give us just enough to keep us from revolting.

:D
I agree, you are all correct. I was just trying to give an (uncharacteristic, for me) optimistic spin on it.

But I’m ready, just give me the word-- light the torches, grab a pitch fork, march with the rest of the villagers and storm the castle. :D

Or you could really stick it to TW and just get the channels you can pick up over the air. HD football and Basketball games shown on CBS look unbelievable, and I've been able to receive channels with just a paper clip pointed at the ESB. Of course that was on the fourth floor of a classroom with direct line of sight of ESB at St. John's. I have a real antenna (RS 15-1880) that I use, but I'm just saying...

You can count me in on any type of TWC NYC revolt. uprising, boycott, letter campaign- I mean anything that might get there attention. Heck I'll even throw in some $$$$.

Tonight's Knick game was listed as a HD away Game, still 4x3.

Apologize if this has already been discussed, but any chatter on what channel or whether there will be HD availability of the new Mets network, SportsNet New York? Supposedly it launches in March, and we've certainly waited long enough for HD Mets around here.

Apologize if this has already been discussed, but any chatter on what channel or whether there will be HD availability of the new Mets network, SportsNet New York? Supposedly it launches in March, and we've certainly waited long enough for HD Mets around here.

Mets games will be on SportsNet NY and WB11.
Bob Watson is the VP of Programming & New Business Development and he said:
"SportsNet NY details have not been finalized and their expected launch date will be sometime after March 1."

Standard Definition channel will be channel 26, HD yet to be determined.

He also said:
"We don’t have a launch date for WB11HD"

The first game will be showed on march 16th, so i'll wait to march to find out more.

Hey, has anyone else been having issues recording shows off 702 CBS? In the past 2 weeks episodes of CSI: Miami & CSI: NY have stopped recording 6 minutes before the end of the show, and tonight's episode of Cold Case stopped 11 minutes early! Had to delete all 3 episodes without watching & now will wait for them to be re-run (eventually). Only seems to happen on CBS shows, and there's plenty of room on my DVR & no overlapping programming that could be the issue.

Hey, has anyone else been having issues recording shows off 702 CBS? In the past 2 weeks episodes of CSI: Miami & CSI: NY have stopped recording 6 minutes before the end of the show, and tonight's episode of Cold Case stopped 11 minutes early! Had to delete all 3 episodes without watching & now will wait for them to be re-run (eventually). Only seems to happen on CBS shows, and there's plenty of room on my DVR & no overlapping programming that could be the issue.

I had Cold Case on, but at 9:02 it was still going strong when I switched to Desperate Housewives (no snide remarks please! :rolleyes: ).
It must be a CBS plot to mess with the heads of DVR owners!!!! :eek:

I actually have my Cold Case series recording set to run an hour over for when Sunday sporting events push 60 Minutes back. Sometimes its a waste of DVR space, but it happens often enough to warrant the buffer. Dunno why it stopped 11 minutes early for me tonight though :-P

Talked to TWC customer support & the guy recommended unplugging the box for a bit, and said I could exchange it if I wanted to as well. Just have to watch everything on it before I do that, sigh. Better wait for a repeat week!

Does anyone have any news when the TWC a-holes will finally get around to adding these channels: ESPN2HD, NFL Network (we definently need this now since NY and Houston are the only 2 NFL markets without it and now they will be carrying late season games), and ESPNU.

Thanks.

Does anyone have any news when the TWC a-holes will finally get around to adding these channels: ESPN2HD, NFL Network (we definently need this now since NY and Houston are the only 2 NFL markets without it and now they will be carrying late season games), and ESPNU.

Thanks.
I would say it is safe to say when rent in Manhatten starts to drop insted of being raised every year to astronomical levels.

hope that helps to answer your question.

"twc doesnt care about subscribers"-Kanye West impression :D

Hey, has anyone else been having issues recording shows off 702 CBS? In the past 2 weeks episodes of CSI: Miami & CSI: NY have stopped recording 6 minutes before the end of the show, and tonight's episode of Cold Case stopped 11 minutes early! Had to delete all 3 episodes without watching & now will wait for them to be re-run (eventually). Only seems to happen on CBS shows, and there's plenty of room on my DVR & no overlapping programming that could be the issue.
Sounds like the symptoms of your box having happened to reboot during the last few minutes of the program....Maybe you need to put in a service call to check your signal levels, as these boxes are very sensitive to signal quality.

This is the reply I got from Fred Dressler Ex. VP of Programming:

This is not a "blow off," but things are not always as simple as they
may appear. We expect to add the espn services and universal hd soon.
Nfl tv is another matter. Not everyone is as passionate about the nfl as
you. Cost is an issue. We have offered the nfl a proposal to sell this
content directly to you and other nfl fans without having to charge
every single customer more. We are awaiting a reply.

-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 12:58 AM
To: Dressler, Fred
Subject: NFL Network HD, ESPN2HD, ESPNU, UniversalHD

I am a TWC subscriber in Manhattan, New York City and am dismayed at
TWC's refusal to add the above listed networks. New York and Houston are
the only
2 NFL markets without the NFL Network and it is no coincidence that both
cities are served by TWC. The NFL will be showing several games on the
NFL Network which I will not be able to see. This is unacceptable to me
as I pay a lot of money for TWC's service and pay extra for the HD tier.
TWC is not listening to their customers by not adding these channels.
Why don't we have ESPN2HD as well. My friends in other cities have thes
channels on cable and we don't in the nation's biggest city. It is very
frustrating and if this continues I will be glad to switch to FIOS when
it becomes available. I also want to see ESPNU and UniversalHD added as
well.

I would appreciate a response and not the usual corporate blow off.

This is not a "blow off," but things are not always as simple as they
may appear. We expect to add the espn services and universal hd soon.

Sounds like a blow-off to me. To Time Warner NYC, "soon" could be anytime between tomorrow and 2008.....Without any specific dates (or even quarters -- i.e. projected summer '06), his email means next-to-nothing, and there's no level of accountability if they don't follow through on their promises because whenever you check back in, it's still "coming soon".

Scott

Like I said in the past TWC at the corporate level has to make a deal to carry the growing amount of HD channels out their. Whether the NYC division gets a certain HD channel once a deal is done by corporate is another story, and it's answer is a obvious!

UHD as an example, has an agreement with Corporate since four months ago and will probably be added "temporarily" to NYC. Why? No clue

All I know is TWC in NYC has to "Eliminate" a couple more Analog channels and use that bandwidth to add 4-5 HD channels. It's not hard.

Oh yeah and they need to speed up their cable modem which is at 5mbps, Cablevision recently jumped to 15 which is embarrassing. But since TWC has no competition, what's the rush.

All I know is TWC in NYC has to "Eliminate" a couple more Analog channels and use that bandwidth to add 4-5 HD channels. It's not hard.


So is it a Bandwidth issue? I had this discussion with my brother the other night. Is it just that stations do not broadcast in HD, or that there are bandwidth limitations? Sorry for the newbie question.

So is it a Bandwidth issue? I had this discussion with my brother the other night. Is it just that stations do not broadcast in HD, or that there are bandwidth limitations? Sorry for the newbie question.

There are many more HD channels that TWC could carry. As stated above, TWC Corporate has agreements with Universal HD, but for whatever reason NYC isn't lucky enough to be able to add it to the list. Seems like a bandwidth issue to me...which is just beyond rediculous. Time Warner will throw out some propaganda saying they are looking to launch a "switched digital" delivery system...technology that is new and unproven. So basically, instead of eliminating some redundant analogs that nobody watches, they insist on taking something that could be solved in such a simple manner and turning it into the next "man on the moon" mission. Don't get me wrong, I realize that when they launch the new technology that they'll be able to carry a lot more HD, but I fail to see the value in their current offerings. Look at the two other cable giants in the region-Comcast and Cablevision. Neither one of which charge an added fee for their HD channels. While you're comparing them, both of these cable co's internet speeds blow Time Warner out of the water. Boy do I wish I lived in an area that was launching FiOS. Oh well...

I do not have the energy to complain about how lousy TWC-NYC is anymore. I am patiently waiting for FIOS. Here is a Link to FIOS Progress in New York. (http://www.fioslive.com/new-york-fios.html) It lists areas available and where it is being worked on.

It can not come fast enough for me.

So is it a Bandwidth issue? I had this discussion with my brother the other night. Is it just that stations do not broadcast in HD, or that there are bandwidth limitations? Sorry for the newbie question.

In past emails from TWC to myself there has been mention of lack of bandwidth & contracts that was holding up deals for additional channels.

The more questions we ask, the more answers we might get. Might!

Bob.Watson@twcable.com TWC NYC

Fred.Dressler@twcable.com TWC Corporate

I do not have the energy to complain about how lousy TWC-NYC is anymore. I am patiently waiting for FIOS. Here is a Link to FIOS Progress in New York. (http://www.fioslive.com/new-york-fios.html) It lists areas available and where it is being worked on.

It can not come fast enough for me.

Don't see NYC on that list, I guess we might not get Fios till 2007

Don't see NYC on that list, I guess we might not get Fios till 2007
It shows towns in NYC, not NYC itself. Much of Staten Island is listed and probably Queens as well.

It is going to take time for FIOS to rollout all over the place. I am not expecting anything anytime soon, but at least there is something else coming that is not TWC.

Looks like Fios is using the Motorola DVR, which is supposed to be a disaster. I had an early 6400 when I had RCN and the 8300HD is a much better box.

Of course if I can get signficantly more HD channels, may be worth it.

Will you be able to use a cable card DVR (e.g. a Tivo Series 3) with Fios?

In fact I read somwhere that Cablevision bumbed up thier speed on the Internet because Fios was closing in on thier areas.

Hopefully Fios can do the same for TWC areas.

Don't see NYC on that list, I guess we might not get Fios till 2007


I see a couple of locations near me in Queens- Bay Terrace for one but I too think it will be some time before FIOS will be here- nothing to make me feel otherwise. I tried searching this Forum for any Threads on it but couldn’t find anything. If anyone has a link, post it here please. I would be interested in hearing some feedback from the folks in Massapequa Park that already have this service.

I see a couple of locations near me in Queens- Bay Terrace for one but I too think it will be some time before FIOS will be here- nothing to make me feel otherwise. I tried searching this Forum for any Threads on it but couldn’t find anything. If anyone has a link, post it here please. I would be interested in hearing some feedback from the folks in Massapequa Park that already have this service.
Check here:
Link (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiber)

Check here:
Link (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiber)
Thanks, that was fast! :cool:

Larry,

You picked out Bay Terrace as quick as I did. I guess they are considered a "Higher Income" area and get priority instead of us lowly Flushing and College Point people...

If nothing else, FIOS should push TWC a bit once it starts to roll out.

If they are launching Fios in Wealthy areas then Most of Manhattan shoud be on that list.

If they are launching Fios in Wealthy areas then Most of Manhattan shoud be on that list.
According to the people posting on dslreports, verizon is focusing on areas that are mainly single family dwellings because of issues wiring high-rises. They do say that FIOS will make its way into Manhattan at some point.

Larry,

I guess they are considered a "Higher Income" area and get priority instead of us lowly Flushing and College Point people...
.

:D
After perusing QMAN71’s link it appears they are moving quicker than I thought. I came across a post by a supposed FIOS installer. He was saying that they are installing the system initially in areas that are easier and less costly.

“I have seen the comments about it only going into The "rich" neighborhoods. This is not the case. It has to do with company's infrastructure and congestion. Since there are less dwellings lets say in Douglaston manor. Underground conduit is more readily available as is space on the poles. It would cost far more lets say to role it out in a place like Corona where the population density is far greater thus lack of space exists. If it works out in these areas trust me everyone will have it.”

This quote was from last March.

I hadn't found any info about UHD for the poor souls stuck with Time Warner Cable in NYC, so I sent an email to their support team asking if we would have UHD in time for the Olympics. The response I received was, "Time Warner Cable will tentatively broadcast the Olympics in HD on Channel 709."

It's obviously not official and not final, but at least someone is aware that it is an issue and had an answer.

Have any of you folks seen anything broadcast on 709 yet? I might have to figure out how to put my 8300 into test mode and check around.

I saw that TWC is going to be raising rates again, and I just wish that Cablevision could offer service in Manhattan. I had RCN at a previous apartment, but in checking out their HD offerings, I wouldn't switch back. Cablevision looks great though, and they're cheaper than TWC.

Jeremiah

currently 709 is UPN9-HD, but only when the Cable Box is put in Diagnostic mode

Nice touch NBC, good to see HD making it's way past primetime shows and sports

Did anybody notice a weird white pixel to the right of George's face in the State of the Union tonight? It was really noticeable in the red stripe of the American flag to the upper right of his face.

At first I thought it was a dead pixel on my plasma (oh God NO!!) but I quickly realized that when the camera shifted off George the stuck white pixel went away. Did anybody else see that?

Also, did anybody else notice a plan? ;)

Topics merged.

Upcoming HD games on Channels 708 & 712 & 720


Channel 708 - HD Specials
02/04 - NJ Nets 1:00pm
02/06 - NJ Nets 7:30pm


Channel 712 - HD Specials
02/01 - NY Rangers 7:00pm
02/07 - NY Knicks 7:30pm

Channel 720 - PPV
02/01 - NBA League Pass 12:00pm
02/02 - NHL Center Ice 12:00pm
02/03 - NBA League Pass 12:00pm
02/06 - NBA League Pass 12:00pm
02/07 - NHL Center Ice 12:00pm

Universal-HD poped up on the program guide at around 1am on channel 709,
no video yet.

I guess the UPN-HD feed is history

8300HD in TWCNYC. I see Universal HD in the guide on channel 709. No sound or video yet. My box is NOT in diagnostice mode. I've just set it up to record Battlestar in HD on sSunday. Fingers crossed. YThat's all I care about. If it's all I get this channel will be worth it for me.

I have UNi HD on 709 but no picture does anyone have a picture ?

no pic or sound on 709 here. When I first tuned to it my box did a cold boot. Just for grins I went into diagnostic mode to see if we were still getting upn-hd that way, but no. I guess that's all for Veronica Mars and Everybody Hates Chris in hd. :(

no pic or sound on 709 here. When I first tuned to it my box did a cold boot. Just for grins I went into diagnostic mode to see if we were still getting upn-hd that way, but no. I guess that's all for Veronica Mars and Everybody Hates Chris in hd. :(
...though in the long-run I think it's a gain if they leave UHD on 709, we'll get a lot more HD programming in total than the couple of hours that UPN offered a night.... :-)

Folks,

I have build a HTPC and need to make the final step of getting my computer to change the channels on my STB. Many have used IR emitters, but I also know that some use a USB or Serial connection between the PC and STB. Anyone know if this is possible with TWC NYC's Pioneer HD STB?

Any help would be very much appreciated!!!!

Is any one having problems with twc.The cable and Road runner gos on and off its doing it for two days. I live on 70st on the west side.I called twc and i get nothing.Any one geting this??

...though in the long-run I think it's a gain if they leave UHD on 709, we'll get a lot more HD programming in total than the couple of hours that UPN offered a night.... :-)

Since UPN is history anyway, TWC might as well put UNIDHD on 709. Anyone have any idea when this channel will be active? BTW, I can get 709 on the 8300HD, but it doesn't work on the CC.

Regards...JL

Is any one having problems with twc.The cable and Road runner gos on and off its doing it for two days. I live on 70st on the west side.I called twc and i get nothing.Any one geting this??
nope...all has been fine for me in the West Village.

Angel 35, I am in the West 60s on Columbus and all is well here.

02/01/2006

TIME WARNER CABLE OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ADDS NEW CHANNELS AND PROGRAM OFFERINGS

New York, NY - February 1, 2005 - Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey launches new channels and program offerings today. The following Favorites On Demand channels are available free to digital customers:

* Kids On Demand, Channel 1003, will now feature additional content including "Eebee's Adventures", "So Smart" and classics such as "The New Zoo Revue."

* Sportskool On Demand, Channel 1024, features expert athletic instruction by the world's top athletes including Mia Hamm for Soccer, Bode Miller for Skiing, Brad Gilbert for Tennis and Bill Walton for Basketball.

* Universal HD, Channel 709, will cover the Winter Olympics starting February 6th. This service will be available 24 hours a day for the month of February.

Well looks like you can still get UPN-HD if you have a tuner on your TV, it's still at 1.9

Is any one having problems with twc.The cable and Road runner gos on and off its doing it for two days. I live on 70st on the west side.I called twc and i get nothing.Any one geting this??

I've been fine down here by Chambers Street.

Not getting rangers game on 712. Channel is unlocked but only a black screen is showing.

MSG-HD just poped up at 7:25

Uni-HD still has a grey screen

no NBA League Pass info on 720

So we're only getting the UHD channel for the month of Feb. for the olympics. When does the olympics start? The channel looks like all it plays is sitcoms from the 80's :mad:

So we're only getting the UHD channel for the month of Feb. for the olympics. When does the olympics start? The channel looks like all it plays is sitcoms from the 80's :mad:

FEB 10

So we're only getting the UHD channel for the month of Feb. for the olympics. When does the olympics start? The channel looks like all it plays is sitcoms from the 80's :mad:

It =does=?? All i'm seeing here in Queens is a blank grey screen. The guide thing indicates there's a show going on, but i'm seeing NOTHING. :(
as of 8:15PM, Wed....not even the crap that i'm SUPPOSED to be seeing on that station right now.

anyone know what channel it's on if you're using direct ASTC connection?

I had to check this forum after channel 709 showed up in the Guide.
Am I reading this correctly that Universal HD is supposed to show up on 709 one of these days, then just disappear again at the end of the month? What sense does that make?

I actually WANT to watch "Equalizer" reruns in HD.

I had to check this forum after channel 709 showed up in the Guide.
Am I reading this correctly that Universal HD is supposed to show up on 709 one of these days, then just disappear again at the end of the month? What sense does that make?

I actually WANT to watch "Equalizer" reruns in HD.

It makes =no= sense, but that's =exactly= what happened last summer, during the US Open, too. Suddenly the channel appeared for the tennis....and continued on for a day or three after the tennis was over. And then it disappeared for GOOD. Until now. Altho i'm still seeing nothing but a grey screen on Ch 709.
:mad:

It makes =no= sense, but that's =exactly= what happened last summer, during the US Open, too. Suddenly the channel appeared for the tennis....and continued on for a day or three after the tennis was over. And then it disappeared for GOOD. Until now. Altho i'm still seeing nothing but a grey screen on Ch 709.
:mad:
I have a black screen :(

I got excited as I noticed the screen durring american idol and it wasnt there in queens at 630 in the evening.

still black still :(

Mike - you are exactly correct! sadly.

i have, also, the 3250HD with firewire ports. took me forever to get it.
its passport version 3.3017 - same as you.

i have been trying to get recording going for a few days- and i see now its b/c ALL the channels have 5c protection.

i will try and follow-up, but i am not sure what to do.
i know its the law, but your post sounded glum.

i will let you know what happens. and please- anyone in NYC that has 5c=0, PLEASE let us know. i can swap the box with a pioneer or something.

thanks
bigluzer @@@@ gmail

Hey everyone,

I've been having a hell of a problem with TWC NY in the past week. I think I've studied these issues (both in this forum and elsewhere), but if anyone has info to help inform me please chime in. Links, especially to relevant laws and rulings, would be appreciated.

The issues:
1) My SA 3250HD rebooted last Friday 12/16, after which *all* HD channels produce garbled A/V output when recorded on my Power Mac. This happens when recording with AVC Browser or iRecord, and when playing back with VLC. MPEG Streamclip gives an “unsupported file type” error. The recording apps output at the proper bitrate, the files just appear to be corrupted. Previously, only non-broadcast HD channels (TNT HD, Disc HD, HBO HD, Sho HD) would do that. I can still record SD channels 1 - 5 (this includes TNT), 7 - 11 (this includes TBS and CNN). Note that I cannot record WNET (local Public Broadcasting Station), WPXN, MSG, MNN, and NYCTV, which are all broadcast channels.

They replaced the box, but all the same issues persist.

2) The tech, and his foreman via walky-talky, said that TWC NY does not allow FireWire connections to computers, and that they are only required by law to provide FireWire connections to HDTVs and DVCRs. FCC 03-225A1, Section III, Subsection D, Paragraph 24, seems to read that they have to provide one to any customer that requests one.

3) The tech, and his foreman via walky-talky, said that there is copy protection on all FireWire output to prevent it from being recorded to computers. While technically correct that there is a setting on all HD content, the 5C regulations found at DCTP.com seem to state that broadcast HD channels should be set at 5C=0, copy-freely, and thus not need any HTCP authentication to stream over FireWire properly.

4) The tech said that TWC NY does not apply any of the copy protection, they just rebroadcast signals. They “don't even have the technology to apply it. All copy protection is set by the content-provider before reaching TWC NY.”

5) The tech said there is one signal sent out to all of Manhattan, so if there is a problem with the settings on my line there is a problem with everyone’s line. Is anyone else on TWC NY able to record broadcast HD channels to their Mac or PC?

6) The tech said my previous box must have had older software allowing me to record broadcast HD channels, and the reboot updated it. The Passport version is the same on both, 3.3 build 017. He said they make minor changes all the time that don't update the version number.

7) When asked how my box was working fine for 9 months recording things, and the fact that broadcast HD sent over-the-air has no copy protection (well, not yet...), the tech said "the broadcast channels must have just put new copy protection on their cable feeds they send us."

8) The tech said that most likely this is a combination of my SA3250HD finally working properly and my computer having problems. I tried using my iBook as well, which also worked fine previously, and it has all the same issues.

Given that for weeks earlier this year, until I found the FCC ruling 03-225A1, TWC NY said they didn't offer boxes with FireWire and that they weren't required to in any case, I trust what TWC NY says about as far as I can throw my HDTV.... I’m less than shocked that they keep suggesting that it would just be easier if I switch to a HD DVR STB for $9/month.

I had to check this forum after channel 709 showed up in the Guide.
Am I reading this correctly that Universal HD is supposed to show up on 709 one of these days, then just disappear again at the end of the month? What sense does that make?

I actually WANT to watch "Equalizer" reruns in HD.

UNI-HD 709 is on in upper Manhattan. Wow, I've got "Knight Rider" in HD this morning. Just what I needed to wake up to!

All I want is my Battlestar Galactica in HD. I've got it taped for Sunday just in case as well.

I have 709 also UWS, nice picture.

I have UNIHD in NE Queens, NY on my CC and 8300HD. The PQ on the CC is great. I hope TWC makes 709 a perm channel.

Regards....JL

Actual Picture > grey screen > black screen :D

Well this morning we got UNIDHD, watching some Action Sports show. Will probably be fun while the channel lasts but they should really just leave it. Also they should add ESPN2HD. Especially with the World Cup Soccer coming.

....looks like we get the movie "Babe" (the one about the pig) in HD tonight on it....

Based upon the posting above that TWC is still sending out WWOR-HD to cable card customers, my guess is that if anyone had made note of the frequency it was broadcasting on, we could still tune it in DIAG mode if you go to the screen where you can tune manually by frequency....

I was watching my Horns play Mizzou last night on ESPN2 and the PQ was terrible. It was very blurry and it was hard to make out the players numbers. Regular SD programming on my 42 inch Panny 50u plasma is not this bad. Is it just the channel or is there something wrong with the signal, my box (SA 8300 HDDVR), etc. I have the STB output at 480p because it looks better than 480i.

It is just so frustrating to know that that game was broadcast in HD on ESPN2HD yet TWC subscribers in New York can't get that channel. :mad: I wish I had an alternative, FIOS can't come soon enough.

I was watching my Horns play Mizzou last night on ESPN2 and the PQ was terrible. It was very blurry and it was hard to make out the players numbers. Regular SD programming on my 42 inch Panny 50u plasma is not this bad. Is it just the channel or is there something wrong with the signal, my box (SA 8300 HDDVR), etc. I have the STB output at 480p because it looks better than 480i.

It is just so frustrating to know that that game was broadcast in HD on ESPN2HD yet TWC subscribers in New York can't get that channel. :mad: I wish I had an alternative, FIOS can't come soon enough.
Are you using HDMI or component cables? My personal experience is that the SD picture looks signifincantly better over HDMI....

Scott

Are you using HDMI or component cables? My personal experience is that the SD picture looks signifincantly better over HDMI....

Scott

I second that, but then again I got the old 3250hd box and using the DVI-HDMI and everything looks great.

I am using component cables for the SA 8300 HD-DVR. My Panny only has 1 HDMI input and I have hooked up my upconverting Sony DVD player using HDMI. Originally, I was planning on hooking up the STB using HDMI but I was scared off after hearing about all the handshake problems and other wonkiness associated with that type of setup. Also I had read many people on this board say that there was virtually no difference in PQ when using component or HDMI.

If it is better to use the HDMI what type of switchers do you recommend. I bought my HDMI cable from monoprice.com. Should I use them as well?

I am using component cables for the SA 8300 HD-DVR. My Panny only has 1 HDMI input and I have hooked up my upconverting Sony DVD player using HDMI. Originally, I was planning on hooking up the STB using HDMI but I was scared off after hearing about all the handshake problems and other wonkiness associated with that type of setup. Also I had read many people on this board say that there was virtually no difference in PQ when using component or HDMI.

If it is better to use the HDMI what type of switchers do you recommend. I bought my HDMI cable from monoprice.com. Should I use them as well?

They have the best price, I got my switcher from them It works great. :cool: ;)

I am using component cables for the SA 8300 HD-DVR. My Panny only has 1 HDMI input and I have hooked up my upconverting Sony DVD player using HDMI. Originally, I was planning on hooking up the STB using HDMI but I was scared off after hearing about all the handshake problems and other wonkiness associated with that type of setup. Also I had read many people on this board say that there was virtually no difference in PQ when using component or HDMI.

If it is better to use the HDMI what type of switchers do you recommend. I bought my HDMI cable from monoprice.com. Should I use them as well?

I am using HDMI with my SA 8300 HD-DVR hooked up to my Panny. Absolutely no complaints, everything looks wonderful.

umm, what are switchers?

If I want to experiment and see if the PQ for SD improves by using HDMI do I have to unplug all of the component cables from the box to the tv or can I just hook up the HDMI cable to the back of the tv and the box. It would make my life easier if I didn't have to unhook everything.

If I want to experiment and see if the PQ for SD improves by using HDMI do I have to unplug all of the component cables from the box to the tv or can I just hook up the HDMI cable to the back of the tv and the box. It would make my life easier if I didn't have to unhook everything.
hdmi and components are always different INPUT settings on your tv.

Kind alike switching input1 to 2 to 3 to go from cable to dvd to whatever.

can I just hook up the HDMI cable to the back of the tv and the box. It would make my life easier if I didn't have to unhook everything.

Yes you can, plus leave the component in and you can test like that. Like chopsueychris mentioned just changing inputs via your remote.

Originally, I was planning on hooking up the STB using HDMI but I was scared off after hearing about all the handshake problems and other wonkiness associated with that type of setup.
Don't be scared off. I just think it's a small proportion of the people having trouble who happen to be very vocal. And when they have problems, it seems to take a LOT of effort to get them solved. For me, it was plug-and-play.

Also I had read many people on this board say that there was virtually no difference in PQ when using component or HDMI.
Virtually no difference in picture quality when viewing HD content, yes, but a quite noticeable difference (for me) in SD picture quality (not that it makes the SD picture look anywhere near as good as the HD picture; but any improvement helps).

Look at it this way -- buy your cable at a place that allows you to return it within a certain period of days, and if it doesn't work for you, or you don't feel like the difference is worth the high cost of the cable, return it...

Scott

Does anyone know if there are firmware fixes in place for the SA 3250HD(DVI-D) and/or the SA 8300HD(HDMI) for HDCP protocol (handshake) HDMMI connectivity issues with an AVR inline? I just installed the new (2006) Octava 5-port HDMI Switch and it works flawlessly with DVD via HDMI. My system:

Panny DVD-77S > Octava HDMI Switch > Panny SA-XR70 AVR > Panny AE700U (All HDMI)

I want to introduce a SA STB via HDMI (probably the 8300 since I don't want to mix DVI-D and HDMI) and away from the current component connectivity directly to the AE700U and Toslink to the AVR. Regarding the "handshake" issues between a HDMI STB and a HDMI AVR, a Denon website states:

"This has to do with the HDMI HDCP protocol being sent and received and the authentication process. This is not a fault of the receiver. Recently set top box manufacturers have become aware of this issue. It has been found that the U-code information appears to be the problem which is part of Annex A of the repeater conformity specifications of the HDMI protocol. Some set top receiver manufacturers have already implemented firmware changes to their units while others are in the process of updating their units. If a set top receiver being used is having problems passing HDMI video signal through an A/V receiver, contact the manufacturer of the set top receiver to see if an update is available."

I spoke with seven Northern Virginia Cox Communication reps today (2 in person) and practically received seven different answers, including that HDMI is disabled on all SA 8300 STB's!!! No one at Cox knew about SA firmware updates let alone what a firmware update was (okay, at least two Cox employees knew what a firmware update is). Also, Cox could not tell me if STB firmware upgrades are made over their fiber optic network or if each device has to be brought in/swapped for a firmware update ...

Thanks

Rangers HD away game on 712 right now

I'm not terribly observant about these things, but I saw the first commercial that I noticed was in HD tonight. It was a Ford commercial during "Without a Trace".

Maybe this HD stuff really will catch on. :-)

-barry

Yes you can, plus leave the component in and you can test like that. Like chopsueychris mentioned just changing inputs via your remote.
you can call me chris :)

btw as far as hd commercials go, i caught my first on tnthd when lord of the rings:the two towers was on when i first got hd 2 months ago. Even the commercials look great!

I thought UNIHD was suppose to play Babe tonight instead we got ED. False advertisers :D

yeah I saw that too. Cute movie but again i wanted to see Babe not Matt Leblanc, I mean if I wanted to see Leblanc I watch a friends, or Joey rerun. But it's nice to see a new channel but it cut out as I'm having CC problems, the guy is coming later today to solve the issue... fingers crossed.

btw as far as hd commercials go, i caught my first on tnthd when lord of the rings:the two towers was on when i first got hd 2 months ago. Even the commercials look great!


If you want to see some HD commercials, tune in Sunday night, ABC 707, after 6 PM. It’s showtime!

Time Warner Cable servicemen are a waste of my time! They come today with explicate instructions to replace what clearly is and has been since day 1 a bad cablecard and what happens may you ask? Well I'll tell you the guy they send comes and checks the signal and he says it's good, well that's fine and dandy but what about the CABLECARD?! He says he doesn't have a replacement cablecard and I have to wait until Wednesday, JUST PLAIN STUPID!!! Well now I have to use the three letters I've been dreading since early January: OTA. And I know whats gonna happen right? We are gonna get bad and windy weather for the Superbowl and the OTA HD signal will get too distorted to watch enjoyably and I'll have to go the analog cable route, which is exactly which way I didn't want to go. Don't even think about talking to me about just removing the cablecard and using the unencrypted locals in HD because they are more distorted than OTA HD on a good day. You'd think they would send someone with a cablecard when you ask for a replacement wouldn't you?

Time Warner Cable servicemen are a waste of my time! They come day with explicate instructions to replace what clearly is and has been since day 1 a bad cablecard and what happen may you ask? Well I'll tell you the guy they send comes and checks the signal and he says it's good, well that's fine and dandy but what about the CABLECARD?! He says he doesn't have a replacement cablecard and I have to wait until Wednesday, JUST PLAIN STUPID!!! Well now I have to use the three letters I've been dreading since early January: OTA. And I know its gonna happen that we are gonna get bad and windy weather for the Superbowl and the OTA signal will get too distorted to watch enjoyably and I'll have to go the analog cable route, which is exactly which way I didn't want to go. Don't even think about talking to me about just removing the cablecard and using the unencrypted locals because they are more distorted than OTA on a good day. You'd think they would send someone with a cablecard when you ask for a replacement wouldn't you?

Awful.

Can you not pick one up at your local TWC center?

Awful.

Can you not pick one up at your local TWC center?

Sorry to hear about your problem. I've had this happen to me before and now when I make a CC related service appointment, I insist on speaking to a CS supervior so it is clear what needs to be done. Not 100% foolproof, but it does help.

No, you can't pick up a CC at the local office. They are tightly controlled and needs to be issued by a supervisor. A CC install/replacemnt also requires the technician to speak to the TWC IT department to input the correct system info. You and I could do this, but that's their policy.

Hope this helps...JL

Time Warner Cable servicemen are a waste of my time! They come today with explicate instructions to replace what clearly is and has been since day 1 a bad cablecard and what happens may you ask? Well I'll tell you the guy they send comes and checks the signal and he says it's good, well that's fine and dandy but what about the CABLECARD?! He says he doesn't have a replacement cablecard and I have to wait until Wednesday, JUST PLAIN STUPID!!!

From my month-long quest to regain a functional FireWire output, I learned much about TWC NYC and how dysfunctional it is. A few facts that I learned which may help (or at least keep things in perspective) when dealing with TWC NYC.

1) The regular techs sent out to the jobs are not informed of what the job will require until they get there. So even if you tell a CSR on the phone you need "X", if it's not something standard in the back of the van your first tech visit will likely not have it. This happened to me repeatedly over the last month while requesting a SA3250HD with active FireWire. Be prepared for anything beyond poor signal-level or a box-swap to take at least two visits.

2) Most everyone that deals with customers barely understands digital cable, and especially "non-standard" things like CableCards, FireWire output, their own encryption, etc. A majority of customers don't even know about these issues, and TWC NYC plays dumb and doesn't seem to be interested or aware of many of the FCC laws out there regarding digital cable and HD. In my 7 tech visits only one understood these issues, and that was because he was one of "us" and had his own HTPC rig at home. Talks on the phone were just as bad, even when I got a special contact in the Client Relations department to specifically address my problem.

3) TWC NYC is willfully ignorant, poorly managed, or both. I would get conflicting (wrong) answers depending on which foreman I was talking to. I would get refusals that something was "impossible" to do, yet immediately calling back and speaking with someone else it could be done. I had to send them copies of FCC regulations before they believed they existed. I would get promises for callbacks that never happened. I had missed appointments. I had workers apparently falsifying records saying they came out when they didn't. I had appointments "guaranteed" to be with foremen where regular techs showed up and didn't know why they were there. Don't expect anything from them.

4) Hope you get lucky and get one of the few knowledgeable people, and keep asking for a manager of whoever you're dealing with. This was the key. Once I got high enough up the chain for the person I was dealing with to actually do something (talk with people that don't normally interact with customers, talk to heads of depts., etc), my problem was solved in about 24 hours with a software update they had all along...

This isn't how a company making millions of dollars a month off of people in the nation's largest city should operate. But of course, with a monopoly they can get away with it, and it's not like many of the other companies have great service either (seems this is true about almost every industry at this point). Things will probably get worse if more restrictive content-control laws get passed by our government. There's not much to do beyond writing letters and requesting compensation for problems, switching to another provider if you can, or just canceling all together...

Time Warner Cable servicemen are a waste of my time! They come today with explicate instructions to replace what clearly is and has been since day 1 a bad cablecard and what happens may you ask? Well I'll tell you the guy they send comes and checks the signal and he says it's good, well that's fine and dandy but what about the CABLECARD?! He says he doesn't have a replacement cablecard and I have to wait until Wednesday, JUST PLAIN STUPID!!! Well now I have to use the three letters I've been dreading since early January: OTA. And I know whats gonna happen right? We are gonna get bad and windy weather for the Superbowl and the OTA HD signal will get too distorted to watch enjoyably and I'll have to go the analog cable route, which is exactly which way I didn't want to go. Don't even think about talking to me about just removing the cablecard and using the unencrypted locals in HD because they are more distorted than OTA HD on a good day. You'd think they would send someone with a cablecard when you ask for a replacement wouldn't you?

The same thing happened to me a year and a half ago with my SA3250HD STB. The first one they installed was wonky and I requested a new box. Well the tech comes and I leave early from work to be home for this guy to come. He shows up and determines that the box does not work (no ****). He says I need a new box but he does not have one with him and I would have to schedule another service call. His entire reason for coming was to bring a new box. I was so friggin mad that I let him and the CSR have it and they were able to get me a box the next day. Now when I need to swap out a box I go to 23rd Street because at least there I can request and get what I want such as a new box. That sucks that you can't do the same with regards to a Cable Card. TWC shenanigans and their refusal to enable firewire ports and enable external SATA drives makes me wish they were hacked and "illegal" alternatives.

They have the best price, I got my switcher from them It works great. :cool: ;)

I kind of wish I knew Monoprice had that 4x1 HDMI switch at that price before I bought Gefen's (directly from them) at almost three times the price! The Gefen works like a champ and I may be past their 30-day return window, so I'll probably keep it...still, it would have been nice to know that ther were options (when I buy cables from Monoprice, I do so through eBay and not their site, and they don't seem to list that switch on eBay).

In any event, though people say the 8300HD has problems with HDCP on recievers that do HDMI switching, I've never had a problem with HDCP and the Gefen switch, which I recommend highly to anyone who can afford the fairly steep price.

Why is it that every time I go to Time Warner and swap out a box, they end up charging my for BOTH the new box and the old one? Then I have to call them and it takes 20 minutes for the confused CSR to understand that I'm being charged for four boxes when I only have three. This has happened to me all four times that I've switched one of my boxes. I know they're stupid but sometimes I wonder if they're instructed to do this in the hopes that the customer won't notice.

Also, does anyone know what non-DVR HD boxes they're giving out mostly? Is it still the Pioneer? I already have one DVR and would like to get another non-DVR box but I'd prefer the Scientific Atlanta. I remember they were hard to come by a few months ago but Pioneer isn't even making boxes anymore so you would THINK TWC would be carrying mostly SA boxes now. Emphasis on THINK.

. . . people say the 8300HD has problems with HDCP on recievers that do HDMI switching . . .


I'm one of them, though technically I use a pre/pro not a receiver. In any case, the SA HDMI outputs are notoriously bad at the HDCP handshake when routed through a switcher. It turns out that it's up to the source component mfr to engineer the HDMI output to work well with a switcher (or repeater) - or not. There's a discussion over at audioholics about this where a rep from HDMI talks about this at length.

In my case, I've tried 3 different SA 8300s and all of them have major HDCP handshake problems when I route them through my pre/pro, and none when I go direct to my PJ. However, my current and former DVD players both pass through the pre/pro and handshake properly 100% of the time without any problem (i.e. proving that the source is the problem).

For folks having success in switching the 8300 via HDMI, it's possible that the switcher is also an 'amp' which somehow performs a function that should've been built into the STB in the first place. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

TM

Is anyone else being tortured by the multiple LENGTHY screen freezes on HDNet tonite, during the U2 program?? It hasn't been =this= bad on my set in a long time, certainly not since i got the 8300 box. :mad:

Is anyone else being tortured by the multiple LENGTHY screen freezes on HDNet tonite, during the U2 program?? It hasn't been =this= bad on my set in a long time, certainly not since i got the 8300 box. :mad:

Same here, in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, though it looks to be limited to HDNet. We'll see how SNL looks on WNBC.

Same here, in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, though it looks to be limited to HDNet. We'll see how SNL looks on WNBC.

The first 30 minutes or so of SNL looked GREAT. It's just too bad the show is so lame, lame, LAME. I =had= to bail out. :(

Is anyone else being tortured by the multiple LENGTHY screen freezes on HDNet tonite, during the U2 program?? It hasn't been =this= bad on my set in a long time, certainly not since i got the 8300 box. :mad:
Often get those HDNet freeze-ups on many shows; (S. Manhattan head end). Saw them periodically throughout the trailing segment of "A Passage to India" last night on their movie channel--just after watching a 2-hour HBO HD movie without one glitch. Using an 8300HD, too, but not sure if it's system or STB related. Haven't seen mention of these freeze-ups elsewhere, or experienced them myself on other channels. Reported a different type of movie glitch in the programming forum a while back and M. Cuban, a HDNet co-founder, replied with an explanation. -- John

I have UNIHD in NE Queens, NY on my CC and 8300HD. The PQ on the CC is great. I hope TWC makes 709 a perm channel.

Regards....JL

what does "CC" mean?

what does "CC" mean?

CableCard

From my month-long quest to regain a functional FireWire output, I learned much about TWC NYC and how dysfunctional it is. A few facts that I learned which may help (or at least keep things in perspective) when dealing with TWC NYC.

...

This isn't how a company making millions of dollars a month off of people in the nation's largest city should operate. But of course, with a monopoly they can get away with it, and it's not like many of the other companies have great service either (seems this is true about almost every industry at this point). Things will probably get worse if more restrictive content-control laws get passed by our government. There's not much to do beyond writing letters and requesting compensation for problems, switching to another provider if you can, or just canceling all together...

I learned quite a few similar lessons in the month it took me to get my setup all working 3 years ago.

I've come to the conclusion that part of the problem is the language of TWC's franchise agreement with the city. (Which, BTW, expires on September 16, 2008. We should make sure that our local City Council members leading up to it know our views on TWC well in advance of that date.) According to the franchise agreement, a customer is owed a month of free service for a missed appointment. However, a missed appointment is only defined as an appointment time window in which no TW employee shows up at your home. It doesn't matter whether or not they actually do anything. I've been screwed by this several times.

For example, one time a TWC employee showed up at my apartment with a work order to rerun all of the cable in the apartment. He showed up, looked around, looked at his watch, and proclaimed that he didn't have time to do it. I refused to sign the work order, but TWC refused to count it as a missed appointment. Similarly, I once had a guy show up with a work order saying he needed to replace an HD-DVR, but he came without an HD-DVR. He walked out, saying he'd be right back, and never came back. Again, because he showed up at my home, TWC said it wasn't a missed appointment.

We need to ask the City Council to make sure that TWC's next franchise agreement gives a narrower definition of a missed appointment. In order for an appointment to be kept, the TWC employee needs to show up with any equipment referenced in the work order and perform any tasks specifically outlined in the work order. If the work order says to replace an HD-DVR, the worker should have an HD-DVR. If the work order says to rerun cable, the worker should rerun cable. Anything less should be a missed appointment.

I also think that the next franchise agreement should allow customers to request (for a nominal fee) that their visit will be the first one handled by a truck during one of the timeframes. This would be found money for TWC, but a major boon to those who would literally pay anything to have a shorter than 4 hour time window for a service call.

Of course, I've managed to get in my TWC file that I consider a promise of a callback to be an appointment. That is, if a CSR says I should receive a callback within an hour, then if I haven't received a call within 60 minutes, it's as if they've missed an appointment. I make sure to explain this whenever a CSR promises a call back, and it usually gets them to revise their estimate of when I should expect the call.

I pay TWC to provide me with a service. I refuse to have them treat me as though they're paying me. Especially since they treat me far worse than anyone I work for...
-JMP

For those of you who are new this is a link to File a cable service complaint, I suggest that you submit one if not for you, but for all of us.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/doitt/html/consumer/consumer_cable_service_form.shtml

Hi everyone, new to the site.

I have TWC in Brooklyn and have been having occasional reception problems, pixelating, freezing etc. This is usually minor, but can interrupt music programs on HDnet ruining performances, especially ones I would like to keep on DVR. The biggest problem however occurred during the superbowl last night when I lost HD signal on 707 only at 5:59 PM. I called TW and they sent my box a signal which got the game, however the game was pixelated throughout making it difficult to watch. I have had the HD tech here in the past (when I couldnt get the superbowl last year in HD) and he improved the signal but said that I need a direct line from the TW connection box in the stairwell to my receiving HD DVR cable box.

Short of calling these guys back, is there a way to boost the signal from the connection box to my cable box or do I have to improve the wiring? Will an antenna help? If I cant watch the superbowl in HD each year, whats the point of having it? Also is there a way to download my HD DVR recordings to disc/computer or other storage media?

5 x 1 HDMI Switcher

http://www.octavainc.com/HDMI%20switch%205port.htm

Based upon the posting above that TWC is still sending out WWOR-HD to cable card customers, my guess is that if anyone had made note of the frequency it was broadcasting on, we could still tune it in DIAG mode if you go to the screen where you can tune manually by frequency....


Frequency is still 669.00
Program #003

I tried entering it and can hear UPN-HD in the background, just can't get it to display.

good thing I have a Tuner in my set and can get UPN-HD on 1.9

Short of calling these guys back, is there a way to boost the signal from the connection box to my cable box or do I have to improve the wiring? Will an antenna help?
Welcome to the forums. If you're paying TWC, they should provide wiring to the input of your converter, CableCard, etc. that's adequate over the frequency band. Keep bugging them for it, and request a higher-level tech or supervisor visit if necessary.

If your display has a built in over-the-air tuner, or you own a separate OTA tuner, a small antenna such as a Silver Sensor (see NYC OTA forum) should pull in stations. If your OTA tuner has a QAM (cable digital delivery) section, some unencrypted TWC signals can be seen with a direct TWC connection; a 1-GHz splitter would provide direct cable hookups to both a tuner and a TWC converter. As some recent posts above indicate, some are getting lengthy freeze-ups from HDNet, although my HDNet freeze-ups aren't accompanied by pixelation and I haven't noticed them on other channels. -- John

I have one 8300HD box now. I'd like to add a second one for a bedroom set. Can I just pick one up at the 23rd St. location or do I have to schedule an "installation"?
TM

Thanks for the response John. I only have TW's cable box (8300 I think) HD DVR. Is it worth buying an OTA tuner as well? I have called TW and insisted they send an HD tech. As I said the same thing happened during the time of last years superbowl and the problem persisted afterward as it does now. ABCHD reception remains poor and worked normally prior to the superbowl. Most of the rest of the HD stations come in reasonably well with occasional freezing on HDnet broadcasts (recently recorded 'Million Dollar Baby' and U2 was poor as well).

Also is there a way to upload my HD DVR recordings to another storage drive?

Thanks for the response John. I only have TW's cable box (8300 I think) HD DVR. Is it worth buying an OTA tuner as well? I have called TW and insisted they send an HD tech. As I said the same thing happened during the time of last years superbowl and the problem persisted afterward as it does now. ABCHD reception remains poor and worked normally prior to the superbowl. Most of the rest of the HD stations come in reasonably well with occasional freezing on HDnet broadcasts (recently recorded 'Million Dollar Baby' and U2 was poor as well).

Also is there a way to upload my HD DVR recordings to another storage drive?
Also have the 8300HD, but believe it's better to make TWC deliver full-quality HD for each source rather than tinkering with an OTA. OTA tuning is okay for the limited channels, such as 11 that TWC doesn't provide. (Both 11 and channel 9 HD, with 9 accessible via diagnostic mode tuning, will be merged into a new channel later this year.) And OTA can be useful when TWC is disrupted or develops glitches. Just speculation, but perhaps around Superbowl time there was some local cable tinkering that ruined reception. I once subscribed to new premium channels, which wouldn't tune at all, and the cable tech discovered a bad cable connection in our building hallway was the cause. The meter cable techs use for frequency/signal strength measurement should register signal problems at various bands. ABC should tune as well as Fox or PBS HD, etc.

Not sure about 8300HD DVR uploading, but believe some TWC STBs deliver 1394 'firewire' outputs; thought someone here posted they must be requested specifically. The HD recorders/players forum outlines how to add external DVR hard drives, but it may still be only for SARA-based cable systems, while TWC here uses the different Passport operating system. See the FAQ-type posts on 8300HDs for both systems at the above forum--as well as related posts here. -- John

I only have TW's cable box (8300 I think) HD DVR.

Just be sure that you do have an 8300HD, not the older 8000HD, since the problems you describe were common with the 8000HD.

Thanks again John, very helpful. They measured frequency/signal strength last year and there was a significant dropoff between the connection box outside and the DVR cable box. The tech fooled with the connections and improved the signal, but recommended a direct connection from their box and the DVR in our apartment. Hopefully I will get them to make that connection this time.

Oded

I just noticed we now have Channel 709, Universal HD. So I guess I am not going to be able to get UPN on 709 via Diag mode at all now.

UniHD is a paid channel? That's BS, they should just ad that one on. They still dont give us TMC HD and Cinemax HD, not to mention UPN and WPIX (I know they are going to merge), so adding a channel into the paid lineup is real balsy on their part.

Verizon, when oh when are you going to make FiOS TV available in NYC, lol.

Hey all. I just got my 8300HD last week, and i'm not sure if i'm going crazy from spending so much time in front of the TV or not, but i swear that my picture is slowly degrading!!! When I first got HD from TWC I received the non-DVR box, and the picture was amazing. but after switching boxes to the DVR and using it for a week, i'm seeing a lot of macro blocking and a really dissapointing film grain effect. I truly believe that it is getting worse.

Since i'm new to DVR, I've been scanning these forums for an answer (i.e. "how to maintain an 8300HD"), but i've found nothing. So here's some questions:

1) Do I need to reset it? would that help regain optimal PQ?

2) Do DVRs all provide worse picture due to splitting the signal?

3) where can I find info for optimizing the PQ when using the 8300? (I've spent hours on the general 8300 thread, all they talk about is recording and such).


any help would be a god send!!!

thanks,
dave

Both 11 and channel 9 HD, with 9 accessible via diagnostic mode tuning, will be merged into a new channel later this year.

This is not exactly true. The networks with which channels 9 and 11 are affiliated are merging. Channel 9 is actually owned by Fox Television Stations (which also owns channel 5), while channel 11 is owned by the Tribune Company. Neither Fox nor Tribune is merging with anyone else.

I'm assuming that each channel is going to continue with their digital transition, since they're going to lose their analog spectrum whenever the Feds actually get around to imposing the deadline. Whether or not the one that ends up without a network (probably 9) has any HD content to broadcast is another matter entirely, but the channel won't go away. After all, it isn't that long ago that channels 5, 9, and 11 were all without any network affiliation. They managed to continue operations then, and the availability of syndicated programming has only increased since.

That said, with the possibility of no HD programming on WWOR-HD, I'm not exactly upset that it might take longer for TWC to carry that particular channel. Now if only they can get me 162 Mets games in HD this year to make up for the last 5 years of not carrying Mets HD broadcasts, I'll be happy...
-JMP

Verizon, when oh when are you going to make FiOS TV available in NYC, lol.

Although I read this a lot, realistically, I wonder how many people on this thread would REALLY switch to FIOS TV. Keep in mind that those on the leading edge are probably going thru growing pains. For example, their DVR des not have the feature we're used to having.
Having said this, I think I would jump ship from TWC if the FIOS TV price was rite.

Although I read this a lot, realistically, I wonder how many people on this thread would REALLY switch to FIOS TV. Keep in mind that those on the leading edge are probably going thru growing pains. For example, their DVR des not have the feature we're used to having.
Having said this, I think I would jump ship from TWC if the FIOS TV price was rite.TWC is sufficiently pissing off enough people that many will jump ship if the price is right. I'm still a bit apprehensive about Verizon doing anything right since my POTS service dies on a regular basis, but if they could prove that FIOS worked, I'd switch.

So why is NBC broadcasting Scrubs on 704 in 1080 and it still has black bars? Just curious. I'm using 8300HD.

Also, why was the ABC Super Bowl broadcast in 720? I would think that, if anything, it would be super high def.

And re UniHD: I was hoping Battlestar Galactica would be in HD on UniHD Sunday night but it turned out to be a repeat. Wonder what we can expect with the Olympics? The NYTimes Turin schedule today was a bit confusing, but I'm assuming all the NBC primetime broadcasts will be in HD (hopefully with no bars!). Initially I thought the Olympics were being broadcast in HD on UniHD but UniHD is showing Olympics not in primetime but rather other live broadcasts in the afternoon. No primetime Olympics on UniHD -- but on 704 NBC.

Chaos.

Anyone here know of a fix for the 8300 box to get back the dolby digital signal? I tried to switch the audio digital out from dolby digital to two channel only and back to dolby digital and still this does not work. In the past this use to work. Any ideas?

Thx.

So why is NBC broadcasting Scrubs on 704 in 1080 and it still has black bars? Just curious. I'm using 8300HD.

Also, why was the ABC Super Bowl broadcast in 720? I would think that, if anything, it would be super high def.

Chaos.


Unless things have changed recently ABC has always broadcast in 720p. They believe that format is better for video. Espn and Fox also go with 720p while CBS and NBC are in the 1080i camp.

Anyone here know of a fix for the 8300 box to get back the dolby digital signal? I tried to switch the audio digital out from dolby digital to two channel only and back to dolby digital and still this does not work. In the past this use to work. Any ideas?

Thx.

That is the "fix" that I have always used. If it doesn't work, you could try pulling out the plug and re-booting.

I would jump ship in a heartbeat even for more $$$ I don't think any company can be as bad in so many areas as TWC.

And re UniHD: I was hoping Battlestar Galactica would be in HD on UniHD Sunday night but it turned out to be a repeat.
Universal HD only shows Battlestar Galactica repeats. Only Sci-Fi Channel shows the latest episodes.

-Terry

I hear what you guys are saying about jumping ship but personally I think that while the quality of the *product* may be better from Verizon FIOS, the customer service and overall customer experience are likely to be worse. Personally I think Verizon is one of the worst run companies on earth from a cs standpoint. Pulling my landline was one of the happiest things I ever did. I hate those guys.

TM

1) Do I need to reset it? would that help regain optimal PQ?

2) Do DVRs all provide worse picture due to splitting the signal?

3) where can I find info for optimizing the PQ when using the 8300? (I've spent hours on the general 8300 thread, all they talk about is recording and such).

Welcome to the forums. Since your previous STB provided good HD, perhaps you didn't set the 8300HD output format to match your display. Or it might just be a bad 8300HD. It helps sometimes, BTW, to list your display gear in your bio section, accessible from the top USER link atop the page. I've set my 8300HD, for example, to output only 1080i since I'm feeding a 1080i CRT RPTV only from the YPbPr outputs. Your settings might vary if you have a 720p-only display, for example, and conclude the 8300HD does a better job at converting various formats (480i, 1080i) to 720p than your display can. If you're using HDMI, see if YPbPr outputs help.

If you get HDNet, it's useful to set the DVR to capture the 10-minute test-pattern sequence each Tuesday at 6 am ET (if it's still being cablecast). This gives you a firm horizontal resolution measured number to check the 8300HD output at any time--as well as compare with a live signal. I used this technique (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5175424#post5175424). It looks like, from various AVS posts, that cable STBs (and systems) typically deliver <1300 lines maximum. Yet HDNet's test pattern resolution wedges reportedly provide ~1920 lines of resolution--even though video programming doesn't have equivalent effective resolution (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5667245&&#post5667245) (resolvable detail).

But Verizon fiber-to-the-premises customers are claiming they're getting enhanced video quality, so perhaps HDNet test pattern measurements will confirm this. Signed up for Verizon fiber delivery last year, but a recent e-mail from them won't spell out when they might start mid-Manhattan installations. I suggested they start an installation map at their www site, as TWC had for hybrid/fiber upgrades. Since Verizon has a larger HD menu than TWC, and reportedly better video quality than typical SD/HD sources, I'd certainly give them a try.

Supposedly this is the year that TWC will start switched broadcasting (http://www.bigbandnet.com/news/inTheNews/2005/news_053105a.php) (switched video) that would enable them to provide a huge number of channels--not actually delivered until a customer selects them. Whether TWC eliminates rate shaping (http://broadcastengineering.com/aps/acquisition/broadcasting_dtv_digital_cable/index.html) or any other PQ-limiting bandwidth-saving techniques when/if they begin switched video in NYC remains to be seen. -- John

I hear what you guys are saying about jumping ship but personally I think that while the quality of the *product* may be better from Verizon FIOS, the customer service and overall customer experience are likely to be worse. Personally I think Verizon is one of the worst run companies on earth from a cs standpoint. Pulling my landline was one of the happiest things I ever did. I hate those guys.

TM


The problem with TWC is they hold all the cards (like Verizon did before the breakup of the bells) A perfect analogy. Unplug the Service & say F you very much I don't want to do business with you anymore, I can go to another phone Company I can even go to a totally different technology if I want. Hopefully in 5 years we will have the same number of options

One recurring issue I've had with both of my 8300's, which I thought was specific to Fox HD but I now realize happens on all of the 720p channels (705, 707 and 725) is every now and then, the image on the screen shakes/stutters (it is most clearly noticeable if you open up the guide). On any 1080i or SD channel everything is fine. Rebooting the box usually solves the issue and it only comes back every few weeks or so.

Anyone else ever experience this issue?

I have my 8300 connected to my Samsung DLP via HDMI / DVI with 480p, 720p and 1080i as the selected output formats (the Samsung is a 720p NR display).

John, is rate shaping likely responsible for reduced bandwidth available to individual costumers during highly watched HD events such as the superbowl? I suspect that if all is optimal on the individuals wiring end and there is no further signal reduction, the broadcast would come in fine despite compromises by TW for efficiency. It seems further reduction of signal quality on my end beyond a critical point results in severe pixelation.

John, is rate shaping likely responsible for reduced bandwidth available to individual costumers during highly watched HD events such as the superbowl? I suspect that if all is optimal on the individuals wiring end and there is no further signal reduction, the broadcast would come in fine despite compromises by TW for efficiency. It seems further reduction of signal quality on my end beyond a critical point results in severe pixelation.
Rate shaping, which TWC has said it uses for both SD and HD, lowers the quantization level for MPEG-2 data without having to decode the MPEG-2. A rough example: The sequence 2 4 4 32 32 might become 2 4 4 16 16, where the 32 encoding becomes 16, reducing higher frequencies/resolutions. The result, broadly for all rate-shaped channels, is more bandwidth; that is, more space to squeeze in additional channels, telephone calls, video on demand (VOD), etc.

Suspect many variations in PQ, moment to moment, originate with program sources, not TWC. Like other program-delivery sources such as DBS, large cable companies use statistical multiplexing (statmux) that shuffles bandwidth use depending on the complexity and motion within images. A dozen or more channels might be statmuxed, with split-second image changes determining how much spectrum (bandwidth) is allotted to each channel. With VOD demanding more bandwidth at certain times, and analog channels, at 6 MHz each still hogging a big slice of TWC's 860-MHz+ spectrum, at some point video PQ has to suffer.

Rarely see images breaking into blocks from my mid-town Manhattan head end, although as mentioned above I'm among those noticing HDNet prolonged periodic image freeze-ups. MPEG breakups develop when there's inadequate spectrum available for the digital bit rates involved. One way to avoid image breakups, without dropping channels to provide more spectrum, is 'dumbing down' images, as with rate shaping. If the switched video outlined earlier widens the available spectrum available as promised, I hope NYC TWC uses it to maximize PQ for all channels. Viewers of big-dish C-band (etc.) video, downlinked to all cable and DBS head ends, frequently emphasize a lot of PQ isn't making it to subscriber's screens. -- John

john,
thanks for the reply. my new sony 32 lcd is 1081i, 720p, and the STB is set up to output both of those depending on the broadcast. i just took the 8300 back and exchanged for a non-DVR box (3250hd), and the pixelation/grain-effect/blocking is still prevelant. i've reset everything on the tv, reboot the box many times, etc... i'm starting to think that my signal has downgraded somehow. that, or i had a different brand box before that decoded better (could have been the pioneer rather than SA).

I miss my clear hd!!

so here is a weird question, the knicks are away, but on MSG. The rangers are home but on MSG2, will there be a HD broadcast on 712?

Thanks

I just noticed we now have Channel 709, Universal HD. So I guess I am not going to be able to get UPN on 709 via Diag mode at all now.
If you look back in this thread a bit, you'll see a statement that they are giving us this channel for the month of February <i>only</i>. Specifically, they've somehow magically "found" the bandwidth for this channel (maybe by taking away WWOR-HD from the feed?) for the month for UHD's olympic programming. They are presenting very large blocks of Olympic programming starting next week. Look forward in the guide and you'll see exactly what.

UniHD is a paid channel?
Nope, free channel. 701-719 are free HD channels; 720-725 are the paid tier.

Scott

Welcome to the forums. Since your previous STB provided good HD, perhaps you didn't set the 8300HD output format to match your display. Or it might just be a bad 8300HD. It helps sometimes, BTW, to list your display gear in your bio section, accessible from the top USER link atop the page. I've set my 8300HD, for example, to output only 1080i since I'm feeding a 1080i CRT RPTV only from the YPbPr outputs. Your settings might vary if you have a 720p-only display, for example, and conclude the 8300HD does a better job at converting various formats (480i, 1080i) to 720p than your display can. If you're using HDMI, see if YPbPr outputs help.

If you get HDNet, it's useful to set the DVR to capture the 10-minute test-pattern sequence each Tuesday at 6 am ET (if it's still being cablecast). This gives you a firm horizontal resolution measured number to check the 8300HD output at any time--as well as compare with a live signal. I used this technique (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5175424#post5175424). It looks like, from various AVS posts, that cable STBs (and systems) typically deliver <1300 lines maximum. Yet HDNet's test pattern resolution wedges reportedly provide ~1920 lines of resolution--even though video programming doesn't have equivalent effective resolution (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5667245&&#post5667245) (resolvable detail).

But Verizon fiber-to-the-premises customers are claiming they're getting enhanced video quality, so perhaps HDNet test pattern measurements will confirm this. Signed up for Verizon fiber delivery last year, but a recent e-mail from them won't spell out when they might start mid-Manhattan installations. I suggested they start an installation map at their www site, as TWC had for hybrid/fiber upgrades. Since Verizon has a larger HD menu than TWC, and reportedly better video quality than typical SD/HD sources, I'd certainly give them a try.

Supposedly this is the year that TWC will start switched broadcasting (http://www.bigbandnet.com/news/inTheNews/2005/news_053105a.php) (switched video) that would enable them to provide a huge number of channels--not actually delivered until a customer selects them. Whether TWC eliminates rate shaping (http://broadcastengineering.com/aps/acquisition/broadcasting_dtv_digital_cable/index.html) or any other PQ-limiting bandwidth-saving techniques when/if they begin switched video in NYC remains to be seen. -- John
Don't look for Fios in Manhattan anytime soon. Think in years not months so your expectations are set properly. I want Fios so bad, not because of what's there now but because of what's coming.

so here is a weird question, the knicks are away, but on MSG. The rangers are home but on MSG2, will there be a HD broadcast on 712?

Thanks

the last time a situation like that happened they showed the away knick game.
Upconverted on 712

I have one 8300HD box now. I'd like to add a second one for a bedroom set. Can I just pick one up at the 23rd St. location or do I have to schedule an "installation"?
TM


If you are swapping out another box you are fine. If you are getting a new 2nd box than it will need to be delivered. They want to make sure that you aren't installing it at a neighbors house / apartment and splitting the cost.

Drew

so here is a weird question, the knicks are away, but on MSG. The rangers are home but on MSG2, will there be a HD broadcast on 712?

Thanks

MSG Network said last month that tonight's game would be the first road Knicks game shown in HD (which is a huge waste since we have it on YES-HD....)

Thus the home Rangers game can't been seen in HD....

MSG Network said last month that tonight's game would be the first road Knicks game shown in HD (which is a huge waste since we have it on YES-HD....)

Thus the home Rangers game can't been seen in HD....

Is the Rangers game on at all right now? If so, what channel is MSG2?

Is the Rangers game on at all right now? If so, what channel is MSG2?
Ch. 51 according to msgnetwork.com although it isnt on for me
Info at msgnetwork.com (http://www.msgnetwork.com/content_news.jsp?articleID=v0000msgn20051220T221034112&newsgroup=ap.sportsml.columnist.article&sports=baseball&team=other&league=mlb)

this is total BS that we aren't getting the Rangers home game in HD tonight. FU TWC. you guys really suck. if only i had a chance to leave these guys.

I'm getting the knicks-nets game on both 708 and 712. Now THAT'S just plain stupid.

I'm getting the knicks-nets game on both 708 and 712. Now THAT'S just plain stupid.


This is Cablevision's fault.... Not Time Warner's...

Cablevision chose to put the Rangers game on MSG2 and the Knicks game on MSG. Time Warner couldn't do anything about it.

(does cablevision have an MSG2-HD channel for the rangers tonight on their system? I doubt it...)

This is Cablevision's fault.... Not Time Warner's...

Cablevision chose to put the Rangers game on MSG2 and the Knicks game on MSG. Time Warner couldn't do anything about it.

(does cablevision have an MSG2-HD channel for the rangers tonight on their system? I doubt it...)
Well that figures, if there's one company that may be worse than Time Warner...

So why is NBC broadcasting Scrubs on 704 in 1080 and it still has black bars? Just curious. I'm using 8300HD.

For some mysterious reason, Scrubs isn't produced in HD--it might just be NBC's only non-HD primetime program (apart from news and reality shows). I've never heard an explanation for this, but it could be due to NBC shafting the show in terms of budget and/or licensing fees, since it's 100% owned and produced by their hated enemies at Touchstone Television (a/k/a Disney, a/k/a ABC). There are plenty of examples of different studios playing nice with networks owned by rivals (the NBC-Universal produced House is on Fox, the Warner Bros.-produced ER and The West Wing are on NBC, etc) but NBC has consistently treated Scrubs like a redheaded stepchild because of the Disney connection.

For some mysterious reason, Scrubs isn't produced in HD--it might just be NBC's only non-HD primetime program (apart from news and reality shows). I've never heard an explanation for this, but it could be due to NBC shafting the show in terms of budget and/or licensing fees, since it's 100% owned and produced by their hated enemies at Touchstone Television (a/k/a Disney, a/k/a ABC). There are plenty of examples of different studios playing nice with networks owned by rivals (the NBC-Universal produced House is on Fox, the Warner Bros.-produced ER and The West Wing are on NBC, etc) but NBC has consistently treated Scrubs like a redheaded stepchild because of the Disney connection.

Thank you, that was an incredibly enlightening answer. Your theory certainly makes sense.

So what does 'produced in HD' mean exactly?

Bad news for Friday (it seems)

Rangers home game is on FSN, while the Knicks are in Oklahoma City (and most likely not on road HD), so we TWC customers get screwed over again.

Now we get to be pissed at both TWC and Cablevision...

what a shame we had to watch tonight's huge win in SD. glad we got the win, but sad and inexcusable to shaft the normal home team in HD coverage to show a sorry bunch lose their 7th in a row. :(

what a shame we had to watch tonight's huge win in SD. glad we got the win, but sad and inexcusable to shaft the normal home team in HD coverage to show a sorry bunch lose their 7th in a row. :(

spoiler alert!

spoiler alert!

Reporting a Knicks loss is hardly a spoiler!!

Bad news for Friday (it seems)

Rangers home game is on FSN, while the Knicks are in Oklahoma City (and most likely not on road HD), so we TWC customers get screwed over again.


Edited out my error

Reporting a Knicks loss is hardly a spoiler!!

The Knicks are hurting. All that was missing from the game were the sounds of Sweet Georgia Brown. :D

If you are swapping out another box you are fine. If you are getting a new 2nd box than it will need to be delivered. They want to make sure that you aren't installing it at a neighbors house / apartment and splitting the cost.

Drew


Strange. I called specifically to ask and they said no problem to just pick one up. I couldn't have been clearer with my question. In fact, the website now says they have self install for all of their services. Hmmmmm.

TM

Thank you, that was an incredibly enlightening answer. Your theory certainly makes sense.

So what does 'produced in HD' mean exactly?

These days, a lot of shows are shot with HD video cameras rather than 35mm film, and they're 16x9 by default. Shows shot on 35mm film use viewfinders that let cinematographers compose the image for 16x9 and 1.33:1 (this is also often done with movies shot on Super 35 so that DPs can compose for 2.35:1 and 1.33:1 at the same time--these full frame transfers aren't panned and scanned but instead feature extra picture info at the top and bottom). ANYway, shows shot on film have to got through an HD transfer stage, which adds time and cost to the production process. I'm pretty sure Scrubs is shot on 35mm full frame, then skips the HD transfer stage to save $$$.

It's also possible that the producers of Scrubs prefer 1.33:1 and have declined to do the show in HD--they often pay tribute to classic sitcoms, and they might think that 1.33:1 upholds a sitcom tradition. There are many producers who prefer 1.33:1 and only do widescreen versions grudgingly (Buffy the Vampire Slayer was shot widescreen in its later seasons but only shown that way overseas and was released full-frame on DVD at Joss Whedon's insistence. Amy Sherman-Palladino of Gilmore Girls also prefers 1.33:1, and while her show is broadcast in widescreen HDTV on the WB, she has insisted on 1.33:1 for the DVD releases).

Friday nights Knicks away game is listed to be on YES and ESPN. If it’s not a block out game there is a chance that it will be in HD on ESPN HD.

That's the Nets listing vs. the Spurs...
Not the Knicks vs. the Hornets (why would ESPN want to show that game?)

anyone have a suggestion for getting a brooklyn STB that the local (sunset park, kinda close to me) is not stocking anymore? I want to get an HD Pioneer converter back (I exchanged the one I'd received with the installation for the SA 8300HD, but in my eyes the Pioneer is the clear winner for PQ). I biked out there today, and they said that it's not going to be stocked there anymore, and after a call to costomer support to see if a tech could bring one from the warehouse (sure, i'll pay 30 bucks for the visit, i just want my freaking PQ back), i was told to carry the box around the city looking for the off chance that a service center in another burough might have an Hd pioneer for brooklyn. that's rediculous. I'm really starting to despise twcnyc.

i just noticed channel 720 PPV HD, showing Center Ice HD Hockey. is this new?

i just noticed channel 720 PPV HD, showing Center Ice HD Hockey. is this new?
Is it actually showing it? Or is it just on the listings?

The hockey & basketball have been listing in the guide for that channel for a week or so, but nothing has appeared on the channel when I've looked....

Scott

anyone have a suggestion for getting a brooklyn STB that the local (sunset park, kinda close to me) is not stocking anymore? I want to get an HD Pioneer converter back (I exchanged the one I'd received with the installation for the SA 8300HD, but in my eyes the Pioneer is the clear winner for PQ). I biked out there today, and they said that it's not going to be stocked there anymore, and after a call to costomer support to see if a tech could bring one from the warehouse (sure, i'll pay 30 bucks for the visit, i just want my freaking PQ back), i was told to carry the box around the city looking for the off chance that a service center in another burough might have an Hd pioneer for brooklyn. that's rediculous. I'm really starting to despise twcnyc.
Assume you got a SA8300HD and not a 8000HD? The 8000HD was really bad resolution-wise (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5175424#post5175424). Previously a few posted here they thought the Pioneer exceeded the Scientific Atlanta units in PQ. I planned to aquire the Pioneer just for better PQ, but never did see just what the Pioneers deliver from HDNet's test patterns; the SA converters seem to provide <1300 lines here as well as elsewhere, based on AVS posts.

Those with CableCards claim better PQ. Perhaps NYC TWC is trying to weed out non-SA converters. A member involved with cable converter tech, vegggas, often in the HD recorders forum, has posted that cable systems mixing STB brands may have to limit resolutions because the digital drivers for the video-output chips require greater complexity and more memory. Generic drivers are required versus tweaked drivers. More of a theory than something confirmed. Since nearly 1920 lines were once measured from HDNet's patterns via pre-HDLite DirecTV, and we're now limited to <1300 lines with STBs...! -- John

From my month-long quest to regain a functional FireWire output, I learned much about TWC NYC and how dysfunctional it is. A few facts that I learned which may help (or at least keep things in perspective) when dealing with TWC NYC.

1) The regular techs sent out to the jobs are not informed of what the job will require until they get there. So even if you tell a CSR on the phone you need "X", if it's not something standard in the back of the van your first tech visit will likely not have it. This happened to me repeatedly over the last month while requesting a SA3250HD with active FireWire. Be prepared for anything beyond poor signal-level or a box-swap to take at least two visits.

2) Most everyone that deals with customers barely understands digital cable, and especially "non-standard" things like CableCards, FireWire output, their own encryption, etc. A majority of customers don't even know about these issues, and TWC NYC plays dumb and doesn't seem to be interested or aware of many of the FCC laws out there regarding digital cable and HD. In my 7 tech visits only one understood these issues, and that was because he was one of "us" and had his own HTPC rig at home. Talks on the phone were just as bad, even when I got a special contact in the Client Relations department to specifically address my problem.

3) TWC NYC is willfully ignorant, poorly managed, or both. I would get conflicting (wrong) answers depending on which foreman I was talking to. I would get refusals that something was "impossible" to do, yet immediately calling back and speaking with someone else it could be done. I had to send them copies of FCC regulations before they believed they existed. I would get promises for callbacks that never happened. I had missed appointments. I had workers apparently falsifying records saying they came out when they didn't. I had appointments "guaranteed" to be with foremen where regular techs showed up and didn't know why they were there. Don't expect anything from them.

4) Hope you get lucky and get one of the few knowledgeable people, and keep asking for a manager of whoever you're dealing with. This was the key. Once I got high enough up the chain for the person I was dealing with to actually do something (talk with people that don't normally interact with customers, talk to heads of depts., etc), my problem was solved in about 24 hours with a software update they had all along...

This isn't how a company making millions of dollars a month off of people in the nation's largest city should operate. But of course, with a monopoly they can get away with it, and it's not like many of the other companies have great service either (seems this is true about almost every industry at this point). Things will probably get worse if more restrictive content-control laws get passed by our government. There's not much to do beyond writing letters and requesting compensation for problems, switching to another provider if you can, or just canceling all together...

Frustrating. The one word I would use to describe my experience with TWCNYC.

Steps taken to achieve this:

1) 12/15/2005 - Contacted CSR (#1) to have Cablecard and HDSTB installed.
2) 01/06/2006 - Technician (#1) installed Cablecard & HD-STB upgrade. (Friday) The CC did not work on certain channels (required activation). Technician left without fixing it. Explained it was an "IT Issue"- he couldn't help.
3) 01/06/2006 - Contacted CSR (#2). Told them CC didn’t work and asked for an HD STB with firewire out.
4) 01/23/2006 - Technician (#2) called 1 hour after work order to tell me he didn’t have any CCs in stock. (Tuesday)
5) 01/23/2006 - Called CSR (#3) to reschedule.
6) 01/28/2006 - Technician (#3) came, replaced CC, checked line, told me its an "IT Issue". Nothing he can do.
7) 01/28/2006 - Called CSR (#4) to ask for explanation. None given.
8) 02/03/2006 - Called CSR Manager (#5) asked her to follow up. No-one got back to me.
9) 02/10/2006 - Realized TWCNYC charged me for installation and CC card service, neither which work. Called CSR Manager (#6), was told I need a(nother) tech to stop by. Suggested someone called me and I didn't answer my phone, so the "ticket was closed." I tried explaining the situation. She continued cutting me off and trying to speak over me. I finally agreed to another tech. She could not find a timeslot that suited me (NOT 9-5 on a weekday/not Saturday). She could not and told me to call back when I can change my schedule and then hung up on me.

If I could change to RCN, I would.

That's the Nets listing vs. the Spurs...
Not the Knicks vs. the Hornets (why would ESPN want to show that game?)

Thanks, :confused: I read that in the paper wrong, my mistake.

You are right, it wouldn’t be a ‘must see’ ESPN game.
The Nets Spurs game, now that’s got potential.

Strange. I called specifically to ask and they said no problem to just pick one up. I couldn't have been clearer with my question. In fact, the website now says they have self install for all of their services. Hmmmmm.

TM I dont know what is going on with TWC. I was told a tech had to come to install the 2nd box. Who is right??When you make phone call you get canada.Some times i wonder if thay know what is going on in NYC?? :confused:

I dont know what is going on with TWC. I was told a tech had to come to install the 2nd box. Who is right??When you make phone call you get canada.Some times i wonder if thay know what is going on in NYC?? :confused:

I haven't done this in a while so it is very possible their policies have changed but in the past, if you wanted an additional box installed (say you have 2 and wanted 3) then they needed to send a tech. If you just wanted to exchange a box (either SD for SD, SD for HD or HD for HD) then you could go to the service center.

Again, this could be dated information but definitely how it used to work (at least for me).

Whats up with the Live Broadcast of the Olympics, anyone?

What live broadcast?

That's my question.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/index.html has the schedule. AFAIK, they are not showing anything live that they will be showing in primetime.

Whats up with the Live Broadcast of the Olympics, anyone?
This is not the right thread to ask in.

See this thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=642404

anyone have a suggestion for getting a brooklyn STB that the local (sunset park, kinda close to me) is not stocking anymore? I want to get an HD Pioneer converter back (I exchanged the one I'd received with the installation for the SA 8300HD, but in my eyes the Pioneer is the clear winner for PQ). I biked out there today, and they said that it's not going to be stocked there anymore, and after a call to costomer support to see if a tech could bring one from the warehouse (sure, i'll pay 30 bucks for the visit, i just want my freaking PQ back), i was told to carry the box around the city looking for the off chance that a service center in another burough might have an Hd pioneer for brooklyn. that's rediculous. I'm really starting to despise twcnyc.

I've picked up Manhattan boxes in Queens and Brooklyn. Presumably you could go to Queens or Manhattan. I have found service to be generally better in Manhattan-23rd Street but I have a hunch that for a Brooklyn box you would be best served in Queens.

I have looked through this forum extensively and I can't seem to locate the "fianl word" on the best setup. Please excuse me if i missed it.

I have been a D* custoemer for 7 years i had them come yesterday to install HD. Unfortunately the buildong across the street is blocking the all important satelite 119. I called TWC and ordered the triple play (saves me approx $24 vs current setup)

I want to make sure I ask for the right setup. Here are my ?

- I assume I want the SA8300

- Do I want Passport or SARA - (can i even request SARA)

- Can I attach an external drive that will allow me to export shows to my laptop ... is there anything I need to ask for that will allow me to do this? (I have seen people talk about the FireWire port)

- Is there anyway to hack the box so I can move shows over to my laptop?

- I there a firmware I want to request or avoid?

- I have a Panasonic 37 HDTV - TH-37PX50U ... any special consideration or suggestions

- I live on Hudson Street near Franklin St --- any comments on the quality or reliabilty of the service

THANK you in advance for your help

anyone know the deal with channel 720 PPV HD for NBA and NHL? Is this on a per-game basis or if you have the League Pass already you should get the NBA games?

I have looked through this forum extensively and I can't seem to locate the "fianl word" on the best setup. Please excuse me if i missed it.

I have been a D* custoemer for 7 years i had them come yesterday to install HD. Unfortunately the buildong across the street is blocking the all important satelite 119. I called TWC and ordered the triple play (saves me approx $24 vs current setup)

I want to make sure I ask for the right setup. Here are my ?

- I assume I want the SA8300

- Do I want Passport or SARA - (can i even request SARA)

- Can I attach an external drive that will allow me to export shows to my laptop ... is there anything I need to ask for that will allow me to do this? (I have seen people talk about the FireWire port)

- Is there anyway to hack the box so I can move shows over to my laptop?

- I there a firmware I want to request or avoid?

- I have a Panasonic 37 HDTV - TH-37PX50U ... any special consideration or suggestions

- I live on Hudson Street near Franklin St --- any comments on the quality or reliabilty of the service

THANK you in advance for your help

Hi Neighbor. I'm around the corner in in the tower at Harrison and Greenwich. Is that my building blocking your sky ?

Most of your questions have been covered so the definitive word would be the result of a search of this thread. For some questions, two people with the same box and firmware could have differing experiences.

The SA8300HD is the way to go if you want DVR. It's on the upgrade path from the SA8000 and SA8000HD. Needs a reboot every week or two. There is a Pioneer box for those who don't want DVR.

You get Passport which is better than Sara unless you really, really must have the "Copy to VCR" function.

Some people have reported intermittent success using the firewire port to copy to PC or attach an external hard drive.

For Manhattan I recommend getting your box from 23rd Street as a way to ensure you get the latest box. A home visit does not always get you the latest. The Manhattan techs are dispatched from the Upper Manhattan depot. I'm using Rev 2.2 with HDMI and firewire. Haven't used the firewire. Had frustrations with HDMI for a few weeks until a search of other websites gave me an idea for a procedure. Do a search of my nick on this thread for late October or early November for the HDMI solution if you need it. Your firmware is periodically refreshed via the cable and is dependent on the box hardware Rev number.

Haven't heard of any hacks.

Not familiar with your Panny.

Good luck.

You get Passport which is better than Sara unless you really, really must have the "Copy to VCR" function.

All TWCNYC customers get Passport. Period. There is no choice.

All TWCNYC customers get Passport. Period. There is no choice.

I was not signalling a user choice. TWCNYC, for once, made the better choice.

With Passport far from ideal, I'm hoping that Cisco's purchase of SciAtl yields better software and more reliable hardware.

Anyone else experiencing video dropouts, really on all channels, lately? Its watchable, but annoying. Not sure if its my building or not. Started happening about a week ago (when they added Uni HD) and it's been somewhat bad ever since.

I hear that NBC is supplying NBC On Demand with Olympics content and Time Warner (corporate) is part of this plan. However, I can't seem to find it on TWCNYC. Can anyone help me out?

Anyone else experiencing video dropouts, really on all channels, lately? Its watchable, but annoying. Not sure if its my building or not. Started happening about a week ago (when they added Uni HD) and it's been somewhat bad ever since.

There seemed to be a lot of dropouts, pauses, no audio on Uni-HD earlier today during the women's hockey games, but NBC-HD seems like it's fine. Did anyone else see that?

I'm experiencing tons of dropouts on NBC HD watching the Olympics. Anyone else?

Just got the box today (switched from a digital box) and 10 minutes after hooking it up via HDMI, I get this. :mad:

I'm experiencing tons of dropouts on NBC HD watching the Olympics. Anyone else?

Just got the box today (switched from a digital box) and 10 minutes after hooking it up via HDMI, I get this. :mad:

Yeah, now I am too :(

Regarding Olympics dropouts: Watched segments on both WNBC (704) and UHD (709) Saturday and had perfect images with no dropouts. S.Manhattan head end, mid-town location, using SA8300HD and YPbPr outputs. -- John

Thanks for the quick response on this

Nieghbor - It's actually the builiding on Franklin and Hudson ---- I just need to knock off a fews floor :-)

I guess I'll wait and see if I get lucky with hardware when the tech arrives to install

I really would like to figure out a way to get programs off the dvr onto my laptop

OK - thanks again and I will report back on the setup and quality

What's with Programing on TWNYC? They have been listing different Movies at the wrong times. Today The Glimmer Man is listed on TNT-710 & 03 instead Romeo Must Die is on. Last night Blade was listed at the wrong time.

Anyone else experiencing video dropouts, really on all channels, lately? Its watchable, but annoying. Not sure if its my building or not. Started happening about a week ago (when they added Uni HD) and it's been somewhat bad ever since.

I'm experiencing various problems on lots of channels lately. All of these issues are new or relatively new - I previously was very happy with both SD and HD on my SA8300HD.

On HDNet Movies, I get periodic freezes about every 5 minutes - makes watching this channel impossible.

On other HD channels, I get more pixelization and macroblocking than I used to, I'm assuming due to rate shaping.

Some SD channels (like Food Network and HGTV) have become almost unwatchable due to pixelization and color and contrast that's way, way off. I checked my TV settings thinking I might have changed something by mistake, but I haven't. Reds are really a problem - I'm watching "Valentine's Day Unwrapped" on Food Network right now and any time they show anything red with any sort of movement (which is a lot, as you can imagine), the whole picture just breaks up into a big glob of nothing.

I'm moving within the next month so I probably am not going to bother trying to do anything about this. But I would definitely complain otherwise. I hope Cablevision out on LI is better... I don't know what TWNYC is doing lately, but it sure seems like they've basically run out of bandwidth and are now doing various things to conserve it... none of which are good for PQ.

On HDNet Movies, I get periodic freezes about every 5 minutes - makes watching this channel impossible.

On other HD channels, I get more pixelization and macroblocking than I used to, I'm assuming due to rate shaping.

I don't know what TWNYC is doing lately, but it sure seems like they've basically run out of bandwidth and are now doing various things to conserve it... none of which are good for PQ.

I've been getting alot of Freezes on HDNet also, Uni-HD today had issues today also.

All I know is that they better Remove 1 or 2 Anolog channels to free up some more bandwidth.

Getting a gray screen on 708, Anybody getting the YES-HD feed tonight?

The PQ on TNT-HD today is disgraceful, anybody notice?

over the past week the PQ here in fort greene, brooklyn, has been getting worse and worse. now there is noise everywhere, especially around network logos, which used to be crisp in HD. now there has developed a fuzzy distortion around the edge. i have been convinced that it was the cable box switch i made (from a pioneer 3150 to an SA 8300HD) which brought about the degradation in PQ, but maybe if i'm hearing from others that it's a universal issue it's not the box.

anyone NOT experiencing PQ downgrading?? if so what box are you using?

over the past week the PQ here in fort greene, brooklyn, has been getting worse and worse. now there is noise everywhere, especially around network logos, which used to be crisp in HD. now there has developed a fuzzy distortion around the edge. i have been convinced that it was the cable box switch i made (from a pioneer 3150 to an SA 8300HD) which brought about the degradation in PQ, but maybe if i'm hearing from others that it's a universal issue it's not the box.

anyone NOT experiencing PQ downgrading?? if so what box are you using?

Well I'm hoping this is a source problem, and no the limitations of my set...but I an noticing a lot of pixelization and macroblocking on HD programs, especially with fast lights (strobe lights, light show during a concert, police lights). I don't remember seeing this much when I first got my set (about two months ago). Using an SA8300HD with a 50" SXRD.

I know it's hard to tell from my description, but any ideas? Antone experience the same thing? It's just when there is quick flashes from light to dark.

According to this channel lineup we have WPIX-HD on 711????

and this is from the TWC website

http://www.timewarnercable.com/CustomerService/CLU/TWCCLUs.ashx?ChannelFilter=HDTV&Zip=&CLUID=536

701 HBO
702 CBS-HDTV
703 Showtime-HDTV
704 NBC-HDTV
705 Fox HD
706 Discovery HD Theater
707 ABC-HDTV
708 HD Specials
710 TNT in HD
711 WPIX HDTV
712 HD Specials
713 Thirteen - HDTV
720 HD PPV
721 INHD
722 INHD2
723 HDNet Movies
724 HDNet
725 ESPN HD

I wrote about this during the superbowl when I lost the game completely at 5:59 PM. TW sent a signal to my box and got it going but it was pixelated throughout making it impossible to watch. Really pissed me off. Thank god I cancelled the superbowl party. Problems have ocurred ever since. It has to be about bandwidth and rate shaping.

All TWC has to do is remove TBS from (analog) basic cable to free up some bandwidth, Food network also.

Basic Cable lineup

1 NY1
2 WCBS
4 WNBC
5 WNYW
7 WABC
8 TBS
9 WWOR
11 WPIX
13 WNET
21 WLIW
25 WNYE
31 WPXN
32 ShopNBC
33 QVC
34 MNN
35 Leased Access
39 HSN
41 WXTV (Univision)
47 WNJU (Telemundo)
50 Food Network
51 TV Guide
55 WLNY
56 - 57 MNN
60 CSPAN2
63 WMBC
67 Manhattan Neighborhood Networks
68 WFUT (Telefutura)
70 CSPAN
71 - 74 NYC TV
75 CUNY NYC TV
91 WRNN
92 RNN2
99 Remote Programming Application
100 Answers On Demand
800 Spanish Answers On Demand

Well I'm hoping this is a source problem, and no the limitations of my set...but I an noticing a lot of pixelization and macroblocking on HD programs, especially with fast lights (strobe lights, light show during a concert, police lights). I don't remember seeing this much when I first got my set (about two months ago). Using an SA8300HD with a 50" SXRD.

I know it's hard to tell from my description, but any ideas? Antone experience the same thing? It's just when there is quick flashes from light to dark.
An alternative source for testing, such as an OTA HDTV signal, would pinpoint whether it's a cable system problem or your display.

Not getting such artifacts from TWC in Manhattan from the southern head end. Image breakups with fast lights is an inherent problem with MPEG-2 unless precautions are taken during encoding. But again, it's rare here. I'd suggest making certain you have adequate cable signal levels over all frequencies; cable techs have a meter to check various bands. Also, a few years back I had bad MPEG-2 breakups during motion and felt certain it was programmers or TWC. Turned out it was a bad converter (SA2000HD) and a newer-model STB fixed the problem. Sometimes the standard cold boot (unplug STB for ~10 secs) fixes such problems. If you can isolate the problem to the cable system, keep bugging them--including a request for a supervisor visit--until it's corrected.

(BTW, rate shaping (http://broadcastengineering.com/aps/acquisition/broadcasting_dtv_digital_cable/index.html), which lessens higher frequencies and boosts cable system bandwidth availability, might cause artifacts under 'stressful conditions' according to that linked article at least. Also, R.S. presumably, contributes to cable's limited maximum horizontal resolution of ~1300 lines, and IMO should be avoided with hybrid fiber/cable systems.) Prefer quality, not quantity. -- John

My attempted recording of the Olympics on 704 last night was completely botched by my 8300. Got home around 9:30 and when I turned the TV on, there were pixels all over the place. Looked at the recorded programs list and it showed the olympics had recorded from 8:00 to 8:03 so I knew something was wrong. When I actually tried to play what it recorded it was a complete mess - jumping randomly from scene to scene w/ pixels everywhere. Couldn't even change the channel and tune back to 704. Gave up and went into the bedroom to watch live. Oh well, at least there weren't any super exciting events that I missed.

My attempted recording of the Olympics on 704 last night was completely botched by my 8300.

Yes, the gremlins are getting restless again. I scheduled both the Olympics (704) and the Dog Show (709) last night for recordings at 8. When I began to watch the Dog Show at about 8:45 it was all crazy. The recording had a second or two of 704 interspersed with 709 and also a blank screen. It settled down and was ok after a moment but this was very strange to see two channels bopping back and forth.

Also, the Dolby Digital conks out regularly, seems to happen when both tuners are set to record simultaneously. I always have to reset the audio.

Also, have been noticing that the hard drive is louder than it’s ever been while viewing and when off. I even have the turn on channel set up as an On Demand as some have suggested. And I even tried to set up the other tuner for an OD channel but it seems to default to one of the music channels. I have never heard the box drone on this loudly. It sounds like I have a Mr. Coffee machine behind my TV.

According to this channel lineup we have WPIX-HD on 711????

and this is from the TWC website

http://www.timewarnercable.com/CustomerService/CLU/TWCCLUs.ashx?ChannelFilter=HDTV&Zip=&CLUID=536

701 HBO
702 CBS-HDTV
703 Showtime-HDTV
704 NBC-HDTV
705 Fox HD
706 Discovery HD Theater
707 ABC-HDTV
708 HD Specials
710 TNT in HD
711 WPIX HDTV
712 HD Specials
713 Thirteen - HDTV
720 HD PPV
721 INHD
722 INHD2
723 HDNet Movies
724 HDNet
725 ESPN HD

Now if we can just get Mets network in HD, or at least the games, I'll be happy. If we don't get SNY in HD, we still have the 2 HD specials channels, but what if the Mets, Yankees and Knicks are all at home. Maybe they can use the HD PPV channel for one?

What about YES HD, is it even available to TWC or does Dolan prevent that. I don't care that much, just wondering what that might say about the possibility of getting SNY.

According to this channel lineup we have WPIX-HD on 711????

and this is from the TWC website

http://www.timewarnercable.com/CustomerService/CLU/TWCCLUs.ashx?ChannelFilter=HDTV&Zip=&CLUID=536

701 HBO
702 CBS-HDTV
703 Showtime-HDTV
704 NBC-HDTV
705 Fox HD
706 Discovery HD Theater
707 ABC-HDTV
708 HD Specials
710 TNT in HD
711 WPIX HDTV
712 HD Specials
713 Thirteen - HDTV
720 HD PPV
721 INHD
722 INHD2
723 HDNet Movies
724 HDNet
725 ESPN HD


This shows up for my zip code as well; I'm at work so I can't but has anyone confirmed if it is or isn't available.
Also thanks for the link to post complaints. I did so last week and recieved a response 2days later. While my comments on missing channels were ignored, and the subject repeatedly changed she did seem eager to want to solve the problem I have with PiP swapping (crashing) I said no thanks this is my third box, the first one where everything else seems to be running smoothly and I don't want to chance it.

Also, the Dolby Digital conks out regularly, seems to happen when both tuners are set to record simultaneously. I always have to reset the audio.



Yes-I find that this is the only time when the Dolby Digital conks out on mine, too,
requiring a reset. :(

This shows up for my zip code as well; I'm at work so I can't but has anyone confirmed if it is or isn't available.

I dunno why its on the web site, I'm not getting WPIX-HD on 711 here in Manhattan.

Now if we can just get Mets network in HD, or at least the games, I'll be happy. If we don't get SNY in HD, we still have the 2 HD specials channels, but what if the Mets, Yankees and Knicks are all at home. Maybe they can use the HD PPV channel for one?

What about YES HD, is it even available to TWC or does Dolan prevent that. I don't care that much, just wondering what that might say about the possibility of getting SNY.

SNY is jointly owned by TWC & Comcast, TWCNYC will get SNY on channel 26 sometime next month. HD version has yet to be determined. I would assume so since it's their channel and UHD is supposedly coming off the lineup.

Cablevision has not announced plans to add SNY.

13 Home Mets Games on WB11-HD we will probably never see.

http://wb11.trb.com/sports/baseball/mets/wpix-metsschedule-2006,0,3545021.htmlstory?coll=wpix-home-4

SNY is jointly owned by TWC & Comcast, TWCNYC will get SNY on channel 26 sometime next month. HD version has yet to be determined. I would assume so since it's their channel and UHD is supposedly coming off the lineup.



Really, it would make no sense to not broadcast their own HD channel in HD. But when has TWCNYC ever made sense?

For the QAM tuner owners, are we still able to watch MSG HD? I turn to 87.3, but getting the signal scrambled message...

Thanks.

HD FOX all messed up for anyone else? seeing massive artifacts/stuttering, etc.

Ruined my 24....

For the QAM tuner owners, are we still able to watch MSG HD? I turn to 87.3, but getting the signal scrambled message...

Thanks.
In the Diagnostics Menu It says "Channel Status: Subscription"
not "Clear to Air" like local channels

HD FOX all messed up for anyone else? seeing massive artifacts/stuttering, etc.

Ruined my 24....

Yes, Fox-HD has been pretty crappy the past weeks. It is so bad, my CC doesn't pick up it up at times. The 8300HD picks up the signal, but the audio cuts out. When I switch to the OTA signal, it is fine.

Regards...JL

My Questions:
1. Any update on MHD
2. Will ESPN2-HD be available in time for March Madness NCAA Basketball or for the start of the Baseball season in April? Or worse, not until the World Cup in June?
3.Any Negotiations taking place with Scripps Network to add Food Network-HD & HGTV-HD when its schedule to launch in Q2 of this year?
4. Any Idea why TWC Divisions can't just eliminate just "1 analog channel" from their basic cable lineup, so that they can have the ability to squeeze 2-3 more HD channels to their lineup. With Switched Digital Video not expected till later in 06' , why can't this tactic be used temporarily?

Response:
1-MHD is part of a larger negotiation with mtv networks that will take many months to conclude.
2-we are hopeful to have espn2hd in time for baseball.
3-scripps has not yet made us a proposal.
4-we are eliminating analog channels when we have the contractual right to do so.

Olympics recording on 704 got messed up again. Same basic problem. Come home, turn on the TV and it's frozen. Look at the recording and it only recorded 2 mins or so despite being an hour in.

I've noticed lots of stuttering on the 720p channels, particuarly 705 lately. Need to reboot my box to get it to work. Otherwise 24 seemed ok this past week.

Really, it would make no sense to not broadcast their own HD channel in HD. But when has TWCNYC ever made sense?
TWC-NYC doesn't broadcast Cinemax in HD, and they own that one......

Go figure.

Olympics recording on 704 got messed up again. Same basic problem. Come home, turn on the TV and it's frozen. Look at the recording and it only recorded 2 mins or so despite being an hour in.

I've noticed lots of stuttering on the 720p channels, particuarly 705 lately. Need to reboot my box to get it to work. Otherwise 24 seemed ok this past week.

Sorry
I had no problem with my 704 recording last night, on my 8300HD.

For the QAM tuner owners, are we still able to watch MSG HD? I turn to 87.3, but getting the signal scrambled message...

Thanks.

I haven't been able to get this for about a year now. They scrambled it last year...

I dunno why its on the web site, I'm not getting WPIX-HD on 711 here in Manhattan.


Perhaps they made a mistake. They meant to put UPN9-HD. I'm getting UPN on my QAM in HD. Not all the shows come in HD but the prime time stuff...

Has diagnostics for the 8300HD changed from pressing both EXIT and SELECT? Nothing happens here. Normally that sequence, twice, tunes channel 1999, diagnostics. Maybe it's time for another cold reboot.

Noticed periodic pauses video/audio while watching CSPAN last night, not as prolonged as HDNet pauses. Perhaps these are the result of time-delayed statistical multiplexing. Statmuxing shifts bandwidth allocation as image motion and details changes between statmuxed channels. But one statmux technique 'looks ahead' to upcoming bandwidth conflicts when lots of detail/motion demands occur simultaneously, then delays signals to avoid these conflicts. Just speculating. -- John

Has diagnostics for the 8300HD changed from pressing both EXIT and SELECT? Nothing happens here. Normally that sequence, twice, tunes channel 1999, diagnostics. Maybe it's time for another cold reboot.

Unrelated: Noticed periodic video/audio pauses while watching CSPAN last night, not as prolonged as HDNet pauses. Perhaps these are the result of time-delayed statistical multiplexing. Statmuxing shifts bandwidth allocation as image motion and details changes between statmuxed channels. But one statmux technique 'looks ahead' to upcoming bandwidth conflicts when lots of detail/motion demands occur simultaneously, then delays signals to avoid these conflicts. Just speculating. -- John

Unrelated: Noticed periodic video/audio pauses while watching CSPAN last night,

Are you sure that isn't just the CSPAN programming? I thought long pauses, little movement and annoying talent was a key part of their concept?

:rolleyes:

Unrelated: Noticed periodic video/audio pauses while watching CSPAN last night, not as prolonged as HDNet pauses. Perhaps these are the result of time-delayed statistical multiplexing. Statmuxing shifts bandwidth allocation as image motion and details changes between statmuxed channels. But one statmux technique 'looks ahead' to upcoming bandwidth conflicts when lots of detail/motion demands occur simultaneously, then delays signals to avoid these conflicts. Just speculating. -- John
I must say that the minor, occasional audio/video pauses I've always gotten have worsend a lot in the last couple of weeks. I wonder if it's a result of them trying to squeeze more channels down the pipe???

My Questions:
1. TWC Corporate has an agreement to carry Universal-HD, Is their any reason why here in NYC it will be removed after the Olympics?

2. Any word on SNY-HD?

3. According to this channel lineup we have WPIX-HD on 711, Is this in the works? Here is the link: http://www.timewarnercable.com/CustomerService/CLU/TWCCLUs.ashx?ChannelFilter=HDTV&Zip=&CLUID=536

Response:
1.Bandwidth limitations affect our ability to add channels. We made provisions to carry Uni HD for the Olympics and are working to see if we can add it to our HD Tier as other Time Warner Cable systems are doing.

2.SportsNet NY HD is also receiving attention. Customers will receive notification when we can confirm its addition to our lineup.

3.The new channel lineups posted for our systems have some errors, of which WPIX HD is one.

http://www.yesnetwork.com/network/news.asp?news_id=1623

May 1 Boston Red Sox 7:05 p.m.
May 2 Boston Red Sox 7:05 p.m.
May 22 Boston Red Sox 7:05 p.m.
May 23 Boston Red Sox 7:05 p.m.
May 24 Boston Red Sox TBD
June 2 Baltimore Orioles 7:05 p.m.
June 3 Baltimore Orioles 4:35 p.m.
June 4 Baltimore Orioles TBD
June 21 Philadephia Phillies 7:05 p.m.
June 22 Philadelphia Phillies 7:05 p.m.
July 3 Cleveland Indians 7:05 p.m.
July 4 Cleveland Indians 6:05 p.m.
July 5 Cleveland Indians 7:05 p.m.
July 6 Cleveland Indians 7:05 p.m.
July 20 Toronto Blue Jays 7:05 p.m.
July 22 Toronto Blue Jays 4:05 p.m.
July 23 Toronto Blue Jays 1:05 p.m.
August 4 Baltimore Orioles 7:05 p.m.
August 5 Baltimore Orioles 4:35 p.m.
August 6 Baltimore Orioles 1:35 p.m.
August 8 Chicago White Sox 8:05 p.m.
August 9 Chicago White Sox 8:05 p.m.
August 10 Chicago White Sox 8:05 p.m.
August 21 Boston Red Sox TBD
September 18 Toronto Blue Jays 7:05 p.m.
September 19 Toronto Blue Jays 7:05 p.m.
September 20 Toronto Blue Jays 7:05 p.m.

Well the 8300 just doesn't want to record the Olympics on 704. For the third straight night last night, the recording didn't work. This time I was at home right as the recording started to see if it would work. I also happened to be recording Survivor on the other tuner (the other two nights, the other tuner wasn't recording anything). As soon as the recording started at 7:59, the image totally froze up and I could not rewind or do anything. So I stopped the recording, changed the channel and then went back to 704 and everything was back to normal. Very frustrating. I decided to cancel my repeating recording and just manually attempt to record tonight's version.

Anyone else having issues w/ recroding the Olympics on 704?

Well the 8300 just doesn't want to record the Olympics on 704. For the third straight night last night, the recording didn't work. This time I was at home right as the recording started to see if it would work. I also happened to be recording Survivor on the other tuner (the other two nights, the other tuner wasn't recording anything). As soon as the recording started at 7:59, the image totally froze up and I could not rewind or do anything. So I stopped the recording, changed the channel and then went back to 704 and everything was back to normal. Very frustrating. I decided to cancel my repeating recording and just manually attempt to record tonight's version.

Anyone else having issues w/ recroding the Olympics on 704?
Have you tried a hard boot (unplug your box, leave it off for 30 seconds, plug it back in)?

If that doesn't help, I'd schedule an appointment to have a TWC tech come out and check your signal strength.

Have you tried a hard boot (unplug your box, leave it off for 30 seconds, plug it back in)?

If that doesn't help, I'd schedule an appointment to have a TWC tech come out and check your signal strength.

Haven't hard booted this week. But I did hard boot this past weekend. Meant to try it last night but didn't want to mess up my Survivor recording. Pretty sure my signal strength is fine - when I had the boxes installed initially they told me I had a very strong signal.

What I haven't gotten around to trying, and maybe I'll test this tonight, is if I have the recording problem on both of my 8300's or just the one I've been using thus far. Obviously I haven't done a great job of troubleshooting the problem but just more curious than anyting else if others have been having issues.

if others have been having issues.


Not to the extent that you’re having.

I annually sign up for Extra Innings, and I noticed on the website that "select games will be broadcast in HD", so what are the odds of them being available on TWC? I'm assuming they would need to setup more HD stations in the 700 range for this, but I somehow don't see it happening.

http://www.yesnetwork.com/network/news.asp?news_id=1623

May 1 Boston Red Sox 7:05 p.m.
May 2 Boston Red Sox 7:05 p.m.
May 22 Boston Red Sox 7:05 p.m.
May 23 Boston Red Sox 7:05 p.m.
May 24 Boston Red Sox TBD
June 2 Baltimore Orioles 7:05 p.m.
June 3 Baltimore Orioles 4:35 p.m.
June 4 Baltimore Orioles TBD
June 21 Philadephia Phillies 7:05 p.m.
June 22 Philadelphia Phillies 7:05 p.m.
July 3 Cleveland Indians 7:05 p.m.
July 4 Cleveland Indians 6:05 p.m.
July 5 Cleveland Indians 7:05 p.m.
July 6 Cleveland Indians 7:05 p.m.
July 20 Toronto Blue Jays 7:05 p.m.
July 22 Toronto Blue Jays 4:05 p.m.
July 23 Toronto Blue Jays 1:05 p.m.
August 4 Baltimore Orioles 7:05 p.m.
August 5 Baltimore Orioles 4:35 p.m.
August 6 Baltimore Orioles 1:35 p.m.
August 8 Chicago White Sox 8:05 p.m.
August 9 Chicago White Sox 8:05 p.m.
August 10 Chicago White Sox 8:05 p.m.
August 21 Boston Red Sox TBD
September 18 Toronto Blue Jays 7:05 p.m.
September 19 Toronto Blue Jays 7:05 p.m.
September 20 Toronto Blue Jays 7:05 p.m.


Thanks for the info, Andy....that's cool! :)

Watching Tennis and it has been great. It is being broadcast on TWC #720 which is listed as HD PPV but it comes in gratis. Audio is just 2/0 but the picture is great!! It is sort of the USA feed with a different logo on the screen.

Hey Joesteam, I have an answer for your 34xbr960 question but that forum is closed and you don't take emails.

Have you tried a hard boot (unplug your box, leave it off for 30 seconds, plug it back in)?

If that doesn't help, I'd schedule an appointment to have a TWC tech come out and check your signal strength.

Yes i was having this problem all i was geting was a gray screen on all recordings.I did a hard boot now every thing is back. Can play all my recordings

Thank you

Angel :cool:

i'm having trouble getting my friends 8300HD to output analog audio. he used to have the audio through HDMI but as his new receiver is having handshake issues we switched to component video, and now he's not getting audio even though analog audio cables are connected. i've gone into the cable box settings and despite switching between 2 channel and Dolby Digital the tv does not get any sound. any suggestions?

Guys I am getting a lot more pauses and drops with my 8300 box than before. I have an HDMI switcher from monoprice and every know and then the screen will go black and I will get no sound. Is there a problem with my box or with my switcher or is this just normal because of the crappy STB hardware we are stuck with.

Also, do you guys know why Desperate Housewives was not shown on HD on channel 707. That really sucked.

Also, do you guys know why Desperate Housewives was not shown on HD on channel 707. That really sucked.

It was HD for me. My GF recorded it and watched it, and when I could tear myself away from work it was certainly in HD. I'm on the UWS.

It was HD for me. My GF recorded it and watched it, and when I could tear myself away from work it was certainly in HD. I'm on the UWS. Definitely was not in HD for the entire episode here in Brooklyn. As soon as Gray's Anatomy started it switched to HD. Strange.

It was HD in Manhattan, downtown.

TM

What's the story with WNET-HD? The video and audio have been out of sync for the past two days. I've seen this on both the CC and 8300HD feeds. Has anyone else expereinced this issue?

TIA...JL

What's the story with WNET-HD? The video and audio have been out of sync for the past two days. I've seen this on both the CC and 8300HD feeds. Has anyone else expereinced this issue?

TIA...JL

Yes im get this. Can any thiing be done?? :confused:

I'm a Boston type heading down to the Big Apple tomorrow and staying in Manhattan through friday. Thought I'd do some museums, tourist traps etc. but what I'd really like to know is what I shouldn't miss in the audio/video realm. Surely, the city that never sleeps must have some boutiques with major setups of pricey audio (Wilson for example) and/or video ( the latest DLPs) Perhaps there are theaters with amazing IMAX, OMNIMAX, holographic, or other visual/auditory wizardry. Can you New Yorkers give me any tips?

thanks,
Mark H

I'm a Boston type heading down to the Big Apple tomorrow and staying in Manhattan through friday. Thought I'd do some museums, tourist traps etc. but what I'd really like to know is what I shouldn't miss in the audio/video realm. Surely, the city that never sleeps must have some boutiques with major setups of pricey audio (Wilson for example) and/or video ( the latest DLPs) Perhaps there are theaters with amazing IMAX, OMNIMAX, holographic, or other visual/auditory wizardry. Can you New Yorkers give me any tips?

thanks,
Mark H

AMC Loews Lincoln Square IMAX
1998 Broadway corner of 66th street

THE SONY STORE
The Sony Plaza
550 Madison Avenue
btw 55th and 56th Streets

Also, do you guys know why Desperate Housewives was not shown on HD on channel 707. That really sucked.

Guys I am getting a lot more pauses and drops with my 8300 box than before. I have an HDMI switcher from monoprice and every know and then the screen will go black and I will get no sound. Is there a problem with my box or with my switcher or is this just normal because of the crappy STB hardware we are stuck with.
DVRed it, on 707 I believe, but noticed it's 4:3 SD from the 8300HD recording. I'm on S. Manhattan head end (midtown), but notice TM ( just above (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7166551&&#post7166551)) got it in HD downtown (?) Noticed some posts in the HD programming forum attributing the mixup to WABC.

Earlier posts above have noted more pauses and freezeups than normal lately. HDNet was/is especially bad. Speculated earlier that the newest bandwidth hogging HD channels might be 'stressing' the system, since statistical multiplexing of channels allocates bandwidth according to MPEGed motion/detail, and some statmuxers delay channels briefly to avoid simultaneous peaking of motion/detail demands. -- John

Quick question:

Are there only 3 boxes currently available for HD through Time Warner?

8300
8300 with DVR
Pioneer

Did i miss any???

There are 4 new SD channels coming March 1, including NBC 4.4 on 732. Nothing new in HD.

Did anybody notice some HD Movies on PPV channel 720

02/25 - 7:00pm - Madagascar
02/26 - 1:30am - Red Eye
02/26 - 8:00pm - Madagascar
02/26 - 9:30pm - War of the Worlds
02/26 - 11:30pm - Red Eye

Hope this is for real.

Did anybody notice some HD Movies on PPV channel 720

02/25 - 7:00pm - Madagascar
02/26 - 1:30am - Red Eye
02/26 - 8:00pm - Madagascar
02/26 - 9:30pm - War of the Worlds
02/26 - 11:30pm - Red Eye

Hope this is for real.

sure would be nice if it is...and you just might have to cross one item off your sig.

There are 4 new SD channels coming March 1, including NBC 4.4 on 732. Nothing new in HD.

good grief...like we need any more useless SD channels. and why do they feel the need to place them in the 700's? are they trying to piss us off?

I'm a Boston type heading down to the Big Apple tomorrow and staying in Manhattan through friday. Thought I'd do some museums, tourist traps etc. but what I'd really like to know is what I shouldn't miss in the audio/video realm. Surely, the city that never sleeps must have some boutiques with major setups of pricey audio (Wilson for example) and/or video ( the latest DLPs) Perhaps there are theaters with amazing IMAX, OMNIMAX, holographic, or other visual/auditory wizardry. Can you New Yorkers give me any tips?

thanks,
Mark H

While you're at the Sony store, don't forget to visit the Sony museum across the hall. Have fun while you're here....

so let me get this straight, TWC owns part of the Sportsnet NY station yet it's going only to digital, not HD? are they going to pull an MSG on us and only offer HOME mets games in HD?

I'm a Boston type heading down to the Big Apple ...what I shouldn't miss in the audio/video realm.
thanks,
Mark H


Samsung Experience
10 Columbus Circle, Time Warner Center (Ha!)

Did anybody notice some HD Movies on PPV channel 720

02/25 - 7:00pm - Madagascar
02/26 - 1:30am - Red Eye
02/26 - 8:00pm - Madagascar
02/26 - 9:30pm - War of the Worlds
02/26 - 11:30pm - Red Eye

Hope this is for real.
Yeah, I noticed this as well. Would be pretty cool if it were for real. Unfortunately, nothing else listed on that channel has come to fruition lately -- I haven't seen any of the "advertised" sporting events on the channel yet.....

I think the only one of those that I'd be interested in is "War Of The Worlds". I saw Madagascar in theaters and it was only fair, even going in with not particularly high expectactions.

good grief...like we need any more useless SD channels. and why do they feel the need to place them in the 700's? are they trying to piss us off?
I think they're putting SD subchannels of the HDTV feeds in the 700s.

Guys I am getting a lot more pauses and drops with my 8300 box than before. I have an HDMI switcher from monoprice and every know and then the screen will go black and I will get no sound. Is there a problem with my box or with my switcher or is this just normal because of the crappy STB hardware we are stuck with.
Try a cold boot. Seriously. I was recently getting lots and lots of drops (many many more than my usual expected amount) for about a week, and after not having cold booted for over a month, I cold-booted the other night and now everything is back to normal.

Wait until you're not recording anything. Unplug the box. Let sit for a few minutes to cool down. Plug it back in. Turn it back on when the clock shows back up. That's it.

Scott

What's the story with WNET-HD? The video and audio have been out of sync for the past two days. I've seen this on both the CC and 8300HD feeds. Has anyone else expereinced this issue?

TIA...JL
Fine in my apartment in Southern Manhattan.

Have you tried a soft reboot (hold down the power button until it says "boot")?

Scott

Yeah, I noticed this as well. Would be pretty cool if it were for real. Unfortunately, nothing else listed on that channel has come to fruition lately -- I haven't seen any of the "advertised" sporting events on the channel yet.....

I think the only one of those that I'd be interested in is "War Of The Worlds". I saw Madagascar in theaters and it was only fair, even going in with not particularly high expectactions.


I've noticed all this too, I wonder how we actually pay to view any of the advertised events and movies, since I just get a silenced picture of the last chaneel I was on when trying to switch to this one

looks like Channel 9 will still exist come this fall
"Fox Television Stations’ WWOR/New York"

http://www.newscorp.com/news/news_277.html

Bureaucrats. I sent an email to TWC requesting that they add The National Geographic Channel to the list of available HD stations. They replied with...

<quote>
If you are requesting a new channel please send a letter with your location and channel request to:

Robert Watson
VP Programming, New Business Development
Time Warner Cable
120 E. 23rd Street 9th Floor
New York, NY 10010
</quote>

I wouldn't waste a stamp on this guy. It's just BS.

I am going to pester them with an email every other day or so until they add NGCHD.

Here is the email address, if you're interested.
support@twcnyc.com

I saw a lot of Motorola HDTV cable box w/DVR available on Ebay. Does anyone know whether I can use it with Time Warner? I am only having basic service now.

Thanks.

I'm trying to help a friend decide what cable service to get. TW has two packages of interest: DTV Intro and DTValue. I can find no details, on their web site, about what channels are included in each. I called customer support, and what they tell me didn't seem to make sense. For example, they said ESPN is not included in the Intro package, and I thought ESPN was included in all but the most basic.

Customer support referred me to the list of channels, but that doesn't seem to indicate which channels are in which package.

Both customer support and the web site say that the Intro package includes 150 channels and the Value package includes 250. I'm trying to figure out just what those extra 100 channels are.

Anybody know?

TIA,
-barry

Actually Bob is a nice and decent guy. He doesn't always respond to emails from us (though he certainly has several time) but personally I think he just doesn't enjoy having to deliver bad news :)

TM

Actually Bob is a nice and decent guy. He doesn't always respond to emails from us (though he certainly has several time) but personally I think he just doesn't enjoy having to deliver bad news :)

TM

I agree

SNY announces Mets regular season telecast schedule

http://www.sny.tv/downloads/2006_02_23_mets_schedule.pdf

Bureaucrats. I sent an email to TWC requesting that they add The National Geographic Channel to the list of available HD stations. They replied with...

<quote>
If you are requesting a new channel please send a letter with your location and channel request to:

Robert Watson
VP Programming, New Business Development
Time Warner Cable
120 E. 23rd Street 9th Floor
New York, NY 10010
</quote>

I wouldn't waste a stamp on this guy. It's just BS.

I am going to pester them with an email every other day or so until they add NGCHD.

Here is the email address, if you're interested.
support@twcnyc.com

All National channels come from TWC corporate & Local Channels like SNY & FSNY would come from our NY division.

For local HD channels - Bob.Watson@twcable.com

For National HD channels - Fred.Dressler@twcable.com

Of corse it doesn't hurt to ask Mr. Watson about National channels and vice/versa.
Just don't Pi$$ anybody off.