New York, NY - TWC [Text View] - Page 41

aesculanus

02-18-07, 09:13 PM

no we haven't had HD VOD for over 6 months, and even then it was PPV boxing.

he or she is dealing with a qam tuner in the HD set not the tuner in the STB.

well today i was watching king kong, and there were a couple parts where the thing just paused, or even fast-forwarded, just like it does on my folks tv watching something on demand. i'm convinced i'm actually piggybacking somehow off someone else's HBO on demand. not anything great though, as the channels are only on it seems when the other guy's watching.

the quality's nothing great either; all sd from what i've seen. aside from big 3, the clear QAM offerings in new york, though many, are by and large excess garbage overflow from time warner. Same thing if you subscribe to a package though, too, so i guess that's not saying much.

These are the reasons we're getting Dish Network next week - I get BBC world for a $1.50 and my wife gets her Japan TV for $25, and no package garbage. with TWC, i MUST buy the package if i want Japan TV - even though Japan TV is a separate $25 item! I went over this with 3 different reps with TWC. The cheapest I could get Japan TV and BBC was $75 + tax. over TWICE Dish. Somehow they think animal planet and food network are that great i guess... :rolleyes:

dave2007

02-18-07, 11:18 PM

Just wanted to update here that HDTV QAM EPG is still active on local TV channels using the OnAir HDTV USB. I'm attaching a screenshot of WABC HDTV & EPG Guide for their listing.http://www.imageigloo.com/viewer.php?id=6610WABC-HDTV2-18-07.JPG

http://www.imageigloo.com/viewer.php?id=1755WNYW-HDTV-2-18-07.JPG

margoba

02-19-07, 01:38 AM

Anyone here have two 8300HD's connected to the same display? On many occasions I've wanted to record 3 or even 4 shows at the same time. Assuming I could get my hands on a second unit, is there any easy way to use two of them in the same system? I'm thinking discrete remote codes could be a problem.

Some time ago, I had two regular cable boxes on the same TV setup, and it works quite nicely. The trick is to manually power on box A and power off box B. Then whenever you press "power" on the remote, it swaps the current on/off status of both boxes.

-barry

ob3

02-19-07, 10:34 AM

Is anyone else having troubles with the HDxtra channels this AM ?
I am getting a blank screen for 723 and 724 right now at 10:30am in SINY

regards

QMAN71

02-19-07, 10:38 AM

Same for me as well
Is anyone else having troubles with the HDxtra channels this AM ?
I am getting a blank screen for 723 and 724 right now at 10:30am in SINY

regards

mikeM1

02-19-07, 10:48 AM

Is anyone else having troubles with the HDxtra channels this AM ?
I am getting a blank screen for 723 and 724 right now at 10:30am in SINY

regards

No problem here in Jackson Heights.

Riverside_Guy

02-19-07, 12:14 PM

no we haven't had HD VOD for over 6 months, and even then it was PPV boxing.

he or she is dealing with a qam tuner in the HD set not the tuner in the STB.

Yes I know it was from a QAM equipped TV; just mentioning an "anomaly from TWC" most of us have seen (besides, isn't the STB a QAM tuner itself?).

Really, there WAS a PPV event in HD?? AND we DID have some VOD in HD? Good marketing, I have been following things HD for 8-9 months and I never heard of such!

Berk32

02-19-07, 02:27 PM

Really, there WAS a PPV event in HD?? AND we DID have some VOD in HD? Good marketing, I have been following things HD for 8-9 months and I never heard of such!

No there wasn't any VOD in HD (at least since August 2005)...

But they did use the HD-PPV channel once or twice for boxing.... (and also for temporary US Tennis Open coverage in '05 from Universal HD before they added the channel full time for the Olympics)

Alan_Arkin

02-19-07, 06:50 PM

UnnDunn

02-19-07, 08:17 PM

holl_ands

02-19-07, 08:50 PM

Question - I have a new Sharp 1080p LCD and 8300HD DVR. Typically, I set my cable box to recognize all of the HD resolutions (480p, 720p, 1080i). But I don't like the pause/delay while the TV switches resolutions. If I just set the cable box at 1080i, what do I gain or lose?
For 1080i @ 30Hz programs, you should get best available PQ by setting STB for 1080i...
anything less would be downrezzed....meaning you'll miss out on those sharp, crisp pictures
that are possible with the new 1080p HDTVs.

Sports channels chose 720p @60Hz programs in order to minimize blurred basketballs,
hockey pucks & camera pans, since images are refreshed twice as fast as 1080i.
Upconverting to 1080i @ 30 Hz in the STB can't help but throw away half of the program frames...
So PQ is better if the STB does NO conversion--meaning the HDTV only needs to do simple
upconversion from 720p @ 60 Hz to 1080p @ 60 Hz (or higher) for display.

For the best of both worlds, I enable both 720p and 1080i, which means all SD channels are
output in 720p and the 720p/1080i reacquisition glitches are kept to a minimum.

========================================
In some (many?) 720/768p HDTVs, the complex 1080i deinterleaver process may have been
"too hard", so they simply threw away every other frame, resulting in a very down-rezzed 540p,
which must THEN be upconverted for 720p display.....BLEECCHHH:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7175775&highlight=gennum#post7175775

For these sets, deinterleaving 1080i to 720p in the STB may be better...

Of course, YMMV.....

Tresjolie9

02-19-07, 11:01 PM

Anyone have problems during the final battle on tonight's Heroes? While I was watching it I noticed a lot of pixelation, and then it looked like the picture briefly went into SD.

nuttyinnyc

02-20-07, 06:20 AM

Petedwitt

02-20-07, 03:21 PM

I'm planning on switching to dishnetwork, is it possible to cancel TWC for cable tv but keep my broadband internet connection with TWC?

mabrym

02-20-07, 04:44 PM

Anyone have problems during the final battle on tonight's Heroes? While I was watching it I noticed a lot of pixelation, and then it looked like the picture briefly went into SD.

It wasn't your TVs fault.

mabrym

02-20-07, 04:48 PM

I'm planning on switching to dishnetwork, is it possible to cancel TWC for cable tv but keep my broadband internet connection with TWC?

yes but you'll pay more, I think about $20

nuttyinnyc

02-21-07, 11:29 AM

nuttyinnyc

02-21-07, 11:44 AM

I'm planning on switching to dishnetwork, is it possible to cancel TWC for cable tv but keep my broadband internet connection with TWC?
You can do what ever you want, but make sure you are ready for the switch. Sure that intro price might look tempting. However there is a bigger picture. You already have twc (tv and internet). I am assuming you have had this service over 2+ years.Which means you not paying intro prices, However, having both services still saves you a little money. Which you will lose by closing your TV account. Your internet service might go up to $59 or something like that. I think Sat offers Internet services also, if I was you I would look into changing evcery thing because the intro offers that these companies give are too good to pass up. Especially when you are already looking to change.
Good luck.

scott_bernstein

02-21-07, 11:57 AM

Here is the tech question that I meant to ask earlier:
I have found Ch 1027 & 28 Music on demand and it is my new quilty pleasure. I am justr wondering has anyone tried recording the sound from the cable box, I know it is possibe it is just a matter of a cheap fix or a lobg complicated one. If I had my computer closer to the TV I might be able to go that route. What if I had a receiver with a digtal in? Would I be able to record from the reciever if had a CD-R player? Would the music sound good? Let me know if anyone has been able to record this way. Thanks guys.
Yes! You can do the recording. And if you have a CD-R with a digital input, you can take the digital out from the cable box, plug it into the CD-R digital in, and voila -- digital recordings. If you go into the advanced settings and set the audio out to "Two Channel" instead of dolby digital or HDMI, it will come out in 2 channel PCM at 48khz. The CDR will convert the signal to 44.1, but it will be essentially a digital recording. Yes, it will be lower quality than a CD since the audio signal of a Dolby Digital signal is compressed, but it will surely be higher quality than the way most people encode their .mp3 files!

I do it all the time when there is good live music programming on TV (Letterman, Leno, Saturday Night Live, and things like the HDNet Concert Series, etc.)

Scott

Riverside_Guy

02-21-07, 04:28 PM

Something toi look into myTWC buddieTime Warner NYC - 5:30 AM upgrade
8300HD DVR - Passport/ECHO v. 2.6.002

Does anyone know if this night solve the blinking problem? or just a regular upgrade?

Techie questions: never mind I just noticed the time, work time already I will ask the techie question when I get to work.Later guys let me know if this is the newsest update.

Uh, not in Manhattan. Yet.

Some other state got this a month or so ago, of COURSE the first question I asked was about the trick play bug with external drives. According to the guy, it was NOT fixed. It could be that this update is for the earlier changeover to DST...

Riverside_Guy

02-21-07, 04:29 PM

I'm planning on switching to dishnetwork, is it possible to cancel TWC for cable tv but keep my broadband internet connection with TWC?

Far as I know this IS possible, BUT I think you pay an extra 10 bucks/month, so it might be something like 55 bucks.

scott_bernstein

02-21-07, 04:41 PM

It could be that this update is for the earlier changeover to DST...
Ha! That would be REALLY surprising. The 8000/8300 has never properly accounted for DST yet. I've had one or the other for 3 1/2 years now, and they have never one accounted for DST properly. Twice a year, if you have recurring recordings set for a particular time slot, you have to delete and recreate them.

A pain in the butt, and as a developer myself, completely inexcusable.

Berk32

02-21-07, 04:44 PM

Ha! That would be REALLY surprising. The 8000/8300 has never properly accounted for DST yet. I've had one or the other for 3 1/2 years now, and they have never one accounted for DST properly. Twice a year, if you have recurring recordings set for a particular time slot, you have to delete and recreate them.

A pain in the butt, and as a developer myself, completely inexcusable.

I haven't had any issues with daylight savings in the last year and a half...

scott_bernstein

02-21-07, 04:57 PM

I haven't had any issues with daylight savings in the last year and a half...
Right....it only affects you if you have recurring programs slotted to a particular time. No problem if you say "Record all showings of American Idol"

But if you set it to record "American Idol" 9pm Wednesdays only, DST throws it off such that when the clock changes, this program will no longer record (at least until the clocks get set back).

Berk32

02-21-07, 05:09 PM

scott_bernstein

02-21-07, 05:33 PM

(and please don't use American Idol as an example...... ugh...)
Yeah, I used it 'cause I can't stand it either. But yet, it's on CONSTANTLY and it seems like everyone else in the country watches it! :o

CynKennard

02-21-07, 11:35 PM

Uh, not in Manhattan. Yet.

Some other state got this a month or so ago, of COURSE the first question I asked was about the trick play bug with external drives. According to the guy, it was NOT fixed. It could be that this update is for the earlier changeover to DST...

I just discovered today that my 8300HD has recently been upgraded to Passport Echo 2.6.002, dated 12/21/2006. This is on Staten Island. I can't use HDMI and don't have an external drive so I can't check these out. So far I have seen no difference in the operation of the DVR. We will have to wait for DST to see if that changes correctly.

Cynthia

eddieb187

02-22-07, 01:05 AM

All the local network channels went out at 12:15.
SD & HD. CBS, NBC, ABC...
I think they're doing an upgrade.
Anyone know what this upgrade is?
Any new HD channels maybe?

QMAN71

02-22-07, 08:56 AM

I just discovered today that my 8300HD has recently been upgraded to Passport Echo 2.6.002, dated 12/21/2006. This is on Staten Island. I can't use HDMI and don't have an external drive so I can't check these out. So far I have seen no difference in the operation of the DVR. We will have to wait for DST to see if that changes correctly.

Cynthia
I did some searching and someone posted in the Orlando thread that the 2.6.002 addresses the change in DST and nothing else. There have also been reports of people losing some recordings after the update.
Link to Orland post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9777993&&#post9777993)

Riverside_Guy

02-22-07, 09:41 AM

Right....it only affects you if you have recurring programs slotted to a particular time. No problem if you say "Record all showings of American Idol"

But if you set it to record "American Idol" 9pm Wednesdays only, DST throws it off such that when the clock changes, this program will no longer record (at least until the clocks get set back).

I had a bunch of series recordings last spring and had no issues with the time change. I had theorized that as long as the box got the correct time from the head end it shouldn't matter if the software was oblivious to the time change. That seemed to be the case because a cold boot seemed to demonstrate it got the time from the head end before the software load happened. I do recall having that "theory" shot down... but I still think that if the box GOT the right time from a central source, there's no reason to have time shifting part of the boxes software.

Still, there has to be SOME reason they seem to be rolling out 2.6.002!

scott_bernstein

02-22-07, 11:33 AM

I had a bunch of series recordings last spring and had no issues with the time change. I had theorized that as long as the box got the correct time from the head end it shouldn't matter if the software was oblivious to the time change. That seemed to be the case because a cold boot seemed to demonstrate it got the time from the head end before the software load happened. I do recall having that "theory" shot down... but I still think that if the box GOT the right time from a central source, there's no reason to have time shifting part of the boxes software.

Still, there has to be SOME reason they seem to be rolling out 2.6.002!
I have actually proved this point about 5-6 times with confirmation from my box and from people with Passport on other systems around the country. Please read carefully:
If you have a recurring recording that is set for a PARTICULAR time (not just "record all episodes" of Seinfeld, or "record all new episodes of Seinfeld (?)", or even "record all episodes of Seinfeld on Channel 11", but recurring recordings pegged to a particular timeslot)-- say recording Seinfeld specifically timed to Wednesdays at 9pm, it will fail when there is a time change. Yes, the box does get its time reset from the headend, but I believe that the box, instead of storing the time merely as 9pm, say, that you want your recording for, stores it as some offset from GMT. Therefore, when the time changes, it is no longer at the same offset, and your recording fails. This was demonstrated to me once when one of the shows that I had set for a particular slot happened to be on an hour later, and voila -- it scheduled to record at the abnormal time slot instead of the usual one.

I have some recordings that are set to record from 7:41 to 7:51 AM on NY1 (yes, my fiancee and I like the "In The Papers" segment), and after the time change it starts recording 8:41 to 8:51 instead (or 6:41 to 6:51, depending on the direction of the time change).

Reading back to the post referring to 2.6.002, it seems to me to be merely conjecture that it has to do with DST. I saw no citation from any official source. TWC seems to push Passport code releases without any obvious rhyme or reason. But bumping up to the next point version (from 2.5 to 2.6) should indicate at least some new functionality stability increase (though they will not always be obvious to us, as certain feature sets might be disabled for certain customers). Fixing the problem of not properly reclaiming space when deleting stuff (w/o a reboot) would be nice, and would seem to fix a common complaint (of course, this is just conjecture on my part). Reducing any hi-def audio/video "skippage" is always good (there was significantly less "skippage" a 3-4 releases back).

I suspect that proper support for external SATA drives will not come with a Passport release. My feeling is that will likely need to come from an update to the underlying PowerTV OS, and people are reporting that the version of PowerTV remains the same with the new Passport.

Scott

Riverside_Guy

02-23-07, 01:11 PM

Ah, "stored as GMT offsets" sure would make it an issue, sorry if you already said that it must have gone to one of my flaky brain cells!

As with most things in life, not having the full and correct story typically leads to argument. I have little faith that 2.5.066 really does take the new DST timing into account, so an update sure might be necessary. Ah version numbers, here I blame the general software guys, way too many times they use it as more of a marketing tool than based on any other reality. Would you really be surprised if they rolled out a 3.0 version that you just couldn't find any real difference in?

STILL, when I saw 2.6.x, I thought the possibility high they'd address the external SATA issues. I asked questions of the guys that got 2.6.002, but nobody seemed to find anything at all different from 2.5.066.

Yup, I like the term "skippage (wonder if you pronounce it like dressage<g>)?." I see more of it with my 8300 DVR than my 8000 DVR(SD). But I've seen it vary so widely in it's "badness" that head end issues can't be ruled out.

scott_bernstein

02-23-07, 01:22 PM

Yup, I like the term "skippage (wonder if you pronounce it like dressage<g>)?." I see more of it with my 8300 DVR than my 8000 DVR(SD). But I've seen it vary so widely in it's "badness" that head end issues can't be ruled out.
I actually had an 8000HD before I had my 8300, and I found it to be much worse in terms of skippage. I suspect that since your 8000 was SD it wouldn't have been much of an issue. The DVRs don't have much of a problem handling SD content. Much as I hate watching SD (as I'm sure all of you do), I notice that the DVR almost never has skipping problems with SD content. Which says to me that the much higher data throughput required for HD content is really what causes the skippage. And my own personal observation tells me that when both tuners on the 8300HD are tuned to HD content, the skippage factor is worse, in general than when only one of them is tuned to HD. I suggest you play with it and see how it seems to you.

One thing that leads me to believe that the problem lies in the DVR (beyond the fact that one of the versions of Passport which goes back over a year had much less of a problem with skippage than the current version) is that when I initially reboot my DVR, the skippage is much less of a problem than after it's been a while since a reboot; and that the longer I wait between reboots the worse my skippage problem is. Again, feel free to experiment with this.....

The true proof for me was that I had a non-DVR HD box a long time (more than 3 1/2 years ago) back, and "skippage" was rare with that box. Someone out there must have a non-DVR HD box that can confirm that this is still the case.

Scott

Riverside_Guy

02-24-07, 02:58 PM

You make an excellent point about setting the other tuner to a non-buffered channel, I'll have to give that a try.

One would think that with a RTOS based system, this shouldn't be that much of an issue.

I REALLY wish Verizon FIOS TV was licensed and available on my block, TWC would bloody well have to pay more attention! But I doubt that day is much closer than 3 years away from me!

BTW, it's almost a given that my next TV will be cable card equipped.

pgershon

02-25-07, 12:43 PM

scott_bernstein

02-26-07, 01:00 PM

I REALLY wish Verizon FIOS TV was licensed and available on my block, TWC would bloody well have to pay more attention! But I doubt that day is much closer than 3 year away from me!
That /would/ be nice, but then again, I wonder if sometimes the grass is always greener -- I wonder what sort of HDDVR they've got in their offerings and how good it is. As many problems as the implementation of Passport on the 8300HD has, I wonder if there is anything out there that can even touch it in terms of feature set and ease of use?

scott_bernstein

02-26-07, 02:22 PM

I noticed on the weather channel crawl that they have removed (or are about to remove?) 2 more analog PPV channels. This is possibly good news for us....

MatthewR

02-26-07, 06:55 PM

Does anybody know if TWC will make this available? I would love to be able to watch recordings in multiple rooms in my house. As it is, I have two DVR boxes, but I am often not able to watch shows because the DVR is not on many of my TV screens.

i'm pretty sure its not going to be made availible. the main reason i can think of is that customers are notorious for splitting cable themselves and the boxes have to be set up very specifically so that the main box feeds back to the satallite. I have yet to see a memo or any kind of information at all that multiroom is going to come out for time warner

AndyHDTV

02-26-07, 10:04 PM

I noticed on the weather channel crawl that they have removed (or are about to remove?) 2 more analog PPV channels. This is possibly good news for us....

yes it is.

I didn't even know analog cable had any PPV channels left.

Riverside_Guy

02-27-07, 10:38 AM

I noticed on the weather channel crawl that they have removed (or are about to remove?) 2 more analog PPV channels. This is possibly good news for us....

Couple of times I read 4/1 might be a date to see some new stuff happen.

BTW, back to skippage. For the past several days I have made additional effort to make sure the unused tuner is set to a non-buffering channel (the music choice channels). So far I THINK I see less skippage, but I also think I need to see this for a month at least. It IS worth noting that it is NOT eliminated, I still see it happen (watching one live channel, no recordings going on, other tuner set to a non-buffering channel). The one thing that kind of saves me is that I am a channel twirler, so while it is a pain to deal with, I already have the damn remote very handy.

Oh, once or twice I DID notice that the non-active second tuner "shifted" itself to channel 80.

scott_bernstein

02-27-07, 10:46 AM

I figured something was going on when late last night a screen popped up on the VOD channels saying that they would be unavailable until 7AM.

Sure enough, this morning when I turned the DVR on, I noticed that it was not on the channels I'd left it on, and going into the DIAG screens, I saw Passport Version 2.6.002, with a version date of December 2006. Looks like my box was rebooted in the 4AM hour.

Good thing I didn't have anything set to tape around then. ;-)

I didn't notice any differences at all from the previous version in my limited testing.

Scott

scott_bernstein

02-27-07, 10:48 AM

BTW, back to skippage. For the past several days I have made additional effort to make sure the unused tuner is set to a non-buffering channel (the music choice channels). So far I THINK I see less skippage, but I also think I need to see this for a month at least. It IS worth noting that it is NOT eliminated, I still see it happen (watching one live channel, no recordings going on, other tuner set to a non-buffering channel). The one thing that kind of saves me is that I am a channel twirler, so while it is a pain to deal with, I already have the damn remote very handy.

Good news. I have found the same thing, in general.

Oh, once or twice I DID notice that the non-active second tuner "shifted" itself to channel 80.
Never had that happen to me, and I always set my non-active tuner to ch. 1002. Might it be related to your "power on channel" set in the advanced options screen?

Riverside_Guy

02-27-07, 11:12 AM

Good news. I have found the same thing, in general.

Never had that happen to me, and I always set my non-active tuner to ch. 1002. Might it be related to your "power on channel" set in the advanced options screen?

Manhattan North got 2.6.002 as well. I've yet to see/read/hear from anyone who noticed any real differences.

Yeah, the channel 80 thing IS weird. Mu "power on channel" is set to "last viewed." This last time, however, it got sent there after I had already set a non-buffering channel and swapped back to what I was viewing. An hour or so later, I "peeked" via the PIP button and it was 80! For the time being, I'm thinking of this as "my bug."

Do you think there's any difference between non-buffering channels (you use VOD I use Music Choice)? I find the music channels a tad "easier" because it's a quick scroll to the 701-741 range...

scott_bernstein

02-27-07, 11:50 AM

Do you think there's any difference between non-buffering channels (you use VOD I use Music Choice)? I find the music channels a tad "easier" because it's a quick scroll to the 701-741 range...

I think the Music Choice channels *do* buffer. I have been able to REW/FF them. I don't tune to them often, but I seem to recall rewinding to check the name of a song that I'd heard...The Music Choice channels actually do tune to a video and audio stream, but, Ch. 1002 has nothing to tune to. If I want to relax both of my tuners (which I do before I turn my DVR off), I tune them to 1000/1002.

ANGEL 35

02-27-07, 11:55 AM

Got 2.6.002 This A.M. Can not see any differences.Can any one?

scott_bernstein

02-27-07, 11:56 AM

Yeah, the channel 80 thing IS weird. Mu "power on channel" is set to "last viewed." This last time, however, it got sent there after I had already set a non-buffering channel and swapped back to what I was viewing. An hour or so later, I "peeked" via the PIP button and it was 80! For the time being, I'm thinking of this as "my bug."
There is one thing that I can think of. Whenever the box needs to make a call to the server to download guide data, the tuner that you're not using (as long as it's not recording something) will blank out momentarily to download the data. But, if you swap to it afterwards, at least for me, I always find it tuned to ch. 1.

This happens if you page forward in the guide and it has to load data. It also happens when the box gets a signal to update its channel listings and/or logos. It is possible that your 2nd channel flips to ch. 80 after it does its downloads from the server....

An interesting thing for people to note who may not be 100% aware of this behavior -- if both of your tuners are busy recording, your box cannot talk to the server to download guide data, so it will not fill in until one of the tuners is free. And even more interesting -- if you're spooling a program (i.e. have something paused) on the main tuner while recording something on the back tuner and take some action which causes the guide to download data, you will LOSE the spooled program on your main tuner! I've done this one or twice.....

LL3HD

02-27-07, 12:01 PM

I think the Music Choice channels *do* buffer. I have been able to REW/FF them. I don't tune to them often, but I seem to recall rewinding to check the name of a song that I'd heard...The Music Choice channels actually do tune to a video and audio stream, but, Ch. 1002 has nothing to tune to. If I want to relax both of my tuners (which I do before I turn my DVR off), I tune them to 1000/1002. I agree, this is the best way but I rarely do both tuners. I have the turn on channel as 1000.

LL3HD

02-27-07, 12:03 PM

realdeal1115

02-27-07, 09:39 PM

Thought you'd all be interested. From the Consumerist:

http://consumerist.com/consumer/time-warner-cable/time-warners-new-dvr-software-is-so-horrible-that-lincoln-ne-has-to-hold-a-public-hearing-240223.php

How bad is DVR software that a city has to hold a public hearing to determine what is to be done about it? Reader Nick writes in:

We are a (maybe the only one?) testing area for Time Warner Cable. They have put a new DVR menu on my household's cable box and we all agree it is terrible. It was definitely a step down for TWC. Now a local committee is doing something about it!

The local committee is none other than the Lincoln City Council, who are outraged at the awful DVR software. From the Lincoln Journal Star:

"There are serious problems here," Cook [City Councilman] said Wednesday afternoon. "I think Lincoln customers deserve better. They are not getting what they have paid for." The new guide has been beset with problems since its introduction. Complaints have ranged from the guide itself -- ugly graphics, incomplete information, etc. -- to problems with slow-reacting cable boxes and DVRs after the software was loaded into them, causing some subscribers to reboot one or more times a day.

Cook said he is a Time Warner subscriber and DVR user. As the council's liaison to the Cable Television Advisory Board, he said he received his upgrade with Time Warner employees before it was introduced to the public.

"I didn't think it was ready," he said. "I thought it needed more work before it was released."

Shrewsbury [Time Warner Spokesperson] said Time Warner will comply with an evaluation

skarmali

02-27-07, 10:12 PM

Are there any posts which compare DirecTV picture quality vs. Time Warner cable quality in NYC? I did a search on the forums, but I know there's a lot of PQ variations in cable from city to city, and I couldn't find any NYC specific responses.

If any of you have your experiences or suggestions, I'd quite appreciate it. My building recently got wired for DirecTV and I'm considering the switch primarily for cost reasons. I have TWC Internet as well, but it looks like DirecTV also offers their own internet package (not sure yet if it is at the same speed as TWC-Earthlink).

thanks

Goatweed

02-28-07, 10:22 AM

PaulInParkSlope

02-28-07, 12:07 PM

Curious if anyone experienced this problem last week... I've done multiple searches but couldn't find anything.

I have a SA8300 non-HD DVR. It had multiple shows/series recorded on it. When I went into the box last week I found:
- several/most of the more recent recordings of the shows were no longer listed
- several older recordings, that had been already watched and deleted, suddenly reappeared on the list. But they weren't really there. If I clicked on them it would tell me that the recording could not be found at this time.
- all new recordings are happening as they should

Anyone? I've rebooted several times, but nothing. I have not called TWC yet because we all know what that will get me. They'll just tell me the box is bad and that I "need to replace it, so sorry you lost all your recordings". That may be true, but it just sounds too weird. I have a feeling the recordings are still there, the box just can't recognize them right now.

Riverside_Guy

02-28-07, 12:29 PM

There is one thing that I can think of. Whenever the box needs to make a call to the server to download guide data, the tuner that you're not using (as long as it's not recording something) will blank out momentarily to download the data. But, if you swap to it afterwards, at least for me, I always find it tuned to ch. 1.

This happens if you page forward in the guide and it has to load data. It also happens when the box gets a signal to update its channel listings and/or logos. It is possible that your 2nd channel flips to ch. 80 after it does its downloads from the server....

An interesting thing for people to note who may not be 100% aware of this behavior -- if both of your tuners are busy recording, your box cannot talk to the server to download guide data, so it will not fill in until one of the tuners is free. And even more interesting -- if you're spooling a program (i.e. have something paused) on the main tuner while recording something on the back tuner and take some action which causes the guide to download data, you will LOSE the spooled program on your main tuner! I've done this one or twice.....

Ah, didn't think of that... yes I know when both tuners are busy, it blanks out the primary one to get data. Yes I also notice that there IS some event that essentially blanks out all guide data except today and tomorrow; I do find it annoying to have to go day by day to get the data refreshed. The GOOD news is that if a delete a series recording on one of those days that gets their guide data blanked and refreshed, it at least stays deleted.

Anyway, I appreciate a clue as to this annoying habit of the other tuner getting set to 80. AND I'll use VOD now... I could swear that when I set both tuners to a music channel, I no longer hear the internal drive ticking away... so I assumed they weren't buffering.

Riverside_Guy

02-28-07, 12:35 PM

I saw that posted yesterday as well, and I rteally hope TW doesn't plan to roll this new software out in this condition. I know there have been gripes about the current software (mainly in comparison to Tivo) but in the few years that I've had it I've never really had any issues with it. The last thing we need is a downgrade.

Unfortunately for you, TWC seems to roll these things out in your area, then a part of Queens before we in Manhattan get it. At least that HAS been a pattern for a while now, but no guarantee. Still, the situation in Nebraska very well could have them rolling out alpha instead of pre-alpha software in these parts! Or maybe even.... dare I say it, beta software!

scott_bernstein

02-28-07, 01:27 PM

Unfortunately for you, TWC seems to roll these things out in your area, then a part of Queens before we in Manhattan get it. At least that HAS been a pattern for a while now, but no guarantee. Still, the situation in Nebraska very well could have them rolling out alpha instead of pre-alpha software in these parts! Or maybe even.... dare I say it, beta software!
I think that TWC really "beta tests" only with selected customers who have signed up to be "beta testers" (I think it's mostly their employees and engineers and others who have committed to being early adopters). I have to think that in their infinite wisdom, they must've considered the Mystro software that they deployed in NE to be "release" or "release-ready".

Of course what TWC considers release ready is probably what most of us would consider to be "beta".

scott_bernstein

02-28-07, 01:32 PM

Anyway, I appreciate a clue as to this annoying habit of the other tuner getting set to 80. AND I'll use VOD now... I could swear that when I set both tuners to a music channel, I no longer hear the internal drive ticking away... so I assumed they weren't buffering.
I can understand your assumption -- the data rate on the music choice channels is very low (the video is super low bandwidth!), so they probably don't have to buffer to the disk very often. I think I recall that they squeeze more MC channels into one slot than they do with other channels.

But if you can FF/REW (or press "record") on the MC channels, you are still buffering.

Riverside_Guy

02-28-07, 01:35 PM

Ah, but I very much adhere to the traditional definitions, so if it is NOT feature complete, it's an alpha.

I'd bet you SOMEONE inside TWC said "whoa, we can't push this on customers." Maybe he used many more weasel words to avoid being fired... but more likely he was some junior guy with a brain who can be easily ignored.

CynKennard

02-28-07, 11:24 PM

Riverside_Guy

03-01-07, 11:42 AM

scott_bernstein

03-01-07, 11:56 AM

Scott, you'll love this one. Stared using the VOD channels for non-buffering. So I'm watching recorded shows last night. One finishes and I do the erase function... as soon as I hit the second erase, channel 1002 swaps to 80. Happened three times (was watching Arrested Development eps). After one of them, I reset to VOD and tried to make sure the other tuner was also where I had parked it, bingo, that tuner switched to 80.
That is REALLY odd. Check your "power on" channel setting again. Nothing like that has ever happened to me

Still getting "smaller" skippage with live. Oddly enough, the same "quality of skippage" seems evident on recorded material.
Yeah, this makes sense. When you get skippage on recorded programs, it's actually recorded onto the hard drive (this is proven by REW/FF and seeing that the skippage always happens at the same exact point on the program that you're playing back). So, if suddenly an update today eliminated the skippage issues, all of the programs you'd previously recorded will still have the problem.

On another note, I think I did notice a very slight difference in the new version of Passport that we got. Seems to me that the speed channel changing when using the Channel up/down buttons on the remote has been greatly improved. The delay between moving from one channel and seeing the next seems to me to be significantly shorter.

Check it out and let me know if you guys agree.....

scott_bernstein

03-01-07, 12:04 PM

CNN Headline News can now be found on channel 58, and FX can now be found on ch. 37

Strange, but found out this morning when trying to watch the headline news.....

eljeffreynyc

03-01-07, 12:07 PM

scott_bernstein

03-01-07, 12:16 PM

anyone experience problems with ch.123 the speed channel? seems like every night around the same time, 10-11, the picture breaks up and sometimes goes blank. one of my favorite shows unique whips is on during this time and i miss parts of the show cause of this. the same problem happens on all 4 of my boxes. i switch the channel and its spread out among ch. 122-126, all other channels are fine when this happens. what could be wrong? ive rebooted the box and no luck.
This sounds like a problem on TWC's end of things or with whoever's providing the content to TWC. You have to call and log a problem with TWC, being as specific as possible. This might require a visit to your residence by a TWC tech to prove that it's not your system that's the problem, but hopefully will eventually reach the right people....

LL3HD

03-01-07, 12:51 PM

CNN Headline News can now be found on channel 58, and FX can now be found on ch. 37

Strange, but found out this morning when trying to watch the headline news.....
Thanks, :cool: the last time I had FX on was sometime last year for The Shield.
I believe the new season is starting soon, so now I’ll be able to find it. :p

bigd86

03-01-07, 01:14 PM

barrianne

03-01-07, 01:30 PM

Hey! I found a new feature in the latest upgrade (I think). When I tuned to the Yankee preseason game before it started, it not only asked me if I wanted to record it, but is also said that it was a "live sporting event" and asked me right there if I wanted to extend the recording!!! Anybody else notice this?? Cool!

That's been around since at least early last fall, I believe. Just be careful how far you extend, because you can accidentally extend 24 hours and cause your box to start deleting saved programming ; )

pdroth

03-01-07, 01:44 PM

Scott, you'll love this one. Stared using the VOD channels for non-buffering. So I'm watching recorded shows last night. One finishes and I do the erase function... as soon as I hit the second erase, channel 1002 swaps to 80. Happened three times (was watching Arrested Development eps). After one of them, I reset to VOD and tried to make sure the other tuner was also where I had parked it, bingo, that tuner switched to 80.

Still getting "smaller" skippage with live. Oddly enough, the same "quality of skippage" seems evident on recorded material.

Just thought you'd have a laugh at all this oddness!

I'm having an odd Channel 80 experience as well - but not the same as you. It might be a TWC trick for people to get hooked on HBO....

For the last month or so, Ch 80 is being broadcast in the clear in my neighborhood. My trutsty old analog TV is picking up HBO in all of its glory right over the cable without a converter.

Not sure if this is the case in all of NYC, but in Queens it's free!! HBO-HD however, is not in the clear. Go figure.

scott_bernstein

03-01-07, 03:53 PM

Thanks, :cool: the last time I had FX on was sometime last year for The Shield.
I believe the new season is starting soon, so now I’ll be able to find it. :p
Yep....I've never once watched FX....But I do like to have Headline News on in the background as I'm getting ready for work. :)

Riverside_Guy

03-02-07, 11:58 AM

Hey! I found a new feature in the latest upgrade (I think). When I tuned to the Yankee preseason game before it started, it not only asked me if I wanted to record it, but is also said that it was a "live sporting event" and asked me right there if I wanted to extend the recording!!! Anybody else notice this?? Cool!

I think that came with the 2.5.066 update, which happened a while ago.

HDTV Dude

03-02-07, 12:03 PM

I would like to think that since MLB Extra Innings is no longer available on TWC, where it use to occupy at least 10 or 11 channel slots for several hours a day during most of the baseball season, that there might a little extra bandwidth now available for a few new HD channels this spring like ESPN2 HD, MHD & A&E HD. What I really don't need is another new niche channel like Fox Reality (158) or Jus Punjabi (573).

Riverside_Guy

03-02-07, 12:03 PM

Yep....I've never once watched FX....But I do like to have Headline News on in the background as I'm getting ready for work. :)

I would have thought you'd be into Rescue Me, good drama.

scott_bernstein

03-02-07, 12:05 PM

I would have thought you'd be into Rescue Me, good drama.
I'm prejudiced against programs that aren't broadcast in HD. :)

The only things I regularly watch in SD these days are:
Bill Maher on HBO
Daily Show on Comedy Central
South Park on Comedy Central

scott_bernstein

03-02-07, 12:06 PM

I think that came with the 2.5.066 update, which happened a while ago.
This is correct. About 6 months ago, I think?

Riverside_Guy

03-02-07, 12:15 PM

That is REALLY odd. Check your "power on" channel setting again. Nothing like that has ever happened to me

Nah, it's still at "last channel viewed" as it has been since the 8300 got first installed. Doesn't make sense (logically, the most likely culprit has to be Passport), but you are Man South and I'm Man North. Clearly it's an big issue for me because it really stands in my way to keep the second tuner to a channel I want.

I tell you, managing making sure I have a non-buffering channel on the unused tuner is becoming quite the pain. Swap and try and "tune" to a VOD seems to consistently take forever (10 seconds, something like that). It being "swapped" for channel 80 is also happening very often, obviously more noticeable now that I'm leaning on PIP a lot more than normal.

I'll give it another week then revert. Could be the cure is worse than the disease (which is exactly why I don't do external drive, something I WANT to do).

scott_bernstein

03-02-07, 12:17 PM

I tell you, managing making sure I have a non-buffering channel on the unused tuner is becoming quite the pain. Swap and try and "tune" to a VOD seems to consistently take forever (10 seconds, something like that). It being "swapped" for channel 80 is also happening very often, obviously more noticeable now that I'm leaning on PIP a lot more than normal.
Here's what I do to make sure my 2nd tuner is non-buffering:
Pop up the PIP. Use the +/- buttons to change to the non buffering channel of my choice (if you hold the +/- buttons at the bottom of the remote down, they move REALLY quickly). Close the PIP.

MAB

03-02-07, 01:13 PM

I want to be able to delete some (many) channels from the guide. When is TWC going to introduce this?

scott_bernstein

03-02-07, 02:13 PM

I want to be able to delete some (many) channels from the guide. When is TWC going to introduce this?
I think that ability is coming in the Mystro Navigator application. No idea what the ETA is on that in NYC. Reports are that it's quite buggy, so we're better off waiting a bit for it.

mikeM1

03-02-07, 05:21 PM

I think that ability is coming in the Mystro Navigator application. No idea what the ETA is on that in NYC. Reports are that it's quite buggy, so we're better off waiting a bit for it.

I will look forward to that feature too, most definitely. I'd say, a good 80% of the channels available on TWC i never watch :eek: , and never intend to watch.....and would LOVE to delete from the Guide, ASAP.

scott_bernstein

03-02-07, 05:59 PM

I will look forward to that feature too, most definitely. I'd say, a good 80% of the channels available on TWC i never watch :eek: , and never intend to watch.....and would LOVE to delete from the Guide, ASAP.
Yep -- it will make a big difference when using the "search" feature so you don't have to search through junk from channels that you don't watch!

broadwayblue

03-02-07, 07:15 PM

I will look forward to that feature too, most definitely. I'd say, a good 80% of the channels available on TWC i never watch :eek: , and never intend to watch.....and would LOVE to delete from the Guide, ASAP.

I'm looking forward to the day we can delete them from the channel guide...AND the bill!

Riverside_Guy

03-03-07, 02:07 PM

Here's what I do to make sure my 2nd tuner is non-buffering:
Pop up the PIP. Use the +/- buttons to change to the non buffering channel of my choice (if you hold the +/- buttons at the bottom of the remote down, they move REALLY quickly). Close the PIP.

Oh, that's exactly what I do. It's still a pain!

FWIW, it seems 100% consistent that my primary tuner will switch to 80 as soon as I hit STOP on a recording. Specifically, I hit the first "are you sure" A button, then a big pause, then a switch to 80, then the second "are you sure" dialog. "Normal" would be th display of the "primary" channel between those 2 dialogs.

Riverside_Guy

03-03-07, 02:10 PM

I think that ability is coming in the Mystro Navigator application. No idea what the ETA is on that in NYC. Reports are that it's quite buggy, so we're better off waiting a bit for it.

AND if previous patterns they have followed are true again, we'll see SI get it first, followed by an area in Queens, then Manhattan. 2.5.066 Passport took about -45 months I think to work it's way to Manhattan.

Riverside_Guy

03-03-07, 02:16 PM

I'm looking forward to the day we can delete them from the channel guide...AND the bill!

Actually, I actually do find that almost scary, in that we gain the ability to remove 80% of the channels and save 5 dollars. If a la carte really was foisted on TWC and the like, I seriously doubt we'd see that significant a drop in our bills. No guarantee, but something to think about; who was it that said to be careful about what you wish for, it may bite you on the ass?

broadwayblue

03-04-07, 01:22 AM

Actually, I actually do find that almost scary, in that we gain the ability to remove 80% of the channels and save 5 dollars. If a la carte really was foisted on TWC and the like, I seriously doubt we'd see that significant a drop in our bills. No guarantee, but something to think about; who was it that said to be careful about what you wish for, it may bite you on the ass?

Well, you might be right about that possibility. Maybe it wouldn't be worth it for $5...but if I really never watched any of the channels anyway we might as well get some kind of discount, right? There are just so many channels that I've never watched for even 1 second that it just doesn't seem right to have to pay for them...even if they are only .15/month each.

rgrossman

03-04-07, 12:23 PM

One way or another, the cable companies will not lose money if they are forced to go to a la carte. My guess is they'll work things so a few people will save a little money, and most will pay a little more.

rbienstock

03-04-07, 02:12 PM

Anyone who thinks that a-la-carte will be cheaper than all-you-can-eat has probably never eaten at a restaurant. Maybe if all you want is one or two channels, then you will save $. Otherwise it will be a lot more. I'd be willing to bet that the package price for the current channel lineup will be less than 1/4 the aggregate price of buying all the channels in the lineup a-la-carte.

UnnDunn

03-04-07, 03:46 PM

I just want them to ditch the whole idea of "Channels." Just put all the shows on a server somewhere, let us choose which shows or live events we want to subscribe to, charge accordingly.

I would gladly pay $2 per show per month or something, and just get the shows I want with none of the fluff I don't.

AndyHDTV

03-04-07, 05:43 PM

Since it looks as if the MLB Extra Innings package might be exclusive to DirecTV. That would mean as of April TWC will not carry the 14 SD channels that would normally carry the MLB Extra Innings package.

They could put 2-3 HD channels in it's place, since they would have some space freed up.

I hope.

HDTV Dude

03-04-07, 06:47 PM

^^^^^^
I raised this same exact point a couple of days ago and no one seem to care or take notice. There is no legitimate excuse that TWCNYC can give us for not adding at least one or two HD channels, that we know are available to them, like MHD and A&E HD. I do understand that rights to air ESPN2HD might be a different situation but bandwidth is not the problem because TWC never replaced the Inhd2 channel we all lost and now that TWC also lost rights to carry MLB Extra Innings there will be more bandwidth availability than ever before. In my opinion it's never really been a matter of "can't do" but more of a matter of "won't do". This is why we all must cheer on the competition so that cable monopolies like TWC are forced to do things that they normally won't do on their own.

mikeM1

03-04-07, 06:54 PM

AndyHDTV

03-04-07, 08:01 PM

actually the bandwidth they would have used for MLB Extra Innings in april, is currently being used by NHL Center Ice which is ending this month.

the only space we all know about is the former INHD2 slot, which they are still dragging their feet on a replacement.

broadwayblue

03-05-07, 12:17 AM

Speaking about INHD2, are we Rangers fans out of luck for the game tonight? I have a feeling we're gonna get shafted and have to watch the SD feed on VS. (122) even though it's a home game and will be available elsewhere in HD. It's only their biggest game of the year. Please tell me I'm wrong. :(

AndyHDTV

03-05-07, 12:43 AM

TheDaveMan

03-05-07, 12:08 PM

LL3HD

03-05-07, 12:29 PM

My programming guide for next Sunday isn't reflecting the time change appropriately - does anyone know if this will resolve itself correctly in time? Right now, shows are listed as coming on an hour earlier than they really air.
Who knows what’s going to happen. Some say this new time change can be more disruptive than the Y2K transition.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/55943.html

scott_bernstein

03-05-07, 08:01 PM

Oh, that's exactly what I do. It's still a pain!

FWIW, it seems 100% consistent that my primary tuner will switch to 80 as soon as I hit STOP on a recording. Specifically, I hit the first "are you sure" A button, then a big pause, then a switch to 80, then the second "are you sure" dialog. "Normal" would be th display of the "primary" channel between those 2 dialogs.
Interesting -- when I've got both channels set to "non-recordables" and I stop/delete a program, my tuner always flips back to ch. 1.

Is Ch. 80 in your favorites? Maybe it's your "first" favorite?

scott_bernstein

03-05-07, 08:02 PM

the only space we all know about is the former INHD2 slot, which they are still dragging their feet on a replacement.
They killed off 2-3 analog PPV channels recently....That bandwidth should be available.

5w30

03-05-07, 08:30 PM

AndyHDTV

03-05-07, 09:33 PM

They killed off 2-3 analog PPV channels recently....That bandwidth should be available.

when did they do that, and what channels were they?
If you recall?

I know in december they eliminated 2 SD ppv channels from digital cable.

Riverside_Guy

03-06-07, 09:17 AM

Interesting -- when I've got both channels set to "non-recordables" and I stop/delete a program, my tuner always flips back to ch. 1.

Is Ch. 80 in your favorites? Maybe it's your "first" favorite?

Ah, never occurred to me that the "favorites" may be involved. BUT, long ago I set up some of those solely for speed in getting around the guide, so mine are 79, 80, 201, 221, 241, 701, 720. Didn't WANT 79 and 80, but I'd have to delete 201 and 221 to get rid of 79 and 80.

BUT it gives me a germ of an idea, I wonder what may happen if I deleted ALL the favorites?

scott_bernstein

03-06-07, 12:01 PM

BUT it gives me a germ of an idea, I wonder what may happen if I deleted ALL the favorites?
Bingo. I've got no favorites set up......

Riverside_Guy

03-07-07, 05:08 PM

I hope everyone isn't getting too bored withy our discussion here!

Tried no favorites, and it reverted to channel 1, just like you (both tuners on VOD, stopping a recording and deleting it).

Set 1000 as the ONLY favorite, but it won't "go" there under the above circumstances. But I'm going to leave it that way for a while to see what happens under more "normal" circumstances when I had the 2nd tuner magically go to 80 without the above condition.

AndyHDTV

03-07-07, 06:52 PM

if you have questions about HD and TWC, please post your questions here temporarily.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=816320

AndyHDTV

03-08-07, 12:54 AM

supposedly, TWCNYC is trying to add espn2-hd as inhd2's replacement.

demonscars

03-08-07, 01:00 PM

Last night my DVR recorded Lost like I told it to but this morning when I go to watch it a message comes up saying "This recording is currently unavailable". Every other show recorded works. What's up with that? I was looking forward to watching last night's lost in HD. Has anyone else had this problem?

Riverside_Guy

03-08-07, 03:26 PM

supposedly, TWCNYC is trying to add espn2-hd as inhd2's replacement.

I thought this was logical seeing as how we pay for ESPN HD already on that tier. Personally, they could ditch both and I wouldn't miss a thing. the ONLY HD I have seen on ESPN was Monday night football games.

You did catch the bit about Central NY who also has the same pay tier of HD channels? InHD2 went away, then they MOVED ESPN to the regular digital tier AND as compenation, gave them all a full year of SHO including it's HD channel.

Still, I DO think that HDNet's 2 channels are damn good. Recently saw 2 very classic films that had fabulous transfers to HD (Breakfast at Tiffany and West Side Story). Not only that, but I love their NASA coverage.

I'm crossing my fingers for NG HD.

nuttyinnyc

03-08-07, 03:49 PM

Hey guys, been away for a while, actually I have been busy at work. The nerv!!! Doing work during my AVS time. I need to catch up with some of my fav threads. Did ya miss me? Anything new in TWC land? Anything to bring a smile to my face? I am all caught up with work so I might be able to get back into this one, Lost and Heroes threads. Can you believe that I have been so busy that I have been sleeping at 9pm. The Horror, I have a lot of TV to watch tomorrow.

scott_bernstein

03-08-07, 04:28 PM

the ONLY HD I have seen on ESPN was Monday night football games.
Same here -- I haven't watched ANYTHING on ESPN-HD since we got it.

Still, I DO think that HDNet's 2 channels are damn good. Recently saw 2 very classic films that had fabulous transfers to HD (Breakfast at Tiffany and West Side Story). Not only that, but I love their NASA coverage.

I'm crossing my fingers for NG HD.
100% in agreement about HDNet....except I'm crossing my fingers for MHD instead of NG-HD.....

mikeM1

03-08-07, 07:04 PM

Same here -- I haven't watched ANYTHING on ESPN-HD since we got it.

100% in agreement about HDNet....except I'm crossing my fingers for MHD instead of NG-HD.....

Just for the other side of the discussion, I personally love ESPN HD, and watch most of their NBA coverage in HD. I'd love to have ESPN2 HD.

Riverside_Guy

03-09-07, 12:01 PM

Well, all the rumors seem to point to SOMETHING happening on 4/1/07.

scott_bernstein

03-09-07, 02:24 PM

Well, all the rumors seem to point to SOMETHING happening on 4/1/07.
Yeah, all of our 8300HDs will crash and reboot simultaneously, right during primetime TV viewing hours. ;)

nuttyinnyc

03-09-07, 03:34 PM

Yeah, all of our 8300HDs will crash and reboot simultaneously, right during primetime TV viewing hours. ;)
That is ok Scott, not much to watch on sunday April 1st. Most shows should be on repeat cycle.

What rumors riverside? Please tell me!! Private if you don't want to spread any thing on the web.
ESPN 2 instead of NGHD to replace INhd2. Then NGHD & AE HD to be added to our freebies. I rather pay foir espn 2 because I still feel espn will give you better HD content then the NGHD will. Don't get me wrong I would love anyone they choose but it is just a personal opinion that a new simalcast channel NGHD would not look as good as a sporting channel that has already shown how good HD can be with ESPNHD.

AndyHDTV

03-09-07, 09:47 PM

That is ok Scott, not much to watch on sunday April 1st. Most shows should be on repeat cycle.

What rumors riverside? Please tell me!! Private if you don't want to spread any thing on the web.
ESPN 2 instead of NGHD to replace INhd2. Then NGHD & AE HD to be added to our freebies. I rather pay foir espn 2 because I still feel espn will give you better HD content then the NGHD will. Don't get me wrong I would love anyone they choose but it is just a personal opinion that a new simalcast channel NGHD would not look as good as a sporting channel that has already shown how good HD can be with ESPNHD.

rumors were My9-HD and MHD. but that was only for Staten Island

FYI: Cablevision is supposedly adding NGC-HD on the 22nd, currently TWC does not have a contract wit NGC.

AndyHDTV

03-09-07, 10:28 PM

must read for all TWC HD subscribers

http://www.tvpredictions.com/tw030907.htm

broadwayblue

03-09-07, 10:55 PM

I'm crossing my fingers for NG HD.

Anyone know how NG HD stacks up compared to Discovery HD Theater? The Discovery HD channel is definitely among my HD favorites...and I'd love to have NG too.

BobbyCor

03-10-07, 12:08 AM

must read for all TWC HD subscribers

http://www.tvpredictions.com/tw030907.htm

Typical corporate big wig, Melinda Witmer, Time Warner's senior vice president and chief programming officer, doesn't even own an HDTV, but she makes the deals to carry the HD channels. That speaks volumes and helps me understand why we only have what we have. She probably has a Comcast analog box, too.

AndyHDTV

03-10-07, 12:13 AM

That speaks volumes and helps me understand why we only have what we have. She probably has a Comcast analog box, too.

lol lol
I was on the floor with that one!

holl_ands

03-10-07, 01:48 AM

Typical corporate big wig, Melinda Witmer, Time Warner's senior vice president and chief programming officer, doesn't even own an HDTV, but she makes the deals to carry the HD channels. That speaks volumes and helps me understand why we only have what we have. She probably has a Comcast analog box, too.
Or an old low-rez DirecTV Receiver.....just to keep an eye on the competition...

jheart

03-10-07, 09:30 AM

Well, all the rumors seem to point to SOMETHING happening on 4/1/07.

Hmmm, April Fool's Day. I hope it's not a joke.

Does My 9 carry any good programs anyway ??

Riverside_Guy

03-10-07, 11:13 AM

LL3HD

03-10-07, 05:48 PM

,,,, exclusive rights to some Yankee baseball games, so much like ESPN, having it in HD will be of benefit maybe a dozen times per year.,,,That’s about all My9 is worth to me but that’s enough.

There will be plenty of summer nights, especially Friday, where the Yankees will be hosting-- and My9 HD will be earning its bandwidth.

imws

03-11-07, 08:38 AM

I'm seeing severe combing artifacts on Discovery HD channel 706 here in the east 80's in Manhattan, anybody else???

combing artifacts look as if some has dragged a comb across the image horizontally and left a wake in its path... not sure if I've described it properly but the image on 706 looks awful.

John Mason

03-11-07, 09:32 AM

Discovery 706, showing the Magic Flute, was fine at 9:30 am in midtown.

Regarding NGC going HD, it's a shame IMO it'll be 720p. Sure better than SD, but 1080i, with double the format resolution, would be much better for the nature programming. -- John

imws

03-11-07, 03:18 PM

i still see the same artifacts at 3:18PM, all other HD stations are okay so I doubt it is my equipment. I've also rebooted the SA-8300HD box. Very strange.

nuttyinnyc

03-12-07, 01:27 PM

must read for all TWC HD subscribers

http://www.tvpredictions.com/tw030907.htm
good little interview but the questions were very lame. Why doesn't he practice hard jounalism and get in her face? She claims that TWC will keep up with satelite, I do believe that, but I am a little scared about Swtched digital. It will give cable companies more sight of what we watch. Just a privacy issue that wiil be violated, just my opinion. But no matter what 100 channels is a stretch for both companies. Dierect has an advantage because of VOOM, after that the playing field is pretty level. How many stations have commited to starting a feed in 2007/2008. There haven't been that many, none of the major stations have commited to an HD feed.

Bobby is right, this is exactly why TWC hasn't jumped hard on getting their HD channels rolling. The suits are happy with the big numbers they produce already with DTV. Plus all the extra stations they are still picking up. Judging by advertisments we might get 4 new DTV stations before they add one mre HD station. For arguments sake, lets say 20% of TWC 15 mil subscribers have an HDTV. That ends up tpo be a very low number for "the Suits" to cater to us. To admit you don't have an HDTV is just irresponsible, it shows if you aren't in a rush to get a HDTV yourself you porbably bring that same mentality to work. Bobby it would be funny if she was using comcast!!!

nuttyinnyc

03-12-07, 01:54 PM

I dare say if you really like Disc HD, you'll love NG HD. I have read that it's 70+% real HD; that I find excellent for a HD channel that is barely one year old.

My 9 is a joke. They tried going telenovella, but apparently that failed and I can't remember where they were "going." Still, I think they may have exclusive rights to some Yankee baseball games, so much like ESPN, having it in HD will be of benefit maybe a dozen times per year.

Here is a really weird one... earlier in the week, I noticed that Sunday's schedule was wacked, everything was listed at the hour prior to when it really happens (most telling, the local 11 PM news were all listed at 10 PM). Monday was fine, but Sunday was wacked. I check last night and see that there was NO Sunday data, I figure "ah-ha they fixed it." I load new data, bingo, NOT fixed. Just checked, all the "data" I got last night is still there, BUT Sunday is fixed.

Sunday's data got fixed without my having to d/l new data. Which seem to say that there should be no REASON we have to go manually downloading data!

70% in hd, that seems very promising. The one big concern I have you already know. But another concern I have is the older shows. Sure they can make the studio scenes or interviews look nice but te clips with in a show would still predate HD. They still have some good recent shows that will make a great teransfer and maybe once they get into more houses they will start filming in HD to make our satisfaction even greater.

My9 is still catered to women with their novela schedule which won't change, so those few people that watch will be able to see those shows in HD. The Yankee schedule is the biggest part of getting my9 for most of us. The games last year looked horrible on that chnnel. Considering they use all YES equipment you would have expected better SD then the trash we saw last years. They get about 15-20 games. 4-5 being redsox games 2 being Mets which will probably all be HD.(fingerscrossed) The only question you need to ask, are we sure Yes is going to let my9 use their HD equipment? If not, we might get 15-20 SD games Home & Away. PQ will be better because the HD channels always have a better feed then their sister SD channel. But even then will 15-20 better qualty SD games be enough to take away capacity for HD when there are many other better choices out there now.

Mini Y2K went off with out a hitch, clocks changed, programs were recorded on time. No delays. :) My computer was changed manually 5 min ago. I have a hour left now instead of 2. Time flies when you change the time the next day.

Edit, AVS hasn't made the adjustment yet. All the wizards and tech guru's at AVS and we still send posts a hour early.

Berk32

03-12-07, 02:24 PM

My9 is still catered to women with their novela schedule which won't change, so those few people that watch will be able to see those shows in HD. The Yankee schedule is the biggest part of getting my9 for most of us. The games last year looked horrible on that chnnel. Considering they use all YES equipment you would have expected better SD then the trash we saw last years. They get about 15-20 games. 4-5 being redsox games 2 being Mets which will probably all be HD.(fingerscrossed) The only question you need to ask, are we sure Yes is going to let my9 use their HD equipment? If not, we might get 15-20 SD games Home & Away. PQ will be better because the HD channels always have a better feed then their sister SD channel. But even then will 15-20 better qualty SD games be enough to take away capacity for HD when there are many other better choices out there now.

Actually - my9 has completely changed - starting this week actually.

The telenovellas are now only twice a week (each show for 2 hours in a night), with another 2 nights of movies - and some new weekly ultimate fighting league (the IFL) - so its not just for women anymore....

As for the Yankees - YES produces the entire brodcast for MY9 - so its not like they need to "let" My9 use the equipment.... For the 1 HD game they produced on my9 last year - i remember hearing the HD broadcast was also available on the YES Network HD feed (for those who had the channel on 24/7 on other systems)
So lets just see what happens....

nyy7

03-12-07, 02:39 PM

nuttyinnyc

03-12-07, 02:54 PM

"Mini Y2K went off with out a hitch, clocks changed, programs were recorded on time. No delays. :) My computer was changed manually 5 min ago. I have a hour left now instead of 2. Time flies when you change the time the next day."

Not for me in Queens. My non-HD boxes were fine, but my 8300HD did not have the proper time until Sunday Evening, and my guide was an hour behind, also. So no harm done, except I felt I was living in Chcago on Central time.

Bruce in belle Harbor
Really, all my Cable clocks were changed at 2am as planned. I was up so I checked all three of them. 1 x 8300hd & 2 x 3250HD. I am in Richmoond Hill. At least you were up and running for prime time incase you do any recording.

nuttyinnyc

03-12-07, 03:04 PM

Actually - my9 has completely changed - starting this week actually.

The telenovellas are now only twice a week (each show for 2 hours in a night), with another 2 nights of movies - and some new weekly ultimate fighting league (the IFL) - so its not just for women anymore....

As for the Yankees - YES produces the entire brodcast for MY9 - so its not like they need to "let" My9 use the equipment.... For the 1 HD game they produced on my9 last year - i remember hearing the HD broadcast was also available on the YES Network HD feed (for those who had the channel on 24/7 on other systems)
So lets just see what happens....
It still doesn't sound tempting other then having the Yankee games in HD. The ulitmate fighting would be cool but if the WWE doesn't broadcast in HD do you really think this show would be in HD. Then the movies, are we going to get HD movies or TNT lite movies. Last year when the games were on My9 Yes only broadcast the WB Mason Encore. Are you sure about them simalcasting the one HD game?
I will keep my fingers crossed, but this just goes back to the NFL netHD debate , why dedicate a full time channel for only part time programing.

Like many have said here any channel is an improvement and a step in the right direction.

Riverside_Guy

03-12-07, 04:13 PM

Not for me in Queens. My non-HD boxes were fine, but my 8300HD did not have the proper time until Sunday Evening, and my guide was an hour behind, also. So no harm done, except I felt I was living in Chcago on Central time.

Bruce in belle Harbor

Odd, Friday evening I noticed Sundays times were all wrong, but Monday was OK. Sat. morning, Sunday got fixed.

ob3

03-12-07, 04:38 PM

neneloco

03-12-07, 04:49 PM

Has anyone noticed that TNT HD channel 710 has a lag with sound compared to video ? The quality is awesome of the picture, but the sound lags about a 1/2 second of so from the picture. It was pretty prominent during the MATRIX 2 last night, but not evident during MI-2

Is anyone else noticing this ?
Can anything be done ?

I have noticed crappy picture on TNTHD. I am in Staten Island, using 8300hddvr

i get alot of pixelation and motion blur while watchign basketball games and movies over the weekend.

I have been noticing that alot on a few channels lately.

scott_bernstein

03-12-07, 05:09 PM

Has anyone noticed that TNT HD channel 710 has a lag with sound compared to video ? The quality is awesome of the picture, but the sound lags about a 1/2 second of so from the picture. It was pretty prominent during the MATRIX 2 last night, but not evident during MI-2

Is anyone else noticing this ?
Can anything be done ?
Have you tried rebooting the box? That is the solution to many problems....

Scott

scott_bernstein

03-12-07, 05:09 PM

I have noticed crappy picture on TNTHD. I am in Staten Island, using 8300hddvr

i get alot of pixelation and motion blur while watchign basketball games and movies over the weekend.

I have been noticing that alot on a few channels lately.
[See my answer above]
Have you tried rebooting the box. That will often clear up all sorts of issues.

Scott

ob3

03-12-07, 05:14 PM

thanks scott, i will have to try that tonight. I am new to the Cable game and was not aware of its quirks. Very much appreciated

tl

AndyHDTV

03-13-07, 12:56 AM

It seems that two thirds of original TWC markets (not former Comcast & Adelphia systems) will get SDV. don't know where or when this year.

according to this webcast:

John Martin, Time Warner Cable's EVP & CFO, to present at the Bear Stearns' Media Conference

http://ir.timewarnercable.com/events.cfm

broadwayblue

03-13-07, 12:57 PM

scott_bernstein

03-13-07, 01:12 PM

Riverside_Guy

03-13-07, 03:19 PM

As I mentioned some time ago, Verizon and their FIOS installers have contacted me about wiring several of the properties I manage.

I just received some detailed design plans for Verizon's FIOS intallation...but I don't really know how to read them. The drawings show FDT's (Fiber Distribution Terminal) in a riser closet, with fiber drops going to connectors (in hallways), then Fiber Jumpers, and finally SFU ONT (Installed inside living unit and connected to fiber drop via small fiber jumper.) The FDT's are connected to a FDH (Fiber Distribution Hub) in the basement or ground floor. This is described as an optical splitter cabinet interconnecting F1 and F2 fibers. So it appears at least as if fiber is indeed running to each residential apartment.

Ah, very interesting. What part of town?

I'm pretty damn sure a franchise agreement comes with certain rights to the MSO regarding cable inside buildings. AFAIK, Verizon does not have such an agreement. Which DOES jibe with some stuff I read in the press about some buildings "refusing" to allow them to string stuff around there hallways. My co-op spent a bunch of money do get rid of all sorts of cables running around the hallways, so unless Verizon gets some right, I doubt they'd allow them to string fiber around like that. The building DID install plenty of copper into ever apartment, so letting Version hook into out cooper from the basement is very possible. Of course, Id love to know what the real difference in bandwdith delivery that actually means.

broadwayblue

03-13-07, 03:44 PM

Ah, very interesting. What part of town?

I'm pretty damn sure a franchise agreement comes with certain rights to the MSO regarding cable inside buildings. AFAIK, Verizon does not have such an agreement. Which DOES jibe with some stuff I read in the press about some buildings "refusing" to allow them to string stuff around there hallways. My co-op spent a bunch of money do get rid of all sorts of cables running around the hallways, so unless Verizon gets some right, I doubt they'd allow them to string fiber around like that. The building DID install plenty of copper into ever apartment, so letting Version hook into out cooper from the basement is very possible. Of course, Id love to know what the real difference in bandwdith delivery that actually means.

This proposal is for a building on E 94th St.

nuttyinnyc

03-13-07, 04:24 PM

I had some DST issues over the weekend -- first off, I had to recreate my time-based recurring recordings, as usual (Again, these are recordings that I have set by pressing the record button, not on a channel or program, but in the screen that I can enter a specific time and channel for a recurring recording -- like "Always record Ch. 1 from 7:41 to 7:51 AM"). As usual, the programs in the future came up as trying to record from 6:41 to 6:51 before I cancelled them and re-created them.

Also, some programs that I set to record into the future (before the time change) have been incorrectly shifted an hour (for example, the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony on VH1 Classic was slotted for 8:30pm until 12:30am, but the DVR recorded a 9:30-1:30 block, despite the program guide saying it was on from 8:30 until 12:30).....

It seems to me that some (but not all) of the programs that I clicked to record BEFORE the time change are shifted by an hour. Obviously, if I cancel them and re-click on the program to record it, everything is OK.

So, just be aware that you may need to do this....

Scott
Scott you had a really bad change. Do you set the time manually on all your shows? if yes, why? If I am reading this correctly, that does seem like you would have to change it, but not really. The start and finish time remained the same as long as your clock changed everything should have worked fine for you. But it didn't, and that sucks. Be glad we are in the middle of the repeat cycle so you can reset every show manually with out any surprises. everything for me worked fine on sunday & monday night Cold Case & Deal or no Deal at 9pm and Without a Trace & The Apprentice at 10pm. and on Monday Deal and 24 recorded with out problem.

Did you look at any of the future shows to make sure they match up? Why set the time anyway? Just let it record all new showings and have the time for "anytime", the channel, and it will do just that. The only backfire I have with that is BSG on UniversalHD. Even though the 2nd showing is a repeat it isn't listed as one, so when I set the recording for the series on universal it records both of them.

Well you can laugh at me later this week. I might be changing my 8300 so I will have to reprogram all my shows. 25 in all.

imws

03-13-07, 07:15 PM

DiscHD is back to normal again in my house anyway... the combing artifacts are gone, hopefully for good.

pgershon

03-13-07, 11:01 PM

I live in a brownstone on E 94th St. Is FIOS an option for TV, or will it be in the near term. I am happy to grant Verizon any right to run wire they want...

AndyHDTV

03-13-07, 11:43 PM

I live in a brownstone on E 94th St. Is FIOS an option for TV, or will it be in the near term. I am happy to grant Verizon any right to run wire they want...

verizon has to obtain a video franchise agreement with the city gov. estimated to be late 2007 or early 2008.

awolf1

03-14-07, 10:53 AM

Could the TWC channel guide be causing burn in on my TV? I think it is, and I am pissed! Please advise guys! Can I do anything about it or at least prevent it from getting worse?Thanks!

nuttyinnyc

03-14-07, 11:07 AM

Could the TWC channel guide be causing burn in on my TV? I think it is, and I am pissed! Please advise guys! Can I do anything about it or at least prevent it from getting worse?Thanks!
It can, because it has the steady environment that wuld lead to burn in. Slow clrawls and constant colors. How long do you keep the guide on that burn-in can happen? Just stay away from the channel for one day and watch to see if you see it then you will be able to determine if there is burn in. Staying away for a day keeps the image out of your head Because our eyes tend to play tricks on us. I hope this works for you, because I will be pissed with you.
If it is burn in, I m assuming you have plasma, check the plasma thread here at AVS. They have a couple of fixes and ways to prevent further damage. There are a few ways I heard but I don't want to give you misinformation. Good luck.

John Mason

03-14-07, 02:10 PM

nuttyinnyc

03-14-07, 03:05 PM

May have been mentioned earlier, but here's a thread (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17725924) at another board outlining a Multiple Dwelling Unit (large apartment building) at 94th and York in Manhattan just overhauled by Verizon with fiber to each apartment. Didn't uncover word of Verizon SD/HD use in the building, but if it's phone/broadband only, adding video must be a minor connection step. Here's an article (http://www.cedmagazine.com/article/CA6403939.html) contrasting Verizon's fiber bandwidth versus cable techniques. -- John
John from what I have heard, could be false or true, take it as is, just speculation. In queens land we are usually the last to know. But they are laying the cables with new switch boxes and all the goodies for the phone and internet. It is my understanding that once they get approval it is just a matter of turning on a switch for TV because the same cable is going to be used for all three. They just might have to lay more cable if the TV's are away from the computers or phones. 2008 can't come any sooner. My estimate date for State approval and full access. Personnally I think they have it they just want to keep it hush hush because they want to roll out the TV on their terms and be forced to rush into it. Just my opinion.

orbeyonde

03-15-07, 01:35 AM

QMAN71

03-15-07, 08:32 AM

I've had my 8300HD on SI since they were first available and I use the HDMI port with no problems. Not sure if mine has a firewire port or not. I would just go to the service center and swap it out.

I live in SI and have a few 8300HD boxes, that I got about 14 months ago. I tried initially to hook them up with HDMI cables, but after a few hours, the picture would start to stutter and I would have to reboot the box to make it go away. Even when it wasnt stuttering it still seemed that changing channels with an HDMI cable took longer. I finally gave up and have been connected with component ever since. I do notice that the picture quality is slightly worse, but I can live with it, because the picture is steady and the channel change is much faster.

Anyway, I just upgraded to the 60 inch Vizio plasma and was going to try HDMI again hoping that a software upgrade since then might have taken care of the problem. Lo and behold the same old problems happened again.

Has anyone on Staten Island been able to get a steady HDMI picture? I have heard of a 8300HD with firewire port that might solve this problem. Does anyone know if this is available on SI?

I tried calling customer service to ask, but those people are totally clueless.

If there is a fix for the HDMI, will it also allow for HDMI switching through a receiver?

Thanks for the help and advice.

Vashti

03-15-07, 10:08 AM

nuttyinnyc

03-15-07, 10:44 AM

I live in SI and have a few 8300HD boxes, that I got about 14 months ago. I tried initially to hook them up with HDMI cables, but after a few hours, the picture would start to stutter and I would have to reboot the box to make it go away. Even when it wasnt stuttering it still seemed that changing channels with an HDMI cable took longer. I finally gave up and have been connected with component ever since. I do notice that the picture quality is slightly worse, but I can live with it, because the picture is steady and the channel change is much faster.

Anyway, I just upgraded to the 60 inch Vizio plasma and was going to try HDMI again hoping that a software upgrade since then might have taken care of the problem. Lo and behold the same old problems happened again.

Has anyone on Staten Island been able to get a steady HDMI picture? I have heard of a 8300HD with firewire port that might solve this problem. Does anyone know if this is available on SI?

I tried calling customer service to ask, but those people are totally clueless.

If there is a fix for the HDMI, will it also allow for HDMI switching through a receiver?

Thanks for the help and advice.
Ok, I will try to help you if we can get more information. Use say a few boxes, How many is a few? How is the cable spilt? Do you have HDMI connection for each box? What software is your boxes using. If they are all the same they should be using the same program. Then we can check it to ours in the NY area to see if the same one is running here. I hate to say it becuse I am a big HDMI supporter, but sometimes it just doesn't work with some of these boxes. I gave my father HDMI cables but he still uses the component because the PQ is better with the other cables.
We are here to try to help you, because you should be using the best cable connection available today.

eieio

03-15-07, 12:06 PM

Hello all! Running a higher end Vista Ultimate pc here and would like to view news-y channels during the day. Already have 1 high def box/dvr from Time Warner, another standard def box (obviously also from Time Warner), and cable modem also from Time Warner.

Purchased the Hauppauge 150 MCE TV tuner card with Beyond TV 4 and Firefly Remote as a package. In Manhattan, the analog signal from the cable merely gives "basic channels" which do NOT include CNN, MSNBC and such. My 2 cable boxes have service for many channels including HBO and Showtime, and the high def box/dvr is capable of high def viewing.

Now, i'd like to have a 3rd place to watch news-y types of tv, and this 3rd place is my pc. Unfortunately, the Hauppauge 150 MCE + Beyond TV will ONLY show the "basic channels" and not the "standard channels" ("standard channels" include CNN, MSNBC and such).

I see relatively few solutions and would like to ask for advice, opinions, and options.

These are possibilities:

1. call Time Warner for a third box (dedicated exclusively for pc use only) at ~$11 per month in order to get more than "basic channels", i.e. get "standard channels"; plus a one time installation fee of $30. No pick up of cable boxes possible at 23rd Street unless it's an exchange.

2. try a streaming type box to stream video from standard def box to pc: downsides include my VoIP not working well while streaming video due to volume of information.

3. find a legitimate, legal cable box to purchase for use, if there is such a thing and if it indeed is legal. i do not know what is currently allowed, but only wish to pursue legitimate options. i heard somewhere that laws may have changed and maybe it is possible to legitimately purchase a box for viewing "standard channels" which may not include HBO and such which is fine with me, since i intend to use it for news-type of TV viewing only.

thank you very much in advance.

ps: sorry about this not being exclusively about HD. i do have one HD dvr time warner box but this is going to be my 3rd tv watching location here and it's going to be just for news-y type of programs mostly during the day. i hope this is still the right forum thread despite my question being more of the standard def nature since my tv tuner card is the Hauppauge 150 MCE. thx!

2nu2hd

03-15-07, 12:06 PM

scott_bernstein

03-15-07, 01:14 PM

My HD_DVR was locking up , dropping out etc so yesterday I went down to sales office and swapped it out (POK). The new box (build date 1/2007) hooked up and - I am receiving all premiums but no on-demand stuff. I figured they would update box overnight - but today its the samething. Hesitating calling as I prefer the premiums over OD - wonder how long before they reboot my box...for me.....
It'll be some amount of time between a couple of days and a week until your box refreshes itself (unless you call and complain....then they'll send a signal immediately to your box to refresh itself).

When you initially hook up a box, the channels that you receive are somewhat "random" until it synchs itself up with the server. And when it does that is not entirely predictable....

Riverside_Guy

03-15-07, 01:18 PM

I live in a brownstone on E 94th St. Is FIOS an option for TV, or will it be in the near term. I am happy to grant Verizon any right to run wire they want...

Unless you own that building, I'm afraid your opinion doesn't count for much!

Riverside_Guy

03-15-07, 01:39 PM

May have been mentioned earlier, but here's a thread (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17725924) at another board outlining a Multiple Dwelling Unit (large apartment building) at 94th and York in Manhattan just overhauled by Verizon with fiber to each apartment. Didn't uncover word of Verizon SD/HD use in the building, but if it's phone/broadband only, adding video must be a minor connection step. Here's an article (http://www.cedmagazine.com/article/CA6403939.html) contrasting Verizon's fiber bandwidth versus cable techniques. -- John

Yes I heard about that as well... I think some guy actually posted images of the runs... but I think it's was strictly for phone/Internet. I did look up connection speed and FIOS seems to have a 5 Mb/s/2 Mb/s plan for about what TWC charges. Slower on d/l, but much faster on u/l.

I kinda thought Verizon's plan would be similar to TWC, starting at the bottom of Manhattan and working their way north, so this building does seem odd. One would think it meant all the main underground fiber was laid, at least to 94th street.

As for FIOS vs. TWC, nobody can give ANY crown or advantage to either until we see them both in the field. TWC is largely fiber to nodes splitting to no more than 500 customers. Whether Verizon goes fiber into the apartment is still very much up for speculation, even though they appeared to do just that on 94th street. The cost and time to accomplish that are far bigger than the 2-3 years it took TWC to roll fiber to most of Manhattan AND there was no installation to each apartment.

Riverside_Guy

03-15-07, 01:46 PM

Hey guys. My co-op gets a bulk rate from TWC. They've been raising our rates steadily - and I'm interested in investigating alternatives (we're in the W. 40's). It sounds like FIOS is at least a year out, right? Any other thoughts? Thanks.

Nobody knows for sure, but I think it's better to think in terms of 2-3 years. Along with things like fiber to a node or fiber into the apartment, even though we seem to have a "fiber into the apartment" set up in an east side building, that could be more of an experiment than an indication of what they WILL be doing.

Might you sneak in a decent look at the Direct satellite (I think 230 degrees, about 30 degrees above the horizon is where it's at from NYC). One big issue is Direct doesn't do Internet, so if you're really used to 7 Mb/s TWC, you will be disappointed because options are limited (3 Mb/s DSL, or continue TWC's RoadRunner for 210 bucks more/month than you pay now).

Riverside_Guy

03-15-07, 01:49 PM

My HD_DVR was locking up , dropping out etc so yesterday I went down to sales office and swapped it out (POK). The new box (build date 1/2007) hooked up and - I am receiving all premiums but no on-demand stuff. I figured they would update box overnight - but today its the samething. Hesitating calling as I prefer the premiums over OD - wonder how long before they reboot my box...for me.....

Yes, this happens. Don't call, just enjoy it until they disable it. I've had that happen to me in 2 weeks and in 2 days on 2 separate occasions. The 2 weeks was great because I got everything, including all PPV movies for 2 weeks! BUT that was 4 years or so ago...

nuttyinnyc

03-15-07, 03:41 PM

My HD_DVR was locking up , dropping out etc so yesterday I went down to sales office and swapped it out (POK). The new box (build date 1/2007) hooked up and - I am receiving all premiums but no on-demand stuff. I figured they would update box overnight - but today its the samething. Hesitating calling as I prefer the premiums over OD - wonder how long before they reboot my box...for me.....
you got DVR and 2 (least time) to 7 (most I have heard) days to record any show you want. Go through the channel guide and catch up. Record the movie in SD that way you get the maximum ammount recorded. This is a normal problem that one day TWC would correct. But they haven't yet. Don't worry about not being able to view DiscoveryHD and Universal HD because they will come back when it gets adjusted. Have fun taking advantage.

coneyparleg

03-15-07, 07:48 PM

Yes I heard about that as well... I think some guy actually posted images of the runs... but I think it's was strictly for phone/Internet. I did look up connection speed and FIOS seems to have a 5 Mb/s/2 Mb/s plan for about what TWC charges. Slower on d/l, but much faster on u/l.

I kinda thought Verizon's plan would be similar to TWC, starting at the bottom of Manhattan and working their way north, so this building does seem odd. One would think it meant all the main underground fiber was laid, at least to 94th street.

As for FIOS vs. TWC, nobody can give ANY crown or advantage to either until we see them both in the field. TWC is largely fiber to nodes splitting to no more than 500 customers. Whether Verizon goes fiber into the apartment is still very much up for speculation, even though they appeared to do just that on 94th street. The cost and time to accomplish that are far bigger than the 2-3 years it took TWC to roll fiber to most of Manhattan AND there was no installation to each apartment.

I think a Verizon Exec must live in that building

BobbyCor

03-15-07, 08:55 PM

I live in SI and have a few 8300HD boxes, that I got about 14 months ago. I tried initially to hook them up with HDMI cables, but after a few hours, the picture would start to stutter and I would have to reboot the box to make it go away. Even when it wasnt stuttering it still seemed that changing channels with an HDMI cable took longer.

HDMI has been fine for me on the 8300HD and DVI on a Pace box, except in a few cases. There are several channels that are prone to what an engineer termed "The Nextel Syndrome". He explained that my Treo and Blackberry (both on Cingular) cause extreme pixilization, especially on MSG-HD, when the devices communicate over GPRS (data). I usually shut both off when I'm watching the Rangers or move them to a room away from the TV. I've been told that the interference range is only about 1 to 2 feet, but I've proven that up to 15 feet away will still cause the stutters and pixilization. On my Pace box, sometimes the box won't recover until I change the channel. I've also seen interference from my sister-in-law's device that is one floor upstairs in our house.

I'm not suggesting that every case of stutter is caused by cellular data communication, but I can say that when GPRS data is flowing and I'm watching 712, the boxes go haywire. I can't really say what other channels are affected since I don't watch too many other channels that I notice the stutter.

Tresjolie9

03-15-07, 10:55 PM

Watching tonight's NBC 10:00 PM? For some reason it has gone into SD, instead of HD. Anyone know why?

Riverside_Guy

03-16-07, 12:35 PM

Watching tonight's NBC 10:00 PM? For some reason it has gone into SD, instead of HD. Anyone know why?

Do you know this because it was in 4:3? This is definitely something that happens everywhere, I've seen it corrected live/on screen, I've seen it go to the commercial breaks and come back properly after them. It's all (IMO) about some engineer being asleep at the switch.

timewaster

03-16-07, 04:07 PM

I currently have the digital (HD) cable and DVR option.
Is there a package deal to add the 3 mbps road runner?
How much of a discount would I get if I get all 3?

Riverside_Guy

03-17-07, 01:39 PM

RR standard now is 7 Mb/s down, 512 Kb/s up in NYC. Yes there are package deals for TV and RR, check the TWC-NY site.

twcinsider

03-17-07, 06:15 PM

rumors were My9-HD and MHD. but that was only for Staten Island

FYI: Cablevision is supposedly adding NGC-HD on the 22nd, currently TWC does not have a contract wit NGC.

wwor-hd coming as i reported back in november. universal hd moves to 740. mhd will be on 718 in si only and rest of systems as bandwith opens. analog premiums will drop in phases in b/q systems, man.north, then man.south

HDTV Dude

03-17-07, 09:39 PM

wwor-hd coming as i reported back in november. universal hd moves to 740. mhd will be on 718 in si only and rest of systems as bandwith opens. analog premiums will drop in phases in b/q systems, man.north, then man.south

I hope this is part of the changes that some have suggested will come on April 1st. In checking cablevision's schedule they do have MY9 listed as broadcasting 21 Yankee games in HD for the 2007 season. As far as the bandwidth issue is concerned we all know with the death of Inhd2 that there's room enough for at least one more HD channel and for MHD let's not forget that TWC also lost carriage rights for MLB Extra Innings which took up around 11 to 12 digital channels during the prime time hours.

Tresjolie9

03-17-07, 11:04 PM

It is 11:04 on Saturday Night. Trying to watch Mad TV, on Fox 5, and the HD signal is gone. Tune to the channel, all I have is a blank screen.

LL3HD

03-17-07, 11:07 PM

It is 11:04 on Saturday Night. Trying to watch Mad TV, on Fox 5, and the HD signal is gone. Tune to the channel, all I have is a blank screen.
It's ok in Queens.

mikeM1

03-17-07, 11:09 PM

It is 11:04 on Saturday Night. Trying to watch Mad TV, on Fox 5, and the HD signal is gone. Tune to the channel, all I have is a blank screen.

I just checked it out, and here in Jackson Hts at 11:11, ch 705 is working just fine.

pgershon

03-17-07, 11:31 PM

Unless you own that building, I'm afraid your opinion doesn't count for much!

I do own the building. Does that help?

orbeyonde

03-17-07, 11:52 PM

Ok, I will try to help you if we can get more information. Use say a few boxes, How many is a few? How is the cable spilt? Do you have HDMI connection for each box? What software is your boxes using. If they are all the same they should be using the same program. Then we can check it to ours in the NY area to see if the same one is running here. I hate to say it becuse I am a big HDMI supporter, but sometimes it just doesn't work with some of these boxes. I gave my father HDMI cables but he still uses the component because the PQ is better with the other cables.
We are here to try to help you, because you should be using the best cable connection available today.

I have 7 connections in my house, but the wiring is not the issue as the head engineer for TWCSI came to my house to do the wiring. Everything was tested and everything works great. No issues with voip or cable modem. Only issue is when I attempt an HDMI connection. When I talk about stuttering, I mean that the picture goes black for a split second then back to normal then to back then to normal, etc. It will continue to do this until I either reboot the box or switch to component cable.

I am using the 8300HD rev 2.4 manufactured 6/27/05.

Tresjolie9

03-18-07, 12:24 AM

AndyHDTV

03-18-07, 08:28 AM

analog premiums will drop in phases in b/q systems, man.north, then man.south

from what I can see in the channel lineups, B/Q & SI still carry analog versions HBO & SHOW.
Manhhatan Carries analog versions TMC, MAX, HBO & SHOW.
I guess TWC is getting rid of just the analog versions TMC, MAX.

Riverside_Guy

03-18-07, 11:56 AM

I do own the building. Does that help?

Oh, I wasn't trying to be snotty! Yes it makes a HUGE difference.

I know that the granting of a license also grants certain rights to the cable company about wiring a building. The "landlord" has no say in the matter (my building did go through a tiff w/TWC, and when it got to the lawyers, ours said we could NOT stop them from doing what they wanted EVEN tough all we wanted was for them to use a brand new system of concealed wiring we put in). So they clearly had the "legal" right to run whatever wiring in whatever fashion they wanted. FIOS at present does NOT have any license agreement, so it is 100% up to the building owner if they would be allowed to run wiring through the hallways into each unit.

Of course, another assumption is that it was a multiple dwelling building, not a O&O. At the present time, it does seem they are reaching out to landlords to get "permission" to wire... and I've read of cases where permission was denied.

Riverside_Guy

03-18-07, 12:02 PM

wwor-hd coming as i reported back in november. universal hd moves to 740. mhd will be on 718 in si only and rest of systems as bandwith opens. analog premiums will drop in phases in b/q systems, man.north, then man.south

MHD in SI only? How can that be, I've never heard of carriage agreements being specific to neighborhoods in the same city! Or is it that SI has more bandwidth available than any other area of the city?

We know there is at least one HD slot wide open (the old InHD2). I did read that 2 analogs have been dropped, which would seemingly give us a bunch of potential HD channels.

Like I said, I read it was done but don't have exact details... can anyone supply that?

By analog premiums, I assume you mean SHO on 79 and HBO on 80 (Cinemax may have one, don't know for sure).

QMAN71

03-18-07, 12:45 PM

MHD in SI only? How can that be, I've never heard of carriage agreements being specific to neighborhoods in the same city! Or is it that SI has more bandwidth available than any other area of the city?

We know there is at least one HD slot wide open (the old InHD2). I did read that 2 analogs have been dropped, which would seemingly give us a bunch of potential HD channels.

Like I said, I read it was done but don't have exact details... can anyone supply that?

By analog premiums, I assume you mean SHO on 79 and HBO on 80 (Cinemax may have one, don't know for sure).
The issue on SI has nothing to do with carriage agreements. They recently made all analog customers (except those that only receive the standard channels available ota) hand in their boxes and convert to digital in order to open up bandwidth.

AndyHDTV

03-18-07, 02:58 PM

mikeM1

03-18-07, 03:19 PM

MikeM1, where in Queens are you? Find it strange that the channel is working on other Queens TWC sets, but not mine.

Anyone know of anything within the set that would cause a channel to suddenly go out? I have the Scientific American Explorer 8300

Sorry in the delay in getting back to you, Tresjolie9, but i live in Jackson Heights. And indeed, i had no problem with 705 last nite. But that's not to say that on another nite it won't be YOU with the clear pic, and me with a grey screen. Or terrible pic quality, with the stuttering, audio drop outs and all the other stuff that we love so much since the 8300 boxes have been in use. Sometimes it's unbearable, and i've also noticed that it is worse on the HDMI connection side than it is on the component cable side.

mikeM1

03-18-07, 03:29 PM

hey QMAN71, Do you know how many analog channels you now have in SI?

Here in manhattan we have around 98 analog channels.

i can't wait till they get rid of any of them.
I'm begining to think that SI is it's own division since they have their own website.

And, FWIW, i =never= watch the premium channels in analog/SD...what a waste!

QMAN71

03-18-07, 04:17 PM

AndyHDTV

03-18-07, 04:21 PM

QMAN71

03-18-07, 04:38 PM

go into diagnostic mode
in the tunning section, change the "tuning mode" to "analog"
then just change the channel #'s in the "display channel"

I went from 1- 98 tuning in analog mode, so manhattan has 98 analog channels
Well I did that, and I was able to tune all the way to 159, with a handful of channels that didn't tune.

AndyHDTV

03-18-07, 04:41 PM

Well I did that, and I was able to tune all the way to 159, with a handful of channels that didn't tune.

jus the ones with sound are channels

AndyHDTV

03-18-07, 04:45 PM

apperantly i'm going to have to redo my little experiment because I didn't bother going past 100 asuming that was the end of analog channels.

looks like their is 159 analog channels

QMAN71

03-18-07, 04:46 PM

jus the ones with sound are channels
Confirmed they all had sound, and i could see the video on the sides. I would say there were maybe a dozen or so channels in that range that did not tune.

QMAN71

03-18-07, 04:49 PM

appertly i'm going to have to redo my little experiment because I didn't bother going past 100 asuming that was the end of analog channels.

looks like their is 159 analog channels
I was also able to tune 201-207

AndyHDTV

03-18-07, 04:50 PM

well we are both confussed now

i always thought that the channels past 99 were only broadcast digitally, but it says it can also be accesed thru analog

QMAN71

03-18-07, 04:54 PM

well we are both confussed now

i always thought that the channels past 99 were only broadcast digitally, but it says it can also be accesed thru analog
maybe diagnostic mode doesn't work the way we think. Maybe instead of checking if the channel is analog, it is doing some kind of qam to analog conversion on the digital channels???

AndyHDTV

03-18-07, 05:15 PM

maybe diagnostic mode doesn't work the way we think. Maybe instead of checking if the channel is analog, it is doing some kind of qam to analog conversion on the digital channels???

I guess the only way to truely find out is to hook up an illegal analog box and see how many show up.

cap_167

03-18-07, 05:44 PM

There's 99 channels and 80 something viewable channels (don't know exactly but there's at least 80 viewable), the rest are just scrambled and a couple display channel 5 and one of the cspan channels in a scrambled picture with scrambled sound. One of the former pay per view channels display the time warner cable logo.

LL3HD

03-18-07, 06:05 PM

I guess the only way to truely find out is to hook up an illegal analog box and see how many show up.I’m not sure if this is the answer but my guess would be to plug the cable directly into your display (bypassing the Set Top Box) and scan for available channels. I realize that the channels that come up are the unscrambled channels but are they also the analog?
Just a thought.

Maybe John Mason could chime in. I’m sure he has the answer.

AndyHDTV

03-18-07, 06:20 PM

I’m not sure if this is the answer but my guess would be to plug the cable directly into your display (bypassing the Set Top Box) and scan for available channels. I realize that the channels that come up are the unscrambled channels but are they also the analog?
Just a thought.

Maybe John Mason could chime in. I’m sure he has the answer.

yes those are analog.
I'm trying to figure out how many analog channels SI "now" has, compared to the rest of us.

SI supposedly dropped some analog channels in january, jus trying to figure out how many.

AndyHDTV

03-18-07, 06:29 PM

PSAL in HD right now on MSG-HD

LL3HD

03-18-07, 06:42 PM

PSAL in HD right now on MSG-HDYes, the Knicks played a game there moments before this one so I guess they kept the same HD production set up.

jmp_nyc

03-18-07, 08:19 PM

twcinsider

03-19-07, 02:02 AM

hey QMAN71, Do you know how many analog channels you now have in SI?

Here in manhattan we have around 98 analog channels.

i can't wait till they get rid of any of them.
I'm begining to think that SI is it's own division since they have their own website.

no twc ny/nj system has more than 80 analog channels (550mhz)

systems in 5 boros, mount vernon, nj are under the ny/nj division. si, nj, mount vernon does have a gm seperate from the manhattan,brooklyn,queens. usually when new channels are rolled out, its division wide but si will be a battleground with verizon agressively trying to take customers.

twcinsider

03-19-07, 02:08 AM

MHD in SI only? How can that be, I've never heard of carriage agreements being specific to neighborhoods in the same city! Or is it that SI has more bandwidth available than any other area of the city?

We know there is at least one HD slot wide open (the old InHD2). I did read that 2 analogs have been dropped, which would seemingly give us a bunch of potential HD channels.

Like I said, I read it was done but don't have exact details... can anyone supply that?

By analog premiums, I assume you mean SHO on 79 and HBO on 80 (Cinemax may have one, don't know for sure).

the old inhd2 slot is being taken by wwor-hd which by the way was part of a complicated deal that is tied to renewal of fox news, launch of fox reality, move of fx to 37, and future launch of fox business. keep in mind just because bandwith is there does not mean it will be filled overnight. do u go out and spend all the $ u have just cause u have it? u must save for unforseen circumstances. prgramming costs $ and cant be added just because u want it

twcinsider

03-19-07, 02:13 AM

Anyone know how NG HD stacks up compared to Discovery HD Theater? The Discovery HD channel is definitely among my HD favorites...and I'd love to have NG too.

NG is a simulcast (duplicate) of their SD channel so some may see it as little or less value than discovery whcih is multicast (different prgramming) from their SD channel

AndyHDTV

03-19-07, 04:40 AM

no twc ny/nj system has more than 80 analog channels (550mhz)

systems in 5 boros, mount vernon, nj are under the ny/nj division. si, nj, mount vernon does have a gm seperate from the manhattan,brooklyn,queens. usually when new channels are rolled out, its division wide but si will be a battleground with verizon agressively trying to take customers.

thanks for your facts twcinsider. we were confused for a while.

I guess you heard it hear folks, TWC will not rush to add services unless someone like Verizon is effecting their profits. we might have to wait till FIOS is all over the 5 boros till we get some channels.

AndyHDTV

03-19-07, 04:43 AM

twcinsider,
1. is OCAP and SDV scheduled for late 2007?
2. do you know if FSNY-HD might be added in October?
3. any word on ESPN2-HD availability and A&E-HD?

coreynyc

03-19-07, 08:15 AM

let's not forget that TWC also lost carriage rights for MLB Extra Innings which took up around 11 to 12 digital channels during the prime time hours.

I keep reading here that TWC is about to gain bandwith because of the Extra Innings package....

The DirecTV deal (if they end up with the exclusive) doesn't start until 2008.

QMAN71

03-19-07, 08:54 AM

no twc ny/nj system has more than 80 analog channels (550mhz)

systems in 5 boros, mount vernon, nj are under the ny/nj division. si, nj, mount vernon does have a gm seperate from the manhattan,brooklyn,queens. usually when new channels are rolled out, its division wide but si will be a battleground with verizon agressively trying to take customers.
Ah this makes sense regarding si. TWC is aggressively advertising in the SI advance there contract discounts of 5% off for 1 year contract and 10% off for a 2 year. I guess TWC believes that verizon will get the city franchise soon.

Berk32

03-19-07, 10:11 AM

I keep reading here that TWC is about to gain bandwith because of the Extra Innings package....

The DirecTV deal (if they end up with the exclusive) doesn't start until 2008.

No.

It's this year.

2007.

DirecTV wasn't promising full HD coverage until 2008

Riverside_Guy

03-19-07, 11:06 AM

The issue on SI has nothing to do with carriage agreements. They recently made all analog customers (except those that only receive the standard channels available ota) hand in their boxes and convert to digital in order to open up bandwidth.

So there are NO analog channels coming from the SI head end? Wow.

Carriage agreements are two way, benefit to the cable company and benefit to the channel. Obviously it's in the channels best interest to be possible in as many homes as possible. In Manhattan, we sure as hell DO have the bandwidth, we lost InHD2 and never got a replacement. MHD could have been it, even though my preference would be NG HD.

Riverside_Guy

03-19-07, 11:16 AM

the old inhd2 slot is being taken by wwor-hd which by the way was part of a complicated deal that is tied to renewal of fox news, launch of fox reality, move of fx to 37, and future launch of fox business. keep in mind just because bandwith is there does not mean it will be filled overnight. do u go out and spend all the $ u have just cause u have it? u must save for unforseen circumstances. prgramming costs $ and cant be added just because u want it

Yes I understand, BUT I paid for HDXtra on the basis of getting 5 HD channels for my money. I was TOLD by TWC that they had every intention of replacing that channel on that pay tier. So the "spend all your income" analogy doesn't quite work given this set of circumstances.

PLUS, in the central NY region, they "moved" ESPN HD to the regular digital tier AND "compensated" all customers with a free year of a premium service. In NYC, we get the shaft, they don't "replace," they keep ESPN HD a paid channel, I'd say we got screwed based on what TWC has done, not by what I feel or think.

Riverside_Guy

03-19-07, 11:20 AM

NG is a simulcast (duplicate) of their SD channel so some may see it as little or less value than discovery whcih is multicast (different prgramming) from their SD channel

Funny, I have read posts from other areas of the country that have NG HD and they do not complain that the HD channel only has SD programming. Matter of fact, someone who works there stated they had about 70% of the programming in HD and nobody who has the channel available disputed that. If NG HD was as you suggest, I would expect to read all sorts of howls about it, and I don't.

Riverside_Guy

03-19-07, 11:29 AM

I guess you heard it hear folks, TWC will not rush to add services unless someone like Verizon is effecting their profits. we might have to wait till FIOS is all over the 5 boros till we get some channels.

I'm 100% bullish on Verizon getting their franchise agreement! In many ways, they will be real competitors to TWC... while satellite is available to limited sections of Manhattan (and some are using it), the killer for many of us is broadband, we get pretty good broadband from TWC that would get more expensive if we dropped the TWC TV services.

Matter of fact, I'd suggest a writing campaign to encourage the fast granting of that agreement to Verizon!

scott_bernstein

03-19-07, 12:28 PM

AndyHDTV

03-19-07, 01:55 PM

If you tune to the HD slot formerly occupied by INHD2 in the diagnostic mode, you get an "HD PPV" channel that doesn't seem to do much, but seemed to be prepared for a boxing match on Saturday evening (I wasn't home when the match was supposed to be on).

i hope their not using it for just PPV boxing again. hope not.

TWCinsider once said that PPV wouldn't be back till SDV was active.

scott_bernstein

03-19-07, 02:42 PM

i hope their not using it for just PPV boxing again. hope not.

TWCinsider once said that PPV wouldn't be back till SDV was active.
Well, HD PPV is not "back" -- it's just that TWC never turned "off" the frequency that INHD2 was broadcast over in DIAG mode. So whatever INHD puts on that frequency over the satellite will be there.....

Most of the time it's nothing at all, but I happened to check in over the weekend to see if anything was going on there and there was sort of a "Coming up at 9pm" screen....

UnnDunn

03-19-07, 02:45 PM

So there are NO analog channels coming from the SI head end? Wow.

Carriage agreements are two way, benefit to the cable company and benefit to the channel. Obviously it's in the channels best interest to be possible in as many homes as possible. In Manhattan, we sure as hell DO have the bandwidth, we lost InHD2 and never got a replacement. MHD could have been it, even though my preference would be NG HD.
NY1 and the TV Guide Channel are still Analog, as well as local OTA channels, public access and some other basic channels.

But if you have a digital box, the only Analog channel you will normally see is TVGuide Channel. Everything else is digital simulcast.

jmp_nyc

03-19-07, 04:41 PM

Living at 90th and 3rd, I'm hopeful that this means that I might see FIOS in my building. Of course, I'm also hopeful that my grandchildren might live to see the 2nd Avenue Subway in operation...

I'm now much more hopeful about FIOS. I sent my building manager an e-mail asking about FIOS, suggesting that it might be reasonable to try and get a deal in place with Verizon so they can run the fiber in the hallways either before or as part of the hallway reovation project that's going to start later this year. As I pointed out, what better time to run the lines than when the crown moulding and conduit are being replaced.

She e-mailed me back and said that Verizon had already approached the building about installing FIOS, and that they were in the process of negotiating a deal.

If they do follow through on setting up a deal, and Verizon does get the franchise to allow them to carry tv signals, I'll definitely be adding FIOS TV, although I'd initially run it alongside TWC until I make sure all the kinks are worked out.
-JMP

jmp_nyc

03-19-07, 04:46 PM

angrykumar

03-19-07, 07:27 PM

Hi all -

A question for the group. I have an Explorer 8300 HD which I got about a year and a half ago. It has HDMI which I had used successfully in my Philips LCD.

Unfortunately my old TV died and I had to swap it for a new one - a Sharp LCD. Here, it doesn't seem to be working at all. However, I was able to get it to work via component connection. Why would HDMI no longer work?

The same day, all the functionality in my cable box seemed to go kaput. The box seems to turn the TV off randomly; the remote works only very rarely, etc. My sense is that the remote itself is probably just broken, but does anyone have any other thoughts? Assuming that is true, I have a few questions:

1. Any reason why the HDMI would stop working at basically the same time?
2. Can I drop by the 23rd St store with just the remote and get a new one, or do I need to lug down the box as well?
3. Is there any other reason to get a new box in the 16 months since I got my current one? Like I said, HDMI had been working fine, so I am loathe to swap the whole thing unless a remote swap doesn't fix it OR new boxes come with larger HDD's etc.

Thanks so much for any advice!!!

jmp_nyc

03-19-07, 09:28 PM

The same day, all the functionality in my cable box seemed to go kaput. The box seems to turn the TV off randomly; the remote works only very rarely, etc. My sense is that the remote itself is probably just broken, but does anyone have any other thoughts?

That sounds like it's all stuff that could originate with the remote. Just to ask a silly question, did you try changing the batteries in the remote?
-JMP

angrykumar

03-19-07, 10:12 PM

That sounds like it's all stuff that could originate with the remote. Just to ask a silly question, did you try changing the batteries in the remote?
-JMP
Yeah, I tried the silly stuff like changing the batteries, doing a reset on the box, plugging in the HDMI only with both TV and box turned off etc etc - no luck....

John Mason

03-20-07, 08:02 AM

Yeah, I tried the silly stuff like changing the batteries, doing a reset on the box, plugging in the HDMI only with both TV and box turned off etc etc - no luck....
One more 'silly stuff' I've used at times: pressing TV or CBL on my 8300HD remote. If it somehow gets in the wrong mode, nothing seems to work. Oh yes, noticed in the past week or so my fast channel scanning with the guide displayed was very sluggish. Yesterday noticed the Cable button on the remote was glowing red constantly and the STB wouldn't respond to remote commands. New batteries fixed it. -- John

John Mason

03-20-07, 08:17 AM

NY1 and the TV Guide Channel are still Analog, as well as local OTA channels, public access and some other basic channels.

But if you have a digital box, the only Analog channel you will normally see is TVGuide Channel. Everything else is digital simulcast.
Yes, a digital box will use the digitized or 'simulcast' channels. But unless TWC SI has made a significant revamping, suspect a channel scan with a NTSC-only tuner would log ~80 NTSC channels, with perhaps 1/3 not sync-scrambled. -- John

rbienstock

03-20-07, 08:57 AM

I'm now much more hopeful about FIOS. I sent my building manager an e-mail asking about FIOS, suggesting that it might be reasonable to try and get a deal in place with Verizon so they can run the fiber in the hallways either before or as part of the hallway reovation project that's going to start later this year. As I pointed out, what better time to run the lines than when the crown moulding and conduit are being replaced.

She e-mailed me back and said that Verizon had already approached the building about installing FIOS, and that they were in the process of negotiating a deal.

If they do follow through on setting up a deal, and Verizon does get the franchise to allow them to carry tv signals, I'll definitely be adding FIOS TV, although I'd initially run it alongside TWC until I make sure all the kinks are worked out.
-JMP

Could you possibly get the contact information for the division of Verison that deals with building managers? My building manager is amenable to getting FIOS put in, but is getting the run around from Verison as to the contact point.

angrykumar

03-20-07, 09:38 AM

One more 'silly stuff' I've used at times: pressing TV or CBL on my 8300HD remote. If it somehow gets in the wrong mode, nothing seems to work. Oh yes, noticed in the past week or so my fast channel scanning with the guide displayed was very sluggish. Yesterday noticed the Cable button on the remote was glowing red constantly and the STB wouldn't respond to remote commands. New batteries fixed it. -- John

Yeah - sorry I tried that too. I will probably try to swap the remote at 23rd st today.

The other big question though - is there any reason that the HDMI would not work with this new Sharp TV, whereas it worked fine with my old Philips TV? Unfortunately I don't have any other HDMI components to test the port itself, but the TV has 2 HDMI ports, I tried it on both without success - so I think that it is unlikely to be a "TV-side" issue....

Thanks as always for suggestions!

jmp_nyc

03-20-07, 09:40 AM

Could you possibly get the contact information for the division of Verison that deals with building managers? My building manager is amenable to getting FIOS put in, but is getting the run around from Verison as to the contact point.

I'll try, but I might get the runaround. I'm sure Verizon approached my complex because of our size. I'm in Ruppert-Yorkville, which with 1200 apartments is the largest single development in the immediate neighborhood. The building might give a runaround, but Verizon knows that once they have a deal in place, they can get a significant presence with just that one deal. We also get a reduced rate on electricity, as the building buys as a single unit from Con Ed, making it the largest single electricity customer between Mount Sinai and Lenox Hill Hospitals...
-JMP

Riverside_Guy

03-20-07, 11:20 AM

I'll try, but I might get the runaround. I'm sure Verizon approached my complex because of our size. I'm in Ruppert-Yorkville, which with 1200 apartments is the largest single development in the immediate neighborhood. The building might give a runaround, but Verizon knows that once they have a deal in place, they can get a significant presence with just that one deal. We also get a reduced rate on electricity, as the building buys as a single unit from Con Ed, making it the largest single electricity customer between Mount Sinai and Lenox Hill Hospitals...
-JMP

We "know" about the 94/93 street building, so logic says Verizon did the underground fiber runs to that hood. Which may be why something may happen quickly in your complex. I wish there was an actual way to finding out where the trunks have been run and what the schedule is for each hood.

scott_bernstein

03-20-07, 12:11 PM

The same day, all the functionality in my cable box seemed to go kaput. The box seems to turn the TV off randomly; the remote works only very rarely, etc. My sense is that the remote itself is probably just broken, but does anyone have any other thoughts?
I know that this seems basic, but have you tried putting new batteries into your remote? I've seen some things like this before with weak batteries.

2. Can I drop by the 23rd St store with just the remote and get a new one, or do I need to lug down the box as well?
Yes, you can just bring the remote and they will swap it for a new one with no questions asked. I don't even think that you need to take a number or wait in the line -- you can just go to the bill-pay window and they will swap it there.

angrykumar

03-20-07, 03:32 PM

I know that this seems basic, but have you tried putting new batteries into your remote? I've seen some things like this before with weak batteries.

Yes, you can just bring the remote and they will swap it for a new one with no questions asked. I don't even think that you need to take a number or wait in the line -- you can just go to the bill-pay window and they will swap it there.

Thanks so much, I'll try that first. Anyone have any thoughts on the HDMI issue? The 8300 box IS (as a general rule) supposed to work with HDMI, right? Are there any sort of known brand-incompatibility issues?

Berk32

03-20-07, 03:42 PM

Thanks so much, I'll try that first. Anyone have any thoughts on the HDMI issue? The 8300 box IS (as a general rule) supposed to work with HDMI, right? Are there any sort of known brand-incompatibility issues?

The boxes are pretty unreliable when it comes to random screwups.....
My box has been stuck on 1080i when using HDMI for a while (just randomly happened).... not the worst thing in the world - but random crap like that happens with these boxes...

angrykumar

03-20-07, 07:23 PM

The boxes are pretty unreliable when it comes to random screwups.....
My box has been stuck on 1080i when using HDMI for a while (just randomly happened).... not the worst thing in the world - but random crap like that happens with these boxes...

Hmm, so is my only option to try to swap for a new box? Or will time or reboots somehow save it? I had also gotten the sense from earlier posts that these boxes are pretty unreliable, so given that mine seemed to have been working fine makes me a little reluctant to swap it (and, I would lose my saved programs, too!)

JBBO3314

03-21-07, 10:30 AM

Anyone getting a bad reception on MSG during live events everytime I watch the knicks i get a fuzziness popping in and out. this is the only channel this happens on im located in far rockaway queens

LL3HD

03-21-07, 10:43 AM

Anyone getting a bad reception on MSG during live events everytime I watch the knicks i get a fuzziness popping in and out. this is the only channel this happens on im located in far rockaway queensNo problems in North Queens last night. I watched the KNICKS game and the HD picture was adequate. That sounds like (the fuzzy part) what MSG SD looks like.

Regarding watching HD basketball, the CBS HD broadcasts of the NCAA is superior to any HD basketball picture quality, as per usual. It blows away all other HD basketball PQ-- ABC, TNT, ESPN, MSG, YES. I wonder why?

nuttyinnyc

03-21-07, 12:32 PM

Hmm, so is my only option to try to swap for a new box? Or will time or reboots somehow save it? I had also gotten the sense from earlier posts that these boxes are pretty unreliable, so given that mine seemed to have been working fine makes me a little reluctant to swap it (and, I would lose my saved programs, too!)
I am pro-HDMI but I have found that the HDMI connection can be a tricky thing. The 8300 box works great with the HDMI but there are little pains that continue through out the use of the box. You can keep on changing your box, but there is always a chance of getting a worse box. If you check the 8300 thread there have been people that have made the switch 3-5 times before they were satisfied. I personally, keep HDMI and component cables connected at all times because when I have that bad HDMI connection I can transfer to the component input and watch with out missing things. Switching box or remote is easy. TWC has a no questions asked attitude when you bring in equipment. If you do end up changing your box, Ask them to give you a new one. The new ones seem to be having the least problems then the ones they recycle.

nuttyinnyc

03-21-07, 12:41 PM

Regarding watching HD basketball, the CBS HD broadcasts of the NCAA is superior to any HD basketball picture quality, as per usual. It blows away all other HD basketball PQ-- ABC, TNT, ESPN, MSG, YES. I wonder why?

I am with you, 1080 and 720 aside, CBS has always excelled in their HD coverage of sports. Do they use better cameras? Bigger trucks? Who knows, but we do know if it is on CBS you will not be disappointed. TNT which is a full time 1080i channel, you would expect it's basketball coverage to be on top, but it lags way behind the local networks MSG & YES. ESPN might have been one of the first to master 720p but they seem to be using the same technology of yesteryear that doesn't fly with the technically savvy viewer of today.