Thanks for the tips. Hopefully I can get everything working right. If not, I know where to find help. :D

Check your PM's. Dropped my email to you.

Does anyone get Minority Report HD on ABC tonight (Saturday night)? I don't get it. I received Forest Gump HD two weeks ago, and tonight I can't eventune into ABC. I'm able to receive KCWE, which I checked antennaweb and it's the same angle....this is totally sucks.

I'm in Olathe, 119th st...

From,
Moses

Doesn't seem to be in HD. I have TWC.

Not in HD in Mission with TWC. I was looking through this forum and other cities were getting it in HD. Looked like the TAMPA ABC affliliate forgot to flip the switch because they said earlier it was SD and then later it became HD. I guess the guy with KMBC who flips the switch was either off tonight or fell asleep.

I also noticed Thursday and Friday night that when Fox 4 decided to show their Primetime HD lineup after the Big 12 tournament games, all of the shows were in SD. I don't know if Fox 4 just taped the shows in SD or if the guy who flips the switch went home for the night.

Originally posted by bongohawk
I also noticed Thursday and Friday night that when Fox 4 decided to show their Primetime HD lineup after the Big 12 tournament games, all of the shows were in SD. I don't know if Fox 4 just taped the shows in SD or if the guy who flips the switch went home for the night.

I'm not an engineer or anything, but I think I know why. Almost none of the affiliates (for any network) have the capabilities to "store and replay" HD programming. If they're not showing it live for whatever reason, we're only going to get the SD version when they play it. I think their HD equipment can only pass through the network's digital feed. Bottom line - it wasn't a case of someone "falling asleep", but just not having the technological capabilities to make it happen.

Too bad - I get disappointed when I can't see my OC girls in HD!!

Sorry to say, we've had a failure of our DTV transmitter. The problem appears to be in the power supply. We are working on a fix--not sure when it will be back on the air....TI

Squeak49,
I was reading and thinking, that's right - I remember that... but then I wondered why.

There is the SA8300HD which does a fairly decent job at that sort of thing. Could be simpler in that the replay device doesn't have to render video, just replay the network stream the same as it was coming in the first time.

Just wondering,
C-F

Hi all. New to the forum. Just picked up a Pioneer HD 43" Plasma from Costco yesterday. I am trying to experiment with the HD and SD feeds. I have a SA 8300 HD DVR via TW cable and noticed that when I turn off the 720P option and force the TV to up convert to 1080i I get a better picture on ABC, Fox and NBC. However, to be honest, most of the local station's HD feed at 720P is marginal at best. Some even look worse then their SD feed. What is up with that? Even the ones with 1080i feed look just OK. Definitely not like other HD feeds from TNT, HBO or Discovery. Those look awesome. The local exception is KCTV (CBS). It looks pretty decent.

Any ideas?

Any suggestions for a newbie on hook up to help picture quality in HD and SD via Time Warner Cable?

Originally posted by technicalitalian
Sorry to say, we've had a failure of our DTV transmitter. The problem appears to be in the power supply. We are working on a fix--not sure when it will be back on the air....TI Thanks for the update, TI. Godspeed on getting it fixed quickly. I would miss my Lost and Alias in HD. :)

Can someone recommend a good external antenna? I'm ready to start doing some OTA HD, and live between Martin City and Minor Park Golf Course.

Originally posted by technicalitalian
Sorry to say, we've had a failure of our DTV transmitter. The problem appears to be in the power supply. We are working on a fix--not sure when it will be back on the air....TI

Thanks for the clarification, I thought I have a software failer because I can't even tune to KMBC SD. I'm using computer with Fushion card to tune OTA DT. I went to KMBC website and can't seem to fine any DT status information. Oh well, I would just wait.

Originally posted by johnevo
Can someone recommend a good external antenna? I'm ready to start doing some OTA HD, and live between Martin City and Minor Park Golf Course.

Radio Shack has good VHF/UHF directional outdoor antennas for Over the Air digital/analog reception.

Thanks Jeffdbs. I was leaning towards RS, but wanted to hear from someone with some experience. Are there any specific models that are best for this area?

Originally posted by squeak49
I'm not an engineer or anything, but I think I know why. Almost none of the affiliates (for any network) have the capabilities to "store and replay" HD programming. If they're not showing it live for whatever reason, we're only going to get the SD version when they play it. I think their HD equipment can only pass through the network's digital feed. Bottom line - it wasn't a case of someone "falling asleep", but just not having the technological capabilities to make it happen.

Too bad - I get disappointed when I can't see my OC girls in HD!!

I noticed this on Fox4 too. However, the schedule was all screwed up and my 6412 totally missed the recording, so I pulled OC in HD via Torrent. Looked great, BTW, and only took about 10 minutes to download.

Hey,

First time talking to the local guys here. Anyway, I was looking around the garage this wekend and have 3 antennas I'll give to whoever wants them or in the trash they will go. I tried this antenna thing last year and ended up just getting cable due to not wanting to do rotor etc.

I have 2 different RS antennas a UHF yaggi type, a large uhf/vhf about 8 feet long and a smaller channel master uhf/vhf that was part of the Voom package. I do not have the amp for the Voom one I mistakenly gave it back to them when they picked up the reciever.

I live in Raytown for whoever wants to pick up.

You can email me at work mthomas@icasbs.com

Sincerely,
Mike Thomas

I currently have DirectTV and am considering a switch to Comcast so I can get the HD channles without using an over the air antenna. Does anyone on here have any opinions on Comcast v. DirectTV? With a credit, my Comcast bill will be less ($7-$9) per month than DirectTV for 16 months. I appreciate your help. Thanks.

I just switched in December from Comcast to DirecTv. My issue with Comcast was/were:

1. The on-screen guide for my HD box kept locking up (a known issue still yet to be resolved)

2. Increasing rates on packages. You say your rate will be less but will it really? My package at D* is like $41 a month. You can't get basically anything at Comcast for $41 a month. I'm saving around $15/month on an identical package at D* instead of Comcast.

3. Outages from time to time (not constantly, but they do happen. Dish hasn't gone out yet)

4. Reception of FOX in HD (was an issue then, now you can get it on Comcast)

Out of curiousity, why do not want to use an OTA antenna any longer? I love mine, reception is great.

Originally posted by royaltiger
I currently have DirectTV and am considering a switch to Comcast so I can get the HD channles without using an over the air antenna. Does anyone on here have any opinions on Comcast v. DirectTV? With a credit, my Comcast bill will be less ($7-$9) per month than DirectTV. I appreciate your help. Thanks.

I can't speak of the HD of Comcast since I don't go above the standard channel, but I do have to tell you, Comcast is expensive! I moved to Olathe for about 2 years, and they have increased their price THREE TIMES!!!!

If you want more HD, do consider Voom. I know they're very unstable now. The thing is, they have this big promotion now that you get $1 installation for up to 3 rooms, and $5 each cable box rental. There is a minimum of 6 months commitment. But hey, if they close their door end of March, you don't lost anything!

Originally posted by royaltiger
I currently have DirectTV and am considering a switch to Comcast so I can get the HD channles without using an over the air antenna. Does anyone on here have any opinions on Comcast v. DirectTV? With a credit, my Comcast bill will be less ($7-$9) per month than DirectTV. I appreciate your help. Thanks.

I would be pretty amazed if you can get a cheaper Comcast rate (long term, I know they have 6mo specials). I get all the movie channels for the same price I paid for just HBO on Comcast.

HD excluded, the PQ of the Comcast analogs or digitals does not compare to D*. I had both for a month to compare the quality. It was dramatic, I even had Comcast out to try and make it better.

Originally posted by technicalitalian
Sorry to say, we've had a failure of our DTV transmitter. The problem appears to be in the power supply. We are working on a fix--not sure when it will be back on the air....TI

Gosh..........I hope an extended warranty was provided by the maker of your power supply unit. Hopefully soon KMBC9 DT-07 will come back to life.

Originally posted by johnevo
Thanks Jeffdbs. I was leaning towards RS, but wanted to hear from someone with some experience. Are there any specific models that are best for this area?

I like small old fashion traditional VHF/UHF directional attic/outdoor television antennas. No need to have a power amp for local digital television reception. Power amps are trouble for local digital television reception. RG-6 shielded coax cable along with a coax cable ground block and a good directional antenna make local digital television reception rock solid in signal strength.

Originally posted by royaltiger
I currently have DirectTV and am considering a switch to Comcast so I can get the HD channles without using an over the air antenna. Does anyone on here have any opinions on Comcast v. DirectTV? With a credit, my Comcast bill will be less ($7-$9) per month than DirectTV. I appreciate your help. Thanks.

I may be in the minority, but I was a DirecTV customer for 5 years and switched to Comcast this year. Main factors in the decision were the dual-tuner HD DVR (which isn't perfect but works great 99% of the time) and the availability of local channels in SD/HD. I was also already a Comcast customer for Internet (on which I also use Packet8 VOIP service and thus eliminate my SBC bill!).

My biggest problem with giving up DirecTV was losing a bona-fide Tivo DVR, and with today's announcement, it looks like us Comcast users will be seeing Tivo on our DVR's next year!

I wouldn't base the decision solely on price, though. You'll probably be looking at comparable bills. But I have to say I haven't regretted the decision... as people have mentioned, analog channel quality is pretty bad, but I watch VERY LITTLE analog TV anymore because all the majors are now available in SD/HD, and with DVR, you'll have HD content available to watch every time you sit down at the TV.

Also, as a side note, I have had a couple of service calls for sporadic service issues, but both times the techs were (to my surprise) very helpful, and were able to solve the problem while onsite.

Originally posted by royaltiger
I currently have DirectTV and am considering a switch to Comcast so I can get the HD channles without using an over the air antenna. Does anyone on here have any opinions on Comcast v. DirectTV? With a credit, my Comcast bill will be less ($7-$9) per month than DirectTV for 16 months. I appreciate your help. Thanks.

OK. Ignoring price, what are some opinions? Thanks for the responses so far.

Is KCTV5 broadcasting this weeks NCAA games in HD? Their website says no.

Originally posted by royaltiger
OK. Ignoring price, what are some opinions? Thanks for the responses so far.

I agree with "jsuhr" in that price isn't the only consideration. I've had Comcast service for about two years now, and although I don't consider it a bargain in terms of price, I'm pleased with the service. Your decision will depend on YOUR t.v. viewing habits, if you watch a lot of programs on non-HD channels, then D* might be better for you. I watch a lot of movies on the movie channels and primetime network TV, which is offered in HD via cable so crappy analog channels aren't that big of a deal for me. In the end, how you watch t.v. will determine the best choice for you.

Originally posted by bladesfan1972
I agree with "jsuhr" in that price isn't the only consideration. I've had Comcast service for about two years now, and although I don't consider it a bargain in terms of price, I'm pleased with the service. Your decision will depend on YOUR t.v. viewing habits, if you watch a lot of programs on non-HD channels, then D* might be better for you. I watch a lot of movies on the movie channels and primetime network TV, which is offered in HD via cable so crappy analog channels aren't that big of a deal for me. In the end, how you watch t.v. will determine the best choice for you.

I agree 100%. I do watch non-hd "expanded basic" channels quite often and therefore D* is better for me because of the digital of D* vs. the analog of Comcast. The price difference is just the icing on the cake.

I guess another reason is that Comcast finds it necessary to come into my backyard often to adjust settings on a "box" that they have buried in the corner. Apparantly this "box" allows them to adjust settings in my neighborhood? In and out thru my gate, burying cable, etc. And they don't even ask if they can come into my yard. One serviceman said that they don't have to ask, they are allowed by law. At least show some courtesy. Jerks.

mws6468,

I just checked out KCTV 5's Sports programming and below is what is listed. I am not sure when they say "All games originating from Tucson AZ on Thursday, March 17 can be seen on KCTV-DT" means that those games will be only seen on KCTV-DT and they might possibly show an SD game on the regular KCTV channel. We will see!!!!

Thur., March 17

11:45am - Oklahoma vs Niagra

1:40pm - Cincinnati vs. Iowa

6:10pm - Texas vs. Nevada

8:45pm - Texas Tech vs. UCLA (HDTV)

All games originating from Tucson AZ on Thursday, March 17 can be seen on KCTV-DT. For a complete schedule of games on KCTV-DT, please contact the KCTV5 programming department.

Fri., March 18

11:30am - Minnesota vs. Iowa State

1:50pm - Southern Illinois vs. St. Mary's

6:20pm - Wisconsin vs. Northern Iowa

8:40pm - Kansas vs. Bucknell

All games originating from Nashville TN on Friday, March 18 can be seen on KCTV-DT. For a complete schedule of games on KCTV-DT, please contact the KCTV5 programming department.

Sat., March 19

11:00am - Road To The Final Four

12:00pm - NCAA Basketball Championships Round Two: Games TBA

Sun., March 20

11:00am - NCAA Basketball Championships Round Two: Games TBA

Originally posted by technicalitalian
Sorry to say, we've had a failure of our DTV transmitter. The problem appears to be in the power supply. We are working on a fix--not sure when it will be back on the air....TI


Thank you for the update...I was wondering if the problem was on my end...usually my strongest signal and I completely lost it, so this makes sense now....whew...

Good luck on your hard work!

ok... some of you comcast types may have noticed your HD or DVR box saying "dl" for a few minutes. Comcast isn't saying out right yet that it was the software fix to the freezing problem, but i guess they're of the mind that it is. They're just not saying so yet in case it doesn't fix the problem.

I almost want to cry that we have to wait for the Tivo software till next year. almost.

Originally posted by bladesfan1972
I agree with "jsuhr" in that price isn't the only consideration. I've had Comcast service for about two years now, and although I don't consider it a bargain in terms of price, I'm pleased with the service. Your decision will depend on YOUR t.v. viewing habits, if you watch a lot of programs on non-HD channels, then D* might be better for you. I watch a lot of movies on the movie channels and primetime network TV, which is offered in HD via cable so crappy analog channels aren't that big of a deal for me. In the end, how you watch t.v. will determine the best choice for you.

Exactly. D* non-HD quality is better than Comcast, no doubt. But I've become such an HD snob that I can't even stand to watch much of anything of the non-HD variety, especially with the DVR capabilities (it's a shame that the only channel carrying That 70's Show reruns is 38, which looks absolutely atrocious--but I watch anyway and, amazingly enough, live to tell about it).

Again, IMO, Comcast currently has the better offering from an HD perspective: dual-tuner HD DVR with no up front cost (vs. HD DirecTivo at approx. $900), HD major networks/locals, and most of the major HD cable nets. Also, in my bill this month, there was a mention of OnDemand coming soon, so we may well have some HD VoD content on the near horizon.

But if that stuff's not overly important to you, DirecTV is a great option. Like I said, I used it for years and really liked it... it just couldn't satisfy my HD cravings.

Originally posted by Jerky
ok... some of you comcast types may have noticed your HD or DVR box saying "dl" for a few minutes. Comcast isn't saying out right yet that it was the software fix to the freezing problem, but i guess they're of the mind that it is. They're just not saying so yet in case it doesn't fix the problem.

I almost want to cry that we have to wait for the Tivo software till next year. almost.

So is this the 9.17 update I've been hearing about?

Interesting how the speculation on the 9.12-9.15 upgrade went wild for several weeks, but we're going from 9.15-9.17 in just a few days (at least here in Olathe)--I just bumped to 9.15 last Thursday--and noone seems to have a clue what exactly it does. I've heard rumblings that there are actually some UI tweaks, but no details yet.

Just some thoughts from teh Lawrence area:

Sunflower has the Moxy server, adn I was ready to spring away from D*; and they have on-demand. They are more expensive than D*, but 20-30% I'd say.


But the thing that stopped me from moving is that the Moxy server's DVI is dead. I have a fairly high end setup, displaying through a front DLP projector to a 92" screen. It seems rediculous to pay for all the HD stuff, and not have the latest technology quality method to get the signal out.

On the D* side, I'm holding off on the HD Tivo, because of the not too distant change to MPEG4 that it doesn't support, and I don't trust them to make the conversion to a different box inexpensive.

So I am suffering with only OTA Hd through a HTPC. Not near as elegant as a Tivo type box...and I may give in before long and get the HD Tivo for D*. If it were $400 instead of $900 I'd do it.

Originally posted by Ewingr

On the D* side, I'm holding off on the HD Tivo, because of the not too distant change to MPEG4 that it doesn't support, and I don't trust them to make the conversion to a different box inexpensive.

So I am suffering with only OTA Hd through a HTPC. Not near as elegant as a Tivo type box...and I may give in before long and get the HD Tivo for D*. If it were $400 instead of $900 I'd do it.

Ditto for me. I understand the conversion process will begin this summer. D* already has their own line of IRDs and their own D* DVRs (STD and HD) that are not TiVo branded. Obviously, they must bear the costs to replace existing IRDs and DVRs that are in service - but the D* engineer I spoke to last month (off the record) mentioned the D* branded HD DVR will be a four tuner unit, with over the air capabilities and will have support for interactive services. He would not give pricing but said to expect it to be much less than the current unit.

My guess is that all of this will correspond with the launch of HD locals beginning this year.

Interesting. I was thinking that then would need to do something when the start with teh MPEG 4, but then it wouldn't surprise me if whatever that is it isn't available for a while.

It turns out that we lost 4 of the 6 power supplies in our transmitter. We received most of the parts yesterday; the guys have been working hard to get the supplies fixed but we’re still a day or two away from getting back on the air.

Thanks for your patience in this; I don’t know what hit us but it got us good. Attached is a picture of some of the damage (times 4)…..TI

Wow! That sucker was FRIED!

Originally posted by technicalitalian
It turns out that we lost 4 of the 6 power supplies in our transmitter. We received most of the parts yesterday; the guys have been working hard to get the supplies fixed but we’re still a day or two away from getting back on the air.

Thanks for your patience in this; I don’t know what hit us but it got us good. Attached is a picture of some of the damage (times 4)…..TI

OUCH! That's really ugly! I guess no HD Alias tonight. :(

I see you guys have elected to put the digital on Channel 9 after the transition. Will that require a whole new transmitter, or can you just replace certain pieces? (exciter?) I suppose you could buy one of those "convertible" analog transmitters to use until the transition, but wouldn't the power be too high? Sorry about all the questions, but this stuff is fascinating to me.

Brad

Originally posted by Bradtothebone
OUCH! That's really ugly! I guess no HD Alias tonight. :(

I see you guys have elected to put the digital on Channel 9 after the transition. Will that require a whole new transmitter, or can you just replace certain pieces? (exciter?) I suppose you could buy one of those "convertible" analog transmitters to use until the transition, but wouldn't the power be too high? Sorry about all the questions, but this stuff is fascinating to me.

Brad

The transmitter is an issue when we switch back to 9. There's a possibility we can re-tune our channel 7 digital for use on 9 but more than likely we'll get a different xmtr-luckily the exciter is frequency agile. Along with the xmtr, we need to change the constant impedance filter and perhaps the antenna. However, the ability to loose the null in our pattern to the south and Ch. 7's susceptibility to impulse noise interference, makes the conversion worthwhile.....TI

Originally posted by technicalitalian
Attached is a picture of some of the damage (times 4)…..TI

From my neck of the woods we call that kind of damage, LIGHTNIN'!

Thanks for the reply, T.I.

I was hoping that the move up-frequency would help with the impulse noise problem. We sometimes lose KMBC-DT, for example, when the washing machine goes into spin cycle!

BTW, for everyone's information, here are the channels the local broadcasters picked for their post-transition spots:

WDAF - 34 (Thank goodness they didn't stay with 4!)
KCTV - 24 (Same thank goodness!)
KMBC - 9
KCPT - 18
KTAJ - 21
KCWE - 31
KMCI - 41 (This was pretty smart, as it will give them adjacent channels on the same tower - see below)
KSHB - 42
KSMO - 47
KPXE - 51

So, after all is said and done, only two stations will be changing digital channels - KMBC and KMCI.

In Topeka, however, all four local stations are reverting back to their analog channels (11, 13, 27, and 49).

Brad

When is this switch scheduled? My cut-antenna for ch 7 will become a nice cloths hanger :(

FYI, the Oklahoma vs Niagara game is on CBS in HD

Originally posted by sega19
FYI, the Oklahoma vs Niagara game is on CBS in HD

are they showing a different game on the analogue channel?

Thought i would post this... just noticed KCTV updated their webiste. Looks like we will be getting "options" in the games. Thanks KCTV5

Thur., March 17

KCTV

11:45am - Oklahoma vs Niagra (HDTV)

1:40pm - Cincinnati vs. Iowa

6:10pm - Texas vs. Nevada

8:45pm - Texas Tech vs. UCLA (HDTV)



KCTV-DT (NOTE: You must have HDTV to view these games)

11:45am - Oklahoma vs. Niagra

2:05pm - Utah vs. UTEP

6:25pm - Gonzaga vs. Winthrop

8:45pm - Texas Tech vs.UCLA



Fri., March 18

KCTV

11:30am - Minnesota vs. Iowa State

1:50pm - Southern Illinois vs. St. Mary's

6:20pm - Wisconsin vs. Northern Iowa

8:40pm - Kansas vs. Bucknell



KCTV-DT (NOTE: You must have HDTV to view these games)

11:25am - Florida vs. Ohio

1:45pm - Villanova vs. NEw Mexico

6:10pm - Louisville vs. Louisiana - Lafayette

8:30pm - Georgia Tech vs. George Washington

Sat., March 19



11:00am - Road To The Final Four

12:00pm - NCAA Basketball Championships Round Two: Games TBA




Sun., March 20


11:00am - NCAA Basketball Championships Round Two: Games TBA

Originally posted by mws6468
When is this switch scheduled? My cut-antenna for ch 7 will become a nice cloths hanger :(

We don't know yet. Congress and the FCC are working on a schedule for the transition. It could be as early as Dec 2006 (unlikely), or as late as sometime in the next decade. IMO, it will probably be late THIS decade. If you want to read more about the options, this is a good place to start:

http://www.tvtechnology.com/dlrf/one.php?id=776

Brad

Originally posted by mws6468
Fri., March 18

KCTV

11:30am - Minnesota vs. Iowa State

1:50pm - Southern Illinois vs. St. Mary's

6:20pm - Wisconsin vs. Northern Iowa

8:40pm - Kansas vs. Bucknell



KCTV-DT (NOTE: You must have HDTV to view these games)

11:25am - Florida vs. Ohio

1:45pm - Villanova vs. NEw Mexico

6:10pm - Louisville vs. Louisiana - Lafayette

8:30pm - Georgia Tech vs. George Washington


Looks like we'll be able to watch KU/Bucknell in glorious analog!

Brad

Originally posted by Bradtothebone
Looks like we'll be able to watch KU/Bucknell in glorious analog!

Brad

That is not KCTV's fault.. it is not produced in HD.
Be honest can KU "look good" in HD, it will take more than HD to make them look good they way they have been playing.

Hey, I'm a Wildcat, too, but unfortunately KU's all we've got left!

We have some KU-fan friends who wanted to come and watch the game on the bigscreen, but they're not going to be very impressed with the PQ on the analog side. Even SD digital would have been better. Oh, well, my sig says it all!

Brad

Originally posted by Bradtothebone


We have some KU-fan friends who wanted to come and watch the game on the bigscreen, but they're not going to be very impressed with the PQ on the analog side. Even SD digital would have been better. Oh, well, my sig says it all!

Brad

I thought all KU fans could afford their own HDTV ;)

jk

Hope Iowa State does well tomorrow against Minnesota even though they have to play North Carolina if they win.

Big Thanks to KCTV5!!

I have your digital and analog signals showing in our main conference room and we are loving it. This is great exposure for HD. Most of my coworkers are amazed that I can show them two games at the same time without cable or sat.

The best part is, OTA is all free BABY!!

Originally posted by hdtimmy
Big Thanks to KCTV5!!

I have your digital and analog signals showing in our main conference room and we are loving it. This is great exposure for HD. Most of my coworkers are amazed that I can show them two games at the same time without cable or sat.

The best part is, OTA is all free BABY!!

I'll second you on thanking KCTV5, except for a few dropouts to a green screen the HD feed was great last night.

8300HD Users:

Does anyone know if TimeWarner KC is planning to implement (or already has implemented) the multi-room DVR feature on the 8300HD? I've found a few articles announcing it in January, but I can't find information on when they will enable this and what other cable boxes I will need in my house.

I read somewhere that TWC in Minneapolis was experimenting with the multi room DVR.
Here is a link talking about TWC being the first Cable company offering mutliroom.
http://www.sciatl.com/newscenter/index.htm
The article can be found if you click on the DVR News link and look for article titled, " Scientific-Atlanta is First to Launch Cable Multi-Room DVR for the Connected Home"

I am *LIVID* at KCTV! In the middle of the second half of the Iowa State vs Minnesota game, they switched over to the NC State game, leaving ISU fans hanging to cover a game that no one around here cares about. You don't leave a game in the middle to cover some coast game. I hope they enjoy the flaming hate mail from thousands of enraged Iowa State fans that live down here.

The CBS network is bouncing around to different games on the SD feeds, not KCTV5. They have no control over this.

This is NOT Channel 5's fault.

What's the deal? The Kansas game is only on the analog OTA channel. The HD channel has Ole Dominion vs MS. I thought we were going to get the KU games in HD.

Nope, the Kansas game was never scheduled for HD. For a complete schedule of NCAA games on CBS (5, 5-1) check here:

http://www.kctv5.com/Global/story.asp?S=1587399

Originally posted by hdtimmy
The CBS network is bouncing around to different games on the SD feeds, not KCTV5. They have no control over this.
This is NOT Channel 5's fault. I wish that were true. But I called several of my family members and friends in different parts of the country. For instance, the Omaha, Des Moines, and Sioux City CBS affiliates had the Iowa State game on in its entirety. They did not cut away to other games (other than little 60 second updates). CBS had several SD feeds that the local affiliates could choose between and some of those feeds bounced around. KCTV should have had realized their demographics before switching midgame to a non Big 12/10 game. The thousands of Iowa State fans that live in KC couldn't care less about the NC State game. The programming director at KCTV should have been paying attention to what feeds she chose. Maybe she just doesn't understand sports and/or demographics, but she really dropped the ball.

I would give just about anything for KCTV 5 to up their power on KCTV-DT....I can get it, but it's like watching satellite during a bad thunderstorm...constant dropouts, etc....

It's a VERY good picture when I can get it though....

Any chance we can bump the power by next week's games?

:)

Just to let our loyal KMBC OTA and some cable viewers know that our transmitter engineers have been able to get our DTV power up to 45%. We hope to be up to full power by Tuesday. Again thanks for your patience on this. No one, even the manufacturer, ever figured a solid state transmitter would ever fail in such a catastrophic manner.....TI

Originally posted by technicalitalian
Just to let our loyal KMBC OTA and some cable viewers know that our transmitter engineers have been able to get our DTV power up to 45%. We hope to be up to full power by Tuesday. Again thanks for your patience on this. No one, even the manufacturer, ever figured a solid state transmitter would ever fail in such a catastrophic manner.....TI

Thank you KMBC engineers for bringing KMBC9 DT-07 back to life. I show 79% signal strength today down from the upper 90's% before the catastrophic transmitter failure. Best of luck in finding the reason for the transmitter failure. Again thank you all for restoring DT-07. :)

Thanks to KMBC for their efforts...the signal is already strong enough for me to pick up, but usually all I have to do is plug in my antenna from 50 miles away....Meanwhile, finding KCTV5 is like finding a needle in a haystack...I can't wait to be able to reliably get a signal from all KC stations...

Thanks again KMBC!

Does anyone know of professional installers for antennas, and about what they charge?

Originally posted by technicalitalian
Just to let our loyal KMBC OTA and some cable viewers know that our transmitter engineers have been able to get our DTV power up to 45%. We hope to be up to full power by Tuesday. Again thanks for your patience on this. No one, even the manufacturer, ever figured a solid state transmitter would ever fail in such a catastrophic manner.....TI

I'm picking it up at 67% out here in Greenwood. Thanks for the updates and getting the picture back on the air! My fiancee can't go without HD on Wednesday's on ABC so she can watch Alias and Lost! Thanks again TI!

I am impressed with how quickly KMBC has been able to get the digital tower back on the air after such an event. Kudos to TI.

Thanks, TI! We were getting KMBC-DT fine yesterday.

Brad

Kudos to KMBC-DT, it's back up and I watched Spring Break Shark Attack last night. It was entertaining.

Originally posted by technicalitalian
Just to let our loyal KMBC OTA and some cable viewers know that our transmitter engineers have been able to get our DTV power up to 45%. We hope to be up to full power by Tuesday. Again thanks for your patience on this. No one, even the manufacturer, ever figured a solid state transmitter would ever fail in such a catastrophic manner.....TI

Was that a Harris?

Originally posted by kc_moses
Kudos to KMBC-DT, it's back up and I watched Spring Break Shark Attack last night. It was entertaining.

R U sure that was on KMBC? (that was a CBS program;) )

Originally posted by WILDCAT NATION
Does anyone know of professional installers for antennas, and about what they charge?

I used Antenna Masters. He charged a flat $350 fee (including antenna). Was real happy with his work.

Thank you....I will have to keep that in mind if I start having bad luck again...

I finally got all channels to come in strong.

Has anyone heard what KCTV's plan is for airing the Sweet 16 games? They are all available in HD, so I wondered how they might handle that.

WILDCAT, check out this link:

http://www.kctv5.com/Global/story.asp?S=1587399&nav=1PugJzhg

Thanks! I see they have updated that portion of their site now. I had checked it earlier in the day and it wasn't changed....

Can't wait to see some of these games...should be a fun couple of nights of bball....

Originally posted by boku
I used Antenna Masters. He charged a flat $350 fee (including antenna). Was real happy with his work.

I tried to use Antenna Masters, he could not help me in my apt, but was very helpful. He was kind of behind on knowledge of FCC laws, but I helped him out with a "few" pages of reading material.

I will have to take pics of how I finally got this antenna to work....otherwise, I doubt anyone would believe me...

Works perfectly 5 feet off the ground behind a house and trees....won't get squat on top of the roof and above the treeline...

Originally posted by foxeng
Was that a Harris?

Yes, a Harris Platinum.

BTW, thanks to all for the kind words. KMBC is blessed to have such dedicated and talented RF engineers.....TI

I noticed tonight that "American Dreams" is not being broadcast in 16X9 1080i on KSHB NBC DT-42.


Update: I was able to get a nice person at the KSHB news desk to check into the NBC HDTV programming and I was told that this is not a local problem but a east coast problem.

Originally posted by jeffdbs
I noticed tonight that "American Dreams" is not being broadcast in 16X9 1080i on KSHB NBC DT-42.


Update: I was able to get a nice person at the KSHB news desk to check into the NBC HDTV programming and I was told that this is not a local problem but a east coast problem.

My local NBC took the HD feed and it was so bad, I had to switch to the SD version and zoom it to fill out the 16x9. It looked like a digital frame sync kept unlocking about every 10 to 15 seconds. Totally unwatchable.

RE: the comcast vs. D* debate

I recently switched from Dish to Comcast. The reasoning was for the local OTA HD channels. My bill for the next 16 months is 15 bucks cheaper than my previous Dish bill. Other than the HD receiver freezing up at first (haven't had a problem in about 2 weeks) i am completely satisfied with Comcast so far. Yeah, they may be more expensive, but up front they are a heck of a lot cheaper. No antenna/wiring through the house or around it/installation of antenna and such. If I have to pay 8-10 bucks more a month to NOT have my house wrapped with co-ax like a christmas bow, that's fine by me.

I'm frustrated....Antenna hasn't budged...and this morning all OTA digitals were working fine...go home at lunch...and one of the stations would sort of come in...the rest I was getting nuthin'....

Just crossing my fingers that KCTV-DT will work for about 5 hours tonight.

Seriously, can someone explain this to me? I will tune the antenna in...be getting a PERFECT signal and picture for about 3-5 minutes...then it goes to hell...Is KCTV's DT signal just that weak that it would be totally inconsistent, or am I doing something wrong?

Of course, PAX comes in like a charm...I think I could stick a coat hanger in the air and pick up PAX...

I take it KMBC is not up to 100% yet?.. Still at 45%?..

Amazing that my bowtie Radio Shack bowtie antenna will pick up HDTV KMBC in the bedroom, but my huge 2 Antennas on my chimney won't pick it up until its at full power, maybe the strong winds moved the antenna out of sync?..

If the power IS up to 100%, i guess its back on the roof i go.. I was getting everything btw before, so i am glad it wasn't me this time!

I think that your local terrain has a lot to do with UHF-HD reception. I let a co-worker, who lives about a half mile away from me, use a Radio Shack indoor bow tie that works very well at my house. At his house he could not receive KMBC. My house is on the north eastern side of a hill in Olathe. My co-worker's house is at the bottom of a hill at creek level. I would think that if your location is at the bottom of a hill or on the south side of a hill (north side for those north of the transmitter, east for east etc.) that you would have major reception problems until this July when the broadcasters go to full power. Where are all of you at, relative to your surrounding terrain to the transmitting towers?

I noticed tonight that NBC ran a crawler that said that the new sitcom THE FFICE was available in HD where available.

KSHB ran it in SD.

Is this an HD program or not?

And by the way, I have not been able to tune a KCTV 5 signal for weeks now. Why is that? I have VOOM and other KC channels come in fine (KSHB, KMBC) except WDAF of course.

The cable I purchased says it is HDCP capable. My has a DVI input and the manual says the DVI input is HDCP capable. When I connect the 8300HD it says that my TV does not support the HDCP protocol. TimeWarner was no help, they say I need a firmware update to my TV? How is this accomplished?

The TV is a LG 52" DLP. It's about 6 months old.

Thanks!

Just want to throw out some experience I have had with digital Over the Air television reception. When KCPT-DT 18 was the only game in town I lived at the bottom of a hill by the Little Blue river in southeastern Independence MO. With a huge hill between my house and the KCPT tower I installed the largest VHF/UHF outdoor directional antenna from Radio Shack I could buy. This monster antenna listed KCPT-DT UHF at 72% signal strength. Then along came the good people at KMBC-DT VHF above 90% signal strength.

My wife wanted to move to the country so I put the house up for sale. This huge antenna I was using had to go while I showed the house so I installed a small Radio Shack VHF/UHF antenna 1/4 the size of the monster antenna. I wanted to leave the HDTV on during open house. Guess what signal strength stayed the same with KCPT at 72% and KMBC above 90% with the new 1/4 size VHF/UHF outdoor directional antenna.

Sold the house and move to the sticks on a hill about 20 miles away. Now I was in digital over the air heaven because I can now see all the television towers in Kansas City. This country house had a small attic directional VHF/UHF antenna so I hooked up the digital receiver. KCPT was at 73% and KMBC was a little higher in the upper 90%.

I tried power amps at both location to only to meet disasters in signal strength. Stay away from power amps. I have learned that a good small VHF/UHF attic/outdoor directional antenna along with RG-6 shielded coax cable and a coax ground block will do the job in digital Over the Air television reception. Hope this helps.
:)

Jeff, I know that a lot of people have had experiences similar to yours with antenna preamps. Many times the preamp will overdrive the ATSC receiver, or amplify multipath to the point that it really confuses the ATSC tuner.

I just want to say that my experience with a preamp (on an attic antenna)has been positive, for two reasons. First, I'm far enough away (15-22 miles from the transmitters), and they're all in the same general direction. Therefore, I don't get much multipath. Second, I've found that I really NEED the preamp for the analog channels. Since I have TV's all over the house that depend on the analog channels, I'm really fortunate that the preamp doesn't mess up the digital!

Brad

I have had the same experience as Brad out here in DeSoto with an attic antenna and amplifiers. I also was not able to get the channel 62 DT without the amplifier.

So did anyone notice that last night's HD NCAA games from Albuquerque were in 6.1 sound!?!?!?! I about hit the floor when I noticed this. But after the TT/WVa game was over, they switched to the HD feed from Chicago, and it was in 5.1. Weird. I plan on going over to the programming forum to discuss, but was curious if anyone else noticed this in KC. Kudos to the KCTV staff for 1) giving us both games, and 2) having it available in 6.1. I didn't know anything was being broadcast in 6.1 yet, or that the affiliates could pass it on!!!

I noticed that it was in 6.1. It seems I have seen this before, but I cannot remember the programming. I thought the audio mix was pretty good. I am usually disappointed in sports HD audio mix. It seems they often don't provide a high enough level for the play-by-play guys in the booth (in the center speaker). Then I am mostly surrounded by crowd noise and have to strain to understand what is being said.

Originally posted by Bradtothebone
Jeff, I know that a lot of people have had experiences similar to yours with antenna preamps. Many times the preamp will overdrive the ATSC receiver, or amplify multipath to the point that it really confuses the ATSC tuner.

I just want to say that my experience with a preamp (on an attic antenna)has been positive, for two reasons. First, I'm far enough away (15-22 miles from the transmitters), and they're all in the same general direction. Therefore, I don't get much multipath. Second, I've found that I really NEED the preamp for the analog channels. Since I have TV's all over the house that depend on the analog channels, I'm really fortunate that the preamp doesn't mess up the digital!

Brad

Thank you for sharing your experience with a preamp. I really do have so much more to learn in digital Over the Air reception. :)

Originally posted by tblankenship
I have had the same experience as Brad out here in DeSoto with an attic antenna and amplifiers. I also was not able to get the channel 62 DT without the amplifier.

Thank you also for sharing your amplifier experience with this forum. I guess I need to hit the books on amplifiers, preamps and antenna db gain. :)

Here is a good link on UHF reception in general. The ham radio people have this down to an art.

http://www.geocities.com/toddemslie/UHF-TV-DX.html

I live near the lake in Smithville. I've been playing with HD reception for about 18 months now. I'm able get everything OTA except WDAF-DT. Luckily, since they're a FOX O&O station, I get a FOX HD feed out of New York on DirecTV. If you've looked at WDAF's web site, it now says they're expecting to fix their signal problem by "mid-year". We'll see.

Here's my setup:

Philips 60PW9363 (60" rear projection)
Hughes E86 receiver
Terk BMS58 multiswitch
Radio Shack VU-120XR antenna (in attic)
Archer 25db inline amplifier

Admittedly, you can get better reception from an outside antenna. My theory is that an antenna will work better in the attic than laying on the ground in pieces (after a wind storm). With HD, you don't need "perfect" reception, just good enough to "lock on". The amp is also in the attic and just plugs into an outlet up there. From there the antenna feed runs into the multiswitch. The multiswitch allows me to distribute satellite and antenna signals to all cable outlets in the house. A diplexor ( $3 on buy.com) is then used to split the satellite and antenna feeds back out at each cable jack. In the case of the E86, it can demux the signals itself without a diplexor.

Here is my experience with various stations.

KMBC-DT (ABC) 100% signal strength, no problems
KCPT-DT (PBS) 60% signal strength, no problems
KCTV-DT (CBS) 80% signal strength, no problems
KCWE-DT (UPN) 100% signal strength, no problems
KCMI-DT (Ind) 30% signal stength, usually OK*
KSHB-DT (NBC) 20% signal strength, usually OK*
KPXE-DT (PAX) 100% signal strength, no problems, they seem to just multicast (no HD)
KSMO-DT (WB) 80% signal stength, no problems

* OK, here is my "trick" for the two "weak" channels (KSHB & KCMI). If I tune to either of these and they don't come in, I tune to ESPN-HD (DirecTV channel 73), then back to 41-1 or 38-1. The receiver is then able to lock on to the terrestrial signal. Once locked on, the picture is as good as any other digital station. The only thing I can figure is that running on ESPN-HD sets the receiver's parameters closer to what's needed to pull in these weak terrestrial signals. But that is just a guess. I've been able to watch ER in HD with signal strength as low as 6%. I could probably go up and try to aim the antenna for better reception, but frankly, the ESPN trick seems like a lot less effort.

Welcome kcrw79. :) Thanks for sharing your setup information with the local Kansas City HDTV forum here. Glad to see all the Over the Air Kansas City digital channels are available to you (WDAF-DT soon).

I have a SA 8000HD (DVR) receiver with Time Warner (picked up the box from Grandview.) Do other Time Warner users use a newer box?
I also bought a DVI cable from Best Buy since my Toshiba HD RPTV has a DVI input, but nothing comes up on the screen with the DVI connection. Does this output not work on the 8000HD box?
edit: I read the prvious post about setting up the compatible formats, but I do get a signal via component cables.

Good lord, I cannot WAIT for KCTV to up their power....

rrostie,

I do believe that both the SA 8000HD and the SA 8300HD both have their digital outputs disabled at this time in the Kansas City area. I called them last week to ask about the 8300 specifically and they told me that it's disabled. I asked if they planned to enable it anytime soon and they said that they didn't. They said they would advertise when it is enabled, which I really don't believe since most consumers won't understand what that means.

I just don't understand why some Time Warner areas have it enabled and others do not. I think it's pretty stupid to have a high quality digital signal into the cable box then send out analog to your digital tv.. it should be digital all the way. :) Maybe they are having issues with HDCP or something which would cause a customer support nightmare.. so they have them disabled for the time being.

Greg

KMBC-DT, please increase your volume levels!

Greg--i have the SA8300HD and am using DVI out.

Originally posted by gregorykai
rrostie,

I do believe that both the SA 8000HD and the SA 8300HD both have their digital outputs disabled at this time in the Kansas City area. I called them last week to ask about the 8300 specifically and they told me that it's disabled. I asked if they planned to enable it anytime soon and they said that they didn't. They said they would advertise when it is enabled, which I really don't believe since most consumers won't understand what that means.

I just don't understand why some Time Warner areas have it enabled and others do not. I think it's pretty stupid to have a high quality digital signal into the cable box then send out analog to your digital tv.. it should be digital all the way. :) Maybe they are having issues with HDCP or something which would cause a customer support nightmare.. so they have them disabled for the time being.

Greg

Well the lady told me that a handful have come in with it enabled, but it's not a feature they have available to all customers in the KC area. So you must be one of the lucky few. :) Maybe I will be lucky too.

I am getting my first HDTV (Sammy HL-R5677W) on Friday and the Panny S97 DVD player on Thursday. Time Warner hasn't finished making our new neighborhood serviceable yet. :( We just moved into our brand new house about 2 months ago. It was supposed to be available on February 28th, then they pushed it back to March 15th, then they pushed it back to tomorrow (31st). They are actually making me quite mad. The contractors they had run the cable and install the cable boxes finished by the 28th of last month. The only thing they have left to do is make it live. I told the sales lady last time she told me they pushed the date back that I was pretty upset. She blamed the weather, but it can't because they already ran the cable. It's quite apparent that the dates they keep giving me are generated by their system automatically. It keeps moving the date back half a month at a time. It's either the 15th or the last day of the month. Something tells me that since they haven't called yet that it won't be ready by tomorrow either. I wish I cound find out from the actually service department when they have it scheduled for completion instead of relying on the stupid sales people's estimations. Is there any way to get past the sales dept and talk to someone who would really know?

Greg

It would also be nice if KCTV5-DT would decrease their volume a little bit.

The FCC needs to standardize (maybe based on a Dolby Labs specification) a baseline audio level for all channels. It is quite annoying to have to crank the sound on ABC and almost mute it on CBS.

The problem with standardizing is that advertisers want to pump up the volume to catch your attention. Also, the only way to standardize would be to have a mean volume level. Like say 75dB. That's great, but every sound in a show/movie is a different volume, and the advertisers will probably starting releasing commercials with their volume cranked to 85dB.

Then, to get the station's mean volume down to 75dB they will have to quiet all of the shows to 65dB (because the average ratio of show to commericial nowadays seems close to if not more than 1:1) That would be even more annoying.

The FCC could require advertisers to have a standardized mean dB level as well (like for spoken human voice).

Originally posted by gregorykai
Is there any way to get past the sales dept and talk to someone who would really know?

Greg

I'd go to TWC's website (http://www.twckc.com) and e-mail the appropriate executive. That would probably be more worthwile than talking to one of the front-line people.

Anyone else have a major meltdown on KMBC at 9:00 last night ("Eyes")? We had the whole evening of ABC programming recorded on our DISH 921, and the first two shows were flawless ("Lost" and "Alias").

As soon as "Eyes" started, we got a blue screen with sound temporarily, and then just flashes of picture and sound for at least several minutes (I fast-forwarded about 20 minutes and it was still the same). I went to "live" just before the show ended, and it was fine by then.

Was this just another 921 "brain fart," or an ABC problem, or a KMBC-DT problem?

Brad

Originally posted by Bradtothebone
Anyone else have a major meltdown on KMBC at 9:00 last night ("Eyes")? We had the whole evening of ABC programming recorded on our DISH 921, and the first two shows were flawless ("Lost" and "Alias").

As soon as "Eyes" started, we got a blue screen with sound temporarily, and then just flashes of picture and sound for at least several minutes (I fast-forwarded about 20 minutes and it was still the same). I went to "live" just before the show ended, and it was fine by then.

Was this just another 921 "brain fart," or an ABC problem, or a KMBC-DT problem?

Brad

We're checking into this as our broadcast grade DTV receiver at the station had some serious macroblocking at the beginning of the show. However, another of our engineers who owns a Samsung receiver did not see the problem at his home. If anyone else in this thread had problems last evening, please let us know. We'll keep the forum informed as we try to determine the cause....TI

Thanks for the reply, TI.

Could it have been a PSIP glitch, if some receivers were affected and others not? BTW, I was showing a signal strength of 121 (out of 125) last night.

Brad

Originally posted by technicalitalian
We're checking into this as our broadcast grade DTV receiver at the station had some serious macroblocking at the beginning of the show. However, another of our engineers who owns a Samsung receiver did not see the problem at his home. If anyone else in this thread had problems last evening, please let us know. We'll keep the forum informed as we try to determine the cause....TI

I also had blue screen, then picture / sound drop outs, for about 30 minutes. There were a couple minutes during that time when the show was switched to SD and the SD picture was fine. Perhaps it was the HD network feed that was bad?

On the SA 8000HD / SA 8300HD Output Questions:

I have had both boxes (currently I have the 8300HD). On the 8000HD, DVI output was disabled, as was the S-Video output. Only the component video outputs worked for me.

On the 8300HD, I am currently using the HDMI output with an adapter to my DVI input on my TV. Occasionally, I get the error message about "your receiver does not support HDMI..." you saw. Turning the 8300HD off and on again solves the problem.

FYI #1, the component, HDMI and S-Video outputs work on the 8300HD. As do the digital audio outputs. You can even watch HD content via the S-Video output (it outputs the content at 480i, regardless of your settings for the HD outputs).

FYI #2, you can find a DVI to HDMI adapter at a number of places online. They can range in price from $7 to $50+. Search Google for "HDMI to DVI adapter" and pick one which will work for you. I had a DVI cable (Male to Male), so I chose a HDMI Male to DVI Female adapter for about $10.

FYI #3, the 8300HD is a great improvement over the 8000HD. I hope Time Warner KC ever enables the ability to watch programs from the 8300 on other boxes in the same house. It is possible, according to the Scientific Atlanta web site.

Enjoy!
hciv

Hi.. another newbe.. quick question. What is the best deal for HDTV channels (TW, DISH, Voom, etc.). I'm not interested in movies, just getting the local channels in HD, discovery, etc. I plan on gettng the silver senser indoor intenna. I currently have Time Warner digital, and my TV has the HD tuner built in (does TW encrypt all of their HD programming?).

thanks

Originally posted by bigredhusker
Hi.. another newbe.. quick question. What is the best deal for HDTV channels (TW, DISH, Voom, etc.). I'm not interested in movies, just getting the local channels in HD, discovery, etc. I plan on gettng the silver senser indoor intenna. I currently have Time Warner digital, and my TV has the HD tuner built in (does TW encrypt all of their HD programming?).

thanks

Welcome bigredhusker. All HDTV providers have their strong points and weak points. VOOM has the most HDTV programming to offer. Dish, DirecTV and Time Warner have good lineups of HDTV. Over the Air digital HDTV television programming is free. Probably best to check each providers website to choose the package which best fits your needs. Glad to have your voice here at the local Kansas City HDTV forum. :)

Did KMBC-DT ever get back to "full power"....I've been having trouble getting a good lock on that station OTA for a while now.

Originally posted by WILDCAT NATION
Did KMBC-DT ever get back to "full power"....I've been having trouble getting a good lock on that station OTA for a while now.

Yes, we are back to fully authorized power. You might try doing another channel scan to get all the PIDs back where they should be......TI

hciv - Have you done a component vs. HDMI comparison on picture quality? I know HDMI should be better, but I have not seen anyone post that there is a noticable improvement. Just trying to determine whether it is worth buying the cable and dealing with the occasional error message.

Originally posted by kcsooner
hciv - Have you done a component vs. HDMI comparison on picture quality? I know HDMI should be better, but I have not seen anyone post that there is a noticable improvement. Just trying to determine whether it is worth buying the cable and dealing with the occasional error message.

Yes, I did compare the two. Can I tell a difference when I'm not switching between to two? No. If you look at one then the other, they both look great.

Can I tell a difference in a side by side comparison? Sort of. It looks to me like the HDMI is "softer" which I perceive as a more-accurate picture. But I could be mistaken.

Is it worth messing with $50 in new cables and adapters. No, I don't think so. But I do think it looks better.

As always, your mileage may vary. I would love to hear from others who have tested this out!

hciv

A friend of mine went in to a Time Warner store this weekend and swapped his 8000 for a 8300. He asked about the HDMI output. They said that they are enabled now, most weren't before because of an overheating issue they said. Maybe the occasional error message is caused by the overheating? Or are you guys using brand new 8300s and still getting errors?

BTW, when is Time Warner going to offer The WB and UPN in HD? Has there been any news on that?

Greg

Originally posted by bigredhusker
Hi.. another newbe.. quick question. What is the best deal for HDTV channels (TW, DISH, Voom, etc.). I'm not interested in movies, just getting the local channels in HD, discovery, etc. I plan on gettng the silver senser indoor intenna. I currently have Time Warner digital, and my TV has the HD tuner built in (does TW encrypt all of their HD programming?).

thanks

I, too, am in Liberty. Bottom line: if you want the locals in HD, then Time Warner is your only choice* other than your over-the-air antenna. Here's why:

If you use your internal tuner with your antenna, you should get all of the HD locals except Fox (search this forum for more info on that issue). Your experience will vary depending on terrain, antenna, location, etc..

If you go with Time Warner's HD (since, it appears, you already have their service), you will need to trade in your current digital box for an HD digital box. There should be no charge to exchange the box at the store on Barry Road (except for the lame $2 service fee they charge for ANY contact with a person at their store).

Your built-in HD tuner is only for over-the-air signals, not cable TV. FYI, only HDTVs with a "cable card" slot can be enabled to "decrypt" the cable signals internally (i.e. without a cable box). You can search this forum for some info on that, too.

With the new Time Warner HD cable box you'll get all of the locals in HD, except for UPN and WB for some unknown reason, plus TNT HD for the same price you pay now**. You'll also get HBO HD and Showtime HD if you subscribe to those services.

You also have the option of getting an HD DVR and some additional HD channels for something like $10-20 more a month**.

I hope this helps!
hciv


* Satellite is a choice, but your question is about LOCAL channels. I don't believe any of them are yet offering the KC area locals in HD. Nor are they planning to offer them any time soon (___the satellite folks can chime in here to give a more accurate update on this___). For now, you'll get the locals you can reach with your antenna and built-in tuner.

**As with all things related to Time Warner Cable, your experience may vary. I can't remember the specific price and, frankly, Time Warner's pricing varies from block to block. Pray Everest comes to Liberty so TW is forced to compete on price. </opinion>

Originally posted by gregorykai
Maybe the occasional error message is caused by the overheating? Or are you guys using brand new 8300s and still getting errors?

Greg

I just got the 8300 a few weeks ago. It could be related to overheating, but I suspect the HDMI can't stay in sync with my TV. I think, but am not sure, that HDMI's built-in copy protection requires it to sync with the TV to verify the signal is not being used improperly.

hciv

Originally posted by technicalitalian
Yes, we are back to fully authorized power. You might try doing another channel scan to get all the PIDs back where they should be......TI


Thank you TI...that will help me figure out what's up...I appreciate it!

All the locals are supposed to be full power by July, correct?

I think I'm done fighting this antenna until then....or hopefully DirecTv will come through sooner than I expect or something....

Only ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox stations in the top 100 markets (us) are required to be full power (as indicated on the stations FCC DTV construction permit) by July 2005.

All other stations are not required to be full power until July 2006.

Hello,

I live in Knob Noster, MO. This is east of Kansas City, in between Warrensburg, and Sedalia.

I'm kind of far from KC, but will I still be able to receive digital local channels, over the air, in HD? I'm wanting to purchase an HD set sometime soon, and I'm trying to learn as much as possible about it before doing so.

What sort of special antenna would I need to be able to receive the local channels here?

-shane

HCIV - Thanks for the information!!! Have you tried the OTA channels from LIberty? Success with any antenna? I plan on going to TW to swap.

see ya

Originally posted by CHFShane
Hello,

I live in Knob Noster, MO. This is east of Kansas City, in between Warrensburg, and Sedalia.

I'm kind of far from KC, but will I still be able to receive digital local channels, over the air, in HD? I'm wanting to purchase an HD set sometime soon, and I'm trying to learn as much as possible about it before doing so.

What sort of special antenna would I need to be able to receive the local channels here?

-shane

Welcome CHFShane. :) With a larger VHF/UHF outdoor television antenna and rotor I would say yes on receiving the full-power digital broadcasters here in Kansas City and Sedalia. The fun part is making Over the Air HDTV reception happen on your new HDTV. I feel their is a little bit of being an engineer in all of us. I can receive Sedalia digital broadcasting here in Oak Grove on a little outdoor antenna. Radio Shack sells a large VHF/UHF television antenna, rotor and cable. Glad to have your input here at the local Kansas City HDTV forum.

Originally posted by jeffdbs
Welcome CHFShane. :) With a larger VHF/UHF outdoor television antenna and rotor I would say yes on receiving the full-power digital broadcasters here in Kansas City and Sedalia. The fun part is making Over the Air HDTV reception happen on your new HDTV. I feel their is a little bit of being an engineer in all of us. I can receive Sedalia digital broadcasting here in Oak Grove on a little outdoor antenna. Radio Shack sells a large VHF/UHF television antenna, rotor and cable. Glad to have your input here at the local Kansas City HDTV forum.
Thanks for the reply. I'll look into this. :)

BTW..why do you say I'll need a rotor? I'm not sure exactly what a rotor is, but isn't that something for turning the antenna? All of the stations in KC are in the same relative direction from where I live...so I shouldn't really ever need to turn the antenna should I, once it gets aligned?

Secondly, do you have any links of antennas, and supplies that you would recommend?

And third....Do you know of any installers that could install the equipment, or of a service where somebody can come out and check your signal levels?

See, I don't really want to spend a bunch of money on a big fancy antenna, if it isn't going to be able to get good reception. Or are there by chance "signal detectors" you can get for yourself to check the signals at your location, and determine if you'll be able to receive digital channels?

And one more question....

You say: "The fun part is making Over the Air HDTV reception happen on your new HDTV."

What exactly do you mean by that? Can I expect to run into a lot of problems? What sort of problems? :confused:

Originally posted by hdtimmy
Only ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox stations in the top 100 markets (us) are required to be full power (as indicated on the stations FCC DTV construction permit) by July 2005.

All other stations are not required to be full power until July 2006.


Thanks timmy...I know I wasn't specific, but I was referring to the "big 4"...I really appreciate the info....

I think I might just put the antenna away until that time...I'm tired of fighting it every single day.

Originally posted by CHFShane
Thanks for the reply. I'll look into this. :)

BTW..why do you say I'll need a rotor? I'm not sure exactly what a rotor is, but isn't that something for turning the antenna? All of the stations in KC are in the same relative direction from where I live...so I shouldn't really ever need to turn the antenna should I, once it gets aligned?

Secondly, do you have any links of antennas, and supplies that you would recommend?

And third....Do you know of any installers that could install the equipment, or of a service where somebody can come out and check your signal levels?

See, I don't really want to spend a bunch of money on a big fancy antenna, if it isn't going to be able to get good reception. Or are there by chance "signal detectors" you can get for yourself to check the signals at your location, and determine if you'll be able to receive digital channels?

And one more question....

You say: "The fun part is making Over the Air HDTV reception happen on your new HDTV."

What exactly do you mean by that? Can I expect to run into a lot of problems? What sort of problems? :confused:

Welcome to the forum, CHFShane!

OK, here we go..........

I did a quick check of digital service contours vs. your location (assumed "central" Knob Noster), and determined the following for the "big four:"

WDAF (FOX): You should barely be able to receive it after July 1.
KCTV (CBS): Ditto
KMBC (ABC): You should be able to receive it, but will need a pretty big VHF antenna (they're on digital channel 7)
KSHB (NBC): Probably won't be able to get it.

So, is it worth the trouble? You have to decide. You are about 59 miles from the farthest transmitters (WDAF and KCTV) at a "true" heading of 291 degrees. Do you have good line of sight in that direction (west-northest)? If so, can you mount the antenna pretty high outdoors? If the answers to these two questions are "yes," then you might want to give it a try.

You will definitely need a large VHF/UHF combination antenna, and probably a GOOD preamplifier (mounts on the mast AT the antenna). You will need good-quality RG-6 quad-shield cable, and don't forget to ground your antenna and the cable before it enters the house. (If you do it yourself, do LOTS of reading beforehand). You can get a good antenna at Radio Shack (that's where I got mine), but I'm not sure they have a good amp. A good online source for antennas and amps (Channel Master - good stuff) is warrenelectronics.com (http://www.warrenelectronics.com). The antenna thread at the top of this forum is also a great source for info. Winegard is another good name in antennas and amps.

There is an installation firm in Kansas City called Antenna Masters that has gotten some good press. YMMV.

Finally, it really IS fun to do this stuff, and the reward comes the first time you see a crystal clear HDTV picture on your new TV, knowing you will NEVER have to pay for the privilege (well, except for the up-front money!).

Hope this helps!

Brad

Originally posted by bigredhusker
HCIV - Thanks for the information!!! Have you tried the OTA channels from Liberty? Success with any antenna? I plan on going to TW to swap.

see ya

I have not tried OTA because I do not have a built-in HD tuner...that and I'm afraid of my attic.

For those of you wanting to check on how well you may receive TV signals , and what antenna might be appropriate, please check out Antenna Web (http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx). With your street address and a few details about surrounding structures, it will give you an idea of nearby towers and what kind of antenna/amplifier is needed to receive them.

Enjoy!
hciv

Originally posted by gregorykai
BTW, when is Time Warner going to offer The WB and UPN in HD? Has there been any news on that?Good Question! I have been bugging KSMO's parent company and TWC to sign an agreement for months and never get a straight answer. The good news is that KSMO (WB) has now been sold to KCTV (CBS) in town, so maybe their parent company will be a little more open to talks. As for UPN, TWC says that they will wait to add it until UPN expands their limited HD programming before adding it to the HD lineup.

I plan on getting this antenna from RadioShack. How would it do in my area?

radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F003%5F001%5F002%5F000&product%5Fid=15%2D2156

*Note* I had to remove the beginning of the URL. I posted it like that since you can't post links unless you have 5 posts.

That antenna would probably give you a pretty good shot, but keep in mind that the "range" quoted is pretty optimistic, and is probably based on a snowy (but viewable) analog picture. Digital signals suffer from "cliff effect," where you either receive it or you don't. I paraphrase what I said before: Get it as high as you can!

Brad

Originally posted by Bradtothebone
That antenna would probably give you a pretty good shot, but keep in mind that the "range" quoted is pretty optimistic, and is probably based on a snowy (but viewable) analog picture. Digital signals suffer from "cliff effect," where you either receive it or you don't. I paraphrase what I said before: Get it as high as you can!

Brad
Any ideas how high it would need to be? I live in a single story house. Could it be on a poll, and be just a little bit higher than the edge of the roof?

If I had to, I'll mount 'er on a 50 ft telephone pole, lol. :D

As an earlier post suggested (from awhile back), I decided to email KSMO and ask when their HD feed would be available for TWC customers. I got a response back with an attached Word doc. It was a letter from the Program Director RJ Morris. I have attached it to this post. I didn't know if someone else had posted this previously, but If I figured I would post it anyways.

From the sounds of it, it doesn't sound like TWC customers will be getting KSMO-HD any time soon. Is it normal for cable providers to pay for local feeds? Or is KSMO going out on limb, while us TWC subscribers suffer? Does TWC pay for their SD feed? If not, why is the HD feed any different?

Greg

CHF Shane- Welcome to the West Central Missouri DTVers!! We live in Sedalia and have good luck with a fairly standard Channel Master Vhf-Uhf antenna mounted on the roof of a two story house. I am also using a Channel Master preamp. Reception is a bit spotty on the lower power channels like KCTV and KCWE. KMBC, KCPT and KSHB are solid. KPXE really beats them all, signal wise. Columbia and Jeff City is a bit more problematic and they do not pass through any Dolby digital 5.1 at all so I leave my antenna pointed to the west/northwest. Out here in the deep fringe, the reception is really weather dependent and better at night when the conditions are better for reception. You should not have too much trouble in Knob with a good outside antenna and a preamp.

Originally posted by gregorykai
Or is KSMO going out on limb, while us TWC subscribers suffer? Does TWC pay for their SD feed? If not, why is the HD feed any different?


I think that is BS. Either cable should have to pay for all the local feed, or none of it. Why would TWC pay for HD feed from one tv station in one city if they don't have to anywhere else? If they pay for that HD feed, then that would set a precedent and they would soon have to pay for all the local HD feed.

On another note, I just found out that ISF calibrator Greg Loewen of www.lionav.com is coming to KC next month. I already booked him to calibrate my Toshiba 57H83.
You can see his bio at (Keohi HDTV forum)
http://makeashorterlink.com/?E33F213DA

If you already know who he is and are interested, go to http://www.lionav.com and click on "book a calibration." Greg requires a $50 travel fee at time of booking (via Paypal.)

I cannot receive KSHB's digital signal tonight. Anyone else having the same problem?

I can't receive 41-1 either. Does it have anything to do with the election results scrolling? or did the wind knock anything down?

KSHB is a dead stick tonight here in Olathe.

KSHB-DT No Signal 9:30PM

Originally posted by CHFShane
Thanks for the reply. I'll look into this. :)

BTW..why do you say I'll need a rotor? I'm not sure exactly what a rotor is, but isn't that something for turning the antenna? All of the stations in KC are in the same relative direction from where I live...so I shouldn't really ever need to turn the antenna should I, once it gets aligned?



A rotor is nice in several ways. First no need to climb back on the roof, chimney or tower to realign the antenna. Two-Sedalia has a digital Over the Air HDTV channel and three it is nice to check the horizon in a 360 degree turn with your VHF/UHF television antenna to check for new digital television signals. :)

Originally posted by Psyclguy
I cannot receive KSHB's digital signal tonight. Anyone else having the same problem?

I called the KSHB newsdesk and yes KSHB knows of the problem. It would be really nice if KSHB engineers would have input on our local HDTV forum here in Kansas City. All voices here help light up the path to the new digital HDTV television world. :)

I posted this idea on another AVS HDTV forum and I would like to get any feedback from you guys and gals here at the local forum. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=527555

"My hope is that STB's for all analog television will be handed out for free by local area television broadcasters. These analog to digital STB's will always default to the digital television station channel on start up which gave away the good quality STB's. Just like a home web page. These free STB's can allow a station to gently remind the viewer that better news, weather and sports is available at the home channel".

With electronic cost dropping fast I am hoping stations will decided that a giveaway of free STB's will bring in new viewers cheaper than any other type of advertising.

Originally posted by rrostie
I think that is BS. Either cable should have to pay for all the local feed, or none of it. Why would TWC pay for HD feed from one tv station in one city if they don't have to anywhere else? If they pay for that HD feed, then that would set a precedent and they would soon have to pay for all the local HD feed. I agree. Why should TWC pay for something that KSMO is sending out for free? I already pay enough for cable, and it's just this kind of corporate greed that causes my rates to increase exponentially year to year. It's not like KSMO isn't getting millions of dollars in advertising revenue. In fact, MY tax dollars gave them the FREE spectrum allocation to even have their HD signal in the first place. The FCC didn't charge them for it. Now that KSMO is owned by KCTV and a new parent company, I hope that their stubborn stance on retrans has changed. Since KSMO has a weak signal that most of us outside the metro cannot receive OTA (I've tried in Shawnee and Olathe), they ought to be required to have at least cable carriage by the FCC, so that the rest of us can receive the signal. My two cents.

CHFShane.....

As a person that lives in an outlying area similar to yourself, I feel the need to comment a bit on your work...

I am about 50-55 miles from the KC towers in St. Joseph...I live in a "valley" just about a mile north of a hotel on a hill near I-29. My experience has been this..

I started with a Silver Sensor and picked up KCTV-5 and KMBC with it (note, KMBC is a VHF channel and I was getting it with a UHF antenna)....

So, I decided to go get the 10' Boom combo antenna at RS and try it out...To this DAY, the best luck I've had with reception was just putting it about 6' off the ground and using NO amp at all...and that was with a run of coax about 75' long.

One day, I went and spent all the money to get the stuff to mount it on the roof...on my chimney, specifically...got it up there, got it mounted, and got NOTHING...ZIP, NADA...so I'm not an advocate of the "higher is better" when you are as far away as we are....

If you do a search, you will find a thread by me concerning this..it was about 6 weeks ago I think...and there is a link in that thread explaining why "higher" isn't always better (but as a rule, it is true, just not in my case)...

I have decided to wait until they all go full power to really worry about it anymore...I was so pi$$ed at KCTV for not having any "power" over the last 3 weeks because I could lock on..but then 5 minutes later have NO signal....very, VERY frustrating...

CHFShane,

SEE how much FUN this is?

I agree with Wildcat Nation that higher isn't ALWAYS better. My advice would be to do exactly what he did - start near the ground and work your way up. Your height above sea level is somewhere around 800 ft - slightly lower than the ground level at the transmitters in KC - so you don't gain any advantage there.

Brad

Originally posted by Bradtothebone
CHFShane,

SEE how much FUN this is?
LOL, yeah, it's looking like it's going to be a whole lot of fun. :D

I'm only 17 years old, so don't have a job that pays a ton. I'm saving everything I make though to put toward an HDTV, and all of this stuff, so it will probably be a few months before I can buy anything. I'm just trying to learn everything about it that I can, so that I don't go into this not knowing anything.

I'm buying all of the stuff myself, because my parents really aren't the type that "see the need" for all of this electronic stuff. I'm the "nerd" in the house....so I deal with all of the electronics/computers, and all of that anyways. :)

-shane

Originally posted by hciv
On the SA 8000HD / SA 8300HD Output Questions:

I have had both boxes (currently I have the 8300HD). On the 8000HD, DVI output was disabled, as was the S-Video output. Only the component video outputs worked for me.

On the 8300HD, I am currently using the HDMI output with an adapter to my DVI input on my TV. Occasionally, I get the error message about "your receiver does not support HDMI..." you saw. Turning the 8300HD off and on again solves the problem.

FYI #1, the component, HDMI and S-Video outputs work on the 8300HD. As do the digital audio outputs. You can even watch HD content via the S-Video output (it outputs the content at 480i, regardless of your settings for the HD outputs).

FYI #2, you can find a DVI to HDMI adapter at a number of places online. They can range in price from $7 to $50+. Search Google for "HDMI to DVI adapter" and pick one which will work for you. I had a DVI cable (Male to Male), so I chose a HDMI Male to DVI Female adapter for about $10.

FYI #3, the 8300HD is a great improvement over the 8000HD. I hope Time Warner KC ever enables the ability to watch programs from the 8300 on other boxes in the same house. It is possible, according to the Scientific Atlanta web site.

Enjoy!
hciv

Last night I connected an HDMI cable from my 8300 STB to my Samsung HDTV and it came in just fine. In fact comparing the picture between the HDMI cable and component cables, I would have to say the HDMI picture seemed a little more crisp. The only problem I had was I lost my Dolby Digital sound. I have a COAX audio cable from the STB to my receiver and I guess the HDMI cables terminates that COAX audio output. That kind of annoyed me. I also noticed that if I tuned to any Analog channel, (eg 2-78) they would not come in through the HDMI.

Basically If I wanted to use the HDMI cable I would have a little better picture with no Dolby Digital and I would have to switch back to Component anytime I wanted to watch an analog channel. So I decided to stick with my component for now until this possibly gets resolved.

Years ago, before digital, I put up an antenna so I could get away from having to have cable. This was also before LIL on E*. I put the antenna up as high as I could. I not only couldn't get the KC stations, I apparently overshot them since I was receiving Des Moines Iowa stations. (I've tried to get the digitals from Des Moines with no luck, I might try again after July.)
The antenna is about half the height it was then. Most KC stations come in great now. I.m only missing KSMO and FOX4.

Glenn

The main two channels I REALLY would like to be able to get in HD with an antenna, are ABC (KMBC), and The WB (KSMO). I watch a lot of shows on both of those two networks. Those are really about the only two locals I watch very much.

Hi,

I was wondering if someone could post the resolution/format the the Kansas City locals are currently being broadcast at...whether it be 720p, or 1080i.

Most of that is told in the first post of this thread, but that's a really old post, and I wasn't sure if it was still up to date.

Also, I noticed it didn't say what The WB was broadcasting at.

Thanks! :)

-shane

Shane, Go back to page 153 of this thread, and there is a very cool spreadsheet that you will be interested in...

IIRC, it was Brad that put it together.

I cannot WAIT for these stations to go full power. Fighting the antenna to watch the Masters in HD will not be fun.

Qustion for Eastern Jack Comcast customers !!

I was watching Alias last night and noticed the receiver was in Pro-Logic mode and was receiving essentially DD 2.0 ? Is anyone else who has Comcast getting ABC's network programming in DD5.1 ? I have no problem with some of CBS's programing being in 5.1, just ABC. Anyone one else experience this?
Greg

Originally posted by bongohawk
Last night I connected an HDMI cable from my 8300 STB to my Samsung HDTV and it came in just fine. (...)

Basically If I wanted to use the HDMI cable I would have a little better picture with no Dolby Digital and I would have to switch back to Component anytime I wanted to watch an analog channel. (...)

I can see the analog channels on my 8300HD using the HDMI output. Check your advanced settings for output formats and make sure you have either 480i or 480p enabled.

One other thing, on which I may be WAY off, is your TV may not support 480i over HDMI. Try turning off this output under advanced settings. FWIW, I only have 480p and 1080i enabled, since my TV downconverts 780p to 480p (thank you, Sony). The 8300 HD upconverts 720p to 1080i.

FYI, regardless of the output format of the signal (480p, 720p, 1080i), the 8300HD will up/downconvert the signals to your "supported" formats set under advanced settings. It will also downconvert every signal to the S-Video and Composite video outputs, including your HD channels.

Enjoy!
Harry

I do have 480i and 480p enabled. In fact I have all 4 enabled. I can try disabling 480i and see if 480p will work.

My other concern is that I loose Dolby Digital when I plug the HDMI cable in. I was reading the connection guide for the 8300HD and it said if you lose Dolby Digital and you are connecting a digital audio cable to a receiver, then there is a setting you can override this option.
The directions say:
1. Press SETTINGS twice on the remote control to open the General Settings Menu.
2. Press MOVE UP or MOVE DOWN to select teh option Audio: Digital Out.

3. Press MOVE RIGHT to select Dolby Digital. This setting will send Dolby Digital audio tot he HDMI, Digital Audio Out, and Optical Audio Out connectors on the 8300HD.

This would fix my sound problem, except I don't have the "Audio: Digital Out" option. Does anyone with the 8300HD have this option?

Originally posted by CHFShane
I was wondering if someone could post the resolution/format the the Kansas City locals are currently being broadcast at...whether it be 720p, or 1080i.
ABC/KMBC 720p
CBS/KCTV 1080i
FOX/WDAF 720p
IND/KMCI 1080i
NBC/KSHB 1080i
PAX/KPXE 480i multicasting
PBS/KCPT 720p (temp) multicasting
UPN/KCWE 1080i
WB/KSMO 1080i

Originally posted by WILDCAT NATION
Shane, Go back to page 153 of this thread, and there is a very cool spreadsheet that you will be interested in...

IIRC, it was Brad that put it together.

I cannot WAIT for these stations to go full power. Fighting the antenna to watch the Masters in HD will not be fun.

I don't know how "cool" it is, but I've updated it with more Topeka stations and "post-transition" digital channels. Here it is:

Brad

Originally posted by Eyedox
ABC/KMBC 720p
CBS/KCTV 1080i
FOX/WDAF 720p
IND/KMCI 1080i
NBC/KSHB 1080i
PAX/KPXE 480i multicasting
PBS/KCPT 1080i multicasting
UPN/KCWE 1080i
WB/KSMO 1080i

Thanks Eyedox. I may be wrong on this but I believe KCPT PBS DT-18 has switched to 720p multicasting.

I have a 30" Sony Trinitron WEGA HDTV, an LG HD Receiver/DVD Player and a Terk indoor OTA.
The problem is I cannot get KSHB 41 or WDAF 4 in KC, MO.
I live in Lee's Summit, MO. I recieve every other channel fine. Do I need a different antenna, or what can I do? I have tried moving the antenna, but nothing changes.

Any advice would help! Thanks.

Threads merged.

Originally posted by jeffdbs
I called the KSHB newsdesk and yes KSHB knows of the problem. It would be really nice if KSHB engineers would have input on our local HDTV forum here in Kansas City. All voices here help light up the path to the new digital HDTV television world. :)

From Tues night on I have not been able to receive 41-1 here in Lawrence. I live on the SW side of Lawrence near Southwest Jr. High. I've never had any problems receiving 41-1 since I set up my HD setup last fall. Any update on the situation?

Thanks!

-Jason

I have a 30" Sony Trinitron WEGA HDTV, an LG HD Receiver/DVD Player and a Terk indoor OTA.
The problem is I cannot get KSHB 41 or WDAF 4 in KC, MO.
I live in Lee's Summit, MO. I recieve every other channel fine. Do I need a different antenna, or what can I do? I have tried moving the antenna, but nothing changes.
Channel 41 is off the air due to technical difficulties, they will probably be back on soon. I wonder if their transmitter fried like KMBC's?

You will not be able to get channel 4 until July 2005. They are broadcasting at a very low power until the FCC forces them to go full power in July.

Originally posted by ah8781
I have a 30" Sony Trinitron WEGA HDTV, an LG HD Receiver/DVD Player and a Terk indoor OTA.
The problem is I cannot get KSHB 41 or WDAF 4 in KC, MO.
I live in Lee's Summit, MO. I recieve every other channel fine. Do I need a different antenna, or what can I do? I have tried moving the antenna, but nothing changes.

Any advice would help! Thanks.

Welcome ah8781 to the local Kansas City HDTV forum. :)

bongohawk,
I think that Digital Audio Out option is in the recent SARA software versions. I have not seen anyone report this has been added to the Pioneer Passport Echo software that TWC-KC runs.

v/r,
C-F

Originally posted by hciv
I can see the analog channels on my 8300HD using the HDMI output. Check your advanced settings for output formats and make sure you have either 480i or 480p enabled.

One other thing, on which I may be WAY off, is your TV may not support 480i over HDMI. Try turning off this output under advanced settings. FWIW, I only have 480p and 1080i enabled, since my TV downconverts 780p to 480p (thank you, Sony). The 8300 HD upconverts 720p to 1080i.

FYI, regardless of the output format of the signal (480p, 720p, 1080i), the 8300HD will up/downconvert the signals to your "supported" formats set under advanced settings. It will also downconvert every signal to the S-Video and Composite video outputs, including your HD channels.

Enjoy!
Harry

hciv,

Well I tried what you suggested and turning off 480i when HDMI is diplayed worked. I can now view all the channels. Thank you very much hciv. My last and final hurdle is the Dolby Digital problem. According to Cannon-Fodder the Digital audio out option is no where to be found and I loose the Dolby Digital feature. I was wondering if your Dolby Digital works when you have the HDMI to DVI adapter connected and using your DVI connection on your TV? Let me know because if that fixes the Dolby Digital problem, then I just might stick with HDMI. If that doesn't work then I will just have to be patient and wait until TWC or Scientific Atlanta updates their software.

Thanks again for everyone's help.

Say bye-bye to VOOM!

NEW YORK (AP) -- Cablevision Systems Corp., the cable TV systems operator, on Friday said it has decided to proceed with the planned shutdown of its money-losing Voom satellite television service.

Looks like our options are dwindling. VOOM is going away April 30.

Complete article here:

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050408/cabl..._voom.html?.v=4

That page expired, but this one works...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=adpdfUYopY0U&refer=us

Originally posted by hdtimmy

Channel 41 is off the air due to technical difficulties, they will probably be back on soon. I wonder if their transmitter fried like KMBC's?

You will not be able to get channel 4 until July 2005. They are broadcasting at a very low power until the FCC forces them to go full power in July. [/B]

I hope they're back soon. Conan is supposed to go HD this month. I don't want to miss the first one (hope I didn't already!).

Wow! there must be a transmitter virus going around. Dog of Madness, look out, we don't want KCTV going down too.

It appears that 38-1 is not working now as well.

Originally posted by jeffdbs
Thanks Eyedox. I may be wrong on this but I believe KCPT PBS DT-18 has switched to 720p multicasting. I had heard that rumor too, but I thought the 720p was a temporary thing. Maybe it's easier to squeeze more bandwidth for their 480i multicasted analog channel out of a 720p signal than a 1080i one. I know PBS-HD is supposed to be 1080i nationwide. As far as I have heard, KCPT is still 1080i.

Originally posted by kcjefff
Wow! there must be a transmitter virus going around. Dog of Madness, look out, we don't want KCTV going down too.

Gosh I worry also................hopefully none of the local broadcasters where experimenting with multicasting. Multicasting is so dangerous to full-bandwidth HDTV. Oh please Kansas City television broadcasters stay away from multicasting. ;)

KCPT-DT 19.1 has been broadcasting in 720p for several months now. (Am I the only one who noticed?) PBS's HD feed is in 1080i, but KCPT is converting the 1080i feed to 720p for broadcasting.

I contacted KCPT when this first occurred and the response I got indicated that this was indeed intentional, and that due to the type of multi-caster KCPT has, better results were achieved by broadcasting in a 720p signal which requires less digital compression than 1080i. They also indicated that the reason for multi-casting is an FCC requirement for their digital broadcast to include the same programming broadcast on analog (hence 19.2).

KCPT did say that at some time in the future they expect to have a better multi-caster at which time they plan to return to 1080i broadcasting.

I personally believe that 720p is the superior format. However I believe that its only superior when its 720p from camera or telecine all the way to display with no conversion or scaling.

In this case I understand KCPT's decision to broadcast 720p for now, but I prefer that all digital be unconverted and unscaled from source to display. In other words if the source is 1080i, then 1080i is what should be arriving at my display device.

My observation is that since 19.1 went to 720p, that the picture has slightly less apparent resolution (obviously from the resolution scaling), but the occurrence of digital compression artifacts and macro-blocking have been significantly reduced (due to the reduced compression).

I am glad that ESPN and FOX have decided to use 720p, since they have a lot of sports. It seems to capture the high speed images a bit better with less artifacting. I do however prefer 1080i for channels like DiscoveryHD, PBS-HD, HDnet Movies, HBO-HD. By the way ... when is TWC going to add Universal HD to our lineup? It's a great channel and has been available since last winter. C'mon already TWC ... you just arbitrarily boosted my rates $5/mo, you can at least give me a new HD channel to compensate.

Talked to my friend at 4 and he said that they were climbing the tower friday to prepare the antenna for the new hd stick.

Originally posted by kcroyaljosh
Talked to my friend at 4 and he said that they were climbing the tower friday to prepare the antenna for the new hd stick.

Wonderful news. :)

Originally posted by kcjefff
Wow! there must be a transmitter virus going around. Dog of Madness, look out, we don't want KCTV going down too.

Perish the thought!!!

Those in Lenexa.... I am finally buying a house and looking into options for HD. The OTA will be a must. But wondering what the price for Cable is these days since I probably want to get high speed net access.

Originally posted by bongohawk
hciv,

(...) My last and final hurdle is the Dolby Digital problem. (...) I was wondering if your Dolby Digital works when you have the HDMI to DVI adapter connected and using your DVI connection on your TV? (...)

Thanks again for everyone's help.

Yes, I am using the optical Dolby Digital output to my receiver. I have not tried the coax DD output. Are you trying the optical output?

Thanks,
hciv

hciv,

I have tried both the optical and the coax audio connection and no luck. However, you may have just confirmed my guess that if I just buy an HDMI to DVI adapter and plug it into the DVI connection of my TV then my Dolby Digital should stay on.

Any word on when KSHB is going to be back up? I cursed a blue streak when I set the DVR to record the season finale of the West Wing last week and got nothing when I went to play it back later that night. I felt bad later because I called and griped at Comcast (thinking there was a problem with the DVR), and it turns out it wasn't their fault at all . . . .

Originally posted by mws6468
Those in Lenexa.... I am finally buying a house and looking into options for HD. The OTA will be a must. But wondering what the price for Cable is these days since I probably want to get high speed net access.

You'll want to check out the offerings from Everest in Lenexa. A friend moved to OP where they had service and he chose their HD offering over Time Warner's. He also got a really nice broadband and VOIP package at the same time. I'm a fan of OTA and DirecTV but if I had Everest in my area I would give it a serious look. Everest Homepage (http://www.everestkc.net/)

Originally posted by DTSfan
You'll want to check out the offerings from Everest in Lenexa. A friend moved to OP where they had service and he chose their HD offering over Time Warner's. He also got a really nice broadband and VOIP package at the same time. I'm a fan of OTA and DirecTV but if I had Everest in my area I would give it a serious look. Everest Homepage (http://www.everestkc.net/)

I've benefitted because TWC offers SIGNIFICANT discounts in areas that Everest covers. Personally, I prefer their HD offerings over Everest's, along with VOD, HD-DVR, etc. I get roadrunner, all English channels (including HD), HD-DVR, and all VOD available for $104/mo. If you call TWC and ask them what they can do to compare to Everest, they might hook you up!

DTSFan,

Thanks for the info I will check them out.

hciv- DVI cannot pass audio, and HDMI can. Therefore when you hook your HDMI cable with the DVI adapter on the other end to the DVI input on your TV you will not have audio passing thru. You will have to have either your Digital COAX or Optical cable also plugged in from your cable box to your receiver. If you are still not getting sound from having the coax or optical setup then I would say there is an optical/coax setting on your receiver that needs to be setup

Does anyone know where I can get a DVI to HDMI adapter in KC? I was just at Best Buy in Lenexa and they are out of the Monster one, but it is $29 and they were out of stock. I know I can order one online for half that, but I am wanting to test it out first to see if it will work with my STB and TV. I have looked at Radio Shack, CompUSA, Circuit City, and a couple of local computer stores.

bongohawk

Nebraska Furniture Mart had them in stock when I was there last week.

Originally posted by mdbarke1030
hciv- DVI cannot pass audio, and HDMI can. Therefore when you hook your HDMI cable with the DVI adapter on the other end to the DVI input on your TV you will not have audio passing thru. You will have to have either your Digital COAX or Optical cable also plugged in from your cable box to your receiver. If you are still not getting sound from having the coax or optical setup then I would say there is an optical/coax setting on your receiver that needs to be setup

Thanks, mdbarke1030. I think the problem is not that DVI dosen't pass audio. I think bongohawk had HDMI to HDMI AND a digital audio out (optical or coax) and he was not hearing anything. I think he's trying the DVI as a last resort. bongohawk, correct us if that's wrong.

What I suspect is happening with bongohawk's setup is the 8300HD will not pass digital audio when it senses a "real" HDMI setup (i.e. it probably disables the digial coax/optical outs). When its sees a "fake" HDMI, like my HDMI to DVI cable, the digital outs work. The digital outs also work when using a component video cable.

bongohawk, you might try using the component video and the digital audio out (either coax or optical) to verify your digital outs work. Then try the HDMI to DVI adapter with the digital audio (like my setup). I thought you originally connected HDMI to HDMI and the digital outs didnt work. If this is incorrect, then try that too.

Thanks!
hciv

hciv,

Right now, and since I have had my 8300HD since January I have connected the video with Component and the audio going from COAX digital audio to my receiver. This way I do get Dolby Digital and a true HD picture. When Connect my HDMI to HDMI cable from the 8300HD to my Samsung TV the Dolby Digital turns off and will only do Pro Logic sound. I do hear audio, but don't have Dolby Digital. I haven't bought an HDMI to DVI adapter yet, because I keep going back and forth on whether I want to wait until they update the firmware or just take the $30 Best Buy plunge and get a little better of a picture the HDMI port.

I was reading on another forum
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=453804&perpage=20&pagenumber=51
that TWC is aware of the Dolby Digital/HDMI problem and working on a fix.

I also tested the optical audio output with component and that worked as well, but Dolby Digital didn't work when the HDMI was connected to the TV. Basically if the HDMI cable makes a connection from the STB and the TV then Dolby Digital immediatly turns off and you will only have 2.0 audio. Since my Samsung doesn't have an HD tuner it doesn't support Dolby Digital.

It's back!! I finally have KSHB-DT back on Sunflower Cable in Lawrence. It is about time!!

Ok to update my HDMI/DVI Dolby digital problem I have found the correct combination with the help of hciv. I finally found the HDMI to DVI adapter at Best Buy and now when I plug the HDMI cable with the HDMI to DVI adapter to my DVI connection on the back of my TV, the Dolby Digital sound stays on. So if anyone wants to utilize the HDMI port and they don't have a tv with an HD tuner then you will need an HDMI to DVI adapter in order to keep Dolby Digital sound from the STB to the receiver.

Thanks everyone for the help.

Originally posted by bongohawk
(...) So if anyone wants to utilize the HDMI port and they don't have a tv with an HD tuner then you will need an HDMI to DVI adapter in order to keep Dolby Digital sound from the STB to the receiver. (...)

Glad to know its working for you! It would be interesting to know if you went HDMI -> DVI -> HDMI if this would work to pass the video only to your HDMI input, while leaving your Dolby Digtal outs operational. You would need another cable (HDMI Male to DVI Male, to go with your HDMI Male to DVI Female cable).

That's a total "bass-ackwards" way of working around the issue, but it would work for anyone wanting to use HDMI on the 8300 HD who does not have a DVI input.

Question to the group: Has anyone gotten the 8300 HD to work with HDMI and passing Dolby Digital through the HDMI connection? I'm curious if it works.

Thanks,
hciv

Does anyone know the progress Fox is making on their tower in Kansas City?

Originally posted by notreally
Does anyone know the progress Fox is making on their tower in Kansas City?

Called earlier this week and July maybe August for full-power and full-bandwidth FOX 720p HDTV broadcasting. It would be nice to have a WDAF engineer voice here at the local Kansas City HDTV forum.

They're all up on the tower looking for a place strong enough to hold the new antenna!

Brad

Thanks, That's great news. The only Fox i watch is NFL. The local Fox is low power non digital. I can receive KC's ABC fine from 57 miles with under roof antenna and was hoping for the same from Fox.

Originally posted by kcroyaljosh
Talked to my friend at 4 and he said that they were climbing the tower friday to prepare the antenna for the new hd stick.

Was this supposed to be last Friday (the 8th) or today (the 15th)? I'm looking out my window at the top of WDAF's tower, and I don't see anything going on.

Brad

I've been watching the tower all day too. I have seen no activity.

A co-worker left a voicemail for Beth Sweatt for some more details, but she has not called him back yet.

I wanted to get some pictures of the tower workers and post them here, oh well.

Originally posted by notreally
I can receive KC's ABC fine from 57 miles with under roof antenna.

Wow! that is good reception. :)

Is 41-1 still out of service cause I can't pick it up.

It is Sunday morning and I am seeing KSHB DT-42 (41.1) Over the Air.

Looks like someone at Channel 9 forgot to flip the switch back to HD after the commercial break.

TechnicalItalian...how do we contact someone to let them know the HD channel is in SD.

Shawn

Hi everyone, I'm looking for some words of encouragement, and some advice. I've had a rear projection 57" Toshiba, and loved it. But, I just built a new house, and it was too big to make it down the stairs and around the 90 degree corner. So, I "have" to buy a new set up. We're just finishing the basement, and I have 9' ceilings, and a TV room of about 27' by 14', with no windows. I've not done much research into front projections yet, but I'm curious about what you guys have found, and which set ups you like best. I gotta tell ya, I love the thought of having a 80" or 90" picture to look at, but how is the pic quality? I have Direct TV, with the HD channels, and will be watching several OTA channels in HD, also. Thanks for your help!

Originally posted by KC-Technerd
Looks like someone at Channel 9 forgot to flip the switch back to HD after the commercial break.

That was quite the bummer...considering Grey's is the one show I watched in the last 6-7 days or so...

Originally posted by djones0865
Hi everyone, I'm looking for some words of encouragement, and some advice. I've had a rear projection 57" Toshiba, and loved it. But, I just built a new house, and it was too big to make it down the stairs and around the 90 degree corner. So, I "have" to buy a new set up. We're just finishing the basement, and I have 9' ceilings, and a TV room of about 27' by 14', with no windows. I've not done much research into front projections yet, but I'm curious about what you guys have found, and which set ups you like best. I gotta tell ya, I love the thought of having a 80" or 90" picture to look at, but how is the pic quality? I have Direct TV, with the HD channels, and will be watching several OTA channels in HD, also. Thanks for your help!

HI.

I made the switch from a 50" Mitsubishi to a front projector and 92" about a year ago. I watch ALL of my television through it.

I love it.

Even with expensive sets, you will find you will want to watch with a dark room for best picture. I put some halogen lights above where we sit, one over my wife, and one over me, that we turn on and they flood down. So if one of us wants to read or something, we can have light.

A downside may be that if you have something on, and company where you don't really want it that dark. Good projectors can be OK when it's not dark, but if you want the best pic, you will want it dark.

You will also want the room to be painted dark, I suspect. If you haven't finished the basement yet, that is good. You will want to consider all the wiring you need to do to accommodate the projector, and sound, and its a lot easier during construction.

I did a lot of reading on projectors in the forum on projectors here. And I went to view some at some of the home theater stores. For more info on the projectors, go to the AVS forum on them and read up.

Good luck.

Originally posted by shawn67
TechnicalItalian...how do we contact someone to let them know the HD channel is in SD.

Shawn

I don't want to speak for TI, but I've had some luck calling the news room on weekends/nights. They will be annoyed, but if you're nice to them, they will usually pass on the info to Engineering. In our case last night, we were watching time-shifted on our DVR, so I didn't know if I should call or not. I figured that KMBC would sooner or later fix it, but it never happened. Maybe it was a network problem.

TI, is there any reason this HAS to be a manual operation?

Brad

Time Warner just raised our bills again this month, and I went in to complain about my bill, but was told that there was nothing that they can do without removing some channels.
Before I make some more calls, I just wanted to see if anyone was getting a better deal.

I'm in a non-Everest area, so that discount doesn't apply. I've got the Hi Speed with 3 Pay Channel package which basically includes Roadrunner, HBO, Showtime and Cinemax, and 3 cable boxes. It's $143/month before taxes. This is ridiculous! I also get Starz and have a SD DVR and HD DVR, which gets my total bill up to about $184/month, but for comparison purposes I just want to see if anyone has the same package as I do for less money.

Is anyone in a non-Everest area getting the above package for less than $143/month? If so, can you tell me how you got it, or let me know if there's a package name on your bill that I can ask for?

Thanks!

Originally posted by Jayhawk
Time Warner just raised our bills again this month, ........

Thanks!

Hey let us all know what you find out. I am moving in two weeks and want to know my options. Have E* right now and looking to go cable route. I will still be in Lenexa so i can go Everest i guess, not sure which is better.

Originally posted by mws6468
Hey let us all know what you find out. I am moving in two weeks and want to know my options. Have E* right now and looking to go cable route. I will still be in Lenexa so i can go Everest i guess, not sure which is better.

You're lucky that you're in an Everest area. You have that option if you want, and as a result, you can get TWC much cheaper than poor Jayhawk there. Kinda sucks - it'd be nice if the people who were STUCK with TWC (assuming no dish) could get the same rates as us. There's no reason they shouldn't.

Jayhawk, have you tried calling to tell them what you could get a comparable package for from D* or E*? I know you won't have the DVR, OnDemand, etc., and that you'd have to get the locals OTA, but hopefully the CSR won't know that. Maybe the threat to leave (that you'd probably have to be willing to follow through with) will scare them into a reduction to retain your business?? I know they offer significant incentives to get people to change from a dish provider.

Originally posted by Jayhawk
Time Warner just raised our bills again this month (...)

Is anyone in a non-Everest area getting the above package for less than $143/month? If so, can you tell me how you got it, or let me know if there's a package name on your bill that I can ask for?

Thanks!

My experience, FWIW, is Time Warner charges on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis. Complaining or comparing your rates to someone else has no effect.

For instance, a few years ago they offered my friend who lived in the same zip code the same cable service as mine for about half the cost. When I called to get the same offer, I was referred to the marketing department which told me I didn't qualify ("that's a special test marketing offer for their neighborhood, sir"). When my friend moved, they raised his rate to the same as mine.

I pay about $100 a month for a regular cable box, an HD-DVR (including the HD tier) and all of the premium channels (HBO, SHO, MAX, STARS!). No roadrunner or anything else. I can cut everything down to just the digital tier and an HD cable box (non-DVR) and maybe get my bill to $70. So, for $30 more a month, I get a lot more "value" from TWCKC. At least that's what I tell my wife. :)

IMHO, I think its shameful that TWCKC can charge different rates all over the city depending on, apparently, whether or not Everest is in the neighborhood, too. But, its a free market and they'll continue to do it as long as customers remain TWCKC customers. If they see a mass exodus, as they did with DSL, they'll change their offerings. For instance, they now offer "road runner lite" for $25, but I think you have to ask for it.

Just my $.02 worth. Your mileage may vary, as they say.

Good luck!
Harry

I'm in a non-Everest area, so that discount doesn't apply. I've got the Hi Speed with 3 Pay Channel package which basically includes Roadrunner, HBO, Showtime and Cinemax, and 3 cable boxes. It's $143/month before taxes. This is ridiculous! I also get Starz and have a SD DVR and HD DVR, which gets my total bill up to about $184/month, but for comparison purposes I just want to see if anyone has the same package as I do for less money.

Wow! Here I sit with my 106" RPTV, and every month or so I get the HDTV bug. Then I sit down and investigate the cost. I currently have D*, and just don't want to shell out the $$ for ANOTHER receiver (already have two dual-tuner tivo/D*'s which I love) - plus I have neighbors in the area who have tried OTA HDTV with limited success (channels with spotty reception). So cable seems to be the solution.... until I check out the cost. $143/Month??? .... that's just wrong.

If I could get into HDTV for even close (within 30%) to the monthly cost of what I currently pay, I would. But not for an over 100% premium. I just wish D* could deliver local HDTV... then Cable would have some serious competition and costs might drop.

Jayhawk,

I am with TWC in a non-Everest Area and have the High Speed with 3-Pay channel package for $99/mo. before taxes. I also have the HD bundle with DVR for $9/mo. and digital phone for $40/mo. I was originally on a promotional Roadrunner offer and when it expired I called and told them I was going to cancel. They gave me a D* subscriber package to stay. My total bill runs about $165/mo with taxes. (Luckily I get to expense the broadband and phone since I work from home, but I may be shopping if that changes. )

DirecTv with 3 receivers (One HD, but all digital, of course), HBO/Starz and HD package w/locals...about 72 bucks a month.

How does the TWC HD PVR compare with Tivo? I've seen the regular PVR (admittadly some time ago) from TWC and I have to say that I wouldn't pay anything for it compared with my D*Tivo. Is the HD version better?

I think the SA Explorer 8300 with the Pioneer Passport software is very good. If you can't have TIVO, it's the next best thing, and a close second.

DirecTV 4 receivers (1 HD, 2 SD Tivos, 1 reg) all movie channels (TC Premium) + HD for $123. (I have equipment replacement, so you could drop another $7/month).

Originally posted by jenkinsear1
How does the TWC HD PVR compare with Tivo? I've seen the regular PVR (admittadly some time ago) from TWC and I have to say that I wouldn't pay anything for it compared with my D*Tivo. Is the HD version better?

jenkinsear1, I am a long time TiVo user and I have the HD-DVR from Time Warner. I miss TiVo for overall simplicity, especially the well-designed remote. BUT, for $10, the HD-DVR is an outstanding value and well worth the money. And the 8300 HD DVR has better software than earlier models which more closely matches TiVo's features. If TiVo is an A+, the 8300 HD (with Pioneer's software) is a B+.

TiVo's HD-DVR, which only works with DirecTV, is $1000 plus your subscription fee. I can have the 8300 HD for 10 years before I will have spent as much as the TiVo.

I read recently that TiVo and Comcast have an agreement to bring TiVo to their DVR offerings. I really hope Time Warner will follow suit and make their already great HD-DVR into the best of both worlds.

OK... not I've got the HD bug again. Called TWC and asked for the cheapest way to get HD + PVR (I just can't give up my D*Tivo's... lov'em too much). Anyway, here's what I was told...


$10.82 for basic service
$10.50 for the HD/PVR box
$5 for HD service
$4.45 for 6 extra HD channels


So that put's me at $30.77/month to add HD to what I've got (not $10). And of course I didn't think to ask about HBO-HD. I've gotta buy HBO through TWC (as well as through D*) to get HBO-HD on TWC... so I'm guessing that bumps me up closer to $40/month.

$899 for the HD-D*Tivo + 11/month breaks even in around 2.5 years... assuming I can get decent OTA reception.

Anyone with advice?

Originally posted by kcsooner
Jayhawk,

I am with TWC in a non-Everest Area and have the High Speed with 3-Pay channel package for $99/mo. before taxes.

kcsooner,
How many total boxes do you have, including DVR's? I have 3, 2 are DVR's. If you're getting all of that for $99, I'm calling Time Warner. Charging people different rates for the same service is a scam...

Thanks!

fyi.....Direct TV is $71.95...includes an HD Box (which I bought for $299 I think, probably cheaper now) and 3 other standard boxes. I get the HD channels, and their standard tier. I've had Time Warner.....don't want it again.

Originally posted by Jayhawk
kcsooner,
How many total boxes do you have, including DVR's? I have 3, 2 are DVR's. If you're getting all of that for $99, I'm calling Time Warner. Charging people different rates for the same service is a scam...

Thanks!

Jayhawk,

I only have one box (8300HD DVR). Tell them you are going to D* if you can't get a better rate and see what they will work for you.

Originally posted by mws6468
Hey let us all know what you find out. I am moving in two weeks and want to know my options. Have E* right now and looking to go cable route. I will still be in Lenexa so i can go Everest i guess, not sure which is better.

I live in an Everest area and used to have them for my cable but switched just my cable to TWC a few years ago to get HDTV from TWC (Everest didn't offer it at the time).

Anyhow, I pay around $57 a month (total, including taxes) and that is for the digital tier plus the HD tier and 3 set-top-boxes (2 are HD STBs and one is the the 8300 HD DVR). If I were to switch back to Everest i believe it would cost me around $80 / month for the same services.

In comparing their HD lineups, TWC has a few more HD channels than Everest (Inhd1, inhd2, TNT HD) vs Everest has the NFL network.

Anyone know the story on NBC via TWC? I haven't seen HD for over a week on 1441.

I know last week they were working on their tower but tonight The Office wasn't in HD but Law and Order was. I also noticed that Leno wasn't in HD at first and I left the room for 10 or so minutes and then it was in HD. I don't know if someone forgot to flip the switch or they just finished making some changes with the tower.

Originally posted by bongohawk
I know last week they were working on their tower but tonight The Office wasn't in HD but Law and Order was. I also noticed that Leno wasn't in HD at first and I left the room for 10 or so minutes and then it was in HD. I don't know if someone forgot to flip the switch or they just finished making some changes with the tower.

I haven't seen The Office in HD since it came on. It says "In HD, Where Available" but at least on TWC, it hasn't been in HD. I don't think it's a matter of forgetting to flip a switch because it hasn't been in HD at all for the first four episodes. Why would it not be broadcast in HD on the NBC HD channel?

I think I remember seeing one episode in HD, but after reading other post on this site, I think NBC is having problems with their HD and not KSHB.

I'm in Olathe using Comcast and I pay $84 a month after taxes for the following: 1 HD/DVR Box, Digital Tier of channels, HD package, HBO and High Speed Internet.

I agree with what others are saying...I switched from D* and I received this awesome deal. Consdering my high speed access was $42 a month from Earthlink my cable is only costing me $42 with HD and a DVR.

Comcast is overpriced in Olathe. My sister was paying $100 a month just for high speed internet and expanded basic cable. No digital, no premiums, no DVR, no HD, no kidding! They switched to DSL for $20 a month and Dish Network for $30 a month and get the same thing for half the price.

Originally posted by Jayhawk1977
I'm in Olathe using Comcast and I pay $84 a month after taxes for the following: 1 HD/DVR Box, Digital Tier of channels, HD package, HBO and High Speed Internet.

I agree with what others are saying...I switched from D* and I received this awesome deal. Consdering my high speed access was $42 a month from Earthlink my cable is only costing me $42 with HD and a DVR.

I guess I'm cable company deal impared. I've talked with TWC a few times and the "deal" they want to give me for droping D* isn't worth anything. Mostly they try to sell me on how much better the service is (it isn't), how many more channels there are (wrong again), and how much better the PVR's are (better than Tivo... not even close). The poor CSR's I've talked with aren't ready for someone to dispute them on all counts.

The only reason I'd even think about going to table is for HD... but since they force you to subscribe to so much just to get into the game, I guess I'll either try the D* with OTA HD or sit out until a better option comes around.

Plus... it just irks me to deal with a company who won't give fixed pricing. I'm positive I'm paying more than others for my cable modem, but since my company picks up the tab it's just not worth the time to fight it.

you could not even get digital teir, dvr and hd teir for $84 a month. Add another 44 for roadrunner.

Can anyone tell me if the SA8300 dvr has firewire and if it is enabled?

SA E8300 does NOT have firewire ports and is therefore not enabled. I think we will see DTVLink go the way of the dodo and see HDMI as the main accepted format for digital video and audio transmission between HD devices.

1 HD/DVR, digital tier, HD tier, HBO, Cinemax and HSI for $125 w/ Comcast in Blue Springs . . .

I just noticed TNT-HD this morning on Comcast Ch. 204, how long has it been there?

THTHD...I just noticed it too. It wasn't there last night, it must have been added this morning. Just in time for the NBA playoffs....

Anyone else able to pickup KCMO-DT 62?

Anyone else find it Ironic that there is a link on wdaftv4 for OTA HD channel schedules?

Ok, now KCMO is back on and KCTV is crapping out. Is this a problem with my setup or are our digital stations just not reliable?

andrewe77,
AFAIK, none of the local digitals have been off the air in the last week. If you would give us some more info such as your approximate location and what equipment you have, maybe we can give you some ideas.

Brad

Home from work and now KCTV has a good signal and looks great and KCMO is back out with no signal!

Now neither 41 nor 62 is coming in.

I'm in the northeast corner of Blue Springs and I have a Silver Sensor mounted outside on the side of my chimney. I think I need to find a more suitable outdoor antenna. Any suggestions? It must be unobtrusive.

Originally posted by andrewe77
I'm in the northeast corner of Blue Springs and I have a Silver Sensor mounted outside on the side of my chimney. I think I need to find a more suitable outdoor antenna. Any suggestions? It must be unobtrusive.

Have you checked your coax connection at the antenna and STB to ensure that it is still tight? If it's loose, wind could be moving the antenna and causing your intermittent reception problems.

Originally posted by andrewe77
I think I need to find a more suitable outdoor antenna. Any suggestions? It must be unobtrusive.

A small outdoor VHF/UHF old fashion television antenna is so "retro" nowdays. The outdoor television antenna when done right informs your neighbors that one of the best picture on television is still free.

Originally posted by andrewe77
I'm in the northeast corner of Blue Springs and I have a Silver Sensor mounted outside on the side of my chimney. I think I need to find a more suitable outdoor antenna. Any suggestions? It must be unobtrusive.

Whereabouts in NE Blue Springs? There are several of us in that neighborhood lurking about in this forum. I'm in Waterfield North, and there are others off of Duncan Rd. east of 7 Hwy, they might be of some assistance if they're pulling in their HD OTA.

Summerfield.

I think my Silver Sensor has moved and is now facing SW instead of W. I will try and get back up on the roof to secure it better and see if that helps.

What are you people in the NE Blue Springs area and are you getting all the channels except for Fox?