TWC in NYC is launching a Family Choice Tier for 12.99, they say it requires a "digital box".

If more of these basic & standard cable subcribers switch over they will have to get a digital box.

That would mean that thier would be alot less analog boxes floating around the city, and hopefully means TWC can get rid of these analog channels sooner rather than later.

I have a question for the OTA HDTV NY area.

I have a brother who lives on the 30th floor near 58th and 9th and points Southeast. On antennaweb it appears he's about 1.5 miles from the tower. Any chance a cheapie $3 Radio Shack UHF bowtie would work for him?

I have a question for the OTA HDTV NY area.



And that's where your question belongs, not here.

NYC Metro HD OTA Thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=275729)

TWC in NYC is launching a Family Choice Tier for 12.99, they say it requires a "digital box".

If more of these basic & standard cable subcribers switch over they will have to get a digital box.

That would mean that thier would be alot less analog boxes floating around the city, and hopefully means TWC can get rid of these analog channels sooner rather than later.


I can't wait for a-la-cart cable! I hope the FCC and Congres pushes this issue. These incompetent cable companies deserves what's coming to them after sticking it to us for so many years.

I would only subscribe to the HD channels. That way, if they want my money they'll have to come up with MORE HD channels.

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.
Unfortunately for us, it seems that all of these programs (plus the NHL Center Ice and NBA "whatever it was called") have disappared from the Ch. 720 listings. Someone must've called and bugged customer service about how to order these things, so they fixed the listing........

has there even been any games available on 720, either NBA or NHL, yet? I called customer service (why i bother I don't know) and they were clueless as usual.

Unfortunately for us, it seems that all of these programs (plus the NHL Center Ice and NBA "whatever it was called") have disappared from the Ch. 720 listings. Someone must've called and bugged customer service about how to order these things, so they fixed the listing........

I can't wait for a-la-cart cable! I hope the FCC and Congres pushes this issue. These incompetent cable companies deserves what's coming to them after sticking it to us for so many years.

I would only subscribe to the HD channels. That way, if they want my money they'll have to come up with MORE HD channels.

I suspect you'll find the HD channels will be way more expensive than SD ones.

There is one overriding fact that everyone should remember: the cable companies are not going to lose money on this deal. Unless they can somehow reduce their costs, they will make sure that they get at least as much revenue with a la carte pricing as with the current tiered system, one way or another. Which basically means that if they get less money from the people who want few channels, they'll have to get more from the people who want a lot. Or people who want the real popular ones.

What's the over-and-under on ESPN-HD? $5/month? $10?

I suspect you'll find the HD channels will be way more expensive than SD ones.

There is one overriding fact that everyone should remember: the cable companies are not going to lose money on this deal. Unless they can somehow reduce their costs, they will make sure that they get at least as much revenue with a la carte pricing as with the current tiered system, one way or another. Which basically means that if they get less money from the people who want few channels, they'll have to get more from the people who want a lot. Or people who want the real popular ones.

What's the over-and-under on ESPN-HD? $5/month? $10?

If I had a la carte, I would get the networks, including TNT and UPN, WPIX 11, ESPN and ESPN2, INHD and HDNET, HBO, NY1, Comedy Central, Food Network, AMC, Turner Classic, IFC, FX, MSNBC, YES and SNY, TVLand, maybe a couple more I'm forgetting.

I really could do without everything else. I don't *think* this would cost what it does now.

I can't wait for a-la-cart cable! I hope the FCC and Congres pushes this issue. These incompetent cable companies deserves what's coming to them after sticking it to us for so many years.

I would only subscribe to the HD channels. That way, if they want my money they'll have to come up with MORE HD channels.


Aren’t you the one with the cheapest cable bill? 20 bucks a month or something? Or was that someone else? If you are-- you’re getting minimal programming now, so naturally buying a couple of more channels is going to give you video nirvana. But you’re not the average cable subscriber. The average cable subscriber is getting over a hundred channels. I’d say I “watch” about 75 per month at one point or another- this includes the music channels.

I am very skeptical on how ala carte will save me money. I feel like I’m going to have to pay for something that I'm already getting for “free” now-- free meaning that it’s incorporated in my package.

There is nothing for me to think that if this gets pushed through that we’re not going to continue to be screwed. But I’m open for more information and more discussions.

Apparently the argument is that, with a la carte pricing, many smaller channels would fold and we would have to pay more for the ones that we actually want. Who knows if that is true? Because the cable companies have a monopoly, they can charge whatever they want now and get away with it.

I have hundreds of channels now on 3 different sets and pay a lot of money to watch perhaps 20 channels - the HD channels plus a few SD ones. If we could really work out a system where we would pay a reasonable amount for just the channels we want, that would be great. At the same time, I would be concerned that only the very popular channels would survive and we would be limited to their programming.

The cynic in me says that there is no way that we are going to save money under this system. It is just a way for the politicians to say that they are giving families the ability to protect their children from sex and violence on tv.

For those of you with the SA 8300HD are any of you successfully running the HDMI through an AV receiver? My friend just purchased a JVC 401S receiver but we can't get the HDMI signal to pass through to the TV. We know it's not the JVC because his new Panny S97 DVD player passes the HDMI just fine. We called TWC and they seem to know about this compatibility issue...but no comment on when or if there will be a fix. :(

For those of you with the SA 8300HD are any of you successfully running the HDMI through an AV receiver? My friend just purchased a JVC 401S receiver but we can't get the HDMI signal to pass through to the TV. We know it's not the JVC because his new Panny S97 DVD player passes the HDMI just fine. We called TWC and they seem to know about this compatibility issue...but no comment on when or if there will be a fix. :(
Yes, this is a commonly-reported issue on this board and this one:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=4456767

...seems to come up about once a week, and yes, the SA8300 (at least at the version everyone seems to be using) has trouble passing HDMI though most recievers. It seems to only like being connected directly to the TV.

A La Carte seems like a great idea...but it's really just the opening shot in the future of TV war, which is about everything IP based like the web and you only pay for what you want. SOme will be free, others will fold. I have a funny feeling that no matter what your cable bill will always be more than it is now. Look at phone service, I can get $29.95 unlimited from Verizon but somehow in the end I spend more for phone service than ever...go figure.

A La Carte seems like a great idea...but it's really just the opening shot in the future of TV war, which is about everything IP based like the web and you only pay for what you want. SOme will be free, others will fold. I have a funny feeling that no matter what your cable bill will always be more than it is now. Look at phone service, I can get $29.95 unlimited from Verizon but somehow in the end I spend more for phone service than ever...go figure.

Lawrence and everyone else,

DON'T be fooled by these $29.95 unlimited pricing plans as they are never $29.95 simply because of local and federal taxes. $29.95 is usually over $40 easy after all these ridiculous fees.

Case in point, my $79.95 a month Verizon voice and unlimited data plan for my Treo 700w is nearly $90 after taxes and fees. Don't get me started with the TWC cable bills....


Paul

Exactly...my Verizon bill is about as close to $30 as my Sirius is to sounding like a CD...

But my Vonage bill is pretty damned close to the actual billed fee. . .

TM

But my Vonage bill is pretty damned close to the actual billed fee. . .

TM

I use Sunrocket. Now granted, this service is not the best, but it WORKS...and i only paid $199 for it...for the YEAR! :p

My 8300's hard drive seems to have lost its disk capacity to record anything but about 4 hours of content, and god forbid if you want to record anything in HD. I get the dreaded message "there is not enough space" message. Is there a reformat or reset option or am I making a trip to 23rd street? :(

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.
Using the search function with my 8300HD, noticed last week that War of the Worlds was listed for the 720 PPV channel at 9:30 pm today. But it has since been replaced by something else; (read earlier like some sports programming). [EDIT: Now, today, it has gone to no programming scheduled. Very flaky!] A program forum thread discusssed PPV delivery of HD WofW on DBS and other cable systems a month+ back. -- John

Did anybody dlese just get a spontaneous boot on their 8300HD at midnight?

Did anybody dlese just get a spontaneous boot on their 8300HD at midnight?

not me

Aren’t you the one with the cheapest cable bill? 20 bucks a month or something? Or was that someone else? If you are-- you’re getting minimal programming now, so naturally buying a couple of more channels is going to give you video nirvana. But you’re not the average cable subscriber. The average cable subscriber is getting over a hundred channels. I’d say I “watch” about 75 per month at one point or another- this includes the music channels.

I am very skeptical on how ala carte will save me money. I feel like I’m going to have to pay for something that I'm already getting for “free” now-- free meaning that it’s incorporated in my package.

There is nothing for me to think that if this gets pushed through that we’re not going to continue to be screwed. But I’m open for more information and more discussions.

Yea, that's me, the cheap one. I pay $13 a month and I get all of the major channels; ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS...etc. in HD. And I also get Discovery in HD.

What you people don't seem to realize is that you bought into the propaganda that the cable channels are disseminating, which is that a la carte will be more expensive. Think about it folks. Would cable companies REALLY look out for the best interest of the consumers? So don't you think that when they tell you something you should do the exact opposite? The reason they're fighting tooth and nail about a la carte is because it will end up being much better for the average consumer and much worse for them.

I think you're the exception rather than the rule. Most people are like me, they only want less than 20 channels because they just can't consume more than that. The fact that many of those channels are free public access channels should mean that the average bill for most people who will choose a la carte will bankrupt the cable companies. That's why they're fighting it. Do you really think that there won't be a huge political backlash if cable companies started charging $10 a channel? Consumers would get their congressman to regulate cable companies if that were to happen. Either way it's a loose-loose situation for the cable companies.

Like I said before, they deserve it for the years of sub-standard service and price gouging.

BTW: I don't have a home phone. I only use my cell phone. I save mucho dinero each month. Remember, I'm cheap. Like what Chuck said, "they will have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands!"

not me
Not me either.

My 8300's hard drive seems to have lost its disk capacity to record anything but about 4 hours of content, and god forbid if you want to record anything in HD. I get the dreaded message "there is not enough space" message. Is there a reformat or reset option or am I making a trip to 23rd street? :(
<broken record>reboot should fix that situation</broken record>. When you reboot, it will often magically reclaim otherwise "lost" space. How the space gets "lost" is anybody's guess....

Scott

Could have been electrical noise. Go get yourself an APC battery or something on your next trip to COMPUSA.

Apparently the argument is that, with a la carte pricing, many smaller channels would fold and we would have to pay more for the ones that we actually want. Who knows if that is true? Because the cable companies have a monopoly, they can charge whatever they want now and get away with it.

I have hundreds of channels now on 3 different sets and pay a lot of money to watch perhaps 20 channels - the HD channels plus a few SD ones. If we could really work out a system where we would pay a reasonable amount for just the channels we want, that would be great. At the same time, I would be concerned that only the very popular channels would survive and we would be limited to their programming.

The cynic in me says that there is no way that we are going to save money under this system. It is just a way for the politicians to say that they are giving families the ability to protect their children from sex and violence on tv.

That rational put out by cable companies is really just plain dumb. Survival of the fittest. If a small channel stinks then it deserves to go away. Many of the channels that are on TWC are not worth a second of anyone's time. How is it that it will hurt us if no one wants those channels to begin with? Why are we subsidizing those loser channels anyway? Market theory says that if a small channel wants to survive it's going to have to fight really hard and come up with some genuine programming that people will want to pay to watch or, they can do as many other free public channels do, sell enough Ads to support themselves and give the channel for free. Either way, we benefit because they won't waste our time or the broadcast bandwidth. I can't tell you how many times in this thread people complain about the crappy SD channels that TWC keeps pumping out while the HD channels that people really want are still not on. With A La Carte, this will no longer be the case. We will vote with our wallets. I will also be happy when the idiot who's in charge of the TWC channel line up is fired for years of not listing to what the customers are asking for. :cool:

Quick question:

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

8300
8300 with DVR
Pioneer

Did i miss any???

Anyone?

That rational put out by cable companies is really just plain dumb. Survival of the fittest. If a small channel stinks then it deserves to go away. Many of the channels that are on TWC are not worth a second of anyone's time. How is it that it will hurt us if no one wants those channels to begin with? Why are we subsidizing those loser channels anyway? Market theory says that if a small channel wants to survive it's going to have to fight really hard and come up with some genuine programming that people will want to pay to watch or, they can do as many other free public channels do, sell enough Ads to support themselves and give the channel for free. Either way, we benefit because they won't waste our time or the broadcast bandwidth. I can't tell you how many times in this thread people complain about the crappy SD channels that TWC keeps pumping out while the HD channels that people really want are still not on. With A La Carte, this will no longer be the case. We will vote with our wallets. I will also be happy when the idiot who's in charge of the TWC channel line up is fired for years of not listing to what the customers are asking for. :cool:

Remember, there are channels nobody watches when they don't have to pay anything extra for them above and beyond what they pay for the things they really want. Those channels would be the first to go. Then there are the channels people watch because they're there, but would never consider paying for. Those will be the next to go. There would be significantly fewer channels competing for bandwidth, but the cableco would know exactly which channels the customers want to watch...
-JMP

Does anyone know how to see how much recording time is available on the 8300? I keep losing shows because the HD is nearly full.

Does anyone know how to see how much recording time is available on the 8300? I keep losing shows because the HD is nearly full.

Are you recording shows in HD? The HD shows take up much more room than SD, 3-4 times as much. I think on the 8300 you can save 20 hours of HD content or 90 hours of SD, if that much. Can anybody else chime in?

If this helps, in the diagnostic settings it shows you how much full vs. free space you have on your drive.

How do I access the diagnostic settings? I'm recording mostly HD.

How do I access the diagnostic settings? I'm recording mostly HD.

Push select and exit on the box, and 611 should come up on the LED. If not, hit 611 on your remote after pushing select+exit on the box.


p.s. You should post these questions on the SA8300 forum :)

Hey guys, Im from Queens new york and i got questions about the SA 3250HD box. I just got it recently and my main concern is when i flip around channels , it seems to lag and i see a gray screen instead of a black screen. how do i get rid of that? thanks

How do I access the diagnostic settings? I'm recording mostly HD.
Here, on S. Manhattan's head end, pressing and holding down (several seconds) SELECT and EXIT simultaneously on my 8300HD front panel makesl 'diag' appear on the panel. Then releasing and pressing both buttons again brings up channel 1999, diagnostics, on its System Summary page. The remote then scrolls the on-screen cursor left/right, up/down through pages. -- John

Hey guys, Im from Queens new york and i got questions about the SA 3250HD box. I just got it recently and my main concern is when i flip around channels , it seems to lag and i see a gray screen instead of a black screen. how do i get rid of that? thanks

The lag is because the box and TV has to adjust for different resolutions and aspect ratios from channel to channel. It is even worse if you are using DVI/HDMI connection I have found.

Wow i didnt know that.....how do i get rid of the gray areas when i flip channels?when i flip around channels , i see a gray screen instead of a black screen. how do i get rid of that? thanks

...when i flip around channels , it seems to lag and i see a gray screen instead of a black screen. how do i get rid of that? thanks


I use the program guide and click on to my next channel from there. I have found that this works more efficiently.

even if i use the program guide to go to my next channel. I still see gray a gray screen beforeing moving onto my next channel.

Is anyone currently using and HDMI switcher with the 8300? I remember earlier on people had trouble getting it to work and I'm wondering if that's still the case.
Thanks

Well, my cable has now crossed the line into unwatchable. For the past 3 weeks I was experiencing mild video dropouts and pixelation that was just plain annoying. But now, alas, I think its time for a service call. Unwatchable. And not the first time this has happened.

Am I alone in my plight?

The lag is because the box and TV has to adjust for different resolutions and aspect ratios from channel to channel. It is even worse if you are using DVI/HDMI connection I have found.

But picture makes up for it eh :D. I have a question, is this UniversalHD channel staying now that the olympics are gone. I hope so.

Don't count on it.

Well, my cable has now crossed the line into unwatchable. For the past 3 weeks I was experiencing mild video dropouts and pixelation that was just plain annoying. But now, alas, I think its time for a service call. Unwatchable. And not the first time this has happened.

Am I alone in my plight?
<broken record>Reboot -- soft boot by holding down the power button until it says "boot", then let go. If that doesn't solve your problem, hard boot by unplugging the power cable the next time you're not recording something. Wait a minute or so, then plug it back in and let it boot.</broken record>

Seriously, most common issues with this box are solvable by this simple solution. My experience is that a soft boot is necessary on at least a weekly basis, and a hard boot is necessary at least on a monthly basis to keep the 8300 running smoothly. Rebooting even more often won't hurt things.

That said, I still can't explain why my 8300 only recorded the 1st 15 minutes of "24" last night when I had more than 24Gb (more than enough for 3 hours worth of HD programming) and nothing else queued to be recorded at that time. I'm not even into the show, but my girlfriend thinks I have a conspiracy against the shows she likes. ;-)

But picture makes up for it eh :D. I have a question, is this UniversalHD channel staying now that the olympics are gone. I hope so.

Its gone. Got a lineup change on my tivo that says so. :confused:

I now see its not gone i have it on right now ???. On my tivo it says 709 UHD deleted. :confused: Will it stay on ???? :rolleyes:

But picture makes up for it eh :D. I have a question, is this UniversalHD channel staying now that the olympics are gone. I hope so.
I (with some amount of futility, I realize) hope so too. While most of the programming on that channel is a complete waste of bandwidth [Knight Rider? please.....; every Jaws sequel, but not the original?], they sneak in a must-see film [Scarface, King Of The Hill, Lost Highway, Babe (?)], beautifually presented (no commercials, uncut for content) just often enough to make it worthwhile.

[QUOTE=scott_bernstein
Seriously,.....soft boot is necessary on at least a weekly basis, and a hard boot is necessary at least on a monthly basis to keep the 8300 running smoothly. Rebooting even more often won't hurt things.
[/QUOTE]

:D Then my box is perfect! :D
I’ve got that terrific auto reboot feature.
No need for me to remember, I’m on auto. :rolleyes:

Wow i didnt know that.....how do i get rid of the gray areas when i flip channels?when i flip around channels , i see a gray screen instead of a black screen. how do i get rid of that? thanks

If you go to the Settings screen and set your output format to only one format, this will fix your problem. You should choose 720p or 1080i depending on what your TV set likes best. Some say that it negatively affects your picture quality (slightly), but I cannot see the difference. Try it and see.

WARNING: Be sure to pick an output format that your TV supports!

-barry

If you go to the Settings screen and set your output format to only one format, this will fix your problem. You should choose 720p or 1080i depending on what your TV set likes best. -barry


He said he has the SA3250. I think that the 3250 does not have the ability to manipulate those settings. I could be wrong; I haven't seen that box in a while.

[QUOTE=scott_bernstein]<broken record>Reboot -- soft boot by holding down the power button until it says "boot", then let go. If that doesn't solve your problem, hard boot by unplugging the power cable the next time you're not recording something. Wait a minute or so, then plug it back in and let it boot.</broken record>

While I understand your frustration, I'm well aware of how and why to reboot. I've certainly tried that a number of times now to no avail. Sorry you feel like you have to be a broken record here.

But what DID work last night for me, which seems to have solved the problem, was deleting a bunch of stuff from the hard drive. I had many, many hours of HD on there via archived LOST episodes and a few 2-hour Frontlines - I'm thinking I might have been close to full. Once I deleted most of it, things were back to normal.

has anyone got this to work in TWCNYC / 3250HD?

that is - recording off the firewire ports to windows xp

While I understand your frustration, I'm well aware of how and why to reboot. I've certainly tried that a number of times now to no avail. Sorry you feel like you have to be a broken record here.

But what DID work last night for me, which seems to have solved the problem, was deleting a bunch of stuff from the hard drive. I had many, many hours of HD on there via archived LOST episodes and a few 2-hour Frontlines - I'm thinking I might have been close to full. Once I deleted most of it, things were back to normal.
Sorry for sounding trite or whatever......

Yes, the 8300 does seem to work better when it's less then full.....

:D Then my box is perfect! :D
I’ve got that terrific auto reboot feature.
No need for me to remember, I’m on auto. :rolleyes:
:D Now, maybe you can tell all of the rest of us how to turn that feature on. :D

Any Mac brainy-acks in TWNY land?

I’m curious, with the arrival of the new Mac Mini today, if it can work with our 8300?
Can this new toy fit into our world?
Can it store HD?

If anyone has answers or can steer me in the right direction...TIA

setting my tv to one setting doesnt fix my gray spots....so far i cant find a solution for my gray spots.

setting my tv to one setting doesnt fix my gray spots....so far i cant find a solution for my gray spots.


Do you mean the the tv going gray for a second every time you change channels (nothing to do with going from HD to non-HD and vice versa)?

There's no way to change that.

I was passing down 6th avenue today and saw the anchormen practicing in front of the cameras.
At first I thought they were broadcasting until I saw nothing on the screens.
16 more days till the launch.
I Guess Channel 720 will carry the HD feed, even though Bob Watson hasn't said anything.

So this dude at work(not the brightest fella) says "I hate my digital cable, whenever a yankees game is on, too many people watch it and the picture comes in all staticy and fuzzy"

I replied that it was pure crap that no way that could happen, then my boss chimed in "it is true, especially with digital cable"

I'm call BS on this, who else agrees with me? NO WAY this is true.

Probably watching it on the analog channel with the coax/composite feed from the box. :)

setting my tv to one setting doesnt fix my gray spots....so far i cant find a solution for my gray spots.
I think that Clairol makes products that may help you with that sort of thing. ;)

So this dude at work(not the brightest fella) says "I hate my digital cable, whenever a yankees game is on, too many people watch it and the picture comes in all staticy and fuzzy"

I replied that it was pure crap that no way that could happen, then my boss chimed in "it is true, especially with digital cable"

I'm call BS on this, who else agrees with me? NO WAY this is true.
False. A digital signal is a digital signal no matter how many people are watching it. "Bits is bits".

On the other hand, the speed of the Roadrunner high speed internet service they offer can be affected by the bandwidth that other people on your node are using.

"News Flash snyhd will be on ch 741 not 720 which will be used for hd ppv starts on 3/16 also on 3/1 driver tv on demand ch 1276 and movie trailers on demand ch 1280"

from http://www.hdtvoice.com/voice/showthread.php?t=24670

also NBC4.4 is on 732 & NY1 On Demand is on 1110

SNY-HD is on 741 in diagnostic mode, no programming yet.

I (with some amount of futility, I realize) hope so too. While most of the programming on that channel is a complete waste of bandwidth [Knight Rider? please.....; every Jaws sequel, but not the original?], they sneak in a must-see film [Scarface, King Of The Hill, Lost Highway, Babe (?)], beautifually presented (no commercials, uncut for content) just often enough to make it worthwhile.

True, and we really need channels added to their HD package already. I wouldnt mind this one, to keep me shut until they add ESPN2-HD, and RUSH-HD ;)

"News Flash snyhd will be on ch 741 not 720 which will be used for hd ppv starts on 3/16 also on 3/1 driver tv on demand ch 1276 and movie trailers on demand ch 1280"

from http://www.hdtvoice.com/voice/showthread.php?t=24670

also NBC4.4 is on 732 & NY1 On Demand is on 1110

Thanks for the info. Mets eh, well I'm a Yankee fan but since the Mets are only about 5-10 minutes away I wont complain about this new HD addition.

... and RUSH-HD ;)
:eek: RUSH-HD??
Never heard of it.
But I’ll “Ditto” that. :cool:

:eek: RUSH-HD??
Never heard of it.
But I’ll “Ditto” that. :cool:

Well both of these are part of the VOOM company:
http://www.rushhd.com/

But actually the soccer games I wanna see in HD are on
http://www.worldsporthd.com

We need sports channels like these :D

We need sports channels like these :D

:rolleyes: Ohhhh…. It’s a sports channel. :p

They actually do look interesting. Hey, the bottom line is, More HD!

I’ll take any new HD channel, although, I’m past those days when I’d happily settle for watching paint dry in HD. There was a time when that would’ve excited me.

"News Flash snyhd will be on ch 741 not 720 which will be used for hd ppv starts on 3/16 also on 3/1 driver tv on demand ch 1276 and movie trailers on demand ch 1280"

from http://www.hdtvoice.com/voice/showthread.php?t=24670

also NBC4.4 is on 732 & NY1 On Demand is on 1110
Based upon this, my guess is 3/16 is when we will lose UHD (if not before).

Based upon this, my guess is 3/16 is when we will lose UHD (if not before).

I agree

Based upon this, my guess is 3/16 is when we will lose UHD (if not before).

On the day it goes out lets all pretend we didn't know and all make calls to customer service complaining that the channel disappeared. Might not do much but make a point that we are all disatisfied.

Could I use my own box on TWC digital cable?

http://www.sny.tv/index.jsp

UniHD (channel 709) showed "The Pianist" last night -- in full widescreen and without logo. Great! Can we count on it now?

UniHD (channel 709) showed "The Pianist" last night -- in full widescreen and without logo. Great! Can we count on it now?
Yes, I must concur that the presentation of The Pianist on UNI-HD was spectacular last night (although the audio on the channel is still only DD 2.0).

Hoping we don't lose this channel in the shuffle.

Any one getting bad audio on 4.4 its terrible

yes the video and audio is out of sync, they should just take this waste of bandwidth off since the PQ is disgusting anyway.

yes the video and audio is out of sync, they should just take this waste of bandwidth off since the PQ is disgusting anyway.
What kind of programming are they showing, anyway? Last night, the guide wasn't listing anything at all.....

What kind of programming are they showing, anyway?

So far some of those morning news segments, interviews & some weekend programs like "Jane's New York".

My Email:
"Mr. Dressler, Can you tell me if their are any updates for these Hd channels?
Are you Still Negotiating, or finalizing agreements?
1.CINEMAX-HD
2.TMC-HD
3.Wealth TV-HD
4.Outdoor Channel 2-HD

Also It was said that Universal-HD will be removed after the Olympics in NYC. I know it's because we have no more available bandwidth. Why exactly is the ETA of Switched Digital Video for NYC such a secret. I know that Digital Simulcast has been completed but I can't get information on when SDV will be active in NYC?"

Response:
"cinemax is almost done, tmc is done, and neither wealth nor outdoor are in the works. i don't know the schedule for SDV. the local systems are making that call"

SNY-HD - Arriving on 3/16 on channel 741
FSNY-HD - No word
WB-HD - No word
UPN-HD - No word
Movies On Demand-HD - No Word

ESPN2-HD - hopeful to have espn2hd in time for baseball.
STARZ-HD - End of the year at the earliest
CINEMAX-HD – is almost done
TMC-HD - is done
Wealth TV-HD - are not in the works
Outdoor Channel 2-HD – are not in the works
MHD (MTV) - will take many months to conclude.
National Geographic-HD - No Word
Food Network-HD - Scripps has not yet made us a proposal.
HGTV-HD - Scripps has not yet made us a proposal.

CINEMAX-HD – is almost done
TMC-HD - is done


What's the point in asking about the contractual status if TWCNYC doesn't actually carry all of the channels they are contractually permitted to carry? We don't even get Cinemax-HD, which is owned by Time Warner and has never had contractual issues blocking TWC from carrying it.

As far as I'm concerned, a channel is done when it's on the air.

After 3 years of asking for information on the addition of HD channels, I'm tired of hearing the bandwidth excuse. Analog-only subscribers use more of TWC's resources yet pay less money, and in doing so hog the bandwidth that could otherwise be used to give more HD channels to digital cable customers who pay more for service.

At least we're finally getting some Mets games in HD this year. Again, after years of contractual issues and lack of bandwidth excuses. It merely added insult to injury that MSG-HD was only added after the end of the Mets' final season on MSG.

TWC has a long way to go if they want to convince me that they actually care about my business. Everyone should make sure that your local member of the City Council knows how you feel over the next 2 years. TWC's franchise expires on September 16, 2008. It's up to the city to dictate service guarantees...
-JMP

Amen :)

TM

Still getting the "unrecordable channel" message when I try to set my 8300HD to record the Rangers game on 712 tomorrow. This issue makes me the most angry with TWC. Even if they were to broadcast a pay per view program on this channel I fail to see how my recording a screen that said "call your cable company to order" would cause them any problems. Really, is there any reason that I shouldn't be able to set my box to record this channel in advance? Why is it that nobody from TWC can explain why this problem exists, or why it can't be resolved? Having to ensure that someone is home by 7pm on the night of every home Rangers game is just rediculous. I think it's time I demanded that TWC start crediting me for a DVR that doesn't work as advertised. I understand it's just one show, but to me it's the most important one that I am forced to miss in HD.

Even thought I have NHL Hockey & NBA Basketball on 712 ae well as NBA Basketball on 708 set up as a series recording, it doesn't work all the time.
Sometimes it records it sometimes it doesn't, sometime it starts recording the event 2hrs late which is absolutely retarded. I gave up a while ago.

But I'm begining to think that they turn the channels (708 & 712) off becuase of a little thing called "Rate Shapping". If they are off then those Mbps are given to other programs improving PQ of other channels.
Just a thought.

Why doesn't TWC offer YES or MSG in HD in the Hudson Valley but carry it in NYC?

Why doesn't TWC offer YES or MSG in HD in the Hudson Valley but carry it in NYC?

I don't know, probably because that cable system doesn't have anymore bandwidth to add them. I know that here in NYC we our system is 860MHz.
Others might be 750MHz. Try and find that out.

kinda messed up though.

Even thought I have NHL Hockey & NBA Basketball on 712 ae well as NBA Basketball on 708 set up as a series recording, it doesn't work all the time.
Sometimes it records it sometimes it doesn't, sometime it starts recording the event 2hrs late which is absolutely retarded. I gave up a while ago.

But I'm begining to think that they turn the channels (708 & 712) off becuase of a little thing called "Rate Shapping". If they are off then those Mbps are given to other programs improving PQ of other channels.
Just a thought.


I've noticed that setting any recording on 712 and 708 is tricky.
You can only actually set to record if the channel is showing something at the time.

I usually try to force update the guide for the whole week every time a game is on and i am home for it. As long as the box doesn't do any reboot (... insert laugh here...), then you're all set.
But as soon as you change anything on the box (guide updated, add/remove recording), then you'll lose it if the channel isn't active...
Thats why i think it sometimes starts late - some update triggers the recording...

I would guess the problem is the box software being abused a bit by time warner, causing unexpected results... I'm sure theres a way to program the box to allow programming to record properly on these channels - they're just to lazy to care to figure it out.

Still getting the "unrecordable channel" message when I try to set my 8300HD to record the Rangers game on 712 tomorrow. This issue makes me the most angry with TWC. Even if they were to broadcast a pay per view program on this channel I fail to see how my recording a screen that said "call your cable company to order" would cause them any problems. Really, is there any reason that I shouldn't be able to set my box to record this channel in advance? Why is it that nobody from TWC can explain why this problem exists, or why it can't be resolved? Having to ensure that someone is home by 7pm on the night of every home Rangers game is just rediculous. I think it's time I demanded that TWC start crediting me for a DVR that doesn't work as advertised. I understand it's just one show, but to me it's the most important one that I am forced to miss in HD.

I'm new to this DVR, but does anyone who had it last year know if this issue is the same for the HD broadcasts of YES Yankee games on TWCNYC? If so, that's gonna drive me nuts.

I'm new to this DVR, but does anyone who had it last year know if this issue is the same for the HD broadcasts of YES Yankee games on TWCNYC? If so, that's gonna drive me nuts.

Yup 708 is YES HD - it applies to the Yankees as well (but they have games more often, so its not as big of an issue as it is for the other sports)

I'm new to this DVR, but does anyone who had it last year know if this issue is the same for the HD broadcasts of YES Yankee games on TWCNYC? If so, that's gonna drive me nuts.

I was able to record the 708 Yankee games last year. Has something changed?

also prayer channel which previously only available in BQ is now on 97

"News Flash snyhd will be on ch 741 not 720 which will be used for hd ppv starts on 3/16 also on 3/1 driver tv on demand ch 1276 and movie trailers on demand ch 1280"

from http://www.hdtvoice.com/voice/showthread.php?t=24670

also NBC4.4 is on 732 & NY1 On Demand is on 1110

last year TWC never turned channel 708 off.
That channel was gray untill YES-HD programming came on, now they turn it on & off.

city can dictate service guar. but not what channels are carried. at end of the day twc is a business and programming and the equipment needed to carry it costs $. overall twc remains competitive. we can't carry every channel you demand.



What's the point in asking about the contractual status if .

TWC has a long way to go if they want to convince me that they actually care about my business. Everyone should make sure that your local member of the City Council knows how you feel over the next 2 years. TWC's franchise expires on September 16, 2008. It's up to the city to dictate service guarantees...
-JMP

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 don't think there is an american cable company that will activate ebay bought boxes. motorola boxes are bigger in size and inferior to sa boxes anyway. few twc systems have motorola boxes

passport will be eliminated in ny/nj by mid year for an internally developed navigator

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

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)


depending on how many lives games are on msg2 and fsn2 may preempt cspan2 or tvguide

Even thought I have NHL Hockey & NBA Basketball on 712 ae well as NBA Basketball on 708 set up as a series recording, it doesn't work all the time.
Sometimes it records it sometimes it doesn't, sometime it starts recording the event 2hrs late which is absolutely retarded. I gave up a while ago.

But I'm begining to think that they turn the channels (708 & 712) off becuase of a little thing called "Rate Shapping". If they are off then those Mbps are given to other programs improving PQ of other channels.
Just a thought.
I think this is because they keep turning those channels off and on specifically for certain programming. Not sure what advantage it gives them, other than to play "roulette" with the limited bandwidth that they have, but I do think they are doing something "tricky" to make this work. So, I'm not surprised that their tricks are confusing the boxes.

I think the only thing that might change this is to call Time Warner to complain, but you must refuse to be satisifed by just talking to the front-line customer service reps telling them that it's not just your box that needs to be changed out for a new one, that it's a consistent problem that everyone is having, and insisting to talk to supervisors until you can actually speak to someone who will actually try recording one of the games themselves and see it fail.

The thing is, we pay for the boxes so that they will record any of channels that they provide -- not just certain ones, and an argument can be made that the most important channel of all to you is the one that shows your favorite sports team!

passport will be eliminated in ny/nj by mid year for an internally developed navigator
Thanks for the updates…
What will this mean for us?
Will we be able to hook up external hard drives?
Any info regarding the multi room DVR boxes??
TIA

passport will be eliminated in ny/nj by mid year for an internally developed navigator
Wow, that is huge news. Possibly, but not necessarily good, though. Think about it -- what's the chance that TWC will develop more bug-free software than Passport????

Thanks for the updates…
What will this mean for us?
Will we be able to hook up external hard drives?
Any info regarding the multi room DVR boxes??
TIA
Will we need new boxs? Or will they download it? :confused:

Will we need new boxs? Or will they download it? :confused:
Nope, I would guess not, as that would be a huge undertaking on their part. Our boxes can run any application that Time Warner wants them to.....

Nope, I would guess not, as that would be a huge undertaking on their part. Our boxes can run any application that Time Warner wants them to.....


This scares me.
once the change goes through I can see hdmi problems, dolby digital problems and me having to go to 23rd street repreatedly to get a box that works - had to do this several months ago when I first got the hd box

When getting new cable Box from TW, and having them delivering it. Can you place in the notes to the installer to request a paticular box (SA8300HD..pioneer etc) and also I am getting a PIO TV deleivered next week and i was going to go with two HDMI ports for both cable box and DVD player. Any problems with quality? some said HDMI problems in the past, just wondering

Thanks people.

city can dictate service guar. but not what channels are carried. at end of the day twc is a business and programming and the equipment needed to carry it costs $. overall twc remains competitive. we can't carry every channel you demand.

Yes, but the city is within their rights to force TWC to significantly improve the quality of service. It would not be out of line for the city to neglect to enforce certain regulations they are allowed to enforce in exchange for TWC agreeing to terms that the city can't official force them into.

Take a look at http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/csgen.html for information about what the city can really get TWC to do. The points that stand out to me are:
A call to a cable system must be answered -- including time the caller is put on hold -- within 30 seconds after the connection is made. If the call is transferred, the transfer time may not exceed 30 seconds. Also, cable system customers may receive a busy signal no more than three percent of the time. Although no special equipment is required to measure telephone answering and hold time, cable operators should use their best efforts in documenting compliance. These requirements must be met 90 percent of the time, measured quarterly, under normal operating conditions.I can't remember ever being on a phone call with TWC with a hold time of less than 10 minutes, and my average experience is more like 30. Transfers never happen in less than 30 seconds as required by law. I can't imagine that TWC actually conforms to this 90 percent of the time. It would be exceptionally expensive for them to implement real compliance with this law.

The cable operator must begin to correct other service problems the next business day after learning of them. Cable operators may schedule appointments for installations and other service calls either at a specific time or, at a maximum, during a four-hour time block during normal business hours. Cable operators may also schedule service calls outside of normal business hours for the convenience of the customer. No appointment cancellations are permitted after the close of business on the business day prior to the scheduled appointment. If the cable installer or technician is running late and will not meet the specified appointment time, he or she must contact the customer and reschedule the appointment at the convenience of the subscriber. These requirements concerning installations, outages and service calls must ordinarily be met at least 95 percent of the time, measured quarterly, under normal operating conditions.This is almost laughable. Every time I've had a service issue that requires an appointment, TWC never seems to have availability for the next business day. Again, imagine the costs to them if they were actually required to conform to this law.

Is it too much to ask that the city force TWC to conform to those FCC regulations that the city is empowered to enforce as the franchise granting authority?
-JMP

This scares me.
once the change goes through I can see hdmi problems, dolby digital problems and me having to go to 23rd street repreatedly to get a box that works - had to do this several months ago when I first got the hd box

And what are the odds that when they switch software, it'll use a different format for storing shows on the HD, forcing us to lose everything we've got stored when the transition happens...
-JMP

When getting new cable Box from TW, and having them delivering it. Can you place in the notes to the installer to request a paticular box (SA8300HD..pioneer etc) and also I am getting a PIO TV deleivered next week and i was going to go with two HDMI ports for both cable box and DVD player. Any problems with quality? some said HDMI problems in the past, just wondering

Thanks people.

Nope. Having a work order that says you want an HD-DVR installed won't even guarantee that the installer will show up with an HD-DVR in his truck. Asking for a specific model is a level of service that TWC is thoroughly uninterested in providing...
-JMP

twcinsider, any news on Switched Digital Video here in NYC?

And what are the odds that when they switch software, it'll use a different format for storing shows on the HD, forcing us to lose everything we've got stored when the transition happens...
-JMP
Actually, the Passport application probably has very little to do with the underlying system and how it stores the files. My guess is that if TWC doesn't want to deal with a complete revolt on their hands, they will set it up so that people don't lose their recorded programs. As a software developer myself, one of the first things rational developers plan for when installing new software is how to migrate data from the old system.

Of course, there is no reason to believe that TWC will be rational in their development. ;-)

Nope. Having a work order that says you want an HD-DVR installed won't even guarantee that the installer will show up with an HD-DVR in his truck. Asking for a specific model is a level of service that TWC is thoroughly uninterested in providing...
-JMP

....which is why it's probably a MUCH more efficient use of your time to just go to 23rd St. to get your new box. You'll waste some time, but you won't have to leave a 4 (or is it 6?) hour window waiting at home for an installer that won't have the right box anyway, requiring a 2nd window of time waiting at home for the installer to come with the correct box.

....which is why it's probably a MUCH more efficient use of your time to just go to 23rd St. to get your new box. You'll waste some time, but you won't have to leave a 4 (or is it 6?) hour window waiting at home for an installer that won't have the right box anyway, requiring a 2nd window of time waiting at home for the installer to come with the correct box.


I agree with you guys. Time is what I don't really have a lot of, so I guess it will be off to 23rd this week. BTW I wanted to return my old cable box and keep the DVR I have already at home. So basically have two DVRs in the house. Is that a problem with TW?

.... As a software developer myself...
Of course, there is no reason to believe that TWC will be rational in their development. ;-)

Scott,
Do you think that this new Passport replacing software will enable the external drive?

This and the multi-room DVR functionality are paramount issues for me.
I would love to see these implemented.

My thoughts (just a guess) regarding this new software are that it is just a method to get advertisements into a revamped program guide. It has to be about more money flowing in, not any increase in services for us. But that’s just my speculation.

personally i've always had success getting someone on the phone in short order. the problem is that they can't usually do anything about the problem i'm calling about. i've even been able to get tech guys try to record a future show on 712 on their box to no avail...but never have i received a satisfactory answer as to why.

personally i've always had success getting someone on the phone in short order. the problem is that they can't usually do anything about the problem i'm calling about. i've even been able to get tech guys try to record a future show on 712 on their box to no avail...but never have i received a satisfactory answer as to why.

But the rules also state that if a customer is transferred, that it should take no more than 30 seconds. Every time I speak to someone at TWC and start with someone entirely clueless, I ask that they transfer me to someone who can help with my problem, and specifically request that they get said person on the line in 30 seconds or less. My average hold time in such cases is 10 minutes.

I find it very hard to believe that my phone experiences with TWC could be too far from the average. The average certainly doesn't conform to the 30 seconds mandated by the FCC.
-JMP

CINEMAX-HD – is almost done
TMC-HD - is done


Hi Andy,
When can we then expect this? Is it the 'ole bandwdith issue again? :mad:
Any HD channel is a welcome addition, though IMO, StarzHD is better than both.
I'm really happy about the SNY-HD though.:D :D :D

Thanks,
Jose.

Hi Andy,
When can we then expect this? Is it the 'ole bandwdith issue again? :mad:
Any HD channel is a welcome addition, though IMO, StarzHD is better than both.
I'm really happy about the SNY-HD though.:D :D :D

Thanks,
Jose.

Our TWC of NYC is very secretive. If TWC Corporate makes these channel available we might not get it because we have been told for years about bandwidth limitations.
But who knows, they might magically find the space and make everyones day.

From LonghornXP
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=51362&page=4

"I called Fred and this is what I was told should be coming soon.

TMC HD within weeks (deal is done so weeks is the launching of it on the various systems).

Cinemax HD is expected to have a deal in a couple of weeks.

ESPN2 HD will be done before the start of baseball.

MTV HD and NGC HD are being worked on but no ETA yet but we might see them before or around the summer.

Starz HD and Starz On Demand will be at least 4th QT of 2006 wait.

I hope this helps you all out."

From LonghornXP
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=51362&page=4

"I called Fred and this is what I was told should be coming soon.

TMC HD within weeks (deal is done so weeks is the launching of it on the various systems).

Cinemax HD is expected to have a deal in a couple of weeks.

ESPN2 HD will be done before the start of baseball.

MTV HD and NGC HD are being worked on but no ETA yet but we might see them before or around the summer.

Starz HD and Starz On Demand will be at least 4th QT of 2006 wait.

I hope this helps you all out."
But that's TWC national, not TWC NYC. In the past, there has often been a lag between TWC national having a contract to carry an HD channel and TWC NYC carrying the channel. All this tells us is that NYC will have the contractual rights from national to carry the channels. It doesn't tell us when we might see them.

As an example, TWC national had a deal in place nationally to carry Fox Sports Net HD a couple of years ago. This deal didn't apply to TWC NYC and FSNY-HD. More recently, NBCUni-HD has had a contract with TWC national for a while now, but TWC NYC only started carrying it for the Olympics (and might drop it any minute now to make room for something else).

As I said before, I don't care about whether or not TWC NYC has contractual rights to carry a channel. I care about whether or not TWC NYC is actually going to carry that channel. Their track record tells me that the former list has very little to do with the latter.

Furthermore, the fact that TWC hasn't had a contract in place for Cinemax HD tells me a great deal about just how disfunctional Time Warner is as a company. One might think that negotiations between Time Warner owned channels and Time Warner Cable would be reasonably non-confrontational, since both simply want to maximize profits for the mothership. If TWC can't even negotiate carriage rights for all of its corporate siblings, why would we expect them to be able to conduct negotiations that are at all confrontational?
-JMP

But that's TWC national, not TWC NYC. In the past, there has often been a lag between TWC national having a contract to carry an HD channel and TWC NYC carrying the channel. All this tells us is that NYC will have the contractual rights from national to carry the channels. It doesn't tell us when we might see them.

As an example, TWC national had a deal in place nationally to carry Fox Sports Net HD a couple of years ago. This deal didn't apply to TWC NYC and FSNY-HD. More recently, NBCUni-HD has had a contract with TWC national for a while now, but TWC NYC only started carrying it for the Olympics (and might drop it any minute now to make room for something else).

As I said before, I don't care about whether or not TWC NYC has contractual rights to carry a channel. I care about whether or not TWC NYC is actually going to carry that channel. Their track record tells me that the former list has very little to do with the latter.

Furthermore, the fact that TWC hasn't had a contract in place for Cinemax HD tells me a great deal about just how disfunctional Time Warner is as a company. One might think that negotiations between Time Warner owned channels and Time Warner Cable would be reasonably non-confrontational, since both simply want to maximize profits for the mothership. If TWC can't even negotiate carriage rights for all of its corporate siblings, why would we expect them to be able to conduct negotiations that are at all confrontational?
-JMP

Easy, easy. I'm posting this to inform people about questions they have. If you don’t care, fine. All I know that it will never show up here in NYC if Corporate doesn’t sign the contracts and that’s the news that I have been spreading all over various forums all weekend. As a matter of fact, I’m taking a break. I’ve been killing myself for weeks getting info.

Does anyone know whether the SNY HD will be in the clear channel?

ESPN2 HD will be done before the start of baseball.


That would be around about 4 PM this afternoon for me. :(

I'm posting this to inform people .... I’ve been killing myself for weeks getting info.
:cool: And your scoops are appreciated.

I think that we all have understandable legitimate frustration with TW-- not any individual s here. Last year we were fed cow dung via BW’s office regarding the WB coming soon —WTF? Where’s it at? Hiding out in a swamp with that frog they used to employ?

They take our money knowing that we really have no other choices and then they don’t honor their end of the deal.

I can't seem to get a clear picture on this subject.

I'm getting my Pio plasma this friday. Really worked hard to get it. I was planning to hook up 1 HDMI from the DVD to the TV and the 2nd one to the box I'm getting this friday. SA 8300 DVR version.

Do you forsee any problems with this setup. Also are there any definite setup features in the box I should have it set to.

Thanks

I can't seem to get a clear picture on this subject.

I'm getting my Pio plasma this friday. Really worked hard to get it. I was planning to hook up 1 HDMI from the DVD to the TV and the 2nd one to the box I'm getting this friday. SA 8300 DVR version.

Do you forsee any problems with this setup. Also are there any definite setup features in the box I should have it set to.

Thanks


I've got the same set up-- Pioneer plasma (5060) w/ the 8300. I found the component video connection w/ the box just as sharp as HDMI and less buggy. You might want to save yourself the hassle of the "handshake" issues others have had w/ the HDMI connection. HDMI w/ the DVD is a must, though.

Also, make sure the box is set to widescreen tv; and stretch 4:3 picture (this allows you to utilize the Pioneer's stretch modes on standard 4:3 broadcasts, essential to avoid burn-in. Other than that, under "other settings", I set the "output format" to pass through the original signal by selecting outputs 480i, 720p, and 1080i. I don't select 480p, because then all 480i signals are converted to 480p by the cable box before being sent to the tv.

I've got the same set up-- Pioneer plasma (5060) w/ the 8300. I found the component video connection w/ the box just as sharp as HDMI and less buggy. You might want to save yourself the hassle of the "handshake" issues others have had w/ the HDMI connection. HDMI w/ the DVD is a must, though.

Also, make sure the box is set to widescreen tv; and stretch 4:3 picture (this allows you to utilize the Pioneer's stretch modes on standard 4:3 broadcasts, essential to avoid burn-in. Other than that, under "other settings", I set the "output format" to pass through the original signal by selecting outputs 480i, 720p, and 1080i. I don't select 480p, because then all 480i signals are converted to 480p by the cable box before being sent to the tv.

Thanks.

Definetly appreciated. I have seen that the PURE setting for the elites are pretty close to accurate. I know I don't have that option (4360) but is there something close to that option to chose?

Scott,
Do you think that this new Passport replacing software will enable the external drive?
I have no inside information about the purported Passport replacement. For all I know, we could very well wind up with less functionality after the "upgrade".....

Our TWC of NYC is very secretive. If TWC Corporate makes these channel available we might not get it because we have been told for years about bandwidth limitations.
But who knows, they might magically find the space and make everyones day.
The one thing in the positive column of TWC-NYC possibly adding TMC/MAX/STZ-HD is that they are premium channels, and while we can't specifically pay for those channels alone, there is the chance that it will raise premium subscription rates among us HD-fanatics, myself included.

Not that TWC-NYC will necessarily care, nor will they necessarily make any logical decisions on this matter or any other. ;)

But the rules also state that if a customer is transferred, that it should take no more than 30 seconds. Every time I speak to someone at TWC and start with someone entirely clueless, I ask that they transfer me to someone who can help with my problem, and specifically request that they get said person on the line in 30 seconds or less. My average hold time in such cases is 10 minutes.

I find it very hard to believe that my phone experiences with TWC could be too far from the average. The average certainly doesn't conform to the 30 seconds mandated by the FCC.
-JMP
This conforms to my experience exactly -- the last time I had an issue I had to call 3 times, and each time had to speak with 3 unique individuals with an average hold time of 10 minutes for each -- adding up to 30 minutes per call. That's an hour and a half of my life that I'll never get back! :(

From insider's post it almost sounds like TWC-NYC (as opposed to TWC) is developing the passport replacement. If so, I have no choice but to take it as terrible news until proven otherwise.

That said, I find it odd that he'd (she'd) post it if he weren't pretty proud of it... We'll see I guess.

TM

Recall twcinsider's post several months back sugesting that TWC's introduction of switched broadcasting (http://www.bigbandnet.com/news/inTheNews/2005/news_053105a.php) (SB) slated for '06 at some locations (nationwide), might be applied here to providing a Bangladesh channel, as one example, rather than more HD.

Field testing in Austin revealed subscribers couldn't tell when SB was taking place, as opposed to conventionally feeding all channels, all the time, to all STBs. So...tried examining the many foreign subscription 500-series channels in 8300HD diagnostics, looking for anything different. Free 500-series channels (with video) seem like all the others, but only checked for channel frequency changes.

Also noticed we still can't enter HD channel numbers in diagnostics to check what frequencies they're using, or how many channels/frequency slot. How were some tuning WWOR HD (709) in diagnostics before it became UNIHD at 709, and what hidden channels, if any, are still tunable this way? [EDIT: Notice I can tune a HD channel without diagnostic on, then enter 1999, and apparently the HD channel frequency appears on the tuning page.]

(After holding down EXIT/SELECT 8300Hd front panel buttons until 'diag' appears, then releasing and pressing them again, my STB tunes to diagnostics channel 1999. But several days later it tunes by just entering 1999 with the remote. I exit diagnostics (partially, it appears), while the screen cursor is in the left page menu column, by entering any active-channel number, or by pressing the remote's SYSTEM button off/on.) -- John

The HDMI audio option on my settings for SA 8300 vanished last week. TW tells me it cant do HDMI audio. Ive also had problems synching video, and when I connect the SA 8300 directly to DVI on my projector, all the digital sound turns off when projector is not active.
Has anyone figured out the HDMI on the NYC TW SA 8300?

Got a Sharp 37 d7u which has a cable card slot which I hoped to us. But if I use it I loose the TWC program guide. Sharp like most HDtvs has TVGuide on screen. But TWC has in its wisdom locked out the TVGOS decryption on the cable card. Am I really stuck with using the cable set box if I want on-screen program guide?

[QUOTE=Dossier]The HDMI audio option on my settings for SA 8300 vanished last week. TW tells me it cant do HDMI audio. Ive also had problems synching video, and when I connect the SA 8300 directly to DVI on my projector, all the digital sound turns off when projector is not active.
Has anyone figured out the HDMI on the NYC TW SA 8300?[/QU

I dont know why you were told that i got HDMI from the start on my 8300HD box. I still get HDMI auido out :cool: ON my setting i get HDMI D.D and two channel only

The HDMI audio option on my settings for SA 8300 vanished last week. TW tells me it cant do HDMI audio. Ive also had problems synching video, and when I connect the SA 8300 directly to DVI on my projector, all the digital sound turns off when projector is not active.
Has anyone figured out the HDMI on the NYC TW SA 8300?
If the TV is not using the HDMI connection, the HDMI audio option does not appear. So, for example, if you are connected via both HDMI & component simultaneously and you swap your input choice on your TV to "Component" instead of "HDMI", the HDMI audio option will disappear. HDMI is a 2 way connection, so the cable box knows when the TV is/isn't using it. This is also how it knows to turn the box off when the TV is turned off (when connected via HDMI)....

where is the ranger game? Its not on 712 again! this sucks! :mad:

where is the ranger game? Its not on 712 again! this sucks! :mad:
I'm pretty sure they only do home games in HD right now.

where is the ranger game? Its not on 712 again! this sucks! :mad:

MSG-HD only shows home games and select road games (this is the case for any city's sports channel that does HD)

I have to say I'm not very excited about this new "TWC developed" software. All in all passport is pretty good and I can't even imagine how many bugs an entirely new software platform would introduce. I also agree w/ a previous poster who mentioned that they wouldn't be surprised if we saw ads and other revenue generators in the guide, etc. That would drive me crazy. Used to have RCN and the Motorola boxes had that awful interface w/ ads all over the place.

Maybe the HD CC Tivo will be out by then and this will be an added motivation to get one of those.

But I gotta say, I'm not looking forward to this "upgrade"

Question.

Is channel 712 the only channel that is used when the Knicks, Rangers, and Yankees need to be viewed in HD? I just signed onto TWC last week and went through hell week with missing channels, etc etc. Got it fixed last night until I went to channel 712 and it was asking me to call for a subscription? Just the other night I was watching the Rangers game on there in HD.

Question is, does that "call for a subscription" display when TWC is not showing the home teams in HD? When I called last night the rep told me there was no home game and it was normal to see that and that it would go away when the next home game was televised. That sounded a little far fetched to me. Figured I would ask in this forum since there are some MSG HD viewers here.

TIA.

Question.

Is channel 712 the only channel that is used when the Knicks, Rangers, and Yankees need to be viewed in HD? I just signed onto TWC last week and went through hell week with missing channels, etc etc. Got it fixed last night until I went to channel 712 and it was asking me to call for a subscription? Just the other night I was watching the Rangers game on there in HD.

Question is, does that "call for a subscription" display when TWC is not showing the home teams in HD? When I called last night the rep told me there was no home game and it was normal to see that and that it would go away when the next home game was televised. That sounded a little far fetched to me. Figured I would ask in this forum since there are some MSG HD viewers here.

TIA.

When there is no programming on HD Specials712, the subscription message will be displayed.

Hope this helps...JL

Thank you very much, it does.

Great forum btw!!

If the TV is not using the HDMI connection, the HDMI audio option does not appear. So, for example, if you are connected via both HDMI & component simultaneously and you swap your input choice on your TV to "Component" instead of "HDMI", the HDMI audio option will disappear. HDMI is a 2 way connection, so the cable box knows when the TV is/isn't using it. This is also how it knows to turn the box off when the TV is turned off (when connected via HDMI)....
You are right. I have my HDMI from my 8300HD to my 34xbr-960 t.v.That way i get HDMI option.If i use component out i dont. :cool:

I've been experiencing audio problems with WABC-HD/707 since this morning. There are drop outs and occasionally, a low pitch tone. There also appears to be audio crossover in the background. It happens on my CC and 8300HD. Anyone else?

TIA....JL

I am planning to pick up an HDTV box from one of the Time Warner Center locations. I already have a reg dvr SA 8000 box from them, and I want to keep my DVR box and just return the reg box I have currently in the bedroom. That shouldn't be a problem right?

Also, I plan to go to the one in upper manhattan. How long is the process to get a new box from them

Thanks.

I am planning to pick up an HDTV box from one of the Time Warner Center locations. I already have a reg dvr SA 8000 box from them, and I want to keep my DVR box and just return the reg box I have currently in the bedroom. That shouldn't be a problem right?

Also, I plan to go to the one in upper manhattan. How long is the process to get a new box from them

Thanks.

As long as you have a DTV STB, it shouldn't be a problem. If not, they might require a tech visit.

Good luck....JL

Not sure how the office in upper Manhattan is, but the office at Queens Center Mall is fast and easy to go in, get a number, wait a couple of minutes and presto, trade in the cable box for the latest one.

Not sure how the office in upper Manhattan is, but the office at Queens Center Mall is fast and easy to go in, get a number, wait a couple of minutes and presto, trade in the cable box for the latest one.

Upper Manhattan is a low tech. They have only about 4 seats and i think one or two techs working on giving out boxs. You can pay your bill too.You can be out in minutes or longer. :)

I know there are constant problems with Pay Per View movies but I have been encountering a strange problem for the past 6 months. If I fast forward through an on demand movie or a pay per view movie, sometimes it gets stuck in fast forward. The only fix seems to be watching another channel for 30 minutes or so and then come back. I just wanted to see if this is related to system wide troubles or maybe something specific to me.

Thanks.

What HD cable box can I get from TWC NYC that is not DVR but has an HDMI output? I already have a TiVo so I have no use for the SA8300 DVR but would like to optimize the HDMI output, any help is appreciated!

I went to the Queens center TWC location to upgrade my modem yesterday. While there I asked if the baseball package was available for purchase yet. The representative told me that TW does not carry baseball and I should switch to Direct TV.

I understand that these reps have limited knowledge, but this is ridiculous - actually recommending customers switch to the competition. I have never dealt with another company that made it so hard to actually purchase their services. I emailed them about this once and got a form letter in reply.

What HD cable box can I get from TWC NYC that is not DVR but has an HDMI output? I already have a TiVo so I have no use for the SA8300 DVR but would like to optimize the HDMI output, any help is appreciated!
Pioneer 3510.
I use it through twc queens. rec'd the box from their service center in the QCmall.

http://www.timewarnercable.com/columbus/customer/pioneer3510hd.html



on a side note... channel 741 jsut came on my system with a message"sports ny hd starts march 16" niiiiiiiiiice.

well my initial post was going to be able this.

well i'lls tart with this.

Last night my box froze 3 times while choose GUIDE mode on hd channels. ex. 705 725 and 724. hit guide and all sorts of funky colours popped up. the third time i couldnt even boot my box, i had to unplug/then plug it back in to get it to reboot, why is this? and has it happened to anyone else lately?

second. Sportsnet hd popped up my box and first noticed it today at 741. Havent seen anyone else mention it today so i thought I would. YES, it CLEARLY says HD on the popup window for the channel next to the number of the channel on the bottom of the screen.

Pioneer 3510.
I use it through twc queens. rec'd the box from their service center in the QCmall.



on a side note... channel 741 jsut came on my system with a message"sports ny hd starts march 16" niiiiiiiiiice.

That doesn't look like it has an HDMI output on the back of it. Can you confirm this?

That doesn't look like it has an HDMI output on the back of it. Can you confirm this?

The 3510 has a DVI output. So does the SA 3250. AFAIK, the only box w/ an HDMI out is the 8300HD. However DVI is compatable w/ the HDMI input on your display.

The 3510 has a DVI output. So does the SA 3250. AFAIK, the only box w/ an HDMI out is the 8300HD. However DVI is compatable w/ the HDMI input on your display.

I can use a HDMI to DVI cable. Is there any decrease in quality from not using an HDMI to HDMI cable?

Is there any difference that I should be aware of for the Pioneer 3510 or the SA 3250 or does it not matter which one I go with?

anyone else just have the Rangers game on 712 go black at 7:30 with 2 minutes to go in OT? enough is enough already. tomorrow i'll be getting a credit. to make things worse the Rangers managed to lose the game while i was scrambling for the remote to switch to channel 27.

anyone else just have the Rangers game on 712 go black at 7:30 with 2 minutes to go in OT? enough is enough already. tomorrow i'll be getting a credit. to make things worse the Rangers managed to lose the game while i was scrambling for the remote to switch to channel 27.

Yeah, this happened to me just as Savard shot the puck on Lundqvist. The screen went black and I had to tune into 27 to see the result of the shot. Really trippy!

Yeah, this happened to me just as Savard shot the puck on Lundqvist. The screen went black and I had to tune into 27 to see the result of the shot. Really trippy!

That totally =sucked=. On my screen, the pic froze for about 10 seconds, just as Savard was about to shoot...and THEN it went gray. By the time i got the remote, of course the game was over. :mad:

That doesn't look like it has an HDMI output on the back of it. Can you confirm this?
sorry bro i forgot to mention i use a dvi to hdmi output cable AND i bought it off ebay and for less than 35 bucks AND it works fabulous.

sorry bro i forgot to mention i use a dvi to hdmi output cable AND i bought it off ebay and for less than 35 bucks AND it works fabulous.

Great thanks, I'll pick one up from monoprice

I can use a HDMI to DVI cable. Is there any decrease in quality from not using an HDMI to HDMI cable?

Is there any difference that I should be aware of for the Pioneer 3510 or the SA 3250 or does it not matter which one I go with?

Shouldn't be any PQ loss in using the HDMI / DVI cable.

The 3510 inserts black sidebars for 4:3 material while the 3250 inserts gray sidebars. For some people this may be a pretty big deal. The one downside to the 3510 is that it has their weird bug, where if you try to pull up the guide on a 720p channel (705, 707, 725) the box bugs out and needs to be rebooted. The 3250 is a newer box and the 3510 has at various points in time been very hard or easy to find at TWC locations - usually they have one or the other so it may not be up to you.

I just picked up a second 8300HD for the new Sharp LCD I got today. When I connect the box to the TV via HDMI, there are near constant audio dropouts. Has anyone experienced this problem?

I just picked up a second 8300HD for the new Sharp LCD I got today. When I connect the box to the TV via HDMI, there are near constant audio dropouts. Has anyone experienced this problem?
Try a cold boot on the box (unplug. wait a minute. plug back in.)

If that doesn't work try this forum:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=4456767

My Panny 42PX60U arrives in a few days. I'm going down to get the HD-DVR from TWC this weekend. Not sure what model, but I think it's the SA8300.

Is HDMI from Cablebox to TV the way to go, or should I use component and other audio? If I have a surround system and use HDMI, how can that work? How do I get the audio from the box to my receiver? My receiver does have HDMI "thru", i believe.

I read some interesting things about HDMI glitching out and looking for adivce.
Thanks.
-AP

I personally use HDMI to my HD LCD. For the audio, I use digital optical cable and use the port from the SA 8300 to connect it to my surround system.

Very easy and less wiring to deal with.

As for the glitches I have come across with HDMI mainly had to do with the 480i change over from 1080i. I turned off this ability within the SA 8300 and now when I come off of a 1080i channel to an SD channel, the channel will be in 480p instead of 480i.

Other glitches I have come across is when coming from a channel in HD, sometimes the box will reset the sidebars when tuning in a SD channel. Hence you have to press the # key to stretch the size if this is how you prefer viewing shows.

If you can get over some of these little glitches, than this setup is for you. Some say they have had better luck with a component hookup, but I am satisfied with the overall performance with the HDMI hookup.

Try it for yourself and see what you prefer.

Tony, thanks.
So the optical audio out on the SA8300 carries the audio as the HDMI? Do you turn your volume down on you actual TV then? I was thinking this is the way to do it, but I didn't see people writing about that. I can't understand why there are video inputs on my audio reciever.

Yeah. I've been reading up on the tricks of the SA8300. I thought this was going to plug and play! Well, looking forward to fooling around with this next week.

I just got the SA 3250HD box today and when I go to a HD channel my JVC D-VHS VCR brings up a copy protection message on the screen and then it says it downconverts to 480i. This isn't right, and I believe I should do something but I want to know if others are having the same problems on theirs before I complain about it to them. So are you?

No. I believe by default the SA 8300 is set to Dolby Digital and depends on the optical port to transfer its audio. You can have the audio travel through the HDMI cable by going into the settings and choosing HDMI for audio.

Right now with the settings on Dolby Digital, the audio only comes out of my surround speakers and not the TV.

I saw last night on the program guide where they will have the new SportsNetNY HD channel. I forgot what channel they had it on.

741

I wonder if anyone here has tried this and can give me some advance warning. My home video system is set up with some SA8300HD boxes shared by systems in two different rooms. The boxes are connected to a Key Digital switcher that provides independant signals to both displays via component cables. I am about to switch the display in one room to one that uses HDMI (I can't run HDMI to the second set due to wiring issues). It was my intention to get a HDMI switcher to feed the first display and keep the component switcher for the second display. I have been told that the only way that this will work is if I have the HDMI display on whenever I want to use the component display, otherwise if the HDMI display is off, the box will put up a black screen with a HDMI authentication error message on both the HDMI and component outputs. Is this true? That seems contrary to the whole point of HDMI which is to force you to go to component if there is an authentication error.

Has anyone tried this or might know if one can connect both the HDMI and component outputs with different displays and use the component out when the HDMI component is turned off.

Sorry if this has been covered already, but I did a search of the thread and, unless I'm overlooking it, haven't found an answer to my question.

I was wondering if Time Warner, like DirecTV, adds any compression or does any down-rezzing to the local HD channels?

i saw someone mention the prevent glitching going from hd to sd they changed the setting to 480p for sd channels. how can i do it with my pioneer hd box?

Has anyone tuned into the new SportsNet NY yet? I have and the channel seems nice, but the sound is way too high pitched here in Queens to the point I have to lower my system way down to hear the voices. I went over to my friends place to view the channel over there and the same deal with the high pitched volume seems to be there. Anyone else notice this in their area?

Yeah SportsNet NY is having a bunch of tech problems. Sound issues, video in and out during commercials and parts of the game, and there HD channel isnt up yet, even though there studio is supposed to be all HD

I was wondering if Time Warner, like DirecTV, adds any compression or does any down-rezzing to the local HD channels?
Commented earlier (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7298144#post7298144) in another forum about general topic. NYC TWC has indicated it uses rate shaping (sublinked references outline R.S.), which trims higher frequencies/resolution, and somewhere along the line--perhaps cable converter output circuits--a big chunk of potential resolution is being lost. HDNet's test patterns supposedly deliver ~1920 lines max horizontal resolution and most here (and elsewhere) only measure <1300 lines (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5175424#post5175424). That's a ~32% loss, even though that's with test patterns and motion video from the best sampled-video sources likely maxes out at ~1450 lines effective resolution (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5667245&&#post5667245) (resolvable detail). CableCard users write fidelity is better than with STBs, but so far haven't seen any HDNet measurements to show by how much, resolution-wise. -- John

Commented earlier (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7298144#post7298144) in another forum about general topic. NYC TWC has indicated it uses rate shaping (sublinked references outline R.S.), which trims higher frequencies/resolution, and somewhere along the line--perhaps cable converter output circuits--a big chunk of potential resolution is being lost. HDNet's test patterns supposedly deliver ~1920 lines max horizontal resolution and most here (and elsewhere) only measure <1300 lines (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5175424#post5175424). That's a ~32% loss, even though that's with test patterns and motion video from most sampled-video sources likely maxes out at ~1450 lines effective resolution (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5667245&&#post5667245) (resolvable detail). CableCard users write fidelity is better than with STBs, but so far haven't seen any HDNet measurements to show by how much, resolution-wise. -- John

Thanks.

I have two 8300HD boxes in neighboring rooms. I have noticed that the timing of the picture is out of sysc between the two. One box seems to get the signal 10 seconds before the other (so you see/hear a line repeated when you go from room to room). Any idea why this occurs?

Does TW carry the Biography channel on digital cable?

Does TW carry the Biography channel on digital cable?
No. RCN Cable is the only local cable firm listing it in the NY Times weekly guide. Enjoyed some nice feature movies on Bio until dropping RCN in Jan. -- John

Yeah SportsNet NY is having a bunch of tech problems. Sound issues, video in and out during commercials and parts of the game, and there HD channel isnt up yet, even though there studio is supposed to be all HD


Not to mention, the non-HD channel looks very grainy compared to a regular cable channel or network channel. Has anyone else noticed this? Can't wait for them to get the HD up but I can hold until Opening Day.

Not to mention, the non-HD channel looks very grainy compared to a regular cable channel or network channel. Has anyone else noticed this? Can't wait for them to get the HD up but I can hold until Opening Day.

Are they not going to have it up until Opening Day?

Does anyone know if the Mets games on WPIX will be shown on the HD Specials channel?

Someone followed up saying this doesn't work for TWC NYC. However, I've found that a similar procedure does: after 'diag' appears on the STB, releasing and pressing the two keys again tunes in 1999. Believe you could also key in 1999 with the remote. -- John

On my NYC box the 'diag' never appears. Any ideas?

No. RCN Cable is the only local cable firm listing it in the NY Times weekly guide. Enjoyed some nice feature movies on Bio until dropping RCN in Jan. -- John
Cablevision has the Biography channel, don't know why twc doesn't :confused:

My 8300HD is showing "no program data" across the board on all channels right now. Is that a system issue, or is it likely to be something with my box?

BTW, my box was coincidentally tuned to Universal HD when I just turned it on, and they're showing Scarface right now, uncensored and w/o commercials...and holy crap does it look fantastic in HD. Just stunning.

Wow, so I see we still have UHD. Watching Scarface right now. Totally better in HD ;)

On my NYC box the 'diag' never appears. Any ideas?
Assuming you're holding down both SELECT ad EXIT on an 8300HD front panel for several seconds with no 'diag' appearing, it might be a difference between locations and different headends. Or, a different STB model may have another diagnostic callup procedure. And, the cure for everything, a cold boot (unplugging for ~20 secs), might even bring results.

Cablevision has the Biography channel, don't know why twc doesn't.
Okay. Thanks. If so, then the Times weekly guide with a "-" for Cablevision is in error. It shows RCN, D* and E* as carrying Bio.

My 8300HD is showing "no program data" across the board on all channels right now. Is that a system issue, or is it likely to be something with my box? That usually appears just after a reboot, before the new program data downloads, or while the update is taking place. If the new programs don't appear, I'd try a cold reboot before contacting TWC. -- John

EDIT: Yes, having UNIHD still is nice. Don't watch series reruns, but caught a good-quality OAR transfer of Andromeda Strain a week back, with PQ at least equal to HDNet's better deliveries. -- John

My 8300HD is showing "no program data" across the board on all channels right now. Is that a system issue, or is it likely to be something with my box?

BTW, my box was coincidentally tuned to Universal HD when I just turned it on, and they're showing Scarface right now, uncensored and w/o commercials...and holy crap does it look fantastic in HD. Just stunning.


This happens to me occasionally. I am usually able to restore the menu by pulling out and then restoring the electrical plug and rebooting the box. It takes a few minutes to cycle through and then the menu reappears.

Thanks for taking today's Dallas @ Nets game from the Meadowlands *off* YES...and NOT showing it in hi def on ABC HD. Nice job. :mad:

Maybe one of you guys can help me? I just got the Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD-DVR. I am experiencing Lip Sync Problems on some channels while on others it seem ok. I have the audio from the SA8300 set to the onkyo via optical cable. anyone know why this is? or if there is something I can do throu the receiver or the cable box to fix this problem. Thx in advance Alex

Maybe one of you guys can help me? I just got the Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD-DVR. I am experiencing Lip Sync Problems on some channels while on others it seem ok. I have the audio from the SA8300 set to the onkyo via optical cable. anyone know why this is? or if there is something I can do throu the receiver or the cable box to fix this problem. Thx in advance Alex

Like many recent postings in this thread which have unnecessarily and thoughtlessly bloated it, this equipment-related question has nothing to do with its subject matter. That said, lip synch problems are ubiquitous and are discussed in thousands of posts in the appropriate DVR and individual display and receiver threads.

Since this thread falls under the heading of local HDTV info and reception, I would think there's a certain amount of leeway about discussing hardware issues that affect tuning in programming--especially since so many of those issues are TWC's fault. Besides, in the other threads, plenty of people are running SA's software--here, we're guaranteed a group of fellow Passport users.

EDITED TO ADD: D'oh, I just realized there are separate SA and Passport threads in the hardware area. Never mind...

I have two 8300HD boxes in neighboring rooms. I have noticed that the timing of the picture is out of sysc between the two. One box seems to get the signal 10 seconds before the other (so you see/hear a line repeated when you go from room to room). Any idea why this occurs?


A few thoughts:
1) do the feeds in each room come from the same number of splits?
2) do the boxes in each room go through the same type of sound system? e.g. both feeding audio to a receiver and then to speakers? or is one like that and the other straight to a TV set?
3) have you tried swapping the boxes to see if the effect is the same? or does the delay travel with the box?
4) does any of your ancillary equipment have an audio delay feature? might it be turned on?

In any case, it's tough to imagine how you'd get a 10 second difference!

TM

Manatus,
I agree with andrewjnyc. As far as keeping this thread succinct, that ship has sailed! :)

TM

My 8300HD is showing "no program data" across the board on all channels right now. Is that a system issue, or is it likely to be something with my box?

BTW, my box was coincidentally tuned to Universal HD when I just turned it on, and they're showing Scarface right now, uncensored and w/o commercials...and holy crap does it look fantastic in HD. Just stunning.
Reboot if you're having problems like this.

EDIT: Yes, having UNIHD still is nice. Don't watch series reruns, but caught a good-quality OAR transfer of Andromeda Strain a week back, with PQ at least equal to HDNet's better deliveries. -- John
Agreed. There isn't necessarily worthwhile programming on this channel daily, but maybe 5-7 things worth watching in a month, which is a lot more than I can say for TNT-HD, INHD (1 -- INHD2 has somewhat worthwhile stuff), or [for me, not being a sports fan] ESPN, YES-HD, MSG-HD, or the coming SportsNet-NY.

Hi, I'm sure this has been asked before so I apologize in advance, but its tough reading through 232 pages.

I just ordered the new panasonic 42" high def plasma (60 series I think). I'm going to get the HD-DVR box (and I guess I'll be getting rid of TIVO). Is there more than one box to choose from from TWC-NYC, and if so, is one better? Or do they only offer one? I've got a home theater setup with processor for the audio.

Also, is there a link / post running that offers advice to new owners regarding initial setup of the plasma to avoid burn in etc. or to maximize feature of the cable box? Thanks for the help.

Hi, I'm sure this has been asked before so I apologize in advance, but its tough reading through 232 pages.

I just ordered the new panasonic 42" high def plasma (60 series I think). I'm going to get the HD-DVR box (and I guess I'll be getting rid of TIVO). Is there more than one box to choose from from TWC-NYC, and if so, is one better? Or do they only offer one? I've got a home theater setup with processor for the audio.

Also, is there a link / post running that offers advice to new owners regarding initial setup of the plasma to avoid burn in etc. or to maximize feature of the cable box? Thanks for the help.

Historically speaking, TWCNYC has distributed only 2 HD DVRs -- the Scientific Atlanta 8000HD and the 8300HD. I don't know if the company is still trying to foist 8000HDs on customers, but it is (was?) a cursed box and should be avoided. I have 2 8300HDs and have never had a serious problem with either of them. The current version of the firmware on this DVR in NYC (Passport Echo v. 1.8.112), however, fixed some audio bugs and introduced others, involving DD 5.1 and the HDMI port. Those bugs and work-arounds have been discussed often in this thread and elsewhere.

If you do get an 8300HD and it comes with operating instructions that don't seem to be working, that only means that you've received a manual for DVRs using the other possible operating system (known as SARA) that isn't used by TWCNYC. If you just explore the box's possible configurations (using the Settings/More Settings buttons on the remote), you should figure them out pretty easily.

As for any helpful hints on optimizing the use of your new plasma, finding threads devoted to it (or Panny displays in general) is the best approach.

Not sure if I should be in the display thread or here. But here goes.

Basically, I received my 8300 cable box and for the most the visuals are amazing. The only trouble is that when I change to watch one HD channel to another, the channel automatically goes into 4:3 mode everytime. So basically I have to go into the box settings to bring it to stretch mode again. Is it something I don't have checked in/on my cable box to stop this from happening?

Thanks

Ok, here are some possible work arounds for the glitches in the SA 8300 from my experience with the unit using an HDMI connection.

First, softboot the unit with the HDTV off. You can softboot the unit by holding the power button for 10 seconds or so. Leave the unit off for about 3-4 mins to give you enough time for the unit to go through the boot process and turn itself off. If you can wait 5 full minutes, even better.

Next, turn the unit on with the TV power button. If you are using HDMI, this should then automatically turn on the SA8300. If all went well, you will also avoid the black screen glitch some have been getting when they turn on the HDTV after the box turned on.

Next, go into settings and set your preferences like 16:9 Widescreen and 4:3 Stretch. Once done, exit out and you should be set.

Now finally, I found this to be important and I have had no side effects from the box since doing this method. TURN OFF THE BOX FIRST before turning off your HDTV. Your screen will go to default grey or blue or whatever your HDTV displays when it receives no signal. Now you can turn off your HDTV and Surround Audio unit if you have one.

In the future, get used to turning off your box first ALWAYS, and you should not experience anymore resizing glitches.

Since I have done this method, the unit has worked flawlessly for me. No resizing of the images or black images appearing.

Also, if you are using a DVI/HDMI type of connect, do yourself a favor and turn off 480i in the settings of the SA 8300. This will help to avoid the handshake problems when changing the channel that was 1080i and retuning to 480. Stick to 480p and I feel this will solve a lot of user problems with the unit.

Hope this helps everyone that has had similar bugs with the SA 8300.

Not sure if I should be in the display thread or here. But here goes.

Basically, I received my 8300 cable box and for the most the visuals are amazing. The only trouble is that when I change to watch one HD channel to another, the channel automatically goes into 4:3 mode everytime. So basically I have to go into the box settings to bring it to stretch mode again. Is it something I don't have checked in/on my cable box to stop this from happening?

Thanks

This happens to me randomly when i switch from HD to reg-Def and back (one or the other will occasionally not do what it is supposed to).

It shouldn't be happening from HD channel to HD channel. Only reason I can think of is you have the box sending both 720p and 1080i - you're better off only sending one and let the box "convert" the other (test the 2 and see if there is an actual difference - in most cases there isnt a significant one)

From what I can tell the box stores a display setting for each soruce, and using both HD sources pobably messes things up a bit (the box doesn't need more headaches... it already barely does what it's supposed to as is).

It shouldn't be happening from HD channel to HD channel. Only reason I can think of is you have the box sending both 720p and 1080i - you're better off only sending one and let the box "convert" the other (test the 2 and see if there is an actual difference - in most cases there isnt a significant one)



Don't think this statement applies to everyone. Most displays will have a far better scaler/deinterlacer than the STB so you are sacrificing picture quality by letting the box do the conversions. I have 1080i and 720p selected and don't have these issues.

Your point about the box saving different settings for each resolution is true though.

TNT 's NBA games tonight don't appear to be in HD on my TWC channel 710 in queens, anyone else notice? Clearly not HD and is oddly stretched, gives you kind of a headache when they get moving.

TBB1,
I was watching that too and the quality stunk. It was definately stretchmore towards the sides, and it wasn't that clear. Knicks were on the other channel and looked far better.

TonyNYC, et. al.,
I don't know if I'm getting gliches. I haven't experience the 8300 auto resizing on me. I do notice that it takes a long time to switch from HD-SD-HD as my Panny reconfigures. I'm not sure if that's the box or my TV. HD-HD channel switching doesn't seem to be an issue. Is this the glitch people are talking about?

TNT 's NBA games tonight don't appear to be in HD on my TWC channel 710 in queens, anyone else notice? Clearly not HD and is oddly stretched, gives you kind of a headache when they get moving.
Yes, that was a brutal picture. Apparently, this fun house mirror look was not unique to TWCNY. There were many complaints in the Programming thread representing the rest of the country. Definitely was not a HD broadcast.

I don't know if I'm getting gliches. I haven't experience the 8300 auto resizing on me. I do notice that it takes a long time to switch from HD-SD-HD as my Panny reconfigures. I'm not sure if that's the box or my TV. HD-HD channel switching doesn't seem to be an issue. Is this the glitch people are talking about?

I am no expert versus some of the more experienced posters on here. So they may offer more insight to the problem than I could, but do you have your HDTV hooked up via HDMI?

The only time I experienced a "delay" of sorts was when I was going from 1080i to 480i. Since by default all of the modes are selected for the SA 8300, turning off 480i resolved the whole delay/handshake HDCP problem that came up on my screen every single time I went from an HD station to an SD station.

I suggest you go into the settings and try turning off the 480i selection and letting the HDTV go from HD 1080i, 720p, to SD 480p. This might work for you. Let me know.

I will. Yes, I'm using HDMI. I know the 1080i and 720p channels...and I'm guessing 480i is standardDef. What channels are 480p?

None (to my knowledge). You're just telling the 8300 to deinterlace all the 480i sets to 480p. And apparently, in so doing, making the HDCP handshake hiccups slightly better. I say slightly b/c in my case I still can't get a consistent handshake in my system when I go through my pre/pro.

TM

Flyers at the Garden Vs. the Rangers tonight.
Key game in the battle for first place. NO HD!!
And, no BBall on the HD channels either-Nothing, nada,zip!!

Why????????????

Flyers at the Garden Vs. the Rangers tonight.
Key game in the battle for first place. NO HD!!
And, no BBall on the HD channels either-Nothing, nada,zip!!

Why????????????


That's cablevision's fault....

They schedule knicks on msg because ratings are higher - they don't care if twc people get the hd rangers game that ends up on fsn ny-hd

Flyers at the Garden Vs. the Rangers tonight.
Key game in the battle for first place. NO HD!!
And, no BBall on the HD channels either-Nothing, nada,zip!!

Why????????????

while it's probably not TWC's fault the game is on FSNY instead of MSG, it is their fault that they can't make the FSNY-HD available to us. what a bunch of crap that we have to watch this huge game in SD. :mad:

OK --- I have (1) the new Panasonic 37Px60U plasma, (2) the OPPO OPDV971H DVD, (3) a H/K AVR 140 and (4) a TWC NYC SA 8300 HD/DVR.

What's the verdict: no HDMI or HDMI? I am going HDMI from the OPPO to the plasma, but unsure about from the box since I've heard so many horror stories about HDMI and TWCNYC. Thoughts?

OK --- I have (1) the new Panasonic 37Px60U plasma, (2) the OPPO OPDV971H DVD, (3) a H/K AVR 140 and (4) a TWC NYC SA 8300 HD/DVR.

What's the verdict: no HDMI or HDMI? I am going HDMI from the OPPO to the plasma, but unsure about from the box since I've heard so many horror stories about HDMI and TWCNYC. Thoughts?

Just received my 42PX60U and am going DVI/HDMI cable from my SA3250 to my Panny. HD channels come in crystal clear with no errors or issues whatsoever

tnmcc,
since it sounds like you already have an hdmi hdmi cable, give it a shot to the plasma . . . most of the problems reported with hdmi stem from trying to route it through a receiver....try to go direct and see what happens...
TM

tnmcc,
since it sounds like you already have an hdmi hdmi cable, give it a shot to the plasma . . . most of the problems reported with hdmi stem from trying to route it through a receiver....try to go direct and see what happens...
TM

Thanks. I thought I also read about problems with HDMI from box to TV, but I could be mistaken. The H/K AVR 140, has no HDMI capability, so I have no choice but to go component with that.

Thanks. I thought I also read about problems with HDMI from box to TV, but I could be mistaken. The H/K AVR 140, has no HDMI capability, so I have no choice but to go component with that.

I have no problems with HDMI from box to tv, only have problems from box to receiver. :(

jsun37: "Universal HD is not being removed from our line up its still there also 711 wb hd is being added soon"

http://www.hdtvoice.com/voice/showthread.php?t=24670

Cool. Do they show any away games in HD?

Cool. Do they show any away games in HD?

No history for Universal HD as of yet.

YES-HD did not broadcast any away games in HD. The big games like ones at Boston were mostly picked up by FOX-HD. YES-HD had better looking HD video than FOX-HD for the most part.

Let's hope that Mets will get plenty of HD coverage this year.


Paul

Interestingly, I just tuned to WB11 to check out the Mets vs. Astros. I thought the broadcast looked a little funny...really slim players. To my surprise, I realized that the feed was actually a widescreen feed. Could this possibly be some sign of either WB or Sportsnet beginning to get their act together with the Mets? Or just someone who messed up in the back room?

Interestingly, I just tuned to WB11 to check out the Mets vs. Astros. I thought the broadcast looked a little funny...really slim players. To my surprise, I realized that the feed was actually a widescreen feed. Could this possibly be some sign of either WB or Sportsnet beginning to get their act together with the Mets? Or just someone who messed up in the back room?

Yeah. I just checked it out myself and they are showing the game in widescreen. Nice for those with EDTV's I guess.

Yeah. I just checked it out myself and they are showing the game in widescreen. Nice for those with EDTV's I guess.

Not on my TV. Where are you located?

Not on my TV. Where are you located?

I am in Queens.

Supposedly Cablevision is getting SNY-HD sometime around the 28th-30th, I'm guessing that thier almost done "Preparing their HD Channel" and we will get it at the same time.

hdsportsguide.com lists tonight's game in HD...

712 is active and showing the game... just not in HD...

darn...

hdsportsguide.com lists tonight's game in HD...

712 is active and showing the game... just not in HD...

darn...

I wasn't home to watch it, but i can tell you, sometimes
someone at TWC forgets to pull the switch, press the button, etc, and the game annoyingly starts OUT with the bars on each side. And then at some point, SOMEONE realizes they've screwed up, and the telecast suddenly goes into hi def wide-screen mode.

Did you stay with the game till the end?

I wasn't home to watch it, but i can tell you, sometimes
someone at TWC forgets to pull the switch, press the button, etc, and the game annoyingly starts OUT with the bars on each side. And then at some point, SOMEONE realizes they've screwed up, and the telecast suddenly goes into hi def wide-screen mode.

Did you stay with the game till the end?


Ya - watched all the way through.

I didn't think TWC had the ability to "hit the switch" on that... It seems like it was MSG's fault.

I wasn't home to watch it, but i can tell you, sometimes
someone at TWC forgets to pull the switch, press the button, etc, and the game annoyingly starts OUT with the bars on each side. And then at some point, SOMEONE realizes they've screwed up, and the telecast suddenly goes into hi def wide-screen mode.

Did you stay with the game till the end?

the game itself wasn't presented in HD because the logo that flashes on the screen before & after an instant replay didn't say "MSGHD", it just said "MSG".

That's how I just figured it wasn't produced in HD.

I noticed that last week with the Mets on 11-OTA. Not quite HD wide but wider than SD.

Yeah. I just checked it out myself and they are showing the game in widescreen. Nice for those with EDTV's I guess.

Anybody notice channels 1900-1914 on the guide, They are all channels we have already
Weird.

What happened to 1-9 WPIX HD? It dissapeared today.....

wasn't that UPN9?

1.9 was upn9-HD and for what ever reason I cant get it on my cam tuner. I guess they removed it for the bandwidth for other hd channels.

Anybody notice channels 1900-1914 on the guide, They are all channels we have already
Weird.
Yes, and compared the frequency of one channel in diagnostics, The Weather Channel, with the main weather channel, noticing both have the same frequency. Assume it's just a mapped channel number, so we're tuning the same channel. Noticed the same thing a few years back with a Spanish-language channel (same frequency), except the audio differed. BTW, to get diagnostics here (S. Manhattan head end) on my SA8300HD, just entering 1999 switches to the main diagnostics page. No idea what TWC's number tinkering is all about. -- John

Anybody notice channels 1900-1914 on the guide, They are all channels we have already
Weird.
if you look at the content, my guess is that this is the new "family friendly" channel lineup that people can subscribe to at a lower pice....

Not sure if I've seen any promotion for this yet, but if you look at the channels on there, I think you'll see what I mean.

Scott

YES-HD did not broadcast any away games in HD. The big games like ones at Boston were mostly picked up by FOX-HD. YES-HD had better looking HD video than FOX-HD for the most part. Paul


If I recall correctly, last season, Fox was not HD until the post season. During the season they were the bogus (but still better than SD) wide screen 480. That’s why FOX looked like crap.

Also, I believe YES did broadcast a couple of away games in HD— IIRC, Boston and/or Baltimore?

If I recall correctly, last season, Fox was not HD until the post season. During the season they were the bogus (but still better than SD) wide screen 480. That’s why FOX looked like crap.

Also, I believe YES did broadcast a couple of away games in HD— IIRC, Boston and/or Baltimore?

Fox regular season games last year were EDTV, not HDTV. You got all the aspect ratio goodness of HDTV, with the picture quality of SDTV. I thought it generally looked like crap, certainly not HDTV. Of course, that's Fox's fault, not TWC's.

YES originally announced that they were only going to carry road games in Boston and Queens in HD. They later added road games in Baltimore at the end of the season to provide more thorough penant race coverage in HD. I'll be interested to see what happens to picture quality if there are any times when the Yankees, Mets, and Knicks/Rangers are all being broadcast in HD at the same time...
-JMP

Fox regular season games last year were EDTV, not HDTV. You got all the aspect ratio goodness of HDTV, with the picture quality of SDTV. I thought it generally looked like crap, certainly not HDTV. Of course, that's Fox's fault, not TWC's.

YES originally announced that they were only going to carry road games in Boston and Queens in HD. They later added road games in Baltimore at the end of the season to provide more thorough penant race coverage in HD. I'll be interested to see what happens to picture quality if there are any times when the Yankees, Mets, and Knicks/Rangers are all being broadcast in HD at the same time...
-JMP

Fox in HD this year?

WHERE"S the hi def feed for tonite's game from the Meadowlands?? Nothing but a BLANK grey screen on the NBA TV feed (ch 721) =and= YES HD. What kind of BS is =this=?? :mad:

Does anyone know if TWC will get the NFL Network? There will be 8 games aired on it this upcoming football season with no alternative networks.

WHERE"S the hi def feed for tonite's game from the Meadowlands?? Nothing but a BLANK grey screen on the NBA TV feed (ch 721) =and= YES HD. What kind of BS is =this=?? :mad:
Just flipped on 708 here in SI and the game is on. Boy are the Nets hot or what, they're up by 42 with 5 minutes to play.

Does anyone know if TWC will get the NFL Network? There will be 8 games aired on it this upcoming football season with no alternative networks.


way too early to tell, plus if they do add it, it would probably be on a HD specials channel because it's only 8 games.

Just flipped on 708 here in SI and the game is on. Boy are the Nets hot or what, they're up by 42 with 5 minutes to play.

Well that's really =weird= then, because here in Queens it was just a blank gray screen, all game long. :(

As for the game, FANTASTIC Nets win, but watching it in SD really *sucked*.

Well that's really =weird= then, because here in Queens it was just a blank gray screen, all game long. :(

As for the game, FANTASTIC Nets win, but watching it in SD really *sucked*.

I had a gray screen early on for both 721 (expected - local blackout) and 708 - didn't check back later on though - I'm in upper manhattan

Does anyone know if TWC will get the NFL Network? There will be 8 games aired on it this upcoming football season with no alternative networks.

Was wondering the same thing.

[QUOTE=mikeM1 ...., because here in Queens it was just a blank gray screen, all game long. :(

As for the game, FANTASTIC Nets win, but watching it in SD really *sucked*.[/QUOTE]

It wasn’t just your part of Queens. There was no HD on 708 here in North Flushing too. I guess the basketball fans got a dose of what the hockey fans have been dealing with all season long.

The post below came from Raleigh NC today. Any hope for us?

Originally Posted by merlintl
Hi All,

This morning in the Raleigh/Durham NC area, our SA8300HD DVR passport boxes were updated. The interesting thing now is that after you go to ch 999 to get info on the system, there is a new entry, SATA, and when you go to it it says "SATA Status: Authorized".

So, does anyone know if that means we can hook up external SATA driver now? BTW, here is some version info.....

YES !!!!
It works. I just hooked up a hard drive and it works. Remember though you will need the special SATA\ESATA cable. I'm heading to Tiger Direct now to get a bigger HD.
I actually took off today to get DISH installed with all it's HD glory, but alas my neighbors trees had it in for me. The SATA support salvages an other wise disappointing day.

----------------------------------------------------
ResApp Version: PASSPORT Echo 2.5.048
OS Version: PowerTV 6.14.69.1sp
Driver Version: 1
ResApp DatE: March 20 2006, 1:19:47
OS Date: Dec 2, 2005, 6:31:08 PM
----------------------------------------------------

What happened to 1-9 WPIX HD? It dissapeared today.....

I get 1.9 on my QAM Tuner.It is WPIX?. Its still on as of today. I have the sony 34-XPR 960. Looks GOOD LOVE IT.

Angel :cool: I hope im on the right thread ?

Dear Andy-

Thank you for your interest in SportsNet New York. Per your e-mail, Time Warner of NYC is scheduled to begin their HD service on 3/29 on Channel 741. However, the first Mets game in HD that you will see – will be the Mets regular season opener on April 3rd.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Best regards,

Andrew Fegyveresi

Director, Communications

SportsNet New York

afegyveresi@sportsnetny.com

I get 1.9 on my QAM Tuner.It is WPIX?. Its still on as of today. I have the sony 34-XPR 960. Looks GOOD LOVE IT.

Angel :cool: I hope im on the right thread ?


Hummm, I haven't checked today but it was out when I last checked last night at 11 p.m. :confused: Are you using direct connect on Time Warner cable or over the air? I was talking about over Time Warner cable...

When I tuned to it, for some reason it showed me channel 103-3. I will check it again when I get home. Hopefully, it will be back on 1-9 as you said.

Also, are you getting WB in HD?

Andy,
Nice job! Ridiculous how simple it can sometimes be to get a straight answer to a simple question. And how tough it can be at other times...like when we ask TWC directly.

TM