silver sensor.
Since NBC went full power I have had dropouts. The Tivo shows up as video and audio dropouts and the rest show up as audio drop-outs. It was real bad right when they went full power and got better a few weeks later. But I still have it on all four tuners. And wether doesn't seem to be related.
As far as Fox goes. Isn't the mandate that all local broadcasters be broadcasting a "digital" signal by the cut-off date and not much else? It doesn't even say it has to be high-def, only 480P at a minimum? And no one says it has to have good quality.
And since the drop-dead date is still a ways away, and most users are still on analog, why should WTAT care about a few early adopters? Sinclair is obviously only money driven, and obviously parts needed to fix their problems cost money, so why is anyone surprised that they are taking their sweet time fixing the problem. The only reason I could see why they would care would be if the cable companies started to threaten to cancel their contracts if the signal was not returned soon.
They don't get any money directly from us OTA guys and I doubt the advertisers know or care how large the HD OTA audience is, so I doubt their is much pressure from them to get it fixed.
Good thing Idol is still a few months away. Maybe they'll have it fixed by then.

[QUOTE=ComcastCG]The word we have received at Comcast is the Fox HD broadcast should be fixed by tomorrow afternoon (10.17.06). When the Channel comes back up the menu guide will also be up and running.

C'mon, you didn't really expect them to be back on the air as promised, did you?
It's after 6 pm, the "afternoon" has come and gone and the "technical difficulties" continue. WTAT deserves every bit of bad mouthing they get on this forum and elsewhere. You people need to learn how to read between the lines. Let me demonstrate:

Attention: Due to technical difficulties beyond our control, FOX HD is off the air.
The night janitor dropped his broom on a console and flipped a switch, killing our HD feed. Please tune to cable channel 6 for fox programming. We thought we should tell you this because you wise arse HD people couldn't figure that out on your own. The engineering staff at FOX is working to restore HD service as quickly as possible. The day janitor is consulting with the night janitor to see if they can figure out which one of those button thingies got mashed. It may take some time though cause Sinclair ain't payin' no overtime to fix it. Heck, they promoted the day janitor to engineer and now he expects overtime, too!!!!

Sinclair broadcasting and WTAT, making government beaurocracy look like a well oiled machine.

Cheers,
Hightechredneck

So I see we weren't lucky enough, as paying customers, to get our FOX HD back today, huh?

So you're saying you have not experienced any of the audio dropouts? Or are you just saying you don't see the larger amounts of macroblocking on NBC that other networks have? Now I'm not saying the other networks don't have it, it just appears that NBC has more.

Of course as I'm writing this I'm watching swimming grass at Arizona on ESPNHD and shades of red appear to be tough for the cameras, as the most macroblocking occurs in those colors.

EDIT: Okay, I decided to watch a little of tonight's shows both on Comcast and OTA. While watching Heroes on Comcast there was one part where audio dropped out an couldn't her what one of the actresses was saying. Flipped over to OTA and watched Studio 60 where there was a couple of occasions where it seemed to be a signal drop, one got artifacts and audio loss and the other time was just artifacting with audio fine. I did flip over to Comcast during a commercial and no sooner I flipped over there was an audio drop and artifacting occurance. While flipping over to Comcast while my audio was still on OTA (my setup right now only allows digital audio via optical on OTA) was that the signal on OTA is a couple of seconds ahead of Comcast. I know while watching HD channels that they are behind analog (both on cable), so I'm sure it would be roughly the same as it needs to be re-broadcasted.

So, I'd have to say the audio drops may be a little more on Comcast, however there didn't seem to be as many audio drops on Comcast this evening. As for PQ, it was hard to say, one time I thought OTA was better, I realized I was on Comcast, but I think there is a slight advantage to OTA.


I watched Heroes last night and heard no drop outs. Technically, I replayed it about 40 minutes behind and skipped the commercials. I saw no problems and had no audio drops at all. Unless the drops were on the commercials that I skipped, I just do not see the problems that you are. I don't have an answer about why you do but everything looks good here. I am sitting here watching Leno in HD with no problems at all.... no audio drops or video problems.

With NBC sending their signal all the way to Columbia and then TWC sending it back here, I would expect a lot of issues but they just are not there. I have many more problems like you describe on ABC.

Good luck at figuring it out.

Now on to Sinclair and WTAT. I hope that no one was really surprised that they did not come back up. In case you have not noticed... they DO NOT CARE! We are not worth their time and trouble. Get used to it. I have been on them for four years now. Personally, I just do not bother to watch them.

WTAT and Sinclair SUCK! Did I mention that they are not nice and they stink? Personally, I will be surprised if they get it back anytime soon.

With NBC sending their signal all the way to Columbia and then TWC sending it back here, I would expect a lot of issues but they just are not there. I have many more problems like you describe on ABC.

Good luck at figuring it out.


Easy we don't. We also don't get this one OTA (because as you know they were LP when we finally got the deal) so we take through a receiver - maybe that is somehow enhancing signal for you. I'll ask the engineers.

Correcting my statement above, TWC has a direct studio feed to our Summerville headend (not a receiver). We get it before it goes to the transmitter to be sent out OTA. My Engineer thinks the problem must be in their transmitter to cause the drop outs. (This theory also assumes Knology and Comcast receive OTA).

Is it just me or does Comcast look better over the last couple of weeks?
My pic seems much sharper than it did.
maybe when they dropped INHD2 it freed up some bandwith.

And this FOXHD thing is ridiculous.
No other way to describe it.

Diana,

Having been a TWC subscriber in CAE ... I have enjoyed chatting with you on this forum and will be sad to see you leave.

I am currently on Comcast in CHS and miss out on the test market advantage that we had up in CAE.

I look forward to your new forum thread. I am sure Comcast is always on the lookout for proactive and Type-A personality product development managers ... are you interested :)
If not, can we clone you for Comcast :)

You have bent the rules on Customer (dis)Service as we all know it. May many others follow in your footsteps through these 'shark-infested' waters :)

Enjoyed being part of the same community with you. Wish you all the VERY BEST.

Cheers !!

Max

Wow - that was very sweet thank you. I didn't want to go off topic by responding to every nice comment I have gotten, but I couldn't let your's slide.

Fox 24 is back on as of 10 am

Fox 24 is back on as of 10 am

Thanks for the heads up Jim, its back on with Knology also.

This season has been going pretty well in the "forgot-to-throw-the-switch" area here in the low country, I think. Until last night, I don't think I have seen any SD where it wasn't supposed to be (not counting those brief but dumb moments when the DT signal dops back to SD just so the local station can super a promo for the late news or such.)

But last night, WCIV-DT carried the last act of Lost and the second act of Nine in glorious SD with stereo only audio. Both times, the station came out of a local break/commercial availability and did not flip back to HD until the NEXT local avail. These are two of the hottest shows on ABC right now, so you would think more care would be exercised in Master Control.

I don't wish to be too critical, though, because I have been in many MC operations and know it's a hectic place, especially during local breaks. I just hope some constructive criticism will be helpful. We HD viewers are more numerous every day and we DO notice and care about both picture and audio quality...

We were watching Lost live, so were able to switch to WPDE-DT. Unfortunately Nine was DVR'ed for today so we didn't find out until too late.

Mike

Hey Guys -

I'm traveling in the morning to see the family for a couple of days - if you have an issue, please call 866-892-7201. I hope to be back on line later on Sunday.

Gary J - if you see this, thanks so much for calling me back. We did get it covered, but I appreciate you willingness to assist.

Anybody watching "Ugly Betty" 8 pm time slot? Im getting some terrible artifacts, macroblocking thru Knology. Is it just me ?

They better get it straight before "Greys Anatomy"

Anybody watching "Ugly Betty" 8 pm time slot? Im getting some terrible artifacts, macroblocking thru Knology. Is it just me ?

They better get it straight before "Greys Anatomy"
Grey's looked fine...although I wish it hadn't. Dramatizations like that always give me an uncomfortable feeling in my groin if you know what I'm sayin'. I was literally squirming in pain along with that guy. :eek:

LOL..understood

I saw some artifacts in the beginning of Greys but, it wasnt nearly as bad as Ugly Betty. I dont watch UB but, the wife was griping. Guess shes learned that from me...lol. It used to be that she would just turn to the SD broadcast.

Which HD set-top-box(es) does Comcast use in the Charelston area? Is there a chioce? Do any of them allow for native passthrough of the HD signal without conversion in the STB from/to 720p/1080i?

Which HD set-top-box(es) does Comcast use in the Charelston area? Is there a chioce? Do any of them allow for native passthrough of the HD signal without conversion in the STB from/to 720p/1080i?

SA 8300 is the HD DVR that Comcast offers and yes it allows pass-through.

My mother just got a HD set and she needs to swap out her TWC STB for a HD. She just wants the HD not the DVR. Since there is a wait for a tech to come out, she is going to pick up the box tomorrow and I am going to set it up. I have a couple of questions for Diana, or any one else who might know. 1) What box will she be getting, (I was guessing the Explorer 3250) and is there a choice, because her current box is very slow. 2) do they provide component cables when you pick up the box? 3) Is there a DVI or HDMI HD only box (i.e. not DVR)?

Thanks I want to know what to expect or to tell her to check for when she goes to the office tomorrow.

Andy

Wanted to try and capture some of the NBC audio drops that some of us are having to DVD so I could forward to NBC and possibly Comcast, but not sure if the firwire is activated on Comcast's boxes. Does anyone know if it is or not and if so, was it certain boxes and I'd need to return?

If it is active, has anyone done this that could walk me through it? I did some searching last night and downloaded some software and got my laptop to recongnize the tuners, but couldn't get Media Center to recognize it as a TV tuner even though it showed under Hardware in XP.

Andrew,

If this helps Comcast provided component cables and I believe TW does the same.

My mother just got a HD set and she needs to swap out her TWC STB for a HD. She just wants the HD not the DVR. Since there is a wait for a tech to come out, she is going to pick up the box tomorrow and I am going to set it up. I have a couple of questions for Diana, or any one else who might know. 1) What box will she be getting, (I was guessing the Explorer 3250) and is there a choice, because her current box is very slow. 2) do they provide component cables when you pick up the box? 3) Is there a DVI or HDMI HD only box (i.e. not DVR)?

Thanks I want to know what to expect or to tell her to check for when she goes to the office tomorrow.

Andy

3250
Component cables provided
DVI active

3250
Component cables provided
DVI active


Cool, Diana, what will we do without you.

Good luck on your new endeavors.

I see according to the Channel Guide (D*) that Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy are now offered in stunning HD. What a shame that we can't actually enjoy this as WCBD has yet to flip the switch (7:10pm). I am not normally a watcher of Wheel, but I do watch Jeopardy from time to time. And I might watch either even more if the signalwas actually passed on in HD. I know we need to cheer new HD expansion as it happens so that the networks will continue to expand in the future. But if they aren't actually going to transmit in HD, should we still be happy!?!

I see according to the Channel Guide (D*) that Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy are now offered in stunning HD. What a shame that we can't actually enjoy this as WCBD has yet to flip the switch (7:10pm). I am not normally a watcher of Wheel, but I do watch Jeopardy from time to time. And I might watch either even more if the signalwas actually passed on in HD. I know we need to cheer new HD expansion as it happens so that the networks will continue to expand in the future. But if they aren't actually going to transmit in HD, should we still be happy!?!

I believe someone stated this before, but apparently Jeporady and Wheel are sent to the local networks to be ran at will, meaning it is not a live feed from the Network. Since it is not just a passthrough signal and they actually record it our local NBC does not have the capability to run a taped HD feed.

As I type this I'm rembering the broadcast of the Ravenl Bridge opening and that was a taped re-broadcast in HD, so how did they do this?

I don't mean to sound condescending...I simply don't know the answer to this, but...

If I can record HD programming via OTA or through my Sat (D*) and play it at a later time,wouldn't you think that the networks/affiliates would have at least the same capabilities? And can't they then retransmit that saved signal/program/recording in the same manner in which it was received?

I don't mean to sound condescending...I simply don't know the answer to this, but...

If I can record HD programming via OTA or through my Sat (D*) and play it at a later time,wouldn't you think that the networks/affiliates would have at least the same capabilities? And can't they then retransmit that saved signal/program/recording in the same manner in which it was received?

I think its just pure laziness, lack of knowledge and a lack of care IMHO.

I don't mean to sound condescending...I simply don't know the answer to this, but...

If I can record HD programming via OTA or through my Sat (D*) and play it at a later time,wouldn't you think that the networks/affiliates would have at least the same capabilities? And can't they then retransmit that saved signal/program/recording in the same manner in which it was received?

I'm just passing along what I remember reading, but I agree, how can we do it and they can't, it just doesn't add up.

Do the local affil. have monitors on this site (that we know of)? Is it worth calling about? Like I said, I may or may not watch it now that it is available in HD, but we want more HD so we have to thank/congratulate them for each and every little morsel we get so they don't think we don't care.

Is anyone else getting weird sound mixing on CBS and ABC? What I mean is, the last day or so, I've gotten very poor voice sounds from those two stations. I first noticed it during the college football games. I could not hear the announcers. The crowd was as loud as everything, but no voices. Occasionally it pops in for about 30 seconds, then just goes back to no voice.

This problem has continued into prime time. The background noises are as loud as everything (CSI:NY was unbearable, and I don't mean in general like always, but sound wise) but the voices were impossible to near impossible to hear. The effects were extremely loud.

This is an OTA broadcast. I'm not sure what the cause may be. I'm using a media center PC, fujiplus USB HDTV card. I have a relatively new Audigy 2 ZS platinum card, but I didn't notice it while watching TV earlier in the week. I've tried every setting I can think of.

Cable TV sounds fine, NBC HD sounds perfect. I don't think there's been any FOX HD, so no test there.

Thoughts?

Do the local affil. have monitors on this site (that we know of)? Is it worth calling about? Like I said, I may or may not watch it now that it is available in HD, but we want more HD so we have to thank/congratulate them for each and every little morsel we get so they don't think we don't care.


I know that several of the engineers monitor this forum. They do not respond at all but most... if not all.... see this stuff. I hope they understand how upset this stuff makes a very important part of their viewship.

I know that several of the engineers monitor this forum. They do not respond at all but most... if not all.... see this stuff. I hope they understand how upset this stuff makes a very important part of their viewship.

Most importantly, I hope they understand not that we are upset by the selection, but by the apparent choice to not "flip the switch". I think most of us are so happy with HD that we will take anything we get (within reason ;) ). And if the networks and their affiliates see that people are clamoring for anything and everything HD, then maybe more things that might interest a broader demographic will switch to HD sooner.

I do not have Comcast or anyone else for HD, just D*, so I don't say this with any true knowledge, just assumption: I have a filter on my channel guide that only displays HD programming. That filter is in place 99% of the time that I am in control of the flinker (my wife chooses to browse all channels). So if you want me to see your show, and hence see your advertising, I will generally only see it if it is on an HD broadcast. Make your show HD, and I will flip to it. No HD, no viewership.

Oh, and one other thought: if my onscreen guide (OTA channels, not D*) tells me a show is in HD, doesn't that info come from the local affiliate? Or does that data come from D*? And if it comes from D*, are they simply passing along the info that is provided to them by the local affiliates? So in essence, if a show that is broadcast OTA is labeled as HD, isn't that determined by the affiliate (aside from the primetime pass-through shows)? Are they obligating themselves to display it in HD if they are advertising it as being in HD?

Comcast Dudes,
Due to Day light savings time switch last night all of my recorded programs are one hour off. Is this going to continue? Is anyone else having to reprogram thier 8300 or is it just a Comcast problem?

TW gets one right
my 8300 made the switch without a problem. I had a show to record at 10 AM and at Noon -- both were fine. Of course we still don't have ESPN2HD, ESPNU or NFLN or any other new channels in the last two or three years, but why should I complain I am only the customer. Why would TW care about me.