1. HD capable TV sales out sold analog TV's last year (feel free to look this up at twice.com), which means a lot more people have them than you think.
2. If you go to any of the providers of TV programming, ie Comcast, DirecTV, Dish, etc.. They all tout HD right on the front page of their programming, so to say that people are not exposed to it or that capable setups are not available I would have to disagree.
3. Granted, it might be a free market in the very BS sense, however so is the oil market and we all know how free that is.Kemical

Good points.

1 - Just my point about a clueless public. HD capable sets are heating up and breaking records. HOWEVER the subscribers have no idea how to get them working. You can look it up on kagan and skyretailer. They buy a screen because it is big and fancy, not because they understand HD. Less than 10% of cable (about 4 million) and satellite users (about 2 million) pay for HD service and the number is not rising in step with HD capable sets. These are the only numbers that matter because it shows subscriber intent to actually view HD programming. HD content providers are not going to unjustifiably invest money ahead of the market growth.

2 - The service provider's web sites have a limited effect on HD market penetration or decisions by HD content producers. They put it on their web sties because it is free to do so. Their HD bases continue to grow slowly, nonetheless. It does show they are trying to do something to generate additional revenue. However the marketplace as a whole is extremely sluggish to move on this. It will pick up after 2009 but stay around 10% until then.

3 - OT alert!!!! The world market for crude and brent sweet is most certainly the epitome of a commodity marketplace driven by the laws of supply and demand. http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/experts/expertanswers.html

coming sept 18 2006


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_CW_Television_Network

I live in Grand Prairie and use a SilverSensor that I bought on ebay for $10 and it works great. I typically get signal strength in the high 80s

I got the SilverSensor as well per recommendations and am reporting signal strengths in the high 80s as well. Thanks all.

Aaahhhh!!!! The good ole days. I too remember doing that and I have to admit that TubeTV brings back that feeling for me too.

Out of curiousity, has anyone noticed whether or not TubeTv is broadcasting in Dolby Digital or stereo? I believe it's stereo, but I wanted to double check with everyone.

Thank you,

Kemical

It's broadcasting in DD.

Speaking of.......

KDAF- DT is definately having issues today. 33-1 is off and on and 33-2 is almost non-existent today. Screen goes black, then "NO SIGNAL" for 30-40 min at a time, and then it's back for 5 or 10 minutes.

All others are good, just 33.

Lest us not forget, the signal meters in our DTV/DBS receivers do not represent the level or strength of an RF signal. It is a calculation of dropped packets of data.

While we have come a long way, I am just disappointed that after almost 8 years of the first HD TV being shipped we still only have on average 15 HD channels with quality programming (excluding the niche channels that Dish offers).

It's amazing how much perceptions can vary on this -- my feeling is that 15 channels of HD programming is a lot for a technology that has been around for only 8 years. I consider the plight of a color TV set owner back in 1961 (when that technology was 8 years old), who only received one color channel (NBC) out of the three or four typically available at the time. And even NBC wasn't exactly heavy on color programming.

Sorry for the history lesson, and it certainly doesn't mean that I'm 100% satisfied with what is available today. As someone who receives TV primarily via OTA, I look forward to the days when syndicated programming is available in high definition. The Paramount HD One package a couple years back showed how good some of those old syndicated movies could look in HD...

What channel is TubeTV? Is it a station or just a program?

What channel is TubeTV? Is it a station or just a program?

It is a continuous music videos program carried on DTV 33.2 KDAF : TheTubeTV (http://www.thetubetv.com/)

Try a channel master from Lowes or Home Depot for about $80.OUCH! Which CM is that much!? I "splurged" and bought the 113" Channel Master Advantage (http://www.channelmaster.com/pages/TVS/AdvantageAnts.htm) for $35 at Fry's (http://shop3.outpost.com/%7BOScD-nLBwtJuF3kFS+m3PQ**.node2%7D/product/2570111;jsessionid=OScD-nLBwtJuF3kFS+m3PQ**.node2?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG) and mounted it in my attic:

http://www.channelmaster.com/images/3018.jpg

Remember, with antennas, bigger is better. There is no way to amplify your way past received noise. A small antenna, powered or not, can't extract as much signal from the air.

Xesdeeni

OUCH! Which CM is that much!? I "splurged" and bought the 113" Channel Master Advantage (http://www.channelmaster.com/pages/TVS/AdvantageAnts.htm) for $35 at Fry's (http://shop3.outpost.com/%7BOScD-nLBwtJuF3kFS+m3PQ**.node2%7D/product/2570111;jsessionid=OScD-nLBwtJuF3kFS+m3PQ**.node2?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG) and mounted it in my attic:

http://www.channelmaster.com/images/3018.jpg

Remember, with antennas, bigger is better. There is no way to amplify your way past received noise. A small antenna, powered or not, can't extract as much signal from the air.

Xesdeeni

Well, I won't deny that I may have paid too much at Lowes for my CM. Mine is similar to yours and it is a big unit. The problem I ran into is that if I move the antenna one degree in either direction I have a drop off in signal strength and this is why I use an amplifier. I was getting ABC in at 30 signal strength, but now it comes in at around 65 using the amplifier and I do not have drop outs like I use to. The whole OTA has been a little frustrating to me considering that I have not been able to get the levels other forum members have been able to get until after using the amplifier. Since I have a 2 story house, it's not so easy jumping up there and making adjustments. I even get different signals at different heights including lower heights on the pole sometimes being better. While I know OTA signals travel in a somewhat crazy format this can be very frustrating if you are doing an install by yourself and you have to keep going back down the ladder to see what the signal is at. Either way, I now get ABC in relatively strong, so I am not messing with it anymore unless I have to. I do agree that you can find the antenna at lower prices elswhere, but $80 is not that bad and since Lowes is within a mile of my house while Fry's is a good 30 miles away, I do not mind paying the extra money for the convience and time saved. By the way, mine is a model 3020 and is 152", 50 element for VHF and UHF. I went with biggest I could find given the circumstances stated above.

Kemical

P.S. I do not have the room in my attic to mount it, otherwise I would have gladly done that if nothing else to save me the headache of strong winds messing with the signal.

I used a UHF/VHF bow-tie antenna and had great success. The good thing about it was that there is no boom length whatsoever... it essentially is a vertical multidirectional antenna. Thus it works great in my attic. Since all I needed to do was mount it at the highest possible point inside my attic, I needn't worry about high winds disturbing my signal. I get all the local HD channels (except PBS) at signals in the 80's and 90's. Did have to use a CM amp though, but I'm 46 miles from the towers living in McKinney. ABC came in the 60-70 range.

Channel Master Bow-Tie (http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=ANC4228&xzoom=Large#xview)

or

AntennasDirect Bow-Tie (http://www.antennasdirect.com/DB8_HD_Antenna.html)

rkhobbit These antennas are for UHF ch 14-69. You are lucky that ABC is working for you since that is Ch9 VHF. As they say don't knock it if it works or something like that.
JStigler

rkhobbit These antennas are for UHF ch 14-69. You are lucky that ABC is working for you since that is Ch9 VHF. As they say don't knock it if it works or something like that.
JStigler

I talked to the staff at antennasdirect.com and they were quite familiar with the DFW area and ABC. They indicated that the DB8 can pick up VHF down to Ch8 VHF, but at my distance I was somewhat on the fringe. I gave it a shot on got 60-70 on my Tivo HR10-250 tuner, but get very solid ABC reception on my built-in Samsung HDTV tuner. The Tivo HR10-250 tuner was having dropouts at the 60-70 range on ABC. So I added a cheap dedicated VHF antenna in my attic and combined it with the bow tie and now my Tivo HR10-250 is getting ABC in the high 80's to 90's.

Just depends on your HDTV tuner.

Well, I won't deny that I may have paid too much at Lowes for my CM.My appologies if I sounded critical. I was just surprised. Even Lowe's prices for these shouldn't be much different. I actually figured you'd gotten a powered antenna, which is (IMHO) a big waste of money. But according to Lowe's online, you actually got a discount on their $100 price (http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=56239-000000693-3020&lpage=none). And it's only $70 at Fry's (http://shop1.outpost.com/product/2570181?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG), so don't fret.Mine is similar to yours and it is a big unit. The problem I ran into is that if I move the antenna one degree in either direction I have a drop off in signal strength and this is why I use an amplifier.Yes, the flip side of the above diatribe against powered antennas (in lieu of size) is that once you receive the signal, you have to get it to your TV. The further away your antenna is, and the more environmental noise it has to contend with, the better off you are with a distribution amplifier. If your antenna is up a pole, you may also be better off with a pre-amp.

But the point to remember is that neither of these amplifiers improves your reception. They just make sure what your antenna received gets to your tuner.The whole OTA has been a little frustrating to me considering that I have not been able to get the levels other forum members have been able to get until after using the amplifier. Since I have a 2 story house, it's not so easy jumping up there and making adjustments. I even get different signals at different heights including lower heights on the pole sometimes being better. While I know OTA signals travel in a somewhat crazy format this can be very frustrating if you are doing an install by yourself and you have to keep going back down the ladder to see what the signal is at.Yes, for OTA, you have to contend with the environment. In general, this isn't an issue, until you are in between some big metal buildings. Then, when you place your antenna in your attic, you have to deal with what's up there. And that's a much bigger issue. Heating ducts, roof flashing, house wiring, etc. all reflect, refract, delay, and block the signals.

It can definitely be frustrating having to deal with an attic due to (in my case at least) WAF!By the way, mine is a model 3020 and is 152", 50 element for VHF and UHF. I went with biggest I could find given the circumstances stated above.Holy Toledo! That thing ought to suck in signals from Houston! ;-)P.S. I do not have the room in my attic to mount it, otherwise I would have gladly done that if nothing else to save me the headache of strong winds messing with the signal.Hold the phone! You have those kinds of directional issues with an OUTDOOR antenna!? You must have one weird surrounding. Are you in a valley? Are you near some large buildings? Have you tried a pre-amp?

Xesdeeni

Xesdeeni,
First, I didn't think you were being critical, so no apology necessary. I am a bit of a smarta$$ and say things a lot of the time half jokingly.

Second, you would think that I could pull in transmissions from NASA and the space station, but I am unsure why I have so much trouble where I am. I have been told that I am not receiving the signal directly, but rather a bounce. This was told to me by some DirecTV sub-contractors, so I take it with a grain of salt. According to antennaweb.org, there are a a few compass directions differences between the bulk of the channels and ABC. Here is the list:

blue - uhf KLDT-DT 55.1 IND LAKE DALLAS TX 193° 12.7 54
* blue - uhf KTVT-DT 11.1 CBS FORT WORTH TX 178° 41.6 19
* blue - vhf WFAA-DT 8.1 ABC DALLAS TX 180° 41.2 9
* violet - uhf KUVN-DT 23.1 UNI GARLAND TX 179° 40.9 24
* violet - uhf KXAS-DT 5.1 NBC FORT WORTH TX 179° 41.1 41
* violet - uhf KTXA-DT 21.1 UPN FORT WORTH TX 178° 44.0 18
* violet - uhf KXTX-DT 40.1 TEL DALLAS TX 179° 41.1 40
* violet - uhf KDTN-DT 2.1 DAY DENTON TX 178° 44.0 43
* violet - uhf KDAF-DT 33.1 WB DALLAS TX 178° 44.0 32
* violet - uhf KFWD-DT 52.1 IND FORT WORTH TX 179° 40.9 51
* violet - uhf KERA-DT 13.1 PBS DALLAS TX 178° 41.6 14
* violet - uhf KPXD-DT 68.1 i ARLINGTON TX 179° 40.8 42
* violet - uhf KDFW-DT 4.1 FOX DALLAS TX 180° 41.2 35
* violet - uhf KXII-DT 12.1 CBS SHERMAN TX 0° 59.3 20

That being said, my experience has always been that with a large antenna you didn't need to be dead on, but for some reason I have to be. I also found it strange that I could lower it and get a better signal, that perplexes me even today. Anyway, right now I am getting the channels I want without the dropouts and quite honestly, if I have more problems with it again I will just pay someone else to come out so that I don't end up shooting myself (LOL).

I hope this makes sense, I have thought about trying a small (like the square antenna) in the attic just to see if it would work.

Thank you for the responses and don't take anything I say to seriously, believe me you will know when I am offended, :D

Kemical

If you find you need someone to work on it, I highly recommend Topp Robertson (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/member.php?u=62042). He came out to my house with a handheld receiver and told me I would have no problem putting my antenna in my attic.

Xesdeeni

If you find you need someone to work on it, I highly recommend Topp Robertson (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/member.php?u=62042). He came out to my house with a handheld receiver and told me I would have no problem putting my antenna in my attic.

Xesdeeni

Thanks

Has anyone heard whether or not Dallas area Comcast is planning on offering any new DVR models for HD? I currently use the Moto6412. I've seen talk elsewhere about a Panasonic model with 250GB hard drive. Does anyone know if the Dallas Comcast market is going to get this or something with larger drives and/or ability to add external drives? It you've heard anything let us know. My closest service center is Plano. They know nothing (or maybe just not saying).

Has anyone heard whether or not Dallas area Comcast is planning on offering any new DVR models for HD? I currently use the Moto6412. I've seen talk elsewhere about a Panasonic model with 250GB hard drive. Does anyone know if the Dallas Comcast market is going to get this or something with larger drives and/or ability to add external drives? It you've heard anything let us know. My closest service center is Plano. They know nothing (or maybe just not saying).

Comcast probably has no real plans for this market since we're destined to being taken over by Time Warner. I seen a date of 8/1 mentioned, but I'm not really sure on the date. I imagine we're more or less in a holding pattern until then.

-Randy

Comcast probably has no real plans for this market since we're destined to being taken over by Time Warner. I seen a date of 8/1 mentioned, but I'm not really sure on the date. I imagine we're more or less in a holding pattern until then.

-Randy

Hi, new to the Rowlett area and just wondering where you got this news? I find it a little hard to believe that the larger company(Comcast) would sell out to the smaller company(TWC). Just curious as I would like to read about it myself.

Mike

Hi, new to the Rowlett area and just wondering where you got this news? I find it a little hard to believe that the larger company(Comcast) would sell out to the smaller company(TWC). Just curious as I would like to read about it myself.

Mike

Hi Mike,
It has been somewhat common knowledge for quite some time...they just had to clear some legal hurdles. It is all part of splitting up a large amount of Adelphia's assets between Comcast and TWC. The bankruptcy judge has signed off on it and they are just awaiting FCC approval now. The FCC is supposed to have a vote by July 13. The companies took the opportunity to swap some markets to better align their respective markets geographically as part of the deal.

Here's a link on the story, not specific to markets: Link (http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?dist=newsfinder&siteid=google&guid=%7BE04DE037-1D35-48C8-B4AD-A6CD6668EA6E%7D&keyword=).

Here's a link to a story that references the markets that are being affected: Link2 (http://www.examiner.com/a-158522~Comcast__Time_Warner_Sign_Adelphia_Pact.html).

Here's a link to another local forum where it has been discussed some, including some Comcast employee input: Link3 (http://www.broadbandreports.com/forum/remark,15215634~days=9999~start=260). This link starts you around 260 posts deep. I am sure there is some more stuff in there before that point, but this page quotes an article, etc.

Happy reading!
:)
-Randy

Hi, new to the Rowlett area and just wondering where you got this news? I find it a little hard to believe that the larger company(Comcast) would sell out to the smaller company(TWC). Just curious as I would like to read about it myself.

Mike
Curious? From Google............... DISTRIBUTION OF PRINCIPAL PROPERTIES

To Time Warner
--------------

From Adelphia
New York (principally Buffalo)
California (principally Los Angeles)
Ohio (principally Cleveland)
Carolinas
Maine (Portland-Bangor)

From Comcast
Dallas
Los Angeles
Cleveland

To Comcast
----------

From Adelphia
Florida (principally Palm Beach and Miami)
Virginia (principally D.C. area)
New England (Boston area, Hartford area, Vermont)
Pennsylvania (principally Pittsburgh area,
Johnstown area and Scranton area)
Colorado Springs

From Time Warner
Minneapolis
Memphis
Jackson
Louisiana (principally Shreveport and Monroe)
Florida (principally Cape Coral and St. Augustine)

SOURCE: Time Warner Inc. and Comcast Corporation





http://www.cmcsk.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=147565&p=irol-newsArticle&t=Regular&id=698711& .............There are other,shorter items.

ok..ok..ok! I know this is a very arguable point but I need to make a decision in the next few days as I cannot go for more than 2 weeks without some type of TV. I just moved into a new home in the Rowlett area. I am currently under contract with D* until next year. I own (not leased) a DVR, HD Box and 2 std boxes. I am looking at getting 2 more DVR or preferably 1 HD-DVR and a reg. DVR. So that is going to cost me some good cash outlay. Or I can get out of my contract and go with Verizon FIOS or Comcast Cable. Comcast is running the $30/yr with HBO/STARZ special. FIOS does not offer much of any kind of special and will still be cheaper that D* and they both offer HD/DVRs

Please give me some of your thoughts on which way I should go? I like the programming on D* except that they do not have NFL Network HD. I do not like that I lose signal during storms. As far as cable and FIOS, I like that they do not go out during storms and there is no significant cash outlay to start, but do not like their cable boxes and difficult menus. Also, no Sunday ticket on either.

:( I am so confused on what I should do.

As an added monkey in the wrench, I just got FIOS internet and like it better than I did Comcast internet. I am also using Vonage for phone service, but if I go with FIOS I will go with their Voicewing VoIP service which is the same price as Vonage.

Thanks in advance for your replies..

Mike

Since I have cable modem with comcast, and it's $10 more a month since I don't have cable, I figure I might as well get their basic package for $13 if I their local HD channels are in the clear since my HDTV has a clear QAM tuner built in.

Anyone know the deal on comcast here. If it matters I am in Mckinney.

ok..ok..ok! I know this is a very arguable point but I need to make a decision in the next few days as I cannot go for more than 2 weeks without some type of TV. I just moved into a new home in the Rowlett area. I am currently under contract with D* until next year. I own (not leased) a DVR, HD Box and 2 std boxes. I am looking at getting 2 more DVR or preferably 1 HD-DVR and a reg. DVR. So that is going to cost me some good cash outlay. Or I can get out of my contract and go with Verizon FIOS or Comcast Cable. Comcast is running the $30/yr with HBO/STARZ special. FIOS does not offer much of any kind of special and will still be cheaper that D* and they both offer HD/DVRs

Please give me some of your thoughts on which way I should go? I like the programming on D* except that they do not have NFL Network HD. I do not like that I lose signal during storms. As far as cable and FIOS, I like that they do not go out during storms and there is no significant cash outlay to start, but do not like their cable boxes and difficult menus. Also, no Sunday ticket on either.

:( I am so confused on what I should do.

As an added monkey in the wrench, I just got FIOS internet and like it better than I did Comcast internet. I am also using Vonage for phone service, but if I go with FIOS I will go with their Voicewing VoIP service which is the same price as Vonage.

Thanks in advance for your replies..

Mike

I answered this on the previous page, but here it is again:



I had both for about two months side-by side when I first moved here. It really is going to come down to what you already have. Here are some highlights and if I do not answer your question feel free to PM me or ask me here.

Comcast:
The Good:
1. Biggest advantage is that there are no upfront costs for a HD DVR. You can usually find some deal where they will install it for free or give you free programming or even both. The deal I got was a free install, free HBO and Starz, free HD package for a year. I also had high speed internet. My package total was $75 for everything for a year. So price is tempting.

2. Their customer service was good, never had a problem.

3. All local HD channels available, TNT, ESPN, Discovery and a couple more. Total was I believe 15.

4. The two tuner box only required one cable to be run to it which simplified the install.

5. Any other TV's in the house can be connected with no box and get basic cable (great for guest rooms).

6. HD DVR interface allows you to browse the menu, recorded shows and guide while the current channel is displayed in a smaller box, kind of like Picture-in-Picture.

7. One bill for cable and internet.

8. DVR has similar features to TIVO, SIMILIAR, NOT EXACT.

The bad:
1. The HD DVR box software was slow sometimes and if you hit a key more than once it would que the command until it executed it. Another words, if you hit the fast forward button and it doesn't respond immediately and you hit it again then the box would do it twice when it executed the command. More of an annoyance than anything.

2. Menu functionality had a clumsy feel to it. Here is the disclaimer, if you have never used TIVO then you probably wouldn't notice it.

3. Only about 15hrs of HD recording available before you either have to erase something or it does before you cane record something new. Not a big deal unless you record all the premiers and don't have time to watch it.

4. Channels below 100 are not digital, which means that channels 2 through 99 may or may not look great.

Verizon and Ceabridge cable are pretty similar to Comcast except Verizon has FIOS which is way faster internet and is fully digital via fiber. But the channel offerings are pretty much the same and they use the same box that Comcast uses.

DirecTV:
The good:
1. Their HD DVR box uses TIVO software. If you have used Tivo, then there is no need to explain how great this is. If you haven't then you do not know what you are missing, so don't worry about it.

2. They have Sunday Ticket - If you are a football fanatic then this is a must. All the football you could want. They also have various other sports packages that cable and Verizon do not have.

3. HD content is pretty good, however most DirecTV folks with a HD DVR use an OTA to get local HD, not a big deal. Nine HD channels plus whatever you can pick up OTA. Yes, they do have ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX HD, but only for their MPEG4 boxes which means you cannot record them yet. This will change soon, possibly this September.

4. They have various foreign channels.

5. 100% digital, all channels.

The bad:
1. Upfront costs can be enormous. Their HD DVR costs $400 unless you can get some sort of a deal and this is a lease.

2. Two year contract.

3. They do not offer any real internet packages. (DirectWay does not count do to the cost).

4. You have to use an OTA to get the local HD channels and be able to record them. Yes, the do offer the local ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox in HD over the satellite, however this is in MPEG4 and they do not have a MPEG4 DVR yet.

Dish is pretty much like DirecTV without the sports packages and TIVO, however they do have the most HD channels, something like 25 channels (Not that anyone watches Monster HD).

The reality is if you are a football or sports fan then more than likely you will want DirecTV. Also, if you are a TIVO user then DirecTV will be the way to go. If not then any of the others would be great with little upfront costs. Personally, I am on DirecTV because I like TIVO so much and the Comcast box just didn't do it for me. Of the other ones I would suggest Verizon first because they have the most potential to add more interactive services in the future since they are based on fiber. One last thing, a lot of people will discuss picture quality of the HD content, OTA being the best and DirecTV being the worst. Side-by side I cannot tell the difference between OTA and DirecTV HD, just my opinion. Hope this helps.

Kemical

I live near 635 and 75 in a complex with an master antenna run to all units. When I plug into this, I can receive all the locals OTA with good results, but I can't receive any of them in HD. This is plugging straight into my tv or into the HR20 DTV receiver.

I've also tried powered rabbit ears ($29 Radio Shack) with minor results, but the best results that I've had believe it or not are from a stereo FM antenna (just the simple wire) with that I get Fox, NBC and CBS perfectly. To join the mass of others, I can't seem to get ABC which is a MUST with college football quickly approaching. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

I live near 635 and 75 in a complex with an master antenna run to all units. When I plug into this, I can receive all the locals OTA with good results, but I can't receive any of them in HD. This is plugging straight into my tv or into the HR20 DTV receiver.

I've also tried powered rabbit ears ($29 Radio Shack) with minor results, but the best results that I've had believe it or not are from a stereo FM antenna (just the simple wire) with that I get Fox, NBC and CBS perfectly. To join the mass of others, I can't seem to get ABC which is a MUST with college football quickly approaching. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

What is an HR20 DTV receiver? Do you mean an H20 D* receiver? If so it has an ATSC tuner but it will not work unless you activate it first with D*.

You get channel 8 (analog) fine, but you can't get 8-1 (9 digital)!? That's unbelievable.

Take a look at your analog signals. Channel 8 is a good indicator of channel 9 reception. Then look at the UHF channels (21, 23, 33, 39, 42, etc.) to see how the digital ones (14, 18, 19, 32, 35, 41, etc.) should come in.

If you see color, minimial noise, and little or no ghosting, you should be getting digital fine. If you can't get color, you probably can't lock onto digital. If you have signficant noise (especially what is called "herringbone" or patterned noise), you'll have problems. And ghosting is the worst for digital, so what would be acceptable to your eye on analog might kill digital altogether.

If the analog pictures are good, then it's possible they are OVERdriving your signal. To distribute the signal to your complex, they must have a distribution amplifier. It's possible that it is overdriving your digital tuner. It's my understanding that digital tuners tend to be more sensitive to overdriving. A simple attenuator will lower the signal. I assume you can grab one at Radio Shack.

Xesdeeni

You get channel 8 (analog) fine, but you can't get 8-1 (9 digital)!? That's unbelievable.
Xesdeeni


Unless the signal coming in through the Apt complex feed is actually a cable signal and not OTA.

Thanks for the responses, sorry, yes, it's a Hughes H20 Directv receiver. It is activated and I have no problem getting the Sat. I only have a 3LNB dish, so I don't get my HD locals through the receiver.

In response to the other post, when I auto tune (Sony LCD 40"XBR) it picks up channels 3, 4, 5, 8, 11, 21. When I autotune for digital it picks up absolutely nothing.

It's not a cable feed, there are two lines in, one for a master antenna and the other for a Directv MUD dish.

Picking up the channel, and the quality of the channels are two different things. How do the analog channels look?

Xesdeeni

Analog channels look good. No fuzz or snow on the major networks.

Analog channels look good. No fuzz or snow on the major networks.

That seems impossible to pick up analog on channels 4, 5, 8, 11, and 13, but NOT pick up digital on channel 9. I think you state that none of the digital channels are there. The only answer seems to be that 1) channel 9 and the other digital channels have somehow been weeded out of the OTA feed, or 2) Your ATSC tuners are not working properly.

Did you say that both your ATSC tuners (the H20 and the Sony XBR) receive digital channels with rabbit ears?

Try an attenuator: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062056&cp=&origkw=attenuator&kw=attenuator&parentPage=search

Xesdeeni

Yes, both the tv and the receiver get digital channels with rabbit ears. I'll try the attenuator this evening and post the results.

I live in a condo complex with a master antenna on the roof. I'm not certain, but it looks to be a large Channelmaster model. The line is diplexed because there are only two coax outlets behind the TV. When I moved in back in May, I was picking up all of my locals in HD with the HR10-250 OTA tuner. A few weeks ago, I stopped getting KXAS. When I hook up an indoor antenna, I pick up all of the OTA stations fine. Do you think the antenna on the roof needs adjusted? Any other suggestions welcome? Thanks.

Well, I went out and bought an attenuator and connected it. While it did succeed in reducing the signal (the analog reception dropped dramatically) neither the TV or Receiver is picking up any digital channels. What am I missing? It makes no sense that I would get analog channels, but not digital. Again, I know the tuners are not broken because I can hook-up rabbit ears and get a couple of the HD channels.

Any other suggestions? ideas?

Well, I went out and bought an attenuator and connected it. While it did succeed in reducing the signal (the analog reception dropped dramatically) neither the TV or Receiver is picking up any digital channels. What am I missing? It makes no sense that I would get analog channels, but not digital. Again, I know the tuners are not broken because I can hook-up rabbit ears and get a couple of the HD channels.

Any other suggestions? ideas?

I am just curious, are you saying that you pick up the analog channels with your H20 DTV receiver? Let me know if this is the case.

Kemical

Kemical, I'm saying that I can pick them up OTA. I have the rabbit ears plugged into the antenna input on the Directv Receiver OR I can plug the rabbit ears directly into the tv (both of these work) and pick up some of the HD feeds. Fox, NBC, and CBS. When I try to use the apartments master antenna, I'm getting the analogs great, but can't pick up any of the digital feeds.

This makes absolutely no sense. The digital antennas are located on Cedar Hill, just like the analog ones. If it's really an antenna feed, they'd have to actively block 9, 14, 18, 19, etc. using a bank of notch filters to keep you from getting the digital channels. That's just not reasonable. If the attenuator didn't work, then I'd go back to billt's suggestion. Are you absolutely certain this isn't a cable feed of some type? Perhaps the complex is generating the feed from something else, like a cable feed or satellite tuners?

Xesdeeni

Whats better the Zenith ZHDTV1 or the SilverSensor?

I have Direct TV running to two TVs into my apartment. One is HD(no DVR) the other standard w/ DVR. I told the guy once I break in my plasma I am moving it out into the living room so while I have the standard w/ DVR in the living room now, he ran dual coax lines to both rooms so when I make the switch there will be no problems. My question is, now when I move the plasma to the living room with HD(no DVR) I will only be using one of the coax lines that is running into that room, the other will be free. If I mounted the Tec55 to my DTV dish I could use that 2nd coax running to that room to send the singal since I am not using it anymore right? Or what would happen if I plugged that 2nd coax cable that is running from the dish into to OTA plug? My DTV dish wouldnt act as a OTA for me would it? (Dreaming, I know...)

Xesdeeni, I'm convinced now that it has to be some type of cable feed or feed from the dish. I hooked up the simple FM wire antenna from a stereo (yes, just the straight thin wire) and picked up 21 digital channels on the TV tuner. I guess trying to avoid putting up my own antenna just won't work. Oh well!

Whew, the space-time continuum just straightened out and flew right. :-)

Xesdeeni

I havent been able to really watch my Plasma or mess around with Direct TV too much, I just got them both last Saturday and the TV is breaking in plus Ive been working a lot. I went home at lunch and was messing around with the channels and noticed I get 3-4 of the same exact channel in a row in the local channels. Am I possibly getting OTA channels or local HD channels without the OTA antenna? I live in Plano,TX and have the 5 LNB dish and I believe the channels only show up on my HD receiver and not the standard one in the other room. Any ideas?

I got a Zenith SilverSensor, and get good results in ONE of my rooms in the house for all stations. Tried the same SS in the media room, and WFAA doesn't come in very well. Signal strengths widely vary from low50s to no signal at all. Even tried a powered Terk in there (HDTVA) and results were similiar. I know WFAA comes in on frequency 9 and is VHF, but is there anything I can do to improve my reception on this channel?

It comes in fine in my other room, which is a little closer to the outside window.

Hello.

Stupid question, hopefully i can get some clear answer.

I live in Savannah Community (Aubrey, north of Frisco between Frisco and Denton off 380). We have cebridge as our cable provider.

I don't want to get HD from them due to the cost... I have basic cable without box.

I recently purchased a RCA 45db HDTV Antenna from sears and it's been working great... I can pick up about 20 channels, mostly spanish, religious and weather.

Now, here is my question.

I know I might not be able to pick up channel 8 ABC... but should I be able to pick up Discovery and other "FREE" HD Contents like HDNET, Discovery, PBS...etc?
Or is that only thru the cable provider?

I can get FOX, NBC, CBS and few other channels.... I would like to see HDNet and Discovery if possible.

Thanks

eggyacid. those are cable/sattelite channels only. They aren't ever going to be broadcast for free.

Kemical, I'm saying that I can pick them up OTA. I have the rabbit ears plugged into the antenna input on the Directv Receiver OR I can plug the rabbit ears directly into the tv (both of these work) and pick up some of the HD feeds. Fox, NBC, and CBS. When I try to use the apartments master antenna, I'm getting the analogs great, but can't pick up any of the digital feeds.


Jwortsman,
I guess I got confused when you said that you were picking up analog channels with the H20. To my knowledge, none of the DTV HD receivers have or have had an analog tuner in them. This is why I was confused, because if you were picking up channel 8 with the DTV H20 OTA it had to be digital. So I am guessing that you mean the TV's tuner was able to pick up the analog channels OTA.

What I think might be the problem and you may have already checked this out is that if they are using that master antenna line for some other signal then it may be interfering with the digital OTA channels. Have you tried using a diplexer as though it was a combined signal? Just a thought.

Kemical

I havent been able to really watch my Plasma or mess around with Direct TV too much, I just got them both last Saturday and the TV is breaking in plus Ive been working a lot. I went home at lunch and was messing around with the channels and noticed I get 3-4 of the same exact channel in a row in the local channels. Am I possibly getting OTA channels or local HD channels without the OTA antenna? I live in Plano,TX and have the 5 LNB dish and I believe the channels only show up on my HD receiver and not the standard one in the other room. Any ideas?


If I remember right, I had the same issue with my HR10-250 HD DVR from DirecTV. I believe that when the unit is first installed as the guide is downloaded for the first time (which does take a day or two to be complete) it downloads all the possibly channels that you could receive in your area, ie. OTA, satellite local, etc. Just check them and see if you are actually receiving a signal on them. By the way, digital channels will be listed as the number dash 1, 2 or 3, ie. 8-1 or 8-2, depending on how many sub channels they are broadcasting. If it doesn't have a -1,2 or 3 after it then it isn't a digital channel. KEEP IN MIND THIS APPLIES ONLY TO OTA DIGITAL CHANNELS, NOT DIRECTV"S HD CHANNELS, ie HDNET on channel 79. Hope that helps.

Kemical

P.S. What exactly is "breaking in" a plasma mean?

Hello.

...
I know I might not be able to pick up channel 8 ABC... but should I be able to pick up Discovery and other "FREE" HD Contents like HDNET, Discovery, PBS...etc?
Or is that only thru the cable provider?

I can get FOX, NBC, CBS and few other channels.... I would like to see HDNet and Discovery if possible.

Thanks

You should be able to get all the free OTA, e.g. PBS, ABC, etc. There is also a pay OTA system the broadcasts Discovery, HBO (I think) and others. It is broadcast on the digital OTA and you must pay for a decoder. Sorry I don't remember the name of the provider.

It's USDTV. However, they just filed for Chapter 7. OTOH, their box works as a digital tuner (including HD) if the service ends. So I'm wondering if getting the box and gambling they'll go under might net you a cheap box ;-)

Xesdeeni

Hi, new to the Rowlett area and just wondering where you got this news? I find it a little hard to believe that the larger company(Comcast) would sell out to the smaller company(TWC). Just curious as I would like to read about it myself.

Mike

I have had several discussions with a senior sales exec at Comcast local. he said it would be turned over around the end of the year. At first there should be no change at all, in terms of equipment or maybe even service. Eventually they will start using new STB and current users would probably be able to change out if they come over to the service center. All of North Texas will be turned over to TM, not just Dallas proper. I am getting FIOs from Verizon in a month or two and may switch to that.

I'm in southwest Arlington and just started getting my HD OTA via a rooftop antenna in the attic of a two-story. I get everything except KXAS-5. The other stations are in the 70+ range on my tuner (an H10-250), but KXAS is barely there, single digits. It's been a while since I used it, but as I recall KXAS was my worst reception on analog, too.

AntennaWeb sez all the towers I care about except KXAS are over in Cedar Hill, so my run-of-the-mill, medium-size antenna has always been pointed that way. I REALLY don't like going up in the attic in this weather, but can I tweak the orientation of the antenna and get KXAS without losing the others?

jim

I'm in southwest Arlington and just started getting my HD OTA via a rooftop antenna in the attic of a two-story. I get everything except KXAS-5. The other stations are in the 70+ range on my tuner (an H10-250), but KXAS is barely there, single digits. It's been a while since I used it, but as I recall KXAS was my worst reception on analog, too.

AntennaWeb sez all the towers I care about except KXAS are over in Cedar Hill, so my run-of-the-mill, medium-size antenna has always been pointed that way. I REALLY don't like going up in the attic in this weather, but can I tweak the orientation of the antenna and get KXAS without losing the others?

jim


If you live in Arlington and your signals are that low using a ROOFTOP antenna. I would start at the antenna and inspect every inch until I reached my receiver.

Suspects, in order of frequency on my service calls:

1. Screw on connectors
2. Poor connector installation
3. Animals chewing coax especially mice in attics
4. A long run of poor quality coax.
5. Builders that are not experienced in CATV. Look behind your wall plates and see if there are connectors crimped with a pair of wire cutters.

You can see the towers in Cedar Hill from most anywhere in Arlington. You can't get any better than line of sight reception especically when you're <10 nautical miles from a 5 megawatt signal. A wet spaghetti noodle should do fine.

BTW: All D/FW stations signals emanate from Cedar Hill now. The Tower in Garland that was KUVN(23) is now their backup. The Tower at the KXAS (5) studio in Ft. Worth is their backup as well.

I live in NW Dallas (635 & 35E) and while most of my neighborhood (and the rest of the city) was wired with new fiber a year or so ago, my street still has the A/B wires in the alley and a nest of wires where my lines connect. Comcast has put amplifiers in my attic on both sides. I have a Moto 6208 DVR connected to a Samsung 5078 1080p DLP. My question is that my picture/sound freezes up quite often, usually just before the picture goes to black as in scene changes, before commercial, or right before the credits - what causes this? This problem happens on all HD channels HBO, NBC, CBS, etc. Is it signal quality, the 6208, compression - what? Is it something they can fix or will I have to wait until they get around to upgrading the system (again)? It's really annoying as dialogue gets cut out.

Any recommendations?

I live in NW Dallas (635 & 35E) and while most of my neighborhood (and the rest of the city) was wired with new fiber a year or so ago, my street still has the A/B wires in the alley and a nest of wires where my lines connect. Comcast has put amplifiers in my attic on both sides. I have a Moto 6208 DVR connected to a Samsung 5078 1080p DLP. My question is that my picture/sound freezes up quite often, usually just before the picture goes to black as in scene changes, before commercial, or right before the credits - what causes this? This problem happens on all HD channels HBO, NBC, CBS, etc. Is it signal quality, the 6208, compression - what? Is it something they can fix or will I have to wait until they get around to upgrading the system (again)? It's really annoying as dialogue gets cut out.

Any recommendations?

Sounds like classic dropped packets(of data).

See above post. If no results call Comcast and gripe until they send you a truck while waiting on the phone.

BTW: Could be the box?!?!OR if there is any RG-59(old) coax in your home I would replace it immediately with good quality RG-6 quad shield. That may be why they put amps on both a/b. Tech too lazy or busy to rewire your house. RG-59 no good for sat or HD cable.

If anyone from KDAF reads this board, tell the people in charge I love TheTube. I can't believe we get it for free. Major kudos to KDAF for the addition.

I'm late to the party, but I wanted to add my second. The Tube = crack cocaine, digitized. (I turned it on yesterday afternoon, and before I realized it, it was 11 PM.)

I'm late to the party, but I wanted to add my second. The Tube = crack cocaine, digitized. (I turned it on yesterday afternoon, and before I realized it, it was 11 PM.)

Ditto! I just checked it out yesterday and it was hard to switch back to anything else...I didn't want to miss anything!

Question...how are they supporting this? Will they be selling ads, etc.? Don't get me wrong...I love it, as is. Just not sure where the revenue would be coming from to sustain it, though...

-Randy

I'm late to the party, but I wanted to add my second. The Tube = crack cocaine, digitized. (I turned it on yesterday afternoon, and before I realized it, it was 11 PM.)

CLASSIC :)


Was I the only one having considerable drop-outs during the British yesterday through our local BELO nipple? Or was it national. Only during golf. NEVER during a commercial.

I almost threw my remote through the wall :mad:

Good morning guys. I've been reading the messages in this sub-forum, and the amount of information is quite overwhelming.

I'm recently new to the HDTV world and looking to improve the quality of the signal I view (currently using the hdtv signal on a Comcast analog wire). I want to put an antenna in the attic and split the signal in two (one for HDTV in living area, and other to a Windows Media Center PC with a hi-def tuner). I have a one story with plenty of room in the attic.

I've been in my attic plenty of times and run Cat 6 between two rooms, so drilling through the studs and cutting the drywall isn't an issue for me.

My goal is to hopefully spend around $100 (or a bit more if necessary) for a kit that will fit the above description. Any suggestions?

Good morning guys. I've been reading the messages in this sub-forum, and the amount of information is quite overwhelming.

I'm recently new to the HDTV world and looking to improve the quality of the signal I view (). I want to put an antenna in the attic and split the signal in two (one for HDTV in living area, and other to a Windows Media Center PC with a hi-def tuner). I have a one story with plenty of room in the attic.

I've been in my attic plenty of times and run Cat 6 between two rooms, so drilling through the studs and cutting the drywall isn't an issue for me.

My goal is to hopefully spend around $100 (or a bit more if necessary) for a kit that will fit the above description. Any suggestions?

Your post is confusing. You say "currently using the hdtv signal on a Comcast analog wire. Huh?

Are you getting the HDTV channels offered by comcast i.e. DiscoveryHD, INHD. HBO-HD...etc?

Also. You cannot combine cable and an OTA antenna(on the same coax). Same frequencies.

If you want to add additional runs, split the cable service(comcast). They carry the locals in HD..or am I wrong? (I live in the sticks..NO CABLE). forget the antenna.

Please correct if I am not following you.

Your post is confusing. You say "currently using the hdtv signal on a Comcast analog wire. Huh?

Are you getting the HDTV channels offered by comcast i.e. DiscoveryHD, INHD. HBO-HD...etc?

Also. You cannot combine cable and an OTA antenna. Same frequencies.

If you want to add additional runs, split the cable service(comcast). They carry the locals in HD..or am I wrong? I live in the sticks..NO CABLE. forget the antenna.

Please correct if I am not following you.

I currently get the local HD channels (WFAA, KXAS, etc) from Comcast. We are not on a digital plan, thus no converter box. No antenna is currently used in my setup.

Based on what I've read here, the OTA quality is generally better than what Comcast sends down the line. Even if they were equal, my MCE hi-def tuner is unable to use the HD content off Comcast - it must be OTA (limitation in the current MCE version and will be supported in Windows Vista with the proper hardware). My hdtv has a cable input as well as a OTA input. I have the ability to select Cable + OTA for its channel selections.

I hope this clears up any confusion. :)

As far as the PQ on the locals via comcast, you would have to ask a comcast sub here on the board. Also I am not familiar with MCE(YET!!). Doesn't your MCE PC have a HDTV tuner card?

If it were me I would upgrade to the digital tier, but that's your decision.

Don't they make a HDTV tuner card that will also do QAM???

As far as the PQ on the locals via comcast, you would have to ask a comcast sub here on the board. Also I am not familiar with MCE(YET!!). Doesn't your MCE PC have a HDTV tuner card?

If it were me I would upgrade to the digital tier, but that's your decision.

Don't they make a HDTV tuner card that will also do QAM???

My MCE has standard def and hi-def tuners in it. While there are hi-def tuners that have a QAM in it, current versions of MCE do not support it. Currently my hi-def tuner is useless as the antenna that came with it has a very short cable and barely picks up a handful of channels. This is what pushed me to the point of needing an antenna in the attic. I figure if I'm going to wire the MCE with a good antenna, I might as well split the signal to the hdtv too.

As far as upgrading to the digital tier, my wife and I don't see the value in doing so. We currently don't have the added complexity of adding another component to our entertainment system, and we have plenty of tv to watch with our Tivo and MCE boxes. As a matter of fact, we downgraded from a digital package when we bought our Tivo back in 2003.

Almost all cable companies rebroadcast the same digital bits as the OTA signal for the HD channels. So the picture quality will be the same, assuming comparable decoders.

And yes, they make several that handle QAM. The latest MIT MyHD will do it, as will the FusionHDTV. The former is more stable and has a hardware decoder. The latter uses the PC's CPU, but is compatible with MCE.

Xesdeeni

What IS the deal with WFAA!? They are back to showing an SD version of the HD signal on 8-3. WHY!? What a waste of bandwidth! And it explains why 8-1 looks even worse!

Xesdeeni

Thanks Xesdeeni for jumping in here. My next project is a MCE unit.

Thanks for your knowledge, I was stuck:(

What IS the deal with WFAA!? They are back to showing an SD version of the HD signal on 8-3. WHY!? What a waste of bandwidth! And it explains why 8-1 looks even worse!

Xesdeeni

We are around 4-6 weeks away from the new tower for KLTV is completed and it will "BELO NO MO'". If it was not for network programming and their radar during skywarn my TV would NEVER land on that channel.

My anger managenent skills were well excercised during the British yesterday.

I just can't get a good signal from their backup tower in east Tyler(only 800' and around 20+miles further from me than their primary site and is on lower terrain).

To bad the Ranger game tonight is being broadcast by KDFI. We are missing the HD broadcast on ESPN. Again. :(

I see why someone deleted their post. Anyway, KDFI-27 is LIVE on D* MPEG4

I see why someone deleted their post. Anyway, KDFI-27 is LIVE on D* MPEG4

I was the one who posted it and then deleted it because I was not sure. Since you agreed I guess my first glance was correct. Why would they put up KDFI before PBS? Contract issues?

I was the one who posted it and then deleted it because I was not sure. Since you agreed I guess my first glance was correct. Why would they put up KDFI before PBS? Contract issues?

???? sounds like a question for M8B(KenH)

Two days ago I was getting a HDMI content protection message on 33 which is marked on the guide as A3 3. Today it's SFS.

As far as 21 it says a3 3 but there is no message just a blank screen.

On my receiver there is no test channel on or near 13.

BTW: I did a full reboot before this post.

A thought is that KDFI is a Fox owned station... helping to support their own?

btw, since you mentioned KDFI being on D* MPEG4, did they show the game in HD? Or show the ESPN HD feed? I didn't catch the game but would be curious to know if KDFI was showing actual HD content these days.

No HD on 27 period. OTA or MPEG4. We got screwed. HD on ESPN, but blacked out here.


I hope FSSW-HD gets on MPEG4 soon like NESN-HD is in Boston.

Like the start of hockey season!!!

What IS the deal with WFAA!? They are back to showing an SD version of the HD signal on 8-3. WHY!? What a waste of bandwidth! And it explains why 8-1 looks even worse!

Xesdeeni

Read in another forum that they are testing an even newer HD encoder with statmux.......looks like they want to improve things for us the viewers. Fortunately NBA isn't on 8.1 so my 8.1 hasn't got worse.....so maybe there is a reason why things occur.

We are around 4-6 weeks away from the new tower for KLTV is completed and it will "BELO NO MO'". If it was not for network programming and their radar during skywarn my TV would NEVER land on that channel.

My anger managenent skills were well excercised during the British yesterday.

I just can't get a good signal from their backup tower in east Tyler(only 800' and around 20+miles further from me than their primary site and is on lower terrain).

The British Open did NOT originate in HD on the course overseas :-(

The British Open did NOT originate in HD on the course overseas :-(

Yeah but I would have seen it without the annoying pauses.

Yeah but I would have seen it without the annoying pauses.

What pauses were you getting......the PAL to NTSC conversions?

What pauses were you getting......the PAL to NTSC conversions?

No, the typical WFAA-DT dropouts.

Equipment wise, my game is tight. When there are no dropouts the signal is 90+.
During dropuots,10-20.

I am using the high-end channel masther antenna, a CM-7777, Belden Quad-shield, Digicon compression fittings WEATHERPROOFED on a 40 foot tower on the highest hill in the area. NO OTHER STATION has the issues that WFAA does.

WFAA-DT via D* MPEG4 as I have said before, is like watching a kung-fu movie. Lip synch problems BAD!!!!!!!!! So the only other option that I had was to turn off the TV and mow the yard and see the highlights on SC.

I had my H20 installed about a month ago... green lights on front and all I get for locals is the two for each station (sd and hd).

yesterday my father had his H20 installed (BLUE lights) and after his installation he has options for not only the two, but also now the sub-signals for each of the main stations...

I can't find if this is something in the setup, if this is the new MPeg4 and I just haven't set mine up to do that properly or what is going on. I rebooted my machine and went back thru the dish setup, but nothing changed.

thoughts? Im I missing the obvious? thanks!

We are around 4-6 weeks away from the new tower for KLTV is completed and it will "BELO NO MO'". If it was not for network programming and their radar during skywarn my TV would NEVER land on that channel.You keep talking about this, but I don't think another ABC affiliate in Tyler is a viable alternative. Since it's a completely different direction (more than 90 degrees from my location), I'd need a second antenna with new tuners or switches, or a rotator. None of this is practical...at least for me.

Xesdeeni

No, the typical WFAA-DT dropouts.

Equipment wise, my game is tight. When there are no dropouts the signal is 90+.
During dropuots,10-20.

I am using the high-end channel masther antenna, a CM-7777, Belden Quad-shield, Digicon compression fittings WEATHERPROOFED on a 40 foot tower on the highest hill in the area. NO OTHER STATION has the issues that WFAA does.

WFAA-DT via D* MPEG4 as I have said before, is like watching a kung-fu movie. Lip synch problems BAD!!!!!!!!! So the only other option that I had was to turn off the TV and mow the yard and see the highlights on SC.

Their signal is excellent north of Richardson but gets hits during lightning storms from impulse noise being a VHF.......but I understand that MPEG4 issue on DTV!

I had my H20 installed about a month ago... green lights on front and all I get for locals is the two for each station (sd and hd).

yesterday my father had his H20 installed (BLUE lights) and after his installation he has options for not only the two, but also now the sub-signals for each of the main stations...

I can't find if this is something in the setup, if this is the new MPeg4 and I just haven't set mine up to do that properly or what is going on. I rebooted my machine and went back thru the dish setup, but nothing changed.

thoughts? Im I missing the obvious? thanks!

You didn't mention where you or your father are located in the metroplex, what type of antenna you are using, where the antenna is pointed, how long your cable runs are, what type of preamp you are using (if any), or what type of cable you are using. Other than that, you are in the wrong forum. Try this one for H20 users...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8071216#post8071216

That having been said, the H20 has a 5th generation ATSC tuner that is among the best available. However unless your antenna and setup are correct you will not get good results.

sorry, I did not explain myself very well. This is all off of DTV's feeds for HD local channels and not OTA... That is what is so weird. We both have the same H20 box, but when his was set up, he gets the sub-channels for 4, 5, 8 (weather and whatever they are showing), but on my box I cannot get them. (all I get are the one SD and one HD for each).

I am just asking if there is something in the H20 setup I need to change, upgrade, reboot or whatever. I thought someone on this Dallas thread had mentioned that the MPeg4 locals had been started recently and I wondered if that had something to do with the difference between my setup and my father's.

My apologies for the lack of info.

sorry, I did not explain myself very well. This is all off of DTV's feeds for HD local channels and not OTA... That is what is so weird. We both have the same H20 box, but when his was set up, he gets the sub-channels for 4, 5, 8 (weather and whatever they are showing), but on my box I cannot get them. (all I get are the one SD and one HD for each).

I am just asking if there is something in the H20 setup I need to change, upgrade, reboot or whatever. I thought someone on this Dallas thread had mentioned that the MPeg4 locals had been started recently and I wondered if that had something to do with the difference between my setup and my father's.


There might be a few H20 users in this forum, but there are a lot more in the H-20 forum who can help. MPEG4 LIL in the DFW market has been operational since last December. Some people have reported lip sync problems but I have never seen a single PQ or signal strength issue, not even a rain fade on the satellite portion, and I have had the H20 (both versions, 100 and 600) since December.

My guess is that you have a misaligned dish or a defective H20. Compare the satellites and signal strengths your dad receives to the ones you receive. Are they approximately identical? Post the results in the H20 forum and say that you are having problems receiving all your locals. You are only supposed to get 4, 5, 8, 11, and 27 via MPEG4 satellite.

thanks. but I am not having signal strength issues. All I am asking is, and this is why I am posting it to the Dallas board, is how you get the sub channels on an H20, or if you are supposed to get them at all? And by that I mean from DTV and not OTA.

My dad's new installation of three days ago, and he gets all the sub channels (5-2, 8-2) and mine was installed a month ago and I do not. He might have a newer H20, as his has blue lights and mine green.

I'm pretty sure the subchannels are not being transmitted by DirecTV. Are you sure you are not confusing this with the HD OTA stations which are inserted into the guide as 4.1, 4.2 etc? And channel 8 in Dallas isn't being transmitted over DirecTV in HD at all so there is no way you can be seeing 8.2...

If you have HD locals, regular analog locals via satellite and also OTA, you will see in the guide:
the HD channel
the analog sat channel
the OTA subchannels

Well, I am getting Channel 8 in HD on my DTV H20 and new multi-LNB dish in Mpeg4. It looks like crap, but it is there.

I think I know what is going on with my father's. The installer did the setup to search for local station on the attenna setup, even though there is no OTA, and the guide is showing the channels... That would explain it.

On a side note, god gosh is Mpeg4 so far a dissapointment. That PQ is just horrilby choppy.

...On a side note, god gosh is Mpeg4 so far a dissapointment. That PQ is just horrilby choppy...

My MPEG4 LiLs (Dallas/Ft.Worth) provided by E* were initially "horribly choppy", but now the issues have resolved and the E* provided MPEG4 LiLs are now indistinguishable from OTA. (This is using a ViP622 box)

Yes WFAA is on D* now, it wasn't available for a long time and I had not added it to my favorites list but will now do so.
The guide will show the local OTA HD channels even if you are not receiving them unless you set up for no OTA. So you see the subchannels in the guide but do not get any signal.

No HD on 27 period. OTA or MPEG4. We got screwed. HD on ESPN, but blacked out here.


I hope FSSW-HD gets on MPEG4 soon like NESN-HD is in Boston.

Like the start of hockey season!!!

I understand that 27 will show the new My Network programming in HD. It will be the first HD programming ever aired on the station. This probably means nothing in regards to sports programming right now, but it's a start.

Pardon my ignorance, but what's the big deal about MPEG4? I get a few HD games on FSSW on Verizon Fios and it looks great.

I understand that 27 will show the new My Network programming in HD. It will be the first HD programming ever aired on the station. This probably means nothing in regards to sports programming right now, but it's a start.

Pardon my ignorance, but what's the big deal about MPEG4? I get a few HD games on FSSW on Verizon Fios and it looks great.

New HD channels being launched by the satellite companies (Dish Network or DirecTv) are using MPEG4 for their compression scheme, so that is all its refering to. Both companies have announced that they would start carrying more Regiional Sports HD channels in the coming months... DirecTv seems to be a bit ahead of the curve on this development so far though.

Here's a question. 27 is 720p, I'm assuming due to the Fox affiliation. What is MyNetwork's format? Are we going to have ABC cross converted from 720p to 1080i and MyNetwork crossconverted from 1080i to 720p here in Dallas?

Xesdeeni

Here's a question. 27 is 720p, I'm assuming due to the Fox affiliation. What is MyNetwork's format? Are we going to have ABC cross converted from 720p to 1080i and MyNetwork crossconverted from 1080i to 720p here in Dallas?

Xesdeeni

I have no idea. I'd bet this will work just like the Fox HD plan where the network switches the local channel over to a direct feed of their HD signal. (someone else can explain it better than I just did)

Wasn't sure where to post this.

With the pending transition of Comcast to TWC in the D/FW market, does anyone know if FOX-HD will be available? TW set up a website (http://www.twcusoon.com/) to answer questions about the swtich and in the question about HDTV it only lists NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS and WB as the locals. Is there any reason to think that FOX-HD will NOT be offered now or in the near future?

I know TWC has it in San Antonio (in addition to HDNet which is not listed on the website either).

Just a quick post on my experience with the Terk 55 in West Plano. I picked one up on eBay for $15.52 plus $20 for shipping. Used, but in excellent condidtion with all hardware. Looks fine, and I mounted it on the roof of my two story house, using the mast and cable that my Direct TV dish used to occupy. Works like a charm, and I pick up 33 channels, including all of the Cedar Hill HD channels. Very pleased with the outcome, and given the existing mast and cable, it was a piece of cake. Thanks to Monty22001 for your feedback and advice.

Wasn't sure where to post this.

With the pending transition of Comcast to TWC in the D/FW market, does anyone know if FOX-HD will be available? TW set up a website (http://www.twcusoon.com/) to answer questions about the swtich and in the question about HDTV it only lists NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS and WB as the locals. Is there any reason to think that FOX-HD will NOT be offered now or in the near future?

I know TWC has it in San Antonio (in addition to HDNet which is not listed on the website either).

I got a letter in the mail from Time Warner announcing their take over in the coming weeks...

Just saw that the TWC website for North Texas is now active w/ channel lineups. Appears to be a copy/paste of the Comcast lineup minus the NFL network ( :mad: ).

I do wonder if/when we will get HDNet (finally) in D/FW. I noticed that TWC offers it in their other Texas markets.

Just saw that the TWC website for North Texas is now active w/ channel lineups. Appears to be a copy/paste of the Comcast lineup minus the NFL network ( :mad: ).

I do wonder if/when we will get HDNet (finally) in D/FW. I noticed that TWC offers it in their other Texas markets.

Hmmmm....I don't see TheTube on there either... :eek:

You keep talking about this, but I don't think another ABC affiliate in Tyler is a viable alternative. Since it's a completely different direction (more than 90 degrees from my location), I'd need a second antenna with new tuners or switches, or a rotator. None of this is practical...at least for me.

Xesdeeni

Use a seperate VHF(only) antenna and notch filters for the specific channel(in this case would be ch 10)....see solid signal. They have al that.

Big antenna stays pointed to D/FW. Tyler antenna mounts below the main ant stationary.

Use a seperate VHF(only) antenna and notch filters for the specific channel(in this case would be ch 10)....see solid signal. They have al that.

Big antenna stays pointed to D/FW. Tyler antenna mounts below the main ant stationary.Given that my antenna is in the attic, there really isn't a "below."

You'd need a notch filter for the main antenna, and a band-pass for the secondary one. Where are you getting these, and how much?

Xesdeeni

Here we have a TOWER garden instead of a FLOWER garden. :)

Tower#1 100'

Towers #2 and #3 are 40'

You can do that stuff here in the sticks. But the wifey just LOVES those cozy little neighborhoods.


I'll move there, but it will be AFTER the fight.(that I will lose:))

Also about the TWC takeover of Comcast in Dallas: months ago a Comcast contractor told me they'd be swithcing their A-side/B-side system to a single side, and later I heard this was connected to the Time Warner takeover. Does anyone know if TWC truly intends to do that switch or if this is just a rumor?

My reception on the B-side has been horrible ever since I moved here, and after about 8 Comcast visits that fixed nothing, I pretty much gave up on it. Switching everything to the A-side could really be the holy grail for my picture quality.

Anyone else heard of this?

The Logo on my HD DVR (moto 6412 III) has changed.

Also the guide on the other HD Receiver (a Moto 6412, non DVR) has changed the guide to mimic the DVR guide, which is much nicer then the crap that was there before.

They're moving fast in this regard at least.

Hmmmm....I don't see TheTube on there either... :eek:

Thankfully, I was wrong on this...it is there.

-Randy

After moving into our new house a couple of months ago, when putting some stuff up in the attic, I realized that I had a fairly large antenna up there.

It gets HD signals from most stations well, which is good.

I was just wondering if anyone could help me identify the antenna, here is a picture.

http://www.notunusual.net/in_attic_antenna.jpg

The Logo on my HD DVR (moto 6412 III) has changed.

Also the guide on the other HD Receiver (a Moto 6412, non DVR) has changed the guide to mimic the DVR guide, which is much nicer then the crap that was there before.

They're moving fast in this regard at least.

According to my wife (I'm not home yet) the 6412 we have switched over and things work fine, but our ReplayTV is all wonky... might be the rumor of everything changed to the A-side since I only have the b-side going in... anythoughts?

Hi all,

I just got my HD equipment installed yesterday and what a PITA. The guy was there for 4 hours and didn't even get the locals working. I have the HD DVR from DTV and an over the air HD antenna, I believe it is the DB2. Well the outcome is that I get NO useable signal on the main (ABC, CBS, NBC, or FOX) stations. He mounted the DB2 where the Sat Dish is, just above the eve of the roof and used a multiplexer to get it to the HD DVR. I live ~33 miles from the broadcast antenna. What do I need to get or do to get the locals?

Thanks
John

I'm a Comcast (now Time Warner) subscriber so I could be wrong, but I thought DirecTV launched HD locals in the Dallas market already??? I know DISH has. So why would anyone bother w/ an OTA reception? To save $5 month? Compression/Quality?

Did anybody notice that some previously available VOD content went away with the TWC switchover? I'm in McKinney and could have sworn there was some more/different content on VOD prior to TWC. Is this a licensing/contracts issue? Has anyone heard any TWC plans to give us more/better content availability? If you hear anything please share

Hi all,

I just got my HD equipment installed yesterday and what a PITA. The guy was there for 4 hours and didn't even get the locals working. I have the HD DVR from DTV and an over the air HD antenna, I believe it is the DB2. Well the outcome is that I get NO useable signal on the main (ABC, CBS, NBC, or FOX) stations. He mounted the DB2 where the Sat Dish is, just above the eve of the roof and used a multiplexer to get it to the HD DVR. I live ~33 miles from the broadcast antenna. What do I need to get or do to get the locals?

Thanks
John


Well, I guess it is an epedemic in the Dallas metro area with shotty D* installers unless you are willing to pay a seperate install. I assume D* just isn't paying enough to do an install or the installers just don't care. Anyway, that's my rant, so now to address your issues.

First, I would not use any diplexers especially if you have the new "Big Dish" (AT9). Regardless if you are using MPEG4 or not with this dish there seems to be some consistent complaints with it and diplexers for local OTA. Run a direct line for OTA. More reliable and easier to troubleshoot.

Second, check www.antennaweb.org to see what type of antenna you will need for your location. If you are trying to use the antenna that D* provides, well lets just say that it hasn't gotten any great reviews. The good news is that you can pick up an outdoor OTA from Fry's for less than $50 and it should pick up everything in the area including ABC.

Third, I would be on the phone to D* complaining like there was no tomorrow. Worst case scenario you get some programming credits and have to put the antenna up yourself. Best case scenario is that D* makes the installer do his job and come back out and put up the antenna correctly. At this point you hand him the new antenna and smile. But seriously, this isn't rocket science, so maybe it would be best to get the programming credits and do it yourself, at least then you know it was done right.

Good luck and happy HD,

Kemical

I'm a Comcast (now Time Warner) subscriber so I could be wrong, but I thought DirecTV launched HD locals in the Dallas market already??? I know DISH has. So why would anyone bother w/ an OTA reception? To save $5 month? Compression/Quality?


Because D* cannot seem to get their S*** together and offer us a MPEG4 HD DVR. Not that we Tivo lovers want one, but still. Therefore we must rely on mid-20th century technology to get our 21st century technology, pretty ironic, eh?

Kemical

ok i have a question, i'm looking at getting the LG 37LC2D

Ok i have a question, i'm looking at getting the LG 37LC2D, which has a "built in HD tuner", so can someone please help me understand what else i need to get OTA hd, because i have standard comcast cable and i'm not going to upgrade....help?

Ok i have a question, i'm looking at getting the LG 37LC2D, which has a "built in HD tuner", so can someone please help me understand what else i need to get OTA hd, because i have standard comcast cable and i'm not going to upgrade....help?


Go to www.antennaweb.org and see what type of antenna you will need, preferably an outdoor antenna. Fry's usually has some good ones, but so does Lowes, Circuit, Best Buy, Radio and etc.... If you live close enough to the Cedar Hill area then you can go with an indoor antenna.

That's it. Plug it in and scan for channels and then start enjoying free HD.

Kemical

P.S. Try just plugging the cable line into the TV to see what you get. When I was on cable I was able to get the local HD channels without having a box from Comcast. They will be in the 100's. If it works, then use a splitter and forget the antenna.

so you're saying i need an antenna no matter what right? i looked at the website and it says i mostly need a red colored antenna? So does that mean i just go to, let's say radio shack, i just look for antenna with that sign they gave me on the website on the side of the box?

so you're saying i need an antenna no matter what right? i looked at the website and it says i mostly need a red colored antenna? So does that mean i just go to, let's say radio shack, i just look for antenna with that sign they gave me on the website on the side of the box?


An antenna with the RED indicator would get you OTA if you have a built in HD tuner which is what you stated in your original post. However, as I also stated, try hooking the cable line to it and do a scan for cable channels. Check the channels above 100 and you will probably find that you are able to pick up the local HD channels through your Comcast cable line with no antenna needed. It will take you 5 minutes to find out.

Kemical

thank you VERY very much!

Ok, since I was kinda bored I looked up your TV on the web. If you read page 21 of your TV's manual, this will explain how to hook up your cable line and page 34 explains how to scan for cable channels. Have fun.

Kemical

thank you VERY very much!


No problem, like I said I was bored. :)



P.S. Nice TV!

Ok i have a question, i'm looking at getting the LG 37LC2D, which has a "built in HD tuner", so can someone please help me understand what else i need to get OTA hd, because i have standard comcast cable and i'm not going to upgrade....help?

For an antenna installation in Carrollton (where your profile says you are), you will most likely be able to get away with an attic installation. A couple years back, I tested a second generation DTV tuner with a friend's attic antenna (in Carrolton, near Josey/Rosemeade), and it worked just fine...so unless your location is substantially more challenging than his, you'd probably do okay with a similar installation.

i live on Carmel Drive off Keller Springs, i'm not sure if you know the area well but i live right next to a park called kids corral. i think it would work here too but i'm not sure.

but i still think kemical head's idea is the best. Thanks a lot with your help, i'll get back to you if it works out!

Well, it's now August, and Charter still hasn't rolled out HD service here in Denton. Back in February, a senior rep from Fort Worth said they should have it up and running in June. They're now two months late, and there's no sign that they're even in a testing mode (no new QAM assignments have appeared since I first set up my HDTV in Fall 2005).

The really frustrating part is that they have brought out Charter Telephone service. So they'll upgrade the physical plant for that, but not for HD. The local staff receive absolutely no info - - as far as they know, it might be a month, it might be 2007.

I'm going to check with our apartment manager about the status of Verizon's FIOS rollout in this area, and see what she's found out about their plans for apartment complexes here in Denton. (I've spoken with her twice about FIOS already.) Even if it takes Verizon a while to wire each unit for FIOS, they may still beat Charter.

Well, it's now August, and Charter still hasn't rolled out HD service here in Denton. Back in February, a senior rep from Fort Worth said they should have it up and running in June. They're now two months late, and there's no sign that they're even in a testing mode (no new QAM assignments have appeared since I first set up my HDTV in Fall 2005).

The really frustrating part is that they have brought out Charter Telephone service. So they'll upgrade the physical plant for that, but not for HD. The local staff receive absolutely no info - - as far as they know, it might be a month, it might be 2007.

I'm going to check with our apartment manager about the status of Verizon's FIOS rollout in this area, and see what she's found out about their plans for apartment complexes here in Denton. (I've spoken with her twice about FIOS already.) Even if it takes Verizon a while to wire each unit for FIOS, they may still beat Charter.

Are you able to do satellite? If so, I believe Dish does not have a long term commitment contract like DirecTV and this would get you through until either Charter or FIOS became available. By the way, FIOS should be what you are praying for, lower prices and better services than the cable companies.

Kemical

I believe Dish does not have a long term commitment contract like DirecTV

You're right in that DISH offers a no-committment option for new members. According to them, what you lose by not electing the 18-month contract is the $49.99 activation fee that they would waive on your fist month's bill, "priority technical support" (whatever that means), In-home service, and Equipment replacement. All of these things are collectively referred to as their HomeProtection Plan or something like that.

What I've been trying to determine is how important those things are. I'd like to try Dish and would rather not have a contract but does the above mean I don't get technical support, or if the receiver I'm paying $199 to lease goes bad, am I out of pocket for the full cost of a new one? And what kind of service would there be if not in-home?

If anyone has the answers to these questions I'd greatly appreciate it.

Rosenkav,

Long time since I posted in this Dallas forum, but I got fios in South Denton back in June. So far it is pretty good. I don't care for their guide though. Also, coming from the D* Tivo, the FIOS DVR isn't as wife satisfying as the D* Tivo so I am getting some heat from that end. Overall I like that my cable bill is cheaper and I receive more channels with two HD DVRs. THE HD is amazing. I have noticed that when watching some SD that I have some real faint looking diagonal lines that I can mainly see when the screen has a real light colored background across the whole screen. I am not sure if this is a cable end or the service itself. Overall I am extremely thrilled to be watching stuff in HD. The live programming is a major difference, although some of the filmed HD content isn't as noticeable on. Hopefully fios will be to you soon!

You're right in that DISH offers a no-committment option for new members. According to them, what you lose by not electing the 18-month contract is the $49.99 activation fee that they would waive on your fist month's bill, "priority technical support" (whatever that means), In-home service, and Equipment replacement. All of these things are collectively referred to as their HomeProtection Plan or something like that.

What I've been trying to determine is how important those things are. I'd like to try Dish and would rather not have a contract but does the above mean I don't get technical support, or if the receiver I'm paying $199 to lease goes bad, am I out of pocket for the full cost of a new one? And what kind of service would there be if not in-home?

If anyone has the answers to these questions I'd greatly appreciate it.


First, I would say that Dish would be willing to give you a free HD receiver just to get you to sign up, contract or not.

Second, I seriously doubt that they do not offer support for all of their customers, regardless of contract. And as far as the equipment replacement plan, I bet they offer a monthly charge for that which is usually around $5.

The bottom line, play hard ball with them, explain you want to try it out for awhile and if they want your business they have to earn it. I bet you would be surprised at what you get when you do this. Cable and satellite companies are fighting for customers and everyone knows it especially the providers. I wouldn't do any of them without getting a free receiver out of it. Why should you have to pay for a receiver that isn't yours?

Kemical

kemical_head and StormyQ:

I have 2 gift certificate cards from Dishnetwork that would entitle you to free activation, $50 credit, and free DVR upgrade. If you want one PM me with your address and I'll mail them to you.

Well, I guess it is an epedemic in the Dallas metro area with shotty D* installers unless you are willing to pay a seperate install. I assume D* just isn't paying enough to do an install or the installers just don't care. Anyway, that's my rant, so now to address your issues.

First, I would not use any diplexers especially if you have the new "Big Dish" (AT9). Regardless if you are using MPEG4 or not with this dish there seems to be some consistent complaints with it and diplexers for local OTA. Run a direct line for OTA. More reliable and easier to troubleshoot.

Second, check to see what type of antenna you will need for your location. If you are trying to use the antenna that D* provides, well lets just say that it hasn't gotten any great reviews. The good news is that you can pick up an outdoor OTA from Fry's for less than $50 and it should pick up everything in the area including ABC.

Third, I would be on the phone to D* complaining like there was no tomorrow. Worst case scenario you get some programming credits and have to put the antenna up yourself. Best case scenario is that D* makes the installer do his job and come back out and put up the antenna correctly. At this point you hand him the new antenna and smile. But seriously, this isn't rocket science, so maybe it would be best to get the programming credits and do it yourself, at least then you know it was done right.

Good luck and happy HD,

Kemical

Well I contacted DTV and told them that the antenna wasn't going to work and that they shouldn't give me a antenna that was rated for 30 miles (line of sight) when I lived 35 miles from the farm. They said it wasn't their business to know that... What a bunch of crap. Long story short, I got credit for getting a new antenna that will work and they made a note in the account to upgrade me to the new receiver when it is available at NO COST. I went to Fry's, but they didn't have anything in stock that I thought would work, so I went up the street to Home Depot. They had a antenna and a signal amplifier. I bought both, but hoped I wouldn't have to use the antenna. Installed the amplifier and messed with the antenna that DTV installed, the amp helped, but messing with the antenna didn't do much. I knew that I had an old 36 element UHF/VHF antenna in the attic from the previous owner of the house, tried hooking that up and bang, all of the stations are 70+ on the meter.

Strange thing happened last night, at around 11 pm the signal from 4, 5 and 27 went to zero. Were they doing maint or something? This AM it was back.... Strange.

Yeah, the amplifier will only work if you are already getting a signal, otherwise it won't do anything. It sounds like you have everything working, so sit back and enjoy.

Kemical

I'm not sure where to put this question in the forum, i need to know the difference between ED and HD, if you can answer it, that would be GREAT, if not could someone let me know where i should post the question.

I'm not sure where to put this question in the forum, i need to know the difference between ED and HD, if you can answer it, that would be GREAT, if not could someone let me know where i should post the question.

ED is non-interlaced standard definition, 720x480p. DVD quality.
HD has up to 6x more picture information at 1920x1080p.

If you buy an ED set to save money, you're ripping yourself off.

Ahhh, thanks very much!

I'm not sure where to put this question in the forum, i need to know the difference between ED and HD, if you can answer it, that would be GREAT, if not could someone let me know where i should post the question.


Becareful when looking at HD plasma monitors also. Sometimes you will find ones that are 1024x1024 and while they are better than ED monitors they are not true HD monitors. A HD plasma or LCD should be at a minimum of 1368x768, anything lower and you are not doing yourself justice. All other technologies, such as DLP usually list themselves as 720p, 1080i or 1080p which are all HD. 1080p being the highest quality display while 720p and 1080i are somewhat even depending on who you talk to. The reality is to get 1080p if you can afford it.

One last thing, make sure the technology you get, ie DLP, plasma, LCD will fir your needs.

Kemical

SD has only one format. HD has many. 720p and 1080i are the two most widely used.

BTW, fixed pixel displays do not necessarily match the definitions per the standard protocol. For instance my 42" Panasonic HD plasma is a very good display device. But the number of fixed pixels it has are 1024 x 768 which does not match any format exactly. The scaler in the display always has to make adustments.

Format Common Resolution Pixels
SD - 480p 720 x 480 345,600
HD - 720p 1280 x 720 921,600
HD - 1080i 1920 x 1080 2,073,600

Yeah i don't have the money for a 1080p, even though it's probably worth the money considering 1080p might soon enough be the standard, but for now 720p and 1080i will have to do for me.

Yeah i don't have the money for a 1080p, even though it's probably worth the money considering 1080p might soon enough be the standard, but for now 720p and 1080i will have to do for me.

What type of display are you looking for?

Really to be honest anything that fits my budget, LCD and Plasmas def my only 2 choices, but idk which one, i can probably go up to around 1700 but most likely nothing higher, i know it's a tight budget for the tv's i'm looking at but what can i do, i'm looking for 37 inch tv, it would slide in perfectly into my entertainment center.

Really to be honest anything that fits my budget, LCD and Plasmas def my only 2 choices, but idk which one, i can probably go up to around 1700 but most likely nothing higher, i know it's a tight budget for the tv's i'm looking at but what can i do, i'm looking for 37 inch tv, it would slide in perfectly into my entertainment center.


In a 37" that is plenty. For 37" you will probably be looking at LCD. I don't know of a 37" plasma anymore, I believe they all start out at 42". Check out Fry's Friday ad and go to Microcenter.com. Both are local and have some great deals on 37" LCD. Microcenter has a Viewsonic for under $1200 to give you an idea, plus they are trying to get into the Flat Panel business so they have a lot of good deals. Make sure you check their local ad's (you have to go by there to get them) for the best deals.

Anyway, good luck and if you have any specific questions PM me.

Kemical

Really to be honest anything that fits my budget, LCD and Plasmas def my only 2 choices, but idk which one, i can probably go up to around 1700 but most likely nothing higher, i know it's a tight budget for the tv's i'm looking at but what can i do, i'm looking for 37 inch tv, it would slide in perfectly into my entertainment center.

Too bad about the entertainment center constraint...TigerDirect has a 1080p Sammy 50" DLP for ~$1600, shipped....link (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2108778&Sku=S223-5024). That's particularly painful when I think about what I paid for my 62" Mits 720p DLP a couple of years ago... :( Not that I wasn't expecting to see that happen, but still.....

-Randy

IFLYSWA,

That's a great deal!! But too bad of the entertainment center, you're right, my living room is relatively small, and a 50 inch tv would not fit in anyway. And thanks for the advice kemical_head, i was also just wondering if tigerdirect is a trustable website, i've heard of it on cnet and such but not much from friends, i know newegg is a good site but they don't have the tv's i'm looking for, so should i trust tigerdirect?

IFLYSWA,

That's a great deal!! But too bad of the entertainment center, you're right, my living room is relatively small, and a 50 inch tv would not fit in anyway. And thanks for the advice kemical_head, i was also just wondering if tigerdirect is a trustable website, i've heard of it on cnet and such but not much from friends, i know newegg is a good site but they don't have the tv's i'm looking for, so should i trust tigerdirect?


From what I have seen they are a good company. The only problem with any internet company is that if you have an issue you either have to ship it back to them or the manufacture, not always, but something you need to check on. This is why on big items I like to try and get it locally. I bought my front projector from Newegg because it was such a great deal, however they clearly say that after thirty days I have to deal with BenQ on any issues. Also, don't forget to factor in shipping costs with internet and taxes for local sites when comparing prices.

Kemical

I don't think I've ever heard anything bad about TigerDirect, and they have been around a long time. But I agree with kemical...there are distinct advantages to making bigger purchases locally, when it makes sense. Of course, you could do like me and buy your TV locally, only to see the company close all of its Texas stores (Ultimate Electronics) within 3 or 4 months of purchase. I would say I got the worst of both worlds, but I pretty much had to buy the Mits locally, anyway. Ugh. Kemical also hit on the the other considerations...shipping vs. sales tax, etc. That was one of the things that was impressive about the Sammy at TD...it included shipping!

Happy hunting!
-Randy

Yeah great deal right there. But i'm pretty much just going to go to BB tomorrow and check the tv's out again, that LG 37LC2D will probably be my choice in the end, i won't get it tomorrow, but eventually hopefully, thanks all.

In a 37" that is plenty. For 37" you will probably be looking at LCD. I don't know of a 37" plasma anymore, I believe they all start out at 42".

I have a 37" Panny Plasma and I much prefer it over LCD as far as image vibrancy and color. I believe they still sell them...I purchased mine at CC.

I have a 37" Panny Plasma and I much prefer it over LCD as far as image vibrancy and color. I believe they still sell them...I purchased mine at CC.


Panasonic was the only company I knew of that sold a 37" plasma, however the downside of plasma is possible burn-in. With TV stations insisting on putting their logo's at the bottom right of the screen this could be a possible long term issue while LCD will not have this issue. I do think the Panny is better than even the Sharp LCD which is the standard for LCD, but I am hesitant recommending plasma based on the burn-in issue.

Kemical

Panasonic was the only company I knew of that sold a 37" plasma, however the downside of plasma is possible burn-in. With TV stations insisting on putting their logo's at the bottom right of the screen this could be a possible long term issue while LCD will not have this issue. I do think the Panny is better than even the Sharp LCD which is the standard for LCD, but I am hesitant recommending plasma based on the burn-in issue.

Kemical

I have had no burn-in problems in the year that I've had mine...and I read somewhere that the new plasmas were less likely to have this problem...that it was mainly an issue with the earlier plasmas...

I have had no burn-in problems in the year that I've had mine...and I read somewhere that the new plasmas were less likely to have this problem...that it was mainly an issue with the earlier plasmas...

I also read that somewhere, i think it might have been on the BB or CC website, where the guide tells you the difference between LCD and Plasmas, they said it was a problem a year ago but new technologies have reduced that possibility, it doesn't matter to me because i'm pretty much only looking at LCD's because i've read that that panny has below average SD and trust me i'm watching SD MUCH more than i am going to watch HD, i'm getting this tv for the point in life when all i have is HD lol.

I also read that somewhere, i think it might have been on the BB or CC website, where the guide tells you the difference between LCD and Plasmas, they said it was a problem a year ago but new technologies have reduced that possibility, it doesn't matter to me because i'm pretty much only looking at LCD's because i've read that that panny has below average SD and trust me i'm watching SD MUCH more than i am going to watch HD, i'm getting this tv for the point in life when all i have is HD lol.

So I looked through the ads for tomorrow, Sunday the 6th, and here are a couple of units I saw:

Microcenter - Viewsonic 37" $1199
Winbook 37" $899
Hitachi 37" $1350
Sharp 37" $1850

Best Buy - No 37" units listed

Compusa - Sharp 37" $1999

Circuit City - No 37" units listed

I am sure that both Circuit and Best Buy has 37" units, they just didn't list any in their ads. This should give you an idea of the price range for 37" LCD flat panels around town. Make sure that you get one with either HDMI or DVI inputs. The digital tuner is optional depending on what your service provider is, for instance if you have a cable box then you really do not need a built in tuner. Have fun with it.

Kemical

P.S. Make sure when you look at them that you view an SD signal on them as well as an HD signal so you can see the quality of upconversion the display does.

Haha that helps a lot, i was hoping to get up in the morning and see the LG 37LC2D in the BB add on sale or something, but oh well, i'm still going to go ahead and go to BB and look at it anyway. One other question, the last time i went into BB and looked at the LG, and all the other tvs as well, they were playing a show on fox, do you know if they usually put them up in HD or is it in SD, i did not see a FOXHD sign in the corner only a FOX logo, i'm not sure if that means anything but just letting you know, and how would i see the tv in SD and HD like you said to do, would i just ask an employee to do something for me or....?

Haha that helps a lot, i was hoping to get up in the morning and see the LG 37LC2D in the BB add on sale or something, but oh well, i'm still going to go ahead and go to BB and look at it anyway. One other question, the last time i went into BB and looked at the LG, and all the other tvs as well, they were playing a show on fox, do you know if they usually put them up in HD or is it in SD, i did not see a FOXHD sign in the corner only a FOX logo, i'm not sure if that means anything but just letting you know, and how would i see the tv in SD and HD like you said to do, would i just ask an employee to do something for me or....?

Easiest way for you to make sure you are watching HD is to have them put it on HDNET or HD Discovery. Then have them show you CNN for SD. This will be the worst it should be for a SD program. If I remember right they have DirecTV hooked up to their TV's just like CC. If not get them to move the TV to someplace the source is at. There is no need to buy a TV until you see what it is going to look like first, not in this day in age.

As far as the sale price, Best Buy is showing all TV's on sale. More than likely it is 5% off, this is their usual sale promotion when running a no interest promotion along side a sale price. Try to haggle with them saying that CC has it at a lower price, they are at 10% off with 12 months no interest. Worst case scenario is they say no and you have to talk to a manger to get them to price match. The reality is that they are going to try and close as many sales as possible right now, so if you dont get the price you want, go back and talk to someone else. Getting 10% off shouldn't be that hard, especially if you skip on the financing.

Hope that helps. Oh, and just in case you were wondering, yes I was in retail for almost 14 years. I worked for CC, Best Buy and even good ole Ultimate, so I do have a little insight on their sales process. If you have anymore questions give me a hollar.

Kemical

lh -
For what it is worth, you will likely be somewhat disappointed in the SD picture in all of the sets you are considering...the sad fact is that fixed pixel displays simply don't do SD well. I am sure there are still considerable differences among them, but you aren't likely to find a really good SD pic on these types of sets. The good news is that you'll be surprised how much HD you end up watching once you have it, though! :)

-Randy

lh -
For what it is worth, you will likely be somewhat disappointed in the SD picture in all of the sets you are considering...the sad fact is that fixed pixel displays simply don't do SD well. I am sure there are still considerable differences among them, but you aren't likely to find a really good SD pic on these types of sets. The good news is that you'll be surprised how much HD you end up watching once you have it, though! :)

-Randy

I agree with IFLY. The problem is not necessarily that the SD PQ is that bad. The plasma HD quality is so GOOD that by comparison SD looks like a waste of time to watch. I now search for HD programming and only as a last resort will opt for an SD program. Even compressed or "HD-lite" programs over satellite is far superior to the best SD program anytime.

Hi everyone. I've just purchased a Samsung HLS-5087 DLP. I live in Frisco near Lebanon/Hillcrest in a one story home. I have Comcast (now TW) basic analog service. The Samsung does a good job of displaying anlog SD. I hooked up the cable to the AIR antenna connection on the TV but it appears Comcast does not transmit the local HD channels free and clear. They list the local HDs on their website on channels in the 200 range so you need their cable box or maybe this Samsung TV doesn't have a QAM tuner. I have a friend with DISH HD on a PVR and some of the HD content looks very nice but after looking at the pricing structure it appears getting HD from DISH, Directv or TW Cable is going to run me $70 or more a month.

I've read conflicting posts on this thread about HD reception OTA in Frisco. Some state they can get all HD except Ch 27 with a set of rabbit ears in the antenna from locations east of Plano or north Plano near the Frisco border. Others report having issues with getting reception with much larger antennas.

I am most interested in getting ABC HD due to my daughter loving Lost. OK, I like it too :). What are my chances of getting ABC in HD off a small to medium sized antenna in my attic? I have a plywood with compostion roof. My house faces south and it looks like the best place to mount the antenna would be from the garage roof which is on the north side of the house.

I do have a unused DBS satellite dish mounted on the roof left by the past owner. Could I attach some sort of antenna on that and plug it into one of the cables? I really don't want the tradition type of antenna up on the roof. I understand all Dallas HD locals are in UHF except for ABC on VHF. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Kelvin

Hi everyone. I've just purchased a Samsung HLS-5087 DLP. I live in Frisco near Lebanon/Hillcrest in a one story home. I have Comcast (now TW) basic analog service. The Samsung does a good job of displaying anlog SD. I hooked up the cable to the AIR antenna connection on the TV but it appears Comcast does not transmit the local HD channels free and clear. They list the local HDs on their website on channels in the 200 range so you need their cable box or maybe this Samsung TV doesn't have a QAM tuner.

Hi Kelvin,
I am not too far from you (a little NW of Lebanon and the Dallas Parkway) and I definitely do get a pretty large number of digital signals 'in the clear' over the cable. I see that they don't specifically state that your Sammy has a QAM tuner on their website (just ATSC), so maybe that is the problem, as you mentioned. When I scan with my Mits I get hits ranging from 80-1 to 116-6, will all local stations available and some others I really didn't expect...TNT, NBA, etc. Mind you they aren't all necessarily HD, but they are digital.
I'll leave the antenna advice to those better versed in it....good luck!

-Randy

Yeah thanks so much kemical_head and ifly, it's a lot of help. But i'm also wondering about the post above, if ABC is on VHF but all others are UFH, does that mean that if i want ABC i'd have to like move the antenna every time or what??? Because i REALLY want ABCHD more than anything, but ALL the other channels are on UHF.....

Yeah thanks so much kemical_head and ifly, it's a lot of help. But i'm also wondering about the post above, if ABC is on VHF but all others are UFH, does that mean that if i want ABC i'd have to like move the antenna every time or what??? Because i REALLY want ABCHD more than anything, but ALL the other channels are on UHF.....

It just means that you need to get an antenna that can receive VHF signals as well as UHF...you'll need one down the line when analog goes away, anyway...check out post #1521 in this thread by Thomas Desmond for the scoop. All the locals are transmitted from Cedar Hill, so you shouldn't have to realign all the time or anything like that...

-Randy

Haha that helps a lot, i was hoping to get up in the morning and see the LG 37LC2D in the BB add on sale or something, but oh well, i'm still going to go ahead and go to BB and look at it anyway. One other question, the last time i went into BB and looked at the LG, and all the other tvs as well, they were playing a show on fox, do you know if they usually put them up in HD or is it in SD, i did not see a FOXHD sign in the corner only a FOX logo, i'm not sure if that means anything but just letting you know, and how would i see the tv in SD and HD like you said to do, would i just ask an employee to do something for me or....?

Longhorns,

CC has the exact Panny Plasma that I bought on sale now for $1799 (much improved from when I bought it! :() Its the TH-37PX60U and is outstanding IMO.

Panny Website (http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?storeId=15001&catalogId=13401&itemId=96290&catGroupId=24973&modelNo=TH-37PX60U&surfModel=TH-37PX60U&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702)

Anyway, my 2 cents is to pay for the HD not SD. You will very quickly be disappointed for buying an SD. Remember most people in the area are getting HD OTA at least and the difference from SD to HD is enormous.

Good luck with the hunt.

No no, i def plan on getting HD OTA, but there's not THAT much HD OTA right now to the point where you can watch it all day long, you know? Some shows/channels are not broadcasted still and if they are it's not for very long. But yes i do plan on getting OTA HD, how do you like SD on the panny?

Why is the NASCAR game on channel 5 so pixelated? Anyone else notice this?

Edited to say: It's really bad on any scene changes. I haven't noticed anything this bad on NBC I don't think yet.

Why is the NASCAR game on channel 5 so pixelated? Anyone else notice this?

Edited to say: It's really bad on any scene changes. I haven't noticed anything this bad on NBC I don't think yet.

Just turned it on here. It looks spectacular via OTA through my D* H20, HDMI out into my 50" HD panny plasma. No artifacts or pixelizations.

Just turned it on here. It looks spectacular via OTA through my D* H20, HDMI out into my 50" HD panny plasma. No artifacts or pixelizations.

I have a Samsung 5687, and it's mostly really clear. Especially any wide shots, fantastic. Some shots just look pretty messy, especially with the in-car shots, which may not be HD I guess? I'm using the built-in ATSC tuner

Edit: Obviously some non-HD cams, especially inside the cars. A few on the track are also SD. I guess the pic is 90% spectacular on the HD shots. Some have a bit of motion blur/pixels, which I assume is a combination of having 1080i versus p, and not quite enough bandwidth.

Hi Kelvin,
I am not too far from you (a little NW of Lebanon and the Dallas Parkway) and I definitely do get a pretty large number of digital signals 'in the clear' over the cable. I see that they don't specifically state that your Sammy has a QAM tuner on their website (just ATSC), so maybe that is the problem, as you mentioned. When I scan with my Mits I get hits ranging from 80-1 to 116-6, will all local stations available and some others I really didn't expect...TNT, NBA, etc. Mind you they aren't all necessarily HD, but they are digital.
I'll leave the antenna advice to those better versed in it....good luck!

-Randy

Hmm, I've only had this TV a week. I purchased it from CC in Frisco. Maybe I should take it back and exchange it for a Panasonic or Sony. They both state QAM. I figured all HDTVs had QAM tuners. Bummer. I really don't want to mess with a antenna. It's too hot to be on the roof or in the attic:(.

Hmm, I've only had this TV a week. I purchased it from CC in Frisco. Maybe I should take it back and exchange it for a Panasonic or Sony. They both state QAM. I figured all HDTVs had QAM tuners. Bummer. I really don't want to mess with a antenna. It's too hot to be on the roof or in the attic:(.

Well, I was going to say not to take my word for it, but I checked over the in the Display Devices forum and this post seems to confirm it:

Link (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8117176&&#post8117176)

That's a little surprising to me. It sounds like a really sweet set outside of that.....I'd *love* to have 1080p, especially since they can be had for about half what I paid for my 720p!

-Randy

I picked up a Channelmaster 3010 Stealth Antenna from Lowes to experiment. I live in Frisco a mile north of 121 east of Preston. Just holding the antenna above my head in my living room I was able to pick up all the digital channels OTA. FOX, NBC, ABC, WB, PAX some Hispanic. I have moved the antenna up to the attic and the signal strength increased a notch or two. The antenna is resting on some cardboard boxes up near the roof peak. Whew it was hot up there, 130deg F. No wonder the AC runs all day even set at 82F. Analog stations don't come in very well but I don't care. I've got basic analog cable for that. The best HD channel so far is WB. I'm getting 5 to 6 bars out of 10 for signal strength on most channels, not bad for being 30+ miles from the transmission towers. I watched some NASCAR on NBC and it was 1080i and 16x9 and looked very nice. I don't know why NASCAR is so popular, its boring to watch but it was a good test for HD. There is some pixelation as the camera panned with a car against the grandstands.

I've got a old DBS dish mounted on the roof. I may remove the dish and put this antenna on the stem and patch it into one of the existing coax cables coming through the roof. That should increase the signal strength.

Is there a way to combine the cable and the antenna signal into the one cable I've got in the wall then split it out to the Air and Cable inputs on the TV? I'm planning now to get a S2 DT Tivo for the analog channels and watch HD live. Are the Series 3 Tivos coming out before the Fall season?

It's a shame Samsung DTV didn't have a QAM tuner so I didn't have to go this route. Mitsubishi, Sony and Panasonic include these tuners.

This will keep me happy until 2009 when the digital switch occurs or when the price of HD services on cable, DISH and DTV become more affordable.

Is there a way to combine the cable and the antenna signal into the one cable I've got in the wall then split it out to the Air and Cable inputs on the TV? I'm planning now to get a S2 DT Tivo for the analog channels and watch HD live. Are the Series 3 Tivos coming out before the Fall season?



Pick up some diplexers(They look like a big splitter) and run the cable and OTA line in on one side. Then run your single line to the TV and use a second diplexer to split the signal at the TV.

By the way, my OTA is mounted on an old DirecTV dish mount on the roof. They work pretty good and are stable mounts.

Kemical

No no, i def plan on getting HD OTA, but there's not THAT much HD OTA right now to the point where you can watch it all day long, you know? Some shows/channels are not broadcasted still and if they are it's not for very long. But yes i do plan on getting OTA HD, how do you like SD on the panny?

The SD on the Panny is OK, far better than regular TV but some noticeable blurring/jaggies at times (this is mainly Dish SD channels). The HD OTOH is awesome! Remember, most all major networks now broadcast prime time shows in HD. I can't say enough about CSI: Miami and CSI: NY as far as image quality. Just a sight to behold!

I'm really happy with the image quality of the panny. I even set the brightness down to less than 50% for initial break-in and it still looks phenomenal. Definitely give it a look...

I will give it a look, sounds like a great tv. When you said the SD looked far better than regular tv do you mean that it's even better than regular old tube tvs? i have a 15 year old toshiba 32 inch tube television, you're saying even SD looks better on that HD TV?

Hi everyone. I've just purchased a Samsung HLS-5087 DLP. I live in Frisco near Lebanon/Hillcrest in a one story home. I have Comcast (now TW) basic analog service. The Samsung does a good job of displaying anlog SD. I hooked up the cable to the AIR antenna connection on the TV but it appears Comcast does not transmit the local HD channels free and clear. They list the local HDs on their website on channels in the 200 range so you need their cable box or maybe this Samsung TV doesn't have a QAM tuner. I have a friend with DISH HD on a PVR and some of the HD content looks very nice but after looking at the pricing structure it appears getting HD from DISH, Directv or TW Cable is going to run me $70 or more a month.
Thanks.

Kelvin

I live off of Lebanon and Hillcrest as well.

I don't have much experience with this sort of thing, but the house we purchased had this in the attic, and I get a good quality picture from all the channels.

http://www.notunusual.net/in_attic_antenna.jpg

So if that's the route you want to go, it should work i'd imagine as it's working well for me.

I will give it a look, sounds like a great tv. When you said the SD looked far better than regular tv do you mean that it's even better than regular old tube tvs? i have a 15 year old toshiba 32 inch tube television, you're saying even SD looks better on that HD TV?


Absolutely. My old TV was a Sony Trinitron but the HD Plasma has vivid colors and more pixels of resolution, thus even poor quality images look better and sharper. As you have seen, the plasmas are just so vibrant in color that everything looks better. My relatives whenever visiting always comment on the amazing picture, whether looking at sat SD or HD.

BTW, I meant to tell you, I had the exact same dilemma in trying to find a TV to fit my TV cabinet. This fits like a glove. Some 37" TV's have side speakers which make them too long, so be aware of that as well.

Oh so the panny has speakers on the bottom? Or none at all? Cuz that is a NEED for me, i have to have speakers, no choice on that one.

Ok BIG BIG question here, i live in carrollton as it says under my name, does anyone who live there get ESPNHD or ESPN2HD OTA?!?!?! This is VERY important to me please answer.

Ok BIG BIG question here, i live in carrollton as it says under my name, does anyone who live there get ESPNHD or ESPN2HD OTA?!?!?! This is VERY important to me please answer.


Those are cable channels and would not be broadcast via OTA. OTA will provide around 15 digital channels. If you go to antennaweb.org and put your zip code in it will give you a list of the OTA channels available.

Kemical

All other technologies, such as DLP usually list themselves as 720p, 1080i or 1080p which are all HD. 1080p being the highest quality display while 720p and 1080i are somewhat even depending on who you talk to. The reality is to get 1080p if you can afford it.Don't oversell 1080p. All TVs, except for CRTs, have progressive displays. If you feed an interlaced signal to them, they must produce a 1080p (or 720p) image just to feed their own display.

Almost all TV is film. And these TVs use this fact to reconstruct the 24 progressive fps. The result is the 1080p (or 720p) needed for display.

1080i must be converted to 1080p (or 720p), whether the TV is officially a 1080p TV or not. The result is the same.

The only two cases where there is any reasonable difference is when the source is 720p or 1080p:

If 720p is decoded by an external box, and then fed into the TV at 1080i, then you lose image. But if you feed it to your TV at 720p, or it's decoded in the TV, no problem. The 720p will be scaled to 1080p, and there you are.

So then there is true 1080p (that is 1080@60p). There is pretty much no content like this. The Blu-Ray DVD players have this. But the content is only 1080@24p that is being telecined to 1080p. Not true 1080p.

If the TV does a decent job of inversing the telecine (most do a good job), then 1080i would be pretty much as good. Note that it is possible that the DVD player itself could use clues in the DVD encoding to do a better job of deinterlacing. Which is the one place there might be a noticable improvement.

Of course 1080@24p has been an ATSC format since the beginning, which would have been a preferable format if it was available via uncompressed inputs (I don't think it is for component, but it might be for DVI/HDMI).

Xesdeeni

The ChannelMaster 4228 UHF antenna ($50 at Fry's) is capable of pulling in the upper VHF band, so it does a fine job of receiving all the major DFW digital signals. (ABC HD is broadcast on channel 9.) I live in Plano and get everything with a very strong signal.

-Alan

When i go to antennaweb.org, should i click just show digital channels or analog channels? I have standard comcast/tw cable wanting to get OTA HD soon. I'm not sure what i'm supposed to click.

When i go to antennaweb.org, should i click just show digital channels or analog channels? I have standard comcast/tw cable wanting to get OTA HD soon. I'm not sure what i'm supposed to click.

You'll be primarily (or maybe exclusively) interested in digital since you are wanting to get HD OTA....

Oh so the panny has speakers on the bottom? Or none at all? Cuz that is a NEED for me, i have to have speakers, no choice on that one.

It has speakers on the bottom of the screen. I can't tell you how it sounds because I never use them.

Eh, sounds not too important for me, which is why i need built in speakers, i don't want to spend anymore money on extra speakers. But regarding the OTA HD, are there antennas that recieve ALL those colors? haha, all my channels are spread out, NBC CBS PBS yellow, UPN green, ABC IND(what is IND??) red, FOX violet............lol

What does it mean when it says the antenna is amplified, to be specific i'm looking at this antenna,
http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=934506
anyone know anything about it?

But regarding the OTA HD, are there antennas that recieve ALL those colors? haha, all my channels are spread out, NBC CBS PBS yellow, UPN green, ABC IND(what is IND??) red, FOX violet............lol

They shouldn't be because all of them come off the same tower...

Just get the antenna that covers the farthest and you should be good!

What does it mean when it says the antenna is amplified, to be specific i'm looking at this antenna,
http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=934506
anyone know anything about it?


Amplified antennas just enhance whatever signals the antenna is receiving. If it is lots of garbled data, it will just be BIGGER garbled data. But if a signal is good but small from outlying distance, it may help.

I use this antenna (http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4043218) and get good reception indoor. But YMMV, as they say....

Eh, sounds not too important for me, which is why i need built in speakers, i don't want to spend anymore money on extra speakers. But regarding the OTA HD, are there antennas that recieve ALL those colors? haha, all my channels are spread out, NBC CBS PBS yellow, UPN green, ABC IND(what is IND??) red, FOX violet............lol


You just need an antenna that will pick up the farthest signal. The reason that different channels require different levels of antenna even though they are coming from the same spot is probably because they are being broadcasted at different strength. ABC is notorious for not pumping a strong signal and usually requires a better antenna to pull it in.

Kemical

What does it mean when it says the antenna is amplified, to be specific i'm looking at this antenna,
http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=934506
anyone know anything about it?


I have used this specific antenna in the past. It is good when you are close to the towers. I used it when I was living at springvalley and the tollway mounted on a pole. I couldn't pick up anything on it. If you are looking for a low profile antenna I would suggest the Terk HDTVS. Runs about $130 from Circuit, although I am sure you can find it cheaper. The problem with antenna's is that you almost always have to run through some trial and error. Granted you can slim down the choices, but until you mount it and try it you just don't know for sure. What may work for you may not work for your neighbor. This is why most people have been getting outdoor traditional antenna's because they are tried and true. Plus a little over kill never hurts. Hope that helps.

Kemical

Time Warner sent me a "welcome" catalog telling me what they offer.

HDNet and HDNet Movies are not listed in the HD section, but UniversalHD is shown. We don't even have UniversalHD on our system.

Also, the stupid ad that was at the bottom of the guide is now gone.

Ouch 130 for an antenna is a little too pricey for me, i know it may not be a lot for an antenna, but i'm not looking to spend that much for something else, that's why i asked for that really cheap antenna to see if it was good or not, i guess i'll just keep looking around for something cheap but good lol.

Ouch 130 for an antenna is a little too pricey for me, i know it may not be a lot for an antenna, but i'm not looking to spend that much for something else, that's why i asked for that really cheap antenna to see if it was good or not, i guess i'll just keep looking around for something cheap but good lol.


This is why so many members use traditional outdoor antenna's even in their attics. You can usually get one for less than $50 and it will probably work better than more expensive slim line units.

Kemical

Now i understand, thanks a lot for the help.

Come on!!!! We were on the THIRD PAGE! SOMEONE has to have a question haha.

Time Warner sent me a "welcome" catalog telling me what they offer.

HDNet and HDNet Movies are not listed in the HD section, but UniversalHD is shown. We don't even have UniversalHD on our system.

Also, the stupid ad that was at the bottom of the guide is now gone.

They haven't sent me squat...plus I'm a little ticked off at the fact that because their provider contracts are different much of our content has reduced from what Comcast offered but we're still paying the same price as from what we had under Comcast. A good bit of the stuff that used to be available under OnDemand is now gone...a lot of folks are pissed about the NFL channel being gone. So why hasn't TWC either lowered our prices or given us more/different content?

Hi all,

I live in Frisco, near Eldorado and Dallas Parkway/North Tollway. I have a CM Stealthtenna 3010. I'm trying to pick up local Dallas stations (4,5,8,11, etc). I get good signal strength (typically 75-85), but the signal is VERY choppy. I get one good clear frame about every 2-3 seconds! The audio is fine. Can anyone recommend a next step? Should I invest in the amplifier for this antenna? Some stations come in fine, but all of the main stations, ABC, NBC, CBS, etc are stuttering.

Thank you,

Robert Gambs

Hi all,

I live in Frisco, near Eldorado and Dallas Parkway/North Tollway. I have a CM Stealthtenna 3010. I'm trying to pick up local Dallas stations (4,5,8,11, etc). I get good signal strength (typically 75-85), but the signal is VERY choppy. I get one good clear frame about every 2-3 seconds! The audio is fine. Can anyone recommend a next step? Should I invest in the amplifier for this antenna? Some stations come in fine, but all of the main stations, ABC, NBC, CBS, etc are stuttering.

Thank you,

Robert Gambs

Does your signal stay a consistent 75 to 85 strength or does it drop to zero and then back up constantly?

I am about 5 miles west of you at 423 and Eldorado, so I may be able to help you out with this.

Kemical

They haven't sent me squat...plus I'm a little ticked off at the fact that because their provider contracts are different much of our content has reduced from what Comcast offered but we're still paying the same price as from what we had under Comcast. A good bit of the stuff that used to be available under OnDemand is now gone...a lot of folks are pissed about the NFL channel being gone. So why hasn't TWC either lowered our prices or given us more/different content?


Have you checked to see if FIOS is available yet? My understanding is that FIOS is available in McKinney and Frisco. If this is correct, go with them at a lower price and more channels.

Kemical

Have you checked to see if FIOS is available yet? My understanding is that FIOS is available in McKinney and Frisco. If this is correct, go with them at a lower price and more channels.

Kemical

Not in Frisco...believe me, I'd know if it was!

-Randy

I wasn't sure, but I thought everyone would be interested in this. If this shouldn't be posted here then either I can delete it or the forum monitor can.

By Alan Wolf -- TWICE, 8/9/2006 5:34:00 AM

El Segundo, Calif. – DirecTV’s efforts at attracting and retaining higher-quality customers, combined with newfound savings and efficiencies in hardware and installation costs, helped send second quarter profits soaring 184 percent to $458.7 million for the three months ended June 30.

Revenue for the period grew 10 percent to $3.5 billion year-over-year, the company reported.


In a conference call, president/CEO Chase Carey also announced a pending partnership that will put DirecTV into the wireless broadband business, but declined to disclose details before the agreement is finalized.

Carey said that while gross subscriber additions declined 10 percent to 863,000 for the quarter and net additions of 125,000 also fell below expectations, the company added 11 percent more higher-quality gross subscribers than it did during the prior-year period. The higher-quality subscriber base led to top- and bottom-line improvements as customers bought more premium services such as HD programming and DVRs – leading to average revenue per user (ARPU) growth of 5.6 percent, to $71.59. Conversely, the monthly churn rate fell from 1.69 percent to 1.59 percent, bad debt expenses were reduced, and subscriber acquisition costs declined, he said. Acquisition cost per subscriber declined both sequentially and year-over-year as set-top box cost reductions of some $20 per box offset the higher sales of advanced HD and DVR boxes.

Earnings were also aided by the March 1 launch of a set-top receiver lease program that allows DirecTV to reclaim and reuse boxes from deactivated customers. Under the program, which is designed to increase future profitability, set-top receivers are capitalized and depreciated over their estimated useful lives of three years. The company paid $253 million for leased equipment during the second quarter, including $153 million for subscriber acquisitions and $100 million for upgrades and retention.

Carey noted that the company is attaining higher-quality customers through refinements in its credit policy and a restructuring of its dealer network. “We transitioned to a dealer base that compliments our direct sales initiatives,” he said. As a result, dealer sales fell from 50 percent to 36 percent of total revenue during the quarter while direct sales grew from 22 percent to 33 percent.

Looking ahead, Carey said the company will:

·launch its new HD-DVR box later this month in Los Angeles and roll it out nationwide in the following weeks;

·offer HD in 25 additional local markets by year’s end for a total of 61 markets or 75 percent of all U.S. TV households;

and will launch several new products and services prior to the holiday season, including an enhanced NFL Sunday Ticket package that features new interactive services and more HD games.

Hello
I have a Sharp SDTV (model 27sc260). I have read that you can receive DTV with a regular antenna. But my TV will not let me program Digital Channels, it's greyed out. The manual says I need a "digital broadcast antenna".
So do I need a digital antenna or am I not doing something right?
Thanks.

Hello
I have a Sharp SDTV (model 27sc260). I have read that you can receive DTV with a regular antenna. But my TV will not let me program Digital Channels, it's greyed out. The manual says I need a "digital broadcast antenna".
So do I need a digital antenna or am I not doing something right?
Thanks.


There is no difference between a digital antenna and a regular antenna. What you need is one that will pick up both UHF and VHF signals since channel 8 and PBS are broadcast on VHF while all others are on UHF. This will change in the future and all digital channels will go to VHF. Go to antennaweb.org and input your zip code to see what digital channels are available to you. Do this by selecting "digital channels only" at the top of the channel list. This will also tell you what type of antenna is needed based on a standard color code system. Red is the is the biggest you would probably need in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metro area. This is a medium directional antenna. If you get an outdoor antenna this should cover all your channels even if you mount it in your attic (assuming you live in a house). General direction would be to point it to the Cedar Hill area and then fine tune it using your signal strength meter built into your TV.

If you follow the directions on page 10 of your manual it will show you how to select a digital antenna as the input and how to use the signal strength meter in your TV. If you find that you cannot get a signal then you more than likely would need a bigger antenna. Unless you tell me the details of your situation such as single story house, what area, trees, etc. this is the best advice I can give you right now. If you have any other questions or need help trouble shooting the signal feel free to ask.

Kemical

Thanks for the advice Kemical.
I live in Mesquite in a house. Right now there is a antenna on the roof, but it is probably 30 years old. Would this make a differnece?
Thanks

It's a shame Samsung DTV didn't have a QAM tuner so I didn't have to go this route. Mitsubishi, Sony and Panasonic include these tuners.

What gave you that idea? The HLSxx88 series has a QAM tuner standard.

What gave you that idea? The HLSxx88 series has a QAM tuner standard.

I believe he has a HLSxx87 series...is that still the case? I looked at the specs on his model and didn't see QAM listed, and saw something in another thread that stated they don't have one. That said, I've never seen that model in person, so I don't have anything other than what I've read to support that notion....

-Randy

Thanks for the advice Kemical.
I live in Mesquite in a house. Right now there is a antenna on the roof, but it is probably 30 years old. Would this make a differnece?
Thanks


Shouldn't, many people have had better luck with antennas that were already installed. Check your cable and connections making sure there isn't any rust or corrossion, if there is then replace them. As long as the antenna doesn't have any bent elements it should be fine. I used to live in Mesquite and you shouldn't have any problems picking up signals from there as long as the antenna is pointed correctly. Being that it is 30 years old I would verify this first. Antennaweb.org should give you a compass orientation, so just verify that and you should be fine.

You do understand that the HD signals you pick up will be downconverted to a 480i signal to display on your TV? You may not notice a difference between them and non-HD signals. Just a thought.

Kemical

Not to be an alarmist or anything, but if you are a new TimeWarner cable customer (via the Comcast swap), you might want to check and see how much your bill is going to be. I called in to check on retainment offers, as I am considering making the jump to Dish Network. I mentioned that I had had some really good discounts run out recently, and my bill was considerably higher than it had been...and that I was thinking I've been paying something like $118/mo. between CATV (Digital classic, an HD-DVR, HBO/SHO) and internet (w/leased modem). The very nice girl I was working with commented that it looks like it is now more like $154! I asked if it was going up, and she said it was. Wow. Let's just say I was shocked. She worked to find some discounts, etc., and it looks like my bill will now be $124/mo. So *after getting retention offers* my bill is going up $6. Anyway, it appears prices are changing, so if you are a cable customer you might want to check it out.

-Randy

P.S. You'll see a pretty much identical post over at the broadbandreports DFW TimeWarner thread, if you read both...it is east to copy and paste than to retype! -R

This will change in the future and all digital channels will go to VHF.Not exactly. Here in Dallas, based on this FCC document (http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-2649A2.pdf):

KDTN/2 -- will stay on current digital channel (43)
KDFW/4 -- will stay on current digital channel (35)
KXAS/5 -- will stay on current digital channel (41)
WFAA/8 -- will return to current analog channel (8)
KTVT/11 -- will return to current analog channel (11)
KERA/13 -- will stay on current digital channel (14)
KTXA/21 -- will stay on current digital channel (18)
KUVN/23 -- will return to current analog channel (23)
KDFI/27 -- will stay on current digital channel (36)
KMPX/29 -- will stay on current digital channel (30)
KDAF/33 -- will stay on current digital channel (32)
KXTX/39 -- will stay on current digital channel (40)
KTAQ/47 -- will stay on current digital channel (46)
KSTR/49 -- will stay on current digital channel (48)
KFWD/52 -- will move to digital channel vacated by WFAA (9)
KLDT/55 -- will move to analog channel vacated by KXTX (39)
KDTX/58 -- will stay on current digital channel (45)
KPXD/68 -- will stay on current digital channel (42)

KLTV/10 -- will stay on current digital channel (7)

So, there will be three (or four if you consider Tyler) on VHF. The rest will be on UHF.

Xesdeeni

Kemical_head and the rest,

My problem seems to have magically sorted itself out. I tried it again the next day and everything is fine. Didn't even necessarily need the amplifier. To answer the question, yes, the signal strength was very consistent (and still is). By raising the antenna, I have managed to get a 90+ out of it occassionally, but I guess I should be happy with what I have. Thanks for reading.

I live in Parker just east of Allen, 40 miles from the antenna farm at Cedar Hill. Although I know I can put an antenna on the roof, for aesthetic reasons I prefer an attic-mounted antenna, but my roof (one-story house) is insulated and has a foil layer so I have a poor situation. I tried a couple of "no-name"VHF/UHF antennas but without a lot of luck - apart from anything else they were really too large for my attic space so were difficult to mount and line up.
I then bought a CM 4228 from Warren Electronics on the web - $63 including shipping. The 4228 is a UHF antenna but performs very well at high VHF also - I get all the Dallas area stations including 8.1 (VHF Channel 9) at good signal strength - except for 13.1 which usually has a zero signal (many people report zerosignal I know). Also the 4228 is much smaller than VHF/UHF antennas - it's basically a vertical rectangle about 39 inches by 36 inches, with NO antenna "boom" so it is only a couple of inches deep - if you need an attic antenna I can really recommend it - much better than any of the so-called "HDTV" antennas.

Not exactly. Here in Dallas, based on this FCC document (http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-2649A2.pdf):

KDTN/2 -- will stay on current digital channel (43)
KDFW/4 -- will stay on current digital channel (35)
KXAS/5 -- will stay on current digital channel (41)
WFAA/8 -- will return to current analog channel (8)
KTVT/11 -- will return to current analog channel (11)
KERA/13 -- will stay on current digital channel (14)
KTXA/21 -- will stay on current digital channel (18)
KUVN/23 -- will return to current analog channel (23)
KDFI/27 -- will stay on current digital channel (36)
KMPX/29 -- will stay on current digital channel (30)
KDAF/33 -- will stay on current digital channel (32)
KXTX/39 -- will stay on current digital channel (40)
KTAQ/47 -- will stay on current digital channel (46)
KSTR/49 -- will stay on current digital channel (48)
KFWD/52 -- will move to digital channel vacated by WFAA (9)
KLDT/55 -- will move to analog channel vacated by KXTX (39)
KDTX/58 -- will stay on current digital channel (45)
KPXD/68 -- will stay on current digital channel (42)

KLTV/10 -- will stay on current digital channel (7)

So, there will be three (or four if you consider Tyler) on VHF. The rest will be on UHF.

Xesdeeni


Thank you for the correction Xesdeeni, I was under the understanding that all digital signals were going to VHF. This is definetely useful information.

Kemical

We will be relocating to McKinney in late August and need a little help in choosing our cable provider. I see alot of people are unhappy with Time Warner up here and i thought i was going to stay with them, but now i am reconsidering.
Relocating from San Antonio we never had any problems...but really had no options either. I see alot of mention of FIOS and i admit i really dont know much about it. Is FIOS really a viable alternative since it is a new technology, at least new to me. Suffice to say im confused an would like some knowledgeable opinions...is FIOS or Time Warner considered the better choice for regular broadcasts, HD broadcasts, and internet broadband?

I had bad experiences with satellite so i really wont consider them as an option...

Don't mean to get off subject but does FIOS stand for something.....

We will be relocating to McKinney in late August and need a little help in choosing our cable provider. I see alot of people are unhappy with Time Warner up here and i thought i was going to stay with them, but now i am reconsidering.
Relocating from San Antonio we never had any problems...but really had no options either. I see alot of mention of FIOS and i admit i really dont know much about it. Is FIOS really a viable alternative since it is a new technology, at least new to me. Suffice to say im confused an would like some knowledgeable opinions...is FIOS or Time Warner considered the better choice for regular broadcasts, HD broadcasts, and internet broadband?

I had bad experiences with satellite so i really wont consider them as an option...


Viable - YES
Available in McKinney - I do not believe so, however go to the Verizon website and enter in the new address. This will tell you whether it is available or not. It will also give you their channel lineup and pricing. From what I have read and been told by friends is that it is very good and comparable to satellite at a lower price. Plus you can get their internet and have one bill vs. two. Here is a post where I lay out the differences of available services, minus Time Warner, but you can compare them to Comcast to a lesser degree, #2025


Longhorns
FIOS - I believe it stands for Fiber Optic System, not positive. You can go to verizon and read all about it.

Kemical

Kemical...thanks for the info....my address doesnt show up on any maps yet so i was choosing McKinney in general but that answers my question none the less...ill keep checking as time goes by

Just got a flyer in the mail today:

On September 18, Time Warner Cable will bring North Texas more than 20 all new channels to enhance the offerings you enjoy today. And we're going to make it easier to find the channels you want by organizing similar channels by themes. To make room for these new and popular choices, some channels with limited availability will be removed from the lineup in some areas.

Plus, with our new interactive on-screen guide, the i-Guide, you'll be able to search for programming without leaving the channel you're watching.

New Channels:
Kids
~~~
Boomerang

Your Lifestyle
~~~~~~~~~
Lifetime Real Women

Sports
~~~~~
FUEL TV

News, Info and Weather
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CNN International
CNBC World
C-SPAN 3

Latino
~~~~
Answers On Demand Espanol
La Famlia
Cartoon Network en Espanol
Sorpresa!

International
~~~~~~~~~
ImaginAsian TV

Free on Demand
~~~~~~~~~~~
VOD Barker
Answers On Demand
Kids On Demand
AOL Music On Demand
Exercise TV
Movie Trailers On Demand
DriverTV
NBC Universal Free Movies

Digital Music
~~~~~~~~
Americana

Digital Pay Per View
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Playboy en Espanol

Hi all,

I live in Frisco, near Eldorado and Dallas Parkway/North Tollway. I have a CM Stealthtenna 3010. I'm trying to pick up local Dallas stations (4,5,8,11, etc). I get good signal strength (typically 75-85), but the signal is VERY choppy. I get one good clear frame about every 2-3 seconds! The audio is fine. Can anyone recommend a next step? Should I invest in the amplifier for this antenna? Some stations come in fine, but all of the main stations, ABC, NBC, CBS, etc are stuttering.

Thank you,

Robert Gambs

I've got the Channelmaster 3010 and tonight Channel 4 Fox is very bad. I'm only getting 5-6 bars out of 10 on my Samsung DLP. However NBC, CBS, ABC with about the same signal strength are coming in fine. The antenna is located in the attic in a one story house near Lebanon and Hillcrest. I'm thinking of mounting the antenna on the an unused DBS dish I have on the roof. I think I could remove the dish and mount the antenna on stem. I notice Fox is broadcasting 720p while all the others are at 1080i.

The reception has changed since I mounted the antenna in the attic last Sunday and the reception was fine up until tonight.

Can HD be picked up on local Comcast/TW basic service using a TV with a QAM tuner. Samsung doesn't use QAM tuners.

Fox still dropping this morning. Is this typical with HD over the air? If I were receiving HD from Comcast or satellite would I see the same dropouts on Fox? Hopefully, mounting the antenna higher will solve the issues. What is everyone else with OTA in the North Dallas/Plano/Frisco seeing on Fox?

Thanks

Kelvin

I am in Parker just east of Allen. Yes, getting picture breakup on Fox-4 here as well, but with good signal "strength". It looks like it is a problem at the transmitter, it isn't usually like this.

Can HD be picked up on local Comcast/TW basic service using a TV with a QAM tuner. Samsung doesn't use QAM tuners.

I was told that you can.
I kinda knew about this QAM feature and thus, not buying a Samsung anymore.

I currently have Comcast basic + cable internet, live near Lebanon and preston.

I will report once I get my HTPC setup going.

Yeah, I'm getting bad FOX 4 on four different tuners and two different antennas. Signal strength is 100%. Definitely a problem at the station.

Xesdeeni

It is not just OTA on Channel 4, I have FIOS and had issues yesterday evening.

Yeah, the cable networks will get their feed from an OTA antenna, and use the same data on a different modulator. So they'll see the same issue if it's in the stream, which is obvious is.

Xesdeeni

It is not just OTA on Channel 4, I have FIOS and had issues yesterday evening.

I checked them on direct cable (QAM) on channel 92-1 here in Frisco, and they were having issues. However, I found them also at 108-1, and they didn't seem to have any problems on that channel. This was SD material, so I don't know if maybe it was a second down-rezzed feed or something, but it was playing without a hitch...

I was going to check them through the Moto box, but I haven't turned my TV on in awhile...we've had some power issues in my area this a.m., and my UPS is pretty drained so I don't want to turn the TV back on until I'm confident things are totally stabilized...

-Randy

If I understand what you are saying correctly, it makes sense. The problem is on the digital side, and that stream is re-broadcast on cable. But cable also receives the analog OTA and digitizes it. There isn't a problem on this version.

Xesdeeni

If I understand what you are saying correctly, it makes sense. The problem is on the digital side, and that stream is re-broadcast on cable. But cable also receives the analog OTA and digitizes it. There isn't a problem on this version.

Xesdeeni

That makes sense...I just remembered the Comcast had started doing some of the promised analog/digital simulcasts with the locals before the switch, so I bet 108-1 is the digitized analog, as you mentioned. I was originally thinking they might be doing this because of the problems with the digital broadcast signal, but I seldom watch cable direct and it is pretty likely that channel has been out there since they started simulcasting...

-Randy

Is there a number to call Fox about this problem?

Kelvin

Is there a number to call Fox about this problem?

Kelvin

Problem is gone. It was only on the digital side. Everyone knew about it including D* and their MPEG4 stream. They had an annoucement up on the local MPEG4 digital channel all day saying not to bother to call and that the problem was being addressed.

I'm in Parker, 40 miles from Cedar Hill. Is anyone at this distance successfully getting PBS digital on 13.1 (channel 14)? My signal "strength" is usually 5-10, this afternoon I was getting 55-60 dropping to 5 every several seconds, back to 5 tonight....
Using CM4228 with preamp...

I'm in Parker, 40 miles from Cedar Hill. Is anyone at this distance successfully getting PBS digital on 13.1 (channel 14)? My signal "strength" is usually 5-10, this afternoon I was getting 55-60 dropping to 5 every several seconds, back to 5 tonight....
Using CM4228 with preamp...


I am in Little Elm, which is between 40 to 50 miles away and I get a 50-60 signal strength using an outdoor antenna and an amplifier. I am using a pretty big antenna, not sure of the model, but it cost $70 or $80 from Lowes. I have it mounted on the roof of a two story house about 6 ft up. I am also using a 25db gain amplifier. Hope that helps. Also, verify that your connections are solid and not coroded or loose, this can sometimes lead to a varying signal strength like you described.

Kemical

Fox is back up as of last night. I'm in Frisco near Hillcrest/121

Yesterday I tried to put my CM 3010 Stealthantenna on the roof on an old Directv dish mount the previous owner left with the house. I did not see any increase in signal dispite the antenna being 10 feet higher and clear view. Oh, well I might as well put it back in the attic.

Kelvin

I'm in Parker, 40 miles from Cedar Hill. Is anyone at this distance successfully getting PBS digital on 13.1 (channel 14)? My signal "strength" is usually 5-10, this afternoon I was getting 55-60 dropping to 5 every several seconds, back to 5 tonight....
Using CM4228 with preamp...

I am in Haslet, 35 miles from Cedar Hill behind another hill. I have a 2nd story attic mounted 80" boom antenna in the rafters. The antenna is a Radio Shack standard. I have a CM7777 preamp, 100' of RG6, and a D* H20 5th generation ATSC tuner. I get all DFW digital channels at 90% signal strength or above.

Without the preamp or the 5th generation tuner I would get none of the local digital channels. Without RG6 everywhere I would get nothing. Anything smaller than an 80" antenna and I would get nothing. Without being 30' up in the attic rafters I would get nothing. My point is that your OTA system is only as strong as the weakest link. With my current setup I get all channels all the time. Change any one thing and I lose most or all of them.

I was told that you can.
I kinda knew about this QAM feature and thus, not buying a Samsung anymore.

While your Samsung does not have a QAM tuner, others may. I purchased a Samsung HL-S5088w in June and started using the QAM tuner right out of the box.

I don't have digital cable, but I'm still able to get the guide information over the wire. I'm also able to get the local HD channels as well.

Anyone else having problems with weak signal via OTA with WFAA? I went out of town on business last week and I would have a very strong signal, I come back and my signal is horrible and I live maybe 3-4 miles from the towers. I have tried repositioning my antenna and no luck. I am using a indoor antenna, SilverSensor, since I live so close to the towers.

Oops...I might have spoken too soon about there being a current price increase with TWC. Apparently I had ~$30 credit on my bill (it was still in transition from discounts rolling off) so when I thought it was $118, it was probably more like $148 w/o discounts. Still not sure if I'll stick with cable, but now it appears I would have had the decision to make whether TWC took over, or not. Just wanted to straighten that out...

-Randy

Anyone else having problems with weak signal via OTA with WFAA? I went out of town on business last week and I would have a very strong signal, I come back and my signal is horrible and I live maybe 3-4 miles from the towers. I have tried repositioning my antenna and no luck. I am using a indoor antenna, SilverSensor, since I live so close to the towers.

WFAA Digital had very low signal level this morning and I think may have been off the air completely for a while. It seems to be back OK this evening....

I have a DirecTV HR10-250 DirecTivo, and currently have a Terk HDTVi antenna on top of it. I live in McKinney, so am glad to get a good selection of channels, including CBS, Fox, and NBC with it. My wife isn't overjoyed with the antenna sitting in the room, but figures it is a small price to pay for getting those HD OTA channels.

However, the HDTVi doesn't grab the VHF problem child (for me), WFAA. We would like to get the ABC feed, too, so I took a trip to Fry's and Radio Shack, and came home with a ChannelMaster 3018 and stuff to try to mount it in my attic.

With the HDTVi, I was getting signals in the 70-90 range for all the channels I could pull, with CBS, NBC, and Fox all in the upper 80s-lower 90s. Reception is good, but I really wanted to try for the ABC, too.

I got the antenna set up using a mast and a tripod in an accessible area of the attic (I really want to avoid mounting it outside, mainly for aesthetics - mine). However, the best I was able to do by pointing in and looking at the signal strength on the HR10-250 was about a 20% across-the-board drop from the HDTVi, and NO signal for WFAA (VHF channel 9) at all!

I have the antenna plugging in to the Antenna In port on the 5x8 multiswitch, a Terk diplexer in the media room with the correct leg going to the Antenna In of the receiver, and can't see anything "wrong" (other than the obvious - things I missed or don't know). I have a ChannelMaster 3044 Amplifier, but am not using it because I figure it won't manufacture signal for WFAA if there isn't any present without it

I've heard glowing reports from people here about great reception of everything in McKinney/Allen, but for me it isn't as good (yet) as the HDTVi that I just plop down and plug in. I don't want to disassemble everything and take it back if there is a chance I can get better signal for the UHF (to protect against drop-outs) and potentially get a quality signal of any type for WFAA. If I don't have a chance of getting WFAA through this, I'll revert back to the HDTVi and just watch ABC in SD (eeek!).

Thanks for any suggestions you might have,

H.B.

I have a DirecTV HR10-250 DirecTivo, and currently have a Terk HDTVi antenna on top of it. I live in McKinney, so am glad to get a good selection of channels, including CBS, Fox, and NBC with it. My wife isn't overjoyed with the antenna sitting in the room, but figures it is a small price to pay for getting those HD OTA channels.

However, the HDTVi doesn't grab the VHF problem child (for me), WFAA. We would like to get the ABC feed, too, so I took a trip to Fry's and Radio Shack, and came home with a ChannelMaster 3018 and stuff to try to mount it in my attic.

With the HDTVi, I was getting signals in the 70-90 range for all the channels I could pull, with CBS, NBC, and Fox all in the upper 80s-lower 90s. Reception is good, but I really wanted to try for the ABC, too.

I got the antenna set up using a mast and a tripod in an accessible area of the attic (I really want to avoid mounting it outside, mainly for aesthetics - mine). However, the best I was able to do by pointing in and looking at the signal strength on the HR10-250 was about a 20% across-the-board drop from the HDTVi, and NO signal for WFAA (VHF channel 9) at all!

I have the antenna plugging in to the Antenna In port on the 5x8 multiswitch, a Terk diplexer in the media room with the correct leg going to the Antenna In of the receiver, and can't see anything "wrong" (other than the obvious - things I missed or don't know). I have a ChannelMaster 3044 Amplifier, but am not using it because I figure it won't manufacture signal for WFAA if there isn't any present without it

I've heard glowing reports from people here about great reception of everything in McKinney/Allen, but for me it isn't as good (yet) as the HDTVi that I just plop down and plug in. I don't want to disassemble everything and take it back if there is a chance I can get better signal for the UHF (to protect against drop-outs) and potentially get a quality signal of any type for WFAA. If I don't have a chance of getting WFAA through this, I'll revert back to the HDTVi and just watch ABC in SD (eeek!).

Thanks for any suggestions you might have,

H.B.

I'm definitely not an expert on the OTA antenna stuff, but have you tried hooking the Terk antenna up in the attic to see what results you get? That might help narrow things down...

-Randy

I have a DirecTV HR10-250 DirecTivo, and currently have a Terk HDTVi antenna on top of it. I live in McKinney, so am glad to get a good selection of channels, including CBS, Fox, and NBC with it. My wife isn't overjoyed with the antenna sitting in the room, but figures it is a small price to pay for getting those HD OTA channels.

However, the HDTVi doesn't grab the VHF problem child (for me), WFAA. We would like to get the ABC feed, too, so I took a trip to Fry's and Radio Shack, and came home with a ChannelMaster 3018 and stuff to try to mount it in my attic.

With the HDTVi, I was getting signals in the 70-90 range for all the channels I could pull, with CBS, NBC, and Fox all in the upper 80s-lower 90s. Reception is good, but I really wanted to try for the ABC, too.

I got the antenna set up using a mast and a tripod in an accessible area of the attic (I really want to avoid mounting it outside, mainly for aesthetics - mine). However, the best I was able to do by pointing in and looking at the signal strength on the HR10-250 was about a 20% across-the-board drop from the HDTVi, and NO signal for WFAA (VHF channel 9) at all!

I have the antenna plugging in to the Antenna In port on the 5x8 multiswitch, a Terk diplexer in the media room with the correct leg going to the Antenna In of the receiver, and can't see anything "wrong" (other than the obvious - things I missed or don't know). I have a ChannelMaster 3044 Amplifier, but am not using it because I figure it won't manufacture signal for WFAA if there isn't any present without it

I've heard glowing reports from people here about great reception of everything in McKinney/Allen, but for me it isn't as good (yet) as the HDTVi that I just plop down and plug in. I don't want to disassemble everything and take it back if there is a chance I can get better signal for the UHF (to protect against drop-outs) and potentially get a quality signal of any type for WFAA. If I don't have a chance of getting WFAA through this, I'll revert back to the HDTVi and just watch ABC in SD (eeek!).

Thanks for any suggestions you might have,

H.B.

Have you tried a non-diplexed line? The reason you are getting the drop in the signal is because the terk downstairs is not diplexed and is 2 feet away from the receiver. Try connecting the OTA in the attic to a coax line after the multiswitch and pull out the diplexer at the box, this will give you a straight line from the antenna to the box. Test out your signals, making sure you write down each channel you want. You may need to adjust it east to get WFAA (that would be counter clockwise) just slightly. Once you have your signal strengths recorded set it back up with the diplexers and multiswitch, you will probably see the signal loss you had before. Also, I bet you are using the new AT-9 dish, which you should not diplex with OTA signals, if you do you are just asking for trouble.

Once you have your OTA aligned and are receiving WFAA then slap in your amp and I bet you get solid signals. I get WFAA in at around 40-45 and then with my amp I get 55-65, which is solid enough for a non-jitter picture.

Remember, a dedicated straight line for OTA is the best solution.

Kemical

Ever since Time Warner picked up the Comcast digital cable business and they switched over to their software, I am noticing a softer picture on some of the HD channels. Especially Discovery HD which is usually jaw-dropping - now it does not appear as impressive all the time.

I just dumped TWC for E*. My installation was yesterday and it went great. I have a VIP622 upstairs and a DishPlayer 625 (dual tuner DVR) downstairs. So now I'd like to put an OTA antenna in the attic and send that to the 622 for HD locals. I get the HD locals over the satellite but I want them OTA too for added recording/viewing options.

Anyone know where I can find some basic instructions about how to get the OTA antenna installed and incorporated to my 622 receiver? More specifically, I need to know if the existing RG-6 coax run that he used for the sat feeds can also be used to carry the OTA signal from the antenna.

Remember, I have a TV2 output going back over the coax to a secondary room. Not sure if that, or the fact that the VIP622 is a dual tuner would affect my ability to also use the existing coax for an OTA antenna feed.

Thanks!

Stormy,

I had E* and had something very similar to your setup. I went to Lowes and picked up one of the medium range Channel Master OTA. Mounted it in my attic with a separate RG6 cable down to the sat receiver. Worked like a charm.

I have Comcast (now TWC) and will be switching back in 9 months when my special pricing runs out. I signed up for their $80-$90 dollar package for just $29 several months back when they where running the dump your dish special. Overall, I like E* much better and will be switching back.

Watch out. Our E* DVRs might be shut off in the not-to-distant future.

Xesdeeni

Has anyone been disappointed with the picture quality with SNF? Evidently, this is a nationwide problem for many of the NBC affiliates. The last two preseason games I've watched OTA, the macroblocking is terrible during the game. Will they even consider not multicasting on the subchannels during the game? Does anyone know a contact at the station to send in a complaint about the lousy picture? There are threads in the HDTV Programming bashing the broadcast. Hopefully they will get their act together before the season opener on Sept. 7th.

Someone should set up an automated script to complain about multicasting. That way we can just click on a button when we think of it and fire off a complaint e-mail. This will make it easier to become the "squeaky wheel," and maybe someday they'll get a clue.

Hey, what happened to all the Spanish-language stations last night? I didn't have 23 (24), 39 (40), or 49 (48).

Oh, and it looks like USDTV lost some of their channels. About half are gone, although they still show up on the "barker" channel.

Xesdeeni

I visited the KXAS website and found an email link to the engineering department. The more people that complain about the multicasting, the better chance they will remove the subchannels during the broadcast of Sunday Night Football.

engineering@nbc5i.com

Where is the digital broadcast for KDFW (4)? Am I missing something?

* yellow - uhf KERA-DT 13.1 PBS DALLAS TX 194° 43.2 14
* yellow - uhf KXTX-DT 40.1 TEL DALLAS TX 196° 43.1 40
* yellow - uhf KTVT-DT 11.1 CBS FORT WORTH TX 194° 43.2 19
* yellow - uhf KXAS-DT 5.1 NBC FORT WORTH TX 196° 43.1 41
* green - uhf KUVN-DT 23.1 UNI GARLAND TX 196° 42.8 24
* green - uhf KFWD-DT 52.1 IND FORT WORTH TX 196° 42.8 51
* red - vhf WFAA-DT 8.1 ABC DALLAS TX 196° 43.2 9
* red - uhf KPXD-DT 68.1 i ARLINGTON TX 196° 42.8 42
* blue - uhf KDAF-DT 33.1 WB DALLAS TX 194° 45.6 32
* blue - uhf KXII-DT 12.1 CBS SHERMAN TX 349° 60.1 20
* blue - uhf KDTN-DT 2.1 DAY DENTON TX 194° 45.6 43
* blue - uhf KMPX-DT 30.1 DAY DECATUR TX 207° 24.2 30
* violet - uhf KSTR-DT 49.1 UNI IRVING TX 194° 45.6 48
* violet - uhf KTXA-DT 21.1 UPN FORT WORTH TX 194° 45.6 18

Jeremy:

I feel your pain, and if Engineers ruled the world it would probably happen.

But our second channel is a sponsored and heavily promoted service which is not going to be taken up and down depending on what the content of the primary channel is.

Jim Borden
KXAS Engineering

Jeremy:

I feel your pain, and if Engineers ruled the world it would probably happen.

But our second channel is a sponsored and heavily promoted service which is not going to be taken up and down depending on what the content of the primary channel is.

Jim Borden
KXAS Engineering

It may not be what we want but it sounds like an honest answer from Engineering to me.

Where is the digital broadcast for KDFW (4)? Am I missing something?

Here are the digital channel assignments for the US, including Ft. Worth and Dallas. Fox's digital channel is 35.

http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/News_Releases/1998/et8002a.txt

Here are the digital channel assignments for the US, including Ft. Worth and Dallas. Fox's digital channel is 35.

http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/News_Releases/1998/et8002a.txt
Bill, thanks for the info. I was just curious why Fox doesn't show up in the list of digital stations on antennaweb when I query my home address in McKinney. We are about 30 miles north of downtown Dallas and 42-45 miles from the transmitters in Cedar Hill. Yet, when I query with the Zip code from another suburb (Carrollton) the Fox digital station shows up (yellow).

I hope this doesn't mean they don't think I can pull Fox OTA from here. I've seen several posts from others in my area who were getting all the major networks.

Any other ideas? I need an antenna recommendation.

Bill, thanks for the info. I was just curious why Fox doesn't show up in the list of digital stations on antennaweb when I query my home address in McKinney. We are about 30 miles north of downtown Dallas and 42-45 miles from the transmitters in Cedar Hill. Yet, when I query with the Zip code from another suburb (Carrollton) the Fox digital station shows up (yellow).

I hope this doesn't mean they don't think I can pull Fox OTA from here. I've seen several posts from others in my area who were getting all the major networks.

Any other ideas? I need an antenna recommendation.

I can put in an address that is 3 doors down and get a better listing of channels... just because they are appx. 10 ft higher elevation then me. I'm kinda down in a valley a bit in flower mound, but a nice long RatShack antenna in the attic above the second story (its at least 7 ft. long), properly aligned, was able to pull all the channels that were listed for up the street.

Any chance you are kinda down in a small valley? Maybe try some addresses around you that are a little higher elevation. Just means you probably will need a bigger antenna... or possibly have to use an outdoor one.