labman --
I actually opened the box up the second day I had it and disconnected one of the OTA tuners, but it didn't really help that much. Oh well, hopefully the new Mpeg 4 boxes will have stronger tuners. Although I have heard that the new HD DVR won't even have and OTA tuner. We'll just have to find out!

The quad-fecta has finally been completed! I was finally able to add NBC HD from New York. I now have all four networks up and running!

The quad-fecta has finally been completed! I was finally able to add NBC HD from New York. I now have all four networks up and running!


Lucky you. I can't seem to get ABC E HD waivers for the life of me, must be where your parents live vs. mine.

I now have my OTA antenna and HR10-250 hooked up as well and Pebble Creek must be good to me. I get ABC out of Houston with no problems so far on a 10 foot mast on top of my 2 story house. My wife is going to make me move the antenna so it is more inconspicous, so I'll have to see if I can keep ABC working well. I did have some issues with MNF last night, but the way ABC kept jumping from HD to SD in their broadcast made me think it was their problem. My signal strength on that station is 65 without having done any fine tuning/aiming.

What hacks have you applied to your HR10-250? I have hacked the HDDVR2, and SAT-T60 in the past with callerID, and tivoweb, anyone have Folders running on thier HR10-250? If so, I might like some help getting that going, as I only used Sleepers ISO and haven't cared to dig into the latest killinithd stuff.

Bill

The quad-fecta has finally been completed! I was finally able to add NBC HD from New York. I now have all four networks up and running!

Sweet.

How are you getting all of these? I mainly interested in Fox. Houston? surely not the NY feed... if so, how did you go about doing that?

txag93 and labman --
what are 'hacks'? I'm not sure what you mean. Please enlighten me :)

mwesson --
check your PM's.

txag93 and labman --
what are 'hacks'? I'm not sure what you mean. Please enlighten me :)

mwesson --
check your PM's.


it gets intensive.... your better off not even asking about it johnny, by the time you get em all figured out the mpeg4 boxes will be out. ;)

I personally haven't actually "hacked" any of my Tivos, just upgraded to bigger hard drive space. Hacks do things like, most importantly, add networking to units not officially allowed. As mentioned above caller ID is another option that can be added. I have thought about doing some of those things, but didn't see a big need to.

The quad-fecta has finally been completed! I was finally able to add NBC HD from New York. I now have all four networks up and running!

Welcome to the club! Hopefully, we won't lose anything come MPEG4 time.

Bill, have you checked out the Yahoo group for hacking the HD-TiVo?

Bill, have you checked out the Yahoo group for hacking the HD-TiVo?

No, i am a dealdatabase junkie for past hacks, but stopped doing anything once I had mine done at version 3. I didn't want to risk losing my recordings and didn't find HMO (Home Media Option allows you to send shows from 1 networked Tivo to another) or folders that big of deal the way I had my SD Tivos wired in my house (both in the living room with video distribution to other rooms). I added a turbonet card to a SAT-T60, and a USB Enet to my DVR2, but never used either.

Since I moved here to BCS, I decided to "join" my brother in laws sub in Dallas so I got new boxes, an HR10-250 and a R10. The R10 came with 6.2 which is very nice and I wouldn't suggest hacking it unless you want HMO, as it has folders. The HR10-250 is so slow, I am concerned any hacks added would make it worse.

Anyone need any SD-Tivos? I have 2 SAT-T60s and a HDDVR2. I guess I should put them on fleabay.

Bill

labman --
is it possible to add hard drive space to the HD Tivo? I would be interested if it's fairly simple and inexpensive.

labman --
is it possible to add hard drive space to the HD Tivo? I would be interested if it's fairly simple and inexpensive.
Yes, it is fairly easy to do. The only expense is for the new hard drive. You can sometimes catch a deal on a 250 or 300Gig, which you just add using the right Linux-based software on a PC. Circuit City had a deal w/rebate a while back for a 300Gig Seagate for $99.00. Check out the Tivo Community, there is a whole section on upgrading, hacking, etc.

man its a good thing you guys got in on that HDtivo now.... you see the reports from cedia?

The new networked mpeg4 dvr wont be able to send HD to the clients (just SD). I really thought they were going to port vooms dvr to their (voom supported sending HD). Also it looks like the new dvr will have a similar look and feel to their existing boxes (I personally hate the way my dads D10, basic SD receiver, works. how you have to click multiple menus to get it to do alot of basic things). Hopefully D* simplifies it by the time it launches or there will be some outcry (and more than just from the tivo humpers who are going to cry when they cant use their tivos anymore)

This is very dissapointing to me mainly because they are using the same system voom was going to use and I saw voom's system streaming HD in vegas. I wonder why directv decided not to use it as it was on the voom setup. the only thing i can think of is they couldnt make their software work properly with it. Maybe thats what the second generation will do (and im sure for another fee and 2 yr commit). Really sad because this stuff has so much promise.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=579263

labman --
is it possible to add hard drive space to the HD Tivo? I would be interested if it's fairly simple and inexpensive.
Jonny, I didn't have the link to the Tivo Community handy earlier. If you want to research some, here (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=25) is the Tivo upgrade forum. Let me know if you are interested, I have the software and spare PC to do it. ;)

Did somebody say AVS party at Sid's?

I wonder if the new HD-DVR really won't do OTA. That would force you to buy their locals, and if you are in a market that doesn't have D* HD locals, well, you're sol. I was excited about the HMC. I pictured it as the perfect HD distribution hub. I guess I'm back to square one on that front if this news holds true.

jag did you see this:

yeah.... im not upgrading mine though. i just got the damn thing. The only thing this one has is RF right? None of my devices use RF so thats of 0 use to me.

And yeah I'm very dissapointed with the media stuff from D*. I really thought it would be as good as voom's was. Sad when cox might be the first one to do it properly because it sure looks like D*'s first attempt is going to fail miserably. I dont know very many people who would want a permium just to send SD content to the other TV's (because you know there will be something extra for the client/server system)

It does both IR and RF. I guess you tell it what gear to send an IR signal for (like my plasma which would be in the same room). The RF would be picked up by an IR emitter thingy (another $99) or the gear if it is RF. There is also an RF to USB accessory for PC users. This would solve the weak IR problems my current 880 is having plus I wouldn't have to use my IR repeater system anymore (less wires and trouble). The 890 Pro also brings back the picture and sound buttons. This thing will be expensive though, and I don't think there will be any internet sales (just installer type).

ahh.... and yeah im sure it will be expensive.

The new 520 does look interesting (cheaper) but I like its design too.

And yes its about time for another party..... I have a friend who wants to show up to one of the parties and meet some other HD people besides me in B/CS. Hes with dish currently but I think Ive about sold him on cox (nbc and the hd-dvr). So we will see. Just got his harmony 880 tonight and was very happy.

There's also an HK version of the 520 that has 8 activity buttons, color LCD, and a rechargeable base like the 880. Check out page 14:
http://manuals.harman.com/hk/Product%20Information/HKCoreLit06singlepages.pdf

cool.... i really like that remote.

labman --
is it possible to add hard drive space to the HD Tivo? I would be interested if it's fairly simple and inexpensive.

This process is very easy. On the HR10-250 it is recommended to get a bracket and cooling fan combo from http://www.weaknees.com/tbhd.php for $39 + shipping, although others may have cheaper sources for something similar.

I am looking to add more storage as well, so be on the lookout for a 300+GB deal. I would prefer a 400+ but 300 seems to be the price break right now.

I'm up for doing this as a group at an AVS party. Anyone else have a new HR10-250 to upgrade?

Bill

I'm up for doing this as a group at an AVS party. Anyone else have a new HR10-250 to upgrade?

Bill
Wow, it's turning into an epidemic! ;)
Yeah, I kind of forgot about the bracket part needed, but it's not expensive. The Weaknees bracket with fan is good, or you can get one without a fan here (http://www.9thtee.com/tivo-dthd.htm) for about $15.00 plus shipping. If two of you are going to upgrade you could save some on shipping and order together.

jag did you see this:

cool.... i really like that remote.

Upgraditis already??http://www.emotipad.com/newemoticons/Thud.gif

Anyone with Cox having problems with KCEN. It was black for me for a couple of days. They finally got it going today, but the framerate is horrible.

BTW, I finally got a new bulb for my X1. It's like getting a new TV all over again. Hopefully this one will last longer that 650 hours.

Anyone with Cox having problems with KCEN. It was black for me for a couple of days. They finally got it going today, but the framerate is horrible.

BTW, I finally got a new bulb for my X1. It's like getting a new TV all over again. Hopefully this one will last longer that 650 hours.

I've been having that problem too, the channel seemed to kinda disappear or something. I still can't pick it up (on channel 66), though CBS and PBS (channel 65-2 and 65-1) are fine. At least I know it's not just me and/or my tuner. ;)

That's too bad if NBC wasn't working for the Notre Dame game today. I watched it OTA on KPRC out of Houston. I thought the picture was outstanding and the game itself was very entertaining.

False alarm kinda. I guess alot of people were experiencing the blackout. The studdering problem was fixed with a proper "reboot" of the Cox DVR.

This new bulb is awesome. I can finally watch TV during the daytime!

False alarm kinda. I guess alot of people were experiencing the blackout. The studdering problem was fixed with a proper "reboot" of the Cox DVR.

So you're getting NBC (KCEN-DT) fine now? I still can't seem to get it at all...I'm wondering if they switched the physical channel it was on, or something.

(I'm using a PC HDTV tuner with the cable signal provided in the dorms here, so I have to figure out where each unencrypted channel is myself :p )

KCEN-DT doesn't seem to be coming in OTA for me right now, either.

it was off earlier for me (tried for the nd game) but its back on cox (and yes it was off for a few days).... framerate looks good. Since OTA was out too I guess it was some sort of a feed problem at kcen. Not sure if cox is going OTA for them or not though.

Still off this morning OTA. Checked signal strength, bouncing from 0-20.

Now it is coming in once in a while, definitely not watchable though.

hmm guess cox is using some sort of direct feed then because its fine on cox.

Checked KCEN OTA, and it's coming in fine for me. I compared KCEN OTA to NBC-HD East on D* a little bit yesterday, and they both suffered with fast motion on the closeup shots. I could see macroblocking in the background on both channels.

BTW, that Clemson comeback and Miami failing to get the 2-point conversion in triple overtime cost me over a grand in winnings (3 parlays down the drain). That was my only miss of the week (if Pittsburgh can hold on). You know you're having a good week when you push on a 41 point spread. Thanks for holding back tu.

spank... just wondering if you watched the espn highlights last night of the ND game? There was no macroblocking on the HD highlights on sportscenter (atleast on cox). But I was not able to compare it against the live KCEN feed because it was off on cox yesterday.

I was able to watch the end of the ND game after a reboot. It looked great, and I didn't notice any artifacts.

:mad: KPRC wasn't coming in OTA for me during the ND game...

Well guess its time to start a discusson one the hurricane headed this way... I have a feeling if it hits with any force some towers are going to come down (are any of you "tower" people taking any precautions?)

It looks like we're going to get some pretty heavy wind and rain. Hopefully everyone's tower can hold up. Those antennas might not make it though.

Sid, got any big trees near windows? The only thing we're worried about is our pergola, but I think the house may protect it some from the southern winds.

Yeah Im glad I took down my tower.... I was thinking we might could have a get together for all those that needed help (and wanted to take down their towers)... sans sid because there is no way im going up on his tower (unless spank wants to get up there again).

I am glad I dont have to worry about mine with cable.... Also will be interesting to see how well it lasts with the force of a hurricane taking down lines etc.

I don't think my tower is going anywhere, and there is no antenna up there anymore to worry about. I am worried about my patio. We'll see if that tinted polycarbonate survives. :eek: It faces the south.

I wonder how fast KBTX OTA will go down?

and kamu and kcen im sure will both be taken offline probably sat morning (maybe kcen might stay on being its in waco)

I think that I might have to de-telescope mine for the weekend. I don't have any guide wires, and the bottom is only about 6 inches into the ground and then attached to the eve of my house. Then again, I might just leave it up there for the entertainment of seeing it flailing in the wind. It's only got a $19 RS antenna up there anyways.

Ooooh....maybe I can talk my dad into taking his down for the storm...that would make it much easier to snatch one of his televes.

What hurricane?? ;)
I'm not getting up there, either! If it comes down, hello insurance. We don't have any trees all that close to the house, the closest ones are around the garage. I guess my main concern is the dishes for D* (on the roof) and wireless internet (the tower). We have had some pretty strong winds during T-storms, but nothing like 60-80mph sustained for more than several minutes.

yeah figured you wouldnt be able to get spank drunk enough again.... ;)

Its going to be interesting to see how well cox is going to do.... there are alot of good football games on saturday and it would be a shame to miss them.

I technically don't have a tower, just two ten foot masts bolted together set on a tripod roof mount. I am planning on taking it down this afternoon, so I'll be without OTA for a while. Thank goodness I finally got all the networks through D* (of course, I may lose that signal as well). You guys be careful if you decide to go climbing :)

Jag may have us on football on Saturday. I think us dish users may experience some rain fade. I better go tighten the bolts so the dish doesn't move too much.

I sure hope KBTX stays on. I don't know how well I'll pickup the Houston channels in a hurricane.

it bet all the houston ota stations will be shutdown... (atleast i would be suprised if they arent). Same with KBTX... they almost always shut it down when bad weather hits.

So I will most likely not be able to see the Hd games on CBS this weekend either. Hopefully ESPN stays up (which it should) unles I lose power.

Ill sent a email to mike (i never bothered to send him a compliment email for getting HD right last weekend) and asked him if they are planning on shutting down the DT tower on saturday.

ok got a reply from mike wright.... he says they are not planning on taking the feed offline and mentioned one thing i did not know. He says the only time they go offline is when they lose power to the tower. They currently only have a generator for the analog feed and are in the process of getting one for the HD feed (their current one only has power to run the analog tower)

Let's hope the power stays up. Rita is turning out to be pretty nasty.

My wife said a lot of stores are already out of water.

I think I'm going to put on my GoreTex jacket and go Jim Cantore this Saturday. Well, maybe just for a few minutes then run back inside. :)

also a bit of good news for me finally.... got the mailer that the upgrade in my part of town is about to be activated so hopefully I get to enjoy Universal (like there is anything worthwile on there anyways) but atleast they didnt forget about me.

And it will be bad here but I still think people are overreacting a bit.... by the time it gets to CS it wont be as strong, but if I was in houston you bet i would be getting the hell outta there right now.

My wife said at Wally World they broke down all the water and were selling it by the bottle for $1 each. Gotta love America.

wow... people are insanely stupid. just bottle tap for that much. Hell im gonna bottle tap regardless.

Well, looks like we will be hosting some refugees this weekend. :p Our son and his girlfriend are trying to drive up tonight from Houston, and her family will try coming in early tomorrow morning from Katy. Maybe I should drain the hot tub and fill it with fresh water. :eek: He is trying to avoid the major highways (I-10, 290), but of course so is most everyone else. http://www.emotipad.com/newemoticons/Prayer.gif

if i was him i would go ahead and run 290... its the quickest way to get here... its going to be bad no matter how you go.

Well, I talked to my sister earlier and she said it took her 2 hours to get from Tidwell to Barker-Cypress on 290 on her way home from work. No route is easy.

yeah... there is no route this late that will get you out of the city.

We are now officially refugee central! ;) The first two arrived about 11:30 last night, and the second crew got in about 03:30 this morning. It's going to be an interesting few days. :rolleyes:

We've only got one refugee. I think it only took her a couple of hours to get here from Rice Village. This was earlier yesterday though. It's insane now.

Well my refugees left Missouri City at about 2:30 this morning and were in Katy around 9:30.

wow... things moving very slowly.

is anybody else pissed at kbtx tonight? they are showing the khou coverage on the DT station while showing normal CBS programming on the SD channel. I had Threshold (gonna give it a few more eps before i remove it) and numb3rs set to record but Im not gonna get to watch either one in HD.

It just seems like a waste to show when we have coverage on all the news channels and on cox, abc13.

Jag --
I am disappointed as well. Fortunately I have CBS HD through D*. I'm hoping they get things back to normal by Sunday. There are two HD games scheduled to be on KBTX.

yeah because you wont have d* tomorrow probably and possibly sunday (depending on how long the cane stays around). You might be mortal like the rest of us with KBTX. ;)

I take it everyone made it through Rita intact?? I am a little disappointed we got zilch for rain, but glad no major damage was done in our area. The clouds did look cool, though. We did have a small oak tree that died last year blow over, but that's about it.

not a bit of damage here.... just some small branches (maybe 1 ft) that got knocked off the trees. No rain which sucked because now all my grass is dead because I didnt water all week because we were supposed to flood.

No rain which sucked because now all my grass is dead because I didnt water all week because we were supposed to flood.
I did that, too. :(

I still haven't gotten KCEN-DT over cable since I last posted...probably at least a week now. I wonder if they moved the channel? I suppose they could be encrypting it too, but I don't see why. Because I no longer have any signal at all on physical channel 66 (where it was before)...and even on encrypted channels I get a signal strength (the screen is just black, of course). Is there any way for any of you who are receiving the channel to check which physical channel it's on (before the cable box remaps it to a virtual channel, I guess)?

I replied to your post at ATOT (suprised anybody else posted there).

Do you have cox cable or using an antenna? COX has always been perfect on channel 730 for me. I had a problem initially with KCEN not coming in strong enough but it turned out to be too many splitters between the line in from cox and my cable box. I would call cox support and setup a appointment (its completly free, which is especially nice considering sat companies charge to make a house call). They are actually really good with diagnosing this stuff.

Just curious but how did you figure that the channel was really on 66 physical channel? I never saw anything like that in the moto 6412 menu stuff. I did see the signal strenght on mine and it was poor on KCEN and after removing the extra splitters its back up to the good range.

If I remember right though you are in the dorms arent you? That might be a bit harder getting a tech out there but I would give them a call regardless.

I replied to your post at ATOT (suprised anybody else posted there).

Do you have cox cable or using an antenna? COX has always been perfect on channel 730 for me. I had a problem initially with KCEN not coming in strong enough but it turned out to be too many splitters between the line in from cox and my cable box. I would call cox support and setup a appointment (its completly free, which is especially nice considering sat companies charge to make a house call). They are actually really good with diagnosing this stuff.

Just curious but how did you figure that the channel was really on 66 physical channel? I never saw anything like that in the moto 6412 menu stuff. I did see the signal strenght on mine and it was poor on KCEN and after removing the extra splitters its back up to the good range.

If I remember right though you are in the dorms arent you? That might be a bit harder getting a tech out there but I would give them a call regardless.

I have Cox cable here (you are correct, I'm in the dorms), and I also have an antenna, Channel Master 4228 stuck in my window :p , although I haven't had much luck with it. (Although at the moment there must be some weird atmospheric stuff happening after the hurricane - I'm picking up NBC out of Dallas right now :eek: ).

My HDTV tuner software just scans each physical channel on the cable line, and since most of the channels are encrypted, they only display a black screen (but still have a signal strength). They're all in a range of 2-125, and NBC was showing up on 66. PBS is on 65-1 and CBS is on 65-2 (although those two do remap to virtual channels 12-1 and 3-1). I was thinking they might have moved NBC, because last semester when I first got the HDTV tuner, PBS/CBS were both on 98 (-1 and -2). I've done several scans though and flipped through all the channels I seem to be getting, but I haven't found anything other than CBS and PBS (and as I said, the channel that NBC used to be on, isn't showing up at all anymore, encrypted or not). I'm only using one splitter - the cable outlet in the room here is actually a coaxial cable sticking out of the wall, strangely enough, so if I wanted to connect directly to that line I'd need a coupler of some sort.

well in that case i dont know but it could be related to the digital rebuild that is happening all around cs atm. They are working on my area atm (southwood at 2818) and I lost HBO for a few hours last friday.

Just wondering but can you not get a dvr from cox (if you can even get one in the dorms)? It is very useful to have (especially being a college student becuase alot of times i miss shows), and that dual tuner is esecially nice for certain nights when there are multiple shows on that i want to record. Im assuming your pc card can record only one show at a time. Plus getting the rest of the HD channels (inhd, espn etc) is nice.

well in that case i dont know but it could be related to the digital rebuild that is happening all around cs atm. They are working on my area atm (southwood at 2818) and I lost HBO for a few hours last friday.

Just wondering but can you not get a dvr from cox (if you can even get one in the dorms)? It is very useful to have (especially being a college student becuase alot of times i miss shows), and that dual tuner is esecially nice for certain nights when there are multiple shows on that i want to record. Im assuming your pc card can record only one show at a time. Plus getting the rest of the HD channels (inhd, espn etc) is nice.

Yeah, I thought about the possibility about it being the rebuild (they sent out an email a while back saying that the service would be off here for a few hours in the middle of the night one day), but I don't know much about it.

I'm just getting the standard cable that comes in the dorms (basic? extended?) for free. I actually did think of the DVR idea, but I'm not sure how that would work (and how much it would cost) since I'm already getting regular cable at no extra cost. If the service and the box didn't cost too much per month, I might look into it - otherwise I'm not sure that it would be worth it for me. And yeah, my PC card only has one tuner and can only record one show at a time, but when you're only getting 2 or 3 channels it's not that important :p

Its 10 bucks a month to rent the acutal DVR box and then 5 for the DVR service so it would be 15 total per month and then if you wanted the other channels (espn etc) it would be $5 bucks per month to get the "digital gateway" as cox calls it. Allows you to access the rest of the HD channels (espn, universal, discovery, inhd, inhd2) from a analog package. But I dont know how you would get that done though (if tamu would allow it to your room etc). Best way would be to call cox and ask.

They were running a deal at the beginning of the semester that got you the dvr for cheaper but im not sure if they are still running it. You would need to call about that.

I messed around with the pc tuners for a while too and once I got the cox dvr theres no way i will ever go back to that unless they offer the dual tuner pc card.

Alright, thanks for the info...I guess I'll call them up and ask what my options are, if any (and also to see if I can figure out what's up with my KCEN-DT).

Edit: Now that I think about it, I have another question...what kind of outputs does the box have? I don't have an actual HDTV, I'm using my widescreen PC LCD monitor (it has DVI and VGA inputs...plus S-Video and Composite, which I obviously wouldn't want to use). And does it happen to have firewire output for if I wanted to transfer any recordings to my computer?

The older phase II boxes have DVI, and if your monitor will take component via the VGA HD15, you can make a cable (thats what I do with my X1 now). If you score a newer phase III box, you will need an HDMI to DVI converter since it now only has HDMI. Also, that firewire used to work....not too sure now if they got it fixed yet.

http://people.tamu.edu/~wesson/lovestatue.bmp

:D :D :D :D

Sorry, it had simply been too long...

you need to put the background story about that for all the new people....

you need to put the background story about that for all the new people....
I believe it starts here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=4209692&&#post4209692).
http://www.emotipad.com/newemoticons/Whistle.gif

D@mn you Love Statue!!!!

However, don't forget about this one:
http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/503/medium/34863SVS_PB2_01.jpg

I believe it's done by the same guy who did the sailboat at the campus main entrance.

Too bad I can't find the pic of jag's soul-glow Ikea chairs.

btw for us cox lovers....

This weeks "field of glory" is Kyle Field (shot last year) but its airing for those that have recently added HDTV service to thier cable providers.

http://inhd.com/product.jsp?prodId=25059&mp=cb2

Oct 1,15,17 at 11:30 AM (EST) it will be shown.

INHD has some sweet stuff coming up soon.... They have started a college football slate and have commercials saying they are showing Twilight Zone in HD too (on their website they have 43 episodes listed but I have no idea if thats all they are going to have or not.... I also think they are the newer version (not the old ones) but very cool nonetheless).

For those of you thinking of upgrading your HD-Tivo (or PC), here (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=1388892&sku=THD-300A) is a good deal.

Quick question. I currently have my silver sensor antenna routed into my hdtivo via a via 2 splitters closer to the receiver. (i.e. 1 splitter in the attic and one splitter at the receiver). The run from the receiver to the 5x8 is probably about 40-50 ft. and then another 20 to the satellite. I continue to have quality (dropout/major pixellation) issues with antenna 1 (the split feed) and not antenna 2.

Perhaps this is an ignorant question (and as I ask it I realize that is likely the case), but should my antenna be going straight into my 5x8 (unpowered) or is it better to have it as close to the receiver as possible (which I seem to remember someone having told me once which leads to the setup I currently have)?

Quick question. I currently have my silver sensor antenna routed into my hdtivo via a via 2 splitters closer to the receiver. (i.e. 1 splitter in the attic and one splitter at the receiver). The run from the receiver to the 5x8 is probably about 40-50 ft. and then another 20 to the satellite. I continue to have quality (dropout/major pixellation) issues with antenna 1 (the split feed) and not antenna 2.

Perhaps this is an ignorant question (and as I ask it I realize that is likely the case), but should my antenna be going straight into my 5x8 (unpowered) or is it better to have it as close to the receiver as possible (which I seem to remember someone having told me once which leads to the setup I currently have)?

I'm a little confused about your setup. :confused: You said antenna 1 (the split feed) and antenna 2. Are you switching these around on the back of your HD-Tivo, because AFAIK the tivo only has one antenna input, correct? Or, I may recall something in a previous post, did you split these internally (hacked?) on your box, and put separate feeds on the two (normally combined) tuners? If you are having signal quality issues due to having to split the signal, you might want to try an amplified splitter like at RS or Lowe's, if you feel you need to split it. If you are feeding part of the antenna feed to a 5x8 multiswitch that is bound to cause a pretty big loss of signal.

The HD Tivo has three inputs. Sat 1, Sat 2, and Ant in. I only have two cable runs coming down the wall in the bedroom so what I do is splice the antenna into the Sat 1 feed (after the multiswitch) in the attic, and then split the Sat 1 cable again at the receiver so I have Sat1 and Ant in cables.

At the moment there is no ant feed at all going into the multi-switch (although there is a spot for it). So the question is whether or not I'd be better off removing the splitter in the attic (closer to the receiver) and plugging it directly into the 5x8. (The splitter at the receiver - sat1/ant in - will remain regardless.)

OK, so what you are doing is combining one sat feed (past the Multiswitch) and your antenna into one cable in the attic, and splitting it again once through the wall into separate sat/ant feeds, using diplexers, correct? Or are you just using regular cable TV type splitters? You then have a second cable from your multiswitch which goes straight into the second sat-in on the Tivo? I am still wondering what you are calling antenna 2 in your first post. The dropout problem, is this on the sat channels on the sat tuner using the diplexer/splitter, or OTA? Based on my experience, you should avoid running your antenna signal through the multiswitch, it just degrades it far too much, especially if you are dealing with weak/fringe signals. If you are just interested in our two locals, it might be worth a shot to run through the multiswitch and cut out the first combiner/diplexer.
Then again, it's supposed to be nice and cool the next few days. You could just drop another cable down the wall and have dedicated lines for all three! :D

wow the mess you D* guys go through.... thats one thing i love about cox, one cable line runs both tuners (has a splitter device on the back of the box similar to what voom did) and there isnt a need for ota.

wow the mess you D* guys go through.... thats one thing i love about cox, one cable line runs both tuners (has a splitter device on the back of the box similar to what voom did) and there isnt a need for ota.

:eek: :eek: :eek: Listen to this! Coming from you! Mr. I used to have everything in my house rigged in strange and mysterious ways.

What a Cox Sucker you have become! :rolleyes:

Sid -

I think I'm just going to play around with it this weekend. To answer your questions in case you are just curious...

My sat 2 line comes straight from the multiswitch into the back of the receiver.

I have no idea what the difference between a diplexer and a splitter is. I am using a little box thingy that has two inputs on one end and one on the other (one in the attic and one at the receiver).

All I am trying to get is KBTX and it comes in around 95 with the current set up. There is no way that the signal from the silver sensor could be overpowering the satellite feed is there?

:eek: :eek: :eek: Listen to this! Coming from you! Mr. I used to have everything in my house rigged in strange and mysterious ways.

What a Cox Sucker you have become! :rolleyes:


My sat setups were never very complex (in fact Ive always tried to make my setups as simple as possible)..... never had more than one line for D*/E*/V* and one line for the antenna (but not in vooms case since it was one cable). Just saying its nice that cox included the combiner (like voom did) so there is only a need for one cable coming in to power dual tuners.

just ragging on you man

MWesson, this (http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=SPDX100&xzoom=zoom#xview) is what I mean by a diplexer. It is different from a simple splitter/combiner in that it is designed specifically to combine a satellite feed and an antenna feed into one combined feed, and another is used to split a combined feed once the end of the combined cable run is reached into separate sat/ant feeds. If you are using a regular cable TV splitter/joiner in your setup, it could be causing some interference/signal loss in your sat 1 signal. A sat signal has a voltage going through it besides the picture info, so with a simple splitter there may be some loss of that as well. You may be able to find some relatively inexpensive ones at Wal-Mart or someplace like that. I know RS and Lowe's has them, but they can be somewhat overpriced. Good luck! :)

I don't know what a regular cable TV splitter/joiner is or looks like then, but what I am using looks exactly like what is in the link you provided (both in the attic and at the receiver).

In fact, the set up in the picture on that link is exactly my set up but the first merging of the two occurs 30-40 ft. AFTER the multiswitch.

Fellas --
anyone know anything about free to air satellite service? I had a conversation with a satellite technician recently and he mentioned it. Apparently you can purchase a set top box online for around $200 and then use an existing satellite dish to pick up what he called free to air channels. No monthly fees, just the initial cost of the STB. I was just wondering what you guys knew about it. Thanks in advance.

Jonny, I have looked into Free-To-Air (FTA) reception some. It requires either a C-Band type big dish or a D* or E* dish, depending on what programming interests you. The intended programming available seems rather limited, however. It is intended mostly for receiving international and a few other "free" unencrypted channels, such as religious and special interest. It seems to have evolved, however, where most users of FTA, at least in this and neighboring countries, use it for obtaining programming under "questionable legality" from Dish Network. The receivers don't use a smart card like others for encrypted programming, but can be programmed with a PC via a cable to accept a series of numbers and letters, or "keys", which must be periodically updated. I heard awhile back that Dish was going to a new encryption method this past summer to foil piracy like DirecTV did, but I don't know off-hand if it dealt a blow to FTA. There are a few forums dedicated to FTA, such as this one (http://www.fta-software.com/), but for full access you have to pay a fee (no, I haven't paid!). A Google search for Free-To-Air will offer lots of info.

I don't know what a regular cable TV splitter/joiner is or looks like then, but what I am using looks exactly like what is in the link you provided (both in the attic and at the receiver).

In fact, the set up in the picture on that link is exactly my set up but the first merging of the two occurs 30-40 ft. AFTER the multiswitch.
If you look closely at that larger picture towards the middle, you can see where the side that has two connections, on one it specifies "Sat", and on the other it says "TV" (for the antenna/cable TV). A regular splitter (http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?CAT=Splitters&PROD=SP2) only has connectors marked In/Out or similar. One important difference between a splitter and a diplexer is most splitters are only rated up to 1000MHz for TV, whereas satellite goes up to 2250, which diplexers are designed for. If you are using diplexers, I'm not sure what might be the solution offhand.

Did anyone ever get an external SATA drive working to expand the new generation of boxes from Cox or are we still waiting on another firmware update? If so, anyone have any close Cox friends that might know when that'll be coming?

I was going to send tom way another email with some new questions (its not oct so we should know who is buying cox but i havent heard a peep). I dont think there has been a firmware update yet (and from what Ive read there will have to be one before the external sata will work). But its possible its working now (I havent tested it yet or even got mine exchanged). I have all my series recordings setup exactly how i want them so I dont want to lose all of that unless there is an actual reason to.

Any other questions people want to ask of tom way? gonna send the email this afternoon.

labman --
thanks for the info about FTA reception. I'm definitely NOT interested in acquiring the service, but I was just curious about the details of FTA reception. I'll check out the forum link you attached. Thanks man!

Greetings, I am new to HD in CS.

Anyone have any issues with the 6412 Phase III from Cox? I can't get 5.1 dd from the box when using hdmi? Is that normal? Also any news on Fox or ABC HD here?

Thanks for good info here. Also can we get any HD locals on satelite in CS?

Issues....YES!!! I have to reboot the box every couple of days when the HD channels start to skip (ie look jumpy).

HDMI...sorry I have an old X1 with only VGA input. 5.1 does work though the component though. I did have problems with my older box about not changing from stereo to 5.1 sometimes.

No new news on fox or abc that I know of.

No HD locals here unless you live in BFE

Thanks for the info. What is BFE? Yes the 5.1 works with the component but when using the hdmi for video the phase 3 only outputs prologic. The picture is only slightly better on HDMI. Hard to tell the difference but maybe better contrast. I have gone back to the component. One thing is the SD seems better on the Phase 3 than on the Phase 2 I had. I have not had to reboot very often. 2 days ago I had colored lines all through the picture on SD and HD. Rebooting Motorola cleared it up. I do get pixelization every so often on the HD channels though. Does great job of recording HD though. Anyway to get the recordings to DVD?

........ What is BFE?
It's an old expression for "Out in the Boonies" or "Middle of Nowhere". The letters stand for "Bum F**k Egypt", so you might want to be careful in what company you use the expression.http://www.emotipad.com/newemoticons/Eeeeeek.gif

Dealdoc --
it's always good to add another HD enthusiast to this forum. I'm somewhat of a newbie myself. I subscribe to D* and use their HD Tivo and am pleased with their service. HD locals in this area are hard to come by. CBS and PBS are the only local BCS channels that broadcast an HD signal. I have an OTA antenna mounted on my roof and have had good success receiving the Houston locals, but they are only reliable during the evening hours. I was finally able to add the four major networks in HD to my D* account. That process can be a hassle but I think I can help you if that's something you want to pursue.

Greetings, I am new to HD in CS.

Anyone have any issues with the 6412 Phase III from Cox? I can't get 5.1 dd from the box when using hdmi? Is that normal? Also any news on Fox or ABC HD here?

Thanks for good info here. Also can we get any HD locals on satelite in CS?

None on satellite unless you live in an area where you can get waivers from directv or dish network to be given the NY local feeds. Some get what are called O&O (owned and operated) stations by "living" in Dallas or Houston. In Dallas, CBS, FOX and NBC local stations are owned by the network, so they don't care if you watch the Dallas feed or the NY feed. D* (Directv) will let you have those HD feeds from NY from satellite until their new satellite starts broadcasting the Dallas locals in HD sometime next year. You will need new equipment that isn't available yet to receive the,. (MPEG4 capable).

Like Jonny I have an antenna that picks up Houston locals. I have a 4228 and a pre-amp 7777 or something like that and I get the all of them very reliably, including during the day. I live on a hill in Pebble Creek, so seem to be in a good spot.

Bill

Well, this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=588104) could be interesting, if not unwelcome, for us. :( Our one pure-HD channel could be in jeopardy.

According to this link (http://www.tiaonline.org/media/press_releases/uploads/Communitieslist-Sept05.pdf), BCS is currently NOT on the list to receive FTTP and the Verizon FIOS service. Take it for what it's worth.

Labman --
I'm not too worried about KBTX multicasting.

Anyone with Cox having problems with 730 KCEN NBC. Today it is black.

Anyone with Cox having problems with 730 KCEN NBC. Today it is black.
Working OTA.

maybe I should try to shoot my antenna that way

Looks to be a great game, too busy watching the 'Stros on FOX and the Ags on internet, though! :)

dont know if anybody has a true htpc but theatertek released version 2.2 tonight and man its now a complete solution. I can finally retire media center edition 2005 completly.

Awesome stuff.

Also on a side note has anybody noticed the new graphics on the cox dvr? On a few channels I now see channel logo's (nbc-hd, one cox channel and the big12 football test channel). I assume it is in some sort of testing mode but they have real nice color channel logo graphics. I emailed tom way but still havent received a reply yet. So is anybody else getting the new graphics on any other thannels besides that right?

Anyone notice the new Comcast (COmcastic) commercials airing on CBS and NBC. When i first sawy it, it was on NBC and thought it was just something for Waco. Now it is on CBS KBTX, and I was wondering, is Comcast the one buying COX? If anyone knows why we are seeing these comercials, or who is purchasing COX send a repy.
Thanks.

It must be part of a national ad campaign. I've been seeing those spots on networks out of New York, too.

AARGH....I've just about had it with my local FOX situation here in China Spring. I live 15 miles NW of Waco and about 75 miles south of Fort Worth. I pull in four OTA digital locals just fine with my HD Tivo, the local ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS affiliates. The problem is the local FOX channel, which has a digital broadcast that is about equal to my kid's walkie talkie in terms of signal strength and an old analog broadcast that I obviously can't pull in with the HD Tivo. I don't have an antenna amp and I found that if I try to split my antenna feed I get nothing. So the only way I can physically watch FOX is to pull the OTA antenna out of my Tivo box and screw it directly into the TV to watch crappy OTA analog the old fashioned way. Which means, of course, that I can't record anything OTA on the TIVO when I'm watching baseball. ARRGH. The local FOX affiliate also refuses to give any waivers for any reason. I emailed them and got some crappy excuse. OK, sure I can add my locals package with DirectTV but why pay extra for SD broadcasts when except for this one FOX issue, I can get perfect OTA HD broadcasts of the other networks?

So, I'm contemplating "moving" up to Dallas/Fort Worth for the series. I don't really give a hang about FOX most of the year, but for the series and football I do. I tried to google up some information about this. But was unsure of a couple things.

1. Can anyone confirm for certain that the national FOX HD feed is available from DirecTV in the Dallas/Fort Worth market?

2. What satellite is it on and do I need any additional equipment to pick up the national network feeds? Right now I have the triple LNB dish for all the normal HD stuff.

3. Will DirecTV allow me to move my street address and still keep my current phone number or will I need to give them a new phone number too? In other words, can I give DirecTV my new address in Fort Worth or Dallas and then tell them that my home phone number is going to stay the same?

4. Is there any need to worry if the phone number on my account doesn't match the phone number where the receiver is located? I assume that my receiver will stil be able to dial-out from anywhere. I'm just wondering if there are any potential glitches that would result if my account shows a Dallas number but my receiver is connected to a Waco phone line.

5. Can I move my service through the web site or do I need to talk to customer service?

6. Anything else I need to know about moving to Dallas before I get DirecTV on the line?

1) You should get Fox, CBS, and NBC. They are all O&O.

2) You should be fine if you can pick up all the sats on the 3-LNB.

3) Just request to change your "service address," but keep you "billing address" the same. No need to change your ph#.

4) I have never worried about it. I moved to Houston a week after I signed up with D*.

5) Have to talk to a CSR, but I didn't encounter any problems.

6) That should be it. I'm pretty sure people can still move and get the HD DNS feeds. Not sure if some new law changed that.

Well, I just made the call and have a new Dallas address.

But to get the HD feed I needed to request a waiver. DirectTV says it could be a week to 45 days for the permission to come back from the Dallas stations. Sheesh.

Will keep you posted if this works. Probably not in time for the series though.

Earlier this year and before you didn't need to request a waiver. Guess you have to do that now. :(

Someone on the HD Tivo forum where I did a parallel post says that they got their FOX waiver in 3 days so there is hope I can get some of the series. At least now I get the FOX 4 from Dallas in SD so I can watch something.

Waivers, huh? I wouldn't think you need waivers to get the O&O stations. I know there has been some confusion since the new SHVERA went into effect. If they don't come on soon for you, you might want to call back.

WooHoo!! Lance Berkman=LB=Long Ball!!
http://www.emotipad.com/newemoticons/Funny-Above.gif

Thank God there's not a loaded gun in the house. :mad:

I just hope they don't let this game get to them the way it might me!! :mad:

Roy O does it or we're toast. Did you get Series tickets Sid?

Nope, and no-one else I know did either, unless you did. May not matter, anyway. I think Roy is our best shot at putting those Pooh-Holes in their place.

well its official: UPN is coming to Bryan/College Station. Just saw a commercial.

Jag --
cool news. Was any other info provided? Will they broadcast the HD feeds OTA?

As far as more info it didnt say anything except it was going to be on the DT only.... and it might have been premature becuase I havent seen it since but now the cat is out of the bag. Just said something to the effect of UPN coming to KBTX (little 15 sec commercial with a upn logo).

mike wright will be getting an email tomorrow now that its official. Honestly I hope they dont carry HD feeds until the fiber line running to cox is completed. Running 2 HD feeds at the same time will destroy PQ for both channels. I do hope they carry the HD stuff but not until us cox lovers are setup right. For all of us initially we will see reduced PQ on KBTX-DT because they will both be running off the same tower (and I would assume same transmitter) so it will be in the 15 mbit range (which as most people know is decent at best for HD, anything less than 17 imo is bad but I have higher standards than most). Basically CBS will look alot like kamu(pbs)-HD until the fiber is run and us cox people can go back to full bitrate HD (and according to what mike wright told me both kbtx and upn would be full bitrate as fiber has plenty o bandwith)

You D*/E* users are already used to craptacular HD so it wont be as big of a change for you. ;)

You D*/E* users are already used to craptacular HD so it wont be as big of a change for you. ;)

And you Cox lovers are used to having no ABC or Fox so it won't be much of a change for you either. :rolleyes:

I've never watched anything on UPN, so I hope this doesn't last long. I watch plenty on KBTX though. Just to make sure I get this right... Once the fiber is run OTA signals will be back to normal or is OTA screwed no matter what? If so, I know I'll be bitching to the station.

I think OTA will always be screwed. :(

If so, then I hope others complain too. Really, what's on UPN?

Really, what's on UPN?

The Vibe Awards?

Well... I used to be pissed about not having UPN because that is what Star Trek Enterprise was on and I had heard good things. However, now that Enterprise is gone, I'm not sure what the point of that station is...

Supposedly the two best shows on UPN as it currently stands are Veronica Mars (Joss Whedon) which is supposed to be good and everyone is raving about this "Everybody Hates Chris" sitcom.

Of course, everyone "in Houston" already should be getting these through their local package.

Well I got some clarification....

1. UPN-DT WILL NOT BE HD.... Its SD only for now.
2. The fiber ONLY affects COX (its a direct feed from the CBS to kbtx to cox, so hopefully "flipping the switch" will never be a problem for us cox lovers again. It will bring KBTX-HD back to full bw only on cox. KBTX OTA will be reduced quality from here on out. The fiber is run at both kbtx and cox now and mike wright expects it to be activated "very soon" (direct quote)
3. Mike Wright told me there is a order for a second more powerful transmitter (expected around 2008)... I dont know if this means each signal will be on a separate transmitter or both on a more powerful transmitter (I sent a reply back)
4. UPN-SD is expected to test launch on Nov 14 but mike says he expects it not to go live until the 15th.
5. UPN will be avalibale in SD on cox channel 20. (I would assume DT channel 50-2 or 3-2)

And yes I would agree a upn doesnt intrigue me that much anymore with no enterprise but hopefully future shows get better.

And you Cox lovers are used to having no ABC or Fox so it won't be much of a change for you either. :rolleyes:

I can live w/o abc or fox (only thing I miss out on each week is lostand their movies) for now if it means my HD looks better... I have always been a quality>quantity guy.

Thanks for filling us in, Jag. I'll have to keep an eye at the quality on KBTX. If it's really noticeable, then I'll be getting in touch with Mike. At least I can still get CBS out of Houston ok.

Yeah I would expect their upn feed to get 3 or 4 mbit leaving 15-16 for the HD feed. That still should be adequate but its not 19. I will know exactly what bw ota is getting once the channel launches on cox (since I can monitor most of the hd channels on cox and initally we will be using ota until the fiber is running).

I got some further clarification... There will only be one transmitter for both channels permenantly. The one now will serve as a backup for the future one kbtx is purchasing. There is no intention of upn-hd at all at this juncture but mike says kbtx would discuss/entertain broadcating the HD feed (looks like a email to tom is in order). If they signed a deal with upn for the HD feed it would only be avaliable on cox as the OTA couldn't handle 2 HD feeds (would have to be over fiber).

Thanks for filling us in, Jag. I'll have to keep an eye at the quality on KBTX. If it's really noticeable, then I'll be getting in touch with Mike. At least I can still get CBS out of Houston ok.
At least I can get KWKT out of Waco, too. It comes in better for me than KHOU.

I can live w/o abc or fox (only thing I miss out on each week is lostand their movies) for now if it means my HD looks better... I have always been a quality>quantity guy.
Hmm, I seem to remember someone bragging about the number of channels on VoOm/Zoom. :p

Hmm, I seem to remember someone bragging about the number of channels on VoOm/Zoom. :p

They difference was they had the channels and full bw (until the end). Because they focused on HD (had a very anemic SD lineup that was ahead of its time)

At least I can get KWKT out of Waco, too. It comes in better for me than KHOU.


I wouldnt be so sure with KWKT... they are sister stations with KBTX and theres a decent chance they will be the waco upn affil (they dont have a true upn broadcast affil in waco either just some direct feeds on cable and if i remember correctly cbs owns upn so thats my guess as to why kbtx is adding upn). We will have to see what happens but they are both owned by gray communications.

WOW!! I can't believe it has finally happened! And to top it all off it just means even more Astros baseball in HiDef!! :D :D :D :D

I still sitting here in shock... it's finally happening.

Maybe it's time to bring back the O Bro avatar. :D

I tried to pick it up OTA from h-town...no such luck. I was only able to get maybe 20-25 signal strength. I then turned to Wacko, and I didn't even get a signal at all from there. Whats my best chance...getting houston or wacko?

My sister in law has Dtv in houston. If I get on here account, will she be able to get any HD feeds over the satellite?

I tried to pick it up OTA from h-town...no such luck. I was only able to get maybe 20-25 signal strength. I then turned to Wacko, and I didn't even get a signal at all from there. Whats my best chance...getting houston or wacko?

My sister in law has Dtv in houston. If I get on here account, will she be able to get any HD feeds over the satellite?
Your best chance for OTA Fox is probably Houston, but the weather has to be very cooperative. If your SIL has DirecTV in the Houston market, you, or her, could put a (HD)receiver on her account and likely get the ABC and FOX HD feeds out of NY. It may take a few days to take effect, as someone else who is trying that for Dallas has said, but in theory they should add them almost immediately.

Yeah, I picked up fox once in a blue moon with my old dish 6000. Since I have been with cox, I havent hooked up the ol antenny in a while. I do suspect that my cable is a little old, since thats what the cox service tech said and made me do a whole new home run from outside to my box for the cable.

I "acquired" my pops old hughes hird-e8 for the OTA. He said that there was something wrong with the satellite portion, but who knows....he was probably just justifying the hd tivo.

So would I need to get waivers since she is in houston, or just ask for the hd feeds? Hmmm, I wonder if the mpeg4 boxes has made it to h-town yet?

You shouldn't need to ask for waivers since their locals are on sat anyway, but if you call you might mention to them about the O&O ABC and FOX and how you understand that makes you eligible for the distant HD feeds. The MP-4 boxes as far as I know are just now making it to the test market of Detroit. You should check out their local thread, lots of discussion about the rollout there. Just be aware that if you do this, D* may notify your SIL later they want to install the new monster dish on her roof for the HD locals. :)

How big is the Televes DAT-75? I'm thinking of doing a roof mount if it's not too big. The WAF isn't as bad as I thought it'd be.

It may be awhile before we see HD locals on D*; especially with a HD-DVR.

Jag, don't you have one sitting around?

If I remember right, the DAT-75 is about 5' long, by 2' x 2'. It's been a while since I had to go up on my pops roof and install it. Do it right though... do two stacked on top of each other. It looks cool, but not too sure if it helps. Thats what I have been telling him in hopes that he will let me snag one. Oh yeah, you might want to paint it as they are bright yellow.

ive got one somewhere if you want to take measurements.... its got some weathering on it though but last time i checked it was still functioning properly (even though it was hit or close to hit by lightning).

Damn, I didn't realize it was that big. Doubt I could get that on the roof. Not sure if it would be better than what I have right now in the attic if I mounted it inside.

if you want you could "borrow" it for a month or so.... its not doing me any good sitting in my garage or maybe out back (dont remember exactly where I am storing that beast atm)

I may have to take you up on that offer. I'd like to get a bit better signal for NBC/CBS in Houston and the Televes may be a bit better than the CM I have.

When you get a chance, dig it up and I'll come by to test it out. I don't really need the VHF of my current antenna and this would lessen the clutter in my attic.

nbc should be stroner but i never had much luck with cbs (but i live lower down which probably has alot to do with it)

I can handle not getting CBS due to still having KBTX. It used to come in well, but not recently. Although when UPN goes live, I'd like to have full-bandwidth since I'm not a Cox lover.

well im gonna be with you concerning kbtx for a little while atleast. hopefully the reduced quality pushes cox to finish that fibre faster.

Damn, I didn't realize it was that big. Doubt I could get that on the roof. Not sure if it would be better than what I have right now in the attic if I mounted it inside.

Dave it's nothing compared to the size of that 3020 you got.

That's what I figured. I probably can't put it on the roof, but it at least would take up less room in the attic. As long as it does better than the 3020 beast.

OK, who is going to get the new dish (http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=AT59&xzoom=zoom#xview) and new H20 (http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=H20) receiver and be ready? :)
There may be hope for a self-install after all! :cool:

thats a wierd looking dish.... the real question is what are you htown d* users going to do w/o the tivos or any recorder.

Something tells me this is going to be the most painful switchover in the history of time (esp for dave and the others who dont have waviers) because its almost going to be guaranteed once HD locals go up no more o&o stations. And how many are going to trade in their tivos for a non dvr mpeg4 box. Probably the main reason they are pusing back the live dates for the first 12 markets to beginning of 06. And I doubt even then the mpeg4 dvr will be ready. Not to mention I want to see the bashing that goes down over that box coming from a tivo. D*'s current R10 (whatever thier standard SD box is) is the absolute worst box I have ever used (the one my dad currently has).

OK, who is going to get the new dish (http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=AT59&xzoom=zoom#xview) and new H20 (http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=H20) receiver and be ready? :)
There may be hope for a self-install after all! :cool:

Not ready quite yet. My money is spent on tonight's game. :D

I don't think D* is going to take away DNS until you decide to upgrade. I'm sure there are plenty in Detroit that are going to wait until the HD-DVR comes out.

I think the Detroit rollout will answer a lot of our questions. Equipment, "moving", etc.

At the very least, I'm waiting until the new LG-made STB's are available. Check out the story here (http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051019/cgw010.html?.v=28). I am interested to see what happens in Detroit.

Yes, I am actually pretty content with the status quo for now. Until D* starts adding some new national HD channels, I don't feel compelled to change anything. And I have an R10 SD Tivo, and don't see anything wrong with it.
The new LG boxes coming due are getting a few people excited about OTA reception.

I am one of those excited about OTA reception. The new LG boxes have their fifth-generation VSB chipset. I continue to get good results with my H10, but am anxious to hear how well the new box performs.

I saw a link to that story the other day, and there was speculation that maybe it was actually about the H20 which is just now coming to market. Part of that was based on this quote from the article- "DirecTV....has selected LG Electronics as the first supplier of digital high-definition television (HDTV) set-top boxes based on powerful new video compression technology ...". There is no mention of the name/model of the STB in the article, but the H20 is already out and the first MP-4 box for D*. So we will have to wait and see if the H20 does indeed have the new 5th-gen chip.

Holy big dish (http://www.satelliteguys.us/showpost.php?p=759666&postcount=51), Batman!

lol that thing is so big it needs a second supporting arm.

something tells me wind is going to be a problem with these new dishes possibly.

You noticed that too. I wonder who will be the first to try to install that behemoth?

Is anyone able to get FOX HD OTA tonight from ANYWHERE? (not including D* on channel 88, of course because some of us are not that lucky).

I have never received FOX DIGITAL locally or from Houston even with my dual DAT-75's. However, I have not tried in quite some time.

What are the channel numbers for FOX out of Houston (UHF channel and digital designation)? If the weather is right, I might try to jack my stack up a few feet and try it.

Also, Sid or others with the HR10-250, is there a way to directly check or go to an OTA channel without doing an OTA channel scan?

Mikey

Dave,

Earlier you asked about the size of the DAT-75. Here is a pic of my stack before I put it up. For reference, the nails are on 16" centers in the deck so you can estimate the size pretty well. Hope this helps. BTW, you can see that I disassembled the antenna and painted all of the yellow parts silver to draw less attention from the homeowners "fashion police" before I put it up.

fox in houston is 26-1 or 27-1 (dont remember which)....

Actually, I have been able to watch the entire game this evening on KWKT-DT out of Waco without any breakups. :eek: It is on actual channel number 57, I think, so if you check for signal strength on that channel you can fine tune your antenna position, then scan for it. I think the only way to add a channel on the 10-250 is to scan all. :confused: However, it retains all previous channels as well, so you don't lose anything but a little time. ;) FOX in Houston is on channel 27, maps to 26-1 BTW.

lol that thing is so big it needs a second supporting arm.

something tells me wind is going to be a problem with these new dishes possibly.
Actually the new dish is slightly smaller than the GainMaster I have now, and may use the same size pole so all I have to do is swap the dish itself, hopefully. :)

Well, of course, shortly after I posted about KWKT coming in it started breaking up. Now it's not coming in at all. :mad:

Is anyone able to get FOX HD OTA tonight from ANYWHERE? (not including D* on channel 88, of course because some of us are not that lucky).

I have never received FOX DIGITAL locally or from Houston even with my dual DAT-75's. However, I have not tried in quite some time.

What are the channel numbers for FOX out of Houston (UHF channel and digital designation)? If the weather is right, I might try to jack my stack up a few feet and try it.

Also, Sid or others with the HR10-250, is there a way to directly check or go to an OTA channel without doing an OTA channel scan?

Mikey

I get 26-1 perfectly clear on my hr10-250 in pebble creek. I have a 4228 with the 7777 pre amp. Only one I have any trouble with is the occasional daytime 13-1 pixelation. Not a big deal, since ABC college football sucks and is not in HD anyway. MNF seems to come in great. Direct RG6 from antenna to box (no diplexer). I'll check signal strength tomorrow just to report.

Bill

For those with a 4228...How tall is the mast you're mounting too, and how tall on your house are you mounting the mast?

<--- getting fed up with inconsistency of the SquareShooter.

Mine is in my attic and as high up on the mast as I can get it. I think it's a 4' mast I got at Lowes.

Mike, thanks for posting that photo. I think it may be a little big for me at the moment. I'll just wait until the bigass dish is available.

Endorphin --
I have a CM 4228 mounted on my roof. I bolted together two 10 foot masts from radio shack and mounted it on a tripod. The total height of my antenna is about 35 feet. I had trouble getting a strong signal on my HR10-250 so I watch OTA channels using my H10. I ran RG6 directly to the box, like txag93. I get fair reception during the day, but I have great reception at night on NBC, CBS, ABC, UPN, FOX, and the WB out of Houston. If I could get my antenna higher, I would be in even better shape.

Jonnyb99

Some maybe good news for those of us with cox (and abc).

http://texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?topic_id=511225&forum_id=35

I wouldnt put too much stock in that right now but maybe they are testing things with abc... Im still a bit skeptical since they have abc34's "graphics" on it. But that guy who posted it does some broadcast stuff so its certainly possible. (and for the record I didnt see the channel in operation but my box wouldnt let me tune channel 90 anyhow, would have had to know to go to my other TV and manually look at that channel, the one w/o a cable box)

Thanks to those who responded to my question about FOX OTA. Unfortunately I'm less motivated now to mess with it :(

I've not had much luck with FOX OTA HD with my HR10-250 since its tuners only seem average. However, I also now have a H10, and I will give that a shot. Does anyone have an option about the sensitivity of the H10 tuners compared to the HD TIVO?

I'm new to this game and have been lurking for several months. I think I even posted a few Q's awhile back.

I finally jumped out and got set up for HD. I spent the weekend putting a CM 3020 with a Spartan preamp and D* 18x20 triple LNB dish on the roof. The CM is about 45' up and aimed a H*. It is all run to a Hughes HTL-HD receiver and Toshiba 52HM84. I'm getting all major H* OTA DT channels(2,11, 13, 20, 26, 39) and a bunch of other stuff I never knew existed. The only station I have problem with is KUHT (8-1). I also get KBTX-DT with no problem even with the CM aimed South. Probably because their tower is only 15 miles away. I also subscribed to D* HD package with locals (I'm in H* DMA......really).

I was surprised out how easily I pulled in H* OTA and how much better OTA was than D* HD. I guess being 25-30 miles further south makes a big difference. Unfortunately, I broke in the new system watching a disappointing WS.

I was wondering about the D* HD package. Based on some of these posts, shouldn't I be getting national feeds for FOX and ABC on D*. What do I need to do? Call up D* and just tell'em to "throw the switch"?

Thanks

.....(I'm in H* DMA......really).

I was surprised out how easily I pulled in H* OTA and how much better OTA was than D* HD. I guess being 25-30 miles further south makes a big difference. Unfortunately, I broke in the new system watching a disappointing WS.

I was wondering about the D* HD package. Based on some of these posts, shouldn't I be getting national feeds for FOX and ABC on D*. What do I need to do? Call up D* and just tell'em to "throw the switch"?

Thanks
Welcome to our forum! Unless you are in a low spot I'm not too surprised you are getting the Houston OTA stations. KUHT-PBS will be a problem for you, since they broadcast at a much lower power than the other networks. Yes, you should get the national HD feeds for ABC and FOX, but it seems they may take a few days to turn on sinc D* claims they have to submit for waivers. You may also need to sign up for the regular SD locals on sat, if you have not already. Oh, and we knew that Navasota is listed in the Houston market, you lucky dog! Do I see a new guinea pig for when the Houston HD locals go up on sat?? :D

Hey Dave...

Would you shoot me an e-mail? I want to visit with you about your success with the CM in the attic.

aggiebomber2@gmail.com

Looks like the cox sale is done.... http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=mergersNews&storyID=2005-11-01T080128Z_01_N01113216_RTRIDST_0_TELECOM-COX.XML

Never heard of this "Cebridge Connections" company but atleast they do have HD and DVR (according to their website)

In Kingwood they only offer fox hd (i doubt we will lose any locals already on cox) but their hd lineup is a bit small. (espn, discovery, hdnet, hdnet movies, hbo, sho). Hopefully that market is just full or something and they have more channels to offer (an email has already been send to Tom Way). Their analog lineup does look better than cox's does now.

And I found this for you tivo lovers.... http://www.tivo.com/cms_static/press_57.html
Looks like their DVR's might be using tivo before too long (press release was 8/23/05). I hope they are dual tuners (says series 2) or I wont be buying one and it better be able to do HD.

No details, but.....
http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=mergersNews&storyID=2005-11-01T080128Z_01_N01113216_RTRIDST_0_TELECOM-COX.XML

I was wondering if there is any way to get Cox HD basic programming without a cable box? My TV has a digital tuner and tunes the network feeds in HD. I was wondering how I can get the other basic HD channels like ESPN, Disc, InHD, etc. Do I need to have a cable card? The reps at Cox can't answer that for me. All I usually watch is basic, expanded and HD.

Right now I have HD DVR and really don't use it enough to get $15/ month out of it.

Anyone have any advise on this.

Thanks in advance.

You will need a cable card (if cox even offers one). You existing tuner will only get you the network OTA channels. You might be able to use a computer card to get the "other" channels but I havent looked into computer tuners in atleast a year so I have no idea if they can get past encryption yet.

but you will need either a cable card or a digital converter box. I also seem to remember cox sells just a box w/o dvr for either $8 or $10 per month but it wont have the dvr features. Granted for 5 bucks extra its worth it to have the dvr features over the standard HD box.

Hey, jag, looks like you must have beaten me by a few seconds with that post about the Cox sale. :p I know it wasn't there when I typed mine up. I had heard locally that they were probably being bought by a smaller outfit than say TW, I wonder if this is the one for B/CS.

Yes Tom Way confirmed it to me.

Also confirmed that the city of CS is the reason the upgrade has not been finished in my area was because the city is doing some drainiage work in my area that cox needs to tunnel under (he said my one node was the only one in CS thats not completed).

Also said to expect a deal with fox to be completed very soon (the company who owns teh local fox i guess is located in atlanta and is causing some sort of holdup, but Tom Way said they have moved an antenna already to get the fox feed). He wouldnt give me a time table but hopefully its soon.

Im a bit concerned with their HD lineup in kingwood but we will see how this plays out. After the sale they will be the 8th largest cable co in the US so maybe they will have some more barganing power.

Also said to expect a deal with fox to be completed very soon (the company who owns teh local fox i guess is located in atlanta and is causing some sort of holdup, but Tom Way said they have moved an antenna already to get the fox feed). He wouldnt give me a time table but hopefully its soon.

That's very good to hear...hope it's within the next few months or so!

Looks like the cox sale is done.... http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=mergersNews&storyID=2005-11-01T080128Z_01_N01113216_RTRIDST_0_TELECOM-COX.XML

Never heard of this "Cebridge Connections" company but atleast they do have HD and DVR (according to their website)

And I found this for you tivo lovers.... http://www.tivo.com/cms_static/press_57.html
Looks like their DVR's might be using tivo before too long (press release was 8/23/05). I hope they are dual tuners (says series 2) or I wont be buying one and it better be able to do HD.

From their website, they have a HD DVR, but seems pretty lame. I guess my D* account may be getting some more mileage, depending on the pricing for the new MPEG4 HD DVR.


The benefits of choosing our DVR service is clear:
Stop, rewind and playback live television
Record your favorite shows and movies to view later
(about 60 hrs of standard programming/10 hrs of HDTV programming)
No expensive equipment to purchase

Looks like a Motorola single tuner 6208 from other posts I found.

Bill

If they have the 6208's I would expect that we will keep cox's existing 6412's. Tom Way said he expects very little to change channel/equipment wise. I would expect that cebridge bought cox (at something like 2k per sub) it includes the equipment, but there is no telling until it happens.

This change over isnt expected to happen until second quarter of 06 so there is alot of time before that happens.

This company is tripling their size (after the sale) and will be the 8th largest in the country. So they should have alot more barganing power so I would expect them to have quite a few new channel contracts (and equipment) lined up by the time they actually take over.

Ok labman --
I noticed in another thread that you have recently acquired a new H20. Don't hold out on us man! :) Give us some details. Did you go to Houston to pick it up? Is the OTA tuner better than the H10? Did it come with a mail in rebate? Come on, answers, man, answers! :)

He got it online from circuit city (said so in his post, assuming he picked it up in houston or maybe even here). It does look like they are using the same "UI" as their existing boxes (same as my dad's SD box). IMO thats a bit dissapointing because I really hate his box in terms of general usage. Will be interesting to see if the DVR uses the same basic UI (like was shown at ces) or hopefully they redo the UI and make it much easier to use.

OK, I just hooked it up last night, already!! :p Yeah, I saw it was available online from CC this weekend, and I happened to have a 10% off coupon good only through Sunday, and well, you know how it is! If the rebate holds true, I figured I would actually make a few bucks on the deal. :) I had it shipped and it came in on Tuesday. It looks to be pretty good at picking up OTA, even though I did read somewhere that Humax is making this box and not LG. I hooked it up in the bedroom to replace my buggy Zenith 1080. It seems to be about on par with the Zenith, which is very good, for picking up OTA.
It does have a few minor bugs, as mentioned here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=598538). It does look like the Houston HD-locals are already showing up in the guide, but of course I need the dish and MS before they will come in when turned on. Come on SolidSignal, release those things outside of Detroit!! :D

Party at Sid's when he gets the new dish. :D

I want to see how fun the install will be.

those arent "bugs"... they are "features" ;)

I guess Sid is going to be the guinea pig.

Looking at CC online it says not available for shipping now. :confused: I guess the word is out now, or D* put a halt on shipping to just anywhere like they did the AT9 dish. But it is shown as available for store pickup in Houston, that wasn't there this weekend.

Come on SolidSignal, release those things outside of Detroit!! :D

Oh, just wait until I actually move to H-town. Of course, I won't have a need for D* LiL anymore.

Hey guys --
channel 3-2 is showing up in the guide on my H10. The call letters are UPN but it's just showing a screen full of colored bars, like when a station goes off the air for the night or something. Does anyone have any info on a live date?

Noooooooooooooo!!!!!!!! Say it ain't so.

Well, it is so. :( It doesn't show up on the Tivo (probably would with a rescan), but I checked on the H20 and the color bars are there.

i will check bitrates in a bit (finally went to exchange my dvr for a phase III box) so my firewire stuff isnt setup yet. But I dont know how "ghost whisperer" generally looks. Numbers will probably be the measuring stick for me.

If they have color bars is possible they arent taking away as much as they would be when there is actual video there.

I just wanted to report that I got my Cable card from Cox on Wednesday. I am very impressed with the set up. Picture quality seems better than with the Mot Phase III I had. I used to get some pixeling with the cable box at times. Don't seem to have that problem anymore either. I do miss the Guide and DVR though. I just never really recorded very much. TV at least shows the name of the show but not the details. One nice thing is the TV will only display the channels that are subscribed so don't have to go through the ones that I don't receive. I had read in some of these forums that these cards were not that reliable but so far no problems.

Can you get service from Cox that ONLY has the HD?

Can you get service from Cox that ONLY has the HD?

you can get "basic" cable (channels 2-13) and then pay the $5 "digital gateway" fee. thats still probably 30 bucks total (because you will need a cable card or some "digital box" from cox.)

I have no idea if you can still do the "digital gateway" fee thing to get all of the HD channels though. Its been 6 months or so since Ive tested that.

And I must say kbtx has most definately reduced pq to the main HD channel. Its showing up as ~15 mbit range on cox now (which cox is still getting their feed ota, god i hope they get that fiber line completed). The NFL game earlier and the movie tonight both look pretty bad imo. Lots of macroblocking. Not quite to the level of pbs but its not good.

Are you talking about the NFL game before or after they decided to flip the switch? Thank God the UPN feed isn't HD. No way could they handle flipping two switches.

Quick question for everybody who gets KCEN. Yesterday, a friend of mine who gets the channel OTA called and said he had no sound for the ND game. I checked my OTA feed, and my sound was fine. He only has an analog sound feed (50 inch plasma, but no digital AVR :confused: ). However, the sound on his other OTA channels was fine. Is it possible that KCEN only passes digital sound at times? Any suggestions about what could be wrong with his setup?

I only saw the game in the later stages (although it doesnt suprise me a bit that they didnt flip the switch, i was very suprised they did for "cold case"). Cold Case also looked a bit below their usual awesome picture. CBS just doesnt have that pop anymore. Hopefully that fiber line also fixes thier "inability" to flip the switch (Mike Wright alluded to that but never came out and said it).

I have no idea on KCEN... I dont have a traditional tv so I only use my yamaha receiver. But I dont remember ever having sound problems with KCEN.

So did they flip the switch for Green Bay,Pittsburgh game?

When I called KBTX they told me CBS wasn't sending the signal until 7PM.

yeah it flipped for the 4th quarter atleast (i watched it in HD). If you wouldnt mind tell me exactly what their worker told you as I will send it to mike wright. he does seem to care when kbtx doesnt broadcast HD right. If they told you there was no HD signal until 7 that was a flat out lie and I want to send it to mike.

Jag that was pretty much what I was told word for word.

I think I talked to somebody in the control room.It was option 6.

well very good news on the cox front... i finally decided to try my luck with firewire recording with the phase III box and i can record off any channel again (even hbo etc). So I can actually recommend everybody with older dvr's to go get theirs upgraded. Gonna dump Las Vegas and Titanic off from tonight.

Also the compression has set in for me officially.... CSI:Miami is typically CBS's best looking show but is horrible tonight. Lots of video noise in the picture and blocking galore (granted my display will show more than most of yours) but that fiber line needs to get finished soon. Guess an email to Tom Way will be going out tomorrow to see what the latest is. Hoepfully this reduced quality on CBS has gotten them going on getting that line hooked up.

CBS OTA looked bad (for CBS OTA) last night. I wa really disappointed.

yeah csi miami was my test... it always one of cbs's best shows but last night it didnt look so great.

I haven't watched it yet, so I'm anxious to see how bad it was. If I could get CBS in Houston well, I'd record at the same time to compare.

Maybe I can try some comparisons between KBTX and KWTX out of Wacko.

I got some news about the fiber line from tom way. He says they expect to have the fiber line done by Dec 19 (the date UPN officially goes live). So it should be activated a little before that.

NCIS is disappointing too... :(

You D* guys are gonna crap your pants on this one...

http://www.lannyhayes.com/10.jpg

Methinks I'll be buying one anyway...

The H20s are supposed to be free. It's apart of their upgrade process to MPEG-4.

Already have one of each. :) That is a pretty good deal for a HD-Tivo, outside of the deal D* has been offering existing subs. Might be tempting for someone just getting into HD D*.

labman --
did you get your H20 for free? I was wondering if you were able to use the mail in rebate.

Anyone got a used "working" HD receiver for directv? The old hughes one I swiped from my pops is not working. I finally got an access card from my sister-in-law, and was trying to get it all working. I got the receiver and card activated, but the receiver is a POS and it seems that only the OTA is working.

Willing to pay BOTTOM DOLLAR!!!! I don't want to order one off of ebay and wait. I need instant gratification.

Hey Labmansid...you just got a new H20....got any ol' stuff collecting dust?

labman --
did you get your H20 for free? I was wondering if you were able to use the mail in rebate.
Supposedly the way it works is D* will mail the rebate form to you after you activate the receiver. I haven't heard from them yet, but I did ask about it when I called, and the CSR did say there is a rebate but it may be a while before I get the form. It might be sent with a billing statement.

Supposedly the way it works is D* will mail the rebate form to you after you activate the receiver. I haven't heard from them yet, but I did ask about it when I called, and the CSR did say there is a rebate but it may be a while before I get the form. It might be sent with a billing statement.

I read the rebate only works in the detroit dma.... it was expected once houston goes up you would get yours.

Thanks to Sid for selling me his 'ol hd receiver.

Unfortunately, all O&O stations are denying allowing houston subs to receive the HD feeds. The CSR said that he thinks its because they are all gearing up for the mpeg4 locals.

Oh well, I guess that I will just have to wait until Htown goes live with mpeg4 and get the receiver upgraded. The CSR said that it is possible that htown will go the way of Detroit and offer up a free upgrade to mpeg4. I would then have to get everything installed in her apartment, and then bring it down here and hope I get it reaimed right. Sounds fun!

thats interesting for sure... i still think D* will kill all mpeg2 feeds when they move to mpeg4 (maybe not immidately but pretty soon after)

All is not lost. The OTA tuner in the Zenith is way better than my dish 6000 or the old hughes.

Antenna web lists that the waco locals are actualy closer to me than the houstons. Is the power coming from htown better than waco, or is my best bet waco. The only station in waco I can even get close to a signal with is ABC.

All is not lost. The OTA tuner in the Zenith is way better than my dish 6000 or the old hughes.

Antenna web lists that the waco locals are actualy closer to me than the houstons. Is the power coming from htown better than waco, or is my best bet waco. The only station in waco I can even get close to a signal with is ABC.
I told you it had a great tuner! :p
How easy is it to turn your antenna? Houston stations are generally higher powered than the Wacko ones. A preamp might help, too, if you don't have one already. KCEN NBC out of Wacko is on a VHF frequency, so it is difficult to compare broadcast power with them, since almost every other is on UHF.

i think houston stations are higher power than waco stations... i know i never had much chance with any of them sans kwtx (which i really didnt need).

I know sid gets kcen pretty reliably so Im guessing they upped their power some. I know fox upped their power recently but I dont think it was enough for reliable reception here.

Definitely try Houston if you're on the south end of CS. I never had much luck with Waco, but have had success with Houston. It's spotty, but it's better than nothing.

Anywhere in town to get a CM 4228 in stock? I think I need to ditch the 'ol $19 radio shack antenna in favor of a real one and get a preamp.

I saw a CM 3020 at Lowes today. You can always try mounting that behemoth. ;)

BTW anybody watching CBS tonight? I noticed my cold case recording was non HD again (man i hope mike wright wasnt lying to me about that fiber line fixing the "flip the switch" issues with a direct feed)

Thanks to Sid for selling me his 'ol hd receiver.


This sale makes alot more sense today (with the news of D*'s new rebate policy). ;)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6473801&&#post6473801

Well, looks like something is going to happen to us "movers" soon!
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=127160&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=783972&highlight=

Sid, I think you volunteered yourself for the first "mover" install. :D

/Christmas music mode] All I want for Christmas is an AT9 dish! /Christmas music mode off] :p

Here is an update on KWKT FOX HD and plans to deliver to Bryan via KYLE-DT:

In September we moved our KWKT digital transmission antenna from the West side of our tower in Moody to the SouthEast side of the tower due to shadowing effect on reception in Bryan.

We are broadcasting KWKT-HD 44.1 and KYLE-SD 44.2 from the full power KWKT-DT transmitter at 300KW from that location.

We installed an 8 bay panel antenna at 350 feet on the transmission tower in Bryan and are now using 44.2 (KYLE-SD) as a backup delivery path for our microwave feed from Waco to Bryan.
(Previousely we would rebroadcast KWKT during outages).

We have ordered a KTech digital receiver that will allow us to re-broadcast KWKT-HD on KYLE-DT 28.2 and the equipment needed to increase power on the KYLE-DT transmitter from 1 KW to 4KW. This should be enough to overcome the washout effect of the KYLE Analog transmitter (2 MegaWatts)

One suggestion that may help you pick up KWKT-HD from Moody in the meantime. Some tuners will not pick up weak digital signals when scanning channels. I have had several viewers in Round Rock report that if they manually select channel 57 and then add the channel, it will re-map to 44.1 and 44.2 on their tuner.

Thanks for the info and welcome to the forum.

Please keep us posted on any updates you have. Getting HD in B/CS is a challenge and we'll take any help we can get.

Thanks for the info and welcome to the forum.

Please keep us posted on any updates you have. Getting HD in B/CS is a challenge and we'll take any help we can get.

Thanks for the quick reply. It is in all of our interests to serve the viewers in the best way possible.

I will post updates as I get delivery dates for the equipment we have ordered.

FOX44CE --
thanks for the great news! Glad to hear it!

FOX44CE, What about COX subscribers? I know when I spoke last with Tom Way he said they aready have a signal in place ready to add fox but are waiting on some contractual agreement with your parent company. Would you be able to shed some light on this? Maybe when such an agreement may be completed?

FOX44CE, What about COX subscribers? I know when I spoke last with Tom Way he said they aready have a signal in place ready to add fox but are waiting on some contractual agreement with your parent company. Would you be able to shed some light on this? Maybe when such an agreement may be completed?

Retransmission consent is being negotiated between Cox Cable and my parent company in Lafayette, La.

This is required by FCC rules and I am unaware of any special considerations asked by either side in the agreement.

In other words, I don't know the status.

FOX44CE, What about COX subscribers? I know when I spoke last with Tom Way he said they aready have a signal in place ready to add fox but are waiting on some contractual agreement with your parent company. Would you be able to shed some light on this? Maybe when such an agreement may be completed?

I've noticed that in the past comments have come up about WB programming on KWKT. I though I should clear that up for those of you who might be interested.

KWKT carries all FOX programming available and in addition we air the entire prime time WB lineup in both Standard and High Definition (720p).

WB airs in full immediately at the conclusion of FOX prime time programming.

The WB gives us a special feed of the first two hours of the 5 hour Big Sunday lineup in both Standard and High Definition for air Saturday evening after FOX prime and we air the last 3 hours of Big Sunday after FOX prime Sunday evening.

Thanks for coming on the forum. Is there any even remote chance as a DirecTV guy that I could get you guys to grant me a waiver to receive the national HD picture if I promise that I'll go back to you guys as soon as you give me a signal I can actually get?

We have ordered a KTech digital receiver that will allow us to re-broadcast KWKT-HD on KYLE-DT 28.2 and the equipment needed to increase power on the KYLE-DT transmitter from 1 KW to 4KW. This should be enough to overcome the washout effect of the KYLE Analog transmitter (2 MegaWatts)

Lou(?), any idea on how long it will take to get all of this installed? Before the end of the NFL regular season?

All I want for Christmas is Smallville. :)

Thanks for coming on the forum. Is there any even remote chance as a DirecTV guy that I could get you guys to grant me a waiver to receive the national HD picture if I promise that I'll go back to you guys as soon as you give me a signal I can actually get?

Due to the fact that the satellite home viewer act makes no differentiation between digital and analog signals and there are no provisions for wavers that only apply to digital signals (HD), it is not possible for broadcasaters to allow wavers without giving up their exclusive broadcast rights to network programming.

I wish it wasn't written that way, but it is and we all have to live with it.

My understanding is that DirectTV will be adding High Definition local-into-local service for the top 100 markets sometime in 2006.

(They have contacted us about space availability for their uplink facility)