Waco / Bryan, TX - HDTV [Text View] - Page 20

Gandalf007

11-01-06, 06:35 AM

FOX44CE

11-01-06, 12:52 PM

Thanks for your work FOX44CE; the signal on analog 28 (and cable ch. 7) is much better now. Of course, I'd rather watch the HD feed, but often I'm at a place that doesn't have HD. :( I did notice sometimes a macroblocking and/or "soft focus" in the picture (like too low a digital bitrate, such as how 3-2 looks all the time), but that seems to have improved (maybe when you switched back to the "normal" feed?).

Also, it may have just been coincidence, but frequently during the baseball games (ALCS/NLCS/WS) I'd get bad breakups on the 28-2 HD feed. Luckily 95% of these were during commercial breaks, so it wasn't that bad. I suppose it could be on my end, but I didn't notice it before. Seems fine recently though.

As far as ABC HD, it's run by the people at KXXV (the Waco ABC station and parent of KRHD), so they'd be the ones to contact, since AFAIK the previous problems have been on their end rather than the cable company. I'm not quite sure how the cable company gets the ABC HD signal -- since it has the '40' bug, they're not just picking up 25-1 OTA from Waco, but 40 doesn't broadcast HD locally. Must be a microwave link or some sort of direct wire.

You are correct about the pixilization when KYLE analog is rebroadcasting the digital backup feed (44-0 hidden).

That closed circuit feed is encoded at 3 MBits so as not to infringe on the FOX HD 15 MBit feed on 44-1. (It occurs mainly during FOX HD programming when the splicer grabs all the bandwidth)

(KYLE-DT 28-1 is also operated at 3 MBits to maintain bandwidth for 28-2)

As to the maco-blocking on 28-2 it would be difficult to say because we monitor that stations' downconverted signal with a StreamBox over an internet DSL connection and the quality is only good enough to verify that it is on the air.

The bandwidths on the two feeds (28-1 and 28-2) are identical to what we use on KWKT-DT (44-1 and 44-0) and the 28-2 signal is actually an un-modified pass-through of the OTA KWKT (44-1) digital signal. (Kind of like a translator but not)

We might be encountering some atmosphric conditions receiving the KWKT-DT signal at the KYLE transmitter site intermittently that is causing this.

(We are kind of stretching the rules of physics to accomplish this in the first place)

You are also correct about ABC 40. The station is switched in Waco and fed via digital microwave to the transmitter site NW of Bryan. From there it is fed by closed circuit fiber to the Suddenlink head end.

They cannot broadcast it because they won't have a digital channel allocation until the end of the digital transition. (2009)

Don't feel like a stepchild though. Their switching of HD is just as bad on the Waco station. (KXXV)

KCEN, KWTX, KWBU and KWKT have all automated HD switching but they still have the operator "Flip the switch"

(Apparently they are "asleep at the switch" - a lot)

FOX44CE

11-01-06, 01:00 PM

In case anyone is wondering why we carried the MyNetwork programs Desire and Fashion House in upconverted SD Monday night here is the reason. (That is if anyone actually may be watching Desire and Fashion House)

When the HD receiver was set up (by FOX) it was inadvertently set to broadcast the SAP channel on the main audio channel. (This audio was in english because the programs don't have a spanish language track so we didn't realize that there was a problem)

The SAP channel was dropped after the Saturday night recap show and we were left with no audio on the HD feed Monday night. The receiver was reconfigured yesterday and we returned to HD broadcast last night.

elspankdog

11-01-06, 06:14 PM

Just a heads up that the A&M vs OU game has been choosen for ABC's 7:00pm kickoff. This means that the ESPN/ABC crew will be broadcasting the game from Kyle Field in HD.

Who could we contact to request they make sure the HD switch is flipped after commerical breaks and after the half? I remember from reading this thread that ABC40 somehow carries Waco's HD feed or something like that. Would we contact the ABC40 people? BTW I'm getting ABCHD in B/CS via Suddenlink.

Hopefully, we run our HD winning streak to 2. Sucks that I only get ABC-E on D*. I think they're showing VT/the U. Looks like poor suckers at the tailgate without tickets will have to watch the game in SD...unless I run across an AT9 in the next couple of days.

labmansid

11-01-06, 10:05 PM

Hopefully, we run our HD winning streak to 2. Sucks that I only get ABC-E on D*. I think they're showing VT/the U. Looks like poor suckers at the tailgate without tickets will have to watch the game in SD...unless I run across an AT9 in the next couple of days.
Well, you're not getting another of my dishes!! I am beefing up security on my AT9. :p

jagouar

11-01-06, 11:00 PM

Well, you're not getting another of my dishes!! I am beefing up security on my AT9. :p

like thats necessary.... that thing is too massive for just one person to carry away. ;)

speaking of krhd they do seem to have gotten a little better these past 2 weeks or so... they have a problem every now and again but they have been better which is a good sign for saturday. Hopefully the guy who controls it in austin isnt a sip or were screwed.

Gandalf007

11-01-06, 11:13 PM

ABC coverage maps for this weekend (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8793063#post8793063)

Maybe Saturday afternoon I should try aiming the antenna towards Houston. Getting the OU game in HD instead of snowy SD would be nice, but I'd probably need the weather to cooperate.

joe rz

11-03-06, 03:07 AM

Here's the number from the ABC station in Waco 254-754-2525.Got it off their website. Now I've heard in the past that nobody would answer the phone on the weekends.

Has anybody had any luck calling them to tell them to flip the switch?

billgatesceo

11-03-06, 10:05 PM

I think that ABCHD for suddenlink at least is partly controlled by the local station here. On one occasion, it was screwed up (during the world cup). I called waco and actually talked to one of the engineers. They said that the switch was flipped and it was broadcasting correctly. I then tried to call the local station a couple of time, but got no answer. I finally gave up on talking to someone and left a pretty pissed off message on the recorder. Sure enough, ten minutes later, the feed was in HD....just in time for the whistle to blow and end the game.

Ishman

11-04-06, 08:04 PM

Thank God.. the game is FINALLY in HD.

There is hope for KRHD....

... Well, it was... man, that is irritating.

Flip.. and now it is again.. :)

mwesson

11-06-06, 01:30 PM

So... other than the outcome - how did the game look? (My ABC is through NYC so I did not get an HD feed at the house to record)

I've always wondered how Kyle would look with the dim lighting...

Spectacular game (other than the outcome) in person though.

jagouar

11-06-06, 02:54 PM

It looked awesome... cablecam looked freakin sweet in HD.

and yes the outcome was horrible.

I probably would have ripped it off the dvr but after the loss I really had no motivation to.
http://www.utexasclan.com/hornfans/ag-boos.wmv

you can get a taste there (granted its converted to wmv-hd) and isnt the best thing to be showing but it figures a sip caputred/posted that.

Thank God.. the game is FINALLY in HD.

There is hope for KRHD....

... Well, it was... man, that is irritating.

Flip.. and now it is again.. :)

I wonder if suddenlink got to them... over the past 2 weeks they have actually been pretty good about flipping the switch and other than lost 2 weeks ago with the sound issues I havent noticed a single show they have missed. Granted I dont watch that much abc.

Neomoon

11-09-06, 03:07 AM

Just like everybody else I was disappointed with the outcome however I'm currently dumping the game to my HDD. Once I have the .ts files I'll edit out the commercials and encode to DivX-HD. I'll be headed to Houston Thurs. & Friday for an interview but I'll leave it encoding during this time.

I was fairly pleased with lighting and the way it looked in HD. The atmosphere was electric too bad someone lacked to brass to go for it on 3rd & 2.

jagouar

11-09-06, 01:20 PM

cool.... any chance once you done with that you could run it through windows media encoder for a wmv-hd version?

Also for the D* guys has anybody gotten new equipment lately with them? I was specifically wondering if they are really making you do a 2 yr recommit when you add any new equipment. Looking at getting my dad a hd-dvr and they want a 2 yr recommit (which he isnt going to do) but I was thinking about getting him a used hdtivo (from one of the mpeg4 areas off ebay since waco wont be upgraded for some time) but Ive read even that is a 2 yr commit.

Also fox44.... Wanted to add a bit of praise to you guys. As you know on thuesday was the big election night. And one thing I really despise about the other stations is they constantly cut out of their hd shows to run updates on the screen (it wouldnt be nearly as bad if they atleast did it in HD) but its always been one of my pet peeves about the other stations. Good to see you guys not doing that (but since you dont really have a news room here it wasnt terribly unexpected...... that said if you do make every effort not to cut into the hd feed, some of us are actually watching the shows on tv. ;))

dave99ag

11-09-06, 08:16 PM

I'd be interested in a wmv-hd version as well. Now that I can stream videos from my PC to the 360 I'm looking for whatever wmv-hd content I can find.

Jag, I haven't upgraded yet. Maybe if they add mpeg-4 national channels, but the locals may be up by that point.

jagouar

11-09-06, 10:39 PM

Ive got lots of HD content on my 360 but I converted it all to dvr-ms and play through vista media center.

But dont know if you saw dave they have some previews up (one HD one) from the new video marketplace thing launching on the 22nd. And the HD one looked excellent imo (UFC fighting). That will push the encoder pretty hard (since its fast motion with lots of strobe lights) and I only noticed a few breakups (like I see from nbc and cbs now). But if the rest of the shows are like this the vod service will do very well. They do need more content but they have a pretty good initial run of partners.

There are going to be some issues still (hd capacity, getting content updated on a timely basis... like the day after rule at itunes). But with all of that said I really think this has the potential to be better than itunes (and i dont use the itunes store but it is kind of know as the standard). And offering HD is one of the biggest advantages (I dont see apple doing a hd version of all of their content for a few years atleast).

I do wish they would make a microsoft marketplace though and have media center, xbox 360 and zune all use it. And maybe even open it up to windows vista via wmp11. That would have the potential to take down the itunes store.

dave99ag

11-10-06, 07:15 AM

Yeah, I'll upgrade to Vista once the final is out.

The HD in the Marketplace is intriguing and should be interesting to see how it pans out. I wish they allowed external HDs to store the content though. Looks like you'll have to buy their larger HD when it's released if you want to hold all the content.

jagouar

11-14-06, 01:03 PM

btw dave... found some wmv-hd content for you.

http://www.drfoster.f2s.com/trailers_hd-dvd.shtml

dave99ag

11-14-06, 01:20 PM

Cool, I have to download some of those and see how they look.

I found Fifth Element and it looks great!

jagouar

11-14-06, 02:29 PM

they look good, im getting the 720p version for all of them. times like that im glad I have a 4.0 mbit connection at home. ;)

dave99ag

11-14-06, 02:38 PM

My 3.0 mbit works pretty good as well. Although I can always just download these at work and burn to a DVD. :)

jagouar

11-14-06, 03:43 PM

yeah but its funny now that i have the 4.0 mbit line at home i never do that anymore.... i used to download everything at work (on campus) and burn to cd/dvd. but thats when i have the 768/128 dsl (which was painfully slow).

I still want fios to hurry the hell up and move into town though.

Skarzon

11-16-06, 05:25 PM

Hey all,

Anyone experiencing any ill effects from yesterday's wind storm? I had no signal all day yesterday and now I only have a signal to two of my STB's...

Neomoon

11-17-06, 02:29 AM

If you guys could find me a decent tutorial about encoding in WMV-HD I would be more then happy to produce a wmv version of it.

School has been kicking my butt lately so I haven't been able to even edit out the commercials yet. I just have the raw .ts files.

billgatesceo

11-17-06, 01:19 PM

This is for the guys on campus using the pc based hd tuners.....

What channels are you able to pickup unencrypted via the cable?

Others.....

Were we able to verify if we can just get the HD channels on suddenlink by paying the digital gateway fee and basic cable. All I need is the Hd channels and don't want to pay for the other digital mess (already receive those through satellite).

Cheers!

jagouar

11-17-06, 02:59 PM

i thought they removed suddenlink on campus... and went to that lame 3rd party company. Do they still have suddenlink?

SynthDude2001

11-17-06, 05:55 PM

i thought they removed suddenlink on campus... and went to that lame 3rd party company. Do they still have suddenlink?

They did indeed switch from Cox(/"Suddenlink") to that crappy company no one's ever heard of before. They only have one HD channel (KAMU), which is pretty pointless since that's the one channel you can actually pick up OTA from in the dorms.

I actually sold my tuner a few months back for just that reason. No point in having one anymore until I move somewhere else and can actually use it...

joe rz

11-18-06, 05:36 AM

arnoldevns

11-18-06, 03:27 PM

A little off topic but does anyone know how big an area the NFL network considers local area?They are going to show the Cowboys vs Falcons game in December and Suddenlink doesnt have the NFL network.The NFL said that the if the cable company in the cities of teams dont carry NFL network a local station will carry the game.

This will literally only apply to Atlanta and Dallas. It won't appy to Waco or B/CS.
If you don't have the NFL Network and you can't see the local Dallas station that will carry the game, you will be out of luck.

billgatesceo

11-20-06, 01:14 AM

Okay then....since you guys on campus are SOL for cable....anyone not on campus know what channels are unencrypted QAM receivable?

joe rz

11-22-06, 01:29 AM

This will literally only apply to Atlanta and Dallas. It won't appy to Waco or B/CS.
If you don't have the NFL Network and you can't see the local Dallas station that will carry the game, you will be out of luck.

Wow this really bites! I guess I'll have to go to a sports bar to see this game. :mad:

jagouar

11-24-06, 08:04 PM

so has anybody noticed krhd-hd screwed up the past 4 or 5 weeks? Hopefully they have figured out their issues because they have been pretty reliable. Only thing I noticed was the audio issue about 2 weeks ago but it was fixed pretty quickly.

And it was finally good to shut the arrogant sips up for a year atleast. Looked real good in HD as does shrek 2 this evening.

jagouar

11-28-06, 12:49 PM

hey dave.... did you ever get the hd-dvd addon for your 360? If not cc is running a pretty good deal right now to get it for 159+tax. I got mine and I have to say its excellent.

Also not sure if there would be any interest but I was reading this thread last night and possibly try to get amir (a pretty high up guy at ms) to do a meeting in houston (its not on the schedule now). So when/if the thread is created if anybody is interested post in there. Even if you are a maybe (since driving down to houston is a bit of a stretch and coming back that night). I have a hd-dvd player now but it would be cool to get to see alot of stuff I wont have/know about hd-dvd.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=758130

dave99ag

11-28-06, 02:54 PM

Thanks for the heads up about the deal at CC. I haven't decided if I'll pick one up yet, but this definitely might push me over the ledge. I haven't really seen what the HD-DVD lineup looks like now.

jagouar

11-28-06, 02:57 PM

its pretty good.... not great yet but over 100 movies now.

Ive loaded up my blockbuster account with hd-dvd movies and ordered 3 form buy.com (with the 20 off 50 coupon via google checkout they are running). I will be getting Serenity, Chronicles of Riddick and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. I wanted batman begins instead of sky captain but its on back order there and you can use the coupon on backordered items.

and it comes with king kong which looks awesome even on my semi broken projector.

FYI you have to print out that coupon to get the 40 off and take it there with you. It says you arent allowed to duplicate it but they didnt give me any problems when I used it. I just said it came in my email but the lady did have to enter the code manually as it wouldnt scan.

Neomoon

11-30-06, 11:45 PM

That's awesome, I saw that coupon for the CC HD-DVD add-on. I was thinking about picking one up and running it off my PC. I've seen multiple posts and blog entries where people have gotten HD-DVD content to play on their machines using the Xbox add-on.

I'm not sure if my machine will be up to the challenge but I now my 1080p LCD will.

esturk

12-01-06, 02:40 AM

Okay then....since you guys on campus are SOL for cable....anyone not on campus know what channels are unencrypted QAM receivable?

Hello Bill. I'm off campus and I've been using a MyHd-130 for about a year and a half.

We currently get:
ABC
CBS
NBC
FOX
PBS

I have used a Fusion for a bit and you can receive all of those as well.

dave99ag

12-03-06, 07:14 AM

Picked up the 360 HD-DVD player last night along with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. CC had no problems taking the coupon. I only saw one player on the shelves, but maybe they have more in the back.

We hadn't seen King Kong before and it looked really good. I may have to do an A-B comparison with the regular DVD to see the improvement.

Gandalf007

12-08-06, 04:20 AM

Hey Fox44CE, 28-2 doesn't have program guide info any more (actually, it hasn't for a month or so, I've just neglected to mention it). Also, the time never "fell bacK" an hour with the DST change. Perhaps you could look into it.

Aren't the BCS Bowl Games on FOX this year (and in HD, right)? If they look as good as the Cowboys games, that should be some nice football.

---

Those of you on-campus could probably get KBTX (CBS HD, and the CW in SD) with an antenna -- I can get the full 10 bars with a wire loop antenna salvaged from a 20-year old TV set, so I think it's a reasonable assumption that they're full-power now on RF 50. (Granted, I'm not on-campus, so building interference could play a part).

KAMU (PBS) should come in with rabbit ears easily, of course. KYLE (FOX) might be a bit trickier, being low-power on the digital channel. Having a North-facing window would likely help. If you can get a somewhat clear signal (or any steady picture at all, even a very snowy one) on analog ch. 23 (KMAY-LP, NBC), there's a good chance for KYLE-DT, since both transmitters are roughly the same power and in the same general location (maybe even the same tower? The FCC records give that impression.). KYLE on analog (ch. 28) isn't a good judge of signal since it's about 100 times more powerful. ;)

Sucks that the campus cable doesn't carry the locals in HD over QAM -- I thought FCC "Must Carry" laws required them to carry all local broadcasts, but I guess that only applies to carrying them in some form, not necessarily digital.

We may only get 3 channels in HD, but at least they include most of the NFL games. :)

FOX44CE

12-08-06, 12:03 PM

jagouar

12-11-06, 09:13 PM

anybody notice all of the ppv channels are gone from the suddenlink guide? i wonder if this means they are finally rolling out real on demand stuff.

and i mean the 600 level channels (all the sports ppv)... they still have the 10 or so indemand movie channels up.

jagouar

12-12-06, 07:10 PM

Neomoon

12-12-06, 08:44 PM

btw neomoon what was the name of the application you use to record via firewire? i have it setup on my vista computer again and drivers are installed but for some reason capdvhs doesnt want to work for me on vista. and i thought you said you were using a different program to actually record the stream. dunno if it will work in vista or not but it cant hurt to try.

It is CapDVHS, I haven't been able to get it to work in Vista either (Beta2) dispite the drivers for the Motorola DVR being detected. Hopefully this will get fixed when the retail version of Vista ships. What version of Vista do you have (RC1, RTM)?

joe rz

12-16-06, 11:41 AM

The sign at Suddenlink on 29th says more hd channels soon.I wonder what channels they're going to add.

jagouar

12-16-06, 12:25 PM

It is CapDVHS, I haven't been able to get it to work in Vista either (Beta2) dispite the drivers for the Motorola DVR being detected. Hopefully this will get fixed when the retail version of Vista ships. What version of Vista do you have (RC1, RTM)?

Ive got the real final versions... got a free copy of ultimate for being in the beta program and submitting atleast one bug.

The sign at Suddenlink on 29th says more hd channels soon.I wonder what channels they're going to add.

Im hoping for fsn-hd and espn2 (especially with basketball season looming).... and after that maybe mhd, food, etc.

Mick61

12-19-06, 07:54 PM

I have a son-in-law and a brother-in-law living in College Station. One has HD TV, the other is getting one for Christmas...and I'm wondering what kind of reception you guys are getting in HD OTA????

I live in Texarkana, AR...local stations out of Shreveport, LA...about 60 miles away. Got a Channel Master 4228 with CM 7775 pre-amp, pulling the Shreveport stations in HD with no problems. Just wondering what I should suggest to them in the College Station area. From antennaweb.org it looked like they will need a rotator to get all the channels...as they're at all different locations. At least all my locals from Shreveport are basically in the same area...170-176 degrees from here.

Antennaweb even showed the Houston stations...about 80 miles away. Anybody in Bryan/College Station able to pull in the Houston stations???

KruZer2k

12-20-06, 04:04 PM

Neomoon

12-21-06, 04:36 AM

The sign at Suddenlink on 29th says more hd channels soon.I wonder what channels they're going to add.

Don't even play with me, you know false accusations about additional HD channels are considered a sin right? Did it by any chance say when we could expect the additional channels?

Ive got the real final versions... got a free copy of ultimate for being in the beta program and submitting at least one bug.

I'll see if I can get it to work with my updated version of Vista and get back to you

jagouar

12-21-06, 09:15 AM

He said the 29th ;)

That said I hope its not "just one" channel being added. Suddenlink is quite a few channels down these days to the other guys of the world.

Off the top of my head: (ranked in the order i want to see them added)
ESPN2
FSN
National Geographic
Food
MHD
A&E
HGTV

and a few others im sure im forgetting.

jagouar

12-21-06, 07:15 PM

KruZer2k

12-21-06, 08:49 PM

jagouar

12-21-06, 09:21 PM

haha guess i didnt read his post closely enough... all i saw was more hd and 29th :)

that said its not like theres more than one suddenlink office in b/cs. thats actually good because maybe we will see the channels earlier (i did think adding new stuff on the 29th would be bad timing with the holidays.)

Ishman

12-21-06, 09:27 PM

well looks like they are getting things ready.... lost starzHD today (since we were getting it for free its not unexpected) but it was a good channel.

They better add some new ones soon to replace it though ;)

this also means there is no reason to keep digital cable (i never dropped it because i didnt lose starz and thought i might if i did drop digital cable) so is anybody still on the digital gateway thing? I was going to call tomorrow and drop my account back to that and it would be nice to know if its still offered.

Yeah, I saw they dropped starz today too.. :(

We're about to see a small hike in our bill (I think $3/mo more) for basic service. I'm hoping for something soon. I was considering going the CableCARD route, but they charge $7 a month just for the card itself, which is ridiculous (Cox was $2.99/mo).

Marc

jagouar

12-21-06, 09:32 PM

didnt know that... i was planning on getting a cablecard vista computer but thats more or less confirmed to suck now (with all the lame restrictions cablelabs puts on the devices) and i was planning on getting 4 cablecards for my server so that would have been 28 bucks.

But there is a very interesting new device which doesnt natively support media center yet but its called HDHomeRun and they have it working with a few dvr apps and are saying they are working on vista mce support. They run ~170 per box but each one is a dual tuner so I would need 2 of those but wouldnt have a monthly charge. So I might be going that route. Anybody still do qam tuning? Just wondering which channels they have qam (ie: espn, hdnet,m hdnetm, disc, uni). I know the locals are unenctypted but wasnt sure on the others.

Neomoon

12-21-06, 11:37 PM

jagouar..... I tried capturing HD from my DVR last night after my Vista upgrade and was able to get it to work.

I used the same drivers I did with XP and they can be found here (http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/motorola6412_firewire.zip). The guide should you run into any problems can be found here (http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/) let me know if you run into any problems.

Gandalf007

12-24-06, 09:21 PM

TV guide is back on 28-2 and the time is correct now. Excellent. :)

FOX44CE

12-26-06, 01:30 PM

TV guide is back on 28-2 and the time is correct now. Excellent. :)

We tracked that problem down to a software change that was made by our listing service. (Decisionmark). When they change formats our Guide Builder drops the link.

I've asked them for advance notification in the future because we are so far from the Guide Builder computer and checking it out with pcAnywhere over the net is slow and cumbersome.

I'll make a note that we go out and check the settings on each bi-weekly trip down to Bryan and maybe we can keep on top of it better.

jagouar

12-27-06, 12:05 PM

Neomoon

12-28-06, 01:35 AM

hey neomoon we ever going to do that trade for the texas game? If you can get me the divx version I was finally able to convert it to wmvhd? Turned your first quarter 1.2 gig file into a 900 meg wmvhd file that looks just as good.

Sure but I'm afraid it's gonna have to wait until school starts. I'm currently in Houston and don't plan on being back in CS until school gets started again. Let me know if you want the uncompressed .ts files of the game or the .avi files I released on the internet. Also I would love to know what resources you used for reference when converting to wmv-hd.

Hope you have a happy & a healthy new years. I'm still hoping I'll be able to catch the game in HD somewhere, I left my TV in CS and nobody I know here in Houston has made the jump to HD yet.

Ishman

12-28-06, 06:14 PM

Hey Jagourar,

I scored a 360 for xmas, have you seen/used this?

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/detailsharmony/US/EN,CRID=2084,CONTENTID=11250

Marc

Gandalf007

12-31-06, 01:46 AM

We tracked that problem down to a software change that was made by our listing service. (Decisionmark). When they change formats our Guide Builder drops the link.

Unfortunately, the guide is gone again, for both 28-2 and 28-2.

Worse, sometime Saturday night 28-2 disappeared. 28-1 is still there as normal, but 28-2 has nothing at all. Signal strength is the same as usual, about 8-9/10.

Hopefully this means somebody's working on it rather than something breaking unexpectedly.

jagouar

12-31-06, 02:41 PM

Hey Jagourar,

I scored a 360 for xmas, have you seen/used this?

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/detailsharmony/US/EN,CRID=2084,CONTENTID=11250

Marc

Yeah but I like my 880 better.

AdSCFT

01-02-07, 01:07 PM

I was able to get quite a lot of digital channels (including a couple of HD's) with my full basic package. However, they are gone recently.

Do you guys have the same situation?

Thanks.

jagouar

01-03-07, 07:29 PM

FYI.... I got a tenative list of channels.

They launch on 1/16/07 and I must say we will all be impressed (provided the list turns out to be true. :)) Not all of them on my list above but pretty close. Around 5 new channels is the number we will see on the 16th.

I was able to get quite a lot of digital channels (including a couple of HD's) with my full basic package. However, they are gone recently.

Do you guys have the same situation?

Thanks.

What were you using to tune the channels? QAM? I know we all had starz cut off recently (which we were getting for free) I think in preperation for the new HD channels we will be getting on the 16th. I know cox/suddenlink used to offer a "digital gateway" package which would allow you to get all the HD channels with a basic analog package so that might be something to look at (it cost $5 bucks + the cost of a digital tuner box)

Gandalf007

01-03-07, 09:40 PM

jagouar

01-03-07, 10:35 PM

i was just at my dads and noticed 28-2 was down.... it has been fine all night on suddenlink but they dont get the 28-2 feed so thats most likely why.

AdSCFT

01-04-07, 02:14 PM

What I used was the HD tuner built-in to my Westy 32w6 HDTV. I believe it's QAM. I had the HD package and cancelled it like two weeks ago, and I could still get some HD channels (PBS, NBC, FOX, CBS) via the built-in tuner until three day ago when I lost all HD channels.

What were you using to tune the channels? QAM? I know we all had starz cut off recently (which we were getting for free) I think in preperation for the new HD channels we will be getting on the 16th. I know cox/suddenlink used to offer a "digital gateway" package which would allow you to get all the HD channels with a basic analog package so that might be something to look at (it cost $5 bucks + the cost of a digital tuner box)

AdSCFT

01-04-07, 02:22 PM

Which channels will be added on 16th? Then we'll get like 10 HD's with the HD package?

If that's true, I'll probably get the HD package back.

FYI.... I got a tenative list of channels.
They launch on 1/16/07 and I must say we will all be impressed (provided the list turns out to be true. :)) Not all of them on my list above but pretty close. Around 5 new channels is the number we will see on the 16th.

jagouar

01-04-07, 03:00 PM

if the number of 5 is correct then we will have

pbs (if you want to count that one)
cbs
nbc
fox
abc
espn
universalHD
discoveryHD
hdnet
hdnet movies

and the the 5 new ones for a total of 15 channels. (they aready have 10 well more if you count the 3 movie networks but i dont count those personally)

AdSCFT

01-04-07, 04:51 PM

What I wanted to know were the 5 new channels. There's no information about this (adding new channels) on suddenlink or cox websites.

if the number of 5 is correct then we will have

pbs (if you want to count that one)
cbs
nbc
fox
abc
espn
universalHD
discoveryHD
hdnet
hdnet movies

and the the 5 new ones for a total of 15 channels. (they aready have 10 well more if you count the 3 movie networks but i dont count those personally)

jagouar

01-04-07, 05:37 PM

see my pm...

Neomoon

01-04-07, 08:24 PM

see my pm...

Might I be able to get this sent my way as well, I am not sure if I missed this but any new channels will be more then welcome.

Vade

01-05-07, 11:15 PM

May I get a copy of that list as well? Thanks.

jagouar

01-05-07, 11:29 PM

Ill just post it here since it was already posted on texags by the guy who sent it to me

This list might change but its what Ive heard
A&E HD
National Geographic
TNT-HD
ESPN2HD (this one might not make it in time as the contract is still or was still being worked on)
and one unnamed channel.

KruZer2k

01-06-07, 12:31 AM

DemonKittyCat

01-06-07, 02:00 AM

Damn, 28-2 is down again! No HD Sugar Bowl for me. :( At least I got to see the Fiesta Bowl in HD, that was a sweet game.

I'm pretty sure it's not a reception problem on my end, since 28-1 is still there, with great signal strength.

Please tell me I'm not the only one seeing this...

28-2 is still down for me. Happy I got to see Boise St. win in HD.
And I was finally smiling because for the first time ever I thought I could get
all the NFL playoffs and the major bowls in HD.

Was a great signal - I am in Shirewood (NW of Villa Maria and 2818) and
was getting 28-2 using a Silver Sensor pointed SE on the South side
of my house (and at the bottom of the hill).

Gandalf007

01-06-07, 03:06 AM

NickC19

01-06-07, 01:08 PM

Can someone shed some light on this for me...

We just got a new tv last night (Philips 32PF7421D/37). There's no cable box or anything connected to this tv but the built in tuner is picking up some OTA channels. Off hand I remember 2 of them being 94.4 and 94.5, and one was the Military Channel also. Problem is, there's HD picture but no sound on any of these channels. I dont have an antenna either, but if the signal is good enough to get picture, I would think audio should be there too.

Is this fixable, or can somebody explain why this is the case?

Gandalf007

01-09-07, 10:48 PM

So you have the cable hooked up to the TV, but no antenna, right? Are you on SuddenLink or on-campus (different cable company)? I don't have cable now but I think on SuddenLink the only HD channels viewable without a cable box were the "big four" networks + PBS. Somebody mentioned RF channel numbers (the real numbers, not 702, etc.) way back in this thread; I think they were around 65 or 66 and 81.

I don't know why you saw picture but no sound, but it's possible you saw some pay-per-view channels that weren't fully encrypted. Or it could be a problem with the cable company.

FYI, digital channels on cable use QAM, which is different than the ATSC encoding used for OTA ("over the air") digital TV, and usually you have to set an air/cable setting in your TV (or tuner box) to the appropriate mode.

Also, channels can set their display number to anything they want, although this is less common with QAM tuners than OTA. (I'm not counting the 702 or whatever arbitrary digital numbers a cable box would show.)

laserguns

01-10-07, 01:23 PM

dave99ag

01-10-07, 01:27 PM

ESPN2 is nice for the college football and basketball games. I'm not super impressed with TNT, but it is nice during the NBA playoffs. I'm curious about NatGeo. It's a simulcast, so hopefully they a good amount of HD content.

FX and SciFi aren't even channels yet, but eventually those will go live. Looks like a lot of new channels are hoping to launch in 2007.

FOX44CE

01-11-07, 12:30 PM

I feel your pain. I'm pretty sure it's a problem in the link between Waco and Bryan, rather than your antenna, since I'm still getting 28-1 perfectly (at 80-90% signal strength). Of course, if they'd make 28-1 HD instead of only SD and feeding the Waco HD channel, we wouldn't have this problem. :) Still, that's better than NBC and ABC, with no HD OTA here.

I called up KYLE today (well, yesterday by now), they referred me to Waco, and I talked to an engineer there, who said he'd try to fix it tonight. I mentioned I'd appreciate it if they fixed it before the playoff games Sunday and he said he didn't think that would be a problem. We shall see...

Sorry about the outage guys. We were not aware of it because Verizon upgraded out internet connection and the new modem got lost in shipping to our Waco office.

As a result we lost internet service last week and were unable to monitor the 28.2 channel went it went down.

I was out of town in Baton Rouge working at our stations there and my assistant fixed it as soon as possible after you called.

FOX44CE

01-11-07, 12:35 PM

Sorry about the outage guys. We were not aware of it because Verizon upgraded out internet connection and the new modem got lost in shipping to our Waco office.

As a result we lost internet service last week and were unable to monitor the 28.2 channel went it went down.

I was out of town in Baton Rouge working at our stations there and my assistant fixed it as soon as possible after you called.

It would have been nice though to have someone post that it was back up.

An attaboy now and then never hurts.

By the way, we are in negotiations with several other FOX affiliates like us that were not supplied HD equipment for their satellite stations and FOX Network to see if we can resolve that issue.

Even if we do get the equipment to broadcast HD on 28.1 though, we still cannot increase power from 5 KW until the end of the digital transition because of the interference issue with the Beaumont FOX station.

We do what we can as soon as we can..........................

FOX44CE

01-11-07, 03:14 PM

By the way, we are in negotiations with several other FOX affiliates like us that were not supplied HD equipment for their satellite stations and FOX Network to see if we can resolve that issue.

Even if we do get the equipment to broadcast HD on 28.1 though, we still cannot increase power from 5 KW until the end of the digital transition because of the interference issue with the Beaumont FOX station.

We do what we can do as soon as we can..........................

I talked to my assistant today and he told me that the KWKT-HD transmitter went off the air in Moody due to weather and when he got it back on the air the HD receiver in Bryan did not recover.

That's why the 28.2 signal went out until he could get down there and reset it.

I am told by Verizon that our modem will be here Monday and we will be going down to Bryan to set that up. While I'm there I will see if I can set up a method to reboot the HD receiver remotely so this doesn't happen again.

billgatesceo

01-11-07, 09:51 PM

Anyone wanna blow up our local ABC with me? I am sick and tired of their chitty service.

They seem to have gotten their act a little more together, but it still sucks. When they do happen to remember to flip the switch, audio is out of sync. If they forget to flip the switch and the program is in HD the audio is way way out of sync.

Tonight, we had Desperate Housewives (not my show) set to record. We let it get ahead so we could skip through the commercials. When we went to start it, the video came up, but there was no audio at all. I flipped to "live" and there still was not audio. I switched tuners to my CSI and the audio was fine. I then stopped the recording and switched back to 720 only to find a black screen...no picture or sound. Now I have to listen to the ol' lady bitch about missing 30 minutes of the show.

ABC ought to pay me for an additional box so that I can do a parallel recording on the SD channel for when their crap doesn't work.

Cheers! Anyone got any spare C4?

jagouar

01-11-07, 10:57 PM

so these are going to hit on the 16th?

Hmmmm it would be nice to get something like
FX-HD or SciFi-HD in addition...

thats the date i got.... and as stated above fx and scifi dont exist yet. after this upgrade suddenlink (provided we get all of the channels listed) we will have nearly every channel out there on cable (missing hgtv, mtv-hd and fsn-hd off the top of my head). I would expect when scifi launches they will wait till around this time next year and launch them at that time (with a 5+ channel upgrade and get all the "good" channels that actually end up launching this year)

KruZer2k

01-12-07, 08:41 PM

thats the date i got.... and as stated above fx and scifi dont exist yet. after this upgrade suddenlink (provided we get all of the channels listed) we will have nearly every channel out there on cable (missing hgtv, mtv-hd and fsn-hd off the top of my head). I would expect when scifi launches they will wait till around this time next year and launch them at that time (with a 5+ channel upgrade and get all the "good" channels that actually end up launching this year)
Hopefully this so called "Winter weather" coming this weekend into early next week doesn't delay the launch of the new HD channels. I am READY for some new HD content.

jagouar

01-12-07, 09:32 PM

KruZer2k

01-13-07, 06:29 PM

the winter weather has already passed through vegas (i come back tomorrow).... i like the cold :)

kinda funny because the only reason i get on avsforum was to see what stuff i missed at the show (ces) and since i was on might as well see if we got the new channels early.... doubt we would get them but it would be just as possible as getting them a few days late.
The new channels are not up as of today (Sat). Far as the winter weather, they just changed the forecast for the Brazos Valley area. Monday night and Tuesday night we are forecasted for a wintery mix. Put on those extra layers of clothing, and get some extra logs for the fireplace, bacause it is gonna get cold.

jagouar

01-14-07, 04:17 AM

just got back about an hour ago (and im still on vegas time so the reason for my late post) so im still wired and finally am trying to catch up on emails and whatnot. man it sucks not having email for a whole week.... have over 200 messages to wade through.

karrde45

01-14-07, 06:41 PM

I've got a quick question on OTA reception. I live in south college station (roughly rock prairie and wellborn). I can get KBTX on 3-1 and KAMU on 12-1 easily, using a pretty cheap VHF/UHF RCA antenna. I can't get anything at all of KYLE on 28-1 or the ABC on 40. I was wondering if its a problem with the UHF part of my antenna, or if it's just a matter of me being too far away in general. I've used antennaweb and pointed everything in the right direction, but still no reception on those channels. Has anyone in this area been able to pick up those channels, or am I just going to have to bite the bullet and get an HD package from suddenlink?

jagouar

01-14-07, 08:13 PM

kyle should be attainable for you but dont count on nbc or abc40 ota for quite some time.

If you want all locals (and abc when they dont screw up) your best bet will be cable.... and will hold up the best in weather. I did the ota thing a few years back and it doesnt compare to the ease of use with cable imo.

You can always get cable for a month to compare and if you dont like it take the equipment back since theres no contract with cable.

jagouar

01-15-07, 04:09 PM

FYI I have an official list.... media center guide spilled the beans early and i have the new channels in there along with channel numbers (even though i cant tune them since its mce). If the mce guide is right they are moving all the channels around.

Current lineup
700 KAMU
705 KWKT
710 KBTX
720 KRHD
730 KCEN
732 ESPN
734 DHD
735 UHD
736 HDnet
738 HDnet Movies
hbo
sho
starz

New lineup
700 KAMU
705 KWKT
710 KBTX
720 KRHD
730 KCEN
740 TNT-HD
765 ESPN
767 DHD
768 NGCHD (national geographic)
769 UHD
771 hdnet
772 hdnet movies
775 hgtv-hd
776 food network hd
778 a&e hd
785 hbo
790 sho
795 starz

My guess is the current channel numbers will be replaced and the second listings will be the new numbers (ie they havent parsed out of the mce guide yet). I dont see espn2 in the gudie though (which sucks if they dont get it done soon). It has TNT listed in the channel list but it doesnt have a number (its listed with the old channels between 740 and 742 so you could assume it would be 741 but thats likely not the real channel number)

Vade

01-15-07, 04:22 PM

I'm disappointed. I'll watch Food Network...maybe the National Geographic channel...but I want my FSN-HD, CW-HD, and ESPN2-HD. :(

jagouar

01-15-07, 04:25 PM

i am too but only because of espn2 (if its not on the official list). fsn isnt terribly useful yet as a whole. cw isnt suddenlinks fault as kbtx will be the ones that have to upgrade.

KruZer2k

01-15-07, 08:03 PM

FYI I have an official list.... media center guide spilled the beans early and i have the new channels in there along with channel numbers (even though i cant tune them since its mce). If the mce guide is right they are moving all the channels around.

Current lineup
700 KAMU
705 KWKT
710 KBTX
720 KRHD
730 KCEN
732 ESPN
734 DHD
735 UHD
736 HDnet
738 HDnet Movies
hbo
sho
starz

New lineup
700 KAMU
705 KWKT
710 KBTX
720 KRHD
730 KCEN
764 DHD
765 ESPN
768 NGCHD (national geographic)
769 UHD
771 hdnet
772 hdnet movies
775 hgtv-hd
776 food network hd
778 a&e hd
785 hbo
790 sho
795 starz

My guess is the current channel numbers will be replaced and the second listings will be the new numbers (ie they havent parsed out of the mce guide yet). I dont see espn2 in the gudie though (which sucks if they dont get it done soon). It has TNT listed in the channel list but it doesnt have a number (its listed with the old channels between 740 and 742 so you could assume it would be 741 but thats likely not the real channel number)
Thank you for the new information. Hopefully we see the changes soon. I'm excited!!!

ccoop44

01-15-07, 08:21 PM

Thanks for the great info. I am sad we STILL aren't getting ESPN2HD though. Hopefully these channels will launch tomorrow as it make my day off for the ice that much better!

jagouar

01-15-07, 08:33 PM

yeah the initial day is supposed to launch tomorrow.... we will see. kinda funny how one channel can make the list go from meh to kickass. And the texags guy who lives next to tom way (head guy at suddenlink) said contract talks are ongoing with espn2 (since it was on the initial list) so hopefully we will still see the channel soon.

related to media center.... they just launched their sports section.... and i must say its awesome. i really like how it scans your guide for sporting events but gives you the realtime score.

here is a mini review and screencaps of the service... http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/01/14/vista-media-centers-sportslounge/

laserguns

01-16-07, 04:11 AM

wow, i just re-realized tonight how much i despise channel 720 (KRHD (ABC))

the audio is consistently out of sync.

Vade

01-16-07, 02:45 PM

Yeah, the audio problem sucks. Last Thursday the channel just didn't want to work at all.

So far no new channels yet as of 1:45 PM

KruZer2k

01-16-07, 03:01 PM

AS of today (Tues) no new HD channels. I looked on Suddenlink's information/PPV channel, and they are announcing the new HD channels for tommorow. They also include the list of channels plus their assigned channel numbers. The list looks the same as what Jagouar posted.

Neomoon

01-16-07, 05:15 PM

Sure wish the new channels would be out today, being stuck inside the house really blows. I've had the car running for the past 20 min trying to get all the ice off so I can drive down the street to HEB, we have no food or drinks since we barely got in town yesterday.

jagouar

01-16-07, 06:25 PM

same here... no channels yet.

and actually i saw the info channel they run and it says the 17th is the launch day... so it looks like one more day. And it has tnt on channel 740 so i finally have a number for that.

KruZer2k

01-17-07, 10:25 AM

The new HD channels on Suddenlink are available. They just popped up on my tuner.

Vade

01-17-07, 11:26 AM

TNT not working for me. Says I have to order it? WTF?

FOX44CE

01-17-07, 12:23 PM

wow, i just re-realized tonight how much i despise channel 720 (KRHD (ABC))

the audio is consistently out of sync.

You could live in Waco. KXXV-HD has been off the air since the biginning of Desperate Housewives Sunday night.

By the way...We are experiencing KWKT-HD reception problems in Bryan because of antenna icing. It's been on and off all day yesterday and today. Sorry about that.

Ishman

01-17-07, 01:47 PM

Yeah, everything is coming up for me now (I power cycled the box).

Looking good! (WHERE IS ESPN2 DAMNIT!)

jagouar

01-17-07, 03:59 PM

ive got all the channels (including tnt). anybody done any bitrate readings? just wondering if they had to downconvert any of the existing channels to add these, The new ones look good but there isnt much on right now to stress the bitrate. One thing I did notice is they havent added any channel logos for the new channels yet. and A&E doesnt have any guide info yet so i cant directly select that channel (i have to do the "view channel now" option when i select it.... bot a huge deal but a bit of a pita). And MCE already has the guide info so its most likely a suddenlink issue.

and yeah no espn2 sucks.... i did send an email to the guy who knows tom way about espn2 and why it didnt make the new lineup. We will see if we get any info (hopefully its still coming soon just couldnt finish the contract)

And fox has been fine on suddenlink (but we arent getting the local feed). Is the weather actually worse here? You would think waco would have worse weather to ice the antenna.

Vade

01-17-07, 04:20 PM

I don't know what's going on. I guess I'll call Suddenlink and see what's going on.

Vade

01-17-07, 04:48 PM

Ok, it's working now. The tech sent a signal to my system that turned off my box..which I did manually before calling.

jagouar

01-17-07, 08:29 PM

Neomoon

01-17-07, 08:55 PM

Channels are up and I've been enjoying Food-HD all day (alot of repeats) one thing I've noticed since I have been on Suddenlink is that Max-HD does not seem to be available in our area. I have the movie tier package so I get all the SD movie channels and the two HD channels (HBO & SHO) however I get all the CineMax regular channels but no CineMax-HD any reason why?

laserguns

01-17-07, 10:51 PM

guess i spoke too soon about fox in waco.... their feed seems to be down (transmitter probably iced over as well) on suddenlink (black screen only). good thing its only american idol and not something important.

my fox is down as well, but my DHD is down as well, as well as A&EHD....however, my "Discovery" channel, Channel 767, is working. I am using a Tivo series 3 with 2 cable cards.

jagouar

01-17-07, 10:55 PM

well the only channel here thats offline was foxhd.... the others have all been fine for me all night.

aggie2009

01-18-07, 05:34 AM

Gandalf007

01-18-07, 05:38 AM

jagouar

01-18-07, 09:37 AM

I need some advice here. I'm with D* now but tired of no HD locals and am ready for an HD DVR. What are my options, it doesn't sound like OTA is feasible for ABC/NBC as I'm not willing to install a tower? Are there any waivers available? I'm about to just pay the termination fee and head over to Suddenlink, but I like D* otherwise. What is the ETF? The D* rep couldn't tell me when I called because their computers were down. For you guys who already have Suddenlink, what is Basic+Digital+HD+2 HD DVRs & the 4/512 HSI I already have going to cost me a month? The new suddenlink website sucks and doesn't give any information.

I have almost the exact setup you will (if you went with suddenlink) and the bill is ~130 after taxes and such (its a bit more if i remember right but i dont have a bill here infront of me but i want to say 132 off hand)

I think you can get ahd-dvr from directv but I didnt think they allowed you more than one hd-dvr yet. you are correct about the tower as thats the only way to even get nbc/abc and even then its not going to be a reliable signal (well not necessarily a tower but you need the antenna a good 35 ft in the air which im sure you have already discovered). KRHD isnt reliable either but the signal to cox is (they just keep screwing up the auido in their feed or forget to switch to HD). You can get as many hd-dvr's as you want with suddenlink and they run ~15 per box but thats to rent it and pay the dvr service (with directv if they still have the same policies you pay 199 or 299 for the cost of the box (however much it was) and then a rental fee/dvr service fee.)

And I agree the suddenlink website blows.... hopefully they hurry up and improve it.

Flyer@Tamu

01-18-07, 11:56 AM

I currently have Suddenlink with HD and their standard 2 digital tiers. I use cable card in my TV and I own my own DVR (Sony DHG HDD 500) ($1.99 or $2.99 a month) and my cox bill is $69 a month. I do not have internet service through them and no pay channels.

I got sick of being Fee'd to death with all the programming and DVR fees. I payed $500 for my DVR (new from ebay), I would pay it off in less than 2 years of fees from cox. I get a program guide via TVGOS with my DVR for FREE! Lots of newer TV's make use of TVGOS as well.

laserguns

01-18-07, 12:04 PM

ell apparently when they rehit all the cable boxes and cable cards, only one of mine was hit....I'm using two cc's in a tivo series 3. soooooo....
while one of my cable cards gets the new hd channels, the other doesn't.

tech dude is acoming...

jagouar

01-18-07, 12:21 PM

they couldnt rehit them remotely? you would think you could call them and tell them to rehit all the boxes on your account (which would get cablecards i would think)

AdSCFT

01-18-07, 01:46 PM

you mean tuner built-in in you tv or the suddenlink box? thanks.

The new HD channels on Suddenlink are available. They just popped up on my tuner.

Flyer@Tamu

01-18-07, 02:36 PM

Thats interesting, I just had my wife call in because she wasnt getting the HD food network, the only additional that is working is TNT and they told her that a cable card user can't get digital HD from suddenlink. I told my wife not to say anything lest those retards shut it off to prove their point. I guess we will just wait a bit longer. I tell you what, you sure can't get good help these days!

Cause for a laugh I guess :p :

Ishman

01-18-07, 02:46 PM

they couldnt rehit them remotely? you would think you could call them and tell them to rehit all the boxes on your account (which would get cablecards i would think)

Suddenlink is quite adamant about requiring a tech for all CC installations and maintenance, which is why I decided not to go with it. (Not to mention they are charging nearly $5 more than Cox was to "rent" the CC).

To further rant on the subject. I've heard nothing but problems for people with CCs. They lose their channels for no reason and consistently. Anytime they change their service, it gets screwed up, etc.

Flyer@Tamu

01-18-07, 03:13 PM

Hrm, I will have to check my bill on the CC Rental fee. I hadn't seen anything but a $4 increase and it was attributed to some fee or other last month.

As far as CC I have had Zero problems using it. We didnt get all the free trial pay channels the day it was installed on the DVR but we did on the TV so I called, they poked it over the wire and it worked. My TV changes channels instantly but my DVR takes a tad longer when I go from SD to HD or HD to SD channels. Otherwise it has been effortless to use. I say that knocking on wood ;)

Ishman

01-18-07, 03:16 PM

Interesting. If you get a moment, can you look at your bill and let me know what they are charging you for the CC fee? They quoted me $7 a pop about a month ago.

Flyer@Tamu

01-18-07, 04:05 PM

Sorry, it took a while to figure it out online.

My statement shows 2 cablecards at 3.98.

No offense to anyone from local cox office reading, but the over the phone help in the call center is about as dumb as a box of rocks. Most of them don't seem to understand what a cable card is. I have called before because we had signal problems on analog channels and every single time I spoke to someone they were going to adjust the cable box, even though I told them it was a cable card. Even when I said... "but its a cable card I dont think you can do what your trying" I got.. just a minute while I try it please.

Perhaps whoever quoted you was thinking box, not card.

Interestingly I note a $3.17 "franchise fee" WTF... does that mean that because they are now suddenlink we have to pay for a franchise fee?

aggie2009

01-18-07, 04:10 PM

I just went in to see how much it would be if I switched and they were virtually no help but handed me a garbled price list. Trying to figure out how to get out of my D* contract now, they couldn't tell me how much the ETF was despite 2 phone calls. Ugh...I just want some local HD channels! They did file waivers for me but I'm sure that at least CBS/FOX will be denied, I'm praying that ABC/NBC go through, any luck with anyone else on these?

Flyer@Tamu

01-18-07, 04:26 PM

Aggie 2009:

I got out of my Dish contract 4 months early to get HD and locals and it cost me about $70 or about the amount I was saving by dumping dish and going with my $65( 70 now) a month for service during that 4 months.

Its all in your contract if you still have it. Be warned, they will promise you the F'ing moon when you try to cancel and they lie through the teeth when they are doing it! I could tell you a horror story and and a half.

As for Suddenlink/Cox the Fees they will fail to mention up front are aditional fees per DVR, programming fees etc.. they really only talk about the cost of renting a DVR not what comes after that.

Their web site sucks and their call center sucks, their techs hopefully don't suck.

aggie2009

01-18-07, 05:07 PM

I've called D* 3 times now and gotten 3 different answers from the reps, one said $150, one said $200, and one said $260. One way of looking at it though is that their HD DVR upgrade costs me $300 vs. nothing upfront w/ Suddenlink for 2 of them.

Maybe someone who understands Suddenlink's billing can correct me here if I'm wrong but this is what I'm looking at with them for Internet, Expanded Basic, and 2 HD DVR's:

Full Basic Cable - $44.99
DVR Service - $4.95 x 2
Digital Cable - $8
HD Services $7.95
HD/DVR Rental - $9.95 x 2
Preferred Internet - $39.95
=130.84 + tax / month

Did I leave anything out? That's within dollars of what I pay for D* + internet with Suddenlink now.

jagouar

01-18-07, 06:02 PM

thats about right but one crappy thing about their dvr's is you have to pay a digital cable fee on both receivers so it would be $8x2. (atleast cox was like that)

I dont know if they still have it but i was thinking about trying to get the digital gateway again.... cox used to have it and it was a way to get the HD channels w/o having to pay for digital cable (because pretty much all of the digital cable channels suck.... everything i want to watch is in the basic expanded). So you could pay 5 bucks a box to get just the HD channels + extended basic (and it would save you a few bucks). But I dont know if suddenlink still offers this.

Ishman

01-18-07, 06:52 PM

For those that are interested, here is my communication with SuddenLink support on the CableCard questions:

------------------------------------------------

Original Message Follows:
------------------------
Thank you for your quick response!

Before adding the option to my account, I have a few additional
questions:

1. What cost(s) are incurred from adding a CableCARD to my account?
2. Do I just stop by the local SuddenLink office to pick up the card?

Marc

-------------------------------------------------

Dear Valued Suddenlink Customer:

Thank you for your inquiry. Suddenlink is committed to providing the
best customer service possible.

The cost for the CableCARD is about $7.00 per month. This includes the
option for digital channels as well as the basic channels. The
CableCARD does not include the On-Screen programming or the PPV
channels. Those last two options are only available with our digital
box. Also we have to send a technician out to your house to actually
install the CableCARD. The cost for the installation is $20.00.

We hope that we have been able to provide you with the information you
requested. If we have not, or if we can be of any additional service to
you, please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Did you know that you can speak with a live agent without picking up the
phone? It's Easy! Simply Click on the link below and let us assist you
with your general or account specific questions. We are available 24
hours a day, 7 days a week for your convenience. www.suddenlink.com

Thank you for using Suddenlink Communications, Life Connected

Suddenlink Communications Online Customer Care Team

Ishman

01-18-07, 06:54 PM

And my reply:

Thank you for the continued response.

The $7.00 a month charge seems a bit high. When I first inquired about
this several months ago (with Cox), they told me it was $2.99 to rent
the card and no tech was required for installation. The $20.00
installation fee seems a bit high for what is necessary. I've read up
quite a bit on CableCARD's, and to my understanding, I just need to
insert the card and communicate the series of numbers to your office for
registration, which then triggers the card to download the approved
channels for my account.

I think I'll pass on the cableCARD for now, just doesn't seem worth it.

Marc

------------------------------------------
Dear Valued Suddenlink Customer:

Thank you for your inquiry. Suddenlink is committed to providing the
best customer service possible.

The charge for the CableCARD for $7.00 a month is for the card and the
Digital services that go with the card (Digital Music Channels). We
require a technician to install the cards to make sure that it card is
installed properly and that everything is working properly.

We hope that we have been able to provide you with the information you
requested. If we have not, or if we can be of any additional service to
you, please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Did you know that you can speak with a live agent without picking up the
phone? It's Easy! Simply Click on the link below and let us assist you
with your general or account specific questions. We are available 24
hours a day, 7 days a week for your convenience. www.suddenlink.com

Thank you for using Suddenlink Communications, Life Connected

Suddenlink Communications Online Customer Care Team

Ishman

01-18-07, 07:03 PM

By the way,

I keep losing the new HD chans; it's telling me I need to call to subscribe. Anybody else getting that?

KruZer2k

01-18-07, 08:07 PM

Same problem here. What's going on. I have a Cox/Suddenlink DVR, not a CC. the only channel working out of the new ones is TNT-Hd

Ishman

01-18-07, 08:13 PM

BLEH.. my wife was looking forward to something on NATGHD... oh well.

laserguns

01-18-07, 08:20 PM

By the way,

I keep losing the new HD chans; it's telling me I need to call to subscribe. Anybody else getting that?

yep.

only one of my cc is getting the new channels

tech coming tomorrow...i'll keep u all updated

jagouar

01-18-07, 09:36 PM

wow sounds like quite a few of you are having troubles, guess i was lucky because i havent had a single problem getting the new channels.

granted i never gave back my 120 gig dvr (the new ones are 160) because it worked so well

aggie2009

01-19-07, 03:58 AM

Here is a price list a Suddenlink rep emailed me tonight for reference.

BASIC MONTHLY SERVICE CHARGES: 16.99
EXPANDED BASIC MONTHLY SERVICE CHRG 26.00
DIGITAL GATEWAY (A/O $4.99) 4.99
HOME THEATER PACK (A/O $4.99) 11.00
PAQUETE LATINO PACKAGE 29.95
PAQUETE LATINO PACKAGE WITH HBO 37.95
TV Connection (printed guide) 2.99
S/A 8600 & S/A 8600X CONV MONTHLY CHRG 4.15
DIGITAL CONVERTER 4.15
CableCARD 1.99
PREMIUM MONTHLY SERVICE (HBO, STARZ, CINEMAX, TMC)CHARGES - DIGITAL
ANY 1 PREMIUM SERVICE 11.95
ANY 2 PREMIUM SERVICES 16.95
ALL PREMIUM SERVICES 27.95
DVR SERVICE 4.95
DVR SET TOP 9.95
HDTV - PLEASE REFER TO LINEUP

jagouar

01-19-07, 08:17 AM

i wonder what that home theater pack is... never seen that before. (my guess would be the digital cable movie pack)

that said it looks like they still offer the digital gateway.... thats good news (means i can get by bill down a bit)

Flyer@Tamu

01-19-07, 09:03 AM

Ishman, I wonder if they are bundling the digital gateway fee and the CC together. ie.. 4.99 +1.99 or $7.

I note they keep stating $7 + the digital services that come with the card ie... digital gateway perhaps? Im sure I didnt get away from that fee, its probably its own line item. Perhaps they are merged now?

In fact I just noted that Aggie 2009 posted a price sheet with CC at $1.99 ?

azdude

01-19-07, 04:11 PM

laserguns

01-19-07, 04:52 PM

Here's whats happening with mine.

Hardware:
Tivo S3 w/ 2 Cable Cards installed

CC1 receives all older and new HD channels (NG, A&E, Food, TNT, HGTV)
CC2 receives all older HD channels and TNTHD (it doesn't receive NG, A&E, Food, HGTV)

here is where it gets odd:

If I switch over to CC2, and set the channel to a channel I'm not getting such as A&E, and then call Suddenlink to send a hit, I suddenly receive the newer channels on CC2.

However upon switching back to CC1, the new HD channels are no longer there. (basically a flip flop w/CC2 getting all the HD channels and CC1 not getting all the channels)

soooo....... i don't know at this point.

A customer service lady from Suddenlink, Tricia, just called me and said that I was missing a $3/month option that was preventing the channels from working. She added the option to my existing plan and poof
[U]Problem Solved!

YAY FOR COMPETENT CUSTOMER SERVICE REPS!

laserguns

01-19-07, 05:07 PM

on another note,

A&EHD is my new favorite channel

too bad the edited Sopranos reruns couldn't be in HD though

jagouar

01-19-07, 05:07 PM

Hey all... Here's a quick note from a new local (College Station) HDTV owner --

Thanks for the info in this thread - never expected to find this amount of info dedicated to the BCS area.

I just purchased a Westinghouse 32w6, mostly for my Xbox 360. Since I get Suddenlink digital service already, it was a delight to find out that I could get ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, and Fox in HD by simply splitting the signal and sending one line direct to the TV.

I'd spent days in my head and online trying to decipher how I wanted to operate... Even with the prospect of HD recording, I wasn't too excited about being forced to pay for a Suddenlink HD DVR in order to get HD channels -- especially since I just recently locked myself into 3 years of SD TiVo. I even bought an indoor antenna to find a free, simple way to some HDTV. Then I discovered I already had one, under my nose. Doh!

I've got a lot to learn, but this seems to be the place to do it. Thanks.

sounds like you have a qam tuner in your tv (since it sounds like you didnt get a cablecard). Are you able to tune anything beyond the locals in HD? Just wondering because I havent had anybody recently say what channels are avaliable for free qam (since they just added the new channels). Im looking at getting cablecard or qam for my media pc (probably qam since cablecard is going to suck initially) so it would be good to know whats avaliable before I tried it)

good to know laserguns... and actually out of the new channels A&E is my least fav for now.... mainly because its the 90% csi miami channel. ;)

laserguns

01-19-07, 05:12 PM

actually out of the new channels A&E is my least fav for now.... mainly because its the 90% csi miami channel. ;)

lol, you mean "CSI: David Caruso"

KruZer2k

01-19-07, 05:13 PM

Well, the new Hd channels work on my box. I just unplugged the box and let it reset. Now they are showing up without the "You need to subscribe" plastered on the channel.

FOX44CE

01-19-07, 06:01 PM

At least the Fox people know about the problem, so hopefully they can take care of it soon, weather permitting. As long as they fix it by Sunday, I'm OK. Simpsons reruns I can watch in SD just fine.... football, not so much. :D

28-1 (and of course analog 28) was still up, so those must have a more reliable transmitter link path. Good luck getting FOX Network to pony up the equipment needed. And BTW, thanks for keeping on top of things, and maintaining a presence here, Lou. Good to see somebody cares about doing DTV right.

I think once the analog shutoff comes in Feb. 2009 we'll see stations be more responsive about their -DT issues. If KXXV-DT has been off the air for four days, that's pretty bad. If that was the only way to watch ABC (as in, analog is no more) there would be a lot more people raising hell. Although I do remember ch. 40 being off the air for several days last year, so that might not change things either. I suppose this explains why when I did a channel scan on my old 13" (after the power came back on) it picked up ch. 26 from Houston, which usually is complete static (since KXXV-DT is on RF 26).

BTW, what I gathered from this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=698465&page=2) is that the FCC is now handing out digital TV allotments for -LP stations. Surprise, surprise, I don't see KMAY or KRHD on the list. (Although to be fair, I'm not clear on whether they're eligible for this distribution or not).

We tried resetting our receiver in Bryan and inspected the antenna. The signal level at the Bryan transmitter site HD receiver is down about 15 DB and no lock.

If one of you guys would let me know if Suddenlink is still down I would appreciate it.

If they are still down I'm hoping that it's still just ice buildup on the Moody antenna that the short thaw didn't get.

If we have to get someone 1700 feet up the tower at Moody to inspect the antenna we will have to wait till the weather makes that possible. (They have to climb it).

As to the FOX HD equipment being available from FOX for KYLE, we just got both the short and long answer at the last affiliate meeting. "NO - ever"

We are researching the necessary equipment to extract the FOX selected HD signal from the existing splicer and purchase the decoders, encoders, switching and microwave equipment to get KYLE-DT up in HD and on Suddenlink cable either via microwave or cable.

One thing I will guarentee you, If and when we do this it will not be "on the cheap". Anything worth doing isn't worth doing half way.

We just received the last of the equipment that we needed to begin broadcasting syndication and commercials in HD on KWKT and should have it up and running by March 1st. (KYLE will have to wait until we come up with sourcing and delivery solutions for FOX)

Ishman

01-19-07, 08:06 PM

Well, the new Hd channels work on my box. I just unplugged the box and let it reset. Now they are showing with without the "You need to subscribe" plastered on the channel.

Bleh.. I tried to power cycle again, but still not luck.. only TNT.

Do you really have to pay an additional $3 for the new ones? That doesn't make any sense.

Marc

azdude

01-19-07, 08:30 PM

sounds like you have a qam tuner in your tv (since it sounds like you didnt get a cablecard). Are you able to tune anything beyond the locals in HD? Just wondering because I havent had anybody recently say what channels are avaliable for free qam (since they just added the new channels). Im looking at getting cablecard or qam for my media pc (probably qam since cablecard is going to suck initially) so it would be good to know whats avaliable before I tried it)

Yes, 32w6 has QAM.

I get the locals in HD (per law, I now understand) and the music channels come through as unencrypted digital also. For some reason, channel 134 (Great American Country) comes through with QAM too, but all other digital cable offerings require the cable box.

jagouar

01-19-07, 09:21 PM

oh well... kinda sucks though.

and yes fox44 our feed was only down for a few hours the other night.... its been fine since.

Neomoon

01-20-07, 06:12 PM

Same thing happened to me, the "Call to subscribe" image appeared on all the new HD channels except TNT-HD. I called the customer service rep and she pretty much told me I had to pay $7 a month in order to view the new HD channels since they changed the lineup.

P.S. Tceh just knocked off #5 Kansas hopefully a win tonight over Okie lite will move us further up the ranks.

Ishman

01-20-07, 06:19 PM

Oh, you have got to be freaking kidding me. Pay more?

I think I'm about to just cancel suddenlink... it's not worth the headaches.

KruZer2k

01-20-07, 08:37 PM

jagouar

01-20-07, 11:06 PM

Neomoon

01-21-07, 12:44 AM

Her claim was that we were never really paying for a "HD Package" she said with the added channels they restructured the packages so now the $7 extra charge is for the total HD package.

She claimed that previous channels were free (i.e. locals) then I asked her about ESPN, Disc, and the HDNets and how we were getting those before she sounded even more confused. But she did claim that in order for me to get the new channels I would have to pay the extra $7 fee.

Dunno but since I have a subsidized account since my apt complex already provides complementary extended cable I took the hit. If more people still report they are getting the new channels without a fee I'll call back and complain.

jagouar

01-21-07, 05:26 AM

ahh it might be the subsidized thing.... all i have is basic digital cable and have no problems getting the hd channels. in fact before today i didnt even know suddenlink had a hd package (ive understood it was always included with digital cable) but if your not paying the full amount maybe they created it just for those accounts.

Ishman

01-21-07, 10:54 AM

I'm thinking about calling and making a big stink about it. I mean, they already jacked up the basic cable rate, now they want us to pay MORE for the new HD chans? I'm almost 100% certain that we're already paying for digital cable, which should include the new HD chans. I mean, why would they give us TNT-HD, but not the others?

Only reason I'm hesitating to call is because I know their support stinks and they won't understand what I'm trying to tell them.... unless I mention that D* is looking pretty good. ^.^

Gandalf007

01-21-07, 02:02 PM

Sigh... 28-2 is still down. Looks like no NFC Champhionship game in HD. This is disappointing, it used to be rock-solid.

jagouar

01-21-07, 03:40 PM

rock solid for me ;) (but i feel your pain)

Vade

01-21-07, 10:40 PM

I believe you are supposed to pay for the HD package...I'm not paying for the digital package because we wouldn't use it. When I talked to Suddenlink at their office last week, they said that they are adding new channels and the price on the package wouldn't change. She said maybe later in the year if/when they add even more channels but as of now it shouldn't go up.

jagouar

01-21-07, 11:27 PM

yeah im starting to get that feeling from texags (for those having problems suddenlink is saying there is a $7 charge) but most of their subs are newer and not grandfathered in (somebody mentioned their older accounts arent being charged for some reason) which I would fall into that category (and i havent had any problems).

that one guy who lives next door to tom way was going to ask him about the new rates so we know. i was going to call them tomorrow (because i wanted to go to the digital gateway route on my dvr's but im going to hold off until i know something more concrete.... maybe we will find out some espn2 info as well)

aggie2009

01-22-07, 01:06 AM

Think I'm going to bite the bullet tomorrow and order Suddenlink, it's cheaper for me to pay the cancellation fees for D* than to get their HD DVR plus I'll finally get the HD locals. Do the Motorola boxes have HDMI or DVI?

jagouar

01-22-07, 01:25 AM

they have 2 versions.... the older ones had dvi but i think they only have hdmi now (although they might be able to get you the older one)

and if/when you call respond here and let us know what the costs were.... im curious to see a line by line price list of what i should expect (namely if i should just keep my grandfathered acct or downgrade to the digital gateway thing and save some $$)

DemonKittyCat

01-22-07, 01:38 AM

Sigh... 28-2 is still down. Looks like no NFC Champhionship game in HD. This is disappointing, it used to be rock-solid.

I agree - disappointed big time - I couldn't be home during the day so I had the NFC game recording - and got nothing. Wish I knew they still had problems so I could have scheduled time to see the game elsewhere. WAS real happy with the local FOX - good signal, information available from someone who knows their stuff, fixed the same problem 2 weeks ago fast. Getting too hard to want latest quality tech in a small market.
(Also, adding to my disappointment - I had to send my Sony SXRD back to the shop for the second time in 3 months - last time took them 6 weeks to fix. Praying it will be back before Feb. Will never buy a projection TV of any kind again!)

Does anyone know of any sports bars locally that will have the Super Bowl in HD? I used to go to Fox&Hound but they haven't updated to HD yet.

Also toying with going to Suddenlink for local channels in HD until D* gets around to adding them. I assume the FOX HD signal was up on Suddenlink?

jagouar

01-22-07, 01:50 AM

yeah it was fine here... we get the waco feed directly so the transmitter problems here locally didnt affect suddenlink subs. It looked really really good too (better than ive seen in the past) but this could be due to my new dlp projector that arrived a few days ago.

If anybody is looking at projectors I love the hd70.... Its awesome for sub 1k. (Id put it up against anything I have ever seen in the HD dept especially when using hd-dvd)

aggie2009

01-22-07, 02:18 AM

I'll let you guys know how it goes, I've heard some bad things about the Motorola boxes but the D* equipment sucks too, I've been through 3 R15's and 2 H20's. The D* rep told me the other day that's we'll be one of the last markets to get HD locals as they had to implement the spot beam just to get us locals period. What is the digital gateway deal? That's one thing I do like about D*, the pricing is a whole lot easier to understand.

aggie2009

01-22-07, 02:22 AM

One more thing, does anyone know if they let you self-install or if they require a tech to come out on every install? I already have HSI through them & my house is wired.

jagouar

01-22-07, 03:25 AM

if your house is wired you are good to do in that dept.... you call them and get your acct setup and then you can pick up your equipment at the cox office for the self install.

cablecard is a different story but you arent going that route. you could also let them install everything but im not an idiot so i dont have experince with that aspect of their service. I did have a signal issue on one of my channels (nbc-hd) when I first got it and it turned out to be a splitter issue in my house (its a mid 70's house with original wiring) but the tech was able to help me find it. So their techs were great the one time I needed them to come out.

Flyer@Tamu

01-22-07, 01:02 PM

I had an interesting conversation with Suddenlink support this weekend.

First my wife called friday and she was informed that we can't get HD channels with cablecard... its just not possible. ;)

I called sunday and I was told that suddenlink had to negotiate with all the networks they are adding and they just *wouldn't* give them a break so they had to pass the cost on to us in the form of a $4 additional fee for the new channels. I am concerned that with the HDNets etc.. in the upper numbers now, they will cut off the lower ones and expect more money. If that happens sattelite is looking better and better. The whole reason I switched was because of the cost differential between the two.

If they think that they aren't charging me for HD they have another thing coming. I went in the office and asked for HD, cared for nothing else and I had to pay for digital service... gateway.. fee..fee.fee... just so I could get what I wanted. they have a hell of a lot more restructuring to do if they think they can bilk more money out of me for those channels. I would rather drop the two tiers they made me pick and ONLY get the HD channels.

P.S. The guy also told me there was supposed to be an insert in our last bill about all the additional fees.

dave99ag

01-22-07, 02:26 PM

Suddenly... Suddenly you're getting shafted. ;)

FOX44CE

01-22-07, 02:41 PM

I agree - disappointed big time - I couldn't be home during the day so I had the NFC game recording - and got nothing. Wish I knew they still had problems so I could have scheduled time to see the game elsewhere. WAS real happy with the local FOX - good signal, information available from someone who knows their stuff, fixed the same problem 2 weeks ago fast. Getting too hard to want latest quality tech in a small market.
(Also, adding to my disappointment - I had to send my Sony SXRD back to the shop for the second time in 3 months - last time took them 6 weeks to fix. Praying it will be back before Feb. Will never buy a projection TV of any kind again!)

Does anyone know of any sports bars locally that will have the Super Bowl in HD? I used to go to Fox&Hound but they haven't updated to HD yet.

Also toying with going to Suddenlink for local channels in HD until D* gets around to adding them. I assume the FOX HD signal was up on Suddenlink?

Sorry guys;

My assistant went down Friday and climbed the tower to repair severe ice and weather damage to our receive antenna that picks up KWKT-HD for rebroadcast.

He had it working by tying two broken elements back up with what he had on him but apparrently it came apart again Saturday morning.

I have ordered a new antenna and also solid heliax line to reduce the loss coming down the tower and we will get it back up as soon as possible.

jagouar

01-22-07, 03:29 PM

Suddenly... Suddenly you're getting shafted. ;)

im surpised it took our d*'s this long to chime in about the confusion.... ;)

FOX44CE

01-22-07, 05:51 PM

Sorry guys;

My assistant went down Friday and climbed the tower to repair severe ice and weather damage to our receive antenna that picks up KWKT-HD for rebroadcast.

He had it working by tying two broken elements back up with what he had on him but apparrently it came apart again Saturday morning.

I have ordered a new antenna and also solid heliax line to reduce the loss coming down the tower and we will get it back up as soon as possible.

KYLE transmitter site receive antenna update:

The antenna has three broken elements, the antenna mounted pre-amp is crushed and the coax coming down the tower is broken in two places.

We will be going down to replace the coax with 5/8 heliax and replace the antenna as soon as weather permits. (Hopefully later this week)

We should not need the antenna mounted pre-amp with the new coax.

jagouar

01-22-07, 05:58 PM

FOX44CE

01-22-07, 06:17 PM

man tonights gotta suck for those ota folks.... no HD 24 this week. (not that im rubbing it in or anything ;))

i assume the signal is too weak to get the feed from waco like suddenlink does? (to get around this issue since it sounds like it will be down for a few days still)

either way it is good to get these updates vs not knowing (since none of the other statiosn have people on here..... man what i think we would all give for a krhd guy on here we could all bitch at)

Suddenlink gets it the same way we do. (OTA antenna)
We just took an unusually bad hit with the ice that apparently they didn't.

I've asked them for a cable drop out there for backup but they say they don't serve that area with the HD tier.

aggie2009

01-22-07, 07:03 PM

Ok, I'm up with Suddenlink now, picked up 2 HD DVRS today. Trying to get them hooked up now, they won't be out to set the traps until Thu but I'm wondering if digital should still work.

KruZer2k

01-22-07, 08:14 PM

Why would they need to set traps if you are using a digital box from suddenlink. I believe traps are only needed when you are getting cable straight to your television without a set-top box. I may be wrong. I dont have traps, and I have a Hd-DVR.

Ishman

01-22-07, 08:38 PM

I remember them having to remove traps once, just to be able to get extended cable. (Apartment only paid for basic).

I'm likely going to call suddenlink this week and have a nice conversation with them. We're already paying more for basic cable now (I think it was a $2 or $3 increase), and now they want more just for the "new" HD channels.

I should have saw this coming. I didn't much care for Cox either, but these guys are a trainwreck. I can almost believe that those people don't go through any sort of training... it's just sad. Every call is something different. I mean, look at this thread for crying out loud. What are the new channels? Free? $4/mo.? $7/mo.? What is the CABLEcard, $1.99? $2.99? $7? And what does it include?

Don't even get me started on their website. I can't even view my freaking bill.

>.<

aggie2009

01-22-07, 09:21 PM

Watching 24 in HD now, it's glorious. I get all my digital/HD channels but none of the expanded basic channels even on the digital receivers. No guide data yet either but they are supposed to hit my boxes soon.

DemonKittyCat

01-22-07, 11:05 PM

KYLE transmitter site receive antenna update:

The antenna has three broken elements, the antenna mounted pre-amp is crushed and the coax coming down the tower is broken in two places.

We will be going down to replace the coax with 5/8 heliax and replace the antenna as soon as weather permits. (Hopefully later this week)

We should not need the antenna mounted pre-amp with the new coax.

Thank you for the updates. I do appreciate the information you provide. And the fact that your station provides a good OTA HD signal for me. I can be patient and deal with an episode of 24 in SD, but playoff football or the Stanley Cup will set me off when I miss it..

aggie2009

01-23-07, 09:35 PM

On my second set of converters now, first two wouldn't boot after the rep tried to hit them. One of the new bunch is spontaneously rebooting, anything to try before taking it back tomorrow too?

jagouar

01-24-07, 12:42 AM

sounds like you got a bad bunch (or suddenlink got a bad bunch)

that is part of the reason ive kept my older box being only 120 gigs because ive never had a single problem with it.

aggie2009

01-24-07, 12:43 AM

I'll be swapping one of these out tomorrow to bring my total to 5 in 3 days. Hope this isn't a sign of what's to come.

Neomoon

01-24-07, 02:06 AM

jagouar, I know you have probably mentioned it before but what type of HD tuner do you have in your machine? Does it come with a QAM tuner, and do you still pay for a HD DV-R from suddenlink or can you get all HD channels via QAM.

I have a QAM tuner on my TV but honestly I have been to lazy to scan with my QAM because it takes forever on my machine. I only have i SD tuner on my computer and if the HD tuner does some of the things I want it to I might just ditch the HD DV-R from suddenlink and save myself some money.

jagouar

01-24-07, 10:00 AM

Well for now my media center is only SD. HDhomeRun has a beta driver that can run qam into media center (but i havent gotten mine).

I have the HD-DVR still but plan on more or less replacing it (for most things) with the HDHomeRun when I get it running well. I might downgrade my dvr to a digital box when that happens because as I understand it you cant get espn,discovery etc via qam.

If you wouldnt mind do a scan for me and tell me all the channels you get qam.... I dont know if suddenlink has more than just the locals in HD but quite a few cableco's have other SD content with the qam stuff. also would be nice to know for sure we have the locals in qam.

Flyer@Tamu

01-24-07, 01:08 PM

Aggie 2009,

Since I dont know what part of town you are in etc... are you sure this isnt a power problem? A DVR is basically a computer without the normal Input Output methods we traditionally think of. When a computer is on the cusp of its power range and it suddenly dips below to you it would appear as if it just rebooted.

If you have a battery backup unit or something along those lines that supplies constant power even when the power is out, that could test it for you.

Vade

01-24-07, 09:32 PM

Ok, so tonight my A&E, HGTV, Food TV, etc just stopped working. I still have my locals, ESPN, HDNET, Universal, and TNT. I called Suddenlink and they said that they don't have the account marked for paying for the HD Tier...when I signed up for it back in November. So, for 7 more dollars...I can get the ones that I'm supposedly not paying for. Ah well, no loss really I guess. I was happy with what we had and TNT is nice for basketball.

Until they add ESPN2HD or something, I won't even bother arguing with them. Anyone else having problems?

jagouar

01-24-07, 10:45 PM

i lost the channels this evening as well... guess they are forcing it for all users.

guess im calling them to downgrade my service tomorrow.... oh well ill save a few bucks ;)

KruZer2k

01-25-07, 07:47 PM

jagouar

01-25-07, 08:54 PM

Im with you but verizon fios will be my next provider....

Ishman

01-25-07, 10:20 PM

Im with you but verizon fios will be my next provider....

Very much agreed. Any updates on that btw? I heard rumors around the office that they may begin this summer... but not sure how credible that is.

jagouar

01-25-07, 10:52 PM

whatever it is it wont be soon enough.

i think we have to be pretty high on the list though.... alot of very rich people in this town. but thats the one thing that worries me about fios though is they seem to be targeting high value areas (which would be south of 2818). I live just north of 2818 so I might get screwed. They did the same with the higher speed dsl where it wasnt avaliable where I live until a few years after the southern part of CS got it.

I do wish I knew somebody who worked at verizon though... Im sure they would have some info about a timetable.

aggie2009

01-26-07, 01:25 AM

I wouldn't hold your breath, a Verizon rep told me that we would not have it in the next couple years, that weren't even on the map for it yet. For our sake, I hope it's not true though.

FOX44CE

01-26-07, 04:23 PM

KYLE-DT 28.2 (KWKT-HD) Status Report:

We installed a new CM4228 antenna, Channel 57 Bandpass Filter, Antenna Pre-Amp and RG-11 low loss coax today.

Reception of KWKT-HD at the receiver is now 36DB S/N and fade margin is > 26 DB.

28.2 is back on the air :) !

wfwavs

01-28-07, 10:24 PM

FOX44CE

01-29-07, 10:02 AM

A belated thanks for getting Fox44 28.2 back up in HD! I appreciate the hard work in getting to tower back up quickly and taking the time to post updates on the AVS forum.

I am new to OTA HD broadcasting here in BCS and have found this local forum invaluable.

With a new 720p display I am currently receiving a stunning PBS HD station @ 12.1 with rabbit ears. With regards to Fox, I get a very clear SD signal @ 28 but no HD signal. I do not get KTBX at all. I am working on getting up to speed on my options to get more HD stations over the air. May have to go to a outside antenna. Otherwise, I am on Dish SD for everything else. Can't wait to see 24 in HD!!

I strongly recommend the CM4228 for an outside UHF antenna. If you are able to receive KYLE analog OTA with rabbit ears you should have no problem receiving the digital signal with a CM4228 mounted on about a 15 foot pole or chimny mount. This should also do a credible job of receiving KBTX off the back side.

Gandalf007

01-30-07, 11:37 PM

FOX44CE Thanks for fixing 28-2. I may not post here every day but I did notice when it came back Friday. Also, I noticed the guide is back today too. :)

wfwavs: It depends on how far you live from the antenna (consult antennaweb.org for mileage and bearing) as to whether an exterior antenna is required, but of course it's always better, and FOX44CE should know what works well.

Does your "rabbit ears" have a UHF antenna also, or just the "ears"? Rabbit ears work well for VHF (such as KAMU-DT on ch. 12, or KBTX-TV analog on ch. 3), but not as well for UHF. Ch. 28 analog is a very strong signal that you could pick up with a piece of baling wire, so it's not a good judge of antenna quality.

You should be able to get KBTX-DT with just about any UHF antenna, even cheap indoor ones, as it has a strong signal, but KYLE-DT is weaker and may take more antenna. Checking reception on ch. 23 analog (the NBC repeater) is a good estimate as it broadcasts from the same tower at the same power level as KYLE-DT (although digital signals travel a bit further than analog for the same power level).

FOX44CE

01-31-07, 12:16 PM

foo00

02-06-07, 09:45 AM

FYI, I had other business @ SL today and talked to them about the fact that the new HD channels appeared and disappeared and what I needed to have to get them back, etc etc. Now, I could have sworn that I had been paying for an HD pack, but she said not and that the previous HD channels were part of the HD DVR fee. That has changed now to only (according to their literature) the major networks and TNT-HD. Everything from 765 (ESPN) up is the new HD Plus pack and is $7.95/month. When I asked "then why do I still have ESPN?", she said folks that already had this all prior to the new channels were grandfathered in, -but- only until March 7-ish when they will enforce the new pricing.

So, FWIW she could be mistaken, but if not if you would like to keep ESPN, Universal, etc you might make sure to add the $7.95 before they actually disappear and you miss something important like Aggie Basketball in HD...

dave99ag

02-06-07, 10:10 AM

So what's that going to cost when the new pricing structure kicks in? Don't plan on leaving D*, but I'm curious to see how it compares to SL.

foo00

02-06-07, 05:34 PM

too much for all the crap I have..

but seriously, according to this "new" pamphlet it's:
$45 for channels 2-70 + HD major networks
$8 - $15 for channels 100+ (they use selection packs like sports, movies, etc)
$5 per HD DVR (for service)
$10 per HD DVR (for the device)
$8 for the "new" HD tier

So for one DVR and no premiums, probably $95 or so after taxes? Add HBO or something and it's another $10 to $20 more.

jagouar

02-06-07, 05:44 PM

sounds about right.... but their hd pack seems wrong.

stuff like espn is included with their base package.... i dont know why (other than being hd) it would be part of the hd pack.... i could see universal and hdnet because its not avaliable on basic cable. but hgtv, tnt etc should be included automatically.

Just wondering but how much is just a HD box? (w/o dvr). is it still 10 bucks? Reason I ask is I am getting very close to pulling the trigger on a hdhomerun which will tune my hd locals in media center. So I wouldnt really need a dvr for the other channels (but probably will keep it because there are a few series i record off universal/hdnet) but if its enough of a savings i will drop the dvr.

KruZer2k

02-06-07, 05:51 PM

Im getting closer to pulling the plug on SL. I have been a loyal customer for almost 10 years. Looks like they are really screwing things up. Im going this weekend to a few places to find out what deals/prices D-TV and D*Network have. Gosh, I just dont understand the thinking behind this.

jagouar

02-06-07, 05:54 PM

i dunno but as long as they dont have locals in the area they are my only option.... antenna is not an option here and both directv/dish dont do locals here yet.

jagouar

02-06-07, 07:07 PM

btw i hope you qam guys were right... just ordered my hdhomerun (because the driver developer says the vista mce dual tuner should be activated by the time I get the box). so as long as the qam stuff is right i will be able to get hd into media center.

that and i ordered a new 500 gig hd for it.... have a 320 currently (about 60% full) and am going to use both of them to store my dvr recordings.

jose73

02-07-07, 07:03 AM

I am a relatively new member of this forum and have enjoyed reading many of the messages. Some of the technical information has been very helpful in setting up my home theater system and OTA antenna.

Is FIOS coming to B/CS ???
I know this has been a frequent question and no firm answers were gleaned from Verizon as to an ETA. I would like to share some information I learned late last year regarding this subject.

In early November of last year, a contractor was installing fiber on the street beside my home for BTU. BTU is now using a fiber network to each of it's substations from the data center on East 29th street. The morning they were beside my home, I went outside to speak to the supervior and found out this information. I also found out from him, that this company has been awarded the contract from Verizon to install fiber in the B/CS area beginning in January 2007. I didn't ask for an ETA because I know that such an installation will be a time consuming process. But now you can have some better information that FIOS is coming to this area in the near future. I haven't seen any other fiber work going on in my area and certainly don't travel all the residential streets in this area.

So folks, keep your eyes out looking for large spools of fiber that may be in your neighborhood in the coming weeks.

As a further note, I have a friend who is a PC technician for the CSISD. He has recently told me the the school district already has access to a fiber network from Verizon which has TV, internet and voice services available. They are still continuing to use SL in most of the schools and DirectTV in a few where SL is not available.

jagouar

02-07-07, 10:42 AM

there is no telling on verizon.... i hope it comes sooner than later.

btw i saw an interesting commercial for SL last night.... they were running a commercial about ESPNHD and when they inserted the suddnelink logo on the end of it there was a "coming soon" with the SL logo. To me it could mean one of two things.

1. ESPN is going to be part of the HD package
2. ESPN2 is still coming. (since we know from the texags contact there was some talk about espn2)

but it was a very wierd commercial.

Ishman

02-07-07, 01:19 PM

SL is just weird... and annoying.

jagouar

02-14-07, 02:51 PM

well for any of those that care i finally got hdhomerun working last night.... it works really well but does still take up a bit too much time to install/configure properly. we do only get the locals but its still nice to be able to get locals into media center (where i have a nice 800 gigs of drive space for my media center recordings). sure beats that crappy 120 gigs on the suddenlink dvr.

im actually suprised how quickly it tunes since its network based.... takes about 1.5 secs to switch on the 360 (and considering it has to stream hd it takes a few secs to get the streaming going). the quality is excellent (its wierd though because it looks different than the suddenlink dvr but i cant tell which one is better. Ive swapped back and forth a bunch of times and I cant place whats different about the pictures. I think the suddenlink dvr is brighter but I need some more time to figure that out (the SD stuff is naturally darker as well so it might just be a mce config issue). But it looks really good (as good as the suddenlink dvr)

KruZer2k

02-14-07, 08:18 PM

Maybe the 360 is broadcasting the picture in 1080p while the SL DVR is in 1080i? Since the broadcast is in 1080i, there wouldnt be much difference between the two.
Just a possibility.

jagouar

02-15-07, 03:20 AM

i have the 360 and sl dvr both set to output at 720p (the native resolution of my projector)

and tonight was its first big test (and i stressed it a bit more than normal adding a few extra recordings) and it passed with flying colors thus far (recorded all the shows i scheduled). the one issue (and i need to do some more testing) was bones on foxhd broke up some. it very easily could have been a network congestion issue (because its a dual tuner device so the two tuners were eating 35% of my 100mbit network) and if im watching a show while thats going on it runs ~50% and thats at the max pretty much of what you should expect to get in real world performace. the other shows i let record w/o watching anything else in the meantime and they all seemed to be flawless but i only skipped around.

i was planning on running a dedicated line for the hdhomerun anyways so this issue is probably going to go away anyways (with a second nic in my media server) but im waiting on a service to be finished somebody is writing on the hdhomerun forums which is a dhcp server (since you can only get a dhcp ip address for the hdhomerun if you run a crossover cable you need some way to get it an ip address) but getting the hdhomerun tuners their own 100mbit line certainly wouldnt hurt performace.

dave99ag

02-15-07, 12:03 PM

Just upgrade to a gigabit network. :)

Hmm, I wonder if the 360 has a 100/1000 network card in it?

jagouar

02-15-07, 04:13 PM

it doesnt.... and neither does the hdhomerun. all my computers have gigabit but theres no use for the 360 and the hdhomerun (which is whats taking all the bw).

does that sound right though dave about the network stuff (since you do tech support)? i seem to remember real world speeds on a 100mbit line maxing out around 40-60 mbit (in that it doesnt ever get a full 100). but i dont remember where i heard this and its likely a few years old. then again my home router is old as well (it might not be processing the data fast enough). and it was both shows at the 7pm slot last night which seemed to have the problems (right when i was on watching via the 360). i decided to let the other shows record w/o me using the 360 and they seem to be breakup free. then again when it was breaking up is was pretty minor. throughout a hr show there were maybe 6 or 7 where it pixelated for a sec. so it wasnt huge but enough for me to want to fix it.

dave99ag

02-15-07, 04:47 PM

I'm pretty clueless when it comes to networking stuff. CIS handles all that stuff for us. :)

In theory 100mbit should be plenty, but you never know. Heck gigabit routers aren't cheap yet either. A newere router might be a good idea though.

jagouar

02-15-07, 05:06 PM

yeah but gigabit isnt going to help my hdhomerun or 360.

and a cheap way to help the hdhomerun will be my idea of a dedicated crossover cable just for the hdhomerun (since it will have its own 100mbit line that doesnt use the router at all being a stright connection). and its cheap (gonna steal an extra network card we have here at work and a crossover cable i made here a while back thats not being used anymore).

dave99ag

02-15-07, 06:51 PM

Yeah, that probably would work pretty well.

BTW, does Media Center show folders for the videos streamed off your PC to the 360? I'd like to categorize my videos (cycling, movies, etc) instead of just seeing all of them at once. It doesn't do that currently with Media Player 11 to the 360.

jagouar

02-15-07, 07:43 PM

Media Center only shows folders in the video section.... i actually kinda hate it because they did the picutres and music right where it reads the tags associated with the media but for some reason the only way you can view videos is fia folders.

FOX44CE

02-16-07, 10:54 AM

jagouar

02-16-07, 12:29 PM

ahh well maybe it wasnt all the hdhomerun... good to know.

billgatesceo

02-18-07, 03:43 PM

NOOOOOOOOO!!! Whats up with FOXHD for the 500? It keeps going in and out. FOX44, tell the guy to quit playing with the switch.

FOX44CE

02-18-07, 03:59 PM

NOOOOOOOOO!!! Whats up with FOXHD for the 500? It keeps going in and out. FOX44, tell the guy to quit playing with the switch.

I am at the station in contact with FOX right now. We have been having problems with our splicer locking up since yesterday afternoon. I came in at 6:15 last night and thought we had resolved the issue because it worked fine through prime time but it came back today when the race started.

I told my operator to put it in bypass until I got in to look at it.

(I wasn't aware at the time that the HD feed was OK - a miscommunication on my part)

We are back in HD now. I rebooted the splicer and I will stay through the next local break to make sure that the switching is working properly now.

I have instructed the operator how to put the spicer in manual bypass for the local breaks and take it out of bypass when the break is over since she is rolling them manually anyway.

At least the race broadcast should be in HD the rest of the way even if the switches aren't clean.

This all started with the Bones breakup problems the other night. It seems like every time we get FOX involved with splicer issues they make it worse.

I have called Grass Valley (The manufacturer) and asked them to look at the logs to see if they can figure out what is going on. (They fixed our problems last year after FOX tried for a week)

jagouar

02-18-07, 04:51 PM

jagouar

02-18-07, 04:55 PM

fyi i got the hdhomerun on its own 100mbit line finally this afternoon (vista did not like playing nice running a dhcp server) but now that everything is completed hdhomerun rules.... all my dropout issues are gone and the guide issues i think have been fixed (thanks to the new channel mapping utility that was released last night)

Its working really really well now.

billgatesceo

02-18-07, 05:18 PM

Thanks fox44. It's been good for the rest of the race.

FOX44CE

02-19-07, 10:47 AM

well i havent noticed any problems on suddenlink granted im watching more of the golf than nascar (watch it when golf is on commercials). so i guess this is limited to the local transmitter again or is it the one in waco (since we get the waco feed im guessing its a bryan site issue again)

Jag;

The problem was actually in the FOX splicer/receivers in Waco.

Both Suddenlink and 28.2 carry the same signal (KWKT-HD). The issue we had earlier in the year was due to antenna damage that prevented us from receiving KWKT-HD at our KYLE transmitter site and 28.2 was off the air completely.

We addressed the problem pretty quickly for the race (although it could have been sooner if I communicated better with my operator).

You probably just didn't switch over when it was happening.

I talked to Grass Valley this morning and they said that there are errors in the transport stream from the FOX HD receivers.

FOX has contacted FOX and their Satellite contractor in Dallas who is supposed to be here tomorrow to check out the dishes and receivers.

FOX44CE

02-20-07, 03:46 PM

Jag;

The problem was actually in the FOX splicer/receivers in Waco.

Both Suddenlink and 28.2 carry the same signal (KWKT-HD). The issue we had earlier in the year was due to antenna damage that prevented us from receiving KWKT-HD at our KYLE transmitter site and 28.2 was off the air completely.

We addressed the problem pretty quickly for the race (although it could have been sooner if I communicated better with my operator).

You probably just didn't switch over when it was happening.

I talked to Grass Valley this morning and they said that there are errors in the transport stream from the FOX HD receivers.

FOX has contacted FOX and their Satellite contractor in Dallas who is supposed to be here tomorrow to check out the dishes and receivers.

Well after several hours of troubleshooting they came to the determination that the FOX Splicer is the problem not the digital receivers.

I called Grass Valley and they are shipping a new splicer in the morning.

In the meantime I have instructed my Master Control operators on how to switch the Splicer to Bypass Mode for the local breaks and keep the HD signal on the air manually.

The switches are ugly but at least it is HD!

KruZer2k

02-20-07, 05:05 PM

Thanks FOX44CE!!! Glad to see you are on top of things. You are awesome!

jagouar

02-21-07, 11:10 PM

just wondering if anybody else lost all their guide data on their suddenlink dvr?

ive never see mine do this before (where it lost guide data by itself) but since vmc does my recordings these days it didnt bite me in the ass (but it could have). all it needed was a reboot to get its guide back.

im tempted to swap the dvr in for just a regular HD box since i only really need it to record the non networks now (but there are a few series i record off universalhd) but im still using it as a backup tuner while i evaluate vmc (which has been perfect thus far). Is the HD box still the 9.95 a month (w/o the 5 dvr fee)? is so it probably wouldnt be worth it to downgrade.

FOX44CE

02-22-07, 01:50 PM

Thanks FOX44CE!!! Glad to see you are on top of things. You are awesome!

Thanks for the compliment!

The new splicer came in and was installed and tested this morning.

I will be here from 7PM to 9PM during prime this evening to make sure everything works OK for the American Idol results show. (Live local switching)

FYI....Equipment has been ordered to put KYLE-DT on in HD for both FOX and MyNetwork and 720P upconverted for all other programming.

Once equipment is received and installation is complete, 28.2 will go away and 28.1 will be 720P.

At that time we will ask Suddenlink to switch over to KYLE on their HD channel.

KruZer2k

02-22-07, 05:44 PM

My guide data on S.L. seemed alright. But I did notice all the local SD channels are fuzzy. This happened to me around a year ago and went away around March. The Houston PBS channel is so bad, I cant even watch it.

jagouar

02-22-07, 06:20 PM

Thanks for the compliment!

The new splicer came in and was installed and tested this morning.

I will be here from 7PM to 9PM during prime this evening to make sure everything works OK for the American Idol results show. (Live local switching)

FYI....Equipment has been ordered to put KYLE-DT on in HD for both FOX and MyNetwork and 720P upconverted for all other programming.

Once equipment is received and installation is complete, 28.2 will go away and 28.1 will be 720P.

At that time we will ask Suddenlink to switch over to KYLE on their HD channel.

Just out of curiosity (from a suddenlink perspective) but will kyle (after the equipment) be completly independent or would they still be relying on the waco antenna for the programming? (ie will it have its own satellite or whatever fox uses to get the programming to you guys). Not that im hating on the local tower but it hasnt exactly been the most reliable transmitter and having the waco feed has saved us suddenlink subs from time to time. If kyle is independent then I would expect to see its reliability increase (and in that case I wouldnt get pissed off for losing the waco feed)

btw since kyle will be its own station could we please get the logo reworked for kyle? or atleast lose the blue background. :) (i know ive asked before but its still annoying having a non transparent logo on foxhd... the good thing is atleast its small but its pretty hideous since its colored blue and since it would be a new station/channel might be a good time to put that request in).

FOX44CE

02-23-07, 12:14 PM

Just out of curiosity (from a suddenlink perspective) but will kyle (after the equipment) be completly independent or would they still be relying on the waco antenna for the programming? (ie will it have its own satellite or whatever fox uses to get the programming to you guys). Not that im hating on the local tower but it hasnt exactly been the most reliable transmitter and having the waco feed has saved us suddenlink subs from time to time. If kyle is independent then I would expect to see its reliability increase (and in that case I wouldnt get pissed off for losing the waco feed)

btw since kyle will be its own station could we please get the logo reworked for kyle? or atleast lose the blue background. :) (i know ive asked before but its still annoying having a non transparent logo on foxhd... the good thing is atleast its small but its pretty hideous since its colored blue and since it would be a new station/channel might be a good time to put that request in).

Our graphics guy is working on a new logo that will be a grey transparent logo in FOX font with just FOXHD (The HD about half the size of FOX.

Since we only have one splicer (which inserts the logo) we have to drop the "44".

We have to upload it to the FOX FTP site so that can put it into the splicer.

I figured while we were doing that we would clean it up some.

jagouar

02-23-07, 02:47 PM

excellent.... great to hear. (im just happy its finally gonna be transparent)

good to see you guys listen to the masses :)

will is be about the same size as the current one? (ie about the same size as the bluebackground)

FOX44CE

02-23-07, 03:44 PM

Pollochicken

02-23-07, 09:37 PM

Just a quick question guys, and I'm sorry if this is noobish or has already been asked. I just bought an HDTV this past weekend, and I have the Suddenlink extended cable package. Its like 70 channels, nothing special like HBO, it doesn't include the HD package. Now, when I did the automatic channel search on the TV, it found some HD channels (like Fox, ABC, and NBC).

What I didn't know is if there was any way to get the other basic TV channels (CBS, CW, PBS) since those weren't found by my TV in the first place, and if there is a way, does anyone know what channels those are? I live in College Station, and the HD channels I'm finding right now are Fox 44-1, NBC 44-730, and ABC 87-730. Thanks to anyone who can help.

jagouar

02-24-07, 12:31 AM

you should get the locals w/o the hd package.... they have pbs, cbs, nbc, abc and fox. i have a qam tuner which gets all the stations but it sounds like your tv cant tune the others. if it cant theres not much you can do short of getting a box from suddenlink.

KruZer2k

02-24-07, 12:40 AM

You guys know anything about the D*TV ad campaign for 150 HD channels? What does it mean? Can't find any information about it on their website.

KruZer2k

02-24-07, 12:45 AM

Nevermind. Found my answer. Sounds like D*TV is going to be ahead of the game on HD television, minus our local channels.

Gandalf007

02-24-07, 01:28 AM

Those of you using QAM tuners on SuddenLink (other than the official cable box), what channels do you get (and what are the "real" channel numbers, not 720 or whatever)? I took my Samsung set-top box to my friend's place to watch the Super Bowl. It's a good thing I brought an antenna too, since we couldn't find CBS-HD on the cable. He has the extended basic or whatever they call it, with analog channels up to 72. The Samsung box found QAM channels from there on up to 115 or so, most having 10 or 11 subchannels, but nearly all of them were blank (encrypted I assume). The only channels watchable were ABC-HD on 87-1 (I think) and several SD Discovery channels on 94-1/2/3/4 that had picture but no sound. It's possible I missed them since I went on to the next channel if there wasn't anything on -1 or -2, but that box isn't the fastest at changing channels.

Also, I was on "STD" cable, rather than HRC or IRC. I didn't have time to tinker with those.

Pollochicken

02-24-07, 12:15 PM

Gandalf, thats pretty much the exact same problem I was having (even the Discovery channels with no sound), and like you I was on the regular cable broadcast setting for my TV. After reading your post last night I decided to try the IRC setting, and now I'm able to get CBS and PBS along with the channels I mentioned before.

azdude

02-25-07, 09:00 AM

Those of you using QAM tuners on SuddenLink (other than the official cable box), what channels do you get (and what are the "real" channel numbers, not 720 or whatever)?...

Suddenlink QAM-viewable digital channels:

HD:
-----
3.1 CBS
12.1 PBS
44.1 Fox
82.1 NBC
87.1 ABC

SD:
-----
93.1-48 Music Channels

Worthless:
-------------
94.1 Discovery Health (No Sound)
94.2 Discovery Science (No Sound)
94.3 Discovery Home (No Sound)
94.4 Discovery Times (No Sound)
94.5 Discovery Military (No Sound)
94.6 BBC America (No Sound)
94.7 Discovery en Español (No Sound)
100.1 MTV (No Sound)
111.7 OnDemand / PPV Preview Channel

Gandalf007

02-27-07, 03:28 AM

That's good to know, although 3, 12, and 44 are remapped channel numbers, which some QAM tuners don't support. (The actual 3, 12, and 44 are analog channels on cable.) Anyway, I guess the "real channels" of most of the network HD stuff would be in the 80's, and if I ever try that box on cable again, IRC is worth a try.

FOX44CE, there were glitches on 28-2 during 24 tonight. Around 8:25 or so it became unwatchable so I flipped to the SD feed on 28-1, which was rock solid, as usual. I flipped back during the next commercial break, and it was still glitching but not as much, and fortunately it cleared up before the end of that break.

If you can make 28-1 HD with the same reliability of the SD feed on there now, I'm all for that. :) I'm curious though, wouldn't it need its own splicer, since we have different commercials and promos than Waco? Regardless, the FOX44 bug didn't bother me tonight, and it looked translucent (not as bright a blue anyway) during 24. At least it's at the edge of the screen, and not a couple of inches in like the CBS eye! It never bothered me on the analog CBS, but on their HD feed it seems bigger, brighter, and of course not in the corner.

jagouar

03-01-07, 03:41 PM

FOX44CE

03-05-07, 10:13 AM

finally got around to watching 24 last night..... i had 2 glitches on 24 with qam via suddenlink about 35 mins in.... 1/2 second pixelizations but other than that the feed was fine on my 24 recording (its nice having 800 gigs of storage now for my recordings... dont have to worry about keeping my dvr as clean anymore).

after all of the changes are made fox44 do you have any insight about the reliability of the kyle signal? Hopefully these issues would be a thing of the past once the upgrades are complete but its still a bit worrysome because 28-2 seems to have quite a few reliability issues still.

We monitor 28.2 via slingbox here in Waco full time and my master control operators log any outages. They have not reported any outages since the CM 4228 antenna was installed and the line amplifier and transmission line were replaced.

As to the splicer issue.....FOX has notified us that they will not supply a splicer for KYLE and they will not support it if we purchase it ourselves. Since it cannot be operated without stream programming from FOX we are forced to take a different approach.

We have ordered equipment to up-convert the KYLE non-HD programming and commercials and will switch to the KWKT HD feed during FOX and My Network program segments. This will require that we remove all KWKT branding from FOX HD and replace it with an generic HD logo.

In mid-February we installed a 4 channel MPEG4 logging system that is recording KWKT-TV, KYLE-TV and KWKT-HD in 30 FPS SD color with audio.

I am looking for a scan convertor compatible with the logging system to add 28.2.

I will be able to go back and review any problems reported on this forum and pursue solutions in a much more efficient manner.

I did go back and review the issue that was reported with 24 and found it did occur on KWKT-HD at about the time reported. The breakup that occured on 44.1 might have been exacerbated on 28.2 in the Remux system.

The splicer has been replaced since then and I have heard of no other issues.

Vade

03-05-07, 07:27 PM

Any word about a HD CW channel?

jagouar

03-05-07, 08:52 PM

my info is old but from what ive heard the only place you might (and its a pretty big might) see it is suddenlink/directv/dish/fios. mike wright told me they have the abaility to send suddenlink (the only provider that has a direct fiber connection to kbtx atm) 2 HD feeds at a time. so all it takes for suddenlink to add it is getting kbtx to start getting the cwHD feed broadcasted to kbtx.

i dont know if mike wright is still the head guy at kbtx still but you should be able to email a engineer or mike himself about it (thats what I did when I asked him ~ a yr ago)