Originally posted by bmh2208
Stupid dish 6000 receiver

Oh man Mikey, hasnt he suffered enough?

My god your making him use a dish 6000? Wow I knew you were cruel but this is way below cruel.... :)

On a different note after today im not going to bother with my brakets anymore.... great games but man I will probably end up last in all of them after today.

I noticed a couple of things today. First, the HD-Tivo seems to have installed the "f" upgrade, can't really tell any difference yet. Second, I was watching a game on KBTX-DT today and did notice "the fuzzy thing" briefly. FWIW.

KBTX was kind of weird today. I noticed occasional breakups throughout the day (something I haven't seen since my antenna move), and they went down after the last game. Got a New York color bar test pattern screen going into 60 minutes. Any word on BEV reception today?

BTW, isn't that Verizon stuff crazy? My wife would kill me if I added a third provider (assuming voOm survives). Good thing the newer HK I got added a third component input.

No news on BEV... still cant find any kind of signal from them.

Im actually debating getting starchoice sicne they have much much better coverage this far south. I emailed the other guy with BEV here locally, Im hoping its a pointing issue (or the web apps gave me slightly off coordinates) but ive spent alot of time and covered most of the sky and havent gotten anything yet so well see.

And yes verizon is going to make D*/E*/V* look like childs play in terms of HD channels if they deliver half of what they are speculating.

Originally posted by jagouar
And yes verizon is going to make D*/E*/V* look like childs play in terms of HD channels if they deliver half of what they are speculating.

And a DVR. :D

...and no equipment cost...well, a rental charge.

Originally posted by elspankdog
And a DVR. :D

...and no equipment cost...well, a rental charge.

Sure would make that 1k tivo pretty useless ;)

Since its moto boxes (like voom and starchoice uses) I wonder if they will use the ucentric server/client tech to do WHS.

We'll see if they can provide all 4 networks in this area like D*.

Originally posted by elspankdog
We'll see if they can provide all 4 networks in this area like D*.

D* cant (atleast for any new sub). Grandfathered doesnt count the the big scheme of things. I would expect they would have some sort of deal to get you all stations (verizon is a big company so will have alot of clout). Since they say 9 locals hopefully well get WB/UPN too and maybe FS SW.

This is exactly why I dont like buying equipment... what if Verizon comes out with something big? How many of you are going to drop those HD-tivos? Im sure some will try (in this case verizon) to sub to verizon and D*, but thats alot of $ to keep 2 subs open, esp when the wives hear about it. :) D* has you and they know it. When you lease you keep your options open because there will always be something better coming.

the one thing im still wondering is how much will tv services affect your internet bw? Because from what Ive read it looks to be IP based so every channel you are watching could be taking some of your bw away. Unless they are going to do some sort of a cable like feed where internet/cable run concurrently.

BTW esp, you know how much it is to add a new receiver to voom? Im trying to get a second one for the main room, since it seems the dvr will be dealyed a little while.

Got the f update for the HD-Tivo while I was out of town. Not really sure what it fixed though. HDMI is still dead, even after reseating. I will probably just live with component until the replacement is available. Maybe I'll hookup my PC to the open DVI port on my switch.

For what I paid for the HD-TiVo, which was far less than a grand (and that goes for everyone else here locally), it comes out to about $30/month for two years. Compare that to someone who pays $10/month for a non-DVR other sat provider stb without networks in HD, and I think the extra 20 is/was worth it. I got to watch way more HD than my schedule would have allowed for.

As for the voOm box, are you going to be watching both boxes at the same time? If not, why don't you just use the one box for both rooms - component/coaxial to one, dvi/toslink to the other. Of course, you might not have the IR equipment. I have no idea if you can get the $5/month deal as an existing customer.

From what I read, the f update fixed some HDMI problem and a signal meter problem. Not much there, we need the big upgrade. Hopefully, it will happen soon since they're rolling out the SD version on the West coast.

I have about a 50 ft run to the other TV... thats why :)

And even 30 bucks is alot per month.... I can tell you right now if voom has their DVR anywhere near 20/month I wont be buying one. This might be the poor college student talking though.... Theres no way I could afford to keep 2 subs of D* and voom going.... ;)

Just use four 50 ft runs of coax for component/digital coax.

Originally posted by jagouar
Oh man Mikey, hasnt he suffered enough?

My god your making him use a dish 6000? Wow I knew you were cruel but this is way below cruel.... :)



Uuh...I'm a little slow on the reply, but my son is CHEAP (ie, no money, kinda like some college students that post here), and I'm sure that he went Dish because of some kinda great deal at the time. AND...he ain't sufferin' too much cause he has jacked half of the good stuff out of my garage including a garage-kept 1990 300ZX! :D

rotflmao

Well, it isn't THAT funny...just true!!! Subwoofer, computer parts, displays, power supplies, power amplifier, electronic crossover, Dewalt cutoff saw, go kart, the 100-piece tool set he bought me for Christmas, electric drill, Sea Doo, inverter, GPS, AV cables, any other tool that I can't find...and the list goes on! Brandon, are you listening????

Love,
Dad

That just wrong.....I will concur, I do have most of the good stuff. I just can't let it all go to waste and not get any use can I? Just like the 55" Mistu that is hardly even broken in. The tools....I just like to claim that I have been working on projects that last indefinately. Borrowing and never returning; Thats what parents are for right, and the only things their kids are good for.

And yes, I did get Dish for a good deal a long time ago (no fee pvr, $199 dish6000).

Hey dad, you forgot to mention the cherry '97 Caddy Deville with 23K grandma miles on it.

One final note:
I am cheap.... I do look for good deals.... I will take any hand-me-down regardless of condition (just check out my garage full)....Anyone got any thing good?

Cheers

I want a go kart :)

Never had one when I was a kid (grandparents got me one) and my mom wouldnt let me have it (I was ~5 but still).... I was pissed at her for like a year.

I didn't mention the cherry Caddy because I did "give" it to you. It didn't just disappear one day like the other stuff. :)

The gocart used to be pretty cool until I went all Monster Garage on it and stripped the motor off of it (the frame was pretty bad and the seat was broken, not much left after that). The engine is gonna make the mini-bike(trailerpark find...now trike) fly pretty good with the 15hp it's got....As soon as I find a welder that needs to be confiscated(spelling?).

And all I ran off of with was a kegerator. Man, I've been underachieving.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/attachment.php?attachmentid=3517

this guy has you all beat.

BTW ESP hows Wealth HD look?

Originally posted by jagouar
this guy has you all beat.

BTW ESP hows Wealth HD look?

Only because you can't see the fiber going into my house.

I'll have to check out Wealth HD at lunch. Another channel for the local HD leader.

Last night I watched The Land Time Forgot and The People Time Forgot on Monsters HD, and let me tell you, Spring Break Shark Attack has nothing on their special effects. The T-Rex looked like the one off of Toy Story. Freakin' hilarious.

Originally posted by jagouar
BTW does anybody have one of those sat pointers signal reader things?
Most of us don't have a need for one of these, since we find the best provider and stick with them. :D
Maybe bmh can find one in the garage??

Originally posted by labmansid
Most of us don't have a need for one of these, since we find the best provider and stick with them. :D
Maybe bmh can find one in the garage??

Well if you want to be the HD leader you can sit around on one provider :)

BTW is there any word if 51 in houston will show the TAMU game? My bro is in Houston and has Dish Network so no ESPNU and was debating on wether or not to come here for the game of if it will be on TV.

Yes...it's called an extra sat receiver. And it's in a good hiding place in the garage.


BTW, anyone know what's up with NBC on D* with the recurring loss of signal and the "DirecTV Technical Difficulties" message??? Maybe it's some kind of BEV jamming going on.

I don't ch 51 will have the game since this time it is an NIT game and not just a Big XII game (which was probably the package they had). Of course, the tournament game wasn't on their schedule, and they aired it.

I've always assumed the D* NBC issue was a local affiliate one since the other feed is usually up. It sucks when it happens on a ch you have a season pass for. What channel is it? E or W? I use the West for my very few NBC HD season passes.

FYI, one last thing. Alien Insect: Praying Mantis (http://dhd.discovery.com/schedule/series.jsp?series=22970&gid=0&channel=DHD) comes on later this month on Discovery HD at like 5 in the morning. I recorded it last time it was on, but my TiVo died before I got to watch it. I haven't seen it before myself, but everyone is always raving about it.

Alien Insect: Praying Mantis is a must for the Tivo. Watching a praying mantis eat, yes eat, a snake is a must see.

Also, I've noticed Showtime has been showing Step Into Liquid recently. Another good film to save for demos.

Yes, Step into Liquid is great, but when I watched it recently, the PQ didn't seem up to the caliber from before on Showtime.

Originally posted by elspankdog

I've always assumed the D* NBC issue was a local affiliate one since the other feed is usually up. It sucks when it happens on a ch you have a season pass for. What channel is it? E or W? I use the West for my very few NBC HD season passes.

I was tuned to East coast. I didn't try West coast, but if it happens again I will check. Almost certainly something wrong with the East coast network feed since D* can send the Tech Difficulty feed.

Sorry no sat signal meter here.

I do have a compass and a level? Oh yeah, my dad has a compass and a level.
Do you know how to use those?

Just order one of these from Rat Shack:
http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F003%5F008%5F003%5F000&product%5Fid=16%2D2593

Finally, something usefull that I can jack back!

Serious question. I have lost my 30 second skip. I think that it is because that I have been upgraded to 3.1.5f DirecTV TIVO firmware. I have re-tried several times the Select-Play-Select-3-0-Select sequence, but the button still takes me to the end of the recording instead of a 30 second skip. Any suggestions??? HD DirtecTIVO. Also, I assume the you should point the remote to the DVR while doing this procedure, although it will simply follow the dumb instructions as you do it.

OK...maybe I answered my own question. I seems like the 30 second skip sequence works when you are playing back from the Now Playing list....NOT during live recording. Anyway, it is working again now :) Maybe there are other conditions for it to work, but I ain't gonna try to figure them out.

Originally posted by mikey h
I was tuned to East coast. I didn't try West coast, but if it happens again I will check. Almost certainly something wrong with the East coast network feed since D* can send the Tech Difficulty feed.
I have noticed on a couple of occasions lately where the NBC-E feed had that problem. I don't watch the West feed very much, but I also have most season passes set up on the West feed to minimize scheduled recording conflicts. Haven't seen any recordings that were missed because of it yet.

I guess esp is MESMERIZED by Wealth TV HD (since it was supposed to be lunch) ;)

Just getting home. Been working some crazy hours. The good thing is that I won't have any problem paying for the new Harmony. I only got to glance at Wealth. It was just some interview show, and there wasn't any guide info yet. I ended up watching Step into Liquid on Showtime at lunch. Interview with guy that looks like #2 from Austin Powers vs Step into Liquid. Easy choice. Hopefully I'll get to check it out over the next couple of days.

You must be mesmerized with BEV since you haven't talked about it once. What's the hold up?

Isnt that what you wasted all that money on a HDtivo for? :)

getting the dish pointed right..... doesnt want to find a signal and I know its pointed in the right place.

I knew there was suspect coverage this far south from bev (starchoice is MUCH better), so Im debating going to them (shouldnt cost me much to switch). Im going to try again over the next few days but its not looking terribly good right now.

Originally posted by jagouar
Isnt that what you wasted all that money on a HDtivo for? :)

getting the dish pointed right..... doesnt want to find a signal and I know its pointed in the right place.

I knew there was suspect coverage this far south from bev (starchoice is MUCH better), so Im debating going to them (shouldnt cost me much to switch). Im going to try again over the next few days but its not looking terribly good right now.
You know what they say- "You get what you pay for".
:) :)

Originally posted by labmansid
You know what they say- "You get what you pay for".
:) :)

Or in the case of HDtivo overspend for a crappy box ;)

Children!! Don't make me separate you two.

well that was a crappy game.... i knew what was going to happen when we got down early... wed come out with energy and come back but would die down the stretch.

Still a great season.... we just have to pray to the basketball gods that AW comes back.

Just mention my name when you sign up (http://www.voom.com/lp/refer.html).

Screw the follower.... he doesnt need free months :)

That HD-TiVo just got a little cheaper. ;)

Good lord some idiot paid you 30 bucks for a tivo remote? No wonder people can drop 600 on a hdtivo and not sweat it.... your all idiots :)

Well Mikey, I suffered the infamous "pop" this weekend. Made a call this morning for the replacement. There wasn't a listed local service tech, so I'm awaiting a call back. I'll let you know how it goes. Hopefully, it won't be the same place that serviced my F38310. :(

Originally posted by jagouar
Good lord some idiot paid you 30 bucks for a tivo remote? No wonder people can drop 600 on a hdtivo and not sweat it.... your all idiots :)

$27.50. :D

Originally posted by elspankdog
$27.50. :D

Not after shipping.. ;)

BTW esp you get the voom mailer yet? Seems were getting more new channels.

21 channels added so far and a promise of 50.

Originally posted by elspankdog
Well Mikey, I suffered the infamous "pop" this weekend. Made a call this morning for the replacement. There wasn't a listed local service tech, so I'm awaiting a call back. I'll let you know how it goes. Hopefully, it won't be the same place that serviced my F38310. :(
Oh no!!! That sucks!!! How many hours did you have on your display? I guess that I need to check my hour meter. What was the problem supposed to be...I forgot? Blown capacitor in the power supply?

Well, for the last couple of nights, KBTX channel 3-1 has had almost continuous dropouts. My OTA sig strength shows 95% on both Tivo HD tuners. Has anyone else noticed this, or is my receiver crapping out? I peaked my antenna tuning, but no improvement. Please respond with your experience either way, but I sure hope that I'm not the only one with flakey reception.

BTW, when I first checked my sig strength tonight, I had 0% on tuner A and 95% on tuner B. I did a soft TIVO reboot, and now I have 95% on both tuners, but still the same dropout problem.
Mikey

OK...so I'm just talking to myself tonight, but I tried to get 3-1 on my Samsung HD receiver, but it doesn't lock in either on 3-1. It shows about 50% OTA signal strength, which I thought would be enough to get at least SOME occasional picture. BUT, I can currently pick up 11-1 Houston CBS, so it looks like my equipment may be OK. I want to cross check 11-1 reception on my HD Tivo, but 11-1 is not in my program guide 'cause I guess it wasn't strong enough last time I did a channel scan.

Now for my real question...should I be able to directly go to or add a channel manually that has not been picked up during the channel scan? If I try to manually enter 11-1 while not recording, will it try to tune it? Seems to behave differently if it is currently recording something...says channel not available.

Yeah I just noticed it tonight (was fine over the weekend and sunday night for cold case) signal at 100% on voom.

BTW TNT is going to have a really cool weekend movies wise (for esp since the rest of you dont have TNT). But "Perfect Storm" friday, "Twister" saturday, and "14 Hours" (the made for TV thing about the Houston storm a while back). Should be interesting to see how many of those flicks are in true HD.

Hey Mikey, I have no idea how many hours I have on the thing. All I know is that it will be two years old on the 1st. As for KBTX, I had no problems over the weekend with the HD-TiVo. I watched basketball and Cold Case with no breakups. You can also add a second market on the HD-TiVo so that you don't have to scan for Houston channels. Just use a Houston zipcode for a second market, and the channels should be in the guide.

There are also some cool movies coming up on HDNet Movies - Carrie, the Lucas THX movie, the Enron movie, and Taxi Driver. Too bad I'll have to watch these and the TNT-HD ones on the small display. :(

Not to mention you have to deal with CC ;)

Nope, this isn't CC. It's Pioneer (http://pioneerelectronics.com/pna/article/0,,2076_3143_173403415,00.html) directly.

BTW Mikey, looks as if KBTX wasn't so good to me either tonight. Raymond and 2 1/2 were full of breakups.

Yeah, I've been getting breakups with KBTX lately too. The news last night was having problems. Maybe they're doing something with the tower.

I wonder if their problems are with just OTA or cable also. I can't get David Cooper's email to work anymore.

Well, I watched KBTX-DT all last evening and it all looked great to me! Just kidding!! I had to switch to watching KHOU out of Houston; even with the occasional signal drop it was better than the constant breakups on KBTX. I tried e-mailing Cooper, too, and got an error message. So I called KBTX, and spoke to the new Engineer there, Chris (apparently Mr. Cooper is no longer there). He advised they were aware of the problem and were working on it. He thinks the problem is somewhere in the link from station to transmitter or in the transmitter; Cox is probably not affected since they get a direct link from the station.
Sorry, Mikey, I got off of the computer early last night and did not see your post until this morning, or I would have talked to you last night! :)
I also asked him about the audio on non-HD programs being skewed to the left speaker, and he said he had heard of someone complaining that it was skewed to the right! I laughed and mentioned maybe they had their speakers hooked up backwards! He said he would check into it also. Lots of stuff for the new guy to do. :D

HD-TiVo remote (a $27.50 value) for the first person who can get the new guy's email address. ;) I've also noticed the skewed left sound on analog material (commercials, KBTX productions, etc).

BTW does anybody know if http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1040_22-5644197.html that will be applied to the DirecTivo units? and even the HDtivo units?

I wouldnt think they could since im sure none of you have the phoneline/ethernet plugged in but still not a good sign.

"The tools will be tested only on Series2 TiVo owners, but once completed could be applied to Series 1 and DirecTiVo customers. Subscribers can't opt out of the feature, but they can ignore the tags. "
Looks like stand-alone units only for the time being.

Ahh didnt see the DirecTivo line there.... not a good sign (wonder if those "software" updates are getting ready for tivos latest "feature"). ;)

I bet tivocommunity is going apesh!t over this one.

Actually this is old news, it's been known to be coming for some time now. And right now it is just in limited beta testing.

Ahh, I hadnt read about before (but im not a tivocommunity member).

BTW esp... you see were getting some free semi porn on april fools? ;)

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, its off to the A-T-L my Pio goes. They wouldn't let me change the power supply myself Mikey, so they're sending a truck and a special shipping case to take it in for repair. I guess the driver and I will load it up. :(

I missed that jag, but I did hear from a reliable source that KYLE will be going full power (50 kW) on the 1st. Apparently, they finally got their splicer. I'll try to drive by the new tower on 2818 this week and get a pic of that monstrosity.

how reliable is your source? 50kw should be plenty for us to get reliable signal right? ;)

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=59929

there are some screengrabs there showing the "trailer". Im going to have to watch monster when I get home :)

Those are recorded via the composite connection and was really suprised because they look pretty damn good..... should be interesting to see how much better they are in "real" HD.

KBTX is horrible tonight cant even watch NCIS.

Anyone talked with KBTX to ask if they know what the problem is and when it will be fixed? CBS is very important to me since they have the shows that made my wife MAKE ME BUY the HD Tivo FOR HER :) :) :)

Don't worry these guys are working on it:
http://img68.exs.cx/img68/7247/raiseup0tp.jpg (http://home.austin.rr.com/btl96/raiseup.wmv)

I havent... they NEED to get it fixed by this weekend at the latest.

BTW esp just a few days left until our free showing of nude playboy haloween party :)

You catch the trailer yet?

Originally posted by jagouar
BTW esp just a few days left until our free showing of nude playboy haloween party :)

You catch the trailer yet?

So does it come on tonight or tomorrow night? Technically, after midnight April 1st is tonight.

If any of y'all are Beck fans, pickup the deluxe version with a 5.1 and DVD-A mixes. Order it online at Best Buy for $14.99 and pick it up.

The 5.1 mix sounds amazing. Now I just need to get a DVD-A player.

I need one too. I only have a SACD player. :mad: I've been looking though. Pretty good deals can be had on on the Pioneer universal players like Sid has.

I think I'm to the point of just waiting until the HD-DVD players get here.

My Samsung 931 player does an ok job, albeit without DVD-A or SACD. I'd like to have those features, but I won't use them enough to warrant another DVD player purchase.

I did notice that the Samsung 841 is ~$99 at Best Buy and it has both audio features. That video isn't good, but it might serve well for the audio.

I think BB also has a Toshiba 5 disc changer that does both for $99. It is also on clearance at Crutchfield.

My biggest problem is that I'm out of optical/coax inputs on my Onkyo.

I really need to upgrade that before I add more components. I just don't have enough room. :(

Although there's a Yamaha, I think, DVD changer w/ DVI, DVD-A, and SACD coming out pretty soon. That would be my ideal solution to consolidate my DVD players. It never ends!

lol, maybe you should get rid of one of those gaming systems.

My wife would not like that. She probably plays just as much as me, sometimes more. :o

I shudder to think how I'm going to handle the next generation of consoles, which I know we'll get.

Originally posted by dave99ag
My biggest problem is that I'm out of optical/coax inputs on my Onkyo.

I really need to upgrade that before I add more components. I just don't have enough room. :(

Although there's a Yamaha, I think, DVD changer w/ DVI, DVD-A, and SACD coming out pretty soon. That would be my ideal solution to consolidate my DVD players. It never ends!
If you are getting a player mainly for audio use you don't need a digital input. The DVD-A and SACD must use the 5.1 analog inputs on your receiver for full effect.

Really? I wasn't aware of that.

I haven't used the analog 5.1 connections in forever. That Toshiba changer is looking nice now. :)

Go for it!! :D :D

Dave, I don't know what kind of music you like, but I want a DVD-A player just so I can hear the Flaming Lips' - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Everybody says it is the definitive DVD-A.

Linkin Park - Reanimation, Eagles - Hotel California, and Crystal Method - Legion of Boom would be nice also.

you fools my HTPC can handle any format ;)

Does it if have the needed analog multichannel outputs too? If so, more power to you.

So what's up with the Ghouls Gone Wild? Tonight or tomorrow night?

Originally posted by jagouar
you fools my HTPC can handle any format ;)
Have you tried them??

Well KBTX says they hope to have their problems fixed by this weekend (#1 priority, working overtime, etc), but they wouldn't tell me that things would definitely be ok by Final Four time. They said they're are two possible problems in the STL (studio to transmitter link), and once they isolate which one it is, they'll get the needed parts. Might have to crash Ish's place this weekend. Looks like Cox is ok.

hah, how sad is it when cox is the only way to watch things ;)

My HTPC has optical out (nforce 3 board)... it sends DTS 6.1 and DD EX 6.1 with no problems (it send the ehatever audio stream i give it) but I dont have any DVD-A to test with.... I think theatertek can play them with the new version.

As for the gouls gone wild, I dont know but Im going to be watching tonight anyways ;)

EDIT: this was posted in the other forum..

4/2 12:45AM: Monsterama - Playboy Party History (30 min)
4/3 1:15AM: Monsterama - Playboy Halloween Spooktacular (30 min)
4/3 11:15PM: Monsterama - Playboy Halloween Spooktacular (30 min)
4/9 11:00PM: Monsterama - Playboy Halloween Spooktacular (30 min)
4/10 11:00PM: Monsterama - Playboy Halloween Spooktacular (30 min)
4/11 11:00PM: Monsterama - Playboy Halloween Spooktacular (30 min)

What is supposed to air "april fools" is a preview of this show.

nForce 3... good choice for a mobo. I'm running the earlier nForce2 with optical out and the DD5.1 is crystal clear.. sounds awesome.

Oh, and has the Cox bashing finally come to an end? ;p

Ready for a HTPC yet spank?

Originally posted by Ishman
nForce 3... good choice for a mobo. I'm running the earlier nForce2 with optical out and the DD5.1 is crystal clear.. sounds awesome.

Oh, and has the Cox bashing finally come to an end? ;p

Ready for a HTPC yet spank?

Not quite yet. I really wanted to do a Mac system, Mac-mini to be exact, but from what I read, they aren't quite able to handle 1080i reliably. It's a shame, I could get a killer deal from my friend that works for Apple. :(
Getting a credenza type unit to go under the plasma and house an HTPC should get the ball rolling again. We're going to do some looking this weekend.

It's looking like Cox might be the HD leader this weekend.

Check out SilverStone cases.. they make the best desktop/HTPC style cases in the market (in my opinion).

http://www.silverstonetek.com/

ehh... way overpriced IMO. Youve seen my pics that one cost me a grand total of 40 bucks and included a 450 watt power supply.

Expensive or not, those things are pretty sweet. Now you got me thinking. D@mn you!

Well did fox go live last night?

And my point on the cases is you drop 200-300 on a case your 1/5 the way to a premade HTPC (gateway and hp both make fairly cheap ones) which will be better generally then what you would get via building yourself.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/cgi-bin/hpdirect/shopping/scripts/home/store_access.jsp?BV_SessionID=%40%40%40%400868114773.1112366 030%40%40%40%40&BV_EngineID=ccgeaddefghlglfcfngcfkmdfondfgf.0&template_type=product_detail&page=home&site=main&product_code=PN065AA%23ABA

It wasn't on this morning. I don't know exactly what time today they are going to flip the switch, but you would think the earlier the better. That way they can remedy any problems.

Anyone going to the Business and Auto Expo? I wonder what kind of setup KBTX will have. Might have to go down there and throw a fit in person if the digital feed is still down.

http://universalhd.com/images/180x150/battlestar_may_180x150.jpg

Of course it's not listed in the schedule until May. Guess I won't have to watch all those SD versions I've been recording.

you heard it here first.... micorsoft is coming to voom

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5417099#post5417099

BTW KBTX seems to be fixed now.... no more breakups (but theres no HD on until later tonight)

That's good news. I forgot to switch to 11-1 last night for CSI, so I didn't get any HD of it.

More good news. Looks like KYLE-DT has a test pattern up:
http://elspankdog.com/images/stories/Hometheater/kyle28small.jpg

What's up with the blue logo. I'd prefer a clear one like KRIV. :(

look closely dave ;)

Oh, I know that. :D

It'll be our luck that the logo will take up half the screen when they actually switch over.

BTW, how big is there tower? Bigger than Sid's?

Actually, just today I got an e-mail from Lou asking if they could lease part of my tower, since the splicer is in and their tower can't handle the extra load.
:D :D

Originally posted by jagouar
BTW KBTX seems to be fixed now.... no more breakups (but theres no HD on until later tonight)

Raise up B/CS!!!! I guess I won't have to make a scene at the Expo this weekend.

As for the tower, I never got around to making that drive down 2818, but I sure hope it is sturdy enough to withstand today's winds.

LOL

I'd ask for a direct feed a la Cox and KBTX.

shame sid cant get the signal up.... probably be better than KYLE will ever do.

If they gave me something to work with, believe me, I would get it up!!
:D :D

OMG!! We have to do something!!
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/announcement.php?s=&forumid=34

it would have been much better to put that up on 11:59 tonight so you get some people that actually beleive it.

I just found this post (http://www.hdtvpub.com/local/viewOTAReports.cfm/group_plasma-hdtv/zipcode_77840/dma_625/city_College%20Station/) on HDTV Pub, and another local early adopter has some new info:

...There is a chance that FOX 28 will begin broadcasting HD at full power sometime in spring 2005. I have confirmed that ABC 40 will begin broadcasting a digital signal sometime in spring 2005, but I don't know if they will broadcast HD (I'm assuming they will). NBC 23 does not have immediate plans to begin broadcasting digitally...

That ABC info is interesting (I don't believe the KYLE info). Maybe that is also when they plan to get on Cox as well.

maybe a new round of emails are in order....

Originally posted by elspankdog
I just found this post (http://www.hdtvpub.com/local/viewOTAReports.cfm/group_plasma-hdtv/zipcode_77840/dma_625/city_College%20Station/) on HDTV Pub, and another local early adopter has some new info:



That ABC info is interesting (I don't believe the KYLE info). Maybe that is also when they plan to get on Cox as well.

Looks like these guys need to invited into the "B/CS Club". I wonder if they know about the avsforum for B/CS?

P.S. Glad that CBS is back again!

Originally posted by mikey h
Looks like these guys need to invited into the "B/CS Club". I wonder if they know about the avsforum for B/CS?
He has been and does now!! :)

We may be getting a new member, if only briefly. :(

until i run the new one off? ;)

It's about time for the Mikey Pool Party get together! Let's start planning a date.

btw the perfect storm looks pretty good.... not the best HD ever (JAG is looking very good tonight) but its pretty good.... Looking forward to twister tomorrow.

tonight would be a good night for that voom dvr ;) maybe with all microsoft's $ they can get the thing out.

Originally posted by jagouar
until i run the new one off? ;)
That's not what I was getting at, but now that you mention it......
:p

also at 11:45 we get the plyboy party :)

That HDTVPub site is weird. I've tried several times before to submit our thread as a local site, but nothing ever comes of it. Why only briefly Sid?

Shame they dont have a local website link you can put on (like some cities have whole websites dedicated to their local information).... would be much easier if they would do that vs trying to sneak links in the reviews.

BTW... for a free channel basically TNT really kicks ass in the movie dept.... IMO they are better than most of the pay services as far as selection of movies they get (sans the stupid cropping, if they would fix their editing Id really like them).

But "The Perfect Storm" and right after "The Haunting" then "Twister" and "Deep Rising" tomorrow.

You D* guys are really missing out with this channel.... I watch TNT alot more than UHD, Im suprised there isnt more demand by the D* users to get this channel.

Originally posted by elspankdog
..... Why only briefly Sid?
OK, he said they were probably moving to Dallas early this Summer. I told/e-mailed him about AVS and our thread, hope he doesn't try to read all the way through before posting! :) He has had a HDTV since August, and is pretty frustrated (DUHH!) with the state of OTA reception in B/CS.

well esp did you happen to catch the playboy thing? Im not going to get to see it until tonight... I was gone all yesterday (out of town) so I missed it as well.

I only saw the behind the scenes one, not the full show. Busy painting and rewiring yesterday.

Got some info for KYLE/KWKT. Unfortunately, no progress has been made on the KYLE HD status. As for KWKT the new transmitter should arrive in a couple of weeks with the antenna to come in May. They hope to be up and running by the end of May. It will be interesting to see if reception of KWKT will be more reliable than KRIV. KWKT will be at 350 kW while I believe KRIV is at 260 something.

Originally posted by mikey h
It's about time for the Mikey Pool Party get together! Let's start planning a date.

Start throwing some dates out. Will Brandon be there? I want to ride the go-cart.

Originally posted by elspankdog
Start throwing some dates out. Will Brandon be there? I want to ride the go-cart.

Screw that, Im first.

BTW I might be pursuaded to bring the PJ if you do a pool party and have a block party or something of that sort on a cool night (PJ wont run too well if its a hot texas night).... couldnt start it until fairly late (when it gets dark though). Its alot like the events CS parks and rec would throw during the summer at central park but better PQ ;)

OK...let's party !!!

For starters, I'm open 4/23, 5/7, 5/21 and 6/4, all are Saturdays. We could do the PJ, but the go kart is open pipe and obnoxiously loud. Plus, I don't think that Brandon can get it re-built by then. I would like to pick two dates with the second as a backup in case the Saturday weather looks crappy.

Start throwing some dates out for your availability, and I will try to put together a best fit plan.

Guys only, guys plus spouses/girlfriends, family? Let me know what you prefer. The pool and hot tub is heated, so temperature shouldn't matter.

I also propose later afternoon thru dark with grilled something to eat.

I'm sure that we have some very important HD topics to discuss. Plus, I hope that someone will have a first had report on the new color Harmony remote.

Mike

honestly i dont know what im doing those dates (dont plan that far ahead)....
Early May is bad for me because of finals..... I think 5/7 is part of the actual finals exams.

I guess well just play it by ear to see if people want to do the whole family or just us again (generally family isnt very good for allowing talk anything not about them)... depends on what kind of party were planning.

I should have my new remote by the time the party comes unless they do some crazy pricing on it. If you plan on starting it too early it probably wont work because it will have to be atleast 7-8 PM if we do the outdoor movie (it gets dark real late here in the summer)... I know alot of peoples families wont want to be there talking HD stuff for more than 2 hours ;)

And you guys make fun of my figurine:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=5435317&fullpage=1

http://mgmt.tamu.edu/mwesson/lovestatue.jpg

Yeah, but we don't know that guy.

UhOh, I wonder if KBTX just took a lightning hit!?!?!? All of a sudden they went off the air. :( :(
OK, they are back now. :)

I know they were a bit spotty tonight during NCIS....

I also got 3 more voom receivers ($49 installed) and upgraded free to vava voom for 2 months. :)

So do they just ship you the receivers, or will they have to come back out? And what ever happened with BEV? Did you just send the gear back?

Getting em installed.... and BEV is actually gonna get fleabayed (make me some free $), and Im getting a starchoice receiver.

Originally posted by mikey h
OK...let's party !!!

For starters, I'm open 4/23, 5/7, 5/21 and 6/4, all are Saturdays.

Mike
5/21 is probably not a good day for me, a co-worker's kid is getting married then. Although I don't have to go, I was thinking about going.

Almost there:
http://elspankdog.com/images/stories/Hometheater/almost there.jpg

I'm just missing a few items (about 7 to be exact).

Plasma and six love statues? :)

lol, one statue was one of things included in the seven. I couldn't leave out something that is "loved" so much by the group.

Looks like Ill have to break out my mad photoshop skills again... :)

BTW just got a call from the voom installer.... new stuff is being installed tomorrow :) (had a dish network cancellation)

Who is doing your install? It's not Digital Direct is it?

Im not 100% sure.... gonna call them after i get off work to see who it is....

not looking good for voom again....

99% sure Im going to dish and the newly released 942 PVR.... Its $250 + $5 dvr fee... shame HDtivo isnt around $500 (which is the absolute max id even consider paying). Not to mention Dish programming is cheaper.

At least you'll have a DVR. Looks like I'll be adding Bunny HD. ;)

yeah was gonna do that myself.... even if its 20 bucks....

Too bad you can't pipe that signal to the HD-Tivo. ;)

Im also gonna go to verizon as soon as possible once they bring us HD... dish is just a stop gap measure.

I am curious to see what Verizon offers HD-wise. I will no doubt upgrade to FIOS when it becomes available. It'll make working from home much, much easier.

I really dont care because chances are very good they will kill everybody.... esp using motorola hardware since theyre the oens that were making the voom boxes and networked dvr

Originally posted by jagouar
.... even if its 20 bucks....

Yeah right. :rolleyes:

You do have to call to add it though. Couldn't do it off of the website.

Yeah.... Its really going to suck not having those movie channels anymore. Back to piss poor HD I guess :(

At least you'll be able to record HD though.

Voom would be cool to have, but having no DVR would stink.

Originally posted by dave99ag
At least you'll be able to record HD though.

Voom would be cool to have, but having no DVR would stink.

Yeah but they were fairly close to releasing it (actually would have been out if all the shutdown stuff never happened)

BTW did anybody notice KBTX was screwed up friday or saturday, was fixed sunday, anybody know what they were doing? Masters did look excellent and had a great finish.

The close up of that shot on 16 was pretty incredible. You might as well have been holding the ball in your hand, it was that clear when it dropped in the hole.

Tiger probably deserved the win, but I feel bad for DiMarco... two years in a row.

I didn't watch on Saturday, but Sunday's coverage was amazing. The details of the closeups were great. Heck, even all of the commercials were in HD.

Yeah.. I noticed the commercials too.. especially the IBM one. Support from advertisers can be a good thing...

Originally posted by Ishman
Support from advertisers can be a good thing...

"Hey, Tom! Whatcha doin'?" ;)

At least they had several different commercials from Exxon and IBM.

Originally posted by dave99ag
Heck, even all of the commercials were in HD.

Yes, the Masters runs a very tight ship. I think there were only 4 official sponsors that were "allowed" to advertise. Their advertisements were also very limited in terms of time and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they were mandated to have HD versions. The Masters certainly has their act together. They are easily the only sporting event that has so much control over the broadcast of their event.

Originally posted by dave99ag
"Hey, Tom! Whatcha doin'?" ;)



DIE a slow and horrible death.

and as for the commercials was there ever a non HD commercial? I dont remember one. Might be the first time ever all commercials were done in HD.

Originally posted by mwesson
Yes, the Masters runs a very tight ship. I think there were only 4 official sponsors that were "allowed" to advertise. Their advertisements were also very limited in terms of time and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they were mandated to have HD versions. The Masters certainly has their act together. They are easily the only sporting event that has so much control over the broadcast of their event.

What, no HD ipod commercials? Or better yet, Clobberline commercials at reference level.

BTW esp.... hows playboy HD? I couldnt add it because by the time i called they were locked out.

Originally posted by jagouar
BTW esp.... hows playboy HD? I couldnt add it because by the time i called they were locked out.
He didn't post anything all weekend, that should tell you something!!
:D :D

I can't complain. :D

Did anybody watch Battlestar Galactica last night on Universal? Apparently, there was a big surprise at the end of the 3 hour mini that I missed when it debuted on Universal a while back (the show was longer than the recorded 3 hours). The same thing happened last night. I only caught it because I recorded the following episode. Guess I'll have to buffer this show.

I watched it on voom (not sure what big suprise there was, didnt seem any different than what I saw before)..

Anybody contact local stations (fox, abc) recently? Curious to see if theres anything new with them. Im not sure Im going back to dish atm because I might not be able to get the HD-DVR and SD-DVR for the price I want so cox might is a real possibility if they offer me a good deal (they do have nbc HD which would be nice, esp if they added fox and abc soon thereafter).

God it sucks w/o voom.... all the providers suck in some form.

When they showed that Boomer is a Cylon. I missed that the first time I saw it.

ABC never responded. I emailed the station manager. Maybe I should try the chief engineer again. Last time, he didn't know anything about the Cox negotiations. KYLE/KWKT didn't answer my Cox questions, but KWKT should be up from 1 kW to 350 kW at the end of May. Maybe this will allow them to get the signal down here to Cox. I'm not sure how those signals get down here. Anybody know how KCEN gets their HD feed to Cox?

The plasma returns on Thursday. Thank God! This little 26" widescreen isn't cutting it. It's ok for the bedroom, but I did that Masters coverage a disservice this weekend.

Did anyone catch the Domino trailer on the last couple of Nothing but Trailers? Talk about some serious LFE at the end. I thought stuff was falling out of the kitchen cabinets.

Originally posted by elspankdog
Did anyone catch the Domino trailer on the last couple of Nothing but Trailers? Talk about some serious LFE at the end. I thought stuff was falling out of the kitchen cabinets.
Yeah, there have been some decent, new trailers on that lately. Don't toy with our emotions, is the figurine still OK??
;)

Originally posted by labmansid
Yeah, there have been some decent, new trailers on that lately. Don't toy with our emotions, is the figurine still OK??
;)

Im sure the figurine is packed in layers of bubblewrap in the garage so if by chance one of us stops by it doesnt vanish :)

Its a shame that D* doesnt offer a better DVR price or id probably go with them but they want too much $$ for it. Im debating between cox and dish, how sad is that?

Also anybody know people at cox? Im curious to see if they pass uncompressed HD or if they pull a D* on it.

I believe 99_aggie_grad on texags is neighbors with somebody high up at Cox. I think his neighbor worked the deal on the DVRs, and it was 99 that posted when the DVR was going to be out.

Well I went ahead and called cox.... the CSR said I could get expanded basic cable and get all the HD channels for $53 monthly with dvr rental so it looks like I might be a cox whore until verizon comes to town.

Im a bit suprised that expanded basic has access to all the HD channels (it doesnt list them in the guide on the internet, just with the digital package) but I gotta go pickup my dvr at the cox office so well see soon enough I guess.

Having InHD 1 & 2 will kickass though.

CBS, PBS, NBC, ESPN, Disovery, UHD, InHD, InHD2 is pretty damn good for $53 bucks.

Don't forget to give us a review of the DVR. :)

yeah unlike others ;)

It is going to suck balls not having Hdnet's and TNT... hopefully they add them and the rest of the locals.

You do get inHD though. Although I don't think it ranks with HDnet.

TNT is the one channel I want the most. Mainly for the WCF NBA playoffs. I could care less about the East on ESPN.

well inHD will rule HDnet for a while with baseball.... then i agree.

Originally posted by dave99ag
Don't forget to give us a review of the DVR. :)

Hey hey.. I still have mine, I'm just lazy.

Actually.. I need to find it and post it here for you guys. The only thing I never got around to do is taking good pictures.

Marc

Hopefully, that csr has his/her story straight with that price. Does that include the dvr rental fee?

Dave, I know what you mean about the playoffs. I was excited about having TNT on voOm for this very reason. Oh well, the Spurs won't get that far anyway. Rockets all the way! ;)

Ish, does the Cox DVR have firewire?

Don't hate on my Spurs!

The COX dvr does have firewire. From what I have read in some posts on AVS is that it is enabled. Have seen some conflicting posts about whether or not depends on the area. My dad (mikeyh) had a Cox DVR for a couple of weeks but I could never get him to actually hook it up and see if it works. And before I knew it he chunked it for the HDTivo.

I too am now considering getting COX. I had been waiting on Voom to deliver the DVR, but since they are dead, I guess cox will be my only solution. I'm not about to buy a dvr from Dish that will be obsolete when mpeg4 comes out. I will miss TNTHD, and HDnet.

yes elspankdog that includes the dvr rental... im already getting cbs/pbs in HD but nothing beyond that, guess well know friday.

Already got the DVR but it wont work until friday.

Initial impression.... one bad thing and one good thing so far... the bad only an 80 gig drive (according to the manual).... the good, its quite fast (not quite as fast as the voom box but a whole lot faster than HD/SD tivo).

I will get to directly compare KBTX/KAMU later since I still get them OTA with the voom box.

And it has 2 firewire ports on the back (and ethernet) but i dont know if they work.

It will be interesting to see what happens friday.... Im still not convinced I will get all the channles because I have always heard you have to have digital cable to get all the HD channels. but the CSR said something about a HDTV subscripton or something.

What about the DVR service fee?

Hmm.. I was told that I had to have the digital channels in order to get the HD channels, but perhaps that was the agreement from day 1. The digital channels on Cox look absolutely horrid though (worse than analog)... they compress they hell out of them, so they are barily watchable through component/dvi connections.

Hmm.. let me know if you get the chans w/o digital cable so that I can have them drop those.

Originally posted by elspankdog
What about the DVR service fee?

They never tell you about the service fees over the phone (at least, not in my experience).

I currently pay $9.95 a month for the HD/DVR converter and $4.95 a month for DVR service.

BTW I messed up.... Universal wont be coming until the rebuild is done.... theyre also adding starz HD as well.

As for PQ I cant see a difference between OTA and COX on PBS, I want to wait till something HD comes on before I make any judgements on them but from the SD news I cant see a difference between the two.

You probably already know this, but most of the programming on PBS-HD is badly encoded... pixellation out the ying yang..

Discovery and inHD1/2 look the best, but HBO isn't too shabby either. I dropped showtimeHD because only 30% of the movies were HD.. not worth the extra $10/mo.

Once the rebuild is done (do you have a date?), I'll probably pick-up StarzHD.... it's my favorite amongst the premium chans.

yes i know pbs is bad.... but you can compare 2 bad signals.

KBTX should be much more telling tonight as it almost always looks excellent.

And I very seriously doubt you will like starz.... they have the best movies but they also are offering almost no movies in true HD. Something like 90% of their new ones for the next few months will be SD upconverts. LOTR is one of the few they actually have in HD. Pirates of the Carib (really looking forward to seeing that in HD but it was a convert on starz)... really a shame since they do have the best movies.

oh man.. that sounds worse than showtime.... SD upconv aren't that bad, but definately noticable.

Yeah, I'd love to see LOTR in HD, that would be worth it.

5/1/05 :D :D :D

http://www.hideflifestyle.com/shop/images/large/HARMONY-880_LRG.jpg

already got my preorder in :)

Who did you preorder through?

Through SurfRemote... Its not an official preorder though. Just on a email list that gets an email when they are out [I do get first crack at them though, but I cant speak of that] Unless bluedo comes out with a better price.

I'm on that list too. Have you seen the price at HighDefLifestyles? A little more than I was expecting.

No... havent been looking much but Mike assured me it wasnt going to be more than 10-15 over the other ones (cant think of the # off hand but the one that is priced at 150) so im expecting 160-165 for it. If its more I may have to hold off until it drops.

BTW my"cable" gets activated today supposedly so Ill see if Im getting all the HD w/o "digital cable". Im expecting to be dissapointed though because it is cox but well see.

Well Im actually suprised with COX (whoda thunk) all you need for all the HD channels is extended basic (and you might just need basic, not sure because the lady said I could get it but i needed atleast extended basic service).

I really like InHD so far (maybe it will be the repeats) but they have alot of baseball and nba tv basketball games. It will be nice to record cbs and nbc now, hopefully fox and abc will come.

Havent played much with the dvr so ill hold off for now.

But you can get all the COX HD channels (minus movie channels) with basic extended.

Total $54/month with DVR (for 4 months.. [my csr mentioned something about 4 months] and it goes up a little I think) but basic extended by itself is 40 bucks and the DVR rental and dvr service is $15.

Definately this will suffice to hold me over until somebody makes a big HD push and offers a deal (verizon/D*/E*).

As far as content... ESPN is ever so slightly better than voom (I really have to get close and look at the 106 image to see differences and COX is a bit clearer). KBTX is identical same as PBS.

Ishman, do you have IM or something of that sort? I have some questions about this DVR.

That's cool that you don't need digital cable. That package is still much more than what you'd be paying for with D*/E* for the same amount of channels.

Does the DVR record OTA or only on cable? At least you can record CBS and NBC. Having a DVR is great.

Its cable only.... but dual tuner.

And yes its slightly more 40 bucks for essentially "top 60" (they do have some channels top60 on dish doesnt) but when you factor in the DVR savings (250 or 650) you come out ahead. But this is for new HD people only. It will be pretty hard to recommend somebody that goes HD in the next year to not go COX unless D*/E* drop their upfront HD-DVR costs.

Cox also doesnt have alot of useless channels that are on D*/E*. Pretty much all the channels I need are in Extended Basic. (ESPN Classic/News is missing but thata the only one so far Ive noticed and honestly I rarely watched either of those).

One thing that is a bit wierd (and this may be normal) but KCEN is just a black screen right now..... It says KCEN so it might only activate when theres a HD show on. (or it could be broken right now). Im kinda new to cox still.

I checked KCEN-DT right now OTA, and it looks to be working fine. Dateline is on.

yeah its on now... must be a KMAY/KCEN thing.

BTW anybody here have local locals on D*? My dad got his system installed a few weeks ago and I was trying my 3 lnb dish on it and when i took it off I couldnt get the locals to work anymore (they are on that wierd satellite)... but I know most of you guys are Houston people.

Upon further use... ESPN basketball game is alot better than it is on voom (esp on motion). KCEN is quite bad (dont know if its just tonight or not) and by far the worst HD channel on COX. I cant tell a difference on KBTX OTA/COX so they have to be passing a very close feed to full bw.

EDIT: KCEN actually looks better now so it might have been either a content issue or something with COX. There were some breakups earlier which tells me they are getting some sort of OTA signal from wako.

InHD, InHD 2 are very good so far and well see how I like them after a month or so of use.


Theres a few issues Im not liking about the DVR so far...

1. I dont see a way to make the menu/guide appear in 16x9 window... just 4x3 so far.

2. I dont see a way to remove my non subscribed channels from being listed... on other boxes you can select a "subscribed only" theme or something like that.

Again Im probably just missing where it is.

If you were watching SD stuff on KCEN, it is horrid. The worst I've seen. KBTX should look good. They just have to pipe it across the street.

Actually the SD news on KCEN looked pretty good (better than KBTX news) and Leno looks excellent so it must be a source problem at NBC.

Overall Im impressed with cox offerings (how sad is that?).... PQ on the same channels (that I can compare) is same or better.

Still not going to like the less # of channels.... hopefully cox finishes the rebuild so atleast I can have UniversalHD. And finish out the locals.

Originally posted by jagouar
Theres a few issues Im not liking about the DVR so far...

1. I dont see a way to make the menu/guide appear in 16x9 window... just 4x3 so far.

2. I dont see a way to remove my non subscribed channels from being listed... on other boxes you can select a "subscribed only" theme or something like that.

Again Im probably just missing where it is. [/B]

1. To my knowledge, there isn't a way to get the menu/guide to appear in 16:9 when locked in a HD channel. This was an annoyance early on, but i've got used to it.

2. This is a feature I wish it had, but unfortunately it doesn't.

Sure, I can be reached on MSN: mbollinger79@hotmail.com or AIM: Ishtumba

Marc

You try the firewire thing for extra storage? I need to find me a firewire cable :)

And Ish, havent seen you online all weekend ;)

As far as InHD vs HDnet, right now I like InHD sports alot more than Hdnet (InHD has the 3 MLB games a week, Clay Court Championships later this month, NBA TV games, Poker from vegas if you call that a sport).

HDnet does hold the edge in Concerts/Series though. InHd does have a pretty good "smart travels" knockoff though which I actually like more (PQ is better) and stormchasers which is a very cool show.

Id say both are about equal in the Movie dept (even though HDnet has a whole movie channel, InHD has IMAX)

Man.. the weather has been perfect this weekend, stayed far away from the PC. Played a lot of frisbee golf and was at Lake Belton for awhile.

Can't let this weather pass ya up.. it's going to be hotter than hell soon. ;p

No, I wasn't even aware that you could use the firewrre connection for extra space.. very interesting indeed. I wish I knew someone with a firewire drive to borrow.

Well I actually you can turn your pc into a "firewire VCR" and record to your pc...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3818890#post3818890

if we have the firewire ports active. And Ive heard a few people are able to get extra sotrage via a firewire drive (it has to be specially formatted in linux)

And I didnt say I didnt do anything this weekend (actually did quite a bit) but Im not away from my PC for too long ;) (granted I didnt go to the lake)

Originally posted by jagouar
BTW anybody here have local locals on D*? My dad got his system installed a few weeks ago and I was trying my 3 lnb dish on it and when i took it off I couldnt get the locals to work anymore (they are on that wierd satellite)... but I know most of you guys are Houston people.


Yes, I get the locals via D*. Very soft. I guess I'm not understanding your question though. I'm assuming you know that you need the second satellite dish (in addition to the the 3 LNB) to get 72.5.

Originally posted by mwesson
Yes, I get the locals via D*. Very soft. I guess I'm not understanding your question though. I'm assuming you know that you need the second satellite dish (in addition to the the 3 LNB) to get 72.5.

Well somehow I screwed something up.... Basically everything was hooked up right when the isntaller left. Then I tried the 3lnb dish (at that point the mits receiver still worked so I was going to get him hooked up with the Hd content but the dish didnt play nice so I hooked up his old dish back, never touched the lcoals one just unplugged it). but now I cant get the locals dish to work at all anymore.... Was wondering if theres some trick I need to do to get it to see the locals dish and display his local channels....

when I hooked the 3lnb one up i did a rescan the switch and after i rehooked the old one up did another scan (but I cant tell if i did it right because it doesnt show the 72 as even a rating [im guessing thats where the locals sat is]).

Also I hooked the old dish into sat "A" and the locals into sat "B" (thats how i remember it being when the isntaller left) but its possible I messed something up. Hence my question here to verify how its supposed to be hooked up.

I should have typed out the whole story but I was in my "play with new toy mode".

It seems to me this has happened to me once or twice (but it has been a while). The A-C satellites register, but the system just does not see the 72.5 extra dish.

I'm not sure I ever really found a solution. I seem to recall just trying to reacquire the satellite signals from within the menu system ("automatically detect satellite signals" I think is the line in the HD Tivo - without unplugging the box). Seems like something like that caused all four satellite signals to come up for me with no problem.

Other than that, I'm not sure I'm that much help. Sorry man.

Hmm interesting... right now my dad just has the basic SD receiver.

Just curious but which satellites do you run into your switch? Does all the base programming come off sat A (101)? If so which side of the switch does it come into? Port A or B?

I was thinking the locals might need to register in the A slot to work but thats never worked.

I'll have to head upstairs to the attic to look. (I think I have a 4x8?) I honestly have no idea. It's never really been an issue for me. I do know that the local satellite is definitely not plugged into A, B, or C.

Originally posted by mikey h
[B]OK...let's party !!!

For starters, I'm open 4/23, 5/7, 5/21 and 6/4, all are Saturdays.B]

6/4 looks good for me. I could possibly do 5/21 if that is the best date.

Originally posted by mwesson
I'll have to head upstairs to the attic to look. (I think I have a 4x8?) I honestly have no idea. It's never really been an issue for me. I do know that the local satellite is definitely not plugged into A, B, or C.

I have a 4x4 switch I think.... A sat "a" and "b" in and 2 outs. My dad had a single dish in (little 18 inch for just the SD programming) and the second in was the locals 18 inch dish.

I'm not sure, but if you are trying to hook up a 3lnb+local setup you may need a separate 6x8 multiswitch like this (http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?main_cat=2&CAT=&PROD=SAM-6802).

Well the orig plan was to do that but when my mits stopped sending video by component I hooked his orig installed system back up.... Im not using the 3lnb anymore...

Just the single 18 pointed at 101 I guess (whatever D*'s main sat is at)
and the second 18 pointed at the locals sat (72.5). Im using the installed 4x4 multiswitch.

yes, that is what mine looks like - 6 x 8

Originally posted by jagouar
Well I actually you can turn your pc into a "firewire VCR" and record to your pc...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3818890#post3818890

if we have the firewire ports active. And Ive heard a few people are able to get extra sotrage via a firewire drive (it has to be specially formatted in linux)

And I didnt say I didnt do anything this weekend (actually did quite a bit) but Im not away from my PC for too long ;) (granted I didnt go to the lake)

This is quite interesting by the way. I'm going to give it a shot this week and see if I can get it working. I have an AMD XP 2800+ CPU which looks to be close to the min required to capture HD.. but we'll see if I can even get it working.

Lets see the firewire results!!!!! If it works it will be the holy grail of hd recording. To be able to record bit-to-bit from production to archiving would be great. Just think about it, you could have an entire movie/tv show library exactly the way it was shot.

Yeah I know.. but I've learned not to get too excited about this stuff until it's working lol

I've been dissapointed wayyy too much ;p

Marc

Not to mention HD eats hard drives like crazy.... my BoB copy takes 89 gigs for the 10 hr series.

BTW Ish (since you dont want to get online) what are your SNR and AGC numbers? My SNR is running from 19.6-20.3 20 is the cutoff from good to fair. Just wondering if thats normal of if I should give cox a call to come upgrade my lines....

Im still having a lingering problem with KCEN.... It works most of the time but still get alot of pixelization and I notice on the configuration page the SNR on that channel is in the poor range.

I don't have any equipment to test signal-to-noise raitios and I'm not really sure what AGC is. Is there something imbedded in the unit itself?

I'm online more often than not, but perhaps I need to add you to my list first. What is your AIM or MSN name?

yes you do.... its in the hidden menu on the dvr :)

my aim is: jagouar12
msn: aaron@colossusnetworks.com

And to access the hidden menu you...... ?

I have the bookmark at home.... gonna have to wait until 5 when I get off work.

Its something like hit the power button and hit select 2x very fast.... or it might be menu 2x.

Cool.. I'll have to check that out this evening. I'm trying to track down someone here with a firewire cable so that I don't have to go buy one. I already have a machine with firewire capability as my HTPC, so the cable and a lot of patience is the only thing I'm waiting on... heh

Same with me.... my htpc (amd64 2800+) has firewire in.

http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/DCT6412_Passport.html#Tips_and_Tricks

theres the link.... the menu menu one is the one. tune a HD channel with that (KCEN) and go in there and one of the options is a snr listing.

Its the inband status option....

Hmm..

I only get a few options: TV Type, YPbPr OUTPUT, 4:3 OVERRIDE and then a handful of CC options.. but nothing else.

Perhaps I'm missing something?

Powered off, did menu menu

Was on KCENHD before powering off.

Originally posted by Ishman
Hmm..

I only get a few options: TV Type, YPbPr OUTPUT, 4:3 OVERRIDE and then a handful of CC options.. but nothing else.

Perhaps I'm missing something?

Powered off, did menu menu

Was on KCENHD before powering off.

Hit the power off and hit select 2 times within 2 seconds...

Got it.. I'm an idiot.

SNR on KCEN-HD -> Going between 35.5db and 36.5db
AGC -> 52%

BTW just curious do any of our D* bretheren watch PBS? Curious to know when KAMU broadcasts something locally does your guide still show whatever is on the national feed? (IE shows smart travels or something like that instead of the infamous "yellow teeth show" like it should be listed ;))

Yep, it's the national guide data and not the local info. I wonder if that's a case of KAMU not updating their guide data for 12-1.

Speaking of 12-1, I should be getting my Jointenna in a week or two. Maybe I'll be able to get KAMU reliably now.

Ok... I went ahead and contacted the guy at KAMU (also put in a request to give the HD feed some bw back).... if post what if anything i get back.

even 14 to 16 or 17 mbit would make a huge difference.

Originally posted by dave99ag
Yep, it's the national guide data and not the local info. I wonder if that's a case of KAMU not updating their guide data for 12-1.

Speaking of 12-1, I should be getting my Jointenna in a week or two. Maybe I'll be able to get KAMU reliably now.

What antenna are you going to use for KAMU?

You know I have to admit.... its nice not having to worry about antennas anymore..... and when they break again I would be out of service ;)

I still have the voom antenna though.... atleast Ill get a nice dish/antenna out of the deal. (and maybe OTA tuner, that still remains to be seen)

But I do have to worry about teh crappy wiring in my house now (gonna give cox a call to see if they will do anything for me for free)... KCEN is lower db rating than it should be.

Originally posted by elspankdog
What antenna are you going to use for KAMU?

Just a little VHF antenna I have from RadioShack. The big antenna will continue to point at Houston.

Here's a little better price (http://www.bestbuyplasma.com/Plasma/Product.asp_X_Sku_Y_H880). It's like waiting for Christmas.

still too much... gonna have to hit 160 before I get one.

well cox is coming out friday to check the lines.... hopefully theyll be able to fix the spotty signal on a few channels (KCEN mainly).

That's good man.. I hope they don't have to replace all your wiring.. $$$$

Originally posted by Ishman
That's good man.. I hope they don't have to replace all your wiring.. $$$$

If it costs (IE internal wiring) Ill probably have them not do it and just run a dedicated wire to my room (only one with dvr). I actually tried running one around the side of the house into my room just to test and it got better but a line straight in from the main cable in only got up to "fair" condition.

KCEN was at 37.8db GOOD condition this morning.

Oh yeah, I was meaning to ask you.. what temp. is your HDD at on your dvr box? It's in one of the "Select Select" settings. Mine seems to run constantly at 137F with immediate shutdown at 142F. Seems a little too close for comfort. I have the box sitting by itself on it's own shelf with plenty of space.

The temp. peaks my interest.. I wonder if that is what causes the absolute sluggish performance when locked in a HD chan..

Originally posted by Ishman
KCEN was at 37.8db GOOD condition this morning.

Oh yeah, I was meaning to ask you.. what temp. is your HDD at on your dvr box? It's in one of the "Select Select" settings. Mine seems to run constantly at 137F with immediate shutdown at 142F. Seems a little too close for comfort. I have the box sitting by itself on it's own shelf with plenty of space.

The temp. peaks my interest.. I wonder if that is what causes the absolute sluggish performance when locked in a HD chan..

Ill give it a look when I get home (provided nothing is recording)... not sure if you noticed but going into that menu kills any recordings you hav going.

BTW has there been any news on KAMU if they ever got the mobile truck outfitted with HD? It would be cool to see Muster in HD. You would think it wouldnt be necessary though since theres more than enough BW to send the feed back to the tamu uplink since its a glorified lan between KAMU and Reed. And we know PBS programming is already coming in on internet2.

Progress:
http://elspankdog.com/images/stories/Hometheater/plasma%20new%20small.jpg

I haven't heard any new info about KAMU and mobile HD.

Looking good. Even all of the wires are hidden. Is that little box by your center channel the IR emiiter?

Yep, I'm hoping to get rid of it one day. Replace it with an "invisible" RF extender type system. So if anyone needs an IR system let me know. I also have an extra Niles IR system available right now, if anyone is interested.

Something's missing!!
:D :D

Ill break out the photoshop later.....

Yeah Elspankdog!!! Looks like you got your Pio back! What was the total turnaround time to get it fixed? Your new installation looks very clean.

BTW, I am lusting for the new Pioneer 61" plasma, the PDP-614MX which I can get for less than $6500 plus shipping. Maybe it's time to sell the 50".

Mike

Originally posted by mikey h
....BTW, I am lusting for the new Pioneer 61" plasma, the PDP-614MX which I can get for less than $6500 plus shipping. Maybe it's time to sell the 50".

Mike
Just leave it in your garage.
http://www.emotipad.com/newemoticons/Whistle.gif

Arrrrh...Arrrrh, no way!

good gawd.... 6.5k. I didnt spend that much on my whole theater. ;)