Just FYI for all you Dish customers...from spoofee(dot)com

Dish Network is currently offering Cinemax for 1 cent if you switch to autopay and paperless billing.

Some people have only received 3 months and some people that already had autopay got a year free too.

If you have Dish Network, follow the following instructions

1. Call 1-800-333-DISH
2. Go to Billing
3. Ask about a Cinemax Promo for 1 Cent for signing up for paperless billing

and one final question (sorry so many) how come like TBS and TNT HD are running either differnet programs than there analog counterparts, or they are about ahead 2 hours, especially on TNT-HD its about 2 hours ahead.

TBS and TNT on the SD side offer a East coast and West coast version. On the HD side only offer a single version(East Coast), so the schedules are occasionally juggled around on the SD side in order for sports or specials to air live on both versions.

Dish Network is currently offering Cinemax for 1 cent if you switch to autopay and paperless billing.
I hear that DirecTV is also doing some sort of Cinemax promotion. You get 3 months free. Procedure is to call and ask. (I haven't gotten around to trying it.)

i dont own dish but from what i read, som people who call dish asking for the cinemax promotion only get 3 months free because that was a match to the direct tv promo, but there is a separate promo for auto pay and paperless billing that you have to have the rep look for. although because so much people are now taking advantage of this deal since it came to light most reps are now informed and know what you're calling about. basically the promo is one year of cinemax for one cent. and some were even told the 2nd year could be renewed again for one cent. others werent so lucky and were told if they did not cancel at the end of the first year they would be charged regular price for the 2nd.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow, I dont think this is published info, could be proprietary.

wasnt there a list posted on this site? im thinking it was actually in this thread, but i cant see myself searching through the 100+ pages :)

Looks like OTW just got AE, Food Network, and MTV added.

Looks like OTW just got AE, Food Network, and MTV added.Have had A&E and Food for a couple weeks now over here. Thought they would add the other channels still missing from our lineup, but still no CNN, History, MTV, H&G or Lifetime. Not that I care about Lifetime. :rolleyes: How 'bout KGMB or NFL Network, Oceanic??? At least the Super Bowl is on Fox this year...

Have had A&E and Food for a couple weeks now over here. Thought they would add the other channels still missing from our lineup, but still no CNN, History, MTV, H&G or Lifetime. Not that I care about Lifetime. :rolleyes: How 'bout KGMB or NFL Network, Oceanic??? At least the Super Bowl is on Fox this year...

We just got HGTV and MTV yesterday in Hilo, along with Food and A&E.

According to KITV, Oceanic received a large supply of HD boxes recently. I'm a bit surprised at the number of people on the waiting list. Hope none of them are expecting to watch KGMB in HD.

http://www.kitv.com/entertainment/14908224/detail.html

HONOLULU -- Oceanic Cable on Friday said it has received a shipment of 6,000 new high-definition cable boxes from the mainland after running out in recent weeks.

The company ran out of boxes when customers took the surplus of HD boxes for Christmas and the college football bowl season, including the Hawaii vs. Georgia game in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.

Oceanic said the boxes are ready for pickup starting on Friday and that it will keep the Mililani Technology Park office open on extended hours from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. to offer customers the chance to get their boxes before Christmas.

There are more than 3,000 people on a waiting list for the boxes, Oceanic officials said. They said the boxes will be given on a first-come-first-served basis.

are you talking about MHD (which is a MTV/VH1/CMT video and concert channel) or do you actually have the MTV-HD channel. i got the MHD channel and am waiting for MTV-HD as well as Discovery Channel HD, Science Channel HD, and TLC HD. Discovery HD Theatre is great but i like the program on Discover Channel and TLC too.

also does anyone know if we are going to get that NAVIGATOR software upgrade??? i heard there was bugs from the forums, but it looks way nicer than our SARA platform...more eye appealing.

Just got a new Sharp HDTV. After hooking it up to my cable feed, here's what it found using the autotune feature. (Not all HD.)

79.7 Discovery Health?
83.1 NBC?
85.1 BET
85.2 Nicktoons
85.5 MTV
85.8 FOX
86.2 PBS
106.1 NBC
106.2 K5
106.3 ?
106.4 CBS
106.5 Shopping?
106.6 ?
106.7 ?

this is an e-mail i received from Oceanic today....
While the programming is simulcast, we take the West Coast feed for many
analog and digital networks but most networks only offer aone feel -
East Coast- for their HD programming which puts the schedule 2 hours off
during standard time (3 during daylight savings) ESPN and ESPN2 do not
have a West Coast feed (delaying live sports is very unpopular) so they
are truly simulcast. The only other networks currently offering HD West
Coast feeds are some of the premium movie channels.

Because networks program in day-part blocks, it is to Hawaii's advantage
that we take a west coast feed when available as we can then air prime
time programming closer to Hawaii's prime time and don't air network
infomercials at 8 or 9PM Hawaii time.

We recently added CNN, Food, HGTV, History, Lifetime Movie Net, A&E, TBS
and MHD (MTV HD), Cinemax, STARZ, and The Movie Channel in High
Definition and as soon as contracts are signed for Discovery, The
Learning Channel, Science, Animal Planet, AMC, Fuse, IFC, WE, USA,
Sci-Fi and Bravo we will add those as well. There are many more
contracts under consideration but those are the ones we are told will
(hopefully) be completed in the near future.

Mikel51, I had never even thought about plugging my straight cable into the HDTV to see what I could see. I've been using over the air only. So I after reading your post, I took my analog Oceanic feed and hooked up to my HDTV and tried scanning all the additonal channels (telling my TV that I had a cable feed, rather than OTA). My scan found nothing.

What type of Oceanic feed do you have? Basic cable?

Does your HDTV have a QAM tuner?

Spleen

Mikel51, I had never even thought about plugging my straight cable into the HDTV to see what I could see. I've been using over the air only. So I after reading your post, I took my analog Oceanic feed and hooked up to my HDTV and tried scanning all the additonal channels (telling my TV that I had a cable feed, rather than OTA). My scan found nothing.

What type of Oceanic feed do you have? Basic cable?

=================
LM-
what kind of TV do you have? Maybe it doesn't have a quam tuner. I have basic analog cable and I can detect a lot of digital channels on my cheap vizio tv.

Learned something new thanks to your posts. I only have a ASTC tuner, not a QAM.

For those that care, here is the wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAM_tuner

Postscript: Found my other TV does have QAM capabilities.

Thanks! This is exactly what I was looking for!

Just got a new Sharp HDTV. After hooking it up to my cable feed, here's what it found using the autotune feature. (Not all HD.)

79.7 Discovery Health?
83.1 NBC?
85.1 BET
85.2 Nicktoons
85.5 MTV
85.8 FOX
86.2 PBS
106.1 NBC
106.2 K5
106.3 ?
106.4 CBS
106.5 Shopping?
106.6 ?
106.7 ?

Does KHON ever show primetime in HD? I use OTW, they have the HD KHON channel, but I've just realized that the House episodes I recorded on that channel were pillarboxed, and so is Spider-Man 2 tonight. What gives?

Does KHON ever show primetime in HD? I use OTW, they have the HD KHON channel, but I've just realized that the House episodes I recorded on that channel were pillarboxed, and so is Spider-Man 2 tonight. What gives?

==================
No...They have the hardware to do it. But one of their video servers is down now. Also, they lack the storage capacity and the manpower to run it. The sale of the station has gutted their technical crew.:mad:

Does Oceanic broadcast KITV unprotected on the analog side? I've found NBC and FOX and I know KGMB does not - but what about KITV?

Mahalos.

For years KITV's QAM channel number was 114.1, but that may have changed since Oceanic added KITV's Weather Now channel.

heh, i just noticed the extra filters in the advanced search settings and thought it wouldnt be that hard to find the post in this extremely long thread. here it is from RustyC who did a nice job compiling the list of findings. unfortunately this was last updated almost a year ago. so you may find a lot of the channels encrypted. i dont think they can encrypt the local stations though. so no matter what you should be able to get those.

I've been trying to find a complete listing of Oceanic's QAM stations but haven't found one. This is what I have from auto-scan. Anyone else have anything different?

77.1 SportsChoice
77.3 NewsChoice
79.4 Discovery Health
79.6 Discovery Spanish
79.7 Fit TV
81.8 DIY
81.26 Music Choice
83.1 BET <----no longer unencrypted
83.3 KHNL-HD (NBC)
85.3 KHON-HD (Fox)
85.4 CW <----no longer unencrypted
102.8 HMSA
102.9 Pentagon
102.10 Inspiration
103.11 Fox Sports Spanish
104.3 America's Store
104.5 GSNw
104.9 QVC
104.10 PPV Preview
104.11 HSN
106.1 KHNL-DT (NBC)
106.2 KFVE
106.3 KIKU
106.4 KGMB-DT (CBS)
106.5 KBFD
106.7 Jewelry TV
106.8 KBS
108.2 C-Span 2
108.5 C-Span 3
114.2 KITV-HD (ABC)

updated 1/30/2007

is it just me or do some of the HD channels that oceanic offers seem heavily compressed. I mean ESPN and ESPN2 HD are very high quality, but when i watch like MHD and HDNET seem to have a little more jagged edges and that blocking that come swith digital??? you think they will be improving it in the future by providing more bandwidth for HD?

It should be interesting to see how many more local HDTV - computer forum members we get from Hawaii after all the HDTV sales this season and with Oceanic getting through their "waiting list" for the HD boxes. There was an Advertiser article last week that said they got in a shipment of 6,000 Sci Atl HD-DVR boxes.

is it just me or do some of the HD channels that oceanic offers seem heavily compressed.
It definitely 'aint just you...:cool:

howzit redsandvb... i like your sig.... which one did you choose, or you still ont he fence. i was thinking the blu-ray but thinking about just waiting. couple prediction sites i went to have said by mid 2008 its gonna be runaway for one or the other probably bluray and by Q4 2008 there will only be one......but as we all know its wishful thinking

also its good to know that i ain't the only one with compressed HD. i'm up in the nuuanu area. i hope that they increase the quality cuz D*TV sadly only has programin on east coast timing for a lot of programs and channels so woudl have to use the DVR heavily to have something to watch after 10pm... so oceanic kinda has the best to offer to me right now.

I got an HD DVD because they are only a couple hundred dollars and you can rent the movies from Netflix... I would get a Blue-ray if they lower their prices to the same level. I am getting a great picture, plenty of movies to rent and it does a very good job up-converting normal DVDs too! I figured why wait... especially when you can rent. It's going to take years, if ever, for this to be decided.

howzit redsandvb... i like your sig.... which one did you choose, or you still ont he fence. i was thinking the blu-ray but thinking about just waiting. couple prediction sites i went to have said by mid 2008 its gonna be runaway for one or the other probably bluray and by Q4 2008 there will only be one......but as we all know its wishful thinking

also its good to know that i ain't the only one with compressed HD. i'm up in the nuuanu area. i hope that they increase the quality cuz D*TV sadly only has programin on east coast timing for a lot of programs and channels so woudl have to use the DVR heavily to have something to watch after 10pm... so oceanic kinda has the best to offer to me right now.

Still on the fence. Don't want to spend money on 2 players. 'Till Paramount and Dreamworks went HD exclusive, thought there was a chance the war would end sooner rather than later...Maybe if Warner dumps HD...who knows. If the Samsung BD-UP5000 were a couple hundred bucks cheaper and worked like it's supposed to I'd think about getting it.

I think Oceanic's HD is the way it is because of this:To those of you that have talked about the PQ of the three new HD channels that are on in a free view tell the end of the month, I can tell you why you see a difference between them and INHD and INHD2. OTWC like other MSO's has a bandwidth problem (we don't have room to add more channels) yet we have to add more new channels (per TWC). To do this we are starting to use a "statmux" ( statistical multiplexer). The "statmux" allows use to put three HD channels on one 6MHz "channel" instead of 2. The down side as some of you can see is a minor loss of PQ on these channels. But I ask you which would you rather have two new HD channels that look great or three new HD channels that almost look great?
That's from post #287 in this thread, http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=3578726#post3578726

More info on that in post #1164, http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6646958#post6646958

:cool:

that is one pretty BS reponse if you ask me. i, prolly like everyone here, want it all :) i want a lot of HD channels and them to all be GREAT quality....i hope when hawaiian tel com launches there TV service they don't have this problem....whenever that should happen. and too bad directtv and dish network dont have really any programing for us after like 10PM so we kinda just stuck with that STATMUX junk....but at least it looks "ALMOST GREAT" hahaha

is it just me or do some of the HD channels that oceanic offers seem heavily compressed. I mean ESPN and ESPN2 HD are very high quality, but when i watch like MHD and HDNET seem to have a little more jagged edges and that blocking that come swith digital???I've noticed that the primetime stuff on KITV (Dirty Sexy Money, Ugly Betty, Pushing Daisy, etc.) has looked awful lately, tons of artifacts, whereas it used have some impressive pictures before.

I've noticed that the primetime stuff on KITV (Dirty Sexy Money, Ugly Betty, Pushing Daisy, etc.) has looked awful lately, tons of artifacts, whereas it used have some impressive pictures before.

==============
Hello,

Was this on cable, dish, or air?
Can you describe what you saw with a little more detail? Was the picture like low resolution internet video? or perhaps just glitchy and intermittent? Did the programs start ok and suddenly go bad? Would the artifacts happen on fast motion scenes or on everything? I know some people at KITV who would be very interested to hear about what you saw.

But I ask you which would you rather have two new HD channels that look great or three new HD channels that almost look great?
That's a no-brainer. Two 1080i channels that look great. Pixelated HD is worse than good SD (except for being widescreen) and almost as frustrating as snowy SD.

One exception: if they put three 720p stations like ESPN, ESPN2, NatGeo on one 6 Mhz channel, I'm pretty sure they'd look just great.

i hope when hawaiian tel com launches there TV service they don't have this problemI'm sure there will be enough problems to satisfy any HD masochist. :D

is it just me or do some of the HD channels that oceanic offers seem heavily compressed. I mean ESPN and ESPN2 HD are very high quality, but when i watch like MHD and HDNET seem to have a little more jagged edges and that blocking that come swith digital??? you think they will be improving it in the future by providing more bandwidth for HD?

MHD is a SDV channel. I think it is like that either because the signal is just like that or because a lot of people are tuned into SDV in your area, that it compresses the signal more if more people are tuned into SDV.

is it just me or do some of the HD channels that oceanic offers seem heavily compressed. I mean ESPN and ESPN2 HD are very high quality, but when i watch like MHD and HDNET seem to have a little more jagged edges and that blocking that come swith digital??? you think they will be improving it in the future by providing more bandwidth for HD?

Still on the fence. Don't want to spend money on 2 players. 'Till Paramount and Dreamworks went HD exclusive, thought there was a chance the war would end sooner rather than later...Maybe if Warner dumps HD...who knows. If the Samsung BD-UP5000 were a couple hundred bucks cheaper and worked like it's supposed to I'd think about getting it.

I think Oceanic's HD is the way it is because of this:
That's from post #287 in this thread, http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=3578726#post3578726

More info on that in post #1164, http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6646958#post6646958

:cool:

I don't think OTW is shoving 3 HD's on to one QAM. That thread you pointed to was over 3 years ago. I checked the diagnostic screens and I could only find 2 HD's on to one QAM channel.

BTW, PQ didn't look so great one year ago. I remebered that ESPN HD didn't look that great and also HDNET looked pretty bad. At least HDNET looks way better than before.

Found KITV HD - It's now 114.2 on QAM.

Hello,

Was this on cable, dish, or air?
Can you describe what you saw with a little more detail? Was the picture like low resolution internet video? or perhaps just glitchy and intermittent? Did the programs start ok and suddenly go bad? Would the artifacts happen on fast motion scenes or on everything? I know some people at KITV who would be very interested to hear about what you saw.
I have Oceanic Cable. The picture just seems to have intermittant glitchyness, and it is throughout the entire program, regardless of the amount of motion in the scene. Nowhere near as bad as internet or even SD resolution, but there are artifacts that never seemed to be there before. I just had some friends over today and was showing them my HDTV setup. I played a bit of Ugly Betty I had on my 8300HD and they asked me, "What's the matter with the picture?" It's not just the fact that it was recorded on the 8300, because I've seen it live too. Maybe it's just me since no one else seems to be chiming in with agreement?

i know waht your talking about. i usually does it to me like on the upper middle of the picture and while its doing that i'll lose sound for a brief moment thne it will sync back up and be all good. i think its the cable box but not sure.

i also have the problem that other ppl mentioned of, when you record analog programing (SD) to the DVR its very blocky when you play it back, i think because it converts it to a digital signal and compresses the heck out of it hahaha

Here on Kona side of the Big Island, channels 10 (PBS), 12 (KITV), 16 (OC16), and 21 (ESPN2) are down. Channel 3 is showing a downconversion of the HD feed of Hawaii vs Georgia in letterbox (grey bars). At one point I saw the HD box graphic on the bottom right of the screen saying "1080i standard", "1080i zoom". Apparently channel 3 is coming out of a regular Sci-Atlanta HD cable box and they haven't figured out how to crop the picture to 4:3.

Hint: change the HD box to SD-only mode.

Did anyone else lose the Sugar Bowl over QAM coax cable access of the FOX HD channel? About 20 minutes into the game, the channel went dark and I was forced to go back to the regular analog channel.

Did anyone else lose the Sugar Bowl over QAM coax cable access of the FOX HD channel? About 20 minutes into the game, the channel went dark and I was forced to go back to the regular analog channel.
==========================
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080102/NEWS01/801020397/1001

Apparently it was more than just QAM. See the article in the advertiser.:(

The picture just seems to have intermittant glitchyness, and it is throughout the entire program, regardless of the amount of motion in the scene.


You may want to have Oceanic test the signal strength to the box. I used to have similar problems until they swapped out all the older coax "T" adapters that were originally installed with the house with the newer ones.

Did anyone else lose the Sugar Bowl over QAM coax cable access of the FOX HD channel? About 20 minutes into the game, the channel went dark and I was forced to go back to the regular analog channel.


Worked fine for me; I taped the whole game to DVHS via the QAM channel since the firewire on the box isn't really working. Wanted to save this in all it's HD glory, but don't think I'll be watching it again. In fact may just record over it.

MHD is a SDV channel. I think it is like that either because the signal is just like that or because a lot of people are tuned into SDV in your area, that it compresses the signal more if more people are tuned into SDV.

Are you sure that SDV acts this way? My understanding of SDV is that if anyone in your area tunes to a SDV channel, everyone on that node will receive the channel, whether or not they tune to it. I've never heard about increased compression based on the number of households tuned to the station. But then I'm no expert on SDV (except that it makes my TIVO S3 cablecards useless).

Fiesta Bowl only in SD?

Edit: FWIW, it's also in SD OTA.

Fiesta Bowl only in SD?

Edit: FWIW, it's also in SD OTA.

Same with DirecTV.

How is this possible?

Are you sure that SDV acts this way? My understanding of SDV is that if anyone in your area tunes to a SDV channel, everyone on that node will receive the channel, whether or not they tune to it. I've never heard about increased compression based on the number of households tuned to the station. But then I'm no expert on SDV (except that it makes my TIVO S3 cablecards useless).My understanding is all channels are sent to the node and the switched channels sit there until someone on that node tunes that channel. I don't believe any compression is done at the node itself, but I too am no expert.

Here's an informative article that explains how SDV works.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6463724.html

sat guy
any truth to the fact we will soon be able to get dishnetwork running on 1 dish at my house this includes hd channels and top 200 package

i just got an e-mail from Oceanic Cable Help Desk representative LONNIE SHUPP. she answered a lot of my questions that i had. here it is;
Yes, we too will be going from SARA to a system involving Mystro. While
I don't have the exact date, it is scheduled for this year.

In 2009 all broadcasters must broadcast in digital and TVs that are not
on cable will no longer be able to pick up broadcast signals off air
without purchase of a digital to analog converter. Cable customers will
not be affected as Oceanic will continue to convert digital signals to
analog for analog customers.

Presently all channels on our analog lineup (many of which have been
down-converted from a digital signal) are simply opened up on the
digital lineup. In 2008 we will begin simulcasting all channels in
digital so digital customers will see a clearer signal on channels such
as Discovery.

We digitize broadcasters' signals for several reasons - clearer picture
and, because we place the digital channels on a different frequency, we
eliminate interference that some cable customers experience from signal
ingress (loose connectors, etc) when the broadcast tower is near their
residence.

All HD signals are passed straight through from the network to our
customers. The difference you will see in signal quality among HD
networks will be the amount of true HD programming (shot with HD
cameras), the amount of up-converted programming and the source from
which programs are up-converted as well as the up-conversion methods
used. For example, an old film shot in movie (13mm) format, would
up-convert better than something shot in digital and there are methods
of up-conversion that stretch only the sides of the pictures vs. the
entire picture. All HD broadcasts will improve with time as the
majority of new shows shot will be done with HD equipment.

And no, you will not have to purchase a digital to analog box for any TV
set that is on cable!

Hope this helps. Feel free to contact me if I missed anything or if you
have further questions.

Happy 2008!

Lonnie


if this is the case....we too will have 100% digital programing and we will have a lot more options to receive HD channels with the SDV implementation. maybe another reason to stick it out with Oceanic for a little while longer.

All HD signals are passed straight through from the network to our customers.I suppose one could read this as meaning the signal is passed through untouched by Oceanic, but she didn't say that. Whatever the case is, the picture quality on all HD channels is much improved from what it was a year ago, and it's possible that any problems we might be seeing are from the source. So I guess the days of rate shaping are gone for good.

i'm pretty sure as some people have pointed out that the signals have to TOUCHED by oceanic in order to compress them to put two on one QAM channel.

but at any rate i'm excited to get the digital simulcasts of all the channels while we wait for our shot at the vast number of HD channels available.

For those who need to get a "converter box" for OTA:

https://www.dtv2009.gov/

I don't think OTW is shoving 3 HD's on to one QAM.
HDNET, HDNET Movies, and HD Theater are on the same one aren't they?

In the past, haven't they been some of the worst? Not the greatest right now, either, I'd say.

I used to be able to get KHNL via OTA, but have recently not been able to receive it. I can get KFVE 5.1 fine, but no KHNL. The funny thing is that when I change to 13.1, it doesn't give me a lost signal message like it does with other channels. Instead, the screen stays black. I live in Kapahulu and have an indoor Terk OTA that is passed through my E* 622 receiver. Is anyone else having this problem?

Finally, check out this link http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/3222/76/

Finally, check out this link http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/3222/76/

Everyday I come home and check to see if 1007 exists. Hoping that one day it will appear. What do you know, today is the day. This is great news, and it's about time!

It will be great to see the Masters in HD this April.

Thank you Oceanic and KGMB.

Finally, check out this link http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/3222/76/Does this include those of us on "fiber challenged" islands?? :rolleyes: We still don't have History and a few others... :(

Yay!!! HD-KGMB. My domain name boycottkgmb.com was just about to expire.... now I don't have to pay $10 to revew it another year!

Finally, check out this link http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/3222/76/
"We're really excited from KGMB9's perspective here to start high def, starting Thursday night. We hope to get our whole primetime lineup on and I wanna be real clear here. We have the ability to store, capture and broadcast everything that we receive in high definition, so it won't just be the live sporting events, it'll be everything," said Blangiardi.

This news comes just in time for football fans and the next round of the NFL playoffs this weekend.

KGMB9 News expects to go HD in the coming months.
Finally! All 5 big locals in Hawaii have an HD station on cable. And we may even get the first HD newscasts in Hawaii soon, too!

Next item on the list:
KHON needs to get their primetime going in HD.

That's great, thanks for the link rascalmarc.


"KGMB9 News expects to go HD in the coming months."

Hmm I wonder what that means.

Finally! All 5 big locals in Hawaii have an HD station on cable. And we may even get the first HD newscasts in Hawaii soon, too!

Next item on the list:
KHON needs to get their primetime going in HD.

then after that:
let's get some CW in HD!

great news about kgmb

here's the story from the star bulletin

http://starbulletin.com/breaking/breaking.php?id=6612

The station’s studio and field cameras for newsgathering are HD-ready, and “our next big step will be to get the right equipment so everything we do locally will be in high-def,” Blangiardi said.

Hallelulah! Survivor, Amazing Race and David Letterman in HD. Yes!

I wonder who gave in on the stalemate; Oceanic or KGMB...

Hallelulah! Survivor, Amazing Race and David Letterman in HD. Yes!

I wonder who gave in on the stalemate; Oceanic or KGMB...

well, no survivor or amazing race in HD yet since they still film in SD. hopefully they will go HD at some point in the future.

KGMB in HD... I must be dreaming.
Is it real? I'm watching it, but still don't believe it.

the kgmb i'm watching now on 1007 is it true HD or is it just the upconverted SD channel cuz i thought they said they woudln't start the HD till tommorow night. if currently its just upconverted SD from 0007 then man they got some excellent equipment cuz it has to be some of the best upconversion i've seen.

For those of you using QAM, KGMB HD is coming in on 99.1

I wonder who gave in on the stalemate; Oceanic or KGMB...My guess is Blangiardi folded like a house of cards. Seriously, if Oceanic made concessions to KGMB in order to carry their HD signal, then the other locals have every right to ask for the same when carriage agreements come up for renegotiation.

It's about #$%#@%@#$% time! I was toying with the idea of starting a petition drive to send to each of KGMB's local advertisers, asking them to withhold their advertizing until KGMB finally saw the light...or at least threaten to. Good. Now I have time for some of the other 5000 hare-brained schemes swirling in the back of my scrambled brain!

Finally!!! KGMB in HD. I couldn't believe my eyes as I used the remote and 1007 was there and then right on cue they started talking about it on the news that was on at the time. Letterman looked better than Leno tonight. Thank you KGMB and Oceanic! No more horrible SD football. And more HD primetime programming. it's like Christmas all over again. I look forward to them doing their newscasts in HD now.

the kgmb i'm watching now on 1007 is it true HD or is it just the upconverted SD channel cuz i thought they said they woudln't start the HD till tommorow night. if currently its just upconverted SD from 0007 then man they got some excellent equipment cuz it has to be some of the best upconversion i've seen.
Yeah they said you may get some content a day early because they're testing things out. The good news, according to KGMB, is that programming is captured & recorded in HD, no upconversion. It's the real deal all the way through the pipeline. :)

YAY! Blangiardi for coach! j/k let's not get carried away.

The good news, according to KGMB, is that programming is captured & recorded in HD, no upconversion. It's the real deal all the way through the pipeline. :)
I wonder if Oceanic and/or KGMB were waiting until the installation of their new HD server/equipment was completed before finalizing a deal? ...Because they just started showing everything+letterman (vs 1 or 2 shows a nite) in HD a few weeks ago or so. Ya think Oceanic might have hepled pay for KGMB's HD equipment and installation?

Ya think Oceanic might have hepled pay for KGMB's HD equipment and installation?[/QUOTE]

===============
Surely you jest.:p

Hey guys. I'm new to Honolulu. What are your options for getting HD channels whether it be by OTA, satellite, FIOS, or cable? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

What are your options for getting HD channels whether it be by OTA, satellite, FIOS, or cable?
No FIOS. ABC, NBC (not satellite), CBS, PBS, Fox available OTA (depending on your location), cable, Dish, and DirecTV (except as noted). For non-local HD, DirecTV has most, Dish next, Oceanic cable trailing (but doing well as compared with other cable systems).

For those of you using QAM, KGMB HD is coming in on 99.1

can anyone else confirm this? im getting nothing on 99.1

can anyone else confirm this? im getting nothing on 99.1KGMB-HD ch 1007 just became active on Maui this morning. Punched in 99.1 and wasn't getting anything either. Did a channel scan and it came up on 104.3, so it must be mapped differently over here. Do a channel scan and your tuner should find it.

Price is Right is on now in 1080i, but it's not widescreen. Not sure if it's shot in HD. Are you guys over on Oahu seeing this fullscreen, or in 4:3 with bars on the sides??

I'm getting it on 99.3 on Oahu

Mike

KGMB-HD ch 1007 just became active on Maui this morning. Punched in 99.1 and wasn't getting anything either. Did a channel scan and it came up on 104.3, so it must be mapped differently over here. Do a channel scan and your tuner should find it.

Price is Right is on now in 1080i, but it's not widescreen. Not sure if it's shot in HD. Are you guys over on Oahu seeing this fullscreen, or in 4:3 with bars on the sides??

=======================
Price is Right is not produced in HD.

Price is Right is on now in 1080i, but it's not widescreen. Not sure if it's shot in HD. Are you guys over on Oahu seeing this fullscreen, or in 4:3 with bars on the sides??


HD Programming on KGMB:

All Primetime programming except Newsmag Shows(60 Min) and "Reality" shows (Survivor).
All Live Sports(NFL/NCAA)
David Letterman
Young and the Restless

Jeopardy! is available in HD but KGMB is currently not capturing the HD feed.

CBS News Programming(Early Show/Evening News) is scheduled to go HD this summer.

No FIOS. ABC, NBC (not satellite), CBS, PBS, Fox available OTA (depending on your location), cable, Dish, and DirecTV (except as noted). For non-local HD, DirecTV has most, Dish next, Oceanic cable trailing (but doing well as compared with other cable systems).

Thanks for the info. Do you know which one does best as far as post processing and compression? I had cable card so I had little to no compression and didn't have to deal with a box trying to rescale a signal.

Getting it on 104.2

Being on the West side of the Big Island, I'd also be interested in learning what the plans are for digital broadcasting from the new antennae site on Maui's Ulupalakua ranch. Are there towers up there, yet? Will they start broadcasting DT before 2009?
================
I heard that there might be environmental issues involving birds.:confused:

Thanks for the info. Do you know which one does best as far as post processing and compression? I had cable card so I had little to no compression and didn't have to deal with a box trying to rescale a signal.

Dish and Directv both take the OTA signal, reformat to Mpeg4 and send that out over it's system.
Oceanic has a direct fiber link to all the stations, they then send the broadcast compliant Mpeg2 feed out over their system.

As far as National HD basic channels available in Hawaii goes:

Directv 52 channels
Oceanic 19 channels
Dish 10 channels

if you add PPV, locals, Premiums:

Directv 86 channels
Oceanic 42 channels
Dish 22 channels

Thanks. Where I'm planning on living, it doesn't look like satellite will be an option. Do the HD cable boxes offered by Oceanic give you the option to pass through the signal? I know that FIOS cable boxes forced you to choose an output resolution, when watching an HD channel, which introduced many artifacts further worsened when the tv tried to rescale that image to its native resolution. Thanks guys for all the help. I'm looking forward to watching HD on Oahu soon.

ogbuehi,

Yes, Oceanic uses Scientific Atlanta cable boxes and do have the option of native resolution output.

can anyone else confirm this? im getting nothing on 99.1

I can catch the exact same feed on channel 99.3 and channel zero. The tuner only picks up channel zero not 99.3 but if I manually enter 99.3 with the remote the CBS-HD is there.

ogbuehi,

Yes, Oceanic uses Scientific Atlanta cable boxes and do have the option of native resolution output.

What's the advantage of this? or what kind of tv do you have to have to take advantage of this feature? My tv's native resolution is 1080i, so I believe my box is set to this. Would it for some reason be better to set it to pass thru?

Both my Sony tuners pickup KGMB HD on QAM 99.3 and the Mitsubishi tuner relocates it below channel 1. I can't directly tune it on the Mits so I have to tune channel 1 and use the down channel button to get to KGMB HD.

Mike

What's the advantage of this? or what kind of tv do you have to have to take advantage of this feature? My tv's native resolution is 1080i, so I believe my box is set to this. Would it for some reason be better to set it to pass thru?It's an issue of picture quality. I compared and found the scaler in my TV does a better job than the one in the 8300. The picture improvement is small, but noticeable. The downside is my TV takes a little bit longer to sync to changing resolutions when switching channels.

Greetings,

Did Chinese space junk hit our satellite and move it off course just enough for my problem to appear? OK, I'm joking, but...

I am a DirecTV subscriber and have been very pleased with their HD offerings. However, I noticed last Sunday that the pixilation was horrible. As it turns out, all HBO-HD offerings appear this way.. Choppy picture and the sound goes in and out. It happens on channel 70, 501, and 508, as well as the HBOW-HD channel. Is it just my dish/receiver, or is anyone else having a problem in Hawaii with _only_ the HBO HD channels (Show, TLC, Food, NFL-HD, etc all come up fine...)

Any comments appreciated...

My 70, 501, 504, 508 are fine -- I just checked.

I don't get any of the 70 channels nor any of the HD channels off the 110 satellite. I have a 1.2 meter 5 LNB dish and live in Mililani. Installers say I have to wait until D*11 goes up. Can anyone confirm this? Thanks.

It's an issue of picture quality. I compared and found the scaler in my TV does a better job than the one in the 8300. The picture improvement is small, but noticeable. The downside is my TV takes a little bit longer to sync to changing resolutions when switching channels.


Thanks, for the reply. I'll do some testing with my 2 tv's and see if I can see a difference.

What's the advantage of this? or what kind of tv do you have to have to take advantage of this feature? My tv's native resolution is 1080i, so I believe my box is set to this. Would it for some reason be better to set it to pass thru?

What usually happens is when the cable box is set to scale all HD resolutions to one resolution causes problems. No matter what signal the box is getting it will rescale it to the preset resolution. So even if the box is getting a 1080i (or 720p) resolution from the channel, and is set to output 1080i (or 720p) it will still rescale the signal. This introduces artifacts to the picture. And if your tv is not native 1080i or 720p your set will try rescale the this signal again with the artifacts from the box and it winds up looking horrible.

It's better to set the box to pass-through (do nothing to the signal) and just let the tv do the scaling. Cable boxes haven't got the scaling thing down at all as far as I've seen. I may be tempted to get a box. I was just loving cablecard as that's on less device I had to program my Harmony remote for and plus cable boxes look ugly. But the HD lineup for cable card is worse than Dish Networks lineup.

I don't get any of the 70 channels nor any of the HD channels off the 110 satellite. I have a 1.2 meter 5 LNB dish and live in Mililani. Installers say I have to wait until D*11 goes up. Can anyone confirm this? Thanks.
I can't confirm, but it could have to do with what sky you can see. I'm in Waimanalo and have a good view to the east, where I understand the satellites are. They gave me one 2 LNB 1.2 meter dish and one 3 LNB 1.2 meter dish. I get all the channels.

KGMB-HD ch 1007 just became active on Maui this morning. Punched in 99.1 and wasn't getting anything either. Did a channel scan and it came up on 104.3, so it must be mapped differently over here. Do a channel scan and your tuner should find it.

Price is Right is on now in 1080i, but it's not widescreen. Not sure if it's shot in HD. Are you guys over on Oahu seeing this fullscreen, or in 4:3 with bars on the sides??

I can catch the exact same feed on channel 99.3 and channel zero. The tuner only picks up channel zero not 99.3 but if I manually enter 99.3 with the remote the CBS-HD is there.

i have a sony bravia and it picked it up as channel 0 (and also 99.3...my TV wouldnt pick it up on a scan, but if i manually enter the channel it works) :) it was great to see the CBS games in HD finally. i compared regular programming like the local news from the HD channel (0) and the kgmb digital channel and even though it was in SD, the HD channel was a nice improvement in picture quality.

my tv displays 720p/1080i/1080p and i noticed the NBC stuff is in 1080i. I thought i read that the CBS stuff was in 1080i also, but I believe when i pulled up the display info on something I was watching it showed 720p. didnt really bother me though because i couldnt tell the difference. they both look great.

I have a Sony S3000 which is only 720P but when I watch CBS-HD the info bar says it's in 1080i. Only ABC-HD is in 720P according to the info bar, the other 3 networks are all 1080i.

does anyone know if KHON will start ever broadcasting shows in HD. i think they are the only local station that doesn't right? we got KGMB so we just need a push on them too... i know they broadcast the sugar bowl in hd but i think that was the only thing i seen but i only got HD in december 07.

does anyone know if KHON will start ever broadcasting shows in HD. i think they are the only local station that doesn't right? we got KGMB so we just need a push on them too... i know they broadcast the sugar bowl in hd but i think that was the only thing i seen but i only got HD in december 07.

=================
see posts 12/24/07

does anyone know if KHON will start ever broadcasting shows in HD. i think they are the only local station that doesn't right? we got KGMB so we just need a push on them too... i know they broadcast the sugar bowl in hd but i think that was the only thing i seen but i only got HD in december 07.

I thought American Idol was going to be in HD but it wasn't. The Oceanic programming guides says it should be. Is Oceanic rescaling for their subscribers? I'm watching on QAM so maybe I don't get it.

the post is on 12/23/07 on i think page 134. yea i thought it was going to be in HD to thats y i asked because american idol was in HD since 2006 i think i was reading, plus a lot of other programs that fox broadcasts in primetime. from what i been reading KGMB and KHON are owned by the same company so hopefully the HD programming for KHON will be coming soon. i asked because all the other networks are broadcasting their primetime in HD and am looking foreward to watch what fox has to offer. maybe we gotta start e-mailing and asking KHON like kgmb.

if anyone has a more recent update on the situation than the one from last month, that would be great.

==================
No...They have the hardware to do it. But one of their video servers is down now. Also, they lack the storage capacity and the manpower to run it. The sale of the station has gutted their technical crew.:mad:

===========
my post from 12/24..
KHON and KGMB parted ways about a year or so ago. KHON then fired a bunch of people, including many techs and engineering staff. Then when they decided to run the 9.2 stream, it added more stress to their remaining techs and hardware. The boys down there are pretty well screwed technically.:mad:

if anyone has a more recent update on the situation than the one from last month, that would be great.

===================
To remedy their HD problem, they need more skilled staff and server storage space. Both items cost TREMENDOUS amounts of dollars. So I would not hold my breath.:eek:

===========
my post from 12/24..
KHON and KGMB parted ways about a year or so ago. KHON then fired a bunch of people, including many techs and engineering staff. Then when they decided to run the 9.2 stream, it added more stress to their remaining techs and hardware. The boys down there are pretty well screwed technically.:mad:

==========
correction, I meant to say they added 2.2 CW stream not 9.2 obviously.:eek:

That's pretty lame. Couldn't they run a subchannel that was just a re-broadcast of the FOX west coast HD feed? That way they would not have to record anything. We'd get all our shows a bit early but at least we could DVR any HD shows we wanted to watch.

Or couldn;t Oceanic step up to the plate and record the HD primetime for KHON?

That's pretty lame. Couldn't they run a subchannel that was just a re-broadcast of the FOX west coast HD feed? That way they would not have to record anything. We'd get all our shows a bit early but at least we could DVR any HD shows we wanted to watch.

Or couldn;t Oceanic step up to the plate and record the HD primetime for KHON?

==============
"Lame" perhaps on the part of station management.
Technically, both of your suggestions are easier said than done.
Financially, I don't think the station gets much, if anything, by sending out HD. So where is the incentive to spend money to do it? I think that people will watch Joe Moore and American Idol regardless of picture quality.

Last nite KFVE news (and maybe KHNL, I don't know I missed it) said Oceanic will add 6 new HD channels by the end of February. Anyone happen to know what the're going to be?

FWIW, KGMB is now airing Jeopardy! in HD.

==============
"Lame" perhaps on the part of station management.
Technically, both of your suggestions are easier said than done.
Financially, I don't think the station gets much, if anything, by sending out HD. So where is the incentive to spend money to do it? I think that people will watch Joe Moore and American Idol regardless of picture quality.

yes, i meant on the part of station management.

maybe i am alone but i don't watch most shows unless they are in hd. i won't watch american idol in sd but would check it out in hd. i used to be a 24 fan when i had it in hd on the mainland but don't watch now in sd. there are very, very few shows on kgmb that i have watched over the past year, and now that i get it in hd i have already watched a few and even watched their local news in SD now that their channel is on my first-look group of channels.

i believe people will demand hd more and more, and abandon channels that don't show it. it is worth the investment in my opinion.

Last nite KFVE news (and maybe KHNL, I don't know I missed it) said Oceanic will add 6 new HD channels by the end of February. Anyone happen to know what the're going to be?

good deal. i bet one will be the weather channel. i wonder what the others are. hopefully sci-fi and usa and cartoon network.

my guess for the 6 new HD channels would be Discover Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, USA, Disney, and maybe like deathray said either weather channel or another news type channel.

i'm just waiting on getting the digital simulcasts of all the channels on digital cable. oceanic said it was gonig to happen soon but there was no definitive date. without an HD equivalent, at least we can watch BETTER SD

i believe people will demand hd more and more, and abandon channels that don't show it. it is worth the investment in my opinion.

you are so right. HD is pretty much the future and is becoming not so much of "wow you got HD" but, more so now even after this christmas, a "wow you DON'T have HD". It an expensive investment on the networks etc. but it will pay off in the end.
i too find myself watching programs i never watched before just because they are in HD and look way better than its SD counterpart.

i think that 2008 is gonna be a big year for HD and we just gotta sit back and wait cuz its only 16 days into the year.......(and cross our fingers)

Last nite KFVE news (and maybe KHNL, I don't know I missed it) said Oceanic will add 6 new HD channels by the end of February. Anyone happen to know what the're going to be?6 more HD PPV channels?

I jest, of course.

i hope not delar....that would be funny though because oceanic would probably lose money opening up bandwidth for HD channels that not many people would view. another possibility would be more HD premium channels, but that would be junk also. i recall reading on another post that Time warner has a lot of aquired contracts for HD and lots would be started in Q1 and Q2 2008 as well as a lot more that Time Warner already has contracts to carry the HD feed but as we have learned we here in hawaii don't have enough bandwidth to pump em all out ;(

Being on the West side of the Big Island, I'd also be interested in learning what the plans are for digital broadcasting from the new antennae site on Maui's Ulupalakua ranch. Are there towers up there, yet? Will they start broadcasting DT before 2009?

Good news...it's time to get that antenna up!

An Engineer familiar with the site posted this on another forum:

"I expect that HDTV will be up and running at the same time the analog transition to Ulupalakua is complete, perhaps in February or March."

His complete post is here:
http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,90074.0.html

It was looking like all us DISH/DirecTV subscribers on Maui were going to miss the Olympics in HD, but now there's a good chance we'll get it.

--Michael

anyone notice that CBS was in Dolby Digital and the picture quality was a lot better than it is now. A week later, now no Dolby D and picture looks a bit more fragmented and pixelated. I've asked oceanic about this, and they just responded and said that they do not touch the signal. Now i'm wondering if they strip out the original sound and compress the video until it is crappy for all local stations...

I'm thinking of switching to DirecTV, but i'm wondering are all the local channels broadcast in DolbyD and does the picture quality look better. Also, on the website they list that they don't carry NBC, were you all able to get waivers to get the national NBC feed? 2 boxes on DTV is equal to the cost of one dvr box on oceanic...

I receive only the basic OTW service for local channels. I was wondering 2 things. (1) Is KGMB-HD encrypted? I get only a blank channel at 99.1.
(2) Why do different sets receive stations at different QAM minor numbers? For example I get KHON at 85-3 on an Insignia and at 85-8 on Sharp.

In fact here is the whole lineup of what I get on basic service:
3 85-3/8 KHON2 Fox 720p
5 106-2 KFVE5 480i
6 114-2 KITV4 ABC 720p
7 106-4 KGMB CBS 480i
8 83-3/1 KHNL8 NBC 1080i
Thanks for any insight.

I receive only the basic OTW service for local channels. I was wondering 2 things. (1) Is KGMB-HD encrypted? I get only a blank channel at 99.1.
(2) Why do different sets receive stations at different QAM minor numbers? For example I get KHON at 85-3 on an Insignia and at 85-8 on Sharp.

In fact here is the whole lineup of what I get on basic service:
3 85-3/8 KHON2 Fox 720p
5 106-2 KFVE5 480i
6 114-2 KITV4 ABC 720p
7 106-4 KGMB CBS 480i
8 83-3/1 KHNL8 NBC 1080i
Thanks for any insight.

Try 99.3 for KGMB-HD.

I called KHON and spoke to the new chief of engineering. What a difference speaking with him was... I asked him about primetime HD. he said he was glad I called and that they are expediting that now. I said does that mean it should be going by summer?.. he said heavens no... I am thinking about two months. He said it was a big and difficult project but that things were underway.. He talked about automation and syncing the SD and HD channels and so forth.. he sounded very upbeat and friendly. A huge change from conversations of last year. ... brad

It was looking like all us DISH/DirecTV subscribers on Maui were going to miss the Olympics in HD, but now there's a good chance we'll get it.
What's the connection between broadcasting HD on Maui and HD on Maui by satellite? Doesn't Maui get the same local HD beamed down from satellite as Oahu?

anyone notice that CBS was in Dolby Digital and the picture quality was a lot better than it is now. A week later, now no Dolby D...
I noticed that too. Here's what KGMB told me:
-----
Sir,

We had some issues with passing 5.1 audio. It is going to take a lot of money to fix this. So I cannot say when the funds will be available to do remedy the situation.
-----

I called KHON and spoke to the new chief of engineering. What a difference speaking with him was... I asked him about primetime HD. he said he was glad I called and that they are expediting that now. I said does that mean it should be going by summer?.. he said heavens no... I am thinking about two months. He said it was a big and difficult project but that things were underway.. He talked about automation and syncing the SD and HD channels and so forth.. he sounded very upbeat and friendly. A huge change from conversations of last year. ... brad
Thanks for posting that update. I wonder if that includes CW programming?

Last nite KFVE news (and maybe KHNL, I don't know I missed it) said Oceanic will add 6 new HD channels by the end of February. Anyone happen to know what the're going to be?
I emailed oceanic asking about that report, here's what they told me:
-----
Aloha!

The following HD channels will be coming soon, but exact release dates
have not yet been set.

1600 American Movie Classics
1329 Animal Planet
1560 Bravo
1333 Discovery
1337 Discovery Science
1599 Fuse
? International Film Channel
1557 Sci Fi Channel
1331 The Learning Channel
1451 Women's Entertainment

HD Discovery Theater currently on 1333 will move to another channel
number.
-----

Too bad USA HD isn't in there.

Nice. I'm happy to see IFC and Sci Fi in that mix.

man i was really looking foreward to USA HD. thats the stations we're missing. got TNT, TBS, just USA :) and the last one we need when it releases is FX HD. i'd love to watch the UFC stuff in HD. but i'm please to see the discovery tier of channels finally added. they always got good stuff on that i watch.

does anyone know if like MTV and VH1 have an HD channel (NOT MHD)

What's the connection between broadcasting HD on Maui and HD on Maui by satellite? Doesn't Maui get the same local HD beamed down from satellite as Oahu?

Yes, they get the same as Oahu, which unfortunately doesn't include KHNL-HD since both DISH and DirecTV still haven't worked out who's going to pay for the infrastructure required for error free reception to the uplink.
On Oahu, at least some have a shot at OTA reception whereas Maui doesn't have any HD broadcasts. The new transmit site will change that.

--Michael

man i was really looking foreward to USA HD. thats the stations we're missing. got TNT, TBS, just USA :) and the last one we need when it releases is FX HD. i'd love to watch the UFC stuff in HD. but i'm please to see the discovery tier of channels finally added. they always got good stuff on that i watch.

does anyone know if like MTV and VH1 have an HD channel (NOT MHD)

DirecTV has both, but in looking forward 4 days in the "guide" I didn't see -any- 'programming' in HD. Spike-HD has some programming in HD, but in looking forward to UFC Fight Night, it looks to be in SD (Pros vs. Joes is in HD). USA-HD looks to be half-half.
It's going to take awhile before HD is ubiquitous, but I'll bet the telecine operators in L.A. are getting a lot of overtime.

--Michael

Happy to see Discovery, the Learning Channel and especially Bravo will be the next HD channelson OTW! I watch a lot of shows on those channels and it's been harder and harder to see them in SD.

Yes, they get the same as Oahu, which unfortunately doesn't include KHNL-HD since both DISH and DirecTV still haven't worked out who's going to pay for the infrastructure required for error free reception to the uplink. On Oahu, at least some have a shot at OTA reception whereas Maui doesn't have any HD broadcasts. The new transmit site will change that.

--MichaelCan you or anyone have an ETA on when this is going to happen? Thanks for any insight... nevermind, found your post below. Thanks!

Good news...it's time to get that antenna up!

An Engineer familiar with the site posted this on another forum:

"I expect that HDTV will be up and running at the same time the analog transition to Ulupalakua is complete, perhaps in February or March."

His complete post is here:
http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,90074.0.html

--Michael

FSN-HD now on QAM 91.1014. I just found it tonight. I hate hockey but since it's the only sporting event in HD tonight I am now a hockey fan.

Glad to see we're finally going to get SciFi HD. Of course, they'll probably activate right after the current season of Stargate: Atlantis ends. Still, it's progress...

Hello all,

Thought I'd pose a question...

When we finally got KGMB in HD it came to us on OTW channel 1007 and was called "KGMBDT."

Did anyone else notice that "KGMBDT" (on 1007) was recently re-named to "OCKGMB."

Why would OTW feel that they needed to do this? And, why would KGMB want their own channel designation to be re-branded?

Anyone have any thoughts?

Hello all,

Thought I'd pose a question...

When we finally got KGMB in HD it came to us on OTW channel 1007 and was called "KGMBDT."

Did anyone else notice that "KGMBDT" (on 1007) was recently re-named to "OCKGMB."

Why would OTW feel that they needed to do this? And, why would KGMB want their own channel designation to be re-branded?

Anyone have any thoughts?
==================
That's bizarre...
I don't have a cable box (OTA only here) so I have to ask-
How are the other channels labeled?
:confused:

Originally Posted by clark_kent
Hello all,

Thought I'd pose a question...

When we finally got KGMB in HD it came to us on OTW channel 1007 and was called "KGMBDT."

Did anyone else notice that "KGMBDT" (on 1007) was recently re-named to "OCKGMB."

Why would OTW feel that they needed to do this? And, why would KGMB want their own channel designation to be re-branded?

Anyone have any thoughts?

==================
That's bizarre...
I don't have a cable box (OTA only here) so I have to ask-
How are the other channels labeled?
:confused:

The other local HD channels:

1003 KHON-DT
1006 KITV-DT
1008 KHNL-DT
1010 KHET-DT

have not been re-branded...

SATELLITE TODAY :: DAILY NEWS FEED
Boeing Delivers DirecTV 11
January 29, 2008

Boeing Co. has delivered DirecTV 11 to Sea Launch to in advance of its upcoming launch, the company announced Jan. 29.
DirecTV 11, the second of three satellites Boeing is building for DirecTV Inc., is a 702-model satellite with technology that will enable DirecTV to continue to expand its high-definition programming lineup. DirecTV 11, combined with the DirecTV 10 satellite launched in July, will provide DirecTV with the capacity to offer 150 national HD channels and 1,500 local HD channels.
DirecTV 11 scheduled to launch on a Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket in March from Sea Launch's equatorial launch site in the Pacific Ocean.

Did anyone else notice that "KGMBDT" (on 1007) was recently re-named to "OCKGMB."Maybe Oceanic Cable is the one responsible for timeshifting KGMB's HD programming. Perhaps this is part of the carriage deal between the two.

Just speculation on my part.

Maybe Oceanic Cable is the one responsible for timeshifting KGMB's HD programming. Perhaps this is part of the carriage deal between the two.

Just speculation on my part.

Could be; I recall reading somewhere in this thread that Oceanic made the offer to timeshift their programming in order to put it in their HD lineup, since apparently KGMB at the time didn't have the equipment to do it. The shows are coming in OTA in HD also; does this mean Oceanic would have to send the signal to KGMB so they can transmit it from their towers?

Could be; I recall reading somewhere in this thread that Oceanic made the offer to timeshift their programming in order to put it in their HD lineup, since apparently KGMB at the time didn't have the equipment to do it. The shows are coming in OTA in HD also; does this mean Oceanic would have to send the signal to KGMB so they can transmit it from their towers?
========================
FYI-Oceanic does not have the capability to decode the HD transmission from CBS. It is encrypted and requires a tightly controlled proprietary IRD.

Originally Posted by clark_kent
Hello all,

Thought I'd pose a question...

When we finally got KGMB in HD it came to us on OTW channel 1007 and was called "KGMBDT."

Did anyone else notice that "KGMBDT" (on 1007) was recently re-named to "OCKGMB."

Why would OTW feel that they needed to do this? And, why would KGMB want their own channel designation to be re-branded?

Anyone have any thoughts?



The other local HD channels:

1003 KHON-DT
1006 KITV-DT
1008 KHNL-DT
1010 KHET-DT

have not been re-branded...


It's been labeled as HKGMB since since it was added.

It's been labeled as HKGMB since since it was added.

================
hebsan, does your box show it as OCKGMB now also? :confused:

================
hebsan, does your box show it as OCKGMB now also? :confused:

No, my box shows it as HKGMB.

The others:

HKHON
HKITV
HKHNL
HKHET

as does mine and my neighbors... HKGMB

mines is still HKGMB (1007) and my digital kgmb channel is DKGMB (0087)
i never really paid attention if it ever changed to ockgmb or anything else. kinda weird if some ppl would be getting that.

right now there is a "TEST" channel on 1016. It is showing Billabong Surf TV. -- oh it is a stretched version of OC16 I think.

right now there is a "TEST" channel on 1016. It is showing Billabong Surf TV. -- oh it is a stretched version of OC16 I think.

Does OC-16 even produce anything in HD?

maybe there testing their digital simulcast of channels they said they were going to be implementing sometime this year/soon. but yea like hebsan was saying i dunno if there is anything on OC16 thats in HD but maybe there is. they may record it with HD capable hardware and maybe now oceanic can broadcast it

Hello all,

Regarding "OC"kgmb:

From reading your post's, apparently Oceanic RE-brands KGMB's HD call sign to what ever serves their interest and probably (IMHO) a self serving interest at that... does Oceanic ever do anything else?

It appears that channel 1007 (KGMB's HD feed to Oceanic) is re-branded as OCKGMB on channel 1007 for the NON-Oceanic-STB people (the rest of the world)... don't forget, even if you subscribe to Oceanic cable service, if you don't have an Oceanic STB, you're not part of the "family" and you might as well be a service leech. Check out Tribune Media's Zap2it's TV guide (zap2it.com) and you will see channel 1007 designated as OCKGMB. This can only be a result of what Oceanic is feeding Zap2it.

As for the two other major "grid" providers, channel 1007 doesn't even show up on the grid. You will not find channel 1007 on TVGuide's grid (tvguide.com) or TitanTV's grid (titantv.com)... is it because Oceanic has RE-branded KGMBDT to a UN-know call sign (OCkgmb), I don't know... but, now that KGMB is finally feeding HD to Oceanic, it would seem to me that KGMB would want the "HD" channel guide to be visible to all the world to see... but then what do I know?

Excerpts for 6PM on Feb. 1st from Zap2it's Grind:

1003 KHONDT KHON2 News Hawaii at Six
1006 KITVDT KITV 4 News at 6
1007 OCKGMB SIGN OFF
1008 KHNLDT KHNL News 8 at 6
1010 KHETDT Nightly Business Report

5 new HD channels here on Maui when I got home from work this afternoon.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned this new channels yet.

1113 HDCNN
1323 HHGTV
1327 HHIST
1449 HDLMN
1593 MHD

Thank you for clarifying your interesting observation regarding online tv listings.:)

kawika
=======================
Hello all,

Regarding "OC"kgmb:

From reading your post's, apparently Oceanic RE-brands KGMB's HD call sign to what ever serves their interest and probably (IMHO) a self serving interest at that... does Oceanic ever do anything else?

It appears that channel 1007 (KGMB's HD feed to Oceanic) is re-branded as OCKGMB on channel 1007 for the NON-Oceanic-STB people (the rest of the world)... don't forget, even if you subscribe to Oceanic cable service, if you don't have an Oceanic STB, you're not part of the "family" and you might as well be a service leech. Check out Tribune Media's Zap2it's TV guide (zap2it.com) and you will see channel 1007 designated as OCKGMB. This can only be a result of what Oceanic is feeding Zap2it.

As for the two other major "grid" providers, channel 1007 doesn't even show up on the grid. You will not find channel 1007 on TVGuide's grid (tvguide.com) or TitanTV's grid (titantv.com)... is it because Oceanic has RE-branded KGMBDT to a UN-know call sign (OCkgmb), I don't know... but, now that KGMB is finally feeding HD to Oceanic, it would seem to me that KGMB would want the "HD" channel guide to be visible to all the world to see... but then what do I know?

Excerpts for 6PM on Feb. 1st from Zap2it's Grind:

1003 KHONDT KHON2 News Hawaii at Six
1006 KITVDT KITV 4 News at 6
1007 OCKGMB SIGN OFF
1008 KHNLDT KHNL News 8 at 6
1010 KHETDT Nightly Business Report

Thank you for clarifying your interesting observation regarding online tv listings.:)

kawika
=======================


Just to be clear, private individuals are not the only ones using "online" listing services. TiVo (Oceanic public enemy number one) gets it's guide data from Tribune Media. Guess what TiVo is getting for program guide data for channel 1007? Nothing! Unless Oceanic "RE-populates" the OCkgmb grid, TiVo thinks that channel 1007 never has any programs at all.

I'm pretty sure that the RE-branding (of channel 1007) from KGMBDT to OCkgmb was a deliberate and calculated act by Oceanic. When KGMB finally started feeding the HD signal to Oceanic, Oceanic initially left the call sign label alone (as KGMBDT) and Tribune Media's Zap2it grid had all the programs in the listing for channel 1007. Not long after that initial HD startup, Oceanic RE-branded the call sign to OCKGMB (if KGMB was a partner-in-crime, I don't know) but as soon as channel 1007 got RE-branded as OCKGMB, the Zap2it's grid was empty. Even if you are a Oceanic customer BUT a non-STB-customers, no more program guide info for you.

Oceanic COULD be a better corporate citizen and treat their customer differently, but that would reduce profits. For Oceanic, it's all about $$$, never mind "reasonable" return on investment... Oceanic is licensed (and blessed) to operate as a monopoly by our government and with over 400,000 customer (who have little choice in Hawaii), Oceanic is probably getting over $30,000,000.00 a month in service fees. They will do ANYTHING(!) to make sure that customer has to use an Oceanic STB... just look at everything Oceanic has done to foil the use of the CableCARD which can impact the use of Oceanic STB!

IF Oceanic WAS a good corporate citizen, Oceanic would not be fighting tooth and nail to foil the use of cableCARDS.

IF Oceanic WAS a good corporate citizen, Oceanic would inform customers that if they only wanted to watch local channels, even local HD channels, you don't need a STB as long as you have one of the new digital QAM type of TV's. And, if I understand FCC regulations correctly, even customer subscribing at the bottom "Basic" tier ($11.82 per month) are entitled to (in-the-clear, un-encripted) local HD programming.

IF Oceanic WAS a good corporate citizen, Oceanic would send "proper" PSIP signal with the channel so that digital QAM type of TV's would be able to identify the actual channel "name" like KGMB. I'm not a PSIP expert, but from little I know, Oceanic cripples the PSIP signal to make sure that the digital QAM TV's can't identify the station. The ONLY reason for Oceanic to cripple PSIP is so that Oceanic can then tell you that you need a STB.

When a company has no social conscience towards customers, has no competition in the market, and has a monopoly license from the government, what can one expect? Maybe things will change when Hawaiian Telcom is finally able to offer TV service, maybe not. After all, lucky you live in Hawaii... where all things just cost more cause it's Hawaii... why do you think that a lot of "prime time" programs broadcast in Hawaii (cable or over-the-air) can't seem to start and stop on-time?

I believe it is up to the station to make sure that the 3rd party company displays it correctly on the grid.. call KGMB and ask?

Hi, finally pulled the trigger and purchased my first HDTV. I only have the Oceanic basic digital channel service and using OTA from my tv to get a couple of HD channels. I want to upgrade but is Oceanic good for HD or am I better off going with Direct Tv or Dish?

Please call or email Oceanic to add CNBC-HD+

Hi, finally pulled the trigger and purchased my first HDTV. I only have the Oceanic basic digital channel service and using OTA from my tv to get a couple of HD channels. I want to upgrade but is Oceanic good for HD or am I better off going with Direct Tv or Dish?

At the point that your at, Oceanic is by far the easiest. You simply swap the current Digital box for a HD box, same price, and add the HD package($7).

On the prior page I listed the channel count for all three, plus Oceanic is adding 6 more channels soon.

Directv offers more overall channels, but is missing KHNL, and requires two 1.2m dishes.

Dish at this point is a "last resort" service for HD until they upgrade the sat at 129.

Hope this helps,

Charles

... is Oceanic good for HD ...
DirecTV is better for HD, and also the DVR is better than the SA8300. I happen to have room on my roof for the two sizeable dishes, but I guess it's a problem for many.

From our good friends at engadget...

Look out, Comcast -- Time Warner Cable is loosing Start Over service in South Carolina, which will enable those in that division (along with six others) to restart high-definition shows that are already in progress. 'Course, the introduction here is a few months behind schedule, but apparently, the cable operator is planning to have the feature rolled out across all of its 23 divisions before 2009 dawns. Additionally, it's being reported that TWC has "deals in place to carry 53 HD channels, with agreements pending for another 20." As if that weren't enough, there's also plans to complement those offerings with even more HD VOD. Unsurprisingly, it seems as if the firm will be relying quite heavily on switched digital video (SDV) to free up the bandwidth for all this high-def goodness, and it's even hoping to go all digital in markets where "digital service penetration makes it relatively easy to polish off the transition." If you're one that handles teasing admirably, hit up the read link for even more foreshadowing. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

Does anyone on Oahu pick up any of the digital TV stations on Maui? Both the antennaweb and tvfool web sites claim that I could probably get them from Waimanalo with an attic antenna. (I can't receive any of the Oahu stations.) I'm thinking of giving it a try.

Does anyone on Oahu pick up any of the digital TV stations on Maui? Both the antennaweb and tvfool web sites claim that I could probably get them from Waimanalo with an attic antenna. (I can't receive any of the Oahu stations.) I'm thinking of giving it a try.

To my knowledge no one is currently broadcasting anything digital from Maui yet. I will scan today to see if anything has gone live.

Update: I scanned for active digital channels on Maui. As of 0800 8 Feb, I can only see indications of possibly one channel being tested. I found one that scanned in as 39-1. I have no idea what it is, or will be. The signal was too weak for me to receive in Haiku, Maui...

To my knowledge no one is currently broadcasting anything digital from Maui yet.
Thanks for looking. I didn't realize that nothing was live, yet. The tvfool report for my address in Waimanalo gives 6 receivable Maui digital channels as of the transition date Feb. 2009:

station freq
KGMV-DT 24 (3.1) CBS (KGMB)
KOGG-DT 16 (15.1) NBC (KHNL)
KWHM-DT 21 (21.1) religious
KMAU-DT 12 (12.1) ABC (KITV)
KAII-DT 7 (7.1) FOX (KHON)
KMEB-DT 10 (10.1) PBS (KHET)

In post number 4117 TVHAWAII posted some information from another forum indicating that live digital broadcasting could start on Maui in late February or March.

Just to be clear, private individuals are not the only ones using "online" listing services. TiVo (Oceanic public enemy number one) gets it's guide data from Tribune Media. Guess what TiVo is getting for program guide data for channel 1007? Nothing! Unless Oceanic "RE-populates" the OCkgmb grid, TiVo thinks that channel 1007 never has any programs at all.

I'm pretty sure that the RE-branding (of channel 1007) from KGMBDT to OCkgmb was a deliberate and calculated act by Oceanic. When KGMB finally started feeding the HD signal to Oceanic, Oceanic initially left the call sign label alone (as KGMBDT) and Tribune Media's Zap2it grid had all the programs in the listing for channel 1007. Not long after that initial HD startup, Oceanic RE-branded the call sign to OCKGMB (if KGMB was a partner-in-crime, I don't know) but as soon as channel 1007 got RE-branded as OCKGMB, the Zap2it's grid was empty. Even if you are a Oceanic customer BUT a non-STB-customers, no more program guide info for you.
?
=========================
I really doubt if there was some sort of evil conspiracy on the part of OTW. I checked this morning and 1007 on zaptwit and tvguide looks normal. Titantv is still MIA for 1007 though.:confused:

Titantv is still MIA for 1007 though.:confused:Yeah, I had to add it manually, assigning the OTA KGMBDT1 to 1007 until TitanTV catches up, which sometimes takes awhile.

=========================
I really doubt if there was some sort of evil conspiracy on the part of OTW. I checked this morning and 1007 on zaptwit and tvguide looks normal. Titantv is still MIA for 1007 though.:confused:


If you would have looked at Zap2it or TiVo's Online Schedule on the day I posted the OCkgmb issue (back on Jan. 29th), you would have found channel 1007 listed as OCKGMB and completely missing on tvguide. And, channel 1007 has continued to be listed as OCkgmb on both Zap2it and TiVo-Guide until yesterday (Feb. 9th) when magically, OCkgmb was back to being listed as KGMBDT... problem solved no doubt by Menehunies, and most centenary not by OTW goodwill.

If you would have looked at Zap2it or TiVo's Online Schedule on the day I posted the OCkgmb issue (back on Jan. 29th), you would have found channel 1007 listed as OCKGMB and completely missing on tvguide. And, channel 1007 has continued to be listed as OCkgmb on both Zap2it and TiVo-Guide until yesterday (Feb. 9th) when magically, OCkgmb was back to being listed as KGMBDT... problem solved no doubt by Menehunies, and most centenary not by OTW goodwill.

==============
Yeah, I did see that bit of weirdness. Very strange.:confused:

I noticed that OC was testing another HD channel . . . showing their OC16 content in SD. They started a local basketball game and then they lost video and there was only audio.

Actually, the Aiea game last night was in HD. I would switch back and forth between 0016 and 1016. No graphics, such as the score or stats on 1016, but the picture was definitely HD (HDV more than likely.) I gotta admit, I'm pretty impressed that the first locally "produced" HD content I've seen wasn't local news, but High School Hoops. Shakas to OC16.

Also, you'll notice they made room for 4 new HD channels today 1329, 1331, 1333, and 1337. Each are listed as INFO and all carry the following message.

Channel Change Notice

Please be aware that effective immediately, HD theater moves from channel 1333 to channel 1332.
New HD channels coming March 1, 2008
- Ch. 1329 Animal Planet HD
- Ch. 1331 The Learning Channel HD
- Ch. 1333 Discovery Channel HD
- Ch. 1337 Science Channel HD

Notice Dates February 15, 2008

Yep, watching Kalani vs. Radford girls hoops right now on 1016. Definitely looks like some form of HD. Not the greatest quality, I see lots of what looks like compression noise, but HD it is.....or an extremely good SD upconvert.

[QUOTE=essbee;13124317]Actually, the Aiea game last night was in HD. I would switch back and forth between 0016 and 1016. No graphics, such as the score or stats on 1016, but the picture was definitely HD (HDV more than likely.) I gotta admit, I'm pretty impressed that the first locally "produced" HD content I've seen wasn't local news, but High School Hoops. Shakas to OC16.
QUOTE]
=====================
For the record: There was a locally-produced true HD program broadcast one or two years ago by KGMB OTA. I don't remember what it was though. Maybe something from Kamehameha School? It had to be somebody with deep pockets at that time.:confused:

[QUOTE=essbee;13124317]Actually, the Aiea game last night was in HD. I would switch back and forth between 0016 and 1016. No graphics, such as the score or stats on 1016, but the picture was definitely HD (HDV more than likely.) I gotta admit, I'm pretty impressed that the first locally "produced" HD content I've seen wasn't local news, but High School Hoops. Shakas to OC16.
QUOTE]
=====================
For the record: There was a locally-produced true HD program broadcast one or two years ago by KGMB OTA. I don't remember what it was though. Maybe something from Kamehameha School? It had to be somebody with deep pockets at that time.:confused:

=================
I remembered...The Kamehameha Christmas Concert was broadcast in Dec 2006 in true HD by KGMB. Also, my friend claims he saw a special last month KITV did from the Bishop Museum that was also in HD.

Speaking of locally produced HD...from EngadgetHD (posted this morning)

Not that we don't already enjoy the occasional HDTV program filmed in Hawaii, but now the local PBS affiliate is getting in the game. Apparently part of Sony & PBS's partnership, PBS Hawaii is launching it first locally produced HD show Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox February 19. We hope Engadget HD readers in Hawaii can get the show via OTA or cable (actually, it's snowing at the EHD offices, so we really wouldn't feel that bad if they have to do without a little HDTV right now), but it won't be in our listings because we hate PBS.

They also have an hyperlink on the "Sony & PBS Partnership" over there for more info...

Picked up 2 new HD channels on QAM this weekend.

QAM 46.1 Food Channel HD
QAM 46.3 KGMB HD (previously available on 99.3 and 0)
QAM 46.16 Oceanic 16 HD

I wish Oceanic could sell more ad time on Food Network HD, those PSA spots from Arbor Day Foundation, Foundation for a Better Life and USDA are getting old. :D

I just wish they would have the Sci-Fi channel in HD, I don't care how much arbor day ads they put in.

I just wish they would have the Sci-Fi channel in HD, I don't care how much arbor day ads they put in.

They've already announced that it's coming, but haven't given a date yet. I'm anxiously waiting for it too!

They've already announced that it's coming, but haven't given a date yet. I'm anxiously waiting for it too!
Well if I had to guess, it probably won't be before April 4th when BSG starts.

Any chance that someone here can find out a tentative date? Thanks.

:cool:

Finally pulled the trigger and received my hdtv yesterday. I'm still on analog cable and receiving hd thru QAM. Is there a difference in the compression of the local digital broadcasts between Oceanic via QAM and OTA? This is what I'm getting now on QAM:

83.3 KHNL (NBC) 1080i
85.3 KHON (FOX) 720p
106.2 KFVE 480i
114.2 KITV (ABC) 720p
46.3 KGMB (CBS) 1080i

I'm seeing compression up close, but at normal viewing distance it seems to be okay. Just wondering if it's worth it to try OTA from Pearl City or would compression be the same? Thanks.

Finally pulled the trigger and received my hdtv yesterday. I'm still on analog cable and receiving hd thru QAM. Is there a difference in the compression of the local digital broadcasts between Oceanic via QAM and OTA? This is what I'm getting now on QAM:

83.3 KHNL (NBC) 1080i
85.3 KHON (FOX) 720p
106.2 KFVE 480i
114.2 KITV (ABC) 720p
46.3 KGMB (CBS) 1080i

I'm seeing compression up close, but at normal viewing distance it seems to be okay. Just wondering if it's worth it to try OTA from Pearl City or would compression be the same? Thanks.

==================
Did you ever try analog OTA before? If you can get analog OTA then you got a pretty good chance of picking up DTV. But remember that some DT channels are UHF, and some are in town and some are by Makakilo.

Never tried OTA analog or digital. I guess I'm really wondering if the compression that I'm seeing via QAM is created by Oceanic or if that's how it's being broadcasted?

Never tried OTA analog or digital. I guess I'm really wondering if the compression that I'm seeing via QAM is created by Oceanic or if that's how it's being broadcasted?
================
I know that different hdtv's display the same signal quite differently. So it would be impossible to guess at your problem. I can tell you that if you can get a solid OTA signal, it looks pretty darn good even on (my) cheapo HDtv. Personally, I only had moderate success getting qam channels on my tv, probably due to a weak cable signal. If you are in a good location, try some rabbit ears. You might get lucky.

Never tried OTA analog or digital. I guess I'm really wondering if the compression that I'm seeing via QAM is created by Oceanic or if that's how it's being broadcasted?

If you go to this site:

http://antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

you can get an idea if you can receive any of the OTA locals from your location.

I believe OTA is NOT compressed. It is likely that Oceanic IS compressing all the local channels. Cable operators are know at compressing "locals" so they can have more bandwidth for "their" own "$$$" channels (you can't order PPV$$$ on locals)... and lucky we have Oceanic since they are one of the BEST cable operators in the nation! And, by "best," I do mean looking out for their own ($$$) bottom line, and not really the best interest of their HUGE customer base. The problem with OTA in Hawaii (Oahu) is that a lot of people can't get OTA signal (our mountains get in the way)... maybe when Hawaiian Telecom finally gets up and running we'll at least have some "cable" choice and I for one can only hope Oceanic gets it's hat handed to them... I'm not sure a compressed channel can be made to "look" a lot different/better by one HDTV set versus another.

I wouldn't put too much hope in the Carlyle Group's Hawaiian Tel operations.. They can barely run a phone company, I can only imagine what they are going to do with video. Did you ever look at your phone bill? How about the touch-tone charges they add to your bill? As if its 1950 instead of 2008... Anyhow, I would be surprised by any innovations from them.

No question that HT has issues with their billing, but as with the cable/DSL pricing and higher speed rollouts, I think that any competition is good for the consumer.


I wouldn't put too much hope in the Carlyle Group's Hawaiian Tel operations.. They can barely run a phone company, I can only imagine what they are going to do with video. Did you ever look at your phone bill? How about the touch-tone charges they add to your bill? As if its 1950 instead of 2008... Anyhow, I would be surprised by any innovations from them.

They've already announced that it's coming, but haven't given a date yet. I'm anxiously waiting for it too!

Looks like March 1, according to the Info placeholders in the HD tier.

No question that HT has issues with their billing, but as with the cable/DSL pricing and higher speed rollouts, I think that any competition is good for the consumer.

Sure.. I think competition is good. But I don't think we'll be seeing any HD from them for a long long time.. I hope I am wrong though ...

I thought my friend said that there is a demo hd signal being displayed at the downtown Phonemart. I've never checked it out, but heck, even if HT's goal was to take marketshare away from OTW analog market, I think that it would spur some significant actions from OTW to squash HT.


Sure.. I think competition is good. But I don't think we'll be seeing any HD from them for a long long time.. I hope I am wrong though ...

Never tried OTA analog or digital. I guess I'm really wondering if the compression that I'm seeing via QAM is created by Oceanic or if that's how it's being broadcasted?

Don't know if it's my imagination but I think the OTA picture is slightly better than the QAM and DVR picture. I can't do a side by side comparison so can't be 100% sure. I was curious what other people notice about this too.

Don't know if it's my imagination but I think the OTA picture is slightly better than the QAM and DVR picture. I can't do a side by side comparison so can't be 100% sure. I was curious what other people notice about this too.

I don't know about that.... ESPN looks better on my DVR than it does OTA!

Looks like March 1, according to the Info placeholders in the HD tier.

Hm... are you referring to the Sci-Fi HD channel (Larry523 was)?

Because I only see Animal Planet HD, TLC HD, Discovery HD and Science Channel HD in the info screens.

Getting hyped thinking about BSG HD... yeah.

:D

Don't know if it's my imagination but I think the OTA picture is slightly better than the QAM and DVR picture. I can't do a side by side comparison so can't be 100% sure. I was curious what other people notice about this too.
Don't know use QAM, but KITV's HD looks better OTA than thru Oceanic here. Pretty easy to see a difference. KGMB is not as obvious for me. Don't catch KHNL.

:cool:

I'll pick up an antenna and see what difference there is. Hopefully the signal is good here. I was watching a bit of A Raisin in the Sun via QAM and the picture quality wasn't very good. There was a lot of noise and it was quite noticeable.


Don't know use QAM, but KITV's HD looks better OTA than thru Oceanic here. Pretty easy to see a difference. KGMB is not as obvious for me. Don't catch KHNL.

:cool:

I'll pick up an antenna and see what difference there is. Hopefully the signal is good here. I was watching a bit of A Raisin in the Sun via QAM and the picture quality wasn't very good. There was a lot of noise and it was quite noticeable.
========================
Try looking at houses around you, or asking your neighbors. It might help guide your decision on what kind of antenna to buy. (or not to buy)

Hm... are you referring to the Sci-Fi HD channel (Larry523 was)?

Because I only see Animal Planet HD, TLC HD, Discovery HD and Science Channel HD in the info screens.

Sorry, I misread the notice.

Sorry, I misread the notice.

No problem, but I did get revved up when I initially thought that Sci-Fi HD was coming soon.

Although I only watch one show that will be in its final season. But oh well...

Thanks.

Picked up a small, indoor amplified antenna and could only catch KAAH, KHET, and a couple of other channels. Probably have to consider a large, directional antenna. Who sells these locally?

These stopped showing up yesterday for me. :mad:


Picked up 2 new HD channels on QAM this weekend.

QAM 46.1 Food Channel HD
QAM 46.3 KGMB HD (previously available on 99.3 and 0)
QAM 46.16 Oceanic 16 HD

SY,
you said "I don't know about that.... ESPN looks better on my DVR than it does OTA!"

do you get ESPN OTA?

It was suppose to be a joke.

FYI...all 4 new hd channels are up and running.

83.3 KHNL (NBC) 1080i
85.3 KHON (FOX) 720p
106.2 KFVE 480i
114.2 KITV (ABC) 720p
46.3 KGMB (CBS) 1080i


I can get all of these except KFVE and KGMB both OTA and QAM, and to me they all look better OTA, especially the KHNL colorspace.

We do get KGMB OTA, but can't get it QAM. I don't know if that is a defect in my tuner, or if there is a filter somewhere blocking us out. - DR

FYI...all 4 new hd channels are up and running.

anyone find these on QAM?

in other news, is KHON/FOX about to FINALLY get their primetime HD up?
During friday's 6pm news they were showing a program in HD (i think it was bones, but not sure because i dont watch it). mustve been some type of master control mixup because it switched back to the news minutes later...i know the problem is they cant or dont record HD and that's why we only get to see sports in HD on fox since it's broadcast live.

unless what i saw was a live fox west coast feed. does bones air at 9pm on the west coast? dammit i want to watch house in HD.

I can still get KFVE, but KGMB on 46.3 is gone. I can get it on DTV 0 though. All this moving around is causing me to want digital cable.



I can get all of these except KFVE and KGMB both OTA and QAM, and to me they all look better OTA, especially the KHNL colorspace.

We do get KGMB OTA, but can't get it QAM. I don't know if that is a defect in my tuner, or if there is a filter somewhere blocking us out. - DR

Originally Posted by bueller555
83.3 KHNL (NBC) 1080i
85.3 KHON (FOX) 720p
106.2 KFVE 480i
114.2 KITV (ABC) 720p
46.3 KGMB (CBS) 1080i

I can get all of these except KFVE and KGMB both OTA and QAM, and to me they all look better OTA, especially the KHNL colorspace.

We do get KGMB OTA, but can't get it QAM. I don't know if that is a defect in my tuner, or if there is a filter somewhere blocking us out. - DR

The QAM tuner in my TV tunes all of the above channels just fine except for KGMB on 46.3; where I get a "signal can't be decoded" message.

However, I can tune KGMBHD on 99.3. But, all is not well with the signal at 99.3 as 99.3 does not show up in the TV's channel list... my guess is that our glorious (customer service oriented) cable provider is messing up the PSIP sufficiently so that (some) QAM tuners can't properly identify the channel... I'm not sure if this is a fluke on KGMB... Oceanic messed with KGMB's call sign not that long ago (OCKGMB) and we had no guide data as a result... or, a prelude to funky PSIP yet to come for the other clearQAM local HD channels... don't forget, Oceanic does not really want a customer to be able to tune an HD channels without there STB, even though you're legally entitled to do so... as far as I know, according to the FCC, you're entitled to receive all local HD (clearQAM) broadcast channels, even if you only subscribe to the very basic ($11.82/mo) level of service.

PS:
Forgot to say that I also get KHETHD (PBS-HD) on channel 120.12.

anyone find these on QAM?

in other news, is KHON/FOX about to FINALLY get their primetime HD up?
During friday's 6pm news they were showing a program in HD (i think it was bones, but not sure because i dont watch it). mustve been some type of master control mixup because it switched back to the news minutes later...i know the problem is they cant or dont record HD and that's why we only get to see sports in HD on fox since it's broadcast live.

unless what i saw was a live fox west coast feed. does bones air at 9pm on the west coast? dammit i want to watch house in HD.


I know CBS has both an east coast and west coast feed in HD via satellite.

I do not know if FOX feeds, via satellite, the same way. If it does, then you might have received their west coast feed for Bones at six PM.

That would have translated to 8PM California time which would have been the correct time for that broadcast..

However, I can tune KGMBHD on 99.3.
...
Forgot to say that I also get KHETHD (PBS-HD) on channel 120.12.

Wow, I'm envious. I get nothing at either of these locations, and while I can do both OTA, for PBS I have to do some real microadjusting of the antenna, and I lose reception when the wind picks up. - DR

Wow, I'm envious. I get nothing at either of these locations, and while I can do both OTA, for PBS I have to do some real microadjusting of the antenna, and I lose reception when the wind picks up. - DR

Just to clarify, all the channels I referenced that I'm able to receive are (clearQAM) cable and not over-the-air via antenna... my apologies if I misread something over reception issues on these channels.

I know CBS has both an east coast and west coast feed in HD via satellite.

I do not know if FOX feeds, via satellite, the same way. If it does, then you might have received their west coast feed for Bones at six PM.

That would have translated to 8PM California time which would have been the correct time for that broadcast..

Yes I also got excited when all of a sudden during the news it went HD for several minutes.. I knew it was a mistake but was hoping it was a sign of things to come... alas an hour later Bones was shown in SD. The new head engineer I spoke with several weeks ago said he was hoping to having primtime HD up and running in the next couple of months. Maybe someone else could call and see if they have any updated info?

Just to clarify, all the channels I referenced that I'm able to receive are (clearQAM) cable and not over-the-air via antenna... my apologies if I misread something over reception issues on these channels.

Yes, I understood that, my envy was that you could get PBS-HD and KGMB-HD over QAM. I get pretty much all the rest over both QAM and OTA ATSC, and do get these two OTA ATSC, but I would rather get them QAM (even if it meant slightly worse picture) because my OTA signal on those two is very sensitive to things like wind. - DR

The new HD channels have appeared.. a couple of times I got a screen that said "Channel was not available now - try again later). For instance Animal Planet is giving me that error message now.. but I was able to watch it a few times yesterday. Sci Channel is working.. seems random. Maybe its a building problem, I haven't checked with neighbors. Anyone else notice something like this?

The new HD channels have appeared.. a couple of times I got a screen that said "Channel was not available now - try again later). For instance Animal Planet is giving me that error message now.. but I was able to watch it a few times yesterday. Sci Channel is working.. seems random. Maybe its a building problem, I haven't checked with neighbors. Anyone else notice something like this?

i haven't watched any of them for an extended period but the new channels have been showing fine for me since Saturday.

Are any of the new HD channels transmitted QAM in-the-clear? In particular, is OC16-HD in the clear?

Thanks.

Yea, I have been watching the new HD channels since last friday. Some look better than others. HD Animal planet looks very compressed. Not sure what else is sharing its pipe. Watched the "Little People Big World" marathon yesterday and it looked real good. All in all am very pleased with the rate at which OTW has been adding new channels. The fact that the switch to SDV turned my $800 S3 Tivo into a brick stings a little less with each HD channel they add!

What QAM channels are the new HD channels appearing and with what resolutions? Are the channels in the 46.x series showing up for anyone? I'll re-scan my channels tonight and see what happens.

Is it likely that OTW will continue to add HD channels to QAM? I'm still on the fence about upgrading to digital and their HD package. If QAM channels keep getting added, I'll be on the fence indefinitely.

How long does it take your tv's to scan and find the QAM channels? When i first did it few years ago i think it only took about 20 minutes or so. Now when I try it, it takes about and 90 minutes or so. Don't know if something is wrong with my tv or if that's just because there are so many new channels to be sorting out. Because of this I don't really bother searching for channels that often. It doesn't even do a good job; locks on and saves a lot of blank stations.

Takes my Samsung LNT-5265F about 15-20 minutes to scan both analog and digital channels.

Last week I spoke to the chief engineer at KHON. They do not have the capability to record shows in HD to re-play in Hawaii time zone. The new equipment is on order & due this month. He wouldn't commit to a date but is hoping for early April.

No, Fox doesn't provide an alternate feed for their prime time shows that KHON could pass through.

Also: OC 1016 has purchased HDTV equipment to do local shows. This comes from their customer service rep.

Does anyone know when USA, SciFi, FX, Travel, Bravo, Comedy, etc. are scheduled to be added in HD? These and many other channels on the digital lineup are actually upconverted analog channels hence the poor PQ.

No, Fox doesn't provide an alternate feed for their prime time shows that KHON could pass through.



i wish they would just pass through the west coast (or even east coast) feed live in HD while we wait for them to get their gear working. That way we could tune in early or DVR the HD shows...and people who want to watch at the regular primetime could just switch to the SD channel.

i wish they would just pass through the west coast (or even east coast) feed live in HD while we wait for them to get their gear working. That way we could tune in early or DVR the HD shows...and people who want to watch at the regular primetime could just switch to the SD channel.

That will never happen. It makes too much sense! :p

That will never happen. It makes too much sense! :p
=================
It does not make sense to the station at all.
1- What program stream are they going to chop 3 hours from in the afternoon?
2- They would have to switch the local commercials into the live feed manually. Which probably means they would need to hire another person or at the very least, make the poor schmuck in the control room work a lot harder.
3- They currently run mostly profitable syndicated programming in the afternoon. Network shows have much less available local spot time.
4- Afternoon commercial time is also less valuable.
5- When you record the afternoon HD feed for playback at your convenience you will probably zap out all the commercials. Local advertisers would get no benefit for their ad dollars. Local advertisers lose out.

So you see, it is a lose-lose-lose-lose situation for a tv station to do what you want. Local businesses lose out. When local businesses lose out then everybody loses out.

Just my 2 cents worth.

hey debbie downer, way to ruin my whining with logical arguments!

don't tell anyone but even when they air their shows at the correct time i record them and zap through the ads. sorry local businesses.

Aloha guys,
I need some info about multiple TV sets on 1 incoming cable, from Oceanic, of course.....
Presently there are 7 TV's and 1 desktop computer off of 1 incoming cable, (yeah I know 7 is a lot) as you can well imagine the last set's reception is much like that white stuff on Mauna Kea (snow).......lol
Calls to Oceanic tech. support only results in a tech. coming over and charging to look at the whole setup, which I'd rather not do.
All on property cabling was done by me, with splitters (lots of them) all over the place.
How could I easily and cheaply amplify all the signals, I have been to the Maspro site, only contacts there are in Japan. It's my understanding that Oceanic uses Maspro products, so I am guessing their stuff is pretty good. Is there a local retailer for Maspro here in the 808 state?
As much as possible I'd like to do the work myself, after all cabling is pretty easy stuff......
Mahalo !
:eek:

Aloha guys,
I need some info about multiple TV sets on 1 incoming cable, from Oceanic, of course.....
Presently there are 7 TV's and 1 desktop computer off of 1 incoming cable, (yeah I know 7 is a lot) as you can well imagine the last set's reception is much like that white stuff on Mauna Kea (snow).......lol
Calls to Oceanic tech. support only results in a tech. coming over and charging to look at the whole setup, which I'd rather not do.
All on property cabling was done by me, with splitters (lots of them) all over the place.
How could I easily and cheaply amplify all the signals, I have been to the Maspro site, only contacts there are in Japan. It's my understanding that Oceanic uses Maspro products, so I am guessing their stuff is pretty good. Is there a local retailer for Maspro here in the 808 state?
As much as possible I'd like to do the work myself, after all cabling is pretty easy stuff......
Mahalo !
:eek:
Go to Radio Shack - They have a digital amp for about $35, that you can add to main incoming cable. I did and it works fine (have 5 tv setup)

Hope this helps you.

Aloha,

Aloha guys,
I need some info about multiple TV sets on 1 incoming cable, from Oceanic, of course.....
Presently there are 7 TV's and 1 desktop computer off of 1 incoming cable, (yeah I know 7 is a lot) as you can well imagine the last set's reception is much like that white stuff on Mauna Kea (snow).......lol
Calls to Oceanic tech. support only results in a tech. coming over and charging to look at the whole setup, which I'd rather not do.
All on property cabling was done by me, with splitters (lots of them) all over the place.
How could I easily and cheaply amplify all the signals, I have been to the Maspro site, only contacts there are in Japan. It's my understanding that Oceanic uses Maspro products, so I am guessing their stuff is pretty good. Is there a local retailer for Maspro here in the 808 state?
As much as possible I'd like to do the work myself, after all cabling is pretty easy stuff......
Mahalo !
:eek:

It sounds as if you daisy chained your wiring from 1 tv to the next. If so then you really messed up. What you want to do is wire each outlet to a central location and use 1 8-way splitter and a signal amplifier from radioshack. Also if you are going to rewire your place make sure to you use RG-6. If you are on Oahu go visit Manfred at Industrial Electronics. You can get everything you need there, 1000' of RG-6, splitters, compression lock F-connectors, strippers and compression tools!

Aloha guys,
I need some info about multiple TV sets on 1 incoming cable, from Oceanic, of course.....
Presently there are 7 TV's and 1 desktop computer off of 1 incoming cable, (yeah I know 7 is a lot) as you can well imagine the last set's reception is much like that white stuff on Mauna Kea (snow).......lol
Calls to Oceanic tech. support only results in a tech. coming over and charging to look at the whole setup, which I'd rather not do.
All on property cabling was done by me, with splitters (lots of them) all over the place.
How could I easily and cheaply amplify all the signals, I have been to the Maspro site, only contacts there are in Japan. It's my understanding that Oceanic uses Maspro products, so I am guessing their stuff is pretty good. Is there a local retailer for Maspro here in the 808 state?
As much as possible I'd like to do the work myself, after all cabling is pretty easy stuff......
Mahalo !
:eek:

My friend in Kaneohe had a similar problem. He installed something called a surge-gap amplifier made by scientific atlanta where the cable comes into his house. It had 4 outputs, which went to 4 different rooms. It fixed up his problems. He got it on ebay for $30. Anyone know if this is better or worse than putting in a regular cable amp?

Can anyone on OTW verify that the Disney Channel (444 digital, 33 analog) is having sound problems? I am only getting sound out of the left speaker and little to no sound out of the right. I have been having this problem for over a month now. I have been trying to get OTW to fix this problem but they deny that it exists on their end. Do any of you satellite people have the same problem?

Can anyone on OTW verify that the Disney Channel (444 digital, 33 analog) is having sound problems? I am only getting sound out of the left speaker and little to no sound out of the right. I have been having this problem for over a month now. I have been trying to get OTW to fix this problem but they deny that it exists on their end. Do any of you satellite people have the same problem?

I just clicked on 444 and sure enough one side (left) is much louder than the other (right). I had headphones on and took one ear off each side... big difference. Right also sounded distorted. You are not going crazy. I am in the Waikiki area.

I just clicked on 444 and sure enough one side (left) is much louder than the other (right). I had headphones on and took one ear off each side... big difference. Right also sounded distorted. You are not going crazy. I am in the Waikiki area.
I just checked Dish - no problem with sound on Disney172/173 both.

Wow, I'm envious. I get nothing at either of these locations, and while I can do both OTA, for PBS I have to do some real microadjusting of the antenna, and I lose reception when the wind picks up. - DR
Now I've got 'em. We'll see how long they last. - DR

AMC-14 Ready for Launch
The AMC-14 satellite that will support DISH Network's growing slate of services is set for launch this weekend.

International Launch Services said the SES AMERICOM bird, which is providing leased capacity to DISH, is scheduled for lift-off at 5:18 a.m. local time Saturday in Kazakhstan, site of the Baikonur Cosmodrome handling the launch. Stateside, the time for the launch is 7:18 p.m. Eastern Friday.

DISH is contracting the entire payload of AMC-14. It's expected that the satellite will help the DBS service expand its high-def slate, including an effort to take local HD markets to around 100 by the end of the year.

AMC-14 Ready for Launch
The AMC-14 satellite that will support DISH Network's growing slate of services is set for launch this weekend.

International Launch Services said the SES AMERICOM bird, which is providing leased capacity to DISH, is scheduled for lift-off at 5:18 a.m. local time Saturday in Kazakhstan, site of the Baikonur Cosmodrome handling the launch. Stateside, the time for the launch is 7:18 p.m. Eastern Friday.

DISH is contracting the entire payload of AMC-14. It's expected that the satellite will help the DBS service expand its high-def slate, including an effort to take local HD markets to around 100 by the end of the year.

I wonder if Borat will be covering the launch? :p

I wonder if Borat will be covering the launch? :p

ILS DECLARES PROTON LAUNCH ANOMALY

BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan, March 14, 2008 – Khrunichev and International Launch Services regret to announce an anomaly during today's Proton mission with the AMC-14 satellite.

The Proton Breeze M rocket lifted off at 5:18 a.m. today local time from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, carrying the AMC-14 satellite for SES AMERICOM and its customer, EchoStar Corporation. Preliminary flight information indicates that the anomaly occurred during the second burn of the Breeze M upper stage. The satellite failed to reach the planned orbit. The satellite was built by Lockheed Martin.

Oh well...<sigh>

More info...

A Russian State Commission has begun the process of determining the reasons for the anomaly. ILS will release details when data become available. In parallel with the State Commission, ILS will form its own Failure Review Oversight Board. The FROB will review the commission's final report and corrective action plan, in accord with U.S. and Russian government export control regulations.

I love the fact that the term "anomaly" in anything else in life means a slight change from normal protocol. In the space biz, "anomaly" means your multi-multi million dollar satellite just burnt up somewhere over Ohio...

Yeah, I remember watching the launch of a GPS satellite on a Delta II rocket a few years back that exploded in spectacular fashion shortly after launch, showering the launch pad and surrounding area with flaming chunks of solid rocket fuel. The launch announces said something along the lines of "we seem to have experienced an anomaly".

How do you say Ooopss in Russian?

How do you say Ooopss in Russian?

Oh shitski.
Speaking of launch failures, SeaLaunch is ready to give it another go after their last meltdown.

Sea Launch Prepares to Launch DIRECTV 11
Sea Launch is now preparing for the launch of the DIRECTV 11 broadcast satellite, on March 17, with liftoff planned for 3:49 pm PDT (22:49 GMT). We will begin our live launch coverage at 3:30 pm (22:30 GMT) via satellite and with streaming video posted on our website.

Normally, my HD signal is great, but I've been trying to get to the bottom of why sometimes shows I record with my TiVo are almost unwatchable. Last night, my wife recorded "Oprah's Big Give" (no comments pls) on KITVHD 1006 & it was badly pixelated with frequent audio dropouts.

According to my TiVo, there had been 13 uncorrected errors and 329 corrected errors over the previous 5 hours -- or about 3 uncorrected errors/hour. So the link is supposed to be good -- if the diagnostic is to be believed.

So my question is which is the likely culprit:

1) TiVo mis-recording
2) TiVo diagnostic incorrect and really a bad link.
3) Oceanic link to the Hawaii Kai headend producing errors
4) Oceanic problem Island-wide
5) KITV problem with their feed or recording equipment.

Any thoughts on the problem. It's not always KITV -- often KHNL-HD will give poor quality with good TiVo diagnostics. HBO & ESPN-HD seem to never have a problem. (KGMB-HD gives bad quality with bad diagnostic, so that's probably a different problem.)

Thanks for the input.

Kent

Sea Launch Prepares to Launch DIRECTV 11

The launch is on hold, and the rocket has been lowered from its upright launch position, as you can see on the webcam (http://www.navigon.net/sl/pictures/). If it does launch, it's supposed to be carried on DirecTV channel 573.

Those wacky Russians...looks like the AMC-14 debacle isn't over. (From engadget):

Just in case you haven't had your fill of satellite launch news in the past 72 hours, here's yet another spoonful. In a release posted today on SES AMERICOM's website, it not only affirms that the recently launched AMC-14 satellite didn't reach its intended orbit, but that things may not be as bad as previously expected. 'Course, the company could just be trying to paint as rosy a picture as possible here, but Martin Halliwell, President of SES ENGINEERING, is quoted as saying that the satellite "is healthy and is operating nominally in a stable orbit under the control of Lockheed Martin." Furthermore, he notes that "[company] engineers are currently exploring various options for bringing AMC-14 into its proper geostationary orbit," but does concede that regardless of what option is exercised, excess fuel will have to be utilized in order to "propel the satellite to its correct orbital position, thereby reducing its service life." Nevertheless, the outfit's CEO closed by stating that it could not "speculate on the impact of the orbit raising activities on both the in-service date and the service life of AMC-14," but at least all hope isn't lost just yet.



"stable orbit under the control of Lockheed Martin"...I think that is similar to an anomaly, only slightly worse.

"stable orbit under the control of Lockheed Martin"...I think that is similar to an anomaly, only slightly worse.

Yeah... stable, but useless, orbit for a geosynchronous DSS satellite.
Maybe they'll send it around the moon to get a good orbit like Hughes did ~10 yrs ago, although I don't think the DISH Business Plan had that figured in.

Since there is no rocket in the way, I think we might be able to see a 'green flash' on the SeaLaunch webcam in a few minutes.<g>

--Michael

Hahaha... A stabe orbit > 23,000 miles = non geosynchronous. In other words they need to spin the satellite around the earth at a rate faster than the earth is spinning to keep gravity from pulling the satellite back to earth. They should just turn it on and send the HD signals down to earth. All the dish owners will get their new HD signals for a couple hours at a time 2 or 3 times a day... How cool would that be... :)

*Conspiracy Theory 1* It was not actually an AMC-14 satellite, rather a spy satellite that NSA needed to send up so that they can spy on us in HD!
*Conspiracy Theory 2* Borat sabotaged the stage 2 booster so that he can Broadcast his show for the few minutes that the satellite flys over Kazakhstan

The launch is on hold, and the rocket has been lowered from its upright launch position, as you can see on the webcam (http://www.navigon.net/sl/pictures/). If it does launch, it's supposed to be carried on DirecTV channel 573.
The launch was delayed until 12:48pm Wed., which is upon us.

The launch was delayed until 12:48pm Wed., which is upon us.

Watched it disappear through the clouds. The second burn of the Block DM (which had been a problem in the past) went as planned, the Spacecraft has separated and the orbit is perfect.
Assuming Spacecraft Acquisition in ~5 hours, and keeping in mind that DirecTV's subscriber acquisition rate has been phenomenal recently...which 'Industry Analysts' attribute to their HD offerings, does anyone see a reason for an 'HD Junkie' staying with DISH Network?

--Michael

Watched it disappear through the clouds. The second burn of the Block DM (which had been a problem in the past) went as planned, the Spacecraft has separated and the orbit is perfect.
Assuming Spacecraft Acquisition in ~5 hours, and keeping in mind that DirecTV's subscriber acquisition rate has been phenomenal recently...which 'Industry Analysts' attribute to their HD offerings, does anyone see a reason for an 'HD Junkie' staying with DISH Network?

--Michael

Michael,

The only reason I can see is the receivers. As you know I have Dish, but man I am barely able to keep from jumping ship. I keep trying to rationalize that some of the stuff shown on channels like SciFi and History HD, is only upconverted stuff. However the arguement is beginning to sound a little hollow.

Dish keeps saying they will have "X" number of HD soon, regardless of their latest launch failure. But having said that i know that when they speak of "national" they do not necessarily include Hawaii.

I will give them a couple more months but before this fall i will make a move one way or another.

Bob

The only reason I can see is the receivers.

Yep. I really don't like DirecTV's DVR operation. Compared to DISH, it's lacking in functionality and intuitiveness (is that a word?), imo. But TIVO seems to have a strong case against DISH...they've already won a $100mil judgement, so that functionality may disappear anyway, re-trial or not.

And I just saw this:<sigh>
DirecTV DVR clampdown: a sober reminder of DRM suckitude
http://arstechnica.com:80/news.ars/post/20080320-directv-dvr-clampdown-a-sober-reminder-of-drm-suckitude.html

I keep trying to rationalize that some of the stuff shown on channels like SciFi and History HD, is only upconverted stuff. However the arguement is beginning to sound a little hollow.

It is hollow. I watch/record a -lot- of programming from History, Discovery, Nat'l Geographic, Science, A&E, TLC, Speed, and Smithsonian HD channels and most of it is in HD. I just ran through the guide for a few days and I'd say SciFi HD has ~40% HD programming, fwiw.

Dish keeps saying they will have "X" number of HD soon, regardless of their latest launch failure. But having said that i know that when they speak of "national" they do not necessarily include Hawaii.

Exactly. Look how they won't give us "access" to 129 for instance. In the situation they are in now, the last thing on their mind is Hawaii nei.

I'd like to get more than one HBO and one Showtime movie channel in HD too.

--Michael

[ But TIVO seems to have a strong case against DISH...they've already won a $100mil judgement, so that functionality may disappear anyway, re-trial or not.

And I just saw this:<sigh>
DirecTV DVR clampdown: a sober reminder of DRM suckitude
http://arstechnica.com:80/news.ars/post/20080320-directv-dvr-clampdown-a-sober-reminder-of-drm-suckitude.html




--Michael[/QUOTE]

Just for the sake of discussion, I have heard that a software revision has already been force fed to the DVR for Dish which means that the customer would not lose the capability. The story has it that the only reason Dish is still appealing the decision is to avoid the money aspect.

Having said all of that I am probably going to take the poison pill and figure a way to have Direct, and still keep some Dish so the wife can have her Japanese Channel....

BTW, even the Big dish can only get two HBO's and One Showtime in HD. I have heard that the new stuff from the HBO family will be MPEG4, and not of a format that the Big dish owners will be able to see.

One mnore thing, I did a recent scan (yesterday) and still nothing on the Maui local channels from the new site. I keep hoping that it will be operational by the olympics....

Bob

[

One mnore thing, I did a recent scan (yesterday) and still nothing on the Maui local channels from the new site. I keep hoping that it will be operational by the olympics....

Bob
==========================
Environmentalists are delaying everything. Do not hold your breath.:mad:

==========================
Environmentalists are delaying everything. Do not hold your breath.:mad:

LOL As with everything else that spells progress.

I would not expect anything else from them.

I have basic cable (no box) from Oceanic Time Warner 96730. I own a Sony KDL-V32XBR2 and recently did a digital channel scan and picked up like 20 channels digital and all my local channels in HDTV. How is this? TW claims you need a box to receive their HDTV.

I get: ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, FOX, FOOD, a few others. I even get a few channels I don't get in analog mode. What is going on? Can someone explain....

It only leads me to more questions:

How many people waste their $ for Digital (box) cable because they want HDTV? Especially when they're only interested in the local channels ie: the big time sporting event channels. I mean, how many people would turn in their box and cancel D service if they knew they didn't have to pay more to get the Super Bowl in HD??

Signed,

Could have watched the Super Bowl in HD and didn't.

Others can chime in on the technical reasons on why this happens on an analog signal, but I'm currently in the same boat as you. I use my QAM tuner to pick up these extra digital and HD stations. My reason for moving to digital and a box next week is that the additional channels that will be made available in HD such as ESPN, Discovery, and a few other channels that my wife wants as part of the digital package. I think that CBS on 46.3 was out of order for about a week, but it's back now. I don't know if these HD channel placements are permanent or if they'll float all around at Oceanic's whim.

If I recall correctly, KGMB and Oceanic called a truce during the Superbowl and allowed its HD signal to be broadcast on Oceanic, but that was a exception until fairly recently when an agreement was reached. Dunno if the game was available on 46.3 or if you actually needed a box.

I don't have any proof yet, but I have a feeling that the HD signal is compressed a lot more via the QAM tuner than using a box. I'll find out for certain soon enough.

Originally, the local HD channels were part of the "HD Pak" which you had to pay for and needed the box to receive. Recently OTW moved them out of the HD Pak and is transmitting them in the clear. This seems to have happened at the exact time they reached the carriage agreement with KGMB. Whether this is coincidence, or was a part of the deal, is anyone's guess. I've also heard, but haven't confirmed, that the FCC was requiring cable operators to make local HD feeds available to basic cable subscribers as part of the analog to digital switchover next year. Someone with more time on their hands could probably research that, if so inclined.

Originally, the local HD channels were part of the "HD Pak" which you had to pay for and needed the box to receive. Recently OTW moved them out of the HD Pak and is transmitting them in the clear. This seems to have happened at the exact time they reached the carriage agreement with KGMB. Whether this is coincidence, or was a part of the deal, is anyone's guess. I've also heard, but haven't confirmed, that the FCC was requiring cable operators to make local HD feeds available to basic cable subscribers as part of the analog to digital switchover next year. Someone with more time on their hands could probably research that, if so inclined.

I've been getting the local HD channels save KGMB via QAM for over a year.