In the last couple of weeks, I'm having serious issues picking up 7.1(WSPA) Also when I do get the signal the picture quality is damn right sorry..... Anybody know?
Thanks

Wife quote: "Why do we have to have all those wires?"

blooker, lol. You are right. I have to say though, my wife is pretty tolerant of my technology addiction. She will even play some XBox or PS2 from time to time. She loves the platform games like Mario and Crash Bandicoot.

That having been said, she would NOT be happy with me mounting a monstrous antenna on the roof. She's not going to be thrilled with the larger D* dish we will have to mount.

In the last couple of weeks, I'm having serious issues picking up 7.1(WSPA) Also when I do get the signal the picture quality is damn right sorry..... Anybody know?
Thanks


No problem with 7.1 here in downtown 92-95%


Hope I don't develop any OTA problems with HR10-250 after 6.3a software upgrade as has been discussed on other threads. No problems here yet. Anyone notice any problems in this area?

77.1 – FOX - 720p

In the past few days Fox has went out via the qam tuner route.

Anyone else noticed this?

In the past few days Fox has went out via the qam tuner route.

Anyone else noticed this?


I have also noticed this

In the last couple of weeks, I'm having serious issues picking up 7.1(WSPA) Also when I do get the signal the picture quality is damn right sorry..... Anybody know?
Thanks

No proplems with 7.1 here. Their signal has always been 95 or better, as it is today. I don't watch any of their local stuff, but the network looks great starting at 8 p.m.

Maybe there is hope for WLOS HD on Charter:

Mediacom Communications, the eighth-largest cable provider in the United States, has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Sinclair Communications in Federal court, alleging that the broadcaster has attempted to force higher fees on cable and satellite providers by only allowing carriage if Mediacom pays fees to bundle stations in other markets. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., is one of the largest television broadcasters in the country. Sinclair owns, operates, or services 58 local television stations in 36 markets, reaching 22% of television households in the United States. Sinclair is well known among providers for refusing to allow providers to carry certain channels if they haven't paid up Sinclair's fees, while attempting to get them to pay fees for other markets as well. Now Mediacom is fighting back, filing in an Iowa Federal court that Sinclair has overstepped its legal bounds and used its monopoly powers to tie station carriage unfairly. Those with Sinclair in their markets will surely be rooting for Mediacom on this case, as we would hate to be watching Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS, CW or any of the other Sinclair-owned stations in standard-def -- if even at all -- just because of unfair business tactics.

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 6, 2006--Mediacom Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: MCCC) has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBGI) in the Federal Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

The lawsuit alleges that Sinclair violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by conditioning its consent to carriage of its stations in certain markets, such as Des Moines, IA or Mobile, AL, upon Mediacom's payment for carriage of Sinclair's stations in more than a dozen other markets. The ultimate result of this "tying" of Sinclair's stations would be to increase the price of cable television to consumers by millions of dollars.

"Throughout our retransmission consent negotiations, Sinclair has insisted that all of its stations in our footprint be bundled in a single package without consideration to the differences in the markets of the various stations. We believe this all-or-nothing scheme violates antitrust law," said Rocco B. Commisso, Mediacom's Chairman and CEO.

In recent years, Mediacom officials have been at the forefront of efforts to control rapidly escalating programming fees demanded by content providers. Rising programming costs have been largely responsible for increases in cable rates for consumers. Commisso has been an outspoken advocate for retransmission consent reform on Capitol Hill, at the Federal Communications Commission and in industry and public forums.

"We believe that Sinclair is holding our customers hostage in the Des Moines market in exchange for carriage of other stations in markets half a continent away. It is not fair to our customers who ultimately bear these costs and we have decided to draw the line by asking a federal court to stop these practices by Sinclair," concluded Commisso.

Mediacom Communications is the nation's eighth largest cable television company and among the leading cable operators focused on serving the smaller cities and towns in the United States. Mediacom Communications offers a wide array of broadband products and services, including traditional video services, digital television, video-on-demand, digital video recorders, high-definition television, high-speed Internet access and phone service.

Fox is now on 104.1. Took awhile but I found it

I finally got Charter hooked up on my QAM tuner to receive high-def channels. Does anyone else have audio-video sync problems? My audio is about 1/2 second delayed. It's not bad watching sports, but with sitcoms or dramas it is very disturbing. Is there anything I can do to fix this?

Also, it is incredibly strange picking up other people's DVR videos when performing a scan for digital channels on my TV. I had about 10-11 channels of other shows in addition to Fox, NBC, CBS, PBS. Very weird.

Fox is now on 104.1. Took awhile but I found it

what kind of service do you have that you find fox on 104-1?

A QAM tuner - it displays unencrypted digital cable stations without a digital cable box or even a digital cable subscription for that matter. You need some sort of cable subsciption such as basic cable or internet service, but most cable companies send out the QAM signals by default to all their households because most of the channels are encrypted anyway. 104.1 is the actual channel that Charter broadcasts the signal on. It is different from the "virtual" channel that appears on your cable box.

I have a MyHD-130 HD tuner card that has a QAM tuner and I can view and record unencrypted QAM channels on my computer. I'm sure this is similar to the system that GolfAce has.

(Unencrypted QAM channels on Charter around this area is NBC, ABC, Fox, SC PBS, which they should aways broadcast unencrypted. They are currently also currently broadcasting Universal HD, about 30 digital music channels, and about a dozen "on demand" channels unencrypted, but there is no guarantee that will continue in the future. For example, just a few weeks ago I was also able to pull in ESPN2 and Sci-Fi unencrypted, but they are now encrypted again).

Fox is now on 104.1. Took awhile but I found it

Thanks for the information. I need to go and update my MyHD-130 card and the CW_EPG software so I don't miss any recording!

I finally got Charter hooked up on my QAM tuner to receive high-def channels. Does anyone else have audio-video sync problems? My audio is about 1/2 second delayed. It's not bad watching sports, but with sitcoms or dramas it is very disturbing. Is there anything I can do to fix this?

Also, it is incredibly strange picking up other people's DVR videos when performing a scan for digital channels on my TV. I had about 10-11 channels of other shows in addition to Fox, NBC, CBS, PBS. Very weird.

I do not have a sound synch issue with my setup (MyHD-130). What HD/QAM card are you using.

I agree about the on-demand channels - it is strange and also very hard to watch with the random channel shift that occurs and the fact the original viewer might decide to hit pause to go get something to eat and there is nothing you can do about it! It is also disturbing the see what people watch :eek: Definitely not something you want your kid to flip through by accident.

"We believe that Sinclair is holding our customers hostage in the Des Moines market in exchange for carriage of other stations in markets half a continent away. It is not fair to our customers who ultimately bear these costs and we have decided to draw the line by asking a federal court to stop these practices by Sinclair," concluded Commisso.

Awesome...I'm glad someone is fighting back. I would love to see Charter do the same.

BTW, have you heard anything about D* offering our local channels in HD? If that is true, then this is a moot discussion, correct?



Yes, actually we have. We are now on the "coming soon" list for HDTV locals from DirecTv. We are supposed to be up and running by the end of the year, but you will need an mpeg4 receiver to get them (ie an H20 or HR20-700)

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=127160&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=914114&highlight=

After enjoying a year or two of great OTA HD reception, we are now moving. I hope our new location offers as good a reception.

We're moving to the North side of Traveler's Rest. The property sits in a valley between 3 hills that are each about 100' higher.

Does anyone have experience with this location? or comments?

I will be able to put the antenna outdoors now, and as high as I'd like. No HOA!!!!

I finally got Charter hooked up on my QAM tuner to receive high-def channels. Does anyone else have audio-video sync problems? My audio is about 1/2 second delayed. It's not bad watching sports, but with sitcoms or dramas it is very disturbing. Is there anything I can do to fix this?

Also, it is incredibly strange picking up other people's DVR videos when performing a scan for digital channels on my TV. I had about 10-11 channels of other shows in addition to Fox, NBC, CBS, PBS. Very weird.

It's your neighbors. Slightly voyeuristic.

Tony,

I live in Travelers Rest and I am able to pull in all of the Greenville-Spartanburg DMA digital channels OTA except channel 40. There's really no way to know how your particular location will fare until you try.

Good luck.

Fox is now on 104.1. Took awhile but I found it

I'm in Waynesville, and my Fox is on 80-1 with the QAM tuner. The other difference I've noticed is that I don't think I have access to Universal HD through my tuner. Is anyone else picking up Universal HD now?

Also, any word on CW HD coming to Charter in our market?

Does anyone have experience with this location? or comments?

Like Jeff Edwards posted, there really is no way to know until you throw up your antenna and give her a try. I will tell you this, reception of WLOS in this area can be spotty. I live just south of Travelers Rest (on Highway 290...still at TR address). You will notice that without a good antenna, WLOS's analog signal is CRAP. I can receive the digital transmission just fine with my DB4 up about 20-25'. I would think that you'll be fine, but due to the close proximity of you with the mountains, you may be in its footprint and it MAY block the signal. This is why reception of WLOS can be difficult. You may, however, have fun picking up the Charlotte stations. If you've got the $, you might as well put up a 100ft tower and a XG91 from Antennas Direct on it and pick up all KINDS of stuff from other markets. I can get some stuff out of Augusta GA with mine, and it's nowhere near what that would be. Keep us updated. I think you'll be okay though.

I am still able to pick up Universal HD on 94-2.

Thanks Jeff and dashaund. I will just have to see what happens when we get there.

I'll be about 8 miles south of Caesar's Head (as the crow flies), so it might very well be that we will be in the "shadows".

I will let you guys know what happens, although that will be about 8 months from now.

Fox is now on 104.1. Took awhile but I found it
Thanks for the info. I rescanned all of my channels twice but never found it. It was a pain b/c I lost all of my labels.

One other Charter related question.. has anyone heard ANY reliable info as to when ESPN2-HD might be added? It and ESPNU are the only two channels I'm really missing at the moment. I wish Charter would get with the program, as many times as Clemson has been on ESPNU this year I figured we'd have it by now.

I chatted with a Charter sales rep a couple of weeks ago and they said negotiations were ongoing. Blah, blah, blah.

If they added ESPN2HD, I'd seriously consider getting a Tivo S3 and switching from D*.

Adding WLOS would be nice too, but I understand the Sinclair issue there.

has anyone heard ANY reliable info as to when ESPN2-HD might be added?

Good luck! I remember when ESPN2-HD rolled out...and nobody was watching it! ESPN did not have a single subscriber to the channel because they were demanding so much money from the cable/satellite providers, and the companies refused to pay it. Of course, deals were eventually made. ESPN wants so much for their channel and they want it to be included in an XYZ package, yadayadayada. Will it eventually come to Charter? I bet it will but I wouldn't hold my breath for it to be anytime soon.

I am currently using a Silver Sensor UHF antenna in a large apartment complex (University Village) in Central to receive the following stations:

WYFF-DT (4)
WSPA-DT (7)
WHNS-DT (21)
WMYA/WBSC-DT (40 - Still shows up as WBSC in PSIP though)
WYCW-DT (62)
WNTV-TV (Analog on Ch. 29)

I pull in all of these channels perfectly with like 80% signal strength without having to reposition my antenna with the exception of WMYA which requires some careful repositioning and care not to stand in front of the antenna.

I would like to receive WNTV-DT and WSPA-DT (when they switch digital over to their VHF channel), and am looking for suggestions on a good indoor VHF antenna (if one exists) to pick up WNTV on Channel 9.

We have Northland's Digital HDTV tier in our apartment, and while the picture is good (now that they have finally stabilized our service in our unit after 1.5 months of fun), the selection is limited to:
WHNS-DT (21)
WSPA-DT (7)
WNTV-DT (PBS HD)
ESPN HD
Discovery Theatre HD
NFL Network HD (there is never any HD content on though...)

I talked to a manager at Northland yesterday and he said they were in "talks" with WYFF and WLOS to add their stations to the digital line-up. He also mentioned that we're finally going to get ESPNU after massive local demand. They use the Motorola 6412 HD-DVR that allows Firewire access to channels 2-99 (non-digital). There are no clear (unencrypted) QAM channels on Northland.

I would really like to get WLOS, but it doesn't show up on AntennaWeb for my location and I figure it'd be pretty hard to pull in through the mountains without a serious outdoor antenna (altough, I have a friend who pulls in everything on their Channel Master outdoor in Six Mile).

Until Northland offers cheap additional HD boxes and adds all the sub-channels (there are currently no digital subchannels), OTA is the way to go for my secondary set (upstairs in a townhome). Northland needs to get off their bums and add ABC and NBC to the HD tier line-up at the least (along with ESPNU to the analog cable) and should consider adding ESPN2 and maybe Universal HD.

Any suggestions on a good VHF antenna that could be used indoors or easily mounted out of a window?

anyone else NOT getting ESPN-HD on Charter tonight? Clemson is playing and I'm getting nothing, this stinks!

anyone else NOT getting ESPN-HD on Charter tonight? Clemson is playing and I'm getting nothing, this stinks!

Not getting it either here. :(

According to Charter the entire upstate is out (no explanation). They picked a crappy night.. Clemson vs. Va Tech on ESPN-HD and the World Series on FOX in HD. I bet there are plenty of mad sports fans!

According to Charter the entire upstate is out (no explanation). They picked a crappy night.. Clemson vs. Va Tech on ESPN-HD and the World Series on FOX in HD. I bet there are plenty of mad sports fans!

Well, it is 9:03 PM and I have ESPN-HD back but no FOX-HD.

You gotta love Charter! Biggest HD nite recently for Upstate sports and they poo the bed. Wish I could say I was surprised.

Arwalke, you might be surprised what a good antenna and a pre-amp would do. Channel Master makes very good uhf/vhf antennas and their pre-amps (particularly the 7777) also work well. If you can get any height (for your antenna) at your location, I'm betting you could get all the local offerings, including WLOS-DT. The apartment thing might be a challenge, but hey the whole HD thing is a challenge. Put up a 50 ft tower.

According to Charter the entire upstate is out (no explanation). They picked a crappy night.. Clemson vs. Va Tech on ESPN-HD and the World Series on FOX in HD. I bet there are plenty of mad sports fans!

There was no outage here in the Easley-Powdersville area.

ESPN HD was fine for entire game in Anderson, but Fox HD was not available through Charter.

Well fortunately everyone on Charter missed a horrible game. What a pathetic Clemson performance.

We had sound drop-out for about 3 minutes at the start of the 3rd quarter on Northland digital in Central. Other than that, the PQ was great.

I found an old (70s-ish) large outdoor antenna and am putting it up in my attic this weekend. Initial testing shows that I get everything on it but WLOS (including WNTV , finally). I think WLOS is just going to be out of the question without a large outdoor antenna (which isn't really possible in my situation). Northland just needs to get off their bums and offer WLOS through the HD package, unencrypt the local HDs, and offer CableCARDs.

Came home for lunch today and happened to tune to WSPA-HD which I haven't usually done during the day because their upconverted SD material has looked awful. Surprise! It looked much sharper than before, with better color, at least on "The Price is Right." Likewise on WYCW-HD with "The Cosby Show." The blacks are slightly gray rather than deep black, and there are some motion artifacts, but overall it looks much better than before.

The local news has also improved, but not by as much.

They must have gotten some new equipment. I hope they keep tweaking it to make the blacks better and reduce the motion artifacts. I'll have to check out Star Trek on WYCW this weekend to see if it's worth switching from WJZY in Charlotte.

For pre-amps, don't forget the Channel Master 7775. It's for UHF only and can be had for reasonable prices on ebay where I found one.

I found an old (70s-ish) large outdoor antenna and am putting it up in my attic this weekend. Initial testing shows that I get everything on it but WLOS (including WNTV , finally). I think WLOS is just going to be out of the question without a large outdoor antenna (which isn't really possible in my situation). Northland just needs to get off their bums and offer WLOS through the HD package, unencrypt the local HDs, and offer CableCARDs.


WLOS needs to get off THEIR bums and provide a signal to the GSP area if they own the exclusive ABC rights here. All other stations can provide adequate signal here.

It's too bad Greenvile didn't get its own stations back when the DMA divisions were drawn up. Fast forward to the present- the Nielsen rating system is stupidly inaccurate, commercials are skipped with DVR technology, hundreds of channels are available, but the networks can control viewing in each DMA and prevent national feeds- all because someone thinks we are watching these local commercials. Politicians benefit from blocking the technological advances and force satellite providers to retransmit all the local channels costing millions, and viewers are not allowed to purchase the national network feeds. Local TV networks aren't what they used to be when the system began. WLOS can't transmit a strong signal to its entire "DMA", so everyone can't view their local Asheville commercials on DT here anyway. Looks like a dumb antiquated government system to me.

Things may be better with WLOS after they shut down their analog signal and move their digital signal from ch 56 to ch 13. Longer-wavelength VHF signals diffract (bend) around mountains and other obstacles better than shorter-wavelength UHF signals do.

I just noticed something weird on my TitanTV display I hadn't before. Charter has INHD listed in their TV Guide data now as being on 799 (the movie/special events channel). Maybe this is a possible hint that they're going to add InHD to the lineup sometime in the future.

Things may be better with WLOS after they shut down their analog signal and move their digital signal from ch 56 to ch 13. Longer-wavelength VHF signals diffract (bend) around mountains and other obstacles better than shorter-wavelength UHF signals do.
I've got my fingers crossed that you (and others) won't be sorry after the switch to VHF...up goes multipath and co- and adjacent channel problems! What the advantages of VHF remain to be seen...but it causes a bunch of headaches for me with Channel 9 analog from Charlotte and Channel 9 digital from Greenville.

At least we won't have co-channel interference between analog and digital stations after the cutoff date! :D

My reception on WHNS-DT (ch 57) is normally a bit finicky because of co-channel intererence from WACH-TV in Columbia, but I can usually get a decent signal if I point the antenna in a certain direction about 20 degrees off where it ought to be. However, last night for the World Series game, I couldn't find a "sweet spot." It turned out that all the Columbia stations were coming in unusually strongly, because of the weather I guess, so I watched the game on WACH-DT. It came in nicely, except for occasional breakups during the first couple of innings, as the strongest thunderstorms passed between here and Newberry.

What I am worried about with WSPA and WLOS returning to ch 7 and 13, though, is impulse noise. At least one of my neighbors apparently has a rather "noisy" lawnmower or leaf blower which messes up reception on all my VHF channels (analog and digital). And if the air is really dry, I get it from the power lines or transformers.

Holy crap - the Eagle game on WSPA looks horrendous with motion artifacts. Do you guys always get such poor PQ on CBS, or is something going on right now?

[QUOTE=Green23
. [QUOTE]Fast forward to the present- the Nielsen rating system is stupidly inaccurate, commercials are skipped with DVR technology, hundreds of channels are available, but the networks can control viewing in each DMA and prevent national feeds- all because someone thinks we are watching these local commercials. . Looks like a dumb antiquated government system to me.


The fcc requires many satellite subscribers in n.e. Georgia to watch the the Greenville market stations , even though we live in Georgia, and the Atlanta stations are available. Most subscribers are unaware that they will not get Atlanta, until all is up and running and the contract has been signed. The fcc says it is determined by the Nielsen rating, problem with that is, the Greenville market is the only choice in the Nielsen book, so naturally Greenville has the largest viewership.

The fcc and our reps in D.C. don't care. The locals have enough money to keep the fcc "Lost in the fifties".

I have posted here before about my PAIN so if you have been member for a while please ignore. All have a good day...

WSPA has the worst PQ in this market.

I didn't see the Eagles game. Was it in HD or SD?

WSPA has improved their SD upconverts noticeably sometime recently. They used to be so crappy (fuzzy and with murky colors) that I always watched stuff like Amazing Race on WBTV instead. Now they're about on a par with WBTV for sharpness, but WBTV still has slightly better color.

This afternoon I checked out the remastered Star Trek on sister station WYCW, which has also improved their SD upconverts. ST looks really sharp now, sharper than on WJZY. Today's episode seemed rather dark, but that may have just been the setting in a gloomy castle. Colors in general (not just on ST) could use more saturation. I had to bump the color control on my TV upward several notches.

Update: the Star Trek recording on my DVR looked brighter tonight under my usual night-time room lighting (ordinary lamp on an end table) than during the day with skylight coming in through a large window, which messes up the perceived contrast a bit on my LCD TV.

Compare the 6 PM local news on WSPA and WYFF and one will see a noticable PQ difference between the two of them.

This is a spooOOooOOooky night for OTA reception!

Almost all my digital channels are way down on the signal-quality meter right now, and most of them are breaking up occasionally. On the analog side, the VHF stations look OK, but the UHF stations all have lots of snow and/or interference. I hope it's not my amplifier going on the fritz.

Hmmm, I'll take out the amplifier and run the antenna cable directly into the analog input and see if it makes a difference... no wait, things are more nearly normal now, although the UHF analogs still look a bit wonky. It must be that cold front approaching. Or maybe... after all, it is Halloween! :eek:

Things may be better with WLOS after they shut down their analog signal and move their digital signal from ch 56 to ch 13. Longer-wavelength VHF signals diffract (bend) around mountains and other obstacles better than shorter-wavelength UHF signals do.

True, longer wavelengths do "skip" and "bend" better. But the VHF band is more prone to interference. Think about it....the FM radio band is between channel 6 and 7 in the VHF analog TV band. Imagine having to fight not only other TV stations, but FM radio broadcasts, and other broadcasts around that range. The VHF spectrum is pretty full, while the UHF is pretty clear. Multipath sucks too. And with digital, you either have it perfect, or you don't....or with multipath involved, it'll skip. As a rule of thumb in the ham radio world, the lower your frequency, the more interference you'll get. True, a lot of it comes from other radio operators, but some comes from under the ground (!) and commercial radio sources. There will be less headaches if it stays in the UHF spectrum. Plus, smaller antenna sizes make it more attractive.

Quick question for my D* brethren. With the recent announcement that LocalHD is on the horizon (thru D*), anybody see any reason to change? The ONLY reason I would change would be for the Fox regional channels in HD (ie Braves games). From what I understand you must have a new D* MPEG4 STB to receive those and the locals in HD. I am unwilling to part with my TIVO but I might consider changing one room out; ie go with the H2O DVR in my gameroom. My question is: can we still use the older model D* STB's with the new dish? I'd like to still use my 10-250 with OTA in one room and older Phillips TIVO in the bedroom and use the new HD DVR with MPEG 4 in the game room. Anybody know if the new sat dish will support that? If not, its no Braves HD for me, unless Charter brings it back on an unencrpted channel.

I don't see why your old boxes wouldn't support it. The only difference would be the new multi-switch on the dish (the little box with a bunch of wires coming in and out of it) because of the additional LNBs. I had an "ancient" receiver hooked up to my triple-lnb dish and it worked fine...don't see why it wouldn't now. Your old boxes just won't know anything about the new LNBs, which won't matter since there's nothing to watch there but MPEG4 locals that it can't receive. D* is supposed to be doing a replacement on the older HR10-250s with the MPEG4 STB, or that's the last I heard. Anyone have an info on that?

D, I don't see how they can replace our older STB's (that we bought) with the new ones that they want us to lease. I have an older Samsung 360 that I'd like to trade in on the new MPEG4 DVR; don't know how that would go over with the new lease rules. Surely we don't have the big lump payment up front now that we are leasing? I guess I would not be surprised if we have to pay something up front. I doubt I'll be an early adopter on this one.

No, no, what I heard over a year ago was that they would replace the HR10-250 HD TiVos with the new MPEG4 HD TiVos. I need to check on that, haven't heard anything lately.

Edit: Well, I did some research and looked at what others had found in other markets as far as getting a new box. D* WILL try to make you pay for an upgrade, but if you call the retention department (basically, call and complain about it and they will take care of you), most of them will send you a new receiver free after S&H. I got a huge discount on my TiVo and some free programming for calling them once....what a deal! I remember reading a public announcement a long time ago saying that they will replace the HR10-250s free of charge.

My situation is: I'd like to keep my HR10-250 and my old Phillipps Tivo and get the new MPEG4 DVR (I think D* is calling it the HR2O?). I'd also like to avoid paying too much for the new DVR. If they want, I'd give them the old Samsung 360(which I paid for) and two old Hughes Directors. I'm guessing they wouldn't care for the trade. One other thought: I'm currently paying $5.99/mo for DVR (TIVO) service while using 2 DVR's. If I add the D* DVR, does the cost go up for using TIVO service and D* DVR service. I would hope not; however, I would expect to get nickel / dimed.

calvinb

Hmm....interesting. Call 1-800-824-9081 that is the direct number to the retention department (or at least the one I have on file...might have changed). Tell them your issue and see what they can do. I'm assured they will knock some money off of it (maybe even all of it - S&H), and might even "waive" a few fees and maybe even give you some programming or whatever. Do you lease a receiver now? To me, that's kinda weird. I installed my own dish and run all the cables and activated all of my units and everything, and did it all for a friend of mine too with four receivers...that was kinda fun actually. I admit the promos for free install and the cheap service rates for new subs is cool...just don't want to get stuck leasing equipment. Never hurts to call...let me know what they give you. You might have to work them a little bit.

Quick question for my D* brethren. With the recent announcement that LocalHD is on the horizon (thru D*), anybody see any reason to change?


Have they released any firm dates or timeframe?

Have they released any firm dates or timeframe?

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=127160&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=914114&highlight=

The link above is to DirecTV's press release on Oct 10th saying that we will get HD locals by the end of the year. Of course, they said would have them by the end of the year LAST year, if I'm not mistaken. I don't personally see a strong reason to get them, since the PQ of OTA is most likely going to be better anyway. I guess if they will provide regional stuff (Braves HD or something like that), then it's worth it. But if I'm just getting the big 5, then I just don't get it. But, it makes it easier of those who don't want to or can't put up a modest outdoor antenna to get their local channels in HD. DirecTV sees that $$$, so it's worth it to them.

I'm looking forward to HD locals since I can't get my locals reliably with an antenna and preamp at my house. I live at the bottom of the hill on the lake in Clemson with trees and hills all around. D* HD locals can't get here fast enough for me.

The fcc requires many satellite subscribers in n.e. Georgia to watch the the Greenville market stations , even though we live in Georgia, and the Atlanta stations are available. Most subscribers are unaware that they will not get Atlanta, until all is up and running and the contract has been signed. The fcc says it is determined by the Nielsen rating, problem with that is, the Greenville market is the only choice in the Nielsen book, so naturally Greenville has the largest viewership.

The fcc and our reps in D.C. don't care. The locals have enough money to keep the fcc "Lost in the fifties".

I have posted here before about my PAIN so if you have been member for a while please ignore. All have a good day...

Good lord man, you live CLOSER to Greenville than Atlanta! It's not hard to figure out!

If you're hellbent on receiving Atlanta stations, get a tall mast & an antenna! :rolleyes:

My new neighbor just moved from Atlanta and brought his receiver and dish with him. His bill still goes to his parents in Atlanta, but he's not telling the satellite company of his new location. He doesn't get our locals, but that's no loss IMHO.

He doesn't get our locals, but that's no loss IMHO.

Haha. I remember taking a small 18" dish and a camera triped with me to Atlanta one time so I could watch Carolina vs. Clemson (our hotel didn't get ESPN2) and after the game we watched the WYFF news...it was great. We set it up on the balcony and made sure we got a room on the SW side. With a compass we lined it up and BAM, got it. Pretty easy actually...a lot of tailgaters do it...I'm sure a few more here have done it.

Hi, I am in the Inman-spartanburg area (approx 35 miles from Fox 21.1) and am wondering if I can get away with not buying a pre amp (CM 7777). I installed a CM 4228 with the 7777 for my parents some 3 years ago and the combo works great for them. I know I would probably need the preamp for WLOS (13.1) but right now I'm mainly interested in CBS (7.1) which i know I can get without the preamp but I'm unsure of 21.1 without the pre amp. I know i could try without first but I would like to save the hassle of crawling back on the roof a second time if need be. I will also be going with a CM rotor. Any advice appreciated. Is there a hardfast rule as to when a preampis needed? thanks

Good lord man, you live CLOSER to Greenville than Atlanta! It's not hard to figure out!

If you're hellbent on receiving Atlanta stations, get a tall mast & an antenna! :rolleyes:

That's not the point here. He lives in GA and as a pay customer should be able to choose which stations to view. All sat customers should be able to do this as prior to the FCC ruling (based on politics and the BS Nielsen system.) Give everyone the west/east feeds again and let's keep on skipping those commercials. :p

Good lord man, you live CLOSER to Greenville than Atlanta! It's not hard to figure out!

If you're hellbent on receiving Atlanta stations, get a tall mast & an antenna! :rolleyes:


Gosh, I did not mean to offend anyone. Also, I did not realize that CLOSE is the rule. We have a CBS affiliate here in Toccoa, just 4 miles up the road, but we must watch the Spartenburg CBS station. Guess close doesn't apply in this case.
Point being, you should be able to watch stations that are located within your own state, you know, like news, sports, weather, events that effect you.

Thanks, Green23

Gosh, I did not mean to offend anyone. Also, I did not realize that CLOSE is the rule. We have a CBS affiliate here in Toccoa, just 4 miles up the road, but we must watch the Spartenburg CBS station. Guess close doesn't apply in this case.
Point being, you should be able to watch stations that are located within your own state, you know, like news, sports, weather, events that effect you.

Thanks, Green23

I've always hated these hyphenated markets. They're nothing but headaches. I agree, why would you want to watch WLOS when it's news is about Asheville, or WSPA when it is in Spartanburg, or WYFF or WHNS when it is in Greenville? The good ol' FCC helping us out....right? I think when someone is in a location like yourself, they should be able to choose what they want to watch, NOT be forced to watch something.

Carrying this thought to the extreme, I think that anybody ought to be able to watch any station. I, for instance, would rather have one local station (for news and weather) and get the national feeds for all the others -- I don't watch the commercials anyway. That way, I could save a lot of bandwidth. But, that isn't going to happen. We are slaves to the FCC and the NAB. Sigh!

What a logistical nightmare for the provider. Everyone choosing their own stations. Their costs would soar and so would you bills.

Gary J-
You miss my point. Just have one local station in each area for everybody. All they do useful is news and weather, and local news and weather is pretty much the same among stations. However, it won't happen, so it doesn't matter.

However, it won't happen, so it doesn't matter.And all the local programming, all the local sports teams playing at the same time? You need to think that through.

And all the local programming, all the local sports teams playing at the same time? You need to think that through.

Then you have to wonder why our "local" ABC programming has to originate from Asheville, NC

Then you have to wonder why our "local" ABC programming has to originate from Asheville, NC
And why does my local NBC come from Greenville, SC?
The Toccoa situation is unique, and when the local station there became a satellite of WSPA it acquired market exclusivity for CBS for that area. I agree with the DMA designations usually, but WGCL in Atlanta should have become available to Toccoa viewers through the "significantly viewed" rules. That appears to have not been determined.

Jerry.... I have enjoyed reading the opinions on this subject, and I think we have some very nice people taking part, unlike some other forums.
My question, when dma was set up, why was Stephens County (Toccoa) included in the Greenville market, while Hambersham, and Rabun counties (both to north of us) were assigned to Atlanta? I know location means everything, but it appears to me that getting an Atlanta signal in either of those counties would be very difficult.

I've read through the thread and basically gathered that there are several HD feeds offered with basic cable through charter over QAM (such as NBC, CBS, Fox). My question is, I'm debating about whether to put up an antenna and go for OTA (I can pick up basically all the networks at my house), or go with Charter basic and QAM. Anyone have any opinions? I only need the major networks (NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX), but don't mind paying a bit of money for stability. If Charter QAM is the way to go, are all of the big-4 networks available in HD?

Thanks for everyones help! This forum has been a great help.... :)

If Charter QAM is the way to go, are all of the big-4 networks available in HD?The local CBS, NBC, Fox, and PBS affiliates are available in HD through Charter. If you want to watch ABC or The CW in HD, you'll have to use an antenna.

Gary J-

I have thought about this a lot, and, at least from my point of view, there is exactly zero local programming of interest to me other than news and weather. Exactly which channel I see that on doesn't really matter.
For sports, that is not local programming, but local carriage of a national or regional feed. Now, if we all had national feeds, anybody could watch any sports program they chose, instead of being "stuck" with Carolina or Atlanta, for instance. In our area, many would still choose to watch those teams, but others would not. In other words, if we got rid of all the local stations (except one for news and weather) everyone could, in effect, have Sunday ticket!
It just seems that we waste a lot of precious bandwidth doing things the way we did in 1950.

I've read through the thread and basically gathered that there are several HD feeds offered with basic cable through charter over QAM (such as NBC, CBS, Fox). My question is, I'm debating about whether to put up an antenna and go for OTA (I can pick up basically all the networks at my house), or go with Charter basic and QAM. Anyone have any opinions? I only need the major networks (NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX), but don't mind paying a bit of money for stability. If Charter QAM is the way to go, are all of the big-4 networks available in HD?

You wouldn't be going wrong either way. The great thing about OTA is it's free. Also, you're getting the feed from the station's tower, and it's not being run through Charter's system and not being recompressed, which can cause picture quality to suffer. For me, I prefer getting it OTA with an antenna because I'm a cheapskate. That being said, you wouldn't have to worry about installing an antenna going with Charter. It isn't that much of a headache to install an antenna, but it's not as easy has plugging a cable up to the wall. I'd rather skip the middleman and not worry about rate increases and all. If you decide to go OTA with an antenna, we're here to help!

Holy crap - the Eagle game on WSPA looks horrendous with motion artifacts. Do you guys always get such poor PQ on CBS, or is something going on right now?

What I've noticed the most on WSPA during sports (football) broadcasts is the blurring of the on-screen graphics. This issue has been raised nationally before, so I never thought much about WSPA being the problem, thinking it was just a network issue. However, recently I switched over and looked at the WBTV feed, and the graphics were noticeably better. The blurring that occurs every couple of seconds wasn't there, so I wonder if we should contact WSPA about the problem? I know it's cost them a viewer during sports broadcasts for the time being.

I have noticed as well, it seems to be worse when the sports ticker runs at the bottom of the screen...

I just had a Charter tech come and switch out my Moxi Box. He said that Charter is phasing out Moxi all together by September 2007. He said that he didn't know what it would be replaced with, but that they announced it in a training class about a week ago. The most logical replacement would be in the Moto 6416, but that's my opinion. At least it's 160gig, and it has HDMI.

What I've noticed the most on WSPA during sports (football) broadcasts is the blurring of the on-screen graphics. This issue has been raised nationally before, so I never thought much about WSPA being the problem, thinking it was just a network issue. However, recently I switched over and looked at the WBTV feed, and the graphics were noticeably better. The blurring that occurs every couple of seconds wasn't there, so I wonder if we should contact WSPA about the problem? I know it's cost them a viewer during sports broadcasts for the time being.

Made the same comparison myself last week and I agree with you. On close up, the blurring is heavy pixelization. WSPA looks "flat" and out of focus as well, especially when the scene changes. I have emailed them; no response.

SEC football last year was reference quality on WSPA and WBTV reminds me of that. Sunday Night football on WYFF (NBC), however, is the best football PQ to me this year on my Sony Ruby and 106" ST130.

bbe

Does anyone get audio on WBSC/WMYA-DT's sub-channel 2, The Tube? I get pretty good PQ (for 480i at least), but no audio. My Samsung television does however pick-up a flag saying that the channel is "Dolby Digital".

I almost hate to say it because I bet I'll jinx myself but has WLOS's signal improved for anyone else? I usually get nothing from them (I'm on the eastern fringe of their digital coverage area) but I'm getting them with three solid bars today

Made the same comparison myself last week and I agree with you. On close up, the blurring is heavy pixelization. WSPA looks "flat" and out of focus as well, especially when the scene changes. I have emailed them; no response.

SEC football last year was reference quality on WSPA and WBTV reminds me of that. Sunday Night football on WYFF (NBC), however, is the best football PQ to me this year on my Sony Ruby and 106" ST130.

bbe

Do you have LCD HDTV?

Guys,

I have a few questions about Charter, hopefully someone could answer. I went to switch out my DCT6200 for the DVR yesterday and they didn't have any.

1) Has anybody received a Charter DVR lately? They would NOT give me an ETA when they would be available.

2) When did they switch from the DCT6412 to the BMC9012? My friend just got a DCT6412 in August.

3) The BMC9012 in the Charter lobby didn't have firewire ports and Moto's website doesn't show them on the unit. Don't they have to? There are plenty of references to people using firewire on their units. Does anyone here have a BMC9012 with them?

Thanks.

2) When did they switch from the DCT6412 to the BMC9012? My friend just got a DCT6412 in August.I got my BMC9012 from Charter in October '04.

Apparently only units with "f" in the model name have Firewire capability.

I almost hate to say it because I bet I'll jinx myself but has WLOS's signal improved for anyone else? I usually get nothing from them (I'm on the eastern fringe of their digital coverage area) but I'm getting them with three solid bars today


My signal is going the other way. 13.1 has dropped from the low 80s during the summer months, to the low 70s now, but it is still holding with little or no drops. I've had problems with their signal since going hd about three years ago, with the first improvement coming this past spring. I changed receivers at that time, and they made some improvements on the mountain. Hopefully reception will continue through the winter months. Good luck to you....

1) Has anybody received a Charter DVR lately? They would NOT give me an ETA when they would be available.
Charter swapped out my old Moxi DVR for a new Moxi DVR last week. I had received my first BMC9012 back in April '05, but then stupidly turned it in during December '05 when I moved since there was a month between old place and new. I was on the waiting list for 4 months until they finally got new BMC9012 units in from the manufacturer.

2) When did they switch from the DCT6412 to the BMC9012? My friend just got a DCT6412 in August.
I actually don't know of anyone else who is a Charter customer who has something other than the BMC9012. I didn't think charter offered an alternate DVR.
3) The BMC9012 in the Charter lobby didn't have firewire ports and Moto's website doesn't show them on the unit. Don't they have to? There are plenty of references to people using firewire on their units. Does anyone here have a BMC9012 with them?My BMC9012 has Firewire ports, but I've never used them for anything.

What I've noticed the most on WSPA during sports (football) broadcasts is the blurring of the on-screen graphics. This issue has been raised nationally before, so I never thought much about WSPA being the problem, thinking it was just a network issue. However, recently I switched over and looked at the WBTV feed, and the graphics were noticeably better. The blurring that occurs every couple of seconds wasn't there, so I wonder if we should contact WSPA about the problem? I know it's cost them a viewer during sports broadcasts for the time being.

I get the same thing on WSPA too. I guess the best way to describe it as that the picture always appears to be going in and out of focus -- a few seconds in focus, then a couple out of focus. In my opinion, it's not necessarily just the graphics that are wavering but the entire picture -- I just think it's much easier to notice the graphics when they're poor. But if you really watch the field and/or players, you can notice the quality changing there too. It's really pretty annoying ... kinda gives you a headache after awhile.

It's not a new problem either -- it's been the same for about a year now. Of the locals, it's definitely the worst HD quality IMO. In regards to CBS, I can't comment on anything besides sporting events though.

My signal is going the other way. 13.1 has dropped from the low 80s during the summer months, to the low 70s now, but it is still holding with little or no drops. I've had problems with their signal since going hd about three years ago, with the first improvement coming this past spring. I changed receivers at that time, and they made some improvements on the mountain. Hopefully reception will continue through the winter months. Good luck to you....

I've noticed 13.1 has gone down for me too, but I am getting occasional drops all of the sudden. It used to always be my second strongest signal behind WYFF with no problems at all. What's kinda weird (or maybe it's not weird, I don't know) is that the timing of this drop in signal occurred right when 21.1 (Fox) improved.

So from January '06 to until about late October, I could never really pick up Fox that well. All of the sudden, I get that channel just fine and now I'm getting similar drops with 13.1. I have a relatively small antenna in the attic, so I don't think it's that it shifted or anything.

Don, I noticed we're kind of at the same angle from the stations (I'm in the Clemson area) ... did you see any improvement in 21.1 when you saw declines in 13.1?

Don, I noticed we're kind of at the same angle from the stations (I'm in the Clemson area) ... did you see any improvement in 21.1 when you saw declines in 13.1?


No, my 21.1 signal has also been going down for several months. Last spring their strength was around 90 most of the time, but now has dropped to the upper 70s, and is not far behind 13.1
I have a rather large cm (4248) with preamp 30 ft. above the ground. 4.1 & 7.1 remain strong, both in the upper 90s. Sometimes I think it may be my preamp, but 4 & 7 don't change. I have pretty good elevation here, with a straight shot at all of the transmitter locations. I don't know what's going on..

jakexxl, after posting above I decided to make an adjustment on the antenna. Guess what? Apparently the antenna has turned some during the last few months, causing the problem. Both 21.1 and 13.1 are now back in the mid 80s and looking good. Hope you find your problem...

Anybody else suffering audio dropouts on WHNS-DT? I'm a "Family Guy" fan (I know its not HD) and the last few weeks have been awful. Anyone?

Signal strength levels normal here. However, I can throw a rock and hit the tower from my back yard.

Carrying this thought to the extreme, I think that anybody ought to be able to watch any station. I, for instance, would rather have one local station (for news and weather) and get the national feeds for all the others -- I don't watch the commercials anyway. That way, I could save a lot of bandwidth. But, that isn't going to happen. We are slaves to the FCC and the NAB. Sigh!

If TV were just now coming out with today's technology, that would be possible, but in the 1940s/1950s, the way it was done was the only way to do it, to get network coverage everywhere. Since the system is already in place, it won't happen.

I've always hated these hyphenated markets. They're nothing but headaches. I agree, why would you want to watch WLOS when it's news is about Asheville, or WSPA when it is in Spartanburg, or WYFF or WHNS when it is in Greenville? The good ol' FCC helping us out....right? I think when someone is in a location like yourself, they should be able to choose what they want to watch, NOT be forced to watch something.

We're a hyphenated market too, techincally, (Cleveland-Akron-Canton) but we never get anything but Cleveland news. Ugh.

My new neighbor just moved from Atlanta and brought his receiver and dish with him. His bill still goes to his parents in Atlanta, but he's not telling the satellite company of his new location. He doesn't get our locals, but that's no loss IMHO.

Call me weird, but I like the small-market stations better than the big-city ones.

That's not the point here. He lives in GA and as a pay customer should be able to choose which stations to view. All sat customers should be able to do this as prior to the FCC ruling (based on politics and the BS Nielsen system.) Give everyone the west/east feeds again and let's keep on skipping those commercials. :p

Here's a thought - how about just let satellite customers get whatever cable in the area provides, or, your own DMA plus one adjacent DMA of your choice?

Here's a thought - how about just let satellite customers get whatever cable in the area provides, or, your own DMA plus one adjacent DMA of your choice?

These markets are based on contractual agreeements between the stations and Nielsen based on governments census data (I forget the actual government name, but it is a hassle for an area to become part of one area when they are placed in another market. Jerry do you remember the name of that program? Something like MSA Survey or something like that?)

These markets are based on contractual agreeements between the stations and Nielsen based on governments census data (I forget the actual government name, but it is a hassle for an area to become part of one area when they are placed in another market. Jerry do you remember the name of that program? Something like MSA Survey or something like that?)

All I'm saying is that if cable can give you adjacent market stations, the playing field should be level for DBS. There are many areas where dual markets are carried for years on end and the DMA stays where it is, I suppose that the consumers in that area simply like the additional network affiliate for the rare occasion programming is pre-empted, or just for a different NFL, MLB, or NBA game than their own is showing, etc.

All I'm saying is that if cable can give you adjacent market stations, the playing field should be level for DBS.

Again, it is a contractual agreement thing and the federal government isn't going to get into that. For all of the "level playing field" that cable and DBS supposedly enjoys, it isn't very "level" on so many different planes because you are really trying to put a square peg in a round hole when you talk cable and DBS in the same sentence.

Again, it is a contractual agreement thing and the federal government isn't going to get into that. For all of the "level playing field" that cable and DBS supposedly enjoys, it isn't very "level" on so many different planes because you are really trying to put a square peg in a round hole when you talk cable and DBS in the same sentence.

Wasn't that the whole point of "Significantly Viewed?"

If I remember correctly, "Significantly Viewed" is cable only, not DBS.

All I'm saying is that if cable can give you adjacent market stations, the playing field should be level for DBS. There are many areas where dual markets are carried for years on end and the DMA stays where it is, I suppose that the consumers in that area simply like the additional network affiliate for the rare occasion programming is pre-empted, or just for a different NFL, MLB, or NBA game than their own is showing, etc.


The playing field should be level for everyone. Our OTA digital viewing choices here are great- many channels with good signal, but our choices should not be based on out of date FCC rules.

A paying customer should be able to view any network feed or regional content broadcasted, regardless of local "DMA" - For example, I can pay and view any regional NFL game on my Sunday Ticket package (and view or skip the commercials), but I am not allowed to pay for distant feeds at other times. It's time to release the 50's and move on with the technology. Nielsen is BS, no one watches the advertising, and the DMA system is way behind the times. The market should be determined by who will view available choices in an open market, not by 1950's DMA divisions.

Exactly right. It is time to end the local monopoly held by TV stations, in the same way that the monopoly of local telephone companies is ending. We should not be held hostage to situations established by 1950s technology.

Those who view this forum regularly, know I have been an avocate of freedom of choice.

I have much respect for "foxeng" and have learned much about the busniness through his posts.
And have debated with Doug (ch. 4) about this issue, but I don't understand who made the contract with broadcasters that gave them the right to restrict us (Ga.) to the Greenville dma. Our cable does carry Atlanta, but they have limited availability & no hd.

but I don't understand who made the contract with broadcasters that gave them the right to restrict us (Ga.) to the Greenville dma. Our cable does carry Atlanta, but they have limited availability & no hd.

Market limits are defined by US Census data and data through something called the MSA Survey (or something like that, I can't remember the exact name). That is what Nielsen uses to set DMAs. Is it always accurate? No, but at this point, no one has come up with anything better and the FCC uses Nielsen's DMA data as the defacto market defining standard because Nielsen uses official government data to define the markets.

Content owners (the Jerry Bruckheimer's and Aaron Sorkin's of the world) contract with the networks for market exclusivity of their programs. In turn, the networks contract with local stations for market exclusivity of those programs. Even in the syndicated market, that is why Seinfeld doesn't show on more than one station in the same market. Or Rush Limbaugh isn't on more than one station in a radio market. These are all legal and binding contracts and if Congress or the FCC started opening up the markets, the Supreme Court would rule the government intrusion as unconstitutional on the grounds that the government has interfered with a legally binding contract between two parties. There is no law that says you have to sell anything to anyone if you choose not to and the government can't make you under normal market conditions.

As an example of how pervasive it is, in 1988 I was working for a radio station here in Greensboro that was running a contest from a national agency. We had market exclusivity for our market. WGN was on the cable system here and ran the exact same commerical for a station in Chicago. We complained to the national agency and the radio station in Chicago wasn't allowed to run that contest commerical on WGN since WGN was also seen in our market. Nothing the government could do about it. Legal and binding contract and believe me, the radio station in Chicago TRIED a court injunction to prevent us from having WGN pull the commerical and they lost in court. That is also why you do not see The CW programming on WGN even though they are a CW affiliate. During their network time, they have to program something different on their "super station" feed. They don't have permission from The CW to have that programming outside of the Chicago market.

There is more involved here than just you being able to receive multiple "Dancing with the Stars" at the same time. You may not like that, but that is the law as it now stands and it is not likely to change anytime soon. All kinds of anti-trust implications.

was at office max yesterday morning to get some of the doorbusters( we were first in line and got the about 3:30 AM) and a guy behind us told us he was there for the 37" LCD and I asked him if he was aware that it was just a monitor and had no tuners at all, he said "HUH", so I explained to him all about digital and analog tuners, he decided to wait a bit on a set as he was using OTA, I felt a little good about saving a guy from getting something that expensive that he would be very unhappy with.

[QUOTE=foxeng]Market limits are defined by US Census data and data through something called the MSA Survey (or something like that, I can't remember the exact name). That is what Nielsen uses to set DMAs. Is it always accurate? No, but at this point, no one has come up with anything better and the FCC uses Nielsen's DMA data as the defacto market defining standard because Nielsen uses official government data to define the markets.

Thanks for the explanation, guess we'll just keep " blowing the wind."

I agree that change is not likely, but I disagree that it is impossible. Plenty of people said it was impossible to deregulate banking, airlines, trucking, and telephone -- but it happened. However, it is hard to see what economic pressure would change the broadcasting industry, at least anytime soon.

Georgia tech - Georgia game is not in HD! What is CBS thinking

Well they're "saying" it's in HD in all the guides but it ain't at my house. Crap.

:) Well they're "saying" it's in HD in all the guides but it ain't at my house. Crap.

Not in HD? CBS only has three hd cameras, and they loaned them to ABC tonight for the Irish game. And you know how important the IRISH are........

On the dam thing.. oops, the dma... I wrote all reps in D.C., of course they don't care... but the the squeaky wheel gets the grease, so keep on writing.. I too belive change will happen, someday.

:)

Not in HD? CBS only has three hd cameras, and they loaned them to ABC tonight for the Irish game. And you know how important the IRISH are........

On the dam thing.. oops, the dma... I wrote all reps in D.C., of course they don't care... but the the squeaky wheel gets the grease, so keep on writing.. I too belive change will happen, someday.

I once suggested why not make all networks national feeds, that's it. Locals would be news/weather/local content only, perhaps that would be PBS doing all that or something. Or something like PBS or even something akin to local access you'd get on cable.

Market limits are defined by US Census data and data through something called the MSA Survey (or something like that, I can't remember the exact name). That is what Nielsen uses to set DMAs. Is it always accurate? No, but at this point, no one has come up with anything better and the FCC uses Nielsen's DMA data as the defacto market defining standard because Nielsen uses official government data to define the markets.

...

There is more involved here than just you being able to receive multiple "Dancing with the Stars" at the same time. You may not like that, but that is the law as it now stands and it is not likely to change anytime soon. All kinds of anti-trust implications.

I agree that change is not likely, but I disagree that it is impossible. Plenty of people said it was impossible to deregulate banking, airlines, trucking, and telephone -- but it happened. However, it is hard to see what economic pressure would change the broadcasting industry, at least anytime soon.

As far as broadcast rights of NBC,ABC,CBS, etc, I don't think the government is involved at all. (Isn't that what you're trying to say foxeng?) It's pure market economics. The networks are the ones granting exclusive rights to certain stations in certain markets.

Networks most certainly could grant their programming rights to multiple broadcast entities within a single market, or even compete with their licensees by offering customers direct access to their content, but that would almost certainly diminish the value (and $$) they get for offering local stations exclusivity. At least that must be the math they are doing, otherwise the networks would have already done that. They already offer some of their content on the internet via their websites and iTunes, and I don't think most local broadcasters are all that happy about that.

Certainly for areas on the edges of DMAs (esp hyphenated ones like ours) there can be a argument about which DMA you should be in, but that's a totally separate argument from the exclusive broadcast rights to network content local stations enjoy.

--Cross

Although we shouldn't be surprised, the fact is, those who ultimately pay the freight, the viewers, come in last place in all of this.

Tony,

I live in Travelers Rest and I am able to pull in all of the Greenville-Spartanburg DMA digital channels OTA except channel 40. There's really no way to know how your particular location will fare until you try.

Good luck.

Can't you at least get Channel 40 in SD on 13.2? (I'm basing this on internet research only, I live in Ohio)

WLOS needs to get off THEIR bums and provide a signal to the GSP area if they own the exclusive ABC rights here. All other stations can provide adequate signal here.

It's too bad Greenvile didn't get its own stations back when the DMA divisions were drawn up. Fast forward to the present- the Nielsen rating system is stupidly inaccurate, commercials are skipped with DVR technology, hundreds of channels are available, but the networks can control viewing in each DMA and prevent national feeds- all because someone thinks we are watching these local commercials. Politicians benefit from blocking the technological advances and force satellite providers to retransmit all the local channels costing millions, and viewers are not allowed to purchase the national network feeds. Local TV networks aren't what they used to be when the system began. WLOS can't transmit a strong signal to its entire "DMA", so everyone can't view their local Asheville commercials on DT here anyway. Looks like a dumb antiquated government system to me.

At the time, it probably seemed that the GSP market itself was too small for all three networks (and it was at the time) so Asheville got lumped in.

I dunno why there can't at least be a second full-power satellite of WLOS with local commercial inserts or something...they do that out in the West all the time, all over Wyoming, Arizona, the Dakotas, Kansas, etc...

For those of us currently unable to receive the digital signal from WLOS (I just upgraded to a D* HR20), what's the deal with this constant crawl about Mediacom cable? It's very annoying. Is Mediacom even in our area or is this just some national issue they're having with Sinclair?

--Cross

It looks really great when they break out of the HD feed to go back to SD to show that crappy crawler. I think that cable company is available in some of the smaller mountain towns.

Yeah that crawler is really starting to bug me on standard def over Northland Cable. It's high time for Sinclair to work with the cable cos. to get their HD feed to cable customers (many of whom can't pick up WLOS's OTA signal).

Mediacom is the cable company in Hendersonville.

And, I am tired of that crawl too.

Looks like Mediacom is going to lose this one. Both parties were at the FCC in Washington the other day and nothing came of it. Sinclair is still headed off Mediacom system wide.

About once every year I poke my head in here to see if there is anything new in terms of OTA reception of HD or even digital channels. I have D* and I'm convinced that HD content is still a very low priority for them. I no longer pay any attention to their press releases.

I connected my antenna (I have to do it manually) and was surprised to find WYFF, WHNS, and WYCW (all digital) all nice and clear with a good signal. I checked Antenna Web and they don't even show WYFF digital, only WHNS and WYCW. I always thought AW was the best resource, what happened?

With those three I have NBC, FOX, and CW networks covered. Are there any other netwoks available in the area? Does WLOS ever plan to go HD with ABC? I guess I'm SOL with CBS.

On a side note, I compared the D* SD picture quality with the analog (SD) signal I got from my antenna. Even with the snow on the analog side it still looked better than D*.

"Does WLOS ever plan to go HD with ABC?"

They have been broadcasting HD for a long time. Try 56-1.

resqguy, I am surprised you can not get WLOS-DT or WSPA-DT in your location. Most of us here in the Upstate can get those channels with a combination of: good antenna, good pre-amp, good HD tuner. Post your set up and I'm sure you would get some advice. I'm guessing mountains may be in your way.

regarding D*:


http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix...4114&highlight=

Whoops, that link does not work. to summarize, D* claims they will roll out locals for us in the next 6 months (they say).

I have a CM4228 that is up in my attic. Outside antennas are not permitted by HOA. My receiver is a Hughes D* HTL-HD (LG/GoldStar).

With the CM4228 being fairly directional (pointing SE) can I add another antenna to point north? Also, I'm not exactly sure of the direction for Mt Pisgah.

Since neither of these DT stations showed up on Antenna Web, do you think that site has been updated to reflect obstructions (mountains)?

I checked Antenna Web and they don't even show WYFF digital, only WHNS and WYCW. I always thought AW was the best resource, what happened?

Based on comments I've seen in other forums here, antennaweb is usually rather conservative, and this fits my own experience. Of the Greenville-area stations, they don't show WYCW-DT or WMYA-DT at all, although I can get them pretty reliably with my roof antenna. From Charlotte, they show WBTV-DT but not WCNC-DT, WMYT-DT or WJZY-DT; and from Columbia, they don't show anything, although I can get WOLO-DT and WIS-DT reliably. I have to click the little "options" link and enter an antenna height of about 150 feet before those stations show up.

They do show one station that I can't get: WUNF-DT which suffers from interference from WOLO's analog signal on ch 25.

Where you are in Flat Rock, the mountains might make a big difference in reception from one location to another. All the "regular" stations in this area do broadcast in HD except WGGS, the religious station, which does have a digital SD signal. And then there are the low-power WSQY-LP (analog 51) and WAEN-LP (analog 64) which don't have any digital signal at all yet.

Where you are in Flat Rock?

I am towards the end of Little River Rd near Kanuga (Camp Pinnacle).

Resqguy, at the very least I would consider a rotor and a pre-amp. I have the CM 7777 pre-amp and am very happy with it. If that didn't work, I would not let any worthless HOA try to stop me from putting an antenna on my roof. FCC regs are pretty clear on that. It might not win you any friends in the neighborhood, but hey, this is HDTV we are talking about! Regarding multiple antennas, I would let Jerry B. or some of the other antenna gurus answer that one.

delete

I'm in the Clemson area and have this relatively cheap Terk antenna (http://www.amazon.com/Terk-Amplified-High-Definition-Antenna-Reception/dp/B0007MXZB2/sr=8-1/qid=1164919532/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-0619375-4696065?ie=UTF8&s=electronics) in the attic. I get 4.1 and 7.1 just fine all the time. As I've posted here a couple times, I have some occasional problems with 21.1 and 13.1 -- it's especially annoying b/c it's entirely unpredictable. For instance, just when I think 21.1 is working pretty well, I DVR a show on it, only to come back later and see that it's pretty much unwatchable.

So anyone have any suggestions (besides getting a larger outdoor antenna)? Will a pre-amp work/help with a small antenna like this?

I'm in Central (specifically, University Village) and used the exact same antenna for some time. I had no trouble picking up WYFF, WSPA, WYCW, WMYA, and WHNS with it (although, I did have to move it a little to get WMYA). I upgraded to an old (70s-ish) outdoor antenna that a friend offered in the attic of the townhouse I'm in. I added a Channel Master 7777 pre-amp to it and now pick up all those station plus WNTV (the Terk has really bad VHF reception).

My suggestion would be to first try a bigger antenna. I live in a huge apartment complex with what I'm sure is some serious multi-path issues (plus the ant. is in an attic), and I have no problems with picking up all the above channels all the time. I also get WNEG (analog) great, almost as good as a digital picture and WGGS (analog) pretty good. The one I really want, though, is WLOS (although not much ABC Sat. Night Football left).

That's such a small antenna that a good pre-amp really doesn't have much to work off of. The Lowe's in Anderson has Channel Master antennas, I don't know about the one in Seneca. ACE in Clemson only carries rabbit-ears.

Good luck!

Hi,

Is this a reality yet? I see on their web site, "Coming in Fall 2006" to our area. Just wondering if anyone else has this?

Thanks, Phillip

Hi,

Is this a reality yet? I see on their web site, "Coming in Fall 2006" to our area. Just wondering if anyone else has this?

Thanks, Phillip


I do not think it has happened yet. They still have about three weeks to make it happen, but I know they have missed the announced dates in many markets.

Well, that stinks. The rep on the phone told me the opposite ...

Phillip


I do not think it has happened yet. They still have about three weeks to make it happen, but I know they have missed the announced dates in many markets.

I do not think it has happened yet. They still have about three weeks to make it happen, but I know they have missed the announced dates in many markets.

Really? Which markets have thay missed? It looks like everyone is up except the markets released a couple of weeks ago.

I sent an email to DirecTV a couple of weeks ago and they replied "We expect to offer HD locals in Greenville, SC by early December 2006." for whatever that's worth.

From reading threads from the other areas, it seems that there might be a shortage of the receivers (H20). I know I can't wait to see all those ambulance chaser and title loan companies ads in HD.

My mom ordered an H20 last week, and she was told it would be two weeks due to a shortage of receivers. No definite word on when the HD locals would go live.
She lives in Clemson.

I sent an email to DirecTV a couple of weeks ago and they replied "We expect to offer HD locals in Greenville, SC by early December 2006." for whatever that's worth.

Excuse the interruption...I'm from Jacksonville, FL and we were told the same thing when I got my HR20-700...but after a call yesterday they were telling me not until February, 2007. Have you all now been told the same thing???

I was told by an installer that came out to my house that they were told in a meeting that we would be getting them in the Simpsonville area on or around January 23rd, fwiw ...



Excuse the interruption...I'm from Jacksonville, FL and we were told the same thing when I got my HR20-700...but after a call yesterday they were telling me not until February, 2007. Have you all now been told the same thing???

I was told by an installer that came out to my house that they were told in a meeting that we would be getting them in the Simpsonville area on or around January 23rd, fwiw ...

Interesting. Thanks. Well, there's another date we can throw into the mix!

Is anyone else having trouble receiving WYFF channel 4 OTA? For the past few days reception has been poor while the other OTA local channels are just fine.

Is anyone else having trouble receiving WYFF channel 4 OTA? For the past few days reception has been poor while the other OTA local channels are just fine.


No problems here with WYFF-DT.

No problems here with WYFF-DT.

I haven't noticed any problems either.

No problems with WYFF here, either. I can get it consistently at 97% on my meter if my antenna is aimed in more or less the right direction. Most nights I record the news from it so my wife and I can watch it when she comes home from work.

Is anyone else having trouble receiving WYFF channel 4 OTA? For the past few days reception has been poor while the other OTA local channels are just fine.
I can no longer receive 4-1 OTA either. All other channels are fine. I'm on the west side of lake Keowee and usually get a 95+ signal. I wonder what's up with their signal strength??

For anyone interested in the most intimate details of ATSC VSB transmission system by Gary Sgrignoli, I will mail it to you (on a first ask, first served basis.) Email your address.

:) I can no longer receive 4-1 OTA either. All other channels are fine. I'm on the west side of lake Keowee and usually get a 95+ signal. I wonder what's up with their signal strength??

Just checked 4.1, steady at 100 here in N.E. Ga. Can't remember the last time I lost their signal.

I can no longer receive 4-1 OTA either. All other channels are fine. I'm on the west side of lake Keowee and usually get a 95+ signal. I wonder what's up with their signal strength??

I asked this question to the Enginnering group at WYFF channel 4 and received this response in just a few hours for all with the same reception problem as mine to read. Special thanks to Doug Durkee and the WYFF4 team for being so responsive. Good job!


Reply from WYFF4:

In the past 10 days I have received four complaints about WYFF-DT reception where it had been good and now it's not. As you know from the reports on the AVS forum, this is not a universal problem. We have not made any changes and all our transmitter and power readings are consistent showing the same power levels as they have since we went full power almost two years ago. The complaints I've received come from different geographical locations so a problem with the antenna pattern is unlikely.

I noticed one entry in the AVS forum where a viewer readjusted his antenna to restore his signal level which had dropped off. The only explanation I have at this point is propagation problems due to weather.

I will continue to monitor the situation. Please let me know if you see any significant changes.

Regards,
Doug Durkee
WYFF4

I just wanted to reply to your post "Outside antennas are not permitted by HOA." If you want to put up an outside antenna and your communist homeowners association has a problem with it, print out a copy of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. It specifically says "SEC. 207. RESTRICTIONS ON OVER-THE-AIR RECEPTION DEVICES.
Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Commission shall, pursuant to section 303 of the Communications Act
of 1934, promulgate regulations to PROHIBIT RESTRICTIONS that
impair a viewer's ability to receive video programming services
through devices designed for over-the-air reception of television
broadcast signals, multichannel multipoint distribution service, or
direct broadcast satellite services.

In plain terms, this means by law no one can prevent you from recieving video programming via an antenna, outdoor, indoor or otherwise.

Anyone bought a UHF/VHF combo model lately? specifically to future proof your set-up for when our local DT's start going back to VHF (if/when that happens)? I'm trying to recommend an antenna for a friend and am a little nervous about recommending an UHF-only CM 4221 or 4228. Plus I might pick one up for myself to future-proof my own system. I guess my main question is: what's a good locally available UHF/VHF antenna for us Upstate HDTV enthusiasts?

Northland Cable in Seneca/Clemson/Central is not carrying the Thursday and Saturday night games on the NFL Network. They elected not to pay the franchising fee to carry these games. I was a little dismayed not being able to watch the Falcons-Cowboys game on Saturday. I have submitted an email via their website and replied to their Marketing Director and would suggest others affected to do the same.

This really is unacceptable. Why should I be paying extra for the NFL Network's HD channel, if I'm never going to see games on it (which would appear to be the only HD content on that channel)? We don't even get the games in SD. Northland still has yet to carry WYFF, WMYA, WYCW, or WLOS in HD (and WLOS can be hard to receive in Northland's market).

Northland really dropped the ball on this one. Living in an apartment complex is all that is stopping me from switching to satellite.

arwalke-

If your apartment has the proper exposure, they cannot stop you from subscribing to satellite and having a dish installed. Check it out. Of course, if your exposure is north, you are in deep doo-doo.

My exposure is to the north. There really is no exclusive use area that I could place a dish anyways. Also, it would be a major pain to wire in a dish to the existing cable system as the splitter is located in a utility closet at the opposite end of our row of units (meaning the dish would have to be next to someone else's apartment).

Well, I for one, would not want to try to wire into the existing cable system. However, if you had southern exposure and a small balcony, you could have a dish installed, But you don't, so no good (of course, you could move!!!!!)

It would be painless to wire into the existing system, if the block was in my unit. All it does is split the signal from the source (currently Northland Cable) and have drops to each of the 6 outlets.

Alas, no balcony, no southern exposure, no WLOS-DT or NFL Network games.

Anyone bought a UHF/VHF combo model lately?

I've been OTA-only all along, going back to my analog-only days. When my old antenna was knocked down a year and a half ago by my neighbor's tree trimmers, I replaced it with a UHF/VHF combo from Radio Shack, their largest model (VU-190XR) at 160". The old one wasn't that big, but I figured I might as well improve my reception while I had the chance. After I got that antenna up, I started thinking about digital TV, bought my first DTV receiver, and haven't used analog since then.

Radio Shack makes a couple of similar but smaller models. I've seen negative comments about durability of the RS antennas, but at least they're readily available. I'm planning to replace mine in the spring with a pair of UHF-only and high-VHF-only antennas, to eke out a bit better reception on some of the Columbia and Charlotte stations. The Greenville/Asheville stations come in fine at 50-80 miles (with help from a Channel Master pre-amp) except for the ones that have co-channel interference from analog stations in Columbia and Charlotte: 29-* (9), 16-1 (35) and 33-* (25).

By the way, if anyone is looking for a standalone OTA HD receiver, you might want to check out the new Samsung DTB-H260F. A couple of weeks ago, I bought one at the Circuit City on Woodruff Road in Greenville. At that time there were two more boxes on the shelf.

This unit is definitely better with marginal signals than the other receivers I've used, including the predecessor Samsung SIR-T451. I can now usually pick up and hold onto WUNF-DT (33-*) despite the co-channel interference from analog 25 in Columbia, and the weaker Columbia and Charlotte stations come in more often now, without breakups.

[QUOTE=jtbell]. I'm planning to replace mine in the spring with a pair of UHF-only and high-VHF-only antennas, to eke out a bit better reception on some of the Columbia and Charlotte stations.

JT, what brand and models are you looking at for your new system? Also would like to know if you are happy with the Harmony remote.

Merry Christmas!

I asked this question to the Enginnering group at WYFF channel 4 and received this response in just a few hours for all with the same reception problem as mine to read. Special thanks to Doug Durkee and the WYFF4 team for being so responsive. Good job!


Reply from WYFF4:

In the past 10 days I have received four complaints about WYFF-DT reception where it had been good and now it's not. As you know from the reports on the AVS forum, this is not a universal problem. We have not made any changes and all our transmitter and power readings are consistent showing the same power levels as they have since we went full power almost two years ago. The complaints I've received come from different geographical locations so a problem with the antenna pattern is unlikely.

I noticed one entry in the AVS forum where a viewer readjusted his antenna to restore his signal level which had dropped off. The only explanation I have at this point is propagation problems due to weather.

I will continue to monitor the situation. Please let me know if you see any significant changes.

Regards,
Doug Durkee
WYFF4
Is there any update to this post?
I just got the samsung DTB-h260f and it picks up absolutely nothing from wyff4. However I can pick up analog wyff4 without any problem (plain jane dvd/vcr combo tuner).

Is there any update to this post?
I just got the samsung DTB-h260f and it picks up absolutely nothing from wyff4. However I can pick up analog wyff4 without any problem (plain jane dvd/vcr combo tuner).


Are you receiving 7.1 13.1 & 21.1? If not, make sure you are scanning for digital stations. If you receive the other hd channels, I have no idea what the problem could be..(unless it's your location) WYFF 4.1 has been my strongest hd signal since day one, as it is tonight. Good luck....

Are you receiving 7.1 13.1 & 21.1? If not, make sure you are scanning for digital stations. If you receive the other hd channels, I have no idea what the problem could be..(unless it's your location) WYFF 4.1 has been my strongest hd signal since day one, as it is tonight. Good luck....
Yeah, get those with no problems. Have to shift the antenna a wee bit to lock the signal in for 21-1, though.
Of all the locals, 4's the prodical.
In reviewing earlier posts, looks like the signal took a dive in my direction as of late and nobody knows why.

quote: about recommending an UHF-only CM 4221 or 4228 --

You can always add a (most likely a relatively small) V antenna when necessary and it will work very well with either of these CM antennas.

The CM4228 has accceptable VHF high receiption. I can personally atest to that. There are some graphs on line that shows what it is but I can't find it now.

The CM4228 has accceptable VHF high receiption. I can personally atest to that. There are some graphs on line that shows what it is but I can't find it now.

Try www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html Looks like the cm 4228 and the 4248 (and several other brands) will hold as low as ch. 7. If this grafh proves true, many of us will not have to purchase a high vhf.

my yagi style antenna has no problems with most vhf

Thanks for the link. I knew I had seen it but couldn't remember where. I have personally picked up a channel 11 at 70 miles and channel 7 at 90 miles and a channel 8 at 25 miles and channel 12 at 40 miles. Here is the actual graph since it is quite far down the page:

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/GainVHFnetUHF.gif

I did a scan this a.m. and to my surprise picked up 2.1 11.1 17.1 & 46.1 out of Atlanta. The encouraging part is WXIA dt (11.1) is broadcast on vhf 10 which is a good indicator that my cm 4248 (yagi) should be ready when the Carolina stations return to their vhf channels. The Atlanta channels are coming in on the back side of the antenna. Weather conditions must be perfect this a.m. for the Atlanta signals, they won't be available very long. I receive 17 and 46 most days, but the other two are first timers.. according to antennawed, these stations are 80 miles away.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all....

. I'm planning to replace mine in the spring with a pair of UHF-only and high-VHF-only antennas, to eke out a bit better reception on some of the Columbia and Charlotte stations.

JT, what brand and models are you looking at for your new system? Also would like to know if you are happy with the Harmony remote.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you all, too, belatedly! Sorry for the delay, I'm out of town visiting relatives in Arizona right now.

Anyway, for a UHF antenna I was at first planning on the CM 4228, but now I'm leaning towards the AntennasDirect 91XG because it's comparable in gain and is a lot lighter. For the high-VHF I've got two candidates which seem pretty similar:

Antennacraft Y-10-7-13 http://www.antennacraft.net/Yagi.htm

Winegard YA-1713 http://www.winegard.com/offair/vhf.htm

I'm pretty happy with my Harmony 676. It can control all my components and set up the proper inputs for various activities. Quite often, though, the button assignments or infrared codes in the Harmony database don't quite match with the actual remote, so I had to spend a lot of time tweaking the button assignments and teaching the Harmony the missing or incorrect codes.

Also, I find the web interface for configuring the remote to be rather frustrating at first because it insists on walking me through a whole series of steps when I want to change just one thing. It would be nice if they had an "expert mode" which presents all the settings for a single activity on one page, and you could make adjustments by clicking radio buttons or checkboxes. Still, after I had fiddled with things for a while, I finally got into the "Harmony mindset" and knew where to look for things to adjust.

Jon

So, I was going to a start new thread, but I wanted to make sure I captured the attention of people specifically in the Western Carolinas.

If you had it do all over again, what would you do? E*, D*, Charter, or something else I must not know about? My #1 priority has to be quality of service (including customer service), but a definite close 2nd would be selection (HD content/pic quality & SD content/pic quality). 3rd priority is price.

Thanks for the help, and I did not want to tell you my current service provider on purpose.

I don't have any experience with E*, but I do have a lot with the other two. I would put D* first by a country mile. Charter would be last, behind even a bent coathanger out the window. D* is not without warts, but, as a general rule, they are very pleasant to deal with, and are anxious to please.
Just my opinion, it will be interesting to see what others say.

Does anyone else have sound dropouts OTA on WHNS 21.1? I have an HD Tivo and it does it watching live tv and during recorded shows so it has to be the signal. Anyone else have this issue?

Does anyone else have sound dropouts OTA on WHNS 21.1? I have an HD Tivo and it does it watching live tv and during recorded shows so it has to be the signal. Anyone else have this issue?


What version of software do you have? This is a well known problem with 6.3a, but was corrected for me when I received 6.3b a few weeks ago.

Zero problems with E*, they have more HD. Both satellite services will increase prices February 1.

[QUOTE=tigerarch]Does anyone else have sound dropouts OTA on WHNS 21.1?


I was having problems with 21.1 signal before leaving town about a week ago...... came back into town today, and 21.1 is gone. All other channels are normal, no 21.1.... Anyone else ???

21.1 solid here.

In case anyone is wondering what happened to subchannels 13-3 and 40-2, Sinclair has dropped its affiliation with "TheTube":

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=780123

I was told by an installer that the D* hd locals would go live this month. Anyone have any further news on that?

I was told by an installer that the D* hd locals would go live this month. Anyone have any further news on that?

I got the same info from a D* CSR via e-mail in December. They said early January 2007. Of course they originally announced Fall of 06, so.....

--Cross

I checked their website, and they definetly have our market as one to add soon. Who knows what their timeframe is though.

I was told by an installer that the D* hd locals would go live this month. Anyone have any further news on that?
Thank God, we've been waiting for what seems like forever! With such a large portion of our population living in areas not served by cable service, you would have thought they would have bumped our market up the list a little.

Does anyone else have sound dropouts OTA on WHNS 21.1?

Yes, I am too. But I'm thinking it's due to multipath or some other dropout because once the picture pixelizes, it comes back in. Are you using an HD TiVo? That's what I'm using. I haven't got on the roof to fix my loose rotor wire yet to try and fine tune to signal. Anyone else seeing this?

If you had it do all over again, what would you do? E*, D*, Charter, or something else

No experience with E*, but D* seems to be the best overall value...that's what I have. The general consensus is that Charter stinks...I have their high-speed service. It's been stable for a while now, but they had to work the "bugs" out of it for a couple of years (the service rep told me this!). And their support service is horrible. Yes, I agree...a coathanger out the window is better than Charter, lol. And it's a better value. I would definately put up an OTA antenna instead of relying on D* HD locals. Once you pay for the antenna and coax cable, you're done. No monthly service charge. And if D*'s compression techniques is any sign, the OTA signal will look better. It's not that hard at all! Just a little effort.

Anyway, for a UHF antenna I was at first planning on the CM 4228, but now I'm leaning towards the AntennasDirect 91XG because it's comparable in gain and is a lot lighter.

That'll work! However, without looking, I'm pretty sure the 91XG is more directional, isn't it? That means you have less of a chance of picking up multiple channels at once...you'll have to aim it more closely than you would with a 4228. But, hey, if that doesn't bother you, a 91XG is awesome. Antennas Direct makes awesome products...I have a DB4 and couldn't ask for better!

Yes, I am too. But I'm thinking it's due to multipath or some other dropout because once the picture pixelizes, it comes back in. Are you using an HD TiVo? That's what I'm using. I haven't got on the roof to fix my loose rotor wire yet to try and fine tune to signal. Anyone else seeing this?



No experience with E*, but D* seems to be the best overall value...that's what I have. The general consensus is that Charter stinks...I have their high-speed service. It's been stable for a while now, but they had to work the "bugs" out of it for a couple of years (the service rep told me this!). And their support service is horrible. Yes, I agree...a coathanger out the window is better than Charter, lol. And it's a better value. I would definately put up an OTA antenna instead of relying on D* HD locals. Once you pay for the antenna and coax cable, you're done. No monthly service charge. And if D*'s compression techniques is any sign, the OTA signal will look better. It's not that hard at all! Just a little effort.



That'll work! However, without looking, I'm pretty sure the 91XG is more directional, isn't it? That means you have less of a chance of picking up multiple channels at once...you'll have to aim it more closely than you would with a 4228. But, hey, if that doesn't bother you, a 91XG is awesome. Antennas Direct makes awesome products...I have a DB4 and couldn't ask for better!


I have the 91XG with a CM-7777 pre-amp and there is a "sweet spot" where I can receive all the available locals except 14-1 without rotating.

I have the 91XG with a CM-7777 pre-amp and there is a "sweet spot" where I can receive all the available locals except 14-1 without rotating.


Thanks Apps1! That's sweet. I've found that "sweet spot" on my DB4...I can get everything I want except WSPA. I was assuming since the 91XG was very directional, it might be tougher, but I guess I'm wrong. The 4228 doesn't have much less directivity...it's beam width is only 15 degrees. Man, I was reading up...the 91XG has 28dB of gain...that's getting it done! And with a 7777...WOW! I'd love to throw up a 100ft tower and see what I could find :) But I guess that's the ham radio operator in me coming out. Maybe someday.

Many are looking forward to D* locals, and rightly so, it's been a long time coming. The new service (when it gets here) will be great for those who have problems with ota signals. However if you receive the locals ota, there is a difference between the two signals, so leave the ole antenna in place.

[QUOTE=dashaund]. , I was reading up...the 91XG has 28dB of gain...that's getting it done!

A great site to compare antenna net gain, especially after everyone drops to ch. 40 or below, is www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.thml

Tigerarch and Dashaund, I have the same audio problems with my HD TiVo. It does not seem to be related to the picture for me. It happens quite a bit during both NFL games and "Family Guy". (Grrrrrr). So it happens day and night. Maybe I need the software update to 6.3b? Is D* still updating the older STB's like my HD TiVo (Hr10-250)?

Tigerarch and Dashaund, I have the same audio problems with my HD TiVo. It does not seem to be related to the picture for me. It happens quite a bit during both NFL games and "Family Guy". (Grrrrrr). So it happens day and night. Maybe I need the software update to 6.3b? Is D* still updating the older STB's like my HD TiVo (Hr10-250)?

Yeah, I checked on that and I'm running 6.3a. Anyone know how to force it to update, or do we just have to wait? I have the same model as you calvinb. Don't see why it can't be updated.

A great site to compare antenna net gain, especially after everyone drops to ch. 40 or below, is www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.thml

Wow, nice content. Thanks for the link! Interesting results.

Tigerarch and Dashaund, I have the same audio problems with my HD TiVo. It does not seem to be related to the picture for me. It happens quite a bit during both NFL games and "Family Guy". (Grrrrrr). So it happens day and night. Maybe I need the software update to 6.3b? Is D* still updating the older STB's like my HD TiVo (Hr10-250)?

There is extensive information of the software problem, and the update, for the HR10-250 at www.tivocommunity.com . I have 3 of these, and the specific problem most people are seeing is on Fox over-the-air. The sound will disappear for about 8 seconds, then there is a momentary pixellization, and sound returns.

One of mine updated to rev 6.3b yesterday, which should correct the problem. The other two are still at 6.3a.

You might be able to hasten the update a little if you force a call. Go to settings, phone, and "connect to DVR service now". When it is finished calling, go back to the phone screen, and at the top it will say either "succeeded" or "waiting for restart" The latter means that it has received the update, and it will install when restarted.

One of mine updated to rev 6.3b yesterday, which should correct the problem. The other two are still at 6.3a.

No one can seem to figure out how they do these updates. I keep forcing calls on mine and never can get the update. Guess I'll keep trying...

No one can seem to figure out how they do these updates. I keep forcing calls on mine and never can get the update. Guess I'll keep trying...


Going by everything I have read there is no way to force the update. I received 6.3b several weeks ago, so I dont know why it would take this long to roll out to everyone. Have you asked D*?

Going by everything I have read there is no way to force the update. I received 6.3b several weeks ago, so I dont know why it would take this long to roll out to everyone. Have you asked D*?

Nah, not yet. Really don't care to call tech support unless I absolutely have to, even though D* people seem to actually have a clue compared to Charter. Might do that anyway. I did read on the Tivo Community boards where some of them did eventually receive the updates after doing repeated calls. But I've had no luck yet. Oh well, it'll come eventually.

WLOS & WHNS: WLOS -- I would really appreciate more consistant CC on your HD programs, and WHNS--please solve the delay problem in the Captions. It is more difficult to follow the plots with CC than without based on the excessive delay. PLEASE!

Forced a call last night and finally got the last "slice" of the 6.3b update. I noticed that many times it would download a "slice" of the update but never say "pending restart" after it hang up. Well, last night it finally said "pending restart." Rebooted and checked the system information screen...sure enough, 6.3b. Can't confirm that it fixed the FOX problem because I haven't watched it enough but so far, so good.

Does anyone have a recommendation for an antenna to use in Hendersonville NC 28739. I have used the Radio Shack 15-2160 with good success in the past but this location has the stations pretty spread out. Will the CM 4228 receive signal from the front and back?

Does anyone have a recommendation for an antenna to use in Hendersonville NC 28739. I have used the Radio Shack 15-2160 with good success in the past but this location has the stations pretty spread out. Will the CM 4228 receive signal from the front and back?
The CM 4228 is not designed for receiving omni reception, but it has a broad reception angle that often permits a wide spread reception. Without looking up actual channel numbers (frequency), it may be possible to couple two antennas together, especially if the stations are near 180 degrees apart from you, and if your signals clean of multi-path. This can be tricky, and you could endup with out of phase signals and lose channels. Hendersonville is very close to the transmitters and should have very strong signals. The CM 4228 has an outstanding performance history, as many on this forum have reported.
With respect to seasonal problems mentioned by others, I continue to have to seasonally adjust my antenna SLIGHTLY at this time every year. Approximately a 2-3 degree change results in stable reception for all channels (using the CM 4 Bay). The good news for me is that after many months of not being able to receive 33-2, I now can receive it on a reliable basis although reduced signal strength from previous years.) WLOS-DT continues to hang in there with a very steady 77% and rock solid picture.

Does anyone have a recommendation for an antenna to use in Hendersonville NC 28739. I have used the Radio Shack 15-2160 with good success in the past but this location has the stations pretty spread out. Will the CM 4228 receive signal from the front and back?

Radio Shack antennas tend to be a little "pricey." The CM 4228 is definitely a great antenna. You can normally get them at Lowes...or at least I've seem them at the ones around here (Travelers Rest). With the big boost in antenna sales due to HDTV, they started carrying them. I own an Antennas Direct DB4...smaller antenna and less gain but it works (www.antennasdirect.com). They also make a DB8, which is comparable to the CM 4228, but boasts slightly better performance. If you get it high enough, you should have no problems. If you can't get all of the channels you want in one direction, you can always pick up a rotor. It isn't really pricey, and it helps. Then you can find some out of area stations that you're not supposed to get, haha. That's a hobby in itself! Good luck...let us know how it goes.

Home Depot in Hendersonville no longer carries outdoor TV antennas. Lowe's carries a big one for $100.

Thanks everyone for the responses. I bought a 15-2160 at Radio Shack for $25. I am picking up Charlotte locals from Lake Lure area with it right now but they are all in the same direction. I am also going to see if Lowes has the 4228 CM. I'll post the results.

I'm strictly an OTA guy, don't get cable and don't plan to, but I was curious about what I could get with a QAM receiver if I had basic Charter cable. So I went to Charter's web site and entered my address to see the channel lineup.

Are the unencrypted QAM channels the ones listed under "Digital Lifeline" and "Hi-Def Lifeline?"


244 NBC WeatherPlus Digital Lifeline
246 WHNS-DT2 - Fox Weather Digital Lifeline
247 WSPA 24/7 Digital Lifeline
784 WYFF-DT - NBC Hi-Def Lifeline
786 WHNS-DT - Fox Hi-Def Lifeline
787 WSPA-DT - CBS Hi-Def Lifeline
788 WNTV-DT - PBS Hi-Def Lifeline


If that's so, then it looks like I would miss out on the following HD and other digital-only OTA channels:

WLOS-DT - ABC (no surprise because of Sinclair)
WMYA-DT - MNT (ditto)
WYCW-DT - CW
WNTV-DT2 - SC Channel (which is in the "Digital Family and Information Tier")
WNTV-DT3 - SCETV HD
WUNF-DT2 - UNC-HD
WUNF-DT3 - UNC-KD
WUNF-DT4 - UND-ED
WUNF-DT5 - UNC-NC

They do list WUNF as one of the analog basic channels, which would give me the equivalent of 33.1.

I'm strictly an OTA guy, don't get cable and don't plan to, but I was curious about what I could get with a QAM receiver if I had basic Charter cable. So I went to Charter's web site and entered my address to see the channel lineup.

Are the unencrypted QAM channels the ones listed under "Digital Lifeline" and "Hi-Def Lifeline?"


244 NBC WeatherPlus Digital Lifeline
246 WHNS-DT2 - Fox Weather Digital Lifeline
247 WSPA 24/7 Digital Lifeline
784 WYFF-DT - NBC Hi-Def Lifeline
786 WHNS-DT - Fox Hi-Def Lifeline
787 WSPA-DT - CBS Hi-Def Lifeline
788 WNTV-DT - PBS Hi-Def Lifeline


If that's so, then it looks like I would miss out on the following HD and other digital-only OTA channels:

WLOS-DT - ABC (no surprise because of Sinclair)
WMYA-DT - MNT (ditto)
WYCW-DT - CW
WNTV-DT2 - SC Channel (which is in the "Digital Family and Information Tier")
WNTV-DT3 - SCETV HD
WUNF-DT2 - UNC-HD
WUNF-DT3 - UNC-KD
WUNF-DT4 - UND-ED
WUNF-DT5 - UNC-NC

They do list WUNF as one of the analog basic channels, which would give me the equivalent of 33.1.

I'm in Spartanburg,SC and Have Charter.

I've got a Linux Box with an ATI HDTVWonder, it has 2 inputs one for OTA and one for CABLE.

With the Drivers for the PC this card does not support QAM256, however with the Linux drivers/firmware it does.

There is a Linux tool for scanning QAM, using this tool I was able to find many Channels, however the Video ID was not found by default, I had to take a look at the Data Stream on a given Frequency and find the PID of the Video stream, then edit that into my Channels.conf.

The channels I have found so far that are Clear QAM256 for Greenville/Spartanburg Charter ARE:

GAC:543000000:QAM_256:208:209:4 (Great American Country in SD)
GTV-SD:543000000:QAM_256:144:145:3(Not sure what this one is yet)
Universal-HD:645000000:QAM_256:2048:2049:2(Universal Studios HD NICE!)
WYFF-HD:669000000:QAM_256:2048:2049:1(WNBC HD)
WSPA-HD:669000000:QAM_256:2240:2241:2(WCBS HD)
WPBS-HD:669000000:QAM_256:2304:2305:3(I think this one is PBS not sure)
WHNS-HD:675000000:QAM_256:16:17:1(FOX HD)
iDemmandPreView:675000000:QAM_256:336:337:6(SD Preview Channel, who cares)

I'll update that list if I find any more.

Quick FYI for my fellow D* subscribers. I am taking a gamble and ordered the infamous HR-20 from D* the other day. Install date (along with new 5 LNB dish) is 1/27. Got a very good deal from CR - $99 plus a year of "free" HD service. I realize the locals aren't here yet, I just wanted a new DVR plus the ability to watch the Braves in HD (FSN). The RF remote should be nice also. Anyone else taking the plunge?

Quick FYI for my fellow D* subscribers. I am taking a gamble and ordered the infamous HR-20 from D* the other day. Install date (along with new 5 LNB dish) is 1/27. Got a very good deal from CR - $99 plus a year of "free" HD service. I realize the locals aren't here yet, I just wanted a new DVR plus the ability to watch the Braves in HD (FSN). The RF remote should be nice also. Anyone else taking the plunge?


Not yet. I was waiting for you to become the first. I really like my HR10-250 DVR, is that what you currently have? It will be interesting to see how the HR-20 compares. Did they let you keep your old DVR?

The H20 worked OK before I cancelled D* and went with E*.

If any of you get the chance, watch the 'Over.....' series on Voom, Equator channel 9471. The producers shoot HD from a stabilized camera on a helicopter than simply flys about 1500 ft above ground level and goes from point A to B. My favorites are London to Oxford and Messina to Palermo. It's just like being there without the rotor noise.

244 NBC WeatherPlus Digital Lifeline
246 WHNS-DT2 - Fox Weather Digital Lifeline
247 WSPA 24/7 Digital Lifeline
784 WYFF-DT - NBC Hi-Def Lifeline
786 WHNS-DT - Fox Hi-Def Lifeline
787 WSPA-DT - CBS Hi-Def Lifeline
788 WNTV-DT - PBS Hi-Def Lifeline



After looking at this again I realized that channel 788 must be WNTV-DT3 because it's listed as "Hi-Def" so it should be removed from the second list:

If that's so, then it looks like I would miss out on the following HD and other digital-only OTA channels:

WLOS-DT - ABC (no surprise because of Sinclair)
WMYA-DT - MNT (ditto)
WYCW-DT - CW
WNTV-DT2 - SC Channel (which is in the "Digital Family and Information Tier")
WUNF-DT2 - UNC-HD
WUNF-DT3 - UNC-KD
WUNF-DT4 - UND-ED
WUNF-DT5 - UNC-NC


nvflash's list indicates that there might be a few other things. It wouldn't surprise me if Charter's online list is out of date. I'm going to try to find a colleague here who uses basic cable and arrange for a visit, bringing along one of my HD receivers.

Not yet. I was waiting for you to become the first. I really like my HR10-250 DVR, is that what you currently have? It will be interesting to see how the HR-20 compares. Did they let you keep your old DVR?

I have an HR20. It worked great until they turned on the OTA antenna with an update in December. Then I had lots of problems with unplayable recordings. D* have just made a release candidate of new firmware available which I downloaded Sunday. So far it's much better. There are pretty active discussions over on DBSTalk (http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=112) concerning this box, including an extensive list (with release notes) of the firmware updates to date.

FYI D* is still saying GSP HD locals will be turned on this month. No CW or MyNetwork, but everybody else. We shall see...

--Cross

Cruxer, what do you mean by "turned on the OTA antenna with an update in December"? I assume you have the new 5 lnb dish. Apps, I do have the HR10-250 and am a big fan. Unfortunately, MPEG 4 will eventually render these boxes obsolete. Luckily for us, sounds like it will be a while. Honestly I doubt I will ever watch the locals thru the D* feed. I plan on running the antenna thru the HR-20 just like the HR10-250. I do wonder how the guide will be handled. I've not spent a lot of time on dbs talk but I guess I need to. Other than the Braves (hopefully in HD on FSN), I don't know what other benefit the HR-20 gives me, other than one more DVR. (big grin!)

Cruxer, what do you mean by "turned on the OTA antenna with an update in December"? I assume you have the new 5 lnb dish. Apps, I do have the HR10-250 and am a big fan. Unfortunately, MPEG 4 will eventually render these boxes obsolete. Luckily for us, sounds like it will be a while. Honestly I doubt I will ever watch the locals thru the D* feed. I plan on running the antenna thru the HR-20 just like the HR10-250. I do wonder how the guide will be handled. I've not spent a lot of time on dbs talk but I guess I need to. Other than the Braves (hopefully in HD on FSN), I don't know what other benefit the HR-20 gives me, other than one more DVR. (big grin!)

The HR20 initially had the OTA tuner turned off. D* released a firmware update that turned the tuner on. D* also announced this week that a whole slew of new national HD channels would be MPEG4, so that would be another benefit.

--Cross

Hello. My parents are in Hendersonville NC 28739 and becoming interested in moving to HD. They're currently on cable (Mediacom). My father stopped by their office today and was told ABC, CBS, and NBC are not available in HD.

antennaweb only lists two digital stations (WSPA CBS 7.1 and WNTV PBS 9.1). Yet DirecTV's online waiver eligibility gizmo (directvdnseligibility dot then decisionmark then period com) insists that WLOS ABC, WHNS FOX and WYFF NBC are also available with a grade A, B, and A signal strength respectively.

Any guidance would be appreciated. They want to be confirm programming before shopping for a HDTV. Satellite would be okay, but HD locals aren't available and wouldn't they need waivers given the reported signal strengths?
Try a nearby zip code, such as Asheville's 28801 or 28805 just to see if it is working corrrectly. Several months back, I had the same limited information show up on Antennaweb for my zip, but it later was correct.

jb

Originally Posted by dagap

Any guidance would be appreciated. They want to be confirm programming before shopping for a HDTV. Satellite would be okay, but HD locals aren't available and wouldn't they need waivers given the reported signal strengths?

HD locals will be available very soon from DirecTV. Maybe as soon as the end of this month, but I would guess no later than March.

Putting together an attic setup...in the bottom of a little valley...in an old-growth forest neighborhood. So surrounded by a ridge in all directions except NE-Eish and lots of very tall (50ft) trees around.

Recommendations on what I should use? A large omni e.g. DB-8 or is there no easy solution. :rolleyes: :D The attic roof is tall and peaked, so fitting something in DB-8 sized is not an issue.


AntennaWeb Output for the ambient area:
http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/8170/antennavectors9ni.png
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/7700/broadcastlisting3zp.png

Thanks

____________________
HD-5500, VectorLinux 5.8 Standard rig commenceing after antenna installation.

Putting together an attic setup...in the bottom of a little valley...in an old-growth forest neighborhood. So surrounded by a ridge in all directions except NE-Eish and lots of very tall (50ft) trees around.

Recommendations on what I should use? A large omni e.g. DB-8 or is there no easy solution. The attic roof is tall and peaked, so fitting something in DB-8 sized is not an issue.

A DB8 or CM4228 is definitely your best bet. On top of the roof would be the best way, but obviously you're doing an attic installation for a reason. Will it work? Can't say for sure. All I can say is give it a shot. Your strategy, imo, is the best way to go. Good luck and let us know how it works!

Cool deal.

I understand the DB-8 doesn't receive low UHF channels very well (http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html). But the PR-8800 and 4228 are directional (bidirectional???) and could really complicate things fast with a 3+ directional antenna setup.

I may end up using a joiner (http://www.warrenelectronics.com/Antennas/joiners.htm). Know of any How-Tos on DYI whip antennas, etc.? Also, what's the best pre-amp out there? Everyone just using the 7777?

Thanks

I understand the DB-8 doesn't receive low UHF channels very well. But the PR-8800 and 4228 are directional (bidirectional???) and could really complicate things fast with a 3+ directional antenna setup.

I may end up using a joiner. Know of any How-Tos on DYI whip antennas, etc.? Also, what's the best pre-amp out there? Everyone just using the 7777?

I'd say that you could probably get H,I,J,A in one direction and have another to get C. Or, you could just get a rotor, but, I'm guessing you've already thought about that. The 4228 and the DB8 aren't EXTREMELY directional....you do have to aim them, but not very precise. No ideas on making whips. The 7777 is the flavor of choice around here.

Cool deal.

I understand the DB-8 doesn't receive low UHF channels very well (http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html). But the PR-8800 and 4228 are directional (bidirectional???) and could really complicate things fast with a 3+ directional antenna setup.

I may end up using a joiner (http://www.warrenelectronics.com/Antennas/joiners.htm). Know of any How-Tos on DYI whip antennas, etc.? Also, what's the best pre-amp out there? Everyone just using the 7777?

Thanks

I'm using 2 4228's coupled with a good quality coax splitter from Warren, then into a 7777 in Cleveland Park Greenville. Attic mounted with great OTA signal 88+ on all channels except 13.1 70-75%. I tried several joiners and a channel specific "join-tenna" but got best overall combined signal with above setup and no rotator needed. :)

I just finished setting up a Radio Shack 15-2160 outdoors in Hendersonville. We get 7.1 CBS, 13.1 ABC, 21.1 Fox, 33.1 PBS, 39.1 Fox, and 62.1 CW. I have not been able to pick up 4.1 NBC at all. 39.1 is 50 miles away and 4.1 only 16 but I can't get a sniff of it.

It appears my new HR-20 will not be much of an "upgrade" concerning programminig thru D* here in the upstate. No Mpeg-4 of any sort is available right now. Of course we knew that concerning the locals. Here is a response I got from D* concerning Fox Sports Net regional content (Braves HD, etc):

"Thansk for writing. I’m sorry; we don't carry FSN South in HD right now.

Although, current satellite capacity doesn’t allow us to provide regional sports networks (RSNs) in HD in every market, we’re working to increase the capacity so that we can provide all the action from as many RSNs as we can over the next year, so stick with us.

If we decide to carry this channel, would you like to receive an email when it’s available? If so, please reply to this email to confirm that you agree to be contacted.

In addition, whenever we add channels to our lineup, we release a statement to the press, so keep an eye on local press releases and directv.com/rsn for more information as it becomes available.

Thanks for writing.

Sincerely,"

So bottom line, no FSN in HD. Hopefully, it won't be far away.

I just finished setting up a Radio Shack 15-2160 outdoors in Hendersonville. [...] I have not been able to pick up 4.1 NBC at all.

WYFF's transmitter is apparently behind some mountains, from your point of view. Take a look at the path loss map (http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/images/wyff.jpg) (warning, it's about 1.3 MB) for WYFF-DT that I generated using software called 'splat', which calculates the amount of signal loss at different locations and shows them as color-coded areas. The scale (in decibels) is at the bottom of the map. A lower number means a stronger signal.

According to this map, here in Clinton, sixty miles away, I get about 30 dB more signal from WYFF-DT than you do in Hendersonville. I get excellent reception with the Radio Shack 15-2156, a combination VHF/UHF antenna whose UHF section looks like it's at least twice as big as the 15-2160.

WYFF's transmitter is apparently behind some mountains, from your point of view. Take a look at the path loss map (http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/images/wyff.jpg) (warning, it's about 1.3 MB) for WYFF-DT that I generated using software called 'splat', which calculates the amount of signal loss at different locations and shows them as color-coded areas. The scale (in decibels) is at the bottom of the map. A lower number means a stronger signal.

According to this map, here in Clinton, sixty miles away, I get about 30 dB more signal from WYFF-DT than you do in Hendersonville. I get excellent reception with the Radio Shack 15-2156, a combination VHF/UHF antenna whose UHF section looks like it's at least twice as big as the 15-2160.

I spoke with the Engineer over at WYFF yesterday and he said my location receives no signal due to a mountain peak between the tower and here. I asked about about a waiver for National NBC and he said I had 2 chances slim and none and slim just left town! He said Mgmt does not give waivers.

I heard Directv HD locals on Feb 14.

I heard Directv HD locals on Feb 14.


At least you've heard a date! Do you have a special source? CSRs have told me twice over the last month that it would be late January. Of course, it is late January and no channels yet...

--Cross

I spoke with the Engineer over at WYFF yesterday ...Did he say anything about servicing our area in the future, like new towers or translators?

I heard Directv HD locals on Feb 14.

I currently have the D* HD channels and std def locals. Will the HD locals just appear when they are activated? I have an older receiver, will it work?

I heard Directv HD locals on Feb 14.
What a sweet Valentines day that would be!

I currently have the D* HD channels and std def locals. Will the HD locals just appear when they are activated? I have an older receiver, will it work?

To receive the HD locals, you will need a 5 LNB dish and either a H20 or HR20 receiver. 3 LNB dishes and older HD receivers will not pick up the new MPEG4 HD LIL's and the new upcoming HD national channels launching later this year.

D* has upgrade specials for the new receivers and dishes that are QUITE reasonable (in many cases for free) depending on your current equipment and length of time being a customer.

Did he say anything about servicing our area in the future, like new towers or translators?

No he did not mention that.

No he did not mention that.
When it comes to OTA transmission WYFF is the only NBC station that reaches the area, albeit analog, so it's their market to keep.
If they don't upgrade their service to this area after analog shuts down, then we'll be without NBC unless we go with something other than free OTA.

Has anybody else noticed a problem with the audio on WSPA 7.1 during UPCONVERTED non-HD programming? Watching the 60 Minutes piece on geeks and noticed that the audio is only coming out of the front LR speakers. The problem with this is that the volume is much lower when this happens, almost as if the voices are supposed to be in the center channel but is not there. Note that the sounds works fine during commercials, but when the show comes back on, the sound level drops again. I have noticed this for the last couple of weeks but didn't think to post. Also, I wonder what our chances are of them upping the bit rate for the Super Bowl next week?

Has anyone else noticed WLOS has locked out the DVR functions on Charter's DVR's. No skip, pause, fast forward and rewind. The company that refuses to allow HD service without cash, now has stuck it to the viewers again.
You know what WLOS, that's it. I'll wait until the DVDs come out. I will NOT watch your station ever again.

Has anyone else noticed WLOS has locked out the DVR functions on Charter's DVR's. I'm not having any problems with DVR functionality on WLOS. Interestingly enough though, there were reports of that happening out in California a few weeks ago, but it ended up being a result of the cable company doing some upgrade on their end. It was later resolved.

I appeared only on the Prime time shows. Late last night, there was no problem with WLOS. I'll check tonight's prime time shows and see if there if the same problem.

I heard Directv HD locals on Feb 14.

Source?

...from a local installer whom I talk with regularly. First actual "date" I've heard and he was told that by his DTV superiors. We'll see.


barney

...from a local installer whom I talk with regularly. First actual "date" I've heard and he was told that by his DTV superiors. We'll see.

Not trying to beat a dead horse, but especially with DirecTV, their "dates" have always been off. It's usually not totally their fault, from what I've heard. It's usually the companies being jerks about contracts and stuff (ESPN2HD for one example...for the first month or so, NO ONE was watching it ANYWHERE because they wanted a ton of money for it). I love how they're advertising 100 National HD channels by the end of the year. Yeah, okay...I'll believe it when I see it. The only thing they've added this year is TNTHD (I believe...can anyone back me on that?).

If they don't upgrade their service to this area after analog shuts down, then we'll be without NBC unless we go with something other than free OTA.

HOPEFULLY, due to the increasing demand of HD programming reception, they'll fix that problem somehow, especially when analog gets terminated. WYFF seems to be on top of their game, compared to other providers (WSPA for instance...while they were the first on the air, they continue to have issues). And not everyone is going to install an immaculate antenna system, so hopefully they'll work something out.

I think they are saying they will have "capacity" for 150 national HD channels when the new sats launch (is it two to go?). As we all know, there are not nearly that many channels even available yet!
I'm betting our area is very close to locals in HD.

I think they are saying they will have "capacity" for 150 national HD channels when the new sats launch (is it two to go?). As we all know, there are not nearly that many channels even available yet!
I'm betting our area is very close to locals in HD.

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=127160&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=948332&highlight=

DIRECTV, the nation's leading satellite television service provider, is hailing 2007 as the "Year of HD" with the planned launch and carriage of 100 national high-definition (HD) channels.

They say the have 70 signed agreements (or agreements in principle), and list a bunch of networks they will offer. My question is, even with the additional satellites, how "compressed" are these channels going to be? I'd rather have good SD than the pixelized, soft, HD "lite" that they have been known to produce.

and hopefully, HD DVD and Blu Ray disc will educate the masses as to the difference.

Spoke with D* yesterday and they told me that their new go live date for Greenville is indeed Valentine's Day. I guess we will see.

I am having 1 problem that I wondered if others can help me with.

I use an OTA through my D* H20 box for my locals right now and all the channels work great except for the sound on Channel 7 (CBS - WSPA). The picture is great but every few moments, the sound goes off for a second or two then comes right back on. This is the only channel to do it and it gets annoying when watching a game or show.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'm moving to Asheville, NC. Can anyone tell me what hi def DVR Charter cable service offers and how good it is?

Right now I have Comcast/Motorola DVR. If it is at least that good and that cheap I'll take it. Otherwise I'm going to fork out the big bucks and buy a TiVo Series 3. I already have a TiVo 2, which I prefer in all ways except for the lack of hi def and dual tuners.

I use an OTA through my D* H20 box for my locals right now and all the channels work great except for the sound on Channel 7 (CBS - WSPA). The picture is great but every few moments, the sound goes off for a second or two then comes right back on. This is the only channel to do it and it gets annoying when watching a game or show.

What the signal strength that you have? If it's strong and consistent (doesn't peak and then fall a lot), then you should be fine. A while back with FOX there was a similar problem, but a firmware update fixed that.


Just wanted to add that I went to a thrift store today and found a 4228 for $16! Came home and put it up, and it is doing better than my DB4. It says Andrew on it...is that CM or a CM knockoff? Either way, it works great. What a steal!

What the signal strength that you have? If it's strong and consistent (doesn't peak and then fall a lot), then you should be fine. A while back with FOX there was a similar problem, but a firmware update fixed that.


Just wanted to add that I went to a thrift store today and found a 4228 for $16! Came home and put it up, and it is doing better than my DB4. It says Andrew on it...is that CM or a CM knockoff? Either way, it works great. What a steal!

My signal strength is and has always been in the high 80's but I just cannot get rid of this sound pause every few minutes. With the Superbowl coming up, I was hoping to fix it before hand. Like I said before, it doesn't happen on any other channel.

Thanks.

My signal strength is and has always been in the high 80's but I just cannot get rid of this sound pause every few minutes. With the Superbowl coming up, I was hoping to fix it before hand. Like I said before, it doesn't happen on any other channel.

Did a little research with Google and couldn't find much. Seems a lot of people were having issues with the D* HD channels, but didn't say a lot about locals. First off, unplug it for a couple minutes and then plug it back up. Secondly, are you using DD5.1? Via optical or HDMI or just RCA? These are just things I read. A lot of folks seemed to be having DD5.1 problems. Have you searched the AVS Forum? If none of that works, do you have a set of rabbit ears or something like that that you can used temporarily just to MAKE SURE it's not a reception issue? Give it a shot. That is strange that it's only that station and you say you've had a reliable signal. Of course, nothing is a quick fix, right?

I'm moving to Asheville, NC. Can anyone tell me what hi def DVR Charter cable service offers and how good it is?

Right now I have Comcast/Motorola DVR. If it is at least that good and that cheap I'll take it. Otherwise I'm going to fork out the big bucks and buy a TiVo Series 3. I already have a TiVo 2, which I prefer in all ways except for the lack of hi def and dual tuners.

We have the Moxi HD-DVR model BMC-9012 (motorola), which is not bad. They are supposed to release the newest software (4.1) at some point soon, which will allow for external storage, a fast GUI, and some other nice additions. It is usually included in one of their good promotional packages. For instance, for $95, I get 5Mbps down/1Mbps up, the HD package, the family digital tier of channels and the Moxi HD-DVR. not too bad if you consider a Tivo Series 3 costs $800.

I'm moving to Asheville, NC. Can anyone tell me what hi def DVR Charter cable service offers and how good it is?

Right now I have Comcast/Motorola DVR. If it is at least that good and that cheap I'll take it. Otherwise I'm going to fork out the big bucks and buy a TiVo Series 3. I already have a TiVo 2, which I prefer in all ways except for the lack of hi def and dual tuners.

Currently I have Charter, and have the Moxi 9012. I had a tech at my house about 2 months ago, and he told me that Charter will be completely phasing out the Moxi units by September 2007. Now, there are reports from three other states where Charter operates that all new customers, and current Moxi customers who are having Moxi issues, will be receiving the Moto 3416.

The Moxi 4.1 upgrade has been talked about for months and months, but if Charter were really phasing out the Moxi, I don't think the 4.1 upgrade will ever get to the consumer. In fact, Charter CSRs in the Mauldin office will tell you about the phase out, but have no clue about the 4.1 upgrade. The other unmistakable truth about the 4.1 upgrade is that it is a software upgrade. Moxi is long overdue for a hardware upgrade. The software upgrade will supposedly allow external harddrive storage (if Charter allows it), but why should the consumer have to purchase another product for adequate storage? The 4.1 upgrade will obviously not address the following: 1. lack of HDMI 2. Lack of internal storage 3. Charter bickering with GemStar for the rights to their guide interface 4. Overheating issues

Don't get me wrong, I loved the Moxi. Right up until I got HD service and could only record about 6-7 hours. Fortunately it doesn't look like you'll have to deal with those issues, since you'll likely get the Moto 3416 as a new customer.

Did a little research with Google and couldn't find much. Seems a lot of people were having issues with the D* HD channels, but didn't say a lot about locals. First off, unplug it for a couple minutes and then plug it back up. Secondly, are you using DD5.1? Via optical or HDMI or just RCA? These are just things I read. A lot of folks seemed to be having DD5.1 problems. Have you searched the AVS Forum? If none of that works, do you have a set of rabbit ears or something like that that you can used temporarily just to MAKE SURE it's not a reception issue? Give it a shot. That is strange that it's only that station and you say you've had a reliable signal. Of course, nothing is a quick fix, right?

I use an OTA (rabbit ears) now for my local HD channels. I have DD6.1 and I use an optical cable. I have rest the H20 receiver twice now and nothing.

I use an OTA (rabbit ears) now for my local HD channels. I have DD6.1 and I use an optical cable. I have rest the H20 receiver twice now and nothing.

Okay. Try turning off DD5.1 and just let it send out regular audio and see if that does anything. That's the only thing I can think of. I'm sure you WANT DD5.1 though...just trying to narrow it down. Have you called D* and asked them? That is really strange. They might can send you a new unit.

Dashaund, Andrew=Channel Master. Andrews is out of NC I believe. $16 is a steal for that big boy.

D* came by today to install my hd-dvr box, and i asked him about the local channels for the Greenville, Spartanburg area, and he said the go live date is indeed Feb 14th. I told him that the other installers have said that it was going to be jan 24th.. he said yes it was jan 24th then was jan 28th now he got word from his boss saying its gonna be Feb 14th. So lets keep our fingers crossed. By the way has anyone noticed a lag with the captioning on Fox 21? I have emailed them about it but they havent responded at all. and this is with the OTA antanta.

anyone else have MAJOR probs with WSPA's signal yesterday? I could not keep a solid signal, I assume due to the wind. Used the rotor to move the CM 4221, all to no avail. Had to switch to Charter QAM-HD. Surely WSPA was at full strength; anyone else have problems?

anyone else have MAJOR probs with WSPA's signal yesterday? I could not keep a solid signal, I assume due to the wind. Used the rotor to move the CM 4221, all to no avail. Had to switch to Charter QAM-HD. Surely WSPA was at full strength; anyone else have problems?


It came in fine OTA for me.