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

If you're interested in a PS3 player with 15 free Blu rays DVDs take a look at this story. It really does seem to good to be true but you might want to call Wal Mart.

Sorry forgot to add the link: http://www.psxextreme.com/ps3-news/2167.html

I have a question for local Tivo HD owners. Does the Burlington Comcast office have MCard compatible CableCards to utilize two tuners without paying extra for multiple cards?

Having tons of drop outs with Comcast Fox Packers-Detroit game in the Jay area, anyone else??

No problems in Newport Center, off-air. :)

I have a question for local Tivo HD owners. Does the Burlington Comcast office have MCard compatible CableCards to utilize two tuners without paying extra for multiple cards?

Nope, they only have S-Cards. I specifically asked them to bring one M-Card or two S-Cards. They showed up with one S-Card and said that they don't have any M-Cards. I made the tech go back to the office and get another S-Card. The good news is that Comast around here doesn't seem to charge any extra for multiple cable cards. I know they do in other areas, but I have a total of 6 cable cards now and there aren't any extra charges for any of them.

Nope, they only have S-Cards. I specifically asked them to bring one M-Card or two S-Cards. They showed up with one S-Card and said that they don't have any M-Cards. I made the tech go back to the office and get another S-Card. The good news is that Comast around here doesn't seem to charge any extra for multiple cable cards. I know they do in other areas, but I have a total of 6 cable cards now and there aren't any extra charges for any of them.

Thanks for the info.

I have a followup question after reading posts in another forum. Has anybody been successful in walking into the local Comcast office and having them hand you cablecards without having to have a tech come out to your house?

Thanks for the info.

I have a followup question after reading posts in another forum. Has anybody been successful in walking into the local Comcast office and having them hand you cablecards without having to have a tech come out to your house?

I've tried many times over the last year. You CANNOT get cable cards from the South Burlington office. It's ludicrous, but the ONLY way to get them is to make an appointment and have a "tech" bring them to you. They used to charge $25 for this, but now they charge $15. I've had some success getting the fee waived by arguing that they shouldn't charge me for the truck roll since I'm willing to come and get them myself. YMMV with that though.

I saw that WFFF is starting their 10 PM newscast December 3rd, I wonder if it will be in HD or at least widescreen.

I'm anxious to see if they are going to have a Montreal bureau too...

Hi- are there any websites out there that lists all the Dish Network HD Local Channels that are available and future markets as well. I hate watching the Burlington locals in SD. I live in West Lebanon NH so I cannot receive them OTA. Thanks

I've tried many times over the last year. You CANNOT get cable cards from the South Burlington office. It's ludicrous, but the ONLY way to get them is to make an appointment and have a "tech" bring them to you. They used to charge $25 for this, but now they charge $15. I've had some success getting the fee waived by arguing that they shouldn't charge me for the truck roll since I'm willing to come and get them myself. YMMV with that though.

Its done like that because the pairing information has to be called into dispatch by the technician. CSRs do not have access to the system to enter the pairing information into the system so IF you did pick up the cable cards, you could be waiting up to 24 hours for the Cable Cards to activate instead of when the tech leaves. Pick your poison.

Its done like that because the pairing information has to be called into dispatch by the technician. CSRs do not have access to the system to enter the pairing information into the system so IF you did pick up the cable cards, you could be waiting up to 24 hours for the Cable Cards to activate instead of when the tech leaves. Pick your poison.

Yes, somebody has to call in and read off the Cable Card number and Host ID. There's no reason that the person reading that info off the screen has to be a technician. The "techs" that they send don't even know anything about Cable Cards, so I have to show them exactly what information they need so they can relay it to the office over the phone. It's a waste of resources if you ask me. Especially when the tech just stands in your living room on hold for a half hour before getting through to anyone.

Hi- are there any websites out there that lists all the Dish Network HD Local Channels that are available and future markets as well. I hate watching the Burlington locals in SD. I live in West Lebanon NH so I cannot receive them OTA. Thanks

Apparently they are launching 2 satellites next month that will give them the capacity to have 100 markets in HD, so Burlington should be in that group. Have you tried getting WNNE and WVTA from Ascutney? And you might be able to get WMUR in HD since I believe they are carried by Dish Network for the Boston market. That would at least get you ABC, NBC and PBS until they started carrying Burlington channels.

I saw the commercial again and on the weather section you could see a "Skytracker HD" logo so that's given me hope we could soon see the first HD local news broadcast in our area.

Yes, somebody has to call in and read off the Cable Card number and Host ID. There's no reason that the person reading that info off the screen has to be a technician. The "techs" that they send don't even know anything about Cable Cards, so I have to show them exactly what information they need so they can relay it to the office over the phone. It's a waste of resources if you ask me. Especially when the tech just stands in your living room on hold for a half hour before getting through to anyone.

Half hour vs twenty four hours (if that) is the decision you have to make. I agree that most techs coming to your home do not know how to find the pairing information but figure about 5% of the Comcast customer who actually own a cable card devise actually knows how to access the pairing information. It is the majority that ruins it for the rest of us. Having a tech come out to your home just ensures that everything will be working when he leaves. So meanwhile, how is everything working for you now?

Half hour vs twenty four hours (if that) is the decision you have to make. I agree that most techs coming to your home do not know how to find the pairing information but figure about 5% of the Comcast customer who actually own a cable card devise actually knows how to access the pairing information. It is the majority that ruins it for the rest of us. Having a tech come out to your home just ensures that everything will be working when he leaves. So meanwhile, how is everything working for you now?

I'm not sure where the 24 hours is coming from since it's not even an option to do it yourself. Since the appointment for the tech to come is always more than 24 hours out, I'd still rather go pick up the cards right away and wait 24 hours for them to start working if that was even an option. The cards are one-way devices, so there's nothing a tech can do on site to get them paired. If the truck roll was free, it wouldn't be a big deal. But I don't like having to pay to have somebody bring cards to my house when I'm willing to go get them myself and call in the pairing info, if they would just let me pick up the cards and give me the phone number to call.

I'm not sure where the 24 hours is coming from since it's not even an option to do it yourself. Since the appointment for the tech to come is always more than 24 hours out, I'd still rather go pick up the cards right away and wait 24 hours for them to start working if that was even an option. The cards are one-way devices, so there's nothing a tech can do on site to get them paired. If the truck roll was free, it wouldn't be a big deal. But I don't like having to pay to have somebody bring cards to my house when I'm willing to go get them myself and call in the pairing info, if they would just let me pick up the cards and give me the phone number to call.

When I had a problem with my Sony TV losing channels, I called Comcast to get help with it. CSR asked for the pairing information and said she said she had to forward the information to another department. It could take up to 24 hours for the channels to come back on because they need to verify the information. Come to find out that the problem was the Sony TV but that is a whole other story and mess. But this is where I got the 24 hours from. Assuming we could pick up the cards, I would believe the turn around time is the same.

When I had a problem with my Sony TV losing channels, I called Comcast to get help with it. CSR asked for the pairing information and said she said she had to forward the information to another department. It could take up to 24 hours for the channels to come back on because they need to verify the information. Come to find out that the problem was the Sony TV but that is a whole other story and mess. But this is where I got the 24 hours from. Assuming we could pick up the cards, I would believe the turn around time is the same.

I'd be willing to bet that she told you it would take 24 hours just to get you off the phone. It's been my experience that when you call Comcast about ANY problems with cable cards, they have absolutely no idea how to fix it or who to talk to. They usually just say that they have to send a tech out to fix it. But a tech can't do anything from your house since cable cards are one-way devices.

Anyway, I guess it doesn't really matter since self installs are not an option.

So my siblings and I are planning to chip in and buy my parents an HDTV for Christmas this year. They live in Maine where they're served by Time Warner Cable, so I sent TWC email and asked them which of the local HD affiliates are available to basic-cable subscribers using an HDTV with built-in QAM tuner. Here's the bullsh*t answer I received..

Thank you for your email. We have no way of knowing exactly what high definition channels you would receive with a QAM tuner. Factors determining the outcome of this option range from the quality of the specific tuner and/or cable HD-ready television being used to various weather conditions that may affect the quality of the signal you are attempting to receive.

Time Warner Cable service can provide you with quality, reliable local HD programming with our Digital Cable package. If you would like more information on this and other services we offer, please don't hesitate to contact us. WTF??? This response is nothing but a Digital Cable up-sell.

So my siblings and I are planning to chip in and buy my parents an HDTV for Christmas this year. They live in Maine where they're served by Time Warner Cable, so I sent TWC email and asked them which of the local HD affiliates are available to basic-cable subscribers using an HDTV with built-in QAM tuner. Here's the bullsh*t answer I received..

WTF??? This response is nothing but a Digital Cable up-sell.

I would love to know what 'various weather conditions' affect the cable going directly to the basic cable subscribers that isn't affecting the digital cable customers. And if they don't know what is in their digital pipeline they have a bigger problem than weather.

So my siblings and I are planning to chip in and buy my parents an HDTV for Christmas this year. They live in Maine where they're served by Time Warner Cable, so I sent TWC email and asked them which of the local HD affiliates are available to basic-cable subscribers using an HDTV with built-in QAM tuner. Here's the bullsh*t answer I received..

WTF??? This response is nothing but a Digital Cable up-sell.

I think they misunderstood the request. Not many CSRs realize that by going cable direct you can pick up the local HD stations. Sounds like they thought you meant a QAM antenna which the answer would make some sense.

I think they misunderstood the request. Not many CSRs realize that by going cable direct you can pick up the local HD stations. Sounds like they thought you meant a QAM antenna which the answer would make some sense.ATSC = Antenna. QAM = Cable. I'd think they'd know the difference. Now that I think about it, I must have asked the wrong question. I asked which channels I could receive. I should have asked which channels they broadcast. ;)

I have not seen any mention regarding today's article (BFP) about WFFF HDTV news starting Monday.
I also hope it is good enough to expedite CAX and PTZ to switch to an all HD format with their news soon.
Competition is good.

WFFF FOX 44 at last check had not even updated their web site promoting the newscast launch.

Move of CW fell right in line with their goal of launching a newscast.

How WPTZ can't get up to speed with HD format is crazy. Way behind the times.

I have seen the Fox news vehicles on the road at sporting events over the last month.

How WPTZ can't get up to speed with HD format is crazy. Way behind the times.

I get my locals thru Dish not wanting to put up an external antenna. Are you saying Ch 5 doesn't have an HD signal yet or just the nightly news. Gee no Smil'n Tom in HD... :p

I get my locals thru Dish not wanting to put up an external antenna. Are you saying Ch 5 doesn't have an HD signal yet or just the nightly news. Gee no Smil'n Tom in HD... :p

The newscast isn't in HD.

Who would have ever thought that WFFF would have been the first station in our area to have High Def News??? Here's an article from TV Predictions:

Fox Affiliate In Vermont Goes HD With News
There are now about 65 local stations offering high-def news.
By Swanni

Washington, D.C. (December 4, 2007) -- WFFF-TV, the Fox affiliate in Vermont, last night began broadcasting a 10 p.m. local newscast in High-Definition.

The HD production also marked the first news program of any kind for the station, according to The Rutland Herald. And WFFF says it's the first in the area to offer high-def news.

"We will differentiate ourselves because we're the first in this market to be shot in High-Definition and broadcast in High-Definition, so it'll have this crisp, clean look that will stand out a great deal," WFFF news director Kathleen Harrington told the newspaper.

Known as Fox 44, the station is broadcasting from a new newsroom and 1,200 square-foot studio, according to the Rutland Herald.

For the first time since 2003, the newspaper writes, Vermont viewers will have three local TV stations that air local news programs. (Although WFFF is the only one producing the news in high-def.)

The Rutland Herald says the WFFF broadcast can be seen in all but two of Vermont's counties. (Bennington and Windham) and will also be available in some New York and New Hampshire markets.

There are now approximately 65 local stations offering local high-def newscasts.

I watched the broadcast (alternating with Victoria Secret special) last night and it looked great! Fox 44 News being on at 10:00 also means I don't have to stay up late to watch the news.

The title pretty much says it all. The ISF site for Vermont lists 3... Any experience here with them and if so how much $$'s

The title pretty much says it all. The ISF site for Vermont lists 3... Any experience here with them and if so how much $$'s

Not sure if this is of any interest to you but on THX DVDs (Star Wars, Planet of the Apes, and a few others) there is a feature that allows you to calibrate your audio and video. I've used it for my Sony LCD and it looks great IMO.

Has anyone noticed any signal strength changes in WPTZ? In the past week or two it has been coming in at around 80% whereas before it wouldn't lock.

This is a little OT, but I was wondering if anyone knows if there's a bar in or near Burlington that will be airing the Hatton/Mayweather fight?

Has anyone noticed any signal strength changes in WPTZ? In the past week or two it has been coming in at around 80% whereas before it wouldn't lock.
We've lost the digital transmission from WPTZ a few times this past week. Signal has been in the high 80s when it was working.

TQS started HD OTA from Montreal, they are on the air right now.
Vermont should be able to get it!
TVA from MTL should folow soon..

kinda ironic that TQS is almost banckrupt, and they go HD OTA before TVA.

Anyone notice that CBS (WCAX) has a weird greenish tint to it? I'm watching the Jacksonville/Houston game and the Jax jersies and basically the image in general seems to have a green tint. Doesn't seem to be happening on other channels; hoping it's not my tv. Can anyone else watching the game confirm this?

Schumimtl,
What channel is TQS broadcasting on?

Is anyone from Burlington area actually receiving it

I'm still trying to get wvny-dt(ABC) from Mtl south SHORE,anything new since last year?
Frequency change?Signal Boost?

By the way TQS-DT IS CH.42.

What channel is TQS broadcasting on?


42. The 39dBuV/m F(50/90)[50% of locations 90% of the time] contour just touches the international border, about 12 miles SE of Lacolle QC.

See http://www.crtc.gc.ca/public/broad/applications/2007/2007-0444-6.zip for details. The coverage map is in Annexe 2B.PDF. You want to look at the inner contour -- the outer one was the one that was originally authorized for transmitting from Mount Royal. The new (smaller) pattern is for the new transmitter atop an apartment building in Montreal.

The

Last Saturday's game lent a unique opportunity to see the HD broadcast over three different sourrces. I had assumed that my feed from Dish Net would be the best. However, the OTA feed from WCAX was clearer, sharper and more detailed. Channel 5's(WPTZ) was a poor third to the NFL Networks second place. I guess that this speaks volumes about the evils of compression. I think that we can all expect to see lower quality feeds as more and more channels are added by satellite companies. What a shame really now that we've finally got some great source material. Anyone with Direct TV have a different experience?

Last Saturday's game lent a unique opportunity to see the HD broadcast over three different sourrces. I had assumed that my feed from Dish Net would be the best. However, the OTA feed from WCAX was clearer, sharper and more detailed. Channel 5's(WPTZ) was a poor third to the NFL Networks second place. I guess that this speaks volumes about the evils of compression. I think that we can all expect to see lower quality feeds as more and more channels are added by satellite companies. What a shame really now that we've finally got some great source material. Anyone with Direct TV have a different experience?

I was comparing the CBS and NBC feeds coming from Comcast, and there really wasn't much of a difference in the picture quality. I did notice, however, that the NBC feed had Dolby Digital 5.1 while the CBS feeds was only Dolby Digital 2.0.

We've lost the digital transmission from WPTZ a few times this past week. Signal has been in the high 80s when it was working.
Switched out my DB4 for a PR4400 antenna and my digital signal for WPTZ jumped from the low 70s to the mid 80s. I made the switch because 1) I had a PR4400 in the garage and 2) it has more net gain for low UHF (below 20) channels.
However, I did notice when I disconnected the DB4 that the coax was not very tight in the joiner box.

With the announcement of Warner Brothers going Blu Ray exclusive, we should see the end of the HD disc format war. That's great news for anyone interested in HD. Now I can put that HD DVD player--that I stood in line at Wal Mart to get for a Black Friday $99 special--right on top of my Laserdisc player. Doopy me....

Anyone else having issues with WVNY-HD? I've been getting little to no signal for the past couple of hours.

Anyone else having issues with WVNY-HD? I've been getting little to no signal for the past couple of hours.I just now checked, and my signal is at the usual 100% according to my DishNet Vip622.

Thanks for the reply vttom. You actually helped me out a while back - maybe you can help again. I've been up and running with an indoor RadioShack antenna since the beginning of the digital broadcasting. Today, however, I installed an outdoor antenna on the side of my house (another RadioShack - model DA-5200, catalog# 15-2186). All of my signals are at 100% except for for WVNY which has zero signal. Any suggestions? I tried spinning/rotating the antenna but still haven't had any success. I'm assuming this has something to do with WVNY being a VHF signal - although this model antenna says it does receive VHF signals (some models I noticed were UHF only). I was getting WVNY perfectly with my indoor antenna...plus I have a clear shot to Mansfield and I'm pretty much at the foot of the mountain here in Williston.

Thanks for the reply vttom. You actually helped me out a while back - maybe you can help again. I've been up and running with an indoor RadioShack antenna since the beginning of the digital broadcasting. Today, however, I installed an outdoor antenna on the side of my house (another RadioShack - model DA-5200, catalog# 15-2186). All of my signals are at 100% except for for WVNY which has zero signal. Any suggestions? I tried spinning/rotating the antenna but still haven't had any success. I'm assuming this has something to do with WVNY being a VHF signal - although this model antenna says it does receive VHF signals (some models I noticed were UHF only). I was getting WVNY perfectly with my indoor antenna...plus I have a clear shot to Mansfield and I'm pretty much at the foot of the mountain here in Williston.

If it is the panel type of antenna, it probably does not do VHF well enough. If you can tilt your antenna upwards it may help. But you can make a good VHF folded dipole antenna for channel 13 with a 26" strip of flat antenna wire (300 ohm) attached to a dowel and combine it with the UHF.
Strip the ends of the 26" strip and solder the two wires together. Then strip the center and solder your connecting lead to it. The dowel should be perpendicular to the line of sight to the towers. The link with directions is below:
http://www.wfu.edu/~matthews/misc/dipole.html

That RS antenna is the panel type, and it doesn't look big enough to get you much VHF gain. You could try combining it with a WVNY-DT-specific antenna. However, I caution against using SkiSmugg's antenna design because it is a closed loop - this could short out the DC power that goes to the built-in amplifier on the RS antenna. If you use a simple dipole, which is an open circuit from a DC perspective, then it's much easier to combine.

For instance, you could get one of these:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062018

Attach the 300-Ohm to 75-Ohm transformer (which is included).

Use an RF splitter backwards and 1 or 2 short pieces of coax to combine the dipole with the panel antenna.

Lastly, adjust the rabbit ears to be 13inches each (that's the ideal length for WVNY-DT's broadcast frequency), lie them down flat so that they are in-line with each other and parallel to the ground, and rotate the base so that they are perpendicular to your line-of-sight to Mt. Mansfield.

Same principle, costs about the same, a little more attractive, no labor involved. Wouldn't it be great if they made a mount for it that attached to an antenna mast with enough stand-off to prevent interference from the mast.

So long as we're talking DIY antennas, I'm still very pleased with my curtain-rod LPDA...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10100396#post10100396

Thanks for the help gentlemen - I'm going to add a VHF Dipole tonight and see what happens.

So long as we're talking DIY antennas, I'm still very pleased with my curtain-rod LPDA...

Ah, yes, I had forgotten about that one. Question: Wouldn't just one 26" rod have brought in channel 13 or were you trying to get the whole spectrum?

Thanks for the help gentlemen - I'm going to add a VHF Dipole tonight and see what happens.

Done...I added a regular old VHF dipole to my outdoor setup and it works perfectly. I'm at 100% signal on all channels now. Thanks again...

Ah, yes, I had forgotten about that one. Question: Wouldn't just one 26" rod have brought in channel 13 or were you trying to get the whole spectrum?I wanted 1 antenna to pull in the entire Ch13 (WVNY-DT) to Ch53 (WCAX-DT) spectrum. So I designed a custom LPDA that covers that range. I can provide my dimensions to anyone interested in making their own.

I'm still trying to get wvny-dt(ABC) from Mtl south SHORE,anything new since last year?
Frequency change?Signal Boost?

No change. According to the FCC's "final" list of post-transition channel assignments, WVNY will stay on channel 13. Let's hope they up the signal strength.

The only change from the current assignments after Feb 2009 is that WCAX-DT will move from channel 53 to channel 22.

With the announcement of Warner Brothers going Blu Ray exclusive, we should see the end of the HD disc format war. That's great news for anyone interested in HD. Now I can put that HD DVD player--that I stood in line at Wal Mart to get for a Black Friday $99 special--right on top of my Laserdisc player. Doopy me....

Well the war may be over or at the very least the end is near. However, until Blu Ray players cost under a 100 bucks which will put them in millions of homes, the rental joints will not be moving the SD DVD out the door to make room for Blu Ray. Until that happens, Blu Ray will remain a niche product. Simple economics. Without competition $ony will have no incentive to lower prices, they never have.

And I won't be buying any Blu-Ray DVDs while the price is nearly twice that of DVDs. My Oppo upconverts nicely.

And I won't be buying any Blu-Ray DVDs while the price is nearly twice that of DVDs. My Oppo upconverts nicely.

As does mine. :) Oppos are great, aren't they?

I agree that the upconverting DVD players are great, but nothing can compare to the picture from my PS3 showing a disc with a great transfer. I have it powering a projector (Screenply 7210) on a 109 inch screen. People watching the latest "Pirates" flick said that the opening looked three dimensional. Couple this with a PCM soundtrack that shakes the house and the picture becomes immersive. I also added ButtKickers under all of the chairs to add that final "feel" of being there.
Amazon.com is currently running a Blu Ray sale (surprisingly) of 600 titles--some that are $15.
I suspect that Bill Gates is right, however. We are on the cusp of movies being downloaded as the norm. It is the beginning of the end of optical media for films. Yes, I am aware that pundits once said that TV would replace radio. However, the closing of one of the nation's largest record stores in LA this week speaks to the change in attitudes about how we get our entertainment.
It is a shame that pure, unnadulterated corporate greed on the part of both Toshiba and Sony kept the emergence of HD discs from becoming a reality for the past two years. By this time we should all be enjoying HD films on one format with discs costs comparable to current DVDs.

I suspect that Bill Gates is right, however. We are on the cusp of movies being downloaded as the norm. It is the beginning of the end of optical media for films.I sure as heck hope not. The trend seems to be that convenience trumps quality. I was sort of hoping that the HDTV change-over, and HD-DVD/Blu-Ray would reverse that trend. Who's going to wait umpteen hours to download a high-def movie when a stand-def version will take a fraction of the time?

At the CES show this past week a number of download schemes were announced. None, however, are as cool as the one proposed by Extreme. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y45ZZMTNW70
Of course, this is pretty much "pie in the sky" but the thought that I'd be able to get films and TV shows in 1080p with 7.1 DTS sound does make this old media freek salavate! It is doubtful whether this scheme has the potential to succeed but I am convinced that sooner or later the optical media will give way to downloads.
I already download movies from the major studios via Dish network's 722 and onto a 750 gig Western Digital external drive. The time to download a film from the original broadcast to the external hard drive is approx. 30 minutes. I know that sounds like a long time to a generation of "immediate gratification" users...but I does forecast the future in my mind.

Sorry guys, I've been out of the loop for quite a while now - but does anyone know when WPTZ is planning on broadcasting the local news in HD? Thanks for your help!

Sorry guys, I've been out of the loop for quite a while now - but does anyone know when WPTZ is planning on broadcasting the local news in HD? Thanks for your help!
I'd be happy if they would just clean the camera lens! :D

During the Giants-GB game the signal is all over the floor from 81 to 61 to freezing picture on 622 and 211. Is it the weather?
I don't watch fox 44 much, but last week during the games, the picture was fine.
Also the other stations are fine

During the Giants-GB game the signal is all over the floor from 81 to 61 to freezing picture on 622 and 211. Is it the weather?
I don't watch fox 44 much, but last week during the games, the picture was fine.
Also the other stations are fine


How do you tell what percentage your at?? My TV only displays an image if the digital transmission allows it, and nothing if it doesn't. I have a CM4228 hooked up to my Samsung HL-S6187 just in case that helps

I'd be happy if they would just clean the camera lens! :D

Thanks, this is the best one liner I've ever read on this fourm! As with all great liners--it is riddled with truth.

How do you tell what percentage your at?? My TV only displays an image if the digital transmission allows it, and nothing if it doesn't. I have a CM4228 hooked up to my Samsung HL-S6187 just in case that helps
Some TVs/tuners show the signal strength when you first change the channel or will show it when you hit the Info button. On others, you have to go to the setup and channel scan menu to find a signal meter. And on still others, you just don't get a signal meter at all.

Thanks, this is the best one liner I've ever read on this fourm! As with all great liners--it is riddled with truth.
Thanks for appreciating it as I thought it had gone over a lot of heads. Never understood why WPTZ's SD picture is so much worse than anyone elses. It looks as though they have petroleum jelly on the lens. I occasionally watch some SD, but never on WPTZ.

And I won't be buying any Blu-Ray DVDs while the price is nearly twice that of DVDs. My Oppo upconverts nicely.

Your thoughts on Blu-ray pricing seem to be off by quite a bit.

Ratatouille on DVD for $14.99
http://www.amazon.com/Ratatouille-Ian-Holm/dp/B000VBJEEG******pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1200981389&sr=8-1

Ratatouille on Blu-Ray for $19.99
http://www.amazon.com/Ratatouille-Blu-ray-Brad-Bird/dp/B000VBJEFK******pd_bbs_4?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1200981354&sr=8-4

If you do some research you'd see Blu-Rays are easily as affordable as standard DVD's. And for about 200% quality difference, a 25% price difference is nothing.

Some TVs/tuners show the signal strength when you first change the channel or will show it when you hit the Info button. On others, you have to go to the setup and channel scan menu to find a signal meter. And on still others, you just don't get a signal meter at all.

Thanks for the info SkiSmuggs!!!:D

Your thoughts on Blu-ray pricing seem to be off by quite a bit.

Ratatouille on DVD for $14.99
http://www.amazon.com/Ratatouille-Ian-Holm/dp/B000VBJEEG******pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1200981389&sr=8-1

Ratatouille on Blu-Ray for $19.99
http://www.amazon.com/Ratatouille-Blu-ray-Brad-Bird/dp/B000VBJEFK******pd_bbs_4?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1200981354&sr=8-4

If you do some research you'd see Blu-Rays are easily as affordable as standard DVD's. And for about 200% quality difference, a 25% price difference is nothing.

Yes, they recently went on sale, but I had based my statements on the BB and CC Sunday circulars for new releases at $16.99 (DVD) and $29.99 (BD).
I certainly won't argue that either HD format is superior, but upconverted DVD looks good enough to me to hold off on buying a format that may not be around in a few years. Pricing on HD-DVD had just gotten to where I was thinking about it when Warner Bros. dropped it. I much prefer the style of the HD-DVD players relative to the boxy Blu-Ray players.
I had responded on another forum to some b*tching about the HD quality of E* HD with a comment that I couldn't tell the difference between it and OTA (best broadcast HD you can get) on my 52" Panasonic LCD. Someone replied that my set was only 720p and, if I got a better TV, I could tell the difference. I replied that I would then be as unhappy as he was.
The point is that I don't feel a need to be on the bleeding edge, but I certainly welcome the info you provided.

We've gotten way off topic here, but I'll reply anyway.

In November my son convinced me the way to go Blu-ray was with a PS3 game console. I'm not a gamer, but I did remember seeing a Sony strategy paper years ago that said it was how "they" wanted us to go in the future (one console that does everything). I bought the 40 gig unit for $400 and am dazzled. I have both 720P and 1080P displays. Blu-ray discs are stunning on either and the sound blows away DVD sound, even on my old receiver. The picture quality is better than the best OTA HD I've ever seen. Even though I can't decode the newest sound formats. the higher Bu-ray audio bit rate (~5 megs vs <500 k's on DVD) is distinctly better. The PS3 upconverts DVDs to 1080i removing most of the edge enhancement (white lines around objects) inherent in DVDs. I had an upconverting DVD player, but this does a much better job. When you get a Blu-ray disk that has the best picture and sound (there are lists rating titles) your mouth (and your wife's mouth!) drops open. The two best I've seen so far are Cars and Elton John's 60th birthday. Blu-ray disks are available from Netflix and (I've heard) Blockbuster.
Beyond the disk playing, the PS3 has a built in slide show ability which is how we look at all of our pictures now. We had been driving off the MS computer, but the slide organization on the PS3 is actually easier than with Windows. It has a browser (so so) which connects to my wireless network and lets me take a quick look at the news or latest weather. And, oh yes, it does play some pretty amazing games if you have kids or grandkids or are a kid.
With the Warner announcement that they are going Blu-ray, my sense is that the format battle is over. And the PS3 is better and cheaper than any of the standalone Blu-ray players yet on the market based on lots of forum comments, which may have been Sony's intention all along.

We HAVE to go off topic to get any discussion at all here. :)
Thanks for an excellent review! I've seen both formats playing in the stores and they are amazing.

I see that VPT now has 33.4 and 33.5 up and running. Does anybody know
what is planned for 33.5?

I can well remember watching a black & white picture from WPTZ in the 60's. The engineering staff and operations were so inept that we used to make "book" on whether or not they could reconnect to the network after a local cut away. For the most part, on the "Tonight Show", they never got the timing right. It always looked lilke amateur "night in Dixie."
Now jump ahead to WPTZ HD in 2008. In the last few days the inability of the staff to get the right program on the air at the right time (and in the correct aspect ratio) has been astoundingly poor. During the "Today Show", the weather cut-aways almost always are cut off by an announcer not being able to realize that he has a proscribed and limited amount of time to deliver his message before returning to the network feed. In the past, it would seem that WPTZ's HD feed automatically returned to the network whether or not the local talent had finished. Now, however, there seems to be more local control--but now there also appears that no one is monitoring the transmission during station breaks. For example, last night's NBC Evening News ended as scheduled but instead of the cut away to do local commercials and to start the tape rolling on their syndicaed programming at 7...they simply left the netwok up and running. You could see the Academy Leader countdown to the network's next rebroadcast of the NBC News for the central time zone. In fact, that newcast continued for almost five minutes before someone finally realized that their syndicator was not on the air. They must be creating quite a backlog of redo commercials they'll have to make good.
Also, it has been interesting to watch both morning and evening network broadcasts as the network HD feed often starts as SD and only goes to HD when somebody finally sees that there is a problem. This happened with the "Today Show" and "Chuck" this week.
Perhaps it's time for the station manager, who has a penchant for pointing the figure at folks in the community in his Editorials", to spend more time in checking on what's going on at home!
I think that many would agree with me that it's time that parent company Hearst Argyle spends a few bucks on bringing WPTZ's operation up to snuff with some of their bigger market stations. Until they do that, it will continue to be amateur night in our area.

Yes, Ch 5 has quickly reached "lowest local" status in the past few days. Thursday night the NBC News was in SD. Then today the skating at 4PM was in SD for the first 20 minutes, HD for the next 40 and then after a cutaway for local inserts remained SD for the remaing hour. Is anyone awake over at the station? Can they monitor what they are sending out or don't they care? If they've got technical problems, a crawl would be appreciated! When does their license come up for renewal?

addendum: This evening, Saturday the 26th the evening news was in SD again.

Yes, Ch 5 has quickly reached "lowest local" status in the past few days. Thursday night the NBC News was in SD. Then today the skating at 4PM was in SD for the first 20 minutes, HD for the next 40 and then after a cutaway for local inserts remained SD for the remaing hour. Is anyone awake over at the station? Can they monitor what they are sending out or don't they care? If they've got technical problems, a crawl would be appreciated! When does their license come up for renewal?

addendum: This evening, Saturday the 26th the evening news was in SD again.

Question: Was this via OTA that you saw the problems or via something like Comcast. I've been satellite since 2000 and can say yes.... Ch 5 is pathetic from my TV for programs like the news. Use to be my favorite local.

Ota.

I've also been noticing SD broadcasts of HD programs on WPTZ (via Comcast). Last week on both Chuck and Las Vegas a significant portion (but much less than half) of the shows dropped off to the SD feed. I don't recall seeing the problem with Friday Night Lights, which airs immediately before Las Vegas.

Last night (Monday 1/28) the NBC news at 6:30 was in SD, although they did manage to get the State of the Union speech in HD. I don't trust them anymore so I recorded the speech on Ch22. Also, Saturday the skating was all SD, although on Sunday evening they did get the whole 2 hours in HD (with some nasty local-break-back-to-network transitions). Is it a new tech in the control room, new equipment, or do they just not care anymore?

Is it a new tech in the control room, new equipment, or do they just not care anymore?I'd guess it comes down to $$. They can't afford to switch all of their gear over to HD, so when they do local inserts, station ID, lotto number crawls, etc., they have to drop into SD. PTZ is not alone in this regard. WCAX, for instance, still has to drop into SD during the morning news in order to put up the school cancellations.

But when the signal drops into SD to do the local insert, and then fails to go back to HD, well, you can chalk that up to incompetence.

I have some quick questions maybe someone can help me. Does anyone know what the OTA HDTV reception is like on Union St. near downtown Burlington? I was thinking about ditching Comcast and getting one of these (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?dest=9999999997&product_id=5000836&sourceid=12868964743970734847) to save a few coins. Thanks

Agreed that they all have "lapses" back into SD. In general they are all handling it pretty well. WPTZ had been doing very well until about a week ago when there was a dramatic change. Entire shows are now in SD, not just a bad transition. Something has changed. Personnel? New equipment which will ultimately make things better?

I have some quick questions maybe someone can help me. Does anyone know what the OTA HDTV reception is like on Union St. near downtown Burlington? I was thinking about ditching Comcast and getting one of these (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?dest=9999999997&product_id=5000836&sourceid=12868964743970734847) to save a few coins. Thanks

Use either or both of these two sites to show you what you could receive.

http://www.antennaweb.org

http://www.tvfool.com

I have some quick questions maybe someone can help me. Does anyone know what the OTA HDTV reception is like on Union St. near downtown Burlington? I was thinking about ditching Comcast and getting one of these (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?dest=9999999997&product_id=5000836&sourceid=12868964743970734847) to save a few coins. Thanks
It probably depends on whether you mount it inside or out, what floor, whether you have line of sight, etc. If you are mounting outside, I can recommend the Winegard PR4400 (now called HD 4400) as a low cost, but effective UHF antenna.
http://www.winegarddirect.com/viewitem.asp?p=HD-4400
You will need to get an outdoor 75-300ohm converter, but it means that you can easily connect a small VHF antenna (rabbit ears or high-VHF) to it with flat wire.
You will still need a small high-VHF or a set of rabbit ears (cheap) adjusted fully horizontal with the ears pulled out to 13" on each side to get Chan 22 (broadcasting digitally on chan 13). See msg #2802 from VTTOM on the previous page.
For antenna comparisons, see http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html
Good luck!

It probably depends on whether you mount it inside or out, what floor, whether you have line of sight, etc. If you are mounting outside, I can recommend the Winegard PR4400 (now called HD 4400) as a low cost, but effective UHF antenna.
http://www.winegarddirect.com/viewitem.asp?p=HD-4400
You will need to get an outdoor 75-300ohm converter, but it means that you can easily connect a small VHF antenna (rabbit ears or high-VHF) to it with flat wire.
You will still need a small high-VHF or a set of rabbit ears (cheap) adjusted fully horizontal with the ears pulled out to 13" on each side to get Chan 22 (broadcasting digitally on chan 13). See msg #2802 from VTTOM on the previous page.
For antenna comparisons, see http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html
Good luck!

Alright, I plan on canceling the day after the Super Bowl so I'll look furthur into it when the time comes. Thanks!

Alright, I plan on canceling the day after the Super Bowl so I'll look furthur into it when the time comes. Thanks!You should consider getting OTA HDTV reception working BEFORE the Super Bowl. Some would argue that the PQ from HD OTA will be superior to HD cable.

You should consider getting OTA HDTV reception working BEFORE the Super Bowl. Some would argue that the PQ from HD OTA will be superior to HD cable.

I imagine if I ordered the antenna online it would probably take longer than 5 business days to receive it anyway. I also have to get a tuner for my set since I have the Westinghouse LVM-37w3 (http://www.westinghousedigital.com/details.aspx?itemnum=56). I still need to think more about this before I take the first step.

I imagine if I ordered the antenna online it would probably take longer than 5 business days to receive it anyway. I also have to get a tuner for my set since I have the Westinghouse LVM-37w3 (http://www.westinghousedigital.com/details.aspx?itemnum=56). I still need to think more about this before I take the first step.
FYI,
Echostar (the Dishnet folks) will have an OTA HD DVR out in July that will have dual tuners (record 1, watch 1) and NO monthly fee. http://ces.cnet.com/8301-13855_1-9840910-67.html
They will also have an OTA Digital to Analog tuner for $40 sometime in March. It will just downconvert to an SD TV.
I know there are ASTC tuners out there for those who bought HDTV "ready" sets, but don't know where you find them at reasonable prices. Amazon has a couple in the $170 range.

I know there are ASTC tuners out there for those who bought HDTV "ready" sets, but don't know where you find them at reasonable prices. Amazon has a couple in the $170 range.

The only "current" model ithat I know of is the Samsung DTB-H260F which is widely available at about $179. It has both component-video and HDMI outputs, optical digital audio output, and a built-in electronic program guide that uses the PSIP info broadcast by the stations. Its component-video and HDMI outputs can be set to output 480i, 490p, 720p or 1080i It has both ATSC and QAM tuners.

It also has composite video and s-video outputs for connection to VCR's etc. However, these connections are not recommended for use with analogue TV's because the on screen menus, including the set up menus, are only active when a component-video or HDMI connection is used.

As for th ATSC to analogue converter boxes designed to be used with analogue TVs only, there will be over 30 models available, starting about the middle of February. About 250 retailers, including Sears, Best Buy and Circuit City, have signed up to distribute these boxes whose cost to the user can be partially covered with a $40 rebate certificate issued by the NTIA. An up-to-date list of the available models can be found at https://www.ntiadtv.com/cecb_list.cfm Clicking on the "Helpful links" link will lead to other pages having info on the converter box/rebate certificate program.

The only "current" model ithat I know of is the Samsung DTB-H260F which is widely available at about $179. It has both component-video and HDMI outputs, optical digital audio output, and a built-in electronic program guide that uses the PSIP info broadcast by the stations. Its component-video and HDMI outputs can be set to output 480i, 490p, 720p or 1080i It has both ATSC and QAM tuners.

Do you know of any tuner that will convert 1080i to 1080p? My HD monitor doesn't do the greatest job deinterlacing 1080i and I notice some ghosting, which most people probably wouldn't mind, but it annoys me a lot sometimes. Maybe a PC tuner card or USB tuner card is what I need since my video card outputs to my monitor at 1080p, but I think I might need a tuner card with hardware that would do all the decoding since my computer is limited to a P4 3.2GHZ. Any thoughts or suggestions from anyone to help point me in the right direction?

I've been snooping around the HTPC forum and the HDHomerun tuner looks promising, but it seems far from simple to set up compared to a normal OTA HDTV STB.

Ok, I've been checking out some stuff and it all depends on how cheap I can get a quality HD tuner for my PC. I think I'm going with the AutumnWave OnAir GT (http://www.autumnwave.com/Consumers/OnAir-GT.html) for pratical purposes, but they're not cheap and I like saving money. So, until I can get a deal on it I'll hold off getting the two antennas SkiSmuggs suggested. I still have some more research to do, but I think I'm all set. Thanks for everyone's help.

Charter cable now offers HD in Bradford, Vt and I was wondering if anyone has any feedback on their HD quality - especially the Vt networks.

Lately I've been asked by friends and neighbors to hook up OTA tuners to their HD sets. The quality of the units I've worked with have been particularly mediocre. Anyone have success with a particular make and model? The experience has made me really happy with the tuner built into my Dish 722!
Also anyone have success with the square TERK antenna? I can't recieve channel 22 with it.

Also anyone have success with the square TERK antenna? I can't recieve channel 22 with it.

Channel 22 does their digital broadcast from Ch 13, a VHF channel. Could be that the Terk is UHF only and probably multi-directional. Given that all locals are broadcasting from a single site on Mt Mansfield, directional antennas would seem to be the way to go. For a comparison of some available antennas, go to: http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html
I use a Winegard PR 4400 (now HD 4400) UHF directional 4-bay and combine it with a small Winegard YA6713 High-band VHF antenna just for Ch 22 (13). For folks over 25 miles and/or line of sight issues, the Channel Master 4228 is a directional UHF that also does a fair job of high VHF reception.

Although there is a scarcity of ATSC tuners available for those who bought HDTV "Ready" monitors, there is a solution that adds DVD recording capability and that is the Panasonic DMR series, the DMR-EZ17K for DVD only and the DMR-EZ47VK for DVD/VHS. They have a built-in ATSC tuner, are DVD recorders and upconverting DVD players (up to 1080p with HDMI). With a some lowering of the recording resolution they record 16 hours at 16x9 in 480p on dual-layer DVD-RAM disks. I use mine to supplement my Dishnet VIP-622 at the start of the new season until I figure out what shows I want to stick with. During the writers strike, I've been watching the new shows I missed due to conflicts earlier in the season.
Even at the reduced resolution, upconverting makes the picture pretty good on a 32" HDTV.
Just a thought for those who need a tuner.
Further research finds that the ATSC tuner does not pass an HD signal, just 480p in 16x9, so this is not a perfect solution. It might be worth waiting until July for the Echostar TR-50 DVR (like Tivo without the subscription fee).

Hello all

I've been following this thread for awhile for all the OTA info.
I currently have Directv with HD and DVR- and NFL package. My wife and I rent our house and have one small and one huge dish attached to it that our landlord HATES. Everytime it snows we lose reception and if ice gets on it, forget about it. We also have to fiddle with the OTA constantly which is no fun. I am officially at my wits end.

If I switch to Comcast can I get the local in HD through them without OTA? The customer service people said yes but I don't believe them.

What other things besides losing a few HD channels and the NFL package will I be giving up? I'm unfortunately a diehard Eagles fans but this season 10 games were broadcast locally...

In theory I love DirecTV but I can;t take it anymore. I've had techs come out like 10 times in the past 1.5 years. New dishes, loss reception, repairs etc.

any advice?
thanks

In theory I love DirecTV but I can;t take it anymore. I've had techs come out like 10 times in the past 1.5 years. New dishes, loss reception, repairs etc.

I live in Burlington too but have Dish. I'm surprised you have issues when its snowing and or have icing conditions. I use to be a D# customer and could not complain about snow either. Thunderstorms yes, but only briefly when at its worst. As for techs coming out to try and resolve issues, were they local or from someplace like NH? When I went satellite in Y2K I used M.R. out of Alburg. I have used them for upgrades and for switching between D* and E* as well. All my work was professionally done. Of course YMMV, but if you haven't try contacting them before switching to the leach AKA as Comcast!:p

Landlords are a tough situation for sure. Anyway you can appease them like perhaps installing the dishes in a location thats more hidden if possible but still maintain a good line of site to the birds?

I live in Burlington too but have Dish. I'm surprised you have issues when its snowing and or have icing conditions.

You don;t has 3 inches of ice caked to your dishes right now?? The 5 LNB point at the sky at an almost upward angle which collects the ice. I can;t reach it with a broom and even so it's like scraping a sheet of ice in 10degree weather off a car.

You don;t has 3 inches of ice caked to your dishes right now?? The 5 LNB point at the sky at an almost upward angle which collects the ice. I can;t reach it with a broom and even so it's like scraping a sheet of ice in 10degree weather off a car.I'll have to 2nd fpileggi. I've had DishNetwork for ~10yrs, and never once have I had to brush snow or scrape ice off the dish. The reflector bowl is nearly vertical, so nothing much ever collects on it. Funny, really, because when I installed the dish originally (yes, I installed it myself), I intentionally located it where I could reach it easily just in case I needed to brush the snow off.

You don;t has 3 inches of ice caked to your dishes right now?? The 5 LNB point at the sky at an almost upward angle which collects the ice. I can;t reach it with a broom and even so it's like scraping a sheet of ice in 10degree weather off a car.


Snow and ice do collect on the dish and lnb's to some degree ie; the storm we just finished with but its never interfered with the signal I am glad of. Are both your dishes affected by this or only the 5 lnb? I suspect your other dish is the single used for locals from D* as I had that arrangement too but with a 3 lnb dish for the other channels when I was with D*.

+3 I've also had DishNet for 7 years and have never had more than a few minutes of signal issues, none being the norm. I upgraded to HD in September and the 2nd dish has no problems either. Mine are located on a post 30' from the house and I would have to wade thigh deep in snow to clean them, so I don't bother.

Lately I've been asked by friends and neighbors to hook up OTA tuners to their HD sets. The quality of the units I've worked with have been particularly mediocre. Anyone have success with a particular make and model? The experience has made me really happy with the tuner built into my Dish 722!
Also anyone have success with the square TERK antenna? I can't recieve channel 22 with it.

For an HD Ready TV try the Samsumg DTB H260F which is readily available for $179 or less. I got mine from JR.COM. BB and CC also handle it. It has a 5th Generation ATSC/QAM tuner and can be connected via HDMI or component-video to an HD Ready set. Output from the HDMI and Component-video can be set to 480i, 480p, 720p or 1080i via a slide-switch on the back of the box. It also has optical digital audio out which can be set to output PCM or DD 5.1 via the menu system. The built-in program guide uses info found in the various stations PSIP streams. (It also has composite-video and s-video output for connection to analogue devices, but be aware that the OSD cannot be output via these outputs and the set up menus etc are only active when a component-video or HDMI connection is also active.)

Thanks for your insight Brian. I really appreciate it!

For those having trouble with the snow and ice creating drop outs on your Dish Network units--I concur. For the first time since I installed the dish, I've lost all the channels at the 61 position.
I always like to blame things on people or objects so I am convinced that it's the fault of all of those business polluters from the midwest whose air-born evil crap travels over Vermont and is being crystilized into the ice that's deposted on the dish. This, in turn, reflects the satellite signals back out into space where they are being piicked up by aliens ready to pounce on the Earth. Of course, my theory could be worng. Come on spring....

I bought my first HD TV today, a small Sony 26" Bravia, and I figured I'd give the OTA signals via rabbit ears a try first before springing for Comcast if I was forced to. Sometime this spring I'm going to bite for a 46" hdtv for the main room, but the small one was a way to test out HDTV first AND downsize the amount of space any TV uses in our sunroom....my wife is thrilled at the lean look/size of this Bravia, it's more proportionate to our small sunroom than the old 20" Sony Trinitron was.

I live near Malletts Bay in Colchester, and to my dismay, I even had difficulty getting a solid signal from WPTZ. I didn't get WCAX at all. By fiddling forever, I finally got a decent WPTZ signal, and it looked terrific.

But the fact I got so very little HD signals suggests I may have to spring for Comcast. I'm not sure I want to bother with an outdoor antenna/rotor if I can't be certain I'll pick up a bunch more signals. What do your experiences here suggest?

I'm not very enthusiastic about paying for Comcast HD, given the likelihood they compress and compromise the bandwidth/signal. Certainly the technical quality on their SD channels the last several years suggests a decidedly poor commitment to quality here in this area.

I used to have DirecTv, but even that signal was 70% signal strength at best mounted on top of my not easily accessible roof, because of surrounding trees and the like, so I'm not sure that it or Dish is an acceptable alternative to Comcast.

Any thoughts or advice anyone here has?

This is my first post here, and please accept my apologies if my questions were covered in early posts in this thread, but reading 96 pages of them dating back years is a bit daunting, given the random nature of the subjects. I gave it a go, but I didn't see anything that was directly on point to my location and issues....

I used to have DirecTv, but even that signal was 70% signal strength at best mounted on top of my not easily accessible roof, because of surrounding trees and the like, so I'm not sure that it or Dish is an acceptable alternative to Comcast.

Living amongst the trees while serene always poses problems with sat systems regardless of D* or E*. Line of site is important as they tell ya that upfront. You had readings in the 70's that while it may seem low you have to remember that with digital you either have a signal or you don't as explained to me. Also the birds you point at are pretty low in the sky as opposed to say someone in Virginia or Georgia. Your dish is pretty much vertical rather then looking like a birdbath!:p Comcast... well they always have deals, but afterwards you better secure a loan at the bank or give them your first born! I'm just not a cable enthusiast.

Comcast... well they always have deals, but afterwards you better secure a loan at the bank or give them your first born! I'm just not a cable enthusiast.

Neither am I, thus my hope that I could at least get all the local HD signals via rabbit ears.

I'm still curious if anyone thinks I have a decent chance at getting them all via outdoor antenna/rotor, from the Malletts Bay area of Colchester.

My standard DirecTv signal (subscriber from 1997 to 2004) at 70% strength from the top of my house roof was compromised in two ways: every heavy summer rain storm of any substance caused an outage....and every major snow storm of a foot or so caused an outage. Because I live in a Colonial-style house, there was no practical, safe way for me to shovel out the dish when a storm hit. So I literally would have to wait until the snow melted before I could get TV service again...the worst I had was a 2-week outage one winter...

One last question: I have Comcast standard now, and I am receiving WCAX 3.1, WPTZ 9.4, WFFF 44.1, etc., all of them say they are HD, and I think I'm seeing them in HD, but I'm not sure I trust my eyes. Am I getting them in HD despite not paying for HD service? Is this one of those deals where Comcast is giving all subscribers the HD local channels, or am I just kidding myself? The channels look sharper than the SD versions, but I'm not sure I trust my eyes.

Neither am I, thus my hope that I could at least get all the local HD signals via rabbit ears.

I'm still curious if anyone thinks I have a decent chance at getting them all via outdoor antenna/rotor, from the Malletts Bay area of Colchester.



One last question: I have Comcast standard now, and I am receiving WCAX 3.1, WPTZ 9.4, WFFF 44.1, etc., all of them say they are HD, and I think I'm seeing them in HD, but I'm not sure I trust my eyes. Am I getting them in HD despite not paying for HD service? Is this one of those deals where Comcast is giving all subscribers the HD local channels, or am I just kidding myself? The channels look sharper than the SD versions, but I'm not sure I trust my eyes.

I'm in Colchester, and I was able to pick up all the local stations with rabbit ears. I haven't tried though since Comcast added them to their lineup.

Cable companies are not allowed to encrypt the local stations, so you're seeing the Comcast local HD feeds through your QAM tuner. If you're planning to keep the basic cable you have now, you probably don't need to go OTA.

<snip>
Any thoughts or advice anyone here has?

This is my first post here, and please accept my apologies if my questions were covered in early posts in this thread, but reading 96 pages of them dating back years is a bit daunting, given the random nature of the subjects. I gave it a go, but I didn't see anything that was directly on point to my location and issues....First, welcome to the board.

As for your reception....

What exactly did you try for an antenna? Was it telescoping rabbit ears? If so, then that's a big part of the problem. Rabbit ears are meant for VHF frequencies. All but one of the local HDTV stations broadcast over UHF frequencies (WVNY, broadcasts in VHF). So, if you haven't already, give a UHF "bowtie" antenna a try, that might make the difference you need.

Also, pointing the antenna in the right direction will make a big difference. All of the locals broadcast from Mt. Mansfield, which is practically due East of Malletts Bay.

If that doesn't work, then there is a variety of antennas to try. You might want to take a look at this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12712336#post12712336), and its follow-ons.

As for your reception....

What exactly did you try for an antenna?

Supposedly this is both UHF and VHF, but honestly, I suspect it's a piece of junk given how poorly it performed.

Philips USA MANT-510 High Performance Amplified Indoor UHF/ VHF/ FM Antenna - US2-MANT510

I tried to post a url, but board rules won't let a newbie do so...

Supposedly this is both UHF and VHF, but honestly, I suspect it's a piece of junk given how poorly it performed.

Philips USA MANT-510 High Performance Amplified Indoor UHF/ VHF/ FM Antenna - US2-MANT510

I tried to post a url, but board rules won't let a newbie do so...
Welcome! First go here to get your azimuth, distance and antenna type recommendations: http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx
Click "Show Digital Stations Only" Also click on the Antenna Type color to get antenna type, but substitute "Directional" for "Multidirectional" as all our stations broadcast from the same place.
Then go here for comparison on several commercially available antennas: http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html
A lowly set of rabbit ears not performing is no reason to give up on OTA. A high rated 4-bay (bowtie) like the Winegard HD4400 (formerly PR4400) is only about $35 and will pull in all but Ch 22 (broadcasting on VHF 13). You can make a VHF antenna to pull in that channel and combine it with the bowtie. You may be able to get away with putting them in your attic, but outside will always get better reception.

I just read this article linked to from the avsforum homepage..

http://www.electronichouse.com/article/digital_tv_switch_may_cut_off_6_million_sets/C58

It reminded me of when I used to work for a small company that was experimenting with transmitting data over television signals (this was ~15yrs ago before anyone had even heard of boradband), and made my share of visits to peoples' houses hooking up equipment. We'd call and ask "how well does station such-and-such come in" and they'd say "fine", but we'd get there, and the reception would be terrible. They're the ones who are going to get left out by the DTV transition.

I too live in Malletts Bay and use OTA and Comcast. The only OTA I have problems with is with ABC (not a big loss to me). The OTA signal is much better then the comcast signal BUT since I DVR all the HD shows then I have to rely on comcast which I cant really complain too much about.

I think there's going to be a lot of people in dicey reception areas in rural Vermont who are going to be mighty p-o'ed if they spring for one of those $50converter boxes for their old sets, and discover they can't get anything, nothing at all. I'd say the politicians were smart to schedule the turn-off date for SD for next winter, 3 months after the elections!

We have a small TV in our kitchen (no cable outlet nearby), and I had pondered buying a converter so we could watch the occasional outlet while cooking, very casual dining, etc.....but now I seriously question whether I can get anything for reception after my indoor OTA experience over the weekend. My guess is an outdoor TV antenna would work, but why would I want to go to the expense and hassle?

I think there's going to be a lot of people in dicey reception areas in rural Vermont who are going to be mighty p-o'ed if they spring for one of those $50converter boxes for their old sets, and discover they can't get anything, nothing at all. I'd say the politicians were smart to schedule the turn-off date for SD for next winter, 3 months after the elections!

We have a small TV in our kitchen (no cable outlet nearby), and I had pondered buying a converter so we could watch the occasional outlet while cooking, very casual dining, etc.....but now I seriously question whether I can get anything for reception after my indoor OTA experience over the weekend. My guess is an outdoor TV antenna would work, but why would I want to go to the expense and hassle?

Well, for under $100, you can have free HD of the best quality free for a lifetime. You are making a decision based on your experience with cheap rabbit ears trying to receive through walls and beams. It's something like deciding a car is not going to work because you can't pedal up a steep hill on a tricycle.
I'm not trying to beat you down; just suggesting you give it an honest chance. For $35 you can get a Winegard PR4400, maybe $15-20 for a mast and eave mount, or a J-mount, and whatever for a roll of RG6 cable. Then you will receive Ch 3, 5, 33 and 44 and their sub-channels for a total of 9. A few bucks to make a VHF antenna and you add Ch 22 (13).
There are people in western New Hampshire getting our digital broadcasts.
That said, there are also people down in reception holes like Montpelier and other places that will not be able to get OTA, but I don't think you are one of them.

I'm not trying to beat you down

Actually, I believe you, and I'm grateful for your advice.

I'm a complete newbie to the HD conversion. I didn't even know that I'd get the local HD signals at no extra charge on my existing Comcast service until I hooked it up...albeit, considerably bandwidth challenged by Comcast's lousy system. The one HD channel I could get OTA was ch. 5, and the difference between OTA 5 and Comcast HD 5 was quite significant.

From HDTV Predictions:

Washington, D.C. (February 11, 2008) -- Wal-Mart is now carrying $49 Digital TV converters at its 3,400 retail stores.

The retailer is carrying the Magnavox-brand converter and plans to add a second brand converter in the future.

At $49.87, the Magnavox converter would cost just $9.87 with a coupon from the federal government. The feds next week will start issuing $40 converter coupons for consumers who have requested them.

I'm a complete newbie to the HD conversion. I didn't even know that I'd get the local HD signals at no extra charge on my existing Comcast service until I hooked it up...albeit, considerably bandwidth challenged by Comcast's lousy system. The one HD channel I could get OTA was ch. 5, and the difference between OTA 5 and Comcast HD 5 was quite significant.
Interesting that the difference is so obvious. Also interesting that the Comcast mailings I've been receiving hammer satellite for signal loss in bad weather. I've been a Dish customer for over 7 years and have never had more than a few minutes of signal loss due to weather. When I had cable prior to that, any thunderstorm would cause service loss for hours.
Dish does compress its transmissions, but on my 52" 720p LCD set, I don't notice much difference. I get my locals OTA as it is free and Dish doesn't have HD locals yet.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on Fox just rocks!

Some of you folks might be interested in the claims that Comcast is making about the decision to add new HD channels. http://www.tvpredictions.com/comcast021408.htm
It seems to me to be outrageous that they claim there will be 1000 HD channels by the end of the year. I am certainly no engineer but the thought that you could add this many "HD" channels, even with the new compression technologies, seems more hype then truth--but then again, truth has never been Comcast's strong suit.
I would dearly love to have some authority define what is and what is not true HD. Until such a time when there is an acceptable standard, suppliers like VUDU and Comcast can write their own rules on what is HD. Until that time we poor consumers will get the hyperbole in lieu of true HD pictures.

Some of you folks might be interested in the claims that Comcast is making about the decision to add new HD channels. http://www.tvpredictions.com/comcast021408.htm
It seems to me to be outrageous that they claim there will be 1000 HD channels by the end of the year. I am certainly no engineer but the thought that you could add this many "HD" channels, even with the new compression technologies, seems more hype then truth--but then again, truth has never been Comcast's strong suit.
I would dearly love to have some authority define what is and what is not true HD. Until such a time when there is an acceptable standard, suppliers like VUDU and Comcast can write their own rules on what is HD. Until that time we poor consumers will get the hyperbole in lieu of true HD pictures.

Although the original claim was 1000 channels, I think they later clarified that they actually meant 1000 HD programs. Very different.

Hello all, are we all enjoying the cool weather? Before I begin, I thought I should mention I'm going to Honolulu for a week next month.:p

I would like to update some of you who helped me on my current HDTV status. I ended up only getting a couple OTA channels with the antennas, but it really doesn't matter, because Comcast hasn't disconnected my cable service and I can get their unencrypted channels. For some reason I've always been able to receive standard cable from Comcast without paying so I'm not worried about it ever being disconnected. I know it's wrong to steal cable and that's why I shall forever remain anonymous for fear of persecution and even physical retaliatoin.

I will begin by saying I purchased a HDHomerun (http://www.silicondust.com/) networked digital tuner with 2 ATSC tuners built in. I'm also using MediaPortal (http://www.team-mediaportal.com/) as my home theater PVR solution and it was a pita to setup. The HDHomerun is great because I can watch and record HDTV at the same time or record two channels at once. I can even watch and record the same channel. It's pretty simple to setup and I've never had to worry about it randomly freezing or crashing as you might get with a PCI tuner card having issues with the pci bus. It's a very reliable device compared to other PC hardware I've installed in the past. The bad side, it's expensive.

I also really like MediaPortal even though it was initially a pita for a "noob" like me to setup. I use MediaPortal's best deinterlacing option with the Ati MPEG decoder and it transmits a signal to my 37" monitor that is noticably better than what I got with Comcast's digital stb. I've configured a TV like guide into MP and I'm able to schedule recordings to wake my PC from Sleep mode when I'm away. It never crashes on me thank god, because I was afraid I would have problems. The bad part is it's not easy to setup at all until you get the hang of it. Also, tt can take up to 30secs when I first tune in an hd channel and sometimes when I change to an HD channel in can take up to 15 secs to lock in, but since I only get a few HD channels it's not really an issue. Plus, the MediaPortal developers relaese a new version every day and hopefully they'll fix this problem. Also, the GUI is customizable and just plain gorgous and better looking than anything else I've tried. Have a look at some of my screenshots.

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/1235/mphomesn2.th.jpg (http://img523.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mphomesn2.jpg)

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/2456/mptvguidewk1.th.jpg (http://img523.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mptvguidewk1.jpg)

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/3028/mpsamppg9.th.jpg (http://img507.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mpsamppg9.jpg)

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/3071/mpsamp2gp7.th.jpg (http://img507.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mpsamp2gp7.jpg)

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/8923/mpmytvbl2.th.jpg (http://img233.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mpmytvbl2.jpg)

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/6599/mpmytv2is7.th.jpg (http://img233.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mpmytv2is7.jpg)

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/5804/mpmyfilmsys9.th.jpg (http://img441.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mpmyfilmsys9.jpg)

For regular SDTV I use my vcr hooked up to my TV. Thanks for reading.

Edit: I've decided MediaPortal is too buggy and too much of a pita. It does have great IQ/audio, but it just doesn't work reliably. I'm using GPVR now and I'm much happier.

Although the original claim was 1000 channels, I think they later clarified that they actually meant 1000 HD programs. Very different.

When I canceled Comcast the rep made it a point to tell me repeatedly they have more hd channels than anyone else. Seriously, all I wated to do was cancel and it ended up taking like 10 minutes. I just let her talk since there's no point in arguing with someone who obviously has been trainded to lie to you.

When I canceled Comcast the rep made it a point to tell me repeatedly they have more hd channels than anyone else. Seriously, all I wated to do was cancel and it ended up taking like 10 minutes. I just let her talk since there's no point in arguing with someone who obviously has been trainded to lie to you.

Yup, they're clueless. I just got my first Comcast bill since they've raised their prices. Now they've suddenly started charging me $5 for each cable card. Since I have 3 TiVos, that adds $30 to my bill! Needless to say, I'm fighting it tooth and nail.

I've had a 622 for a while now and have been watching VT ETV off of Burke Mtn with no EPG.It just says Digital Service on the 622 guide.I thought I read somewhere that is a normal situation-for whatever reason Dish and PBS OTA doesn't work as far the the EPG.Just for the heck of it I did a rescan and picked up NH ETV and those channels actually show what's on!
So my question is-those of you with a 622(or 722) that get ETV from Mansfield get the EPG?How about WCFE(NY)?(yes I know that's 2 questions.)-Thanks

I've had a 622 for a while now and have been watching VT ETV off of Burke Mtn with no EPG.It just says Digital Service on the 622 guide.I thought I read somewhere that is a normal situation-for whatever reason Dish and PBS OTA doesn't work as far the the EPG.Just for the heck of it I did a rescan and picked up NH ETV and those channels actually show what's on!
So my question is-those of you with a 622(or 722) that get ETV from Mansfield get the EPG?How about WCFE(NY)?(yes I know that's 2 questions.)-Thanks
Chan 33 (PBS) shows up quite well in my 622 EPG as I have the locals option included in the DVR Advantage package. The first 3 digital channels (33-1,33-2,33-3) are all correct, but the just added 33-4 just shows Digital Service. WCFE shows up, but as a duplicate of WCAX, possibly because they were using the WCAX tower until they got their own rebuilt.

Chan 33 (PBS) shows up quite well in my 622 EPG as I have the locals option included in the DVR Advantage package. The first 3 digital channels (33-1,33-2,33-3) are all correct, but the just added 33-4 just shows Digital Service. WCFE shows up, but as a duplicate of WCAX, possibly because they were using the WCAX tower until they got their own rebuilt.
Thanks for the info.I"ll have to shoot off an email to VT ETV.

Chan 33 (PBS) shows up quite well in my 622 EPG as I have the locals option included in the DVR Advantage package. The first 3 digital channels (33-1,33-2,33-3) are all correct, but the just added 33-4 just shows Digital Service. WCFE shows up, but as a duplicate of WCAX, possibly because they were using the WCAX tower until they got their own rebuilt.
A light bulb in my head just came on.Because Dish supplies with 33 and not 20 on the SD side is the problem even though they have the exact same programming.Over here they also give us NH 11(WLED) which is why I have the EPG for that channel.(Thet also give us WCFE but I can't get that OTA.)Thanks again.

Does anyone have a more recent power listing for the channels for NY/VT/QC?

This list is almost a year out of date:
http://www.remotecentral.com/hdtv/ottawa_hdtv.htm

I'm having heck pointing my antenna, I managed to get 5 bars (full signal) of NBC and three bars of CBS...but I lost it after fiddling it (stupid stupid stupid) trying to nab some PBS stations. Just want to make sure about the power levels since they are all on the same mountain.

yuprules recently asked:
Does anyone have a more recent power listing for the channels for NY/VT/QC?


You can't easliy intepret Effective Radiated Power levels for different channels, even if they are transmitting from the same location. This is because ERP is given as the maximum (in a specific, but generally unspecified direction), or as an average across all directions. Second, the free space propagation loss depends on the frequency, so X kW on channel 13 goes much further than X kW on channel 53.

Try using the signal locator function at www.TVFool.com to get an idea at how the received power levels for each Mt Mansfield station compare.

Beware of using TVFool data for Canadian stations - TVFool uses the FCC database for its station data, and the Canadian data is not complete in the FCC database. Also, the FCC database contains Canadian transition digital allocations, which does not correspond to digital stations actually broadcasting (or for those that are, it doesn't necessarily use the correct parameters.)

TVl

......
Cable companies are not allowed to encrypt the local stations, so you're seeing the Comcast local HD feeds through your QAM tuner. If you're planning to keep the basic cable you have now, you probably don't need to go OTA.
Is that true with Charter also?

I've had their basic cable for years to supplement my satellite which has all the HD except Dish Network is choosing NOT to provide HD locals.

So if my HDTV had a QAM tuner it could get the HD networks without any additional equipment from Charter? Oh and before anybody starts - I can't get any of the Burlington OTA.

Is that true with Charter also?

I've had their basic cable for years to supplement my satellite which has all the HD except Dish Network is choosing NOT to provide HD locals.

So if my HDTV had a QAM tuner it could get the HD networks without any additional equipment from Charter? Oh and before anybody starts - I can't get any of the Burlington OTA.

If Charter offers the local stations in HD, then yes you would be able to get them with a QAM tuner since they're not allowed to encrypt them.

yuprules recently asked:


You can't easliy intepret Effective Radiated Power levels for different channels, even if they are transmitting from the same location. This is because ERP is given as the maximum (in a specific, but generally unspecified direction), or as an average across all directions. Second, the free space propagation loss depends on the frequency, so X kW on channel 13 goes much further than X kW on channel 53.

Try using the signal locator function at www.TVFool.com to get an idea at how the received power levels for each Mt Mansfield station compare.
TVl

Thanks I'll check out tv fool, I'm going to get out the compass to ensure I"m pointed right at the mountain from my location. I wish all the U.S. stations near Montreal were all on the same mountain, but alas they aren't.

I managed to get 2-3 (out of 5) bars for CBS (WCAX) and 4 bars of NBC (WPTZ). Odd that I can't get Fox (WFFF) though, according to the tv fool it's pretty good, but I've read on other boards many people in Montreal have problems with that.

I've done my research, but I'm out of ideas. I live 32 miles from Mt Mansfield on a heading of 244 (true) (West Glover Zip Code 05875). I can receive all the OTA digital signals from Mt Mansfield ok, except Channel 22-1. I get zero from it. I've tried my Radio Shack UHF antenna with a booster and an older VHF/UHF antenna that is higher but without a booster, and still can't pull it in. I did a plot with tvfool.com, and here are the readings:

Call Sign Real (Virt) Network Rx(dbm) My set readings
WVNY-DT 13 22.1 ABC -99.7 31

WPTZ-DT 14 5.1 NBC -101.7 38

WCAX-DT 53 3.1 CBS -103.3 84

WETK-DT 32 33.1 PBS - 106.4 53

WFFF-DT 43 44.1 FOX -112.9

I realize all these readings are "fringe", but because their digital, with a few exceptions, I receive a quality picture. Can't get WVNY at all! If I understand TVFools's explination, the Rx estimate of -99.7 indicates I should get a stronger signal from WVNY than any of the others.

I can't get to the higher antenna to install the booster until spring when I can get a bucket truck in to reach it. (fell off a roof once -- never again!)

Does anybody have any insights or suggestions on picking up 22-1 this far out?

Does anybody have any insights or suggestions on picking up 22-1 this far out?You'll definitely need a VHF antenna. A UHF ant. just won't cut it when it comes to pulling in WVNY on Ch13. BTW - I punched your zipcode into antennaweb.org and the only Mt. Mansfield station they say you can get is WCAX. Interesting because you're only 30 miles away. Must be terrain getting in the way. In this situation, the higher the better, so you may need to wait until spring and you can get your roof-top back into service. Also, make sure you're using a directional antenna (since all the stations are now co-located on Mt. Mansfield) and that it is, in fact, pointed in the right direction. A signal amplifier won't help much with reception except to overcome signal loss in the cable (in other words, it won't help if the cable is short).

MMRWPVT,
It is broadcasting on chan 13 which is VHF so most UHF antennas will not pick it up. I would try a high VHF antenna such as Winegard YA6713 High-band VHF. It is not that big and fairly light so you can add it to the mast with the UHF antenna, combine with a splitter/combiner before the amplifier so you will amplify it's signal too.
You could put your address into www.antennaweb.org and get more specific than just your zip code. I entered the zip with an antenna height of 100' and it indicated a large directional VHF antenna with pre-amp for Chan 13.

Do NOT put alot of faith in antenna.org...their site tells me that I am unable to recieve any digital stations. I receive them all except for wfff-fox 44. I am about 60 ' in the air with a separate uhf/vhf ant. A radio shack booster for line loss and of course a rotor. My zip is 12912 and my terrian is terrible in front of me. A hill is right in the LOS.
However on days that it is 32* or above the picture does pixalate, but when summer comes and it warms the picture returns with a 70% signal. Weird I know, but it is fact.
www.tvfool.com provides a much more detailed signal information in my IMHO.

If Charter offers the local stations in HD, then yes you would be able to get them with a QAM tuner since they're not allowed to encrypt them.

Have you tried this????? I have not read a post that anyone has done this! I will try it today!

Have you tried this????? I have not read a post that anyone has done this! I will try it today!

Yes I have and it works fine. My problem is that my TiVo doesn't map channel data to unencryped QAM channels without cable cards.

I hope that this is not too far off discussion for this fourm but I have run into a problem running my computer into my Denon receiver--which acts as a switcher for all of my HD sources. It is linked to a projector. I have used a DVI to HDMI cable to an input that I know is active, with no results whatsoever. I assume that the signal coming from the computer (HP Media Center) is digital and that it would mesh with an HDMI adaptor. Any suggestions for a fix--or other places to research this problem? Thanks.

I live 32 miles from Mt Mansfield on a heading of 244 (true) (West Glover Zip Code 05875).
Where? If you're Merle Young you can probably pull in Boston & Portland in addition to Burlington.:) If you're on the west side of the lake/pond, things might not be so good.:( Are you next to the store?

We find the UHF/VHF combo antennas(C/M 3649(?)), don't pull in nearly the amount of signal as a dedicated UHF antenna such as a C/M 4221 or 4228.

If you PM me your location, I can give you a pretty good idea off the top of my head what reception should be like in your area. It's HIGHLY unlikely you'll need a seperate antenna for 22/13. I'm 41 miles non line of site to Mansfield, in Newport Ctr and get 22/13 with a 4221 on a gable mount on the back of my house, signal almost never drops out. For reference on a Dish 722 receiver the off air reads 90-100 on 3,5,33,& 44 and 73ish on 22/13.

Yes I have and it works fine. My problem is that my TiVo doesn't map channel data to unencryped QAM channels without cable cards.


Well, yes and no. Could only
get 3-2, 22-1, 5-1,5-2 & 33-1 No 44-1 or 57-1...bummer, but it does work.

Does Comcast in Colchester NOT offer Mountain Lake public television in HD? I looked for it this weekend channel-surfing, and didn't find it.

Or is the HD signal off the air right now?

Does Comcast in Colchester NOT offer Mountain Lake public television in HD? I looked for it this weekend channel-surfing, and didn't find it.

Or is the HD signal off the air right now?

Mountain Lake PBS's HD channel shows the exactly same programs at the same time as VPT's HD channel: viz. The PBS HD Channel. There is no need for any cable company to carry both.

For digital broadcasts, the two stations only differ in their SD programming.

- VPT broadcasts 3 SD channels: VPT regular programs*, Create TV and PBS World

- MLPBS braodcasts 2 SD channels: MLPBS regular programs* and ThinkBright TV.


*Simulcast of their analogue channel.

Mountain Lake PBS's HD channel shows the exactly same programs at the same time as VPT's HD channel: viz. The PBS HD Channel. There is no need for any cable company to carry both.

For digital broadcasts, the two stations only differ in their SD programming.

- VPT broadcasts 3 SD channels: VPT regular programs*, Create TV and PBS World

- MLPBS braodcasts 2 SD channels: MLPBS regular programs* and ThinkBright TV.


*Simulcast of their analogue channel.

Thanks, I did not know that all PBS HD broadcasts are the same. I thought only VT Public TV was offering an HD schedule that was different from its SD schedule. I wrongly made the assumption that if 3, 5, 22 and 44 in HD mirrored their SD, that the PBS outlets would do the same.

Thanks, I did not know that all PBS HD broadcasts are the same. I thought only VT Public TV was offering an HD schedule that was different from its SD schedule. I wrongly made the assumption that if 3, 5, 22 and 44 in HD mirrored their SD, that the PBS outlets would do the same.I'm not real happy with what VPT has done. It's very confusing. It's hard to know if something that's on their analog channel will be in HD on their digital channel, since the 2 are not synchronized. They do simulcast their analag feed as a sub-channel of their digital signal, but the PQ is inferior to the analog broadcast. I suppose you could argue this arrangement makes sense while they have separate digital and analog broadcasts. But I sure hope when the analog cut-off happens next year that they figure out how to synchonize their HD broadcast with the traditional analog schedule.

Just to add to vttom's note - I'm also having issues with my Window's Media Center programming guide for PBS HD 33.1. It seems to be pulling in the programming schedule information for 33.2. This may be an unrelated issue though....

I'm not real happy with what VPT has done. It's very confusing. It's hard to know if something that's on their analog channel will be in HD on their digital channel, since the 2 are not synchronized. They do simulcast their analag feed as a sub-channel of their digital signal, but the PQ is inferior to the analog broadcast. I suppose you could argue this arrangement makes sense while they have separate digital and analog broadcasts. But I sure hope when the analog cut-off happens next year that they figure out how to synchonize their HD broadcast with the traditional analog schedule.


First of all, by definition, all digital channels are sub-channels, even the HD ones.

Second, almost all PBS stations are broadcasting the PBS HD channel plus one or more SD channels. (I don't know of any that are not doing so). The PBS HD channel does not originate from the local station, but it represents the major, if not only, source of HD programming for the local stations. This situation is expected to continue for some time after the analogue shutdown.

All stations are required by FCC mandate to simulcast 100% of their analogue programs in digital. VPT and MLPBS do so on an SD channel, as do almost all PBS stations. The majority of the programs that are shown on PBS stations are SD (and will continue to be so for the next few years), so it makes perfect sense to shown them on an SD digital sub-channel.

As far as picture quality is concerned, programs on both 33.2 and 57.2 come in on my OTA equipment (Sony and Samsung) equal or slightly better than their analogue conterparts and far better than the blurry signals put out on 44.2 (Fox 44's CW channel). Whether or not the same is true for cable or satellite, I cannot say.

For anyone using Dish to watch the race on 44 in SD(only option from Dish), is your picture pitiful today? I checked the transponder as well as the other locals on that transponder and they are fine. I'm just to lazy to put up another external ant next to my other two dishes and those inside jobs... not to sure how well they would work with all the high buildings, trees etc. around me. I'm chalking the poor picture to the storm. What do you think?

Am I the only one subscribing to Comcast who experiences repeated audio drop-outs in the WPTZ HD feed, both local programming and network feeds?

Is this WPTZ's fault, or is Comcast screwing up? Or is it just me and my equipment? It doesn't happen on other HD channels...

I know the SD WPTZ feed had huge problems on Comcast with video drop-outs about every 20 minutes, for more than a year, only recently solved in the last few months. Their chief engineer and station manager blamed Comcast for having a technical problem, and Comcast denied they were to blame and pointed the finger at WPTZ....in the end, somebody figured it out and fixed it.

Suffice to say, I'm not especially impressed with either Comcast or WPTZ's commitment to quality broadcasting.

Am I the only one subscribing to Comcast who experiences repeated audio drop-outs in the WPTZ HD feed, both local programming and network feeds?

Is this WPTZ's fault, or is Comcast screwing up? Or is it just me and my equipment? It doesn't happen on other HD channels...

I know the SD WPTZ feed had huge problems on Comcast with video drop-outs about every 20 minutes, for more than a year, only recently solved in the last few months. Their chief engineer and station manager blamed Comcast for having a technical problem, and Comcast denied they were to blame and pointed the finger at WPTZ....in the end, somebody figured it out and fixed it.

Suffice to say, I'm not especially impressed with either Comcast or WPTZ's commitment to quality broadcasting.
The audio drops happen OTA also, so I think it is a combination of growing pains and less than a full commitment to HD

For anyone using Dish to watch the race on 44 in SD(only option from Dish), is your picture pitiful today? I checked the transponder as well as the other locals on that transponder and they are fine. I'm just to lazy to put up another external ant next to my other two dishes and those inside jobs... not to sure how well they would work with all the high buildings, trees etc. around me. I'm chalking the poor picture to the storm. What do you think?
The car cams and gopher cam are always fuzzy. I thought the long shots were fine. Oops, just noticed you were watching Dish SD. I am getting it OTA SD, but judging by Speed on Dish, SD is pitiful.

The car cams and gopher cam are always fuzzy. I thought the long shots were fine. Oops, just noticed you were watching Dish SD. I am getting it OTA SD, but judging by Speed on Dish, SD is pitiful.

Yes SD is generally soso as seen on my Plasma but yesterday was particularly noisy. With Dish's new bird going up Friday evening I'm hoping the queue for local HD markets will start moving this Spring although I doubt we will be one of those targeted. I suspect not til the next bird for the US markets. Gees this looks like it will be Kyle's year.

Yes SD is generally soso as seen on my Plasma but yesterday was particularly noisy. With Dish's new bird going up Friday evening I'm hoping the queue for local HD markets will start moving this Spring although I doubt we will be one of those targeted. I suspect not til the next bird for the US markets. Gees this looks like it will be Kyle's year.
Yep, Wild Man has settled down enough to quit wrecking cars and is becoming the man to beat. Noticed you are in Burlington. OTA should not be a problem for you if your TV has a built-in ATSC receiver.

Noticed you are in Burlington. OTA should not be a problem for you if your TV has a built-in ATSC receiver.

I know for now thats my only option. Indoor ant on first floor.. well my building is old aluminum siding and I' right up against other 3 story dwellings and large trees. The ant sites all say I should be able to get a signal. Dish installed my 2 dishes on a second floor unheated porch roof and for them there is a clear los. Well for part of the season, the races are on ESPN2 and TNT so I will at least enjoy part of the season in glorious HD!:D

I know for now thats my only option. Indoor ant on first floor.. well my building is old aluminum siding and I' right up against other 3 story dwellings and large trees. The ant sites all say I should be able to get a signal. Dish installed my 2 dishes on a second floor unheated porch roof and for them there is a clear los. Well for part of the season, the races are on ESPN2 and TNT so I will at least enjoy part of the season in glorious HD!:D
Something like an Channel Master 4221 (1st choice), Winegard PR or HD 4400, or Antennas Direct DB4 are fairly small and may work from that porch roof (a compass can verify) as your LOS to the towers should be roughly SE. You can use a J-mount and verify reception with an RG6 coax thru a window or door prior to permanent wiring.
Added later: Your location is key. If you are down in the hole toward the lake, even the medium antennas I recommended may not be enough. If you are up in the UVM area, your chance of OTA success is much higher.
BTW, a DB2 makes a pretty good indoor antenna, a lot better than a UHF loop. It's even possible that a DB2 and a set of rabbit ears (for chan 22 broadcasting on 13.1) will do the job, especially if you can get them in a window on the Mt Mansfield side.

Something like an Channel Master 4221 (1st choice), Winegard PR or HD 4400, or Antennas Direct DB4 are fairly small and may work from that porch roof (a compass can verify) as your LOS to the towers should be roughly SE. You can use a J-mount and verify reception with an RG6 coax thru a window or door prior to permanent wiring.
BTW, a DB2 makes a pretty good indoor antenna, a lot better than a UHF loop. It's even possible that a DB2 and a set of rabbit ears (for chan 22 broadcasting on 13.1) will do the job, especially if you can get them in a window on the Mt Mansfield side.

Thanks for the suggestions SkiSmuggs! :D

Thanks for the suggestions SkiSmuggs! :D
I took a look at www.antennaweb.org and it appears that your location is key. If you are down in the hole toward the lake, even the medium antennas I recommended may not be enough. But if you are up around UVM or other high parts of Burlingon, they should work. However, from central Burlington, the LOS to the towers is almost due east so you would need to check that azimuth from the porch.
If you are down in the hole and try an antenna, aim it up at your horizon as that's where the signal will be.

I took a look at www.antennaweb.org and it appears that your location is key. If you are down in the hole toward the lake, even the medium antennas I recommended may not be enough. But if you are up around UVM or other high parts of Burlingon, they should work. However, from central Burlington, the LOS to the towers is almost due east so you would need to check that azimuth from the porch.
If you are down in the hole and try an antenna, aim it up at your horizon as that's where the signal will be.

I'm on Loomis St in the heart of the college slums!:p Antenna.org and tvfool.com which does a slightly better job I think show the ususal players at true 81degrees, 96 magnetic. Its a gradual incline to the top of the street where I for sure would get a signal due to the topograhy. I'm gonna try the sat folks to see if they do this as well. Can't hurt as it doesn't really impact them. I would tie it into my VIP622 so I would get the guide rather then run a cable to the TV directly. If not, maybe they could recommend someone as I really don't want do it myself. No big deal either way as I'm happy with the HD's I get. Would like Speed tho....:D

Dish Network announced that it will add the Burlington local HD stations sometime in April. These and other HD offerings are detailed at: http://www.satelliteguys.us
My experience with the football game carried by Dish (NFL Channel) and two locals at the same time tells me that I'll not soon give up OTA HD signals. I can't wait to see what the compression will do to the quality of the pictures via satellite.

Dish Network announced that it will add the Burlington local HD stations sometime in April. These and other HD offerings are detailed at: http://www.satelliteguys.us
My experience with the football game carried by Dish (NFL Channel) and two locals at the same time tells me that I'll not soon give up OTA HD signals. I can't wait to see what the compression will do to the quality of the pictures via satellite.

Starting in April they will be adding local Hd stations across the country. The thought is they may not add all at once but STARTING in April they will begin to roll them out. Hopefully Burlington will be one of the early ones.

Dish Network announced that it will add the Burlington local HD stations sometime in April. These and other HD offerings are detailed at: http://www.satelliteguys.us
My experience with the football game carried by Dish (NFL Channel) and two locals at the same time tells me that I'll not soon give up OTA HD signals. I can't wait to see what the compression will do to the quality of the pictures via satellite.
Please link the THREAD that says Dish will launch Burlington HD LiLs. I can't believe I would have missed it but it's possible.

Dish had included our Vt HD locals in their original list of 50 possibles about 2 years ago but that was nothing but hype. That they will launch them next month is.............well I'll believe it when I see it.

Please link the THREAD that says Dish will launch Burlington HD LiLs. I can't believe I would have missed it but it's possible.

Dish had included our Vt HD locals in their original list of 50 possibles about 2 years ago but that was nothing but hype. That they will launch them next month is.............well I'll believe it when I see it.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-network-forum/128028-dish-network-retailer-chat-recap-march-12-2008-a.html

http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-network-forum/128028-dish-network-retailer-chat-recap-march-12-2008-a.html

Thanks for the link Roger but a word of caution. Those maps & lists are typical Dish ambiguity in that they say things like "coming soon" & "starting in April".

Granted it's a little more "committed" than the old "list of 50" but they typically leave themselves a lot of room to wiggle out or substitute. Of all those stations listed, some are possibly contracted and may launch in April but I bet dollars to doughnuts many are still in negotiations and will fall in the "soon" category, which as we all know can mean when-ever.

On the plus side, the fact that they would probably go on a 61.5 spot may give them a sooner rather than later but on the negative side, some of those stations have an unrealistic opinion of their own worth and originally wanted Dish to build the uplink facilities, all of which (in my opinion) kicked them off the earlier list. And of course when Dish posted that old list, none of our stations even had digital yet (except WNNE-DT in White River).

Thanks for the link Roger but a word of caution. Those maps & lists are typical Dish ambiguity in that they say things like "coming soon" & "starting in April".

Granted it's a little more "committed" than the old "list of 50" but they typically leave themselves a lot of room to wiggle out or substitute. Of all those stations listed, some are possibly contracted and may launch in April but I bet dollars to doughnuts many are still in negotiations and will fall in the "soon" category, which as we all know can mean when-ever.

On the plus side, the fact that they would probably go on a 61.5 spot may give them a sooner rather than later but on the negative side, some of those stations have an unrealistic opinion of their own worth and originally wanted Dish to build the uplink facilities, all of which (in my opinion) kicked them off the earlier list. And of course when Dish posted that old list, none of our stations even had digital yet (except WNNE-DT in White River).

I watched and recorded the Charlie Chat this past Monday night. Burlington/Plattsburgh is one of the targeted markets coming soon. The plan for locals is to add 7 or 8 per month til year's end. Hopefully we will be one of the firsts. No guarantee tho but it looks hopeful. Tomorrow night's sat launch is being carried on Dish 101 at 6:30PM EST. If ya got Dish watch it. Should be great. The rollout of National HD's should start in April with many looking forward to getting SCI-FI as one of the first rolled out. SPEED... arg...... still in negociations. :(

If you check out the "retailer chat's" Powerpoint presentation you'll see the Burlington OTA listing. I also give little credence to Charly's pronouncements any more but hope springs eternal.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-network-forum/128028-dish-network-retailer-chat-recap-march-12-2008-a.html

I've tried many times over the last year. You CANNOT get cable cards from the South Burlington office. It's ludicrous, but the ONLY way to get them is to make an appointment and have a "tech" bring them to you. They used to charge $25 for this, but now they charge $15. I've had some success getting the fee waived by arguing that they shouldn't charge me for the truck roll since I'm willing to come and get them myself. YMMV with that though.

My Tivo HD arrived today. I'm going to go up to the South Burlington Office tomorrow morning and see if they'll hand over the CableCards to me. I figure it's worth a shot. If they won't I'll see if I can get the fee waved.

My Tivo HD arrived today. I'm going to go up to the South Burlington Office tomorrow morning and see if they'll hand over the CableCards to me. I figure it's worth a shot. If they won't I'll see if I can get the fee waved.

I got my Tivo HD tonight and just had a Comcast installer come out today and plug in a couple CableCards (no multistream) and set them up.

The only issue I'm having so far is that the guide didn't seem to want to include any HD channel info. However, the Tivo just alerted me that it noticed I'd installed CableCards and it needed to re-do the initial setup. Running it now. I'm sure it'll all work out fine.

My Tivo HD arrived today. I'm going to go up to the South Burlington Office tomorrow morning and see if they'll hand over the CableCards to me. I figure it's worth a shot. If they won't I'll see if I can get the fee waved.

Another thing to be aware of is that Comcast just changed their pricing on cable cards. They used to be free regardless of how many you had. Now the first one is free and the second one is $1.50 a month. This is one reason why I've argued with Comcast to give me multistream cards. They DO have multistream cards in the South Burlington office, but they will ONLY use them in Comcast cable boxes. They keep telling me that they won't work in a TiVo, which is obviously not true. It's just a scam so they can charge you for using 2 cards. It wouldn't be a huge deal if I only had one TiVo, but I've got 3. They just started charing me $1.50 for the second card in each of the TiVos plus a $5.00 "digital access" fee for the 2nd and 3rd TiVos. So Comcast went from charging me nothing for the 6 cable cards to charging me $14.50 a month.

Hello folks...anyone able to receive the Montreal HD broadcasts in the Burlington area? Thanks all

From the Dish booth at CES on 01/06/06.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=104718&d=1205534883

I got my Tivo HD tonight and just had a Comcast installer come out today and plug in a couple CableCards (no multistream) and set them up.

The only issue I'm having so far is that the guide didn't seem to want to include any HD channel info. However, the Tivo just alerted me that it noticed I'd installed CableCards and it needed to re-do the initial setup. Running it now. I'm sure it'll all work out fine.

If my office was next to my living room ;), I wouldn't mind having the installer come over. But with that not being the case, I'd rather not have to wait for them if I don't have to.

AntennaMan1 - Burlington is one of the 23 targeted markets with the launch of AMC-14 this evening. Coming soon. Woohoo!

Thecompletion of the launch with the bird on its own should be about 2Am EST.

Here's the blog: http://www.ilslaunch.com/amc-14

Sadly Dish Network's satellite launch yesterday has failed to reach proper orbit. Some scientists leave a slim hope of restoring the unit but for now it looks to me as though we can forget those HD channels promised last week by Charlie E.
Perhaps this failure might--just might--convince Dish to repurpose some of the many pay per view and sports channels to dedicateed HD national winners like USA HD, Weather Channel HD, etc. Yea, I know, dream on....

Sadly Dish Network's satellite launch yesterday has failed to reach proper orbit. Some scientists leave a slim hope of restoring the unit but for now it looks to me as though we can forget those HD channels promised last week by Charlie E.
Perhaps this failure might--just might--convince Dish to repurpose some of the many pay per view and sports channels to dedicateed HD national winners like USA HD, Weather Channel HD, etc. Yea, I know, dream on....

I was hoping last night that after reading the blog about the anomoly as they called it this AM would find something of a possible plan. Apparently the Proton they used has had this same failure before in 2006 in the Briz-M section of the rocket. As one guy wrote in the sat forums just how pathetic it is we need to depend on other countries to do communication launches of any kind rather then us. Oh yeah... I guess its because of "not in my backyard" besides other issues..

So now that Dish has failed again, can anyone tell me what sort of roof antenna they use if they are down in a hole? I live in Richmond, just below the highway. I have a second story, but I am pretty sure nothing but an outdoor antenna would work unless someone has a similar situation and found a workable solution. Thanks in advance.

This press coverage was released today concerning Dish Nets latest plans. Information seems to fly in the face of what has been reported lately so take this all in with a grain of proverbial salt. The operable key word in the final paragraph is "may".....
ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Mar 18, 2008 (PrimeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) -- DISH Network(r) Corporation (Nasdaq:DISH), the nation's third-largest pay-TV provider, today confirmed that plans to enhance its HD programming line-up this spring remain on track, despite the launch anomaly experienced by the AMC-14 satellite on March 14.

Over the next two months, DISH Network will increase its local HD offering by more than 60 percent with the addition of HD broadcast networks in the following markets:

April May
----- ---
* Abilene, TX * Beaumont, TX
* Austin, TX * Burlington, VT
* Baltimore, MD * Grand Rapids, MI
* Columbia, SC * Green Bay, WI
* Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, MI * Greenville, SC
* Ft. Myers, FL * Huntsville, AL
* Greensboro, NC * Knoxville, TN
* Milwaukee, WI * Norfolk, VA
* Orlando, FL * Richmond, VA
* Providence, RI
* Tampa, FL
* West Palm Beach, FL
"DISH Network customers can be reassured that the expansion of our HD programming over the next few months will proceed as planned," said Charlie Ergen, Chairman, CEO and President of DISH Network. "We are fortunate to have two more satellites scheduled for launch later this year to continue our HD rollout and reach our year-end goal of 100 local HD markets and 100 national HD channels."

Upcoming national HD announcements may include the addition of ABC Family HD, AMC HD, BET HD, The Biography Channel HD, Bravo HD, Cartoon Network HD, CMT HD, CNN HD, Disney Channel HD, ESPN News HD, HBO2 HD, IFC HD, MGM HD, MoreMAX HD, MTV HD, Nickelodeon HD, Sci-Fi HD, Smithsonian Channel HD, Starz Edge HD, Tennis Channel HD, Superstation WGN HD, The Weather Channel HD, Toon Disney HD, USA Network HD and VH-1 HD.

For more information about DISH Network, call 1-800-333-DISH (3474), visit www.dishnetwork.com, or visit your local DISH Network retailer.

Over the next two months, DISH Network will increase its local HD offering by more than 60 percent with the addition of HD broadcast networks in the following markets:

April May
----- ---
* Abilene, TX * Beaumont, TX
* Austin, TX * Burlington, VT
* Baltimore, MD * Grand Rapids, MI
* Columbia, SC * Green Bay, WI
* Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, MI * Greenville, SC
* Ft. Myers, FL * Huntsville, AL
* Greensboro, NC * Knoxville, TN
* Milwaukee, WI * Norfolk, VA
* Orlando, FL * Richmond, VA
* Providence, RI
* Tampa, FL
* West Palm Beach, FL


Its great news especially for BTV! :D I had wondered how Wall Street was going to treat the launch but I guess this week they had bigger fish to fry!;)

Another thing to be aware of is that Comcast just changed their pricing on cable cards. They used to be free regardless of how many you had. Now the first one is free and the second one is $1.50 a month. This is one reason why I've argued with Comcast to give me multistream cards. They DO have multistream cards in the South Burlington office, but they will ONLY use them in Comcast cable boxes. They keep telling me that they won't work in a TiVo, which is obviously not true. It's just a scam so they can charge you for using 2 cards. It wouldn't be a huge deal if I only had one TiVo, but I've got 3. They just started charing me $1.50 for the second card in each of the TiVos plus a $5.00 "digital access" fee for the 2nd and 3rd TiVos. So Comcast went from charging me nothing for the 6 cable cards to charging me $14.50 a month.

After coming home for the afternoon, the Comcast tech (Randy) called and told me they were fresh out of CableCards. It would have been nice if they didn't wait until the last minute to check that out. They guy was really nice and I mentioned how it would be nice if they would hand them out over the counter. He wasn't aware that they wouldn't do that and said he'd mention it in their meeting tomorrow morning. He also said he'd see what he could do about getting me some sort of discount for my inconvenience.

Soon after I spoke with Randy, the Burlington Comcast office called me back and said they wouldn't have any cards in stock until late next week, so I rescheduled for them to come out next Friday morning. Until then, I just have an SD TiVo, which really isn't all that useful.

After coming home for the afternoon, the Comcast tech (Randy) called and told me they were fresh out of CableCards. It would have been nice if they didn't wait until the last minute to check that out. They guy was really nice and I mentioned how it would be nice if they would hand them out over the counter. He wasn't aware that they wouldn't do that and said he'd mention it in their meeting tomorrow morning. He also said he'd see what he could do about getting me some sort of discount for my inconvenience.

Soon after I spoke with Randy, the Burlington Comcast office called me back and said they wouldn't have any cards in stock until late next week, so I rescheduled for them to come out next Friday morning. Until then, I just have an SD TiVo, which really isn't all that useful.

I'm actually going to return 2 of my cable cards since they're now charging me for them. That should give them at least 2 in stock.

After coming home for the afternoon, the Comcast tech (Randy) called and told me they were fresh out of CableCards. It would have been nice if they didn't wait until the last minute to check that out. They guy was really nice and I mentioned how it would be nice if they would hand them out over the counter. He wasn't aware that they wouldn't do that and said he'd mention it in their meeting tomorrow morning. He also said he'd see what he could do about getting me some sort of discount for my inconvenience.

Soon after I spoke with Randy, the Burlington Comcast office called me back and said they wouldn't have any cards in stock until late next week, so I rescheduled for them to come out next Friday morning. Until then, I just have an SD TiVo, which really isn't all that useful.

Bummer.

My install this past Friday went fine, pretty much, except:
* We couldn't get the Tivo to work over HDMI. Solution: Component looks fine to me. I might revisit the issue, which could boil down to a bad cable.
* The tech spent a looooong time on hold with the office. No big deal, since I work at home -- as referenced above.
* After the install was done and the tech was gone, I noticed that my bedroom CableCard TV could no longer acquire any non-QAM signals. Solution: I called Comcast Monday. The same tech came out Tuesday and fixed the issue. In case you're wondering, I offered to call the office myself with the pairing info, MAC address, or anything a partially trained monkey would be able to figure out to get the issue resolved at that time, but the CSR kind of insisted on sending the tech out. It was just one more day, and I have no burning desire to wait on hold with the local Comcast office, so I went with the flow. All is fine now.

I have no complaints about the process; it could have been far worse. The HDMI weirdness was the most stressful aspect of the whole process, and it had nothing to do with Comcast.

* We couldn't get the Tivo to work over HDMI. Solution: Component looks fine to me. I might revisit the issue, which could boil down to a bad cable.

The HDMI weirdness was the most stressful aspect of the whole process, and it had nothing to do with Comcast.

Did HDMI work at all prior to setting up the cable cards? I'm just curious if it was an issue of not working at all or not working with HD channels.

Did HDMI work at all prior to setting up the cable cards? I'm just curious if it was an issue of not working at all or not working with HD channels.

HDMI worked with my Comcast cable box (using a DVI to HDMI cable), and it's currently working with my upconverting DVD player. It has yet to work with the TiVo, but I haven't poked around with it other than the day I got the CableCards installed.

HDMI worked with my Comcast cable box (using a DVI to HDMI cable), and it's currently working with my upconverting DVD player. It has yet to work with the TiVo, but I haven't poked around with it other than the day I got the CableCards installed.

Hopefully, it's not the TiVo that's bad. If you get a replacement, they'll have to send a "tech" out again to pair the cards with the new one.

Hi,
I bought a channel master 3016 and put it on a 5 ft mast. I can pull in pbs hd and wcax is in and out, but none of the others. At this point, can someone offer me advice as to what would be the next step? Some sort of amplification? A taller mast, or a bigger antenna? Also, if I move where the antenna is on the rooftop which runs horizontally east/west would that make any sort of difference? I set the antenna at 65 degrees like antenna.org gave me, but then I got nothing at all. I had to move it around 30 something to pick things up.
Thanks in advance for any help.

Hi,
I bought a channel master 3016 and put it on a 5 ft mast. I can pull in pbs hd and wcax is in and out, but none of the others. At this point, can someone offer me advice as to what would be the next step? Some sort of amplification? A taller mast, or a bigger antenna? Also, if I move where the antenna is on the rooftop which runs horizontally east/west would that make any sort of difference? I set the antenna at 65 degrees like antenna.org gave me, but then I got nothing at all. I had to move it around 30 something to pick things up.
Thanks in advance for any help.
We don't have any info on your location, but the antenna you bought is a combo with emphasis on VHF. All but one of the stations (22 on chan 13) are broadcasting UHF. I would have gone with the Channel Master 4228 (assuming you have some reception issues such as mountains, trees, buildings blocking your LOS to towers on Mt Mansfield) as it is just about the best choice for UHF as it also does a decent job on high VHF.
Did you put your street address in antennaweb.org? The only reason I can think of for it being so far off is insufficient/incorrect info (click Show Digital Only) or you have a blocking mountain that is redirecting the signal. Also check www.tvfool.com.

Is there a smaller possibility than the 4228? I am only 12 to 13 miles from the towers, although I cannot seem them from my rooftop. Do you think this would work with a 5 ft mast or would a ten ft one be necessary.
I just thought since I am getting two of the 5 channels that the fix might be a little simplier. Although this morning, I did not get cbs at all.
thanks

Is there a smaller possibility than the 4228? I am only 12 to 13 miles from the towers, although I cannot seem them from my rooftop. Do you think this would work with a 5 ft mast or would a ten ft one be necessary.
I just thought since I am getting two of the 5 channels that the fix might be a little simplier. Although this morning, I did not get cbs at all.
thanks
Sure, the 4221 is half the size, but isn't as good on high VHF. You could give it a try and add a homemade VHF later. Raising your antenna may eliminate the need for another antenna also. Try tilting your antenna up to point at the horizon of the blocking feature.

Is there a smaller possibility than the 4228? I am only 12 to 13 miles from the towers, although I cannot seem them from my rooftop. Do you think this would work with a 5 ft mast or would a ten ft one be necessary.
I just thought since I am getting two of the 5 channels that the fix might be a little simplier. Although this morning, I did not get cbs at all.
thanksIIRC, you live in Richmond. So transmitters should be roughly to the NE. Since you're so close, I wouldn't be surprised if you're getting all sorts of reflections which is making it hard for your tuner to get a lock. I looked at the specs on the CM 3016 and it says it's a "medium directional" antenna. Perhaps you need to find a "highly directional" antenna to keep yourself from picking up the reflections (or lets you fine tune the pointing angle to just ONE reflection)?

Are you using an amplifier? If so, have you tried it without it? I ask because since you are so close to the towers, it could be that the signal is overloading the amplifier, which would actually cause a signal reduction rather than a signal boost.

Lastly, does your TV have an analog (NTSC) tuner? If so, try tuning it to channel 22 or 33 (the 2 UHF stations transmitting analog from Mt. Mansfield) and watch the picture as you rotate the antenna back and forth. Look for a pointing angle that results in a picture with the least amount of "ghosting".

So you are saying point my antenna straight up as opposed to straight out as it is now and raising it may both work as possibilities of getting the channels in? Do you think moving it along the peak would matter? It is all the way to the east right now, but I could move it back to the west? If I did get the 4221, do you think that would be enough to bring in all the other channels besides abc? Again thank you for your help.

So you are saying point my antenna straight up as opposed to straight out as it is nowI think SkiSmuggs meant to tilt the antenna up so that the boom is parallel to a line between your rooftop and the hill obstructing your LoS to the towers. (not "striaght up" as you seem to have interpretted).

Thanks. I tried to angle it upwards, but unfortunately the clamp would not allow for much of an up angle. I was not exactly sure, but kinda hopeful as I had not tried that yet.
thanks

I do not have an amplifier, but that was something I was considering with cbs going in and out. I will eliminate that now. My peak runs east/ west and I presently have the antenna set at 1pm or 30 degrees or so. When I went to what I thought was 65 degrees or 230ish I lost all channels except pbs. Is there a chance that when I am facing almost due north, I am simply grabbing a reflection? I have not yet turned the antenna completely NE, or 3pm, but I will try that.
Would you suggest the same antenna as SkiSmuggs or did you have a different one in mind.
thanks

Would you suggest the same antenna as SkiSmuggs or did you have a different one in mind.
thanksConsidering just your distance to the towers, I would think just about any antenna would work (including a coat-hanger). It sounds like the bigger problem for you is terrain. In that case, it's anyone's guess as to which antenna will work best. That being said, you really should check that you've got it pointing in the right direciton to start with.

I do not have an amplifier, but that was something I was considering with cbs going in and out. I will eliminate that now. My peak runs east/ west and I presently have the antenna set at 1pm or 30 degrees or so. When I went to what I thought was 65 degrees or 230ish I lost all channels except pbs. Is there a chance that when I am facing almost due north, I am simply grabbing a reflection? I have not yet turned the antenna completely NE, or 3pm, but I will try that.
Would you suggest the same antenna as SkiSmuggs or did you have a different one in mind.
thanks

Lance,
Sounds like you didn't use a compass. When I guessed directions for satellite dishes, I was off by about 20 degrees. Get a compass. Antennaweb gives you magnetic north rather than true north and the declination here is about 9 degrees, so a compass will get the correct direction for you.

I used a compass to find north

So my compass shows north, and I went based on that. Are you saying that the 65 degrees is the mistake that it should be say 74.

So my compass shows north, and I went based on that. Are you saying that the 65 degrees is the mistake that it should be say 74.

No, antennaweb.org already corrects for the magnetic declination, so the compass 65 degrees should be right. I just cross checked with TVFool.com which shows both magnetic and true. The magnetic azimuth agrees with antennweb so just follow the compass with no adjustments. And, it looks like the declination is 16 degrees rather than the 9 I mentioned earlier. Wow!
And I'm using TVFool from now on as it gives more info and explains everything below the charts.

Okay. I will do some work on moving the antenna around and see if I can lock in the analogs before doing the digital scan again. There is no doubt terrain is my enemy. I am sort of down in a hole below the highway. I can see the towers right as I get off the highway, but then lose them from there and as I stated, I cannot see them from my rooftop. Is there a certain type of antenna that would pick up all the different reflections and make a strong signal or is that the 4228. Again, thank you for all the information and help. I am thinking my cheapest next step would be to get a 10ft mast and see if that changes anything.

Okay. I will do some work on moving the antenna around and see if I can lock in the analogs before doing the digital scan again. There is no doubt terrain is my enemy. I am sort of down in a hole below the highway. I can see the towers right as I get off the highway, but then lose them from there and as I stated, I cannot see them from my rooftop. Is there a certain type of antenna that would pick up all the different reflections and make a strong signal or is that the 4228. Again, thank you for all the information and help. I am thinking my cheapest next step would be to get a 10ft mast and see if that changes anything.

The mast is certainly the cheapest thing to try. I wouldn't bother with a 4228 as that is a long distance antenna and would be overkill. I would go with a 4221 ($30-40) instead and try to tip it toward your horizon. Some 4 bay antennas (CM 4221 or Winegard PR4400) have 2 clamps so you could put a spacer under the bottom clamp to angle it up a little.

On my way to work I looked at the tower again and I think I am off my aim. I am presently at 1300, but when I put it to 1430 to 1500, I don't get anything at all and yet that seems to be where the towers are. So I must be picking up a reflection. Last night cbs stayed on all night, but again nothing else. I am going to try the analog thing again, but if I get nothing when pointed at the towers, should I still go with the 10ft mast or should I just go get one of the bow tie antenna's? Speaking of which, it looks like those antenna's do point straight up, don't they?
Thanks.

Speaking of which, it looks like those antenna's do point straight up, don't they?
Thanks.
Actually, they are just vertical to expose all the rods to the signal. You still may need to tilt them to the horizon to get the most efficient capture.
When you say 1300 or 1500, are you referring to 1 o'clock and 3 o'clock relative to north? Compass points are easier for us to understand as no conversion is required. :)

That makes sense. Yes, I am speaking in clock, but I will find a compass and see if can make the conversion. It certainly looks like it should be further east than where I have it right now.

thanks

I just looked at Google Earth and I think that my house is pointed 320 degrees and that the reading of 65 degrees is correct. That being the case, I don't think I was even close to where I should have been with the antenna direction, but I did pick up cbs and pbs so I assumed I was close. The compass that was being used was in a friend's vehicle and they pointed and stated north, but they were off by quite a bit. So I will try pointing it in the right direction, but given the terrain, I think I will probably end up in the same situation.
Thanks

So I will try pointing it in the right direction, but given the terrain, I think I will probably end up in the same situation.
ThanksI know the antenna is on the roof, which might make it hard, but if you can enlist the help of a friend and have a pair of 2-way radios, your best results might be acheived by tuning to analog 22 or 33, then slowly turning the antenna back-and-forth while someone watches the picture on the TV screen and tells you when it's better/worse.

I do have the two ways so I just need someone at the house to help me a bit on a good day. So I should just put it on 22 and then try to get a clear pic? I can tell you when I go to 22 now, there is reception but not to the point where I can see a picture. Just a montage of colors. That will be my first step before proceeding to the 10ft mast. Who knows, maybe I am not as bad off as I think.

Do you have any neighbors with roof antennas that share the same terrain you might ask how their reception is? I realize every location is unique and no guarantee of reception but might help. Also as to how hidden you might be, do you have cell phone coverage? I know its not the same but obstacles are obstacles and just trying to understand where you are.

There have been reports that Comcast is compressing their HD signals even more. http://www.tvpredictions.com/2008/03/is-comcast-squeezing-your-hd-picture.html
This makes all the work with antennas all the more worthy of our time. Before long it will be the only way to get a true HD picture on those new sets!

Most people on Rte 2 have dishes. I do have one neighbor two houses down with an antenna, but it looks like it is a 20ft mast if not higher and it is closer to the road so it opens up more. Basically I am just down the hill from the Doggy Daycare. I am almost positive that I do not have line of sight and I really don't want to have a 20ft mast or so. Hopefully with a little adjustment, I can pull in all the channels.

Most people on Rte 2 have dishes. I do have one neighbor two houses down with an antenna, but it looks like it is a 20ft mast if not higher and it is closer to the road so it opens up more. Basically I am just down the hill from the Doggy Daycare. I am almost positive that I do not have line of sight and I really don't want to have a 20ft mast or so. Hopefully with a little adjustment, I can pull in all the channels.

Lance,
Put your info into TVFool.com and see what it says. Look in the column called PATH. It should says LOS (line of sight), 1 Edge or 2 Edge indicating obstacles.
BTW, auto compasses are not very reliable. Get a cheapo from Wal-Mart. It will give you a good start. VTTOM's suggestion is a good one, but the compass will get you started in the right direction. The analog broadcasts for 22 & 33 are UHF and will work for adjusting the new antenna if you get one.

NESN is now available on Dish in HD. Check it out on channel: 5434.

I'm actually going to return 2 of my cable cards since they're now charging me for them. That should give them at least 2 in stock.

I just finished getting things setup with the tech. He had an MCard, so that means no cablecard fees for me. I guess it pays to do this when they're out of stock. Hopefully going forward, all they'll have are MCards. You might want to give them a call and see if you can get your TiVo boxes switched to MCards.

The good news out of all this is that I now have a direct number for the local office as well as the number for provisioning cablecards.

I just finished getting things setup with the tech. He had an MCard, so that means no cablecard fees for me. I guess it pays to do this when they're out of stock. Hopefully going forward, all they'll have are MCards. You might want to give them a call and see if you can get your TiVo boxes switched to MCards.

The good news out of all this is that I now have a direct number for the local office as well as the number for provisioning cablecards.

Nice. I'll definitely be paying them a visit. Would you mind PMing me those contact numbers? I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

I just checked it out and it shows 2 edge which obviously isn't good, but I am not sure what it means as far as what sort of antenna to try next. I think I now understand why the neighbor down the street has what appears to be a 20 or 25ft mast. So, if I get a longer mast, would the antenna I have now work or should I still go to the 4221 antenna?

Nice. I'll definitely be paying them a visit. Would you mind PMing me those contact numbers? I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

Sent. Also an interesting piece of information is when the cable card was initially inserted, it proceeded to update the firmware, which took almost 15 minutes to complete.

In a previous post, it was said that the folks at Comcast said the MCards would only work in thier boxes. If you need any information to back up that it will in fact work in a TiVo HD, my tech's name was John (he's deaf) and we had absolutely zero problems getting it to work in my TiVo. I believe it was an SA MCard.

The cable cards will work in the tivo's although the process can sometimes be a bit bumpy. Having an experienced tech helps as well. IMO there is no good reason why people couldn't pick up the cards and call in to our support line. I've done this on several occassions for customers who just had the cards left there.

NESN is now available on Dish in HD. Check it out on channel: 5434.Hmmm.. I tried tuning in NESN-HD last night, and my ViP622 complained that there was no signal (Satellite 61.5, Transponder 30). Weird. Haven't had a chance to debug further.

Hmmm.. I tried tuning in NESN-HD last night, and my ViP622 complained that there was no signal (Satellite 61.5, Transponder 30). Weird. Haven't had a chance to debug further.

The signal from that transponder is showing 28-29 on my 622 right now. Not great even with their new measuring system but its there.

I checked a spreadsheet I have for signal strengths from back in October and this one(30) isn't very strong. I had it at 32 then.

AntennaMan1 - Burlington is one of the 23 targeted markets with the launch of AMC-14 this evening. Coming soon. Woohoo!


If you looked, you'd see the picture I posted was from the Dish booth at CES 2006. As you should be able to see, Burlington was one of the supposed "fast track" cities for HD locals way back then. My point is, you're getting way to excited about a Dish press release. They may come on soon or they may not come on for another couple of years. Either way there won't be any of the subcarriers when/if it does happen, so if you can receive them off-air, I'd take that route.

NESN-HD is also mirrored/mapped down to is "regular" channel number of 434.

We'll be running NESN-HD is HERE!!! Finally!!! Hard and heavy for the next couple of weeks.:):):)

I just checked it out and it shows 2 edge which obviously isn't good, but I am not sure what it means as far as what sort of antenna to try next. I think I now understand why the neighbor down the street has what appears to be a 20 or 25ft mast. So, if I get a longer mast, would the antenna I have now work or should I still go to the 4221 antenna?
You're right; that isn't good. I would first get the antenna you have pointed correctly. If you need to go to a taller mast, then a lighter antenna (4221 or Winegard PR4400) is a good idea. I've no experience with the 4221, but the comparisons show it to be just above the Winegard which I am using. The PR4400 (now called HD4400) is very light and rated barely below the 4221, but doesn't do VHF at all. However, a 26" length of flat antenna wire gets chan 22 on 13 pretty well.

The signal from that transponder is showing 28-29 on my 622 right now. Not great even with their new measuring system but its there.

I checked a spreadsheet I have for signal strengths from back in October and this one(30) isn't very strong. I had it at 32 then.I just checked. I'm getting ~10 on 61.5 T30. Guess I'll have to go out and peak the dish, then.

You're right; that isn't good. I would first get the antenna you have pointed correctly. If you need to go to a taller mast, then a lighter antenna (4221 or Winegard PR4400) is a good idea. I've no experience with the 4221, but the comparisons show it to be just above the Winegard which I am using. The PR4400 (now called HD4400) is very light and rated barely below the 4221, but doesn't do VHF at all. However, a 26" length of flat antenna wire gets chan 22 on 13 pretty well.

Lance_ Doing a 20' to 25' mast is gonna take something more then a couple of U-brackets to support it if you are talking a roof mount. Also you have one heck of a lightning rod there. Need to ground it. Are you only interested in locals both HD and SD or do you currently receive other channels via cable or ? DISH says locals in HD in May. I got the faith:)

Hello fellow Vermonters,
I bought a home theater PC about 3-4 weeks ago (HP with Windows Vista). It has a ViXS PureTV-U48B0 tuner. Below are the channels I received over-the-air when I first hooking it up:

CBS-3.1
NBC-5.1
ABC-22.1
FOX-44.1
PBS-33.1

All channels pull in fine at first, then several days ago I lost CBS (WCAX). I tried changing to different antena, raised and moved the antena... Nothing helps. The channel (WCAX-DT) would not come in. Any suggestions ?
Thanks
phivt

These links hold your solution.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=13392481&postcount=5808
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=13373004&postcount=4855
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=13393009&postcount=5813

WCAX is physical 53.

Hope it helps.

- Trip

No success with trying to tune in channel 22. I can get it, but it looks terrible and still no channels, except 57, which always works. Channel 3 has been off all morning. I guess my plan at this point is to get a different antenna, the 4221, and a taller mast, although I am only going ten feet at the onset and then see what happens from there. I want ota for hd only, although my dish hardly ever works. In the time I have had it, I've lost my hd channels more than I have had them. If they started broadcasting locals, I would probably be in more of a hurry to get it fixed. Maybe I should just hold off, other than a 10ft mast and see what dish does. Thank you guys for all your help and comments.

Well it is a joyous evening. Don't ask me why because I not sure why I thought to do it, but working with my wife, I finally turned the antenna completely away from mount mansfield, around 9 or 10 o'clock, sorry, I forget what the compass is on that side. For whatever reason I am now getting all the channels. I will see if it holds and I want to thank everyone for their help.

Well it is a joyous evening. Don't ask me why because I not sure why I thought to do it, but working with my wife, I finally turned the antenna completely away from mount mansfield, around 9 or 10 o'clock, sorry, I forget what the compass is on that side. For whatever reason I am now getting all the channels. I will see if it holds and I want to thank everyone for their help.
Are you sure you had it pointed forward to begin with? It isn't always obvious. With VHF, I doubt it would make any difference. With UHF, the reflectors come into play and those were the channels you had trouble with.
Anyway, congrats on your new situation. :)

I just checked. I'm getting ~10 on 61.5 T30. Guess I'll have to go out and peak the dish, then.I tweaked my DISH today. Looks like the flange against the house slipped a bit over the winter so the pole was no longer plumb. A couple whacks with a hammer get it straight and the signal strength jumped up to ~25. I then proceeded to peak the angles and got it up to ~40. Now I get NESN-HD just fine. I was disappointed to find there's no programming, just a message that says to check back later.

According to the box and directions, the vertical V is suppose to point towards the signal. I have turned it away, but not completely, I would say about 315 degrees or so, depending on where north actually is. There is a hill range about 500 or 600 yds out and my thought at the time was maybe there is a reflection bouncing off of it. I checked this morning, and only wvny kinda wavered and digitized a bit. All channels are coming in, albeit a bit flat. The basketball on cbs last night was a good picture, but everything else comes across as sorta washed out and unsaturated. I will try to work on my tv settings to see if I can improve that. Thanks for all the advice and help and I sure am glad I don't have to attempt a 20ft mast.

Now I get NESN-HD just fine. I was disappointed to find there's no programming, just a message that says to check back later.

Yup, the only time this channel is up is during a game. Even til noon time you will see a 031 Attention splash message on the screen(guide says off the air). At noon starts the music and check back often screen(guide says NESN HD). Will be great to see the Yanks beat the Sox in HD! :D

Congrats Lance! Make sure your extra special to the wife! ;)

According to the box and directions, the vertical V is suppose to point towards the signal.The antenna is supposed to point like this:

/
/ /
/ / / / /
+-+-+-+-+ -> point towards transmitter
\ \ \ \ \
\ \
\

Hi Phivt:
The same thing happend to me where Media Center was suddenly not pulling in 3.1 - but now it's back up. I'm not sure what caused this - 3.2 still worked fine. My only guess is something went wrong with the Zap2it guide service that Media Center uses?

Added Comment on 3/31/08: now for some reason 22.1 is not working with Media Center. Very similar to what happened last week with 3.1. Anyone else seeing this?

Yup, the only time this channel is up is during a game.That's weird. If I tune to 434-SD, there's programing 24x7, and the logo in the corner says "NESN-HD". So why, pray tell, does 434-HD not carrying the same thing (only in HD)?

That's weird. If I tune to 434-SD, there's programing 24x7, and the logo in the corner says "NESN-HD". So why, pray tell, does 434-HD not carrying the same thing (only in HD)?

Totally lame for sure. When they show NESN commercials on 434-SD, they are all holding NESN-HD mikes... Over in the DBS forums a couple people said that the HD would only be game feeds. Waste of bandwidth imho.

NESN HD is on 24-7. Not only the games but all their live studio shows are in HD and even some of the other shows. Other services are carrying them 24-7. Only carrying the game segments in HD is probably a method of saving precious bandwidth for other similar sports channels until more transponders become available.

Part of the fallout from the HD DVD/BluRay wars is that the HD DVD players are priced for closeout. I snagged an HD DVD A3 for $79 to see what the fuss was about. Amazon had HD DVD movies for up to 60% off, so I ordered a few, including Top Gun which I also have in SD. When I got the player, I hooked it up to my 52" Panasonic LCD RPTV (720p), zapped it to the latest firmware and played one of the movies that shipped with the player. I honestly can't see much difference between the SD and HD movies. Of course the player is an excellent upconverter so I have no doubt that if I used a progressive scan player that I would be able to see more of a difference. My conclusion is that for a 720p TV, an HD player of either format is not worth several hundred dollars or the almost double cost of the media. That said, for $79, I'm not sorry for the experiment and I have a great upconverting DVD player that formerly listed for $399.
I watched Galapagos (a BBC nature production) in HD DVD last night, and it was in fact, noticeably sharper than most up converted SD. However, I've been getting close out prices from Amazon on these and not paying the outrageous prices asked for Blu-ray disks. The $79 A3 is sold out, but CC carries it for $99 on their web site with free shipping. Although HD DVD is dead, the HD A3 is one of the best (and cheapest at closeout prices) up converting (HDMI only) DVD players available.
Reviews of players of both formats indicated no difference in picture quality between the two.

As some of you might know, Circuit City and other box stores have taken back HD DVD players in trade. We have been successful in getting them to donate players to local schools. You might want to contact your school district's AV person and alert them to this opportunity. As has been said so many times before, they make great upconverters. Given the current economic climate, most schools are desperate for (new) AV equipment.

In case you were wondering:

Washington, D.C. (April 4, 2008) -- Do you ever wonder why the studios are so anxious to promote Blu-ray as a replacement for the standard DVD?

The Hollywood Reporter writes today that Lionsgate Entertainment is now making $15 in profit for every sale of an older Blu-ray disc title -- and $21 for new releases like War.

Blu-ray discs are priced higher than standard-def DVDs, enabling the studios to generate more in profits. Some new titles cost around $30 at retail, compared to half that for the standard-def DVD release.

And SMH Capital analyst David Miller tells THR that Lionsgate sold an additional 1.3 million Blu-ray discs over his projections following Toshiba's announcement that it was exiting the HD DVD business.

That corresponds with other estimates that Blu-ray sales have been surging since Toshiba ended the high-def format war.

Miller has now raised his fourth-quarter revenue projection for Lionsgate from $400 million to $419 million.

In case you were wondering:

Washington, D.C. (April 4, 2008) -- Do you ever wonder why the studios are so anxious to promote Blu-ray as a replacement for the standard DVD?


Ah Capitalism... Can't live with it can't live without it.. Look at the price of the players. For me I was set to get a Blu player around Christmas but decided to wait a tad more. Well now I can't justify it as a reasonable option even to myself...

Not every Blu-ray disks is significantly better than a standard DVD upconverted, but when they are they are stunning on either 720p or 1080p sets (I have both). Notable right now is "3:10 to Yuma" which has crystal clear video and discrete surround sound (you duck during the gun fights with the shots in the side and rear surrounds) to die for. amazon.com has them for $19.99 with free shipping. Netflix rents them at no extra charge. Watching a regular DVD now is like putting gauze over the screen and going back to AM radio. It's time guys.....

Netflix rents them at no extra charge. Watching a regular DVD now is like putting gauze over the screen and going back to AM radio. It's time guys.....

I have a 42 inch Panny 700U 1080P plasma and a Y2K Yamaha AV. 5.1 audio only for DD/DTS. Thats OK for my humble surroundings as is the picture size. All I have read says my screen size is on the cusp of anything noticible about the quality of the video when feeding it 1080P. I still want to go Blu tho! I used Netflix back in the late 90's and early 2k's when the returns went to Williston! When I found Waterfront video carried DVD's I pretty much switched and now they carry Blu's(only a couple so far..) Hope its not just an experiment.
I remember when a progressive 480 player was astronomical in price but I can't seem to get past what Blu's cost new even from online retailers. It's gonna be a while before the general market says lower the prices of the players and we will come...

Not every Blu-ray disks is significantly better than a standard DVD upconverted, but when they are they are stunning on either 720p or 1080p sets (I have both). Notable right now is "3:10 to Yuma" which has crystal clear video and discrete surround sound (you duck during the gun fights with the shots in the side and rear surrounds) to die for.
I'm finding this out with the HD DVDs I've gotten. The BBC nature presentations like Galapagos and Planet Earth just pop in HD. Puzzling why players ship with 300 and Bourne when they just don't show the advantages of HD. When Blu-ray players drop below $200 and the BD disks are more reasonable, I'll have to give it some thought.

I'm finding this out with the HD DVDs I've gotten. The BBC nature presentations like Galapagos and Planet Earth just pop in HD. Puzzling why players ship with 300 and Bourne when they just don't show the advantages of HD. When Blu-ray players drop below $200 and the BD disks are more reasonable, I'll have to give it some thought.

How well does your HD-DVD player upscale?

How well does your HD-DVD player upscale?
My HD-A3 upscales as good or better than my Oppo 981. I compared Top Gun in SD and HD and, with upscaling, the difference is marginal on the picture, but the audio is better on the HD version. I expected to see the biggest difference in the aerial sequences, but could discern no difference there, but the closeup of faces showed the most noticeable improvement with the HD version.

With all this talk about the price of players and movie profits I just have to say I don't understand why people bother to buy DVD's, HD-DVD's, or Blu-Ray movies. If I bought every movie I liked it would end up being pretty expensive, not to mention the format will be replaced in the future with something better anyways. Plus, how often can a person watch the same movie without getting bored. It's cheaper to rent them through Netflix or Blockbuster Total Access. For only $12.99 I get unlimited movie rentals per month and for every movie they send me in the mail I can head down to BlockBuster and exchange it for one free in-store movie rental. I also get a coupon for one free game or movie rental per month. Now, I only get one movie shipped to me at a time, but they usually arrive in about 4 business days and if I'm persistent with my exchanges that adds up to about 10 movie rentals per month, which is fine with me since movie studios take their time releasing new movies I want to watch anyways.

I was lucky to pick up a an Ati HD2600(I needed a graphics card to do hardware acceleration of hidef since my pc's cpu is incapable of playing back 1080p smoothly) from BestBuy on sale for only $25. This led me to buy a Blu-ray rom drive this past week for $130 from NewEgg. That's not a bad deal to be able to watch Blu-ray movies on my 1080p HDTV. Previous to this, I was upscaling SD dvd's with my pc using ffdshow and it did a decent job, but Blu-ray is a whole lot better. It's not just the picture quality, but also the sound quality. It really adds up to a better overall experience over sd dvd's.

Plus, how often can a person watch the same movie without getting bored.Obviously you must not have kids. A lot of the movies in our library have been watched 10+ times.

Obviously you must not have kids. A lot of the movies in our library have been watched 10+ times.
That's for sure! My grandkids love watching the same movies over and over. Pixar and Disney movies are a significant portion of our collection. We also limit purchases to selections that are usually nominated for best film or movies that we do enjoy repeat viewings of like Titanic, or to great nature stuff like Planet Earth or March of the Penguins. I've watched Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan and We Were Soldiers repeatedly 3-5 times apiece.
I use Netflix for things I only care to watch once and for TV series like 24. Watching some series OTA ruins the whole effect with commercial interruptions and week long delays reduce the impact and involvement. With 24 on DVD, I could only watch 2 episodes at a time because I'd be exhausted from the tension.