700 KAMU-HD-PBS College Station, TX
705 KYLE-HD Fox Bryan, TX
710 KBTX-HD-CBS Bryan, TX
720 KRHD-HD-ABC Bryan, TX
730 KCEN-HD-NBC Temple, TX
740 TNT HD (HD Basic)
750 Fox Sports Net Southwest HD (HD Basic)
765 ESPN HD (HD Plus Tier)
767 Discovery HD Theater (HD Plus Tier)
768 National Geographic HD (HD Plus Tier *)
769 Universal HD (HD Plus Tier)
771 HDNet (HD Plus Tier)
772 HDNet Movies (HD Plus Tier)
775 Home & Garden Television HD (HD Plus Tier)
776 Food Network HD (HD Plus Tier)
778 Arts & Entertainment HD (HD Plus Tier)
785 HBO HD East
790 Showtime HD East
795 Starz HD East


One interesting thing (and this is from suddenlinks site) is fox sports HD. just noticed it today when i looked. wonder if it will be up before sat night.

edit: media center finds channel 750 in the clear qam section so its more than likely up in testing mode. but i cant add the channel to media center and see if its actually online until i get home later this evening.

edit2: the channel is online but its only color bars right now... and the guide data isnt in media center yet so there is no reason to add the channel to media center yet. as soon as guide data appears i will put it in.

btw foxeng.. forgot to post this. ive made it a point to record most of fox's hd shows to help you find the problems and ffw through most of them (the shows i dont watch).

but i noticed last night about 45 mins into bones it started breaking up and then dropped to the SD version and remained SD for all of house and was DD 2.0 all night.

btw foxeng.. forgot to post this. ive made it a point to record most of fox's hd shows to help you find the problems and ffw through most of them (the shows i dont watch).

but i noticed last night about 45 mins into bones it started breaking up and then dropped to the SD version and remained SD for all of house and was DD 2.0 all night.

We had a severe temperature inversion situation last night after the sun set causing poor reception on the over the air HD receiver. The master Control operator bypassed HD switching and checked several times later on but it was still bad. I think this is a spring/fall evening thing we will have and until I can get the digital microwave approved next year we will have to live with it.

I have the digital microwave in the budget for 1st quarter. Once that is installed we can move our HD decoding and switching back to Waco. My assistant was supposed to hook up the HD encoder to our network connection today.

Once he does that I can log into it and check the Dolby [TM] settings for automatic surround switching.

Thanks again for the info and all your help.

We had a severe temperature inversion situation last night after the sun set causing poor reception on the over the air HD receiver. The master Control operator bypassed HD switching and checked several times later on but it was still bad. I think this is a spring/fall evening thing we will have and until I can get the digital microwave approved next year we will have to live with it.

I have the digital microwave in the budget for 1st quarter. Once that is installed we can move our HD decoding and switching back to Waco. My assistant was supposed to hook up the HD encoder to our network connection today.

Once he does that I can log into it and check the Dolby [TM] settings for automatic surround switching.

Thanks again for the info and all your help.

On another note.

Due to an Autumnal Sun Fade that will wipe out our primary HD and SD FOX receivers' reception at approximately 1:05PM Sunday we will be broadcasting the Saints game Sunday in up-converted SD from 1:00PM to sometime before 1:15PM [After the Sun Fade has passed].

Sorry, we can't overcome physics.

anyone else think its a joke that we can't get sports ppv's (espn gameplan, full court) on suddelink anymore??

anyone else think its a joke that we can't get sports ppv's (espn gameplan, full court) on suddelink anymore??
it sucks that its not available but i never purchased those plans so its no loss to me.

btw fsn-hd left the clear qam this morning.... im guessing it was moved over to the encrypted side to get ready for the release.

I got home this evening and it was there. It is off air until Saturday, but there is a full slate of games on Saturday including TAMU vs. Okie State.:) Suddenlink finally did something right!

there is a stars game on friday night... atleast we get one test before sat.

its one thing right but they still need to add a few other channels.... namely espn2 and scifi.

there is a stars game on friday night... atleast we get one test before sat.

its one thing right but they still need to add a few other channels.... namely espn2 and scifi.

If they add those 2 channels, I will not have a reason to leave S*Link.

If they add those 2 channels, I will not have a reason to leave S*Link.
yep... out of the many new channels out there the only ones i think worth having (that we dont already have are those 2). if those 2 get added there will be no reason to look elsewhere. we should have already had espn2 by now though. fsnhd was a big add for me even if they dont make much use of it yet..... alot of aggie sports get shown there starting this weekend.

that said im not going to give suddenlink a huge amount of time to get those online.... probably till the end of the year else i will at dish/direct. and can come back after a year when the contract would be up (since you get such attractive prices)

either way im not going to completely drop internet with them though.... cable (especially now) is way better than verizon (8mbit vs 3mbit)

Just curious what you local D*ers thought of the new HD channels. I think baseball on TBS-HD looks great, and I watched a little of Bon Jovi Unplugged on MHD tonight and it looked (and sounded) awesome.

I watched the Cubs / Diamondbacks game the other night, and the picture was incredible. I believe it was on TBS-HD. I've been really happy so far with switching to D*.. if anything, I'll finally get better support.

So is anyone else having problems with Suddenlink audio tonight? All the HD channels are fine...but none of my SD channels have audio?!?!

got a question for the dish/direct guys?

directv first... do you still get one of those massive dish's from them or have they got those slimline ones out yet? specifically i am a bit worried as big as that thing is no matter how good its secured it can be moved by a good wind storm.

dish... so you still need 2 dishes on your house to get the hd channels?

im more than likely going to switch to one of the sat companies in a month or so (mainly because of the cost factor... sl is expensive compared to both sat companies). keeping cable internet regardless (its pretty cheap too) and more importantly i can keep qam service running to media center so i can keep the local hd channels.

im leaning directv atm because the actual costs are very similar when hd is added and from the accounts on the hdtv programming board the quality is improved. they also have scifi which dish doesnt yet (and thats a big channel for me). not to mention my dad has directv so after my contract is up i could add my receiver to his account (probably wouldnt but having that option is nice)

got a question for the dish/direct guys?

directv first... do you still get one of those massive dish's from them or have they got those slimline ones out yet? specifically i am a bit worried as big as that thing is no matter how good its secured it can be moved by a good wind storm.

Mine was the newer slimline dish. It's bigger than the 3-lnb dish, but not as big as the AT9 (?) dish. It'll be a crapshoot on which HD-DVR you get, but both models are pretty much the same.

The new channels are nice. The OSU game looked great and I'm pretty sure it was only MPEG-4. The biggest problem is channels not showing OAR. That's not a problem with Sci-Fi though. You get double bars for letterbox material, which is a bit annoying.

im not worried about that.... its going to be the same regardless of which way you go. and another feather in the cap of directv is the announcement a while back that there would be directv cablecard type of devices for media center. its probably still a ways off but thats the ultimate goal to get everything into media center. hopefully they dont have the same lame restrictions as cablecard does when it does eventually come.

speaking of the dvr.... is there any real reason to wait? im not going to do anything regardless for a month or so.

cable has just gotten too expensive. 160 for the digital cable + hdtv + 2 hd-dvr (which would go to one HD-DVR and one SD-DVR) + internet. the internet by itself will be 45 bucks by itself and from what i can see directv will run 75 bucks a month or the package i want. os thats a savings of 40 bucks a month.

The cablecard would be nice, but I haven't heard a peep about that in awhile. I remember a mentioning of a D* blade on the 360, but nothing has come of that either.

that never was going to happen.... and i didnt think it ever would.

there are some rumblings over on the media center forums (thegreenbutton). they have official ms guys over there posting and they say there have been "significant advancements" but they havent announced anything yet. its still a ways off imo but it sounds like its still coming.

http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/183356.aspx

Well, the champs at Suddenlink are at it again...

http://www.speedtest.net/result/191476601.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

I had a friend on the other side of town test too.. his was even worse...

Mine was the newer slimline dish. It's bigger than the 3-lnb dish, but not as big as the AT9 (?) dish. It'll be a crapshoot on which HD-DVR you get, but both models are pretty much the same.

The new channels are nice. The OSU game looked great and I'm pretty sure it was only MPEG-4. The biggest problem is channels not showing OAR. That's not a problem with Sci-Fi though. You get double bars for letterbox material, which is a bit annoying.

Dave,

What channel were you able to get the OSU game on?

Channel 96

I know this has been discussed early in this thread (like page 10), but I wanted to ask again since it's been a few years.

If I were to "move" to Houston, I would basically call their customer service department and say that my service address has moved to Houston, but billing stays here. It helps that my brother actually lives in Houston.. so I guess I could make up a story there. (dTV)

My primary question is.. do you think they'll be "iffy" about it since I'm literally a new customer.. not even a month in?

I'm obviously looking for ABC in time for the game on Saturday.

Marc

I "moved" within a few days of my initial install several years ago.

I did the same thing to get my HD-DVR installed.

There is no "iffy". The CSR does not care or have a reason to. I "moved" within a week of having the dish changed out in CS. I called late at night to have more assurance of a useless CSR, but I don't necessarily see a need even for that.

Well, you've beefed up my confidence.. I'll give it a shot tonight. Do I just tell them I took the dish's with me or anything? or do they not even get into that.

Marc

You know, I was worried about the same thing. I had a story all made up about how I was consulting in Hourston, blah blah blah... CSR answers the phone. I told the CSR - "I'd like to change my service address." She says - "Where would you like to change it to?" I give her an address. She says "Should be done." I say "So, I'll be getting Houston locals now, yes?" She says, "Yep." I say, "Thanks a lot, goodbye..."

Geez.. I hope I get one of those haha :) Well, I have a story just in case.

One last question.. does it have to be in Houston? Or can I use Dallas.

Marc

I have no idea. This spot map I had linked is about a year old.

http://www.scottandmichelle.net/scott/dtv.html

I do not know which transponders the Dallas locals come off of. One advantage to the Houston HD locals is that they are MPEG4 (although Dallas might be the same way.)

Yeah, that looks like it might be stretching it a bit. Interesting map though... I'm just trying to find an address.. I have a brother in Houston and a friend in Dallas that I know both don't have dTV.

Dallas, Houston or SA will work as their spotbeams cover our area.

It went just like you said. "Change service address. OK, what address?. OK, you're all set"

Well, I got a new HR20-100 today. Activated the receiver and low and behold, I'm now receiving both New York and Los Angeles HD DNS feeds for all four networks! On Sunday, I'll be able to see:

Cincinnati @ Kansas City
Houston @ Jacksonville
Oakland @ San Diego
New England @ Dallas
Washington @ Green Bay
Philadelphia @ New York Jets
Carolina @ Arizona

Who needs NFL Sunday Ticket?

New to the forum. I just moved back to B/CS, and found the same problem with local HDTV on DirecTV. If I "move" my service address to Houston, do I have to give them an actual physical address. I don't really know anyone there. Thanks for the input!

I used a lot next to my inlaws that they own. I've heard of people using gas stations, etc. for a physical address. I don't know if I'd go that route though.

Jonnyb99, have you moved or still with CS locals. That's pretty cool to have all the DNS stations. I only have NY Fox and ABC due to O&O in Houston.

Thanks, I'll try to find a place.

Jonnyb99, have you moved or still with CS locals. That's pretty cool to have all the DNS stations. I only have NY Fox and ABC due to O&O in Houston.

I guess I spoke too soon. Got up Friday morning, turned it on and now I'm getting "channel not purchased". Oh well, I still have all four feeds from New York. My service address is in Houston, so I get those locals in HD as well.

Is anyone else having trouble tuning in FOX 28 OTA today? I haven't had good signal strength all weekend. Is it coming in fine for you Suddenlinkers?

FYI;

Last night during the thunderbumpers we lost the Programmable Logic Controller in the KWKT-DT transmitter.

A new one was ordered from Acrodyne but the earliest they could get it out was today for tomorrow AM delivery.

Once the new unit comes in tomorrow and we reprogram it we should be back on in HD.
In the meantime we will not be able to deliver HD to KYLE-DT for rebroadcast.

Sorry for the inconvenience guys. I hate it to be down during the playoffs as much as you do.

Did this also affect fox44 in the killeen.waco area last night?

Did this also affect fox44 in the killeen.waco area last night?

Yes:

KWKT-DT FOX 44 HD was off the air both OTA and on Time Warner and Grande Cable systems from 11:30 PM on 10/14 until 11:45AM 10/16 when we replaced the Programmable Logic Controller in the High Power Amplifier cabinet.

The station is back on the air now and we will be broadcasting HD on KYLE-HD starting with FOX Prime tonight.

I purchased a Westinghouse L2410NM yesterday, should arrive tomorrow thanks to Newegg's incredible shipping. Obviously I'm going to have to dip into the HD possibilities with this, so I'm looking for a great HD Tuner. I was pretty set on the Hauppauge HVR-1600 until I saw the reviews for HDHomeRun. I've got a great machine, new build earlier this year, so running it shouldn't be a problem, but I've got a few questions about the homerun for anyone who knows, I'm still new to HTPC stuff mostly.

I've got Suddenlink digital cable with my roommates, and I plan on using the QAM to get the HD channels, but will it be possible for me to watch basic non HD content (ESPN, TBS, whatever) on the homerun, or will I need a tuner with an ATSC input?

Is running a direct crossover cable the best approach for using the homerun? I read that jagouar did that and it seemed to work well. I've got two gigabit ports on my PC, so I've got at least one extra (I'm running wireless now)

Thanks for all the info already, there's a lot of back reading to do.

You will need a analog tuner card to get the regular channels (espn, tbs etc). I personally have the Hauppauge WinTV-MCS-500 (dual tuner SD) and the HDHomeRun (dual tuner HD). Basically all the HDHomeRun gets you is the qam channels. you will need a second tuner card to get the analog channel (2-70)

Its the best approach Ive found... setup the dhcp server on your computer and run a crossover cable to the hdhomerun. you cant natively hardcode the hdhomerun but its not terribly difficult to configure the dhcp server (its written for hdhomerun). And the gigabit wont matter since the hdhomerun is 100mbit. but even 100mbit is enough since you can only be tuning 2 hd streams at once and that is a max of 40mbit.

Ok that's what I was figuring, I think having a dual channel SD shouldn't be too much more work. I think I will need to get another hard drive now though...

How is the QAM working for you? Are you getting the 5 or so channels I can expect?

Just to reaffirm what has been mentioned concerning the HDHomerun.

1. The HDHomerun is my favorite pick for digital tv, bar none
2. It IS ONLY a digital tuner. That means you can get ONLY digital channels, and only unencrypted ones at that. For CrapLink that will be: PBS,NBC,CBS,FOX,ABC, and the music channels.

3. Is there a reason why you aren't connecting the HdHr to a switch or a router? I'm not sure what your setup is so I can't comment further.


The reason the HdHomerun is great is as follows:

* only thing capable of qam INSIDE mce/vmce
* Networked. . . share with any monitor/tv . . . less heat inside box
* Relatively cheap for a DUAL hd tuner
* Uprise company . . great and prompt support.


For Dual Analog duties the Hauppauge 500 and the Nvidia Dual tv are probably the best options. I think Avermedia has some stuff too, but I've never owned any of them.

Let me know about anything else you might have a question about. I've spent alot of time playing with my mce boxes and have built plenty for folks.

Looks like that settles it. After reading those posts and many others about the HdHr I'm gonna go ahead and pick that up, soon hopefully. I'm also eventually going to get the Hauppage 500 for analog, and then an added 500 gig sata drive for more storage. The next big questions I've got is regarding software. I'm running XP Pro, I could upgrade to Vista Ultimate, but I'm not sure if I want to do that yet. What do you guys recommend as far software routes? Upgrade, SageTV, something else? My monitor gets here today, I'm pretty excited about it.

Vista Ultimate is very very sweet in terms of UI (the best looking dvr ive ever used... tivo included. the sports and movie section are just flat out awesome). And being able to add extenders over time is a nice touch. If you want to come see what a vista setup looks like lmk (and see how the hdhomerun works).

what is this HD Homerun thing?

I can get HD channels using this? Or is it some kinda package through suddenlink?

Yes:

KWKT-DT FOX 44 HD was off the air both OTA and on Time Warner and Grande Cable systems from 11:30 PM on 10/14 until 11:45AM 10/16 when we replaced the Programmable Logic Controller in the High Power Amplifier cabinet.

The station is back on the air now and we will be broadcasting HD on KYLE-HD starting with FOX Prime tonight.

Did this change in equipment change anything about the broadcast power? 44.1 has always been marginal for me OTA but I could at least get it. Since 10/14 I haven't been able to receive it at all.

Did this change in equipment change anything about the broadcast power? 44.1 has always been marginal for me OTA but I could at least get it. Since 10/14 I haven't been able to receive it at all.

In response to a similar post my assistant went to Bryan to verify that the transmitter was making full power.

I also checked with the Suddenlink head end to verify that they were not experiencing a drop in signal strength.

Transmitter power is stable at 500 Watts [5000 Watts ERP] and suddenlink reports +9 DB receive signal on the Scala antenna.

There has been no change in equipment. We could not deliver HD content because KWKT-DT was off the air.

During this period KYLE-HD broadcast in up-converted SD at full licenced power and was never off the air.

We replaced the KWKT-DT HPA controller that was blown [actually erased] by a lightning strike.

HD programming delivery resumed on KYLE-HD with the playoff game on Tuesday 10/16 at 7PM.

what is this HD Homerun thing?

I can get HD channels using this? Or is it some kinda package through suddenlink?
allows you to get the locals via suddenlink for free as long as you have basic cable or high speed internet with them (some type of service so cable is connected in your home).

It costs $170 or so for the tuner and works in media center among other applications most of which dont cost money for guide info.

if i had basic cable.... why would i need the local channels from this hdhomerun? with basic cable, i get them already


is this for watching tv on your computer screen or somethin?

if your tv tuner has a qam tuner then yes you get them now... what the hdhomerun does is the same thing for your computer.... difference is a computer is vastly more powerful in what it can do with the signal. you can record the signal, do commercial detection/skipping etc. all kinds of stuff.... its a free dvr thats better than pretty much every dvr out there.

and in my case it routes to the xbox 360.

bleh, for some reason NBC-HD is skipping during the office, have to watch it on SD it's so bad.

In response to a similar post my assistant went to Bryan to verify that the transmitter was making full power.

I also checked with the Suddenlink head end to verify that they were not experiencing a drop in signal strength.

Transmitter power is stable at 500 Watts [5000 Watts ERP] and suddenlink reports +9 DB receive signal on the Scala antenna.

There has been no change in equipment. We could not deliver HD content because KWKT-DT was off the air.

During this period KYLE-HD broadcast in up-converted SD at full licenced power and was never off the air.

We replaced the KWKT-DT HPA controller that was blown [actually erased] by a lightning strike.

HD programming delivery resumed on KYLE-HD with the playoff game on Tuesday 10/16 at 7PM.

I should have been more clear that I was talking about receiving KWKT-DT, not KYLE. I know you're not responsible for KWKT but it seems as though you know what's going on there. My signal strength for KWKT-DT has always been marginal but I've been getting it reliably for several months. This is OTA. I lost it on 10/14 and haven't been able to get it back since then. I was wondering if they made any changes (powerwise or other) that may have affected me.

Unfortunately for me, it seems as though 95% of the posters here live in Bryan/College Station and it's difficult to find other Waco area viewers to compare notes.

Unfortunately for me, it seems as though 95% of the posters here live in Bryan/College Station and it's difficult to find other Waco area viewers to compare notes.

It's pretty funny. This market is defined by Waco yet barely any participate in the discussion. I would so love to have B/CS be its own market. I for one could care less what's going on in Waco and I'm sure it's the same for Waco folks.

It's pretty funny. This market is defined by Waco yet barely any participate in the discussion. I would so love to have B/CS be its own market. I for one could care less what's going on in Waco and I'm sure it's the same for Waco folks.
the problem is we arent big enough yet to be our own market.... that said i would like to see us be our own market as well because it would force everybody not kbtx to seriously upgrade their stuff and get rid of those low power analog only repeaters (nbc and abc).....

Joining Houston, like Navasota, would be fine by me. :)

that wont happen either.... too far away from houston. we really are in a odd position.

I have Directv in Houston and Suddenlink in College Station. The new Directv channels are beautiful and am considering switching in CS. I don't like losing the CS local channels, but Suddenlink needs to add more HD channels to compete. I see no reason why they haven't added ESPN2 and a few others, like USA and TBS. If more channels aren't forthcoming shortly, it doesn't make sense not to switch. Maybe I'll keep Suddenlink basic for local CS HD with Houston service address for Directv in CS to get the Houston locals.

I should have been more clear that I was talking about receiving KWKT-DT, not KYLE. I know you're not responsible for KWKT but it seems as though you know what's going on there. My signal strength for KWKT-DT has always been marginal but I've been getting it reliably for several months. This is OTA. I lost it on 10/14 and haven't been able to get it back since then. I was wondering if they made any changes (powerwise or other) that may have affected me.

Unfortunately for me, it seems as though 95% of the posters here live in Bryan/College Station and it's difficult to find other Waco area viewers to compare notes.

I'm sorry, I misread your post and didn't register that you said 44.1.

I am Chief Engineer of both KWKT [44] and KYLE [28] which are operated from our studios in Waco on Estates Drive in Woodway.

The device that failed is a microprocessor.controller for the transmitter and the transmitter will not operate without it.

After the part was replaced on 10/16, the transmitter was re-calibrated and verified to be operating at full FCC licensed operating power of 200.000 watts ERP.

My assistant went to the KYLE transmitter site in Bryan where we receive KWKT-HD for re-broadcast of HD programming segments on KYLE-HD and the receive signal strength there is the same as before the failure.

I have Directv in Houston and Suddenlink in College Station. The new Directv channels are beautiful and am considering switching in CS. I don't like losing the CS local channels, but Suddenlink needs to add more HD channels to compete. I see no reason why they haven't added ESPN2 and a few others, like USA and TBS. If more channels aren't forthcoming shortly, it doesn't make sense not to switch. Maybe I'll keep Suddenlink basic for local CS HD with Houston service address for Directv in CS to get the Houston locals.

What local channels are you worried about losing? KBTX and KAMU can be picked up with a small antenna. Does KYLE or the ABC station have local B/CS news? You get the best of both worlds with DirecTV. Houston HD locals via satellite and KBTX/KAMU with an antenna. :)

the problem is we aren't big enough yet to be our own market.... that said i would like to see us be our own market as well because it would force everybody not kbtx to seriously upgrade their stuff and get rid of those low power analog only repeaters (NBC and abc).....

In March 2009 according to their FCC applications both the NBC and ABC stations will be flashing over their analog repeaters to digital. I'm sure that the ABC will be HD because they already deliver the HD signal that far, but I'm not sure what the NBC station will do. [I have been Chief Engineer of both stations in the past but am out of touch - NOTE: I built KXXV in 1984]

Be kind guys - I was instrumental in putting both those "Little low powers" on the air. Before that you had nothing.

As for our plans for KYLE: We will be purchasing a three hop digital microwave system capable of HD delivery and move our HD switching operations to Waco from Bryan in early 2008. Once that is done the HD signal fades due to atmospheric conditions will be a thing of the past.

I would have done it in the first stage of changing over to HD but the the cost wasn't in the budget for this year.

In March 2009 we will be moving KYLE-HD from channel 29 to the existing channel 28 analog antenna and increasing the effective radiated power 50,000 watts.

That will result in signal coverage significantly better than the existing analog channel 28. [Operating from the same antenna]

50 KW digital is equivalent to the 2000 KW analog but produces no snow in areas that are getting it now with an analog TV.

The FCC will not allocate any more full power stations to Bryan/College Station because there are none available that would not interfere with existing analog or digital stations in Houston, Waco, Dallas and Austin.

Once the analog channels are off the air in 2009, broadcasters will be allowed to apply for full power digital licenses that do not interfere with existing full power digital allocations in those cities. Approximatel 14 channels will open up then.

Maybe then Bryan can join the real world.

KRHD does have some locals news, but you're right. I wouldn't lose much even without OTA.

Anyone having issues with KWBU HD on the new HR20 receivers?

I had no issues with my HR10-250 but with my new HR20's I get a breakup every 10 seconds or so. Yet it's still flawless on my Mitsu HD reciever and another HD receiver I've got.

Seems to be an issue just with the HR20's decoding the signal. Maybe a PSIP issue? :confused:

btw fox44.... the baseball game on sat night was sd only (in 2.0 audio) and last night it was HD but was stuck in 2.0 mode again.

and the directv guys.... i got a question about the houston locals. do they have some of the same pixelization issues some of our stations have? abc and fox generally look excellent but nbc and cbs looks pretty bad these days. what really made me realize it was i downloaded an episode of csi:ny off the xbox live marketplace because i missed a recording. and it was much much better quality than we get on cbs (ie it always pixelates with fast motion.... none of that exists on the xbox live download). just wondering how directv houston locals compare. back when i had the antenna their stations had more subchannels than we did here but was wondering if the mpeg4 transition helps.

I think the Houston locals look just fine. I don't watch much on NBC these days, but all of the CSIs look great. I'll lookout for pixelation though.

I would say NBC doesn't look too good though, but I think that's NBC and not KPRC.

I'm sorry, I misread your post and didn't register that you said 44.1.

I am Chief Engineer of both KWKT [44] and KYLE [28] which are operated from our studios in Waco on Estates Drive in Woodway.

The device that failed is a microprocessor.controller for the transmitter and the transmitter will not operate without it.

After the part was replaced on 10/16, the transmitter was re-calibrated and verified to be operating at full FCC licensed operating power of 200.000 watts ERP.

My assistant went to the KYLE transmitter site in Bryan where we receive KWKT-HD for re-broadcast of HD programming segments on KYLE-HD and the receive signal strength there is the same as before the failure.

I had to adjust my antenna but everything seems back to normal now for me and KWKT-DT. I did get frequent macroblocking and audio drops during the Cowboys game yesterday but the baseball playoff broadcast was fine.

Thanks for keeping us updated!

compare it to kbtx.... i dont know if you can see the pixelization with kbtx but once you see it w/o (xbox live) cbs just doesnt look the same. and i think nbc is partially nbc itself but i think its the stations too.

back in the beginning of kcen-hd they used to give it the full 19mbit and it looks awesome... now it runs ~15mbit and looks like crap (same with kbtx). but i was thinking the mpeg4 compression might help since mpeg4 is vastly superior to mpeg2 at lower bitrates (all the content on xbox live is mpeg4 and looks generally awesome)

also for comparison (and would be pretty cheap just to compare) but go get an episode of one of the csi's (same episode to do a true comparison) and see if you see the same things i do.

for me the xbox live version gets a 10/10 and kbtx gets 6/10 (purely subjective comparison). and its kinda funny i was never really bothered by it before but now that i know what it can look like im noticing alot more.

It went just like you said. "Change service address. OK, what address?. OK, you're all set"
Ishman - was this 'move' with DISH Netork or Direct TV.

With DISH, but would switch to Direct.

Tks,
ALH972

DirecTV

Word of advice, check to make sure they didn't change the billing address.

Marc

got one more question for the directv guys.... http://www.thesatelliteshop.net/hypercart/PictureFrame.asp?Sku=1hr201slimline

at that link what is the multiswitch used for? thats for multiple boxes connected to the same dish right? wondering because my dad is going to upgrade to HD as well on directv and he needs one of the new dishes as well. And will that dish setup include everything he needs? (ie there is no hidden extras we will need). he only has one tv hooked up. also are there any "trusted" sites to use to buy equipment like this? (anything cheaper). this was just the first one that came up on a google search.

also when changing the service address.... how long have people been with directv before changing it? ie i assume it would look weird if you get it installed over the weekend and then call the next monday to have the service address changed. or do you think it would be ok.

The dish looks like that one and there shouldn't be a need for a multiswitch if it's only one TV. I think the slimline can handle 4 lines before needing a multiswitch.

I'm guessing you want to buy a dish for yourself and hang off his account? Not sure where you can buy the dish.

I called to move back to CS and got the install ordered on the same call. I moved back to Houston about two days later. They really don't seem to care.

ok... actually i am creating an account for me (to get the 100 off hd-dvr and any other specials they might have when i call since im a new sub) and hes gonna cancel his account and piggyback on my acct. (he already has directv but would need one of the new dish's at his house)

foxeng.... if you are around hd is offline on suddenlink this evening. (last night was broke as well)

He might get a better deal on the install than you though. You might have him check into that when he calls to cancel.

he has called in the past and they wont give him anything.... he wanted to ugrade to hd before. plus our account will have multiple tv's and his is already wired (all he needs is to swap out the dish) and i didnt want to mess with running wire myself (the install will be far more difficult over here).

btw did you ever check the houston locals vs kbtx? not that im going to be able to change much but man does the vc1 stuff on marketplace blow away kbtx... hopefully khou is better in htown. what makes it even worse is the kbtx version is 7.0 gigs and the xbox marketplace version is 2.5 gigs.

foxeng.... if you are around hd is offline on suddenlink this evening. (last night was broke as well)

Our HD switcher in Bryan failed sometime between Monday and Tuesday prime and we had to order a new one.

It came in today and we hope to have it installed before the WS game tonight. Wouldn't you know it would fail right before the WS.

Sorry, I should have posted on this earier.................

Jag -

I bought the new Slimline dish on Ebay for $70, shipping included. You only need the 6X8 multiswitch if you have more than 4 televisions or if you want to hook up the smaller dish to get the Waco-Temple-Bryan locals. I have the Houston locals and I don't think they look very good at all. I think the MPEG2 HD DNS locals from New York look better. I asked the guys in the DFW thread how their MPEG4 HD locals looked and they seem to think they look pretty close to OTA, so I'm probably going to 'move' to DFW. Plus, they have 5 of their locals up in HD. Anyway, just my two cents worth.

good to know... im keeping my suddenlink locals around as my primary dvr anyhow because fox and abc look awesome. i only have a houston address to use so im gonna be getting houston locals.

KYLE is back up in HD as of 7:12 PM Oct 25th

Sorry about the delay guys.....We had several issues that caused the failure.

Computers......ain't they wonderfull!

You only need the 6X8 multiswitch if you have more than 4 televisions or if you want to hook up the smaller dish to get the Waco-Temple-Bryan locals.

Really? So I could just route one of the lines coming into my multi-switch and go directly to the receiver with it? (one to each of two TV's and two to the HD DVR...)

Is this everyone else's impression as well? I don't know why I thought that wasn't the case.

Anyone having issues with KWBU HD on the new HR20 receivers?

I had no issues with my HR10-250 but with my new HR20's I get a breakup every 10 seconds or so. Yet it's still flawless on my Mitsu HD reciever and another HD receiver I've got.

Seems to be an issue just with the HR20's decoding the signal. Maybe a PSIP issue? :confused:

KWBU-DT has been generally fine for me and my HR20-700. I'm near Lorena and use $10 Rat Shack rabbit ears. I have noticed that various OTA stations can really vary in quality from show to show or day to day. Also, there are some reviews of the HR20 that criticize it for its ATSC tuner. Personally, I get about the same quality reception from my Sony ATSC tuners as I do with the HR20. As always, your mileage may vary.

Really? So I could just route one of the lines coming into my multi-switch and go directly to the receiver with it? (one to each of two TV's and two to the HD DVR...)


That is correct IF you have the new Slimline dish. If you have the older AT9 dish, you need the multiswitch. I have two lines coming straight from the dish into my HD DVR. Remember, if you have the smaller dish required for the Waco-Temple-Bryan locals, you WILL need the multiswitch.

Really? So I could just route one of the lines coming into my multi-switch and go directly to the receiver with it? (one to each of two TV's and two to the HD DVR...)

Is this everyone else's impression as well? I don't know why I thought that wasn't the case.

You could bypass the multiswitch completely if you don't have more than 4 satellite inputs in your system, with either of the MPEG4 (AT9 or Slimline) capable dishes. I don't think there is any disadvantage to using the multiswitch if you are using one now, but if you do use the switch all of the lines coming from the dish should go into it.
There is some pretty useful info on the various DirecTV dishes here (http://www.solidsignal.com/satellite/directv_dish_antenna_types.asp).

Suddenlink basic cable....... when will it (if ever) get NBC and FOX in HD? I thought we were supposed to get local channels in HD

I took my TV home to houston (katy area) and got SO MANY channels in HD using comcast basic cable. ESPN, ESPN 2, and every single local channel and TBS and some others too....


here in CS, I get all the locals except NBC and FOX and well that's a big deal... HD packages are just too expensive in my opinion, all I want are the locals anyway

Any idea?

i get the locals just fine... its a problem with your tuner or your area not getting the service but CS suddenlink does have all locals and has had them for a long time.

Suddenlink basic cable....... when will it (if ever) get NBC and FOX in HD?

I think that the rule is that if a local station is broadcast in digital via your provider, they must provide that signal unscrambled. Where I live (Round Rock), the CW is broadcast OTA in HD, but since Time Warner doesn't offer it in HD/Digital to any subscribers, they are not required to carry it in the clear. Once they offer it in digital, it will need to be "in the clear"

KWBU-DT has been generally fine for me and my HR20-700. I'm near Lorena and use $10 Rat Shack rabbit ears. I have noticed that various OTA stations can really vary in quality from show to show or day to day. Also, there are some reviews of the HR20 that criticize it for its ATSC tuner. Personally, I get about the same quality reception from my Sony ATSC tuners as I do with the HR20. As always, your mileage may vary.

I find it extremely interesting that both of my HR20-100's have issues, but my Mitsu, HR10-250, and Unity Motion are fine. I wonder if it something specific about the 100 compared to the 700?

i get the locals just fine... its a problem with your tuner or your area not getting the service but CS suddenlink does have all locals and has had them for a long time.


im talking about in High Definition.... of course I get the locals.. but i want the local channels in HD with suddenlink basic cable

and to the other post, i know fox and NBC are offered on the digital HD plan so they should be there for local....

i live right on university near Circuit City

where do you live jagour? you have suddenlink basic cable and get all the local channels (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC...) in high definition?

yep... always have gotten all the hd channels via clear qam.

Just curious on everyone's opinion... Blockbuster vs. Netflix.

I'm thinking of starting one of the monthly rental services. We don't rent very much, maybe a few times a month. I'd like to rent some more HD-DVDs. I'm leaning toward BB since I can return them there and pickup some non-HD titles there as well.

ive had both... they are pretty close to the same.

currently with netflix... getting hd-dvd's are quite hard on both services so be warned there. kinda funny because for alot of movies im renting from the xbox marketplace because its just too damn easy esp when the movie is a long wait on netflix. (and was the same way with blockbuster)

What's considered a long wait? Weeks?

long wait typically means 1 week... very long wait means atleast 1 week. (and then a few days to ship it to you)

as an fyi... currently i have 5 hd-dvd's in my queue. 1 very long wait (knocked up), 2 long waits (evan almighty, next), 1 short wait (last starfighter) and have one that shipped. its usually like that where most hd-dvd's have atleast some sort of a wait... atleast the newer ones. getting older hd-dvd movies isnt a problem.

Ah, well that's not too bad then. We'd probably only rent one a week anyway.

jagouar, where do you live roughly?

should i call suddenlink and ask why i am not getting NBC and FOX in HD......

i get ABC, CBS, PBS, and Starz family in high def

i live off southwood near bee creek park... you could try but they might not "officially" support qam channels. probably wouldnt hurt to try.

I'd like to rent some more HD-DVDs.

You might double check me on this, but I believe Blockbuster is renting Blu-ray exclusively.

You might double check me on this, but I believe Blockbuster is renting Blu-ray exclusively.
their online service has hd-dvd... just instore rentals are bluray only for now. and he was talking about taking a hd-dvd in and getting a sd-dvd from the instore (atleast thats how i read it)

Anyone in B/CS w/Directv having problems with kbtx lately? Been coming in really crappy lately (broken up picture). All the other locals do fine, which are on same sat and same transponder I believe. I can pick it up OTA just fine.

EDIT: nevermind--directv just put up a message on ch 3 saying it is temporarily unavailable.

Is the HD service through suddenlink worth it? I pay $70 for cable and internet right now... getting 8mb internet speed. Just basic cable though....

It's me and 2 roommates. Me and one roommate have samsung 32" HDTVs and want HD but it's so expensive. about $20 per person once we get the box payment and the HD service payment. it's like $14 for the box monthly and $7 for the HD channels monthly...

This seems so expensive doesn't it? Just for some HD.... Even if we switch over to the digital package, it's like $90 a month and that's only one box I think right? What happens to our bedrooms?

Bleh I guess I'm kinda confused.... gotta give suddenlink a call to see what the cheapest way to get HD would be even if it's just for my bedroom because it's not fair to ask the other roommate to pitch in since the TV is in my room

Its expensive because its considered a "premium" service.... And yes give suddenlink a call. they can usually trick the system into getting you cheaper price.

FYI though... I just bit the bullet and ordered directv. they have many more hd channels than anybody else now and will continue to for a while. If you can swing get a dish installed your best bet will probably be to get directv and keep cable modem (what i am doing). Directv has cheaper tv services and have more HD and SL has the best internet in town (which should also allow me to keep my clear qam channels in vista media center)

I will also report back on monday about the quality.... typically SL has been much better in the HD picture quality dept but directv's new satellite has much better pq (will be interesting to see if it matches cable).

their online service has hd-dvd... just instore rentals are bluray only for now. and he was talking about taking a hd-dvd in and getting a sd-dvd from the instore (atleast thats how i read it)

Yes, that was possibly the plan. There is no one, ie. Hastings or BB, in town that rents HD-DVDs. :(

yeah it sucks.... what sucked even harder was trying to find transformers 2 weeks ago. had to go to 5 different stores to find a place with any stock.

i bet we see blockbuster move back to neutral soon.... the 08 hd-dvd lineup is pretty amazing. granted we will know alot more when wb decides... they will probably decide which format wins.

right now I pay $70 for basic cable and 8mb internet because it's a package

their digital package is about $90.... then another $8 to get HD...

DirecTV is what like $50 for the cable then another $7 for HD? Then I would have to get the internet from Suddenlink and 8mb internet by itself is $50. So, that's $107+


I want DirecTV but it would just be so expensive because internet by itself with SL is $50. And I don't want to downgrade my internet speed too much

How much are you paying for DirecTV's cable and HD? And SL's internet?

Thanks for responding btw

im talking about in High Definition.... of course I get the locals.. but i want the local channels in HD with suddenlink basic cable

and to the other post, i know fox and NBC are offered on the digital HD plan so they should be there for local....

i live right on university near Circuit City

where do you live jagour? you have suddenlink basic cable and get all the local channels (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC...) in high definition?

Issues with clear delivery of local HD on Suddenlink have all been resolved.

If you have a Quam tuner ijn your TV you should receive all locals in HD.

btw foxeng.... had a problem last night on kylehd. it was swapping between SD and a black screen (most of the time it was a black screen) all night and was still stuck in 2.0 stereo mode.

Issues with clear delivery of local HD on Suddenlink have all been resolved.

If you have a Quam tuner ijn your TV you should receive all locals in HD.


So you're saying I should scan cable right now and I will get ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, PBS........ all in high definition?

I never got NBC or FOX on cable before... I got fox 28.1 only with an antenna....

Do you know what channels HD NBC and HD FOX on cable should be?

I have the Samsung 3253H by the way, and it has a QAM tuner for sure

I switched to DirecTV about a month ago and I'll probably never go back to suddenlink for cable. I currently pay (it was a special) $82/mo (including taxes) to get every single channel they have... including all the HD stuff. The HD pq is much improved from what it used to be.

Marc

Well, I just scanned the channels and didn't get anything new in high definition

ABC is 91-720
CBS is 3-1
PBS is 12-1
Starz Family is 111-4

And that's about it...... No fox or NBC in high def :(

anyone know what the problem could be? I even plugged it directly into my cable downstairs, got rid of any splitters and everything......

Everyone is saying they get all of the locals so I'm just wondering what's up

I have Suddenlink HD in College Station. Because they only have 19 HD channels, I would like to go with Directv. The only thing holding me back is that Directv installers don't like to add cable in the wall during installation. I have Directv in Houston and the HD is very good. Suddenlink needs to add a few more, including ESPN2, USA and TBS in HD, and they need do something more with FSN Southwest HD on channel 750. Most of the time it's dark.

My friend has a TV with a cablecard so he just uses that for HD channels which is easy I wonder why they got rid of those? Do they make cablecards anymore? That would be a lot easier..... maybe some kind of usb cable card thing? i dunno

blaaaah i want local channels in HD!

Tonight the Houston Rockets are playing on Fox Sports Houston in HD, but Fox HD channel 750 on Suddenlink is dark. What's wrong with Suddenlink?

Tonight the Houston Rockets are playing on Fox Sports Houston in HD, but Fox HD channel 750 on Suddenlink is dark. What's wrong with Suddenlink?

Don't get me started....... :)

By the way, I had a horrible experience with Blockbuster online.. I think Netflix is more dependable and their website is extremely easy to use.

Marc

It seems like Suddenlink is trying to drive their customers to satellite. Either they don't care or they are inept.

It seems like Suddenlink is trying to drive their customers to satellite.

I know the new channels were a long time coming, but I have really been pleased with D*, especially since the recent launch of all the new MPEG4 channels. I also 'moved' to DFW, and I believe the HD locals are better than Houston's. Plus, DFW has 5 HD locals up and running (the big 4 plus My Network). I'm also still getting the HD DNS feeds for all four networks from NY. That's really nice on a day like today when KBTX is showing the Texans/Raiders game; I'll still be able to see the Patriots/Colts game. All this for $70 a month? I don't think Suddenlink is that reasonable.

I live in Temple and have zero HD. How do I get it? I have dish right now, but am moving to Direct. There are no ODA hd channels right? So I will be stuck with only the HD that directv offers?

I live in Temple and have zero HD. How do I get it? I have dish right now, but am moving to Direct. There are no ODA hd channels right? So I will be stuck with only the HD that directv offers?

With a simple antenna...[Maybe even a set top?] pointed toward Moody you should be able to receive KCEN NBC[9], KWBU PBS[20], KXXV ABC[26], KWTX CBS/CW[53] and KWKT FOX[56].

All are broadcasting the networks listed above in HD.

At present, Directv doesn't offer local HD channels in the Waco/Temple/Bryan TX market. You would need an antenna or cable to get the local stations. For quantity and quality of high definition content, Directv seems to be the best choice with more than 70 national HD channels.

I'm in the Temple area and get local ota Hd with an outdoor antenna. Get NBC (9-1), CBS (10-1), ABC (25-1), Fox (44-1), CW (10-2), PBS (46-1). Most of the time we also get Austin locals, ABC (24-1), CBS (42-1), NBC (36-1), Fox (7-1), CW (54-1), PBS (34-1 and 18-1)

Thanks yall for the fast info. I guess I was confused as last time a looked, many months ago, i couldnt find an HD being broadcast locally. either i had a brain fart or they added them after I looked.

Super! Looks like I must get an ODA hd antenna. Wish DirTV would get off their duff and make this easy, LOL.

fhed, youre right. directv has more but i have heard that they compress their signal more than dish, but still looking into that. i would rather have quality instead of quantity. and i sure hope that most hd channels are not all sports. who cares about getting more of those in hd. lol.

Thanks yall for the fast info. I guess I was confused as last time a looked, many months ago, i couldnt find an HD being broadcast locally. either i had a brain fart or they added them after I looked.

Super! Looks like I must get an ODA hd antenna. Wish DirTV would get off their duff and make this easy, LOL.

fhed, youre right. directv has more but i have heard that they compress their signal more than dish, but still looking into that. i would rather have quality instead of quantity. and i sure hope that most hd channels are not all sports. who cares about getting more of those in hd. lol.

Directv's quality looks pretty good to me.

Well I finally got D* installed yesterday... was supposed to get it installed last friday but the installer never showed (this actually turned out to be a good thing though since the guy that came yesterday did an excellent job and the guy on friday when he called at 5:05 pm sounded like he didnt know a whole lot about anything). But all the wires were run in the attic and he replaced most of the wiring to the rooms in the house (like i said he did a great job)

picture quality is close but suddenlink looks a bit better across the board (havent moved to houston yet so I cant compare locals but the espn's, universals etc). that said i prefer directv's lineup and the fact that they are all mpeg4 is nice (allows you to record more shows with the same dvr space).

as for the hr21 itself (yeah i got one of the new ones... my installer said i was one of the first ones in b/cs to get them). its ok but not that great. had a few glitches last night which is worrysome but it said it might be like that while it populates the guide. i dont remember who said it now but the dvr software isnt that great in terms of options (even the suddenlink dvr had more options when recording shows/series and everything pales in comparison to media center). getting directv tuners in media center will be a godsend once it happens.

as far as the guide (im hoping this is just because it was still populating but even last last night the guide was still very incomplete... certain channels in the guide were missing as you went forward in time so i was unable to schedule most of my series recordings because they havent shown up in the guide). but i do have a question for the directv guys..... do most of the hd channels not have the logo associated with them (or the hd tag on many channels when a show is hd) yet? only a very small number of the channels had the logo there and i have removed any sd version of a channel if there is a hd version (to clean up the guide). also dont like the way it lists channels with the channel number first since many of the channels have xxx-1.... you barely get to see the call letters because of the space allocated to the channel number and name. (makes the logo's more important). Also is there any reason to keep both versions of the espn channels and the others listed in the 70's? I noticed there was a channel in the 70's and then again listed later with the rest of the espn's (same with tnt). If they both link to the same channel I will get rid of one of them to further reduce the guide. It was nice with suddenlink having all the HD channels in a section (700-800). I personally like that alot better than the way directv is mixing HD and SD channels. I know you can list by hd channels but it was easier just going to channel 700 with sl and scroll down.

Overall though its nice to have more channels (especially the sports ones).... was able to watch every nba game last night which was nice (seeing acie law and antione go at it last night). But media center integration cant come soon enough on the dvr side of things.

It'll take a few days (if that) to populate the guide data. Currently the HD logos aren't all there yet, but should be soon with software updates.

There's no reason to keep the 70s unless you like those grouped together. Those channels are MPEG-2 and just remapped. The rest are MPEG-4.

The guide does take a bit of adjustment, but I'm happy with the new DVR. I do miss the Tivo somewhat, but I'll take all the new channels.

so the non 70 versions of channels would be the ones to get rid of? seeing as they would be mpeg4?

i agree.... there are some problems with the dvr but the new channels are nice (and the capacity for more.... they are wasting quite a bit of space even now so they could really add alot more than the ones they even say). but getting media center going with directv will be the ultimate. but it is kinda funny you mention having all those channels... kinda sucks having only 2 tuners for all of the channels. with all of those channels you really need more than 2 and ive gotten used to having 4 with media center. the good thing is i technically will still have 4 tuners since the qam channels will stay in media center (as well as the analog stuff too since they havent disconnected my programming yet) which can leave the directv dvr to do everything else (and be the backup for media center)

it is kinda weird it takes soo long to populate the guide.... you would think it would take a few hours at most (media center takes 5 mins). hopefully the hd channel logos and hd markers are fixed because thats how i use the guide mostly since the channel text is mostly useless i look at the shows that are on and marked in hd.

It won't matter which ones you hide in the guide. I have them both on for no reason. They're all MPEG-2 for the time being. I do believe Showtime West and HBO West are MPEG-4 on their non-70 channel.

The guide population shouldn't take days, but I can't exactly remember. I had the same problem initially, but it didn't take too long for it to be updated.

I've never need 4 tuners at once. Sometimes 3 when there's a Spurs game on during network programming. I guess I don't watch enough TV. :D

well last night i already maxed out my two tuners... recorded the nets/hawks and spurs/rockets game. so i didnt even get to go find something else to record.

i hit 3 a few times a week and have hit 4 a few times. still its always good to have more than enough tuners than not enough. :)

Are anyone elses HD channels the same as mine? (basic cable)

3-1: CBS

91-720: ABC

12-1: PBS

111-4: Starz Family Friends (not HD)

103-1: Discovery Health (not HD)

and that's all :(

hdhomerun finds these channels...

CH81-700 KAMUDT (pbs)
CH81-710 KBTXDT (cbs)
CH82-705 KWKTDT (fox)... havent scanned in a while so it probably identifies as kyledt now.
CH82-730 KCENDT (nbc)
CH91-720 KRHDDT (abc)

40 music channels (not going to bother listing those)
CH111-4 SKF
CH115-9 PPV

CH118-750 FOXHDSW (fox sports)

Jag, I have left the duplicate channels, the ones in the 70's, in my main favorites guide, mostly so I don't have to go further into the guide to get to them. That does keep some of the HD channels bunched together, especially HBO and Showtime. I don't know about the new HR-21, but in the 20 you can setup a second favorites guide. That's where I put nothing but the HD channels. Makes it easier for those times I want to be a HD snob! :)

Thanks for the update jag.I tried the FSN HD channel and I'm picking it up.Just in time to watch the Aggie's get blown out.:eek:

I wished I would have checked yesterday could have seen the Rockets in HD.

weird, i remember a few months ago, I got all those channels you listed Jag. Same channel #'s too...... then they just disappeared later that night.

If I got this HDhomerun thing, I guess I'd pick these channels up? not worth the $$$ but I wonder why they just went away suddenly?

anybody having issues with Internet from suddenlink tonight? We've been down for several hours, I can't get to suddenlink.com from my phone, and their toll free number has been busy the whole time.

Sounds like they are having some issues...

Yeah I was down for about an hour last night... I bet a line was cut somewhere.

Also those debating between suddenlink and directv still. Got the locals working over the weekend and can provide comparisons... cbs, fox look the same on both. nbc and abc both look better on suddenlink (nbc especially). but abc out of houston has 5.1 audio which makes me prefer the abc out of houston. so its kind of a mixed bag.

also directv really needs to get the mpeg2 stuff moved over to mpeg4 (or increase the bw if its already mpeg4... lyngsat says some of the espn's are mpeg4).... having the football games on espn it was alot more apparent that espn on suddenlink is far better. but i think that will change once it goes mpeg4 because the mpeg4 versions compare much better to suddenlink.

also a question for the directv guys... i did a little looking on directv's website but is the only way to get espnu is via the premiere channel package? i have the plus dvr+hd package and dont get espnu. was hoping there would be a sports package for 5 bucks I could buy. Namely for the basketball games coming up that will be on espnu.

I think that's the only way to get ESPNU. I believe the Sports Pack is only for the RSNs and not the extra ESPN stuff.

thats what i figured... still kind of a lame thing that you have to buy all the movie channels to get espnu. really every channel other than the premium movie networks should be available on the package i have (which is the 2nd highest directv even offers)

I know the new channels were a long time coming, but I have really been pleased with D*, especially since the recent launch of all the new MPEG4 channels. I also 'moved' to DFW, and I believe the HD locals are better than Houston's. Plus, DFW has 5 HD locals up and running (the big 4 plus My Network). I'm also still getting the HD DNS feeds for all four networks from NY. That's really nice on a day like today when KBTX is showing the Texans/Raiders game; I'll still be able to see the Patriots/Colts game. All this for $70 a month? I don't think Suddenlink is that reasonable.
How do I 'move' to DFW?

Just installed D* - with install address in Bryan area and billing to our Dallas home address. Thought that might get us DFW locals, but we get Waco locals - and of course D* carries no HD locals in Waco/Bryan. After numerous calls to D* they consistently tell me the install address determines local channels. So when u move to DFW - r u telling D* that u physically moved your D* equipment? Or are u just doing a billing address change?

Your billing address can be wherever you want the bill. You need to call D* and ask to change your service address. This will determine your local channels. They've never asked a reason for changing the address when I've moved. Just take note that if you have problems, you'll have to "move" back to where your equipment is located.

I think that's the only way to get ESPNU. I believe the Sports Pack is only for the RSNs and not the extra ESPN stuff.

ESPNU is included when you sub to the Sports Pack. I'm looking at it now. I have the Sports Pack but I don't have the Premier package.

Just added the Sports Pack, and ESPNU is now active. Will cancel after the game.

Just added the Sports Pack, and ESPNU is now active. Will cancel after the game.

There is a 30 day minimum sub to premium packages (HBO, Starz, Sports, etc) or else you get a $10 disconnect fee. However, you can endlessly switch among the premiums without any fees as long as you keep the number of premiums the same.

In other words, if you currently sub to HBO & Starz you could switch to Cinemax & Sports without any cost, but you could not drop any of the premiums unless you've had them for more than 30 days. You can switch once every 24 hours. The 30 day clock starts again each time you switch.

Sub

Yeah, you used to be able to add / remove for a day and get a pro-rated fee. Not anymore. :(

Hopefully most of the ball games won't be on ESPNU. Last year a lot were on ESPN+, which is 51 for Houston.

Oh and there's a few new D* channels this morning: Nickelodeon, CMT, MTV, VH1, and Spike plus a few PPV.

Oh and there's a few new D* channels this morning: Nickelodeon, CMT, MTV, VH1, and Spike plus a few PPV.

Also, several new HD sports channels, although these will only be active for games.


Games Only Regional Sports Networks:

* 620-1: Comcast Sports Net New England HD
* 630-1: FSN South HD
* 631-1: SportsSouth HD
* 632-1: Sun Sports HD
* 634-1: FSN Florida HD
* 637-1: FSN Ohio HD
* 638-1: FSN Cincinnati HD
* 641-1: FSN North HD
* 644-1: Altitude HD
* 645-1: FSN Rocky Mountain HD
* 649-1: FSN Arizona HD
* 651-1: FSN Northwest HD
* 654-1: FSN Bay Area HD

* 669-1: RSNaHD
* 648-1: FSN Midwest HD
* 646-1: FSN Utah HD
* 639-1: FSN Houston HD
* 642-1: FSN Wisconsin HD

Wow, didn't know they changed that Bob. Guess I can drop Starz or HBO for a month to even out the cost. Curb your Enthusiasm just ended on HBO so there isn't a lot to watch right now anyway.

Foxeng:

My wife and I are watching American President today on Fox 28 via Suddenlink cable, and there's a medium/low-volume constant-pitch audio tone underlying the show audio all the time.

I'm not sure how long this has been there, but it's happening during both programming and commercials.

FYI, it's coming though on both the analog channel (KYLE 7) and digital (82.2).

Does anyone know if we will have the Cowboys and Packers game on Suddenlink?

The short answer is no.You need one of the dish packages, go to a sports bar, or find it on the net.

Andyacecandy,

I have 2 CableCards. I got them about 3 months before the suddenlink buyout. I have heard from someone I met recently that he was told suddenlink did not offer cable cards. Im pretty sure that is illegal. It was mandated by the FCC to offer them. Cable companies just don't like to because they lose money. I pay $3.98 for two cards VS the ridiculous feed associated with DVR/programming guides B.S. I have a sony DHG HDD500 HD DVR that takes one and a Sony Hi Def TV and their HD tier and the variety digital tier.

If you have a QAM tuner you should be able to pick up the HD locals because they are supposed to be included free. Anything broadcast OTA they have to carry on the cable for free as I understand it.

Here is an article about it:

http://www.news.com/FAQ-CableCard-Whats-that/2100-1041_3-5542400.html (http://http://www.news.com/FAQ-CableCard-Whats-that/2100-1041_3-5542400.html)

It might be a bit dated but as I said, I believe they are required to offer it. The only stipulation I had to deal with was they required in home installation which cost like $25.

I see Directv has added KCEN and KWTX HD to College Station local channels. Also My20 and CW39 in Houston.

Who installed Directv for you? I'm switching, too, in the near future, although I would rather have an HR20.

Well I finally got D* installed yesterday... was supposed to get it installed last friday but the installer never showed (this actually turned out to be a good thing though since the guy that came yesterday did an excellent job and the guy on friday when he called at 5:05 pm sounded like he didnt know a whole lot about anything). But all the wires were run in the attic and he replaced most of the wiring to the rooms in the house (like i said he did a great job)

picture quality is close but suddenlink looks a bit better across the board (havent moved to houston yet so I cant compare locals but the espn's, universals etc). that said i prefer directv's lineup and the fact that they are all mpeg4 is nice (allows you to record more shows with the same dvr space).

as for the hr21 itself (yeah i got one of the new ones... my installer said i was one of the first ones in b/cs to get them). its ok but not that great. had a few glitches last night which is worrysome but it said it might be like that while it populates the guide. i dont remember who said it now but the dvr software isnt that great in terms of options (even the suddenlink dvr had more options when recording shows/series and everything pales in comparison to media center). getting directv tuners in media center will be a godsend once it happens.

as far as the guide (im hoping this is just because it was still populating but even last last night the guide was still very incomplete... certain channels in the guide were missing as you went forward in time so i was unable to schedule most of my series recordings because they havent shown up in the guide). but i do have a question for the directv guys..... do most of the hd channels not have the logo associated with them (or the hd tag on many channels when a show is hd) yet? only a very small number of the channels had the logo there and i have removed any sd version of a channel if there is a hd version (to clean up the guide). also dont like the way it lists channels with the channel number first since many of the channels have xxx-1.... you barely get to see the call letters because of the space allocated to the channel number and name. (makes the logo's more important). Also is there any reason to keep both versions of the espn channels and the others listed in the 70's? I noticed there was a channel in the 70's and then again listed later with the rest of the espn's (same with tnt). If they both link to the same channel I will get rid of one of them to further reduce the guide. It was nice with suddenlink having all the HD channels in a section (700-800). I personally like that alot better than the way directv is mixing HD and SD channels. I know you can list by hd channels but it was easier just going to channel 700 with sl and scroll down.

Overall though its nice to have more channels (especially the sports ones).... was able to watch every nba game last night which was nice (seeing acie law and antione go at it last night). But media center integration cant come soon enough on the dvr side of things.

I meant ask jagouar

i dont remember the guys name... didnt think to ask for it (and i should have so i could request him down the road if needed) but it was through directv and their installers.

and i dont think you have a chance at all of getting a 20 anymore... when the installer came to our house he said they were only getting the hr21's. the only thing you could do is buy one online.

i dont remember the guys name... didnt think to ask for it (and i should have so i could request him down the road if needed) but it was through directv and their installers.

and i dont think you have a chance at all of getting a 20 anymore... when the installer came to our house he said they were only getting the hr21's. the only thing you could do is buy one online.

According to the guys at dbstalk.com they are still making the HR20-100 and will shortly have a good supply. Also Directv is promising a fix for OTA through the HR21.

I see Directv has added KCEN and KWTX HD to College Station local channels. Also My20 and CW39 in Houston.Excellent.

Some really good information floating around here, I really appreciate it. I've been a Cox customer for ~5 years, and now that Suddenlink's taken over, I feel like I might be getting shafted for the service I'm getting. I have the Basic/Expanded (not even listed on their website) cable which is $45/mo, and Preferred Internet, which is another $40/mo, and also has become significantly slower in the last year. I'm just curious to what some of you all are actually paying a month with SL? I just got a HDTV, and was wanting to get a few more HD channels than what I'm getting now, but really can't justify anything more than what I'm currently paying a month, which is roughly $92. I see they have an offer for Basic/Digital cable and 8mb internet for $97/mo, which sounds like a much better deal than what I'm currently paying for, but I don't want any digital cable box. Are any of you subscribed for Basic cable, and receiving their full line of HD channels, or is Digital the only way to go, and get a cable box?

you will only get all of the digital hdtv channels with a box... if your tv has a qam tuner you can get the locals in HD for "free". (but requires a qam tuner on your tv)

Anyone using a Tivo S3 with a CableCard (or two) instead of a cable box? I've been thinking of getting one so I can record shows which come in on the HD channels, cause my S2 doesn't support HD.

I see Directv has added KCEN and KWTX HD to College Station local channels. Also My20 and CW39 in Houston.

Nice catch. I have DTV but hadn't noticed they added these. Fortunately, I've been able to get all the Waco/Temple channels over the air so it hasn't been a biggie waiting for DTV to add them.

I haven't researched it but I'm assuming these are MPG4 coming off the new D-10 sat. I'm too lazy to dig into my stack but if you take off the BBCs and the picture goes away then it is coming from D-10. If the picture remains then it's MPG2 and coming from a different sat. The SD channels for Waco/Temple/Bryan come from the 72.5 degree sat - which is why we have had to have the small extra dish.

I do know the picture from the sat looks as good as my over the air picture. That usually means MPG4.

I wonder why KXXV and KWKT were not added at the same time? The KWKT engineer is usually around here so maybe he can answer that one.

Anyone using a Tivo S3 with a CableCard (or two) instead of a cable box? I've been thinking of getting one so I can record shows which come in on the HD channels, cause my S2 doesn't support HD.

Beware that if your local cableco goes to switched digital video (and most are) then your S3 becomes an expensive paperweight. Cablecards don't currently work with SDV.

There are a number of threads on Tivo Community that can help bring you up to speed on the technical details. Here is one:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=357703

Beware that if your local cableco goes to switched digital video (and most are) then your S3 becomes an expensive paperweight. Cablecards don't currently work with SDV.

There are a number of threads on Tivo Community that can help bring you up to speed on the technical details. Here is one:



Does SL in B/CS currently use SDV or plan to use it in the near future? I'd hate to spend another $400 on a Tivo S3 and not even be able to use it.

Nice catch. I have DTV but hadn't noticed they added these. Fortunately, I've been able to get all the Waco/Temple channels over the air so it hasn't been a biggie waiting for DTV to add them.

I haven't researched it but I'm assuming these are MPG4 coming off the new D-10 sat. I'm too lazy to dig into my stack but if you take off the BBCs and the picture goes away then it is coming from D-10. If the picture remains then it's MPG2 and coming from a different sat. The SD channels for Waco/Temple/Bryan come from the 72.5 degree sat - which is why we have had to have the small extra dish.

I do know the picture from the sat looks as good as my over the air picture. That usually means MPG4.

I wonder why KXXV and KWKT were not added at the same time? The KWKT engineer is usually around here so maybe he can answer that one.

I don't know. I've been waiting for Directv to add all the networks in HD before switching from Suddenlink in College Station.

Hrm, if suddenstink makes my gear that takes C.C. obsolete I might just have to make them obsolete in my house!

Edited:

I did read from the link above about SDV and its not as bad as it seems for the Tivo folks. Tivo says a fix is going to be available early 2008. It also will only be a problem on less watched channels that cable companies might switch out.

Until the rules change [and it doesn't look like they will soon], cable systems will be required to deliver locals "in-the-clear" quam available to all quam equiped TVs even after they change over to "switched delivery" on their digital tier.

By the way, in my opinion switched digital delivery is a great idea that will allow cable companies to deliver MPEG2 video [The "real" HD format] instead of MPEG4.

As to Direct TV:

Our corporate headquarters is negotiating carriage agreements with Direct TV for all of our FOX HD channels and is protesting the delivery of MyNetwork from an out-of-market station [Houston] when we are the MyNetwork HD affiliate in this market.

Hrm, if suddenstink makes my gear that takes C.C. obsolete I might just have to make them obsolete in my house!

Edited:

I did read from the link above about SDV and its not as bad as it seems for the Tivo folks. Tivo says a fix is going to be available early 2008. It also will only be a problem on less watched channels that cable companies might switch out.

I wouldn't hold my breath on that "early 2008" promise. For example, Tivo and Comcast originally announced their partnership (which has Tivo software on Comcast boxes) on March 15, 2005. It was supposed to be rolled out within a year or so. As of today, it is only available to Comcast employees and a few of their friends in the Boston area. 2 1/2 years later and it's still not rolled out nationwide.

I'm not saying it's impossible but I highly doubt they will make their promised date. Tivo is desperately trying to maintain sales in a period when SDV is killing them. Promising a solution is their only way forward at the moment but their track record isn't great when it comes to items requiring cable companies' cooperation. The 1st generation cablecards took forever to go public and they were much less sophisticated technologically than what will be required to handle SDV.

I also doubt switched digital would meet whatever date suddenlink decides on as well....

and foxeng.... i am actually starting to prefer mpeg4. mpeg4 can look outstanding and far better than mpeg2 (xbox live marketplace). And you also get the file size savings associated when recording mpeg4 which means you can store alot more content in the same space.

Quick Question for anybody on this forum, I'm on Time warner cable in central texas and since they've been adding so many new HD channels in teh past month or so my SA 88033HD dvr has gotten really really slow. for example when i pull up teh channel guide it takes a few seconds for it to show up. is this normal and what can I do about it?

thanks.

Until the rules change [and it doesn't look like they will soon], cable systems will be required to deliver locals "in-the-clear" quam available to all quam equiped TVs even after they change over to "switched delivery" on their digital tier.

By the way, in my opinion switched digital delivery is a great idea that will allow cable companies to deliver MPEG2 video [The "real" HD format] instead of MPEG4.

As to Direct TV:

Our corporate headquarters is negotiating carriage agreements with Direct TV for all of our FOX HD channels and is protesting the delivery of MyNetwork from an out-of-market station [Houston] when we are the MyNetwork HD affiliate in this market.

I'm confused about the MyNetwork aspect. I don't see any Houston channel on my DirecTV guide and the MyNetwork shows on KWKT are shown on the primary channel, not a sub-channel. Those shows are carried currently on DirecTV's KWKT feed so I don't understand why HD would make a difference. Or, maybe I haven't watched them enough to understand the situation. Are Houston signals being spliced into the KWKT feed at certain times by DirecTV? That would seem weird.

It doesn't seem equal to the problem with the CW in our market. That one is carried only on a subchannel of KWTX and DirecTV doesn't like subchannels.

As for corporate negotiations...Flint, MI, Fox HD was added to DirecTV yesterday and I think Fox HD is available in virtually all DirecTV markets. Is it just the MyNetwork bit that's blocking us?

No, it is retransmission negotiations between our corporate offices and Direct TV regarding all 9 of our FOX stations in Louisianna and Texas.

As I understand it, the MyNetwork issue is only about whether our secondary affiliation agreement protects us from copyright infringement. NOTE: MyN is operated by FOX.

FOX44CE I was wondering which game are we going to get here in B/CS next Sunday?

Both the Cowboys and Texans play at the same time on Fox.Please don't let it be those horrible Texans.:eek:

Fox44CE: in case things get dicey at Fox I noticed that KXXV is advertising for a staff engineer. :-)

http://kxxv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7207011

Both the Cowboys and Texans play at the same time on Fox.Please don't let it be those horrible Texans.:eek:

I wouldn't be surprised if the Dallas game didn't get moved to 3:15 PM

I know that in Austin, they will show the Cowboys..heck even Vince Young and the Titans pull better numbers in Austin than the Texans :rolleyes: (Therefore, a lot of times this year, Austin has seen the Titans while Waco saw the Texans....good to be able to pick up both stations :))

I kind of want to get the Suddenlink HD Service but I was looking at the packages and it really does not seem worth it. I have the basic cable + internet now so I'd have to get the box which is $14.95/month then I'd have to pay for the HD Package of $7.95/month.... that's $23 more per month just for high definition

If I switch to DirecTV then it's $50 for that and then $50 for JUST internet from suddenlink so that's a ripoff.

Suddenlink really knows what they're doing. Cable+Internet combo is $70.... then if you don't want their cable, their internet only is $50.... that's so stupid

BLAHHHHH I just want high definition!!!!!!

I kind of want to get the Suddenlink HD Service but I was looking at the packages and it really does not seem worth it. I have the basic cable + internet now so I'd have to get the box which is $14.95/month then I'd have to pay for the HD Package of $7.95/month.... that's $23 more per month just for high definition

If I switch to DirecTV then it's $50 for that and then $50 for JUST internet from suddenlink so that's a ripoff.

Suddenlink really knows what they're doing. Cable+Internet combo is $70.... then if you don't want their cable, their internet only is $50.... that's so stupid

BLAHHHHH I just want high definition!!!!!!

Are you in an area where you can get DSL? AT&T is offering it at $19.99 a month. www.att.com

andyacecandy,

If your box has its own OTA tuner for HD you can get a $40 directional indoor antennae and get KBTX in HD and CW in digital plus KAMU and maybe fox depending on where you are. You will have to point it the right way but it works.

I kind of want to get the Suddenlink HD Service but I was looking at the packages and it really does not seem worth it. I have the basic cable + internet now so I'd have to get the box which is $14.95/month then I'd have to pay for the HD Package of $7.95/month.... that's $23 more per month just for high definition

If I switch to DirecTV then it's $50 for that and then $50 for JUST internet from suddenlink so that's a ripoff.

Suddenlink really knows what they're doing. Cable+Internet combo is $70.... then if you don't want their cable, their internet only is $50.... that's so stupid

BLAHHHHH I just want high definition!!!!!!

I'm in the same boat as you. I want HD, but don't think it's worth much more than I'm already paying for only a hand full of channels. Even the channels SL offers, I'll only actually watch one or two on a regular basis. If they offered ~20+ HD channels, I may consider it, but they don't.

Also, I don't recieve FOXHD from SL with Basic & Expanded cable. I do recieve NBC on 0-0, though.

Are you in an area where you can get DSL? AT&T is offering it at $19.99 a month. www.att.com
thats just as bad when you factor in the phoneline service required to get it.... for those of us who have moved mobile only its actually more expensive for verizon+phoneline than just cable internet... and its 1/3 the speed.

thats just as bad when you factor in the phoneline service required to get it.... for those of us who have moved mobile only its actually more expensive for verizon+phoneline than just cable internet... and its 1/3 the speed.

AT&T is required to offer naked DSL, no phone line needed, in most markets. It was part of their agreement with the FCC in the merger with Bell South. They have to offer it in markets that are 80% upgraded for broadband. I don't know if that includes Bryan/College Station but it should be worth checking.

i live in south college station and have dry loop dsl through verizon. we are paying $19.99 for the base package, which is significantly slower than cable, but i manage very well for day to day use.

Yeah DSL would be too slow as I spend like 80% of my days on the internet. I like the 8 meg speed with sudden link

I have tried several different antennas and yes I can get FOX over the air but it has to be pointed in the correct direction. It's annoying because its over the air... so i have to switch from cable to air

I know someone who gets NBC on 0-0 but I don't for some reason. What is that about?

I'd be so happy if I could get NBC and FOX hd.... ABC and CBS just aren't enough :(

Such a predicament right now. internet by itself is $50 and that screws it all up.

Yeah DSL would be too slow as I spend like 80% of my days on the internet. I like the 8 meg speed with sudden link

I have tried several different antennas and yes I can get FOX over the air but it has to be pointed in the correct direction. It's annoying because its over the air... so i have to switch from cable to air

I know someone who gets NBC on 0-0 but I don't for some reason. What is that about?

I'd be so happy if I could get NBC and FOX hd.... ABC and CBS just aren't enough :(

Such a predicament right now. internet by itself is $50 and that screws it all up.

AT&T offers four levels of naked (dry loop, no phoneline) DSL:

Basic. 768kb down $14.99
Express. 1.5mb down $19.99
Pro. 3.0 down $24.99
Elite. 6.0 down $34.99

Have you checked your SL speeds on some of the online speedtests? Many of us with cable internet find we get much less than the advertised speeds. Especially if you're in a neighborhood with lots of heavy users. DSL is not shared, so you tend to always get the advertised speeds.

What are doing with your 80% of the time? If you're just websurfing, watching youtube videos, etc, then 1.5mb is more than adequate and you wouldn't notice any difference. 8mb is really mostly useful for downloading movies and you're not going to get that speed anyway since you're dependent on the upload speeds of other torrent users. Not to mention that most ISPs are now throttling P2P packets and your speed is going to probably be less than 1mb.

I checked the AT&T link you provided and entered my zip and it showed me packages. I checked further on that new page and at my address it says service is not available.

DOH

I use my internet for much more than websurfing.... I'll leave it at that

Just checked and AT&T doesn't offer in my area

DirecTV is $30 on some promotion right now.... but suddenlink just internet is FREAKING $50

blaaaaaaah damn you suddenlink

we are a verizon area... not at&t. and verizon sucks with their pricing.

if i could get those speeds for that price i would but ours is 40 bucks for 3.0 service (last time i looked)

I wouldn't be surprised if the Dallas game didn't get moved to 3:15 PM

I know that in Austin, they will show the Cowboys..heck even Vince Young and the Titans pull better numbers in Austin than the Texans :rolleyes: (Therefore, a lot of times this year, Austin has seen the Titans while Waco saw the Texans....good to be able to pick up both stations :))

Austin/KTBC (FOX) will be carrying the Dallas/Detroit game this Sunday 12-330p.

we are a verizon area... not at&t. and verizon sucks with their pricing.

if i could get those speeds for that price i would but ours is 40 bucks for 3.0 service (last time i looked)

For Verizon I show:

Starter Plan: 768kb down. $14.99 a month for life, 2 year contract. First month free. A 1 year contract is $17.99 a month, first month free.

Power Plan: 3mb down. $27.99 a month for life, 2 year contract. First month free. A 1 year contract is $29.99 a month, first month free.

The "for life" bit means your price is locked in for as long as you have the service. It requires a 2 year contract.

Verizon offers dry loop (their terminology for naked) DSL in some areas. I don't know about Bryan/College Station.

Jag, I pay $34 after taxes for 3mb DSL via Verizon. That's plenty for online gaming (360) and remote admin work.

FOX44CE any answer to my question in post #5420 ?


The game's tomorrow.

Fox44CE: in case things get dicey at Fox I noticed that KXXV is advertising for a staff engineer. :-)

http://kxxv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7207011

I don't think they'de hire me since they fired me 12 years ago.:rolleyes:

Sounds like they go through them over there..... ;)

Anybody else get the mailer from Suddenlink this week?

"Many of you have expressed overwhelming satisfaction with the new products and services..... ... In order to enable continued enhancements, you may notice a new rate for Limited Basic, Expanded Basic, Safeguard, and your premium channels."

I'm thinking I'm glad I switch to dTV...

I wonder who these people are that express overwhelming satisfaction. Just about everyone I run into these days dislikes Suddenlink since it took over Cox.

i dont think they have done a bad job at all... they just havent kept up with dish/directv in the hd dept (but no cable company has). they actually have a decent selection of hd channels though (and they do look better across the board than directv). but they didnt have espn2 and scifi and that was their undoing for me.

their internet service is still the best in town (and verizon wont come close to matching it until they bring fios to town).

There is an HD Sci-Fi channel now?

There is an HD Sci-Fi channel now?

Yeah, take a look at dTV's HD lineup:
http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPageNR.jsp?assetId=P4380112

Marc

Does anybody know if Suddenlink carries the NFL Network? I want to see those Texans Thursday night.

I am real excited about the local HD's on D*. Any chance the negotiations with FOX and D* will be complete in time to watch the SuperBowl in early Feb??

I am real excited about the local HD's on D*. Any chance the negotiations with FOX and D* will be complete in time to watch the SuperBowl in early Feb??

It's strange to me that they would add CBS and NBC without adding ABC and Fox at the same time.

Does anybody know if Suddenlink carries the NFL Network? I want to see those Texans Thursday night.

I am 99% sure that they don't and the reason given by the CSR was the same reason TWC is given. We want it in a tier, they don't.

I actually got a letter in the mail from Suddenlink concerning the NFL network. They have written to NFL Network and got shot down the first time on the terms Suddenlink wanted. They stated in the letter that they submitted 3 options for the NFL network, and are waiting a reply.

1. Carry NFL network, have it like a sports tier and charge extra (cant really remember this one).

2. Have NFL Network as a premium channel, like HBO.

3. Have NFL Network on a PPV basis.

I believe what NFL network wants, is to have it available like ESPN. Part of the regular cable package.

Thanks for the information. I've really got to switch from Suddenlink to Directv in College Station. I have Directv in Houston and their HD programming leaves no doubt which is better. Will their installer run additional coax through the attic for HD DVR? Just wish Directv would add ABC and Fox locals to their recently added CBS and NBC. Then I'll need a new ISP. How is Verizon for internet service?

I've been very happy with DSL service via Verizon. It's not as fast as SL, but plenty fast for me.

I've been very happy with DSL service via Verizon. It's not as fast as SL, but plenty fast for me.

Good to hear. Thanks.

I don't know if this has been answered before, but are any of you guys that live in Houston able to pick up any College Station channels, such as KBTX? According to tvfool.com I live right on the boundary of the broadcast area for KBTX, and while I would love to be able to pick them up too, I'm wondering how difficult it is to do. I live in Humble, btw.

I actually got a letter in the mail from Suddenlink concerning the NFL network. They have written to NFL Network and got shot down the first time on the terms Suddenlink wanted. They stated in the letter that they submitted 3 options for the NFL network, and are waiting a reply.

1. Carry NFL network, have it like a sports tier and charge extra (cant really remember this one).

2. Have NFL Network as a premium channel, like HBO.

3. Have NFL Network on a PPV basis.

I believe what NFL network wants, is to have it available like ESPN. Part of the regular cable package.

NFL Network has stated unequivically that they will not accept anything other than basic digital from any cable system.
I don't like it but that's the way it is.

I am real excited about the local HD's on D*. Any chance the negotiations with FOX and D* will be complete in time to watch the SuperBowl in early Feb??

I've asked and haven't gotton an answer. Sorry, above my pay grade :)

NFL Network has stated unequivically that they will not accept anything other than basic digital from any cable system.
I don't like it but that's the way it is.

No offense but it seems to me that NFL network is trying to do the consumer a favor by requiring the channel be added to the standard lineup. It is the distributors of said channel that are trying to stick it in our A** with an extra fee.

I don't know if this has been answered before, but are any of you guys that live in Houston able to pick up any College Station channels, such as KBTX? According to tvfool.com I live right on the boundary of the broadcast area for KBTX, and while I would love to be able to pick them up too, I'm wondering how difficult it is to do. I live in Humble, btw.

I live in Sharpstown and can barely pickup channel 3 if I turn my antenna, but since it's got co-channel interference with channel 2, I rarely try that. Not able to get anything HD from College Station.

No offense but it seems to me that NFL network is trying to do the consumer a favor by requiring the channel be added to the standard lineup. It is the distributors of said channel that are trying to stick it in our A** with an extra fee.

Absolutely!

No offense but it seems to me that NFL network is trying to do the consumer a favor by requiring the channel be added to the standard lineup. It is the distributors of said channel that are trying to stick it in our A** with an extra fee.

There are 2 (money) sides to the story. If the cable companies can put it in a tier that they charge $10 a month for, they know a lot of NFL fans will pay that extra $10 / month. The channel only cost them .75/month per person, but they are making $10 (granted you get other stations with that). Sounds like a way for the cable company to sell more tier packages without adding much to their cost and maximize their profits

On the other hand, if the NFL network can get .75/month per subscriber x all of TWC, Comcast, Suddenlink customers by having their network on the basic digital, they will be raking in some money. The NFL network wants it on a basic package so they can maximize their profits.

So, I understand why each is at an impasse. They are big companies with lots of money and will try to 'bully' each other around. In the end, the consumer is the one getting bullied around. Will this backfire on either one of them, probably not...and that's the reason they are stretching it out. (IMO, of course)

Wow! Didn't know the situation with the NFL Network was so big. Suddenlink has till the pre-season of next years season to get it straight. The consumer may get bullied, but also the consumer has options. Being a loyal customer for 7 years and the many my parents put in, I will take my business elsewhere. So the big companies don't always win in the end.

Now what is this I hear about rate increases with Suddenlink? Anyone have additional information?

Wow! Didn't know the situation with the NFL Network was so big. Suddenlink has till the pre-season of next years season to get it straight. The consumer may get bullied, but also the consumer has options. Being a loyal customer for 7 years and the many my parents put in, I will take my business elsewhere. So the big companies don't always win in the end.

Now what is this I hear about rate increases with Suddenlink? Anyone have additional information?

Yep, went up here in Georgetown. Mine went up around $3.32. Expanded basic went up. I'm sure it varies from person to person...but it did go up in the December bill cycle.

To everyone on the Forum:

Saturday morning we experienced a severe power glitch at the KWKT Moody tower site that damaged the KWKT-HD transmitter High Voltage power controller beyond repair. KWKT-HD is currently off the air.

A replacement board has been ordered but will not arrive until Tuesday morning at the earliest.

Since we deliver the HD signal to KYLE-HD via the KWKT-HD transmission, we will be simulcasting upconverted standard definiton on KYLE-HD until the part is in and repair is completed.

Sorry for the inconvenience but the delay is unavoidable.

When we take the analog transmitters off-air in Feb 2009 we will be adding backup digital transmitters to avoid these situations in the future.

To everyone on the Forum:

Saturday morning we experienced a severe power glitch at the KWKT Moody tower site that damaged the KWKT-HD transmitter High Voltage power controller beyond repair. KWKT-HD is currently off the air.

A replacement board has been ordered but will not arrive until Tuesday morning at the earliest.

Since we deliver the HD signal to KYLE-HD via the KWKT-HD transmission, we will be simulcasting upconverted standard definiton on KYLE-HD until the part is in and repair is completed.

Sorry for the inconvenience but the delay is unavoidable.

When we take the analog transmitters off-air in Feb 2009 we will be adding backup digital transmitters to avoid these situations in the future.

KWKT-HD is back on the air as of 7:30 AM Monday Dec 17th. Parts for the repair were picked up at 5:30AM.
High Definition broadcast on both KWKT-DT and KYLE-DT will resume at 6:30PM today with Two & 1/2 Men.

To everyone on the Forum:
When we take the analog transmitters off-air in Feb 2009 we will be adding backup digital transmitters to avoid these situations in the future.

Just curious, will you have this backup on a different tower?
Years ago a radio station in Dallas pretty much went out of business when the tower fell that contained both their main and backup transmitters.

Anyone notice Suddenlink moved ESPNHD from 765 to 751? Could they be preparing to add more HD channels?

Anyone notice Suddenlink moved ESPNHD from 765 to 751? Could they be preparing to add more HD channels?

Down here in Georgetown they've done the same thing. They also finally added Fox Sports SW HD for us...not sure why it took so long for us. I think you guys had it already. Does FSSWHD show content 24hrs a day? I was just getting a blank screen last night.

Suddenlink customers in North Carolina are getting ESPN2 HD and ESPN U (non HD) in their lineup today according to another post I read.

yeah my media center guide was showing it last night... doesnt look like any reason they did that other than moving it for the sake of moving it.

and yes foxsw is usually black screen... its only "on" when there is an HD event on.

I noticed Suddenlink did some channel moves. 48 is now MTV2 and 73 is LMN (Lifetime Movie Net) and 74 is now CSPAN2. Hopefully HD channels are next. Some of these moves may of happened a while ago, I just noticed them.

SuddenLink added ESPN2HD today. Just in time for the heart of college basketball season at least. That is the only HD that was added I believe. Could we be getting anything else soon?

SuddenLink added ESPN2HD today. Just in time for the heart of college basketball season at least. That is the only HD that was added I believe. Could we be getting anything else soon?

Suddenlink customers also got ESPN U in standard def. Here in G'town it's on channel 126.

FOX44CE, I see you are not showing the game in HD tonight. I hope you can get this fixed for the other BCS games this week and especially the national title game Monday night. 8:22, Nevermind, it is now showing in HD. Thanks!

FOX had an issue with the switch that locked up our splicer until we re-booted it.

FOX Technical Operations Center told me that we were the only station that experienced the problem.

During our corporate conference call this morning I found out that all 8 of our FOX stations in Texas and Louisianna experienced the same problem.........

Anyone thinking about complaining about the new higher cable rates from S*Link, I got good news. They will give you 40% off your bill for 6 months if you threaten to cancel.

I'm hoping Directv will add ABC and FOX locals in HD soon so I can switch from Suddenlink. Their rates seem to ease up every month.

Anyone thinking about complaining about the new higher cable rates from S*Link, I got good news. They will give you 40% off your bill for 6 months if you threaten to cancel.

Can you do it over the phone or just in person?

I did it over the phone. There was an option to cancel or transfer service in the automated telephone prompts. It then connected me to a service operator. BTW, I did get a little mean towards the end of the conversation.

yet another reason to potentially like directv....

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/01/08/directvs-pc-tuner-is-real/

would be awesome to upgrade my media center server to directv hd. id get 2 of those boxes for a nice quad tuner system with a few terabytes of storage all on a ui thats the best out there (even better than tivo to me).

Very, very interesting.

I'm still waiting for the day to integrate my 360 with D*. Maybe this will be the way.

yeah i doubt its ever going to happen on the 360 itself.... that blade stuff always was not going to happen.

like i said there are still questions that need answering but its going to be very interesting because it looks as if directv wont have the same restrictions as cablelabs. (its still very early though)

would be awesome with all the cool stuff media center does with sports/movies. one big flaw with my current system is i only have basic channels and the locals so those views dont do a whole lot. especially since i havent been overly thrilled with the hr21... its still awfully buggy. would be nice to ditch it and go to something i know is better and faster in media center.

Remotes... what is everyone using?

I have a tried and true MX-500, but it's slowly becoming a pain to create macros for all the devices I have.

I'd like something similar, but where I can download the device remotes and macro everything.

harmony 880 probably going to the new harmony one this year. you really should try harmony remotes. you are restricted a little bit with some of the customization but there is no remote easier to use.

The 880 does look like it might do everything I need. Basically I'd like to have macros that will switch the TV / Receiver inputs / turn on when I switch to a device, ie. 360, DVD, Wii, etc.

I found this early review (http://www.itwire.com/content/view/15967/532/) of the Harmony One. Not so sure I'll wait for it to come out. I can get the 880 for around $120 right now.

i know but i will tell you one thing using the 880 is the buttons are very small and all "feel" the same. this one drastically improves that.

really all harmony remotes function the same its just the button layouts/touchscreens that are different.

really if you are interested in the 880 i will probably be selling mine when the one comes out (probably 90 bucks if they are going for 120 new). mine is in great shape but the paint is worn on the u/d/l/r wheel. but you can only even tell with the backlight because the markings on the button are recessed.

as for that article... i just read it and imo he is using the harmony the wrong way (ie he is trying to make it too complex)

The 880 does look like it might do everything I need. Basically I'd like to have macros that will switch the TV / Receiver inputs / turn on when I switch to a device, ie. 360, DVD, Wii, etc.

I found this early review (http://www.itwire.com/content/view/15967/532/) of the Harmony One. Not so sure I'll wait for it to come out. I can get the 880 for around $120 right now.

All Harmony remotes are basically the same in terms of capability. The differences are generally cosmetic.

The cheapest route is probably the Harmony Xbox 360 Remote. It has a few buttons designed for the Xbox 360 but you can ignore that and use it simply for your tv and remap the keys to whatever you want. You can get it for $79 at Amazon. Many Sears stores also have it as a clearance item for $37.

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Harmony-Xbox-360-Remote/dp/B000CCXCYC******pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1199891307&sr=8-1

That might be an option considering I do have a 360. I'll have to swing by Sears and see if they have any. It's worth a look for $37.

I may end up waiting for the Harmony One. I like the button layout of the 670, but the functions of the 880. I'm used to the tactility of the MX-500 and the 880 looks to lack some of that.

http://www.ubergizmo.com/photos/2008/1/logitech-harmony-one/Logitech-harmony-one-700.jpg

the harmony one did just get more interesting too... see the picture above that there can be icons in the lcd (the playstation buttons it looks like).

thats always been one of the flaws to me in that you couldnt put a nice icon for recorded tv lists, media center green orb etc. great to see it finally added even if you can only choose from a select number of them currently. (assuming the one thread is accurate)

I'm still using my 880, and over time, I've adapted to the small buttons. Way easier to setup vs my old Pronto. Plus, the help button works great for my wife when something is out of wack.

My wife and I both love the Harmony 880. I've found it easy to set up and easy to use.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ou/?p=962

I noticed Suddenlink added MTVHD. At least it is one more channel in HD. Any rumors on anything else that could be added soon?

hey fox eng.... how come you never let us in on the news?

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/01/28/fox-news-central-texas-debuts-tonight-hd-coming-soon/

hey fox eng.... how come you never let us in on the news?

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/01/28/fox-news-central-texas-debuts-tonight-hd-coming-soon/

I always said that after 23 years at news stations if I ever had to do news again I'd retire.

The nice thing about all digital news is that it doesn't involve engineering that much.

Besides, they won't let me out of here!

As to why I didn't say anything. They told me not to!

so are you guys going to be the first station to do local news in HD?

so are you guys going to be the first station to do local news in HD?

We have all HD field cameras, editors, studio cameras and graphics.

The entire news operation is digital [file] based.

We did the Sickle Cell Telethon in HD with a small Panasonic field HD switcher but we will have to finish our HD studio buildout before we can do anything as complex as live news.

The rest of the equipment has been ordered.

With all the stations in the country in transition, lead times are long.

So I just bought the Terk HDTVa antenna from Best Buy. Is there anyway for us to get ABCHD. I live near Blinn in Bryan, TX.

Lost comes on this Thursday, and I really want to watch it in HD!


What channels are available via antenna to the folks in the BCS area these days?


Thanks,

~Mat

We have all HD field cameras, editors, studio cameras and graphics.

The entire news operation is digital [file] based.

We did the Sickle Cell Telethon in HD with a small Panasonic field HD switcher but we will have to finish our HD studio buildout before we can do anything as complex as live news.

The rest of the equipment has been ordered.

With all the stations in the country in transition, lead times are long.

Do you have any updates on the HD situation with DirecTV?

So I just bought the Terk HDTVa antenna from Best Buy. Is there anyway for us to get ABCHD. I live near Blinn in Bryan, TX.

Lost comes on this Thursday, and I really want to watch it in HD!


What channels are available via antenna to the folks in the BCS area these days?


Thanks,

~Mat
cbs, pbs and fox is all you should expect locally with an antenna. you might get nbc and abc some nights out of waco but you shouldnt expect it.

if you want nbc and abc you need to get cable or directv.

Do you have any updates on the HD situation with DirecTV?

It is in the hands of third party retransmission consent negotiations.

A corporate decision.....................

if you want nbc and abc you need to get cable or directv.

I used to have suddenlink, so I still have a coax cable running in my house. Can I plug that cable into my TV or receiver and pick up ABCHD?

(I have Dish btw)



~Mat

if you have a qam tuner on your tv or have a qam pc tuner you can... as long as you still have some sort of cable service you can get the locals in hd. by law they are required to give you the locals.