St. Louis, MO - OTA [Text View] - Page 23

DroptheRemote

10-05-07, 09:37 AM

Blaming the Blues for the lack of HD games is not correct and isn't going to accomplish anything. I'm reasonably confident that the Blues would like every one of its games to be available and broadcast in HD, though of course they would (and should) expect reasonable compensation for that from the respective rights holders.

The choke point on this is almost certainly the rights holders, who at this point apparently don't believe that the HD audience is large enough to justify the extra cost for HD rights (assuming there's an additional rights fee for HD), but more so, the additional cost of producing the telecasts in HD.

Personally, I don't expect that Fox Sports Midwest should be expected to broadcast every game played by the Cardinals or the Blues in HD, because those HD broadcasts can be received by less than 30% of the target audience. While I personally would love to see the Cards in HD every game, I don't think it's reasonable to expect to see all of them in HD. But I do think it is reasonable to expect some percentage of the games to be in HD, and it seems to me that FSN has the mix just about right. On the other hand, the fact that KPLR isn't providing any Blues games in HD is shortchanging its viewers and Blues' fans.

No doubt some of you are thinking, "but the Yankees and the Red Sox, and even the Padres, have all of their games broadcast in HD."

In the case of the East Coast teams, these are much stronger media markets, particularly for national advertising dollars. I don't know this for a fact that this is true, but I suspect that both YES and NESN have one or more advertisers who are effectively underwriting the entire difference in production costs for HD games. I believe that both KPLR and kSDk have done something similar with HD sponsors for Cards games, and that they've probably gone as far as they can based on available sponsors who are prepared to subsidize those costs.

So, what about San Diego, which is probably a similar in size to St. Louis? Well, there is probably some halo effect arising from proximity to Los Angeles, but even without that they are one of the bell curve tail (all HD in a small market) just as Kansas City is the tail on the opposite end of that curve (no HD games in a small market).

Anyway, if you want to complain to someone and have your complaints have some meaning, complain to KPLR and tell them you won't watch the Blues at all on KPLR until they make a commitment to carry at least some of the games it broadcasts in HD. Don't believe their lame scapegoating that this is the Blues fault.

And it wouldn't hurt to use the same stick on FSN in order to get more HD coverage in future years. But I think regardless you'll see the number of HD Cards and Blues telecasts creep up appreciably each of the next few years. Just the fact that the HD games will probably be available to DirecTV customers in 2008 should justify a substantial increase in HD telecasts.

DroptheRemote

10-05-07, 09:47 AM

Charter doesn't have TBS HD...infact they will probably be last company in the country that will pick up TBS HD...or Universal HD for that matter.According to TV Predictions (http://www.tvpredictions.com/forum/index.php?entry=entry071005-051005), Charter is getting hammered by viewers in the Boston area who are unhappy about the lack of TBS HD for watching their beloved Red Sox (who, of course, are available in HD for 162 games locally via NESN)...

I love this quote from the local Charter rep:
_________________________________________________

"This is a service business, we're not out to anger our customers," Charter said, according to the Globe. "But legally, we can't (offer TBS) until they let us do it."
_________________________________________________

It's not just a LEGAL issue -- it's a dollar and cents AND priorities issue. And as for not trying to anger customers...on that score Charter is fighting against its inborn corporate DNA. ;)

But what's really notable about the TVP story is the fact that TBS is not carried by Verizon FioS -- it seems like it would be no-brainer for them as the new kid on the block...

duihlein

10-05-07, 11:35 AM

For those interested - someone at DBSTalk captured some "pictures" of a 1 to 1 comparison between MPEG4 and MPEG2. For the non-MPEG4 viewers out there DirecTV has been showing the baseball games on an MPEG2 overflow channel - giving us the ability to see old and new side by side. Anyhow - these are just pictures taken of a TV. Take a look for yourself - the difference is remarkable. Note however, there was more "noise" on the Cleveland game than the Arizona game and these are digital camera pictures so they aren't the "best".

Note: These are from DBSTalk. Not sure if ya'll need to be logged in to view.
MPEG 2 (http://www.dbstalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=10400&d=1191545067)

MPEG 4 (http://www.dbstalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=10401&d=1191545096)

Chris

Chris,
My problem with these types of comparison is we have no idea what type of progamming with which these channels are sharing bandwitdh. Ie, if the transponder also feeds other sporting events/movies, we will likely see artifacting vs a program which has more static images (ie Discovery HD sunrise earth) regardless of the encoding. Therefore to me the comparison is not apples to apples.

Dave

moman19

10-05-07, 12:27 PM

For those interested - someone at DBSTalk captured some "pictures" of a 1 to 1 comparison between MPEG4 and MPEG2. For the non-MPEG4 viewers out there DirecTV has been showing the baseball games on an MPEG2 overflow channel - giving us the ability to see old and new side by side. Anyhow - these are just pictures taken of a TV. Take a look for yourself - the difference is remarkable. Note however, there was more "noise" on the Cleveland game than the Arizona game and these are digital camera pictures so they aren't the "best".

Note: These are from DBSTalk. Not sure if ya'll need to be logged in to view.
MPEG 2 (http://www.dbstalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=10400&d=1191545067)

MPEG 4 (http://www.dbstalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=10401&d=1191545096)

Chris

I don't think this example is a fair comparison as it's quite obvious that we are looking at different frames. They may only be 1/30 second apart but the burring appears worse in the PEG2 image and this may be merely due to movement of the player an/or the camera. Checkout differences in the necklace and the backgound,

Joseph Clark

10-05-07, 12:50 PM

Whether these are two different frames shouldn't be terribly important. The MPEG2 shot is obviously full of artifacts. It seems to me that the important thing is that the quality of the MPEG4 image is far superior, indicating, I think, that people without the new D* receivers can expect poor quality HD transmissions until they upgrade. I expect similar issues with E* in the future with MPEG2.

BudShark

10-05-07, 01:00 PM

While I agree there are a lot of variables (VBR, frame, etc) - there is still enough there to know that the MPEG4 quality on DirecTV far exceeds the MPEG2 quality. This isn't an MPEG4 vs MPEG2 discussion, but rather a comparison of the same programming broadcast from the same satellite company using 2 compression techniques.

And what this comparison does is tell us that, as of today, you can expect better quality video from MPEG4 channels than you got from MPEG2.

Chris

BudShark

10-05-07, 01:03 PM

I don't think this example is a fair comparison as it's quite obvious that we are looking at different frames. They may only be 1/30 second apart but the burring appears worse in the PEG2 image and this may be merely due to movement of the player an/or the camera. Checkout differences in the necklace and the backgound,

I wanted to respond to this one directly. Yes, they are different frames, but luckily, we have the scoreboard on the front to help. The scoreboard is digitally added and not moving. Compare the blocking, color gradient, and blurred edges of the MPEG2 version to the cleaner MPEG4. Since its the exact same source this does demonstrate much closer what a true apples to apples comparison is.

Chris

dweebe

10-05-07, 04:00 PM

Does anyone know how far the black out of the Rams game extends? I'm assuming the TV stations out of Columbia MO will be showing the Rams game.

DroptheRemote

10-05-07, 04:17 PM

dweebe

10-05-07, 04:31 PM

dweebe,

You would think so, but it looks like no cigar.

I spotted this earlier today (I monitor the Columbia, Kansas City and several other local AVS threads):

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=11818018&postcount=486

Thanks for the news. :mad:

So when did Columbia get moved 50 miles east? I'm going to Columbia for the Mizzou/Nebraska game and staying at a friend's place. I sold my Rams tickets and was figuring I could just watch the game there and drive back Sunday afternoon.

Blackout policies
Since 1973, the NFL has maintained a blackout policy that states that a home game cannot be televised locally if it is not sold out within 72 hours prior to its start time. Prior to 1973, all games were blacked out in their city of origin regardless of whether they were sold out. This policy, dating back to the NFL's emerging years on television, resulted in home-city blackouts that even extended to championship games. For instance, the 1958 "Greatest Game Ever Played" between the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants was not available on TV to New York fans despite the fact that tickets were out of reach to most. For years, Giants fans would migrate to Connecticut motel rooms every home weekend where they could watch the games beamed on Hartford/New Haven's CBS affiliate WTIC (Channel 3).

Although that policy was successfully defended in court numerous times, Congress passed legislation requiring the NFL to impose the 72-hour deadline. However, the league will sometimes extend this deadline to 48 hours if there are only a few thousand tickets left unsold.

Alternatively, some NFL teams have arrangements with local TV stations or businesses to buy-up unsold tickets (or tickets that the visiting team returns) to ensure a sellout. Tickets in premium "club" sections have also been excluded from the blackout rule in past years. The Jacksonville Jaguars have even gone further and closed off a number of sections at their home Jacksonville Municipal Stadium to reduce the number of tickets they would need to sell (Jacksonville Municipal Stadium is one of the largest in the NFL, as it was built to also accommodate the annual Florida-Georgia game and the Gator Bowl, but Jacksonville is the smallest market in the league). However, the NFL requires that this be done for every home game in a given season if a team elects such an option, so that they can't try to sellout the entire stadium only when they expect to be able to do so.

The NFL defines "locally" as within a 75-mile radius of the stadium. Therefore, a TV blackout affects any market whose broadcast signal penetrates into the 75-mile radius. Some primary media markets, such as Denver and Phoenix, may cover that entire radius and so the blackout would not affect any other markets.

An exception to the 75-mile rule is the market area for the Green Bay Packers, which stretches out to both the Green Bay and Milwaukee television markets (the team's radio flagship station is in Milwaukee, and two Packer home games a year were played at Milwaukee County Stadium until 1994). However, blackout rules rarely come into effect for the Packers, due a four-decade long streak of sellouts and a years-long season ticket waiting list.
Another policy to ensure a filled-up stadium is that no other NFL games can air on local TV at the same time as a team's home game in the club's primary market. This is to prevent ticket-holders from opting to watch the other locally televised NFL game instead of showing up at the stadium. Thus when a team's home game is on the network showing a single game, the network televising the doubleheader can only broadcast one game into that club's primary market; instead of showing a second game in the same time slot as the home game, the doubleheader network's local station must broadcast alternative programming (often movies or infomercials). When the doubleheader network has a team's home game, the other station might program the time themselves or air some other network programming scheduled for the non-NFL time-slot.

Each TV market, including one hosting a non-sold-out game, is assured of at least one televised game in the early and late time slots, one game on each network, but no "network doubleheader" in a market originating a non-sold-out game.

The New York and San Francisco Bay Area media markets typically get fewer doubleheaders than other markets since each has two teams, and one of them is at home virtually every week. The main exception is when one of the teams is idle, has its home game televised on the doubleheader network, or is chosen for a prime-time game. This policy affects only the club's primary market, not others with signals that penetrate inside the 75-mile radius. It also does not affect viewers of NFL Sunday Ticket in the primary market; all other games remain available.

If a home game is blacked out locally because it is not sold out before the 72-hour deadline, one of the following things will happen:

If the blacked-out home game is a nationally televised game on a broadcast network, like NBC Sunday Night Football, where no other NFL games are played at the same time, all local stations inside the 75-mile radius must broadcast alternative programming (the stations have to program the time themselves, since other affiliates are carrying the game).
If the blacked-out nationally televised game is on a cable television network like ESPN or the NFL Network, all cable and satellite television providers in the affected markets must black-out the cable network's signal to customers in the affected markets during the game (this is a condition of the channels' agreements with both the league and the providers). In addition, the game is not simulcast on a local broadcast stations in the blacked-out markets. Local stations would still be able to show highlights on their newscasts after the game has concluded.
If the blacked-out home game is played on a Sunday afternoon, all local stations inside the 75-mile radius must show a different NFL game during that same time slot (the network typically chooses the game). Also, NFL Sunday Ticket cannot offer the game into that area. Furthermore, the network televising the doubleheader can broadcast only one game into that team's primary market (usually the #1 game, or the next-best game in the rare event that a blacked-out game was the network's first choice), which is also designed to prevent people from opting to watch the other locally televised NFL games instead of going to the local team's game. Again, the secondary markets would still carry a doubleheader. Sometimes, the networks will switch time-slots so that the doubleheader network can show its featured game.
Critics claim that these blackout policies are not really effective in creating sold out, filled stadiums. Rather, there are other factors that cause non-sellouts, such as high ticket prices and the fact that people do not want to support a losing team. Furthermore, TV blackouts may actually hurt the league; without the TV exposure, it becomes more difficult for those teams with low attendance and few sellouts to increase their popularity and following. [15]

Conversely, supporters argue that the policies do indeed encourage fans and local corporations to buy tickets for their team. Additionally, many teams sellout their entire regular season schedule before it begins (usually through season-ticket sales), and so there is no threat of a blackout in those markets. The NFL has sold-out well over 90 percent of games in recent seasons, and the number of blacked-out games has steadily decreased in recent years.

In 2005, for the first time in its history, the NFL lifted the blackout policies for a team: the New Orleans Saints. Due to damage by Hurricane Katrina, the Saints split their home games between Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey (1300 miles/2100 km from New Orleans), Tiger Stadium at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (80 miles/130 km from New Orleans) and the Alamodome in San Antonio (540 miles/869 km from New Orleans). Even though the city limits of Baton Rouge are more than 75 miles from New Orleans, the blackout rules normally apply, since affiliates from the media market penetrate within the radius.[16]

twombomber

10-05-07, 06:54 PM

Whoa, that's a lot of reading. I think they are saying Columbia's broadcast signal penetrates the 75-mile radius from St. Louis, therefore the blackout.

deuces

10-05-07, 07:31 PM

Looks like E* added TBS HD. WOOHOO

kdg454

10-05-07, 08:02 PM

Looks like E* added TBS HD. WOOHOO

;)

jdiehl

10-05-07, 08:03 PM

2nd week in a row for an Office screw-up on your HD leader. Sound out for about 5-6 minutes watching on E*.

Must have been a E* issue, or maybe your signal having issues. No problems with the mpeg4 feed from D* or my OTA signal coming into the HD Tivo.

kdg454

10-05-07, 08:19 PM

Looks like E* added TBS HD. WOOHOO
For those interested, with E*, TBS-HD is being mapped down from channel 859, which is CNNES. CNNES is a blocked channel. DISH is using the channel slot temporarily to provide the playoff games in HD.

You will find TBS-HD along with TBS-SD in the SbS at channel 139.
The purpose of this post is, if you plan on recording any of the games in HD, you must set the timer using the EPG, as DishPass will not "see" channel 859, nor will it see any HD Priority available.

MoInSTL

10-05-07, 08:20 PM

FWIW, a re-run of Bionic Woman just ran on SciFi in HD and 5.1. Looks good for SG: Atlantis later.

mgr_stl

10-05-07, 08:34 PM

kdg454

10-05-07, 08:35 PM

deuces

10-05-07, 08:37 PM

Must have been a E* issue, or maybe your signal having issues. No problems with the mpeg4 feed from D* or my OTA signal coming into the HD Tivo.

I just switched this timer from OTA to Sat on E*. Has anyone figured out if it was an E* only issue? I may have it recorded OTA on another receiver. I have not been able to watch it yet.

deuces

10-05-07, 08:39 PM

In tonight's Yankees/Cleavland game...

TBS Announcer:

"Earlier this year, the Yankees were down 6 runs in their last at-bat against the Indians, and ARod (Alex Rodriquez) hit a game-winning home run against Cleavland reliever Joe Borowski."

:eek:

I hear what you are saying, but it might be able to be chalked up to semantics. He may have been saying "last at bat" meaning the team's last time at bat, not the last individual at bat. Nonetheless it could have been cleaned up some. No one can hit a 7 run homer, not even Albert the Great, ;) .

Joseph Clark

10-05-07, 08:49 PM

In tonight's Yankees/Cleavland game...

TBS Announcer:

"Earlier this year, the Yankees were down 6 runs in their last at-bat against the Indians, and ARod (Alex Rodriquez) hit a game-winning home run against Cleavland reliever Joe Borowski."

:eek:

:D:D:D 7 RBI's with one swing - how come I never heard about that on Sports Center?

Thanks, Ken. I was out for a walk and missed that. I just caught the 9th on TBS and saw 900 gnats fly up Mariano Rivera's nose. Then, just before the camera cut away for commercial break, I saw the bugs carry ARod back out onto the field. It was a nice gesture by Cleveland, I thought, providing that service for the opposing team.

Dan in St. Louis

10-05-07, 10:27 PM

Also, I pretty much only access the internet via a crappy D-Link wireless router (DI-614+). Does this set a ceiling on my speed, or would it simply slow down whatever connection speed I have coming in?
This article (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1275650,00.asp) suggests a real-world throughput of 3 to 6 Mbps, so that router would not slow DSL down much if at all. It looks like it has some useful security features, too.

kdg454

10-05-07, 10:47 PM

I hear what you are saying, but it might be able to be chalked up to semantics. He may have been saying "last at bat" meaning the team's last time at bat, not the last individual at bat. Nonetheless it could have been cleaned up some. No one can hit a 7 run homer, not even Albert the Great, ;) .
Yeah, I got that, as did you, as would most who "know" baseball...I was going back to the casual viewer who just watches in post-season, which in turn, goes back to the experience of the announcers.

Scott could hit a 7 run homer. :D

kdg454

10-05-07, 10:50 PM

I just caught the 9th on TBS and saw 900 gnats fly up Mariano Rivera's nose. Then, just before the camera cut away for commercial break, I saw the bugs carry ARod back out onto the field. It was a nice gesture by Cleveland, I thought, providing that service for the opposing team.
Reminds me of the Florida Love Bugs...that experiment that got out of the UofGA. If you've never experienced it, consider yourself lucky.

Sudhakar2k

10-06-07, 12:29 AM

I just received my AT&T bill, and my internet contract is up so my DSL Pro jumped up to 29.98 per month. Anyone know of any deals I should ask for when I look to get a new contract? When I went on their site, the only thing offered to me was $24.99 for their Pro service, but I've been paying $17.99 for the past year.

Also, I pretty much only access the internet via a crappy D-Link wireless router (DI-614+). Does this set a ceiling on my speed, or would it simply slow down whatever connection speed I have coming in?

Any help would be appreciated.

Mike

I dont think you'll get anything cheaper than $25, as the same thing happened to me a few months back. In anycase $25 is still a great price of this service, when earthlink charges $35 (all be it without the need for a local phone line) and charter charges $43. If AT&T charged you $30 on your last monthly bill, just call them, and yell at them they will take the $5 off your next bill.

jdiehl

10-06-07, 12:31 AM

Does anyone know how far the black out of the Rams game extends? I'm assuming the TV stations out of Columbia MO will be showing the Rams game.

I'm planning on watching the game on the Sunday Ticket HD Red Zone channel. Even during the last 4 weeks, I found myself locked onto that station, rather than watching every play of a boring Rams game. If something of interest was happening with the Rams, they'd switch the Red Zone coverage to that game anyway.

That might be the only way for St. Louis area fans to keep up with the game on TV this Sunday.

Sudhakar2k

10-06-07, 12:32 AM

Thanks, Ken. I was out for a walk and missed that. I just caught the 9th on TBS and saw 900 gnats fly up Mariano Rivera's nose. Then, just before the camera cut away for commercial break, I saw the bugs carry ARod back out onto the field. It was a nice gesture by Cleveland, I thought, providing that service for the opposing team.

Yeah I wasn't happy about the bug situation. It really affected Joba Chamberlain the inning before, and might have cost the Yankees a win. I felt that they should have delayed the game, because frankly its a ridiculous when your pitcher has to fend of thousands of bugs while trying to get out major league hitters at the same time.

Chazb

10-06-07, 07:28 AM

Yeah I wasn't happy about the bug situation. It really affected Joba Chamberlain the inning before, and might have cost the Yankees a win. I felt that they should have delayed the game, because frankly its a ridiculous when your pitcher has to fend of thousands of bugs while trying to get out major league hitters at the same time.

It was the same for both pitchers the bugs did care who they landed on.I can see the headlines bugs cause yanks to lose or was it lack of hitting.

BudShark

10-06-07, 08:34 AM

It was the same for both pitchers the bugs did care who they landed on.I can see the headlines bugs cause yanks to lose or was it lack of hitting.

Boy you must be a sportswriter.

Caption under Joba's picture on ESPN:
Joba Chamberlain's issues with insects in the 8th led to a 2-1 loss.

And the lead into the story under the picture:
The Yankees are heading home down 0-2 to the Indians in the ALDS. Blame the bugs, or N.Y's inept offense, but Friday night's 2-1 setback in 11 innings has New York facing playoff elimination.

:D

Scott Tucker

10-06-07, 09:55 AM

Scott could hit a 7 run homer. :D

Yeah, and I wish the Padres could too.

Scott

hizhonor

10-06-07, 10:12 AM

I just received my AT&T bill, and my internet contract is up so my DSL Pro jumped up to 29.98 per month. Anyone know of any deals I should ask for when I look to get a new contract? When I went on their site, the only thing offered to me was $24.99 for their Pro service, but I've been paying $17.99 for the past year.

Just recently went through a similar adventure with AT&T. While they wouldn't do any better on the $24.99 price for Internet service, then did offer to reduce my monthly charge for phone service by $6.00. The net was close enough to what I was paying for the old contract price to keep me happy and not have to look at options elsewhere.

Start with the regular customer service person and ask for a retention specialist if needed.

Steve

kdg454

10-06-07, 12:04 PM

It was the same for both pitchers the bugs did care who they landed on.I can see the headlines bugs cause yanks to lose or was it lack of hitting.
Close
From the NY Post:
"YANKS VICTIM OF INSECTICIDE
BOMBERS IN 0-2 HOLE AFTER BUGGING OUT"

I agree both played under the same circumstances. I don't agree with the comment about "pitchers trying to get out ML hitters." Great pitchers *always* trumps great hitters. Pitchers succeed 7 out of 10 times.

mgr_stl

10-06-07, 01:56 PM

Guys,

Thanks for the help with my AT&T DSL. I ended up speaking to retention, but didn't get them to budge. I got the $24.99 rate for the Pro level, and they "gave" me caller ID for about $5 a month ($10 regularly). Also, they gave me a $25 credit on my account. I've been wanting caller ID, and with the credit it ends up being about $3 per month for the next year. Though I can't consider this any sort of victory due to the fact that they ended up getting a little more money out of me.

They made it sound like I could have gotten a sweet deal on a cell phone since I have Dish, DSL, and AT&T phone, but I am still under contract with T-Mobile so that will have to wait...

Sudhakar2k

10-07-07, 01:30 AM

_token_

10-07-07, 09:03 AM

I'm planning on watching the game on the Sunday Ticket HD Red Zone channel....

Keep an eye on the SuperFan HD channel with the Rams game. The last blackout (12/24/06) didn't block out the HD channel on SF (I'm in 63376 by the way).
Maybe we will get lucky again ;)

Token

tcfila

10-07-07, 09:33 AM

I thought we were lucky when they announced the blackout.

jdiehl

10-07-07, 01:06 PM

Keep an eye on the SuperFan HD channel with the Rams game. The last blackout (12/24/06) didn't block out the HD channel on SF (I'm in 63376 by the way).
Maybe we will get lucky again ;)

Token

I remember that.

Looks like they're on the ball today though. SD and HD versions on Sunday Ticket are both blocked.

Oh well, I usually watch the HD Red Zone all day anyway, even when they're not blacked out. I'll get to see it that way (or we can all watch the short cut of the game later).

SHADO 1

10-07-07, 01:19 PM

Am I don't quite understand, Caller ID is free if you have AT&T phone service (local and long distance).

Caller ID cost $10.00 to have, unless you have some sort of package or bundled service. I'm on the cheap and just have measured service and basic DSL service, no long distance and pay $30.00 a month.

kdg454

10-07-07, 05:26 PM

So....who else here is sick to death of seeing ads for Frank TV?
By the time the playoffs are over, we'll have watched the first 4 episodes in commercials. :eek:

Robert Simandl

10-07-07, 09:09 PM

Okay, I'm doing a catch-up marathon of Supernatural from KPLR so I can start watching this season in a relatively timely manner.

Just started watching episode 16 of last season, "Roadkill," with Tricia Helfer from Battlestar Galactica guest starring. But the audio is so far out of sync with the video it's unwatchable. Ms. Helfer's outfits aren't as skimpy as they are in Galactica, either, but I can't blame KPLR for that, can I?

Anyway, guess I shouldn't be surprised, considering the Smallville episodes I recorded (also from KPLR) around that time are similarly out of sync.

Joseph Clark

10-07-07, 10:16 PM

So....who else here is sick to death of seeing ads for Frank TV?
By the time the playoffs are over, we'll have watched the first 4 episodes in commercials. :eek:

I saw this guy on Letterman doing a John Madden impression that had me on the floor. It was one of the funniest impressions I've ever seen anyone do. And his George Bush is a side splitter. I've only seen the ads a few times (not watching a lot of the playoffs), but it's one show I definitely want to catch.

Joseph Clark

10-07-07, 10:22 PM

StLBluesFan

10-07-07, 10:44 PM

Robert Simandl

10-07-07, 11:48 PM

I also watched Roadkill recently, had recorded OTA, though don't recall if it was first-run or a repeat. No sync issues noticed. Also, never noticed sync issues with last season's Smallville. Do you record OTA?

Yup, with my editing PC's FusionHDTV cards. My recording was from the first run. This was defintiely a KPLR issue because shows from other channels I recorded on those same cards during the same time period are fine. In fact, CSI was *literally* on at the same time as Supernatural... and my recordings have no sync issues.

I'm not noticing the same problem with the first two Smallvilles of this season, so whatever problem KPLR had last Spring has apparently been fixed.

KPLR technical issues aside, Supernatural has got to be the most underrated show on television. Sort of a cross between the original Night Stalker, the X-Files, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Roadkill episode was a perfect example. And yet it doesn't get any of the watercooler buzz that Lost, 24, and Battlestar Galactica get on a regular basis.

Oh, and it's second only to 24 as the best *sounding* 5.1 on TV.

kdg454

10-08-07, 12:49 AM

I saw this guy on Letterman doing a John Madden impression that had me on the floor. It was one of the funniest impressions I've ever seen anyone do. And his George Bush is a side splitter. I've only seen the ads a few times (not watching a lot of the playoffs), but it's one show I definitely want to catch.
I also think the show will be good. TBS runs the spot in every break...3 games...27 innings....54 breaks, plus the before and afters. I'll probably watch the show also, but the ads are just a bit much.

In all fairness, at least TBS doesn't use those annoying corner ads during programming, like FOX does. Overall (announcers excluded) I've been pleased with the TBS presentation, graphics, and video. Noticed some lip-sync issues, but that may be a DISH thing, it was only on HD and not on SD.
Lip-sync will forever be a "he said-she said" thing until it's resolved for good.

Joseph Clark

10-08-07, 01:52 AM

I also think the show will be good. TBS runs the spot in every break...3 games...27 innings....54 breaks, plus the before and afters. I'll probably watch the show also, but the ads are just a bit much.

In all fairness, at least TBS doesn't use those annoying corner ads during programming, like FOX does. Overall (announcers excluded) I've been pleased with the TBS presentation, graphics, and video. Noticed some lip-sync issues, but that may be a DISH thing, it was only on HD and not on SD.
Lip-sync will forever be a "he said-she said" thing until it's resolved for good.

Digital TV has been very unkind to me when it comes to sync. When I first started watching HD, I experienced sync issues because of the delay introduced by my video processor. Hearing the audio before I saw the lips move drove me crazy. Unfortunately, before I finally did get an AVR with audio delay, I sort of taught myself to live with sync problems, to the point that I now find it harder to detect them. There was a time when I could easily detect a two frame delay (part of watching so many student video projects). Now, that's much harder to do. Add to that the inability of many stations, even at this point in time, to get sync right, and I really wonder how good I would be at picking up on really subtle sync issues anymore.

That said, the issues Bob mentions with Smallville last season were so pronounced that even my desensitized ears could pick up on them. I record with a MyHD card and I had the same sync problems. In addition, the OTA signal was so broken up on my Dish 622 that many of those episodes were unwatchable. The picture wasn't quite so bad on the MyHD (at least I could watch it). So far, 11 has been quite good WRT picture and sync. So has Fox. Now it's 5 that has numerous Fox-like glitches. It would be nice if OTA on all the locals would work at the same time.

I get consistently good reception on 30, except for Men in Trees. For some reason, I get a jerkiness in pans and lateral motion, as though frames are being dropped. The same does not happen with Desperate Housewives or Lost. Does anyone else experience this with Men in Trees (or is anyone watching that show)? It's not as quirky as Northern Exposure, or as cleverly written, but I still like it. The lighting is probably the best of all the network shows I watch. I just wish I could get the signal cleanly. So that I can rule out my 622 being the cause of the problem, would someone else who has a 622 record an ep and let me know how the pans look? Often, left to right camera movement (especially on exteriors) is jerky.

moman19

10-08-07, 09:16 AM

deuces

10-08-07, 10:38 AM

Best Buy has a 1 TB Western Digital MyBook on sale this week for $279, for you D* folks who might be able to use one. They also have PATA and SATA Seagate internal 500 GB drives for $99 each. No rebates on any of these drives. I've read that Best Buy wants to eliminate all mail-in rebates in a couple of years. They may beat that. I can't remember the last time I saw one in a BB ad. Good riddance.

Ken or anyone else heard, will this 1 TB drive work with E* for external storage? I know they only have approved up to 750, but some were getting 1 TB drives to work. Anyone know?

StLBluesFan

10-08-07, 11:43 AM

KPLR technical issues aside, Supernatural has got to be the most underrated show on television. Sort of a cross between the original Night Stalker, the X-Files, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Roadkill episode was a perfect example. And yet it doesn't get any of the watercooler buzz that Lost, 24, and Battlestar Galactica get on a regular basis.

Oh, and it's second only to 24 as the best *sounding* 5.1 on TV.

I have to admit, Supernatural and Smallville are two of my "guilty pleasures." Have the second season Supernatural DVDs, I'm on the last episode.

I feel motivated to put in a plug for Pushing Daisies. In my mind, clearly the best of the new TV shows, love the style, not unlike my favorite movie Big fish. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and do.

MoInSTL

10-08-07, 12:20 PM

Does anyone have an older laptop they are no longer using? I need one just for email and surfing. Don't need anything fancy and can't spend a lot for one.

I thought I would take a page from Joe Clark and ask here first. :)

Thanks!

Lucid504

10-08-07, 01:09 PM

Looks like kplr has decided to just take off 11.2 and not put any programming on it anymore, due to my tv wont pick up the signal ota anymore.

Joseph Clark

10-08-07, 01:09 PM

When the competition gets this fierce...

We have more HD channels than you do (http://www.tvpredictions.com/echo48100807.htm)

... it can only mean good things for HD's future. When D* passes E* in the number of HD channels, how soon will E* have to take its ads claiming more HD off the air?

Robert Simandl

10-08-07, 01:13 PM

Looks like kplr has decided to just take off 11.2 and not put any programming on it anymore, due to my tv wont pick up the signal ota anymore.

And 11-1 is currently full bitrate! Let's hope it takes a while to find a replacement for The Shaft, I mean TheTube, and enjoy this while it lasts!

Joseph Clark

10-08-07, 01:45 PM

And 11-1 is currently full bitrate! Let's hope it takes a while to find a replacement for The Shaft, I mean TheTube, and enjoy this while it lasts!

I just checked the bitrate, too. That's great. Here's hoping they keep it that way. Death to multicasting!

tcfila

10-08-07, 02:16 PM

Lucid504

10-08-07, 02:27 PM

How do you guys check the bit rate?

kdg454

10-08-07, 04:12 PM

Ken or anyone else heard, will this 1 TB drive work with E* for external storage? I know they only have approved up to 750, but some were getting 1 TB drives to work. Anyone know?
750 max.
The 622/722 will recognize a few 1TB drives, but will only use up to 750mgbt of space. The current s/w sees the drive to be full at 750.

Robert Simandl

10-08-07, 04:35 PM

How do you guys check the bit rate?

The software used with the HDHomeRun network tuner shows the bitrate at the bottom of the screen.

Also, when I record Smallville and Supernatural this Thursday, I'll note what the VideoReDo editing program says about the recorded bitrates.

Joseph Clark

10-08-07, 04:45 PM

How do you guys check the bit rate?

Open your capture with HDTVtoMPEG2 (free over the Net) and you'll see the average bitrate on the right. It reported an average bitrate of over 16 mb/s for Ch. 11 just a little while ago.

Joseph Clark

10-08-07, 04:48 PM

750 max.
The 622/722 will recognize a few 1TB drives, but will only use up to 750mgbt of space. The current s/w sees the drive to be full at 750.

Hey, Ken, I'd like some clarification on the issue of what happens when you use multiple hard drives (at different times, one after the other). If I add another 750 GB drive and switch back and forth between them, is there a limit on the number of times I can do that before the 622 doesn't recognize them anymore? I'd hate to do a few switches only to find that one or both drives is no longer recognized.

mgr_stl

10-08-07, 06:30 PM

Not sure if anyone's mentioned this yet, but E* channel 139 is TBS HD. Looks like we'll be able to see the Yanks lose in HD tonight. I can't wait to see Joe Torre's HD tears!

WRacer

10-08-07, 06:43 PM

Sync (rather, the lack of...) has been making me crazy too. I don't watch "Trees" so I cannot comment. However, lately I have noticed that many ABC shows (including Housewives) are again having slight lip sync issues. In this case, the video is ahead of the audio. Most have been recorded via E* HD so I'm not sure if it's the DISH or KDNL. I plan record a few shows in OTA this week and will report back. Also, CC has been noticeably absent on many ABC shows lately.

......Jim???????

All our receivers and monitors show CC as well as my three home receivers. However, I have discovered a notice on a piece of test equipment that the CC packets are present, but not in sequence. Can't isolate the problem, but will continue to chase. I must only affect a few sets!
Jim

moman19

10-08-07, 07:35 PM

All our receivers and monitors show CC as well as my three home receivers. However, I have discovered a notice on a piece of test equipment that the CC packets are present, but not in sequence. Can't isolate the problem, but will continue to chase. I must only affect a few sets!
Jim

Jim, I'm not sure if the CC issue or the sync issue is at your end. It could be E* or my receiver. But Housewives experienced both last night. Next time I can, I will check the Dish and OTA and will report back. Not having the CC issue with the other networks though. I'm recording just about every show via satellite as the efficient MPEG4 compression gives me room for more shows.

kdg454

10-08-07, 07:39 PM

Hey, Ken, I'd like some clarification on the issue of what happens when you use multiple hard drives (at different times, one after the other). If I add another 750 GB drive and switch back and forth between them, is there a limit on the number of times I can do that before the 622 doesn't recognize them anymore? I'd hate to do a few switches only to find that one or both drives is no longer recognized.
Joe,
I haven't done this myself, but I have spoken to another person in a "similar situation" as me. It is my understanding, the 622/722 will recognize a bonded EHDD as many times as you connect/disconnect it to/from the receiver, *providing* you do not bond that EHDD to another receiver.
He confirmed he has been able to do this.

The "three-time" rule, which I believe is still in effect, and will remain so until DISH notifies subs that Household Keys are available (no extra fee to EHDD enabled subs), represents how many times you can switch a EHDD between different receivers, before it will be reformatted. Once Household Keys is enabled in the s/w, you will be able to move your drives/receivers at will.

In the "three-time" rule, the drive(s) would never "not be recognized," it would be reformatted. I'm guessing that's what you meant.

I only have one EHDD I'm using with DISH, which sits next to both a 622 and a 722. You're welcomed to grab one of yours, come down here, and test it to your hearts content. I only use my EHDD for testing, and often am required to erase its content, and reformat it anyway.

Or, I was planning on coming by your place this week to return your PS (tyvm), and I'd be happy to bring my EHDD, which you could test along with one of yours, having no concerns about deleting any content on mine.
Just LMK.

BudShark

10-09-07, 09:18 AM

Joseph Clark

10-09-07, 11:53 AM

All -

I am relocating to Jacksonville, Florida (one of our breweries) so I will be dropping out of the St. Louis thread. A BIG general thank you to everyone for all your thoughts, insights, and general HD knowledge.

Specifically Jim (WRacer) - thank you for your personal efforts over the years to bring HD to our ABC affiliate. Your honest answers, status updates, and willingness to take our opinions, complaints, and thoughts is much appreciated. You, personally, made HD in St. Louis top notch years ahead of other larger markets and continue to provide a valuable service to local HD enthusiasts. Good luck to you on all levels.

Doug, Bob, Jon, Joe, Ken (and others who I don't mean to forget) - Thank you for your efforts in maintaining the FAQs, the insight, helping myself and others, and generally keeping this thread alive. You 5, more than any others, made the St. Louis thread the BEST AVSForum local thread. In reviewing the Jacksonville thread it became apparent, its not a "gathering" place for HD enthusiasts which is what you all have made this one.

Good luck to all and enjoy your HD (and don't let up on the slackers and multicasting!) I'm off to the promised land of Comcast (although I am keeping my DirecTV ;) )

Chris

Be sure to stop by and let us know how things are going. One of the things I like to ask friends who have been on vacation out of the country or who have moved is to note those moments when they realized, "Wow, that sure is different than what I'm used to back home." Sometimes it's just little things, sometimes big ones, such as those from a friend who moved to New Zealand. It's always interesting, though. People adjust pretty quickly and forget the differences, but I always like hearing the stories when they're still fresh.

Best of luck in Jacksonville.

Joseph Clark

10-09-07, 12:59 PM

Well, Jim, my problem with Men in Trees seems to be a thing of the past. I upgraded the firmware on my Lumagen video processor and my Sharp projector (although I was having the problem with my old projector, too). It suspect the Lumagen. I'm now outputting 1080p from it to the projector and the recordings I've made of Men in Trees seem smooth. I'd be guessing if I tried to figure out why Men in Trees was a problem and Lost and Desperate Housewives weren't.

kdg454

10-10-07, 02:05 AM

Do I recall someone here once mentioning they owned a PT Cruiser?
If so, please PM me...tyvm :)

Joseph Clark

10-10-07, 02:49 AM

I like the new show "Reaper" on KPLR Tuesday nights. It's light and funny. Tonight, it was in HD for about a minute and then switched to SD and stayed that way for the rest of the episode. I just penned a letter to KPLR administration. It was considerably more PC than my recent note to Ch. 5, although certainly not meek. Let's see if they respond.

Robert Simandl

10-10-07, 06:37 AM

The new HD channels keep on comin' on *D. Just added:

231-1 Food HD
255 MGM HD
276 National Geographic HD
355 CNBC "HD+"

The "HD+" is CNBC's term, not mine... the picture is still 4x3 480i, and they use the extra screen width for more graphics. False advertising in my opinion.

Food HD is indeed 231-1, just like an OTA channel and unlike any other satellite channel. Odd......

MGM HD will easily be my favorite of the bunch.

There MIGHT have been some premium channels added today too, but since I don't get any premium channels, I won't see 'em.

Hey Chris, as for your sticking with *D down in Jacksonville, was there ever any doubt? :) Good luck down there, we'll miss ya.

BudShark

10-10-07, 08:57 AM

Thanks! And to Bob - its nice to see your signature has changed ;)

Chris

Robert Simandl

10-10-07, 09:01 AM

Not guaranteeing it won't come back.... after all, even with all these new wonderful MPEG-4 channels, the original "HD-Lite" channels are *still* HD-Lite.

Left Jeff

10-10-07, 09:22 AM

KPLR...

I think in the past I scanned over you guys complaining about 11.1 OTA before, but now I have a question about it because the last few months I've been watching local OTA instead of from D*.

Last saturday I watched the Blues hockey game on channel 11 OTA. Picture looked good, no breakups, etc...last night I go to watch channel 11 and I get the "searching for OTA signal"...How can a channel go from coming in perfect to not coming in at all? The weather was pretty close to the same, about the same time of day and nothing has changed in my setup? Is this common? I know kplr is wacky at times...

MoInSTL

10-10-07, 11:43 AM

Left Jeff

10-10-07, 01:04 PM

Joseph Clark

10-10-07, 01:08 PM

I've been watching channel 5 via HD local more than OTA. Has anyone noticed brief occasional audio drops? I have flipped to OTA and no problem there. It may just be a coincidence. My signal strengths are very good on all sats. There is no pattern to it, but I usually notice it during the news. I was wondering if anyone else with D* has noticed this too.

I've noticed several audio/video breakups on Ch. 5 lately. They're like the ones we were having on a regular basis with Ch. 11 last year, although not as bad as it was at its worst. This is OTA, which I watch most of the time instead of the satcast.

Scott Tucker

10-10-07, 10:47 PM

Do I recall someone here once mentioning they owned a PT Cruiser?
If so, please PM me...tyvm :)

You've got mail.

Scott

Scott Tucker

10-10-07, 10:49 PM

All -

I am relocating to Jacksonville, Florida (one of our breweries) so I will be dropping out of the St. Louis thread. A BIG general thank you to everyone for all your thoughts, insights, and general HD knowledge.

Specifically Jim (WRacer) - thank you for your personal efforts over the years to bring HD to our ABC affiliate. Your honest answers, status updates, and willingness to take our opinions, complaints, and thoughts is much appreciated. You, personally, made HD in St. Louis top notch years ahead of other larger markets and continue to provide a valuable service to local HD enthusiasts. Good luck to you on all levels.

Doug, Bob, Jon, Joe, Ken (and others who I don't mean to forget) - Thank you for your efforts in maintaining the FAQs, the insight, helping myself and others, and generally keeping this thread alive. You 5, more than any others, made the St. Louis thread the BEST AVSForum local thread. In reviewing the Jacksonville thread it became apparent, its not a "gathering" place for HD enthusiasts which is what you all have made this one.

Good luck to all and enjoy your HD (and don't let up on the slackers and multicasting!) I'm off to the promised land of Comcast (although I am keeping my DirecTV ;) )

Chris

At least you'll be near Palm trees again. :)

Thanks to you as well for providing so many with valuble information. You will be missed chris.

Scott

jdiehl

10-10-07, 11:37 PM

All -

I am relocating to Jacksonville, Florida (one of our breweries) so I will be dropping out of the St. Louis thread. A BIG general thank you to everyone for all your thoughts, insights, and general HD knowledge.

Specifically Jim (WRacer) - thank you for your personal efforts over the years to bring HD to our ABC affiliate. Your honest answers, status updates, and willingness to take our opinions, complaints, and thoughts is much appreciated. You, personally, made HD in St. Louis top notch years ahead of other larger markets and continue to provide a valuable service to local HD enthusiasts. Good luck to you on all levels.

Doug, Bob, Jon, Joe, Ken (and others who I don't mean to forget) - Thank you for your efforts in maintaining the FAQs, the insight, helping myself and others, and generally keeping this thread alive. You 5, more than any others, made the St. Louis thread the BEST AVSForum local thread. In reviewing the Jacksonville thread it became apparent, its not a "gathering" place for HD enthusiasts which is what you all have made this one.

Good luck to all and enjoy your HD (and don't let up on the slackers and multicasting!) I'm off to the promised land of Comcast (although I am keeping my DirecTV ;) )

Chris

Chris,

I had a similar experience when I moved to Tampa back in '04, no activity at all in their AVS thread. Oh well, I kept my spot warm here to jump back in 2yrs later.... never say never, you might be right back. ;)

Florida is awesome though, I miss it alot. If it weren't for family and wanting to be around them with our kids, I would have never left. You'll love it there.

Joseph Clark

10-11-07, 12:12 AM

Chris,

I had a similar experience when I moved to Tampa back in '04, no activity at all in their AVS thread. Oh well, I kept my spot warm here to jump back in 2yrs later.... never say never, you might be right back. ;)

Florida is awesome though, I miss it alot. If it weren't for family and wanting to be around them with our kids, I would have never left. You'll love it there.

You know, Chris, as off topic as we get here, you'll still fit right in. You're still family. :)

moman19

10-11-07, 11:52 AM

All our receivers and monitors show CC as well as my three home receivers. However, I have discovered a notice on a piece of test equipment that the CC packets are present, but not in sequence. Can't isolate the problem, but will continue to chase. I must only affect a few sets!
Jim

Jim, something is definitely wrong with your CC but I simply have not had the time to chase it down but I promise to have more details soon. Last night my wife was watching "DIRTY, SEXY, MONEY" (not sure about the title) on Sat HD. Clearly, there were no subtitles in the beginning of the show. But when I checked back 15 minutes later, they were there.

The previous night, I noticed no CC present at the tail end of your 9 to 10 PM show but they immediately came on with MILLIONAIRE. At first glance this issue seems spotty but again, I have not been able to pin it down.

kdg454

10-11-07, 08:45 PM

DroptheRemote

10-11-07, 11:03 PM

This could get ugly...

An extract from a Multichannel News article:
_____________________________________________________

A 75-year-old Bristow, Va. woman has paid $345 as compensation for damages and is serving three months of probation, the result of her hammer attack on equipment in a Manassas, Va. Comcast Corp. office in August.

The consumer, Mona Shaw, said she took a hammer to the phone handsets and shoved a computer monitor off the counter after she failed to get a response by the company to her lack of phone service.

“I couldn’t think of another way to get their attention. I really couldn’t,” she said in an interview.
_____________________________________________________

Believe it or not, this story gets better. Click here (http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6489252.html?rssid=196) to read the full story.

kdg454

10-11-07, 11:55 PM

Joseph Clark

10-12-07, 12:42 AM

Anyone else watching Game 1 on TBS HD tonight....is the TBS game info bar at the top cut off, and partially not visible?
It's OK on SD.

EDIT: I guess it was a TBS thing, it returned to normal around the 4th inning or so.

They corrected this finally, but what happened was that the top part of the image was being displayed at the bottom (maybe 8%). The top part (with the graphics) was then cut off as part of overscan on many TV's. The bottom portion (with the top part of the image) was cut off by the overscan at the base, making it invisible. I have almost no overscan on my projector, so I could see it clearly.

Robert Simandl

10-12-07, 08:39 AM

duihlein

10-12-07, 09:17 AM

Issues during KPLR's broadcasts of both Smallville and Supernatural last night....

Just like the season premiere, Smallville had very MUDDY 2.0 channel audio. Smallville had 2.0 audio all last year, but that doesn't explain the poor QUALITY of the 2.0 sound this year. For a brief 10 seconds or so, the audio switched to fantastic sounding 5.1, and the difference was NOT subtle. But just as we started yelling "Cool!" (so we need to get a life, so sue us), the sound switched right back to muddy 2.0 again.

Supernatural had 5.1, and otherwise sounded great, but had literally dozens of dropouts. One or two second blips where the video would continue, but with silence til the audio came back. This happened at least a dozen times during Supernatural last night.

Credit where credit's due.... sync was spot on during both shows.

This was OTA through the *D HR20. Haven't played back the copies made with my FusionHDTV card to see if they had the same issue.

Anybody else watching these shows last night?

I recorded them OTA on dish (622), but haven't looked at them yet.
Guess I'll be searching the torrents...

Dave

duihlein

10-12-07, 11:50 AM

Looks like FSN MW is listing the game tonight in HD. Looks like Wednesdays game was too.
Can anyone confirm?

http://msn.foxsports.com/name/HD

FSN Midwest
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
7:00 PM Blues Live Pregame
7:30 PM Predators at Blues
10:00 PM Blues Live Postgame
10:30 PM FSN Final Score
Friday, October 12, 2007
7:00 PM Blues Live Pregame
7:30 PM Avalanche at Blues
10:00 PM Blues Live Postgame
10:30 PM FSN Final Score

moman19

10-12-07, 12:01 PM

Looks like FSN MW is listing the game tonight in HD. Looks like Wednesdays game was too.
Can anyone confirm?

http://msn.foxsports.com/name/HD

Confirmed. I thought the quality was excellent. We were quite surprised to stumble on this as I thought I read here that there were no HD games this year.

StLBluesFan

10-12-07, 12:32 PM

Confirmed. I thought the quality was excellent. We were quite surprised to stumble on this as I thought I read here that there were no HD games this year.

Actually, there are 10 FNS games scheduled in HD, none thus far for KPLR.

Wednesday, Oct. 10 Nashville 7:30 PM
Friday, Oct. 12 Colorado 7:30 PM
Wednesday, Nov. 21 at Detroit 6:30 PM
Sunday, Nov. 25 Calgary 5:00 PM
Friday, Nov. 30 at Minnesota 7:00 PM
Wednesday, Dec. 26 Detroit 7:30 PM
Tuesday, Feb. 5 Tampa Bay 7:30 PM
Tuesday, Feb. 26 Dallas 7:30 PM
Wednesday, March 5 at Detroit 6:30 PM
Tuesday, March 25 Detroit 7:30 PM

dweebe

10-12-07, 12:48 PM

I wonder if the Blues keep playing good and the ratings stay up, that more HD games will be added?

tcfila

10-12-07, 01:08 PM

I actually thought it was too good. I've got my TV calibrated by Doug, but d@mn, the ice was too white.

DroptheRemote

10-12-07, 02:33 PM

I actually thought it was too good. I've got my TV calibrated by Doug, but d@mn, the ice was too white.tcfila,

Do you think this was something specific to the FSN presentation? In other words, have you have seen the same sort of thing with other hockey broadcasts (ESPN)? If you are seeing this on other sources, I'm happy to come back and get that addressed for you.

Joseph Clark

10-12-07, 02:34 PM

Issues during KPLR's broadcasts of both Smallville and Supernatural last night....

Just like the season premiere, Smallville had very MUDDY 2.0 channel audio. Smallville had 2.0 audio all last year, but that doesn't explain the poor QUALITY of the 2.0 sound this year. For a brief 10 seconds or so, the audio switched to fantastic sounding 5.1, and the difference was NOT subtle. But just as we started yelling "Cool!" (so we need to get a life, so sue us), the sound switched right back to muddy 2.0 again.

Supernatural had 5.1, and otherwise sounded great, but had literally dozens of dropouts. One or two second blips where the video would continue, but with silence til the audio came back. This happened at least a dozen times during Supernatural last night.

Credit where credit's due.... sync was spot on during both shows.

This was OTA through the *D HR20. Haven't played back the copies made with my FusionHDTV card to see if they had the same issue.

Anybody else watching these shows last night?

I don't watch Supernatural, but I had exactly the same experience with Smallville on my Dish 622. And they didn't switch from SD until a minute or so into the show - the "asleep at the switch" syndrome that was really bad for Reaper earlier in the week. It feels as though someone decides he's going to go for an extended break and doesn't want to have to worry about switching, so he leaves it on SD. The Smallville sound issue is really bad. The dialogue is almost always stepped on by the left and right fronts, making it hard to determine what's being said.

tcfila

10-12-07, 03:53 PM

Robert Simandl

10-12-07, 05:52 PM

I don't watch Supernatural, but I had exactly the same experience with Smallville on my Dish 622. And they didn't switch from SD until a minute or so into the show - the "asleep at the switch" syndrome that was really bad for Reaper earlier in the week. It feels as though someone decides he's going to go for an extended break and doesn't want to have to worry about switching, so he leaves it on SD. The Smallville sound issue is really bad. The dialogue is almost always stepped on by the left and right fronts, making it hard to determine what's being said.

Hey Joe, I'm convinced that in KPLR's case, the not switching to HD til nearly a minute into the show is deliberate. They can't do local graphics over HD programs, but want to show us their local station ID at the beginning of the program, so they leave the program SD until they're done showing us the local "CW11" bug... THEN it switches to HD. I don't have any official info to back me up on this, it's just a hunch that fits the facts.

BTW, I sent an e-mail to kplrtech@tribune.com basically repeating my earlier forum post. Even though this is the address listed on KPLR's own web site, it bounced with a "delivery failed" message. I tried technical@wb11tv.com, which is what Doug lists. Also bounced. So on nothing but a guess, I tried technical@cw11tv.com. So far, that address hasn't bounced. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I might actually get through to someone this time.

Joseph Clark

10-12-07, 07:37 PM

Makes sense, Bob. As to getting through, check out the Ch. 11 web site for contact e-mail addresses. As I said the other day, I used the admin contact to send a message about Reaper. I didn't get a response.

Robert Simandl

10-12-07, 08:20 PM

Joe, that kplrtech@tribune.com address I e-mailed first (and got bounced) *is* the address on KPLR's web site.

Maybe they're all too busy trying to find a replacement for TheShaft, I mean TheTube, to tend to little details like fixing their sound or maintaining correct addresses on their web site. (rolls eyes)

Okay, sarcasm off now............

Robert Simandl

10-12-07, 11:07 PM

BTW, I did NOT see any significant improvement in picture quality last night now that TheShaft, I mean TheTube isn't sucking bandwidth from the main channel.

moman19

10-13-07, 03:28 PM

tcfila,

Do you think this was something specific to the FSN presentation? In other words, have you have seen the same sort of thing with other hockey broadcasts (ESPN)? If you are seeing this on other sources, I'm happy to come back and get that addressed for you.

I'm finding that there is a severe lack of standards regarding white levels. While watching the AL game on Fox2 last night, I discovered I had to back off my contrast setting as white uniforms were blooming on my HD Projector. This was not the case with the ice during the Hockey game. However, when the NL game started on TBS, I felt I had to bring the contract back up a bit. So all three programs were slightly different. All three were thru the same E* Sat receiver, so that should be a constant.

Who knows which one was closest to being correct?

mgr_stl

10-13-07, 07:22 PM

FYI - Missouri vs. Oklahoma is on FSN-HD right now.

Joseph Clark

10-13-07, 07:36 PM

I'm finding that there is a severe lack of standards regarding white levels. While watching the AL game on Fox2 last night, I discovered I had to back off my contrast setting as white uniforms were blooming on my HD Projector. This was not the case with the ice during the Hockey game. However, when the NL game started on TBS, I felt I had to bring the contract back up a bit. So all three programs were slightly different. All three were thru the same E* Sat receiver, so that should be a constant.

Who knows which one was closest to being correct?

White levels, black levels, sound levels - it's a world gone mad, I tell you.:mad:

Robert Simandl

10-13-07, 09:34 PM

Hmmm, my most recent attempt to reach KPLR about their sound problems Thursday night (for those keeping score, this was attempt #3) just now got this response:

This is an automatically generated Delivery Status Notification

THIS IS A WARNING MESSAGE ONLY.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO RESEND YOUR MESSAGE.

Delivery to the following recipient has been delayed:

technical@cw11tv.com

Message will be retried for 2 more day(s)

Technical details of temporary failure:
TEMP_FAILURE: Could not initiate SMTP conversation with any hosts:
[cw11tv.com (1): Connection timed out]

kdg454

10-14-07, 02:02 AM

Robert Simandl

10-15-07, 10:01 AM

Woo hoo! Christmas came early (again)!!!!!

Just added to *D in HD:

229-1 HGTVHD (1080)
248 FXHD (720)
296 TOONHD (1080)
359 FBNBHD (1080)
607 SPDHD (720)
612 FUELHD (720)
636 FSDHD (720)
643 FSSWHD (720)
652 FSWHD (720)
653 FSPTHD (720)

Unlike CNBC "HD+," Fox Busniess Network is in real HD *and* has all that extra info on the side just like CNBC does (best of both worlds). Location shots are SD like CNBC but studio shots are fantastic looking HD. OTOH, this channel shows my TV has a real overscan issue... the F in the Fox Business bug is about a third off my screen, and the B is off completely! Audio is kinda funky... the 5.1 flag is on, but dialog comes from all three speakers across the front (think Jay Leno plus the center channel). No guide data yet.... nothing but "Fox Business" all day in the guide. But if they bring over some of the luscious Fox News Channel babes and put 'em on in HD... all will be wonderful with the world.

Now that FX is in HD, I might start watching The Shield. Can't comment on the PQ yet, since they seem to be showing commercials every time I tune in.

MoInSTL

10-15-07, 12:46 PM

Woo hoo! Christmas came early (again)!!!!!

Now that FX is in HD, I might start watching The Shield. Can't comment on the PQ yet, since they seem to be showing commercials every time I tune in.

What's even better is they didn't wait until Wednesday like they usually do.

As far as FX goes, it will nice to see Rescue Me and Damages in HD next time around.

I hope HGTV has a fair amount of HD content as I watch a lot of their stuff when I'm waiting for primetime programming to start and on weekends when channel surfing.

Left Jeff

10-15-07, 01:46 PM

I just picked up the Samsung HTB-260F HDTV Receiver.

My LCD TV, a slightly older Samsung, is only an "HD Ready" TV.

Although I have D*, I have been wanting to expriement with OTA as my wife and I considering going OTA-only after our D* contract expires.

It was easy to hook-up as I already a very old attic antenna that was already installed when I moved in. I also have cheap preamp purchased from Walmart forever ago. I think its a Phillips. Nothing impressive. 10db I think.

I picked up all the "real" HD stations...that is to say all but MyTv (46).

Maybe its placebo, but I swear the picture looks better through the HTB260F than the HR20. FWIW, the DTB is over component, HR20 over HDMI.

The reception is better with samsung. I can pick up 11 no problem. I had issues with it. I also used to have issues with 30.

The only problem is that once in awhile FOX breaks up...with this receiver, when it looses the signal it displays a screen that says "weak or no signal". This screen displays for second and then goes back to normal for a couple minutes. Overall its not too bad.

Does that sound like a multi-path issue? That's my guess.

I would also like to be able to pick up 46...has anyone been able to pick it up without an outside antenna? It appears you would have to have a roof-mounted antenna and a good pre-amp to be able to pull that one in.

RaceTripper

10-15-07, 03:19 PM

Speed HD! Yes!

I'm hoping Speed HD shows the widescreen feed of the Brazilian GP this weekend. I saw an announcement that starting next season Speed will have ALMS and Rolex GrandAm races in HD. Awesome! For me, this is the HD killer app.

Now if I could only find a way to rid them of NASCAR programming. :D

Dan in St. Louis

10-15-07, 04:16 PM

Now if I could only find a way to rid them of NASCAR programming. :D
Alas, there would be nobody left to pay the bills... ... ...

Joseph Clark

10-15-07, 04:16 PM

What's even better is they didn't wait until Wednesday like they usually do.

As far as FX goes, it will nice to see Rescue Me and Damages in HD next time around.

I hope HGTV has a fair amount of HD content as I watch a lot of their stuff when I'm waiting for primetime programming to start and on weekends when channel surfing.

HGTV has quite a lot of HD programming and E*'s HGTV broadcasts are very good. I know they're only 1440x1080, but chances are they're shot at that resolution, since almost all their original programming is shot on video, not film. That means, probably, Sony HDCam.

MoInSTL

10-15-07, 04:47 PM

HGTV has quite a lot of HD programming and E*'s HGTV broadcasts are very good. I know they're only 1440x1080, but chances are they're shot at that resolution, since almost all their original programming is shot on video, not film. That means, probably, Sony HDCam.

Is yours simulcast? D* HGTV-HD is a separate channel. I looked and there are very few shows like Designed to Sell showing up. I'll have to look into it more.

Their site had this:
Shows being produced in high definition for HGTV-HD include World's Most Extreme Homes; Small Space, Big Style; Design Remix and Decorating Cents. The new network will also be augmented by DIY Network's Barkitecture and FINE LIVING's The Wandering Golfer.

RaceTripper

10-15-07, 07:23 PM

Alas, there would be nobody left to pay the bills... ... ...[sigh] Yeah, I know. Guess I need to move to Europe. They get along without it just fine, and they have more cool race series.

Joseph Clark

10-15-07, 07:50 PM

Is yours simulcast? D* HGTV-HD is a separate channel. I looked and there are very few shows like Designed to Sell showing up. I'll have to look into it more.

Their site had this:
Shows being produced in high definition for HGTV-HD include World's Most Extreme Homes; Small Space, Big Style; Design Remix and Decorating Cents. The new network will also be augmented by DIY Network's Barkitecture and FINE LIVING's The Wandering Golfer.

All the ones you list are on HGTV in HD, and several more. It's an interesting channel that I find myself watching pretty often. There are travel shows, too. I don't know about a simulcast, since I don't watch the SD version.

Robert Simandl

10-16-07, 12:26 PM

I normally hate to give free plugs to the competition, but my employer doesn't sell any internal hard drives right now so I guess this isn't really competition.

Western Digital 1TB internal SATA hard drives at Best Buy $279.99:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp;jsessionid=XLK4IQHOJS3PZKC4D3JFAGQ?skuId=8492026&type=product&id=1186003685416&AID=10474050&PID=227502&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bestbuy.com%2Fsite%2Folspage.jsp%3Bjses sionid%3DXLK4IQHOJS3PZKC4D3JFAGQ%3FskuId%3D8492026%26type%3D product%26id%3D1186003685416

Ideal for those of us with UnRaid or Windows Home Servers.

Dan in St. Louis

10-16-07, 01:32 PM

Western Digital 1TB internal SATA hard drives at Best Buy $279.99
And then there is this one (http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/10/11/wd_caviar_gp/), that sacrifices a small amount of speed in return for quieter and cooler running.

Mr_Bester

10-16-07, 11:07 PM

Anyone else watch reaper? Did you have audio dropouts too? OTA on HR20.
Dug

Toeside

10-16-07, 11:11 PM

Anyone else watch reaper? Did you have audio dropouts too? OTA on HR20.
Dug

Yes, we had a lot of lost audio & dropouts. Highly annoying.

FYI, we have a Series 3 TiVo.

Robert Simandl

10-16-07, 11:38 PM

Reaper is on KPLR, right? Exact same issue I had with Supernatural last Thursday. Guess they haven't fixed it yet. :(

Joseph Clark

10-16-07, 11:54 PM

I had the same results on my Dish 622 - frequent and sometimes severe/prolonged audio dropouts on Reaper. As usual, the MyHD card on the computer recovered much more quickly from the problems. The dropouts weren't as severe or long. The same thing happened with Smallville last year, except that the problems were with video and audio then. They managed to cut in and out at the right times, though. The episode was all HD.

Joseph Clark

10-17-07, 03:45 AM

kdg454

10-17-07, 04:06 AM

Rumors swirl again about AT&T buying Dish Network:

AT&T to purchase Dish Network? (http://www.tvpredictions.com/citiecho101607.htm)

Your guess is as good as mine as to whether this would be a good thing in the long run, but they sure have a boatload of cash to make E* more competitive with D*.
Gets my vote :)

btw, you did find the PS inside your door, ya? The house was dark, so I figured you guys were either out, or watching a movie, and just left it.

RaceTripper

10-17-07, 07:13 AM

FSNMW HD on D* at 647-1 is live!

Mr_Bester

10-17-07, 08:25 AM

FSNMW HD on D* at 647-1 is live!

sweet....

And thanks for the kplr responses. I thought I remembered problems, but I was too lazy to go back and check....:p

BudShark

10-17-07, 09:14 AM

MizzouTiger

10-17-07, 12:34 PM

Anyone else watch reaper? Did you have audio dropouts too? OTA on HR20.
Dug

Yes I did. I have 2 HR20's. On one, I have the channel 11 OTA HD feed of Reaper recording and the other I have the D* SD feed recording. Started watching the HD recording last night and couldn't stand it because of all the audio dropouts. Had to watch the SD recording on the other HR20. Sure wish Channel 11 would fix this. Seems useless to have an HD signal that can't be used.

MizzouTiger

10-17-07, 12:39 PM

I expected the doors of this site to be busted down with the FSNMW announcement... :D At least ya'll get to see the Blues games in HD and next spring the baseball games. Good move by D* bringing this up - probably the #1 item against D* in the STL region.

Chris

Well, even though we now have FSNMW HD, not every game is going to be shown in HD. I think according to FSNMW's website, only 10 Blues games are going to be shown in HD this season.

dweebe

10-17-07, 01:23 PM

FSNMW HD on D* at 647-1 is live!

So is it just showing the pillarboxed SD programming?

bhornberger

10-17-07, 01:48 PM

So is it just showing the pillarboxed SD programming?

I dont know about D* but Charter has FSMW-HD and if there is not HD programming on, it's a test pattern. You ahve to switch over the FSMW-SD to watch.

So basically, a few baseball games, hockey and col football.

http://msn.foxsports.com/name/HD#FSMidwest

kdg454

10-17-07, 03:37 PM

I dont know about D* but Charter has FSMW-HD and if there is not HD programming on, it's a test pattern. You ahve to switch over the FSMW-SD to watch.

So basically, a few baseball games, hockey and col football.

http://msn.foxsports.com/name/HD#FSMidwest
Ditto on DISH. The HD channel is only active when a HD presentation in on.

deuces

10-17-07, 03:53 PM

Ditto on DISH. The HD channel is only active when a HD presentation in on.

Not Ditto!! We don't get a test pattern when not live, we get a fancy Dish Network logo. Come on Ken you know that. I mean puhlease, who wants to watch a test pattern.

bhornberger

10-17-07, 04:18 PM

Not Ditto!! We don't get a test pattern when not live, we get a fancy Dish Network logo. Come on Ken you know that. I mean puhlease, who wants to watch a test pattern.

I wish charter would switch from the drab old color bar test pattern to the "Indian Head" one... :)

AbeFrohman

10-17-07, 05:57 PM

FSNMW HD on D* at 647-1 is live!

I switched to E* back around Sept 8 when I got my TV. DTV told me that they did not have this channel on there list, so it would not be added anytime soon. Just a month later, its added.

AbeFrohman

10-17-07, 05:58 PM

Well, even though we now have FSNMW HD, not every game is going to be shown in HD. I think according to FSNMW's website, only 10 Blues games are going to be shown in HD this season.

i read that on their website as well. does anyone know if VS or HDNET will show any Blues games? If so, would they just be the same ones on FSMW?

AbeFrohman

10-17-07, 06:02 PM

Does Channel 11 broadcast in HD? If so anyone know if E* will ever add it. Could I pick it up with rabbit ears, or would i need an antenna on my roof? Will the Blues games on 11 be in HD?

bhornberger

10-17-07, 06:04 PM

From Engadget

Best Buy is saying sayonara to analog TVs by announcing that it has pulled all analog sets from its shelves, which marks the first time a big box retailer of this magnitude has publicly announced an exit from the analog TV biz. Of course, this decision now enables the firm to shamelessly proclaim that any television purchased within the confines of its brick and mortar walls will work in the all-digital future -- and for those not willing to pick up a new set, it also stated that it will be participating in the NTIA DTV Converter Box Coupon Program starting early next year. At first glance, the announcement sounds like much needed progress towards getting folks ready for the 2009 switchover, but for moms and pops scouting a 13-inch analog CRT on the cheap for that garage / playroom, it looks like you'll be "forced" to check out one with a digital tuner... or an LCD. As if you needed another excuse, right?....

EnGadget Link - http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/17/best-buy-kicks-analog-tvs-to-the-curb/

AP Link - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071017/ap_on_hi_te/best_buy_analog_televisions

Joseph Clark

10-17-07, 07:15 PM

Does Channel 11 broadcast in HD? If so anyone know if E* will ever add it. Could I pick it up with rabbit ears, or would i need an antenna on my roof? Will the Blues games on 11 be in HD?

You can get satellite locals only for ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox, not the CW. You can get it OTA if you have an antenna and one of the Dish 211, 622 or later receivers.

kdg454

10-17-07, 07:59 PM

Not Ditto!! We don't get a test pattern when not live, we get a fancy Dish Network logo. Come on Ken you know that. I mean puhlease, who wants to watch a test pattern.
Fine...we also get elevator music.

Now, back into the nursery, you!
(sneak out while the wife was napping?)

kdg454

10-17-07, 08:02 PM

Does Channel 11 broadcast in HD? If so anyone know if E* will ever add it. Could I pick it up with rabbit ears, or would i need an antenna on my roof? Will the Blues games on 11 be in HD?
No announced Blues games on KPLR in HD.

Robert Simandl

10-17-07, 11:52 PM

nimrod

10-18-07, 12:00 AM

My Moxi didn't record channel 4 (KMOV), NCIS & The UNIT last night. Tuesday. Did anyone else have this problem? A first for me and I've had Moxi for 3 years

moman19

10-18-07, 12:05 AM

Well, well, well....

Looking over my recording of Bionic Woman from earlier tonight....

I know perfectly well kSDk has the ability to run its local graphics over the national HD signal. So why didn't they do it tonight? Bionic Woman was a 4x3 upconvert until about 22 minutes in. And then the local weather graphics continued over the HD picture after they finally flipped the switch!

HD leader, yeah, right.............

Isn't is fun watching the "leader" continue to mess up? I was watching Channel 30 when they decided to add a similar graphic over Dirty Money coming out of a commercial break. They lack the ability to do this in HD and had to temporarily flip to SD. However, they immediately flipped back to HD when the crawl ended with absolutely ZERO snaps, crackles or pops. It was nice to see a seamless transition.

Nice job, Jim.

kdg454

10-18-07, 12:07 AM

bhornberger

10-18-07, 12:44 AM

Well, well, well....

Looking over my recording of Bionic Woman from earlier tonight....

I know perfectly well kSDk has the ability to run its local graphics over the national HD signal. So why didn't they do it tonight? Bionic Woman was a 4x3 upconvert until about 22 minutes in. And then the local weather graphics continued over the HD picture after they finally flipped the switch!

HD leader, yeah, right.............

Since we are bashing tonight. I love how they continue to run the station commercial that tells the timeline of ksdk and how they introduced HD first in st. louis. But still run the whole commerical in SD.! A neater commerical would be to run it in SD and then "FLIP the Switch" when they said they introduced HD in the spring of 07...

Joseph Clark

10-18-07, 03:42 AM

Joseph Clark

10-18-07, 03:47 AM

Haven't heard too much about the new D* channels in the last few days. After all the additions, do the first impressions of high quality still hold true?

Robert Simandl

10-18-07, 08:20 AM

Since we are bashing tonight. I love how they continue to run the station commercial that tells the timeline of ksdk and how they introduced HD first in st. louis. But still run the whole commerical in SD.! A neater commerical would be to run it in SD and then "FLIP the Switch" when they said they introduced HD in the spring of 07...

If they can't flip the switch at the beginning of Bionic Woman until 23 minutes into the show, how are they gonna be able to flip it at precisely the right moment in the middle of a commercial? :D

I can get philosophical too: "Better to be flipped on than flipped off."

The *D new HD channels are still phenomenal. In fact, the repeats of Bionic Woman on Sci-Fi HD look better than the first runs earlier in the week on kSDk. And OMG do those Sci-Fi originals look cheeeesy in 1080i. Can't wait for Battlestar Galactica to come back!

tstolze

10-18-07, 10:15 AM

Here's a philosophical follow-up to that idea:

If Channel 5 flips a switch in the woods, will anyone see it in HD?

We may not see it, but I am sure we will hear it! :eek: :p

kdg454

10-18-07, 10:48 AM

We may not see it, but I am sure we will hear it! :eek: :p
OMG, that was funny!http://www.dbstalk.com/images/smilies/!rolling.gif

MizzouTiger

10-18-07, 10:57 AM

Haven't heard too much about the new D* channels in the last few days. After all the additions, do the first impressions of high quality still hold true?

I think that the true HD programming is very good. Stuff on Food Network and HGTV have been amazing. TBS's broadcast of the baseball playoffs was also much better than what was being simulcast on the MPEG2 channel. Of course, the upcoverted and stretch-o-vision stuff isn't so great, but that has nothing really to do with D*. It's what the content providers are sending over.

comp1040

10-18-07, 11:05 AM

My Moxi didn't record channel 4 (KMOV), NCIS & The UNIT last night. Tuesday. Did anyone else have this problem? A first for me and I've had Moxi for 3 years

I didn't use my Moxi but MYHD did not record NCIS but it did pickup The UNIT.

Ron

wmschultz

10-18-07, 12:38 PM

If they can't flip the switch at the beginning of Bionic Woman until 23 minutes into the show, how are they gonna be able to flip it at precisely the right moment in the middle of a commercial? :D

I can get philosophical too: "Better to be flipped on than flipped off."

The *D new HD channels are still phenomenal. In fact, the repeats of Bionic Woman on Sci-Fi HD look better than the first runs earlier in the week on kSDk. And OMG do those Sci-Fi originals look cheeeesy in 1080i. Can't wait for Battlestar Galactica to come back!

You all need to put KSDK on the speed dial. I rarely watch KSDK but when I do,
like NFL games, I call right away if it isn't flipped.

But, if you are watching a DVR'd episode of something, it makes it kind of hard.

WRacer

10-18-07, 12:45 PM

Isn't is fun watching the "leader" continue to mess up? I was watching Channel 30 when they decided to add a similar graphic over Dirty Money coming out of a commercial break. They lack the ability to do this in HD and had to temporarily flip to SD. However, they immediately flipped back to HD when the crawl ended with absolutely ZERO snaps, crackles or pops. It was nice to see a seamless transition.

Nice job, Jim.

Unfortunately we'll need to go back to upconvert when we do crawls until the HD equipment arrives sometime next year. We'll do everything we can to minimize the time on SD.
Jim

Joseph Clark

10-18-07, 01:28 PM

Unfortunately we'll need to go back to upconvert when we do crawls until the HD equipment arrives sometime next year. We'll do everything we can to minimize the time on SD.
Jim

This is why we love you so much, Jim. You let us know what's going on. And Ch. 30's quality is still the best in the area. :)

dweebe

10-18-07, 02:42 PM

I didn't use my Moxi but MYHD did not record NCIS but it did pickup The UNIT.

Ron

Maybe CBS mislabeled the shows as reruns? I've beed burned with that on the original CSI twice.

kdg454

10-18-07, 03:06 PM

Maybe CBS mislabeled the shows as reruns? I've beed burned with that on the original CSI twice.
In timer history, doesn't it show the reason a event is skipped...."duplicate event," "not a new episode," etc.?

tcfila

10-18-07, 04:48 PM

Both of them recorded on my Moxi.

Tim

moman19

10-18-07, 05:08 PM

This is why we love you so much, Jim. You let us know what's going on. And Ch. 30's quality is still the best in the area. :)

Jim, you guys are the best.

FYI, I'm still having a CC mystery with ABC-30 that I cannot pin down. One thing for sure: It's only an issue with HD and it appears via Sat and OTA. What I cannot find is a firm pattern. Plainly stated, I saw no CC throughout Dirty Money on my TV1 DVR Port. Nada! But CC immediately popped back on when Millionaire followed. To make matters more confusing, My other TV on TV2 of the same DISH receiver did not experience this issue. It had CC all along. So it seems specific to my Toshiba DLP set, but only occurs on certain ABC network shows. On occasion, CC may come and go during a show. Again, this is only on the Toshiba and it's not all the time. But I only see this on ABC.

Any ideas? Is it my end or yours?????

DroptheRemote

10-18-07, 05:32 PM

From TV Predictions:
______________________________________________

DIRECTV has notified subscribers that they will lose three longtime HD channel favorites unless they pay an extra $4.99 a month starting December 15.

In an e-mail sent to customers this week, DIRECTV said HDNet, HDNet Movies and Universal HD will be moved to a new programming package called "DIRECTV HD Extra Pack."

The three channels have been available for years as part of the satcaster's basic $10 a month HD package,

However, on December 15, the HD Extra Pack, which will also include three recent channel additions (Smithsonian HD, MGM HD and MHD), will cost an extra $4.99 a month.
______________________________________________

WRacer

10-18-07, 07:05 PM

Jim, you guys are the best.

FYI, I'm still having a CC mystery with ABC-30 that I cannot pin down. One thing for sure: It's only an issue with HD and it appears via Sat and OTA. What I cannot find is a firm pattern. Plainly stated, I saw no CC throughout Dirty Money on my TV1 DVR Port. Nada! But CC immediately popped back on when Millionaire followed. To make matters more confusing, My other TV on TV2 of the same DISH receiver did not experience this issue. It had CC all along. So it seems specific to my Toshiba DLP set, but only occurs on certain ABC network shows. On occasion, CC may come and go during a show. Again, this is only on the Toshiba and it's not all the time. But I only see this on ABC.

Any ideas? Is it my end or yours?????

Check to see that the Toshiba is set to CC1. Some of the ABC programs have CC on 1 and 2, but all are on service 1.
Jim

otismalibu

10-18-07, 08:31 PM

I realize asking a question of this nature in this forum is comparable to sending a letter to NASA to ask what the best design for a paper airplane is, but...

I just hooked up an antenna today so I would be able to get KMOV (CBS) in HD, seeing it's not offered by Charter.

Is that KMOV's HD format...with the grey bars to the left and right?

I assume so, seeing they have the KMOV tag in the upper right portion of grey margin.

Thanks,
Greg

jdiehl

10-18-07, 08:38 PM

otismalibu

10-18-07, 08:46 PM

Yes, that's correct. On non-HD material, they use gray pillar bars on both sides of the screen with their digital logo in the corner.

Oh...so Survivor isn't broadcast in HD? My mistake.

So CSI and NFL football will be full screen?

That would be sweet.

Thanks.

kdg454

10-18-07, 10:13 PM

Oh...so Survivor isn't broadcast in HD? My mistake.

So CSI and NFL football will be full screen?

That would be sweet.

Thanks.
http://www.dbstalk.com/images/smiles2/kgo_057.gif
Correct, anything broadcast in 16:9 HD should fill your display.

Personally, I hate the gray bars.

kdg454

10-18-07, 10:16 PM

repair4man

10-19-07, 12:16 AM

http://www.dbstalk.com/images/smiles2/kgo_057.gif
Correct, anything broadcast in 16:9 HD should fill your display.

Personally, I hate the gray bars.

Unfortunately, during CSI they had the weather crawler going, so it was in SD. FWIW I fired off an e-mail asking when they would get the equipment to have an HD compatible weather crawler. Don't expect an answer, but I had to vent. Also complained about the switch flipping again. Hopefully I haven't missed it in the forum already, but can anybody explain how hard or expensive it must be to acquire the needed equipment to solve these issues? I never see these issues on Fox and don't recall seeing on ABC, but I only rarely watch ABC.

P.S. I hate the gray bars too. I noticed my Panny 42" plasma defaults to gray bars on 4:3 aspect ratio setting. Manual says its (something to the effect of) keep the burn in of the display consistent. Maybe KMOV read that and decided their equipment ought to do the same even though this is much less of an issue with more modern displays.

Joseph Clark

10-19-07, 04:18 AM

Dish seems really intent on playing leap frog with D*. Witness:

Dish has 75 HD Channels. (http://www.tvpredictions.com/echonhl101807.htm)

I hope they add SciFi before they run out of bandwidth in this game.

Joseph Clark

10-19-07, 04:20 AM

moman19

10-19-07, 08:44 AM

Check to see that the Toshiba is set to CC1. Some of the ABC programs have CC on 1 and 2, but all are on service 1.
Jim

Good suggestions, but the CC must be done by the E* receiver as the Toshiba seems unable to decode CC thru the HDMI port. The TV on TV2 does fine with CC because it does the decoding. Therefore, the E* receiver must be passing the data on. But when the E* receiver does the decoding I see this issue only with some ABC shows. I have not yet been able to duplicate this on any other channels.

It is set for CC1.

aspec2

10-19-07, 09:39 AM

tstolze

10-19-07, 09:43 AM

I you want to have both HD DVD and Blu-ray playback capability in a home theater PC, here's your drive:

HD DVD and Blu-ray Combo Drive. (http://www.ncixus.com/products/26553/GGC-H20L/LG%20Electronics/)

I just ordered mine.

I have been thinking of this as we have drywall going up next week in the basement. What would it take to output HD from a PC, feel to lazy for Google. :) I have a system with a Quad Core processor, 2 gigs of ram, with a Nvidia 7800 GT, still runing XP. Not sure what sound card it has, but it does 7.1 and has a digital output. I would assume I would just need some software to accomplish an HD output?

I have thought ahead on most items, as I have audio components arriving between today and next Tuesday. The black ceiling tiles have been on order for 2 weeks, already received my order of black Ceiling Max for the grid. Purchased cables and wall plates from Monoprice, and have prewired all speakers and HDMI for the projector. The wife and I are going shopping for 2 rows of seating on Saturday, along with looking at paint and carpet colors.

Still not set on the projector, been waiting on the reviews of the new 1080p's released in the last several weeks. Top on my list is the Mits HC 6000, although I will be stretching the budget a bit, I saved enough on the audio equipment to make this possible. The screen will be a Dalite HP @ 119" 16X9. The room is just shy of 11'X24' with a ceiling height of 89"-90" when finished. I will be building a 12" riser for the second row of seating also.

Joseph Clark

10-19-07, 10:08 AM

No burning.:(

Walt

The Blu-ray burner version of this drive should be out shortly. No HD DVD burner option, though.

Joseph Clark

10-19-07, 10:15 AM

I have been thinking of this as we have drywall going up next week in the basement. What would it take to output HD from a PC, feel to lazy for Google. :) I have a system with a Quad Core processor, 2 gigs of ram, with a Nvidia 7800 GT, still runing XP. Not sure what sound card it has, but it does 7.1 and has a digital output. I would assume I would just need some software to accomplish an HD output?

I have thought ahead on most items, as I have audio components arriving between today and next Tuesday. The black ceiling tiles have been on order for 2 weeks, already received my order of black Ceiling Max for the grid. Purchased cables and wall plates from Monoprice, and have prewired all speakers and HDMI for the projector. The wife and I are going shopping for 2 rows of seating on Saturday, along with looking at paint and carpet colors.

Still not set on the projector, been waiting on the reviews of the new 1080p's released in the last several weeks. Top on my list is the Mits HC 6000, although I will be stretching the budget a bit, I saved enough on the audio equipment to make this possible. The screen will be a Dalite HP @ 119" 16X9. The room is just shy of 11'X24' with a ceiling height of 89"-90" when finished. I will be building a 12" riser for the second row of seating also.

Great project! Sounds as though you have most of what you need for HD out from the PC already. You'll need software such as PowerDVD Ultra and, maybe, AnyDVD HD, and the LG drive. That's probably all you need to do Blu-ray and HD DVD playback on your powerful PC.

Mr_Bester

10-19-07, 10:16 AM

I have been thinking of this as we have drywall going up next week in the basement. What would it take to output HD from a PC, feel to lazy for Google. :) I have a system with a Quad Core processor, 2 gigs of ram, with a Nvidia 7800 GT, still runing XP. Not sure what sound card it has, but it does 7.1 and has a digital output. I would assume I would just need some software to accomplish an HD output?

I have thought ahead on most items, as I have audio components arriving between today and next Tuesday. The black ceiling tiles have been on order for 2 weeks, already received my order of black Ceiling Max for the grid. Purchased cables and wall plates from Monoprice, and have prewired all speakers and HDMI for the projector. The wife and I are going shopping for 2 rows of seating on Saturday, along with looking at paint and carpet colors.

Still not set on the projector, been waiting on the reviews of the new 1080p's released in the last several weeks. Top on my list is the Mits HC 6000, although I will be stretching the budget a bit, I saved enough on the audio equipment to make this possible. The screen will be a Dalite HP @ 119" 16X9. The room is just shy of 11'X24' with a ceiling height of 89"-90" when finished. I will be building a 12" riser for the second row of seating also.

I don't know about your video card, but it needs to be HDCP compliant. Beyond that, I think you're good to go. (I don't know this from personal experience, more from my own half hearted research) Someone else may be more insightful...

Joseph Clark

10-19-07, 10:20 AM

I don't know about your video card, but it needs to be HDCP compliant. Beyond that, I think you're good to go. (I don't know this from personal experience, more from my own half hearted research) Someone else may be more insightful...

Even if a video card is not HDCP compliant, AnyDVD HD will allow you to use it in such a setup.

tstolze

10-19-07, 10:25 AM

Even if a video card is not HDCP compliant, AnyDVD HD will allow you to use it in such a setup.

Thanks!

The project was supposed to "start" last January, but the wife had some family issues that set us back a few months(okay almost a year). I can't wait for my Denon 3808 to arrive! :p

Joseph Clark

10-19-07, 11:10 AM

Thanks!

The project was supposed to "start" last January, but the wife had some family issues that set us back a few months(okay almost a year). I can't wait for my Denon 3808 to arrive! :p

That's my new receiver. I'm ordering it today from AVS. Where did you get yours? I love the Denon sound. I've owned the 3801 and the 3805. (They're for sale, by the way, as soon as the 3808 is hooked up. If anyone's interested, PM me.)

tstolze

10-19-07, 11:20 AM

That's my new receiver. I'm ordering it today from AVS. Where did you get yours? I love the Denon sound. I've owned the 3801 and the 3805. (They're for sale, by the way, as soon as the 3808 is hooked up. If anyone's interested, PM me.)

Hopefully no one shoots me. I purchased all the audio on Ebay. I was able to get alot more for my money. I only dealt with sellers with 99%+ feedback. I figure I saved over $1000 on the audio system alone. My 4 surrounds will arrive today, receiver and fronts on Monday, sub and center on Tuesday.

Left Jeff

10-19-07, 11:20 AM

I believe I am in the market for a simple pre-amp upgrade. I am hoping to get some recommendations.

Here's the facts:

I can pick all the channels great..except Fox. I get cut-outs all the time. "Weak or now signal" says my screen. The signal bars seem to never steady out.

I currently am using an old attic antenna that was already in the house when I moved in.

Prepare to cringe: I use a cheapy Wal-Mart bought pre-amp (I think its a 5 or 10db Phillips one)

I'd hate to move the attic antenna...it kind of hard to get up in the attic and I am not for sure if moving it really going to make the difference. Would it really make a significant difference if I raised it? We are only talking about going up maybe 3 feet or so. I'm sure that would make a difference outside, but in an attic?

I also hate to move it since I am getting everything else fine.

Would it be logical then to invest in a better pre-amp? The cable run has got to be at least 50 feet, plus its in an attic, so an amp is necessary, but they are downplayed so much on this and other forums, I'm not for sure who to believe in regards to pre-amps. It's like there's a cult of pre-amp nazis or something.

I'm hoping to spend less than $50.

kdg454

10-19-07, 11:34 AM

Left Jeff

10-19-07, 11:52 AM

Jeff,
The "5-10db Phillips" you have....where is it located in your system?
FWIW, my pre-amp makes the difference in receiving all the channels (@55mi), or no reception with it turned off. Definitely works.

I found it on Amazon...it's 24db split for two outputs (so 12db x 2).

http://www.amazon.com/24DB-Dual-Output-Vhf-Amplifier/dp/B0009A1F6O******sr_1_8/104-1377824-1118353?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1192808779&sr=1-8

I know its not in the optimal place...I know it's supposed to be as close to the antenna as possible, but it's not. It's behind the TV.

kdg454

10-19-07, 12:07 PM

I found it on Amazon...it's 24db split for two outputs (so 12db x 2).

http://www.amazon.com/24DB-Dual-Output-Vhf-Amplifier/dp/B0009A1F6O******sr_1_8/104-1377824-1118353?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1192808779&sr=1-8

I know its not in the optimal place...I know it's supposed to be as close to the antenna as possible, but it's not. It's behind the TV.
Link didn't work :( I searched the description...is it one of the Phillips with a A/C power cord attached to it? If so, that is an line-booster amp, and not a pre-amp.

That may be the problem, if it is an actual pre-amp, and not an in-line amp line booster, it must be located between the antenna balun and the beginning of the cable drop into the house. Pre-amps do require power. 24v which is backfed to them through the coax.

Pre-amps boost the signal from the antenna into the home, and in-line booster amps maintain the signal along extended runs inside the home.
Having a in-line booster amp, behind your TV, will do nothing to increase the db gain from your antenna to your TV. Actually, if it's at the end of the 50' run, it's doing nothing at all.

Here's a link to some different pre amps...the ones shown mounted on a antenna mast are pre amps:
http://www.solidsignal.com/manu_display.asp?line=prodpage&main_cat=00&manu=Winegard
For Edwardsville, the AP4700 or AP4800 should work fine. I use a AP8800 here.

Left Jeff

10-19-07, 12:41 PM

Link didn't work :( I searched the description...is it one of the Phillips with a A/C power cord attached to it? If so, that is an line-booster amp, and not a pre-amp.

That may be the problem, if it is an actual pre-amp, and not an in-line amp line booster, it must be located between the antenna balun and the beginning of the cable drop into the house. Pre-amps do require power. 24v which is backfed to them through the coax.

Pre-amps boost the signal from the antenna into the home, and in-line booster amps maintain the signal along extended runs inside the home.
Having a in-line booster amp, behind your TV, will do nothing to increase the db gain from your antenna to your TV. Actually, if it's at the end of the 50' run, it's doing nothing at all.

Here's a link to some different pre amps...the ones shown mounted on a antenna mast are pre amps:
http://www.solidsignal.com/manu_display.asp?line=prodpage&main_cat=00&manu=Winegard
For Edwardsville, the AP4700 or AP4800 should work fine. I use a AP8800 here.

thanks for the help.

well it does something because before I purchased it, I could only get 4 and 5. Now i get all of them. So its doing something!

I'll look into those links.

kdg454

10-19-07, 01:07 PM

thanks for the help.

well it does something because before I purchased it, I could only get 4 and 5. Now i get all of them. So its doing something!

I'll look into those links.
If it is a in-line amp booster, strange as it may sound, it is probably picking up some additional gain by being connected into your household A/C current.
The actual "boost" it is creating is between the output port of the amp and the input port on your receiver...that 3' or so piece of coax. A in-line amp can only maintain the gain it receives, it cannot boost it higher.

I really think a moderate pre-amp will resolve the issue, and give you better reception overall.
Any more ??'s give a yell :)

kdg454

10-19-07, 02:39 PM

I you want to have both HD DVD and Blu-ray playback capability in a home theater PC, here's your drive:

HD DVD and Blu-ray Combo Drive. (http://www.ncixus.com/products/26553/GGC-H20L/LG%20Electronics/)

I just ordered mine.
Joe,

Do you know the outlook on a free-standing combo Blu-ray/HD DVD player, and/or burner? Something under $500...anytime soon?

Joseph Clark

10-19-07, 04:25 PM

Joe,

Do you know the outlook on a free-standing combo Blu-ray/HD DVD player, and/or burner? Something under $500...anytime soon?

As far as I know, LG has one and Samsung plans one soon. The LG drive, though, is about $800. Nothing that I've heard of is expected soon in that price range. You could probably put together a PC with the new LG PC drive for about $800, maybe a wee bit more.

duvy56

10-20-07, 03:42 PM

HD Sports guide lists the Mizzou game on ABC as 720P and it's in SD anybody know why, can we make a call?

kdg454

10-20-07, 05:36 PM

HD Sports guide lists the Mizzou game on ABC as 720P and it's in SD anybody know why, can we make a call?
You could search on Wracer user name. Jim has posted his pager number several times. Sorry, I don't have it :( but you should be able to find it in his posts or profile.

EDIT: Here it is:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10144909#post10144909

eyezen

10-20-07, 06:14 PM

Not saying that the listing you saw didn't say in HD but that would be not the norm.

A regional ABC game is always SD, the national game (this week Michigan @ Illinois) will be in HD.

http://assets.espn.go.com/media/abcsports/natcovmap/071020_330pm.jpg

Edit: Checking out the HD Sports guide you were refering to, and more than likely what your seeing is the underlying transmission specs of the network itself, not necessarily the individual game. It is misleading.

mrradiohead

10-20-07, 07:43 PM

Joseph Clark

10-20-07, 07:52 PM

You could search on Wracer user name. Jim has posted his pager number several times. Sorry, I don't have it :( but you should be able to find it in his posts or profile.

EDIT: Here it is:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10144909#post10144909

Hey, Ken,

Do you happen to know if the Dish 625 is a name based SD DVR or a time based DVR? My parents are finally willing to move from their 510 to a dual tuner, but I want to make sure they can get name based recording with that model.

BTW, I got that power supply tester I was talking about, so if you need one tested, let me know.

kdg454

10-20-07, 10:40 PM

Hey, Ken,

Do you happen to know if the Dish 625 is a name based SD DVR or a time based DVR? My parents are finally willing to move from their 510 to a dual tuner, but I want to make sure they can get name based recording with that model.

BTW, I got that power supply tester I was talking about, so if you need one tested, let me know.
Name based. The 625 is basically the SD version of the 622. The one added feature the 625 has is, its capability to reverse back 2 hours into a live event for the purpose of recording it from the beginning....the 622 only 1 hour. I'm not sure, but I suppose that means the 625 has 2 hour buffers.
Both the 622 and 625 run the same software, currently L4.60. The user integration is identical on both.
Receiver info here:
http://rweb.echostar.com/departmental_content/TechPortal/content/tech/receiver/625.shtml

Does the power supply tester test mobo's? That's what fried on her Gateway. I gave her a Dell desktop we're not using, to replace the Gateway I gave her. Well....we're recycling, ya?:rolleyes:

Joseph Clark

10-20-07, 11:15 PM

Name based. The 625 is basically the SD version of the 622. The one added feature the 625 has is, its capability to reverse back 2 hours into a live event for the purpose of recording it from the beginning....the 622 only 1 hour. I'm not sure, but I suppose that means the 625 has 2 hour buffers.
Both the 622 and 625 run the same software, currently L4.60. The user integration is identical on both.
Receiver info here:
http://rweb.echostar.com/departmental_content/TechPortal/content/tech/receiver/625.shtml

Does the power supply tester test mobo's? That's what fried on her Gateway. I gave her a Dell desktop we're not using, to replace the Gateway I gave her. Well....we're recycling, ya?:rolleyes:

Thanks, Ken. I'm assuming the 625 doesn't have an OTA tuner, right? I'd like to talk them into doing HD, but my mom insists she wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I told her I could teach her to see it, but she said, "Why would I want that?" Hard to argue with that logic.

I'm not aware of a mobo tester. I imagine the companies have them for their own models, but the possibilities would be too daunting for any single device to be able to test all mobo features from the different manufacturers.

kdg454

10-20-07, 11:46 PM

Thanks, Ken. I'm assuming the 625 doesn't have an OTA tuner, right? I'd like to talk them into doing HD, but my mom insists she wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I told her I could teach her to see it, but she said, "Why would I want that?" Hard to argue with that logic.

I'm not aware of a mobo tester. I imagine the companies have them for their own models, but the possibilities would be too daunting for any single device to be able to test all mobo features from the different manufacturers.
Nope, no OTA...I'd guess E* didn't feel putting a ATSC tuner into a SD receiver made sense.

Showing Mom how to use a 625 is the same as showing her how to use a 622. Even it you do connect OTA to the 622, it just integrates into the EPG.

FWIW, my wife said exactly the same thing..."I'll never notice the difference between SD and HD ['normal TV and digital TV were her exact words']. Now, a couple of years later, she immediately notices when a supposed-to-be HD program is in SD.
From the other room, I hear, "S&*x**", I say "what," she says, "those jerks didn't flip the switch for CSI again!"

Hard to argue with that logic :D

Joseph Clark

10-21-07, 12:15 AM

I wasn't talking about an HD OTA tuner, but I suppose and SD OTA tuner would require an MPEG encoder to work and would involve too much extra hardware. I haven't stayed up on the SD side of things for a very long time.

Kurt K

10-21-07, 10:23 AM

Hi,

I live in the Denver area and am a member of the Denver AVS forum. My mother-in-law lives in Owensville, MO (west of St. Louis) and I am curious if all of the St. Louis dtv channels are at full power now. She lives in a senior center (apartments) with a common antenna at 40' (all tenants use if they are not on cable). She says she gets 2 & 11 regular with 'whatever' antenna is up on the tower. The others (such as 4, 5, etc) come in early mornings and evenings. Just curious about the current dtv status in St. Louis. Thanks!

JimT
Colorado

She is pretty far out of St Louis, so I'm not sure if she'll do much better. It's possible that the community antenna needs to be aimed a little better. Plus, I imaging it's a VHF and UHF antenna which is probably hurting things to.

Mainly, I don't have much to add, but thought I'd bump your question.

DroptheRemote

10-21-07, 10:44 AM

Jim,

To the best of my knowledge, all of the STL digitals are at full power. This has been an FCC requirement for at least a couple of years now. I recall reading here that the local PBS station (KETC) was at one point disputing the power requirement on the grounds that the additional power resulted in very little additional coverage and therefore wasn't cost-justifiable. Maybe someone here has a better memory of the details.

Apart from KETC, I know of no filings for exemption on full power. Of course, that doesn't mean that what's required is happening, but there's nothing in terms of widespread reception issues to indicate that any of the STL digital stations are running significantly below the requirements.

Sometimes stations will drop power when doing maintenance, but that should only be a short-term matter.

Hi,

I live in the Denver area and am a member of the Denver AVS forum. My mother-in-law lives in Owensville, MO (west of St. Louis) and I am curious if all of the St. Louis dtv channels are at full power now. She lives in a senior center (apartments) with a common antenna at 40' (all tenants use if they are not on cable). She says she gets 2 & 11 regular with 'whatever' antenna is up on the tower. The others (such as 4, 5, etc) come in early mornings and evenings. Just curious about the current dtv status in St. Louis. Thanks!

JimT
Colorado

DroptheRemote

10-21-07, 11:00 AM

kdg454

10-21-07, 11:32 AM

I haven't stayed up on the SD side of things for a very long time.
Call Mr. Hummert...I'm sure he can get you up to speed :D

moman19

10-21-07, 11:52 AM

Robert Simandl

10-21-07, 12:20 PM

Adam Baldwin was also a member of the cast of THE INSIDE, a sort of CSI-Meets-Hannibal-Lecter type of show on Fox. It lasted only 7 episodes of the 13 that were filmed.

Joseph Clark

10-21-07, 01:27 PM

Call Mr. Hummert...I'm sure he can get you up to speed :D

:D

Joseph Clark

10-21-07, 01:36 PM

Anyone here been having reception issues with KSDK in recent days? I watched the Saturday night re-run of "Chuck," as it had scrolled out of my TiVo queue earlier in the week while I was out of town. There were probably two dozen brief break-ups during the Saturday night episode, with most of them coming in the last half hour.

I've had intermittent reception problems with kSDk in the past, and I figure it's most likely a recurrence of those issues, particularly as this is about the time of the year they've happened in the past.

I think my antenna might need to be re-aimed, but thought I'd post here and see if anyone else was having a similar problem first. I'm just looking for an excuse not to go into the attic... :)

BTW, I've watched all the episodes of "Chuck" so far and it's pretty decent. However, I'm thinking it doesn't have much chance of surviving due to the inclusion of Adam Baldwin in the cast. The guy was stellar as Jayne in "Firefly" and was also alright in "Daybreak," but both of those series were prematurely axed ("Daybreak" was originally devised as only a 12-episode filler between the last year's mini-seasons of "Lost" and didn't even manage to last that long).

I suspect the same fate awaits "Chuck," and it will be all AB's fault... ;)

Yes, Doug, I've noticed numerous minor breakups on Ch. 5 lately. It's very much like what was going on with Fox.

I like Chuck, too. I place its basic premise in the same category with Reaper - insanely implausible, but entertaining. It's sort of like what they ask us to do with Superman. If we're willing to accept that eyeglasses could hide basic facial features, we can also accept that a person could have an instantaneous infusion of massive amounts of digital data into his brain by reading an e-mail. Sure, that works, so let's get on with the fun.

tstolze

10-21-07, 01:37 PM

Doug,

It was a rerun, so I was half-watching Saturday Night Live while doing other things. I too, noticed breakups and was praying this wasn't an issue at my end. Not sure if this helps.

I have seen none any breakups this morning on the Today Show.

I noticed problems last night OTA, then checked the Dish feed on my 622 and 211 and noticed the same problem. Neither one has been turned on today.

DroptheRemote

10-21-07, 09:09 PM

Yes, Doug, I've noticed numerous minor breakups on Ch. 5 lately. It's very much like what was going on with Fox.

I like Chuck, too. I place its basic premise in the same category with Reaper - insanely implausible, but entertaining. It's sort of like what they ask us to do with Superman. If we're willing to accept that eyeglasses could hide basic facial features, we can also accept that a person could have an instantaneous infusion of massive amounts of digital data into his brain by reading an e-mail. Sure, that works, so let's get on with the fun.Well put... :)

bballcards

10-21-07, 09:09 PM

In the interim between Viva Laughlin and Cold Case on KMOV tonight (Sunday), I noticed a KMOV Local News commercial that appeared to be in HD. Is there an forthcoming move to broadcast local news in HD on KMOV (a la KSDK) in the works? Not that I actually watch the news, but I found the HD commercial curious....

DroptheRemote

10-21-07, 09:10 PM

Thanks for the feedback on the breakups. Glad to hear I'm not attic-bound (at least for now)...

tstolze

10-22-07, 12:44 AM

repair4man

10-22-07, 12:57 AM

WRacer

10-22-07, 11:51 AM

DroptheRemote

10-22-07, 12:26 PM

I'm having VERY intermittent problems with my Charter Pipeline connection and it doesn't appear that I'm going to get any resolution to this by talking with Charter customer service and technicians.

Actually intermittent is probably not a good way to describe my problem -- each of the last Saturday mornings/afternoons, from about 6 am until around 3 pm, my Internet connection slowed down to the point where calling up a page could take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes. This is the ONLY time I've had a problem during the past 3 weeks, but the problem happened like clockwork on EACH of the past 3 Saturdays.

As it happens, on Saturday mornings I prepare a "week in review" item for my blog (http://www.isfforum.com/Video-Savant/News-Summary/Week-in-Review-10202007.html) at the ISF Forum, a process that is fairly net-intensive, as it involves lots of crosschecking of other sites. So, the problem is extremely annoying and inconvenient (though to be fair, I'd probably be bitching about it if was taking place at 3 in the morning...).

My own theory is that someone within my neighborhood Charter node has the maximum Charter Internet connection speed and they are downloading video files or something equally bandwidth intensive during that period, sucking away the bandwidth from all other users on the node. Of course, it could be something else, but it seems odd that it happens like clockwork each of the past three Saturdays.

Anyone have any suggestions on what might be causing this sort of issue, or how to tackle this in talking with Charter? DSL still doesn't appear to be an option, as the last time I checked I still wasn't close enough to the CO to qualify...

Thanks in advance for any suggestions...

tstolze

10-22-07, 12:54 PM

Doug, if possible can you find the signal levels by accessing your cable modem? If so post them, although it does sound like your node is getting saturated. :(

DroptheRemote

10-22-07, 01:23 PM

deuces

10-22-07, 04:54 PM

Doug, ........ it does sound like your node is getting saturated. :(

That Doug, man he is SOOOOO lucky!!!

I apologize Mo, I could not resist.

StLBluesFan

10-22-07, 05:29 PM

I've had Charter for awhile, once again they've raised my discounted rate, this time by $30. Before I call to threaten cancellation in order to get the price back down I'm looking at Directv as an alternative. Very appealing, I can get a price at or near the discounted Charter price and with far more HD programming. Fewer premium movie channels for the price, no big deal there.

The question relates to local HD. According to the literature CW11 is not included in the local HD package. While at BB the salesman tried to tell me that none of the HD locals are provided via satellite, but rather via an OTA antenna provided by the Directv installer. This sound bogus to me. I haven't been able to find clarification on other forums (or when I called a Directv CSR who hadn't a clue what I was asking) so I thought I'd ask for the straight poop here. Is Directv carrying local SD/HD programming via satellite (and if so, does it include CW11), or are they installing an OTA antenna for either/both?

Thanks.

dishrich

10-22-07, 05:49 PM

D* only has the "big 4" locals in STL in HD - no CW, PBS, etc. (a few markets like Chicago DO have their local CW's in HD) You'll need an antenna if you want those - both of the D* HD receivers can be hooked up to an antenna & your locals (assuming you can pull them in OTA) will appear in the guide. All your locals are already in SD thru the dish. You can check it for yourself here: (it is correct)

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/packProg/localChannels.jsp?assetId=900018

jdiehl

10-22-07, 05:57 PM

Anyone have suggestions for local retailers for theater seating? We went to American on Saturday, found a set we like and will fit in our narrow room, which is just shy of 11 feet wide.

Unfortunately I have decided that Berkline is just to expensive for us.

I have checked a couple of online retailers , looks like I can save about $500 by shopping online.

I just went shopping this weekend for seating in the new room (13x18ft) I just completed in the basement for my 110" front projection screen.

I only wanted two seats (me and the wife) and specifically looked for a dual-reclining loveseat with a middle storage/cup holder section, preferrably microfiber (I have leather in the rest of the house, but microfiber is more comfortable when I'm sitting in the same spot for 6-8hrs of viewing during Sunday football).

I shopped everywhere and found a nice unit at Carol House from Lane. Original retail was like $1199, they had it on sale for $895. I got them down to $711, free delivery.

Places like Weekends only, Rothman's, American, Ashley Furniture, Goedecker's, etc... had either junky stuff that wasn't comfortable or wouldn't last for more than a few years, or far too expensive stuff. Not many inbetween.

With 11ft wide, you don't have much space if you don't want to be right on top of the rear surrounds. I'd go with seating for 2, and multiple rows w/ a riser if you want more seating.

kdg454

10-22-07, 07:15 PM

That Doug, man he is SOOOOO lucky!!!

I apologize Mo, I could not resist.
You should seriously consider seeking professional help :D

phatty

10-22-07, 07:37 PM

I've had Charter for awhile, once again they've raised my discounted rate, this time by $30. Before I call to threaten cancellation in order to get the price back down I'm looking at Directv as an alternative. Very appealing, I can get a price at or near the discounted Charter price and with far more HD programming. Fewer premium movie channels for the price, no big deal there.
........

Let me know what kind of deals you get offered as I am interested in a possible switch when my promo expires. I have not been in the mood to negotiate with any sales guys so I have yet to call in my self.. All I know is the prices posted on the website for either dish provider are considerably higher than anything I have paid charter a month. Typically the promos I have been on have included pretty much all the channels except for the sports tier and family tier through Charter.

Also is it even possible to get them to commit a promo price for the length of the contract? Those contract requirements where the promo expires after 3 months seems like such a waste.
-Phatty

Fastmans

10-22-07, 08:38 PM

Cannel 30 is Totally off line...
Just quit in the middle of dancing with the stars.
Both OTA and Dish HD LOCALS.
WRacer, Please help! :)

Fastman

bailorg

10-22-07, 08:55 PM

Cannel 30 is Totally off line...
Just quit in the middle of dancing with the stars.
Both OTA and Dish HD LOCALS.
WRacer, Please help! :)

Fastman

Also down via Charter.

StLBluesFan

10-22-07, 10:17 PM

StLBluesFan

10-22-07, 10:18 PM

Phatty, I'll let you know what I find out.

kdg454

10-22-07, 11:01 PM

Ok, so Directv does provide the big 4 in HD via Sat, for the balance I have to feed OTA signal to the HD receiver. No big deal. Thanks.
I don't know when it will be available to the public, but if you will want OTA, be sure not to get the new HR21-700 receiver....no ATSC OTA tuner. :confused: Anyone know what the thought process behind that decision is?
The current HR20 is OTA capable.

Robert Simandl

10-22-07, 11:16 PM

Yeah, I'm thinking about getting another HR20 now for the (not yet built) theater room in my basement. OTA is a big deal for me.

neveser

10-23-07, 12:37 AM

Has anyone been having problems with CBS? I noticed dropouts last week, but on Saturday the signal was so bad that my TV displayed the "weak or no signal" message. I haven't touched anything - no setting changes, haven't moved the antenna...

Something funny just crossed my mind. Maybe it's the meteor shower!:p

tstolze

10-23-07, 01:08 AM

I just went shopping this weekend for seating in the new room (13x18ft) I just completed in the basement for my 110" front projection screen.

I only wanted two seats (me and the wife) and specifically looked for a dual-reclining loveseat with a middle storage/cup holder section, preferrably microfiber (I have leather in the rest of the house, but microfiber is more comfortable when I'm sitting in the same spot for 6-8hrs of viewing during Sunday football).

I shopped everywhere and found a nice unit at Carol House from Lane. Original retail was like $1199, they had it on sale for $895. I got them down to $711, free delivery.

Places like Weekends only, Rothman's, American, Ashley Furniture, Goedecker's, etc... had either junky stuff that wasn't comfortable or wouldn't last for more than a few years, or far too expensive stuff. Not many inbetween.

With 11ft wide, you don't have much space if you don't want to be right on top of the rear surrounds. I'd go with seating for 2, and multiple rows w/ a riser if you want more seating.

I have found what we want online, with a savings of $850 over local. We will have to go by Carol House and look.

To help with the narrow room, I have purchased flush mount wall speakers for the side and rear surrounds.

Receiver arrived today, hopefully UPS will come early tomorrow, I have fronts, center and sub arriving. I ordered my projector and screen from AVS today. :D Now all I have to do is get the basement finished, just now starting drywall. :o

WRacer

10-23-07, 08:02 AM

Cannel 30 is Totally off line...
Just quit in the middle of dancing with the stars.
Both OTA and Dish HD LOCALS.
WRacer, Please help! :)

Fastman

AmerenUe power outage...caused big problems with analog transmitter. Digital came back at lower power until we could get someone to the transmitter. Of course it happened during Prime when I'm out of town!
J

tstolze

10-23-07, 09:00 AM

tstolze,

No, I don't have the data, but it's recently been measured (each of the last 3 weeks) and apparently it checks out just fine.

This experience reminds of me of those "Cable Hogs" TV advertisements that ran a few years back...

Not sure if you frequent DSL reports, looks like some others are starting to see some problems in the St. Louis area. You can register for free, and like AVS, no junk emails will come from them. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19307062-Speed-Issues-St-Louis-City-slow-down

jerel

10-23-07, 03:08 PM

I have a few questions about OTA HD in Florissant, MO. I'm brand new to HD, but I've been reading a thing or two about it on these forums. I'm getting ready to invest in an antenna, I'm trying to figure out if I can make due with a little set top antenna or if I need to do an attic unit or better. I'm in North County, up near Florissant, actually just north east of Flo outside of the city limits. Also, my TV lives in the basement. I didn't want to purchase a set top antenna and have it not work for fear of being able to return it, but I was hoping to get some advice. Thanks for the help!

Jerel

Bill787

10-23-07, 03:51 PM

Jerel, nothing beats a good antenna above the roofline, but my guess is that rabbit ears (or something a little fancier like a Zenith Silver Sensor) would give you reliable reception for UHF channel 26 (channel 11's digital simulcast), UHF 31 (Channel 30's simulcast), all the way up to channel 56 (channel 4's simulcast).

In Saint Charles, rabbit ears work with a little fiddling. But my Radio Shack V-90 rooftop antenna is a slam dunk. It's nice to have margin!

jerel

10-23-07, 05:15 PM

kdg454

10-23-07, 11:46 PM

where is this Radio Shack v-90 that you so speak of? ;)

I appreciate the quick response, I'm going to borrow a buddies set top antenna sometime in the next couple of days to check it out. Thanks!

Jerel
I think it's DD, Jerel. You can read about it, and others
HERE (http://www.hdtvpub.com/reception/viewOTAReports.cfm/zipcode_50301/dma_679/)
Scroll down to the December 20, 2003 entry to read about the V-90.

Also, if you purchase one online, say at a place like Fry's, most of them have NQA return policies, and usually included a return packing slip and return instructions with the shipment. :)

matth1138

10-24-07, 07:47 AM

In an effort to simplify my wiring hookups, I've got an Onkyo TXSR702 and an XBox 360 for sale. PM me if interested.

-Matt

Joseph Clark

10-24-07, 10:03 AM

Rumors still swirl about the possible acquisition of E* by AT&T, but now DirecTV is included in the mix.

AT&T May Acquire a Satellite Company (http://www.tvpredictions.com/att102407.htm)

Joseph Clark

10-24-07, 10:11 AM

I reported earlier that I was having trouble playing some of Dish's new MPEG4 channels on my PC (captured from a modified Dish 211 receiver). After all my computer overhauls this past summer (getting UnRaid up and running), I finally got around to testing again. Although I'm still having trouble playing those files with some media players, the ones I've tested do seem to play in PowerDVD Ultra.

DR_LaRRY_PEpPeR

10-24-07, 11:31 AM

Reaper was HD the whole time last night, but I noticed audio sync problems during a lot/most of it (seemed to vary)... :( Anyone else?

In the interim between Viva Laughlin and Cold Case on KMOV tonight (Sunday), I noticed a KMOV Local News commercial that appeared to be in HD. Is there an forthcoming move to broadcast local news in HD on KMOV (a la KSDK) in the works? Not that I actually watch the news, but I found the HD commercial curious....

Yeah, I flipped to channel 4 during NCIS last night, and just after 7:30 I saw this. Just a couple seconds, but full widescreen. Hmm, interesting! :)

Mr_Bester

10-24-07, 12:15 PM

Reaper was HD the whole time last night, but I noticed audio sync problems during a lot/most of it (seemed to vary)... :( Anyone else?

Yeah, I flipped to channel 4 during NCIS last night, and just after 7:30 I saw this. Just a couple seconds, but full widescreen. Hmm, interesting! :)

I had a couple of very short dropouts, not nearly as bad as last week.

Scott Tucker

10-24-07, 01:56 PM

I don't know when it will be available to the public, but if you will want OTA, be sure not to get the new HR21-700 receiver....no ATSC OTA tuner. :confused: Anyone know what the thought process behind that decision is?
The current HR20 is OTA capable.

I guess they figure most people will get the locals via Sat, so why worry. Plus, aren't all new TV's going to have ATSC tuners built-in? If someone had to view OTA, they could use the TV's tuner. Yes, I see the downfalls to this as far as having to change inputs, DVR, etc., but does D* really care? I'm still MR. Mpeg 2 Tivo. I don't want to have to rewire my whole system, so I'm putting the whole thing off until they shut me down completely.

Scott

Left Jeff

10-24-07, 02:14 PM

I guess they figure most people will get the locals via Sat, so why worry. Plus, aren't all new TV's going to have ATSC tuners built-in? If someone had to view OTA, they could use the TV's tuner. Yes, I see the downfalls to this as far as having to change inputs, DVR, etc., but does D* really care? I'm still MR. Mpeg 2 Tivo. I don't want to have to rewire my whole system, so I'm putting the whole thing off until they shut me down completely.

Scott

yeah I believe the real answer is that OTA Tuner was only added so people could get locals. But now they are almost all available in most markets, rendering it, from D*'s viewpoint, unnecessary.

kdg454

10-24-07, 02:55 PM

yeah I believe the real answer is that OTA Tuner was only added so people could get locals. But now they are almost all available in most markets, rendering it, from D*'s viewpoint, unnecessary.
Doug could probably weigh-in on actual number, but IMO, "almost all available in most markets" is a stretch, at best.

If you're referring to the populous revenue generating markets important to DTV, then I'd have to agree.

IMO using a stand-alone DVR, and having to switch inputs to access the TV's ATSC tuner in not an option. The non-integration of the EGP alone, shoots that down.

I'd look for the competing pay TV providers to capitalize on this, once it hits market.

OT...just wondering what the take here is....Sox or Rox?? :D

[I'm half-way through it Doug...tonight, or tomorrow...promise :)]

Left Jeff

10-24-07, 04:29 PM

Doug could probably weigh-in on actual number, but IMO, "almost all available in most markets" is a stretch, at best.

If you're referring to the populous revenue generating markets important to DTV, then I'd have to agree.

IMO using a stand-alone DVR, and having to switch inputs to access the TV's ATSC tuner in not an option. The non-integration of the EGP alone, shoots that down.

I'd look for the competing pay TV providers to capitalize on this, once it hits market.

OT...just wondering what the take here is....Sox or Rox?? :D

[I'm half-way through it Doug...tonight, or tomorrow...promise :)]

True, there are plenty of "rural" markets without their locals, but with the new sats this will likely be a non-issue by the time the HR-21 becomes common. I certaintly don't want to sterotype "rural", but there is probably a smaller HD market anyway in those parts..both in channles available and in subscriber's interest.

I agree though that not having OTA is big mistake. Just for an example: D* is probably not going to be adding PBS anytime soon, either local or as the national feed. I really like having the ability to use my DVR for PBS.

I've always said that the straw that broke the camel's back for me and Charter was when they dropped CBS. Had there been an OTA tuner built into the Moxi, I would (more than likely) still have Charter.

Now I doubt D* will be dropping any local channels, but I think you get the point. We want a box that is flexable.

Another thing too: I believe in the next couple years (much to the umbrage of you bandwidth-philes) you'll see more sub-channels popping up and better programming and uses made of it. This will probably be post-analog shut-off when the market will suddenly grow for digital television. There is no way D* is going to carry all those stations.

I know I use Channel 5's Weather+ and I like having all the PBS Stations. I would hate to be without them or the ability to record PBS.

dishrich

10-24-07, 05:18 PM

I'm still MR. Mpeg 2 Tivo. I don't want to have to rewire my whole system, so I'm putting the whole thing off until they shut me down completely.

Well first of all, D* is NOT going to shut the HD Tivo's down COMPLETELY - you will ONLY loose the HD channels coming thru the dish. The HD OTA tuner on ALL HD boxes will continue to work just fine, regardless of what D* does with the sat HD channels. I plan on keep my HD Tivo running even AFTER I upgrade for this very reason alone.

Doug could probably weigh-in on actual number, but IMO, "almost all available in most markets" is a stretch, at best.

If you're referring to the populous revenue generating markets important to DTV, then I'd have to agree.

100% TRUE. While E* is currently in about 175 DMA's in SD, D* is lagging behind with only about 140+ DMA's.

It's even worse on HD locals - E* is only in approx 35 DMA's, while D* is only up to about 58 DMA's.

So, considering there are 210 DMA's to cover, it IS a FAR cry from "almost all available in most markets". While I'm sure D* will be adding more HD local markets, it's probably will not be adding more until the next Spaceway bird launches next year. Even then, if they grow at the rate they grew their SD markets, they got a LOT more work to do! :eek:

Look at MY market - we're DMA #84, in the capital of IL, but we did NOT even get D* SD locals until a couple years - & on that stupid 72.5 bird to boot! :rolleyes:

dishrich

10-24-07, 05:43 PM

True, there are plenty of "rural" markets without their locals, but with the new sats this will likely be a non-issue by the time the HR-21 becomes common. I certaintly don't want to sterotype "rural", but there is probably a smaller HD market anyway in those parts..both in channles available and in subscriber's interest.

But, you basically ARE stereotyping rural markets - us "hicks in the sticks up here in Springpatch" want HD just as much as y'all down yonder in St.Louie. :D :eek:

While you guys in DMA #21 already HAVE your HD locals on BOTH E* & D*, we have NEITHER one on the dish. (at least the big 4 nets anyway)
However, except for our local MNT affiliate, EVERY one of our local OTA's IS up in HD - the last one (CBS) went up about 6 months ago. The very DAY it went on the air, our local cable co. (Insight) had it on as well. Our market has THREE PBS's & ALL of them broadcast in HD. Insight cable here carries EVERY, single HD channel available, & except for our CBS, they've had all of our HD locals for well over a year now. (except for the Charleston PBS, since it's far away from the Springfield/Decatur area - they still carry the other 2 PBS in HD)

Why am I telling you all this - because right now, DBS is now the single biggest holdup to wider acceptance of HD, at least in our market. About 1/3 of my original DBS customers dumped it & went back to cable. Why - because cable NOW has ALL locals in HD & right through the same cable & box Insight supplies. They don't have to screw around with antennas & the like. And now, the brainboxes at D* are now going to start leaving out OTA tuning on their DVR's, so now WE cannot even use THAT as a viable option, while we wait & wait & wait & wait... (tick tick tick tick...)

Not to sound preachy, but some of you guys in your larger markets seem to take what YOU get for granted & assume that ONLY a tiny fraction of the population is missing out. Sorry, but there is a LOT more of us out there than you really know about...