Tampa, FL - HDTV [Text View] - Page 4

PKinSFLA

09-09-06, 03:35 PM

Last weenend I hooked up my father in law's Panasonic 37 inch Plasma to the different sources and reciever. 37 inches seems like an odd size, but someone must have thought this one out as it neatly fits where people have had old 4 x 3 36 inch crt tvs before. His Mits finally gave out after a dozen years and it finally gave him a reason to ugrade.

The non DVR box is a Scientific Atlanta box. It has a DVI output along with component and sound. Buying the TV these days is an experience as CC only wants to sell you a 130 buck Monster cable and a 200 buck Monster surge protector. Did they ever think that people will wonder why they should buy an HDMI cable which costs more than the new DVD player with upgraded pixel output?

Walmart provided us with some 30 buck HDMI to HDMI and DVI to HDMI cables. When I first hooked up the DVI to HDMI from the box to the Plasma I saw the dreaded "clay face" on the screen. It took a few minutes for it to disapear and never be sen again. Some pople here have said that HDMI channel switching takes too long compared to component. I found this not to be true with the new box.

Everything worked fine and the family is happy that I have everything hooked up and programmed neatly. You can pay a few hundred dollars for this service from dealers now.

I must say that the SA box in Sarasota is so much better then my Motorola DVR box in certain ways. The Moto box is easier to check scaling output if you know how to access the menu with the power off. The video on demand feature works light years ahead of Broward county Comcast. His box can instantly access VOD and play what ever you want easily. My system has nothing but error messages when you try to use VOD. It also locks up and then reboots itself. Calling Comcast is a crap shoot as they try to fix the box over the phone line. Even calling service is a gamble as one rep insisted I can get a non DVR HD box and then gave me the same model I have now as the unit to be used.

In all I can say that for the majority of people like my inlaws, Comcast in Sarasota has a nice picture. SD pictures were very clear on the Panasonic plasma while HD was excellent. You were more or less limited by the quality of the HD broadcast it seems. The SA box uses the same remote as my Motorola box, but it worked better.

PKinSFLA

HDTVFanAtic

09-10-06, 12:24 AM

The problem is, Motorola has rock solid IEEE 1394 outputs without errors and have better output circuits (delivering more lines of resolution than corresponding S/A boxes in the HDNET Resolution tests). That's what's important to me - the quality of the picture it delivers. Features are nice, but not at the expense of the main reason I got HD.

gujuman

09-12-06, 02:04 PM

I really wanted everyone's opinions on the best HDTV options for my parents in Sebring (~ 60 miles from Tampa).

I'm trying to get everything set up for my parents who just bought at 60" Sony A2000 set. Seems like the options for HD are limited due to the distance from the stations...

What are your thoughts on the best option? I think my folks would really use HD to watch the NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX programming in the evenings as well as ESPN and Discovery...they don't watch so much NFL to justify Sunday Ticket and I'm just looking for something easy for them to use but also be able to enjoy the benefits of HD on their beautiful new TV. Currently they have DISH but the contract just finished so we're free from that end..

I've read and called D* and E* and here's what the options are in order from easiest to most difficult....

1. Cable company HD -- NOT possible

2. Direct TV HD -- replace Dish setup with Direct TV which can pull HD (including the locals in HD) off the satellite w/ only one dish, no additional antenna BUT a 24 month committment...

3. Dish Network -- Keep the current DISH setup and add an off air antenna and order the DISH HD pack w/ 18 month committment.

4. Wait for DISH to have HD over the satellite w/o off air antenna.

What do you think? I'm leaning towards Direct TV just because it would be easier than Dish at this time...I assume there is no estimate on Dish's rollout of HD w/o off air antenna for the area...

Thanks for the help/advice...

mdh43

09-12-06, 04:21 PM

HDTVFanAtic

09-13-06, 12:43 AM

rsagetv99

09-13-06, 11:42 AM

I live in the Tampa Bay area and have a few OTA questions. I am a newbie at this so please bear with me.

Please give me some recommendations on the best antenna or multiple antenna setup for me.

First of all here are the channels I am trying to receive with their respective coordinates/distances from Antennaweb:

Call Sign Network Channel Orientation Distance (miles)
--------- -------- ------- ----------- ----------------
WFLA-DT NBC 7 135° 20.4
WTVT-DT FOX 12 135° 22.6
WTSP-DT CBS 24 307° 18.1
WFTS-DT ABC 29 135° 20.4
WXPX-DT PAX 42 138° 21.6
WEDU-DT PBS 54 134° 20.2
WTTA-DT MNT 57 135° 20.4
WTOG-DT CW 59 134° 20.1

I currently have a CM Stealth-Tenna mounted on a 9 foot pole near my backyard fence, and I am receiving everthing but FOX and MNT. I know this isn't the best antenna, but it was easy to put up and in stock at Lowes.

The highest priority for me is to receive the Bucs games on FOX, and I have had problems tuning it in for some reason. I would also love to get Lost and Earl in HD, but football is more important.

I cannot use a rotor, since my DVR (SageTV) cannot control it so a multiple antenna solution is fine.

I can return the Stealth, so you do not have to incorporate it into your solution.

One last thing. I am building a house and will be moving in March, so it would be nice if the same setup would work at the new location. Here is the info for the new location:

Call Sign Network Channel Orientation Distance (miles)
--------- -------- ------- ----------- ----------------
WFLA-DT NBC 7 180° 26.2
WTVT-DT FOX 12 177° 27.9
WTSP-DT CBS 24 269° 28.8
WFTS-DT ABC 29 180° 26.2
WXPX-DT PAX 42 180° 27.8
WEDU-DT PBS 54 180° 25.8
WTTA-DT MNT 57 180° 26.2
WTOG-DT CW 59 180° 25.8

HDTVFanAtic

09-13-06, 11:55 PM

I am receiving everthing but FOX and MNT.

Call me stupid but what is MNT?

Also, by working backwards and triangulating, you can somewhat estimate where both locations are - but it might be wiser to just tell the suburb/location as other people aren't that curious especially if you are asking for help - and find out if anyone lives in that area and what worked for them.

rsagetv99

09-14-06, 10:07 AM

Call me stupid but what is MNT?

Also, by working backwards and triangulating, you can somewhat estimate where both locations are - but it might be wiser to just tell the suburb/location as other people aren't that curious especially if you are asking for help - and find out if anyone lives in that area and what worked for them.Good point. Sorry I was not trying to make it hard for people to figure it out, just thought that the antenna web stuff would be all that was needed.

I am currently in the Carrollwood/Tampa area, and I will be moving to Wesley Chapel in March.

Thanks.

P.S. I have an AverMedia A180 that I am using to capture HD, is there any third party software (or maybe a utility from Avermedia) that I can use to view the signal strength? It would help a lot while trying to position my antenna.

What is the software you have shown screenshots of HDTVFanatic?

Edit: BTW MNT stands for MyNetworkTV (sometimes written My Network TV, and unofficially abbreviated "MyNet," "MyTV," "MNT," or "MNTV"). It is a television network owned by News Corporation, which launched on September 4, 2006. Its two initial series began in earnest on September 5. For the foreseeable future, its schedule will consist entirely of telenovelas. Most of its affiliates are former affiliates of The WB and UPN that will not be joining The CW.

It is a sister network to FOX. Roger Ailes oversees the network in his capacity as chairman of the Fox Television Stations Group, which—as opposed to the management of FOX—has direct responsibility over the new network.

rsagetv99

09-14-06, 11:18 AM

thebarge

09-14-06, 11:22 AM

Also, what is the story with 38.1 and 38.2?

I appear to be receving these channels at full strength, but I just get a black picture when tuning them in.

A few days ago I accidentally got them to tune in, but I have not been able to replicate my mistake.I'm not having that problem, at least not the last time I checked. I tuned into 38.2 last week.. that's the weather radar broadcast right?

rsagetv99

09-14-06, 11:56 AM

I'm not having that problem, at least not the last time I checked. I tuned into 38.2 last week.. that's the weather radar broadcast right?
No, when I tuned it in by mistake it was "The Tube".

thebarge

09-14-06, 01:06 PM

No, when I tuned it in by mistake it was "The Tube".Hmm, ok maybe I'm thinking of like 10.2 or something. I've seen the "Tube" or whatever on the guide but never turned to it.

rsagetv99

09-14-06, 03:08 PM

Hmm, ok maybe I'm thinking of like 10.2 or something. I've seen the "Tube" or whatever on the guide but never turned to it.Yeah, I'm getting two weather channels, 10.2 and 8.2.

mdh43

09-14-06, 04:31 PM

Also, what is the story with 38.1 and 38.2?

I appear to be receving these channels at full strength, but I just get a black picture when tuning them in.

A few days ago I accidentally got them to tune in, but I have not been able to replicate my mistake.

I had a similar problem a while back, when you get a black screen on 38.1 tune to 57.1 the actual DT channel it will probably be there.

HDTVFanAtic

09-15-06, 02:31 AM

Good point. Sorry I was not trying to make it hard for people to figure it out, just thought that the antenna web stuff would be all that was needed.

I am currently in the Carrollwood/Tampa area, and I will be moving to Wesley Chapel in March.

Thanks.

P.S. I have an AverMedia A180 that I am using to capture HD, is there any third party software (or maybe a utility from Avermedia) that I can use to view the signal strength? It would help a lot while trying to position my antenna.

What is the software you have shown screenshots of HDTVFanatic?

Edit: BTW MNT stands for MyNetworkTV (sometimes written My Network TV, and unofficially abbreviated "MyNet," "MyTV," "MNT," or "MNTV"). It is a television network owned by News Corporation, which launched on September 4, 2006. Its two initial series began in earnest on September 5. For the foreseeable future, its schedule will consist entirely of telenovelas. Most of its affiliates are former affiliates of The WB and UPN that will not be joining The CW.

It is a sister network to FOX. Roger Ailes oversees the network in his capacity as chairman of the Fox Television Stations Group, which—as opposed to the management of FOX—has direct responsibility over the new network.

You can tell I haven't turned on Channel 38 to see MyNet TV. I did see it somewhere on a bird but saw the full logo - the abbreviation hasn't sunk in with the new network - most referred to Monday Night Football as MNT, so I didn't think about the new Mini-Fox entry. There's also TBS, TNT, TMC (Turner Movie Classics) and TMC (The Movie Channle) and a Canadian HD Movie Network I view all the time TMN which were all close to your MNT, not to mention MHD for the HD Version of MTV and MHD for the Canadian Movie Channel MPix-HD.

Thus, I a lot more abbreviations that were close came to mind, but not on the money.

I have about ton of ways to capture video, but most are using the MyHD cards or the R5000HD satellite mods.

thebarge

09-15-06, 03:56 PM

Also, what is the story with 38.1 and 38.2?

I appear to be receving these channels at full strength, but I just get a black picture when tuning them in.

A few days ago I accidentally got them to tune in, but I have not been able to replicate my mistake.Just as a quick followup to this, I tried 38.2 last night and it worked fine.

f0gax

09-16-06, 08:12 PM

Is anyone else having problems with Channel 28.1?

I noticed it a week or so ago and waited just in case it was a transient problem.
It was working fine as recently as maybe a month ago.
Signal strength is low of course (less than 20).
I'm sure it's my end, but I'd just like to know if anyone else is having the problem.

I have yet to contact the station. If I get any response, I'll post it here.

My Setup:
HR10-250, big ole Channel Master yaggi(?) (3812 maybe?) in attic.
Located in 33543

HDTVFanAtic

09-16-06, 08:42 PM

HDTVFanAtic

09-17-06, 03:15 AM

This is a perfect example of how f***up Channel 8 is....the HDTV Schedule from their webpage:

http://www.wfla.com/programming/hdtv/

You think its the new Fall Schedule?

Think again.

You think the schedule from the end of last season?

Guess again....

Not that The Office follows Earl on Thursday night....no.....they have Teachers following Earl on Thursday night here.

And Conviction the shortest run - ratings bomb - of any of the Law And Orders on Friday night, lol.

And they want to tell you how cutting edge and on top of things they are with their TBO/Channel 8/Tampa Tribune media partnership, lol.

f0gax

09-18-06, 07:32 AM

Looks normal here.

Thanks. Up to the attic I go....

hickoryboyz

09-18-06, 06:13 PM

i'm in Lake Wales, 33853. i get all my tampa stations, the orlando cbs station video comes in all the time, but without audio about 50% of the time (shows about 50% - 60% signal strength). i do get the audio at night for the most part. will the cm7777 help with this? also, does the freq assignment of 58 mean that it is uhf even though it's "part" of channel 6?

* red - uhf WKMG-DT 6.1 CBS ORLANDO FL 36° 57.5 58

why doesn't antennaweb list ALL of the stations that i pick up on different channels? i.e. - 8-2 wfla weather or any of the 66-1, 66-2,,,66-5?

HDTVFanAtic

09-18-06, 07:11 PM

Because if you can pick up 8.1, you use the same frequency, direction and mileage for 8.2.

It's designed as an antenna guide....not a tv guide.

HDTVFanAtic

09-18-06, 11:53 PM

lol...I had to watch Channel 8 tonight at 11pm after someone tipped me off they were taking D* to task for the MPEG4 HD problems.

They clearly are ripping them a new one.

Talk about shifting blame...... We will never hear about the issues they have, but they sure will make you believe its D*, even though the problems they report are clearly the D* MPEG4 issues.

This was the broadcast 2 weeks ago and they asked for anyone having similar issues to go to tbo.com and fill out a form. Tonight they followed up with all the other people reporting the same thing.

They even caught D* talking out both sides of their mouth and called them on it.

So much for it being a rare instance.

http://www.tbo.com/video/xml/MGBN6UPBZRE.html

Rodn'Reel

09-21-06, 12:17 PM

I switched from Brighthouse to Verizon yesterday. I have fiber optic wire in my house so I was hoping the Verizon fiber optic network connected to my home fiber optic would yield an even better picture. No so, even though I am now connected to the Verizon cable box via HDMI (the Brighthouse boxes would only to give a picture via component even though they had HDMI inputs). The picture quality is actually worse. Any suggestions?

It may just be a temporary inconvenience as next Saturday I am having a Lumagen processor installed by someone that knows what he is doing. Thanks!

p.s. I am in South Tampa and have a new Samsung HL-S6188W if that info helps.

HDTVFanAtic

09-21-06, 06:01 PM

All channels, HD Channels, OTA Channels, SD Channels?

Out of curiosity did you keep BHN for at least a few days so you could switch between and compare ?

BrokenMonkey

09-21-06, 06:31 PM

I have a media center PC with an OTA HD reciever and a Terk HDTVa antenna, and I live in New Port Richey 34655. I've gotten it to the point where I can get FOX with hardly any dropouts, CBS is never a problem because I'm about 6 miles from the tower (my antenna is pointing AWAY from the CBS tower and it still comes in perfect), but I can't get NBC. When I first got the antenna I could get it, then out of nowhere it started dropping out. I tried readjusting it and moving it but that's only made it worse. I can get it to come in without skipping if I touch the antenna, but as soon as I let go it disappears. Unfortunately, I am using a long run of cable for a short distance, and a splitter to couple two RG6 cables. I tried a short length of RG6 cable but it didn't help. My Name Is Earl premiers tonight and I would really like to record it in HD, can anyone help me improve my NBC reception?

NBC and FOX are really the only HD channels I watch, it's unfortunate I only get one of them well enough to watch. Are there any good HD channels I'm missing out on?

Rodn'Reel

09-21-06, 10:54 PM

All channels, HD Channels, OTA Channels, SD Channels?

Out of curiosity did you keep BHN for at least a few days so you could switch between and compare ?

I copied the below from my post on the AVS real projection TV forum and the thread concerning the Samsung HL-S6187 and 6188 series.

Originally Posted by mes444
I had the same reaction when I first switched from Comcast component only box to Verizon fiber optic HDMI. A few things: The tech went into the cable box menu and selected Advanced HDMI settings, and adjusted the color to RBG from the Ypbr settings, color looked way better. And I then reset the mode for HDMI from standard which it was on due to the fact I had been using Component and set it to Movie, and all was well.

Thanks for the help. I never found the "Advanced HDMI" setting but I was able to make some adjustments, including resetting the HDMI settings and changing color to RGB. Also found the cable box manual on the Verizon website. Much better. I appreciate it. The Sammy sings again.

HDTVFanAtic

09-22-06, 12:36 AM

BrokenMonkey

09-22-06, 07:58 AM

When you are in NW Pinellas or Western Pasco Counties, WFLA on low VHF is going to be a problem.

The only solution for day in/day out performance is a good external antenna.

Bummer. Thanks for the info, I really dont think it's worth it to put up an external antenna just for my computer, it's mostly for my amusement rather than actual home entertainment use. I just wish NBC would come in better or come in on UHF, then I'd have no problem.

michaelkingdom

09-22-06, 03:26 PM

Hey,

I live in Sarasota and recently got Comcast HD. I have no more use for my Terk HD antenna. Anybody want it for $15? It is the non-amplified model. PM me if you need one!

Michael

shawn12341234

09-23-06, 06:26 AM

Looks like a couple of RSN HD channels are up on Dim House today. This is perfect timing, I'd much rather watch the Ray's loose 100 games than college football on ESPN2HD.

HDTVFanAtic

09-23-06, 07:20 AM

Looks like a couple of RSN HD channels are up on Dim House today. This is perfect timing, I'd much rather watch the Ray's loose 100 games than college football on ESPN2HD.

What channels are you seeing?

shawn12341234

09-23-06, 07:47 AM

shawn12341234

09-23-06, 03:53 PM

anybody know anything about these channels

"I am not sure what channels you are talking about. Do you know what channels these two are on? Maybe that will help me locate them for you." -Dim House

Bschneider

09-23-06, 06:07 PM

anybody know anything about these channels

"I am not sure what channels you are talking about. Do you know what channels these two are on? Maybe that will help me locate them for you." -Dim House

http://www.tampahdtv.com/tpahd-vb/showthread.php?t=12636

shendrix

09-23-06, 07:53 PM

Originally Posted by shawn12341234
Looks like a couple of RSN HD channels are up on Dim House today. This is perfect timing, I'd much rather watch the Ray's loose 100 games than college football on ESPN2HD.

The Rays game is not in HD on 650/651. I was suspicious when I saw the new channels yesterday - I was pretty sure WXPX didn't broadcast in HD, just digital. I guess Brighthouse assumed we wouldn't be able to tell the difference. That's it for me - I'm going to Verizon.

mdrums

09-23-06, 08:38 PM

I live in 33572 (Apollo Beach) part of Tampa. currently I have the little round disk antenna mounted on the side of my 2 story house about 4' above the roof line. I can pick up all the major HD local channels but NBC and CBS sometimes pixelates, gets blocky and then come back in. In a serious thunderstorm sometimes these stations go in and out. Would I be better off with a better antenna installed in my attic? There is no way the home owners asoc. wil go for a huge antenna up on the roof. Any ideas?
Oh, this OTA antenna currently feeds 2- DirecTv HR10-250's, 1 in the theater room and one in the bedroom and the other a LG lcd and DirecTv Sony receiver in the kitchen.

shawn12341234

09-23-06, 10:12 PM

That's it for me - I'm going to Verizon.

i would volunteer to dig to get fios tv if i could.

sheik124

09-24-06, 10:56 PM

Is WTSP-DT being stupid for anyone lately? I'm watching the season premiere of Without a Trace on Bright House Networks (Channel 610) and 1. its in 4:3, 2. commercials randomly begin to play during the episode.

Ugh, the feed just randomly spazzed out, I'm just going to watch the rest in SD...

HDTVFanAtic

09-24-06, 11:34 PM

Not lately - since the introduction of HDTV.

This is typical for WTSP on a Sunday night - or any other night.

Now if the football game run late and wasn't the national game, there's your answer. Expect no HD every week that happens.

sheik124

09-24-06, 11:35 PM

Please excuse me if I seem to be asking the obvious, but um, is there any way I could get HD broadcasts that, well, AREN'T from Tampa? I'm freakin disgusted with all BS WTSP and WFLA are pulling.

HDTVFanAtic

09-24-06, 11:37 PM

BHSP1:

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/867/1000968qv9.th.jpg (http://img69.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1000968qv9.jpg)

BHSP2:

http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/7660/1000964yr4.th.jpg (http://img49.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1000964yr4.jpg)

Both show this:

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/2946/1000969na2.th.jpg (http://img142.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1000969na2.jpg)

650 has been there for a while. They must have added 651. 650 had been used for HD coverage of some "sports" events that were known to run long over their allotted time, iirc, World Series of Poker was promoted as being there.

Trevorm7

09-25-06, 08:31 AM

Look what I saw on wtvt-dt, It showed right when they went into a commercial break, it lasted 1/5 of a second. What I don't get is what brighthouse has to do with that.
http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/2157/channel131022yn6.th.jpg (http://img244.imageshack.us/my.php?image=channel131022yn6.jpg)

Also bird crap on the camera :D
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/414/channel131023yv0.th.jpg (http://img208.imageshack.us/my.php?image=channel131023yv0.jpg)
You can see their laughing about it.

HDTVFanAtic

09-25-06, 11:53 AM

It's the slate prior to the spot which started 3 seconds after that aired. You only saw a 1/5 of a second as usually they go black for 2 and 1 and as you can see from the white portion of the "clock" it was at the end of that second.

Odds are great it was ingested into their system badly.

I also have no idea why BHN slate would be on a Shapes spot - unless perhaps they are producing or dubbing the spots for Shapes?

Bschneider

09-25-06, 04:33 PM

The Rays game is not in HD on 650/651.

What was shown on those channels? Was it 480i upconverted?

EDIT: Nevermind. I got an explaination from BHN.

hickoryboyz

09-25-06, 08:05 PM

During the FOX/13 football broadcasts (both games) yesterday we couldn't hear the announcers. We had field and referee audio, but no announcers, in the booth or Glazer on the field (not that it was a terrible thing). Commercials were fine. Anybody else experience this?

It was HD, great picture, OTA in Lake Wales.

HDTVFanAtic

09-25-06, 08:39 PM

2.0 audio system?

hickoryboyz

09-25-06, 11:13 PM

2.0 audio system?

Huh?

Frederick H.

09-26-06, 12:42 AM

HDTVFanAtic

09-26-06, 03:29 AM

Huh?

Seems straightforward question. Did you notice the problem with a 2.0 audio system or a 5.1 audio system.

himey

09-26-06, 03:51 AM

I thaught the sound on the BUCS game was about the best I have heard...PQ was almost as equally good.

Monday's pregame U2/Greenday concert was a bit better IMO. Sometimes I get microblocking on the HD channels when "concert lights" fill the screen but not this time.

HDTVFanAtic

09-26-06, 06:22 PM

himey

09-27-06, 12:06 AM

BHN...Judging back and forth during the world cup on OTA vs BHN I know I am losing quality (not sure if the 8300hd box or BHN is to blame) but FOX looked as good as I have seen in a long time. Ever since ABC and CBS began multicasting the PQ have gone way down!

HDTVFanAtic

09-27-06, 03:21 AM

Amazing that all you have to do is compare OTA to BHN to be able to know that BHN looks worse - yet some people don't want to believe it without stats. And its BHN, btw. It looks worse even with a cable card.

ABC lost 1 Mbps from 15Mbps to 14Mbps and with 720p, that's really not much of anything.

CBS took almost 33% of their signal out, last time I checked - which was the first week - a total travesty - but then again, Channel 10 has never had any respect for their HD Signal.

And not that I really care, but have you noticed WTTA Channel 38 doesn't have a HD feed as of the end of last week - not that I wanted to really view any programming they had - nor does anyone else looking at the ratings - I just wanted to see how Bo Derek was holding up and figured seeing her in HD would be the best way to judge.

himey

09-27-06, 08:32 AM

hickoryboyz

09-27-06, 10:36 AM

Seems straightforward question. Did you notice the problem with a 2.0 audio system or a 5.1 audio system.

2.0, I'm so new to this, I'm assuming 2.0 is without any surround or anything, just audio from my TV. The "Digital Audio" message did come up on the screen during the game.

HDTVFanAtic

09-27-06, 03:12 PM

2.0, I'm so new to this, I'm assuming 2.0 is without any surround or anything, just audio from my TV. The "Digital Audio" message did come up on the screen during the game.

The problem you describe happens when the data in 5.1 is not coded correctly so the 2.0 mixout in a TV has the left and right channels, but the center channel with the dialouge is not inserted back. In virtually every case, its a problem on the transmission side.

It's very common with WFLA and WTSP in their infinite wisdom (lol), but I have never heard of it happening with Fox - that's why I am somewhat puzzled.

Obviously, the Fox Network always keeps the 5.1 encoders active, regardless of content. It is the only network to do so. So clearly something was fed wrong.

However, I am shocked that no one else has reported this if it was a problem with Channel 13 this weekend (I'll confess I did not watch a single game this weekend as I had better things to do, proving that I do other things besides TV, lol, so I can't tell you if I experienced it or not).

HDTVFanAtic

09-27-06, 03:14 PM

CBS is where you can really see the difference...The SEC college games were the best pictures I have seen and now football looks pretty bad on CBS. Thanks for the Stats to back this up. I am however suprised how good ESPNHD and FOX looked last weekend.
Maybe because I have been comparing them to NBC,CBS and ABC which all don't look very good anymore.

Do you use a 2.0 system (i.e., the normal TV speakers) or an external 5.1 surround sound system? Did you notice a lack of dialouge on the game this weekend - see posts above?

jank0023

09-27-06, 05:18 PM

The problem you describe happens when the data in 5.1 is not coded correctly so the 2.0 mixout in a TV has the left and right channels, but the center channel with the dialouge is not inserted back. In virtually every case, its a problem on the transmission side.

It's very common with WFLA and WTSP in their infinite wisdom (lol), but I have never heard of it happening with Fox - that's why I am somewhat puzzled.

Obviously, the Fox Network always keeps the 5.1 encoders active, regardless of content. It is the only network to do so. So clearly something was fed wrong.

However, I am shocked that no one else has reported this if it was a problem with Channel 13 this weekend (I'll confess I did not watch a single game this weekend as I had better things to do, proving that I do other things besides TV, lol, so I can't tell you if I experienced it or not).

Yup, this is poit on. Although about two weeks ago Verizon was having a problem with their network/settop boxes that created this problem. Problem lasted for me for about 3 days but it was not limited to a specific channel but all 5.1 broadcasts. When I called they said a lot of ppl were encountering this problem, this was during the same period when the TV Guide was not updating either. I periodically see this happen on different channels. When this happens I have to change from dolby digital to pro logic to get proper audio as the center channel usually gets cut from 5.1.

himey

09-28-06, 01:11 AM

Do you use a 2.0 system (i.e., the normal TV speakers) or an external 5.1 surround sound system? Did you notice a lack of dialouge on the game this weekend - see posts above?
My point was the BUCS game was in 5.1 and sounded about the best I have heard for a sporting event...

HDTVFanAtic

09-28-06, 02:45 AM

My point was the BUCS game was in 5.1 and sounded about the best I have heard for a sporting event...

And if you read the other post, you will see that it was apparently encoded wrong as the 2.0 viewers (most watching) appear to have lost the dialouge (center) in the 2.0 mixout.

Also note that when channels are out of phase, they can create even more stereo seperation - so it appears there is more of a sound field than there actually is, but the mixdown to fewer channels can cause out of phase elements to disappear.

If you have really good stereo setup where a room can be transformed with a good recording - try reversing the the postive and negative on one of the 2 speakers - and you will find that initial impressions will be that your stereo staging actually increases.

Its the oldest trick in audio processing and how mono programming was made into simulated 2 channel audio.

The real question is not what you might have heard as great sound - but sound done correctly that is good for your 5.1 setup and is coded correctly so the 2.0 has the center dialouge on both the left and right feed as well (instead of just the left and right with no center).

Bschneider

09-29-06, 12:49 PM

And not that I really care, but have you noticed WTTA Channel 38 doesn't have a HD feed as of the end of last week - not that I wanted to really view any programming they had - nor does anyone else looking at the ratings - I just wanted to see how Bo Derek was holding up and figured seeing her in HD would be the best way to judge.

This will be fixed for tonight.

shawn12341234

09-29-06, 01:35 PM

anyway to get the Bulls game in HD on BHN tonight?

jimwhite

09-29-06, 03:29 PM

"The real question is not what you might have heard as great sound - but sound done correctly that is good for your 5.1 setup and is coded correctly so the 2.0 has the center dialouge on both the left and right feed as well (instead of just the left and right with no center)"

not so.... a 5.1 feed will have center dialog encoded on the center channel only.... it's up to the decoder, when downmixing to 2.1 or 2.0, to create a virtual center by outputting the center channel dialog to FrontL and FrontR. Those missing the center dialog on a 2.1 or 2.0 setup have either a broken or mis-setup decoder.

:cool:

sarman

09-29-06, 07:02 PM

Is anyone in this thread around Sarasota area had Comcast installed a cablecard. Now two tries in two diffrent days they kept getting 161-4 error. The message keep coming back even though they pressed enter on the remote. I have XBR1 TV and was wondering if this is an issue with Sony TV's.

HDTVFanAtic

09-30-06, 03:00 AM

jimwhite

09-30-06, 10:01 AM

Sure, thats why when dialog is missing in 2.0 but center channel is present in 5.1 on WFLA and WTSP, you fix it by calling the Master Control of the TV station - so they can adjust your TV Decoder in your house, lol.

now.... as far as improperly encoded/flagged broadcasts, that's another can of worms... but your original statements about the dialog channel were incorrect...

:D

HDTVFanAtic

09-30-06, 02:22 PM

now.... as far as improperly encoded/flagged broadcasts, that's another can of worms... but your original statements about the dialog channel were incorrect...

:D

Oh, so you were wrong as one answer does not fit all?????

The original post and question was about an improperly encoded/flagged broadcast and statements about the problem were made towards that original reference which you now admit was an error on your behalf.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8513170&&#post8513170

hickoryboyz

09-30-06, 02:35 PM

The problem you describe happens when the data in 5.1 is not coded correctly so the 2.0 mixout in a TV has the left and right channels, but the center channel with the dialouge is not inserted back. In virtually every case, its a problem on the transmission side.

It's very common with WFLA and WTSP in their infinite wisdom (lol), but I have never heard of it happening with Fox - that's why I am somewhat puzzled.

Obviously, the Fox Network always keeps the 5.1 encoders active, regardless of content. It is the only network to do so. So clearly something was fed wrong.

However, I am shocked that no one else has reported this if it was a problem with Channel 13 this weekend (I'll confess I did not watch a single game this weekend as I had better things to do, proving that I do other things besides TV, lol, so I can't tell you if I experienced it or not).

Same thing today with the Fox baseball coverage. No broadcasters, just field and game action audio. I called my uncle that has a similar setup, 2.0 audio and his is working fine. He is a little bit closer to the transmission towers, but I don't think that has anything to do with it. His is 2.0 audio. I went thru my audio menus, but there isn't much there and nothing has been changed. Any more ideas?

HDTVFanAtic

10-01-06, 12:12 AM

Same thing today with the Fox baseball coverage. No broadcasters, just field and game action audio. I called my uncle that has a similar setup, 2.0 audio and his is working fine. He is a little bit closer to the transmission towers, but I don't think that has anything to do with it. His is 2.0 audio. I went thru my audio menus, but there isn't much there and nothing has been changed. Any more ideas?

Well according to Jim White, you and your uncle's TVs just happen to both break at the same time on the same channel :)

Others would obviously realize that is not the case.

I punched past the game and saw it was on Fox Net 5 but didn't stay there longer than 2 seconds to hear the problem.

Fox went to their new satellite 73.725Mbps distribution system the first week of July and Jim DeFilippis earlier this month they have been performing software upgrades on the system incorporate the MyNetwork feed correctly. It's most likely something changed during one of these upgrades that hasn't been caught locally.

I am sure Channel 13 will hear about it Monday and will move to get to the bottom of it (Or you can take Jim's advice and have you and your uncle pay for a service call from Sound Advice for them to fix your set, lol).

jimwhite

10-01-06, 12:58 PM

Tarpon65

10-01-06, 02:41 PM

I have a question to ask that has been bothering me about my system for a couple of years now. Formerly I had Dish Network along with an antenna to pickup the locals out of Tampa but as of six months ago switched to Verizon Fios. I am in Sarasota and use a B&K Reference 50 pre pro for the guts of my home theater system. My problem is that I have the Ref50 setup to default to Pro Logic II whenever there is no DD 5.1 being broadcast. It works fine for all channels except for the NBC station (Channel 808 on Fios, 8-01 with OTA antenna) and the CNN stations where the unit defaults to 5-channel Stereo mode (it has constantly done these regardless of whether I was using Dish network, my antenna, or Fios). I can manually select Pro Logic II for these stations and the Ref50 processes it correctly, but it will not hold this setting when I turn the Ref50 off. I have talked to B&K and they insist it must be the way these these few stations are broadcasting/flagging/encrypting their audio as all my inputs are setup correctly (none are set to output 5 channel stereo). Can someone tell me if this is true whether you are using a B&K or another receiver? I hate to have to ship my unit to be fixed, but if there is something wrong I want to fix it while it is under warranty. Thanks for any help or suggestions.

HDTVFanAtic

10-01-06, 03:11 PM

you can mischaracterise what I said all you want, but don't put words in my mouth... your original statement:

"and is coded correctly so the 2.0 has the center dialouge on both the left and right feed as well (instead of just the left and right with no center)"

is not only incorrect ( there is no 2.0 feed when the station is brodcasting 5.1) but also ambiguous.... the 2.0 or 2.1 is developed in the reciever by downmixig the 5.1 content.... YES, this downmix can be broken by poorly flagged broadcasts.... but a 5.1 feed from the station has the dialog on the center channel, not on the frontleft and frontright...

now I'm off to enjoy the game....

:cool:

There you go again....the 2.0 refers to the output on the receive side - which is 100% correct and the problem we are talking about. He has no center channel info in his 2.0 mix. If it is encoded properly at transmission - it will decode correctly at the receiver.

Spin it however you wish, but its correct in its proper context.

As HD is still in the early adopter stages, the newcomers probably wonder what all this about.

The people that have been around a few years know.

You see a handful of people here that never try to help you out with information, but only jump on people that try to give you info.

They don't give the info and try and jump on people that do try to give you info so that those who post here with info don't post any longer. They hope to kill info here so you will go to a local tampa site where they are to be taken as the 100% know it alls without any posting any supporting evidence but they will not believe any else who posts unless you support it with chapters of documented support.

That's why they only appear every 3-6-12 Months here to rip apart something - to try and kill this thread off. Of course they read it, so they can message posters to check out their local thread.

Once you understand that part of their secret club and handshake, the rest is pretty easy to put together when you see it here.

You see, in the latest example, Jim, who is a qualified electrical engineer, never tried to answer your question (or any question here in this thread for how long?)

Take a look at his posts and you can see he has been on avs posting all during the past week - and looking at his post - you can see he is very qualified to know about audio and help you with your problem - but he didn't.

Like other long time early adopters, he waited for others to answer and then tried to rip apart every adverb and pronoun placement in the answer - instead of helping you out.

Now you scan back you can see it for yourself.

hickoryboyz

10-01-06, 04:30 PM

jimwhite

10-01-06, 10:25 PM

now my evening is complete..... I love a good fantasy.... FWIW, I have no affiliation with any other websites.... and my only offerng to the OP's problem would have been to lament the poor DTV we get in this market....

:(

HDTVFanAtic

10-02-06, 12:00 AM

I appreciate any and all help I receive with this. Thank you.

I finally just turned my antenna yesterday toward Orlando during the ALA vs. FLA game so I was assured of 100% reception of the Orlando CBS affiliate. Looked and sounded great (I don't get audio on channel 6 CBS about 50% of the time). When I did this, I also picked up the Orlando FOX affiliate and baseball was on there and coming in loud and clear, announcers and all. I could still get the Tampa FOX station where there was NO announcer audio. Same today with the football. Channel 13 had no announcer audio, but channel 35 did. I don't know what that means, other than I'm now watching the Orlando FOX station for sports.

Side note, I actually did not get audio from the CBS Orlando affiliate today during football, same thing as when I had the antenna shooting toward Tampa, but did have 100% signal strength on the station. Any ideas?

Thanks again.

Something is a miss then, because I went to Fox 13.1 this afternoon just to make sure that there was or wasn't dialouge in the 2.0 mix - and there was - both in the 1PM football game and in the Rodeo or whatever it was after 4pm - both OTA and via cable.

There was also dialogue on ALL games via D* ST and via BEV out of Canada rebroadcasting the Boston and Seattle Fox O and O. I should have checked the Orlando stations but honestly didn't think of it.

When did this problem start for you - as now you have changed the parameters as CBS has a different method than Fox when it comes to setting the audio.

Fox encodes 5.1 at the PICO studios. CBS sets the dolby encoder locally via metadata in the stream.

Its not your antenna or relation to the transmission tower, so drop that from your equation.

But something has clearly happened - the timing of which is interesting as its around the time that software updates were done to the Fox transmission system - but that now seem coincidental as you state you had the problem on CBS which does NOT keep its audio in 5.1 but depends on metadata for switching.

hickoryboyz

10-02-06, 08:53 AM

Its not your antenna or relation to the transmission tower, so drop that from your equation.

But something has clearly happened - the timing of which is interesting as its around the time that software updates were done to the Fox transmission system - but that now seem coincidental as you state you had the problem on CBS which does NOT keep its audio in 5.1 but depends on metadata for switching.

Let me clarify...
It is not the same problem with FOX and CBS...
with FOX - field and surrounding audio, just no announcers

with CBS - no audio at all, no program or commercial audio, no nothing!!! I did get audio during the FLA vs. ALA game on saturday, but did not during the dolphins game yesterday, but did during the Jags game yesterday, but did not during 60 minutes or whatever news mag show was on last nite. All of this with 100% signal strength showing.

2 different problems. Hey, thanks again. I've searched these and (should I not say?) other forums to simply see if anyone else is getting these problems, but haven't found anything similar to mine yet.

hickoryboyz

10-02-06, 10:00 AM

From the Orlando - OTA thread:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry928
I have a guess. Either you are picking up a reflection or the PSIP changed and you need to rescan or both.

Thanks for the reply. I have rescanned, do it about every time I sit down and watch. How do I know I have reflection and/or fix reflection?

sarman

10-03-06, 01:53 PM

I have ordered the Tivo S3 HDTV PVR, which uses cablecard. Has anyone gotten a successfull installation of a cablecard by Comcast, Sarasota? I am concerned I may end up just using it to record OTA HD if Comcast proves reluctant to make the cablecard work.
They (Comcast Sarasota) have been in my house 3 times to install a cablecard with no success. Same 161-4 error over and over. See details under this heading:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=730108

Let me know how yours works out.

hickoryboyz

10-03-06, 11:27 PM

The problem you describe happens when the data in 5.1 is not coded correctly so the 2.0 mixout in a TV has the left and right channels, but the center channel with the dialouge is not inserted back. In virtually every case, its a problem on the transmission side.

It's very common with WFLA and WTSP in their infinite wisdom (lol), but I have never heard of it happening with Fox - that's why I am somewhat puzzled.

Obviously, the Fox Network always keeps the 5.1 encoders active, regardless of content. It is the only network to do so. So clearly something was fed wrong.

However, I am shocked that no one else has reported this if it was a problem with Channel 13 this weekend (I'll confess I did not watch a single game this weekend as I had better things to do, proving that I do other things besides TV, lol, so I can't tell you if I experienced it or not).

OK, I am probably showing my carelessness in posting this, but tonite during the FOX baseball broadcast I realized that Channel 13, FOX, was set to the Spanish SAP mode and I'm wondering if that was the problem getting the broadcasters during the football games. If the football games did not provide an SAP and I had it set to spanish, would it do what it was doing and not broadcast any announcers, but still broadcast the field and surrounding noise?

I feel like an idiot if that is the case and it seems like it is.

HDTVFanAtic

10-04-06, 04:53 AM

Hmmm.....your not any more stupid than I feel right now as I swear I think I heard the same thing on some games last year during a broadcast and thought this is neat for getting rid of announcers but keeping the ambience of the game...but have not thought about it or seen it mentioned since then.

I didnt see a mix out on the splicer that could be just the SAP surround speakers, but I think you have it - that's exactly what it is.

HDTVFanAtic

10-04-06, 12:08 PM

Followed up with engineering people at Fox 13 who confirm that was the issue. I am also making the engineering people in Orlando aware of it.

<snip>

Our equipment here is supposed to sense when there is no audio on the SAP channel and if so, it switches to put program audio on SAP (when there is no other).. However, if there is crowd noise, the system detects that noise and does not switch automatically.. The Op is supposed to check that and upon finding there is only crowd noise, manually switch to program audio on SAP.. Obviously, he/she did not do that on this occasion..

We will have to reinforce that policy.

HDTVFanAtic

10-04-06, 08:19 PM

fwiw, flipping through channels i see 624 is active on BHN. Not sure when it went online. And not sure why they are using 624 instead of 644. That seems more than a little strange especially if WWSB goes to 24 in 2009 and decides to use that as their channel number instead of 7 or 40.

bwaldron

10-04-06, 11:43 PM

...I swear I think I heard the same thing on some games last year during a broadcast and thought this is neat for getting rid of announcers but keeping the ambience of the game...but have not thought about it or seen it mentioned since then.

Lord, I wish that would happen to my audio. Heck, I'd pay for such an option!

More on topic, having no problems here receiving audio via Dolby digital on a 2.0 system, on any local OTA channels.

HDTVFanAtic

10-05-06, 03:12 AM

Lord, I wish that would happen to my audio. Heck, I'd pay for such an option!

More on topic, having no problems here receiving audio via Dolby digital on a 2.0 system, on any local OTA channels.

Its funny because I assumed it was done on purpose for the reasons you mentioned when I discovered it a year or so ago...but again, forgot about it and never crossed my mind again. It wasn't until he mentioned the SAP did I remember it.

And obviously 13 was aware of it as well, although as noted they had not been checking it until it was added to a checklist today.

hickoryboyz

10-05-06, 08:23 AM

Lord, I wish that would happen to my audio. Heck, I'd pay for such an option!

More on topic, having no problems here receiving audio via Dolby digital on a 2.0 system, on any local OTA channels.

Maybe I should have not said anything and just let you good folks know how to rid the announcers, sorry. If you'll check my initial post, I did say "not that it's a bad thing".

HDTVFanAtic

10-05-06, 07:16 PM

Maybe I should have not said anything and just let you good folks know how to rid the announcers, sorry. If you'll check my initial post, I did say "not that it's a bad thing".

If you check the curve on HDTV Households this year virtually mutliplying by 40% last quarter and then again quarter, it would not have been long before there were a multitude of complaints from people that had SAP turned on by mistake.

Probably the only thing you did was stopped a number of needless service calls and TV returns.

sheik124

10-06-06, 10:59 PM

Is it me or is BHN somehow broadcasting channels 1-100 digitally? I swear I could've seen macroblocking yesterday as my little sisters watched Nickelodeon...

HDTVFanAtic

10-07-06, 12:39 AM

Not that I am aware of. Nick is still on 297Mhz taking up a 6Mhz channel.

Though its just a guess, we are in the week of Fall Sun Outages - and I would think most likely you saw breakup as a result of that interference as this week is the worst of it for Florida.

If they are taking the feed from 135W as I suspect they are, did it happen between 5:13 and 5:15pm?

Predicted Outage| Start | End | Duration| Start | End
Date | UTC | UTC | | EDT | EDT
mm/dd/yyyy |hh:mm:ss| hh:mm:ss|mm:ss | hh:mm:ss| hh:mm:ss
--------------------|-----------|------------|-----------|------------|------------
10/02/2006 | 21:12:30 | 21:18:35 | 06:05 | 17:12:30 | 17:18:35
10/03/2006 | 21:11:30 | 21:19:05 | 07:35 | 17:11:30 | 17:19:05
10/04/2006 | 21:11:06 | 21:18:46 | 07:40 | 17:11:06 | 17:18:46
10/05/2006 | 21:11:23 | 21:17:53 | 06:30 | 17:11:23 | 17:17:53
10/06/2006 | 21:13:09 | 21:15:34 | 02:25 | 17:13:09 | 17:15:34

Those numbers would be based on a 3.8 Meter Dish (they might use a larger size which would reduce the worst of the potential outage significantly) and is based on a Tampa location of 27.97N and 82.63. I believe the signal is downlinked in Brandon at the NOC and not in Pinellas County - though I could easily be mistaken about that. If the signal is in from Brandon it would be a few seconds later or downlinked in Pinnellas County, a few seconds earlier.

Anything over a 13.5 foot Dish probably would not have had any outage today, but some interference and thus what you saw.

sheik124

10-08-06, 10:15 PM

HDTVFanAtic

10-08-06, 11:38 PM

Again, it had to do with the football game they were carrying. We've had to endure this for the past few years now.

The amazing thing is the could use a simple D5 recorder and capture the HD feed on Sunday Morning when it is pre-fed just for this purpose.

Yes, that means that a little more work playing it back and not just switching to the network, but it clearly show how bad WTSP is.

Worse yet, have you notice that now they have a time difference when they switch from HD to SD and you have a noticable audio glitch when they ruin the 10PM at about 10:50PM every night?

I'm watching it on WCBS and its exactly at the same place at WTSP, only in HD.

Some stations will apparently put forth the extra effort to pre-tape it and play it back. WTSP, despite all their claims to the contrary, wont.

WTSP and WFLA have charter memberships in HD Hell if there is such a place.

sheik124

10-09-06, 12:17 AM

HDTVFanAtic

10-09-06, 01:54 AM

correct.

They pre-feed the HD Programming on Sunday Morning before its needed for Football and any other HD use.

Stations that wish and have the capability can record it for playback Sunday Evening in case they are not running the National Football Game and the game they are running runs long or short.

CBS only has 2 Satellite HD Feeds - East and West Coast - so they keep the East Coast feed in sync with the national game - and as that ends - so goes the network east coast feed on Sunday night.

Only those who pre-tape the feed on Sunday morning will have the HD Programming on Sunday night if they are not airing the National Game and it runs long.

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/9407/cbshdsunyj2.th.jpg (http://img144.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cbshdsunyj2.jpg)

jimwhite

10-09-06, 08:17 AM

a**holes..... :(

:cool:

BillN96

10-09-06, 10:00 AM

Hello all. I am moving from Connecticut to Lakeland in the next couple months due to a job transfer. I have had HDTV for over 5 years and and, to be honest, very spoiled with a fantastic HD lineup offered by my current cable company.

I was hoping to get the current situation regarding the HD landscape and what providers other people in the Lakeland area are using. I have noticed that ESPN2HD is missing from the Brighthouse lineup which may be a deal breaker for me. Any news on when this channel may be added? Is Brighthouse the only cable company in the Lakeland area? Are there any dates on when Verizon's FiOS service may be available?

I'm just looking for some direction. Thank you in advance for your help for this (soon to be) new Floridian.

sheik124

10-09-06, 11:17 AM

HDTVFanAtic

10-13-06, 03:08 PM

You know the amazing part - and I only mention this because Channel 10's suckwind Weather Channel has destroyed what little 10.1 HD had going for it.

I needed a good weather forecast for Thursday - was putting up another Satellite Dish and needed the overcast period of the day - as I didn't want to be baking in the sun all day.

As luck had it, I forgot about watching the 11pm news - but found my DVR was on Channel 10 even though I was using it - so I backed it up and watched their forecast.

They stated the front would come through in the early morning hours - and only a 30% chance of rain - so you probably were not going to see any - but if by chance you did - it would all be gone and Sunny by the time Reggie got up in the morning. Then they went on about Fletcher getting up to play tennis early etc etc.

Well, that tells me I need to get it done early morning. 8am - Bright Sunshine Day. When does it get cloudy - about 11am and by 12 Noon the entire area has rain all over and there are thunderstorm warnings for Pasco, Pinelllas and Hillsbourgh. And the rain continued until about 2pm.

Just amazing.

Why would I even want to get weather at a place like this that is 100% wrong on their forecasts?

And you loose any chance of a good HD Picture on 10.1 for this weather misinformation that have proven itself time and time again - especially during Hurricanes, as the worst of any in forecasts.

TechoFobe

10-14-06, 01:20 PM

I just had a DirecTV HR20 (DVR) installed yesterday and after the dish was adjusted the installer said my signal strengths are excellent.

HR20: SAT 101 = 98; SAT 110 = 95; SAT 119 = 98; SAT 99 = 95; SAT 103 = 99.

H20: SAT 101 = 85; SAT 110 = 75; SAT 119 = 92; SAT 99 = 73; SAT 103 = 83.

So naturally, when I tried watching(and recording) Law & Order in HD on WFLA-NBC (8) last night I was distressed to see that my reception was absolutely horrible! I immediately switched to check my other HD receiver (H20 non-DVR) and it was also freezing up on channel 8 and was equally unwatchable.

I checked the OTA for WFLA-HD, and it was somewhat better. About normal --- since my OTA reception is lousy due to trees blocking the antenna...

I then checked the WTSP-CBS (10) program in that time slot and although it was far from perfect --- it wasn't totally screwed like WFLA (8).

I later checked my non-HD DirecTiVo which recorded Law & Order and it was good. No freezes.

Today, WFLA's picture is rock solid... Of course they are not broadcasting in HD at this time.

So what's the deal? Is my reception problem caused by the DirecTV HD receivers? Or, is a result of lousy transmissionfrom WFLA? Is the reality that I just won't be able to watch NBC in HD? I'm wondering if ABC & FOX will be okay... Wait and see I guess...

Any ideas?

HDTVFanAtic

10-14-06, 04:30 PM

TechoFobe

10-15-06, 11:33 AM

I watched NBC Law and Order about 4am this mouring off a BHN SA-8300HD DVR and I did not see the problem you describe - though I did hear a few audio issues - which I also heard on Tuesday Night on L&O.

So I would conclude its the D* MPEG4 issues with 1080i broadcasts continuing.Between the poor performance of the local stations and the Mpeg4 technology foisted off by D* --- one has to wonder if HD in the Tampa area is worth the costs and trouble... When it works it is fantastic. But a large part of the time it is as lousy as can be. Leastwise in my individual experience.

If the reception last Friday night had been on all local channels I would have thought that maybe the hardware was at fault, but I tend to agree with you that the problem is with the Mpeg4 from D* now that you say you got L&O via BHN with no major troubles. Thanks for the info.

I will just continue mirroring all of my HD recordings with SD using my DirecTiVo receiver so that when the HD signal fails I will at least be able to watch in SD. Glad I'm only paying $150 a month for D*. <sarcasm> :rolleyes:

And, if only Channel 10 transmitted Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy in HD. Makes me angry when the HD banner is displayed and the signal is broadcast in SD. Not that it would make those shows netter to be watched in HD --- just the principal of the DaRned matter. Do they save money by not showing things in HD? Or, are they just inept?

It sure helps me sanity to get the feedback from others so that I don't worry that I am just crazy... Just crazy... Just crazy... :D

HDTVFanAtic

10-15-06, 11:03 PM

And, if only Channel 10 transmitted Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy in HD. Makes me angry when the HD banner is displayed and the signal is broadcast in SD. Not that it would make those shows netter to be watched in HD --- just the principal of the DaRned matter. Do they save money by not showing things in HD? Or, are they just inept?

Hey, with the game running late on Sunday, they forgot to switch to HD for the first segment of Cold Case after the Amazing Race at about 9:20pm ROFLMAO.

They don't do HD right when they have it - and you want them to go out of their way for HD? :rolleyes:

TechoFobe

10-16-06, 07:56 AM

They don't do HD right when they have it - and you want them to go out of their way for HD? :rolleyes:
Ummmm, yes, I do. :eek:

What ever happened to taking pride in doing a job right? Or, perhaps a better question would be: Is it too much to expect for them to simply do their job?

Seems like CBS Corporate would set standards that their affiliates would be required to meet. But, obviously, that's not the case... I guess that if I want to receive high-quality HD I need to move to Japan or maybe even Europe?

It wasn't all that long ago when a "Made in Japan" label meant "lousy". Now, the "Made in the USA" label does. Very sad commentary.

Where does WTSP recruit their technicians; or is engineering all outsourced? :o

Frankly, I now have realized that this is just the way it works... There's no use to complain or object... The fact is that, for whatever reasons, Tampa's network affiliates are just incapable of adequately delivering HD programming. Maybe the smart way to look at it is that, on the occasions when we do actually get HD, we're really lucky. After all they're probably trying their best? :rolleyes:

Now that I have figured that out, I feel much better! :)

thebarge

10-16-06, 10:22 AM

HDTVFanAtic

10-16-06, 12:31 PM

Seems that both of you are saying you had some issues on Friday Night. Remember we had that front moving through and I wonder if there was some type of temp inversion associated with it? Just a thought. Again, I skimmed through Numb3rs (and watched Law and Order) a on BHN SA8300HD DVR after Technopobe's first post and did not see anything on 10 outside of the reduced quality we have have seen since they allocated close to 5Mbps to their Weather Channel. You are so close it could of bounced it right past you.

I am about 10-12 Miles from the tower and a straight shot of nothing but water from here to there - which is usually worse for temp inversions as the water is a different temp than the air - but I haven't seen any signal issues if they are indeed operating on reduced power.

thebarge

10-16-06, 03:02 PM

Yeah, CBS 10 is usually not as bad as it was on Friday night. However, I do usually get more dropouts on that channel than on the other OTA HD channels (on an HR10-250).

himey

10-16-06, 03:44 PM

HDTVFanAtic

10-16-06, 07:31 PM

Well, I watched 60 minutes and no issues - and neither of the 2 you mentioned were in 5.1.

In fact, those are the easiest for them to deal with, because they use the straight SD feed and do not have to cut in and out of the HD to SD programming for local avails.

bwaldron

10-16-06, 07:45 PM

You guys obviously didn't watch the BUCS game and 60 mins yesterday. What a joke. Dropouts all the way through on both (niether in HD). Very Sad they can get away with it...

Actually they weren't deopouts but the sound would get louder then softer. I don't have my processor in the same room but I would guess that its switching from 2.0 to 5.1 and back and forth. Sucks!

I don't watch 60 minutes, but the Bucs game yesterday had pretty miserable PQ even for an SD game. I didn't notice any loudness differentials, but I did get quite a few momentary audio dropouts.

Watching OTA, BTW.

jimwhite

10-17-06, 07:03 AM

I heard the up/down volume during the Buc's games as well...

:cool:

himey

10-17-06, 07:56 AM

I heard the up/down volume during the Buc's games as well...

:cool:

For a digital channel that was about the worse AQ and PQ imaginable. At least the BUCS won. This is the first year since RJ opened I haven't had tickets...Eagles game next week should be on FOX HD which isn't too bad. Eric

HDTVFanAtic

10-17-06, 03:32 PM

I didn't watch the Bucs game on TV so I can't speak to the audio levels.

HDTVFanAtic

10-17-06, 03:33 PM

For those who watch 38.2

Miami-based digital music network The Tube faces liquidity crisis
Miami-based digital TV music network The Tube is mired in a liquidity crisis.
BY CHRISTINA HOAG
choag@MiamiHerald.com

The Tube, the start-up digital TV music network, has run out of cash and has not been able to pay employees for the past month.
The Miami-based company, founded by MTV legend Les Garland, reported no revenue and a net loss of $4.1 million for the first six months of 2006, in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company reported a working capital deficit of $7.9 million and an accumulated deficit of $25.1 million.
Spokesman Barry Kluger said new management has been brought in to seek fresh financing. ''They're working on funding this thing long term,'' he said.
Executives hope to have enough cash this week to meet payroll, he added.
The new chief executive, Patrick LaPlatney, has loaned the company $100,000, according to a filing.
The Tube is breaking new ground in the TV industry by marketing programming for broadcast stations' digital channels. The Federal Communications Commission has mandated that broadcasters switch from analog to digital signals by 2009.
Most stations have already made the change, which gives them up to five separate channels on the digital bandwidth, for which they must find content.
The Tube's business model calls for revenue streams from both advertising and viewer purchases of music aired on The Tube.
The company has so far lined up distribution in major markets that cover about 17 million homes, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
But advertising has not yet come in. In a filing, the company said that its financial constraints have meant next to no budget for marketing and promotion. It said it plans a national media campaign to raise consumer awareness.
Maryland TV consultant Gary Arlen said it's still early days for secondary digital channels.
''Viewers who have bought digital TV sets are still awed by how good the picture is rather than see what else is on there,'' he said. ``It makes it difficult for alternative channels to come out.''

hickoryboyz

10-17-06, 05:57 PM

But advertising has not yet come in.

What advertising? There is no advertising on this channel. I often wondered how they were making ANY $$$; I guess they weren't.

HDTVFanAtic

10-17-06, 06:50 PM

That's why they reported no revenue.

TechoFobe

10-17-06, 09:20 PM

That's why they reported no revenue.

Darn, is it to late for me to invest in The Tube?

My motto is buy high and sell low... :D

himey

10-18-06, 03:06 AM

TravisJ

10-18-06, 06:00 AM

I'm deed restricted and most think I probably work for NASA or the CIA.

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/4024/dsc00057gj7.png (http://imageshack.us)

They also lifted the restriction on TV Antennas as I recall, but I do not know if there was a limit to size - iirc there wasn't.

Rule here: http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html

Aren't you a little worried about those dishes all blowing away when the next active hurricane season comes around? You (and your homeowner's association which should be establishing and enforcing rules on securing antennas) may be potentially liable there. If anything happens to your neighbor's property that picture will be worth $$$ to someone.

HDTVFanAtic

10-18-06, 03:00 PM

Except for the dual StarChoice/Dish 300 mounting which is a standard consumer NPR used in this area, the others are Baird Commercial NPRs (the best and most expensive in the Industry) and rated to 120 MPH. If you want to see major code violations, look at satelliteguys.us where people are installing 1.8 Meter dishes with NPRs about the size my D* AT9 is on.

If you can't tell, my smallest NPRs have 8-10 cinderblocks on them. The larger on to the right has 12-16.

Try looking at the top of the Grocery, Drug Store, Gas Station and Convenience store next time you drive by. If the angle is right, you will see this is the same thing that is used in all those instances.

Considering most DBS dishes blew off last year in South Florida with Wilma at 80 - 95 MPH wind and all that was left was the bracket and post on the house, 120MPH is the least of my concerns. If we hit 120 MPH wind, my satellite dishes will be the least of the concerns for anyone in this area - especially since most recent construction is only built to 120 MPH - and the older stuff will go long before that.

Even in 100 MPH winds, I expect I would only loose the Dish 300, the Directv AT9 and the StarChoice Dishes - not the NPRs and posts themselves - and the others are rated to 120MPH. Even if I lost the Dish 300 and the Directv AT9, I assure you the base and mast would still be in place and need virtually no realignment when a new dish was put on them.

As about every 10th house would also loose those same dishes, I would not be concerned about my liability. I would expect wood from docks, tile from roofing, tree branches and other flying debris to be much more of a hazard.

This .9 Meter Dish isn't going anywhere until it falls apart at 120MPH - but the NPR and pole will still be in place.

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/5138/sat4gm5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I can't say the same for the people on satelliteguy.us putting a 1.8 Meter on a cheaper knock off.

StanFL

10-18-06, 05:19 PM

I'm in Bradenton and ATTEMPTED to watch last weeks Bucs game on channel 10.
I tried OTA and my signal was lost on Hi-Def and SD OTA was loaded with sparkles.
I have a rotary SD antanna over the house but I was NEVER able to get a picture worth watching.
My antanna is 3-4 year old from Radio Shack. They told me yesterday that channel 10 is bad OTA even with a good antanna.
Can anyone here recommend an antanna that pulls in channel 10 with a good picture in SD or HD to watch football on my HDTV? (My PIQ on 8, 13, & 28 are great!)
If yes, I'll need to have an installer, too, because my wheelchair & ladders don't get along :)
Please assist, if possible.

HDTVFanAtic

10-19-06, 08:15 PM

Quick Request.

There is an issue going on with 28 and DVRs. Some shows will not record even if you set them up in advance and it looks like it is set to capture. Even if you manually start it, it won't record.

Primarily it has happened on Dancing With The Stars over the last 2 weeks.

Does anyone have any of Dancing With The Stars from the last 2 weeks - even 5 seconds of it - captured on Transport Stream from Channel 28, either OTA or via Brighthouse Cable?

We'd like to take a look at mpeg stream in an analyzer and see if there is a reason in the stream as to why this is happening.

You can leave a message for me on the AVS Message System if you have any part of it. Normally I would have all the Tampa Feeds for a week, but been re-wiring stuff over the last week.

Thanks in advance.

shawn12341234

10-21-06, 02:17 PM

i saw a verizon guy testing the fiber in my neighborhood today...how long do you think before they might start offering FIOS TV? Thanks.

HDTVFanAtic

10-21-06, 02:22 PM

No way to answer without atleast the city/suburb.

shawn12341234

10-21-06, 03:18 PM

I live in Valrico. Thanks.

HDTVFanAtic

10-22-06, 12:26 AM

Looks like they have been offering it in Valrico already according to these posts:

http://www.highdefforum.com/showpost.php?p=181029&postcount=3

http://www.pvrblog.com/pvr/2005/10/verizon_fios_tv.html#c19045041

TechoFobe

10-22-06, 09:17 AM

i saw a verizon guy testing the fiber in my neighborhood today...how long do you think before they might start offering FIOS TV? Thanks.I would say that they might start offering it tomorrow? In any case, it sounds like it shouldn't be long now? At least sooner than in my case. The fiber optic cable hasn't been burried in my neighborhood. :)

I would suggest that you call Verizon, but that would be a ridiculous suggestion. No one at Verizon probably knows?

I would, instead, jump on the next guy I saw testing the fiber and ask him... He probably doesn't know for sure, but might have a much better idea than anyone you can likely contact.

Lucky you. :D

My Kingdom For FIOS...

shawn12341234

10-22-06, 05:14 PM

i tried that...he said several weeks, at least 4 :(

I would say that they might start offering it tomorrow? In any case, it sounds like it shouldn't be long now? At least sooner than in my case. The fiber optic cable hasn't been burried in my neighborhood. :)

I would suggest that you call Verizon, but that would be a ridiculous suggestion. No one at Verizon probably knows?

I would, instead, jump on the next guy I saw testing the fiber and ask him... He probably doesn't know for sure, but might have a much better idea than anyone you can likely contact.

Lucky you. :D

My Kingdom For FIOS...

TechoFobe

10-22-06, 11:06 PM

i tried that...he said several weeks, at least 4 :(Four weeks (at least) before you can get FIOS?

Wow, is that a bright LIGHT at the end of your tunnel that I can see? :D

Patience has never been one of my strongest characteristics, so I think I know how you are feeling. But, four weeks sure beats "who knows when"... which is where I'm at.

Trevorm7

10-24-06, 11:57 PM

I've been waiting for fios for over a year, theres never a day I don't say fios or scream out fios and start crying. lol

HDTVFanAtic

10-25-06, 01:34 AM

I've been waiting for fios for over a year, theres never a day I don't say fios or scream out fios and start crying. lol

Just wait out the non-compete and Pinellas will start rolling.

Trevorm7

10-26-06, 06:49 AM

I thought that ended at the end of last year?
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=48117

HDTVFanAtic

10-26-06, 03:35 PM

I thought that ended at the end of last year?
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=48117

That's what the Clearwater Mayor told me at the 97x Next Big Thing last December.

I took him at his word - but given that I have not seen any action on building out the system in Pinellas (and he said they were actually starting to build it until Knology stopped them saying it violated the non-compete), I obviously have to question if he was correct on knowing when it really ended (as he was my only source on it).

Of course, this was right before he was walking across the parking lot to go to his Sunday Night Church Service at the now relocated Calvary Baptist Church formerly across from Coachman Park and the 2005 97x Next Big Thing....lol....so maybe he is just a typical Politician who I should not have taken at their word.

I have also asked several Brighthouse techs that I know if they have seen any signs of Verizon laying fiber anywhere in the County and they have checked around with other techs and no one has seen any sign of it.

TechoFobe

10-26-06, 05:05 PM

That's what the Clearwater Mayor told me at the 97x Next Big Thing last December.

I took him at his word - but given that I have not seen any action on building out the system in Pinellas (and he said they were actually starting to build it until Knology stopped them saying it violated the non-compete), I obviously have to question if he was correct on knowing when it really ended (as he was my only source on it).

Of course, this was right before he was walking across the parking lot to go to his Sunday Night Church Service at the now relocated Calvary Baptist Church formerly across from Coachman Park and the 2005 97x Next Big Thing....lol....so maybe he is just a typical Politician who I should not have taken at their word.

RULE #1: Never believe anything a politician says.

RULE #2: That means never...

RULE #3: When in doubt, tar and feathers works well.

Oxymoron: A Honest Politician

If I dug the trench would Verizon come? :)

himey

10-27-06, 01:30 AM

I have also asked several Brighthouse techs that I know if they have seen any signs of Verizon laying fiber anywhere in the County and they have checked around with other techs and no one has seen any sign of it.

Somebody is digging cable in Palm Harbor. I have seen them many times on the west side of US 19. Westlake Village for one and other places.Eric

Trevorm7

10-27-06, 04:26 AM

I hate Knology, why do they still only have 3mbps? Thats something I had with Brighthouse back in 2002! Rather than wasting money with billboards that have pictures of hotdogs they could spend it on more important things. But what really annoys me is how their stopping deployment of new tech just so they can go out of business a little later.

HDTVFanAtic

10-27-06, 04:57 AM

They have kept cable prices down on the Pinellas side of the Bay compared to Tampa, so they are good for something......

shawn12341234

10-27-06, 06:07 PM

I would suggest that you call Verizon, but that would be a ridiculous suggestion. No one at Verizon probably knows?

I should have called them sooner...I ordered it today and will have it installed in about a week. So, in my case from the time they finished testing the fiber to when I could order it was 5 days and could have been less. There was no notification that it was or was going to be available by Verizon even though I registered to be notified when it was in my neighborhood on the web site.

Goodbye Dim House.

TechoFobe

10-27-06, 06:39 PM

I should have called them sooner...I ordered it today and will have it installed in about a week. So, in my case from the time they finished testing the fiber to when I could order it was 5 days and could have been less. There was no notification that it was or was going to be available by Verizon even though I registered to be notified when it was in my neighborhood on the web site.

Goodbye Dim House.
Congratulations!

yardline

11-03-06, 10:28 PM

I really wanted everyone's opinions on the best HDTV options for my parents in Sebring (~ 60 miles from Tampa).

I live in Sebring and just HD going in the last few weeks. I'm a long time E* customer and stuck with them. Got the PVR622. I put up a RS 15-2156 160" antenna (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103087&cp=2032057.2032187.2032189.2032205&parentPage=search&origkw=antenna&kw=antenna&parentPage=family) on a 30ft high mast with a rotor and a RS 15-2507 amp. (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103094&cp=2032057.2032187.2032189.2032207&parentPage=family)

Aiming for Tampa I can get all the nets except CBS, channel 10, just too weak. Aiming for Ft. Myers, I can get all the nets. Fox36 from Ft. Myers is the weakest, but it still comes in without breakups 90% of the time. The tuner in the PVR622 is better than the tuner in my Dell 42" plasma. I get the SD locals from Tampa via E*, so I get a wider selection of NFL games on Sunday with two markets to choose from. I may end up getting a three pole mast and putting another antenna on top so I can aimat both and pick up both markets at the same time.

TechoFobe

11-04-06, 10:44 AM

I live in Sebring and just HD going in the last few weeks. I'm a long time E* customer and stuck with them. Got the PVR622. I put up a RS 15-2156 160" antenna (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103087&cp=2032057.2032187.2032189.2032205&parentPage=search&origkw=antenna&kw=antenna&parentPage=family) on a 30ft high mast with a rotor and a RS 15-2507 amp. (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103094&cp=2032057.2032187.2032189.2032207&parentPage=family)

Aiming for Tampa I can get all the nets except CBS, channel 10, just too weak. Aiming for Ft. Myers, I can get all the nets. Fox36 from Ft. Myers is the weakest, but it still comes in without breakups 90% of the time. The tuner in the PVR622 is better than the tuner in my Dell 42" plasma. I get the SD locals from Tampa via E*, so I get a wider selection of NFL games on Sunday with two markets to choose from. I may end up getting a three pole mast and putting another antenna on top so I can aimat both and pick up both markets at the same time.I just checked antenna web and they only showed NBC available in Fort Myers... Maybe Sarasota is too far to get any other Ft. Myers stations?

HDTVFanAtic

11-04-06, 04:45 PM

Actually, remember that several of the stations built a 1200 foot stick north of Ft. Myers.

They finally got wise and realized that a big stick in Naples or Ft. Myers only gets them more alligators...so they put the new digital stuff north of Ft. Myers.

Also remember that the tower was somewhat damaged after Charlie - but I don't remember the details.

I have picked up ABC and some other DT Ft. Myers stations from a site in NorthEastern Sarasota County with the Radio Shack flying wedge antenna that I so love (at the WHPT-FM/Pax 66 transmitter site with a 5 Million Watt transmission 20 feet from me - if want to talk about potential interference and front end overload)- so it is doable.

shawn12341234

11-08-06, 08:09 PM

Does FiOS get different feeds than BHN for locals? I ask because the NOVA episode on PBS HD looked and sounded way better than what I'm used to getting from BHN.

HDTVFanAtic

11-08-06, 08:44 PM

Does FiOS get different feeds than BHN for locals? I ask because the NOVA episode on PBS HD looked and sounded way better than what I'm used to getting from BHN.

Should not - no.

Fios has either 1 or 2 NOC - Nationally - and sends everything to the local market over fiber. I don't know if the locals are inserted at that point - or if they are captured and fiber to NOC and then returned.

Brighthouse's NOC is in Brandon.

Regardless, both should be picking up the WEDU signal and retransmitting that - which should be confirmed by the station IDs on screen.

WEDU is pretty bitstarved in the first place - always has been.

himey

11-09-06, 12:25 AM

Speaking of WEDU what is the problem with their audio. It seems to randomly screw up! It starts off as a small glitch and slowly deteriorates into total garble then fixes itself. Just wondering what their problem is. Also why don't they pass 5.1 audio? The multicasting is bad enough but throw in these problems and it is almost redicolus!Eric

TV Trey

11-09-06, 06:28 AM

Has anyone confirmed what the data rates are for the various local stations? Some of the stations don't look much better than a DVD.

shawn12341234

11-09-06, 07:01 AM

WEDU is pretty bitstarved in the first place - always has been.

That is why I have been surprised that that the picture has looked better than i have ever seen before.

himey, I know that audio problem you are talking about and that always happened once during an episode of nova...it sounded like someone was dropping the microphone slowly to the bottom of a silo to me.

There is no bug on now and i don't remember seeing one.

thebarge

11-09-06, 09:09 AM

First off, most of my OTA HD broadcasts are pretty good. A little freeze every once in a while, but still looks great. I'm in the Palm Harbor area and I have a CM4228 installed in my attic. But this past Friday, the HD quality of CBS was absolutely terrible. Ghost Whisperer on friday night was so bad we had to just change the channel after 15 minutes. Terrible freezing that lasts about 5-6 seconds every 10 seconds or so. It was horrible. No problems with any other HD broadcasts though.

The tower is about 8 miles from my location, but is at 357 degrees, but the other towers are at around 121 degrees so my antenna is pointed in that direction. After having this problem, I've noticed that the CBS HD is pretty bad on a regular basis, but has never been as bad as this past Friday.

Anyone else having this problem? Any suggestions?I hate to quote myself, but this problem has gotten to be a nightly issue. When I first installed my CM4228 in the attic all HD channels were great, even CBS was watchable. Now, I'm being forced to change my CBS Tivo season passes to the satellite SD channel because they've gotten completely unwatchable.

It'll be fine for about 2-3 minutes (at most), then it'll start breaking up steadily for a minute or more, then come back in for another 2-3 minutes. It makes watching CBS programs impossible.

Anyone have any suggestions? Is it possible to buy a second cheap antenna and point it at the CBS tower and somehow pipe that one into the same coax cable coming from the CM4228? I think the problem is that the CM4228 is directional and it's pointed at the 121 degree towers, and the CBS tower is at 357 degrees, but I could be wrong.

It's driving me crazy though, after seeing all other networks in HD, it's terrible trying to watch the CBS shows in SD.

Ron Tobin

11-09-06, 09:27 AM

Is it possible to buy a second cheap antenna and point it at the CBS tower and somehow pipe that one into the same coax cable coming from the CM4228? I think the problem is that the CM4228 is directional and it's pointed at the 121 degree towers, and the CBS tower is at 357 degrees, but I could be wrong.

You could use a UHF antenna pointed toward Holiday, along with a Jointenna, which is specific for channel 24. I know, because I used to run a two antenna setup with the jointenna, however Holiday is simply too far from my location for a decent signal. Fortunately, Ft. Myers CBS is now broadcasting in HD, and I also get CBSHD out of NY. So I've since dismantled my separate antenna pointed toward Holiday.

thebarge

11-09-06, 09:34 AM

Lamont_

11-09-06, 08:37 PM

Hello, look like you guys are way beyond my league I have a small question. I have a 53FDX01(same as 43FDX01) Hitachi and just got Brighthouse HD TV box it shows 1080i fine but doesnt show 480i.

My last projection the box switched to 1080 for the high def channels and 480 for the regular while adjusting the borders but for this Hitachi the picture is way distorted for 480 so I have the box set to 1080 for all channels instead of changing . Is it that the TV is not capable of 480? Thats what Im thinking

Amel

11-09-06, 09:35 PM

just want to let you guys know, Brighthouse did some updates today, switching channels will be a little slower, but all the channels will be digital

bwaldron

11-09-06, 11:38 PM

You could use a UHF antenna pointed toward Holiday, along with a Jointenna, which is specific for channel 24. I know, because I used to run a two antenna setup with the jointenna, however Holiday is simply too far from my location for a decent signal. Fortunately, Ft. Myers CBS is now broadcasting in HD, and I also get CBSHD out of NY. So I've since dismantled my separate antenna pointed toward Holiday.

Yes, a channel 24 Jointenna is what I use from Brandon w/ 2 CM 4221's in the attic (one pointed at Holiday, the other at the Riverview towers).

jimwhite

11-10-06, 08:45 AM

"just want to let you guys know, Brighthouse did some updates today, switching channels will be a little slower, but all the channels will be digital"

so THAT is why I saw macro-blocking on Ch 67 Fox News last night !!! :eek:

cool....
???

:confused:

ftboomer

11-10-06, 10:02 AM

I see that BHN added A&E HD also, when did that happen? Channel 692

ftboomer

11-10-06, 10:04 AM

ftboomer

11-10-06, 11:09 AM

Lamont_

11-10-06, 07:50 PM

just want to let you guys know, Brighthouse did some updates today, switching channels will be a little slower, but all the channels will be digital

cool I see if that helps

HDTVFanAtic

11-11-06, 02:49 AM

You are confused, Fox News is channel 37 on BHN.

Not in Pinellas County - and surprised it would be different in Tampa.

"just want to let you guys know, Brighthouse did some updates today, switching channels will be a little slower, but all the channels will be digital"

so THAT is why I saw macro-blocking on Ch 67 Fox News last night !!! :eek:

cool....
???

:confused:

Screw the SD channels, lol.....limit that bandwidth to 1Mbps so we can get more HD channels, lol.

When I first installed my CM4228 in the attic all HD channels were great, even CBS was watchable. Now, I'm being forced to change my CBS Tivo season passes to the satellite SD channel because they've gotten completely unwatchable.

It'll be fine for about 2-3 minutes (at most), then it'll start breaking up steadily for a minute or more, then come back in for another 2-3 minutes. It makes watching CBS programs impossible.

Anyone have any suggestions? Is it possible to buy a second cheap antenna and point it at the CBS tower and somehow pipe that one into the same coax cable coming from the CM4228? I think the problem is that the CM4228 is directional and it's pointed at the 121 degree towers, and the CBS tower is at 357 degrees, but I could be wrong.

It's driving me crazy though, after seeing all other networks in HD, it's terrible trying to watch the CBS shows in SD.

Interesting enough, I have noticed a number of issues with WTSP on HD shows that are DVR'd for the past 2 weeks - but I had attributed it to the SA8300HD .

I don't watch CBS HD via Channel 10 live - its too bitstarved as they screwed up their signal with their Weather Subchannel - pulling out about 5Mbps which is insane.

It is entirely possible that this is the root cause - as the problems occur when it needs higher bitrates than WTSP will pass now.

HDTVFanAtic

11-11-06, 03:00 AM

Also to note, which is somewhat interesting, BHN put a Slingbox (http://us.slingmedia.com/page/home) on EVERY NODE in their system.

That means when someone calls in a problem on a specific channel, they can pull up the slingbox on that node at the NOC and see/hear it as if they were in that geographic location - just not look at your cable box statistics.

This will allow them to more quickly determine is it a bigger scale issue or more localized to your residence.

ftboomer

11-11-06, 08:45 AM

jimwhite

11-11-06, 11:35 AM

"BHN put a Slingbox on EVERY NODE in their system"

an IP number(s) to die for :D

HDTVFanAtic

11-11-06, 06:17 PM

I would think its a 10.x.x.x number so it can't be accessed outside the local area - and password protected :) I would also imagine that it would be on the octet as your local STB - or close to it in your area. A scanner might just be able to find them - if you weren't disconnect first for Terms of Service violation, lol.

Also, interesting to note - My CableCard TV is NOT showing the Digital SD channels - but the old analog channels.

Now, to a certain extent I don't mind this - because if they do convert the CableCard TVs to the Digital SD Channels (which I fear was only overlooked), I will loose my ability to split screen the picture - as the Sony and most others can only put a Digital or HD picture on the right side.

More interesting - as I played around with this - the SA8300HD with the Digital SD on the right and the Analog SD on the right - I really did not see any difference in the 10 minutes I played with it (besides about a 6 second lag on the digital SD channel).

I was really expecting to see a night and day difference - and I really did not notice any on first blush...which really shocked me.

I am not sure if this means that BHN was doing such a great job on the Analog SD channels (which because of their extend use of fiber all over might not have all the noise that the old analog amp issues did) or that the SD Digital just doesn't look that good...lol.

jimwhite

11-12-06, 07:22 AM

HDTVFanAtic

11-12-06, 03:47 PM

I've noticed a complete lack of the mosquito noise in the background and sharper text on the newscrawlers and stationary logo-icons.... but as you noted, analog performance is actually quite good most of the time.... I've been AB'g also with a 50-50 split screen and most of the time it's hard to see any difference, but from time to time, the analog signal deteriorates and you can see a considerable difference.... maybe some of the nodes out there are still getting waterlogged :)

:cool:

The problem I have is that with the Sony CRT that I consider the most accurate - and it can do splitscreen - its only a 34" 16:9....or roughly 28" if it was just a 4:3 SD unit.

Anyway, divide that by more than 1/2 when you put 2 side by side SD channels on it and the picture is roughly 4:3 18", so not great for sisde by side critical analysis. With 2 18" screens it was hard to compare the crawls - especially back at the distance you would normally watch from.

I really have not spent more than 10 minutes comparing and it seems you have done a great deal of comparison so I would suggest people use your experience as correct as you have had a good eye for things over the years.

HDTVFanAtic

11-12-06, 03:53 PM

On a different note, I am in shock and very disappointed that BHN went with A&E Not-HD as their next HD channel.

To begin with, I have viewed this since launch on BEV and its horrible. FAR less than 25% of the titles are in HD. I have yet to see a HD Movie and none of their original programming is in HD.

Why in the hell didn't they put on CinemaxHD (especially with SW this month - which would had been an instant hook) and THEY COULD HAVE MADE ALOT MORE PROFIT FROM IT vs a crap free channel in the HD Package.

BTW, its not because of lack of a deal because TWC has deals in place with Cinemax and StarzHD where they can be added to the package as needed.

So, from every sense out there - PQ, Content, Marketing and Revenue - on every metric - this is just a real BONE HEAD MOVE by BHN and I'd love to know how this one came about if there is even some sense of logic to it.

shawn12341234

11-12-06, 05:18 PM

Well, FIOS is now available in Original Carrolwood. A saleman came by yesterday and did a price comparison and it prices out @ $190 vs my current $185 for the same service on BHN.

So what do I get for my money on FIOS? Is it that much better a picture?

I'm so glad i have FiOS TV now. The picture is so much better than BHN even when viewing the local HD channels...which i don't quite understand...and the HD channel lineup is way better...all the movies channels in HD, nfl network HD, espn2hd, mtv hd....

HDTVFanAtic

11-13-06, 04:00 AM

I'm so glad i have FiOS TV now. The picture is so much better than BHN even when viewing the local HD channels...which i don't quite understand...and the HD channel lineup is way better...all the movies channels in HD, nfl network HD, espn2hd, mtv hd....

Of course they look better - BHN is reducing the bitrate for the local HD stations. They look better OTA as well.

However, to say it looks MUCH better totally destroys all credibility.

jimwhite

11-13-06, 07:30 AM

someday, FIOS and the NFL Network will make it into South Pinellas :(

HDTVFanAtic

11-14-06, 12:59 AM

You arent missing anything with the latter.

Trevorm7

11-14-06, 04:29 PM

Holy crap, I just got a cbs station all the way from Georgia! WCTV-DT and a sub channel ECTV.

Antennaweb says it's in THOMASVILLE, GA, according to Google Earth thats 210 miles away.

The signal quality varies between 66% down to nothing but it's mostly at 50% to 38%.

HDTVFanAtic

11-15-06, 12:20 AM

himey

11-15-06, 01:11 AM

Tonight at work I was listening to "The Buzz", a radio station from Gainesville (100.5 FM). I don't remember ever picking it up before. Maybe the cooler weather helps reception? I am in Palm Harbor.Eric

Trevorm7

11-16-06, 12:13 AM

Wait for the days when get Pensacola @ 325 Miles. Good chance in next 48 hours.

FWIW, Tallahassee @ 200 Miles comes in several times a month.

Ft. Myers/Naples and Orlando also make regular appearances.

Yeah I did get something from ft. myers and I got fox 49 and a few hsn channels and multiple stations on the same channel.

Btw powerful storm just came through, there was a strong gust that blew a bucket and a lawn chair I had in the backyard into the house smack, only lasted like 1 min but was cool.

Funny thing it was predicted by channel 10 to come at 6:00am.

thebarge

11-16-06, 11:12 AM

Yes, a channel 24 Jointenna is what I use from Brandon w/ 2 CM 4221's in the attic (one pointed at Holiday, the other at the Riverview towers).I'll definitely check out the Jointenna. I'm guessing I'll need to buy a Jointenna for channel 10 (10.1 is my HD channel) which seems to be a model 0580? The CBS HD feed is absolutely horrible. Last night was really bad, but weather and temperature variances were probably a big part of the problem. Thanks for all the help.

EDIT: Anyone know where I can buy one of these, maybe online somewhere? I searched around but can't seem to find one.

Trevorm7

11-16-06, 01:33 PM

Same thing was happening to me when I was trying to watch Jericho, it kept cutting in and out, that is the only channel that did that.

thebarge

11-16-06, 01:42 PM

Same thing was happening to me when I was trying to watch Jericho, it kept cutting in and out, that is the only channel that did that.Yeah it was absolutely unwatchable. After about 10 minutes I changed over to Bones. I had similar issues with Bones in HD (FOX), just didn't stutter and screw up as bad as Jericho on CBS. I ended up just switching and watching Bones in SD and getting Jericho from online.

jimwhite

11-16-06, 02:01 PM

thebarge

11-16-06, 02:52 PM

"EDIT: Anyone know where I can buy one of these, maybe online somewhere? I searched around but can't seem to find one."

gee, I typed "jointenna tampa" into Google and the first hit is:

http://www.tampahdtv.com/tpahd-vb/archive/index.php/t-619.html

;)I was really looking for somewhere online since I don't want to have to drive to Tampa (I'm in the Clearwater area). I saw the page you linked to before posting this and it still doesn't tell me where to get one other than Dow Electronics on Adamo, and the post is over 2 years old.

Warren Electronic sells them, but I'll have to call since, for some reason, they don't sell them on their website (at least not the 0580 I'll need).

But thanks for pointing it out ;)

EDIT:

Ok wait, may have been wrong on the model number. According to Warren Electronic:
http://www.warrenelectronics.com/Antennas/joiners.htm

CBS is a UHF channel (10.1). Their website sells a UHF model for channels 14-29. Is that the frequency assignment listed on AntennaWeb? If not, umm, where do I find something for UHF channel 10?

HDTVFanAtic

11-17-06, 03:05 AM

10 is VHF. They are using Channel 24 now which is UHF. They will return to Channel 10 in digital around 1Q 2009.

thebarge

11-17-06, 09:17 AM

10 is VHF. They are using Channel 24 now which is UHF. They will return to Channel 10 in digital around 1Q 2009.Ahhhh, AntennaWeb reported CBS as being VHF for the SD channel at freq assignment 10, and the HD channel as UHF freq assignment 24. The tower is only 7.8 miles so I suppose it's time to start shopping for a new antenna and jointenna.

I've got a CM4228 pointed at the towers in the 121-123 degree direction getting most channels at good quality (other than CBS of course). I'm thinking of buying a CM4221 for the CBS tower at 357 degrees. Any thoughts? Do I only need the jointenna to restrict the new tower to the CBS signal only?

tomcran

11-19-06, 11:51 AM

OK. So that explains why the PQ on MSNBC, CNN, CNBC etc. are 1000% better for me. My old analog channel reception was terrible -- very grainy. In contrast, now they look like a work of art! I guess the extent to which subscribers notice a difference depends on how terrible their, previous, analog reception had been.

"just want to let you guys know, Brighthouse did some updates today, switching channels will be a little slower, but all the channels will be digital"

so THAT is why I saw macro-blocking on Ch 67 Fox News last night !!! :eek:

cool....
???

:confused:

tomcran

11-19-06, 11:54 AM

OK. So that explains why the PQ on MSNBC, CNN, CNBC etc. are 1000% better for me, here in Bradenton. My old analog channel reception was terrible -- very grainy. In contrast, now they look like a work of art! I guess the extent to which subscribers notice a difference depends on how terrible their, previous, analog reception had been.

"just want to let you guys know, Brighthouse did some updates today, switching channels will be a little slower, but all the channels will be digital"

so THAT is why I saw macro-blocking on Ch 67 Fox News last night !!! :eek:

cool....
???

:confused:

tomcran

11-19-06, 12:01 PM

WFLA HD has had problems with this show every Sunday for at least the last 2 months. Normally it's just that there is no audio or video for the first 2 or 3 minutes of the show but this morning it was for nearly the first half hour.

What is their problem? I can't help but think they have must have substandard technical people there on Sun. mornings, and who just don't learn from experience.

HDTVFanAtic

11-19-06, 11:27 PM

Its not just sunday or mornings.

You could have put a period after there.

shawn12341234

11-20-06, 07:45 AM

Of course they look better - BHN is reducing the bitrate for the local HD stations. They look better OTA as well.

However, to say it looks MUCH better totally destroys all credibility.

After spending two weekends watching local NFL on FiOS I'm still very impressed with how much better my locals look than on BHN. I guess the only explanation is that there was something in my cable setup that was broke.

HDTVFanAtic

11-20-06, 11:59 PM

shawn12341234

11-21-06, 06:45 AM

Out of curiosity I did an extensive comparison of the Bucs game on Sunday Over The Air on 13.1, via BHN on 613 and off D* ST.

OTA was clearly sharper - with BHN 613 and D* ST about equal.

However, I would not call it MUCH better - one would have to compare alot to spot the minor differences - though clearly there.

If it were on CBS instead, I would expect D* to take a hit in 1280x1080i, but then again WTSP is limiting so much bandwidth now for Weather, I don't know how much better OTA would have looked - if at all.

There is probably nothing more subjective than PQ. Don't you have to factor in how the network end-to-end is dealing with the bandwidth, the TV, the STB, the eyesite of the person making the judgment, etc. Tell me how I can make some measurements on FiOS for comparison?

himey

11-21-06, 07:54 AM

Out of curiosity I did an extensive comparison of the Bucs game on Sunday Over The Air on 13.1, via BHN on 613 and off D* ST.

OTA was clearly sharper - with BHN 613 and D* ST about equal.

However, I would not call it MUCH better - one would have to compare alot to spot the minor differences - though clearly there.

If it were on CBS instead, I would expect D* to take a hit in 1280x1080i, but then again WTSP is limiting so much bandwidth now for Weather, I don't know how much better OTA would have looked - if at all.

When the World Cup was on a few months ago I came to the conclusion that the OTA was noticably better than the SA8300HD cable box (ABCHD).

Trevorm7

11-22-06, 02:22 AM

If you want to compare the quality of OTA, Cable and Fios get a card that supports QAM and compare the bitrates with tsreader.

I only have cable internet so BH puts a filter that blocks tv, although I still get channel 2, 3, 4 and 78 on my tuner card, But 4 is in b&w. My vcr is more sensitive though and also displays weak signals. It gets some more channels like 26, 29, 36, 75, 76, 78 and 4 has some color but not that good.

Will the QAM channels be able to get past the filter? Maybe their on a higher frequency that the filter doesn't touch. I would test but I'm not in the mood to buy a 100$ qam card right now.

why2not

11-22-06, 10:28 AM

You guys are scaring me. I am about to drop a lot of cash on a HDTV setup & it appears that I'm better off sticking with BHN & digital cable.

Blue screens, dropped audio. I don't get any of that with SD.

I can't run an exterior antenna. So I guess my options are hope for reception through an inside antenna, use BHN or DirectTV or Dish Network for HD?

What I'm gathering, none of the above are acceptable & I should just stay with SD?

Does that seem to be accurate?

HDTVFanAtic

11-22-06, 12:00 PM

"This week, the City of Palmetto became the ninth jurisdiction in Florida to award a video franchise to Verizon for its FiOS TV service. The approval covers more than 13,000 residents in the municipality. The Palmetto franchise, when combined with franchises for Temple Terrace, Tampa, Oldsmar, Manatee County, Bradenton, Sarasota County, Hillsborough County and Pasco County, takes the telco's FiOS TV footprint 1.8 million residents "

drinklime

11-28-06, 01:25 PM

I dont know if this is the right place to post, but I live in Town & Country (just east of Channel A) and my FIOS install is Thursday!!!!! WOOHOO!!! I'm taking off work so I can watch the install... currently I have BHN with the SA8300 HD box connected with components... I need to call up and have BHN cancel it (hopefully they dont need much notice...). Will they want their component cables back? And should I ask Verizon for an HDMI cable (does that do audio too?) Thanks for any info (or where to post this if this is the wrong place).

By the way, I have never seen ANY HD on the "HD" versions of 44 or 38(32?) or any of the slew of extra PBS channels on BHN... is that normal? At least I wont have to care much longer.

ftboomer

11-29-06, 08:01 AM

I'm extremly happy with BHN (must just be my Original Carrollwood area). In the last several years I can count the problems I've had on one hand, but due to everyone telling us that FIOS is so much better I'm really curious. My BHN HD channels look great to me on my 3 year old Diamond rear projection. I'm reluctant to go through all the hassles of switching cable, internet and phone.

drinklime

11-29-06, 08:12 AM

actually I am keeping brighthouse internet (business with static IP is cheaper than verizon's static ip) and just switching the TV over to verizon. I dont have an IP phone. I will find out tomorrow how it all works out and let you know.

EDIT: ok, just got it installed yesterday. long story short, it works since the tv and internet are on separate coax lines. i guess some people just use splitters on one line. verizon came in the morning, put a bunch of boxes in the garage, and then hooked up the set tops inside. first box we tried was bad, but after that everything worked. then later in the day brighthouse came and put a trap on their line so internet came through but not tv. everything works.

ftboomer

12-02-06, 09:30 AM

shawn12341234

12-02-06, 09:56 AM

i thought the PQ with FiOS was much better...But, I did have an issue and called Verizon on a Friday night and they came out Saturday afternoon and tested everything and found that my main line going into to the attic to the main splitter had a bend that was causing a signal drop significantly. They replaced the drop and now everything is great. Bright House was called several times for issues that i was having, but they never figured this out (usually whenever the weather changed I called). They just keep adding/removing amplifiers and changing up splitters. This probably had something to do with why I think FiOS PQ is much better than Bright House. I just got my first bill and it was a about 15% higher than Bright House (with lots of discounts) before calling and getting some activation fee waived and all the proper $5 discounts and dropping Cinemax and now it is about the same. but, I do get NFLHD, ESPN2HD and STARZHD included in that, which I really wanted. The only channel that I miss is INHD, which I watched like once or twice a week. I have not been impressed with the HD DVR...it does improve in some areas that BH's HD DVR lacked, but it also has some of its own issues. However, I have read in the hardware forum that they are listening to feedback and working on improving the software so there might be some upside.

ftboomer

12-02-06, 10:16 AM

Thanks for the follow-up shawn. For now I guess I'll just stay the course.

drinklime

12-02-06, 08:16 PM

Glad to hear it, so whats your verdict? Is the picture quality that much better? Did you get a chance to A\B BHN and FIOS prior to BHN trapping you out?

Inquiring minds....

The PQ is definitely better. I didnt try to use both TV feeds at the same time if thats what you are asking. There are pros and cons with FIOS compared to Brighthouse but the pros outweigh the cons, For example I used the passthrough function on the 8300HD for SD channels. Now I use HDMI and from what I can tell to get 4:3 on the SD channels it outputs as 1080i, which makes it easier to see artifacts on SD video, but it still looks better than brighthouse (which was a noisy picture for most non-digital channels).

HD is definitely better... like in a football game when the camera pans across the crowd, it doesnt turn into giant blocks. Yea, it can happen, but its much less frequent than with Brighthouse. I think that is because of the higher bitrate.

Bottom line, I'm saving about 5 bucks a months with more channels on more tv's, and I'm getting ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, and NFL Network HD. I am a happy camper.

By the way, I got the 1394 to work, BUT most channels are blocked out so it's not really that useful.

HDTVFanAtic

12-03-06, 03:19 AM

HD is definitely better... like in a football game when the camera pans across the crowd, it doesnt turn into giant blocks. Yea, it can happen, but its much less frequent than with Brighthouse. I think that is because of the higher bitrate.

Yes, that is the problem with BHN as they are limiting the bitrate of the local OTA channels.

Combine that with Channel 10 now starving its bitrate and 8 and 10 competing to see who can screw with the 16:9 picture the most, its not a good situation.

magoo2k2

12-04-06, 05:39 PM

So does anyone know the RFID for CBS and other High Definition channels? I just got a Westinghouse and it picked up ABC and FOX, but I'm just curious if anyone happens to have the RFIDs (its what the TV asks for when adding a channel) if those stations aren't scrambled.

HDTVFanAtic

12-07-06, 02:55 PM

My God, I've had it with WTSP. I'm watching Without a Trace right now, and they went and showed the little blurb at the bottom that says 5.1 and High Definition, they're broadcasting it in freakin 4:3 with Stereo sound. Anyone know if an antenna can get Ocala or Orlando stations in ZIP code 34607 (Brooksville)?

did you happen to notice the last segment of The Unit Tuesday night (9 days ago) had no voice track in the 2.0 mixdown - only music and sfx :)

HDTVFanAtic

12-07-06, 03:03 PM

I can't find it looking back, but someone was asking about the IEEE1394 port on the SA8300HD - and talked about how we were on .87 instead of .88 needed to activate the firewire connections.

I spoke with someone high up at BHN yesterday who was just as frustrated at this as you and I both are.

He said the good news is there is a problem in the current bios (which has not been updated since the 8300HDs were deployed) where they all must be updated in Q1 07 at the latest. I think he said it had to do with the new DST schedule next year - I was half asleep at the time.

They have just been concerned the bios update will kill a bunch of units - but they cannot put it off any longer as this is a mandatory update.

It also appears there is a bad memory leak in with the current software that is fixed in the revisions that should help with some of the strange lock ups and glitches.

amheck

12-07-06, 03:11 PM

Does anyone know the status on FIOS in St. Pete/Pinellas?

g8trGTO

12-10-06, 08:47 AM

magoo2k2

12-10-06, 01:47 PM

For the past few weeks (since I purchased my clear QAM tuner) I was receiving both HDNET and both INHD channels, now they are showing up as encrypted. Has anyone else experienced with with BHN Tampa/St. Pete? The frequencies I had working for them previously were:

HDNET - 561.000
HDNTM - 561.000
INHD - 576.000
INHD2 - 576.000

Any thoughts/input would be great! Thanks!

Do you have any of the other frequencies for the channels? My Westinghouse has an integrated QAM tuner, so I'll try these when I get home and see what happens. Any other frequencies would be awesome, as I only currently get FOXHD and ABCHD.

g8trGTO

12-10-06, 05:05 PM

Do you have any of the other frequencies for the channels? My Westinghouse has an integrated QAM tuner, so I'll try these when I get home and see what happens. Any other frequencies would be awesome, as I only currently get FOXHD and ABCHD.

Yeah, here's the list of channels I can successfully receive:

NBC 627.000
CBS 687.000
WTOG 687.000
Fox 555.000
ABC 555.000
WMOR 627.000
FCS East 741.000
FCS Central 741.000
FCS West 741.000
NBATV 741.000
TENNIS 741.000
FUELTV 741.000

I don't remember what the freqs are for ESPN-HD and Discovery-HD, but they won't do you any good because they are encrypted. If there was only a way to get around that...

magoo2k2

12-11-06, 01:36 AM

Yeah, here's the list of channels I can successfully receive:

NBC 627.000
CBS 687.000
WTOG 687.000
Fox 555.000
ABC 555.000
WMOR 627.000
FCS East 741.000
FCS Central 741.000
FCS West 741.000
NBATV 741.000
TENNIS 741.000
FUELTV 741.000

I don't remember what the freqs are for ESPN-HD and Discovery-HD, but they won't do you any good because they are encrypted. If there was only a way to get around that...

Thanks man!!! I'll definitely try these out, and leave it to a fellow GATOR to give them too me. Class of '05, Go Gators! Arizona here I come.

magoo2k2

12-12-06, 01:24 AM

Trevorm7

12-12-06, 11:01 AM

I tried all of those RFIDs; nothing worked.

I think there might be something about the QAM from Westinghouse. I remember some people saying it only receives FOX and ABC high def channels, while CBS and NBC are hard to get.

Who knows...?

Does the tv have an auto scan? Are you sure it's set to qam and not atsc?

FOX and ABC are 720p, CBS and NBC are 1080i maybe that has to do with something?

HDTVFanAtic

12-12-06, 12:29 PM

For the past few weeks (since I purchased my clear QAM tuner) I was receiving both HDNET and both INHD channels, now they are showing up as encrypted. Has anyone else experienced with with BHN Tampa/St. Pete? The frequencies I had working for them previously were:

HDNET - 561.000
HDNTM - 561.000
INHD - 576.000
INHD2 - 576.000

Any thoughts/input would be great! Thanks!

Channels were moved among QAM frequencies when BHN started to simulcast the digital SD channels the first of November and they forgot to set them to subscription only. That obviously was corrected and now you cannot receive them without a cablecard or cable box.

HDTVFanAtic

12-12-06, 04:57 PM

Does anyone know the status on FIOS in St. Pete/Pinellas?

Yep.

St. Pete had sent a presentation to the person in charge of FIOS in the Southeast several weeks ago inviting him to come talk to St. Petersburg.

He responded last week that since there are 26 different municipalities in Pinellas County that they would need franchises from, they were not interested at this time.

(I remind you that there are 3 different layers that are working to negate this problem in the works now which is what they are most likely waiting on).

St. Petersburg has decided not let it end at this and intends to work up a simple franchise agreement and present it to them in the near future - actively recruiting them for the City.

The problem is that the closest the system now reaches is Northern Palm Harbor - and they really want to fill in as they expand - so St. Petersburg has a big gap between themselves and Palm Harbor.

Verizon clearly is waiting for either the State Bill or a FCC rule or Federal Bill to eliminate the need for all the local franchise agreements - as they do not want to go through what they have gone through in Hillsborough again - and figure its only a matter of time before one of the bills passes.

Regardless, even if the decks were cleared today, we wouldn't see anything until 2008 at the earliest.

They had a non-compete until the end of 2005 and now apparently waiting for legislation to make entrance easier.

amheck

12-12-06, 05:32 PM

HDTVFanAtic

12-13-06, 07:33 AM

Wow....thanks for the detailed reply re: fios. I had no idea it was so complicated. I thought that when fios said they were coming to the Tampa area, that meant St. pete too. Sounds like we are several years away.

Aaron

FWIW, I have suggested to the St. Petersburg officials that they contact their counterparts in several of the larger cities - i.e. Clearwater, Dunedin, Largo and have them all do the same with simple franchise agreements - presenting them all together to prime the pump.

Obviously, St. Petersburg and the other cities could make it easier, but, despite what might otherwise be said, they are still territorial and politics being what they are - probably would not want the other city sniffing around their affairs.

HDTVFanAtic

12-13-06, 05:42 PM

According to sources, the Federal Communications Commission could consider local video franchise reform at its meeting next week, scheduled for Dec. 20. No official agenda has been released for the meeting expected to be the last open session of the year for the five-member commission.

magoo2k2

12-14-06, 05:18 PM

So you can only get Fox and ABC in HD? Sounds good, just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing out.

I did the autoscan and thats how I found them. No big deal!

HDTVFanAtic

12-15-06, 01:07 PM

from m-bridge:

What to Expect from FCC's Franchise Push
What's expected to be part of the Federal Communications Commission's discussions on local video franchises next week?
On Wednesday, the five-member panel will work on issues related to video franchising at the local level. The move, which has been a priority for FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, is expected to determine how new entrants in the video marketplace - such as telcos - can get into the pay-TV business smoothly and without a lot of the burdens that can be associated with the local video franchise process.

One item those in the multiplatform industry can expect: A proposal that local entities take action on a franchise application within 90 days.

In earlier comments on the subject, Martin said there also should be a limit on what localities can assess for franchise fees. And the FCC chairman took aim at local municipalities requiring in-kind contributions as part of the franchising process. He criticized moves by some cities to request funding for items like a new recreation center or swimming pool as part of video franchise negotiations.

Martin also said that in some cases build-out requirements may impose unreasonable barriers to entry for new video service providers.

The FCC has had a proceeding in place that scrutinizes local video franchise issues.

Obviously FIOS did not want to build 26 Rec Centers or Community Swimming Pools in Pinellas County.

ftboomer

12-19-06, 08:59 AM

Will this effect us?

Just received info from Albany Time Warner that ESPN2 HD will be on by the end of the week!!!!

See text from email below:

-----Original Message-----
From: do_not_reply@twalbany.com [mailto:do_not_reply@twalbany.com]
Sent: Monday, December 18, 2006 10:19 PM
To: mark@albanyhdtv.com
Subject: Response to your inquiry # 9913

Please do not reply to this E-mail.
To enter your questions or comments, please go to https://help.twalbany.com/reply.php.

Mr. Pyskadlo,
Within the week we will be adding:

A&E HD to channel 1838 (Standard HD)
MHD (MTV HD) to channel 1840 (Standard HD)
ESPN 2 HD to channel 1870 (Standard HD)

Please let us know if we can be of any additional assistance.
Thank you for being a Time Warner Cable customer.

himey

12-20-06, 02:02 AM

Will this effect us?

Nice Find! I heard about MTV2 on another thread coming to TWC but ESPN2 is a pleasent surprise. I know Brighthouse is related to TWC just not exactly how. Hopefully they are only different in name.

macman752

12-20-06, 05:52 PM

Channels were moved among QAM frequencies when BHN started to simulcast the digital SD channels the first of November and they forgot to set them to subscription only. That obviously was corrected and now you cannot receive them without a cablecard or cable box.

I have a Philips 26" LCD (26PF5321D/37) which has a QAM tuner. I do not use a STB. All of the BHN HD channels appeared properly numbered, from 603 through 632, until early November when the analog stations were upgraded to digital.

Since that time the only stations that are correctly numbered are 613.1 and 632. For example the WUSF channels on my set are now found at channels 79.2616, 79.2617, 79.2618 and 79.2619. Channel 8 is at 91.2608, Channel 10 at 106.2610.

I've had BH come to the house to check the problem and I was told that everything is fine on their end. It was suggested that the set required a firmware upgrade.

I contacted Philips service and was told to take the set to a repair shop as the set is still within warranty. The set came back from the shop last week.

The repair shop, Plaza Electronics, said that there is nothing wrong. It is tuning the stations exactly where BHN is transmitting them.

Can anyone tell me if the Pinellas HD channels are transmitted on the frequencies that I have listed?

Thanks in advance for your input.

HDTVFanAtic

12-20-06, 07:03 PM

HDTVFanAtic

12-20-06, 07:07 PM

Can anyone tell me if the Pinellas HD channels are transmitted on the frequencies that I have listed?

Yes, they are transmitted on the QAM Channels you have listed.

macman752

12-20-06, 09:18 PM

Yes, they are transmitted on the QAM Channels you have listed.

Thank you FanAtic! The change sure has made life less enjoyable. It's a real pain to have to use the "Favorites" function on the remote to find the stations as opposed to either the channel up/down or direct entry a 3 digit number.

I guess BHN does things like this to force customers to rent equipment from them.

HDTVFanAtic

12-21-06, 07:24 PM

Thank you FanAtic! The change sure has made life less enjoyable. It's a real pain to have to use the "Favorites" function on the remote to find the stations as opposed to either the channel up/down or direct entry a 3 digit number.

I guess BHN does things like this to force customers to rent equipment from them.

Actually, I can't figure out how you got the channel numbers originally (as you are the first report I've ever seen of it happening nationwide) without a cable card.

I've yet to see a QAM equipped HDTV that can map channels WITHOUT a cablecard.

BHN did nothing to change things to "screw up non-cablecard customers" and they will move stuff around QAMs as they add more channels and better allocate bandwidth - but again, literally every post in the local sections are report that Cable QAMs show up as you are seeing now - none have ever reported being remapped automatically without the cablecard.

BHN is sending out the same information they sent out before, so if your TV can remap somehow, it should be able to do the same now.

macman752

12-21-06, 08:28 PM

Actually, I can't figure out how you got the channel numbers originally (as you are the first report I've ever seen of it happening nationwide) without a cable card.

I've yet to see a QAM equipped HDTV that can map channels WITHOUT a cablecard.

BHN did nothing to change things to "screw up non-cablecard customers" and they will move stuff around QAMs as they add more channels and better allocate bandwidth - but again, literally every post in the local sections are report that Cable QAMs show up as you are seeing now - none have ever reported being remapped automatically without the cablecard.

BHN is sending out the same information they sent out before, so if your TV can remap somehow, it should be able to do the same now.

I don't know what Philips did initially but all channels mapped to the 600 range. Looking at the firmware revision history the second production release was specific to "Tampa/Orlando QAM stream decoding and display".

Because the channels mapped correctly before the analog/digital upgrade I suspect that this change disrupted the earlier firmware revision. I had hoped that the repair shop would be able to get Philips to investigate the matter however I'm told that the manufacturer was not too responsive to that request. I can only hope that a subsequent firmware release will address the change.

yardline

12-26-06, 05:28 PM

I was wondering if anyone knows of a place in the Tampa area that sells antenna towers reasonably. I just have a single pole mast, but it seems to sway a bit in the wind and I think if I had a three post mast I could get higher too. The only local place here in Sebring that sells them wants $179 for each ten foot section plus $189 for the top section. Is that about right, or could I get it cheaper somewhere in the Tampa Bay area (I don't mind driving).

HDTVFanAtic

12-27-06, 05:33 AM

I don't know what Philips did initially but all channels mapped to the 600 range. Looking at the firmware revision history the second production release was specific to "Tampa/Orlando QAM stream decoding and display".

Because the channels mapped correctly before the analog/digital upgrade I suspect that this change disrupted the earlier firmware revision. I had hoped that the repair shop would be able to get Philips to investigate the matter however I'm told that the manufacturer was not too responsive to that request. I can only hope that a subsequent firmware release will address the change.

I can only assume that the first firmware was the nationwide general release and the second firmware update was specific to Central Florida (which I admit I have not heard of - but very possible. It would just have a mapping feature in that says if you find a channel on 91.100 = xxxx). However, as you learned, if this is the case, everytime the cable systems moves frequencies on QAMs, they will be somewhere else. BHN has moved the HD Channels around several times as more and more have been added - so this is clearly the downside of preinstalling this in the firmware.

FloydJ

01-06-07, 04:34 AM

Yardline, a few days ago I was in the Dow Electronics Distributor warehouse in Tampa and they had a sale flyer on the counter about the ROHN tower segments. They had two gauges listed, but I don't remember any prices. Perhaps you could give them a call to see if their prices are what you are looking for. If they won't sell to you, call me at 813-495-5065.

drinklime

01-09-07, 07:45 AM

WTVT channel 13 keeps playing local commercials about TWICE AS LOUD as everything else on the station. IT IS DRIVING ME CRAZY! Why wont they fix it? :mad:

Ron Tobin

01-09-07, 07:51 AM

WTVT channel 13 keeps playing local commercials about TWICE AS LOUD as everything else on the station. IT IS DRIVING ME CRAZY! Why wont they fix it? :mad:

Me too. Has anyone attempted to contact the engineering dept. at Fox 13 to complain? If they're trying to get our attention, they are -- it's called "negative attention", because as soon as they go to local commercials I mute the volume.

FloydJ

01-10-07, 10:31 PM

I though you were talking about the normal "blasting commercial break" syndrome....until I experienced the situation tonight. Lord Almighty, it's really loud. I can't believe someone isn't monitoring that at the station. Let's all complain!

TV Trey

01-11-07, 05:25 AM

I called Tuesday morning after being blasted out of my chair each time a local commercial aired during the FL/OSU game. They acknowleged the problem, but didn't seem to concerned about fixing it. I agree, more folks should call. The # is 813-876-1313 just ask
for engineering.

Ron Tobin

01-11-07, 07:38 AM

I just sent an email, to the attention of their engineering dept. describing the problem. I did tell them that I also am capable of receiving WFTX-DT, the Fox affiliate from Cape Coral, and that if this continues, I'll switch my Fox viewing to that station. I'll be curious to see if I get any response, whatsoever.

klthomascpa

01-11-07, 05:07 PM

Anyone know how I could find out if and when Verizon will be laying more line in West Bradenton? Last fall they made it to within blocks of me and I haven't seen any more action on this side of town.

tomcran

01-11-07, 07:19 PM

I have a question about some of the commercials shown on BH cable channels. During station breaks right around the time BH advertises itself, there is an ad repeated over and over day in and day out of a man who discovers a human butt lying on the ground and they show a closeup of it and you see and hear his dog sniffing it. These are public service ads. I'm assuming Brighthouse is responsible for the decision to run these ads. Is this correct?

Now there is a new ad campaign just starting in the similar slot -- an anti-smoking campaign about "don't pass gas". Thirty seconds are spent every 15 minutes or so talking about flatulence.

Is anyone else sick of these ads about butts and passing gas that will most likely be repeated, loudly, every 15 minutes or so day in and day out for many months to come? personally, I've gotten to where they are so annoying to me I rush to ther remote to mute them. Maybe the butt ad was a little funny at first but after the 1000th viewing I am downright hostile about it. I sent an email to BH about it. Also emailed the organizations behind the ads.

LeapFroggie

01-14-07, 08:08 AM

Recently I was watching Channel 9 and the news anchor was talking about the CES show - the reporter said that video-on-demand of the show was available on 342 (Tampa Bay on Demand). So I changed the channel up to 342 and just about got blown out of the house. The audio level difference was in excess of 15db. I've always noticed that channel 109 and the VOD channels were louder that most of the other channels, but this time it really got my attention.

Subsequently I dug out some test equipment and measured the bridged (2-channel stereo mode) dialog level on a variety of channels against a reference baseline of channel 342. This was done with an 8300HD STB using DD optical out, line mode (i.e. audio out set to "normal" mode).

The average dialog level of most channels is 15 to 20 dB below that of 342. Other VOD channels are within a few dB of 342's level, and channel 109 is +4!

Clearly something is wrong at Bright House. I'll take an educated guess that the organization responsible for the program source (VOD server, 109 feed) either hasn't measured and correctly adjusted the audio signal level from the source or (more likely) that the same programmer hasn't correctly set the Dolby AC-3 dialog normalization parameter. This seems to be a very common problem with cable-originated programming. Even though the capability is there to normalize dialog levels the programmers don't bother to measure the level or to set the parameter.

Talking to BH tech support or customer service didn't produce useful results, so I've got a service call scheduled for today. I'll pass on my comments to the service tech and hopefully s/he will get them to someone who can deal with the problem.

Thoughts and suggestions about how to deal with Bright House on this are welcome.

Ron Tobin

01-14-07, 09:38 AM

I received a letter from Verizon that they are ready to offer Fios TV service in our area. I know very little about Fios and how the service gets distributed within ones home. Do they use the existing internal coax or must they run new internal wiring? Hopefully they'll have a kiosk at one of the local malls with partially knowledgeable people that can answer questions.

HDTVFanAtic

01-14-07, 10:30 PM

HDTVFanAtic

01-14-07, 10:31 PM

shawn12341234

01-15-07, 06:38 AM

LeapFroggie

01-15-07, 07:17 AM

Haven't you noticed the wide variation of Programming and different commercials on 609? Its all over the road.I assume you mean that the audio levels are different between segments? Assuming that this isn't a simple audio-level mixing problem than that would be a classic sign of a Dolby dialog-normalization parameter error.

The Bright House tech showed up on time for the service call on Sunday. He stated that 'this was a problem caused by the Bright House move to digital' and 'there wasn't anything they could do about it'.

I gave him a prepared package of material that describes the problem and the solution; a typical sample is here:

http://etvcookbook.org/audio/dialnorm.html

The tech promised to give it to the right technical person at Bright House. He told me I should get a call from this person within a day or two.

In the meantime it would probably help if you and other forum readers who are bothered by this would call in a complaint to BH customer service / tech support. Don't let the call taker tell you that this is "a problem caused by the BH move to digital" or "normal" or any other B.S. The industry and many hybrid (and digital) cable systems around the country have identified the problem and fixed it.

Ron Tobin

01-15-07, 08:08 AM

Ron,

Skip the trip to the mall. There is a lot of info in these threads:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=621323
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=590208
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=617635

Shawn, thanks. My #1 question was the internal wiring and, according to what I saw in the threads, the existing coax remains.

I currently have Comcast and Dish. Comcast is only for lifeline and local weather. But my situation is a bit more complicated, as I have an R5000 modified Dish receiver for recording and archiving. Certainly will never be able to record/archive from Fios. Probably wouldn't make the switch, but was more curious as to the comparison of service offerings and quality. Surely, anything has to be better than Comcast.

kruuth

01-15-07, 04:51 PM

Does anyone have a listing of qam channels that knology provides?

Mike__P

01-16-07, 12:45 PM

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9227218&&#post9227218

So since the 90 day shot clock is in effect, do we have any hope for FIOS in South Pinellas?

ftboomer

01-16-07, 02:19 PM

From Tampa HDTV forums:

MTV HD to launch on BHN 23 Jan

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

All,

The official name is "Music High Definition" (MHD), but it's MTV's new HD channel. It launches on channel 693 as a "free preview", but will be available to all BHN HD customers.

Programming includes: Music Videos, Tentpole Events, Music Festivals, Concert Series and Special Concerts from music channels: MTV, VH1, and CMT.

HDTVFanAtic

01-17-07, 03:06 AM

So since the 90 day shot clock is in effect, do we have any hope for FIOS in South Pinellas?

I am sure that at sometime Verizon FIOS will be in South Pinellas. Verizon has to decide on their schedule - as there are plenty of options - and remember - this ruling wasn't a complete victory for the telcos.

HDTVFanAtic

01-17-07, 03:09 AM

Does anyone have a listing of qam channels that knology provides?

I looked at them about a year ago - all of the HD Channels were scrambled except HBO (which was set to free by mistake - however I understand that has been since fixed) and also the locals were flagged wrong as subscription only. As I have no real interest in it, I have not paid much attention since.

Ron Tobin

01-17-07, 08:12 AM

Has anyone in the Sarasota area actually had Fios TV installed in their home yet? Wondering exactly what model STB they are providing for HD, non-DVR. Their web site says it's the Motorola 6200. If so, does it have a firewire connection?

HDTVFanAtic

01-19-07, 10:22 PM

If the information posted in the Sinclair Mediacom dispute thread is correct, it appears that Sinclair HD (Channel 38) Signals could appear on TWC Systems in as little as 100 minutes from now at midnight. Although I have never researched it, one has to assume that this would cover Channel 38 locally as well - as TWC still calls the programming shots for Brighthouse on the National Cable Channels - but as it is technically a local station, that may or may not be 100% correct in this case.

Edit: Just talked with the NOC and they usually have no scheduled maintenance over the weekend. There are no flashes to add this channel immediately etc and the next schedule maintenance is on 1/22 (Monday) and nothing noted for WTTA at this time.

HDTVFanAtic

01-23-07, 03:38 AM

They activated MHD on 693 at the 3am update. However they did not put on 38 which is strange as the Sinclair release clearly states that Tampa was covered with the agreement.

chris_logitech

01-23-07, 09:12 PM

I just recently bought my first HDTV and Im looking into getting the HD Cable+HD DVR package from brighthouse(tampa bay)
It seems satellite is not a option being the type of appartment im in.
Im currently watching basic cable,no box.

I also was givin a series2 tivo for xmas which i have yet to make a decision on whether or not to set it up do to the cost of service+decent cables+wireless nic which i believe i would need...

Which STB and HD DVR does brighthouse provide? Is there any option of what box you get?

How is your experience with brighthouse services/products?

Any info is appreciated

Thanks
Chris

HDTVFanAtic

01-24-07, 04:34 AM

Brighthouse has the SA8300HD. They also have a Pace DVR now I believe.

Its not a TIVO and it has some issues - hopefully they will be fixed when Brighthouse does their firmware update next month.

The Series 2 TIVO won't get you what you need in HD - so its really not a very good option.

Brighthouse is limiting the bandwidth on the majority of HD Channels it appears which is causing a good deal of macroblocking.

You can certainly live with it instead of SD. I'd put it #2 to FIOS and D* coming up behind that.

Are you in an area that has FIOS?