TBS is looking good! Great job so far on the Pads-Rockies coverage.

Comcast DC also now has TBS-HD, on Channel 232. And perhaps they're getting ready for another edition up in the HD sports numbers, because they've moved the HDPPV channel from what I think was 256-ish to 230.

EDIT: Oh, wait, maybe 256ish was the HD Events channel, and HD PPV will be something new?

Same in Rockville. Hoping a few new channels get added in the slot between HBO and the new TBS. Also, why are they throwing channels in between HBO and Max? It seems odd that they would throw channels between the movie channels.

(Dont mistake this with a complaint, I'll take my channels how(where)ever I can get them!)

Anyone else not getting Prison Break in HD? I have Cox in Nova

Anyone else not getting Prison Break in HD? I have Cox in Nova

Yeah no HD on WTTG OTA either. I switched to WBFF in Batlimore. They have it HD.

Yeah no HD on WTTG OTA either. I switched to WBFF in Batlimore. They have it HD.

Good call I just swiched:D

Has anyone tried TBS HD via QAM? I would love to DVR 2 programs and watch the playoffs at the same time. I rescaned and TNT comes in but no TBS.

[QUOTE=Marcus Carr;11782419]Comcast has added Food Network HD and TBS HD in Baltimore City.[/QUOTE

Harford, Howard, Carroll and Baltimore Counties as well.

GoIrish

and Anne Arundel

K'Ville on Fox
WTTG HD=no; volume=normal
WBFF HD=yes; volume=low

so my TBS-HD comes in great, I had to call Comcast and they did something. But i still don't have Food-HD. Does anyone else in NoVa/DC have it?

What channel is Food HD supposed to be on?

The Baltimore City lineup at Comcast.com was updated with the new channels yesterday (Food HD and TBS HD). They are a lot faster with the updates than they used to be.

I fell asleep just before midnight Sunday night and when I woke up at about 12:10 AM, The Tube was gone. Did they say "good-bye" or did they just cut the transmission?

After the last video, right at midnight, it faded to black and silence like the normal transition to another video. Silence and blackness - that's how it stayed. No goodbye at all.

What channel is Food HD supposed to be on?

I don't know, that's why I'm asking. It looks like other markets got it yesterday along with TBS and a few others. I don't know why we wouldn't get it here.

I don't know, that's why I'm asking. It looks like other markets got it yesterday along with TBS and a few others. I don't know why we wouldn't get it here.

Yep, TBS HD showed up on channel 232 here in Loudoun County, but I didn't see any other HD channels.

I'm having FIOS installed in Sterling on Sunday. Is there any word on when/if CSN-HD will be added? Will FIOS ever get CSN-HD?

i finally got my first plasma, and am having a hard time deciding which antenna to get for pulling in some OTA stations. I am hoping to be able to get the Baltimore, and Washington DC stations. I live in North East Baltimore City. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=Mainfield+ave.+Baltimore,+MD+(baltimore)&sll=39.355472,-76.581316&sspn=0.059995,0.059481&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1

I would very much prefer to NOT mount the antenna outside on the house, but rather in the attic-unless it was something smaller and (fairly) attractive like the Squareshooter, that would be ok outside.

Can anyone with some Baltimore experience help me out?

thanks.

K'Ville on Fox
WTTG HD=no; volume=normal
WBFF HD=yes; volume=low

For FOX primetime shows in HD, we have no (also known as none, zip, zilch, nada, etc.) controls over the audio level. The signal does not go thru our master control - it comes out of the FOX receiver as an ASI stream, goes into the splicer (controlled by FOX), and goes to the transmitter.

I've been thinking about turning down the WBFF audio to more closely match the network audio, but I haven't gotten a "round to-it" yet...

WRC DT is another one that has low volume and not just for network programming but local also.

I agree re WRC's audio level problems, although I think their big issue is that local programming has very low levels vs. the network. I watch WRC's 11pm news, and every evening find myself desperately grabbing for the remote when they cut to the network feed for Jay Leno - "NBC - America's late-night leader!" almost blows out my speakers! It literally sounds about 2x as loud as the local news audio.

WETA-HD, at least on RCN, seems to have much lower audio levels than adjacent channels.

Hi all -

Because of the bi-annual satellite sun outages there is a good chance that the NFL games will start out as SD on Sunday. FOX has told us to use the B receiver to start out with (no HD), then switch to the A receiver (HD) after the outage on it goes away.

The thing is, according to the Intelsat sun outage calculator (http://www.intelsat.com/resources/satellitedata-pas/calc-sun-outages.asp), I'm not supposed to get an outage on Galaxy 3C (or Galaxy 16, for that matter) until 10/8. If I reduce the size of my antenna on the calculator from 3.7m to 1.7m, it shows that the sun outage would occur around 2:15 PM until around 2:20 PM. That means that that I would have to be on the B receiver from the beginning of the game until 2:20.

I'm having FIOS installed in Sterling on Sunday. Is there any word on when/if CSN-HD will be added? Will FIOS ever get CSN-HD?
Yes, according to posts elsewhere on the net a month ago from people who claimed to be Fios or former Fios insiders, Fios has an agreement in place for CSN Mid-Atlantic HD. The problem is reportedly that, unlike the CSN MA SD feed which is sent via satellite, the HD feed is being passed via landlines. Verizon has to pass the HD feed to several regional video heads but one hang-up is that they have to be able to black out the HD channel and that requires some work because of the way it is being distributed. I'm not sure I understand why that is a problem, because wouldn't they have prepared for this when putting the system together? Anyway, the claim was that they were working on getting it in place "with a goal of having it by the NBA/NHL season starts in the fall." Since the NHL season has started, I say they have missed the deadline. So, who knows, maybe CSN MA HD will show up in the next several weeks. Or not. I expect CSN MA HD will show up someday without advance notice. The CSRs will be the last ones to know.

Yes, according to posts elsewhere on the net a month ago from people who claimed to be Fios or former Fios insiders, Fios has an agreement in place for CSN Mid-Atlantic HD. The problem is reportedly that, unlike the CSN MA SD feed which is sent via satellite, the HD feed is being passed via landlines. Verizon has to pass the HD feed to several regional video heads but one hang-up is that they have to be able to black out the HD channel and that requires some work because of the way it is being distributed. I'm not sure I understand why that is a problem, because wouldn't they have prepared for this when putting the system together? Anyway, the claim was that they were working on getting it in place "with a goal of having it by the NBA/NHL season starts in the fall." Since the NHL season has started, I say they have missed the deadline. So, who knows, maybe CSN MA HD will show up in the next several weeks. Or not. I expect CSN MA HD will show up someday without advance notice. The CSRs will be the last ones to know.

While the NHL season has started for other teams the first HD game for the Caps would be this coming Saturday's home opener against the Canes. So they still have a few days to make their deadline. I have seriously considered going back to Comcast because of the lack of CSN-HD. I am giving Verizon until like the middle of the month before I reconsider my options.

Is TBS HD an extra channel? I turned to Channel 232 yesterday in Arlington, VAand I get a message that I don't subscribe and must call to have it added (same message as I would get with Showtime, HBO, etc)

Is TBS HD an extra channel? I turned to Channel 232 yesterday in Arlington, VAand I get a message that I don't subscribe and must call to have it added (same message as I would get with Showtime, HBO, etc)

call them. i had to do it too. i'm not sure exactly what they do, they send a signal to your box and reset it or something. but it'll show up if you talk to them.

i actually have a whole new on-screen menu since they fixed it, and they added a few HD stations that I didn't even know we had, like 227, which is Music HD or something like that.

jamiejones: I'm not a Baltimore expert, but the Baltimore and DC antennas are generally in the same direction from your place. Try a Channel Master 3016 or 3018 (if that'll fit!) and mount one of those in the attic somewhere. Test various locations in there, no matter which one you choose.

TBS HD is about to be added on RCN, on channel 181.

jamiejones: I'm not a Baltimore expert, but the Baltimore and DC antennas are generally in the same direction from your place. Try a Channel Master 3016 or 3018 (if that'll fit!) and mount one of those in the attic somewhere. Test various locations in there, no matter which one you choose.

Thanks Mikemikeb, i should have pointed out that my attic is quite small, not sure i can fit either of those. I'll get up there tomorrow and do some measuring, but even if i managed to fit one that large up there, i'd be pretty limited as to positioning. Any other smaller antenna suggestions?

jamiejones: How about a Channel Master 2001? It's under $30 at solidsignal.com, and is pretty short -- but wide (there may be a bit of concern there).

I guess when you cut the bitrate in half you not only get half the video quality, you get half the volume! :)

WETA-HD, at least on RCN, seems to have much lower audio levels than adjacent channels.

New DirecTV channels added:

Bravo HD
USA Network HD
SciFi Channel HD
HBO West HD
Cinemax HD
Cinemax West HD

Also, at long last, Comcast Sportsnet added in HD on D* in Baltimore.

Scott

so we are to assume that TBS HD on Comcast in NoVa is perminent correct? Not just added for the baseball playoffs like Universal HD was for the Olympics?

i finally got my first plasma, and am having a hard time deciding which antenna to get for pulling in some OTA stations. I am hoping to be able to get the Baltimore, and Washington DC stations. I live in North East Baltimore City.
I would very much prefer to NOT mount the antenna outside on the house, but rather in the attic-unless it was something smaller and (fairly) attractive like the Squareshooter, that would be ok outside.
Just your zip code of 21214 would have been easier to look up. You are ~ miles from the main Baltimore towers at 266° and ~40 miles from the Washington DC broadcast towers at 235°. So you have about a 30 degree spread between the two cluster of stations, but you are close enough to the Baltimore stations that even very directional antennas will get them.

Quoting from a post I wrote here a few weeks ago: "First, the basics. All of the stations in DC and Baltimore are currently digitally broadcasting on UHF. After the analog shutdown in February, 2009, WJLA-DT ABC 7, WUSA-DT CBS 9 in DC, WBAL-DT NBC 11, WJZ-DT CBS 13 in Baltimore will be changing their digital broadcast from UHF to their current upper VHF (7 to 13) analog channel. The low VHF (2 to 6) stations will stay at UHF."

I often recommend the Channel Master 4221 4 Bay bowtie UHF antenna in this area because it can pick up stations over a wide spread in azimuth. You do have the MPT stations in Baltimore and Annapolis off in different directions, but you only need to get one of them as all MPT stations have the same programming. But at 40 miles, the CM 4221 is a poor bet to get WJLA-DT and WUSA-DT 9 after they switch to upper VHF. Since the Baltimore and DC stations are only 30 degrees apart from your location, the Channel master 4228 8 bay bowtie is an option. It has good performance for upper VHF although it has a notch at VHF 8, but we won't have any VHF 8 stations here.

The CM3016 that was suggested is ok, but it is not a top performer for UHF. Also, at 5 miles from the Baltimore towers, you should stay away from a pre-amp unless it turns out you need it for the DC stations. At that close to the Baltimore antennas, a pre-amp may overload the front end of your ATSC tuner.

Check http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/erecting_antenna.html for antenna basics and charts for various antennas including the CM 4221, CM 4228, CM 3018.

TBS HD is about to be added on RCN, on channel 181.

Ooooohhh. Do you know when? I would love to have this for the playoffs.

Do any of you RCN QAM users know what channel the new Versus HD is? I redid my channel scan last night but I can't find it.

Ooooohhh. Do you know when? I would love to have this for the playoffs.


It should be ready by this afternoon, if it isn't already on. Last night it was showing up in the program guide, but I was getting the "Temporarily Off Air" message.

I'm hearing that TBS's baseball production in HD looks spectacular. I can't wait to see it tonight.

New DirecTV channels added:

Bravo HD
USA Network HD
SciFi Channel HD
HBO West HD
Cinemax HD
Cinemax West HD

So this makes 27 additions in the last week by DirecTV? Ouch. Has anyone in the Montgomery County area recently switched from Comcast to DirecTV? I can't ignore how pissy I feel knowing how many channels I am currently missing with Comcast! I keep hoping for the ComcasTivo download option for Comcast, but how can I ignore all of these new glorious HD channels on their major competitors lineup?
A few questions:
1. How is DirecTV's PQ compared to Comcasts? I feel that my Comcast PQ is very good.
2. Can you get a DTV plan that doesn't involve a contract?
3. I currently get every movie channel from Comcast as part of my super all inclusive HDTV package. Is the price comparable for similar service on DTV?
4. Does DTV's DVR compare with Comcasts? What about audio/video - does DTV DVR output optical DD 5.1? Output HDMI?

Im new here, and didn't find these answers relating to this geographic area, so please forgive if these types of questions have been asked already. Pls help if you can! Thanks!

If I spend this much mula per month I really shouldn't be watching any standard def channels on my big old tv.

Thanks everyone who replied.

After taking in all of the advice, doing some more research, and getting up in the attic to measure, i am currently thinking of going with the 4228. i like the idea of that being future-proof (for our area) after the analog shutdown, and it looks like it'll just fit in the attic.

It looks like i should be able to aim it pretty squarely in the direction of the towers in the location it'll have to go. Is there any issues i should know about for attic mounting this antenna, or any other precautions or advice?

After taking in all of the advice, doing some more research, and getting up in the attic to measure, i am currently thinking of going with the 4228. i like the idea of that being future-proof (for our area) after the analog shutdown, and it looks like it'll just fit in the attic.

It looks like i should be able to aim it pretty squarely in the direction of the towers in the location it'll have to go. Is there any issues i should know about for attic mounting this antenna, or any other precautions or advice?
Yes. Attics are prone to dead spots for reception due to signal reflection off of walls or obstructions. I have a CM 4221 4 Bay in my attic mounted to flat piece of scrap wood using a $5 attic mounting bracket I got at Lowes. I can slide the antenna setup cross the floor beams. I moved the antenna around until I found a good spot for receiving both the Baltimore and DC stations along with other stations in different directions from my townhouse in Sterling. I have tweaked the location and aim a few times since then.

So this makes 27 additions in the last week by DirecTV?

They also added YES, NESN (soon to be Comcast) and Comcast Chicago. They are available with a package (but not the pro sports, but having them available means the pro sports will be available in HD soon).


A few questions:
1. How is DirecTV's PQ compared to Comcasts? I feel that my Comcast PQ is very good.


I find D* to be about the same as my Comcast traditionally for HD. The new channels are spectactular.


2. Can you get a DTV plan that doesn't involve a contract?


No. One year for non-DVR. Two years for DVR.


3. I currently get every movie channel from Comcast as part of my super all inclusive HDTV package. Is the price comparable for similar service on DTV?


The highest package on D* is about 100 bucks. That is everything but the pro sports and college packages (Extra Innings, etc.) that gets you all the movie channels and all the regional sports packages mines the special packages.

It depends on what you want. But my basic bill for D* has stayed pretty stable for over 10 years.


4. Does DTV's DVR compare with Comcasts? What about audio/video - does DTV DVR output optical DD 5.1? Output HDMI?


The D* DVR is pretty good. Much better than the Motorola or the Scientific Atlanta that Comcast uses in Howard County. It is not Tivo. It is better and worse in some ways. I like it quite a bit. And yes, it does DD5.1 and HDMI and has optical out as well as component and SD output. All live at once. No RF output. The HR20 does OTA digital as well integrated into the guide.(Which you will want because only select digital locals are on the satellite for now...more coming in early 2008 when the next satellite is turned on).

For more, go to www.dbstalk.com!

Yes. Attics are prone to dead spots for reception due to signal reflection off of walls or obstructions. I have a CM 4221 4 Bay in my attic mounted to flat piece of scrap wood using a $5 attic mounting bracket I got at Lowes. I can slide the antenna setup cross the floor beams. I moved the antenna around until I found a good spot for receiving both the Baltimore and DC stations along with other stations in different directions from my townhouse in Sterling. I have tweaked the location and aim a few times since then.

That's what i was afraid of. Would i be better off with the 4221 to provide more flexibility in the installation? Although i liked the idea of the future VHF reception of the 4228.

HD Video on Demand moved from 247 to 230 confirmed and verified hopefully this is a sign of the other HD channles NFL Food HGTV A&E Universial to be added soon.

Off HD but Mhz networks repositioned to the 190's and 203 is doppler 9 radar and 205 is now local point tv, 207 tube is off the air.

I believe TBS is permanent in Manassas since the upgrade is there but we'll for sure after the playoffs..

That's what i was afraid of. Would i be better off with the 4221 to provide more flexibility in the installation? Although i liked the idea of the future VHF reception of the 4228.
Depends on how big your attic is. Mine is a crawlspace and does not have room for a CM 4228. I also need the wide pickup in azimuth of the CM 4221 from my location. The CM 4221 gets good reception for the analog WJLA 7 and WUSA 9 stations in DC at 16 miles, terrible for analog WBAL 11 and WJZ 13 at 43 miles. So a few months ago, I got a Winegard YA-6713 upper VHF 7 to 13 antenna and put that up in the attic (it is currently aimed at the WWPX-DT Ion station in Martinsburg, WV). The YA-6713 is 35" wide by about 3' long. Unfortunately, Winegard recently discontinued the YA-6713, although they still have the longer YA-1713. I don't why Winegard discontinued it, but I expect there will be some new upper VHF antennas on the market prior to Feb, 2009. Because upper VHF 7 to 13 starts at 1/3 the wavelength of VHF 2, an upper VHF antenna is more compact.

But if you have room for the CM 4228, that is the better bet for picking up the DC stations at 40+ miles as you will be looking across Baltimore with all the buildings.

Posting again, there has to be someone else in the Baltimore area that uses a Media Center to get OTA HDTV!

Is there anyone in the Balimore area that CAN tune WJZ (CBS) OTA ATSC (ch 38) through Windows Media Center (version 2005 or Vista).

I used to be able to get it and now suddenly not, but only not in Media Center (when I can get it with other software and all the other OTA HD channels work fine).

If someone could verify that WJZ works for them in their Media Center that would be a Great help in my troubleshooting.

Thanks!

I just wanted to commment on the TBS-HD pic for the games. I'm very impressed. I figured it was 720p like ESPN but it's actually 1080i (I belive)

Depends on how big your attic is. Mine is a crawlspace and does not have room for a CM 4228. I also need the wide pickup in azimuth of the CM 4221 from my location. The CM 4221 gets good reception for the analog WJLA 7 and WUSA 9 stations in DC at 16 miles, terrible for analog WBAL 11 and WJZ 13 at 43 miles. So a few months ago, I got a Winegard YA-6713 upper VHF 7 to 13 antenna and put that up in the attic (it is currently aimed at the WWPX-DT Ion station in Martinsburg, WV). The YA-6713 is 35" wide by about 3' long. Unfortunately, Winegard recently discontinued the YA-6713, although they still have the longer YA-1713. I don't why Winegard discontinued it, but I expect there will be some new upper VHF antennas on the market prior to Feb, 2009. Because upper VHF 7 to 13 starts at 1/3 the wavelength of VHF 2, an upper VHF antenna is more compact.

But if you have room for the CM 4228, that is the better bet for picking up the DC stations at 40+ miles as you will be looking across Baltimore with all the buildings.

well, it looks like the 4228 will fit, i'm going to give that a try i think. thanks for all the help.

call them. i had to do it too. i'm not sure exactly what they do, they send a signal to your box and reset it or something. but it'll show up if you talk to them.

i actually have a whole new on-screen menu since they fixed it, and they added a few HD stations that I didn't even know we had, like 227, which is Music HD or something like that.

Ok, so I called Comcast today, they sent a signal to the box, they had me power cycle and still nothing. I get "Not Authorized" for TBS-HD, MHD and National Geographic HD. They are sending a technican out on Sunday to investigate.

I just watched my recording of Heroes from Monday. Did anyone else have several breakups during the broadcast? It was pretty bad towards the beginning, I think somewhere in the middle, and near the end.

Thanks.

I just wanted to commment on the TBS-HD pic for the games. I'm very impressed. I figured it was 720p like ESPN but it's actually 1080i (I belive)It did look great on DirecTV... ...did I just say that? :D

I just watched my recording of Heroes from Monday. Did anyone else have several breakups during the broadcast? It was pretty bad towards the beginning, I think somewhere in the middle, and near the end.

Thanks.

I watched Heroes live, and saw no problems OTA from Baltimore.

DirecTV has added MHD.

I noticed this morning that WHUT-DT is up and running programming at 33.1. they are in 480-I. their video looks very bad.

I noticed this morning that WHUT-DT is up and running programming at 33.1. they are in 480-I. their video looks very bad.
Yep, looks like the last full power holdout in DC, Howard University PBS station WHUT-DT 32 is finally up and on the air. The station is digitally broadcasting on UHF 33. They have to fix their PSIP data as the channel is shown as 33-1 and with no station call sign.

I'm getting 9 out of 10 bars for WHUT-DT from Sterling, so the station is probably operating at or a significant fraction of the 100 kW power level they are licensed for. But they are presumably in test mode, so the antenna settings may be tweaked and the station may go on and off the air.

The signal is a soft looking 480i SD for the exercise program they were showing. Anyone know if WHUT-DT is planning to offer a HD sub-channel or are they going to do SD only for now?

The signal is a soft looking 480i SD for the exercise program they were showing. Anyone know if WHUT-DT is planning to offer a HD sub-channel or are they going to do SD only for now?You're pushing it... LOL

I noticed this morning that WHUT-DT is up and running programming at 33.1. they are in 480-I. their video looks very bad.

92% here in Forestville. Still waiting for WUTB 24!!!!!

Well its good to see the final hold out going on the air. I have always had to say "All the DC/Balt area stations are already broadcasting digital except....whut-dt. Now we can finally say that they are all now on digtial.

Still I never hold out much hope for WHUT-DT as far as HDTV goes. They are a college station, so they don't have the money to jump into HD area full steam. At best I thought they would just relay PBS-HD, but considering that MPT balked at paying for that, now I doubt WHUT would do that also.

Anyone on RCN using a QAM tuner for HD able to get either Versus HD or TBS-HD? If so what channel does it end up being on?

Thanks.. I think this is the only place I could find any info.

Well - I found TBS HD.... It's on 84-2 *way* away from the other HD channels. The hunt continues.

Comcast May Face New Competition in Baltimore County

Cavalier Telephone Applies for Permission to Offer Video Services

By Linda Haugsted -- Multichannel News, 10/4/2007 12:40:00 PM

Spelling possible trouble for Comcast and Verizon Communications, residents of Baltimore County, Md. could get a third choice of providers for bundled services if the county council approves a recent application.

The office of county Councilman Kevin Kamenetz, who negotiates franchises on behalf of the county, confirmed that Richmond, Va.-based Cavalier Telephone has applied for permission to offer video services in the county.

The privately owned Cavalier passes 5.1 million homes in seven major markets. Its operational base includes communities in Delaware, Maryland, southern New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

The competitive local exchange carrier offers a triple play bundle including local and 5-cents-a-minute long distance, high speed data plus video service (with an onscreen caller ID feature) for $95.95, according to its Web site.

http://multichannel.com/article/CA6487193.html

Comcast has its coax and Verizon has its fiber to the house - how's this co getting its signal to the house?

Comcast has its coax and Verizon has its fiber to the house - how's this co getting its signal to the house?

They offer this service in Richmond and Hampton Roads, VA over ADSL2+; I'd imagine it would be the same in Baltimore.

If the reviews on DSLReports are any indication, people aren't exactly thrilled with their service.

The first inning of the Cubs game was in glorious HD on TNT-HD on Cox Fairfax last night. Then they switched it back to TBS. {Sigh}

There is only so much they can squeeze out of those old copper pairs that were designed for a 1920's phone network. Cavalier may be able to offer a decent service to those who are not very demanding and will be satisfied with SD and a cheap bill. But for those who hunger for fidelity and resolution they just can't hope to cut it. Perhaps one day if they bond multiple pairs they could get the bw necessary, but by that time, Comcast will have SDV & MPEG4 working and FiOS will be in Full IPTV mode. So they will still be behind the ball.

Oh, and I could not tune in WHUT-DT last night. It must have just been daytime testing yesterday.

The first inning of the Cubs game was in glorious HD on TNT-HD on Cox Fairfax last night. Then they switched it back to TBS. {Sigh}

What channel?

tnt hd is 714 i believe?

The Baltimore Sun today reported that some Orioles and Nationals games will be in HD in 2008 on MASN if they get it carried on cable and satellite.

Scott

I don't understand why it would be "some" games in HD. It should be somethings along the lines of "all home games". If they aren't going to have all of the home games in HD, then that means that they would be renting HD equipment for the few games that are HD. And if there are only "some" home games in HD, then I don't blame any MSOs for balking on adding MASN-HD to their line up.

Besides in this day and age its ridiculous for any RSN to not be in HD. It will only look more foolish next year.

The Baltimore Sun today reported that some Orioles and Nationals games will be in HD in 2008 on MASN if they get it carried on cable and satellite.
I saw the gist of the article this morning in the HOTP thread in the programming forum: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=11820184#post11820184.

It is the some old weaseled phrasing as we have had all year: "Next season, Mid-Atlantic Sports Network is planning to televise at least part of the schedule in high-definition, though it is contingent upon getting HD channels for MASN on the cable and satellite providers that carry the network, a MASN spokesman said." They will add HD if they can get the service providers signed up? Good grief, we are in the midst of a major HD expansion boom with new national HD channels starting up and ALL the other RSNs that I have heard of, either now have a HD channel or will have one by 2008. The Kansas City Royals, the other MLB holdout are moving to a Fox SN and they will be in HD next year. And MASN still tries to wiggle on this?

If they start a MASN-HD channel, surely the cable and sat companies will line up to to work on adding it. Just go ahead and announce that all O's and Nats home games will be made available in HD next year and as many road games as they can make arrangements for. DirecTV can add MASN-HD right away. Fios has a short term bandwidth issue for national HD channels, but they have bandwidth from what I can see for two HD RSNs right now. Comcast is the obvious problem as they still probably resent the whole MASN deal. But Comcast won't stall long on adding MASN-HD if Verizon and RCN have MASN-HD. How to deal with a MASN2-HD channel will be a problem, but Peter Angelos brought this upon us by insisting both the Nats and Os had to go on his own RSN. :rolleyes:

What channel?

What I meant was that TNT-HD was running the beginning of the game because the previous game wasn't over yet. When the Yankees game ended, they took the game off of TNT. It was TBS and TNT's operation. Nothing to do with Cox.

I don't understand why it would be "some" games in HD. It should be somethings along the lines of "all home games". If they aren't going to have all of the home games in HD, then that means that they would be renting HD equipment for the few games that are HD. And if there are only "some" home games in HD, then I don't blame any MSOs for balking on adding MASN-HD to their line up.

Besides in this day and age its ridiculous for any RSN to not be in HD. It will only look more foolish next year.
Regarding MASN HD (lack thereof) Agreed. I watched less than 5 Orioles games this year, whereas last year I probably watched over 100. I'd write their advertisers and let them know why, but I can't bring myself to watch the channel long enough to learn who their advertisers actually are.

I still believe that MASN is the worst RSN in America today, and I am anxiously awaiting the day I can state otherwise. I do not believe it is an exaggeration to say they are the worst, either. It is so sad that they still resort to blaming their lack of HD on Comcast.

Regarding MASN HD (lack thereof) Agreed. I watched less than 5 Orioles games this year, whereas last year I probably watched over 100. I'd write their advertisers and let them know why, but I can't bring myself to watch the channel long enough to learn who their advertisers actually are.

I still believe that MASN is the worst RSN in America today, and I am anxiously awaiting the day I can state otherwise. I do not believe it is an exaggeration to say they are the worst, either. It is so sad that they still resort to blaming their lack of HD on Comcast.

I don't know if MASN is the worst, but it is about the only RSN without HD. I believe Comcast would accept the same terms of other cablecos about carriage so I'm not worried about that.

I too have avoided MASN except in a few cases because of SD.

Of course, blaming Comcast for not having HD is silly and ludicrous. There are many other cable companies served by MASN. HD just wasn't their priority and they needed an excuse. What will be their excuse in 2008 if they don't offer MASN-HD?

Rich N.

I still believe that MASN is the worst RSN in America today, and I am anxiously awaiting the day I can state otherwise.

As a Nationals season ticket holder, I am anxiously waiting the day that MASN goes under and leaves the Nats (and Orioles) to sign on with real RSNs.

Of course, blaming Comcast for not having HD is silly and ludicrous.

It's force of habit. From the start, MASN has blamed Comcast for many of its problems, even though, as you noted, other cable companies carry it.

As my previous post indicated, I'm not a fan of MASN, not just because it PQ is horrendous -- I didn't see the point. The area doesn't need two RSNs. Apart from baseball, MASN has no real rationale: after baseball season it's re-runs and mid-major basketball until mid-March. It especially has little to offer people in North Carolina.

i finally got my first plasma, and am having a hard time deciding which antenna to get for pulling in some OTA stations. I am hoping to be able to get the Baltimore, and Washington DC stations. I live in North East Baltimore City. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=Mainfield+ave.+Baltimore,+MD+(baltimore)&sll=39.355472,-76.581316&sspn=0.059995,0.059481&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1

I would very much prefer to NOT mount the antenna outside on the house, but rather in the attic-unless it was something smaller and (fairly) attractive like the Squareshooter, that would be ok outside.

Can anyone with some Baltimore experience help me out?

thanks.

I live in Parkville, and I bought a Channel Master 4221 so I could receive WBFF so I could watch Redskins games. I haven't installed it in the attic yet, but I put it up in my first floor living room in the direction of the towers, and was able to get WBFF easily, and WJLA with a little bit of trial and error. I think I got channel 9 as well, and the Baltimore locals, but I don't remember because I was mainly interested in the first two. Of course, the attic situation could be a different story, but I'm encouraged by the results considering I didn't even put it in a window or anything.

Now to try to find a clean way to run the coax down 2 stories....sigh...

The first inning of the Cubs game was in glorious HD on TNT-HD on Cox Fairfax last night. Then they switched it back to TBS. {Sigh}

TNT will show the games is they previous game runs long on TBS.

I live in Parkville, and I bought a Channel Master 4221 so I could receive WBFF so I could watch Redskins games. I haven't installed it in the attic yet, but I put it up in my first floor living room in the direction of the towers, and was able to get WBFF easily, and WJLA with a little bit of trial and error. I think I got channel 9 as well, and the Baltimore locals, but I don't remember because I was mainly interested in the first two. Of course, the attic situation could be a different story, but I'm encouraged by the results considering I didn't even put it in a window or anything.

Now to try to find a clean way to run the coax down 2 stories....sigh...If its the Redskins that you want, then try to get WTTG Fox5 out of DC. I'm not sure if FOX45 carries every Redskins game. WTTG-DT is on UHF ch 36.

I don't understand why it would be "some" games in HD. It should be somethings along the lines of "all home games".

Besides in this day and age its ridiculous for any RSN to not be in HD. It will only look more foolish next year.

I think part of the problem might be for several games you'd have to have MASN - HD and MASN2 - HD, meaning the cable companies would have to add two HD channels if ALL Os and Nats home games were in HD. I think there were something like 30 or 40 overlapping games this season. They might buy one set of HD equipment and rotate between stadiums.

It is still subpar to do it this way, but unfortantely that is what you get when you make a deal with devil. Angelos is literally taking the soul of baseball in B'more and affecting the Nats to purgatory.

there is no good reason CSN should not be in HD, since the verizon center just dropped cash on a HD scoreboard and LCDs all over the concourse and some boxes.

and, on the real, we are talking about peter angelos here. im sure he will try and spin a lack of HD cameras on the lerners/DC govt/baltimore government.... never his fault.

Dish Network has added TBS-HD for the MLB playoffs. Looks like it might be temporary though.

Any RCN users having problems with TNT HD? I can't get it anymore.....

What's up with CBS not working in-the-clear in Baltimore City w/ Comcast? I caught the few posts about it not working w/ cablecards from a couple weeks ago, which is about when I noticed 13.1 drop from the air. Now my TV can't find it on a QAM scan even though it wasn't an issue before. Isn't Comcast legally obligated to mirror OTA offerings on the cable system?

Montclair, VA - Got a flyer in the mail today from Comcast saying that on Monday, October 29 NHL Network, ESPN Classic, Bloomberg and Fox Business will be added to the channel lineup along with HD channels A&E HD, NFL HD and Universal HD...now up to 24 HD channels...

Montclair, VA - Got a flyer in the mail today from Comcast saying that on Monday, October 29 NHL Network, ESPN Classic, Bloomberg and Fox Business will be added to the channel lineup along with HD channels A&E HD, NFL HD and Universal HD...now up to 24 HD channels...

It sounds like that will get them up to what is already being offered in Maryland. I should get it here in Woodbridge/Dale City if you got a flyer in Montclair. Unfortunately my days are numbered with Comcast since I got FIOS a month ago. I'll be dropping Comcast when my year is up in December.

Any RCN users having problems with TNT HD? I can't get it anymore.....

Yeah, it disappeared for me, too.

I'm hoping at some point, RCN gets Universal HD and Sci Fi HD. I want my BSG and SGA in HD.

RCN customer here - using QAM tuner. Lost TNT a few days ago, and now lost CBS, NBC and FOX (never was able to get ABC).

Skins game is not in HD. Verizon Fios here.

game just flipped from HD to SD here in Howard County on Comcast. Watching on Baltimore FOX HD (Ch. 213).

Skins game is not in HD. Verizon Fios here.

Probably because of the following (which I assume would also apply to WTTG):

Because of the bi-annual satellite sun outages there is a good chance that the NFL games will start out as SD on Sunday. FOX has told us to use the B receiver to start out with (no HD), then switch to the A receiver (HD) after the outage on it goes away.

The thing is, according to the Intelsat sun outage calculator (http://www.intelsat.com/resources/satellitedata-pas/calc-sun-outages.asp), I'm not supposed to get an outage on Galaxy 3C (or Galaxy 16, for that matter) until 10/8. If I reduce the size of my antenna on the calculator from 3.7m to 1.7m, it shows that the sun outage would occur around 2:15 PM until around 2:20 PM. That means that that I would have to be on the B receiver from the beginning of the game until 2:20.

Skins game is not in HD. Verizon Fios here.

It was in HD Fox/DC then switched off, I switched to Fox/Balt then it switched off.:rolleyes:

The game flipped from HD to SD on Cox here in Fairfax as well.

and now its back to HD here on Comcast Howard County.

back here too

been HD all day here in Baltimore. CBS feed looks way way better cept it looks like ALL channels on the 119 frequency (119.1 - 119.9) are having that drop issue. Which is basically CBS HD and all the MPT channels including MPT HD. Maybe I have water in my line or something....I should go check my fittings.

Anyone on RCN using QAM getting signals on FOX or CBS?

Noticed if you check the Comcast channel lineup for Arlington/Alexandria on www.comcast.com, it is now listing A&E HD and NFL HD.

Question for any experts out there: I'm still getting "Not Authorized"" on the following HD channels: National Geographic, MHD and TBSHD. Comcast was at my place today, they gave me a new box, the channels worked for about an hour and went back to "Not Authorized." Any ideas what the problem is. I'm on the $33 a month digital promotion package.

If Cox (Fairfax) delays giving us TBS-HD much longer, they might as well not do it, AFAIC. The only reason I want that network is the baseball playoffs. Once they're over or TBS is no longer carrying the games, carrying TBS-HD is a waste of bandwidth from my perspective. Stretched-out "Little House on the Prairie" and the like is a piss-poor substitute for stuff like HDNet or even the History Channel HD.

i was under the impression seinfelds would be remastered for the hd switch? also, they can film their new series in HD, and if they can get rights to some thrashers/hawks games that would be butt silly

Noticed if you check the Comcast channel lineup for Arlington/Alexandria on www.comcast.com, it is now listing A&E HD and NFL HD.

Question for any experts out there: I'm still getting "Not Authorized"" on the following HD channels: National Geographic, MHD and TBSHD. Comcast was at my place today, they gave me a new box, the channels worked for about an hour and went back to "Not Authorized." Any ideas what the problem is. I'm on the $33 a month digital promotion package.

Sounds like they did not provision your box...Give them a call and they should be able to register it...

Is anyone else having signal issues with NBC4? I have a rooftop antenna with a preamp, connected to a Media Center PC with HD tuner cards. TV over the summer was dreck, so I didn't do any recording, but I used to get a good OTA signal from channel 4 back in the spring. Now the signal is mediocre--instead of full green signal I get medium yellow. Anyone else noticed any signal degradation?

i was under the impression seinfelds would be remastered for the hd switch? also, they can film their new series in HD, and if they can get rights to some thrashers/hawks games that would be butt silly
Are you writing about TBS-HD? It is known that Seinfeld has been undergoing re-mastering to HD in the process of creating the DVD season box sets. So HD masters, presumably in the 4:3 OAR (one would hope), now exist, but no one is showing them yet. From the reports posted so far, no one has seen any HD on TBS-HD except for the baseball games. Everything else is ugly stretch-o-vision. TBS is mostly sitcoms, but some are from recent network series which were shot in HD, so HD masters exists for those programs. Since TBS-HD has not shown any HD for those programs, they may have not gotten the HD tape/server machines and HD tapes/files in place yet. Whether they will add some regularly scheduled HD programming this month or in 6 months, TBS is not saying. However, discussions of TBS content - or lack of HD content - should be left to the HDTV programming forum as it is a national HD channel and not a local issue.

Today Comcast DC was over to bring me a new HD DVR, after my 6412 in the kitchen died. (The 3412 in the living room is still burping along.) The guy showed up with one of the new Moto boxes, which I was happy to see and so had him hook it up in the living room, where the HDTV is. Got it up and running--and then we discovered it wasn't the DVR, just the HD receiver. And the only HD DVRs he had on the truck were 3412s. So, I got another one of those, as did the two other people coming after me who he said were going to get the new Moto boxes but couldn't now that he saw they weren't HD.

(Yes, I know I could call again and get one of the new Moto boxes, or just go to the Comcast office, but I try to space out my Comcast dealings to lessen the chances of a stroke. And when we called to have them bring a new box we found that they had been double-charging us for HBO for the past year or so. Was only showing up on the bill as one charge, but the charge was double what it should have been. At least they were the ones who figured it out immediately when looking at the bill.)

Today Comcast DC was over to bring me a new HD DVR, after my 6412 in the kitchen died. (The 3412 in the living room is still burping along.) The guy showed up with one of the new Moto boxes, which I was happy to see and so had him hook it up in the living room, where the HDTV is. Got it up and running--and then we discovered it wasn't the DVR, just the HD receiver. And the only HD DVRs he had on the truck were 3412s. So, I got another one of those, as did the two other people coming after me who he said were going to get the new Moto boxes but couldn't now that he saw they weren't HD.

(Yes, I know I could call again and get one of the new Moto boxes, or just go to the Comcast office, but I try to space out my Comcast dealings to lessen the chances of a stroke. And when we called to have them bring a new box we found that they had been double-charging us for HBO for the past year or so. Was only showing up on the bill as one charge, but the charge was double what it should have been. At least they were the ones who figured it out immediately when looking at the bill.)



Whats new and so great about the new Moto boxes?

If its the Redskins that you want, then try to get WTTG Fox5 out of DC. I'm not sure if FOX45 carries every Redskins game. WTTG-DT is on UHF ch 36.

You're right, and my post was a typo -- I meant that I was able to get WTTG out of Washington (as well as WBFF).

Is anyone else having signal issues with NBC4? I have a rooftop antenna with a preamp, connected to a Media Center PC with HD tuner cards. TV over the summer was dreck, so I didn't do any recording, but I used to get a good OTA signal from channel 4 back in the spring. Now the signal is mediocre--instead of full green signal I get medium yellow. Anyone else noticed any signal degradation?


WHy are you using a pre-amp? You're less than ten miles from the DC towers.

Since WETA channel 27 has moved to Wisconsin ave and WHUT channel 33 is now running at or near full power, it is possible that they have pushed your amplifier above its overload threshold.

FWIW, I noticed last night that my analog 47 and 49 looked better than they had the last time I viewed them. That could indicate that WRC-NBC's digital channel 48 is running at reduced power, but while I have the instrumentation to measure its real signal strength, I have no reference level against which to compare it.

Anyone on RCN using QAM getting signals on FOX or CBS?

RCN QAM user - I have both fox and cbs working fine. Still no TNT or Versus/Golf

Ok, so I called Comcast today, they sent a signal to the box, they had me power cycle and still nothing. I get "Not Authorized" for TBS-HD, MHD and National Geographic HD. They are sending a technican out on Sunday to investigate.
Did you get a resolution to your two missing channels?
I just got my TivoHD and had no CableCard problems at all. (feared the worst!)
And all of my premium channels work fine except for National Geo HD and TBS-HD. They show up in my Tivo Guides but when I go to them they are just blank video and no audio.

I was reading www.dcrtv.com today and saw this bit. Now here is a familiar name.

Fallen Firefighter Coverage Features Top Baltimore TV Engineer - 10/8 - DCRTV hears that Mark Bulla, a top broadcast engineer with Sinclair in Baltimore, was featured in news coverage of President Bush honoring fallen firefighters on Sunday in Emmitsburg MD. Check out the coverage (http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1007/461769_video.html?ref=newsstory) at wjla.com. That's Bulla on the right with the fire department uniform on about 45 seconds into the piece. In addition to being the chief engineer for Channel 45/WBFF and Channel 54/WNUV, Bulla is a volunteer and life member of the Burtonsville Volunteer Fire Department. He's participated in the Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service since 1991.....

Thanks for your volunteer work there Mark, both as a Fireman and with helping with this memorial service.

WHy are you using a pre-amp? You're less than ten miles from the DC towers.

Since WETA channel 27 has moved to Wisconsin ave and WHUT channel 33 is now running at or near full power, it is possible that they have pushed your amplifier above its overload threshold.

FWIW, I noticed last night that my analog 47 and 49 looked better than they had the last time I viewed them. That could indicate that WRC-NBC's digital channel 48 is running at reduced power, but while I have the instrumentation to measure its real signal strength, I have no reference level against which to compare it.
Well, I wasn't using a pre-amp previously, but I was unable to get anything other than a very weak signal out of WETA, so I got a proper UHF antenna and a pre-amp, and I'm now able to get a medium-good signal for WETA. Previously I was using a cheap-o un-amped Radio Shack TV antenna.

What do you pull in on 47 and 49?

I was reading www.dcrtv.com today and saw this bit. Now here is a familiar name.



Thanks for your volunteer work there Mark, both as a Fireman and with helping with this memorial service.
Three cheers for Mark!

I was reading www.dcrtv.com today and saw this bit. Now here is a familiar name.



Thanks for your volunteer work there Mark, both as a Fireman and with helping with this memorial service.

Thanks guys! It's always nice to be appreciated.

Helping with the memorial isn't fun, but it's rewarding.

Cheers -

I'm a DirecTV subscriber. Haven't upgraded yet to the 5 LNB dish and BBCs. My question has to do with their over-the-air channels as I receive them on my HR20. Last night, when I wanted to watch Everybody Hates Chris on Baltimore's CW affil, I noted that the guide no longer had 54-1; only 54-2. It seemed to show the guide info correctly for what would be CW54, but I wasn't getting any signal on 54-2, so I couldn't watch or DVR anything. I assume that when The Tube folded, they would lose 54-2 and just go back to 54-1. I live in the Washington DC area, so that is the primary location. Baltimore is my secondary location.

Has anyone else experienced this problem on 54? How do I get the channel back on the DirecTV guide as 54-1? Is it just a matter of doing a re-scan?

And by the way, WHUT-DT comes in clear as a bell with my indoor antenna out here in Laurel.

Well, I wasn't using a pre-amp previously, but I was unable to get anything other than a very weak signal out of WETA, so I got a proper UHF antenna and a pre-amp, and I'm now able to get a medium-good signal for WETA. Previously I was using a cheap-o un-amped Radio Shack TV antenna.

What do you pull in on 47 and 49?
It is possible that the move of the channel 27 transmitter from Arlington to Wisconsin Ave. roughly coincided with your installation of a preamp.

Channel 47 is Spanish, channel 49 is MTV3. As analog stations, they are virtualy unwatchable because of the adjacent, powerful digital chaannel 48, but when they "flash cut" to digital, they will become clear as a bell for half a million to a million viewers. Someone told me they might wind up qualifying for Must Carry status in DC, but I don't have the defninitive word on that possibility.

I'm a DirecTV subscriber. Haven't upgraded yet to the 5 LNB dish and BBCs. My question has to do with their over-the-air channels as I receive them on my HR20. Last night, when I wanted to watch Everybody Hates Chris on Baltimore's CW affil, I noted that the guide no longer had 54-1; only 54-2. It seemed to show the guide info correctly for what would be CW54, but I wasn't getting any signal on 54-2, so I couldn't watch or DVR anything. I assume that when The Tube folded, they would lose 54-2 and just go back to 54-1. I live in the Washington DC area, so that is the primary location. Baltimore is my secondary location.

Has anyone else experienced this problem on 54? How do I get the channel back on the DirecTV guide as 54-1? Is it just a matter of doing a re-scan?

And by the way, WHUT-DT comes in clear as a bell with my indoor antenna out here in Laurel.

I've seen this on three different HR20s (two of them mine) and none at the same time.

Go into the Satellite and Antenna settings and rerun the setup. Tell it your zip code again. That will fix it.

Why aren't the Capitals games in HD? Comcast is in HD, but the games themselves aren't. Does Comcast have HD strictly for SportsNite????

Why aren't the Capitals games in HD? Comcast is in HD, but the games themselves aren't. Does Comcast have HD strictly for SportsNite????
??? They are in HD, but only the home games. See http://midatlantic.comcastsportsnet.com/hd_schedule.asp -- although this list is not always so accurate, it's pretty close.

does anyone else's CBS-HD feed look like garbage? i am on cox if it makes a difference..

does anyone else's CBS-HD feed look like garbage? i am on cox if it makes a difference..The WUSA CBS feed doesn't look that great to begin with at around 15.5Mbps. If your cable company (COX) applies additional compression, it will look even worse.

The best picture in DC/VA/MD area is obtained from the Baltimore affiliate (WJZ) with an off-air antenna, or from FiOS if they offer it in your market. WJZ allocates every bit to their HD feed (18+Mbps video).

Why aren't the Capitals games in HD? Comcast is in HD, but the games themselves aren't. Does Comcast have HD strictly for SportsNite????There are exceptions, but for the most part, only the local games are in HD. The Caps have only played one game at home so far.

Last night I recorded Bones on Comcast (SA8300) and watched it. At least 3-4 times the audio stopped for a few seconds, then came macroblocking and then back to normal. We were very upset as we aren't good lip readers.

We continually have freezes for a second or two during DVR playback (we watch almost everything from the DVR to avoid commercials).

Did anyone else have this problem?

Thanks,

Rich N.

DirectTV adds four more HD channels. CNBC HD+, Food-HD, NatGeo-HD, & MGM-HD.

The WUSA CBS feed doesn't look that great to begin with at around 15.5Mbps. If your cable company (COX) applies additional compression, it will look even worse.
Although perhaps a very very very few of us from our own experience totally agree with you, you do know there are networks and people on this board who say close to 15 Mbps is too absolutely as fully good HD PQ-wise as full BW and our eyes can't tell the difference!

Did you get a resolution to your two missing channels?
I just got my TivoHD and had no CableCard problems at all. (feared the worst!)
And all of my premium channels work fine except for National Geo HD and TBS-HD. They show up in my Tivo Guides but when I go to them they are just blank video and no audio.

I'm in Arlington, VA (Crystal City) and have had the same problem since the channels (TBSHD & Nat Geo HD) were added. Called Comcast no less than five times over the last week as I watched the Yanks bumble around in SD. Technician came to my place just now and basically couldn't do anything. (CSRs had tried resetting the box last week to no avail and finally decided it might be a problem with the box, so sent out a tech.) The tech called in to dispatch: they couldn't help him. He then called customer service, who first claimed the channels weren't in my package, though CSRs had told me last week they were. Customer service then "sent new rate codes" to the box to try to alleviate the problem. They told me it should be working within 24 hours. 20 minutes later I got a call from somebody at Comcast checking in on the appointment. She told me to check it in 4 hours and see if it had taken. Incredibly, a week after the addition, nobody at Comcast seems to have reliable info on where TBSHD fits in the programming tiers.

So the saga continues. I hope at least some of you have been able to watch the playoffs in HD. I'm pretty furious myself, considering my brother in another part of Arlington (Ballston) received the channel without any problem. At least baseball superstition allows me to now blame Comcast for the Yanks' flameout.

I received a flyer in the mail yesterday saying that A&E HD and NFL HD would be added to Comcast's Arlington lineup in October. There were also some useless SD multicast channels added and some shuffling of the public access channels.

I'm slightly interested in A&E, since their lineup isn't just old SD sitcoms and Law and Order.

Last night I recorded Bones on Comcast (SA8300) and watched it. At least 3-4 times the audio stopped for a few seconds, then came macroblocking and then back to normal. We were very upset as we aren't good lip readers.

We continually have freezes for a second or two during DVR playback (we watch almost everything from the DVR to avoid commercials).

Did anyone else have this problem?

Thanks,

Rich N.

Rich,

I had this problem a while back. My surge protector was getting old and it was degrading the signal. Stopped running the cable through it and no more problems. Signal came back to where it was suppose to be.

Manassas VA gets 223 A&E HD, 246 NFL Network HD and 250 Universal HD 10/29. off HD but Fox Business 106 and NHL Network 276 also 10/29 no HD for those that I know.

That said new line up is from letter in mail

210 ABC HD
211 NBC HD
212 CBS HD
213 FOX HD
214 CW HD
215 MY Network HD
220 PBS HD
223 A&E HD
224 Nat Geo HD
225 Disc HD Theater
226 Mojo
227 MHD
228 HBO HD
230 HD On Demand
232 TBS HD
233 Cinemax HD
238 Showtime HD
246 NFL Network HD
248 Starz HD
249 TNT HD
250 Universal HD
251 Comcast Sports Net Mid Atlantic HD
252 ESPN HD
253 ESPN 2 HD
254 Versus/Golf Channel HD

I went from 10 HD in August of 07 to now 25! I'm happy

Missing 229 Food HD
Missing 231 HGTV HD
Missing ??? CNN HD

still 2 months of 07 left.... who knows

Rich,

I had this problem a while back. My surge protector was getting old and it was degrading the signal. Stopped running the cable through it and no more problems. Signal came back to where it was suppose to be.

Belcherwm, thanks for the suggestion. Now that thunderstorms are over I'll try that.

Rich N.

So for the Baltimore region, we've gotten the first new wave of HD (NGHD,A&EHD,FOODHD,TBSHD).

So now I guess NHLNETWORK HD, USA-HD, CNN-HD and HistoryHD are on the clock.

Pretty good rate of HD additions in our area, even if it doesn't match D* or E*.

Off topic, I do wish Comcast and ESPN could reach agreement on ESPNU. Some good games there, even if SD.

Rich N.

hello all,

I'm an avid Tivo user... and have used them for years... I also subscribe to Comcast (UG!) but never had a box... just used the Tivo.... which worked great!! Now I've gone and got an HDTV and put in a TiVO Series 3 HD.... OMG talk about a GREAT picture!!!!

Unfortunately I live in Shrewsbury, PA, which is about 30 miles due N of Baltimore, MD.... and as Comcast would have it, I get ONE FOX affiliate on my cable channel map... which favors showing Philadelphia Eagles games instead of my Ravens!! The Tivo has both a cable in (I have two cablecards in for digital channels) and a OTA/ANT in... according to Antennaweb, I should be able to pull in the majority of the Baltimore stations (none of them broadcast in Digital or HD??) with the main tower being 30.1 miles away at 187 deg... after poking around the HDTV antenna forums, I ordered a Terk HDTVo for mounting on a 10' staff off the corner roof which should easily be able to pull these stations in..... I can't have anything too huge as my better half isn't too happy about big things seen from the road....

Is there anything I should watch for? I've never put up an antenna before though it looks easy enough.... anyone else near me who has been able to pull in OTA Baltimore channels?

Thanks....

I'll let everyone know my experience and what signal quality I get... it should be here tomorrow :)

I received a flyer in the mail yesterday saying that A&E HD and NFL HD would be added to Comcast's Arlington lineup in October. There were also some useless SD multicast channels added and some shuffling of the public access channels.

I'm slightly interested in A&E, since their lineup isn't just old SD sitcoms and Law and Order.

Same here in Alexandria. Just got a letter today (dated September 21....c'mon Comcast) saying NFL HD and A&E HD will be added October 29. Also, this might be old news, but the NHL Network will be on 276.

Slightly off-topic, but is there any way that the current Tivo HD boxes will ever support Video On Demand and PPV? That is the one thing that keeps me from ditching the cable box and buying a Tivo.

I really doubt that the current boxes will ever change. Besides, Comcast is supposed to launch TiVO in the near future.

Manassas VA gets 223 A&E HD, 246 NFL Network HD and 250 Universal HD 10/29. off HD but Fox Business 106 and NHL Network 276 also 10/29 no HD for those that I know.

That said new line up is from letter in mail

210 ABC HD
211 NBC HD
212 CBS HD
213 FOX HD
214 CW HD
215 MY Network HD
220 PBS HD
223 A&E HD
224 Nat Geo HD
225 Disc HD Theater
226 Mojo
227 MHD
228 HBO HD
230 HD On Demand
232 TBS HD
233 Cinemax HD
238 Showtime HD
246 NFL Network HD
248 Starz HD
249 TNT HD
250 Universal HD
251 Comcast Sports Net Mid Atlantic HD
252 ESPN HD
253 ESPN 2 HD
254 Versus/Golf Channel HD

I went from 10 HD in August of 07 to now 25! I'm happy

Missing 229 Food HD
Missing 231 HGTV HD
Missing ??? CNN HD

still 2 months of 07 left.... who knows

you know, looking at that, its pretty impressive, but I still want more..

hello all,

I'm an avid Tivo user... and have used them for years... I also subscribe to Comcast (UG!) but never had a box... just used the Tivo.... which worked great!! Now I've gone and got an HDTV and put in a TiVO Series 3 HD.... OMG talk about a GREAT picture!!!!

Unfortunately I live in Shrewsbury, PA, which is about 30 miles due N of Baltimore, MD.... and as Comcast would have it, I get ONE FOX affiliate on my cable channel map... which favors showing Philadelphia Eagles games instead of my Ravens!! The Tivo has both a cable in (I have two cablecards in for digital channels) and a OTA/ANT in... according to Antennaweb, I should be able to pull in the majority of the Baltimore stations (none of them broadcast in Digital or HD??) with the main tower being 30.1 miles away at 187 deg... after poking around the HDTV antenna forums, I ordered a Terk HDTVo for mounting on a 10' staff off the corner roof which should easily be able to pull these stations in..... I can't have anything too huge as my better half isn't too happy about big things seen from the road....

Is there anything I should watch for? I've never put up an antenna before though it looks easy enough.... anyone else near me who has been able to pull in OTA Baltimore channels?

Thanks....

I'll let everyone know my experience and what signal quality I get... it should be here tomorrow :)

I live just north of you between Shrewsbury and Loganville. I have a Channel Master far fringe antenna on a tower just above my roof. It's about 10 years old. I get alot of digital Baltimore and Washington stations: 2.4.7.9,11,13, 22 sometimes, 45, 54 and 67, so you should be able to get them. Not sure what you mean by 'none of them broadcast in Digital or HD??'. They are all digital and HD when there is something on in HD.

I'm in Arlington, VA (Crystal City) and have had the same problem since the channels (TBSHD & Nat Geo HD) were added. Called Comcast no less than five times over the last week as I watched the Yanks bumble around in SD. Technician came to my place just now and basically couldn't do anything. (CSRs had tried resetting the box last week to no avail and finally decided it might be a problem with the box, so sent out a tech.) The tech called in to dispatch: they couldn't help him. He then called customer service, who first claimed the channels weren't in my package, though CSRs had told me last week they were. Customer service then "sent new rate codes" to the box to try to alleviate the problem. They told me it should be working within 24 hours. 20 minutes later I got a call from somebody at Comcast checking in on the appointment. She told me to check it in 4 hours and see if it had taken. Incredibly, a week after the addition, nobody at Comcast seems to have reliable info on where TBSHD fits in the programming tiers.

So the saga continues. I hope at least some of you have been able to watch the playoffs in HD. I'm pretty furious myself, considering my brother in another part of Arlington (Ballston) received the channel without any problem. At least baseball superstition allows me to now blame Comcast for the Yanks' flameout.

Well, I now have resolution! Called Comcast again (yesterday's attempts by the tech were fruitless) and got a very professional, coherent (and informed) CSR who asked me a new question: are you using an HD-DVR box or a regular HD box? Mine is the SA Explorer 8300HD DVR box (though we don't pay for DVR). Got it because I wanted HDMI out for my new Panasonic. Evidently our account records were wrong. The CSR corrected it and presto! TBS HD instantly came on. WOW. A week and a half later, such a simple fix. So now I can watch the Rockies and D-Backs (yay, I guess?) in HD. Also turned on were National Geographic HD and MHD. Hallelujah. If Comcast does indeed add the rumored newest channels in our area perhaps they'll actually work right away now!

So the moral to this story: if you still can't get resolution on TBS HD, ask Comcast if your cable box record is correct....

Meanwhile, anybody know what tier NFL HD is supposed to be on?

Well, I now have resolution! Called Comcast again (yesterday's attempts by the tech were fruitless) and got a very professional, coherent (and informed) CSR who asked me a new question: are you using an HD-DVR box or a regular HD box? Mine is the SA Explorer 8300HD DVR box (though we don't pay for DVR). Got it because I wanted HDMI out for my new Panasonic. Evidently our account records were wrong. The CSR corrected it and presto! TBS HD instantly came on. WOW. A week and a half later, such a simple fix. So now I can watch the Rockies and D-Backs (yay, I guess?) in HD. Also turned on were National Geographic HD and MHD. Hallelujah. If Comcast does indeed add the rumored newest channels in our area perhaps they'll actually work right away now!

So the moral to this story: if you still can't get resolution on TBS HD, ask Comcast if your cable box record is correct....

Meanwhile, anybody know what tier NFL HD is supposed to be on?

Sports Tier.

Sports Tier.
Nuts. Oh well.

What is up with this station?

They had Women's Murder Club and Men In Trees in non-HD tonight but they are in HD on WMAR 2 in Baltimore.

Are they really that disorganized that they can't manage to "flip the switch"?

What is up with this station?

They had Women's Murder Club and Men In Trees in non-HD tonight but they are in HD on WMAR 2 in Baltimore.

Add a snarl from me, too! I PVR'd "Trees" so I'm stuck with WJLA's resolution.

Well, poop.

WRC cut off the first half of "The Redskins Report" and dropped "The Joe Gibbs Show" completely.

paula- where is northern md. generally that means pylesville.

WBAL seems to have stopped stretching.

This is GREAT news for viewers!!! If a viewer wants funhouse-o-vision, let them do it themselves... :rolleyes:

Trying to watch local programming on these channels is painful because the sharpness is way too high. Has anyone ever opined on this topic in the past? I appreciate Mark's presence on this board--and his work as a volunteer fireman in his community. I have a 1080p DLP. What say you, Mr. Bulla?WBAL seems to have stopped stretching.It will be interesting to see what their local news looks like. I noticed the non-stretch on some SD network programming yesterday but then saw a local ad in 16:9 stretch-o-vision, not their usual 14:9.

Trying to watch local programming on these channels is painful because the sharpness is way too high. Has anyone ever opined on this topic in the past? I appreciate Mark's presence on this board--and his work as a volunteer fireman in his community. I have a 1080p DLP. What say you, Mr. Bulla?

I appreciate the input. I do have the video enhancement up on the local broadcasts on both stations a bit. As far as I know, you're the first one that has stated an issue with it. I'm open to changing it, if get enough comments about it, especially since I do it by eye in the QC area of the station. And I only have 1080i at home...

Thanks for your comment about the FD. It was our open house yesterday (nice day for it!).

NHL Network is now on Comcast, SD only so far.

More DirectTV additions today.

# Fox Business Network (359)
# HGTV HD (229-1)
# FX HD (248)
# Speed Network HD (607)
# Fuel HD (612)
# The Cartoon Network (296)

Considering that Speed said that they won't launch their HDTV service until Speedweeks in 2008, I'm not sure if that channel will actually have any HDTV until then. Odd.

Is anyone tuning in WHUT-DT? I know that it was posted earlier last week (or the week before) that they were on the air, but I have not been able to tune them in.

Verizon Fios added A&E-HD (ch 842) and Fox Business Channel (SD version, ch 94) to the Washington Metro & other VA area line-ups this morning. It appears Verizon added those 2 channels for at least the VA, MD, PA, MA, FL, TX areas on the same day.

Is anyone tuning in WHUT-DT? I know that it was posted earlier last week (or the week before) that they were on the air, but I have not been able to tune them in.
WHUT-DT was there several days ago when I looked. The channel was still displayed as 33-1 (their digital broadcast channel), rather than 32-1, so they still need to fix the PSIP info. The digital channel is very soft SD, looked worse than the analog channel when I compared them.

If you can get WETA-DT 26, you should be able to get WHUT-DT. From the FCC database, they are both on the same tower and the antennas are at the same height of 254 meters HAAT. WETA-DT broadcasts at 90 kW on UHF 27, WHUT-DT at 100 kW on UHF 33.

I appreciate the input. I do have the video enhancement up on the local broadcasts on both stations a bit. As far as I know, you're the first one that has stated an issue with it. I'm open to changing it, if get enough comments about it, especially since I do it by eye in the QC area of the station. And I only have 1080i at home...

Thanks for your comment about the FD. It was our open house yesterday (nice day for it!).

Mark,
I too have noticed the over-enhancement on your upconversions, particularly your news teasers. The anchors are so enhanced they look posterized. This is viewing on both a 720P LCD and a 720P DLP via Comcast.

Is anyone tuning in WHUT-DT? I know that it was posted earlier last week (or the week before) that they were on the air, but I have not been able to tune them in.

WHUT is there at 33-1

I'm trying to figure out if it's just me and my OTA antenna (through the DirecTV HR-20 box). The Washington CW has been having audio dropouts for me the last couple of weeks. I only watch Smallville and Reaper on there, but it seems that the picture is solid while every three or so minutes, the audio drops out for a half second. And the audio, at least for Smallville, says it's coming in as stereo instead of DD 5.1.

Still waiting for WUTB DT

I'm trying to figure out if it's just me and my OTA antenna (through the DirecTV HR-20 box). The Washington CW has been having audio dropouts for me the last couple of weeks. I only watch Smallville and Reaper on there, but it seems that the picture is solid while every three or so minutes, the audio drops out for a half second. And the audio, at least for Smallville, says it's coming in as stereo instead of DD 5.1.


Well, it's good to see that it's not just my connection. I actually have Comcast, and have the same problems. I watch Smallville, Supernatural, Reaper, and Gossip Girl. All of these shows, for the last couple of weeks anyway, have had these audio dropouts. It's just like you said, the video is fine, but the audio drops out every now and than for like half a second. Weird.

Anyone else with RCN HD Box? Just got it this weekend and so far.. not too impressed. I have a panasonic plasma, which is notorious for having a weak QAM tuner. So having the box gives me ABC, PBS and Golf which I could never pickup before, as well as reliability (previously I'd have to rescan for QAM every few weeks or so).

However since putting in the HD box, it seems that SD is a little worse (as is HD) in PQ. Not sure if this is due to cable compression or component cables, but it's making me debate going back to QAM. Unfortunately FIOS is not here yet, and not sure I want to venture into Dish.

Any other RCN users out there ?

I appreciate the input. I do have the video enhancement up on the local broadcasts on both stations a bit. As far as I know, you're the first one that has stated an issue with it.I've always thought the upconversions looked bad. I just didn't comment on it because, hey, it's upconverts. And I hadn't quite put my finger on what was wrong with it -- but "posterized" is a good description.

NHL Network is now on Comcast, SD only so far.

Fox Business Network in SD also. It says Not Authorized. I don't know what tier it's in. NHL is presumably in the sports tier.

Anyone else with RCN HD Box? Just got it this weekend and so far.. not too impressed. I have a panasonic plasma, which is notorious for having a weak QAM tuner. So having the box gives me ABC, PBS and Golf which I could never pickup before, as well as reliability (previously I'd have to rescan for QAM every few weeks or so).

However since putting in the HD box, it seems that SD is a little worse (as is HD) in PQ. Not sure if this is due to cable compression or component cables, but it's making me debate going back to QAM. Unfortunately FIOS is not here yet, and not sure I want to venture into Dish.
What are the settings on the RCN set top box? Is it passing the SD channels through as 480i or is it upconverting them? Same goes for the HD channels - native passthrough or convert all HD channels to 720 or 1080i? That is where I would start.

But if you want to watch QAM cable channels on the TV as well, why not split the cable signal and run a line to the STB and the TV? If the TV has better picture quality, say for WJLA-DT ABC 7, and you are watching live and not on the cable DVR (if you have one), then switch to the TV QAM tuner and watch that way. Just because you have a cable box hooked up with component, doesn't mean you can't still use the TV QAM tuner. HD TVs these days come with 4 or more HD inputs and a ATSC/QAM tuner for RF input.

Just got a TiVo HD box, and I can't tune in 50-1. Some reason, it reads it as 50-2, and I have 94% signal strength, but I only get a grey screen.

Any ideas? My other 3 NTSC tuners can tune in 50-1 fine (no 50-2 anymore as the Tube is no longer there :( )

-John

Anyone else with RCN HD Box? Just got it this weekend and so far.. not too impressed. I have a panasonic plasma, which is notorious for having a weak QAM tuner. So having the box gives me ABC, PBS and Golf which I could never pickup before, as well as reliability (previously I'd have to rescan for QAM every few weeks or so).

However since putting in the HD box, it seems that SD is a little worse (as is HD) in PQ. Not sure if this is due to cable compression or component cables, but it's making me debate going back to QAM. Unfortunately FIOS is not here yet, and not sure I want to venture into Dish.

Any other RCN users out there ?

I believe I have a similar setup: Motorola DCT 6412 on RCN, connected to a 42" Panasonic Plasma via component cables. My 6412 is an older model that doesn't have HDMI out, just DVI, which happens to be disabled.

HD on my setup looks superb, but I agree that SD leaves a lot to be desired on some channels. I'm outputting 720p from the box for HD, and 480p override for SD. I was running 480i for the SD, but for some reason, the screen is a bit jumpy for about 5-6 seconds after switching from an HD channel to an SD channel. This doesn't happen with 480p SD, but the picture quality suffers a bit. Colors are a bit oversaturated, and compression artifacts are more noticeable. On RCN, all of the SD channels are now digital simulcast when going through the box, and some of the lower channels look overcompressed and fuzzy. The digital channels 100 and above look great for the most part. I've never tried tuning in the cable channels via QAM, so I don't have anything to compare it to. I use the DVR and Video On Demand daily, so I can't imagine going that route anytime soon.

You might want to try playing around with the output settings, and switching between using component cables and HDMI, assuming you have the option. I know that in some situations, component simply yields better picture quality than HDMI.

And regarding FiOS TV: If you happen to live in the District, there was an article in the Post a few weeks ago that mentioned Verizon requesting approval from the OCTT to provide cable television services here, but there is no indication when this will happen. My guess is that it's years away, unfortunately.

Just got a TiVo HD box, and I can't tune in 50-1. Some reason, it reads it as 50-2, and I have 94% signal strength, but I only get a grey screen.
I am getting a No Signal for WDCW-DT 50-1 OTA as well on a Samsung SIR-T451 ATSC tuner. Full signal strength on the meter, but no picture or audio. No change if I tune to channel 51. WDCW-DT is fine on Verizon Fios, so something weird is going on with the broadcast signal. WNUV-DT 54 is fine if someone wants to watch CW in HD OTA, if you can get WNUV-DT with the antenna.

I am getting a No Signal for WDCW-DT 50-1 OTA as well on a Samsung SIR-T451 ATSC tuner. Full signal strength on the meter, but no picture or audio. No change if I tune to channel 51. WDCW-DT is fine on Verizon Fios, so something weird is going on with the broadcast signal. WNUV-DT 54 is fine if someone wants to watch CW in HD OTA, if you can get WNUV-DT with the antenna.

I also have no signal for 50-1. Had to watch 54-1 for CW (btw the picture looked great). OTOH, NBC's HD quality tonight didn't look to good when I saw it. Also, there is no program info for WJLA-DT.

Is anyone having problems with the Cox program guide? I am finding that 703 (Discovery HD Theater) is usually wrong along with some of the discovery tier in the 150's...

Well, it's good to see that it's not just my connection. I actually have Comcast, and have the same problems. I watch Smallville, Supernatural, Reaper, and Gossip Girl. All of these shows, for the last couple of weeks anyway, have had these audio dropouts. It's just like you said, the video is fine, but the audio drops out every now and than for like half a second. Weird.

Nice to see mine was the post that got you to start posting.:o Welcome, Lilscoy. Hopefully things will get better. As of right now, Family Guy on the CW-HD 50 is coming in fine and (pseudo) 5.1 audio... though I don't have the patience to wait for dropouts. Gotta get back to the sports!

I am getting a No Signal for WDCW-DT 50-1 OTA as well on a Samsung SIR-T451 ATSC tuner. Full signal strength on the meter, but no picture or audio. No change if I tune to channel 51. WDCW-DT is fine on Verizon Fios, so something weird is going on with the broadcast signal. WNUV-DT 54 is fine if someone wants to watch CW in HD OTA, if you can get WNUV-DT with the antenna.
Ok, looking into this further, I get a signal on my Samsung OTA box (new model), but no picture and good signal on my old Zenith 420 HD box.

Oh well. I'll wait and see.
-John

Anyone else with RCN HD Box? Just got it this weekend and so far.. not too impressed. I have a panasonic plasma, which is notorious for having a weak QAM tuner. So having the box gives me ABC, PBS and Golf which I could never pickup before, as well as reliability (previously I'd have to rescan for QAM every few weeks or so).

However since putting in the HD box, it seems that SD is a little worse (as is HD) in PQ. Not sure if this is due to cable compression or component cables, but it's making me debate going back to QAM. Unfortunately FIOS is not here yet, and not sure I want to venture into Dish.

Any other RCN users out there ?

I'm on Comcast with the Moto box and a Panny I bring the sharpness down, the Moto box @ 480p/720p/1080i on SD introduces noise that I've found with the sharpness down makes it tolerable.
I also use a splitter and watch via QAM often, but I also lost 50.1/ CW via QAM today.:rolleyes:

CycloneGT, I'm getting WHUT-DT as well. They must have a crappy transmitter. Same with WTTG-DT: I foolishly tried to get some other crappy DT signal, and since then, can't find an antenna position to get WTTG at all without getting multipath-related dropouts on at least one other channel. Oh, well, back to adjusting.

Mark,
I too have noticed the over-enhancement on your upconversions, particularly your news teasers. The anchors are so enhanced they look posterized. This is viewing on both a 720P LCD and a 720P DLP via Comcast.

I've always thought the upconversions looked bad. I just didn't comment on it because, hey, it's upconverts. And I hadn't quite put my finger on what was wrong with it -- but "posterized" is a good description.

I'll give you that one.

That's an on-going issue that I have with the cameras in our studio. It's not so much the cameras as it is with how high the operators turn up the detail. I've gone through and adjusted them, but either they un-adjust them, or there's a camera setup card that I didn't find to resave the settings on. I think that problem is multiplied by going through the upconverter. Hopefully that problem will go away in the next couple of months when we get in our new master controls.

That problem should only effect the news and the news teases though. I was under the impression that billodom had an issue with all of the local content...

Ok, looking into this further, I get a signal on my Samsung OTA box (new model), but no picture and good signal on my old Zenith 420 HD box.

Looks like 50-1 is back on all my boxes. Must have just been a glitch. :)

I think that problem is multiplied by going through the upconverter. Hopefully that problem will go away in the next couple of months when we get in our new master controls.Upgrading for HD news? :)

Upgrading for HD news? :)

Hey - that would be nice, wouldn't it!

CycloneGT, I'm getting WHUT-DT as well. They must have a crappy transmitter. I tried again last night, no dice. I'm guessing that they have some odd PSIP setting. When I tried to tune in the channel I get nothing on 33. After a while my signal bar will go solid red and stay there. The text says "not locked" but the bar is indicating full signal strength. Usually it will only be red if its under 50% or some other low threshold. Still I can't add it, so I was suspecting (or I guess hoping) that they were just off the air at the time I was attempting to seek them out.

My old Dish 6000 had odd problems like this from time to time which were always chalked up to PSIP settings at the local stations. Dish finally implemented a bunch of work arounds and many stations finally became stable. This WHUT-DT issue kinda reminds me of those old days.

I'm picking up WHUT-DT this morning OTA using my indoor antenna on my Samsung LCD HD. However, when I last did a scan with my DirecTV HR20 (last night), it didn't put the channel in the program guide. Which made me wonder: Can you not tune to an OTA station using DirecTV's HR20 STB unless they've put it in their program guide? I wonder when they will add this channel. They use the same stretch-o-vision that WBAL-DT was using up until a few days ago, so it's no great loss.

I'll give you that one.

That's an on-going issue that I have with the cameras in our studio. It's not so much the cameras as it is with how high the operators turn up the detail. I've gone through and adjusted them, but either they un-adjust them, or there's a camera setup card that I didn't find to resave the settings on. I think that problem is multiplied by going through the upconverter. Hopefully that problem will go away in the next couple of months when we get in our new master controls.

That problem should only effect the news and the news teases though. I was under the impression that billodom had an issue with all of the local content...

Too much detail in the studio cameras? We have the opposite problem - skin detail cranked to max for the softest possible look on the anchor's faces!

Is anyone tuning in WHUT-DT? I know that it was posted earlier last week (or the week before) that they were on the air, but I have not been able to tune them in.

I'm about 20 mi NE of Boyds. I locked on to WHUT-DT this morning on 33.1.

I'm picking up WHUT-DT this morning OTA using my indoor antenna on my Samsung LCD HD. However, when I last did a scan with my DirecTV HR20 (last night), it didn't put the channel in the program guide. Which made me wonder: Can you not tune to an OTA station using DirecTV's HR20 STB unless they've put it in their program guide?

No, you cannot. The HR20 doesn't have a scan feature. It only tunes those items that are in the guide data.

There is a thread on dbstalk that can be used as a vehicle to report missing or incorrect channels. It is monitored by DirecTV.

Here is the link:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=85879

Am I the only one still getting no guide data for the "new" MPT channels on Comcast DVR?

I'm about 20 mi NE of Boyds. I locked on to WHUT-DT this morning on 33.1.Ok. I'm guessing its my set up then. Does anyone with a Dish Network 622 or 722 (and perhaps a 222) receive 33.1?

Ok. I'm guessing its my set up then. Does anyone with a Dish Network 622 or 722 (and perhaps a 222) receive 33.1?

I'm getting 33.1 OTA with the Silver Sensor and Samsung tuner.

What the *%#@# is going on with DirecTV's data for the HD subchannel?? It bears no resemblance to what MPT's website says is actually scheduled. I've tried 3 times this week to record Austin City Limits on my HR20, only to discover the schedule listed for 67-2 is utter fiction.

To whom does one complain about this anyway? I shot MPT an email, but....

And, btw, how are we supposed to know whether it's -1 or -2 that'll be in HD, since they seem to alternate randomly which is which while both still claim to be HD? Ugh.

What the *%#@# is going on with DirecTV's data for the HD subchannel?? It bears no resemblance to what MPT's website says is actually scheduled. I've tried 3 times this week to record Austin City Limits on my HR20, only to discover the schedule listed for 67-2 is utter fiction.

To whom does one complain about this anyway? I shot MPT an email, but....

And, btw, how are we supposed to know whether it's -1 or -2 that'll be in HD, since they seem to alternate randomly which is which while both still claim to be HD? Ugh.

Their schedule is rarely accurate. I have that problem with my TiVo.

67.2 has been like that since they switched to their 'new' channel line up back in Aug. 67.2 used to be the HD channel. Now they've added a 3rd spanish subchannel. MPT never changed the 67.2 program guide, I wonder how long it will take them to change it.

Any info on when Comcast will carry SciFi HD in the D.C. area?

Dish Network has added the NHL Network HD channel to their line up.

Any info on when Comcast will carry SciFi HD in the D.C. area?

Yeah, if this were possible before the Battlestar Galactica premier, that would be pretty clutch. Last year I waited the 6 months to watch them on UHD. Not fun.

Did you get a resolution to your two missing channels?
I just got my TivoHD and had no CableCard problems at all. (feared the worst!)
And all of my premium channels work fine except for National Geo HD and TBS-HD. They show up in my Tivo Guides but when I go to them they are just blank video and no audio.

Did Comcast let you pick up the cards and install them yourself? How much they charge for the 2nd card?

It looks like Cox is having some trouble with their SDV rollout in NoVA. October 16th was the date in the mailing they sent out. Anyone not able to tune into those channels through a CableCARD? My CableCARD is still letting me tune in to future-SDV channels(i.e. CSPAN-3 and NASA).

Dish Network has added the NHL Network HD channel to their line up.

I imagine Comcast will add the HD version, since they own the network.

67.2 has been like that since they switched to their 'new' channel line up back in Aug. 67.2 used to be the HD channel. Now they've added a 3rd spanish subchannel. MPT never changed the 67.2 program guide, I wonder how long it will take them to change it.

So will 67-1 be the HD channel now?

It looks like Cox is having some trouble with their SDV rollout in NoVA. October 16th was the date in the mailing they sent out. Anyone not able to tune into those channels through a CableCARD? My CableCARD is still letting me tune in to future-SDV channels(i.e. CSPAN-3 and NASA).

I was never able to tune into 850-870 but saw them in the guide..

Any info on when Comcast will carry SciFi HD in the D.C. area?

That's what I want to know for RCN.

So will 67-1 be the HD channel now?Yes.

With the guide data confusion over 67-1,2,3, I was wondering if 67 and 62 are both just mirrors of MPT? I can get 62, but not 67. So, am I missing anything on 67 that I can't get on 62?

Thanks,

Jim

The Orioles and the authority will work with a $9 million budget to install a new scoreboard, a new high-definition video screen to replace the failing Sony JumboTron, a new sound system and a control room to operate all the equipment.

The video screen will be more than twice as large as the JumboTron and will be situated above the scoreboard instead of below it. The project also will feature video upgrades to the out-of-town scoreboard and "ribbon" scoreboards on the decks around the park.

"It'll be a much better fan experience," authority chairman Frederick W. Puddester said.

The video screen - which will feature a 16:9 aspect ratio compared with the 4:3 ratio of the JumboTron - also will open new advertising opportunities for the club, Rifkin said.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bal-sp.scoreboard18oct18,0,348480.story

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bal-sp.scoreboard18oct18,0,348480.story
Good, now can we have high-definition at home, too? ;)

With the guide data confusion over 67-1,2,3, I was wondering if 67 and 62 are both just mirrors of MPT?Yes.

I'm surprised to read that the MPT guide data for DirecTV is messed up, because it's finally (post-realignment) sorted out for standalone Tivos, which I understood to use the same provider (Tribune). In the case of Tivo, you can report problems via their web site... which should trickle up to Tribune, and thence back down to DirecTV.

Tribune listings are also available via zap2it.com (and you can report problems there), and they appear to have correct data for 22-1, -2 and -3. However, like Tivo, they also incorrectly still show 22-4 and -5 as existing.

Oh, but as I look at it, they have the wrong data for 67-2, even though 22-2 is correct. Bozos.

Edit: I've sent a note to feedback@zap2it.com; let's see how that goes.

Anyone in Arlington having an issue with Comcast cable either freezing both video and audio or at least video from time to time. This seems to be an on going issue and it does not matter if a box is attached or not.
Just curious to see if others are experiencing this.

I was never able to tune into 850-870 but saw them in the guide..

Well, now it seems Cox has completed the SDV channel move and i guess that means no new HD for us CableCARD/TiVoHD users.:(

With the guide data confusion over 67-1,2,3, I was wondering if 67 and 62 are both just mirrors of MPT? I can get 62, but not 67. So, am I missing anything on 67 that I can't get on 62?
The six MPT digital stations all send out the same programming. If you get WFPT-DT MPT 62 in Frederick, you get exactly the same channels and programming as you do with the channels 67 and 22.

I have two Sony DHG-HDD 250s and a 500 that have been working great. Lately I noticed the playbacks drop sound and the picture pixelates in and out. Unwatchable. I thought my drives were going but when I removed my cable cards and record something new, the effect disappears. And all the HDDs do it - simultaneous failures? Fishy to me. The pixelating/sound drop outs prefers to occur when watching recording HD programs. This effect has happened with SD programs (with the CCard), but not as often and not lately. The effect is not noticeable when watching program through the Sony DVR in real-time however.

Anyone had this problem in the NoVA area?

That is what I thought. I get 62, but also have 67 in my guide on my HR20-100 from D*. I kept 67 as it looked like they had different programming, and wanted to catch as much HD stuff as possibile.

Looking tonight, it looks like 62 and 67 mirror, except the guide data for 67-2 is different from 62-2. Since I don't have any way to get 67-2 without moving my antenna around in the attic, I will just delete the 67 channels.

Thanks again for the great help guys.

Jim

The six MPT digital stations all send out the same programming. If you get WFPT-DT MPT 62 in Frederick, you get exactly the same channels and programming as you do with the channels 67 and 22.

Did Comcast let you pick up the cards and install them yourself? How much they charge for the 2nd card?

Can anyone answer this? I have the same question.

Mark,
I too have noticed the over-enhancement on your upconversions, particularly your news teasers. The anchors are so enhanced they look posterized. This is viewing on both a 720P LCD and a 720P DLP via Comcast.

If posterized means the people appear to have no wrinkles, very shiny, and look like they are made of plastic, then yes, I have noticed it too. Never thought to bring it up though, as I try not to watch SD, and I get my news via the BBC. Cheers

More on MPT (I watch on 67.1 ota). What is it with their HD? Last night I watched Wired Science that I had dvr'd. It did not fill the screen and had black the whole way around the picture. The show is supposedly in HD. Did they forget to 'flip the switch?' The first episode of The War was like that too. They were having audio problems and the first 10 minutes was 16:9 and they changed it to a smaller picture with black around all sides and the audio cleared up. They really screwed up the HD when they changed the channels.

So, who wants to guess WJLA will go HD before WRC or WTTG at this rate?
Given that both have been delayed for over a year now.

Well, now it seems Cox has completed the SDV channel move and i guess that means no new HD for us CableCARD/TiVoHD users.:(

I guess I am wronging my right, as I found all the SDV channels(C-SPAN 3, NASA, Jewelry TV...) back to us(CableCARD users), confirming Cox is having some difficulties with SDV equipment/rollout, though NFL Network is already SDV.

So, who wants to guess WJLA will go HD before WRC or WTTG at this rate?
Given that both have been delayed for over a year now.WJLA will wait as long as they want to. Only WUSA has gone HD, and it looks like their ratings are up at 11 PM, but only in the last 15 minutes of each broadcast. In other words, it looks like people aren't tuning in for the HD, but to watch Brett Haber do sports; no more, no less.

With that in mind, it still looks like the quality of the journalism is the #1, #2, and #3 key factor in whether or not someone watches whatever newscast, NOT whether or not it's in HD. I believe that part of it is because two of the other three news competitors of WJLA are still all-SD. Maybe the viewer psychology among HDTV owners is that they only have one choice for HD news, so it must not be an important factor (but it would be if three or more newscast stations are in HD). Maybe the fact that 9 News is in HD isn't being marketed properly, so most HDTV owners don't know about it. Maybe not a lot of HDTV owners watch local newscasts of any kind.

The other big factor is that Sprint/Nextel is still in the process of replacing current analog ENG gear with brand-new HD DENG gear for all local TV stations, at Sprint/Nextel's expense. When the new equipment's in, stations can be all-HD for news from the start, unlike having the SD widescreen field reports of WUSA, "thanks" to their old analog ENG's bandwidth limitations.

Until one or both factors change, I believe that WJLA will be very happy with waiting for costs to come down, and continue SD news production in the meantime. However, they do already have HD field cameras, so they're good to go in that regard.

Here are my predictions for when stations go HD for news:

1. WTTG goes HD July 2008 for August sweeps
2. WRC goes HD mid-August 2008 for the Olympics onward, or late October 2008 for November sweeps
3. WJLA goes HD January, 2009 at the earliest, because of the analog shutoff factor/viewer confusion, not to mention February sweeps. If they don't go HD by Feb. 1, 2009 for Feb. sweeps, I don't see it coming until at least October of 2009, in time for 2009's November sweeps.

WRC's HD feed has been spotty all night, and WJLA's is non-existent.

Another banner night for HD in the Washington DMA.

*** WJLA-DT ABC 7 NO HD ALERT ***
I see WJLA-DT ABC 7 in DC is showing the 9 PM network program Women's Murder Club in SD. :rolleyes: It's HD on WMAR-DT in Baltimore. I was just checking to record Men in Trees at 10 PM. WJLA-DT had Men In Trees and reportedly Women's Murder Club in SD last Friday so someone is screwing up on the Friday night network feed. Good thing we have WMAR-DT as a backup. Got the OTA DVR set to record from WMAR-DT now.

Those of us with FiOS a little bit farther south and outside the Baltimore area aren't so lucky, afiggatt.

So much for Angie Harmon in HD.

Are things that messed up over in Rosslyn that the crew working on Friday does not notice the network feed is not in HD? Clearly this is a WJLA issue. Where is Robert?

If they were as observant with monitoring this as they are with endless news and Oprah promos, we'd be fine :D

Those of us with FiOS a little bit farther south and outside the Baltimore area aren't so lucky, afiggatt.That's why you need an OTA-capable DVR. For instance, a Tivo HD -- it can record both Fios and OTA. I'm also denied Baltimore locals by Verizon, but I pick them up OTA on my Tivo Series 3.

WJLA screwed this up last Friday also!! What's going on over there???

Cost-cutting? (Remember that Friday's usually been an all-SD or repeat night until now, so HD hasn't been much of a need.) Perhaps flipping to HD is manual, yet programming local ad inserts and flipping to SD network programming is automated (and nobody's home, so to speak). Perhaps it takes two people to work the HD controls, and only one guy is in there on Fridays.

Good point, Knicks_Fan: Does Robert Forsyth read this forum anymore? And if so, I have one question: Is there any truth to a report from DCRTV that a Harris NetVX was ordered and should be in place by the end of the year?

WJLA will wait as long as they want to. Only WUSA has gone HD...
With that in mind, it still looks like the quality of the journalism is the #1, #2, and #3 key factor in whether or not someone watches whatever newscast, NOT whether or not it's in HD...
The other big factor is that Sprint/Nextel is still in the process of replacing current analog ENG gear with brand-new HD DENG gear for all local TV stations, at Sprint/Nextel's expense. When the new equipment's in, stations can be all-HD for news from the start...Interesting post. Ironically I just wrote an e-mail to Sue Baldwin with WUSA asking her when they planned to employ HD cameras for their field reports. I think WUSA is missing the boat by not rolling out their field reports in HD. Do you have any information as to when this project will be completed? I would think WUSA would want to expedite it if at all possible. Let's face it, until WUSA does their field reports in HD, they are not really broadcasting the news in HD. WUSA is the only news I watch and it's strictly for the studio HD. It is painful to watch most of the widescreen SD reports.

Last point: I would certainly think anyone with an HDTV would watch WUSA's weather as that is all HD, even their radar. As much as I like Doug Hill on WTOP, I won't watch him in SD. More often than not, I will turn over to WUSA at 11:10, watch Topper or Tony's weather, and then surf back over to cable. I watch their 9 a.m. newscast whenever possible since they do a lot of studio interviews, but I'm normally not around at that time.

Good point, Knicks_Fan: Does Robert Forsyth read this forum anymore? And if so, I have one question: Is there any truth to a report from DCRTV that a Harris NetVX was ordered and should be in place by the end of the year?

Thanks for the nod, I wonder of Robert has been told by station management to not post (you never know with Allbritton)? I hope that isn't the case, his posts are informative. I emailed the station about this, but I don't expect a reply!

Interesting post. Ironically I just wrote an e-mail to Sue Baldwin with WUSA asking her when they planned to employ HD cameras for their field reports. I think WUSA is missing the boat by not rolling out their field reports in HD. Do you have any information as to when this project will be completed? I would think WUSA would want to expedite it if at all possible. Let's face it, until WUSA does their field reports in HD, they are not really broadcasting the news in HD. WUSA is the only news I watch and it's strictly for the studio HD. It is painful to watch most of the widescreen SD reports.WUSA could absolutely pay for the HD ENG equipment, but why do it when Sprint/Nextel's willing to pay for it (and the equipment doesn't cost $25 per station, if you know what I mean)? Given that WUSA's the only DC station with ANY HD news programming, the fact that the field reports are in SD widescreen as of today isn't a significant competitive disadvantage. If one of the other stations in town goes all-HD, that might change, but I suspect they'll all wait until they can be all-HD with the HD ENG equipment. Besides, it allows WRC (and perhaps WTTG) time to bide in allowing remote HD camera technology to improve before making a multimillion-dollar purchase...

If I remember correctly, all stations should have the HD ENG equipment ready to go by mid-2008.

Oh, by the way: WUSA already does have some field reports in HD, just not live ones. They must be taped in advance (and the camera operator must remember to switch the resolution to 1080i, then switch it back to 480i for live reports!).

Interesting post. Ironically I just wrote an e-mail to Sue Baldwin with WUSA asking her when they planned to employ HD cameras for their field reports.I remember one (1) instance where they made a big deal out of the fact that the field report was done in HD. (It was some car show.) Never happened again, as far as I saw. The thing is, it actually looked pretty bad... it had weird artifacts that don't afflict their upconverts (whatever else their flaws), nor their studio shots. So perhaps they viewed it as a failed experiment?

Are things that messed up over in Rosslyn that the crew working on Friday does not notice the network feed is not in HD? Clearly this is a WJLA issue. Where is Robert?

If they were as observant with monitoring this as they are with endless news and Oprah promos, we'd be fine :D

Call the station engineer (the phone number is somewhere in this thread). Leave messages on the WJLA website (http://www.wjla.com). Don't just sit here and complain, let WJLA know that they're screwing up. There is no excuse for WJLA to be committing these kinds of gaffes this far into the HDTV transition.

Call the station engineer (the phone number is somewhere in this thread). Leave messages on the WJLA website (http://www.wjla.com). Don't just sit here and complain, let WJLA know that they're screwing up. There is no excuse for WJLA to be committing these kinds of gaffes this far into the HDTV transition.
I sent an email via WJLA's contact page (http://cfc.wjla.com/contact.cfm) yesterday to their programming department. Probably should send one to the General Manager. Will be interesting to see if we get any replies at all, let alone a generic thank you for your input response.

Sat down about 1:40 PM this afternoon to watch the Redskins game that was recording to the DVR, and there was nothing but black screen. Turns out that absolutely none of the HD channels normally carried by Comcast (Frederick MD) were working and hadn't been for at least an hour.

Cable SD channels were fine, and OTA HD was fine, it was only the cable HD channels.

Service returned sometime during the second quarter of the game.

Sat down about 1:40 PM this afternoon to watch the Redskins game that was recording to the DVR, and there was nothing but black screen. Turns out that absolutely none of the HD channels normally carried by Comcast (Frederick MD) were working and hadn't been for at least an hour.

I noticed this in Urbana, MD too. The signal went out about 10 minutes before 1:00 PM. NBC, CBS, FOX and ABC were all blank; PBS and the other local HD stations seemed to be fine. I called Comcast, but gave up after sitting on hold for 20 minutes. Eventually the stations came back on.

Call the station engineer (the phone number is somewhere in this thread). Leave messages on the WJLA website. Don't just sit here and complain, let WJLA know that they're screwing up. There is no excuse for WJLA to be committing these kinds of gaffes this far into the HDTV transition.

Scott, I e-mailed programming and the station manager on this (as I did the previous week). I can't find the engineering number in the thread - can someone repost it here. AVS forum members had a lot of infulence with Robert getting Wheel and Jeopardy! finally shown in HD (note here - why aren't the Saturday shows being aired in HD, we are now on last season's shows?), if enough of us complain, perhaps they will wake up down in Rosslyn.

Ok. I'm guessing its my set up then. Does anyone with a Dish Network 622 or 722 (and perhaps a 222) receive 33.1?

My 622 will not add WHUT-DT to my EPG no matter how many times that I try and even though my signal meter reads plus 90. When I try to scan and add the channel 33 signal then all that I get is a long red bar which will not lock onto the signal.

BTW, what do the letters PSIP mean?

I assume that the PSIP must be the information that is encoded into the digital signal which carries and displays the intended call sign, WHUTDT and then maps the channel 33.1 digital signal to its intended destination, in this case Channel 32-1.

Then, if I understand this process correctly as it is in regards to the Dish 622 receiver, the 622 cannot map any newly scanned OTA digital channel onto its EPG unless there is a PSIP present to direct it to in this case, Channel 32-1.

But, I can directly punch in the channel numbers 33.1 and get a very strong OTA signal on my Sony XBR1. However, no call letters are displayed. However, I cannot successfully scan 33.1 on my Sony XBR nor dial in Channel 32-1 directly as 32.1 and get a signal.

Hope that this helps.

BTW, what do the letters PSIP mean?

I assume that the PSIP must be the information that is encoded into the digital signal which carries and displays the intended call sign, WHUTDT and then maps the channel 33.1 digital signal to its intended destination, in this case Channel 32-1.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSIP.

I can' t answer the questions about the Dish 622, but WHUT-DT is displaying 33-1 on my ATSC tuners, not the 32-1 that it should have. There is also no station ID for it. They should have fixed this by now, as these are required by the FCC. The picture on 33-1 still looks very soft.

Thanks Steve. I'm glad to have a 2nd case of a Dish 622 acting the same way. I'm certain now that the problem is a incompatibility between WHUT-DT and the Dish receivers. I'm sure its a out of whack setting. I'm not actually sure 100% on everything involved in the PSIP settings, but I do know that it encompasses channel mapping (ie Ch 33 mapped as 32.1), time, program guide info, and of course station identification. I'm sure there are also a bunch of bitmap settings too.

Thanks for answering.

Anyone having issues with 45.1 tonight? It's been dropping in and out for me, made watching the game frustrating.

Cost-cutting? (Remember that Friday's usually been an all-SD or repeat night until now, so HD hasn't been much of a need.) Perhaps flipping to HD is manual, yet programming local ad inserts and flipping to SD network programming is automated (and nobody's home, so to speak). Perhaps it takes two people to work the HD controls, and only one guy is in there on Fridays.

I watched the Pushing Daisies pilot replay three weeks ago on Friday in HD just fine on WJLA, so that seems unlikely.

Did Comcast let you pick up the cards and install them yourself? How much they charge for the 2nd card?

Lost in the noise - Can anyone answer this? I have the same question for Comcast subs in the Northern Virginia area.

I watched the Pushing Daisies pilot replay three weeks ago on Friday in HD just fine on WJLA, so that seems unlikely.

Although I am not in that direct job anymore, I will attempt to answer with a simple explanation. The new fall ABC shows were not coded as HD in our traffic system.

I asked traffic to update of their settings for all ABC shows.

Robert,

Can you post a reply when the traffic update is completed?

Thanks,
Dave C.

Anyone having issues with 45.1 tonight? It's been dropping in and out for me, made watching the game frustrating.

yes i had drop-outs, so i switched over to sd. most of my problems occur in windy conditions and also during the day when the antenna heats up.

WUSA could absolutely pay for the HD ENG equipment, but why do it when Sprint/Nextel's willing to pay for it (and the equipment doesn't cost $25 per station, if you know what I mean)? Given that WUSA's the only DC station with ANY HD news programming, the fact that the field reports are in SD widescreen as of today isn't a significant competitive disadvantage. If one of the other stations in town goes all-HD, that might change, but I suspect they'll all wait until they can be all-HD with the HD ENG equipment. Besides, it allows WRC (and perhaps WTTG) time to bide in allowing remote HD camera technology to improve before making a multimillion-dollar purchase...

If I remember correctly, all stations should have the HD ENG equipment ready to go by mid-2008.

Oh, by the way: WUSA already does have some field reports in HD, just not live ones. They must be taped in advance (and the camera operator must remember to switch the resolution to 1080i, then switch it back to 480i for live reports!).

Let's clear up the Nextel agreement. The FCC is taking away a portion of the 2 Ghz microwave spectrum, which is used by broadcasters for ENG live shots. What Nextel is paying for is direct replacements for that 2 Ghz equipment. They are not paying for HD upgrades; that's up to the stations. Now if the stations can make deals with the equipment manufacturers to include HD capability in the replacement gear, then Nextel will wind up paying for a good portion of that upgrade. But Nextel has not agreed to subsidize the TV industry's HD conversion process.

Also keep in mind that ENG transmitters and receivers are a small part of a station's HD upgrade needs - cameras, servers, editing equipment, routing switchers, and the production switcher are a lot more (millions!)

Any idea when the next Comcast HD lineup update will happen for Loudoun County residents? We got a big update in late August when they finally got Adelphia's old network whipped into shape. Our last addition was TBS-HD a few weeks ago. Any chance we'll see CNN HD, Food HD, H&G HD or others soon?

Lost in the noise - Can anyone answer this? I have the same question for Comcast subs in the Northern Virginia area.

Comcast will NOT let you pick up and install their cable cards in your system. You need to schedule a tech to come to your home with the card(s); most of the time he or she will let you insert the card yourself. After the card is scanned by your device, the tech then must call the head end to have them "authorize" the card before it will start decrypting your rate package. For this, you will need to access the cable card service menu on your TV or whatever to read both the Card ID and the Host ID, which are each strings of 13 numbers. This menu location varies with device, so you should check your manual if you don't know how to get there.

According the latest Comcast price schedule for Alexandria (April '07), there's no charge for a (single) cable card, but a $1.50/month charge for (direct quote) "CableCard (dual CableCards for non-Comcast HD PVRs requiring 2 cards)". This last bit is obviously aimed at the HD Tivo 3.

yes i had drop-outs, so i switched over to sd. most of my problems occur in windy conditions and also during the day when the antenna heats up.

I don't think wind or heat was the problem last night, I have determined certain things in my house interfere with the signal though I had none of them running, kinda why I was curious if it was just me or not, thanks for responding.

Since WHUT-DT is planning to stay on channel 33 once the DTV transition occurs, it is possible that they won't be setting their PSIP to show 32.1 at all, but 33.1 since that is what it will eventually be.

I still can't tune this channel in on my DirecTV HR20 since they've not set it up in the program guide yet, but I get good signal strength on it with my other OTA tuner.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSIP.

I can' t answer the questions about the Dish 622, but WHUT-DT is displaying 33-1 on my ATSC tuners, not the 32-1 that it should have. There is also no station ID for it. They should have fixed this by now, as these are required by the FCC. The picture on 33-1 still looks very soft.

Anyone having issues with 45.1 tonight? It's been dropping in and out for me, made watching the game frustrating.

I received no phone calls or e-mails regarding problems last night, which I would normally get if there was the problem was wide-spread.

Sorry -

Comcast will NOT let you pick up and install their cable cards in your system. You need to schedule a tech to come to your home with the card(s); most of the time he or she will let you insert the card yourself. After the card is scanned by your device, the tech then must call the head end to have them "authorize" the card before it will start decrypting your rate package. For this, you will need to access the cable card service menu on your TV or whatever to read both the Card ID and the Host ID, which are each strings of 13 numbers. This menu location varies with device, so you should check your manual if you don't know how to get there.

According the latest Comcast price schedule for Alexandria (April '07), there's no charge for a (single) cable card, but a $1.50/month charge for (direct quote) "CableCard (dual CableCards for non-Comcast HD PVRs requiring 2 cards)". This last bit is obviously aimed at the HD Tivo 3.

Thanks very much for the answer! That price is WAY better than FIOS, who wants $3.98 PER CARD. Niiiice......

does anyone elses feed of chuck look like crap tonight? I am watching on cox channel 704 (nbchd)...

I don't think wind or heat was the problem last night, I have determined certain things in my house interfere with the signal though I had none of them running, kinda why I was curious if it was just me or not, thanks for responding.

what do you do when you have an ac line spike that the antenna picks up. did you ever find out what the offending source was.

does anyone elses feed of chuck look like crap tonight? I am watching on cox channel 704 (nbchd)...
I have been piling up episodes of Chuck on the DVR, so I have not really been watching the show. There is a Chuck: Upconvert? thread in the programming forum so I checked the picture quality tonight for WRC-DT 4 and WBAL-DT 11. It was very grainy on both. The show is HD and probably shot on 16mm film, but is very grainy and soft even for 16mm source. However, the issue is either with NBC or the show, not the local stations.

Coming Spring 2008: WHUT-HD? (http://broadcastengineering.com/infrastructure/washington-dc-pbs-master-control/)

I hope they buy a Harmonic, not Harris, encoding system.

Since WHUT-DT is planning to stay on channel 33 once the DTV transition occurs, it is possible that they won't be setting their PSIP to show 32.1 at all, but 33.1 since that is what it will eventually be.

I still can't tune this channel in on my DirecTV HR20 since they've not set it up in the program guide yet, but I get good signal strength on it with my other OTA tuner.
My Toshiba TV tuner shows WHUT broadcasting on Channel 33 as channel 33.1.

My older EyeTV 500 firewire ATSC tuner on my Apple Mac Mini computer shows WHUT broadcasting as Channel 33.1 on channel 67 and the channel number is colored to indicate a problem. The Eye TV tuner will also not allow selection of a TV guide provider, including ATSC which should be in the signal.

I think that data is missing and/or not up to standard yet with the ATSC signal being broadcast from WHUT.

Did anyone else notice that WRC DT was off air late last night around 1:00? There signal has had a lot of breakups for me over the last week. Are they doing work on the antenna or is it just me?

what do you do when you have an ac line spike that the antenna picks up. did you ever find out what the offending source was.

My washer machine is causing issues though I think it might be on the same circuit my pre-amp is on, I need to move the pre-amp elsewhere to see if it helps.

I received no phone calls or e-mails regarding problems last night, which I would normally get if there was the problem was wide-spread.

Sorry -

Thanks for the info.

Did anyone else notice that WRC DT was off air late last night around 1:00? There signal has had a lot of breakups for me over the last week. Are they doing work on the antenna or is it just me?
Ah, I was wondering why my TiVO didn't catch the beginning of Poker after Dark. I guess the signal came back on during that show.

Did anyone else notice that WRC DT was off air late last night around 1:00? There signal has had a lot of breakups for me over the last week. Are they doing work on the antenna or is it just me?
I had trouble most of Sunday with drop-outs and low signal strength; also the same with WTTG-DT. This rarely happens for either! No problems today or Mon. during the day. 7 and 9 digitals are fine.

Perhaps stations know they can do all kinds of necessary adjustments to digital tranmsitters and will only get a couple of calls of complaint if that. But wait till 2009!

Thanks very much for the answer! That price is WAY better than FIOS, who wants $3.98 PER CARD. Niiiice......

Irritating update (ripoff?) on Comcast's pricing which may make you reconsider. On my latest billing statement, Comcast started charging me for a second "Digital Service" at $11.95/month on top of my Basic/Preferred Digital Service of $70.05/month. I've had this level of service since Jan '06. They are now claiming that each cable card (one for my TV, one for my Sony DVR) constitutes two "Digital Services", and the fact that I had been paying for only one up until now was an error on their part. I tried to explain that I don't have two "outlets" (I use a splitter) and that I can watch only one device at a time, but no go, and apparently I have no recourse.

I didn't say anything about this in my earlier reply because I had hoped to get it resolved in my favor. If Verizon ever gets to string FIOS into Alexandria, I may seriously consider switching (satellite is not an option in my building).

Although I am not in that direct job anymore, I will attempt to answer with a simple explanation. The new fall ABC shows were not coded as HD in our traffic system.

I asked traffic to update of their settings for all ABC shows.
Thank you Robert. Hopefully the settings will be updated in time for Friday night's broadcast.