I hope I do not end up watching the basketball championship game in a 3" box while a weatherman takes up the other 57" of my screen. But this is montgomery, i expect nothing less

what happened to WAKA? No signal on antenna or Directv. Having to watch the second half of the game on the web.

Whats up with WNCF 32 ABC? Its like the channel is there but its black. Been like this for a day or two since I noticed it. But I swear I checked it either today or yesterday during the soaps, and it was on. Any info?
-----------------
updated
8 was flaking out on me a bit this morning too.
Got on my harness today and climbed up.
Looks like my antenna had gotten blown around a bit.
A little turn to the west and all seems good.

8.1 96%
12.1 74%
20.1 58%
26.1 100%
32.1 90%

Numbers are from my DirecTV box on signal strength.
Might need another tweak if 20 gets sketchy. I'll wait for the wife to get home for that.

Britt

What are these guys up to. Many of the channels are changing physical places on the line-up. All well and good but I'm having to scan for channels on my TV daily, then having to look through loads of scrambled channels to find our favs again. Also still no local PBS in HD!

Amigo

Had to got back up the tower today to re-aim, the race was sketchy on 20. got the woman on the intercom on the phone and got better results.

8.1 100%
12.1 87%
20.1 90%
26.1 100%
32.1 83%

Sweet
Britt

brittcrowell,

What kind of antenna(s) are you using.

The MC 4228, old one with the wire grid.

http://www.brittcrowell.com/brittcrowell.com/2009/Antenna2.JPG

brittcrowell,

What kind of antenna(s) are you using.

I was thinking you had a rotor box and the picture verifys that so I was curious why you have to climb the tower?

That rotor box doesn't work, It just made for easy mounting. The rotor box I got from you (or another member here) was for my cousin that lives up in Marbury. Hes not in as good a spot as I am to get everything from one direction.

I was thinking you had a rotor box and the picture verifys that so I was curious why you have to climb the tower?

Gotcha,
Yea it was me you got the rotor from.

brittcrowell,

Running an amplifier?

brittcrowell,

Running an amplifier?

No amp. :)

Anyone in Wetumpka (near Jasmine Hills) getting a weaker than normal signal from 32 ?

I've never been able to pick up 32. I'm in Dalraida working with only rabbit ears in the attic. WAIQ, WMCF 45, and Frazer TV are the only ones I can pick up. WSFA came in loud and clear when it was on 14, now nada. Thank goodness for cable, or I would get tired of climbing the attic every time I would want to change the channel. This digital stuff was very bad idea IMO.

Picking up 32 in Dalreda area with an antenna 25' in the air.
It pixelates occasionally but I'm not pointed directly at it.

I think my problem is height. I live in what used to be the bottom of a lake. Cell phone service is spotty, or maybe my house is cursed :)

You should try a better antenna than rabbit ears. And get it out of the attic and up in the air.

Picking up 32 in Dalreda area with an antenna 25' in the air.
It pixelates occasionally but I'm not pointed directly at it.

With it 25' in the air, I'd think you'd be fine. Then again, you've got the aiming to consider. You know, channel 8 is right next to it. Any problems with 8????

Guess I'll be downloading Survivor from TvTorrent.com tonight.
I mean with 3 digital channels, can't they at least play the regular programing on one of them?
Granted the channel 8 girl is way hotter than Rich Thomas...but I want to watch survivor!

Britt

PS I'm going to go climb the antenna tower and ride out the storm, at least it will be fun, plus I haven't had a shower to day yet!

EVER BODY RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!!


Considering the high death toll from these storms, that seems a little inconsiderate. But I agree, with subchannels there's no excuse for them to not throw network programming on another channel.

Considering the high death toll from these storms, that seems a little inconsiderate. But I agree, with subchannels there's no excuse for them to not throw network programming on another channel.

Other than the networks won't allow it.....And...a lot of cable companies may not carry all of the sub channels..especially satellite..

Anyone else having Charter Internet issues this morning?

Other than the networks won't allow it.....And...a lot of cable companies may not carry all of the sub channels..especially satellite..

Begs the question about why have a weather substation. Anything bad happens and they're going to put it on the main station anyway.

In most cases..such weather channels are mere place holders until the bandwidth can be better monetized....

Considering the high death toll from these storms, that seems a little inconsiderate. But I agree, with subchannels there's no excuse for them to not throw network programming on another channel.

Sorry if it seemed inconsiderate. But its the cry wolf syndrome. They interrupt programing so often when there is not a real danger. It gets old.

But a tornado only missed our house by about 1/4mile.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXjl4kedJvc

So, when WSFA plays the programs they preempted on Saturday morning, will they be in HD or should I just go ahead and download them?

Well Dish is throwing WCOV under the bus it seems.

http://bumracing.com/albums/album01/2011_05_04_18_02_19_876_1.sized.jpg

Well Dish is throwing WCOV under the bus it seems.

http://bumracing.com/albums/album01/2011_05_04_18_02_19_876_1.sized.jpg

This seems to mirror the trend across the board as more and more local stations demand higher fees for rebroadcast.

Fox-20 should get no more, nor any less, than Fox-6 or other Montgomery/Birmingham locals...don't know the details of these "negotiations" but I'm sure Dish Network has the figures to back-up their position....and Fox-20 has theirs...

Sooner or later a compromise will evolve...meanwhile, OTA still works fine for me.

Dish is saying that Fox wants a 250% increase but doesn't say if that puts them in line with what other locals are paid.

It was an eye opener the other day when I did a spreadsheet listing all the shows I watch by channel, time slot and day of the week.

Found I only watch (OTA) 5 shows a week on 32, 18 on 8, 6 on 20 and 4 on 12. This doesn't include Satellite only channels such as SciFi, etc. When I say watch, more accurately, I have timers set up to record these shows but if they're reruns or don't start off good, I'll not watch them. Although I do watch too much TV, its not quite as bad as the numbers show.

I got an email response from Paul McTear at WCOV. In it he mentioned that they are asking for .02 /day per subscriber (or .60/month per subscriber). I'm sorry but I think that is too high for a small local channel. That would put them in the same league as Fox News, CNN, USA, TBS and ESPN2.

I'll be honest, I don't think sat/cable providers should have to pay local channels anything as long as they offer there signal for free OTA. I just don't like that local channels have no problem giving there signal away for free to some people but, want those who chose the sat/cable route to pay.

Sorry WCOV, you are not worth CNN, TBS, ESPN2 prices IMO. Especially since I can watch most Fox shows through other legal means like Hulu Plus.

WCOV wants people in this area to think this is just a Dish vs WCOV battle but, sat/cable providers are stuck in these types of battles all across the country. Having to pay TBS/USA prices for every local channel across the country would be a huge burden and that cost will get passed along to us. From there point of view, why bother with that burden when people have the option to put up an antenna and get it for free. It's not worth the added cost and I completely understand and agree with Dish/DirecTV's stance.

A compromise has not "evolved" with DirecTV and I doubt one will come any time soon with Dish. Maybe I could trust what WCOV says if it was just one sat company having issues with them but; I think it is pretty clear that WCOV is asking too much now that both sat companies have dropped them. There are a lot of sat subscribers in this area, mainly because the cable companies are so bad and slow to support HD. Can WCOV survive losing that many eyes and for how long? This will hurt their bottom line more the Dish or DirecTV's.

Well Dish is throwing WCOV under the bus it seems.


Careful, Dish may try to sue you for posting copy-rited content! :D

...snip...

Sorry WCOV, you are not worth CNN, TBS, ESPN2 prices IMO. ...snip...



Sorry, but I never watch CNN, TBS and only rarely watch ESPN2. In my case, they should be worth less than a local Fox station that I do watch.


I think ultimately, cable and satellite companies will have to go to some sort of metered service. Fox wants to charge .60 per month per subscriber might not be all that unreasonable but how do you know they're actually watching and to what extent? A station that is watched 10 times a week is worth more in revenues than one that's only watched once a week. With some sort of metering, providers will be able to pay in proportion to what the content is worth.

I got an email response from Paul McTear at WCOV. In it he mentioned that they are asking for .02 /day per subscriber (or .60/month per subscriber). I'm sorry but I think that is too high for a small local channel. That would put them in the same league as Fox News, CNN, USA, TBS and ESPN2.

I'll be honest, I don't think sat/cable providers should have to pay local channels anything as long as they offer there signal for free OTA. I just don't like that local channels have no problem giving there signal away for free to some people but, want those who chose the sat/cable route to pay.

Sorry WCOV, you are not worth CNN, TBS, ESPN2 prices IMO. Especially since I can watch most Fox shows through other legal means like Hulu Plus.

WCOV wants people in this area to think this is just a Dish vs WCOV battle but, sat/cable providers are stuck in these types of battles all across the country. Having to pay TBS/USA prices for every local channel across the country would be a huge burden and that cost will get passed along to us. From there point of view, why bother with that burden when people have the option to put up an antenna and get it for free. It's not worth the added cost and I completely understand and agree with Dish/DirecTV's stance.

A compromise has not "evolved" with DirecTV and I doubt one will come any time soon with Dish. Maybe I could trust what WCOV says if it was just one sat company having issues with them but; I think it is pretty clear that WCOV is asking too much now that both sat companies have dropped them. There are a lot of sat subscribers in this area, mainly because the cable companies are so bad and slow to support HD. Can WCOV survive losing that many eyes and for how long? This will hurt their bottom line more the Dish or DirecTV's.

Sorry WCOV, you are not worth CNN, TBS, ESPN2 prices IMO. Especially since I can watch most Fox shows through other legal means like Hulu Plus.

If you think these cable networks are going for 60 per sub, may I interest you in the Ritz Carlton franchise for this area?

I think it's a Fox thing. All the Fox stations are doing this and they, as I understand it, are asking waaay more than other stations in each market. Fox has decided it's time to start making up money lost to ratings and lack of advertising by squeezing cable and satellite companies, who they claim "have gotten away with low or no cost carriage to their benefit" or some such nonsense.

I say all the cablecos follow Dish and DirecTV's lead and offer locals for an extra cost. (I think you can still request NO locals in your market and get a ~$5 discount with Dish/DirecTV.) I'd ditch them in an instant. All I'd lose is the ability to DVR those channels. And with some DirecTV boxes, you don't even lose that ability. I could DVR OTA channels with a $50 OTA tuner box and it was well worth it.

At least where I live (Baldwin County) the TV stations OTA signals are very robust. I only watch the NBC Nightly News and Fox animations, the other 95% is cable channel shows. Why should subscribers shoulder 60¢ a month for Fox when it's available free from the ether?

Why should subscribers shoulder 60¢ a month for Fox when it's available free from the ether?

I am amazed at people who pay for what they can get free as well, and usually for better quality to boot. But...the equipment, interstate fiber transport, satellite time and other operational costs that the satellite companies incure under the forced carriage of all OTA markets doesn't come cheap.

We only pay 5.00 per month for satellite locals. How much of that does WCOV think they deserve?

Went to a friends house today that subscribes to Dish locals and took this screen shot.

http://bumracing.com/albums/album01/2011_05_05_13_34_22_424_1.sized.jpg

If you think these cable networks are going for 60 per sub, may I interest you in the Ritz Carlton franchise for this area?
Ok, if you have better info then post it. Every article I could find listed those all at around .60.

My point is, I don't think WCOV is worth .60 per subscriber. I know you can't say but I'll ask anyway; is that higher then what WAKA gets from Dish? Is it in the ballpark or not even close? If it is about the same then maybe Dish is being stubborn but, my guess is that it is that it is higher.

Ok, if you have better info then post it. Every article I could find listed those all at around .60.

My point is, I don't think WCOV is worth .60 per subscriber. I know you can't say but I'll ask anyway; is that higher then what WAKA gets from Dish? Is it in the ballpark or not even close? If it is about the same then maybe Dish is being stubborn but, my guess is that it is that it is higher.

No, I can't say. But we don't charge extra for color or stereo:).

Woods is running adds all over the radio to drop Dish. Too funny.

Woods is running adds all over the radio to drop Dish. Too funny.

:D Brilliant strategy. He'll bring them down to their knees. lol

I wouldn't drop Dish even if they dropped all our locals. Charter/Knology in this area just refuses to add more HD channels. My parents have Charter I don't think they have gotten a new HD channel in the last year (well maybe MLB).

Just went to Charter.com and counted only 21 HD channels for this area (I didn't count locals). Knology was better with 27 and Brighthouse in Millbrook was the best with 38. With Dish Network, I get 74 HD channels with the Top 200 package + the Platinum HD add on. That doesn't include the 13 HBO and Starz HD channels I get. I could add another 17 HD channels if I move up to the Top 250 package. Dish's lowest tier, the Top 120 still beats both Knology and Charter with 30 HD channels (50 with Platinum addon). This is why I will never support our local cable companies until they get their act together and support more HD. Brighthouse is the only one I would even consider at this point but, I'd have to move. They seem to be the only one trying to compete with the sat companies HD selection.

I wouldn't drop Dish even if they dropped all our locals. Charter/Knology in this area just refuses to add more HD channels. My parents have Charter I don't think they have gotten a new HD channel in the last year (well maybe MLB).

Just went to Charter.com and counted only 21 HD channels for this area (I didn't count locals). Knology was better with 27 and Brighthouse in Millbrook was the best with 38. With Dish Network, I get 74 HD channels with the Top 200 package + the Platinum HD add on. That doesn't include the 13 HBO and Starz HD channels I get. I could add another 17 HD channels if I move up to the Top 250 package. Dish's lowest tier, the Top 120 still beats both Knology and Charter with 30 HD channels (50 with Platinum addon). This is why I will never support our local cable companies until they get their act together and support more HD. Brighthouse is the only one I would even consider at this point but, I'd have to move. They seem to be the only one trying to compete with the sat companies HD selection.

Preach it brother!


I've been waiting for well over a year for more HD channels that were supposedly "coming soon". I think I am going to look at re-evaluating my TV situation. Between hulu, youtube, and my Blu-rays, I'm having a hard time seeing why I keep paying out the nose for this pitiful smattering of channels.

I have had Direct and Dish since the HD explosion. I have really struggled with which one to drop. Now that Direct Has a decent DVR (I think) it should make the decision easier. I really need to drop one. I am tired of spending over 225 per month.

I have had Direct and Dish since the HD explosion. I have really struggled with which one to drop. Now that Direct Has a decent DVR (I think) it should make the decision easier. I really need to drop one. I am tired of spending over 225 per month.

Well I've only ever had DTv, but every time I'm at someones house and get the play with the remote, I'm mortified by the user interface and the remote layout, thats the same as most cable remotes I've seen.
One of my best friends/cousin just switched over to DTv from Dish because he was tired of them constantly going up on his monthly price and he has nothing but good things to say about DTv compared to Dish.
One thing that really rubs me the wrong way is how you get the SD and the HD version of every channel in the guide on Dish. I remember after a firmware update when DTv asked me if I wanted to hide the duplicates of SD/HD and I've never had to look at them again.
Since DTv has the locals now, I think Dish has lost their edge (if they really ever had one) in this area.
Britt's 2¢

Is WCOV out for anyone else? Just flaked out about 8:10pm.
That is OTA.

Britt....on Dish's VIP722 DVR, you can select one of several different program guides. You can select an HD only guide. You can also create four individualized program guides which works best for me as I can set up one with only the channels that I'm interested in.

As for Dish pricing, a few months back, I tried to make a comparison between Dish and Direct TV. Lets just say that these two companies have refined the art of making their packages difficult to compare. Once the promotional period on both have expired, I'm not so sure that they're all that much different. One pricing strategy that some play is to bounce between the two providers using their promotional pricing and changing names/credit cards. That seems to be a lot of trouble given that it might take a while to get your satellite system fine tuned.

I looked at switching from Dish to DTV back in October, because the whole home DVR thing looks really great, and DTV was going to be at least $15 more per month. The reason was because I would need 3 more receivers with DTV since they can not feed 2 rooms like Dish's receivers can. I decided to stick with Dish and wait for them to add a whole home DVR feature, hopefully.

Thought this article might be interesting to some of you Dish/DTV fans:

New receivers and more coming

Dish shows off new three tuner DVRs, multiroom boxes, promises 3D this summer at Team Summit meeting

Over at SatelliteGuys there's a lot of information from last week's Dish Network Team Summit, where it talked about some of the recent developments and made some new product announcements. Some of the new initiatives will let new Dish customers get a free Sling Adapter, 3 months of Blockbuster service free (both go into effect May 18th) while Blockbuster flicks will also be viewable on Dish receivers this summer. Other new developments on the way include 3D channels, with linear channels due this summer and two new set-top boxes in the three tuner XiP 813 and the XiP 110 multiroom extender that streams video from it. If you like to get your satellite on the go, it also showed off a new box called The Tailgater, which is apparently based on King Controls VuCube satellite setup for mobile homes, with will be priced at $349. Check out the post for all the details including hints on the Google TV app stuff that was announced earlier at I/O.

http://hd.engadget.com/2011/05/10/di...es-promises-3/ (http://hd.engadget.com/2011/05/10/dish-shows-off-new-three-tuner-dvrs-multiroom-boxes-promises-3/)

I pulled the trigger on a HR24-500 tonight from Solid Signal. Should be here the middle of the week.
I will then set up all of my future recordings on it and as soon as all of the existing stuff is watched on Dish I'm pulling the plug on Dish.

Has anyone heard anything about the Montgomery locals broadcasting 3D in OTA????

I bet you that by the time a FOX affiliate is available in Montgomery on satellite, that it will be on another channel. FOX is at war with its affiliates over retrans, demanding AT LEAST .25 per subscriber (in the top 125 markets...including Montgomery). Two affiliates have already been dumped in Evansville, IN and Nampa, ID...being replaced by a subchannel on the CBS affiliate (joining MNTV) and the current CW affiliate, respectively. This may be the final straw for Woods Communications to have FOX on WCOV and Fox could end up anywhere from being a subchannel on WNCF, taking over WBMM, swapping affiliations with WAKA (especially since their parent company's flagship station is the FOX affiliate in Charlotte) or even....another subchannel on WSFA. FOX will follow the money and will throw any of their loyal affiliates under the bus if they have to.

Half way through the program, the HD goes out....WCOV wants FOX to pay them fees, SURE.

Lol! :d

Even though I get Fox-20 OTA connected to my Dish 622 receiver, Dish refuses to display any programming guide information...just the same "trying to gouge us" message as folks that get Fox-20 via Dish network sees.

Yep which means none of your DVR timers will work.

Anyone know the number of a dish installer in Prattville? I thought I knew the one that was on Hwy 31 by the Tacobell, but I guess I must be remembering wrong.

Even though I get Fox-20 OTA connected to my Dish 622 receiver, Dish refuses to display any programming guide information...just the same "trying to gouge us" message as folks that get Fox-20 via Dish network sees.

Yeah, I saw that too.

Seems that Dish ought to be able to provide the program guide information for OTA since they get it from Tribune. This just reeks of strong arming Fox into submission at the expense of the viewer.

So I have Dish coming to setup everything on Friday. Can I connect an antenna directly into their HD DVR and just use that until Fox and Dish stop fighting?

cobolisdead

You can on the VIP722. What model will you be getting?

Also, any model after the VIP622 with DVR's will accept OTA antenna connection, the 922 has two OTA tuners and two Dish tuners, so you can record 4 different channels at the same time....just be aware that the on-screen-guide will only show "Digital Service" for Fox-20 until the dispute is ended...but you can watch OK, and if you know the correct dates/times you can set up a manual timer to record programming from Fox-20...just can't "point and click" using the program guide.

You said any receiver after the VIP622. I assume that you meant to include the 622?
Actually I believe any VIP receiver has OTA tuner capability.

You said any receiver after the VIP622. I assume that you meant to include the 622?
Actually I believe any VIP receiver has OTA tuner capability.

That's true, as you can see from my signature, I have the 622 with my OTA connected to it.

For football fanatics, like me, I would look at one of the VIP receivers that has two OTA tuners (and 2 Dish tuners) so you can record 3 other games while watching one game live...or any combination...:cool::D

When my 622 bites the dust that's what I'll upgrade with...although right now I can record 2 games and watch a 3rd live, or any combination of that.

One of the main reasons I keep my OTA antenna pointed at the Montgomery stations (I get Birmingham via Dish) is because during the NFL season, many times, Fox-20 and/or CBS-8 will carry different games than Fox-6 or CBS-42...gives me a better choice of what games to watch or record...

cobolisdead

You can on the VIP722. What model will you be getting?

I don't know, I was just going to use whatever they bring.

I don't know, I was just going to use whatever they bring.

If you're into recording lots of programs, you might want to call to confirm that they're bringing a 922. I record a lot and if I didn't also have a Tivo, I'd get the 922 with the extra OTA tuner modules. Having everything in one place is much better than the juggling DVRs I have to go through. On the flip side, whenever Dish has a falling out with a local, I can still get the complete program guide through the TIVO. No system is perfect.

Once I switch 100% over to Directv I sure am going to miss the PIP and being able to toggle from one tuner to the other without loosing the cache (Rewind Feature). (green Button)

Once I switch 100% over to Directv I sure am going to miss the PIP and being able to toggle from one tuner to the other without loosing the cache (Rewind Feature). (green Button)

I'm pretty sure that you are correct about losing PIP, because I am not aware of that feature on DirecTV. However, they added fully functioning dual tuner capabilities about a year ago. I believe it is called "Quick Play" or something like that. While watching a live show, you press the down arrow on the remote, and it activates the toggle function between the tuners. What you were watching on the first tuner continues caching from whenever you started watching it, and then the second tuner starts caching whenever you tune to your channel. You can toggle back and forth between tuners then without resetting the cache by pressing the down arrow to switch tuners.

Cool thanks Eddie!

I got some notifications on my directv box last night that you can browse youtube now as well as some new features on the info button.

Youtube is available under smart search.

I got the HR24 installed. Wow it's fast!
Major improvement over the HR21.

Called Dish yesterday to cancel my service. The forwarded me to the "Loyalty" department. I told her that I was moving and was totally treed out in my new location. She said well we can send a technician out to see if its possible.
I told her I used to be an installer and knew for a fact it was totally obstructed by trees. From that point on her whole attitude changed. It was very cold from that point forward.

I'm sure that if the ADS gave it to you for free we would have a different landscape.
Last I looked, all channels (cable ones too) run about the same amount of commercials in an hour. The rate charged to AD(S for the big 4 is a steal. Pennies for the most popular fare ADS offers. Rarely have I seen more than one or two cable channels ever show up in a rating book, and when they do the rating is essentially nothing.
(ADS-Alternative--to over the air--Delivery Services).

I have a question, Why is WAKA the odd man out on tower location? I'm in Holtville and I get all the broadcast channels but 1 because they all have towers in same general location, why does WAKA locate theirs in opposite direction although they serve the same market?

I like WAKA, but can't see spending alot of money for rotator/equipment for just 1 channel. Ever thought of moving the antenna in proximity of all the rest?

[QUOTE=FrugalFreak;20582391]I have a question, Why is WAKA the odd man out on tower location? I'm in Holtville and I get all the broadcast channels but 1 because they all have towers in same general location, why does WAKA locate theirs in opposite direction although they serve the same market?

Sounds like you've got something else going on.

If you haven't already done this, go to tvfool.com and find out how the transmitters align for your location.

Depending on your antenna, your angle of reception might be a little tight to pick up all stations at the same time. Options would include changing antennas or putting up a dual antenna system.

The Montgomery stations are all over the place, so I'm not sure how you can call WAKA the "odd man out." WAKA is very nearby to WNCF. WSFA and WCOV are on a tower in a different spot. WAIQ and WMCF are at a different place. WBMM and WIYC at a different place. WBIH at still a different place.

Given how much more powerful WAKA is than WNCF, it's surprising that you're not getting WAKA.

- Trip

[QUOTE=FrugalFreak;20582391]I have a question, Why is WAKA the odd man out on tower location? I'm in Holtville and I get all the broadcast channels but 1 because they all have towers in same general location, why does WAKA locate theirs in opposite direction although they serve the same market?

Sounds like you've got something else going on.

If you haven't already done this, go to tvfool.com and find out how the transmitters align for your location.

Depending on your antenna, your angle of reception might be a little tight to pick up all stations at the same time. Options would include changing antennas or putting up a dual antenna system.

Thanks I have a winegaurd HD7084P and it is rated up to 60 miles I think. WSFA, WCOV, APT(PBS), Frazer, wmcf(Trinity), are all in southeast direction and WAKA is Southwest. I have it pointed in Southeast because many is better than 1.
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/2232/78629546.jpg

frugalfreak

Click on this. http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d001b8035f0b549

The Montgomery stations are all over the place, so I'm not sure how you can call WAKA the "odd man out." WAKA is very nearby to WNCF. WSFA and WCOV are on a tower in a different spot. WAIQ and WMCF are at a different place. WBMM and WIYC at a different place. WBIH at still a different place.

Given how much more powerful WAKA is than WNCF, it's surprising that you're not getting WAKA.

- Trip

I'll have to guess that you are NOT getting WNCF on 32-1 but rather on 22-2.
22 is in the same general direction as 12 and 20 from Holtville. If you are receiving 12, you pretty much have to be dead-aimed at them (considering their relatively low power) to get them. So as others have said, a dual antenna array (one at 8/32 the other at 12/20) would solve your issue.

Many markets are laid out for several transmitter locations. With digital, multiple antennas are pretty much required in that case. Remember, stores around here sold the "Montgomery Special" beginning in 1954. It was nothing more than 3 antennas; one each for ABC, CBS, and NBC. At the time, NBC was the "odd man out" down at Mt. Carmel... but ABC and CBS--although in town--were 4 miles apart. So most residents still were looking in 3 different directions.

I'll have to guess that you are NOT getting WNCF on 32-1 but rather on 22-2.
22 is in the same general direction as 12 and 20 from Holtville. If you are receiving 12, you pretty much have to be dead-aimed at them (considering their relatively low power) to get them. So as others have said, a dual antenna array (one at 8/32 the other at 12/20) would solve your issue.

Many markets are laid out for several transmitter locations. With digital, multiple antennas are pretty much required in that case. Remember, stores around here sold the "Montgomery Special" beginning in 1954. It was nothing more than 3 antennas; one each for ABC, CBS, and NBC. At the time, NBC was the "odd man out" down at Mt. Carmel... but ABC and CBS--although in town--were 4 miles apart. So most residents still were looking in 3 different directions.
I was under the impression there was not a full-time ABC affil in Montgomery until 1964. Previous to that, there was only 12 and 20.

When did the local pbs start transmitting? Seems that they've been around for a long time.

When did the local pbs start transmitting? Seems that they've been around for a long time.
December 1962, according to Wikipedia.

I was under the impression there was not a full-time ABC affil in Montgomery until 1964. Previous to that, there was only 12 and 20.

Sorry. I could have been clearer. The original special consisted of a broadband VHF and a broadband (single bow tie) UHF. For Montgomery
residents, the VHF aiming toward channel 12 also allowed Columbus to be received to a degree off the side (channel 4 which later became channel 3). About 1960 channel 9 in Columbus came on, sharing a new taller tower with channel 3. Reliablity of Columbus improved quite a bit. Channel 8 also came on in Selma, which was available on the other "side" of the Montgomery Special VHF broadband. Of course these out of town stations were received
as a marginal bonus only and not a design of the Special. Once channel 32
came on for good (2nd time-1964) the broadband Special design was changed to a 3 cut-to-channel yagi configuration due to problems associated with adding that third antenna. The 20 and 32 yagis were about a foot long and 4 or 5 inches wide...pretty compact! You can still see examples of each of these Specials around; mainly in the older parts of town. They were so compact they have been able to weather the elements pretty well even after they were disconnected beginning in the mid 70's when cable came to town.

I remember watching Storer cable string the cable as I sat in class at Cloverdale. That would have been 76.

M wife called and said that WCOV is back on the air on Dish Network.

M wife called and said that WCOV is back on the air on Dish Network.

....and the program guide is back for us Dish OTA people for WCOV.

Too late. I ditched Dish. :)
Love Directv and being able to network my DVRs so its a seamless list from one room to the other.

Dish Network users:

I have a Dish 625 DVR (SD) if anyone wants it free.
I bought it so Dish doesn't want it back. I'm going to throw it away if nobody wants it.

Seriuosly, free!?

I'd love to have it then!

Do you know what I'd have to do to get it activate on my Dish account?

Dish Network users:

I have a Dish 625 DVR (SD) if anyone wants it free.
I bought it so Dish doesn't want it back. I'm going to throw it away if nobody wants it.
Can you take the HDD out and put it in your computer? ;)

Definitely enjoyed having Fox on Dish again.

Seriuosly, free!?

I'd love to have it then!

Do you know what I'd have to do to get it activate on my Dish account?


Sorry I missed this.
Dish would have to send you a smart card is all. They made me send the smart card back.

Well, if you are still looking to get rid of it, I'd be interested.

Send me a PM. You can have it.

Now that Bahakel owns half of Montgomery (TV stations...that is) I wonder how much longer WCOV is going to have WAKA producing its newscasts...could this lead the way for WBMM and Bahakel to wrestle away the FOX affiliation from WCOV? Either way, I doubt WAKA will be doing news on WCOV much longer, especially if it can air newscasts on a station they will likely own or control...

Did I bump my head or do I recall WCOV aligning itself with WSFA and Raycom for news?

Did I bump my head or do I recall WCOV aligning itself with WSFA and Raycom for news?

WSFA's agreement with WCOV expired at the end of last year. However, I could see it coming back again as WAKA takes over news programming at WNCF and WBMM. Since WNCF/WBMM have the news share agreement with WLTZ in Columbus...will they stay with INN and WNCF/WBMM abandons it for WAKA?

Any chance that 32 and 8 will move their transmitter to the same general location as the tower for 20 and 12. Maybe even on the same tower? That would definately help us OTA people.

32 has applied to move onto 8's tower at significantly increased power.

- Trip

So we'll have 32 and 8 on one tower and 12 and 20 on another tower.... 58 degrees apart. Heart be still. :)

Too bad they couldn't all be co located.

I pick up 8, 32, and 20 with no problems. 8 and 20 both have strong signals and 32 is pretty good as well. I even pick up 26 but, even though its signal strength is in the 80s on my Dish DVR, it blinks on and off for a few seconds every 5 to 10 minutes. What would help me out more than anything would be if 12 would switch back to UHF. My antenna picked them up without any problems in its current location when they were UHF. Once they switched to VHF, haven't been able to pick them up since. I know it is never going to happen but, 12 was so much easier to get when they were UHF.

rolltide,

In case you're using an amplifier on your antenna, check to be sure that it'll pass VHF as some don't. I went to the trouble to change out an antenna thinking it was an antenna problem when it was the amp.

I too have a pretty good signal level with 26 but it drops out. 32's level is fairly low and it comes in with fewer dropouts.

My antenna is not amplified, I was told I could not use an amplified antenna with the Dish Network 722 DVR.

My antenna is not amplified, I was told I could not use an amplified antenna with the Dish Network 722 DVR.

That's not true...I use both a standard antenna preamp/power supply and feed that output into another distribution amplifier with 6 outputs..one of the outputs is connected to my 622 DVR...I did have to install a splitter at the 622 to attenuate the signal to keep the 8/12/20 signals from over-driving the 622 tuner..but I'm almost 75 miles away from any of the transmitters..26 also comes in at 100%, and the weakest is 32 that comes in about 75%...

I am. I have a Dish network 722 DVR and a Tivo S3 with their OTA tuners driven off of a dual antenna systems that's amplified.

It may have to do with how the wires are run. My dish coax is entirely seperate from the antenna coax. It seems that on some installations, they're combined then split just before the DVR.

Guess I was told wrong, think it was the Dish installer who told me. That's what I get for listening to the installer.

What antenna do you guys use?

Which antenna do you already have? You can probably put an amplifier on it.

It is an older model of this one (mine was purchased in 2008):

http://www.antennasdirect.com/store/C4-Clearstream-DTV-antenna.html

It's also in my attic.

My dish coax is separate from my antenna coax like yours as well.

So we'll have 32 and 8 on one tower and 12 and 20 on another tower.... 58 degrees apart. Heart be still. :).

"IF" approved by the FCC.

You can use a amp. But you can't use it on the sat cable. Look at your instruction book. I thought the same thing for some reason, but when I (carefully) re-read, I realized that you could use an amp under conditions.

I'll have to look into an amp then. Any recommendations of a decent amp that will not break the bank?

It is an older model of this one (mine was purchased in 2008):

http://www.antennasdirect.com/store/C4-Clearstream-DTV-antenna.html

It's also in my attic.

My dish coax is separate from my antenna coax like yours as well.

According to the link, it appears to be a UHF only antenna.

If it was me, I'd still try an amplifier on it but be sure to get one that does both UHF and VHF. Look for a Channel Master at solidsignal.com

Not much happening here lately.

Not much happening here lately.

Well college football's just around the corner. That should get some posts.

Well college football's just around the corner. That should get some posts.

Yep, Dish customers are still waiting after 2 years for Dish Network to pick up ESPNU in HD...currently we only get the SD feed...that does not bother me until football season starts...

We have filled Dish's basket full of complaints, but no movement in sight.☻☻

:mad::p:rolleyes::confused:

I switched to Directv exclusively with the new HR24 DVRs and a SWIM system. I'm not looking back. Very very happy!

I hit list on my remote and all of my recordings from all 3 rooms show up in a single guide. ;):cool:

Has anyone else noticed that the signal strength for channel 20 and 12 has gone up????

Does anyone know if anything is being done at 32 to increase the power of their transmitter. Thought 32 and 8 were now owned by the same company and that might lead to higher OTA transmitter output.

Has anyone else noticed that the signal strength for channel 20 and 12 has gone up????

Does anyone know if anything is being done at 32 to increase the power of their transmitter. Thought 32 and 8 were now owned by the same company and that might lead to higher OTA transmitter output.

I can't see any difference in power levels on 12 and 20..my OTA signal strength indicators, one on my Dish 622 DVR, and one on the built-in tuner of my Sanyo HDTV, have indicated >100% for over a year....

8 also runs 90-100% with 32 running at about 70-80%...

Just guessing, but wouldn't having an amplified antenna on a 70' tower pretty much peg your reception level? :)

Just guessing, but wouldn't having an amplified antenna on a 70' tower pretty much peg your reception level? :)

Yes, it did, but in the house I run it through a 6-way splitter and distribute it to many TV's, then just before I connect it to my Dish receiver I split it in two, one to the Dish receiver and one to my Sanyo 55" HDTV tuner.

Without that last splitter I was swamping the Dish 622 tuner...

I can rotor to Atlanta, Columbus, Mississippi, and pick up all those locals, but rarely do that since one set of locals from Montgomery and one set (Dish) from Birmingham covers everything I need.

These photos show my tower with the Winegard on top, my Dish Network dish mounted to the tower near the roof, and my Wildblue Satellite internet dish on a pole mount.

When you live in the boonies you need all these technologies..:cool:

What's up with WAKA. No HD for the bama game ??!!

Yes they got it fixed.

12 had to have increased power because I haven't changed a thing with my antenna or Dish DVR but, I can now pick up 12. Before, the signal strength meter on my DVR wouldn't ever see anything on 12, now it locks in at around 66-68 signal strength. Not great but better then nothing. Maybe tonight is just one of those really good nights, we'll see if it continues to come in.

Also, is anyone else trying to watch LSU vs WV but ABC 32 keeps cutting out? Just wondering if it is a problem with my DVR or a station problem. I'm leaning to a station problem because I also lose the channel OTA at the same times. Been cutting in and out a lot during the past 30 minutes, just went out again as I'm typing.

Did anyone see the Auburn game tonight?

On Dish, provided I found the right channel, it said that it was being blacked out for our area. Just wondering if it was available somewhere and I missed it.

Did anyone see the Auburn game tonight?

On Dish, provided I found the right channel, it said that it was being blacked out for our area. Just wondering if it was available somewhere and I missed it.

If you have the regional sports package (I have the Top 250 with the sports package) it was on two channels...Fox Sports South carried the game in SD on it's main channel, but the HD feed was at (ch-474) on one of the Dish channels named ALT-HD...

Many games carried by Sports South and Fox Sports Network are carried in SD on their primary channel, but can be found in HD on the ALT-HD channels, in the 400-series channels..

A neat feature of the Dish DVR's (as you see, I have the 622) is the new firmware's search function has added "Live sports" to the left panel and if you tick that and select "Football" in the right pane it will find all the channels...even the ones that you may not have in your favorites guide.

Just press the left arrow (in the Select/up/down/left/right buttons) and then select Live sports and Football and you will see hidden feeds of many football games...especially the HD feeds of games being shown in SD by Sports South and FSN...

I don't think you have to subscribe to the sports pack. I don't and was still able to watch it in HD on the ALT channel. FAU almost pulled it out to, RTR!! :-)

4bama

Thanks for the heads up.

Just tried the search function (bottom right of remote control) and works well.

I don't think you have to subscribe to the sports pack. I don't and was still able to watch it in HD on the ALT channel. FAU almost pulled it out to, RTR!! :-)

I think you're probably right for certain packages you subscribe to with Dish.

I have the AT-250 and I think this package includes the regional sports package.

I'm sure the "Everything" package does to, but I think you have to subscribe to regional sports package with some of the lower tiered packages.

For our region the regional sports package includes Fox Sports Network, Sports South Network and maybe others I don't recall.

I'm looking to get a HR20-700 to replace my H20, need a DVR with my new night job, and I'm tired of downloading torrents when I miss shows.

Any of you have experience with the HR24s? are they that much better than the old HR20s?

I get my locals OTA, so the HR20 is nice that it has a dual tuner ATC built in.
Looking on epay for a owned system. looks like I can get a hr20 for around $75 and the hr24 would be around $300 plus I would have to buy a AM21 tuner.

Thanks
Britt

Any of you have experience with the HR24s? are they that much better than the old HR20s?

Night and day.

Well I just ordered a owned HR20-700 for $65 including shipping. I think my cousin in Wetumpka has the HR24s, so once I get up and running I'll compare them. If its worth it, I may upgrade to the hr24 at a later time.
I would cost me $350 to get a owned HR24 and an AM21.
Got an old 750GB Sata drive I can update it with too if needed.
Hope I get it before Sat. So I can watch the 2nd half of the Bama game Sun. morning when I get off.
Don't really need much. We only have a single tuner anyway. Just with working mids, I'm missing shows and tired of torrenting them and watching though the computer on the big screen. Still watching my HD movies through the computer though.

I'll report back on the night and day thing.

Britt

I have 1 HR21 and 2 HR24s all linked together with the SWIM system.
All of the recordings show up in one list on any DVR.
The one thing I wish they would add is to allow you to spread the recordings over other tuners. I had a couple of conflicts and missed some things I was hoping to record when other tuners were doing nothing.

One example was I had setup two and 1/2 men and the Charley Sheen Roast/ I missed 2 1/2 men because of a conflict while the other 2 DVRs were not doing anything.

Am I the only one getting a very very weak signal out of WAKA?

Just turned over to ESPNHD on Directv and got a grey screen and the message that this game is blacked out? What gives?

Just switched over and it's on now. I'm an Alabama fan but I plan to switch back and forth between the games. The Auburn game may be more interesting (along with TN/GA--tonight there are 3 games that I want to see on at the same time).

I am trying to find the best antenna to get the HD channels. Does anyone have any suggestions? I would perfer an indoor. I live in Prattville.

I am trying to find the best antenna to get the HD channels. Does anyone have any suggestions? I would perfer an indoor. I live in Prattville.

You probably need to go to tvfool.com to find out what kind of signal strength you have to work with. If you're on top of a hill or down in a low area will also affect your reception.

Here's a link http://tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29

Wow, that really helps. Thanks.

I am trying to find the best antenna to get the HD channels. Does anyone have any suggestions? I would perfer an indoor. I live in Prattville.

I've found that a Channel Master 4228 works great. I've been able to get all channels at my house in Wetumpka. I've also used them in Lake Forest, Wynnlakes and Pike Road with great success. All of these have been installed in the attic.

Here we go again. Now Fox networks are predicting doom and gloom for Directv users Nov 1st.

I've found that a Channel Master 4228 works great. I've been able to get all channels at my house in Wetumpka. I've also used them in Lake Forest, Wynnlakes and Pike Road with great success. All of these have been installed in the attic.

The 4228 is a good antenna. Remember, we have 2 general directions we receive signals from here in Montgomery. 8 and 32 are SW; 12, 22 and 20 are SE. A single antenna may work at install, but you may find conditions such as wind or storms degrade your reception to unacceptable levels after the fact. Good insurance is to install 2 antennas, combining them with equal cable lengths into a combiner such as a Winegard CC7870. Stack them 3 feet apart if possible. This has yielded excellent results in my attic in far east Montgomery:
8=100%
32=75%
20=85%
22=70%
12=70%
and as a bonus I get 100% on PBS as it is close to my SW aim and in town.
I might add that your second antenna pointed to the SE should be a U/V,
(as mine is) since channel 12 elected to go VHF, and not with alot of power. If you needed more boost, a Channel Master CM7777 pre amp (although hard to find due to demand) is a good choice. I installed one as extra insurance, but found the channel 8 and 26 signals would overload it some of the time. The great thing about the combiner I mentioned is that you can isolate one of your antenna inputs away from the pre amp. This got me 100% on 20
and 85% on 12 and 22, while holding my SW readings as in the past. This
array has been in service more than a year and no matter what the conditions outside, I haven't seen a single glitch on any channel.

The 4228 is a good antenna. Remember, we have 2 general directions we receive signals from here in Montgomery. 8 and 32 are SW; 12, 22 and 20 are SE. A single antenna may work at install, but you may find conditions such as wind or storms degrade your reception to unacceptable levels after the fact. Good insurance is to install 2 antennas, combining them with equal cable lengths into a combiner such as a Winegard CC7870. Stack them 3 feet apart if possible. This has yielded excellent results in my attic in far east Montgomery:
8=100%
32=75%
20=85%
22=70%
12=70%
and as a bonus I get 100% on PBS as it is close to my SW aim and in town.
I might add that your second antenna pointed to the SE should be a U/V,
(as mine is) since channel 12 elected to go VHF, and not with alot of power. If you needed more boost, a Channel Master CM7777 pre amp (although hard to find due to demand) is a good choice. I installed one as extra insurance, but found the channel 8 and 26 signals would overload it some of the time. The great thing about the combiner I mentioned is that you can isolate one of your antenna inputs away from the pre amp. This got me 100% on 20
and 85% on 12 and 22, while holding my SW readings as in the past. This
array has been in service more than a year and no matter what the conditions outside, I haven't seen a single glitch on any channel.

I've got a similar set-up in Wetumpka with the 4228 and a long range Winegard with a CM 7777 preamp and combiner in my attic. My signal strengths are incredible. However, for someone on a budget the 4228 can do the trick almost by itself. When you add a pre-amp the results are really good anywhere in Montgomery. I agree, though, that you may have some inconsistencies in signal strength depending on the weather.

Long time no post.
I'm having some issues with a stuttering picture on cbs. During the SEC championship of course
I have a 4228? a 7777amp rotator and quad coax split once and it is run through my dish 722. I dont see the stuttering on the dish hd feed.
I was wondering If I need to troubleshoot or if it is happening to others
Oh rotator is set on 224 and dish box says 100%

thanks
steve

Got new Software from Directv Monday Morning. Wow what a difference!

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/technology/hd_guide?footernavtype=-1&lpos=header

Way to go WSFA for airing some St Jude Charity junk instead of the last episode of Community, maybe the last one ever. I hate our local stations, I so wish I could subscribe to a national feed of some kind for the big 4.

Looks like OLED TV will finally get off the ground. LG is showing a 55 inch model at CES and has announced a 3rd quarter shipping date. Of course, it will be a while before the price comes down to something I would consider (that is, if production of large screen OLEDs does actually begin).

What the heck is up with WSFA? I am trying to watch the Blackhawks vs Red Wings NHL game which was supposed to be on NBC starting at 11:30 but instead we get Paid Programming followed by college basketball? What the hell!? This is a national telecast. Is this being shown on some other channel that I do not know of? Thanks in advance and sorry for being pissed but this seems to happen every year and it's getting annoying.

No offense dude but I'd say that most people in this viewing area could care less about the NHL and would much rather watch Auburn basketball. Alabama basketball comes on next and I will call the station complaining if there is a NHL game on instead.

Earlier this week Dish Network activated the HD feed for APT...from Birmingham it's mapped down to Channel 10.

Since APT has only one program schedule for all affiliate stations I wondered if any of you Montgomery Dish Network customers are now receiving the HD feed mapped down to channel 26?

4bama

I don't have it on 26 via satellite. I am getting it OTA in 026-01, 026-02 and 026-3 but no 026-0.

I'll try to keep an eye on it and see if they update the program guide to include it.

Did you hear about the Dishhopper box coming out in a few months. It'll record all 4 national channels at one time on one transponder using only 1 tuner. kewl beans.

WAIQ/PBS is uplinked on Dish but is not yet active. Hopefully we'll see it soon.

4bama,

26-0 now appears on the all channel list. Going to HD only program guide, it doesn't appear.

...and the only reason I'm up at 5 a.m. on a Saturday morning is that the Tornado siren went off and scared the begeebers out of me. aaaaargh zzzzz.

We've had the SD APT for a while now on 26-0 on Dish. You'll automatically see a 26-0 HD when they turn it on.

WAIQ APT/PBS is now live on Dish channel 26-00 HD.

Thanks for the heads up. This is a very welcome addition because now when I'm forced to watch Sesame Street, Sid the Science Kid and Word World (you know, with the kids), at least I can now watch them in HD.

Thanks for the heads up. This is a very welcome addition because now when I'm forced to watch Seseme Street, Sid the Science Kid and Word World (you know, with the kids), at least I can now watch them in HD.

Oh..I remember being so sick of my kid watching Dragon Tales on PBS Kids..
It doesn't take long for the Hd to be negated by the programming..:)

I actually like Sid the Science Kid, I think it is a very well done show. I vote science and this show does a good job of teaching kids some basic science, if they pay attention.

More HD for Montgomery . . . WIYC (formerly TCN, n ow Weather Nation) is broadcasting in HD. I tuned to it using my antenna and, sure enough, it's in 1080i HD and 16X9 with Dolby Digital. I'm not excited about this channel but it is a local HD. I wish the CW would hurry up and go HD.

More HD for Montgomery . . . I wish the CW would hurry up and go HD.

I little birdie tells me that will be happening this summer...:cool:

My family just switched from Dish to Brighthouse. Hated doing it but we needed to save money. Anyway, we have an extra sling adapter for a 722 or 722k receiver. It allows you to watch TV on your computer or smart phone. We're getting rid of it. If interested, PM me for details.

Anyone here use Tivo with Brighthouse? If so, how much better/worse is the software than the Brighthouse box? The Brighthouse Motorola box software is horrible. Dish was so much better in that respect.

jason,

I've got an Tivo S3 and the program guide implementation is a lot better than the Motorola/Brighthouse box. Picture and sound is also better as the S3 is THX certified.

I would caution you though because Brighthouse's pricing structure cost you about the same with or without their cable box.

I eventually got off cable due to picture quality issues. Too much variation among channels and everytime it rained, it took a few days for signal problems to clear up. Then when there were the seasonal swings in temperature, they'd have to come out and work on redoing the signal strength. Just too much grief when I could swith to satellite and just watch TV. I still have the Tivo and use it for OTA.

A major game changer is that Dish is coming out with a DVR that called the Hopper that will record all 4 national networks that use a single transponder in one signal stream. Translation, it uses one tuner for all 4 channels and you can use the remaining tuners for other channels.

By the way...anyone interested in buying an SVS PB Ultra-13 in textured black, PM me.

A

Jim, thanks for the heads up. I was able to keep my bundle and just switched out the HD DVR with an HD receiver and moved it to the bedroom. BH equipment is horrible but I'm still saving $30 a month over Dish even with TIVO. I dropped sports Pass to make up the difference. I am missing Dish. I just don't get why BH is so far behind here. In Birmingham they have 142 Hd channels compared to 53 here, no remote DVR and no Indemand. I gain on demand movies and remote dvr with TIVO.

I got the Premier XL with 150 hours of HD record time and THX cert.

Jim, thanks for the heads up. I was able to keep my bundle and just switched out the HD DVR with an HD receiver and moved it to the bedroom. BH equipment is horrible but I'm still saving $30 a month over Dish even with TIVO. I dropped sports Pass to make up the difference. I am missing Dish. I just don't get why BH is so far behind here. In Birmingham they have 142 Hd channels compared to 53 here, no remote DVR and no Indemand. I gain on demand movies and remote dvr with TIVO.

I got the Premier XL with 150 hours of HD record time and THX cert.
Shoot, BH sounds like progress compared to the city-owned cableco down here in Foley. The DVR only holds about 20 hours of HD programming. Just as well, there's less than 30 HD channels and the only HD premium is Starz!. We also have no VOD, cable internet or remote DVR abilities. And until December you couldn't actually fast forward half the HD channels without the thing glitching out and starting the program over. :rolleyes:

The 140+ HD channels in Birmingham sounds like a fantasy, dunnit? :D

Anyone in the area need some extra home audio gear? I just upgraded my equipment and I've got a Sony 6.1 surround sound receiver (no HDMI) and two Sony center channels speakers to get rid of. One is brand new and the old a few years old. I Don't want to go through the Ebay hassle or deal with shipping. Send me a PM with Q's if want to take them off of my hands. I was able to sell my sling adapter.

Stupid brighthouse can get the cable card working with my tivo. The standard channels come in but only a few hd channels come in and no digital channels.

jason,

When I went through all that mess getting the cable cards properly authenticated with Brighthouse, it turned out that after a certain number of attempts, you have to get new cards. Sounds like a similar situation. I could get the main channels but not some of the ones on the premium tier.

jason,

When I went through all that mess getting the cable cards properly authenticated with Brighthouse, it turned out that after a certain number of attempts, you have to get new cards. Sounds like a similar situation. I could get the main channels but not some of the ones on the premium tier.

I was able to friend someone in the Tampa office and he hooked me up. Certain codes were not getting on the card. All is well now. He also gave me a two week credit for my troubles. Brighthouse plans to add 20 HD soon. I may have the channels to provide as well (or they will be on my blog).

Dish still has the best user interface IMO.

To those of you with Brighthouse,

They have a special going for the movie pass, HD pack and sports pass for $10. these are regularly $7 each. The price is good for one year from what I was told. I jumped on it because I was paying $7 a month already for the Hd pack alone.

Also, I should find out some time this week what new HD channels we are getting this year. The rest of the Brighthouse areas have over 100 HD channels so I am hopeful we'll get some love.

WIYC HD is now live in Dish channel 67.

I have Brighthouse for Internet (RoadRunner) and telephone and DirecTV for my TV. My promotional period for my phone is up so my bill will soon increase. I've been toying with the idea of just going with Brighthouse for my TV as well since they have all the HD channels I watch and I should be able to get a promotional deal for bundling everything. How is Brighthouse's DVR?
Thanks. Stan

I have Brighthouse for Internet (RoadRunner) and telephone and DirecTV for my TV. My promotional period for my phone is up so my bill will soon increase. I've been toying with the idea of just going with Brighthouse for my TV as well since they have all the HD channels I watch and I should be able to get a promotional deal for bundling everything. How is Brighthouse's DVR?
Thanks. Stan

Brighthouse's DVR is old and outdated. The functionality and the look are outdated. They have better models in other areas though. I ditched the DVR and added TIVO. The savings from no DVR almost paid for the monthly TIVO subscription before the $2.99 cable card fee. BH has new two-year bundles for all three services at really low prices right now.

Thanks, I guess I'll stick with D* for the time being (maybe see what kind of deal I can get with Dish).

No Fox for D* customers untill David Woods gets his head out of his Azz.

I have Brighthouse for Internet (RoadRunner) and telephone and DirecTV for my TV. My promotional period for my phone is up so my bill will soon increase. I've been toying with the idea of just going with Brighthouse for my TV as well since they have all the HD channels I watch and I should be able to get a promotional deal for bundling everything. How is Brighthouse's DVR?
Thanks. Stan I got my first bill Saturday after the promotional period for my phone service ended. My bill (Internet and phone) went up over $50 dollars. When I called I was told the only other plan would shave $10 off. I'm not a big phone user so I started looking around and decided to give Vonage a try. I got my phone adapter today and hooked everthing up in about 5 minutes. The voice quality is just as good as Brighthouse and it is only $11.95 a month (and this isn't a "promotional" Price). This includes 300 minutes in the US and Canada. I don't use 300 minutes a month. If I did happen to go over, additional minutes are 3.6 cents. There are other plans if more minutes are needed. There is a 30 day trial period. If I am not satisified in 30 days I can return everything and there is no penalty. . This isn't a commercial but I am a happy camper at this point (of course that could change once I've used Vonage for a while, but I don't think so. It's nice that now there very viable (and much cheaper) options for phone service.

I have Brighthouse for Internet (RoadRunner) and telephone and DirecTV for my TV. My promotional period for my phone is up so my bill will soon increase. I've been toying with the idea of just going with Brighthouse for my TV as well since they have all the HD channels I watch and I should be able to get a promotional deal for bundling everything. How is Brighthouse's DVR?
Thanks. Stan

I can do one better. Get in touch with me directly and lets see what kind of promotions we can put you into going forward. I work for Bright House Networks and you can reach me either here via PM or email me directly at BHNtechXpert@mybrighthouse.com

Brighthouse users. I think the dvrs at Brighthouse had a software update recently. The guides are different. Small pain in the butt.
I am wondering what the heck could the new HD channels be?

Brighthouse users. I think the dvrs at Brighthouse had a software update recently. The guides are different. Small pain in the butt.
I am wondering what the heck could the new HD channels be?

Do you like the new software? I switched to a TIVO because I liked the software better.

When I talked to the local supervisor here in Wetumpka he mentioned that he heard we should get 20 or so more HD channels this year. He didn't know which ones yet. Hopefully they come in bunches and often. Charter Montgomery added over 30 HD channels over a two month period in December and January.

Not really but I can get use to it

Do you like the new software? I switched to a TIVO because I liked the software better.

When I talked to the local supervisor here in Wetumpka he mentioned that he heard we should get 20 or so more HD channels this year. He didn't know which ones yet. Hopefully they come in bunches and often. Charter Montgomery added over 30 HD channels over a two month period in December and January.


How many HD channels do they presently have?

Brighthouse users. I think the dvrs at Brighthouse had a software update recently. The guides are different. Small pain in the butt.
I am wondering what the heck could the new HD channels be?
Um no...we haven't updated the DVR's recently. Exactly what are you referring to thats different?

How many HD channels do they presently have?

Charter has just over 70 HD channels in Montgomery now. BH has 53 and Knology somehwere around 36. These numbers represent the max you can get by subscribing to all premiums.

Um no...we haven't updated the DVR's recently. Exactly what are you referring to thats different?

Dvr menus:D

Im not crazy and I have 3 hd dvrs . The menues have been changed the same way on all of them. This happened late at night or early morning. No big deal just screwed up and did not record a few shows.Oh my god I will have to miss Dance moms for a while

I would like to know if there are any people other than me that have cut all ties with cable and satellite. After starting out with Bright House several years ago, I went to Dish Network because they had the better DVR's plus local channels. After they went to war with Fox (WCOV), I ended up getting the shaft from Direct TV, so I dropped them all. Now I have Free HDTV, and I stream the rest via internet. Tivo is a big plus with my latest rebellious decision. Anyone have feedback on this?

I would like to know if there are any people other than me that have cut all ties with cable and satellite. After starting out with Bright House several years ago, I went to Dish Network because they had the better DVR's plus local channels. After they went to war with Fox (WCOV), I ended up getting the shaft from Direct TV, so I dropped them all. Now I have Free HDTV, and I stream the rest via internet. Tivo is a big plus with my latest rebellious decision. Anyone have feedback on this?

My sister and her husband did this. They have an antenna for locals with TIVO. They also have Netflix and Hulu Plus. I've had Dish, DirecTV, Charter and Knology in the past. I now have Brighthouse. They all have their issues but I was happy with Dish for the longest time and left because of cost. Brighthouse has been good so far but they are lacking a lot of services in our area including more HD, on demand, higher internet speed, etc. I like TIVO but Dish does make the best DVRs. The customer service at Dish and Brighthouse are better than the others, IMO. Charter is the worst.

"Cutting the cord" has never crossed my mind, it doesn't bother me at all to pay my Dish Network bill each month. I'm sure other people have bills that they don't mind paying but I would think is crazy (anything over $500/month for a car I think is nuts).

Yes, cable and sat price are going up but, they've been going up ever since the industry was created. Other things in our lives cost more these days as well, from the movies to food. What I find odd with the whole "cut the cord" movement is that people seem to want every channel for next to nothing. I gladly pay my Dish bill each month and I don't see anything changing that in the future. If I ever need to save money then I'll just drop to a lower tier, but canceling and relying on things like Hulu+ and Netflix, never. I have Netflix and love it as an addition to my TV service. I tried Hulu+ last year for a couple months and hated it, I'll never pay for that service again (half there content is only available on a PC and I thought the HD quality was poor and the forced commercials where annoying).

Guess I'm an oddball these days, my cable/sat bill is the least painful to pay each month.

Count me in as another one who would never consider cutting the cord. The "HD" picture quality online is subpar (but then so is my cable; I prefer DirecTV but no longer have LOS to their sats) and my so-called 10 Mbps DSL is too slow to reliably stream YouTube in 360p, much less 720 or 1080!

I like the idea of having a Roku or Boxee or a Blu-Ray with wireless to gain additional content, but I don't think the shows I like are even online in any HD form so I would lose more than I'd gain. My TV habits are primarily cable channels like A&E, Discovery, Science, etc… The only OTA I ever watch is local news, MeTV and Fox's Sunday animation block. (I live in Baldwin County and can't actually get Fox OTA despite being able to practically see the tower from my neighbourhood.)

Plus, I'd hate to lose the fast-forwarding ability of a DVR to forced commercials like Hulu has. Yuck! I'm trying to get away from commercials, not sit through more.

And I certainly wasn't advocating "cutting the cord." My sister and her husband did it and they are happy. I wouldn't be. I'm already missing all of those extra HD channels with Dish. I think Brighthouse will catch up though as they have lots more than Dish in other places. But I do agree that dealing with these companies can be frustrating. However, if you know the right people, the experience is much better. I had a direct number to Dish retention that allowed me to speak to an American with no wait. That helped so much. With Brighthouse, BHteckexpert has been a great resource and a manager at the local office gave me his personal number. The service with BH has been great. Anyway, I guess my point is that customer service can be bad but there are ways to find great customer service.

Anyone have info on att universe internet service?

I would like to know if there are any people other than me that have cut all ties with cable and satellite. After starting out with Bright House several years ago, I went to Dish Network because they had the better DVR's plus local channels. After they went to war with Fox (WCOV), I ended up getting the shaft from Direct TV, so I dropped them all. Now I have Free HDTV, and I stream the rest via internet. Tivo is a big plus with my latest rebellious decision. Anyone have feedback on this?

Some good friends of mine have dropped cable TV along with their High Speed internet. Went with OTA and use their smart phones for internet.

I can see dropping cable or satellite TV, but trying to do all my web surfing with a smartphone with be tough. Perhaps a derivitive of that would be to use a hotspot capable smart phone and a computer with WiFi but you'd have to watch your data use.

Anyone have info on att universe internet service?

I have U-Verse telco and internet at home in Charlotte..I'm too far away from the V-RAD to get video..I would up paying $10 less per month by upgrading
getting all the upgraded phone features plus 11.5 mb/s down and 1.4 mb/s up for $60 per month. So far, I am very pleased. However I type this on the decent but slow wireless here in my Fungomery Hotel Motel Not Holiday Inn.

I have U-Verse telco and internet at home in Charlotte..I'm too far away from the V-RAD to get video..I would up paying $10 less per month by upgrading
getting all the upgraded phone features plus 11.5 mb/s down and 1.4 mb/s up for $60 per month. So far, I am very pleased. However I type this on the decent but slow wireless here in my Fungomery Hotel Motel Not Holiday Inn.Thanks no tv here yet but they say speed up to12

A good article about cutting the cord.

http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2012/02/your-guide-to-cutting-the-cord-to-cable-tv-updated-2012-edition052.html?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=fanpage&utm_campaign=pbs

Some good friends of mine have dropped cable TV along with their High Speed internet. Went with OTA and use their smart phones for internet.

I can see dropping cable or satellite TV, but trying to do all my web surfing with a smartphone with be tough. Perhaps a derivitive of that would be to use a hotspot capable smart phone and a computer with WiFi but you'd have to watch your data use.

We went the smart phones for internet for a while too, after we went a round or two with Verizon's internet. I still use the smart phone as a modem sometimes when I am away from home with my laptop. We have since gone back to AT&T high speed internet. We have just been trying to find cheaper and more practical ways of doing things. It's going to take some getting use to, but so far steaming some of our shows from internet is ok. With satellite and some cable packages you just end up paying so much money for "Stuff" you don't even watch.

I was telling my associate pastor about the MLB package I got through MLB TV to watch all of my Orioles games through an app on my TV in HD. He was very interested. However, I knew he was a big Brave's fan and they would be blacked out in our area on this subscription. He currently has Brighthouse and they air the Braves games on SportSouth and FSN South but that's it. These channels aren't even digital or HD. He wants all of the games and better picture quality. I know Charter has Peachtree (or whatever it is called now) so Braves fans in Montgomery get all of the games. Anyone with DirecTV or Dish in our area know if you get all of the Braves games? Is there an alternate channel for Peachtree TV?

Thanks is advance.

I'm with Dish and as far as I remember we do not get Peachtree TV. I hate that TBS is no longer a Braves station, it seems that I only get about half as many games as I use to. I also hate who Dish handles there sports net channels, sometimes we will only get the game in SD on FOX SS even though it is being broadcast in HD because Dish only has has room to broadcast a certain number of the sports net channels in HD at one time.

I'd love to get MLB TV but, the price and the fact that Braves games would be blackout make it a no go for me. I did pay the $15 for the audio access on the iPad/iPhone app. We'll see how much I use it this year but $15 is not a bad price for every MLB game's radio broadcast all season long.

I haven't had DirecTV in a few years, but when I did FSN and Sport South were in HD but Peachtree TV was not.

Hey all,
I have switched from ATT to Brighthouse Roadrunner turbo. Keep your fingers crossed. ATT supports sucks. We tried Uverse from ATT,but they could not keep it connected to internet. It would stay on for almost an hour but then disconnect.When it was on line super fast.I t seems it was faster than Roadrunner. We will see

Hey all,
I have switched from ATT to Brighthouse Roadrunner turbo. Keep your fingers crossed. ATT supports sucks. We tried Uverse from ATT,but they could not keep it connected to internet. It would stay on for almost an hour but then disconnect.When it was on line super fast.I t seems it was faster than Roadrunner. We will see

Brighthouse showed up on time took about 1 hour to run line and hook up speed over 19 and workes great. :D:cool:

http://www.speedtest.net/result/1880063316.png

Brighthouse showed up on time took about 1 hour to run line and hook up speed over 19 and workes great. :D:cool:

Welcome to BHN. If you need anything please let me know :)

http://www.speedtest.net/result/1880063316.png

wow !!!!!!!!

Welcome to BHN. If you need anything please let me know :)

Thank you. No problems here. The installation went great no drama like ATT. We turned it on and everything great!:D

4:11 this afternoon.
http://www.speedtest.net/result/1881454853.png

Interesting,
When I test to Birmingham this is what I get.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/1881457543.png

Atlanta,

http://www.speedtest.net/result/1881459591.png

Interesting,
When I test to Birmingham this is what I get.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/1881457543.png

That's what my Verizon 4g looks like when in Fungomery..kinda back@$$wards..:confused:

You guys are making me jealous. Where I live in Baldwin County the city runs the cable system and they don't offer any internet or vod at all!

We're a captive audience to CenturyLink dsl that rarely tops 5 Mbps. But that's still 5x faster than my C Spire phone's wireless 3g!

5Mbps on DSL is pretty respectable. Most of the time it's 3Mbps with a 256k upload unless your 3 blocks from the CO.

tHANKS. No problems here. The installation went great no drama like ATT. We turned it on and everything great!:D

That is what I like to hear :)

Speedtest.net uses a Flash based byte counter and it's notoriously inaccurate for measuring true download and upload speeds.

The one speed test site that most serious testers use is at testmy.net, which uses only your browser for the test and allows the user to run separate download and upload speed tests, and allows the user to select a fixed file size for those tests...never use the "SmartTest" option if you want true accuracy in your speeds.

If you go to the web site below, run two separate tests..click the "Testmy Download" button and when that page loads select a 25mB or 50mB file from the drop-down box as your test size and let it run...

Then, go to the "Testmy Upload" option and select the 17 or 23mB file from the drop-down box as your test size and let it run..

You can post those results...if you run these tests early in the morning when fewer customers are competing for bandwidth on your ISP/Internet connection, then run them again during the peak-use hours of 7-10pm you will have a fair picture of how congestion effects your speed.

http://testmy.net/

That's an interesting site, 4bama, thanks for sharing. It gave me 1.5 Mbps down from my main PC, 4.4 down from my phone using wifi from the same location and 5.5 Mbps down if I got as close to the wireless router as possible.

The 1.5 Mbps is due to the fact that my old USB wireless dongle died and I'm stuck with an internal card with a damaged antenna. I tried a replacement USB unit and it completely screwed up Networking in Windows. So I'm pretty much stuck with this subpar setup.

I'd love to see some of the Brighthouse users' results using this testmy.net system.

Speedtest.net uses a Flash based byte counter and it's notoriously inaccurate for measuring true download and upload speeds.

The one speed test site that most serious testers use is at testmy.net, which uses only your browser for the test and allows the user to run separate download and upload speed tests, and allows the user to select a fixed file size for those tests...never use the "SmartTest" option if you want true accuracy in your speeds.

If you go to the web site below, run two separate tests..click the "Testmy Download" button and when that page loads select a 25mB or 50mB file from the drop-down box as your test size and let it run...

Then, go to the "Testmy Upload" option and select the 17 or 23mB file from the drop-down box as your test size and let it run..

You can post those results...if you run these tests early in the morning when fewer customers are competing for bandwidth on your ISP/Internet connection, then run them again during the peak-use hours of 7-10pm you will have a fair picture of how congestion effects your speed.

http://testmy.net/

Unfortunately the post above is factually incorrect (but is the mantra that TMN is so well known for). The facts are that both STN and TMN use what's known in the industry as http based testing. In the case of STN what you the user sees as flashy eye candy is NOT the actual test but in fact is a graphical representation of the test progression designed to keep your attention. In reality both use the same general method for testing behind the scenes which amounts to downloading a highly compressed file of a specific size and then computing the result based on the time it takes to download that file.

While this testing method is fine for short hauls it becomes increasingly inaccurate as the distance from the test server increases. BOTH of these tests also fail to properly measure the key component of broadband connections that matters far more than speed and that is datarate consistency aka QoS. You can have a broadband connection claiming to offer you 100mbps but if it fluctuates wildly it's of no more value than it's lowest point of fluctuation especially as it applies to single socket applications like streaming and gaming.

Currently there is only one testing platform that accurately and consistently tests speeds AND QoS and especially over longer distances available to consumers using a TCP socket based method and that is the platform offered by any site that uses Visualware software. It's also the very same platform used by the majors like Cisco, Juniper, AT&T you name it behind the scenes.

As for the HTTP based tests like STN and TMN the only industry accepted test would be that of STN (aka Ookla) but again I caution you to test to your closest server only and you must understand that its only giving you part of the broadband connection equation. You are still missing the most inportant test which is datarate consistency.

TMN does a great job of talking the talk and their schpeal is certainly convincing enough....but don't bite the hype...because that's all it is especially when they compare themselves to STN...for all intents they are one in the same tests with different visual packaging and nothing more. The huge difference between them is that STN offers countless thousands of server opportunities and their core software by Ookla is industry accepted whereas TMN offers just one main with a few extra donated servers and is not industry accepted.

I got the same results with TMN and Knology's test.

And DU Meter is running on my desktop which verified the test.

I have a friend in Mtgy that's claiming 75Mbps with Charter using a docsis3 Modem?

http://www.speedtest.net/result/1883303509.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

and testmy.net 6.1 mbps download and 1.7 upload.

I have Rod Runner Turbo which is supposed to be 20 mbps.

4:00 AM

http://www.speedtest.net/result/1883681112.png

http://testmy.net/mO96uCi.png

http://testmy.net/yKobwju.png

http://www.bumracing.com/Gallery3/var/resizes/album01/speedtest-940255728.jpg?m=1333962158

how do you get the test screen picture to post on the forum. I use to have screen grab it program but lost it.This moring my download speed was 17.I agree with yall. Speed needs to be steady.
I watch movies on the Vudu site. 1080P Dolby Digital. It is streamed and without the speed of at least 4.5 kpbs lots of buffering.Daughter plays online games and she seems happy.

My speed with Brighthouse is never steady. I got RR Turbo so I could watch the MLB.TV app on my TV. You can tell the speed changes constantly as the picture goes in and out of HD and buffers quite often. Also, the signal drops at least once per ballgame.

My speed with Brighthouse is never steady. I got RR Turbo so I could watch the MLB.TV app on my TV. You can tell the speed changes constantly as the picture goes in and out of HD and buffers quite often. Also, the signal drops at least once per ballgame.

RR Turbo forces your browser through their proxy server, which will help with normal web page loading, it compresses the files...that's why your speedtest.net speeds are faster than your actual speed...

It's very good for normal browsing, your web pages will load faster and use fewer bytes...the turbo client at your end decompresses the web page content.

However, for normal file downloads, viewing streaming video or audio, turbo will not improve your speeds, and in some cases will slow them down...any file format that is already compressed, like downloading a .zip or.exe, or viewing video that is already compressed as in .jpg/.mpg or audio in .mp3, downloading software updates, like from Windows Update, can not be helped with Turbo, and in many cases, actually slowed down.

Some web sites also refuse to work with certain proxy servers, so if you ever hit a web page that refuses to load, turn off Turbo mode and try it.

Many folks use the free Opera browser because it has a free turbo mode built into the browser, but allows the user to control it by selecting the ON/OFF option...the Opera Turbo mode also forces the browser to use Opera's proxy server which compressed the data and sends it to the browser, which decompresses it.

Opera is ideal for folks with dial-up or slow DSL (slow being <5mbs)..

RR Turbo forces your browser through their proxy server, which will help with normal web page loading, it compresses the files...that's why your speedtest.net speeds are faster than your actual speed...

It's very good for normal browsing, your web pages will load faster and use fewer bytes...the turbo client at your end decompresses the web page content.

However, for normal file downloads, viewing streaming video or audio, turbo will not improve your speeds, and in some cases will slow them down...any file format that is already compressed, like downloading a .zip or.exe, or viewing video that is already compressed as in .jpg/.mpg or audio in .mp3, downloading software updates, like from Windows Update, can not be helped with Turbo, and in many cases, actually slowed down.

Some web sites also refuse to work with certain proxy servers, so if you ever hit a web page that refuses to load, turn off Turbo mode and try it.

Many folks use the free Opera browser because it has a free turbo mode built into the browser, but allows the user to control it by selecting the ON/OFF option...the Opera Turbo mode also forces the browser to use Opera's proxy server which compressed the data and sends it to the browser, which decompresses it.

Opera is ideal for folks with dial-up or slow DSL (slow being <5mbs)..

With all due respect RR Turbo has nothing to do with proxies, that is not at all how Turbo works. Turbo will not impact your downloading negatively in any way...in fact quite the contrary. You also cannot turn off or regulate Turbo in any way at the user level. The only impact Turbo has on speed tests is that no speed test can take into account the turbo boost timeframe for their test because the technology and timing is implemented differently for each provider. Therefore your test results will almost always reflect the Turbo Boost speeds (which are higher for a short period of time) and not the actual cap speeds. Not sure where you got this information from but you might consider a different source.

My speed with Brighthouse is never steady. I got RR Turbo so I could watch the MLB.TV app on my TV. You can tell the speed changes constantly as the picture goes in and out of HD and buffers quite often. Also, the signal drops at least once per ballgame.

This has nothing to do with Turbo. Turbo boost gives you additional bandwidth for XX number of bytes initially transfered and then ramps down to the normal cap of 20mbps. In your case the MLB servers are a bit overloaded...this is a known problem and has been a common complaint since they started offering the service. My hope is that it will improve in time as they learn how to balance things better.

If however you suspect a possible service issue please email me your modem MAC or IP address to BHNtechXpert@mybrighthouse.com and I will be happy to take a look.

This has nothing to do with Turbo. Turbo boost gives you additional bandwidth for XX number of bytes initially transfered and then ramps down to the normal cap of 20mbps. In your case the MLB servers are a bit overloaded...this is a known problem and has been a common complaint since they started offering the service. My hope is that it will improve in time as they learn how to balance things better.

If however you suspect a possible service issue please email me your modem MAC or IP address to BHNtechXpert@mybrighthouse.com and I will be happy to take a look.

You're right..the Roadrunner version of Turbo is a higher priced speed tier and requires a special modem..

This is what other forums said:

Almost all those "turbo" things - every provider has their own pet name for them - are little more than HTTP proxies (or accelerators). And since HTTP protocol is pretty much limited to web browsing, there's quite probably no RoadRunner "turbo boost" for NetFlix and gaming.

But other users pointed this out:

Huh? What are you talking about? Road Runner Turbo is a speed tier. Standard Road Runner speed is 10Mb down in most areas. In most areas Road Runner Turbo is 15Mb Down and 1Mb or 2Mb Up and is an extra $10/month. The modem is reprovisioned for faster speeds. Powerboost is a technology created by Comcast and licensed by other cable companies to provide a temporary burst of speed lasting for 20-30 seconds in which you get the available unused bandwidth on your node and can max out at 30-35Mb downstream. It’s no proxy or accelerator, the speeds are real and powerboost can be seen when downloading files, streaming video and whatnot. Download a large file from a source that can support higher speeds and you will see the download transfer rate really high and it will slowly drop off to 15Mb. Powerboost also provides video streaming with an extra kick. Watch a high quality video on YouTube and see how quickly the buffer builds up.

With Opera you can get Turbo mode for free, it uses their proxy server to accomplish the extra speed by compressing at their servers and letting the browser decompress after it is received...this also reduces a customer's bandwidth use if they are on a plan that has limits on how much they can use in a month or day...it works with any ISP or package level,...but it will advise you to turn Turbo off if you have a fast connection =>5mbs...

Edit:

I'm in the boonies with no access to DSL, cable or wireless...been using Wildblue Satellite internet for several years...late last year they launched a new technology satellite, ViaSat-1, and I was switched to it in February....advertised speeds are 12mbs down and 3mbs up...I get more like 18mbs down and 2.6mbs up..

This satellite also uses a technology called AcceleNet...which does the compression at the gateway servers and the new modem has firmware built-in to de-compress the bit stream...this also reduces my measured usage by about 40-50%...as you probably know all satellite ISP plans have very strict usage caps...I'm on the cheap plan with a 8gB limit that resets to zero every month on my billing date...so the AcceleNet technology is very important to satellite internet customers..

You're right..the Roadrunner version of Turbo is a higher priced speed tier and requires a special modem..

This is what other forums said:

Almost all those "turbo" things - every provider has their own pet name for them - are little more than HTTP proxies (or accelerators). And since HTTP protocol is pretty much limited to web browsing, there's quite probably no RoadRunner "turbo boost" for NetFlix and gaming.

But other users pointed this out:

Huh? What are you talking about? Road Runner Turbo is a speed tier. Standard Road Runner speed is 10Mb down in most areas. In most areas Road Runner Turbo is 15Mb Down and 1Mb or 2Mb Up and is an extra $10/month. The modem is reprovisioned for faster speeds. Powerboost is a technology created by Comcast and licensed by other cable companies to provide a temporary burst of speed lasting for 20-30 seconds in which you get the available unused bandwidth on your node and can max out at 30-35Mb downstream. It’s no proxy or accelerator, the speeds are real and powerboost can be seen when downloading files, streaming video and whatnot. Download a large file from a source that can support higher speeds and you will see the download transfer rate really high and it will slowly drop off to 15Mb. Powerboost also provides video streaming with an extra kick. Watch a high quality video on YouTube and see how quickly the buffer builds up.

With Opera you can get Turbo mode for free, it uses their proxy server to accomplish the extra speed by compressing at their servers and letting the browser decompress after it is received...this also reduces a customer's bandwidth use if they are on a plan that has limits on how much they can use in a month or day...it works with any ISP or package level,...but it will advise you to turn Turbo off if you have a fast connection =>5mbs...

Sigh...wrong again...seriously these sources of information should not be relied upon. Turbo does NOT require a special modem. It's a docsis 2 and 3 product and any run of the mill D2 or D3 modem on your providers approved modem list will be fine (its not an approved for Turbo list...its an approved to connect to the network list).

Web accelerators as you referred to with Opera have NOTHING in common with Turbo Boost technology at all and shouldn't be compared in any way. It's like comparing a dog to an ape and saying they are related. Lets not forget that Opera in general sucks, is prone to memory leaks of the worst kind and compared to other browsers is huge in memory requirements. It's a pig pure and simple....and ya know what they say...you can put lipstick on a pig...but its still a pig.

Sigh...wrong again...seriously these sources of information should not be relied upon.

Well Duhh...It's the INTERNET..so it has to be correct. :rolleyes:

Well Duhh...It's the INTERNET..so it has to be correct. :rolleyes:

LOL well he has been posting as though its fact (only in the last did he reference the source) :)

Lets not forget that Opera in general sucks, is prone to memory leaks of the worst kind and compared to other browsers is huge in memory requirements. It's a pig pure and simple....and ya know what they say...you can put lipstick on a pig...but its still a pig.

I respectfully disagree. I've been using and testing it since the days when they had ads and it's always been a better product as far as customization and speed goes, especially for those of us on older computers.

I've got 11 tabs open right now and there's not a hint of lag, even though it IS a memory hog (it's using 400 MB of memory at the moment.) I can't even do this with Chrome, as it slows to a crawl with more than 5 tabs open. And it also renders some content slower than Opera.

I wouldn't recommend Opera to noobs who are clueless about how anything computer-related works, but for power users it's a really great alternative to Chrome. FF and IE and Safari just aren't even in the same league with those two. If there are issues, it's usually due to browser sniffing on the website's end, and masking as FF clears up some problems. For the other .1% of incompatible websites I use Chrome or FF. Chrome has gotten just as bad, though, for sites that don't load properly. I'm depending on it less and less lately because it keeps finding ways to let me down. Not to mention there's little you can do to customize it.

Thanks for sharing the internet knowledge. I learn something new on this forum everyday

Yep, I have IE8, latest Firefox, latest Opera and latest Chrome installed and compare them all..

My personal favorite, and the one I'm using right now is Chrome, but Firefox is also a favorite because of the large number of add-ons that are available for it..

Only use IE8 on patch Tuesday (which, btw, is tomorrow) to do Windows Update....I disable auto-update on everything that has that option...prefer to do it myself and watch the process in case there's a hiccup...☺☺☺

BTW....the use of the word "Turbo" implies to most serious internet geeks that it normally involves a proxy server and some type of accelerator..Propel is an example, as is the turbo mode in Opera.

This is what I saw about RR Turbo modems:

DOCSIS 1.1 or higher cable modems are capable of receiving PowerBoost™, regardless of cable modem type. Subscription to Road Runner Turbo is required.

Road Runner tier data rates vary by level of service and area. The maximum advertised speeds [3] for these services are:

Lite: 1 Mbit/s / 1 Mbit/s
Basic: 1.5 Mbit/s / 256 or 384 kbit/s, or 3.0 Mbit/s / 1 Mbit/s (depending on market)
Standard: 7 Mbit/s or 10 Mbit/s / 384 kbit/s or 512 kbit/s or 1 Mbit/s [4] (bursts: 15 Mbit/s / 512 kbit/s or 1 Mbit/s) (depending on market)
Turbo: 10 Mbit/s or 15 Mbit/s / 512 kbit/s or 768 kbit/s or 1 Mbit/s[4] (bursts: 25 Mbit/s / 512 kbit/s or 1 Mbit/s) (depending on market)
Broadband Turbo Plus: 20 Mbit/s / 1 to 5 Mbit/s (this service tier is only available in California and Texas)
Extreme: 30 Mbit/s / 5 Mbit/s[4]
Ultimate Internet: 50 Mbit/s / 5 Mbit/s[4]
Road Runner® Lite competes directly with less expensive DSL service, offering a lower bandwidth for a similar cost. The specific data rate varies, but the average is 768 kbit/s downstream and 128 kbit/s upload. Road Runner® Broadband Turbo with PowerBoost® (form. Road Runner Premium) gives up to 25 Mbit/s download and 1 Mbit/s upload (in 16 second bursts based on network conditions). Cost and speed tiers vary by area, and pricing packages are heavily slanted to drive consumers toward the declining home phone and cable television services.

The new Ultimate Internet and Extreme service tier offerings are a part of Time Warner Cable's rollout of the DOCSIS 3 upgrade.

how do you get the test screen picture to post on the forum. I use to have screen grab it program but lost it.This moring my download speed was 17.I agree with yall. Speed needs to be steady.
I watch movies on the Vudu site. 1080P Dolby Digital. It is streamed and without the speed of at least 4.5 kpbs lots of buffering.Daughter plays online games and she seems happy.


Depends on which one. On Speedtest click share and then click copy url.
Then click on the image tag at the top of your new message window and paste the URL in.

Depends on which one. On Speedtest click share and then click copy url.
Then click on the image tag at the top of your new message window and paste the URL in.

Thank you

On TMN after the test is complete scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and click image url and paste the same way as above.


On the knology shot I copied the screen shot, with Alt + Print Screen, pasted in paint, and cropped it. Then hosted the picture on my own web photo gallery and hyper linked the URL here in a similar fashion.

So how does one get WSFA_WAKA_WNCF_WBMM_WCOV AND APT in HD on this internet stuff? I mean.. I hate to interrupt this internet forum for HDTV! :p

Using Speedtest.net, here are my results between Wetumpka and Atlanta using Brighthouse's Turbo on Roadrunner.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/1885920847.png

Please comment on this.

In case anyone is curious about Brighthouse networks speed seeming to get slower, it looks like are coming out or have come out with "roadrunner lightning" so they can charge more for the same thing.

http://brighthouse.com/birmingham/shop/internet/plans

Using Speedtest.net, here are my results between Wetumpka and Atlanta using Brighthouse's Turbo on Roadrunner.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/1885920847.png

Please comment on this.

Jim, please post your speed test results from testmy.net...run the Testmy Download option and use a large file, 12mB's or larger, then run the Testmy Upload option and use the 7.5mB, or larger, file size for your test.

Speedtest.net is not a reliable speed test indicator for comparing your speeds on different days, or at different times..

http://testmy.net/

bama

Have to leave for the morning. Will get back sometime this afternoon. Thanks for the help.

In case anyone is curious about Brighthouse networks speed seeming to get slower, it looks like are coming out or have come out with "roadrunner lightning" so they can charge more for the same thing.

http://brighthouse.com/birmingham/shop/internet/plans

I don't think we are getting lightning in our area. For some reason, Brighthouse gives the Elmore area the second-class treatment when it comes to services such as internet speed, HD channels and on-demand. Birmingham Brighthouse has lighting, on-demand and over 120 HD channels. I guess we need a little competition here to get them to upgrade our area. I've heard Knology is coming in.

Brighthouse does have good customer service and the HD picture quality is great. The internet is not consistent though. I just wish we were given the same services treatment as their other areas. Lighting is available in most Brighthouse areas expect ours.

Yep, I have IE8, latest Firefox, latest Opera and latest Chrome installed and compare them all..
Just curious why you are still using IE8 and not 9? I had given up on IE until 9 came out and it is 10x better then any previous IE. While it is better, I still use Chrome for 90% of my browsing. I just love Chrome Sync to much to give it up, I hope Google releases Chrome with Chrome Sync for iOS one day, then I'd be in internet heaven. I use to love FF but then it got way over bloated but, the past few major updates have really help bring it closer to what it once was.

Tom, when was the last time you tried Chrome? I currently have 9 tabs open in Chrome and it is just as fast as it is with 1. I've given Opera a number of chances and it is just to slow compared to the others IMO, although it is still better then Safari for Windows. Safari is a piece of junk on Windows, Apple should be embarrassed to have released such a horrible product.

I'd rank the current browsers as followed:

1 - Chrome
2 - IE9
3 - FF
.
.
.
.
.
.
10 - Opera
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
100 - Safari :D

http://www.speedtest.net/result/1886630116.png
Disappointing

Tom, when was the last time you tried Chrome? I currently have 9 tabs open in Chrome and it is just as fast as it is with 1. I've given Opera a number of chances and it is just to slow compared to the others IMO, although it is still better then Safari for Windows. Safari is a piece of junk on Windows, Apple should be embarrassed to have released such a horrible product.


I use it two or three times a week, often with 20+ tabs open. After four or five tabs it just has blank pages that don't render until you click on the tab and wait, whereas Opera is a memory hog with that many tabs, but all the tabs are ready and waiting at a moment's notice.

Remember, I'm on a very old (but otherwise very useful) system running XP, with just 2 GB of RAM. Chrome's just not very well optimized for older setups like mine unless there's under 5 tabs open, which is not how I work! I have to keep using it though because a site I depend on has a special extension only for Chrome.

Chrome is far better than Opera but both do serious numbers on memory. In the case of Opera its a blatent memory leak which manifests over time...you can just leave a browser window open overnight compare starting memory used and ending...it will shock you. Chrome on the otherhand does unique things with memory...its not so much a leak but the way they handle it and then fail to release it once there is no longer a need....google of course always has an excuse but either way you look at it they both impact available memory over time which for some is an obvious problem.

Jim, please post your speed test results from testmy.net...run the Testmy Download option and use a large file, 12mB's or larger, then run the Testmy Upload option and use the 7.5mB, or larger, file size for your test.

Speedtest.net is not a reliable speed test indicator for comparing your speeds on different days, or at different times..

http://testmy.net/

On testmy.net, download(using 12meg file) ranges from 4.98, 15.22, 12.21.

Upload speed using 17.5mb setting shows 1.9mbps .

Chrome is far better than Opera but both do serious numbers on memory. In the case of Opera its a blatent memory leak which manifests over time...you can just leave a browser window open overnight compare starting memory used and ending...it will shock you. Chrome on the otherhand does unique things with memory...its not so much a leak but the way they handle it and then fail to release it once there is no longer a need....google of course always has an excuse but either way you look at it they both impact available memory over time which for some is an obvious problem.
I've never experienced that, but it is a widely reported bug. I always leave mine running. One thing Chrome runs circles around Opera is load and unload time. It takes over a minute for my highly customized Opera to fully load and often 3-4 minutes of disk thrashing to unload. So I almost never close it. When minimized it's about 34 MB, same at night as in morning.

@Rolltide, I use IE8 because IE9 is not available for XP...I have IE9 on the wife's Vista laptop, but I'm still sold on my XP-SP3 desktop and IE9 is not an option..I would not use it as my main browser if it was available for XP...

My browser of choice is Chrome, Firefox a close second.

On testmy.net, download(using 12meg file) ranges from 4.98, 15.22, 12.21.

Upload speed using 17.5mb setting shows 1.9mbps .

Jim, it's hard to judge how many neighbors share your internet bandwidth..

Most of the folks who like to measure such things recommend running your download test first early in the morning before everyone else is online, like before 8am....log that, then in the peak evening hours when all the kids are home from school and adults are home from work, and after dinner hour, is when you most likely will find the most bandwidth congestion..

So run your second download test about 8pm...then between the two speeds you can begin to judge what effects, if any, bandwidth congestion has on your internet speeds...your 2pm test looks good...surprised by the first low speed of 4.98...

I still use Chrome for 90% of my browsing. I just love Chrome Sync to much to give it up,

FF has that too. Both my desktops, my laptops, and my iphone all sync favorites, history, user names and passwords.

Speedtest.net is not a reliable speed test indicator for comparing your speeds on different days, or at different times..


I thought we already went down this road?

http://testmy.net/kaFPlD2.png

http://testmy.net/DbW4JqK.png

http://www.speedtest.net/result/1887861477.png

@Scott...all looks good, but you can sure tell the difference when you control the file size for your tests and use your browser instead of a Flash based test bed..

I ran similar tests using different browsers, all back-to-back and the speed test results indicate this order for a browsers' download manger's ability to do its job:

1. Opera, fastest download manager

2. Chrome, very close to Opera but just a tad slower

3. Firefox, about 10% slower than Opera or Chrome on downloads

4. Internet Explorer...slowest of all the browsers I tested.

FF has that too. Both my desktops, my laptops, and my iphone all sync favorites, history, user names and passwords.

Ditto Opera. I use the mobile (not mini) version on my phone and everything syncs over.

For those wanting to switch the topic back to TV, Knology is adding 12 new HD channels on May 1st. That still keeps them way behind Charter and the sat. companies and slightly behind Brighthouse .

Come on Brighthouse! Add some more HD too! I left Dish for Brighthouse because of cost but also a hope that they will add a lot more HD like they have in other areas.

I think 2012 will finally bring the Montgomery market into line with other markets for HD. Charter added over 30 (around 75 total HD now) in December and January and now there is the Knology news(will have about 45 HD now). I have a feeling Brighthouse (53 HD channels) will add a bunch this year too. All of these companies have locations with over 100 HD channels.

I think 2012 will finally bring the Montgomery market into line with other markets for HD. .

And not just on cable too! :cool: