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

>are these guys ALL raging idiots?

Many of them are, but the biggest problem in the TWC organization is a shocking lack of communication.

The people you call for support have absolutely no clue whatsoever what's happening within the network.

Your whole exercise was unfortunately, a complete waste of time.

A_C

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?

1. Sounds like you're having a signal problem in your apartment (unless there's an outage issue in your neighborhood) -- you need to make a service appointment to get a tech out there to check the signal levels.


2. The robots on the phone know nothing about new service additions, so don't trust them.

[QUOTE=j7f;15631850]sooooooooooo...
here's the day so far. just to share my frustrations. and, a few laughs, i suppose.

The date is Feb 4, it was on twc website a few weeks back, don't worry that is the date

Blame TWC for not training their people but don't blame the people. If you get hired to do a $8/hr job, you get $8/hr like quality. It is what it is. People who care to read/post on AVS aren't your mom&pop types that believe HDMI is the problem because the CS told them that was the problem. Because of the HDCP issues, I'm sure CS's were told, "if they have HDMI, tell them to use component"

My favorite is the CSR who told me to have my little sister stick one finger in the cable box and the other in the TV... said I'd get a great picture!

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.

wow...i was just venting. i can't believe i got the varied responses i did.

i've been dealing w/ twc now for several years. there have been bright spots...then, there are days like yesterday.

agent c: aside from my frustration, definitely not a complete waste of time. what i've learned over the years is this: if there's a problem, call them so they can at least log it into your account history. having a history has ALWAYS worked to my advantage. believe me. you'd be surprised at how well they've treated me just b/c they know i'm not making anything up and not calling just to cause trouble. it's right there in front of them on the account screen. you have a better argument if there's proof. this tactic has surprised even me. it's gone WAY beyond anything to do w/ free cable or credit to my account. just for being polite and having a history. always call. be nice, but always call.

scott_bernstein: nah. not a signal problem. everything was free and clear just before he added the starz. immediately afterward: mess. it cleared up a few hours and a phone call later.

lee: thanks for confirming the date. i had read here it might be changing. that's why i asked the csr.


hansangb: believe you me...it's a rare day that i blame the CSRs and techs. poor CSRs aren't ever given updated info. definitely makes their jobs harder. it's gotta be a ridiculously difficult job. constantly dealing w/ nasty and vulgar people...no one calls in just to say nice things, right? besides, i've learned that the best way to get things done...kill 'em w/ kindness. they're happier to help someone who treats them well, rather than someone who treats them poorly.


feb 4th or bust!

It looks like my skipping and freezing problems were caused by a dying DVR. I swapped my 8300HD and the skipping has completely stopped. I had a suspicion the DVR was the problem because I noticed a pattern where the problems only occurred when the DVR was almost full. If I watched or recorded an SD program that didn't max out the hard drive, there were no errors. But when I recorded an HD show that would almost fill the hard drive, the skipping began. And I noticed the first 20 minutes of the HD program would be fine then the skipping would show up for the remainder of the show and every other show subsequently recorded. I suspect there were a lot of bad sectors on that part of the hard drive.

Incidentally, the 23rd street Manhattan office still has 8300HD boxes. I was able to get another 8300HD to replace my dying one.

It looks like my skipping and freezing problems were caused by a dying DVR. I swapped my 8300HD and the skipping has completely stopped. I had a suspicion the DVR was the problem because I noticed a pattern where the problems only occurred when the DVR was almost full. If I watched or recorded an SD program that didn't max out the hard drive, there were no errors. But when I recorded an HD show that would almost fill the hard drive, the skipping began. And I noticed the first 20 minutes of the HD program would be fine then the skipping would show up for the remainder of the show and every other show subsequently recorded. I suspect there were a lot of bad sectors on that part of the hard drive.

Incidentally, the 23rd street Manhattan office still has 8300HD boxes. I was able to get another 8300HD to replace my dying one.

The 8300HD boxes are available thanks to people swapping them for HDC boxes to get HD Ondemand.

I'm curious, how good in the quality of HD On Demand? I'd guess nothing beats standalone HD media like Blu-ray and I also assume HD On Demand is more compressed and not as good as regular TWC-transmitted HD programming. But where does it stand compared to the HD downloads from services like iTunes, PS3, Xbox, Netflix, etc?

HD showcase on demand never works for me... It keeps saying that the "program is unavailable at this time, please try again later". All of the SD on demand content works just fine.

It looks like my skipping and freezing problems were caused by a dying DVR. .


I have a Tivo with cablecards and i have never seen any pixelation or freezing.

I wonder if most of those problems are caused by the crap DVRs that TWC gives you.

I have a Tivo with cablecards and i have never seen any pixelation or freezing.

I wonder if most of those problems are caused by the crap DVRs that TWC gives you.

I think most of us agree that the pixelation, audio dropouts are being caused by the upgrades twc is making here in NY. I never had a problem ever with the HDC freezing until they started adding all these channels. Many people began complaining all at the same time with the same issues. Seems unlikely that a bunch of dvr's on avs forum would all die at the same time. I would just wait it out and hopefully the will fix it soon.

I'm curious, how good in the quality of HD On Demand? I'd guess nothing beats standalone HD media like Blu-ray and I also assume HD On Demand is more compressed and not as good as regular TWC-transmitted HD programming. But where does it stand compared to the HD downloads from services like iTunes, PS3, Xbox, Netflix, etc?

Saw "Dark Knight" on HD OD, looked pretty spectacular (except I thought the movie itself was overhyped cartoon fare).

I have a Tivo with cablecards and i have never seen any pixelation or freezing.

I wonder if most of those problems are caused by the crap DVRs that TWC gives you.

I think the box/DVR plays more of a role in determining picture quality than we typically assume. A TWC field supervisor once told me the best HD picture he sees are from people with Tivo’s.

Only problem is, any and all problems you have will be blamed in the Tivo by TWC crack support staff.

A_C

Not again!!!

my MGMHD (796) & TEAMHD (411) have blank screens , the channel is not clicking right , this happen before when they added new hd channels in the past. im tired of calling them, because all they like to say its you box or its your side do you want us to send a tech..
when we all now its on there end..
anyone have the same problem??

Not again!!!

my MGMHD (796) & TEAMHD (411) have blank screens , the channel is not clicking right , this happen before when they added new hd channels in the past. im tired of calling them, because all they like to say its you box or its your side do you want us to send a tech..
when we all now its on there end..
anyone have the same problem??

Right you are. Totally blank on my screen, too.:(

Not again!!!

my MGMHD (796) & TEAMHD (411) have blank screens , the channel is not clicking right , this happen before when they added new hd channels in the past. im tired of calling them, because all they like to say its you box or its your side do you want us to send a tech..
when we all now its on there end..
anyone have the same problem??

796 is working in Flushing.

I have a Tivo with cablecards and i have never seen any pixelation or freezing.

I wonder if most of those problems are caused by the crap DVRs that TWC gives you.


Are you using the free Tuning Adapter to get Tivo to work with TWC?

And are you using an M Card (one card) or do you have S Card (two cards, one for each tuner)?

thanks

796 is working in Flushing.

It's still a no-go here in jackson heights....

Not again!!!

my MGMHD (796) & TEAMHD (411) have blank screens , the channel is not clicking right , this happen before when they added new hd channels in the past. im tired of calling them, because all they like to say its you box or its your side do you want us to send a tech..
when we all now its on there end..
anyone have the same problem??

411 is, I believe, a channel you only get when subscribed to one of the sports tiers... it is showing me the "you must subscribe" notice. 796 comes in just fine. So it's probably a head end issue, rather than system wide.

Are you using the free Tuning Adapter to get Tivo to work with TWC?

And are you using an M Card (one card) or do you have S Card (two cards, one for each tuner)?
thanks


From what i've heard and experienced, they are not using SDV in NYC - so no Tuning adapters are needed.

When they came to install the CableCard in the Middle of Dec, they gave me a single MCard.

I have had no problems whatsoever with picture in HD. The only glitch i've seen is sometimes it will take a few secs for an HD channel to come on the screen. But even that "issue" is few and far between an actual problem -- it only happens once and a while.

I can't wait for the new HD channels on 2/4 in NYC.

796 is working in Flushing.

I will not have any of there channels ontill Feb 4,:cool: Im on the UWS,(s.Man.)Im i right??:o Any new Samsung cable box like the DVR box at 23st.??

411 is, I believe, a channel you only get when subscribed to one of the sports tiers... it is showing me the "you must subscribe" notice. 796 comes in just fine. So it's probably a head end issue, rather than system wide.

well i do get both packages and still have a blank screen, so i called and they said there is a outage in the area. who knows what is really going on, just fix it..

From what i've heard and experienced, they are not using SDV in NYC - so no Tuning adapters are needed.

When they came to install the CableCard in the Middle of Dec, they gave me a single MCard.

I have had no problems whatsoever with picture in HD. The only glitch i've seen is sometimes it will take a few secs for an HD channel to come on the screen. But even that "issue" is few and far between an actual problem -- it only happens once and a while.

I can't wait for the new HD channels on 2/4 in NYC.


Interesting. i thought all the new channels were using SDV. Thanks for the info! Much appreciated.

Hello everyone. First time on this forum, but I have a question egarding the 5010 and my cable box.

I am very much a newbie when it comes to these issues, my 5010 replaced a small TV I bought off Craigslist. When I got the 5010 hooked up, the TW people hooked it up with component cable. Later, upon discovering what exactly HDMI was, bought a 1.3 cable off monoprice and hooked it up to the cable box and TV. I have the following two issues.

1. Whenever I change from a TV station displaying at one resolution (CNN at 1080i) to another resolution (720p), I get a green flicker on the screen for 1-2 seconds. Reading around the forums, I assume this is the TV decoding what resolution the feed is at? It also looks like there is no way around this, aside from telling the cable box to output everything at 1080i. But I don't think I want this option as I have been told I would rather have the Pioneer upscale the signal versus having the cable box do it. Are my assumptions correct?

2. More pressing is when a 720p HD channel is broadcasting a program not in HD. (Like Fox showing an old Seinfeld or Scrubs). These images look very grainy and horrible, and I think the non-HD channel shows a better image than the HD one. (The picture on regular Fox is better than the picture on Fox HD). Also, a grainy white bar appears at the top of the screen on certain 720p channels like Fox HD (but not ABC or ESPN) when its displaying a non-HD program. It's like it hasn't accurately sized the picture. Is this how its supposed to look, or is there a way I can fix this with the settings on the TV or cable box?

Thanks

Hello everyone. First time on this forum, but I have a question egarding the 5010 and my cable box.

I am very much a newbie when it comes to these issues, my 5010 replaced a small TV I bought off Craigslist. When I got the 5010 hooked up, the TW people hooked it up with component cable. Later, upon discovering what exactly HDMI was, bought a 1.3 cable off monoprice and hooked it up to the cable box and TV. I have the following two issues.

1. Whenever I change from a TV station displaying at one resolution (CNN at 1080i) to another resolution (720p), I get a green flicker on the screen for 1-2 seconds. Reading around the forums, I assume this is the TV decoding what resolution the feed is at? It also looks like there is no way around this, aside from telling the cable box to output everything at 1080i. But I don't think I want this option as I have been told I would rather have the Pioneer upscale the signal versus having the cable box do it. Are my assumptions correct?

2. More pressing is when a 720p HD channel is broadcasting a program not in HD. (Like Fox showing an old Seinfeld or Scrubs). These images look very grainy and horrible, and I think the non-HD channel shows a better image than the HD one. (The picture on regular Fox is better than the picture on Fox HD). Also, a grainy white bar appears at the top of the screen on certain 720p channels like Fox HD (but not ABC or ESPN) when its displaying a non-HD program. It's like it hasn't accurately sized the picture. Is this how its supposed to look, or is there a way I can fix this with the settings on the TV or cable box?

Thanks

1) Yeah thats standard. TV needs to switch resolutions - so you have to deal with that.

2) Well, now that you are getting 'the full' picture, you are seeing that the picture has extra information up and around - on 'normal' older TVs, the outer edges are cut off, so thats not seen. Most TVs can be adjusted to cut off those edges, if they bother you. (And its not a problem for just 720p channels.)

Most networks assume that TVs will have some level of overscan, so you'll sometimes notice graphics that don't quite go all the way across the screen.

Can anyone explain to me why G4 692 is now TV1 HD? Am I missing something? Thanks.

we have a scientific america 8300hcd and today it just stopped. lost all our shows and can't tape anything now. life with commercials is painful, not to mention being a hostage to what's on now. anyway, re-booted, unplugged - no joy. called twc and they said hard drive is full. is there anything we can do now, short of changing box? your help much appreciated.

is it full?

can you list and delete?

try an external drive?

our list is empty but it says it is full but when we go to the list it says "no shows saved".

Can anyone explain to me why G4 692 is now TV1 HD? Am I missing something? Thanks.

everyone is getting that error right now. Anyway G4 on 692 doesn't have any content in HD. These cable channels should go HD once they offer content in that format.

everyone is getting that error right now. Anyway G4 on 692 doesn't have any content in HD. These cable channels should go HD once they offer content in that format.

Doesn't bother me - we have plenty of space. Add everything available.

It seems the senate has postponed the switch to all-digital 4 months!

http://iptv.tmcnet.com/topics/iptv/articles/49479-senate-approves-digital-tv-postponement-house-vote-next.htm

Will this affect TWC and HD channels?

It seems the senate has postponed the switch to all-digital 4 months!

http://iptv.tmcnet.com/topics/iptv/articles/49479-senate-approves-digital-tv-postponement-house-vote-next.htm

Will this affect TWC and HD channels?

why would it?

why would it?

Expected extra bandwidth.

Regarding the likely delay in the digital transition ...

The Senate has approved the bill delaying the mandatory transition. The House of Representatives has not yet voted on the bill. The President has already expressed his support and is sure to sign the bill if it comes to his desk.

The bill, however, simply delays the mandatory termination of analog TV broadcasts from February to June. It does not, however, prevent a broadcaster from sticking to the original February 17th schedule if they so desire. Broadcasters will not be REQUIRED to continue to transmit analog signals. The bill simply ALLOWS broadcasters to delay four months.

As for the impact on Cable TV subscribers - - nil. Cable TV providers have already promised to continue to provide analog versions of digital broadcasts for (I believe) three years after February 17th. There will NOT be any additional cable bandwith available by reason of the broadcast transition, as cable providers will still continue to provide subscribers with duplicate channels in both formats.

Can anyone explain to me why G4 692 is now TV1 HD? Am I missing something? Thanks.

Ha, I noticed that last night... the guide data is 100% wrong for what is actually playing on that channel. I thought we were supposed to be getting both channels??

They hid the channel changes pretty good on their new website, this should save you guys some time


http://www.timewarnercable.com/nynj/learn/cable/channelchanges.html

is there a link or does anybody have a list of the HD channels Southern Manhattan is supposed to get on Feb 4?

They hid the channel changes pretty good on their new website, this should save you guys some time


http://www.timewarnercable.com/nynj/learn/cable/channelchanges.html
Wow, that new site is so slow.

is there a link or does anybody have a list of the HD channels Southern Manhattan is supposed to get on Feb 4?

TWC took down the link but here it is from an older post

The previously scheduled launch of Lifetime HD on December 17th in Northern Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Mount Vernon, has been postponed until further notice.

Due to typographical error, the previously announced launch of Golf HD in Mount Vernon on December 17th appears on 778 and not 779.

The previously scheduled launch of Korean Christian Television (KCTV) on December 17th in Brooklyn and Queens and in Woodside, Elmhurst, and Maspeth on December 22nd, has been postponed until January 1, 2009.

The previously scheduled launch of UNTV on January 14th in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Mt. Vernon has been postponed and the previously scheduled drop of UNTV on this date, in Southern Manhattan, has been postponed until further notice.

The previously scheduled renaming of Weather Plus has been postponed until January 21, 2009.

All changes previously scheduled to occur on January 14th 2009 will now occur on February 4, 2009. These changes are as follows: We will drop Elections 08 from ch. 1279 and Sleuth from ch. 102. We will add My Life on Demand on ch.1281. In N. Manhattan, we will add Biography on ch. 143 and History International on ch. 130, as DTV services. In Mount Vernon, WE on ch. 73 will change from DTV to standard service.

Also on February 4, 2009 we will launch Chiller on ch. 102, TV Jade on ch. 581, RTPI on ch. 511, and Russian Kino on ch. 526. In S. Manhattan we will launch the following services: TEAM HD on 411 to NBA League Pass customers, Crime and Investigation HD on 686, TV One HD on 790, G4HD on 692, MGM HD on 796, Style HD on 689, CNBC HD on 715, USA HD on 716, SciFi HD on 717, Bravo HD on 718, E! HD on 724, QVC HD on 733, Spike HD on 736, HSN HD on 739, Tennis Channel HD on 465, Big Ten Network HD on 472, CBS College Sports HD on 467, HBO2 HD on 652, HBO Signature HD on 653, HBO Family HD on 654, HBO Comedy HD on 655, HBO Zone HD on 656, HBO Latino HD on 657, More Max HD on 659, Action Max HD on 660, Thriller Max HD on 661, WMAX HD on 662, @MAX HD on 663, FiveStar Max HD on 664, Outer Max HD on 665, Sho 2 HD on 667, Showcase HD on 668, Sho Extreme HD on 669, TMC HD on 674, TMC Xtra HD on 675, Starz Edge HD on 677, Starz Kids & Family HD on 678, Starz Comedy HD on 681, Encore HD on 682, NY1 HD on 701, Palladia HD on 720, Cartoon HD on 722, FX HD on 737, ABC Family HD on 738, History HD on 740, Fox Business News HD on 743, Fox News HD on 744, A&E HD on 746, Disney HD on 749, Learning Channel HD on 752, Toon Disney HD on 760, Lifetime Movie Network HD on 762, Biography HD on 763, Discovery HD on 766, Planet Green HD on 768, Weather Channel HD on 772, Speed HD on 774, Science Channel HD on 775, Travel Channel HD on 788, ESPN News HD on 792, ESPN U HD on 793; Game HD on 791 & 445 for MLB and NHL package customers and NHL Network on 795 for Sports Tier and NHL package customers.

Spike and HSN are postponed

Expected extra bandwidth.

?

No effect on cable

?

No effect on cable

Bill was not passed by the House

I was on the phone last night with a TWC "Supervisor" and was asking him about the HD upgrade in Southern Manhattan. He kept on telling me that he has never heard of a launch date and the Feb 4th date which we have all read and heard about was something he never heard about.

The TWC reps don't usually know much so I don't bank on what they say but this guy was pretty knowledgable and was saying we will get the upgrade in Southern Manhattan pretty soon but they don't have an exact date.

Very very frustrating... I hope he's dead wrong and we do in fact get them next week.

Bill was not passed by the House

Again...

This has absolutely no effect on service from Time Warner Cable.

Discussion doesn't even belong here.

I was on the phone last night with a TWC "Supervisor" and was asking him about the HD upgrade in Southern Manhattan. He kept on telling me that he has never heard of a launch date and the Feb 4th date which we have all read and heard about was something he never heard about.

The TWC reps don't usually know much so I don't bank on what they say but this guy was pretty knowledgable and was saying we will get the upgrade in Southern Manhattan pretty soon but they don't have an exact date.

Very very frustrating... I hope he's dead wrong and we do in fact get them next week.

Don't worry

He is just very uninformed.

This is going to happen.

Don't worry

He is just very uninformed.

This is going to happen.

Don't mind me asking but how so sure?

everyone is getting that error right now. Anyway G4 on 692 doesn't have any content in HD. These cable channels should go HD once they offer content in that format.

still not fixed, they have really been messing up, they fix one problem and now they have a mapping problem..2 tv1hd on is more than enough, bring back g4hd too channel 692 even tho its not even in hd yet..

I checked last night and could not find a single hidden channel yet. I hope that this is indeed gonna happen.

I checked last night and could not find a single hidden channel yet. I hope that this is indeed gonna happen.

how do u find hidden channels i have the 8300hdc am i able too?

Again...

This has absolutely no effect on service from Time Warner Cable.

Discussion doesn't even belong here.

That's why I put the post so people would stop taking about it :D

how do u find hidden channels i have the 8300hdc am i able too?

As far as I know you can't on the HDC

This has absolutely no effect on service from Time Warner Cable.

Discussion doesn't even belong here.

Somebody said that additional bandwidth would open up as a result of the digital transition, but that is clearly NOT the case.

If there is an indirect impact on cable programming in general, it will be that the 480i 4:3 format will be officially obsolete. This will help push content providers to use the HDTV format. It will also result in less cable programming being produced in 480i and fewer cable networks using non-HD equipment to replay (in annoying letterbox) programming, commercials, teasers, etc. that were originally produced in HD.

Time Warner could open up some bandwidth by not carrying HD and analog versions of the same channels. But they'd have to give everyone HD boxes and then set the output to 480i when attached to an analog set.

Somebody said that additional bandwidth would open up as a result of the digital transition, but that is clearly NOT the case.

If there is an indirect impact on cable programming in general, it will be that the 480i 4:3 format will be officially obsolete. This will help push content providers to use the HDTV format. It will also result in less cable programming being produced in 480i and fewer cable networks using non-HD equipment to replay (in annoying letterbox) programming, commercials, teasers, etc. that were originally produced in HD.

Time Warner could open up some bandwidth by not carrying HD and analog versions of the same channels. But they'd have to give everyone HD boxes and then set the output to 480i when attached to an analog set.

oy......

there will be no immediate effect on any current 4:3 programming - it will still be there... and it's not going away.

And Time Warner only carries about 30 analog channels at the moment - and anyone with a digital box doesn't see any of them (except for TV Guide on ch 51, but thats an odd one) - everything else is SD digital... and will stay that way....

Queens Co-Op with TWC bulk rate (renewed last year for one year only due to impending FIOS arrival)

Has anyone had any luck renogotiating TWC rates after FIOS has been wired in your TWC bulk-rated building(s)? We've got FIOS now, and some people are definitely bailing out of TWC. Lots of Verizon trucks outside each day!

I may eventually go to FIOS, but right now I'd like to bargain. I'd like to know if anyone who resides in a bulk-rated building has had TWC wheel and deal to keep them. Heck, I'd like to know if anyone has had any luck even if they aren't in a bulk-rate situation.

Tks.

Somebody said that additional bandwidth would open up as a result of the digital transition, but that is clearly NOT the case.

Yes, additional bandwidth IS opening because of a digital transition, but NOT the one that has anything to do with the OTA ("Over The Air") digital transition.

TWC in NYC has been turning off most of the analog channels on their cable system and repurposing the bandwidth for digital channels. It has already happened in the other boroughs and upper manhattan and is coming to the rest of Manhattan (supposedly) 2/4.

This bears no relation to the analog over the air shutoff, because what happens on TWC's wires is in no way related to what is mandated in the over the air shutoff.

Did TWC upgrade anything in the infrastructure or compression over the last month or so? Recently I noticed things look a lot better on the HD channels. Colors are not so washed out any more and I can't remember the last time I saw any macroblocking. Dark scenes used to have a lot of compression artifacts but it's been cleaned up nearly 100%. Lost last night looked near Blu-ray quality. Scary.

Did TWC upgrade anything in the infrastructure or compression over the last month or so? Recently I noticed things look a lot better on the HD channels. Colors are not so washed out any more and I can't remember the last time I saw any macroblocking. Dark scenes used to have a lot of compression artifacts but it's been cleaned up nearly 100%. Lost last night looked near Blu-ray quality. Scary.

Without knowing exactly which head end you are in, this isn't very useful information. Peoples experiences can be wildly different from different head ends...

All my old links to the pages on TWC's site are bad... looks like they did a big redesign and broke all old links (dumb, dumb).

So I go to the channel listings... being curious to see if they actually state exactly what channels come with a HDXtra subscription. In the channel listings page, it's ONLY HDNet and HDNET Movies. Over in the packages and bundles page, they says it's the 2 HDNets, MGM HD and Universal HD. Which seems odd because I thought Universal HD was part of the most basic package. Nowhere do they say anything about any sports channels, HD or otherwise.

All my old links to the pages on TWC's site are bad... looks like they did a big redesign and broke all old links (dumb, dumb).

So I go to the channel listings... being curious to see if they actually state exactly what channels come with a HDXtra subscription. In the channel listings page, it's ONLY HDNet and HDNET Movies. Over in the packages and bundles page, they says it's the 2 HDNets, MGM HD and Universal HD. Which seems odd because I thought Universal HD was part of the most basic package. Nowhere do they say anything about any sports channels, HD or otherwise.

http://www.timewarnercable.com/MediaLibrary/4/50/Content%20Management/Documents/Learn/CLUs_0109_Manhattan.pdf

HDNet, HDNetMovies, and MGMHD listed on this one.
(Sports package still not indicated as being a part of HDXtra)

All my old links to the pages on TWC's site are bad... looks like they did a big redesign and broke all old links (dumb, dumb).

So I go to the channel listings... being curious to see if they actually state exactly what channels come with a HDXtra subscription. In the channel listings page, it's ONLY HDNet and HDNET Movies. Over in the packages and bundles page, they says it's the 2 HDNets, MGM HD and Universal HD. Which seems odd because I thought Universal HD was part of the most basic package. Nowhere do they say anything about any sports channels, HD or otherwise.

Yeah, TWC is not good about updating its website or informing its phone service bots. In fact, I can't think of one bit of consumer communication that they excel (or even "just get by") in. Maybe rate increases -- they're pretty good about informing customers about those. ;)

Did TWC upgrade anything in the infrastructure or compression over the last month or so? Recently I noticed things look a lot better on the HD channels. Colors are not so washed out any more and I can't remember the last time I saw any macroblocking. Dark scenes used to have a lot of compression artifacts but it's been cleaned up nearly 100%. Lost last night looked near Blu-ray quality. Scary.

And what channels you're watching. I personally noted a semi-significant increase in bandwidth on HBO-HD last week in lower Manhattan. Haven't noticed any differences on other channels lately, but haven't been watching TOO closely.

I e-mailed someone at TWC who is apparently some head or something like that and asked him about the HD Upgrade for Southern Manhattan and when we are getting it.

He responded to my e-mail very quickly actually to my surprise and said this:

"An update will be published on our website next week that will answer your question. Please keep an eye on www.twcnyc.com"

I don't even want to know what that is and now I am very skeptical that the supposed 2/4 date is being pushed back yet again.

I e-mailed someone at TWC who is apparently some head or something like that and asked him about the HD Upgrade for Southern Manhattan and when we are getting it.

He responded to my e-mail very quickly actually to my surprise and said this:

"An update will be published on our website next week that will answer your question. Please keep an eye on www.twcnyc.com"

I don't even want to know what that is and now I am very skeptical that the supposed 2/4 date is being pushed back yet again.

"Or something like that" means it could have been anybody, don't trust these people they are clueless even if he his head of something. I guess we will see on Feb 4 keep your fingers crossed

Can someone remind me what frequency(ies) to tune to in Diag. mode to test if any of the analogs have been removed? I can check tonight and report back.

Scott

Without knowing exactly which head end you are in, this isn't very useful information. Peoples experiences can be wildly different from different head ends...

East 30th. Been watching HDTV on TWC for almost two years now and have noticed a significant change over the last month or so. Nothing has changed in my setup at all since.

I've lost all audio on NY1HD (channel 701). Everything else seems to be OK.

I spoke to Bob Watson today and we are still good to go for 96 hds next week

I spoke to Bob Watson today and we are still good to go for 96 hds next week

wow. you actually talked to him.
that's all you asked about?

I spoke to Bob Watson today and we are still good to go for 96 hds next week

Who's Bob Watson???

A_C

Who's Bob Watson???

A_C

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ZfTpGdwGeRY/SJnAt0ksXQI/AAAAAAAAAFk/xtbONU1Mda8/s320/Wizard-of-Oz-w24.jpg

Who's Bob Watson???

A_C

TWCNYC VP of programming.

The night I was going to scan for new HD channels in southern manhattan, I had NO CABLE WHATSOEVER! TWC said that there was an outage in my neighborhood and it would be fixed "Within 9 hours"....of course it started before 4pm yesterday ('cause my wife's Oprah did not tape) and continued until I left for work this morning....

Oy! This sort of outage makes me glad that I don't have TWC's internet phone service....

Anyone else effected?

Scott

Who's Bob Watson???

A_C
Actually, he’s a significant TW employee who has communicated with a couple of members here, going back to the inception of this thread.

The night I was going to scan for new HD channels in southern manhattan, I had NO CABLE WHATSOEVER! TWC said that there was an outage in my neighborhood and it would be fixed "Within 9 hours"....of course it started before 4pm yesterday ('cause my wife's Oprah did not tape) and continued until I left for work this morning....

Oy! This sort of outage makes me glad that I don't have TWC's internet phone service....

Anyone else effected?

Scott

I had an outage yesterday starting around 10am up here - seemed to last most of the day (I couldn't connect remotely to my computer).

I spoke to Bob Watson today and we are still good to go for 96 hds next week

That is good news, how did you manage to get to talk to him?

Anyone else having macroblocking on all SD & HD channels? I'm on E 30th & 3rd in Manhattan.

After a DoITT complaint, I recently got a 2 month service credit because of my ongoing problem...and I deserved more than 2 months.

I had an outage yesterday starting around 10am up here - seemed to last most of the day (I couldn't connect remotely to my computer).

Thanks. Hopefully it will be fixed by the time I get home this evening. They made me miss BB King on Soundstage and Manu Chao on Austin City Limits last night on WNET-HD. And unfortunately it is unlikely that WNET will re-broadcast these shows (WLIW will prob. show them in Standard Def one day). :( Back when we had the national PBS HD feed they would show each program multiple times over the course of the week so you could always catch on a later showing, but no more.....

East 30th. Been watching HDTV on TWC for almost two years now and have noticed a significant change over the last month or so. Nothing has changed in my setup at all since.

Ah, it COULD mean they upped bit rates a bit after shutting down the analogs they needed to in order to bring that same set of HD channels they did in North Manhattan in December.

We had a good month of a big increase in skippage... but by now, one month later, it seems to have settled down a bit. My guess is you're NOT going to be happy until March... assuming you have the same experience as we did.

Thanks. Hopefully it will be fixed by the time I get home this evening. They made me miss BB King on Soundstage and Manu Chao on Austin City Limits last night on WNET-HD. And unfortunately it is unlikely that WNET will re-broadcast these shows (WLIW will prob. show them in Standard Def one day). :( Back when we had the national PBS HD feed they would show each program multiple times over the course of the week so you could always catch on a later showing, but no more.....

Menu Chao is DA BOMB. Pretty sure I saw him on Soundstage 6 months or so ago... was just a song or two. You know the trick to get an enduring search function going, one that will last until you ancel it (or we get MDN zapped)???

Check out Fela Kuti.

Menu Chao is DA BOMB. Pretty sure I saw him on Soundstage 6 months or so ago... was just a song or two. You know the trick to get an enduring search function going, one that will last until you ancel it (or we get MDN zapped)???

Check out Fela Kuti.

Yep, familiar with Fela. :) And his son Femi as well.

I have Soundstage and Austin City Limits (and most other good live music programs) set to record all new episodes, so no problem there -- as long as the cable is working!

But to have our reception out from yesterday early afternoon all the way through this morning is pretty much unheard of -- the longest outage I've ever had in my 16 years of subscribing to TWC (which is pretty amazing actually and almost a testament to their engineering dept).

My box rebooted itself and of course came up in analog mode with horrible reception, so I had to sit painfully through a snowy/crackly version of Letterman in SD! :eek:

Ah, it COULD mean they upped bit rates a bit after shutting down the analogs they needed to in order to bring that same set of HD channels they did in North Manhattan in December.

We had a good month of a big increase in skippage... but by now, one month later, it seems to have settled down a bit. My guess is you're NOT going to be happy until March... assuming you have the same experience as we did.

Nope...they haven't remapped the current HD channels in any way (even in upper manhattan) -- check out the spreadsheet -- they're still (pretty much) squeezing 3 HD channels per QAM except for the broadcast channels (which are sharing 2 per QAM) and HBO which for some reason has a blank channel on its frequency so it's only sharing its space with 1 other HD channel, which explains the improvement in pic quality on HBO that I personally have noted.

Ah, it COULD mean they upped bit rates a bit after shutting down the analogs they needed to in order to bring that same set of HD channels they did in North Manhattan in December.

We had a good month of a big increase in skippage... but by now, one month later, it seems to have settled down a bit. My guess is you're NOT going to be happy until March... assuming you have the same experience as we did.

I will take the skipping for a month in exchange for 96 channels anyday. This has been a really long wait for me. I think I got my 1st HDTV in 2002 or 2003. All I really wanted is the damn Discovery Channel but they had to hold that back on us, I am so sick of HD Theater.

Anyone else having macroblocking on all SD & HD channels? I'm on E 30th & 3rd in Manhattan.

After a DoITT complaint, I recently got a 2 month service credit because of my ongoing problem...and I deserved more than 2 months.

I'm on 3oth and 2nd ave.
all good here

some HD channels are now coming thru in diagnostic mode

I'm on 3oth and 2nd ave.
all good here

30th and 2nd as well. All is good.

30th and 2nd as well. All is good.

3 people on the same street.
what are the odds.
I hope that verizon station in the block gets its Fios going.

I called TWC today and i was told that they now have Samsung 3090 cable box. Any one know if this istrue?? I dont know if i can trust them.Ill have to go down to 23st and find out. Has any one been down there?? Let me know.

I called TWC today and i was told that they now have Samsung 3090 cable box. Any one know if this true?? I dont know if i can trust them.Ill have to go down to 23st and find out. Has any one been down there?? Let me know.

If that's true I'll be there Monday am to swap.

Anyone else having macroblocking on all SD & HD channels? I'm on E 30th & 3rd in Manhattan.

After a DoITT complaint, I recently got a 2 month service credit because of my ongoing problem...and I deserved more than 2 months.

I'm on E 25th & 3rd in Manhattan and all is fine here...

some HD channels are now coming thru in diagnostic mode

Great!! which ones? I'm in HDC land or I would check myself, also I am in the East 40's no problems here either

I called TWC today and i was told that they now have Samsung 3090 cable box. Any one know if this istrue?? I dont know if i can trust them.Ill have to go down to 23st and find out. Has any one been down there?? Let me know.

a dvr?

a dvr?

Yes the the DVR. I made sure i said Samaung 3090 DVR cable box:cool:And he said right. I just hope its true:eek::cool:

Well I am still having MAJOR problems on all channels. I have a Sunday service appointment.

Great!! which ones? I'm in HDC land or I would check myself, also I am in the East 40's no problems here either

Attached is a list of the New HD (S. Manhattan) channels I have found active in diagnostic mode so far...

Note: Many thanks to Berk32 for his original Northern Manhattan spreadsheet

A little late to the game here...

Ive been reading about all the HDC issues.
Is it worth trading in my HD for the HDC to get all the extra HD channels or are the problems with the HDC so bad that I should hold onto this box?
( i am missing out on a ton of HD programming by staying with the 8300HD box)

What HD channels are you missing with the 8300HD that you'd get with the 8300HDC? Someone correct me if I'm wrong but the only HD programming that the 8300HDC has that the 8300HD doesn't is HD On Demand.

The talk people are having of seeing new HD channels in diagnostic mode is related to the upcoming rollout of new HD channels on February 4 in the Southern Manhattan service area (other areas of the city already have them). Some of these new channels are already turned on for Southern Manhattan but aren't viewable through the normal tuning method. However, they can be seen if you enter diagnostic mode. All these new HD channels will be available to both 8300HD and 8300HDC users. So if that's what you're referring to when you're talking about missing "a ton of HD programming," there's no need to exchange your DVR. All you have to do is wait until next week.

Attached is a list of the New HD (S. Manhattan) channels I have found active in diagnostic mode so far...

you didn't use the most recent version of the Northern Manhattan spreadsheet (you missed a few - and my 'assumed' channels were fixed once everything got added)

I'm happy to see that this spreadsheet actually had some good use for others.

(reattached so you don't have to find it again)

you didn't use the most recent version of the Northern Manhattan spreadsheet (you missed a few - and my 'assumed' channels were fixed once everything got added)



Berk32,

Sorry about that, I will get latest list and update when I get a chance.

P.S. Thanks for the original spreadsheet data, Great Work...

What HD channels are you missing with the 8300HD that you'd get with the 8300HDC? Someone correct me if I'm wrong but the only HD programming that the 8300HDC has that the 8300HD doesn't is HD On Demand.

The talk people are having of seeing new HD channels in diagnostic mode is related to the upcoming rollout of new HD channels on February 4 in the Southern Manhattan service area (other areas of the city already have them). Some of these new channels are already turned on for Southern Manhattan but aren't viewable through the normal tuning method. However, they can be seen if you enter diagnostic mode. All these new HD channels will be available to both 8300HD and 8300HDC users. So if that's what you're referring to when you're talking about missing "a ton of HD programming," there's no need to exchange your DVR. All you have to do is wait until next week.

I have only 4 of the HD channels in the 600's (HBO, SHOW, TMC, MAX
Also, I dont have NY1hd, CNBCHD, BRAVo and a bunch of others in the 700's.

Is that the norm for everyone?
How do I get into Diagnostic Mode?

Lastly, I would eventually like to have MOD-HD; are the problems with the 8300hdc resolved are are they rolling out a new line of STB's?

Thanks for the help.

I have only 4 of the HD channels in the 600's (HBO, SHOW, TMC, MAX
Also, I dont have NY1hd, CNBCHD, BRAVo and a bunch of others in the 700's.

Is that the norm for everyone?
How do I get into Diagnostic Mode?

Lastly, I would eventually like to have MOD-HD; are the problems with the 8300hdc resolved are are they rolling out a new line of STB's?

Thanks for the help.

You don't have the new bunch of HD channels yet because you are in 'Southern Manhattan'.

You are getting them on 2/4.

You don't have the new bunch of HD channels yet because you are in 'Southern Manhattan'.

You are getting them on 2/4.

Ok.
So if I stick with this 8300HD, I will get all those new channels but will NOT have access to MOD-HD?

Ive been reading horror stories regarding the HDC. Have those issues been resolved? Are their any new HD boxes coming out for TWNYC?

GREAT NEWS that they are at least mentioning 3090s! We are all VERY anxious to hear of your experiences... especially the size of the internal drive... plus working with an external drive. We pretty much know they are going to be ODN based DVRs... BUT the box seems like it's going to have substantially more RAM than ODN based 8033HDCs.

One big question is how does one get to the diagnostics on said box. The problem MAY be that sometimes, even with the same hardware and software, each MSO may have their own keystrokes to get to the box diagnostics.

Mention of crisper looking HD (previous page) seems interesting. Hard to pin down, it seems, from all the variables. If they've trimmed back rate shaping with more bandwidth, maybe that's influenced HDNet's Sat. 7:30 am test patterns (http://www.hd.net/program_search_results.html?keyword=test&whattosearch=title&ws=1). Way back, several here reported ~1300 lines (of ~1920) maximum using this technique (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5175424#post5175424). Nationwide a few on smaller systems have measured close to 1920 lines. Someone with local FIOS measured only ~1400. Overall PQ is key, of course, but maximum resolution from HDNet's pattern (one channel) might be something to consider. Here's a picture of the test pattern resolution wedges (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7359152&&#post7359152) (minutes 6--10). Obviously you need a 1920X1080i/p display to see ~1920 effective test pattern horizontal resolution, although imws here with a 1080p front projector only measured ~1400 lines (http://archive2.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8865051#post8865051). -- John

A little late to the game here...

Ive been reading about all the HDC issues.
Is it worth trading in my HD for the HDC to get all the extra HD channels or are the problems with the HDC so bad that I should hold onto this box?
( i am missing out on a ton of HD programming by staying with the 8300HD box)


I was a little hesitant about getting an HDC box (ODN/Mystro) and trading in my HD Passport box. But to be honest, I don't know that there's a huge discrepancy. Someone mentioned that you can use the rewind buffer on two different tuners, but I don't really use or need that so it's not a big deal for me.

It might be slightly slower than passport, but again, nothing that I would consider to be horrendous.

Attached is a list of the New HD (S. Manhattan) channels I have found active in diagnostic mode so far...

Note: Many thanks to Berk32 for his original Northern Manhattan spreadsheet
confirmed in the west village. I get all of the channels mentioned in the spreadsheet except for TMC-HD. NY1HD has no sound....

damn. no SCIFI-HD or MTV-HD in the new channel list?
i thought i was finally going to be able to watch BattleStart Galactica in HD.

how are you guys testing in diagnostic mode?
i tried to tune by frequency - entered 297 for E!HD but did not work.
tried to tune by channel - entered 724 for E!HD but did not work either.

damn. no SCIFI-HD or MTV-HD in the new channel list?
i thought i was finally going to be able to watch BattleStart Galactica in HD.

You're getting SciFi HD

how do you get into Diagnostics Mode?

damn. no SCIFI-HD or MTV-HD in the new channel list?
i thought i was finally going to be able to watch BattleStart Galactica in HD.

how are you guys testing in diagnostic mode?
i tried to tune by frequency - entered 297 for E!HD but did not work.
tried to tune by channel - entered 724 for E!HD but did not work either.

If you look at the PDF, E!HD is not yet enabled.

To tune, go to diag mode, and enter the Frequency & Program # as listed on the PDF file to see the channels. Unfortunately you cannot record or spool them yet on the DVR, only view them live.

If you look at the PDF, E!HD is not yet enabled.

To tune, go to diag mode, and enter the Frequency & Program # as listed on the PDF file to see the channels. Unfortunately you cannot record or spool them yet on the DVR, only view them live.

How do you "go to Diag Mode"?
Im a newbie to all of this; is there a way to get additional HD channels now/before the 4th?

Also, will there be HBO/SHO/TMC On Demands in HD?

I was a little hesitant about getting an HDC box (ODN/Mystro) and trading in my HD Passport box. But to be honest, I don't know that there's a huge discrepancy. Someone mentioned that you can use the rewind buffer on two different tuners, but I don't really use or need that so it's not a big deal for me.

It might be slightly slower than passport, but again, nothing that I would consider to be horrendous.

Be aware that the guide is much inferior to Passport's. For example, no mention of actors or star ratings when displaying movies - terrible! I have two boxes (8300HD and HDC) and I far prefer the 8300HD.

If you look at the PDF, E!HD is not yet enabled.

To tune, go to diag mode, and enter the Frequency & Program # as listed on the PDF file to see the channels. Unfortunately you cannot record or spool them yet on the DVR, only view them live.

Okay, I got into diagnostic mode (by pressing select+exit on the box and then tuning to 1999), and then tuned in the new channels, but then...

HOW DO YOU REMOVE THE DIAGNOSTIC SCREEN so you can see the new HD channels lurking behind it?

Thanks!

Okay, I got into diagnostic mode (by pressing select+exit on the box and then tuning to 1999), and then tuned in the new channels, but then...

HOW DO YOU REMOVE THE DIAGNOSTIC SCREEN so you can see the new HD channels lurking behind it?

Thanks!

Hit the 'A' button a few times.

Hit the 'A' button a few times.

Is there a thread that explains step by step how to get these channels once im in Diagnostic Mode??

I put in the channel, then the freq. and then the program and then I hit select.
Is that it?
The channel number changes once I hit select...

A couple of quick questions:

Are there any more HD channels coming to Queens soon?


I have been experiencing freezes, pixelating, and sound drop outs on Tennis HD since I initially received it with the last update. In fact I had a service call to my house concerning this glitch and no problem was found on my end. Has anyone else experienced this?

Thanks.

Is there a thread that explains step by step how to get these channels once im in Diagnostic Mode??

I put in the channel, then the freq. and then the program and then I hit select.
Is that it?
The channel number changes once I hit select...

no - ignore the actual channel - the box doesn't know that it exists yet.

Just input the frequency and program....

You Just "Set it and "Forget it!"" :p

Is there a thread that explains step by step how to get these channels once im in Diagnostic Mode??

I put in the channel, then the freq. and then the program and then I hit select.
Is that it?
The channel number changes once I hit select...

On page 1999, you'll be on the System Summary Page, so

1) Scroll down to the "Tuning" page

2) Use the direction keys to maneuver over to the "Tune to Freq" and "Program Number" entries on the right side of the screen. Enter the correct numbers for each.

3) Press "select" to tune to the channel

4) Hit the "A" button to fade out the diag screen to see the channel. (thanks Berk32)

On page 1999, you'll be on the System Summary Page, so

1) Scroll down to the "Tuning" page

2) Use the direction keys to maneuver over to the "Tune to Freq" and "Program Number" entries on the right side of the screen. Enter the correct numbers for each.

3) Press "select" to tune to the channel

4) Hit the "A" button to fade out the diag screen to see the channel. (thanks Berk32)

Thanks Jake (and Berk)

I did that for (example) channel 715.
Input the two numbers and hit select and the screen behind the Diagnostics page just goes gray-no channel.
I pressed "A" a couple of times to get rid of the screen but there is nothing there behind it.

EDIT- it worked!
Do I have to do this every time I want to watch a specific channel???

Thanks Jake (and Berk)

I did that for (example) channel 715.
Input the two numbers and hit select and the screen behind the Diagnostics page just goes gray-no channel.
I pressed "A" a couple of times to get rid of the screen but there is nothing there behind it.

EDIT- it worked!
Do I have to do this every time I want to watch a specific channel???

Until 2/4.... :cool:

Here is an updated list of the New HD (S. Manhattan) channels I have found active in diagnostic mode so far...

Here is an updated list of the New HD (S. Manhattan) channels I have found active in diagnostic mode so far...

thanks so much for posting these! working nicely here in the east village. so cool to be able to watch ESPN News in HD finally

Thanks for the channel list.

I noticed that Cartoon Network HD is stretching or chopping off 4:3 programming to fit the 16:9 ratio. Is that standard practice for HD channels handling 4:3 material?

Here is an updated list of the New HD (S. Manhattan) channels I have found active in diagnostic mode so far...

thanks for the list man... im slowely but surely going through the list... finally some new HD channels (times sqr)

Thanks for the channel list.

I noticed that Cartoon Network HD is stretching or chopping off 4:3 programming to fit the 16:9 ratio. Is that standard practice for HD channels handling 4:3 material?

I don't think there are a lot of cartoons made in HD especially old ones. Some HD channels strecth like TNT, depends on the channel

Big Ten Network-HD is working for me.
on freq 375 prgm 216

Thanks for the channel list.

I noticed that Cartoon Network HD is stretching or chopping off 4:3 programming to fit the 16:9 ratio. Is that standard practice for HD channels handling 4:3 material?

It's standard for the Turner Networks.... (TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network (but not CNN))

And Food Network... and HGTV...

How do those of us in S Manhattan with one of the boxes that has diagnostic mode on channel 996 tune in to the new active HD channels?

I hope I can get this if they have it.

http://www.samsung.com/us/system/consumer/product/2008/05/09/smt_h3090twc/SMT-H3090_080205.pdf

I hope I can get this if they have it.

http://www.samsung.com/us/system/consumer/product/2008/05/09/smt_h3090twc/SMT-H3090_080205.pdf

Looks cool, but does it have more than 25 hours HD record time?

How do those of us in S Manhattan with one of the boxes that has diagnostic mode on channel 996 tune in to the new active HD channels?

you're going to have to wait a few more days.

sorry.

Very cool! Just checked out a whole bunch of new HD channels. Looking good!
:)

How do those of us in S Manhattan with one of the boxes that has diagnostic mode on channel 996 tune in to the new active HD channels?Tune to 1999 diagnostic menu (many pages) and 'missing' HD channels as outlined earlier above. Haven't tuned diagnostics in a long time, but recall while you're simultaneously pressing the two required buttons on the converter, and 'diag' appears on the readout, if you release and press the two buttons again the converter automatically tunes to 1999. Not sure, but believe 996 is a page-only diagnostic display. This is only one method for tuning in 1999 that used to work . -- John

How do those of us in S Manhattan with one of the boxes that has diagnostic mode on channel 996 tune in to the new active HD channels?

This does not work on the HDC boxes so you can't, only 3 more days

Trying to figure out this Diagnostics Mode thing out...

So I hit Select + Exit on my box and I'm able to pull up the diagnostics screen without changing to channel 1999. Is that right?

I input the Frequency and Program # and hit Select but I just get gray behind - no actual channels.

Am I doing somethign wrong? I have an 8300HD btw

UPDATE: Never mind I figured out what I was doing wrong!

Anyone else having issues with the Tennis Channel HD's replay of the Federer-Nadal Aussie Open final replay this morning on 465? For nearly an hour the image appears to be frozen or paused while the audio is OK. At least there's going to be another replay on ESPN2 HD this evening or I'd be fuming (I already am :mad:).

I can't stand how TWC short-changes some of the new, "additional" HD channels of bandwidth - if they're going to offer them, the picture quality should be top-notch or else why bother?

A couple of quick questions:

Are there any more HD channels coming to Queens soon?


I have been experiencing freezes, pixelating, and sound drop outs on Tennis HD since I initially received it with the last update. In fact I had a service call to my house concerning this glitch and no problem was found on my end. Has anyone else experienced this?

Thanks.


I have and as I mention in my recent post, the video of this morning's men's final replay on the Tennis Channel HD is frozen! Atrocious.

So what's the best cable box to have?

I have the Scientific Atlantic 8300HD

is there any benefit to upgrading to a different box?

I'm assuming some might have more storage space for DVR programs and possibly a different onscreen menu??

So what's the best cable box to have?

I have the Scientific Atlantic 8300HD

is there any benefit to upgrading to a different box?

I'm assuming some might have more storage space for DVR programs and possibly a different onscreen menu??

The 8300HDC has HD on Demand (free and PPV) - that is the only advantage.

The software that comes with it is horrible though. Not as bad as it initially was - but it's still not great.

If you can do without HD OnDemand - stick with the 8300HD until the next box comes out (which may be very soon)

Trying to figure out this Diagnostics Mode thing out...

So I hit Select + Exit on my box and I'm able to pull up the diagnostics screen without changing to channel 1999. Is that right?
Hitting Select+Exit again after 'diag' appears on the converter used to automatically tune 1999. That's with a 8300HD. MAy not work the 8300HDC, as someone just mentioned.

I input the Frequency and Program # and hit Select but I just get gray behind - no actual channels.

Am I doing somethign wrong? I have an 8300HD btw

UPDATE: Never mind I figured out what I was doing wrong!
What's that? Not pressing the "A" remote button? Haven't tuned an 'invisible' channel this way myself. BTW, another 'invisible' channel, not appearing on the guide and not needing diagnostics mode, is 78 (in S. Manhattan, at least), the UN channel. -- John

So what's the best cable box to have?

I have the Scientific Atlantic 8300HD

is there any benefit to upgrading to a different box?

I'm assuming some might have more storage space for DVR programs and possibly a different onscreen menu??

There's chatter that Time Warner has or may soon start using the Samsung 3090 DVR but it appears it may have the same 160GB storage capacity as the current DVRs. This (http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080519006078&newsLang=en) is Samsung's PR announcement of the DVR and it says the DVR version of the product has a 160GB hard drive. Granted, the press release is almost a year old and things could have changed but it seems doubtful. Time Warner executives have given interview where they admit there's a lot of things they could build into their DVR that enthusiasts want but they don't because it drives up cost. I think larger hard drives is on that list. That may change in a year or two as more and more customers get HD service and discover their DVR fills up fast but today, people wanting large drives are still a small niche. If a big hard drive is absolutely essential, people will buy an external drive or get a Tivo or HTPC. It's cheaper for Time Warner to lose a few DVR renters than buy hundreds of thousands of souped up DVRs. I'm not saying they're right but I think that's the company's business outlook.

Honestly, what's the big deal about the Samsung 3090? It looks like it has the same hard drive size, it can decode MPEG-4 but that only matters if the cable company is transmitting with that codec. Has Time Warner announced plans to switch over to MPEG-4 like the satellites?

The 8300HDC has HD on Demand (free and PPV) - that is the only advantage.

What free programming is available on HD On Demand? Is it certain channels or shows or does it rotate? I subscribe to both HBO and Showtime and have their standard on demand channels but I'm curious if HD On Demand gives you access to their HD programs and shows.

Does any one knowif they have the Samsaung 3090 at 23st ???

Trying to figure out this Diagnostics Mode thing out...

So I hit Select + Exit on my box and I'm able to pull up the diagnostics screen without changing to channel 1999. Is that right?

I input the Frequency and Program # and hit Select but I just get gray behind - no actual channels.

Am I doing somethign wrong? I have an 8300HD btw

UPDATE: Never mind I figured out what I was doing wrong!


Care to share??? I'm having the exact same problem. :confused:

A_C

Care to share??? I'm having the exact same problem. :confused:

A_C

If you just get a grey screen it means that there's no channel there yet.

Tune one of the ones that's marked "active" on the PDF and you should see a picture.

Does any one knowif they have the Samsaung 3090 at 23st ???

I got the Samsung 3050 (non DVR) at 23rd st. No great shakes, hardware seems similar to 8300HD, software is inferior.

I guess we don't have it so bad.. :D

Cable Problems Plague Manhattan

Upper East Side Residents Report Major Reception Problems, Miss Out On Fantastic Super Bowl XLIII

http://wcbstv.com/local/rcn.cable.problems.2.924019.html

How do I know for certain which model 8300 I have? I would think that if your DVR could get the new VOD channels it would be a newer model, but I get channels 699 and 700 and my DVR is 3.5 years old.

I guess we don't have it so bad.. :D

Cable Problems Plague Manhattan

Upper East Side Residents Report Major Reception Problems, Miss Out On Fantastic Super Bowl XLIII

http://wcbstv.com/local/rcn.cable.problems.2.924019.html

Weird, I wonder where in the UES they had problems. My broadcast only pixellated once the whole game. I thought it looked pretty good.

Quick question...does TWC limit you to the number of DVRs you can rent? I want to stop by 23rd street to pick up a 3rd box (that will make 3 boxes total.) Can I just walk in and get it...or are they going to make me schedule a service call?

I have 3 DVRs. If you are just trading in a non-DVR, you don't need a service call. If it's an additional box, they usually require one--unless you can convince a CSR to add an unassigned line to your account ahead of time.

How do I know for certain which model 8300 I have? I would think that if your DVR could get the new VOD channels it would be a newer model, but I get channels 699 and 700 and my DVR is 3.5 years old.

It will say 8300 HD or 8300 HDC on the box itself.

HDC runs the newer software (Mystro/ODN) and your 3.5 old box most likely runs Passport software. Passport boxes can't get HD OnDemand, StartOver services.

Weird, I wonder where in the UES they had problems. My broadcast only pixellated once the whole game. I thought it looked pretty good.

The NBC feed looked beautiful on my display (Panny 9UK) - I thought the players would pop out and run onto my living room floor!

Weird, I wonder where in the UES they had problems. My broadcast only pixellated once the whole game. I thought it looked pretty good.

probably because you dont have RCN :cool:

The NBC feed looked beautiful on my display (Panny 9UK) - I thought the players would pop out and run onto my living room floor!

I noticed something during last night's game. Everything was glitch/freeze free until my DVR started to record something at 9pm then all hell broke loose. I rescheduled the recording and everything cleared up. Anyone else ever have this problem?

probably because you dont have RCN :cool:

Ah, that makes sense. But this is a TWC thread, so I didn't think to consider we would bitch about anyone else!

I have 3 DVRs. If you are just trading in a non-DVR, you don't need a service call. If it's an additional box, they usually require one--unless you can convince a CSR to add an unassigned line to your account ahead of time.

Unfortunately it is an additional box...have 2, want to add a 3rd. Would it make any difference whether I'm trying to add a DVR vs. regular box? Probably not I would think. Hopefully they'll just let me take one, as the wiring/tv is already in place. Thanks for the info.

Any one going down to 23st. Please try to find out if they have the Samsung 3090-DVR box.I called TWC but i dont know if i can trust them?? It might be better face to face.

Weird, I wonder where in the UES they had problems. My broadcast only pixellated once the whole game. I thought it looked pretty good.

I'm in Midtown West and had a ton of problems with NBC HD last night (as well as several other HD channels) that only really picked up once the game began.

(I uploaded some video of my experience to YouTube but since I'm more of a lurker and haven't posted much I can't post it here. You can find it under the same username I use here.)

When I called TWC the first time, the woman was absolutely unhelpful (she didn't even WANT to help me because I made the mistake of saying I was using a universal remote, as if that was the cause of the problems) and kept insisting that I check that SAP wasn't turned on and causing the problems.

She also told me that no one else had complained at all and thus there was nothing she could do for me.

After the game (having watched it in SD) I called back and this time the CSR told me that there had been some complaints during the game about NBC's HD broadcast and that they were looking into it.

I'm guessing (and hoping) I'm not the only TWC customer to have problems last night....

I was watching in Hoboken on IO and we got channel corruption on 704 during the lasst minute of the game. Very weird. On the play to Holmes I could see Ben drop back to pass and the next thing i knew holmes was in the corner with the ball in his hands.

Eagle Eyez I watched your Youtube video. That didnt happen to me last night during game but it consistently happens on about 5 channels every night. Mostly foodnetworkHD, HGTVHD, HDNet, and UNIHD. its ridiculous.....

I'm in Midtown West and had a ton of problems with NBC HD last night (as well as several other HD channels) that only really picked up once the game began.
No problems in my apartment in the West Village. Picture was clean and clear with no skips, drops, or pixellation the entire game.

Unfortunately it is an additional box...have 2, want to add a 3rd. Would it make any difference whether I'm trying to add a DVR vs. regular box? Probably not I would think. Hopefully they'll just let me take one, as the wiring/tv is already in place. Thanks for the info.

The 23rd street location will not give out new DVRs, only exchanges. I tried a week or two ago and they wouldn't give me a new DVR. I'm sure someone has sweet talked their way into getting a new DVR but the policy is exchanges only.

The 23rd street location will not give out new DVRs, only exchanges. I tried a week or two ago and they wouldn't give me a new DVR. I'm sure someone has sweet talked their way into getting a new DVR but the policy is exchanges only.

You can exchange your old dvr for a new dvr, you just can't get and additional box if you have not had one before in the past without a service appt

You can exchange your old dvr for a new dvr, you just can't get and additional box if you have not had one before in the past without a service appt

I think that's what I said. I thought it was clear from the context of the post I was responding to that my use of "new" refers to an additional DVR, not "new" as in fresh out of the packaging.

I think that's what I said. I thought it was clear from the context of the post I was responding to that my use of "new" refers to an additional DVR, not "new" as in fresh out of the packaging.

Just wanted clarifiy, to me it sounded like they would not exchange your old dvr for a new dvr. Same thing happened to me a while back. I wanted to keep my 8300hd and test the 8300hdc b4 commiting but they would not let me.

I noticed something during last night's game. Everything was glitch/freeze free until my DVR started to record something at 9pm then all hell broke loose. I rescheduled the recording and everything cleared up. Anyone else ever have this problem?

I had all sorts of problems until I added more storage with an eSATA drive, than no problems. The box performs badly when drive becomes close to being full.

Also, are you sure that you are using a DVI-D cable? Don't know that the difference, but I read somewhere that the DVD-I cable wouldn't work?


http://visionquestcomputers.com/forum/DVI_I.jpg http://visionquestcomputers.com/forum/DVI_D.jpg

I was starting to watch a recording of "House" on FOX HD, and it turned into SD. Even the listing of ch 705 reads FOX, not FOX HD. What gives???:confused:

I was starting to watch a recording of "House" on FOX HD, and it turned into SD. Even the listing of ch 705 reads FOX, not FOX HD. What gives???:confused:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1116065

Looks like it was a WNYW problem, not Time Warner.

It happens...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1116065

Looks like it was a WNYW problem, not Time Warner.

It happens...

HD came back - what fooled me is that listing did not read FOXHD. Is it always just FOX?

Discovery HD is up in Diagnostic Mode :)

Discovery HD is up in Diagnostic Mode :)

Someone refresh my memory; is tomorrow the big day for Southern Manhattan???

A_C

Someone refresh my memory; is tomorrow the big day for Southern Manhattan???

A_C

yes

Someone refresh my memory; is tomorrow the big day for Southern Manhattan???

A_C

Around what time did the channels get added to the boxes when N. Manhattan got all these channels? Just want to know if they will be up sometime tonight or not until tomorrow morning :)

:confused:http://visionquestcomputers.com/forum/DVI_I.jpg http://visionquestcomputers.com/forum/DVI_D.jpg

:confused:What box is this on ???

:confused:

:confused:What box is this on ???

That's just a general diagram for DVI-I vs DVI-D cables.

Around what time did the channels get added to the boxes when N. Manhattan got all these channels? Just want to know if they will be up sometime tonight or not until tomorrow morning :)

Just a guess (not related to any inside knowledge) that it will be sometime between midnight and 6AM. Seems like they often slip changes in the channel lineup in during the wee hours....

HD came back - what fooled me is that listing did not read FOXHD. Is it always just FOX?

probably - not really significant though.

More channels are now active as of this morning...

I don't know if this is the right thread but I'm trying to figure out what HD channels people get on Manhattan with a QAM tuner connected to TWC and if there's other ways to get more...These are what I get (though there are definitely others my TV found but are encrypted):

93-1 My9 HD
93-2 TNT HD
103-1 PIX HD
103-2 FOX HD
1-2 CBS HD
1-4 NBC HD
1-7 ABC HD
1-13 Thirteen HD

Anyone else get more? I'm surprised I don't get TBS HD... Are there ways to get more that I don't know of?

Thanks!

More channels are now active as of this morning...

Nice! Good find.

Well, all of 'em should be active by tomorrow, so people can keep checking. :)

Off Topic (but I don't really know where this would be On Topic):

After the digital conversion, do you think all network programming will be 16:9, including TWC SD channels?

An example, just to be clear, do you think "House" on channel 5 (not 705) will be 16:9?

-barry

You can exchange your old dvr for a new dvr, you just can't get and additional box if you have not had one before in the past without a service appt

This is indeed the policy - they want to make sure you have enough signal strength to support the additional device.

Sweet-talking can occasionally work. After standing in line for 2.5 hrs in Brooklyn, I was NOT going to walk out without my additional (third) HD-DVR. After lots of pleading and insistent but friendly pushing, the rep finally said "OK, but if you have any problems we won't come out to fix them". Suited me fine (I had swapped my existing boxes between rooms numerous times, so I knew signal levels were good).

I'm about to throw my 8300HDC against the wall and its remote out the window.

For the 8300HDC to acknowledge the remote, the darn thing has to be pointed dead-on to the box - if it's more than 0.00000001 degrees off, I might as well rearrange chicken bones in hopes of getting the channel changed.

Meanwhile, I can pretty much point the same TWC-provided remote anywhere I like (even 90 degrees off), and the TV 'hears' the remote just fine and immediately complies with commands.

Do I have a particularly useless 8300HDC, or do others have the same problem? I thought about getting a new remote, but since the TV hears the remote just fine, the problems must be with the box.

[after close to two years with the 8300HDC, I'm growing to like it less, and less, and less... ]

Off Topic (but I don't really know where this would be On Topic):

After the digital conversion, do you think all network programming will be 16:9, including TWC SD channels?

An example, just to be clear, do you think "House" on channel 5 (not 705) will be 16:9?

-barry

No

One has nothing to do with the other.

[after close to two years with the 8300HDC, I'm growing to like it less, and less, and less... ]
In those two years, have you ever changed the batteries? :p But seriously, I have never held back my disdain for the 8300 HDC. I find that it has a slow response time, not that its “ears” are directional. Sometimes it takes three seconds for a command to occur—which seems like a lifetime and causes me to repeat my actions.

I'm about to throw my 8300HDC against the wall and its remote out the window.

For the 8300HDC to acknowledge the remote, the darn thing has to be pointed dead-on to the box - if it's more than 0.00000001 degrees off, I might as well rearrange chicken bones in hopes of getting the channel changed.

Meanwhile, I can pretty much point the same TWC-provided remote anywhere I like (even 90 degrees off), and the TV 'hears' the remote just fine and immediately complies with commands.

Do I have a particularly useless 8300HDC, or do others have the same problem? I thought about getting a new remote, but since the TV hears the remote just fine, the problems must be with the box.


You might want to invest in a universal remote from another company-- Harmony, URC, etc. They generally send out much stronger IR signals than the cable remote, so you won't have to aim as precisely. I have a Nevo universal remote which is so strong I can point it in the opposite direction from my system and the commands still register, which certainly doesn't fly with the TWC remote (don't have the HDC, though)

You might want to invest in a universal remote from another company-- Harmony, URC, etc. They generally send out much stronger IR signals than the cable remote, so you won't have to aim as precisely. I have a Nevo universal remote which is so strong I can point it in the opposite direction from my system and the commands still register, which certainly doesn't fly with the TWC remote (don't have the HDC, though)

New batteries first - if that doesn't work I'll second the universal remote idea. Get one high-quality remote for everything, with stronger IR signal.

Which TWC STB is best? I believe Manhattan residents can have SA, Samsung, Pioneer, etc. Which one do people recommend for HD?

Thanks!

I'm about to throw my 8300HDC against the wall and its remote out the window.

For the 8300HDC to acknowledge the remote, the darn thing has to be pointed dead-on to the box - if it's more than 0.00000001 degrees off, I might as well rearrange chicken bones in hopes of getting the channel changed.

Meanwhile, I can pretty much point the same TWC-provided remote anywhere I like (even 90 degrees off), and the TV 'hears' the remote just fine and immediately complies with commands.

Do I have a particularly useless 8300HDC, or do others have the same problem? I thought about getting a new remote, but since the TV hears the remote just fine, the problems must be with the box.

[after close to two years with the 8300HDC, I'm growing to like it less, and less, and less... ]

my hdc doesn't have this issue.

I'm about to throw my 8300HDC against the wall and its remote out the window.

For the 8300HDC to acknowledge the remote, the darn thing has to be pointed dead-on to the box - if it's more than 0.00000001 degrees off, I might as well rearrange chicken bones in hopes of getting the channel changed.

Meanwhile, I can pretty much point the same TWC-provided remote anywhere I like (even 90 degrees off), and the TV 'hears' the remote just fine and immediately complies with commands.

Do I have a particularly useless 8300HDC, or do others have the same problem? I thought about getting a new remote, but since the TV hears the remote just fine, the problems must be with the box.

[after close to two years with the 8300HDC, I'm growing to like it less, and less, and less... ]

I find this to varying degrees with all IR controlled components; some are more responsive than others.

The solution is to get a high quality universal remote, most of which have more powerful infrared transmitters than is found on the typical component remote.

You can pick up a Marantz RC-2000 in mint condition on eBay for under $30. The thing is a beast! I can control anything in my AV cabinet from as much as 30 feet away.

A_C

my hdc doesn't have this issue.

Neither does mine

I don't know if this is the right thread but I'm trying to figure out what HD channels people get on Manhattan with a QAM tuner connected to TWC and if there's other ways to get more...These are what I get (though there are definitely others my TV found but are encrypted):

93-1 My9 HD
93-2 TNT HD
103-1 PIX HD
103-2 FOX HD
1-2 CBS HD
1-4 NBC HD
1-7 ABC HD
1-13 Thirteen HD

Anyone else get more? I'm surprised I don't get TBS HD... Are there ways to get more that I don't know of?

Thanks!


This site gets updated pretty often -- QAM channels by Zipcode
just scan the page for 16:9 720p or 1080p transmissions

http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/location_programs

This site gets updated pretty often -- QAM channels by Zipcode
just scan the page for 16:9 720p or 1080p transmissions

http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/location_programs

Thanks for that...Looks like I've got all the one's on there.

One question though: Earlier today I had USA HD and Crime&Investigation HD but they're now encrypted. Do channels usually go on and off encryption at certain times?

In those two years, have you ever changed the batteries? :p But seriously, I have never held back my disdain for the 8300 HDC. I find that it has a slow response time, not that its “ears” are directional. Sometimes it takes three seconds for a command to occur—which seems like a lifetime and causes me to repeat my actions.

It takes about 10 minutes after I "turn on" my HD for it to respond to ANY signal from the remote.

Not only that, but get this... I just put a Kill-A-Watt on my whole HT system. With the HD "on" or "off" the draw is exactly the same (about 27 watts). With it buffering or not. Even with a recording playing or in pause mode. Always 27-28 watts.

Any one going down to 23st. Please try to find out if they have the Samsung 3090-DVR box.I called TWC but i dont know if i can trust them?? It might be better face to face.

Did any one go down to 23st.??:confused:

This is indeed the policy - they want to make sure you have enough signal strength to support the additional device.

Sweet-talking can occasionally work. After standing in line for 2.5 hrs in Brooklyn, I was NOT going to walk out without my additional (third) HD-DVR. After lots of pleading and insistent but friendly pushing, the rep finally said "OK, but if you have any problems we won't come out to fix them". Suited me fine (I had swapped my existing boxes between rooms numerous times, so I knew signal levels were good).

Well I'm gonna give it a try after work. I have the cable connection all ready to go...so I just need the box. If they don't want to give it to me I guess I'll schedule an appointment...but I'd rather not have to wait a week for it.

And if I have a problem with signal strength what do they usually do for that? Right now my main apt. feed is running through a 2 way splitter...if I switch to a 3 way splitter how much will that hurt the signal strength?

Did any one go down to 23st.??:confused:

I recall a post (many pages back I'd guess) where someone was told they could give him a 3090 and that he was going down there the next day. Never heard back so I'd guess they won't give them out yet.

Back last year, TWC SAID that 795 NHL Network HD (Sports Tier and NHL package customers) would be part of the 12/17 update. The channel did arrive with a subscription notice on it. It had been said that the HDXtra package got the "Sports Tier" but apparently NOT the one that gets the NHL channel.

Is it just me, or does the Samsung 3090 not seem like much of a better option? Is the hope just that its not AS bad as the 8300HDC (which is such a piece of junk with its ancient menus and remote lag)?

Is it just me, or does the Samsung 3090 not seem like much of a better option? Is the hope just that its not AS bad as the 8300HDC (which is such a piece of junk with its ancient menus and remote lag)?

Could be, it is still gonna be navigator which you guys don't like so I would not get it first lol. Has more ram - 384 vs 128 in the HDC. I don't see any lag on my hdc in the menus but I haven't had passport in a while so it may be slower and I just do not remember how fast passport was.

Around what time did the channels get added to the boxes when N. Manhattan got all these channels? Just want to know if they will be up sometime tonight or not until tomorrow morning :)

Just checked the thread from 12/17: Looks like the channels showed up in N. Manhattan somewhere between 1:45am (no new channels) and 6:30am (all or most channels coming in)

I'm one of those guys keeping his 8300HD. I'm happy with it, and prefer the interface over the Mystro on the 8300HDC. My mother got a Samsung SMT-H3050 (non-DVR) box for our living room, and the Mystro is horribly slow. Passport FTW.

I hope any new box TWC makes available to us uses software that's faster and more user-friendly than Mystro is.

I'm one of those guys keeping his 8300HD. I'm happy with it, and prefer the interface over the Mystro on the 8300HDC. My mother got a Samsung SMT-H3050 (non-DVR) box for our living room, and the Mystro is horribly slow. Passport FTW.

I hope any new box TWC makes available to us uses software that's faster and more user-friendly than Mystro is.

I have both 8300HD and Samsung H3050. Hardware seems similar, software and interface much better on 8300 Passport.

Neither does mine

Same here:cool:

I'm curious, does Time Warner make personalized adjustments to the Passport software on the 8300HD?

I went upstate to a friend's house to watch the Super Bowl, and he also had an 8300HD just like I do, but his service provider was Cablevision, and the software interface was somewhat different. If you do a search online for Scientific Atlanta's 8300HD user guide, it shows the default software, which I believe is what my friend had. It shows you how much hard drive space has been used up, and on the main program guide, pressing C simply takes you out of the menu.

Time Warner's 8300HD graphically is a little different. It doesn't tell you how much space is used, but pressing C on the main program guide allows you to manually search for a show by its title, which is a feature some of the other boxes apparently don't have. A Time Warner logo and a TV Guide logo are also present on the main screen.

So, does Time Warner actually make their own modifications of the box software?

Just checked the thread from 12/17: Looks like the channels showed up in N. Manhattan somewhere between 1:45am (no new channels) and 6:30am (all or most channels coming in)

Thanks Jake, guess I will be watching The Universe in SD yet again, at least it will be for the last time :)

Around what time did the channels get added to the boxes when N. Manhattan got all these channels? Just want to know if they will be up sometime tonight or not until tomorrow morning

i rebooted my box after midnight and got the channels (if not the guide data).

93-1 My9 HD
93-2 TNT HD
103-1 PIX HD
103-2 FOX HD
1-2 CBS HD
1-4 NBC HD
1-7 ABC HD
1-13 Thirteen HD

in brooklyn, i get a lot more than that.

as for the other question, you are only guaranteed the local channels on qam. the other can come and go.

It takes about 10 minutes after I "turn on" my HD for it to respond to ANY signal from the remote.

my hdc doesnt take 10 minute to respond to the remote after it turns on, but it does take a couple of ticks.

i am using the older remote, but when i tried the newer remote it didnt seem to be any different.

I went upstate to a friend's house to watch the Super Bowl, and he also had an 8300HD just like I do, but his service provider was Cablevision, and the software interface was somewhat different.Cablevision is not Passport. They use SARA software.

I'm curious, does Time Warner make personalized adjustments to the Passport software on the 8300HD?

I went upstate to a friend's house to watch the Super Bowl, and he also had an 8300HD just like I do, but his service provider was Cablevision, and the software interface was somewhat different. If you do a search online for Scientific Atlanta's 8300HD user guide, it shows the default software, which I believe is what my friend had. It shows you how much hard drive space has been used up, and on the main program guide, pressing C simply takes you out of the menu.

Time Warner's 8300HD graphically is a little different. It doesn't tell you how much space is used, but pressing C on the main program guide allows you to manually search for a show by its title, which is a feature some of the other boxes apparently don't have. A Time Warner logo and a TV Guide logo are also present on the main screen.

So, does Time Warner actually make their own modifications of the box software?
Cablevision uses SARA software (with its own interactivity software stack for things like On-Demand and Interactive channels.) SARA is the "default" software provided by SciAtl.

Time Warner previously used Passport by a company called Aptiv Digital. Now they are transitioning to Mystro Digital Navigator, which is their in-house software.

in brooklyn, i get a lot more than that.

as for the other question, you are only guaranteed the local channels on qam. the other can come and go.

Thanks for that. What other HD channels do you get?

be happy we dont have the cablevision software.

the ONLY good thing they they have that we dont on the 8300HD box is that easy-access DVR space available.

Otherwise, their software is a complete disaster. ("Guide" button that doesn't take you to the guide.... massive delay between pushing a button and getting a response on the box.... just to name a few 'issues')

Thanks for that...Looks like I've got all the one's on there.

One question though: Earlier today I had USA HD and Crime&Investigation HD but they're now encrypted. Do channels usually go on and off encryption at certain times?

If you are southern manhattan - its probably because the channels are just being added today, and they were not encrypted initially.

nada here in times sqr... i will keep on checking

nada here in times sqr... i will keep on checking

You wont see anything in the Guide until after midnight (and probably not until early morning, unless you are lucky)

You wont see anything in the Guide until after midnight (and probably not until early morning, unless you are lucky)

thanks for the headsup

I have been having some really bad issues with FOX HD locals. Yesterday the first few minutes of House was unwatchable. It was switching from HD to SD and the audio was all over the place. Tonight and the last two weeks American Idol keeps going crazy when coming back from a commercial break. Does anyone know if it's FOX or my D* feed? I don't have an OTA hookup so I can't compare it.

I have been having some really bad issues with FOX HD locals. Yesterday the first few minutes of House was unwatchable. It was switching from HD to SD and the audio was all over the place. Tonight and the last two weeks American Idol keeps going crazy when coming back from a commercial break. Does anyone know if it's FOX or my D* feed? I don't have an OTA hookup so I can't compare it.

You may want the NYC OTA Thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=275729&page=268) (This is the TWC NY/NJ thread)

But I can tell you that there were problems last night on WNYW-DT with House in the first few minutes, as you experienced.

I have been having some really bad issues with FOX HD locals. Yesterday the first few minutes of House was unwatchable. It was switching from HD to SD and the audio was all over the place. Tonight and the last two weeks American Idol keeps going crazy when coming back from a commercial break. Does anyone know if it's FOX or my D* feed? I don't have an OTA hookup so I can't compare it.

Watching American Idol right now (my girlfriend forces me) and it seems to be switching in and out of HD and, there is quite a bit of pixelation too.

On a side not: does anyone know exactly which regions are gaining all these HD channels tomorrow on TWC or is just all of New York?

On a side not: does anyone know exactly which regions are gaining all these HD channels tomorrow on TWC or is just all of New York?

Southern Manhattan

(The rest of TWC NYC has them - as does TWC NJ and Hudson Valley. Don't know about the status of Mount Vernon)

What's the consensus? Do we need to reboot our boxes to get the new channels, or if we reboot will we get a jump on the timing?

What's the consensus? Do we need to reboot our boxes to get the new channels, or if we reboot will we get a jump on the timing?

Reboot should not be needed.

I feel like im 10 years old and its Christmas Eve...

This maybe the wrong area to ask this but will HD programming now be of any higher quality than before (higher res, 1080i vs.1080p)?
I imagine a greater allocation of bandwidth allows for a higher res pic?

I feel like im 10 years old and its Christmas Eve...

This maybe the wrong area to ask this but will HD programming now be of any higher quality than before (higher res, 1080i vs.1080p)?
I imagine a greater allocation of bandwidth allows for a higher res pic?

No, any greater allocation of bandwidth to HD channels will just mean that they're compressing these signals less, not upping the resolution. We're a ways off from 1080p channels.

So how sure is it that we are getting these HD channels today here in S. Manhattan?

Just so I don't get my hopes up too high, can someone in N Manhattan confirm what the satus of MGM HD is? Is it part of HDXtra, some kind of additional premium, or in the regular tier?

So how sure is it that we are getting these HD channels today here in S. Manhattan?

100% sure (most of the channels are already in the pipeline - just not mapped to their channel # yet)

Just so I don't get my hopes up too high, can someone in N Manhattan confirm what the satus of MGM HD is? Is it part of HDXtra, some kind of additional premium, or in the regular tier?

HDXtra

Thanks for that...Looks like I've got all the one's on there.

One question though: Earlier today I had USA HD and Crime&Investigation HD but they're now encrypted. Do channels usually go on and off encryption at certain times?

I have no idea about that, but I do know they are pushing 65 new HD channels in southern manhattan tonight so maybe they pulled them for more bandwidth. Just a thought.

Check you 7xx channels tomorrow you/we will be happy.

Cablevision uses SARA software (with its own interactivity software stack for things like On-Demand and Interactive channels.) SARA is the "default" software provided by SciAtl.

Time Warner previously used Passport by a company called Aptiv Digital. Now they are transitioning to Mystro Digital Navigator, which is their in-house software.

I really like Passport. It's by far my favorite of all the systems I've used. The only downside is that it doesn't tell you how much space you've used up, and the guide doesn't display programs shorter than 30 minutes, which makes it difficult to record those programs.

I don't like anything about the Mystro Navigator software. It's too large and clunky, it's slow, and I don't like the order it displays show information. It doesn't even mention if the show is in HD or if it's new! It's like Time Warner trys to wow you with its large words and fancy colors, but it's really a step backwards.

be happy we dont have the cablevision software.

the ONLY good thing they they have that we dont on the 8300HD box is that easy-access DVR space available.

Otherwise, their software is a complete disaster. ("Guide" button that doesn't take you to the guide.... massive delay between pushing a button and getting a response on the box.... just to name a few 'issues')

Yes, some of my relatives upstate have Cablevision with that software. It's by far the worst I've ever seen. I don't understand how a major competitor like Cablevision can pass that crap off as a finished product to its consumers.

NHL HD is also up in diagnostic mode, though not much longer to wait for it to be up the normal way soon!

Re the earlier post about American Idol, I also had problems with audio and pixellation today though nothing like as bad as last week

I have managed to hold on to my SA8300HD.
For some reason, I have NEVER gotten On Demand in HD.

Will I be getting that tomorrow?

I have managed to hold on to my SA8300HD.
For some reason, I have NEVER gotten On Demand in HD.

Will I be getting that tomorrow?

i'm pretty sure on demand HD is only available on the HDC boxes. it's a price i'm willing to pay to keep my 8300 HD

i'm pretty sure on demand HD is only available on the HDC boxes. it's a price i'm willing to pay to keep my 8300 HD

Why doesnt it work on the HD box?
What about Movies on Demand-will I not get those too?

Why doesnt it work on the HD box?
What about Movies on Demand-will I not get those too?

because the HD box runs passport and the HDC box runs mystro. different operating systems (if that's the right term). I believe HD MOD is also HDC only.

Why doesnt it work on the HD box?
What about Movies on Demand-will I not get those too?

the newer ondemand services require the newer software that is not on the 8300HD box.

so it's after midnight...anyone have any luck yet?

Why doesnt it work on the HD box?
What about Movies on Demand-will I not get those too?

You will not get Any HD On Demand Channels (MOD & Showcase).

TWC has the ability to make this available on passport boxes but has chosen not to.

No luck here yet. I just hope we get USA and SciFi HD in the group!

You will not get Any HD On Demand Channels (MOD & Showcase).

TWC has the ability to make this available on passport boxes but has chosen not to.

Thats a little annoying.
Im sure this question has been asked ahundred times but are there any new boxes coming out that use Mystro but have better performance?

I'm curious, does Time Warner make personalized adjustments to the Passport software on the 8300HD?

I went upstate to a friend's house to watch the Super Bowl, and he also had an 8300HD just like I do, but his service provider was Cablevision, and the software interface was somewhat different. If you do a search online for Scientific Atlanta's 8300HD user guide, it shows the default software, which I believe is what my friend had. It shows you how much hard drive space has been used up, and on the main program guide, pressing C simply takes you out of the menu.

Time Warner's 8300HD graphically is a little different. It doesn't tell you how much space is used, but pressing C on the main program guide allows you to manually search for a show by its title, which is a feature some of the other boxes apparently don't have. A Time Warner logo and a TV Guide logo are also present on the main screen.

So, does Time Warner actually make their own modifications of the box software?

Sounds like the SARA operating system which is the default OS provided by SciAtlanta for the box.

No luck here yet. I just hope we get USA and SciFi HD in the group!

yes... you will

I really like Passport. It's by far my favorite of all the systems I've used. The only downside is that it doesn't tell you how much space you've used up, and the guide doesn't display programs shorter than 30 minutes, which makes it difficult to record those programs.

I don't like anything about the Mystro Navigator software. It's too large and clunky, it's slow, and I don't like the order it displays show information. It doesn't even mention if the show is in HD or if it's new! It's like Time Warner trys to wow you with its large words and fancy colors, but it's really a step backwards.



Yes, some of my relatives upstate have Cablevision with that software. It's by far the worst I've ever seen. I don't understand how a major competitor like Cablevision can pass that crap off as a finished product to its consumers.
Honestly, choosing between Cablevision SARA and TWC Navigator is like choosing which eye you want poked out with a rusty spoon. There is no good choice, just different flavors of bad.

Wow

Just found more HD for Northern Manhattan.

QAM 261 #202 WE HD
QAM 261 #203 IFC HD

EDIT:
More....

393 #51 Fuse HD

Those are the Rainbow Media (Cablevision) owned channels we've been missing (along with AMC)

The new HD channels are up in S Manhattan.

The new HD channels are up in S Manhattan.

I don't see them yet :(

FYI I am in Midtown West near Times Square

Hallelujah!!! Got the new channels, all working here except AMC HD. I almost can't believe it. :)
Midtown East 40's

Wow

Just found more HD for Northern Manhattan.

QAM 261 #202 WE HD
QAM 261 #203 IFC HD

EDIT:
More....

393 #51 Fuse HD

Those are the Rainbow Media (Cablevision) owned channels we've been missing (along with AMC)

261 #201 'will be' AMC HD

I've got these new channels in my lineup now.

also, ch 102 has become Chiller. (and 130 and 143 have finally been added to our lineups after sitting hidden for months)

And they moved the signal used for HD PPV (don't know if i'll ever get the chance to find out for sure)