Funny how no one wants to even consider that the problem may be the DVR. Mayb nickdawga older SA 8300 and SDV don't do well in JD.

Well unfortunately the only channel I have readily available in SDV is STOHD (I dunno if they still have the hidden SD channels or not. Didn't bother to look), but it looks fine on this end.

From the way your post sounds, I'd start pointing the blame on signal levels. Like VOD channels, the SDV channels utilize a preset block of QAMs outside of the normal channel frequencies. I checked my box while tuned into STOHD and it looked like it was sitting up around 794mhz or thereabouts which is really hitting the ceiling on our system (probably around analog channel 125 or so) but the signal was ok (-7db receive with a 35db SNR. A tad low, but within spec).

Other than the known specs about SDV, the channels are no different than their non-SDV counterparts. No new encoders used (maybe some statmuxer changes, but that would be about it), no special encoding schemes, etc.. So I'd put money on the incoming signal being the culrprit and not a newfound blanket 'SDV sucks' explanation.

Here, the SDV channels seem to be on 573.000 MHz. SNR on each channel is between 35 and 36 db. Both TVs have no spliters in the line between the main splitter and the box. The main line from the drop coming from the street is split with a 4-way splitter. The signal levels with this splitter were sufficient in the past, pre-SDV. I'm blaming SDV because Universal HD worked last week, before going SDV. The HD Nets also used to work before SDV. I'm waiting for Tuesday when the 5 new channels come. If there's problems then, I'll call TWC.

Funny how no one wants to even consider that the problem may be the DVR. Mayb nickdawga older SA 8300 and SDV don't do well in JD.

It's NOT the DVR!! It was manufactured on May 25, 2007. Plus, the SA 4250HDC is WORSE. I didn't even get picture on those channels. Just the "channel is unavailable" message.

I'm really not trying to start trouble but couldn't it be possible its the DVR having problems with HD and SDV?

I'm really not trying to start trouble but couldn't it be possible its the DVR having problems with HD and SDV?

I know. ;)

But it's not the DVR. The other channels work fine, recorded shows work fine. Plus, the 4250HDC box has the SAME problems. The 4250HDC box is even worse. It won't let me see the broken up picture, just a not available message. Also, other HD channels work on the DVR.

I know. ;)

But it's not the DVR. The other channels work fine, recorded shows work fine. Plus, the 4250HDC box has the SAME problems. The 4250HDC box is even worse. It won't let me see the broken up picture, just a not available message. Also, other HD channels work on the DVR.

I didn't think my first post took so this one you quoted is a duplicate.

Now that I'm on a regular keyboard I can say, "Holy Crap, Batman. There's a major problem with that."

I'm headed over to the TiVo thread, I got a buddy over there who has TW and SDV. Oh, FWIW he's been unable to get proper guide data on his new HD stations for months and he was missing like 8 of them.

Anyway he has a tuner adapter I'll as about quality and any issues. It could be just because TW hasn't done the majority of it's areas with SDV yet and they simply don't give a rats behind about what you're getting right now.

Check back in a few.;)

I notice that STO has a High School Basketball game on in HD at 4:00 pm. nickdawg or Vchat20 lets take a quick look at this around this time if you can and see if what I'm seeing is what you are seeing.

I can't upload any film like nickdawg did but it would be interesting to see if in fact SDV is the culprit, which I have no doubt it is.

It also occurs to me that even though you've been on SDV for a while this may still not be the final product, at least it better not be.

Anyway one of you guys try to get in front of a set around 4:00 pm today and lets take a look.

Well, I -probably- won't be home around the time but I'll definitely set it to record anyways.

In any case, like I said previously: I had checked it and had no problems with the channel so I dunno what nickdawg's problem is. I'll also see if I can check those hidden SDV stations sometime and see what their status is.

I got a response from one of my TiVo buddies on SDV. Here's what he said, and he left a link too.

I wasn't impressed by the quality of Sci Fi HD, but mostly during Battlestar Galactica. It's seemed decent when I've looked at other times. Of course, there's nothing else to watch on "SyFy" :). The recordings that I've made of it have averaged 15 Mbps, which is plenty--I've seen really good PQ at considerably lower bit rates.

I haven't noticed any consistent crappiness in any of the other SDV channels. The guy who saw it might be in an area where they've taken a tact of both rate shaping and switched broadcast to manage bandwidth. There's nothing about SDV which should affect PQ in and of itself. As long as they put the same stream that they'd put in a linear channel in the dynamically allocated SDV space, there should be no difference.

I broke down the current usage of SDV for HD channels on my system in this (http://hdtv.forsandiego.com/cgi-bin/show.cgi?tpc=2&post=38160#POST38160) post on our local HDTV forum. I think that there are over 200 channels total in SDV at this point and they're going to add another 20 standard-def digital channels at the beginning of May. As far as I'm concerned, it's been so-far-so-good here, now that I have a Tuning Adapter :).

nickdawg, it could be a signal issue as well. Maybe they did something to screw up your signal. Also stuff happens. I'd show that to TW if I were you.

For all of us DirecTV'ers, it looks like SportsTime Ohio will be going full time HD (not just Tribe games) on April 1.

DBSTalk Link (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=155187)

Why haven't they been full time HD already? The incoming channel is already 24/7 HD and one would think it would be a waste and more equipment to keep it only HD during specific timeslots. What's the deal here?

Also, I checked STO here and no glitches whatsoever. Unfortunately the hidden SDV channels from before somewhere between 815 and 850 are dead now so STO is the only SDV channel that I know of that I have access to without the addon HD tier.

And lastly: /2/ more days. :D And if they add USA early in the morning (hopefully during their 2AM-ish maintenance window), they always do a big SVU marathon on tuesdays from about 6AM to 5PM. :D:D

Also, I checked STO here and no glitches whatsoever. Unfortunately the hidden SDV channels from before somewhere between 815 and 850 are dead now so STO is the only SDV channel that I know of that I have access to without the addon HD tier.

I've seen one glitch, but nothing like nickdawg showed us.

And lastly: /2/ more days. :D And if they add USA early in the morning (hopefully during their 2AM-ish maintenance window), they always do a big SVU marathon on tuesdays from about 6AM to 5PM. :D:D

OK, I know I'm pessimistic but I just have a feeling it's not going to happen on 3/31. Not hoping it doesn't I am just doubtful.

I don't see anything wrong with STO either. Of course I don't have SDV.

I don't see anything wrong with STO either. Of course I don't have SDV.

STOHD is working fine on SDV today. Universal HD worked OK later yesterday(when I watched ECW at midnight). HD Net Movies works OK too. Only HD Net and MGMHD are acting funky.

IT'S NOT THE 8300HD!! That is the box I've had success on. I just rebooted the 4250HDC because it's still stuck on stupid today. I can't get anything other than the not available screen. It says press A to try again. Pressing A does nothing.

DAMN this thing is weird. UHD worked a few minutes ago but going from STO to UHD caused UHD to be all fraked up too. HD Net is still a mess. Too bad, Breaking Benjamin is on and I'd really like to watch that!

I don't f--king get it!! As I pass through the SDV channels, they work sometimes, but other times they're a blocky mess. I'm waiting until Tuesday. If the new channels act like this, I'm gonna bitch out TWC.

I'll bet they're busy, as I doubt I am the only one with this problem. How can this be "my fault" if I'm watching a blocked-up mess with a SNR of 35 or 36?

It is windy here and I see the cable line moving in the wind with the other wires. But if that were the problem, other channels would be suffering from this too.

EDIT: After rebooting the 4250HDC, the "Not Available" message is gone. UHD is the only SDV HD that works. STO, HDN, HDNMV and MGM are just blank screens.

First, dude calm down. Nobody said it's your fault. YOU don't seem to get past the idea that it could, mind you could, be either you are having a signal problem (very likely) or you are having equipment problems. Since it's happening on 2 boxes I go for signal.

Also Vchat20 is in Native area. You got to have TW come out and look at this instead of getting yourself all worked up. You can't fix it.

First, dude calm down. Nobody said it's your fault. YOU don't seem to get past the idea that it could, mind you could, be either you are having a signal problem (very likely) or you are having equipment problems. Since it's happening on 2 boxes I go for signal.

Also Vchat20 is in Native area. You got to have TW come out and look at this instead of getting yourself all worked up. You can't fix it.

I am calm. ;) I had TWC come out a few years ago and they did the whole diagnostic thing. That(and from AVS) is where I learned that 'normal' for SNR is somewhere around 35 or 36, which I have. That's why I'm convinced it is TWC's fault. These channels never had a problem before SDV, which was last week for Universal HD. HD Nets and STO have been acting up for a few weeks now. Also, standard definition SDV works flawlessly.

I know I'll have to call TWC, but I'm waiting until Tuesday night when the new channels come. If they're SDV and acting like this, I'll be more convinced it is a signal problem.

Also I have no doubt that Vchat is on a different head end on the existing TWC system.

No, they are probably channels that were 'in the clear' by accident and they fixed the problem. Were the channels analog or digital?

Comedy Central, Analog

Well, I don't know much about VCR and cable but this is how it works. TW allows it's digital channels to copy once. So I guess theoretically the only copy it may allow is to a DVD, as you could take the VCR tape and copy it to anything else.

Just wrong, the way TW is bullying itself around by being too copy protective.

Bad enough with the rates, & true, just blackmailing you into another monthly expense.... not good in todays economy.

I just took another 7% pay cut last week, in addition to the 20% one in January, when before these cuts I was making less than half I was 10 years prior. I do have to eat too. :)

Comedy Central, Analog

What kind of TWC package do you have? Is it just the "basic channels only" deal with the under 20 channels only?

What kind of TWC package do you have? Is it just the "basic channels only" deal with the under 20 channels only?

To get Comedy Central you would have to have at least basic plus.

To get Comedy Central you would have to have at least basic plus.

But he said the other day that it was not able to be recorded. I was thinking it was accidentally passed through on a lower tier than basic and TWC fixed it.

But he said the other day that it was not able to be recorded. I was thinking it was accidentally passed through on a lower tier than basic and TWC fixed it.

What he said was his parents were not able to record on to VCR because TW is scrambling. My first thought was he was in native TW land where they have all digital, however he says it's analog. TW does not scramble nor do they block analog channels, so I will say that something else is causing a problem with the VHS recorder, I mean who uses those things still anyways? Maybe it's just old, needs heads clean, or they have a splitter and have a signal issue.

I get your point, that could be possible that you can see itt without a box it can't be decoded but most televisions today are cable ready and unless it was a very old television that's the only way I see that happening.

It would seem likely at this point that TW is indeed going to go with SARA and Navigator with SDV. Having said that I fully believe they have a problem transferring SARA to Navigator or else they would have done so. They still have 10 days before the switch so I still think it's possible they may go to Navigator but if they don't I guarantee they had no choice.

I will also say this. There are a great deal of economically disadvantaged customers in the Metro Cleveland area, therefore I do not see the end of analog cable anywhere in the near future. You folks down in Native TW were fortunate they set it up that way where it requires a box. Here we will continue to see upgraded analog to digital on WOIO, WEWS, WJW, and WKYC which, IMHO is worst then just analog.

It would seem likely at this point that TW is indeed going to go with SARA and Navigator with SDV. Having said that I fully believe they have a problem transferring SARA to Navigator or else they would have done so. They still have 10 days before the switch so I still think it's possible they may go to Navigator but if they don't I guarantee they had no choice.

Not happening anytime soon. Right now the priority is SDV, that's what Mr. Jascoe said. Believe me, there's no way possible to completely do Navigator in 10 days. When Navigator is downloaded, only one model of STB is done at a time. That way if any boxes are bricked during the download, there's not too much chaos or a shortage of equipment with people returning them. Plus there's lots of time after the download before they start doing other things. SDV didn't start over night after we got Navigator. Since TWC has spent all this time working on SDV for SARA, I assume SARA will be sticking around, at least until SDV is completely active and more channels are added.

NSince TWC has spent all this time working on SDV for SARA, I assume SARA will be sticking around, at least until SDV is completely active and more channels are added.

There still is no indication that TW has done anything with SARA in regards to SDV.

There still is no indication that TW has done anything with SARA in regards to SDV.

Uhhh, what about the letter saying SDV starts April 9? Or the tuning adapter you're getting in two days?

Uhhh, what about the letter saying SDV starts April 9? Or the tuning adapter you're getting in two days?

I'm talking about some type of activity that even shows they are testing it or getting ready to use it on the diagnostic screen. And as far as the tuner adapters, they are available after 4/1 and they are suppose to contact us by email or by phone as to when it will be FEDex.

Now I have to tell you the last time I was told this was when I had to change my modem for Road Runner, and no one contacted me. I ended up doing a Steve Fry letter and then I got my modem.

Here's another nifty piece of info about Time Warner, off topic but of concern I think to many. Do you know that they want to put a meter on our internet usage? That's right they want you to pay for what you use, which means that we would have to watch how many gigabytes we use to keep our bill down.

The evil that comes out of cable companies continues to amaze me.

Just checked out the diagnostic screen on 4250. I can't say I've seen anything that has changed as far as SDV goes. I did have it on STO while I was watching and by God if I didn't see some cable card activity this time, so I may have missed that the last, oh I don't know 15 times I looked.:o

What kind of TWC package do you have? Is it just the "basic channels only" deal with the under 20 channels only?

Actually it was my GF's cable setup... not sure what it is, think it goes from 2 thrugh 76 then some local access channels around 97-99.

Actually it was my GF's cable setup... not sure what it is, think it goes from 2 thrugh 76 then some local access channels around 97-99.

Do all the channels still work when watching them live? If they do, I'd have to agree with Hook that it is the VCR's fault. Probably something wrong with it.

I'd suggest upgrading to a TWC HD DVR. But that's just me. ;)

I'm sure Hook will jump in with another DVR suggestion. :rolleyes:

What he said was his parents were not able to record on to VCR because TW is scrambling. My first thought was he was in native TW land where they have all digital, however he says it's analog. TW does not scramble nor do they block analog channels, so I will say that something else is causing a problem with the VHS recorder, I mean who uses those things still anyways? Maybe it's just old, needs heads clean, or they have a splitter and have a signal issue.

I get your point, that could be possible that you can see it without a box it can't be decoded but most televisions today are cable ready and unless it was a very old television that's the only way I see that happening.

I was thinking the heads too, but she recorded a show before & after & they were OK. Seems like some sort of copy gaurd system that produces jitters & verticle roll, I can see encoding in white on the verticle roll.

I think I'm going to try the head cleaning anyway. She is in originaly a Continental to Comcast to TWC area. No box, the cable goes directly into the VCR then into the set, cable ready tuner.

VCR??? Yeah I find it convienient for time shifting (& no monthly fee! :) ), though thanks to CEI wiping out the power supply on my one VCR during a brownout running @ 16 VAC for several hours... (likely a simple fix, though I have to totally dismantle the transport, & I would never be able to realign it) & lightning striking my other wiping out the tuner (still plays good though) ... time to hit Goodwill for another! :) The heads in My VCR are clean, so the problem may be in hers, as she uses it quite often.

There is actually a place for a suppressor in the circuitry on both of these VCR's but they never installed it.


I'd suggest upgrading to a TWC HD DVR. But that's just me.

I'm sure Hook will jump in with another DVR suggestion. .

No portability though, I was thinking of a DVD-R recorder with a digital tuner, though I'm not sure the bugs are worked out of these quite yet.

Do all the channels still work when watching them live? If they do, I'd have to agree with Hook that it is the VCR's fault. Probably something wrong with it.

I'd suggest upgrading to a TWC HD DVR. But that's just me. ;)

I'm sure Hook will jump in with another DVR suggestion. :rolleyes:

Well I wasn't going to suggest it but since Bismarck440 is asking for portability I have to point out that TiVo provides that. On that same note I have to point out I'm a little p.o.'d at my own TiVo S3 right now. From time to time the S3 either can't see the TiVo HD or my Mac. The TiVo HD never has the issue. Doesn't happen often but it happens.

The solution is a reboot but it ticks me off that I have to do that. After all this is a TiVo I'm talking about not that piece of garbage from TW.;)

I am also having issues with my 8300HD. Lately the picture on my HD channels have been breaking up (pixelly) and the sound also cuts in and out when the picture breaks down. It has been happening mostly on 403 (WKYC) and occasionally on 404 (WOIO). When I switch the my TV's Digital tuner (3.1 and 19.1), the picture and sound are fine! My older CRT TV that is also connected to the cable has terrible picture quality lately, so I don't know if that's related to the problem. Is it the 8300HD box or am I getting a weak signal from TWC? Should I call TWC and get them to come out?

No portability though, I was thinking of a DVD-R recorder with a digital tuner, though I'm not sure the bugs are worked out of these quite yet.

Do they even make those? Those DVD recorders never really caught on like DVRs, there must be a reason(hint hint) ;) Besides, just because it has a 'digital tuner' don't expect digital cable. You'd need a cable card, which is a moot point now with SDV.

As far as 'portability', I'd use the DVD recorder for archiving, the DVR for general recordings. You can dump programs from the TWC DVR that you want to save or 'port' :D.

For your case, I think the TWC box would be fine. Considering you use a VCR in 2009 :eek:, I think all the balls and whistles of Tivo are useless.

I am also having issues with my 8300HD. Lately the picture on my HD channels have been breaking up (pixelly) and the sound also cuts in and out when the picture breaks down. It has been happening mostly on 403 (WKYC) and occasionally on 404 (WOIO). When I switch the my TV's Digital tuner (3.1 and 19.1), the picture and sound are fine! My older CRT TV that is also connected to the cable has terrible picture quality lately, so I don't know if that's related to the problem. Is it the 8300HD box or am I getting a weak signal from TWC? Should I call TWC and get them to come out?
Have TW come out. If you don't see it OTA it could be the signal.

Or it could be the DVR. I went through 3 of those they were horrible.

Have TW come out. If you don't see it OTA it could be the signal.

Or it could be the DVR. I went through 3 of those they were horrible.

It's always the DVR for you, isn't it? ;)

It might be the signal. Sometimes the boxes are more sensitive to signal issues.

I had the same problem last week. Because my digital tuner was fine it lead me to believe that the 8300 HD was the problem so I rebooted it and I have not had a problem
since. Prior to the reboot the problem was just on 403....

I'm having problems with STO in Erie, PA. The picture breaks up every half hour exactly for about 45 seconds. TW has seen the problem but can't fix it. Could this be caused somehow by SDV?

I'm having problems with STO in Erie, PA. The picture breaks up every half hour exactly for about 45 seconds. TW has seen the problem but can't fix it. Could this be caused somehow by SDV?

Wow. I'd be THRILLED if I could have that problem. I can't even watch the channel for 45 seconds. :(

You don't even say what channel you are having an issue with. OK SDV does not cause picture problems, everything I've read doesn't show that.

Have your signal checked if you are having problems.

You don't even say what channel you are having an issue with. OK SDV does not cause picture problems, everything I've read doesn't show that.

Have your signal checked if you are having problems.

Hmmm...., STO is Sportstime Ohio, channel 435. It is the only channel I'm having issues with, so I sure don't want TW coming in and tearing apart all my equipment like they did last time. Their attitude is "See, it works fine as long as you disconnect all your tv's and only hook up the cable directly to one tv".

Wow. I'd be THRILLED if I could have that problem. I can't even watch the channel for 45 seconds. :(

What problems are you having with it?

Hmmm...., STO is Sportstime Ohio, channel 435. It is the only channel I'm having issues with, so I sure don't want TW coming in and tearing apart all my equipment like they did last time. Their attitude is "See, it works fine as long as you disconnect all your tv's and only hook up the cable directly to one tv".

How many sets do you split off to?

If tech said that speak to area manager or write Steve Fry. However if you split to more then 2 units you may need an install.

TW also provides signal boosters if you need them. Nickdawgs STO CHANNELwas horrible.

I don't expect you guys to read the whole thread but please read a page or two back so we don't have t keep repeating ourselves.

What problems are you having with it?

The picture constantly breaks up on all of the SDV HD channels. Right now I tried to watch 'Monk' on UHD. Unwatchable mess of blocking and audio dropouts. I even recorded it to show the TWC person when I call(I'm waiting until the channels are added tonight to see how the new ones act).

STO HD is usually breaking up or completely out.

Just In Case anyone forgot, here's a reminder!! :D:D:D:D:D

Without further ado, here's the list we have from Mr. Jasso, quoting him directly...with specifics about channels already slotted to be added to the TWC NEO lineup between now and the end of April:

On March 31 we will be adding the following new HD channels to our entire footprint:
Palladia (MTV's music channel) Channel 470
Discovery Channel 449
USA Channel 443
Sci Fi Channel 476
Disney Channel 456

Holy Birdshit Batman!!! I just put on STO as a joke to see how it looks, and the picture is fine!! UHD is still fxcked up. So is HD Net and MGM HD. HD Net movie works OK now too.

How many sets do you split off to?

If tech said that speak to area manager or write Steve Fry. However if you split to more then 2 units you may need an install.

TW also provides signal boosters if you need them. Nickdawgs STO CHANNELwas horrible.

I don't expect you guys to read the whole thread but please read a page or two back so we don't have t keep repeating ourselves.

I have a 4-way splitter on my cable. It's a TWC installed and approved splitter. I have 4 separate TWC-installed cable lines in my house. All four worked perfectly until this month.

Well, I just checked again here and still absolutely no problems with STOHD so I still stand by the fact it is a signal problem somewhere. Or at the very least an isolated issue at your headend(s). Which that brings me to another point that with SDV, all channels in the pool will vary a bit between each headend (possibly each node as well as what I have heard previously, but I'm at a loss as to how since a node doesn't have the equipment necessary. In theory, each node should only have the equipment needed to convert the cable signal between fiber and Coax.). Everything from what frequency the channels will be running on to (possibly) the muxing and bitrates of each channel.

Still, I would check your signal levels, splits, etc.. And lastly if that is in good shape, my idea would be this: Call up CS and get a truck roll going. Once at your house, show them the glitching and the signal levels as shown by the box. For even more proof, move the box to be off the main drop with no splitters if at all possible. Make sure to engrave it into their head that it is not a signal problem and something farther up that should be escalated.

Also as far as the splitter conspiracy goes: I understand it all depends on the quality of the splitters and the cable and the signal levels coming in from the drop into the house. But regularly I run the 8300HDC in my room which runs through 2 TWC provided splitters, 2 runs of clean TW provided RG59, then an old 1ghz 5-way splitter, radio shack special RG59, an ancient 'T' 2-way splitter, and a 10 cent push-on cable that is included with every VCR since the dawn of time. And in every case I have never had any major signal issues to mention. I have even run an old Toshiba cable modem in the same spot and the signal was well within spec and I hit my rated speed perfectly.

Anyone else think nickdawg will stay up all night waiting on those channels?;)

I think Hookdog is right! ;)

I'm giving them until around 2 or 3. Then it's off to bed. I'm beat!

Is there an echo in here?

Is there an echo in here?

Yeah. Same here. I'm not getting my hopes up too high, but I'll be awake till at least 4 and keeping an eye on things. If no new channels show by then, oh well.

Also, more testing with the firewire mess and it looks like Discovery is also an 'in the clear' channel and it kinda makes sense as I recall that Discovery mandated it be kept this way. My previous attempts must have been amiss. Hoping that this means the HD version is also wide open when they add it.

Well, I just checked again here and still absolutely no problems with STOHD so I still stand by the fact it is a signal problem somewhere. Or at the very least an isolated issue at your headend(s). Which that brings me to another point that with SDV, all channels in the pool will vary a bit between each headend (possibly each node as well as what I have heard previously, but I'm at a loss as to how since a node doesn't have the equipment necessary. In theory, each node should only have the equipment needed to convert the cable signal between fiber and Coax.). Everything from what frequency the channels will be running on to (possibly) the muxing and bitrates of each channel.

Still, I would check your signal levels, splits, etc.. And lastly if that is in good shape, my idea would be this: Call up CS and get a truck roll going. Once at your house, show them the glitching and the signal levels as shown by the box. For even more proof, move the box to be off the main drop with no splitters if at all possible. Make sure to engrave it into their head that it is not a signal problem and something farther up that should be escalated.

Also as far as the splitter conspiracy goes: I understand it all depends on the quality of the splitters and the cable and the signal levels coming in from the drop into the house. But regularly I run the 8300HDC in my room which runs through 2 TWC provided splitters, 2 runs of clean TW provided RG59, then an old 1ghz 5-way splitter, radio shack special RG59, an ancient 'T' 2-way splitter, and a 10 cent push-on cable that is included with every VCR since the dawn of time. And in every case I have never had any major signal issues to mention. I have even run an old Toshiba cable modem in the same spot and the signal was well within spec and I hit my rated speed perfectly.

This is not a problem with the wiring in my house. It has all been checked out. I've been corresponding with STO in Cleveland and with TWC here. Actually, STO is very customer-friendly and has been working directly with TWC engineers here in Erie. TWC has agreed there is a problem with STO in Erie, and this is the latest email from them to the STO office. Unfortunately, the problem remains as of last night, and baseball season is almost here. There must be something about SDV that causes breakups exactly every half hour.

"Lo and behold, after receiving the finer details from this customer of
the specific times that he has seen the tiling problem, we have
confirmed that this problem does indeed exist exactly at the times he
mentions. Also, I was able to verify that this problem is isolated to
the Erie system only.

I believe the issue with STO-HD tiling has been resolved. I have been
monitoring it since last week and have not seen the problem after
several pieces of equipment have been reset."

is anyone getting them this morning..??

Here in Erie, I didn't have them when I left for work this morning...

Here in Amherst, not only we not getting any new HD channels, we lost three HD channels plus numerous sd channels.

is anyone getting them this morning..??

Here in Erie, I didn't have them when I left for work this morning...

Now the day isn't over yet by any means but I will remind everyone they said "on or after 3/31":)

Hang in there the day is young. I

Now the day isn't over yet by any means but I will remind everyone they said "on or after 3/31":)

Hang in there the day is young. I


I know..just don't understand why it might not be available today..but maybe tomorrow..

isn't it just about sending the channels through the cable lines ???

PS..anyone know the channel #'s of the new channels..

I know..just don't understand why it might not be available today..but maybe tomorrow..

isn't it just about sending the channels through the cable lines ???

PS..anyone know the channel #'s of the new channels..

I wish I could tell you what's involved, I don't think it's complicated. USA should be whatever channel it's on already but in the 400's same with any other channels that are available in SD now.

I haven't even searched this morning, that's how confident I am they won't show up at least until this afternoon or evening.

Here in Amherst, not only we not getting any new HD channels, we lost three HD channels plus numerous sd channels.

Well, isn't that just peachy!:) Maybe that's a sign that something is being worked on?

I installed a roof top Antenna and am wondering if I need a better one. Some stations do not come in well. (lots of dropped frames)

Do you think after the final transition, stations will be using more power? How can I tell?

I live in Akron Oh, 44312.

Here are the stations from Antenna Web I should get and my status:

WKYC-DT 3.1 NBC - Mostly great
WOIO 19 CBS - great
WEWS-DT 5.1 ABC - Fair to good
WBNX-DT 55.1 CW - Un-watchable
WJW 8 FOX - Un-watchable

What do you think? Will a better antenna help or will the stations be changing anything to make this better?

I know..just don't understand why it might not be available today..but maybe tomorrow..

isn't it just about sending the channels through the cable lines ???

PS..anyone know the channel #'s of the new channels..

The following channels #'s were published on Ohio Media Watch:

443 USA
449 Discovery
456 Disney
476 Scifi

Also 470 was said to be Palladia but 470 is currently UHD so ???

The following channels #'s were published on Ohio Media Watch:

443 USA
449 Discovery
456 Disney
476 Scifi

Also 470 was said to be Palladia but 470 is currently UHD so ???

heh heh that 470 issue had nickdawg's blood pressure up. I suspect it's a typo.

I haven't even bothered to look for any new channels yet. I may take a look in a few minutes.

I'm currently recording "In Plain Sight" on USA SD, but I think I'll go ahead and set up a wish list for it in HD. That way if and when TW actually gets around to adding the channels I'll be all set.

Now try doing that on your SA 8300.;)

I'm currently recording "In Plain Sight" on USA SD, but I think I'll go ahead and set up a wish list for it in HD. That way if and when TW actually gets around to adding the channels I'll be all set.

Now try doing that on your SA 8300.;)

The 8300 could actually be setup in advance to record the show on all current channels but that isn't a good solution since it would record the show twice at the same time, once in SD and once in HD. You would then have to delete the SD. Also if you're recording anything else at that time it would create a conflict to resolve.

The 8300 could actually be setup in advance to record the show on all current channels but that isn't a good solution since it would record the show twice at the same time, once in SD and once in HD. You would then have to delete the SD. Also if you're recording anything else at that time it would create a conflict to resolve.

It's not the same thing. You can't set up for a channel that doesn't exist. I actually can.

It would not have to cancel my current wish list since "In Plain Site." is on a wish list I simply have to add "HD" to the category and it would only record the HD version.

However to be perfectly fair I have to have guide data for it to know the show is on HD, so until Tribune updates it's media guide I would have to wait to do that or just create a separate wish list.

I'm currently receiving the new channels.

443 is USA HD
449 is Discovery HD though it seems to have the exact lineup as discovery theater.
456 is Disney HD
469 is Palladia and
476 is SciFi HD

I'm currently receiving the new channels.

443 is USA HD
449 is Discovery HD though it seems to have the exact lineup as discovery theater.
456 is Disney HD
469 is Palladia and
476 is SciFi HD

Yes, I've confirned they are up in New Phila.

Yes, I've confirned they are up in New Phila.

I can confirm I'm receiving them in Bainbridge but one of my TiVos is not getting a signal. Phone call time, this happens to me everytime they add channels they forget one of my TiVo's.

After a phone call to the wife at home, it looks like Mentor has NOT recieved any new programming yet.

Ray

The new ones are up in Erie County, PA.

I got the new channels finally! SCI-FI HD!!!!!!!! SWEET. Been waiting for this one.

Did a card pull on my TiVo HD, reboot and call to customer service now I got all HD channels on each set in the house. Well, not the one that is OTA.:)

Need to call TiVo now and have them add it to the guide.

All the new channels are SDV.

Nickdawg is a little too quiet today....

Nickdawg: do you have the new HD channels? (I want to see if ex-Adelphia areas have them yet...)

Nickdawg is a little too quiet today....

Nickdawg: do you have the new HD channels? (I want to see if ex-Adelphia areas have them yet...)

I'm guessing nickdawg is too busy switching back and forth between Palladia HD and Disney HD to take time to read the forum. ;)

I'm guessing nickdawg is too busy switching back and forth between Palladia HD and Disney HD to take time to read the forum. ;)

Naw, he's sleeping he was up all night waiting for them to come on.:D

All the new channels are SDV.

Not surprising, I fully expected them to be. Of course we still don't have SDV yet so that only applies in certain areas.

Naw, he's sleeping he was up all night waiting for them to come on.:D

So if he is asleep... is there anyone else in ex-Adelphia land that can confirm the new channels???

I "assumed" this was going to be a Spanish HD channel but apparently it's some type of music channel. I'll have to take a look at the 4250 for guide info to see if they have anybody I like (doubtful).

Finally made it here to comment. The new channels are here!!!! But I do have to admit that when I woke up, I pulled a hookbill ;). I was doubtful that I would see new channels, but they were there! Well, not on the 4250HDC :(.

If you're not seeing the channels and you have a TWC box that has a "C" after the model number (xxxxHDC), try rebooting it. Sometimes those boxes are slow on picking up changes.

So if he is asleep... is there anyone else in ex-Adelphia land that can confirm the new channels???

Well nickdawg is not in ex adelphia, I am and I've already confirmed. nickdawg is in native time warner.

Finally made it here to comment. The new channels are here!!!! But I do have to admit that when I woke up, I pulled a hookbill ;). I was doubtful that I would see new channels, but they were there! Well, not on the 4250HDC :(.

If you're not seeing the channels and you have a TWC box that has a "C" after the model number (xxxxHDC), try rebooting it. Sometimes those boxes are slow on picking up changes.

I admit that they came on about 1 hour sooner then I thought.:D;)

Thanks Hookbill! Now I have something to look forward to when I get home :)

I can confirm that the new channels have arrived on my ex-Adelphia, SARA-based SA8300HDC here in the Chagrin/Bainbridge area.

All the new channels are SDV.

If this is in fact the case I will need to compare my new SA4250 with my old Motorola box and see if the motorola box works. When I called my wife at lunch time she was in the family room and I asked her to switch to 443,449, 456, 469, and 476 to check for activer channels. I may need to send her to the office tomorrow for a DVR swap. That will suck. I like the guide info on the old Motorola box better than the new SA box.

Ray

I actually had mine showing the new channels without a reboot but when I tried to tune them it said I was not subscribed and had to call CS and all that BS. After a (painfully excrutiating) reboot, they are working perfectly. Got all my series recordings on USA and Discovery set for HD and ready to go. :)

Now while the Apr 29th date doesn't bring much interesting to me, what I am interested in is what is planned for the '5 channels each month in 2009' comment on OMW. I know beggars can't be choosers here, but I'd love to see what they have planned to add to the list.

Now while the Apr 29th date doesn't bring much interesting to me, what I am interested in is what is planned for the '5 channels each month in 2009' comment on OMW. I know beggars can't be choosers here, but I'd love to see what they have planned to add to the list.

I'm looking forward to MLBnet in HD.

I can confirm that the new channels have arrived on my ex-Adelphia, SARA-based SA8300HDC here in the Chagrin/Bainbridge area.

Thanks Jim, I guess I should have been more specific when I confirmed it.:D;)

new channels are up in Amherst ( old west Comcast zone)
had to do a box reset to ' wake up' the new channels

It seems it doesn't matter what type of "box" you have as far as rebooting for the new channels. Several people reporting reboots necessary and I had one TiVo that didn't and one that did. Strange.

Getting new HD channels okay on my Tivo HD, ex-Adelphia "Cleveland Suburbs 2".
Decent SciFi picture at last :-) Named in Tivo channel list, but no program guide data yet.
Didn't need to reboot or do any cablecard tweakery.

They don't seem to have broken BBC America so far, so I'm assuming as per plan no SDV in my area yet, but no shipping details on my SDV box yet either. 10 days to go..

Keith

Getting new HD channels okay on my Tivo HD, ex-Adelphia "Cleveland Suburbs 2".
Decent SciFi picture at last :-) Named in Tivo channel list, but no program guide data yet.
Didn't need to reboot or do any cablecard tweakery.

They don't seem to have broken BBC America so far, so I'm assuming as per plan no SDV in my area yet, but no shipping details on my SDV box yet either. 10 days to go..

Keith

I've already called TiVo and gave them all the new channels, however you may feel free to call them as well if you like.:)
Edit: And I just sent TW an email about those tuner adapters.

As I mentioned in my previous post I've already called TiVo but please feel free to call them if you'd like. The more calls the better, imho. 877.367.8486

TW seems to be a little behind schedule with the tuning adapter situation. Just recieved this e-mail today:

Good Morning-

If I drop a Tuning Adapter off at the Station tomorrow, could you test it for me tomorrow night?

Thanks much!
Jeanie

Mind you, I was supposed to get one to test on the 23rd... so that's where we're at right now.

-Ed

By pure luck here...Found out that USAHD (at least so far, knock on wood) is 'in the clear' (14-15mbps avg., 1080i). Gonna get a few shows set on the DVR from DisnHD, DiscHD, ScifiHD, and PalladiaHD and see how they fare.

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/9131/vlcsnap600746.th.png (http://img24.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vlcsnap600746.png)

Though more wishful thinking than anything else, I'd be shocked if the nature of SDV forced the channels in the clear (basically the thinking by the higher ups might be that since consumer owned QAM tuners can't tune into SDV channels, there's no need to scramble them or tag them copy never or copy once). But again, mostly wishful thinking and probably far from the case here. ;)

By pure luck here...Found out that USAHD (at least so far, knock on wood) is 'in the clear' (14-15mbps avg., 1080i). Gonna get a few shows set on the DVR from DisnHD, DiscHD, ScifiHD, and PalladiaHD and see how they fare.

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/9131/vlcsnap600746.th.png (http://img24.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vlcsnap600746.png)

Saw this on my blackberry so I immediately tuned to USA HD 443 and looked at System Diagnostics (TiVo). I'm showing a code of OX02 = Copy once. So how you're getting that I don't know unless it's because you are receiving from a different head end. Don't plan on that being permanent but take what you can.;)

I still love seeing that USA HD bug! :cool:

Hey Vchat, are you getting these new channels on SDV? So far USA, Duscovery, Palladia are working OK, but SCIFI and Disney have been suffering from the same problems the other SDV channels had. I'm rebooting the box right now, but before that SCIFI was a broken up mess. Also, STO HD has been working OK today.

EDIT: All the channels are working OK on the 4250HDC except for SCIFI. The 8300HD was behaving the same way before I rebooted it.

EDIT 2: After rebooting the 8300HD, all the channels work, the HDTV tier works. Only SCIFI HD is breaking up. Same thing with the 4250HD.

Saw this on my blackberry so I immediately tuned to USA HD 443 and looked at System Diagnostics (TiVo). I'm showing a code of OX02 = Copy once. So how you're getting that I don't know unless it's because you are receiving from a different head end. Don't plan on that being permanent but take what you can.;)

Very true. Especially with TWC in these parts, we can never tell for 100% sure. But like you said: I'll take what I can get.

I still love seeing that USA HD bug! :cool:

Hey Vchat, are you getting these new channels on SDV? So far USA, Duscovery, Palladia are working OK, but SCIFI and Disney have been suffering from the same problems the other SDV channels had. I'm rebooting the box right now, but before that SCIFI was a broken up mess. Also, STO HD has been working OK today.

EDIT: All the channels are working OK on the 4250HDC except for SCIFI. The 8300HD was behaving the same way before I rebooted it.

Yeah. All of them are showing as SDV on this end. And they are a bit glitchy at times but certainly nothing serious. And I'm partly certain it is a signal issue on this end (the higher temperatures always seem to push the signal levels into borderline territory around here I have noticed.).

Also, I am extremely shocked. DisneyHD is in the clear here as well (again, for how long? The PMS'ing queen of 'RAWR COPYRIGHT INFRINGMENT!').
http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/7049/vlcsnap5497.th.png (http://img144.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vlcsnap5497.png)

Palladia HD was locked when I tried as is Scifi and Discovery. Discovery I'm wondering about because of my previous mentioning where they have previously mandated to keep their properties open (or at least their flagship Discovery Channel). And I even managed to get a clip off the SD channel last evening:
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/4295/vlcsnap55599.th.png (http://img23.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vlcsnap55599.png)

I'm somewhat wondering if either the upstream distribution or TWC are doing selective 5C (ie: copy once, copy never, copy always) tags per-program. In which case Scifi: Lost and Discovery: Deadliest Catch. Both of which are probably in their no-no area for copying.

It's only too bad that Navigator killed off any entry for copy protection in the diag menus. At least on Passport it would give a very clear 'Copy Once', 'Copy Never', or 'Copy Always' and discern between both tuners quite clearly even to the point of giving the channel ID as well to say which channel was set what copy flag, etc..

Another thing I hate: Discovery HD's "14:9 cropping" of 4:3 shows. Cash Cab is on right now. It's correct 4:3 on 130 but on 449 it has skinny bars, looks like it is top/bottom cropped. Boo! :mad: The show graphics are flirting with the bottom of the screen.

This "channel currently unavailable" **** is seriously pissing me off. I though SDV channels were supposed to 'fit seamlessly' into the lineup. THIS IS NOT SEAMLESS!!

Yeah. I noticed the same thing. Though it doesn't bother me too much except that shows like cash cab with the graphics it's borderline chopping off viable material. But at least it's OAR even if it's cropped.

Also, either my last attempt was a glitch with my gear here or they are doing selective per-program 5C flags as DscHD is working during Cash Cab now.
http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/6971/vlcsnap34656.th.png (http://img144.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vlcsnap34656.png)

This "channel currently unavailable" **** is seriously pissing me off. I though SDV channels were supposed to 'fit seamlessly' into the lineup. THIS IS NOT SEAMLESS!!
Probably those of us like you, me, and hookbill 'stress testing' the system and hogging up all the SDV slots. The idea behind SDV is that there are a fraction of open frequencies available compared to the channels in the pool and the premise that not everyone is going to watch every last channel simultaneously. So the first day or two or so is probably going to be a tad rough while people like us investigate things. ;)

Probably those of us like you, me, and hookbill 'stress testing' the system and hogging up all the SDV slots. The idea behind SDV is that there are a fraction of open frequencies available compared to the channels in the pool and the premise that not everyone is going to watch every last channel simultaneously. So the first day or two or so is probably going to be a tad rough while people like us investigate things. ;)

Not me today fellows, I'm busy doing other stuff. Anyway we still don't have SDV here.

By pure luck here...Found out that USAHD (at least so far, knock on wood) is 'in the clear' (14-15mbps avg., 1080i).
On what physical channel? I haven't been able to find any of the new ones in the clear here.

Sorry if it's a bit confusing. I should rephrase it's not 'in the clear' in the sense it's a Clear QAM channel, but rather there is no copy protection on the channel so it'll transfer over the firewire connection off the STB provided by TWC. Any of the channels that are flagged with the right copy protection flag will not allow me to transfer shows off the box through firewire. Which seems to be just about everything bu the locals, Discovery, DiscHD, USAHD, and DisneyHD (thus far anyways).

All these newer channels are all going to be SDV so any Clear QAM or Cablecard devices not capable of using the Tuning Resolver are gonna be in the dark.

I have all the new HD channels plus no problems with any of the old.

Sorry if it's a bit confusing. I should rephrase it's not 'in the clear' in the sense it's a Clear QAM channel, but rather there is no copy protection on the channel so it'll transfer over the firewire connection off the STB provided by TWC.
That makes more sense. Having them not copy protected is a lot different from having them in the clear.

I received an answer about the tuner converter saying my case has been "escalated" and I now have a ticket number.

Huh? Why is this even an issue and why do I need a case number. They contacted me saying they would call or email me. They haven't done it.

Another thing I hate: Discovery HD's "14:9 cropping" of 4:3 shows. Cash Cab is on right now. It's correct 4:3 on 130 but on 449 it has skinny bars, looks like it is top/bottom cropped. Boo! :mad: The show graphics are flirting with the bottom of the screen.


The other obnoxious thing is a channel that is HD, like SyFy HD :rolleyes: still shows some programs in the windowbox format. Why? If it's 16:9 OAR, why not show it full screen 16:9? :confused:

The other obnoxious thing is a channel that is HD, like SyFy HD :rolleyes: still shows some programs in the windowbox format. Why? If it's 16:9 OAR, why not show it full screen 16:9? :confused:

You've confused me.

How do you know it's 16:9? And what the heck is OAR? I think I've seen it before but I don't remember.

Anyway, it's this great hunger for "more HD" that causes TW to sign up channels even if they don't offer a great deal of HD. Remember the time Steve Fry's office wrote me to tell me that they are not interested in signing stations that don't offer quality HD and I asked them why the heck they even bothered with "My 43" then?

I just hope the few shows I watch on SciFi, the ones with original programming are in genuine HD. I've been waiting for Eureka in HD for some time now.

You've confused me.

How do you know it's 16:9? And what the heck is OAR? I think I've seen it before but I don't remember.

Anyway, it's this great hunger for "more HD" that causes TW to sign up channels even if they don't offer a great deal of HD. Remember the time Steve Fry's office wrote me to tell me that they are not interested in signing stations that don't offer quality HD and I asked them why the heck they even bothered with "My 43" then?

I just hope the few shows I watch on SciFi, the ones with original programming are in genuine HD. I've been waiting for Eureka in HD for some time now.

If it is being shown in letterbox, it is 16:9 aspect ratio.

OAR = Original Aspect Ratio, the way it was intended to be viewed, without stretching or cropping.

Hook, if you like Stargate or Star Trek: Enterprise, you're out of luck. Both have been shown windowbox.

Speaking of quality HD, try to wrap your brain around this one. Yesterday TBS started using ESPN-style pillar bars on 4:3 content, except they only do it on COMMERCIALS!!! That's right! TBS still stretches 4:3 programming, but commercials are shown in 4:3 with bars. The stupidity of that network...

You would have to post what antenna model,
some stations might be on vhf and some on uhf. You might have a uhf only antenna.

I installed a roof top Antenna and am wondering if I need a better one. Some stations do not come in well. (lots of dropped frames)

Do you think after the final transition, stations will be using more power? How can I tell?

I live in Akron Oh, 44312.

Here are the stations from Antenna Web I should get and my status:

WKYC-DT 3.1 NBC - Mostly great
WOIO 19 CBS - great
WEWS-DT 5.1 ABC - Fair to good
WBNX-DT 55.1 CW - Un-watchable
WJW 8 FOX - Un-watchable

What do you think? Will a better antenna help or will the stations be changing anything to make this better?
What antenna are you using?

Well, I finally called TWC. 25 minutes on the phone with a TWC tech who seemed stumped by the problem. Both boxes were reset by the TWC computer, both still do not work. I have an appointment on Thursday morning for someone to come out and "check the signal".

After that, I tried what Vchat said. I took the box in the basement and plugged it directly into the main line coming from the drop. The only thing between the box and the line was a 5 foot cable line(brand new, usually used to connect the RF out to my TV) and a ground block to connect the lines together(as the line comes in by the basement ceiling). The box behaved the same way. Same channels didn't work.

Since both boxes have the same issues and the splitter/lines are not the problem, I'm guessing it's something along the line outside the house. Maybe on the street.

Well, I finally called TWC. 25 minutes on the phone with a TWC tech who seemed stumped by the problem. Both boxes were reset by the TWC computer, both still do not work. I have an appointment on Thursday morning for someone to come out and "check the signal".

After that, I tried what Vchat said. I took the box in the basement and plugged it directly into the main line coming from the drop. The only thing between the box and the line was a 5 foot cable line(brand new, usually used to connect the RF out to my TV) and a ground block to connect the lines together(as the line comes in by the basement ceiling). The box behaved the same way. Same channels didn't work.

Since both boxes have the same issues and the splitter/lines are not the problem, I'm guessing it's something along the line outside the house. Maybe on the street.

I'll bet he tries to give you a new box.:)

I'll bet he tries to give you a new box.:)

I'll bet I'll make a hookbill-style scene!! ;)

I'm going to focus on the other box more than the 8300. I'll talk about how that one always says "channel unavailable" and the problems with the new HD channels and the wiring. I'll try to ignore the 8300HD, even though it is on the main TV. :(

TiVo rocks! Guide data now available for all new HD channels added today. TW gets a nod for working with them.

Finally got around to hooking up the tuning adapter to my Tivo tonight. Well, my wife did it... Other than her accidentally pulling the eSATA cable out and not realizing it, everything went smoothly. (The instructions don't mention external storage, so I'm not surprised she missed it.)

When you fire it up for the first time, it requests that you run a bunch of diagnostics on the tuner itself and it's interactions with the CableCards. Interesting bit I noticed - in several places on the diag screens, it mentions SARA....

Finally got around to hooking up the tuning adapter to my Tivo tonight. Well, my wife did it... Other than her accidentally pulling the eSATA cable out and not realizing it, everything went smoothly. (The instructions don't mention external storage, so I'm not surprised she missed it.)

When you fire it up for the first time, it requests that you run a bunch of diagnostics on the tuner itself and it's interactions with the CableCards. Interesting bit I noticed - in several places on the diag screens, it mentions SARA....

Have you noticed anything with the new SDV channels? Any problems? I have TWC coming out Thursday, but I still wonder if anyone else had trouble? I'm thinking it is a signal problem with my house. Even the tech on the phone said they're going to come out and "check the signal". I hope it is a signal problem. They're not getting my SA 8300 back! :mad:

Have you noticed anything with the new SDV channels? Any problems? I have TWC coming out Thursday, but I still wonder if anyone else had trouble? I'm thinking it is a signal problem with my house. Even the tech on the phone said they're going to come out and "check the signal". I hope it is a signal problem. They're not getting my SA 8300 back! :mad:

I checked a few of the channels and didn't notice any problems, but haven't put any real time into it yet.

Been reading your SDV saga, but I've been too brain-dead recently to reply... From what you're describing, I'd guess it's a signal problem. Most TWC techs put way too much emphasis on the 35-37 SNR. When it comes to digital channels, especially HD, the MPEG error rate is far more useful at times. Think "strength vs. quality"... Throw SDV into the mix where multiple channels can be sent down the wire at the same frequency as you tune them if the SDV switching equipment decides it's more efficient, and you'll see the same problems you're describing - a bunch of channels work well one day, but not the next.

By 'signal problem', I'm really hoping that means anything other than the box itself. I know it can't be either box, since both have identical problems. But I'm still stumped why this is happening. These HD channels were fine pre-SDV. Other non-SDV HD channels are fine right now.

I don't know why, but TWC seems very tight lipped about SDV. I played the role of the dumb customer on the phone(not sharing what I saw on the 'hidden menus' or mentioning SDV channels). I tired baiting them by mentioning the SDV Unavailable screens that I have recently seen, and he didn't say anything about it.

SDV is a strange animal. Just by flipping through channels and tuning to them in a certain order, a channel that was flawless a minute ago is unwatchable the next. And only USA HD seems to have been unaffected by any of the problems. :confused:

I am having some 'slight' issues with the new SDV channels this evening. But once again it's not showstopping or anything. And it all seems like upstream bugs that need worked out with the SDV muxing equipment.

First issue I had is none of the known SDV channels would tune in at all. No 'channel unavailable' messages or anything, just a black screen. STOHD, DscHD, DisnHD, ScifiHD, USAHD, and PalladiaHD. All just black screened.

Second shortly after the first I could tune them in but none of them had any audio. Only the SDV channels exhibited this. Standard SD and HD channels were fine. This eventually cleared itself up without retuning the channel like they unmuted it at the headend.

Third and final one is occasional and bearable dropouts where the feed will just freeze for a few short moments and come back with moving macroblocks for the first handful of frames.

I'm sure it's mostly growing pains right now initially seeing as STOHD had really been the only 'big' channel in the pool and with baseball season only recently starting up, it probably hasn't seen enough viewership yet this year to warrant any bugs showing up to the point of having CSR calls and truck rolls made.

nickdawg: When they come out to your place, make sure to try and show them definitively what you know so far, ie: same symptoms both boxes, rearranging of splits doesn't change anything, etc.. Of course this largely depends on how much of a knowitall the tech is (a lot of them around here seem fairly benevolent FWIW. Haven't had too many troubles with conflicting egos and they usually accept I know what I'm doing. At least has been the case with RR/Digital Phone hookup and the first losing round with this firewire mess and trying to swap the boxes about).

If anything and these bugs continue to show, in a polite way we can probably make it known enough to get it all sorted in an orderly fashion. By the very design of SDV, you can't cover every contingency with a small lab-grade test environment. The real test is a real world deployment like we have now.

NickDawg is right about the OAR of StarTrek:Enterprise. Show was filmed in HD and originally broadcast as such. Why SyFy is showing it in the window within a window 16:9 format is bizarre. I tuned in later to their reality show "WCG Ultimate Gamer" and it was full screen and looked very nice!

A shame we missed the finally of BSG in HD, but looking forward to the new seasons of Eureka, Stargate:Universe and Caprica!!

Just wanted to add that I am in the ex-adelphia area.

Have you noticed anything with the new SDV channels? Any problems?
Yes! SDV broke my TV!

Well, maybe not. Maybe it's just coincidence that the projector bulb on my five+ year old DLP picked last night to finally fail.

But I'm blaming it on Time Warner. :D

Good thing I ordered a new one last year, just in case. Now I just need to install it.

I got home and fired up the TV with the Motorola DCT 6416 DVR box and much to my surprize I had all the new HD cannel line up without any problems. I did not look at the bedroom TV (SA4250) until after 11pm. The guide info was there but there was no picture and just a low scrambled sound on each of the new channels. All the original channels worked fine. This morning I pulled the plug and reset it while getting dressed. I will check it out when I get home tonight.

I thought the old Motorola box was going to be the problem child.

Ray

USAHD is down right now.

If you haven't got your guide data yet, just have TiVo phone home.

Here in Amherst we went to a different operating software this morning. When I turned on the box and tv there was a message on the screen about the box and to call Time Warner. So I rebooted the box, now instead of a light blue background it's dark blue.

Sci-Fi does not have the rights to Enterprise in HD. I believe HDNet bought those rights.

Or so I've been told.

- Trip

Here in Amherst we went to a different operating software this morning. When I turned on the box and tv there was a message on the screen about the box and to call Time Warner. So I rebooted the box, now instead of a light blue background it's dark blue.

So you went to navigator? Do you know if you were SARA before?

Sci-Fi does not have the rights to Enterprise in HD. I believe HDNet bought those rights.

Or so I've been told.

- Trip

That's what I like about you, Trip. You have solid answers for us dummies.:)

That's what I like about you, Trip. You have solid answers for us dummies.:)

Hah, you got lucky on this one. I'm an OTA guy and don't follow cable that closely.

What I do follow, though, is Star Trek. :D That's the only reason I even remember that much.

- Trip

USAHD is back up. This concerns TW people Sat and other cable companies, don't know if you had problems of course.

So you went to navigator? Do you know if you were SARA before?

Yes I believe that is so. I really don't know the names of the operating systems, like I said the new one has dark blue back ground and the old was a light blue. When I rebooted the box it took twice as long than normal because it went though a bunch of numbers before it even got to the boot phase.

Why is everything on SCI-FI HD showing letterbox in 4:3 aspect ratio? Picture quality looks top notch, but why am I receiving these shows in non-widescreen? I've seen sci-fi HD show Atlantis in full screen glory and it was amazing. On mine it is 4:3. This is stupid.

Why is everything on SCI-FI HD showing letterbox in 4:3 aspect ratio? Picture quality looks top notch, but why am I receiving these shows in non-widescreen? I've seen sci-fi HD show Atlantis in full screen glory and it was amazing. On mine it is 4:3. This is stupid.

Because either it wasn't filmed in HD or they do not have the rights to show it in HD. (Thanks Trip)

Yes I believe that is so. I really don't know the names of the operating systems, like I said the new one has dark blue back ground and the old was a light blue. When I rebooted the box it took twice as long than normal because it went though a bunch of numbers before it even got to the boot phase.

Upon further review I have determined that what you got was a new version of Navigator. Light blue was the older version. You did not have SARA.

Because either it wasn't filmed in HD or they do not have the rights to show it in HD. (Thanks Trip)

The really sad thing is that my UPN station was always this low budget station whose primary signal never made it to me and I ended up watching on a translator 80 miles away. In the middle of the third season, in typical low-budget fashion, the signal got a lot worse and I missed a lot of the third season and most of the fourth season. I still want to see the whole thing, but I just don't have the time to acquire the DVDs and watch them. Maybe over the summer I'll do it.

Oh, but Enterprise had a huge influence on me. Read my screen name and compare against the names of the characters on Enterprise and see if you find a similarity. :D

- Trip

Here in Amherst we went to a different operating software this morning. When I turned on the box and tv there was a message on the screen about the box and to call Time Warner. So I rebooted the box, now instead of a light blue background it's dark blue.

Same thing happened to me. Let me guess, it was a 4250HDC, right? Around 3:30 am I wake up to the box clicking off and the screen first said "CABLECard Firmware Update". After that it rebooted and the screen said the box was not authorized. Then I rebooted it manually and it went through a firmware download and when it finally came on, it had the new dark blue guide too! I'm happy it finally came. The old 'light blue' guide was hideous and the channel banner was too large. These new graphics actually look modern.

Yes! SDV broke my TV!

Well, maybe not. Maybe it's just coincidence that the projector bulb on my five+ year old DLP picked last night to finally fail.

But I'm blaming it on Time Warner. :D

Good thing I ordered a new one last year, just in case. Now I just need to install it.

Wow, you had me scared for a minute! ;) Just when this seems like it can't get any worse, something worse is reported!

It's fun to blame Time Warner!! :D:D:D:D

Sci-Fi does not have the rights to Enterprise in HD. I believe HDNet bought those rights.

Or so I've been told.

- Trip

Of course. It all makes sense now. Some big, domineering network has a monopoly with the rights to the HD version.

What a shock! :rolleyes:

Hey Guys, Does anyone out in Mentor/Elyria (old comcast area) with a Motorola hd box, or a Tivo S-3 get the 5 new HD channels? My Moto has all the guide info, but when I tune to one of the new channels, I get a not authorized screen. When I try the Tivo S-3, the guide shows a " to be announced" message, and also no picture or sound. Any ideas?

Ben Music

Hey Guys, Does anyone out in Mentor/Elyria (old comcast area) with a Motorola hd box, or a Tivo S-3 get the 5 new HD channels? My Moto has all the guide info, but when I tune to one of the new channels, I get a not authorized screen. When I try the Tivo S-3, the guide shows a " to be announced" message, and also no picture or sound. Any ideas?

Ben Music

Not in your area but I believe I can help.

On one of my TiVo's I had to pull the cards. I wrote down the numbers and called customer service and had them send a hit out to the cards while I rebooted. That brought in everything. (keep that number).

As far as your Moto if you got a guide you should receive programming. I would reboot the box and if that doesn't work call customer service. Your going to have to anyway for the TiVo.

I mentioned earlier you can obtain guide data for those channels if you have your TiVo do a call in. Good luck.

Hey Guys, Does anyone out in Mentor/Elyria (old comcast area) with a Motorola hd box, or a Tivo S-3 get the 5 new HD channels? My Moto has all the guide info, but when I tune to one of the new channels, I get a not authorized screen. When I try the Tivo S-3, the guide shows a " to be announced" message, and also no picture or sound. Any ideas?

Ben Music

My Motorola DCT646 DVR box had all the new HD channels yesturday without any problems. I'm in Mentor. My SA4250 had the guide data but no picture so I rebooted this morning before I left for work. I will check it when I get home.

Ray

If you haven't got your guide data yet, just have TiVo phone home.
Yeah, ran through guided setup last night and getting guide data for the new channels just fine now. :)

Yeah, ran through guided setup last night and getting guide data for the new channels just fine now. :)

You didn't have to run through guided setup, at least you shouldn't of had to. My TiVo HD just happened to do a late afternoon call in and my S3 wasn't scheduled for one today so I just forced it (wireless).

I'm back and forth now with TW on the tuner resolver. Last email said they wanted my customer number so I gave it to them and asked why they needed a ticket for this? It's crazy.

I also told them get it straightened out or next email goes to Mr. Fry. In a polite way, of course.

Because either it wasn't filmed in HD or they do not have the rights to show it in HD. (Thanks Trip)

Stargate Atlantis has been filmed in HD from the beginning. It appears to be owned by MGM and I know I've seen commercials on SyFy saying it was being broadcast in HD and to contact my service provider to get it. Possible growing pains?

Stargate Atlantis has been filmed in HD from the beginning. It appears to be owned by MGM and I know I've seen commercials on SyFy saying it was being broadcast in HD and to contact my service provider to get it. Possible growing pains?

I don't know. Basically I was repeating what Trip said because it made sense.

Same thing happened to me. Let me guess, it was a 4250HDC, right? Around 3:30 am I wake up to the box clicking off and the screen first said "CABLECard Firmware Update". After that it rebooted and the screen said the box was not authorized. Then I rebooted it manually and it went through a firmware download and when it finally came on, it had the new dark blue guide too! I'm happy it finally came. The old 'light blue' guide was hideous and the channel banner was too large. These new graphics actually look modern.

Yes that is right, the 4250HDC. Why couldn't Time Warner reboot the box themselves? I could only imagine how many phone calls they got from people that had no idea of what was going on.

Yes that is right, the 4250HDC. Why couldn't Time Warner reboot the box themselves? I could only imagine how many phone calls they got from people that had no idea of what was going on.

Handled by CSR's who don't know what they are talking about. Yesterday when I asked for the hit for my cable cards I was told "You can't get HD, you can only get that with one of our boxes."

Yeah. Just checked here and my 8300HDC also got the mythical new ODN 3.1.1_3 . Yours must be a special case nickdawg because mine seems to be working fine here and no needed reboots other than the forced one at 3:30 this morning.

Lesse what new features we have....Of course the much more slimmed down channel banner. Actually is identical to the banner on the MDN software (what is loaded on the non-HDC boxes like the 8000, 8000HD, 8300, 8300HD, the cranky Pioneer STB's..), show recording priority, 'nearest tune' (enter a channel number that isn't really there, it tunes to the next known channel), recording a show in a specified timeslot (ie: record X at only 12:00PM).

Seems they have also added a few more pages to the diag menu. One now gives you more detailed info on the disk drive like Passport did. Kinda weird though looking at it but I swear the 8300HDC had a 180GB drive in it and it's saying there's only 148GB~ in the specified partition for recordings. Even with the whole 1000/1024 mess, it shouldn't be THAT low. Oh well. *shrug* Also have a few 'error log' pages towards the end.

Also seems to be just a slight bit more responsive now in a lot of scenarios.

Now comes the real fun....To see if they fubar'd my firewire recording ability in any way. ><

Now comes the real fun....To see if they fubar'd my firewire recording ability in any way. ><

This will be interesting.

And as far as nickdawg, yes, he is a special case.;):D

Yes that is right, the 4250HDC. Why couldn't Time Warner reboot the box themselves? I could only imagine how many phone calls they got from people that had no idea of what was going on.

The OCAP boxes are a PITA when it comes to changes(a TWC person told me this awhile back). That's why when any changes are made, like adding new channels, those boxes take longer to adopt the changes. The new channels didn't show up yesterday, until I 'helped' it along with a reboot.

If you used to have Passport with TWC, viewer discretion is advised for this website. Look at what Passport has to offer for OCAP/tru 2-way settops on Scientific Atlanta or Motorola platforms.

Look at this 16:9 guide:

http://www.macrovision.com/webdocuments/passport_tru2way_img1.jpg

Look at this channel banner:

http://www.macrovision.com/webdocuments/passport_tru2way_img2.jpg

http://www.macrovision.com/products/service_providers/ipg_so/passport_tru2way.htm?link_id=rightnav

Well, looks like you were right hookbill: They nuked USAHD, DisneyHD, and so far DiscoveryHD for me (though I'll try that one later this evening again like I did last night). Though I did notice A&E HD was open surprisingly (not like much interesting is on there anyways).
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/1791/vlcsnap535159.th.png (http://img27.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vlcsnap535159.png)
Otherwise, looks like nothing was killed. Just the same old with only having the channels they left open available to record from.

If you used to have Passport with TWC, viewer discretion is advised for this website. Look at what Passport has to offer for OCAP/tru 2-way settops on Scientific Atlanta or Motorola platforms.

Look at this 16:9 guide:

http://www.macrovision.com/webdocuments/passport_tru2way_img1.jpg

Look at this channel banner:

http://www.macrovision.com/webdocuments/passport_tru2way_img2.jpg

http://www.macrovision.com/products/service_providers/ipg_so/passport_tru2way.htm?link_id=rightnav

Sad, isn't it? Passport was actually MODERN compared to the likes of the Gemstar IPG or SARA. And this right here just makes me wanna cry.

The OCAP boxes are a PITA when it comes to changes(a TWC person told me this awhile back). That's why when any changes are made, like adding new channels, those boxes take longer to adopt the changes. The new channels didn't show up yesterday, until I 'helped' it along with a reboot.

Yep, welcome to the club. Just like I had to reboot one of my TiVo's. It seems that whenever they add a channel one of my TiVo's get it and the other one doesn't, and that's exactly what you experienced. It's tricky stuff.

There have been a few rare occasions when both TiVo's got new channels but almost always there is an issue with at least one of them. Usually a reboot and maybe a hit to the cards fixes it. PIA.

And passport looks pretty darn nice.

Well, looks like you were right hookbill: They nuked USAHD, DisneyHD, and so far DiscoveryHD for me (though I'll try that one later this evening again like I did last night). Though I did notice A&E HD was open surprisingly (not like much interesting is on there anyways).
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/1791/vlcsnap535159.th.png (http://img27.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vlcsnap535159.png)
Otherwise, looks like nothing was killed. Just the same old with only having the channels they left open available to record from.

These shows that you copy. What do you do with them? Can you make a DVD? Or is it just copy to your computer and that's it? Just curious, not accusing you of anything.;)

Nah, nothing bad in the eyes of a sane person....yet. ;)

Actually I haven't done much with them so far. The screenshots I have posted in this thread over the past few pages are just watching the DVR playback live through VLC and using the snapshot feature.

But I have copied one episode of L&O:SVU and a recent episode of ER. The former was just to have a copy to watch while out of town last weekend (an actual legit use that these idiots never seem to account for) which, shocking enough, I was able to seamlessly stream to my brother's Xbox 360 hooked up to his gorgeous 1080p 52" plasma. The latter was at the request of my mother who seems to want to keep the final episodes on dvd.

But yeah, I can do whatever I want with it really. For the channels that actually work, I get just a normal TS file with an mpeg2 video stream, an AC3 audio stream, and even a closed captioning PID for a number of channels (mostly the HD channels I have noticed. They don't use the VBI for CC, but embed it as binary data in the mpeg container).

But for stuff like converting to dvd and all it is a slight bit involved largely because the transfer over firewire seems to (unfortunately) bring out some artifacts that's not seen during playback on the tv (gonna throw the blame to the STB on this one), but it's easily cleaned up with a few different programs. Then videoredo does a pretty good job of clipping out the commercials and converting and burning to a dvd.

Straight playback though I have had no trouble so far with the raw TS file. And this is using VLC, WMP12 (in Windows 7), and Media Center in Win7.

Yeah, ran through guided setup last night and getting guide data for the new channels just fine now. :)

Ed I just got an email from Jeanie too. She is telling me that they "hope" to ship the tuner adapters to us "in the next several days."

I wrote her back and told her I know for a fact that they've had the adapters in the warehouse for over 3 weeks so why is there a delay? I also told her I will try to exercise patience but I fully expect to have the adapter before 3/9.

Looks like they got one person handling this.

And passport looks pretty darn nice.

That wasn't what we had, but I wish we had it now. It looks better than Tivo!! :D

That wasn't what we had, but I wish we had it now. It looks better than Tivo!! :D

I agree it does LOOK better then TiVo.

TiVo needs an update real bad in the looks department. However everything else......;)

Ed I just got an email from Jeanie too. She is telling me that they "hope" to ship the tuner adapters to us "in the next several days."

I wrote her back and told her I know for a fact that they've had the adapters in the warehouse for over 3 weeks so why is there a delay? I also told her I will try to exercise patience but I fully expect to have the adapter before 3/9.

Looks like they got one person handling this.

Yeah, she might be "it" as the tuning adapter laison for TW...
Got to meet her in person today, very nice lady. So... I've got the TA in hand, I'll hook it up when I get home tonight. Got a three page "manual". One page is a copy of the official Tivo hook-up instructions. One page is a step by step "TW written" hook up instruction and page three is a list of the current SDV channels.

http://www.rovicorp.com/webdocuments/overview_i-Guide.jpg
iGuide (http://www.rovicorp.com/products/service_providers/guide_sp/i_guide.htm?link_id=rightnav) for Motorola hardware (Mostly seen on Comcast systems, Time Warner used it on GI/Mot hardware in the late 90s)

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/8428/comcastdvr1yu3.jpg
MOXI Guide

This is actually what we had previously before Navigator went critical:
http://www.rovicorp.com/webdocuments/overview_passport.jpg
Passport Echo (http://www.rovicorp.com/products/service_providers/guide_sp/passport_echo.htm) -- Focused on DVR enabled STB's.

http://www.rovicorp.com/webdocuments/overview_passportdct.jpg
Passport (http://www.rovicorp.com/products/service_providers/guide_sp/passport_dct.htm) -- Mostly for non-DVR STB's like the old cranky Pioneer boxes.

And then we have SARA:
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/508/medium/sara_guide.JPG

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/2839/navv2.jpg
Navigator ODN v2 (Unknown MDN version)

http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/9743/guidesamplewr0.jpg
Navigator ODN v3 (Unknown MDN version)

Passport I loved though. Even the legacy version on the old Pioneer box you could tell was tailored for the hardware. Had NO issues with it whatsoever. Even Echo on the SA8000 was no problem, ever. In addition, before TWC cut it all out, we had stuff like on screen instant bill payment via credit card, basic card games with the guide-like inset video in the corner, a combination news/local news/weather/movie showtimes channel/application, and of course the defacto caller id banner. And that's just scratching the surface of what applications were actually available for Passport. Right down to the end of it's life, I think I recall getting on screen package/tier subscriptions at least for a number of the subscribable VOD channels. It was also supposedly built to support multi-room capabilities too with backwards support to the plain Passport system so DVR'd shows could be viewed on the older non-DVR STBs. A Video Mosaic application (Basically video thumbnails of a handful of related channels on a single screen together.) was also optional but never put into service by TWC at least in this area.

Bash it all you want: Passport was, and still is, top of the line even in comparison to SARA and Navigator. And it is very close to Tivo if it wasn't for the fact that it relies on the cableco to push updates and features which is almost never.

Yeah, she might be "it" as the tuning adapter laison for TW...
Got to meet her in person today, very nice lady. So... I've got the TA in hand, I'll hook it up when I get home tonight. Got a three page "manual". One page is a copy of the official Tivo hook-up instructions. One page is a step by step "TW written" hook up instruction and page three is a list of the current SDV channels.

If there is anyway you can scan those instructions and post them I'd sure appreciate it. If it's a pia then don't worry about it.

T
And the latest build of Navigator:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=15115064&postcount=6046

Passport I loved though. Even the legacy version on the old Pioneer box you could tell was tailored for the hardware. Had NO issues with it whatsoever. Even Echo on the SA8000 was no problem, ever. In addition, before TWC cut it all out, we had stuff like on screen instant bill payment via credit card, basic card games with the guide-like inset video in the corner, a combination news/local news/weather/movie showtimes channel/application, and of course the defactor caller id banner. And that's just scratching the surface of what applications were actually available for Passport.

It's much more developed then I realized.

The navigator guide looks a bit like my TiVo guide, at least the one I use.

I agree it does LOOK better then TiVo.

TiVo needs an update real bad in the looks department. However everything else......;)

Maybe if TWC actually had a DECENT, WORKING guide and DVR for once, they would be able to work on other unnecessary crap like Tivo has. Sure, TWC wants to sell their own entertainment crap. But if TWC could expand their VOD movie library by partnering with Netflix(and getting a cut of the profits) I'm sure they would do it. Except the Navigator could barely function to watch TV before. So forget about anything extra.

Right now Navigator is at about the level Passport (original) was in 2000. I had it back then and I hated it. It was still buggy and not quite ready for primetime yet. I loved the layout and UI design, it just needed to be faster and more reliable, like it was in recent years.

And Passport Echo. I will admit I DESPISED it when I first had it in early 2004. I think part of that reason was because I had that POS SA 8000 box. It improved over the years I had it(2004-2006), but when I got the SA 8300, it was night and day.

I was going through some papers the other day and I found some literature from Best Buy about Tivo, with a very (now) dated looking box pictured on it. Yes, at one point I was looking into Tivo. But the pocketbook voted against it. And I'm glad I did. The pre-cable card Tivos were a real POS. I've seen that IR sensor 'dongle' thingy and the delay in switching cable box channels. Worse than my 8000 SD was! :D

Speaking of IR sensors and as we get "nostalgic" here, anybody remember those IR sensors that used to be hooked up to the non-DVR boxes in the early 2000s? I remember thinking that was the coolest thing ever that I could record any cable channel without having to set up two timers on the VCR.

How the times have changed...

:D

And then we have SARA:
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/508/medium/sara_guide.JPG



I actually like THAT guide! I wish we had that on these boxes, looks like the old Passport guide for the existing boxes with less RAM than the newer ones.

I'll bet that the Pioneer boxes would perform better(maybe on level with Passport) if Navigator had an IPG version that was more basic for the lower RAM boxes.

I actually like THAT guide! I wish we had that on these boxes, looks like the old Passport guide for the existing boxes with less RAM than the newer ones.

I'll bet that the Pioneer boxes would perform better(maybe on level with Passport) if Navigator had an IPG version that was more basic for the lower RAM boxes.

Nickdawg those guides are horrible looking. I'm willing to bet you're the only one who feels that way.

Nickdawg those guides are horrible looking. I'm willing to bet you're the only one who feels that way.

Agreed. I dunno what IPG you had nickdawg, but SARA is absolute crap.

My brother in Columbus in WOW territory still has SARA on his 8300HD and it is slow as HELL, like 10x worse than navigator. Has less features than even navigator. And on the big 52" tv it looks like an absolute steaming pile. Aliasing out the wazoo, etc.. Reminds me of the old Weatherstar Jr's (Weather channel local on the 8's; Where it was mostly text based with few colors, before the current graphics/animation filled stuff.)

I don't think I could really stand SARA on an everyday basis. Navigator has it's days, but not nearly that bad. Passport was the king: both the non-DVR and Echo versions.

(Reminds me. I remember saying I was gonna post shots of the SARA interface next time I went down that way and I never have. I'll have to remember that next time I visit.)

Do they even make those? Those DVD recorders never really caught on like DVRs, there must be a reason(hint hint) ;) Besides, just because it has a 'digital tuner' don't expect digital cable. You'd need a cable card, which is a moot point now with SDV.

As far as 'portability', I'd use the DVD recorder for archiving, the DVR for general recordings. You can dump programs from the TWC DVR that you want to save or 'port' :D.

For your case, I think the TWC box would be fine. Considering you use a VCR in 2009 :eek:, I think all the balls and whistles of Tivo are useless.

What is the reason DVD recorders with tuners never caught on?? No monthly fee?? ;)

Wouldn't this require me getting cable?? So there is nothing to timeshift OTA now huh?

Edit, I'm enjoying THIS TV now, that Mr. Ed is a scream! :)

I had taken a few of yours advice & purchased a new PC back in December, upon turning this wonderbox on, I was besieged with programs poping up on it asking for my credit card # to subscribe to all kinds of wonderful services it 'needs', I can imagine these will cost in excess of an additional $50-75/month.... It also refuses to do my everyday book keeping as it wants to be "upgraded" via the internet... so now it sits, I should have saved the $350. :(

I installed a roof top Antenna and am wondering if I need a better one. Some stations do not come in well. (lots of dropped frames)

Do you think after the final transition, stations will be using more power? How can I tell?

I live in Akron Oh, 44312.

Here are the stations from Antenna Web I should get and my status:

WKYC-DT 3.1 NBC - Mostly great
WOIO 19 CBS - great
WEWS-DT 5.1 ABC - Fair to good
WBNX-DT 55.1 CW - Un-watchable
WJW 8 FOX - Un-watchable

What do you think? Will a better antenna help or will the stations be changing anything to make this better?

Sounds like a bad UHF/mid-upper UHF antenna....

19 great?? that's a first, but as you know 8 broadcasts on 31, & 55 on 30, how is your 61?

Of course you can always get cable ;).

What is the reason DVD recorders with tuners never caught on?? No monthly fee?? ;)

Wouldn't this require me getting cable?? So there is nothing to timeshift OTA now huh?

I think the biggest thing is, at least from my perspective, is you still have the need to set up and IR emitter and timers to use with a cable STB like VCR's, most do not have cablecard slots that have QAM tuners, stuff like that. So it's just a VCR again but in higher quality.

In the case of a Tivo, Cable provided DVR, Media center PC, etc.., the automation with saying 'ok, record this show on this channel and watch the times' just nails it.

Once we upgraded to a DVR years ago, it was a godsensd. And it still is.

Seinfeld is now in HD on WJW. I don't know how long this has been going on but I just noticed it today. Guess that makes WJW the third channel with HD syndication.

I wrote her back and told her I know for a fact that they've had the adapters in the warehouse for over 3 weeks so why is there a delay? I also told her I will try to exercise patience but I fully expect to have the adapter before 3/9.

Looks like they got one person handling this.

There's likely a small army of people working on this, and you're only seeing the tip of the iceberg. Patience, Hookbill. It will happen when it's ready to happen.
.

There's likely a small army of people working on this, and you're only seeing the tip of the iceberg. Patience, Hookbill. It will happen when it's ready to happen.
.

All I know is that TW said they would be available as of today. Not on or after. They said someone would either email us or call us. They didn't.

I just get irritated when they don't do what they say. And I do want STO by opening day. If its in SDV and I don't have the tuner adapter, no STO.

And they have had those adapters longer then what they are telling the public.

As I told her I will try to be patient. Its a quality I seriously lack.:)

And you say I'M impatient! :p

In some ways I agree with hookbill. Up to now they have (seemingly) been planning this stuff to line up just right. Get the tuning adapters out before the new SDV channels were added and make sure everyone would be on the same page once it all went live.

But whoever is in charge of this tuning adapter mess seems to have dropped the ball and you all apparently have some delays to deal with now. For your sake hookbill, I hope they get a tuning adapter shipped before STO starts airing regular season games. May just have to commandeer the SA box from the wife long enough for it. ;)

Going back to OTA for the short moment, I think sometime this weekend I'm gonna hop over to the nearest rat shack and pick up a 300-75ohm balun and a few coax F connectors and see about bringing the antenna on this house back into service and see how well the signal works.

My question though is this: If I went from the 300ohm twin lead wires off the antenna and just spliced right into a 75ohm coax previously and then switch to using a balun instead, would I see much improvement? I'm not totally sure what a balun actually does or if it does a whole lot? Then again, I'm not an EE so sue me. :p

What is the reason DVD recorders with tuners never caught on?? No monthly fee?? ;)

Wouldn't this require me getting cable?? So there is nothing to timeshift OTA now huh?

Edit, I'm enjoying THIS TV now, that Mr. Ed is a scream! :)

I had taken a few of yours advice & purchased a new PC back in December, upon turning this wonderbox on, I was besieged with programs poping up on it asking for my credit card # to subscribe to all kinds of wonderful services it 'needs', I can imagine these will cost in excess of an additional $50-75/month.... It also refuses to do my everyday book keeping as it wants to be "upgraded" via the internet... so now it sits, I should have saved the $350. :(


The DVD recorders didn't really catch on cuz it's just one step above VHS with many of the VHS limitations. The only advantage a DVD recorder has over a DVR is portability. I remember back in my VHS days I'd lose half of my scheduled recordings cuz someone removed the tape or the tape would run out. This is where "portability" can work against you. :p

Those free trial programs your computer came loaded with are indeed a PITA. But it is those free programs that subsidized your purchase, lowering your out of pocket cost. They can all be disabled or uninstalled if you wish.

If you want a real eye opener, run a good third party security scan program (not one preinstalled) like Iobits Advanced System Care (free) http://iobit.com/ and I'll bet it finds around 30,000 security flaws on that brand new computer! :eek:

Going off topic a bit here but I'd like to put in a nod to Gibson Research (http://www.grc.com/intro.htm) and Shields Up, in my mind the way to check your computers firewall to prevent anyone from maliciously using your PC. He has some freebies there as well like leak test and a very comprehensive test for your firewall. Also you can gather a great deal of information about PC security here. By all means take the Shields Up test and see how good your firewall is.

Since I have a Mac and run Windows at the same time I have ran it on my own firewall, and while it passed the firewall test it did not past the leak test.

On the Mac side of the computer it has it's own firewalls and Macs haven't had an attack in years.

Going off topic a bit here but I'd like to put in a nod to Gibson Research (http://www.grc.com/intro.htm) and Shields Up, in my mind the way to check your computers firewall to prevent anyone from maliciously using your PC. He has some freebies there as well like leak test and a very comprehensive test for your firewall. Also you can gather a great deal of information about PC security here. By all means take the Shields Up test and see how good your firewall is.

Since I have a Mac and run Windows at the same time I have ran it on my own firewall, and while it passed the firewall test it did not past the leak test.

On the Mac side of the computer it has it's own firewalls and Macs haven't had an attack in years.

Yup, excellent testing site. It's comprehensive port testing that your computer failed is usually fixed by simply running the Advanced System Care (free) that I referred too previously, but it's only for Windows I believe.

Yup, excellent testing site. It's comprehensive port testing that your computer failed is usually fixed by simply running the Advanced System Care (free) that I referred too previously, but it's only for Windows I believe.
Taking you up on that, going to run it on my windows, hopefully it doesn't hurt. I have had problems attempting to run Zone Alarm with Parallels which allows me to run windows and Mac at the same time. Downloading now.

I installed a roof top Antenna and am wondering if I need a better one. Some stations do not come in well. (lots of dropped frames)

Do you think after the final transition, stations will be using more power? How can I tell?

I live in Akron Oh, 44312.

Here are the stations from Antenna Web I should get and my status:

WKYC-DT 3.1 NBC - Mostly great
WOIO 19 CBS - great
WEWS-DT 5.1 ABC - Fair to good
WBNX-DT 55.1 CW - Un-watchable
WJW 8 FOX - Un-watchable

What do you think? Will a better antenna help or will the stations be changing anything to make this better?Wow. That is incredible. WJW for me has always been easy to receive... I'm 44313 with an indoor antenna by the way. With regards to WBNX, for about a month or so, I have been struggling to get it. I don't know why. 55, 8, 61, 43 were always the easy ones for me to receive.

It is hard to tell how the transition will affect your reception. Fox and NBC are moving on the spectrum.

Are you sure you have the antenna pointed in the correct direction? I just have a hard time seeing you not being able to get Fox unless Fox is having issues at the current time.

What type of antenna did you install?

I just got an email today from TW:

From your email, it is well evident you have a passion for your TV viewing and for our products. Thank you!

I am sending out a small 'early' batch of Tuning Adapters for customers to test. The goals of the test are to determine if the instructions are adequate and of, course, that the Tuning Adapters perform in the field.

Would you be interested in participating? I could Fedex you two Tuning Adapters tonight for delivery tomorrow morning.

Please advise,
Jeanie
TWC Product Group

See, my "patience" paid off.:D

I installed a roof top Antenna and am wondering if I need a better one. Some stations do not come in well. (lots of dropped frames)

Do you think after the final transition, stations will be using more power? How can I tell?

I live in Akron Oh, 44312.

Here are the stations from Antenna Web I should get and my status:

WKYC-DT 3.1 NBC - Mostly great
WOIO 19 CBS - great
WEWS-DT 5.1 ABC - Fair to good
WBNX-DT 55.1 CW - Un-watchable
WJW 8 FOX - Un-watchable

What do you think? Will a better antenna help or will the stations be changing anything to make this better?
Since WKYC & WOIO are currently VHF signals (for their digital signals), and the rest are currently UHF signals it appears that your antenna may be either VHF only or suffers a loss in the UHF band (perhaps the lead-in cable or a balin is to blame). The fact you are having no problems with WKYC in Akron is actually a good sign, many have had problems with both WKYC and WOIO while your "unwatchable" stations come in fine.

I just got an email today from TW:

From your email, it is well evident you have a passion for your TV viewing and for our products. Thank you!

I am sending out a small 'early' batch of Tuning Adapters for customers to test. The goals of the test are to determine if the instructions are adequate and of, course, that the Tuning Adapters perform in the field.

Would you be interested in participating? I could Fedex you two Tuning Adapters tonight for delivery tomorrow morning.

Please advise,
Jeanie
TWC Product Group

See, my "patience" paid off.:D

Good for you, hook. :D

Hooked up the TA last night night. No problems, TiVo recognized it right away. Steady green light; all good. Now the waiting game begins... ;)

Good for you, hook. :D

Hooked up the TA last night night. No problems, TiVo recognized it right away. Steady green light; all good. Now the waiting game begins... ;)

See this is what I don't get. When she confirmed she would be shipping out the tuner adapters she linked me to the TiVo help page and then I just clicked tuner adapters. Seriously these things are idiot proof. Why in the world TW doesn't just go ahead and send them out is beyond me.

One thing it doesn't show and I think it has one is plugging in the AC power cord. For some reason TiVo's diagram doesn't show that, and in a way that's kind of important because you got to have someplace to plug that in. Preferably you want that on your UPS as well. I'll have to take a look and see what arrangements I need to accommodate that.

Time for me to add my experience with the TWC tech to this never ending Soap Opera we have here.

The tech came(on time, and surprisingly at the beginning of the 2 hour window). First he checked the signal levels out of the wire comeing from the wall to the SA 8300. Then he checked the 4250. After that it was down to the basement to look at the splitter. He checked the incoming line before the splitter(using his computer thingy) and replaced the ends of the coax cables and the signal splitter. One of the problems was the cable lines were frayed by the connector, and that was causing interference. After all that and a reboot of both boxes, the channels still did not work. He went outside to check the connections at the drop and ground block. I didn't see what he did outside, but the TV went dark a few times. Still didn't work. So he said the problem is outside and the 'outside people' will have to come fix that. I have another appointment tomorrow to replace the line outside going into the splitter.

He said that the signal coming into the house is fine, it's perfect, except there's some problem with the frequency used for the HD channels. I'm really stumped. I'm really wondering if that replacing the line tomorrow will fix the problem or is it in the boxes? It's never an uneventful moment with TWC.

Also, I didn't say anything about SDV or the diagnostics menus. I tried to get information, and I did. I mentioned the "channel not available" thing a few times. At first he didn't say anything about SDV. But as I watched him work and asked questions about things(showing I understand what's going on) he talked about SDV later and said "it's their new program they're using to free up space to add new channels". And the unavailable message is not part of this problem. When that happens you're supposed to keep pressing the A button or change the channel so it sends the request to show the channel. And he confirmed that they are adding many new HD channels. I asked about F/X, not sure when it is coming. But he did say Spike and Animal are coming this month. :D

Time for me to add my experience with the TWC tech to this never ending Soap Opera we have here.

The tech came(on time, and surprisingly at the beginning of the 2 hour window). First he checked the signal levels out of the wire comeing from the wall to the SA 8300. Then he checked the 4250. After that it was down to the basement to look at the splitter. He checked the incoming line before the splitter(using his computer thingy) and replaced the ends of the coax cables and the signal splitter. One of the problems was the cable lines were frayed by the connector, and that was causing interference. After all that and a reboot of both boxes, the channels still did not work. He went outside to check the connections at the drop and ground block. I didn't see what he did outside, but the TV went dark a few times. Still didn't work. So he said the problem is outside and the 'outside people' will have to come fix that. I have another appointment tomorrow to replace the line outside going into the splitter.

He said that the signal coming into the house is fine, it's perfect, except there's some problem with the frequency used for the HD channels. I'm really stumped. I'm really wondering if that replacing the line tomorrow will fix the problem or is it in the boxes? It's never an uneventful moment with TWC.

Also, I didn't say anything about SDV or the diagnostics menus. I tried to get information, and I did. I mentioned the "channel not available" thing a few times. At first he didn't say anything about SDV. But as I watched him work and asked questions about things(showing I understand what's going on) he talked about SDV later and said "it's their new program they're using to free up space to add new channels". And the unavailable message is not part of this problem. When that happens you're supposed to keep pressing the A button or change the channel so it sends the request to show the channel. And he confirmed that they are adding many new HD channels. I asked about F/X, not sure when it is coming. But he did say Spike and Animal are coming this month. :D

I thought for sure he would have a box in hand just in case. And how can the signal be "fine" from your house but a problem outside?

Well, have a nice adventure nickdawg. I just freed up a spot on my ups for the tuner adapter arriving tomorrow.

Can't wait to get SDV. Yep, looks like lots of fun!:rolleyes:

First - why the hell is TWC using two HD Discovery Channels to show the same thing?

Second - I still have the old school SARA on my SA8300HD. Was this Navigator software supposed to show up before the new HD channels?

Thanks.

PS...Nickdawg...if TWC would just add FX before Rescue Me starts, I will be able to live in peace with this crap. I'd even settle for halfway thru the season.

First - why the hell is TWC using two HD Discovery Channels to show the same thing?

I don't get that either. One is suppose to be Discovery Theater and the other Discovery Channel but nobody told TW there was a difference.

Second - I still have the old school SARA on my SA8300HD. Was this Navigator software supposed to show up before the new HD channels?

Thanks.



Careful what you ask for, you just might get it.

It would appear at this late date that TW is going with SARA in the exAdelphia area. Anything could happen, nickdawg says they can't go to Navigator now it's too late, I say that there is an issue converting SARA to Navigator or else they would have.

First - why the hell is TWC using two HD Discovery Channels to show the same thing?

Second - I still have the old school SARA on my SA8300HD. Was this Navigator software supposed to show up before the new HD channels?

Thanks.

PS...Nickdawg...if TWC would just add FX before Rescue Me starts, I will be able to live in peace with this crap. I'd even settle for halfway thru the season.

One is Discovery "HD Theater", the original Discovery HD. That channel should go the way of Mojo, it's obsolete now that almost all the Discovery networks have HD simulcasts. Plus the programming sucks on HDT. All they show all day are CAR SHOWS!! Pointless waste of bandwidth, even on SDV.

No. SDV will be added to SARA. SARA is SDV capable, so TWC is not changing that out right now. Navigator will probably happen some time in the future. Once the new Sammy DVRs start being rolled out, they'll have to move to Navigator(as I doubt SARA would run on non-SA products).

I don't think F/X HD is coming before then. However, check the "HD Showcase On Demand" channel. They HD versions of CBS programming as well as Nip/Tuck from F/X. I'm hoping "Rescue Me" will be on Demand too, or I'm not watching it.

I thought for sure he would have a box in hand just in case. And how can the signal be "fine" from your house but a problem outside?

Well, have a nice adventure nickdawg. I just freed up a spot on my ups for the tuner adapter arriving tomorrow.

Can't wait to get SDV. Yep, looks like lots of fun!:rolleyes:

I don't know! I have a bad feeling that fixing that line putside tomorrow might not fix it either. I don't know what's happening.

One is Discovery "HD Theater", the original Discovery HD. That channel should go the way of Mojo, it's obsolete now that almost all the Discovery networks have HD simulcasts. Plus the programming sucks on HDT. All they show all day are CAR SHOWS!! Pointless waste of bandwidth, even on SDV.

No. SDV will be added to SARA. SARA is SDV capable, so TWC is not changing that out right now. Navigator will probably happen some time in the future. Once the new Sammy DVRs start being rolled out, they'll have to move to Navigator(as I doubt SARA would run on non-SA products).

I don't think F/X HD is coming before then. However, check the "HD Showcase On Demand" channel. They HD versions of CBS programming as well as Nip/Tuck from F/X. I'm hoping "Rescue Me" will be on Demand too, or I'm not watching it.

I'm simply amazed at what you can come up with.

What makes you think there is going to be a change in DVR's? You don't think SA isn't going to enter the Tru2Way market? And why do you say "New Sammy"? Assuming your talking Samsung, other companies are going to also produce DVR's so why is TW going with Samsung. Did this tech tell you this today, because you've never mentioned anything about that before.

I wouldn't buy into anything a tech tells you anymore then I would buy into what a CSR says. I remember when they told me the channels were going to realign within 30 days and it took over a year.

Not intending to be nitpicky, but technically SA has already entered the tru2way market. The current OCAP enabled HDC boxes are technically tru2way (I don't know the really extreme technical details, but OCAP and tru2way are pretty much interchangeable. I guess tru2way is more a consumer oriented marketing term.).

In fact, this is one interesting thought that crossed my mind a few days ago was that if you REALLY wanted to you could take the current HDC boxes TWC is offering to another system or even another provider who is also running OCAP systems, swap the cablecard with one of theirs and pair it up and have it actually work. Whatever software they use should be pushed to the box overwriting Navigator or whatever and bam. The only catches I can think of in that case would be that they usually force the techs to come out and pair it up and once they see the box a huge red flag would go up. That's about it. But why anyone would willingly want to continue using the POS is beyond me. ;)

But yes, the whole idea for OCAP now is that a whole wide slew of manufacturers can get into the STB market rather than just the likes of SA/Cisco and Motorola and very few others because of old regulations to get Cablelabs certification. This is why you are now seeing Samsung getting into the business and soon other companies.

Unless TWC can get what problems worked out that are preventing moving their SARA equipment to Navigator, then it'll be down to waiting on equipment to die or customers swapping boxes to get people moved to the new system (OCAP and Navigator). Since current legislation means the old integrated security STBs can no longer be purchased and once the existing stock croaks, that's it.

And someone correct me on this (unfortunately whoever makes SARA seems to be -extremely- secretive because I can't find a single website anywhere), but SARA has never been updated with an OCAP build and is only available as native platform code for the older integrated security boxes. And it wouldn't surprise me in the least if it died off in a slow, agonizing death once everyone and their dog has moved onto OCAP/tru2way equipment.

I'm simply amazed at what you can come up with.

What makes you think there is going to be a change in DVR's? You don't think SA isn't going to enter the Tru2Way market? And why do you say "New Sammy"? Assuming your talking Samsung, other companies are going to also produce DVR's so why is TW going with Samsung. Did this tech tell you this today, because you've never mentioned anything about that before.

I wouldn't buy into anything a tech tells you anymore then I would buy into what a CSR says. I remember when they told me the channels were going to realign within 30 days and it took over a year.

You need to get out more. The huge buzz over in the "TWC Navigator" thread is this new Samsung DVR---SNTH3090. Latest word is they're starting to give them out in NC already. It's supposed to be far superior to the SA box, including a 320GB hard drive. I've known about this a long time. I just mentioned it now because the subject of Navigator/SARA came up.

Here's the "New Sammy"! ;)

http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/detail/detail.do?group=audiovideo&type=digitalsettopbox&subtype=hdtvtuners&model_cd=SMT-H3090/TWC

Might be old news, but I noticed we just picked up a new FREE OTA.
43.2, something called "This" network.
All movies ala turner with commercials.
Nice!
rumor about Sci-Fi channel in Cleveland OTA still around?

You need to get out more. The huge buzz over in the "TWC Navigator" thread is this new Samsung DVR---SNTH3090. Latest word is they're starting to give them out in NC already. It's supposed to be far superior to the SA box, including a 320GB hard drive. I've known about this a long time. I just mentioned it now because the subject of Navigator/SARA came up.

Here's the "New Sammy"! ;)

http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/detail/detail.do?group=audiovideo&type=digitalsettopbox&subtype=hdtvtuners&model_cd=SMT-H3090/TWC

Geeze, not much to talk about. I mean there's nothing about the size of the hard drive or what all it's capable of doing beyond just DVR. If it is capable.

It can't be a high end product, TW wouldn't ever buy anything like that. They are cheap.

Geeze, not much to talk about. I mean there's nothing about the size of the hard drive or what all it's capable of doing beyond just DVR. If it is capable.

It can't be a high end product, TW wouldn't ever buy anything like that. They are cheap.

It's more high end than the SA boxes. Plus it has a larger hard drive than the SA 8300. This SA8300 hard drive is already small enough. I can't wait to see how much I'll have to squeeze it once more channels I care about are asses.

It's more high end than the SA boxes. Plus it has a larger hard drive than the SA 8300. This SA8300 hard drive is already small enough. I can't wait to see how much I'll have to squeeze it once more channels I care about are asses.

It does appear TW is in some type of arrangement for the Samsung box, but other then it being tru2way I can't find out much about it.

Why does it say "Can't decide between two shows? Now you can watch one program while recording another one."

Um, we can record 2 shows while watching one now. I think someone made an error there.

The reason I think TW has an arrangement is the link ends in TWC but how much more vague can it be?

Also I found a very laughable thread where people are saying they don't want it and they are happy with the SA 8300, one person said and I'll paraphrase, "It's just as reliable as my D-TiVo." Some seemed to think SA 8300 is a Caddy, it was pretty funny.

He said that the signal coming into the house is fine, it's perfect, except there's some problem with the frequency used for the HD channels.

There might be signal ingress on that frequency from an OTA transmitter, a paging system or something else. Ingress can enter the system anywhere there's a compromise in the shield. If this is the case here, there could be a bad fitting at the pole, squirrel damage to the drop or something similar. Look at the diagnostics for the channel in question to obtain the frequency, then compare that to the OTA frequencies in use.

There might be signal ingress on that frequency from an OTA transmitter, a paging system or something else. Ingress can enter the system anywhere there's a compromise in the shield. If this is the case here, there could be a bad fitting at the pole, squirrel damage to the drop or something similar. Look at the diagnostics for the channel in question to obtain the frequency, then compare that to the OTA frequencies in use.

You just know a little too much about cable, you know that?

If I didn't know better I'd swear you're a TW employee. Or maybe you're OMG, Cathode Kid = Steve Fry.:eek:;)

Noticed 43.2 OTA looking pretty good without a lot of pixelation.
JJK

You just know a little too much about cable, you know that?

If I didn't know better I'd swear you're a TW employee. Or maybe you're OMG, Cathode Kid = Steve Fry.:eek:;)

I can assure you that I am not Steve Fry.

Now move along, nothing to see here... ;)

Noticed 43.2 OTA looking pretty good without a lot of pixelation.
JJK

Owned by MGM, I googled it. Designed for subchannel type setups like 43.2
Hope the other stations follow suit with substations i.e. scifi! One weather channel is enough, between 19.2 and 3.2, 3 has it down-

Sci-Fi is a cable channel. It is not available over the air.

- Trip

Here are the SDV HD channel frequencies:
STO HD - 597.000 MHz
USAHD - 573.000 MHz
Duscovery HD - 585.000 MHz*
Disney HD - 573.000 MHz
Palladia HD - 597.000 MHz
Universal HD - 573.000 MHz
HD Net - 585.000 MHz*
HD Net Movies - 573.000 MHz
MGMHD - 585.000 MHz*
SCIFH - 573.000 MHz

* = macroblocking problem.

Also, a few other things I noticed. As I flipped through the channels with the Diagnostics screen open, the frequencies change. When I did this the first time to record the numbers, Discovery was on 585.000 MHz and macroblocking. Now it is on 573.000 MHz and works fine. I think there is something wrong with the 585.000 MHz frequency. Whenever the channels act up, they're on that one.

Yep, it is 585.000 MHz. Whenever I change channels, frequencies change and whenever a channel is 585.000 MHz, it has trouble. Does any local channel(analog or digital) broadcast on 585.000? The only place I see it used is on TWC SDV channels. Most others are somewhere in the 600 range.

Does any local channel(analog or digital) broadcast on 585.000? The only place I see it used is on TWC SDV channels. Most others are somewhere in the 600 range.

Highly doubtful. I don't have solid proof, but thinking about it from a technical standpoint, I doubt it'd either be possible or smart to mix normal digital non-SDV channels with SDV channels on the same frequency. Most certainly these frequencies are exclusively limited to SDV programming.

585mhz looks to be right at the spot for broadcast channel 33 though I don't see any broadcasters in the list sitting on that channel currently aside from analog 33 here but they're broadcast power on both analog and digital is so anemic, I have doubts the very minute points of ingress would be picking up enough to be problematic.

One possible check is to hook an analog set up to the cable line, switch it to antenna mode and tune to 33 and see if anything 'odd' can be seen? Different static pattern, faint channel ghosting, anything. If it doesn't look any different, it may be an issue farther upstream. But who knows really.

585 MHz falls in the spectrum used by OTA channel 33. Not that I think that's terribly helpful to you, but...

Are those 12 MHz channels they're using? If so, it could be WQHS-DT 34...

- Trip

Well not exactly. I guess I should have expected it but the tuner adapter Brings up a SARA Diagnostics screen, similar to what the cable card looks like.

TiVo still has it's own diagnostic screen. And while it's lit up right now there is no SDV to check, I have to assume it will work.

I can't seem to escape SARA. Oh well, it's what I got to do for SDV. Now to the install for the S3.:)

For the curious, here's what a tuner adaptor looks like. Pardon the wires. Remember, these are for TiVo only to help it receive SDV.

Sci-Fi is a cable channel. It is not available over the air.

- Trip

Theres been talk of an OTA version. Local advertising- for substations after the switchover.
Just hopin'

Nice that you got two adapters, Hook (& thanks for the pic !), I'm still waiting for even one :-(
Have prodded that Jeanie...

Hi Hook,
Well, I broke down and called TWC and asked them to hit my moto box's and
to my surprise, the 5 new HD chans came on no problem. After I hung up, I realized that I forgot to ask about My Tivo S-3. I had already done a complete reset the other day, and all the guide Info
filled in ok, but still no picture or sound on the new channels. All the other Cable Card HD channels are still ok. Before you hooked up the tuning adapter, did those 5 new channels come in ok, or do I need the tuner adapter hooked up to get them?

Thanks,
Ben Music

For the curious, here's what a tuner adaptor looks like. Pardon the wires. Remember, these are for TiVo only to help it receive SDV.

Holy Crap! :eek::eek: It's like having another cable box under the TV!

Hi Hook,
Well, I broke down and called TWC and asked them to hit my moto box's and
to my surprise, the 5 new HD chans came on no problem. After I hung up, I realized that I forgot to ask about My Tivo S-3. I had already done a complete reset the other day, and all the guide Info
filled in ok, but still no picture or sound on the new channels. All the other Cable Card HD channels are still ok. Before you hooked up the tuning adapter, did those 5 new channels come in ok, or do I need the tuner adapter hooked up to get them?

Thanks,
Ben Music

Ben, you're in ex Comcast country and I don't know if you have SDV. If you have it already you can tell by tuning to STOHD on your TiVo. If you don't get a picture then you have SDV.

I'm assuming you don't have SDV. If you're not getting the channels here's what I suggest you do. First try rebooting. That may fix it. If it doesn't then pull the cable cards. This may cause you to lose everything but that's ok, write down the card number being careful to remember which card goes in what slot. Call TW customer service and explain simply that you don't have any channels and give them the card numbers. Tell them they are paired and ask them to send you a hit.

This may take more then one phone call if you get an uncooperative CSR. But that's the only way I know for you to do it. It's actually what I did, I didn't contact headend this time.

I received the HD channels on my S3, it was my TiVo HD that didn't get the hit. It's TW's fault, they are not hitting the cards like they should.

Holy Crap! :eek::eek: It's like having another cable box under the TV!

Yep, it was bigger then I thought it would be. Good thing I had an extra shelf just for my eSATA where I could put it.

Yep, it was bigger then I thought it would be. Good thing I had an extra shelf just for my eSATA where I could put it.

Yeah, when you guys described it as a USB device I envisioned a small item like a card reader or mini USB hub.

Yeah, when you guys described it as a USB device I envisioned a small item like a card reader or mini USB hub.

I could have sworn I saw pictures of them before and they were like half the size. Maybe there is a different model? Since this was Ciscoe (SA) maybe Motorola makes a different one.

Finding a spot for it on my TiVo HD, while easier to access is a space problem. About 1/2" of the thing hangs off the shelf.

I was just watching the SciFi HD channel and there is actually something in HD on it other than wrestling.

My Time Warner horror story so far. I hate for this to be one of my first posts.

So I'm in Avon Lake, former Comcast land, and I have 4 hd moto boxes, well, parent's house. 1 is the DVR 6412 III, the other three are the 5000 something I believe. No problem with those 3 picking up the new hd stations this week. The DVR box kept saying Not Authorized for those channels, so I finally cave and give customer service a call.

First guy I call hangs up on me maybe, second guy tells me I need to call programming to upgrade so I can get the new channels, and then once I explain again I already have the channels on the other 3 boxes, he tells me he can't do a hit on this box because it's an old motorola box and then I'n need to schedule for a tech to look at it. Whatever, I hang up with him and try to keep resetting the box hoping for something different.

The third guy I call tries to run me through resetting again and then tries to do a hit on it. Well, guess the second guy was right cause the hit pretty much killed the box. It will turn on but can't tune anything except channel 0.

So I scheduled for a tech run on Sunday. Any suggestions I could do to fix it myself? Should I just take it up to the store tomorrow and swap out for a SA box? Am I going to lose my recordings? Will the guy on Sunday have no idea what he's doing and just give me a SA box?

I would keep calling till you get a CSR who actually knows what they are doing. Unfortunately the competence varies widely depending purely on your luck of takes your call.

Also, if you haven't done so yet: Reboot the box. I had the same issue initially with my 8300HDC saying I wasn't authorized and a simple reboot cured it.

I disagree Vchat. I would first want to know what kind of software those moto boxes are running. If it isn't SARA or NAVIGATOR wouldn't the poster have to turn them in anyway once SDV starts? I think TW may call those moto boxes back eventually.

Not sure who is making the software but this comes up on the diagnostic screen. 74.54 4003

Which leads me to this http://http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Firmware_and_Software#Version_74.54-4003 (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Firmware_and_Software#Version_74.54-4003)

Does this mean this is i-Guide?

Looking further into the situation it looks like the error may be due to the fan.

From the info provided I would think your software is not compatible for future TW usage. I can't say how they will do it but eventually TW will replace those Moto boxes.

2 Tuning Adapters at my front door when I got home from work. :)
I will set them up after watching the Cavs game.

2 Tuning Adapters at my front door when I got home from work. :)
I will set them up after watching the Cavs game.

Were you on the early testing list? Mine came with a hand written card from Jeanie thanking me for participating in the testing.

Set up is a piece of cake.

My tuning adapter arrived today, and I cannot get the thing to work with my Tivo HD. None of the new HD channels (USA HD, Sci-Fi HD, etc) work at all. When I have the tuning adapter on, it also prevents almost all of the non-SDV channels from working too. All channels in the 1-399 range that aren't listed on the enclosed sheet as "converting to SDV" do not work when the tuning adapter is on. If I turn the adapter off, they start working fine again.

The adapter must be doing at least something right. I used to not be able to watch G4TV (I think it already converted to SDV?), but with the adapter it now works.

Anyone else having problems?

My tuning adapter arrived today, and I cannot get the thing to work with my Tivo HD. None of the new HD channels (USA HD, Sci-Fi HD, etc) work at all. When I have the tuning adapter on, it also prevents almost all of the non-SDV channels from working too. All channels in the 1-399 range that aren't listed on the enclosed sheet as "converting to SDV" do not work when the tuning adapter is on. If I turn the adapter off, they start working fine again.

The adapter must be doing at least something right. I used to not be able to watch G4TV (I think it already converted to SDV?), but with the adapter it now works.

Anyone else having problems?

This has nothing to do with SDV. My tivo hd had the same issue. My S3 did not. TW has not hit your cards. Pull the cards write down the numbers call CS. And tell them to send a hit to your card or cards. That will restore all service and you will get your HD channels.

This has nothing to do with SDV. My tivo hd had the same issue. My S3 did not. TW has not hit your cards. Pull the cards write down the numbers call CS. And tell them to send a hit to your card or cards. That will restore all service and you will get your HD channels.

I just got off the phone with CS. They sent some hits to my cablecard, but it didn't fix anything. I'm still not getting the new HD channels. They wanted to send a tech out to take a look, but I'm gonna hold off on that until I see if anyone else is having issues.

Were you on the early testing list? Mine came with a hand written card from Jeanie thanking me for participating in the testing.

Set up is a piece of cake.

No, I was not on the early list and no hand written card

My tuning adapter arrived today, and I cannot get the thing to work with my Tivo HD. None of the new HD channels (USA HD, Sci-Fi HD, etc) work at all. When I have the tuning adapter on, it also prevents almost all of the non-SDV channels from working too. All channels in the 1-399 range that aren't listed on the enclosed sheet as "converting to SDV" do not work when the tuning adapter is on. If I turn the adapter off, they start working fine again.

The adapter must be doing at least something right. I used to not be able to watch G4TV (I think it already converted to SDV?), but with the adapter it now works.

Anyone else having problems?


I have the same problem as you describe. I also am getting STOHD which is SDV and I was not getting before. Missing all of my 100-399's that are not in Digital Basic. I am missing all the free digital cable channels. Who know how long it has been that way since I have them stricken from my list.

I just got off the phone with CS. They sent some hits to my cablecard, but it didn't fix anything. I'm still not getting the new HD channels. They wanted to send a tech out to take a look, but I'm gonna hold off on that until I see if anyone else is having issues.

DID YOU PULL YOUR CABLE CARDS??? If you didn't that's why. Also it probably will take more then just 1 call. You gotta find a semi knowledgeable rep. Having a tech come out he will just blame your tivo.

Here is the list of the channels Time Warner will be adding on May 26, 2009.

I got this information in a letter from Time Warner on Friday after I e-mailed Mr Fry about a HD question I had. The letter isn't from Mr Fry but from someone high up in the Local Office (won't mention name).

include April listing because I have the channel #'s

on April 29, 2009

Bravo 466
CNBC 486
TLC 450
Animal Planet 452
ABC Family 460
ESPN News 432
MLB Network 438


now for May 26, 2009 (first time I have seen these mentioned anywhere)

Golf 439
Nat GEO 453
Science 451
FX 478
Fox News 485
CNN 483


So Maybe..Maybe...Time Warner if finally catching up to other TW Systems around this area with their HD Program.

The third guy I call tries to run me through resetting again and then tries to do a hit on it. Well, guess the second guy was right cause the hit pretty much killed the box. It will turn on but can't tune anything except channel 0.
.................

As a last resort you could try unplugging the box for an extended period (like 24 hours) then try a reboot.

Here is the list of the channels Time Warner will be adding on May 26, 2009.

I got this information in a letter from Time Warner on Friday after I e-mailed Mr Fry about a HD question I had. The letter isn't from Mr Fry but from someone high up in the Local Office (won't mention name).

include April listing because I have the channel #'s

on April 29, 2009

Bravo 466
CNBC 486
TLC 450
Animal Planet 452
ABC Family 460
ESPN News 432
MLB Network 438


now for May 26, 2009 (first time I have seen these mentioned anywhere)

Golf 439
Nat GEO 453
Science 451
FX 478
Fox News 485
CNN 483


So Maybe..Maybe...Time Warner if finally catching up to other TW Systems around this area with their HD Program.

I see FX in there:):)

That's good news, this should all be with the deployment of SDV. Now since non test people are saying they are receiving their tuner adapters, this should mean SDV will be deployed on schedule.

Re: Steve Fry nobody ever gets a direct answer from Mr. Fry but when it hits his desk you will get a good response. I'm kind of curious as to why you emailed Mr. Fry on this? In the previous conversations we had we understood that the plan was 5 channels every month.

Still, nice to see FX may be ready in time for Rescue Me.

my E-Mail to Mr Fry had to do with getting a HD channel added to the Erie Side of Time Warner system..(Fox Pittsburgh in HD)..we get STO/Fox Ohio..but not Fox Pittsburgh.. I hate the Steelers but do enjoy watching the Pirates and Pens...

I wasn't expecting an update on May HD channels..

more suprised I got a Letter in the Mail..instead of just a E-Mail Reply from someone else

Marketing wise it is a smart idea for TW to start sending letters out like this letting them know they are getting fully on the HD bandwagon. I wonder if we all won't see these letters in a day or two?

Marketing wise it is a smart idea for TW to start sending letters out like this letting them know they are getting fully on the HD bandwagon. I wonder if we all won't see these letters in a day or two?

I don't think it was a marketing idea..but more of a responce to my e-mail since 75% of it had to do with my question about Fox Sports Pittsburgh in HD.

I assumed (I know )..since we get it in Standard Def in Erie..it would be simple to get it in HD. But letter said its 2 different agreements..just because you have it in SD..doesn't mean getting it in HD is automatic.

If these Monthly HD additions keep on coming. I won't be looking at switching to Dish/Direct..

No, it has nothing to do with TiVo. Those idiots at TW are not hitting the cards correctly........

I believe the OP CoastGuy2 has cable co provided Moto boxes, not a Tivo.

I don't think it was a marketing idea..but more of a responce to my e-mail since 75% of it had to do with my question about Fox Sports Pittsburgh in HD.

I assumed (I know )..since we get it in Standard Def in Erie..it would be simple to get it in HD. But letter said its 2 different agreements..just because you have it in SD..doesn't mean getting it in HD is automatic.

If these Monthly HD additions keep on coming. I won't be looking at switching to Dish/Direct..

Did it say Dear ErieMarty? Or Dear TW Customer?

Dear TW Customer, probably marketing but that may apply only to your area since it deals with Pittsburgh. Geeze just thinking about that place makes me want to puke. But I digress. Maybe they did actually go through the trouble of sending you a personal mail but that's not usually how they do it as you well know.

I believe the OP CoastGuy2 has cable co provided Moto boxes, not a Tivo.

Whoops, my bad I forgot about the Moto guy. At the end of the night we got locked up with a TiVo problem. Sorry. Deleted my post.

Did it say Dear ErieMarty? Or Dear TW Customer?

Dear TW Customer, probably marketing but that may apply only to your area since it deals with Pittsburgh. Geeze just thinking about that place makes me want to puke. But I digress. Maybe they did actually go through the trouble of sending you a personal mail but that's not usually how they do it as you well know.

And it started out Dear Mr (last name)

there goal is to add 5 to 7 HD stations each month.

And it started out Dear Mr (last name)

there goal is to add 5 to 7 HD stations each month.

Well, I'd say that was a personal letter. Just like the hand written card I got from Jeanie TW seems to want to be personable. A far cry from what it was like being an Adelphia customer.

In retrospect comparing Adelphia to TW, TW is rocking. Adelphia had terrible customer relations, TW is trying to have good relations. But if TW really wants good relations they have got to do something about their CSR's on the phone. They got to teach them to listen and not assume things. I've gone through detailed information about issues only to have them come back with "basically you're saying your HD is not working." No, that's not what I said.

It's real hard for me to accept any cable company, and I admit I'm probably unfair about TW. But then again look at nickdawgs issue and how he's getting jacked around on that. After guy #2 I'd be writing a Dear Mr. Fry letter.;)

Still a no go for me. I called customer service 4 times until I found someone willing to even resend the signal to my cablecards and part of that procedure was to pull the cable card. Resending the signal didn't fix. This is my summary.

Standard Digital Tier (100-399):

When the tuning adapter is connected I loose access to all of the standard digital cable channel in the 100-399 range (101, 103, 112,113,113,130,131,132,133,135....). I do get all the channels in the $5.00 Digital Basic Tier (102,104,105,107,134,136, ....)

If I unplug the USB cable from the TA. I get ALL the channels I subscribe to in the Standard Digital Tier.

High-Definition (400-499):

When the tuning adapter is connected I get all the channels except the new SDV channels (443 USAHD, 449 DSCHD, 456 DISNHD, 469 PLDHD, 476 SCIFIHD) that were recently added. I now get STOHD which didn't come in before.

Without the tuning adapter I don't get the new channels (443 USAHD, 449 DSCHD, 456 DISNHD, 469 PLDHD, 476 SCIFIHD) or STOHD.

Premium Channels:

I get all Showtime channels either way.

I called the hotline number and left a message and sent an email to TA email address. Anytime I mention cablecard or tuning adapter to a CSR, I am instantly put on hold for 2 minutes so I have given up on that. I think the hotline people may be better trained to help.

Still a no go for me. I called customer service 4 times until I found someone willing to even resend the signal to my cablecards and part of that procedure was to pull the cable card. Resending the signal didn't fix. This is my summary.

Standard Digital Tier (100-399):

When the tuning adapter is connected I loose access to all of the standard digital cable channel in the 100-399 range (101, 103, 112,113,113,130,131,132,133,135....). I do get all the channels in the $5.00 Digital Basic Tier (102,104,105,107,134,136, ....)

If I unplug the USB cable from the TA. I get ALL the channels I subscribe to in the Standard Digital Tier.

High-Definition (400-499):

When the tuning adapter is connected I get all the channels except the new SDV channels (443 USAHD, 449 DSCHD, 456 DISNHD, 469 PLDHD, 476 SCIFIHD) that were recently added. I now get STOHD which didn't come in before.

Without the tuning adapter I don't get the new channels (443 USAHD, 449 DSCHD, 456 DISNHD, 469 PLDHD, 476 SCIFIHD) or STOHD.

Premium Channels:

I get all Showtime channels either way.

I called the hotline number and left a message and sent an email to TA email address. Anytime I mention cablecard or tuning adapter to a CSR, I am instantly put on hold for 2 minutes so I have given up on that. I think the hotline people may be better trained to help.

Since you don't get STOHD it's indicating to me that the tuner adapter is not working because STOHD is a SDV channel, so you must be in native TW area.

Pretty basic but is the green light on? I didn't realize it but there is a switch on the front that turns power on and off.

Next, can you go to your Cable Card and other screen and look at the diagnostic screen for your Tuner Adapter? If not, maybe a bad one?

Finally, if you are able to do all those things I would contact customerupdate@neo.rr.com. They are the one's handling the adapters.

I hope you can get some help from the hotline. Double check everything and get back to us. You are the only one I know who has the adapter and appears to already have SDV.

Seinfeld is now in HD on WJW. I don't know how long this has been going on but I just noticed it today. Guess that makes WJW the third channel with HD syndication.
What's up with Seinfeld in HD? I tuned in to see it and the only thing that was in HD was the opening monologue. After the commercials it was back to 4x3 SD upconvert :mad:
It's probably the late night shift at WJW master control to blame. I checked two episodes (granted I only watch the monologue than I go to ch 5 news for awhile and tune back to 8 during 5's commercials). Both times since the original post I saw the 4X3 upconvert instead of 16 X 9 HD.

The DVD recorders didn't really catch on cuz it's just one step above VHS with many of the VHS limitations. The only advantage a DVD recorder has over a DVR is portability. I remember back in my VHS days I'd lose half of my scheduled recordings cuz someone removed the tape or the tape would run out. This is where "portability" can work against you. :p

Those free trial programs your computer came loaded with are indeed a PITA. But it is those free programs that subsidized your purchase, lowering your out of pocket cost. They can all be disabled or uninstalled if you wish.

If you want a real eye opener, run a good third party security scan program (not one preinstalled) like Iobits Advanced System Care (free) http://iobit.com/ and I'll bet it finds around 30,000 security flaws on that brand new computer! :eek:

VCR+ also worked against me as it would use OTA ch 65 as some sort of 'conversion' for ota 43... (never figured that out & always had to manually change channel numbers within the programs... this was making things easier?? LOL) nevertheless, if it's not broke don't fix it, I still have many of good VHS tapes for the little time shifting I do, & I can't warrant any monthly fees for this confusion!. :)

TY for the PC link, I'll have to go up to my public library to download this. The internet may be great, but when it invades my privacy, & creates a monthly blackmail, it's time for it to leave.

Might be old news, but I noticed we just picked up a new FREE OTA.
43.2, something called "This" network.
All movies ala turner with commercials.
Nice!
rumor about Sci-Fi channel in Cleveland OTA still around?

Free??? OTA?? those are bad words around here! ;)

It makes another nice choice & one that I can actually pick up here too. :) For as large of a market Cleveland is (or Cleveland/Akron as they ignore us northeast viewing area), they really don't utilize the subchannels to their potential.

I kinda miss the Tube, it was nice background noise. Retro would be nice to have too, but don't hold your breath.

As for any future plans, that would be a quetion for trip.

TY for the PC link, I'll have to go up to my public library to download this. The internet may be great, but when it invades my privacy, & creates a monthly blackmail, it's time for it to leave.

:confused::confused::confused:

I've been on the internet since 1997. I have never been blackmailed. You probably won't see this post until the next time you go to the library, and I know this is off topic but I just have to hear the explanation for this one.

Check this out:
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=155254
So in the near future cable subs can have the same technology found in the latest generation Dish Network DVR's (post Tivo case/non infringing technology) plus the feature of Slingbox.