St. Louis, MO - HDTV [Text View] - Page 5

Joseph Clark

02-09-07, 09:25 PM

Does anyone know (Joseph?)....when the studios produce a film in HDDVD/BluRay, is it released the same Tuesday the regular version is?

I don't know the answer to this definitively, but I think only a few titles are released day and date with the DVD release. Honestly, I haven't been keeping up with this very much at all. I do feel that HD DVD lost a golden opportunity to gain real momentum against Blu-ray this past holiday season. The Blu-ray camp seems to be getting its act together. For me, though, it's still a matter of HD DVD authoring. I can author my own HD DVD's onto regular DVD recordables, and that seems a lot harder (if not impossible) on with the Blu-ray format. There still aren't enough titles out there to entice a lot of people into either camp. I love the HD DVD movies I've bought - there are some real gems in terms of their picture quality. However, the overall picture is still extremely cloudy.

Scott Tucker

02-09-07, 10:29 PM

I don't know the answer to this definitively, but I think only a few titles are released day and date with the DVD release. Honestly, I haven't been keeping up with this very much at all. I do feel that HD DVD lost a golden opportunity to gain real momentum against Blu-ray this past holiday season. The Blu-ray camp seems to be getting its act together. For me, though, it's still a matter of HD DVD authoring. I can author my own HD DVD's onto regular DVD recordables, and that seems a lot harder (if not impossible) on with the Blu-ray format. There still aren't enough titles out there to entice a lot of people into either camp. I love the HD DVD movies I've bought - there are some real gems in terms of their picture quality. However, the overall picture is still extremely cloudy.

You're correct about not enough titles. I went to Bestbuy today to spend $90 in rewardzone coupons. It took me 10 minutes to convince myself to settle on 4 HD-DVD's due to the lack of choices. I tell you what, it's going to have to be one of my all-time favorite films to spend $25 for a DVD. Especially, since honestly, I can't really see a huge difference between HD-DVD and SD-DVD. I'm not at all impressed with the new format. I'm glad it only took me a Xbox add-on to find it out. Maybe 1080p is better but until then i'm not impressed.

Scott

mgr_stl

02-09-07, 10:59 PM

You're correct about not enough titles. I went to Bestbuy today to spend $90 in rewardzone coupons. It took me 10 minutes to convince myself to settle on 4 HD-DVD's due to the lack of choices. I tell you what, it's going to have to be one of my all-time favorite films to spend $25 for a DVD. Especially, since honestly, I can't really see a huge difference between HD-DVD and SD-DVD. I'm not at all impressed with the new format. I'm glad it only took me a Xbox add-on to find it out. Maybe 1080p is better but until then i'm not impressed.

Scott

Scott,

I agree that the price difference between a regular DVD and HD-DVD (or Blu-Ray in my case) does not justify the difference in the viewing experience IMO. That said, I'm using a small, 720p TV (Samsung 3251D), so I know that I'm not experiencing the best it has to offer. Plus, I have a PS3, whose firmware may not be optimized for 720p playback of Blu-Rays yet.

However, the wife has a different opinion -- "We spent $500+ on the PS3 because it is a Blu-Ray player, and you'd rather buy the regular DVD than the Blu-Ray?!?!?!?"

That's probably a good point...

Although, due to the lack of released PS3 games, the best part about my PS3 has been the ability to play PS2 games after never owning a Sony gaming product.

Oh, and once again let me say that I'm a happy Charter customer :eek: (probably only because I get perfect OTA reception for CBS and ABC with a cheap, indoor antenna).

Forgive my ramblings :o

kdg454

02-10-07, 12:31 AM

skippy_rq

02-10-07, 02:06 AM

Belden alone lists 81 varieties of "RG-6" style coax. They will differ in certification for plenum use, insulation type, dielectric type, jacket color, shield type, shield coverage, etc. Go belden.com to view the PDF data sheets.

You can get a bit lower loss with the foamed insulation types. Whether that matters depends on how much of it you need to run.

If you are using belden cables, you are overpaying. Skywalker offers:
RG-6 Solid Copper 1000' - $59.99
RG-6 Dual Solid Copper 500' - $61.99 - This pulls two lines at once.
RG-6 Quad Sheild Solid Copper 1000' - $80.99
Quad Sheild is great if you are going to be running next to power lines.

The copper clad steel is what I buy and use for all my installs and the price shows you why. I have never had a problem with signal strength over multiple splits. I use the 2300mhz rated spltters and they have the lowest line loss ($1.79). If I need to amp the line, a 25db adjustable gain amp is $9.99.
RG-6 CCS 1000' - $39.99
RG-6 Dual CCS 500' - $41.99 1000' - $74.99
RG-6 Quad Sheild CCS 1000' - $59.99

Compression fittings are cheap too.

Skywalker is open to the public.
www.skywalker.com

Joseph Clark

02-10-07, 02:42 AM

Hmmm..I felt the PQ of King Kong in HDDVD on that Toshiba player, displayed on the 60some", I think it was a Pioneer 1080p, though the source was 1080i, was the best I'd ever seen. IIRC, that was Joe's feeling also.
I remember being very impressed.

I've never seen video better than a really high quality HD DVD. Of course, there is digital quality that is better, but you'll be hard pressed to find it unless you have access to studio digital master tapes. Even the pros sometimes have problems telling the difference. Your perception, of course, will depend on the display you use, but I've watched the regular DVD and the HD DVD of King Kong and the HD version is head and shoulders above the DVD. Just look closely at the vegetation on the island, or the street details in New York. Those fine details are lost in the DVD. The math is pretty simple: DVD is 720x480 (720 pixels across and 480 lines top to bottom); HD DVD is 1920x1080 (1920 pixels across and 1080 lines top to bottom - really, it's fewer than 480 or 1080 lines, because the movie is 2.35:1 aspect ratio, but you get the idea). Try blowing DVD up to 110 diagonal inches, compared to HD DVD. The differences scream at you.

Another thing that makes HD DVD better in general is the use of the VC1 (Microsoft) codec. Almost all HD DVD's use VC1 encoding (Kong does), while DVD's are stuck with the older and less efficient MPEG2 codec. VC1 can achieve the same video quality as MPEG2 with far fewer bits. Even at lower bit depths, VC1 doesn't display unpleasant blocking artifacts, because it uses a form of Wavelet compression, which does not block like MPEG2. It gets softer, but it doesn't turn into a mosaic of giant squares like MPEG2 does.

With the rape of local HD OTA picture quality, the new HD disc formats are the best video quality we have. I have been waiting for a long time for what they bring to home theater. It's such a shame the hope for better quality is caught in the cross hairs of the format war.

Scott Tucker

02-10-07, 07:36 AM

If you are using belden cables, you are overpaying. Skywalker offers:
RG-6 Solid Copper 1000' - $59.99
RG-6 Dual Solid Copper 500' - $61.99 - This pulls two lines at once.
RG-6 Quad Sheild Solid Copper 1000' - $80.99
Quad Sheild is great if you are going to be running next to power lines.

The copper clad steel is what I buy and use for all my installs and the price shows you why. I have never had a problem with signal strength over multiple splits. I use the 2300mhz rated spltters and they have the lowest line loss ($1.79). If I need to amp the line, a 25db adjustable gain amp is $9.99.
RG-6 CCS 1000' - $39.99
RG-6 Dual CCS 500' - $41.99 1000' - $74.99
RG-6 Quad Sheild CCS 1000' - $59.99

Compression fittings are cheap too.

Skywalker is open to the public.
www.skywalker.com

All good points Rich, but for someone building there own home, why not buck up for the solid coppper quad stuff to be safe. You only get one shot at installing, and less than $100 invested in your home is nothing. Of all the home improvements I've done, low voltage wiring has been arguably the cheapest.

Scott

Scott Tucker

02-10-07, 07:49 AM

). Try blowing DVD up to 110 diagonal inches, compared to HD DVD. The differences scream at you.

I watch all my HD-DVD on 133" screen. Of the 5 movies I've viewed so far, I cannot say the difference "screamed" at me. I am, so far, less than overly impressed by high resolution DVD. I have Kong, so I'll have to give it a try. At least there is some "screaming" in that flick. :)

Scott

DLSDO

02-10-07, 08:00 AM

[QUOTE]BTW, I just want to point out that this is a Charter customer bashing Charter. As someone who has read virtually every post in this thread for the past 4 years, I can guarantee you that the overwhelming majority of the negative comments directed at Charter come directly from Charter customers or former customers. Charter's problems have NOTHING to do with what current satellite customers have to say about them and EVERYTHING to do with what current and past Charter customers have actually experienced that caused them to ultimately jump ship.

I agree! I have my fair share of cable complaints too. As I noted earlier if I take the satellite plunge I feel fortunate to have such a knowledgeable local contingent of users.
Your 4 years of contributions to this thread are admirable and appreciated especially for someone like me with limited background in the field. There is a wealth of info in this thread much of which you have provided. I would not have likely enjoyed the SB in its full HD glory without you folks!

It's ACTIONS that matter, not WORDS.

Again, agreed!

I'm not denying that Charter has its positive aspects and that it can be an absolutely perfect fit for certain customers. For all I know, that is the truth for the majority of Charter customers. But at the same time, it's patently obvious that a significant percentage of Charter customers are extremely unhappy with their experiences of the company.

Yes indeed

All the moaning and whinging about Charter bashing here seems to me just another example of someone trying to impose "politically correct speech" on a discussion, simply because they don't agree with the prevailing viewpoints.

Certainly entitled to your opinion! But let me be clear as to my intent. My goal was not to "impose politically correct speech because I disagree with the prevailing viewpoints." The idea of a dual thread is not unique. New York, NY for example has 3 threads. TWC, Cablevision and OTA. It was ultimately just a means for Charter cable folks to have a dedicated thread. Many thought it was a good idea and many did not. Those who suggested it was a bad idea had great reasons as to why a unified thread is best. I actually agree! As I said earlier I was just testing the water.

So my sincere apologies to anyone offended.

That isn't going to fly here. Get over it.

I'm over it! Peace please :(

Question for any Charter insiders Any word as to when Charter plans to release the 4.1 firmware update for Moxi? Thanks

phatty

02-10-07, 09:01 AM

I watch all my HD-DVD on 133" screen. Of the 5 movies I've viewed so far, I cannot say the difference "screamed" at me. I am, so far, less than overly impressed by high resolution DVD. I have Kong, so I'll have to give it a try. At least there is some "screaming" in that flick. :)

Scott

I have to say that the right movies pop out of the screen and look better than anything you could imagine quality wise...

The problem is that type of quality is not consistent between the different HDDVD titles which is horrible... DVD was leaps over bonds an improvement over VHS.... No melted tapes, rewinding, fast forwarding, bonus features and better picture so the public jumped all over it..... But even if all HDDVDs could look like Corpse bride or King Kong joe public will still be incredibly slow to switch to the new format(if ever). The problem is not every movie looks that great making the reasons for the new format null for most people... Joe public doesn't care that much about the quality to justify the price difference. Especially when a good upconverting player looks just as good as some of the HDDVD titles because of the crap job the studios do putting it together... You would think the studios would realize this and would do a better job ensuring that each movie represents the HDDVD quality to the absolute best that the source material allows.

With that Said I still do notice a quality difference and have no regrets buying the Toshiba HDDVD player. Some movies jump out, some are just marginally better... It is just lame when I watch an Upconverted movie on the player that somehow manages to almost look as good as an HDDVD I watched the night before.

-Phatty

Loserland

02-10-07, 09:47 AM

As them for one. I asked for an powered splitter and they gave me one. It's kind of slick in reagards of power, it uses RG-6 for the "extension" cord.

Thanx

They are coming out to the house Thursday....

Any one know if it is free for them to run the new connections for me? :p

Dan in St. Louis

02-10-07, 10:01 AM

If you are using belden cables, you are overpaying.I haven't needed to buy any coax for years. I named Belden simply to show that many varieties of RG-6-style cable exist.

(Actually, the last coax I bought was Belden 9913, loss 4.1 dB/100' at 900 MHz.)

duihlein

02-10-07, 10:04 AM

Dan in St. Louis

02-10-07, 10:18 AM

why not buck up for the solid coppper quad stuff to be safeI'd be interested in the reason for choosing solid copper. My first thought was "low loss," so I checked a Belden series that comes in several varieties: 5339 with suffixes B5, G5, Q5, T5, V5 and W5.

The B5, Q5, V5 and W5 versions all have solid copper core and all have 6.5 dB/100' attenuation at 870 MHz.

The G5 and T5 both have BCCS core and both have 6.0 dB/100' attenuation at 870 MHz.

The difference is so small it could be ignored in the vast majority of installations, but is in any case in favor of BCCS.

DLSDO

02-10-07, 12:35 PM

Scott Tucker

02-10-07, 01:20 PM

I'd be interested in the reason for choosing solid copper. My first thought was "low loss," so I checked a Belden series that comes in several varieties: 5339 with suffixes B5, G5, Q5, T5, V5 and W5.

The B5, Q5, V5 and W5 versions all have solid copper core and all have 6.5 dB/100' attenuation at 870 MHz.

The G5 and T5 both have BCCS core and both have 6.0 dB/100' attenuation at 870 MHz.

The difference is so small it could be ignored in the vast majority of installations, but is in any case in favor of BCCS.

Better signal strength for solid copper. I have read that sometimes Satellite doesn't like CCS coax. I just figure if my Wife can spend $5k on countertops, I can upgrade to the $90 coax.

Scott

Joseph Clark

02-10-07, 01:20 PM

Scott Tucker

02-10-07, 01:26 PM

Check out the BR version of Ice Age 2. Scrats fur is amazing. You can almost feel it through the screen. Don't forget the audio side of things. TruHD and Lossless PCM bring a dynamic range that regulat DD and DTS couldn't achieve.

Dave

I won't be checking out Bluray anytime soon. Two reasons, I hate Sony and I hate Sony.

I guess the audio portion of HD-DVD is another let down for me now that I think about it. This is not the fault of the format however. The Xbox add-on just sucks for audio. All HD-DVD's I've watched so far sound flat. There is no comparison to Standard DVD's which sound awesome. I hope microsoft can send a firmware upgrade to fix this. Again, I'm glad I only have $135 invested in this player.

Scott Tucker

02-10-07, 01:31 PM

Very impressive, Scott! Bigger is better when it comes to HD. I'd have a larger screen, too, if my space allowed for it. That is, as long as my feet didn't stick up into the frame at the bottom when I reclined. :D

I'd love to see your setup some time.

Well, DLSDO is bringin' the popcorn. How'bout you bring some floss? :D

Seriously, you all are welcome anytime. I have 7 berklines and 6 of them are usually empty.

Scott

kdg454

02-10-07, 02:00 PM

Scott,
Curious....what is your viewing distance for 133"? Wondering how big a room I'd need for a large FP and screen :)

duihlein

02-10-07, 02:03 PM

I won't be checking out Bluray anytime soon. Two reasons, I hate Sony and I hate Sony.

I guess the audio portion of HD-DVD is another let down for me now that I think about it. This is not the fault of the format however. The Xbox add-on just sucks for audio. All HD-DVD's I've watched so far sound flat. There is no comparison to Standard DVD's which sound awesome. I hope microsoft can send a firmware upgrade to fix this. Again, I'm glad I only have $135 invested in this player.

I understand regarding the Sony thing, but if you like I can bring my PS3 over. As for the audio, that's why I invested in a Denon 2807 to go with my HD-A1 and my PS3. Everything is HDMI and the sound is SWEET. I found a Quad copy of Pink Floyds DSOTM on DVD Audio. "Money" never sounded so good.

I almost did the XBox 360 HD-DVD add on, but decided on an open box HD-A1 for the analog outs.

Dave

Dan in St. Louis

02-10-07, 02:35 PM

Better signal strength for solid copper.That's what I'm having trouble understanding. Belden's data sheets indicate (very slightly) less loss for copper-coated steel (and also a smaller permissible bending radius, nice for tight installs).

Scott Tucker

02-10-07, 03:47 PM

Scott,
Curious....what is your viewing distance for 133"? Wondering how big a room I'd need for a large FP and screen :)

I guess I sit about 20' or so from the screen. I could sit closer and still be comfortable.

Scott

Scott Tucker

02-10-07, 03:51 PM

I understand regarding the Sony thing, but if you like I can bring my PS3 over. As for the audio, that's why I invested in a Denon 2807 to go with my HD-A1 and my PS3. Everything is HDMI and the sound is SWEET. I found a Quad copy of Pink Floyds DSOTM on DVD Audio. "Money" never sounded so good.

I almost did the XBox 360 HD-DVD add on, but decided on an open box HD-A1 for the analog outs.

Dave

The audio on my set up is fine except for the HD-DVD add-on. I use a Denon DVD-2900 for my DVD-audio and SACD's. I use a Denon AVR-3805 for my receiver. Love the receiver, but no HDMI in my set up. I would love to hear that DSOTM on DVD-Audio. You say you "found" a quad copy of it? Where can I "find" one? :)

Scott

Scott Tucker

02-10-07, 03:55 PM

That's what I'm having trouble understanding. Belden's data sheets indicate (very slightly) less loss for copper-coated steel (and also a smaller permissible bending radius, nice for tight installs).

Again, I don't think it matters much one cable over the other. Either way you go it won't cost that much reletively speaking. I like solid copper because it works better with satellite and is much easier to work with. It will bend corners better.

Scott

Scott Tucker

02-10-07, 03:56 PM

Thanks KMOV for the beautiful shots of Pebble Beach today. Go Phil Mickelson!

Scott

duihlein

02-10-07, 04:35 PM

The audio on my set up is fine except for the HD-DVD add-on. I use a Denon DVD-2900 for my DVD-audio and SACD's. I use a Denon AVR-3805 for my receiver. Love the receiver, but no HDMI in my set up. I would love to hear that DSOTM on DVD-Audio. You say you "found" a quad copy of it? Where can I "find" one? :)

Scott

google is a wonderful thing. I used dsotm dvda.
Let me know if you can't find it.

Dave

coe82

02-10-07, 04:45 PM

What's the deal with ABC's picture for the KU/MU game. Both OTA and Charter, the picture is extremely grainy. Blecch.

Dan in St. Louis

02-10-07, 05:05 PM

Again, I don't think it matters much one cable over the other. Either way you go it won't cost that much reletively speaking. I like solid copper because it works better with satellite and is much easier to work with. It will bend corners better.

ScottScott, I'm not trying to start anything, but "works better with satellite" implies less UHF loss, which it ain't got, and "bend corners better" implies a smaller allowable bending radius, which it also ain't got. But I gotta' admit the "brag factor" is better<G>!

dweebe

02-10-07, 07:44 PM

This story got me wondering how much longer the old-school Ferguson and South County Circuit City will remain open.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2007-02-09-circuit-city_x.htm?csp=34

Circuit City to close 69 stores, mostly in Canada
Posted 2/9/2007 9:34 AM ET
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Circuit City Stores (CC), the nation's No. 2 consumer electronics retailer, said Thursday it plans to close seven domestic Superstores, a Kentucky distribution center and 62 company-owned stores in Canada to cut costs and improve its financial performance.

The closings will take place over the next six months at an expected total cost of $85 million to $105 million, all to be incurred in the current fourth fiscal quarter, which ends Feb. 28, Circuit City said.

"Because of the intensified gross margin pressures that we saw in the third quarter within the flat panel television category, we launched efforts to accelerate the timing of planned initiatives to improve sales and gross margin, as well as improve the efficiency of our expense structure," CEO Philip Schoonover said in a statement.

Circuit City would not identify the stores to be closed because company officials were in the process of notifying employees. The stores will be closed Monday, then reopen Wednesday for clearance sales, spokesman Bill Cimino said.

The company could not immediately determine the exact number of employees who would lose their jobs. The distribution center employs 12 people, and each of the seven Superstores slated for closing employs about 30 full-time and part-time workers, Cimino said.

Circuit City operates through 643 Superstores and 12 other locations in 158 U.S. markets. The international segment has more than 800 retail stores and dealer outlets in Canada. The company also sells it products online.

The retailer, second behind Best Buy (BBY), also is realigning its management structure. It named a new merchandising officer, David Mathews, who replaces Douglas Moore, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer. Mathews will be head of merchandising, marketing, services and supply chains. George Clark Jr. will lead Circuit City's retail channels.

The seven domestic Superstores slated to close by the end of February generated $71 million in revenue in 2006. Separately, one Superstore will be closed this month in advance of opening a replacement store in the first fiscal quarter of 2008.

Circuit City's distribution center in Louisville was used primarily for store fixtures and signage. A separate distribution facility there primarily used to distribute entertainment software will remain open.

Circuit City's international segment plans to close approximately 62 underperforming company-owned stores in Canada. Each of the stores employed between two to 15 people, Cimino said. The company previously announced that it would return 92 Rogers Plus stores to Rogers Wireless. The combined plans would result in the layoffs of 70 workers in the store support center and in field management, Circuit City said. The international segment also expects to incur costs related to plans to exit product lines and otherwise match up its merchandise with consumer demand.

The company also said it will shut down its Rapid Satellite business, which was being offered for sale. Circuit City purchased the small satellite-television retailer in 2005.

Raymond James & Associates analyst Dan Wewer endorsed Circuit City's restructuring effort.

"We believe it is critical for all consumer electronics retailers, including Circuit City, to lower their cost structure given ongoing pressures on gross margin rate," Wewer said in a research brief. "Frankly, we had anticipated Circuit City would look to close all of its Canadian businesses given their poor performance."

Circuit City has long struggled for market share against Best Buy, and analysts have said each of Best Buy's locations bring in about twice as much revenue as its smaller rival. Both have seen fierce competition from Wal-Mart Stores (WMT), which lowered prices for key products such as flat-panel televisions this past holiday shopping season, forcing Circuit City and Best Buy to follow suit and cutting into their third-quarter results.

Circuit City lost $16 million in the third quarter; Best Buy's third-quarter profit rose nearly 9% to $150 million. Circuit City will report its fourth-quarter results in early April, Cimino said.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Joseph Clark

02-10-07, 08:29 PM

Scott,
Curious....what is your viewing distance for 133"? Wondering how big a room I'd need for a large FP and screen :)

My viewing distance for a 110" screen is 12', in a room that's 11x17. Makes for a very nice home theater environment in a fairly small space. I'm by no means an expert, but I've been doing front projection for several years, first with a CRT, then 3 DLP projectors. If you'd like any info, I've done a fair amount of research on projectors, screens, remotes, infrared repeaters, etc. PM me if you'd like to talk.

Scott Tucker

02-10-07, 11:01 PM

Scott, I'm not trying to start anything, but "works better with satellite" implies less UHF loss, which it ain't got, and "bend corners better" implies a smaller allowable bending radius, which it also ain't got. But I gotta' admit the "brag factor" is better<G>!

Didn't think you were trying to start anything. But, I'm not sure what your after. I am not at all a cable expert, so I must rely on this forum and others to give me information. Everything I have read about CCS coax leads me to believe it is designed to be more cost effective and that it will work well with the higher frequencies due to the skin effect principle. My point is why take chances that the "skin" is enough? Just pay a little bit more for "solid" copper. Also, solid copper is softer then copper clad steel, so it is more plyable. I prefer using solid copper for that reason alone when wiring entire homes. It is easier to work with.

Scott

Scott Tucker

02-10-07, 11:04 PM

DLSDO

02-10-07, 11:10 PM

matth1138

02-11-07, 06:33 AM

This story got me wondering how much longer the old-school Ferguson and South County Circuit City will remain open.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2007-02-09-circuit-city_x.htm?csp=34

Not a chance, those two stores are the delivery stores for the entire St. Louis area because the old-school "hub" format affords much larger warehouse space.

-Matt

sandblaster

02-11-07, 08:41 AM

NFL! What gives? They can broadcast over half the games every week in HD, but on a weekend when only one game is being played they can't? Why was the Probowl not in HD? I didn't watch it in protest.

Scott
Just guessing here but I would imagine it's because there isn't any HD production equipment in Hawaii and the logistics of getting it there just wasn't feasible...and by logistics, I'm sure that boils down to cost. The pro-bowl typically doesn't get much of a viewing audience.

Scott Tucker

02-11-07, 10:40 AM

Just guessing here but I would imagine it's because there isn't any HD production equipment in Hawaii and the logistics of getting it there just wasn't feasible...and by logistics, I'm sure that boils down to cost. The pro-bowl typically doesn't get much of a viewing audience.

You're probably right. But, I've probably watched every Probowl since I've been alive, until yesterday that is. You know what I watched instead? Some crap on Discovery channel about two guys building a treehouse in Africa. Someday the decision makers will realize HD=viewers. Viewers=adverstisers dollars. I'm glad I didn't help promote another non-HD Probowl.

I am looking forward to the final round of KMOV's coverage of the AT&T at Pebble Beach. Go Phil!

Scott

elgibby

02-11-07, 12:42 PM

Mr_Bester

02-11-07, 12:42 PM

Well,

My HDTivo Harddrive crapped out. My wife is being very tight cash-wise right now, so I called D* and they are sending a HR20 to replace it for free. She even said I wouldn't have to pay the $19.95 shipping. We'll see when the bill comes if that is true.

She said I could keep the HDTivo as well, so if I come across any old HDs, I can start tinkering.

So, I guess I'll be ready for the new channels if they pop up later this year. I hope the interface isn't going to make me shoot myself. I guess I will see on Tuesday.....

Scott,
I had some friends over last night that just got a new HDTV and I've been trying to convince them to get the HD service from Dish(their current provider). All I could find to watch was DiscoveryHD Theater Sunrise Earth. It was Hot Air balloons floating over New Hampshire. We watched that instead of SD material. Unfortunately, I don't think I convinced them to get the HD service, but they will watch more OTA....So, yes, HD=Viewers....

Dug

StockInv

02-11-07, 01:05 PM

What's the deal with ABC's picture for the KU/MU game. Both OTA and Charter, the picture is extremely grainy. Blecch.

I attended the game in Columbia and it looked bad to me, too.

Scott Tucker

02-11-07, 01:50 PM

DLSDO

02-11-07, 02:08 PM

I'm on Charter, use a Moxi...
For the past several weeks, I've been getting freezes on HD recordings. Just a second or two, pic freezes, sound drops out; occasionally this is accompanied by a bit of pixelization. It seems to be happening more often.
I rarely watch anything "live" so I can't say whether this happens then.
Has anybody else had this problem? Is this a transmission thing or a sign of impending Moxi death?
(Also posted on the Moxi thread)
thx

barry

Barry,
This sounds like it might be a Moxi problem. Has ventilation for the DVR changed in any way. Those boxes are so sensitive to heat.

Also. Any changes with your cableing? New splits etc?

A hard reset might be helpful.

Keep us posted.

elgibby

02-11-07, 02:16 PM

Barry,
This sounds like it might be a Moxi problem. Has ventilation for the DVR changed in any way. Those boxes are so sensitive to heat.

Also. Any changes with your cableing? New splits etc?

A hard reset might be helpful.

Keep us posted.

Ventilation hasn't changed; it's in a cabinet, but I took the glass doors off long ago and there's a wire access slot behind it. No new cabling or splits.
Several weeks ago it developed a geometry problem -- the top left edge of an SD picture would bend to the right, and a hard reset did fix that.
I'll try that again later (gotta work tonight)...
thx
barry

tcfila

02-11-07, 02:41 PM

Check the back of the Moxi to see if there is dust buildup on where the fan is. I swipe the back of mine periodically as the dust builds up pretty fast.

TLR156

02-11-07, 03:08 PM

...I hope the interface isn't going to make me shoot myself. I guess I will see on Tuesday...

You might want to make sure there's no ammo in your house for the first week or so then... :p

I upgraded from SD Tivo to HD DVR on Friday Feb, 2nd & I'm finally coming to terms with the DVR interface & differences of features.

It's not the end of the world, it's more like a parallel universe.

der_kommissar

02-11-07, 04:16 PM

We just did the same thing, and when I called TiVo to cancel our service, they offered to reduce our monthly bill to $6.95 rather than drop it. We decided to put the old TiVo on another analog TV and see if we use it for a month. The switch to HD is going to kill TiVo if they can't get a lower cost solution to market. They must be pretty worried if they are willing to cut their fee in half rather than loose a sub. If any of you still have SD TiVo, just call, tell them you want to cancel, and when they ask why, say its because you got a HD tv and can't afford a Series 3 box.

You might want to make sure there's no ammo in your house for the first week or so then... :p

I upgraded from SD Tivo to HD DVR on Friday Feb, 2nd & I'm finally coming to terms with the DVR interface & differences of features.

It's not the end of the world, it's more like a parallel universe.

DLSDO

02-11-07, 05:38 PM

Ventilation hasn't changed; it's in a cabinet, but I took the glass doors off long ago and there's a wire access slot behind it. No new cabling or splits.
Several weeks ago it developed a geometry problem -- the top left edge of an SD picture would bend to the right, and a hard reset did fix that.
I'll try that again later (gotta work tonight)...
thx
barry

The Charter subs will likely log on after the 18th hole and save the day.

kjohnson

02-11-07, 06:23 PM

You're probably right. But, I've probably watched every Probowl since I've been alive, until yesterday that is. You know what I watched instead? Some crap on Discovery channel about two guys building a treehouse in Africa. Someday the decision makers will realize HD=viewers. Viewers=adverstisers dollars. I'm glad I didn't help promote another non-HD Probowl.

I am looking forward to the final round of KMOV's coverage of the AT&T at Pebble Beach. Go Phil!

Scott

Didn't watch it either. I ended up watching Channel 9. The movie "Witness For the Prosecution" (Charles Laughton "Captain Bligh"-Mutiny on the Bounty) was way more interesting than the 'SD-Bowl'. CBS blows it *again.* :rolleyes:

eyezen

02-11-07, 10:15 PM

Strobe lights and Confetti = Grammy Block Party

ouch!

kdg454

02-11-07, 10:20 PM

Strobe lights and Confetti = Grammy Block Party

ouch!
Overall, I thought it was pretty good....though that one scene with The Chili Peppers was not very TV conducive.

It's one of the five shows I look forward to every year. It looked and sounded good to me, even if I do need binoculars to see my TV's. :D

DroptheRemote

02-12-07, 07:26 AM

Sony to Market Blu-ray As "Winner" in HD Disc Format War

Mission Accomplished, eh?

From today's TV Predictions newsletter:
_______________________________________________________

Did you hear that Sony's Blu-ray HDTV DVD format has defeated Toshiba's HD-DVD?

Well, you will -- although HD-DVD supporters won't hear of it.

Fueled by some recent sales reports, Sony says it will soon market Blu-ray as the winner in the high-def DVD format war. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment president David Bishop tells Video Business that consumers no longer have to wonder which format will prevail.

“I think finally everything that we knew going into this format has started to happen,” Bishop told the publication. "We have a critical mass of content, we have the biggest mass of consumer electronics companies in the world supporting this format. That has moved Blu-ray into the forefront.”

Bishop notes that Blu-ray titles outsold HD-DVD movies and TV shows in January by a two to one margin. He also says Blu-ray players are outselling HD-DVD players in part because of the launch last November of the PlayStation 3, which has a Blu-ray player inside.

“The message that we’re going to put out to the consumer now is, now it is safe to make a choice,” Bishop says. “No more fence-sitting is needed.”

However, HD-DVD backers say there were more Blu-ray DVD sales in January because there were more Blu-ray titles released during the month.

In addition, some retailers told Video Business that Sony's declaration of victory may not mean much to consumers.

“The view around here is that something has got to be done definitively to get people off the bench,” Best Buy spokesman Brian Lucas told the publication.
_______________________________________________________

thilt

02-12-07, 08:09 AM

Contrary to earlier predictions (hopes), Friday Night Lights did not get time-shifted in HD. Instead, we got a 16:9 SD picture inside a black box. Anybody know if this was due to technical limitations or if KSDK was asleep at the switch again?

aspec2

02-12-07, 08:14 AM

Sony to Market Blu-ray As "Winner" in HD Disc Format War

Mission Accomplished, eh?
_______________________________________________________

Damn....I guess I will just have to get up off my wallet and buy one of these OVER PRICED POS......................................................... .......................NOT!

Walt

DroptheRemote

02-12-07, 08:15 AM

djearl81

02-12-07, 09:25 AM

Overall, I thought the Grammy's looked pretty good OTA.

I didn't like the music that they were generating...but that's another story. Racal Flatts covering Eagles wasn't the best option. I also thought the Justin Timberlake hand cam was't very fun to watch.

John Kotches

02-12-07, 10:22 AM

There were spots that were just atrocious; and other moments where the PQ was minimally affected. Johann, our exchange student, asked what was wrong with the picture from time to time (I have never told him about the subchannel) and I filled him in.

Oh, some of the mixing was pretty atrocious too.

I didn't catch the last hour and a half but I think I'll live without it :D

Cheers,

Funky_K

02-12-07, 11:40 AM

Check to see if your Tivo software is 6.3a or 6.3b. Many others have or had the same audio dropouts, but they go away when your Tivo upgrades to 6.3b. I never get them anymore.

Scott
I'm still 6.3a... I'll give DTV a call to see if they can push the upgrade to me ASAP.

NBC-HD East/West -- yes *
CBS-HD East/West -- yes *
FOX-HD East/West -- yes **

* = only available to St. Louis viewers who obtain a written waiver from the local affiliate

** = the East Coast FOX out-of-market feed is now available to all St. Louis-area DirecTV HD subscribers who are paying for the local channels package. No waiver will be required for receipt of the the East Coast FOX feed, as KTVI, the local FOX affilliate, is directly owned by FOX television. (updated 1/2005).

Is a written waiver from the local affiliate easy to obtain?
And, as a DTV subscriber with the local channels package, I do not currently receive the East Coast FOX feed... how do I go about receiving this?

wmschultz

02-12-07, 11:52 AM

I'm still 6.3a... I'll give DTV a call to see if they can push the upgrade to me ASAP.

Is a written waiver from the local affiliate easy to obtain?
And, as a DTV subscriber with the local channels package, I do not currently receive the East Coast FOX feed... how do I go about receiving this?

Have you tried forcing a phone call lately? Chances are 6.3b is sitting on the box.

As far as getting Fox East, you can't get it anymore. Once the HD Locals got activated
in our area, they stopped offering Fox East. I have tried getting it for other members of my family
and that is always the answer.

And no, it is not easy to obtain a waiver.

fuzzball

02-12-07, 12:44 PM

One of the really nice features of the new box is no modem, meaning anyone can return their moxi, pick up the new box and install it themselves. My parents wath a lot of FoxNews. Again it is as clear as any SD channel I've seen on any system, rivaling a digital upconvert of an SD show. I'd really like to know what the new box is using for it's video processing.

Still not enough to break me from Dish, but it's definately a step in the right direction.

Dave

on the phone now with Charter ordering a new box. What is the number of the new box??

fuzzball

02-12-07, 01:06 PM

on the phone now with Charter ordering a new box. What is the number of the new box??

Is it a 3400, 6200 or 6412......?

Funky_K

02-12-07, 02:19 PM

Have you tried forcing a phone call lately? Chances are 6.3b is sitting on the box.

Looks like DTV has stopped pushing 6.3b, and 6.3c is in the stream now

cd1871

02-12-07, 03:17 PM

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17080800/site/newsweek/

A very good article on the return of the antenna! They actually mention the feud between Charter and Belo. They also mentioned St. Louis company Terrestrial Digital. Very cool.

http://www.terrestrial-digital.com/

DLSDO

02-12-07, 04:06 PM

Scott Tucker

02-12-07, 06:28 PM

FYI, 24 is two hours tonight starting an hour early at 7:00.

Scott

cd1871

02-12-07, 10:52 PM

Scott Tucker

02-12-07, 11:14 PM

KMOV OTA HD sucked tonite. My signal kept dropping out. Anyone else have the same issue? Also there is a OTA HD antenna at radio shack for cheap, anyone ever try one of theirs out? I am getting great reception, with the exception of tonite, I am just trying to make mine even better.

Yeah, I noticed the same thing. It has been happening more frequently lately. Maybe Fox is secretly broadcasting CBS. Fox had the same issues as always. :(

Scott

DroptheRemote

02-12-07, 11:21 PM

KMOV-DT or the network was having problems tonight. Fairly frequent short freezes and audio dropouts.

Can't ever remember seeing that sort of thing on KMOV.

kdg454

02-12-07, 11:30 PM

I happened to catch a Carnival Cruise commercial tonight. I know, watching live TV...what's the world coming to :eek:

Anyway, If DirecTV or Comcast ever ran a commercial like this, DISH would sue them....or Charter, TW, or whoever. It's just funny how the rules apply differently in the world of Telcom.

"On a Carnival Cruise, at any one moment, there are a million fun things to do."

ktviengineering

02-13-07, 12:03 AM

I categorically believe Clear Channel was wrong, and their action a travesty. Though, my comment was not related to that, or any particular past issue(s).

That being said, being honored for superior achievement in an art, IMO, is not the proper time to seize a captive audience, point your finger, and say, I told you so.
Not once...not twice...three times!

sorry folks...just a bit OT :o

Isn't clear channel always wrong????

Also, I think KMOV caught the hdtv blips and dropouts from KTVI.... Didn't know it was contagious.

BTW, anyone interested in helping with KTVI's hd problem, please pm me. I need at least 2 people to keep track of when they see a problem, what the problem was and to give a brief description of each problem. We'll be doing this for Tuesday night's Fox HD programming. I'd really appreciate any help you can give!

DroptheRemote

02-13-07, 07:48 AM

Report: New DirecTV Owner Makes Deal to Buy Atlanta Braves

After spinning his stake in News Corp into DirecTV, John Malone's Liberty Media now swaps shares in Time Warner for ownership of the Atlanta Braves.

Monty Hall bows down... :D

The following story excerpt is from the Associated Press:
__________________________________________________________

Time Warner Inc. finalized an agreement Monday to sell the Atlanta Braves to Liberty Media Corp. after more than a year of negotiations.

The deal, which values the team at $450 million, was submitted to Major League Baseball for its approval process, two people familiar with the deal said, speaking on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made and publicly traded companies were involved.

The parties hope baseball will approve the sale in time for the team to be transferred by Opening Day, the person said. Under the agreement, Terry McGuirk will remain in charge of the team after the sale. General manager John Schuerholz and manager Bobby Cox also are expected to remain on, the person said.

The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the finalization on its Web site, said Time Warner will transfer the Braves, a group of craft magazines and $1 billion in cash to Liberty in exchange for about 60 million shares of Time Warner. Based on the closing price of Time Warner's stock Monday, the market value of those shares would be about $1.27 billion.

Liberty currently has about 170 million shares of Time Warner, which is equivalent to a stake of about 4 percent of the media company, whose holdings include Time Warner Cable, HBO, AOL, CNN, Warner Bros. and Time Inc. The deal would reduce the size of Liberty's stake in Time Warner to about 2.6 percent.

Time Warner acquired the Braves when it bought Atlanta-based Turner Broadcasting Systems from Ted Turner in the mid-1990s.
__________________________________________________________

cd1871

02-13-07, 08:18 AM

DroptheRemote

02-13-07, 08:33 AM

I am glad to hear other folks were having a problem with the signal. Would our wonderful weather here in the STL area have huge affect on the dropout issue? I had to go back and watch some shows on my lowly Standard Def Moxi! Dang you Charter and Belo!No way to tell for sure, but I seriously doubt this had anything to do with weather. KMOV's signal has been through worse than this sort of thing over the years, and I've never seen anything like these problems before.

Do Not Attempt to Adjust Your Television (or Antenna). ;)

cd1871

02-13-07, 09:50 AM

can we go back to making fun of charter, directv or dish? or how crappy XXXX hd signal was back last night?

matth1138

02-13-07, 10:22 AM

No dish install today, same problem as feb 1st. :( :( :(

Looks like another day off work actually getting stuff done around the house...

-Matt

RaceTripper

02-13-07, 10:28 AM

No dish install today, same problem as feb 1st. :( :( :(

Looks like another day off work actually getting stuff done around the house...

-MattBummer. I had a D* install Feb. 1. They came, climbed up on my snow covered garage, and had it up and running before they left. Tell those wuss Dish guys to gitterdun. :D

Saluki

02-13-07, 11:48 AM

FYI, 24 is two hours tonight starting an hour early at 7:00.

Scott

Crap!!! I had no idea.

I watched the first hour last night & promptly deleted it from the Moxi. I'll have to check tonight. Hopefully, it was recoreded as two independent episodes. Does anyone know if that is the case?

Scott Tucker

02-13-07, 11:52 AM

Crap!!! I had no idea.

I watched the first hour last night & promptly deleted it from the Moxi. I'll have to check tonight. Hopefully, it was recoreded as two independent episodes. Does anyone know if that is the case?

Yes, it records them separately. :)

Scott

Left Jeff

02-13-07, 12:01 PM

Edit: Self-censored off-topic reply.

Hey so um....channel 11 ota sucks, huh? :o

:D

Saluki

02-13-07, 12:50 PM

Yes, it records them separately. :)

Scott

Awesome.

I'm thinking it's about time that Jack sits down for a nice lunch, though. After, of course, Chloe does infrared scans of the area to find restaurants that are not busy.

Robert Simandl

02-13-07, 01:05 PM

Wouldn't you just love to be a fly on the wall at the Bauer family Thanksgiving dinner this year? :D

Personally, I think that next season, Jack should take on the Dixie Chicks. :D

dweebe

02-13-07, 01:08 PM

Left Jeff

02-13-07, 01:14 PM

My Moxi had it as one two hour episode. Started watching around 9:30pm watched all two hours without stopping.

this how it was on D*....

DrDon

02-13-07, 01:25 PM

A truckload of off-topic posts has been sent into the Wide Open Spaces.

elgibby

02-13-07, 01:53 PM

A truckload of off-topic posts has been sent into the Wide Open Spaces.

I think that was a Dixie Chicks tune...

My Charter Moxi had 24 as one two-hr block.

barry

shopkepr

02-13-07, 02:14 PM

I just moved from Kansas City back to St. Louis a while back. While in KC I had an antenna in the attic, it was kind of in the shape of an arrow with the metal tubes shooting off each side and then another section that attached to the end in the shape of a V that you were supposed to point in a certain direction. No problems, great HD reception. When I moved here to St. Louis, zip code 63021, I bought the same kind of antenna and put it in the attic with mediocre results. The antenna is not mounted and is lying across the rafters and the correct end is pointed to the east. ABC 30.1 hardly comes in at all, 4.1 and 5.1 are very sporadic during the day until around 7pm at night and it seems to get a little better. 11.1 hardly comes in as well as 11.2 and I cannot get 9.1 at all. Any suggestions? I was thinking about getting a Winegard SS-3000 Sharp Shooter 3000 Indoor UHF/VHF Antenna (SS3000) but wanted some feedback before I spent another 80.00 for an antenna.

Thanks,
Matt

Mr_Bester

02-13-07, 02:32 PM

Shopkepr,

For the St. Louis local HD stations, you need only a UHF antenna. I am in the 63021 area and my reception is good with the Radioshack U75(or something like that) for $25 it is a yagi antenna(the arrow side of your current antenna). Did you try pointing your arrow side almost due east and a little up? There are posts in this thread from DroptheRemote that outline everything basic you would need.

You could go to antennaweb.org and put in your address and it will give you a compass direction and a map to point your antenna.

Dug

Saluki

02-13-07, 02:50 PM

My Moxi had it as one two hour episode. Started watching around 9:30pm watched all two hours without stopping.

Now I'm bumming. I need to start paying a little more attention, I guess.

Was hour 2 of last night's episode worth downloading from iTunes?

football751

02-13-07, 03:13 PM

Now I'm bumming. I need to start paying a little more attention, I guess.

Was hour 2 of last night's episode worth downloading from iTunes?
I would say yes. Personally, I can't stand missing an hour of 24, and since its only $1.99 and they are now watchable at 640x480, I would say go for it.

black_macleod

02-13-07, 03:29 PM

For those following the BluRay HD-DVD copy stories, weeeeeeee:

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/02/13/bluray_and_hddvd_bro.html

shopkepr

02-13-07, 04:06 PM

I will try angling it a little more up and a little father east and see what happens. I will also look for DroptheRemote's posts. I have been to antennaweborg before and it looks like everything is to east south east. With the compass orientation, would you just find the middle of all them? just an fyi, i have the 50" Boom Length, 18 Element Antenna currently in my attic from radio shack, model number VU-75 XR Catalog #: 15-2151.

Thanks,
Matt

RaceTripper

02-13-07, 04:49 PM

PWSHER

02-13-07, 04:51 PM

A truckload of off-topic posts has been sent into the Wide Open Spaces.

Where were you before I was forced to read them?

At least now I know how Left Jeff got his name and it wasn't because he was a southpaw :D

Joseph Clark

02-13-07, 05:01 PM

For those following the BluRay HD-DVD copy stories, weeeeeeee:

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/02/13/bluray_and_hddvd_bro.html

We all expected this. Solution for the studios: make the product cheap enough to make copying a waste of time. They won't be able to keep the discs on the shelves.

DroptheRemote

02-13-07, 06:45 PM

We all expected this. Solution for the studios: make the product cheap enough to make copying a waste of time. They won't be able to keep the discs on the shelves.Considering the speed and the methodical approach of the HD DVD and Blu-ray cracking efforts, before this is over I wouldn't be surprised to see the hackers extract from these "systems" the names, phone numbers, social security numbers, and bank account of every studio-related person involved in the effort to secure these products.

With a little more effort, these guys could probably pinpoint the whereabouts of D.B. Cooper.

Sudhakar2k

02-13-07, 06:53 PM

repair4man

02-13-07, 06:54 PM

Wouldn't you just love to be a fly on the wall at the Bauer family Thanksgiving dinner this year? :D

Personally, I think that next season, Jack should take on the Dixie Chicks. :D
If any of Jack family is still alive at the end of the season. I guess his daughter could always invite him. She ought to be grateful for all the times he's saved her...

MizzouTiger

02-13-07, 07:10 PM

Has anyone had a look at the new D* package tiers? I'm trying to figure out whether it's cheaper for me to keep what I have or change to the new package structure. You do not have to switch to the new package system (I suppose that's so no one can claim they have an "out" from a commitment due to service changes).

To me it looks like the new packages are roughly $5 more per month for comparable programming. Right now, I have Total Choice Plus, DVR service, HD package, Starz and 2 additional receivers. It looks like that would be comparable to the new Plus HD With Locals Package which would be about $5 more a month than I am currently playing.

MizzouTiger

02-13-07, 07:15 PM

RaceTripper

02-13-07, 07:34 PM

To me it looks like the new packages are roughly $5 more per month for comparable programming. Right now, I have Total Choice Plus, DVR service, HD package, Starz and 2 additional receivers. It looks like that would be comparable to the new Plus HD With Locals Package which would be about $5 more a month than I am currently playing.The statement I got todays says our classic packages are increasing in price next month, by "up to $3," so the difference is going to be less I suppose. I'm just curious if the Plus HD package has the exact same channels I have now. I suppose it does, but I don't know for sure.

kdg454

02-13-07, 07:43 PM

Does any one if Dish has any plans to pick up FSN Midwest HD this year? For Cardinals games. The reason I ask is because there is a great deal that Dish has right now, and i am getting sick of Charter's rate hikes and dismal HD Lineup.
Dish Deal
http://www.dishretailer.com/dishstore/dishstore.htm
Thanks.
Sudhakar
There is nothing, whatsoever, to indicate DISH has any plans for carriage of FSNMW-HD.

DISH has already uplinked all but 2 of the FSN HD RSN's, of which MW was not included.

That being said, negotiations are always on-going and always kept tight-lipped. If DISH has any intent for carriage of FSNMW-HD, it would seem to be more later, than sooner.

If it's a deal-breaker channel for you, I'd urge you to go with the provider(s) who already have carriage.

On a side note...between KSDK, ESPN, and FOX, you still should see 25-30 HD Cards games this season without FSNMW-HD. With FSNMW-HD, I'd expect an additional 20-25 HD productions, 4 of which DISH will spot on 9467 in HD.

MizzouTiger

02-13-07, 08:07 PM

The statement I got todays says our classic packages are increasing in price next month, by "up to $3," so the difference is going to be less I suppose. I'm just curious if the Plus HD package has the exact same channels I have now. I suppose it does, but I don't know for sure.

If you go over to dbstalk.com to the General D* Discussion forum, I think there is more information on what the new packages contain. I do think some of the existing packages like Total Choice are losing some channels in the new package lineup.

wolverine5767

02-13-07, 08:31 PM

Now I'm bumming. I need to start paying a little more attention, I guess.

Was hour 2 of last night's episode worth downloading from iTunes?

I know you can't download from fox, but you can watch them for free on there local site

Fox 2 St Louis (http://streaming.myfoxstl.com/)

redwine

02-13-07, 10:09 PM

There seems to be many commercials now that are in 4:3 ratio but look like HD resolution. Is it just me? These look very good....

DroptheRemote

02-13-07, 11:33 PM

Interesting blog item at Paul Therott's Internet Nexus (via Ars Technica) in which a study claims that the true impact of peer-to-peer filing sharing on retail music sales is "not statistically distinguishable from zero."

http://www.internet-nexus.com/2007/02/p2p-effect-on-legal-music-sales-not.htm

I think the film industry's fears about digital sharing, as well as its claims about actual piracy, are similarly overblown.

kdg454

02-14-07, 12:13 AM

Anyone notice KSDK's HD school-closing overlay on Leno tonight? The show remained in HD, and the banner ran across the bottom 4"'s of the screen. It's a transparent light-orange, and runs the full length of the 16:9 screen. No side pillar snowflakes or shrunk-down SD picture.

Progress! :)

elgibby

02-14-07, 12:28 AM

About the only thing my family watches on 11-1 is Gilmore Girls on Tuesday nights. I tune it through my D* HR20 receiver. The last 2 weeks the audio and video have been out of sych. Is anyone else having this issue? I haven't tried to connect the antenna directly to my tv to see if it's the HR20 or not.

I've had synch issues on Ch 11 since I got my HDTV back in the fall. EVerything I watch on CW (Gilmore, Veroriica Mars, Supernatural, Chris) is way way off. This is on Charter cable. Doesnt happen on any other channels.

Mr_Bester

02-14-07, 07:31 AM

About the only thing my family watches on 11-1 is Gilmore Girls on Tuesday nights. I tune it through my D* HR20 receiver. The last 2 weeks the audio and video have been out of sych. Is anyone else having this issue? I haven't tried to connect the antenna directly to my tv to see if it's the HR20 or not.

I was watching OTA with sound through the tv and lip sync was off. Usually I watch and listen through a reciever, but my replacement box isn't here yet, and my wife NEEDS to watch Gilmore Girls.

Dug

Left Jeff

02-14-07, 07:45 AM

Where were you before I was forced to read them?

At least now I know how Left Jeff got his name and it wasn't because he was a southpaw :D

naw, it rhymes... :D

MizzouTiger

02-14-07, 08:30 AM

I was watching OTA with sound through the tv and lip sync was off. Usually I watch and listen through a reciever, but my replacement box isn't here yet, and my wife NEEDS to watch Gilmore Girls.

Dug

Well, at least I know it isn't the D* HR20 tuner that's causing it. Definitely sounds like a Channel 11 issue. Has anyone ever contacted them about this issue?

ktviengineering

02-14-07, 09:18 AM

There seems to be many commercials now that are in 4:3 ratio but look like HD resolution. Is it just me? These look very good....

You are correct.... Aspect ratio and image quality are completely independant. For an example, take a look at KSDK's news where only their studio cameras and graphics are HD. Any video in the show is 16:9, but standard definition.
It's funny that they've become the same in everyone's mind though :)

John Kotches

02-14-07, 09:20 AM

KTVI:

Did you see my posts re: dropouts during American Idol last week?

I had a similar number of drops this week; although I didn't record the specific times.

Cheers,

duihlein

02-14-07, 10:40 AM

Scott Tucker

02-14-07, 10:53 AM

My Panasonic AE-700 stopped working on Superbowl Sunday. Since then I have tried both an Optima HD70 and A Mits HC3000U. Both are DLP projectors and both had really nice images. My problem is due to my setup for the throw to give me a 106" screen I have to move it back behind an airduct. So it hangs down a foot from my already low ceilings.
Because of this (and offset) I currently have Keystoning set to 9! to compensate for the projector tilt. For the most part I don't notice, but I KNOW it's there.

I was looking into other options and it seems the Sharp DT-500 has a lower offset than the HC3000U. I'd like to try one out, but would also like to get it locally for an easy return.

Anyone know if any of the local shops cary the DT-500?
Thanks
Dave

Ultimate Electronics carries Sharp. If they don't have it, they can order it.

Scott

Saluki

02-14-07, 11:30 AM

I know you can't download from fox, but you can watch them for free on there local site

Fox 2 St Louis (http://streaming.myfoxstl.com/)

Thanks, Wolverine!

kdg454

02-14-07, 11:34 AM

You are correct.... Aspect ratio and image quality are completely independant. For an example, take a look at KSDK's news where only their studio cameras and graphics are HD. Any video in the show is 16:9, but standard definition.
It's funny that they've become the same in everyone's mind though :)
Much of their outside-studio video is SD. KSDK began with 1 HD field camera when they launched last February. They now have two. One usually follows the lead-breaking story of the day...the other is usually assigned to one of their feature stories.

I think, next month, once Nightly News launches in HD, NBC is going to have an advantage in the 5-6pm time slot. I personally prefer KTVI news, but given the choice of HD over SD, I'll be watching NBC/KSDK. It is, after all, only the news.

Joseph Clark

02-14-07, 11:35 AM

My Panasonic AE-700 stopped working on Superbowl Sunday. Since then I have tried both an Optima HD70 and A Mits HC3000U. Both are DLP projectors and both had really nice images. My problem is due to my setup for the throw to give me a 106" screen I have to move it back behind an airduct. So it hangs down a foot from my already low ceilings.
Because of this (and offset) I currently have Keystoning set to 9! to compensate for the projector tilt. For the most part I don't notice, but I KNOW it's there.

I was looking into other options and it seems the Sharp DT-500 has a lower offset than the HC3000U. I'd like to try one out, but would also like to get it locally for an easy return.

Anyone know if any of the local shops cary the DT-500?
Thanks
Dave

Best Buy's Magnolia store on Eager Rd. had a Sharp (think it was the 2000), but they can order others, too. Sound Room handles Sharp (20000 on display there). AVS also handles Sharp (got my XV-Z 20000 from them, along with a new screen and mounting hardware). AVS has a really good return policy and good prices. Give them a call. You might be surprised how good the experience of buying from AVS is.

DroptheRemote

02-14-07, 11:59 AM

My Panasonic AE-700 stopped working on Superbowl Sunday. Since then I have tried both an Optima HD70 and A Mits HC3000U. Both are DLP projectors and both had really nice images. My problem is due to my setup for the throw to give me a 106" screen I have to move it back behind an airduct. So it hangs down a foot from my already low ceilings.
Because of this (and offset) I currently have Keystoning set to 9! to compensate for the projector tilt. For the most part I don't notice, but I KNOW it's there.

I was looking into other options and it seems the Sharp DT-500 has a lower offset than the HC3000U. I'd like to try one out, but would also like to get it locally for an easy return.

Anyone know if any of the local shops cary the DT-500?
Thanks
DaveDave, I'm not sure he's still a Sharp dealer, but Home Theater Heaven in St. Charles on North Main was handling Sharp projectors for a while. He could probably order one for you, if he still has dealer status.

Ken H

02-14-07, 12:05 PM

Where were you before I was forced to read them?The same place you were when we needed someone to report them.

ktviengineering

02-14-07, 12:08 PM

Much of their outside-studio video is SD. KSDK began with 1 HD field camera when they launched last February. They now have two. One usually follows the lead-breaking story of the day...the other is usually assigned to one of their feature stories.

I think, next month, once Nightly News launches in HD, NBC is going to have an advantage in the 5-6pm time slot. I personally prefer KTVI news, but given the choice of HD over SD, I'll be watching NBC/KSDK. It is, after all, only the news.

I'm not aware of any HD field cameras at KSDK, but then again, I'm not a photog.

I'll have to check with those guys next time I'm over there.

Also, you'll be happy to know that KTVI will be getting new studio cameras sometime this year which should dramatically improve the look of their news, even if it is still broadcast SD at first.

Scott Tucker

02-14-07, 12:18 PM

The same place you were when we needed someone to report them.

If we reported all of the "off topic" posts in this tread, I suspect there would be 50% less.
One of the nice things about this local St. Louis thread is it has become somewhat of a general chat board at times. I personally like it that way. I didn't see what got deleted, but I suspect it was not because it was "off topic."

Scott

cd1871

02-14-07, 12:34 PM

Much of their outside-studio video is SD. KSDK began with 1 HD field camera when they launched last February. They now have two. One usually follows the lead-breaking story of the day...the other is usually assigned to one of their feature stories.

I think, next month, once Nightly News launches in HD, NBC is going to have an advantage in the 5-6pm time slot. I personally prefer KTVI news, but given the choice of HD over SD, I'll be watching NBC/KSDK. It is, after all, only the news.
I will watch anything in HD. I am no history buff, but I did find myself watching a PBSHD documentary about Annie Oakley. It was interesting, but dang did it look good in HD.

RaceTripper

02-14-07, 12:37 PM

Joseph Clark

02-14-07, 01:00 PM

If we reported all of the "off topic" posts in this tread, I suspect there would be 50% less.
One of the nice things about this local St. Louis thread is it has become somewhat of a general chat board at times. I personally like it that way. I didn't see what got deleted, but I suspect it was not because it was "off topic."

Scott

I like the slightly off-topic tangents we take here, too. The posts that were deleted, though, were steaming strongly into political waters. A sure way to get people all riled up is to talk politics or religion, so it's probably best they were sent to that great verbal graveyard in the sky. People who are generally friendly and cordial can pop their corks when you challenge their heartfelt belief systems.

Scott Tucker

02-14-07, 01:17 PM

^^^^

Ah man, I always miss the juicy stuff.

Scott

Clue

02-14-07, 01:44 PM

I have a D* H20 (NOT the HR) and I get the locals via MP4. I STILL also get D*88.

aspec2

02-14-07, 04:43 PM

A sure way to get people all riled up is to talk politics or religion, so it's probably best they were sent to that great verbal graveyard in the sky.

Which is why both politics and religion should be made unconstitutional. :eek:

Walt

duihlein

02-14-07, 05:44 PM

Best Buy's Magnolia store on Eager Rd. had a Sharp (think it was the 2000), but they can order others, too. Sound Room handles Sharp (20000 on display there). AVS also handles Sharp (got my XV-Z 20000 from them, along with a new screen and mounting hardware). AVS has a really good return policy and good prices. Give them a call. You might be surprised how good the experience of buying from AVS is.

Thanks. I'll check out both BB and AVS. From further review it appears either the DT-500 or Sharp 3000 are my 2 best choices. Both have short throw so I can mount them in front of the air duct. They also have less offset combined with pixel shift (from the 1280x768 panels) so I think I can do DLP without Keystoning.

Dave

Joseph Clark

02-14-07, 07:36 PM

Thanks. I'll check out both BB and AVS. From further review it appears either the DT-500 or Sharp 3000 are my 2 best choices. Both have short throw so I can mount them in front of the air duct. They also have less offset combined with pixel shift (from the 1280x768 panels) so I think I can do DLP without Keystoning.

Dave

I love Sharp projectors. This 20000 is the second one I've owned (also had a 9000 some time ago). You don't see Sharp projectors talked about as much here on AVS, but I'm now convinced it's in part because you plug them up and they just work. No big surprises, no big disappointments. Good machines.

DroptheRemote

02-15-07, 12:27 AM

We Interrupt Your Normal AVS Programming...

...for the following St. Louis housekeeping break:

In the past, we used to begin each month of the St. Louis discussion with an entirely new thread and usually that started with a cut/paste of basic resource information about HDTV and over-the-air reception. Although those messages were moved to the new thread here that was started in January, that information is still easily overlooked as the new thread is growing rapidly, approaching 40 pages in a relatively short period.

So, in order to make this introductory information more accessible, I will be periodically reposting this advisory/reminder note. The idea is to make the general resource information available here more visible and easier to find for more readers.

With HDTV sales increasing every month, we're getting more and more newcomers here, which is a great thing to see. But like most of us when we took home our first HDTV, there's a huge amount to learn beyond where to point the remote and which buttons to push.

Hopefully, you'll find this information of some use...

Tower Maps, Your Satellite/Antenna Rights & Local Station Feedback (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9713839&&#post9713839)

Resources for Receiving Digital/HD OTA Local Stations via an Antenna (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9713842&&#post9713842)

Frequently Asked Questions about HDTV (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=2995791&&#post2995791)

HD Programming Available in St. Louis (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9714728&&#post9714728)

Why Isn't KDNL-DT (ABC) Available via Charter? (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8072643&&#post8072643)

Why Isn't KMOV-DT (CBS) Available via Charter? (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9341270&&#post9341270)

New! St. Louis Blues in HD Schedule (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8678636&&#post8678636)

2006 Survey Results: HDTV in St. Louis

Part 1: Profile of Survey Respondents (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9713951&&#post9713951)

Part 2: Local Digital Stations (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9713954&&#post9713954)

Part 3: Digital Multicasting (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9713956&&#post9713956)

Part 4: Customer Ratings for Charter, DirecTV & DISH HD Services (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9713960&&#post9713960)

Part 5: Customer Ratings for Pay TV HD Channels (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9713963&&#post9713963)

Part 6: Best Picture/Sound Ratings & HD Wish Lists (http://http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9713965&&#post9713965)

Finally, I want to remind everyone that you can access the St. Louis HDTV discussion here at AVS directly by using the shortcut URL that has been arranged.

The short-form URL also makes it very easy to remember and give the address to anyone you know who's just getting into HDTV.

The shortcut URL is: www.stlhdtv.info

duihlein

02-15-07, 05:22 AM

I thought I'd post a link to my post regarding a new HD receiver card. It's the new Hauppauge HVR-1600 ATSC/NTSC tuner card. Best thing about it is BOTH analog and digital tuners are seen and supported my MCE. I also have a DVICO FusionHDTV card and after some work, all play well together.

Read about it here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9781571#post9781571

Dave

jmeitz

02-15-07, 06:25 AM

PM me and i can get you a price on the sharp.

aspec2

02-15-07, 08:00 AM

duihlein

02-15-07, 08:18 AM

Does this card have its own ATSC tuner or is it a software tuner?

Walt
Not sure I understand. It has an ATSC tuner, but it does not have hardware decoders for playback (ala My-HD and HiPix)

I have an Athalon 3500 with 2GB RAM, onboard Nvidia 6150 video and use MCE 2005 for recording/playback.

Dave

Scott Tucker

02-15-07, 08:41 AM

I love Sharp projectors. This 20000 is the second one I've owned (also had a 9000 some time ago). You don't see Sharp projectors talked about as much here on AVS, but I'm now convinced it's in part because you plug them up and they just work. No big surprises, no big disappointments. Good machines.

Agreed. I've sold Sharp, recommended Sharp, own Sharp, and my family and friends own Sharp projectors.

Scott

CPanther95

02-15-07, 09:53 AM

We Interrupt Your Normal AVS Programming...

That's a good summary for the first post. I merged in some of your old posts at the beginning of the thread so you'd become the OP. There's a handful of them, so you can either just use the first post, or adopt a similar format to the first post of the "Hot of the Press" thread in the Programming forum - see here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=440744

Then just direct newbies or other members to the first post of the thread to answer most common questions.

deuces

02-15-07, 10:08 AM

Thanks, Doug had them as the first post and that is exactly where newbies were always directed, until our thread was hijacked and started over ;).

CPanther95

02-15-07, 10:23 AM

Thanks.

Here was David Botts response to my pm yesterday. I would not have gone to the trouble of starting a new thread if I would have known he was going to pull the plug on the idea. His response yesterday indicated otherwise????

Re: Question about a new thread

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

Just start the new thread and see how it goes.

David

David didn't change his mind, I deleted the thread (not knowing you guys had discussed it). In maintaining the Local forum and the Thread Index, I regularly redirect people to existing threads. Make sure you guys keep me informed with any changes because if I don't keep the Thread Index updated, nobody will be able to find any new threads started.

However if there is a general consensus that separate threads would better serve the area, there's no problem splitting it up into different threads for different providers. You can scan the Thread Index sticky to see how many other DMAs are divided in that manner.

Even without a general consensus, we have split up threads when the discussion of the thread is heavily weighted towards OTA or cable and it becomes difficult for members to get answers without scanning through many irrelevant (to them) posts.

With 20 pages (@ 60 posts per page) in only about a month, my guess is that the St. Louis area should have no problem supporting more than one thread.

davesalaman

02-15-07, 11:23 AM

Thanks CPanther95,

With that, I've restarted the St. Louis, MO - Charter thread here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=805958&goto=newpost).

Joseph Clark

02-15-07, 11:26 AM

I'd like to see them kept together. I know it's sometimes a little more difficult to sort through things, but I enjoy hearing what's going on with all the providers without having to surf several threads.

Joseph Clark

02-15-07, 11:29 AM

Agreed. I've sold Sharp, recommended Sharp, own Sharp, and my family and friends own Sharp projectors.

Scott

Guinness for everyone! :D

Saluki

02-15-07, 11:45 AM

Thanks CPanther95,

With that, I've restarted the St. Louis, MO - Charter thread here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=805958&goto=newpost).

Many people (myself included) think the Charter-only thread is a bad idea.

I am a Charter customer & would prefer to just have ONE St. Louis thread to monitor. Many of the topics discussed here involve items of interest to everyone, regardless of HD provider. The post count in this thread is hardly overwhelming & it's simple enough to follow all of the posts. If this thread was getting hundreds of posts a day, I could see a need to create a new sub-thread, but that's hardly the case.

bajabill

02-15-07, 11:47 AM

black_macleod

02-15-07, 11:49 AM

I'm a Charterite, and I don't see any point arguing about a sub-thread on here ... ppl will either subscribe to it and use it, or it will fade out. Lets not fill up this thread with thread arguments! Lets just bash each others providers!

:) :cool: :D

CPanther95

02-15-07, 12:04 PM

The post count in this thread is hardly overwhelming & it's simple enough to follow all of the posts.

Actually, 1150+ posts in 24 days makes it one of the highest volume threads on AVS - probably second only to the "Hot of the Press" thread in the HDTV Programming forum.

Keep in mind that many members don't check the thread daily - and unless they're masochists for email - probably do not subscribe to the thread. ;)

[EDIT] after looking at the HOTP thread, this thread actually comes very close to its volume.

davesalaman

02-15-07, 12:05 PM

I wouldn't worry about missing much. I don't expect there to be much traffic there.

When you look at the Charter threads for the top 2 DMAs, New York has 20 posts since Sep 06 and LA has 190 posts since Nov 04.

kdg454

02-15-07, 12:16 PM

Question, I somewhat related to HD

I have dishnet, and just got a HDTV. I currently get my HD via OTA antenna. Everyting is fine with that for now.

My question is about dishnetwork locals. Since I have the ability to split screen both dishnet feed and my OTA feed, I can do a side by side comparison. Channel 5 is especially bad in SD from dishnet, channel 4 is not far behind in that respect. Other SD channels are not nearly as bad as those from dishnet. Has anyone else noticed this? Channel 5 seems like I am looking thru a screen door.

I know it will be nothing compared to HD, but it is on a different level even compared to the rest of dishnet channels.
Bill,
If I'm reading your post correctly, you would be comparing a digital signal to a analog signal. There is no comparison.

Do you currently subscribe to the SD (analog) locals through DISH?
Are you viewing the SD channels in stretch-mode on a 16:9 display?

On the split-thread topic....I would hate to not have all STL HD providers post in one thread. IMO, that would suck :mad:

oldavman

02-15-07, 12:37 PM

What's KMOV plans with digital channel 4-2?

Saluki

02-15-07, 01:29 PM

Joseph Clark

02-15-07, 01:48 PM

Actually, 1150+ posts in 24 days makes it one of the highest volume threads on AVS - probably second only to the "Hot of the Press" thread in the HDTV Programming forum.

Keep in mind that many members don't check the thread daily - and unless they're masochists for email - probably do not subscribe to the thread. ;)

[EDIT] after looking at the HOTP thread, this thread actually comes very close to its volume.

Ok, I've suspected this for a long time. Now it's official. We're the biggest blow-hards on AVS. :)

Scott Tucker

02-15-07, 01:52 PM

Guinness for everyone! :D

Brilliant! :D

Scott Tucker

02-15-07, 01:57 PM

Why don't we leave this as the Charter thread, and start a new Satellite thread for The Lou. That way, at least the Charter thread has a small chance of succeeding. :)

Scott

duihlein

02-15-07, 04:59 PM

Best Buy's Magnolia store on Eager Rd. had a Sharp (think it was the 2000), but they can order others, too. Sound Room handles Sharp (20000 on display there). AVS also handles Sharp (got my XV-Z 20000 from them, along with a new screen and mounting hardware). AVS has a really good return policy and good prices. Give them a call. You might be surprised how good the experience of buying from AVS is.

Thanks Joseph,
I owe you big. I went to BB on eager and they had one left in St Louis. Their display model. It has 98 hrs and 95% bulb (yeah, right) on the menu so they took an addition 10% off. I got the Sharp XV-Z3000/4r warranty for $350 less than the Mits HC3000U/4 year warranty. I think I came out ahead in all areas.

It looks like it will work perfect in my setup. No more keystone!
Now I just need to find a low profile mount.

Dave

Joseph Clark

02-15-07, 05:17 PM

Thanks Joseph,
I owe you big. I went to BB on eager and they had one left in St Louis. Their display model. It has 98 hrs and 95% bulb (yeah, right) on the menu so they took an addition 10% off. I got the Sharp XV-Z3000/4r warranty for $350 less than the Mits HC3000U/4 year warranty. I think I came out ahead in all areas.

It looks like it will work perfect in my setup. No more keystone!
Now I just need to find a low profile mount.

Dave

Great, Dave. I've read good things about that projector. You should be very happy with it. Keep us posted.

BTW, I just got a BB coupon today (for Reward Zone members) promising up to 12% off TV's, etc. It's supposed to be applicable to Magnolia stores in BB, too. If you just got the Sharp, you might want to see if they'd apply the discount to that projector (assuming you didn't already do that). They honor sale prices for 30 days after purchase at BB.

Joseph Clark

02-15-07, 05:20 PM

Thanks Joseph,
I owe you big. I went to BB on eager and they had one left in St Louis. Their display model. It has 98 hrs and 95% bulb (yeah, right) on the menu so they took an addition 10% off. I got the Sharp XV-Z3000/4r warranty for $350 less than the Mits HC3000U/4 year warranty. I think I came out ahead in all areas.

It looks like it will work perfect in my setup. No more keystone!
Now I just need to find a low profile mount.

Dave

Forgot to mention it, but you might want to look at Chiefmfg.com. They have a wide variety of mounting hardware. I got the mount for my Sharp 20000 from them. They have fixed and telescoping mounts.

moman19

02-15-07, 05:22 PM

Question, I somewhat related to HD

I have dishnet, and just got a HDTV. I currently get my HD via OTA antenna. Everyting is fine with that for now.

My question is about dishnetwork locals. Since I have the ability to split screen both dishnet feed and my OTA feed, I can do a side by side comparison. Channel 5 is especially bad in SD from dishnet, channel 4 is not far behind in that respect. Other SD channels are not nearly as bad as those from dishnet. Has anyone else noticed this? Channel 5 seems like I am looking thru a screen door.

I know it will be nothing compared to HD, but it is on a different level even compared to the rest of dishnet channels.

I think the general consensus here is that the PQ of SD locals via E* (and probably D* as well) is pretty much god-awful. It looks bad even on a 12" set! I know they have a bandwidth crunch and are forced to offer locals in a hundred+ markets. But you would think they could do something to improve the quality.

But then again, if you can receive the locals in HD via OTA or E*, who cares??????

duihlein

02-15-07, 05:39 PM

Great, Dave. I've read good things about that projector. You should be very happy with it. Keep us posted.

BTW, I just got a BB coupon today (for Reward Zone members) promising up to 12% off TV's, etc. It's supposed to be applicable to Magnolia stores in BB, too. If you just got the Sharp, you might want to see if they'd apply the discount to that projector (assuming you didn't already do that). They honor sale prices for 30 days after purchase at BB.

Thanks. I'll keep my eyes open for that.
It might be pushing is since it was already marked down to 1499 before my 10% discount. But it never hurts to ask.

Dave

Chazb

02-15-07, 05:49 PM

I think the general consensus here is that the PQ of SD locals via E* (and probably D* as well) is pretty much god-awful. It looks bad even on a 12" set! I know they have a bandwidth crunch and are forced to offer locals in a hundred+ markets. But you would think they could do something to improve the quality.

But then again, if you can receive the locals in HD via OTA or E*, who cares??????

I disagree with you on this and the only thing I can compare it to is charter. My HD pq with charter is about the same as D*but the sd D* wins hands down I could not believe the difference when viewing my wife and son's TV it was not even close D*had much better PO in sd. and I am not a charter hater it just is that D* offered more of what I was looking for.

matth1138

02-15-07, 07:02 PM

Anybody getting a weird vertical stripe on Charter's HD NBC 785? Just showed up on Earl...

Is it happening OTA, too or should I switch over?

-Matt

edit: nevermind, it's gone...

tomnappo

02-15-07, 07:07 PM

I'm have a friend who is living downtown in the Soulard Market Apartments. The building is turn of the century (aka brick, reinforced concrete), and he is located in a lower floor. I've been working to try a number of different antenna positions and manf., and we've had limited success picking up all of the availible STL OTA HD stations. Any suggestions for antenna's we might try? (Note: We're limited to indoor antennas.)

Thanks,
Tom

aspec2

02-15-07, 08:08 PM

I disagree with you on this and the only thing I can compare it to is charter. My HD pq with charter is about the same as D*but the sd D* wins hands down I could not believe the difference when viewing my wife and son's TV it was not even close D*had much better PO in sd. and I am not a charter hater it just is that D* offered more of what I was looking for.

I think you need to get your wife and son a new TV. I have compared OTA and D*SD with a Sammy 360 (push a button OTA push a button Sat feed). I can't bear to watch the SD signal for more than 30 minute before getting the urge to kill someone (in authority at Directv). Charter is closer to OTA. I have not compared anything to Dish so can't comment on their PQ. Nothihg beats OTA if you have the signal strenght to avoid drop out.

Walt

Mr_Bester

02-15-07, 08:43 PM

Anybody getting a weird vertical stripe on Charter's HD NBC 785? Just showed up on Earl...

Is it happening OTA, too or should I switch over?

-Matt

edit: nevermind, it's gone...

That was a KSDK issue, I saw it ota, then they tried to switch, then switch back, same problem, glad it went away.
Dug

wallyj

02-15-07, 09:25 PM

Question, I somewhat related to HD

I have dishnet, and just got a HDTV. I currently get my HD via OTA antenna. Everyting is fine with that for now.

...

I know it will be nothing compared to HD, but it is on a different level even compared to the rest of dishnet channels.

When we went to the big Dish HD package, the installer suggested we stay with our OTA locals vs. the Dish 411 feed. We get all the biggies from 90-95% off the DB4.

Chazb

02-15-07, 09:41 PM

I think you need to get your wife and son a new TV. I have compared OTA and D*SD with a Sammy 360 (push a button OTA push a button Sat feed). I can't bear to watch the SD signal for more than 30 minute before getting the urge to kill someone (in authority at Directv). Charter is closer to OTA. I have not compared anything to Dish so can't comment on their PQ. Nothihg beats OTA if you have the signal strenght to avoid drop out.

Walt

Nothing wrong with my son and wifes TV and I guess everyone is different and it depends on what area charter is serving and I have a sony Crt xbr in the main room.I have OTA and the HD part whether it is charter D* or OTA looks great and not that much difference in any of them that is worth speaking about.As far as the sd signal goes D* is so much better on all my TVs than charter was and that is a fact no bs or in need of a new tv for any of us yours might be different but I know what I see and maybe my charter sd has been the pits in my area.My neighbor does not hd and she just got D* and remarked on how much better the picture was.We also have smaller tvs and the biggest is 34 in.

duihlein

02-15-07, 09:54 PM

Nothing wrong with my son and wifes TV and I guess everyone is different and it depends on what area charter is serving and I have a sony Crt xbr in the main room.I have OTA and the HD part whether it is charter D* or OTA looks great and not that much difference in any of them that is worth speaking about.As far as the sd signal goes D* is so much better on all my TVs than charter was and that is a fact no bs or in need of a new tv for any of us yours might be different but I know what I see and maybe my charter sd has been the pits in my area.My neighbor does not hd and she just got D* and remarked on how much better the picture was.We also have smaller tvs and the biggest is 34 in.

Chazb,
I agree with you. SD on Dish Network is much better than anything I got from Charter. With the new box, that seems to have changed since SD looks better, but when I had analog or my folks had the Moxi, SD sucked eggs.

Dave

elgibby

02-15-07, 10:30 PM

Chazb,
I agree with you. SD on Dish Network is much better than anything I got from Charter. With the new box, that seems to have changed since SD looks better, but when I had analog or my folks had the Moxi, SD sucked eggs.

Dave

I didn't realize just how bad SD is on the Moxi until recently. To save space on the Moxi for HD, I've been recording CBS and ABC programs on a Panny DVD recorder in our newly refinished basement. I had Charter run new cable down there during construction. Recording on that new line right out of the wall to DVD-RAM produces a damn fine pic displayed on my LCD TV. Better than Moxi, and better than a different Panny machine, an HDD/DVD-R via an old Moto 2000 STB.
New cable installed property and no additional compression or signal processing apparently makes a huge difference.
barry

kdg454

02-15-07, 10:36 PM

When we went to the big Dish HD package, the installer suggested we stay with our OTA locals vs. the Dish 411 feed. We get all the biggies from 90-95% off the DB4.
Good advice from your installer. The HD OTA PQ is slightly better than the SAT HD locals on all DISH HD receivers, including the 411/211's. In the case of needing a stand-alone single HD receiver, and having good OTA reception, this is the optimum choice. Wally--do you receive the OTA locals guide data on your 211 (411) EPG?

A word of caution to users needing a DVR....when using a DISH HD DVR and OTA locals, you will not receive the locals guide data, rendering recording from the locals very difficult. You would need a supplemental guide, and have to set all manual timers, for any locals recordings.
You must subscribe to the DISH locals to receive locals guide data.

Scott Tucker

02-15-07, 10:51 PM

Chazb,
I agree with you. SD on Dish Network is much better than anything I got from Charter. With the new box, that seems to have changed since SD looks better, but when I had analog or my folks had the Moxi, SD sucked eggs.

Dave

I agree with you and Chazb. I just went to a poker tournament tonight at a guys house. He had a plasma being fed by a Moxi from Charter. I must say that is the worst picture I've seen on any TV anywhere in a long time. No time in the last 12 years with D* has my picture looked that bad on any channel. This guys plasma looked like a bad VHS tape. Even SD CNN via D* on a 133" looked better than this plasma/Moxi combo.

Scott

wmschultz

02-16-07, 10:03 AM

Article about cable franchising here (http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/story/4297FA2B4C0ED9E6862572840017054F?OpenDocument)

DLSDO

02-16-07, 12:45 PM

Article about cable franchising here (http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/story/4297FA2B4C0ED9E6862572840017054F?OpenDocument)

Thanks for the link. It really is amazing how politics permeate everything.

bajabill

02-16-07, 12:53 PM

I did some more comparison last night. SD Locals via dishnet on a SD tv is lower quality than the rest of the channels. Channel 5 seems to be the worst. However, it is not as pronounced on my SDTV as on my HDTV. I never really noticed it before but I dont watch that channel to often. On a HDTV, you notice the picture quality immediately.

Im curious, how long do most people hold out using OTA HD untill signing up for HD service? I guess I need to look into dishnets HD lineup and see if any of the channels are of interest to me. If you subscribe to HBO, do you get HD HBO, or do I have to pay extra for that on top of the standard HBO fee?

JWR25

02-16-07, 01:14 PM

kdg454

02-16-07, 01:18 PM

I guess I need to look into dishnets HD lineup and see if any of the channels are of interest to me. If you subscribe to HBO, do you get HD HBO, or do I have to pay extra for that on top of the standard HBO fee?
Yes, if you're a HD sub, when the channel is available in both SD and HD, you also get the HD channel.

The current STL DMA DISH locals package include:
ABC-KDNL 30 SD/HD
CBS-KMOV 4 SD/HD
CW-KPLR 11 SD
WPXS 13 SD
FOX-KTVI 2 SD/HD
KNLC 24 SD
WRBU 46 SD
NBC-KSDK 5 SD/HD
PBS-KETC 9 SD

type7

02-16-07, 02:29 PM

Hey everyone, I have a question about using the QAM tuner on my new Vizio 32" LCD.

Does Charter send anything out in the clear that is worthwhile? I've heard stories about people being able to pick up locals, music channels and other stuff using the QAM tuner. I subscribe to Charter cable internet, but not Charter Cable....

Just curious if anyone in St. Louis has played around with this...

I'm not sure what you'll get not being a charter tv sub, but as a charter tv sub I get the following digital channels - ksdk sub channel for weather, cw11 music channel, abc, wgn, cspan, my46, a bunch of infomercial/home shopping channels, some religious channels, tnt hd, a few of the ketc sub channels, and some vod from other people. Not much there worthwhile.

This is with an olevia tv with built in qam.

Scott Tucker

02-16-07, 03:03 PM

[QUOTE=bajabill]I did some more comparison last night. SD Locals via dishnet on a SD tv is lower quality than the rest of the channels. Channel 5 seems to be the worst. [QUOTE]

Can you explain in further detail? What are you comparing SD locals via dishnet to?

Thanks,

Scott

PWSHER

02-16-07, 05:39 PM

Since Charter switched to all digital on the lower 99 channels a few months ago the picture is a close to perfect as you can can get with SD.

wmschultz

02-16-07, 05:57 PM

**** Programming Alert ****
The Friday, Feb. 16 Blues game vs. Nashville will be available in HD on Charter channel 792 in St. Louis and DirecTV channel 95.

**** We now return you to your regular discussion ****

Scott Tucker

02-16-07, 06:29 PM

Since Charter switched to all digital on the lower 99 channels a few months ago the picture is a close to perfect as you can can get with SD.

That's cool. So charter is 100% digital now?

Scott

elgibby

02-16-07, 07:32 PM

Since Charter switched to all digital on the lower 99 channels a few months ago the picture is a close to perfect as you can can get with SD.

used via an STB ... out of the wall, it's analog

kdg454

02-16-07, 07:45 PM

So how's that new STL Charter thread working out? I had a look at it, the day it began, but now I can't seem to find the link.
Would someone be kind enough to post it again for me...thanks :)

Scott Tucker

02-16-07, 07:52 PM

Here you go Ken...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=805958

Scott

Scott Tucker

02-16-07, 07:55 PM

used via an STB ... out of the wall, it's analog

Thanks for clarifying. That could explain why the picture at the poker tournament last night at my buddies looked like ass. I guess he's bypassed his moxi mate for some reason.

Scott

kdg454

02-16-07, 08:07 PM

Here you go Ken...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=805958

Scott
TY, Sir

I guess this should go in that thread, but it looks like most things are remaining here. My neighbor just had his Moxi replaced with a 3416. He also said he noticed the SD PQ was much improved with the new box.

All-in-all, it's shaping up to look like, regardless of provider, the PQ is greatly influenced by what's between the source and the display.

Chazb

02-16-07, 08:32 PM

Anyone getting white dots on ksdk tonite.I am watching vegas and it looks like a mini light show with hd.It is doing this on three tuners I even turned off D* and my samsung tuner is doing it also.

duihlein

02-16-07, 09:19 PM

Since Charter switched to all digital on the lower 99 channels a few months ago the picture is a close to perfect as you can can get with SD.

Not with a MOXI.
Dave

bhornberger

02-16-07, 10:44 PM

Anyone getting white dots on ksdk tonite.I am watching vegas and it looks like a mini light show with hd.It is doing this on three tuners I even turned off D* and my samsung tuner is doing it also.

I see it also on Charter and OTA. Makes Leno look like he has a glitter jacket on.

tcfila

02-16-07, 10:52 PM

I just got a new TV and thought it was a problem with the TV....glad it's not

bluedevil23

02-17-07, 08:39 AM

Gotta wait another week to get rid of Charter. E* installer just came and went, can't put up their ladder in the snow due to safety regulations. Oh well, another week of Charter won't kill me :).

matth1138

02-17-07, 11:13 AM

Gotta wait another week to get rid of Charter. E* installer just came and went, can't put up their ladder in the snow due to safety regulations. Oh well, another week of Charter won't kill me :).

Yeah, my Dish install is scheduled for this afternoon...like it was scheduled for Feb 1 (cancelled due to snow) and last Tuesday (cancelled due to snow)...what do you think of the chances of getting it installed today...I don't think the third time's a charm in this case...luckily the weather is supposed to break this week, so we'll see what happens.

-Matt

P.s.: it's not that one more week of charter will kill me, but the last six weeks of waiting on the weather and being stuck with Charter IS killing me...

DLSDO

02-17-07, 12:17 PM

Not with a MOXI.
Dave

Ditto,
SD on my Moxi looks bad!

MoInSTL

02-17-07, 01:14 PM

Scott Tucker

02-17-07, 01:41 PM

Received 6.3C early this morning on my D* HR10-250. All it does (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=340434&page=1&pp=30), AFAIK is address the change of daylight saving time starting sooner this year.

Great, I finally get a update that makes my unit fairly stable and now here comes C. I really hope it doesn't screw up anything.

Scott

PWSHER

02-17-07, 02:14 PM

Ditto,
SD on my Moxi looks bad!

If SD looks bad on your Moxi you can't blame it on Moxi!!!! you must have line/reception and/or tons of other probelms but why blame it on Moxi? If you have tried the exact same cables going to the moxi and then run the exact samples cable in to your TV and they are not identical than you have a problem. I'd suggest reading the faq or have Charter out until they are the same. I repeat my Moxi SD is what one would expect from those lines of resolution. NOw if you have a 103" plasma and are stanbding three feet away and see lines maybe you have unrealistic expectations. Remember SD is not going to knock your socks off on a large screen. On my 40" CRT, SD looks like DVD quality to me.

MoInSTL

02-17-07, 02:24 PM

If anyone works at Siemens please PM me.

kdg454

02-17-07, 02:52 PM

Great, I finally get a update that makes my unit fairly stable and now here comes C. I really hope it doesn't screw up anything.

Scott
Scott,
Can you block receiving the update for a few days?
Whenever Dish spools a major full-version, I always block the receiver(s) from receiving it. Usually, within a day-or-two, it's clear on DBS if it's safe to take.

Dish has made it more difficult to block updates, but it's still possible. Last year, Dish spooled a full version DST update, which in the process, deleted everyone's locals. Dish corrected it, and spooled the replacement 48 hours later. Had I let it through, I would have lost locals, both SAT and OTA for 2 days.

It doesn't sound like much, but you try living here when Grey's doesn't record correctly :eek:

football751

02-17-07, 05:16 PM

If SD looks bad on your Moxi you can't blame it on Moxi!!!! you must have line/reception and/or tons of other probelms but why blame it on Moxi? If you have tried the exact same cables going to the moxi and then run the exact samples cable in to your TV and they are not identical than you have a problem. I'd suggest reading the faq or have Charter out until they are the same. I repeat my Moxi SD is what one would expect from those lines of resolution. NOw if you have a 103" plasma and are stanbding three feet away and see lines maybe you have unrealistic expectations. Remember SD is not going to knock your socks off on a large screen. On my 40" CRT, SD looks like DVD quality to me.
Well, SD from my Moxi looks terrible on my 42" 720p LCD, but it looked great on my old 32" CRT SDTV. Is your CRT HD or SD? Either way, form what I know CRT HDTV's can handle 480i as a native resolution just like an SDTV, so SD picture looks fine. On all other HDTV's, nothing is native except the standard resolution, so anything lower looks terrible. It's like turning your 17" computer LCD w/ a standard resolution of 1280x1024 down to 800x600: it looks terrible. But with an old CRT, 800x600 will still be clear and sharp, just bigger. That's probably why your Moxi SD looks fine, b/c it is CRT.

duihlein

02-17-07, 05:27 PM

If SD looks bad on your Moxi you can't blame it on Moxi!!!! you must have line/reception and/or tons of other probelms but why blame it on Moxi? If you have tried the exact same cables going to the moxi and then run the exact samples cable in to your TV and they are not identical than you have a problem. I'd suggest reading the faq or have Charter out until they are the same. I repeat my Moxi SD is what one would expect from those lines of resolution. NOw if you have a 103" plasma and are stanbding three feet away and see lines maybe you have unrealistic expectations. Remember SD is not going to knock your socks off on a large screen. On my 40" CRT, SD looks like DVD quality to me.

Well my parents went through 4 different MOXI's and had the cable guys there many times. I was called over every time after they left to correct their mistakes. Every time I left I thought their picture on their 53" HD CRT Hitachi (which had been calibrated by DropTheRemote) looked like crap. No where near as good as it looked with Dish SD to the point I was going to give them back the $800 they paid me for it.

Now that they have the 3416 the picture is sharp, just like it was with Dish, not blotchy like it was with the Moxi. I can only assume this has more to do with the Video out stage on the two boxes, not the signal as both are getting the same digital signal. This is using Component outs on both boxes.

Dave

Robert Simandl

02-17-07, 05:34 PM

Great, I finally get a update that makes my unit fairly stable and now here comes C. I really hope it doesn't screw up anything.

Scott

Geez, some of us don't even have the B update yet. I figure by the time I get the C update for daylight savings time, it'll be standard time again already!

PWSHER

02-17-07, 08:01 PM

Well, SD from my Moxi looks terrible on my 42" 720p LCD, but it looked great on my old 32" CRT SDTV. Is your CRT HD or SD? Either way, form what I know CRT HDTV's can handle 480i as a native resolution just like an SDTV, so SD picture looks fine. On all other HDTV's, nothing is native except the standard resolution, so anything lower looks terrible. It's like turning your 17" computer LCD w/ a standard resolution of 1280x1024 down to 800x600: it looks terrible. But with an old CRT, 800x600 will still be clear and sharp, just bigger. That's probably why your Moxi SD looks fine, b/c it is CRT.

My CRT is the 305 lb Sony 4X3 40" that shows SD and HDTV (480p & i, 720p, 1080i all native) perfectly...the best of both worlds!!! The best TV (as long as you have a stong floor and back) for this long analog to digital transition period. I must admit it took a while to get my Moxi and MoxiMate working perfectly but for the last few years it has been stellar. I don't know how anyone could have a DVR without access from two TV's. No way I would trade this Moxi for one of the newer models.

tcfila

02-17-07, 08:29 PM

Recently bought a Samsung HL-S5687 and love it! Since this is my first TV with an integrated tuner, I bought a cheap walmart antenna to see what I could get. Suprisingly, with it behind the tv on the floor (so it can't be seen), I pull in all locals as well as 39-3 and 39-4. It says low signal for these. Anyone have any idea what they are?

BTW, anyone interested in a Samsung 55" Rear Projection HDTV? It needs some work as I think the convergance board went out. It looks like you are watching an old 3-D movie without the glasses.

Tim

tcfila

02-17-07, 08:34 PM

Never mind on the 39-3 and 39-4. I just read Doug's "We Interupt" post on OTA.

Scott Tucker

02-17-07, 11:06 PM

Scott,
Can you block receiving the update for a few days?
Whenever Dish spools a major full-version, I always block the receiver(s) from receiving it. Usually, within a day-or-two, it's clear on DBS if it's safe to take.

Dish has made it more difficult to block updates, but it's still possible. Last year, Dish spooled a full version DST update, which in the process, deleted everyone's locals. Dish corrected it, and spooled the replacement 48 hours later. Had I let it through, I would have lost locals, both SAT and OTA for 2 days.

It doesn't sound like much, but you try living here when Grey's doesn't record correctly :eek:

Yeah, I guess I could just unplug the phone line. Believe me, I know about the whole Grey's thing.

Scott

Scott Tucker

02-17-07, 11:09 PM

Geez, some of us don't even have the B update yet. I figure by the time I get the C update for daylight savings time, it'll be standard time again already!

Funny Bob. :)

Scott

kdg454

02-18-07, 12:04 AM

Yeah, I guess I could just unplug the phone line. Believe me, I know about the whole Grey's thing.

Scott
DISH receivers do a nightly update/restart, and download via SAT. The phone line is only used for PPV, account management, etc. I only wish it was that easy.

I know, huh? What is UP what that whole Grey's thing...I can't seem to get into the show. She checks the timers twice...makes a second backup timer on the other DVR...it's nuts. One time, the recording ended 30 seconds early...I had to find a spoiler thread for her!

Scott Tucker

02-18-07, 07:01 AM

DISH receivers do a nightly update/restart, and download via SAT. The phone line is only used for PPV, account management, etc. I only wish it was that easy.

I know, huh? What is UP what that whole Grey's thing...I can't seem to get into the show. She checks the timers twice...makes a second backup timer on the other DVR...it's nuts. One time, the recording ended 30 seconds early...I had to find a spoiler thread for her!

I believe D* boxes have to have made a call to initiate the download of new firmware then the actual download is via satellite. We'll see because I have my old Tivo connected to phone, and my new Tivo is not.

OK, I'll admit to loving Grey's Anatomy. I'm not as psycho as your Wife, but I do watch and look forward to it. I missed the end of one episode a couple of weeks back because my power flipped off for 5 seconds. :mad: I should have had you find spoiler thread for me. :)

Golf on CBS-HD. Another weekend with Golf in HD. Thanks to CBS for making this happen this year. Also, once again Phil is in a position to win. Go Mickelson!

Looking forward to the Daytonal 500 today. I believe D*'s NASCAR Hotpass is free to all subs today. It should be interesting, so I'll check it out.

Scott

DrDon

02-18-07, 07:20 AM

I believe D* boxes have to have made a call to initiate the download of new firmware then the actual download is via satellite.AFAIK, D* boxes only phone home when a new card is installed, if there's PPV ordered with the remote or (rarely) to handle sports subscription blackouts. And, from what I've read, that's hit-or-miss with NFL non-sellout blackouts. Now, in the past, updates have only been delivered via the 101 bird. I don't know about the newer receivers, but the older ones stay tuned to the last satellite viewed. If it's not 101, receivers would miss the SW update. Again, all my have changed by now. I could be wrong.

tcfila

02-18-07, 09:34 AM

Looking forward to the Daytonal 500 today. I believe D*'s NASCAR Hotpass is free to all subs today. It should be interesting, so I'll check it out.

Scott

If you have Sirius, they are going to have several "in car" communications on some of their channels:

#8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ch. 125
#9 Kasey Kahne Ch. 114
#11 Denny Hamlin Ch. 144
#17 Matt Kenseth Ch. 130
#20 Tony Stewart Ch. 126
#24 Jeff Gordon Ch. 121
#29 Kevin Harvick Ch. 119
#31 Jeff Burton Ch. 147
#48 Jimmie Johnson Ch. 122
#?? Fan’s Choice Ch. 140

Tim

kdg454

02-18-07, 10:14 AM

Golf on CBS-HD. Another weekend with Golf in HD. Thanks to CBS for making this happen this year. Also, once again Phil is in a position to win. Go Mickelson!
Scott
Scott,
You got me started on watching golf. Without spell-check, I don't think I even knew how to spell it. I can't play :( , but I am enjoying watching it. Especially last week in PB :) CBS's PQ on OTA is very good.

kdg454

02-18-07, 10:19 AM

Has anyone read definitively if MLB has done the exclusive EI deal with DTV?
I've contacted E*, D*, and MLB. They all act like I'm from Mars :eek:

Scott Tucker

02-18-07, 12:07 PM

Scott,
You got me started on watching golf. Without spell-check, I don't think I even knew how to spell it. I can't play :( , but I am enjoying watching it. Especially last week in PB :) CBS's PQ on OTA is very good.

Be careful, you might start watchin' Grey's Anatomy too. :eek:

Golf, especially at places like Torrey Pines, Pebble Beach, and any picturesque venue, really benefits from HD. KSDK will have the seniors in HD today, so set your DVR. :)

Scott

Scott Tucker

02-18-07, 12:10 PM

If you have Sirius, they are going to have several "in car" communications on some of their channels:

#8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ch. 125
#9 Kasey Kahne Ch. 114
#11 Denny Hamlin Ch. 144
#17 Matt Kenseth Ch. 130
#20 Tony Stewart Ch. 126
#24 Jeff Gordon Ch. 121
#29 Kevin Harvick Ch. 119
#31 Jeff Burton Ch. 147
#48 Jimmie Johnson Ch. 122
#?? Fan’s Choice Ch. 140

Tim

Surely you can't be serious? I do have Sirius, so I'll have to check it out.

Thanks,

Scott

tcfila

02-18-07, 12:55 PM

Surely you can't be serious? I do have Sirius, so I'll have to check it out.

Surely I am serious, but don't call me Surely!

Robert Simandl

02-18-07, 01:12 PM

OK, I'll admit to loving Grey's Anatomy. I'm not as psycho as your Wife, but I do watch and look forward to it. I missed the end of one episode a couple of weeks back because my power flipped off for 5 seconds. :mad: I should have had you find spoiler thread for me. :)

After watching all the torture scenes in the two-hour 24 last week, my girlfriend's telling me she's not gonna feel guilty at all anymore about making me watch every episode of Grey's Anatomy for the rest of the season! :eek:

kdg454

02-18-07, 06:16 PM

No matter what the wife's or girlfriend's say....nothing comes close to that.

I, for one, am glad they didn't go to caution....let 'em finish.
That seemed like a pretty good production on the part of FOX. 3D/GPS...very cool!

Thanks Scott, I may have to start watching this stuff more often :)

Dan in St. Louis

02-18-07, 08:50 PM

No matter what the wife's or girlfriend's say....nothing comes close to that.If only they could get the program guide right. I tuned in to watch an automobile race, and they sent me a demolition derby. "Restrictor plate" is NOT racing.

RaceTripper

02-18-07, 09:16 PM

If only they could get the program guide right. I tuned in to watch an automobile race, and they sent me a demolition derby. "Restrictor plate" is NOT racing.I hate NASCAR, but my wife wanted to see some of it. I still don't get it. I love auto racing but I didn't see any. How boring. Restrictor plate racing...restrictor turn racing. :D

Can't wait until mid March. I'll be in Sebring for 4 days to see real racing. :)

Scott Tucker

02-18-07, 09:30 PM

Dean,

I somewhat agree with you, but you can't say those guys going almost 200 mph around a track like Daytona isn't racing. It may not be Formula One, but it is racing. I watched most of it when I wasn't watching CBS's golf. Fox does a pretty good job with NASCAR.

I see KSDK didn't flip the switch for the beginning of Crossing Jordan tonight.

Scott

RaceTripper

02-18-07, 09:40 PM

I somewhat agree with you, but you can't say those guys going almost 200 mph around a track like Daytona isn't racing....Sure I can. :D

Going fast doesn't make it racing. There's more to it than that for me. And constant wrecks don't make it racing either. It seems that's what most people like about NASCAR...the crashing. The racing I watch has crashes too, but they don't add to it. They just make the field smaller and less competitive. When Montoya took out half the contenders in the first turn at the 06 USGP, I knew his F1 career was going to be short lived after that. I guess it's appropriate he went to NASCAR. He'll be right at home.

Oh well, each to their own. I don't imagine I'll ever like NASCAR if I haven't seen anything redeeming about it in the 35 years I've been following racing.

kdg454

02-18-07, 10:21 PM

repair4man

02-19-07, 12:35 AM

If only they could get the program guide right. I tuned in to watch an automobile race, and they sent me a demolition derby. "Restrictor plate" is NOT racing.
Ditto! Ever since they went to the plates they've always had "The big one". Lately it always happens at the end, leaving most finishing positions up to pure luck and nothing to do with the months of preparation leading up to the 500. On top of dropping the plates, they need to change to factory body panels. The cars barely have a resemblance to what they're called. Once all the whining stops, the manufacturers might even put some more aerodynamic cars on the show room floor.

repair4man

02-19-07, 12:49 AM

I like the crashes :D
I'm also intrigued with the technology....not FOX...Nascar's.....the speed, the distance....and everyone walked away.

Will one of you post when a F1 is on...I'd like to check that out also, ty :)

Mark your calendar. Most of the events are on Speed Channel. European events typically have prerace starting at 6:30 am, Race from 7 am - 9:30 am. Speed also covers practice and qualifying. IMHO, way better than NASCAR. Very high tech. All carbon fiber chassis, carbon-carbon brakes, 2.4 liter normally aspirated motors turning 19,000-20,000 rpm and developing 800 hp, 3-4 gs acceleration under acceleration, 4 gs lateral, 5+ gs under braking. Montoya probably thinks he's on a Sunday drive with the family now that he switched to NASCAR.

2007 FORMULA 1™ ING Australian Grand Prix Melbourne 16 - 18 Mar
2007 FORMULA 1™ Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix Kuala Lumpur 06 - 08 Apr
2007 FORMULA 1™ Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix Bahrain 13 - 15 Apr
FORMULA 1™ Gran Premio de España Telefónica 2007 Catalunya 11 - 13 May
FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix de Monaco 2007 Monte Carlo 25 - 27 May
FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix du Canada 2007 Montreal 08 - 10 Jun
2007 FORMULA 1™ United States Grand Prix Indianapolis 15 - 17 Jun
FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix de France 2007 Magny-Cours 29 Jun - 01 Jul
2007 FORMULA 1™ Santander British Grand Prix Silverstone 06 - 08 Jul
FORMULA 1™ Grosser Preis von Deutschland 2007 Nürburgring 20 - 22 Jul
FORMULA 1™ Magyar Nagydíj 2007 Budapest 03 - 05 Aug
2007 FORMULA 1™ Petrol Ofisi Turkish Grand Prix Istanbul 24 - 26 Aug
FORMULA 1™ Gran Premio d'Italia 2007 Monza 07 - 09 Sep
2007 FORMULA 1™ Belgian Grand Prix Spa 14 - 16 Sep
2007 FORMULA 1™ Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix Fuji Speedway28 - 30 Sep
2007 FORMULA 1™ Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix Shanghai 05 - 07 Oct
FORMULA 1™ Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2007 Sao Paulo 19 - 21 Oct

RaceTripper

02-19-07, 06:31 AM

And for those without TIVO who don't want to rise at the crack of dawn to see a F1 race, Speed always does a rebroadcast around 11 AM.

Four races will be on FOX this year. IIRC, it'll be the Canadian, US, French, and British GPs. Since the host country produces the TV for a GP, and FOX is it this year, I'm hoping they do it in HD. We'll be at the USGP, as we are every year. :)

And watch for the American Le Mans Series for some awesome and very fast sports car racing (4 classes of prototype and production sports cars racing simultaneously). The season opens March 17th for the 12 Hours of Sebring. It will be televised on Speed.

DroptheRemote

02-19-07, 08:07 AM

"King of the Hill," "Simpsons" in HD Snarled in Aspect Ratio Issue

The following excerpt is from TV Week's High Definition newsletter:
____________________________________________________________ _______

Despite a recent HD airing of "King of the Hill" that excited fans, Fox has no immediate plans to upgrade the production of its Sunday night animated comedies due to an aspect ratio dispute with producers.

On Jan. 28, Fox aired an episode of "Hill" in HD, but the show was still formatted in the traditional 4:3 aspect ratio of the standard-definition regular series. The airing caused a debate among fans online, who argued about whether the episode was really in HD or not—and, if so, whether "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy" would be the next HD converts.

The next week, Feb. 4, Fox pulled the comedies off the schedule to avoid competition with the Super Bowl. Last Sunday, the comedy lineup returned with new episodes -- but all were in standard definition, causing further confusion.

Though a Fox spokesman had no comment regarding the mysterious airing, sources confirmed that "King" was indeed in high definition. The rest of the current-season episodes are scheduled to air in standard definition, however, with no firm plans to convert the popular animated block to HD.

Producers and the network agree that the shows should—and will—eventually be upgraded to the format once the aspect ratio issue is settled.

Producers are fond of 4:3, which allows them to retain their current background and direction compositions. One source said that of all the various TV genres that have upgraded to HD—news, sports, dramas, reality—switching to a 16:9 frame is most "creatively disruptive" to animation.

The network favors the wider 16:9 that's traditionally associated with HDTV and fills the screen of an HD set. Fox is concerned that continuing in 4:3 will impact DVD and syndication sales as HDTVs become the norm, akin to trying to sell black-and-white programs after the advent of color TV.
____________________________________________________________ _______

To read the full story, click here (http://www.tvweek.com/page.cms?pageId=590)

duihlein

02-19-07, 08:38 AM

Bummer,
I would love to see the Simpson in HD on my new Sharp Z3000. I've just got it set up on a coffee table for now and the race looked great yesterday. Even on Movie2 mode (both iris engaged) there was still plenty of lumens even with a lot of ambient light. And when night came, I watch a recording of LOST and WOW!. The colors popped and the detail was incredible. I hope to have my new mount in this week so I can put it up over next weekend.
Definately one of the best HT decisions I've made so far.

Dave

Scott Tucker

02-19-07, 09:02 AM

Mark your calendar. Most of the events are on Speed Channel. European events typically have prerace starting at 6:30 am, Race from 7 am - 9:30 am. Speed also covers practice and qualifying. IMHO, way better than NASCAR. Very high tech. All carbon fiber chassis, carbon-carbon brakes, 2.4 liter normally aspirated motors turning 19,000-20,000 rpm and developing 800 hp, 3-4 gs acceleration under acceleration, 4 gs lateral, 5+ gs under braking. Montoya probably thinks he's on a Sunday drive with the family now that he switched to NASCAR.

2007 FORMULA 1™ ING Australian Grand Prix Melbourne 16 - 18 Mar
2007 FORMULA 1™ Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix Kuala Lumpur 06 - 08 Apr
2007 FORMULA 1™ Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix Bahrain 13 - 15 Apr
FORMULA 1™ Gran Premio de España Telefónica 2007 Catalunya 11 - 13 May
FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix de Monaco 2007 Monte Carlo 25 - 27 May
FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix du Canada 2007 Montreal 08 - 10 Jun
2007 FORMULA 1™ United States Grand Prix Indianapolis 15 - 17 Jun
FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix de France 2007 Magny-Cours 29 Jun - 01 Jul
2007 FORMULA 1™ Santander British Grand Prix Silverstone 06 - 08 Jul
FORMULA 1™ Grosser Preis von Deutschland 2007 Nürburgring 20 - 22 Jul
FORMULA 1™ Magyar Nagydíj 2007 Budapest 03 - 05 Aug
2007 FORMULA 1™ Petrol Ofisi Turkish Grand Prix Istanbul 24 - 26 Aug
FORMULA 1™ Gran Premio d'Italia 2007 Monza 07 - 09 Sep
2007 FORMULA 1™ Belgian Grand Prix Spa 14 - 16 Sep
2007 FORMULA 1™ Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix Fuji Speedway28 - 30 Sep
2007 FORMULA 1™ Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix Shanghai 05 - 07 Oct
FORMULA 1™ Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2007 Sao Paulo 19 - 21 Oct

Not only is it a Sunday drive for Montoya, but also he's wondering why his left arm is so sore. They should at least have a few races with all right turns. :D

Scott

black_macleod

02-19-07, 09:08 AM

I can't watch racing except the WRC rally type.

Left Jeff

02-19-07, 09:10 AM

If SD looks bad on your Moxi you can't blame it on Moxi!!!! you must have line/reception and/or tons of other probelms but why blame it on Moxi? If you have tried the exact same cables going to the moxi and then run the exact samples cable in to your TV and they are not identical than you have a problem. I'd suggest reading the faq or have Charter out until they are the same. I repeat my Moxi SD is what one would expect from those lines of resolution. NOw if you have a 103" plasma and are stanbding three feet away and see lines maybe you have unrealistic expectations. Remember SD is not going to knock your socks off on a large screen. On my 40" CRT, SD looks like DVD quality to me.

you can definately blame it on the Moxi...I had the Moxi for about a half year on a "normal" tv and the quality was so-so. I always thought it was downgrade from the old standard Charter Digital Reciever they used to give out.

Then I got and HDTV and thought I had made the biggest mistake in my life...I could not believe how freaking awful SD looked. HD looked fantastic, but SD made me want to throw up. No amount of caliberation can fix that either. And for what's it worth, this was the only room in the house with cable...it was a pure line from outside.

I have since switched to D* and cannot believe how much better their SD looks than Charter's. I am convinced more than ever that it was both a problem of the Moxi AND Charter's overall quality.

aspec2

02-19-07, 11:01 AM

you can definately blame it on the Moxi...I had the Moxi for about a half year on a "normal" tv and the quality was so-so. I always thought it was downgrade from the old standard Charter Digital Reciever they used to give out.

Then I got and HDTV and thought I had made the biggest mistake in my life...I could not believe how freaking awful SD looked. HD looked fantastic, but SD made me want to throw up. No amount of caliberation can fix that either. And for what's it worth, this was the only room in the house with cable...it was a pure line from outside.

I have since switched to D* and cannot believe how much better their SD looks than Charter's. I am convinced more than ever that it was both a problem of the Moxi AND Charter's overall quality.

If all you guys would go back to the old thread and read you will find that everyone with Moxi noticed a definite degradation in PQ with the Moxi as compared to the digital box. I think there was even recording issues. HD was good but SD sucked. You should also note that the smaller the TV the better the picture. When you super size it, all the trash that comes from compression is clearly visible. THIS INCLUDES D*. I would suspect that Dish's HD is a little better than D* just from the published specs. 1440X1080 compared to 1280X1080 sure looks better on my computer monitor and my 106" screen. Again, I have not seen much E*. My son just got it so I will be comparing. Unfortunately, he doesn't have Dish HD or local OTA. He does have a 65" Mits but it will still be harder to compare by memory.

Walt

PWSHER

02-19-07, 12:25 PM

Scott Tucker

02-19-07, 12:59 PM

Like I said previously, Charter in STL is now all digital it probably wasn't when you tried it a few months ago. And folks wonder why we want our own thread.

So, if I call today and order Basic cable, is it all digital?

Scott

kdg454

02-19-07, 01:06 PM

Like I said previously, Charter in STL is now all digital it probably wasn't when you tried it a few months ago. And folks wonder why we want our own thread.
THIS (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=805958) STL Charter thread? The one created on the 15th?

I was more so wondering why it's not being used for what it was intended for :confused:

kdg454

02-19-07, 01:07 PM

So, if I call today and order Basic cable, is it all digital?

Scott
Call and order it Scott.
Let us know after you have it installed :D

Scott Tucker

02-19-07, 01:22 PM

Call and order it Scott.
Let us know after you have it installed :D

I called, and they said I didn't need a box. :confused: Can someone clarify?

Scott

PWSHER

02-19-07, 01:28 PM

Call and order it Scott.
Let us know after you have it installed :D

It is true in STL. This was one of the first areas in the US to have digital basic channels. This saves them bandwidth, allows a better SD picture and allows one to record more programs on Moxi since analog takes up more space than digital programs.

kdg454

02-19-07, 01:43 PM

It is true in STL. This was one of the first areas in the US to have digital basic channels. This saves them bandwidth, allows a better SD picture and allows one to record more programs on Moxi since analog takes up more space than digital programs.
OK, I understand that....but, a lot of users have said the Moxi doesn't do SD well. Is it because the digital signal is being compressed?

GlendaleHDTV

02-19-07, 01:51 PM

I called, and they said I didn't need a box. :confused: Can someone clarify?

Scott

You don't need a box, but without a box, the signal that comes into your TV will be analog. Charter is not "all digital", but instead uses a digital simulcast of stations 1-99. Meaning if you have a set-top box, it will process the digital signal, if you don't have a box, and just plug the cable into your TV, channels 1-99 are analog. They started this digital simulcast I believe in late 2004/early 2005. Prior to that, the analog channels on the Moxi were absolutely terrible. They're still not great, but certainly nowhere near as bad as when they were analog.

rbkb

02-19-07, 01:52 PM

If you are just hooking up the cable out of the wall to your TV, it is analog only. I believe that if you have a built in QAM tuner in your TV, you will get some of the stations digitally if you subscribe to their digital programming, but you need either a cable card or a STB to recieve all stations digitally on Charter.

It is my understanding that Charter replicates both analog and digital signals for channels 1-99, and that is contributing to their bandwith issue. There is definely some compression on the digital channels 1-99.

Sorry, I see 63122 beat me to the punch!

Scott Tucker

02-19-07, 01:52 PM

You don't need a box, but without a box, the signal that comes into your TV will be analog. Charter is not "all digital", but instead uses a digital simulcast of stations 1-99. Meaning if you have a set-top box, it will process the digital signal, if you don't have a box, and just plug the cable into your TV, channels 1-99 are analog. They started this digital simulcast I believe in late 2004/early 2005. Prior to that, the analog channels on the Moxi were absolutely terrible. They're still not great, but certainly nowhere near as bad as when they were analog.

Now that makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.

Scott

DroptheRemote

02-19-07, 02:27 PM

XM, Sirius Agree to $13 Billion Merger Deal

The following (non-Charter) story from is from a SkyREPORT news bulletin:
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The companies made it official this afternoon: XM Satellite Radio and Sirius entered into a definitive agreement to merge operations in a deal valued at $13 billion, which includes net debt of about $1.6 billion.

Through the deal, XM shareholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 4.6 shares of Sirius common stock for each share of XM. XM and Sirius shareholders will each own about 50 percent of the combined company.

Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin will become CEO of the combined company and Gary Parsons, chairman of XM, will become chairman of the new entity. The new company's board of directors will consist of 12 directors, including Karmazin and Parsons, four independent members designated by each company, and a representative from General Motors and American Honda.

XM CEO Hugh Panero will continue in his current role until the anticipated close of the merger.

The companies said they will continue to operate independently until the transaction is completed and will work together to determine the combined company's corporate name and headquarters location prior to closing.

The deal also is subject to regulatory approvals, including an OK from the Federal Communications Commission. It's the second big satellite deal the agency is working on, given its scrutiny of Liberty Media's takeover of DIRECTV.
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