I think they are still waiting for their FCC license! They applied in April.

Eric

I think Eric is right. I know KHET had to file an adjusted application in late May. The FCC's E-file service is down for maintanence so I can't currently check on it. I look at it when the site is back up.

K-5 has some nighttime shows in HD.

Is this true over the cable too? If so, what channel? (935? Or on 85, where their usual digital feed is broadcast?) - DR

I get K-5 OTA in digital and sometimes in HD like on thursday Supernatural is in HD.But forget K-5---in Sept. they are going to show like night time soaps and drop all network shows. Too bad -I kinda like Supernatural. I get my "cable" from DISH.

Hi James. What part of Pearl City? I'm near Manana Elem. and I'd like to know how decent a signal would it be. I'm thinking of installing an outdoor antenna. Thanks.

I live in the Waiu Townhouses on Koaheahe St . I have a RCA antenna That I got from Home Depot for $40 about 10 months ago.It is About 3 feet long and has 2 arms that open up to form a "V" at the front. Now Home Depot has one that is about 5 feet long but the shape is the same.[costs more!] This type of ant. is very directional so if I move it a little off the downtown signals[KGMB KHON KBFD KHEW KIKU ect.]I lose them but the signal from "the ridge" for K-5 KHNL and[ KHET for a short time] are so strong it does not matter what direction I aim. So I adjusted for down town and locked it down.I have a SONY KDF-42WE655 TV and one of the features in the display menu is a diagnostics setting .[IT ONLY COMES ON IF YOU ARE LOOKING AT A DIGITAL STATION ] It tells signal and true station channel. My downtown signals are in the 68-80 range but signals from Makakilo are in the 95-98 range.I still can't get KITV no matter what I do. Maybe Radio Shack has the smaller ant. or maybe you have room for the big one. I have seen the smaller one on some roof tops here in Pearl City.A side note : my tv has the famous blue blob in the middle of the screen.The good news is SONY is going to fix it for free---they called today -the part is in -now I have to take a day off some day soon .SOON AS IN FOOTBALL STARTS SOON AND IT LOOKS VERY GOOD ON KGMB&KHON AND NOW SUNDAY NITE TOO!!!!! ON KHNL>

OOPS MIS SPELLED MY OWN TOWNHOUSE -----Waiau-----

I live in Kakaako and never had any problems receiving KITV. Recently,they must have shut down their downtown transmitter or moved the transmission somewhere else because I still get a signal but it is really weak now and I need to aim my antenna in a different location.

OTA KHNL: Once in a while, instead of receiving the regular programming, I get that weather channel. Anyone else encounterd that?

I live in Kakaako and never had any problems receiving KITV. Recently,they must have shut down their downtown transmitter or moved the transmission somewhere else because I still get a signal but it is really weak now and I need to aim my antenna in a different location.

OTA KHNL: Once in a while, instead of receiving the regular programming, I get that weather channel. Anyone else encounterd that?


Aloha, JimNastic (kewl name)...

That NBC Weather Plus is transimitted on one of KHNL's digital subchannels.

Oceanic carries it 24/7 on digital cable, too.

Eric

BTW, Clear Channel is going HD Radio on four Honolulu stations (KSSK 92.3 FM, KUCD 101.9 FM, KDNN 98.5 FM and KIKI 93.9 FM). Will this work over the cable system?

Eric

Does anyone have any recomendations for a QAM receiver?

Does anyone have any recomendations for a QAM receiver?

Locally, Circuit City carries the Samsung 451 receiver that offer QAM(but only to CATV 125/750Mhz). Best Buy the LG3510, it includes a DVD player, it's QAM tuner goes to CATV150/900Mhz. You might look for "Open Box" specials on both.

As for "HD Radio", I believe Oceanic only resends the "audio" and not the whole frequency on it's digital tier. So I think the answer is no.
But seeing what Clear Channel is offering, it's not much anyway. The "HD1" channel will be simulcast of the "analog" station, The "HD2" channels will be the following:
KSSK-Contemporary Country
KIKI(Hot 939)-Electronica/Dance
KDNN(Island 985)-KHVH 830AM
KUCD(Star 1019)-Smooth Jazz

Clear Channel couldn't offer up a true Rock format, a "Jack-FM" type format or classic Soul?

HD radio sounded interesting, but Wikipedia definition tells me that "the AM version can carry 36 kilobits per second of data for the main audio channel, while FM stations can carry information at 96 kbit/s". I was hoping that HD radio meant low or uncompressed digital audio (though on second thought that would be a difficult task). Doesn't really matter much to me anyway. I only listen to public radio or KTUH. Classic soul would be nice, as would old time ska and reggae.

Also, I read on dslreports.com that Time Warner is making 7Mbs down/512Kbps up standard to customers everywhere. Most will see it in the next few months.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/77329

Also, I read on dslreports.com that Time Warner is making 7Mbs down/512Kbps up standard to customers everywhere. Most will see it in the next few months.


It should be interesting to see when it reaches Hawaii. Bear in mind, the last time
Time Warner raised the speeds to 5Mbps, Oceanic refused.Thus Time Warner
"hijacked" the control of the network to the mainland.

The Big Island RR dialup number is (808)933-2157. It's in Hilo.

There is a Road Runner application that you download and install on your machine. It has a database with all of their nationwide numbers in it.


Eric
I know it's off topic, but could someone please post the dialup number for Oahu residents. I'd rather not install their application if possible. Thanks.

Edit: On second thought, I'm guessing that I will need that application to utilize the dialup numer, yes?

You can use Windows Dial-up Network application.
Here's the numbers for Oahu, Maui and Kauai

808-528-0028 HI Honolulu
808-942-2928 HI Honolulu
808-245-4284 HI Lihue
808-442-3272 HI Maui
808-837-2564 HI Pearl City / Honolulu
808-244-6845 HI Wailuku
808-671-2705 HI Waipahu

Hello, I have a maxent monitor and use OTW hd DVR STB. anyone know four digit code for maxent monitor to be compatible with OTW remote control.

Thanks in advance

Came home this afternoon and turned on the Mariners-Dodgers game on ESPN only to find it blacked out. I have never seen any game from any sport blacked out on ESPN. Heck, I remember ESPN showing a couple UH football home games that weren't even close to being sold out. The game isn't being carried on FSN either, and even if it were, we used to be able to watch them on both channels. What gives?

Same thing has happened on two other occasions. One was with the Angels, and the other this past Saturday. I hooked up my brand new 3250HD to my brand new Sony 46" LCD just in time to catch the Dodgers/Giants on iNHD2. To my dismay, all I got was a black screen. Was able to watch on on FSPT. But I really, really wanted to see it HD. Not too sure why they are blacking out these games.

The Dodgers, Angels, Giants, A's and Mariners all claim Hawaii as part of their "Home Markets", meaning in most cases FSN controls the television rights. InHD only has "out of market" rights to televise games, so all games involving those 5 teams will be blacked out.
Other markets have similar problems, Las Vegas and Iowa in particular.

BTW:Nothing new to report on KHET-DT, the FCC has yet to act on it's app.

Hello, I have a maxent monitor and use OTW hd DVR STB. anyone know four digit code for maxent monitor to be compatible with OTW remote control.

Thanks in advance

From: Maxent USA Website (http://www.maxentusa.com/_coreModules/content/contentDisplay.aspx?contentID=5)


Q: What is the universal remote control code for Maxent?



A: The remote control numeric codes you are referring to are not available through our company. The manufacturer of the universal remote assigns the code you are looking for.



When a cable company (ie., Comcast) or satellite provider (ie., Dish Network) orders their decoder box and universal remote control from a manufacturer (ie., Scientific Atlanta, Motorola, etc.), the decoder box manufacturer provides a list of all the possible remote controls this universal can duplicate. From that list the cable or satellite company selects which manufactureÃ?¢??s products to include on their new universal remote. If they choose not to include our company on the universal remote, the universal remote may not work with our product.



Possible solutions:



(I) We have identified other manufacturers of display products that have similar remote control information to ours. Depending on the universal remote you are using these other manufacturers may or may not work. Using the documentation that accompanied your universal remote, look up the following companies and input the 3 or 4 digit code associated with that company.

· Gateway

· Sampo

· Viewsonic

· Magnavox

· Phillips

· Marantz

· Pilot

(II) If the universal remote you are trying to program contains a Code Search function, (the remote will scan through all the manufacturer codes contained within the universal remote), we recommend that you try that procedure. It is possible that there may be another manufacturers code that may work with our monitor.

(III) You may also want to try a Learning Remote from another manufacturer. This type of remote control can absorb or record the information coming directly out of the Maxent remote control. The learning remote then duplicates that information and acts like the Maxent Remote control. This type of remote can also record the signal coming from your other universal remote, in which case you can use this learning remote for your entire audio video system.

Hello, I have a maxent monitor and use OTW hd DVR STB. anyone know four digit code for maxent monitor to be compatible with OTW remote control.

Thanks in advance


I tried the auto-scan function on my OTW SA8300HD remote with no success. I finally just bought a Harmony 628 for ~$45 from Amazon (free shipping to Hawaii) and the Maxent was right there on the web pull down menu. A great low-cost remote.

Hi Guys,
Just came across this thread while searching for something else. After reading a ton of posts complaining about TWC and available programming I'm wondering why more of you aren't looking at Dish. I'M NOT AFFILIATED WITH DISH IN ANY WAY.

I now have 180+ SD Channels and 23 HD Channels, (All the Voom HD) HD Receivers in 3 rooms, new 622 (MPEG4) (dual tuner HD/SD recordable) for less than $90/month. Have had NO dropouts (although I concede a major storm could possibly affect HD, but it hasn't happened yet). (of course all the free OTA HD stuff via a seperate antenna)

I'd be interested to hear if you are getting more with TWC as I haven't looked at them in a long time.

Jim
Jim,

I currently have Dish an looking to upgrade my services.
What programming are you subscribing too with Dish NetworK?
How many Dishess do you have up receive all these HD channels. I only thought Hawaii could only get the HD pak from Dish network.

What type of OTA antenna are you using to receive other HD feeds?

I would appreciate any input you could provide. Which company installed your Dishes?

Thanks.

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=127160&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=794253&highlight=

DIRECTV Now Offers Local Channels in Hawaii; Local Honolulu Stations Roll Out Today; Will be Available to Customers Throughout the Hawaiian Islands

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=127160&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=794253&highlight=

DIRECTV Now Offers Local Channels in Hawaii; Local Honolulu Stations Roll Out Today; Will be Available to Customers Throughout the Hawaiian Islands

That blurb is from last December.

Eric

rsthi,
Im in the hunt for dish :HD: also. Today I called the "DISH" # and got very little info. The guy kept refering me back to the local dealers. So I started calling around--I started with Microcom [they put my dish in 2 years ago] and all I got was a voice mail-- no return call yet. Next I called the shop in Wahiawa-- the lady was very helpful.She said in Hawaii we can get 5 channels for $10.00 a Month. But will have to have another dish put up and lease another "box" for 5.95 a month and pay a one time fee of 49.95. This sounds just like the offer on the DISH web site. Next I called the shop on South St. He said to get 5 HD channels I would have to get a "HDbox"-299.99 +another DISH 199.99 +a new switch + cable + instalation---- O!!! About 700.00 . I think he was trying to get rid if me. BY the way the lady at Wahiawa said I should really call Microcom because they did my first install. Some how we need to get in touch with JlgLaw and get the info we need. Does anyone know how to get him back to the board- he has'nt posted in a while. James

More info-
I just got a call in to Microcom and they also gave me a price of 699.99 for 5 channels .We really need to get some input from JlgLaw -----HELP!!!!!
James

I live in the Waiu Townhouses on Koaheahe St . I have a RCA antenna That I got from Home Depot for $40 about 10 months ago.It is About 3 feet long and has 2 arms that open up to form a "V" at the front. Now Home Depot has one that is about 5 feet long but the shape is the same.[costs more!] This type of ant. is very directional so if I move it a little off the downtown signals[KGMB KHON KBFD KHEW KIKU ect.]I lose them but the signal from "the ridge" for K-5 KHNL and[ KHET for a short time] are so strong it does not matter what direction I aim. So I adjusted for down town and locked it down.I have a SONY KDF-42WE655 TV and one of the features in the display menu is a diagnostics setting .[IT ONLY COMES ON IF YOU ARE LOOKING AT A DIGITAL STATION ] It tells signal and true station channel. My downtown signals are in the 68-80 range but signals from Makakilo are in the 95-98 range.I still can't get KITV no matter what I do. Maybe Radio Shack has the smaller ant. or maybe you have room for the big one. I have seen the smaller one on some roof tops here in Pearl City.A side note : my tv has the famous blue blob in the middle of the screen.The good news is SONY is going to fix it for free---they called today -the part is in -now I have to take a day off some day soon .SOON AS IN FOOTBALL STARTS SOON AND IT LOOKS VERY GOOD ON KGMB&KHON AND NOW SUNDAY NITE TOO!!!!! ON KHNL>
James-

Saw your reply on the Dish HD upgrade costs..Wow, pretty steep for 5 channels.

I had a question regarding OTA antenna hook up and hopefully can get help regarding this subject..

Is your antenna cable hooked up directly to your T.V or Dish receiver? Or are you using the same wires that Dish ran to feed into your T.V.?
Do you need to switch between satellite and TV to view OTA transmissions. I'm not sure exactly how this works. Very new at this and still researching my options on an antenna.

Saw some posts that signals are very difficult to get in the Ewa area where I am located. Is it worth putting up an antenna?

I would appreciate any info on this matter.

Not sure what the $299 HD Box is, they have the $199 ViP211 and the 622 HD-DVR which is alot more than $299.

Most likely the additional dish is for 129W and the switch is so you can pick up 3 satellite positions (110/119/129) instead of the 2 you probably have now (110/119).

You could pick up a few HD channels WITHOUT a 129W dish:

http://www.lyngsat.com/hd/echo8.html

These are the HD Services on 129W but I thought I read somewhere that they were not authorizing accounts in Hawaii for 129W so that is a little confusing - as you could get a ton more HD than 5 channels with 129W:

http://www.lyngsat.com/hd/echo5.html

Quite frankly, I would seriously get a Dish for 148W as the HBO and SHO HD signals are much better quality on that:

http://www.lyngsat.com/hd/echo1.html

rsthi,
I must assume you have a tv with a built in digital tuner--
My antenna is a common one like you see on roof tops here in Pearl City (and all over really).
It has a common male connector that takes the black cable type that you can find in K-Mart or any store. I have the cable running thru my house to the ANTENNA jack on back of my tv.
To look for stations just-1- cycle your TV/VIDEO button on your remote until you are on your antenna imput-2- aim your antenna at downtown-3-look in your menu and find "channel search" and let the tv tuner look for stations.-3- MOVE ANTENNA left or right a few inches and search again untill you can find all the channels you can.
In EWA I know you should be able to get K5, KHNL and KHET[when they get their permit] because their transmitters are on the ridge above Makakilo. you can see their towers.GOOD LUCK. remember KHNL has Sunday nite football and they have been showing even the preseason in HD. Something to do this 3 day weekend instead of wasting time with family HA HA HA!!!!

Quite frankly, I would seriously get a Dish for 148W as the HBO and SHO HD signals are much better quality on that:

http://www.lyngsat.com/hd/echo1.html
148W does not beam to Hawaii at all. I used to have a 34" dish just for 121W so I could get international channels. maybe a dish about that size is necessary for 129W, as well?

For whatever reason Dish hasn't come clean on why it won't authorize the "Mpeg4" channels at 129w in Hawaii and Alaska, trust me I have sent numerous e-mail to Dish about this and the answers aren't helpful. The satellite does reach both locales. I swung around my 24" at 129 and "locked" on several tps. and a local dish dealer I talked to was getting "70-80ish" signal strength with a 36" dish. Dish is offering the "old" HD pack(TNT, HDNet and Movies, ESPN, DiscHD) to customers in HI, AK, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands only ($10.99 a month). The DishHD metal packages are also available in Puerto Rico and USVI as well as the Mainland. Dish will not offer any rebates, discounts and HD lease programs for the Vip211 and 622 receivers in Hawaii, we pay full price.

All,
I also talked to a dealer and was told a while back that dish did offered a full HD pak to Hawaii and they were installing it. But just as fast as they offered it- they pulled it. Saying there were "techincal problems".But the people that got in under the wire got to keep it -and i'm told it has been near perfect.The rest of us are just -S- out of luck. So I guess we wait or call Directv to see what they offer.
James

148W does not beam to Hawaii at all. I used to have a 34" dish just for 121W so I could get international channels. maybe a dish about that size is necessary for 129W, as well?

That's surprising as 148 is literally sitting over Hawaii. I wonder if anyone has actually tried to get 148W in Hawaii.

For whatever reason Dish hasn't come clean on why it won't authorize the "Mpeg4" channels at 129w in Hawaii and Alaska, trust me I have sent numerous e-mail to Dish about this and the answers aren't helpful. The satellite does reach both locales. I swung around my 24" at 129 and "locked" on several tps. and a local dish dealer I talked to was getting "70-80ish" signal strength with a 36" dish. Dish is offering the "old" HD pack(TNT, HDNet and Movies, ESPN, DiscHD) to customers in HI, AK, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands only ($10.99 a month). The DishHD metal packages are also available in Puerto Rico and USVI as well as the Mainland. Dish will not offer any rebates, discounts and HD lease programs for the Vip211 and 622 receivers in Hawaii, we pay full price.


No defending - but 129W is very crippled. Its stabilizers are out and every 20 minutes it must fire its thrusters to bump it back into position. During a 22 minute cycle, you can see the signal on 129W go from the 50s to the 80s and then back - and thats on the mainland with a 36" dish.

Just locking on a signal means nothing....as you can see wild swings during a 30 minute cycle depending on how bad they have to ping-pong it.

People in Atlanta who have their local LIL on 129W with a standard Dish 1000 are seeing signals in the 40s and 50s.

Now, with mpeg4, once you get an error, the 211 or 622 essentially looses all pictures and you have to reboot it (and it takes about 20 minutes to reboot while checking the satellites and reloading a guide before you get it back). I will loose the video within 4-6 hours due to an error on 129W. So I can assume that is most likely the reason they are hesitant to put Hawaii on.

I guess in a worst case you could sub, put the dishes in and then "move" your service address to LA and get the West Coast HD Locals 2-3 hours earlier, depending on the time of year, as well as all the other HD Channels if you are lucky.

The Honolulu Advertiser has an article about the availability of NFL games in HD on Oceanic this coming season.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060902/BUSINESS09/609220315/1071

In Hawai'i, only about 25,000, or about 6 percent, of Oceanic Cable's customers subscribe to HDTV services, the company said.

Only 25,000? Only 6%? That's a lot more than I thought... I was thinking it'd be 2% or so.

What I don't get about the article is that oceanic charges us for the HD subscription, why can't it fork up the money to pay the affiliates for the broadcasts.

Although I don't think we should have to, I'll be willing to pay more for add'l HD channes

What I don't get about the article is that oceanic charges us for the HD subscription, why can't it fork up the money to pay the affiliates for the broadcasts.


Don't be logical...

Don't be logical...
Please explain this logic. Does Oceanic propose to charge us a premium for HD KGMB and HD KHON?

I was pointing out that Steevan has a very logical argument about Oceanic and HD - it cuts it right to the core - thus not to be logical when speaking of cable companies and their policies - as it will just make you go postal.

HA HA HA!!!--- Hey HDFanAtic I guess your not sarcastic- ENOUGH!!!!!!
Your were taken for real.

What I don't get about the article is that oceanic charges us for the HD subscription, why can't it fork up the money to pay the affiliates for the broadcasts.

Although I don't think we should have to, I'll be willing to pay more for add'l HD channes
good point and agreed. officially you pay Oceanic for the "HD pak" channels like HDNet, Discovery HD, inHD, UniversalHD -- they require you to pay for those in order to get an HD cable box, so you're really just paying extra for the box. If you look at their brochure with the channel line up, KITV HD (ABC), KHNL HD (NBC), ESPNHD, and TNTHD are not marked as part of the HD pak... so, theoretically those four channels should be "in the clear" if you have an expanded basic subscription, and you could watch them if your TV has a QAM (digital cable) tuner. Are they actually in the clear? I don't know because I don't have a TV with a QAM tuner.

Anyway, KGMB HD and KHON HD would not be part of the HD pak, but you'd still have to pay extra for the HD box. It all sounds like a sham to me. Oceanic knows that in a couple of years the stations will have to shut off their analog broadcasts and negotiate carriage based on their digital signals only, which will give Oceanic more leverage.

Anyway, KGMB HD and KHON HD would not be part of the HD pak, but you'd still have to pay extra for the HD box. It all sounds like a sham to me.
A sham? I have to pay extra for the HD box now. I'd still have to. And this means Oceanic is trying to fool me, somehow? How? I'm just not following this at all.

Not particulary HD, but channel 917 on digital cable has a fun offer for free software to create uploadable video and still productions. Photoshow is free for Roadrunner and Oceanic subscribers.

A sham? I have to pay extra for the HD box now. I'd still have to. And this means Oceanic is trying to fool me, somehow? How? I'm just not following this at all.
KITV HD, KHNL HD are not marked as part of the HD pak, but you still have to pay for the HD pak in order to get the box that will let you see those local HD channels. In Oceanic's books, you're paying extra for the HD box, not for the local HD channels. Oceanic says they are not charging for the local HD channels, so they can't justify paying the local stations for the HD signal and we don't get KHON HD or KGMB HD.

Does anybody have any idea when we'll see OTA digital transmitters in Maui?

I tried using a QAM tuner to see what HD channels I could receive. I could only pick up ABC & KHNL, the rest are not in the clear.

If I could get HD for ABC, KHNL, ESPN & TNT, their reply was that ESPN & TNT are included in the HD Pack, they just didn't update their web info to reflect it.

KITV HD, KHNL HD are not marked as part of the HD pak, but you still have to pay for the HD pak in order to get the box that will let you see those local HD channels. In Oceanic's books, you're paying extra for the HD box, not for the local HD channels. Oceanic says they are not charging for the local HD channels, so they can't justify paying the local stations for the HD signal and we don't get KHON HD or KGMB HD.

Does anybody have any idea when we'll see OTA digital transmitters in Maui?


I can speculate that it will be February 2009.

I heard that the SoCal Road Runner subscribers (SoCal manages Oceanic's network here in Hawaii) are going to be getting 7Mbps/512Kbps or 7Mbps/768Kbps upgrade coming up in January 2007. So there is chance Hawaii might get this upgrade then.

In Hawaii Dish does not offer any discount pricing for Oversized Dishes (I.E. 30" 1M or 1.2M) as well as Multiswithes. Which forces consumers to purchase these at retail prices.

148 sat is pretty much directly over Hawaii but it is tilted to aim it output to the mainland which causes Hawaii not to fall under it footprint.

129 Sat does have a stablizing issue with its fine stabilizing wheel. They have stabilized it the best they can with trusters, but because it is all so slightly tilted toward the mainland. This wobbling causes Hawaii to lose its signal as the footprint moves in and out over Hawaii. Because of this Dish does not offer the 129 sat in Hawaii. The 129 carries the Voom HD Channels and is broadcast out in the new MPEG4 technology, which is what the 211, 411, and 622 receivers operate on. I have heard of customers getting 129 sat here in the Islands, however I believe there signal comes and goes.

121 sat for international programming is being replaced by the New 118 sat. The 118 is all ready up and running and I hear they won't turn the 121 off for another year or so to allow customers with 121 to be realigned for the 118.

119 Sat is Dishes main programming Sat caring up to there 120 Package. DirectTv uses some bandwith as well.

118 Sat it the new international sat replacing the 121 sat. They tested this for a month at the 110 location before sliding it over to the 118 spot, as the new 110 sat being launched next year is of the same design. All indications of this test appear to show higher sat signals from the 110 location with this new Sat. We are expecting the Dish size for the 110 may be as low as a 24" but most likely a 30" Dish.

110 Sat came down with a power supply issue about 3 months ago, causing echostar to lower its output levels by 10 to 15 points across the board. This has caused numerous signal/channel losses for Hawaii especailly customers with 30" dishes. Retailers are no longer offering 30" or 1M dishes for the 110. In order to guarantee the customer will get all channels there paying for, coming off the 110 retailers can only offer a 1.2M($650+/-) This problem is here to stay until the new 110 is launched in summer/fall 2007 I believe.
The 110 also carries 5 HD channels in MPEG2 Technology(I.E. 811 942 type HD receivers). Dish has stopped producing these and now only offers the 211 411 and 622 HD MPEG4 type receivers. Any customer in Hawaii getting a one of these MPEG4 receivers for 110 HD MPEG2 is charge a extra fee for not utilizing the MPEG4 technology which is on the 129 sat. This is why Retailers and Dish for the most part stopped offering HD Services in Hawaii. You can still get HD in Hawaii but your installation companies have to go through back channels at dish to get their MPEG4 Receivers activated for the 110, and make the customer aware of the additional fees. Bogus I know.

Hope this clears up some issues I recently read.

Josh
Installer for Microcom

BTW, Clear Channel is going HD Radio on four Honolulu stations (KSSK 92.3 FM, KUCD 101.9 FM, KDNN 98.5 FM and KIKI 93.9 FM). Will this work over the cable system?

Eric
The Honolulu Advertiser has an article about the arrival of HD radio in Hawaii.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060904/BUSINESS13/609040317/1071

The author of the article, Sean Hao, erroneously reports the following:

"Unlike the government-mandated conversion to High Definition TV, the switch to HD radio is market-driven. That means the nation's 12,000 or so radio stations are free to convert to digital broadcasts when they wish. (For television, the federal government will require all broadcasts be in HD by February 2009.)"

Of course we know there is no mandate to switch to HD, but from analog to digital, which is not necessarily HD. I'd send him an email, but I fear it would fall on deaf ears. You're welcome to though.

shao@honoluluadvertiser.com

KITV HD, KHNL HD are not marked as part of the HD pak, but you still have to pay for the HD pak in order to get the box that will let you see those local HD channels. In Oceanic's books, you're paying extra for the HD box, not for the local HD channels. Oceanic says they are not charging for the local HD channels, so they can't justify paying the local stations for the HD signal and we don't get KHON HD or KGMB HD.

Does anybody have any idea when we'll see OTA digital transmitters in Maui?

I disagree with Oceanic claims, becasue you can't get the HD box without an HD subscription, but you still are billed seperately for the box and HD channels. I would love to get the HD box and have just have the local affiliates and maybe ESPN and TNT. Quite frankly, I don't watch the other HD channels that much. Alot of it are reruns that they show repeatedly.

ReplayJanitor said....."ESPNHD, and TNTHD are not marked as part of theHD pak..."

It's possible that the carriage contract TWC has for these 2 channels may require that they not be tied to any pay tier but rather be part of basic digital cable like their SD counterparts. If that were the case, then Oceanic might be in the wrong. Further investigation by interested parties might be in order.

KITV HD, KHNL HD are not marked as part of the HD pak, but you still have to pay for the HD pak in order to get the box that will let you see those local HD channels.Actually you don't if you have a TV with QAM Tuner. My Sony A10 brings in both KITV-HD on 936 and KHNL-HD on 938. I was also getting ESPN-HD on 952, but recently it's been blocked, coincidentally right before football season starts...

Does anybody have any idea when we'll see OTA digital transmitters in Maui?Probably not anytime soon as I'm sure Oceanic wants people to "pay" for HD, while everyone on the mainland can throw an antenna up on their roof and get many HD broadcasts for free.

PS. I just tried KHNL-HD on 938 and I get a "signal cannot be decoded" error. I also tried 77.4 as I received KHNL-HD on this channel too, but now it's showing regular ESPN. What's going on Oceanic?!?!?!

Thank goodness for the NFL in high definition. It's a completely different game.
Great picture on KHON.
Makes me want CBS and Fox in high definition even more.

are you watching on oceanic time warner or OTA? i think the picture is kind of crappy on oceanic.

Oceanic.
My standards are not as high as others.

Also caught part of the game on 938 through Oceanic. Far from high quality, but definitely better than regular Ch. 8.

PS. I just tried KHNL-HD on 938 and I get a "signal cannot be decoded" error.

Me too ("channel not available") earlier this evening, but it is back now for me.

I also tried 77.4 as I received KHNL-HD on this channel too, but now it's showing regular ESPN.

BTW, this is also channel 256. ESPN for me too.

Out of curiosity, is there an overall agreement as to which high definition channel provides the "best picture"? I realize "best picture" is extremely subjective, but it would be interesting to hear what you folks have to say.

For my sake, why don't we exclude HBO and Cinemax since I don't subscribe to those stations.

I think it depends on the show a lot of the time -- and on whether your provider is limiting bandwidth for a particular channel.

When I lived in Detroit I was always happy with the football on CBS, ESPN and FOX. Football on NBC doesn't seem to look very good (a million times better tha SD though). But then shows like Jay Leno look very good on NBC. All the sitcoms seem to look great in HD no matter what channel they are on. Lost looks great in HD on ABC.

Out of curiosity, is there an overall agreement as to which high definition channel provides the "best picture"?

According to my HDTV, 938 is a 1080i signal, while 936 (and most of the 'blank' channels in the 930s) are at 720p. My set seems to render 720p better in general. There is considerable disagreement over whether 1080i or 720p are preferable in theory, but in practice this seems to depend on both the display equipment (your TV) and the broadcaster's scaling equipment.

According to my HDTV, 938 is a 1080i signal, while 936 (and most of the 'blank' channels in the 930s) are at 720p. My set seems to render 720p better in general. There is considerable disagreement over whether 1080i or 720p are preferable in theory, but in practice this seems to depend on both the display equipment (your TV) and the broadcaster's scaling equipment.


Yes, ABC and FOX are 720p...everyone else is 1080i.


But the best picture? Gee, it depends on a lot of factors. If you're using cable or satellite, how much bandwidth is your provider allocating for a given channel, in addition to the quality of the original signal. What's your display's native resolution; how good is the processing that you are using? Lots of factors.

It's the Weakest Link sort of thing.

Generally, DiscoveryHD is about as good as it gets. UniversalHD is great, too. The INHD channels are terrific, ESPNHD is boffo.


Eric

Actually you don't if you have a TV with QAM Tuner. My Sony A10 brings in both KITV-HD on 936 and KHNL-HD on 938. I was also getting ESPN-HD on 952, but recently it's been blocked, coincidentally right before football season starts...

So, then, Oceanic is not charging extra for HD versions of local stations and that's their argument for not paying KGMB and KHON for an HD signal. I'll bet they still don't support clear QAM tuning of those channels. If you call to complain about a glitch, what do you get?


Probably not anytime soon as I'm sure Oceanic wants people to "pay" for HD, while everyone on the mainland can throw an antenna up on their roof and get many HD broadcasts for free.
I don't think the digital OTA transmitters in Maui are any of Oceanic's business, that is, they don't pay for it or have a say in the process. The local station owners are the ones pooling together to put up all their 6+ digital transmitters, but Maui residents were very finicky about approving a new location for the tower a few years ago. I did a little research to find out that the stations will now take their time to put up digital-only transmitters at Ulupalakua Ranch (a lower location) by 2009.

You are right that Oceanic is benefiting from this situation because if you are outside of Oahu or Hilo (Big Island) and want network TV in HD, they are the only provider. In the meantime, the telescopes on Haleakala have to contend with interference from the TV towers for another 2.5 years.

Here's a couple of links:
http://www.moolelo.com/antennae-opposed.html (old article from 2002)
http://www.well.com/user/dmsml/kkua/index.html (w/ pictures of the transmitters)

I don't blame Oceanic (it's actually Time Warner Corporate back in NY) for fighting the greedy local stations ...if they have to pay them for the local HD signals, they will have to increase our rates again, which is what people have been complaining about for years. Aside from infrastructure and general operating cost increases over the years, it's the program suppliers (particularly Disney/ESPN, et al) that have been the cause for rate increase after rate increase.

Eric

Is KHNL Broadcasting in OTA DT. I am getting a very clear standard air picture but KHNL-DT does not register when I scan. I get all the other OTA DT channels except KHNL's. If KHNL-DT is coming off the same Tower as there Standard Air channel I would think I should be able to get the DT as well.

Anyone have any answers to this? Also does anyone actually know where KHNL is broadcasting tower is?

KHNL-DT transmits from KFVE's tower on Palehua Ridge(above Makakilo).
They are also under a STA license, meaning that they are transmtting with limit power(5.9kw). As a comparison, KIKU-DT transmits from they same area but at full power(60.7kw).

Thanks,

That explains why I can get Kiku and not KHNL. Any Idea if and when they will broadcast at full power?

I don't blame Oceanic (it's actually Time Warner Corporate back in NY) for fighting the greedy local stations ...if they have to pay them for the local HD signals, they will have to increase our rates again, which is what people have been complaining about for years. Aside from infrastructure and general operating cost increases over the years, it's the program suppliers (particularly Disney/ESPN, et al) that have been the cause for rate increase after rate increase.

Eric

Quite frankly, I don't think we get the quality HD programming for what we pay.....In order to receive the HD Pack, you'll need to pay for digital cable and then you'll need to pay for a cable box rental ontop of the HD subscription. Do we really need to pay for ditigital service so that some people can listen to some FM stations through their cable box? It's time for someone to call bullsh!t.

The sunday Star Bulletin has an interesting article (with pictures) on Hawaii's first high definition mobile truck. An interesting read.

http://starbulletin.com/2006/09/10/business/story01.html

In order to receive the HD Pack, you'll need to pay for digital cable and then you'll need to pay for a cable box rental ontop of the HD subscription. Do we really need to pay for ditigital service so that some people can listen to some FM stations through their cable box?
You need digital service for HD because the HD signal is digital.

You need digital service for HD because the HD signal is digital.

I realize that it is a digital signal, my point is that the digital packaged is loaded with channels that I do not even view. If Oceanic got rid of these channels, i.e. fm radio and digital music channels. If i really wanted to listen to music, I'll turn the radio on. These additional channels add to the cost of digital programming.

If Oceanic got rid of these channels, i.e. fm radio and digital music channels. If i really wanted to listen to music, I'll turn the radio on. These additional channels add to the cost of digital programming.
I too only watch a handfull of channels and almost all of those are not part of the basic 'digital cable service' package. I would prefer instead that all these 'digital cable service' channels were packaged into programming tiers that you would choose to subscribe to, like a children's channel package, a news channel package, a digital music package or a pizza ordering package. It would allow the customer some flexibilty in choosing only the kinds of programming he or she wants to pay for.

Of course, if such a change led to lower profits, it's unlikely we'll see it happen voluntarily.

KHNL-DT will operate at the low power level for the forseeable future. They have a request to remain at the same power level and use the same facilities after analog shutdown.

As for the article about the HD mobile truck now in Hawaii, the article wasn't too clear about it's use for events like the Hawaii Bowl or the Merrie Monarch Festival.

As for Rick Blangiardi, while it was nice for KGMB to be first to air a live HD telecast locally, having only those few that can receive KGMB-DT over the air and not available via Oceanic bring to mind the old joke about a tree falling in the forest.

As for Rick Blangiardi, while it was nice for KGMB to be first to air a live HD telecast locally, having only those few that can receive KGMB-DT over the air and not available via Oceanic bring to mind the old joke about a tree falling in the forest.
Was that really broadcast in HD? I thought it was only produced in HD for testing and downconverted for SD.

I realize that it is a digital signal, my point is that the digital packaged is loaded with channels that I do not even view. If Oceanic got rid of these channels, i.e. fm radio and digital music channels. If i really wanted to listen to music, I'll turn the radio on. These additional channels add to the cost of digital programming.

One of the "points" about digital data streams is that they can handle MORE channels of programming; why would you want LESS? If you want to reduce the drag on the system, analog channels have to go.

I had the Smooth Jazz channel on for most of the weekend. :D

One of the "points" about digital data streams is that they can handle MORE channels of programming; why would you want LESS? If you want to reduce the drag on the system, analog channels have to go.

I had the Smooth Jazz channel on for most of the weekend. :D


My point is that I rather have more HD channels than music channels. Instead of airing all those lame channels, fork over the money for more quality HD channels. But I guess it's people like me that have to subsidize your smooth jazz channel

LOL....when I got home tonight I turned on channel 936 to watch MNF. It took a few seconds to realize that ESPN-HD has the MNF game now, so I switched to 952. When Sportscenter was on instead, it took a few more seconds to realize that that game was shown live, not tape delayed like it had for so many years on KITV. It's gonna take some getting used to. Lucky for the DVR.

All,
KHET is running their digital transmitter this morning . I guess they are tunning because the signal keeps poping off and on . Two feeds -11.1 DT 11.2 SD. Real ch. 18.1 18.2.

KHNL-DT transmits from KFVE's tower on Palehua Ridge(above Makakilo).
They are also under a STA license, meaning that they are transmtting with limit power(5.9kw). As a comparison, KIKU-DT transmits from they same area but at full power(60.7kw).

Do KHON and KGMB broadcast their digital signals from the same place as their analog signals?

Thanks!

Wow the local NBC and ABC channels sure forget to flip the switch a lot here. Does anyone have phone numbers we can call to get through to someone when we see a show that is in SD when it should be HD?

I've noticed it several times on Medium on NBC and tonight there was SD for the new Men in Trees show on ABC. It's not such a big deal now but if they drop the ball for the Office and LOST etc that's going to really suck.

Yep...KHET-DT is up (11.1 KHET-HD, 11.2 KHET-SD).
Signal strength low 60's in Kakaako.


RJ,
I didn't see the debate so I don't know if it was in HD or not, but my impression is that it was HD with SD simulcast.


redsandvb,

Just for reference:
KGMB-DT and KHON-DT transmit from KGMB's tower on Kapiolani
KITV-DT transmits from the Ala Moana Hotel
KWHE-DT and KBFD-DT transmit from Century Square(Bishop and Beretania)
KFVE-DT, KHNL-DT, KIKU-DT and now KHET-DT transmit from Palehua Ridge(above Makakilo)
KPXO-DT transmits from Wiliwilinui Ridge(above Kailua/Aina Haina)

NBC's "Today" show debut'd their newly designed HD studio 1A in NYC on national television this morning . . . too bad Oceanic's KHNL-HD spot was blank. :p

Yep...KHET-DT is up (11.1 KHET-HD, 11.2 KHET-SD).
Signal strength low 60's in Kakaako.


RJ,
I didn't see the debate so I don't know if it was in HD or not, but my impression is that it was HD with SD simulcast.


redsandvb,

Just for reference:
KGMB-DT and KHON-DT transmit from KGMB's tower on Kapiolani
KITV-DT transmits from the Ala Moana Hotel
KWHE-DT and KBFD-DT transmit from Century Square(Bishop and Beretania)
KFVE-DT, KHNL-DT, KIKU-DT and now KHET-DT transmit from Palehua Ridge(above Makakilo)
KPXO-DT transmits from Wiliwilinui Ridge(above Kailua/Aina Haina)

Thanks Charles :cool:

Local NBC forgot to flip the switch on Law and Order tonight. Maybe they're all on vacation this week?

Now I know why I can't receive KITV-DT OTA anymore ( or not as strong as before). I live in Kakaako and last year, KITV signal was very strong. Suddenly this year, I'm having a hard time getting a strong signal, even with moving the antenna around. Then I remembered someone saying that if you're not in the line of sight of the antenna, reception will be difficult. I look outside my windows and see those 2 new condominium towers being built on Kapiolani Boulevard (the Moana Pacific I think next to McKinley HS). And sure enough, they are blocking my view of the Ala Moana hotel and therefore blocking KITV-DT signal. Mystery solved.

Is anyone here using pchdtv cards, or any htpc capture cards, for QAM?

I am trying to determine if my reception/recording problems are TW-Oceanic signal issue or my cards. I am able to tune ABC, NBC hd and CBS and K5 but the quality is unpredictable. Went to TW-Oceanic yesterday to officially upgrade to digital cable package but was told there were no filters on my line for digital cable which seemed odd.

Joe

Well I e-mailed KITV(ABC) and KHNL (NBC) to complain about how often the HD broadcast isn't being passed through.

Mike Rosenberg at KITV was nice enough to reply with an explanation...

You are correct in your observation. We are in the process of changing our original HD server (which is dying) to a new server and have run into a number of intermittent problems. When we run into these problems (usually bad sync between the audio and video) our only choice is to go back to the standard definition signal. We are working with the manufacturer to solve these issues and sincerely hope to be back to normal in the next couple of weeks.

Sorry,

Mike

Is anyone here using pchdtv cards, or any htpc capture cards, for QAM?

I am trying to determine if my reception/recording problems are TW-Oceanic signal issue or my cards. I am able to tune ABC, NBC hd and CBS and K5 but the quality is unpredictable. Went to TW-Oceanic yesterday to officially upgrade to digital cable package but was told there were no filters on my line for digital cable which seemed odd.

Joe

As the digital channels are for the most part encrypted, there is no reason to use the 40 year old filter process to block those from a consumer.

As the digital channels are for the most part encrypted, there is no reason to use the 40 year old filter process to block those from a consumer.

So then it is safe to conclude that if one has a device capable of capturing QAM, no need to upgrade to the digital cable package for better reception then I already get with basic cable.

I am not interested in any of the encrypted channels. I am really only interested in the already available HD content for ABC and NBC, along with DT CBS.

If you can pick them up with a QAM tuner and they aren't scrambled, no, you will have no added benefit by subbing to the digital package.

I will put this on caveat in though - different model equipment has better/worse output resolution - ie a SA3250HD can display a little less than 1000x1080 lines on a output using the HDNET test in a different market, the SA8300HD can display about 1250x1080i lines of resolution and a cable card in a particular unit displayed 1600x1080.

Likewise, all equipment will most likely have difference in what it can display.

If your QAM tuner interfaces and can display as good or better resolution, you would not benefit from subbing to the digital package with a STB. If your QAM tuner interfaces worse than the STBs, then yes, it would look worse.

However, most TVs at this point in time cannot display over 1440x1080 and many don't even hit 1300x1080. It really depends on your unit.

Wondering if anyone is also not receiving any signal on channel 938? I get a signal on 936, but it's all in SDTV. I am able to catch all of the other high defintion channels. I called Oceanic, rebooted, but still have this problem. A tech is scheduled to comeover later this week. BTW, I was able to receive 936 and 938 in HDTV for nearly a year before this happened about a week ago. I haven't touched anything recently.

Anybody getting the audio stuttering problem watching SNL tonight? It's happening often enough to be irritating. Wondering if it's just my 8300HD box. I'm recording the show for the chili peppers, and noticed that the stuttering problem is only happening when watching it with my box. If I watch the QAM channel 938 the audio is fine (using the built in tv tuner, not the box), which I thought was strange.

If you can pick them up with a QAM tuner and they aren't scrambled, no, you will have no added benefit by subbing to the digital package.

Mahalo for your input and explanation. Mine is not an output/resolution problem but a signal issue. My HTPC worked flawlessly with OTA. Living on Maui now, there is no OTA which is why I have moved into the cable arena.

I have no interest in using TW-Oceanic equipment. I LOVE my MythTV.

Very frustrating. The last couple of days KGMBDT has been near perfect but I lost KHNLDT. KITVHD has always been giving me grief with the worst reception.

Joe

Yesterday's NY Yankee v. Boston Red Sox game on inHD (YES Network feed) was great except for the last inning when it was switched to SD. It appeared to be a YES issue since the inHD promos were in HD, but when it went back to the game it was SD.

Is KGMB and KHON broadcasting HD OTA?

Yes, KHON and KGMB are broadcasting HD OTA signals. I live in Aiea at about a 600 feet elevation and am able to get these signals just using rabbit ears.

I was surprised to see that I could catch OTA with an indoor antenna in Ewa.
I catch all digital stations except KHON. Is there anything I can try to receive a signal w/o putting up an outdoor antenna.

This station broadcasts from the same location as KGMB and I catch this with no problem.

I would appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks.

rsthi,
Try getting a long cable and moving the antenna all around your house. You would be surprised what a difference in signal strengh 10 feet from one side of the room or the other can sometimes make. Also try different antennas[buy from Walmart-they will take it back -just say it did not work] Outher stores may also take returns just ask first. I went thru 4 antennas befor I found one that would catch most stations -still no KITV for me -I gave up.
James

Hi,

What are some of the brands/model antenna's that everone has found success with? I live in the Renaissance area, by Waikele. I have tried a RCA one from best Buy, all I could catch was KFVE -DT and a bunch of religous stations. Anyone catch KGMB and KHON from my area?

Is it true that KGMB mostly only "flips the switch" for HD on sporting events? What about primetime shows.

THanks

Hi,

What are some of the brands/model antenna's that everyone has found success with? I live in the Renaissance area, by Waikele. I have tried a RCA one from best Buy, all I could catch was KFVE -DT and a bunch of religous stations. Anyone catch KGMB and KHON from my area?

Is it true that KGMB mostly only "flips the switch" for HD on sporting events? What about primetime shows.

THanks

Hi,

What are some of the brands/model antenna's that everyone has found success with? I live in the Renaissance area, by Waikele. I have tried a RCA one from best Buy, all I could catch was KFVE -DT and a bunch of religous stations. Anyone catch KGMB and KHON from my area?

Is it true that KGMB mostly only "flips the switch" for HD on sporting events? What about primetime shows.

THanks


The only shows they (kgmb and khon) broadcast in HD is the live sporting events, presumably because they don't have a working HD video recorder to time shift the HD shows. NFL games are in HD on Sunday.

rsthi,
Keep in mind that KHON-DT transmits on OTA Ch.8(VHF) unlike the other DT stations that are UHF. That involves playing the the "rabbit ears" to get a signal lock.

KGMB has a HD media server(to timeshift/store HD programming), they just don't use it because:
a)They are not available on Oceanic(KGMB want's $$$), so only a few hundred souls actually watch the OTA signal.
b)Using the media server involves using station personnel to program and monitor the capturing and playback of the content on the server.
c) When you factor a+b together, it's just not worth it to them.

To be fair KGMB does have a flakey audio board and created problems with encoding and sync.

Both KHON and KGMB have full digital master controls, so passing through live HD is easy and involves little effort on the stations part.

Charles, James

Thanks for the info. appreciate the information.





rsthi,
Keep in mind that KHON-DT transmits on OTA Ch.8(VHF) unlike the other DT stations that are UHF. That involves playing the the "rabbit ears" to get a signal lock.

KGMB has a HD media server(to timeshift/store HD programming), they just don't use it because:
a)They are not available on Oceanic(KGMB want's $$$), so only a few hundred souls actually watch the OTA signal.
b)Using the media server involves using station personnel to program and monitor the capturing and playback of the content on the server.
c) When you factor a+b together, it's just not worth it to them.

To be fair KGMB does have a flakey audio board and created problems with encoding and sync.

Both KHON and KGMB have full digital master controls, so passing through live HD is easy and involves little effort on the stations part.

http://accessories.rca.com/en-US/modeldetail.html?maincat=Antennas&subcat=Outdoor+Antennas&modelnum=ANT3020X

rhi,
Copy this link into your browser to see my antenna. I have it in my attic. If you get K-5 you can get KHNL-KHET as their transmitters are next to each other. Try tune your tv to35.3 for KHNL-18.1 or 18.2 for KHET- might work- this is their real freqs. You may have red hill blocking your shot at getting KGMB/KHON -move your antenna around and try to get it as high as you can.Good luck.
James

I live in lower Manoa behind Punahou School's "Rocky Hill." I have a Lacrosse antenna on the roof. It gets KITV, KBFD, KHNL and some others, but not KFVE! This is perplexing since I read on this list that KHNL and KFVE use the same antenna tower. I'd like to watch the UH vs. Boise football game tomorrow in HD. Any advice?

Thanks,

Jack

It would be 480i upconverted, yes? Still, I wish I could get KFVE-DT OTA. Channel 5 on Oceanic looks almost as bad as UH's kicking game.

Oceanic's digital chanel 85 looked pretty awful on my 106" screen. During the commercials I kept switching to the Florida game on ESPN HD so my friends would see that it's not the fault of my equipment. KHNL is coming in fine OTA but no KFVE. I can't understand that since they're broadcast from the same place.

Cable Cards Article (http://www.cedmagazine.com/article/CA6375677.html)

There are now more than 200,000 CableCARDs deployed by cable operators serving over 89 percent of the cable subscribers in the country, according to the latest quarterly report on the subject the NCTA filed with the FCC, on behalf of its members.

Wish me luck - Oceanic's coming out on Friday to install 2 CableCards into my new HD Tivo S3. Hope all goes well ...

Spleen

Wish me luck - Oceanic's coming out on Friday to install 2 CableCards into my new HD Tivo S3. Hope all goes well ...

Spleen

Wow, I didn't know those were even out yet! Let us know how it goes, I may be interested in picking one up if it does. A few months ago I tried getting the cable card for my Sony TV and it didn't work that great -- sometime the channels would come in, sometimes they wouldn't. I returned them the next day.

Wish me luck - Oceanic's coming out on Friday to install 2 CableCards into my new HD Tivo S3. Hope all goes well ...

Spleen
As do I. I've been looking hard at the S3 since they've been released, but my bad experience with Oceanic's cablecard has made me wary. I look forward to a detailed description of your experience. Good luck!

I'm waiting with baited breath* too. Please keep us posted.

Less concerned with the cards than with the skills of the Oceanic techs. I've been building and maintaining my own PCs for many years. The only occurence in the last decade that made me go to a professional was their insistence on setting up the modem they brought for RoadRunner service. This was a while back. They should be better trained now.

*When I use this phrase, my wife always nods in agreement saying that yes, my breath does smell like stale bread and squid.

I'm really worried about this install, especially because I'll be working at that time and my wife will be the one that's guiding the installer. :eek:

I'm sort of reassured that a lot of other Time Warner regions have had pretty good success with the CableCard installations in the S3 Tivos so far ... I'll let you all know how it goes!

Spleen

Cable Cards Article (http://www.cedmagazine.com/article/CA6375677.html)

They mention multistream cable cards in the article. Do those work with On Demand and PPV? Or is that 2.0? Will they ever make it out?

:cool:

My understanding is that 2.0 will provide the bidirectional communication required for PPV, etc. I think multistream cablecards only eliminate the need for 2 standard cablecards in such applications as the Tivo Series 3.

Spleen, please also let us know how you're being billed for these cablecards. Specifically, whether they will insist on charging you the 'duplicated services' fee even though they are being used on the same device.

My understanding is that 2.0 will provide the bidirectional communication required for PPV, etc. I think multistream cablecards only eliminate the need for 2 standard cablecards in such applications as the Tivo Series 3.
Thanks delar


So what's up w/ KHNL the past couple days? No HD, as far as I've seen anyway...

Well, the install went fairly well all things considering. We hit a small snag with my wife forgetting that she had a hair appointment at the same time so it was left to my mother-in-law to try to explain to the cable installer what needed to be done .... :shudder: Despite all the confusion and the installer admitting that this was the first Tivo CableCard install that he had done and asking for my wife to come home from her hair appointment (definitely not earning myself any brownie points on that case) because of some confusion of what actually needed to be done, the installer only really needed 20-30 minutes to confirm the serial numbers of the cards, install them, confirm with Oceanic the services, and voila - I have digital HD now on my Tivo. Works like a charm.

I was grandfathered in on my HD pack previously so they weren't charging me extra for the 3 HD boxes I had (only one charge for the pack). I'm wondering if they're going to charge me for the HD pack for each CableCard like delar was mentioning.

I love not having to deal with the brain-dead SA user interface so very happy camper here! I never used any of the interactive services so that's no big loss to me. Interestingly enough, before my CableCards were installed, I did a channel search on the Tivo with the cable and I picked up the QAM signals of 936 and 938 being broadcast in the clear - picked them up with the Tivo no problem. Might be an option for those of us who just want to be able to see and record only network TV in HD - not pay for the HD pack and just use the unencrypted signals. 'Course, Oceanic might disable them at any time. And the other problem is that Tivo had no programming information on 936 and 938 before the CableCards were installed - since QAM is a non-supported/non-advertised feature on the S3 Tivo, I'm not surprised that there's a few flaws in this picture. To record them, you'd have to manually set channel and time of recording.

Spleen

I just noticed a new HD channel 951 HDFSN. It looks like they are just testing it out. I'm assuming it's fox sports. I know they show Laker games in HD. Other than that what do they really show in HD?

I just noticed a new HD channel 951 HDFSN. It looks like they are just testing it out. I'm assuming it's fox sports. I know they show Laker games in HD. Other than that what do they really show in HD?


Not a whole lot else. Last year it was called HDSPORTS on the guide.

Eric

Glad to hear things went well on the install Spleen. I have a couple of questions to ask regarding your setup.

1. Does the channel guide work as advertised? Is all program information correct?

2. How does the channel change delay compare to that of the SA STBs, especially when set to pass-through mode?

3. Can you discern a PQ difference between the SA boxes and the Tivo S3?

1) channel guide looks accurate. Of course, I'm basing this on 2-3 hours of usage so far but from what I'm seeing, it looks right. Don't they all get their information from the same sources anyway?

2) there appears to be a slight delay when flipping from one HD channel to another. Doesn't bother me since I don't channel surf but I can see for some people that do how it might. The Tivo does seem to do a better job with overscan than the SA boxes (often times I'd see white/black "squiggly" lines on the top of the screen with the SA boxes while watching non-HD material - much cleaner with the Tivo) - which brings me to ....

3) PQ appears to be equivalent or possibly better in certain cases (as above)

This is an intial impression and I may change it as I get more experience with it ... but so far, very pleased!

Spleen

Interestingly enough, before my CableCards were installed, I did a channel search on the Tivo with the cable and I picked up the QAM signals of 936 and 938 being broadcast in the clear - picked them up with the Tivo no problem. Might be an option for those of us who just want to be able to see and record only network TV in HD - not pay for the HD pack and just use the unencrypted signals. 'Course, Oceanic might disable them at any time. And the other problem is that Tivo had no programming information on 936 and 938 before the CableCards were installed - since QAM is a non-supported/non-advertised feature on the S3 Tivo, I'm not surprised that there's a few flaws in this picture. To record them, you'd have to manually set channel and time of recording.

Spleen

HUH???

QAM is undocumented?

What you talking about Willis?

Cablecards use QAM tuners

1) channel guide looks accurate. Of course, I'm basing this on 2-3 hours of usage so far but from what I'm seeing, it looks right. Don't they all get their information from the same sources anyway?




No, actually, this is part of the extra money you will now pay each month to TIVO - for their program guide. It damn well better be accurate.



there appears to be a slight delay when flipping from one HD channel to another. Doesn't bother me since I don't channel surf but I can see for some people that do how it might.



Known issue with cablecards - they are always slower then HD STBs. No way around it.


The Tivo does seem to do a better job with overscan than the SA boxes (often times I'd see white/black "squiggly" lines on the top of the screen with the SA boxes while watching non-HD material - much cleaner with the Tivo)



That actually means your TIVO has WORSE overscan as you are not seeing lines 1 and 2.



3) PQ appears to be equivalent or possibly better in certain cases (as above)



Generally true of cable cards in the set. Yet to be determined with external cable card boxes such as the TIVO - as then you are back to the mercy of the YPbPr or HDMI connection output circuits in the STB and input circuits in the TV.

I just noticed a new HD channel 951 HDFSN. It looks like they are just testing it out. I'm assuming it's fox sports. I know they show Laker games in HD. Other than that what do they really show in HD?


Yup, noticed it at friends house tonight. Unlike in the past couple of years that only 2-3 games a month were available in HD via FSN-HD, they are amping up programming. FSN-HD currently offers one HD College Football game a week...Saturdays game is Stanford at UCLA at 4pm Hawaii time...as well as a weekly ACC and Pac-10 Basketball game once the season starts up.
This isn't confirmed, but from what i'm hearing the Lakers and Clippers home games will be in HD on FSN-HD as well.

My bad - misspoke about the QAM issue. I guess there initially was some concern whether the Tivo would allow you to tune in digital channels without a CableCard installed which led to my surprise that I was able to tune in 936 and 938 without the cards. Yes, overscan is technically worse since you're seeing less of the screen - but in terms of PQ, I'd prefer not seeing the lines that are data headers. I'm not expressing myself very well tonight, apparently. :)

Spleen

QAM tuner cards will pick up the unencrypted digital signal. I am using the pchdtv 3000 cards and mythtv as my DVR. I receive NBC-HD, ABC-HD, CBS-DT, KFVE-DT and a few other channels; I think 37 in all. Use to get ESPN-HD but I think TW-Oceanic has now encrypted that.

TW cannot encrypt ABC-HD and NBC-HD because of federal law. Basically, if the channel is available in the OTA marketplace and your cable company carries the HD feed, it cannot be encrypted. This is why we only get ABC and NBC here in HI unecrypted.

The beauty of this system is that you do not have to pay the high cost of TW-Oceanic's packages. Simply, have cable modem service and scan for channels. I found by turning on the basic cable package I received a few more channels, ABC-HD being the important one for me.

My biggest problem with this set up is the signal on Maui kinda sucks. I get some break down in my picture. My friends with the expensive HD packages have the same problem with their STBs freezing and resetting during a show.

Joe

QAM tuner cards will pick up the unencrypted digital signal. I am using the pchdtv 3000 cards and mythtv as my DVR. I receive NBC-HD, ABC-HD, CBS-DT, KFVE-DT and a few other channels; I think 37 in all. Use to get ESPN-HD but I think TW-Oceanic has now encrypted that.

TW cannot encrypt ABC-HD and NBC-HD because of federal law. Basically, if the channel is available in the OTA marketplace and your cable company carries the HD feed, it cannot be encrypted. This is why we only get ABC and NBC here in HI unecrypted.

The beauty of this system is that you do not have to pay the high cost of TW-Oceanic's packages. Simply, have cable modem service and scan for channels. I found by turning on the basic cable package I received a few more channels, ABC-HD being the important one for me.

My biggest problem with this set up is the signal on Maui kinda sucks. I get some break down in my picture. My friends with the expensive HD packages have the same problem with their STBs freezing and resetting during a show.

Joe

Actually, most TW systems put a filter to block the lower QAM channels (usually analog channels in the clear) on your tap when they install only a cable modem for this exact reason.

Most likely they will eventually start doing the same for the higher QAM frequencies as well so this cannot happen for reasons you noted.

If you do not have basic cable TV service, they are under no obligation to give you the locals in the clear and it would not be a big deal to have crews install the filters at the tap for those few that do have Road Runner and no basic cable.

At that future point, all exclusive cable modem installs that don't have a bundle would get the broader filter, instead of the analog only filter, at install.

I really don't have any high hopes here, but is anyone else noticing channel 951 HDFSN? It's nothing but a test pattern right now, but I expect FSN stands for Fox Sports Net. Probably nothing more than a test...but...

I really don't have any high hopes here, but is anyone else noticing channel 951 HDFSN? It's nothing but a test pattern right now, but I expect FSN stands for Fox Sports Net. Probably nothing more than a test...but...

They had this channel before. From what I remeber, during the baseball season a year ago there was a total of 2 games shown on it during the whole season, both with no audio. It was a total waste of time and misleading when they advertised it as "HD SPORTS" in their HD package since they only averaged maybe 2-3 games a year on it. Hopefully things will get better with this channel and they'll get more stuff on it. I got one of those automated calls today from Oceanic hinting they'll be more games to come.

Another Cable Card question, Are 2.0 cards in use now (wherever they're supported)? Or is the spec not yet finalized? Or somewhere in between...

Thanks

Thanks for the info REDSANDVB...again, OTW at some "trickery"

FWIW, UCLA vs Stanford is on 951 in HD right now with sound. I won't hold my breath for much more, but any football in HD is better than no football in HD.

In other thoughts, let's come up with a list of the current digital channels we would be willing to give up so OTW could free up the bandwidth to give us ESPN2HD...

I vote to sacrafice the Jackson Auto (ch 913) and the "Ads You Can Use" (Ch. 914) selections...to start...

Thanks for the info REDSANDVB...again
Huh? I'm pretty sure you meant one of the other guys... ;)

LOL, yeah, got my read messages mixed up. Shouldu've read Thanks RobertCEO for the info.

But you're a good guy too redsandvb... :p

Let's go 'bows!

Another Cable Card question, Are 2.0 cards in use now (wherever they're supported)? Or is the spec not yet finalized? Or somewhere in between...

Thanks

There are no 2.0 cable cards in any public systems in the USA at this time.

Futhermore, because of lack of cablecard 1.0 demand, less HDTV's models have a cable card slot now then 18 months ago.

FWIW, UCLA vs Stanford is on 951 in HD right now with sound. I won't hold my breath for much more, but any football in HD is better than no football in HD.
It would be great if the baseball playoff games scheduled for broadcast on the Fox network are simulcast in HD on 951. I've had trouble receiving KHON-DT over the air ever since they swapped transmitters with KGMB-DT a couple years back. Another year of the World Series in crummy SD is gonna suck, especially of the Dodgers make it that far.

Received an automatic phone call from Oceanic on Friday evening telling me that the UCLA/Stanford game would be broadcast in HD on channel 951 beginning at 4:15 this past Saturday. They also said to stay tuned for other HD sports broadcasts on this channel.

Washington at USC is this Saturday's FSN-HD telecast, starts at 9:30am Hawaii Time.

Charles, does that information come from Oceanic or is there a place online I can look it up?

Spleen, thanks for the Tivo S3 review. From what I read it's a great unit, but lack of a firewire output is a big negative. I'll probably wait for OTWC to impliment Cable Navigator (http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=723830) software before making a decision to buy one.

hdsportsguide.com

FWIW, UCLA vs Stanford is on 951 in HD right now with sound.Is 951 still in the channel lineup where you are??? I'm not seeing 951 listed in the channel guide in Maui.

In other thoughts, let's come up with a list of the current digital channels we would be willing to give up so OTWC could free up the bandwidth to give us ESPN2HD...I second that motion.

Is 951 still in the channel lineup where you are??? I'm not seeing 951 listed in the channel guide in Maui.

I second that motion.

Get 10,000 people to commit in writing that they you will pay $100 extra a month for ESPN2 and you might get their attention.

Anything less, you are wasting your time.

I'm glad that 938 NBC is going strong...Heroes in HD is great...can't wait for 30 Rock!

Hi Guys,
The local channels here are unable to 'tape' the high def feed from the mainland, thus, they can only air true high def if its a live broadcast. Better yet with the 622 HD DVR, theres a button on the remote that jumps 30 seconds ahead, I watched a recorded HD game off of KHNL a few days ago in 1.5 hours and didnt miss one play.
And BTW, even if you are in the outer islands this solution will work fine, and merged into a HD Dishnetwork system will give you many more HD options then oceanic.

'lohas all,

For those looking for best possible picture sound (HD and optical out) as noted in one other post. Your best bet in Hawaii (depending on your location of course) Would be the Winegard square shooter OTA, into Dishnetworks latest HD DVR model 622. We have the 622 here with a square shooter on the roof (McCully and King streets) Dishnetwork has improved the video chip in the 622 and you can see the difference, the 942 was good but the 622 is an improvement. We have our 622 hooked into a standard run of the mill costco DLP via cheap component cables and the picture is incredible off of KHON, if you didnt know it was a DLP you would swear it was a plasma, the reds were deep and rich and the blacks very black. Even I was taken back a bit. Also, a shout out to Josh!, (rhulandj2003) nice post earlier, and you are correct a 1.2 channel master is the best way to go for 110, however I have a .76 and have had it for about a year now and works great, truely the only issues would be trans 3 and trans 10 are gone on a .76 but silver lining is....nothing is really on these transponders but a few public interest channels. The high def trans are still coming in for me at about 55. Which is ok for me but wouldnt recommend at north shore or Kaneohe areas. And yea 129 has been up a while and yea they had some issues and are still having issues but we are getting a few vooms on our showroom 622 in MPEG 4.

Have you tried to get 148W? I understand footprints very well, but just find it hard to believe a satellite that is less than 7 degrees off the islands would not have some type of signal versus a satellite like 110 that is essentially 45 degrees (6.5x) away.

148w is not available in Hawaii. The satellites there are the old Echo 1&2 birds. Those sats have been in service since '96, ancient in the DBS world. Due to this, in order to correctly orient the signal to the mainland the satellites and the beams are aimed completely away from Hawaii. This results in Hawaii being essentially in the shadow, virtually no signal at all(a Dish tech told me 3m dish minimum).

When was Hawaii first able to get reception of Dish (SD)?

In 1999 began offering 70 channels(dubbed AT70) in Hawaii at 119 via E4, although with a 30" at 110 you could get AT150 "lite"(missing the 30 channels at 119). Full AT50, 100 and 150 packages became available in Hawaii in 2000 with the launch of E6.

I am trying to receive ABC and NBC via a QAM capable tuner card, but I get a "no signal" message for 936 and 938.
ABC shows up on 114-1 and there is HD content. NBC shows up on 108-1, but none of the shows that should be HD, are in HD.
What am I doing wrong?

In 1999 began offering 70 channels(dubbed AT70) in Hawaii at 119 via E4, although with a 30" at 110 you could get AT150 "lite"(missing the 30 channels at 119). Full AT50, 100 and 150 packages became available in Hawaii in 2000 with the launch of E6.

So there was no lobe for Alaska and Hawaii on E1 (of course its way off the mark at 148W now instead of 110W/119W anyway). That makes sense. Thanks!

I am trying to receive ABC and NBC via a QAM capable tuner card, but I get a "no signal" message for 936 and 938.
ABC shows up on 114-1 and there is HD content. NBC shows up on 108-1, but none of the shows that should be HD, are in HD.
What am I doing wrong?


936 and 938 are "virtual" channels, where as 114.1 (for KITV) is the channel where it's actually located. It's been years since I had Oceanic but if I recall 108.1 is KHNL "Digital Ch.88", 108.2 is KIKU, 108.3 is KFVE and 108.4 is KGMB(or something to that effect :) ). None of those HD feeds. From what others have posted KHNL-HD is/was 77.4.

HD Fanatic and CharlesO, Yes main reason 148 is not viewable here is the fact that it is right above Hawaii, from what I could dig up what is in print and from my own testing is the elevation needed is far too high (Possibly 60 degrees elevation) to obtain signal here. Likely the footprint is lost completely out in the pacific. IT would be absolutely fantastic if we could see this bird here as the signal strength is quite hot (148 comes in ave 80 signal strength on a .76 in Alaska) More testing to come here at our shop, but its looking pretty grim, very unlikely if its even viewable on a 3.0 mtr dish.

Well, the install went fairly well all things considering. We hit a small snag with my wife forgetting that she had a hair appointment at the same time so it was left to my mother-in-law to try to explain to the cable installer what needed to be done .... :shudder: Despite all the confusion and the installer admitting that this was the first Tivo CableCard install that he had done and asking for my wife to come home from her hair appointment (definitely not earning myself any brownie points on that case) because of some confusion of what actually needed to be done, the installer only really needed 20-30 minutes to confirm the serial numbers of the cards, install them, confirm with Oceanic the services, and voila - I have digital HD now on my Tivo. Works like a charm.

I was grandfathered in on my HD pack previously so they weren't charging me extra for the 3 HD boxes I had (only one charge for the pack). I'm wondering if they're going to charge me for the HD pack for each CableCard like delar was mentioning.

I love not having to deal with the brain-dead SA user interface so very happy camper here! I never used any of the interactive services so that's no big loss to me. Interestingly enough, before my CableCards were installed, I did a channel search on the Tivo with the cable and I picked up the QAM signals of 936 and 938 being broadcast in the clear - picked them up with the Tivo no problem. Might be an option for those of us who just want to be able to see and record only network TV in HD - not pay for the HD pack and just use the unencrypted signals. 'Course, Oceanic might disable them at any time. And the other problem is that Tivo had no programming information on 936 and 938 before the CableCards were installed - since QAM is a non-supported/non-advertised feature on the S3 Tivo, I'm not surprised that there's a few flaws in this picture. To record them, you'd have to manually set channel and time of recording.

Spleen

Spleen: I'm scheduled to have Oceanic install 2 Cable Cards next Monday. You don't happen to know the name of the installer that did yours? I would love to have someone that has worked on a S3 Tivo before. Hopefully I will have the same guy as I also live in Ewa Beach.

Also what do you mean you were grandfathered in on your HD pack? I was told by the Oceanic people that I would need to pay for 2 HD packs (6.95) and 2 Service Duplication fees(8.00) and well as for the 2 cable cards (3.10). Thats $36 on top of the regular charges. I find it odd that they charge us duplication fees of $8.00. That fee includes a cable box that we dont need and and doesnt include the HD pack which is the only thing i really need duplicated.

HD Fanatic and CharlesO, Yes main reason 148 is not viewable here is the fact that it is right above Hawaii, from what I could dig up what is in print and from my own testing is the elevation needed is far too high (Possibly 60 degrees elevation) to obtain signal here. Likely the footprint is lost completely out in the pacific. IT would be absolutely fantastic if we could see this bird here as the signal strength is quite hot (148 comes in ave 80 signal strength on a .76 in Alaska) More testing to come here at our shop, but its looking pretty grim, very unlikely if its even viewable on a 3.0 mtr dish.

Yes the elevation should be high, but I don't know why that would matter. I would think its the footprint.


Honolulu, HI 96826
Latitude 21° 17.646'N Longitude 157° 49.704'W

-----------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>>> NOTE: Calculate Skew values from 90 degrees West <<<<<<<
>>>>>>> Remember most DBS Dishes have 22.5 Degree offset <<<<<<<


*** DBS Satellites ***
Sat Name Sat Lng Az(t) Az(m) El Skew
EchoStar 3/Rainbow 1 61.5W 267.7 257.9 -14.3 -68.6
EchoStar 4 77.0W 93.4 83.5 -0.2 -68.5
EchoStar 6/8/10 110.0W 108.2 98.4 31.3 -62.3
DISH 500 110/119 114.5W 111.1 101.2 35.6 -60.4
EchoStar 7/7S 119.0W 114.3 104.5 39.9 -58.1
DISH 1000 119.5W 114.7 104.9 40.3 -57.9
EchoStar 9 121.0W 115.9 106.1 41.7 -57.0
DISH 500 119/129 124.0W 118.5 108.6 44.5 -55.0
EchoStar 5 129.0W 123.4 113.6 49.0 -51.1
EchoStar 1/EchoStar 2 148.0W 154.5 144.7 62.7 -23.7
EchoStar 4 157.0W 177.7 167.9 65.0 -2.1

DirecTV 1 72.5W 91.7 81.9 -4.3 -68.6
DirecTV Spaceway 2 99.2W 102.5 92.7 20.9 -65.5
DirecTV 2 100.8W 103.3 93.4 22.4 -65.1
DirecTV 1R/4S/8 101.0W 103.4 93.5 22.6 -65.0
DirecTV Spaceway 1 102.8W 104.3 94.4 24.4 -64.6
DirecTV 6 109.5W 107.9 98.1 30.8 -62.4
DirecTV 5 110.0W 108.2 98.4 31.3 -62.3
DirecTV 7S 119.0W 114.3 104.5 39.9 -58.1

Nimiq 2 82.0W 95.2 85.4 4.5 -68.1
Center 86.5W 97.0 87.2 8.8 -67.6
Nimiq 1 91.0W 98.8 89.0 13.0 -67.0
Nimiq 4i 91.1W 98.9 89.1 13.1 -67.0

Anik F1/F1R 107.3W 106.6 96.8 28.7 -63.2
StarChoice 75cm Dual LNB Dish 111.1W 108.9 99.1 32.3 -61.8
Anik F2 111.1W 108.9 99.1 32.3 -61.8


As it appears that the Canadian Satellites F1 and F2 have a Hawaiian lobe on them (why, I can't imagine) I am surprised more in Hawaii have not tried that route for HD from the East and West Coast Network Feeds.

Charles O,

thanks for the info.

I rescanned the channel line-up and now there are 2 channels in the 77 range.
77-1 shows up in the channel manager, but there's no picture.
77-3 appears to be a channel about art (painting, etc.)
I am starting to wonder if Oceanic put some sort of filter in place that prevents the tuner from finding NBC HD. :(

So its been months but I'm finally back on the island and have Oceanic HD hooked up at my new place in Kailua. Feeding my V32 XBR1 LCD.

The cable guy gave me an SA3250. Should I try to get the 8300 instead? Sorry if this has already been covered...I could only read through so many pages. :D

So its been months but I'm finally back on the island and have Oceanic HD hooked up at my new place in Kailua. Feeding my V32 XBR1 LCD.

The cable guy gave me an SA3250. Should I try to get the 8300 instead? Sorry if this has already been covered...I could only read through so many pages. :D

Somebody here, maybe HDTVFanatic, said the 8300 gives you more lines of resolution, thus a better picture. Plus it's a DVR which is something I can't live without.

So its been months but I'm finally back on the island and have Oceanic HD hooked up at my new place in Kailua. Feeding my V32 XBR1 LCD.

The cable guy gave me an SA3250. Should I try to get the 8300 instead? Sorry if this has already been covered...I could only read through so many pages. :D
I believe your TV also has a Cablecard slot, so that's your cheapest option. Most Cablecard users say that they get a better picture too, but there are negatives to consider.

Thanks, guys. Think I'm going to stay away from CableCard for now...just doesn't seem reliable enough.

Speaking of which, KHNL (local NBC affiliate) isn't showing "Heroes" in HD for some reason. I gave them a call and spoke to someone who was going to "let the guys in that department know." :rolleyes:

As I'm typing this it seems something has changed - the audio is now out of sync. Still no HD, though.

Yes, SA8300 looks a much better output then the SA3250, with on cavet. I have played around feeding it via IEEE1394 to my Sony and it actually looks better using that link (though no cable guide, numbers etc).

JohnMason measured the output on the SA3250 at around 950 lines of resolution and the SA8300 at about 1250. Again, I *believe* these are limitations in the output circuits of the boxes - as the IEEE1394 looks very close to the cable card on my initial tests.

Sorry, don't know the name of the installer - I wasn't home during the install and my wife doesn't recall that the installer ever gave her his name.

Oceanic was charging the HD pack separately for each HD cable box - because some of us had service before Oceanic changed its policy about this, they grandfathered us (some automatically and others after complaining) into covering multiple HD boxes under one charge for the HD pack. I suspect now that I've disrupted the natural order of things by getting the CableCards, I'll lose the umbrella HD pack that I have now and like you, will be charged separately. Oceanic can't let us people using CableCards instead of their cable boxes have service for cheaper! :)

Spleen

Yes, SA8300 looks a much better output then the SA3250, with on cavet. I have played around feeding it via IEEE1394 to my Sony and it actually looks better using that link (though no cable guide, numbers etc).

JohnMason measured the output on the SA3250 at around 950 lines of resolution and the SA8300 at about 1250. Again, I *believe* these are limitations in the output circuits of the boxes - as the IEEE1394 looks very close to the cable card on my initial tests.


Is the lines of output cited above through HDMI? I think Oceanic still hands out 3100HDs that only have DVI, not HDMI (that's what my in-laws have).

I have the 8300HD and love the DVR - but I wish it had the "sason pass" function like my parent's Tivo.

Anik F1/F1R 107.3W 106.6 96.8 28.7 -63.2
StarChoice 75cm Dual LNB Dish 111.1W 108.9 99.1 32.3 -61.8
Anik F2 111.1W 108.9 99.1 32.3 -61.8


As it appears that the Canadian Satellites F1 and F2 have a Hawaiian lobe on them (why, I can't imagine) I am surprised more in Hawaii have not tried that route for HD from the East and West Coast Network Feeds.

Anik F1 was pretty strong in Hawaii, 90cm dish worked well. But since StarChoice moved it's programming to F1R you need a 1.8m dish now for the main service. F2 where the HD channels are you need a 1.2m. Kinda hard to place 3m of dishes on a Condo Lanai?
Hawaii is no Arizona, but there are quite of few snowbirds here.

Charles O,

thanks for the info.

I rescanned the channel line-up and now there are 2 channels in the 77 range.
77-1 shows up in the channel manager, but there's no picture.
77-3 appears to be a channel about art (painting, etc.)
I am starting to wonder if Oceanic put some sort of filter in place that prevents the tuner from finding NBC HD. :(


That "art" channel at 77.3....the logo isn't "creative" is it(swirl desgin)?

Yes the elevation should be high, but I don't know why that would matter. I would think its the footprint.


Honolulu, HI 96826
Latitude 21° 17.646'N Longitude 157° 49.704'W

-----------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>>> NOTE: Calculate Skew values from 90 degrees West <<<<<<<
>>>>>>> Remember most DBS Dishes have 22.5 Degree offset <<<<<<<


*** DBS Satellites ***
Sat Name Sat Lng Az(t) Az(m) El Skew
EchoStar 3/Rainbow 1 61.5W 267.7 257.9 -14.3 -68.6
EchoStar 4 77.0W 93.4 83.5 -0.2 -68.5
EchoStar 6/8/10 110.0W 108.2 98.4 31.3 -62.3
DISH 500 110/119 114.5W 111.1 101.2 35.6 -60.4
EchoStar 7/7S 119.0W 114.3 104.5 39.9 -58.1
DISH 1000 119.5W 114.7 104.9 40.3 -57.9
EchoStar 9 121.0W 115.9 106.1 41.7 -57.0
DISH 500 119/129 124.0W 118.5 108.6 44.5 -55.0
EchoStar 5 129.0W 123.4 113.6 49.0 -51.1
EchoStar 1/EchoStar 2 148.0W 154.5 144.7 62.7 -23.7
EchoStar 4 157.0W 177.7 167.9 65.0 -2.1

DirecTV 1 72.5W 91.7 81.9 -4.3 -68.6
DirecTV Spaceway 2 99.2W 102.5 92.7 20.9 -65.5
DirecTV 2 100.8W 103.3 93.4 22.4 -65.1
DirecTV 1R/4S/8 101.0W 103.4 93.5 22.6 -65.0
DirecTV Spaceway 1 102.8W 104.3 94.4 24.4 -64.6
DirecTV 6 109.5W 107.9 98.1 30.8 -62.4
DirecTV 5 110.0W 108.2 98.4 31.3 -62.3
DirecTV 7S 119.0W 114.3 104.5 39.9 -58.1

Nimiq 2 82.0W 95.2 85.4 4.5 -68.1
Center 86.5W 97.0 87.2 8.8 -67.6
Nimiq 1 91.0W 98.8 89.0 13.0 -67.0
Nimiq 4i 91.1W 98.9 89.1 13.1 -67.0

Anik F1/F1R 107.3W 106.6 96.8 28.7 -63.2
StarChoice 75cm Dual LNB Dish 111.1W 108.9 99.1 32.3 -61.8
Anik F2 111.1W 108.9 99.1 32.3 -61.8


As it appears that the Canadian Satellites F1 and F2 have a Hawaiian lobe on them (why, I can't imagine) I am surprised more in Hawaii have not tried that route for HD from the East and West Coast Network Feeds.

HD TV Fanatic,
Rodger that on 148, in this case you are correct higher elevation is 99.9% of the time a bonus when you are talking about satellite signal. The higher the elevation in respect to the position of the dish, the less atmosphere, dust, salt, polution etc comes into play. Therefore generally higher the elevation of a satellite the 'stronger' the signal or less 'garbage' the signal needs to pass through. In respect to 148 the elevation is very high, but Hawaii just doesnt seem to be in enough of the footprint to pull signal. From a retail perspective and install perspective, elevation at perhaps 60 degrees for DBS matters quite a bit, in so much as stationary DBS dishes are not designed to go to this elevation, a special custom mount or fabrication would be needed. Where did you get your numbers for the birds? lyng sat? And do you presently have Dish For HD?
'lohas

What I don't get about the article is that oceanic charges us for the HD subscription, why can't it fork up the money to pay the affiliates for the broadcasts.

Although I don't think we should have to, I'll be willing to pay more for add'l HD channes




Steevan,
Why pay for them? If you are in Honolulu get the winegard square shooter, very reliable and I record local high definition programming....free, have to buy the antenna but programming is free!

For whatever reason Dish hasn't come clean on why it won't authorize the "Mpeg4" channels at 129w in Hawaii and Alaska, trust me I have sent numerous e-mail to Dish about this and the answers aren't helpful. The satellite does reach both locales. I swung around my 24" at 129 and "locked" on several tps. and a local dish dealer I talked to was getting "70-80ish" signal strength with a 36" dish. Dish is offering the "old" HD pack(TNT, HDNet and Movies, ESPN, DiscHD) to customers in HI, AK, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands only ($10.99 a month). The DishHD metal packages are also available in Puerto Rico and USVI as well as the Mainland. Dish will not offer any rebates, discounts and HD lease programs for the Vip211 and 622 receivers in Hawaii, we pay full price.
************************************************************ *****

Charles, 10-10 11:40a Hi time
Dont worry its not just you, dish isnt coming clean with us either. Though the dish rep for Alaska and Hawaii is doing his best to get us the vooms and the additional HD that are coming (Theres a lot going on with HD and dishnetwork which concerns Hawaii, but very little I am able to divulge) I can tell you however, what I am getting now for the vooms on a 1.0 mtr channel master dish, RAVEHD, HDNEWS, EQUATOR,Gallery,Animation,Rush,ULtra, Kung Fu HD, and FilmMF. Rave is also being mirrored on 110 in MPEG2, this may just be a free airing or pre-view, but the quality of video on MPEG 4 is much better then MPEG 2 as it should be. Goes to show you that it would be a fairly easy process for Dish to 'turn' on the programming for Hawaii if they would like to, they just dont for one reason or another, valid reasons I am sure. As an existing customer you would be able to participate in the 'dish n it up' promotion only available through your dealer on record, this will afford you a shiny new 622 for 199.00, an hour of tech set up time should be included in this as well. In addition we offer a DISH500 upgrade here at time of new activation for a .76 dish tuned into 110 for about 200.00 with 50.00 back and 100.00 back via a rebate of 10.00 off over 10 months. So as far as paying full price here in Hawaii meaning paying full stand alone pricing for a 622? Thats not correct, you can get one through your dealer for 199.00 installed.

Oceanic was charging the HD pack separately for each HD cable box - because some of us had service before Oceanic changed its policy about this, they grandfathered us (some automatically and others after complaining) into covering multiple HD boxes under one charge for the HD pack. I suspect now that I've disrupted the natural order of things by getting the CableCards, I'll lose the umbrella HD pack that I have now and like you, will be charged separately. Oceanic can't let us people using CableCards instead of their cable boxes have service for cheaper! :)

Spleen

Oceanic is coming to my house Friday to install the cablecards in my Series 3. I hope it goes as well as spleen's. I've read a lot of horror stories with TW over on the Tivo Community Forum.

When I scheduled the appointment, the CSR gave me the new total for my monthly bill to go from one HD cable box to two cable cards with HD. We figured out that it represents $7.20 I'm no longer paying for the SA box, plus $3.10 for the first cable card, plus $8 for the second cable card, plus $6.95 for the second HD "outlet". Total increase is $10.85 plus tax. We'll see if it actually works out that way when I get my first new bill.

regards,

snakpak

My 3xxx series box does not have HDMI, and I just got it a couple weeks ago. Could always go with a DVI-HDMI adaptor, but I'm using the HDMI input on my set for DVD, and don't have a switchbox.

So the only way to get the 8300 is to get DVR as well? Damn...

:mad: Last night, KHNL 938 was in SD. Heroes in SD was dissapointing since it looked so great in HD.

Good luck, snakpak! Crossing my fingers for you!

Spleen

:mad: Last night, KHNL 938 was in SD. Heroes in SD was dissapointing since it looked so great in HD.

yeah same with studio 60. grrr.

also i don't think i've complained about Oceanic not having Fox or CBS HD channels in a couple of weeks. for those of us who cannot get OTA this really sucks.

i wonder if Dish or DirecTv are planning on adding HD locals for us. Not that I can get satellit here in my apartment but maybe when I move next year.

************************************************************ *****

Charles, 10-10 11:40a Hi time
Dont worry its not just you, dish isnt coming clean with us either. Though the dish rep for Alaska and Hawaii is doing his best to get us the vooms and the additional HD that are coming (Theres a lot going on with HD and dishnetwork which concerns Hawaii, but very little I am able to divulge) I can tell you however, what I am getting now for the vooms on a 1.0 mtr channel master dish, RAVEHD, HDNEWS, EQUATOR,Gallery,Animation,Rush,ULtra, Kung Fu HD, and FilmMF. Rave is also being mirrored on 110 in MPEG2, this may just be a free airing or pre-view, but the quality of video on MPEG 4 is much better then MPEG 2 as it should be. Goes to show you that it would be a fairly easy process for Dish to 'turn' on the programming for Hawaii if they would like to, they just dont for one reason or another, valid reasons I am sure. As an existing customer you would be able to participate in the 'dish n it up' promotion only available through your dealer on record, this will afford you a shiny new 622 for 199.00, an hour of tech set up time should be included in this as well. In addition we offer a DISH500 upgrade here at time of new activation for a .76 dish tuned into 110 for about 200.00 with 50.00 back and 100.00 back via a rebate of 10.00 off over 10 months. So as far as paying full price here in Hawaii meaning paying full stand alone pricing for a 622? Thats not correct, you can get one through your dealer for 199.00 installed.


The problem for myself is that I've imported and installed all my equipment myself. My original "dealer" is e-bay, my current 811 receiver included. Already have 76cm dish for 110 too.

Ummmm....the "rumor" is that Dish will offer a special HD package to HI via the unused spotbeams at 110 in Mpeg4. The "rumored" channels are the current 5 channels plus ESPN2HD, Universal HD and NFL-HD as well as HBO and SHO. The spotbeams are much stronger than the Conus transponders.

************************************************************ *****

Charles, 10-10 11:40a Hi time
Dont worry its not just you, dish isnt coming clean with us either. Though the dish rep for Alaska and Hawaii is doing his best to get us the vooms and the additional HD that are coming (Theres a lot going on with HD and dishnetwork which concerns Hawaii, but very little I am able to divulge) I can tell you however, what I am getting now for the vooms on a 1.0 mtr channel master dish, RAVEHD, HDNEWS, EQUATOR,Gallery,Animation,Rush,ULtra, Kung Fu HD, and FilmMF. Rave is also being mirrored on 110 in MPEG2, this may just be a free airing or pre-view, but the quality of video on MPEG 4 is much better then MPEG 2 as it should be. Goes to show you that it would be a fairly easy process for Dish to 'turn' on the programming for Hawaii if they would like to, they just dont for one reason or another, valid reasons I am sure. As an existing customer you would be able to participate in the 'dish n it up' promotion only available through your dealer on record, this will afford you a shiny new 622 for 199.00, an hour of tech set up time should be included in this as well. In addition we offer a DISH500 upgrade here at time of new activation for a .76 dish tuned into 110 for about 200.00 with 50.00 back and 100.00 back via a rebate of 10.00 off over 10 months. So as far as paying full price here in Hawaii meaning paying full stand alone pricing for a 622? Thats not correct, you can get one through your dealer for 199.00 installed.


Sorry to disappoint you, but your statements and conclusions are wrong.

First, RaveHD is not MPEG4. None of the VoomHD channels have ever been MPEG4. The last 5 added are marked as MPEG4 so the older receivers cannot get them to force people to update to a ViP series unit.

However, these are still in MPEG2 - and RAVEHD has never been in that category.

So that you say that the MPEG4 looks better than MPEG2 "as it should" is 100% wrong - as you haven't seen it with MPEG4.

What you have seen is a higher bitrate MPEG2 on 129W and 61.5W for RAVEHD.

Dish gives very low bitrate MPEG2 to the HD Free Preview Channel on 110W, which is RAVEHD this month.

So what you have really compared is higher bitrate 1280x1080i MPEG2 vs lower bitrate 1280x1080i MPEG2.

My HBO HD is "out"; blank screen no sound since yesterday...SD HBO is fine...anyone else have this prob or should I be calling Oceanic soon?

HBO HD is ok here in Waimanalo at 8:40am.

Called...seems like I'm the only one so far. Very strange.

As of yesterday, we stopped getting all digital signals (80-87, and the HD at 936 and 938) over our Oceanic basic cable. Should I call, or was I not supposed to be getting those in the first place? - DR

Update on DishHD for HI "rumor":

According to a report on DBSTalk the new "HD Pack" will be announced on Oct. 18th. Will require a Mpeg4 capable receiver, Vip211 or 622(DVR).

Channel List:
5500 DiscoveryHD Theater
5501 TNT-HD
5505 ESPN-HD
5506 ESPN2-HD
5507 NFL Network HD
5510 HDNet
5511 HDNet Movies
5512 Universal HD

5515 HBO-HD(East) and 5516 SHO-HD(East) available in their respective packages.

Pricing not yet announced. Stay Tuned :)

Update on DishHD for HI "rumor":

According to a report on DBSTalk the new "HD Pack" will be announced on Oct. 18th. Will require a Mpeg4 capable receiver, Vip211 or 622(DVR).

Channel List:
5500 DiscoveryHD Theater
5501 TNT-HD
5505 ESPN-HD
5506 ESPN2-HD
5507 NFL Network HD
5510 HDNet
5511 HDNet Movies
5512 Universal HD

5515 HBO-HD(East) and 5516 SHO-HD(East) available in their respective packages.

Pricing not yet announced. Stay Tuned :)


I think DirecTV will wind up being the service for HD programming. With the two new mega birds 10 and 11, they will have capacity for 150 national HD channels, plus thousands of locals.

Eric

Oceanic is coming to my house Friday to install the cablecards in my Series 3. I hope it goes as well as spleen's. I've read a lot of horror stories with TW over on the Tivo Community Forum.

When I scheduled the appointment, the CSR gave me the new total for my monthly bill to go from one HD cable box to two cable cards with HD. We figured out that it represents $7.20 I'm no longer paying for the SA box, plus $3.10 for the first cable card, plus $8 for the second cable card, plus $6.95 for the second HD "outlet". Total increase is $10.85 plus tax. We'll see if it actually works out that way when I get my first new bill.

regards,

snakpak

Let us know how the install went! ~Sy

Sorry to disappoint you, but your statements and conclusions are wrong.

First, RaveHD is not MPEG4. None of the VoomHD channels have ever been MPEG4. The last 5 added are marked as MPEG4 so the older receivers cannot get them to force people to update to a ViP series unit.

However, these are still in MPEG2 - and RAVEHD has never been in that category.

So that you say that the MPEG4 looks better than MPEG2 "as it should" is 100% wrong - as you haven't seen it with MPEG4.

What you have seen is a higher bitrate MPEG2 on 129W and 61.5W for RAVEHD.

Dish gives very low bitrate MPEG2 to the HD Free Preview Channel on 110W, which is RAVEHD this month.

So what you have really compared is higher bitrate 1280x1080i MPEG2 vs lower bitrate 1280x1080i MPEG2.


HD fan,
Quite possible that the bitrate is higher.....but not in MPEG 4? Vooms off of 129 not in MPEG 4? This is the first Ive heard of this. As far as the specs, independent testing, and from dishnetwork, 129 is broadcasting with MPEG 4 compression, so if RaveHD is coming off of a MPEG 4 compression transponder in MPEG 2, but 'higher bitrate' thats quite an anomoly. Id like hear more about this, what are your sources? What receiver do you have? Now it is however very likely that the free preview of RaveHD on 110 is a lower MPEG 2 bitrate, 110 is quite full. Also bear in mind 61.5 is a fairly old satellite, it would be a mistake to draw the conclusion that the HD off of 61.5 will be the same 'bitrate' and compression as 129.

I think DirecTV will wind up being the service for HD programming. With the two new mega birds 10 and 11, they will have capacity for 150 national HD channels, plus thousands of locals.

Eric



Egcarter,
Consistent info on this is that DirecTV will not be the leader anytime soon for HD. Rumor is in Hawaii Dishnetwork will soon offer (crossing fingers) regional HD. But quite a few issues with the local channels broadcast, some are still broadcasting analog programming. However we certainly hope to see KHON, KITV, and KGMB. Not absolutely sure I am allowed to throw that out there, too late now!

Update on DishHD for HI "rumor":

According to a report on DBSTalk the new "HD Pack" will be announced on Oct. 18th. Will require a Mpeg4 capable receiver, Vip211 or 622(DVR).

Channel List:
5500 DiscoveryHD Theater
5501 TNT-HD
5505 ESPN-HD
5506 ESPN2-HD
5507 NFL Network HD
5510 HDNet
5511 HDNet Movies
5512 Universal HD

5515 HBO-HD(East) and 5516 SHO-HD(East) available in their respective packages.

Pricing not yet announced. Stay Tuned :)


Charles,
Channel designation Im sure will change from what you have listed, but it would be great if this info from DBSTalk is correct! What we are told (Which BTW changes often) The new planned non regional HD MPEG 2 off of 110: NFL channel, Foodnetwork HD, StarzHD, Espn2HD, and possibly....Home and GardenHD, they had planned adding Universal studios HD(Directv has it presently) But doesnt seem like this one will make an appearance in Hawaii anytime soon.

HD fan,
Quite possible that the bitrate is higher.....but not in MPEG 4? Vooms off of 129 not in MPEG 4? This is the first Ive heard of this. As far as the specs, independent testing, and from dishnetwork, 129 is broadcasting with MPEG 4 compression, so if RaveHD is coming off of a MPEG 4 compression transponder in MPEG 2, but 'higher bitrate' thats quite an anomoly. Id like hear more about this, what are your sources? What receiver do you have? Now it is however very likely that the free preview of RaveHD on 110 is a lower MPEG 2 bitrate, 110 is quite full. Also bear in mind 61.5 is a fairly old satellite, it would be a mistake to draw the conclusion that the HD off of 61.5 will be the same 'bitrate' and compression as 129.


100% sure. No Voom Channels are in MPEG4.

What independent testing are you wanting....Would you like me to show you a technical read out on it?

Transponders are NOT made for a certain type of codec, be it MPEG2 or MPEG4. They don't care what it there. They only care 8PSK or not. 129W is the old Satellite that was put up long before MPEG4 was even a speckle in anyone's brain.

61.5W and 129W, except for STARZHD WHICH IS THE ONLY EXCEPTION, have the same codec on all duplicated channels. STARZHD has MPEG4 on 129W and MPEG2 on 61.5.

The HD-LILs are all MPEG4 (but not duplicated on both birds) except for LA which is MPEG2 on 129W.

As for what I have, I have R5000HD modified Dish 6000 units and ViP211 that can receive both birds and can capture and analyze those channels with any MPEG2 program.

The few MPEG4 channels noted above will not work with any MPEG2 software I have.

100% sure. No Voom Channels are in MPEG4.

What independent testing are you wanting....Would you like me to show you a technical read out on it?

Transponders are NOT made for a certain type of codec, be it MPEG2 or MPEG4. They don't care what it there. They only care 8PSK or not. 129W is the old Satellite that was put up long before MPEG4 was even a speckle in anyone's brain.

61.5W and 129W, except for STARZHD WHICH IS THE ONLY EXCEPTION, have the same codec on all duplicated channels. STARZHD has MPEG4 on 129W and MPEG2 on 61.5.

The HD-LILs are all MPEG4 (but not duplicated on both birds) except for LA which is MPEG2 on 129W.

As for what I have, I have R5000HD modified Dish 6000 units and ViP211 that can receive both birds and can capture and analyze those channels with any MPEG2 program.

The few MPEG4 channels noted above will not work with any MPEG2 software I have.


Dont get me wrong there are no impossibilities here, and indeed dishnetwork satellite transponders are set to broadcast in the digital spectrum, not at any particular compression. What we are being told is this: Only the MPEG 4 receivers (the vips) are capable of seeing the vooms off of 129. The older MPEG 2 HD receivers 811, 942, 921 will not and can not see 129 because the compression of MPEG 4 to an MPEG 2 IRD is not compatible. Now, if what you are saying is true and that the compression is MPEG 2...I should be able to see Satellite 129 channels on my 942.

Dont get me wrong there are no impossibilities here, and indeed dishnetwork satellite transponders are set to broadcast in the digital spectrum, not at any particular compression. What we are being told is this: Only the MPEG 4 receivers (the vips) are capable of seeing the vooms off of 129. The older MPEG 2 HD receivers 811, 942, 921 will not and can not see 129 because the compression of MPEG 4 to an MPEG 2 IRD is not compatible. Now, if what you are saying is true and that the compression is MPEG 2...I should be able to see Satellite 129 channels on my 942.

I can see the original 10 Voom Channels including Rave with a 942, 921, 811 or 6000 off 129. I do it daily.

The problem for myself is that I've imported and installed all my equipment myself. My original "dealer" is e-bay, my current 811 receiver included. Already have 76cm dish for 110 too.

Ummmm....the "rumor" is that Dish will offer a special HD package to HI via the unused spotbeams at 110 in Mpeg4. The "rumored" channels are the current 5 channels plus ESPN2HD, Universal HD and NFL-HD as well as HBO and SHO. The spotbeams are much stronger than the Conus transponders.



Charles quite possible that you may qualify for a new account here locally, and would be able to get new eqt at a very affordable rate. I would however go with a minimum 1.0 for 110, though the way the signal off of some of 110's transponders have degraded, a 1.2 would be optimal. Not sure what the new spots on 110 will do signal wise once they start streaming programming.

I can see the original 10 Voom Channels including Rave with a 942, 921, 811 or 6000 off 129. I do it daily.



Your account must be based on the mainland to get the vooms. I have a dealer 622 and still only able to get maybe 5 vooms. What size dish are you presently using for 129?

Yes, I am in the mainland. My place at Ka`upulehu would never let me install a dish.

Let us know how the install went! ~Sy

Sorry for the late update. I guess I've been too busy playing with my new toy :)

Sy-, I see over on the TCF that your install yesterday went smoothly. I'll recap my experience for posterity.

Two techs showed up. One guy had done cable cards before, the second seemed to be in training for cable cards. They told me they just came from another S3 install, so I felt pretty good. They knew to do one card at a time, and they knew how to use the Tivo remote to get around the installer screens. The only delay came when they connected the coax to the antenna input instead of the cable input. We sat there for 10 minutes wondering why the hit to the first card didn't take. There was another hiccup when the first card wouldn't get ESPNHD, but that was cleared up with another call to the office. Overall the whole install took about 1 hour for both cards.

After Oceanic left, I ran guided setup again and verified that everything was working as it should.

I was a little worried that the power outage might have screwed up the cards, but they survived ok. A couple of my coworkers told me that their cable boxes were dead after the power came back on.

All in all, I was very happy with the experience. :D

New HD Pack became available from Dish today.
ESPN-HD, ESPN2-HD, TNT-HD, DiscoveryHD, HDNet and Movies, UniversalHD and NFL NetworkHD.
$9.99 a month.
Mpeg4 capable receiver, Vip211 or 622(DVR) required.

http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/programming/packages/hawaii/top_60_120/index.shtml

Interesting they did not include the Voom Channels off 129W - but did include UHD, ESPN2, and NFL-HD off 129W.

I wonder if those transponders have worse footprints in Hawaii.

I am having trouble with ota ch 35-3 khnl-dt. The picture comes in perfect with the exception of constant pixelation. I currently use a Terk indoor HDTVa antenna and I'm getting a 98% signal.
I live in Ewa beach and I understand that the tower is on Makakilo, so I don't think there is any interference. Does anyone else have this problem?

twardor,
I see the same thing. It only started doing this after the power black out.
I think something popped.

James
My signal in Pearl City is 88-90

On the Oceanic HD channels . . . what's the deal with the audio levels? Typically they're several db's higher than the analog or digital stations and then, within the HD channels, the volume level of the commericals vary tremendously.

i suppose i could just ask the guys at oceanic, but i dont want to sound stupid or crooked. basically im wondering if i can just order a 8300HD box from a cheap retailer, or if i need to go through oceanic. i already have digital service, but does the box itself need to be activated by oceanic? or can i simply remove one and substitute the 8300HD in its place?

Anybody having problem with HD-KITV and HD-HBO on Oceanic? The programs in HD have been breaking up (pixelizing) the last few days. Is it just my plasma? I use the 8300 DVR.

Thanks

Speaking of power outages... I've been thinking of putting a UPS or surge protector on my video components.

Any recommendations and good places to buy?

... brad

Sorry for the late update. I guess I've been too busy playing with my new toy :)

Sy-, I see over on the TCF that your install yesterday went smoothly. I'll recap my experience for posterity.

Two techs showed up. One guy had done cable cards before, the second seemed to be in training for cable cards. They told me they just came from another S3 install, so I felt pretty good. They knew to do one card at a time, and they knew how to use the Tivo remote to get around the installer screens. The only delay came when they connected the coax to the antenna input instead of the cable input. We sat there for 10 minutes wondering why the hit to the first card didn't take. There was another hiccup when the first card wouldn't get ESPNHD, but that was cleared up with another call to the office. Overall the whole install took about 1 hour for both cards.

After Oceanic left, I ran guided setup again and verified that everything was working as it should.

I was a little worried that the power outage might have screwed up the cards, but they survived ok. A couple of my coworkers told me that their cable boxes were dead after the power came back on.

All in all, I was very happy with the experience. :D
Good to hear! Our CableCards survived the power loss without a hitch. :)

Spleen

Anik F1 was pretty strong in Hawaii, 90cm dish worked well. But since StarChoice moved it's programming to F1R you need a 1.8m dish now for the main service. F2 where the HD channels are you need a 1.2m. Kinda hard to place 3m of dishes on a Condo Lanai?
Hawaii is no Arizona, but there are quite of few snowbirds here.



Charles,
Nicely done, Hawaii just got hit with the HD channels early yesterday. The channel listing and designation are spot on, but appear to all be in MPEG 4 as we can not view with a MPEG 2 IRD. I need to access DBSTalk more often, seems to be quite reliable. thanks for that.
I have a few questions about two of the Anik birds, (First Anik F2 111.1 V), I can see on Lyngsat and other materials that I can view this satellite here on Oahu, the particular channel I am looking for is #995. To you knowledge can I indeed see this here? They see it in Florida but they use a 1.8 mtr dish, when calculating distance I am about the same distance from bird on the opposite side to the west.
I calculate a 1.2 should be sufficient any thoughts on this? Also any knowledge on availabilty of starchoice here in the neither regions (Hawaii) , primary package is on Anik F1? There was some talk that we no longer see those transponders here. Any thoughts here as well?
Thanks

Charles,
Nicely done, Hawaii just got hit with the HD channels early yesterday. The channel listing and designation are spot on, but appear to all be in MPEG 4 as we can not view with a MPEG 2 IRD. I need to access DBSTalk more often, seems to be quite reliable. thanks for that.


It is obvious you are clueless on the mpeg2 vs mpeg4 channels - even though others have tried to tell you time and time again.

AGAIN: The only Dish channel in mpeg4 in the Hawaii dish package is NFL-HD. the rest are all mpeg2 but Dish will not allow them all to be viewed on a 6000/811/921/924 to force you to upgrade to a vip receiver.

Charles,
Nicely done, Hawaii just got hit with the HD channels early yesterday. The channel listing and designation are spot on, but appear to all be in MPEG 4 as we can not view with a MPEG 2 IRD. I need to access DBSTalk more often, seems to be quite reliable. thanks for that.

Gotta Vip211 available! But I am strickly a "Cash and Carry" guy. :D

I have a few questions about two of the Anik birds, (First Anik F2 111.1 V), I can see on Lyngsat and other materials that I can view this satellite here on Oahu, the particular channel I am looking for is #995. To you knowledge can I indeed see this here? They see it in Florida but they use a 1.8 mtr dish, when calculating distance I am about the same distance from bird on the opposite side to the west.
I calculate a 1.2 should be sufficient any thoughts on this? Also any knowledge on availabilty of starchoice here in the neither regions (Hawaii) , primary package is on Anik F1? There was some talk that we no longer see those transponders here. Any thoughts here as well?
Thanks

I don't personally know if Anik F1R is truely available in Hawaii. But from what I understand the signal is approx 3 dB lower than F1. Likely those with 90cm dishes would completely lose all signal if that is the case.
Satelliteguys.us has a Canadian forum that get you in touch with a sat broker (everyone mentions Kathy@TVM).

Sure would be nice to watch the World Series in HD! :mad:

It is obvious you are clueless on the mpeg2 vs mpeg4 channels - even though others have tried to tell you time and time again.

AGAIN: The only Dish channel in mpeg4 in the Hawaii dish package is NFL-HD. the rest are all mpeg2 but Dish will not allow them all to be viewed on a 6000/811/921/924 to force you to upgrade to a vip receiver.


Channel List:
5500 DiscoveryHD Theater
5501 TNT-HD
5505 ESPN-HD
5506 ESPN2-HD
5507 NFL Network HD
5510 HDNet
5511 HDNet Movies
5512 Universal HD

5515 HBO-HD(East) and 5516 SHO-HD(East)

Ok, well again not sure where you are pooling your information from, I will list exactly what is happening here right at this very moment, then perhaps you can draw your own conclusions.

You seem to be fairly keen with dishnetwork receivers, though probably not getting reliable info concerning this region. (Information concerning the outer regions, Alaska, PI.VI, and Hawaii is always spotty at best)

942 receiver (MPEG 2) activated with 'all' regional 'Hawaii' programming off of 110, and 119.

Spot beams off of 110 being turned on yesterday or late day before.

942 not seeing activated HD programming off of the spots. (Most of the channels above)

622 (MPEG 4) as of early yesterday seeing all programming listed above off of 110.

Approx 4 HD channels per spotbeam 27-29, and 2 other spots I believe.

Approx 2 maybe 3 HD channels per 'non spotbeam' transponder off of 110 (MPEG 2)


Compression rate, storage, and delivery of MPEG 4 vs MPEG 2? As you know, MPEG 4 is considerably better, and yes...better bit rate.

Again, not sure where you are getting your information from, but as you seem to be quite knowledgeabe with what is MPEG 4 and what is not, and I oviously am clueless....Id like your opinion on what is happening, a suggestion would be not to look at whatever tech reference you are currently using, rather look carefuly at what is happening in this post, and the truth will set you free.....

From an undisclosed site:

# 5500 110 TP 29 DSCHD
# 5501 110 TP 27 TNTHD
# 5505 110 TP 29 ESPHD
# 5506 110 TP 27 ES2HD
# 5507 110 TP 12 NFLHD
# 5510 110 TP 12 HDNET
# 5511 110 TP 12 HDNMV
# 5512 110 TP 12 UNIHD
# 5515 110 TP 27 HBOHD
# 5516 110 TP 29 SHOHD

So Tps. 27 and 29 are at 3 channels and Tp. 12 at 4, that would fit that with the exception of NFL-HD, the other channels have "headers" that only Mpeg4 receivers can see but the video is Mpeg2. I guess the good news in that is if/when Dish does convert them to true Mpeg4 they could squeeze a couple more channels in.

As, for the World Series game you not missing anything...a boring game in HD is still boring. :)

From an undisclosed site:

# 5500 110 TP 29 DSCHD
# 5501 110 TP 27 TNTHD
# 5505 110 TP 29 ESPHD
# 5506 110 TP 27 ES2HD
# 5507 110 TP 12 NFLHD
# 5510 110 TP 12 HDNET
# 5511 110 TP 12 HDNMV
# 5512 110 TP 12 UNIHD
# 5515 110 TP 27 HBOHD
# 5516 110 TP 29 SHOHD

So Tps. 27 and 29 are at 3 channels and Tp. 12 at 4, that would fit that with the exception of NFL-HD, the other channels have "headers" that only Mpeg4 receivers can see but the video is Mpeg2.


Glad someone out there gets what is REALLY happening :D

MPEG4 continues too look like crap on D* and causes the receivers picture to lock up all the time - forcing an IRD reboot. MPEG4 is a long way away from primetime.

saw this on the star bulletin website:

The upstart network CW has landed a Hawaii affiliate, on a digital, multicast channel of KHON.
“We’ve signed a long-term affiliation agreement with the Fox station,” said Elizabeth Tumulty, senior vice president of distribution for the CW. “They will put us up on their digital station, which is a brand new digital station.”

To roll out the launch, KHON-TV will air several CW shows as part of its regular broadcast lineup. “The Gilmore Girls” and “Veronica Mars” will air tomorrow night beginning at 7 p.m., and will air “America’s Next Top Model” and “One Tree Hill” Wednesday night, also beginning at 7 p.m.

Subsequent CW shows will air only on KHON’s secondary digital channel, for which the station is seeking a channel assignment with Oceanic Time Warner Cable.

The CW and KHON are also trying to work out a schedule for airing episodes of this season’s CW’s shows that already have aired in mainland markets. Those shows did not air in Hawaii for lack of an affiliate.


Does this mean that the shows will only be available now through the 2.1 channel that we watch HD football on Sundays, and not on the regular channel 3 that we tune into with our cable boxes? That sounds strange.

...snip...

Does this mean that the shows will only be available now through the 2.1 channel that we watch HD football on Sundays, and not on the regular channel 3 that we tune into with our cable boxes? That sounds strange.

No, it will be broadcast on a subchannel of the KHON digital broadcast, just like NBC Weather Plus is on a subchannel of KHNL's digital transmission. Oceanic runs that one on channel 115.

Channel 3 on the box will continue to be KHON's SD Fox lineup.

Eric

'Nuther question...

Since it's on their subchannel does that mean it's not possible to have the CW in HD? ...due to bandwidth limitations, etc?

'Nuther question...

Since it's on their subchannel does that mean it's not possible to have the CW in HD? ...due to bandwidth limitations, etc?


I think we should consider ourselves fortunate to have it AT ALL, much less in HD...

Eric

I think we should consider ourselves fortunate to have it AT ALL, much less in HD...

Eric
Sure we are. I just meant was it technically possible? Does all HD have to be on a stations primary channel? Or does it not matter?

You can have HD subchannels...it depends on how much bandwidth you want to devote to each channel in the transmission.

Since Fox runs 720p, I believe you can have 2 720p channels, with some room left over.

Eric

Gotchya, Thanks.

The PBS station in one USA city runs it's HD Channel on 3.5, so yes, its possible to run HD on a subchannel.

What that will do is cut into the bandwith on the mainchannel - so you should hope its not in HD as the SD Subchannel could be turned on with very little loss - as Fox usually maxs out at 15Mbps on their good days.

Anyone still experiencing problems with KHNL-DT OTA? It seems to have gotten worse, instead of pixelating I'm getting a slideshow now. If anyone found the elusive KHNL HD channel again on QAM please let me know, I'd like to give it a try.

KHET is another station that seems to be having problems, lately it goes to a black screen with no sound for a few seconds then comes back.

When they add subchannels to cable (i.e. CW subchannel on Oceanic) could they do it in HD without affecting bandwidth of the main channel? Or does Oceanic just pass on what they receive over the air so we'd get limited bandwidth channels.

gtr4life ,

can you please edit your post and take out that info. if anyone reads this they may discontinue what we've been enjoying for the past 3 years.

gtr4life ,

can you please edit your post and take out that info. if anyone from OTW reads this they may discontinue what we've been enjoying for the past 3 years.
Sure no problem, I apologize. It was the first time I found "it".

Also I remember seeing the KHNL-HD channel either on 114.3 or 114.1 a few days ago but it's not there anymore. KITV-HD is currently on 114.2, and I remember the KHNL channel was either before of after it. I would do another channel scan but for some reason my Sony takes a really long time now to complete it, usually longer than an hour that I can't use the tv while it's doing it.

Jyst FYI you can get it if you have cable cards from oceanic too. I love HDTV ;)

Sy

Also I remember seeing the KHNL-HD channel either on 114.3 or 114.1 a few days ago but it's not there anymore. KITV-HD is currently on 114.2 Tonight at our house KNHL-HD is hiding out at 83. I'm pretty sure it wasn't there 2 days ago. I can't find KITV-HD anywhere. Is someone at OTW hired full-time to move channels around willy-nilly?-) - DR

Tonight at our house KNHL-HD is hiding out at 83. I'm pretty sure it wasn't there 2 days ago. I can't find KITV-HD anywhere. Is someone at OTW hired full-time to move channels around willy-nilly?-) - DR

Are you in Honolulu? That's strange, since I don't get nothing on 83, and KITV-HD is still on 114.2 for me, showing HD stuff. I wonder if it matters what model tv you have.

Tonight at our house KNHL-HD is hiding out at 83. I'm pretty sure it wasn't there 2 days ago. I can't find KITV-HD anywhere. Is someone at OTW hired full-time to move channels around willy-nilly?-) - DR
Thanks for finding KHNL, I am now picking it up on 83-1 as well. :cool: I'm also getting KITV-HD on 114.2 like RobertCEO.

I hope OTW won't keep moving around the channels too much, I have a Samsung standalone tuner where you have to manually punch in the channel numbers because the built-in scan won't pick up anything! I plan to get a HDTV card with a QAM capable tuner for my HTPC soon though, hopefully scanning on that will be easier.

I am somewhat surprised that cable companies do not move the QAMs assignment around more often hoping to force people to their cable cards that will remap. I suppose the reason they don't is they figure people will just call their CSRs saying their cable is out.

Thanks for finding KHNL, I am now picking it up on 83-1 as well. :cool: I'm also getting KITV-HD on 114.2 like RobertCEO.


This morning I'm seeing KHNL on 83-3, but KITV is still on 114.2

Yes, I'm in Honolulu, with a Panasonic TV. On my set, the subchannels off 83 don't do anything, but if I go to 83 and put down the clicker, first I get an analogue screen with nothing but static, then it goes blank, and then KHNL magically appears. Takes a while. It was complete coincidence that I discovered this, and when I tried to do something similar on other likely channels all that happened was that it burned a half hour. Still no KITV for me. - DR

Can someone post on here when they see the new CW channel added to Oceanic's lineup?

From HDSportsGuide.com:

Bye Bye INHD2, we will miss you. iN DEMAND Networks will consolidate its two HD channels into one channel, INHD, and will be discontinuing INHD2 as of the end of the year.

Can someone post on here when they see the new CW channel added to Oceanic's lineup?



Death Ray,
Looks like that may happen on K5, not absolutely sure. I can tell you however we get two CW's WPIX and KWGN off of Dishnetworks 'superstation' package for about a buck 50 each, ala carte.

From an undisclosed site:

# 5500 110 TP 29 DSCHD
# 5501 110 TP 27 TNTHD
# 5505 110 TP 29 ESPHD
# 5506 110 TP 27 ES2HD
# 5507 110 TP 12 NFLHD
# 5510 110 TP 12 HDNET
# 5511 110 TP 12 HDNMV
# 5512 110 TP 12 UNIHD
# 5515 110 TP 27 HBOHD
# 5516 110 TP 29 SHOHD

So Tps. 27 and 29 are at 3 channels and Tp. 12 at 4, that would fit that with the exception of NFL-HD, the other channels have "headers" that only Mpeg4 receivers can see but the video is Mpeg2. I guess the good news in that is if/when Dish does convert them to true Mpeg4 they could squeeze a couple more channels in.

As, for the World Series game you not missing anything...a boring game in HD is still boring. :)



Again,
Appreciate the info, however makes not one bit of sense that dish would do this. I understand the economics of forcing people to get new receivers, but why transmit an MPEG 2 signal that only a MPEG 4 compatible receiver can see?
Why not keep the 'headers' off so those here with older HD receivers can see the added HD channels....

Glad someone out there gets what is REALLY happening :D

MPEG4 continues too look like crap on D* and causes the receivers picture to lock up all the time - forcing an IRD reboot. MPEG4 is a long way away from primetime.



Indeed

Again,
Appreciate the info, however makes not one bit of sense that dish would do this. I understand the economics of forcing people to get new receivers, but why transmit an MPEG 2 signal that only a MPEG 4 compatible receiver can see?
Why not keep the 'headers' off so those here with older HD receivers can see the added HD channels....
http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6877553&&#post6877553

Did a re-scan of all digital signals on my SONY KDL46S2000 this morning. To my surprise, found that I am picking up Thriller MAX on 81.9. Anyone else get this?

Did a re-scan of all digital signals on my SONY KDL46S2000 this morning. To my surprise, found that I am picking up Thriller MAX on 81.9. Anyone else get this?
Shhhhhhhhh!!!

Did a re-scan of all digital signals on my SONY KDL46S2000 this morning. To my surprise, found that I am picking up Thriller MAX on 81.9. Anyone else get this?You might also be getting a bunch of music channels higher up on the same spot... - DR

Sure no problem, I apologize. It was the first time I found "it".

RobertCEO, gtr4life,

Just wondering if you guys were able to se "it" this past saturday. On the way out of my house sat night I took a peek to see if I could see it and it wasnt there. I dindn't have time to do a channel scan for it to see if they reassigned it.

~Sy

anyone notice how they re-run monday night football on the SD ESPN channel at 7pm but not on the ESPNHD channel (on Oceanic). I wonder why that is.

anyone notice how they re-run monday night football on the SD ESPN channel at 7pm but not on the ESPNHD channel (on Oceanic). I wonder why that is.


It's a special deal they worked out with ESPN to repeat the game because of our time zone. When ABC carried MNF, it was delayed for this time zone. ESPN is always shown as a live feed, so suddenly this "primetime" game is in the afternoon in Hawaii. Most of the fans wouldn't be able to see it, so they arranged to repeat the normal ESPN telecast in primetime for local folks. Oceanic is throwing us (and angry sports bar and restaurant owners) a bone with this move.

If you wanna see HD, watch it (or DVR it...) at the normal time.

Eric

It's a special deal they worked out with ESPN to repeat the game because of our time zone. When ABC carried MNF, it was delayed for this time zone. ESPN is always shown as a live feed, so suddenly this "primetime" game is in the afternoon in Hawaii. Most of the fans wouldn't be able to see it, so they arranged to repeat the normal ESPN telecast in primetime for local folks. Oceanic is throwing us (and angry sports bar and restaurant owners) a bone with this move.

If you wanna see HD, watch it (or DVR it...) at the normal time.

Eric

Thanks for the info. I don't have a problem with it, just thought it was strange that they wouldn't repeat it on both channels.

I guess KHON and Oceanic have not worked up a deal to get KHON-DT a channel number. I can receive the CW fine OTA but cannot find anything on digital cable. The article on the KHON website that announces the deal between them and the CW is even missing. As they say on TV, stay tuned.

Do you get it HD over the air? Or is it all SD?

Khon HD finally here. FINALLY

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061031/BUSINESS13/610310342/1071

AWESOME!!!!!

sounds like the CW won't be HD on Oceanic but it will be great to have FoxHD.

Khon HD finally here. FINALLY

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061031/BUSINESS13/610310342/1071

First, don't count your Channel before its signed on the dotted line. Remember ESPN2HD and CinemaxHD were "really close" as well.

As for the other number in the article...Wow....this number is really LOW:

"The number of high-definition subscribers in Hawai'i is small but growing. About 25,000, or roughly 6 percent, of Oceanic Cable's 400,000 Hawai'i customers get HDTV services, the company said."

Most cable systems will end the year with 16+% of their customers subbing to atleast 1 HD Service in their house.

That PERCENTAGE is even lower than D* or E* - so that is really L O W.

Glad someone out there gets what is REALLY happening :D

MPEG4 continues too look like crap on D* and causes the receivers picture to lock up all the time - forcing an IRD reboot. MPEG4 is a long way away from primetime.



Yes indeed, and good to see others out there are trying to figure out whats happening

Does anyone have news or rumors re: when the PBS programs will be broadcast in high definition?

They already have. But some reason, KHET is very quiet on the manner, and does not even acknowledge their HD on the monthly "View" magazine. I pick them up on channel 18 OTA here in Kapolei. Programs like Nature and NOVA are shown in HD.
I have noticed some problems with their Closed Captioned AC3 audio, but still trying to figure that out.
As previous threads have noticed, TWC seems to be very vague on just what is offered in HD, and Broadcasters don't seem to discuss their OTA availability. Yet, all over I see stores trying to sell expensive HDTV sets -- go figure.

RobertCEO, gtr4life,

Just wondering if you guys were able to se "it" this past saturday. On the way out of my house sat night I took a peek to see if I could see it and it wasnt there. I dindn't have time to do a channel scan for it to see if they reassigned it.

~Sy
Nope I didn't see "it" either unfortunately.

First, don't count your Channel before its signed on the dotted line. Remember ESPN2HD and CinemaxHD were "really close" as well.

As for the other number in the article...Wow....this number is really LOW:

"The number of high-definition subscribers in Hawai'i is small but growing. About 25,000, or roughly 6 percent, of Oceanic Cable's 400,000 Hawai'i customers get HDTV services, the company said."

Most cable systems will end the year with 16+% of their customers subbing to atleast 1 HD Service in their house.

That PERCENTAGE is even lower than D* or E* - so that is really L O W.

You have to factor in that until this summer KITV(ABC) was the only local station available in HD on Oceanic. As much as people talk about the 1000 channel universe, half of all viewers still mostly watch the big 4 networks.

Also out of Oceanic's 400,000 subs, only 180,000 have digital cable(45%) also L O W.

Good for Oceanic!

According to the Star-Bulletin article today http://starbulletin.com/2006/11/01/business/story02.html they are strong-arming KHON to work out a deal to have KHON on 3, Digital KHON on 83, CW on 90 and KHON HD in the 900's somewhere. They want to do it "all at once".

More power to them!

Eric

Good news, but what's the point of the digital channel that isn't HD?