Hi guys,
I just got my fusion card installed. And I hooked it up to Comcast basic cable in Frisco. After I finished scanning my Digital channels are like;
from D83 to D 9145 with most channels are playing only music.

I got TNT, CBS, PBS ,ABC quite good. But I cannot find NBC and Fox .

Any ideas? Also My channel numbers do not match with most of the ones posted here, and I'm not sure why at this point.
For Ex; CBS on my ch number is " D 800 " . :confused:

thanks in advance

I thought this would be of interest to the folks here. Several weeks ago, the Fort Worth Weekly ran a well-written article about digital broadcasting, the fights over multicasting must-carry, etc. Here's a link to the article: http://www.fwweekly.com/content.asp?article=4114

Well, in this week's issue, they printed a letter addressing the darker side of multicasting. Here's a link to the letters page for this week's issue: http://www.fwweekly.com/content.asp?article=4164 (It's the last letter.)

Thanks for the link to the fwweekly article. It's one of the better-written stories on this topic.

There's an even bigger problem for HDTV though. A story in the Morning News today says that most people who buy HDTVs don't get HD programming. Apparently they're not educated enough to know you have to get an HD cable box or antenna with HD tuner to see HD. Here's the story: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/082406dnbustechbits.2a33c7d.html

Please disregard this post...it was either something with the box or my TV...as I was watching just now there was a short flash and it just came back like it had previously been. Strange....

-R

Have any of you TW cable customers with the 6412 noticed some drastic changes with the colors of the iGuide? It seems like it just hit mine the other night, but maybe I just didn't notice until then. I noticed the TW emblem very soon after the transition, and maybe even some color variance. But now the highlighed show in the guide looks almost brown. :eek: I tried several of the color palettes in the setup, and they all appear very pale and washed out. It very well may be that they muted the colors in deference to plasma owners or something to that effect..I'm just wondering if others are seeing it or if my box might be flaking out...

Thanks,
-Randy

Maybe it's your tv?

Maybe it's your tv?

I thought it might be the lamp going out on the DLP, but I just watched the HD-DVD player and there is no sign of a problem. After I posted my edit (while still on the Moto box) the picture started flashing green streaks, etc., and that is something that I've seen reported with the 6412. I'll see how it does over the weekend...if it is hosed I'll either swap out the box, or take it as a sign to go to E*.... ;)

Thanks for the link to the fwweekly article. It's one of the better-written stories on this topic.

There's an even bigger problem for HDTV though. A story in the Morning News today says that most people who buy HDTVs don't get HD programming. Apparently they're not educated enough to know you have to get an HD cable box or antenna with HD tuner to see HD. Here's the story: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/082406dnbustechbits.2a33c7d.html

I have seen similar reports as well. It is popular in many AVS forums to bash content providers, broadcasters, and carriers for the lack of HD programming. Posters usually cite the rate of consumer purchases of HD ready displays as "proof" that consumers want HD and are ready for it. However the truth is that only 10 to 20% of all HD capable displays purchased are actually connected to HD sources. That means that the growth rate of HD viewers is 80 to 90% less than it appears. That is why the growth of HD content still lags behind SD content in both the number of new stations, and the number of new programs. The business case is just not there to add expensive HD programming at a more accellerated rate than what we currently are seeing.

However the truth is that only 10 to 20% of all HD capable displays purchased are actually connected to HD sources.

Per that particular article, about 1/3 of US homes with HD-capable sets have those sets connected to some sort of HD programming source. When I've seen lower percentages, those articles seem to be looking at cable/satellite HD subscribers only.

With integrated digital tuners in most newer HD sets, I wonder how many of the remaining 2/3 *could* be watching HD with a simple indoor antenna -- if only they knew that was all it took? Lack of information coming from the stores that sell these televisions is a huge source of the problem, I think.

Viewers have gotten accustomed to the idea that when you buy a new TV, you simply plug it in where the old set was...and everything immediately works exactly as it should. While that works for those who are plugging an integrated HD set into an existing antenna, it doesn't work for cable/satellite subscribers. Those folks must either order new equipment/services from their provider or add an antenna. And most of them don't know that they need to do that.

It's ironic to realize that if HD had come 25 years earlier, this would be a non-issue -- most households had rooftop antennas, and would have just connected their new HD television to that antenna. They'd have received available local HD programming, and that would have been it.

Per that particular article, about 1/3 of US homes with Viewers have gotten accustomed to the idea that when you buy a new TV, you simply plug it in where the old set was...and everything immediately works exactly as it should. While that works for those who are plugging an integrated HD set into an existing antenna, it doesn't work for cable/satellite subscribers. Those folks must either order new equipment/services from their provider or add an antenna. And most of them don't know that they need to do that.

It's ironic to realize that if HD had come 25 years earlier, this would be a non-issue -- most households had rooftop antennas, and would have just connected their new HD television to that antenna. They'd have received available local HD programming, and that would have been it.

Great points all the way around. So my question to everyone is this: what can be done to fix this problem?

In some ways I would think the stores would want to better educate the public. Unfortunately, there's only so much they can do. When I bought my set, I felt the sales people did a fine job at explaining what needed to be done to get HD programming. I'm sure there are plenty of people who think they understand - but really don't. They probably get the set home and hook it up themselves and don't understand why they don't get the same kind of picture they saw in the store.

I've seen stories from a few TV stations where they try to explain the problem in a news story. I've always gotten the impression that the story went over the head of the reporter and the audience at the same time.

Is this perhaps a time when the chief engineers need to step in front of the cameras for a little demonstration?

CBS 11 just said mid-game that the Cowboys/49ers game was being broadcast in HD. I am watching 11-1 and there is no HD. What is going on?

CBS 11 just said mid-game that the Cowboys/49ers game was being broadcast in HD. I am watching 11-1 and there is no HD. What is going on?

I heard the same thing. The comment was part of a 40 liner promo by Mickey or Babe. It is definitely NOT in HD. The amusing part is that the Bucs and Jags are playing on their sister station, 21-1, in HD. Gee whiz.

CBS 11 just said mid-game that the Cowboys/49ers game was being broadcast in HD. I am watching 11-1 and there is no HD. What is going on?There was even a little blurb in the paper this morning about how this would be the first stab at high definition for "Blue Star Productions." Guess they missed.

Is anyone using the Lacrosse antenna that is around 35 miles from the towers, outdoors? I'm looking at getting one of these, and just wondered if anyone had any luck.

I'm in the Flower Mound area.

Is anyone using the Lacrosse antenna that is around 35 miles from the towers, outdoors? I'm looking at getting one of these, and just wondered if anyone had any luck.

I'm in the Flower Mound area.Haven't tried it but let us know if you do and how it works. I'm in McKinney at about 42 miles and also looking for an OTA antenna. I do like the design of the Lacrosse but it's a UHF antenna so I wonder if it will grab ABC (VHF) at this distance. Also looking at the SqureShooter. My neighbor has one on his roof but I haven't had a chance to go ask him how it performs.

I'm about to pull the trigger on it. Basically, every review I've read, says that it works pefectly within it's limits (40 miles). Sounds like you might be just on the hairy edge.

My guess, is that it probably will not pick up ABC, unless you live within 20 miles or closer, but right now, I'm not getting it, but if I could get FOX without dropouts/glitches, I'd be happy. Strange that most of my favorite shows are on Fox...

I'll report back, if and when I do get one of these.

CBS 11 just said mid-game that the Cowboys/49ers game was being broadcast in HD. I am watching 11-1 and there is no HD. What is going on?

http://www.hdsportsguide.com/ says the game is going to be replayed in 12 minutes on the NFL Network in HD. Maybe that is what they were reffering to.

http://www.hdsportsguide.com/ says the game is going to be replayed in 12 minutes on the NFL Network in HD. Maybe that is what they were reffering to.

still wasn't HD...

I've seen stories from a few TV stations where they try to explain the problem in a news story. I've always gotten the impression that the story went over the head of the reporter and the audience at the same time.

Is this perhaps a time when the chief engineers need to step in front of the cameras for a little demonstration?

Pre-produced promotional spots that explain digital broadcasts, how to receive them, and where to go for more information would be a great start.

Imagine if every TV station in the area was promoting their OTA HD signal the way local radio stations are promoting HD Radio?

Pre-produced promotional spots that explain digital broadcasts, how to receive them, and where to go for more information would be a great start.

Imagine if every TV station in the area was promoting their OTA HD signal the way local radio stations are promoting HD Radio?

The HD education of the public has been a long debated subject; everything from commercials to better educated sales people has been suggested. I spent 13 years in retail with both the big yellow box and the big red one. I also worked for a major regional player both at the store level and the company headquarters in the buying department. That being said, take from this whatever you want as this is "MY OPINION" and should be taken as such.

First, the reason you hear so much about HD radio on the air is that, and you can double check me on this, all the radio stations advertising HD radio are owned by Clear Channel Communications and therefore the same message is being broadcast on various genre stations. Unfortunately, not all TV channels are owned by the same company (probably a good thing) and therefore what you get is different messages from different stations with different agendas. Case in point; remember when FOX advertised their HD as being the best HD you could get at 720p. I know several people that would argue whether 720p is better than 1080i or vice versa. The problem here is not the claim of the best HD possible, but that the message is different than say NBC's or ABC's message and this leads to CONSUMER CONFUSION. This disease has plagued us for many years and I imagine it will continue too for many more.

This leads us to our second issue. Joe/Jane "Confused" Customer goes to the local retailer hoping to get the cure to their affliction only to run into more confusion. Again, we run into an industry that has insisted on telling the same story with different terminology, HD-Capable or HD-Ready are just a few of the statements thrown out by the manufactures to describe their sets and this was even after the FCC told them that they had to be clear about their HD claims. Take a look at any manufacture website and you will see different terms being used to describe the same thing.

This brings me to my third point, the retailers. They are just as bad as the manufactures at using their own terms and confusing the customer. Take a look in the ads this week in the Sunday paper and see how many different words are used to describe the same set being sold at different retailers. But wait you say, HD-Capable and HD-Ready are pretty close to the same terms, except that the sales people do not explain it that way.

This brings me to my fourth point, the lack of TRUE training of sales people. I remember not to long ago when retailers would train their sales force in a very professional way and then they would have the manufactures come in and train on their specific technologies. And on top of that you had sales people who really enjoyed the industry and wanted to learn all they could. Now, you have Joe/Jane salesperson that is there just because they want a job and they get their training from a website (assuming they don't just click through the frames) and the retailer doesn't do any follow up training with them. The only somewhat of an exception to this is the Mom and Pop stores that still live and breathe the industry. So Joe/Jane Customer buys a TV based on how it's going to match the couch rather than PQ and then take it home at which point they hook it up the same way the old set was setup.

And now to my fifth and final point, the content providers. Because of the previous four points the customer takes their set and just hooks it up the way their old set was connected. The picture looks better than the picture of their old set, because, well, it does and plus its bigger than their older set which makes them happy (by the way, many study have shown that when consumers replace a TV they replace it with a larger TV, go ahead, look it up). Well, how the heck is this issue an issue of the content providers one might say. Well, education for one. See; when Joe/Jane called into ask about HD, one could probably roll the dice on whether they got an educated answer or an educated guess. It's not the fault of the CSR's, they are in the same boat as sales people. Unfortunately, when ever a company wants to cut costs, the first thing to go is training and the second is the common worker. I have always found it curious that large companies talk about how the customer experience is number one to them and then you read about how they are cutting jobs from the lowest ranks. Seriously, instead of cutting 100 csr's from the bottom, how about two or three managers to save money, I guarantee you that the savings would be the same, but I am getting off subject.

This all leads to a consumer that is so confused they throw up their arms and say "The heck with it". This is why many people who buy HD sets just don't really care, it's to big of a headache to figure out for them. If you don't agree with any of my points, that's ok, but ask yourself "How many different HD signals are there currently?" If you said three, 1080p, 1080i and 720p that would be incorrect (go ahead and check, you know you want too). Now imagine, if you got that wrong and you’re probably smarter than the average bear, how many people you know would get it wrong? Or look at how many people get on this forum asking if there is a difference between an HD antenna and a regular antenna from the 50's.

Look, don't get me wrong, we have come a long way in the last 8 years since this started (it's really been almost 15, but 8 since the sets started being sold). And really, this is going much better than the introduction of cable TV. But the reality is that the ball has been dropped so many times that many us thought we were playing basketball (yes it was a joke, not a good joke, but still a joke). Unfortunately, only time will solve this issue and by then there will be a new technology or standard to confuse people, LOL.

Kemical

The HD education of the public has been a long debated subject; ...
Unfortunately, only time will solve this issue and by then there will be a new technology or standard to confuse people, LOL.

Kemical

BINGO! :)

Look, don't get me wrong, we have come a long way in the last 8 years since this started (it's really been almost 15, but 8 since the sets started being sold). And really, this is going much better than the introduction of cable TV. But the reality is that the ball has been dropped so many times that many us thought we were playing basketball (yes it was a joke, not a good joke, but still a joke). Unfortunately, only time will solve this issue and by then there will be a new technology or standard to confuse people, LOL.

Kemical

Excellent dissertation. I agree with all of it. I think you forgot one more important reason for slow HD uptake. Many consumers don't care and will never care. Yes, viewing true HD is confusing and expensive to MOST consumers who try to understand the issue. However, at the end of the day most new TV consumers don't care enough to even try to figure it out. The general public that is not in the market for a new display is even more apathetic.

stormyQ, geogecko. I would strongly recommend the CM4228. Many people think it's the best UHF antenna around. But it also performs well at hi-band VHF, so is good for WFAA-DT.
I am in Parker, east of Allen, 40 miles from the antenna farm at Cedar Hill, I have a one-storey house, with a CM4228 in my attic (yes, with A/C ducting, metallic roof lining etc) and I get good reception on all the main DFW stations without a preamp. I have a CM7777 preamp which gives me even better signal "strength" but I don't really need it.

stormyQ, geogecko. I would strongly recommend the CM4228. Many people think it's the best UHF antenna around. But it also performs well at hi-band VHF, so is good for WFAA-DT.
I am in Parker, east of Allen, 40 miles from the antenna farm at Cedar Hill, I have a one-storey house, with a CM4228 in my attic (yes, with A/C ducting, metallic roof lining etc) and I get good reception on all the main DFW stations without a preamp. I have a CM7777 preamp which gives me even better signal "strength" but I don't really need it.

I have a DB-8, which appears to be a clone of this exact antenna.

I have the antenna up in my attic as well, tried two different locations, and get decent signal strength. I typically see most channels between 79 and 85% (on my FusionHDTV PCI card).

However, on a couple channels, (Fox being the worst), I get dropouts, or glitches (video and audio stutter for about half a second, several times during a show). This is what I'm trying to eliminate. I even bought a Winegard HD7084P that I was going to mount on the roof, but tried in the attic, with similar results.

At this point, I think I'm limited to having to mount something outside. (I live 35.4 miles from the furthest tower.) I decided against installing the Winegard, mainly due to the difficulty in installing it on my roof.

I ordered the Lacrosse (amplified version), in hopes that I can please everyone, myself for reception, the wife for both reception and looks, and the HOA, for looks as well. I'm just a bit concerned that the 40 mile limit is getting close to my 35.4 miles. It should also be much easier to install (same location on the roof, but I should be able to install it from the ladder, instead of getting on the roof).

I only have about one location to install it, but I will probably experiment along that location, to see where the best reception is located.

I just hope that it's a signal strength issue, and not some kind of interference issue, otherwise I may be in the same boat.

stormyQ, geogecko. I would strongly recommend the CM4228. Many people think it's the best UHF antenna around. But it also performs well at hi-band VHF, so is good for WFAA-DT.
I am in Parker, east of Allen, 40 miles from the antenna farm at Cedar Hill, I have a one-storey house, with a CM4228 in my attic (yes, with A/C ducting, metallic roof lining etc) and I get good reception on all the main DFW stations without a preamp. I have a CM7777 preamp which gives me even better signal "strength" but I don't really need it.Thanks for the info. I think I am going to try the 4228 first based on everything I've read. Out of curiosity, I pulled up the results for 75002 (Parker) on antennaweb and noticed the same thing as when I search for McKinney (75070). The digital station for Fox (KDFW) does not show up in the list for either of us. Do you pull it in? I was wondering if this was a mistake or if antennaweb thinks we should be be able to get it from our direction/distance.

Hi guys
Anyone whos plugging basic cable( without the Comcast box) into HDTV or a PC Tuner get Signal strength less than 80 from time to time?

I am using a PC Tuner card (Fusion 5 PCI) and finding out that CBS and TNT start to stutter in Primetime programs.

Please let me know if this happens to you also.

StormyQ - you are right, Fox digital does not show up from Antennaweb. This is one of that site's problems, it often does not give people all their digital stations. Anyway I have no problem getting 4.1 (35)
Geogecko - the DB8 looks a lot like the CM4228 but it has very poor performance on VHF. I have read it's something to do with the way the screens are constructed. The CM4228 is also better on UHF although not by much. See http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html
At channel 35 (Fox digital channel) the CM4228 is about +1.5db on the DB8 according to the graphs but you should have enough signal strength, as you say it might be an interference problem. But have you checked to see if a preamp helps?

Yep, tried a CM-7777 and also tried a distribution amplifier, with no good results.

I live up in Flower Mound, and noticed, that there are a couple of towers about 4-5 miles in the direction of the Cedar Hill towers, from my house. I have no idea what type of signals are being transmitted on them, but they are on the East side of Grapevine Lake, just on the North side of the dam.

DFW Airport is probably, 8 or so miles away? Not sure if that is good or bad either.

Geogecko - try offsetting your antenna slightly from the position that gets the best signal "strength". Sometimes that can be enough to reduce an interference problem.

Aircraft can be an issue when the line of sight goes straight through the landing pattern, and will affect certain frequencies more than others. Do you get major swings in signal "strength" when the problem occurs? It's an indication something is creating multipath. Adjusting antenna pointing can often clear this up....
What sort of reception do you get of KDAF.DT, I think that's channel 32? Or KDAF 33 analog, any sign of ghosting?

Actually, the signal strength does seem to vary quite a bit. I see measurements from 79% up to 86%, maybe with a few even higher. That appears to correspond to about 1-2dB or so.

I guess I need to look at some analog channels, since that might tell me more about the signal problem. Right now, I just have digital stations being received. I should be able to change that to analog without too much effort.

Is ghosting conducive of multipath? Is this common in attic installations, since the signals may bounce around in the attic?

That sort of variation is pretty normal. I just checked my "signal strength" (DirecTV H20) and got these readings ("virtual" channel numbers):
2.1 94-96
4.1 92-98
5.1 100
8.1 78-82
11.1 100
13.1 86-90
21.1 90-92
23.1 76-80
27.1 90-98
29.1 82-88
33.1 70-76
39.1 98-100
47.1 86-88
49.1 90-96
52.1 100
58.1 90-94

Obviously since you are using different equipment you will have different readings but it gives you an idea of what's out there.

If you see relatively fixed analog ghosting this is a strong indication of multipath. This can be from outside things like buildings but also from stuff in the attic. If you have aircraft problems it shows up usually as transient ghosting.
I had terrible problems getting 13.1 (UHF 14). Signal "strength" was usually zero. I eventually checked 13 analog and noticed severe ghosting - by adjusting the antenna away from "optimum" for some of the other stations the ghosting reduced. So I went back to look at digital and adjusted my antenna to peak on 13.1. I was about 7-10 degrees away from the theoretical pointing angle for the tower. I ended up with 86-90 on 13.1. Got a slight signal reduction on 23.1, 29.1, 33.1 as a result.

Oh and you can see with the CM4228 I get decent WFAA reception. For most people this is the most difficult station to get. Even now it's still susceptible to what looks like electrical interference, that's one of the issues using VHF.

We are getting ready to move into our home in Mckinney area and will be going with Time Warner, for now. I need a little helpful information before they come out to install....what hd dvr cable box and modem should i receive? in san antonio we had the 8300 hd dvr and toshiba cable modem...but i have no clue as to what would be the best available up here in McKinney. thanks, in advance, for any help.

also....would i get better speed, efficiency, etc. if i just bought a cable modem instead of leasing one?

We are getting ready to move into our home in Mckinney area and will be going with Time Warner, for now. I need a little helpful information before they come out to install....what hd dvr cable box and modem should i receive? in san antonio we had the 8300 hd dvr and toshiba cable modem...but i have no clue as to what would be the best available up here in McKinney. thanks, in advance, for any help.

also....would i get better speed, efficiency, etc. if i just bought a cable modem instead of leasing one?

Hi Ken,
Welcome to the area! With a little luck, you'll get the Motorola 6412 dual-tuner HD-DVR. They have had some shortages in the past, and if so you might get the 6208 single-tuner model. I think you'll probably get the 6412, though. With a little more luck, you'll get one that performs well. The QC on these boxes doesn't seem to be the best, but mine has really done very well for me since I got it about 1 1/2 years ago. It might be on the verge of flaking, but up to now it has been solid. From what I understand, it is pretty much the same situation with the SA boxes. I'm sure there will be some differences, but generally it works. If you don't get a good one, swap it 'til you do.
Regarding the cable modem, I believe they use various models. I can't even remember the brand of the one I have. I actually started using their modems since the one I owned wasn't DOCSIS 2.0 compliant, and I wanted the 6MB speed! I have had no problems with the modem.
You might want to check out the Wikibook for some info on the known problems and workarounds for the 6412...I don't have the link handy right now, but it is worth checking out...
If you need any further info, don't hesitate to ask here or PM me. I am at work and need to get going to a meeting right now so I am keeping it *reasonably* brief... :)

First, the reason you hear so much about HD radio on the air is that, and you can double check me on this, all the radio stations advertising HD radio are owned by Clear Channel Communications and therefore the same message is being broadcast on various genre stations. Unfortunately, not all TV channels are owned by the same company (probably a good thing) and therefore what you get is different messages from different stations with different agendas.

Just a minor note: CBS-owned radio stations have also been promoting HD radio on the air. My understanding of the situation is that several of the major radio groups have formed an "HD Radio Coalition" of some sort to help coordinate the marketing and promotion of HD Radio. The result is a certain amount of coherency of message, even between stations owned by competing companies.

I suspect that one of the motivators for the radio groups is that they can see what happened with television, and want to avoid a repeat in the radio business. Because if most listeners become accustomed to paying a monthly subscription fee for radio (as they have with television), then the incumbent OTA broadcasters will be left in the cold as the listeners defect to services like XM and Sirius.

i looked through this thread but didnt see anything. Now that TW is here, what's the hold up with HDNet. Why are they sitting on this. This halfway Dallas based network still is not on the main cable system for most the the metroplex. mcuban you got any updates?

i looked through this thread but didnt see anything. Now that TW is here, what's the hold up with HDNet. Why are they sitting on this. This halfway Dallas based network still is not on the main cable system for most the the metroplex. mcuban you got any updates?I emailed Mark about that when TW took over. He said he was getting tons of inquiries and that they were working on it. Outside of any physical barriers to getting those channels added (i.e. bandwidth), I would expect it to be a matter of time since TWC carries them in other markets. I know TW has been touting an announcement of new line-ups and packages this fall (October?) so maybe that would be the next possibility.

I just got my FIOS installed today into my 56" JVC LCOS RP set via HDMI. Previously, I was with Comcast then TW. I lost INHD and INHD2 and gained HDNET, HDNET Movie, MHD and ESPN2HD. First of all, the improvement in the HD channels is astounding. The picture is significantly better. There is absolutely not a doubt at all. Even the Wealth TV channel, which I knew nothing abouit, is a pleasant surprise. I was expecting all infomercials but it has news and other shows. And that's not even the best news.........the SD picture is exponentially better too. Seriously, i don't work for Verizon. Switching to FIOS is the best move I've ever made. This is simply unbelieveable.

Welcome to the verizon club. I don't even have their HD, but just getting their SD channels is a big improvement over Comcast. And you can't beat that internet speed.

Even though there probably isn't anyone else out there who cares, I thought I'd post this in the off chance that another lost soul stumbles across the forum. You can read back through this thread for my prior struggles with Charter Cable, waiting for HD service to start in the Denton market. Short version: HD was supposed to start in June, it didn't, no one locally had any info.

I finally called the Fort Worth Charter regional office again, and got an updated answer: the new target date for HD service in Denton is November 1. Of course, that's presuming there aren't any more problems, etc. And they aren't talking about what their offerings will be (which HD channels, how the rates will be structured, which DVR equipment will be offered, etc.).

Verizon continues to make huge headway here in Denton in the residential areas, but I'm hearing conflicting info on their plans for apartment installs. Our manager was told by her Verizon rep that they were not yet ready to talk with complexes about contracts, etc., and that she would have to wait until she was contacted by a Verizon FIOS rep (don't call us, we'll call you). Of course, as an apartment resident, I don't have 'standing' to instigate anything with Verizon on my own. I've considered flagging down one of the numerous FIOS install trucks driving around town. :)

I had hoped for the grand alignment: HD cable turned on in time for the start of the new Fall TV season, just as the TiVo Series 3 HD DVR hit the market. Now it looks like the Series 3 will come out months before Charter gets up and going, and even then I'm starting to wonder if I want to be an early adopter on the Series 3. As of today, I thinking that I'll hold off on the Series 3 until at least the end of the year, stick with "real-time" HD viewing from OTA, and pick up whatever DVR Charter offers when HD does get turned on (especially since they should offer it as part of a discounted package for several months). I'll keep using my standard-def Series 1 TiVo for analog recording in the meantime.

I emailed him about HDNet in Dallas and if there were going to be more games on 21 this year. I got this back.......

We are close on Time Warner. Please call them and tell them you want HDNet !

No more 21 games in HD, but more on HDNet !

m

More games in HD is cool, but it stinks they wont be doing any more HDNet games on 21 this year. You win some and you loose some.

I just got my FIOS installed today into my 56" JVC LCOS RP set via HDMI. Previously, I was with Comcast then TW. I lost INHD and INHD2 and gained HDNET, HDNET Movie, MHD and ESPN2HD. First of all, the improvement in the HD channels is astounding. The picture is significantly better. There is absolutely not a doubt at all. Even the Wealth TV channel, which I knew nothing abouit, is a pleasant surprise. I was expecting all infomercials but it has news and other shows. And that's not even the best news.........the SD picture is exponentially better too. Seriously, i don't work for Verizon. Switching to FIOS is the best move I've ever made. This is simply unbelieveable.


J/W, but how much are you paying and how many channels do you get?

Hey, I just noticed that the Verizon boxes have a coax output on them.

Is there any possible way that local HD is being broadcast on this signal, that I could yank off of it with my FusionHDTV 5 Lite capture card?

So I've spent a lot of time lately reading up on OTA reception of HD locals. It's always been something I wanted to try but never had the right scenario until now. My 51" CRT has no ATSC tuner and until 3 weeks ago I had been with Comcast since 2003 so no OTA decoder on that box. Good riddance to them.

In comes the VIP622 receiver from Dish with all its goodness, not the least of which is an input for an off-air antenna, effectively giving you 3 tuners. So I'm getting info from antennaweb and reading every post I can find about OTA antennas, specifically in D/FW, and more specifically in the northern parts of the Metroplex.

All indications suggest that in McKinney at 43-45 miles from the broadcast towers, and with an attic installation desired, the antenna will have to be outdoor, BIG, and possibly amplified. A respected online retailer with expertice in this area sends me a custom quote stating that for my area I will need a 120"+ antenna + amplifier.

After more research and exchanges w/ some helpful posters here, I decide that the CM 4228 would be my first attempt. I also identify an amplifier to buy if the 4228 does not do the job on its own. Locate the needed mounting hardware, RG-6, read up on fishing coax through drywall, yada, yada, etc.

Since I'm in no real hurry I decide to first take a chance on the famous Silver Sensor indoor set-top antenna. I find it online for 20 bucks delivered and proceed to unpack it very carefully, fully anticipating that I would be boxing it up again in < 10 minutes. I am struck by how cheap the thing feels and wonder if I will be able to assemble and connect it without breaking it.

So I start the scan for channels and watch the result stay at 0........for a few seconds. Finally it changes to 1 channel found, my interest barely piqued as I assume it's some junk station or maybe even a false signal. Then it finds 2, then 3, 4, 10, 15, 25, 35, and finally 42 channels found. The scan has completed and at this point I'm assuming there must be something wrong. I press OK and there before my eyes is a list of all the major D/FW networks (except ABC of course since the Silver Sensor is only UHF). I scroll down the list:

4-1 KDFW-D 73%
4-2 KDFW-D 73%
5-1 KXAS-D 81%
5-2 KXAS-D 82%
11-1 KTVT-D 90%
12-1 CBS12H 86%
12-2 UPN-12 69%
12-3 FOX-12H 69%
13-1 KERA-H 72%
27-1 KDFI-D 72%
33-1 KDAF-D 63%
33-2 TUBE 67%
39-1 KXTX-D 77%
52-1 KFWD-D 94%
...and some other religious channels, and one that appears to be out of Ardmore, OK??

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Am I incredibly lucky or are these results not surprising? Are those signal strengths in an acceptible range that will not likely result in frequent break ups, pixelation, etc.?

Just wanted to share my experience in case anyone else in my area (SW McKinneY) finds this. It doesn't hurt to start small and simple, keep your fingers crossed, and then haul in the heavy equipment if no luck.

BTW, I watched Jay Leno & Letterman in glorious OTA HD last night. The picture was superb and certainly equal, if not better than what I get over the Dish.

Last question. Is there anything I can do to get ABC OTA now, knowing the setup and results I've just described. Is there small indoor antenna that might work for hi-band VHF or anything I can do w/ the Silver Sensor?

Am I incredibly lucky or are these results not surprising? Are those signal strengths in an acceptible range that will not likely result in frequent break ups, pixelation, etc.?

As with everything OTA-related, "it all depends". There are folks living 50% closer than you who need the big outdoor antenna due to their physical placement relative to the Dallas antenna farm (house in a valley, etc.), and there are others living just as far away who do quite nicely with a simple indoor antenna.

It varies so greatly that your next-door neighbor might get better reception, or none at all. When you're as distant as we are (I'm pulling OTA from Denton, indoors, from a first-floor apartment), variances as small as a few feet can be the difference between an amazing signal and next-to-nothing.

As to the signal strengths you noted: I get similar results on my Sony HD set's internal tuner (except the 63% on KDAF...that does look a little low), and most of my watching is break-up free. However, I have found that the placement of the antenna is better for one group of channels in one spot, while a different spot is better for the rest. So if I forget to move it between shows, I get more breakups.

Last question. Is there anything I can do to get ABC OTA now, knowing the setup and results I've just described. Is there small indoor antenna that might work for hi-band VHF or anything I can do w/ the Silver Sensor?

In my case, I just barely get WFAA-DT by using my ChannelMaster 7777 pre-amp, which combines the signal from my SilverSensor UHF-band antenna with a cheap set of 'rabbit-ears' for channel 9.1 on VHF. The only thing I tend to watch on ABC anymore is 'Lost', so I grit my teeth through the occasional breakups in order to get the majority of the show in HD.

Big question here, i just looked at the dish network site and found the UNBELIEVABLE PRICE!!!! it's practically what i'm paying for standard cable with tw/comcast right now! just really needing to know how good of a service this company is, i'm VERY VERY interested at the moment, PLEASE help me out here. thanks.

I'm about to pull the trigger on it. Basically, every review I've read, says that it works pefectly within it's limits (40 miles). Sounds like you might be just on the hairy edge.

My guess, is that it probably will not pick up ABC, unless you live within 20 miles or closer, but right now, I'm not getting it, but if I could get FOX without dropouts/glitches, I'd be happy. Strange that most of my favorite shows are on Fox...

I'll report back, if and when I do get one of these.

Got the Lacrosse in the mail today. Interesting little antenna, or, rather, bigger than I expected. It's still not that big, just bigger than you would normally expect, based on pictures.

This thing is really weird. I'm really tempted to take it apart, to see what the guts look like on the inside, but will leave that for a later date...

The thing comes with about 3 copies of pictures of the thing put together, but not a single line of instructions on how to assemble it. It's not that difficult, but the orientation of a couple of things would have kept me from assembling it wrong the first time.

I'm really impressed with the adjustability of the thing. Just about any position can be reached with the thing, so you could almost mount it in any location.

Quality of the antenna itself is very good. I was surprised to see how cheap the enclosure for the power injector was, but at least it's always indoors. There are holes all over the thing, so you can actually see inside of it. I doubt there is even a printed circuit board inside, looks like just all wired components, but I could be wrong.

I hooked it up inside my house, but unfortunately, I only had a 20ft coax available, so I was still about 20 feet from my front door, which faces South. I was able to get slightly better reception than I currently get from my DB-8 up in the attic. I'm hoping, that by moving it outdoors, and up about 30 feet higher, I'll be in the 90's for most of my channels.

I took a few pictures, as it seems like they seem to be lacking on the net.

http://www.thebentzhome.com/pics/avs/lacrosse_1.jpg
http://www.thebentzhome.com/pics/avs/lacrosse_2.jpg
http://www.thebentzhome.com/pics/avs/lacrosse_3.jpg
http://www.thebentzhome.com/pics/avs/lacrosse_4.jpg
http://www.thebentzhome.com/pics/avs/lacrosse_5.jpg
http://www.thebentzhome.com/pics/avs/lacrosse_6.jpg

StormyQ, I agree with Rosenkavalier. "Your mileage may vary". I think there is general agreement that the Silver Sensor is the best indoor UHF antenna, but I read a post from someone who is in DFW only 20 miles from Cedar Hill and got virtually nothing with the SS. That's why I recommend people start with something like the SS and go to a bigger antenna if the SS does not work. That said, your results with the SS are outstanding for the distance from the transmitters. If they stay this solid during the day you have a good solution, at least for UHF. WFAA, well that's another story. Rosenkavalier's solution of using rabbit ears with the CM7777 is an interesting one, although as he says the results are marginal. Is there any better solution? Probably not without a decent VHF antenna. But you never know. Given your results with the SS, you could try the Terk look-alike which has built-in rabbit ears, and if you get WFAA at all then connect it through an amplifier and see what happens. This antenna stuff is an art not a science.

Hi,

Does anyone have word about a local station carrying the upcoming HD version of the original Star Trek series, which is suppose to be available in a couple of weeks?

Thanks,
Duane

Does anyone know why these games are not being broadcasted in HD? I am just curious since just about every other NFL game has been in HD.

Kemical

I've seen quite a few pre-season games on the NFL network that were SD only.

WFAA, well that's another story. Rosenkavalier's solution of using rabbit ears with the CM7777 is an interesting one, although as he says the results are marginal. Is there any better solution? Probably not without a decent VHF antenna. But you never know. Given your results with the SS, you could try the Terk look-alike which has built-in rabbit ears, and if you get WFAA at all then connect it through an amplifier and see what happens.

Well, I now have WFAA locked in around 70% with only the Silver Sensor. When the receiver didn't find it on the auto scan I was able to add ABC manually according to it's broadcast channel (9). I new that some UHF antennas can pull in VHF with success but I assumed that at my distance it would only be the larger ones such as the CM 4228.

I realize there are many, many variables and no guarantees when it comes to OTA reception. Just glad that it's working for me at the moment and wanted to echo the recommendation that you should experiment with the small & simple solutions before dropping big money & time on the larger ones.

Greetings all...

Just picked up my first HDTV last weekend - Samsung 42" DLP (S4266W) and I love it... except that I can't get my DTV happening hardly at all. We live in an apartment right at the top of the hill on MacArthur before decending North into Valley Ranch - right behind the Sam's Club. After we moved here we decided not to get cable but were aghast at our OTA analog signal pickup with our old set of amplified bunny-ears. I purchased a Phillips ANT510 from Wal-Mart about 6 months ago to try to boost the signal and in anticipation of getting an HDTV sometime in the future.

I'm sitting here right now watching 11.1 with 3 bars of signal (I have bars, not %'s - I think it goes to 10 bars), can see 33.1 with lots of dropouts, but cannot grab any other channels without adjusting... and losing the one's I've got. After much reading here, I picked up a Silver Sensor. Believe it or not, I actually get better reception (limited as it may be) with the ANT510. Both are inconsistent at best. I can have 2-3 bars on 5.1 one minute, then come back in 2 hours without touching the antenna and not have anything. In a week, I get 5.1 occasionally (but none others then)', only once seen 4.1 and 14.1, and none others. Yes, I'm facing the UHF panels to the SSE. :)

I'm so frustrated - I only live 22 miles away from Cedar Hill, I can' t understand it. Our apartment is 2nd floor and faces (windows) north. There are other buildings in our complex between us and the open air towards the towers, but I don't know if that makes a difference or not. If I had my own place, I'd go out and get a mast-mount in a heartbeat... but obviously I can't. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

I've seen quite a few pre-season games on the NFL network that were SD only.


This is true, however CBS will run a HD game off of its NY feed then why wouldn't it run the Dallas game in HD as well? Especially since we are in Dallas. See, what I don't get is that you will have a NFL game being broadcast on CBS in the NY market and it will be in HD, however the local CBS station which is broadcasting the local Dallas Cowboys game is not showing it in HD. I saw this on the previous pre-season games whether it was on ABC or CBS and so I didn't know if there was something going on with the franchise and the TV networks that was preventing them from brodcasting in HD. If anyone can shed some insight into this I would appreciate it.

Thanks,

Kemical

Hi,

Does anyone have word about a local station carrying the upcoming HD version of the original Star Trek series, which is suppose to be available in a couple of weeks?


While it has been stated that the original series has been remastered into HD with new CG special effects and space scenes, it has not been clearly stated that the HD version will be available to stations picking up the initial syndicated package. Per Paramount's syndication website, the show is being delivered to stations via Pathfire -- and we have been told by several industry insiders that Pathfire doesn't support HD delivery at this time. Whether there will be an alternate delivery method for stations interested in carrying an HD version just isn't clear right now.

That said, the original series is being offered to stations that have been running the syndicated version of "Enterprise" -- locally, that is KTXA, channel 21. So I'll be looking for the show on that station, and hoping that it will be in HD locally. But remember that right now we don't know that it will be offered in HD anywhere...and KTXA cannot give us what isn't available.

The more I read, the less likely it seems Star Trek will be available in HD. It certainly sounded more promising at first. I guess it was knowing that Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortunate are coming in HD syndication made me think the mechanism was finally in place to deliver it in HD. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Duane

This is true, however CBS will run a HD game off of its NY feed then why wouldn't it run the Dallas game in HD as well? Especially since we are in Dallas. See, what I don't get is that you will have a NFL game being broadcast on CBS in the NY market and it will be in HD, however the local CBS station which is broadcasting the local Dallas Cowboys game is not showing it in HD. I saw this on the previous pre-season games whether it was on ABC or CBS and so I didn't know if there was something going on with the franchise and the TV networks that was preventing them from brodcasting in HD. If anyone can shed some insight into this I would appreciate it.

Thanks,

KemicalI believe the teams shoot and produce their own preseason games so I'm not sure it has anything to do w/ the local station. This was in Barry Horn's column in the DMN yesterday:Oops: The Cowboys ballyhooed their plans for their in-house Blue Star Media high definition production of Saturday's preseason game against the 49ers. Alas, technical difficulties quashed the experiment.

Thanks StormyQ, at least that is some sort of an explanation.

Kemical

I believe the teams shoot and produce their own preseason games so I'm not sure it has anything to do w/ the local station. This was in Barry Horn's column in the DMN yesterday:

This is true. KTVT has no control over the feed that is sent to them. Blue Star Media produces the preseason games, not the networks. This is why most of the CBS games and all of the FOX ones are in HD. If something goes wrong on their end, everyone is screwed. From what I understand, The Blue Star Media guffaw is what cause the game not to be aired in HD on the NFL Network.

I'm so frustrated - I only live 22 miles away from Cedar Hill, I can' t understand it. Our apartment is 2nd floor and faces (windows) north. There are other buildings in our complex between us and the open air towards the towers, but I don't know if that makes a difference or not. If I had my own place, I'd go out and get a mast-mount in a heartbeat... but obviously I can't. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

UPDATE

Wow... what a difference a little longer coax and a window makes. I've got one window facing east in the back bedroom so I decided one last-ditch effort. I used an old 50' RG-59 cable to move the Silver Sensor in there to face SSE through the window. Immediate increase in signal and getting stations that I never had seen previously. I went out to Fry's and got a 50' RG-6 cable and a CM 3042 13dB pre-amp to try to boost things a little more. At present, although I'm not getting any greater than 8 bars/80% on any channel, I"m getting every Dallas DTV channel that I know of except for WFAA 8.1. I'm not sure how much difference the pre-amp is making, but just the RG-6 boosted the signal strength on average of 10-20%.

So, I guess the moral of the story is, never give up trying to get a clean signal - and it's amazing how much a window can make a difference. Be encouraged apartment dwellers!!

good to know ^

Avtrainer. The TERK HDTVi - that's the non-amplified version - seems to be a
clone of the Silver Sensor but with "rabbit ears" for VHF. Might be worth a try if you want to get WFAA, although even with a decent VHF antenna WFAA is a problem station for some people....

Big question here, i just looked at the dish network site and found the UNBELIEVABLE PRICE!!!! it's practically what i'm paying for standard cable with tw/comcast right now! just really needing to know how good of a service this company is, i'm VERY VERY interested at the moment, PLEASE help me out here. thanks.

I've had them for some 13 years now and have never had a reason to want to switch. Back when I first started with them, there was a night and day difference between them and comcast that I left. Today I think thay have picked up some of the cable co's bad ways (customer service reps from India and no two give you the same story, new customers get great deals not available to long time customers), but still they remain way ahead particularly if you are interested in HD. Reception is better than cable and for me has been near 100% reliable vs cable's co.'s every 3 to 4 week outage.

If you are interested, give them, a try. I think they have a 30 day risk free trial and if you PM me your address I can send you a discount coupon that is in effect till the end of this month. Not totally sure what the coupon provides over their normal new customer discount.

It seems you need to switch everytime there is a new deal for new customers. One year with one, then another year with someone else. TimeWarner just offered me 12 months no contract 2 receivers with most channels including HBO etc for around $30 per month. I am paying more for DirecTV. I didn't ask for HDTV prices though since I plan on using an HDTV Wonder in my GBPVR HTPC.

I've heard if you threaten to switch, you'll get the new customer deals or a comparable one offered by a competitor. I've never tried this myself....

Xesdeeni

Greetings all...

Just picked up my first HDTV last weekend - Samsung 42" DLP (S4266W) and I love it... except that I can't get my DTV happening hardly at all. We live in an apartment right at the top of the hill on MacArthur before decending North into Valley Ranch - right behind the Sam's Club. After we moved here we decided not to get cable but were aghast at our OTA analog signal pickup with our old set of amplified bunny-ears. I purchased a Phillips ANT510 from Wal-Mart about 6 months ago to try to boost the signal and in anticipation of getting an HDTV sometime in the future.

I'm sitting here right now watching 11.1 with 3 bars of signal (I have bars, not %'s - I think it goes to 10 bars), can see 33.1 with lots of dropouts, but cannot grab any other channels without adjusting... and losing the one's I've got. After much reading here, I picked up a Silver Sensor. Believe it or not, I actually get better reception (limited as it may be) with the ANT510. Both are inconsistent at best. I can have 2-3 bars on 5.1 one minute, then come back in 2 hours without touching the antenna and not have anything. In a week, I get 5.1 occasionally (but none others then)', only once seen 4.1 and 14.1, and none others. Yes, I'm facing the UHF panels to the SSE. :)

I'm so frustrated - I only live 22 miles away from Cedar Hill, I can' t understand it. Our apartment is 2nd floor and faces (windows) north. There are other buildings in our complex between us and the open air towards the towers, but I don't know if that makes a difference or not. If I had my own place, I'd go out and get a mast-mount in a heartbeat... but obviously I can't. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

You may want to try this one...

urban antenna (http://www2.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?omid=108&ref=cnet&utm_source=Cnet&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=TRKHDTVLP&sku=TRKHDTVLP)

I use it and have found much improved reception.

This is true. KTVT has no control over the feed that is sent to them. Blue Star Media produces the preseason games, not the networks. This is why most of the CBS games and all of the FOX ones are in HD. If something goes wrong on their end, everyone is screwed. From what I understand, The Blue Star Media guffaw is what cause the game not to be aired in HD on the NFL Network.

CBS will do 3 HD games a week... and FOX will do 'most' of their games. I haven't kept up with the announcements for this year, but last year it was 5-6 games a week were done in 720p and the rest were done in 480p widescreen (this was typically during October for MLB playoffs). Its partly because of HD trucks, but more recently it has to do with network backhaul equipment and transponder space to support the additional HD feeds.

2 years ago it was 1 or 2 CBS HD games a week and a few more FOX games per week. That was more of an HD truck availability limitation though.

It seems you need to switch everytime there is a new deal for new customers. One year with one, then another year with someone else. TimeWarner just offered me 12 months no contract 2 receivers with most channels including HBO etc for around $30 per month. I am paying more for DirecTV. I didn't ask for HDTV prices though since I plan on using an HDTV Wonder in my GBPVR HTPC.

May i ask what you did to get that deal?

May i ask what you did to get that deal? I answered the door.

Since TimeWarner just took over Comcast they came by the neighborhood door to door trying to win over customers. The guy left his name and number. I can PM you the info if you want. PM me if you want it. I have no idea if he works the Carrollton area or not. I am in Arlington.

I go to a gym in Carrollton with my coworkers by the way. We work in Irving and they live in Carrollton.

When did channel 27-1 start broadcasting OTA HD programming? I guess I missed that somehow. It must have been when D* started carrying them on their MPEG4 local stream.

When did channel 27-1 start broadcasting OTA HD programming?

Tuesday, when My Network TV signed on the air. My understanding is that HD will only happen on 27 for network programming - not local. (like the Stars/Rangers games)

It started on Monday. 27 is now part of the MyNetworkTV network. They run American versions of Latin Tele-Novas 5 nights a week. There will be two one-hour shows each night, at 7:00 and 8:00. There will be a recap episode each week on Saturday night. Each show will have a 13-week story arch and will end. They have four planned for the year. And all of them are in HD.

The MyNetworkTV was put together hastily by FOX's Newscorp after the merger between UPN and WB to form CW was announced. Only one of the UPN or WB affiliates in each town could become the new CW affiliate, and the other was left out in the cold. Many of these left-out affiliates were owned by Fox. So they created MyNetworkTV to fill the void.

Locally, 33 got the CW, and 21 is owned by CBS. But 27 is owned by Fox, so they got the MyNetworkTV gig. 21 will become an independent. I have no idea what they will be showing, but it's a good bet there won't be any HD. I also believe I heard that they lost the occasional HD Maverick feed from HDNet.

Xesdeeni

I also believe I heard that they lost the occasional HD Maverick feed from HDNet.

They did. I posted an email I got from Cuban about it a few pages back.

21 will become an independent. I have no idea what they will be showing, but it's a good bet there won't be any HD. I also believe I heard that they lost the occasional HD Maverick feed from HDNet.

Xesdeeni

21 will do a two hour news show from 7-9pm 7 nights a week. (except when they show Mavs games)

As far as I know, none of that will be in HD.

21 will do a two hour news show from 7-9pm 7 nights a week. (except when they show Mavs games)

As far as I know, none of that will be in HD.

That is what Dallas needs. Two more hours of locally produced drivel they call news. :rolleyes:

Did a quick search of this thread and didn't see it come up. Why doesn't TimeWarner in Dallas provide ESPN2 in HD? I was pretty surprised when it wasn't in the lineup. Any plans to make it available?

Did a quick search of this thread and didn't see it come up. Why doesn't TimeWarner in Dallas provide ESPN2 in HD? I was pretty surprised when it wasn't in the lineup. Any plans to make it available?They just assumed operations of Comcast. Revisions are on the horizon. :)

Did a quick search of this thread and didn't see it come up. Why doesn't TimeWarner in Dallas provide ESPN2 in HD? I was pretty surprised when it wasn't in the lineup. Any plans to make it available?

they don't offer hdnet, hdnet movies or universal hd either.

was jeopardy in HD at 11 am on CBS?

I live in Carrollton, which is just north of Dallas, TX, and get all my channels OTA, coming in to an HD receiver, a Samsung SIR-T451. Within the last 2 weeks, channel 27-1 seems to have dropped off the face of the earth. I get all the other channels fine, but 27-1 gives a constant "No Signal." Anyone else have this problem? Or know what the problem may be with 27-1? Thanks in advance.

I live in Carrollton, which is just north of Dallas, TX, and get all my channels OTA, coming in to an HD receiver, a Samsung SIR-T451. Within the last 2 weeks, channel 27-1 seems to have dropped off the face of the earth. I get all the other channels fine, but 27-1 gives a constant "No Signal." Anyone else have this problem? Or know what the problem may be with 27-1? Thanks in advance.

Hmm...seem to remember some 27 talk about 8 posts or so above yours. Have a look. :)

I live in Carrollton, which is just north of Dallas, TX, and get all my channels OTA, coming in to an HD receiver, a Samsung SIR-T451. Within the last 2 weeks, channel 27-1 seems to have dropped off the face of the earth. I get all the other channels fine, but 27-1 gives a constant "No Signal." Anyone else have this problem? Or know what the problem may be with 27-1? Thanks in advance.


I live in carrollton too, could you tell me what channels you get in HDOTA?

I live in Carrollton, which is just north of Dallas, TX, and get all my channels OTA, coming in to an HD receiver, a Samsung SIR-T451. Within the last 2 weeks, channel 27-1 seems to have dropped off the face of the earth. I get all the other channels fine, but 27-1 gives a constant "No Signal." Anyone else have this problem? Or know what the problem may be with 27-1? Thanks in advance.
I'm in Carrollton (Old Denton and Hebron) and haven't seen any appreciable changes in 27-1. It's not a channel I would probably miss, but it's been there.

no jeopardy, no wheel of fortune in HD.

and I was thinking that DFW would be an automatic candidate for HD - CBS is O&O, 5th biggest DMA in the country. Pretty sad....cities outside the top 50 dmas are receiving it in HD.

I read the entries above mine which indicate that channel 27-1 in Dallas area started broadcasting OTA HD programming the prior Tuesday. It mentions nothing about 27-1 going offline, only switching to something called My Network TV. I can get OTA HD reception on all the other channels. So is the bottom line that 27-1 is now offline in Dallas area?

I read the entries above mine which indicate that channel 27-1 in Dallas area started broadcasting OTA HD programming the prior Tuesday. It mentions nothing about 27-1 going offline, only switching to something called My Network TV. I can get OTA HD reception on all the other channels. So is the bottom line that 27-1 is now offline in Dallas area?
It's still there.

I read the entries above mine which indicate that channel 27-1 in Dallas area started broadcasting OTA HD programming the prior Tuesday. It mentions nothing about 27-1 going offline, only switching to something called My Network TV. I can get OTA HD reception on all the other channels. So is the bottom line that 27-1 is now offline in Dallas area?

Although it doesn't seem to be affecting others, maybe there was some kind of change in their PSIP that is throwing your receiver for a loop. Try rescanning, and if that doesn't work, disconnect your antenna, scan, reconnect it, then scan again. It seems that sometimes it needs to clear what it currently has before it can save the new info that makes the picture viewable again...it's worth a shot, anyway...

-Randy

I live in north Plano (McDermott/Independence) and I recently lost 8.1. :( It was always glitchy in the past but now it's completely gone. I have an attic antenna (VHF I believe). I don't know the manufacturer but it's about 8 feet long. Would an amplifier help my situation? I'm clueless on this kind of stuff so I would appreciate anyone's advice. TIA.

I have the same issue in Garland by Lake Ray Hubbard. I just recently purchased a Panny 50" PDP and installed a Terk antenna in my attic. For several hours I received all available channels but then 8.1 became unavailable. When I check the signal strength using Panny's signal meter it reads right at 88. This is actually as good or better then the other stations I receive with no issues. I have tried the antenna in various positions with no luck. The analog 8 comes in very well however. Anyone have any idea what may be happening?

If you are getting a meter reading of 88 then you are correct, it should be OK. Mybe 8.1 has changed something in the data stream. Try doing a new station scan with your receiver and see if it finds 8.1

I think my meter reading was around 13. Would an amplifer help or is i more likely an antenna directional issue?

Is it just me, or is there something related to heat or the broadcasting of certain channels?

On Fox, with my antenna in the attic, last Fall and Spring season were perfect. No problems, but when summer hit, and the new summer series started, I was getting glitches and drop-outs to the point where it was almost unwatchable.

It is acting this way again, this year. Over the summer, I had this same glitching, but ever since about 2 weeks ago, it's all gone...

I live in carrollton too, could you tell me what channels you get in HDOTA?


No answer? If you don't want to get the thread off topic it'd be cool if you could pm me.

For D13. If you are getting a reading of 13 on a scale of 100 for channel 8.1 then that is going to be far too low to get a lock. What are your readings on other digital channels??

Texasbrit you were right on the money. Rescanning the channels solved the issue. Thanks!

Does anybody know if TWC is continuing Comcast's policy of simply passing through the HD signal on HD channels? It doesn't appear as sharp to me lately, but my 6412 box is also acting flaky and could very well be the culprit. Just thought I would check to see if anybody has the scoop on that...

Thanks!
-Randy

Does anybody know if TWC is continuing Comcast's policy of simply passing through the HD signal on HD channels? It doesn't appear as sharp to me lately, but my 6412 box is also acting flaky and could very well be the culprit. Just thought I would check to see if anybody has the scoop on that...

Thanks!
-Randy

Not sure what the policy is in Dallas, but they do play games with their signal in other parts of the country.

Not sure what the policy is in Dallas, but they do play games with their signal in other parts of the country.

Thanks for the info...I guess I'll give Customer Service a call and see what they have to say. Not that I can count on it being accurate, but I'd still like to hear the party line...

Is anyone using an MDP-130 in the DFW area on Time Warner / Comcast and having sucess? I am considering purchasing one but need to know if the locals are encrypted.

Help, I have a place up at Lake Texoma. What is the best solution for local HD channels? I currently have Direct TV.

For the past couple of weeks, I have not been able to receive KDAF 33 over the air. Anyone else seen any problems? I wondered if they went down because of the transition to the CW...but I get some signal (on the meter)...just not good enough to get any video.

I have the HR10-250 HD DirecTivo....

For the past couple of weeks, I have not been able to receive KDAF 33 over the air. Anyone else seen any problems? I wondered if they went down because of the transition to the CW...but I get some signal (on the meter)...just not good enough to get any video.

I have the HR10-250 HD DirecTivo....

I still see it with the same signal strength as before. Maybe you need a rescan.

I still see it with the same signal strength as before. Maybe you need a rescan.
Channel still appears, signal strength just bounces all over the place. My antenna setup in my new house if pretty flaky...even though I'm only about 1/4 mile from my previous house...where I got everything perfectly...

Thanks for the info...I guess I'll give Customer Service a call and see what they have to say. Not that I can count on it being accurate, but I'd still like to hear the party line...

FWIW, the girl in Customer Service told me they do not compress the signal. I also asked about Cable Cards for a Tivo Series 3 and/or my TV. What I was told is that there would be no charge beyond the truck roll, even for 3 of them. I'm not totally confident in that answer, and that makes me a little less comfortable with the compression question, too....

-Randy

FWIW, the girl in Customer Service told me they do not compress the signal. I also asked about Cable Cards for a Tivo Series 3 and/or my TV. What I was told is that there would be no charge beyond the truck roll, even for 3 of them. I'm not totally confident in that answer, and that makes me a little less comfortable with the compression question, too....

-Randy

Great, thanks for the info.

Sounds like you found a semi-knowledgeable CSR there. You should've asked when we're going to get HDNet :). She might've known.

Cuban says "we're close", although i'm not sure what there is to negotiate. HDNet already has an agreement in place with TWC and they have it on all their systems throughout the country.

For D13. If you are getting a reading of 13 on a scale of 100 for channel 8.1 then that is going to be far too low to get a lock. What are your readings on other digital channels??
I'm getting:
4-1 71
4-2 71
5-1 71
5-2 71
8-1 13 (peaked at 47)
8-2 13
11-1 72
27-1 41
33-1 63
39-1 70

Thanks.

d13 - these are all pretty low - and you don't give a reading for 13.1 at all, do you get this station? The numbers basically show that you don't have a good enough antenna or that it is not pointed correctly (unless you have some major multipath problems) , and that it is particularly weak on VHF (channel 8.1 is actually on channel 9). With a good antenna and tuner in your location you should be looking for signal readings that are closer to 90-100 on the main UHF stations and in the 70s at least on VHF. What tuner are you using?

I would suggest:
Go to www.antennaweb.org and enter your address (not just your zip code). Post the results here - we can see if there is some issue with your location, since in general you should not have a reception problem in Plano.
Repoint your antenna. You can adjust it to get the best signal reading on channel 8.1 and then see what you get on the other stations - I peak my antenna on 13.1 since it is my "problem" station. Use cellphones to communicate between the person moving the antenna and someone watching the signal meter!

If repointing does not work, you can look at adding a pre-amp. Probably the CM7777. But the preramp won't help you if your low signal readings are due to multipath.

If preamp does not work then try a better antenna. The CM4228 is a great DFW antenna because it is an excellent performer on UHF and does OK at hi-VHF so it works for WFAA. I am just East of Allen, 40 miles from the transmitters at Cedar Hill and I have a CM4228 in my attic, get 75-85 on 8.1 and between 85 and 100 on everything else of interest.

BradShaw75 - well Lake Texoma is a big area but you are a long way from most of the OTA transmitters (except CBS in Sherman) so that probably isn't an option. Depending on exactly where you are you probably don't get locals thru DirecTV either. You may qualify for some of the major national networks in HD if you are not in the grade B coverage area of the local stations, or if you can get a waiver from each local station. Call DirecTV, tell them where you are and see what they say. I believe that DirecTV will submit waiver requests for you but am not certain what the current situation is.
If DirecTV can't give you the national networks then it is not their fault, they are bound by the rules.
If you can get HD nationals you will need an HD receiver and at least a 3-lnb dish. If you do this through DirecTV you can often get this upgrade free. They will probably install the 5-lnb dish and the H20 receiver which would allow you to get MPEG-4 signals - right now the only MPEG-4 stations are the locals and regional sports networks for the major markets like DFW. But you would not qualify for these since you are outside the DFW DMA.
If you are inside the DFW MPEG-4 "spot beam" then you would physically be able to get these local channels but DirecTV would not be able legally to give them to you. I do NOT know if the DFW MPEG-4 spot beam covers your Texoma location. The spotbeam for the regular locals goes out as far as Oklahoma but the MPEG-4 spot beam will be different.
If your Texoma house is in the spot beam, then it would be possible to get the locals by "moving" - having a service address in DFW but then installing the equipment yourself at your Lake Texoma house. A bit like having an RV with DirecTV set up in DFW but parking it at Texoma.

I forgot to mention that if you get the national HD channels (east coast feed I believe) then you won't be able to "move" and also get the DFW locals. My suggestion is that you try for the East Coast feeds by working through DirecTV. I suspect you may get ABC, NBC and Fox but that CBS in Sherman may refuse to give you a waiver.
If that doesn't work then your only option is "moving".

d13 - these are all pretty low - and you don't give a reading for 13.1 at all, do you get this station? The numbers basically show that you don't have a good enough antenna or that it is not pointed correctly (unless you have some major multipath problems) , and that it is particularly weak on VHF (channel 8.1 is actually on channel 9). With a good antenna and tuner in your location you should be looking for signal readings that are closer to 90-100 on the main UHF stations and in the 70s at least on VHF. What tuner are you using?

I would suggest:
Go to antennaweb and enter your address (not just your zip code). Post the results here - we can see if there is some issue with your location, since in general you should not have a reception problem in Plano.
Repoint your antenna. You can adjust it to get the best signal reading on channel 8.1 and then see what you get on the other stations - I peak my antenna on 13.1 since it is my "problem" station. Use cellphones to communicate between the person moving the antenna and someone watching the signal meter!

If repointing does not work, you can look at adding a pre-amp. Probably the CM7777. But the preramp won't help you if your low signal readings are due to multipath.

If preamp does not work then try a better antenna. The CM4228 is a great DFW antenna because it is an excellent performer on UHF and does OK at hi-VHF so it works for WFAA. I am just East of Allen, 40 miles from the transmitters at Cedar Hill and I have a CM4228 in my attic, get 75-85 on 8.1 and between 85 and 100 on everything else of interest.
I do get 13-1. My receiver is a Directv HR10-250. I have been to the antennaweb site and checked my antenna direction. You live somwhat close to me and if you get that kind of reception with the CM4228 in your attic then I think I will go pick one up today after work. Can I get those at Frye's or RadioShack? I didn't see it on their websites. Thanks for all of your assistance!

The ATSC tuner in the HR10 is not one of the best.
You may not be able to find a CM4228 in Dallas. Sometimes Fry's have them but you should call them to find out. Most people end up buying online at solidsignal.com or Warren Electronics. I bought mine from Warren because it was the best price at the time.
I would be surprised if the CM4228 does not work for you, it's generally felt to be one of the best antennas. If you still have a problem you can add a CM7777 preamp.

Picked up the CM4228 at Fry's and installed it today. My signal readings actually got worse. I stayed up in the attic and tried several different positions with my wife watching the signal strength and still nothing. Is my best bet now to install something on my rooftop/chimney? If so, I'll probably have someone out to do it. Can anyone recommend someone in the Plano area that is reasonable? I want to be able to have someone out with the goal of getting me reception for all of the HD channels not just installing the CM4228. Meaning, I want someone who can troubleshoot and try a different antenna and add an amp or whatever I need. Is Tweeter decent? Thanks for all of your help!

Where I live, I get Dallas/Ft.Worth local channels. I will be upgrading to Dish Network pretty soon. How can I find out if I will get my local channels in HD without an OTA antenna?

I will be using the ViP211 high-definition receiver, if that helps.

Thanks

Try this:
https://customersupport.dishnetwork.com/customernetqual/prepAddress.do

The more I read, the less likely it seems Star Trek will be available in HD. It certainly sounded more promising at first. I guess it was knowing that Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortunate are coming in HD syndication made me think the mechanism was finally in place to deliver it in HD. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Duane

I was searching on my dish for Star Trek and KFWD (52) show to be playing Balance of Terror Sunday September 17th at 9:00 PM, followed by Miri at 10:00 PM. This however conflict with what KFWD's web site says, not sure if they may be showing it? But they also seem to be at 480 (i or p, don't know) right now, I'm not sure if they actually broadcast in true HD. I assume if they were actually broadcasting it they'd paste it all over their web site. Set up my High Def HTPC to record it just in case.

or this:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=74919

star trek is not hd..

there's a huge thread in the programming forum where there's a lot of finger pointing going on.

Try this:
https://customersupport.dishnetwork.com/customernetqual/prepAddress.doThanks, tried that, here's what I got:

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/7200/localswy3.png

It tells me that I can get them, but how do I know if I need an OTA tuner to get my local channels in high definition?

No, you don't need an OTA tuner to get them....but again, read the thread I posted.

Has anyone even been able to confirm when and on what channel these Star Trek reruns will be on, locally?

threads merged

d13- I am very surprised you get lower signal "strengths". The signal meter does not actually read the strength it gives a quality value - if you are getting multipath you will see a low reading even though the signal is strong.
What's your analog reception look like? Are the pictures clear or do you have ghosting - that's an indication of multipath...and do you have your station listings from antennaweb?

Never used him myself but this guy has got very good reviews on antenna installation:
http://www.idigscience.com/contact_applied_digital_science.htm

d13 - I found this post from Topp Robertson fyi.

Large outdoor antennas work very well in attics in the DFW area. This is due to our generally flat geography and the fact that the transmitters are in one place so the antenna doesn't need to rotate. They will last a lot longer in the attic. I have seen some that were installed at least 30 years ago that work great with the new digital broadcasts. Larger antennas have more gain than smaller ones, so without the benefit of an actual signal strength measurement just use the biggest one you have room for. Install it as high as possible in your attic, above a second or third story if you have one. Avoid metal in front of the antenna, like HVAC units or ducting, radiant barrier under the roof decking, metal siding on a gable end, etc. You don't need an elaborate mount for the antenna, since there is no weather in your attic and they only weigh 2 or 3 pounds. Quite often they will work just laying on top of the ceiling joists. I usually tie them up out of the way with one or two pieces of string. My experience has been that attic antennas work about 85% of the time locally. I have seen them work fine in one story attics as far north as Denton and Melissa.

I asked earlier about TWC not carrying ESPN2 in HD. I emailed them yesterday and received a quick response. Unfortunately it wasn't the answer I was looking for.

---

Dear Mr. xxx,

Thank you for contacting Time Warner Cable. We're excited to be your new service provider!

At this time, there are no plans to carry ESPN2 or FSN in HD. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Your feedback is very important though, and will be forwarded to the appropriate department for further review.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to send us an email, or call us 24 hours a day at 972-445-5555.

Sincerely,

Tobin
Time Warner Cable Customer Care Specialist
Case ID:8619941

I asked earlier about TWC not carrying ESPN2 in HD. I emailed them yesterday and received a quick response. Unfortunately it wasn't the answer I was looking for.

I got a mailer with the new channel lineup (effective the 18th), and I have to say that I was not terribly impressed. One INHD is gone, there is no sign of any HDNet channels, no Universal HD, etc. The one good thing that I see is that some channels that were restricted to analog are now going to be digitally simulcast, such as Fox Sports Southwest and Versus. I was starting to think about getting some cable cards and the Series 3 TiVo, but now Dish is getting more and more attractive.....

If you haven't received your list and have questions about a specific channel, feel free to ask and I'll look it up. Or you can find the new list here. (http://www.timewarnercable.com/dallas/programming/lineups/lineup_northtexas.html)

-Randy

When does this new channel line up start? i still have my old line up..

When does this new channel line up start? i still have my old line up..


I got a mailer with the new channel lineup (effective the 18th)

Tomorrow. :)

Haha, sorry about that, got a little too excited, WHY DO THEY HAVE TO CHANGE UP THE CHANNELS, man i hate this!

Did everyone's HD signal on the game just go to SD?

Edit: NM, went back to HD

Yes my game signal did go to HD and then back to SD. I have seen this happen before on different shows.

What casuses this?

Well, I don't know if maybe the debut of the Tivo Series 3 has caused a change, or if I am getting bad info from TW one time or the other, but I am now told that cable cards run $5.95/month each. I might call again tomorrow to see if I get a totally different answer. Did I mention that Dish is getting more and more appealing???

-Randy

d13 - I found this post from Topp Robertson fyi.

Large outdoor antennas work very well in attics in the DFW area. This is due to our generally flat geography and the fact that the transmitters are in one place so the antenna doesn't need to rotate. They will last a lot longer in the attic. I have seen some that were installed at least 30 years ago that work great with the new digital broadcasts. Larger antennas have more gain than smaller ones, so without the benefit of an actual signal strength measurement just use the biggest one you have room for. Install it as high as possible in your attic, above a second or third story if you have one. Avoid metal in front of the antenna, like HVAC units or ducting, radiant barrier under the roof decking, metal siding on a gable end, etc. You don't need an elaborate mount for the antenna, since there is no weather in your attic and they only weigh 2 or 3 pounds. Quite often they will work just laying on top of the ceiling joists. I usually tie them up out of the way with one or two pieces of string. My experience has been that attic antennas work about 85% of the time locally. I have seen them work fine in one story attics as far north as Denton and Melissa.
Any suggestions for a Denton antenna? I'm in an apartment with a small set of amplified bunny ears and pick up NBC/CBS/FOX from time to time. I can't find ABC, and the WB or CW (whatever it is now) comes in rarely if I fiddle with the clocking on the antenna.

Since Charter Cable doesnt have HD here (yet, I hear they have the equipment though) and FiOS isn't available, I'm not getting much.

Go to www.antennaweb.org and key in your address (not just your zip code) and then post the results here.
Reliable reception in Denton with an indoor antenna will be a real challenge, you are 45 miles from Cedar Hill which is where the DFW transmitter "farm" is located.
I did read one post from someone in Denton who used a Silver Sensor UHF antenna, with a separate set of "rabbit ears" for VHF, plugged into a CM7777 preamp, and got good, stable results on all the main DFW channels.

Is there anyone who has a Direct TV OTA antenna to receive HD channels in the Corinth, Denton, Hickory Creek area?

I live in Corinth and am getting Direct TV installation later this week and understand that they'll have to install their OTA antenna in order to receive and record channels with the HR-10-250 HD DVR.

I'd really like to know how good your local HD channels are with the Direct TV antenna since I'm about 45 miles from the towers.

Here's what antennaweb reports for digital stations :

DTV Antenna
Type Call Sign Channel Network City State Live
Date Compass
Orientation Miles
From Frequency
Assignment
* red - uhf KLDT-DT 55.1 IND LAKE DALLAS TX 139° 11.0 54
* blue - uhf KMPX-DT 30.1 DAY DECATUR TX 146° 20.8 30
* blue - vhf WFAA-DT 8.1 ABC DALLAS TX 164° 38.6 9
* blue - uhf KXAS-DT 5.1 NBC FORT WORTH TX 163° 38.7 41
* blue - uhf KXTX-DT 40.1 TEL DALLAS TX 163° 38.7 40
* blue - uhf KTVT-DT 11.1 CBS FORT WORTH TX 162° 39.3 19
* blue - uhf KDFW-DT 4.1 FOX DALLAS TX 164° 38.6 35
* blue - uhf KERA-DT 13.1 PBS DALLAS TX 162° 39.3 14
* violet - uhf KDAF-DT 33.1 CW DALLAS TX 163° 41.7 32
* violet - uhf KFWD-DT 52.1 IND FORT WORTH TX 163° 38.5 51
* violet - uhf KDTN-DT 2.1 DAY DENTON TX 163° 41.7 43
* violet - uhf KUVN-DT 23.1 UNI GARLAND TX 163° 38.5 24
* violet - uhf KPXD-DT 68.1 i ARLINGTON TX 164° 38.3 42
* violet - uhf KTXA-DT 21.1 UPN FORT WORTH TX 163° 41.7 18

Anyone else hating this new lineup? First, we lose an HD channel (INHD2) and now I have to scroll through a range of 700 channels (from the HD's to Sports to get where I want instead of about 100. Why oh why can't the guide default to Favorites so that can't be avoided? Anyone know a workaround with the 6412?

In a couple of months I’m planning on getting an HDTV with integrated ATSC/NTSC/QAM tuner, which raises a question. What HDTV channels can be picked up from Time Warner with no Set Top Box? I would assume the locals would be passed unencrypted (4.1, 5.1, 8.1 et al), but how many HDTV channels can one get from TWC without a set top box?

If anyone has plugged their HDTV directly into their cable line since the switch-over today I would like to know which if any of the following stations come in unencrypted:

KXTX-DT 40.1 TEL
KDFW-DT 4.1 FOX
KXAS-DT 5.1 NBC
KUVN-DT 23.1 UNI
KFWD-DT 52.1 IND
KDAF-DT 33.1 CW
KERA-DT 13.1 PBS
WFAA-DT 8.1 ABC
KTVT-DT 11.1 CBS
KDTN-DT 2.1 DAY
KPXD-DT 68.1 IND
KMPX-DT 30.1 DAY
KSTR-DT 49.1 UNI
KTXA-DT 21.1 UPN
KDTX-DT 58.1 TBN

Are any of the “Basic” HDTV Networks unencrypted?

Discovery HD Theater
TNT in HD
ESPN HD
iNHD

I’m just wondering what I might get from basic service because I don’t have an STB and I really don’t want one. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

I have a Hitachi HDS252 and Comcast/TW. I plugged in the cable wire directly to my Hitachi. This allowed me to use the PIP along with DTV. Worked great until until this week. Looks like the channels are encrypted or moved. I have found the new channel for ABC. Anyone have ideas for NBC or CBS?

Thanks

How do your non high def channels look? Are they better than going from the box via hdmi?

I did read one post from someone in Denton who used a Silver Sensor UHF antenna, with a separate set of "rabbit ears" for VHF, plugged into a CM7777 preamp, and got good, stable results on all the main DFW channels.

That would be me. However, I would caution that my strong reception occurs in exactly one spot in my apartment, which is the end, south-facing unit. Indoor reception at our distance is completely hit or miss, so the combination cited above works for me, but there's no guarantees it will work for anyone else (including me, if I were to move).

A quick Charter update: I posted in an earlier message that the Fort Worth regional office had "confirmed" to me that they were on target for bringing HD service up in Denton on or around November 1st. So I stopped by last week at our local Charter office to make sure that info had been passed along to the front-line staff, since they get pestered by HD-crazed folks on a regular basis.

A supervisor happened to be standing there when I dropped that Nov. 1st date, and she nearly choked. Her reply? "I don't see HD coming online here until sometime in first quarter 2007, at least. We've been busy bringing up the telephone service, and the next bit will be a speed increase on the cable modems."

Needless to say, I was disheartened and confused - - the FW rep supposedly had confirmed the Nov. date with tech reps here in Denton, but a supervisor here "on the ground" was really skeptical. She said she'd check on the differing information and call me once she had an answer. (Unfortunately, my phone line at home is acting up, so she might have tried to call and I wouldn't have known. I'm thinking of dropping by after work today.)

deddy456 --- I assume you were replying to my post. Little to no difference on pic quality or sound. Occassionaly there is some difference but overall mirros the picture through the cable box. Comcast picutre, at least on ESPN HD, seems superior to DirecTV.

Man, TWC stinks like ass.

First thing that happens after the change - all my precorded DVR movies don't start on time. All must be redone. Bastards.

Second thing - I now get ads all over my DVR. Bastards.

Now, the channel lineup change, and they've really humped the bunk on this one. Channels are all over the place, the HD locals are mixed around with analog and digital locals - so you see each local affiliate listed three times in a row. Thanks, idiots. Plus, they are now hell and gone from the rest of the HD channels. Plus, there are FEWER HD channels now. WTH?

Oh, but good news, they added C-SPAN3! Bastards.

I am SO ditching these knuckleheads. Inexcusable stupidity on their part.

MEC2

Ed Bark, TV critic for the Dallas Morning News, has left the paper. Ed has been a great source of sound opinion on television for many, many years. All is not lost, as he is resurfacing in a blog over at http://www.unclebarky.com . If you are curious about the circumstances surrounding his exit from the DMN, his view is at http://www.unclebarky.com/why.html .

As many posters on this forum have stated, Belo is not a very well-loved media firm. Here's one more mark in the negative column.

Ed Bark, TV critic for the Dallas Morning News, has left the paper. Ed has been a great source of sound opinion on television for many, many years. All is not lost, as he is resurfacing in a blog over at http://www.unclebarky.com . If you are curious about the circumstances surrounding his exit from the DMN, his view is at http://www.unclebarky.com/why.html .

As many posters on this forum have stated, Belo is not a very well-loved media firm. Here's one more mark in the negative column.

Thanks for posting this. I had no idea he had left, and it was very interesting to read his take on the circumstances. I didn't read all of his stuff, but generally enjoyed what I read. I've never been a fan of Belo (or a huge detractor, for that matter) but on this issue I think it is pretty clear who has the higher moral ground. I'll try to make it point to check out unclebarky.com regularly....

-Randy

Man, TWC stinks like ass.

First thing that happens after the change - all my precorded DVR movies don't start on time. All must be redone. Bastards.

Second thing - I now get ads all over my DVR. Bastards.

Now, the channel lineup change, and they've really humped the bunk on this one. Channels are all over the place, the HD locals are mixed around with analog and digital locals - so you see each local affiliate listed three times in a row. Thanks, idiots. Plus, they are now hell and gone from the rest of the HD channels. Plus, there are FEWER HD channels now. WTH?

Oh, but good news, they added C-SPAN3! Bastards.

I am SO ditching these knuckleheads. Inexcusable stupidity on their part.

MEC2


Yeah, no freaking joke, go check out the dish network deal, freaking amazing price, with ALL, and i mean ALL the HD channels.

I have a Hitachi HDS252 and Comcast/TW. I plugged in the cable wire directly to my Hitachi. This allowed me to use the PIP along with DTV. Worked great until until this week. Looks like the channels are encrypted or moved. I have found the new channel for ABC. Anyone have ideas for NBC or CBS?

Thanks

I just rescanned and found CBS-HD at 107-1, CBS-digital (non-HD) at 113-4, NBC-HD at 110-2, and NBC-digital (non-HD) at 113-2. Here's a rundown of what I found:


77-8 Realtor Channel
77-9 The Tube
79-1 Appears to be the front page for On Demand - just a little window of video.
79-3 TV Guide
79-6 AMC
80-5 thru 80-50 Music Choice
80-106 I haven't identified this one
82-10 Lifetime
87-5 Encore Westerns
92-1 NBA TV
107-1 CBS HD
107-2 TNT HD
107-3 KTXA Ch 21
108-1 PBS HD
108-2 ABC HD
109-4 HBO - not sure which version or why it isn't encrypted.
110-1 FOX HD
110-2 NBC HD
110-3 WFAA Weather
110-4 KXAS Weather
112-3 The CW HD
113-1 FOX Digital
113-2 NBC Digital
113-3 ABC Digital
113-4 CBS Digital

I was sure hoping that a few others would be in the clear, but this is what I ended up with. 80-106 has some kind of star for a logo and they were showing an old war movie early this evening, followed by China Beach.

Anyway, I hope that helps...

-Randy

I just rescanned and found CBS-HD at 107-1, CBS-digital (non-HD) at 113-4, NBC-HD at 110-2, and NBC-digital (non-HD) at 113-2. Here's a rundown of what I found:


77-8 Realtor Channel
77-9 The Tube
79-1 Appears to be the front page for On Demand - just a little window of video.
79-3 TV Guide
79-6 AMC
80-5 thru 80-50 Music Choice
80-106 I haven't identified this one
82-10 Lifetime
87-5 Encore Westerns
92-1 NBA TV
107-1 CBS HD
107-2 TNT HD
107-3 KTXA Ch 21
108-1 PBS HD
108-2 ABC HD
109-4 HBO - not sure which version or why it isn't encrypted.
110-1 FOX HD
110-2 NBC HD
110-3 WFAA Weather
110-4 KXAS Weather
112-3 The CW HD
113-1 FOX Digital
113-2 NBC Digital
113-3 ABC Digital
113-4 CBS Digital

I was sure hoping that a few others would be in the clear, but this is what I ended up with. 80-106 has some kind of star for a logo and they were showing an old war movie early this evening, followed by China Beach.

Anyway, I hope that helps...

-Randy



channel 80-106 is american life tv

I live in plano in the park / tollway area and I have an indoor terk antenna. I used to be able to get all the local channels in HD, but recently CBS stopped coming in. Does anybody know if something changed or is it just my antenna screwing up?

channel 80-106 is american life tv

No wonder I didn't know what it is...I've never heard of it! If they are showing China Beach, though, they can't be half bad...

Thanks for the info!
-Randy

Chickendonut: if DirecTV install their usual antenna your chances of getting the DFW stations reliably are close to nil. But see what you get, antenna selection is an art not a science.
If as I suspect you get nothing useful then you need to look at a good outside antenna for UHF and VHF-hi (8.1, on channel 9). The CM4228 works well over these sort of distances in DFW, and you can always add a pre-amp if you have problems.

Chickendonut: if DirecTV install their usual antenna your chances of getting the DFW stations reliably are close to nil. But see what you get, antenna selection is an art not a science.
If as I suspect you get nothing useful then you need to look at a good outside antenna for UHF and VHF-hi (8.1, on channel 9). The CM4228 works well over these sort of distances in DFW, and you can always add a pre-amp if you have problems.

I called DTV today to confirm that they were delivering the HR10-250 as I had originally requested. The CSR could only confirm that they would install an HD DVR. He didn't know if it was the HR10-250 or HR20.

IF they install the HR20, does that mean I can watch and record HD Locals via the Satellite (since I'm in Dallas market) and therefore won't need a separate off-air antenna? I've heard conflicting things whether the HR20 can actually do this and also read things saying the quality isn't as good as with an OTA antenna.


(Another) confused Brit in TX

My installer told me that everyone in DFW was now getting the HR20 (even if they wanted the HR10!!). You will get the new dish also - the AT-9. The HR20 will allow you to watch the four network stations in HD from the satellite, but not any of the other stations (including PBS) since DirecTV has no agreement yet with anyone else. There has been some instability of the MPEG-4 signals (DirecTV says they have some encoder problems but these will be fixed) but the quality otherwise is reported as excellent - not as good maybe as OTA but then OTA should always be the best since it has less processing.
The HR20 also has OTA tuners but these are currently not enabled, no-one knows exactly why DirecTV has not enabled them but this is supposed to happen soon (some rumors are October, DirecTV says sometime before the end of the year). People expect the OTA tuners on the HR20 to be very good, since the H20 is excellent.

My installer told me that everyone in DFW was now getting the HR20 (even if they wanted the HR10!!). You will get the new dish also - the AT-9. The HR20 will allow you to watch the four network stations in HD from the satellite, but not any of the other stations (including PBS) since DirecTV has no agreement yet with anyone else. There has been some instability of the MPEG-4 signals (DirecTV says they have some encoder problems but these will be fixed) but the quality otherwise is reported as excellent - not as good maybe as OTA but then OTA should always be the best since it has less processing.
The HR20 also has OTA tuners but these are currently not enabled, no-one knows exactly why DirecTV has not enabled them but this is supposed to happen soon (some rumors are October, DirecTV says sometime before the end of the year). People expect the OTA tuners on the HR20 to be very good, since the H20 is excellent.

The big 4 plus KDFi 27, I was very surprised by this.

The big 4 plus KDFi 27, I was very surprised by this.

Shouldn't be too surprised... KDFI is owned by Fox. Take care of your own...

I called DTV today to confirm that they were delivering the HR10-250 as I had originally requested. The CSR could only confirm that they would install an HD DVR. He didn't know if it was the HR10-250 or HR20.

IF they install the HR20, does that mean I can watch and record HD Locals via the Satellite (since I'm in Dallas market) and therefore won't need a separate off-air antenna? I've heard conflicting things whether the HR20 can actually do this and also read things saying the quality isn't as good as with an OTA antenna.
(Another) confused Brit in TX

There are NO HR10-250s being installed in the DFW market. I had my HR20 installed last Friday. It was a bit fussy during install, probably because the installer had prior experience with only 2 of them. He could not get HDMI working and I had to fix it after he left. There is about a 10% chance that the box will be DOA. When I called the installer this Monday to tell him my HDMI was now working he said they had a stack of 10 HR20s waiting to go back.

Overall I like the HR20, I like the MPEG4 locals, and I like getting a super hi tech DVR for $15. The fact that PBS is not in the MPEG4 stream is not that great of an issue since it is in the MPEG2 stream. When D* reaches an agreement with PBS and the next satellite is launched it will be there.

I had OTA with the H20 before the HR20 was installed. OTA in the H20 was flawless in PQ and senstitivity. I expect the same from the HR-20 but we will see. MPEG4 HD local quality out of the HR20 is slightly less flawless than the OTA out of the H20. However, it is completely watchable and overall I am pleased. OTA will be enabled soon anyway. Living without it for a couple of months makes me appreciate it more when it is back.

Thanks all for the feedback. Based on your comments I'm going to get the HR20 whether I like it or not :) But on balance, it sounds like a great piece of HW so now I only have to train my wife on a non-Tivo interface. Speaking of the interface how does it compare in general to Tivo HD DVR?

Also, does it have the capability to receive updates via network (like my old Tivo) or only through a phone connection?

Thanks all for the feedback. Based on your comments I'm going to get the HR20 whether I like it or not :) But on balance, it sounds like a great piece of HW so now I only have to train my wife on a non-Tivo interface. Speaking of the interface how does it compare in general to Tivo HD DVR?

Also, does it have the capability to receive updates via network (like my old Tivo) or only through a phone connection?

Direct comparisons to a Tivo box and Tivo features are difficult to make. There are about 2000 posts and 100 threads devoted to this subject here...

http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=112

Since this subject is slightly off topic for this forum I will briefly say that the Tivo interface and the HR20 interfaces are not similar at all. Some features will be lost and some will be gained. Whether the changes are a net gain or a net loss is up to the user and their preferences. At the end of the day what I have in the HR20 is a fast, 2 tuner HD DVR that decodes and records MPEG4 and MPEG2, with excellent PQ via HDMI, for $15. I am pleased and satisfied considering where the HD DVR situation was a year ago with D*.

Also, does it have the capability to receive updates via network (like my old Tivo) or only through a phone connection?

The new D* non-Tivo DVRs no longer need a phone line. Everything is done over the satellite, i.e. firmware updates, channel guide, etc. The box has only been out a month, and only available in the DFW area for the last 10 days or so. I have had 2 software updates in the first week, automatically downloaded and installed in the early morning hours. Each improved the performance. I would expect another half dozen updates before the end of the year.

I have a simple question. Is Tivo the only brand (I'm looking at the HR20 as well) that can do a form of 'thumbs up/down'? Basically, the question is.. If I have a HR20, do I have to tell it what to record, or can it 'learn' like Tivo and automatically get shows that it figures I'll like.

I figure that's a Tivo-only feature, but can someone confirm please?

I just rescanned and found CBS-HD at 107-1, CBS-digital (non-HD) at 113-4, NBC-HD at 110-2, and NBC-digital (non-HD) at 113-2. Here's a rundown of what I found:


77-8 Realtor Channel
77-9 The Tube
79-1 Appears to be the front page for On Demand - just a little window of video.
79-3 TV Guide
79-6 AMC
80-5 thru 80-50 Music Choice
80-106 I haven't identified this one
82-10 Lifetime
87-5 Encore Westerns
92-1 NBA TV
107-1 CBS HD
107-2 TNT HD
107-3 KTXA Ch 21
108-1 PBS HD
108-2 ABC HD
109-4 HBO - not sure which version or why it isn't encrypted.
110-1 FOX HD
110-2 NBC HD
110-3 WFAA Weather
110-4 KXAS Weather
112-3 The CW HD
113-1 FOX Digital
113-2 NBC Digital
113-3 ABC Digital
113-4 CBS Digital

I was sure hoping that a few others would be in the clear, but this is what I ended up with. 80-106 has some kind of star for a logo and they were showing an old war movie early this evening, followed by China Beach.

Anyway, I hope that helps...

-Randy

Wow so you picked up all of these stations in the clear with no Set Top Box? I wonder if TWC sends the same signal in Clear QAM all across the Metroplex. If I can pick those up with TWC in Garland I guess I should hurry up and nab that HDTV I’m eyeballing.

Wow so you picked up all of these stations in the clear with no Set Top Box? I wonder if TWC sends the same signal in Clear QAM all across the Metroplex. If I can pick those up with TWC in Garland I guess I should hurry up and nab that HDTV I’m eyeballing.

Yes, that was all straight off the cable and with no box or CableCARD....

-Randy

What area do you live in?

Anyone with an AT-9 dish and an H20 or HR20 in DFW, what transponders can you see on the 99 and 103 satellites and what signal strength?

Anyone heard any news as to when any of the local channels are going to start HDTV news broadcast? I keep seeing news stories of other stations around the country changing to HDTV for news, but not about Dallas.

Anyone with an AT-9 dish and an H20 or HR20 in DFW, what transponders can you see on the 99 and 103 satellites and what signal strength?

99 Shows 56% on transponder 3. 103 shows 100% on 1 & 5 26% on 4.

Bye the way :D anyone with D* HD notice that KTVT (ch 11) has looked very bad lately? I don't think it's always been that way. OTA looks great.

Question about attic antenna: Will large trees affect hdtv reception?

Question about attic antenna: Will large trees affect hdtv reception?
No.

How big are the tree's? Sequoias?

Anyone else having problems with sound with the HD feed from WFAA? The background sounds are on but when the actors speak I get nothing. I have checked both my OTA and satellite feeds and both have this problem.

Yes, audio is hosed on WFAA. Sounds like the center channel on 5.1 is out. It sucks because I can't watch Boston Legal. I just hope they get their crap straight before LOST comes back next week.
BTW, I've been on hold with the station's main number for 26 minutes now; say's they're "helping other people". Yeah, right...

Yes, audio is hosed on WFAA. Sounds like the center channel on 5.1 is out. It sucks because I can't watch Boston Legal. I just hope they get their crap straight before LOST comes back next week.
BTW, I've been on hold with the station's main number for 26 minutes now; say's they're "helping other people". Yeah, right...so.......................you were on hold that long and ................

Yeah what did they say?? This sucks

No.

How big are the tree's? Sequoias?


LARGE oaks. A very large one is right over my house. If an attic antenna is not affected, I'll be delighted!

Also, on Antennaweb, they list several channels that need a large on-the-roof antenna. Can you still pick these up with an in-the-attic antenna? My HOA doesn't allow external antennas.

If it says you need a large outdoor antenna, then most likely, you will not get good enough reception with an attic antenna. How far away are the towers, according to antennaweb?

Just so you know, it's illegal for an HOA to restrict you from putting an antenna (at least, this type of antenna, others can be restricted) on the outside of your house. About the only thing they can do legally, is to try and tell you where to put it on your house, but, they are also limited in doing that, if it increases the cost of installation, i.e., it requires you to run a 6 AWG wire to ground it to the house ground.

Search the FCC web site, and you find what I'm talking about. My HOA rules say the same thing, but the FCC ruled against them being able to do that about a decade ago...

Can these antennas stand up to high wind? I would be concerned that they might just blow off my roof!

Can these antennas stand up to high wind? I would be concerned that they might just blow off my roof!

If it's mounted correctly, you should have no problems. A winegard 7084P I think only weighed some 15lbs, and the thing is 136" long. If you use a tripod and a 5 foot mast, that would be pretty strong.

Active Speaker - as geogecko suggests, go to antennaweb and put in your address, and then post the results here. Then we can give you an idea what you might need in the way of an antenna.

I have had HD in north west plano(75093) for a couple of years with minimum problems ,but recently I don't get all the channels. My service is D* tv and I have a Toshiba DST-3100 HD receiver. I have a Terk TV32 antenna mounted on a 15ft pole in my backyard with no obstruction. Lately I have been getting 11-1 and 4-1 but not 8-1 and 5-1. I'm attaching my antenna web results.


* yellow - uhf KDTN-DT 2.1 DAY DENTON TX 191° 36.5 43
* yellow - uhf KXTX-DT 40.1 TEL DALLAS TX 194° 33.9 40
* yellow - uhf KTVT-DT 11.1 CBS FORT WORTH TX 192° 34.1 19
* yellow - uhf KTXA-DT 21.1 IND FORT WORTH TX 191° 36.5 18
* yellow - uhf KSTR-DT 49.1 UNI IRVING TX 191° 36.5 48
* yellow - uhf KXAS-DT 5.1 NBC FORT WORTH TX 194° 33.9 41
* yellow - uhf KPXD-DT 68.1 i ARLINGTON TX 194° 33.7 42
* yellow - uhf KMPX-DT 30.1 DAY DECATUR TX 208° 14.9 30
* yellow - uhf KUVN-DT 23.1 UNI GARLAND TX 194° 33.7 24
* yellow - uhf KERA-DT 13.1 PBS DALLAS TX 192° 34.1 14
* yellow - uhf KFWD-DT 52.1 IND FORT WORTH TX 194° 33.7 51
* yellow - uhf KDAF-DT 33.1 CW DALLAS TX 191° 36.5 32
* green - vhf WFAA-DT 8.1 ABC DALLAS TX 194° 34.2 9
* red - uhf KLDT-DT 55.1 IND LAKE DALLAS TX 250° 12.1 54
* red - uhf KDFI-DT 27.1 MNT DALLAS TX 191° 36.5 36

The only ones I get good signal from are

11-1 65%
13-1 60%
21-1 50%
33-1 45%

In the past I got all the big locals 4,5,8,11 . What I don't understand is stations I don't get good signal on are same direction and same distance as ones I get good signal from.

Any ideas?

Active Speaker - as geogecko suggests, go to antennaweb and put in your address, and then post the results here. Then we can give you an idea what you might need in the way of an antenna.


Ok

DTV Antenna
Type Call Sign Channel Network City State Live
Date Compass
Orientation Miles
From Frequency
Assignment
* green - uhf KDAF-DT 33.1 CW DALLAS TX 203° 34.3 32
red - uhf KDFI 27 MNT DALLAS TX 206° 31.8 27
red - uhf KDAF 33 CW DALLAS TX 203° 34.3 33
red - uhf KJJM-LP 46 FMN DALLAS TX 164° 15.5 46
red - vhf KERA 13 PBS DALLAS TX 204° 32.0 13
* red - uhf KERA-DT 13.1 PBS DALLAS TX 204° 32.0 14
red - vhf KTVT 11 CBS FORT WORTH TX 204° 32.0 11
* red - uhf KTVT-DT 11.1 CBS FORT WORTH TX 204° 32.0 19
red - uhf KTXA 21 IND FORT WORTH TX 206° 31.8 21
* red - uhf KTXA-DT 21.1 IND FORT WORTH TX 203° 34.3 18
red - uhf KSTR 49 UNI IRVING TX 203° 34.3 49
* red - uhf KSTR-DT 49.1 UNI IRVING TX 203° 34.3 48
* red - vhf WFAA-DT 8.1 ABC DALLAS TX 207° 32.4 9
* red - uhf KDTN-DT 2.1 DAY DENTON TX 203° 34.3 43
red - uhf KMPX 29 DAY DECATUR TX 236° 15.8 29
blue - vhf KXAS 5 NBC FORT WORTH TX 206° 31.9 5
* blue - uhf KXAS-DT 5.1 NBC FORT WORTH TX 206° 32.1 41
blue - uhf KXTX 39 TEL DALLAS TX 206° 32.1 39
* blue - uhf KXTX-DT 40.1 TEL DALLAS TX 206° 32.1 40
blue - uhf KPXD 68 i ARLINGTON TX 206° 31.8 68
blue - uhf KLDT 55 IND LAKE DALLAS TX 270° 17.3 55
blue - uhf KATA-LP 60 FMN MESQUITE TX 164° 15.5 60
blue - uhf KDTX 58 TBN DALLAS TX 206° 31.9 58
blue - vhf KDFW 4 FOX DALLAS TX 207° 32.4 4
blue - vhf KDTN 2 DAY DENTON TX 206° 31.8 2
blue - uhf KUVN 23 UNI GARLAND TX 206° 31.9 23
blue - uhf KFWD 52 IND FORT WORTH TX 206° 31.8 52
* violet - uhf KFWD-DT 52.1 IND FORT WORTH TX 206° 31.8 51
* violet - uhf KUVN-DT 23.1 UNI GARLAND TX 206° 31.9 24
* violet - uhf KDFI-DT 27.1 MNT DALLAS TX 203° 34.3 36
* violet - uhf KPXD-DT 68.1 i ARLINGTON TX 207° 31.9 42
* violet - uhf KMPX-DT 30.1 DAY DECATUR TX 236° 15.8 30
violet - vhf WFAA 8 ABC DALLAS TX 207° 32.4 8

Active Speaker - I guess you are in Richardson somewhere: although you are 10 miles closer to the transmitters than I am, and almost on the same bearing, antennaweb forecasts you will get worse signal strength than I do. I wonder why?
Assuming you just want the digital stations, you should try a CM4228. It's (one of ) the best UHF antennas, and gives decent results on VHF-hi (for WFAA). If you want analog as well you will need an additional VHF-only antenna, or use a large VHF/UHF combo antenna.
The CM4228 on its own MAYBE enough for an attic mount (I have it in my attic) but you will probably need a CM7777 preamp as well. If the CM4228/CM7777 won't work in your attic for the UHF stations then nothing will, then you have to mount it outside, there's probably not a better antenna for UHF. My CM4228 gives enough gain in the attic to work without a preamp, but I don't have any digital stations rated "violet" by antennaweb, only "blue".
By the way, your HOA CANNOT prevent you from putting up an outside antenna, the FCC has ruled that these HOA restrictions are illegal.

You will probably need to order the antenna through the web, Fry's occasionally has them in stock though. Solidsignal or Warren electronics are the best sources, particularly if you order the antenna and the preamp together.

Shane: I don't know why your reception is getting worse unless they have built some tall buildings. The signal quality numbers you are getting on the stations you are receiving are very poor for your location (I was in 75093 before I moved to Parker). The TV32 is not the best antenna but placed outside should be more than adequate for where you are located.
A few comments:
I would be surprised if you could ever get consistently good numbers on WFAA (8.1, on channel 9) using a Terk32, it's a UHF-only antenna and does not have good VHF-hi performance.

You need to check all your connectors, it could be that you have got water into one of them or the center conductor is not making proper contact.

The meter reading you get is a quality indication not a signal strength, multipath can destroy your reception. Try realigning the antenna - it may have shifted in a storm. Slight realignment can also often reduce or eliminate multipath - I could not receive 13.1 until I moved my antenna 10-15 degrees away from the theoretical line-of-sight to the transmitters; I lost a few points on 11.1 by doing so but 13.1 went from zero to 75!

You could have a problem with your 3100 - do you know anyone else locally with a digital setup so you can try it out somewhere else, it will help you decide where the problem lies.

Yes, audio is hosed on WFAA. Sounds like the center channel on 5.1 is out. It sucks because I can't watch Boston Legal. I just hope they get their crap straight before LOST comes back next week.
BTW, I've been on hold with the station's main number for 26 minutes now; say's they're "helping other people". Yeah, right...


I just logged in specifically to see if I could find information on this... I Tivo'd Boston Legal in on my new S3 HD Tivo, and when I went to play it last night, that's exactly what I got. Sound went normally about 45 minutes into it.

I have a channel master (can't remember the model number) 12 ft Vhf/uhf combo antenna, in my attic with no preamp... I'm 45 miles from the towers (east of wylie about 10 miles).

I get all the Dallas stations at good signal strength. I've had no reception problems with my Samsung SIR-T151, Dishnet 811, Tivo S3, or FusionHDTV PCI card.

I have had HD in north west plano(75093) for a couple of years with minimum problems ,but recently I don't get all the channels. My service is D* tv and I have a Toshiba DST-3100 HD receiver. I have a Terk TV32 antenna mounted on a 15ft pole in my backyard with no obstruction. Lately I have been getting 11-1 and 4-1 but not 8-1 and 5-1. I'm attaching my antenna web results.

The only ones I get good signal from are

11-1 65%
13-1 60%
21-1 50%
33-1 45%

In the past I got all the big locals 4,5,8,11 . What I don't understand is stations I don't get good signal on are same direction and same distance as ones I get good signal from.

Any ideas?

Shane,
I live in Little Elm, 75063. I use a channel master, not sure of the model number, but I spent around 70-80 dollars on it from Lowe's. I mounted it outside on top of my house. I have no problem with getting any UHF channels only the VHF channels, 8-1 and 14-1. What I did to solve this issue was I used a 25db gain amp right before my DTV HD Tivo receiver. It ran about 30 bucks from Wal-mart. Using it I get around a 60, without I get about 15-25. I am assuming that my issue was length of cable, although it is less than 50 ft, but it works so I am not complaining. I would try realigning your antenna, then try a bigger antenna if that doesnt work and if all else fails then try the amp. While the amp will be the easiest solution it is the least desired since all it is doing is amplifying whatever signal you have coming in. In other words, garbage in = garbage out but amplified. Also check your connections. I imagine swapping your antenna out for a little stronger one will get you the best results.

Hope that helps,
Kemical

active, i'm in richardson (a best west of you), and i have a boom antenna from radio shack mounted in the attic (my house is surrounded by very large pecan and live oak trees). I don't have any preamps, but use the ProBrand 3150plus ATSC tuner, and i get all of the local channels with no problems. sketchy weather leads to some strength issues on NBC, but otherwise they're all good.

i'm going to be at the brother in law's house in Arlington on saturday - does anyone know if TimeWarner broadcasts the local HD channels over analog cable (unscrambled)? He has a nice tv, but only carries basic cable... i'd love to get the a&m/tech game (ABC) in HD if possible (since i'm not going to be home).

i'm going to be at the brother in law's house in Arlington on saturday - does anyone know if TimeWarner broadcasts the local HD channels over analog cable (unscrambled)? He has a nice tv, but only carries basic cable... i'd love to get the a&m/tech game (ABC) in HD if possible (since i'm not going to be home).
They are unencrypted
on physical channels
107
108
110
112

thanks, kevin!

I just rescanned and found CBS-HD at 107-1, CBS-digital (non-HD) at 113-4, NBC-HD at 110-2, and NBC-digital (non-HD) at 113-2. Here's a rundown of what I found:


77-8 Realtor Channel
77-9 The Tube
79-1 Appears to be the front page for On Demand - just a little window of video.
79-3 TV Guide
79-6 AMC
80-5 thru 80-50 Music Choice
80-106 I haven't identified this one
82-10 Lifetime
87-5 Encore Westerns
92-1 NBA TV
107-1 CBS HD
107-2 TNT HD
107-3 KTXA Ch 21
108-1 PBS HD
108-2 ABC HD
109-4 HBO - not sure which version or why it isn't encrypted.
110-1 FOX HD
110-2 NBC HD
110-3 WFAA Weather
110-4 KXAS Weather
112-3 The CW HD
113-1 FOX Digital
113-2 NBC Digital
113-3 ABC Digital
113-4 CBS Digital

I was sure hoping that a few others would be in the clear, but this is what I ended up with. 80-106 has some kind of star for a logo and they were showing an old war movie early this evening, followed by China Beach.

Anyway, I hope that helps...

-Randy
Hi there, first time poster! i just found these forums after lookin on the net to find the local channels in HD, seems like all of the above channels were scaned and working for me, except for the last 5 on the list. Especially the CW in HD. I Tried rescanning for it, even typin in the number but i get nothing! Could someone help me out and tell me what i'm doing wrong?

Hi there, first time poster! i just found these forums after lookin on the net to find the local channels in HD, seems like all of the above channels were scaned and working for me, except for the last 5 on the list. Especially the CW in HD. I Tried rescanning for it, even typin in the number but i get nothing! Could someone help me out and tell me what i'm doing wrong?

Welcome to the forum! What city are you in? The info I posted was applicable to Frisco, and probably several other markets in the area, but it isn't necessary correct for all DFW markets. And be aware that cable cos. are notorious for changing these up any times it suits them...what is true today might not be the same tomorrow. Sad, but true....

-Randy

Active Speaker - I guess you are in Richardson somewhere: although you are 10 miles closer to the transmitters than I am, and almost on the same bearing, antennaweb forecasts you will get worse signal strength than I do. I wonder why?
Assuming you just want the digital stations, you should try a CM4228. It's (one of ) the best UHF antennas, and gives decent results on VHF-hi (for WFAA). If you want analog as well you will need an additional VHF-only antenna, or use a large VHF/UHF combo antenna.
The CM4228 on its own MAYBE enough for an attic mount (I have it in my attic) but you will probably need a CM7777 preamp as well. If the CM4228/CM7777 won't work in your attic for the UHF stations then nothing will, then you have to mount it outside, there's probably not a better antenna for UHF. My CM4228 gives enough gain in the attic to work without a preamp, but I don't have any digital stations rated "violet" by antennaweb, only "blue".
By the way, your HOA CANNOT prevent you from putting up an outside antenna, the FCC has ruled that these HOA restrictions are illegal.

You will probably need to order the antenna through the web, Fry's occasionally has them in stock though. Solidsignal or Warren electronics are the best sources, particularly if you order the antenna and the preamp together.


Well, first of all, many thanks for your help. When I put in my info at antennaweb, I checked the bow that asked if I had any large trees in front of my house; maybe this is why your predicted reception is better. I think I will get the combo you recommend. Thanks.

I'm late on this one because I just watched the recording from Tuesday night.

Did anyone else notice that the sound was all screwed up on Ted Danson's new show Help Me Help You? I got some sound effects and the background music, but no dialog (and no laugh track, if that was included). Of course, the commercials were fine.

My receiver continued to say it was 2.0, so I suspect that ABC (affiliate or network) somehow had their audio switch configured to only pass the left and right channels of the 5.1, which I'm guessing didn't have the center channel dialog.

Xesdeeni

I'm late on this one because I just watched the recording from Tuesday night.

Did anyone else notice that the sound was all screwed up on Ted Danson's new show Help Me Help You? I got some sound effects and the background music, but no dialog (and no laugh track, if that was included). Of course, the commercials were fine.

My receiver continued to say it was 2.0, so I suspect that ABC (affiliate or network) somehow had their audio switch configured to only pass the left and right channels of the 5.1, which I'm guessing didn't have the center channel dialog.

Xesdeeni

I think they had some problems nationally...I've read in several threads people complaining about the same symptoms with Boston Legal....


-Randy

Kemical. KERA channel 13.1 (frequency 14) is actually a UHF frequency, but it seems to be the one most people have problems with. I had very low or zero signal strength initially, but then moved my antenna so it was pointing about 15 degrees away from Cedar Hill and then my signal "strength" moved to around 70. By the way, I got severe ghosting on channel 13 analog which is a good indication of multipath!
Since adding the preamp gave you a signal increase from 15/25 to around 60 it seems you had a signal strength issue and not multipath. A better antenna would give you a better signal and you would not need so much amplification - as you say, garbage in = amplified garbage out! Attenuation in your cable at 50 ft isn't a problem, you just aren't getting enough signal in the first place, but if your setup works that's all that matters, forget the theory!!

Yes, audio is hosed on WFAA. Sounds like the center channel on 5.1 is out. It sucks because I can't watch Boston Legal. I just hope they get their crap straight before LOST comes back next week.
BTW, I've been on hold with the station's main number for 26 minutes now; say's they're "helping other people". Yeah, right...

I finally gave up on hold after about 40 minutes and fired off a couple of emails. I received this reply a few minutes ago (and I'm fairly sure she means 9:45, not 8:45...)

Thank you for writing.



We heard from several viewers on an audio issue that arose on September 26 in prime time during Boston Legal and Help Me Help You. Our engineering department reported it as a failure in the Dolby 5.1 encoder. This was a garden-variety equipment failure that has been corrected. As soon as it occurred our engineering staff was on it - it took a little time to track down the source; however we monitor all broadcasts closely and are the first to hear/see that there is an issue. The supervisor on duty told us the problem was corrected by 8:45 p.m.

We regret any inconvenience this may have caused our viewers. The fact is even the most sophisticated technology will malfunction now and again, and that was the case here.



Let us know if we can be of additional assistance.



Best regards,



Ann Clark

Program Coordinator

WFAA-TV

I have my HTPC set up to record these shows, so I'm not sure without looking when HMHY is on. But the entire show was bad. The commercials were fine though. I did watch the whole thing...I turned on the closed captioning. ;-)

Xesdeeni

The worst part is I have had good reception on all these channels in the past.Why is channel 8 so hard ? Antenna web says it is assigned (9) so why doesn't it work as well with my antenna as 11(14). Essentially same direction and distance? I know my receiver is old DST3100 and my antenna is small but it doesn't make sense that it worked and now it doesn't. I originally had the antenna in the attic and moved it outside when I started having problems.I will keep trying , really the biggest issue is football on OTA HD. Once you start watching HD ,regular just is not good enough !

8-1 is on 9, which means it's VHF. All the rest are currently UHF. VHF has different chracteristics. In general, you need a bigger antenna, although it doesn't need to be as directional.

Xesdeeni

Shane: channel 9 is VHF, channel 14 is UHF. You need a different design of antenna for each frequency band. Combo VHF/UHF antennas are basically two antennas merged into one. Most UHF antennas do a poor job on VHF - probably the CM4228 is the exception, it does a reasonable job on channel 7 and up, but below 7 is very poor (it wasn't designed for VHF-lo). VHF antennas are the ones with the very long cross-booms.
Also remember that different stations operate at different power levels. Things like buildings, DFW airport etc have different effects at different frequencies.
So why has your reception got worse? Could be the season - in the summer signals propagate differently from in the winter. Could be some new construction between you and the transmitters. Could be interference with the signal that wasn't there six months ago. Could be your antenna moved in astorm, or that water got into your connectors. Could be your tuner is failing.
Have you tried the suggestions I made in my previous post?

does time warner cable use physcial channels 114,115,116

Kemical. KERA channel 13.1 (frequency 14) is actually a UHF frequency, but it seems to be the one most people have problems with. I had very low or zero signal strength initially, but then moved my antenna so it was pointing about 15 degrees away from Cedar Hill and then my signal "strength" moved to around 70. By the way, I got severe ghosting on channel 13 analog which is a good indication of multipath!
Since adding the preamp gave you a signal increase from 15/25 to around 60 it seems you had a signal strength issue and not multipath. A better antenna would give you a better signal and you would not need so much amplification - as you say, garbage in = amplified garbage out! Attenuation in your cable at 50 ft isn't a problem, you just aren't getting enough signal in the first place, but if your setup works that's all that matters, forget the theory!!


Yeah, replacing the antenna was something that I considered. The issue I am running into is that my antenna picks up all of my channels except 8-1 and 13-1 almost perfectly, typically in the mid to high 80's. I use to have a basic antenna that was only rated at about 40 miles, but I couldn't seem to get ABC with it so I upgraded to a better antenna. The one I have is a channel master, I believe a 3020, which should not have any problem picking up a signal (60 VHF and 100 UHF). What happens is if I move the antenna counterclockwise I can pick up ABC better but then I lose my other signals. So adding the amp was a compromise for me and seems to work although I think some of it is nothing more than "Pixie Dust". One of these days I may just pay someone to come out and realign the antenna, I hate getting up on the roof. Until then it works.

Kemical

Well I now have all the HD channels back! I had an antenna that clips on the back of the sat dish( maybe a TV42) and I was running that together with the TV32. Now I have the clip on going to ant #1 connection and the TV32 on a seperate run to the ant#2 connection on the sat receiver(Toshiba DST3100). I get good numbers on the signal meter(60's to 80's) and I get all the HD OTA stations. Isn't that amazing! I'm so happy to see all the football in glorious HD I could dance. Thanks to all who tried to help me and I hope this cofiguration will keep me going for a while.

Shane: the signals from your two antennas were interfering with each other, you should never connect two antennas together like that. You were creating multipath on all your channels, no wonder you had problems..!

Anyone else having prolonged dropouts (4-5 minutes at a time) on NBC and CBS, over Time Warner cable?

This seems to be an effect of Time Warner taking over...Never had this problem with Comcast. It renders shows unwatchable. This happened on Jericho and Heroes last week.

Anyone else having prolonged dropouts (4-5 minutes at a time) on NBC and CBS, over Time Warner cable?

This seems to be an effect of Time Warner taking over...Never had this problem with Comcast. It renders shows unwatchable. This happened on Jericho and Heroes last week.

Yes! Maybe not totally gone for that long, but massive signal issues for blocks of time. I don't know that I have witnessed it live, but there were several shows last week across several networks that had issues when I played them back via my 6412. I didn't have the problem frequently with Comcast, but I did from time-to-time. I wish we could get the scoop on what changes TWC has made so far. That would certainly help me decide what direction to take moving forward...

-Randy

Randy,

Glad to know i'm not the only one. I was beginning to think that my box was going bad.

My approximate pixelation/audio, video breakup times were --

8 minutes on Jericho

Twice, 3 minutes each during Heroes.

Come to think of it, I used to watch The Twilight Zone episodes on InHD (when Comcast was in charge) and this used to happen to those recordings as well. It was totally random.

Little question, are you able to set OTA HD, to whatever resolution you want? For example if i get a 1080p tv, can i just like set the tv to 1080p and watch an OTA signal in 1080p?

More issues with TIme Warner Cable

I'm getting jerky playback at random times when there is camera panning or someone on the screen is in motion (like walking, or running or whatever).

I noticed it on Heroes, Lost and Jericho tonight and earlier this week. Why do they need to come in and f with a feed that was working fine when Comcast was in charge?

Little question, are you able to set OTA HD, to whatever resolution you want? For example if i get a 1080p tv, can i just like set the tv to 1080p and watch an OTA signal in 1080p?

Pretty much any TV today will take in a lower resolution and convert it to its native resolution. However, if you watch CBS OTA, the best video input you will get is 1080i as this is how it is broadcast to your antenna. You can then upconvert to 1080p via your TV and/or set top box or convert to 720p, downconvert to 480p, etc.

An upconverted 1080i to 1080p is not the same as a true 1080p HDDVD player would put out because there just isn't the same number of pixels in the stream..

Also, we won't see 1080p OTA for a very long time (at least until MPEG4 gets better) because the bandwidth just isn't there and there are way too many HD OTA tuners in the market now that support 720p/1080i MPEG2 video that a whole lot of tuners would stop working...

An upconverted 1080i to 1080p is not the same as a true 1080p HDDVD player would put out because there just isn't the same number of pixels in the stream..That's not quite the whole picture (pardon the pun). 1080i is short for 1920x1080 @ 60i (well, technically 59.94i). 1080p is 1920x1080 @ 60p.Pretty much any TV today will take in a lower resolution and convert it to its native resolution.Which is exactly why the statement above is not quite right. All types of display technologies, except for CRT, produce a progressive display. So regardless of whether the input is progressive or interlace, all displays must include a deinterlacer. They can only display progressive images!

At this point it helps to understand that the vast majority (meaning almost all) content is from film. That's true for TV shows as well as movies. The only non-film content are live shows (say football games or reality shows) or soap operas.

As you know, film is 24p. So when 24p is transmitted on 60i, it is converted using a technique called "telecine," a.k.a. 3:2 pulldown. But it's important to understand that this is a completely reversible process.

So all built-in display deinterlacers start by looking for the telecine pattern and reversing it. The result is a progressive display of 1920x1080@24p (well, actually it'll be 24p telecined to 60p).

Now think about what would be played back on a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player. Mostly film content. So instead of the TV reversing the telecine, the player would do it. It is certainly possible that the player could do a better job, but in general, the display deinterlacers are excellent at reversing telecine. They vary greatly for genuinely interlaced content (say a football game on CBS), but for telecined content, what makes it to the screen will be nearly identical.

It is true that if you had a source of genuine 1080p content, you'd get a better picture on a 1080p capable TV. But the only source I know of this format today is from a video game console (XBox, etc.). Otherwise, you're really not going to see any difference.

As for OTA, only 720p and 1080i are allowed. 1080i will undoubtedly look better than 720p if the source is film, because the reconstructed film frames will be 1080 lines tall. But the debate rages on whether live content is better in 720p or 1080i. But the ATSC spec is set in stone at this point, so don't expect to see any changes for a long while.

Xesdeeni

But the debate rages on whether live content is better in 720p or 1080i. But the ATSC spec is set in stone at this point, so don't expect to see any changes for a long while.

Xesdeeni

Nice expose.

IMHO, whether 720p or 1080i is better for live, motion filled content is in the eye of the viewer and his "environment". The environment consists of 1) the quality of the production of the content, 2) the bandwidth, encoding, and compression of the bit stream, 3) the quality of the decoder and scaler, and 4) the quality and size of the display. In my environment, and on my 42" HD plasma setup 1080i ALWAYS looks better, no matter what the programming source. YMMV

... Lots of technical stuff...

It is true that if you had a source of genuine 1080p content, you'd get a better picture on a 1080p capable TV. But the only source I know of this format today is from a video game console (XBox, etc.). Otherwise, you're really not going to see any difference.

Xesdeeni

Obviously Xesdeeni has a LOT more technical knowledge on the topic. Thanks for the details. My response was purely on the number of pixels in the stream to make up the image (I'm a 'bytes' guy, not an electrical engineer).

One question I have is movies shot with the newer HD Cams, such as the Star Wars films (or at least AOTC and ROTS).. weren't those cameras using a 1080p resolution? Just curious.

They are unencrypted
on physical channels
107
108
110
112

Dumb question, but I just got a new TV, my first with a QAM tuner. It has one DTV input for either OTA or clear cable, and if I attach the OTA antenna and scan, I get the local HD channels. However, when I attach the cable feed from the wall and scanned, I got nothing. I used both the A side and the B side (Plano location). What did I do wrong?

Well, I just installed the Lacrosse antenna on my roof, and low and behold, I still have the same issue with gliching that I did before, with my antenna in the attic.

I'm guessing it must be a problem with my equipment now, instead of anything to do with the antenna or reception. I've been through a DB8, 7084P, and now this Lacrosse, all with the same results. The lacrosse seems to work great, even 35 miles from the towers. However, if I had it to do over again, I probably wouldn't do it myself. It was a little much for me, and took nearly 2 days to do it.

OK, I got it to work, using the A side. I had to change the scan from AUTO to CABLE for some reason. But my lineup is significantly different from the one above. Perhaps TW has changed the channels in the last few weeks?

I have no digital signal right now from KDFW Fox 4 Dallas, TX. OTA or via D*...

Anyone else?

Yep, KDFW-DT was glitchy, then finally dead for about 15 minutes, or so. Then they went SD. Now, it's apparently back up and in HD again. (this is via OTA and E*)

I'm late to the game here and can't realistically go through 83 pages of this thread. In summary, what are people's HDTV experiences (either satellite or free OTA) from the west part of Fort Worth. TIA.

One question I have is movies shot with the newer HD Cams, such as the Star Wars films (or at least AOTC and ROTS).. weren't those cameras using a 1080p resolution? Just curious.Remember that the eventual distribution method was to be film. So these movies were shot at 24p. In this case, it appears that they did use 1920x1080 @ 24p, but I believe a number of films have been shot using higher resolution (I've seen as high as 4096x2048 quoted), but always at 24p.

Xesdeeni

I'm unable to find any of the unencrypted QAM HD channels in the Time Warner basic cable stream. I'm using a Samsung SIR-T451, and I'm not getting anything above channel 101-1.

Can someone confirm that the QAM channels are still there in the signal?

If so, any ideas why I can't find them. I was able to get all of the local HD channels plus TNT-HD when Comcast was my provider.

Thanks!!

I'm unable to find any of the unencrypted QAM HD channels in the Time Warner basic cable stream. I'm using a Samsung SIR-T451, and I'm not getting anything above channel 101-1.

Can someone confirm that the QAM channels are still there in the signal?

If so, any ideas why I can't find them. I was able to get all of the local HD channels plus TNT-HD when Comcast was my provider.

Thanks!!

I was definitely getting them as of yesterday...I haven't turned the set on today, but I assume they are there. This is normally more of an OTA thing, but I'd give this a try...disconnect the cable from your tuner, do a scan, reconnect the cable, then scan again. It sometimes seems to work for people...give it a try. It can't hurt!

-Randy

That worked Randy. Thanks!

Fyi... Mavs on HDNet schedule has been posted.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8623817#post8623817

I'm unable to find any of the unencrypted QAM HD channels in the Time Warner basic cable stream. I'm using a Samsung SIR-T451, and I'm not getting anything above channel 101-1.

Can someone confirm that the QAM channels are still there in the signal?

If so, any ideas why I can't find them. I was able to get all of the local HD channels plus TNT-HD when Comcast was my provider.

Thanks!!
Same problem here, was getting the HD channels yesterday on 107, 108 and 110 (no cable box, using just TV's cable tuner). Today the HD channels are gone, 107 - 110 not even valid channels anymore. I've checked all the channels and no HD channels to be found.

I saw you fixed your problem by disconnecting your cable, scanning, then re-connecting cable and scanning again. I tried that with no luck. Are you getting the HD channels via cable or OTA?

edit - stuck a wire into the A antenna jack, did a scan for Air channels and now I'm picking up several of the HD channels OTA. Guess I'll have to set up a real antenna so I can can get them all back - darn Time Warner, wished they would of left the channels alone!

I have noticed that several posters are referring to losing signals and channels not there anymore. I was wondering what location you are in? I am in Plano, and just hooked up a QAM tuner this past weekend. When I did my scan, I was surprised to find all of the HD channels in the 45-55 range, and got nothing in the 100+ area. Is it possible that they have moved the channels? Mine have been fine all week so far, no drop outs at all.

I have noticed that several posters are referring to losing signals and channels not there anymore. I was wondering what location you are in? I am in Plano, and just hooked up a QAM tuner this past weekend. When I did my scan, I was surprised to find all of the HD channels in the 45-55 range, and got nothing in the 100+ area. Is it possible that they have moved the channels? Mine have been fine all week so far, no drop outs at all.

I'm in the Allen area, my HD channels were in the 107-110 range (using the TV's digital tuner with cable, nothing OTA) - they disappeared yesterday.

For the moment, I'm getting HD OTA using a 5 foot piece of wire plugged into my A (Ant) input.

When you say your HD channels are now in the 45-55 range, are you talking about OTA channels, or cable channels?

I'm in the Allen area, my HD channels were in the 107-110 range (using the TV's digital tuner with cable, nothing OTA) - they disappeared yesterday.

For the moment, I'm getting HD OTA using a 5 foot piece of wire plugged into my A (Ant) input.

When you say your HD channels are now in the 45-55 range, are you talking about OTA channels, or cable channels?

I am speaking of the QAM tuner. I also have an OTA antenna and it has not changed at all.

I picked up a 37" HDTV for the bedroom on Saturday and it has a QAM tuner. My other HDTV does not. This new TV has two RF inputs, one for analog TV and one for digital signals, either OTA high def or QAM clear cable signals.

I hooked the OTA antenna up to the TV's internal digital turner, scanned, and got the local HD channels. I then unhooked the antenna, and instead attached the A cable from the TW feed from the wall, and did another scan. I picked up about 35 channels, including the music channels, etc. I get all of the local HD channels, plus TNT HD, the NBA HD channel and Showtime HD along with a few others that I don't recall (a real estate channel and a few others, non HD). But all of my HD channels come in on the 45-55 channel range if I remember correctly, like 45.6 or 53.2. I don't have my list now but I can post it later. I was a little surprised, as I had read on here that they were in the 101-110 area, but I didn't pickup anything in that range at all when I did my scan.

But it sounds like you can't pick them up at all. Are you able to pickup any channels via QAM or just SD only?

I was a little surprised, as I had read on here that they were in the 101-110 area, but I didn't pickup anything in that range at all when I did my scan.


Hi Tarheel...
If I remember correctly, you are in Plano, aren't you? If so, the A/B setup is likely the cause for the difference in the location of the HD stuff. The list I posted for Frisco is for a single line system, and they probably are handled considerably differently at their respective headends. I think the big channel reorganization that was (poorly) done lately was to get most of the markets' channel lineups aligned with each other...but they couldn't do that (at least not in the same manner) with the dual-line systems....

Hope that helps...

Randy

I am speaking of the QAM tuner. I also have an OTA antenna and it has not changed at all.

I picked up a 37" HDTV for the bedroom on Saturday and it has a QAM tuner. My other HDTV does not. This new TV has two RF inputs, one for analog TV and one for digital signals, either OTA high def or QAM clear cable signals.

I hooked the OTA antenna up to the TV's internal digital turner, scanned, and got the local HD channels. I then unhooked the antenna, and instead attached the A cable from the TW feed from the wall, and did another scan. I picked up about 35 channels, including the music channels, etc. I get all of the local HD channels, plus TNT HD, the NBA HD channel and Showtime HD along with a few others that I don't recall (a real estate channel and a few others, non HD). But all of my HD channels come in on the 45-55 channel range if I remember correctly, like 45.6 or 53.2. I don't have my list now but I can post it later. I was a little surprised, as I had read on here that they were in the 101-110 area, but I didn't pickup anything in that range at all when I did my scan.

But it sounds like you can't pick them up at all. Are you able to pickup any channels via QAM or just SD only?

Excuse my ignorance, but I'm relatively new to HD and don't know all the lingo. Not sure what "via QAM" is, but I believe you're referring to my TV's digital tuner. If that's the case, then yes, I get plenty of channels (to include digital channels) via the TV's digital (QAM?) tuner, but no HD, only SD channels.

I was receiving the HD channels prior to Time Warners latest channel re-alignment. I was receiving them in the 107 to 110 range (107.1. 107.2 etc). Those channels went away yesterday, a new scan picked up other digital channels, but no HD channels. Up to this point I had no antenna, so I never used the "A" (Analog or Air) input on my TV, all channels came through the B (Digital or Cable) input. I do not use a cable box, I only use the TV's internal tuners.

At this moment, I'm getting HD via a 5' piece of wire as the antenna into the "Air" tuner and all other channels via my TW cable into the digital tuner. All Cable channels are as expected (plus some I did not expect, to include some movie channels) including digital channels via the cable tuner, I have to switch to the "Air" tuner to get any HD channels.

If I'm reading it right, what you did was connected your OTA antenna to your TV's internal digital tuner (not your TV's normal "Air" tuner), scanned for channels, then put your cable feed back to your TV's internal digital tuner and scanned again. After this process you then had the local HD channels in the 45-55 range, would that be correct?

In the end, you are picking up the local HD digital channels via your TW cable feed into your TV's internal digital tuner - no OTA antenna being used - is that correct?

Excuse my ignorance, but I'm relatively new to HD and don't know all the lingo. Not sure what "via QAM" is, but I believe you're referring to my TV's digital tuner. If that's the case, then yes, I get plenty of channels (to include digital channels) via the TV's digital (QAM?) tuner, but no HD, only SD channels.

I was receiving the HD channels prior to Time Warners latest channel re-alignment. I was receiving them in the 107 to 110 range (107.1. 107.2 etc). Those channels went away yesterday, a new scan picked up other digital channels, but no HD channels. Up to this point I had no antenna, so I never used the "A" (Analog or Air) input on my TV, all channels came through the B (Digital or Cable) input. I do not use a cable box, I only use the TV's internal tuners.

At this moment, I'm getting HD via a 5' piece of wire as the antenna into the "Air" tuner and all other channels via my TW cable into the digital tuner. All Cable channels are as expected (plus some I did not expect, to include some movie channels) including digital channels via the cable tuner, I have to switch to the "Air" tuner to get any HD channels.

If I'm reading it right, what you did was connected your OTA antenna to your TV's internal digital tuner (not your TV's normal "Air" tuner), scanned for channels, then put your cable feed back to your TV's internal digital tuner and scanned again. After this process you then had the local HD channels in the 45-55 range, would that be correct?

In the end, you are picking up the local HD digital channels via your TW cable feed into your TV's internal digital tuner - no OTA antenna being used - is that correct?

You are sort of right. There are two different types of digital tuners, ATSC and QAM. The ATSC tuner enables you to receiver OTA HD signals via an antenna. This is opposed to the normal analog antenna hookup, that allows you to use an external antenna, but will not receive OTA HD signals. The analog RF antenna input, NTSC, is the old run of mill antenna hook up. However, you can not receive cable digital signals with the ATSC tuner, you need a QAM tuner for that. Think of a QAM tuner is to cable digital as a ATSC tuner is to OTA digital.

For instance, I have a Samsung HLS5687w that has two antenna inputs, one for OTA or cable analog and one for OTA digital/HD (ATSC tuner). I have an OTA antenna hooked up to it and I receive the OTA HD signals as well as other OTA digital signals. But I can not hook up my cable directly to it and receive any digital cable channels, HD or non HD.

My new TV has an analog input and a digital input. The digital input is both a ATSC and a QAM tuner, so I can either hook up an OTA antenna for HD or a clear cable feed for the cable HD, but not both at the same time. On the analog RF input, I can hook up a regular antenna or I can connect the cable feed and pick up non scrambled analog cable signals (those that do not require a cable box, i.e. basic cable)

So, to answer your question, I hooked up my OTA antenna to the digital ATSC/QAM tuner input and scanned for local HD and found them just fine. Then I unhooked the OTA RF feed and instead connected the A side of my cable and scanned again. This time I located all of my clear cable (non scrambled) channels, including the HD channels. Those are the ones that I was referring to that were located in the 45-55 channel range.

Hopes this makes sense and clears it up for you. Just remember that there are two seperate digital tuners, ATSC for OTA and QAM for cable. Your TV's digital tuner can be enabled for one, the other, or both. Usually you will find a ATSC tuner alone or one enabled for both ATSC and QAM. I have not seen one that was QAM only, but I guess that is possible. If an input is labeled "air" I guess it may or may not be digital, it depends. As I said, my inputs on the new TV are labeled "analog" and "DTV". On my Samsung HLS5687w, they are labeled "cable" and "antenna", with the cable input being the analog one (NTSC) and the antenna being the digital one (ATSC). Each TV will be unique and you can't always go by what they call the input.

You are sort of right. There are two different types of digital tuners, ATSC and QAM. The ATSC tuner enables you to receiver OTA HD signals via an antenna. This is opposed to the normal analog antenna hookup, that allows you to use an external antenna, but will not receive OTA HD signals. The analog RF antenna input, NTSC, is the old run of mill antenna hook up. However, you can not receive cable digital signals with the ATSC tuner, you need a QAM tuner for that. Think of a QAM tuner is to cable digital as a ATSC tuner is to OTA digital.

For instance, I have a Samsung HLS5687w that has two antenna inputs, one for OTA or cable analog and one for OTA digital/HD (ATSC tuner). I have an OTA antenna hooked up to it and I receive the OTA HD signals as well as other OTA digital signals. But I can not hook up my cable directly to it and receive any digital cable channels, HD or non HD.

My new TV has an analog input and a digital input. The digital input is both a ATSC and a QAM tuner, so I can either hook up an OTA antenna for HD or a clear cable feed for the cable HD, but not both at the same time. On the analog RF input, I can hook up a regular antenna or I can connect the cable feed and pick up non scrambled analog cable signals (those that do not require a cable box, i.e. basic cable)

So, to answer your question, I hooked up my OTA antenna to the digital ATSC/QAM tuner input and scanned for local HD and found them just fine. Then I unhooked the OTA RF feed and instead connected the A side of my cable and scanned again. This time I located all of my clear cable (non scrambled) channels, including the HD channels. Those are the ones that I was referring to that were located in the 45-55 channel range.

Hopes this makes sense and clears it up for you. Just remember that there are two seperate digital tuners, ATSC for OTA and QAM for cable. Your TV's digital tuner can be enabled for one, the other, or both. Usually you will find a ATSC tuner alone or one enabled for both ATSC and QAM. I have not seen one that was QAM only, but I guess that is possible. If an input is labeled "air" I guess it may or may not be digital, it depends. As I said, my inputs on the new TV are labeled "analog" and "DTV". On my Samsung HLS5687w, they are labeled "cable" and "antenna", with the cable input being the analog one (NTSC) and the antenna being the digital one (ATSC). Each TV will be unique and you can't always go by what they call the input.


Information overload! Wow, lots to digest there... I have the Samsung HL-R5067W but don't see any reference to the either of the tuners being "QAM". Using the Ant 2 input - labeled "Air" with an antenna, I do get the OTA HD channels as well as others. With the TW cable feed hooked to the Ant 1 - labeled "Cable" input I get digital channels, and prior to yesterday received the digital HD channels this way as well. Maybe the Ant 1 "Cable" tuner is ATSC and QAM???

I'm going to try hooking the regular antenna into the "Cable" input and do a scan to see if it detects anything, then I'll rescan again with the TW cable hooked back up to it.

I'll post back what I find. It was so much simpler before TW jacked with the channel line up.

Appreciate the help Tarheel72, I'll be re-reading this post a few times to get it all to sink in.

edit - Whoo Hoo!! HD channels are back where they used to be again! I have all my HD channels back in the 107-110 range - now if TW will just leave things alone.

Up side of all this is that now I have a OTA back-up in place for when Cable is out.

Using the Ant 2 input - labeled "Air" with an antenna, I do get the OTA HD channels as well as others..

That means that your Ant 2 input is connected to a ATSC tuner.

With the TW cable feed hooked to the Ant 1 - labeled "Cable" input I get digital channels, and prior to yesterday received the digital HD channels this way as well.

That means that your Ant 1 input is connected to a QAM tuner

That means that your Ant 2 input is connected to a ATSC tuner.



That means that your Ant 1 input is connected to a QAM tuner

Got it, for my set:
Ant 1 "Cable" RF input is QAM
Ant 2 "Air" RF input is ATSC

The QAM is what allows me to receive digital channels from Cable to include HD.
The ATSC is what allows me to receive digital channels OTA to include HD.

So I have two digital tuners, one specifically for OTA, the other specifically for Cable.

I'll assume the ATSC tuner also receives analog channels since when I'm on that tuner I get both digital and analog OTA channels.

Appreciate all the explanations, it's all starting to make sense to me now.

Thanks for taking the time to explain all this - it's quite overwhelming to the uninformed.

Your NTSC tuner is what allows you to receive analog signals. That is 50 year old technology. Your ATSC tuner is only for digital signals. If you receive analog signals when connected to one of the inputs then that imput is also connected to the NTSC tuner.

Did anyone else get lots of audio dropouts on WFAA-DT last night during "Lost"? I switched out of 5.1 into regular stereo because it was so bad, and this reduced the dropouts dramatically but still got too many!
I was watching the MPEG-4 DirecTV HD local by the way, did the same problem exist on HD OTA?

Did anyone else get lots of audio dropouts on WFAA-DT last night during "Lost"? I switched out of 5.1 into regular stereo because it was so bad, and this reduced the dropouts dramatically but still got too many!
I was watching the MPEG-4 DirecTV HD local by the way, did the same problem exist on HD OTA?
Nope; I watched it OTA on 8.1 and had no audio or video problems whatsoever. Fortunately that's pretty normal circumstance for WFAA 8.1. Not so with KDFW, KXAS, or KTVT...
Oh, and I did listen in DD 5.1

Thanks Bill, it must have been the MPEG-4 channel then....

I watched (not live) via D* HR20 and did not have any audio drop outs. I do get them alot with KDFW Fox4 though.

SFS97 - must be my HR20 then....

Hey everyone. I'll apologize in advance if this has been covered in the 80+ pages of the Dallas forum. I've read a majority of it, and didn't find anything more specific for the Anna, TX area.

In my research, I've found that I live approximately 57.7 miles from the CBS, NBC, and ABC (and FOX?) tower at an angle of 199 or 200 degrees. CW is 60 miles at 198 degrees. Many people recommand the CM4228 for the deep fringe issues. However, not ONE retailer, wholesaler, or distributor has a CM4228 in DFW. (Also, wouldn't the CM4228 be a problem in '09 when channels go back to the "lower dial?")

I went to Lowe's and picked up a CM3020 in hopes of it working. Does anyone this far north from the towers have any input on what DEFINITELY works out here? With ABC-HD being VHF, I was hoping the CM3020 would work.

Any input would be highly appreciated.

Kyle

The 3020 is a very average sort of antenna but is worth trying, since you can return it if it does not work. The CM4228 or the Antennas Direct XG91 are better choices, at your range, coupled with a CM7777 preamp. Both these UHF antennas have OK performance at hi-band VHF (for WFAA), it may or may not be adequate for your location. If not you will need to add a VHF antenna like the Wade-Delphi 306. As far as I know none of the DFW stations are moving back to VHF-lo.
You will probably need to buy the CM4228 (and certainly the 91XG) on-line - the 91XG at Antennas Direct, the CM4228/7777 combination at solid signal or warren electronics.

texasbrit -

Thank you! Finally a _SOLID_ answer.

I just got off the phone with a person who lives in Richardson. I had called DSI Systems Inc this morning, and the gentleman on the line informed me someone would call me back. Surprisingly, THEY DID. He says he has a CM4228 that I can pick up tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I'll get the CM4228 and NOT assemble the CM3020. If needed, I'll order the CM7777 from SolidSignal. However, the Wade-Delphi 306 has been a thorn in my side, as I can't seem to find anyone on the internet who sells them. The only mention I see of them is within forums.

The DirecTV installer is coming tomorrow to replace my dish from the old round dish to hopefully the 5LNB Ka/Ku dish. If he does, is it true that I can't run the OTA into a 5x8 and then use a diplexer at the TV? I have to run the OTA direct?

Thanks again!
Kyle

Frys in Plano had a CM4228 on the floor about a week ago. Don't know if it is still there now or not.

As a starter, you can't use the old 5x8 multiswitches to support the new dish, you need to use the Zinwell WB68. Then in principle you can't diplex OTA signals on cables connected to the new Ku/Ka receivers (H20 and HR20) because OTA and some of the signals from the not-yet-launched DirecTV 10 and 11 satellites are in the same frequency band. That said, you can cascade the new WB68 with the old 5x8 and still use diplexing on cables to older non-MPEG4 receivers. Connect four outputs from the WB68 to the four sat inputs on your old multiswitch, connect OTA to the fifth input, connect any new (H20/HR20) boxes to the remaining outputs from the WB68 and then any old boxes to the outputs from the 5x8. You will have to run separate OTA cables to any of the new boxes.

To add some potential "futures".
1) DirecTV is going to release a new single cable solution which will apparently stack all the satellites onto a single cable. Some people have reported it will also stack OTA. No idea when it will be released and how much.
2) In theory you may still be able to diplex OTA onto cables to the new boxes by putting the b-band module at the outputs from the WB68 instead of at the receiver, and then diplexing on to the cable after the B-band module. No-one knows if this will actually work, until the new sats 11 and 12 are launched and operating,.

Doh! I completely forgot to put that information on this forum.

I REFUSE to use the HR20-700S. Consider me a TiVo-er? for life. I've used a few other DVRs (PVRs... not sure what the technical term is anymore) in the past, and can't stand them in comparison to the TiVos.

My whole situation is a pain in the butt because of this TiVo-love. Refer to TivoCommunity, thread #f321664 (can't post URLs yet) for the story on how DirecTV/their installers pissed me off.

Anyway, I have now acquired a new HR10-250, which is why I'm having to get an OTA. Yes, I realize DirecTV has phased them out. Yes, I realize it is old technology and that everyone is going to MPEG4. And yes, I realize DirecTV is dumb and decided to stop using TiVo, so there will not be TiVo on DirecTV again in the near (or distant) future.

The only other units I have are two normal TiVo SD-DVRs. The exact models escape me, but one is a Hughes and the other is a Philips, but they're practically the same thing, just different brands. (DVR40? DSR7000?) So, MPEG-2 it is!

With that in mind, does that affect your splitter explanation? I'm not even sure why I'm getting (or want?) the Ka/Ku dish, as I highly doubt I'll stay with DirecTV long enough for them to force me to get an HR20-700S. (Series3 + Cable, here I come... in 2 years.) I think they just refuse to install the 18" x 20" 3LNB anymore.

Sorry for giving you my life story. Hope it makes for a relatively enjoyable read.

Connect four outputs from the WB68 to the four sat inputs on your old multiswitch, connect OTA to the fifth input, connect any new (H20/HR20) boxes to the remaining outputs from the WB68 and then any old boxes to the outputs from the 5x8. You will have to run separate OTA cables to any of the new boxes.
I followed all of that except the last sentence. When you say "new" boxes, I assume you're refering to MPEG4 boxes? If I do the above, I can use a diplexer on all the older MPEG2 boxes (which in my case is only one HR10-250)?

OK, if you are not going to MPEG-4 then existing multiswitches will work fine, and yes you can use diplexing. Remember though that diplexing loses signal strength on OTA so it is strongly not recommended in a far-fringe reception area, particularly with the HR10 which does not have very good OTA tuners by today's standards (the one in the H10 receiver is much better, and we expect the ones in the HR20 to be at least as good as the H10 - when DirecTV decides to enable them!!).
Of course until/unless you go MPEG-4 you will not get any of DirecTV's new HD offerings as they roll out.

I too am a TiVo fan but I also have the HR20. Apart from the fact it has been released by DirecTV before the software has been properly debugged, I don't find it too bad a box. Certainly better than the cable HD and the FIOS DVRs. IMHO, in a few areas, the user interface is a step above the TiVo. And I had one of the early TiVos which had a lot of bugs, although nowhere near as many as the HR20 currently has. It is one of the worst-tested pieces of electronics I have ever seen - evenm worse than the worst releases of Microsoft Windows!!

I tried antennaweb using your zip code and as expected got very few digital stations. So I increased your elevation by 100ft and ran antennaweb again - this is a useful trick, antennaweb is very conservative for digital stations and increasing the elevation often gives you an idea what stations you MAY be able to receive with the right antenna. With the increased elevation all the DFW digital stations came up in the red/green/violet color code. So with a decent antenna mounted as high as possible reliable reception of the stations looks possible. Far-fringe reception is more of an art than a science and you may be unlucky, depends on all sorts of factors that no-one can predict, you just have to try it. But many people get good reception at 60 miles particularly where the general terrain is pretty flat.

The CM4228 coupled with the CM7775 or 7777 preamp is the recognized antenna of choice for long-distance UHF reception, (in fact it is used all over DFW because it receives WFAA well) but some recent posts indicate that the XG91 gives better reception both on UHF stations and across VHF-lo. The XG91 is very directional which is a problem for some people but since all your DFW stations are within 2 degrees that would not be a problem for you. If you don't get good UHF reception with the CM4228 with the preamp then ordering the XG91 on-line is probably your only option. Use the CM7777 preamp - it has separate VHF and UHF inputs if you need them to couple a VHF antenna with the CM4228.

The CM4228 is a multiple bow-tie antenna with a flat mesh grid about 4ft square. The XG91 is a long boom antenna - the CM4228 has much greater wind loading because of its design so you need to make sure your mast is very well mounted.

For VHF if the CM4228 gives you some signal but not enough to get consistent reception then the XG91 might work. But if the signal is very low or missing then you will need to couple a VHF antenna. WFAA-DT is on 9.1 at the moment but is moving back to 8 when analog stations go away. One of the other stations - can't remember which one - is moving to 9, the others are staying on UHF. You could get a VHF antenna cut to channel 8/9, a VHF-hi antenna covering 7-13, or a hi-gain VHF antenna covering all of VHF like the Jerrold (Wade-Delhi (not Delphi, I mistyped)) 306SR. You are right, the 306SR is very difficult to find. You could always try Jerrold's web site or call them to find a supplier. VHF fringe antennas are BIG - up to 11ft long and 9 to 10 ft across. I am not an expert in VHF antennas, I have heard people recommend permacolor and antennacraft. Stark Electronics is a good source of these antennas, their web site is pretty hard to navigate - and I know they won't ship the 306SR any more because of damage issues in shipping. Using an all-band VHF antenna has the advantage that it can give you reception on VHF-lo for any analog TVs you may have, but if it were me I would go for a VHF-hi or even a channel 8 antenna (I think this should be OK on channel 9 also).

It will be really good if you can get WFAA without a VHF antenna but at your range and with a relatively weak tuner I have severe doubts!!

Will someone with a HR20-700 do a test for me? Go to channel 27 KDFI-D, wait a few seconds, rewind the buffer, play it back and see if you get choppy playback. I'd like to know if it's just my unit or a local (station or D*) problem.

Thanks in advance!! :D

Frys in Plano had a CM4228 on the floor about a week ago. Don't know if it is still there now or not.
-gasp- I had called Fry's before this post to see if they had one, and the guy on the phone said they NEVER carry that model, so I had given up.

However, after your post, I decided to stop in, and lo and behold, they had two. Now... they have one. :cool:

Will someone with a HR20-700 do a test for me? Go to channel 27 KDFI-D, wait a few seconds, rewind the buffer, play it back and see if you get choppy playback. I'd like to know if it's just my unit or a local (station or D*) problem.

Thanks in advance!! :D

I assume that by "KDFI-D" you mean the second channel 27 listed in the guide. Yes I guess you could define it as choppy. I have my HR20 locked on 720p right now. However the HR20 does FF and RW at a predictable rate, it just doesn't look pretty doing it. Of course this is during the playing of Thelma and Louise. This movie is so bad it looks better during a 3X FF or 3X RW than it does at regular speed.

We were asked to move this thread over here

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=736720

Anyone else with TWC in Dallas having problems with their local HD channels this morning?

Now getting the "channel available shortly" message on the affected channels.

Now getting the "channel available shortly" message on the affected channels.

Hi Pine,
No issues that I've noticed up here in Frisco...but I've mostly been in my study this a.m. I am not getting that message on Fox or CBS, though...

Randy

Back to intermittant freezing, pixellating, audio drops then OK for awhile. Thanks for the response.