Anyone heard anything about FIOS and carrying MASN HD? On the MASN site it still says TBD. And in an email response, they said they have no idea what channel, when, etc... And of course no one at FIOS had a clue, much as I expected.

Anyone heard anything about FIOS and carrying MASN HD? On the MASN site it still says TBD.
There has not been even any rumors on when Verizon will add a MASN-HD feed. I would not count on it happening soon.

Don't forget that the Nats home opener in the new ballpark is on ESPN-HD tonight. This is the ONLY national game that the Nats are on the schedule so far for all season. The TBS schedule only goes to end of May, so they may add a Nats game after that. The ESPN and Fox schedules go to early September, so they could get a game added then if they are playing a team still in the hunt for post-season.

The only national game for the Os is Fox on May 3. It is an away game, so presumably Fox will show it here. Same caveat for additional games on TBS, FOX, and ESPN apply to the Os. Since neither team is likely to be a pennant contender this year, they are not getting much love from the national networks.

is anyone having problems with the nhl network tonight? im not getting any real sound, it sounds like its only bass..

Marcus,
My Comcast guide calls it MOJWA, I guess means MOJO Washington? The old MASN/CSN+ analog channel is called MASN 2 now.
Rob in Frederick

Nats and O's in HD never looked so good??

After the name change to MOJWA, it also disappeared from the Comcast box's HD lineup and you have to go into the regular menu to find it. Sometimes I wonder how the Comcast technical staff finds their way home at night (unless they leave reminder signs for themselves along the road).

MASN HD has been added to RCN:
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c200/machpost/MASN-HD.jpg

It seems to be a simulcast of analog MASN when there isn't a game on in HD. First HD game is this afternoon.

http://masnstudios.com/2007/09/find-masn.html

Looks like MASN-HD is on most systems. Dish is out, and FiOS is listed as TBD.

RCN will add HD On Demand by June.

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080331005525&newsLang=en

is anyone having problems with the nhl network tonight? im not getting any real sound, it sounds like its only bass..

Correction. Most of my channels have no sound on cox ffx, only bass. reseting the box made it worse..

WJZ-DT is broadcasting the Os opening day game in HD! So the 10 O's games that are on both WJZ-DT and MASN-HD this year should be in HD on WJZ-DT. It was reported that WDCA-DT 20 would be in HD as well for the joint MASN-HD games, so the 9 joint WDCA/MASN-HD Nats games should be available in HD on WDCA-DT as well. For the cable/sat(Dish)/Verizon subscribers who don't have MASN-HD yet, these broadcast games will be a useful backup.

Based on only a short look, the MASN-HD picture quality on WJZ-DT OTA is pretty good. However, the Nats game on MASN2 on Verizon Fios1 channel looks lousy with serious color crush of some sort. Someone should measure the bandwidth for MASN2 on Verizon versus the MASN SD channels on Verizon and Comcast (hint).

MASN HD has been added to RCN:
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c200/machpost/MASN-HD.jpg

It seems to be a simulcast of analog MASN when there isn't a game on in HD. First HD game is this afternoon.

As far as I can tell, there is not any programming from MASN, unless the actual game is on the screen. There may be a pre-show before that. The transponder is leased on a per-use basis. This is not an exclusive transponder.

As far as I can tell, there is not any programming from MASN, unless the actual game is on the screen. There may be a pre-show before that. The transponder is leased on a per-use basis. This is not an exclusive transponder.

Exactly. RCN just happened to be simulcasting analog MASN on this channel, up until the first HD broadcast.

Marcus,
My Comcast guide calls it MOJWA, I guess means MOJO Washington? The old MASN/CSN+ analog channel is called MASN 2 now.
Rob in Frederick

Nats and O's in HD never looked so good??

Can you explain what you mean?

My MOJWA in Comcast Loudoun is not authorized. It's been like that for a few days...

I saw on dslreports someone else in Ashburn is experiencing the same problem, so it must be global?

Can you explain what you mean?

My MOJWA in Comcast Loudoun is not authorized. It's been like that for a few days...

I saw on dslreports someone else in Ashburn is experiencing the same problem, so it must be global?

It wasn't global b/c I had no problem watching MOJWA yesterday afternoon Comcast MoCo. The next HD games aren't until next week when the Nats return to DC.

I watched a few minutes of the Orioles game on MASN HD and I was surprised by the picture quality. Some of their graphics could stand to be refined, though.

Just in case there are any NOVA Cox subscribers with cable cards, I wanted to give you the heads-up that the MLB Extra Innings package appears to be SDV, and therefore cannot be viewed with cable cards. :(

CNN-HD, History-HD, and TLC-HD are coming to Harford County Comcast as of April 9. I assume they are going on the same QAM, so expect limited quality.

Scifi-HD has been a real dissapointment for me so far. Stargate Atlantis is always FULL of motion artifacting. I hope they fix this soon...get rid of the analog stations!!!

I don't know if this is the right place, but last night during the broadcast of the Big Bang Theory on WUSA they had a scroll across the top of the screen talking about the transition to digital broadcasts next year. The scroll went across the top for about a minute or so. I was watching on Comcast - the HD QAM signal. I really hope they don't do this scroll across the top of more shows. Has anyone else seen such a scroll on other shows?

Neil

I'm a Rockville, MD Comcast subscriber. Right now, I have their "Standard Cable" (Analog) package @ $59/month, plus internet for another ~$30/month. I just got an HDTV, which lets me see the network HD stations as well as PBS HD, but that's all.

I called about their HD packages and am a little surprised by what they told me. Apparently, I can pay another $9.00 / month for an HD box (that doesn't give me any more channels than what my TV already tunes itself?!), but to get any other HD channels (Disco HD, ESPN, etc) I need to pay at least $15.00 more for their first level of digital service.

So for an existing subscriber, the cheapest digital package including HD is $82/month (just for TV, before adding back in internet)? No deals, no packages offered. Really?

I just looked at the DirecTV website, and if I'm reading correctly, for $44.95/month I can get pretty much the same exact lineup Comcast wants $82/month for?

Am I missing something, or is Comcast just a rip-off?

Could this be the TV?

This is strange. Last nite I noticed I have audio on every channel except 9-1 WUSA9-TV-DT for my 26" Toshiba LCD. I have 5 ATSC tuners in the house and all get audio on 9-1 except one. The Toshiba and my Sony HD DVR are connected to the same indoor antenna but the Toshiba has on sound on 9-1 and the DVR does. I reprogrammed the TV and still no sound. Could this be the TV?

Check this out. Since I still had no audio on 9-1 OTA I emailed the 'Director of Technology & Operations' for WUSA-9 Monday morning. He responds, he checked and there are no problems. When I get home from the office on Monday I have sound on 9-1 OTA. Problem Gone!

I email him next day to say problem fixed and someone somewhere at WUSA-9 must have fixed something. After a couple more emails he writes this:

"When we did the multicast basketball games we used a new (on loan), more efficient, ATSC encoder. In fact, it is the exact same encoder that WJLA and WETA uses. We must have had some settings that your Toshiba did not like."

Note: Last week WUSA-9 were multicasting separate NCAA game finals on 9-1 & 9-2.

Sorry if it's been covered, but does anyone know when and if Spike TV will be in HD, and if it is, when and if it'll come to Arlington Comcast?

Thanks :)

I'm a Rockville, MD Comcast subscriber. Right now, I have their "Standard Cable" (Analog) package @ $59/month, plus internet for another ~$30/month. I just got an HDTV, which lets me see the network HD stations as well as PBS HD, but that's all.

I called about their HD packages and am a little surprised by what they told me. Apparently, I can pay another $9.00 / month for an HD box (that doesn't give me any more channels than what my TV already tunes itself?!), but to get any other HD channels (Disco HD, ESPN, etc) I need to pay at least $15.00 more for their first level of digital service.

So for an existing subscriber, the cheapest digital package including HD is $82/month (just for TV, before adding back in internet)? No deals, no packages offered. Really?

I just looked at the DirecTV website, and if I'm reading correctly, for $44.95/month I can get pretty much the same exact lineup Comcast wants $82/month for?

Am I missing something, or is Comcast just a rip-off?

No you're definitely not missing anything. Comcast is over-priced and they under-perform. I had them for about a year with a special deal and then canceled when the promotional offer was finished. My suggestion would be to cancel your service and go with Dish or DirecTV. Unfortunately, I don't have that option so I watch TV exclusively over the air.

I don't know if this is the right place, but last night during the broadcast of the Big Bang Theory on WUSA they had a scroll across the top of the screen talking about the transition to digital broadcasts next year. The scroll went across the top for about a minute or so. I was watching on Comcast - the HD QAM signal. I really hope they don't do this scroll across the top of more shows. Has anyone else seen such a scroll on other shows?

Neil

Sorry, but there was recent legislation which requires all broadcasters to do this type of thing (scrolls, PSAs, special programs, etc.) in an effort to let the public know about the end of analog transmissions.

What you saw was just the first of a year-long (OK, 10 1/2 month) barrage of announcements.

Cheers!

I'm a Rockville, MD Comcast subscriber. Right now, I have their "Standard Cable" (Analog) package @ $59/month, plus internet for another ~$30/month. I just got an HDTV, which lets me see the network HD stations as well as PBS HD, but that's all.

I called about their HD packages and am a little surprised by what they told me. Apparently, I can pay another $9.00 / month for an HD box (that doesn't give me any more channels than what my TV already tunes itself?!), but to get any other HD channels (Disco HD, ESPN, etc) I need to pay at least $15.00 more for their first level of digital service.

So for an existing subscriber, the cheapest digital package including HD is $82/month (just for TV, before adding back in internet)? No deals, no packages offered. Really?

I just looked at the DirecTV website, and if I'm reading correctly, for $44.95/month I can get pretty much the same exact lineup Comcast wants $82/month for?

Am I missing something, or is Comcast just a rip-off?

D does charge $10/mo for HD access plus $5 for each receiver beyond the first.

I'm a Rockville, MD Comcast subscriber. Right now, I have their "Standard Cable" (Analog) package @ $59/month, plus internet for another ~$30/month. I just got an HDTV, which lets me see the network HD stations as well as PBS HD, but that's all.You could scale back to their limited basic service. You'll get all the local channels plus a few more and the price of limited basic plus internet is sometimes less than internet on its own. You will get all the local network channels and PBS in HD if you have a QAM filter which it appears you have. If you still want the other channels you used to have could get a satellite service as you mentioned. You can also get digital starter for an analog TV which will allow you to get their On Demand service for $1 a month through a box of theirs.

Neil

MASN HD has been added to RCN:
It seems to be a simulcast of analog MASN when there isn't a game on in HD. First HD game is this afternoon.

RCN has chosen to carry MASN SD on the HD channel when HD is off the air. Curious though, it is 4:3 center cut? MASN HD will not be carrying the pre or post game show. (for the record, MASN SD is distributed digitally.)

WJZ-DT is broadcasting the Os opening day game in HD! So the 10 O's games that are on both WJZ-DT and MASN-HD this year should be in HD on WJZ-DT. It was reported that WDCA-DT 20 would be in HD as well for the joint MASN-HD games, so the 9 joint WDCA/MASN-HD Nats games should be available in HD on WDCA-DT as well. For the cable/sat(Dish)/Verizon subscribers who don't have MASN-HD yet, these broadcast games will be a useful backup.

You should thank your WJZ engineering staff for doing everything they could to bring the game in HD!

Next MASN-HD game will be on Monday, when Florida visits the Nats. Look for it on WDCA if you are in the DC market; Blackout rules still apply for MASN games airing on WDCA, even in HD. MASN will carry Nats XTRA, but will be blacked out in the WDCA footprint.

Next MASN-HD game will be on Monday, when Florida visits the Nats. Look for it on WDCA if you are in the DC market; Blackout rules still apply for MASN games airing on WDCA, even in HD. MASN will carry Nats XTRA, but will be blacked out in the WDCA footprint.

Blackout? The Orioles weren't blacked out on MASN yesterday even though I am in the WJZ footprint. Is that a WDCA only rule?

Anybody having problems with MOJO and MHD on Comcast in Howard County? My HD Tivo says there is zero signal for those two stations only? Did they remap them and the Tivo is not updated?

Edit: They are back on Wednesday morning.

Blackout? The Orioles weren't blacked out on MASN yesterday even though I am in the WJZ footprint. Is that a WDCA only rule?


It won't be blacked out on MASN. They never black out the games when they are on one of the local stations. At least on Directv.

Sorry if it's been covered, but does anyone know when and if Spike TV will be in HD, and if it is, when and if it'll come to Arlington Comcast?

Thanks :)There is a Spike HD... I know DirecTV carries it (I'm a sub) and has been on their line-up since last October...

Blackout? The Orioles weren't blacked out on MASN yesterday even though I am in the WJZ footprint. Is that a WDCA only rule?

It won't be blacked out on MASN. They never black out the games when they are on one of the local stations. At least on Directv.

OTA broadcast on WJZ does not cause a blackout, however, Nats OTA on DCA does cause a blackout, but only if you are in the WDCA footprint. If your provider provides WDCA to you, the Nats on MASN will be blacked out when WDCA carries the games. Including HD. And DirectTV :D

RCN has chosen to carry MASN SD on the HD channel when HD is off the air. Curious though, it is 4:3 center cut? MASN HD will not be carrying the pre or post game show. (for the record, MASN SD is distributed digitally.)
It was actually just a mirror of the 480i SD channel. I don't know the technical details, but channel 174 (where MASN HD resides) is basically identical to SD MASN channel 76 when there is no HD game on.

Next MASN-HD game will be on Monday, when Florida visits the Nats. Look for it on WDCA if you are in the DC market; Blackout rules still apply for MASN games airing on WDCA, even in HD. MASN will carry Nats XTRA, but will be blacked out in the WDCA footprint.

I don't know how it is on other cable systems, or if something has changed since last season, but RCN has blacked out the pre- and post-game shows on MASN when the game has been on WDCA :(

No you're definitely not missing anything. Comcast is over-priced and they under-perform. I had them for about a year with a special deal and then canceled when the promotional offer was finished. My suggestion would be to cancel your service and go with Dish or DirecTV. Unfortunately, I don't have that option so I watch TV exclusively over the air.

I am/was in the same boat with comcast. I went the 1st 2.5 years in my new house without anything but rabbit ears and eventually QAM with a TUBE HDTV. Then two Novembers ago, Adelphia had a deal too good to pass up $29.95 for their digital package. 150 channels, On Demand, etc... So I got that. In the meantime, Comcast bought out Adelphia in my area(overall?), honored the deal, then this November they jacked the price from $29.95 to $150. I laughed, and canceled, fully expecting to go back to rabbit ears. After a week Comcast called and eventually offered "digital cable"(no extra channels, just accesss to PPV and On Demand + basic cable) for $33 a month.

Normally, I would not have accepted. But in Sterling, comcast has been adding HD channels in the clear over QAM. So the basic channels+On Demand+all the extra HD channels for $33 seemed like a good deal to me.

They finally laid down the FIOS cabling in my neighbohood last week, so when this deal is over I'll have a decision to make. All I know is that there is NO WAY I'm paying three times more for same stuff I've been getting the last two years.

^^^this is good advice for anyone stuck with a high priced cable deal - threaten to leave (and be prepared to) - their "retention specialist" usually comes up with some good deals.

^^^this is good advice for anyone stuck with a high priced cable deal - threaten to leave (and be prepared to) - their "retention specialist" usually comes up with some good deals.

And if you don't bite, they bombard your mail box with deals. Sometimes I get 2 or 3 of them a day.

Does anyone have any screenshots of MASN HD and/or WJZ HD ?

I am/was in the same boat with comcast. I went the 1st 2.5 years in my new house without anything but rabbit ears and eventually QAM with a TUBE HDTV. Then two Novembers ago, Adelphia had a deal too good to pass up $29.95 for their digital package. 150 channels, On Demand, etc... So I got that. In the meantime, Comcast bought out Adelphia in my area(overall?), honored the deal, then this November they jacked the price from $29.95 to $150. I laughed, and canceled, fully expecting to go back to rabbit ears. After a week Comcast called and eventually offered "digital cable"(no extra channels, just accesss to PPV and On Demand + basic cable) for $33 a month.

Normally, I would not have accepted. But in Sterling, comcast has been adding HD channels in the clear over QAM. So the basic channels+On Demand+all the extra HD channels for $33 seemed like a good deal to me.

They finally laid down the FIOS cabling in my neighbohood last week, so when this deal is over I'll have a decision to make. All I know is that there is NO WAY I'm paying three times more for same stuff I've been getting the last two years.

Yes they are...except @ basic price for me :D

DirecTV added ESPNews HD, Disney Channel HD, and Toon Disney HD today.

Does Comcast in Alexandria carry MASN HD? If so, what channel is it on?

Discovery Channel HD on Comcast is now DSCHD in the guide instead of DISHD, which is supposed to be used for Disney Channel HD. So possibly another channel on the way besides CNN, TLC, and History.

Does anyone have any screenshots of MASN HD and/or WJZ HD ?

While it's not an actual screen capture, here's a photo of what it looks like on a 42" plasma:
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c200/machpost/MASN-HD2.jpg

Just had a FiOS 3-Play install in Ravensworth Farm in Springfield. It took two days for the technicians to successfully install 8 Motorola cablecards in 3 TIVO HDs and 2 Sharp LCDs. HDTV looks great and the 15/15 broadband internet is very nice. As a long time DirecTV subscriber, I was sitting on the fence to upgrade or go with FiOS. So far, I'm happy with the decision. Tom

Does Comcast in Alexandria carry MASN HD? If so, what channel is it on?
MASN-HD is a part-time channel which is only active when there is a HD game. Comcast is putting MASN-HD on the Mojo channel, bumping the Mojo programming for the 80 MASN-HD games we will get this year. For the MASN HD announcement and the PDF schedules for the Nats & Os this year: http://masnsports.com/2008/02/masn-releases-maximum-access-n.html. The next HD game for the Nats is April 8 on WDCA 20 & MASN-HD; the next HD game for the Os is April 18 on MASN-HD.

For those who want to see the SD vs HD schedules for all MLB teams, follow the link to Homcom's Excel spreadsheet files under 2008 MLB Schedule Spreadsheets at http://www.hdsportsguide.com/news/2008/mlb-regional-schedules/. It is an amazing amount of work by Homcom to put the information together. Interesting to use the auto-filter option to see how many HD games each team is getting. The Kansas City Royals go from no HD games last year on their own sports net to 88 games on FSN Kansas City. The Os and the Nats with only 40 HD games each (43 if you count the head to head games) are bringing up the rear among MLB teams for HD along with the Oakland Athletics. Still better than no HD at all that we got in 2007.

While it's not an actual screen capture, here's a photo of what it looks like on a 42" plasma:
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c200/machpost/MASN-HD2.jpg

Which provider was that on? Comcast, Cox, DirecTV, Dish, ???

Just had a FiOS 3-Play install in Ravensworth Farm in Springfield. It took two days for the technicians to successfully install 8 Motorola cablecards in 3 TIVO HDs and 2 Sharp LCDs. HDTV looks great and the 15/15 broadband internet is very nice. As a long time DirecTV subscriber, I was sitting on the fence to upgrade or go with FiOS. So far, I'm happy with the decision. TomGetting FiOS installed as we speak... :D I, too, have DirecTV BUT I'm not getting FiOS TV. Much better selection of HD content on DirecTV than FiOS. OTA antenna feeds three TVs with no issues. For now, I'm set with DirecTV service and 3-Play from Verizon (landline, data, wireless)...

Which provider was that on? Comcast, Cox, DirecTV, Dish, ???

RCN.

Hehe, Oh the irony. Dish Network ads shown on MASN-HD which dish does not carry.

Hehe, Oh the irony. Dish Network ads shown on MASN-HD which dish does not carry.

Ads are odd these days. Was watching the Padres in HD on DirecTV last night from the Cox local cable channel (4SD). They kept having ads claiming that only Cox has the Padres in HD. A little behind they are as DirecTV will have all of them as well now as part of the Extra Innings package.

Ads are odd these days. Was watching the Padres in HD on DirecTV last night from the Cox local cable channel (4SD). They kept having ads claiming that only Cox has the Padres in HD. A little behind they are as DirecTV will have all of them as well now as part of the Extra Innings package.

they will have all the Games in HD or is it select EI games?

I don't know if this is the right place, but last night during the broadcast of the Big Bang Theory on WUSA they had a scroll across the top of the screen talking about the transition to digital broadcasts next year. The scroll went across the top for about a minute or so. I was watching on Comcast - the HD QAM signal. I really hope they don't do this scroll across the top of more shows. Has anyone else seen such a scroll on other shows?

Neil

Sorry, but there was recent legislation which requires all broadcasters to do this type of thing (scrolls, PSAs, special programs, etc.) in an effort to let the public know about the end of analog transmissions.

What you saw was just the first of a year-long (OK, 10 1/2 month) barrage of announcements.

Cheers!
Well, sorry, but as far as I’m concerned, this is completely unacceptable, and I called WUSA after the BBT scroll and said as much. TV stations need to keep these program disrupting scrolls, lower thirds, etc., on their analog signals ONLY. If they can’t/won’t/don’t do that, I will tune them out entirely.

Really, the noise and clutter on TV programming these days is abominable as it is. I’ve already stopped watching CW and NBC completely because of their obnoxious lower thirds and constant on-screen program promos.

And now you say we should get used to minutes-long crawls popping up at random times?!?!? For a YEAR!!!!??!!!!! (Ok, 10.5 months, but still…) Forget it!

WUSA has completely separate network feeds for SD and HD. There’s absolutely no reason the transition announcement could not be limited to the analog transmission only.

For stations like WDCW and WNUV, which seem to be running everything off the HD feed now, I have a little bit more sympathy, but not much. These days, you have about 20 minutes of non-program time every hour. If you cannot restrict the crawls to the analog signal, then you should promote transition awareness with PSAs in the non-program time only.

I’m really, really serious about this. If broadcasters can’t do better than what WUSA did on Monday night – I should add that a wrong switch was flipped at the end of the crawl and for about three seconds the program was entirely replaced by what looked like a family photo of a man with three children and somebody in a muppet suit – then every viewer who defects to cable/DVD/etc. will be a richly deserved loss.

Cheers ;) :)

Getting FiOS installed as we speak... :D I, too, have DirecTV BUT I'm not getting FiOS TV. Much better selection of HD content on DirecTV than FiOS. OTA antenna feeds three TVs with no issues. For now, I'm set with DirecTV service and 3-Play from Verizon (landline, data, wireless)...

Yes, DirecTV has a better selection of HD content than FiOS ~ at this point. DirecTV is using MPEG4 to compress the HDTV signals, which appear to be very high quality. DirecTV still has some limitations due to bandwith via satellite. The promise of fiber optics is that Verizon will essentially have no bandwith limitiations.

Untill I shut off DirecTV in a few weeks, I can demonstrate *side-by-side* that the FiOS HDTV is superior. It actually looks 3-dimension on some channels. Tom

The Baltimore local channels have appeared on Dish Network's system on 61.5W. They are not available to subscribers yet, but they are up there testing. Resolutions are 1280x720p for Fox and Abc, 1440x1080i for Cbs and Nbc. They also have WNUV, WUTB, and WMPT up there in SD. Interesting since WNUV, WUTB, and WMPT are available from 110W currently (in mpeg2). All channels are mpeg4. Mark, I'm assuming you're feeding them WBFF and WNUV via fiber? Its interesting to see WNUV up in SD even though you just converted to 720p :).

Well, sorry, but as far as I’m concerned, this is completely unacceptable, and I called WUSA after the BBT scroll and said as much. TV stations need to keep these program disrupting scrolls, lower thirds, etc., on their analog signals ONLY. If they can’t/won’t/don’t do that, I will tune them out entirely.

Really, the noise and clutter on TV programming these days is abominable as it is. I’ve already stopped watching CW and NBC completely because of their obnoxious lower thirds and constant on-screen program promos.

And now you say we should get used to minutes-long crawls popping up at random times?!?!? For a YEAR!!!!??!!!!! (Ok, 10.5 months, but still…) Forget it!

WUSA has completely separate network feeds for SD and HD. There’s absolutely no reason the transition announcement could not be limited to the analog transmission only.

For stations like WDCW and WNUV, which seem to be running everything off the HD feed now, I have a little bit more sympathy, but not much. These days, you have about 20 minutes of non-program time every hour. If you cannot restrict the crawls to the analog signal, then you should promote transition awareness with PSAs in the non-program time only.

I’m really, really serious about this. If broadcasters can’t do better than what WUSA did on Monday night – I should add that a wrong switch was flipped at the end of the crawl and for about three seconds the program was entirely replaced by what looked like a family photo of a man with three children and somebody in a muppet suit – then every viewer who defects to cable/DVD/etc. will be a richly deserved loss.

Cheers ;) :)

it sounds like you should stick to cable

Well, I'm still not authorized to watch "MOJWA".

Anyone else out there in Sterling/Loudoun Comcast?

TV stations need to keep these program disrupting scrolls, lower thirds, etc., on their analog signals ONLY.Well, certainly the ones about the digital transition... I mean, if you're watching it in HD, you've already made the transition.

I just moved from Howard county to Baltimore City (Federal Hill). Does anyone know if there is an ETA for Verizon FIOS in the City? I miss it with just Comcast as my only cable choice.

Thanks

Kurt

Is there any reason that Washington and Baltimore are both crammed into the same thread? They are separate media markets -- #9 and #24 respectively -- and there is only a minimal area where TV and radio signals serving the two markets overlap. I'm sure that Washingtonians and Baltimoreans would be happy not to have to sort through clutter about stuff in the other city while looking for info on their own city.

Well, I'm still not authorized to watch "MOJWA".

Anyone else out there in Sterling/Loudoun Comcast?

Me and another buddy in Leesburg are also having the same issue. He called Comcast and they gave their usual step by step instruction.
1.Unplug your cable box and plug it back in.
2.We'll send a technician.

Since we do not have a local customer service they don't want to hear that something is a widespread issue.

By early third quarter, Sinclair plans to launch local HD news in Columbus, Baltimore, Asheville and Pensacola.

Doback expects to have all of Scripps’ stations—WXYZ Detroit; KNXV Phoenix; WFTS Tampa; WEWS Cleveland; WMAR Baltimore; KMCI/KSHB Kansas City, Mo.; WCPO Cincinnati; WPTV West Palm Beach, Fla.; and KJRH Tulsa, Okla.—broadcasting their local newscasts in high-definition by the end of this year.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6546067.html

Is there any reason that Washington and Baltimore are both crammed into the same thread? They are separate media markets -- #9 and #24 respectively -- and there is only a minimal area where TV and radio signals serving the two markets overlap. I'm sure that Washingtonians and Baltimoreans would be happy not to have to sort through clutter about stuff in the other city while looking for info on their own city.The two areas are close enough together that it makes sense to talk about both. Plus the thread has been successful for nearly 5 years now, so I'm not inclined to change a thing. There are people who want to split up the thread for various interests. But there are a Wash Comcast, Wash Verizon, etc. threads and if you check them out, you'll see that they have little activity.

Is there any reason that Washington and Baltimore are both crammed into the same thread? They are separate media markets -- #9 and #24 respectively -- and there is only a minimal area where TV and radio signals serving the two markets overlap. I'm sure that Washingtonians and Baltimoreans would be happy not to have to sort through clutter about stuff in the other city while looking for info on their own city.

Minimal area? Better tell the guy in Sterling, VA, who is watching Baltimore stations. Or the folks in Baltimore County who discuss WETA.

Also, I think you would find that Howard County, Anne Arundel County, Frederick County, and parts of PG County and Montgomery County to hardly be a "minimal area." Not to mention that Fios has both cities in several areas in SD and HD and that many cable systems have both cities at least in SD.

Sinclair owns WBFF Fox 45 and WNUV CW 54, so I take the article to mean WBFF will go HD for local news by the start of the fall season.

We have WTTG Fox 5 going HD in the next month. There has been no public announcement that I recall, but there were rumors that the CBS O&O WJZ-DT CBS 13 in Baltimore was not that far away from HD for local news. That means that by the end of this year, we will go from only WUSA-DT 9 in the two cities with HD local news to at least 4, maybe even 5 stations. Not bad.

Not bad?

I think it's atrocious! I was in Birmingham, AL on business earlier in the week and even they have at least one local station (CBS) doing HD news while Baltimore has none.

Sinclair owns WBFF Fox 45 and WNUV CW 54, so I take the article to mean WBFF will go HD for local news by the start of the fall season.

We have WTTG Fox 5 going HD in the next month. There has been no public announcement that I recall, but there were rumors that the CBS O&O WJZ-DT CBS 13 in Baltimore was not that far away from HD for local news. That means that by the end of this year, we will go from only WUSA-DT 9 in the two cities with HD local news to at least 4, maybe even 5 stations. Not bad.

Well, sorry, but as far as I’m concerned, this is completely unacceptable, and I called WUSA after the BBT scroll and said as much. TV stations need to keep these program disrupting scrolls, lower thirds, etc., on their analog signals ONLY. Did anyone at WUSA say anything in response? Their contact page is at http://www.wusa9.com/company/contact/default.aspx
I just tried to call them, but ended up with the voice-mail of Sue Baldwin. I guess I'll email her and see if I get any response.

Neil

Minimal area? Better tell the guy in Sterling, VA, who is watching Baltimore stations. Or the folks in Baltimore County who discuss WETA.

Also, I think you would find that Howard County, Anne Arundel County, Frederick County, and parts of PG County and Montgomery County to hardly be a "minimal area." Not to mention that Fios has both cities in several areas in SD and HD and that many cable systems have both cities at least in SD.
Also us folks in southern PA who watch Baltimore and Washington stations OTA.

Not bad?

I think it's atrocious! I was in Birmingham, AL on business earlier in the week and even they have at least one local station (CBS) doing HD news while Baltimore has none.

I agree, it's pathetic. What is WRC's problem? You'd think that NBC would make local HD news a priority on their O&O in a market this large. Their facilities even housed WHD-TV, the first experimental HD television station, ten years ago. You'd think they might be ahead of the curve, but instead, they're dead last :mad:

Is there any reason that Washington and Baltimore are both crammed into the same thread? They are separate media markets -- #9 and #24 respectively -- and there is only a minimal area where TV and radio signals serving the two markets overlap. I'm sure that Washingtonians and Baltimoreans would be happy not to have to sort through clutter about stuff in the other city while looking for info on their own city.
I've asked the same question before. I can see both sides of the argument. Really wish there was a standard format here so that I can recognize the posts that mean absolutely nothing to me. Like in the title - "Cable RCN" "Cable MD", "Cable Loudoun", "DC Station", etc... so that I can ignore the ones that don't pertain to me.

I'm in Loudoun, but if I wanted more info on a Baltimore station I'm trying to get OTA, I think I'd try looking in the Ball-mer thread. Seems simple enough to me.

Sinclair owns WBFF Fox 45 and WNUV CW 54, so I take the article to mean WBFF will go HD for local news by the start of the fall season.

I saw the following on dcrtv (www.dcrtv.com):
45 To Launch HD News In May - 4/4 - Baltimore-based Sinclair has signed with Devlin Design to do high-def studio conversion of 14 TV stations. Sinclair plans to launch HD newscasts on its Baltimore Fox-affiliated flagship, Channel 45/WBFF, in May...

Not bad?

I think it's atrocious! I was in Birmingham, AL on business earlier in the week and even they have at least one local station (CBS) doing HD news while Baltimore has none.
If you look at the list by DMA of stations with HD local news at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=11299304#post11299304, you will see that Portland DMA #23 has no HD local news either. The list was last updated in December, so it is likely a bit behind the times. But once you get down to DMA #9 - Washington - there is usually no more than 1 station in each market with HD local news down to DMA #22, except for Cleveland & Houston. It is hit or miss, mostly miss, for HD local news in the smaller markets. It costs a lot of money to convert to HD for local news, so this is a process that has been taking and will take years. But from the broadcastingcable article, it is apparent the # of stations with HD local news will increase significantly over the next year.

The article also states: "Four of Hearst-Argyle’s 28 stations have launched local newscasts in HD, and two more will go by this summer." Looking them up, Hearst-Argyle owns WBAL NBC 11 in Baltimore, so there is an outside chance that WBAL could be one of the two.

As for the NBC O&O WRC 4, way back in the fall of 2006, IIRC, NBC said they would be upgrading all their O&O stations to HD local news over the next 18 months to 2 years. With the cutbacks at NBC so they can bring us such fine reality programming, I suspect the conversion plan for their local stations has been stretched way out.

But, is this chart up-to-date? It is in a post dated for August, 2007.

The Baltimore local channels have appeared on Dish Network's system on 61.5W. They are not available to subscribers yet, but they are up there testing. Resolutions are 1280x720p for Fox and Abc, 1440x1080i for Cbs and Nbc. They also have WNUV, WUTB, and WMPT up there in SD. Interesting since WNUV, WUTB, and WMPT are available from 110W currently (in mpeg2). All channels are mpeg4. Mark, I'm assuming you're feeding them WBFF and WNUV via fiber? Its interesting to see WNUV up in SD even though you just converted to 720p :).

Actually, both Dish Network and DirecTV get our HD signal OTA from someplace downtown. The only delivery service that gets our digital signals via fiber is Verizon FIOS.

DirecTV has a fiber feed of our analog signals. Dish Network gets those off-air, also.

Thanks for the info about Dish Network.

.

Sinclair owns WBFF Fox 45 and WNUV CW 54, so I take the article to mean WBFF will go HD for local news by the start of the fall season.

<edit>


WBFF will have HD news much sooner than in the fall...

Cheers!

Well, sorry, but as far as I’m concerned, this is completely unacceptable, and I called WUSA after the BBT scroll and said as much. TV stations need to keep these program disrupting scrolls, lower thirds, etc., on their analog signals ONLY. If they can’t/won’t/don’t do that, I will tune them out entirely.

Really, the noise and clutter on TV programming these days is abominable as it is. I’ve already stopped watching CW and NBC completely because of their obnoxious lower thirds and constant on-screen program promos.

And now you say we should get used to minutes-long crawls popping up at random times?!?!? For a YEAR!!!!??!!!!! (Ok, 10.5 months, but still…) Forget it!

WUSA has completely separate network feeds for SD and HD. There’s absolutely no reason the transition announcement could not be limited to the analog transmission only.

For stations like WDCW and WNUV, which seem to be running everything off the HD feed now, I have a little bit more sympathy, but not much. These days, you have about 20 minutes of non-program time every hour. If you cannot restrict the crawls to the analog signal, then you should promote transition awareness with PSAs in the non-program time only.

I’m really, really serious about this. If broadcasters can’t do better than what WUSA did on Monday night – I should add that a wrong switch was flipped at the end of the crawl and for about three seconds the program was entirely replaced by what looked like a family photo of a man with three children and somebody in a muppet suit – then every viewer who defects to cable/DVD/etc. will be a richly deserved loss.

Cheers ;) :)

I'm pretty sure you're not going to like when we have to double the number of crawls that we have to do in a couple of months (per the legislation)...

But, is this chart up-to-date? It is in a post dated for August, 2007.
If you look at the bottom of the post, it says "Last edited by GeorgeLV : 12-17-07...". It was last updated in mid-December, so it is somewhat behind, but not that far off.

If WTTG Fox 5 and WBFF Fox 45 are going HD local news for the May sweeps (which start oddly enough on April 24 - there is a wiki page on almost everything!), WUSA 9's long run as the only HD local news station in the two (overlapping) markets will soon come to an end.

So what is the HD News run down for our area?

WUSA - Has had HD News for about 2 years.

WTTG - News to go HD in May
WBFF - HD News before Fall. *much sooner hints a reliable source*

WRC - NBC committed to HD News nationally for their O&O stations. No word on when for WRC.
WJLA - Strong hints that HD is in the works for their news, no time frame yet.
News Channel 8 - Same as WJLA.
WJZ - CBS O&O I think stated that HD news was in the works.
WMAR - By the end of 2008.
WBAL - Do not Know

This is just my rough list. Please post any updates or corrections.

I'm pretty sure you're not going to like when we have to double the number of crawls that we have to do in a couple of months (per the legislation)...
Please cite the legislative text that specifically requires crawls during programs. (As opposed to PSAs, etc.)

Seriously, I don’t have time to research this myself right now (and I couldn’t prove a negative even if I did), but if you show me the legislation, I’ll be happy to redirect my complaints to my Congress Critters.

I believe that the article in the Baltimore Sun from a few weeks ago indicated that WBAL and WJZ were moving toward HD news. I don't recall the article mentioning WBFF or WMAR. Back in the day (1999), it seems to me that WBFF was the last station in the market to pass through their network's HD feeds, so it would be remarkable if they were the first Baltimore station to do HD news.

Baltimore stations broadcast network and syndicated shows in HD during prime time, but, so far, local news is not. They plan to introduce the technology to live news broadcasts in the coming months.

...Donna Hamilton, anchor of the 5 p.m. news on WBAL (Channel 11), said she's looking forward to HD but sees positives and negatives about the technology.

When viewers see her in person, she said, they often tell her she looks better than on the air: "So I guess if HD makes me look more like I do in real life, that's a good thing," she said.

...CBS affiliate WJZ (Channel 13) also plans to broadcast in HD, but station management said it would not allow its news personnel to comment on the transition.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12395172&highlight=wjz#post12395172

they will have all the Games in HD or is it select EI games?

I don't know but since DirecTV has been very aggressive in getting HD baseball this year (home and away feeds, adding RSNs like STO HD and MASN, adding OTA where they can get a contract), I would bet on the majority if not all of the Padres HD games.

Satelliteracer on dbstalk has made allusions to DirecTV getting it in HD if it exists and they seem to be going that way. (I no longer can go to bed until the late games are done....I am in MLB HD heaven!)

WRC - NBC committed to HD News nationally for their O&O stations. No word on when for WRC.

When DCRTV reported that WTTG was launching HD news in May, it also mentioned that the gutting going on over at WRC budget-wise meant no HD "any time soon." On the plus side, it said WJLA was about half way along with its conversion to HD news.

I've asked the same question before. I can see both sides of the argument. Really wish there was a standard format here so that I can recognize the posts that mean absolutely nothing to me. Like in the title - "Cable RCN" "Cable MD", "Cable Loudoun", "DC Station", etc... so that I can ignore the ones that don't pertain to me.

I'm in Loudoun, but if I wanted more info on a Baltimore station I'm trying to get OTA, I think I'd try looking in the Ball-mer thread. Seems simple enough to me.

There have been several attempts (including one by me) to start a Baltimore Comcast thread, but nobody came. I guess this is just a tradition for it all to be on one board. I have to skip a lot of OTA and Cox stuff but here is where the action is.

Rich N.

To sum things up: Avaibility sometime late 2009 or 2010 with service to covering about 65% of residents.

I'll probably have moved by then. Oh well.

http://alexandriava.gov/citizen/info/default.aspx?id=206

Please cite the legislative text that specifically requires crawls during programs. (As opposed to PSAs, etc.)

Seriously, I don’t have time to research this myself right now (and I couldn’t prove a negative even if I did), but if you show me the legislation, I’ll be happy to redirect my complaints to my Congress Critters.

Happy to: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-56A1.doc

Commercial broadcasters have two options (there is a 3rd option, but it's "open only to noncommercial broadcasters"):
==============================================
1. Broadcaster Education Option One (in part)
a. Option One Consumer Education Requirements
10. Broadcasters who opt to comply with this option will be required to regularly air a mix of PSAs and crawls, with increasing frequency as the full-power transition approaches, that explain the various important issues of the full-power transition and explain how viewers can find more information. Specifically, a station must air one transition PSA, and run one transition crawl, in every quarter of every day. This requirement applies separately to a station’s analog channel and its primary digital stream. This requirement will increase to two PSAs and crawls per quarter per day on April 1, 2008, and to three of each on October 1, 2008.

==============================================
2. Broadcaster Education Option Two (in part)
a. Option Two Consumer Education Requirements
30. We find that the record also supports permitting broadcasters to choose to comply with our rules by following the alternative plan offered by the National Association of Broadcasters. Under this option, a broadcaster must air an average of sixteen transition PSAs per week, and an average of sixteen transition-related crawls, snipes, and/or tickers per week,

I added the bold parts for clarification. The actual document is 80 pages long.

Thanks, Mark.

Looks like the NAB has actually done something decent for a change. On first perusal, it appears that option 2, which is the NAB’s proposed alternative to the FCC’s more draconian ideas in option 1, is the best way to go, because it doesn’t require crawls during network prime time (8-11pm ET/PT, 7-10pm CT/MT), but allows them to placed in early and late evening news programming instead. I would STRONGLY encourage all commercial stations to choose this option.

More later...

Is there any reason that Washington and Baltimore are both crammed into the same thread? They are separate media markets -- #9 and #24 respectively -- and there is only a minimal area where TV and radio signals serving the two markets overlap. I'm sure that Washingtonians and Baltimoreans would be happy not to have to sort through clutter about stuff in the other city while looking for info on their own city.

Sorry, Peter Angelos owns the rights to both markets and insists that the threads be combined

To sum things up: Avaibility sometime late 2009 or 2010 with service to covering about 65% of residents.

I'll probably have moved by then. Oh well.

http://alexandriava.gov/citizen/info/default.aspx?id=206

I guess we're lucky here in Prince William. They are supposed to have the entire county wired for FIOS in a few years. Fortunately my area here in Woodbridge was one of the first areas so I was able to get the FIOS service late last Summer.

I don't know but since DirecTV has been very aggressive in getting HD baseball this year (home and away feeds, adding RSNs like STO HD and MASN, adding OTA where they can get a contract), I would bet on the majority if not all of the Padres HD games.

Satelliteracer on dbstalk has made allusions to DirecTV getting it in HD if it exists and they seem to be going that way. (I no longer can go to bed until the late games are done....I am in MLB HD heaven!)

Yes, if you're talking about Directv, they seem to have everything that is in HD available. Its great except we're stuck in MASN hell in for the local teams.

csn-hd launched on 734 in cox fairfax...... dont know how long it will last though

Season 4 of Battlestar Galactica starts in a few minutes.

The Season 3 marathon that ran all day today on the SciFi HD channel in Frederick, MD was in full HD, not the crappy "widescreen with black bars on all four sides" postage stamp that many of their shows are.

So I'm guessing the Season 4 episodes will be shown in full HD also -- at least whatever is the bit-rate "full HD" that Comcast chooses to serve us.

Perhaps the other Comcast systems in the DC/Baltimore that offer SciFi HD will get the good stuff also.

Sorry, Peter Angelos owns the rights to both markets and insists that the threads be combined

Some of us live in the middle, and LIKE reading one thread for both. Besides, it's good to hear what other people in the area are experiencing, both with cable and OTA.

For example, if there was a Baltimore thread, nobody would know if the problem on Comcast was local or regional; ALL of Baltimore suburbs are fed from White Marsh. If someone in the Baltimore area posts that, say, TNT on Comcast wasn't in HD tonight, somebody in Fairfax could say "NOT HERE" and we would know it's Comcast White Marsh, and not TNT.

Get it?

Yes, if you're talking about Directv, they seem to have everything that is in HD available. Its great except we're stuck in MASN hell in for the local teams.

If D* with EI is so great, and it seems everyone else is carrying HD baseball games, you can always watch the other teams feed....

Thanks, Mark.

Looks like the NAB has actually done something decent for a change. On first perusal, it appears that option 2, which is the NAB’s proposed alternative to the FCC’s more draconian ideas in option 1, is the best way to go, because it doesn’t require crawls during network prime time (8-11pm ET/PT, 7-10pm CT/MT), but allows them to placed in early and late evening news programming instead. I would STRONGLY encourage all commercial stations to choose this option.

More later...

Admittedly, I'm skimming the thread, but the whole point of the public awareness campaign is that the most people become informed. The Oprah & Leno viewers won't get it, and might not notice it (while they are doing their afternoon or evening activities.) You asked Mark to provide it in writing and he did... maybe it's time to accept defeat and move on ;)

For the record, There are way to many bugs, tickers, snipes etc. I like playing the game on ESPN where you try to count the bugs, etc...

Well, certainly the ones about the digital transition... I mean, if you're watching it in HD, you've already made the transition.

.... or you watching in a bar, etc.

It was actually just a mirror of the 480i SD channel. I don't know the technical details, but channel 174 (where MASN HD resides) is basically identical to SD MASN channel 76 when there is no HD game on.



I don't know how it is on other cable systems, or if something has changed since last season, but RCN has blacked out the pre- and post-game shows on MASN when the game has been on WDCA :(


MACHPOST: Was the pre/post blacked out on RCN tonight...?

If D* with EI is so great, and it seems everyone else is carrying HD baseball games, you can always watch the other teams feed....

No, since MASN has the rights to this area, the other teams' feeds are blacked out.

.... or you watching in a bar, etc.
If you're watching a digital TV in a bar today, you will still be able to watch that TV in that bar a year from today.

The point of the awareness campaign is to keep people from losing their access to TV.

Bottom line, unless you watch enough ANALOG TV to catch the announcements there, you will not be significantly affected and you don’t need all the dire warnings.

Look, I’m not opposed to general public awareness. But for situations that affect your neighbors and not you, PSAs should suffice. Crawls and other extreme program disruptions should be reserved for truly urgent, dire, or emergency situations that might actually affect the person reading the crawl.

Otherwise, you’re crying “WOLF”, and people will tune out, one way or another.

I was doing an autoscan on a TV hooked to Comcast Baltimore City at my work place today. I got tired of it scanning after about 20 minutes and stopped it. However I found that I was getting an amazing assortment of free channels. Things like MLB Extra Innings. It seems they are using HRC encoding and sub channels. If your tuning device can pick it up well worth the scan. Has anyone every figured exactly what all is available on there? If not I will try to do it next week and be more patient.

I was doing an autoscan on a TV hooked to Comcast Baltimore City at my work place today. I got tired of it scanning after about 20 minutes and stopped it. However I found that I was getting an amazing assortment of free channels. Things like MLB Extra Innings. It seems they are using HRC encoding and sub channels. If your tuning device can pick it up well worth the scan. Has anyone every figured exactly what all is available on there? If not I will try to do it next week and be more patient.

MLB EI was probably coming through because it is on a freeview and that would be simpler than authorizing every box for it.

I got a letter from comcast yesterday (Calvert Co. Maryland) saying that they were eliminating the west coast feeds for most of the premium channels, moving CMT and G4 to digital only and AZN TV will be discontinued. This is being done to "help pave the way for significant improvements in the On Demand service and a major expansion of Comcast's high definition lineup in the coming weeks."

It is a good sign that they are making room for more HD channels eventhough I wish they were a bit more aggressive getting rid of analog channels. It is also good they are mentioning weeks, not months. I hope they use the space for the HD channels, not On Demand. I note that around the country other comcast customers are getting Animal Planet, CNN HD, Disney HD, AMC HD, ABC Family, NHL HD, Science HD and The Weather Channel HD. Hopefully, others such as ESPNews HD will be added soon as well. Hope they don't compress them too much.:rolleyes:

ESPN channels are 720P which are perfect to put 3 feeds on one QAM 6Mhz channel with very liitle loss of quality.

...Hope they don't compress them too much.:rolleyes:

Unfortunately they already are compressing too much!

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1008271
and
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1015352

I dont have Comcast at home, but I was over my girlfriend's place (Anne Arundel Co) and noticed her cable SD PQ is really bad using their digital settop box. Normal "analog" channels have pretty bad macroblocking and low resolution. Her other tv is just hooked to the coax and the analog version of the same channel looks a lot better. Every now and then there will be entire tears in the picture on the digital box.

Is this the best they are going to get with the digital versions of the analog channels? I thought Dish Networks SD PQ was pretty bad, but this makes Dish SD look like HD. I can't imagine what will happen when they finally cutoff the analog channels for good and people will be forced to watch that overcompressed digital crap.

On another subject, does anyone else notice the blurring effect on CBS HD live programs (mostly sports)? It was so bad during the NCAA games last night even my gf noticed. "Why is the screen all blurry?" she asked. It happened very often when they were showing full screen graphics and then cut back to the stadium shot. We were watching WJZ via OTA. I can't believe CBS hasn't come up with a solution to this problem, considering I've noticed it for at least the last 2 years.

Since WJZ is a O&O station, you'd think they would have the top engineers and equipment. Do we have any contacts at WJZ to fix this problem. I know its been talked about off and on in the main HD forum, but I've never seen a real solution discussed.

I dont have Comcast at home, but I was over my girlfriend's place (Anne Arundel Co) and noticed her cable SD PQ is really bad using their digital settop box. Normal "analog" channels have pretty bad macroblocking and low resolution. Her other tv is just hooked to the coax and the analog version of the same channel looks a lot better. Every now and then there will be entire tears in the picture on the digital box.

Is this the best they are going to get with the digital versions of the analog channels? I thought Dish Networks SD PQ was pretty bad, but this makes Dish SD look like HD. I can't imagine what will happen when they finally cutoff the analog channels for good and people will be forced to watch that overcompressed digital crap.

Some (but not all) of the digital SD material suck. I am really getting disgusted with it also. That said most of thie digital channels are at a much higher frequency than the analog channels so bad wireing, splitters or connectors could be causing some of the problems you are mentioning with the digital channels.

The problem could also be in the wiring outside the home. Comcast can check the strength of the signal coming into your house. One last option - the newer digital boxes handle SD much better than the older ones try getting a different box from Comcast.

Some (but not all) of the digital SD material suck. I am really getting disgusted with it also. That said most of thie digital channels are at a much higher frequency than the analog channels so bad wireing, splitters or connectors could be causing some of the problems you are mentioning with the digital channels.

The problem could also be in the wiring outside the home. Comcast can check the strength of the signal coming into your house. One last option - the newer digital boxes handle SD much better than the older ones try getting a different box from Comcast.

Yea she lives in an apartment (brand new). I have a 3 way splitter going to a cable modem and her two tvs. Might bring my spectrum analyzer over to her place when I get a chance and take a look at the incoming feed. The settop box is the really basic non-dvr. Its about 5" wide, 1" tall. The user interface looks like a crappy windows3.1 visual basic app I wrote back in 1993. Thanks for the info.

There has been a lot of talk about Comcast compressing their HD channels. Other then the nerds, does anyone else notice quality difference. I have Comcast in Harford County and Recently when visiting my cousin in New Jersey who has FiOS, it was impossible from me to tell the difference in quality.

There has been a lot of talk about Comcast compressing their HD channels. Other then the nerds, does anyone else notice quality difference. I have Comcast in Harford County and Recently when visiting my cousin in New Jersey who has FiOS, it was impossible from me to tell the difference in quality.

Animal Plantet HD is almost unwatchable in Loudoun.

No, since MASN has the rights to this area, the other teams' feeds are blacked out.
The Cardinals' SD and HD feeds were blacked out over the weekend as the Nationals got swept (ditto for the Mariners feed), thanks MASN, the trailer in HD baseball telecasts. Another reason to hate blackouts.

WBFF is now running a commercial stating that "soon" their news will "the first local newscast in high definition". Hopefully that means the rumored May timeframe is true.

The commerical starts out with a reference to Captain Chesapeake. Would be nice if they could dig up some old tapes and run them on their subchannel.

all we know is "much sooner" than this fall. :D

MACHPOST: Was the pre/post blacked out on RCN tonight...?

I was out of town all weekend and didn't get to check it out. It will be interesting to see what happens tonight, since the game will be on WDCA. It'll be in HD, too, so hopefully everything runs smoothly.

There has been a lot of talk about Comcast compressing their HD channels. Other then the nerds, does anyone else notice quality difference. I have Comcast in Harford County and Recently when visiting my cousin in New Jersey who has FiOS, it was impossible from me to tell the difference in quality.

Sci-Fi-HD looks horrendus...so do a lot of the other channels...you can easily tell when they are compressing the bandwidth

Sounds like the Company that sold Comcast the encoders needs to fix their software. Comcast really isn't trying anything that Satellite hasn't been doing for years with MPEG2. So unless they are going really agressive with the compression they should not be seeing this amount of artifacting.

I'm guessing that MPEG4 is now in their future now that the limits of their MPEG2 implementation have been recognized. Mix that with SDV and cable will hold its own against FiOS nicely.

While it's not an actual screen capture, here's a photo of what it looks like on a 42" plasma:
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c200/machpost/MASN-HD2.jpgI am sorry if this is late, but thank you for screenshot. The PQ looks good but I am still worried about the night games. For some reason the contrast is horrible especially on MASN2 on FiOS (FiOS 1).

On local feeds I believe Comcast still puts "only" two HD channels per QAM. I do hope Comcast (aka Compresscast:)) can come back from this public relations disaster since they have the resources to do it right.

Quick question:

Any Comcast subscribers in Myersville/Frederick, MD get an HDMI cable with their HD Cable Box? Or did you have to get one on your own? I'm told it can vary from area to area.

from DCRTV.COM

NBC Gears Up For HD - 4/7 - DCRTV hears: NBC Washington started handing out Sony HD cameras to all network field crews on Thursday, 4/3.
NBC currently has four HD edit suits available and plans on upgrading the microwave system to full HD by the end of the summer.....

from DCRTV.COM

NBC Gears Up For HD - 4/7 - DCRTV hears: NBC Washington started handing out Sony HD cameras to all network field crews on Thursday, 4/3.
NBC currently has four HD edit suits available and plans on upgrading the microwave system to full HD by the end of the summer.....

It's a little unclear, but I think they're talking about the national NBC News field crews, not WRC, who will get around to providing local news in HD several years after everyone else in Washington/Baltimore does it.

Question to those who might be in the Anne Arundel County Comcast area: which HD-DVR box is Comcast currently handing out? I have a 6412 Phase III that I got from them about 2 years ago now, but just recently the audio started cutting out every few minutes for a second or two when running out from the coax digital audio port. I suppose I could swap it just for another 6412 (6416 ideally), but if they are offer a 34xx series instead, I might be more inclined to do the swap anyhow (since I really like the look of it MUCH better than the 6412).

Thanks.

I got a response back from WUSA about the crawl which is similar to what has already been written here:Thank you for taking the time to write regarding our scrolling message or "crawl" about the transition to digital television. While we appreciate that this may be perceived as an intrusion, unfortunately we do not have a choice in the matter. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations require all TV stations to broadcast a specific number of public service announcements and "crawls" each quarter that educate the public about the transition to digital TV. The announcements and the crawls must appear on both our analog and digital channels. Additionally the rules mandate a set percentage that must air between 6:00 PM and 11:35 PM. The regulations went into effect on Monday March 31, 2008 and will continue until March 31, 2009. As you may be aware, TV stations are licensed to operate by the FCC and must be in full compliance with all of their regulations at all times.

Quick question:

Any Comcast subscribers in Myersville/Frederick, MD get an HDMI cable with their HD Cable Box? Or did you have to get one on your own? I'm told it can vary from area to area.I didn't get one from the Frederick office -- I'm pretty sure they gave me component cables though. It's been probably two years, so things could easily have changed.

I either already had an HDMI cable or I ordered on from Monoprice.

FWIW: I have my Comcast DVR box hooked up via both connectors and have the TV setup so that the various color, tint, contrast, etc. setting are different. One input for a more "natural" look, the other for a bit more boost to all settings, usually used when watching sports.

Once again, the Nationals' pre-game show is blacked out on MASN here on RCN, even though there is no pre-game show on WDCA, where the game will air tonight. :mad:

Is there some sort of MLB blackout rule that does not allow the pre-game show to be aired on the network that is blacked out for the game that will follow?

EDIT: Problem resolved :)

There has been a lot of talk about Comcast compressing their HD channels. Other then the nerds, does anyone else notice quality difference. I have Comcast in Harford County and Recently when visiting my cousin in New Jersey who has FiOS, it was impossible from me to tell the difference in quality.

IMO since the format war is now over and people need a new topic so many have jumped on the bandwagon on the net complaining about compression. From my view no 2 systems are identical when I visit friends in Md. I see certain things on some stations and I see different in Va. Also we all have to take into account all sets handle these signals differently. Just my opinion.

What should be the complaint is having stations that were majority HD when launched and are less than 30% now.

Hooray for what little Nats HD we currently have but why when the Wizards aren't on CSN HD we get no HD?:(

Quick question:

Any Comcast subscribers in Myersville/Frederick, MD get an HDMI cable with their HD Cable Box? Or did you have to get one on your own? I'm told it can vary from area to area.

I got one, didn't even ask for it. I was returning my box cause it was shot to get a replacement. The guy at the Frederick office said you need one of these for your HDTV? and handed me one. This was last year when they started rolling out the Motorola Phase 3's. I always seem to have the best luck going directly to the office instead of dealing with the Clueless CSR's.

Forgive me if I missed this, but Comcast in Alex/Arl is NOT showing the HD versions of the select MLB EI games in HD, right?

Also, wasn't the package $160 last year? I just went to the inDemand site and it's $200 this year. Quite a jump.

Forgive me if I missed this, but Comcast in Alex/Arl is NOT showing the HD versions of the select MLB EI games in HD, right?

Also, wasn't the package $160 last year? I just went to the inDemand site and it's $200 this year. Quite a jump.

Comcast is not showing MLB EI in HD. They feel the audience is too small. However, the picture was the best SD I've seen, which prompted me to get it (plus I root for out-of-market teams.)

The normal cost is 199 but during the preview (when I ordered it) it was discounted to 159. The preview ended Sunday night.

Rich N.

Thanks Rich. I forgot about the preview period.

Once again, the Nationals' pre-game show is blacked out on MASN here on RCN, even though there is no pre-game show on WDCA, where the game will air tonight. :mad:

Is there some sort of MLB blackout rule that does not allow the pre-game show to be aired on the network that is blacked out for the game that will follow?

EDIT: Problem resolved :)

So... what was it?

So... what was it?

I have no idea. at 6:30 sharp, MASN flipped over to ESPNEWS as they often do when a program is blacked out. About five minutes after I posted the above message on this board, the pre-game show came back on. The post-game show, however, never did appear on MASN.

5 new HD channels on Comcast in Baltimore City this morning:

CNN
History
TLC
AMC
Animal Planet

AMC and Animal Planet were previously unnanounced.

I got a dumb question and did not want to call Comcast for a run around. I am OTA and don't subscribe to any TV service. Can you get the HD channels without the HD box or cable card? Will a HDTV with QAM tuner be enough to receive the cable HD channels from the RF input?

I believe the answer is no but wanted to check. Thanks.

I got a dumb question and did not want to call Comcast for a run around. I am OTA and don't subscribe to any TV service. Can you get the HD channels without the HD box or cable card? Will a HDTV with QAM tuner be enough to receive the cable HD channels from the RF input?

I believe the answer is no but wanted to check. Thanks.

If you don't subscribe to cable, you won't get anything. I presume that's not what you're asking.

If you subscribe, you can only guarantee the HD locals over clear QAM. Everything else is (or likely will be) encrypted, which requires a CC or STB to decode.

If you don't subscribe to cable, you won't get anything. I presume that's not what you're asking.

If you subscribe, you can only guarantee the HD locals over clear QAM. Everything else is (or likely will be) encrypted, which requires a CC or STB to decode.

Subscription Yes. I wanted to know if you do subscribe to basic service, that is basic HD service, will you get Comcast HD channels which are numbered 200+ without renting or using the HD Box or Cable Card if you have a QAM tuner.

So, a basic HD subscriber without a box or cable card will get Comcast feed of ABC- HD, NBC-HD, CBS-HD, Fox-HD, CW-HD, PBS-HD etc. Thanks.

Subscription Yes. I wanted to know if you do subscribe to basic service, that is basic HD service, will you get Comcast HD channels which are numbered 200+ without renting or using the HD Box or Cable Card if you have a QAM tuner.

So, a basic HD subscriber without a box or cable card will get Comcast feed of ABC- HD, NBC-HD, CBS-HD, Fox-HD, CW-HD, PBS-HD etc. Thanks.

That's all you could be sure of, yes. Also anything else that you can get OTA that they carry.

Hi all -

Just FYI (and so I don't have to hear about it later...), the Fox "Splicer" that puts the Fox network HD signal on the air here (WBFF Fox 45) just died so the prime-time shows aren't going to be in HD this evening...

We're getting a new Splicer overnighted to us, so it will be back tomorrow.

Thanks for watching, anyway!

Hi all -

Just FYI (and so I don't have to hear about it later...), the Fox "Splicer" that puts the Fox network HD signal on the air here (WBFF Fox 45) just died so the prime-time shows aren't going to be in HD this evening...

We're getting a new Splicer overnighted to us, so it will be back tomorrow.

Thanks for watching, anyway!

Uh oh, a bunch of angry Baltimore American Idol fans will be calling tonight.

Uh oh, a bunch of angry Baltimore American Idol fans will be calling tonight.

HA HA HA!!! Stupid networks. Anything that is bad for AI and any other reality show is GOOD for America!!

Uh oh, a bunch of angry Baltimore American Idol fans will be calling tonight.

Now I have to decide if it's worth watching 2 1/2 hours of a non-essential episode OTA on WTTG, live and with commercials.

HA HA HA!!! Stupid networks. Anything that is bad for AI and any other reality show is GOOD for America!!

Because all the drama and comedy on television is SOOO much better than reality TV. That's why Caveman is coming back. Oh wait...

5 new HD channels on Comcast in Baltimore City this morning:

CNN
History
TLC
AMC
Animal Planet

AMC and Animal Planet were previously unnanounced.

Is there usually any correlation between when Balitmore City and DC proper get new Comcast HD channels? Looking forward to CNNHD here in the District. Thanks.

Hi all -

Just FYI (and so I don't have to hear about it later...), the Fox "Splicer" that puts the Fox network HD signal on the air here (WBFF Fox 45) just died so the prime-time shows aren't going to be in HD this evening...

We're getting a new Splicer overnighted to us, so it will be back tomorrow.

Thanks for watching, anyway!Can you run AI in 720p on 54.2?

Because all the drama and comedy on television is SOOO much better than reality TV. That's why Caveman is coming back. Oh wait...The only Comedy that liked from this season and it gets axed after about 5 episodes. That show was great and getting better.

No sound on MASN-HD in the MOJO slot (ch 226) for the first 10 minutes so far of the Nats game on Comcast DC....

Is anyone else not getting Versus HD on 254 (Comcast/Arl & Alex)? I'm having to watch the NHL playoffs on 64. Of course, Comcast won't admit there is any problem and insists on sending out a tech...on FRIDAY.


EDIT: I spoke with my secret contact at Comcast and she said it seemed to be a head-end issue and is going to contact the engineering department (DUH - that is what I tried to get the CSR to do).

For the MASN issue, it's no sound here in Arl/Alex, so it definitely a head-end issue.

No sound on MASN-HD in the MOJO slot (ch 226) for the first 10 minutes so far of the Nats game on Comcast DC....

I've got sound on RCN. Must be a Comcast issue. Good luck :rolleyes:

Can you run AI in 720p on 54.2?

Sorry - I don't have any more HD encoders, I'm afraid.

No sound on MASN-HD in the MOJO slot (ch 226) for the first 10 minutes so far of the Nats game on Comcast DC....

Replying to myself.... They must be working on it, because now it's showing "This Channel Available Shortly."

And before I could finish typing that, it's back, with sound.

Is anyone else not getting Versus HD on 254 (Comcast/Arl & Alex)? I'm having to watch the NHL playoffs on 64. Of course, Comcast won't admit there is any problem and insists on sending out a tech...on FRIDAY.


EDIT: I spoke with my secret contact at Comcast and she said it seemed to be a head-end issue and is going to contact the engineering department (DUH - that is what I tried to get the CSR to do).

For the MASN issue, it's no sound here in Arl/Alex, so it definitely a head-end issue.MASN-HD (on Mojo) is back on, but still no VersusHD in Arlington/Alexandria.

Is MOJO 226 on Comcast Howard County only going to show NATS games in HD? I thought I read in a previous post that it will show O's games too. Thank god I can get fox OTA from DC for HD idol!

Is MOJO 226 on Comcast Howard County only going to show NATS games in HD? I thought I read in a previous post that it will show O's games too. Thank god I can get fox OTA from DC for HD idol!

I think everybody with MASN HD gets both teams. The Nats game will be on Mojo in Baltimore. The games show up in my Comcast guide.

Wow, CNN HD looks horrible. The HD bars on the left and right and the bottom scroller are ok. But the rest (even the graphics) look like crap. Yuck. Do they actually show any HD content? Doesn't seem like a Comcast issue, just a CNN issue to me.

Wow, CNN HD looks horrible. The HD bars on the left and right and the bottom scroller are ok. But the rest (even the graphics) look like crap. Yuck. Do they actually show any HD content? Doesn't seem like a Comcast issue, just a CNN issue to me.

Yes, they do. They do HD during primetime a lot (Anderson Cooper) and the election nights are in HD.

Lou Dobbs is also in HD.

Right now, CNN HD looks a bit better on DirecTV than it does on my Tivo (comcast). A bit washed out on Comcast.

MASN (not)HD.

Stretched mess on 626-1 DirecTV and Mojo Comcast.

Claims HD.

MASN (not)HD.

Stretched mess on 626-1 DirecTV and Mojo Comcast.

Claims HD.

I just noticed this but all the previous games were HD

I just noticed this but all the previous games were HD

Something is amiss and is being addressed as we speak.

Something is amiss and is being addressed as we speak.
Ooh, inside info? Do tell. ;)

Angelos found out how much it costs to do HD and ordered a switch back to SD strech

I think everybody with MASN HD gets both teams. The Nats game will be on Mojo in Baltimore. The games show up in my Comcast guide.

Yes. All MASN HD games (Nats AND Os) are available to all viewers that are able to receive MASN HD. In all markets.

Os played the first game on 3/31; next series is this one with the Nats. Next weekend (4/18) Yankees @ Os in HD.

Orioles in HD Schedule:
http://www.masnsports.com/pdfs/2008_Orioles_on_MASN.pdf

Nats in HD Schedule:
http://www.masnsports.com/pdfs/2008_Nats_on_MASN.pdf

Ooh, inside info? Do tell. ;)

I will! As soon as I have an answer ;)

MASN still broken.

MASN still broken.

game will be over soon:confused:

does anyone else think masnhd looks like crap tonight?

I will! As soon as I have an answer ;)

Hmmm... well, believe it or not, it seems it the signal was good in some places and not in others, which is quite odd.

Can anyone confirm that they saw a GOOD feed last night?
Also, I don't suppose anyone might have a copy of the bad feed?

Also, in the future, please either call MASN ( 410-625-7100 ) or use the link on the website to report the issue. Believe it or not, operators ARE standing by during game hours.

Oh, and when posting issues, please note the provider and franchise!

MASN HD looks ok tonight (watching on Comcast 226 in Richmond)...certainally better than the SD version, YUCK!

Question anyone have any idea on why only 40 of the Nats games are in HD this year? I understand that the Orioles also have 40 MASN HD games, but 80 between the 2 out of over 300 games total is unfortanate. Is it more expensive to transmit HD games? Clearly MASN has made an investment in HD, why not have all games in HD...

I guess I'll take what I can get. Next season promises more I'm sure.

MASN HD looks ok tonight (watching on Comcast 226 in Richmond)...certainally better than the SD version, YUCK!

Question anyone have any idea on why only 40 of the Nats games are in HD this year? I understand that the Orioles also have 40 MASN HD games, but 80 between the 2 out of over 300 games total is unfortanate. Is it more expensive to transmit HD games? Clearly MASN has made an investment in HD, why not have all games in HD...

I guess I'll take what I can get. Next season promises more I'm sure.

MASN is in its second year as a full time network. It is substantially more for ANY RSN to provide HD, let alone one that has TWO baseball teams, and does more live events in six months than most others do in a year. So, try to enjoy the 40/40 this year, and hope for more next year.

Public opinion goes very far. If you like what you see, make it known. If the viewers are there, more will come...

Question anyone have any idea on why only 40 of the Nats games are in HD this year? I understand that the Orioles also have 40 MASN HD games, but 80 between the 2 out of over 300 games total is unfortanate. Is it more expensive to transmit HD games? Clearly MASN has made an investment in HD, why not have all games in HD...
They want to save money on the rental fees for the HD production truck and gear. It does cost extra for HD. They certainly could have done more games in HD this year with a limit of only 1 HD game a day for a single part-time MASN-HD feed. It is an improvement over last year, but MASN is still bringing up the rear among all MLB teams in number of HD games per team. A number of RSNs have all the games for their team - home and away - in HD this year. Maybe next year, we will get a full time MASN-HD channel, but I would not be surprised if we did not get a MASN2-HD for the rest of the games until 2010.

MASN still broken.


Unfortunately so are the Nationals! Going to be a another long season again this year. :(

MASN is in its second year as a full time network. It is substantially more for ANY RSN to provide HD, let alone one that has TWO baseball teams, and does more live events in six months than most others do in a year. So, try to enjoy the 40/40 this year, and hope for more next year.
If this was 1990, I'd agree with you. But MASN was born in 2005 with a cushy arrangement between Peter Angelos and MLB and has lagged constantly in video/audio quality (this still occurs today, where the sound of the ball hitting the catcher's mitt is heard 1/2 second before the ball actually gets there)

Edit: MASN tells me this is a DirecTV issue Can this be confirmed/denyed by anyone else?

as well as having any games in HD until this season (Nats and Os were two of the three teams, the other team being the KC Royals not doing HD last season). The fiasco with getting MASN on cable systems is well remembered by local area fans as well, somewhat repeating itself now with MASN-HD.

The HD telecasts are a start and are appreciated. I would like to see the Lerners get more involved showcasing their new stadium and team and encourage Mr. Angelos (who views them as competition) and MASN to show more games in HD.

Unfortunately so are the Nationals! Going to be a another long season again this year.
Ugh - then look at the calendar and see it is April 11. The Nats started 1-8 last year and played much better than expected, so I am keeping my hopes up.

Wow, CNN HD looks horrible. The HD bars on the left and right and the bottom scroller are ok. But the rest (even the graphics) look like crap. Yuck. Do they actually show any HD content? Doesn't seem like a Comcast issue, just a CNN issue to me.CNNHD looks great on DirecTV...

Can anyone confirm that they saw a GOOD feed last night?
Also, I don't suppose anyone might have a copy of the bad feed?


I was at the ballgame last night, and MASN was in true HD on the TVs throughout the concourses. The first segment with Bob & Don before the game at 7 PM was shown on the big screen, also in true HD.

CNNHD looks great on DirecTV...

Also looks great on Comcast in Baltimore.

MASN is in its second year as a full time network. It is substantially more for ANY RSN to provide HD, let alone one that has TWO baseball teams, and does more live events in six months than most others do in a year. So, try to enjoy the 40/40 this year, and hope for more next year.



My head is dizzy from spin.

Most RSNs these days are launching with HD. The Big Ten Network does 95% live HD and it did it from Day One.

It is actually easier to get it all done up front than to retrofit an existing network.

MASN is cheap and it shows. (And this doesn't even cover the fact that its SD is the worst around....)

Also looks great on Comcast in Baltimore.
Well, I must admit, I only have it here at work, and I have yet to see any true HD on it during the day. We have CNN HD on from 8-5 in the lobby and in the kitchen, and so far I haven't noticed any HD content yet.

Well, I must admit, I only have it here at work, and I have yet to see any true HD on it during the day. We have CNN HD on from 8-5 in the lobby and in the kitchen, and so far I haven't noticed any HD content yet.
Read the CNN HD threads in the programming forum. Only the programs out of the New York studios are in HD. Which are most of the prime time programs. The Atlanta, Washington, and LA (Larry King most of the time) studios are not HD yet. My understanding is that the daytime stuff is mostly out of Atlanta so that is why you see SD then. The high tech primary coverage has been out of the NY studios in HD and has gotten praise for good picture quality. I don't even get CNN-HD yet (Verizon Fios), but have checked those threads.

does anyone else think masnhd looks like crap tonight?

Yeah, I'm with Metrocast here in Southern Maryland and they just added the MASN HD channel. I watched the first Nats game in HD and thought it looked great. Then last night it looked worse to me. Almost like there was a some "strech-o-vision" going on.

Down here in Salisbury, the Orioles opening day game in HD looked great. Haven't watched any of the Nats games and the O's haven't had any in HD since.

Yeah, I'm with Metrocast here in Southern Maryland and they just added the MASN HD channel. I watched the first Nats game in HD and thought it looked great. Then last night it looked worse to me. Almost like there was a some "strech-o-vision" going on.

I couldn't agree more. Although I had been drinking and didn't want to make a big deal of it as I was watching. It did look very stretched. Still much better then what is shown in SD but maybe last night was only the upconverted SD signal.

big time stretch o vision on comcast MASN HD

Read the CNN HD threads in the programming forum. Only the programs out of the New York studios are in HD. Which are most of the prime time programs. The Atlanta, Washington, and LA (Larry King most of the time) studios are not HD yet. My understanding is that the daytime stuff is mostly out of Atlanta so that is why you see SD then. The high tech primary coverage has been out of the NY studios in HD and has gotten praise for good picture quality. I don't even get CNN-HD yet (Verizon Fios), but have checked those threads.

HD on CNN weekdays:

Monday through Friday:
6am-9am American Morning
12-1 Issue #1
7-8 Lou Dobbs
8-9 Election Center
10-12 Anderson Cooper

Tuesday through Friday:
1am-3am Anderson Cooper
4am-5am Lou Dobbs
5am-6am Anderson Cooper

SD shows:
CNN Newsroom 9am-12, 1-4
The Situation Room, 4-7
Larry King Live 9-10, 12am-1am, 3am-4am

That's 12 hours of HD, including reruns.

Best I can tell, several HD channels have been out on Comcast's Washington, DC network for more than two days. I finally called late last night but gave up after 20 minutes on hold. I just got home from work today and they (Food Network HD 231, USA HD 235, Discovery HD 239, others?) are still out! A friend a few blocks away has the same issue...so I'm on hold again.

Hmmm... well, believe it or not, it seems it the signal was good in some places and not in others, which is quite odd.

Can anyone confirm that they saw a GOOD feed last night?
Also, I don't suppose anyone might have a copy of the bad feed?

Also, in the future, please either call MASN ( 410-625-7100 ) or use the link on the website to report the issue. Believe it or not, operators ARE standing by during game hours.

Oh, and when posting issues, please note the provider and franchise!

I used the link on the website and never received a response.

MASN is in its second year as a full time network. It is substantially more for ANY RSN to provide HD, let alone one that has TWO baseball teams, and does more live events in six months than most others do in a year. So, try to enjoy the 40/40 this year, and hope for more next year.

Public opinion goes very far. If you like what you see, make it known. If the viewers are there, more will come...

I understand the people at MASN are doing the best they can with what they have and I'm sure they're committed to improving their product. I don't think you're going to get much sympathy from anyone in Washington, including me, because we're being held hostage from excellent television coverage by Peter Angelos.

I noticed this yesterday when I came home from work. HGTV programming is now all stretch-o-vision. Yesterday and tonight. IIRC their shows in prime time were actually HD. Anyone else notice or am I mistaken? Have they (the network) changed their feed, or is Comcast screwing with it?

Also, I'm sure a lot of you are following bfdtv's thread on Comcast HD Quality Reduction: Details, Screenshots (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1008271). Also when I got home yesterday, I noticed my box had been reset (powered it on and it was at channel 01). After flipping though some channels I thought Comcast HD looked better than usual. More contrast, less washed out, even on the non-compressed channels like ESPN (though more so on the Disc, CNN type channels). I figured it was me b/c no one commented on it today but I'm curious if others noticed the same, or if it's just my wishful thinking.

I'm in Alexandria.

I noticed this yesterday when I came home from work. HGTV programming is now all stretch-o-vision. Yesterday and tonight. IIRC their shows in prime time were actually HD. Anyone else notice or am I mistaken? Have they (the network) changed their feed, or is Comcast screwing with it?

Also, I'm sure a lot of you are following bfdtv's thread on Comcast HD Quality Reduction: Details, Screenshots (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1008271). Also when I got home yesterday, I noticed my box had been reset (powered it on and it was at channel 01). After flipping though some channels I thought Comcast HD looked better than usual. More contrast, less washed out, even on the non-compressed channels like ESPN (though more so on the Disc, CNN type channels). I figured it was me b/c no one commented on it today but I'm curious if others noticed the same, or if it's just my wishful thinking.

I'm in Alexandria.

Its not Comcast, both HGTV and Food Network started simulcasting their SD and HD feeds in mid-March and are stretching the non-HD material.

Best I can tell, several HD channels have been out on Comcast's Washington, DC network for more than two days. I finally called late last night but gave up after 20 minutes on hold. I just got home from work today and they (Food Network HD 231, USA HD 235, Discovery HD 239, others?) are still out! A friend a few blocks away has the same issue...so I'm on hold again.

Many people in Loudoun had an issue with Mojo on Comcast. Come to find out while they were moving old Adelphia accounts to Comcast packages there were some issues. Once they gave me a correct Comcast package my Mojo came back. They even said my bill would be $5 cheaper now. I'll believe it when I see it.

Its not Comcast, both HGTV and Food Network started simulcasting their SD and HD feeds in mid-March and are stretching the non-HD material.

Yeah, I remember reading that, but I swore certain shows on HGTV were actually in HD, like Designed to Sell, which is on 8 tonight. My girl and I always make fun of that goof ball designer, and i don't remember him being stretched. Maybe I'm losing it.

Yeah, I remember reading that, but I swore certain shows on HGTV were actually in HD, like Designed to Sell, which is on 8 tonight. My girl and I always make fun of that goof ball designer, and i don't remember him being stretched. Maybe I'm losing it.

Hidden Potential is in HD right now on Directv

When, oh when, are we going to get CNN-HD in Montgomery County?

Best I can tell, several HD channels have been out on Comcast's Washington, DC network for more than two days. I finally called late last night but gave up after 20 minutes on hold. I just got home from work today and they (Food Network HD 231, USA HD 235, Discovery HD 239, others?) are still out! A friend a few blocks away has the same issue...so I'm on hold again.

Did anyone get this prob resolved? I finally got through this morning a they didn't know the cause of the problem. FOOD is working but USA, SCIand TLC aren't.

USA and SciFi (235 and 236) went back on for me sometime in the last hour (12:00-1:00 p.m. on Saturday). DSC (239) is still out. I didn't call it in, so maybe they're responding to the general problem that you and others reported.

USA and SciFi (235 and 236) went back on for me sometime in the last hour (12:00-1:00 p.m. on Saturday). DSC (239) is still out. I didn't call it in, so maybe they're responding to the general problem that you and others reported.

I gave up last night after 90 minutes on hold. I can confirm Discovery HD 239 is still out :( I guess it's time listen to hold music again. Wheeee!

Update: a pre-recorded message acknowledges the outage on channels 239 and 240 and that technicians are working on it. I guess an outage takes 3 days to correct. Or more! No ETA was given.

I gave up last night after 90 minutes on hold. I can confirm Discovery HD 239 is still out :( I guess it's time listen to hold music again. Wheeee!

Update: a pre-recorded message acknowledges the outage on channels 239 and 240 and that technicians are working on it. I guess an outage takes 3 days to correct. Or more! No ETA was given.

They're on now but I'm not in the areas supposedly with the outages. BTW mine were on yesterday and went out last night.:(
Im just upset I missed BG last night!

I can't get Nbc-HD, Fox-HD, or CBS-HD through the clear with my Vizio built-in QAM tuner. I have Comcast-Loudoun and was getting these stations fine earlier this week. Is there anything I can do to fix it, or is it a Comcast Problem.

I figured it was me b/c no one commented on it today but I'm curious if others noticed the same, or if it's just my wishful thinking.

I'm in Alexandria.

Well, over here across Four-Mile Run, mine is if anything, worse.

I can't get Nbc-HD, Fox-HD, or CBS-HD through the clear with my Vizio built-in QAM tuner. I have Comcast-Loudoun and was getting these stations fine earlier this week. Is there anything I can do to fix it, or is it a Comcast Problem.
It is my understanding that the Cable companies are not required to provide digital QAM channels. As a result the availability to receive any digital QAM is different for each local Cable service, and can be very intermittment.
I would rescan from day to day to see if your signals return. I find that my cable provider will not discuss QAM signals.

I can't get Nbc-HD, Fox-HD, or CBS-HD through the clear with my Vizio built-in QAM tuner. I have Comcast-Loudoun and was getting these stations fine earlier this week. Is there anything I can do to fix it, or is it a Comcast Problem.

In Sterling(Comcast) I am having no problems at all with the channels you mention.

It is my understanding that the Cable companies are not required to provide digital QAM channels. As a result the availability to receive any digital QAM is different for each local Cable service, and can be very intermittment.
I would rescan from day to day to see if your signals return. I find that my cable provider will not discuss QAM signals.
???. Digital cable channels are sent using digital QAM format. Maybe you meant in the clear. Cable companies are indeed required by the FCC to send the local stations in the clear, ie not encrypted, if they provide them on the cable system. The customer service reps usually have no knowledge of QAM or how it works; their training is to insist you need a cable box to get any HD channel. But the local stations should be there, you may have to dig to locate them depending on whether Comcast is correctly passing the PSIP channel mapping data through.

I can't help with Comcast Loudoun, but amorris525, have you tried a re-scan? Comcast may have moved the locals to a different QAM sub-channel.

I did about 5 rescans yesterday and got nothing, but today I rescanned and they are back! However, NBC-HD is still horrendous quality for me, making the Capitals game unwatchable on there today. I've also never been able to pick up CW-HD in the clear from Comcast Loudoun either. But at least I can watch the masters in HD today!

I did about 5 rescans yesterday and got nothing, but today I rescanned and they are back! However, NBC-HD is still horrendous quality for me, making the Capitals game unwatchable on there today. I've also never been able to pick up CW-HD in the clear from Comcast Loudoun either. But at least I can watch the masters in HD today!
If you want to get the local stations and your HD TV is new enough to have a ATSC tuner, you can always put up an antenna and get the DC stations OTA unless there is a reception problem where you are.

... Once they gave me a correct Comcast package my Mojo came back. They even said my bill would be $5 cheaper now. I'll believe it when I see it.

Mr. Powers-
Sorry to hear you lost you MoJo.
Glad to hear you've got back.
That's Shagadelic!

???. Digital cable channels are sent using digital QAM format. Maybe you meant in the clear. Cable companies are indeed required by the FCC to send the local stations in the clear, ie not encrypted, if they provide them on the cable system. The customer service reps usually have no knowledge of QAM or how it works; their training is to insist you need a cable box to get any HD channel.
You are normally an excellent source of correct information, but I find you are wrong about Cable companies being required to provide "in the clear" QAM digital channels. I found that the FCC referred me to the local Cable Television Commission when I sought information on this. I went to the regular meeting of the P.G County Cable Television Commision, and asked what stations did they require from Comcast. The answer was, "those located within the County". Unfortunately, there are no television stations within the county. In addition the County Government web page includes this quote:
"The Cable Television Commission enforces the County's franchise agreements with Comcast Cable Communications and Verizon Maryland, Inc. Prince George’s County cannot set rates nor require the carriage of certain cable channels on the cable system."
I am fairly happy with the clear QAM digital channels from Comcast Basic service, but they are not guarranteed, and do change from time to time.

Um, broadcast channel carriage is regulated by the FCC, not county commissions or franchising authorities. Call the FCC again and ask to speak to someone in the Media Bureau who is knowledgeable about must-carry regulations for broadcast stations over cable.

I was just discussing this topic in another thread. Please note the links to some of the relevant FCC regs in that post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13634140&postcount=17026).

You are normally an excellent source of correct information, but I find you are wrong about Cable companies being required to provide "in the clear" QAM digital channels.
The question of the FCC requirements for carrying the locals in clear QAM has been discussed in great detail in other threads in the hardware reception and programming forums. I leave it to those who are familiar with the complex FCC regulatory rulings and orders that apply to local stations and cable operators to make sense of them. The short summary as I understand it is that the cable operators are required to provide the locals in the clear if they carry that station on their system. But these are complex rules and some smaller cable companies may interpret them differently or not pay attention to them. However, all of the major operators do routinely provide the locals in the clear. The trick is to find the HD and SD locals in the 100s of QAM sub-channels, if the PSIP channel mapping to the local broadcast channel number is not provided.

So I'm not really sure this is in the right place, but I've looked all over and can't find anything current.

Any information on how long my expanded basic (analog) Comcast cable service is safe in Washington DC?

If Comcast plans to phase it out by 2009 (Feb or otherwise), I'd like to know now so I can plan my upgrade path, versus just waking up one morning and finding that my HTPC has been recording snow for every channel above 13.

I've seen other threads that report it's been eliminated in Chicago, but can't find anything in our area.

Thanks
Matt

Its not Comcast, both HGTV and Food Network started simulcasting their SD and HD feeds in mid-March and are stretching the non-HD material.


I was wondering where all the shows we watch went. This is very disappointing. I will write them and complain, although I know it won't matter.

Rich N.

So I'm not really sure this is in the right place, but I've looked all over and can't find anything current.

Any information on how long my expanded basic (analog) Comcast cable service is safe in Washington DC? I don't think anything definitive has been stated by Comcast. I suggest you contact your local franchise authority and have them try to get something out of Comcast. Asking a Comcast CSR is most likely a waste of time, but the franchise authority might be able to get something out of their contacts. I asked my local one in Bowie and they are trying to arrange a city hall meeting in the future where Comcast will address questions. The odds are they will continue in the DC area until sometime in 2012, but nothing is guaranteed.

Neil

I was wondering where all the shows we watch went. This is very disappointing. I will write them and complain, although I know it won't matter.

Rich N.

I understand that ESPN, which originally stretched their non-HD content, changed because of viewer complaints, so maybe it will make a difference. Someone had said they complain to advertisers - I can't believe that Slimfast wants to hear that all their spokespeople look short and fat on stretched channels.

MASN is in its second year as a full time network. It is substantially more for ANY RSN to provide HD, let alone one that has TWO baseball teams, and does more live events in six months than most others do in a year. So, try to enjoy the 40/40 this year, and hope for more next year.

Public opinion goes very far. If you like what you see, make it known. If the viewers are there, more will come...

Well, with the money that they are skimping on for their on air entertainment, they should be able to afford the HD.
The Play by play guys are good, it's the studios guys that just suck.

I think they can afford the HD, it's Angelos refusing to reach into his purse to spend the money to get more than 40 games for each team.

Can someone please explain if the HD cameras are physically at Nationals Park and/or Camden Yards (or are they being moved back and forth), why all home games can't be shown in HD? I would think MASN is dead last in # of games, as the Royals network has close to 90 this season from 0 last.

Well, with the money that they are skimping on for their on air entertainment, they should be able to afford the HD.
The Play by play guys are good, it's the studios guys that just suck.

yeah ray knight is kind of a jabroni...

Ray "I Dub Thee" Knight - from ESPN to MASN post-game shows and occasional color on selected Nats games when Sutton isn't there. Mets fans however, will always love him (I prefer the other NY team).

And SNY-HD is blacked out on EI - I HATE BLACKOUTS. Thanks MASN and your great SD coverage.

Instead of a black screen during their blackout of the Caps game, Versus is showing World Extreme Cagefighting (in SD).

MASN, with only limited product, couldn't get a dedicated HD channel at the late notice, let alone two for both teams games with wide exposure. 80 games pre-empting MOJO isn't too bad, seems like most cable systems got on board very quickly.

MASN, with only limited product, couldn't get a dedicated HD channel at the late notice, let alone two for both teams games with wide exposure. 80 games pre-empting MOJO isn't too bad, seems like most cable systems got on board very quickly.


its not like channel 20 shows anything of value, they could always throw it on there during a weeknight. fox/my 20 could say they are the leader in basbeall coverage that way..

Ray "I Dub Thee" Knight...

You mean Ray "1986 World Series MVP" Knight, also known as Mr. Nancy Lopez?

You mean Ray "1986 World Series MVP" Knight, also known as Mr. Nancy Lopez?

I mean, Ray "I suck at play by play and in studio analysis" Knight.

I mean, Ray "I suck at play by play and in studio analysis" Knight.

I don't know about that, but I was forced to watch the Mets on MASN yesterday (in SD no less, because of antiquated blackout rules). Sorry, but I'll take Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling any day over these other guys.

I don't know about that, but I was forced to watch the Mets on MASN yesterday (in SD no less, because of antiquated blackout rules). Sorry, but I'll take Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling any day over these other guys.

Would that be Keith "No play for Mr. Gray" Hernandez?

keith "the spitter" hernandez?

ron darling is a disaster...

Dish has added Baltimore HD (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=126139). Not being a Dish customer, I don't know what channels exactly...

Unless there are any carriage disputes, I would expect Dish to just carry the four major networks in HD. ABC 2, NBC 11, CBS 13 & FOX 45.

Funny thing is that I have Dish, and I am in the Grade A contour of the Baltimore signals, but those geniuses still keep me from getting them via satellite. At least my OTA tuner gets them in just fine.

keith "the spitter" hernandez?

ron darling is a disaster...

Darling's year in DC was not representative of his excellence at color commentary. He got the job at the last minute and was paired with a guy who he met in the cab on the way to the 1st regular season game.

Darling is excellent, far superior to Sutton. I learn something every game that Darling works. He just won a NY Sports Emmy and will work national games on TBS this year.

Dish Network has added CNN-HD and the Baltimore HD locals.

Darling is excellent, far superior to Sutton.

I really miss Darling. He always sounded like James Woods to me!

i haven't watched very many mets games on SNY, but don sutton annoys me only because of his goofy hair

Unless there are any carriage disputes, I would expect Dish to just carry the four major networks in HD. ABC 2, NBC 11, CBS 13 & FOX 45.

Funny thing is that I have Dish, and I am in the Grade A contour of the Baltimore signals, but those geniuses still keep me from getting them via satellite. At least my OTA tuner gets them in just fine.

Yeah, Boyds in in the DC market and DirecTV is the same way. They can both do significantly viewed out of market stations (as defined by the FCC via Nielsen) but I know DirecTV has done it for very few markets. I get Baltimore via DirecTV and would like to get DC as well (my OTA is spotty as I live in a first floor condo).

RCN in D.C. has added an HD channel for MLB Extra Innings games, on channel 188. It is listed as "GAMEHD" in the EPG.

Yeah, Boyds in in the DC market and DirecTV is the same way. They can both do significantly viewed out of market stations (as defined by the FCC via Nielsen) but I know DirecTV has done it for very few markets.
Actually, Dish lost the right to provide significantly viewed ABC/CBS/FOX/NBC stations when it lost the distant networks case a couple of years ago. Only DirecTV can provide SV stations (of the 4 majors) via satellite now.

Would that be Keith "No play for Mr. Gray" Hernandez?

Heh. Ol' #17 is looking like he needs a touch-up on the sides lately.

keith "the spitter" hernandez?

I still say there was a second spitter... ;)

Ron darling is a disaster...

From what I understand, *was* might be more apropos. He's extremely knowledgeable and has grown into an extremely well-versed broadcaster on SNY, as well as a commercial spokesman.

Now, this MASN thing... that's a disaster. Why advertise an HD feed when it's never on? Is it only HD when the Nats or Os are home? What's up with that?
[He said, keeping things on topic... :o]

at least someone got the joke!

Anybody notice that NBC-HD on Comcast MoCo looks like utter garbage tonight? Looked very low bit-rate...actually, all of the channels are looking worse and worse as days go by...

I really miss Darling. He always sounded like James Woods to me!

lol. That's EXACTLY what I thought as well. It's really uncanny.

Actually, Dish lost the right to provide significantly viewed ABC/CBS/FOX/NBC stations when it lost the distant networks case a couple of years ago. Only DirecTV can provide SV stations (of the 4 majors) via satellite now.

I knew they lost DNS but I didn't know they lost SV as well. Wow.

BTW, according to the Dish webpage, it is confirmed that Baltimore HD includes WMAR, WBAL, WJZ and WBFF.

Glad I was right, because I edited the first post before I had proof of channels.

I don't understand how Dish could lose SV, but not DirecTV. I know it was the result of a court case, but I still would have thought that it would have ended up on equal ground. Still, even when "Significantly Viewed" was in effect, it didn't apply to me. It just gave a few extra channels to those in Howard and other counties that were equal distance between Baltmore and DC.

Glad I was right, because I edited the first post before I had proof of channels.

I don't understand how Dish could lose SV, but not DirecTV. I know it was the result of a court case, but I still would have thought that it would have ended up on equal ground. Still, even when "Significantly Viewed" was in effect, it didn't apply to me. It just gave a few extra channels to those in Howard and other counties that were equal distance between Baltmore and DC.

Dish lost out of market networks as a punative measure because they consistently violated the law on qualifying out of market customers. Why would they punish DirecTV, who has actually been conservative in its enforcement of who gets what out of market?

BTW, I am in Howard. If SV were used, I would get 4, 5, 7, 9, 26, 32 at a minimum.

Comcast has launched AnyRoom On Demand in New Jersey, where it is available to all digital-cable customers with Motorola digital set-tops, officials said Thursday.

AnyRoom allows customers to select Channel 1 On Demand programs on one TV set and view them on any other TV in the home that has a digital-cable box.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6552314.html

This is also available in Baltimore. Might be why my boxes were receiving a software download this evening.

We'll probably have that in Montgomery County in about a year.

this is gonna get a lot of dads/teenage boys in trouble with ordering adult on demand...

Details of Sinclair’s local HD news plans emerge

Apr 17, 2008 8:55 AM

Sinclair Broadcast Group, if all goes as planned, will launch HD local newscasts within the next three to four weeks in Baltimore and Columbus, OH, and sometime this summer, follow suit in Ashville, NC, and Pensacola, FL.

Speaking with Broadcast Engineering following the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC) breakfast at NAB2008 April 14, Sinclair VP engineering of operations Del Parks revealed that the station group will use the rollout at stations in its four biggest markets to evaluate its approach to HD news operations and make any midcourse corrections, if needed, before continuing the HD local news rollout in its other nine news markets.

“Broadcast TV cannot become the AM radio of the 21st Century. One way around that is to deliver as much HD content as we can,” Parks said.

The centerpiece of Sinclair’s news control room strategy is the Snell & Wilcox multi-definition production switcher, he said. With built-in up/downconversion, the switcher will allow Sinclair to work in a mixed 4:3 SD and 16:9 HD world without relying on external conversion. “What happens when you start inserting upconverters and downconverters is you get a series of delay,” he explained. “And that makes the audio problems worse. A big problem with DTV that everyone is finding out is lip-sync problems.” With built-in conversion, audio and video delay is consistent and doesn’t add to lip-syncing difficulties, he added.

For acquisition, Sinclair is at the show evaluating competitive long GOP MPEG and intraframe systems. While the broadcast group has a 20-year history with Panasonic using DVCPRO equipment, a major issue with which Sinclair is wrestling is the trade off between file size and maintaining more original image data, he said.

Following NAB2008, Sinclair also will receive four new electronic newsgathering (ENG)/satellite newsgathering (SNG) vehicles that are HD-ready, he said.

http://broadcastengineering.com/news/details_sinclairs_local_hd_0417/

Sounds like WBFF will have a HD News much sooner than fall. I wonder where we heard that before? :D

Hopefully a few more local stations besides the FOX networks will be HD before the end of the year. I guess that WTTG is still on track for their May HD News launch.

Just curious... why does anyone care about local news, let alone in HD? Do people really still watch it that much (other than demo's that don't care about HD)?

I would think the bulk of the 18-49 crowd gets their news, local and otherwise, from their PC, phone, PDA, etc.?

Just curious... why does anyone care about local news, let alone in HD? Do people really still watch it that much (other than demo's that don't care about HD)?

I would think the bulk of the 18-49 crowd gets their news, local and otherwise, from their PC, phone, PDA, etc.?

No, no one cares. That is why they track the local news numbers religiously. Local news is one of the few things a local station can actually control. And all the advertising goes directly into their pockets. Local news is still watched quite a bit.

No, no one cares. That is why they track the local news numbers religiously. Local news is one of the few things a local station can actually control. And all the advertising goes directly into their pockets. Local news is still watched quite a bit.

What's "quite a bit"? I agree it's one of the few things left that local stations can get direct revenue from, but that doesn't mean much to me.

I'd be surprised if the local news get more than a 2 rating (perhaps a higher share due to the fewer number of TV's on at that time).

Aren't we at the point where the major networks can just have one national channel? This works for the other 250 channels out there, why not the major networks?

I mean, the "local" aspects of the networks is pretty much lost on the vast majority of people.

Not really. Down here in Salisbury, most people watch at least part of the local news. That kind of seems more previlent in smaller markes I think.

Just curious... why does anyone care about local news, let alone in HD? Do people really still watch it that much (other than demo's that don't care about HD)?
A quick google search turned up a Washington Post article from last November on the ratings for the 11 PM DC newscasts which add up to around 460,000 viewers for the 4 stations. WTTG 5 got 169,000 viewers for the 10 PM broadcast. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/29/AR2007112902307.html. These are the 11 PM news numbers; don't know how the 5 & 6 PM numbers compare. Just because you don't watch the local news does not mean no one else does to make a obvious point.

The way I look at it, we are looking at a nice increase in the amount of HD on the local stations in this next 6 months. Sesame Street and Oprah will be going HD this fall. I'm waiting for the first post from someone whose toddler wails why isn't Sesame Street in HD today? :D On the major networks, Survivor will be HD this fall, CBS nightly news will be going HD in June or later; ABC announced ""ABC also plans to broadcast both conventions in HD and launch HD broadcasts of its nightly news programs “World News Tonight,” and “Nightline,” as well as its newsmagazines, the week of Sept. 8."

This data is 3 years old but at 5 to 6 AM (!), WBAL had a 4.6/20 while WJZ had a 4.0/7. At 6 am, WBAL jumped to a 7.2/24.


Also three years old: "5 p.m. broadcast pulled in a 11.4 rating and a 22 share, while WJZ had a rating of 6.3 and a share of 12."

I doubt that the numbers dropped from 11's to 2's in three years.

You, AbFabMag, are out of touch and are guilty of projecting your habits and tastes onto others.

And, no, we are not at a point where we can go without local stations. There are still local activities in entertainment, sports and news including weather that have to be covered. Gee, I wonder why there is at least 1 (often 2 or more) LOCAL sports stations in that 250 you mention. And why cable companies have started LOCAL news and events stations such as CN8 and Newscenter8 and Ohio News Network and the like if we don't need local stations.

Oh, and let us not forget the millions who don't have cable or satellite. They kind of rely on those local stations.

But then again, they must not exist, either, huh?

I don't bother with a local paper, but the local TV news is still interesting. And I watch News 9 first because of the HD. I then flip around during commercial and end up on another news show if they aren't in commercial break too.

Ratings numbers from November 2007 (latest I could find) in Baltimore from Baltimore Sun blog:

For local newscasts, WJZ remains dominant in the morning, while WBAL remains dominant in the evening, when more people are watching. For its 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. newscasts, WJZ garnered ratings of 3.6 and 4.3, while WBAL earned a 2.6 for its 5 a.m.-6 a.m. newscast. At 6 a.m., WJZ eked out a narrow win, with a rating of 4.9, compared to WBAL's 4.8. WJZ won big at noon, 6.0 to 4.6.

The trend reverses come 5 p.m., when WBAL comes out on top, with a 7.4 rating, compared to 5.0 for WJZ. The gap narrows somewhat at 6, with WBAL getting an 8.1 rating, compared to 6.3 for WJZ. WBAL wins narrowly again at 11, 9.6 to 9.4.

For its late news, which airs at 10 p.m., WBFF earned a 4.3 rating. WMAR trailed the pack, with its 11 p.m. newscast getting a 3.4 rating.

Dish has added Sci Fi HD and USA HD.

Just curious... why does anyone care about local news, let alone in HD? Do people really still watch it that much (other than demo's that don't care about HD)?

I would think the bulk of the 18-49 crowd gets their news, local and otherwise, from their PC, phone, PDA, etc.?

Why do you care what News people watch and when ?

jl

I watch NBC4 nightly just to see what crap Vance will come up with. If a white anchor spewed some of the crap that comes out of Vance he/she would be fired. I love double standards. And Doreen couldn't say crap if she had a mouth-full. Now everyone of you PC/Liberals have fun...