Here's a list of all IMAX theaters, denoting which are True (film) and which are Fake (digital):
http://www.lfexaminer.com/theaUSA.htm#MA

That list is way, and I mean way, out-of-date. The one listed for Fitchburg, WI, has been open for ages. I personally call it minIMAX (a term coined by someone else and it has stuck) as the screen is about 1/4 the size of a REAL IMAX screen at, for example, the Smithsonian in D.C. (Yes, I've been there, done that). There is supposidly another minIMAX in the Fox Valley area (WI). But haven't been there.

Only the big spherical screens are capable of "True 15/70 IMAX":
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/is-imax-digital-scamming-moviegoers/
http://www.naimark.net/writing/expo.html
http://azizisbored.tumblr.com/post/106587114/reblog-the-****-out-of-this-warning-amc-theaters-are
[Hint: You may or may not have to replace stars with the "f" word.]

I totally disagree. I hate the spherical screens. Unless you are right next to the projector, the screen support ribs create shadows when you are off-axis. I prefer the flat (or slightly curved) screens, even if they are minIMAX. The screen at the Smithsonian is flat. As pointed out in the list, the local minIMAX is a 1570 projection system. Movies look great on that screen. The fact that the screen isn't twice and wide and twice as tall greatly improves the focus/sharpness of the image.

Hmmm, if I punch out the wall in the living room and build a DOME......


Like I said, I do not like the dome version of IMAX. As pointed out elsewhere, Hollyweed movies on the dome are distorted.

I guess my next question is, if the tech told my friend we are getting new boxes, what boxes are they? I already have the SA 8300HDC and they have been out for quite a while now. Also, if people don't go pick up the new boxes (whatever they are), will Navigator get downloaded onto the SA 8300HDC boxes anyway?

The newest boxes for TWC Navigator will be ODN-C Samsungs. Still buggy in some divisions, and great in others. But nowhere near the Titanic disasters of Navigator's first releases. (read on.)

All C-boxes that are factory direct and related to TWC will already have Navigator on them. These are known as ODM models.

All TWC Passport boxes that are non-C will have the MDN version of Navigator downloaded to them. (This is what several areas of New York will be going through between now and the next two to three months depending on community area and box type.) It sounds by Fall that the New York areas of TWC going through the Navigator conversion will have MDN Navigator. The ODN versions of Navigator don't run on the non-C boxes. The MDN versions of Navigator do not run on the C-boxes.

Here is my new question: What is going on with the Moterolla boxes already in the field? Three years ago, when Navigator was full of bugs and holes, TWC said they would not deploy Navigator to Moterolla boxes because the test labs showed those boxes to be too different in hardware specs. Has Navigator been changed to work with the Moterolla boxes now where an MDN download can be expected in the coming months? I believe that Moterolla boxes run SARA but I could be wrong. OR, is TWC going to do a truck roll division by division and node by node to replace the Moterolla boxes, presumably with new Samsungs when Navigator is deployed to Moterolla areas?

Many New Yorkers praise SARA software for its stability. But at the same time, curse its ugly UI, and it is my understanding that no SARA IPG's have been updated by TWC for 2-3 years. However, note that SARA does run the SDV components that allow for increased channel capacity and more HD content, as does Navigator. Passport would not do that unless TWC continued to pay the rental fee residuals to Passport for system updates. They choose not to do that, insisting on an in-house guide that they could have better control over its features and functions. This is how Navigator came about.

So is TWC just waiting for the Moterolla boxes to wear out on a case by case basis or what? Note that if you are a TWC customer and get a box swap, it will be an ODN C-box model. (Rare exception, in December, someone from the Milwaukee division, where I am got an SA-8300 (no C) DVR when the guy came out to do a box change.) So those MDN's are still sitting around in a lot of offices. Since July 1st, 2007 the FCC said that used non-C boxes that were still used in inventory could be given out. However, new boxes had to be C models, meaning they had specs for cable cards.

Originally, Navigator was written for MDN and when the ODN C-boxes came out, they were rushed with very little quality control. Cable companies wanted the FCC to extend the July 1, 2007 deadline, but the FCC said no. Navigator was not even supposed to be released for about a year later, when the first boxes appeared with it in late 2006-early 2007. (Navigator was supposed to be released late 2007 or early 2008.) With Milwaukee Wisconsin and Lincoln Nebraska as test sites for Navigator, in addition to the early flaky behavior of the ODN C-box hardware, and an MDN download from January-March of 2007 that was so bad, it was abandoned for almost a year, Navigator did get shelved for about another year of testing.

For the last two years, Navigator is now 1000 times better than those buggy early releases. Read my post above for tips on getting Navigator to work well. Users should have a box that is HIGHER than SA 2100 in model number. (SA 3000-4000+ non DVR model recommended) For DVR service, you should be ABOVE the SA-8000 model for best Navigator results. All Pioneer model boxes should be exchanged for newer models, they are 7-10 years old, and are garbage with the new guide. Same story with the early SA 1000-2000 models.)

Have your signal strength and line tests checked out if you have Navigator problems, BEFORE you swap out the box. (Unless you know you have a really old box described above.) But have the tech do signal and line tests anyway. They can be a bigger source of conflicts sometimes than the boxes themselves!

New York Navigator to be areas. It will be interesting to study the rollout!

Jack

NE Ohio has some Motorola npxes in the former Comacast areas. From what I understand these areas do not have any of the recent channel additions. I believe they are waiting on swapping out the boxes, which is scheduled to be complete before the end of June. After that, SDV can be launched. I also remember hearing of a box swap out in another area sometime last year. I think that was Motorola boxes too, probably another Comcast area since TWC and Adelphia used SA boxes from the start.

NE Ohio has some Motorola npxes in the former Comacast areas. From what I understand these areas do not have any of the recent channel additions. I believe they are waiting on swapping out the boxes, which is scheduled to be complete before the end of June. After that, SDV can be launched. I also remember hearing of a box swap out in another area sometime last year. I think that was Motorola boxes too, probably another Comcast area since TWC and Adelphia used SA boxes from the start.

So from what I've read, would this be true:

If I am given an option between letting TWC download the MDN version of Navigator onto my SA8300HDC or picking up a new box (Sammy ODN Navigator?), I should go with the MDN because it is more stable.

Does this sound right?

So from what I've read, would this be true:

If I am given an option between letting TWC download the MDN version of Navigator onto my SA8300HDC or picking up a new box (Sammy ODN Navigator?), I should go with the MDN because it is more stable.

Does this sound right?


MDN does not run on HDC boxes... you will either get ODN loaded to your HDC or ODN on a new Samsung. You would have to have an "old" 8300HD to have MDN.

MDN is not more stable than ODN... they are about the same on the SA8300HD (MDN) or 8300HDC (ODN). But ODN on the Samsung still has kinks to be worked out. By the time you get your rollout, an updated ODN to fix the Samsung issues may very well be ready.

You also will not be given a choice, per se... when they are ready to go ODN it will just be downloaded to your HDC with no action or choice on your part. If you want a Samsung, if/when they are available, you will need to go to a TW service center to do a swap.

MDN is not more stable than ODN... they are about the same on the SA8300HD (MDN) or 8300HDC (ODN). But ODN on the Samsung still has kinks to be worked out. By the time you get your rollout, an updated ODN to fix the Samsung issues may very well be ready.


The big exception is external drives. MDN works with them. ODN on an 8300HDC does not. We now have one report that ODN on a Samsung does (more people need to try!).

xnappo

MDN does not run on HDC boxes... you will either get ODN loaded to your HDC or ODN on a new Samsung. You would have to have an "old" 8300HD to have MDN.

MDN is not more stable than ODN... they are about the same on the SA8300HD (MDN) or 8300HDC (ODN). But ODN on the Samsung still has kinks to be worked out. By the time you get your rollout, an updated ODN to fix the Samsung issues may very well be ready.

You also will not be given a choice, per se... when they are ready to go ODN it will just be downloaded to your HDC with no action or choice on your part. If you want a Samsung, if/when they are available, you will need to go to a TW service center to do a swap.

Thanks for clearing that up. I was told a new box will be available soon in my area, so I guess I have a decision to make. I do have 2 SA8300HDCs, so maybe I'll just swap out one of them to test it out. If the Sammy is stable, then I'll swap out both. Can't wait to try out the new stuff.

I just got a new modem from TWC that enables PowerBoost with no additional cost, and it works great! I was downloading a large file at around 300k/sec and then it jumped up to 1.5Mb/sec. Very nice! I guess PowerBoost used to only come with the upgraded Turbo plan, but now they are offering it with the standard plan. (and yes, I know TW are trying to milk more money out of us by looking a tiered internet. I'll be watching that closely.)

... the latest versions of ODN run great on the 8240/8300HDCs (as long as you don't have an external eSATA drive connected).

eSATA not working is a big deal for some people.
As for other bugs, I've noticed only two:
1. Digital Output setting gets reset to "HDMI" setting every time the device on the other side of an HDMI connection is turned off
2.When I scroll fast in the guide and stop, sometimes the description does not match the selected channel, it matched the channel above or below instead.

While those two bugs are not really a big deal, and it is true that neither affects stability, that's two more bugs than 2.4.10_11 had, which was by far the most stable Navigator release I've seen.

It depends...ODN Navigator is actually pretty stable on the HDCs... but the currently issued versions of ODN in the Samsung systems (either 3.1.0_11 or 3.1.1_3) don't seem to be fully debugged when running on the Samsung platform. Issues on the Samsungs include:

missed recordings (especially prevalent here in Charlotte)
box reverts to 720p output irrespective of Navigator settings or program format
loss of audio output (requires reboot)
digital dropouts cause subsequent choppy video and loss of AV sync (press Pause then Play (or Live TV) to fix)
frozen program video - audio is live, banner/guide graphics OK and channels still change (power switch on/off cures - this has been seen on the HDCs as well)
so far unique to me... I have had two boxes that boot into the native Samsung GUI instead of Navigator when connected via HDMI to my Onkyo receiver.


I had high hopes for the Sammie, but what kills me is it seems they really are going to only go with 160G drives. Some 320's did get out in the field when we got the very first reports... since then, it seems ever box is a 160.

That's why. If SARA were more stable in recordings, especially with SDV channels, I'd be willing to trade all the useless features of Navigator for stability. I'd be willing to trade Navigator for the DOS-style UI of 90s cable boxes in exchange for reliable recording. I don't care about appearances and frankly I think way too much work goes into developing the "best looking UI" at the expense of the components that are under the UI. The people want a fancy, flashy polished turd to the style of Tivo and Mac. So the companies respond with products like Navigator and Vista. The turd may be painted gold, but it is still a turd...

I'd hardly call a Mac a "turd" in terms of functionality. Even the flash trends to not get in your way, and most of that can be disabled.

eSATA not working is a big deal for some people.
As for other bugs, I've noticed only two:
1. Digital Output setting gets reset to "HDMI" setting every time the device on the other side of an HDMI connection is turned off
2.When I scroll fast in the guide and stop, sometimes the description does not match the selected channel, it matched the channel above or below instead.

While those two bugs are not really a big deal, and it is true that neither affects stability, that's two more bugs than 2.4.10_11 had, which was by far the most stable Navigator release I've seen.

I don't know whether the digital audio setting issue is occurring on the Samsungs or not. For the HDCs and the Samsungs, the setting for that is done in the native box GUI, not Navigator, so it may be an HDC specific issue. It also seems to be dependent on the display connected... for instance, an HDC it will stay on the DD setting with a Samsung LCD connected, no matter the TV input or power status.

If you want to go into deeper discussions on the Samsung boxes, I've started a thread over in the 'HDTV Recorders' forum.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1152474

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=101240102867#/group.php?gid=101240102867&ref=mf

Join the facebook page if you want HDNet and HDNet Movies back on Time Warner.

you DO have a Facebook page don't you?

I don't know whether the digital audio setting issue is occurring on the Samsungs or not. For the HDCs and the Samsungs, the setting for that is done in the native box GUI, not Navigator, so it may be an HDC specific issue. It also seems to be dependent on the display connected... for instance, an HDC it will stay on the DD setting with a Samsung LCD connected, no matter the TV input or power status.

It's true that the setting is not done in Navigator GUI, but it is also true that it used to work just fine in several 2.* releases, and it suddenly broke in 3.*, so it is definitely related to some Navigator change in 3.*. You are right that some other things come in play as well, but without Navigator change, we would not be talking about it, so it should be easily fixable with a Navigator update (at least on HDCs; maybe the change was to suport Samsungs and rolling it back would cause problems on them).

What's the link, if any, between TWC dropping HDNet and female TWC corporate decision-makers? Surely HDNet's male-programming orientation wasn't a factor--disguised in unrelated corporate-speak? -- John

EDIT: Recall the dismay here recently when TWC put a woman in charge of programming who didn't have HDTV.

What's the link, if any, between TWC dropping HDNet and female TWC corporate decision-makers? Surely HDNet's male-programming orientation wasn't a factor--disguised in unrelated corporate-speak? -- John

Not when they put MAV in its place!

[I am a new customer to Time Warner Ohio(Dayton).

Does TW downres certain HD channels? I get some blocking and fast action issues on fox sports HD.

Is it something TW is doing or is it a reception issue that needs to be resolved?]

TWC is offering at full-res. but the bitrate is low(probably no more than 8-10 mb/s.I believe satellite is somewhere btwn 12-16 mb/s blu-ray can be up to 50 mb/s for a comparison.I have also noticed this on the YES network with TWC during movement.I also have directv and do not experience any macroblocking issues on YES net.Full resolution hd can be offered but if cable does not allow enough bandwidth the picture will suffer.Hope this helps, Ron

Local HD on cable has repeatedly been shown to be roughly same as OTA bit rate,
except for those (few???) systems trying to pack three HD channels per QAM channel
(which should only be a problem in capacity strangled, non-SDV systems).

Non-local HD channels are multiplexed via C-Band satellites feeding cable headends...
which is where the most date rate reduction occurs....TWC is only adding insult to
injury when they try to multiplex three HD channels per QAM carrier...(none on TWC-SD).

PS: I don't know how much degradation (or improvement) there is (if any), but some
SD/HD channels (e.g most HBO/CMAX/STARZ groups & Smithsonian-HD) are being distributed
to cable headends in MPEG4, which is transcoded to MPEG2 for local distribution:
http://www.multichannel.com/article/88359-MPEG_4_Strikes_HD.php
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=127163&site=cdn
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/113980-Starz_Moves_to_MPEG_4_with_Motorola.php
http://login.broadcastengineering.com/wall.aspx?ERIGHTS_TARGET=http%3A%2F%2Fbroadcastengineering.c om%2Fstorage_networking%2Fshowtime-networks-hd-motorola-mpeg4-technology%2F

Fol. vendor uses statistical multiplexing techniques (stealing bits from slow moving shows
for the fast moving show) to pack 3 HD's per QAM carrier...with minimal PQ loss (maybe):
http://www.multichannel.com/article/190751-Cable_Show_2009_Motorola_Satellite_Receiver_Ups_HD_Counts.ph p

Of course, the 3 HD's that are jointly optimized in the transcoder would have to have
good quality via the C-Band (or F-O) distribution system to begin with....
But with SDV, maybe the cable operator wouldn't need to pack 3 HD's per QAM????

PS: ABC distributes network feed to local stations in MPEG4, who transcode to MPEG2 and
insert local news & ads prior to transmission OTA, Cable & SAT (latter transcoded to MPEG4!!!):
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/115873-ABC_Shifts_Program_Distribution_To_MPEG_4.php

TWC is offering at full-res. but the bitrate is low(probably no more than 8-10 mb/s.I believe satellite is somewhere btwn 12-16 mb/s blu-ray can be up to 50 mb/s for a comparison.I have also noticed this on the YES network with TWC during movement.I also have directv and do not experience any macroblocking issues on YES net.Full resolution hd can be offered but if cable does not allow enough bandwidth the picture will suffer.Hope this helps, Ron

Thanks. I also have directv and never have that issue with them. The strange thing is the only other HD channel I have seen it on with TWC is Discovery HD. I don't see it on either ESPN or MLB when they are showing HD games. I find it not very watchable and I am not sure what I am going to do at this point.

The moto boxes will get a tru2way iGuide.

The moto boxes will get a tru2way iGuide.

hdtvfan2005, where did you hear that the ex-Adelphia/ex-Comcast areas of Time Warner are getting a tru2way iGuide? Do you know if it is coming anytime soon? The reason why I ask is because I live in the ex-Adelphia of Time Warner Cable of North County.

I heard it on another forum. Thats what TWC Dallas is going to do. TWC Dallas is an all Moto system. Still don't know what the ex Adelphia area is going to get. Maybe iGuide tru2way or ODN on the DCX with iGuide on the legacy boxes.

I heard it on another forum. Thats what TWC Dallas is going to do. TWC Dallas is an all Moto system. Still don't know what the ex Adelphia area is going to get. Maybe iGuide tru2way or ODN on the DCX with iGuide on the legacy boxes.

Do you know if another company is going to help TWC design the new 2Way IPG, to prevent the type of disasters associated with Navigator two years ago?

If the above is true, than we really know that Navigator cannot run on Motorolla boxes, so rather than do a huge truck roll for the city, it looks like TWC may be working with creating a different IPG because they have no other options. SARA may be reliable, but it is very outdated. (Are these boxes current SARA units? Or Moterolla with Passport?)

Jack

All Motorola boxes run iGuide. Navigator can run. They even did a deal with a company to port Navigator to Moto boxes. That deal fell through. iGuide is made by Macrovision and GuideWorks. Hope this helps.

Can someone please tell me how to view DIGITAL SUB-CHANNELS through a Time Warner HD DVR cable box? I can't seem to get a straight answer from anyone and time warner has no idea what I'm talking about. I'm ofcourse referring to channels like 18.2, 18.3, etc. I kno for a fact my tv has a digital tuner, but when I scan, it doesn't pick up anything.

What do I need to do to view these digital sub-channels???

Re: new OS. I have SARA and a SA8300HD box. If they start using a new OS, will they just install it w/o warning? I ask because I have a 1TB ext hd attached that has literally hundreds of movies and shows on it, which of course I'd lose w/a new OS.

Can someone please tell me how to view DIGITAL SUB-CHANNELS through a Time Warner HD DVR cable box? I can't seem to get a straight answer from anyone and time warner has no idea what I'm talking about. I'm ofcourse referring to channels like 18.2, 18.3, etc. I kno for a fact my tv has a digital tuner, but when I scan, it doesn't pick up anything.

What do I need to do to view these digital sub-channels???
The cable companies are only REQUIRED to carry the PRIMARY local program...Unencrypted.

The other On-The-Air subchannels you describe may or may not show up
as a (possibly Encrypted) digital channel somewhere else in their tier system.
Check the list of channels carried by your local cable system. If it's encrypted
you'll either need a CableCARD for suitably equipped DTVs....or a cable box.
[I think they're prohibited from encrypting OTA sub-channels...but YMMV.]

To see which sub-channels are carried OTA, click on your City and select "Expand All":
http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php

Re: new OS. I have SARA and a SA8300HD box. If they start using a new OS, will they just install it w/o warning? I ask because I have a 1TB ext hd attached that has literally hundreds of movies and shows on it, which of course I'd lose w/a new OS.

How much warning you get seems to depend on the local division. I got a mailer several weeks ahead of time and a phone call the day before. Others have reported getting a mailer after they were updated.

Your recordings actually may survive the upgrade... its not the OS that is being upgraded... the OS is actually embedded in the boxes firmware. What is being upgraded is the GUI application that runs the guide, banner graphics, etc. Of course, it also provides the user interface to your hard drive contents, but it does not directly control the low level access to the drive.

It will be a bit of a crapshoot for you... but you really have no recourse with TW, since eSATA is an unsupported, use at your own risk feature. If you have the means, you should offload the recordings to another medium.

Finally, even if your recordings survive the update, its not a great idea to consider the external drive as archival media, since the contents are married to one particular STB and cannot be used with any other device.

Can someone please tell me how to view DIGITAL SUB-CHANNELS through a Time Warner HD DVR cable box? I can't seem to get a straight answer from anyone and time warner has no idea what I'm talking about. I'm ofcourse referring to channels like 18.2, 18.3, etc. I kno for a fact my tv has a digital tuner, but when I scan, it doesn't pick up anything.

What do I need to do to view these digital sub-channels???

You shifted mid-question between using a box and directly tuning QAM channels at your TV, so I will cover both cases...

If using the cable STB, the subchannels (if carried, and they usually are) are mapped in the box to another "whole" channel number. For example, here in Charlotte, the NBC affiliate's main channel (36.1 OTA) is mapped to channel 220, and their weather subchannel (36.2 OTA) is mapped to 221.

Similarly, if I tune the same clear QAM channels with the TV tuner, they have manipulated the PSIP tags so that the main channel still appears at ch 220 (actually displays as 220.6) and the weather subchannel displays as 221.7. Because of the PSIP manipulation, these display channels have absolutely nothing to do with actual QAM channel or subchannel, but they conveniently mapped them so that they are the same channel number with or without the box. I have no idea why they are mapped to 221.6 and 221.7 instead of 220.1 and 221.1, as no other services are mapped to those whole channel numbers. Doesnt really matter, though, as just entering 220 or 221 will work just fine.

There is no guarantee that your system is set up the same way... the box and PSIP channel mapping gives them freedom to make the channels appear to be virtually anywhere.

As to the issue of getting nothing when you let your TV scan for channels, is the cable feed connected directly to the TV (not through the box), and have you configured it to scan for cable QAM channels, as opposed to scanning for OTA channels? Although the broadcast based channels must be carried unencrypted, the are transcoded from 8VSB OTA modulation to 256QAM modulation for retransmission on the cable system, and your TV tuner needs to know which its looking for. Not all digital TV tuners support QAM channels, either, though most do.

Can someone please tell me how to view DIGITAL SUB-CHANNELS through a Time Warner HD DVR cable box? I can't seem to get a straight answer from anyone and time warner has no idea what I'm talking about. I'm ofcourse referring to channels like 18.2, 18.3, etc. I kno for a fact my tv has a digital tuner, but when I scan, it doesn't pick up anything.

What do I need to do to view these digital sub-channels???

If you want to use your TVs tuner, then it must support QAM, which is how cable puts the channels on the wire, and you must have the RF cable wire connected to your TV's RF/antennae input. If TWC has the right channel mapping info with the channel, the subchannels should show up on your TV with the same channel numbers (eg 18.2) as OTA.

I heard it on another forum. Thats what TWC Dallas is going to do. TWC Dallas is an all Moto system. Still don't know what the ex Adelphia area is going to get. Maybe iGuide tru2way or ODN on the DCX with iGuide on the legacy boxes.

So by getting the latest version of iGuide with tru2way, is that going to help us get more HD channels?

Probably not. I don't know what their plans are for more HD channels on the Moto area. I have no idea if they'll go Moto or Samsung. TWC Desert Cities was testing a Motorola DVR but they also tested the 3270.

No rush or anything but it would be nice to see Comedy Central HD on TWC before the first new episode of Futurama airs sometime in 2010.

Anyone else lose their analog cable to tv's without cable boxes last Friday? My DVR works fine but the other TV's are only getting channels 2-6 and ch 79. A tech said to reprogram but I had no luck. They are coming by Tuesday to check it out. BTW, I'm in the Huntington Beach, CA area.

Anyone else lose their analog cable to tv's without cable boxes last Friday? My DVR works fine but the other TV's are only getting channels 2-6 and ch 79. A tech said to reprogram but I had no luck. They are coming by Tuesday to check it out. BTW, I'm in the Huntington Beach, CA area.
On my QAM TV hooked directly to cable line, no changes were needed. Example, Ch 4 (SD) and Ch 4.1 (HD) were as before without a rescan. /Dan

A Time Warner representative was going door to door in my neighborhood, yesterday, explaining TWC services. Basically, I think he was trying to sell telephone service. He did say that switched digital video and Tru2way was coming this year along with enough HD channels to make the total more than 100.

He was very interested to learn from me about the existence of QAM channels on cable. I suggested that this is a cable service that the cable companies might believe would best remain unknown to the public. Some people are perfectly satisfied with only the local broadcast channels in HD. My wife is one of those people. In fact, sometimes, she doesn't even bother to switch to the HD channel. This would never work for me, but there really are people that just don't care.

He was very interested to learn from me about the existence of QAM channels on cable. I suggested that this is a cable service that the cable companies might believe would best remain unknown to the public. Some people are perfectly satisfied with only the local broadcast channels in HD. My wife is one of those people. In fact, sometimes, she doesn't even bother to switch to the HD channel. This would never work for me, but there really are people that just don't care.

My dealings with TWC have been hit and miss. They are eager to sell me Roadrunner service ($29.99 / mo w/ 10 Mbps down, 1.5 up for 12 months - no further commitment), but have been told that I cannot add HD versions of Broadcast Basic channels (I was even willing to rent a HD STB from them) unless I upgrade to one of their DTV packages, at over $60 per month. I kindly informed them the price wasn't worth it, and that I'd be sticking with my old analog $16 / mo. service tier.

And yes, I have tried to see if HD versions of Broadcast Basic channels are in the clear on my system, and they are not available to me, either because:
1. Filters on the pole are blocking them
2. They are encrypted channels, and my HDTV cannot tune them.

Cheers!
-Doug

My dealings with TWC have been hit and miss. They are eager to sell me Roadrunner service ($29.99 / mo w/ 10 Mbps down, 1.5 up for 12 months - no further commitment), but have been told that I cannot add HD versions of Broadcast Basic channels (I was even willing to rent a HD STB from them) unless I upgrade to one of their DTV packages, at over $60 per month. I kindly informed them the price wasn't worth it, and that I'd be sticking with my old analog $16 / mo. service tier.

And yes, I have tried to see if HD versions of Broadcast Basic channels are in the clear on my system, and they are not available to me, either because:
1. Filters on the pole are blocking them
2. They are encrypted channels, and my HDTV cannot tune them.

Cheers!
-Doug

They cannot encrypt the broadcast-sourced channels, but there may very well be a low-pass filter at the pole/pedestal blocking all but the analog Broadcast Basic package.

They cannot encrypt the broadcast-sourced channels, but there may very well be a low-pass filter at the pole/pedestal blocking all but the analog Broadcast Basic package.

That is my thought, too. I can only hope that when I get RR installed, they have to climb the pole, and the clear QAM channels will no longer be blocked. I could always complain to TWC that I cannot receive all the channels that are in my package (Their channel line-up by service level reads that I should be getting more channels that I can tune, namely the broadcast sub-channels, but not HD ones...) They do indicate that I may need to rent a STB or CableCard to receive some channels, so I am most certain that the sub-channels are out there, but may not be making into my home.

Cheers!
-Doug

A Time Warner representative was going door to door in my neighborhood, yesterday, explaining TWC services. Basically, I think he was trying to sell telephone service. He did say that switched digital video and Tru2way was coming this year along with enough HD channels to make the total more than 100.

Did he say that thanks to SDV you might not be able to see 100 depending on the mood of your neighborhood hub?

Without SDV would he see 100 at all?

"Some people are perfectly satisfied with only the local broadcast channels in HD. My wife is one of those people. In fact, sometimes, she doesn't even bother to switch to the HD channel. This would never work for me, but there really are people that just don't care."


LMAO!! Your wife must know my wife. I certainly CANNOT look at regular TV when HD is available.

"Some people are perfectly satisfied with only the local broadcast channels in HD. My wife is one of those people. In fact, sometimes, she doesn't even bother to switch to the HD channel. This would never work for me, but there really are people that just don't care."


LMAO!! Your wife must know my wife. I certainly CANNOT look at regular TV when HD is available.

My dad and stepmother are the same way... They can't understand why they have to enter "702" when just "2" will get them "the exact same channel". I just wanna scream when I go there and they are watching snowy analog SD when they have the alternative so easily available.

Known Deals Done With TWC, Not Available in All Areas

HD PPV
HD Movies OnDemand
HD Adult OnDemand
HD Showcase OnDemand
HBO-HD
HBO2-HD
HBO Family-HD
HBO Comedy-HD
HBO Signature-HD
HBO Zone-HD
HBO Latino-HD
Cinemax-HD
MoreMax-HD
ActionMAX-HD
5StarMAX-HD
ThrillerMAX-HD
WMAX-HD
@MAX-HD
OuterMAX-HD
Showtime-HD
Showtime 2-HD
ShowCase-HD
ShowExtreme-HD
The Movie Channel-HD
TMCxtra-HD
Starz-HD
Starz Comedy-HD
Starz Edge-HD
Starz Kids & Family-HD
Encore-HD
MGM-HD
Palladia-HD
TNT-HD
TBS-HD
CNN-HD
Cartoon Network-HD
Food Network-HD
HGTV-HD
A&E-HD
History Channel-HD
Biography-HD
Crime & Investigation-HD
Lifetime Movie Network-HD
Hallmark Movie Channel-HD
Discovery HD Theater
The Science Channel-HD
The Discovery Channel-HD
The Learning Channel-HD
Animal Planet-HD
Planet Green-HD
Travel Channel-HD
Disney Channel-HD
ABC Family-HD
Toon Disney-HD
ESPN-HD
ESPN 2-HD
ESPN News-HD
ESPN U-HD
Universal-HD
The Weather Channel-HD
Sci-Fi-HD
Bravo-HD
USA-HD
CNBC-HD
MSNBC-HD
FUSE-HD
IFC-HD
AMC-HD
WE-HD
Fox News-HD
Fox Business Network-HD
National Geographic-HD
FX-HD
Speed-HD
Big Ten Network-HD
E! Entertainment-HD
Style-HD
G4-HD
Versus-HD
Golf-HD
The Outdoor Channel-HD
CBS College Sports-HD
The Tennis Channel-HD
NBA TV-HD
NHL Network-HD
MLB Network-HD
Game-HD (MLB Extra Innings & NHL Center Ice in HD)
Team-HD (NBA League Pass in HD)
QVC-HD
TV One-HD
Smithsonian-HD
RFD-HD
MavTV-HD
WGN America-HD
Lifetime Television-HD --- (Coming soon to TWC in San Diego)
TCM-HD --- (Coming soon to TWC in Rochester, NY)
truTV-HD --- (Coming soon to TWC in Rochester, NY)
HLN-HD --- (Coming soon to TWC in Rochester, NY)
Chiller-HD --- (Channel Launch TBA)
Sleuth-HD --- (Channel Launch TBA)



Negotiations Known In Progress With TWC

NFL Network-HD
HSN-HD
Nickelodeon-HD
Spike-HD
County Music Channel-HD
MTV-HD
VH1-HD
Comedy Central-HD
BET Jazz-HD
BET-HD
LOGO-HD
Africa Channel-HD --- (Channel Launch TBA)




Negotiations Unknown With TWC

HDNet
HDNet Movies
TBN-HD
World Fishing Network-HD
Wealth TV-HD
Fuel-HD
Jewlery TV-HD
Fashion TV-HD

Cars.TV-HD
Pets.TV-HD
Comedy.TV-HD
MyDestination.TV-HD
ES.TV-HD
Recipe.TV-HD

BBC America-HD --- (Channel Launching on July 20th)
OWN-HD (Discovery Health) --- (Channel Launching in 2010)
BTNC-HD --- (Channel Launching in 2009)
Qubo-HD --- (Channel Launching in 2009)
ION Life-HD --- (Channel Launching in 2009)
Fox Soccer Channel-HD --- (Channel Launching in 2009 or 2010)
Fox Reality Channel-HD --- (Channel Launching in 2009 or 2010)
Fox College Sports-HD --- (Channel Launching in 2009 or 2010)
Fox Movie Channel-HD --- (Channel Launching in 2009 or 2010)
Fox Sports En Espanol-HD --- (Channel Launching in 2009 or 2010)
ShowBeyond-HD --- (Channel Launch TBA)
ShowWomen-HD --- (Channel Launch TBA)
ShowFamilyZone-HD --- (Channel Launch TBA)
ShowNext-HD --- (Channel Launch TBA)
FLIX-HD --- (Channel Launch TBA)
SI TV-HD --- (Channel Launch TBA)
BBN-HD --- (Channel Launch TBA)
MTV2-HD --- (Channel Launch Rumored)
Oxygen-HD --- (Channel Launch Rumored)

[B][COLOR=red] [SIZE=5] Negotiations Unknown With TWC

HDNet
HDNet Movies


All I need to know :mad: The rest are all pretty much crap.

Wish they'd hurry the eff up with WGN HD. I'm tired of hearing about WWE Superstars on WGN analog and seeing HD clips from that show on USA HD.

Also, I'd like to see MSNBC HD once that channel launches HD.

Without SDV would he see 100 at all?

With SDV he might not see what he wants either!

He can't win.

With SDV he might not see what he wants either!

He can't win.

I agree. It's opening a whole different can of worms. On one hand you have a lack of HD programming due to capacity issues. On the other you have HD programming but it may be unwatchable or have intermittent problems do to "problems" along the distribution line in your area. And of course the famous "Channel Not Available" messages.

On the other you have HD programming but it may be unwatchable or have intermittent problems do to "problems" along the distribution line in your area. And of course the famous "Channel Not Available" messages.

Correct. If you have problems with SDV it's a local issue because it works quite well for most people.

Love that listing of HD channels TWC has deals with. I contacted TWC in El Paso last week and asked when they were going to add more HD channels. They told me to go to the channel companies. I copied FAQs from several channels saying that to get their HD channels to contact the cable company, sent it back to TWC and reminded them that the channels I was asking for were already offered in most of the country, even in most of Texas. They replied that I was correct in contacting them to get more HD channels (gee, much different than their first response) and would take my request under advisement. Which most likely means a couple of years from now. Too many people around here who haven't gotten HDTVs.

Negotiations Unknown With TWC

HDNet
HDNet Movies
TBN-HD
World Fishing Network-HD
Wealth TV-HD
WGN-HD
Fuel-HD
Jewlery TV-HD
FTV-HD
ION TV-HD
Cars.TV-HD
Pets.TV-HD
Comedy.TV-HD
MyDestination.TV-HD
ES.TV-HD
Recipe.TV-HD
TCM-HD
truTV-HD

BBC America-HD --- (Channel Launching on July 20th)
BBN-HD --- (Channel Launching in Q2 of 2009)
OWN-HD (Discovery Health) --- (Channel Launching in 2009)
BTNC-HD --- (Channel Launching in 2009)
Qubo-HD --- (Channel Launching in 2009)
ION Life-HD --- (Channel Launching in 2009)
Fox Soccer Channel-HD --- (Channel Launching in 2009 or 2010)
Fox Reality Channel-HD --- (Channel Launching in 2009 or 2010)
Fox College Sports-HD --- (Channel Launching in 2009 or 2010)
Fox Movie Channel-HD --- (Channel Launching in 2009 or 2010)
Fox Sports En Espanol-HD --- (Channel Launching in 2009 or 2010)
ShowBeyond-HD --- (Channel Launch TBA)
ShowWomen-HD --- (Channel Launch TBA)
ShowFamilyZone-HD --- (Channel Launch TBA)
ShowNext-HD --- (Channel Launch TBA)
FLIX-HD --- (Channel Launch TBA)
SI TV-HD --- (Channel Launch TBA)
MTV2-HD --- (Channel Launch Rumored)
Headline News-HD --- (Channel Launch Rumored)
Oxygen-HD --- (Channel Launch Rumored)

Nice list Andy, thanks.

Things I'm most looking for are HDNets to return, TCM HD and BBC-A HD to arrive on my system... we DO have the bandwidth for them.

One correction... iON HD. That channel is active on our system, so I must assume there an agreement while it's a partial deployment.

One correction... iON HD. That channel is active on our system, so I must assume there an agreement while it's a partial deployment.

ION probably doesn't belong on the list as it's an OTA broadcast network (just like ABC, NBC, etc aren't)

Did he say that thanks to SDV you might not be able to see 100 depending on the mood of your neighborhood hub?

No, I'm embarassed to say that I did most of the talking. I've learned a lot on this site over the last few years, so I kind of ran off at the mouth.

I'll wait and see what happens with SDV and cablecard. One thing I have learned here is that it is not the cablecard that is one - way, it is the television set. My current tv is only capable of providing one - way cablecard service, so I expect problems with switched digital video on that set.

If I can hold off on buying a set for the livingroom, I might be able to come up with one of the tru2way sets that are, now, only in trial by Panasonic. When the door to door cable representative spoke of tru2way being on the way, he probably only partially understood the subject. (as is the case with me, for sure) ............... I suspect that the cable company's position is that SDV will provide all of the channels via cablecard, provided that you are using a tru2way set.

why did they start charging to watch UNI HD??

to make money :duh

No, I'm embarassed to say that I did most of the talking. I've learned a lot on this site over the last few years, so I kind of ran off at the mouth.

I'll wait and see what happens with SDV and cablecard. One thing I have learned here is that it is not the cablecard that is one - way, it is the television set. My current tv is only capable of providing one - way cablecard service, so I expect problems with switched digital video on that set.

If I can hold off on buying a set for the livingroom, I might be able to come up with one of the tru2way sets that are, now, only in trial by Panasonic. When the door to door cable representative spoke of tru2way being on the way, he probably only partially understood the subject. (as is the case with me, for sure) ............... I suspect that the cable company's position is that SDV will provide all of the channels via cablecard, provided that you are using a tru2way set.

The cable companies will provide all the channels via SDV by using Tru2Way cards in set top boxes and in DVR's. If/when TB sets support Tru2Way cards that wold be another option - but for the minority of cable customers. Just like those of us with cablecard capable TV sets are a minority, and those of that actually have cablecards in those sets are an even tinier minority.

In our case, we have the cablecard for those rare occasions when the DVR is recording two things at the same time and one of us wants to watch a third show on that TV at the same time. Certainly not the best way for us to be spending money, but we're still doing it anyway.

The cable companies will provide all the channels via SDV by using Tru2Way cards in set top boxes and in DVR's. If/when TB sets support Tru2Way cards that wold be another option - but for the minority of cable customers. Just like those of us with cablecard capable TV sets are a minority, and those of that actually have cablecards in those sets are an even tinier minority.

In our case, we have the cablecard for those rare occasions when the DVR is recording two things at the same time and one of us wants to watch a third show on that TV at the same time. Certainly not the best way for us to be spending money, but we're still doing it anyway.

twc north texas is not going sdv and most cable companies are moving expanded basic to digital.

About half of the channels are "missing" in the 700s since yesterday. Channels that aren't missing often sputter and jump. The new Samsung box refuses to scroll the guide correctly.

I called tech support last night and someone who could barely speak English said, "Okay, I am sending you an especial signal. Is it better now?" Then proceeded with the same "Sir, I need you to turn off your cable box, wait 15 seconds ..." spiel that I have heard a thousand times before.

Of course, nothing worked. Once again, I have an appointment for a repairman to come July 7th. That's a long way off. I guarantee you it will be someone so filthy and criminal-looking that I would rather stand than sit next to them on the subway. But, I'll be expected to allow this garbage into my home.

Today, I will be sending "an especial signal" to Time Warner Cable. Loading up all their equipment and taking it down to the Queens Center Mall to give it back to them. Reason: It doesn't work, plain and simple.

I am tired of paying $140 a month for service that does not work. I wouldn't pay $140 a month for any other utility. What am I addicted to that drives me to pay so much for nothing? I am tired of being forced to buy hundreds of channels that I don't want just to see the 5 or 10 that I do want to watch.

I am tired of frequent rate increases for service that simply does not work. Somehow, the electric company manages to provide me with electricity that fails maybe once a decade. The gas company supplies a constant flow of gas. The phone company very rarely has any outages. The water never stops streaming from my tap. WHY ON EARTH, THEN, DOES THE CABLE TV PROVIDER SEEM HELPLESSLY UNABLE TO DELIVER THEIR OWN PRODUCT? Time Warner Cable has been in business a long time. Why can't they get it right?

I'm not paying astronomical prices for intermittent service anymore.

GOODBYE, TWC.

I am tired of paying $140 a month for service that does not work. I wouldn't pay $140 a month for any other utility.

It's not a utility company.

I've had TWC out to the house in SC a few times and I've never had anyone like what you describe.

About half of the channels are "missing" in the 700s since yesterday. Channels that aren't missing often sputter and jump. The new Samsung box refuses to scroll the guide correctly.

I called tech support last night and someone who could barely speak English said, "Okay, I am sending you an especial signal. Is it better now?" Then proceeded with the same "Sir, I need you to turn off your cable box, wait 15 seconds ..." spiel that I have heard a thousand times before.

Of course, nothing worked. Once again, I have an appointment for a repairman to come July 7th. That's a long way off. I guarantee you it will be someone so filthy and criminal-looking that I would rather stand than sit next to them on the subway. But, I'll be expected to allow this garbage into my home.

Today, I will be sending "an especial signal" to Time Warner Cable. Loading up all their equipment and taking it down to the Queens Center Mall to give it back to them. Reason: It doesn't work, plain and simple.

I am tired of paying $140 a month for service that does not work. I wouldn't pay $140 a month for any other utility. What am I addicted to that drives me to pay so much for nothing? I am tired of being forced to buy hundreds of channels that I don't want just to see the 5 or 10 that I do want to watch.

I am tired of frequent rate increases for service that simply does not work. Somehow, the electric company manages to provide me with electricity that fails maybe once a decade. The gas company supplies a constant flow of gas. The phone company very rarely has any outages. The water never stops streaming from my tap. WHY ON EARTH, THEN, DOES THE CABLE TV PROVIDER SEEM HELPLESSLY UNABLE TO DELIVER THEIR OWN PRODUCT? Time Warner Cable has been in business a long time. Why can't they get it right?

I'm not paying astronomical prices for intermittent service anymore.

GOODBYE, TWC.


Hi John,

Where is your division located? It sounds like you have had b.s from TWC for a very long time. In my division, I have had TWC for about 15 years and have had maybe 5 service calls that entire time. The quality or lack of it seems to depend on your service location, the strength of the signal coming into your home, the quality of the head-end signal, and the competence of management. Many of the field techs are literally fast-food restaurant rejects, more often than not, inept independent contractors. The people with whom I have talked, have reported better service by specifically requesting an in-house technician instead of an independent contractor. The IHT's seem to do a better job.

How long have you had cable and problems with it? In my 15 years, out of those 5 calls for service, I had two guys that sucked and three who were very good.

What other options are you looking at? OTA TV? Dish? U-Verse? If you have had really bad service with TWC, you might want to file a complainant with your local Better Business Bureau. We had some people on this board with situations similar to yours and the BBB was helpful. You should be able to fill out an on-line form with your complaint as well.

Hope things work better for you. You can send me a PM with more details of your cable issue if you prefer.

Jack

About half of the channels are "missing" in the 700s since yesterday. Channels that aren't missing often sputter and jump. The new Samsung box refuses to scroll the guide correctly.

This is a SDV problem that deals with signal strength. It took them almost 2 years of calls to figure that out and I helped a lot from reading these threads. Of course, they would not believe me, that I might know more than they do. We had the problem the other night, not much you can do at 11 PM but I was on the phone in the AM and got to the LOCAL office and it was fixed by noon.

I would love to dump TW but I have no real choice since we live in a condo with no legal place to put a dish so if we want any TV it is TW or nothing -- wait that could be the same!

About half of the channels are "missing" in the 700s since yesterday. Channels that aren't missing often sputter and jump. The new Samsung box refuses to scroll the guide correctly.

This is a SDV problem that deals with signal strength. It took them almost 2 years of calls to figure that out and I helped a lot from reading these threads. Of course, they would not believe me, that I might know more than they do. We had the problem the other night, not much you can do at 11 PM but I was on the phone in the AM and got to the LOCAL office and it was fixed by noon.

I would love to dump TW but I have no real choice since we live in a condo with no legal place to put a dish so if we want any TV it is TW or nothing -- wait that could be the same!

He's in NYC - no SDV here.

He's in NYC - no SDV here.

Aren't two channels in NYC (699, 700), that only ODN/MDN can see while Passport doesn't even list them, SDV channels? I figured it was because ODN/MDN supported SDV, while Passport did not.

....


Where is your division located? ...

How long have you had cable and problems with it? ...

What other options are you looking at? ...

Hope things work better for you...

From 1982 to 1999, I had service from Cablevision and since 1999, I've had service from Time Warner Cable. But, I can't recall any difficulty with cable service until problems started in 2007, three years after I moved to East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The people who answer TWC's phones only know how to reboot and schedule appointments. The people who come to your house only know how to exchange the STB. If rebooting or changing the STB does not solve your problem, then you're out of luck.

I've had workmen come, look around and say there is nothing they can do. The moment they set foot out the door, I call TWC and schedule another visit, hoping to get a better repairman. I've had ones that refuse to talk and simply ignore anything you ask them. Many of them act like you are disturbing them by insisting that all of the channels you pay for actually work.

My suspicion is that there is signal loss somewhere between the green metal box around the corner and the pigeon-infested rat's nest that hangs off the side of my 1920 tenement building, with dozens of loose wires hanging out of its cover that no longer closes.

As one TWC repairman, whose ass-length hair ressembled the box I just described, put it, "Ter's no way Time Warner gonna rewire te whole buildin jus so you can get Food Netwak."

In any case, my troubles are over. I went yesterday and handed in my equipment. The CSR did not even ask me why I wanted to discontinue service. He barely looked up from his computer.

My options now are OTA which comes in just as good, if not better than TWC. I am also exploring the possibility that maybe I don't need to stare into a compter screen for 8 hours at work, then come home and stare into a TV screen until bedtime. I'm planning on having a more varied routine and spending more time on active pursuits rather than mindless, passive ones.

My options now are OTA which comes in just as good, if not better than TWC. I am also exploring the possibility that maybe I don't need to stare into a compter screen for 8 hours at work, then come home and stare into a TV screen until bedtime. I'm planning on having a more varied routine and spending more time on active pursuits rather than mindless, passive ones.

An awful lot of folks in the city can't even do OTA or satellite, leaving them with TWC or just doing DVDs. Speakibng of which, DON"T forget that you can now do a Netflix sub. AND at some point, FIOS will get to your nabe... although it could be a while.

Aren't two channels in NYC (699, 700), that only ODN/MDN can see while Passport doesn't even list them, SDV channels? I figured it was because ODN/MDN supported SDV, while Passport did not.

All ondemand programming is SDV technology (they just chose to use MDN/ODN only for HD ondemand - they didn't have to - it was just their way to phase out passport)

(when i say we dont have SDV, it means we dont have any cable channels running on SDV....)


This is an area that I don't know the details to... but what I have noticed elsewhere (on Cablevision) is that the channels that are running on SDV have 4-digit channel #s on their QAM frequencies... the passport program only tunes in to 3-digit channel #s (for example, regular SD ondemand content on our TWC NYC 8300HD boxes use QAMs 88, 89, 90, and 91 for all SD ONDemand (PPV, HBO, free, etc) and channels 101-110 on all of them.) I've seen SDV channels on Cablevision on various frequencies, with channel numbers in the 3000s and 6000s....

My suspicion is that there is signal loss somewhere between the green metal box around the corner and the pigeon-infested rat's nest that hangs off the side of my 1920 tenement building, with dozens of loose wires hanging out of its cover that no longer closes.

I would suspect that is the problem right there, but you are free of TWC now so it doesn't matter anymore. Considering what you went through, it sounds like you did the right thing.

Jack

All ondemand programming is SDV technology (they just chose to use MDN/ODN only for HD ondemand - they didn't have to - it was just their way to phase out passport)

(when i say we dont have SDV, it means we dont have any cable channels running on SDV....)

Ah, thanks. I shoulda figured that out by myself... OnDemand channels don't buffer!

All I need to know :mad: The rest are all pretty much crap.

Agreed I really want HDNet back !!!!

Agreed I really want HDNet back !!!!

You and me both!

Agreed I really want HDNet back !!!!

Email Melinda Witmer at TWC Corporate, the SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF PROGRAMMING OFFICER
Melinda.Witmer@twcable.com

You and me both!

Email Melinda Witmer at TWC Corporate, the SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF PROGRAMMING OFFICER
Melinda.Witmer@twcable.com

I was a long time DISH subscriber and I had to go to cable because of the trees around my house got to large and I am about ready to get my chaidn saw out! I didn't realize that I would lose so many HD channel when I switched to Times Warner. Gone: Discovery, Gone: TLC, Gone: Nick, Gone: FX, Gone: Bravo, Gone: Comedy, gone: Golf Channel, Gone: Disney, Gone:Gone. I now has less than 1/2 the channels that I use to have. I just took a 5 years leap back in time! Plus: The DVR stinks and the HD box does not even have an HDMI output!

I was a long time DISH subscriber and I had to go to cable because of the trees around my house got to large and I am about ready to get my chaidn saw out! I didn't realize that I would lose so many HD channel when I switched to Times Warner. Gone: Discovery, Gone: TLC, Gone: Nick, Gone: FX, Gone: Bravo, Gone: Comedy, gone: Golf Channel, Gone: Disney, Gone:Gone. I now has less than 1/2 the channels that I use to have. I just took a 5 years leap back in time! Plus: The DVR stinks and the HD box does not even have an HDMI output!

Unfortunately, the programming lineups vary among TW systems. We have all the HD channels you mentioned except Comedy, but I know that's of no consolation to you.

I'd be almost certain that you can get an HDMI box if you request one. The Scientific-Atlanta 8300HD, 8300HDC & 8240HDC DVR boxes, as well as the Samsung SMT-H3090, are all in widepread use by TWC and all have HDMI outputs.

Email Melinda Witmer at TWC Corporate, the SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF PROGRAMMING OFFICER
Melinda.Witmer@twcable.com

You'd have better luck talking some sense into Cuban.

Unfortunately, the programming lineups vary among TW systems. We have all the HD channels you mentioned except Comedy, but I know that's of no consolation to you.

Why do they vary so much? I know the Columbus Ohio TW has 3 times as many as ours and we are just 30 miles away.

You'd have better luck talking some sense into Cuban.

According to all reports (and never disputed by TWC) Cuban offered to drop his prices by as much as 75%. He would allow TWC to keep the movie channel on a pay extra tier, but wanted the "standard" channel on the standard digital tier.

Sure seems to me that TWC is the clear dirtbag here...

According to all reports (and never disputed by TWC) Cuban offered to drop his prices by as much as 75%. He would allow TWC to keep the movie channel on a pay extra tier, but wanted the "standard" channel on the standard digital tier.

Sure seems to me that TWC is the clear dirtbag here...

and every single TWC customer would be paying for HDNet... even those without HD.... so Cuban would be coming out on top, and everyone's rates would go up.

Why do they vary so much? I know the Columbus Ohio TW has 3 times as many as ours and we are just 30 miles away.


The two largest reasons why they vary are:

Level of local competition (i.e., is FiOS or uVerse available)
History of system (i.e., system was originally a non-TWC system)
The second one above is a very common cause for differences found in systems that were previously Adelphia systems. Adelphia ran their systems into the ground near the end of their existence... requiring major infrastructure upgrades to bring them up to standards of "native" TWC systems. Those areas will be upgraded, but it cannot happen overnight due to financial, logistical and regulatory issues.

It was natural for TWC to absorb Adelphia systems where they were near existing TWC clusters... but the disparity between the systems becomes more even more glaring when the same name is on the monthly bill.

Are you in an ex-Adelphia area?

Why do they vary so much? I know the Columbus Ohio TW has 3 times as many as ours and we are just 30 miles away.

There actually COULD be some technical issues... BUT ANY of those can be overcome. Even so, in many markets, they have you 100% locked up with little or no other choices (hell for me, OTA simply isn't even an option).

The really pathetic thing is that all TWC has to really do is tell the truth. But we know they lie with the best of them; one example, they did a whole marketing campaign for their phone service boasting they had no extra fees like the "phone companies." 1,000% lie... on my first bill after switching I got hit with 11 separate "charges" totally about 18 bucks. On subsequent months, it varied to a low of 9 separate charges averaging about 10 bucks/month.

According to all reports (and never disputed by TWC) Cuban offered to drop his prices by as much as 75%. He would allow TWC to keep the movie channel on a pay extra tier, but wanted the "standard" channel on the standard digital tier.

Sure seems to me that TWC is the clear dirtbag here...

75% sounds "generous"... but you can't really draw that conclusion until/unless you compare the reduced per sub fee for HDNet against other basic tier service fees. It still may have been out of line.

75% sounds "generous"... but you can't really draw that conclusion until/unless you compare the reduced per sub fee for HDNet against other basic tier service fees. It still may have been out of line.

Sorry, but I think I can very much draw that conclusion. TWC was fine for years with his previous fees and the revenue they gained from having customers pay extra for it. He drops his fee, TWC profit goes up... you KNOW they aren't going to drop their extra charge fee if their expenses go DOWN, do you?

I was a long time DISH subscriber and I had to go to cable because of the trees around my house got to large and I am about ready to get my chaidn saw out! I didn't realize that I would lose so many HD channel when I switched to Times Warner. Gone: Discovery, Gone: TLC, Gone: Nick, Gone: FX, Gone: Bravo, Gone: Comedy, gone: Golf Channel, Gone: Disney, Gone:Gone. I now has less than 1/2 the channels that I use to have. I just took a 5 years leap back in time! Plus: The DVR stinks and the HD box does not even have an HDMI output!

Which Ohio TWC system are you on? Columbus, Northeast Ohio, Cincinnati, or Dayton? I'm in Northeast Ohio and I have every channel you listed as gone except for Comedy and Nick, which no TWC system has.

And the HD box, you probably have one of the ancient SA 8000HD boxes. The 8240/8300HDC boxes have HDMI. You'll probably have to call the local TWC office to see if they have any.

I was a long time DISH subscriber and I had to go to cable because of the trees around my house got to large and I am about ready to get my chaidn saw out! I didn't realize that I would lose so many HD channel when I switched to Times Warner. Gone: Discovery, Gone: TLC, Gone: Nick, Gone: FX, Gone: Bravo, Gone: Comedy, gone: Golf Channel, Gone: Disney, Gone:Gone. I now has less than 1/2 the channels that I use to have. I just took a 5 years leap back in time! Plus: The DVR stinks and the HD box does not even have an HDMI output!

In Milwaukee WI, on TWC, based on the list of HD content above, here is what we have:

Discovery HD
FX HD
Bravo HD
Golf HD
Disney HD.
TLC-HD

(About 50 HD channels all together.)

TWC-Milwaukee's HD List: (Why don't you each post your individual HD line-ups so we can compare across areas?)

500 Movies on Demand HD
502 HD PPV Events
504 WTMJ HD
505 WDJT HD
506 WITI HD
508 HBO East High Definition
509 Showtime High Definition
510 WPTV HD
511 MGM HD
512 WISN HD
513 Cinemax HD
514 Starz HD
515 Food Network HD
516 MPTV HD
517 ABC Family HD
518 WVTV HD
519 Disney HD
520 Science Channel HD
522 Fox News HD
523 Palladia
524 WCGV HD MyNet
525 Versus HD
526 The Golf Channel HD
527 Big Ten HD
528 ESPN2 High Definition
529 ESPN News HD
530 ESPN-HD
531 Fox Sports HD
532 Universal HD
533 TNT HD
534 TBS in HD
535 FX HD
536 USA HD
537 HGTV HD
538 Discovery Channel HD
539 History in HD
540 TLC HD
541 Discovery HD Theater
542 A&E High Definition
543 Animal Planet HD
544 CNN HD
545 CNBC HD+
546 Hallmark Movie Channel HD
547 Smithsonian Channel HD
548 MavTV
549 National Geographic HD
562 Sci Fi HD
565 Lifetime Movie Network HD
568 Bravo HD
570 Travel Channel HD
580 SPEED HD
583 MLB Network HD
1102 HD Showcase On Demand
1126 Big Ten Network HD On Demand
1810 Adult On Demand - HD

Sorry, but I think I can very much draw that conclusion. TWC was fine for years with his previous fees and the revenue they gained from having customers pay extra for it. He drops his fee, TWC profit goes up... you KNOW they aren't going to drop their extra charge fee if their expenses go DOWN, do you?Lowered fee and moving off HD tier may not actually mean more profit. $1.00/channel X 100's of thousands of people versus $0.25/channel X millions of people could be 2, 3, 4 times more expensive for TWC (which gets passed on with extra overhead costs to the users). /Dan

Local channels and premium channels don't really count, but Northeast Ohio has almost 40 HD channels right now.

430 ESPN-HD
431 ESPN2 HD
432 ESPN News HD
433 Big Ten HD
434 ESPNU HD
435 Sports Time Ohio HD
438 MLB Network HD
439 The Golf Channel HD
440 Versus HD
441 TNT HD
442 TBS HD
443 USA HD
444 A&E HD
445 HGTV HD
446 Food Network HD
447 History HD
448 HD Theater
449 Discovery Channel HD
450 TLC HD
451 Science Channel HD
452 Animal Planet HD
453 National Geographic HD
454 Travel Channel HD
456 Disney HD
460 ABC Family HD
463 LMNHD
464 AMC HD
466 Bravo HD
469 Palladia HD
470 Universal HD
471 Smithsonian Channel HD
472 MavTV HD
473 MGM HD
476 Sci Fi HD
478 FX HD
480 SPEED HD
483 CNN HD
485 Fox News Channel HD
486 CNBC HD

TWC San Diego has just lit up ESPNNews-HD on channel 788.

For the record thats in the non ex-Adelphia part of TWC San Diego. For those of us in the ex-Adelphia part of TWC San Diego (located in North San Diego County), FX HD is up and running on ch. 752.

In Milwaukee WI, on TWC, based on the list of HD content above, here is what we have:

Discovery HD
FX HD
Bravo HD
Golf HD
Disney HD.
TLC-HD

(About 50 HD channels all together.)

TWC-Milwaukee's HD List: (Why don't you each post your individual HD line-ups so we can compare across areas?)

500 Movies on Demand HD
502 HD PPV Events
504 WTMJ HD
505 WDJT HD
506 WITI HD
508 HBO East High Definition
509 Showtime High Definition
510 WPTV HD
511 MGM HD
512 WISN HD
513 Cinemax HD
514 Starz HD
515 Food Network HD
516 MPTV HD
517 ABC Family HD
518 WVTV HD
519 Disney HD
520 Science Channel HD
522 Fox News HD
523 Palladia
524 WCGV HD MyNet
525 Versus HD
526 The Golf Channel HD
527 Big Ten HD
528 ESPN2 High Definition
529 ESPN News HD
530 ESPN-HD
531 Fox Sports HD
532 Universal HD
533 TNT HD
534 TBS in HD
535 FX HD
536 USA HD
537 HGTV HD
538 Discovery Channel HD
539 History in HD
540 TLC HD
541 Discovery HD Theater
542 A&E High Definition
543 Animal Planet HD
544 CNN HD
545 CNBC HD+
546 Hallmark Movie Channel HD
547 Smithsonian Channel HD
548 MavTV
549 National Geographic HD
562 Sci Fi HD
565 Lifetime Movie Network HD
568 Bravo HD
570 Travel Channel HD
580 SPEED HD
583 MLB Network HD
1102 HD Showcase On Demand
1126 Big Ten Network HD On Demand
1810 Adult On Demand - HD

TWC dallas has 51 HD plus HDVOD

357 KDFW HD 693MHz
363 KXAS HD 693MHz
369 WFAA HD 681MHz
375 KTVT HD 675MHz
381 KERA HD 681MHz
387 KTXA HD 675MHz
407 KDFI HD 711MHz
417 KDAF HD 711MHz
459 KPXD HD 711MHz
738 WEATHER CHANNEL HD 861MHz
740 CNN HD 819MHz
741 FOX NEWS HD 861MHz
744 TBS HD 819MHz
745 HISTORY HD 807MHz
751 LMN HD 843MHz
752 FOOD NET HD 813MHz
753 HGTV HD 813MHz
754 A&E HD 819MHz
755 HDT 669MHz
756 DSC HD 825MHz
757 APL HD 825MHz
758 TLC HD 843MHz
759 TRAVEL HD 849MHz
760 PLANET GREEN HD 843MHz
761 SCIENCE HD 849MHz
764 BIO HD 855MHz
768 FX 831MHz
770 TNT HD 759MHz
771 NGC HD 825MHz
774 HMC HD 831MHz
775 DISNEY HD 837MHz
776 DXD HD 837MHz
778 ABC FAMILY 837MHz
780 ESPN HD 759MHz
783 ESPN NEWS HD 855MHz
784 ESPNU HD 849MHz
785 ESPN2 HD 759MHz
786 VS. HD 807MHz
787 FS Southwest HD 813MHz
788 SPEED HD 855MHz
789 GOLD HD 807MHz
790 CBS COLLEGE SPORTS HD 861MHz
797 MGM HD 705MHz
805 UHD 705MHz
806 mavHD 699MHz
807 SMITHSONIAN HD 705MHz
810 HDPPV 831MHz
815 HBO HD 699MHz
825 MAX HD 669MHz
830 SHO HD 699MHz
835 STZ HD 669MHz

711 HDVOD

as you can see my system is 870MHz and it also runs motorola equipment line gear and boxes. I have two DCX3432's and one DCX3200 all three have 1GHz tuners.

and every single TWC customer would be paying for HDNet... even those without HD.... so Cuban would be coming out on top, and everyone's rates would go up.

Exactly.

Local channels and pay services not counted, it looks like almost every TWC system has about 40 national HD channels. So far no new additions have been listed for July and I was feeling cheated. But I guess 40 HD channels seems to be the standard.

and every single TWC customer would be paying for HDNet... even those without HD.... so Cuban would be coming out on top, and everyone's rates would go up.

Exactly.

So, the theory is TWC drops HDNet and HDNet Movies and the rates won't go up. Let's see how that plays out.

Rather, I expect you are looking for the rates not going up "as much as they would have otherwise". However, without knowing how much the rates would have gone up otherwise, how would you be able to tell?

Now it's even worse. The rates will go up anyway, and we lost HD Net. I wouldn't mind a rate increase, if it meant keeping HD Net. But instead we get no HD Net and a rate increase. Real smart.

TWC dallas has 51 HD plus HDVOD
357 KDFW HD 693MHz
363 KXAS HD 693MHz
369 WFAA HD 681MHz
375 KTVT HD 675MHz
381 KERA HD 681MHz
387 KTXA HD 675MHz
407 KDFI HD 711MHz
417 KDAF HD 711MHz
459 KPXD HD 711MHz
738 WEATHER CHANNEL HD 861MHz
740 CNN HD 819MHz
741 FOX NEWS HD 861MHz
744 TBS HD 819MHz
745 HISTORY HD 807MHz
751 LMN HD 843MHz
752 FOOD NET HD 813MHz
753 HGTV HD 813MHz
754 A&E HD 819MHz
755 HDT 669MHz
756 DSC HD 825MHz
757 APL HD 825MHz
758 TLC HD 843MHz
759 TRAVEL HD 849MHz
760 PLANET GREEN HD 843MHz
761 SCIENCE HD 849MHz
764 BIO HD 855MHz *
768 FX 831MHz
770 TNT HD 759MHz
771 NGC HD 825MHz
774 HMC HD 831MHz
775 DISNEY HD 837MHz
776 DXD HD 837MHz
778 ABC FAMILY 837MHz
780 ESPN HD 759MHz
783 ESPN NEWS HD 855MHz
784 ESPNU HD 849MHz
785 ESPN2 HD 759MHz
786 VS. HD 807MHz
787 FS Southwest HD 813MHz
788 SPEED HD 855MHz
789 GOLF HD 807MHz
790 CBS COLLEGE SPORTS HD 861MHz **
797 MGM HD 705MHz ***
805 UHD 705MHz ***
806 mavHD 699MHz ***
807 SMITHSONIAN HD 705MHz ***
810 HDPPV 831MHz
815 HBO HD 699MHz
825 MAX HD 669MHz
830 SHO HD 699MHz
835 STZ HD 669MHz

* available with $6.99 Plus tier only (18 SD & 1 HD channels)
** available with $6.99 Sports tier only (10 SD & 1 HD channels)
*** available with $6.99 HD tier only (4 HD channels)

I wanted to add a note on tiers for Dallas all of which are now standardized to $7, including the Extra tier funnily enough which includes 2 SD channels Fuse & Fox Movie (don't think anyone would pay $3.50 for each of those channels). And the practice of grandfathering pricing for customers as with the numerous previous cable companies for this area has been abandoned in most situations. The HD tier was $3 with HDNet at 795 & HDNet Movies at 796, shortly after their removal & the addition of MavTV & Smithsonian the tier will go up to $7. That's $1.75 per channel for Universal HD, MGM, MavTV & Smithsonian, thankfully grandfathering of the $3 rate is still in effect for now but nobody in customer service can tell you for how long. Regardless that doesn't help a new customer or someone who recently added or re-added the HD tier.

I noticed TWC Dallas has the highest rate for Playboy TV that I'm aware of at $20 monthly.
http://www.timewarnercable.com/Dallas/learn/pricing/default.html

From the list of channels provided by kevin120 I feel that USA HD is the most glaring omission, that channel should be considered as basic & necessary as CBS HD or TNT HD.

Are you in an ex-Adelphia area?

Yes we are ex-Adelphia. My location is Newark, Ohio

Here is our entire HD Line-up in Newark Ohio, Part of TWC-Mid-Ohio.

699 Starz HD
700 HBO HD
701 Showtime HD
702 Cinemax HD
704 WCMH HD Columbus, OH (NBC)
706 WSYX HD Columbus, OH (ABC)
710 WBNS HD Columbus, OH (CBS)
728 WTTE HD Columbus, OH (FOX)
734 WOSU HD Columbus, OH (PBS)
746 WWHO HD Columbus, OH (CW)
750 HD Theater
751 TNT HD
752 Sports Time Ohio HD
753 FSN Ohio HD
754 Versus HD
757 Big Ten Network HD
759 TBS in HD
761 National Geographic HD
766 A&E HD
768 HGTV HD
772 ESPN-HD
773 ESPN2-HD
775 MGM HD - Premium Level
780 Universal HD - Premium Level
781 Smithsonian Channel HD - Premium Level
782 MavTV HD - Premium Level

Yes we are ex-Adelphia. My location is Newark, Ohio

Things are likely to get better as TW brings the Adelphia wreckage up to snuff.

The local areas here that were Adelphia have been updated and mainstreamed with the native TW plant for a while now. However, one small ex-Adelphia area was taken over by the local municipalities... that area had only 4(!) HD basic channels until quite recently and still charged just about the same as TW was charging for 50 or so HDs. So... although it does seem that your local system may be a bit slow getting things updated, things COULD actually be MUCH worse than what you are experiencing.

Has anyone ever witnessed RFD HD in HD?

Has anyone ever witnessed RFD HD in HD?

I was just about to post this. I have yet to see any HD content.

I was just about to post this. I have yet to see any HD content.

I find it curious that we all pined for the mythical 100 HD channels and some of us have reached that goal while others have not. I, for one, have reached that goal, but lemme tell you... many, many, many of them are 100% worthless. All we really got was a whole lot more stretch-o-vision, 4:3 SD content, mutilated/stretched and taking up a huge amount of bandwidth for what?

Personally I think there should be a law that at least 70% of programming hours must be in real, actual HD for any channel to called themselves "HD."

Then again, I also think stretch-o-vision should also be outlawed as a deceptive practice allowing channel to promote themselves as HD. Yes I know this deceptive practice has it's adherents... but even if it was outlawed, end users could STILL mutilate/stretch their images to satisfy their idea of HD.

Things are likely to get better as TW brings the Adelphia wreckage up to snuff.

agreed. I'm ex adelphia. with them i had the Hdnets package, Starzhd and WSOCHD(ABC). thats it. about 6 HD channels, ABC being the only "free one".
the only upside to this was that i had StarzHD long before Charlotte.

heres our current line up. i believe it is the same as Charlotte except channel numbers of course. 64 total HD. though a couple rarely have any programming at all. this also includes all the extra pay packages.

451 NBA League Pass HD
484 MLB Extra Innings/NHL Center Ice HD
602 WBTV-HD (CBS)
605 WTVI-HD
606 WCNC-HD (NBC)
608 WJZY-HD (UPN)
610 WSOC-HD (ABC)
611 WCCB-HD (Fox)
612 WMYT-HD (MyNet)
613 UNC (PBS) HD
614 WAXN HD
630 Animal Planet HD
631 HD Theater
632 Discovery Channel HD
633 Planet Green HD
634 TLC HD
635 Science Channel HD
636 National Geographic HD
638 BIO HD
639 History HD
644 Disney HD
645 ABC Family HD
651 HGTV HD
652 Food Network HD
656 Travel Channel HD
667 CNN HD
668 CNBC HD+
671 A&E High Definition
672 TBS in HD
673 TNT HD
674 Lifetime Movie Network HD
675 Bravo HD
676 USA HD
678 FX HD
679 Sci Fi HD
680 AMC HD
701 Palladia
718 ESPNEWS HD
719 Big Ten Network HD
720 ESPNU HD
721 ESPN-HD
722 ESPN2 High Definition
723 The Golf Channel HD
724 Versus HD
725 SPEED HD
726 Fox Sports Carolinas HD
727 Outdoor Channel HD
732 MLB Network HD
761 Movies on Demand HD
762 HD Showcase On Demand
781 MGM HD
782 Universal HD
783 Smithsonian Channel HD
784 MavTV
785 Hallmark Movie Channel HD
800 HD PPV Events
820 HBO West HD
821 Showtime HD West
822 Cinemax HD East
823 Cinemax HD West
825 The Movie Channel HD
832 HBO East HD
852 Showtime East HD
866 Starz HD East

I find it curious that we all pined for the mythical 100 HD channels and some of us have reached that goal while others have not. I, for one, have reached that goal, but lemme tell you... many, many, many of them are 100% worthless. All we really got was a whole lot more stretch-o-vision, 4:3 SD content, mutilated/stretched and taking up a huge amount of bandwidth for what?

Personally I think there should be a law that at least 70% of programming hours must be in real, actual HD for any channel to called themselves "HD."

Then again, I also think stretch-o-vision should also be outlawed as a deceptive practice allowing channel to promote themselves as HD. Yes I know this deceptive practice has it's adherents... but even if it was outlawed, end users could STILL mutilate/stretch their images to satisfy their idea of HD.

Of course none of this is TWC's fault....

and the list of available HD channels that exist that we don't have is fairly small.

That does look identical to Charlotte's HD package. I believe that TW has all of its systems in NC very close to HD equality. The last few rounds of channel additions have been virtually identical in all systems.

Whether that's a good or bad thing depends on whether future state-wide channel additions will depend on the status of the weakest link system... the current Channel Change pages for all NC divisions all state "No additions planned at this time".

agreed. I'm ex adelphia. with them i had the Hdnets package, Starzhd and WSOCHD(ABC). thats it. about 6 HD channels, ABC being the only "free one".
the only upside to this was that i had StarzHD long before Charlotte.

heres our current line up. i believe it is the same as Charlotte except channel numbers of course. 64 total HD. though a couple rarely have any programming at all. this also includes all the extra pay packages.

451 NBA League Pass HD
484 MLB Extra Innings/NHL Center Ice HD
602 WBTV-HD (CBS)
605 WTVI-HD
606 WCNC-HD (NBC)
608 WJZY-HD (UPN)
610 WSOC-HD (ABC)
611 WCCB-HD (Fox)
612 WMYT-HD (MyNet)
613 UNC (PBS) HD
614 WAXN HD
630 Animal Planet HD
631 HD Theater
632 Discovery Channel HD
633 Planet Green HD
634 TLC HD
635 Science Channel HD
636 National Geographic HD
638 BIO HD
639 History HD
644 Disney HD
645 ABC Family HD
651 HGTV HD
652 Food Network HD
656 Travel Channel HD
667 CNN HD
668 CNBC HD+
671 A&E High Definition
672 TBS in HD
673 TNT HD
674 Lifetime Movie Network HD
675 Bravo HD
676 USA HD
678 FX HD
679 Sci Fi HD
680 AMC HD
701 Palladia
718 ESPNEWS HD
719 Big Ten Network HD
720 ESPNU HD
721 ESPN-HD
722 ESPN2 High Definition
723 The Golf Channel HD
724 Versus HD
725 SPEED HD
726 Fox Sports Carolinas HD
727 Outdoor Channel HD
732 MLB Network HD
761 Movies on Demand HD
762 HD Showcase On Demand
781 MGM HD
782 Universal HD
783 Smithsonian Channel HD
784 MavTV
785 Hallmark Movie Channel HD
800 HD PPV Events
820 HBO West HD
821 Showtime HD West
822 Cinemax HD East
823 Cinemax HD West
825 The Movie Channel HD
832 HBO East HD
852 Showtime East HD
866 Starz HD East

I wish we had even 40 HD channels. Here are ones in El Paso, TX, other than local national affiliates:

Premium:
HBO main east & west feeds only
SHO main east & west feeds only

Other:
HD Theater--actually Discovery HD. Channel listing on website says HD Theater, guide on STB says Discover HD
TNT HD
FSN HD
ESPN HD
ESPN2 HD
SMITHSONIAN HD
MGM HD
UNIVERSAL HD

While paying my bill today at my local TWC office I asked about NAVIGATOR andwas told in was launchingin Greensboro next week. Was also told to expect 50 new HD channels here by years end.

...was also told to expect 50 new HD channels here by years end.

That's generally good news and I would expect/hope that it will apply statewide given the way that TW has worked to mesh things statewide over the past year.

That said... as other's have noted, there probably aren't 50 more HD channels available that are really HD content and that would be of great interest to most of us.

I also fear that the addition of so many real and (especially) pseudo-HD channels will come at the expense of the already borderline compression rates we have seen. Some channels are already all but unwatchable, the compression artifacts are so bad. We don't need RFD HD if it means further PQ hits to mainstream channels with real HD content.

For the record thats in the non ex-Adelphia part of TWC San Diego. For those of us in the ex-Adelphia part of TWC San Diego (located in North San Diego County), FX HD is up and running on ch. 752.

In the non Adelphia area of TWC San Diego, we've had FX HD on channel 752 for a while now. Did you already have ESPN News HD (my guess is, no)?

That's generally good news and I would expect/hope that it will apply statewide given the way that TW has worked to mesh things statewide over the past year.

That said... as other's have noted, there probably aren't 50 more HD channels available that are really HD content and that would be of great interest to most of us.

I also fear that the addition of so many real and (especially) pseudo-HD channels will come at the expense of the already borderline compression rates we have seen. Some channels are already all but unwatchable, the compression artifacts are so bad. We don't need RFD HD if it means further PQ hits to mainstream channels with real HD content.

Well if you count all the HBO, Showtime, Cinemax and Encore & Starz HD channels we do not have here it might be easy for them to add 50. WOODY

Well if you count all the HBO, Showtime, Cinemax and Encore & Starz HD channels we do not have here it might be easy for them to add 50. WOODY

That's true!

I find it curious that we all pined for the mythical 100 HD channels and some of us have reached that goal while others have not. I, for one, have reached that goal, but lemme tell you... many, many, many of them are 100% worthless. All we really got was a whole lot more stretch-o-vision, 4:3 SD content, mutilated/stretched and taking up a huge amount of bandwidth for what?

Personally I think there should be a law that at least 70% of programming hours must be in real, actual HD for any channel to called themselves "HD."

Then again, I also think stretch-o-vision should also be outlawed as a deceptive practice allowing channel to promote themselves as HD. Yes I know this deceptive practice has it's adherents... but even if it was outlawed, end users could STILL mutilate/stretch their images to satisfy their idea of HD.

Hey Riverside Guy,

I wanted to ask, since you are in that division with the 75-100 HD channel range already in place, Did TWC add like 30 additional channels all at once? Or was it gradual? Because of you having a larger HD channel selection, have you noticed increases in picture pixiation or audio drop-outs?

Jack

That does look identical to Charlotte's HD package. I believe that TW has all of its systems in NC very close to HD equality. The last few rounds of channel additions have been virtually identical in all systems.

Whether that's a good or bad thing depends on whether future state-wide channel additions will depend on the status of the weakest link system(s)... the current Channel Change pages for all NC divisions all state "No additions planned at this time".

and jcalabria it looks identical in the florence, sc area. And the last couple HD channel additions that charlotte got. He got on the same day.

Hey Riverside Guy,

I wanted to ask, since you are in that division with the 75-100 HD channel range already in place, Did TWC add like 30 additional channels all at once? Or was it gradual? Because of you having a larger HD channel selection, have you noticed increases in picture pixiation or audio drop-outs?

JackNot RG but in NYC,
After they finally phased out all of the analogue channels, bandwidth became available for the new HD channels. Each part of the city got them at different times in about two or three intervals, IIRC. First, it was Staten Island, than Astoria Queens, then Bayside, Flushing, then Midtown and upper Manhattan and I think the last to receive the HD channels was lower Manhattan.

There were (still are) many complaints, in all parts of the city, immediately after the new channels were added. As an example, some folks had extreme audio problems with FOX. It has never been clear whether these glitches were due to the add on channels or the boxes- Passport or Navigator. It is a big city.

That's true!

In addition to the movie channels add Fox News HD. Spike HD , Cartoon Network HD, BBC AMERICA HD , Weather Channel HD and E Entertainment HD and Comedy Channel HD and there my friend is your 50 or close to it. Give me all those plus the movie channels and I be one happy camper. WOODY

the current Channel Change pages for all NC divisions all state "No additions planned at this time".

I spoke too soon... this popped up today:
August 1, 2009: YES HD and NESN HD will be added to the Games and Sports Tier.
Looks like all the transplanted Yankee & Red Sox fans can start battling it out here in the south, lol.

I spoke too soon... this popped up today:
August 1, 2009: YES HD and NESN HD will be added to the Games and Sports Tier.
Looks like all the transplanted Yankee & Red Sox fans can start battling it out here in the south, lol.

it won't include games.

I still want from TWC NE Ohio: MSNBC HD, Comedy Central HD, Spike TV HD, WGN HD, Style HD.

it won't include games.

Even though I am a transplanted Yankee, baseball's not my thing so I'm not too happy about them being added, with or without games.

In the non Adelphia area of TWC San Diego, we've had FX HD on channel 752 for a while now. Did you already have ESPN News HD (my guess is, no)?

You guessed correctly humdinger70. No we do not have ESPNEWS HD. I'm personally lobbying our North County San Diego TWC subdivision to add Prime Ticket HD, since FSN HD on ch. 731 has gone fulltime and turned into FS West HD. I figured since we already get Prime Ticket in standard definition we should get the corresponding HD channel as well (college football season isn't that far away).

Here's what we don't have in TWC North County to what you guys have in the the TWC San Diego legacy system.

735- ABC FAMILY HD (I would imagine to be useless)
740- BRAVO HD
749- CNBC HD
781- Hallmark Movie Channel HD
783- Big 10 Network HD
789- MLB HD
793- Speed HD.

I wish we had even 40 HD channels. Here are ones in El Paso, TX, other than local national affiliates:

Premium:
HBO main east & west feeds only
SHO main east & west feeds only

Other:
HD Theater
TNT HD
FSN HD
ESPN HD
ESPN2 HD
SMITHSONIAN HD
MGM HD
UNIVERSAL HD

You forgot about part-time channel Fox Sports Net.

I get some HD channels from unencrypted QAM, and yesterday they changed some channels around. Well, 85.1 and 85.2 were HD channels, and they added 8 more SD (I assume, they're encrypted) channels to that band. The picture quality is terrible now! Everything is pixelated.

You forgot about part-time channel Fox Sports Net.

I get some HD channels from unencrypted QAM, and yesterday they changed some channels around. Well, 85.1 and 85.2 were HD channels, and they added 8 more SD (I assume, they're encrypted) channels to that band. The picture quality is terrible now! Everything is pixelated.

FSN HD is Fox Sports Net HD.

Will have to re-scan tomorrow when I have time to see what else I pops-up.

Just checked TWC's website for any July channel updates and they are not listed yet.

I wish we had even 40 HD channels. Here are ones in El Paso, TX, other than local national affiliates:

Premium:
HBO main east & west feeds only
SHO main east & west feeds only

Other:
HD Theater--actually Discovery HD. Channel listing on website says HD Theater, guide on STB says Discover HD
TNT HD
FSN HD
ESPN HD
ESPN2 HD
SMITHSONIAN HD
MGM HD
UNIVERSAL HDJust checked TWC's website for any July channel updates and they are not listed yet.I think that [Man] MavTV (or whatever came with Smithsonian when the HDNets left) is on channel 902 909.

Seven OTA/Network HD Channels
Nine Cable/Sports/Other
Four Premium
One On-Demand
One Pay Per View


Just looked at the June notice which listed:
A&E HD to Expanded Basic Channel 906*
ABC Family Channel HD to Expanded Basic Channel 907*
Food Network HD to Expanded Basic Channel 891*
HGTV HD to Expanded Basic Channel 892*
ESPNews HD to Digital Basic Channel 908*

I have not seen any of these yet...

v/r,
C-F

Of course none of this is TWC's fault....

and the list of available HD channels that exist that we don't have is fairly small.

Hard as I am on TWC, you have very valid points.

BBC-A and TCM are the ones on my radar at this point... after that, it seems what we REALLY need is more actual HD on the channels already taking up our bandwidth... I mean Bones in syndication being shown in 4:3 stretch-o-vision! There is no earthly excuse for that!

That's generally good news and I would expect/hope that it will apply statewide given the way that TW has worked to mesh things statewide over the past year.

HIGHLY doubtful... given how they do these things. In my city, it took almost 2 years to bring all the HD channels they started doling out in one borough. Hell, when they actually got to my borough (dead last) they even split it up into north and south... with 3 months waiting for those living just south of me.

Meanwhile everyone paid the same... errrr, not really, those that had more HD than I got discounts that were not available for me. Not only that, we (in Manhattan) went through 3 price hikes while those in other boroughs who opted for the discount did not get hit with those 3 increases.

Hey Riverside Guy,

I wanted to ask, since you are in that division with the 75-100 HD channel range already in place, Did TWC add like 30 additional channels all at once? Or was it gradual? Because of you having a larger HD channel selection, have you noticed increases in picture pixiation or audio drop-outs?

Jack

Jack, all at once. It was something like 60 or 65. AND they split Manhattan in 2, north and south and made my southern cousins wait an additional 3 months.

Purely anecdotal, but I noticed an increase in glitches that kind of subsided after a few months. But that seems to be back with a vengeance the past 3 weeks as we anxiously await being MDNed.

Not RG but in NYC,
After they finally phased out all of the analogue channels...

Not exactly. They dropped about 40 and left about 30 that are still taking up bandwidth. Even so, there is still bandwidth room even with those 30 because the systems overall is quite a bit larger than most other cities.

What SHOULD happen is to get rid of those 30 and go back to one or at most 2 HD per QAM channel. AND put the stretch-o-vision channels in the "2 per" category.

Not exactly. They dropped about 40 and left about 30 that are still taking up bandwidth. Even so, there is still bandwidth room even with those 30 because the systems overall is quite a bit larger than most other cities.

What SHOULD happen is to get rid of those 30 and go back to one or at most 2 HD per QAM channel. AND put the stretch-o-vision channels in the "2 per" category.

They don't even need to get rid of any more existing analog channels to accomplish "2-in-1"... there are a whole bunch that they removed that are sitting unused...

Also, there is more than enough space in 1 QAM to fit 2 HD cable channels, and even a couple of SD channels. I don't think any cable network sends out their channels at more than 15-16 mbps (many are in the 12-14 range, which is why 3-in-1 can be done to being without without losing anything on some channels) - and a QAM can manage ~38mbps... a well organized restructuring could do a lot of great things...

1 HD channel in 1 QAM is a lot of wasted space - this is why they send us our OTA networks in 2-in-1s - OTA maxes out at ~19mpbs for 1 complete signal (including all subchannels)

They don't even need to get rid of any more existing analog channels to accomplish "2-in-1"... there are a whole bunch that they removed that are sitting unused...

Also, there is more than enough space in 1 QAM to fit 2 HD cable channels, and even a couple of SD channels. I don't think any cable network sends out their channels at more than 15-16 mbps (many are in the 12-14 range, which is why 3-in-1 can be done to being without without losing anything on some channels) - and a QAM can manage ~38mbps... a well organized restructuring could do a lot of great things...

1 HD channel in 1 QAM is a lot of wasted space - this is why they send us our OTA networks in 2-in-1s - OTA maxes out at ~19mpbs for 1 complete signal (including all subchannels)

Ah, good info Berk!

I believe CableLabs has set 15 mbps as the "standard" for a HD channel on cable.

HIGHLY doubtful... given how they do these things. In my city, it took almost 2 years to bring all the HD channels they started doling out in one borough. Hell, when they actually got to my borough (dead last) they even split it up into north and south... with 3 months waiting for those living just south of me.

Meanwhile everyone paid the same... errrr, not really, those that had more HD than I got discounts that were not available for me. Not only that, we (in Manhattan) went through 3 price hikes while those in other boroughs who opted for the discount did not get hit with those 3 increases.

All TWC systems/divisions apparently do not operate the same way. All recent HD channel additions have been in complete lockstep statewide here... and, unlike other areas, the local assimilation af Adelphia systems has gone smoothly and quickly.

Also, the entire state is fed from one headend in Raleigh... even local broadcast signals are back-hauled to Raleigh and packaged into the digital transport streams.

Time Warner adds HD

By Staff Report | The Tribune

Published Thursday, July 2, 2009

Ironton — Time Warner Cable digital cable subscribers can now watch popular cable channels like Discovery, Golf, and National Geographic Channel in high definition with the addition of fifteen new HD channels throughout to the company’s Free HD Tier of service.

The new HD channels are available at no additional charge to digital cable customers. To view the channels in high definition, customers will need an HD converter box and an HD television.

New channel additions include:

> USA HD – channel 777

> Sci-Fi HD – channel 778

> CNBC HD – channel 788

> Disney HD – channel 775

> ABC Family HD – channel 774

> ESPN News HD – channel 782

> Golf HD – channel 779

> Outdoor Channel HD – channel 781

> National Geographic HD – channel 767

> Discovery HD – channel 763

> Fox News Channel HD – channel 786

> Speed HD – channel 780

> CNN News HD – channel 785

> History Channel HD – channel 769

> Bravo HD – channel 759

With the addition of fifteen new HD channels, Time Warner Cable’s Free HD Tier now includes twenty-two high definition channels.

“We are always looking for new ways to add more value to our digital cable service,” said Time Warner Cable Manager Russ Pomfrey.

“We know that our customers love watching TV in HD and we’re proud to be able to deliver as much as we can in high definition. Time Warner Cable is the only provider that does not charge for the majority of HD programming available and provides On Demand content in HD.”

These high definition channels are free to customers who already subscribe to the level of service that includes the standard definition feed of that channel and are equipped with an HD receiver and HD ready television.

http://www.irontontribune.com/news/2009/jul/02/time-warner-adds-hd/

August launch on TWC in Rochester, NY

truTV-HD
TCM-HD
HLN-HD

August launch on TWC in Rochester, NY

truTV-HD
TCM-HD
HLN-HD

Ah, so they do have a carriage deal with TCM HD!!

TWC San Diego added ESPN News HD on ch. 788.

TWC San Diego added ESPN News HD on ch. 788.

For the record, thats the TWC San Diego legacy system that has added ESPNEWS HD, not the North County ex-Adelphia area.

TW Desert Cities has replaced its FSN HD channel (which was always a part-time channel, essentially only broadcasting when a Angels/Dodgers/Lakers/Clippers/Ducks/LA Kings game was being shown in HD). We now have two full-time FSN HD channels (just as we have two full-time FSN SD channels): FSN West HD and FSN Prime Ticket. Although, of course, most of the content is still in SD.

Better than nothing. At least now, when both the Angels and Dodgers are on FSN, we can choose which one to watch, rather than have them do the choosing for us.

TW Desert Cities has replaced its FSN HD channel (which was always a part-time channel, essentially only broadcasting when a Angels/Dodgers/Lakers/Clippers/Ducks/LA Kings game was being shown in HD). We now have two full-time FSN HD channels (just as we have two full-time FSN SD channels): FSN West HD and FSN Prime Ticket. Although, of course, most of the content is still in SD.

So there is a full time FSN HD channel? Here in NE Ohio we used to have two FSNs, one was for Cleveland Cavaliers games and the other was for hockey. Sometime in June both disappeared. I'd be happy to have FSN "HD", even if it showed SD programming all day. At least it looks better than the analog channel.

So there is a full time FSN HD channel? Here in NE Ohio we used to have two FSNs, one was for Cleveland Cavaliers games and the other was for hockey. Sometime in June both disappeared. I'd be happy to have FSN "HD", even if it showed SD programming all day. At least it looks better than the analog channel.Well, they've been supposedly on the way for some time. The old FSN HD was off the air most of the day. These two channels are simulcasting the FSN West and FSN Prime Tickets broadcasts (broadcasting in HD when available).

I wish we had even 40 HD channels. Here are ones in El Paso, TX, other than local national affiliates:

Premium:
HBO main east & west feeds only
SHO main east & west feeds only

Other:
HD Theater--actually Discovery HD. Channel listing on website says HD Theater, guide on STB says Discover HD
TNT HD
FSN HD
ESPN HD
ESPN2 HD
SMITHSONIAN HD
MGM HD
UNIVERSAL HD

That's basically what we get in Laredo, too. And we don't even get any local HD. Three Spanish-language channels from Nuevo Laredo and KGNS (NBC) are available in HD OTA, but TWC doesn't carry them in HD.

To add insult to injury, the PBS (KLRN) and ABC (KSAT) TWC imports to Laredo broadcast in HD but all we get is SD - Eagle Pass(!) gets them in HD, but we don't.

I suppose it could be worse: TWC in Crystal City and Carrizo Springs gets NO HD whatsoever that I can find.

That's basically what we get in Laredo, too. And we don't even get any local HD. Three Spanish-language channels from Nuevo Laredo and KGNS (NBC) are available in HD OTA, but TWC doesn't carry them in HD.

To add insult to injury, the PBS (KLRN) and ABC (KSAT) TWC imports to Laredo broadcast in HD but all we get is SD - Eagle Pass(!) gets them in HD, but we don't.

I suppose it could be worse: TWC in Crystal City and Carrizo Springs gets NO HD whatsoever that I can find.

Wow! That may be the lowest HD content available anywhere. UGHHH! The reasons could be any one or more of the following:

1.) Systems in these areas were bought out by TWC that were originally hosted by other cable companies (i.e Cox, Adelphia) and for these reasons they don't have the equipment in place to host the traditional number of HD channels, (Which should average around 50.)

2.) The spatial structure of the community landscape does not allow them to do HD updates without considerable costs involved.

3.) They have not rolled out SDV to the area, which stands for Switched Digital Video, which allows for more HD content and interactive services to be provided.

4.) Many people in these communities may be facing such economic difficulties making them unable to spend $600-$1500 for a new HD set.

Jack

Wow! That may be the lowest HD content available anywhere. UGHHH! The reasons could be any one or more of the following:

1.) Systems in these areas were bought out by TWC that were originally hosted by other cable companies (i.e Cox, Adelphia) and for these reasons they don't have the equipment in place to host the traditional number of HD channels, (Which should average around 50.)

2.) The spatial structure of the community landscape does not allow them to do HD updates without considerable costs involved.

3.) They have not rolled out SDV to the area, which stands for Switched Digital Video, which allows for more HD content and interactive services to be provided.

4.) Many people in these communities may be facing such economic difficulties making them unable to spend $600-$1500 for a new HD set.

Jack

most of the texas systems are 870MHz some are 750MHz and some very few are at 550MHz or less.

so the systems are upgraded it may be that those areas are still using 64QAM for SD channels instead of 256QAM which would make sense heck those systems have qams with 8SD's which could increase to 12 or 13.

dallas has the most hd ((non sdv)(motorola system)) except for san antonio and austin which have SDV and are 750MHz systems which have scientific atlanta boxes. dallas was just last year upgraded to 870MHz from 750MHz.

most of the texas systems are 870MHz some are 750MHz and some very few are at 550MHz or less.

so the systems are upgraded it may be that those areas are still using 64QAM for SD channels instead of 256QAM which would make sense heck those systems have qams with 8SD's which could increase to 12 or 13.

dallas has the most hd ((non sdv)(motorola system)) except for san antonio and austin which have SDV and are 750MHz systems which have scientific atlanta boxes. dallas was just last year upgraded to 870MHz from 750MHz.

I wish they'd do another upgrade in Dallas. While the HD addition last year was nice, I can't help but feel I'm still missing out. Only thing I really love is my internet connect speed which is ridiculously good.

Only thing I really love is my internet connect speed which is ridiculously good.

Not really.... Entry level IP on TWC is 10/.768 in my market. Entry level FiOS does 25/15. BIG difference.

It has been a long time, now, since I asked whether or not anyone here has witnessed the RFD HD channel in HD. No one has replied affirmatively, so I'm guessing that the RFD HD channel never appears in actual HD.

Pretty pathetic isn't it? TWC has this channel as one of four on the premium HD tier. It isn't even HD! The TWC customer representative that cruised my neighborhood recently said, "Oh, that's a very popular channel with a lot of people." ........ I'm sure it is, but it's not in HD!

Actually, I'm pretty content with the channels I have. They look and sound good and that is more important than having more.

http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2009/05/25/living/gz/video_games/doc4a1703fe118b2012135155.txt?orss=1

TWC San Diego recently posted a new legal notice. Some channel changes to some local channels to make room for new SDV services. In addition to some HD channels that are already in the works we're getting even more new channels. TWC San Diego is adding more SD, Asian, and Hispanic channels.

The HD channels are going to be.

Lifetime HD
Encore HD
WGN America HD
The Weather Channel HD
QVC HD

Now I can see the junk QVC sells in stunning HD :). With Lifetime HD you'll be amazed by the crystal clear 4:3 shows presented in awesome stretch-o-vision :D. WGN America HD sounds nice since our local Tribune affiliate refuses to air Legend of the Seeker in HD. Encore HD sounds nice too.

TWC San Diego recently posted a new legal notice. Some channel changes to some local channels to make room for new SDV services. In addition to some HD channels that are already in the works we're getting even more new channels. TWC San Diego is adding more SD, Asian, and Hispanic channels.

The HD channels are going to be.

Lifetime HD
Encore HD
WGN America HD
The Weather Channel HD
QVC HD

Now I can see the junk QVC sells in stunning HD :). With Lifetime HD you'll be amazed by the crystal clear 4:3 shows presented in awesome stretch-o-vision :D. WGN America HD sounds nice since our local Tribune affiliate refuses to air Legend of the Seeker in HD. Encore HD sounds nice too.

That's pretty cool, But QVC-HD? I heard HSN-HD is coming. WHY DO WE NEED SHOPPING CHANNELS IN HD!? Now give me Spike HD and Comody Central HD! That would be great! (I am from Milwaukee Wisconsin.)

Jack

WHY DO WE NEED SHOPPING CHANNELS IN HD!?Because they pay for the privilege instead of charging for the privilege.

TWC San Diego recently posted a new legal notice. Some channel changes to some local channels to make room for new SDV services. In addition to some HD channels that are already in the works we're getting even more new channels. TWC San Diego is adding more SD, Asian, and Hispanic channels.

The HD channels are going to be.

Lifetime HD
Encore HD
WGN America HD
The Weather Channel HD
QVC HD

Now I can see the junk QVC sells in stunning HD :). With Lifetime HD you'll be amazed by the crystal clear 4:3 shows presented in awesome stretch-o-vision :D. WGN America HD sounds nice since our local Tribune affiliate refuses to air Legend of the Seeker in HD. Encore HD sounds nice too.

I get the sense that WGN wouldn't show much in HD, since a lot of their programming are from shows that came before the HD/DT era. However I would be for WGN HD since every Cubs, White Sox, and Bulls game is shown in HD on their broadcasts.

By the way, do you have the link for the TWC San Diego Legal notice for Channels mentioned above? I can't seem to find it on the TWC San Diego website.

Go to Learn > Digital Cable> and select the Recent Channel changes link.

We're also getting Fuse HD, Tennis Channel HD, G4 Video Game TV HD, and Fox News HD.

TWC of San Diego first market to get lifetime-hd.
wgn-hd already in upstate NY
added to post #1

Tennis Channel HD - awesome! Tennis is something that definitely benefits from HD.

G4 VGTV is very likely since the HD Showcase VOD channel has a bunch of G4 content in HD.

It's interesting that San Diego is going to be the first to debut Lifetime HD and not the other division. Also TWC Desert Cities will likely add that channel too. Desert Cities and San Diego are similar in HD channel lineups.

TCM HD and HLN HD are now appearing across the Syracuse/Binghamton markets for Time Warner Cable (just confirmed this morning). We also got MSNBC HD and Smithsonian HD on demand two days ago. Finally starting to be impressed with TWC's lineup.

(article at http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20090708/BUSINESS/907080384/1108/BUSINESS)

Anyone in San Diego having problems with 500-515(channels out) plus many more out tonight. I have heard three things from three different phone techs. First two said it was a known problem, third said it was just me and would send a guy out monday. Anyone else having this problem?

Mine are just fine. I guess they had some SDV hiccups.

TWC San Diego now has Smtihsonian HD VOD on CH 1017.

. . . Once again, I have an appointment for a repairman to come July 7th. That's a long way off . . .

Just two last curious anecdotes about my now canceled Time Warner cable TV service.

(1) Sure enough, on July 7th, the repairman showed up saying he was there to fix the cable TV. This even though I terminated that service in June and all equipment was returned. I asked the guy at Queens Mall to cancel the upcoming service appointment, but I guess it didn't penetrate.

(2) I had reason to call Time Warner 911 on my TW digital phone. Reason: My upstairs neighbor (76 yo female) jumped out of her window and plummeted four stories to her death landing face first right outside my window. Although Time Warner 911 did answer the phone immediately, the operator was unable to get in touch with NYC EMS. (She apparently has to manually telephone EMS to notify them.) TWC always puts a disclaimer that says their 911 "works differently" than standard 911. Apparently, "works differently" means that you are connected to a middleman who then calls the authorities on another line.

Sad

The 911 Service

&

The Lady

Wow that alone is enough to keep me from ever considering TW phone.

Just two last curious anecdotes about my now canceled Time Warner cable TV service.

(1) Sure enough, on July 7th, the repairman showed up saying he was there to fix the cable TV. This even though I terminated that service in June and all equipment was returned. I asked the guy at Queens Mall to cancel the upcoming service appointment, but I guess it didn't penetrate.

(2) I had reason to call Time Warner 911 on my TW digital phone. Reason: My upstairs neighbor (76 yo female) jumped out of her window and plummeted four stories to her death landing face first right outside my window. Although Time Warner 911 did answer the phone immediately, the operator was unable to get in touch with NYC EMS. (She apparently has to manually telephone EMS to notify them.) TWC always puts a disclaimer that says their 911 "works differently" than standard 911. Apparently, "works differently" means that you are connected to a middleman who then calls the authorities on another line.

For those who may not know, my understanding is that the issue is that from all Verizon phones (landlines), the 911 system can instantly see a record of the address. BUT a number controlled by TRWC won't show an address.

When I had signed up, I thought TWC had rectified that situation by providing data to the 911 system that WOULD allow a quick match between number and address. PLUS, I wonder how if I call someone with a Verizon account who has caller id can see my listing?

Even so, the "we couldn't reach EMS" sure seems to me to be a major issue for TWC phone service.

This business of emergency 911 not working well on Time Warner Cable is far more important than anything else we discuss here. I hope that it receives wide public exposure, so that people will know what they are facing when they sign up for Time Warner telephone service.

Speed HD, please? Anyone hear anything about this?

Just noticed last night that if I'm watching a non-HD channel, BBC-Amrica for instance, the picture now fills the entire screen. The night before I had the bars on the sides. I'm watching via Time Warner-Albany NY. The HD channels whose shows are NOT in HD (local news for example) still have the bars on the sides. Is this happening to anyone else on here?? I also noticed that my cable box was reset to channel 0001 when I turned it on, meaning there was some sort of software update. My cable box is set to "Normal" picture. I don't want/like this.

Speed HD, please? Anyone hear anything about this?

Columbus has it in their lineup, so this is something they apparently just haven't rolled out to you locally.

Just noticed last night that if I'm watching a non-HD channel, BBC-Amrica for instance, the picture now fills the entire screen. The night before I had the bars on the sides. I'm watching via Time Warner-Albany NY. The HD channels whose shows are NOT in HD (local news for example) still have the bars on the sides. Is this happening to anyone else on here?? I also noticed that my cable box was reset to channel 0001 when I turned it on, meaning there was some sort of software update. My cable box is set to "Normal" picture. I don't want/like this.

A lot of BBC-A SD content is widescreen, black bars all 4 sides. Using thee zoom function, one can fill the screen with non-distorted images and except a little bit of cut off (you'll never really notice). On most TVs, once you set "zoom" on a SD channel, all SD channels will have that same mode. I always set it back to "normal" when I finish watching a "zoomed" show.

The real issue is on 7/20, BBC-A launches it's HD channel, so when will we be able to see it? That week, the Torchwood mini-series runs...

Speed HD, please? Anyone hear anything about this?

It was scheduled for launch in my market 12/18/08. It even got a channel number assigned to it. Then it was "postponed indefinitely." To date it has not shown up. FYI, my system has more than enough bandwidth for it and maybe another (at least) 1/2 dozen HD channels. So, one can surmise there's no deal to carry it by TWC.

Still, there are other channels I'd far rather have in HD, namely BBC-A HD and TCM HD.

It was scheduled for launch in my market 12/18/08. It even got a channel number assigned to it. Then it was "postponed indefinitely." To date it has not shown up. FYI, my system has more than enough bandwidth for it and maybe another (at least) 1/2 dozen HD channels. So, one can surmise there's no deal to carry it by TWC.

Still, there are other channels I'd far rather have in HD, namely BBC-A HD and TCM HD.

Ch 774 - Speed HD - TWC NYC

We've had it since that date....

(it had been listed beforehand and postponded)

I also noticed that my cable box was reset to channel 0001 when I turned it on, meaning there was some sort of software update. My cable box is set to "Normal" picture. I don't want/like this.

Albany TWC coverted 49 additional channels to SDV on Friday, July 10th. Here's the letter I received on June 12, 2009:
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/AlbanyHDTV/twcjune09letter1.jpg
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/AlbanyHDTV/twcjune09letter2.jpg

A lot of BBC-A SD content is widescreen, black bars all 4 sides. Using thee zoom function, one can fill the screen with non-distorted images and except a little bit of cut off (you'll never really notice). On most TVs, once you set "zoom" on a SD channel, all SD channels will have that same mode. I always set it back to "normal" when I finish watching a "zoomed" show.

The real issue is on 7/20, BBC-A launches it's HD channel, so when will we be able to see it? That week, the Torchwood mini-series runs...

I have seen the Torchwood mini series Children of Earth and belive me it is GREAT. Not to get off subject but this is the best Torchwood yet. Bring on a fourth season. Small spoiler- prepare for a shocker.

Columbus has it in their lineup, so this is something they apparently just haven't rolled out to you locally.

thanks for that news. Gives me more to beat 'em up with when I call them again. I can't see any reason NOT to carry it when there are so many repeated channels here.

Thanks for the other Speed HD responses.

Ch 774 - Speed HD - TWC NYC

We've had it since that date....

(it had been listed beforehand and postponded)

Wow, I totally missed that, correct you are!

thanks for that news. Gives me more to beat 'em up with when I call them again. I can't see any reason NOT to carry it when there are so many repeated channels here.

Thanks for the other Speed HD responses.

TWC has SPEED HD in their Northeast Ohio HD lineup here as well. Been there for about a month.

Don't know what they are adding this month(July), but are supposed to have added, or will have over 100 HD channels by the end of 2009. Maybe more.

Right now, the HD lineup is not bad, and has REALLY IMPROVED since I first got the HD4250C Boxes installed in January, 2009.

Favorite addition so far has been MLBHD Network though. Looks AWESOME. And come September when the pennant races are at their highest, will probably stay on it most of the time, since they break into all games at their pivotal moments. Have been pleasantly surprised MLB Network up to this point.

for those in Ohio, what channel is SpeedHD on? it's not 774 here, that's FAMHD.

Even so, the "we couldn't reach EMS" sure seems to me to be a major issue for TWC phone service.

To be clear, and fair, the operator did not tell me she could not reach EMS. She said "I will call EMS." Then, she picked up another line and dialed it. I could hear the other line as it rang busy for a long time and was never answered.

I said, "Why aren't they answering?" She said, "I don't know."

Then, I told her that a crowd was gathering outside my window and several people were on cell phones, so I was sure the incident was being reported by others, meaning I could hang up. She agreed.

I do not believe that I would have had to wait for the TWC 911 operator to manually dial NYC EMS if I had a regular land line.

To be clear, and fair, the operator did not tell me she could not reach EMS. She said "I will call EMS." Then, she picked up another line and dialed it. I could hear the other line as it rang busy for a long time and was never answered.

I said, "Why aren't they answering?" She said, "I don't know."

Then, I told her that a crowd was gathering outside my window and several people were on cell phones, so I was sure the incident was being reported by others, meaning I could hang up. She agreed.

I do not believe that I would have had to wait for the TWC 911 operator to manually dial NYC EMS if I had a regular land line.

This is certainly a terrible and tragic situation, but wouldn't the fault be with the EMS system where this happened? I mean whether a person calls 9-1-1 directly or you call TWC digital phone and they call EMS, if EMS does not answer, isn't that the fault of EMS? Now, if you had called TWC, 9-1-1 and they had not answered, that would be cause for a fit of rage against them, but it sounds like they did what they were supposed to do on their end, but EMS did not answer the call on their end.

Jack

This is certainly a terrible and tragic situation, but wouldn't the fault be with the EMS system where this happened? I mean whether a person calls 9-1-1 directly or you call TWC digital phone and they call EMS, if EMS does not answer, isn't that the fault of EMS? Now, if you had called TWC, 9-1-1 and they had not answered, that would be cause for a fit of rage against them, but it sounds like they did what they were supposed to do on their end, but EMS did not answer the call on their end.

Jack

I think it's the FDNY that sends an EMS truck, depending on the nature of the incident. As I understand the 911 system (i.e. I could be incorrect), the operator initiates a record that gets routed to the correct agency... they don't "call EMS."

The whole issue seems to 100% be about an address being quickly associated with a telephone number incoming to 911; theoretically due to language issues and/or the state of the person calling. We know this data has to come from Verizon... so WTF doesn't TWC send the same data to the 911 system? My name and number sure as hell do show up on the phones of those ON Verizon (who have such service), so what's the problem? It sounds like TWC is simply placing one of their own operators in the "stream" of a 911 call... but it sure looks like that may not be all that necessary.

"Depending on where you live, Directv *MAY* beat TWC in terms of number of HD Offerings - but not by much."

TWC still hasnt caught up to what my G/Fs Cablevision provides in HD content from 4 years ago!

TWC has just dropped a bunch of HD channels and meanwhile the price is astonomical.

TWC is done. Switching to Direct TV in 2 weeks. F*ck TWC.

Will be going from about 30 crappy HD channels I never watch to over 100.

The whole issue seems to 100% be about an address being quickly associated with a telephone number incoming to 911

The Time Warner 911 operator did not ask me for my name or my address. So, I assume my location was visible to her.

A few years ago (2002?) I had reason to call 911 from a cell phone. That operator started out by asking me what city I was in (New York), then borough (Queens), then street adress (I wasn't at an address), then intersection, then which side of the street, then what was I standing near. It was a real hassle.

I wonder if that system flaw has since been fixed, since the cellphone company knows exactly where all its phones are all the time, even when they're not being used.

Time Warner looks at HD troubles

Published: July 15. 2009 1:15AM

Time Warner Cable is adding more high-definition channels in its western Pennsylvania and northeast Ohio division, with a goal of 100 by the end of the year.

But some cable subscribers aren't getting the whole picture.

Some of the recently added HD channels aren't always available -- a problem that the cable company said it is working to fix.

Time Warner spokesman Travis Reynolds said the problem isn't widespread, but he could not estimate how many customers are being affected.

He called it an "intermittent problem'' where some channels go out at different times of the day.

"We have had customers communicate to us issues with certain HD channels. It's not a significant amount of phone calls, but enough that we are currently working on a resolution,'' he said.

Reynolds said he did not know what is causing the problem, reported throughout its service division. "It's just kind of a hit-or-miss thing,'' he said.

In Erie and Erie County, Time Warner Cable now offers more than 40 HD channels, Reynolds said. That's double the number of HD channels since March, when it started to add at least five channels a month as it competes with satellite TV for the HD market.

Time Warner does not charge extra for its HD stations, aside from four channels on a special HD tier that costs $6.95 a month, Reynolds said. Those who pay extra for premium channels such as HBO, don't pay more for those same premium channels in HD, he said.

Some upcoming free programming additions to the HD schedule, subject to change, could include the Cartoon Network, Weather Channel, Biography, Outdoor, Fox Business and Planet Green.

The Times Publishing Company, which publishes the Erie Times-News, is part owner of Erie Telecommunications, which is part of the Time Warner Cable television group and serves the city of Erie and parts of Erie County.

HD CHANNELS
Free HD channels added by Time Warner Cable this year:
-ESPN News HD
-Major League Baseball HD
-Golf HD
-USA HD
-Discovery Channel HD
-TLC HD
-Science HD
-Animal Planet HD
-National Geographic HD
-Disney HD
-ABC Family HD
-Lifetime Movie HD
-Bravo HD
-Palladia HD
-SCI FI HD
-FX HD
-CNN HD
-Fox News HD
-CNBC HD

Source: Time Warner Cable

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090715/NEWS02/307159950

Time Warner looks at HD troubles

HD CHANNELS
Free HD channels added by Time Warner Cable this year:
-ESPN News HD
-Major League Baseball HD
-Golf HD
-USA HD
-Discovery Channel HD
-TLC HD
-Science HD
-Animal Planet HD
-National Geographic HD
-Disney HD
-ABC Family HD
-Lifetime Movie HD
-Bravo HD
-Palladia HD
-SCI FI HD
-FX HD
-CNN HD
-Fox News HD
-CNBC HD

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090715/NEWS02/307159950Here in TWC/LA the notion of "free" for these HD channels is absolute horse-pucky.

Many of the above HD channels are in the Variety Tier, which is a non-free $5/month OPTION. While this happens to be the "most popular" tier chosen by subscribers (85% have it) to add to the "cable basic" service (which has some truly "free" of the above HD channels as part of it) in order to define the closest thing to what might be thought of as "digital basic" here at TWC/LA, it's certainly not free.

And some other of the above HD channels are in the Choice tier, which is another non-free $5/month OPTION.

If you want all of the above HD channels, it'll cost you an extra $10/month (certainly not "free" as I see it).

Of course to be fair , from TWC's perspective, if you're already paying for either Variety Tier or Sports Tier and thus already getting the corresponding SD channels, the newly added HD counterparts were certainly added to the corresponding tier "for free"... i.e. at no additional charge for the HD versions of the SD channels.

Semantics.


NOTE: MLBHD was supposed to be "available at no additional cost to digital basic customers" when it was launched earlier this year. Since TWC/LA has no official offering called "digital basic", TWC/LA placed it in Variety Tier (which would require an additional $5/month optional tier if you hadn't selected Variety Tier as your required optional tier for so-called "digital basic equivalent"). They could have placed it in ALL optional tiers, meaning that 100% of all "digital basic" customers would then get it at zero additional cost (since 100% of all "digital basic" customers had to have at least one of the optional tiers) but they didn't. So if you want MLBHD and are part of the 15% who don't have Variety Tier, you have to pony up $5/month to get it (and then you'll get the other Variety Tier channels, of course, which you didn't really want in the first place).

I'm guessing MLB either didn't understand this situation when TWC/LA explained how they were going to make it available (since it was definitely not at "no additional cost" to 15% of TWC/LA subscribers) or they were double-talked by TWC/LA (since 85% was close to the 90% penetration they were looking for) or they fully understood and just said "fine".

If you want all of the above HD channels, it'll cost you an extra $10/month (certainly not "free" as I see it).


If you use a QAM tuner you get those channels at no additional cost which last time I looked means free.

The lack of HDNET was a deal-breaker for me (and the fact the HD feed for UFC 100 didn't work last weekend pushed me over the edge). I decided to cancel service (Time Warner Mid-Ohio) and make the switch to Directv. Installer comes this weekend....

If you use a QAM tuner you get those channels at no additional cost which last time I looked means free.

Wha?? Only the local networks are clear QAM. Maybe you meant cable card?

xnappo

Wha?? In my vacation condo I have basic cable (Northland Cable) and use QAM to get local HD and more. Even free ESPN HD!

Wha?? In my vacation condo I have basic cable (Northland Cable) and use QAM to get local HD and more. Even free ESPN HD!

You are lucky. Most of the country can only get locals via clear QAM... Northland Cable !== TWC?

xnappo

No it's not but I believe what you may get on QAM also varies with TWC.

Yeah, I'm in CLE, OH, with time warner, they've been talking about all these new HD additions since aleast April, still nothing new. If you want to call Palladia new.

No it's not but I believe what you may get on QAM also varies with TWC.Absolutely. Obviously must vary around the country.

Here in TWC/LA the only in-the-clear QAM channels now tunable by my several ATSC tuners are the local OTA networks (plus for some reason a few random basic cable channels that are irrelevant). Some time back (between December and February, as I recall) many of the newly added HD channels WERE available QAM in-the-clear. Sometime in the first quarter of 2009 they yanked all of that and encrypted everything HD except local OTA networks.

Now NONE of the above HD channels is QAM-available in-the-clear on TWC/LA without either STB, DVR or cable card.

Anybody see the Space Shuttle launch on HDNet? Me neither. Thanks again TWC.

Anybody see the Space Shuttle launch on HDNet? Me neither. Thanks again TWC.

Yea Gandu,

I don't even get the HD Premium package with what used to be HDNET and HD-MOVIES on it, but I heard those were very cool stations, ALL 24x7 in HD! And they had very good quality program. TWC never had a problem with carriage for years. In fact, those stations were one of HD's first programs for TWC. So why now are their all these problems? Even stupider, is why would TWC replace these stations with too niche channels like Smithsonian TV, (Which is just another History, Sci-FI, Discovery channel combined.) or even worse something like MAV TV, which is just about as useless as you can get!

TWC can't even give the quality HD channels that customers want in replacing two channels that never should have left!

Jack

Time Warner looks at HD troubles

Published: July 15. 2009 1:15AM

Time Warner Cable is adding more high-definition channels in its western Pennsylvania and northeast Ohio division, with a goal of 100 by the end of the year.

But some cable subscribers aren't getting the whole picture.

Some of the recently added HD channels aren't always available -- a problem that the cable company said it is working to fix.

Time Warner spokesman Travis Reynolds said the problem isn't widespread, but he could not estimate how many customers are being affected.

He called it an "intermittent problem'' where some channels go out at different times of the day.

"We have had customers communicate to us issues with certain HD channels. It's not a significant amount of phone calls, but enough that we are currently working on a resolution,'' he said.

Reynolds said he did not know what is causing the problem, reported throughout its service division. "It's just kind of a hit-or-miss thing,'' he said.

In Erie and Erie County, Time Warner Cable now offers more than 40 HD channels, Reynolds said. That's double the number of HD channels since March, when it started to add at least five channels a month as it competes with satellite TV for the HD market.

Time Warner does not charge extra for its HD stations, aside from four channels on a special HD tier that costs $6.95 a month, Reynolds said. Those who pay extra for premium channels such as HBO, don't pay more for those same premium channels in HD, he said.

Some upcoming free programming additions to the HD schedule, subject to change, could include the Cartoon Network, Weather Channel, Biography, Outdoor, Fox Business and Planet Green.

The Times Publishing Company, which publishes the Erie Times-News, is part owner of Erie Telecommunications, which is part of the Time Warner Cable television group and serves the city of Erie and parts of Erie County.

HD CHANNELS
Free HD channels added by Time Warner Cable this year:
-ESPN News HD
-Major League Baseball HD
-Golf HD
-USA HD
-Discovery Channel HD
-TLC HD
-Science HD
-Animal Planet HD
-National Geographic HD
-Disney HD
-ABC Family HD
-Lifetime Movie HD
-Bravo HD
-Palladia HD
-SCI FI HD
-FX HD
-CNN HD
-Fox News HD
-CNBC HD

Source: Time Warner Cable

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090715/NEWS02/307159950

Oh yeah, NOW TWC finally admits they have "trouble" with the new HD channels. I've had trouble since day one. Four in house techs and a rewire from the street and to my main HDTV. None of that fixed it. The last tech said "it is a problem higher up" with the distribution. Now three months later I still have intermittent picture breakup/sound dropout ever half hour. Exactly at the top and bottom of the hour. SDV is garbage and TWC's service is laughable. Each time I called TWC after the initial service call, I asked if it was a problem higher up. They denied it every time. They denied that anyone else was having problems(when the AVS Cleveland TWC and Ohio Media Watch was full of reports of similar problems).

This article also conveniently leaves out the fact they are once again raising rates. Just got a letter the other day that said Digital "Value" service is going up $5. They took away HD Net and made some HD channels that use to work not work because of that SDV crap. And now they're charging more? My DTV converter coupons are coming next week. Now that I'm paying well over $100 plus $5 extra for sub par service, I'll be reevaluating whether or not I want to stay with this crap company.

[The lack of HDNET was a deal-breaker for me (and the fact the HD feed for UFC 100 didn't work last weekend pushed me over the edge). I decided to cancel service (Time Warner Mid-Ohio) and make the switch to Directv. Installer comes this weekend....]

I got the hd feed on TWC(central NY) and found it was only $44.95.You will pay $54.95 on Direct. Ron

Wha?? Only the local networks are clear QAM. Maybe you meant cable card?

xnappo

I think there's a big variation in what channels each system/market scrambles. Some folks get a lot of stuff in the clear that other systems DO scramble.

Anybody see the Space Shuttle launch on HDNet? Me neither. Thanks again TWC.

No sh*t!

I had actually started watching launches again when I saw HDNet doing them...

However, too be fair, I saw a HD clip on the news last night... with a MSNBC logo at the bottom. Given that, it might have been that MSNBC covered the launch in HD.

Fortunately I had Fox News on at 6 because they showed the entire launch. The coverage however could not compete with what I was used to from HDNet.

Having used my own HTPC in NJ, PA, and OH (over the last 4 years) I can report that in all locations only the networks were clear QAM. I could only capture ESPN and the rest in HD with firewire capture (nicely not available on ANY of the 10 or so cable boxes I've tried, including the ones they "special ordered" for me)

New Channel announcement for TWC NYC:

Big Ten HD On Demand on ch. 471
Outdoor Channel HD on ch. 480
Investigation Discovery HD on ch. 723
Headline News HD on ch. 758
Lifetime HD on ch. 762
TCM HD on ch. 782
Smithsonian HD On Demand on ch. 794

Oh yeah, NOW TWC finally admits they have "trouble" with the new HD channels. I've had trouble since day one. Four in house techs and a rewire from the street and to my main HDTV. None of that fixed it. The last tech said "it is a problem higher up" with the distribution. Now three months later I still have intermittent picture breakup/sound dropout ever half hour. Exactly at the top and bottom of the hour. SDV is garbage and TWC's service is laughable. Each time I called TWC after the initial service call, I asked if it was a problem higher up. They denied it every time. They denied that anyone else was having problems(when the AVS Cleveland TWC and Ohio Media Watch was full of reports of similar problems).

This article also conveniently leaves out the fact they are once again raising rates. Just got a letter the other day that said Digital "Value" service is going up $5. They took away HD Net and made some HD channels that use to work not work because of that SDV crap. And now they're charging more? My DTV converter coupons are coming next week. Now that I'm paying well over $100 plus $5 extra for sub par service, I'll be reevaluating whether or not I want to stay with this crap company.

Nick,

There really is such disparity in service from division to division. Here in Wisconsin, my only complaints have been the rate increases, which no longer justify the the product produced. For now, I am on one of those All in One two year contracts, but may have to cut some stuff next August when my deal expires. I haven't really had issues with stuff not working for extended periods of time. We did have one day in January where our phone went out and no one could get through to Customer Service, because they did some software updates and everyone flooded the system. TWC never gave out notices about the need to reset our phone routers after the update, which solved the problem.

In 15 years with TWC, I have had maybe 5 service calls, everything works well, even when I got Navigator I was so concerned because of all the horror stories, but even that has not been a problem, except very recently, from time to time my CC freezes up on the screen forcing me to reboot the box.

In studying your responses, you seem to have well, a TWC division that is near the top of the *hit pile for customer service and incompetence. Not living in your division it is hard to say what's going on, but I think that SDV deployment for whatever reason was the straw that broke your TWC division's back. Nick, when did they roll out SDV to your area? I have heard really bad things about TWC-Ohio. Maybe you would be happier with just OTA and your OTA DTV box? It appears that TWC has been one disaster after another for you.

I hope you are able to get these issues resolved!

Jack

Nick,

There really is such disparity in service from division to division. Here in Wisconsin, my only complaints have been the rate increases, which no longer justify the the product produced. For now, I am on one of those All in One two year contracts, but may have to cut some stuff next August when my deal expires. I haven't really had issues with stuff not working for extended periods of time. We did have one day in January where our phone went out and no one could get through to Customer Service, because they did some software updates and everyone flooded the system. TWC never gave out notices about the need to reset our phone routers after the update, which solved the problem.

In 15 years with TWC, I have had maybe 5 service calls, everything works well, even when I got Navigator I was so concerned because of all the horror stories, but even that has not been a problem, except very recently, from time to time my CC freezes up on the screen forcing me to reboot the box.

In studying your responses, you seem to have well, a TWC division that is near the top of the *hit pile for customer service and incompetence. Not living in your division it is hard to say what's going on, but I think that SDV deployment for whatever reason was the straw that broke your TWC division's back. Nick, when did they roll out SDV to your area? I have heard really bad things about TWC-Ohio. Maybe you would be happier with just OTA and your OTA DTV box? I appears that TWC has been one disaster after another for you.

I hope you are able to get these issues resolved!

Jack

I agree that Nick seems to be subject to a relatively incompetent division.

I'm in the same boat as you, Jack... everything works here (except for my Sammy's quirks that the next ODN update hopefully will correct). In fact, I just had my very first service call since I moved here 16 years ago... and that was only because my knucklehead neighbor dug up my underground drop.

He has been told many times but still barks up the wrong tree blaming "SDV crap" and a "crap company" when it is mostly just his division to blame. SDV is not perfect technology but it has provided much more HD then we would otherwise have. He should change providers or re-direct his whining to the real problem.

Didnt even know this was launching.
Added to the list.

Anybody get screwed up recordings for Wednesday, the day of the President's news conference (5:00 PM Pacific time)?

ABC got screwed up on TWC San Diego. My guide had Primetime:Crime at 8, Wipeout at 9 and I Survived A Japanese Game Show at 10:02, with the latter two highlighted for recording.

Oh the programs did record, but the content won't match the title. Programs on ABC were actually aired in their normal order: Wipeout at 8, ISAJGS at 9:02 and Primetime at 10.

Somebody definitely blew it here. :mad:

He has been told many times but still barks up the wrong tree blaming "SDV crap" and a "crap company" when it is mostly just his division to blame. SDV is not perfect technology but it has provided much more HD then we would otherwise have. He should change providers or re-direct his whining to the real problem.

Nick and I are in the same "division", and as a whole, I have been happy with TWC.

Although starting last night, alot of my HD channels are not working at all. Alot of the ones that have been around a while are fine(TBS/ESPN/LOCALS/TNT/etc...), but alot of the newer ones(MLB/ESPNNEWS/ESPNU/BRAVO/USA/etc....) are all BLANK, and we are being told they are currently not available(still this way as of 7/22/09) so it sounds like they are having problems with the SDV again, or something else.

Nick and I are in the same "division", and as a whole, I have been happy with TWC.

Although starting last night, alot of my HD channels are not working at all. Alot of the ones that have been around a while are fine(TBS/ESPN/LOCALS/TNT/etc...), but alot of the newer ones(MLB/ESPNNEWS/ESPNU/BRAVO/USA/etc....) are all BLANK, and we are being told they are currently not available(still this way as of 7/22/09) so it sounds like they are having problems with the SDV again, or something else.

reboot the box

OK. I've searched and searched--but no answer which leads me to believe that I'm clawing at an unresolvable problem:

I have the Motorola DCT 3416 STB with TWC.

Prior to this box (now 2+ years on), all STBs allowed me to delete all channels that I did not need/want/understand/care to watch. ON OPENING of the program guide, all the channels I wanted in the guide appeared.

With the Motorola, there is the "Favorites List"--but, unless I'm missing something (quite possible), it is not the least bit convenient to get to the FavList. It's at least a two-step process.

So. The Q's. Can I delete the unwanted channels (I'm not into ranchero music, for example) and just see "my" channels on opening the guide as a ONE-STEP process???

As I wrote: I've searched what seems to be all sources. Anyone have the answer?

Many thanks....

OK. I've searched and searched--but no answer which leads me to believe that I'm clawing at an unresolvable problem:

I have the Motorola DCT 3416 STB with TWC.

Prior to this box (now 2+ years on), all STBs allowed me to delete all channels that I did not need/want/understand/care to watch. ON OPENING of the program guide, all the channels I wanted in the guide appeared.

With the Motorola, there is the "Favorites List"--but, unless I'm missing something (quite possible), it is not the least bit convenient to get to the FavList. It's at least a two-step process.

So. The Q's. Can I delete the unwanted channels (I'm not into ranchero music, for example) and just see "my" channels on opening the guide as a ONE-STEP process???

As I wrote: I've searched what seems to be all sources. Anyone have the answer?

Many thanks....
Nope, can't do it. I've been down that path too, but you can't do it. And I agree that the Favorites is not a good solution.

At our house the problem is largely eliminated/bypassed by our use of a Harmony remote where I've programmed in all of our favorite channels and their logos. We have no idea what most of the channel numbers are because we just push the button that has the logo for the channel we want most of the time.

I brought this up several times! In CNY, our channel alignment is horrid. They are all over the place and nothing lines up. IE: Food Network is 39 analog and 827 HD digital while TNT is 27 analog??? WTF. I suggested the place channels ala DirecTV with VOD, SD and HD at the same channels numbers with only the first digit different. I was told they can't do that because the headend serves 8 separate markets. Then I wrote back and suggested that they allow for channel customization when the deploy Navigator here (it's in testing now). I didn't get a reply about that. I can't fathom WHY Time Warner doesn't have an add/delete or Show HD/ All Sub option in it's guide software. Even my $40 DTV converter box lets me do this!

Hey, ya'll hear that Comcrap is going to launch HBO OnDemand in HD!

TWC will need at least 6-8 rate increases before they can deliver it.

I don't know about your division, but in CNY TWC has been great as of late with content. I'm awaiting Navigator rollout to see how they handle that.

hey, ya'll hear that comcrap is going to launch hbo ondemand in hd!

Twc will need at least 6-8 rate increases before they can deliver it.

lol :)

Nope, can't do it. I've been down that path too, but you can't do it. And I agree that the Favorites is not a good solution.

At our house the problem is largely eliminated/bypassed by our use of a Harmony remote where I've programmed in all of our favorite channels and their logos. We have no idea what most of the channel numbers are because we just push the button that has the logo for the channel we want most of the time.

Thanks for the confirmation, Bernie.... :( EXACTLY what I was afraid of.

Great idea on using Harmony to overcome the problem.

Does anyone know when Time Warner Mid Ohio might add BBC America HD or MSNBC HD to their line up? I kept seeing a logo on the normal channel of BBC America saying July 20th, but nothing yet.

Does anyone know when Time Warner Mid Ohio might add BBC America HD or MSNBC HD to their line up? I kept seeing a logo on the normal channel of BBC America saying July 20th, but nothing yet.

BBC-A itself launched the channel on 7/20. Except, it was launched with zero systems carrying it. NOW they are running around trying to get carriage agreements.

Complicating matters is my impression that at times a national agreement gets signed, but certain markets/divisions may only get the channel long after that point.

BBC-A itself launched the channel on 7/20. Except, it was launched with zero systems carrying it. NOW they are running around trying to get carriage agreements.

Complicating matters is my impression that at times a national agreement gets signed, but certain markets/divisions may only get the channel long after that point.

They have carriage agreements. The problem is none of them included carrying the channel at launch date - and due to reasons unknown they haven't been announced yet.

They have carriage agreements. The problem is none of them included carrying the channel at launch date - and due to reasons unknown they haven't been announced yet.

Could swear I just read an article about BBC scrambling and having meetings to get agreements signed. Do you know if TWC is among those with unannounced agreements?

Ah now I see... BBC is claiming they have some:

"We have a number of deals signed and in the pipeline..."

for Dr.Who fans
BBCA tonight 8 pm ET, Planet of the Dead- the first of four specials to mark the departure of David Tennant. first airing in US. first HD episode (to bad we dont get BBCA HD)
The Waters Of Mars- cant find a set airing date so be on the look out
and 2 part finale- that i cant find a name for or an air date

BTW did anyone else catch BEING HUMAN last night. a very strange concept. a ghost, vampire and warewolf living together. could be quite interesting as the story progresses.

Could swear I just read an article about BBC scrambling and having meetings to get agreements signed. Do you know if TWC is among those with unannounced agreements?

Ah now I see... BBC is claiming they have some:

"We have a number of deals signed and in the pipeline..."

I too want to see BBCA HD but it will take a while before our division gets it.

The Dayton Ohio Time Warner division is going to renumber and regroup channels for their customers sometime in August. They had a half page ad last week in the Dayton Daily News about the change.

I can only imagine the grief this will cause although it has needed to be done for quite awhile.

My main issue is that currently, the HD channels do not follow the numbering convention of their SD counterparts. For example, TW Dayton has WHIO which is "Channel 2" on channel 9 for the SD and channel 702 for the HD.

I talked to a surprisingly well informed, helpful CSR over the weekend who said the main goal is to "group like channels together". Ok. Whatever. Let's just do it and get it over with.

The Dayton Ohio Time Warner division is going to renumber and regroup channels for their customers sometime in August. They had a half page ad last week in the Dayton Daily News about the change.

I can only imagine the grief this will cause although it has needed to be done for quite awhile.

My main issue is that currently, the HD channels do not follow the numbering convention of their SD counterparts. For example, TW Dayton has WHIO which is "Channel 2" on channel 9 for the SD and channel 702 for the HD.

I talked to a surprisingly well informed, helpful CSR over the weekend who said the main goal is to "group like channels together". Ok. Whatever. Let's just do it and get it over with.

Lucky you! Here in CNY, our channels are ALL over the place too. I recently talked to our VP of Public Relations about the lousy channel alignment and was told they have no intention of matching up channels (like D* does). I was also told they are testing the Navigator guide which will be a welcome upgrade if done right and suggested they at least look at having channel customization in the software then.

Lucky you! Here in CNY, our channels are ALL over the place too. I recently talked to our VP of Public Relations about the lousy channel alignment and was told they have no intention of matching up channels (like D* does). I was also told they are testing the Navigator guide which will be a welcome upgrade if done right and suggested they at least look at having channel customization in the software then.

Back in my cable engineering days, I had the responsibility (among others) of coordinating channel lineups MSO-wide. Part of that was assigning channels to the new services. Through the 70's and 80's I did my best to create logical channel lineups with like channels clustered as you describe... of course this was only truly possible in a completely new system (common back then), because you were never going to be able to rearrange existing channels as you incrementally added new ones. Anyway.. I did the best I could in that regard.

Then, around 1990, our President attended a round table put on by some of the cable marketing biggies. One of the concepts that was heavily pushed was deliberately scattering similar services rather than grouping them... forcing subscribers to go all over the place to find their channels. The ridiculous thought behind this was that it would make folks realize/appreciate just how much programming was being delivered to them, rather then them being able to stay within their favorite cluster and never explore anything else being offered. Needless to say I did not appreciate the concept very much, but I had no choice but to comply with the President's new directive.

Ours was not the only MSO to adopt this strategy... it was very widespread in the 90's... the time period when digital cable was rolled out along with its explosion of new channels. I don't believe the strategy is still thought to be a good one, but once a channel lineup is set in a cable system, it is a nightmare to make changes... not necessarily from a technical standpoint but from a customer education and satisfaction standpoint. Most customers hate changes worse than any inconvenience the messy lineups create.

My gripe is the asinine number alignments! IE: Food Network SD is 39 analog with our HD channels in the 800's, so one would expect Food HD to be at 839, right? Nope, it's 827. TNT is analog 27. It's just ridiculous. Then the VOD channel is off in the 1000's somewhere else. I can't believe TWC can't put an option within their guide software that allows me to pick and choose what I want in the guide. My $40 DTV converter box does it for cryin' out loud!!! Satellite has done it pretty much since inception.

Geez doesn't anyone here use a remote like the Harmony? I just press the icon that says Food HD. I don't know what freakin channel that is.

I do have a Harmony One, but it only holds three screens of Favs, plus that is beside the point anyway. If I want to scroll through the guide I shouldn't have to go through 1200 channels where each channel is duplicated in a different tier 3 times. It a simple request that they should offer guide customization.

Man it's a tough life, huh?

Besides there are four screens of channels on the Harmony One (24 channels) and in the Harmony forum you will find tricks to double and triple that.

Man it's a tough life, huh?

Besides there are four screens of channels on the Harmony One (24 channels) and in the Harmony forum you will find tricks to double and triple that.

Yea, I know, but you are completely missing the point here. Why should one have to spend $200 for a remote and implement workarounds for a feature so basic that OTA boxes have it in their software. That's the point. Is it the end of the world, no. I'm I going to switch providers over it, no. I'm merely pointing out that TWC has lousy channel alignment and a simple menu to the new Navigator guide when we get would be a welcome addition. Now, if Tivo or Moxi deliver a Tru2Way box that does PPV/VOD and has SDV support built in, I will snatch one up quickly!

The Dayton Ohio Time Warner division is going to renumber and regroup channels for their customers sometime in August. They had a half page ad last week in the Dayton Daily News about the change.



We got a similar ad in the Cincinnati Enquirer for the TWC Cincy system. All of the HD channels were in the 1000's. But I'm in a former Adelphia area which uses Motorola equipment. I think Moto only supports 3 digit channel numbering, so I don't think the change applies to us. I guess we will see.

I got a question about SDV...

If a channel is on SDV does TWC still compress it down. What I'm getting at is. Does a SDV HD channel get anymore bandwith than a regular HD TWC channel? Example: TNT HD channel being on SDV, compared to a system thats not SDV

May have been mentioned elsewhere, but appears that San Diego got MDN upgraded to the latest release (2.4.6_19) as of July 28. I haven't checked my own box lately.

Time Warner Cable posts 14% increase in Q2 profit
By Mike Robuck
CedMagazine.com - July 29, 2009

Damn the recession, it’s full speed ahead for Time Warner Cable after it reported this morning that its second quarter profit increased by 14 percent.

For the three months that ended June 30, Time Warner Cable’s quarterly profit increased to $316 million, or 89 cents per share, which was up from the $277 million, or 50 cents per share, it posted a year ago.

Excluding one-time items, Time Warner Cable’s net income came out to 91 cents per share, which beat the 78 cents per share that analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had projected.

“I’m pleased with our second-quarter financial results and, in particular, with our very strong free cash flow,” said Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt. “Despite the tough economic environment, we continue to grow, unlike many other businesses. We generated over $1 billion of free cash flow in the first half of the year, which has enabled us to reduce the debt we incurred in our recent separation from Time Warner Inc., strengthening our balance sheet and driving returns for our shareholders.”

Time Warner Cable was spun off from Time Warner in March, and today’s earnings report was its first after the separation.

Time Warner Cable’s second-quarter revenue rose 4 percent to $4.47 billion, which topped the $4.3 billion from the same quarter a year ago.
Despite losing more basic tier subscribers, the company’s video revenue increased by 3 percent to $2.7 billion due to growth in digital subscribers and video-related price increases.

On the data side, revenue rose by 9 percent to $1.1 billion due to new subscribers, while voice revenues increased 19 percent to $471 million with the addition of new customers, but that was partially offset by lower average revenue per subscriber.

Time Warner Cable, the nation’s second-largest MSO, reported that its advertising revenue dropped 25 percent to $174 million.

As of June 30, Time Warner had 14.7 million customers. The company’s revenue-generating units (RGUs) approached 35 million with the addition of 204,000 in the second quarter. Time Warner Cable’s triple-play customers exceeded 3.3 million, which is 23 percent of its overall customer base, due to 90,000 net additions in the second quarter. All told, nearly 56 percent of Time Warner’s customers are signed up for bundled services.

http://www.cedmagazine.com/News-TWC-increase-Q2-profit-072909.aspx

I got a question about SDV...

If a channel is on SDV does TWC still compress it down. What I'm getting at is. Does a SDV HD channel get anymore bandwith than a regular HD TWC channel? Example: TNT HD channel being on SDV, compared to a system thats not SDV

TWC can choose the level of compression used on SDV pool channels just like they do on dedicated "broadcast" channels. The level of compression used is independent of the fact that the channel is used for delivery of switched services.

Once an SDV delivery channel is allocated to honor a request for a particular program, the delivery mechanism is no different than any other channel. Its the two-way request mechanism, the dynamic switching of programming feeds at the headend into an unused channel in the SDV pool, and the on-the-fly channel remapping in your box that make SDV different than any other channel.

Time Warner Cable posts 14% increase in Q2 profit

As usual, it’s easy to spin bad news and make it sound good. :rolleyes:

Here are some facts from another article that tells it like it is..

...It (TW) ended the quarter with 14.65 million customers, down from 14.74 million a year ago
.....
Video revenue was up 3% to $2.7 billion, boosted by video-price increases ( :rolleyes: ) and higher digital video subscribers, partly offset by a year-over-year decline in basic video subscribers and premium channel subscribers.

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090729/FREE/907299967/1065

Indeed, making more money with fewer customers make the achievement even more remarkable. Having said that, this news reveals the reality that this is a very competitive business, despite all the inane claims to the contrary.

Time Warner Cable posts 14% increase in Q2 profit
By Mike Robuck
CedMagazine.com - July 29, 2009

Damn the recession, it’s full speed ahead for Time Warner Cable after it reported this morning that its second quarter profit increased by 14 percent.

Sounds like time for a price increase to it's customers... cementing millions of bucks in bonuses for Bitt and his cronies in the executive washroom.

Indeed, making more money with fewer customers make the achievement even more remarkable. Having said that, this news reveals the reality that this is a very competitive business, despite all the inane claims to the contrary.

Maybe on a national level, but not even close on a local level.

Yes we now have a franchise agreement for a single competitor (Verizon), but many in my market are going to have to wait until 2014-18 or so to even be able to go with a competitor.

Yeah, a for profit company making a profit for it's shareholders. What is this world coming to?

Yeah, a for profit company making a profit for it's shareholders. What is this world coming to?

I agree. Nobody is putting a bullet to one's head and forcing them to spend their money.

May have been mentioned elsewhere, but appears that San Diego got MDN upgraded to the latest release (2.4.6_19) as of July 28. I haven't checked my own box lately.
UPDATE: My SA8300HD was updated on July 29 to the newest MDN version (2.4.6_19 Mt. Sherman).

And the claims that there isn't adequate competition on the local level are ridiculous. Have a judge issue an order based on that assertion, if you really think it is true.

Yeah, a for profit company making a profit for it's shareholders. What is this world coming to?:rolleyes: Who’s spouting anti business rhetoric here? I’m not sipping that Kool-Aid.

My point is, data gets interpreted differently, to suit an agenda. Nothing new.

Losing customers and raising rates to compensate, is not a good business plan. I'd sell my TW shares and buy (more ;) ) Verizon.

Losing customers and raising rates to compensate, is not a good business plan.Where did you learn business? Wal-mart?

I'd sell my TW shares and buy (more ;) ) Verizon.As if Verizon operates any different, overall... :rolleyes:

Where did you learn business? Wal-mart?

As if Verizon operates any different, overall... :rolleyes:Excuse me; I guess you bumped me off the list (http://www.accenture.com/NR/rdonlyres/5E8084AD-8C12-4B63-A426-010DE0910111/0/outlook_topfifty_guru.gif). :rolleyes: Quite simply, a business can continue to raise their prices endlessly; however, if they continue to lose their customers then they will eventually fail.

Verizon is certainly not perfect but I plan to take advantage, of real competition, as soon as they become an option.

It is surely your prerogative to avail yourself of whatever options available to you that you wish to but that's not what we were talking about. You insinuated that earning more money from fewer customers was a bad thing, without any qualification on your pronouncement whatsoever. That is, of course, ridiculous, and so I called you out on it. Don't blame me for the lack of foundation in your argument.

UPDATE: My SA8300HD was updated on July 29 to the newest MDN version (2.4.6_19 Mt. Sherman).

MDN is codenamed after mountains in Colorado.

It is surely your prerogative to avail yourself of whatever options available to you that you wish to but that's not what we were talking about. I think we were... As if Verizon operates any different, overall... :rolleyes:


You insinuated that earning more money from fewer customers was a bad thing, without any qualification on your pronouncement whatsoever. That is, of course, ridiculous, and so I called you out on it. Don't blame me for the lack of foundation in your argument.I’m not blaming you-- for seeing-- a lack of foundation in my argument. ;) I made my point and I think you understand it, and disagree. I’m content with the logic. :)

And the claims that there isn't adequate competition on the local level are ridiculous.

What is ridiculous is your saying this... totally negates any opinion you want to express when you clearly don't have the facts correct.

MDN is codenamed after mountains in Colorado.

Uh, how does that jibe with it being an acronym for Mystro Digital Navigator? Are you saying it does NOT mean that?

What is ridiculous is your saying this... totally negates any opinion you want to express when you clearly don't have the facts correct.The actuality is what I'm saying is backed up by the reality. If it wasn't true, the regulations would extend beyond local broadcast. Understand that they didn't just forget to regulate legacy providers as monopolies, or overlooked it. They used to, and now they don't -- even more critically, they actually regulate part of the service and not the rest (the part you're complaining about). Why the change? And why now only part of the service? Think! Because there is effective competition in the marketplace in every municipality.

Uh, how does that jibe with it being an acronym for Mystro Digital Navigator? Are you saying it does NOT mean that?

e.g., 2.4.6_19 Mt. Sherman, or 2.4.4_16-ptv Pyramid