If I we're in your shoes, I would subscribe to D* and buy a cheap indoor antenna to see what you can do for locals. If you want more info the HDTV Programming forum has a ton of info on all of the providers.I do want to point out that E* (DishNet) has an HD DVR, the ViP622, which receives and records satellite HD as well as terrestrial HD. The satellite and terrestrial channels are seamlessly integrated into 1 program guide (the only drawback is that you still have to subscribe to the $5 SD locals package).

Does D* (DirecTV) have anything comparable?

Yes, D* has the HR20 DVR which does the same thing. 4 tuners (2 D* and 2 OTA) and you can record two programs simultaneously.

hey guys what indoor antennas do you recommend?

I see the Terk has a good rating anyone have one?

You can't blame stations for not covering the upper valley. No offense, but virtually "nobody" lives down there.

As for WVNY and WFFF not having local content and for being operated under one roof, keep in mind that WVNY has been close to bankruptcy many times and has had to cancel its local news because of its precarious financial situation. Local news for Burlington-Plattsburgh is already so saturated with two stations sharing such a relatively small audience. I think only a Montreal-focused news operation could be profitable for WFFF/WVNY. You have to go where the viewers (and subsequently ad money) are! Would you rather have no ABC and Fox affiliates whatsoever?
Selfishly, I could do without any of the affiliates that don't have a real "local" presence. If they went off the air then both cable and satellite providers could bring in the feeds from the New York based networks. There would, indeed, be no local station to contest that signal. Certainly WABC could well be expected to produce a programming stream which is, at least technically, superior to what we see from WVNY.
Unfortunately, that leaves the OTA viewers out of luck so, of course, the scenario doesn't really work. That, coupled with the fact that the providers don't have an HD presence yet, means that I would be happy but some viewers would not. May February 2009 come soon!

hey guys what indoor antennas do you recommend?

I see the Terk has a good rating anyone have one?

You should check tvfool.com and type in your address and see what kind of results you get. My other advice is to be very careful when you open the box so if it doesn't work you can return it for something that does.

I do want to point out that E* (DishNet) has an HD DVR, the ViP622, which receives and records satellite HD as well as terrestrial HD. The satellite and terrestrial channels are seamlessly integrated into 1 program guide (the only drawback is that you still have to subscribe to the $5 SD locals package).

Does D* (DirecTV) have anything comparable?

Yeah, I currently mix my H20 as a OTA tuner alongside my TV. All of the OTA channels are integrated into the guide and it all works out well. I believe every HD receiver from Directv, including the DVR, comes with the ability to watch OTA HD along with guide data. I'm not nearly as familiar with E* as I am with D* but judging by the whole situation right now, I would say its very hard to pick a clear winner, but by October/November we should have a better idea. The main questions are if D* will live up to its promise and actually carry all of the channels they boasted they could and do so at a higher quality. And if they do, can Dish Network keep up without compromising quality? And when in the world will Comcast ever carry WVNY and WFFF? By mid-October, we should have a clear answer to these questions.

The problem with adjacent or out-of-market affiliates is that you get a lot of syndicated shows duplicated and as a result can miss out on many of them.

The Fox station doing Montreal news would work great. There may be nine, but only one anglophone station CFCF (CTV) has evening local news, and people have to wait until 11:30 for it! A Fox-style (police chases, etc.) 10pm newscast would certainly beat them in the ratings! :D

As for being out of DMA, what counts is the actual ad dollars, not the DMA rank. This works in the stations' favor; they probably get to buy syndicated programming only at a "Market 90" rate but can sell advertising at a "Market 15" rate.

I would love to see WFFF do a 10pm newscast, even if it was centered on Montreal (as long as their PQ is better than WPTZ's). The only problem would be it would mess up the CW programming. However, it would be nice if there ever was a 5th full power station on Mansfield carrying the CW and MyNetworkTV. I don't think/know if My39 has any plans and from what I hear WFFF is showing CW programs in 4:3 HD? Anyways, it's doubtful it would ever happen but it certainly would be nice. Does anyone know anything about My39's HD plans?

WFFF would most likely simulcast CW programming on the .2 subchannel in the event that they start a 10pm newscast.

As for WGMU (My 39), they will flash-cut like the other LP stations in 2009. I don't remember what channel the main transmitter will be on, but I know that the St. Albans out-of-core channel 52 repeater will move to channel 41.

I would love to see WFFF do a 10pm newscastMaybe I'm dreaming this, but I could swear I saw employment ads in the Burlington Free Press from WFFF that indicated they were staffing up to do local news. But that was quite awhile ago. They must have ditched those plans.

Maybe I'm dreaming this, but ...OK, I guess I didn't dream it up. If it's on Wikipedia, it must be true...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WFFF-TV#Newscasts

OK, I guess I didn't dream it up. If it's on Wikipedia, it must be true...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WFFF-TV#Newscasts

That's awesome to see, I remember reading something about it a while ago on TV Hat but I know I saw the 2005 date and I just assumed those plans had gone down the drain. The Wikipedia page for WCWF confirms the newscast as well. I e-mailed the main engineer at WVNY/WFFF asking about their subchannel plans and he said "we will be using the bandwidth for other program streams…..stay tuned." This rules out a SD simulcast of WFFF or WVNY on either one of the channels so it should be interesting to see what they do.

Tonight I have seen no trace whatsoever of WCFE. It has disappeared from WCAX's digital stream and there is no detectable signal at all on channel 38.

While we're at it, has WWFI (ch 27) given up the ghost? It's been off the air for over a week.

Any updates on if Burlington Telecom will offer HD channels, or when Fox will be broadcast in HD here? :)

... or when Fox will be broadcast in HD here? :)Fox44 is broadcasting in HD, over UHF channel 43.

While we're at it, has WWFI (ch 27) given up the ghost? It's been off the air for over a week.

I'm guessing you mean WWBI-LP from Plattsburg. Given ION's ratings, you may be the only one who's noticed. In all seriousness, Wikipedia had this in regard to the station that may be of interest to you Quebecers.


Viewership in Quebec

Usually, the main WWBI signal only reaches the international border, though many in the Montreal area have managed to pull the signal in, with varying results. (Its W14CK translator does extend into Quebec's Estrie region, although this is all mainly farmland and backcountry).

It is expected the channel 27 signal will no longer be available in the areas of Quebec far from the border by mid 2007, when it will be cancelled out by the French Télé-Québec network; its flagship, CIVM, will commence digital broadcasting on channel 27, from atop Mount Royal in Montreal. It is not known how CIVM's signal would affect WWBI's signal in WWBI's immediate viewing area.

I'm guessing you mean WWBI-LP from Plattsburg. Given ION's ratings, you may be the only one who's noticed. In all seriousness, Wikipedia had this in regard to the station that may be of interest to you Quebecers.

As far as ch 27 is concerned there is no signal, analogue or digital, being pick up by any of my TV's.

Wikipedia is full of inaccurate information on every imagineable topic under the sun, so I have no faith in anything on that so-called encyclopedia. On Montreal's West Island WWBI comes in much stronger than either of Montreal's Global and CH stations.

The wikipedia info on digital broadcasts from Mount Royal is ignoring the "problems" that have been preventing anyone from broadcasting digital TV from that location. That's why CBC and SRC have been broadcasting from a temporary tower atop the CBC/SRC building in downtown Montreal since March 2005 and TQS have been waiting since late 2004 to install their transmission antrenna. As far as I know from sources at CBC, the "problems" will not even be addressed until 2008. Until that time no stations will be broadcasting digital signals from that location.

I'm guessing you mean WWBI-LP from Plattsburg. Given ION's ratings, you may be the only one who's noticed. In all seriousness, Wikipedia had this in regard to the station that may be of interest to you Quebecers.

I also notice :) ! I'm just curious to know why they stop. From that story (http://www.pressrepublican.com/0100_news/local_story_208105710.html) the owner obviously has some problem...

Interesting that the Hearst/Argyle affiliate in Kansas City is now in full HD--even the local news. So when do you expect the company's largess reaches the likes of WPTZ? Don't hold your breath...
Kansas City ABC Station Goes HD With News
Washington, D.C. (August 13, 2007) -- KMBC-TV, the ABC affiliate in Kansas City, will begin broadcasting its news programs in High-Definition this month, probably as early as August 20.
KMBC-TV, which is owned by Hearst Argyle Television, is channel 9 in the Kansas City area.
____________________________________________

Interesting that the Hearst/Argyle affiliate in Kansas City is now in full HD--even the local news. So when do you expect the company's largess reaches the likes of WPTZ? Don't hold your breath...
Kansas City ABC Station Goes HD With News
Washington, D.C. (August 13, 2007) -- KMBC-TV, the ABC affiliate in Kansas City, will begin broadcasting its news programs in High-Definition this month, probably as early as August 20.
KMBC-TV, which is owned by Hearst Argyle Television, is channel 9 in the Kansas City area.
____________________________________________


I would imagine that WMTW and probably WMUR would get HD before WPTZ. Even good quality SD would be appreciated from WPTZ right now.

Has anyone else noticed that WVNY-HD is much darker than the rest of the HD stations in Burlington? It's actually pretty annoying, as there's no way to compensate easily for one station..

ug...

I think you'll be happy with the change from cable to satellite. I had cable before I moved to Vermont and swore never to use cable again because of poor service and sky rocketing fees. I've had E* for 7 years with only 3 small rate increases of about $2 each. Just upgraded to HD and love it!
There is a lot better HD content than I expected from the HD channel descriptions. Lots of concerts of all genres and lots of movies without even having HBO.

As soon as DirectTV or Dish get NESN in HD, I'm jumping the COMCAST ship as well. I believe NESN HD will be carried by DirectTV in september of this year so I'm anxiously waiting for it.

As for internet, GMA just increased there dsl rates to 6mbps so I may try that out as well and save lots of money each month.

The only downside is the on-demand stuff I'll be missing, but I'm sure I'll get over it!

Considering NESNHD is currently converted to 720p on D* you might want to stick to Comcast. Perhaps they'll put it back to 1080i once D10 goes live but I doubt it since there is no good reason for it to be at 720p now (shouldn't be a bandwidth issue as it's on one of the spaceways).

I really wish WPTZ would get their @#$% together. It's Sunday night and I was looking forward to watching the game in HD, and for whatever reason ptz is broadcasting it in SD. This is so damn frustrating. I tried to call, but their offices are closed and you can't reach an engineer outside of normal business hours. Does anyone have another way to contact them?

Yeah. Call them, take the option saying you've got "breaking news" to report. Once you get someone in the newsroom, ask to be transfered to Master Control.

"Interactive TV, Jack... the wave of the future!" :D

I'm looking for someone to do an instal for me. I live in Barre. It needs to be a chimney mount deep fringe (cm4220) with a pre amp (cm777). I'm having a hell of a time getting anyone to do it. I want the channels off of Mt Mansfield. Any advice appreciated.

Happened to see this posted to digg just now. Pretty good read...

http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/08/30/what-it-takes-to-produce-an-hd-newscast/

The last week or two I'm getting some erratic picture from WVNY. Signal strength is as good as usual upper 60s to 70 but blocking is happening where it never happened before, anyone else.

Yeah that happened to me tonight during Men in Trees. The signal strength is high enough that it definitely shouldn't be happening, and it kind of looks like multipath I get on WNNE sometimes but I know thats not it. It's weird horizontal blocking across the screen with no audio dropouts, it's really weird.

Yeah that happened to me tonight during Men in Trees. The signal strength is high enough that it definitely shouldn't be happening, and it kind of looks like multipath I get on WNNE sometimes but I know thats not it. It's weird horizontal blocking across the screen with no audio dropouts, it's really weird.

I watched for a few minutes tonight and saw no problems. I checked through my dish vip622 and direct through tv with similar problem.
edit: oops! just went to check on WVNY again and signal strength has dropped to 64-66 and did get get some blocking and audio drops as well as a loss of signal screen. In the past anything above 60 was fine 60 and below not so much- right now signal is holding better than during the day.

I watched for a few minutes tonight and saw no problems. I checked through my dish vip622 and direct through tv with similar problem.
edit: oops! just went to check on WVNY again and signal strength has dropped to 64-66 and did get get some blocking and audio drops as well as a loss of signal screen. In the past anything above 60 was fine 60 and below not so much- right now signal is holding better than during the day.


At some points it was fine, others weren't so great. Has anyone e-mailed them about this?

Considering NESNHD is currently converted to 720p on D* you might want to stick to Comcast. Perhaps they'll put it back to 1080i once D10 goes live but I doubt it since there is no good reason for it to be at 720p now (shouldn't be a bandwidth issue as it's on one of the spaceways).

When I had Comcast last year they also had NESN broadcasting at 720P. I assumed it was NESN not Comcast since everything else was 1080i.

Anyway, So I just got DSL (3mbps/768mbps) 2.5 days ago. I've had nothing but problems with speed being good (in the 2.5mbps/700kbps range as measured on speakeasy.net to the NYC server) and then dropping into the 700kbps/600kbps range for no apparent reason. Then yesterday around 4:30pm it slowed to something like 10kbps download (YES, I said 10!!) and finally cut out all together. I've had 3 internet online discussions and 3 over the phone calls with Verizon and jumped through all the "did you install your filters, check this or that connection, reboot the router, blah blah blah" without much luck. I have 3 laptops and a Wii connected to the Westell Versalink modem/wireless router combo. One of those is a work laptop with Symantec firewall and the other 2 laptops are for my wife and me. Anyway, last night I disabled symantec firewall on the work laptop and disabled windows firewall on the other laptops. I set the Westell firewall settings from NONE => LOW. Since it uses NAT I shouldn't even have to do this, but did it just 'because.' Anyway, ever since I did that, I've had 24hrs of FAST DSL. Does this make sense to anyone? Is it a coincidence and were Thurs nite and Friday just "bad" days for Verizon or is there a chance that the software firewalls really do interact with the Westell over some period of time? Yesterday afternoon when I was speaking with Verizon support they said all looked good on their end (line test was clean) and that it MUST be something wrong with me and made an obscure mention to a firewall being the problem.

Also, on another note, found something else strange. Even with the configuration I just mentioned - no software firewalls on any PC and Low setting for the Westell firewall - I see something strange with speed when accessing myspace. The speed will be fine for a few minutes while I am looking at mine or someone else's page. I'll start clicking to look at pics or maybe a few videos and run the speakeasy test while doing that and see an expected speed DL drop. Then I'll go to another page or stop the videos, yet the speed stays LOW and will drop into the 700-1000kbps range just with a myspace page up and no video going. So the strange part: if I close the myspace page and then run the speakeasy test, it's FAST again!!! What the heck? Is it something to do with caching a large amount of data from the myspace page that is causing a slowdown with the Westell? Does not make sense to me.

Then again, neither does the speed improvement/stability I seem to have found with disabling the software firewalls. I'd appreciate any comments. And if there is a better place to post this, please let me know.

Oh yeah, Dish guys are coming out next Thur/Fri so got my fingers crossed that I can get the signal!

When I had Comcast last year they also had NESN broadcasting at 720P. I assumed it was NESN not Comcast since everything else was 1080i.

Interesting. I've seen it at 1080i on both D* (it's been back and forth a couple times, mostly early in the season) and Comcast so it makes me wonder if NESN is switching between the two formats.

Anyway, So I just got DSL (3mbps/768mbps) 2.5 days ago. I've had nothing but problems with speed being good (in the 2.5mbps/700kbps range as measured on speakeasy.net to the NYC server) and then dropping into the 700kbps/600kbps range for no apparent reason. Then yesterday around 4:30pm it slowed to something like 10kbps download (YES, I said 10!!) and finally cut out all together. I've had 3 internet online discussions and 3 over the phone calls with Verizon and jumped through all the "did you install your filters, check this or that connection, reboot the router, blah blah blah" without much luck. I have 3 laptops and a Wii connected to the Westell Versalink modem/wireless router combo. One of those is a work laptop with Symantec firewall and the other 2 laptops are for my wife and me. Anyway, last night I disabled symantec firewall on the work laptop and disabled windows firewall on the other laptops. I set the Westell firewall settings from NONE => LOW. Since it uses NAT I shouldn't even have to do this, but did it just 'because.' Anyway, ever since I did that, I've had 24hrs of FAST DSL. Does this make sense to anyone? Is it a coincidence and were Thurs nite and Friday just "bad" days for Verizon or is there a chance that the software firewalls really do interact with the Westell over some period of time? Yesterday afternoon when I was speaking with Verizon support they said all looked good on their end (line test was clean) and that it MUST be something wrong with me and made an obscure mention to a firewall being the problem.

Also, on another note, found something else strange. Even with the configuration I just mentioned - no software firewalls on any PC and Low setting for the Westell firewall - I see something strange with speed when accessing myspace. The speed will be fine for a few minutes while I am looking at mine or someone else's page. I'll start clicking to look at pics or maybe a few videos and run the speakeasy test while doing that and see an expected speed DL drop. Then I'll go to another page or stop the videos, yet the speed stays LOW and will drop into the 700-1000kbps range just with a myspace page up and no video going. So the strange part: if I close the myspace page and then run the speakeasy test, it's FAST again!!! What the heck? Is it something to do with caching a large amount of data from the myspace page that is causing a slowdown with the Westell? Does not make sense to me.

Then again, neither does the speed improvement/stability I seem to have found with disabling the software firewalls. I'd appreciate any comments. And if there is a better place to post this, please let me know.

Oh yeah, Dish guys are coming out next Thur/Fri so got my fingers crossed that I can get the signal!




What does this have to do with T.V. ?

What antennas do you guys use for OTA?

I just bought a Phillips indoor HDTV antenna, not sure of the model number but I will post it tonight. It works ok. I received the NFL game on NBC almost perfect HD quality. Some digital interference (macroblocking?), but it look really good for the most part looked good. WCAX comes in shotty though, the signal keeps cutting out and doing the choppy macroblocking thing.

What is your experience with antennas, and OTA?

I live in Colchester. I looked up my address with antennaweb.org and I didnt use a compass but it looks like I need to aim the antenna due east 106 degrees.

Should be pointed at Mt Mansfield right?

WCAX, WPTZ, and WVNY all broadcast from Mt Mansfield?

So if reception is good on WPTZ it should in theory be good on WCAX and WVNY right?

Any help you guys have will be greatly appreciated.



*****PS*****

anyone know if comcast transmits any un-encrypted digital stations through the cable. I just bought a tv with a clear QAM tuner and wondering if it will pick up any more channels.

Yes, all the local Burlington stations broadcast from Mt. Mansfield. WCFE PBS from New York broadcasts temporarily from Plattsburg but will be back to Lyon Mountain this fall once their tower is rebuilt. The stations are in different frequency bands and have different power levels, so reception on one does not guarantee a clear signal on all the others. Keep trying different antenna orientations. You should be able to get CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox and PBS from Mt. Mansfield with some luck, especially if you have line of sight to the mountain.

I have read and reread this thread to see what might be causing this, but I am still at a loss.... I am so bummed that I can't get the HD signal to lock for the Pats game today.

First, I am in Shelburne and I do not have line of sight on Mansfield. When I first tried getting an OTA HD signal, I used a set top RS unit and could only get the WCAX signal (quite strong in the basement). I am now using a roof mounted Square Shooter (no amplification) and I get 5, 22, 33, 44 all in the high 60s - 70s. When I first had the antenna installed, I was getting 3 in the 70s and the rest in the 80s and 90s.

If it wasn't for all the other issues I have read about like the channel 57 thing shared signals, moved channels, and increased signal strenght, I would assume my antenna "moved" in the high wind. My other thought is that the foliage on the trees (not present in the early spring when it was put up) might be hurting the signal. I tried using a set top again directly connected to the tuner on the TV and was able to get 5,22,33, and 44 but still no 3.

So I guess my question is, would amplification help this problem? Is this a "gain" problem (I really don't know what I am talking about here). Why is 3 with the strongest transmitter my worst channel?

Help! I need my HD Pats! Thanks in advance for any replies.

I looked at the specs for the Square Shooter, and noticed that its beamwidth narrows as you go up in frequency. WCAX-DT transmits over channel 53, and is the highest-frequency of all the OTA digital locals, so if you don't have the antenna pointed right at the towers, that's the first channel you'd notice it on.

I suggest you get a freind to help you out - 1 of you try sweeping the antenna back and forth while the other person watches the strength meter for channel 3(DT) on the HDTV (assuming your HDTV tuner can do that - not all do).

Also, how long is your cable run from the antenna to the receiver? An amplifier will help overcome loss in a long cable run, it won't make up for a crappy signal at the antenna.

I know this is somewhat off topic, but with this being one of the few TV sites releated to Vermont, I will try anyway. :) Has anyone with the Comcast Explorer 8300HD box tried the eSATA external hard drive? Comcast CSR's tell me it won't work, but I am not so sure about that. It works with Comcast in other parts of the country so..... I would certainly like to hear some results before I buy. Thanx and again apologize for being off topic.

MrJ

I have read and reread this thread to see what might be causing this, but I am still at a loss.... I am so bummed that I can't get the HD signal to lock for the Pats game today.

First, I am in Shelburne and I do not have line of sight on Mansfield. When I first tried getting an OTA HD signal, I used a set top RS unit and could only get the WCAX signal (quite strong in the basement). I am now using a roof mounted Square Shooter (no amplification) and I get 5, 22, 33, 44 all in the high 60s - 70s. When I first had the antenna installed, I was getting 3 in the 70s and the rest in the 80s and 90s.

If it wasn't for all the other issues I have read about like the channel 57 thing shared signals, moved channels, and increased signal strenght, I would assume my antenna "moved" in the high wind. My other thought is that the foliage on the trees (not present in the early spring when it was put up) might be hurting the signal. I tried using a set top again directly connected to the tuner on the TV and was able to get 5,22,33, and 44 but still no 3.

So I guess my question is, would amplification help this problem? Is this a "gain" problem (I really don't know what I am talking about here). Why is 3 with the strongest transmitter my worst channel?

Help! I need my HD Pats! Thanks in advance for any replies.

The Square Shooter is not a very good antenna for your situation. I suggest you replace it with a Channel Master 4221 or one of the better rated antennas at this link:
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html

I sent off an email to the folks at Fox44 and WVNY yesterday inquiring as to whether there are any updates on when we can expect their HD stations to be available through Comcast. I haven't heard back from WVNY yet, but I just got an email back from Bill Sally, who's the GM of Fox44. He says that they're very close and he expects that WFFF-DT will be added to Comcast's lineup within the next two weeks. I normally take this kind of info with a grain of salt, but it did come directly from the GM, so I'm guessing (hoping) that there's some truth to it.

Dish Network came out and verified that I can't get a signal for their satellites in the 22 degrees height and 240-255 degrees direction. I CAN get a great signal from their HD satellite(s) at 31 degrees height and 180 degrees direction. All I really care about is the HD channels, but guess what? They won't (or can't, not sure which) hook up the dish for just the HD channels even if I was willing to pay for the top 100 + HD and not be able to get any channels on the top 100! Also, DirectTV looks like they are at about 31 degrees for height, but 230 degrees for direction so I can't get them either. I have major 40' high trees to the W, SW which are not on my property to cut down. Anyway, I punted Comcast 2 weeks ago (and was all happy about doing it) which now seems a bit pre-mature. I finally did figure out my DSL issue - direct wire from the phone box to the modem seems to have fixed it, but my TV options as I see them are far from desireable:

1. Keep my OTA, shut up and be happy that they are FREE, UNCOMPRESSED and suck it up that I can't watch Monday Night Football.

2. Wait for FiOS to come to Colchester (1 year? 2?)

3. Actually call DirectTV and have them come out and confirm what I already know - that I can't get their signal

4. The unthinkable: Go back to Comcast cable TV.

Has anyone figured out how to just get the HD channels on Comcast without paying a bunch of $$ to get all the channels I don't watch? I suppose if there was an inexpensive way to get their HD channels and just basic cable then I would do that and keep DSL for the internet. Right now, seems like option #1 with DSL and a subscription to Netflix is what I might be doing. Thanks for any ideas.

Interestingly enough, unless I don't understand the setup, not all the HD channels come from satellite 61.5. We recently lost about half of our Dish HD channels, but the errors pointed to problems with 110 or 119. The tech discovered that the LNB Pro for the 110/119 satellite dish had been knocked askew and he re-aligned it. So it appears that several of the HD channels come from the old satellite.
It sounds like you need a flag pole on which to mount your satellite dishes and rent a cherry picker for the tech to use during installation. Or maybe some beavers for the neighbors yard. :)

Yeah, maybe I'll put in a pond and "stock" it with some beavers!! :) Perhaps the tech who came out didn't understand all the technical aspecs of why I couldn't just get the HD channels and your explanation makes more sense as to why if they come from different satellites. I am a little bummed about not being able to get it, but hey, at least I'm saving some money each month. I decided to get an HD DVD and go the netflix route so this is an excuse to get the high def DVD player... :)

Yeah, maybe I'll put in a pond and "stock" it with some beavers!! :) Perhaps the tech who came out didn't understand all the technical aspecs of why I couldn't just get the HD channels and your explanation makes more sense as to why if they come from different satellites. I am a little bummed about not being able to get it, but hey, at least I'm saving some money each month. I decided to get an HD DVD and go the netflix route so this is an excuse to get the high def DVD player... :)
As far as I am concerned, Netflix, with the possible exception of live concerts and HBO productions such as Deadwood, pretty much eliminates the need for premium movie channels. Even the productions can be seen a year later from Netflix.
The installation techs are not really trained in the technical details of how everything works. They just have to know how to install the equipment and get it working. They work 6 ten hour days, but make pretty good money.

Dish Network came out and verified that I can't get a signal for their satellites in the 22 degrees height and 240-255 degrees direction. I CAN get a great signal from their HD satellite(s) at 31 degrees height and 180 degrees direction. All I really care about is the HD channels, but guess what? They won't (or can't, not sure which) hook up the dish for just the HD channels even if I was willing to pay for the top 100 + HD and not be able to get any channels on the top 100! Also, DirectTV looks like they are at about 31 degrees for height, but 230 degrees for direction so I can't get them either. I have major 40' high trees to the W, SW which are not on my property to cut down. Anyway, I punted Comcast 2 weeks ago (and was all happy about doing it) which now seems a bit pre-mature. I finally did figure out my DSL issue - direct wire from the phone box to the modem seems to have fixed it, but my TV options as I see them are far from desireable:

1. Keep my OTA, shut up and be happy that they are FREE, UNCOMPRESSED and suck it up that I can't watch Monday Night Football.

2. Wait for FiOS to come to Colchester (1 year? 2?)

3. Actually call DirectTV and have them come out and confirm what I already know - that I can't get their signal

4. The unthinkable: Go back to Comcast cable TV.

Has anyone figured out how to just get the HD channels on Comcast without paying a bunch of $$ to get all the channels I don't watch? I suppose if there was an inexpensive way to get their HD channels and just basic cable then I would do that and keep DSL for the internet. Right now, seems like option #1 with DSL and a subscription to Netflix is what I might be doing. Thanks for any ideas.
This seems ludicrous to me! My latest upgrade to the 722 came with manditory installation by their local distributor. The guys had never installed a unit before and were completely unaware of its ability to support an outboard hard drive. My point is that you should't rely on one installer's opinion and I would call "advanced tech support" at Dish with your story. I also think that you should contact Pat Leahy's office in DC. He was a powerful voice in forcing Dish to serve up local channels. I think that a call from his office to a Dish rep would be met with action. I'd also certainly call Direct. Perhaps their new satellite positions could serve your site. Anything is better than dealing with Comcast. Good luck

Dish Network came out and verified that I can't get a signal for their satellites in the 22 degrees height and 240-255 degrees direction. I CAN get a great signal from their HD satellite(s) at 31 degrees height and 180 degrees direction. All I really care about is the HD channels, but guess what? They won't (or can't, not sure which) hook up the dish for just the HD channels even if I was willing to pay for the top 100 + HD and not be able to get any channels on the top 100! Also, DirectTV looks like they are at about 31 degrees for height, but 230 degrees for direction so I can't get them either. I have major 40' high trees to the W, SW which are not on my property to cut down. Anyway, I punted Comcast 2 weeks ago (and was all happy about doing it) which now seems a bit pre-mature. I finally did figure out my DSL issue - direct wire from the phone box to the modem seems to have fixed it, but my TV options as I see them are far from desireable:

1. Keep my OTA, shut up and be happy that they are FREE, UNCOMPRESSED and suck it up that I can't watch Monday Night Football.

2. Wait for FiOS to come to Colchester (1 year? 2?)

3. Actually call DirectTV and have them come out and confirm what I already know - that I can't get their signal

4. The unthinkable: Go back to Comcast cable TV.

Has anyone figured out how to just get the HD channels on Comcast without paying a bunch of $$ to get all the channels I don't watch? I suppose if there was an inexpensive way to get their HD channels and just basic cable then I would do that and keep DSL for the internet. Right now, seems like option #1 with DSL and a subscription to Netflix is what I might be doing. Thanks for any ideas.

Since Verizon has plans of selling off all of Vermont, NH and Maine scratch Fios off the possible list.

Anyone having problems with WETK? I am no longer getting a lock, and the signal strength is bouncing all over the place.

Since Verizon has plans of selling off all of Vermont, NH and Maine scratch Fios off the possible list.

So Verizon is planning to leave these 3 states? Any idea who they are looking to sell to?? I figured it would be forever before FiOS triple bundle would be here anyway...

As far as I am concerned, Netflix, with the possible exception of live concerts and HBO productions such as Deadwood, pretty much eliminates the need for premium movie channels. Even the productions can be seen a year later from Netflix.
The installation techs are not really trained in the technical details of how everything works. They just have to know how to install the equipment and get it working. They work 6 ten hour days, but make pretty good money.
Yeah, I just ordered the HD DVD player for $238 shipped (Toshiba A2) and signed up for netflix. Looks like they have a bunch of HD DVD movies so that's cool. We probably watch 8-10 movies/mo from the local stores so now we will stop dealing with going there, renting and having to bring it back and should have no problem watching the same # movies/mo from netflix. We'll see how it goes. Comcrap's "occasionally on demand but I need to shut your box off 80% of the time you try to use it" HD stuff was a joke.

So Verizon is planning to leave these 3 states? Any idea who they are looking to sell to??

Fairpoint Communications.

Yeah, I just ordered the HD DVD player for $238 shipped (Toshiba A2) and signed up for netflix. Looks like they have a bunch of HD DVD movies so that's cool. We probably watch 8-10 movies/mo from the local stores so now we will stop dealing with going there, renting and having to bring it back and should have no problem watching the same # movies/mo from netflix. We'll see how it goes. Comcrap's "occasionally on demand but I need to shut your box off 80% of the time you try to use it" HD stuff was a joke.
Ash,
You get 5 or so free movies with that A2, don't you? Sweet deal. I paid about that for my OPPO 981 (nice player, but not HD) just before Toshiba started dropping their prices. Given that the Tosh upconverts almost as well as the OPPO, I wished I had waited. Bought the Planet Earth set a few weeks ago and am lamenting the fact that it will look better OTA than my DVDs do.

Ash,
You get 5 or so free movies with that A2, don't you? Sweet deal. I paid about that for my OPPO 981 (nice player, but not HD) just before Toshiba started dropping their prices. Given that the Tosh upconverts almost as well as the OPPO, I wished I had waited. Bought the Planet Earth set a few weeks ago and am lamenting the fact that it will look better OTA than my DVDs do.

yeah, there are approx. 15 HD DVDs on a list and you get to chose 5 so for $238 shipped + 5 HD DVDs, it seems like a good deal! Is Planet Earth on ch 33 OTA? I only saw it on Discovery HD when I had cable. Also, I have an OTA question regarding antennas. I get 3,5, 22, 33, 44 and the sub channels great since I have my antenna pointed at mansfield. I don't get ch 57 since it's in a way different direction. It sporatically comes in and out. I wanted to get a smaller antenna and put it up in the attic with my other one and point it towards the ch 57 tower in NY. If I do that, can I just use a splitter for the 2 antennas or do I need something else? Thanks!

Sure, you could get a 2 or 4 bay, point it at chan 57 and use a splitter to merge the signals as long as they are diverse enough in direction to avoid ghosting.
Actually, I think Planet Earth was on Discovery HD which I get on E*, but it may have also played on VPT HD

They won't (or can't, not sure which) hook up the dish for just the HD channels even if I was willing to pay for the top 100 + HD and not be able to get any channels on the top 100!They send more than just the watchable channels over the satellite links, e.g. EPG data, software updates, autorization codes, etc. That's probably why you need access to the 110 and/or 119 birds even if you don't plan to watch any of the channels they carry.

I sent off an email to the folks at Fox44 and WVNY yesterday inquiring as to whether there are any updates on when we can expect their HD stations to be available through Comcast. I haven't heard back from WVNY yet, but I just got an email back from Bill Sally, who's the GM of Fox44. He says that they're very close and he expects that WFFF-DT will be added to Comcast's lineup within the next two weeks. I normally take this kind of info with a grain of salt, but it did come directly from the GM, so I'm guessing (hoping) that there's some truth to it.

For the "What it's worth Department" I spoke with a Comca$t CSR on Sunday and busted their chops on their dismal HD package. The CSR assured me that WVNY & WFFF will be up in HD in October. We will see. I also begged, pleaded and demanded History HD be added. Yeah, I will hold my breath. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: I will say that what little HD they offer looks great on my XBR4. BTW, I get no OTA digital signals here in East Montpelier. I live in a digital black hole here it seems. That did not surprise me as I got only one analouge signal clear. The old WMTW from Mt. Washington. Regards, MrJ

Which explains why WMTW-TV (ABC) channel 8, licensed to Poland Spring, ME, two states away, used to be included in the Vermont Edition Of "TV Guide" (back when they actually had real listings!). Today, WMTW-DT channel 46 comes from a transmitter in Baldwin, ME, fairly close to Lake Sebago.

This seems ludicrous to me! My latest upgrade to the 722 came with manditory installation by their local distributor. The guys had never installed a unit before and were completely unaware of its ability to support an outboard hard drive. My point is that you should't rely on one installer's opinion and I would call "advanced tech support" at Dish with your story. I also think that you should contact Pat Leahy's office in DC. He was a powerful voice in forcing Dish to serve up local channels. I think that a call from his office to a Dish rep would be met with action. I'd also certainly call Direct. Perhaps their new satellite positions could serve your site. Anything is better than dealing with Comcast. Good luck

The fact that somebody cannot get a signal from E* or D* is not an issue that a Senator should be contacted about. I receive WCAX, WETK, WPTZ, and WVNY but I receive no signal on WFFF. Should I call my Senators and whine and tell them to call WFFF and make them turn their power up? Of course not! Comcast doesn't serve the area where I live because it's not populated enough for them to run the wire out, that greatly diminishes my choices for television programming, yet, I would be laughed at if I called my Senator and complained. If you can't get a signal, you can't get a signal, if you REALLY wanted to get a signal you could cut down the trees that are blocking their path. If you can get the 4 major nets and PBS, I wouldn't be disappointed. Plus don't forget that whenever the Pats are on Monday Night Football the game will be on WVNY in HD. Renting HD DVDs alongside OTA seems the way to go if you don't want to go back to Comcast. In a few months you'll probably notice your wallet will be a lot heavier.

Plus don't forget that whenever the Pats are on Monday Night Football the game will be on WVNY in HD.



I don't understand this comment that you made. I thought that Monday night all went to ESPN? Are you saying that ABC will carry the game on Monday night in HD if the Patriots are playing? Doesn't make sense to me, but if true would be great...

They send more than just the watchable channels over the satellite links, e.g. EPG data, software updates, autorization codes, etc. That's probably why you need access to the 110 and/or 119 birds even if you don't plan to watch any of the channels they carry.

Yeah, I know that Voom tried to do pretty much just HD and was bought by E* which explains why most (if not all) of E*'s HD channels are at 180 degrees (S) direction and 31 degrees vertical height vs. the other E* satellites that are more W in direction and a lot lower at 22 degrees. Still, all I want is HD channels, I don't want or care about any other SD channels so why is it that NOBODY offers that? Not D*, not E*, not Comcast, not ever FiOS from what my friends out of state tell me. Heck, OTA is the only "package" that comes close :)

Still, all I want is HD channels, I don't want or care about any other SD channels so why is it that NOBODY offers that? Not D*, not E*, not Comcast, not ever FiOS from what my friends out of state tell me. Heck, OTA is the only "package" that comes close :)It comes down to marketing. That's why satellite and CATV have package "tiers", so they can make you pay more to get the package you really want. We can't complain to our congressman or AG about not being able to receive a signal, but we can complain about the "tiered" pricing scheme and ask them to support regulation that forces satellite and CATV companies to offer "a la carte" packages, where you choose (and pay for) only those channels you intend to watch.

yeah, there are approx. 15 HD DVDs on a list and you get to chose 5 so for $238 shipped + 5 HD DVDs, it seems like a good deal! Is Planet Earth on ch 33 OTA? I only saw it on Discovery HD when I had cable. Also, I have an OTA question regarding antennas. I get 3,5, 22, 33, 44 and the sub channels great since I have my antenna pointed at mansfield. I don't get ch 57 since it's in a way different direction. It sporatically comes in and out. I wanted to get a smaller antenna and put it up in the attic with my other one and point it towards the ch 57 tower in NY. If I do that, can I just use a splitter for the 2 antennas or do I need something else? Thanks!
I'd hold off on an antenna just for channel 57 until they go back to full power from their newly rebuilt tower on Lyon Mtn. Right now they are on a temporary lower power transmitter. Their web site says October.

It comes down to marketing. That's why satellite and CATV have package "tiers", so they can make you pay more to get the package you really want. We can't complain to our congressman or AG about not being able to receive a signal, but we can complain about the "tiered" pricing scheme and ask them to support regulation that forces satellite and CATV companies to offer "a la carte" packages, where you choose (and pay for) only those channels you intend to watch.

You leave the content providers out of your equation. People forget that these are negotiated prices. When a given network demands more carriage fee, sometimes the cable company has to make a decision to either drop the channel or move it to the premium tier. Either way the cable (or Sat provider) looks like the bad guy and no one blames the network itself.

Also, I GUARANTEE you that congress tosses around the 'a la carte' scenario as a feel good solution but in reality very few people would pay a la carte. Once they actually pick and choose the 20 or so channels they watch and then add up a per-channel cost, 9 out of 10 times they will find the package price to be the bargain. Does anyone take 'a la carte' services from their phone provider? And 'a la carte' would kill many channels that are being carried on the coat-tails of their sister channels. Many people say 'who cares; until they find out its one of their favorite channels that disappears.

The tiered system was devised mainly due to channel costs and, to some degree, it is cables 'a la carte' offering. No, you don't have choices but you don't have to automatically buy every channel that comes on the market either. And with telco coming on against cable and sat. you know that a la carte would have been a marketing coupe if it was viable. They don't have the legacy contracts to live with and could have easily used that as leverage.

NO...I don’t work for the cable or sat industry but I do understand the entire food chain.

Just thought I'd throw that out for thought.

You leave the content providers out of your equation. People forget that these are negotiated prices. When a given network demands more carriage fee, sometimes the cable company has to make a decision to either drop the channel or move it to the premium tier. Either way the cable (or Sat provider) looks like the bad guy and no one blames the network itself.

Also, I GUARANTEE you that congress tosses around the 'a la carte' scenario as a feel good solution but in reality very few people would pay a la carte. Once they actually pick and choose the 20 or so channels they watch and then add up a per-channel cost, 9 out of 10 times they will find the package price to be the bargain. Does anyone take 'a la carte' services from their phone provider? And 'a la carte' would kill many channels that are being carried on the coat-tails of their sister channels. Many people say 'who cares; until they find out its one of their favorite channels that disappears.

The tiered system was devised mainly due to channel costs and, to some degree, it is cables 'a la carte' offering. No, you don't have choices but you don't have to automatically buy every channel that comes on the market either. And with telco coming on against cable and sat. you know that a la carte would have been a marketing coupe if it was viable. They don't have the legacy contracts to live with and could have easily used that as leverage.

NO...I don’t work for the cable or sat industry but I do understand the entire food chain.

Just thought I'd throw that out for thought.

For me, I would go back to Comcast in a minute if they offered an HD package for say, $30/mo so I could get their ~10 non-local HD channels and then I'd pay another $3/mo each for a few other SD channels like comedy central, scifi, weather channel and noggin. So they would have me as a customer and make $42/mo from me. And I would have EXACTLY WHAT I WANT TO WATCH and not the 200 channels of _hit that I never have and never will watch. Instead, I have gone to fast enough DSL for $30/mo, OTA HD for FREE and moved to Netflix for $20/mo and will watch movies in HD DVD format. Dish is pretty much the closest HD-only deal out there. Excluding their introductory offers which take $20 off for the 1st 6mo, you can get the americas top 100 + 32 HD channels for $50/mo. I was psyched to do this before they came out and said noway I can get their signals from their main dish. I thought that was a decent/fair price to get mostly what I wanted. For anyone wanting just HD, go OTA for locals, the dish $50 package and then DSL for $30. Beats anything cable FiOS or D* currently has for the price. And with the Verizon DSL intro offers and Dish Intro offers, the 1st year will cost less than $65/mo before tax...

Plus don't forget that whenever the Pats are on Monday Night Football the game will be on WVNY in HD.



I don't understand this comment that you made. I thought that Monday night all went to ESPN? Are you saying that ABC will carry the game on Monday night in HD if the Patriots are playing? Doesn't make sense to me, but if true would be great...

Local ABC affiliates usually and are supposed to carry the Monday Night ESPN feed when the local market team is playing. I know WMTW and WMUR do and I'm pretty sure that WVNY does as well. I'm no expert on NFL telecast rules but I'm almost positive that any game broadcast on a cable network must also be simulcast in both the teams markets. This includes games on NFL Network. I would e-mail WVNY and ask about it, because if they don't, they definitely should.

The only one which would be carrying the game over-the-air would be WCVB-TV (ABC) channel 5 from Boston. Also, it's not necessarily always an ABC affiliate which does so either.

WVNY and WFFF signal strength has dropped about 10% today, others are at usual numbers. Anyone else?

Local ABC affiliates usually and are supposed to carry the Monday Night ESPN feed when the local market team is playing. I know WMTW and WMUR do and I'm pretty sure that WVNY does as well. I'm no expert on NFL telecast rules but I'm almost positive that any game broadcast on a cable network must also be simulcast in both the teams markets. This includes games on NFL Network. I would e-mail WVNY and ask about it, because if they don't, they definitely should.

Here's my note and response from WVNY. Net is NO OTA for Patriots for the TWO Monday Night ESPN and ONE Saturday night NFL Network game:


----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Sara Carpenter <scarpenter@abc22.com>
Sent: Friday, September 14, 2007 9:05:53 AM
Subject: RE: Patriots on Monday night Oct 1st and December 3rd and Sat night December 29th

We miss Monday Night Football, too!
The decision to move the NFL games to ESPN was made by Disney, which I'm
sure you know owns ABC and ESPN. There are no plans as of now to air
Patriots games on ABC. However, FOX (WFFF locally) will be airing the
Redskins/Patriots game on Sunday, October 28th. This will be the second
game of the doubleheader that day (starting at approximately 4:15pm).
Also, depending on what area you live in, you may at least be able to
catch the games on the radio. The radio station, 96.7 "The Zone",
should be broadcasting the games that you'd miss by not watching ESPN.

Feel free to voice your comments directly to ABC by going to their
website, abc.com and clicking on the link titled "contact ABC".

Thank you for taking the time to send your email!

Sara Carpenter
Director of Programming
WVNY-ABC22
298 Mountain View Drive
Colchester, VT 05446
p (802) 660-9333 ext. 162
f (802) 660-8673
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2007 9:17 PM
To: programming@ABC22.com
Subject: Patriots on Monday night Oct 1st and December 3rd and Sat night
December 29th

Hi,

I only receive Over the Air programming and was dismayed to see that
there are now NFL games being broadcast only on pay stations like ESPN
for Monday night and some Saturday night games on the NFL network. I
was wondering if ABC had plans to broadcast the New Engalnd Patriots
games on Oct 1st, Dec 3rd and Dec 29th so OTA customers could watch the
games? Thanks.

I see that D* finally updated their website with the forthcoming HD content by YE08 that they have been balleyhooing about in their advertising. The E* guy who came out last week said noway for them, and said maybe for D*. Can anyone tell me the exact compass direction in degrees that the 5-LNB satellite dish must be pointed in and the height in degrees? Thanks!

I just got a postcard from Comcast. It says that on September 27th, WPIX (channel 20) will be replaced with WFFF-DT. It goes on to say that this fall they will be launching WFFF-HD and WVNY-HD.

I'm not sure what that even means. Do they think that WFFF-DT and WFFF-HD are two separate channels? All of the current HD channels are in the 700's, so I can't imagine they're really going to put WFFF-DT on channel 20. Maybe they just needed to claim the bandwidth from that channel.

Does WFFF-DT have any subchannels with content yet? Maybe that's what will go on 20.

The only one which would be carrying the game over-the-air would be WCVB-TV (ABC) channel 5 from Boston. Also, it's not necessarily always an ABC affiliate which does so either.

That is not true about the OTA, I have watched Monday Night ESPN Football simulcasts on WMUR and WMTW multiple times. Maybe it's because they are both owned by H-A, but then again so are WNNE and WPTZ. I guess that's the advantage of living in the Upper Valley Someone should see if WPTZ can simulcast the Monday Night Pats games like the other H-A around New England do.

And if missing the games means that much to you, call Belichick, he should have plenty of footage of the game ;)

Strange that you mention WMTW-TV. Somebody told me that Portland/Poland Spring is considered a secondary market of the New England Patriots (in that they must carry all Patriots road games). I could see Providence/New Bedford being designated as such, but Portland/Poland Spring? Maybe Kittery is within the 75-mile radius of Gillette Stadium?

Bringing this back to Burlington/Plattsburgh...back when NBC carried the AFC games, did WPTZ-TV channel 5 ever favor the Jets or Giants over the Patriots, since they're licensed to the New York side of Lake Champlain?

So the new eliptical D* dish looks like it pulls in 6 Satellites ranging from 99 degrees W to 119 degrees W longitude. The increments for the 6 satellites are 99 degrees, 101 degrees, 102 degrees (new Sat that has all the new HD channels coming this month and next), 103 degrees, 110 degrees and 119 degrees W longitude. What that means from my calculations is this is from 200 degrees magnetic north to 221 degrees magenetic north with heights ranging from 32 degrees to 22 degrees respectively. I spent some time walking around and it looks like I have a mounting location that will get all the satellites except the one at 219 degrees W longitude (222 degrees magnetic north from my location). ESPN2HD appears to be on that satellite as well as the locals and a bunch of other stuff I don't care about. Since I have OTA, the locals are not an issue and I can deal with no ESPN2 HD. So my question: Can I get DirecTV if I can only pick up 4 of the 5 satellites? Thanks!

I just got a postcard from Comcast. It says that on September 27th, WPIX (channel 20) will be replaced with WFFF-DT. It goes on to say that this fall they will be launching WFFF-HD and WVNY-HD.

I'm not sure what that even means. Do they think that WFFF-DT and WFFF-HD are two separate channels? All of the current HD channels are in the 700's, so I can't imagine they're really going to put WFFF-DT on channel 20. Maybe they just needed to claim the bandwidth from that channel.

Does WFFF-DT have any subchannels with content yet? Maybe that's what will go on 20.

WFFF-DT will carry UPN programming as wpix does now. So there is no need for 2 UPN channels

WFFF-DT will carry UPN programming as wpix does now. So there is no need for 2 UPN channels

Doesn't WFFF-DT just carry the same programming as WFFF (except digitally and in HD when available)? If so, Comcast really isn't adding any new programming since they already carry WFFF. I don't mind that they're getting rid of WPIX. My confusion is that they're saying that WFFF-DT will replace WPIX on channel 20 and WFFF-HD will be coming this fall. Does anyone know what that means? Isn't WFFF-DT the HD station? If so, I would guess that it will follow the same convention that they've been using with the other local HD stations and put it on channel 744, not 20. What's WFFF-HD?

WFFF-DT will carry UPN programming as wpix does now. So there is no need for 2 UPN channels
By WFFF-DT I think you mean WFFF's OTA digital subchannel, and by UPN you probably mean The CW. Where did you hear this?

I'm not sure what that even means. Do they think that WFFF-DT and WFFF-HD are two separate channels?If I had to guess, I'd say WFFF-DT = WFFF-HD down-converted to SD, with plans to eventually switch it to HD, at which point they'll call it WFFF-HD. Can't imagine why they'd want to do this.

Wouldn't a downconverted WFFF-DT just be the same as WFFF? The other HD local stations that Comcast carries are correctly listed as WCAX-DT, WPTZ-DT, etc. so I would think that WFFF-DT will be the same as the OTA WFFF-DT which is in HD.

My guess is that the people at Comcast that compose these postcards just don't know what they're talking about. I'm thinking the end result will be that WPIX will be removed from the lineup and WFFF-DT will be added at channel 744 and WVNY-DT will be added at 722.

The way OntheIn put it, I would assume WFFF is launching a CW subchannel and Comcast is going to carry it. It seems to fit in with their 10pm newscast as well as Billy Sally's comment that they, "will be using the bandwidth for other program streams…..stay tuned."

Does anyone know why the CW prpogramming is NOT in HD locally? My emails go unanswered by the station.

Does anyone know why the CW prpogramming is NOT in HD locally? My emails go unanswered by the station.

I think it's because WFFF doesn't have the capability to record HD programming for later broadcast. The FOX programming is just passed along live directly from FOX. But since WFFF airs the CW programming later than it's original airtime, they would have to be able to record it and rebroadcast it in HD.

I'm getting lower signal strength on FFF and VNY during the day but goes back up later in the day. I'm assuming that maybe some tower work or the like is going on.

Hello. I just recently picked up an HD TV and am wondering if someone could answer a few questions I have on OTA signals from Mansfield. I have some pretty substantial trees around my house so the shot to the mountain isn't clear. I plugged in a new indoor antenna anyway though, placed it by the window, and picked up 22.1 almost immediately but nothing else. On analog, I get 3 and 5 pretty well, 22 is really fuzzy, and almost nothing on 44. From what I've been told, if you get 22.1 you should also get 3.1 and 5.1. Doesn't seem to be the case with me. Does anyone possibly have an explanation for why this might happen? I'm wondering why I'm picking up 22.1 which is supposedly weaker than the other two. I'm willing to try a rooftop if there's some chance of getting a couple more channels but was looking for some feedback first. If anyone has some ideas I'd appreciate it!

Not only is your signal being blocked by the trees, but by the interior of your house as well, coupled with the fact that indoor antennas are designed to be aesthetically pleasing indoors first and receive OTA signals second. Also, antenna height can help a lot, so getting it on the roof or eaves should improve reception considerably.
Given the trees, I would get a good performing 4 bay directional outdoor antenna such as the Channel Master 4221, the Winegard PR4400 or the Antennas Direct DB4 you would probably get all five locals. The CM would be my first choice. A wall mount or J-mount on the eaves, RG6 coax and a grounding block will be required to complete the installation. You can run the coax in a window for testing prior to drilling through a wall to see if the results are worth the effort.

Thanks for the reply. I forgot to mention that my house is a single story so with the antenna on the roof I'll gain 12-15 feet of height but it's still a pretty good shot over my tree line. I assume I don't need a direct line of site but is there any basic "rule of thumb" in terms of what kind of clearance I do need? I'm glad you mentioned the 4221 because that's the one I've been looking at.

One other strange thing I noticed though. Using the antennaweb page it shows 3.1, 5.1, and 44.1 as being UHF and 22.1 as VHF. Could there be a reason I'm only getting 22.1, the VHF channel, and none of the UHF ones? Would a CM4221 pick up 22.1? This antenna is listed as UHF and that channel is VHF.

The added height will still help. The larger antenna will help to capture the signal that is being diffused by the trees. I do know that if you have a hill between you and the transmitters, that it helps to angle the antenna up at the crest of the hill. If you can find a place to mount the antenna that reduces the amount of tree between the antenna and the towers, that will also help. Have you checked antennaweb.org for their recommendation yet?

Hello. I just recently picked up an HD TV and am wondering if someone could answer a few questions I have on OTA signals from Mansfield. I have some pretty substantial trees around my house so the shot to the mountain isn't clear. I plugged in a new indoor antenna anyway though, placed it by the window, and picked up 22.1 almost immediately but nothing else.I'm guessing this indoor antenna is a set of VHF "rabbit ears". Add a UHF "loop" or "bowtie" and you'll probably get the rest of the channels just fine. Also, it helps to reduce the number of walls between you and the transmitters to a minumum, even at the cost of a longer cable run between the antenna and the receiver.

One other strange thing I noticed though. Using the antennaweb page it shows 3.1, 5.1, and 44.1 as being UHF and 22.1 as VHF. Could there be a reason I'm only getting 22.1, the VHF channel, and none of the UHF ones? Would a CM4221 pick up 22.1? This antenna is listed as UHF and that channel is VHF.

22.1 is actually broadcast on 13 (VHF). The reason I recommended the 4221 is because it picks up upper VHF better than other UHF antennas. I use a DB4 and had to add an upper VHF (7-13) antenna to get a reliable signal for 22.1.
Your indoor antenna was probably biased to VHF and had poor UHF performance. If it weren't for 22.1, we would only need UHF antennas. Lots of folks were P.O.'d by that decision.

Thanks again for all the replies. A lot of good information to know considering this is all new to me. I think I'll be getting that 4221 and see how it goes.

Thanks again for all the replies. A lot of good information to know considering this is all new to me. I think I'll be getting that 4221 and see how it goes.

I would try another indoor antenna first. You do not need much gain on VHF since you are getting 3, 5, and 22.1. The fact that you can pick those all up with an indoor antenna probably means that the antenna you have is more VHF favorable. As vttom mentioned, try a loop or bowtie. With the strength of the VHF signals there should be no reason why an indoor antenna won't work.

The first antenna I tried was an old-school one but had rabbit ears and it did have a loop. Only got 22.1. This last one was a new Terk which supposed to be UHF/VHF but didn't gain any more. They both may be more VHF favorable, I guess. I do have a metal roof which definitely affects our cell phones. I'm assumimg it's probably hurting the OTA signal as well? I also took some extra coax (old cable coax - is this still RG6?) and an extension cord and ran it out to my porch to try the antenna outside but still without success (total length maybe 30 feet). My friend has an indoor antenna that he says gets 3.1, 5.1, and 22.1. He's going to let me try it tomorrow and if that doesn't work I'm gonna have to go rooftop. It couldn't be something wrong with the TV though or some setting could it? TV settings seem pretty straightforward and it has an autoprogram option. Problem is that takes like 45 minutes to run.

On analog, I get 3 and 5 pretty well, 22 is really fuzzy, and almost nothing on 44.

It would seem that your antenna is not very good for UHF, at least in your location. With a decent VHF/UHF antenna, if you can get 3 you should get 22 because both broadcast their analogue signals from Mount Mansfield and if you get 5 you should also get 44 because both broadcast their analogue from Terry Mountain near Peru, NY.

Digitally all 4 of the stations broadcast from Mount Mansfield, as does WETK.

.

Okay, the story continues...

I borrowed my friend's antenna which is just a bow-tie and he gets 3.1 and 5.1 but 22.1 sporadically. Tried it indoors and still only 22.1. I added an extension cord and some coax and took it up on my roof and still only 22.1. I'm getting pretty frustrated but I'm the type that will continue with this until I'm sure it just won't work. Does anyone know if there could just possibly be something wrong with the TV itself not picking up UHF? There is a diagnostic screen. Would any of that info how explain anything to anyone? The AGC % is around 33 for 22.1 and and only a couple points higher for 3.1 and 5.1 but not sure what that means. It's flipping through frequencies and modulations but never locking. I was thinking about getting the Channel Master 4221 but now I'm not sold that will fix things. Does anyone know if one of those can be picked up locally rather then over the internet?

I'm pretty close to packing it up and bringing it over to my friend's place which has almost a completely clear view of Mansfield and see if that works (peace of mind) but it's definitely a pain to move around.

I think I heard that Lowe's carries the CM. I'm not sure what "just a bowtie" is. With those trees you will probably need at least a 4 bay and maybe an 8 bay (CM 4228). Are you using a compass to aim the antenna? What does antennaweb.org say you need for an antenna?

So I am hedging my bets... I couldn't get Dish due to LOS issues, but am going to try DirecTV which is a little higher and more S (better for my LOS) and they should come out in a few weeks to check things out. If that doesn't work, I'll have to contemplate going back to Comcast. Not my 1st choice, obviously. I bought a 3250HD box off eBay pretty cheap which was a comcast box (has the comcast sticker on back). I hooked it up to my friend's comcast coax line to try it out (he has the same 3250HD box) and a message came up which said "your equipment is not authorized, please call comcast at...." So if I were to go back to comcast, can I use this 3250HD to save the $10 rental fee and be able to get all the HD channels and programming that I choose? Thanks!

The "bowtie" antenna just had the bowtie design, no rabbit ears. I've gone to antenna web and it shows me the distance, direction, etc. but it doesn't specify any particular type of antenna as recommended. Am I missing something?

Last question - does anyone know of a local company that does antenna installation? I'm thinking about having someone come out who installs to take a look and let me know what they think.

Thanks

Albose, it looks like you're one of the few extra viewers that WVNY was planning to get with their VHF signal (due to its bending over whatever obstruction is blocking your line-of-sight to Mt. Mansfield, which is required for UHF). Unfortunately for the vast majority of the rest of their viewers it's almost impossible to pull in. :(

On that note, I was momentarily able to pull in WVNY with a decent signal last night but only for a short while (at 20db). Something was in the air as I was able to see WCFE also (coming in just at threshold at 15db)

The "bowtie" antenna just had the bowtie design, no rabbit ears. I've gone to antenna web and it shows me the distance, direction, etc. but it doesn't specify any particular type of antenna as recommended. Am I missing something?

Thanks
Albose,
The colors indicate the type of antenna. Click on the color bar and it will tell you. However, if they say multi-directional, ignore and think directional. The 4 bay antennas I've mentioned are medium distance directional. The CM4228 is a long distance. Many of the yagi antennas are fringe (very long distance) antennas. Antenna manufacturers are supposed to use the same color codes.
Be sure to check the box on antenna web that says you have trees blocking the transmitters.

Last question - does anyone know of a local company that does antenna installation? I'm thinking about having someone come out who installs to take a look and let me know what they think.

Thanks
I'm not sure if you've said where you live, but a good installer will raise an antenna on a mast to check reception prior to doing anything to your house.

It says I need a medium directional which I kind of expected. I'm in Williston and it says 13 miles from the towers. Just need to find an antenna installer around here who will come out and do what you mentioned.

It says I need a medium directional which I kind of expected. I'm in Williston and it says 13 miles from the towers. Just need to find an antenna installer around here who will come out and do what you mentioned.
So now you know why those small indoor antennas won't work. They might have been okay w/o the trees. Even a small (2 bay) outdoor antenna should pull a stronger signal. Too bad you don't live closer as I have a spare Winegard PR4400 (4 bay).

Okay, the story continues...

It's flipping through frequencies and modulations but never locking. I was thinking about getting the Channel Master 4221 but now I'm not sold that will fix things. Does anyone know if one of those can be picked up locally rather then over the internet?



Whoa!

It might not be the antenna that is causing your problems. It could be an incorrect set up of the TV and antenna. What is the make and model number of your TV?

From your description of the Diagnostic screen, tt looks like you have a Sony TV and those diagnostics are beng displayed by the QAM tuner in your TV. If it's a Sony the diagnostic screen for the ATSC tuner looks different. You have either connected your antenna to an RF input reserved for the cable tuners in your TV or, if your TV has only 1 RF input, you haven't switched it to the OTA tuners with your remote before running your scans.

It says I need a medium directional which I kind of expected. I'm in Williston and it says 13 miles from the towers. Just need to find an antenna installer around here who will come out and do what you mentioned.

Here is some good reading for you:

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/siting.html

So it's official, not only can't I get dish, but I can't find a LOS for DirecTV either!! Uuggghhh!! Anyway, I have a Comcast question: Can I get basic cable and then add the sports package for a total of $17 and if so, would I then get NFL, ESPN, ESPN2 in HD? I'm sure knowing Comcast the answer is "NO" and I need to subscribe to a bunch of other crap to get the few channels I want...

So it's official, not only can't I get dish, but I can't find a LOS for DirecTV either!! Uuggghhh!! Anyway, I have a Comcast question: Can I get basic cable and then add the sports package for a total of $17 and if so, would I then get NFL, ESPN, ESPN2 in HD? I'm sure knowing Comcast the answer is "NO" and I need to subscribe to a bunch of other crap to get the few channels I want...

You won't be able to get any of those HD channels through Comcast unless you have an HD cable box from them or a device that can accept their cable cards. Even then, I doubt they let you get the sports package without a digital tier.

You won't be able to get any of those HD channels through Comcast unless you have an HD cable box from them or a device that can accept their cable cards. Even then, I doubt they let you get the sports package without a digital tier.

I have a 3250HD box that I got off ebay and it has a Comcast sticker in the back so they should be able to activate it, right? Say that I could not get OTA locals, then I should be able to pay the $9.95 for basic cable, have comcast activate my box and get the locals in HD for free? Same thing if I had a TV with a digital tuner in it, right? I know that they are sending the HD signals in the "clear" to abide by FCC regulations. I really wish there was a true a la carte menu. I know it's been in legislation forever, hope someday soon it passes. I'd rather pay $30 for 10 channels I watch than $70 to get them along with 200 that I never watch...

I have a 3250HD box that I got off ebay and it has a Comcast sticker in the back so they should be able to activate it, right?

If Comcast is like most cable companies they don't sell their equipemnt so the box you bought was probably a 'left-over" that someone came across from a previous tenant and did not return to the cable company. Comcast might just take it back say "Thank you very much".

If Comcast is like most cable companies they don't sell their equipemnt so the box you bought was probably a 'left-over" that someone came across from a previous tenant and did not return to the cable company. Comcast might just take it back say "Thank you very much".

Agreed. I don't think Comcast will just activate your box if it's actually one of theirs.

Well, the conclusion to my problem (though I feel a bit stupid admitting it) was that Brian_O was correct. Thanks, Brian_O! My TV was not set to the ATSC tuner. The input to the TV just says UHF/VHF and I was getting a couple channels so I assumed it was all set correctly. Flipped it over and presto! My indoor antenna was still not picking up everything so I got an outdoor Terk locally which picked up all channels (although not with the best strength). May still pick up the 4221. Thanks to everyone else for all the input as well!! Learned quite a bit from this site about the HD world. Not much like HD football on Sunday!

Was it just me or did the PQ for Heroes and Journeyman suck tonight? Quiet scenes were okay, but movement seemed to be blurry and the sound level was off. Naturally, the commercials were perfect and loud.

Albose, glad you got things working. A better antenna should improve your signal.

Well, the conclusion to my problem (though I feel a bit stupid admitting it) was that Brian_O was correct. Thanks, Brian_O!

Glad to have been of help. :)

Was it just me or did the PQ for Heroes and Journeyman suck tonight? Quiet scenes were okay, but movement seemed to be blurry and the sound level was off. Naturally, the commercials were perfect and loud.

Albose, glad you got things working. A better antenna should improve your signal.

The first 20 minutes or so of Heroes was fine, but then something happened and it remained screwed up through Journeyman. It was almost like it was skipping frames or something. I've seen this occur on WPTZ-DT before.

Channels 3 & 5 HD are off the air.

Leno was the same.

yeah like you said, after about 20 min into heros the frame rate became jittery as if it was only 15-20 fps and I also noticed some major interlacing artifacts even with little movement on the screen.

I read this in the Boston Globe this morning, and I don't know if any of this applies to any of us Vermont Comcast subscribers, but it is nonetheless interesting:

http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/09/26/high_definition_tbs_feed_should_please_red_sox_fans/

"TBS HD will appear on channel 831 for Comcast subscribers. It is among several high-definition channels Comcast is adding this month. CNN HD will appear on Comcast channel 842 on Tuesday. Comcast also will add high-definition feeds for the USA Network and the History Channel before the end of the month, said the company's regional vice president, Paul D'Arcangelo."

For those of you with Comcast, today's launch of the added Directv HD channels gives you a list of what's available to call and ask them about. The list can be found here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=914047

Anyone else psyched we're finally getting abchd and foxhd through Comcast tomorrow? Anyone know what the channel numbers will be? I guess I can wait and see.

Anyone else psyched we're finally getting abchd and foxhd through Comcast tomorrow? Anyone know what the channel numbers will be? I guess I can wait and see.

Did you hear that from Comcast directly or is it based on the cryptic postcard they sent out? I was hoping that's what the postcard meant, but it sure wasn't clear. I'm guessing that those channels will be 722 and 744 respectively.

Did you hear that from Comcast directly or is it based on the cryptic postcard they sent out? I was hoping that's what the postcard meant, but it sure wasn't clear. I'm guessing that those channels will be 722 and 744 respectively.

I spoke with Comcast today about the postcard and she verified abchd and foxhd were going to be available starting on the 27th of Sept. She also said we'll get more hd channels this fall. :)

Cool! Can somebody with a cable box please confirm when these channels are available tomorrow and what channels they're on? The last time they added channels, I didn't get them on my cable cards automatically. I had to call and specially request that they be added. Thanks!

Cool! Can somebody with a cable box please confirm when these channels are available tomorrow and what channels they're on? The last time they added channels, I didn't get them on my cable cards automatically. I had to call and specially request that they be added. Thanks!

They are now broadcasting abchd on channel 722 and foxhd on 744.

Cool! Can somebody with a cable box please confirm when these channels are available tomorrow and what channels they're on? The last time they added channels, I didn't get them on my cable cards automatically. I had to call and specially request that they be added. Thanks!

This morning the new channels showed up on my 8300HD on 722 and 744. All looks great - Good Morning America coming in HD on 722.

On my TiVo HD that uses cable cards they also showed up in the listings, and I could tune them fine. Unfortunately, there is no associated guide data with them yet ("To be announced"). I assume that will come once TiVo updates their listings to associate the channels appropriately.

Great progress - I'm thrilled to be getting the channels now, unfortunately we missed some of the season premieres, but at least I'll get the rest of the season recorded properly!

Also - eager to hear what other channels Comcast will be adding in the nearterm. With DirecTV's recent additions, I'm definitely wanting more.

Anybody know the channel for TVs without a cable box? (112.X? 113?) Just curious. If not I'll have the TV do a scan.

Good news!

The new CW is up on 44.2.

WFFF-DT 43 FOX = 44.1
The CW20 = 44.2 (sub-channel)

Does this means the overall picture quality of FOX HD will deminish because they have now added another full time SD sub-channel for the CW? Was 44.2 being used as a sub-channel in the past? How many subchannels does WFFF-DT use? I can only assume that they also have a sub-channel for the SD version of FOX which would mean:

1 FOX HD
+
1 FOX SD
+
1 CW SD
all on the same 19.4 mbps allocation
=
not good

I think instead of "migrating" the CW to a subchannel, they should have their own FULL time HD channel (with a sub-channel for the SD version of course).

So what are Fox 44's plans for this CW sub-channel? Will they show CW shows in their "traditional" time-slots during prime-time? Will the Fox 44 channel still show CW channels after the traditional Fox prime-time shows?

Will we EVER get CW shows in HD here?

WFFF-DT 43 FOX = 44.1
The CW20 = 44.2 (sub-channel)
I can only assume that they also have a sub-channel for the SD version of FOX which would mean:

1 FOX HD
+
1 FOX SD
+
1 CW SD
all on the same 19.4 mbps allocation
=
not good


They just have 1 FOX HD+1 CW SD. Before they had a test signal on 44.2. I pretty sure we won't see the difference.

Still no 722 and 744 on my cable cards. Looks like I'll have to call Comcast. So is Comcast channel 20 now the Fox/CW subchannel? If so, what are the call letters? WFFFDT2?

On my TiVo HD that uses cable cards they also showed up in the listings, and I could tune them fine. Unfortunately, there is no associated guide data with them yet ("To be announced"). I assume that will come once TiVo updates their listings to associate the channels appropriately.

You can submit a request to TiVo to add the new channels. I just submitted the form, but it probably wouldn't hurt to have more than one person put in the request.

The form is here:
http://customersupport.tivo.com/LineUpForm.aspx

You can submit a request to TiVo to add the new channels. I just submitted the form, but it probably wouldn't hurt to have more than one person put in the request.

The form is here:
http://customersupport.tivo.com/LineUpForm.aspx

Thanks! I wasn't aware of that and just submitted them to be added as "missing" channels.

Still no 722 and 744 on my cable cards. Looks like I'll have to call Comcast. So is Comcast channel 20 now the Fox/CW subchannel? If so, what are the call letters? WFFFDT2?

Is this on your TiVo or is this on cable cards in a TV or other component? I just had to go into Settings -> Channel and check the channels this morning - they were now in the Guide until I selected them as available to me.

Is this on your TiVo or is this on cable cards in a TV or other component? I just had to go into Settings -> Channel and check the channels this morning - they were now in the Guide until I selected them as available to me.

On the TiVo (two TiVos actually). I checked in the channel list, but they're not there to select. They don't show up in that list until Comcast pushes the new channel info to the cable cards. I don't know why, but I always have this problem when Comcast adds new channels. After I call them, they send a refresh signal to the cable cards and the channels show up on the list.

The new channels showed up on my CableCard TV today without any action on my side. However, the last time Comcast added channels, I didn't get them until I unplugged my TV, (waited..) and then plugged it back it. Sort of a forced-restart.

Here we go again.....
WVNY went from HD to SD during the last 15 minutes of the premiere episode of "Dirty, Sexy, Money". You would think with almost a year's experience in transmitting HD signals--they might have worked out this glitch.

Comcast channel 761 called COM1 is barking that TBSHD is coming soon. :cool:

MrJ

The new channels showed up on my CableCard TV today without any action on my side. However, the last time Comcast added channels, I didn't get them until I unplugged my TV, (waited..) and then plugged it back it. Sort of a forced-restart.

I tried rebooting both TiVos, but still no new channels on the cable cards. Comcast says they've sent a "refresh" signal, but that didn't seem to help. Now they're saying to give it a couple of days and see if they show up.

I am getting the new CW station on channel 20 (though the TiVo guide info isn't correct yet). Does anyone know what the call letters are for it? The station ID between shows says WFFF-DT, but aren't those the call letters for 744?

Comcast channel 761 called COM1 is barking that TBSHD is coming soon. :cool:

MrJ

Darn, they offer it right at the end of the baseball season and tbs is my favorite baseball team's home channel and they also aren't going to make the playoffs. Too bad, because I endured almost every game they played on tbs in cr@ppy standard definition all season long.:(

Now they're just f'in with us.

We are excited to announce the addition of 4 new HD Regional Sports Networks, launched on DISH Network on September 26th! The addition of these brings our total count of HD Regional Sports Networks to 22!

· CSN West HD Channel 359, 129° orbital location – Teams include: Sacramento Kings
· CSN Mid-Atlantic HD Channel 374, 61.5° and 129° orbital locations – Teams include: Washington Wizards, Capitals, DC United
· FSN Ohio HD Channel 375, 129° orbital location – Teams include: Columbus Blue Jackets, Cleveland Cavaliers
· Altitude HD Channel 360, 129° orbital location – Teams include: Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets

DISH Network has the best in HD sports and is the leader in high definition with 70 HD channels, including 40 national HD channels – the most in the industry.

Darn, they offer it right at the end of the baseball season and tbs is my favorite baseball team's home channel and they also aren't going to make the playoffs. Too bad, because I endured almost every game they played on tbs in cr@ppy standard definition all season long.:(

Well, the end of the regular season but just in time for the playoffs! I just read that TBS will have the first round of the playoffs and share the second round with FOX. We will have all the games now in HD, just in the nick of time! :) Sorry about your Braves. :(

MrJ

I'm not getting ABC or Fox HD yet either, on either TV, near Porter's Point in Colchester. (One has an HD Comcast DVR, the other is a QAM-tuner TV with no box.) Tried rebooting the DVR yesterday. No luck. Guess it hasn't "stuck" yet.

Incidentally, I asked what channels ABC and Fox will appear on a QAM TV, but the TV in my case is a bit older and doesn't "map" to (for example) 3.1 or 5.1. For me, CBS is on 113.4, and NBC is 112.1 or thereabouts.

So I'll ask again. :) Does anyone know the non-mapped (not sure what the technical term is) channel info for the new HD stations?

WVNY and WFFF were showed up on my cable box properly labeled and the correct program guide, but they were both broadcasting silent blackness. I was only able to take a quick look last night, so it's possible that it's working properly now, but I won't be able to check until this evening. Since this is a local issue, I don't want to call the national support number. Does anybody have a number for the local comcast office in Burlington so I can talk to somebody a little closer to the problem.

WVNY and WFFF were showed up on my cable box properly labeled and the correct program guide, but they were both broadcasting silent blackness. I was only able to take a quick look last night, so it's possible that it's working properly now, but I won't be able to check until this evening. Since this is a local issue, I don't want to call the national support number. Does anybody have a number for the local comcast office in Burlington so I can talk to somebody a little closer to the problem.

If you call 1-800-comcast and select the prompts for trouble with your television service, you'll be connected to someone in the South Burlington Office.

Does anyone know where to find the schedule for the 44.2 CW? TitanTV and Yahoo! TV don't show it. My Dish VIP622 just shows "Digital Service" although I get the Electronic Program Guide for everything else local.

Does anyone know where to find the schedule for the 44.2 CW? TitanTV and Yahoo! TV don't show it. My Dish VIP622 just shows "Digital Service" although I get the Electronic Program Guide for everything else local.

As far as the primetime schedule is concerned, go to the CW site at http://www.thewb.com

WFFF ought to be doing a better job advertisiong the changes. How many people tuned in 44.1 last night at 10 pm expecting to see Friday Night Smackdown, only to find it is no longer on 44.1. It was on 44.2 at 8 pm because that's the time TheCW wants it shown.

Since the CW programs have been moved to 44.2, syndicated shows are being shown on 44.1 in the former CW time slots and these shows have been put into the same time slots on 44 analogue as well because of the FCC's 100% "simulcast" regulations that came into effect in 2004. i.e. They can show nothing on analogue that is not being simultaneously broadcast on one of the station's digital channels.

Does anyone know where to find the schedule for the 44.2 CW? TitanTV and Yahoo! TV don't show it. My Dish VIP622 just shows "Digital Service" although I get the Electronic Program Guide for everything else local.Call the Dish support line and tell them. They'll add the EPG data if enough people call to tell them it's missing.

I'd have to imagine this will almost ruin whatever ratings The CW had in this DMA for a little bit. People have gotten used to watching a show at 10 or 11 on Fox 44 and now that Family Guy or Seinfeld is on instead they will be confused. WFFF needs to step up and let people know where to watch their shows. In the long run this is a good move but it's hard for it to be a good move if only people in the AVS forum know about it. Are any other cable or satellite carriers picking up the feed yet? I can't imagine the new season was reason enough to jump the gun on this when they easily could have waited for D*, E* and smaller cable providers. Soon they will need the time slot for their newscast, but the new season of thrilling CW shows does not warrant a move like this, especially without a peep from the station.

WVNY and WFFF were showed up on my cable box properly labeled and the correct program guide, but they were both broadcasting silent blackness.

Same here, on Sunday 9/30. The weird thing is, my QAM TV shows those two channels just fine. I tried rebooting the HD DVR box but it didn't help.

Should we call Comcast or will the box sort itself out eventually? :rolleyes:

Should we call Comcast or will the box sort itself out eventually? :rolleyes:

I tried a normal reboot, hard reboot, sending a refresh signal, and finally trying to talk to a human to get it corrected. The help person wasn't able to do anything for me and transferred me to a high definition specialist. I never spoke to the second person because Comcast's on hold system timed out on me and the call ended.


If you call 1-800-comcast and select the prompts for trouble with your television service, you'll be connected to someone in the South Burlington Office.

The person I spoke to definately wasn't local. Any other ideas on how to contact the South Burlington office directly since this is clearly a local issue?

The person I spoke to definately wasn't local. Any other ideas on how to contact the South Burlington office directly since this is clearly a local issue?

I know it might be painful, but I'd just recommend calling back on 800 comcast. I'm in Williston and everything just "worked" the morning they went live including my comcast 8300 DVR and my TiVo with cablecards. Still struggling with guide issues on both boxes, but at least I can tune them with no issues. Could be a local headend issue.

The person I spoke to definately wasn't local. Any other ideas on how to contact the South Burlington office directly since this is clearly a local issue?

During normal business hours, the call will go to South Burlington. But if you call off hours, it will go to a national call center. Try again tomorrow and you should get somebody local. That being said, the local people don't seem to be much more help. I stopped by the South Burlington office to find out how I could get the new channels to show up on my cable cards. Nobody there had a clue.

I just called Comcast again. Now they're saying that the new channels won't be available until October 6th. I told him that everyone I know already has the channels and the postcard that Comcast sent out said September 27th. He just kept saying that the date has been changed to October 6th. Are you kidding me? They have no idea what's going on, so now they just make things up to get you off the phone and buy themselves another week.

My wife called customer support last night due to issues with On Demand, and the guy told her we wouldn't see ABC or Fox until November 1st. :rolleyes:

They certainly don't know what's going on, since we're already getting ABC and Fox HD via QAM. It's just the cable box that's refusing to pipe it through. Silliness.

I just called Comcast again. Now they're saying that the new channels won't be available until October 6th. I told him that everyone I know already has the channels and the postcard that Comcast sent out said September 27th. He just kept saying that the date has been changed to October 6th. Are you kidding me? They have no idea what's going on, so now they just make things up to get you off the phone and buy themselves another week.

I had a similar situation this weekend. On Saturday night around 6pm, I called 1-800-COMCAST to figure out why 722 and 744 were showing up on my HD cable box but not my HD TiVo with cablecards. The tech support person kept telling me they wouldn't be available until Tuesday. I told him that they were already showing up on my box but not on my cards, and he kept telling me that they wouldn't be ready until Tuesday October 2nd. It turns out he thought I was inquiring about all the new HD channels that are supposedly going live tomorrow: CNN HD, TBS HD, History Channel, and others. He was out of a national call center and didn't know anything about WFFF-HD and WVNY-HD.

To make a long story short, they weren't aware there was anything they could do for cablecards and that "it would just start working eventually". In other words, the person had no clue how to get them to recognize the new channels and I got frustrated and hung up. God only knows how long before the new batch of HD channels will take to reach the cablecards. Anyone with HD TiVo and cablecards have luck with 722 and 744 yet?

FYI, 722 and 744 have worked great through my Scientific Atlanta HD cable box since they showed up last week; it's only the cablecards that don't know about the new channels yet. If I try to tune the TiVo manually to these channels, I just get a black screen and something like "Program not found" or something similar.

Anyone with HD TiVo and cablecards have luck with 722 and 744 yet?


Well, 722 and 744 just magically showed up on my TiVos with cable cards. I don't know if it had anything to do with my repeated calls to Comcast or if there's a regularly scheduled refresh signal that hits cable cards every so often. Still no guide data from TiVo, but that's another issue.

Is there a list somewhere of these other new HD stations that are supposed to be coming this week? I want to make sure I know what to look for so I can start calling Comcast when it's not there.

Is there a list somewhere of these other new HD stations that are supposed to be coming this week? I want to make sure I know what to look for so I can start calling Comcast when it's not there.

I don't have official confirmation, other than my phone conversation with Comcast tech support over the weekend, but based on what I've seen on the internet in other markets, it looks like we should be seeing the following:

CNN-HD
USA-HD
TBS-HD
History Channel HD

And possibly these as well:

HGTV-HD
Food Network HD
MGM-HD

http://www.tvpredictions.com/comcastconfirms092407.htm
http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/09/26/high_definition_tbs_feed_should_please_red_sox_fans/
http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/09/26/comcast-rolls-out-new-hd-channels-too/

I don't have official confirmation, other than my phone conversation with Comcast tech support over the weekend, but based on what I've seen on the internet in other markets, it looks like we should be seeing the following:

CNN-HD
USA-HD
TBS-HD
History Channel HD

And possibly these as well:

HGTV-HD
Food Network HD
MGM-HD

http://www.tvpredictions.com/comcastconfirms092407.htm
http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/09/26/high_definition_tbs_feed_should_please_red_sox_fans/
http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/09/26/comcast-rolls-out-new-hd-channels-too/

Not a bad list. It would be nice if Universal HD can find it's way in there too.

Well, 722 and 744 just magically showed up on my TiVos with cable cards. I don't know if it had anything to do with my repeated calls to Comcast or if there's a regularly scheduled refresh signal that hits cable cards every so often. Still no guide data from TiVo, but that's another issue.

Is there a list somewhere of these other new HD stations that are supposed to be coming this week? I want to make sure I know what to look for so I can start calling Comcast when it's not there.

I'd like to get HDNet and HDNet Movies back.

I'd like to get HDNet and HDNet Movies back.

I wouldn't think they'll add them back or they wouldn't have removed them in the first place.

Hey, what do you know... I got bored and started messing with the HD DVR. (Explorer 8000) I switched the format from pass-through to upconvert-1, and now 722 and 744 show up on the TV. The bad news it it stretches analog programming, but we're only really using the box for HD so it doesn't matter. (TiVo handles the analog.)

Also, there are slots in the guide for CNN and TBS HD but nothing appears on screen yet.

Hey, what do you know... I got bored and started messing with the HD DVR. (Explorer 8000) I switched the format from pass-through to upconvert-1, and now 722 and 744 show up on the TV. The bad news it it stretches analog programming, but we're only really using the box for HD so it doesn't matter. (TiVo handles the analog.)

Also, there are slots in the guide for CNN and TBS HD but nothing appears on screen yet.

That didn't do anything for me on my 8300. In the morning I'll try enabling 720p output since both ABC and FOX use that. I'd do it now, but I don't want to disrupt my DVR recordings in progress.

Seems funny doesn't it that practically to the day D* kicks off their expanded HD lineup, Comca$t starts adding HD content. Competition works very well my friends. :)

MrJ

That didn't do anything for me on my 8300. In the morning I'll try enabling 720p output since both ABC and FOX use that. I'd do it now, but I don't want to disrupt my DVR recordings in progress.

Still nothing after enabling 720p.

CNN-HD and TBS-HD showed up on my cable cards this morning. Is everyone else getting these now too?

On both my 8300HD and my TiVo HD with cable cards i'm now getting a signal on both CNNHD and TBSHD. Great progress from Comcast I have to say.

I REALLY wish they would do a much better job of giving us a heads up on future programming ads and changes. Maybe even a bit of HYPE for the new programming??

With all of the content added to DirecTV lately (and marketing!), I've strongly considered switching but Comcast has shown - to a small degree- a desire to add more HD programming. If they keep up the pace I'll stick with Comcast... (Universal, FX, more premium movie channels for me and TLC and HGTV for my wife please!)

Direct TV has apparently added NESN today (New England Sports Network/NESN HD(Channel 623). Someone remind me again why I went with Dish Network....

TiVo has updated their guide info for 722 and 744, so those channels are now fully functional for me. Still no guide info for CNN-HD and TBS-HD and the guide info for the new CW station is wrong.

Direct TV has apparently added NESN today (New England Sports Network/NESN HD(Channel 623). Someone remind me again why I went with Dish Network....
Probably because Dish has been the best deal available the past few years for HD. DirectTV has only been competitive in HD for a week.

TiVo has updated their guide info for 722 and 744, so those channels are now fully functional for me. Still no guide info for CNN-HD and TBS-HD and the guide info for the new CW station is wrong.

Yesterday my cablecards finally picked up 722, 744, CNNHD, and TBSHD, although as of last night, TiVo didn't have guide data. I'll have to force a connection later today. But at least we get the first round MLB playoffs in HD!

Here's a puzzle... Why can I only see 722 and 744 when the Explorer 8000 is set to "Upconvert-1"? I can see CNNHD and TBSHD (and the other HDs) with it set to "Pass Through".

Do you suppose it's an Explorer problem, or some strange mismatch with the HDTV, or what?

I told the box to record Prison Break and it didn't, even though the guide had it highlighted in red. I don't think they're sending the "first run flag" properly. (TiVo got the analog, so not a big deal.)

Here's a puzzle... Why can I only see 722 and 744 when the Explorer 8000 is set to "Upconvert-1"? I can see CNNHD and TBSHD (and the other HDs) with it set to "Pass Through".

Do you suppose it's an Explorer problem, or some strange mismatch with the HDTV, or what?

I told the box to record Prison Break and it didn't, even though the guide had it highlighted in red. I don't think they're sending the "first run flag" properly. (TiVo got the analog, so not a big deal.)

It certainly sounds like a problem with the Explorer or the way that Comcast has programmed it.

You could always ditch the Explorer and analog TiVo and replace them with a single HD TiVo :)

You could always ditch the Explorer and analog TiVo and replace them with a single HD TiVo :)

Access to VOD programming will be lost with this change.

Access to VOD programming will be lost with this change.

Yup, if VOD is important to you, you'll have to stick with the Comcast box until the Comcast branded TiVo is released.

I figured out my problem. My TV doesn't do 720p. I had to use the google on the internets to figure out how to access the 8000's setup wizard. The advanced setup lets you test all the different formats and de-select ones that don't work with your TV.

Now, pass-though automatically upconverts 720p to 1080i for me.

If anyone is curious about how to get into the setup wizard:
TV: ON
Cable box: OFF
Press Info and Guide simultaneously on the front of the cable box.
Follow directions on screen.

722 and 744 are finally coming through for me. It still wasn't woking this morning, so I called before I went in to work and nothing the woman did changed anything. I called again from work this afternoon trying to get somebody local, but was unsuccessful after getting passed through about half a dozen people in the noth east.

When I got home both channels were working fine. So either Comcast corrected something locally or the last guy I spoke to this afternoon did something that corrected the issue. I'm inclined to think it was the former.

So, after a bunch of phone hassle, all my channels are working properly. If Comcast had done things right, I wouldn't have had to do anything.

After broadcasting a test pattern, off and on, for the last 4 days, WCFE's analogue service on Channel 57 came back on the air this afternoon for the first time since the morning of April 18. (Maya and Miguel is currently on). However, there is no sign as yet of their digital services on channel 38.

Forgive my ignorance (I'm in Connecticut), but didn't WCFE-TV have their tower collapse on that day?

WCFE is back on the air digitally with a very strong signal on physical channel 38. They have their HD signal on .1 and two SD subchannels on .2 and .3. Before the tower collapse I got at best a signal strength of 70. Now it is 98, so they have a better tower setup or more powerful transmitter.

WCFE is back on the air digitally with a very strong signal on physical channel 38. They have their HD signal on .1 and two SD subchannels on .2 and .3. Before the tower collapse I got at best a signal strength of 70. Now it is 98, so they have a better tower setup or more powerful transmitter.

I have not yet been able to receive their digital signals at all this week on either my Sony or Samsung tuners. Are they broadcasting on a continous basis or just an hour here and an hour there, as they were doing with their analogue signal earlier in the week? Before the tower collapsed in April I received their digital signals on channel 38 at 98% in Pointe-Claire (Montreal's West Island) and had been doing so since September 2004.

As for their 3rd channel, is it "Create"?

It's official. I just got a letter from Comcast detailing all of the new HD channels that are coming on November 13th. Nice!

Food Network HD
HGTV HD
Universal HD
MHD
Versus HD/Golf HD
History HD
USA HD

I'm not getting it here either. I think HDBruce is just getting the signal from the Plattsburgh backyard transmitter.

I've only gotten WCFE-DT once with some tropo a few weeks ago, and there is now a weak analog signal coming in on channel 57 (not sure where it's broadcast from).

Has anyone actually seen the new tower on Lyon Mountain?

I'm not getting it here either. I think HDBruce is just getting the signal from the Plattsburgh backyard transmitter.

I've only gotten WCFE-DT once with some tropo a few weeks ago, and there is now a weak analog signal coming in on channel 57 (not sure where it's broadcast from).

Has anyone actually seen the new tower on Lyon Mountain?

There's a photo of the new tower on the MLPBS web site along with a statement, dated October 4, that they would start broadcasting from it at 3 pm Thursday. (Actually the statement wasn't added to their web site until today). I have been receiving a strong analogue signal since yesterday afternoon, but no digital signal at all.

I just spoke to WCFE and they told me sometimes next week for their digital signal. We'll see.

I just spoke to WCFE and they told me sometimes next week for their digital signal. We'll see.

Thanks for the info. I have sent an email to the station. Charlie Zarbo (Director of Engineering) is usually very quick to respond to tehnical questions.

I suspect that their priority was to get the analogue back on line first because that would reach more of the viewers who have been totally deprived of WCFE since April than restoring the digital service first would have done. I can think of other technical reasons for the delay but I prefer not to indulge in idle speculation.

For the guys who love baseball, Dish Net just added TBS HD on channel 139. Yankee and Red Sox games tomorrow.

I noticed that Fox is now broadcasting a program on 44.2.

It's official. I just got a letter from Comcast detailing all of the new HD channels that are coming on November 13th. Yep. Got the same letter. My wife and I were chuckling at the "FREE preview" with Fox and ABC. :rolleyes: Like soon we'll be paying for it. Heh.

And yeah, 44.2 is coming in on our QAM TV.

I'm starting to think an HDTiVo is in our future.

I noticed that Fox is now broadcasting a program on 44.2.
That's The CW. Fox moved it to 44-2.

I'm starting to think an HDTiVo is in our future.

If you don't care about VOD, it's definitely the way to go. Your cable bill will actually go down since you won't have to pay rental on the cable box anymore.

I just heard from a source within Charter that they will be (finally) jumping into the HD arena in Vt / NH next month. I don't have a lot of specifics yet but this is what they're telling me:

A&E HD will be added on 10/3 on channel 734 along with History HD on channel 735 and MOJO HD which offers original HD programming to the lifestyle interests of the modern man. These HD services will be part of the HDTV Tier (MA/CT/VT/NY)

For VT / NY we are getting ready for an HDTV launch on Nov 1st. VT customers- CBS, ABC, NBC, PBS, FOX, FSNE-HD, NESN-HD all part of the HD service. The HD TIER WILL OFFER ESPN HD, ESPN2-HD, Discovery HD, TNT HD, Universal HD, A&E HD, History Channel HD, MOJO HD. HD Premium Channels included with corresponding premium channel subscription, HBO-HD, CINEMAX HD, SHOWTIME HD and STARZ HD.

Has anyone else has heard anything?

Does anybody know what Comcast in South Burlington is handing out for HD boxes now (non-DVR)?

Some of you may find this link helpful if you've been stumped by all of the latest HD audio formats that are currently in use. Although TV uses Dolby Digital, stereo or mono and most all sets change automatically, if you have any other HD gear like a Blu Ray player, these formats will be familiar: http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Joshua_Zyber/High-Def_FAQ:_Blu-ray_and_HD_DVD_Audio_Explained/1064

Does anybody know what Comcast in South Burlington is handing out for HD boxes now (non-DVR)?

They gave me a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 3250HD.

All -

New to this forum and am hoping someone can offer some advice.

We just purchased TV with a digital tuner as our old TV died. I can see the towers on top of Mt Mansfield from my backyard, although the neighbor's house is in the direct line of sight from our living room where the TV is. I can get a great signal on WPTZ and WVNY without even rabbit ears . (We have Comcast basic cable and I have just that coax attached.) Rabbit ears gets me WCAX (>90% signal strength), but I can't find a signal for either WETK (PBS) or WFFF (Fox). Antennaweb.org says they are all coming from the same place so I'm not really sure why not.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to pick up those extra stations on a minimum budget and without having to put up anything on the outside of my house?

Thanks
Andrew

That's The CW. Fox moved it to 44-2.

If you look at your guide at channel 234, WPIX (you can't get it) they are also CW and it looks to also be CW. I don't think all the programming is the same but most has been so far. It's easier than looking on the web. Of course now that CW is broadcasting locally shouldn't dish be carring it?

All -

We just purchased TV with a digital tuner as our old TV died. I can see the towers on top of Mt Mansfield from my backyard, although the neighbor's house is in the direct line of sight from our living room where the TV is. I can get a great signal on WPTZ and WVNY without even rabbit ears . (We have Comcast basic cable and I have just that coax attached.) Rabbit ears gets me WCAX (>90% signal strength), but I can't find a signal for either WETK (PBS) or WFFF (Fox). Antennaweb.org says they are all coming from the same place so I'm not really sure why not.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to pick up those extra stations on a minimum budget and without having to put up anything on the outside of my house?

Thanks
Andrew
Although an outside antenna is probably your best solution, it sounds like you are close enough to use an attic installation to get around the house next door blocking your signal. A good antenna doesn't cost much and they are much smaller than they used to be. I would go with a short to medium range directional such as the Antennas Direct DB2 (small)or DB4, Winegard PR4400 or Channel Master 4221. Get enough RG6 coax to get to your TV or to a splitter for multiple TVs. Use a compass to aim the antenna, and, since Mansfield is above you, tilt the antenna up toward the peak. The rabbit ears are for VHF (2-13) only. WVNY (13) is the only VHF and the above antennas are UHF so you might want to combine a rabbit ears only (no UHF loop) or just a 26" strip of flat antenna cable with one of the above. A small Yagi type antenna would get both VHF and UHF. Go to www.hdtvprimer.com for more info

Although an outside antenna is probably your best solution, it sounds like you are close enough to use an attic installation to get around the house next door blocking your signal....

I was thinking the (lack of) antenna might be the issue. A couple of follow up questions.

1) Is the key to get around the line of sight obstruction (i.e. get above the neighbor's house) or would simply a better antenna do the trick? I ask because I was looking at maybe trying the DB2 antenna and tucking it inside cabinet behind the TV.

2) Any recommendations for a local retailer? Honestly I'd like to have the flexibility to try out a couple of "indoor" setups to try avoid the attic install (which I'd also been thinking about). I found a couple reasonable sites on-line for the DB2 but I would hate to end up having to pay return shipping.

The key is to have as little between you and the towers as possible. If you had a clear line of site from the TV, that would be great. Only one outside wall would be okay, but having the antenna in a basement or the opposite side of the house would greatly reduce the quality of the signal. That said, it sounds like just adding an antenna to your current location may be a big improvement. If the DB2 didn't work inside the cabinet, you could still use it in the attic.
I believe Antennas Direct is mostly online. I've never seen them in a store. Although they tend to be pricey relative to the Winegard or Channel Master of the same class, they are more attractive and more rugged than say the PR4400. I've tried both and used the DB4 with a wall mount and 6' mast on the eaves, and the PR4400 with a wall and mast on a remote garage. The reception was the same, but the DB4 looks a lot better. I did add a Winegard high-VHF (7-13) antenna to get reliable reception for WVNY.
HDPRIMER did say the DB2 is the best indoor antenna. You'll just need to make a stand for it as it is designed as a mast mount.

avshelden: Make sure the tuner is set to pick up OTA signals, not cable or "QAM" signals. If that doesn't work, try quad-sheilded RG-6 cable between the antenna and DT tuner (Gold Series cable at Radio Shack is fine). Your current cable may be leaking in rogue signals from the towers, causing multipath-related dropouts.

(We have Comcast basic cable and I have just that coax attached.)If that's the case, then what you're seeing are a couple of the HDTV channels sent by Comcast in the clear. I'm pretty sure that all of the local HDTV stations are being re-broadcast by Comcast now. If you do a full scan with the digital tuner set to "cable" or "QAM", you should get all of the local network affiliates in HD.

If that doesn't work, then maybe they have a filter on the line which is blocking some of them from getting through (since you're only subscribing to basic, that's very likely). In that case, you'll need put up an antenna to get all of the local HDTV stations. Problem is, even though most HDTVs these days are capable of tuning HD over cable (aka QAM) and HD over the air (aka ATSC), a lot of them only have 1 coaxial input, so you have to choose whether to plug in the antenna or the cable; you can't do both at the same time.

If it has 2 coax inputs, then you can get the best of both worlds by plugging an antenna into one input, and the cable into the other.

I've been getting 44-1 in the clear on extended comcast basic for a a week or more.

Tonight, a few minutes after the Red Sox game started, the feed comcastically disappered.

Anyone else have this happen?

wm

All -

New to this forum and am hoping someone can offer some advice.

We just purchased TV with a digital tuner as our old TV died. I can see the towers on top of Mt Mansfield from my backyard, although the neighbor's house is in the direct line of sight from our living room where the TV is. I can get a great signal on WPTZ and WVNY without even rabbit ears . (We have Comcast basic cable and I have just that coax attached.) Rabbit ears gets me WCAX (>90% signal strength), but I can't find a signal for either WETK (PBS) or WFFF (Fox). Antennaweb.org says they are all coming from the same place so I'm not really sure why not.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to pick up those extra stations on a minimum budget and without having to put up anything on the outside of my house?

Thanks
Andrew

If you have line of sight at most you should need an indoor antenna. Go to Radio Shack and get a UHF/VHF combo and see if that works. If you can see the towers there's no reason why it shouldn't pick up the signals. The fact that you can pick up 2 stations without rabbit ears and a UHF station with the addition of rabbit ears means that a small indoor UHF should work fine. Only if this doesn't work (which there probably is a 1% chance it won't) should you then get a bigger antenna. You shouldn't have to spend more than $30.

If you have line of sight at most you should need an indoor antenna. Go to Radio Shack and get a UHF/VHF combo and see if that works. If you can see the towers there's no reason why it shouldn't pick up the signals. The fact that you can pick up 2 stations without rabbit ears and a UHF station with the addition of rabbit ears means that a small indoor UHF should work fine. Only if this doesn't work (which there probably is a 1% chance it won't) should you then get a bigger antenna. You shouldn't have to spend more than $30.

Well, so when I said rabbit ears, it was in fact a combo with a UHF loop. (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103916).

So, anyway, here's where I'm at:

1) Turns out I'm a bit of an ignoramus. I had apparently not run, or aborted the digital tuner setup when I was trying setup on our Comcast Basic cable service. I reran that and can get all of the local HD broadcasts I was looking for OTA (I had incorrectly assumed that Comcast wasn't broadcasting the local HD signals on the basic service, so would need to get them OTA.)

2) Based on my location I am however surprised that I wasn't able to get all of the stations when I hooked up the above antenna. Rob, one of the engineers over at VPT, was as well (I was really impressed that he called me back in follow up to my email.) He mentioned that it's possible that I'm "too" close and could be getting cross signal interference or just have an issue with an "umbrella" effect. I'm guessing that I may just be in a "dead spot" due to the neighbor's house. If I can find some free time, I'm planning to put as long of a piece of coax on the above mentioned antenna that I can find and move it around the living room and even out the back door to see if it solves the problem. Unfortunately I need to run the tuner search on my TV to find the station.

3) If it weren't for losing the English language CBC broadcast, (and assuming I find the WFFF and WETK signals without too much trouble) I would be ready to ditch Comcast. Anyone else local have any experience picking up CBC in our area? I recall growing up in Essex Jct our antenna used to get the CTV station (poorly) but a) I don't recall CBC and b) I'm afraid the hills to the NW of our development would be kill any hope.

Well, so when I said rabbit ears, it was in fact a combo with a UHF loop. (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103916).

So, anyway, here's where I'm at:

1) Turns out I'm a bit of an ignoramus. I had apparently not run, or aborted the digital tuner setup when I was trying setup on our Comcast Basic cable service. I reran that and can get all of the local HD broadcasts I was looking for OTA (I had incorrectly assumed that Comcast wasn't broadcasting the local HD signals on the basic service, so would need to get them OTA.)

2) Based on my location I am however surprised that I wasn't able to get all of the stations when I hooked up the above antenna. Rob, one of the engineers over at VPT, was as well (I was really impressed that he called me back in follow up to my email.) He mentioned that it's possible that I'm "too" close and could be getting cross signal interference or just have an issue with an "umbrella" effect. I'm guessing that I may just be in a "dead spot" due to the neighbor's house. If I can find some free time, I'm planning to put as long of a piece of coax on the above mentioned antenna that I can find and move it around the living room and even out the back door to see if it solves the problem. Unfortunately I need to run the tuner search on my TV to find the station.

3) If it weren't for losing the English language CBC broadcast, (and assuming I find the WFFF and WETK signals without too much trouble) I would be ready to ditch Comcast. Anyone else local have any experience picking up CBC in our area? I recall growing up in Essex Jct our antenna used to get the CTV station (poorly) but a) I don't recall CBC and b) I'm afraid the hills to the NW of our development would be kill any hope.

I'm in St. Albans and was able to get some of the canadian stations analog with varying degrees of success, the digital signal is/or was more of a problem. I put up a new antenna a couple of months ago to replace my old and slightly broken (element here an element there) antenna. The old antenna was able to get an occasional lock on several canadian stations including one out of Ottawa. Usually I'm only able to get those stations at night and more often in the dead of winter with a nice cold and clear night. I havent tried recently to scan for any stations. Do understand my antenna (Radio Shack 80" boom) is pointed towards Mt. Mansfield and I was able to get stations 180 degrees opposite direction. I'm tempted to hook up my DB4 and aim that towards the border. The more stations the better!

I was wondering what Comcast HD channels are available in the Troy/Jay VT area? IT appears just the locals, discovery and the premiums?? Are more coming in Nov with the updates? THanks!

Hello, all

I recently moved to Winooski with a 50" Sony 1080p DLP. In our apartment we get free Comcast cable (no cable box, directly into TV) and when channel scanning, we get a few HD channels (two NBC, a CBS and a PBS, plus some news channels at 480i/p).. I think their numbers are 3.1, 3.2, 5.1, 9.4, and 21.3ish? After reading some of the posts, I would like to know if I need to get an antenna to get Fox and ABC, because if I had the complete OTA stations, I would be pretty satisfied. I can't tell if I'm getting these OTA or if they're from Comcast somehow. Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hello, all

I recently moved to Winooski with a 50" Sony 1080p DLP. In our apartment we get free Comcast cable (no cable box, directly into TV) and when channel scanning, we get a few HD channels (two NBC, a CBS and a PBS, plus some news channels at 480i/p).. I think their numbers are 3.1, 3.2, 5.1, 9.4, and 21.3ish? After reading some of the posts, I would like to know if I need to get an antenna to get Fox and ABC, because if I had the complete OTA stations, I would be pretty satisfied. I can't tell if I'm getting these OTA or if they're from Comcast somehow. Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I just scanned Comcast in South Burlington last night (my parents' house and new TV). I found these channels:

3.1, 3.2 (WCAX/CBS 3.1, and 3.2 as expected)
5.1 (WPTZ/NBC digital "5.1", but no 5.2 (shows up as 9.2)
9.3, 9.4 (WPTZ digital channels "5.1" and "5.2") show up here for some reason
21.1 (ETV "33.1")
22.1 (WVNY/ABC digital"22.1"), shows up here instead of as "4.1"
44.1 (Fox44 "44.1" digital), shows up here instead of as "9.1"

Hello, all

I recently moved to Winooski with a 50" Sony 1080p DLP. In our apartment we get free Comcast cable (no cable box, directly into TV) and when channel scanning, we get a few HD channels (two NBC, a CBS and a PBS, plus some news channels at 480i/p).. I think their numbers are 3.1, 3.2, 5.1, 9.4, and 21.3ish? After reading some of the posts, I would like to know if I need to get an antenna to get Fox and ABC, because if I had the complete OTA stations, I would be pretty satisfied. I can't tell if I'm getting these OTA or if they're from Comcast somehow. Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

First of all, your Sony is definitely not a DLP since Sony has never made DLPs. It's probably an SXRD (LCoS) model which uses an LCD-based technology. DLPs use a totally different technology which is not LCD-based. What is the model number? Some Sony models have 2 coaxial RF inputs (1 for OTA and one for Cable) and some have only 1 (same input is used for both OTA and Cable).

Is anybody else having problems with WPTZ HD? Almost every primetime show has some kind of glitch, either where the video seems to lose half its frames, or else everything starts stuttering, like both the video and audio are going in slow motion. Is this just me, just Videotron, or is it everybody?

First of all, your Sony is definitely not a DLP since Sony has never made DLPs. It's probably an SXRD (LCoS) model which uses an LCD-based technology. DLPs use a totally different technology which is not LCD-based. What is the model number? Some Sony models have 2 coaxial RF inputs (1 for OTA and one for Cable) and some have only 1 (same input is used for both OTA and Cable).

My bad, yeah it is SXRD. I don't really even know why I thought it was DLP, I was comparing a few different models and the others were DLP. It's model KDS-50A2000. There are two coax inputs in the back, but I only have the cable hooked in atm, but am getting these HD stations somehow.

Is anybody else having problems with WPTZ HD? Almost every primetime show has some kind of glitch, either where the video seems to lose half its frames, or else everything starts stuttering, like both the video and audio are going in slow motion. Is this just me, just Videotron, or is it everybody?

I've been noticing that there has been an inconsistent framerate during Heroes when I watch, it's pretty, but still slightly disappointing... but I don't think I dropped half the frames... a good amount to be noticeable though.

Is anybody else having problems with WPTZ HD? Almost every primetime show has some kind of glitch, either where the video seems to lose half its frames, or else everything starts stuttering, like both the video and audio are going in slow motion. Is this just me, just Videotron, or is it everybody?

Yup, I've been noticing the same thing through Comcast. I've seen it in several NBC shows.

My bad, yeah it is SXRD. I don't really even know why I thought it was DLP, I was comparing a few different models and the others were DLP. It's model KDS-50A2000. There are two coax inputs in the back, but I only have the cable hooked in atm, but am getting these HD stations somehow.

Since you are connected only to the Cable RF input on your TV, all the digital stations you are receiving are on the cable. That input cannot handle OTA digital because of the different modulation methods used by digital OTA (8VSB) and digital cable (QAM). If you press the "Display" button on the remote the channel numbers that show should be prefixed with a C, as is the usual practice on Sony TVs with a separate RF input for cable.

The only OTA broadcasts that the cable RF input on your Sony should be able to handle are the analogue ones. Analogue channels 3, 5, 22, 33, 44 and 57 would show up as c-3, c-5, c-73, c-84, c-100, and c-113. (These are the standard analogue cable channels that correspond to the standard frequencies used for OTA).

As of this afternoon, i'm getting channel 38 quite better than before the tower collapse!!

As of this afternoon, i'm getting channel 38 quite better than before the tower collapse!!

:)
As of 1:50pm today, WCFE switched to their full power transmitter on Lyon Mountain.

I am receiving WCFE-HD, WCFE-D1 and WCFE-D2 with a signal strength of 98 on in Pointe-Claire on Montreal's West Island.

Anyone know what they are calling the new WCFE-D2 (57.3)? It's not "Create" as on WETK's 33.3.

:)
As of 1:50pm today, WCFE switched to their full power transmitter on Lyon Mountain.I must say, I am mightily impressed that they got a whole new tower and transmitter operational in 6 months start-to-finish.

I am receiving WCFE-HD, WCFE-D1 and WCFE-D2 with a signal strength of 98 on in Pointe-Claire on Montreal's West Island.

Anyone know what they are calling the new WCFE-D2 (57.3)? It's not "Create" as on WETK's 33.3.

It's called ThinkBright TV. A life long learning network developed by and for New York PBS stations.

I must say, I am mightily impressed that they got a whole new tower and transmitter operational in 6 months start-to-finish.

Luckily there was little damage to the building and none to the transmitters. However it was a major undertaking as tons of old scrap tower were removed and the placement of the new tower sections and antennas were facilitated entirely by helicopter. In addition, new tower base and guy wire foundations were constructed. The weather was forgiving and the construction crews worked all but two days from late July until the last week in September. The station also new from experience, that if the tower was not up by the end of October, the weather would kick in and contruction delayed until spring.

techno57, thanks for the info. Good to know you're here. I hope you don't mind answering a few questions I have.

Was the installation just for digital transmission or was analog restored as well? Since analog shutoff is so close, if there is analog service, are there seperate transmitting antennas, or a combiner (and if there's a combiner, will it be removed in spring 2009 to reduce digital TPO costs)?

And, do you know if the station purchased a brand-new high-definition encoding system to be able to broadcast 57.3? If that happened, was it from Harris, Harmonic, or another company?

Thanks!

techno57, thanks for the info. Good to know you're here. I hope you don't mind answering a few questions I have.

Was the installation just for digital transmission or was analog restored as well? Since analog shutoff is so close, if there is analog service, are there seperate transmitting antennas, or a combiner (and if there's a combiner, will it be removed in spring 2009 to reduce digital TPO costs)?

And, do you know if the station purchased a brand-new high-definition encoding system to be able to broadcast 57.3? If that happened, was it from Harris, Harmonic, or another company?

Thanks!

The analogue service on Channel 57 from Lyon Mountain was fully restored on October 4, as was reported on the MountainLake PBS website, and in this thread (post #2678 and following oosts), at the time. See http://www.mountainlake.org for details and a photo of the new tower.

techno57 can best answer your other questions.

After scanning my Dish 722 to add WCFE, the unit went failure with the audio from a number of local feeds. A call to Dish Tech Support seems to indicate that there is something wrong with the latest software download that added Dish on Demand. Anyone else having audio problems with a 622 or 722?

After scanning my Dish 722 to add WCFE, the unit went failure with the audio from a number of local feeds. A call to Dish Tech Support seems to indicate that there is something wrong with the latest software download that added Dish on Demand. Anyone else having audio problems with a 622 or 722?When I first got my 622 about 1 yr ago, whenever I did a local channel scan, the screen would go blank after a few minutes. The only way to recover was to do a hard-reset (by holding down the power button on the front of the unit). It took awhile, but that problem was eventually fixed. Sounds like the 722 is having similar issues.

Strange that doing a channel scan would be so difficult to get right in the firmware.

techno57, thanks for the info. Good to know you're here. I hope you don't mind answering a few questions I have.

Was the installation just for digital transmission or was analog restored as well? Since analog shutoff is so close, if there is analog service, are there seperate transmitting antennas, or a combiner (and if there's a combiner, will it be removed in spring 2009 to reduce digital TPO costs)?

And, do you know if the station purchased a brand-new high-definition encoding system to be able to broadcast 57.3? If that happened, was it from Harris, Harmonic, or another company?

Thanks!

Both analog and digital are combined to a single broadband antenna. Since the power loss through the combiner is about .1db, the combiner stays. Plus it gives the transmitter a little better buffer against lightning strikes.
At the time of the collapse, we were in the process of installing an entirely new digital master control. Although not fully complete, we used the new encoding system when we commisioned the temporary digital transmitter at our studio location. The new encoders from Harmonic, replaced our Agilevision and an older Harmonic that was no longer ATSC compliant.

When I first got my 622 about 1 yr ago, whenever I did a local channel scan, the screen would go blank after a few minutes. The only way to recover was to do a hard-reset (by holding down the power button on the front of the unit). It took awhile, but that problem was eventually fixed. Sounds like the 722 is having similar issues.

Strange that doing a channel scan would be so difficult to get right in the firmware.
After finally getting through to someone at Dish Network, it seems that the trouble with the strange audio querks is really caused by their download of the newest software. There is no estimate on how long it will take to fix it--so Dish Net owners with receivers622, 722 and, perhaps others, beware--especially if you are recording some important program.

Say, did anyone in the vicinity of the Champlain Valley manage to snag one of the ~$99 HD-A2s from WalMart? I didn't hear about it until late in the day today. Gonna check the Williston WalMart tomorrow (Saturday)...

http://www.walmart.com/secret

Say, did anyone in the vicinity of the Champlain Valley manage to snag one of the ~$99 HD-A2s from WalMart? I didn't hear about it until late in the day today. Gonna check the Williston WalMart tomorrow (Saturday)...

http://www.walmart.com/secret
the same unit is at circuit city for 129.99. - good deal- wish we had a walmart in ST. A.

I wish I had a chance to get one for $99, would have made a good Christmas present. I have been loving the 360 add on for a year now.

On another note, I recall that WPTZ said they were planning on showing Jeopardy/Wheel in HD "later on in the year" sometime back in spring. I've been out of the area for a while now but judging by the fact there hasn't been any chatter on here about it, and that the station is WPTZ, that they have yet to upgrade. Does anyone have an idea of when they plan on flipping those two shows over to HD? Something tells me it won't be this year.

I snagged one of the HD DVD units. I expected that there would be a line to get at the pallet of units but there were only about five of us waiting at 8am. Most folks bought two units.
I was disturbed by one thing when I opened the box. It was a disclaimer that if anything were wrong with the unit that it was NOT to be taken it back to the store. All warranty services must be completed by Toshiba directly. I consider this to be a disturbing trend. If any electronic gear is DOA--I want to take it back to the store for immediate replacement--or at least to let them deal with the return packing and postage.
I doubt that there are any units left, but I would caution folks to note that this unit is capable of only delivering 1080i NOT 1080p. It is also my understanding that no firmware download will ever be able to fix this. For me the unit is just for those titles that are exclusive to HD DVD.
I am a die-hard Blu Ray fan and have been completely happy with my PS3. It is a joy to simply hit one button and watch the machine update itself with all of the latest upgrades--including the future ability to download HD movies directly to the unit.
Although I am convinced that Blu Ray will eventually win this war of greed, both sides may just get the startling news that consumers are turning away from this fight and will download their movie fare directly to hard drives. I know that I've started doing just that with an outboard hard drive used with my Dish 722 DVR. I'll religate buying discs only to those titles (like Transformers, Casino Royal) in which the production values (especially audio) warrant the purchase.

Say, did anyone in the vicinity of the Champlain Valley manage to snag one of the ~$99 HD-A2s from WalMart? I didn't hear about it until late in the day today. Gonna check the Williston WalMart tomorrow (Saturday)...

http://www.walmart.com/secret

Best Buy was actually a better deal. Starting Thursday, their price on the A2 was $99.99 and you got to pick any 2 HD-DVD's off the shelf for free (up to $34.99 each). I bought two players and got to pick 4 movies. They had 27 A2s in stock on Thursday when I bought them. They're probably all gone now.

I called wal-mart on friday around 10am. The lady said they sold about 100 of them and were sold out. I did hear they were going to do it again during the holiday season.

Also, not having 1080p output means little when it comes to hd-dvd and blu-ray. No more information is added with the 1080p output, as it's only 24 frames to begin with. It does matter if your TV does not handle the deinterlacing part of it correctly, or is able to display @ 48 or 72 hz. So I would not let that effect your decision on getting a $99 hd player. I just wish ps3's were the same price. I'd have one!

For me the unit is just for those titles that are exclusive to HD DVD. I am a die-hard Blu Ray fan and have been completely happy with my PS3.

I missed the $99 HD-A2, but I did end up going for the $199 HD-A3 for this very same reason. I no longer wanted to deny myself the titles that I'd really like to have. For a brand new 3rd gen player, it seems very primitive to my year old PS3, which I bought specifically as a movie player.

anyone know why NBA games on MOJO are blacked out? I was psyched last night b/c my Knicks were on, but no dice.

I think it's usually blacked out because of licensing rights for some reason. Unfortunately, I have ghosting problems watching basketball on Mojo. I think TBS/TNT does a great job covering sports. I was watching the Bulls/Piston game tonight on TNT and it looked great. I didn't notice any ghosting and only a slight pixelated picture during camera changes that went away after a bit. I was impressed with their baseball playoff coverage too.

I think it's usually blacked out because of licensing rights for some reason. Unfortunately, I have ghosting problems watching basketball on Mojo. I think TBS/TNT does a great job covering sports. I was watching the Bulls/Piston game tonight on TNT and it looked great. I didn't notice any ghosting and only a slight pixelated picture during camera changes that went away after a bit. I was impressed with their baseball playoff coverage too.

Yeah, TNT has definitely improved. Basketball broadcasts seem to have much less pixelation than they used to and the colors seem truer/less jarring. Not sure what would account for this, but I'm definitely happy about it.

As far as MOJO being blacked out, it doesn't make sense to me because the same games aren't being aired on any other channels as far as I can tell.

Does anyone know the status of The CW20 on D* or E*? I hope someday we see this as it's own OTA station from Mansfield instead of a subchannel. And well I'm still dreaming, I wouldn't mind if My39 got a full power station up there too.

Since the $97 HD DVD player interested so many folks, I thought that some of you might be interested in the Black Friday deals which are reported to by happening:
Circuit City:
Samsung Blu-Ray Player w/8 Free Movies -- $377.99
Panasonic 42-inch Plasma HDTV -- $999.99
Polaroid 40-inch LCD HDTV -- $699.99
Samsung 50-inch Plasma HDTV -- $1399.99
Samsung 50-inch Slim DLP HDTV -- $799.99
Sharp 32-inch LCD HDTV -- $599.99
Sharp 46-inch 1080p LCD HDTV -- $1299.99
Sharp 52-inch 1080p LCD HDTV -- $2199.99
Sony Bravia 32-inch LCD HDTV -- $699.99
Zenith 50-inch Plasma HDTV -- $999.99
Toshiba 50-inch 1080p DLP HDTV -- $1499.99

Best Buy:
Toshiba 1080i HD-A3 HD-DVD Player -- $199.99
Samsung 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player -- $399.99
Dynex 37-inch 720p LCD HDTV -- $629.99
Dynex 32-inch LCD HDTV -- $449.99
HP 42-inch 1080p LCD HDTV -- $996.99
Mitsubishi 65-inch 1080p DLP HDTV -- $1499.99
Panasonic 42-inch 720p Plasma TV-- $899.99
Philips 32-inch 720p LCD HDTV -- $599.99
Samsung 50-inch Plasma 720p HDTV -- $1399.99
Westinghouse 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV -- $1299.99

Does anyone know the status of The CW20 on D* or E*? I hope someday we see this as it's own OTA station from Mansfield instead of a subchannel. And well I'm still dreaming, I wouldn't mind if My39 got a full power station up there too.I would think that due to the cost of putting a new station up on Mansfield, it wouldn't be worth it. I'd expect it to be cable-only. As for My39, what's in HD there right now, anyway? They'll probably convert to digital or HD in Feb. 2009 with a flash-cut.

Tomorrow is supposed to be the day that all the new HD channels get added to the Comcast lineup. I'm not counting on seeing them right away since it's usually a hassle to get them added to my cable cards. If you get the new channels tomorrow, please post here so I know that I should start calling Comcast to get them added. Thanks!

Been "lurking"here for many months and thought I'd ask this question. We are currently "Dish"subscribers and Comcast is currently in the process of trenching lines up our road. My expectation is that they will be making subscription offers to all residents along our road soon. Because I will soon be looking at substantial tree trimming costs in order to maintain our satellite reception, and because we are frustrated by the lack of HD locals available via the satellite providers,would any of you recommend that we convert to Comcast? One additional consideration,we are some 500 ft. from the road so,from what I've been told,there would be a substantial cost for the installation. Thanks.

Tomorrow is supposed to be the day that all the new HD channels get added to the Comcast lineup. I'm not counting on seeing them right away since it's usually a hassle to get them added to my cable cards. If you get the new channels tomorrow, please post here so I know that I should start calling Comcast to get them added. Thanks!

All the new channels seem to be working fine for me in Waterbury.

Tomorrow is supposed to be the day that all the new HD channels get added to the Comcast lineup. I'm not counting on seeing them right away since it's usually a hassle to get them added to my cable cards. If you get the new channels tomorrow, please post here so I know that I should start calling Comcast to get them added. Thanks!

I have the new channels on both my 8300HD and on my TiVo HD with cablecards (Williston).

I see:
762 HSTHD
763 USAHD
765 HDDSC
766 MHD
767 UHD
768 HGTVD
769 FOODH

775 VSGHD

I'll submit a lineup request to TiVo later today. Looks like comcast doesn't have all the lineup info loaded even on their own boxes yet as my 8300HD showed "no data" for most of the new channels this a.m.

Good progress by Comcast - it's nice to see this stream of new channels being added regularly... Hope they keep it up!

I have the new channels on both my 8300HD and on my TiVo HD with cablecards (Williston).

I see:
762 HSTHD
763 USAHD
765 HDDSC
766 MHD
767 UHD
768 HGTVD
769 FOODH

775 VSGHD

I'll submit a lineup request to TiVo later today. Looks like comcast doesn't have all the lineup info loaded even on their own boxes yet as my 8300HD showed "no data" for most of the new channels this a.m.

Good progress by Comcast - it's nice to see this stream of new channels being added regularly... Hope they keep it up!

Comcast's process much be getting better because I actually have the new channels on my cable cards today too. I'm surprised that they added HD Discovery, since it wasn't on their list that they were adding. I specifically requested that they add it, but I doubt that had anything to do with it. It will be nice to watch Mythbusters in HD!

I submitted a lineup change to TiVo for the new channels last week in hopes that they would make the change in time for today, but obviously that didn't happen. It wouldn't hurt to have as many people as possible submit the lineup changes.

Been "lurking"here for many months and thought I'd ask this question. We are currently "Dish"subscribers and Comcast is currently in the process of trenching lines up our road. My expectation is that they will be making subscription offers to all residents along our road soon. Because I will soon be looking at substantial tree trimming costs in order to maintain our satellite reception, and because we are frustrated by the lack of HD locals available via the satellite providers,would any of you recommend that we convert to Comcast? One additional consideration,we are some 500 ft. from the road so,from what I've been told,there would be a substantial cost for the installation. Thanks.

I think you will need more info before making a decision. I am 650' off the road and was quoted over $7000 for a cable hookup. I was only considering it for broadband. Having had cable for 9 years in another state, I swore I would never have cable again because of poor service (every thunderstorm would knock it out for hours) and rapid price increases. I've had Dish for 7 years now and the service has been stable, price increases modest and infrequent. Upgraded to HD 3 months ago and am very pleased. As for the locals in HD, I use OTA into my Dish receiver and got the DVR Advantage that included locals for $1.03 to map the OTA channels into the guide.
You might evaluate relocating your sat dish to avoid the tree trimming.

forgot to mention. An OTA antenna for HS locals is out of the question as we are really "buried"in a hole here that is why I am considering Comcast. The guys doing the trenching up our main road stated that the first 200 ft. of cable is free and then the subscriber bears the remainder of the cost.

Anyone know why on earth the Celtics/Pacers game wasn't aired on ch. 779 (Comcast Sportsnet HD) last night? There was just this bluew screen reading "HD Sports" for the duration of the game. It wasn't picked up by TNT, TBS or any other network as far as I could tell. What gives?

I have comcast in bristol and I do not even see a spot for 779, does everyone else have 779 in their lineup?

:confused:

In Colchester, Comcast had the following for the past year:
3.1 - WCAX
3.2 - WCAX-2
21.3 - PBS

Then last Thursday or Friday it changed to:
3.1 - Nothing
3.2 - CW (WFFF-2? but labelled WCAX-2)
21.3 - ABC (but labelled PBS!)
44.1 - FOX

No change since then. I'm almost afraid to call and complain - they might remove them all :eek:l

forgot to mention. An OTA antenna for HS locals is out of the question as we are really "buried"in a hole here that is why I am considering Comcast. The guys doing the trenching up our main road stated that the first 200 ft. of cable is free and then the subscriber bears the remainder of the cost.

I would request a quote, without it you really don't know if it's going to be cheap or way too expensive.

Anyone know why on earth the Celtics/Pacers game wasn't aired on ch. 779 (Comcast Sportsnet HD) last night? There was just this bluew screen reading "HD Sports" for the duration of the game. It wasn't picked up by TNT, TBS or any other network as far as I could tell. What gives?


Comcast SportsNet only broadcasts Celtics games in HD for home games.


NBA games slated to air on Mojo are blacked out in areas that do not offer NBATV.

I thought that folks might be interested in this site that lists great HD sales on Black Friday. http://www.tvpredictions.com/bfguide111707.htm

I thought that folks might be interested in this site that lists great HD sales on Black Friday. http://www.tvpredictions.com/bfguide111707.htm

Also take a look at http://www.bfads.net

FYI the Sharp 46 inch at CC is the 64U. The price actually beats the Sharp F&F deal this past Sept by a buck! The Williston CC store only has the 42 inch model. Guy says they can't get any and doesn't know why. :rolleyes: Problem is CC online says this model is not available period, although its listed. :eek: Either CC is being caggy with this unit til Friday or maybe the bean counters said "What! Are you crazy! No freaking way!" :p Countdown to Friday has started! :D