Would anyone know what the current physical and sub-channel numbers for KCAL HD are?

KCAL HD used to be at 131-709 but has apparently moved within the last few months (I don't use a cable box so have no access to mapped channels). I know I could rescan but would prefer not to do that. Thanks.

would anyone know what the current physical and sub-channel numbers for kcal hd are?

Kcal hd used to be at 131-709 but has apparently moved within the last few months (i don't use a cable box so have no access to mapped channels). I know i could rescan but would prefer not to do that. Thanks.
100-709

Thanks!

Sprout channel 105 to the Digital View tier
b. Disney Channel HD to 758 on Expanded Basic (HD Only)
c. Comedy Central HD to channel 764 on Expanded Basic (HD Only)
d. Syfy HD to channel 755 on Expanded Basic (HD Only)

The channels above launched today. (on time)

Does anyone know why NCIS is not in HD when viewed OTA on KCOY? Other shows are in HD on KCOY OTA. Even many of the commercials during NCIS are in HD. When this first started (October?), I noticed that the prominent "HD" symbol near the CBS logo eye was no longer present.

My program stream information during NCIS indicates a 1920x1080 signal at 14.7 to about 16 Mbps, so it is fully capable of being HD, but the program video quality is clearly not HD.

Thanks!

Does anyone know why NCIS is not in HD when viewed OTA on KCOY? Other shows are in HD on KCOY OTA. Even many of the commercials during NCIS are in HD. When this first started (October?), I noticed that the prominent "HD" symbol near the CBS logo eye was no longer present.

My program stream information during NCIS indicates a 1920x1080 signal at 14.7 to about 16 Mbps, so it is fully capable of being HD, but the program video quality is clearly not HD.

Thanks!

It sounds like they do not have an HD feed of that show from CBS.

Why not go tothe KCOY web site, find the email and ask them ?

Do you have an email address for the appropriate contact there? I searched their website and could not find email contact information.

Do you have an email address for the appropriate contact there? I searched their website and could not find email contact information.

Find the page entitled "Contact Us" and then in tiny print there is a link called something like "Department Email Addresses".

Just use the closest match and they will likely just forward it to the appropriate person.

Thanks A_Dude! I had previously checked that webpage but did not see the department email link because it doesn't look like a link on my iPad.

Looks like the management that controls KCOY/KKFX are doing a bit of saber rattling about their retransmission agreement with DirectTV.
http://www.kcoy.com/Global/category.asp?C=202618

Finally found out via my online statement that the new PBS channel is going to be KQED out of San Francisco and charter is going to put that on channel 8. I'm greatly surprised and happy with the choice. I grew up with KQED and it's a very good station. Now, if charter can start getting the bay area sports stations as well that will be greatly appreciated.

KQED is good news. Any word on an HD version?

KQED is good news. Any word on an HD version?

Not on my statement.

Finally found out via my online statement that the new PBS channel is going to be KQED out of San Francisco and charter is going to put that on channel 8. I'm greatly surprised and happy with the choice. I grew up with KQED and it's a very good station. Now, if charter can start getting the bay area sports stations as well that will be greatly appreciated.Wonder if COMCRAP will follow suit in SB County.

It looks like Palm Springs, Santa Maria, and Barstow may be without PBS come January 1. KOCE's website, as well as searches around the web, show that KOCE is not carried in those areas, and there seem to be no plans to add it. Why would any cable company deny their subscribers PBS? If my information is wrong, please correct me. I will still get PBS here in Bakersfield via KVPT Fresno, but I am curious as to what is happening in the rest of KCET's service area. Charter of San Luis Obispo county is getting KQED San Francisco, though likely SD only. Since getting my first HDTV in February 2007, PBS has been a mainstay of my HD viewing. I can't imagine being without it. Not even having PBS in SD would be worse still. Yet it looks like that is about to happen for many people in Southern California. Barstow is in the L.A. DMA, shouldn't KOCE have must carry status there? Or are they demanding retransmission consent payments?

From Charter Marketing Dept;
2. We ran a newspaper ad in November about KCET and recently submitted bill messages that are cycling on all bills that are a part of the San Luis Obispo lineup.
a. Starting 1/1/11, KCET will no longer be a PBS affiliate. On or after 12/30/10 KCET will be moved from its current channel of 8 on Basic to channel 309 on Basic with a Digital Box. We will drop carriage of KCET HD on channel 788 and add Vme which is a multicast of KCET to channel 312.

KCET and it's subchannel are now active on channel 309 and 312. I know this is a hd thread, however i think it's relevant since they are dropping channel 788 and channel 8 on jan 1st.

It looks like Palm Springs, Santa Maria, and Barstow may be without PBS come January 1. ...

KCET has only had a minimal presence in Palm Springs via one cable channel which they persuaded Time-Warner to carry if they had some local programming.

That local programing is long gone.

KCET Desert Cities is now a simulcast of KCET OC and carries various syndicated programs and not a lot from PBS.

There is only one program which is produced for OC viewers, "OC Insight". It did however carry PBS Newshour live at 3.30 each weekday.

Frankly, having worked in public broadcasting, I can tell you there was not a lot of love lost between KCET and other PBS affiliates.

The creation of KCET OC and KCET Desert Cities were aimed at the heart of KOCE and KVCR territory. Bolder still was their Bakersfield translator in direct competition with KVPT.

KCET was on cable in Bakersfield since at least 1974 (we first got cable that year, I was 5 years old). KVPT didn't even exist then. Until 1993 the only PBS here was KCET on cable. In 1993 both KCET and KVPT started translators here. KVPT was first carried on cable in October 1993. KCET had the superior dial position of channel 10; KVPT had channel 18 (in the 90s there were still a significant number of non-cable-ready tv sets in use). KCET had the advantage of having been available here longer and of being a higher budget station. Then in 2007 KVPT and not KCET got carried in HD on cable. Then in April 2008 KVPT started a digital translator; KCET remained in analog until March 2010. KCET is still not in HD on cable. KVPT has had the advantage for the last 4 years and on january 1 will be Bakersfield's exclusive PBS station.

KCET was on cable in Bakersfield since at least 1974 (we first got cable that year, I was 5 years old). KVPT didn't even exist then. Until 1993 the only PBS here was KCET on cable. In 1993 both KCET and KVPT started translators here. .....

Thanks for the history and clarification Desert Hawk. So maybe I am a bit hard on KCET, not quite as predatory as I inferred - at least in the Central Valley.

Just back from another trip to Bakersfield.

Folks I know located near Bakersfield College, one just east, the other just west, tend to watch KVPT OTA these days. Better signal than KCET - though neither of them is great.

The digital versions of the Basic and Expanded Basic analogs have been removed from the digital 300s range. Only 309 and 312 (KCET) remain.

KQED has appeared on channel 308. So, at least we have low def PBS.

KCET remains at 8,309 and 788.

OTA KCET changes:

16-02 is now KCET Kids & Family, essentially all the non-commercial kids programming not exclusively licensed to PBS, including a 3 hour block from Canada, and also a Henson show.

(This also replaces KCET-OC and KCET Desert Cities)

Of more interest to me:

16-04 is now MHz Worldview. Description:
MHz Worldview content is drawn from prominent broadcasters such as: Al Jazeera English, AFL, Asian News International, Beijing TV, Deutsche Welle, euronews, FCI, France 24, Israel Broadcasting Authority, MAC TV, NHK World TV and RT, as well as local and independent producers, global content providers and original MHz Networks productions. To find out more visit mhznetworks.org.

In Santa Barbara, COX swapped out KCET for KOCE on analog SD (I'm not sure about KOCE HD). KCET is still provided in both SD and HD, but only as a digital SD channel.

We will see how this plays out... but in the long run, if one has KOCE for PBS programs, and then has KCET with different non-commercial programming from around the world, including APT American public programming, then that would be better than just having two channels showing the same PBS shows.

KOCE HD is now on 710. KCET HD has been moved to 708. KCET subchannels are still at 103-105, and the SD downconvert of KCET 28.1 is now also in the 100 range. No sign yet COX has picked up the KOCE subchannels.

What is Comcast in Santa Maria doing? Is Santa Maria really without any PBS? What are Dish Network and DirecTV doing about PBS?

KOCE HD is now on 710. KCET HD has been moved to 708. KCET subchannels are still at 103-105, and the SD downconvert of KCET 28.1 is now also in the 100 range. No sign yet COX has picked up the KOCE subchannels.
AVS member without a cable box here again ...

Can you tell me what the unmapped channel for KOCE HD is? I'm still seeing KCET HD at 111-100. Thanks.

BTW, not too many folks move from Woodland Hills to SB unless perhaps they left Northrup/NOC? :)

AVS member without a cable box here again ...

Can you tell me what the unmapped channel for KOCE HD is? I'm still seeing KCET HD at 111-100. Thanks.

BTW, not too many folks move from Woodland Hills to SB unless perhaps they left Northrup/NOC? :)

I'm in NorCal this week and can't confirm, but HD Home Run says 44-7010 for KOCEDT and 44-1010 for KOCE SD.

Lay-off from the Tarzana Hospital. Luckily it happened a month before my apartment lease was up for renewal and a relative in SB offered to help me out in my moment of need.

I'm in NorCal this week and can't confirm, but HD Home Run says 44-7010 for KOCEDT and 44-1010 for KOCE SD.

Lay-off from the Tarzana Hospital. Luckily it happened a month before my apartment lease was up for renewal and a relative in SB offered to help me out in my moment of need.
Thanks, I found the search tool you mentioned here:

http://www.silicondust.com/support/channels/

Something seems a bit odd ... I just Googled and the ATSC standard allows up to 1024 sub-channels. So 44-7010 seems like it has an out-of-range sub-channel number?

Also, I don't think my TV (a 2010 Panasonic) will allow me to enter a 4-digit sub-channel number (only 3 digits). Will have to play around with this tonite.

Cable uses QAM, not ATSC.

- Trip

That's true, but according to Wikipedia, QAM uses the ATSC convention for numbering channels:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_cable_television_frequencies

Now that I think of it, 1024 is not the top limit. There are definitely low-power over the air stations with subchannels numbered over 1024. There's one right in Fresno, KVHF-LD 42. The subchannel mapped to 4-6 has 1281 as its program number for whatever reason.

http://www.rabbitears.info/screencaps/ca-fsn/23269-0_0.htm

- Trip

I got that 1024 sub-channel number from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_cable

I don't assume everything is correct @wikipedia so you may be right. Or it could be the 1024 limit refers to the number of sub-channels as opposed to their numerical assignments. An interesting thing is the two new PBS stations we're discussing - KOCEDT (HD) and KOCE (SD) on Cox Santa Barbara are the only cable stations in our basic lineup that have a 4-digit physical sub-channel number.

I just got home and tried entering 44-7010 and 44-1010 into my 2010 Panasonic G20's tuner. It only accepted 44-701 and 44-101. Hmmm ....

Yeah, the article is saying up to 1024 subchannels, they don't have to be sequentially numbered.

- Trip

I live in San Luis Obispo and have Charter cable (Basic and Expanded); this morning (1/4/2011) KCET (Channel 8) switched to KQED (Now Channel 8).

Just wondering if KQED will be in HD?

I have an odd way of getting the 5 major stations (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, PBS); I channel scan and I get KCET HD on channel 105-3. Since KCET (Channel 8) switched to KQED (Now Channel 8), I was hoping KCET HD (Channel 105-3) would become KQED HD.

Thanks, I found the search tool you mentioned here:

http://www.silicondust.com/support/channels/

Something seems a bit odd ... I just Googled and the ATSC standard allows up to 1024 sub-channels. So 44-7010 seems like it has an out-of-range sub-channel number?

Also, I don't think my TV (a 2010 Panasonic) will allow me to enter a 4-digit sub-channel number (only 3 digits). Will have to play around with this tonite.

See if your TV has an option to rescan for the channels it can receive. I know on my Sony if I want to directly tune say KCAL on COX QAM, I just put in 100, then hit the channel up button to get to -709. So in your case, you could hit 44, then channel up to get to KOCE.

Windows Media Center has a similar hang up about 4 digit subchannels and I've had to enter the first three digits then hit channel up.

I live in San Luis Obispo and have Charter cable (Basic and Expanded); this morning (1/4/2011) KCET (Channel 8) switched to KQED (Now Channel 8).

Just wondering if KQED will be in HD?

I have an odd way of getting the 5 major stations (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, PBS); I channel scan and I get KCET HD on channel 105-3. Since KCET (Channel 8) switched to KQED (Now Channel 8), I was hoping KCET HD (Channel 105-3) would become KQED HD.
I'm not in SLO, but if you use the Silicondust tool and enter 93401 for the zip code, you'll get this:

http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/lineup_web/US:93401#lineup_4036348

Its shows the virtual and physical channel numbers for KCET, SD & HD. KQED is also listed but only in SD. I don't know if this list is up-to-date so you may want to check back in a few days. HTH.

See if your TV has an option to rescan for the channels it can receive. I know on my Sony if I want to directly tune say KCAL on COX QAM, I just put in 100, then hit the channel up button to get to -709. So in your case, you could hit 44, then channel up to get to KOCE.

Windows Media Center has a similar hang up about 4 digit subchannels and I've had to enter the first three digits then hit channel up.
Thanks. I tried your trick to get KCAL on my Panasonic and it works, but in a slightly different way. Entering 100, I get 100-1 which is an actual station. Then channel up gets me to 100-709. But when I tried this for 44, I get 44 and a screen of snow. Channel up then gets me 51.

My Panasonic does have channel scan, I've just been reluctant to use it since I don't know if I'll lose all the channel labels I manually entered. Looks like I'll have to take a chance :)

If entering 44 gave you snow then your tv probably still has 44 memorized as an analog channel. Try entering 44-1 and see if that forces it into digital mode. If not then rescanning is probably your only option.

I live in San Luis Obispo and have Charter cable (Basic and Expanded); this morning (1/4/2011) KCET (Channel 8) switched to KQED (Now Channel 8).

Just wondering if KQED will be in HD?

I have an odd way of getting the 5 major stations (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, PBS); I channel scan and I get KCET HD on channel 105-3. Since KCET (Channel 8) switched to KQED (Now Channel 8), I was hoping KCET HD (Channel 105-3) would become KQED HD.
I inquired to dslreports charter direct about KQEDHD. The answer I got is (Dec 13th Hd channel additions for charter san luis obispo is the only hd additions they will have until mid 2011). I will inquire every 45 days or so and let avsforum know an update on any changes to the mid 2011 hd additions.

Can anyone verify for me that KCET 28.4 OTA is actually running MHz Worldview.
Thanks,
dp3atmhz

http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/lineup_web/US:91105#lineup_1171500

SiliconDust says yes.

- Trip

can you tell me if MHz Worldview is actually airing on KCET. Have been able to verify that they are actually running the channel (28.4) OTA yet. Thanks
dp3

can you tell me if MHz Worldview is actually airing on KCET. Have been able to verify that they are actually running the channel (28.4) OTA yet. Thanks
dp3

I can't confirm it first-hand, but my contact in Los Angeles sent me new TSReader data last night which shows 28-4 is now identified as "KCET-MH" when it used to be "KCET-W." http://www.rabbitears.info/screencaps/ca-lax/13058-0_0.htm

You might be better served to post in the Los Angeles thread rather than the Santa Barbara thread. That thread is here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=19769510#post19769510

By the way, any word on WYBE? ;)

- Trip

can you tell me if MHz Worldview is actually airing on KCET. Have been able to verify that they are actually running the channel (28.4) OTA yet. Thanks
dp3

Confirmed first hand here in L.A.

KQED's website says that they are available on Comcast in Santa Maria:

KQED Public Television welcomes San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria to its coverage area. Available only via Comcast or Charter Cable services, KQED fills a void left by the departure of Los Angeles-based KCET from the PBS system

In the Santa Maria area, KQED is now carried in both analog and digital formats on channel 17. Residents of the San Luis Obispo area now receive KQED in analog and digital formats on channel 8. Plans are to eventually provide the service in HD formats.

What is the most current Cox Cable Santa Barbara Clear QAM Station Channel Mapping?

Thanks in advance!

What is the most current Cox Cable Santa Barbara Clear QAM Station Channel Mapping?

Thanks in advance!

Go here (http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/lineup_web/US:93103#lineup_4126642) and then pick Cox Cable from the pull down menu. List is pretty accurate, but 83-2 is the Santa Barbara feed of KSBY, and not MSNBC HD.

Go here (http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/lineup_web/US:93103#lineup_4126642) and then pick Cox Cable from the pull down menu. List is pretty accurate, but 83-2 is the Santa Barbara feed of KSBY, and not MSNBC HD.


Thanks!

KQED's website says that they are available on Comcast in Santa Maria:

KQED Public Television welcomes San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria to its coverage area. Available only via Comcast or Charter Cable services, KQED fills a void left by the departure of Los Angeles-based KCET from the PBS system

In the Santa Maria area, KQED is now carried in both analog and digital formats on channel 17. Residents of the San Luis Obispo area now receive KQED in analog and digital formats on channel 8. Plans are to eventually provide the service in HD formats.Thanks for tracking this down! :D

KCET is still on Charter QAM channel 105.3 There is no guide entry, so you can't tune it with the STB. But if you have a TV (or media center PC - QAM 256) what can tune it, its there.

If a Charter tech is reading this thread, it will probably disappear tomorrrow. (TBS was in the clear for a few months.)

KCOY ran a very annoying crawl last night stating that their retrans agreement with DirecTV is expiring on Saturday (http://www.myfox11.com/Global/category.asp?C=202618).

My favorite line on their website was: "Most viewers can watch KCOY and KKFX for free over the air with the use of a basic antenna." About 1/3 of the population in SLO and SB counties live in the Santa Barbara area, who have no way to receive their OTA signal. Cox is a great cable company but it would be nice to have a free alternative available...

The below was posted on KCOY's web site today.
-----------------------------------------------
Notice to Our Viewers on DirecTV>
KCOY and KKFX have announced a new agreement to keep your local CBS and FOX stations on DirecTV.

KCOY ran a very annoying crawl last night stating that their retrans agreement with DirecTV is expiring on Saturday (http://www.myfox11.com/Global/category.asp?C=202618).

My favorite line on their website was: "Most viewers can watch KCOY and KKFX for free over the air with the use of a basic antenna." About 1/3 of the population in SLO and SB counties live in the Santa Barbara area, who have no way to receive their OTA signal. Cox is a great cable company but it would be nice to have a free alternative available...That's an interesting observation since the southern most border of SLO County is well north (50 or 60 miles) of Santa Barbara. JMO, but I'm not even sure that the "Santa Barbara area" itself comprises 1/3 of the population of all of Santa Barbara County. I suspect it's not, given the combined population of Santa Maria, Lompoc, Guadalupe and the Santa Ynez Valley as well as that of the incorporated areas of SB County which seem likely to be not in the "Santa Barbara area". Like I said, JMO.

Some numbers from Wikipedia: in the 2000 census, the Santa Barbara contiguous urban area had ~220k people, Santa Barbara County had ~400k, and SLO County had just under 250k.

Some numbers from Wikipedia: in the 2000 census, the Santa Barbara contiguous urban area had ~220k people, Santa Barbara County had ~400k, and SLO County had just under 250k.

As you go north from L.A. along 101, the population density gets lower the further you get. (Obviously not uniformly, since there are cities and rural areas)

Then when you reach Monterey Countu, the population density starts to slowly increase again all the way to San Francisco.

Has anyone in Santa Barbara been able to pull in a FOX over-the-air broadcast via an antenna? I'm hoping to watch the Superbowl. :-)

I'm getting reasonably solid HD reception of KNBC, KCBS, and KTLA and a few other stations from LA through a high-gain UHF antenna (91XG) on a mast. I also have a good high-VHF antenna (Winegard YA-1713), but my preliminary attic test showed almost no signal strength and no image on ch. 11 from LA, even though tvfool.com suggests it should work. (I received the UHF stations in the attic with only a little attenuation vs. the mast and occasional dropouts.)

Should I go to the trouble of making room on my mast for the YA-1713 to test it there, hoping the attic attenuation is greater for 11 than it was for the UHF stations? Or maybe there's a FOX transmitter within easier reach of Santa Barbara?

Thanks in advance for any tips.

Andy

Has anyone in Santa Barbara been able to pull in a FOX over-the-air broadcast via an antenna? I'm hoping to watch the Superbowl. :-)

I'm getting reasonably solid HD reception of KNBC, KCBS, and KTLA and a few other stations from LA through a high-gain UHF antenna (91XG) on a mast. I also have a good high-VHF antenna (Winegard YA-1713), but my preliminary attic test showed almost no signal strength and no image on ch. 11 from LA, even though tvfool.com suggests it should work. (I received the UHF stations in the attic with only a little attenuation vs. the mast and occasional dropouts.)

Should I go to the trouble of making room on my mast for the YA-1713 to test it there, hoping the attic attenuation is greater for 11 than it was for the UHF stations? Or maybe there's a FOX transmitter within easier reach of Santa Barbara?

Thanks in advance for any tips.

Andy

Outside is always better than inside for VHF signals. If putting the antenna outside didn't work, your other option would be seeing if Cox cable would sell you a basic package with the network stations and the public access channels.

The next closet full power HD Fox stations are in Fresno, San Diego, and Salinas, so KTTV would be your only viable option with an antenna.

The next closet full power HD Fox stations are in Fresno, San Diego, and Salinas, so KTTV would be your only viable option with an antenna.

Well, there is also the Fox that is the -02 subchannel of KCOY-CBS in Santa Maria, KKFX.

That is not far from Santa Barbara - 60 miles, and lately they are broadcasting it in HD, and 16x9, but 480p (like the old days of "Fox Widescreen").

It looks pretty good, so if we are talking about "just for the Super Bowl", then he could try swinging his antenna over towards Santa Maria.

BTW, KCOY has experimented with making both channels 720p, and it would not surprise me if they do so just for the Super Bowl day, although I have no specific information that they have any such plans.

WTF... KSBY tonight aired a Cal Poly/UCSB basketball game instead of new episodes of Community and Perfect Couples, and then joined The Office in progress. Their own website didn't even mention they were airing that game and not the NBC programming for tonight.

WTF... KSBY tonight aired a Cal Poly/UCSB basketball game instead of new episodes of Community and Perfect Couples, and then joined The Office in progress. Their own website didn't even mention they were airing that game and not the NBC programming for tonight.

They are airing the pre-empted shows on Saturday (I am sure details are now on their web site).

They are airing the pre-empted shows on Saturday (I am sure details are now on their web site).

Community and Perfect Couples now listed but not The Office. Will be interesting to see if they air in HD, probably not I'm guessing...

Community and Perfect Couples now listed but not The Office. Will be interesting to see if they air in HD, probably not I'm guessing...

They also mentioned that the eps are available to view at nbc.com, so you might be able to view the missing minutes of the Office there.

An interesting article in the Santa Barbara Independent about the KCET/PBS breakup:

http://www.independent.com/news/2011/jan/28/truth-behind-pbskcet-split/

My 4th Moxi box in 3 years went out a couple of days ago and I found out that they finally have new HD DVR boxes for the county now. The tech came out with a Cisco 8640. It has twice the hard drive space as my old Moxi (20 hrs HD or 80 hrs SD) which is needed for me. Half way through the installation i noticed that my lower channels (2-73) looked a lot clearer, so I asked why the difference? He told me that San Luis has 2 headends know, so the people that get these new boxes get channels 2-73 in digital now, (Wow 100% difference).
For future reference the tech told me the sdv/simultrans improvement will be done in the county in a couple of months, so we will have room for channel additions in around September timeframe (Which usually means December). At least our county is heading in the right direction to catch up with SoCal which has 30 more HD channels then we do.

Thanks for that.

Good to know since we're considering Charter here in GB when our Dish expires in July.

... i noticed that my lower channels (2-73) looked a lot clearer, so I asked why the difference? He told me that San Luis has 2 headends know, so the people that get these new boxes get channels 2-73 in digital now, (Wow 100% difference).


The digital versions of the basic channels are unencrypted, so anyone with a QAM tuner in their TV can get them without a box and enjoy the improved quality now.

Go here (http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/lineup_web/US:93103#lineup_4126642) and then pick Cox Cable from the pull down menu. List is pretty accurate, but 83-2 is the Santa Barbara feed of KSBY, and not MSNBC HD.

I am looking for the QAM channel for KOCE HD in Santa Barbara and this list from siliconedust shows 44-1010 as the QAM channel. That number is not available on my Samsung. Listing of other HD QAM is 83-2 up to 114-3. Any help?

Thanks!

I am looking for the QAM channel for KOCE HD in Santa Barbara and this list from siliconedust shows 44-1010 as the QAM channel. That number is not available on my Samsung. Listing of other HD QAM is 83-2 up to 114-3. Any help?

Thanks!
For Santa Barbara, KOCE HD (PBS SoCal) is now at 44-3.

For Santa Barbara, KOCE HD (PBS SoCal) is now at 44-3.

Thank you. Just the info I needed!

I have been a long time directv user. I have an OTA for KCOY but rely on directv for local HD. Now I am upgrading my analog (component) HD tv for something new.

I then started looking at Comcast for internet. Sounds good. the channel selection sounds good. But there is HD and there is real HD. And it seems that cable quality is very local.

Anyone care to comment on the quality difference between Directv and Comcast in Santa Barbara County, esp Lompoc. I could upgrade to Comcast and see. That wire has been cut for over 10 years.

KBAB-LP channel 50 is now carrying the KOCE multiplex signal.

Thanks to Trip for the heads up.

KBAB-LP channel 50 is now carrying the KOCE multiplex signal.

Thanks to Trip for the heads up.

Ah nice. I can get this in Goleta, but it sounds like everyone is in a deep well. Anyone else? Something seems a bit off with the encoding.

-David

Just a heads up for charter customers with charter dvr boxes. We are getting a guide/firmware update on or after the 25th. The only thing we have to do (which is a pain in the ass) is redo all of our Series recordings. Other then that the update is going to enhance searching, ondemand and the dvr experience. Another thing is new cisco 8640 boxes are available that holds 40hrs of hd or 100hrs of digital recording and also accesses the digital head-end from san-luis which switches channel 2-73 to digital.

Also news from umatter2charter is sdv/simultrans will be completed in September. Which will according to other markets will increase our HD channels to around 70.

KQED is available on Charter digital 105.5. Its still only SD, but may be a better picture than analog 8. Its QAM256 and I needed to enter it manually on Windows Media Center. For some reason a scan did not find it.

Has anybody in San luis obispo county received the guide update yet? No update in Atascadero yet!

No guide yet here in Cayucos. I got a phone call Tuesday saying the guide would update tonight. I guess they meant "on or after" tonight - as usual.

Good thing they did not clobber my wife's royal wedding recording last night. She would have killed them. Maybe they guessed that and we will see the update tonight :^).

@ lesmoss, lol.
Yeah, I'm checking my dvr every morning just in case. I don't want do get screwed as well.

Apologies if this is way OT, advise where better to post, but thought I'd start here.

Our Dish contract is out in Aug. and within that time frame we'll be done with POTS/DSL from ATT here as well (installing an Ooma unit this week).

SO--

Anticipating moving over to Charter(more bandwidth, mainly) wonder if anyone has any thoughts on the relative sanity of this notion &/or opinions and experiences of Charter PQ/service.

We did like the PQ of Dish, the tech side, &c., but missed some of the local progs (live in an antenna shadow here in GB) and most specifically, reliable baseball programming.

Sorry for the wordiness, but we have a lot to consider and would appreciate any comments you would care to share.

Apologies if this is way OT, advise where better to post, but thought I'd start here.

Our Dish contract is out in Aug. and within that time frame we'll be done with POTS/DSL from ATT here as well (installing an Ooma unit this week).

SO--

Anticipating moving over to Charter(more bandwidth, mainly) wonder if anyone has any thoughts on the relative sanity of this notion &/or opinions and experiences of Charter PQ/service.

We did like the PQ of Dish, the tech side, &c., but missed some of the local progs (live in an antenna shadow here in GB) and most specifically, reliable baseball programming.

Sorry for the wordiness, but we have a lot to consider and would appreciate any comments you would care to share.

My personal opinion is charter's pq is very good and they recently got a digital headend so even the sd channels are in digital with the new cisco box that has a very decent size hard drive. The customer service is alot better online then on the phone. The 2 year contract is the best deal, however if you don't want to go that route definitely bundle. I would pm umatter2charter to get the best deal.

My personal opinion is charter's pq is very good and they recently got a digital headend so even the sd channels are in digital with the new cisco box that has a very decent size hard drive. The customer service is alot better online then on the phone. The 2 year contract is the best deal, however if you don't want to go that route definitely bundle. I would pm umatter2charter to get the best deal.

Thx for the help baja,gonna have some 'splainin' to do to the wife when we make the switch so wanted to get my ducks in a row ahead of time if possible.

umatter2charter is a forum member/charter csr I take it, or...?

Thx for the help baja,gonna have some 'splainin' to do to the wife when we make the switch so wanted to get my ducks in a row ahead of time if possible.

umatter2charter is a forum member/charter csr I take it, or...?

Yes, umatter2charter is a forum member. They are a online team based in St. Louis. THere customer service has gotten better by 100% since they went online.
Also dslreports.com has a direct forum and of course facebook.

Sounds good so far, i'm more about the bandwidth, the wife more about the TV, hoping this will turn out all right, recent PSN & Amazon server farm news--among others-- making me skittish about online dependency....

I posted a question about the guide update in dslreports.com. Here's my answer.


(Good afternoon.

Thank you for contacting us with your question.

We apologize that you have yet to see the new interactive guide update and for any confusion as to when that was supposed to be pushed to your converter boxes.

The guides are on a rolling launch that began on 4/26/2011 and is scheduled to end 5/31/2011.

SA8640HDC boxes are tentatively scheduled to begin receiving updates 5/17 however due to the number of converters being updated we are unable to tell you exactly when you will see the change.

If you don't see the new interactive guide by June 1st, please contact us and we'll be happy to reach out to local technical operations for information.

Do you have any other questions we can answer for you?

Thank you,
Steve)

The New guide for the Cisco 8640 boxes are now live at least in Atascadero. I only briefly saw it this morning before I went to work. It's called Passport Echo, it looked pretty cool however just like they said I have to redo all of my series recording when I get home.

I got the same new software on my ancient SA 8300HD a week ago. It seems to remember the series recordings. But, not the retention times. So, I am trying to convert them back to series. Still struggling with that.

A couple of nice new features. You can set the guide to only show your favorites. No more channels I don't subscribe, PPV or X-rated titles scrolling by in the guide any more. Also, you can now extend recordings for overtime.

Note that if you want to enter diag mode, its on channel 2199. No more 3 finger salute on the box.

While watching the last episode of Modern Family last night I noticed that KEYT was incorporating an HD overlay of their "3abc" logo before the network "abc" came on the screen. Their PQ also looked to be slightly improved, but KEYT 3.1 is still running at 11.8 mbps. Hopefully this is a sign that the station is beginning to invest in upgrading their technology, perhaps HD syndication could be coming along?

http://s1.postimage.org/28fq0nxqc/KEYT_logo.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/28fq0nxqc/)
KEYT logo during Modern Family

http://s1.postimage.org/28fzxw0p0/KEYT_netwrok_promo.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/28fzxw0p0/)
KEYT network promo

http://s1.postimage.org/28gd66sn8/KFSN_logo.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/28gd66sn8/)
KFSN logo during Modern Family -- notice the PQ difference despite a much lower bandwidth and the black banner at the bottom of the KEYT image

I noticed you're using VideoRedo (used it once to clean up some VHS tapes I had digitized). May I ask what capture card you're using? Does the card provide a utility that tells you what the bit-rate is (11.8 Mbps in this case) or did you figure that out some other way?

The bitrate info comes from TSReader, which works with most USB receivers.

Here's TSReader output for KEYT that mjjckc sent me on March 27: http://www.rabbitears.info/screencaps/ca-slo/60637-0_0.htm

- Trip

I use a TiVo HD (CableCARD/ATSC OTA), a Pinnacle PCTV USB stick (ATSC OTA/TSReader), and AVer Media Volar MAX USB stick (Clear QAM, ATSC OTA) to record feeds.

I use VideoReDo to edit out commercials, clean up input errors, and convert MPEG2 transport streams to program streams, then use a PS3 home media server to stream the edited files to my TV from 3 terabytes of external hard drives. I have a growing collection of stuff that will never come out on Blu-ray and otherwise is only available from iTunes in HD-lite.

Aside from TSReader (which is great for examining OTA multiplexes), I use a program called MediaInfo to determine the average bitrate of an edited program. Usually the higher the bitrate, the better the PQ. But this is not always the case. Sometimes you have a second generation encode. This usually happens when a cable company re-encodes an OTA HD feed, and Time Warner Cable in Los Angeles is notorious for doing this. In Santa Barbara, KSBY 6.1 is re-encoded so translator K10PV-D will have extra space for a SD NBC feed. Cox Cable carries K10PV-D, NOT KSBY-DT 15, resulting in macro blotting and pixelation during fast motion scenes. KEYT is a unique basket case. They devote 4 mbps to RTV/MyNetworkTV and 3 mpbs to null packets, leaving about 11.8 mbps to ABC HD programing on 3.1. They have had the same encoding settings since at least 2008. I swear KEYT must be doing a component digital/analog/digital process to encode the ABC HD feed for broadcast -- it just looks horrible compared to even the second generation KABC encode on Time Warner Cable and the bit-starved KFSN 30.1 in Fresno, which has less bandwidth devoted to it than LiveWellHD. Even HD-lite iTunes beats KEYT hands down.

Luckily KCOY/KKFX have their s**t together and provide excellent PQ and HD syndication.

^^^

Thanks. I haven't looked at capture devices for a long time. Those Pinnacle devices are interesting and inexpensive.

I use a WDTV and typically rip discs so haven't gotten into personal (OTA/cable) recording yet. My next purchase will need to be something like a Synology NAS or an unRAID (e.g. Lime Tech) to get my storage capacity up.

I use Mediainfo but didn't know about TSreader, will file in my notes.

Had no idea KEYT was using some of their bandwidth for RTV, guess I need to get a little smarter about local stations :)

^ I would recommend the Avertv Hybrid Volar Max (http://www.amazon.com/Avertv-Hybrid-Volar-Windows-MTVHVMXSK/dp/B002U6KT8U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1306479817&sr=1-1) over a Pinnacle product. Mine works with Windows 7 Media Center. It's a pain converting .wtv files to dvr-ms and then editing in VideoReDo but it gets the best results in my view.

The Central Coast ABC, NBC, and CBS all have subchannels. KEYT has MyNet with RTV out of primetime, KSBY has the CW, and KCOY has a SD Fox feed. I wish KCOP and KTLA would be offered on cable to have CW and MyNet in HD, but at least we can get KCAL.

Added to my wishlist!

Are there any online resources that indicate who has which sub-channels? I seem to recall a site where you enter a zip code to locate a provider (e.g. Cox SB) and their un-mapped channel assignments.

^ Do you have Cox, Comcast, or Charter? OTA you aren't going to get much.

You could try Trip's website for OTA subchannels and HD Home Run (http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/lineup_web/US:93110#lineup_5607061) for clear QAM channel maps.

http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?mktid=152

There's the Santa Barbara/San Luis Obispo subchannels on my website, just either click the callsign to see individual channels or "Expand All" to see all of them at once. :)

- Trip

http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?mktid=152

There's the Santa Barbara/San Luis Obispo subchannels on my website, just either click the callsign to see individual channels or "Expand All" to see all of them at once. :)

- Trip

I've been meaning to ask you... how did you come up with the market rankings on your website? I'm guessing you use straight up population figures instead of household numbers...

Yep, census data + actual coverage areas.

- Trip

For those in northern Santa Barbara County, check your bill...it seems that COMCRAP is increasing its rates again. :mad:

Did Verizon ever announce any Fios plans for Santa Barbara County?

http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?mktid=152

There's the Santa Barbara/San Luis Obispo subchannels on my website, just either click the callsign to see individual channels or "Expand All" to see all of them at once. :)

- Trip
Bookmarked!

Did Verizon ever announce any Fios plans for Santa Barbara County?

Nope.

Pegasus TV (http://www.pegasustv.com/), a horse enthusiast channel, is coming to the area in "June/July" according to their website. No affiliate is listed yet, but they do list the city as Santa Barbara.

Hopefully if the channel is KSBY/K10PV-D or KEYT, they will change encoder settings to improve PQ on their main channel!

Pegasus TV (http://www.pegasustv.com/), a horse enthusiast channel, is coming to the area in "June/July" according to their website.
Neigghhh! :D

KCOY/KKFX are upgrading their newscasts to HD, including HD field acquisition for live shots and taped reports. According to the News-Press it should start tonight. KCOY/KKFX already do local HD syndication and advertising.

In contrast, the best KSBY and KEYT can do is overlay an HD logo at the beginning of network programing.

Hi all,
Just got a Tivo and was wondering if anybody knows if Cox Santa Barbara allows any Cablecard self-installs?

Is DISH NETWORK delivering Full HD (1080i NBC & CBS & 720P ABC & FOX) on all of the network programming on the (4) Major Networks - ABC, NBC, CBS & FOX in *Santa Barbara*?

Hi all,
Just got a Tivo and was wondering if anybody knows if Cox Santa Barbara allows any Cablecard self-installs?

When I moved here last November they didn't, and charged me over $50 for the truck role. Hopefully for your sake they have relaxed that rule.

My 4th Moxi box in 3 years went out a couple of days ago and I found out that they finally have new HD DVR boxes for the county now. The tech came out with a Cisco 8640. It has twice the hard drive space as my old Moxi (20 hrs HD or 80 hrs SD) which is needed for me. Half way through the installation i noticed that my lower channels (2-73) looked a lot clearer, so I asked why the difference? He told me that San Luis has 2 headends know, so the people that get these new boxes get channels 2-73 in digital now, (Wow 100% difference).
For future reference the tech told me the sdv/simultrans improvement will be done in the county in a couple of months, so we will have room for channel additions in around September timeframe (Which usually means December). At least our county is heading in the right direction to catch up with SoCal which has 30 more HD channels then we do.

THe improvements (sdv/simultrans) are still on track for September completion. We should know what channel additions will come with the completion in 30-45 days. Will keep everybody updated as soon as I know more.
Thanks

New channels from Umatter2charter on regards from the NFL deal,
Looks like we're only launching SD in your market on 8/31/11:

NFL NETWORK 429
RED ZONE 430

New channels from Umatter2charter on regards from the NFL deal,
Looks like we're only launching SD in your market on 8/31/11:

NFL NETWORK 429
RED ZONE 430

Umatter was a little wrong on the dates. NFL network just showed up on channel 429 today.

Just trying to keep this thread going.
NFL Redzone showed up on channel 430. Of course they won't have anythng on it until Sept 8th. But good news to see up to date highlights of out of market games.

Redzone and NFL Network were announced in my Aug 23 bill. Nothing else thought. So at least another month before we get any more HD.

Redzone and NFL Network were announced in my Aug 23 bill. Nothing else thought. So at least another month before we get any more HD.

Les,
Our SDV will be done next month, but I've been reading in other local threads it takes 3-6 months to align and get local contracts set up before any additions will be placed in our line-up. Maybe we will get lucky and get additions sooner.

I wish announcements would show up in my line-up! uggghhhh!

What happens when they turn on SDV? Are they going to eliminate some analog Expanded Basic channels? Which channels are going to be switched?
What will they use the extra bandwidth for if not more channels? Possibly more Internet capacity?

What happens when they turn on SDV? Are they going to eliminate some analog Expanded Basic channels? Which channels are going to be switched?
What will they use the extra bandwidth for if not more channels? Possibly more Internet capacity?

THose are all possible scenarios, depends on the market. U will probably have to pm umatter2charter in late sept to find out which ones they are going to utilize first.

Just got a pm from umatter that sdv is now active in the county. Still no confirmed channel additions. IMO that's probably 3-6 months away from looking at other areas.

KSBY is now showing HD syndicated shows -- they have Ellen on right now in HD. This should hopefully improve the picture quality of their SD content as well.

Also, for those that live in the Santa Barbara area, KSBY translator K10PV-D is once again passing through the bitstream of KSBY DT-15. This has a much higher bandwidth for 6.1 (sometimes 4 mbps more for video and 384 instead of 192 kbps for audio) than what K10PV-D used to broadcast and what is still carried on COX 706. Especially if you record HD content off NBC it might be worth investigating an antenna set up.

Some new KSBY screen caps (sourced from K10PV-D). I rarely see the KSBY news so I don't know if the better PQ is due to the upgrade to K10PV-D or the HD syndication hardware. Didn't see any signs of local HD commercials though.

http://s1.postimage.org/17t9hnt0/ksby1.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/17t9hnt0/) Ellen ending

http://s1.postimage.org/19u14xj8/ksby2.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/19u14xj8/) American Airlines closed captioning

http://s1.postimage.org/1a0nabic/ksby3.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/1a0nabic/) KSBY news promo -- they just cut off the top and bottom of the 4:3 field to get 16:9

http://s1.postimage.org/1akhqhfo/ksby4.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/1akhqhfo/) KSBY news open -- the center pictures of the winery and mission bell etc look much clearer than I remember.

http://s4.postimage.org/4335yan8/ksby5.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/4335yan8/) The news itself was all 4:3.

http://s1.postimage.org/42kup0hw/0_700_pm_Recorded_Sep_12_2011_KSBY_HD.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/42kup0hw/) Jeopardy HD

http://s1.postimage.org/42ptb1z8/0_30_pm_Recorded_Sep_12_2011_KSBY_HD_02.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/42ptb1z8/) Wheel of Fortune HD

This brings KSBY up to the capabilities KCOY/KKFX had before they started airing HD news.

Now if only KEYT could upgrade and fix their poor encoder settings...

Since I set up an outdoor antenna to pick up the K10PV-D translator, I've noticed that it frequently stops broadcasting KSBY and the CW, will instead just send out null packets for a period (my TiVo characterizes this as having a signal lock but not a program lock). When I run RF10 through TSReader, it just reports on the null packets but shows a strong signal.

Any ideas before I try calling the KSBY engineering department?

This brings KSBY up to the capabilities KCOY/KKFX had before they started airing HD news.

<snip>

umm, not really, they don't do their audio in DD5.1, they only send out digital stereo.

umm, not really, they don't do their audio in DD5.1, they only send out digital stereo.

Oops, quite true! Ironically today I called the KSBY engineering department about their translator and the Cox PQ issue, and I used the 384 kbps (on KSBY DT 15) vs 192 kbps (on Cox) stereo audio difference to try and prove the signals weren't identical.

To all charter customers! Charter has a new charter community forum http://community.charter.com/

Please go on there and make channel requests! The more input we give them on what we want the better. They do actually use it!

http://s4.postimage.org/1tedsetno/0_1059_pm_Recorded_Sep_25_2011_KSBY_HD_1.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/1tedsetno/)

http://s4.postimage.org/1teir0v50/0_1059_pm_Recorded_Sep_25_2011_KSBY_HD_2.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/1teir0v50/)

http://s4.postimage.org/1tem23k4k/0_1059_pm_Recorded_Sep_25_2011_KSBY_HD_3.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/1tem23k4k/)

http://s4.postimage.org/1ter0pllw/0_1059_pm_Recorded_Sep_25_2011_KSBY_HD_4.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/1ter0pllw/)

Since I set up an outdoor antenna to pick up the K10PV-D translator, I've noticed that it frequently stops broadcasting KSBY and the CW, will instead just send out null packets for a period (my TiVo characterizes this as having a signal lock but not a program lock). When I run RF10 through TSReader, it just reports on the null packets but shows a strong signal.

Any ideas before I try calling the KSBY engineering department?

I've seen the same thing. Let me know if you get a response.

-David

I've seen the same thing. Let me know if you get a response.

-David

I called KSBY chief engineer Bill Ingram over a week ago. He said that KSBY picks up their original signal in Santa Maria, then microwaves it to the translator. Whenever there is an issue with the OTA pickup in SM or the microwave is spotty, that is reflected in what K10PV-D broadcasts (when I was in Bishop, I noticed a similar issue with the NBC Reno translator there when I was capping it for Trip to include on RabbitEars -- having a full signal with all null packets). Ingram also mentioned that this is why K10PV-D goes back and forth from rebroadcasting KSBY-DT 15 to sending out the inferior Cox cable fiber feed.

Why KSBY can't spend 2 seconds to look at the Cox cable fiber settings is beyond me. Ingram intends for the third subchannel of the Cox feed (the SD version of NBC) to split the bandwidth with the CW and not degrade 6.1. If enough people complain, they might fix the translator signal issues or reset the Cox feed.

So please do call yourself, and anyone else in the SB area. We shouldn't have to deal with an inferior NBC either OTA or from Cox.

I was setting up my clear QAM USB tuner today and noticed several HD channels have moved.

KKFX is now 50-5
KCAL is now 44-709
KOCE is now 44-7010
KPMR is now 48-716

KEYT, KCET, KSBY, KCOY, and the SD CW and MNTV all remain at their original locations.

So Sunday morning when I am hoping to watch football, all of a sudden KKFX is no longer there. I saw you comment that KKFX was moved to 50-5 but I am not able to find that on my TV when I either scan (the channels are in the 70- through 110- range) or manually enter the channel. When I manually enter, I get "Channel Not Available"

I have a Vizio TV (VF552XVT) and Cox internet service but no cable TV service. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

So Sunday morning when I am hoping to watch football, all of a sudden KKFX is no longer there. I saw you comment that KKFX was moved to 50-5 but I am not able to find that on my TV when I either scan (the channels are in the 70- through 110- range) or manually enter the channel. When I manually enter, I get "Channel Not Available"

I have a Vizio TV (VF552XVT) and Cox internet service but no cable TV service. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

My own clearQAM USB tuner isn't picking up KKFX in a scan. The only way I was able to register KKFX was by looking up the 381 MHZ frequency my TiVo indicated and typing that into TSReader to get it to register on 50-5. I then inputted that into Windows Media Center so I could view it on my laptop. It might be possible COX is starting to use multiple QAM variations in the Santa Barbara area -- I live in Carpinteria but get the county, SB city, and Goleta public access channels too FWIW.

Are you picking up KOCE/KCAL/KPMR in HD?

One idea might be to do a double re-scan. First unplug the coax, and scan to clean out your TV's memory. Then re-attach the cable and scan again and see what shows up. I know that sometimes works with digital to analog converter boxes if something isn't showing up OTA -- but QAM can be a lot more flaky.

I curse Cox SB for changing their physical channel assignments so frequently! Is this a campaign to make me rent a cable box? It just motivates me to use bitorrent more :)

Sometimes I can access a new channel assignment without re-scanning. This time I had to rescan. That sucks because after scanning (which takes 30+ minutes to do) my Panasonic G20 forgets all the channel labels I manually entered the last time :mad:

Anyways, here are the HD channels found in my legacy basic lineup:

KKFX 50-5
KPMR 48-716 (same as before the change)
KOCE 44-5
KCAL 44-3

ABC 114-3
CBS 83-3
NBC 83-2
KCET 111-100

Thanks much to mjjckc and hydrogin ... I never got any chanels in the 40- or 50- range before (and I don't still, KCAL HD and KKFX HD were the only ones that I had unblocked ... not sure what the others you listed were) ... I will try a full re-scan tonight. Could this be a limitation of the tuner in my TV?

Thought about calling VIZIO tech support, but I am already dealing with Verizon's right now for a cell phone who's WiFi won't turn on. LOL I can only handle one tech support call per 48 hour period or my head might explode.

And amen to hydrogin on the Cox just begging me to get a box ... I love the service I have now, because I can watch football in HD ... that's all I need with Netflix streaming. But if I can't get KKFX where my beloved niners are usually on I might have to do something about it.

Thanks much to mjjckc and hydrogin ... I never got any chanels in the 40- or 50- range before (and I don't still, KCAL HD and KKFX HD were the only ones that I had unblocked ... not sure what the others you listed were) ... I will try a full re-scan tonight. Could this be a limitation of the tuner in my TV?

Thought about calling VIZIO tech support, but I am already dealing with Verizon's right now for a cell phone who's WiFi won't turn on. LOL I can only handle one tech support call per 48 hour period or my head might explode.

And amen to hydrogin on the Cox just begging me to get a box ... I love the service I have now, because I can watch football in HD ... that's all I need with Netflix streaming. But if I can't get KKFX where my beloved niners are usually on I might have to do something about it.

One thing that could have happened was that when your TV first scanned months/years ago, the QAM frequency for 50-5 existed but was an encrypted channel, so the TV recognized it as "locked" and isn't able to recognize that channel has been unlocked. Before I bought my new Windows 7 laptop with WMC this would happen with the program that came with my old USB tuner.

Speaking of Windows 7 laptops ... those based on Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 processors have graphics built right into the CPU and they all come with HDMI outputs.

So if the content you're interested in isn't available with your cable lineup, but its streaming online (e.g. a sports event on espn3.com), you can connect your laptop to your HDTV with an HDMI cable and watch either live or recorded events. That's how I watched US Open Tennis this year.

p.s. Unfortunately, I just found out the NFL is really stingy about game distribution:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/kimkomando/story/2011-09-02/Watch-NFL-games-the-legal-and-virus-free-way/50220232/1

But if you google "nfl games online" there appear to be some options that look somewhat legit (probably with offshore servers).

I tried the suggestion of mjjckc by scanning with cable un-plugged to clear the channel memory and then re-scanning. Sadly this didn't work. The scan still only picks up channels in the range 75- through 130-. I have a couple of el cheapo co-workers who are in the same boat and have passed on your trick to them ... one has a VIZIO and the other I am not sure of. I will see what they have to say and report back. Perhaps I will have to call Vizio after all. Thanks again to mjjckc for the help.

I tried the suggestion of mjjckc by scanning with cable un-plugged to clear the channel memory and then re-scanning. Sadly this didn't work. The scan still only picks up channels in the range 75- through 130-. I have a couple of el cheapo co-workers who are in the same boat and have passed on your trick to them ... one has a VIZIO and the other I am not sure of. I will see what they have to say and report back. Perhaps I will have to call Vizio after all. Thanks again to mjjckc for the help.

I just saw the part about you having cable internet only. Most likely Cox has put a signal trap on the line running to your house, which is blocking you from picking up the channels before 75. You probably shouldn't be picking up anything FWIW but at least FOX in SD should still be there.

You could get Cox's basic TV package, but that's $30 + a month I think since they don't offer "lifeline" cable with just the network channels.

Depending on where you live, another option would be to put up an outdoor antenna and attempt to pick up KTTV from LA. Zoom in on where you live on this map from RabbitEars (http://www.rabbitears.info/contour.php?appid=1423068&map=Y)and see if you are orange or red. You might be able to pick up KTLA for the CW in HD and a better version of NBC picture quality wise too with an antenna. TVFool.com would also give you an idea about reception.

Rincon Mountain blocks the LA signals where I live, but in downtown SB I've been able to pick up several LA and San Diego stations.

Zoom in on where you live on this map from RabbitEars (http://www.rabbitears.info/contour.php?appid=1423068&map=Y)and see if you are orange or red.

That's a helpful map. How did you navigate that site to get to the maps?

That's a helpful map. How did you navigate that site to get to the maps?

Go to http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php

Scroll down the market list (Trip doesn't use the Neilsen DMAs) or type in the call letter of the station to look up.

Click on the station you want to see

Click Technical Data and Screencaps

Click on the antenna symbol to the right of the RF channel

http://s4.postimage.org/1p8xydqg4/Untitled_2_copy.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/1p8xydqg4/)

That was not obvious, thanks. I wonder how they generate that coverage info ... computer-generated using topo maps (maps with elevation countour info) or sending someone out to the field with a receiver?

That was not obvious, thanks.

I keep saying I need to make it more obvious and then never do. I'm very much not a designer. :)

I wonder how they generate that coverage info ... computer-generated using topo maps (maps with elevation countour info) or sending someone out to the field with a receiver?

It's generated with SPLAT plus some other tools to process the data SPLAT provides. I use version 1.3.0 because I found the ITWOM model included in 1.4.0 to be inaccurate.

SPLAT: http://www.qsl.net/kd2bd/splat.html

- Trip

Now that I've done it a few times, its not so bad. The way the info falls down in the hierarchy does make sense :)

I have some friends at the local university who work on GIS applications so will pass along the SPLAT! link.

Thanks for putting together a very useful website Trip.

Thanks for all the replies mjjckc ... what on earth is a signal trap out of curiosity. My co-workers tried with the same failed results ... you have any thoughts on why you would still be able to get it? Would some other device help or is my only hope to get FOX in HD getting cable? I'm out in Goleta, so I am not holding my breath for much from an antenna.

A signal trap is an electronic filter that's designed to let some frequencies (think of them as channels) pass through while blocking others. I believe they're often mounted up on the pole (at least in SB where we have few undergrounded utilities). Interesting background info here:

http://www.dewtronics.net/tutorials/descramblers/notchfilter/hist.pdf

^ Are all of your co-workers just getting Cox internet and no TV?

I have the full cable package so there would be no signal trap in my line.

Cox or DirecTV are your options pretty much for FOX in HD.

But give TVFool and the KTTV signal report a shot and see if OTA could work for your location. Also try KSWB/FOX from San Diego on RF 19 too.

You could also try emailing KCOY/KKFX to see if they would be willing to establish CBS and FOX translators in Santa Barbara like KSBY has done. KKFX isn't broadcast in HD in San Luis Obispo or Santa Maria so it doesn't appear to be a priority for the owners unfortunately. They do get a cut of your cable bill after all.

Ya, my co-workers are in the same boat as me, just cable internet. I would prefer getting KKFX cause the are more prone to showing 49ers than LA or SD stations. Thanks again to both of you for the replies. Looks like I might have to bite the bullet and get cable ... grr.

Cox is moving HD channels from the 700 range to the 1000 range as of November 15th per this month's cable bill.

They're also adding HD versions of CNN Headline News, TruTV (again), Galavision, TCM, OWN, Nat Geo Wild, and the MLB and NHL packages.

Cox is moving HD channels from the 700 range to the 1000 range as of November 15th per this month's cable bill.FWIW, they did this in the Phoenix area earlier this year.

^ Remapped Cox channels now showing up on TiVo and Tribune Media Services.

And I was able to get TiVo/Tribune to add translator K10PV-D to their lineup, so now we have guide listings for 6.1 and 6.2.

Cox is moving HD channels from the 700 range to the 1000 range as of November 15th per this month's cable bill.

They're also adding HD versions of CNN Headline News, TruTV (again), Galavision, TCM, OWN, Nat Geo Wild, and the MLB and NHL packages.
Does this mean in 3 days I will be screwed on all my free HD from COX? :'(

Does this mean in 3 days I will be screwed on all my free HD from COX? :'(

They are moving the virtual channel numbers plus adding a couple new ones. How this impacts ClearQAM channels will only be known when CNN Headline News, TCM etc show up.

This might be why Fox and KCAL were moved a couple weeks ago.

Good afternoon,

There are a few additions coming soon. We don't have any information available beyond that at this time.

Effective 12/12/2011,
ADDS:
Mav TV on ch. 431 (Sports View)
The Sportsman Channel on ch. 432 (Sports View)
World Fishing Network on ch. 433 (Sports View)
MTV HD on ch. 742 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
CNBC HD on ch. 750 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
NFL Network HD on ch. 736 (Sports View (HD Only))
NFL Network HD on ch. 736 (Digital View Plus (HD Only))
NFL RedZone HD on ch. 737 (Sports View (HD Only))

Here is an interesting one:

Dish Network added KTAS (Telemundo) Channel 33 to their SB/SLO locals package today... as an HD channel.

But KTAS OTA is still 480i SD 4x3 as it has always been.

I do not get the Dish SB/SLO locals, so if anyone reading this does, can you verify that the channel is broadcasting in HD ? Or is this in advance of some HD changeover in the near future ?

Here is the entry from SatelliteGuys.us (with a thanks to them for keeping up with all the Dish changes):

5284(33) - KTAS [MPEG4 HD] - Ciel-2 129W TP 15 Spotbeam 32 changed to Available (H) (Mkt:Santa Barbara, CA-San Luis Obispo, CA-TEL)

perhaps I will email KTAS engineering ... there are no subchannels, so they should have no problem with bandwidth OTA.

I do not get the Dish SB/SLO locals, so if anyone reading this does, can you verify that the channel is broadcasting in HD ? Or is this in advance of some HD changeover in the near future ?



Have it but never watch it.

Let's have a look....

Infomercials in what appears to be SD 4X3 atm.

Don't know if that is a change.

I received a reply from KTAS who said:

We are working on getting our signal to do HD but are waiting on some equipment.
We hope we will be up and running by the first part of next year.

Dish Network most be up converting our signal to HD.

Thanks for inquiring about our signal.

Good afternoon,

There are a few additions coming soon. We don't have any information available beyond that at this time.

Effective 12/12/2011,
ADDS:
Mav TV on ch. 431 (Sports View)
The Sportsman Channel on ch. 432 (Sports View)
World Fishing Network on ch. 433 (Sports View)
MTV HD on ch. 742 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
CNBC HD on ch. 750 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
NFL Network HD on ch. 736 (Sports View (HD Only))
NFL Network HD on ch. 736 (Digital View Plus (HD Only))
NFL RedZone HD on ch. 737 (Sports View (HD Only))

The channels are already active but they aren't on the guide yet. As of 12/7/11

Good afternoon,

There are a few additions coming soon. We don't have any information available beyond that at this time.

Effective 12/12/2011,
ADDS:
Mav TV on ch. 431 (Sports View)
The Sportsman Channel on ch. 432 (Sports View)
World Fishing Network on ch. 433 (Sports View)
MTV HD on ch. 742 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
CNBC HD on ch. 750 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
NFL Network HD on ch. 736 (Sports View (HD Only))
NFL Network HD on ch. 736 (Digital View Plus (HD Only))
NFL RedZone HD on ch. 737 (Sports View (HD Only))

The channels are already active but they aren't on the guide yet. As of 12/7/11

The channels are launched on the guide as scheduled!

Has anyone else noticed audio spikes, drop offs, and "mechanical sounds" on KSBY 6.1 in the last few weeks?

It was really apparent during the Community episode that aired Dec 8th. The same episode was repeated last night, and still had the same audio issues. I've also noticed it, at less severity, on other NBC primetime programming. I'm wondering if this is somehow a KSBY Santa Barbara translator issue, or if people in SLO/Santa Maria are noticing it too.

The sound on the Santa Barbara cable version of KSBY is normal, since they have a different/lower bitrate video and audio (192 vs 384 kbps stereo) feed.

YouTube 30 second sample of the audio (http://youtu.be/zcjM7XiwASY)

If you go to the KSBY web site, you can find an email address to contact the engineer.

If you go to the KSBY web site, you can find an email address to contact the engineer.

I'll give it a shot, but KSBY's engineering department hasn't exactly been helpful in the past.

Anyone know what happened to KKFX HD on clear QAM? It used to be channel 84-5, but I no longer receive that channel. Did Cox decide to only have FOX in HD for cable box customers? I'm in Goleta

Anyone know what happened to KKFX HD on clear QAM? It used to be channel 84-5, but I no longer receive that channel. Did Cox decide to only have FOX in HD for cable box customers? I'm in Goleta

It moved to 50-5 a couple months ago.

Anyone know if there is any provider in the Santa Maria/San Luis Obispo DMA (exact site is in Arroyo Grande) that has an HD PBS signal?

A non-technical good friend has DirecTV and says his PBS is channel 65 (Santa Barbara?) and is only SD. I'm trying to help him get a PBS signal in HD. There is no OTA HD PBS signal. I'm especially interested in anyone in the Santa Maria/San Luis Obispo DMA that has DirecTV and also has HD PBS from DirecTV. I would think it should be provided by KOCE 50 SoCal PBS from LA.

In this market, Dish Network has an SD-only PBS signal that is probably the generic PBS national feed.

KCET has an HD signal OTA that has the same sort of programming you would find on PBS, except no "PBS brand" programs, like Nova or Nature.

PS I can see Arroyo Grande from my front porch. :)

Anybody know the status of KBAB-LD Channel 50. I have been unable to pick it up OTA. My TV Fool report says I should be able to receive it (here in the Santa Ynez Valley) but I've had no luck finding it. KEYT and KCET (at the same location) come in beautifully. A quick google search shows a lot of submitted forms to the FCC by Biltmore Broadcasting. Are they currently involved in some flap?. Thanks for any info in advance ...

Anybody know the status of KBAB-LD Channel 50. I have been unable to pick it up OTA. My TV Fool report says I should be able to receive it (here in the Santa Ynez Valley) but I've had no luck finding it. KEYT and KCET (at the same location) come in beautifully. A quick google search shows a lot of submitted forms to the FCC by Biltmore Broadcasting. Are they currently involved in some flap?. Thanks for any info in advance ...

Just checked, I'm picking up KBAB fine in Carpinteria

Just checked, I'm picking up KBAB fine in Carpinteria

Hey, thanks for that! At least, now I know they are sending a signal. And now I don't feel quite so bad running around my backyard with ladder and a 20ft. mast trying to pick it up.Looks like it's time for a pre-amp (as per another users suggestion on another forum).

We're you able to get all 4 stations?

Cheers!

Hey, thanks for that! At least, now I know they are sending a signal. And now I don't feel quite so bad running around my backyard with ladder and a 20ft. mast trying to pick it up.Looks like it's time for a pre-amp (as per another users suggestion on another forum).

We're you able to get all 4 stations?

Cheers!

If you mean all of the KOCE subchannels, yes.

The digital versions of the basic channels are unencrypted, so anyone with a QAM tuner in their TV can get them without a box and enjoy the improved quality now.

Anyone re-scan recently? Is the above still true or has Charter encrypted them? My system takes quite a bit of work to relabel channels after a rescan, so I thought I'd ask before I do it. TIA!

Update: I re-scanned and the only digital versions of the basic channels that I'm receiving are the ones that have always been available -- the major networks, G4 and RTV, and two PBS stations. They do look much better.

See response below from Charter on (dslreports.com)

Good Morning,

It appears that we are moving channels in preperation to add additional HD content. Below is a list of upcoming changes. We are very sorry for the confusion. Did you have any other questions we could help with?

Channel Changes 3/1/2012
Effective 3/1/2012,
MOVES:
NBC Sports Network from ch. 68 (Exp Basic) to ch. 411 (Exp Basic (Digital Only))
Golf Channel from ch. 67 (Exp Basic) to ch. 412 (Exp Basic (Digital Only))

Channel Changes 4/3/2012
Effective 4/3/2012,
ADDS:
BET HD on ch. 738 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
E! HD on ch. 752 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
HLN HD on ch. 749 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
LMN HD on ch. 739 (Digital View (HD Only))
MSNBC HD on ch. 751 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
Nickelodeon HD- West on ch. 740 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
Oxygen HD on ch. 741 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
Spike TV HD-West on ch. 753 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
Travel Channel HD on ch. 754 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
VH-1 HD-West on ch. 743 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
Hallmark Channel HD on ch. 798 (Exp Basic (HD Only))

Thanks,

Dylan

See response below from Charter on (dslreports.com)

Good Morning,

It appears that we are moving channels in preperation to add additional HD content. Below is a list of upcoming changes. We are very sorry for the confusion. Did you have any other questions we could help with?

Channel Changes 3/1/2012
Effective 3/1/2012,
MOVES:
NBC Sports Network from ch. 68 (Exp Basic) to ch. 411 (Exp Basic (Digital Only))
Golf Channel from ch. 67 (Exp Basic) to ch. 412 (Exp Basic (Digital Only))

Channel Changes 4/3/2012
Effective 4/3/2012,
ADDS:
BET HD on ch. 738 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
E! HD on ch. 752 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
HLN HD on ch. 749 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
LMN HD on ch. 739 (Digital View (HD Only))
MSNBC HD on ch. 751 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
Nickelodeon HD- West on ch. 740 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
Oxygen HD on ch. 741 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
Spike TV HD-West on ch. 753 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
Travel Channel HD on ch. 754 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
VH-1 HD-West on ch. 743 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
Hallmark Channel HD on ch. 798 (Exp Basic (HD Only))

Thanks,

Dylan


Ch. 740 Nick, Ch. 749 HLN, Ch. 751 MSNBC, Ch. 753 Spike and Ch. 754 Travel went live today. Pretty strange, a few days early.

Anybody know what happened to KCET? I haven't been able to receive it since the snow storm up on broadcast peak.

All other channels are active as of today in the correct locations!!!


Ch. 740 Nick, Ch. 749 HLN, Ch. 751 MSNBC, Ch. 753 Spike and Ch. 754 Travel went live today. Pretty strange, a few days early.

See response below from Charter on (dslreports.com)

Good Morning,

It appears that we are moving channels in preperation to add additional HD content. Below is a list of upcoming changes. We are very sorry for the confusion. Did you have any other questions we could help with?

Channel Changes 3/1/2012
Effective 3/1/2012,
MOVES:
NBC Sports Network from ch. 68 (Exp Basic) to ch. 411 (Exp Basic (Digital Only))
Golf Channel from ch. 67 (Exp Basic) to ch. 412 (Exp Basic (Digital Only))

Channel Changes 4/3/2012
Effective 4/3/2012,
ADDS:
BET HD on ch. 738 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
E! HD on ch. 752 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
HLN HD on ch. 749 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
LMN HD on ch. 739 (Digital View (HD Only))
MSNBC HD on ch. 751 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
Nickelodeon HD- West on ch. 740 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
Oxygen HD on ch. 741 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
Spike TV HD-West on ch. 753 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
Travel Channel HD on ch. 754 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
VH-1 HD-West on ch. 743 (Exp Basic (HD Only))
Hallmark Channel HD on ch. 798 (Exp Basic (HD Only))

Thanks,

Dylan

More new channels that just showed.
676 Epix HD
747 FNC HD
756 AMC HD
759 SPD HD

Style HD 689 now active

Hi guys,

I'm considering purchasing an HDHomeRun Prime to use with a CableCARD, but I don't want to use Windows Media Center. I also don't subscribe to any premium channels so that shouldn't be a problem.

I'm wondering if someone in Lompoc would scan Comcast's lineup and if someone in Goleta/Santa Barbara would scan Cox's to see which channels are set "Copy freely".
Comcast apparently has a blanket policy of setting all non-premium channels copy freely, but sometimes local affiliates don't follow it to the letter.
I've also heard that Cox tends to only have local channels set copy freely, but I hope that's wrong.

Thank you for the help!

Drew

P.S. I'll be moving in the near future, so that is why I'm curious about both.

^ With COX, only the local and local-ish HD channels from Los Angeles lack the CCI 0x02 byte, with several SD basic cable channels also in the clear. This is the main reason I refuse to pay for expanded/premium channels.

Annoying as hell for a TiVo owner. Ran into the same problem with Time Warner Cable in Los Angeles.

Now active;
670 ABC Family HD
673 Cartoon HD
681 TruTV HD
684 BTN HD
686 Golf HD
688 TCM
695 DXD
744 CMT HD
745 Lifetime HD
748 CNN HD

More channels are now active.
TVLAND HD 776
G4 HD 694
GSN HD 693
MTV2 HD 691
ENCORE HD 675

More channels are now active:
ESPNU HD 685
NGC HD 679
SHOWTIME EXTREME HD 607
HBO FAMILY HD 507
HBO 2 HD 503