TWC NYC

100 HD channels (+7 announced but postponed)

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

funny

I just got an email from Time Warner

"TWC Brings You Almost 100 HD Channels"

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

+1

Whoopee! FX-HD I can finally watch season 2 of Damages!

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)

now, t hey need to add the Viacom channels, and NBATVHD. after that I don't know what's left beside lifetime.

I never thought I would see the day... all this glorious HD finally here!

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.

Interesting... same here from a very different head end. After the first 5-8 minutes it settled down and was OK.

One might conclude the issue was with the feed from FOX to TWC... but I wouldn't be surprised if it was TWC doing the bungling.

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)

Wasn't Fuse one of the promised channels for 12/17 that never materialized? WOW, IFC is one of the few remaining channels I WANT in HD... but there has been no notice i've read about TWC brining IFC to us...

never thought i'd say this, but the weather channel HD is surprisingly rather nicely done!

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)

The Hudson Valley sadly does not have the channels Southern manhattan is getting.

It's a happy day for all of us here in S. Manhattan! Almost just feel like skipping work to watch the new HD Channels all day lol!

TWC NYC

100 HD channels (+7 announced but postponed)

350 PPV-HD
411 TEAM HD...

Good list, may be more useful if a tab separated the channel number and name so one could sort by name.

I double checked my old list (taken from TWC) and see that Fuse was one of the postponed channels that seemingly has just appeared. I think you may have forgotten about Sleuth HD on 685...

Did anyone else in S. Manhattan notice if AMC HD was working, I was getting a black screen, everything else seemed to work.

It's a happy day for all of us here in S. Manhattan! Almost just feel like skipping work to watch the new HD Channels all day lol!

It's gonna be a long day, I felt like skipping out on work as well

AMCHD is working for me in west midtown

IFC is on on the West side

Did anyone else in S. Manhattan notice if AMC HD was working, I was getting a black screen, everything else seemed to work.

Same for me this morning (9:30 AM, 57th & 11th), AMC HD was blank. Although someone in midtown west reported above that it's working as of 10 AM. So maybe it's up now.

BTW, the quality seems excellent. Haven't noticed any skips, pauses or freezes. Maybe South Manhattan will avoid all the teething problems other areas had.

Same for me this morning (9:30 AM, 57th & 11th), AMC HD was blank. Although someone in midtown west reported above that it's working as of 10 AM. So maybe it's up now.

BTW, the quality seems excellent. Haven't noticed any skips, pauses or freezes. Maybe South Manhattan will avoid all the teething problems other areas had.

AMC HD is worling.

The only problem I am having is that the following channels are suffering severe freezing / macro blocking:

677 Starz Edge-HD
678 Starz Kids & Family-HD
681 Starz Comedy-HD

Good list, may be more useful if a tab separated the channel number and name so one could sort by name.

I double checked my old list (taken from TWC) and see that Fuse was one of the postponed channels that seemingly has just appeared. I think you may have forgotten about Sleuth HD on 685...

I didnt forget about Sleuth HD...

It's never coming (they just replaced Sleuth SD with Chiller)

Same for me this morning (9:30 AM, 57th & 11th), AMC HD was blank. Although someone in midtown west reported above that it's working as of 10 AM. So maybe it's up now.

BTW, the quality seems excellent. Haven't noticed any skips, pauses or freezes. Maybe South Manhattan will avoid all the teething problems other areas had.

AMC now working in Northern Manhattan

CNBC HD has some interesting axillary video that can be heard by using the SAP button. Unfortunately, on my 8300HD when i select SAP, i still hear the primary audio. Anyone have any luck?

NE1 know what channels that came online today in S Manhattan fall under HDxtra? I'm guessing MGM HD. Probably Tennis HD? NHL HD?

NE1 know what channels that came online today in S Manhattan fall under HDxtra? I'm guessing MGM HD. Probably Tennis HD? NHL HD?

all of the 450's and 460's, 795 (the sportspak), 797 thru 799

(you guessed correctly)

(in order to get the Hd channels of the Sportspak - you need HDXtra.. but they include all SD and HD channels of the sportspak in it)

so far...all channels are working on 43rd btn 10th/11th.

NOT working so far are updates to your recording list on the 8300HD dvr.
last time we had changes [hbo, starz, max and encore] from the high 700's to the 600's the recording list automatically updated.

i'll try a reboot and post the results...


**did a reboot. no change in the list. has not been updated.
i'll do it manually if it doesn't change by tonight.

Good list, may be more useful if a tab separated the channel number and name so one could sort by name.


updated

New Northern Manhattan Spreadsheet

Time Warner's website now lists the full channel lineup.

(only problem is they still list 760 as lifetime movies hd instead of toon disney hd)

My listings have no data at all (S Manhattan 3rd & 30th)

either give it time or just reboot

Of course after these changes, still Game HD and no NHL HD. Well if it stays like this, it won't matter to me anymore since i'll see out-of-market baseball games in HD.

Of course after these changes, still Game HD and no NHL HD. Well if it stays like this, it won't matter to me anymore since i'll see out-of-market baseball games in HD.

seems to be a problem for only us Northern Manhattan people....

It bothers me at the moment.... but i'm sure i'll be happier when baseball season starts and hockey ends :p

Does anyone else have issues on the 8300HD with listings? Earlier I had no listings at all so I rebooted. Then it worked and I pulled in the week's worth of listings.

Now an hour later, I only had 2-3 days worth of listings again. So I pulled in the full week again.

This is a fairly common occurrence for me.

Also, what is the approx capacity of HD hours that the 8300HD can hold? I think it is too quick to tell me I am running out of room.

BTW, NHL HD is working for me on 795 (S Manhattan HD Extra subscriber)

Does anyone else have issues on the 8300HD with listings? Earlier I had no listings at all so I rebooted. Then it worked and I pulled in the week's worth of listings.

Now an hour later, I only had 2-3 days worth of listings again. So I pulled in the full week again.

This is a fairly common occurrence for me.

Also, what is the approx capacity of HD hours that the 8300HD can hold? I think it is too quick to tell me I am running out of room.

BTW, NHL HD is working for me on 795 (S Manhattan HD Extra subscriber)

I always only have 2,3 days of program data at any given time on the 8300hd.

8300HD has a 160gb HD, right? So about 20 hours of HD programming.

Does anyone else have issues on the 8300HD with listings? Earlier I had no listings at all so I rebooted. Then it worked and I pulled in the week's worth of listings.

Now an hour later, I only had 2-3 days worth of listings again. So I pulled in the full week again.

This is a fairly common occurrence for me.

Also, what is the approx capacity of HD hours that the 8300HD can hold? I think it is too quick to tell me I am running out of room.

BTW, NHL HD is working for me on 795 (S Manhattan HD Extra subscriber)

The tv schedule thing isn't just you, it's "normal" for the DVR. Whether it's a bug or feature or what causes it, I don't know. But there's nothing exceptional about your experience. It's a quirk but at least it's easily fixed.

The inaccurate measure of hard drive space is far more irritating and problematic. I've noticed the software demands more space tha it actually needs to record a problem. It seems to want a cushion of free space. I've frequently encountered a scenario where the DVR flags additional programs for deletion even though a program equal in length to the program set to record has already been erased. It forces you to free up more space than it actually needs to record the program. Of course, once it has recorded the new program, the software indicates there's all this extra free space, which drives me up the wall.

CNBC HD has some interesting axillary video that can be heard by using the SAP button. Unfortunately, on my 8300HD when i select SAP, i still hear the primary audio. Anyone have any luck?

No luck on the 8300HDC; same thing happens with me.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Time-Warner-to-Layoff-1250-Workers.html

It'll be interesting to see how long we'll have to wait for service appointments and such.

A_C

It'll be interesting to see how long we'll have to wait for service appointments and such.

TW usually contracts outside companies for their house calls… and their CSR’s are in Canada. I doubt that it’ll affect us.

funny

I just got an email from Time Warner

"TWC Brings You Almost 100 HD Channels"

I thought you were joking/being tongue-in-cheek until I checked my inbox.
Haha...

I thought you were joking/being tongue-in-cheek until I checked my inbox.
Haha... Yeah, I saw that in my inbox too but I didn’t open it yet… I was afraid my computer would crash and reboot. :p :D

No sound on AMC-HD

Are there any plans to get MTV/MTV2 in HD?

TW usually contracts outside companies for their house calls… and their CSR’s are in Canada. I doubt that it’ll affect us.

I spoke to someone in Canada just this past Monday on the PS3 and she was a TWC CSR. A lot of the calls to her center where from City and the Albany cluster. I'm glad most of the time I get the Canada call center since she told me there is an India one as well.

The tv schedule thing isn't just you, it's "normal" for the DVR. Whether it's a bug or feature or what causes it, I don't know. But there's nothing exceptional about your experience. It's a quirk but at least it's easily fixed.

The inaccurate measure of hard drive space is far more irritating and problematic. I've noticed the software demands more space tha it actually needs to record a problem. It seems to want a cushion of free space. I've frequently encountered a scenario where the DVR flags additional programs for deletion even though a program equal in length to the program set to record has already been erased. It forces you to free up more space than it actually needs to record the program. Of course, once it has recorded the new program, the software indicates there's all this extra free space, which drives me up the wall.

Well here's my current situation...

I have 6 hours of HD currently recorded (4 show/movies), the bottom show is showing that it will be deleted in 2 days.

I have 12 1/2 hrs of HD & 3 hrs of SD coming up in the next 2 days.

Someone else had posted that the 8300 has 20 hrs of HD capacity so I guess the 2 days warning is about right.

Well here's my current situation...

I have 6 hours of HD currently recorded (4 show/movies), the bottom show is showing that it will be deleted in 2 days.

I have 12 1/2 hrs of HD & 3 hrs of SD coming up in the next 2 days.

Someone else had posted that the 8300 has 20 hrs of HD capacity so I guess the 2 days warning is about right.

Be very careful. The 2-day warning does not mean that show is safe for two days. As soon as you record anything new, the DVR may delete your saved movie even though that new recording can fit on existing free space. The act of recording a new program causes the DVR to free up space not just for the new recording but pending future recordings as well. Let's say you have 5gb of free space left on your hard drive and you record a new program that uses 1gb and have 9 more queued up that will need another 9gb of space in a couple days. When you record that new program, instead of saying "well, this new recording only needs 1gb of space, I have 5gb free already so I don't need to delete anything yet" the DVR algorithm says, "this new recording needs 1gb but I have 9 more programs that will need 9gb soon so I'm going to free up all 10gb now!" There's a certain logic to it but the result is that programs you thought were safe for a couple more days are deleted and space is freed up before it's actually needed.

My practice now is to never record anything new if any program has a deletion warning on it. Either I watch and delete enough saved stuff so that none of my saved shows have deletion warnings or I temporarily cancel the scheduled recordings of future programs. That way, the DVR will not take those future recordings into account when it calculates the space it needs to free up on the hard drive, which buys a little bit more time to watch saved programs.

No sound on AMC-HD

Same here, at least there is a picture now, AMC HD is halfway there.

Does anyone else have issues on the 8300HD with listings? Earlier I had no listings at all so I rebooted. Then it worked and I pulled in the week's worth of listings.

Now an hour later, I only had 2-3 days worth of listings again. So I pulled in the full week again.

Any time TWC pushes out any change to their guide (channel adds/deletes, channel logo changes in the guide, channel remapping, etc.), the entire previously-cached set of listings gets erased, as you would expect, since the guide might now need to download some listings for some new channels.

So, with all of the fiddling and tweaking going on with the channel lineup today, it makes sense that even if you've "looked ahead" in the guide you'll need to do it again until things settle down.

In normal times a change to the channel lineup doesn't usually occur more than a couple of times a month, but on a day like today, don't expect your guide data to persist more than 2 days in advance unless you refresh it and look ahead in the guide on your own.

Same here, at least there is a picture now, AMC HD is halfway there.
I guess, other than "Mad Men", this channel is sort of a waste. AMC edits their movies for content (cursing, nudity) and adds commercials. :-(

On the other hand, the unexpected add of IFC-HD is a huge plus for fans of a certain type of movie! (As is MGM-HD).

In fact, I'm happy as a proverbial "pig in s**t" as a movie lover -- TWC has just multiplied my options for uncut HD movies from 5 [HBO, MAX, Starz, Sho, HDNet Movies] to 25 [HBO x 6, Cinemax x 8, Starz x 4, Sho x 4, IFC, MGMHD + HDNet Movies]! (Not counting TMC x 2 & Encore, which I don't subscribe to).

And as a huge music fan, I'm elated to (FINALLY) have Palladia-HD a 24 hour music channel, which started as MHD which you guys out in Brooklyn and Staten Island got ages ago. Not to mention the sometimes (but rarely) interesting FUSE-HD.

Scott

I guess, other than "Mad Men", this channel is sort of a waste. AMC edits their movies for content (cursing, nudity) and adds commercials. :-(
Of course, they also bleep cursing from Mad Men and Breaking Bad as well. Pretty silly.

In fact, I'm happy as a proverbial "pig in s**t" as a movie lover -- TWC has just multiplied my options for uncut HD movies from 5 [HBO, MAX, Starz, Sho, HDNet Movies] to 25 [HBO x 6, Cinemax x 8, Starz x 4, Sho x 4, IFC, MGMHD + HDNet Movies]! (Not counting TMC x 2 & Encore, which I don't subscribe to).
I refuse to watch 2.35 aspect ratio movies on HBO since the channel cuts off the sides. Absolutely atrocious. I stumbled across HBO2 when it aired the Assassination of Jesse James a couple days ago, which I had seen in the theatre, and the cropping completely changed the movie. It looked cramp and awkward, the scope of the movie was ruined. Showtime doesn't do that with 2.35 movies.

Of course, they also bleep cursing from Mad Men and Breaking Bad as well. Pretty silly.
Wow...I had no idea. Never watched Mad Men 'cause I didn't have any way to watch in HD previously. That's BAD. I mean, really? It's a cable channel and not bound by broadcast restrictions.


I refuse to watch 2.35 aspect ratio movies on HBO since the channel cuts off the sides. Absolutely atrocious.
Agree with you 100% here. I try to avoid watching movies that are panned/scanned to 16:9 when they're wider and used to be more of a stickler about it, but have caved a little on that one.....Luckily HBO/Cinemax have been a bit better about showing some things in OAR lately. Haven't gotten to catch "....Robert Ford" yet, but am meaning to catch it on the next showing....

hmmm wonder when G4 will actually broadcast in HD...

I know they play reruns of Heroes and Lost in HD as well as Attack of the show... wondering when it will broadcast here in NYC... so far it's still 4:3 on the new channel.

Wow...I had no idea. Never watched Mad Men 'cause I didn't have any way to watch in HD previously. That's BAD. I mean, really? It's a cable channel and not bound by broadcast restrictions.



Agree with you 100% here. I try to avoid watching movies that are panned/scanned to 16:9 when they're wider and used to be more of a stickler about it, but have caved a little on that one.....Luckily HBO/Cinemax have been a bit better about showing some things in OAR lately. Haven't gotten to catch "....Robert Ford" yet, but am meaning to catch it on the next showing....

Is it the same as panning and scanning because that really butchers a film. I think they just zoom to 16x9 which is way better than pan and scan, I agree not perfect but tolerable.

hmmm wonder when G4 will actually broadcast in HD...

I know they play reruns of Heroes and Lost in HD as well as Attack of the show... wondering when it will broadcast here in NYC... so far it's still 4:3 on the new channel.

hi, so they do attack of the show in HD, did i understand correctly? i noticed today it was in 4:3 and my understanding is that all of G4's programming is 4:3 right now

LOST audio is a muffled mess (airdate 2/3; 9:00pm)

Possibly that way from ABC, since the commercials are loud and clear - but i cant understand a word without pointing my ear to my center speaker

I'm standing in front of my TV & speaker system for god sakes!

hey look fuse hd is finally on here in brooklyn.

so, what is fuse? what is their niche? do they show movies without cutting out the good parts?

hey look fuse hd is finally on here in brooklyn.

so, what is fuse? what is their niche? do they show movies without cutting out the good parts?

its a music channel (hopefully i'm not missing some joke here)

hi, so they do attack of the show in HD, did i understand correctly? i noticed today it was in 4:3 and my understanding is that all of G4's programming is 4:3 right now

I was thinking exactly the same - I've yet to see any G4 programming in HD.

New channels are great. Only glitch I'm getting is now sound on AMC, which right now is making it harder to figure out what's happening to "Jenny!"

Is anyone else having the following problem?

Severe Freezing / Macro Blocking:

677 Starz Edge-HD
678 Starz Kids & Family-HD
681 Starz Comedy-HD

Please advise...

Is anyone else having the following problem?

Severe Freezing / Macro Blocking:

677 Starz Edge-HD
678 Starz Kids & Family-HD
681 Starz Comedy-HD

Please advise...

Just had mild-to-moderate freezing / macro blocking through Damages (which was otherwise excellent) on FX HD. Enough to be minorly annoying but would not call it severe. Hopefully just growing pains. Southern Manhattan.

Best,
Lewis

Just had mild-to-moderate freezing / macro blocking through Damages (which was otherwise excellent) on FX HD. Enough to be minorly annoying but would not call it severe. Hopefully just growing pains. Southern Manhattan.

Best,
Lewis

Thanks for the reply.

All other channels have been stellar for me except for the three mentioned.

Anyone else in Southern Manhattan...?

hi, so they do attack of the show in HD, did i understand correctly? i noticed today it was in 4:3 and my understanding is that all of G4's programming is 4:3 right now

I know they shoot it in HD I'm just not sure why its not being broadcast here in HD

Is anyone else having any issues with their Cable and Internet?

I live in Times Sqr and every since this past weekend my cable and internet will dropout at the same time for about an hour every few hours...

It happened all throughout the superbowl every half an hour or so for 5-10 mins at a time... then it was doing it again tonight but it was out for a few hours

IFC HD is horrible, not true HD. I'm watching Monster's Ball, and the 2.35:1 image is stretched, making it look more like 4:1. This is an abomination, just as bad as HBO cropping 2.35:1 films.

Be very careful. The 2-day warning does not mean that show is safe for two days. As soon as you record anything new, the DVR may delete your saved movie even though that new recording can fit on existing free space. The act of recording a new program causes the DVR to free up space not just for the new recording but pending future recordings as well. Let's say you have 5gb of free space left on your hard drive and you record a new program that uses 1gb and have 9 more queued up that will need another 9gb of space in a couple days. When you record that new program, instead of saying "well, this new recording only needs 1gb of space, I have 5gb free already so I don't need to delete anything yet" the DVR algorithm says, "this new recording needs 1gb but I have 9 more programs that will need 9gb soon so I'm going to free up all 10gb now!" There's a certain logic to it but the result is that programs you thought were safe for a couple more days are deleted and space is freed up before it's actually needed.

My practice now is to never record anything new if any program has a deletion warning on it. Either I watch and delete enough saved stuff so that none of my saved shows have deletion warnings or I temporarily cancel the scheduled recordings of future programs. That way, the DVR will not take those future recordings into account when it calculates the space it needs to free up on the hard drive, which buys a little bit more time to watch saved programs.

Thanks but it really wasn't a pressing "issue" for me because last night I watched several saved shows & shows I was recording last night. Same goes for today.

UPDATE: I just checked my list and I have more HD & SD content saved than I did yesterday when I originally posted and I have a bunch of stuff upcoming in the next few days and I do not have any "hourglass" warnings next to any of my saved shows. I think something IS up with my DVR.

hi, so they do attack of the show in HD, did i understand correctly? i noticed today it was in 4:3 and my understanding is that all of G4's programming is 4:3 right now

I recorded Heroes yesterday on G4 HD because I had conflicts on Monday and I could not believe it was not full screen HD. I miss MOJO, where I used to get Heroes in HD as my Monday conflict backup.

all of the 450's and 460's, 795 (the sportspak), 797 thru 799

(you guessed correctly)

(in order to get the Hd channels of the Sportspak - you need HDXtra.. but they include all SD and HD channels of the sportspak in it)

795, NHL HD has never functioned since 12/17 to this morning (it says you have to subscribe to the NHL sports package)... and I DO subscribe to HDXtra. I recall you posted this was a temporary problem... but as it's now 6 weeks later, I'd say there is no intention of giving HDXtra customers this channel.

Whoops, now I see some southern cousins saying they DO have this channel. As it hasn't been "fixed" for us after 6 weeks, logic tells me the mistake is southern Manhattan getting it.

795, NHL HD has never functioned since 12/17 to this morning (it says you have to subscribe to the NHL sports package)... and I DO subscribe to HDXtra. I recall you posted this was a temporary problem... but as it's now 6 weeks later, I'd say there is no intention of giving HDXtra customers this channel.

Whoops, now I see some southern cousins saying they DO have this channel. As it hasn't been "fixed" for us after 6 weeks, logic tells me the mistake is southern Manhattan getting it.

HDXtra subscriber in S Manhattan...NHL HD has worked for me since I first checked 24 hours ago. I think you have it backwards, you are supposed to be getting it.

Why would they not give you the HD version of a SD channel that you get? This would be the only HD channel on TWC that you wouldn't get but you do get in SD.

What is the point of NY1 HD if they shoot everything in SD 4:3?

The only thing i see in HD are *some* of the commercials.

Waste of bandwidth until they get their act together...c'mon guys, all you need is two HD cams.....

795, NHL HD has never functioned since 12/17 to this morning (it says you have to subscribe to the NHL sports package)... and I DO subscribe to HDXtra. I recall you posted this was a temporary problem... but as it's now 6 weeks later, I'd say there is no intention of giving HDXtra customers this channel.

Whoops, now I see some southern cousins saying they DO have this channel. As it hasn't been "fixed" for us after 6 weeks, logic tells me the mistake is southern Manhattan getting it.

Wow...

We've been thru this.

They're screwing up Northern Manhattan with NHL Network and GameHD. There is no extra 'analysis' needed.

What is the point of NY1 HD if they shoot everything in SD 4:3?

The only thing i see in HD are *some* of the commercials.

Waste of bandwidth until they get their act together...c'mon guys, all you need is two HD cams.....

"waste of bandwidth"?

who cares? we got plenty.

TWC NYC

100 HD channels (+7 announced but postponed)

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


Everyone can thank me for this. I moving to Providence next month and of course TWC waits til then to give us all these channels. But I'll get FIOS there so I won't miss them. Only thing is I won't get SNY.

My stepson will be living in Manhattan in our apartment. The plan was to cancel all but basic service since he doesn't have a lot of money. But I could get a slingbox to access SNY. I think it's on basic cable but not in HD. What is the least expensive way I could get SNY in HD? And would it be worth it, I'm not getting the HD slingbox, how good would the picture be with an HD signal fed into the SD slingbox, would it make much of a difference?

"waste of bandwidth"?

who cares? we got plenty.

Will all future channel updates be systemwide now here in NYC?

Is anyone else having the following problem?

Severe Freezing / Macro Blocking:

677 Starz Edge-HD
678 Starz Kids & Family-HD
681 Starz Comedy-HD

Please advise...

No problems at all :cool:S. Man.

Will all future channel updates be systemwide now here in NYC?

should be....

(no guarantees though....)

What is the point of NY1 HD if they shoot everything in SD 4:3?

The only thing i see in HD are *some* of the commercials.

Waste of bandwidth until they get their act together...c'mon guys, all you need is two HD cams.....

It actually helps those with plasma tvs; You can now at least watch NY1 in its proper 4:3 format, instead of stretching the picture, without worrying about burn-in or uneven wear, thanks to those nifty new "NY1 HD" sidebars!

UPDATE: I just checked my list and I have more HD & SD content saved than I did yesterday when I originally posted and I have a bunch of stuff upcoming in the next few days and I do not have any "hourglass" warnings next to any of my saved shows. I think something IS up with my DVR.
2 bits of info:
1. You can save any show you don't want to erase by selecting "Keep Until Erased" (or some similar wording) on the show.
2. Sounds like you need a reboot of your DVR. Sometimes it doesn't properly free up deleted space until you reboot. Now that it doesn't crash/reboot often (i.e. the software is stable, unlike it used to be a couple of years ago) I try to reboot my DVR on a weekly basis. This will keep it running at its best and make sure the free space on the hard drive is accurately reflected. Press and hold the power button until it says "boot" and then let go.

2 bits of info:
1. You can save any show you don't want to erase by selecting "Keep Until Erased" (or some similar wording) on the show.
2. Sounds like you need a reboot of your DVR. Sometimes it doesn't properly free up deleted space until you reboot. Now that it doesn't crash/reboot often (i.e. the software is stable, unlike it used to be a couple of years ago) I try to reboot my DVR on a weekly basis. This will keep it running at its best and make sure the free space on the hard drive is accurately reflected. Press and hold the power button until it says "boot" and then let go.

I know how to ppermanently save shows, thanks.

Also, I rebooted yesterday and a few days ago thinking something was wrong.

Originally Posted by net_synapse
Is anyone else having the following problem?

Severe Freezing / Macro Blocking:

677 Starz Edge-HD
678 Starz Kids & Family-HD
681 Starz Comedy-HD

Please advise...

No problems at all :cool:S. Man.

Thanks for the reply.

Seems that the problem has been resolved, channels look great today...:D

I know how to ppermanently save shows, thanks.

Also, I rebooted yesterday and a few days ago thinking something was wrong.

Sorry, then you've exhausted my options to aid you.....

UPDATE: I just checked my list and I have more HD & SD content saved than I did yesterday when I originally posted and I have a bunch of stuff upcoming in the next few days and I do not have any "hourglass" warnings next to any of my saved shows. I think something IS up with my DVR.

Not necessarily. Check your channel guide to see if it's showing programs beyond 1 or 2 days. The DVR only considers those scheduled programs that show up in the channel guide, not the recorded scheduling list. So if your channel guide is only showing stuff two days ahead, the DVR will ignore those shows you have scheduled to record on day 3, 4 or 5. That may be why the warnings have disappeared even though you have a lot of stuff scheduled.

I recorded Heroes yesterday on G4 HD because I had conflicts on Monday and I could not believe it was not full screen HD. I miss MOJO, where I used to get Heroes in HD as my Monday conflict backup.

I think the episode from this Monday is repeating on NBC on Saturday. So you can watch it in HD this weekend.

No problems at all :cool:S. Man.

I hopped around quite a bit last night and everything looked great in East Midtown.

BTW, does anyone know when they'll start shooting Judge Judy in HD???

A_C

http://image.com.com/tv/images/processed/mini_thumb/0d/8d/140258.jpg

Not necessarily. Check your channel guide to see if it's showing programs beyond 1 or 2 days. The DVR only considers those scheduled programs that show up in the channel guide, not the recorded scheduling list. So if your channel guide is only showing stuff two days ahead, the DVR will ignore those shows you have scheduled to record on day 3, 4 or 5. That may be why the warnings have disappeared even though you have a lot of stuff scheduled.



I think the episode from this Monday is repeating on NBC on Saturday. So you can watch it in HD this weekend.

No I have a full 7 days in the guide now.

As for Heroes, thanks for the tip about Saturday (I already realized that but I didn't want to wait that long to see it).

LOST audio is a muffled mess (airdate 2/3; 9:00pm)

Possibly that way from ABC, since the commercials are loud and clear - but i cant understand a word without pointing my ear to my center speaker

I'm standing in front of my TV & speaker system for god sakes!

I'm glad to see someone else had this experience - I thought I was losing my mind, or going deaf. Volume didn't seem to help much, the dialogue was like a thick muddled soup of sounds.

I'm glad to see someone else had this experience - I thought I was losing my mind, or going deaf. Volume didn't seem to help much, the dialogue was like a thick muddled soup of sounds.

Fine by me

Anyone have luck getting their bills lowered lately? I've been busting my monthly budget and am looking to trim some expenses. Hopefully won't have to give up much, if anything, to lower my $165 bill from TWC.

Anyone have luck getting their bills lowered lately? I've been busting my monthly budget and am looking to trim some expenses. Hopefully won't have to give up much, if anything, to lower my $165 bill from TWC.

I called today to see about adding Encore (there's a Bond movie marathon this weekend)

Anyway, turned out I had an ancient package ("D best") which cost more than current deals. I wound up adding Encore and paying about the same.

They offered me $7 off per month to lock in the price for 2 years, but then there's a fee if you cancel early. Didn't take that offer.

I'm still at exactly $200 per month including taxes, though, which includes cable w/ all premiums, sports tier, hd xtra on 2 DVRs and internet (no phone).

I guess, other than "Mad Men", this channel is sort of a waste. AMC edits their movies for content (cursing, nudity) and adds commercials. :-(

When is Mad Men on??? I've been wanting to see that but couldn't find it with a search.

On the other hand, the unexpected add of IFC-HD is a huge plus for fans of a certain type of movie! (As is MGM-HD).

I'm a fan of independent films, but IFC HD seems to show them in a weird, super-wide format with stretched SD quality? It looks terrible. What's up with that?

I called today to see about adding Encore (there's a Bond movie marathon this weekend)

Anyway, turned out I had an ancient package ("D best") which cost more than current deals. I wound up adding Encore and paying about the same.

They offered me $7 off per month to lock in the price for 2 years, but then there's a fee if you cancel early. Didn't take that offer.

I'm still at exactly $200 per month including taxes, though, which includes cable w/ all premiums, sports tier, hd xtra on 2 DVRs and internet (no phone).

I'm at $174.29 after taxes/etc, and i have DBest, 2nd box, and internet. 'Theoretically', adding the 2 remaining premiums is another $11 and adding a 2nd DVR is another $10... sounds like dbest is the better deal unless you take the price-lock

I'm at $174.29 after taxes/etc, and i have DBest, 2nd box, and internet. 'Theoretically', adding the 2 remaining premiums is another $11 and adding a 2nd DVR is another $10... sounds like dbest is the better deal unless you take the price-lock

I negotiated with them, and ended up getting digital phone added on for $10 LESS than I had been paying without it! They can lower price if you get all 3 - phone, TV and internet.

Anyone have luck getting their bills lowered lately? I've been busting my monthly budget and am looking to trim some expenses. Hopefully won't have to give up much, if anything, to lower my $165 bill from TWC.

I called last month and said I would switch to FIOS if they couldn't lower my bill. They lowered it by $30/month for one year. No contracts or price lock required. :)

I am still not receiving AMC HD 754 yet in Kew Gardens Queens. Anyone else having this problem?

Still no audio on AMC-HD

When is Mad Men on??? I've been wanting to see that but couldn't find it with a search.



I'm a fan of independent films, but IFC HD seems to show them in a weird, super-wide format with stretched SD quality? It looks terrible. What's up with that?

Apparently IFC is taking the SD 4:3 image and stretching it out to fit 16:9. So 1.85:1 films look like 2.35:1 & 2.35 films look even wider. Of course other HD channels (like Food Network and Cartoon Network) do the same thing, but for a movie channel to do this is absolutely disgusting. :mad:

Looks like I'll be sticking with the SD channel and use the Zoom option.

Still no audio on AMC-HD

Same here.

Same here.

I just checked here in Bayside Queens and we have sound on AMC HD. Took 1-2 seconds before it came in but we have it and it's on sync.

When is Mad Men on??? I've been wanting to see that but couldn't find it with a search.

AMC isn't showing it right now. It probably won't return to the channel until right before third season starts in summer 2009. Not showing reruns after a season ends seems to be standard practice for a lot of shows and channels, especially cable shows that have smaller order of episodes.

Bye bye video downloads especially HD

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090204/ap_on_hi_te/tec_techbit_internet_caps_1

Same here.

AMC HD Working fine now in East 40's

Bye bye video downloads especially HD

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090204/ap_on_hi_te/tec_techbit_internet_caps_1
I have no specific problem with metered downloading. This is the way most businesses get charged for their internet usage. And most people subscribe for a certain number of minutes on their cellphone, so why not metered usage and tiered pricing for internet bandwidth? The $1/G for each gig over 5G is reasonable.

I have no specific problem with metered downloading. This is the way most businesses get charged for their internet usage. And most people subscribe for a certain number of minutes on their cellphone, so why not metered usage and tiered pricing for internet bandwidth? The $1/G for each gig over 5G is reasonable.

um....

5 gigs a month is not......

um....

5 gigs a month is not......
Yeah, that's a little more then three HD movies.:mad:

AMC-HD ok now

Bye bye video downloads especially HD

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090204/ap_on_hi_te/tec_techbit_internet_caps_1

Fortunately, this will not appear in NYC anytime soon. TWC is already trying to fend off Verizon FIOS. Introducing metered bandwidth into this market is like delivering customers to Verizon on a platter. Of course, it doesn't help those unfortunates who happen to live in small markets but this stupid idea won't be implemented here.

The $1/G for each gig over 5G is reasonable.

I'm guessing you don't do much on the Internet beyond email, surfing and posting on forums because if you did, you'd realize how 5GB is a joke. This month, I downloaded the Windows 7 beta, which by itself was almost 4GB. I also downloaded 2 game demos for the PS3 that were about 1GB each. Those 3 items alone put me over the monthly quota. Or maybe I want to buy the first season of "Lost" on iTunes. There are 25 episodes in that season and each HD episode is about 500MB, meaning downloading the full season is 12.5GB. To avoid quota charges, I'd have to download the episodes over 3 MONTHS. That seems "reasonable" to you, waiting a fourth of the year to get a single season of a single show? Or if I did download it all at once, paying $8 to Time Warner, which is a 16% tax on top of the $50 it costs to buy the season. Reasonable? Not at all.

The implied notion that metered bandwidth will only affect pirates downloading outrageous quantities of illegal data and that ordinary users will never be impacted is a Big Lie. The cable companies like to talk about how 5GB is the equivalent of 100,000 songs to pooh-pooh the idea that ordinary users will be impacted. But of course, they use songs as their yardstick because songs are tiny. They don't mention content that easily trips up even casual users doing legal and run-of-the-mill activities like downloading purchased TV shows, games, movies, computer programs, podcasts, etc.

And if you really don't have a problem with bandwidth metering, then once TV signals are converted into data packets and delivered via an IP network, then you're OK with the idea of TV rates being tied to the number of hours of programming you watch? Time Warner will say your cable bill allows for 20 hours of TV watching a month and every hour above will cost you. Oh, and 20 hours of HD programming will cost more than 20 SD hours since the former utilizes more bandwidth. Raise your hands if you really have no problem with this.

The metering model is a scam. The businesses that are pushing it always like to highlight the heavy users who are supposedly bringing the networks to their knees but they never mention those users who are underutilizing network usage and off whom the business makes a very nice profit. That's how the monthly business model works, whether it's the internet, the gym or your Metrocard, a trade-off between heavy and light users. If Time Warner really believes metering is the right business model, then will it be giving discounts to customers who use less than the monthly quota, $1 off your bill for each GB of data below the month cap? It seems only fair.

Metered bandwidth has nothing to do with delivering improved service to customers or reducing prices. It is an backdoor method for the data pipe companies to grab a piece of the content pie off the back of their customers since the content companies have the muscle to brush off the pipe companies' sticky fingers.

Fortunately, this will not appear in NYC anytime soon. TWC is already trying to fend off Verizon FIOS. Introducing metered bandwidth into this market is like delivering customers to Verizon on a platter. Of course, it doesn't help those unfortunates who happen to live in small markets but this stupid idea won't be implemented here.

Yup, I'd be signed up for FIOS the moment they announce a cap here.

Yup, I'd be signed up for FIOS the moment they announce a cap here.

If one does it they all will follow, plus verizon blocks a lot of ports

I called last month and said I would switch to FIOS if they couldn't lower my bill. They lowered it by $30/month for one year. No contracts or price lock required. :)

I also called a couple of days ago and the lowered to 99.99 without the extra box that I have, but now I pay 110 at month plus tax. I canceled all the premium channels, I don't need HBO and showtime until the summer when new seasons of entourage, Dextel, and Californication arrive. I rent bluray movies from netflix so I don't miss those one year old movies that HBO shows as premier.
I told them that I would cancel the phone service because of my budget, and the lowered by 35 dollars.

AMC HD Working fine now in East 40's

its working fine, here, I am watching october sky and is on its original aspect ratio which is good.

Looks like AMC-HD sound now works, but for some reason I'm not getting any closed captions on any channels. Hopefully it will resolve soon.

What's the deal with IFC-HD? I can't quite tell - it looks like it's in OAR, but it doesn't quite look "right" and HD-eee. The program guide doesn't indicate that any of the programming is HD - what's going on with it?

Looks like AMC-HD sound now works, but for some reason I'm not getting any closed captions on any channels. Hopefully it will resolve soon.

What's the deal with IFC-HD? I can't quite tell - it looks like it's in OAR, but it doesn't quite look "right" and HD-eee. The program guide doesn't indicate that any of the programming is HD - what's going on with it?

It's stretched-SD...

i dont know if anyone on here is in the UES but after three days of crap signal ( channel 996) i was at -16db in bedroom and -26db in living room TWC added a bunch of hd channels to my lineup. all premiums have hd counterparts as well as G4 , CNBC, USA, BRAVO and the like. signal is right around 0.

also side tip, (and i dont know if this was mentioned already) you can go into tech.nyc.rr.com the username and password you'll have to get outta your tech but if you have a consistent one he'll give it to you and you can get your signal levels and upstream and downstream db as close to 0 as you can get. near perfect, perfect signal.

i still want verizon though

It's stretched-SD...

I would have expected better from IFC. It's all just stretched SD?

I would have expected better from IFC. It's all just stretched SD?

no - not everything.

And why did you expect 'better'? Its owned by Cablevision...

NY1 just pissed me off. I was watching on 701, as I usually do. They actually aired a commercial, in 4:3, saying that we can now watch NY1 in "crystal-clear high definition" by tuning to Channel 701, and then plugged Time Warner by saying they had 100 HD channels.

How can they lie outright like that? NOTHING on NY1 has been in HD, and it's all 4:3.

When is Mad Men on??? I've been wanting to see that but couldn't find it with a search.

I'm a fan of independent films, but IFC HD seems to show them in a weird, super-wide format with stretched SD quality? It looks terrible. What's up with that?

Mad Men is on AMC. I've checked IFC 2-3 times since we got it and did not find it to be stretched SD, it looked like proper 16:9.

One thing may get some confused... a film conversion to HD CAN "look" quite "SDish" because that was the look the filmmaker was going for. Soft and a tad grainy.

i dont know if anyone on here is in the UES but after three days of crap signal ( channel 996) i was at -16db in bedroom and -26db in living room TWC added a bunch of hd channels to my lineup. all premiums have hd counterparts as well as G4 , CNBC, USA, BRAVO and the like. signal is right around 0.

also side tip, (and i dont know if this was mentioned already) you can go into tech.nyc.rr.com the username and password you'll have to get outta your tech but if you have a consistent one he'll give it to you and you can get your signal levels and upstream and downstream db as close to 0 as you can get. near perfect, perfect signal.

i still want verizon though


Can you explain this a little more clearly??

I negotiated with them, and ended up getting digital phone added on for $10 LESS than I had been paying without it! They can lower price if you get all 3 - phone, TV and internet.

Sounds like the "deal" they gave me after a complaint to DOITT. I'm at $157, triple play, 3 premiums, DVR, HDXtra. The way it's billed, is the triple play at list (135) then a $35 credit. The PR guy assured me that they wouldn't actually charge me the cancelation fee.... AND there's nothing on my bill that says anything about "price lock," AND there are marketing messages about signing up for it!

Best info I can score is that FIOS may be in my nabe by the end of this year.

Mad Men is on AMC.

Unfortunately they don't rerun the show, I have been waiting for them to show season 1.

Mad Men is on AMC. I've checked IFC 2-3 times since we got it and did not find it to be stretched SD, it looked like proper 16:9.

One thing may get some confused... a film conversion to HD CAN "look" quite "SDish" because that was the look the filmmaker was going for. Soft and a tad grainy.

I've compared the SD and HD versions of IFC, and the image is definitely stretched. A 1.85 film on the SD feed results in black bars on the HD feed.

100 HD channels and I cant find anything to watch.

Is it just Me?

100 HD channels and I cant find anything to watch.

Is it just Me? :D No...I felt the same way when we got our additions too… but hey… I’m glad we have them, now all we need is programming.;)

100 HD channels and I cant find anything to watch.

Is it just Me?

I agree still nothing on, lol but very glad to have the channels when there is something worth watching. :)

100 HD channels and I cant find anything to watch.

Is it just Me?


Yes, you're weird. :D

A_C

100 HD channels and I cant find anything to watch.

Is it just Me?

All those channels and for some reason I stick to the main ones I had watched before 12/17 with the addition of CBS College Sports, ESPNNews, and Science Channel. Oddly enough, now I want Gol TV and Fox Soccer Channel in HD more than Viacom channels.

Yes, you're weird. :D

A_C

You're the one watching Judge Judy lol :D

Unfortunately they don't rerun the show, I have been waiting for them to show season 1.

Mad Men Season 2 should be on HD Showcase on Demand (Ch. 699) for all you HDC box owners. I don't have access to it, so I can't say for sure.

You're the one watching Judge Judy lol :D

Point taken.

A_C

100 HD channels and I cant find anything to watch.

Is it just Me?
_______________

true, but all that nothing looks so much better.;)

btw, peterlee for pres.

true, but all that nothing looks so much better.;)

btw, peterlee for pres.

it's such a task now to find something to watch. I guess there will allways be something to complain about.

Dear All:

i have the Time Warner Scientific Atlanta 8300HD PVR and it's been working fine for a while, but for the last several weeks, two things, possibly related, are acting up and not functioning properly:

1) when i press "previous channel", the TV screen goes black. only when i press Menu, then the black screen 'wakes up' and the proper image displays. it seems like something in the 8300HD PVR needs to be "triggered" or "waken up", otherwise, the previous channel displays a black screen (though there is proper sound). it wasn't like this previously for many many months, if not more than a year or two.

2) when i press "previous channel", that "previous channel" should have been recording all along, even though i wasn't viewing it. that is, whatever you're watching, should be "automatically recording" even though it was not a special action that i asked it to - it simply does that by default.

example: if i were watching CNN for 30 minutes, then switch to CBS for 20 minutes, then, at the 20th minute of watching CBS, if i were to press "previous channel" to go BACK to CNN, since i remember that the last channel that i was watching was CNN, then, CNN (my previous channel) should have been "quietly and automatically" recording, right? My understanding is that it would go on for one hour, with the latest one hour being retained AUTOMATICALLY.

well, my 8300HD doesn't do that anymore. when i press "previous channel", there is frequently nothing there other than starting right now, meaning there's nothing PREVIOUS to the current time that was recorded. sometimes it works, but most of the time, it is not working.


May I kindly ask the good folks here if there is a solution? is my 8300HD Scientific Atlanta Time Warner NYC box broken? i've rebooted, btw.

thank you all in advance!

2) when i press "previous channel", that "previous channel" should have been recording all along, even though i wasn't viewing it. that is, whatever you're watching, should be "automatically recording" even though it was not a special action that i asked it to - it simply does that by default.

example: if i were watching CNN for 30 minutes, then switch to CBS for 20 minutes, then, at the 20th minute of watching CBS, if i were to press "previous channel" to go BACK to CNN, since i remember that the last channel that i was watching was CNN, then, CNN (my previous channel) should have been "quietly and automatically" recording, right?

There's nothing wrong with your DVR. The reason it's not working for you the way you expect is that you're changing channels on a single tuner. Remember the DVR has two separate tuners. When you just flip to a new channel, you're changing channels on the same tuner, which clears the auto-record buffer.

In order for the DVR to do what you want, you need to switch to the second tuner before you turn from CNN to CBS. That way, the first tuner will continue to auto-record CNN. You switch tuners by hitting the SWAP button on the bottom of the remote control. That will switch you over to the second tuner and then you can change channels without interrupting the buffer recording on the first tuner. When you want to return to CNN and catch up on the auto-recorded buffer, you hit SWAP again to take you back to the first tuner.

There's nothing wrong with your DVR. The reason it's not working for you the way you expect is that you're changing channels on a single tuner. Remember the DVR has two separate tuners. When you just flip to a new channel, you're changing channels on the same tuner, which clears the auto-record buffer.

In order for the DVR to do what you want, you need to switch to the second tuner before you turn from CNN to CBS. That way, the first tuner will continue to auto-record CNN. You switch tuners by hitting the SWAP button on the bottom of the remote control. That will switch you over to the second tuner and then you can change channels without interrupting the buffer recording on the first tuner. When you want to return to CNN and catch up on the auto-recorded buffer, you hit SWAP again to take you back to the first tuner.

Note that sometimes your second tuner will automatically go to that 'previous' channel. Usually when you paused or used rewind on it.

...and another thing… remember with the 8300HDC—all bets are off regarding swapping tuners.

I've compared the SD and HD versions of IFC, and the image is definitely stretched. A 1.85 film on the SD feed results in black bars on the HD feed.

I noticed the same thing. IFC-HD is just a horribly stretched version of their SD channel every time I've checked. They take nicely presented OAR versions of a movie on their SD channel and stretch it out on the HD channel.

VERY disappointing.

Maybe IFC-HD wasn't really "ready for prime time" and they're still getting their act together acquiring the HD versions of their movies?

I posted a question about this on a different board on AVS Fourm and responses were few but agreed that they seemed to only be presenting stretched SD.

There's nothing wrong with your DVR. The reason it's not working for you the way you expect is that you're changing channels on a single tuner. Remember the DVR has two separate tuners. When you just flip to a new channel, you're changing channels on the same tuner, which clears the auto-record buffer.

In order for the DVR to do what you want, you need to switch to the second tuner before you turn from CNN to CBS. That way, the first tuner will continue to auto-record CNN. You switch tuners by hitting the SWAP button on the bottom of the remote control. That will switch you over to the second tuner and then you can change channels without interrupting the buffer recording on the first tuner. When you want to return to CNN and catch up on the auto-recorded buffer, you hit SWAP again to take you back to the first tuner.

Thanks, Peter et al.

I'm still somewhat confused...i'll ask this question and then test it out later this evening and, hopefully, you good folks will have a chance to further clarify this question so i'll have all your wisdom when i test it this evening ;)

so i saw the "swap" button at the bottom of my Time Warner remote. However, i do not use that remote. i've recently newly purchased the Logitech Harmony One remote (http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/remotes/universal_remotes/devices/3898&cl=us,en )

as far as i can tell, there is no "swap" button other than on Page 3 (!) of the LCD soft buttons, which would require TWO right arrow presses (on the soft right arrow button on the right side of the LCD), and THEN one can finally see the "Swap PIP" soft button. Is that the button/function you're talking about when you said "switch to the 2nd tuner"? my previous understanding of PIP is Picture in Picture, which is a smaller frame at a corner of your TV showing a different channel, so you can watch one main channel, with a tiny window at a corner showing a 2nd channel, and when you hit Swap PIP, then the little picture becomes the Main picture and vice versa.

so in this Time Warner Scientific Atlanta 8300HD's case, "Swap PIP" does not mean "little picture embedded inside the main picture"??

sorry to be so precise, but i'm not exactly following.

i'm enclosing a picture of my Harmony One remote for clarity's sake, so you all can peruse the remote.

thank you in advance.

I noticed the same thing. IFC-HD is just a horribly stretched version of their SD channel every time I've checked. They take nicely presented OAR versions of a movie on their SD channel and stretch it out on the HD channel.

Now Im scratching my head. Like I said, the 2-3 times I checked, I could swear I was NOT seeing stretched content.

An OAR presentation on a SD channel (which by definition must be letterboxed) simply needs to be zoomed to fill a 16:9 screen (assuming OAR was 16:9, if it was academy, it would also be letterboxed at 16:9)... how could it be stretched? The only pan & scanned 4:3 can be stretched/distorted to fill 16:9, no?

Battlestar Galactica in HD tonight. Wohooo!! :)

I noticed the same thing. IFC-HD is just a horribly stretched version of their SD channel every time I've checked. They take nicely presented OAR versions of a movie on their SD channel and stretch it out on the HD channel.

VERY disappointing.

Maybe IFC-HD wasn't really "ready for prime time" and they're still getting their act together acquiring the HD versions of their movies?

I posted a question about this on a different board on AVS Fourm and responses were few but agreed that they seemed to only be presenting stretched SD.

I saw something in HD last night.

Dear All:

i have the Time Warner Scientific Atlanta 8300HD PVR and it's been working fine for a while, but for the last several weeks, two things, possibly related, are acting up and not functioning properly:

1) when i press "previous channel", the TV screen goes black. only when i press Menu, then the black screen 'wakes up' and the proper image displays. it seems like something in the 8300HD PVR needs to be "triggered" or "waken up", otherwise, the previous channel displays a black screen (though there is proper sound). it wasn't like this previously for many many months, if not more than a year or two.

thank you all in advance!

also: what about the issue of a black screen on the TV (though the sound is working fine) when i press "previous channel"? the 8300HD tries to go back to the previous channel but the TV doesn't display the picture but the sound is working, i have to sort of "wake up" the image by pressing Menu or something similar to "trigger" the image to "wake up".

is there someone who can opine/advise on this?

thanks in advance!

Now Im scratching my head. Like I said, the 2-3 times I checked, I could swear I was NOT seeing stretched content.

An OAR presentation on a SD channel (which by definition must be letterboxed) simply needs to be zoomed to fill a 16:9 screen (assuming OAR was 16:9, if it was academy, it would also be letterboxed at 16:9)... how could it be stretched? The only pan & scanned 4:3 can be stretched/distorted to fill 16:9, no?

Correct. I saw something that was wider than 16:9 on the SD channel and had the EXACT same amount of black bars on top/bottom on the HD version of the channel which is the 1st indication of stretching and then noticed that the faces/bodies on the extreme left/right of the screen were wider than ones on the center, so they were using the same HORRIBLE stretch algorithm as TBS and other channels use. Scary....

Yes, the could've/should've zoomed it but didn't. Really they need to start getting the HD versions of the movies they show. Again, my guess is that they're sort of "staking out their real estate" by grabbing the HD channel bandwidth before they were really ready for prime-time....

For a channel that really does seem to care about their movie presentation (at least on the SD channel) it does seem like a huge oversight to take this route.

What tells me that they weren't quite ready to really debut IFC-HD yet is that there is no mention of an HD version of the channel on their website whatsoever! (I thought maybe there'd be a listing of what movies would be presented in "True HD" somewhere on the site).

I've compared the SD and HD versions of IFC, and the image is definitely stretched. A 1.85 film on the SD feed results in black bars on the HD feed.

Uh, it should have black bars top and bottom. 16:9 is 1:1.78. You'd have to start at something like 1.34 (i.e. 4:3) get stretch on a 16:9.

CNBC HD is not working (grey screen) for me in S Manhattan

Thanks, Peter et al.

I'm still somewhat confused...i'll ask this question and then test it out later this evening and, hopefully, you good folks will have a chance to further clarify this question so i'll have all your wisdom when i test it this evening ;)

so i saw the "swap" button at the bottom of my Time Warner remote. However, i do not use that remote. i've recently newly purchased the Logitech Harmony One remote (http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/remotes/universal_remotes/devices/3898&cl=us,en )

as far as i can tell, there is no "swap" button other than on Page 3 (!) of the LCD soft buttons, which would require TWO right arrow presses (on the soft right arrow button on the right side of the LCD), and THEN one can finally see the "Swap PIP" soft button. Is that the button/function you're talking about when you said "switch to the 2nd tuner"? my previous understanding of PIP is Picture in Picture, which is a smaller frame at a corner of your TV showing a different channel, so you can watch one main channel, with a tiny window at a corner showing a 2nd channel, and when you hit Swap PIP, then the little picture becomes the Main picture and vice versa.

so in this Time Warner Scientific Atlanta 8300HD's case, "Swap PIP" does not mean "little picture embedded inside the main picture"??

sorry to be so precise, but i'm not exactly following.

i'm enclosing a picture of my Harmony One remote for clarity's sake, so you all can peruse the remote.

thank you in advance.

Hi eieio (nice username),

I'm flying blind here because I only have the Time Warner issued remote and am not familiar with your universal remote. On the Time Warner remote, hitting SWAP will switch between tuners without having to open the small PIP window. You can open the small PIP window by hitting the PIP button but it's an unnecessary extra step if all you want to do is switch to the second tuner (and of course, you would also have to then close the PIP window as well). It appears that SWAP on the Time Warner remote is the equivalent of the SWAP PIP button on your Harmony remote. You will have to test if pressing SWAP PIP will switch between the tuners without having to open a PIP window. Hopefully, it does, otherwise, you'd have to open a PIP window, hit SWAP PIP, then close the PIP window to swap tuners.

As for your other issue with only having audio and no picture until you press another button, that is odd. Maybe you can test to see if the same thing happen if you use the Time Warner remote instead of the Harmony remote. On the Time Warner remote, the button is LAST to take you to your last channel you viewed. Note that if you use the LAST button, you are remaining on the same tuner so you'll lose the buffer each time you switch channel (unless that is, you're switching to a channel that the second tuner is already tuned to; then, the DVR is smart enough to use the buffer from the second tuner, if that doesn't confuse you completely).

Uh, it should have black bars top and bottom. 16:9 is 1:1.78. You'd have to start at something like 1.34 (i.e. 4:3) get stretch on a 16:9.

RIGHT, but not the same exact amount of black bars as on the SD channel! Like I said, the picture had THE SAME EXACT AMOUNT of black bars on the SD as the HD channel. That should never be the case. Plus the picture distortion on the L/R side of the screen proved it....

CNBC HD is not working (grey screen) for me in S Manhattan

Works in East 40's

Battlestar Galactica in HD tonight. Wohooo!!

felix must die.

RIGHT, but not the same exact amount of black bars as on the SD channel! Like I said, the picture had THE SAME EXACT AMOUNT of black bars on the SD as the HD channel. That should never be the case. Plus the picture distortion on the L/R side of the screen proved it....

Exactly. A 1.85:1 film on IFC HD looks like a 2.35:1 AR, when the black bars should be slight to non existant.

CNBC HD is not working (grey screen) for me in S Manhattan

Channel is down here also (E25th Street)

good work airing the Rangers game tonight TWC. :(

Hi eieio (nice username),

I'm flying blind here because I only have the Time Warner issued remote and am not familiar with your universal remote. On the Time Warner remote, hitting SWAP will switch between tuners without having to open the small PIP window. You can open the small PIP window by hitting the PIP button but it's an unnecessary extra step if all you want to do is switch to the second tuner (and of course, you would also have to then close the PIP window as well). It appears that SWAP on the Time Warner remote is the equivalent of the SWAP PIP button on your Harmony remote. You will have to test if pressing SWAP PIP will switch between the tuners without having to open a PIP window. Hopefully, it does, otherwise, you'd have to open a PIP window, hit SWAP PIP, then close the PIP window to swap tuners.

As for your other issue with only having audio and no picture until you press another button, that is odd. Maybe you can test to see if the same thing happen if you use the Time Warner remote instead of the Harmony remote. On the Time Warner remote, the button is LAST to take you to your last channel you viewed. Note that if you use the LAST button, you are remaining on the same tuner so you'll lose the buffer each time you switch channel (unless that is, you're switching to a channel that the second tuner is already tuned to; then, the DVR is smart enough to use the buffer from the second tuner, if that doesn't confuse you completely).

Peter: thanks for being such a good sport by answering such uber detailed questions ;) Much appreciated!

you said: "...You can open the small PIP window by hitting the PIP button but it's an unnecessary extra step if all you want to do is switch to the second tuner (and of course, you would also have to then close the PIP window as well)"

i do not see a "PIP button" on my Time Warner remote. i only see:

PIP Swap
PIP Move
Off/On (right next to the Swap button)
Ch +
Ch -
Video Source
Blank black button (that's weird, right?)

So, may I kindly ask what you meant by "PIP Button"? which button do you mean?

thx in advance.

btw, i'm IM'ing you privately here as well, as i do not see an email. thx!

Sorry I was working off memory. You're right, there is no PIP button on the Time Warner remote. I was thinking of the ON-OFF button. That turns on or off the PIP window.

Sorry I was working off memory. You're right, there is no PIP button on the Time Warner remote. I was thinking of the ON-OFF button. That turns on or off the PIP window.

Peter,

thank you again for your advice.

i've just implemented your recommendations but, alas, i have 2 programs recording right now! so, pressing the newly minted soft buttons on my Harmony One merely swapped between those two programs!

i must try it again later.

did you get my private message?

thank you again. your advice was very helpful! ;)

good work airing the Rangers game tonight TWC. :(

We were better off not seeing it.

Not to beat a dead horse, but on IFC right now - Jeepers Creepers. This looks a lot better than any stretched SD I've seen, and I would think it's true HD but it still looks a little... off... Does anybody know what they're doing here?

Not to beat a dead horse, but on IFC right now - Jeepers Creepers. This looks a lot better than any stretched SD I've seen, and I would think it's true HD but it still looks a little... off... Does anybody know what they're doing here?

manhattan here, but i can't find IFC HD! i looked and looked.

what's the channel number please? thx in advance! there are so many channels that i can't find. what is the best way to find channels? is there a search bar somewhere so one can enter the channel name and it will show you the HD channel number, if it exists, and if only standard def exists, it will show that?

thx.

What's the problem with IFC HD? Jeepers Creepers is a 1.85 movie and it is showing full screen without any stretch or unusual cropping. I've recorded both the SD and HD versions and flipped back and forth and there's no stretching or cropping on the top and bottom on the HD channel. There's some slight cropping on the sides but it's the typical cropping that happens to almost all 1.85 movies that are shaved on the sides so that they are full screen on 16:9/1.78 screens. Plus I have this movie on DVD and the HD version has the same framing.

The real problem with IFC HD is it looks like it's just upconverted SD. No real additional detail to the picture. Or if it is a real HD image, then it's the lousiest one I've ever seen.

And IFC HD is 781. All the HD versions of a channel has "7" or "70" in front of the standard channel number. So NY1 -> 701, CBS2 -> 702, IFC81 -> 781.

Oh I see now what everyone's talking about. The Gregg Araki movie Nowhere is showing and IFC HD is both zooming in a little bit (which is why the top and bottom black bands are smaller on the HD channel than on the SD channel) and also stretching the picture horizontally. And the HD channel crops a little on the sides as well.

And a correction: I thought Cartoon Network was stretching all its shows but it appears I was wrong. Some cartoons are definitely not stretched but are in fact showing more image on the sides without losing image on the top or bottom, i.e. no zooming. It looks like both the new Star Wars and Batman cartoons are this way. Pleasantly surprised.

RIGHT, but not the same exact amount of black bars as on the SD channel! Like I said, the picture had THE SAME EXACT AMOUNT of black bars on the SD as the HD channel. That should never be the case. Plus the picture distortion on the L/R side of the screen proved it....

Looks like I'll have to watch some more IFC... like I said, the couple of times I took a quick look, I did not see any "fat heads" that are typical of stretching.

The real problem with IFC HD is it looks like it's just upconverted SD. No real additional detail to the picture. Or if it is a real HD image, then it's the lousiest one I've ever seen.

Once again, while it may be 100% true for a specific movie, let us not forget that the look of a film is very much what the director wants. Many of them WILL look like upconverted SD... Speilberg's War of the Worlds comes to mind... by very closely examining both the SD and HD broadcasts you can tell one is HD. BUT only by staring intently at both versions can you tell this.

Look at shows like Star Trek Enterprise and Battlestar Galactica. SD or HD doesn't matter. Enterprise is bright, clean, and sharp whether SD or HD. BSG looks SD on both SD and HD versions... because that is the look they are going for, dark, soft, and grainy.

The point I'm trying to make first became clear when I first got HD... I was almost appalled by what I'd call "overly blocked up shadows." It even had a name, "black crush." About 6 months after I got my first HD set, I saw a film in a theater (The Prestige). The big lite in my head went off... black crush of the 10th degree! It dawned on me that my HD set just was that much more accurate than any SD set (and I typically always had the best SD TVs) I'd ever had. The filmmakers WANTED it to look dark and inky.

So not all degradation in PQ can be laid at the technology. Getting back to IFC... I'd venture that we'll see a lot of stuff that LOOKS like SD even if it's really HD. I'm friends with a lot of indie filmmakers and lemme tell you, a lot of their stuff just looks wrong to many folks... like my friend Ruth (whose stuff will make it to IFC before any other place). She LOVES to way oversaturate her films.

Look I'm not trying to pick any fights with anyone, just trying to say that every imperfection we see may not be the fault of the transmission!

Works in East 40's

It must have been was back up by the time you posted that. I got home around 7:30 and it was working for me too.

good work airing the Rangers game tonight TWC. :(

It was on ch. 51.

i have the Time Warner Scientific Atlanta 8300HD PVR and it's been working fine for a while, but for the last several weeks, it is acting up and not functioning properly:

When i press "previous channel", the TV screen goes black. only when i press Menu, then the black screen 'wakes up' and the proper image displays. it seems like something in the 8300HD PVR needs to be "triggered" or "waken up", otherwise, the previous channel displays a black screen (though there is proper sound). it wasn't like this previously for many many months, if not more than a year or two.

thank you all in advance!

manhattan here, but i can't find IFC HD! i looked and looked.

what's the channel number please? thx in advance! there are so many channels that i can't find. what is the best way to find channels? is there a search bar somewhere so one can enter the channel name and it will show you the HD channel number, if it exists, and if only standard def exists, it will show that?

thx.

it's 781 just use the guide

Ah The Universe Marathon in HD on HistoryHD today, much better :)

Mad Men is on AMC. I've checked IFC 2-3 times since we got it and did not find it to be stretched SD, it looked like proper 16:9.

One thing may get some confused... a film conversion to HD CAN "look" quite "SDish" because that was the look the filmmaker was going for. Soft and a tad grainy.

Is Mad men on AMC presently? Or only in the past.

It seems IFC HD is both - real 16:9 HD for some movies and stretched SD for others. Don't ask me why...:confused:

It was on ch. 51.

Indeed it was, and it was unwatchable in more ways than one! :(:mad:

Indeed it was, and it was unwatchable in more ways than one! :(:mad:

Wasn't on ch 51 by me. It was TV Guide all night.

I have the Time Warner Scientific Atlanta 8300HD.

I've read, since last summer, about the newer 8300HDC, and saw a friend's unit last year. The Guide software looks visually somewhat different, and the various forums (or is it fora?) talked about the many glitches and frustrations people have had with it back then.

Well, it is now Feb 2009, over 6 months later. May I ask if it is still considered "safer" more "more desirable" to stick with the 8300HD, or, has the 8300HDC come such a long way through various firmware updates that it is now BETTER to run to exchange my 8300HD for the newer 8300HDC?

thanks in advance!

I have one of each, and I still prefer the HD, but the HDC is definitely better than it was 6 months ago. The main differences:

1. HD is faster.

2. Search by name/keyword is better on the HD.

3. The HDC does not allow manual recording by time slot. By that I mean that you cannot tell the box to record whatever is on Thursday, March 18th at 9:00. All recording must be set up from the guide. WARNING: I haven't actually checked this deficiency in a couple of months, but I think it's true.

-barry

I have one of each, and I still prefer the HD, but the HDC is definitely better than it was 6 months ago. The main differences:

1. HD is faster.

2. Search by name/keyword is better on the HD.

3. The HDC does not allow manual recording by time slot. By that I mean that you cannot tell the box to record whatever is on Thursday, March 18th at 9:00. All recording must be set up from the guide. WARNING: I haven't actually checked this deficiency in a couple of months, but I think it's true.

-barry

Barry: thx for your advice/comments.

gosh, it really seems like there's little reason to trek up to Time Warner and make this exchange from HD to HDC!!

it seems like, still, after so very long, the HDC is "still not ready for prime time"! yikes. it certainly appears as though they goofed on this big time.

the effort involved in unplugging, trekking up to Time Warner's store, reconnecting everything, all just to get an INFERIOR device (the HDC) is seemingly absolutely NOT worth it, right?

Barry: thx for your advice/comments.

gosh, it really seems like there's little reason to trek up to Time Warner and make this exchange from HD to HDC!!

it seems like, still, after so very long, the HDC is "still not ready for prime time"! yikes. it certainly appears as though they goofed on this big time.

the effort involved in unplugging, trekking up to Time Warner's store, reconnecting everything, all just to get an INFERIOR device (the HDC) is seemingly absolutely NOT worth it, right?

My feelings are a bit milder than yours. I wouldn't say the HDC is "not ready for prime time", it's just not quite as good as the HD. But no, I don't think it's worth the effort of swapping. On the other hand if you already have a HDC model, I don't think it's worth the effort to swap that either.

I forgot to mention the two advantages of the HDC (that I know of):

1. The HDC gets HD (as in High Def) on demand channels, and the HD doesn't.

2. The HDC can interact with Time Warner phone service, if you have it, and show you caller ID on your TV screen.

-barry

Oops. One more advantage of the HDC that I have read about but not tried is that external drives work without problem on the HDC. On the HD, if you add an external drive, you lose the trick play functionality (rewinding, etc. during live TV).

-barry

Peter: thanks for being such a good sport by answering such uber detailed questions ;) Much appreciated!

you said: "...You can open the small PIP window by hitting the PIP button but it's an unnecessary extra step if all you want to do is switch to the second tuner (and of course, you would also have to then close the PIP window as well)"

i do not see a "PIP button" on my Time Warner remote. i only see:

PIP Swap
PIP Move
Off/On (right next to the Swap button)
Ch +
Ch -
Video Source
Blank black button (that's weird, right?)

So, may I kindly ask what you meant by "PIP Button"? which button do you mean?

thx in advance.

btw, i'm IM'ing you privately here as well, as i do not see an email. thx!

Hi, I'm jumping in because I have the same problem.
My TWC 8300HDC does not swap tuners unless the PIP box is active. Is that typical b/c I saw some saying it should swap tuners w/o the PIP box showing.
But I also get gray screen when switching with the PIP swap but no buffer so no rewind capability. I can see the other tuner progressing in the PIP window and then I switch to that tuner the buffer only can rewind up to whenever I turned on the PIP.
Am I missing something for the second tuner or is something wrong?

Hi, I'm jumping in because I have the same problem.
My TWC 8300HDC does not swap tuners unless the PIP box is active. Is that typical b/c I saw some saying it should swap tuners w/o the PIP box showing.
But I also get gray screen when switching with the PIP swap but no buffer so no rewind capability. I can see the other tuner progressing in the PIP window and then I switch to that tuner the buffer only can rewind up to whenever I turned on the PIP.
Am I missing something for the second tuner or is something wrong?

My 8300HDC does not swap tuners like yours. PIP box has to be on to swap. The on & off button turns on the PIP box.:cool:

Found another bug in the 8300hdc
yesterday i ordered the ppv boxing event that went on at 2 pm est on channel 301 , there was no HD coverage of the fight which would of been then on channel 350 ..anyhow i did the buy and record and later on in the day i noticed it didnt record and i have 2 hdc's boxes both had the same problem. i guess now you cant tape on 301 but if it was on 350 it would of been good..

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.

So do ANY cable boxes from TW have SARA? :(

So do ANY cable boxes from TW have SARA? :(
Not in NYC.

I clipped a piece of the article below from Multichannel News today because it rings so true. This should a viewed as a cautionary tale to all the big companies out there who feel they can treat customers like dirt because they sense they have a monopoly on the market. In a best case scenario I would like to see TWC stay afloat so that there will always be competition for Verizon to keep them from one day doing the same to us.


"Losses Hits TW Cable"

http://www.multichannel.com/article/173762-Losses_Hit_TW_Cable.php
Pali Research media analyst Richard Greenfield wasn't buying Britt's argument.

“Time Warner Cable's fundamental mistake has been milking ARPU for all it is worth, rather than capturing as many triple-play subscribers as they could have,” Greenfield wrote, referring to average revenue per unit. “Time Warner Cable never took the offensive, they waited for competition to arrive, then altered their marketing (greater discounts) and programming tactics (HD channel increases) to fend off the competition.”

Verizon Communications' major push into the New York City market — TWC's second-largest — could have been a contributing factor to the subscriber declines. The telco said last month it added 303,000 FiOS TV customers in the fourth quarter.

I live in Chelsea and I just got the 8300HDC box. I notice it's missing some HD channels like National Geographic HD, Animal Planet HD, MSG Plus HD and Hallmark Movie Channel HD. Some channels are on the wrong channel MSG Ch. 712, HBOHD Ch. 780 and MaxHD Ch. 719. I called Time Warner and the woman told me that the 8300HDC box doesn't have those channels yet. I really don't think she knew what she was talking about. Does anyone else have this problem with their 8300HDC box?

I live in Chelsea and I just got the 8300HDC box. I notice it's missing some HD channels like National Geographic HD, Animal Planet HD, MSG Plus HD and Hallmark Movie Channel HD. Some channels are on the wrong channel MSG Ch. 712, HBOHD 780 and MaxHD Ch.719. I called Time Warner and the woman told me that the 8300HDC box doesn't have those channels yet. I really don't think she knew what she was talking about. Does anyone else have this problem with their 8300HDC box?

i have the 8300HD only, and was considering going to 23rd street to exchange for the 8300HDC but the consensus is that the HD is still the superior one as of right now, until they do further improvements/tweaks/troubleshooting to the HDC. sorry to say that, it might sound rather disappointing to you. but i was investigating this.

while i know nothing about your issue, it sounds absolutely impossible that the HDC would be missing channels. something is wrong. i concur with your gut instinct that that lady on the phone is incorrect.

I live in Chelsea and I just got the 8300HDC box. I notice it's missing some HD channels like National Geographic HD, Animal Planet HD, MSG Plus HD and Hallmark Movie Channel HD. Some channels are on the wrong channel MSG Ch. 712, HBOHD Ch. 780 and MaxHD Ch. 719. I called Time Warner and the woman told me that the 8300HDC box doesn't have those channels yet. I really don't think she knew what she was talking about. Does anyone else have this problem with their 8300HDC box?

kinda sounds like an old lineup being mapped (i think MSG used to be on 712 a few years ago... and HBO was just moved from 780)

Try doing a full reboot (unplug, wait 15 seconds or so, then plug back in)

kinda sounds like an old lineup being mapped (i think MSG used to be on 712 a few years ago... and HBO was just moved from 780)

Try doing a full reboot (unplug, wait 15 seconds or so, then plug back in)

I did that a few times already and still have the same problem. I'm thinking there's something wrong with the box.

... This should a viewed as a cautionary tale to all the big companies out there who feel they can treat customers like dirt because they sense they have a monopoly on the market. In a best case scenario I would like to see TWC stay afloat so that there will always be competition for Verizon to keep them from one day doing the same to us.


“Time Warner Cable never took the offensive, they waited for competition to arrive, then altered their marketing (greater discounts) and programming tactics (HD channel increases) to fend off the competition.”

Verizon Communications' major push into the New York City market — TWC's second-largest — could have been a contributing factor to the subscriber declines. The telco said last month it added 303,000 FiOS TV customers in the fourth quarter.I will go one further and say, if TW would have pushed sooner rather than later for the analogue to digital cable transition with their customers, forcing a swap out of analogue boxes (I’m talking several years ago) and freed up the bandwidth-- and then added all the HD channels as they became available to them—
there would be no FIOS today.

This is not Monday morning quarterbacking by on my part, or others who’ve said the same thing. I lurked on this thread for years, finally joining the Forum in 2003, frustrated at the lack of HD we received—at that time it was about 6 channels. I logged in my first post with a rant regarding analogue and wasted bandwidth.

Whether this is good or bad, Verizon would not have had the opportunity to get their Fios foot in the door if it weren’t for TW’s incompetence.

Larry et al:

may i ask if anyone has compared Fios with Time Warner? my understanding by calling Fios is that it is only available in the larger buildings, so smaller building are out of luck.

i know the Fios line is right outside of our building, but apparently, they will only bring it "into a building" if it is a big enough building that it is worth their while.

is that true? what are the advantages of Fios? i feel now that the internet is the slow bottleneck, and that even Time Warner's moderate internet speed is good enough, so what i mean is that the fact that Fios offers super duper fast internet downloading speed is only really good for people who download a huge amount and frequently.

for the rest of us who only download occasionally, and surf the net mostly, i'm under the impression that the standard Time Warner speed, while not amazing, is sufficiently good since the bottleneck is really the "...waiting for server to respond..." type of thing.

is my understanding correct?

A few days ago i said i couldn't find the freq/prog used for HDPPV since it was moved.

Well since its active right now - it was easy to find.

Freq 543 Prog# 133 (i had it in my last spreadsheet as an active signal... now we know why)

(note - for northern Manhattan only - probably southern too - no guarantees for the rest of the area, as is the norm for my spreadsheet)

"Trainspotting" is on IFC-HD right now and it's true HD and in its proper aspect ratio. Switching between the SD and HD versions is like night and day. Guess IFC-HD is too cheap to buy or commission HD masters for all of its movies and TV shows but, if available for a cheap price or provided by the suppliers, they'll air an HD version of either newer movies or older one's getting a new master because they're popular (like "Trainspotting").

I live in Chelsea and I just got the 8300HDC box. I notice it's missing some HD channels like National Geographic HD, Animal Planet HD, MSG Plus HD and Hallmark Movie Channel HD. Some channels are on the wrong channel MSG Ch. 712, HBOHD Ch. 780 and MaxHD Ch. 719. I called Time Warner and the woman told me that the 8300HDC box doesn't have those channels yet. I really don't think she knew what she was talking about. Does anyone else have this problem with their 8300HDC box?

Another clueless TWC employee. I have the HDC and have all those channels so I would just exchange the box.

Larry et al:
is that true? what are the advantages of Fios? i feel now that the internet is the slow bottleneck, and that even Time Warner's moderate internet speed is good enough, so what i mean is that the fact that Fios offers super duper fast internet downloading speed is only really good for people who download a huge amount and frequently.

for the rest of us who only download occasionally, and surf the net mostly, i'm under the impression that the standard Time Warner speed, while not amazing, is sufficiently good since the bottleneck is really the "...waiting for server to respond..." type of thing.


I now have the option to get FIOS, and a coworker recently made the switch to FIOS. They offer 20/5 Mbps down/up, which is only 2x better than the standard down from TWC, but 10x better going up. Up is useful when uploading or emailing photos and videos, and also when doing things like videoconferencing. I did a video chat last week on my PS3 and my friend's connection could do 1Mbps up, while I was getting half that. We took pictures of what we saw on our TVs and there was a big difference in quality.
I'm sure there is diminishing returns to having larger bandwidth, but having at least 1Mbps up would be nice, at least based on the video quality comparison.

Another clueless TWC employee. I have the HDC and have all those channels so I would just exchange the box.

If you haven't brought the box back yet, try calling and having the support person "send a signal" to refresh your box. Sounds like the typical kind of situation we have whenever you get a new box -- random channels are enabled/disabled until the box gets a signal from the company....

Scott

I now have the option to get FIOS, and a coworker recently made the switch to FIOS. They offer 20/5 Mbps down/up, which is only 2x better than the standard down from TWC, but 10x better going up. Up is useful when uploading or emailing photos and videos, and also when doing things like videoconferencing. I did a video chat last week on my PS3 and my friend's connection could do 1Mbps up, while I was getting half that. We took pictures of what we saw on our TVs and there was a big difference in quality.
I'm sure there is diminishing returns to having larger bandwidth, but having at least 1Mbps up would be nice, at least based on the video quality comparison.

wx27: thx so much. that was useful!

thinking about what u just said, it is a LOT of work to switch over, even assuming that i'm able to (i.e. that FIOS would agree to bring it into our building).

the nyc.rr.com emails would have to be changed - big hassle.

what are your thoughts about this since you have the option to choose between both of those? would you change?

please do remember that there is some upgraded, faster, Time Warner option as well, so you can pay more to Time Warner and get a faster speed.

Larry et al:

may i ask if anyone has compared Fios with Time Warner? I can’t answer your question, since I do not yet have the option of going with FIOS. I haven’t looked into any “scientific” comparisons. When the day comes, when I have a choice, my decision will be based upon these requirements and in this order:
-Picture quality
-Channel selections
-DVR capabilities and nuances
-Internet
-Pricing

Until then, the only card I have to play is the pricing card, pitting one against the other for a better deal.

QUESTION: Is TWC a good HD cable service? How much is it with the HD service? How do they connect, using HDMI or a regular coaxial cable? I need some answers before i decide? THANKS.

QUESTION: Is TWC a good HD cable service? How much is it with the HD service? How do they connect, using HDMI or a regular coaxial cable? I need some answers before i decide? THANKS.

What are you other cable company options? If it is cablevision vs twc, get twc but if it is Fios then the choice is more difficult

Has anyone had problems playing back a show from one of the new HD channels? I have the 8300HD and we recorded Top Chef in HD on the new Bravo HD channel. It was completely unwatchable. The picture completely broke up the whole time. I haven't tried to record from any other new channel, so maybe it is just the Bravo one. Anyone?

Has anyone had problems playing back a show from one of the new HD channels? I have the 8300HD and we recorded Top Chef in HD on the new Bravo HD channel. It was completely unwatchable. The picture completely broke up the whole time. I haven't tried to record from any other new channel, so maybe it is just the Bravo one. Anyone?

It shouldn't be a channel issue, is your DVR near full? The 8300s can have problems as they start to get full or if the hard drive is dying.

QUESTION: Is TWC a good HD cable service? How much is it with the HD service? How do they connect, using HDMI or a regular coaxial cable? I need some answers before i decide? THANKS.

TWC has decent HD servce, it's more the customer service that's a nightmare. I'm not sure what you mean by 'how do they connect'? You can't get HD pictured without some sort of HD-capable output, so yes all boxes have HDMI output.

What are you other cable company options? If it is cablevision vs twc, get twc but if it is Fios then the choice is more difficult

my options are TWC vs DirectTV....Verizion FIOS is not yet available for the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

TWC has decent HD servce, it's more the customer service that's a nightmare. I'm not sure what you mean by 'how do they connect'? You can't get HD pictured without some sort of HD-capable output, so yes all boxes have HDMI output.

Do they connect the HD box to my HDTV with a HDMI and i guess they use a coaxial cable to connect the box to the wall.

If you haven't brought the box back yet, try calling and having the support person "send a signal" to refresh your box. Sounds like the typical kind of situation we have whenever you get a new box -- random channels are enabled/disabled until the box gets a signal from the company....

Scott

I called the company and send a signal and still the same problem. He said theres something wrong with the box so i'm going to return it. Thanks for all your help.

Do they connect the HD box to my HDTV with a HDMI and i guess they use a coaxial cable to connect the box to the wall.

Preceisly... The (coax) cable coming in from the street connects to the box. HD connections from the box to your TV can be either HDMI or Component.

A_C

Do they connect the HD box to my HDTV with a HDMI and i guess they use a coaxial cable to connect the box to the wall.

Yes that is correct, you may have to provide you own hdmi cable with TWC, I think they only give you component with the box but HDMI works although they may say they do not support it. I don't know anything about directv other than weather can affect satellite reception. Where would you put the Dish on your building? It needs line of site to the satellite, so out the window will not work most likely.

Yes that is correct, you may have to provide you own hdmi cable with TWC, I think they only give you component with the box but HDMI works although they may say they do not support it. I don't know anything about directv other than weather can affect satellite reception. Where would you put the Dish on your building? It needs line of site to the satellite, so out the window will not work most likely.

I live in a twin tower building about 40 stories high. Ive noticed that they have two big satellites on both buildings so i guess my building is DirectTV ready??? Any ideas?

"100 Channels of HD! Now available"

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

I noticed that TWC is advertising "100 Channels of HD! Now available" on their website. However, when you do the math there's really only 99 HD channels available. I checked the internet and couldn't find any information on G4 TV being shown anywhere in HD but oddly enough when I searched their website for the SD feed it shows it on channel 92 and says that TWC doesn't have G4 HD. Who's fooling who here? Is TWC just holding a spot for G4 when it's ready to go HD or do they not have the rights to show it in HD? Either way it's not truth in advertising and they should be made to change their website slogan to "Almost 100 Channels of HD! Now available".

I live in a twin tower building about 40 stories high. Ive noticed that they have two big satellites on both buildings so i guess my building is DirectTV ready??? Any ideas?

I would ask the building management if that is what they are for

"100 Channels of HD! Now available"

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

I noticed that TWC is advertising "100 Channels of HD! Now available" on their website. However, when you do the math there's really only 99 HD channels available. I checked the internet and couldn't find any information on G4 TV being shown anywhere in HD but oddly enough when I searched their website for the SD feed it shows it on channel 92 and says that TWC doesn't have G4 HD. Who's fooling who here? Is TWC just holding a spot for G4 when it's ready to go HD or do they not have the rights to show it in HD? Either way it's not truth in advertising and they should be made to change their website slogan to "Almost 100 Channels of HD! Now available".

g4hd is an official hd channel even if they do not broadcast in HD yet. That is not the fault of TWC. I do not think it is based on whether the channel actually shows HD content, look at ny1 HD same deal.

I live in a twin tower building about 40 stories high. Ive noticed that they have two big satellites on both buildings so i guess my building is DirectTV ready??? Any ideas?

There are satellites on your roof? Have you contacted the proper authorities? Sounds like the might have crashed out of orbit.

DirecTV dishes are about the size of a pizza, BTW.

Anyone notice the new TV commercial from TWC having a special $39/month for cable service? I wonder what this package consists of and whether existing customers would be eligible, or at least able to finangle from a rep.

Anyone notice the new TV commercial from TWC having a special $39/month for cable service? I wonder what this package consists of and whether existing customers would be eligible, or at least able to finangle from a rep.

it said for only new customers for the 1st year,..

it said for only new customers for the 1st year,..

if i recall correctly, for:

1. regular speed cable modem,
2. 1 8300HD box
3. 1 standard def box

i'm paying around $150 a month.

doesn't that sound very high?

on top of that, there's the landline bill and the cell phone bill.

what do you all think, may i ask?

Has anyone had problems playing back a show from one of the new HD channels? I have the 8300HD and we recorded Top Chef in HD on the new Bravo HD channel. It was completely unwatchable. The picture completely broke up the whole time. I haven't tried to record from any other new channel, so maybe it is just the Bravo one. Anyone?

It shouldn't be a channel issue, is your DVR near full? The 8300s can have problems as they start to get full or if the hard drive is dying.

The only problem I am having is in a recording from the new BravoHD channel. All other recordings are fine. I even tried to record it on a different night and both recordings were useless. No one else is having this problem?

Now that we have so many movie channels (especially those with premium channels), is there a better way to see what movies are being aired than just going up and down the guide? It was fine with just a few channels, but now its overwhelming. Is there some online guide to TWC movies being aired?

if i recall correctly, for:

1. regular speed cable modem,
2. 1 8300HD box
3. 1 standard def box

i'm paying around $150 a month.

doesn't that sound very high?

on top of that, there's the landline bill and the cell phone bill.

what do you all think, may i ask?

I recently switched to TWC digital phone, and they LOWERED my bill by $10 because of triple-play discount. So, with no landline at $60/mo I now save $70/mo.

I suggest doing the same, the digital phone is clearer than my previous landline.

Now that we have so many movie channels (especially those with premium channels), is there a better way to see what movies are being aired than just going up and down the guide? It was fine with just a few channels, but now its overwhelming. Is there some online guide to TWC movies being aired?
Select THEME while in the guide. There's a wide variety of movie categories, including subtitled and star (review) rankings. -- John

The only problem I am having is in a recording from the new BravoHD channel. All other recordings are fine. I even tried to record it on a different night and both recordings were useless. No one else is having this problem?
My Top Chef was fine this week.

Now that we have so many movie channels (especially those with premium channels), is there a better way to see what movies are being aired than just going up and down the guide? It was fine with just a few channels, but now its overwhelming. Is there some online guide to TWC movies being aired?

I use this website: www.zap2it.com. You can put in your cable zone and it lists all available channels, and you can customize to show only the channels you want.

"100 Channels of HD! Now available"

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

I noticed that TWC is advertising "100 Channels of HD! Now available" on their website. However, when you do the math there's really only 99 HD channels available. Either way it's not truth in advertising and they should be made to change their website slogan to "Almost 100 Channels of HD! Now available".

They have the same blurb about 100 hd channels here in the Hudson Valley and we are not even close to that. 43 HD channells including 1 on demand and 2 special use channels that aren't used.

They should change it to "Not even close to 100 HD channels" for this area.

wx27: thx so much. that was useful!

thinking about what u just said, it is a LOT of work to switch over, even assuming that i'm able to (i.e. that FIOS would agree to bring it into our building).

the nyc.rr.com emails would have to be changed - big hassle.

what are your thoughts about this since you have the option to choose between both of those? would you change?

please do remember that there is some upgraded, faster, Time Warner option as well, so you can pay more to Time Warner and get a faster speed.

Inertia is powerful so I am likely to stay put. May call and see if they can up the internet speed in my current package with no change in price. The FIOS mail pitches $95 for TV, 20/5 internet, and phone. The DVR is free for first six months IIRC. I think my base price at TWC is $95 for just TV and 10/0.5 internet, no phone. Extra $15 for HD-DVR+HDextra pack.
Minor difference while just glancing at FIOS TV card is that IFC HD is not part of the extreme HD package. Requires either the movie package add-on or subscription to one of the premium channel packs.

My coworker reports that he likes the FIOS DVR more than the TWC one and that he hasn't seen the occasional glitching he had with TWC, though he can't pinpoint that problem to the incoming cable signal or the DVR box.

All that said, I think if I was starting from scratch, I'd go with FIOS (they just put in the initial fiber connections to each apt unit in the past few months in my building). It gets a little harder when you are already on one service and have existing email accounts/external hard drive with recorded programming.

BTW, I have not found confirmation that the FIOS DVR box supports eSata external hard drives to increase recording capacity.

The only problem I am having is in a recording from the new BravoHD channel. All other recordings are fine. I even tried to record it on a different night and both recordings were useless. No one else is having this problem?

I have had audio drops or picture freezes in a couple episodes of Top Chef I recorded in the last two days but nothing on the scale you're having. For me, it happened two or three times each episode but it didn't occur often enough to make the recordings "useless." And it was nothing compared to the problems I was having a couple weeks ago on all channels. It sounds like your problem is more serious.

I recently switched to TWC digital phone, and they LOWERED my bill by $10 because of triple-play discount. So, with no landline at $60/mo I now save $70/mo.

I suggest doing the same, the digital phone is clearer than my previous landline.

Sam/Skanter1:

thx for your thoughts.

may i ask for further clarification please?

so for the same price as before, i.e. your cable bill only, less $10 even, they are "throwing in" for free your landline "transferred over" to Time Warner?

thx in advance.

PS: my concern has to do with the times when cable modem goes down - in your case, both your PC would be "down" as well as your home phone. Then again, your backup would be your cell, right?

PPS: part of my hesitation comes from my previous effort to leave Verizon landline - i moved over to Sunrocket (Voip), which seemed young and ambitious and trying hard, all good traits, so i thought. well, surprise surprise, it was one of the very few telephone companies (voip, in this case), to actually to literally close its doors! Yes, literally. Customer service calls were no longer being answered. It was near disaster in the sense that there was a chance that my home number was NOT going to be able to be transferred back to Verizon!! A huge number of phone calls later, finally, i went back to Verizon, at a very high cost per month!! Sigh, i should have simply gone to Vonage or something more established.

btw, what if you, Sam/Skanter1, decide in the future to go over to FIOS? then would you move your cable modem, your cable tv, and your time warner phone service all over to Verizon FIOS? what about your Time Warner phone service then?

thx.

Select THEME while in the guide. There's a wide variety of movie categories, including subtitled and star (review) rankings. -- John

I did not see star rankings on the 8300HD - are they there or only on HDC box software?

Sam/Skanter1:

thx for your thoughts.

may i ask for further clarification please?

so for the same price as before, i.e. your cable bill only, less $10 even, they are "throwing in" for free your landline "transferred over" to Time Warner?

thx in advance.

PS: my concern has to do with the times when cable modem goes down - in your case, both your PC would be "down" as well as your home phone. Then again, your backup would be your cell, right?

What do you mean by "cable modem goes down"? The box actually breaks, or the service goes out? Phone is not the same as internet going out (which happens). Its more like TV cable not working. They will come immediately to fix (they say) and cell is backup. I don't think its much of an issue.



btw, what if you, Sam/Skanter1, decide in the future to go over to FIOS? then would you move your cable modem, your cable tv, and your time warner phone service all over to Verizon FIOS? what about your Time Warner phone service then?

thx.

If I switch to FIOS, they all move over. Simple.

After reading here about people calling and getting breaks on their bill, I figured I'd try the same. Unfortunately, it seems like since I was already getting a discount on my cable/Internet "2-play" package, they only cut ~$3-6/month off my pricing (which is nice), but still leaves me probably ~$15 more than FIOS. They also gave me the 15Mbps Internet option for a year and 30 days of all the premiums.

If you're not currently getting a discount, I'd call and just drop the name FIOS and see what happens.

After reading here about people calling and getting breaks on their bill, I figured I'd try the same. Unfortunately, it seems like since I was already getting a discount on my cable/Internet "2-play" package, they only cut ~$3-6/month off my pricing (which is nice), but still leaves me probably ~$15 more than FIOS. They also gave me the 15Mbps Internet option for a year and 30 days of all the premiums.

If you're not currently getting a discount, I'd call and just drop the name FIOS and see what happens.

What package of services do you have at what price now?
I have the double-play package price lock plus HDXtra/HD-DVR for 114 including taxes/fees. Internet is still the base 10/0.5 Mbps.

What do you mean by "cable modem goes down"? The box actually breaks, or the service goes out? Phone is not the same as internet going out (which happens). Its more like TV cable not working. They will come immediately to fix (they say) and cell is backup. I don't think its much of an issue.





If I switch to FIOS, they all move over. Simple.

If the internet goes down usually so does the TW phone. It happened to me maybe once or twice in the last few years.

What do you mean by "cable modem goes down"? The box actually breaks, or the service goes out? Phone is not the same as internet going out (which happens). Its more like TV cable not working. They will come immediately to fix (they say) and cell is backup. I don't think its much of an issue.





If I switch to FIOS, they all move over. Simple.

I have had FIOS Triple play for more than 6 weeks - no regrets. Thought I'd miss NY1. I don't. The Optical Network Terminal they installed in the front closet has a battery backup attached that calls home in the event of power failure. The main advantage of the old copper phone wire was that it carried its own power.

anyone having problems with CNBCHD on 715? its been awful all week. sometimes it goes out for 20 minutes and it constantly freezes and loses audio. im in midtown east

My area has been wired for fios. My contract with TW expires soon and i would like to determine if it pays to swirch to fios. However while the TW website gives you the prices of their packages the Fios site requires you to give your phone number for pricing and I am suspicious of what extra fees and taxes may be added on. Verizon has been bombarding me with semi-weeekly mailings and weekly phone call ssince fios started and I won't encourage them to bother me even more by identifying myself through my phone number. I don't see any benefit in switching unless there is a substantial financial advantage.
BH

anyone having problems with CNBCHD on 715? its been awful all week. sometimes it goes out for 20 minutes and it constantly freezes and loses audio. im in midtown east

Yep, I've been getting periodic freezes and stutters for the last two days. I'm in the Village near WSP.

My area has been wired for fios. My contract with TW expires soon and i would like to determine if it pays to swirch to fios. However while the TW website gives you the prices of their packages the Fios site requires you to give your phone number for pricing and I am suspicious of what extra fees and taxes may be added on. Verizon has been bombarding me with semi-weeekly mailings and weekly phone call ssince fios started and I won't encourage them to bother me even more by identifying myself through my phone number. I don't see any benefit in switching unless there is a substantial financial advantage.
BH

If someone you know has FIOS, check it out. The video is much better and on a CAT5 connection I get a pretty constant 19.5M down and 5.6M up.

Pricing for Triple Play - $100. DVR - $15 + Taxes

Hi -- long-time lurker; first-time poster. Thanks to everyone for all the great info -- I've learned more from this forum than I ever have from TWC customer service.

Now that we've gotten the expanded HD lineup in Southern Manhattan, I'm wondering if anyone else is getting the 'Subscription Service - To receive this channel call customer care' message on Golf Channel HD (Ch. 779)?

I spoke with 3 different CSRs about this, and they all claimed that I should be receiving the channel. Went through the usual steps (unplugged the box, had them send a signal from their end, etc.), but nothing's changed. I've got 2 8300HD DVRs and 1 4250HDC, with no Golf HD on any of them.

I finally connected with a supervisor who left me a voice mail saying that Golf HD truly is a subscription service. However, she didn't say what package it's in. It seems strange that only the HD channel would be subscription -- I've checked some of the other TWC websites (Ohio, for example) and Golf HD is listed as a free service. And, on the TWCNYC website, it's also listed as a free service.

Can anyone let me know if you're getting it as part of the regular HD package? Thanks.

no problems with golf channel. i had the same issue you did with TLCHD but one phone call resolved it and now I get that channel

I have had FIOS Triple play for more than 6 weeks - no regrets. Thought I'd miss NY1. I don't. The Optical Network Terminal they installed in the front closet has a battery backup attached that calls home in the event of power failure. The main advantage of the old copper phone wire was that it carried its own power.

hsimms:

thx for your post.

i really wanted to know that, actually! may i ask what happens in the event of a power outage? you mentioned that "it calls home". So, if "it calls Verizon FIOS", then what happens?

as you mentioned, the old copper wire carries its own power so it remains "on" during power outages.

with FIOS, during a power outage, the battery kicks in, "calls home", but then what?

thx in advance. i don't really understand how these things work...yet.

;)

In other news...

ION HD is launching very soon (that would be WPXN ch 31) - so thats a local HD channel we should be seeing soon.

In other news...

ION HD is launching very soon (that would be WPXN ch 31) - so thats a local HD channel we should be seeing soon.

Doesn't TWC have to negotiate the retransmission rights for the HD channel like they do for other locals?

Time Warner has incorrectly assigned the Golf Channel HD (779) - and only the HD version of the channel - to the Sports Package. Because of its mistake, you need the Sports Package to receive the HD channel. That's why some people are getting it and some aren't. This is a mistake on Time Warner's part. The Sports Package does not include the Golf Channel, it is part of the regular DTValue package, as you can see by turning to the SD Golf Channel on Ch. 121.

Nor has Time Warner changed its policy of offering the HD channel for free if you receive the SD channel. Golf HD should be available to anyone who has DTValue. This is simply one of the mistakes and snafus of the HD rollout (another being that the research department claims none of the new HD channels are available in either northern or southern Manhattan:rolleyes:). I talked a very helpful customer service rep who has given me the Sports Package for free for 1 month while the problem gets fixed. Hopefully, the channel will be re-assigned to its correct service package soon.

Maybe this problem will get fixed sooner if more people call in to point out it out. I don't think Time Warner is even aware of its mistake.

Doesn't TWC have to negotiate the retransmission rights for the HD channel like they do for other locals?

I assume it would just be a formality.

Time Warner has incorrectly assigned the Golf Channel HD (779) - and only the HD version of the channel - to the Sports Package. Because of its mistake, you need the Sports Package to receive the HD channel. That's why some people are getting it and some aren't. This is a mistake on Time Warner's part. The Sports Package does not include the Golf Channel, it is part of the regular DTValue package, as you can see by turning to the SD Golf Channel on Ch. 121.

Nor has Time Warner changed its policy of offering the HD channel for free if you receive the SD channel. Golf HD should be available to anyone who has DTValue. This is simply one of the mistakes and snafus of the HD rollout (another being that the research department claims none of the new HD channels are available in either northern or southern Manhattan:rolleyes:). I talked a very helpful customer service rep who has given me the Sports Package for free for 1 month while the problem gets fixed. Hopefully, the channel will be re-assigned to its correct service package soon.

Maybe this problem will get fixed sooner if more people call in to point out it out. I don't think Time Warner is even aware of its mistake.

It's not a problem in every 'region' of NYC.

Northern Manhattan has its own problem - they swapped the status of NHL Network HD and Game HD. Its been 2 months....

If the internet goes down usually so does the TW phone. It happened to me maybe once or twice in the last few years.

I was told that your phone "going down" would happen only when your cable TV goes out - not when internet service is interrupted. IOW, your internet service can stop, but phone will still work.

I was told that your phone "going down" would happen only when your cable TV goes out - not when internet service is interrupted. IOW, your internet service can stop, but phone will still work.

I believe TWC phone service runs on its own set of frequencies - its not 'internet based' - so if for whatever reason internet service is down, but cable still works, phone should still work (unless the problem is with the modem itself - then all bets are off) - (although its very rare... usually they all go down together).

hsimms:

thx for your post.

i really wanted to know that, actually! may i ask what happens in the event of a power outage? you mentioned that "it calls home". So, if "it calls Verizon FIOS", then what happens?

as you mentioned, the old copper wire carries its own power so it remains "on" during power outages.

with FIOS, during a power outage, the battery kicks in, "calls home", but then what?

thx in advance. i don't really understand how these things work...yet.

;)

Based on what the install tech told me - Verizon will check to see the source of the outage, determine if it's local or systemic and fix if possible. About 8 hours on the battery backup.

Check in here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=656287

for Fios. Not much action. But - there's not much goes wrong.

hsimms:

thx for your post.

i really wanted to know that, actually! may i ask what happens in the event of a power outage? you mentioned that "it calls home". So, if "it calls Verizon FIOS", then what happens?

as you mentioned, the old copper wire carries its own power so it remains "on" during power outages.

with FIOS, during a power outage, the battery kicks in, "calls home", but then what?

thx in advance. i don't really understand how these things work...yet.

;)
The battery back-up will work for about 8 hours, during which you can make calls normally, but other services (internet, TV) will be disabled.

After about 6 hours, the battery back-up will enter sleep mode. In this mode, in order to make a call, you have to press a "wake-up" button on the battery back-up box. Shortly after the call is completed, the box will go back into sleep mode. Sleep mode conserves battery power.

It's also worth noting that you (not Verizon) are responsible for replacing the battery every few years.

my options are TWC vs DirectTV....Verizion FIOS is not yet available for the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Depends on exactly what part of UWS you live in. Above 96th street will get it third quarter 09 (not sure of the exact boundries yet).

g4hd is an official hd channel even if they do not broadcast in HD yet. That is not the fault of TWC. I do not think it is based on whether the channel actually shows HD content, look at ny1 HD same deal.

701 does seem to have 4:3 HD studio cameras... much nicer to watch than 01.

I was told that your phone "going down" would happen only when your cable TV goes out - not when internet service is interrupted. IOW, your internet service can stop, but phone will still work.

According to TWC, the "digital phone" does NOT depend on IP connectivity. You can lose" the Internet and still have phone. Uses different signals and modem... what confuses some is that the "modem" is a combined one, for both phone and internet.

I believe TWC phone service runs on its own set of frequencies - its not 'internet based' - so if for whatever reason internet service is down, but cable still works, phone should still work (unless the problem is with the modem itself - then all bets are off) - (although its very rare... usually they all go down together).

I made damn sure of exactly this when I bought into their triple play. Theoretically loss of a/c power or loss of all cable services are the only ways the phone can go down (well, they can screw up in their offices as well).

During the last blackout, I pulled out an old analog phone and it got a dial tone. BUT i couldn't reach my sister as she ad a dordles phone that depended on a/c. My mother had an old analog phone, but all phone saervice in her nabe was out as there was some transformer malfunction in a Verizon station and they didn't get the 28v dc

The battery back-up will work for about 8 hours, during which you can make calls normally, but other services (internet, TV) will be disabled.

After about 6 hours, the battery back-up will enter sleep mode. In this mode, in order to make a call, you have to press a "wake-up" button on the battery back-up box. Shortly after the call is completed, the box will go back into sleep mode. Sleep mode conserves battery power.

It's also worth noting that you (not Verizon) are responsible for replacing the battery every few years.

Our managing agent talked to Verizon... and he seemed to think they would bring fiber into the building, but go copper to each apartment. Doesn't sound right, I told him I'm taking lead in FIOS (I'm a co-op director), so at some point I should be talking to Verizon as a building owner, not just customer.

Still, the battery backup for power losses is better than what TWC offers, although you won't have THAT many opportunities to use it (see my previous post).

no problems with golf channel. i had the same issue you did with TLCHD but one phone call resolved it and now I get that channel

Time Warner has incorrectly assigned the Golf Channel HD (779) - and only the HD version of the channel - to the Sports Package. Because of its mistake, you need the Sports Package to receive the HD channel. That's why some people are getting it and some aren't. This is a mistake on Time Warner's part. The Sports Package does not include the Golf Channel, it is part of the regular DTValue package, as you can see by turning to the SD Golf Channel on Ch. 121.

Nor has Time Warner changed its policy of offering the HD channel for free if you receive the SD channel. Golf HD should be available to anyone who has DTValue. This is simply one of the mistakes and snafus of the HD rollout (another being that the research department claims none of the new HD channels are available in either northern or southern Manhattan:rolleyes:). I talked a very helpful customer service rep who has given me the Sports Package for free for 1 month while the problem gets fixed. Hopefully, the channel will be re-assigned to its correct service package soon.

Maybe this problem will get fixed sooner if more people call in to point out it out. I don't think Time Warner is even aware of its mistake.


Thanks for the quick replies; I'll give it another shot (...paging Dr. Watson, perhaps?). It amazes me that, even with FiOS on their doorstep, TWC continues to be unable to competently manage their service. Don't they realize they're denying golf fans the chance to see pix of Tiger's new baby in glorious HD? :D

Our managing agent talked to Verizon... and he seemed to think they would bring fiber into the building, but go copper to each apartment. Doesn't sound right, I told him I'm taking lead in FIOS (I'm a co-op director), so at some point I should be talking to Verizon as a building owner, not just customer.

Still, the battery backup for power losses is better than what TWC offers, although you won't have THAT many opportunities to use it (see my previous post).
They will bring the fiber in as far as the building management (I guess that would be you) will let them. Obviously, it's something you will have to work out with them and will depend on a number of factors unique to your building, but generally speaking, they want to run fiber to each apartment and put the ONT inside each apartment.

It does seem to me after a couple of weeks of testing that my bitrates (in southern manhattan) for the HD Channels, which seemed to have been lowered about a year ago have been bumped up to approximately what they were before then.

Careful monitoring of hard drive space when I delete programs has shown that I'm getting approximate bandwidth of 6G/hr when I delete shows, which is approximately where it was over a year ago. For a while it dropped down to about 4.5G/hr, but now it seems to be back where it was...

This should translate to pretty good news in terms of picture quality.

Note that for me, the amount of "skippage"/audio dropouts has dropped dramatically as well. It had gotten very bad in Nov/Dec, but it has gone down to acceptable levels these days.

I have a TIVO-HD with cable card in the West Village. The TIVO listing shows MGMHD at 796 but all I get is a black picture. I have been checking it every day since the channel appeared but nothing has changed. Anyone in Southern Manhattan having the same problem?

I have a TIVO-HD with cable card in the West Village. The TIVO listing shows MGMHD at 796 but all I get is a black picture. I have been checking it every day since the channel appeared but nothing has changed. Anyone in Southern Manhattan having the same problem?

I get it on my 8300HD DVR in the west village. You do know that you have to be subscribed to the HD-Xtra package, right? (It's an extra fee each month).

Our managing agent talked to Verizon... and he seemed to think they would bring fiber into the building, but go copper to each apartment. Doesn't sound right, I told him I'm taking lead in FIOS (I'm a co-op director), so at some point I should be talking to Verizon as a building owner, not just customer.

Still, the battery backup for power losses is better than what TWC offers, although you won't have THAT many opportunities to use it (see my previous post).

I don't know the configuration of your building. Mine is 40 stories, 10 apartments per floor. Each floor has two compactor rooms. Verison has installed a hub in one of the compactor rooms connected to further equipment in the basement. From the compactor room they run a thin fiber optic cable not much different in weight from an optical audio cable along the molding. Each apartment gets an Optical Network Terminal (ONT) and battery backup. Verizon will make use of an apartment's T-W installed coax by cutting it and connecting it to the ONT.

They initially had me hooked from the ONT to the internal copper for phone but I couldn't get caller ID with that setup. They came by and ran me straight from the ONT.

The limitation with this setup is that you can connect just one phone or junction box directly to the line. Similar to Vonage. With Vonage I've been using a Panny DECT 6.0 phone system which can handle the base phone and up to 5 wireless remotes. I've gone the same route with Verizon. Works flawlessly and has the capability of doing intercom between rooms.

I get it on my 8300HD DVR in the west village. You do know that you have to be subscribed to the HD-Xtra package, right? (It's an extra fee each month).

I didn't realize that, thanks for the info.