Looks like the Time Warner Cable/Comcast switch over isn't going to happen after all, at least in Kansas City.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/15184518.htm

For those on Sunflower Cable, I just noticed they added Food HD on channel 227 today. I am watching the lovely Giada on "Everything Italian" as I type. Mmmm, mmmm, good!

This channel is now uplinked (but not available to subs, yet) on Dish, also. Should be available sometime this month.

Brad

This channel is now uplinked (but not available to subs, yet) on Dish, also. Should be available sometime this month.

Brad

Brad,

I take it you are a Dish sub. I just switched Comcast to Dish and couldn't be happier. I love the 622 DVR. Much better HD DVR than the Motorola 6412.

What kind of deal did you get on the 622? I'm wondering when I should switch from my older Dish hardware to the newer models.

It was $199 for the 622 and a $49 activation fee along with VIP 211. I don't have an HD set in the bedroom but I do like the fact that I can change the view from Letterbox to normal 4x3. I realize I can't see the high definition but I can at least see the full 16x9 picture. I plan on getting a 26 or 27 inch LCD tv for the bedroom and then I will move the 211 to the bedroom. I just wish there was a way to get HD over Coax. I know there was a post about this on AVSforum, so I will be doing some more investigating.

I also forgot to mention that even though it cost $199 up front, I get $20 off my bill for 10 months, which give me back my $200. So I guess I get $1 for signing up. Hmmm... Sounds like the Rebate system at Bestbuy. Oh well. I was worried about losing the Sat signal during storms, and last night I did lose some Sats for a few minutes. The installer did tell me that the 129 sat is usually the first to go during a storm since it is the hardest the get, and it happens to be where a huge majority of the HD channels are on, including the 4 local KC channels. Fortunately for me I added an antenna and can pick up ALL of the Locals except for Channel 9 with an indoor antenna. So when the storm came through and the HD channels went out, i was still able to pull in my locals and some other sat programs.

Looks like the Time Warner Cable/Comcast switch over isn't going to happen after all, at least in Kansas City.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/15184518.htm
Thank GOD!!!!!!!!

Time to talk Chiefs again!

The Chiefs game at New York Aug 17 will be carried nationally live in HD on Fox. Has anyone heard if KCTV5 plans to show the other 3 preseason games in HD? The NFL Network will be airing a rebroadcast of the Aug 31 Saints game in HD the following Sunday morning, so I would assume that KCTV will make the live broadcast HD as well??

Speaking of local sports teams in HD, I fear that the Royals may go the entire 2006 season without appearing on a KC television screen in HD. I think last year they were on once. The Wizards have had at least 3 games broadcast in HD this year!!!

I wouldn't hold your breath on the pre-season Chiefs games.

The Houston Texans game will be on KCTV-5, and if it is the same as prior seasons, Metro Sports will be producing the game for them. Metro Sports does not have the capability at the moment with their live trucks to broadcast in HD. If this was the case, the Royals would be in HD on RSTN-HD because Metro Sports produces those games.

The New York Giants game will be broadcast nationally by FOX. This game will be in 720p (Fox Standard)

I remember emailing RSTN/Metro Sports prior to the start of the Royals season and asked them when they will broadcast in HD. Well the response I got wasn't very promising because they said they don't plan on it any time soon. Although I swear I was watching part of a Royals game maybe a month ago and they were talking about one of their camera men and they zoomed in on him and I swear I saw an HD logo on the side of the camera. Just like the ones you see on Letterman, Conan, and leno. So I wander if they are slowly piecing equipment together, or maybe this camera man was for another TV broadcaster that was broadcasting the game in HD.

I remember emailing RSTN/Metro Sports prior to the start of the Royals season and asked them when they will broadcast in HD. Well the response I got wasn't very promising because they said they don't plan on it any time soon. Although I swear I was watching part of a Royals game maybe a month ago and they were talking about one of their camera men and they zoomed in on him and I swear I saw an HD logo on the side of the camera. Just like the ones you see on Letterman, Conan, and leno. So I wander if they are slowly piecing equipment together, or maybe this camera man was for another TV broadcaster that was broadcasting the game in HD.

Just going off of memory, but I would bet that it is just the lense is just HD but the camera is not capable of shooting HD. There are some threads from a few years back talking about this exact subject.

Here is a decent link:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6990225&&#post6990225

Brad,

I take it you are a Dish sub. I just switched Comcast to Dish and couldn't be happier. I love the 622 DVR. Much better HD DVR than the Motorola 6412.

I've been an E* sub for 5 years. We switched from TWC when they went digital and told us we'd have to lease a box for EVERY set we wanted HBO on (in addition to paying for the digital tier). They didn't have ANY HD at the time, and E* had HBO and Showtime, at least. I can't say I've really saved any money over the five years, with all the "stuff" I've bought to give me whole-house distribution with two Dish receivers (currently 1-622 and 1-311). But it's been a fun hobby, and I have the satisfaction of having the CHOICE of D* or E*, and not just keeping on paying TWC more and more. When Everest finally gets out our way, I may have another choice to make, and 'way down the road, I suppose ATT will eventually get their fiber out to us, also. Choice is a wonderful thing! ;)

The deal I got from E* on my 622 was a swap from my (owned) 921 DVR to a (leased) 622 for $99. Some folks were angry that they had to give up an owned receiver to get this deal, but I was very happy to get rid of the 921, which was a nightmare from day one (and mine was one of the more trouble-free ones!). The 622 has been terrific. I'm driving two HDTVs off of "TV-1" (one on component and one on HDMI), and the rest of the house on "TV-2," except for one other TV where we have the 311 hooked up directly. Extra UHF remotes make this extremely easy.

That was a long answer to a short question, wasn't it? :p

Brad

Thanks for the E* info. Where did you get the extra remotes? Are they compatible with all their models (at least newer ones)?

I thought Everest was all over Shawnee? I was kind of in your situation with TWC but it was Comcast out here in Olathe. We moved from Mission to Olathe, so I went from TWC to Comcast and was surprised how much I appreciated TWC after having Comcast for about a month. TWC's HD DVR's were WAY better than Comcast crappy motorola box. Oh, Everest uses the same Scientific Atlanta box as TWC, just with different software. Both my Parents and sister use them with Everest. After having Comcast for about 5 months, I decided to go the Dish route. I always had in the back of my head the thought of getting Dish since in Olathe you are stuck with Comcast for cable, but I thought I would try it out.
Well after having Dish for just 6 days now the 622 so far is the best DVR I have used. Now I never used a TIVO box, so that may be better, but this box rocks!!!!

Just going off of memory, but I would bet that it is just the lense is just HD but the camera is not capable of shooting HD. There are some threads from a few years back talking about this exact subject.

Here is a decent link:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6990225&&#post6990225
The big hold-up is the HD production trucks. Cameras are much more available, and I think most outfits are buying HD cameras when they have to buy anything now because they have longer life and aren't too much more expensive than SD cameras. But the trucks are still at a premium, and very costly to lease, I think. And, honestly, unless they can derive an additional revenue stream from broadcasting in HD, and/or the demand is overwhelming (and it's NOT), there's little motivation for them to do games in HD. My amateur guess for any RSTN games in HD is the 2009 season, and even then, probably would start with just home games because of the transportation/setup time issue. I hope I'm wrong and it's sooner than that. But that's just a semi-educated guess.

The big hold-up is the HD production trucks. Cameras are much more available, and I think most outfits are buying HD cameras when they have to buy anything now because they have longer life and aren't too much more expensive than SD cameras. But the trucks are still at a premium, and very costly to lease, I think. And, honestly, unless they can derive an additional revenue stream from broadcasting in HD, and/or the demand is overwhelming (and it's NOT), there's little motivation for them to do games in HD. My amateur guess for any RSTN games in HD is the 2009 season, and even then, probably would start with just home games because of the transportation/setup time issue. I hope I'm wrong and it's sooner than that. But that's just a semi-educated guess.

I agree with you squeak49. It could be possible that we might have home HD games maybe after the stadium renovations are completed, so maybe 2007 or 2008. I would hope they would look at updating their productions facilities for TV broadcast, but I don't know the details of the project.

Tomorrow night (Aug. 6) we will get our first view of the NFL in HD on KSHB-DT (NBC). Pre-Season Hall of Fame Game. Oakland Raiders vs. Philadelphia Eagles. 7:00 PM Central.

I'M READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!

http://www.snfonnbc.com

I agree with you squeak49. It could be possible that we might have home HD games maybe after the stadium renovations are completed, so maybe 2007 or 2008. I would hope they would look at updating their productions facilities for TV broadcast, but I don't know the details of the project.
The royals have had HD cameras/lenses for years... it's RSTN/Metro that's not broadcasting in HD...I bet after the 2007 season when the stadium is re-done we'll see a HD channel for 2008....I would love to see the games in HD, but when you lose 110 games there's not very many people watching the SD version.

I can confirm with what kchdtvguy said about their HD camera/lenses. I went to the Royals game tonight and walked by one of HD cameras and saw the HD on the front of the camera. Later I asked the camera guy if he worked for RSTN or the Twins broadcast and he said RSTN. Yes, the camera actually looked like a should camera inserted into an HD Canon camera cover/lense. After the game we walked by both TV trailers and saw the metro sports one and the an all white trailer, which I am pretty sure was the Twins trailer.

Here are all the details about the various live trucks that Metro Sports owns.

http://www.kcmetrosports.com/info/production.asp

Thanks for the E* info. Where did you get the extra remotes? Are they compatible with all their models (at least newer ones)?

Here (http://www.dishdepot.com/remotes.jsp) is where I got mine. Be sure to get the 6.3 remote, which will work for either IR or UHF on either TV1 or TV2. I've bought lots of stuff from Mark at DishDepot - he'll treat you right.

Brad

I thought Everest was all over Shawnee?

Not quite. It's pretty spotty west of K-7, where I am. They still say they intend to get to 100% coverage in Shawnee, but I don't know the timetable.

Brad

Now, the PQ was awful for the Sunday Night Football game last night for me (I'm a TWC sub). I'm going to blame the useless WeatherPlus subchannel for that - the macroblocking was awful during fast motion. I'm not sure whether the affiliate (KSHB) can do anything about this, or whether they're at the mercy of NBC corporate, but I'll give them credit for this. At least they were able to overlay the graphics for the weather situation over the HD picture, instead of having to pass the SD feed over the ditigal channel to have the watches/warnings posted. I sure do hope the PQ gets better before the regular season starts...

I agree with you squeak49... the PQ was pretty bad last night.

Now, the PQ was awful for the Sunday Night Football game last night for me (I'm a TWC sub). I'm going to blame the useless WeatherPlus subchannel for that - the macroblocking was awful during fast motion. I'm not sure whether the affiliate (KSHB) can do anything about this, or whether they're at the mercy of NBC corporate, but I'll give them credit for this. At least they were able to overlay the graphics for the weather situation over the HD picture, instead of having to pass the SD feed over the ditigal channel to have the watches/warnings posted. I sure do hope the PQ gets better before the regular season starts...

Yes the picture quality was very bad during fast motion in the NBC Sunday Night Football game. The Over-the-Air KSHB low-bandwidth 1080i football picture quality is just not on the same level as KCTV Over-the-Air full-bandwidth 1080i football picture quality. Multicasting is just bad news for HDTV picture quality. :(

NBC-HD suffers from a triple-whammy for me. First, their uplink in NY is, I believe, Ka or Ku band, rather than the C band everyone else uses. If there is any rain in the NY area or here, the incoming signal suffers. Second, as previously noted, we have Weather Plus. Third, I have a tree that partially blocks my signal, and wind of any strength (as we had Sunday night) kills me. My signal fluctuated from 80 to 20 and back, causing my receiver to lose lock many times. I finally had to just switch to something else. I probably should have tried the E* satellite signal for KSHB-DT, but decided that it was, after all, preseason football!

Brad

I live near I-69 and 135th Street in Overland Park and just picked up a new HDTV with a built in ATSC tuner, I was just wondering what luck anybody in the area has had picking up OTA HD before I shell out money for an antennae.

I live near I-69 and 135th Street in Overland Park and just picked up a new HDTV with a built in ATSC tuner, I was just wondering what luck anybody in the area has had picking up OTA HD before I shell out money for an antennae.


Go to www.antennaweb.org for info. TI

Wow, it was nice watching the NESN HD highlights on sportscenter of the royals game in HD...just made me more irritated that NESN can get an HD truck from Boston to KC, yet we can't even produde our own local games in HD.

Wow, it was nice watching the NESN HD highlights on sportscenter of the royals game in HD...just made me more irritated that NESN can get an HD truck from Boston to KC, yet we can't even produde our own local games in HD.

Agreed - the HD shots on Sportscenter looked fantastic.

Anybody know if TWC will ever get ESPN2 HD?

Anybody know if TWC will ever get ESPN2 HD? TWC has been dragging their ass on HD channels for a long time now. They had better get ESPN2HD & NFL Network HD by football season or I'll switch to Everest.

TWC has been dragging their ass on HD channels for a long time now. They had better get ESPN2HD & NFL Network HD by football season or I'll switch to Everest.
You better get started now. It's U-G-L-Y between TWC and the NFL. I'm thinking of it too, but I need to get all the things on my DVR watched first!

TWC has been dragging their ass on HD channels for a long time now. They had better get ESPN2HD & NFL Network HD by football season or I'll switch to Everest.

It would be nice to have that option. I may decide to ditch TWC and roadrunner and go with a dish and DSL!

Looks like the Time Warner Cable/Comcast switch over isn't going to happen after all, at least in Kansas City.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/15184518.htm


I am just catching up on the thread here and was surprised that no one is commenting more about this. bongohawk had the summary off a bit. The switch IS going to happen, just that it is happening the other way. Comcast is getting Huston and TW is getting KC. (and Comcast is getting stuck with a big chunk of debt.) So all the people complaining about Comcast may see some changes next year. I am TW so no changes to me, though. Interesting article, thanks bongohawk.

I am just catching up on the thread here and was surprised that no one is commenting more about this. bongohawk had the summary off a bit. The switch IS going to happen, just that it is happening the other way. Comcast is getting Huston and TW is getting KC. (and Comcast is getting stuck with a big chunk of debt.) So all the people complaining about Comcast may see some changes next year. I am TW so no changes to me, though. Interesting article, thanks bongohawk.

That is not true. I read in KC Star online the story and sent an email to the reporter David Hayes asking for clarification. He sent me a reply saying that comcast will stay comcast and Time Warner will stay Time Warner.

I don't have Comcast and don't plan on getting cable TV. But for internet, I would really like some competition to AT&T DSL. DSL costs me $17.99 per month right now and even with the local telephone requirement, it costs me about $40.00/month. Comcast wants $57/month for internet. If there is better competition, I will ditch AT&T. Right now it is a no contest.

BTW, I use Vonage for my phone and have absolutely no use for a local phone line.

I live near I-69 and 135th Street in Overland Park and just picked up a new HDTV with a built in ATSC tuner, I was just wondering what luck anybody in the area has had picking up OTA HD before I shell out money for an antennae.

sculbe01,

I am at 143rd and Pflumm and can pick up all kinds of OTA channels with the TERK HDTVa antenna. I use the VIP 622 Dish receiver's OTA tuner and was able to get all the major channels. Channel 9 was a little tricky since they are the only ones that use VHF, but I was finally able to get it.

According to the following hdbeat article, Jeopardy is going HD starting September 11th. Will our local affiliate (I think KSHB) carry it in HD or since this is syndicated program, they won't!!

http://www.hdbeat.com/2006/08/11/jeopardy-and-wheel-of-fortune-going-high-def-in-september/#comments

We have great news for college football and NHRA fans alike, but bad news for NFL fans on Time Warner Cable. First, the good news, Time Warner should have ESPN2HD and ESPNU up and running real soon. A spokesman from the cable company is indicating anywhere from 30-60 days that the stations will launch. Now for the bad, don't expect NFL Network anytime soon. The court battle that has been raging for a few years just ended and NFL fans everywhere won as Time Warner will need to carry the channel but the negotiations are just starting. These things take time. But hey, ESPN2HD is a lot better then nothing.

http://www.hdbeat.com/2006/08/11/time-warner-to-get-espn2hd-soon/

About frickin time, although I am sure that they will put espnu with the different regional fsn channels to try and get more money out of me.

I am just catching up on the thread here and was surprised that no one is commenting more about this. bongohawk had the summary off a bit. The switch IS going to happen, just that it is happening the other way. Comcast is getting Huston and TW is getting KC. (and Comcast is getting stuck with a big chunk of debt.) So all the people complaining about Comcast may see some changes next year. I am TW so no changes to me, though. Interesting article, thanks bongohawk.
If you read the whole story, you would know that the Comcast area in KC is not part of the joint deal that Comcast and TW had, so will remain unchanged.

41 HD sucks for NFL fast motion shots. Weather Plus is not my friend right now!

41 HD sucks for NFL fast motion shots. Weather Plus is not my friend right now!


Yes KSHB 41-1 (DT-42) low bandwidth is a very poor picture quality again tonight. I just hope the local KSHB engineers see what damage the Weather Plus does to fast moving 1080i NFL football. Please KSHB turn off the Weather Plus channel and return NFL football to full-bandwidth. I am going to miss KMBC full-bandwidth Monday Night Football.

Can anyone here see what the bitrate is on Weather+? I bet they could reduce it and give some bandwidth back to the HD channel without completely turning it (Weater+) off.

Brad

Can anyone here see what the bitrate is on Weather+? I bet they could reduce it and give some bandwidth back to the HD channel without completely turning it (Weather+) off.

Brad

Brad,

The major issue with Weather+ is the fact that interlaced video does not compress very efficiently to begin with, and when a subchannel such as Weather+ is deployed, it results in the compression artifacts becoming much more visible.

I'm doubtful there is any bitrate for Weather+ that discriminating HD viewers are going to find acceptable for watching HD sports. The only subchannel that wouldn't have an impact on HD picture quality would be relatively static radar weather maps or low-resolution traffic cams. Anything with any significant amount of motion is going to torpedo HD quality when the primary channel is 1080i.

This is why PBS, which originates its national HD feed in 1080i, allows its local affilliates to convert the HD feed to 720p in order to make more efficient use of the 6 mHz bandwidth available. Still, PBS stations manage to massacre picture quality by deploying too many 480i subchannels -- one would be acceptable, two would be marginal and anything beyond that is a disaster, PQ-wise.

Broadcasters, in general, fought tooth and nail to preserve interlaced video when the HD specification was being developed, and now they are finding just how unsuitable it is for the digital era and multicasting. These guys are dinosaurs, and these are the type of business decisions they will make until they draw their final breath.

Doug,
Thanks for the reply. I guess I sort of knew what the answer would be, but was hoping for the best. In KSHB's case, they still have a (very easy) out if they choose to use it: Put Weather+ on one of their sister station's (independent KMCI) subchannels. They could still give it a 41.2 alias (if allowed by the FCC), and no one would be the wiser.

Brad

"These guys are dinosaurs, and these are the type of business decisions they will make until they draw their final breath".

I do call KSHB engineering about the low-bandwidth 1080i broadcasting. I am always told how from the start KSHB has always had the same bandwidth assign to 1080i even before the Weather Plus sub-channel. Hey KSHB fast motion has been terrible from the start on DT-42 1080i HDTV broadcasting.

Multicasting on KSHB DT-42 (41-1) is a disaster to fast motion 1080i HDTV NFL broadcasting. We have just got to get KSHB engineering to watch a KSHB NBC 1080i HDTV OTA NFL broadcast away from their station downlink monitors to see the problem.

I watched the Sunday Night Football game on KSNT-27 in Topeka. I was watching the analog channel and I could see mostly the same pixilization artifacts on the analog feed that I noticed the week before on the HD feed. The Weather+ channel doesn't help, but it looks awful coming from NBC direct as well. Somebody said that NBC is using KU Band satellite instead of C-Band to transmit their HD content for their network up-link, I wonder if that compression is also to blame for some of this.

In contrast, the CBS and FOX HD broadcasts this week have been awesome.

Time Warner Cable Subs, you have until November to find a new provider to watch NFL Network.

http://www.nflgetreal.com/

KSHB Law and Order SVU downrezed to crappy SD in the middle of the show yesterday (8-15-2006). Was this because of the downlink problem or KSHB technical problem!! It reverted back to HD later on in the show.

I emailed KSHB and asked about Jeopardy and Wheel in HD, this is the response:

If all goes well and the special equipment arrives and is installed in time, KSHB will begin broadcasting

Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune in HD beginning the week of 9/11.

Anyone know if the Chiefs game tomorrow night will be broadcast in HD? I realize that they are playing in the national FOX game, but I'm really afraid that they might show a Chiefs Television Network broadcast, or whatever the name is of the crew that put out last week's telecast. Any info on that?

The Kansas City Chiefs will be in FULL BANDWIDTH 720P HIGH DEFINITION tomorrow night on the FOX Television Network!

The Kansas City Chiefs will be in FULL BANDWIDTH 720P HIGH DEFINITION tomorrow night on the FOX Television Network!


"FULL BANDWIDTH" is the heart of HDTV. :)

I won't get to see it, because I will be helping to bring the masses play by play audio on the Chiefs Radio Network... so tune into the HDTV feed, turn the sound down low and turn up 101 The Fox. We delay the broadcast to match up on the analog tv broadcast, but add about 1.2 seconds for the Digital broadcast...

I just wish I could GET KSHB on OTA...

They are the only station out of KC I can't get....I can get all those stupid PAX channels and everything, but no NBC.

Glad I don't watch much Sunday Night Football.

The picture quality looked very good on WDAF HDTV DT-34 (4-1) broadcast of the Kansas City Chiefs football game.

Picture looked good on 4, Chief's didn't :(

Great broadcast of the Chiefs - Giants game. Not one pixel out of place the whole broadcast. 720P does look like the superior format to present sports in. 1080i will always have some pixelation, even without a second video stream. I started to listen to 101 the Fox audio with the OTA WDAF video, and the sound was not in sync. The radio announcers were calling the plays before the action showed OTA. So I switched to the WDAF audio. I never went back to check to see if the sound re-synced up.

I never went back to check to see if the sound re-synced up.
Radio and HD will never be in synch. It takes longer to process and dispaly the HD signal on your set so there will always be a gap. You can see that if have an SD set and HD set on at same time on same broadcast. SD will always be slightly ahead. Earlier in this thread it was noted the radio station applies a delay to keep it in synch for SD channel but will be something like 1.2 second difference for HD. It is my understanding some receivers may allow you to delay signal. That would be only way I know of to get it "synched up".

on 101 The Fox, we have a delay system to sync the radio broadcast up with the TV, however we only sync it with the Analog OTA broadcast of whatever Network. Also, it takes about 3-5 minutes for our sync to match up after the game starts so we can fine-tune it. If you have Dish Network/Direct TV you will never get it synched. The FOX TV broadcast was about 3.7 seconds behind our radio broadcast so we delayed it. We could sync to the HDTV broadcast, but with no HDTV in the studio, that is kind of hard to do. It has been talked about but it most likely won't happen this season unless you start flooding KCFX Radio with letters and e-mails saying you want this, and even then, KCFX would have to be granted the rights to the Chiefs past this year.

PS> When the Chiefs play on ESPN or NFL Network, we only have DirecTV in the studio so it will be synched up to DirecTV's feed.

I have searched and not found the answer to my question, so please forgive me if it is out there. Is Comcast still allowing local HD channels to be passed through analog service to tvs with built-in QAM tuners? My wife doesn't want a box, but I would really like to be able to pick up local HD channels without having to switch between cable and antenna, then rescan the channels. My tv specs say that it has a built in clear QAM tuner, but I am not sure how this should be setup. ..for reference, I have a Westinghouse LTV-40w1.

Thanks

Got a note in my Comcast bill saying INHD 2 is going away next month. Does that mean the INHD company is ending it's 2nd channel, or that Comcast will quit carrying it? Maybe Jerky knows?

I have searched and not found the answer to my question, so please forgive me if it is out there. Is Comcast still allowing local HD channels to be passed through analog service to tvs with built-in QAM tuners? My wife doesn't want a box, but I would really like to be able to pick up local HD channels without having to switch between cable and antenna, then rescan the channels. My tv specs say that it has a built in clear QAM tuner, but I am not sure how this should be setup. ..for reference, I have a Westinghouse LTV-40w1.

Thanks

Why don't you try doing autoscan with the cable hooked up? I don't know if this TV has two different coax inputs, but if there is a separate one for digital, plug in the cable into this one and try autoscanning and see if it picks up anything. I don't have cable and cannot test this.

I have a Sanyo 30" HDTV with ATSC/QAM tuner. I use just ATSC right now.

In regard to INHD2 the same situation is happening in St. Louis with Charter Cable. I still monitor their forum even though I have lived here for over a year.

Got a note in my Comcast bill saying INHD 2 is going away next month. Does that mean the INHD company is ending it's 2nd channel, or that Comcast will quit carrying it? Maybe Jerky knows?

Yes, I believe it's true that INHD2 is being discontinued. Apparently, INHD is having financial troubles in general, as they have abandoned their "cable only" strategy. They are currently in negotiations with Dish Network for carriage of INHD; in fact it is already uplinked to E*'s HD sats, but not available to viewers.

Brad

.......about Jeopardy and Wheel in HD.[/I]

Interesting production tech info:

http://www.digitalvideoediting.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=58639

udeyhawk:

Local Comcast does send local HD channels, via QAM, in the clear (not encrypted). So you should be able to hook up the cable line directly to your DTV-Ready HDTV and get those channels. Unless something has changed lately, you only have to have at least Expanded Basic service to get them.

olathebob:

I was expecting Comcast to drop INHD2 when they added ESPN2HD. They didn't. I believe that they are getting rid of it because it is going away. They've honestly only got enough decent (term used loosely) programming for 1 channel anyway. I don't see it as too much of a loss.

I no longer have the access I once had to new info from Comcast. I'm no longer employed there. I do still have a number of contacts though, so I should be able to get answers if need be.

Interesting production tech info:

http://www.digitalvideoediting.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=58639

Thanks, Dog. Most people don't think twice about what all goes into something like that.

Brad

It was great to see some CBS HD preseason football on KSMO last night. Will this be just for the pre season, or is this a glimpse of things to come?

Was the game broadcast in HD last night? My OTA channel 5.1 only pulled in SD..... :confused:

I believe CBS had a national telecast last night of an NFL game, but KCTV 5 had the Chiefs on locally. They moved the CBS National game to KSMO-DT and it was in HD on 62.1

Remember the local Chiefs games are broadcast by Metro Sports on the Chiefs Television Network, which will not be in HD.

I believe CBS had a national telecast last night of an NFL game, but KCTV 5 had the Chiefs on locally. They moved the CBS National game to KSMO-DT and it was in HD on 62.1


Thank you KCTV5. :)

Well, here's quite a shame for us...two good movies on (Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Wars Episode II) and we're in a storm watch so it's either not on or it's in SD.

Neither are in OAR any way as I understand it. No OAR,commericals and edited for content? No thanks.

Is KSHB on the air? A friend in their reception area via cable TV says the audio and video have been going on and off the air on the SD feed.

Neither are in OAR any way as I understand it. No OAR,commericals and edited for content? No thanks.
Hmm, are they edited for content? They're about 140 minutes each in a 3 hour slot. And I'd take non-OAR HD over SD any day.

I don't know for a fact they are edited for content. I assumed since on broadcast TV most likely were. I have already seen both of these movies and have no interest in seeing them in "zoomed in" HD. Instead, I watched the "Towering Inferno" on HDNet Movies in glorious, OAR HD. It is a beautiful transfer.

I don't know for a fact they are edited for content. I assumed since on broadcast TV most likely were. I have already seen both of these movies and have no interest in seeing them in "zoomed in" HD. Instead, I watched the "Towering Inferno" on HDNet Movies in glorious, OAR HD. It is a beautiful transfer.
Apparently Pirates of the Caribbean was Open Matte and the HD version actually showed more than the 2.35:1 DVD.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=667851

Please.......Please!, let's not get into an OAR discussion here. Thanks!

Brad

It was great to see some CBS HD preseason football on KSMO last night. Will this be just for the pre season, or is this a glimpse of things to come?
The only reason it was moved to KSMO was because the Chiefs pre-empted the network feed on CBS. Because the entire regular season is network-based coverage (instead of team-initiated), this won't be a factor. But I was impressed and surprised they carried the HD feed on KSMO.

The only reason it was moved to KSMO was because the Chiefs pre-empted the network feed on CBS. Because the entire regular season is network-based coverage (instead of team-initiated), this won't be a factor. But I was impressed and surprised they carried the HD feed on KSMO.

It's a shame, but I bet I wasn't the only one that watched this game instead of the Chiefs because of the HD. I thought the quality of the local game was even worse than usual and almost unwatchable. (Cheap equipment or poor focus?)
I suppose Metro Sports has no incentive, at least in the near future, of switching to HD.

Surprised to see no one mention that Universal HD is now on TWC. I noticed it this saturday.

Also, anything broadcasted by Metro Sports is terrible PQ.

Surprised to see no one mention that Universal HD is now on TWC. I noticed it this saturday. Are you sure about that? What township do you live in because I am in Shawnee and I have TWC and we still do NOT have Universal HD. What channel are you seeing it listed as?

I'm in south KCMO around the Waldo area. It's the channel right after ESPNHD, it's 1506 or something like that I guess.

I'd have rather had National Geographic HD, MaxHD, or TMC-HD, but at least TWC added a channel. I was starting to think they never would again.

And yeah, Metro Sports is a joke. Terrible PQ, terrible commentating, plays that get missed completely because of commercials, etc.

I'm in south KCMO around the Waldo area. It's the channel right after ESPNHD, it's 1506 or something like that I guess.What the hell? Why aren't they adding it to the Shawnee area? I wonder if they are just testing it on the system?

Very interesting. Remember, they added UHD for the Olympics, too, and then removed it after the 2 weeks were over. The timing of its arrival makes me wonder if maybe it's just for the US Open (tennis). I wouldn't be surprised at all if they do this again. When I get home, I'll have to try to tune it in through diag mode.

On a separate note, I made the call yesterday to change from TWC to Everest. I'd grown tired of waiting for ESPN2HD (and ESPNU) and the NFL Network, so I made the switch. Honestly, the final straw was that I was getting the MLB Extra Innings package for free, because I'm an NHL Center Ice subscriber and they never turned off access to those channels, which is also where MLBEI is carried. Well, they "fixed the glitch" (to use "Office Space" parlance), so the combination of my freebie ending and the complete gridlock in adding HD content and agreeing to carriage agreements forced my hand. I switch 9/7 and will let everyone know the results after I can compare/contrast the 2.

Cost-wise, TWC was surprisingly competitive, and maybe cheaper, because they cut rates drastically in areas where Everest is an option. I won't be saving any money each month; rather this is a move out of principle and not being held hostage by carriage agreement stalemates (again, ESPN, NFL).

From an HD perspective, changing from TWC to Everest, I'll add TMC-HD, ESPN2HD, NFL-HD, National Geographic HD, and HGTV-HD, and lose the west-coast feeds of HBO-HD and SHO-HD, as well as KSMO-HD. I consider that a good trade.

On a separate note, I made the call yesterday to change from TWC to Everest. I'd grown tired of waiting for ESPN2HD (and ESPNU) and the NFL Network, so I made the switch. I switch 9/7 and will let everyone know the results after I can compare/contrast the 2. I won't be saving any money each month; rather this is a move out of principle and not being held hostage by carriage agreement stalemates (again, ESPN, NFL).
From an HD perspective, changing from TWC to Everest, I'll add TMC-HD, ESPN2HD, NFL-HD, National Geographic HD, and HGTV-HD, and lose the west-coast feeds of HBO-HD and SHO-HD, as well as KSMO-HD. I consider that a good trade. Good for you Squeak ... I am also considering the same thing. I am sick of TWC's pathetic excuses, and dragging their collective asses on HD agreements. It's unacceptable that they haven't signed U-HD, ESPN2-HD, NFL-HD, NG-HD, HG-HD, and M-HD yet. I have had to miss countless preseason NFL games because of this spat.
Also remember that losing KSMO in HD is not that big of a deal now, as the new CW Network (WB/UPN merge) is being covered by KCWE locally, which Everest DOES already have a carriage agreement with in HD. I don't think that KSMO's MyNetworkTV even has any HD shows anyway. I could be wrong about that. But either way, it's nothing I would really watch. All the good stuff is moving to The CW.

Cost-wise, TWC was surprisingly competitive, and maybe cheaper, because they cut rates drastically in areas where Everest is an option.

It isn't an option here, but the day it is and TW makes me this offer (after screwing me for three years just because they can) I'll laugh in their face.

FWIW, I went home at lunch today (still on TWC) and they had UnivHD on the air (I live at approx. 95th & Nall) on channel 1506. I'd bet about anything that it goes away after the US Open. It's ridiculous - TWC corporate has a carriage agreement, but locally they choose only to turn it on during the big events. If the bandwidth is there, how 'bout they let ME decide whether the programming is worth watching?!?!

Ironically, this is one of the channels that Everest does not offer. I'm still not disappointed with my decision though. :P

TWC complains that they don't have enough bandwidth to add more HD programming, yet we have stupid crap like channel 1400. We don't need a HighDef demo channel anymore when there are several 24/7 HD channels on the network. I don't care about glass blowing or Route 66. SO STOP SHOWING IT! LOSE THE CHANNEL AND ADD SOMETHING WORTHWHILE!

All My Network TV programming on KSMO-DT 62.1 will be in 720p High Definition, the FOX Network standard (since My Network TV is a FOX venture)

Use an antenna to get that channel in HD if you really want it as they have a strong OTA signal in KC now and I wouldn't be surprised of Everest has it in HD soon anyway.

UniversalHD might just be put on the guide for the US Open, but during the olympics, it replaced. Now it's a separate channel, so I'm hoping that it stays.

And I agree...channel 1400 is worthless. I can't believe anyone ever spends more than 2 seconds watching it.

I finally saw Universal HD show up on 1506 for TWC in Shawnee yesterday. Hope it stays permanently and not just for the US Open. TWC is supposed to be adding ESPN2HD within the next 30 days or so also. I would have thought ESPN2 would be channel 1506 (next to 1505 ESPN) and UHD would be something else. I have never understood why cable companies randomly scatter the channels rather than grouping sports, news, music, etc. better? What is so hard about putting FOXNEWS, CNN, HNN, and MSNBC together? Or MTV, MTV2, VH1, CMT, etc?

FYI - Comcast is going to replace INHD2 with MHD (MTV HD) in mid-September.

I finally saw Universal HD show up on 1506 for TWC in Shawnee yesterday. Hope it stays permanently and not just for the US Open. TWC is supposed to be adding ESPN2HD within the next 30 days or so also. I would have thought ESPN2 would be channel 1506 (next to 1505 ESPN) and UHD would be something else. I have never understood why cable companies randomly scatter the channels rather than grouping sports, news, music, etc. better? What is so hard about putting FOXNEWS, CNN, HNN, and MSNBC together? Or MTV, MTV2, VH1, CMT, etc?
I'll believe the ESPN2HD thing when I see it. I got sick of holding my breath. But, knowing Murphy's law, it'll be added the day after I change to Everest. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make for the good of the board. :p

I just keep telling myself that we're never going to get ESPN2HD. It's a shame too, because there is going to be plenty of HD football starting this weekend.

I see "Star Trek" is going HD in September. http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/23775.html Anybody know which one of our Kansas City digital broadcasters will be showing this HD updated programming?

Do I have a problem with my TWC 8300HD DVR or are all the Network HD programs only in 2-CH digital. I thought most of them were now in surround sound. Is there anywhere I can find a listing of those shows in surround?
Thanks,
Mike

I see "Star Trek" is going HD in September. http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/23775.html Anybody know which one of our Kansas City digital broadcasters will be showing this HD updated programming?

That should be pretty cool. I would guess KCWE would get it since they already show Enterprise. You never know though.

Do I have a problem with my TWC 8300HD DVR or are all the Network HD programs only in 2-CH digital. I thought most of them were now in surround sound. Is there anywhere I can find a listing of those shows in surround?
Thanks,
Mike
It's a hardware glitch - mine does this sometimes too. Just go into the settings, change the audio off of Dolby Digital, save it, and then change it back to Dolby Digital. The 5.1 programs will be right again. I have to do this approx. every 2 weeks.

A good test is that everything on ESPN-HD and the HDNet channels are 5.1, I believe. If they show up 2-ch digital, then you'll have to go through this process.

Hope it works!

It's a hardware glitch - mine does this sometimes too. Just go into the settings, change the audio off of Dolby Digital, save it, and then change it back to Dolby Digital. The 5.1 programs will be right again. I have to do this approx. every 2 weeks.

A good test is that everything on ESPN-HD and the HDNet channels are 5.1, I believe. If they show up 2-ch digital, then you'll have to go through this process.

Hope it works!

Thanks! That did the trick. I really do get mad at TWC when they reboot the machine at night and wipe out everything I have saved on my drive, including my scheduled programs. They will do a software upgrade and just mess it up.

I guess we should get back on topic with the thread!

Mike

Thanks! That did the trick. I really do get mad at TWC when they reboot the machine at night and wipe out everything I have saved on my drive, including my scheduled programs. They will do a software upgrade and just mess it up.

I guess we should get back on topic with the thread!

Mike


Mike,
I think you've got a problem with your machine. Nothing that TW ever does should cause you to lose saved programming or scheduled recordings. I've never had that happen. If I did, I'd be very upset! Take it in and get a new one....

Now, if you were being sarcastic and I missed it....then nevermind! :)

Mike,
I think you've got a problem with your machine. Nothing that TW ever does should cause you to lose saved programming or scheduled recordings. I've never had that happen. If I did, I'd be very upset! Take it in and get a new one....

Now, if you were being sarcastic and I missed it....then nevermind! :)

No sarcasm intended! This is my second machine and both of them have done the same thing.

On occasion when TWC does a software upgrade all my programming and saved prgrams are lost. I can go to the diagnostics that evening when I get home and see that a software upgrade was done overnight.

Mike

They may not erase your already saved stuff but they will reboot at night INTERRUPTING anything you're recording or watching.

I stood there WTF watching the box update for 10 minutes or more with numbers flashing on it...

I pulled the plug out so at least I don't have to wait for the process to finish at the time I was watching but once it starts, you can't do anything about it.

As soon as the box is powered on, you can't do anything other than wait about 10 minutes for everything to upgrade and reboot and load...


They really should have a way to detect if the box is recording so as not to interrupt it.

Anyone know why my dish network hd receiver shuts off when I go to channel 41. The analog works fine but when I go to the digital signal, receiver reboots. This only happens on channel 41. I have an antenna in the attic to receive the local offair signal in digital. This channel used to work but I can't tell you how long ago.

Anyone know why my dish network hd receiver shuts off when I go to channel 41. The analog works fine but when I go to the digital signal, receiver reboots. This only happens on channel 41. I have an antenna in the attic to receive the local offair signal in digital. This channel used to work but I can't tell you how long ago.

Boy this is a odd problem. What type of receiver model number do you have?


Welcome lb1818. :)

Anyone know why my dish network hd receiver shuts off when I go to channel 41. The analog works fine but when I go to the digital signal, receiver reboots. This only happens on channel 41. I have an antenna in the attic to receive the local offair signal in digital. This channel used to work but I can't tell you how long ago.

I had a very similar problem with my Voom box and KCPT-DT 19-1. I could watch 19-2 thru 4 just fine, but 19-1 would cause a reboot every time.

I found out 19-1 was sending TV Guide data in the bit stream, and my receiver didn't like it much. Maybe 41-1 is sending some kind of data now?

That should be pretty cool. I would guess KCWE would get it since they already show Enterprise. You never know though.
KCWE at 7PM on the 16th. Doesn't look like we'll get it in HD though right off the bat if titantv is correct.

KCWE at 7PM on the 16th. Doesn't look like we'll get it in HD though right off the bat if titantv is correct.



Maybe technicalitalian can gives us viewers some news if KCWE is going to bring us "Star Trek" in HD on the 16th. Maybe some of that magic again that brought us Star Trek "Enterprise" in HD on KCWE a few years ago. :) http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=234120&page=29&pp=30

The US Open is in HD on KSMO-DT 62.1 right now and it looks GLORIOUS!

Thank KCTV for moving it to KSMO so you can air the MDA Telethon.

The reciever is a model 811. It still does not come in after a reboot.

The reciever is a model 811. It still does not come in after a reboot.

Delete DT-42 from the local channel lineup and then do another rescan. Hope this helps.

We currently have TWC with the HD package and the SA 8300HD DVR as the source for our 3 year old HDTV. However, I'm fed up with the cost and glut of garbage channels and would like to 'downgrade' to either a purely OTA HD signal or a QAM HD signal via basic cable (or both?).

(1) What is the best all-around tuner box for getting OTA and/or QAM signal to my HDTV? I've seen the Samsung SIRT451 and a few others on ebay but I haven't found much in the way of quality reviews of any of the OTA tuners/receivers. The reviews I've read of the Samsung all complained about how slow the Samsung changed channels - which would drive me insane.

(2) Can you get all the local HD channels via QAM with TWC's basic cable?

(3) Any recommendations for an inside OTA antenna? I've been to antennaweb and we are basically b/t 10-17 miles from all of the digital signals. It says a 'yellow' small multi-directional antenna will work for all but Fox's digital signal which requires a 'purple' large, directional w/ pre-amp antenna.

Thanks in advance for any enlightenment you guys can provide. This forum looks like it might be the light in a sea of internet darkness for those of us that purchased HDTV's without built-in tuners.

thanks,
Mark

Hey KSMO-DT... turn on the HD! I know My Network TV primetime is in 720p HDTV!

(3) Any recommendations for an inside OTA antenna? I've been to antennaweb and we are basically b/t 10-17 miles from all of the digital signals. It says a 'yellow' small multi-directional antenna will work for all but Fox's digital signal which requires a 'purple' large, directional w/ pre-amp antenna.


Does anyone know if the antennaweb info is accurate? I thought WDAF had the strongest signal in KC now that their tower was upgraded last year.

I think Antennaweb is a little bit out of date with their information. FOX does have a pretty powerful DT signal these days.

Maybe technicalitalian can gives us viewers some news if KCWE is going to bring us "Star Trek" in HD on the 16th. Maybe some of that magic again that brought us Star Trek "Enterprise" in HD on KCWE a few years ago. :) http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=234120&page=29&pp=30


Contrary to what the website says, the show is not yet available in HD. This is a syndicated program, not supplied to us by a network. Although we're told a lot of help was given to the quality of the show through digital remastering, the syndicator told us that the show would not be available in HD for about a year...."live long and prosper".....TI

Contrary to what the website says, the show is not yet available in HD. This is a syndicated program, not supplied to us by a network. Although we're told a lot of help was given to the quality of the show through digital remastering, the syndicator told us that the show would not be available in HD for about a year...."live long and prosper".....TI

(Best Spock imitation)
"Interesting Captain but the studio insists that they will be broadcasting the show in HD and it is the local affiliate that determines if it will be shown that way due to factors such as hard drive capacity to store pre-recorded syndicated episodes in full high-def."
(End Spock imitation)

I figure you are more in the loop on how the broadcast will be presented here in KC, so I won't question what you are saying but it does raise the question if you have the capability to store and play back HD shows there at the studio? I seem to recall that when Enterprise was on only the first showing was in HD while the later showings were all letterboxed SD due to that limitation.

When is KMBC going live with their new HD digital local news studio? I was thinking it was the end of this year. I can't wait to only watch the local news in HD!

Hey KSMO-DT... turn on the HD! I know My Network TV primetime is in 720p HDTV!
Why is KSMO-DT not in HD. I thouht MyNetworkTV was touting how it was going to be 100% HD!!! Well so far it has been 100% SD. Come on KSMO!!!! Is there an KSMO engineer in the house to answer this question?

When is KMBC going live with their new HD digital local news studio? I was thinking it was the end of this year. I can't wait to only watch the local news in HD!
Looks like it won't be until Summer 2007 according to their website.
http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/station/4499101/detail.html

Maybe technicalitalian can gives us a reason why the delay?

(Best Spock imitation)
"Interesting Captain but the studio insists that they will be broadcasting the show in HD and it is the local affiliate that determines if it will be shown that way due to factors such as hard drive capacity to store pre-recorded syndicated episodes in full high-def."
(End Spock imitation)

I figure you are more in the loop on how the broadcast will be presented here in KC, so I won't question what you are saying but it does raise the question if you have the capability to store and play back HD shows there at the studio? I seem to recall that when Enterprise was on only the first showing was in HD while the later showings were all letterboxed SD due to that limitation.

Oh if it were only that simple, we'd all be doing it now......TI

Looks like it won't be until Summer 2007 according to their website.
http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/station/4499101/detail.html

Maybe technicalitalian can gives us a reason why the delay?


No delay. TV studios are a bit more complicated to build than an office building. We're actually right on schedule for a summer '07 move in.....TI

Oh if it were only that simple, we'd all be doing it now......TI
I'll take that as a "no" on the ability to currently store and replay HD material. So I'm guessing that summer of '07 is the likely target for when you will have that ability in-house to coincide with the HD news reports.

Delete DT-42 from the local channel lineup and then do another rescan. Hope this helps.

Now..channel 4 is doing the same thing. any ideas?

Now..channel 4 is doing the same thing. any ideas?


Try deleting all channels in your digital local channels. Unplug the AC power to the machine wait five minutes. Plug the AC power back into the wall and then rescan the digital airwaves.

OK - as of yesterday I switched from TWC (and AT&T for phone) to Everest. Just wanted to give my *very* early feedback - as promised.
- The Everest guide interface (Sara?) on the SA 8300HD isn't as clean, nor as intuitive as TWC's (Passport?).
- There's no way to stretch SD content (I don't like the stretching, but have an old-ish rear-projection HDTV, so I get burn-in otherwise), while still having it upconverted to 1080i (I don't like the ~2 second delay my TV has when it the source changes), but have the HD content not stretched. I have to push the "#" button to scroll through all the stretching options when I alternate between SD and HD programming. Minor annoyance.
- The interface to the OnDemand programming is slower, but much more is available than through TWC.
- The DVR fuctionality also seems to be a bit less intuitive to me than TWC's. Maybe it's because I am used to TWC. The choices around which programs to record (first run, repeat, daily, weekly, etc.) are different. I haven't decided if they're "good different" or "bad different" yet. The jury's still out.
- PQ still sucks on NBC's football games, regardless of provider. :p
- Some interactive features were good, if not really necessary. I especially like the ability to track ebay items and the fantasy football team tracker. Caller ID on TV is nice too.
- It's not publicized, but Food Network HD is live on Everest. HD channels available on Everest but not TWC: Food-HD, HGTV-HD, National Geographic HD, NFL-HD (but I've yet to see any HD content on there yet), ESPN2HD :D, Movie Channel HD. Also some miscellaneous SD channels.
- Last night's Dodgers/Mets game on InHD was in the guide, but not on TV. I called about this, concerned they didn't have an agreement to air the MLB games (and fearing the same for NCAA CSTV-HD games, NHL/NBA, and NHL/MLS on HDNet), but my account rep said they have agreements to air the channel as they get it. Basically, that InHD pulled the game, and it wasn't a carriage agreement problem. I sure hope so. I'll follow up.
- In the PPV section, they had a MLB Extra Innings HD game on. This was a pleasant surprise, and I didn't see such a thing on TWC. I'm not an EI sub, so I couldn't verify, but it was good to see. Hopefully this continues come hockey season!
- >7 Mbps download speed. ~1 Mbps upload.

About the only channels that TWC has and Everest lacks are CSTV and Metro Sports. Metro isn't going to happen, but as long as Everest carries the Royals games, the rest is expendible. IMO. Everest lacks the west coast versions of HBO-HD and SHO-HD, and HD PPV OnDemand. I can live without these.

I called to inquire about the InHD/MLB issue, and customer service was great. While on the horn, I requested CSTV (really like this channel), MHD (which is apparently coming by EOY), Universal HD, Cinemax-HD and Starz-HD. Those were the only HD channels in existance, aside from the old VOOM channels, I could think of that Everest doesn't carry. I'll let everyone know if any of these show up.

Sorry for the long post.

I think you will enjoy Everest squeak!

The MLB in the Guide for inHD IS something that happens quite often. But when the game IS ON, it is AWESOME!

They have MLB EI, the NBA and NHL packages as well. Sometimes you will get OLN Hockey games in HD on the InHD channel as well!

It just hit me. Last night's game was Mets/Dodgers. I wonder if we get the InHD feed intended for either New York or Los Angeles, and we got erroneously blacked out! I'll have to keep an eye out the next time a team from either market is on InHD. That should be easy enough to fix. We should only get blacked out of the Royals games.

Hi guys... I'm over in Lawrence and just put up an antenna to get the KC stations OTA.

I was under the impression that KSMO-DT was broadcasting prime time in HD (it was previously a WB station wasn't it?). It looks like it has changed over to the new (lame) MyNetworkTV and is airing two trashy soap operas in prime time.

I decided to tune in, you know, just to check out the HD picture but noticed it was windowboxed... which I think means that the station is broadcasting an HD signal but is displaying the SD feed.

Has anyone else noticed this? I e-mailed the station about it but haven't gotten any response. I have heard the new network shows are 720p, so given that it used to be the WB (which was 1080i IIRC) could it be that they don't have the proper equipment to do the sideconversion?

Not a big deal--the programming on this network isn't what I'd call compelling, but it just made me curious since I know those shows are shot in and provided to the stations in high-def, and in my guide listings for that channel both programs show as being high-def, but they aren't on my TV set.

Can anyone confirm (or deny) any of this?

Thanks,

Dan

Now I do hope that KCWE will be high-def from the get-go, if only for "Everybody Hates Chris"--that's a great show.

The today Chiefs game on KCTV5 (DT-24) 5.1 is not up to the HDTV quality of last year's Chiefs CBS HDTV broadcasting. Did KCTV5 cut the bandwidth? :(

The analog transmission wasn't very pretty either. Maybe it was just because of the gloomy day.

The analog transmission wasn't very pretty either. Maybe it was just because of the gloomy day.

There was definitely a veil of gloom hovering over the stadium yesterday - but it had nothing to do with the weather!

Brad

Did KCTV5 cut the bandwidth? :(

Nope, same as before.

Did KSHB get their HD equipment to show Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune in HD? Also, is NBC's showing showing of the Today show in HD going to run into the same problem ABC did when they first aired GMA in HD? I am guessing that the Today show WON'T be HD on Wednesday, but hopefully I am wrong.

I was curious about Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune as well.

Also, does anyone know if the Mizzou/Mississippi game from last Saturday was shown on HD on any channel? It was broadcast on FSN HD, which is not carried by TWC, but I didn't even think to check INHD to see if it was broadcasting the game.

KSHB did not show Jeopardy in HD--I just watched it and it was in 4x3 (center-cut, I think). Hope they get it going soon.

FSN has been doing HD games for a while, but only regionally-produced and aired games (SF Giants, Florida Marlins, etc.). College Football games are the first events they're broadcasting nationally in HD, but only in regions where there is a FSN-HD -- the Midwest isn't one of those. Since there's little HD programming, I think each cableco is deciding what to do with the games - override one of the InHD channels, put up a temp channel, etc.

It has more to do with the region we're in than any particular company not offering it. Bottom line - I wouldn't expect ANY provider to have these games available to the midwest this season. I hope I'm wrong.

There's more about FSN-HD on the Programming forum.

So has Universal HD disappeared from TWC on 1506 since the US Open is over?

Nope, same as before.

Thank you for keeping up the bandwidth DogOfMadness. :) After reading this thread a few other people seem to noticed a lower quality on the Chiefs game in other markets. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=721765&page=1&pp=30

All Big XII Conference games on Fox Sports Net (Football) are broadcast in HD. They are available on DirectTV channel 95. As for the cable companies... who knows?

Last Saturday's game (Missouri vs. Mississippi) had FSN-HD graphic in the corner.

So has Universal HD disappeared from TWC on 1506 since the US Open is over?
Not as of tonight yet. Hope it continues to stay. Will let everyone know if it disappears.

dlnester, not all Big 12 games on FSN will be HD. La. Tech @ Nebraska wasn't, and Marshall @ K-State won't be this week, but I see that Louisville @ K-State will be in HD Sept. 23. If there is a baseball game that day, it could preempt the HD broacast on DirecTV 95.

I have to say that the Mizzou game looked pretty good, as DirecTV HD goes.

Bugeater,

Can you tell me where you're seeing the listings for which FSN games are HD and which aren't?

Also, is KSHB's signal OTA just very weak. I have one heck of a time picking them up out of KC...

I stand corrected KSBugeater... I guess I heard the promo wrong.

Here is the schedule I found:
http://msn.foxsports.com/name/HD

I'm pretty new to this too - just put up my OTA antenna last week. I figured that the 10pm local news broadcasts would be in HD - but guess not.

I also have the damndest time getting ABC 9.1 to come in. Fox, NBC, CBS, and PBS are gold, but ABC is very blocky. I have adjusted my Winegard SS a few times, but no difference. I'm at 131st street / Mur-Len / Blackbob.

dlnester, not all Big 12 games on FSN will be HD. La. Tech @ Nebraska wasn't, and Marshall @ K-State won't be this week, but I see that Louisville @ K-State will be in HD Sept. 23. If there is a baseball game that day, it could preempt the HD broacast on DirecTV 95.

I have to say that the Mizzou game looked pretty good, as DirecTV HD goes.

I don't have D*, I have E*. They have uplinked 15 RSN's, but they're not available to subs yet. My understanding is that they are sharing a couple of transponders - in other words, if 4 or 5 of the RSN's are doing an HD game at the same time, those are the ones that will be switched over to the HD transponder(s).

OK, here's the question: FSN Midwest and FSN Rocky Mountain are the two that I get. Neither of them is uplinked (HD) yet on E*, and I hear that they won't be until spring. Let's say that the Missouri/Ole Miss game (which aired on FSN-MW) is also being shown on FSN-South for Ole Miss fans. (FSN-S HD is uplinked now.) Would E* legally be able to show the FSN-S feed in the FSN-MW area?

KSbugeater, was your feed of the game on FSN-MW?

Brad

I got the Mizzou game on 647 and 95 on DirecTv...FSN Midwest, and FSN HD.

It was on a TON of the FSN networks...as will the Marshall and Louisville vs. KSU games.

I don't have D*, I have E*. They have uplinked 15 RSN's, but they're not available to subs yet. My understanding is that they are sharing a couple of transponders - in other words, if 4 or 5 of the RSN's are doing an HD game at the same time, those are the ones that will be switched over to the HD transponder(s).

OK, here's the question: FSN Midwest and FSN Rocky Mountain are the two that I get. Neither of them is uplinked (HD) yet on E*, and I hear that they won't be until spring. Let's say that the Missouri/Ole Miss game (which aired on FSN-MW) is also being shown on FSN-South for Ole Miss fans. (FSN-S HD is uplinked now.) Would E* legally be able to show the FSN-S feed in the FSN-MW area?

KSbugeater, was your feed of the game on FSN-MW?

Brad

Do you have the sport pack from E*? How are you getting two RSN's?

My source for college broadcast info is Matt Sarz' website:

http://mattsarz44017.tripod.com/

Go to the college sports and click the week you want. He's not 100% accurate, but I think it's one of the best sources out there.

As far as Regional Sports Networks go, I know that here in the KC area, even though DirecTV is feeding the local Big 4 in HD thru satellite MPEG-4 signals, they are not passing FSN Midwest in HD at this time on Ch. 96 as they are in other FSN regions. KC is not the only city in this situation, so they must have worked out a deal to send these FSN HD broadcasts on the national beam on Ch. 95 (imagine that, D* and Fox, two Murdoch-owned companies working together). The broadcast is NOT a FSN Midwest-produced broadcast like the Cards are, so usually for these national telecasts of Big 12 games whatever FSNs do not have conflicts with pro sports teams they will show the national college football game. Matt's website usually lists the clearances for each game, meaning which FSNs will be showing the game.

As for the question about why two RSNs... Kansas was originally assigned to FS Rocky Mountain... that's because the Avalanche claimed us. When the Royals TV broadcasts were produced by FSN, they aired on FSRM. Then the Royals Sports TV Network came along, and when they finally worked out a way for us satellite people to see the games, they made a deal with FS Midwest to distribute the games. So the sats had to give us FSMW too or we wouldn't see the Royals.

Do you have the sport pack from E*? How are you getting two RSN's?

I don't know the history that ksbugeater cited, but I've had E* since 2001, and have always gotten FSN-RM and FSN-MW as part of my regular package. I believe anyone with AT-120 or higher gets their "local" RSN's. Recently, Altitude was added to our "locals" (they have Denver area sports, also).

So, ksbugeater, you see whatever RSN-HD programming is available (from any RSN?) on D* channel 95?

Brad

Most of Kansas gets 3 local RSN's. Originally, Wyandotte and Johnson Counties in Kansas were NOT getting Altitude Sports but apparently that changed.

Altitude Sports

Fox Sports Net Midwest

Fox Sports Net Rocky Mountain

I have had E* since 1997 and always got FSN-MW and FSN-RM. The FSN-MW on E* is the St. Louis feed.

So, ksbugeater, you see whatever RSN-HD programming is available (from any RSN?) on D* channel 95?

Most of the time there is nothing on 95. Until these college football games started with Utah@UCLA in Week 1, the channel was mostly used for the HD game of the Extra Innings baseball package, which is blacked out to me since I don't subscribe to EI.

Did KSHB get their HD equipment to show Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune in HD? Also, is NBC's showing showing of the Today show in HD going to run into the same problem ABC did when they first aired GMA in HD? I am guessing that the Today show WON'T be HD on Wednesday, but hopefully I am wrong.


Receive this e-mail today from KSHB engineering on NFL Football with information on Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. Thank you KSHB for the response. :)


Jeffrey,

We understand your concerns and issues. We too see the macro-blocking which is originating from the Network. We monitor the satellite feed before it proceeds through our system and the issues are definitely at the network level. I am in contact with engineering at NBC on the issue and hopefully it will be resolved shortly. I have contacted other NBC stations throughout the country and they are experiencing the same artifacts during fast motion.

Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy will be in HD shortly. We are currently installing the video server for the syndicated programming.

Thanks for posting that, Jeffrey. Sounds like it won't be long now.

So cool to see the Today show in HD finally! Although the new set is a littly pastel-ish! Is it Easter already? :)

There's no way to stretch SD content (I don't like the stretching, but have an old-ish rear-projection HDTV, so I get burn-in otherwise), while still having it upconverted to 1080i (I don't like the ~2 second delay my TV has when it the source changes), but have the HD content not stretched. I have to push the "#" button to scroll through all the stretching options when I alternate between SD and HD programming. Minor annoyance.



Actually, you have to go into the everest box & set it up under pic format to pass-through....

Then you ahve to turn off you r box & on the front panel press guide & the button next to it at the same time( i think it si the info or exit button)...if you do it correctly, it will power on the set up menu for you to go in & set you resolution, pick all of them,& when you are done, your SD programming should then strech out for you...

http://www.hdbeat.com/2006/09/15/comcast-offering-over-100-hours-of-hd-vod-beginning-today/

Very good news.

I was able to get it to do that, but it changes -- HD programming is in 1080i, SD programming is in 480p. When my TV gets a different source resolution, it takes about 2 seconds to resolve it. That is far more annoying than having to stretch/unstretch while upconverting everything to 1080i, so I have picked my poison. Thanks for the advice though!

no problem

So cool to see the Today show in HD finally! Although the new set is a littly pastel-ish! Is it Easter already? :)

The Today Show is back to SD 4X3 today. According to KSHB's master control, they are not receiving the program from the network in HD today. Hope this isn't a permanent weekends-only problem.

I'm pretty new to this too - just put up my OTA antenna last week. I figured that the 10pm local news broadcasts would be in HD - but guess not.

I also have the damndest time getting ABC 9.1 to come in. Fox, NBC, CBS, and PBS are gold, but ABC is very blocky. I have adjusted my Winegard SS a few times, but no difference. I'm at 131st street / Mur-Len / Blackbob.

Is your new antenna VHF capable, KMBC-DT is VHF not UHF like all of the rest of the DTV channels in town. I live at 135th and Nall...no problem with an inexpensive "shack" antenna in the attic......TI

Nope, same as before.
What happened to KSMO-DT? I was able to tune it in on 47.62 until today.
I can no longer tune in KSMO at all on the Walmart-bought US Digital box.

It appears KSMO-DT 61.1 is off-the-air. I'm not getting any signal level, but I usually have maximum signal on my tuner meter.

My guess is that they are are updating their Digital signal from 1080i to 720p.

Yeah I stopped receiving it today as well. bongohawk's guess is a good one--as they were previously a WB station @ 1080i and MNTV's programming is 720p (and they've not aired anything in HD since the changeover to MNTV).

KSMO-DT 62.1 is back on the air tonight, however my TV says it is still 1080i and MNTV primetime programming was in 4x3 letterboxed.

Yep, same here. I've sent a couple of e-mails to the station about their plans but haven't heard anything back.

Does anyone know when Time Warner Cable (or Comcast and Everest for that matter) will be rolling out their OCAP (iDCR) cable systems (CableCard 2.0 bi-directional, middleware)?? The last I had heard, TWC was starting a rollout in some parts of the country Oct 1, 2006 which coinsides with Samsungs new OCAP iDCR CC 2.0 HDTVs due out also in October. I am wanting to get a new HDTV soon but I would rather wait until this technology is available.

KSMO-DT 62.1 is back on the air tonight, however my TV says it is still 1080i and MNTV primetime programming was in 4x3 letterboxed.


I did call KSMO today and the way I understand is a software upgrade is needed to bring 720p broadcasting to DT-47 (62-1). Hopefully in a week we will see 720p HDTV on DT-47 (62.1) :)

DogofMadness,

When are you guys going to get the equipment to do HD overlays? It is really irritating to have to watch sidebar SD just because of a storm. Could you suggest to the brass to periodically roll a message telling viewers to turn to the analog station for weather alerts instead of messing with half the broadcast?

DogofMadness,

When are you guys going to get the equipment to do HD overlays? It is really irritating to have to watch sidebar SD just because of a storm. Could you suggest to the brass to periodically roll a message telling viewers to turn to the analog station for weather alerts instead of messing with half the broadcast?
No joke. I hate this. It seemed like CSI was in SD every other week last year due to constant storm tracking. Obviously it wasn't every other week, but it was very irritating.

KMBC just had an overlay that said to tune to 9 analog for weather updates. The on-screen weather updates are almost pointless now anyway due to the large number of internet users. The size of the weather map on KCTV is also extremely excessive.

Does anyone know why the Ryder Cup was not in HD in Kansas City today? I called the CH 41 newsroom and was told that no engineer was available or could be contacted -- I should call back on Monday -- that does a lot of good. When I called back later, I was told that the feed from NBC was in SD. It was in HD in NYC (WNBC), however.

Anyone know the true story? Any ideas on how to get through to the engineers on weekends and at night when they forget to throw the HD switch?

I don't watch PAX (50.2) very often, but when I tried to tune it today, it just said
QUBO Coming in 2007
Qubo.com

I realized after I started to post this that I could just tune in 50.1. I didn't have the TVGuide display on my Sony DHG-HDD250 set up to show both channels, and I couldn't initially find a listing for I.

edit: I just remembered I was watching Charlie's Angels on PAX on Friday, and I saw a commercial for Kung Fu, one of my favorite childhood programs, which will be on next Saturday night.

Good article on "HD Lite" and the legal action over it. Anybody on this service that can tell us how bad it looks?

http://broadcastengineering.com/newsletters/bth/directv_hd_lite_20060925/?r=1

Good article on "HD Lite" and the legal action over it. Anybody on this service that can tell us how bad it looks?

http://broadcastengineering.com/newsletters/bth/directv_hd_lite_20060925/?r=1

To be honest I think D* HDTV isn't any worse that what I saw from channel 41's sunday night football last night (OTA) . I saw a lot of macroblocking during camera pans and full screen motion graphics. The issues with the D* HDTV feeds are almost exactly the same - macroblocking during periods of rapid movement. For most movies and non sports events it isn't an issue - though it can be distracting for some extreme action movies.

I get network TV OTA, I notice a show or two that might have issues on the HD pack. Games on Sunday Ticket look good - MUCH better than NBC OTA looks.

Hello to all.
Before this lengthy post a disclaimer of sorts:

Please feel free to correct anything that is incorrect in here, I'm just a noob.

I am ready to take the leap. I've decided to do some research and came across this thread. I was instantly intrigued and felt like doing some reading so I went back 2 years and read every post. A lot of you I feel like I kind of know already.

I started only about a week ago. I had no idea what 720p, 1080i, 1080p, SD, ED, HD really meant... and probably still don't have an excellent handle on it. But I'm learning. I sincerely appreciate all your posts. Each one adds a little to my knowledgebase. When I started I only knew that I wanted "a big screen". No idea of how to get a signal, whether it be digital, hi-def, etc.

Starting from scratch though is pretty cool. It seems like I should wait a while longer since 1080p plasmas are so expensive. But what I gather is that the PQ doesn't really justify the price difference between a 1080p and 1080i (1920-1080 / 1366-768 native). Possibly an HD-DVD player could make the 1080p pop?Thoughts or comments?

Here is the setup I was thinking of. Feel free to chime in on advice, thoughts, comments, any and all are welcome.

Panasonic TH-58PX600U

Replace my Sony Home Theater system with one that has HDMI inputs. My Sony is about 6 or 7 years old, still working fine (suggestions?)

I've already called Everest to see if they are available - no such luck, so I guess I'll go with TWC (argh) starting out with a CableCARD, see how that works, possibly going with an HD-DVR (suggestions on the HD-DVR model? lease or buy?

I just wanted to introduce myself and say thanks to everyone who has posted over the past couple of years. I feel like I've learned a lot. Much too much yet to learn.

If it matters, I also have a computer and would like to get the most out of it possible. Since I'm not that big into cars, boats, or motorcycles, this will be my pleasure toy. Not THAT pleasure toy!

Thanks again gents.

Doh!
Forgot to insert one more component in the system.
HD-DVD player.
Or do I even want to get into that until this Blu-Ray / HD-DVD thing is closer to an end?

Jeff

Welcome Skid71 :)

Good article on "HD Lite" and the legal action over it. Anybody on this service that can tell us how bad it looks?

http://broadcastengineering.com/newsletters/bth/directv_hd_lite_20060925/?r=1


I think people just like to bitch...the HD on DirecTv is nearly as good, if not as good as my OTA stuff...

I don't, however, have a high end plasma display or anything though, so that might be the difference.

I'm really looking forward to getting the new dish and DVR so I can throw the darned Antenna in the trash...I'm sick and tired of fighting an inconsistent signal that it provides.

Speaking of issues with my antenna...it either moved, or I've got problems with signals again....I can ONLY get KMBC right now...after having good luck with everything but KSHB for a long time.

A couple of questions for you guys.

1 -
I currently live in N. KC and enjoy wonderful HD reception with on my Windows MCE. I currently use a Terk HDTVo and it sits inside without its "booster" in use. In a month or so I am moving to Lees Summit and wonder if anyone in that area has any problems receiving OTA with a similar antenna?


2 -
I just got D* and only have the triple sat dish because they could not install the 5 sat dish on my deck. (When I move I am going to have them install the 5 sat at the new house). The question is....I can't receive local HD from the triple sat....will I be able to with the 5 sat or will i have to put an OTA antenna on my H20 D* box?

3 -
Does anyone use a triple sat dish for tailgating purposes, and if so, how are is the alignment in the field?

Whew!

Jesse

I think people just like to bitch...the HD on DirecTv is nearly as good, if not as good as my OTA stuff...

I don't, however, have a high end plasma display or anything though, so that might be the difference.

I'm really looking forward to getting the new dish and DVR so I can throw the darned Antenna in the trash...I'm sick and tired of fighting an inconsistent signal that it provides.

Wildcat,
With either D* or E*, you will only (currently) get Fox, ABC, CBS, and NBC. You may want to keep your antenna and tweak it for whatever other OTA's you can get or may want (PBS, CW, MYTV, 38theSpot, etc.). If you absolutely can't get any of these, which may be the case, ........nevermind!

Brad

Yep, I had noticed that...I rarely watch anything but the big 4, but will be keeping the antenna for when OTA is available with the new DVR..

To answer the questions of the above poster..

Yes, you will get HD LIL channels on the AT-9 dish.

Have not used the 3 LNB dish for tailgating, but have seen many who have...I would imagine as long as you leave the settings alone and level it, you will be able to aim it fairly easily.


Nothing is more annoying than the fight I've had trying to pick up NBC, CBS, FoX, and ABC OTA from 50 miles away...

Skid71,

First of all, welcome!

My not-so-expert advice:
- I haven't compared 1080i/1080p, but for now, with no content available in 1080p, unless/until HD-DVD/Blu-Ray, it might be a financial decision. But logic tells you that, long-term, 2x as many pixels of 1080p would lead to better PQ.
- IMO, if you're going with Time Warner, I'd skip the Cable Card route. That'd allow you to skip the integrated tuner in the TV (saves $$), and use the HD-DVR from them. Good product, and you'll never know how you lived without one. They only rent them out (no purchase available through the cableco), which helps because you can upgrade when a new-and-improved model comes out (SA8000HD to SA8300HD, for example, which most of us did ~1 yr ago) at no cost. It's only $8/mo or something. Great deal. I was a TWC customer until recently, when I switched to Everest because more content is available.
- Personally, I like to separate my audio and video feeds. I send video straight to the source, but work audio through my receiver for surround sound. Particularly if you use the HD-DVR, you can use digital sound (optical or digital coax) instead of HDMI through your audio receiver, and just route the video feeds to your display. This is probably a matter of personal preference.
- I'm avoiding the HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray battle like the plague, until a clear leader emerges and prices go down. Since getting the HD-DVR, I don't watch many DVDs anyway.

Of course, keep in mind my HD equipment is relatively old (3 1/2 years -- no DVI or HDMI input; must use component), so I might be forced into a few decisions based on that. Thus the setup I love might not be the optimum for 2006 like it was in early 2003. But that's my advice.

Feel free to PM me if needed to follow up. All of us on here like to help!

If anyone else has something to add or contend with my advice, feel free. I won't be offended. ;)

Jeff / Squeak
Thanks for the replies.
Squeak - Your setup sounds good. AND I can understand it. Doing it that way I could at least put off buying a new receiver and just focus on the monitor or tv. I suppose if I was going to go with the HD-DVR I could go with a monitor instead. Rest assured when I buy I'll be coming back for help. And in the meantime I'll keep reading posts every couple of days.

Skid

A couple of questions for you guys.

1 -
I currently live in N. KC and enjoy wonderful HD reception with on my Windows MCE. I currently use a Terk HDTVo and it sits inside without its "booster" in use. In a month or so I am moving to Lees Summit and wonder if anyone in that area has any problems receiving OTA with a similar antenna?


2 -
I just got D* and only have the triple sat dish because they could not install the 5 sat dish on my deck. (When I move I am going to have them install the 5 sat at the new house). The question is....I can't receive local HD from the triple sat....will I be able to with the 5 sat or will i have to put an OTA antenna on my H20 D* box?

3 -
Does anyone use a triple sat dish for tailgating purposes, and if so, how are is the alignment in the field?

Whew!

Jesse

Depends on where you are in Lee's Summit and how good a TV tuner you have. I live in northern Lee's Summit in the Lakewood area and I got most of the channels using a indoor antenna (silver sensor) in the basement. My tuner is the Sony DHG-HDD250 HD-DVR.

However, I had problems with KMBC since it is VHF and my antenna does only UHF well. So, I upgraded to a small out door antenna (Winegard Sensar III - installed on the side of the house using satellite mounts). I get all the channels great now.

One of our friends who lives in southern Lee's Summit (near Langsford and Todd George) has a Samsung DLP RPTV and I lent him my silver sensor. His TV can pickup all the local channels great. He thanked me immensely and is going to buy one similar to that. He used to have one of those over the satellite dish antenna and it did not pickup anything.

Also, check http://www.antennaweb.org to check antenna type and orientation. Orientation makes a lot of difference.

So I got to thinking last Saturday watching College Football. I'm really happy that ABC has their primetime games in HD, as well as one of the afternoon games every week. Makes such a big difference.

However, since the afternoon coverage is regional, and only one game is in HD, often the game we get (usually Big 12) is not in HD. Would there be any reason we couldn't carry the HD game on 9-1, but still get the Big 12 game on the analog channel? I'm pretty sure KCTV did something similar to this during the NCAA Tournament in March.

TI, is there a way to make this happen, when applicable? I don't see how anybody loses here.

What would be really nice is if anyone in the country could see FSN HD.

What would be really nice is if anyone in the country could see FSN HD.
Plenty of people in the country can. Just not anyone in the KC area.

So I got to thinking last Saturday watching College Football. I'm really happy that ABC has their primetime games in HD, as well as one of the afternoon games every week. Makes such a big difference.

However, since the afternoon coverage is regional, and only one game is in HD, often the game we get (usually Big 12) is not in HD. Would there be any reason we couldn't carry the HD game on 9-1, but still get the Big 12 game on the analog channel? I'm pretty sure KCTV did something similar to this during the NCAA Tournament in March.

TI, is there a way to make this happen, when applicable? I don't see how anybody loses here.

The FCC requires that we simulcast our analog channel. If we had a second encoder we could put up multiple channels on our DTV stream which of course, would be okay with the FCC......TI

TI,

Nuts. I was afraid it had something to do with that. Thanks for the response!

The FCC requires that we simulcast our analog channel. If we had a second encoder we could put up multiple channels on our DTV stream which of course, would be okay with the FCC......TI


So, how did CBS get away with doing different games during the NCAA tourney?

Anyone heard anything more about KSHB's equipment upgrade to offer syndicated programming in HD? I keep recording Jeopardy thinking one of these days it will be in HD, but so far no dice. Considering KSHB thought they would have it up and running almost a month ago I assume something's gone horribly wrong.

So, how did CBS get away with doing different games during the NCAA tourney?


KCTV5 5.1 (DT-24) used multicasting (5.2 and 5.3) during the NCAA tourney. :( Multicasting destroys the main HD feed (5.1) picture quality.

On Fox4 news this morning they said they're gonna have a "sun outage" for an hour during the packers game. They said the HD will go down for an hour...what's a "sun outage"?

On Fox4 news this morning they said they're gonna have a "sun outage" for an hour during the packers game. They said the HD will go down for an hour...what's a "sun outage"?

Here is some information on a "sun outage". http://www.panamsat.com/global_network/solar_activity.asp

Sunday Oct 8th - 9:30 PM - KCTV-DT is not showing Without a Trace in HD. I called and was told they have an issue and are working on it. Hopefully it will be fixed by tomorrow!!

I believe that if the games (football) go over the 6 PM hour, they do not feed the rest of the night in HD. I may be wrong, but I am pretty sure I read that in the past. It was not HD in Topeka either.

Regarding FSN HD:

Plenty of people in the country can. Just not anyone in the KC area.

DirecTV subs can get FSN HD games on the HD special channel #95. At least, that's how I watched MU-Ole Miss and KSU-L'ville in HD. MPEG-4 equipment not required. If they ever get all RSN's in HD, then the games will probably no longer air on 95 and you will need the MPEG-4 equip, but that won't be this season.

KCTV5 5.1 (DT-24) used multicasting (5.2 and 5.3) during the NCAA tourney. :( Multicasting destroys the main HD feed (5.1) picture quality.

I'm not trying to pick a fight, but I still don't understand how KCTV5 wasn't required to do simulcasting. Yet, it was stated it is a requirement per the FCC. Did they break the FCC rules in March?

If I recall correctly during the NCAA tourney KCTV5.1 (DT-24) had a different game than their NTSC feed. I also do not believe the game on 5.2 was the same as their NTSC, and I don't think there even was a 5.3.

This post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7302973&&#post7302973) seems to agree with my recollection.

kurhurdler,

You might be right. But let's not tell on them. ;) I think KCTV has handled the NCAA tournament great the past few years!!

On Fox4 news this morning they said they're gonna have a "sun outage" for an hour during the packers game. They said the HD will go down for an hour...what's a "sun outage"?
I've been doing satellite TV for 20+ years and regular as clockwork the sun will be "eclipsed" by a satellite. The sun is way bigger than the satellite, so it wins. The net result is the receiving dish is looking directly into the sun, therefore no TV signal. WDAF may be refereing to a one hour window in which the outage will occur. But the outage itself will last only about 3 to 5 minuets, that is unless the sun stands still, but most networks will provide an alternate path to switch to during the outage. I cannot believe Fox would not have such an arrangement.

[QUOTE=kurhurdler]I'm not trying to pick a fight, but I still don't understand how KCTV5 wasn't required to do simulcasting. Yet, it was stated it is a requirement per the FCC. Did they break the FCC rules in March?

If I recall correctly during the NCAA tourney KCTV5.1 (DT-24) had a different game than their NTSC feed. I also do not believe the game on 5.2 was the same as their NTSC, and I don't think there even was a 5.3.

No rules broken and here is why:
The FCC requires 50% of the broadcast schedule to be simulcast on both DTV and analog. That leaves the station with plenty of lattitude to program different material on a DTV channel VS. an analog channel. Channel 9 knows this, since they started out running the DTV only from noon to midnight since that satisfied the 50% rule.

[QUOTE=kurhurdler]I'm not trying to pick a fight, but I still don't understand how KCTV5 wasn't required to do simulcasting. Yet, it was stated it is a requirement per the FCC. Did they break the FCC rules in March?

If I recall correctly during the NCAA tourney KCTV5.1 (DT-24) had a different game than their NTSC feed. I also do not believe the game on 5.2 was the same as their NTSC, and I don't think there even was a 5.3.

No rules broken and here is why:
The FCC requires 50% of the broadcast schedule to be simulcast on both DTV and analog. That leaves the station with plenty of lattitude to program different material on a DTV channel VS. an analog channel. Channel 9 knows this, since they started out running the DTV only from noon to midnight since that satisfied the 50% rule.

Sorry guys. From the FCC’s 5th report and order page 51: "Commencing on April 1, 2005, DTV licensees and permittees must simulcast 100% of the video programming of the analog channel on the DTV channel. "......TI

[QUOTE=tvoldtimer]

Sorry guys. From the FCC’s 5th report and order page 51: "Commencing on April 1, 2005, DTV licensees and permittees must simulcast 100% of the video programming of the analog channel on the DTV channel. "......TI

From paragraph 131 of the FCC Second Periodic Review released September 7,2004:

131. Accordingly, we will eliminate, for the time being, the requirement that broadcasters air on their digital channel the programming aired on their analog channel. We expect broadcasters to use this increased flexibility to provide innovative, value-added programming to consumers; if this expectation proves misplaced, we will take appropriate action. However, as we continue to monitor the progress of the transition in future DTV periodic reviews, we will continue to consider whether re-imposition of a simulcasting requirement is advisable. Our concern is to ensure that, as the end of the transition nears, significant numbers of viewers will not be denied access to desirable programming aired only on analog channels. We believe that eliminating rather than reducing the simulcasting requirement is appropriate at this point in the transition. There is no evidence of the need for any simulcasting requirement at this time. While we recognize that, as NCTA argues, viewers could lose access to programs at the end of the transition if programs available on analog channels are not available on digital channels, we believe we can address this concern if the need arises closer to the end of the transition. Because we are eliminating the simulcasting requirement, we do not address herein the issue of how to define simulcasting in the context of the digital transition.

But the closed captioning requirements are the problem, most likely because there are no embedded EIA-708 captions in the HD stream from ABC.

I noticed tonight that Wheel of Fortune on 41 was in HD!!! Way to go KSHB.

Yep Jeopardy was as well--looked great. Thanks KSHB.

Hello there,

I'm not sure if this is in the right thread, if not, please feel free to split my post into a new topic.

Here's my question...

Yesterday I had my HDTV programming installed by DISH Network. It's great. I get most of my locals in HD, plus all the HD channels. I love it.

The only thing... DISH Network doesn't offer the CW Network (KCWE 29 in Kansas City) in high definition. The CW is actually the network I watch a lot of the time, and I would like to be able to see Smallville in high-def.

I live in Knob Noster, MO, probabaly about 50-60 or so miles East/Southeast of Kansas City. Is there ANY hope that I can get KCWE-DT's HD feed over the air? DISH Network doesn't offer it, so this is probabaly my only hope. I tried a set-top antenna from Radio Shack that was supposed to pick up HD networks from even "far away" it said, but I couldn't even pick up my local PBS HD feed out of Warrensburg, which is about 12 miles from me!

Please help me. What can I do?

Thanks a lot.

Hello there,

I'm not sure if this is in the right thread, if not, please feel free to split my post into a new topic.

Here's my question...

Yesterday I had my HDTV programming installed by DISH Network. It's great. I get most of my locals in HD, plus all the HD channels. I love it.

The only thing... DISH Network doesn't offer the CW Network (KCWE 29 in Kansas City) in high definition. The CW is actually the network I watch a lot of the time, and I would like to be able to see Smallville in high-def.

I live in Knob Noster, MO, probabaly about 50-60 or so miles East/Southeast of Kansas City. Is there ANY hope that I can get KCWE-DT's HD feed over the air? DISH Network doesn't offer it, so this is probabaly my only hope. I tried a set-top antenna from Radio Shack that was supposed to pick up HD networks from even "far away" it said, but I couldn't even pick up my local PBS HD feed out of Warrensburg, which is about 12 miles from me!

Please help me. What can I do?

Thanks a lot.

I've had Dish since August and I don't think there are any plans for Dish to carry any of the CW HD networks. I could be wrong, but right now they are just rolling out the big 4, ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox. Now I live about 20 miles away from most of the towers and pull in all of the local's in HD. I realize you are pretty far away but an outdoor roof mounted antenna might work. Is the Radio Shack antenna the silver sensor? I tried one like it and could pull in a few stations. I thought for $49 for this silver sensor with amp it should work well, but it wasn't very good. I then bought a $12 RCA antenna from Target with a adjustment dial and that worked way better than the silver sensor. Well I decided to return the $50 antenna and stick with the $12 one.

Hello there,

I'm not sure if this is in the right thread, if not, please feel free to split my post into a new topic.

Here's my question...

Yesterday I had my HDTV programming installed by DISH Network. It's great. I get most of my locals in HD, plus all the HD channels. I love it.

The only thing... DISH Network doesn't offer the CW Network (KCWE 29 in Kansas City) in high definition. The CW is actually the network I watch a lot of the time, and I would like to be able to see Smallville in high-def.

I live in Knob Noster, MO, probabaly about 50-60 or so miles East/Southeast of Kansas City. Is there ANY hope that I can get KCWE-DT's HD feed over the air? DISH Network doesn't offer it, so this is probabaly my only hope. I tried a set-top antenna from Radio Shack that was supposed to pick up HD networks from even "far away" it said, but I couldn't even pick up my local PBS HD feed out of Warrensburg, which is about 12 miles from me!

Please help me. What can I do?

Thanks a lot.

No indoor antenna has any chance of getting a signal that far away. Hope you got your money back!

Whether you will have success getting KCWE depends on a couple of things:

1. What the terrain is like in your area (lots of hills, trees, tall buildings, and other obstructions). If you were to stand on your roof and look northwest could you "see" KC (I don't mean that literally), or are there a ton of tall objects in your way?

2. Can you (or are you willing to) mount a large antenna on your roof and run cabling to your TV/satellite box?

If you have a pretty clear shot to the northwest and are ready for a large outdoor antenna then you've got a decent chance of pulling in KCWE (and maybe other KC HD stations).

Using the basic lat/lon data for your city (38.7° N -93.6° W) I pulled up the following info for you on KCWE (from http://www.2150.com/broadcast):

295.2° 55.93 mi 1000 kW 1089 ft

The second number is the distance from your city to KCWE's tower. 56 miles is a lot of distance for a TV sigal to travel, but is not insurmountable so long as you get a good antenna and preamp and don't have too many obstacles in the way.

The first number (295.2°) is the direction (like on a compass) that the tower is from your location. When buying an antenna for this kind of distance you will always be looking for a very directional antenna--meaning that you will need to point the antenna within a few degrees of this number in order to pull in the station's signal.

The third number is the transmitting power of the station--1000kW is high power, so that will help you greatly in trying to get a consistently good lock on the station.

The last number is the HAAT (antenna Height Above Average Terrain), which is a calculated value indicating that KCWE's tower is over 1000 ft. above the average terrain within a 10 mile radius. Basically, that's a good (if normal number).

So you need an antenna that will get you channel 31 (which is KCWE's digital channel assignment) from 56 miles away. 31 is UHF so a VHF or combo antenna isn't necessary in your case.

So then the best antenna to try to pick up that channel is the Channel Master 4228 (http://www.channelmaster.com/pages/TVS/UHFAnts.htm). If you search these forums (or google) for that antenna model you will find thousands upon thousands of posts about it--it's very popular, and for good reason. It's about the best UHF-only antenna available, and it's fairly inexpensive.

The downsides are that it is quite large (about 3 feet wide and tall), heavy (15 lbs.) and has a high wind load due to its shape. Therefore you will need to find a good sturdy mount and stable location on your roof for it.

The other downside is that it does not disassemble at all, so shipping costs are high and if you intend to try it in your attic instead of on the roof (which I don't recommend anyway due to your distance from the transmitter) you'll find it may not fit through your attic hatch.

But at about $60 shipped (maybe cheaper if you can find it locally) it is a heck of an antenna, and has a well-deserved good reputation. It is rated at 60 miles (under ideal conditions). I myself use one to pull in KC stations from Lawrence, KS (about 40 miles due west). I have a lot of obstructions in the way, and the 4228 pulls in those stations easily (with the aid of a pre-amp). There are plenty of other antennas from which to choose, but the 4228 is the best for most people in the fringe.

I would also suggest a pre-amp in your case. This will cost an additional $60 or so, but will greatly aid the antenna's ability to get a usable signal from that distance. Again, I recommend Channel Master--their Titan series of preamps (http://www.channelmaster.com/pages/TVS/TitanAmp.htm) are the best bang for the buck, and you will find a lot of glowing reviews here on the forums. For your purposes the model 7775 would be perfect, as it is UHF only. If you want to spend a bit more to have the option of amplifying VHF as well you can get model 7777 (which is what I have). They come in two parts--the amplifier itself mounts on the antenna mast and there's also a power supply that you locate inside near your TV--the two parts are connected by an ordinary coax cable.

So to summarize:

As long as you don't have too many signal-blocking objects in the way of your line-of-sight to KC then you should definitely be able to pull in KCWE with the aid of a high-gain large directional UHF antenna (Channel Master 4228) and UHF pre-amp (Channel Master 7775). You will also need a mast (available at Lowes or Home Depot among other places) a mount for your roof (chimney, tripod, eave, etc.) and a length of RG-6 coaxial cable running from the mount location to your HD tuner (I assume your DISH set-top box).

It all depends on how badly you want your Smallville in 1080i. If you DIY it should cost you about $150 and a weekend of your time. If you don't want to hassle with it yourself, you can most likely find a pro installer in your yellow pages--this will cost more but the pros really know what they're doing and will make sure you get the best results you can get from your location.

Good places to shop for this stuff (in no particular order):

http://www.warrenelectronics.com
http://www.solidsignal.com
http://www.starkelectronic.com/

You can also find some Channel Master stuff at Lowe's (but they don't carry the 4228 nor the Titan preamp).

Good luck to ya.

[QUOTE=technicalitalian]

From paragraph 131 of the FCC Second Periodic Review released September 7,2004:

131. Accordingly, we will eliminate, for the time being, the requirement that broadcasters air on their digital channel the programming aired on their analog channel. We expect broadcasters to use this increased flexibility to provide innovative, value-added programming to consumers; if this expectation proves misplaced, we will take appropriate action. However, as we continue to monitor the progress of the transition in future DTV periodic reviews, we will continue to consider whether re-imposition of a simulcasting requirement is advisable. Our concern is to ensure that, as the end of the transition nears, significant numbers of viewers will not be denied access to desirable programming aired only on analog channels. We believe that eliminating rather than reducing the simulcasting requirement is appropriate at this point in the transition. There is no evidence of the need for any simulcasting requirement at this time. While we recognize that, as NCTA argues, viewers could lose access to programs at the end of the transition if programs available on analog channels are not available on digital channels, we believe we can address this concern if the need arises closer to the end of the transition. Because we are eliminating the simulcasting requirement, we do not address herein the issue of how to define simulcasting in the context of the digital transition.

But the closed captioning requirements are the problem, most likely because there are no embedded EIA-708 captions in the HD stream from ABC.


I stand corrected.......TI

luv2chill is right on. I am 60 miles west of most of the KC xmitters, and I get all of the stations, some better than others. 29-1 comes in most of the time (>90%). My antenna: CM 4228 with 7777 preamp, mounted just above gutter level.

On Thursday night "Ugly Betty" will not be shown at 7PM because of a debate. I see on the guide that it will be shown at 11PM instead.

Will it be in HD? Is the network going to refeed it in HD for KC, St. Louis, and other MO stations covering the debate?

TI, please, please, work your wonderful magic.

No indoor antenna has any chance of getting a signal that far away. Hope you got your money back!

Whether you will have success getting KCWE depends on a couple of things:

1. What the terrain is like in your area (lots of hills, trees, tall buildings, and other obstructions). If you were to stand on your roof and look northwest could you "see" KC (I don't mean that literally), or are there a ton of tall objects in your way?

2. Can you (or are you willing to) mount a large antenna on your roof and run cabling to your TV/satellite box?

If you have a pretty clear shot to the northwest and are ready for a large outdoor antenna then you've got a decent chance of pulling in KCWE (and maybe other KC HD stations).

Using the basic lat/lon data for your city (38.7° N -93.6° W) I pulled up the following info for you on KCWE (from http://www.2150.com/broadcast):

295.2° 55.93 mi 1000 kW 1089 ft

The second number is the distance from your city to KCWE's tower. 56 miles is a lot of distance for a TV sigal to travel, but is not insurmountable so long as you get a good antenna and preamp and don't have too many obstacles in the way.

The first number (295.2°) is the direction (like on a compass) that the tower is from your location. When buying an antenna for this kind of distance you will always be looking for a very directional antenna--meaning that you will need to point the antenna within a few degrees of this number in order to pull in the station's signal.

The third number is the transmitting power of the station--1000kW is high power, so that will help you greatly in trying to get a consistently good lock on the station.

The last number is the HAAT (antenna Height Above Average Terrain), which is a calculated value indicating that KCWE's tower is over 1000 ft. above the average terrain within a 10 mile radius. Basically, that's a good (if normal number).

So you need an antenna that will get you channel 31 (which is KCWE's digital channel assignment) from 56 miles away. 31 is UHF so a VHF or combo antenna isn't necessary in your case.

So then the best antenna to try to pick up that channel is the Channel Master 4228 (http://www.channelmaster.com/pages/TVS/UHFAnts.htm). If you search these forums (or google) for that antenna model you will find thousands upon thousands of posts about it--it's very popular, and for good reason. It's about the best UHF-only antenna available, and it's fairly inexpensive.

The downsides are that it is quite large (about 3 feet wide and tall), heavy (15 lbs.) and has a high wind load due to its shape. Therefore you will need to find a good sturdy mount and stable location on your roof for it.

The other downside is that it does not disassemble at all, so shipping costs are high and if you intend to try it in your attic instead of on the roof (which I don't recommend anyway due to your distance from the transmitter) you'll find it may not fit through your attic hatch.

But at about $60 shipped (maybe cheaper if you can find it locally) it is a heck of an antenna, and has a well-deserved good reputation. It is rated at 60 miles (under ideal conditions). I myself use one to pull in KC stations from Lawrence, KS (about 40 miles due west). I have a lot of obstructions in the way, and the 4228 pulls in those stations easily (with the aid of a pre-amp). There are plenty of other antennas from which to choose, but the 4228 is the best for most people in the fringe.

I would also suggest a pre-amp in your case. This will cost an additional $60 or so, but will greatly aid the antenna's ability to get a usable signal from that distance. Again, I recommend Channel Master--their Titan series of preamps (http://www.channelmaster.com/pages/TVS/TitanAmp.htm) are the best bang for the buck, and you will find a lot of glowing reviews here on the forums. For your purposes the model 7775 would be perfect, as it is UHF only. If you want to spend a bit more to have the option of amplifying VHF as well you can get model 7777 (which is what I have). They come in two parts--the amplifier itself mounts on the antenna mast and there's also a power supply that you locate inside near your TV--the two parts are connected by an ordinary coax cable.

So to summarize:

As long as you don't have too many signal-blocking objects in the way of your line-of-sight to KC then you should definitely be able to pull in KCWE with the aid of a high-gain large directional UHF antenna (Channel Master 4228) and UHF pre-amp (Channel Master 7775). You will also need a mast (available at Lowes or Home Depot among other places) a mount for your roof (chimney, tripod, eave, etc.) and a length of RG-6 coaxial cable running from the mount location to your HD tuner (I assume your DISH set-top box).

It all depends on how badly you want your Smallville in 1080i. If you DIY it should cost you about $150 and a weekend of your time. If you don't want to hassle with it yourself, you can most likely find a pro installer in your yellow pages--this will cost more but the pros really know what they're doing and will make sure you get the best results you can get from your location.

Good places to shop for this stuff (in no particular order):

http://www.warrenelectronics.com
http://www.solidsignal.com
http://www.starkelectronic.com/

You can also find some Channel Master stuff at Lowe's (but they don't carry the 4228 nor the Titan preamp).

Good luck to ya.
Thanks for all the info. I went ahead and ordered the items you suggested, last Friday. According to the UPS tracking numbers, they're supposed to be here on Thursday.

I went ahead and got the Channel Master 4228 antenna, and the Channel Master 7777 preamp.

When I get everything, I'll install it and let everyone know how it goes. I hope this works.

-Shane

On Thursday night "Ugly Betty" will not be shown at 7PM because of a debate. I see on the guide that it will be shown at 11PM instead.

Will it be in HD? Is the network going to refeed it in HD for KC, St. Louis, and other MO stations covering the debate?

TI, please, please, work your wonderful magic.


Sorry, no magic in the hat this time. We do not have HD record capability. Regarding the ABC refeed, I kinda doubt it as this falls under a local stations pre-emption rules.....TI

I just noticed sometime last week that I'm not getting Channel 9 in HD off the air.


I think it was ok just prior to that. I checked last night and still zip. Did they move their transmitter or change power or something?

I haven't had any issues with them in the 3 plus years I've had HD, that I can remember. This just seems ODD! I tried re-adding them and my tuner can't find a signal...

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Sorry, no magic in the hat this time. We do not have HD record capability. Regarding the ABC refeed, I kinda doubt it as this falls under a local stations pre-emption rules.....TI

I have no experience in broadcasting. So, please forgive me if my question is lame.

Why is it so hard for a local station to timeshift an HD show. My Sony HD-DVR has been doing that for over a year. If I can do it at home at original quality, why is it harded for TV stations. I love the fact that we get HD live network. I don't like the fact all rebroadcasts are SD.

I have no experience in broadcasting. So, please forgive me if my question is lame.

Why is it so hard for a local station to timeshift an HD show. My Sony HD-DVR has been doing that for over a year. If I can do it at home at original quality, why is it harded for TV stations. I love the fact that we get HD live network. I don't like the fact all rebroadcasts are SD.


You record the COMPRESSED 19.34 megabit/second transmitted signal. He needs to route, record, and play a 1.485 gigabit/second UNCOMPRESSED signal.

There are no cheap HD recorders/players relatively that handle the uncompressed stream.

The SD world is still paying the bills.

I have no experience in broadcasting. So, please forgive me if my question is lame.

Why is it so hard for a local station to timeshift an HD show. My Sony HD-DVR has been doing that for over a year. If I can do it at home at original quality, why is it harded for TV stations. I love the fact that we get HD live network. I don't like the fact all rebroadcasts are SD.


There are many reasons for the "difficulty". A consumer grade HD-DVR does not have the control system, redundancy or the necessary I/O for broadcast use. The servers that do cost approximately $50k when equipped with appropriate storage hours. It's hard to justify that type of expense for such infrequent use......TI

You record the COMPRESSED 19.34 megabit/second transmitted signal. He needs to route, record, and play a 1.485 gigabit/second UNCOMPRESSED signal.

There are no cheap HD recorders/players relatively that handle the uncompressed stream.

The SD world is still paying the bills.

This is probably the best answer for this frequent question. A couple years ago, I always wondered why the Local affiliate couldn't just use a simple HD DVR, and the answer always was they didn't have the correct equipment to rebroadcast the signal in HD. I accepted that answer but this answer makes a lot more sense. Basically they need a server that has HUGE storage space. WOW!!!!

Although I have noticed that KSHB now is showing Jeopardy and Wheel Of Fortune in HD. Does that mean they just purchased such a server? I assume they record the syndicated shows early in the day and then replay it at 4:30 pm and 6:30 pm. Or does the distributor re-air them several times a day so many affiliates can pick up the HD signal?

This is probably the best answer for this frequent question. A couple years ago, I always wondered why the Local affiliate couldn't just use a simple HD DVR, and the answer always was they didn't have the correct equipment to rebroadcast the signal in HD. I accepted that answer but this answer makes a lot more sense. Basically they need a server that has HUGE storage space. WOW!!!!

Although I have noticed that KSHB now is showing Jeopardy and Wheel Of Fortune in HD. Does that mean they just purchased such a server? I assume they record the syndicated shows early in the day and then replay it at 4:30 pm and 6:30 pm. Or does the distributor re-air them several times a day so many affiliates can pick up the HD signal?

Are you sure Jeopardy is in HD? I recorded yesterday's show with my HD-DVR and it showed it pillar boxed and did not look HD.

You record the COMPRESSED 19.34 megabit/second transmitted signal. He needs to route, record, and play a 1.485 gigabit/second UNCOMPRESSED signal.

There are no cheap HD recorders/players relatively that handle the uncompressed stream.

The SD world is still paying the bills.

Why can't the compressed signal be used. We are not doing any decompressing/compressing again so that quality will be that of the original. I would assume that inserting commercials etc would be a pain, but I thought that the system just pauses and lets another system handle the commercials. I assume the professional grade will cost a few thousand bucks, but still, I thought that was doable as part of normal infrastructure.

I don't understand the need for uncompressed stream though. Nobody saves the uncompressed stream.

Are you sure Jeopardy is in HD? I recorded yesterday's show with my HD-DVR and it showed it pillar boxed and did not look HD.

I recorded Friday's show and it was in HD. I also saw Tuesday's Wheel of Forturne and it too was HD. I don't know about last nights, since I didn't see it.

I just noticed sometime last week that I'm not getting Channel 9 in HD off the air.


I think it was ok just prior to that. I checked last night and still zip. Did they move their transmitter or change power or something?

I haven't had any issues with them in the 3 plus years I've had HD, that I can remember. This just seems ODD! I tried re-adding them and my tuner can't find a signal...

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

I have wondered that as well. For the past year, channel 9 was always 92%+ channel for me, now I am lucky to get a signal in the 50's. Half the shows I tried to record from 9 were partial recording with breakups. The past 2 or 3 weeks have not been good from 9. Anyone else had issues?

Thanks for all the info. I went ahead and ordered the items you suggested, last Friday. According to the UPS tracking numbers, they're supposed to be here on Thursday.

I went ahead and got the Channel Master 4228 antenna, and the Channel Master 7777 preamp.

When I get everything, I'll install it and let everyone know how it goes. I hope this works.

-Shane
Okay, as promised, I would report back and let you all know how the antenna worked for me.

Yay!! It works great! As you remember, I was close to 60 miles Southeast of Kansas City. I installed the antenna and preamp myself, and I'm able to pick up 25 over-the-air channels! The main channel I cared about, KCWE-DT, averages about 80 on the signal meter. :)

Thanks for the help! :cool:

-Shane

There are many reasons for the "difficulty". A consumer grade HD-DVR does not have the control system, redundancy or the necessary I/O for broadcast use. The servers that do cost approximately $50k when equipped with appropriate storage hours. It's hard to justify that type of expense for such infrequent use......TI

I'm not trying to bash KMBC or TI but I must say that not only was Ugly Betty not in HD (as expected), but it wasn't even broadcast quality SD. It looked like it was a VHS recording. There was chroma shift and analog noise galore.

TI, when shows such as Nightline, Jimmy Kimmel, Oprah, and Dr. Phil go HD will the cost of an HD storage server be justifiable to Hearst-Argyle then? Is that what it's going to take?

Again, I'm not trying to be harsh, I just want an honest discussion. It is wonderful that you are here participating with us.

Okay, as promised, I would report back and let you all know how the antenna worked for me.

Yay!! It works great! As you remember, I was close to 60 miles Southeast of Kansas City. I installed the antenna and preamp myself, and I'm able to pick up 25 over-the-air channels! The main channel I cared about, KCWE-DT, averages about 80 on the signal meter. :)

Thanks for the help! :cool:

-Shane

Great to hear, Shane. How was Smallville tonight? Better than it was last week, I bet :)

With heavy rain or snow around you may have some dropouts, but overall it looks like you've got plenty of signal for reliable reception.

Are you picking up KMBC 9.1 (which is on VHF 7) by chance? I'm curious because the CM 4228 actually has a fair amount of gain for upper VHF channels, coupled with the extra amplification of the CM 7777. Their antenna only puts out 85kW though, which may not be enough for your distance.

Anyway, thanks for reporting back. Glad you met with success.

I have wondered that as well. For the past year, channel 9 was always 92%+ channel for me, now I am lucky to get a signal in the 50's. Half the shows I tried to record from 9 were partial recording with breakups. The past 2 or 3 weeks have not been good from 9. Anyone else had issues?

I emailed back and forth a bit over the last couple of days with the chief engineer at 9. He says all is the same with them and suggested I try to rescan for it, or in my case, since I'm so close, maybe take the amp out from the antenna feed.

I'm going to rescan right now. He also suggested I try to rescan ALL the channels not just that ONE specificially....

Here goes. I'll be right back.

I tried both ways of scanning and tried with and without amp. Zip.

Thoughts?

Great to hear, Shane. How was Smallville tonight? Better than it was last week, I bet :)

With heavy rain or snow around you may have some dropouts, but overall it looks like you've got plenty of signal for reliable reception.

Are you picking up KMBC 9.1 (which is on VHF 7) by chance? I'm curious because the CM 4228 actually has a fair amount of gain for upper VHF channels, coupled with the extra amplification of the CM 7777. Their antenna only puts out 85kW though, which may not be enough for your distance.

Anyway, thanks for reporting back. Glad you met with success.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get it installed before Smallville's airing last night. So, I'll have to wait till next week on that. :(

But as for your question, no. I don't seem to be able to pick up KMBC over the air, for some reason. Though that's not "highly" important for me, as DISH Network broadcast's ABC as one of the HD local feeds they carry.

Isn't this UT vs. Nubb game supposed to be in HD?

Ah...they just fixed it!

Isn't this UT vs. Nubb game supposed to be in HD?

Ah...they just fixed it!

are you watching this over the air or via cable or satellite?

I'm still unable to pull in kmbc.....digitally or analog via my Sony Sat HD 200 receiver. Pissing me off. All the other channels come in loud and clear, with and without my antenna's amplifier.....

Crazy.

are you watching this over the air or via cable or satellite?

I'm still unable to pull in kmbc.....digitally or analog via my Sony Sat HD 200 receiver. Pissing me off. All the other channels come in loud and clear, with and without my antenna's amplifier.....

Crazy.
Can you get analog 4 or analog 5?

I'm wondering if maybe the VHF section of your tuner went bad but the UHF section is still working.

Sure woulda been nice to see the Chiefs game in HD today... CBS

Sure would. Maybe next year they will have made the transition so that all games are in HD.

From what I have read, CBS now show 3 NFL games on Sunday, and then next year it will be 4, then 5 the next.

Can you get analog 4 or analog 5?

I'm wondering if maybe the VHF section of your tuner went bad but the UHF section is still working.

Thanks HDTimmy.

It looks like I WAS able to grab both 4 & 5 both analog and digital. Just no 9....either HD or Analog.....well I guess analog, but it's probably the worst signal I've ever seen.

I hooked it up directly to my little Sony TV and the analog came in perfect. I have no other way of checking the digi signal....

Very frustrating though, as you can imagine.

Bruce

Thanks HDTimmy.

It looks like I WAS able to grab both 4 & 5 both analog and digital. Just no 9....either HD or Analog.....well I guess analog, but it's probably the worst signal I've ever seen.

I hooked it up directly to my little Sony TV and the analog came in perfect. I have no other way of checking the digi signal....

Very frustrating though, as you can imagine.

Bruce

I can get 9-1 (Channel 7) KMBC-DT fine with my Sony HD-DVR as well as my eyeTV-Hybrid USB HD-tuner connected to my PowerMac G4.

I live in Lee's Summit (zip 64064) and can get it using a cheap indoor rabbit ear connected to my eyeTV Hybrid and using an outdoor Winegard Sensar III connected to the Sony HD-DVR.

I have this feeling, that it's my receiver. Fortunately I have a 5 year warranty. I'll call my "friends" at Circuit City and see if they'll replace it.

I live up north. Zip 64118. All has been extremely well with my locals OTA since Norm from Antenna Masters re-aimed the antenna after 41 moved. Until NOW!

Thanks .

I have this feeling, that it's my receiver. Fortunately I have a 5 year warranty. I'll call my "friends" at Circuit City and see if they'll replace it.

I live up north. Zip 64118. All has been extremely well with my locals OTA since Norm from Antenna Masters re-aimed the antenna after 41 moved. Until NOW!

Thanks .

Now ESPN HD is grabbing and pixelating......

Sheesh.

Anyone else have that issue? Actually it cleared up in the second half.

Just for the record, my issue was with satellite...

I haven't checked OTA lately....

This may be a dumb question as it could just be my cable box acting up again but has anyone else with Comcast HD been having issues with the box being sluggish? Like the guide taking longer to change pages or the channel preview in the corner freezing when changing guide pages? Or fast motion being far more pixellated than normal?

Just curious

GVB

just wondering if any twc customers has the cinemax hd channel I noticed in the paper in the tv guide section that there was a ad for twc and it said that cinemax hd channel was now available on channel 1720, I checked and I don't have it, I live in lexena.

I guess my issues with channel 9 were with my antenna. When I couldn't pick up the MU/OU game (not that I enjoyed it much) it wouldn't come in. Switched to my alt antenna, which really has VHF, and my signal jumped right back up to 90's. I don't know what's changed, I have a DB2 mounted above my dish outside and it had picked up 9 no problem for over a year. I think I will just get a vhf/uhf combiner and 9 can have it's own antenna.

Is anybody else having signal problems with KCWE-DT (The CW Kansas City) or any other local HD networks today?

My signal strength for KCWE-DT has dropped drastically. I normally get an average of 75-80 signal strength, whereas today I'm getting about 50, or a signal low enough that the channel complete drops out and loses the lock-on of the signal.

Is it just me, or is it on KCWE's end?

Thanks,

-Shane

I have noticed that the Comcast DVR an be sluggish at times. Sometimes you think you didn't hit it right and try again which may get things out of synch or you wind up doing something you didn't intend to do.

I finally got moved to Lees Summit and for the time being I am using my PIII directv dish (used only for tailgating until now) until the Directv installer comes to put up the AT9 dish.

I do have a question regarding my OTA antenna. When the installer comes....how will he wire that into house system, or will he? I would like it to be mounted on the AT9 mast and then wired to the entire house....but I am not sure how that all works. I know that the AT9 still won't give me all of the local channels, just the big 4, but are there any other benefits to the AT9?

I would like to hear what others have done in this "upgrade" situation.

I am anxious to compare the quality of the OTA signal with the directv broadcast of the same programming.

Thanks

Jesse