Anyone else in S. Manhattan having trouble with HGTV HD? It's the only commercial-free broadcast of the Rose Parade and it's not coming in today :( The SD channel is working, but who wants SD?
I'm also in southern Manhattan (9th st at Univ Place) and I'm also not getting HGTV in HD. Luckily, I don't really care but it is annoying. It certainly is the worst day not to have this channel available.

Well we're getting GAMEHD instead (which is only supposed to be with Center Ice) - it seems they got the 2 channels reversed....



I thought we were supposed to get both of those channels? I'll have to go back and find the press release about the new channels, but I'm pretty sure it listed Game HD as one to be added on the 17th.

And why is NHL HD still not working properly?


EDITED: Looks like I was wrong about Game HD. From the announcement..."Game HD on 791 & 445 for MLB an NHL package customers and NHL Network on 795 for Sports Tier and NHL package customers." First time I read it I thought everyone got it.

Bklyn, Qns, S.I. & N. Man. - 96 HD channels (+8 announced but postponed)
S. Man. – (*) 31 HD channels (65+ coming 2/4/09)

*350 PPV-HD
411 TEAM HD
445/791 GAME-HD
****461 NBATVHD**** Postponed to a later date
465 Tennis Channel-HD
467 CBS CS-HD
472 Big Ten Network-HD
*651 HBO-HD
652 HBO2-HD
653 HBO Family-HD
654 HBO Comedy-HD
655 HBO Signature-HD
656 HBO Zone-HD
657 HBO Latino-HD
*658 CINEMAX-HD
659 MoreMax-HD
660 ActionMAX-HD
661 5StarMAX-HD
662 ThrillerMAX-HD
663 WMAX-HD
664 @MAX-HD
665 OuterMAX-HD
*666 Showtime-HD
667 Showtime 2-HD
668 ShowCase-HD
669 ShowExtreme-HD
674 TMC-HD
675 TMCxtra-HD
*676 Starz-HD
677 Starz Edge-HD
678 Starz Kids & Family-HD
681 Starz Comedy-HD
682 Encore-HD
****684 Chiller HD**** Postponed to a later date
686 Crime and Investigation HD
689 Style HD
****691 Fuse-HD**** Postponed to a later date
692 G4HD
699 Showcase On Demand-HD
700 Movies On Demand-HD
701 NY1-HD
*702 CBS2-HD
*703 TNT-HD
*704 NBC4-HD
*705 FOX5-HD
****706 Nick HD**** Postponed to a later date
*707 ABC7-HD
*708 TBS-HD
*709 MY9-HD
*710 CNN-HD
*711 CW11-HD
****712 Lifetime HD**** Postponed to a later date
*713 PBS13-HD
715 CNBC HD
717 USA HD
717 SciFi HD
718 Bravo HD
720 Palladia HD
722 Cartoon Network-HD
724 E! HD
*726 SportsNet New York-HD
*727 MSG-HD
*728 ESPN-HD
*729 ESPN2-HD
733 QVC HD
*734 Universal-HD
****736 Spike HD**** Postponed to a later date
737 FX-HD
738 ABC Family-HD
****739 HSN HD**** Postponed to a later date
740 History Channel HD
743 Fox Business News HD
744 Fox News HD
746 A&E-HD
*748 MSG+-HD
749 Disney-HD
*750 Food Network-HD
752 The Learning Channel-HD
*753 YES-HD
760 Toon Disney-HD
762 Lifetime Movies-HD
763 Biography-HD
*764 HGTV-HD
*765 National Geographic-HD
766 Discovery-HD
*767 HD Theater
768 Planet Green-HD
772 Weather Channel-HD
774 Speed-HD
775 Science Channel HD
779 Golf HD
783 MLB Network HD
*784 Hallmark Movie Channel-HD
*786 Animal Planet-HD
****787 Africa Channel HD**** Postponed to a later date
788 Travel Channel-HD
790 TV One HD
792 ESPNews-HD
793 ESPN U-HD
*794 Versus-HD
795 NHL-HD
796 MGM-HD
*797 HDNet Movies
*798 HDNet

new spreadsheet

new spreadsheet

TWC thinks they are cute putting two HD local channels with a couple of digital channels.It shows that they compress the locals too.I am growing impatient with this company , and the lack of quality that I am receiving.

There is not doubt that the 3:1 QAM is affecting the picture quality big time. The have the space now just to put 2 HD channels on one QAM.

I hope verizon wire my building soon, so I can get real HD content instead of HD lite.

TWC thinks they are cute putting two HD local channels with a couple of digital channels.It shows that they compress the locals too.I am growing impatient with this company , and the lack of quality that I am receiving.

There is not doubt that the 3:1 QAM is affecting the picture quality big time. The have the space now just to put 2 HD channels on one QAM.

I hope verizon wire my building soon, so I can get real HD content instead of HD lite.

ummm

Actually - they are giving the locals the same bandwidth that they get OTA - thats EXACTLY why the subchannels are placed with the mains

Everyday seems to be a gamble which Ch's will have no audio or no picture! Today I'm not getting any sound on MGM 796. The other day the sound was out of sync on a different Ch. Is it just me?

:D Funny but unfortunately very true.

I tried watching a movie on HD Net last night, Ghost World (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghost_world/), but with the constant audio breakups, it was agonizing. I had to turn on the closed captioning to read all of the dialogue that I kept missing.

An example of how we may all have very different experiences depending on exactly which head end we are attached to. I finally watched my DVRed GW... only about a total of half a dozen or so glitches (mostly in the first third of the movie), not near enough to destroy watching it. Then again, HDNet typically has no glitches...

Definitely give it a shot. Maybe you’ll have better luck than I had but I would suggest turning on the CC from the get go so you don’t miss the witty quips. I never heard of the film but I really enjoyed its quirkiness-- great cast-- very cool and surreal musical opening to the film. By the way, I saw a coming attraction on HD Net for A Clockwork Orange. That should be a great event. One of my all time favorite movies—and sound tracks.

Indeed I can't say enough good things about HDNet, it's a great channel and worth every penny of the 5 bucks extra to costs me.

yes you are getting the SD channel.

probably not the HD channel (but ya never know)

Won't all of Manhattan be in parity on 2/4? At least then, they will be able to see all the glitching/skippage we now see!

I think the next launch of HD channels by time warner will be: In a few weeks Palladia will move from channel 720 to 721, and VH1 HD will launch on 719, MTVHD on 720, Spike HD 736, Nick HD 706, Lifetime HD 712, Fuse HD 692, and NBATVHD on channel 751. Of course chiller HD and sleuth HD will arrive soon/.

that is what I think that will happen in the coming weeks, I think you guys know better than me, but that is my thought.

Uh, far as I know, MTV HD IS Palladia... or are you talking about an HD version of their non-music channel?

From the commitments they made in writing, here is what I am tracking:

Still to come:
461 NBA TV HD (HDXtra customers)
684 Chiller HD
685 Sleuth HD
691 Fuse HD
706 Nick HD
712 Lifetime HD
736 Spike HD on
739 HSN HD
787 Africa Channel HD

Everyday seems to be a gamble which Ch's will have no audio or no picture! Today I'm not getting any sound on MGM 796. The other day the sound was out of sync on a different Ch. Is it just me?

You are definitely not alone.

Everyday seems to be a gamble which Ch's will have no audio or no picture! Today I'm not getting any sound on MGM 796. The other day the sound was out of sync on a different Ch. Is it just me?

No, it's not just you. Yesterday (Thursday) I was watching MGM-HD's 'Ninja New Year' marathon because let's face it: ninjas are cool! :p There was a 45 minute break before the start of the next ninja movie, so I went channel-flipping for those 45 minutes and, when I came back to MGM at 1AM for the next ninja movie, the channel had no sound! I missed the last feature from the Ninja marathon. I was so flipping mad I could have broken my HDTV in half with a swift kick... or not, I'm not a ninja! :)

Well we're getting GAMEHD instead (which is only supposed to be with Center Ice) - it seems they got the 2 channels reversed...

I'm seeing GameHD appear on 2 channels, and both show the same logo. Thus I have no clue if each one is in any way different and obviously don't subscribe to whatever makes them functional.

Do you know if they are the exact same channel appearing on 2 channels numbers?

Everyday seems to be a gamble which Ch's will have no audio or no picture! Today I'm not getting any sound on MGM 796. The other day the sound was out of sync on a different Ch. Is it just me?

Mirrors my experience (not in the exact details, just in general I'm finding as lot more issues (glitchage and skippage) than before, even on channels that never had issues before 12/17).

I'm seeing GameHD appear on 2 channels, and both show the same logo. Thus I have no clue if each one is in any way different and obviously don't subscribe to whatever makes them functional.

Do you know if they are the exact same channel appearing on 2 channels numbers?

its the same feed mapped to 2 channels - not that it matters to what I was saying.

Is NHL HD 795 part of the sports pack or HD Net pk?

The lines are gone on Crime& Investigation 686 which is good, when they go to a break they only promo other shows which is a little weird.

Is NHL HD 795 part of the sports pack or HD Net pk?

Both (since sports pack is included in the HDXtra)

I'm not getting it or subscription is needed. Are you getting it?

I'm not getting it or subscription is needed. Are you getting it?

No - none of us are. They screwed up and are giving us GameHD instead (which is supposed to only be available for NHL Center Ice/MLB Extra Innings)

Ok thanks, on 791 I have no data GameHd, when I go it has a big logo and music.

Ok thanks, on 791 I have no data GameHd, when I go it has a big logo and music.

Thats the way it looks when there is no game

[quote=Berk32;15433621]Bklyn, Qns, S.I. & N. Man. - 96 HD channels (+8 announced but postponed)
S. Man. – (*) 31 HD channels (65+ coming 2/4/09)

*350 PPV-HD
411 TEAM HD
445/791 GAME-HD
****461 NBATVHD**** Postponed to a later date
465 Tennis Channel-HD
467 CBS CS-HD
472 Big Ten Network-HD
===========================

I just checked some of these supposed HD channels out:

411: blank grey screen
445/791: Subscription Service (as if my $200+ monthly bill wasn't enough as it =is=!!)
465: at best, stretched SD
467: at best, stretched SD, or at least blurry SD quality
472: i =thought= it was true HD for a minute...but then i blinked, and it went back to mostly SD quality. tons of commercials with the black bars on ea. side.

I'm =far= from convinced that there's =anything= in the 400 band that's in true HD. :mad:

Both (since sports pack is included in the HDXtra)

When did they add a sports pack to the HDXtra package? As far as I knew, it was only 3 channels. Which sports channels are included? Thanks in advance.

When did they add a sports pack to the HDXtra package? As far as I knew, it was only 3 channels. Which sports channels are included? Thanks in advance.

long long time ago (either when INHD2 ended or when ESPNHD shifted off the service)

It includes all the channels in the 450s - and their HD counterparts.

[quote=Berk32;15433621]Bklyn, Qns, S.I. & N. Man. - 96 HD channels (+8 announced but postponed)
S. Man. – (*) 31 HD channels (65+ coming 2/4/09)

*350 PPV-HD
411 TEAM HD
445/791 GAME-HD
****461 NBATVHD**** Postponed to a later date
465 Tennis Channel-HD
467 CBS CS-HD
472 Big Ten Network-HD
===========================

I just checked some of these supposed HD channels out:

411: blank grey screen
445/791: Subscription Service (as if my $200+ monthly bill wasn't enough as it =is=!!)
465: at best, stretched SD
467: at best, stretched SD, or at least blurry SD quality
472: i =thought= it was true HD for a minute...but then i blinked, and it went back to mostly SD quality. tons of commercials with the black bars on ea. side.

I'm =far= from convinced that there's =anything= in the 400 band that's in true HD. :mad:

411 - part of NBA League Pass - so don't expect to see anything unless you subscribe
445/791 - part of NHL Center Ice/MLB Extra Innings
465 - definitly has HD (I've seen it)
467/472 - college sports have quieted down - but they have plenty of live HD games and replays.

[quote=mikeM1;15442454]

411 - part of NBA League Pass - so don't expect to see anything unless you subscribe
445/791 - part of NHL Center Ice/MLB Extra Innings
465 - definitly has HD (I've seen it)
467/472 - college sports have quieted down - but they have plenty of live HD games and replays.

OK, i'll check it out from time to time.

long long time ago (either when INHD2 ended or when ESPNHD shifted off the service)

It includes all the channels in the 450s - and their HD counterparts.

Ah, I see. I just wasn't aware that those were a part of the HDXtra tier as they are not listed on TWC website as being in that package. Thanks for the info Berk. Appreciate it.

I think TW should pay Berk a) he knows much more then Cust Rep b) gets answers real fast c) is up to date on prices and packages I would send you my check in a NY minute:)

[QUOTE=mikeM1;15442454]

411 - part of NBA League Pass - so don't expect to see anything unless you subscribe
445/791 - part of NHL Center Ice/MLB Extra Innings
465 - definitly has HD (I've seen it)
467/472 - college sports have quieted down - but they have plenty of live HD games and replays.

my channel 467 college sports hd never came back on my guide so i cant even go to that channel ..wtf when are they going to put it back, its been over a month now..

Does anyone else have issues with FoodNetwork HD (ch 750)?
Lots of times there is a frozen picture or no picture at all.
This seems to happen alot and is happening right now.

Does anyone else have issues with FoodNetwork HD (ch 750)?
Lots of times there is a frozen picture or no picture at all.
This seems to happen alot and is happening right now.

Yes, I've been having problems with 750 for 3 days now. By the way, it seems that 764 and 794 are affected just the same.

I noticed this first 2 days ago. Rebooted, reset the 2 boxes I have; called TW and they sent a signal but still no go.
They told me it might be on their end and it should be fixed within a few hours.

Yesterday AM it was OK but then I lost it again later in the day. I called TW again yesterday evening and this morning but the problem persists and they are saying it might take 24-48 hrs to fix. They told me to call them again if it's still not fixed.

If you have those problems call TW and complain.

I am getting frustrated with these new HD channels as well. It's been several weeks, and there are still a LOT of glitches. MGM HD has sound about half the time, A&E HD was so choppy this morning that it was unwatchable, and I STILL have not had ABCFam HD since its launch. I would call, but I'm sure I'll just get the usual "we're looking into it." I was really excited to be in northern Manhattan for this launch, but at this point, it may have been better to be in the southern half and get the new channels with the glitches worked out.

Hi all,
What is the RDC & FDC readings on the diagnostics page one? What do they mean and what should the readings be normally?

Thanks

I am getting frustrated with these new HD channels as well. It's been several weeks, and there are still a LOT of glitches. MGM HD has sound about half the time, A&E HD was so choppy this morning that it was unwatchable, and I STILL have not had ABCFam HD since its launch. I would call, but I'm sure I'll just get the usual "we're looking into it." I was really excited to be in northern Manhattan for this launch, but at this point, it may have been better to be in the southern half and get the new channels with the glitches worked out.

i wish FiOS were available to my building! TWC provide one of the sloppiest services i've seen in my life. only company that matches them that aspect is AOL, which they prolly still own. those two are a match made in hell. i would have switched to DirecTV or Dish if my building allowed me! no matter how many HD channels you get! that's irrelevant! quality is more important and TWC compresses the hell out of the channels (not to mention the A/V synch issues). better way to make a point is to switch to anything else: fiber or satellite! i wish i could! i've been watching www.Hulu.com (http://www.Hulu.com) more and more lately.

Uh, far as I know, MTV HD IS Palladia... or are you talking about an HD version of their non-music channel?

There's Palladia (nee MHD) and then there's MTV HD. MTV HD is an HD simulcast of MTV.

I'm South. Coax rewired several years ago. In the past few months I was getting audio and video breaks. Drove me to FIOS. Best move evah.

Learning the new channel sequence is a bit tedious. The guide is different. There's no P in P or MSG HD. Aside from those small matters, the difference is staggering.

I am getting frustrated with these new HD channels as well. It's been several weeks, and there are still a LOT of glitches. MGM HD has sound about half the time, A&E HD was so choppy this morning that it was unwatchable, and I STILL have not had ABCFam HD since its launch. I would call, but I'm sure I'll just get the usual "we're looking into it." I was really excited to be in northern Manhattan for this launch, but at this point, it may have been better to be in the southern half and get the new channels with the glitches worked out.

i wish FiOS were available to my building! TWC provide one of the sloppiest services i've seen in my life. only company that matches them that aspect is AOL, which they prolly still own. those two are a match made in hell. i would have switched to DirecTV or Dish if my building allowed me! no matter how many HD channels you get! that's irrelevant! quality is more important and TWC compresses the hell out of the channels (not to mention the A/V synch issues). better way to make a point is to switch to anything else: fiber or satellite! i wish i could! i've been watching www.Hulu.com (http://www.Hulu.com) more and more lately.

what do you expect when a company becomes Comcast twins when it comes down to provide good service.The whole thing about squeezing 3 HD channels in one single QAM was comcast plan, and TWC copied it.

Those suckers don't have a vision on how a company should be run, They would have known by early 2002 that HD was the future, but they didn't bother to upgrade their plants so they could provide many HD channels without compression. Now the telecoms AkA Verizon Fios will fnish them off.

I am getting frustrated with these new HD channels as well. It's been several weeks, and there are still a LOT of glitches. MGM HD has sound about half the time, A&E HD was so choppy this morning that it was unwatchable, and I STILL have not had ABCFam HD since its launch. I would call, but I'm sure I'll just get the usual "we're looking into it." I was really excited to be in northern Manhattan for this launch, but at this point, it may have been better to be in the southern half and get the new channels with the glitches worked out.

Not that I am defending TWC but they added more channels at one time probably than the ever have so there are bound to be problems, at least you have a lot more HD channels now and we are getting then soon in S. Manhattan. I am sure they will work it out but I think it may take a little time. I'm sure we will have problems too, already I am getting a lot of glitching on various channels.

Yes, I've been having problems with 750 for 3 days now. By the way, it seems that 764 and 794 are affected just the same.

I noticed this first 2 days ago. Rebooted, reset the 2 boxes I have; called TW and they sent a signal but still no go.
They told me it might be on their end and it should be fixed within a few hours.

Yesterday AM it was OK but then I lost it again later in the day. I called TW again yesterday evening and this morning but the problem persists and they are saying it might take 24-48 hrs to fix. They told me to call them again if it's still not fixed.

If you have those problems call TW and complain

Same for me - called TW and requested a callback from a Supervisor. "Flavia" called and said there were no reported issues with Food and that it must be my connection.

Either she's lieing or clueless, par for TWC. Later in the day Food and 764 suddenly began working.

I am having multiple problems with HD premiums - Sho, StarZ, Max, again Flavia says I'm the only one complaining - so a Tech is visiting and I'm determined to not let tech leave until the problems goes away!

BTW - anyone know key sequence for accessing diagnostics screen for SA 3250HD?

I know all the recent chatter is about the HD glitches, and I'm experiencing them, too. My question has to do with the Samsung HD non-dvr box --the SMT-H3050. On more than one occasion the clock time has gotten messed up. I have to reboot the box to get it to come back on correct time. Anyone else?

[...] so a Tech is visiting and I'm determined to not let tech leave until the problems goes away!

I hope you have a spare bedroom...

A_C

[QUOTE=mikeM1;15442454]

411 - part of NBA League Pass - so don't expect to see anything unless you subscribe
445/791 - part of NHL Center Ice/MLB Extra Innings
465 - definitly has HD (I've seen it)
467/472 - college sports have quieted down - but they have plenty of live HD games and replays.

I have NBA League Pass and was wondering if Ch 411 shows an HD version of one of the SD games being played in the 400's? Is this part of the HDXtra package? many thanks!

I have NBA League Pass and was wondering if Ch 411 shows an HD version of one of the SD games being played in the 400's? Is this part of the HDXtra package? many thanks!

1) yes its one of the games in the 400s (schedule here: http://www.indemand.com/sports/nba/nba_schedule.pdf)

2) no - not part of the HDXtra package - only part of NBA league pass

thanks Berk. anything in the HDXtra package for sports fans? I see most get it for the HDNet which I think shows live sports??

I hope you have a spare bedroom...

A_C

LOL!

No spare BR but a bulldog with a vice grip bite!!!

I'm looking forward to a good time torturing...

Greg

thanks Berk. anything in the HDXtra package for sports fans? I see most get it for the HDNet which I think shows live sports??

Yes - check the 460s and 470s for the Sports Package, which is included in HDxtra (CBS College Sports HD, Tennis HD, Big Ten HD - others eventually too, like NBATVHD and FuelHD)

Also supposed to include NHL Network HD on 795 - but they seem to have screwed up the settings for that channel (at least for northern manhattan) - we're still waiting for it to be fixed (for some reason we get 445/791 GAMEHD instead - they probably got the settings for the 2 reversed)

So I've been reading about all the glitches people have been having, and have seen some intermitent audio drops on some of the premium channels, no biggie, and then tonight ESPN-HD is unwatchable due to the pixelation and audio/picture freezes. Then, classicly, my call to TWC CS is disconnected after I get to being on hold.

Does anyone know if this is something that they are working on resolving? Is the 2/4 roll-out to Southern Manhattan going to compound the glitches and the time they take to resolve them?

Anyone else in S. Manhattan having trouble with HGTV HD? It's the only commercial-free broadcast of the Rose Parade and it's not coming in today :( The SD channel is working, but who wants SD?

I had problems with HGTV HD and Food HD starting on New Year's Eve and continuing through New Year's Day: no picture or sound. I had a service tech visit scheduled for Jan. 2 and of course when the tech arrived, the picture and sound were back. Then they went out again on the evening of Jan. 2. I called TWC and they claimed that the HDC boxes were having a problem with those two channels, and that IT was working on it. As of tonight, I have picture and sound back, but with extreme pixellation, macroblocking, picture freezing and audio dropouts. :mad:

Yes, I've been having problems with 750 for 3 days now. By the way, it seems that 764 and 794 are affected just the same.

I noticed this first 2 days ago. Rebooted, reset the 2 boxes I have; called TW and they sent a signal but still no go.
They told me it might be on their end and it should be fixed within a few hours.

Yesterday AM it was OK but then I lost it again later in the day. I called TW again yesterday evening and this morning but the problem persists and they are saying it might take 24-48 hrs to fix. They told me to call them again if it's still not fixed.

If you have those problems call TW and complain.

I had similar problems, and I even had a service call scheduled for 10 AM o Jan 2, but just my luck the picture came back that morning -- but it disappeared later that evening. I too was told that it would take a while to fix -- she quoted me 72 hours for IT to fix the problem (which she said was confined to the HDC boxes). Now, I have picture and sound on those channels, but the macroblocking, pixellation, freezing and dropouts are worse than ever. And even when the picture isn't distorted, it is of lower quality than it was a week ago.

I don't think they have any idea what the problem is or how to fix it.

Does anyone have the contact info for the TW exec?

I have had the same problem for almost a year with no resolution and it is getting worse. The main culprits are ESPN2 HD (massive macroblocking & pixelization) & WPIX HD (audio drop outs).

Now I am having problems with VS HD & Food HD (I realize lots of people have this problem but I am going to make it MY problem), also Nat Geo HD & Animal Planet HD are macro blocking and I also have audio drop outs on various SD channels (MTV being one).

I called last week and they couldn't give me a night or weekend appt until this Sat...and that is going to be a waste of time since every time they send someone (even a manager), the problems never get permanently fixed.

Does anyone have the contact info for the TW exec?

I have had the same problem for almost a year with no resolution and it is getting worse. The main culprits are ESPN2 HD (massive macroblocking & pixelization) & WPIX HD (audio drop outs).

Now I am having problems with VS HD & Food HD (I realize lots of people have this problem but I am going to make it MY problem), also Nat Geo HD & Animal Planet HD are macro blocking and I also have audio drop outs on various SD channels (MTV being one).

I called last week and they couldn't give me a night or weekend appt until this Sat...and that is going to be a waste of time since every time they send someone (even a manager), the problems never get permanently fixed.


Near as I can determine, we are *all* having similar problems. It’s gone on for entirely too long and TWC must be called to task on it! The last time I remember widespread reception problems lasting this long, was back in 2005 and they were in complete denial about it. NBC News-4 finally did a piece on it, interviewing people all over the City who described having identical problems. By some remarkable coincidence, the problem abated a few days later.

I urge each and every participant to complain to the following parties:

Szarfarc, Howard - Head of all NYC operations
howard.szarfarc@twcable.com

Levesque, Rick - VP, Operations, 718-888-4092
rick.levesque@twcable.com

I’ll work on getting Roseanne Coletti to do another piece. If anyone else knows a Consumer reporter, please do the same!

A_C

I just wrote them a letter:

For the past few weeks (maybe 2 months now) I have had a sudden degradation in the service of many channels.

I strongly believe this is a major problem not only affecting me but most if not all of your subscribers since I've witnessed the problem at other residences throughout the area.

The problems range from intermittant pixelation of the picture, loss of sound, gray screens on channels, and video with no audio. Picture quality has also degraded quite a bit on some of the HD channels. HDNet Movies and HBO are noticeably worse. I have Verizon FIOS at my other residence and the difference is very noticable.

The problems seem to drift channels as well - one day the problem will be on MMax then the next it will be on MGM. For 3 days now I have had no sound on MGM - and I have DVR recordings to prove it.

Pixelation/freezing/audio dropouts are happenning so much on some channels that almost everything is unwatchable.

It seems that all of these problems started almost immediately after my area got a large number of new HD channels.

I have tried calling a few times to report these problems as they come up but I honestly can't wait on hold forever.

One day there was a TW technician in my building and when I asked him if he could look at my problem real quick he first said he can't unless I make an appointment and then he said it would be a waste of his time since the problem is happenning everywhere.

I took my search to the internet where I found an entire thread on the issue and how many others like me are having identical issues.

You can find these comments here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=297592

I would first like to get a credit for the last month since most everything I've tried to watch has "broken up" and made the experience unenjoyable.

I would also like to know what the company is doing to address these problems so I can decide whether to commit my dollars to another cable provider or not.

I would rather not be offered a service appointment since I'm pretty sure the problem lies outside of my residence as mentioned above. My work hours vary and I cannot commit to being home for a 4 hour window, especially when I can't guarantee the problem(s) will happen at a certain time on a certain channel.

Thanks for your attention to this matter. I will be anxiously awaiting a reply.

I just wrote them a letter: .


Good show... It's time for a Palace Revolt!

http://init-sce.tripod.com/revolt.jpg

Near as I can determine, we are *all* having similar problems. It’s gone on for entirely too long and TWC must be called to task on it! The last time I remember widespread reception problems lasting this long, was back in 2005 and they were in complete denial about it. NBC News-4 finally did a piece on it, interviewing people all over the City who described having identical problems. By some remarkable coincidence, the problem abated a few days later.

I urge each and every participant to complain to the following parties:

Szarfarc, Howard - Head of all NYC operations
howard.szarfarc@twcable.com

Levesque, Rick - VP, Operations, 718-888-4092
rick.levesque@twcable.com

I’ll work on getting Roseanne Coletti to do another piece. If anyone else knows a Consumer reporter, please do the same!

A_C

Did not catch that report.
would love to see something done about it.

Actually some of my problems (ESPN2 HD & WPIX HD) have been going on for about a year.

Did not catch that report.
would love to see something done about it.
Remember if you're in New York City and have problems with TWC you start documenting the problems ... then hit up the city's DoITT folks who deal with the cable franchises. There is a formal complaint procedure and in the end there usually is consumer satisfaction.
http://www.nyc.gov/doitt

is the place.

Remember if you're in New York City and have problems with TWC you start documenting the problems ... then hit up the city's DoITT folks who deal with the cable franchises. There is a formal complaint procedure and in the end there usually is consumer satisfaction.
http://www.nyc.gov/doitt

is the place.

call to cancel their (dis)service and get FiOS or DirecTV. if TWC offers you an extraordinary "please-dont-go" discount, consider it. otherwise, rejoice with your new TV subscription. i'm fighting with my building to get a dish installed on the roof. too bad my window doesnt face the satellite...

call to cancel their (dis)service and get FiOS or DirecTV. if TWC offers you an extraordinary "please-dont-go" discount, consider it. otherwise, rejoice with your new TV subscription. i'm fighting with my building to get a dish installed on the roof. too bad my window doesnt face the satellite...

For most in Manhattan, neither of these are options.

A_C

Remember if you're in New York City and have problems with TWC you start documenting the problems ... then hit up the city's DoITT folks who deal with the cable franchises. There is a formal complaint procedure and in the end there usually is consumer satisfaction.
http://www.nyc.gov/doitt

is the place.

Your complaint will be forwarded on to a senior Customer Service rep, who will be your single point of contact throughout the inquiry. They will most likely dispatch a team to your apartment to determine what the problem is.

If it's something that can easily repaired, most likely it will be resolved. If however, it's something more systemic, you'll most likely just get a whole lot of sunshine and daises blown up your hind quarters and not much else.

A_C

long long time ago (either when INHD2 ended or when ESPNHD shifted off the service)

It includes all the channels in the 450s - and their HD counterparts.

I think the problem is that TWC doesn't actually SAY this anywhere I could ever find. They updated the channel listings, but if you specify "HDXtra" they only show the 2 HDNet channels. Not to mention that it SEEMS MGMHD is part of the package... and that is based solely on my having seen a subscription notice to MGM at someone's place that did not subscribe to HDXtra.

Your complaint will be forwarded on to a senior Customer Service rep, who will be your single point of contact throughout the inquiry. They will most likely dispatch a team to your apartment to determine what the problem is.

If it's something that can easily repaired, most likely it will be resolved. If however, it's something more systemic, you'll most likely just get a whole lot of sunshine and daises blown up your hind quarters and not much else.

A_C

Indeed, it's MUCH better to file a complaint with DOITT than trying to contact anyone AT TWC. Every time I've filed one, it's not customer service, but public relations that I get contacted by. Very different perspective in how each approaches an issue... you WANT to end up with the PR folks.

Just be careful not to make it an obscenity laced tirade... just stick to the facts and be polite... I wrote my "complaints" like I'd write any business correspondence. Doing it that way, the last time I filed, they were all over me trying to make a deal (price lock plus phone service for an additional 5/mo (on the surface, there's about 6 each month in fees pertaining to the phone), going to 10/mo next fall, buy which time I SHOULD have a much better idea when FIOS might happen in my block).

short message

Manhattan, Brooklyn/Queens, Mount Vernon

January 2, 2009

Time Warner Cable’s agreements with programmers and broadcasters to carry their services and stations routinely expire from time to time. We are usually able to obtain renewals or extensions of such agreements, but in order to comply with applicable regulations, we must inform you when an agreement is about to expire. The following agreements are due to expire soon, and we may be required to cease carriage of one or more of these services/stations in the near future:

Azteca America, BBC on Demand, Chinese Channel, Chinese Cinema, ComedyCentral, CV Network, E!, Encore, Encore Action, Encore Drama, Encore Love, Encore Mystery, Encore Western, Encore WAM, Fuel TV, Great American Country (GAC), Game Show Network, HD Net, HD Net Movie, HITN, Logo, MTV, MTV2, NBA TV, Nick Toons, Nickelodeon, Nick Too, Noggin, Palladia HD, ShopNBC, Showtime, Showtime Beyond, Showtime Extreme, Showtime Family, Showtime Next, Showtime Showcase, Showtime Too, Spike TV, Starz, Starz in Black, Starz Cinema, Starz Comedy, Starz Edge, Starz Kids & Family, Style, Supercanal, The Movie Channel, The Movie Channel Xtra, The Arabic Channel, The N, RTVi, RAI, NGTV, TV Japan, TV Land, TV Polonia, VH-1, VH-1 Classic, Weather Channel, WFUT, WPIX, and WXTV.

In addition, from time to time we make certain changes in the services that we offer in order to better serve our customers.

In addition to the previously scheduled changes slated to occur on February 4, 2009, in S. Manhattan we will launch MLB HD on ch. 783.

Effective February 16, 2009, Toon Disney will be renamed Disney XD.



You may downgrade or terminate service without charge at any time. Further, if carriage of a premium service is discontinued and you have incurred installation, upgrade or other one-time charges relating to such premium service within six months prior to the date of the change, you may elect to downgrade or terminate service within 30 days and obtain a rebate of any such charge.

TWC seems to have removed 80% of the analog in Southern manhattan yesterday.

TWC seems to have removed 80% of the analog in Southern manhattan yesterday.

Great news, we are on our way then, 28 days to go...

TWC seems to have removed 80% of the analog in Southern manhattan yesterday.

Removed in what way? Blank screen, or message telling people that they need to exchange their converters?

Nice find!

Removed in what way? Blank screen, or message telling people that they need to exchange their converters?

Nice find!

Same way it was removed up North, they put a number up for you to call to upgrade.

Same way it was removed up North, they put a number up for you to call to upgrade.

Thanks...so it's in the sorta intermediate state. Once the message goes away we can start searching for the frequencies of the new channels in the diagnostic mode. :-)

Thanks...so it's in the sorta intermediate state. Once the message goes away we can start searching for the frequencies of the new channels in the diagnostic mode. :-)

Even when the message goes away - you gotta wait until its a snowy picture - they took away the message up here and it remained a black blank screen a for another week or so (a bunch still are black screens)

There's also a difference in the types of tv snow... if you want to hear more :p

No audio on NY1HD, this is really getting nuts!

No audio on NY1HD, this is really getting nuts!

Do they have any actual HD content?

There's also a difference in the types of tv snow... if you want to hear more :p


Do tell?

Do tell?

A channel that has digital content would be all gray/black snow.

A channel that has nothing would be all sorts of snowy mess.

Take a look at an analog channel that we already know to have digital content to see what I mean.

I have my 8300HDC set to record Hannity & Colmes every night as I don't get to watch until later in the evening. For at least the past month or so while fast-forward through the commercials I will often lose the picture. This only happens with the FoxNews channel.

Anyone else having a similar issue? Is it a conspiracy :p ;) ??

I have my 8300HDC set to record Hannity & Colmes every night as I don't get to watch until later in the evening. For at least the past month or so while fast-forward through the commercials I will often lose the picture. This only happens with the FoxNews channel.

Anyone else having a similar issue? Is it a conspiracy :p ;) ??

Yes... The liberals want Neocon Sean Hanity head in a silver plate.. LOL....

They finally fixed ABC Family HD for me this morning.

They finally fixed ABC Family HD for me this morning.

what was wrong with yours?

i havent checked, but fine had a bad sync issue.

if i wanted to, i couldnt watch the recording secret life of an american teenager. ;)

Do they have any actual HD content?

The studio stuff, while at 4:3 sure looks like the resolution of HD. I think they do have some 16:9 HD field cams...

Some of the news from the local channels use 16:9 SD field cams, so it's all over the lot.

Undoubtedly, the transition will be slow and gradual. I'm actually noticing a lot more 16:9 commercials this past month than in past years.

Hi everyone
I've been reading through these posts trying to see if I can find my issue but nothing seems to fit.
I live in lower manhattan and have recently upgraded to the HD DVR box.
In the past 3 months I've had to exchange the box 4 times.
The sound comes in and out on HD stations and and many channels are grayed out. (TBS, Comedy Central, National Geographic)
I can't imagine that its the box when the same issue keeps happening.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
I've used both the regular cabels and hdmi.
Thanks

what was wrong with yours?

i havent checked, but fine had a bad sync issue.

if i wanted to, i couldnt watch the recording secret life of an american teenager. ;)

I had no feed on the channel since it was added. (They mapped it incorrectly)

Hi everyone
I've been reading through these posts trying to see if I can find my issue but nothing seems to fit.
I live in lower manhattan and have recently upgraded to the HD DVR box.
In the past 3 months I've had to exchange the box 4 times.
The sound comes in and out on HD stations and and many channels are grayed out. (TBS, Comedy Central, National Geographic)
I can't imagine that its the box when the same issue keeps happening.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
I've used both the regular cabels and hdmi.
Thanks

have you called TWC about this? Sounds like your signal could be weak.

have you called TWC about this? Sounds like your signal could be weak.

I have. They just keep giving me new boxes. Its getting really frustrating.

I have. They just keep giving me new boxes. Its getting really frustrating.
Step one, for the first visiting service tech, should have been measuring the signal levels at several frequency bands (STB input) to ensure they're adequate. Keep bugging them and request a supervisor visit if necessary. -- John

have you called TWC about this? Sounds like your signal could be weak.

Correct. These are the classic symptoms of a signal that is not strong enough for the digital cable box. It could be as simple as a bad splitter, a bad connector, or wires in your home that need to be re-run. Also, if you are running your own splitter in your home it could be the cause of this if it's not a 1 gigahertz splitter.

quick question for you guys: i just wanted to know is MTV HD available right now on TWC in Manhattan? I know that Palladia HD is being added here in southern manhattan on Feb 4th but i'd much rather have MTV HD? Thanks for the help in advance

Correct. These are the classic symptoms of a signal that is not strong enough for the digital cable box. It could be as simple as a bad splitter, a bad connector, or wires in your home that need to be re-run. Also, if you are running your own splitter in your home it could be the cause of this if it's not a 1 gigahertz splitter.

Thanks, I'll give it a shot.

quick question for you guys: i just wanted to know is MTV HD available right now on TWC in Manhattan? I know that Palladia HD is being added here in southern manhattan on Feb 4th but i'd much rather have MTV HD? Thanks for the help in advance

as of now - just PalladiaHD.

but with the new TWC-Viacom deal that was reached on New Years Eve/Day, I figure we'll see the others (MTV, VH-1, Nickelodeon) soon.

thanks for the answer berk32

Is it just me can everyone check to see if they get channel 467 CBS College sports HD on there guide, i get 457 but NOT 467 was put on in late oct. and then gone in late Nov. But is still on there web site listings..im in Corona, Queens ny..

Here's a press release from Verizon blowing their horn regarding their expansions….
http://newscenter.verizon.com/press-releases/verizon/2009/verizon-bringing-fios-tv-to.html

Currently i have only one tv hooked up to my cable box, the basic High Def box from time warner cable. I would like to run a line to my basement TV that i am hanging this weekend. I have heard i can split the cable myself and just run coaxial down there instead of leasing another box. Question:

where do i split the line , before the cable box or after ? between the cable internet modem and the cable box, or between the cable box and the new TV ?
I am not interested in HD signal for the 2nd tv, just decent reception

thanks

Here's a press release from Verizon blowing their horn regarding their expansions….
http://newscenter.verizon.com/press-releases/verizon/2009/verizon-bringing-fios-tv-to.html

They have my neighborhood listed but I have not been offered anything and I have not seen any verizon trucks in the area, just want to get my TW bill lowered if I can. I have no love for "the phone company" that ripped me off for like 10 yrs.

They have my neighborhood listed but I have not been offered anything and I have not seen any verizon trucks in the area, just want to get my TW bill lowered if I can. I have no love for "the phone company" that ripped me off for like 10 yrs. You might as well start working it. Call TW and tell them you’re not happy, and Verizon made you a spectacular offer. Tell them you would consider staying if they were interested in keeping you. ;) But don’t go for one of those contract extension scams.

I’m sure you will hang up the phone with good news. :cool:

Does anyone know if there is a limit to the capacity of the external drive you can connect to an 8300HD? Unfortunately I was rearranging some power cords, and when I plugged my faithful Azio enclosure with 400GB drive back in, I got a bunch of sparks from the outlet and now I'm getting a "The external drive is not operating properly" or something like that error. So I think I fried it. :(

That said, for less than I paid for the enclosure and hard drive a couple years ago I can now get a combo that has 2.5 times the storage. Will I have problems if I connect a 1TB external drive to the DVR?

I was looking at this AcomData (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822216041&nm_mc=AFC-Bensbargains&cm_mmc=AFC-Bensbargains-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA). Any thoughts?

Is it just me can everyone check to see if they get channel 467 CBS College sports HD on there guide, i get 457 but NOT 467 was put on in late oct. and then gone in late Nov. But is still on there web site listings..im in Corona, Queens ny..

I live in manhattan and get CBS College Sports HD on channel 467 with my subscription to the HDXtra package. However, when I recently visited a couple of my in-laws in Ridgewood queens I did happen to notice that the channel 467 didn't even exist on their channel guide. It didn't phase them because they hadn't subscribe to the HDXtra package.

I live in manhattan and get CBS College Sports HD on channel 467 with my subscription to the HDXtra package. However, when I recently visited a couple of my in-laws in Ridgewood queens I did happen to notice that the channel 467 didn't even exist on their channel guide. It didn't phase them because they hadn't subscribe to the HDXtra package.

well i pay for the hdxra and even if i didnt it should still show up on the guide, when i call customer service its like talking to the wall..

I live in manhattan and get CBS College Sports HD on channel 467 with my subscription to the HDXtra package. However, when I recently visited a couple of my in-laws in Ridgewood queens I did happen to notice that the channel 467 didn't even exist on their channel guide. It didn't phase them because they hadn't subscribe to the HDXtra package.

If you are in S. Manhattan you should get it on FEB 4 with the rest of the channels. I have HDXtra and don't have that yet either.

Is it just me can everyone check to see if they get channel 467 CBS College sports HD on there guide, i get 457 but NOT 467 was put on in late oct. and then gone in late Nov. But is still on there web site listings..im in Corona, Queens ny..

I get 'em both. 467 is supposedly in HD. i'm watching the college basketball on there right now, doesn't look anything like HD to *me*. maybe upconverted SD??

I'm been having glitches and pauses on both HD and non-HD channels for the last week with my 8300HD. I'm in the Southern Manhattan service area. I'm resigned to a freeze or skip now or then on HD recording, especially with WPIX 711, but the glitches have significantly increased recently and spread to other HD channels which were never had problems previously - like WABC 707 - as well as non-HD channels such as MTV (20) or the Travel Channel (88). I've read about service problems in Northern Manhattan since the additional HD channels were turned on but anyone else in the southern service area experiencing problems on both HD and non-HD channels?

I'm been having glitches and pauses on both HD and non-HD channels for the last week with my 8300HD. I'm in the Southern Manhattan service area. I'm resigned to a freeze or skip now or then on HD recording, especially with WPIX 711, but the glitches have significantly increased recently and spread to other HD channels which were never had problems previously - like WABC 707 - as well as non-HD channels such as MTV (20) or the Travel Channel (88). I've read about service problems in Northern Manhattan since the additional HD channels were turned on but anyone else in the southern service area experiencing problems on both HD and non-HD channels?

Yes and I moved to FIOS because if things are bad now in LoMan they will only get worse on 4 Feb based on NoMan experience.

Does anyone know if there is a limit to the capacity of the external drive you can connect to an 8300HD? Unfortunately I was rearranging some power cords, and when I plugged my faithful Azio enclosure with 400GB drive back in, I got a bunch of sparks from the outlet and now I'm getting a "The external drive is not operating properly" or something like that error. So I think I fried it. :(

That said, for less than I paid for the enclosure and hard drive a couple years ago I can now get a combo that has 2.5 times the storage. Will I have problems if I connect a 1TB external drive to the DVR?

I was looking at this AcomData (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822216041&nm_mc=AFC-Bensbargains&cm_mmc=AFC-Bensbargains-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA). Any thoughts?

A friend of mine just installed the Apricorn ITB hard drive with his 8300HD. No problems whatsoever, other than the known loss of buffering trick play features

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822161042

Currently i have only one tv hooked up to my cable box, the basic High Def box from time warner cable. I would like to run a line to my basement TV that i am hanging this weekend. I have heard i can split the cable myself and just run coaxial down there instead of leasing another box. Question:

where do i split the line , before the cable box or after ? between the cable internet modem and the cable box, or between the cable box and the new TV ?
I am not interested in HD signal for the 2nd tv, just decent reception

thanks

Split the line BEFORE your cable box. Without a cable box, that second TV will only have access to the unscrambled local channels... for some odd reason, that seems to include TNT on 3 and C-Span on 6. Other than those, I think it's 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13.

They have my neighborhood listed but I have not been offered anything and I have not seen any verizon trucks in the area, just want to get my TW bill lowered if I can. I have no love for "the phone company" that ripped me off for like 10 yrs.

It's probably a local building issue. East Village was one of the first hoods they said they'd be in, yet a pal who lives down there can't get it until his landlord makes some kind of deal with Verizon. Which has NOT happened although FIOS is generally available in his hood for 4 months or so.

My guess is a call to Verizon will pin point the issue.

Verizon never said they'd be in Sty-Town, but I know someone who does have it there.

Does anyone know if there is a limit to the capacity of the external drive you can connect to an 8300HD? Unfortunately I was rearranging some power cords, and when I plugged my faithful Azio enclosure with 400GB drive back in, I got a bunch of sparks from the outlet and now I'm getting a "The external drive is not operating properly" or something like that error. So I think I fried it. :(

That said, for less than I paid for the enclosure and hard drive a couple years ago I can now get a combo that has 2.5 times the storage. Will I have problems if I connect a 1TB external drive to the DVR?

I was looking at this AcomData (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822216041&nm_mc=AFC-Bensbargains&cm_mmc=AFC-Bensbargains-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA). Any thoughts?

Be advised that if you install an external hard drive on a 8300HD (not the 8300HDC) you will lose the buffer.

A_C

Split the line BEFORE your cable box. Without a cable box, that second TV will only have access to the unscrambled local channels... for some odd reason, that seems to include TNT on 3 and C-Span on 6. Other than those, I think it's 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13.

Also, be very careful that you buy a good quality 1Ghz rated splitter. 250 Mhz or 500Mhz will not work correctly with digital cable. If you buy the wrong one you're opening yourself up to gitches, dropouts, blank screens, etc.

And lastly, once you install the correct splitter make sure you go into the diag screen of your cable box and check that your signal strength is high enough (not RED on the screen) once you've done the split.

Be advised that if you install an external hard drive on a 8300HD (not the 8300HDC) you will lose the buffer.

A_C

correct, but you get it back one the external hd is full.

;)

I'm been having glitches and pauses on both HD and non-HD channels for the last week with my 8300HD. I'm in the Southern Manhattan service area. I'm resigned to a freeze or skip now or then on HD recording, especially with WPIX 711, but the glitches have significantly increased recently and spread to other HD channels which were never had problems previously - like WABC 707 - as well as non-HD channels such as MTV (20) or the Travel Channel (88). I've read about service problems in Northern Manhattan since the additional HD channels were turned on but anyone else in the southern service area experiencing problems on both HD and non-HD channels?

I have the same problems except I am noticing problems on 704, not 707. And I have severe problems on ESPN2 HD.

correct, but you get it back one the external hd is full.

;)
One way around this problem is to record a LOT of stuff in HD, keep the external drive full. Then just delete enough space for what you have coming up. This way, you'll have the buffer working most of the time....

Yes and I moved to FIOS because if things are bad now in LoMan they will only get worse on 4 Feb based on NoMan experience.

Thanks to you and coreynyc for confirming it's not just me. Unfortunately, I have don't have Verizon as an option. My building is only 4 years old and has the internal wiring that would make it very easy for Verizon to wire but nothing. Even if I wanted to keep TWC cable, I'd switch to FIOS Internet in a heartbeat. I'm looking forward to having all the new HD channels in a month but as you said, expect it's going to be very flaky.

I'm looking forward to having all the new HD channels in a month but as you said, expect it's going to be very flaky.
...or they'll have all of the bugs worked out in upper Manhattan and things will go smoothly in "lower" Manhattan. (always the optimist, I guess....)

...or they'll have all of the bugs worked out in upper Manhattan and things will go smoothly in "lower" Manhattan. (always the optimist, I guess....)

No way - I had them first here in Queens so they should have gotten the bugs out before giving it to all our friends across the river.

I'm still eagerly awaiting a response to my letter. I'll probably have FIOS in my building before that happens.

Thanks to you and coreynyc for confirming it's not just me. Unfortunately, I have don't have Verizon as an option. My building is only 4 years old and has the internal wiring that would make it very easy for Verizon to wire but nothing. Even if I wanted to keep TWC cable, I'd switch to FIOS Internet in a heartbeat. I'm looking forward to having all the new HD channels in a month but as you said, expect it's going to be very flaky.

If you are in a co-op, take it to the Board. If in a rental, talk to the manager.

By the way, as good as FIOS video and internet are, Verizon can't get my caller ID going on my phone.

Does anyone know how to get to diag screen on the samsung h3050 so I can check incoming signal level? I've got a split of my main cable line coming into my apt. with a one gig splitter. One side goes to my trusty SAHD8300, the other goes to the bedroom, where it hits the Roadrunner splitter. One side of that goes to the 3050. My internet and virtually all channels are good, however, I experience a great amount of glitching and freezes on 705 and 711. I'd just like to check the signal level coming into the box. I suspect my problem is the cable run from the living room to the bedroom, which predates this poster. However, I'd like to verify the level actually hitting the box before I start rerunning cable through walls, etc... I'm in Manhattan South. FWIW I tried a search and came up with nothing. Thanks.

Split the line BEFORE your cable box. Without a cable box, that second TV will only have access to the unscrambled local channels... for some odd reason, that seems to include TNT on 3 and C-Span on 6. Other than those, I think it's 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13.

thank you very much for the info :)

has on demand not been working for anyone else. I am on the UWS and it is not working. any solutions?

has on demand not been working for anyone else. I am on the UWS and it is not working. any solutions?

working in midtown, just tried. Which on demand channel? HBO on demand working for sure here.

It's probably a local building issue. East Village was one of the first hoods they said they'd be in, yet a pal who lives down there can't get it until his landlord makes some kind of deal with Verizon. Which has NOT happened although FIOS is generally available in his hood for 4 months or so.

My guess is a call to Verizon will pin point the issue.

Verizon never said they'd be in Sty-Town, but I know someone who does have it there.

Well my building does have a bulk billing deal with TWC, I called Verizon they didn't seem to know too much, she looked it up on the web same as I did. Wasn't available as far as they knew but they may have been wrong.

A friend of mine just installed the Apricorn ITB hard drive with his 8300HD. No problems whatsoever, other than the known loss of buffering trick play features

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822161042

I'll take a look. That enclosure looks a bit bulky, but it sounds like it's good at staying cool and quiet.

Be advised that if you install an external hard drive on a 8300HD (not the 8300HDC) you will lose the buffer.

A_C

Thanks...unfortunately I already know all too well about the lack of buffer, as this will be my second external drive on my 8300HD.

has on demand not been working for anyone else. I am on the UWS and it is not working. any solutions?

Working for me

...or they'll have all of the bugs worked out in upper Manhattan and things will go smoothly in "lower" Manhattan. (always the optimist, I guess....)

I think you coined the term "skippage."

Get ready for some serious SKIPPAGE!<g>

This morning I got an error saying my television does not support HDCP so I can no longer use an HDMI connection with my cable box (SA 8300HD and Sharp 26" LC-26GA5U). Did anyone else get this error? Was there an update pushed today? I've been using HDMI w/o incident with my set for years now.

This morning I got an error saying my television does not support HDCP so I can no longer use an HDMI connection with my cable box (SA 8300HD and Sharp 26" LC-26GA5U). Did anyone else get this error? Was there an update pushed today? I've been using HDMI w/o incident with my set for years now.


NO issues for years now? You've been lucky. Welcome to the HDCP/HDMI world!

This morning I got an error saying my television does not support HDCP so I can no longer use an HDMI connection with my cable box (SA 8300HD and Sharp 26" LC-26GA5U). Did anyone else get this error? Was there an update pushed today? I've been using HDMI w/o incident with my set for years now.

Have you tried turning off your equipment and then back on again? I get this error on occasion when I power up my projector before my 8300HD, or something like that. HDCP is still a bit shaky and can bug out if you do something as basic as turning components on in the wrong order.

i have an hdc 8300...i trying to connect it to my second tv which is 7 feet away through the wall im wondering if i could get a hdmi splitter or something like it so that i can enjoy tv on my bedroom when im not on the living room. and maybe an IR extension. so that i control my hdc from the bedroom..

Is this possible? can it be done? or should i just pay the 9.99 extra every month an get an extra box?

thx in advance.

UPDATE

I had a tech here on Friday for probably the 6th or 7th time...and I finally (think/hope) I have resolution. After checking everything in my apt, and in the hall/stairwell, he ran a cable straight from the hall to my box and the problems still happened.

He concluded that the problem is with the wiring in the building and ordered a re-wiring for this week.

So basically, I have had an ongoing problem for about a year that could have been easily remedied/solved months ago, had they sent someone capable (I've even had supervisors here).

I feel like I am due several free months of service (all I have gotten out of TW thus far was free HBO & Starz since my last call 2 weeks ago).

Is my best bet to send a calm, reasonable complaint to DoITT & Howard Szarfarc?

Does anyone have the contact info for the TW exec?

I have had the same problem for almost a year with no resolution and it is getting worse. The main culprits are ESPN2 HD (massive macroblocking & pixelization) & WPIX HD (audio drop outs).

Now I am having problems with VS HD & Food HD (I realize lots of people have this problem but I am going to make it MY problem), also Nat Geo HD & Animal Planet HD are macro blocking and I also have audio drop outs on various SD channels (MTV being one).

I called last week and they couldn't give me a night or weekend appt until this Sat...and that is going to be a waste of time since every time they send someone (even a manager), the problems never get permanently fixed.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH FOX -705? i am getting horrible choppy video and no audio. the eagles/giants game is starting now. unacceptable. i hate time warner!!!

WHAT IS WRONG WITH FOX -705? i am getting horrible choppy video and no audio. the eagles/giants game is starting now. unacceptable. i hate time warner!!!

i also have a few channels blacked out. Fox HD and History channel HD. as of now im trying to watch giants game buts its blacked out. :(

i also have a few channels blacked out. Fox HD and History channel HD. as of now im trying to watch giants game buts its blacked out. :(

Cinemax is near unwatchable. Long audio dropouts and pixelation. Will this ever end!

A_C

Just tried to watch a great concert on HDNet - lots of audio drop outs and picture freezes. What is going on? Southern Manhattan, 8300HD.

Thanks,
Lewis

Just tried to watch a great concert on HDNet - lots of audio drop outs and picture freezes. What is going on? Southern Manhattan, 8300HD.

Thanks,
Lewis

I get some audio dropouts (not too bad) but no video issues on HDNet.
8300HD Southern Manhattan East

WABC 707 was a glitch-fest tonight. I watched Brothers and Sisters with the closed captions turned on because it skipped so often that I miss much of the audio. Glorious television viewing.

I just want to chime in here too... I'm in S Manhattan and have been having similar intermittent audio and video hiccups across just about every HD channel the past 3 - 4 weeks.

I've also noticed the overall HD picture quality, when I have a steady picture, is soft and, in some cases, blurry.

I watched Planet Earth on Animal Planet HD and was appalled. When the show first aired on HD Theater, it was stunning. Watching it on Animal Planet HD was frustrating. I could tell there was a real problem, and that it was not just my eyes, when text appeard on screen and it was blurry.

Even my partner, who usually doesn't notice these things, was complaining.

Just sent the following to DoITT & Howard S. regarding my ongoing saga...

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am a Time Warner Cable (TWC) customer in Manhattan who for approximately 1 year has been experiencing problems with my HD service, most regularly on channels 711 (WPIX HD) & 729 (ESPN2 HD). Problems did occur occasionally on various other channels as well.

WPIX has regularly had the sound drop out on shows and the news for several seconds at a time. It makes it very difficult to watch programming on that station in HD.

ESPN 2 HD is often completely unwatchable with severe macroblocking, pixelization, and lost of sound.

When these problems first arose approximately a year ago, I called TWC for a service call. The technician came and changed the splitter in my apartment. Apparently the splitter that was initially installed in my apartment was not the correct strength/frequency; essentially it was too weak to handle the signals.

That fixed my problem temporarily; the problems soon started occurring again. Another service call was made. At this point, the technician checked signal strength in my apartment and then would go do something the stairwell, where the lines head in to the individual apartments on my floor.
This was the first of approximately 5 or 6 subsequent service calls where nothing was accomplished. They would always check the signal strength in the apartment using a handheld device and/or the diagnostic mode on the DVR box and then they would go out and fiddle in the stairwell. Sometimes they would change some of the coax cable in my apartment, once they changed my DVR box, once they told me they didn’t see anything wrong at all. I even had a supervisor come to the apartment and despite all this I never got any resolution, just a temporary fix that would last a few weeks at best.

In December 2008, the problems I was experiencing started getting worse. I started experiencing regular volume drop outs on WNBC HD (704), WNYW HD (705), & WABC HD (707) and now the problem started spreading to SD channels like MTV (20), Travel Channel (88), Animal Planet (86), along with several others.

So I made yet another service call to TWC and on Friday 1/9, the tech that was sent proceeded to check the splitter and the signal strength in my apartment and found everything to be OK. He then ran a coax cable from the box in the stairwell straight to my cable box but, the problems persisted.
From this last step, he determined that the problem was with the wiring in the building and not my apartment. He ordered a rewiring of the building, which he said should occur sometime this week.

While I am glad to HOPEFULLY have resolution to this problem, I am baffled and angered that it required a year of patience and multiple service calls to solve what seems to me to be an obvious problem.

I had suggested this to technicians if the problem wasn’t inside my apartment, maybe it was outside of my apartment either in the building or on the street. Since I am not a cable technician, I assumed they were checking if there were problems outside my apartment when they would take a step ladder and go out in the hallway. If the problem was on my street, surely they would have received other service calls from neighboring buildings.

Considering the ordeal that I have gone through for the past year, I want to make the DoITT aware of the level of incompetence that exists within the service staff at TWC. This incompetence combined with the unfair pricing practices & false advertising claims that TWC inflicts on its customers in Manhattan really needs to be addressed by the DoITT.

For months now, I have been charged the same amount of money for my cable service in Manhattan as TWC customers in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. Customers in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island have had a much larger number of HD channels included in their packages than we have had in Manhattan.

To add insult to injury, TWC had advertisements all over the city promising over 100 HD channels by the end of 2008. By the end of 2008, I had nowhere near 100 HD channels (though TWC says we will finally be close to 100 HD channels in Manhattan in February 2009). Does the city really endorse false advertising from its cable franchisee?

I do not understand how TWC can get away with charging the same price to its Manhattan customers, who are receiving reduced service, as it does to customers in other boroughs who received many more HD channels. Why should Manhattan residents be penalized?

I hope issues like these are addressed when the TWC franchise comes up for renewal.

In regards to the ordeal I have had with the poor service in my apartment, I would appreciate the DoITT’s assistance in getting credited back for the months of poor service I have had to endure because of TWC’s incompetence. I would also appreciate help making sure that the problem with my service gets fixed. While the situation MAY be remedied this week, I am not confident considering TWC’s track record in dealing with it over the past year.

Thank you for your time and attention regarding these matters.

Just sent the following to DoITT & Howard S. regarding my ongoing saga...

You lost me about 1/3 of the way through... IMHO, this is much too long and detailed for a regulatory complaint. The operative fact is TWC's ongoing inability to resolve your service, so that's what you should have emphasized.

I believe there is a clause in the current franchise agreement which states that TWC must resolve chronic service issues within 30 days. If I were in your shoes, my strategy would be to have the DoITT find them in default; a much more urgent matter than just another unhappy customer.

A_C

going to have to disagree w/ you, agent c.
while having successfully dealt with both organisations, i can unequivocally state that they tend to ask for as much information as you can provide.

the letter was intelligently written, has a diplomatic and firm tone, and aside from a misspellig or 2, generally provides what they look for: a timeline and a list of services provided/not provided along that timeline.

good luck, corey.

Just tried to watch a great concert on HDNet - lots of audio drop outs and picture freezes. What is going on? Southern Manhattan, 8300HD.

Thanks,
Lewis

I've been getting lots of audio and video dropouts and glitches the last few weeks. I'm glad others are having it - I thought my external eSATA drive was going bad!:)

Does anyone in Staten Island, Queens or Brooklyn get Fuse HD on channel 691?

Does anyone in Staten Island, Queens or Brooklyn get Fuse HD on channel 691?



Not in Bayside Queens as of now.

Well, I just learned that Parsons, CEO of TW lives in my LoMan neighb. Unless he does Direct, Dish or FIOS, he has to know how bad their service is down here. I sent the word through a mutual acquaintance tonight - his service sucks and I'm gone to FIOS.

Well, I just learned that Parsons, CEO of TW lives in my LoMan neighb. Unless he does Direct, Dish or FIOS, he has to know how bad their service is down here. I sent the word through a mutual acquaintance tonight - his service sucks and I'm gone to FIOS.


If you PM'd his address to a bunch of us (hint), we could have a mailing party... ;)

A_C

One factor I'm noticing is that each of us seems to be plagued but different skippage issues... as in I recorded the Giants disaster but had almost NO skippage. BUT, I DO get the issue on other channels... it's just that there no pattern to all this except that it seems to have gotten far worse on 12/17 when us northern Manhattan folks got all the new HD. Still, I note that a lot of this excessive skippage is now coming from our southern Manhattan cousins... which could mean they have all the new channels but not exposed in their guides. That kinda makes sense as it's what 2 more weeks until launch?

Another issue that is our own responsibility; reading skippage stories with no idea where the person is reporting from imparts no data as to where issues are happening. The fix is very simple... put your exact location in your signature! Along with box and software data...

It SEEMS that the issue is an overall lack of bandwidth. BUT as I have read, it was 40 analogs dropped... which should equate to 120 HD channels.. which SHOULD mean we have headroom for another 25-30 HD channels. Sop it SEEMS like bandwidth may not be as big a factor.

Another way to put it is that the addition of all the HD they have kept from us in Manhattan has in no way made me think I might just stick with them (when FIOS comes to my building).

Does anyone in Staten Island, Queens or Brooklyn get Fuse HD on channel 691?

not in brooklyn.

Just sent the following to DoITT & Howard S. regarding my ongoing saga...

Haha i read that and I thought you meant Howard Stern haha I was like non of this is talking about channel 329

Speaking of where the f is Howard Stern HD???

My buddy in CT had it before switching to Direct tv and he said he had it in HD.

OK... my wife and I have had TWC since 2001. We moved into our current apartment in Southern TRIBECA Mar of 2007. We've always had a problem with sound blanks, freezes and pixilation on HD channels and recordings.

So, fed up with complaining, with more HD channels and better pricing, we've just recently had FIOS installed (like Sat 1/10/09). We're the 2nd apt in our building to get it. Outside of the HD problems (and lousy customer service) we were fairly comfortable with TWC's service. While with TWC, we refused to change from their Passport box to their new Maestro box as I've heard horror stories about it.

Now we're into the 4th day of FIOS service, we're running up against a big hurdle... while FIOS is a good service, and has more HD channels, my wife and I can't get over how bad the Motorola DVR is.

Some items that drive us nuts:
1. The guide is unclear and cumbersome
2. Response between the remote and DVR is pathetically slow
3. The tree like menu system is awkward to navigate
4. Fast forward and reverse of a recording is difficult to handle
5. Dropped scheduling is a big problem - Should NOT have to keep checking the schedule for series which have been selected (and the menu marks episodes that are repeats as new)
6. The old TWC Passport box took a SATA drive to expand recording capacity, don't expect this box to (but I'm still investigating)
7. SD can't do a zoom on it, it only does stretch which causes the boddies to look 'fat'
8. Can't jump forward or backward in 15 minute increments on either recorded or OnDemand playbacks
9. Test of the emergency broadcast system knocked my wife out of an OnDemand show (causing her to take 8 minutes of fast-forwarding to regain her position in the show)

Anyway, we'll see what Verizon has to say about all this, and maybe head back to TWC if they give us some incentive. (If we do go back to TWC, we'll follow up our complaints to TWC executives and regulators - maybe start a petition?).

6. The old TWC Passport box took a SATA drive to expand recording capacity, don't expect this box to (but I'm still investigating)
7. SD can't do a zoom on it, it only does stretch which causes the boddies to look 'fat'

I use pause a LOT so the loss of the buffer when attaching a hard drive has lead me to NOT doing it. This is an issue for over 2 years with no fix planned or anticipated. I tried the work around (hit record) several times, but somehow managed to record ONLY what I had already watched.

As for zoom (on letterboxed SD I assume)... my TWC Passport box can't handle it either... so I use the TV's zoom function.

Indeed, the one consistent "bad thing" I read about FIOS is the DVR they use. Which seems to me to put them in the same league as TWC's rented boxes. OTOH, I also read that aside from the initial cost, going TiVo costs the same in monthly expense as going with the FIOS DVR... mostly because they seem to charge a lot more for it than TWC (16 bucks vs. 10 for TWC).

my wife and I can't get over how bad the Motorola DVR is.



For god's sake, get a TiVo. It's night and day from any of those so-called Cable company DVRs.

For god's sake, get a TiVo. It's night and day from any of those so-called Cable company DVRs.

Had one, will never use it again after going using SA Passport (and Motorola for that matter).

OK... my wife and I have had TWC since 2001. We moved into our current apartment in Southern TRIBECA Mar of 2007. We've always had a problem with sound blanks, freezes and pixilation on HD channels and recordings.

So, fed up with complaining, with more HD channels and better pricing, we've just recently had FIOS installed (like Sat 1/10/09). We're the 2nd apt in our building to get it. Outside of the HD problems (and lousy customer service) we were fairly comfortable with TWC's service. While with TWC, we refused to change from their Passport box to their new Maestro box as I've heard horror stories about it.

Now we're into the 4th day of FIOS service, we're running up against a big hurdle... while FIOS is a good service, and has more HD channels, my wife and I can't get over how bad the Motorola DVR is.

Some items that drive us nuts:
1. The guide is unclear and cumbersome
2. Response between the remote and DVR is pathetically slow
3. The tree like menu system is awkward to navigate
4. Fast forward and reverse of a recording is difficult to handle
5. Dropped scheduling is a big problem - Should NOT have to keep checking the schedule for series which have been selected (and the menu marks episodes that are repeats as new)
6. The old TWC Passport box took a SATA drive to expand recording capacity, don't expect this box to (but I'm still investigating)
7. SD can't do a zoom on it, it only does stretch which causes the boddies to look 'fat'
8. Can't jump forward or backward in 15 minute increments on either recorded or OnDemand playbacks
9. Test of the emergency broadcast system knocked my wife out of an OnDemand show (causing her to take 8 minutes of fast-forwarding to regain her position in the show)

Anyway, we'll see what Verizon has to say about all this, and maybe head back to TWC if they give us some incentive. (If we do go back to TWC, we'll follow up our complaints to TWC executives and regulators - maybe start a petition?).

Having used TW's SciAtl 8000 and 8300HD a number of years, Fios' Moto 6416 takes some getting used to. My biggest complaint is Motorola's IR. The remote has to be pointed right at the DVR. The contrast on the INFO bar could be better and the font larger.

The 6416 does stretch in gradations, at least with my Sammy DLP it does. The first hit virtually fills the screen and the stretch is less noticeable than with TW's 8300. I wont comment on the series recording capabilities because I dont do it. The single movies I've copied have gone without a hitch.

I use pause a LOT so the loss of the buffer when attaching a hard drive has lead me to NOT doing it. This is an issue for over 2 years with no fix planned or anticipated. I tried the work around (hit record) several times, but somehow managed to record ONLY what I had already watched.

Pause is actually the one trickplay function that works, for me anyway, on the Passport 8300HD with an external drive.

As for zoom (on letterboxed SD I assume)... my TWC Passport box can't handle it either... so I use the TV's zoom function.

My TWC Passport box (8300HD) zooms fine. The # key cycles through normal, zoom, and stretch.

Indeed, the one consistent "bad thing" I read about FIOS is the DVR they use. Which seems to me to put them in the same league as TWC's rented boxes. OTOH, I also read that aside from the initial cost, going TiVo costs the same in monthly expense as going with the FIOS DVR... mostly because they seem to charge a lot more for it than TWC (16 bucks vs. 10 for TWC).

The OP seemed to indicate that he (and/or his wife) watched On-Demand shows, which I think are not a good fit for Tivo and cable cards.

-barry

Just had a CableCARD installed in my ATI Digital Cable Tuner equipped HTPC. Tech was really patient and knowledgeable but wasn't familiar with this specific setup (which I expected). Initially it went smoothly but I couldn't tune any premium channels. We spent an hour and a half troubleshooting before the TWC HQ guy realized he hadn't added the CableCARD permissions to my account!!

After 4 appointments, I finally got a 8300HDC box in Southern Manhattan. Was working fine when the technician left but then I turned the TV off. When I put it back on all I get is the following message

"This cable box is not authorized for service. Please call..."

Well two calls to customers service and one technician visit later and they still haven't returned the picture. I'm not letting them remove the box because I'll never get another one. I believe its the only DVR box with HD InDemand.

Tomorrow a supervisor is coming. Any ideas what's wrong -- or why this is boggling the minds at TWC

I think it's about time NY1 went full HD with their broadcasts. It's Time Warner's own news channel, after all. If you want people to stay with your company, and your HD service, then why not get with the times, and offer a news service that takes advantage of the picture quality available?

Also, we need to start bugging the appropriate people about getting The Weather Channel HD to start showing us our appropriate local forecasts, but I don't know if that's a Time Warner thing or a Weather Channel thing.

I think it's about time NY1 went full HD with their broadcasts. It's Time Warner's own news channel, after all. If you want people to stay with your company, and your HD service, then why not get with the times, and offer a news service that takes advantage of the picture quality available?

Also, we need to start bugging the appropriate people about getting The Weather Channel HD to start showing us our appropriate local forecasts, but I don't know if that's a Time Warner thing or a Weather Channel thing.

Weather Channel, i believe. The rollout has just begun (Cablevision was a test of the system i think)

On a more positive note, has anybody been watching the Discovery HD Theater channel? Great content, stuff that was made for HD!

Weather Channel, i believe. The rollout has just begun (Cablevision was a test of the system i think)

FIOS shows Weather Channel's "Local Weather" 24/7 on 49. WC itself does not break on the "8s" for local weather. There is no audio on 49 except the familiar slow techno and a female voice saying periodically "Local Weather", "Regional Forcast", "Doppler Radar", "Airport delays", etc

FIOS shows Weather Channel's "Local Weather" 24/7 on 49. WC itself does not break on the "8s" for local weather. There is no audio on 49 except the familiar slow techno and a female voice saying periodically "Local Weather", "Regional Forcast", "Doppler Radar", "Airport delays", etc

and... what does this have to do with HD? (as I assume this channel you are referring to is not in HD)

and... what does this have to do with HD? (as I assume this channel you are referring to is not in HD)

Quite. WC comes in clear on the HD tier since 12/30 when I signed on. Suggesting that you may not get local on WC HD whenever you get it. The WC local channel on SD is actually pretty much what I need unless I'm traveling. Your mileage may vary.

Just had a CableCARD installed in my ATI Digital Cable Tuner equipped HTPC. Tech was really patient and knowledgeable but wasn't familiar with this specific setup (which I expected). Initially it went smoothly but I couldn't tune any premium channels. We spent an hour and a half troubleshooting before the TWC HQ guy realized he hadn't added the CableCARD permissions to my account!!


Please post back as to how this setup is working out for you. I'm looking at setting up something similar and was under the impression that TWC wouldn't do a cablecard install for the ATI card, only for Tivos. Did you have a m-card installed?

Please post back as to how this setup is working out for you. I'm looking at setting up something similar and was under the impression that TWC wouldn't do a cablecard install for the ATI card, only for Tivos. Did you have a m-card installed?

So far it has been working great (knock on wood), there are a couple glitches with a few channels but this is due to a bug in the Vista TV Pack. The rep on the phone wouldn't authorize the install when I tried the first time by calling the local office. I called again outside of normal business hours and was able to set up the appointment no problem. I didn't give them any details on the setup, just said it was a 'Digital Cable Tuner'. The tech only brought Scientific Atlanta m-cards with him and so far it has been working without any issues. I luckily had a tech who was willing to work out the initial issues we were having instead of just attributing it to the PC and walking out.

Quite. WC comes in clear on the HD tier since 12/30 when I signed on. Suggesting that you may not get local on WC HD whenever you get it. The WC local channel on SD is actually pretty much what I need unless I'm traveling. Your mileage may vary.

um... ok
lets try this again.

The channel you just described is not an HD channel.

We all get the locals o the 8 in SD on the SD channel (and don't really care too much for a channel that loops it all the time)

We are talking about Weather Channel HD - which we get - just not the local on the 8 yet. It will be happening soon - the rollout has just begin

um... ok
lets try this again.

The channel you just described is not an HD channel.

We all get the locals o the 8 in SD on the SD channel (and don't really care too much for a channel that loops it all the time)

We are talking about Weather Channel HD - which we get - just not the local on the 8 yet. It will be happening soon - the rollout has just begin

"The Weather Channel HD" Jeez what a waste of bandwidth

I think perhaps my cable box might be dying. I have the Scientific American 8300 w/ Passport. I'm not positive on the model, but it is definitely an SA HD DVR (it isn't in front of me right now) Lately, sometimes when I turn it on I'll just get a gray or black screen with sound, but no picture. I've also had cases where I'm watching a program and it will just freeze up. The only fix to these problems is to reboot the thing.

I've had it for just over 2 years. I think it might just be on the way out. Any idea what could be causing these problems? Should I just return it to a TWC center for a new box? If I have to do this, what kind of box should I try to get (or be sure NOT to get).

I think perhaps my cable box might be dying. I have the Scientific American 8300 w/ Passport. I'm not positive on the model, but it is definitely an SA HD DVR (it isn't in front of me right now) Lately, sometimes when I turn it on I'll just get a gray or black screen with sound, but no picture. I've also had cases where I'm watching a program and it will just freeze up. The only fix to these problems is to reboot the thing.

I've had it for just over 2 years. I think it might just be on the way out. Any idea what could be causing these problems? Should I just return it to a TWC center for a new box? If I have to do this, what kind of box should I try to get (or be sure NOT to get).

Could be a bad hard drive, I would get a new one, See if they have the new samsung dvr we have been hearing about and let us know. Otherwise it is HD or HDC plenty of posts about those, up to you.

This will probably be one of my last posts in this thread. How do I cancel my service? Can I just show up at 23rd St. with my equipment or do I have to call first? Will they come pick up the stuff themselves without charging me?

Got FIOS installed today. The HD quality blows away TWC. Just stunning.

This will probably be one of my last posts in this thread. How do I cancel my service? Can I just show up at 23rd St. with my equipment or do I have to call first? Will they come pick up the stuff themselves without charging me?

Got FIOS installed today. The HD quality blows away TWC. Just stunning.

if you drop it off, you dont have to call.

do you really want to wait around for them to come pick it up?

you can call to cancel as soon as you want.

This will probably be one of my last posts in this thread. How do I cancel my service? Can I just show up at 23rd St. with my equipment or do I have to call first? Will they come pick up the stuff themselves without charging me?

Got FIOS installed today. The HD quality blows away TWC. Just stunning.

Just take all equipment to 23rd St. and have them cancel your account.

I too am eagerly awaiting the arrival of FIOS so I can dump Time Warner.

Sadly they have not hit my location yet but when they do...........

"The Weather Channel HD" Jeez what a waste of bandwidth

we don't have a bandwidth space problem

Well just got the SA 8300HDC running Mysto working -- seemed it was just a matter of the supervisor reaching somewhat at the office who knew how to set the code for the box. (This escaped two previous customer service calls and one technician visit.)

At first glimpse, heres how it compares to the 8300HD running Passport.

No noticeable difference in picture quality.

The MYSTO software is a little buggy when switching from a HD channel to regular broadcast. I first get the picture and sound, then it blacks out for a few seconds before returning. However switching from one HD channel to another, or regular broadcast to another is normal.

I've gotten sound drop out once tonight where the sound just cut out completely -- never happened with the old passport box. I had to turn off the cable box and turn it back on.

The strange thing is my Apple iPhone can not be within 10 feet of the cable box. Incoming calls will pixelate the entire picture, freeze the image and drop out the sound. Broadcast quality will not return to normal during the entire phone call unless I walk about 10 ft. away from the cable box.

And of course the reason I got the box was the addition of Channel 700 HD Movies on Demand. Other than Ch. 699 -- I got the same abbreviated list of channels for lower Manhatttan

And yes, finally black sidebars!

This will probably be one of my last posts in this thread. How do I cancel my service? Can I just show up at 23rd St. with my equipment or do I have to call first? Will they come pick up the stuff themselves without charging me?

Got FIOS installed today. The HD quality blows away TWC. Just stunning.

Good for you. You got it done. Just walk in with the STB and your cable modem if you have one. They wont stop the bill til then. I for one have few regrets. The NY Fios thread is sparsely attended. Yet, this NY TW thread is mostly complaints.

And yes, finally black sidebars!

Just as an fyi, black sidebars aren't always best, especially if you have a plasma tv. Grey is the best sidebar color for plasmas since it's not as high contrast so makes it slightly harder to get image retention. That said, any sidebar will eventually cause IR if left on w/o any variations.

I think perhaps my cable box might be dying. I have the Scientific American 8300 w/ Passport.
Several years use here on the same model. Recent glitches might just be the system changes taking place for added HD. Rare reboots here always fix problems. Serious frequent disruptions of DVR functions, despite reboots, call for a new DVR...IMO. -- John

we don't have a bandwidth space problem

I know, it is still taking up space though

This will probably be one of my last posts in this thread. How do I cancel my service? Can I just show up at 23rd St. with my equipment or do I have to call first? Will they come pick up the stuff themselves without charging me?

Got FIOS installed today. The HD quality blows away TWC. Just stunning.

I know FIOS is suppose to be better and I am going to suggest somethimg that would make you spend extra $$$$, but just like satelite tech suggest when they install you really should keep both FOR A MONTH OR 2. tHIS WAY YOU CAN MAKE SURE YOU don'r habe any issues or problems with the service. If, I mean a reallu big IF you stop TW and Fios is bot what they claim then you would have to pau to reactivate your TW service. There have been a fewm bot many just a few cases that I heard of people switching baxk. Anyway as for canceling you have many answers above. They will charge you to pick up the equipment but they also will cut your main feed

Hopefully, I do not see ytou here again which would mean FIOS has been good to you!

Well just got the SA 8300HDC running Mysto working -- seemed it was just a matter of the supervisor reaching somewhat at the office who knew how to set the code for the box. (This escaped two previous customer service calls and one technician visit.)

At first glimpse, heres how it compares to the 8300HD running Passport.

No noticeable difference in picture quality.

The MYSTO software is a little buggy when switching from a HD channel to regular broadcast. I first get the picture and sound, then it blacks out for a few seconds before returning. However switching from one HD channel to another, or regular broadcast to another is normal.

I've gotten sound drop out once tonight where the sound just cut out completely -- never happened with the old passport box. I had to turn off the cable box and turn it back on.

The strange thing is my Apple iPhone can not be within 10 feet of the cable box. Incoming calls will pixelate the entire picture, freeze the image and drop out the sound. Broadcast quality will not return to normal during the entire phone call unless I walk about 10 ft. away from the cable box.

And of course the reason I got the box was the addition of Channel 700 HD Movies on Demand. Other than Ch. 699 -- I got the same abbreviated list of channels for lower Manhatttan

And yes, finally black sidebars!

If you set the output resolution to only 1080i it will change channels faster

Pause is actually the one trickplay function that works, for me anyway, on the Passport 8300HD with an external drive.



My TWC Passport box (8300HD) zooms fine. The # key cycles through normal, zoom, and stretch.



The OP seemed to indicate that he (and/or his wife) watched On-Demand shows, which I think are not a good fit for Tivo and cable cards.

-barry

Yes, pause works, but I need to have the FF function so I can skip commercials. THAT is the function that is disabled when using an eternal drive.

Zoom does work, but I was talking about using zoom on a letterboxed SD program. The "zoom" on the 8300 zooms inside a 4:3 box. For this situation, zoom on the TV does the correct thing, zooms it to full screen.

Of course, now that we have SciFi, FX and USA in HD, I'll need this far, far less.

On a more positive note, has anybody been watching the Discovery HD Theater channel? Great content, stuff that was made for HD!

Ha... no fooling. I suspect that channel (along with NG HD and Disc HD) is "more responsible" for folks coughing up for HD TVs than anything else.

DiscHD is what really wowed me and got me hooked when I first started receiving HD programming several years ago.

Ladies and gentlemen I have some great news for TV addicts with an HD passion. The Apricorn DVR Xpander 1TB eSATA Interface works. I am so happy that I can't explain in writing what a treasure this item is. H bugs no bites PLUG & PLAY!!!
I can't say it was trouble free becasue I had to get 2 of them. The first one was defective. But the 8300 informed me right away. But once I received the 2nd unit I as on my way. 125 hrs of extra HD recording time, no more rushing to watch shows becayse 20 hrs get filled so fast when you are a TV addict like myself.
While there are other hard drives to buy, I read there were many bugs associated with the others, while this model is designed for use with the SA 8300HDDVR,

The only issue whixh is a n 8399 issue when a drive is attached is rewinding and FF a live broadcast. but that is easily fixed bt oressing record. Yiu will have enough space for a long time so pressing record is a good save when tou need a break, The good thing with recrding is that even that ut shows no memory when you try to rewind, when you press record the DVR does save the entire program that you are watching. So you can FF and RW, You can just call it your personal Tape Delay viewing of the live program. Most people record before watching any way.so there is no issue here.

I highly recomend this purchase. I wish I bought it sooner because the unit came with a $50 rebate. But that expired 12/31 sorry!

On skippage/glitchage, has anyone noticed these issues SEEM to be ever so slowly lessening? 3 weeks ago it was nasty, all the time, most channels. Seems now I can make it for a full hour with no skippage... let's see what happens to ALL of us in Manhattan on 2/4.

And here's a very board hint... UWS folks, think Q3 2009.

Just as an fyi, black sidebars aren't always best, especially if you have a plasma tv. Grey is the best sidebar color for plasmas since it's not as high contrast so makes it slightly harder to get image retention. That said, any sidebar will eventually cause IR if left on w/o any variations.

Yes but... The gray sidebars on the Kuro can be set to vary intensity, based on the average luminance of the frame. Coupled with the 'orbiter', this makes it virtually impossible to get burn-in on these sets. I watch a lot of 4:3 content and would never have purchased my set without this feature.

A_C

On skippage/glitchage, has anyone noticed these issues SEEM to be ever so slowly lessening? 3 weeks ago it was nasty, all the time, most channels. Seems now I can make it for a full hour with no skippage... let's see what happens to ALL of us in Manhattan on 2/4.

And here's a very board hint... UWS folks, think Q3 2009.

What do you mean with quarter 3?

I think the Viacom HD channels will hit the system at the end of next month or early march.

Ladies and gentlemen I have some great news for TV addicts with an HD passion. The Apricorn DVR Xpander 1TB eSATA Interface works. I am so happy that I can't explain in writing what a treasure this item is. H bugs no bites PLUG & PLAY!!!
I can't say it was trouble free becasue I had to get 2 of them. The first one was defective. But the 8300 informed me right away. But once I received the 2nd unit I as on my way. 125 hrs of extra HD recording time, no more rushing to watch shows becayse 20 hrs get filled so fast when you are a TV addict like myself.
While there are other hard drives to buy, I read there were many bugs associated with the others, while this model is designed for use with the SA 8300HDDVR,

The only issue whixh is a n 8399 issue when a drive is attached is rewinding and FF a live broadcast. but that is easily fixed bt oressing record. Yiu will have enough space for a long time so pressing record is a good save when tou need a break, The good thing with recrding is that even that ut shows no memory when you try to rewind, when you press record the DVR does save the entire program that you are watching. So you can FF and RW, You can just call it your personal Tape Delay viewing of the live program. Most people record before watching any way.so there is no issue here.

I highly recomend this purchase. I wish I bought it sooner because the unit came with a $50 rebate. But that expired 12/31 sorry!

I had the Western Digital My DVR Expander and it installed just as easily.

What about noise? I see the Apricorn uses a fan. The WD uses induction cooling and is virtually silent. Can you hear this drive at all?

A_C

I have a task for some of you late TV watchers. While all this new HD stuff is great. U have already found myself hooked to MGMHD. A channel that shows uninterupted movies(with that lion roaring) all day. But the expantion glitches seem to be a constant with this channel. Almost every night I have expeWienced no sound from 12-6am. Has any one else experience this? Would someome be a good pal and check the channel out and see if your sound works?

Thanks guys.

I had the Western Digital My DVR Expander and it installed just as easily.

What about noise? I see the Apricorn uses a fan. The WD uses induction cooling and is virtually silent. Can you hear this drive at all?

A_C

While it does have a slight buzz the sound is a non-factor because the 8300 drowns the sound out. You would have ro be sitting righy next to it to hear it.

Ladies and gentlemen I have some great news for TV addicts with an HD passion. The Apricorn DVR Xpander 1TB eSATA Interface works. I am so happy that I can't explain in writing what a treasure this item is. H bugs no bites PLUG & PLAY!!!
I can't say it was trouble free becasue I had to get 2 of them. The first one was defective. But the 8300 informed me right away. But once I received the 2nd unit I as on my way. 125 hrs of extra HD recording time, no more rushing to watch shows becayse 20 hrs get filled so fast when you are a TV addict like myself.
While there are other hard drives to buy, I read there were many bugs associated with the others, while this model is designed for use with the SA 8300HDDVR,

The only issue whixh is a n 8399 issue when a drive is attached is rewinding and FF a live broadcast. but that is easily fixed bt oressing record. Yiu will have enough space for a long time so pressing record is a good save when tou need a break, The good thing with recrding is that even that ut shows no memory when you try to rewind, when you press record the DVR does save the entire program that you are watching. So you can FF and RW, You can just call it your personal Tape Delay viewing of the live program. Most people record before watching any way.so there is no issue here.

I highly recomend this purchase. I wish I bought it sooner because the unit came with a $50 rebate. But that expired 12/31 sorry!

How is this any different than using any other expansion drive? Losing the buffer features is what really sucks about expanding those things.

Yes but... The gray sidebars on the Kuro can be set to vary intensity, based on the average luminance of the frame. Coupled with the 'orbiter', this makes it virtually impossible to get burn-in on these sets. I watch a lot of 4:3 content and would never have purchased my set without this feature.

A_C

I found gray to be extremely annoying when I had the 8300HD, they were so bright and I could not adjust them. Black is vastly better at least for LCD. One of my favorite features of the 8300HDC is the adjustable sidebar color.

I found gray to be extremely annoying when I had the 8300HD, they were so bright and I could not adjust them. Black is vastly better at least for LCD... Well... for an LCD, black is really gray anyway… :p

On skippage/glitchage, has anyone noticed these issues SEEM to be ever so slowly lessening? 3 weeks ago it was nasty, all the time, most channels. Seems now I can make it for a full hour with no skippage... let's see what happens to ALL of us in Manhattan on 2/4.

And here's a very board hint... UWS folks, think Q3 2009.

Unfortunately, that isn't my experience (I'm in South Manhattan (57th and 11th ave) with a 8300HD Passport. If anything, it's gotten worse for me in the last couple days. I get skips on pretty much every channel or program I view or record. This includes channels CW 711 (probably the worst), ABC 707, MTV 20, USA 16, Showtime HD 666, Sci Fi 17, Travel 88, ABC Family 38 and Spike 36. These are all channels I watched in the last few days and every single one of them skipped. Until 2 weeks ago, the only channel that ever skipped occasionally was CW 711. I called tech support last night and the guy said he had received several calls yesterday complaining about skipping. But he also said he fixed them all by "boosting the signal," whatever that means. I'm not optimistic his "solution" fixes anything but we'll see.

It's also occurred to me that maybe the DVR hard drive is dying and not recording properly. Every program that skipped was recorded so I will watch something live tonight while recording it and compare the two.

How is this any different than using any other expansion drive? Losing the buffer features is what really sucks about expanding those things.

When I was looking for more space last year actually 2007, I was told to check here:


http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=516559

While some people found sucess there were others that talked about big time issues which swayed me aay from picking up just any drive. Bit I waited and a good wait it was because in 2007 1tb drive were non exosting and 500gb was high, with a high price to go with it, But now there are thre xompanies that clkaim to be a DVR expander but this is the only one rgar clained to be for the 8300 which caught my eye. The $50 rebate was also a plus.

The buffer is an issue but if you record everyshow it is an easy fix. Jusy make sure you erase the show.

The only issue that I have is a TIVO thing. You have a long line of shows when you expand so if you watch only 1/2 hr shows you will have to search for the show you want. While Tivo has the folder system to seperate all the shows by name. Now that I have 50+ shows saved I see why my friends love their TIVO's

Unfortunately, that isn't my experience (I'm in South Manhattan (57th and 11th ave) with a 8300HD Passport. If anything, it's gotten worse for me in the last couple days. I get skips on pretty much every channel or program I view or record. This includes channels CW 711 (probably the worst), ABC 707, MTV 20, USA 16, Showtime HD 666, Sci Fi 17, Travel 88, ABC Family 38 and Spike 36. These are all channels I watched in the last few days and every single one of them skipped. Until 2 weeks ago, the only channel that ever skipped occasionally was CW 711. I called tech support last night and the guy said he had received several calls yesterday complaining about skipping. But he also said he fixed them all by "boosting the signal," whatever that means. I'm not optimistic his "solution" fixes anything but we'll see.

It's also occurred to me that maybe the DVR hard drive is dying and not recording properly. Every program that skipped was recorded so I will watch something live tonight while recording it and compare the two.

I think you are just experiencing what we all are, I too am in S. Manhattan and am having skipping all over the place. Eventually they will fix it but it may be a while, this happened to me for years, stopped completely in the last year or so but now it has started again.

Well... for an LCD, black is really gray anyway… :p

haha very true, but it still looks better, it was annoying on my old hd CRT as well.

...

The only issue whixh is a n 8399 issue when a drive is attached is rewinding and FF a live broadcast. but that is easily fixed bt oressing record. Yiu will have enough space for a long time so pressing record is a good save when tou need a break, The good thing with recrding is that even that ut shows no memory when you try to rewind, when you press record the DVR does save the entire program that you are watching. So you can FF and RW, You can just call it your personal Tape Delay viewing of the live program. Most people record before watching any way.so there is no issue here.
...


I have an external drive too, and I love it. But, I do think you are underestimating the annoyance factor of losing the trickplay buffer. Your style of viewing seems to minimize the problem. I watch a lot of news and sports, and while recording all the news/sports shows that I watch does solve the problem, it is hardly "no issue". To review a 30 second item that just went by, I have to press record, choose to watch the recording, then rewind, and then after I'm through remember to delete the show. Maybe I'm lazy (OK, for sure I'm lazy), but generally I decide that I'm not willing to go through the effort, and I just don't rewind.

Prior to installing the hard disk, pressing the 30-second replay button was one of my most common presses. Now I cannot do it.

Still, on the whole, I agree with you that the luxury of having MUCH more storage space is worth the cost of losing REW/FF.

-barry

I have an external drive too, and I love it. But, I do think you are underestimating the annoyance factor of losing the trickplay buffer. Your style of viewing seems to minimize the problem. I watch a lot of news and sports, and while recording all the news/sports shows that I watch does solve the problem, it is hardly "no issue". To review a 30 second item that just went by, I have to press record, choose to watch the recording, then rewind, and then after I'm through remember to delete the show. Maybe I'm lazy (OK, for sure I'm lazy), but generally I decide that I'm not willing to go through the effort, and I just don't rewind.

Prior to installing the hard disk, pressing the 30-second replay button was one of my most common presses. Now I cannot do it.

Still, on the whole, I agree with you that the luxury of having MUCH more storage space is worth the cost of losing REW/FF.

-barry

The way you describe it, I see an issue but I never used the 30 sed back feature so it isn't something I would miss. Plus with this drive when "the burden" of pressing more than 2 buttoms is hard on my fingers. HA HA!
At least we both agree the sacrifice is well worth it.
It feels so good to have the peace ofmknd amd not rush to watch shows.

The way you describe it, I see an issue but I never used the 30 sed back feature so it isn't something I would miss. Plus with this drive when "the burden" of pressing more than 2 buttoms is hard on my fingers. HA HA!
At least we both agree the sacrifice is well worth it.
It feels so good to have the peace ofmknd amd not rush to watch shows.

I think we agree in quality, but not necessarily in quantity. I would not have said that adding the drive was "well worth it", just that it was "worth it". I felt it necessary to reply to your original posting because I think you painted too rosy a picture for some potential users. I have one friend, for example, who is constantly filling up his built in hard drive, but he would never add an external drive at the cost of rewind and FF. He watches only sports and news, and he feels like it's just not worth the "price" (meaning the effort, not the dollars).

-barry

Just tried to schedule a bunch of recordings using "keyboard" entry mode on my 8300HDC (going to be away for a week.) One of the most frustrating experiences I have ever had.

That is all.

Just tried to schedule a bunch of recordings using "keyboard" entry mode on my 8300HDC (going to be away for a week.) One of the most frustrating experiences I have ever had.

That is all.

Thank goodness I've held onto my 8300HD (Passport) and they haven't pushed Navigator on us like they did in some other TWC regions. Of course that means I can't watch HD On Demand, but I have so much HD content to watch on my DVR (w/external SATA drive) I'm hardly lacking for HD shows to watch!

...eagerly awaiting Feb. 4th!

Thank goodness I've held onto my 8300HD (Passport) and they haven't pushed Navigator on us like they did in some other TWC regions. Of course that means I can't watch HD On Demand, but I have so much HD content to watch on my DVR (w/external SATA drive) I'm hardly lacking for HD shows to watch!

...eagerly awaiting Feb. 4th!

We have the older 8300HD in the bedroom and I scheduled some other shows in there and the difference in the UI was night-and-day.

I am not really an 8300HDC hater in general, but the show-scheduling UI is really, really poor.

Best,
Lewis

I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on TivoHD. Anyone do this recently and can help me compare/contrast between the ODN/Mystro vs Tivo?

With the M Cablecard, I believe I can get two tuners with one cable card.

I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on TivoHD. Anyone do this recently and can help me compare/contrast between the ODN/Mystro vs Tivo?

With the M Cablecard, I believe I can get two tuners with one cable card.

I seem to recall a post that said TWC told him M-cards weren't ready, so he got 2 cable cards.

I think anyone would say thew software is way better w/TiVo. So you should at the very least, do an accurate price comparison... the one issue I recall being hard to pin down was the actual TWC costs... as in EXACTLY how much is actually saved by dropping the STB. I think it's 7 bucks for a basic box, plus 10 for the DVR service. Te again, a LOT of us really like the HDXtra tier, so w/TWC DVR you pay 5 bucks more, without it, it's 8 bucks.

I'd also suggest you steal a page from how business accounts for costs... as in the original purchase price of a TiVo might be amortized over 36 months (3 years is typical for hardware).

One issue I have never gotten any real answers to is what happens if the TiVo breaks after it's one year warranty? This COULD be a bog gotcha... it would not surprise me if it cost 400+ bucks!

No skipping or audio dropouts so far for me today in S. Manhattan

Manhattan, Brooklyn/Queens, Mount Vernon

January 16, 2009

Time Warner Cable’s agreements with programmers and broadcasters to carry their services and stations routinely expire from time to time. We are usually able to obtain renewals or extensions of such agreements, but in order to comply with applicable regulations, we must inform you when an agreement is about to expire. The following agreements are due to expire soon, and we may be required to cease carriage of one or more of these services/stations in the near future:

Azteca America, BBC on Demand, Chinese Channel, Chinese Cinema, ComedyCentral, CV Network, E!, Encore, Encore Action, Encore Drama, Encore Love, Encore Mystery, Encore Western, Encore WAM, Fuel TV, Great American Country (GAC), Game Show Network, HD Net, HD Net Movie, HITN, Logo, MTV, MTV2, NBA TV, Nick Toons, Nickelodeon, Nick Too, Noggin, Palladia HD, ShopNBC, Spike TV, Starz, Starz in Black, Starz Cinema, Starz Comedy, Starz Edge, Starz Kids & Family, Style, Supercanal, The Arabic Channel, The N, RTVi, RAI, NGTV, TV Japan, TV Land, TV Polonia, VH-1, VH-1 Classic, Weather Channel, WFUT, WPIX, and WXTV.

In addition, from time to time we make certain changes in the services that we offer in order to better serve our customers.

Due to a typographical error, please note, effective February 4th, Biography and History International will launch in all areas of Manhattan, and not just Northern Manhattan as previously announced. These services will launch on channels 143 and 130, respectively.

The previously scheduled launches of Spike HD and HSN HD in Southern Manhattan on February 4th have been postponed until further notice.

The previously scheduled renaming of Weather Plus (ch.161), slated to occur on February 21st, and its associated format changes, have been postponed until further notice.

Effective on or about February 16, 2009, Toon Disney will be renamed Disney XD. We will also launch TV Globo on ch. 512 and PFC Internacional on ch. 513.

Effective on or about March 5, 2009: National Geographic Channel on Demand (1016) will be discontinued. The content from this service will appear as a category on News & World on Demand, ch. 1015.

Effective on or about March 25, 2009, in Manhattan, WE (ch.59) will move from DTV to Standard service. In Mount Vernon, YES HD will move from 753 and 757, to 757 only.

You may downgrade or terminate service without charge at any time. Further, if carriage of a premium service is discontinued and you have incurred installation, upgrade or other one-time charges relating to such premium service within six months prior to the date of the change, you may elect to downgrade or terminate service within 30 days and obtain a rebate of any such charge.

One issue I have never gotten any real answers to is what happens if the TiVo breaks after it's one year warranty? This COULD be a bog gotcha... it would not surprise me if it cost 400+ bucks!

I think when an out of warranty unit with lifetime service breaks TiVo will cut you a deal on a replacement. I'm not sure if the same is true on units that don't have a lifetime sub.

I seem to recall a post that said TWC told him M-cards weren't ready, so he got 2 cable cards.

I think anyone would say thew software is way better w/TiVo. So you should at the very least, do an accurate price comparison... the one issue I recall being hard to pin down was the actual TWC costs... as in EXACTLY how much is actually saved by dropping the STB. I think it's 7 bucks for a basic box, plus 10 for the DVR service. Te again, a LOT of us really like the HDXtra tier, so w/TWC DVR you pay 5 bucks more, without it, it's 8 bucks.

I'd also suggest you steal a page from how business accounts for costs... as in the original purchase price of a TiVo might be amortized over 36 months (3 years is typical for hardware).

One issue I have never gotten any real answers to is what happens if the TiVo breaks after it's one year warranty? This COULD be a bog gotcha... it would not surprise me if it cost 400+ bucks!


Yup. I work for a fortune 10 company so recurring cost is what I want to remove. Up front capex is not an issue so long as I can break even relatively quickly. When I look at my bill, it looks like my rental cost is $900 over 36 months. With Tivo, I need to spend $600 up front. My break even is 24 months (there abouts) I would have to get the free tuning adapter (yet another power sucking alien and the M/S cards.

I'll have to confirm with TWC that the tuner adapter (to deal SDV) and M cards are available.

New Northern Manhattan spreadsheet

(channels in the highest frequencies were shifted recently)

No skipping or audio dropouts so far for me today in S. Manhattan

Not for me. Programs on 711, 704 and 22 all skipped like crazy today.

Is it just me or does fox sports hd just suck, like today game

Is it just me or does fox sports hd just suck, like today game

Fox sports HD sucks every sunday. the picture quality to me is not even 720p, but 480p streched. I am glad that the superbowl is on NBC this year.

Fox sports HD sucks every sunday. the picture quality to me is not even 720p, but 480p streched. I am glad that the superbowl is on NBC this year.

It's 100% NOT 480p stretched.... it may seem like widescreen-SD (the studio show definitely is), but its not stretched...

There is nothing stretched about it.

Did anyone else watch/DVR this?

I got the first showing in the afternoon on the DVR, and it looked SPECTACULAR. I mean, no breakups, no skips, a clearer picture than normal, no pixellation (even when they zoomed in on a drummer playing), etc.

And then when I got to deleting it, I noticed that it took up 12G on the hard drive, which is what we USED to get before they started adding more compression to our channels. (These days I average about 9G for a 2 hour program).

Wondering if TWC did some fiddling with the bitrates because they knew a LOT of people would be watching the Obama thing (HBO descrambled the signal for this)???

Either way, I'm grateful for the superior picture on this one yesterday, but it really frustrates me that it doesn't look that good EVERY DAY!!

Did anyone else watch/DVR this?

I got the first showing in the afternoon on the DVR, and it looked SPECTACULAR. I mean, no breakups, no skips, a clearer picture than normal, no pixellation (even when they zoomed in on a drummer playing), etc.

And then when I got to deleting it, I noticed that it took up 12G on the hard drive, which is what we USED to get before they started adding more compression to our channels. (These days I average about 9G for a 2 hour program).

Wondering if TWC did some fiddling with the bitrates because they knew a LOT of people would be watching the Obama thing (HBO descrambled the signal for this)???

Either way, I'm grateful for the superior picture on this one yesterday, but it really frustrates me that it doesn't look that good EVERY DAY!!

It could be because HBO is now 1 of 2 channels in 1 QAM freq (used to be 1 of 3)

It's 100% NOT 480p stretched.... it may seem like widescreen-SD (the studio show definitely is), but its not stretched...

There is nothing stretched about it.

I've been wondering about that - the games themselves have seemed OK, but the studio portion has looked like crapola as long as I can remember - at least the long/wide studio shots.

Now my TeamHd is out (411) says to call cus. service , i called them but no help he said its on there end give it a couple of hrs.. i bet it has something to do with now that the nba league pass is for free this week, which doesn't matter to me since i paid for it..

Does anyone know if even "live" viewing of a channel is being streamed off the hard drive of the DVR? I am increasingly begun to wonder if the hard drive on my DVR is dying. Aside from swapping it out for a new one, which I'd like to avoid because I want to keep my 8300HD, is there a way to tell the difference between a skip or glitch in the video/audio from a hard drive error or a glitch in the transmission itself? I have watched programs live and they skip but if they're still streaming off the hard drive, perhaps that still doesn't rule out a problem with the DVR drive.

Does anyone know if even "live" viewing of a channel is being streamed off the hard drive of the DVR? I am increasingly begun to wonder if the hard drive on my DVR is dying. Aside from swapping it out for a new one, which I'd like to avoid because I want to keep my 8300HD, is there a way to tell the difference between a skip or glitch in the video/audio from a hard drive error or a glitch in the transmission itself? I have watched programs live and they skip but if they're still streaming off the hard drive, perhaps that still doesn't rule out a problem with the DVR drive.

well no - live content is not being streamed off the hard drive - but it is recording at all times. (actually - on the 8300hd, once you pause/rwd and the hit 'Live' - you are then watching off the buffer until you change the channel)

However, if there was a problem with the hard drive - you would know - you wouldn't just get innocent skips - you'd hear serious noises coming from the box.

Wondering if TWC did some fiddling with the bitrates because they knew a LOT of people would be watching the Obama thing (HBO descrambled the signal for this)???

Either way, I'm grateful for the superior picture on this one yesterday, but it really frustrates me that it doesn't look that good EVERY DAY!!

100% agree. Soon we should be in a position (Manhattan) where there is a bit of "excess" bandwidth given the number of dropped analogs and added HD channels (compared to last summer). That CAN/SHOULD mean they CAN cut back a bit on reducing bit-rates.

Not only that, but I read we still have about 30 analog channels. Get rid of those and we COULD have enough bandwidth to possibly NOT further compress originating signals. Perhaps even enough to actually compete w/FIOS on quality of signal. Face it, even if we eventually get the 10 or so channels that never made 12/17, there simply aren't that many more HD channels out there.

Does anyone know if even "live" viewing of a channel is being streamed off the hard drive of the DVR? I am increasingly begun to wonder if the hard drive on my DVR is dying. Aside from swapping it out for a new one, which I'd like to avoid because I want to keep my 8300HD, is there a way to tell the difference between a skip or glitch in the video/audio from a hard drive error or a glitch in the transmission itself? I have watched programs live and they skip but if they're still streaming off the hard drive, perhaps that still doesn't rule out a problem with the DVR drive.


It would be inadvisable to open the box and swap the hard drive, just exchange for a new one if it ever breaks, but I do not think it is the drive it is just the same issue a lot of us are having.

It was almost comical how many times ABC messed up covering the Inauguration.

Lip-sync problems and stray camera shots were the order of the day it seemed… At one point they shot Obama through a glass partition, which distorted his face like a fun-house mirror. Tune into The Soup for a replay on that one Friday night, I’m sure.

I think a few resumes will hit the street tomorrow at ABC.

Reminds me of the Celine Dion mike fiasco a few years back. 3+ heads rolled for that one...

A_C

do we know when chillerhd will available?

has anyone noticed that their internet speeds are very slow at night, compared to daytime?

has anyone noticed that their internet speeds are very slow at night, compared to daytime?

Well that's the nature of cable internet. Been that way for years.

You are sharing your bandwidth with your neighbors. The more people around you are using - the slower available speeds you will get.

Obviously more residential areas will be more busy at night.... people are at work during the day....

100% agree. Soon we should be in a position (Manhattan) where there is a bit of "excess" bandwidth given the number of dropped analogs and added HD channels (compared to last summer). That CAN/SHOULD mean they CAN cut back a bit on reducing bit-rates.

Not only that, but I read we still have about 30 analog channels. Get rid of those and we COULD have enough bandwidth to possibly NOT further compress originating signals. Perhaps even enough to actually compete w/FIOS on quality of signal. Face it, even if we eventually get the 10 or so channels that never made 12/17, there simply aren't that many more HD channels out there.

The problem is that they use that MPG2 code when companies like direcTV, and Verizon use MPG4 which is the better technology. We need higher bitrates.

i never noticed it being so bad as it has been in the last few days, im only getting download speed of 3000k now

i never noticed it being so bad as it has been in the last few days, im only getting download speed of 3000k now

probably more people streaming Obama videos recently

Well that's the nature of cable internet. Been that way for years.

You are sharing your bandwidth with your neighbors. The more people around you are using - the slower available speeds you will get.

Obviously more residential areas will be more busy at night.... people are at work during the day....

In a properly implemented cable internet system, you should never have a noticeable degradable in your internet service unless every single person on the node is on the internet AND downloading large files for extended periods of times SIMULTANEOUSLY. Even the increased interest in the inauguration isn't a likely factor, especially since the OP said the problem started a couple days ago before the inauguration.

What's likely happening is that Time Warner has connected too many households into a neighborhood node such that even routine usage among the households attached to the node overloads it. If you visit the TWC Road Runner forums on DSLReports.com, you'll see that this is a longstanding problem for many frustrated Road Runner users in NYC. You shouldn't accept this as normal. The service degradation is the result of a poorly managed internet network, not an inevitable part of the cable infrastructure.

The only solution to the problem is to split the node and distribute the users between the new and old nodes. Unfortunately, that's not something a service tech can do or have much power to implement. I had this problem several months ago. I'd been in my apt for 3 years, never had internet speed issues. Then, I couldn't even surf CNN during the evening, it was so slow, worse than dialup because sites would timeout and not load at all. Multiple service calls did not solve the problem. The only way it got fixed was to file a complaint with the City's Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. Here's the page:

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

Time Warner responded when the City forwarded my complaint. I got a call from public relations department, followed by a call from a very senior and very competent technician who immediately recognized and diagnosed my problem. A couple weeks later, the node was split, the problem disappeared and I've never had Internet speed problems again. The fix took some time so you have to be a little patient but be persistent and don't accept it as inevitable. File a complaint with the DOITT. TWC was surprisingly and pleasantly responsive to my city-forwarded complaint.

FYI, my Internet service suddenly cut out tonight. When I called, an automated message said that pretty much all of the West Side of Manhattan was going to be out for service work that was going to affect both Internet and TV services. I have a faint hope it's related to the glitches and skipping. Fingers crossed, have a cable tech coming tomorrow who I will show the multiple recorded programs on my DVR that are absolutely unwatchable because they skip every 10 seconds.

Does anyone know if even "live" viewing of a channel is being streamed off the hard drive of the DVR?

Despite what has been said by others, yes, all "live" viewing via a SA8300HD is done off the hard drive. You can see this for yourself by using only the internal drive which will result in no glitches and the external hard drive which will most likely give you glitches even when viewing "live".

The problem is that they use that MPG2 code when companies like direcTV, and Verizon use MPG4 which is the better technology. We need higher bitrates.

Verizon does NOT use MPEG4. Except for the very latest DVR which has just come out, their installed base of STBs and DVRs does not have any MPEG4 support.

It could be because HBO is now 1 of 2 channels in 1 QAM freq (used to be 1 of 3)

Considering HBO peaks at 14.20 Mbps and a 256QAM is capable of 38.81, its not like much was being wasted at 3 per QAM. In fact, that small amount of a difference would almost be impossible to detect to the naked eye. Most professionals can only tell the difference once it approaches a difference of roughly 3Mbps without direct comparison and dividing up 4 Mbps between 3 channels would never meet that parameter.

Considering HBO peaks at 14.20 Mbps and a 256QAM is capable of 38.81, its not like much was being wasted at 3 per QAM. In fact, that small amount of a difference would almost be impossible to detect to the naked eye. Most professionals can only tell the difference once it approaches a difference of roughly 3Mbps without direct comparison and dividing up 4 Mbps between 3 channels would never meet that parameter.

considering the QAM frequency in question had 3 HD channels AND 1 SD channel - yes it was noticeable.

And lets say HBO, Showtime, and UnversalHD were all at about 14-15 Mbps max going to Time Warner... plus another 2-3 Mpbs for the SD channel... do the math....

FYI, my Internet service suddenly cut out tonight. When I called, an automated message said that pretty much all of the West Side of Manhattan was going to be out for service work that was going to affect both Internet and TV services. I have a faint hope it's related to the glitches and skipping. Fingers crossed, have a cable tech coming tomorrow who I will show the multiple recorded programs on my DVR that are absolutely unwatchable because they skip every 10 seconds.

SoMan head or NoMan head? I'm North... I did watch one live show last night... no problems (Fringe).

The skippage is still around (always has been, the difference is the amount) but I find it ever so slightly better than 2 weeks ago. It was god awful after the 12/17 drop of new HD channels...

Verizon does NOT use MPEG4. Except for the very latest DVR which has just come out, their installed base of STBs and DVRs does not have any MPEG4 support.

Do we know which DVR STBs have MPEG4 decoders? I recall that the latest ones Direct is handing out do... my guess would be that the Samsung 3090 (which doesn't yet seem deployed according to what I've read around AVS) does.

I think it's pretty clear 4 is a good update on 2. The big deal is one gets the same quality at a smaller file size.

considering the QAM frequency in question had 3 HD channels AND 1 SD channel - yes it was noticeable.

And lets say HBO, Showtime, and UnversalHD were all at about 14-15 Mbps max going to Time Warner... plus another 2-3 Mpbs for the SD channel... do the math....

Clearly noticeable to me, too. Admittedly I'm not your average viewer, but the difference was very clear to me. To my wife, on the other hand...maybe not so much.

13 days to go in S. Manhattan for new HD channels!!

13 days to go in S. Manhattan for new HD channels!!

someone in your area should start 'looking' some may already be there (if any analog channels have gone snowy)

someone in your area should start 'looking' some may already be there (if any analog channels have gone snowy)

Berk -- would you suspect that they would show up in the same slotted locations as the ones in Northern Manhattan?

Berk -- would you suspect that they would show up in the same slotted locations as the ones in Northern Manhattan?

If everything else lines up......

If everything else lines up......


everything i pretty much the same except hallmark-hd, which is on freq 777 in S. Man.

If everything else lines up......
I checked a few of the N. Man. frequencies about a week ago and there was nothing there yet.

everything i pretty much the same except hallmark-hd, which is on freq 777 in S. Man.

That shifted when the additions came in

Anyone have any new info on NHL HD? Are we ever going to get it...or am I going to have to see that subscription service banner every day? Game HD is nice, but I'd rather get the extended NHL highlights in HD.

Anyone have any new info on NHL HD? Are we ever going to get it...or am I going to have to see that subscription service banner every day? Game HD is nice, but I'd rather get the extended NHL highlights in HD.

You can try calling and see if you can talk to someone with a brain there....
(I don't expect that to happen - so I haven't bothered - I had figured it would get fixed by now....)

someone in your area should start 'looking' some may already be there (if any analog channels have gone snowy)

Am I correct that the hdc cannot tune manually? The diagnostic screens are different then passport, as far as I know you can't adjust anything

Am I correct that the hdc cannot tune manually? The diagnostic screens are different then passport, as far as I know you can't adjust anything

As far as I know - that is correct.

SoMan head or NoMan head? I'm North... I did watch one live show last night... no problems (Fringe).

The skippage is still around (always has been, the difference is the amount) but I find it ever so slightly better than 2 weeks ago. It was god awful after the 12/17 drop of new HD channels...

I'm South Manhattan, 57th and 11th Ave. I also watched Fringe on 705 but it glitched for me.

The service tech came yesterday. He checked the bit error rates for the tuners on the diagnostic screen and said it was showing about 20% data loss, which he wasn't all that bad. He changed the cable wiring and the bit errors disappeared but as we watched programming - specifically, CNN 710 - it still glitched but there wasn't any spike in the bit error rate, which he said you would expect if it's a transmission problem. I forgot to ask him what if the problem isn't my local wiring but the glitches are being introduced into the signal at the main transmission point, would the bit error rate still spike? In any case, I guess I should replace the DVR just to confirm or eliminate it as the cause but I've got a lot of saved programs on it I'd hate to lose, especially if I get a new box and programs still skip. I'm having a second DVR temporarily installed, that way, I can see keep my DVR while seeing if the skips occur with a second box.

Of course, when I got home after work yesterday, I discovered my service was out, TV and internet. It was still out this morning when I left the apt. It appears my entire building is out. It's a very localized problem because the automated message says there's a service interruption between 57 and 58th street, between 11th and 12th avenue, and my building is the only building on the entire block.

Anyone have any new info on NHL HD? Are we ever going to get it...or am I going to have to see that subscription service banner every day? Game HD is nice, but I'd rather get the extended NHL highlights in HD.

As it's been over a month now, I daresay that despite what they said, it is NOT a part of HDNet.

I'm still kinda confused as to exactly what GameHD actually is... it shows on 2 separate channels, but I'm told it's the same thing. Doesn't one have to subscribe to one of the sports packages to get anything ON that channel?

If my sis subscribes to TWC but no box... can she just plug her new TV in the wall directly. I am asking bc on TWC's website basic cable is 14.95. She is paying $60 with a cable box and no DVR capability.

And will she get HD channels this way?

She does not care about the premium channels only the basic ones you get Free OTA. She is in manhattan in the middle of hi rises so I doubt she will get a stable lock with an antenna... if there is one on her building.

Thanks

I guess I should replace the DVR just to confirm or eliminate it as the cause but I've got a lot of saved programs on it I'd hate to lose, especially if I get a new box and programs still skip.

I actually sat down to power my way through a huge amount of previously recorded stuff on my DVR before the big 12/17 drop... not knowing if part of the plan COULD have been a conversion to MDN (such conversions have, upon occasion, wiped out folks previous recordings). But no conversion and I didn;'t lose anything. BUT I'm down to under 10 hours of HD content... fwiw, a LOT of that old content was SD material, so I had a LOT of it. All that SD is now in HD with the channel drop.

Your big drop is 2/4 I think. It's possible it may start to get better in the 4th weeks of the new channels??? I was thinking that maybe SouMan will be better of then we were because we got the drop frst...

As it's been over a month now, I daresay that despite what they said, it is NOT a part of HDNet.

I'm still kinda confused as to exactly what GameHD actually is... it shows on 2 separate channels, but I'm told it's the same thing. Doesn't one have to subscribe to one of the sports packages to get anything ON that channel?

(HDXtra)


and yes - its for MLB Extra Innings and NHL Center Ice

(TeamHD on 411 is for NBA League Pass HD)

If my sis subscribes to TWC but no box... can she just plug her new TV in the wall directly. I am asking bc on TWC's website basic cable is 14.95. She is paying $60 with a cable box and no DVR capability.

And will she get HD channels this way?

She does not care about the premium channels only the basic ones you get Free OTA. She is in manhattan in the middle of hi rises so I doubt she will get a stable lock with an antenna... if there is one on her building.

Thanks

Yes, she should be able to get the locals in HD just by plugging in the cable directly into a TV with a digital QAM tuner built in (most TVs sold in a store over the last bunch of years)

But there aren't many other channels available. If all she cares about are the channels one could get with an antenna - then she's fine.

Plug in the cable - run a scan - and thats it. (Just note that the channel #s may seem confusing and will take time to get used to... it won't be as simple as ch 7/707 for WABC)

I actually sat down to power my way through a huge amount of previously recorded stuff on my DVR before the big 12/17 drop... not knowing if part of the plan COULD have been a conversion to MDN (such conversions have, upon occasion, wiped out folks previous recordings). But no conversion and I didn;'t lose anything. BUT I'm down to under 10 hours of HD content... fwiw, a LOT of that old content was SD material, so I had a LOT of it. All that SD is now in HD with the channel drop.

Your big drop is 2/4 I think. It's possible it may start to get better in the 4th weeks of the new channels??? I was thinking that maybe SouMan will be better of then we were because we got the drop frst...

We're 2 completely separate systems - they're most likely going to have to go thru similar 'growing pains'.

sooooooooooo...
here's the day so far. just to share my frustrations. and, a few laughs, i suppose.

i work from home.
so, i'm always here...tv on, phone going, surfing through the interwebs. (yep...twc triple play)

was on a conference call when my digital phone just...well, it just dropped. no signal.
i walk over to the modem...yep...out. no signal.

now, i was annoyed b/c this was the 2nd time in 2 days. yesterday, i let it go b/c i wasn't on the net or the phone. just doing some work on the pc. i didn't have the energy to call it in.

today, was a nuisance. i was on a conference call.

i call it in. i get the twc national service desk. i immediately ask to be transferred to a local person. the odds of ACTUALLY being serviced by a local person is usually very small...why would i put myself through marginally LESS service by dealing w/ the national service desk, right? right. they're awful.

so, i get transferred over. i try to do it all the right way. punch in right numbers, say the right words, etc. i get the completely automated "let's walk through the modem loss issue" prompts. i figure, ok. fine. i'll buckle.

we all know all it does is send a new signal when you're modem is off and runs a few diagnostics. so, of course it wasn't going to work. it didn't.

i now say to the system..."AGENT."
finally, i get an agent. he goes through the same bells and whistles as the automated agent. nothing works. he tries a few "new" and "different" things...nothing.

i'm annoyed and supposed to be on another conference call...so, i hang up.
i use my cell phone for the conference call and decide to call twc back later.

an hour later i call back. by this time my modem has come back on.
now i'm just calling to complain.
i get another agent. somewhat nice, mildly ineffective. apologises for whatever issues i've been having. offers to prorate my internet for the month for the 2 days. that comes to about 2 dollars. i laugh. nope, that's not going to cut it.
so, he offers me some free movie channels. i get most of them as it is...but, what the hell. i'm bored w/ all of this at this point. so, i say sure. just get me off the phone. so, go with starz. i'll never watch it...but, what the F. i give up.

he tells me to go check my tv and make sure the starz channels are activated. i change the channel. not only do the starz channels come in glitchy, pixelated and with terrible sound...but, the rest of my HD lineup is now crap. ALSO glitchy, pixelated and w/ bad sound.

so, he runs me through the usual garbage: unplug, reboot, check signal. blah, blah, blah.
of course...doesn't work.
asks me if i use monster cables? really? monster cables? what a dumba$$. tells me to change to component cables [i use hdmi] b/c that's usually the problem.
what? that's usually the problem? on what planet?
are these guys ALL raging idiots?
i know they're not b/c i've dealt w/ a few who knew their heads from their a$$es.
this guy...not so much.

now my system's all messed up. my hd channels are crappy and i get free movies i'll probably never watch.

here's a kicker for you guys, tho.
i live in S. manhattan. 43rd st. i asked him what the date is for the new hd channels being added to the lineup.
know what he says to me?
oh, sir, as i'm looking here there aren't any channels being added. there's one spanish channel that is changing its name, though?
is that what you were asking for?
uh....no. not even remotely related to what i was asking for.

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!
arggggggggggggggg!!!!!

gee...do you think i'm going to have to call back later to get someone to clean up his mess?

yep. it's going to be messy.

sigh.