The truth is we have been blessed for a long time. Most of the country wasn't getting all the "free" QAM channels we did.

The truth is we have been blessed for a long time. Most of the country wasn't getting all the "free" QAM channels we did.

That's why I'm not calling and pitching a fit. I know we've technically been skating by and getting "free" content. It's just disappointing, is all.

Oh well - more video podcasts, Hulu, and Netflix. I'm not paying for Comcast's set-top boxes again. No way.

That might be the usual "depends who answers the phone" thing, or maybe limited basic analog only isn't considered an existing customer for digital packages.
yes, it's a "depends who answers the phone" thing.

my wife called again about 2:30pm and got the $29 promo with free hbo for a year. the csr said it would normally take a few minutes to update but there was very heavy volume today and was taking longer but definitely by 4:00pm. she said comcast was a very busy place to work today.

well we called again at 6:00pm because it hadn't updated yet, waited on hold for about 45 minutes before hanging up, tried again at around 8:00 when the recording said they weren't able to take any calls. tried again at 9:30, the recording now lists about 5 sections of jax including the southside that is experiencing an "outage", i waited another 30 minutes on hold before giving up.

i think who ever decided it was a good idea to encrypt the city of jax and outlying areas will probably be looking for a place to hide tomorrow.

btw the 60 analog channels are still unencrypted and most digital tv's have an analog tuner along with the qam tuner.

i think who ever decided it was a good idea to encrypt the city of jax and outlying areas will probably be looking for a place to hide tomorrow.


Calling tomorrow to reduce cable service to Limited Basic, keep HSD and drop Digital Telephone in favor of Magic Jack. Can't really see the advantage of having 4 digital TVs and no digital service I can't get for free over-the-air.

We are doing the same, internet will be the only paid comcast service, we will have 1 land line from att at 15 per month just for emergencies, and cell phones. No point for us to have the tv package now, when more programming is available online at absolutely no cost.

Edit: Plus who says they will be able to block television programing after we stop paying for it? If they do manage to block it, I will just jump onto the free to air satellite bandwagon.

Keep in mind Comcast internet is +$15 if you have no TV package. Don't know if they will enforce that.

So what are the options if QAM is limited to locals only?

What are the next Comcast packages or is there a package w/o STB that removes the filters and opens QAM channels again?
Or is everything being encrypted? Lots of questions...

There are no options w/o a STB. The STB does the decrypting. Filters are not relevant since they only trap analog HBO and the analog 'expanded basic' frequencies.

Theoretically, when they go all-digital, the QAM frequencies (now above 500MHz) could extend down where analog is now. I haven't heard of any filters being used in areas that have already transitioned.

Satellite is looking better now.

...
I signed up for the digital starter 1 yr deal just to get the trap removed. Won't be using their STB. ...
i finally got thru to get the service updated around 12:45 am. but then the box wouldn't pass the new line-up signals. the csr said it might have something to do with the outages so wait for the morning and try again. ok, another try this morning gave the same results. i checked my on-line billing info and see the new charges are less than my old package, so that's good but the old stb is useless, it wont pass any signals only the guide. so the csr said get a new box. ok, this one has been around here since 1999.

the new box they gave me is an hdtv box, don't know if they ran out of non-hd stb or they only issue hd stb now. so now i am getting all the new line-up and all the hd stuff. from what i see on the price sheet the hd stuff is included with the $29 promo if you have an hd box.

from what i see on the other tuners, almost all the non-premium cable channels are now encrypted.

There are no options w/o a STB. The STB does the decrypting. Filters are not relevant since they only trap analog HBO and the analog 'expanded basic' frequencies.

Theoretically, when they go all-digital, the QAM frequencies (now above 500MHz) could extend down where analog is now. I haven't heard of any filters being used in areas that have already transitioned.
As an aside, has anyone tried to get CableCards from our local Comcast while under the Limited Basic package? I know that in some areas, initial CC requests are refused if you aren't on a higher-end digital package, leading many to subscribe to digital, then cancel it a month later so they can keep the cards.

(Of course, once they go all digital, they'd have less of an excuse to refuse such, but that's in the future)

are there any locals I get with QAM through Comcast that I am missing out on with D*? I have comcast internet and was thinking about splitting the signal and putting cable straight to my TV and the other half to the modem. Of course, the guy that installed it told me my internet would be faster if I didn't split the signal(and faster internet is a biggie to me). Just wondering if it is worth it.

I am also disappointed in the local channels here. I was thinking going from a smaller city(Orlando) to a much larger city(Jacksonville) that the local HD channels would be just the same if not better with HD content. Then I see the lack of local news in HD and lack of 5.1 sound!

There are 7 locals here on QAM. PBS, CW, the big 4 and WJXT ch4.

Did the installer also mention that splitting the cable causes warts?

Orlando, the city, might be smaller. But the market there has 1.5 mil TV households, we have 0.7. And they have a Mouse we don't have.

DirecTV carries the HD signal of all the locals with the exception of PBS and TBN (though both are available in SD).

I have DirecTV for my main viewing and Comcast for phone, internet and lifeline basic cable (which gets me the HD locals during the occasional "rain fade" on DirecTV). I have the line split between cable and internet and haven't noticed any loss in speed.

There are 7 locals here on QAM. PBS, CW, the big 4 and WJXT ch4.

Did the installer also mention that splitting the cable causes warts?

Orlando, the city, might be smaller. But the market there has 1.5 mil TV households, we have 0.7. And they have a Mouse we don't have.
He didn't say that, but he explained that it was reducing the quality of the signal when splitting it. I didn't know if this was BS or not. Didn't think anything of it at the time, because I had no point to hookup the limited basic or w/e package it was that I was forced to get for my internet.

Keep in mind Comcast internet is +$15 if you have no TV package. Don't know if they will enforce that.

It's still cheaper, b/c the "digital starter package" is $55 a month.

but from what I understand limited basic is $15 right? so we might as well just keep that, if they go up 15 on internet with no tv.

WTLV-12 and WJXX-25 are transmitting DD 5.1 as of today.

WTLV-12 and WJXX-25 are transmitting DD 5.1 as of today.

Wow...finally! Now we just need WTEV to get on the bandwagon.

I'm sure they aren't far behind.

Just noticed that 12 is broadcasting the hurricane special in widescreen SD. I don't recalling that technique being used locally before.

So many changes in such a short time---it's all good.

Just noticed that 12 is broadcasting the hurricane special in widescreen SD. I don't recalling that technique being used locally before.


You're right, I was wondering if that was just bad HD.

Lost in 5.1, I can't wait.

...
btw, the silicon dust on-line server doesn't want to remove all the now encrypted channels. i rescanned a number of times today without it showing any changes...
the silicon dust on-line server now has the correct updated comcast "in the clear" channels.

Anyone watch Better of Ted (via Directv)? If so did you record them on their DVR? Something strange happened to my recordings (one on my downstairs DVR and also the bedrooms) The video is fine but the audio was missing - but only the voices all background sound was/is there?

Anyone else notice this? I thought it was strange and my machine but when my wife said the bedroom DVR (HR 20 - both) did it as well that was really strange.

Anyone watch Better of Ted (via Directv)? If so did you record them on their DVR? Something strange happened to my recordings (one on my downstairs DVR and also the bedrooms) The video is fine but the audio was missing - but only the voices all background sound was/is there?

Anyone else notice this? I thought it was strange and my machine but when my wife said the bedroom DVR (HR 20 - both) did it as well that was really strange.

It's happened before on ABC. A few weeks ago it happened with back to back episodes of "The Goode Family". Music and background sound was there, but no dialog track. A scroller at the bottom of the screen stated that it was technical difficulty at ABC and they "were working on it".

I am using my QAM tuner (not much now that most QAM is gone) and I am using it mostly to pick up my regular cable channels. I am having problems pulling in cartoon network (80) and TRUtv (81). Comcast says they are on different channels now (like 124 or something), but I can not pick them up in 7MC. Anyone else having these issues?

The ABC shows with the bad sound have been happening for quite a while, but not very often.

I've never been unable to get a HD capture off the net. Better Off Ted had the WCVB logo, Boston.

...

the new box they gave me is an hdtv box, don't know if they ran out of non-hd stb or they only issue hd stb now. so now i am getting all the new line-up and all the hd stuff. from what i see on the price sheet the hd stuff is included with the $29 promo if you have an hd box.

from what i see on the other tuners, almost all the non-premium cable channels are now encrypted.
well that was fun while it lasted. i was watching a show last night when around 11:30 pm the screen went black. i changed channels and found all channels are now black and the screen says "one moment please", the guide still had the show info listed but i just went to another tv not hooked to the new dct6200 stb, which is hooked to the comcast cable and still receives all the analog channels.

this morning i saw the same problem on all channels, so i unplugged the box for a few minutes to see if that would help. now even the guide will not populate with the show info(it says"to be announced"), so i called the help line, got a csr in canada who sent the reset a few times, still nothing different so he set up an appointment for next wednesday. i asked if i should try a new box and he said if the office was close to get one. i also tried disconnecting the box for over an hour, tried new wires etc but nothing has helped.

i went to the local office to get a replacement box and they say they don't have any more stb so put your name on the waiting list, but be warned there are a lot of people in front of you on the list.

there were still people walking into the local office, while i was there, saying they weren't getting any channels, so it looks like comcast has created a real problem for themselves down here.

... but nothing has helped.

i went to the local office to get a replacement box and they say they don't have any more stb so put your name on the waiting list, but be warned there are a lot of people in front of you on the list. ...

needless to say i kept the box, figuring there must be a way.

well my wife said i should try the comcast forums, but they are for the people with comcast net. comcast does have an on-line live chat though. i signed on and a fellow by the name of jorge reset the box from whatever country he's located in. ok, this time when he reset the box it stayed off and i had to turn it back on after which he said to wait 45 minutes and he was certain the problem would be fixed. when i turned the box on this time it was on channel 1 not 321 which every previous reset had. i waited the 45 minutes with the screen still showing "one moment please". then i just went and did some errands. when i got back to it, the screen hadn't changed but i changed to channel 2, which showed the normal program. i have since checked all the channels and found everything is now working correctly, even the hd channels, hbo and "on demand".

so, i guess jorge should be promoted to director of customer service for comcast. at the very least he should tell a few more people how to reset these stb.

I'm sure they aren't far behind.

Just noticed that 12 is broadcasting the hurricane special in widescreen SD. I don't recalling that technique being used locally before.

So many changes in such a short time---it's all good.

Considering WTEV sets the standard for technical difficulties, I'd bet they will be far behind. Does anyone else find it funny they Doppler Radar "HD", when they don't broadcast news in HD?

I'm still betting that before the Fall, WTEV and probably WAWS (since they are co-located) will both be doing local news in HD. Once we have them online, I'd also bet the other stations will follow very quickly. Don't see how they can afford not to.

I am curious, though, about what technical difficulties you've experienced with WTEV.

Based just on the shows I happen to watch:

WTEV is much better than a couple of years ago when they often sent SD, esp on weekends. They still need to get HD overlays and 5.1.

Fox sometimes sends 16x9 SD window boxed and also needs the HD overlays.

ABC occasionally does the SD window boxed too, and has sound problems.

NBC has been pretty reliable.

I probably wouldn't single out WTEV during the "early days". All the stations were broadcasting 2 signals, an SD and HD, and SD was the one that got the attention since that was the one that actually brought in the revenue.

However, I do agree with the other points that all the stations need to be able to do overlays onto an HD signal and not have to drop to SD. I guess it's still going to depend upon what type of budget they have for new equipment, especially given these economic times.

I know I'm one of the "old timers" here who remembers when the only HD at all was Crossing Jordan and The Tonight Show, and even at that, the switch wasn't always flipped on time. Yet, when it was, what a treat to be able to see an uncompressed OTA HD signal.

I probably wouldn't single out WTEV during the "early days". All the stations were broadcasting 2 signals, an SD and HD, and SD was the one that got the attention since that was the one that actually brought in the revenue.

However, I do agree with the other points that all the stations need to be able to do overlays onto an HD signal and not have to drop to SD. I guess it's still going to depend upon what type of budget they have for new equipment, especially given these economic times.

I know I'm one of the "old timers" here who remembers when the only HD at all was Crossing Jordan and The Tonight Show, and even at that, the switch wasn't always flipped on time. Yet, when it was, what a treat to be able to see an uncompressed OTA HD signal.


When was that, seriously. I "found" DTV in early 2007 and had not idea it was even going on. Considering my background is TV broadcasting it hit me hard I was 5 years out of date when I hooked an antenna to a new TV I bought in Feb 2007. So I missed a lot of history, though I probably would not have paid the prices back then anyway. I bought a close out ATSC TV for $300 and only because my old TV died.

It all makes me wonder why didn't they do the CECBs way back in say 2003 or 2004?

If memory serves correctly, I believe the first HD broadcast in Jacksonville was WTLV's coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics using borrowed HD equipment.

At least that is the year I bought my first HDTV (Mitsubishi 1080i RPTV) and that was the only OTA HD I could find. I had to buy a DirecTV receiver (Hughes e86) that had OTA capability. That was my first experience trying to receive OTA here.

If memory serves correctly, I believe the first HD broadcast in Jacksonville was WTLV's coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics using borrowed HD equipment.

At least that is the year I bought my first HDTV (Mitsubishi 1080i RPTV) and that was the only OTA HD I could find. I had to buy a DirecTV receiver (Hughes e86) that had OTA capability. That was my first experience trying to receive OTA here.

I believe that WJXT was the first to broadcast a HD signal in the market back in 2001 while they were still the CBS affil but don't quote me on that.

I believe that WJXT was the first to broadcast a HD signal in the market back in 2001 while they were still the CBS affil but don't quote me on that.

Could be. I wouldn't have known at that time. :D

I, like everyone else paying for limited basic with comcast, lost all the "good" qam channels a few weeks ago. i was talking to someone today who said that if you buy a digital converter box, i will get the channels back that i lost. does anyone know if this is true? i'm skeptical, it just doesn't make sense but this person said they know someone who did it and it worked. Sorry for sounding ignorant, but i'll appreciate any response.
Thanks

You are right to be skeptical. The only thing that makes sense is he was talking about the $40 coupon boxes that convert digital OTA to analog.

I got my converter box y'day. The cheap DCH70 which only outputs RF and composite video. Only took the guy a few minutes to phone in and get the cable card provisioned.

To give you an idea of how knowledgeable the installer was, I asked him if he knew when our system will go all digital. He was positive we already were. Not withstanding that you can plug the cable into a 20 year old TV and still tune the analog channels.

He also pointed out the box is digital because it has a hard drive in it (it doesn't).

WTEV/WAWS broadcasting local news in HD? I think you'll see pigs fly before the leader in technical difficutiles broadcast local news in HD.

I believe that WJXT was the first to broadcast a HD signal in the market back in 2001 while they were still the CBS affil but don't quote me on that.

Their digital transmitter didn't come online till 2002.

http://www.bia.com/resources_search_result.asp?calls=WJXT&media=TV

WTEV/WAWS broadcasting local news in HD? I think you'll see pigs fly before the leader in technical difficutiles broadcast local news in HD.

Well, you never know. This year we had swine flu so in a sense, pigs did fly :D

Looks like WTEV is showing the Jags/Eagles game in HD. How did they pull that off? Whats the over/under on how many times the game goes from HD to SD and back again?

preseason game on CBS looks widescreen SD at best

yep widescreen upconvert
graphic overlays look hd though

The thing I notice is the "main" camera, the one they switch to at each snap, has a ringing look, like it has edge enhancement. The other cameras look very good.

Last year, the "main" camera was really soft and the others good.

Well, you never know. This year we had swine flu so in a sense, pigs did fly :D

Sure Pigs Fly. The fact they don't is an urban legend. I have been in both commercial aircraft and even long ago held a Private Pilots License.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=151177&stc=1&d=1251486778

This afternoon I was watching WTLV down here and noticed Jeopardy was in HD, at 3:30 showing. I don't remember them being HD. Is that new or is my memory getting bad?

They started broadcasting Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy several weeks ago. It was as surprising (in a pleasant way) as seeing the Dolby 5.1 symbols light up on my receiver for channels 12 and 25.

Pretty good view of the game 2nite on ezpctv.

They started broadcasting Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy several weeks ago. It was as surprising (in a pleasant way) as seeing the Dolby 5.1 symbols light up on my receiver for channels 12 and 25.

Peter, don't know if WTLV has the same kind of contract that WNBW has with NBC. WNBW was shipped a 5.1 encoder from NBC to install. I got the opinion from their chief they had to do it that way as part of their contract. But I am not totally sure. I know WNBW had it for a few month before they got around to installing it.

So I would not say positively that WTLV just received their encoder, or just installed it.

Possibly, but the good news is that is is up and running now in time for the Fall season. Hopefully Heroes will be worth watching this season in 5.1 :D

Possibly, but the good news is that is is up and running now in time for the Fall season. Hopefully Heroes will be worth watching this season in 5.1 :D

I don't know the new chief there. Bishop was there for a while and several months ago was replaced and could not find out why or where he went. I have never gotten calls back from their new chief, so I left them alone.

To me the big thing was them finally getting a decent antenna again after what seemed like years of them running on a shunt feed paper clip up there. I wish WJCT had as good of antenna. I don't know if they replaced it or just using the old one they had on analog. Though only a db or so weaker here than WJXX, they just don't put the signal this direction that the first coast news antenna does, even before they raised power, which didn't make a huge difference out in the boonies here.

I don't know the new chief there. Bishop was there for a while and several months ago was replaced and could not find out why or where he went. I have never gotten calls back from their new chief, so I left them alone.

To me the big thing was them finally getting a decent antenna again after what seemed like years of them running on a shunt feed paper clip up there. I wish WJCT had as good of antenna. I don't know if they replaced it or just using the old one they had on analog. Though only a db or so weaker here than WJXX, they just don't put the signal this direction that the first coast news antenna does, even before they raised power, which didn't make a huge difference out in the boonies here.

Unfortunately, WJCT seems a shadow of its former self. It used to have one of the best OTA pictures around....but now, not so much. Even worse, shows that are labeled as HD (and are) are often broadcast windowboxed.

Thanks to all for the Ch. 12/25 HD syndicate & 5.1 info. It's about time.

Thanks to all for the Ch. 12/25 HD syndicate & 5.1 info. It's about time.

All this stuff if very expensive. The OTA transition probably could not have been timed worse economically.

Give them time, they have a very big interest in improving.

But believe me I can rant how so many things in the transition were screwed up but it's all a dead horse now.

Unfortunately, WJCT seems a shadow of its former self. It used to have one of the best OTA pictures around....but now, not so much. Even worse, shows that are labeled as HD (and are) are often broadcast windowboxed.

Yeah, I notice that. One thing I will give WJCT over WUFT is they bit the bullet, for better or worse (I am sure the opinions on this will rage), and used 720p, leaving enough bandwidth for decent subchannels. WUFT only has two subs, and crams them both in 3mbps worth of bandwidth. World only get 1.25 on WUFT-3 and megablocks constantly. It's only worth watching for the sound and if nothing is moving in the picture.

WJCT I have not followed that close. Long ago now, Chuck Synder used to work for me at Intergroup Technologies, we made analog switchers. He moved on from there to be Chief of WJCT back in the last 1980s and not sure how long he stayed working there or where the man is now. Since then I lost track. He did tell me then he had to do a lot of work to make things better.

I am not sure why WJCT choose 18 KW ERP, as they were early in the game. Now with the new interference rules (not that new) and stations all around them, I bet their are stuck at that power.

Just WNBW running 4.9 KW out of Newberry FL. I thought for sure they could run more having the money, but a friend of a friend did an engineering survey for fun one night and at 20KW with a deep null at WJXX, they still interfered with other GA stations.

We didn't run any lower powers as it takes a lot of time to run that software. But from memory the interference was high enough just guessing they probably can't go much better than 7 or 8 KW, which isn't worth the trouble.

I would not receive WJCT at all if on UHF, but I think they served the people of Jax better on UHF.

I am curious, though, about what technical difficulties you've experienced with WTEV.

Sorry Peter, I missed your post. Have you ever watched a WTEV produced Jaguars telecast? You'll see the technical difficulty screen up so often, you'll think thats the name of one of the players on the field.

The best joke was from Jeff Prosser on Sports Final Radio on 1010xl. He said even with the blackouts this season, you can still experience a game day telecast on WTEV. Just order your chicken wings like you would normally do and right before kick off, just print off some WTEV logos on your printer and tape them up on your tv. That way when the game starts, you'll be watching exactly what you would have seen without the blackout.

Sorry Peter, I missed your post. Have you ever watched a WTEV produced Jaguars telecast? You'll see the technical difficulty screen up so often, you'll think thats the name of one of the players on the field.

The best joke was from Jeff Prosser on Sports Final Radio on 1010xl. He said even with the blackouts this season, you can still experience a game day telecast on WTEV. Just order your chicken wings like you would normally do and right before kick off, just print off some WTEV logos on your printer and tape them up on your tv. That way when the game starts, you'll be watching exactly what you would have seen without the blackout.

Thanks for the information. Funny, but sad, story.

What happened to channel 80 TruTV?
I used to get it on a QAM tuner but lost it a few days ago.

Scat

I have Dish Network bronze package,without the locals.Today I was getting the guide with locals.I thought this was not possible.Is this a mistake or new policy by Dish? By the way,WJCT is by far the weakest station to get OTA here in southern St Johns county.

Lasted one day,local guide gone.Wjct still very weak even with cooler temps.

I have Dish Network bronze package,without the locals.Today I was getting the guide with locals.I thought this was not possible.Is this a mistake or new policy by Dish? By the way,WJCT is by far the weakest station to get OTA here in southern St Johns county.

Don't know if you have read my old posts in there. I am in Orange Springs, just west of Hog Valley (a real town!).

Here at 30 ft Above Ground Level there is no Jax UHF.

WTLV is the strongest but not reliable mostly due to tropo out of Tampa.
WJXX next strongest again tropo out of Tampa makes it unreliable
WJCT is there on good days but the weakest VHF.

I am probably 30 ft too low or about 15 miles too far away. My mother in law in Interlachen even gets the Brunswick station and she is at 60 ft.

Just to give you an idea of how it is on the fringe down here farther inland.

looks like someone at comcast is flipping switches again, meaning some channels may be re-aligned or added or removed. check your stations for any scheduled captures.

Not my type of show, but for those interested, Dr. Oz is now on at 3 PM on WTLV 12 in HD.

More HD is always good, no matter what.

Edit: I noticed today that they are also showing Dr. OZ on WJXX as well, also in HD.

Wjct,please step up the power before the wondreful PBS new shows start.

Does anyone on the board watch CW 17? I ask b/c I've recorded Gossip Girl, The Beautiful Life, 90210 and Melrose Place this past week and while I haven't watched all of them, each one starts off in 4:3 and at the 30 min point switches to 16x9 HD.

Is that standard operating procedure for the local CW? I just find it strange that the engineer for CW 17 doesn't seem to know that there maybe a problem with their equipment or that something is right. I'm watching via ATT Uverse.

I don't know about all those shows, but I do watch Supernatural and Smallville. Smallville is usually fine. However, I have noticed this odd pattern with Supernatual. Exactly what you are describing. It doesn't cut over to HD until after the 1/2 hour break.

Wjct,please step up the power before the wondreful PBS new shows start.

I doubt they have the resources if they can raise power due to increased restrictions on co and adj channel interference. They may be limited by the PBS station in Waycross on Ch 8, it's not that far away.

Can someone post or link me to a list of clear QAM channels currently available on the Comcast St. Augustine system.

Thanks

Can someone post or link me to a list of clear QAM channels currently available on the Comcast St. Augustine system.

Thanks

i use the silicondust site here:
http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/channels_us

for comcast st augustine, i use 32084.

Does anyone know why channel 30 is not broadcasting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers games? Are we dealing with blackouts with Tampa, also?

Tim

Tampa isn't blacked out. I think it has to do with the "other" network, Fox in this case, can't broadcast a game competing with a home game. So we might see no 1pm games this week. Unless zap2it is right and we see Balt@NE on CBS.

Here's the link to what is shown where: http://www.the506.com/nflmaps/

They obviously haven't updated to show our blackout.

i use the silicondust site here:
http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/channels_us

for comcast st augustine, i use 32084.

Why are they letting A&E, HGTV, PLD and QVC HD be in-the-clear, but Discovery, Speed, TLC HD.... ect... are encrypted? It makes no sense.

Why are they letting A&E, HGTV, PLD and QVC HD be in-the-clear, but Discovery, Speed, TLC HD.... ect... are encrypted? It makes no sense.

the use of duplicate virtual channels makes no sense either, but that's the case.

looks like someone at comcast is flipping switches again, meaning some channels may be re-aligned or added or removed. check your stations for any scheduled captures.

why does it seem that comcast seems to pick fridays to mess with the channel line-up? looks like they're doing something again today. even the premium channels on the stb are messed up today.

Wjxt newscast seems brighter in the studio,perhaps better lighting. Makes the HD look even better.

MAJOR problems with channel 25 right now

edit: appears to be on D* only
ota is fine

Has anyone else noticed what Comcast is doing? They are inserting THEIR commercial/advertisements INTO or ON-TOP of shows! It is most seen on A&E and USA, but may be on other channels. There isn't even a spot for the break and they just barge in and throw a commercial into the middle of the show, which is still in-progress. The commercials are always for Comcast products/services, normally two together, then right back to the show (which I have then missed 1 minute of). The show plays for another minute, then goes to the normal network break.

Anyway to stop this? This is ridiculous. They are jamming commercials into spots where there shouldn't be any.

One thing nice about this weather, the tropo is really dead and Jax VHF channels are blowing in to North Marion County. I will become spoiled when it goes away....

fox changing from HD to SD for scrollbar is the biggest joke ever!

and fox is doing it again with the scrolling bar!

Comcast has finally added NFL RedZone HD on channel 390.

Anybody notice that Channel 4's weather graphics are HD now? I did a double-take this morning when I saw it. Of course the station has been broadcasting fine HD for months now, but the weather and traffic maps had been 4:3. Looked even better with this....

Time for 12/25/30/47 to start catching up!

True enough. I wonder if there are any short or long term plans for the other stations news to go HD. Channel 4 is way out ahead in this area.Also in nice looking female newscasters.

Agree with you there. Wasn't sure this morning if I should be staring at glorious weather HD or Rebecca Barry doing the weather in HD. :D

so when will 47 join the century and broadcast in 5.1? It is a drag having to watch football games on 47. I wish they weren't blacked out on ST, cause then I could listen to it in 5.1

Any one having issues with WJXX? All I am getting is audio, no video. Trying to watch the premiere of V.

Any one having issues with WJXX? All I am getting is audio, no video. Trying to watch the premiere of V.

Yes! I wonder what's up with them?! Comcast SD is fine at my house. But no HD. :mad:

Same here, trying to watch V and no dice. It seems like ABC has issues almost every other night during prime-time. This is getting ridiculous. I have directv

My WJXX HD is back.

yea, it's back, but too little too late after 30 minutes...

I agree completely.

Guess I'll be waiting till tomorrow and downloading it off the interwebs. Thanks alot WJXX

What is it with these guys over there (NBC12, ABC25)? Are they having hardware issues? Software issues? Monkeys running the show?

I've been viewing HD content since its inception here in Jacksonville and it still has broadcast problems. 9 years and still has problems that major primetime airings have lost pictures, dropped audio, static in the audio...

What is the problem?

I have no association with them whatsoever, and I get as upset as the rest of people when things don't work right.

I would bet, however, that if they are like many if not most local broadcasters these days, they have reduced revenue and are probably working with not as many personnel as they need.

The only local news I can watch is WJXT (in glorious HD) I wont even for a second watch the others in town because they look hideous. For the others Upgrade your equipment and get with the game!

Thanks WJXT for being the local Independent leader!

I’ve poured through these postings to see if Comcast of Jacksonville transmits Clear QAM. I couldn’t figure out if they do or not, so I decided to have them come out this afternoon and connect me up with basic cable. I choose basic cable, because I don’t want a STB and all I want is local HD stations. All I use is an antenna now, but its best reception position is in a second floor bedroom window. Needless to say, I have a really long antenna cable that I’m tired of tripping over.
If anyone has any connection tips that I can ask the installer for, I’d appreciate it. I’d hate to spend $63.50 to find out that Comcast doesn’t transmit Clear QAM.
Thanks

I’ve poured through these postings to see if Comcast of Jacksonville transmits Clear QAM. I couldn’t figure out if they do or not, so I decided to have them come out this afternoon and connect me up with basic cable.

This should pretty much have all of your clear QAM channels available via Comcast:
http://www.hdhomerun.com/hdhomerun/lineup_web/US:32204#lineup_1070790
(32204 is near downtown Jax)

I live in Fernandina Beach. What antenna are you guys using to get ABC and NBC? I can't ever get it. I just tried this antenna (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10828410)from walmart and got a few more channels but not ABC/NBC. I don't want to pay DISH an extra $100 to get a new satellite that picks up the locals in HD.

Another question I have is: What's the best way to run the cable from the antenna outside to the tv? I have DISH and 4 cables go into the house to 4 different rooms. We only use one receiver. Can I run the antenna through those cables to another room, then from that room to the TV, or should I do something else? I'm a newbie. Thanks.

Why do you have to pay Dish a $100? If you have an HD receiver, one of the Vip models, and subscribe to an HD package and/or locals, they have to switch out your equipment to receive the 77 satellite for FREE.

Why do you have to pay Dish a $100? If you have an HD receiver, one of the Vip models, and subscribe to an HD package and/or locals, they have to switch out your equipment to receive the 77 satellite for FREE.


Gatorman what do you mean? I joined last November when they didn't have HD for local channels. Yesterday I got on the chat with DISH and they said I would have to get a new Dish to get the locals in HD. They said they'd do it for free if I signed for another 24 months, to which I said no, then they said it would be $100 to switch it out. They suck, I know.

If you subscribed to Dish locals and they turned on the HD locals but you needed a new dish in order to receive them, then they installed the new dish at no cost. They did it for me and at least one other person who is a member of this forum. Search this thread from earlier this year to see our discussion. However, if you don't currently subscribe to a locals package you may be out of luck. You can try asking for a supervisor the next time you call.

is there a problem with ABC25? Audio says 2.0 CH and not 5.1 CH. I know that ABC doesn't transmit real 5.1 and instead it is simulated, but it is still higher quality audio.

ABC25 went back to stereo a few weeks ago at the same time they were having lots of technical problems.

I don't see why any of the stations here can get it right. No problems back in Orlando :(
Maybe I should just buy an antenna and try and pick up those channels.

I have no association with them whatsoever, and I get as upset as the rest of people when things don't work right.

I would bet, however, that if they are like many if not most local broadcasters these days, they have reduced revenue and are probably working with not as many personnel as they need.

Absolutely. Most of the local stations here, except WJCB have one, maybe 2 engineers on staff. That means for a good part of the day, the quality is all up to the Master Control operator, because there isn't an engineer on premises. And yes that is legal.

I live in Fernandina Beach. What antenna are you guys using to get ABC and NBC? I can't ever get it. I just tried this antenna (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10828410)from walmart and got a few more channels but not ABC/NBC. I don't want to pay DISH an extra $100 to get a new satellite that picks up the locals in HD.

Another question I have is: What's the best way to run the cable from the antenna outside to the tv? I have DISH and 4 cables go into the house to 4 different rooms. We only use one receiver. Can I run the antenna through those cables to another room, then from that room to the TV, or should I do something else? I'm a newbie. Thanks.

Soory I have not been around much lately.

Besides upgrading your Dish system, if you did, do you still need help with your antenna for NBC and ABC? If so say yes, and we can look into seeing how much signal is at your house. I suspect the antenna you have is not big enough. And with some constraints, you probably can use an unused but installed cable from the roof to inside the house.