First off I would like to say its a pleasure to be posting on these forums...


I live in Kailua Hawaii on the island of Oahu... Time Warner Oceanic is our cable provider and so far my HDTV selection is slim..

KITV (ABC)
iN Demand HD 1&2
HBO HD
Showtime HD

They used to offer KGMB (CBS) but the station stopped transmitting their HD signal. I called their stations engineer and he stated their lawyers pulled the plug on their HDTV feed due to them not being able to simulcast "The Young and the Restless" in HDTV. Something to do with his tape machines at the station....:confused:

What he was telling me didn't make much sense at all. Maybe it has something to do with the time difference and the tape delay in Hawaii.

This is upsetting as CBS offers some of my favorite shows in HDTV.. Hopefully they will get their act together soon!

Bryan

Hey Brian,

I'm over on Maui and am thinking about diving into the HD game as well, mostly for football and movies. TW Oceanic is offering the same channels over here too, and claimed to be adding more soon. I went to the local office to see a demo of HD as I had not seen it yet. They were feeding a Panasonic 36" 4:3 HD Set with a Scientific-Atlanta 3100HD box. Do you have the same box??

Anyway, I was very impressed with the picture quality of HBO and Showtime. But when I tried to view either KGMB (CBS) or KITV (ABC), the picture was "pillar boxed" with black bars on top, bottom AND the sides, making the 4:3 picture very small. I thought all HDTV was 16:9 and on a 4:3 set would be shown in "letterbox" with bars on the top and bottom as with HBO and Showtime. Does it do this with your set as well?? Am I missing something here??

Thanks for any help...

Yawny - over in Ewa Beach on Oahu. Also have TW Oceanic with a Scientific Atlanta 3100HD box (which appears to be Oceanic's standard HD box -- no other options available). All non HD content on the HD channels will be transmitted with vertical boxes on both sides of the picture to maintain original AR. KGMB is not apparently up at this time. KITV only shows certain shows in HDTV (but MNF looks incredible!!)

On my plasma 16:9 set, it won't let me resize a 1080i picture so I switch to the non-HD equivalent channel when not watching HD content.

Spleen

Originally posted by spleen93
All non HD content on the HD channels will be transmitted with vertical boxes on both sides of the picture to maintain original AR.OK... Now I get it. From further reading I've found out that they (local channels) only broadcast HD in Primetime. That explains why I saw the pillar boxed content at the local office in the afternoon.KITV only shows certain shows in HDTV (but MNF looks incredible!!)Do you get the same MNF feed in HD as you do in SD?? Meaning the same audio and video in HD as SD?? I read somewhere that there are different announcers and camera angles in the HD feed and no replay's.
On my plasma 16:9 set, it won't let me resize a 1080i picture so I switch to the non-HD equivalent channel when not watching HD content.Which set do you have?? I asked them a couple weeks ago which box they supply for HD and they said they had two models, the 3030 and 3040. I went to the Scientific-Atlanta site and could not find those model numbers. I called them back and they explained that the 3030-40 are internal part #'s they use. So I asked them which of their "internal" part #'s jive with the boxes SA lists on their site. I had to give the rep the web address as they didn't have it(??).

I was then told the the 3030 is the 3100HD, but they couldn't tell me what box the 3040 was. I was then told I would be called by someone in tech support who "might know". I've yet to hear back from them and it's been two weeks. The 3270HD box on the Scientific-Atlanta site may be the 3040. It allows for Normal-Stretch-Zoom modes for 4:3 and 16:9 TV's. You might ask them if they can get you one.

Thanks for the help and info. Have fun watching HD!!

Hmmm ... maybe worthwhile to check with Oceanic again about whether they have any other HD boxes - I didn't get the impression that they had any besides the one that they gave me. I've got a 50 inch Panasonic plasma as my HDTV set.

I don't know if the MNF feed that I saw in HD is a different camera with different commentators than the SD version. But we did see replays and field shots. I would think that it would be much more expensive for ABC to be running 2 separate crews for HD vs SD - would seem to be much more convenient to film in HD and downconvert for the SD signal.

Spleen

Originally posted by spleen93
I've got a 50 inch Panasonic plasma as my HDTV set.I officially have Plasma envy.I don't know if the MNF feed that I saw in HD is a different camera with different commentators than the SD version. But we did see replays and field shots. I would think that it would be much more expensive for ABC to be running 2 separate crews for HD vs SD - would seem to be much more convenient to film in HD and downconvert for the SD signal.Makes sense. I think the thing I read was in another HD Forum regarding last years Super Bowl broadcast in HD. Might have been one of the first and they didn't have their "stuff" together then. I've also read that ESPN HD shows all their SD in stretch mode to fit the 16:9 format. We don't have ESPN HD yet, but like you mentioned, you can just go to the SD channel to watch the SD stuff. Thanks again and have a Mele Kalikimaka!!

Bryan,

Welcome to the forum!

Allan

Aloha from the Big Island. The newer box that Oceanic TW is using is the 3250HD. You folks might want to join this thread http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=322677 where some Oceanic customers have been discussing some issues with our HD service.


Eric

Aloha to all,

KGMB is only able to pass HD live at this time, they need to install a HD recorder for CBS primetime and The Young and the Restless. But KGMB does air the SEC saturday game and the national NFL game in HD, such as yesterday's Patriots/Colts game.

Monday Night Football, as almost all HD sports programs, uses one crew for the game. The HD signal is cropped for 4:3 and down-rezed for SD. If you notice on MNF the scorebox is more near the center on the HD broadcast.

BTW, I don't have Oceanic. I use a Samsung OTA HD receiver.

Greetings from the (starting to become) frozen tundra of the East Coast! I have relatives currently living in Princeville, Hawaii - the lucky dogs.

I was just wondering if the OTA HD selections are slim all over Hawaii, or just in certain parts? We'll be visiting next year and I just might bring my HD tuner along with me to check it out.

Sangs,
Now dragging an HD tuner around tells me you are a boarder line AVS nut.

Glad you are. Stay a Macadamia.

Allan

Originally posted by Pipelion
Sangs,
Now dragging an HD tuner around tells me you are a boarder line AVS nut.

Glad you are. Stay a Macadamia.

Allan

See, this is why I told my wife it was dangerous when she told me I needed to get a hobby. That'll teach her. ;)

so funny!

Allan

Thank you for the warm welcome everyone...

I have also called Oceanic and they stated they have a 3030 Scientific Atlantic box and sure enough there was no mention of that model number on Scientific Atlanta's website.
I will definatly ask about the 3270 model when I get back from Japan next week. (I will assume it's preferable to the 3100HD)

Thanks Eric for the referal to the other thread. It was very informative, especially the post about what the Director of Engineering at KGMB had said about the stations HDTV feed. It's a shame as some of my favorite programs are on CBS :cool:

I called Oceanic and spoke to a rep about Discovery HD and ESPN HD and she stated they were working on it. It seems other TW cable stations elsewhere in the US are already carying them.

Aloha!
Bryan

Charles - where in Honolulu are you? Do you have reception problems at all with your OTA antenna? Did you mount outside or are you using an antenna indoors? (so many questions)

(watching MNF in all of its HD glory)

Spleen

I am soo glad to see that the other 7 people on the island that have hd, all in one fourm.
I have been told that the "new" box is out of stock,but i can comfirm that it can do 720p as well as 1080i. I have also been told that MNF looks soft in 720p.

Out of stock?? Which office did you speak too? I don't think I will want a 3100HD box as it doesn't sound like it's as nice as the 3250HD (Model 3040???)

Bryan

Hi All!

I live on Oahu in Waikele (home of the factory outlet stores). I just got my digital HD cable installed yesterday, and they gave me a Scientific Atlanta 3250HD box. The HD stations are dazzling (especially MNF, though that's no use to me since I hate sports), but I'm a little disapointed that there are only 3 channels.

Also, since I'm fairly cheap, I'm probably going to get rid of the HBO/Showtime package that I'm getting free right now for 6 months. The shows on HBO/SHO are always so old, that I already have everything I would want to see on DVD. So, unless more HD stations show up soon I'm probably going to drop the digital cable, especially since the SD programming looks as bad as, if not worse, than the analog cable. When I signed up they told me that ESPN-HD and Discovery-HD should be added before next summer. Not sure if they would charge extra for those or not.

I finally spoke to the Dir. of Engineering for KGMB and KHON today...nice guy! Here's the 411 on HD: KGMB-DT *is* broadcasting on the air (channels 8 & 22), but is not being carried on Oceanic TW Cable....it's all the lawyers, etc, negotiating for the carriage of the signal. I say we bombard Oceanic with our wrath about this. We want our HD!!

The Powers That Be have approved the expenditure for new NTSC and Digital transmitters for Hilo, so that should happen by next Spring/Early Summer. KHON-DT should be operating by Summer. Look forward for fabulous Fox Widescreen; although next Fall Fox goes to 720p.

I asked about ST: ENTERPRISE and HD...he wasn't even aware that it was available in that format, but will check and have info for me next week.


Eric

Hi Linda! I just moved out of Waikele to Ewa Beach! :) Eric - good news that at least they're up. We definitely need to get Oceanic to carry it.

Hi Styled!

Spleen

spleen93,

I'm in the Kakaako/Ward Villages area. I use a Silver Sensor indoor antenna. I receive KHON, KITV and KGMB, even though KGMB is DT 8, pretty easily. KIKU comes in mostly at night. I was able to get KWHE until a month ago. According to titantv, KBFD is now transmitting digitally but so far don't get a signal and both KBFD and KWHE transmit from Century Square.

Hi Spleen93: Hope you don't work in town, the commute from Waikele is bad, but I hear from Ewa it's pure hell.

Interesting news Eric. I'm willing to write an email to Oceanic to let them know that I only subscribe to digital cable for the HD content, and unless they beef that up, I'm going to cancel.

Charles: I didn't know it was possible to get good reception with an indoor antenna. If that's so, I may be getting rid of the digital cable and try that. Especially if you're catching more HD channels than Oceanic offers. However, you are in the middle of the all the transmitters while I'm out in the "country".

Oueens and Canoes! Sunset, Pipe, I miss Hawaii!

I hate you guys.

When it comes to surfing, after 30 years, I still suck, but such a great sport and Hawaii is so fine.

Allan;) :D :D :D

I wonder if the local affiliates have a repeater on the windward side where I live?? I might be willing to spring for a HDTV reciever if so!

Bryan

Charles - Hmmm. Like Linda said, you're right in the middle of the broadcasting antennas - not sure if that approach would work out here in the boonies. :) Did you get your Silver Sensor at Sears? I hear it's cheap - might want to pick one up just to see whether it'll work or not (but I'd also have to get a HDTV OTA receiver too, huh ... ok, maybe not).

I'm still tossing around the idea of going with DirecTV to get my HDTV channels ... that way I could upgrade to HDTivo down the line when it gets released next year (not that long away now). I'm still choking on the installation charges though.

Linda - work in Kapolei so I have the reverse commute. Only reason why I chose to live in Ewa Beach was because of the back route through Barbers Point. If I had to go down Fort Weaver every day ... (shudder)

Pipelion - move back home! :)

Bryan - you might still be able to pick up HDTV on the windward side with an outdoor antenna. Have you checked out AntennaWeb.org (http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.asp) ?

Spleen

hello all,
I have been told (by a source at oceanic)that on dec 9th oceanic will add another hd sports channel. It will be on either 923,924 or 925. It will come from the same people that bring us INHD. From what i have been told it will only be up when that have some thing to show. If they don't have a feed the channel will be black. It will show something on the 9th as of right now i do not know what it is,maybe basketball? If someone knows anything else can you shed some light on this.
As for the kgmb thing. I have been told that at the very least oceanic WILL broadcast the super bowl in HD on 907. Hopefully we will have the full prime time line up(if kgmb ever get the recorder) by than.

Thanks Spleen... I check out that website and it said I could recieve the signals for all the stations.

It would be great news if Oceanic broadcast the BIG GAME in HDTV. Talking about a Super Bowl Party! (Go Cowboys!)

Spleen, I'm not sure if we can "see" the DirecTV HDTV Satellite from Hawaii. If you go to the DirecTV website it says we can only recieve limited channels..

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/learn/FAQ_DTVProgramming_Hawaii.dsp

Bryan

Spleen,

Yup, I picked up my Silver Sensor at Sears. But I used a plain old pair of rabbit ears originally and it worked almost as well. As for the receiver, you could buy one a Circuit City and if it didn't work out they have a real easy return policy.

Hopefully KGMB changes it's mind and shows the Chiefs/Broncos game which is this weeks HD games and not the Dolphins/Patriots which is listed.

I know for a fact that we can get DirecTV HDTV here in Hawaii since I've seen HDNet off of DirecTV at Audio Lab on Ala Moana (running off a DLP FP system and on a 100 inch screen ... sweet!). BTW, if any of you haven't seen it, you owe it to yourself to go visit this store ... a fantastic setup. Tom, the owner, is very nice and will do a demo for you. (no financial affiliation, if anybody's wondering)

This has also been confirmed by a DirecTV installer here in Hawaii that we can pick up the HDTV signal. Of course, we can't get about 1/3 of the other DirecTV channels but we have the HDTV ones. :)

Styled1 - that would be great if we could get KGMB to show the Super Bowl!

Charles - hmmmm .... easy return policy ... (evil Spleen starts thinking ... )

Spleen

Thats good news Spleen... I will have to stop by that store and check it out...

Maybe someone could call that engineer at KGMB and find out for sure their Superbowl plans???

Bryan

Did anybody get to check out channel 923 tonight on Oceanic? They're starting to run some sports programming labeled HDSPT and the guide mentions high definition sports programming. From the little that I caught (in between watching HD MNF), it seemed as though it was a Fox sports show in HD. Maybe it actually switches over to HDNET tomorrow?

Spleen

Bryan, whatever live program KGMB airs, if it's available in HD they have passed it, so would guess the SuperBowl will be on KGMB-DT.

Spleen, it might be Fox Sports West HD not HD-Net that Oceanic is airing. Oceanic's parent company Time Warner has a deal for Fox Sports Net HD in 4 market areas and West is one of them.

BTW: Heads up for you Dish subscibers in Hawaii. Dish is moving HBO-HD*, Showtime-HD*, HD-PPV and HD-Events channels to 110w on Dec. 19 making these channels available in Hawaii. This is an addition to Dish's HD package already at 110w(ESPN-HD, HD-Net, HD-Net Movies and Discovery HD). Dish is also offering it's new 811 HD receiver for $199 for existing customers. The 811 includes a OTA receiver.

*East Coast Feeds.

Charles

Wow, thats great news about the Dish network.. Right now I will stick with Oceanic but it's always nice to know we have options.

I will be returning to Hawaii tomorrow from six long months in snowy Misawa Japan. I can't wait to check out all those HD channels :)

Bryan

Howzit everybody, just found this thread today. It's great!

I'm planning on getting myself an HDTV this holiday season and upgrading to digital cable right after. I've been waiting for Oceanic to finally deploy the 3250HD box and add more HD content. Looks like they're s..l..o..w..l..y doing that.

I finally spoke to the Dir. of Engineering for KGMB and KHON today...nice guy! Here's the 411 on HD: KGMB-DT *is* broadcasting on the air (channels 8 & 22), but is not being carried on Oceanic TW Cable....it's all the lawyers, etc, negotiating for the carriage of the signal. I say we bombard Oceanic with our wrath about this. We want our HD!!

Thanks again for the "inside" information, Eric. That's a good idea about nagging Oceanic. They've told me that it was a waste of bandwidth with no HD content, so KGMB was removed. But that's not a problem now...

Anyway, hope Oceanic gets KGMB back up and add DiscoveryHD and ESPN-HD soon!

My wife picked up our HDTV cable box at the Kaneohe office and sure enough it was a 3250!

The receptionist did say there was a waiting list but we lucked out and there was one left.

Bryan

Charles - that would make more sense in terms of what I saw last night. I haven't tried tuning it in yet today to see what's there. :)

Bryan - congrats on getting a 3250! I haven't had a chance to bug Oceanic about getting another box (I'm just too lazy to make the trek up to Mililani Tech Park *again*).

Spleen

Originally posted by BHaren
My wife picked up our HDTV cable box at the Kaneohe office and sure enough it was a 3250!Can you confirm what has been suggested in another thread that the 3250HD is the same as the 3270HD but in black??Just picked up a 3250HD from Cox, Fairfax (traded in a 3100HD).

Just a couple notes:
- The 3250 can stretch/zoom 4:3 or 16:9 content ... including one-touch from a remote. Thing is, the remote they gave me doesn't have a # key. I have another SA remote (AT8400) with a # key and it works like a charm.
- Bypass hardware not mounted (no surprise)
- Has both Optical and Coax digital audio out
- Haven't tested DVI yetDoes the 3250HD have an Optical Digital output in addition to the Coaxial??

Does it have a Firewire port in addition to a DVI port??

Can you "Zoom" or "Stretch" the picture from the remote??

Thanks for the info.

Aloha Everyone,
Just found this thread. It's like a mini Las Vegas here. I'm in Honolulu. It's great finding other people trying to get Oceanic & KGMB up to speed. Just spoke to Mililani office and they have the 3250 in stock. I reserved one to pick up today. They said it does allow you to set box for 16:9 so that should get rid of pillars. They did say these boxes go fast so reserve one if you want one.

Originally posted by Yawny
Can you confirm what has been suggested in another thread that the 3250HD is the same as the 3270HD but in black??Originally posted by dt_dc
Yes, the 3250HD looks EXACTLY like the back shown in the 3270HD literature:

http://www.scientificatlanta.com/explorerclub/getting_started/4003187_RevB-Secure.pdf I guess that confirms it. The 3250HD *is* the same as the 3270HD except for the color. Also the I found out that the 3250HD is for TWC use and the 3270HD is a *retail* model. Now all I need is a HDTV!!

KOA - thanks for the update. I called Mililani as well and had them hook me up with a 3250 as well. The new resolution settings are nice though it STILL doesn't let me do what I need it to do -- that is, be able to zoom/resize the picture off the component feed (when I'm watching the HD KITV feed and it's in 4:3). I'll keep playing with it .... maybe there's a way.

Spleen

Spleen,
I forgot to take my 3100 with me yesterday so am switching to 3250 today. I talked to SA tech and he assured me that you can control aspect ratios on component. That is the only reason I want to switch. There is some sort of wizard that allows this. I hope he is right.

You can switch aspect ratios on component -- but there's no clean way of doing this in one button press as far as I can tell. You have to pull up a menu and select it from the choices - which doesn't work so well from my standpoint.

Spleen

You're right, I'm taking mine back today and getting my 3100 back. I don't think the PQ was near as good as my 3100. Big disappointment.

Did you think so too? I'm having ground loop issues now that I've gotten the new box. (sigh)

Spleen

Spleen,
I'm bummed, I had an excellent picture on my original 3100. I returned the 3250 and got a different 3100 and the picture is bad also. I'm trying another 3100 and having Oceanic check on Monday with warehouse if I can get my original serial # 3100 back (Fat chance I know). I had ground loop problems (not sure if techically that's the right term) orginally and Oceanic techs came out and put isolators on TV and computer cables and that helped quite a bit. They are labeled MI 212 OV Isolator 5-1000mhz. Maybe they might help your PQ.

Oceanic TW subscribers...a little teaser that there shouldn't be too long of a wait until the new HD DVR is available, Scientific Atlanta production willing...

Oceanic is waiting for KGMB to broadcast real HD programming in the CBS lineup to carry it. They are all ready to go, but KGMB is doing SD stuff. I guess they don't have their HD recorders ready yet.

They have the bandwidth and channels allocated for lots more HD stuff, but they are waiting for corporate back East to give the go-ahead on several different channels. And, of course, the local stations to do their part.


Eric

Koa - actually, I solved my own ground loop problem - passed the cable feed through my surge suppressor that has a coax in/out and voila! It must do some signal smoothing or something but my rolling bars on my screen that I used to see in uniform grey/black screens on HDTV channels have disappeared. I'm happy. :) Otherwise, the PQ is minimally worse than the 3100 but that could also be my imagination at this point. I could live with this for now until a PVR becomes available.

egcarter - that's good news. I still want Tivo to come out with a HD Tivo that doesn't involve DirecTV but I guess I could live with a SA version as well as long as I still had my current Tivo as well. Hurry up KGMB with your programming! And I want my Discovery HD!

Spleen

I changed the name of this thread to make it easier to locate. I hope everyone doesn't mind.

I finally made it back from Japan and have had time to play with the SciAtl 3250 and my new 57" Sony Widescreen. All I can say is wow. What a big difference the HD channels look from SD. Some general observations:

The analog stations are quite noisy but of course feeding that noisy signal on a larger TV makes it more far more noticable than on my older 32".

INHD has some pretty interesting programming. Some shows are definatly more clear than others. Worth having for the "wow" factor.

Whats up with the HDTV sports channel? Why only programming some of the time? I asked an Oceanic representative and he said it was a temporary solution untill they could offer more HD programming.

Lets hope KGMB gets those HD recorders in so we can watch the Superbowl in HD!!

Bryan

Originally posted by BHaren
Lets hope KGMB gets those HD recorders in so we can watch the Superbowl in HD!!

Bryan I would think that the Super Bowl would be in HD as it would be broadcast live. I think the reason they don't offer anything in HD now (and I could be wrong), like you mentioned, they don't have HD recorders yet and are unable to show any of the CBS Primetime line-up due to tape delay issues. Are any of the live Sunday game(s) in HD?? Thanks for any update.

yawny

I have yet to see any "true" HD programming on the HDTV sports channel ... everything has been in 4:3 format. (though I do vaguely remember that Fox was supposed to be doing "HDTV" in a 480p format ... not sure if that was supposed to be 4:3 or 16:9).

I have to admit that I like INHD -- I like all the nature documentaries (which probably means that I'd be a sucker for Discovery HD).

Spleen

KGMB passes live programming in HD when available. No Primetime or the Young and the Restless until they install a HD recorder.

So far KGMB has aired the US Open in HD, all but one of the SEC Saturday Games in HD and the NFL HD game when also on KGMB analog. For the last 2 weeks though KGMB hasn't had the NFL HD game and opted for regional games.
This week KGMB will have the Saturday NFL HD game, Chiefs/Vikings, but is airing the Rams/Bengals game which is not HD on Sunday.

On the HDSports channel, I have seen two Laker games broadcast in HD. So they are doing it when the proper feed is available.

Eric

I guess I should clarify myself when I'm whining about KGMB...

Oceanic won't carry KGMB's HD signal untill they can offer it on a daily basis like the ABC affiliate (KITV). Right now OTA isn't an option for me so hopefully when KGMB get's their recorders then Oceanic will carry their signal (Hopefully by Superbowl Time!)

Bryan

Hmmmm ... I wish there was some sort of guide as to what was aired on the HD Sports channel then ... as of now, it's sort of a big guessing game.

Spleen

I just got off the phone with Paul who works at KGMB engineering and he stated that there was going to be a network comprimise and they were going to air the Superbowl on Oceanic as a 1 time deal. (Woo Hoo!)

He also said that the issues with Oceanic are legal as well as waiting for digital video recorders. Hopefully this gets ironed out!

I then called Oceanic to ask what they knew about the Superbowl deal and they called back after consultation with management that the details of this have yet to be worked out. She said I should call back about two weeks prior to the game as they will have more info.

Bryan

You would think that KGMB and Oceanic both would have incentives to resolve their differences and to get with the program ... it's kind of a lose-lose situation right now. Thanks for checking with them.

Spleen

The last time I e-mailed Mr. Akamine @ Oceanic, I believe the word was that KHON, the NBC affiliate wasn't going HD until 2004, and as stated, Emmis Broadcasting wasn't commited to providing a consistent HD signal until 2004 as well. It was great when Oceanic had the mainland HD feed, but watching primetime shows at 5-6pm was too far out of sync.

Is anyone getting HD through satellite? I'm not a big fan of having to buy a dish/receiver and another LRN if I want multiple room HD, but it seems that sateliite service moves a bit faster than cable, although we would still have to get the local channels OTA. I'm still using my 3100HD and aside from having to use a cable line amp, it's been working great.

Hi Mark - I've been tossing around the idea as well about going DirecTV (primarily because I want the HD Tivo!). As you mentioned, it'll definitely provide more HD channels for now (though hopefully Oceanic will get its butt off the ground ... or should I say TWC).

Spleen

DirecTV is not currently servicing Hawaii with its HD content (although you can get it by jumping through hoops and getting a much bigger than normal dish. DISH network HD content is now available in HI on the 110 degree satellite.

Eric

I've seen HDNet coming off of DirecTV HD feed here on Oahu ... what hoops are you referring to? I know you need a 3 LNB dish and it's the large oval dish as opposed to the circular dish ... but it's certainly nowhere near a C-band satellite dish ...

Spleen

Originally posted by spleen93
I know for a fact that we can get DirecTV HDTV here in Hawaii since I've seen HDNet off of DirecTV at Audio Lab on Ala Moana (running off a DLP FP system and on a 100 inch screen ... sweet!). BTW, if any of you haven't seen it, you owe it to yourself to go visit this store ... a fantastic setup. Tom, the owner, is very nice and will do a demo for you. (no financial affiliation, if anybody's wondering)

This has also been confirmed by a DirecTV installer here in Hawaii that we can pick up the HDTV signal. Of course, we can't get about 1/3 of the other DirecTV channels but we have the HDTV ones. :)

Styled1 - that would be great if we could get KGMB to show the Super Bowl!

Charles - hmmmm .... easy return policy ... (evil Spleen starts thinking ... )

Spleen

I have also seen the set up at Audio Lab with the DirectTV set up. It was very nice.
I wish we had more HD on cable.
I wonder when we are going to get the DVR8000HD? I see some of the other TWC areas been getting it.

BTW I am unable to receive anything from my SA3250 on the local radio station and weather channels. Is this normal? I got one of the early 3250's so I don't know if it is the box?

Aloha

Obviously, the Superbowl (and the new commercials) is one of the top events for HD, but anyone remember ABC last year? The sound was out of sync and none of the extra graphics were shown in HD. They didn't even show most of the "replays" over the HD signal, so all we got was Madden's commentary. It was one of those events that made you want to switch to the SD version, just to get the "whole" story. As for the commercials, most of them weren't in HD either.

Can't help you on the SA3250, still using my 3100HD and it gets the local radio/noaa and Music Choice channels.

Directv's HD service is available in Hawaii using a Channel Master "Gain Master" dish, it's 36"x 28". The problem with Directv is that it's HD channels depending on package is on all three locations (101, 110 and 119).

Dish Network's HD Channels are now all at 110. I have Dish but SD currently, I'm going to upgrade but the new 811 receiver is in short supply. Dish has temporarily suspended it's $199 special on the 811 in favor of it's "HD in box", which is either a 40" RPTV or 34" CRT plus the 811 receiver for $999.

Just for reference, here the current status of Honolulu DTV stations:
KHON(FOX) DT 22- 480i 4:3. Transmitting from KGMB's tower on Kapiolani.
KITV(ABC) DT 40- 720p 16:9. Has a CP in with the FCC for an upgraded transmitter on top of the Ala Moana Hotel.
KGMB(CBS) DT 8- 1080i 16:9. Needs Digital Recorders to air primetime programming.
KWHE DT 31- 480i 4:3. Transmits from Century Square(Bishop & Beretania).
KIKU DT 19- 480i 4:3. Transmits on Palehua Ridge(Above Makakilo), Mono Sound.
KBFD DT 33. Titantv.com list them as "live" but so far can't confirm that they actually are transmitting.
KFVE and KHNL. Claim that they can't upgrade either transmitter for DT. Seeking new TL for both. Latest target date 2005(sarcasm: or until the FCC gets on Raycom's ass).
KHET. Building new broadcast facility next to Hard Rock Cafe on Kalakaua, to be completed in 2005(earliest).
KALO, KWBN and KPXO. Who knows, who really cares. :)

I finally found others that have the same problems I do. I have had Oceanics digital cable and the 3100 HDTV box from oceanic from the start. almost 2 years. I have been wanting to talk to others here in Hawaii that have HDTV / Oceanic issue but could not find any one. I looked here in the forums before but never found any thing. I am glad I found this thread. I see others have called and talk to KGMB and Oceanic about the HDTV problem. I called them a few times and complained. It seams like in the last few months are choices for HDTV programing have grown. DirecTV and Dish Network are both offering HDTV and if oceanic don't get there act together I think I am going to switch. I am a big sports fan and would love to be able to get DirecTV's sports packages but as of now I don't think it is available in Hawaii. Dish Network offers more programing in HD so I will have to wait and see if DirecTV is going to get the sports packages in Hawaii any time soon. (please be before football season next year) I live in Millilani Mauka, the ota signals come in pretty good but i only kept the receiver and antenna from circuit city for about a week. Did not think the few shows that i got in HD where worth the $400 price tag for the receiver. I will have to stick with oceanic for a little while longer and see what happens with the satellite providers. Why is that oceanic has so few digital channels. Out of all the channels they provide only about 1/4 of them are in digital format and the are the channels no one watches or at least in my house. I expected at least half would be digital if not all of them when I first got digital cable. Boy was I depressed when I saw the channel line up. Digital channels come in so much better. I have a Epson TW100 HDTV projector and a 92 inch wide screen on my wall. Want to talk about seeing noise in analog TV. I think oceanic injects noise just to irritate us with big screens, But the digital discover channels and HDTV looks awesome. Has any one else noticed some drop outs on HDHBO. I was watching a movie a few months ago and it was dropping out like every 10 minutes. Driving me nuts. My roommate had to restrain me from throwing the 3100 across the room. (LOL)
Well I hope we can get more HDTV programing this next year and I can't wait to see the Patriots in HDTV beat up on someone during the super bowl.
Tim

Go Patriots!!

freek - the music channels/weather radio/local radio stations on the 3250 are carried on the analog stereo channels and are not fed through the digital coax output. If you want to listen to them, you'll need to hook up a good old pair of RCA audio cables to your 3250. :)

Charles - thanks for the update!

pendlet - welcome to the club! :) The Epson TW100's a nice projector. Was almost thinking of that myself ...

Spleen

Is anyone going call Oceanic about the 8000HD box?
I was thinking of calling and offering my services for beta testing.
Maybe if we all call they might get us the boxes a little faster.I am sick of calling an being told it is not feasible to offer more HD because of a lack of customers that want the service.Let all let them know how MUCH WE WANT the SERVICE!

Styled1

I wouldn't mind getting one of the 8000HD boxes my self. Look's real nice and really like the fact that it has a DVI port. I would want one with all the goodies. DVI, Fire Wire and the 160 GB drive. Go real nice with the rest of my toys. Well let me know if you get any response from Oceanic.

Tim

Here is a response I got from Oceanic regarding some HD questions.

Aloha,

Thank you for your recent inquiry. I apologize for the incorrect
information I gave you earlier. I was not advised that Scientific
Atlanta had overcome the recording capacity issue and had built a new HD
recorder cable box. I was also not advised that we would be carrying
it.

We will be getting the SA8000DVR, however we do not know when we will
receive the box at this time. These issues are decided by our corporate
office.

There is no mandate that major stations broadcast an HD signal. The FCC
mandate is that all stations broadcast a Digital signal by December 31st
2006. Digital does not necessarily mean HD though. Another option for
the network is to multicast (broadcast several standard definition
broadcasts). Here is a link to the information provided by the FCC:

At this time there is no plan to utilize the DVI ports on the HD cable
boxes.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to e-mail us again
or contact our Customer Care Department at 625-8100. When replying to
this e-mail, please include this message as well as all previous
correspondence regarding this issue.

Thank you,
nicks
Oceanic Time Warner Cable





Original Message Follows:
-------------------------

I was told by a CSR that the HD DVR's would be available at the end of
2003?
Last time we checked they said it should be any time now?? How would I
be
able to use a HD box with a DVR? Would we have to use say a SA3250 with
the
SA8000DVR? Can the non-HD DVR stretch the non HD picture into a 16:9 HD
monitor? I thought that we had the most up to date system here in
Hawaii. I
wonder why so many of the other TWC systems have the SA8000HD DVR's out
already. When is the deadline for all the major stations to broadcast a
HD
signal? I know that if you have a good reception you can get the HD
signal
over the air. Also is there any word on when the DVI ports will be up on
the
SA3250 box?

Mahalo


----- Original Message -----
From: "CSR SUPPORT" <>
To: <>
Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2003 2:39 PM
Subject: Re: Help Desk Contact Us:)


Aloha,

Thank you for your recent inquiry. Currently there are no plans for an
HD DVR. The technologies are simply not at a point where it would be
possible to record more than an hour or two of HD programming.

We are working on the possibility of adding the HD ESPN network and
Discovery HD. However there are not many other channels currently
broadcasting in HD format. Currently only KITV is broadcasting an HDTV
signal. Once the other stations start broadcasting in HDTV, they will be
added.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to e-mail us again
or contact our Customer Care Department at 625-8100. When replying to
this e-mail, please include this message as well as all previous
correspondence regarding this issue.

Thank you,
nicks
Oceanic Time Warner Cable





Original Message Follows:
-------------------------



>----------
>From: ]
>Creation time: Saturday, December 27, 2003 10:40:29 AM
>To:
>Subject: Help Desk Contact Us
>Auto forwarded by a Rule
>
Contact Us
***************************************
:

City: Mililani
Zip Code: 96789
Account Number:
Comment: When do you expect more HD channels to be available and is the
new explorer 8000HD (dvr) ready yet? Do you know when?
Please e-mail back.
Aloha

Oceanic TW has the new HD DVR's are ON ORDER from Scientific Atlanta. They are just waiting for them to arrive. Keep your shirts on, there's nothing more that can be done!

They are hoping to get them Real Soon Now. It's all up to SA's ability to produce and ship them!


Eric

The 8000DVR box would be a replacement for the 3250 or the 3100. You wouldn't need both to view and record HD signals. I'd like to see what the interface for the 8000DVR looks like ... but it'd be hard to give up my Tivo since I'm so attached to the GUI ...

Spleen

With the way oceanic acts about its HDTV Customers I am surprised with the fact they are going to even get this box. They probably only have about 20 customers that have the ability to watch HDTV and half of them are on this site. This may be the turn around for oceanic and we might even see a few more channels that are HD. I hope they get the DVI working. That is the main reason that I want one. I also like the DVR function I guess. :D Now I wonder if oceanic ordered enough or am I going to have to get my name put on a waiting list. :( Maybe if we do start a waiting list for the new box oceanic will see how much interest there is with their HD and they might start to move a little faster. :) Hopefully we'll see them soon.

Tim

Frankly, I would prefer them getting the HD DVR out before even worrying about getting the DVI port to work. I figure there has to be an established base of at least a few hundred HDTV users so far. Still, it's not much considering the number of subscribers total.

Spleen

I happen to know how many of the HD DVR's Oceanic has on order (it's more than a few hundred)...I (and they) just wonder how many will actually get shipped to them in the new future! I promise that I will let you all know when they are available right here. Oceanic now intends to promote HDTV...just like they promoted the DVR before. I have already seen the generic Time Warner High Definition blurb a couple of times on the air in the past couple of weeks.

They are really just waiting for there to be more HD content on the system. They have already allocated lots of channels for HD...they are as concerned as we about the Honolulu stations taking their sweet time getting their HD act together. Certain other programming is definitely coming very soon...waiting on some final OK's from corporate bigwigs back East.


Eric

Is anyone experiencing pixelization and or audio/picture stutter on KITV OTA signal be it HDTV or SDT on chanel 40?

Yep, I had the same problem with KITV-DT yesterday while watching the Rose Bowl. It seem to clear up though while somewhat watching the Orange Bowl. I think it's weather related, I had a real hard time getting KGMB-DT and KIKU-DT yesterday as well.

Charles, what are you running to get them OTA signals? Does KGMB-DT transmit any 480p/720p/1080i programs?

thanks in advance

Eric - looking forward to you letting us know when they become available! :)

Spleen

pochoboy,
I use a Samsung SIR-T151 OTA HD Receiver connected to a Silver Sensor antenna. KGMB is DT 8 and the S.S. is an indoor UHF antenna but it works well. I receive usually KHON-DT 22, KITV-DT 40, KGMB-DT 8 and KIKU-DT 19. Rarely do I receive KWHE-DT 31 and have never received KBFD-DT 33.

KGMB-DT can only pass live HD programming, they need to install a digital recorder to air primetime programming like CSI, Cold Case, etc.. KGMB-DT will have the Broncos/Colts game on Sunday in HD(1080i).

Hope this helps.

Charles

Charles,
what parts in Honolulu are you? I've got a HTPC with one of those HDTV card. Had a SS but reception was less that desirable, I got an outdoor antennae from HD, boy, it's very unsightly, but who cares what my neighbors think. I'm in Pearl City, got 19, sometimes weak 22 if it feels like it. 31. 33. 40. hmm 8 huh. that's VHF right?

what channel is the Superbowl on this year, I hope we'll be able to get it OTA HDTV!!!

EDIT THANK you 8 comes very nicely!

pochoboy,

Glad to hear that your getting KGMB-DT! The Superbowl will be on KGMB and will be in HD.
I'm in the Ward Villages area, right in the middle of town. If I understand you right your getting DT 31 and 33, if so that the first confirmation of KBFD being on-line. Now if KHON would pass FOX Widescreen for the NFC playoffs that would be the topper.

Charles

Aloha,

Just got back from six glorious days in Kaua'i and was suprised to see all the activity on our thread here. (The Napali Coast was breathtaking after all the rains.. Hundreds of waterfalls!)

I say lets raise our collective voices to improve the HDTV situation here in Hawai'i. It does seem Oceanic and TWC is taking notice of our substantial investments in HDTV equipment and will be working on more content.

Today I will be watching the Wildcard games both in 720 on ABC!

Bryan

Originally posted by BHaren
Today I will be watching the Wildcard games both in 720 on ABC!

Bryan Is there really a big difference between watching football, or any motion heavy content in 720p vs 1080i?? Thanks for all your expert opinions.

It's still pouring rain over here in Maui. Great for watching football though!!

yawny

Welp,

stations 22,31,40 is a no go today. Must be the weather, it's so strange, on New Years day, rainy and all I got all channels. Yesterday's downpour must have taken some of them out. LOL, it could also be that, the engineers have the weekends off.

We'll see on Monday or theareabouts is my guess

Has anyone ever called KHON, KGMb, KITV and talk to their OTA engineers? I'd like to know if they're public relations are friendly enough to inquire about their transmissions. I haven't seen KGMB's HDtv signals as of yet, but KITV really sucks big time for me. I don't know if it's caused by my geographical location or its a Multi-Path problem. On their weekly HDTV sitcoms i get glitches(pixeling of some sorts and stutters).

Theoretically, 720p should be smoother with motion intensive viewing such as sports than 1080i (the simple nature of a progressive signal versus an interlaced signal). However, I don't get any other HD TV stations than KITV (darn KGMB and Oceanic for not working things out yet!) so haven't been able to compare 720p vs 1080i football.

I know some of us have called the stations and talked to the engineers, pochoboy - you might want to give it a shot.

I can actually see the sun today ... wow, what a concept. :)

Spleen

How is everyones wildcard game?
I am getting a lot of drop-outs.
I am in the pearl city area.


Styled1

I'll agree with Spleen. ABC's 720p broadcast seem smoother, while CBS's 1080i broadcast is sharper especially the wide field shot, but the sideline shots are more pixelated mostly from being interlaced and not progressive live ABC's is. Also take into account that CBS's telecast are done and seen in daytime while ABC's are at night.

As for KITV, after they finally switched to the HD signal in the 2nd quarter, mostly clear here in town with few dropouts, but I do have an interesting anomoly. There is a "16:9" box in the left center side of the picture that shows up during fast motion scenes in the game. I wonder if anyone has this problem.

Spleen-I know what you mean, for a second I though I was back in Seattle. :)

Charles... I noticed that box too. Now it's the fourth quarter and the box has disapeared? Odd...

This game has spoiled me! Why can't all games be like this?? WHY!!!!!!!!!!

Bryan

Charles,

hows about today, KITV OTA reception, are you getting audio/video (pixeling) dropouts?

I want to verify it's my setup or if it's KITV.

thank you in advance.

I noticed the same box yesterday during the wildcard games on KITV. First time I've seen that on ABC during a HD broadcast. Right now, wishing I could be watching KGMB in HD as well ... (sigh)

Spleen

How is the football game on KITV(ABC) today? It's really breaking up(dropouts) today.

pochoboy,

Sorry wasn't home most of today, the four letter word that starts with a "W". Caught the 4th qtr of the Sugar Bowl, some pixelation on KITV but no dropouts, great PQ( maybe the best I've ever seen on KITV). It probably helps that I'm only a mile and a half from KITV's transmitter.
BTW, did you catch the Donkeys/Colts game on KGMB. I tivo'd it but after seeing the first half realized the Donks were out of it, :( wish I tivo'd the Seahawks game instead.

Todays game was the BEST i have ever seen it no drop outs at all in Pearl City. What part of the Island or State are you from? Are you with oceanic?

Styled1

Ward Villages/Kakaako area of town.
I don't have Oceanic, I use an OTA HD receiver.

did not watch KGMB's game today, had to do some yard work and the beginning of the year window cleaning. gotta keep em happy!

Charles, thanks for the feedback, It's seems like its a KITV problem and not my setup as you also experienced the pixeling problem.

Styled1,

what's your setup? OTA or cable? I'm also in Pearl City with a HTPC HDTV card, as for me KITV has the most problems, like drop outs audio/video(stutter) at the beginning of the game, but it kinda settled down a bit as the game got going, but it was still happening all the way thru.

Edit LOL, I've got to understand what I read and not get to excited. LOL, as Charles stated and what you asked "Oceanic", you've probable got cable

I'm very grateful that KGMB will be televising the SuperBowl

KGMB HDTV football KC/Colts very nice, way better than KITV with all them stutters and dropouts.

Very happy that KGMB is airing the SuperBowl,

thank you KGMB!!!

I had to repeat myself, Soorry bout that.

Still waiting for Oceanic to carry KGMB ... (sigh)

Spleen

Planing a super bowl party and need to know for sure if oceanic is going to carry the game in HD. Does any one know? I really hope they don't screw us. Also whats the word on the 8000 any chance they will be in befor the big game. It would be great to have the game saved for latter viewing.

Tim

Go Patriots

Hello, I am new to this forum and new to all this HDTV talk, but would like to tap into everyones knowledge and experience on local HDTV.
I am looking to finally going digital from analog (Oceanic) after purchasing a 42" Sony GWIII. Is the digital box that Oceanic "rent" also a HD receiver capable of showing HD programming? No separate HD receiver needed?
I am also trying to get a DishNetwork technician to see if it s possible to install the dish in my townhouse (Waipo Gentry) without violating any one of our many "laws". Oceanic vs Dishnetwork in Hawaii. Any comments?
Thank you for your help.
mrP

Welcome to the forums !

Oceanic will provide you an all in one HDTV capable reciever. Ensure they provide you with the 3040 model (Which is actually the Scientific Atlanta 3250). It will allow you to stretch and zoom by using the # key on the remote.

They currently offer 2 INHD channels and KITV in HDTV (HDTV Programs are aired during prime time). Also HBO HD and Showtime HD plus a HDTV sports channel which hardly ever shows anything. Of course we are all awaiting DKGMB to be picked up by Oceanic because CBS offers so much content.

Bryan

What we are *really* waiting for is for KGMB-DT to actually broadcast all that wonderful CBS HD content in HD! That's what Oceanic is waiting for...

Eric

Anyone know when or if the DVI port will be working on the 3250HD? I went into the info screen of the 3250 but could not find if DVI was activated yet. I know we don't have the new bios anyway. Is the DVI that much better than component anyway? This will be for a Costco Akai 42" ED plasma.

Also if picking up a SA 3250HD make sure it is the HD version. I picked up a 3250 the other day and when I came home I found no DVI port or component jacks on it. Also noted that on the two new 3250HD's I picked up it now has a optical output. The 3250HD I picked up a few months ago does not have that jack.

I don't think anybody knows if the DVI output on the HD boxes are ever going to be activated. Certainly, TWC across the country does not seem to be making this a priority so there's no reason why to expect that here in Hawaii it'll be any different. The difference with DVI versus HD component may be difficult to see - some people report a huge difference and others report not being able to see any difference. I think it probably also makes a difference as to how good your A-D converters are in your fixed-pixel display. For CRTs, there may not be as big a difference.

Spleen

mrp3,

Welcome!
As for Dish Network, understand that for the HD programming that you will need two dishes. One (119) is for Dish's primary programming, the other (110) is where the HD, plus PPV and Sports packages are. That might be a problem for a condo situation unless you have a lanai and can camouflage them somehow. Also, if you want the DT stations, like KITV and KGMB you also need a antenna to receive them through the Dish receiver. I currently have Dish but only SD programming and use a separate OTA HD receiver for the local stations. Dish now has two HD receivers but stock on both is limited. The 811 which is a HD receiver and the 921 which includes "PVR" functionality.
Hope this helps.

Charles

i believe i read sometime ago that time warner plans too never activate the dvi ports on the receivers.I cannot remember the exact reason,maybe someone can help on that.
Anyone up for a grass roots call in campaign to get oceanic to give us HDNET sooner. Maybe we all call in on the same day between 8am and 5pm and ask the same question. I think it might work seeing as when everyone call in about the inhd,when it was take off on the Monday from the preview,Oceanic decided to offer it a month earlier than they had planned. Any takers?
Peace
Styled1

Thank you BHARON and CHARLES O for the info Looks like I have only one choice. Great forum, lots of knowledge here.
mrP

There are a bunch of HD channels in the pipeline from Oceanic...I don't know what the final holdup is; they were originally scheduled for December, such as DiscoveryHD, ESPNHD, and of course now HDNet, HDNet Movies. I know they will be coming Real Soon Now. I think they may be planning a big HD promotion, so they want to intro them all at once. They have allocated LOTS of channels for the HD services. The HD DVR's are also due at any time, subject to when Scientific Atlanta can deliver them.

Eric

The issue of DVI activation on TWC set-top boxes is due to the common ownership with Warner Brothers, a major content producer. There is naturally an extra level of paranoia about giving customers access to a pristine digital version of their programs. Hollywood is naturally very concerned about the rampant piracy going on worldwide and they don't want to make it any easier for those nasty pirates to spread those DVDs and other digital copies around.

Eric

Eric,
Do you know if the additional HD channels you mentioned are planned to be offered as a part of the digital package, or are they going to have an extra charge for them? The size of my cable bill with roadrunner, digital cable, and showtime/hbo is already ridiculous.

Originally posted by Lindakoy
Eric,
Do you know if the additional HD channels you mentioned are planned to be offered as a part of the digital package, or are they going to have an extra charge for them? The size of my cable bill with roadrunner, digital cable, and showtime/hbo is already ridiculous.

I feel the same way. $130/month for cable. With no PPV's.
And I wanted to get an adult channel in the future?? Is playboy the only one? Is that edited?

I just noticed this thread.

HD in Hawaii?

-10F last week was too much for me. That's it, I'm moving...

I am not certain (I'll ask and report back!) but I have the feeling that some of the new HD channels will be put in the same optional package that gives you INHD. So if you subscribe to that, you'll automatically get the new ones. Of course things like StarzHD channels will only be available to you if you already subscribe to Starz.

Eric

DaveFi,

I don't envy you in that horrible winter weather (two years in a row!). Yes, Hawaii has the most technologically advanced cable system in the U.S. It's just a question of them filling out the remainder of the HD tier of channels, which they have been doing slowly but surely. They are coming Real Soon Now.

Eric

Originally posted by DaveFi
I just noticed this thread.

HD in Hawaii?

-10F last week was too much for me. That's it, I'm moving...

Heh Freek. Looks like Waimanalo beach. Rub it in why don't you.

Originally posted by Lindakoy
Heh Freek. Looks like Waimanalo beach. Rub it in why don't you.

Police Beach, North Shore.

:D

Nice dirt bike, Freek. :)

We're all still waiting for the other HD channels to show up ... we know that HDNet is coming soon since TWC announced a carriage agreement but as always, it's a question of when Oceanic will actually put it on the lineup. Getting impatient ...

While I don't mind paying extra for the HD content, I'm hoping that it'll all get packaged together with the INHD channels ... like you said, a HD tier or something. Might be nice if they included HBO HD and Showtime HD on that as well. (I know, not going to happen). It's the only reason why I subscribe to HBO now - so I can get HBO HD and have more HD options. :)

Spleen

So I take it the Super Bowl in HD is a no go for oceanic. This will really piss me off. At least last year I got to see the game in HD. Something needs to happen but I keep getting the run around from both oceanic and KGMB. Maybe you guys will have more luck then I did. Well at least all you OTA user will get to see the game in HD. Makes me wonder why I keep oceanic. All the HD content I get has constant audio and a few video drops every time I watch something. Some one let me know if they also get these drops outs. I don't want to point fingers at oceanic to find out its just my house or neighborhood that is experiencing this.


Tim

DirectTV starting to look good? I seen all the HD stuff that AudioLab has and it seems good. Not sure about price and watching everything on a west coast time though. Anyway, last night about 11:30pm I noticed all the digital and HD channels fading out. I went into the SA3250HD's settings menu and had -17dbmV signals. I usually have -12 or so? I guess a amp may be needed.

Well, I'd move to Hawaii if I had a reason to. I doubt I'd be able to afford living there at any rate.

Been thinking about selling my condo anyways. What are the housing costs like? I'm living in a single bedroom here in the Boston area, probably get 150k for it.

Originally posted by DaveFi
Well, I'd move to Hawaii if I had a reason to. I doubt I'd be able to afford living there at any rate.

Been thinking about selling my condo anyways. What are the housing costs like? I'm living in a single bedroom here in the Boston area, probably get 150k for it.

The prices went through the roof in the last few years. Check the link for prices.

"Current Median Sales Prices in Honolulu

Single Family Home $ 399,000

Condominium $ 180,000 "




hawaii homes (http://www.hicentral.com/home.asp)

Hmm. That's not much more than the Boston area.

The Boston area is the most expensive area to live in the continental US anyways.

Dave - well, there you go, then. :) (edit: I thought that the Bay Area was the most expensive metropolitan area? median house price chart (http://realtor.org/Research.nsf/files/REL03Q3T.pdf/$FILE/REL03Q3T.pdf) )

pendlet - I thought somebody had talked to Oceanic about the Super Bowl and that they had said that they would be working with KGMB to make sure that it was carried in HD. Don't quote me on it though ... that's all that I vaguely recall. Anybody know more in detail?

Spleen

Man Spleen I hope your right. I gonna have some people over and I hope to show them how much better HD is then regular TV. I also want to now that the thousands that i spent on my setup don't go to waste. Last years super bowl in HD was great and this year it can only get better.

Tim

The last i heard everyone(read employees)@ oceanic with HD where trying their hardest to make sure that the super bowl is shown in HD. From what i hear it will be a one shot deal at least until they get a recorder.
I truly hope that they buy 2 of them one for KGMB and one for KHON so when Fox goes 1080i we won't have to wait another 6 months to a year to see more HD.

Styled1

Actually KHON already has a Digital Recorder, it was built in when KHON moved to Hawaiki Tower. The reason KHON isn't passing FOX Widescreen programming is that they are using KGMB's tower for DT but using the same transmitter link that they use for KHON's analog transmitter on Century Center. KHON would need to install a separate TL to the DT transmitter to air FOX-WS and soon FOX 720p.

Hiya from Kaneohe, Oahu. I have a HDTV widescreen but no HDTV reception yet. A few hdtv newbie questions-

1- Do you I understand correctly that with an over the air (OTA) HDTV receiver I can get HDTV shows without going (i.e. paying) through Oceanic cable?

2- Is SD another term for enhanced definition (digital but not thru HDTV), or does it stand for Satellite Dish?

3- Other than Oceanic Cable (aka Time Warner) what other national HDTV services are available to people in Hawaii. i saw HDTVnet, Dish Network, and Tivo mentioned.

Sean

Seanster - you can get HDTV OTA in Hawaii - check antennaweb.org to plug in your address and see if you can pick up OTA HDTV at your location and what kind of antenna you would need. one thing that's not clear to me though is whether the program takes into account mountains ... i.e. the Koolaus may interfere with your reception.

SD stands for standard definition (regular analog/digital cable, standard OTA broadcasts) - this is different from ED (enhanced definition) which would be 480p (progressive scan DVDs and current Fox "widescreen" programming - not available in Hawaii).

Current sources of HDTV in Hawaii include OTA, Oceanic, DirecTV, and possible Dish (not sure about the last - I've heard with a specialized dish you can get Dish HDTV).

Spleen

Seanster,

It's not likely you can get the OTA DT stations in Kaneohe due to the Koolau's and the fact that they all transmit with limited power. Check regular channels 9,20 and 32, those are adjacent channels to a couple of the DT stations and will give you an indication of the possibility of receiving the DT stations.

As for other than Oceanic, here's what's available HD wise.
Directv: 101(Main) 36"dish, 110(HD plus Chinese pkg) 24"dish and 119(HD and Spanish pkg) 18" dish. If you don't truly care for the main programming, you can use a "Gain Master" dish(36" x 28") that combines 101/110/119 on one dish. However, you will lose the 101 (main) signal when it rains, which in Kaneohe can be problematic.
Dish: 119(Main) 24" dish, 110(HD/PPV/Sports) 24-30" dish. Can also use the "Gain Master", but the 101 slot will be null.
Another "option" soon will be StarChoice, a Canadian Sat. service. StarChoice is launching a new satellite (111)
in the spring that will be receivable in Hawaii with a 39" dish. StarChoice non-HD programming(107) is already available with a 39" dish. Search these forums for "grey market" or "starchoice" for details.

Charles

Aloha All...

I received a call this morning from my contact at Oceanic in Honolulu...bad news...no Super Bowl in HD over Oceanic this year. No particular reason for the situation.

Eric

OK, that just sucks ... :(

Spleen

Called costumer service to see if it's true. The CSR knew nothing of the matter. I said that i had heard a rumor that they would air the Super bowl as a one shot deal in HD. She than told me she was told that KGMB no longer broadcast in HD,I quickley pointed out that see was wrong. I than stated that they(oceanic) took KGMB off line an in fact you could get a singal OTA. I than ask her if she could pass the word up the chain of command with the hope that it could be ironed out by Sunday. She took my name and told me too check back on Friday.
O.K this is the deal if we all call within the next two days expressing our interest in the super bowl they just might get off their duffs an get us our super bowl.
I've got the ball in motion now it's up to everyone else to run with it.

Hey all,

I was watching KGMB News last night and they are having a Super Bowl Party Contest. If you e-mail KGMBsuperbowl@yahoo.com and tell them about your party and they like your idea, they come and broadcast from your house. Big Whoop...

I'm HD challenged, but I suggest those who would like to voice their opinion on the non-HD broadcast of the Super Bowl this year (through Oceanic anyway) should flood their inbox with your complaints. The address again is:

KGMBsuperbowl@yahoo.com

Good luck!

Done and sent. Still very upset about the Superbowl (grumble, grumble)

Spleen

the word out of oceanic is that EMMIS is the reason that we will not see the super bowl in HD. Oceanic is ready,Willing and able to send us a signal but will not because EMMIS will not sign a contract,This is also the reason we don't have digital FOX,so EMMIS needs to be the focus of the call-in/e-mail campaign.
On a happier not the OTA signal will be on 9.1,for those of you with a ATSC tuner. I might buy one from CC use it for the game than return it. Kinda like they do with big screen t.v's.
I have been told that the OTA signal will be boosted for the length of the game. So even if you get a weak prime time signal tommorrow you should have no problem with the game.
Styled1

Okay, I'm a total dunce. What is EMMIS? And who do we complain to? I would love to have HD Fox.

EMMIS is the company that owns KGMB and KHON here in Hawaii. The station mananger for both stations is Mr. Rick Blangiardi.

www.emmis.com

I emailed EMMIS about 2 months ago about KGMB and the HD situation and recieved a polite email that I should contact the station manager at KGMB. If you go to KGMB's website, (www.kgmb.com) all the email links come back as being bad.

Bryan

Hello,
Yes, it seems KGMB does not want customer feedback. All their email links have fatal errors. I have gotten no where by phone either. Do you think they read their snail mail?
I did find out that Oceanic is working on more HD channels but no time frame was given.
I want my HDTV!

Aloha, Oceanic TW Subscribers! A couple hundred of the new HD DVR's will be available in February. They are accepting early orders. Call Now!


Eric

Thanks Eric for that! Called Oceanic now and put my name down. The CSR I talked to said that it was looking more like March but promised to have somebody call me when they became available.

Spleen

Thank you egcarter, just reserved mine. BTW my PQ not that great on Super Bowl. How's everyones picture?

Aloha! Great thread. Glad to find some old island friends again. Eric, as always, your information is much appreciated. :)

KOA, I agree, the SD picture quality is subpar. We've actually switched to an analog tuner and find the PQ slightly better.

Anyone know how much the HD DVRs will run?

So so picture quality... Kinda reminds me of watching the worldcup which is being broadcast from Europe....

Bryan

Actually facial closeups not that bad on my end on Oceanic SD. Far shots showed loss of details.

Spleen

Excellent game, pass pass pass and you've got an exciting game, ala June Jones.

How about that Janet Jackson halftime show??? Was it an accident??? NOT!!!

Answered my own question... the HD DVR's will be an extra $10/month. If you're interested, you should definitely call, as the CSR I spoke with confirmed that initial supplies will be limited. :cool:

put my name on the DVR list. Csr said only 200 available.
Anyone get the game OTA?How was the PQ? Can you get CBS primetime OTA or is it the same issue as oceanic.
I would like to know because i was thinking about getting a ATSC turner. So many things coming up on CBS in HD that i would like to see.

Styled1

We had the regular DVR from Oceanic and I wasn't impressed. It had a tendancy to not record our shows. We returned it after 2 months. I had a DirecTV TIVO back in Washington and it never skipped a beat.

What model HD DVR will it be?? Also, how big is the Hard Drive?

Bryan

The SA8000HD DVR - HD version of the current DVR from Oceanic, I believe. Let's hope that they've fixed the software bugs.

For more details, see the SA8000HD thread here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=352604&perpage=20&pagenumber=1)

Spleen

Probably goes without saying, but the CSR I spoke with told me these things are brand new and that we should "expect some bugs." Anyway, with no other HD recording option available to me right now, I'm willing to give it a try!

Did anyone get the HDDVR yet?

I just had a tech come out today and adjust my signals by changing a end of line connector at the road. It added about 7-8db's to the strength. This is good as I thought I would need a amp for sure. My roadrunner speed also seems quicker. As for the tech, I asked him how the new HDDVR's are working or if they were beta testing them yet. He replied by saying that they don't exist at all. I thought that was weird as I spoke with a CSR today and asked to be on the list for the box. The lady said that they expect a 100 or so later this month. She also said it would be a additional $10. Is this $10 on top of the $5.70/month box rent? I gave up on asking questions such as software updates or DVI port use. I miss the days my wife worked for oceanic and we had free channels with real info.
$150/month=$1800/yr

Freek, your post reminded me of something I had read not too long ago, that said that TW RoadRunner was increasing its download speeds by about 50% nationwide (or at least in many markets). This was originally posted in a 'Hot Deals' forum at FatWallet. I was skeptical at first, but many people responded that it was indeed true. All you have to do, according to the thread, is unplug your cable modem AT THE WALL for about 10 minutes and then plug back in... this supposedly resets some resistor and then when you turn it back on, your download speeds increase from 2MB/sec to 3MB/sec. Upload speeds are unaffected, and remain 384k/sec.

That said, I tried this the other day and ran CNET's Bandwidth Test (http://webservices.cnet.com/bandwidth/) before and after, and did not see a significant change... a paltry 1.5MB/sec before and after. Perhaps I didn't unplug for long enough, or maybe they haven't implemented this here in Hawaii, but I thought I'd ask the group if anyone else has successfully boosted their speed.

Anyway, here's a link to the forum that talks about this: 50% More Speed At No Cost (http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?catid=18&threadid=270951&highlight_key=y&keyword1=road%20runner).

In case the link doesn't work, here's the original post:

Originally Posted by HotStuff2 at FatWallet.com

road runner across the board in the US is doing this, and RoadRunner Tampa Bay implemented it last night.

Starting 12:01am 01/27/04, all Tampa Bay, FL road runner customers were increased from 2mb download to 3mb download speeds. Upload speeds remain the same at 384k. However, in order to get this, you must reset your modem. You can do this one of two ways:

1. Unplug the power to the modem from the wall outlet (not the back of the modem!) and let it sit for 10 minutes. Plug it back in. You're done.

*** OR ***

2. Call your local support, and have them reset the modem. Takes about 2 minutes.

Unplugging your modem's power from the modem and waiting 30 seconds (or 60 seconds, or 90 seconds, etc.) does NOT "reset" it. That's a common misconception. FYI, I work for them as a network engineer, and I can confirm road runner in Tampa Bay has implemented this for all residential customers.

I didn't post this in Free Stuff 'cause you're paying for your connection, this is just something to do to get it a bit faster. And before you ask, the following counties cover the "Tampa Bay" area:

Citrus
Hillsborough
Manatee
Pasco
Pinellas
Polk

If you live in one of these areas, get your 50% speed increase now!

edits & updates:

First, from my post on p2: "The reason RR techs tell you that is the piperider modems power connection at the back of the modem is kinda flimsy, and if it breaks off as a result of something a RR tech told ya to do, it's their issue."

Sorry, but NO. Yes, that is a good reason to do it, but that's not THE reason.

When you unplug the power cord from the modem, that's all you've done. Unplugged the power. What needs to be RESET is the resistor switch, which is located in one of two places depending on your cable modem model:

- if you have a black power box, it's in there.
- if you have a straight cord, it's in the ferrite coil at the very end (that plugs into the wall) or is in-line under the plastic.

THAT resistor is what gets switched "ON" when there is no power to it for several minutes, and so when power is restored, it calls the service router to verify. THAT'S how the modem is reset. Unplugging the power cord from the back of the modem does nothing but cut the power. You *must* unplug it, not switch off the power strip/outlet, as there is always a small trickly of power even when it's off and that's enough to cause the resistor to remain switched off.

Unplug from the wall, NOT the modem.

second: Yes, all MISPs (AOL, Internet Junction, Earthlink) are upgraded as well.

Edit #3: In Tampa Bay, you can test your speeds from both the Bright House networks as well as outside places by going to http://www.mybrightbiz.com/helpcenter/downloadtest.asp :cool:

1182 Kbps is my new speed. He replaced a splitter at the box at the road that had a 1" cable going into it.

Oceanic has been advertising 50% Road Runner speeds in TV spots already. The HD DVRs aren't here yet. Keep your shirts on. Yes, it's $10/month extra for a DVR...SD or HD. You can eliminate your existing HD box withe the HD DVR, after all, it IS a cable box, too. They have a few of them in-house for testing at Oceanic right now.

Eric

Hounsfield - I hate to say this but that whole rigamarole about needing to cut power at the wall versus the back of the modem bit just doesn't ring true for me. It's a stupid power adaptor brick. All it does is convert the AC power to DC voltage and feed the cable modem. I have a hard time believing that there's some switch within this Korean/Taiwan outsourced power supply that that's supposed to magically signal the modem to "call the service router to verify". That's going to happen anyways whether the modem loses power at the back of the unit or at the input to the power brick.

In any case, I do most of my downloading on a laptop hooked up through 802.11b so my DL speeds are limited by my wireless connection anyway ... :)

Eric - I'm going to keep my old box to feed my Tivo - then I'll try to see if I can get the 8000 to just record HD channels to conserve HD space. Then I'll have the best of both worlds :D

Spleen

Spleen

7am here in Pearl City, Netspeed test @ 3184kps

btw, is the ProBowl being transmitted in HD ?

Thanks again, everyone, for keeping us updated with the latest news.

By the way, anyone know the dimensions of the 8000HD? or the regular 8000 DVR, assuming they're the same? Particularly the width. I don't think I'll be able to fit it on the shelf/stand I have everything on now....bummer, nowhere else to put it.

My RR speed seems to have gotten better. Using one of dslreports.com's (http://www.dslreports.com) speed tests, since I've been using them for a while, I just got a result of 3168kbps or 386.7KB/s. I used to be in the 2200ish area.

The SD DVR is 17"W x 13"D x 3 1/4"H.

Eric

Thanks Eric.

Has anyone recieved a call from Oceanic to pick up their new DVR boxes yet?

I just spoke with a CSR and they said they expect them any day now.

Good news!

Spleen

I have the new SA 8000HD DVR (I work for OTWC and I am beta testing it )and I can tell you it works well as a HD DVR. But SA did two things to it that I don't like. First thing I don't like is you can't use any of the SD outputs at the same time with the HD output on. The second thing I don't like is when I put the box on stretch for Sd stuff I have to take it off for HD or the HD will be stretched.
Having said that I LOVE the fact that I can now time shift HDTV.

I have the new SA 8000HD DVR (I work for OTWC and I am beta testing it )and I can tell you it works well as a HD DVR. But SA did two things to it that I don't like. First thing I don't like is you can't use any of the SD outputs at the same time with the HD output on. The second thing I don't like is when I put the box on stretch for Sd stuff I have to take it off for HD or the HD will be stretched.
Having said that I LOVE the fact that I can now time shift HDTV.

HDCABLE,
Any news on HDNET or HDNET movies. Are we getting a new channel anytime soon?
Rick

Ditto that question!

It does seem weird that the SD outputs don't work when the HD output is on. So, does that mean the SD outputs turn back on when you tune to a SD channel?

Spleen

Rick I'm sorry but I don't have any news about when OTWC will be adding any new HD channels. Spleen SA has three pdf files about the 8000HD, http://www.sciatl.com/customers/Source/4004400.pdf , http://www.scientificatlanta.com/explorerclub/getting_started/4003743.pdf and http://www.scientificatlanta.com/explorerclub/getting_started/4001025B.pdf . The HD component video output on the 8000HD works just like the HD component video output on the 3250HD box. The main diferents between the two boxes is the way that the SD outputs (RF, video and S-video) work. On the 3250HD the SD outputs worked all the time but you didn't have any guide info on screen. On the 8000HD the SD outputs don't work at all when you are using the HD component video output. To make the SD outputs work you have use the boxes setup wizard and put the 8000HD in standard definition only mode. In standard definition only mode the HD component video output dosen't work. Like I said before other than the two "flaws" that I have found the 8000HD is a great box and I won't give it up untill SA comes out whith a better HD DVR.

hdcable,
How long more till you guys are done beta testing them? In other words any time frame as to when they going to be released? I was told last year by a CSR that they will be in by Nov-Dec 03.
Does it have a DVI port and is it activated yet? Cant wait for the DVR.
:)

Freek, I don't know when OTWC is going to release the 8000HD, but if I had to guess I would say it would be very soon. You should call the office and talk to a CSR for more info. As to your other question you shold read the info from SA ( http://www.sciatl.com/customers/Source/4004400.pdf http://www.scientificatlanta.com/explorerclub/getting_started/4001025B.pdf http://www.scientificatlanta.com/explorerclub/getting_started/4003743.pdf). I hope you get your new box soon and I also hope that you enjoy using it.

hdcable - (sigh) ... another stupid setup problem with the box which will have to wait for SA to release new firmware. How hard is it to have all outputs putting out signal all the time? It allows the maximum flexibility in hookups ... (grumble, grumble)

Sorry, don't mean to take it out on you. But it reaffirms my need to have two boxes then - one for SD and one for HD.

Spleen

Spleen I hate to tell you this but the way that SA built this box you can't have the HD and SD outputs working at the same time because they both share one of the outputs. The green (Y portion of the Y Pb Pr ) output of the HD component video output on the 8000HD is shared with the Yellow (composite video) output for SD video output. When I put the box in SD only output mode I got a funny looking B&W picture using the HD component video to my HDTV. Look the bottom line is this SA thinks that we are only going to use this box on a HDTV using the HD component video outputs and they gave us the SD outputs to use if we want to archive (record) something onto VHS or DVD. The great thing about the 8000HD and the 3250HD is how easy it is to watch both HD and SD using the same component video output.

There's no S-video output either? I'd have to say that my current 3250HD box has a better SD picture through the S-video/composite output than through the component output.

Spleen

Spleen when you say that the s-video is better then the component video output I have to ask you are you switching the output of the boxes component video output to 480I? if not you should read http://www.scientificatlanta.com/explorerclub/getting_started/4003114B.pdf from SA and learn how to change the component video to output 480i. Good luck.

Yes, that's even with switching the box output to 480i. :)

Spleen

Wondering if the 8000 can send all its signals out in its native resolution?(480i out to tv in 480i, 1080i in 1080i and 720p in 720p) Went to SA website and it says my 3250 hd should do that but when I go to setting the option is not there. I believe it was refered to as pass through mode. I know if i keep it in 1080i the HD stuff looks great but most all other chanels look much better when i set the box to 480i. Dont really like changing it manually every time change chanels though.

joshd808 to enable the option you want use the set up wizard on the box this PDF (http://www.scientificatlanta.com/explorerclub/getting_started/4003114B.pdf) file will tell you how to do that. Good luck.

hdcable - the passthrough option is not activated on the 3250HD boxes that Oceanic uses - not sure if the firmware that we use is older than the latest from SA. I've tried doing the wizard in the past to activate the passthrough option and it wasn't available before and it's still not available. :) If you could fix this (and hopefully for the 8000HD), we'd all be eternally grateful. I just tried unplugging and replugging in my box to force it to check with the Oceanic servers again just to make sure that my box had the latest firmware from Oceanic.

Spleen

Spleen93, I thought you were talking about the HD component video output but now I can see you are talking about the DVI (Digital Video Interface) output. The DVI output will not work at this time, it will take additional software OTWC dosen't have at this time to make it work.

Appears we're getting closer to the launch of HDNET and HDMOV, as these now show up on channels 919 and 920, albeit without a signal. I wonder how Oceanic will contact us regarding the HD DVRs?

Hmmm, guess they were just testing things this morning. I just checked again, and the two channels are no longer listed. Well, we must be getting close. :)

hdcable, what I and it appears spleen were refering to was the component ouput. In the SA website it says by pressing setting twice there would be an option called "pass through". Turing this option on will allow the cable box (SA explorer 3250HD) to send its signals out in the stations native resolution ie 1080i or 720p for the HD ones and 480i on almost all others. Without turning on this option the box will send out all signals in whatever format its set too. So if i have it on 1080i my hd chanels look great but when it upscales the standard stations to 1080i it looks bad. I would much rather it be sent out in 480 and let my tv do the upscaling becouse it does a much better job.

hdcable - nope, I'm talking about the component output. I've tried following the setup instructions in the wizard in the past and at no place in the general settings menu do I get the option to adjust picture output format to pass-through (the mysterious Set Picture Format option).

Hounsfield - exciting! Looking forward to this ...

Spleen

josh - I should have read the last page before posting the same thing that you did. :)

Spleen

Spleen93 - I will look into why that is not there and get back to you about that. I can tell you that it is not on my SA 8000HD DVR box ether. I hope pass through is something we (OTWC) can add even if we need a software upgrade to do it.

I hope that there's a software update that enables this! :)

Spleen

Yes an update for the pass through feature would be greatly appreaciated. Thank you hdcable for taking the time and looking into it.

I have good news OTWC is adding HDNet, HDNet Movies and Discovery HD on March 15. From March 15 to March 30 they will be available for free then they move to the HD tier (with inHD & inHD2 @ $6.95).

Hoorah!!! That's fabulous news, hdcable. Thanks for the info!


Eric

Yesss! Hopefully things get straightened out with ESPNHD and KGMB next. And a firmware update to allow pass-through on the 3250HD would be great.

Thanks for the updates, hdcable. :cool:

At last... Discovery HD!! Thanks for the great news, hdcable. I'm also thrilled to hear that these new channels will be included in the INHD package :D.

:D

Thats great new! I second the comment on KGMB. I still haven't gotten over not getting to see the Superbowl in HD.

Bryan

Thats good to here. I expected to have to pay more for the new CH's. It looks like oceanic is starting to get things going with there HD line up. Can't wait! I am also really surprised with all the bad weather that we have had the last few days I did not lose cable or internet once.

Tim

That netspeed site to check your speed, is that netspeed.com? I get timed out, so that can't be good :)

Are KITV, HBO HD, and HD Showtime (and soon Discovery) the only channels currently available in HD through Oceanic? About how much does HDNet cost?

Sean

And INHD1 and INHD2. And occ. Fox Sport Net (not true HD as of now though). All these HD channels (INHD1, INHD2, KITV HD, and soon to be HDNet, HDNet Movies, and Discovery HD) are part of the HD package for $6.95/month (or was it $9.95/month? Can't remember). Showtime HD and HBO HD are in their respective premium movie channel packages (i.e. can't get the premium movie HD channels on their own).

Thanks for the good news, Ed!

Spleen

I'm just wondering, what kind of stuff do they play on inHD and HDNet?

Is inHD mostly sports? The Oceanic Cable site doesn't have a description.

InHD and HDNet both offer original programming, sports and movies.
You can check them out at the following:

InHD Website (http://www.inhd.com)

HDNet Website (http://www.hd.net)

The HD tier is $6.95 per month. When there is programing on Ch. 923 (FOX Sports Net) only the game (Lakers, Kings or Dodgers) is shown in 720p HD. You can check out the FOX Sports Net HD schedule at http://www.foxsports.com/content/view?contentId=1528343 .

HD Sports on Oceanic is not strictly Fox Sports Net from LA. I have seen NY Knicks games as well (and they weren't playing the Lakers).

Eric

Anyone get a call to pick up their HDDVR yet? It was supposed to be here by now. When I called last week they said that a few hundred came in and went out. Not sure if that was for staff or customers.

On another subject.
I recently bought a Costco Akai 42" Plasma. It was on sale for 2500 at the time. The quality of this TV is only good with HD stuff and it's going to go back. The plasma is a nice unit but PQ sucks. Faces looks like shades of clay or clay face. My wife cant stand that all I watch is INHD or HBOHD. My 80" projector looks better than this. One thing for sure is that im glad of costco's return policy. :D Any one recommend something good to replace this with. If so where do you recommend I get this from?:confused:

Plasma screens picture quality have yet to reach the quality of CRT projection sets or CRT tubes. They have a hard time producing true black. If you head over to www.cnet.com they have good info on the + and - of all different types of TV's.

Bryan

freek - send me Email. I'll show you mine (50 inch Panasonic plasma) - email address is my_user_name_at_AVS@hotmail.com (sorry, don't want to actually post the Email address in its entirety to avoid getting spammed by bots - just replace the part before the hotmail.com with my user name here). I can't claim that I have the best PQ in the world but I'm still tweaking.

Spleen

Probably a dumb question, but is Discovery HD the current channel ( viewable over regular cable) listings only broadcast in HD, or does Discovery HD have a totally different channel (and schedule) than the Discovery channel we watch in SD now (on chan 69)?

Sean

I believe that Discovery HD has its own schedule but can't attest to that as a fact.

(edit: just checked Discovery Channel's website - yes, they have different schedules)

Spleen

Did anyone who watched the Oscars tonight notice the sound was off at times during the broadcast on DKITV? Otherwise the picture quality was awesome!

Bryan

Seems to be a regular problem with HD broadcasts - have noticed this with the Oscars, the Superbowl, and other HD shows we've seen in the past.

Spleen

KITV has had real problems with it's DT signal of late. Last Monday during "Fast and Furious" the audio sync was at least 3 seconds off. By the second hour KITV abandoned the HD signal simulcasting the SD broadcast instead.

The delay would get pretty bad and then the sound would cut out for a second and it would be in sync again... Very odd.. the thing is it is tape delayed so I doubt it's a problem with the satelite.

Bryan

I would have to take exception with the statement that plasma, including my second generation Pioneer, doesn't compare to CRT projection. Except for direct view, I think plasma does the best job for HD, and you can't get a 50" direct view! :D For RPTV, the newer DLP units are excellent, but still take up too much family room real estate.

KITV did delay the broadcast of the Oscars as they delay most of the prime time programing from ABC, but they don't use tape anymore. I have been to the station and I can tell you that everything is digital (HD & SD) in there plant. To store programing and commercials for playback they use a computer server called a media pool (each one is like a giant Tivo). They also have separate media pools for HD and SD. In the past when I have talked to them about the sound problem they have said that the problem is coming from ABC in New York and not KITV here in Honolulu.

I called OTW today to check on the status of the HD DVRs, but didn't have much luck. The CSR I spoke with today had never heard of them. Guess it depends on who you talk to, but this also makes me wonder if there really is a "sign-up list" for the DVRs, or if the CSRs we spoke with earlier were just humoring us. Hope not! :p

Anyway, didn't have time to wait to speak to another CSR, so maybe I'll try again tomorrow.

The box you are looking for the SA Explorer 8000HD is known as a 159. If you have a SA Explorer 3250HD it is known as a 158. Next time you talk to a Oceanic Time Warner Cable CSR Ask them when you can get a 159, if they don't know then ask them to ask the GL (Group Leader). Good Luck.

Cool, thanks for the tips, hdcable :cool:

I'll give it another shot tomorrow.

I just talked to Oceanic and they were able to check that I am still on list to get a HD recorder. They used my phone number to check. The girl thought only about 10 have come in and gone out so far FWIW.

The Sears stores on Oahu have the SA8000HD and are using them to demo some of their HDTV's, so that accounts for 3 of 10 boxes.
Note: Sunday when I was at the Ala Moana store, they had the "E! Red Carpet from the Oscars" on InHD on and in zoom mode. Figures doesn't it. :)

Yes it does ... (sigh)

Spleen

got a call from oceanic today about HDDVR.
Was told I will be able to pick up on March 11.
Just in time for recording HDNET,HDNET MOVIES or DISCOVERYHD.
Styled1

I just spoke with KITV's Director of Engineering and he told me that they are aware of the sound problem and they are trying to fix it. I want you to know that he has a HDTV and a HD digital cable box from OTWC and he is monitoring the signal from home when he can.

that's good to know ... so at least he can feel our pain ... :)

Spleen

Speaking of pain, I called OTW this morning (I got a message yesterday telling me the HD DVRs are here and that I could call back to put one on hold for pickup), and they confirmed to me on the phone that the HD DVRs are indeed available, and that I could go to Sears at Ala Moana today to pick one up. I rushed home from work this evening, disassembled my SA3250HD, fought rush hour traffic to get to Sears by Oceanic's 6:00pm closing time, only to hear: "we haven't received any HD DVRs yet."

DOH!

The CSR looked up my account in the computer and confirmed that someone had indeed instructed me to pick one up today. What's up with that? Did this happen to anyone else??? :mad:

Sounds like the normal thing - the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing ...

I'm still hoping that I get a phone call at some point. Hmmm, maybe I should call Oceanic and found out what my waiting list status is ...

Spleen

Hello All!

I apologize that this is off the subject, but on the advice of spleen here- I decided to post where I knew you all would be.

There are plans in progress to an ISF tour of Hawaii. 2 DOCDVD calibrators; Josh Lehman and myself will be out there during this summer for 1 to 2 weeks to calibrate the displays of a store that has contacted us.
To make our trip truly worthwhile, we would like to get a list of interested people (20-30 if possible) who are looking for ISF calibration(s).

Again, I apologize for invading the thread- but I really wanted to get the news to all of you- we want to service as many people as we can when we're out there.

Thanks for your time guys!
Dan

PM myself or DOCDVD for further info.

I guess Oceanic is working its way down the wait list for the HD DVR. I got a call last week and scheduled a pickup at the Sears counter for the 11th.

I got a call from Oceanic saying the box was in. After I called back they said I can pick one up after Thursday the 11th as they are not really ready right now.

My wife informed me that I got a phone call from Oceanic a few days ago about my DVR - also available on the 11th. Of course, she only remembers now ... :)

Spleen

HDCABLE- do you know how big the hard drives will be on the HDDVR?
Also do you know if it will record in/play back 5.1 sound?
Thanks for any information you my have.
Rick

Good luck to all of us in picking up our 8000s tomorrow! :)

Spleen

I was just flipping through the channels and noticed that I had a new CH. (918) Discovery HD Theater. Watched Rides in HD. Looked real nice. Hope HDnet is soon. Still waiting for my turn to get the new box. Keep calling oceanic just to make sure i am still on the list. I thought I was near the top. I guessed wrong. Hopefully soon.


Tim

That's awesome about Discovery HD. Thats the one channel I have been waiting for!

Bryan

Picked up, installed, favorites set, set the box memory for SD and HD . . . now how to you switch between resolutions?

to change resolution
hit settings button
scroll down to picture format
use<-or-> to choose format
press enter
settings now changed
make sure you check picture size
i have found normal to be the best
when in normal you just need to change picture format when
viewing high def as apposed to the other setting where you have to change both the format and size.
hope this helps
RICK

By the way the s video does not work for hdtv's only the componet out

Perfect, thanks! The OTWC clerk at Sears said that yesterday was the first day of availability and they hadn't had many people pickup their boxes, but expects that with the the weekend coming, Friday is going to be busy.

Frustrated. Went to Oceanic today and picked up my new 8000HD. Installed and tried to watch something -- and the screen is blank. It picks up the guide information and displays it correctly in the banner on the bottom but no picture. This is true on all channels, not just HD channels. Figures this means that everything is hooked up correctly, just that there's no cable signal coming out of the HD box. Interestingly enough, trying to press the LIST button on the remote, gives me the message that I'm not authorized to do this and to call customer service. Called customer service ... BUSY signal (not even the hold msg)! Tried now a couple of times with this result. BTW, my other cable boxes in the house (non-HD) do have signal.

Any ideas otherwise, guys?

Spleen

Nevermind ... it must have been the cable box still loading up - it fixed itself after waiting a bit more and resetting the cable box again. Pulled the trigger a little too fast on that one ....

Spleen

Sounds like curiosity killed the cat! When you first plug the box into power, it takes a very long time before the time appears in the display. From past digital box experience, I've learned that you don't turn the box on until you see the time display.

No, this was *after* the time display had come up. It took about an hour for the box to actually start displaying material (and after a couple of resets alolng the way). I learned that lession a while ago while resetting my *other* cable boxes ... :) It's still telling me that I'm not subscribed to InHD ... (sigh). I'll see if it corrects itself by tomorrow.

Spleen

spleen93- i also am not getting my inhd or my digital sports pack,but i get everything else that i don't pay for max,tmc,sundance etc...
Tried to call oceanic but only get busy signal,but since i got all the other channels i am not complaining just yet. I'll see what happens tommorow. Maybe the phone lines will be better.
Rick

Rick - good to know that it's not just me. I'm on hold with Oceanic customer service right now - we'll see what they say.

Spleen

I have some good news on the OTA front. KITV's parent, Hearst-Argyle, has approved a new 1000kw(vs. the current 8.5kw) transmitter for KITV and KHVO(Hilo). Both are expected to be completed by the end of '04.

On Thursday night, I noticed I was getting ShowtimeHD instead of my inHD subscription. Called in to OTWC and was on hold for 20 minutes. CSR said that the SA8000HD didn't get the subscription information and he gave me the option of leaving the ShowtimeHD for another day or switch it over to inHD right away. Told him to switch it, so I had to hit the power button for a few seconds while they changed the account info and then turned it back on. Voila, had inHD back.

Mark You are lucky when I got my box (8000HD) last month I had to wait for almost a week to get my INHD back. The computer system we have at OTWC didn't see the box as being an HD box.

Does anyone know how big the hard drive is on the 8000HD, or how to tell by the serial numbers? Oceanic says 80GB. Thanks.

The 8000 is 80GB but the 8000HD is 160GB.

Finally got through to Oceanic and got my InHD back. Like Mark, had to turn off my box for them to send the update (but at least, no unplugging). Happy now that I have my InHD. :) Now, off to tape Ring of Fire and Ocean Oasis.

Spleen

Thank you hdcable I thought that might be the case.

Was at Sears AlaMoana today with family and saw the Oceanic counter there. Wife wanted to order a Wrestling PPV so I told her to go to the counter and see if you could get the 8000HD at the same time. As she stood in line I thought there is no way because I just called on Friday and was told it would be awhile and I was far back on the list. After a few minutes she found me and had a 8000HD.

:D

Just got the SA8000HD on Saturday. :) Had a SA3250HD but wanted the DVR. Question is, how do I set the box up to display SD content in full screen(16:9), stretched and HD content at it's broadcast size (16:9 or 4:3, 1080i) ? I hate using the #/enter key. Am I missing something or is a software update in the works? When I had the 3250 I sometime wished I could stretch the 4:3 HD stuff but not like this where I'm forced to stretch everything. Maybe I'm missing something.

Aloha

The current SA software does not allow you to set up different display options for different input signals. So unfortunately, I think you're stuck with using the # button to switch stretch modes. I haven't heard that SA is developing any software to address that but given the Oceanic still hasn't given us the option that currently exists in the software to allow for original resolution pass-through, I'm not holding my breath.

Congrats on getting your 8000HD sooner though!

Spleen

PS: not to be nitpicky or anything, but technically, HD is, by definition, a 16:9 format. Any resolution higher than 480i that's not in 16:9 is upconverted SD and isn't true HD (e.g. KITV news on HDKITV). It still looks better than standard TV though!

Originally posted by spleen93
The current SA software does not allow you to set up different display options for different input signals. So unfortunately, I think you're stuck with using the # button to switch stretch modes. I haven't heard that SA is developing any software to address that but given the Oceanic still hasn't given us the option that currently exists in the software to allow for original resolution pass-through, I'm not holding my breath.

Congrats on getting your 8000HD sooner though!

Spleen

PS: not to be nitpicky or anything, but technically, HD is, by definition, a 16:9 format. Any resolution higher than 480i that's not in 16:9 is upconverted SD and isn't true HD (e.g. KITV news on HDKITV). It still looks better than standard TV though!

Yes. I'm still learning this whole HT thing and enjoying it. The pass through thing. would that make the 8000 like the 3250? I can now stretch the so-called KITV HD news cast to fill the screen but it affects everything.:(