Time Warner Inc., the world's largest media company, said fourth-quarter profit rose 34 percent.

Can't they afford to throw us a bone?

Continued bad news.
http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070202/NEWS01/702020336/1001
The headline says "High-def Super Bowl plan unplugged - Lack of cable deal creates need for special antenna", but the first sentence has "Viewers who want to see the Super Bowl in a new-fashioned way will have to use old-fashioned antennas." So, it seems that Jeff read the comments. :) However, he still didn't mention the need for an ATSC tuner.

While it would be interesting to hear what the true story is regarding the negotiations. I place the blame fully on WBNG.

They are the last local affiliate to go HD (not including the CW network WBNG owns) and it sure seems like they waited until a few days before the Super Bowl to pressure TW into a 'good' deal.

The advertisers need to realize that they are losing the HD audience to the other network affiliates.

As for TW, I sure hope that they start seriously pursing more HD content this year. With DirectTV's plan to reach 150 HD channels by the end of 2007, I might have to make the jump.

Out of curiousity for those with DirectTV and the DirectTV DVRs, can you record HD content off of OTA signals? (Or would I need a Tivo?)

I have Dish Network and Record HD OTA.
I have the 622 so I can't speak for the other receivers.
I went with Dish because they had the most HD channels (about 40) and am glad I did. Some of the channels stink, but overall I get better PQ than cable and overall more bang for the dollar.

Continued bad news.
http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070202/NEWS01/702020336/1001
The headline says "High-def Super Bowl plan unplugged..."

I just sent this e-mail to both parties. At least it made me feel better for the moment. I encourage you all to fill up their mailboxes!

A SHAMEFUL PERFORMANCE BY BOTH WBNG/GRANITE and TWC-STNY

I write in absolute outrage over the failure of Time Warner-Southern Tier and WBNG-Granite Broadcasting to have an HD carriage agreement in place on the day WBNG's HD signal went live.

If both of your organizations cared half as much about your HD-deprived and cable-dependent customers as you do about the "bottom line", you would not have used the imminent Super Bowl as a bargaining chip, and would have hammered out an agreement months ago. Your failure to do so says volumes about your priorities.

I have vented to TWC with my e-mails in this vein recently, but this time I have a special "commendation" for Les Vann of Granite Broadcasting, who had the audacity to say (as quoted in the 2/2 Press and Sun-Bulletin): "These agreements are complex and they are difficult to put together in a short time." In a short time, eh? That says all I need to hear about how Granite decided to proceed in the negotiations!

I'm impressed at the abilities of your two organizations to transform a heretofore well-mannered, underatanding, and even empathetic customer into one who is prepared to annoy each of you on a regular basis until you do the right thing.

Yours,

Ron Heyduk
Oneonta, NY

...
Out of curiousity for those with DirectTV and the DirectTV DVRs, can you record HD content off of OTA signals? (Or would I need a Tivo?)I have the HR10-250 DirecTV DVR with TiVo software. DirecTV also has their own DVR, the HR20, which will be needed when our area gets DirecTV HD locals. To record HD OTA all you need is an HD tuner and a recorder capable of recording HD. See the HDTV Recorders section here for more info.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/index.php?

I just sent this e-mail to both parties. At least it made me feel better for the moment. I encourage you all to fill up their mailboxes!

A SHAMEFUL PERFORMANCE BY BOTH WBNG/GRANITE and TWC-STNY

I write in absolute outrage over the failure of Time Warner-Southern Tier and WBNG-Granite Broadcasting to have an HD carriage agreement in place on the day WBNG's HD signal went live.

If both of your organizations cared half as much about your HD-deprived and cable-dependent customers as you do about the "bottom line", you would not have used the imminent Super Bowl as a bargaining chip, and would have hammered out an agreement months ago. Your failure to do so says volumes about your priorities.

I have vented to TWC with my e-mails in this vein recently, but this time I have a special "commendation" for Les Vann of Granite Broadcasting, who had the audacity to say (as quoted in the 2/2 Press and Sun-Bulletin): "These agreements are complex and they are difficult to put together in a short time." In a short time, eh? That says all I need to hear about how Granite decided to proceed in the negotiations!

I'm impressed at the abilities of your two organizations to transform a heretofore well-mannered, underatanding, and even empathetic customer into one who is prepared to annoy each of you on a regular basis until you do the right thing.

Yours,

Ron Heyduk
Oneonta, NY

I got a form e-mail reply from TWC, but Les Vann at least gave me the courtesy of a personal reply:

"Thank you for writing about your concerns about WBNG and Time Warner Cable not having an agreement for the SuperBowl to air in HD on cable. I too share your frustration. Granite Broadcasting purchased WBNG in August. We immediately began the process of completing the expensive technical work required to transmit HD pictures over the air. We immediately notified Time Warner the build out was underway and our goal was to have the work finished by SuperBowl Sunday. That work was finished last Friday. During the time that ensued representatives from both companies worked to get an agreement but we simply were unable to do so. We have had an HD carriage deal in place with Time Warner in Syracuse for several years but have so far been unable to accomplish that in Binghamton. The issues are far more complex than indicated in the newspaper. There are technical, legal, and timing issues that we have been unable to resolve."

In noting that an agreement with TW Syracuse was hammered out, Vann is obviously suggesting it's TWC-STNY's fault. He may be right. But many of us lose anyway.

I call BS on the technical aspects - TWC was rebroadcasting WBNG in HD (unofficially) for a while, they just weren't giving cable box users a proper channel remap.

That said, they have since moved from 116.5 - either they are no longer rebroadcasting BNG in HD at all or have moved channels again.

Edit: 116.5 has been shown as (no data) by my HDHomeRun all evening, and there are no new QAM channels in my last scan that aren't (no data) or (encrypted).

No HD at all for now. :( I may have to make a custom Yagi just for VHF channel 7. :)

This and the fact that Universal HD isn't up yet makes me want to switch to Dish Network, but the weather patterns indemic to this area sort of scare me off of it.

Looking for some help. I have a Panasonic 50" projection/LCD with ATSC tuner. I set up a cheap Philips SCP010 32" Dipole, HDTV capable indoor antenna (all I could find locally) and ran the antenna / digitial channel setup on the TV, etc. I set the antenna up in my garage attic and tapped into an old unused coax cable that ran right to my TV location. Based off the signal meter in the setup on the TV, I'm getting between a 75% and 88% signal strength on DT channels. Digital channels 40-1 and 40-2 come in perfectly. However, WBNG-DT, 12-1 does not come in at all. I get the station ID displayed correctly, "WBNG-DT", but just a dark blue hue picture and nothing else. I did this during their supposed HD broadcast hours of 8-11 pm and 11:30 pm also, nothing. Channel 12-1 signal strength is also constant at 88%.

Any suggestions ? Thanks !!!

Same here, WBNG is broadcasting a blank carrier right now no idea why. But when they fix that problem, you should receive it fine at 88

I came home from work a little early yesterday to see if I could pickup WBNG HD on TWC cable channel 116.5. It came in great until just prior to 5PM, when the signal suddenly disappeared. It appears that someone at TW shut down the rebroadcast as they left for the weekend!

This and the fact that Universal YD isn't up yet makes me want to switch to Dish Network, but the weather patterns indemic to this area sort of scare me off of it.

If you have a clear line of sight to the satellite, then weather is really a non-issue for satellite reception. You might lose signal for 5-10 mins three or four times a year (usually it takes a thunderstorm to do it). However, you won't be able to get networks unless you can't pick them up OTA.

This and the fact that Universal YD isn't up yet makes me want to switch to Dish Network, but the weather patterns indemic to this area sort of scare me off of it.
If you have a clear line of sight to the satellite, then weather is really a non-issue for satellite reception. You might lose signal for 5-10 mins three or four times a year (usually it takes a thunderstorm to do it). However, you won't be able to get networks unless you can't pick them up OTA.
Losing DirecTV (or Dish) due to weather for 5-10 minutes is a heck of a lot better than losing cable for 2-3 days. And, DirecTV has Universal HD now.

It is 8:10 on Saturday and I am still unable to tune 12-1, it reports a good signal but no image (as reported above). When do they plan on fixing this?!

It is 8:10 on Saturday and I am still unable to tune 12-1, it reports a good signal but no image (as reported above). When do they plan on fixing this?!

With our luck, probably Monday :P

Today I received a generic advertisement email from Time-Warner, promoting their All-In-One plan. The subject of the email was:

Get All The Best From Time Warner Cable

I am so close to dumping these turkeys.

Checked 12.1 shortly after 10pm and their is a digital feed (video & audio).

Program is not HD, but HD commercials are displaying fine.

There are audio dropouts and even static at times, so they may be experiencing equipment problems.

Better be broadcasting right on Sunday!

And for the record, I pulled the plug years ago on Time Warner.....and I've never looked back. There are plenty of good shows on network affiliates and now that they are almost all broadcasting digital feeds it's even better! Best thing it did was to break the endless cycle of channel surfing and hours upon hours of watching TV shows back to back and simultaneously. I spend more time doing the things I enjoy and getting things done that I need to get done.

In other words, sometimes "there's nothing good on" is a good thing!

~Mark

I was finally able to receive 12-1 WBNG-DT as of around 10:00 pm Saturday night. I am not sure if it was WBNG finally tweaking something or my continued tinkering with the antenna. I have had a constant 88% signal strenght for days on 12-1 and am happy with that, but no picture. I kept trying to tweak the antenna and the last thing I did was move the Diploes about an inch apart ? It works ? I am 6.2 miles from the WBNG antenna per Antennaweb, in Endwell, NY.

Good luck !!!

CBS Just started their coverage of SuberBowl XLI... On WBNG the Audio is out of sync, is it my setup? Or are others having this problem?

I came home from work a little early yesterday to see if I could pickup WBNG HD on TWC cable channel 116.5. It came in great until just prior to 5PM, when the signal suddenly disappeared. It appears that someone at TW shut down the rebroadcast as they left for the weekend!
I wish I didn't have a bunch of trees between my apartment's balcony and the southern sky - I'm getting tired of TW, and the Nextcom R5000-HD a coworker is using to record DirecTV HD to his PC is a far better PVR solution than my "unencrypted only" QAM tuner. (Admittedly, it is not yet supported by MythTV, but that shouldn't be too hard to fix.)

Although in this case, it sounds like the source itself (WBNG's transmitter) is having its own problems, although I get the impression that their OTA feed is currently up but there's nothing on QAM 116.5 at the moment. Not like I care, I hate football, but I want my CSI high-def fixes next week. :)

CBS Just started their coverage of SuberBowl XLI... On WBNG the Audio is out of sync, is it my setup? Or are others having this problem?

And now the signal has dropped clear-out (jumping between 0 and 22%), is anyone seeing a trouble free feed over the antenna?

And now the signal has dropped clear-out (jumping between 0 and 22%), is anyone seeing a trouble free feed over the antenna?

Audio is out of sync (its been out of sync all week as far as I've seen); had a bad signal with a green digitized screen about 20 minutes ago, and saw the signal go from HD to analog for a bit, then back to HD.

My guess is they're working on the problems, or at least playing around.

I phoned Direct TV and they said I can't get local stations, I'm in Endicott.

So for local I'm stuck with rabbit ears or the cable weasels?

I'm curious what DirecTV's eligibility page says for your location?
http://directvdnseligibility.decisionmark.com/app/AddressForm.aspx

It should return your status for both SD and HD DNS.

There's nothing wrong with OTA, it's free.

I phoned Direct TV and they said I can't get local stations, I'm in Endicott.

So for local I'm stuck with rabbit ears or the cable weasels?

why can't you install an appropriate antenna out doors.

I installed a winegard hd7082p at my parent home over a year ago and they were gloating because they were watching the game in hd and all the neighbors could not.

they have been directv customers longer than JD.

what about people who are allowed to have a small dish but cannot have an antenna on the roof, many rentals are like this due to insurance they won't allow you up there.

Review this document.
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html
The insurance restriction could be the problem.
Anyway to mount an antenna other than on the roof?

BTW, I've been a DirecTV customer since 11/1996.

Apparently I can get TimeWarner to provide local only service for $5/month, so I'm going with that plus Direct TV. They claim they can integrate them.

I'm curious what DirecTV's eligibility page says for your location?
http://directvdnseligibility.decisionmark.com/app/AddressForm.aspx

It should return your status for both SD and HD DNS.

There's nothing wrong with OTA, it's free.


It indicates scores of A, except B for NBC.

I'm not going to have both a dish and an antenna, that won't fly here.

It indicates scores of A, except B for NBC.

I'm not going to have both a dish and an antenna, that won't fly here.

why not?

Today DirecTV was installed, looks better than cable to me.

When the weather improves, I'll reconsider the antenna.

Watching NBC-HD on Channel 700 here in Owego (TWC-Binghamton) tonight I was seeing WETM out of Elmira instead of WBGH out of Binghamton. Channel 5 was still WBGH.

Any idea why?

Probably because the low power WBGH isn't HD and TWC wants to present an HD signal.

Today DirecTV was installed, looks better than cable to me.

When the weather improves, I'll reconsider the antenna.

Yes, but do you have a 50'' + HDTV? DirecTV compresses the hell out of their HD channels, and it shows on large TVs. But for regular old channels that were analog before, it will look better, esp if you had a not so strong cable signal. Now yes technically all sat channels are digital, but the box is converting them to analog for most people's TVs anyway, unless you are using HDMI. So you really aren't watching digital TV or digital cable unless you use HDMI. You are watching analog.

Probably because the low power WBGH isn't HD and TWC wants to present an HD signal.

This is the first time I've seen the the WETM call-sign during commercials and the WETM news at 11. I wonder if they've been doing this all along, but switching back to the WBGH/WIVT news at 11 via TW?

Yes, but do you have a 50'' + HDTV? DirecTV compresses the hell out of their HD channels, and it shows on large TVs. But for regular old channels that were analog before, it will look better, esp if you had a not so strong cable signal. Now yes technically all sat channels are digital, but the box is converting them to analog for most people's TVs anyway, unless you are using HDMI. So you really aren't watching digital TV or digital cable unless you use HDMI. You are watching analog.

I have a 42" Panasonic plasma connected via hdmi to DirecTV box.

This is the first time I've seen the the WETM call-sign during commercials and the WETM news at 11. I wonder if they've been doing this all along, but switching back to the WBGH/WIVT news at 11 via TW?

Caught up on some episodes recorded on the DVR. The episode of Medium I had recorded from Feb 7th showed the callsigns for WBGH-20 several times during the commercial breaks, also a couple of lead-ins for the 'Newschannel 34' news at 11.

The Feb 14th episode of Medium showed the WETM callsign and had commercials for the WETM news at 11.

So TimeWarner definitely changed something over the weekend, still curious why.

Were you watching the SD or HD channel from TWC?

Were you watching the SD or HD channel from TWC?

Both recordings were HD, off TWC Channel 700. Interesting thing is the Channel guide says 'WBGHH'.

Watching an episode of Law and Order: SVU on channel 700 and its back to WBGH. Maybe equipment problems last week?

Fortec Star is planning to launch a new HD satellite receiver later this year. Although an exact date for the launch has not been given, a preview of the receiver will be available at the March CABSAT show in Dubai and the April SBE show in Atlanta.


John

http://www.fortecstar.com/

so when is TWC going to carry CBS I pay for HD service and Im missing this channel I don't care if its from another city or not :mad:

Yeah, earlier they were saying they hoped to have an agreement in place in time for the NCAA Tournament. Well, guess what folks? It's starting soon.

I got tired of waiting for Time Warner, so I tried an old rabbit ear antenna and hooked it up to my antenna input. I did a channel search and was able to get WBNG (channel 12.1) to come in crystal clear. Fox HD also came in.

I live in Vestal near the Glenwood school.

What about WIVT-DT (ABC)?

What about WIVT-DT?
It was the first station here to go HD.
I have no idea about TWC carriage, but I would say it's there as well.

Now, to some new OTA observations.
I'm now getting ch 46-3 labeled as WSKGDT3, with the Create logo. This wasn't unexpected as it was pointed out to me via email by a local.

I also have ch 30-3 showing in my guide. This is identified as WSKADT3. I have no picture and the signal strength test shows 0. Since the call letters are close to WSKG, it makes me wonder if it is some test and I see it due to PSIP. The guide data is the same as for WSKGDT3.

Receiver is the HR10-250 for those that care about these things. I also have the HTL-HD.

I got tired of waiting for Time Warner, so I tried an old rabbit ear antenna and hooked it up to my antenna input. I did a channel search and was able to get WBNG (channel 12.1) to come in crystal clear. Fox HD also came in.

I live in Vestal near the Glenwood school.

Wow, indoor basic UHF/VHF antenna? That's cool.

I recently got a little portable HD tuner for my computer(the OnAir GT) and I'm curious to see if it can pull in any HD OTA stations with it, the next time I visit "home" in Apalachin. It comes with a little dinky extendable antenna, but from where I live now(Philly metro) I can pick up the HD OTA stations with it. Although the terrain is just a bit flatter in Southeastern PA! But I'm still about 15 miles from the towers. For a dinky little box and antenna, it does a decent job of pulling in HD OTA. I hope by the time I move back to the area perhaps in a few years the HD situation is a bit more mature, esp with WBNG :mad:

I have been reading about maybe delaying the swithh to all digital again.

All stations have to be in digital now. It's broadcasting in HD that is next.

Yeah, earlier they were saying they hoped to have an agreement in place in time for the NCAA Tournament. Well, guess what folks? It's starting soon.

Yep, less than a week to go! Neither of my 2 HD sets have ATSC tuners, so I'm stuck until this happens. :mad:

I have recently purched a hdtv and have ordered hd service from Directv. They will be here to install next week. Living in Whitney Point I am able to receive WSYR 68.1 out of syracuse with my ota antenna but nothing from the Binghamton/Elmira area. My question is the last time I had a Service call from Directv I told them I was thinking about HD service. The tech that was at my home said he would not advise it due to the length from my satalite dish to my house. The dish is at the end of my driveway about 150 feet from the house. I would not be able to move the dish closer due to large trees all around my home. I asked him about an amplifier or something that could be place between my dish and multiswitch but he didnt seem to think it would work. I guess what Im trying to find out is if there would be an issue with the length of cable from the house to the dish. Sorry Its so long just trying to give as much info as possible for help.

I also realize that my ota probably just needs to be re directed to pick up Bing/Elm feeds.

150' is a bit long, but if the dish is aligned for maximum signal it shouldn't be a problem. The main problem with long lines is that the LNB switching voltage can get attenuated and prevent the LNB from switching polarities.

Check this forum for more info about DirecTV.
http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=82

How big is your OTA antenna? Is it VHF capable? Because three of the four Binghamton stations are on VHF.

Yes my ota is vhs capable. I think its just a matter of getting on the roof and changing the direction. Tough to do with all the snow right now.

1 more question...I all ready have waivers and am able to receive the network feeds from NYC and LA....Once I get HD programing will I receive the networks in HD?

The rules are different for the HD waivers since I got mine. You'll have to ask DirecTV. But, I see no reason why not considering your location.

cjguinan:
Did your wavers come from Syracuse or Binghamton?

Binghamton market. I received NBC,ABC,Fox immediatley. CBS was about a week longer.

Binghamton market. I received NBC,ABC,Fox immediatley. CBS was about a week longer.

Thank-you very much for the information. :)

Any word from TWC on Universal Hd? I thought it was suppose to start in January in our area. They added MHD instead. Does that mean no Universal Hd? I asked the cashier when i payed my bill at the Horseheads location in Febuary, and she said they were still working on it.

MHD is terrible and they play the same four concerts over and over again. I'd really like ESPN2 or maybe the ability to get MSG in HD. So I could maybe actually watch some of my sports teams in high definition. It's not like they're competing with cablevision up here, so they could easily get the HD feeds from them if they wished and they've got it in other TWC areas throughout the state.

NBCU isn't coming anytime soon, don't hold your breathe.

I have recently purched a hdtv and have ordered hd service from Directv. They will be here to install next week. Living in Whitney Point I am able to receive WSYR 68.1 out of syracuse with my ota antenna but nothing from the Binghamton/Elmira area. My question is the last time I had a Service call from Directv I told them I was thinking about HD service. The tech that was at my home said he would not advise it due to the length from my satalite dish to my house. The dish is at the end of my driveway about 150 feet from the house. I would not be able to move the dish closer due to large trees all around my home. I asked him about an amplifier or something that could be place between my dish and multiswitch but he didnt seem to think it would work. I guess what Im trying to find out is if there would be an issue with the length of cable from the house to the dish. Sorry Its so long just trying to give as much info as possible for help.

I also realize that my ota probably just needs to be re directed to pick up Bing/Elm feeds.

150' Should not be a problem it works with Dish. You can also use RG11 coax and it will work fine for sure. Most installers are little more than dopes. There is also a all copper RG 59 that has a lower loss for the DC Volts. Most RG 59 is only a copper coat on the center conductor.

I read an article from the Press recently about the WBNG-HD issue. Stated that the issue is no longer being discussed at the local level, but at the corporate level, directly between Granite Broadcasting and Time-Warner Corporate.

Sounds like nothing is going to get resolved anytime soon...

Interesting thing, the WBNG ch-2 picture quality seems to have degraded quite a bit recently. I get a lot more snow on the picture, makes me wonder if WBNG is trying to make TW look bad.

In either case, makes me start to consider the DirectTV route again.

...
Interesting thing, the WBNG ch-2 picture quality seems to have degraded quite a bit recently. I get a lot more snow on the picture, makes me wonder if WBNG is trying to make TW look bad...It could be the other way around. TWC making WBNG look bad. :)

True ;)

Any word if any of our LP stations will be going to full power?

Or if The CW will even go OTA?

I was bored a few weeks ago and looked through the FCC's license database. I saw several license renewal applications for the local stations, but no applications to increase the transmission power of any of the local stations.

You cannot get snow with digital unless it has snow to start.

You cannot get snow with digital unless it has snow to start.

I was referring to the analog WBNG signal on ch2, the only one that is available via Time Warner cable at present (until Granite stops playing games and allows it to be broadcast like every other station in the area.)

Is Granite supplying a poor signal to TWC or is TWC playing the games?

At this point I'm not sure if its my house, or if its time-warner in general (or just in my geographic area)

Lately I am seeing a lot of snow on WBNG-analog on TW ch2. Ch 3 (WICZ/Fox) analog looks fine (no snow) so does NBC and ABC analog.

However my HD channels are experiencing a lot more drop outs lately. I went in with my box (SA3250HD) last night while trying to watch Fox and NBC and found that the box says the signal level it was receiving was 10dB (or was it a negative 10, I'm not sure at this point) - The cable box was highlighting the value as orange/yellow indicating it wasn't in the right range, and the error count was rather high (averaging 600 errors, if i'm reading the screens correctly.)

This box/TV is the longest run in the house, and I didn't check the other HD box to see what level it was seeing at the time.

However, when I checked the analog Ch2, the signal levels were good, even though I was seeing a lot of snow. (and this I did check on 3 TVs, two with HD convertor boxes, one with just a straight connection to the cable) - all showed significant snow.)

If I went to the antenna and looked directly at the analog ch12, I didn't see any snow.
I am assuming that TimeWarner picks up its analog WBNG signal over the air via an antenna (not anything more fancy from WBNG) - so I don't think WBNG would be introducing the snow. Which brings me back to: 1) its Time Warner or 2) the crappy cable system near my house.

Since no one else I know has noticed any degradation of the Ch2 picture on cable, I'm guessing that (yet again) the cable on my road is not sending out a signal that is high enough. The frustrating part of this is that it appears that the signal levels are lower at night than during the day (any time I've checked during the day the signal levels are good according to the cable boxes; and according to any of the techs I've had come out during the day to look for problems) - this leads me to think that the problem is temperature/weather related.

I really do think the problem has to be outside of my house, since I've had techs out 3 or 4 times, and they've replaced splitters, connectors, even cables inside the house (heck, they even installed a new ground strap outside the house once)

Sorry, kinda long-winded, rambling post :)

It is probably a combination of moisture in a loose bad connected fitting, somewhere outside.

have them send a supervisor to check and be calm on the phone.

had the same problem at my parent's home. They screwed around for years there and I finally ended up installing an antenna and directv.

now they bug me. :)

I took a look when I got home tonight and found that my one TV showed -9/-10dBmV, the other TV showed -7/-8 dBmV

I have a 4-way amp, so I installed it, the signal levels are now up to +1 and 0 dBmV. But I'm still getting break-up of the digital signals.

I just brought up the diagnostics screen, watching House on Fox Ch702. Tuner is -1dBmV, but shows 96/sec (avg) - think these are errors. The S/N is 33dB.

So I still think there is a problem outside the house, introducing these signal problems. (Unless the amp I've got is causing problems, but I don't think thats it since the problem exists without the amp too.)

I'll have to try and give time warner another call, see if I can get them to come out again.

Time Warner came out Saturday morning, tech that arrived took some measurements which showed more signal loss on the higher frequencies and told me that they have had at least four reports of problems on our road.

There was another crew out just up the road doing some sort of work on the lines. Tech also told me he agreed the line from the pole to the house should be replaced, said was going to put in a work order and that it should get replaced this week. Said they'd replace the rg6 cable with rg11 which should help out on the higher frequencies (from reading I've done, I guess rg11 has less loss over distance at the higher frequencies than rg6.)

Funny thing is, since I made the phone call to Time Warner, a lot of the problems we've seen have gone away, I was almost afraid when they got out here that they would find nothing. I was glad to hear I wasn't the only one on my road that has called up to complain recently, hopefully they find the problem easily.

Does anyone know of any areas in/around binghamton that have gotten FIOS yet?

I haven't heard of Verizon installing any FIOS lines. But, then I'm not in Verizon's territory.

I see that YES-HD has been added to TW's HD tier.

Verizon seems to be hitting the major areas of NY first: NYC, Long Island, Syracuse, Buffalo, I think Rochester and Albany. Nothing in the works for Binghamton/Elmira area as far as I could tell online.

BTW, when Verizon does put in FIOS in Binghamton, it won't make any difference to me unless my phone company (Frontier) does also.

FYI, ESPN and ABC corp announced an agreement to add ESPN2HD to Time Warner!

Press release here (http://espnmediazone.com/press_releases/2007_04_apr/TimeWarnerandTWDCAnnounceDistributionAgreements.htm)

I just read this on Broadcast Newsroom

"In a separate matter, DirecTV, which provides local TV service in 142 markets today, said it would meet a previous commitment to the FCC that it would serve all 210 local TV markets by 2008."

Hope that means that Directv will broadcast our area Locals.

I'm still wondering what locals will be provided for Binghamton. Will we have NBC and The CW by then, since these are low power and cable only respectively now. And what about My Network which is also low power and provided on a sub-channel of Fox? Will WSKG's sub-channels be provided? And, are these the HD locals?

The FCC and licence holders are currently in the process of assigning and sorting out the digital channel assignments for the low power and repeater stations.

I noticed that many of the syracuse/rochester low power stations have already been assigned. I misplaced the speadsheet and am unable to locate the document ...sorry.

I see a new application in this document for ch 23 digital.
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?state=NY&call=&arn=&city=Binghamton&chan=&cha2=69&serv=&type=0&facid=&list=0&dist=&dlat2=&mlat2=&slat2=&dlon2=&mlon2=&slon2=&size=9
The licensee is Stainless Broadcasting. Can I assume that this will become the full power station of The CW since currently that station is on a sub channel of WICZ - also owned by Stainless?

The listing for WBGH (Ch 20 - CA) doesn't show anything about digital.

Anyway things seem to be moving - albeit slowly.

What's up with SNY HD or Mets games?

Just going to be on In Demand HD or what?

This is a METS-centric area, due to the minor league team and all.

I see a new application in this document for ch 23 digital.
The licensee is Stainless Broadcasting. Can I assume that this will become the full power station of The CW since currently that station is on a sub channel of WICZ - also owned by Stainless?


I think the local CW channel is owned by WBNG/Granite. The ch23 from Stainless Broadcasting (WICZ-fox) is probably a sub-channel for the 'MyNetwork' 'My8' which shows up at 40-2 over the air (at least the last time I checked it did.)

Does Binghamton TWC broadcast network HD in the clear?

I have a friend who just bought a 27" LCD HDTV which doesn't have a QAM tuner, yet it scanned the following channels.
79.1 NBC
79.2 ABC
85.1 FOX
85.2 WSKG
85.3 WSKG

116.2 Nick Cartoons

He bought this TV.
http://www.olevia.com/jsp/products/detail.jsp?pid=227v

Does Binghamton TWC broadcast network HD in the clear?

I have a friend who just bought a 27" LCD HDTV which doesn't have a QAM tuner, yet it scanned the following channels.
79.1 NBC
79.2 ABC
85.1 FOX
85.2 WSKG
85.3 WSKG

116.2 Nick Cartoons

He bought this TV.
http://www.olevia.com/jsp/products/detail.jsp?pid=227v

Indeed they do, I believe they are required to by the FCC, but not sure on that. That TV must actaully have a QAM tuner in order to pick up thoses channels...

Not sure about 116.2, I have seen some on-demand content sent in the clear. Not too useful though unless you just happen to tune it at the beginning of a something you are interested in watching ;)

I am using a HDHomerun to tune them in, works great. Been fiddling to get ATSC and QAM working simultaneously on the PC using GBPVR/MCE, but having a little trouble so far.

My Dad had Time Warner out to reattach his cable wire to the mast at his house (got taken down during the heavy snow we had a few weeks back by a tree)

While the tech was out, he and my Dad were talking and my Dad was complaining about the snow he gets on the lower channels (2-8) - the tech told him: "by the end of the summer, all the cable lines are going to be upgraded to fiber optic cable, and all that snow will go away."

Has anyone heard of any plans for TW to upgrade the cable system in the STNY region? Seems like switching to fiber would be a huge job, not necessarily something that could be completed in the time frame mentioned.

Now my Dad admits he may have misunderstood the tech, but I'm still curious if anyone else has heard if anything is in the works?

Is TW even deploying Fiber optic service, like Project Lightspeed(AT&T) or FiOS(Verizon)?

It will be years before STNY Time Warner gets their sh*t together.

If fiber optic lines will get rid of the snow on lower channels, don't forget it will also get rid of all channels other than 2-13, as they will need a converter box. You can't just run a fiber line to a house and then you have fiber optic TV, it needs a whole new interface box.

Considering it has only been deployed in MAJOR US cities and affulent suburbs of these cities for less than a year, I don't think it's coming to the Southern Tier for quite some time, if at all.

Thats what I was thinking as well, unless the tech meant that main trunk lines were going to be converted to fiber optic, with coax still running to the houses.

Still, I can't see even that happening anytime soon in this area.

Even with coax into the house, I doubt they will create lower channel analog frequencies at each drop. It will remain digital and still require an STB.

It is the channels above 6 that cable loss takes a jump. Any snow on 2/6 is not because of cable loss but because they have a problem.

Thats what I was thinking as well, unless the tech meant that main trunk lines were going to be converted to fiber optic, with coax still running to the houses.

Still, I can't see even that happening anytime soon in this area.
That's probably the case. Fiber to a distribution box, followed by coax serving a neighborhood is actually pretty common, and I would not be surprised if even TWC STNY is doing this already.

Fiber to the home is a whole different story...

Anyone using Windows MCE? If so, can you tune WBNG?

I can't (using MCE, but other apps are fine). Here is a thread describing what is happening:

http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/185362.aspx

Has anyone else noticed a lower case 'g' showing up in the upper left corner of the screen on WBNG broadcasts? I'm seeing it on both cable and OTA broadcasts of WBNG.

I have noticed it on WBNG also. It doesnt show up on WYOU ota. Must be another station issue.

Yes, I noticed it as well. WBNG probably thinks that the overscan of most TVs hides it. With my RPTV I only see the lower half of it.

Has anyone else gotten WSKGD recently on Time Warner? I just noticed the other day that it's at channel 750.

Anyone using Windows MCE? If so, can you tune WBNG?

I can't (using MCE, but other apps are fine). Here is a thread describing what is happening:

http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/185362.aspx

Nobody I gather? :rolleyes:

WBNG is the pits in my mind, I've sent THREE emails over about 3 weeks asking for some input on this problem, and not a single reply.

Thank you very little, WBNG :mad: (and thanks for the stupid "g" in the upper left hand corner, really professional looking :( )

Has anyone else gotten WSKGD recently on Time Warner? I just noticed the other day that it's at channel 750.

WSKG-DT showing on my computer's HD QAM tuner, at 85-13, along with WSKG-DT2 at 85-15.

I didn't know that Binghamton's cable NBC HD is WETM out of Elmira, I guess since WBGH can't do any HD?

These are all the open channels I've found:

79-13 - WIVT-DT(ABC)
79-14 - WETM-DT(NBC)-Elmira
85-13 - WSKG-DT(PBS)
85-14 - WICZ-DT(FOX)
85-15 - WSKG-DT2(PBS)
87-112 - The Science Channel
90's - Some Music Choice
116-21 - Nicktoons Network

We've got a drop to a bedroom upstairs that goes right to the pole, back when they put in Roadrunner for a summer a couple years back. Another drop from the pole provides the rest of the house. No splits on that line, goes right into a jack in the bedroom. The signal is strong enough to get the HD channels in the clear, no breakup.

I come home to visit the parents, all they have is an analog LCD(no built in HD), and I come and play around with my laptop and my USB HDTV tuner :)

OTA HD, forget it, not with an indoor antenna and the hills here. According to antennaweb I'm only 9 miles west(near the broome/tioga line), but the hills destroy any chance of a digital signal w/o going to an outside setup.

Has anyone else gotten WSKGD recently on Time Warner? I just noticed the other day that it's at channel 750.I got it; it's the "Create" channel. It's got some interesting DIY and cooking shows.

Well, it's been a while. Has anyone heard anything about HD OTA for NBC or CW for Binghamton?

Oh yeah, TWC's HD seems to be anemic. :)

Just checked the FCC website and found this.
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=168092

Same licensee as WICZ. Could this by for MyNetwork since that is being broadcast on a subchannel?

Well, nearly two years after picking up my HDTV, I'm now picking up ATSC channels with an outdoor antenna so I finally feel I can join this thread in earnest. :D

Install today took a little over three hours. I opted for a chimney mount and rotor so I can do the FOX out of Corning. It's kind of a shock because I've been without pay TV for 2 months now, suspended my DIRECTV account in late April at the end of the billing cycle and I'm set to reactivate in August. I'd heard how nice ATSC channels could be and, yes, I'm impressed. I'm grateful that WSKG set up digital transmission in my area because I wouldn't have gone through all this for just the 2 NBC channels. It would be real nice if WBNG followed suit. I know you Bingotown folks probably feel the same about WETM.

Jim, CW isn't an OTA option here. WENY owns the rights and probably kept it cable-only because...well, pardon my cynicism, but I think TWC offers some form of incentive for them to do so.

Gotta go. I need to pick up an ATSC tuner for my MCE 2005 PC. ;)

I'm hoping that DirecTV will offer CW HD as a DNS because of the cable only status here. Just like how The WB was. Although I don't like too much government involvement, this is a case where the FCC needs to be involved. Heck, The CW is more of a network than NyNetwork. :) I do have The CW as DNS with DirecTV, it's the SD version from Baltimore.

I wonder what DirecTV will do for us with respect to local HD with The CW and MyNetwork and for us in Bingo with NBC?

I'm out in the boonies in the Nineveh - Afton area. We are now getting HD on Adams cable. The lineup is pretty good, but I'm seeing a lot of digital signal problems. Particularly the Binghamton ABC channel on Adams 500 loses sound and breaks up several times an hour.

I'm wondering if this is a cable company issue or if WIVT's signal is at fault. Apparantly Adams simply picks the signal off the air with an antenna. They claim the problem is coming from WIVT and cna show that I am getting a clean signal from the cable.

Is anyone else is seeing these types of problems? Are there any other Adams customers on this board?

It most likely is Adam's cable receiving WIVT via antenna. I have occasional pixelation here with OTA, caused by multipath. I think Adam's is stretching the limit if they are using OTA for their signal source. I'd ask them how they are getting the signal.

I think Adam's is stretching the limit if they are using OTA for their signal source. I'd ask them how they are getting the signal.

I did... They just pick it up off the air at their head end. Apparently they are too small an operation and too far out to justify an expensive fiber optic cable. They also carry the Scranton PA channels which are much better apparently, but can't authorize my DVR in New York state to access them.

Thanks for the additional data point.

Well, it's been a while. Has anyone heard anything about HD OTA for NBC or CW for Binghamton?

Oh yeah, TWC's HD seems to be anemic. :)

Just checked the FCC website and found this.
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=168092

Same licensee as WICZ. Could this by for MyNetwork since that is being broadcast on a subchannel?

You are correct, this is an application for "MNT8" on digital 23.

Digging very deep into the FCC records and finding the station's application, and a technical attachment identifies the station to be WBPN-LP on analog 8, applying for low power "digital companion channel" on channel 23.

I guess the question that remains is if this station will ever become a full power station or ever go HD.

And related is if The CW will ever be OTA here. Not to mention NBC.
I'm not holding my breath.

I guess the question that remains is if this station will ever become a full power station or ever go HD.

And related is if The CW will ever be OTA here. Not to mention NBC.
I'm not holding my breath.

Application wasn't for full power... HD seems like a dream if they are just applying for digital OTA now doesn't it?

WBNG owns WBXI right? If the time it took them to get HD OTA, we shouldn't hold our breath

BTW I grew up in Apalachin and now live in the 'burbs of Philly, and love learning about this stuff being an engineer, that's why I read/post in this thread. Where I live is so cool, I plug in an indoor antenna to my TV or OnAir GT and don't even have to raise it, and get about 9 digital channels, all the networks HD, PSIP data, etc :) Course they are all on UHF here, VHF and all the hills in binghamton = nasty.

VHF and all the hills in binghamton = nasty.

Yeah, it's the downside of being in a valley. Digital doesn't make it any easier.

Has anyone else noticed how low the volume is on Fox during the shows?

On my TV I typically have the volume set between 35 and 40. On Fox I have to push the volume up to 75-80 to get the same level (then I have to wind up hitting 'mute' when the commercials come on because the volume shoots way up.)

I've tried emailing Fox but have had zero response. It gets pretty annoying but i'm not sure what options I have. Seems to happen both 'over the air' and through TWC-702.

It's probably WICZ and their connection to FOX itself. I never have any audio problems with WTIC-DT (FOX) channel 61/digital 31 here in greater Hartford (CT). Say, is your trouble with WICZ-DT with an antenna or on cable? I get the same results either way here.

1st post here. I'm located in Oneonta, and I just purchased a 42" panasonic.

My cable guide is only showing 1 HD network, 702 WICZ (Fox). I just called customer service(who are out of binghamton) and they stated that I should be getting channels 700-706.

Anyone in the oneonta area getting ABC or NBC in HD through Time Warner? I know WBNG isn't available yet, but does anyone get WRGB in HD by any chance? The standard def. channel for that station is 26 and it's out of Albany. The last post I could find were people complaining about this problem over a year ago. Anything changed since then?

My cable guide is only showing 1 HD network, 702 WICZ (Fox). I just called customer service(who are out of binghamton) and they stated that I should be getting channels 700-706.

Your Guide shows one channel, is that how many you actually see? If TWC says you're supposed get 700-706 and you're not seeing them, I'd ask for a truck roll to resolve that issue.

Your Guide shows one channel, is that how many you actually see? If TWC says you're supposed get 700-706 and you're not seeing them, I'd ask for a truck roll to resolve that issue.


Yeah, I almost don't even want to bother with that. DirectTV is looking mighty good to me right now.

Received letter in the mail the other day:

HD Channel Changes

Dear ....:

Our records indicate that you are currently a customer of the Time Warner Cable HD Tier. We are constantly striving to improve our service offering - especially for our High Definition customers. We are writing today to inform you of some changes to your HD Tier lineup, effective August 31, 2007.

Beginning August 31st, ESPN2HD (Channel 720) and SportsNet New York HD (Channel 722) will be added to our Standard HD lineup and ESPNHD (Channel 719) will move from the HD Tier to the same Standard HD lineup. The rest of your HD Tier channels will continue to include MOJO, HDNET, and HDNET Movies. In addition to these changes, we are also adding ESPNU to our Digital Lineup on Channel 121.

We realize that ESPNHD was a popular channel on the HD Tier and would like to offer you the opportunity to receive the Sports Tier, including College Sports TV and NBA TV, free of charge for one year.

We apologize for any inconvenience this move may cause, but are confident that you will enjoy these exciting additions to our channel offerings.

Should you have any questions ...


So, finally ESPN2HD but not much else - and the HD Tier is pretty much worthless now. The only reason I will still keep it is because the package I have for DVR and premiums the HD Tier came for 'free'. I may need to check if I can do better without the package.

So, finally ESPN2HD but not much else

Well, you're getting SNY-HD full time along with YES-HD. I don't get that as a DIRECTV sub in Elmira so it's not something I'd sneeze at.

I notice that the local NBC affiliate, WETM, is airing an ad about how they're not being carried by either DIRECTV or Dish Network and they give the e-mails and phone #s to contact to request carriage. Anyone else seeing anything similar by affiliates in their market?

Received letter in the mail the other day:

HD Channel Changes

Dear ....:

We realize that ESPNHD was a popular channel on the HD Tier


This was worded poorly. I had to reread this letter several times before realizing that they aren't taking away ESPNHD or making us pay extra for it just in time for Monday Night Football. Actually it could even be a cost reduction if I drop the HD Tier.

These changes are okay but I'd really like to see them get ABC, CBS and FOX in HD.

These changes are okay but I'd really like to see them get ABC, CBS and FOX in HD.

I've been told that for ABC special events, like the last time they has the Super Bowl in early 2006 and the NBA Finals, they open up the channel for the Binghamton ABC-HD affiliate WIVT. The consensus of the people in the know in this area is that it 's not looking good for WENY to go HD any time soon. I'm just lucky that there's very little on ABC that I watch now that MNF is elsewhere.

I've been told that for the FOX affiliate, WYDC in Corning, it's a matter of TWC getting a fiber optic feed from them. Doesn't seem that hard a task for two companies based in Corning. I stopped by the WYDC office last week to ask what they planned on doing about an ATSC feed that would reach outside of the immediate Corning area and all I got was a shoulder shrug. It's eighteen months away folks, time to make your decisions.

I've heard that the negotiations between WBNG and TWC for the HD feed has been contentious. TWC used to have a WBNG feed in the 700s they were calling digital, but it wasn't HD. I believe they finally realized it didn't look good being in with all the HD channels and dropped it.

I did get the letter today regarding ESPN2 HD and SNY HD. The lack of the NFL Network and the sorry state of the networks in HD down here make it more likely I'll be going the DirecTV route though.
By the way, I was told over two years ago that WENY was ready to go HD anytime and still hasn't happened. One network affiliate in HD, and it's NBC at that with WETM's pixelvision on anything where movement is involved.

It seems that Elmira isn't in any better shape than Binghamton. :(

I can't find out exactly what HD stations DirecTV will offer once they get around to us, since we don't have all of the networks OTA. I luckily have waivers for the networks, so I get the HD from NY for the four main nets. But, once DirecTV offers locals, these waivers may be rescinded.

By the way, I was told over two years ago that WENY was ready to go HD anytime and still hasn't happened.

That's the standard answer you get if you ask WENY. If you ask others in this area or who have any knowledge of WENY, you hear the exact opposite. Here's a post (http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=997649&postcount=33) from someone in the know who misread a post of mine @ DBSTalk and thought I posted that WENY was doing HD when it was WETM that I mentioned.

I luckily have waivers for the networks, so I get the HD from NY for the four main nets. But, once DirecTV offers locals, these waivers may be rescinded.

There's talk that DNS will be removed as an option, which sucks because I've worked hard to get an arrangement I can live with now. I've played by the rules, no "moving", I started with Lifeline cable, then applied for and received waivers for three networks, used an indoor antenna for Grade A signal networks, moved to an outdoor antenna when I found that the indoor wouldn't work for the low band VHF ATSC signal WETM does OTA. Supposedly the legislation for DNS is worded for "analog" broadcasts, so the digital conversion wipes out those terms.

I love HD, but it just seems this whole digital conversion is a clusterf*#% in the smaller markets like ours.

If I could get ALL networks OTA, then I wouldn't have to worry about DirecTV (or Dish for that matter) carrying our locals. And, TWC carrying The CW as a cable only station has a lock on that one.

For those coming late to this thread, Binghamton HD OTA has ABC, CBS, Fox (with My Network on a sub channel) and PBS.

I won't even consider TWC until they carry true HD for ALL networks.

I won't even consider TWC until they carry true HD for ALL networks.

I had a TWC rep come calling in the Spring of 2006 with a real nice offer to switch over from DIRECTV and Verizon DSL and I asked him to let me think about it and to leave me his card. I was still fairly new to HD and it had been years since I kept track of what TWC was doing programming-wise, so I had some research to do. After doing just that, I had to turn him down due to the fact that I can get CBS and FOX in HD from DIRECTV and TWC couldn't provide that. For an NFL fan that's HUGE! The TWC rep walked away sulking. I think my point was made because in the year and half since then with no change in FOX or CBS in HD being offered by TWC there has been no return visit by a TWC rep to my residence.

Received letter in the mail the other day:

HD Channel Changes

Dear ....:

Our records indicate that you are currently a customer of the Time Warner Cable HD Tier. We are constantly striving to improve our service offering - especially for our High Definition customers. We are writing today to inform you of some changes to your HD Tier lineup, effective August 31, 2007.

Beginning August 31st, ESPN2HD (Channel 720) and SportsNet New York HD (Channel 722) will be added to our Standard HD lineup and ESPNHD (Channel 719) will move from the HD Tier to the same Standard HD lineup. The rest of your HD Tier channels will continue to include MOJO, HDNET, and HDNET Movies. In addition to these changes, we are also adding ESPNU to our Digital Lineup on Channel 121.

We realize that ESPNHD was a popular channel on the HD Tier and would like to offer you the opportunity to receive the Sports Tier, including College Sports TV and NBA TV, free of charge for one year.

We apologize for any inconvenience this move may cause, but are confident that you will enjoy these exciting additions to our channel offerings.

Should you have any questions ...

I received the same letter, but instead of the Sports Tier I was offered the Showtime Package, including Showtime HD, for one year.

I'm still waiting for Universal HD and a couple others... My boss just signed up for DirecTV and he was telling me the guy that set it up for him told him that Binghamton might get locals in September, if that's true I'm done with TWC.

September is when the first of two MPEG4 satellites is supposed to go online. The question remains, however, is what will DirecTV do for us in regards to the lacking networks?

I own TWC HD receiver and have ABC/FOX/NBC. Is there still no end in sight for a WNBG HD channel?

DirectTv was what I thought I would be happy with however we did not get any locals and my applications through DTV were denied. This was about a year and a half ago. Has anything changed? Are there any HD locals for Broome County residents?


I am upgrading to a 50" Panny before the NFL season kicks off and I was wondering if there is any hope in sight for more/better HD content.

Are there any HD locals for Broome County residents?

Have you been to antennaweb.org and plugged in your address to see what's available over-the-air? Yeah, I know having an outdoor antenna installed is a b*tch, but it's either that or sit on your hands and wait for a multichannel provider to give it to you and compress that signal to their own liking. I hear that CBS has doubled the HD games they're carrying this Season from 3 to 6 each week, so the ball's in your court if you can pick it up over-the-air.

I wasn't thrilled to have to install one for NBC, but it stunk watching the Sunday night games in SD last year, don't want to go through it again.

Adams cable in Carbondale PA serves parts of Broome and Chenango Countys. They carry WBNG HD, WIVT HD, WICZ HD, the Scranton NBC affiliate in HD, WSKG HD and WVIA HD. My only gripe involves the ABC feed which has frequent digital dropouts originating at Adams head end.

I find it odd the Time Warner can't make the same deal as the little guys in PA.

If you are willing to spend a few bucks, there are two Satellite services to the north (Starchoice and Bell ExpressVU) that can be received here in the "southern provinces". Both of these carry US all the networks in HD (both east and west cost feeds) and you don't need the permission of the pope to get them. You do need an address in the area served by these systems however. There are program brokers offering this service. Google is your friend.

Does Adams just use a big antenna to pull the Binghamton HD stations, and then distribute them over cable? Is that even legal w/o a formal agreement? Somehow I think the answer is no.

I believe D* promised to have ALL the locals availible by end of 2008. Not sure if this included HD or not, I believe just SD. HD locals are lagging, but they keep launching new birds so it should only get better.

Another note, anyone heard anything about some network called WCSN being carried, either by TW or OTA anywhere? A while back, they secured an agreement to bring the channel to Granite markets, including Binghamton and Elmira, and said by fall they would carry it in all of their markets. Watch WBNG tack it on to digital ch 7, and there goes the PQ on 7.1 And if they ever put CW on as another sub...

Is WBNG still owned by granite, weren't they selling it off?

I find it odd the Time Warner can't make the same deal as the little guys in PA.

Tells you all you need to know about TWC, doesn't it? I know they didn't offer HSI or all the channels, but I liked Paragon Cable a lot more than TWC.

Well, you're getting SNY-HD full time along with YES-HD. I don't get that as a DIRECTV sub in Elmira so it's not something I'd sneeze at.
Do you get either of them in HD? Do you get them in SD? I'm in Buffalo and get both in HD with Directv. Do you have a 5-LBN dish and an MPEG4 capable receiver? I don't subscribe to any sports packages - both are simply considered my RSNs (along with MSG).

You see them in Buffalo on the HD channels 622 & 625 because DIRECTV serves your area with locals. I'm in an unserved market so I only see them when they're on one of the MLBEI-HD channels, like 95/96 or 730/731. And yes, I have an HR20 and the 5 LNB dish.

I see. Strange they tie your MPEG4 RSNs to your MPEG4 LIL. Kinda making you suffer through no fault of your own as you've already upgraded your equipment.

Does Adams just use a big antenna to pull the Binghamton HD stations, and then distribute them over cable? Is that even legal w/o a formal agreement? Somehow I think the answer is no.

Yes, they just pull them off the air at their head end. They tell me it would be too expensive to run fiber back to the stations, but the antenna - at least for ABC - isn't giving them a reliable signal. WBNG HD looks good however.

I can only assume they are doing this legally. I know they had problems negotiating deals with the Scranton PA affiliates - which are also being carried in the same cable that runs into my house in NY. Unfortunately they can't turn them on for me because I'm not in the stations service area.

I see. Strange they tie your MPEG4 RSNs to your MPEG4 LIL. Kinda making you suffer through no fault of your own as you've already upgraded your equipment.

It was one of the reasons I suspended my programming in late April and I won't be reactivating until the 26th of this month. One of the reasons I asked for the HR20 last September was I was hoping to see my Mets in HD this Season. When I found out that wouldn't happen and I wouldn't get the YES Yankee games on the regular basis I did the past two Seasons, my reaction was, "I'm paying for this because ____?!" and I couldn't fill in the blank.

I have to believe it will be resolved next Season and if it isn't, I'll do the same suspension and if FIOS is available in my area at that time, I'll cancel rather than reactivate.

I'm new to the whole OTA thing around here, and ever since NBC went off the air I've always had cable or didnt' care about NBC. I just got DirecTV installed last week for mainly football and HD. I went out and bought a cheap-o antenna at wal-mart the other day and I can pick up most of the channels (12, 34, 40) but I can't find any NBC stations. Antennaweb.org told me I should be able to pick up channel 20, but that's coming in really crappy, and by really crappy I mean pure snow.

Is that really the only NBC station we have in the area? Is there any way to get DirecTV to feed me NBC? I'm right in the city of Binghamton right next to JC. I have an apartment and there is no way I can have an external antenna installed on the roof.

Is that really the only NBC station we have in the area? Is there any way to get DirecTV to feed me NBC?

Here's the link for DIRECTV DNS Eligibility (http://directvdnseligibility.decisionmark.com/app/AddressForm.aspx). If you have to apply for waivers than that's a 90 day wait.

Channel 20 is a low power station and because of that they haven't even gone digital (thus no HD). This is what concerns me with regards to DirecTV sending our HD locals. There isn't an HD NBC locally. :( Maybe they will give us an out of market station. But, then a lot may change by the time the analog cutoff occurs in 2/09. And then there is the situation with The CW. No OTA for it at all.

you should be ok receiving a waiver for national nbc east (directv ch 82). I recently received one for my parent's setup in endicott.

I do not see anything happening for hd locals in the area till at least next spring. There may be a possibility for SD locals soon based on info from my connections. otherwise install an approprate off air antenna.

the antennas directv supply for the binghamton area are not adequate unless you have favorable reception conditions. the binghanton area is challenging because of the geography. the area is unique because the digitals are in low band and high band vhf and uhf.

Hi Rick,
My Winegard 7084 with the preamp is working quite well, at least until fall when the leaves fall off.

For those of you who might wonder why I'm using that beheimoth of an antenna, it's because of a hill between me and the towers. I'm only 9 miles from them as the crow flies.

Can someone explain the best way for me to try and get CBS in HD. I have a 50" panny plasma(75U) with a TW box. I get fox,abc nbc in HD and would really like CBS. Do i need to buy an antenna or can my TV pick it up locally. If so how? just a little confused on that whole scenario.

If your TV has an ATSC tuner, then you can use an antenna to pick up local HD broadcasts.

BTW, what's your location?

Go to antennaweb.com to check out what you'll need for OTA reception.

I have a question for any who feel they can answer it or point me in the direction where I can find an answer.

I reactivated my DIRECTV programming on Sunday and on Tuesday hooked up a lead for ATSC OTA channels on the HR10-250 and when I did the scan for OTA channels, it found 18.1 and 18.2 for WETM and 30.1 and 30.2 for WSKG. The thing is on my SONY TV WSKG is mapped to 30.3 and 30.4. Can anyone account for the discrepancy?

Did you re-run guided setup to select your zipcode?

18.1 and 18.2 for WETM is correct, right? I think WSKG in your area is using digital ch 30, though I don't know what subchannels you're supposed to get. I'd call WSKG and ask what's going on.

This kind of thing usually points to a PSIP problem.

Is there an analog broadcaster in that region on channel 30? If so, how far away are they from WVIT-TV (NBC) channel 30 of New Britain/Hartford? They transmit from Rattlesnake Mountain in Farmington, CT, a few miles WSW of Hartford. [WVIT-DT is on channel 35.]

Did you re-run guided setup to select your zipcode?

Nope, just did a scan for OTA digital channels.

18.1 and 18.2 for WETM is correct, right? I think WSKG in your area is using digital ch 30, though I don't know what subchannels you're supposed to get. I'd call WSKG and ask what's going on.

This kind of thing usually points to a PSIP problem.

Correct about WETM. I'm getting Guide data for those channels. The HR10 correctly identifies the WSKG channels, actually I think they're WSKA in my area, but I called DIRECTV last night and confirmed my notion that any Guide data comes through the digital stream, not from DIRECTV.

It's no biggie, I just find it odd that one device maps the channels to 30.3 and 30.4, while another denotes 30.1 and 30.2.

Is there an analog broadcaster in that region on channel 30? If so, how far away are they from WVIT-TV (NBC) channel 30 of New Britain/Hartford? They transmit from Rattlesnake Mountain in Farmington, CT, a few miles WSW of Hartford. [WVIT-DT is on channel 35.]

Hey KML. We're talking South Central NYS here, near the PA border. I'd be thrilled to pick up a CT channel here, but I don't see that happening. ;)

Actually though, the analog OTA channel 30 was in use by WETM until the first of the year, first as a UPN station, then Independent after CW started last Fall. It was basically what can be found on 18.2.

I know exactly where Binghamton is! Anyways, I figured than our market has at least SOME influence on the eastern side of the Binghamton market. Was the station which I referred to known as WYDC-TV, with a city of license of Corning, NY?

On a different note, what are the chances of getting a full-powered NBC station in your market, analog or digital?

Anyone getting ESPN2HD and SNYHD yet?

Anyone getting ESPN2HD and SNYHD yet?Not OTA!

FYI - Here's the Wikipedia entry for WSKG which mentions WSKA as a repeater station.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WSKG-TV

Was the station which I referred to known as WYDC-TV, with a city of license of Corning, NY?

WYDC is at 26 in analog in my area, very weak signal, and at 48 in the Corning area. It's so low power, there's no way its signal would reach Bingotown.

Channel 30 was WTTX until the first of this year. The Wiki Jim links to says WSKA began broadcasting in the Fall of 2006, but I recall WTTX being operational until last January. They, WTTX, still have a spot on the outfield fence, right field, at Dunn Field, complete with UPN logo. Shows you how outdated my area is at times.

Not OTA!




Sorry, I meant through Time Warner. Today was supposed to be the day that the HD tier was updated.

Well it looks like TWC finally added those two new HD Channels. ESPN2 HD was showing up yesterday and SNNYHD was there this morning.

They're channels 720 and 722 respectively. Now let's see more

WYDC is at 26 in analog in my area, very weak signal, and at 48 in the Corning area. It's so low power, there's no way its signal would reach Bingotown.

Channel 30 was WTTX until the first of this year. The Wiki Jim links to says WSKA began broadcasting in the Fall of 2006, but I recall WTTX being operational until last January. They, WTTX, still have a spot on the outfield fence, right field, at Dunn Field, complete with UPN logo. Shows you how outdated my area is at times.

At the baseball stadium for the Binghamton Mets? Hmmm! Anyways, Hartford/New Haven has an ION affiliate on analog channel 26, but it's licensed to New London and has their transmitter in Montville, CT, which should have no bearing on Binghamton.

The one station which MAY influence on Binghamton a bit would probably be WTXX-TV (CW) channel 20, which is licensed to Waterbury, CT and has their transmitter in the Prospect/Naugatuck, CT area, to the south of the city. That's the westernmost full-power station in the market.

At the baseball stadium for the Binghamton Mets? Hmmm!

No. Check my location. I'm in Elmira, NY, not Binghamton.

Why dont TWC put on a Syracuse CBS HD station for the HD channels
they can still have the crapploa SD channel 12 on 2

I'm also getting snyhd and espn2hd now, but I thought the letter that time warner sent me said I was going to get showtimehd also. Did anybody else receive a letter from them that stated this?

Why dont TWC put on a Syracuse CBS HD station for the HD channels
they can still have the crapploa SD channel 12 on 2In this case, blame the FCC not TWC.

Anybody find the QAM channels for ESPNHD and ESPN2HD yet? Looking for TW in Ithaca. No luck yet here.

I'd seriously doubt you'd get those channels in the clear.

Hey bidger,
I see that the Binghamton/Elmira DMA has moved up to 156 from 157.
Not that it means a whole lot. :(

I'd seriously doubt you'd get those channels in the clear.
I'm not so sure. I've got over 80 channels in the clear, including HD versions of ABC, CBS, and NBC.

I was just thinking that since they moved the ESPN channels into the lower tier that they might be in the clear now as well.

Of course I could be wrong.

I'm not so sure. I've got over 80 channels in the clear, including HD versions of ABC, CBS, and NBC.

I was just thinking that since they moved the ESPN channels into the lower tier that they might be in the clear now as well.

OK, now I see the logic. Forgot that they had made that announcement. Too bad you're counting on TWC to employ the same logic. ;)

Hey bidger,
I see that the Binghamton/Elmira DMA has moved up to 156 from 157.
Not that it means a whole lot. :(

Any progress is good, but I think E-town is still @ 173 on its lonesome.

OK, now I see the logic. Forgot that they had made that announcement. Too bad you're counting on TWC to employ the same logic. ;)
I see your point.

TWC is down since early wed morning, I can get basic cable only
HD don't work, I cannot watch anything on my DVR 8300HD
it went down at like 2am. They are usually quick to fix problems :mad:
I cannot believe they block the ability to watch the recorded shows:mad:

What location?

Vestal, its back on now and the box works as normal.
I had no Idea if they turn off the signal your DVR material is off too

I'm also getting snyhd and espn2hd now, but I thought the letter that time warner sent me said I was going to get showtimehd also. Did anybody else receive a letter from them that stated this?My letter said that I'd have the "opportunity" to receive the Sports Tier, which also did not automatically appear on September 1. I think I'll need to call and request it.

Article on the current state of HD and WBNG in Binghamton, from TVPredictionshttp://www.tvpredictions.com/blackout091007.htm

This is just terrible news. I may just go back to DTV. My wife would kill me if I switched again. Corporate greed kills the consumer.

That article only relates to TWC carriage of WBNG HD.

You can still get them OTA.

However, I expect WBNG to be just as hard headed when DirecTV wants to carry their HD signal.

Is it time for the consumer to complain to WBNG's advertisers?

Is it time for the consumer to complain to WBNG's advertisers?

Yeah, lets complain to Olums, who had a salesman quoted in the Press saying that you need a "high definition antenna" to pick up OTA HDTV :confused:

I just got my HDHomerun working to pick up the all the other HD locals over the QAM TW cable feed, using Windows MCE.

Can't pick up WBNG using OTA withing MCE though, because something is still screwed up with their transport stream that makes windows unable to pick it up. (I can watch it just fine outside of MCE). Kind of irrelevant now, since MCE can't tune both QAM and OTA with a single setup (even with the dual tuners of the HDHR).

Yeah, lets complain to Olums, who had a salesman quoted in the Press saying that you need a "high definition antenna" to pick up OTA HDTV :confused:
...We should ask that salesman what resolution that antenna has. :D

...
I just got my HDHomerun working to pick up the all the other HD locals over the QAM TW cable feed, using Windows MCE.
...I know very little about QAM on cable systems since I don't have cable. :)

...
Can't pick up WBNG using OTA withing MCE though, because something is still screwed up with their transport stream that makes windows unable to pick it up. ..Well, there you are. It's a Windows problem :)

Crap...just realized that MLB playoffs are on TBS-HD this year.

What are the chances TWC adds this channel before the end of the month?

Is there any reason that I should get my hopes up, seeing that the two are both Turner companies?

Crap...just realized that MLB playoffs are on TBS-HD this year.How did they end up there?

How did they end up there?

Are you kidding? $imple rea$on

I was directed to this forum by a very helpful user via the Direct TV forum on local stations in the Binghamton/Elimira area. I have expressed my issues many times to Direct TV on how unfair it is that this area does not receive local stations when Direct TV representatives have been telling me for the better part of 4 years I should be getting stations (in SD or HD) soon.

I have no initiated the waiver process on all stations that we currently do not get locally on satellite. I know that off the Bat channel 12, and channel 40 will turn me down. I currently get these two on an off air antenna, but I cannot pick up channel 34 or channel 20 (NBC).

I was wondering if there is anyone out there that has been successful in receiving waivers for channel 34 or channel 20?

Or if there is any additional information that would help me to get these channels if I happen to be turned down.

Thank you for your time.

I received waivers for all four major networks many years ago and thus I'm grandfathered in from the new waivers rules. Originally, CBS turned me down, but I badgered them enough that they relented.

If you can get 12 and 40 via OTA, you should be able to get 34. Since 20 is low powered, I think you should be able to get a waiver for NBC.

To check your DNS eligibility go here.
http://directvdnseligibility.decisionmark.com/app/addressform.aspx

If you can get 12 and 40 via OTA, you should be able to get 34. Since 20 is low powered, I think you should be able to get a waiver for NBC.



Not necessarily. Last time I checked, 34 was broadcasting at about 1/10 the power of the other ones (and I have a hard time picking it up).

If you can get 12 and 40 via OTA, you should be able to get 34. Since 20 is low powered, I think you should be able to get a waiver for NBC.

I would heavily disagree, I do not get any reception with 34 or 20. 12 and 40 come in but there are times where they cut out. I get three WSKGS most of the time but they too will cut out and I have to adjust my antenna. I have large hills around me and I live in sort of a valley and that may keep me from getting clear reception. It looks as though I should get a waiver on channel 20, and I may have to fight for the others.

Thanks for the information...

Crap...just realized that MLB playoffs are on TBS-HD this year.

What are the chances TWC adds this channel before the end of the month?

Is there any reason that I should get my hopes up, seeing that the two are both Turner companies?

I think the fact you state in the last sentence that both are under the same corporate umbrella should make the chances pretty good. In E-town, there is no FOX-HD OTA or through TWC, so that would be the only opportunity for Post Season Baseball in HD. That's pathetic that you can see the first round in HD, but not the WS. Of course, the same is true for NFL Post Season, Wild Card Saturday (NBC), but nothing beyond that.

I should go back to TWC because _____? ;)

I have a waiver for CBS in Binghamton. I live on the "dark" side of the hill and can't get a signal from them or anyone else.

I contacted them via snail mail and then email when they didn't respond to my first letter.

I explained my situation of not being able to receive a signal and where I lived. They asked me to put up a "new" antenna because I had not tried in years...so JDSpencer was kind enough to lend me one. I installed it and it did not work. I contacted them back and let them know and they agreed to issue me a waiver. I was expecting them to come out and check the signal but they did not. There was a waiver for the other stations already in place for my neighborhood, so I only needed CBS.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for this updated information. My problem is not CBS but I still cannot get ABC nor can I get NBC and its ticking me off. The other issue I have is that I have to constantly screw around with my indoor antenna and thus I think I am going to give in and buy an outdoor one and mount it near my satellite dish.

I hope I can at least get a waiver for NBC, ABC would be nice

And I hope if I mount an outdoor antenna I can get all the stations and do so clearly.

Anyone out there any suggestions on a good outdoor antenna???

Let me know, thanks for all the helpful info...

It's a real bummer that most of the Bills games are on CBS this year, and we can't see them in HD because WBNG and TWC can't come to an agreement.

Not necessarily. Last time I checked, 34 was broadcasting at about 1/10 the power of the other ones (and I have a hard time picking it up).
Please check again. Because right now I get the strongest signal for 34 than for 12 or 40. Granted that location is everything when trying to receive digital, but I have Crocker Hill between me and the towers. Using my HR10 I get 75-83 for 34 (digital 4), 62-65 for 12 (dig 7) and 54-65 for 40 (dig 8).

Using my HR-10, I get 0 % for 34, 75-80 for WBNG, 75-80 for WIZC...something is really blocking my path to channel 34. This weekend I went out and bought an outdoor antenna, I was on my roof with it, still nothing in terms of channel 34...unreal!!!!

Since ch 34 is on digital 4, you need a VHF/UHF antenna. Some UHF antennas can get the high band VHF (7 & 8), it won't do well with ch 4. I now have the Winegard 7084 which is huge. It's mounted on a 5' tripod on the roof ridge. Originally it was on one end of the roof. This didn't work very well. Too much multipath. I moved it about 25' down the roof ridge and now get what I mentioned. It's amazing how a simple move can reduce the multipath interference. However, when the leaves fall off, I expect the multipath to increase. :(

Seems like too much hastle, I was looking for an easy fix to not receiving my local channels on the satellite. I don't want anything large on my roof. Plus I live in a dense neighborhood with a lot of trees and houses and again I could try a million of these things, I have spoken to some people who have been down my same path of fustration and they state it really doesn't matter what you have, if you live in an area where your channels don't come in good then you could put up huge antennas and still get crappy or no reception.

I will take my chances now with what I have, I bought a very nice indoor antenna that gets me what I need for now and I will fight channel 34 for the waiver. I am assuming I will get the waiver for NBC as people say its readily available.

In time we will see...but I am done buying and returning antennas that in the end are gonna give me the same stations as always. And I shouldn't have to be on my roof screwing around with these things to try and get reception.

Looks like the word on the street according to some direct tv forums is that the big HD launch is taking place at 6am est tomorrow. For those of you out there who have DTV and have been waiting like me for months, do you know what channels we will be getting?

What I really want to know if we are getting YES, SNY, and MSG?

Any info would be helpful...thanks.

What I really want to know if we are getting YES, SNY, and MSG?
I think the plan is to make YES-HD and SNY-HD available nationwide (though I'm not sure how much $), but I don't know if that will happen tomorrow or not. I'm in Buffalo (my in-laws live in Binghamton so I watch this thread) and we already get YES-HD and SNY-HD from D*. We don't get MSG-HD from them, though it is rumored to be in testing mode, though I don't know when it will go live.

Hi everyone,
I live up by the Binghamton airport about 12 miles from Ingram Hill.
I am almost line of sight to the towers. I live on a large hill.
I have a medium sized CM antenna. My analogs all come in great. However I am having difficulties with the HD signals.
I have no problems with 40-1. That is perfect and has the lower of all of the signal strenghts, around 86. (odd)
About every minute I get an audio drop out and pixelation on 12-1 and 34-1.
The signal strength drops from 98 to like 90 the instant that this happens. It then jumps right back up. I just replaced all of the coax and it helped the analog signals, but no change on the digitals.
Is anyone else having these problems?
I am also wondering if it is my end or the stations.
Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Ryan

I'd say you have a multipath problem. Try re-aiming the antenna a little one way or the other. It does take some experimenting to find the sweet spot. Also just moving the antenna a feet can help. As I stated earlier in this thread, I moved my roof mounted antenna about 25' along the roof ridge and it changed my reception dramatically.

Are you in the landing path of the planes at the airport?
Exactly which SM antenna do you have? A more directional antenna can help eliminate multipath.

What receiver do you have?

Another cause of multipath can be a too strong signal. As a test, put a splitter in the line to reduce the signal.

Thanks for the info.
I am not in the landing path of the airport.
I did try to reduce using a splitter yesterday with no help.
The antenna is a CM 3016, nothing fancy. But i figured that I can see the towers in the late fall through early spring that it would do the trick.

One thing I didnt mention is that my wife (nor I really) wants the antenna on the top of the roof and visible.
I have it mounted on the eave of the garage on the back side. It is just below the peak of the roof in height so it cannot be seen from most angles.
It does have a clear shot to the towers though. Could the fact that it is not higher than the peak cause anything?

Oh yeah, I am feeding it to a Panasonic HDTV with a built in digital tuner. My friend is going to let me borrow a spare tuner he has to see if that is the problem. I may be upgrading my DTV receiver to the HD-DVR that also includes a digital off air tuner. But man they are charging $299. for the upgrade and they wont seem to budge on the price. Seems a bit steep to me.

Tell D* that E* is offering their HD-DVR for free. That worked for me to get D* HR20 for free as an existing customer.

Ok,

I am somewhat new to this stuff, but I think you answered one of my questions in terms of upgrading to an HD-DVR...who is E*? I know this is another satellite provider but would this be D*I*S*H Net???

E* = Echostar (now Dish Network)
D* = DirecTV (possibly from the Primestar days before DirecTV acquired them.

The lower to the ground the antenna is mounted the larger the possibility of multipath. But, since rmagill doesn't want the antenna on the roof, he has no other option but to stay with DirecTV. Well, there may be another non DBS option, which will remain nameless here.

This might not be the correct thread to ask this question in, but...

I'm on TWC in Oneonta, and last nights Braves-Phillies game was blacked out on ESPN-HD, but we still received the signal on the standard ESPN channel. I called customer service and they confirmed that TWC was indeed blacking out only the HD channel, but they couldn't give me any explanation as to why this would occur.

Anyone know what's going on here? I really need to switch to D*.:

Okay, I've finally had enough of Time Warner. I have not been receiving SNYHD, ESPN2HD, and my free year of Showtime due to their changing of the HD Tier package. I finally got around to calling them the other day, and when the lady answered she said, "oh, you have a Cable Card. There isn't much I can do, we'll send a tech out."

I already tried resetting the card, taking it out and putting it back in, etc. So the TWC tech arrived the other day. He was nice enough. Tried the same things I already did. Of course, he didn't show up with a new card, but after an hour he called another tech. The other tech informed him that because I have a Cable Card SNYHD and ESPN2HD required bi-directional signal, and I'd have to get a cable box to get them.

What?! The tech left, so I called TWC and after talking to a few people there they finaly corroborated the story. In fact, they said, all new HD channels that will be offered in the future will require a cable box. So if I choose to remain a Cable Card user the old HD channels are all I'll ever get. TWC said they weren't responsible for this, and it's already set this way from when they receive the signal.

I browsed and searched through the HDTV equipment forum and haven't found any information about this. Does anyone know if this is true?

Oh, and another thing about that free year of Showtime I got the letter about... The letter stated the new service would begin on August 31. But since I called after August 31 I couldn't get the offer even though the letter didn't state the offer expired, and there was nothing they could do to offer me something as a replacement, I talked to 4 different people including the manager.

In talking with the manager I asked him what is the bare minimum cable service I would need to continue to have RoadRunner, and he said I wouldn't need any cable package at all. I am now seriously thinking of doing this and getting Direct TV or Dish Network. Is there anyone else here that switched from TWC to a satellite service, and how was your experience?

Thanks.

I switched to DirectTV about a year ago, due to inability to receive HD network programing from TW. I did qualify for distant network services with D*.

I have been very happy about that switch since then. Even more so now with the additional HD channels.

About every minute I get an audio drop out and pixelation on 12-1 and 34-1.

I get he same thing on WMGC (ABC HD) from my cable. I'm on Adams cable (Afton area) and they tell me the problem is in the station and they can't do anything about it.

I get cable for the local networks, but find the service to be so flaky I'm thinking of go back to lifeline basic (no HD) and signing up for DirectTV.

I often wonder if this digital TV stuff is ready for prime time - at least over the air or on cable.

Thanks for the info.
I am not in the landing path of the airport.
I did try to reduce using a splitter yesterday with no help.
The antenna is a CM 3016, nothing fancy. But i figured that I can see the towers in the late fall through early spring that it would do the trick.

One thing I didnt mention is that my wife (nor I really) wants the antenna on the top of the roof and visible.
I have it mounted on the eave of the garage on the back side. It is just below the peak of the roof in height so it cannot be seen from most angles.
It does have a clear shot to the towers though. Could the fact that it is not higher than the peak cause anything?

The cm3016 is not adequate for the area and definately not fancy enough . poor performance on vhf especially ch 4 and worse that mediocar everywhere else.

suggest a winegard hd7082p with winegard hdp 269 preamp.

my family has issues with 34.1 with their state of the art antenna distribution system in endicott.

lame excuse by the way. my quess is off air is not a priority to you right now.

The other tech informed him that because I have a Cable Card SNYHD and ESPN2HD required bi-directional signal, and I'd have to get a cable box to get them.

What?! The tech left, so I called TWC and after talking to a few people there they finaly corroborated the story. In fact, they said, all new HD channels that will be offered in the future will require a cable box. So if I choose to remain a Cable Card user the old HD channels are all I'll ever get. TWC said they weren't responsible for this, and it's already set this way from when they receive the signal.
Welcome to cables bandwidth answer: Switched Digital Video (SDV). TWC is responsible for it - it has nothing to do with how they get the signal from the networks - it has to do with how they process it and send it to you. This is cables answer to D* and E* bandwidth advantage (especially D* now that the first of their 2 new satellites is up and operational).

I've been with D* since January 2003 and love it. If you sign up with them and have a friend/family that already has D*, use them as a reference and you'll each get a $50 credit on your bill. Or if you don't know anyone with D*, send me a PM and you can use me as a reference and we'll each get the $50!

Lame excuse????
I happen to have a beautiful home and do not want to have an ugly antenna mounted on my roof. So yes the appearance of my home is far more important than OTA television.
BTW, I bought a new tuner and everything is now perfect.

my parents, myself, and other clients also also have a beautiful homes. If you desire off air you do what it takes and tend not to blame your wife or care what it looks like!

you either want off air and the equipment necessary to receive it or you dont.

The whole issue gets rather old after awhile.

BTW, I bought a new tuner and everything is now perfect.

who you trying to kid.

Hey question...

I received the waiver for NBC and it comes in on my HD receiver but does not come in on my SD Tivo is this an issue, I would imagine if I received the waiver I should be getting this station in both HD and SD???

I did not, as some of you stated previously, get ABC but I don't get ABC on an OTA and I have tried outdoor antennas on top of my roof and I still don't, I submitted the waiver again with updated information...hopefully that goes through or I will be contacting the station.

Customer service's response as to whether or not TBS-HD will be added for the MLB playoffs:

"I have forwarded your question about TBS in HD being added to our line up. There is no way it will be added before October 1st. The corporate wheels are way to slow. These decisions are made at the corporate level and we usually don't get the information until it is released to the general public."


How is it that Direct TV, Cox, Charter, Cablevision, and Comcast in other areas have been able to broker a deal with TBS, yet TWC (who is under the same parent company) can't get this done.

I hope you Yankees and Mets fans get upset over this and let them know how ridiculous this seems.

my parents, myself, and other clients also also have a beautiful homes. If you desire off air you do what it takes and tend not to blame your wife or care what it looks like!

you either want off air and the equipment necessary to receive it or you dont.

The whole issue gets rather old after awhile.

.

who you trying to kid.

Whatever buddy,
There is more to life than TV. I went to this site for advice and got flamed by someone that spends countess hours playing with his 'antenna'.
I hope your being a smart ass on an annonymous web forum makes you feel important. Good day to you.
BTW thank you to Jdspence for answering my questions. I tried your advice and it helped. I then borrowed a friends tuner and everything worked great. I have purchased the same model and it will arrive soon.

Customer service's response as to whether or not TBS-HD will be added for the MLB playoffs:

"I have forwarded your question about TBS in HD being added to our line up. There is no way it will be added before October 1st. The corporate wheels are way to slow. These decisions are made at the corporate level and we usually don't get the information until it is released to the general public."


How is it that Direct TV, Cox, Charter, Cablevision, and Comcast in other areas have been able to broker a deal with TBS, yet TWC (who is under the same parent company) can't get this done.

I hope you Yankees and Mets fans get upset over this and let them know how ridiculous this seems.

TWC is full of BS. How is it other TWC's are adding the channels soon, and some already have. Why does Syracuse get more HD channels than Binghamton, especially if Binghamton is now supposedly under the Syracuse umbrella?

TWC is full of BS. How is it other TWC's are adding the channels soon, and some already have. Why does Syracuse get more HD channels than Binghamton, especially if Binghamton is now supposedly under the Syracuse umbrella?Sad, isn't it? It's all a load of garbage. Time Warner Binghamton (and perhaps many other Time Warner branches) are simply uninformed, or told to give you the runaround.

I've e-mailed the Binghamton office several times about HDTV info, and never gotten a useful answer. A few days before the baseball season started, I e-mailed them asking about YES-HD and Yankee games in HD, becuase last season they put the YES-HD feed on INHD-2 (which was defunct by this time). Well, their response was that they didn't know if the Yankee games would even be available in HD this season, and something about how they were looking in to getting YES-HD or something like that. Two days later (yes, TWO days later), YES-HD appeared on channel 721. Just proves that they have no clue as to what's going on, or if they do, they're not going to tell you.

This junk with TBS-HD is dumb. Clearly some systems are already adding the channel, including some Time Warner systems if what I've heard is correct. But it's clear that Binghamton Time Warner (STNY) is never going to be at the forefront of adding HD channels. They will always lag behind, becuase it simply doesn't matter how quickly they add HD channels. There's no accountability.

Where I live (on the Oneonta brach of the Southern Tier backbone), we get TWO of the HD broadcast networks. PBS, and FOX. That's just sad and pathetic. HD has been around for years now, and we still have no NBC, no CBS, no NBC. I realize that this isn't necessarily completely Time Warner Binghamton's fault, but still.

And even more strangely, (I hope they don't read this and remove it), we DO get NBC and ABC via QAM.

Time Warner is like a chaotic mish-mash. Each individual branch of time warner nationwide pretty much does whatever they want. There's no cohesion. There should be accountability among each and every branch. If a channel is purchased and under agreement at the corporate level, it should be a matter of flipping a switch at each and every branch to add the channel. But for whatever ridiculous reason, it doesn't work that way.

It's very frustrating, because at this point, there are very few "useful" HD channels that we even get.

FOX - WICZ
PBS - WSKG
Discovery HD (good channel)
TNT-HD (one of the lamest excuses for an HD channel... Most of the content is stretched SD)
MOJO (another ridiculously pointless channel. There's nothing of interest to me here)
Music HD (Here's a nice trend... another channel that really serves little purpose. I suppose there's the occasional music performance that's nice to see and hear in HD, but man, there's just not a lot of useful content)
HDnet (not bad. Some decent shows, but really not a ton of good content. The HD is usually great looking, but again, there's not a lot that you really want to watch, other than for the HD.)
HDnet movies (the occasional good movie, but they repeat most of the same movies over and over.)
ESPN-HD, and ESPN2-HD (thank you thank you thank you)
YES-HD (thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you)
SNY-HD (eh. I'm a Yankee fan. Nice to watch the occasional Mets game in HD though.)

And that's it. It's not an awful selection, but compared to some other providers, it's clearly lacking. The thing is that I'd give away Music HD, mojo, HDnet movies in a heartbeat for anything else moderately good.

Ok, well, anyway, sorry for rambling so much. If there's any misinformation here, please feel free to correct me as it's late and I might not be thinking clearly ;)

why not give directv a shot.

There was a question the other day about ESPN-HD being blacked out but the regular ESPN was not (in Southern Tier Time Warner land). Well, Saturday the Wisconsin-Michigan State game was on ESPN (ch. 25) but not on ESPN-HD (ch. 719). So, willing to wait on hold while watching games I called Time Warner. I got somebody quicker than I expected and when I asked her about it she said that they had been instructed by ESPN to black out that game on the HD channel. Not on SD channel, just HD channel. Makes no sense to me but they are saying ESPN told them to do it.

She had no answer when I asked if it would have been blacked out if I had DirecTv.

That game was not blacked out on ESPN-HD. If you have DTV the ESPN channel is now the HD version (weird for each HD station that we now get on DTV there are duplicate channel numbers, ESPN is 206 so if I type in 206 comes in SD if I channel up comes in HD).

DTV has it pros and cons but they will be rolling out another 40 some odd channels in HD they say this month!!!

bakntime - I have to give a major thank-you for the heads up on the qam channels. I'm in Oneonta and hadn't even thought to try that. :)

Had DTV launched those new HD channels like the said they were going to last week? Something like 21 new channels with more to come in October.

I've already decided to switch to DTV, I called a local installer on Friday and he said he'd call me right back. Still waiting to hear from him.

I heard today, on mike and the mad dog talking about playoff baseball, that TBS has announced that they will carry HD channel on Cable vision and Time Warner...does anyone out there now this to be true for this area?

Had DTV launched those new HD channels like the said they were going to last week? Something like 21 new channels with more to come in October.
Yes they did on 9/26.

I heard today, on mike and the mad dog talking about playoff baseball, that TBS has announced that they will carry HD channel on Cable vision and Time Warner...does anyone out there now this to be true for this area?

Some TWC's are already carrying the channel. When I called and asked the rep hadn't even heard about the channel and another rep said that they don't plan on adding any new HD channels any time soon.

Yes they did on 9/26.

Excellent!

Thanks

Just for grins and giggles I just now called TWC Binghamton and asked about TBS to see what a 3rd rep would tell me. He said that they don't plan on having it any time soon and said that we could expect ESPN2HD and SNYHD soon. I told him we've had it for a month now, his only answer was oh.

bakntime - I have to give a major thank-you for the heads up on the qam channels. I'm in Oneonta and hadn't even thought to try that. :)You're welcome! Just don't tell them! ;) I don't know if we're supposed to be getting them or not, as we don't get those specific channels on analog. There are some sort of broadcast rules that you only get HD channels for the channels you get over analog already, but the QAM rules may be different. Cable companies are required to carry a QAM signal for any local digital broadcaster who requests it.

Just for grins and giggles I just now called TWC Binghamton and asked about TBS to see what a 3rd rep would tell me. He said that they don't plan on having it any time soon and said that we could expect ESPN2HD and SNYHD soon. I told him we've had it for a month now, his only answer was oh.Yeah, they really are clueless. The customer service people rarely know what's going on. Like I said, I e-mailed them about YES-HD, and they acted like they had no idea if and when it would ever be added, and only like two days later the channel was there, so who knows.

I know that Time Warner corporate has agreed to a deal with TBS-HD, and then it's up to each individual branch to choose if/when to add it. Binghamton will obviously be behind most other branches, as this area simply doesn't care about being cutting edge with any of this stuff. It's almost like "we'll get to it whenever." What do these people do at the STNY headquarter? Don't they work on adding channels when they're made available? What on earth would be the drawbacks to adding a channel as soon as it was made available? Considering Time Warner corproate made the deal, it wouldn't cost them any more to add the channel would it?

I don't know how any of this junk works. All I know is that there should really be some accountability among each Time Warner Cable branch. There should be rules and requirements that are more strict than what they currently have.

OK, so I've heard about the QAM channels, but what are they exactly and how does one receive them? My HDTV has a QAM tuner built into it if I'm not mistaken and I'm looking to switch to DirecTV. Can I get my locals through QAM or do I need an antenna?

QAM is a used by cable companies. You QAM enabled TV tuner should be able to scan for them and tune them. Which ones are not scrambled is totally up to the cable company.

Time Warner's response to my question of are they going to add TBS HD by tomorrow for the playoffs:

"Thank you for writing Time Warner Cable. Due to a confluence of contractual and technical issues, we are currently limited in our ability to offer additional HD content. We will not have TBS-HD in time for the playoffs.

Please know that our division of Time Warner Cable continues to dedicate itself to expanding our HD channel offerings. We hope to have new systems in place by the end of the first quarter of 2008 that will significantly improve our ability to offer HD content. We will continue to negotiate in good faith with the owners the local affiliates, to upgrade our systems in order to expand our channel offerings, and work with the content providers to secure additional broadcast rights."

It basically it sounds like they have no plan to add any additional HD channels until sometime next year.

QAM is a used by cable companies. You QAM enabled TV tuner should be able to scan for them and tune them. Which ones are not scrambled is totally up to the cable company.

Do I simply plug the cable into my tv or do I need an antenna? Thanks.

btw, for those living in binghamton. What channels were you given waivers for? I was able to get the network for NBC, CW and PBS.

I started reading this thread yesterday and decided I would email TWC of the Southern Tier and see what they would say about additional HD programming in the near future. After reading the previous post I just had to join and post my carbon copy responce. I figured this was the generic email that they would send out, but I still find it a bit funny. The letter is as follows:


Greetings:



Thank you for writing Time Warner Cable. Due to a confluence of contractual and technical issues, we are currently limited in our ability to offer additional HD content. We are looking forward to resolving those concerns in the coming months, which will allow us to offer additional HD content to our customers. Please know that our division of Time Warner Cable continues to dedicate itself to expanding our HD channel offerings. We will continue to negotiate in good faith with the owners the local affiliates, to upgrade our systems in order to expand our channel offerings, and work with the content providers to secure additional broadcast rights.



We hope to have new systems in place by the end of the first quarter of 2008 that will significantly improve our ability to offer HD content.

Here's some info from the BBB (Better Business Bureau):

Principal Contact
Ms. Susan Eckhardt (Customer Service)

Complaint Contact
Ms. Susan Eckhardt (Customer Service)

Other Contacts
Ms Dolly R Mayne (Dir. Finance)
Mr Jon Scott (Division President)

Phones
(607) 644-0025
(866) 892-7869
(607) 644-1519 (FAX)

It's unreal to think we pay as much as Albany, Syracuse, and NYC customers and get shafted on HD programming we deserve. I'll be calling tomorrow for some answers, or bye bye to getting ripped off while I continually wait for more HD content.

Time Warner's response to my question of are they going to add TBS HD by tomorrow for the playoffs:

"Thank you for writing Time Warner Cable. Due to a confluence of contractual and technical issues, we are currently limited in our ability to offer additional HD content. We will not have TBS-HD in time for the playoffs.

Please know that our division of Time Warner Cable continues to dedicate itself to expanding our HD channel offerings. We hope to have new systems in place by the end of the first quarter of 2008 that will significantly improve our ability to offer HD content. We will continue to negotiate in good faith with the owners the local affiliates, to upgrade our systems in order to expand our channel offerings, and work with the content providers to secure additional broadcast rights."

It basically it sounds like they have no plan to add any additional HD channels until sometime next year.That's a freakin joke. This is ridiculous, and that's a crappy way of them telling us they are too cheap and lazy to upgrade right now. You have to spend money to make money, Time Warner. Now you know why people are leaving you for DTV. Insane.

It might not be too late to upgrade to DTV...as you will get all the playoff games in crystal clear HD and maybe if you can get DTV to hook it up by tomorrow you will be all set for the Yanks. Not to rub it in but that is why I am no longer a TWC customer, they do stupid stuff like this. There is no excuse for having TBS in HD by the baseball playoffs...NO EXCUSE!!!

Do I simply plug the cable into my tv or do I need an antenna? Thanks.

btw, for those living in binghamton. What channels were you given waivers for? I was able to get the network for NBC, CW and PBS.Just connect the cable to the TV, you may need to have it scan for QAM channels.

Depending on location, your success with waivers may vary. Enter your address here to see what you're eligible for.
http://directvdnseligibility.decisionmark.com/app/addressform.aspx
I have waivers for all four major networks and CW.

I got waivers for PBS, NBC and the CW. I currently have an indoor antenna set up and it gets FOX, the three PBS channels and CBS really well, but I can't get ABC at all and it's a bit frustrating.

I just read that DirecTV launched 11 new HD channels today, man my installation can't come soon enough. Especially with SciFiHD being one of the channels.

I've been a DirecTV customer since late '96. I finally turned off TWC (just had the basic tier) when I discovered that our locals stations had digital signals that I could receive. I do have a large antenna on the roof.

That reply that Guillon recieved is really funny, Considering that cable companies have said that they have more capacity than satellite.

I got waivers for PBS, NBC and the CW. I currently have an indoor antenna set up and it gets FOX, the three PBS channels and CBS really well, but I can't get ABC at all and it's a bit frustrating....
What antenna are you using? ABC is on ch4, so if the antenna is only UHF, that's the problem. Many UHF antennas can get the high VHF, ch7 is CBS and ch 8 is Fox.

I got waivers for PBS, NBC and the CW. I currently have an indoor antenna set up and it gets FOX, the three PBS channels and CBS really well, but I can't get ABC at all and it's a bit frustrating.



I have the same exact issue, I live in Endicott in a valley somewhat with heavy wooden areas and I cannot, for the life of me, get ABC and I am now fighting with DTV who I have requested to re-submit the waiver forms, to assist me in getting this station. If they deny again the next move is to go up the chain at local 34 to get this waiver through...its so fustrating and really unfair to the consumer. Keep me posted if you have any success.

11 new HD channels, does anyone know what they are?

Actually DirecTV rolled out 21 new HD channels last week and a few more will be coming by the end of October. Those 11 mentioned may be in addition to the 21.

Details can be found here.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=914047

Does anyone know if the DirectTV HD DVR supports QAM?

I'm in Vestal and I'm considering switching to DirectTV with just Life-Line from TWC. Unfortunately, I'm in the valley and cannot receive any of the local channels.

QAM is strictly a cable thing. The DirecTV HD DVR only supports OTA and of course satellite.

I'm in Chenango Bridge with Crocker Hill between me and the towers. I can receive all OTA stations.
However, it can get flaky due to multipath.

Sometime in the future DirecTV will have our locals available.

11 new HD channels, does anyone know what they are?

They are...

1. Comcast SportsNet Chicago HD (Channel 640)
2. Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic HD (Channel 629)
3. New England Sports Network/NESN HD(Channel 623)
4. SportsNet New York HD (Channel 625)
5. YES HD (Channel 622)
6. Cinemax East (Channel 512)
7. Cinemax West (Channel 514)
8. HBO West (Channel 504)
9. Bravo (Channel 273)
10. SciFi Channel (Channel 244)
11. USA Network (Channel 242)

The BIG ones for me are YES HD and SciFiHD. USA HD is nice too, but the shows I watch on there won't be on until next summer.

What antenna are you using? ABC is on ch4, so if the antenna is only UHF, that's the problem. Many UHF antennas can get the high VHF, ch7 is CBS and ch 8 is Fox.

Not sure, my boss gave it to me for free so I can't complain really. I'll look it up when I get home. I'm getting CBS on channel 12.1 and Fox on 40.1 with MyNetwork on 40.2.

I just stopped home for lunch and on 622 I get the message "721". I immediately called and they stated that YES HD is not one of the stations coming out today but I do see it is on the program guide.

Anyone know if that is correct??? Or is there an issue???

Not sure, my boss gave it to me for free so I can't complain really. I'll look it up when I get home. I'm getting CBS on channel 12.1 and Fox on 40.1 with MyNetwork on 40.2.

Ok, I just checked and it's a RadioShack indoor antenna that's UHF/VHF.

Not sure, my boss gave it to me for free so I can't complain really. I'll look it up when I get home. I'm getting CBS on channel 12.1 and Fox on 40.1 with MyNetwork on 40.2.Those channels you listed are the mapped numbers to their original assignments. Ch 12 is using frequency 7, and ch 40 using ch 8. That ch 40.2 is a subchannel carrying My Network. BTW, PBS ch 46 uses freq 42. You'll see 46.1, 46.1 and 46.3 listed. Can you see anything on the analog channels?

QAM is strictly a cable thing. The DirecTV HD DVR only supports OTA and of course satellite.

I'm in Chenango Bridge with Crocker Hill between me and the towers. I can receive all OTA stations.
However, it can get flaky due to multipath.

Sometime in the future DirecTV will have our locals available.
We have been going for almost a year and WBNG CBS is yet to have HD on local Time Warner. Why would we think they would work any better with DirecTV?

We have been going for almost a year and WBNG CBS is yet to have HD on local Time Warner. Why would we think they would work any better with DirecTV?Sad, but so true. Hopefully WBNG will come to its senses and allow TWC and DirecTV to carry their HD signal.

QAM is strictly a cable thing. The DirecTV HD DVR only supports OTA and of course satellite.

I'm in Chenango Bridge with Crocker Hill between me and the towers. I can receive all OTA stations.
However, it can get flaky due to multipath.

Sometime in the future DirecTV will have our locals available.
So there isn't a DirecTV HD DVR with QAM tuner? This would allow a life-line cable subscriber to get HD locals onto the same DVR as the DirecTV HD stuff.

Looking over at DirecTV at what has been added in HD and what is coming soon it is extremely tempting...

No DirecTV DVR has a QAM tuner.

Those channels you listed are the mapped numbers to their original assignments. Ch 12 is using frequency 7, and ch 40 using ch 8. That ch 40.2 is a subchannel carrying My Network. BTW, PBS ch 46 uses freq 42. You'll see 46.1, 46.1 and 46.3 listed. Can you see anything on the analog channels?

When I switch to analog the pictures are terrible, a lot of snow. I only see Fox and CBS when I switch to analog.

Just for grins and giggles I called wicz yesterday and asked about receiving a waiver, the guy was like yeah sure what's your name.

btw, if you have an OTA hooked into a DirecTV HD DVR can you record two OTA signals at once?