I heard this is going to be a story in the Washington Post tomorrow.

And here's the mention:

Some DirecTV customers, however, missed much of last night's game because DirecTV thought it should be blacked out. A MASN spokesman said the company called DirecTV after it received complaints, and DirecTV turned the game on midway through. . . .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/06/AR2007040602138.html

Last week Comcast in Montgomery County reset all my Motorola DCT-6200 boxes (I have three and my mother-in-law has one) this wiped out all personal settings. So if you had any PIN numbers for purchases or for content protection it needs to be reset along with marking what content should be protected. This reset did not affect my DCT-6416 DVR.

Extra Innings is back on Comcast. (SD only)

I made the jump Friday. So far much happier w/ PQ, options, multi room DVR etc. I'll post a more detailed description later on the install (long but very neat job) and other observations. Biggest complaint is the inability to "page up, page down" in the channel guide but everyone says that will be addressed in next software push.

Three other homes on my cul-de-sac are switching next week.

Yeah, Dish has both MASN & MASN2. You just beat me to the post. :D According to the press release it is available to everyone with America's Top 100+ and greater programming package. I am down in Fredericksburg (Washington DC DMA) are they are not currently in my channel lineup. Late last night, I was initially told the MASN channels were based on zipcode and that they were not available to those us in Fredericksburg/Spotsy. Anyway, I called tech support this morning and, after going through a series of technical techs on my equipment, they sent an authorization signal to my receivers. The channels were to appear in my guide after about 15 minutes.

Well, I came home this afternoon and still no MASN/MASN2. I called tech support once again and all they could tell me was there was some sort of an "incomplete process" preventing MASN from being added to my account, and that I would have a wait another 15 minutes while they "hit" my receivers. It has been close to 30 minutes and still no MASN.

The tech wasn't sure about the "zipcode issue" but he did mention the channels appear on my account. He also couldn't provide any useful information about the "incomplete process" affecting my ability to receive the MASN channels...or if others were experiencing the same issue. Is anyone else having a problem receiving MASN and MASN2, channels 432 and 433?

Sample WMAR-DT ABC 2 Coverage Map for Northern Virginia Area

Using Google Earth and the 67 MB kmz file for the Washington-Baltimore region TV transmitters, I generated a reception map image for WMAR-DT ABC 2 (DT=52) in the DC & northern Virginia area. See the first 2 posts at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=821480 on how to do this yourself. We have people here picking on WJLA-DT 7 in DC for not broadcasting Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune in HD. I have been uncomfortable with the tone of some of these posts, because the chief engineer at WJLA is kind enough to post to this thread. WJLA is making a business decision on not spending money at this time on the equipment to provide syndicated programming in HD and I can't fault them much for that.

But if you really want to watch Jeopardy in HD, WMAR-DT is viewable over much of the DC Northern Virginia area with the right UHF antenna. The attached image covers a large area so it loses a lot of detail. But those in the deeper blue or purple areas have a good shot at getting WMAR-DT (and the rest of the full power Baltimore stations) with an attic or better yet, a rooftop antenna. At the outer fringes, a CM 4228 or AD 91XG UHF antenna is probably needed.

The real power of the data comes in with the zoom to down to the neighborhood or street level. I have zoomed in on my immediate neighborhood and clicked through all the digital stations. The color maps matches pretty well what stations I can get with a CM 4221 in my attic aimed at Baltimore.

The coverage map for WUTB-DT My 24 at 530 Watts is interesting. I asked Andy to put the station in at it's current power of 530 Watts, rather than the full 220 kW power it is authorized for because I was curious at what the coverage would look like. The map is probably optimistic, but it does show a large green reception area where people could likely get WUTB-DT if they aimed their attic/outdoor antennas right at the station. I have added the cropped map for WUTB-DT 24 as well. [if this works...]

Anyone know the current QAM location for WETA DT on Comcast, Arlington? It disappeared for me a week ago and hasn't come back (although the sub-channels are still there).

I hope WJLA will get their syndicated programming in HD soon, but the viewing of WMAR is a good idea in the meantime.


By the way, did anyone see yesterday's MASN blackout "mandated" by the FCC?

By the way, did anyone see yesterday's MASN blackout "mandated" by the FCC?
It was because the game was on WDCA.

It was because the game was on WDCA.

Yeah, in an odd setup, MASN and MASN2 will carry the games but if the Orioles are on WJZ, then viewers who get WJZ on their systems will not get the game on MASN/MASN2 and when the Nats are on MY20, viewers who get MY20 on their systems won't get the game on MASN/MASN2.

This has and will lead to confusion by systems on what to black out.

Then add that WJZ had the Orioles on their analog station and the Masters on their (only) digital station on Friday!

... WJZ had the Orioles on their analog station and the Masters on their (only) digital station on Friday!I thought this was a big no-no. Could JZ have gotten special permission to do this? Was it an error?

But if you really want to watch Jeopardy in HD, WMAR-DT is viewable over much of the DC Northern Virginia area with the right UHF antenna. The attached image covers a large area so it loses a lot of detail. But those in the deeper blue or purple areas have a good shot at getting WMAR-DT (and the rest of the full power Baltimore stations) with an attic or better yet, a rooftop antenna. At the outer fringes, a CM 4228 or AD 91XG UHF antenna is probably needed.


I can receive WMAR-DT dependably here in the Northern Neck - just south of the Potomac and well outside your coverage map. Of course, I do have the aforementioned AD 91XG antenna as well as a CM 7777 preamp mounted atop a nearly 50 foot mast.

Anyone have Comcast in Arlington/Alexandria and NOT getting INHD? I have nothing on 226 though the guide says it's there, nothing is showing up.

Extra Innings is back on Comcast. (SD only)

Any word if MLB Extra Innings is coming to FIOS?

MASN2 and verizon in howard/ann arundel counties:

verizon csr supervisor told me today that it would be available on april 12.

we'll see.

I can receive WMAR-DT dependably here in the Northern Neck - just south of the Potomac and well outside your coverage map. Of course, I do have the aforementioned AD 91XG antenna as well as a CM 7777 preamp mounted atop a nearly 50 foot mast.

Yes. I've got a Radio Shack VHF/UHF antenna on the roof and I pick up all the Baltimore stations from Haymarket, about 60 miles away. Height is everything.

I thought this was a big no-no. Could JZ have gotten special permission to do this? Was it an error?
WCBS did it last Thursday for the Masters.

Anyone scan for clear QAM chs on Cox lately? ;)

nvm

If you live in the MD area:
1. Does channel 20 (DC channel) still exist? Every since I went OTA the only channel I couldn't get is channel 20.
WDCA-DT My 20 (digital channel 35) has been on the air at 500 kW since they moved to the same tower as WTTG-DT Fox 5 and went full power last summer.

2. Why is is that channel like 5-1, 6-1, 7-1 only work for me during the AM and about 1pm they simply loss signal? Do they actually decrease the signal strength in the afternoon. I understand that channel 67-4 is only a daytime channel (because they actually tell you).
How far are you from the DC towers? Long range reception of TV signals is often better at night because the signals travel further. But this is typically a phenomena that affects reception at the deep fringe ranges such as 70 or 80 miles, depending on the circumstances.

If you can provide your zip code, describe your situation (house, condo, surrounded by trees, down in a valley or up on a hill, etc.), and tell us what antenna you are using, we should be able to provide some suggestions on what to do for better OTA reception.

nvm

1. I am not sure how many miles from DC. I"ll check
2. I have a twin UHF antenna in the actic (3rd floor) pointing correctly using antenna web (http://www.checkhd.com/aw/Welcome.aspx). I have one pointing north and the other south (more or less) do to my location.
3. There are trees and taller buildings in the area.

Edit: I have channel 5 now (36) that use to go off at noon as well. Currently still scanning.
Edit2: Ok I think I figured out the problem. Some of those DC stations are using VHF now. That means I have to buy a VHF/UHF antenna. I knew this day was coming! :mad: It makes no sense why I can get channel 5 and not channel 20.
Please post your zip code so we can see approximately where you are! Also exactly which UHF antennas are you using?

All of the digital stations in DC and Baltimore are currently broadcasting on UHF. See the 1st post of this thread for the broadcast channels listed in orange. WJLA-DT 7 (DT=39) and WUSA-DT 9 (DT=34) will switch their digital signals to VHF 7 & 9 after the analog shutdown in 2009, but they are currently at UHF. WRC-DT 4 and WTTG-DT 5 will stay at their current UHF channels. If you are losing the signal in the afternoon, then you have a marginal signal that you are losing as the afternoon air heats up which can create ducting phenomena. Can you get the stations in the afternoons on cloudy days?

This is similar info. to other installs if you want to skip:

I had my install done on Friday 4/6 in Arlington, VA. On Monday 4/2 a crew ran the fiber from the central box to my house underground. This was very clean and barely noticable - including having to run it under my driveway and around a series of french drains (I left them a note after I noticed MISSUTILITY had been there indicating the location of the french drains).

A female installer arrived on Friday around 9 a.m. (she called to tell me that is when she would be there). I have a Verizon structured wiring package so the install was rather straight forward and no lines had to be run in the house. She finnished at 3 p.m. I think she was rather slow, but she was thorough and neat. She carefully ran the lines into the house and the structured wiring package, as well as connecting the router. Connecting the router was a little difficult b/c the person who had installed the structured wiring package 5 years earlier had put all the ether net connections behind the panel - so it took a while to realize that is where they were, but once that was discovered is was just a matter of plugging in 4 of them to router and it was off to the races.

Another issue was my wiring panel has a built-in amplifier. The signal was coming in so strong on FiOS that she was having to put compression devices on each TV. This was concerning her that the signal quality might not be consistent after she left. She called the main office and talked through the issue. Their recomendation was to by-pass the amp in the panel. She put on a splitter and bypassed the amp. She went back and removed the compression devices at each TV and the signal was exactly were it was suppossed to be.

Before leaving she gave me her card w/ her cell phone number on it in case anything came up - she even called back 2 hours latter to see if there were any problems. There was one problem in that I was getting none of the "National HD" channels. However a call to customer service and two remote reboots later it was up and running.

After watching over the weekend I am very pleased with the switch. PQ on SD is much better than Comcast. HD is as good or better. I'm going to call it better because there have been far fewer breakups during watching than with Comcast. In several hours of watching I've only scene very minor pixelization.

We also go the Multi room DVR (we have 1 HD DVR and 3 SD STB). So far it has worked as advertisied in terms of recording in SD and being able to replay in SD on the SD TVs. The FF is a little slow to respond - not as bad as like the FF or Pause on Comcast IN-Demand, but the similar type of delay. Today will be the real test as my wife will get home to watch her Soaps recorded today.

I called Comcast to disconnect. They didn't even try to keep me. A very professional and courtious parting.

In closing for $10/mo less (actually that does not include an additional $10 for the first 6 months) I'm getting more channels, more HD, 3 more DVRs that I had w/ Comcast.

All:

I currently have D* - standard def only, and am in the Baltimore/DC area (West Friendship/Glenelg MD area). I want to go HD, and am considering upgrading. However, Dish appears to have a better package, so the thought has occurred to me that it might be worth switching providers.

Does anyone have any experiences or other input to provide regarding Dish vs D* in this area? Any reason to avoid one or the other?

Thanks in advance....

Exciting news for the channel 24 watchers in the group - WUTB is starting their full power upgrade. Their new antenna is currently sitting on the ground outside my transmitter building, and there is a bunch of heavy construction equipment around. They don't have their full-power transmitter in yet, but it's ordered.

The heavy equipment is to strengthen the tower, run new transmission line up it, and install the new antenna.

Mark

Excellent news. Well except that WUTB really doesn't have much to watch. :D

Mauney,

Right now Dish has the advantage, but that is supposed to change by the end of the year. DirectTV is going to add many more channels when they have new equipment up in orbit. Both have many of the DC local (are your Balt or DC for locals?) in HD on their satellites. DirecTV has Comcast Sports Net HD and WDCA while dish does not. Both have OTA HD tuners built into their equipment. Which is a plus.

Anyone scan for clear QAM chs on Cox lately? ;)

Yea, I did but I didn't find anything but some digital channels which are encrypted.
If you found something, please do tell.

Oh and I did scan on my other tuner(ANT 2) which is and ATSC/QAM/NTSC tuner, or else my CableCard would have blacked out on me.

I live in Mont. County and have Comcast. I have been having trouble getting WUSA's hi def channel to come in for the last month. Every once in a while, it's watchable. But most of the time, I'm getting "This channel will be available shortly." I've also noticed that the four hi-def PBS stations aren't coming in either. I called Comcast and they were supposed to send somebody out, but the guy never showed. After reading a number of forums here and elsewhere, I'm starting to think this is not a Comcast problem or a problem with my setup (I swapped some cables out to make sure this weekend--no change).

Anybody else having these problems? I occasionally read about someone having trouble with CBS, but not to the level that my problem exists. I'm really frustrated and am going to have Comcast send somebody out. I just don't have any confidence that they can fix it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I had to watch the Masters in low def this weekend and I damn near cried.

I live in Mont. County and have Comcast. I have been having trouble getting WUSA's hi def channel to come in for the last month...
At least in Rockville, there hasn't been any problem with WUSA. In Montgomery County, WUSA and the WETA channels share the same frequency, so it isn't surprising that if you were having problems with WUSA you also would be having trouble with WETA. You'll need to get Comcast to come out as it is (likely) a signal problem in or near your house. If you continue to have problems with getting someone to show up, you can always contact the County's Cable Office to put some pressure on them, but I would give them another chance to show up before doing that.

Exciting news for the channel 24 watchers in the group - WUTB is starting their full power upgrade.

It would be "exciting" it they showed some HD.

Anyone scan for clear QAM chs on Cox lately? ;)
Hey biker, thanks for the heads up...very cool. Do you have Cox basic cable service? I have the analog extended basic service, but am thinking about switching to basic cable for $17.99/mo to save $30/mo. I assume Cox makes the local stations available in HD via QAM over basic cable (am I right?).

Anyone know the current QAM location for WETA DT on Comcast, Arlington? It disappeared for me a week ago and hasn't come back (although the sub-channels are still there).

No, it's still gone for me, too, Chip. Also, it's been a few weeks now that the CW has been encrypted and seems no longer in the clear. (Of course, this was right about the time 'Veronica Mars' was cancelled, leaving me with no other reason to watch the channel.)

Would you mind confirming whether you have the CW, and if so, where it is now?

Exciting news for the channel 24 watchers in the group - WUTB is starting their full power upgrade. Their new antenna is currently sitting on the ground outside my transmitter building, and there is a bunch of heavy construction equipment around. They don't have their full-power transmitter in yet, but it's ordered.

The heavy equipment is to strengthen the tower, run new transmission line up it, and install the new antenna.

Mark

Mark,
That's great that WUTB decided to move their transmitter to TV hill. Now, if only MPT would do the same so I'd only have to point my antenna in one direction for all of Baltimore.

Hey biker, thanks for the heads up...very cool. Do you have Cox basic cable service? I have the analog extended basic service, but am thinking about switching to basic cable for $17.99/mo to save $30/mo. I assume Cox makes the local stations available in HD via QAM over basic cable (am I right?).

yekim54, In my experience:
Dropping down one tier to basic basic is an administrative thing.
Just call them up & tell them you what you want. Just be brief & succinct (quiet). They won't send some1 out to put a cap on your >20 channels.
Cox basic analog is a great deal.

Now if I can figure out a way to have them reduce my internet costs... :rolleyes:

Hey biker, thanks for the heads up...very cool. Do you have Cox basic cable service? I have the analog extended basic service, but am thinking about switching to basic cable for $17.99/mo to save $30/mo. I assume Cox makes the local stations available in HD via QAM over basic cable (am I right?).
I rather not advertise this issue too much - I assume it's a temporary "mistake" and rather not have Cox change it. ;) . Yes, the locals are usually available (including the HD ones) with basic.

Currently both the SD and HD versions are available of the network chs - I assume that's also a mistake and only the HD feed is supposed to be there.

Mark,
That's great that WUTB decided to move their transmitter to TV hill. Now, if only MPT would do the same so I'd only have to point my antenna in one direction for all of Baltimore.

Actually, WUTB is still going to be out at the Catonsville location. That's where my analog transmitter is. Sorry I didn't make that clear.

Mark

I rather not advertise this issue too much - I assume it's a temporary "mistake" and rather not have Cox change it. ;) . Yes, the locals are usually available (including the HD ones) with basic.

Currently both the SD and HD versions are available of the network chs - I assume that's also a mistake and only the HD feed is supposed to be there.

I'm a little new to this HDTV thing & not to talk too much more because of the wink nature of the subject, but aren't most cable operator providing the OTA free network HD content on the analog feed anyhow because they ARE for all intensive purposes - free? It isn't worth their time to strip it because you theoretically can get it with an antenna?

& with us QAM tuner ppl, this is a good way to dip our toes into the HighDef feed without paying the early adoption costs. :)

True - but you could have a really greedy operator that encrypts everything including locals forcing people into STBs for every ch. What is available on Cox is certainly not the norm.

In the long term most cable cos will probably have a basic tier (the $17.99 tier of today) in clear QAM once all analog is shut off. So in the future when you get that "cable ready" TV it will mean a QAM tuner with which you can connect directly to the TV without an STB and get some limited number of ch.

The extended analog of today has its days numbered (apparently very few days in the Chicago area). Once that disappears, STBs will rule cause most cable cos will keep encrypting the digital versions of the chs that make up the "extended" portion.

True - but you could have a really greedy operator that encrypts everything including locals forcing people into STBs for every ch. What is available on Cox is certainly not the norm.

In the long term most cable cos will probably have a basic tier (the $17.99 tier of today) in clear QAM once all analog is shut off. So in the future when you get that "cable ready" TV it will mean a QAM tuner with which you can connect directly to the TV without an STB and get some limited number of ch.

The extended analog of today has its days numbered (apparently very few days in the Chicago area). Once that disappears, STBs will rule cause most cable cos will keep encrypting the digital versions of the chs that make up the "extended" portion.


Yes, Cox isn't the norm & I've had an excellent experience with them for 6 years now.
The Chicago scenario scares the heck out of me because having grown up with free TV & then getting irked cause I have to pay for CNN & CNBC & EPSN.
Cox analog is the only 'value' left. I don't like having to pay the operator for channels I don't want. No matter how they spin it, ala carte IS cheaper than bundled services.

So I have till 2009 to budget or find an alternative like those old black boxes of the 80's to descramble the cable signal.

Here's hoping Cox doesn't turn into Comcast. :rolleyes:

Yeah, in an odd setup, MASN and MASN2 will carry the games but if the Orioles are on WJZ, then viewers who get WJZ on their systems will not get the game on MASN/MASN2 and when the Nats are on MY20, viewers who get MY20 on their systems won't get the game on MASN/MASN2.

This has and will lead to confusion by systems on what to black out.

Then add that WJZ had the Orioles on their analog station and the Masters on their (only) digital station on Friday!

Although Friday I had the choice of WJZ or MASN. WJZ-DT did carry the game, they just joined in progress. Saturday night, I was blacked out for MASN, which makes no sense as WDCA-20 is not offered through DISH or cable to my DMA.

It's not a big deal to me as I can pick the station up via long range outdoor antenna, but I wish I understood why one of my local stations was not blacked out while one not-so-local was.

Of course, the pic is much better on WJZ-DT and WDCA-DT anyway.

No, it's still gone for me, too, Chip. Also, it's been a few weeks now that the CW has been encrypted and seems no longer in the clear. (Of course, this was right about the time 'Veronica Mars' was cancelled, leaving me with no other reason to watch the channel.)

Would you mind confirming whether you have the CW, and if so, where it is now?
Veronica Mars isn't cancelled--it's on hiatus.

There are five more episodes coming in May-ish, but after that....
Let's just say there's been no news either way.

I just got a call from a Washington, DC, Comcast customer who is having a problem decaptioning both analog and digital programming on his new, Sceptre X-32 GV-KOMODO TV. He has already exchanged the TV, and has roughly the same incidence of captions being incompletely decoded whether he connects the cable directly to the TV, or if he has the box convert it to channel 3.

In either configuration, I assume it is his TV trying to do the decaptioning. Does anyone know if Comcast SD digital boxes have the capability to decode the captions internally, such that they are then imbedded in the output video?

Shouldn't Dancing With the Stars be in HD? Or has WJLA struck again?

Anyone else lose MASN tonight on DirecTV? I guess some duct tape connection came loose up in Camden Yards.

Actually, WUTB is still going to be out at the Catonsville location. That's where my analog transmitter is. Sorry I didn't make that clear.

Mark
Bummer!!!

Shouldn't Dancing With the Stars be in HD? Or has WJLA struck again?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=832485

Looks like it's ABC this time.

Has anyone heard any news regarding verizon FIOS coming to Montgomery County anytime soon?

Just wish they would get here.

Thanks

Has anyone heard any news regarding verizon FIOS coming to Montgomery County anytime soon?

Just wish they would get here.

Thanks

Fios is already in Montco. My sister has Fios TV in Bethesda. She is loving it.

In the same vein: . Was @ my parent's house this AM waiting for the Comcast guy to come & hook up their cable. Was walking around their lawn, AT&T had put little flags ala miss utility, which shows they had laid down their own Fiber Optics cables.
Does any 1 know what AT&T's plans are?

In the same vein: . Was @ my parent's house this AM waiting for the Comcast guy to come & hook up their cable. Was walking around their lawn, AT&T had put little flags ala miss utility, which shows they had laid down their own Fiber Optics cables.
Does any 1 know what AT&T's plans are?


What area? Any idea when FIOS or AT&T will come to Frederick, MD?

I know FiOS isn't in West Friendship or Glenelg (Western Howard County) yet....... :(

Has anyone heard any news regarding verizon FIOS coming to Montgomery County anytime soon?

Just wish they would get here.

Thanks
Fios is building out throughout most of the County. However, if you live in the City of Rockville, it isn't clear when/if Fios will arrive as the city continues to refuse to give right-of-way permits to Verizon.

Per an ad in today's Gazette papers, Comcast Montgomery will be adding Universal HD (250) and WDCA-DT (236) on May 15th. The are adding a few other SD digital channels and will be moving 4 analog channels to digital (TV One, TCM, Court TV, and TV Guide).

Per an ad in today's Gazette papers, Comcast Montgomery will be adding Universal HD (250) and WDCA-DT (236) on May 15th. The are adding a few other SD digital channels and will be moving 4 analog channels to digital (TV One, TCM, Court TV, and TV Guide).
ummmmm....they're moving the TVGuide channel? that's pretty stupid, i mean most people who have digital have a STB with a guide, but it's the people with analog only that i would think watch/rely on it the most

What area? Any idea when FIOS or AT&T will come to Frederick, MD?

The ATT & FiOs have been laid out in the Chantilly portion of Loudoun Cty.

found something interesting on Moneymagazine:

"And investors seem to prefer Ma Bell's cheaper approach to selling faster Internet and TV services. Instead of connecting fiber directly to homes, in most cases AT&T is pushing fiber deep into neighborhoods, using its existing copper network to handle the last bit of transport."

I had forgotten about this plan.

Also more info here:
ATT Fiber Plans (http://www.govtech.net/digitalcommunities/story.php?id=99464)

Some more ATT stuff (http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/u-verse.ars)

ummmmm....they're moving the TVGuide channel? that's pretty stupid, i mean most people who have digital have a STB with a guide, but it's the people with analog only that i would think watch/rely on it the most
It kinda surprises me too. The Montgomery system is only 750Mhz (as opposed to 860 for most of the other nearby systems), so the system is more bandwidth constrained to keep up with other systems.

Zap2It is a Tribune Website - they report precisely what the station send them. PBS DC is obviously sending them a bunch of gobbledygook, and it shows when I try to play a nice HD recording of Nature on my Series 3 HT TiVo (they get guide info via Tribune) and instead some nonsensical Opera starts up. Sigh.


hey, thanks for this info. it's nice to get confirmation from someone out there that i'm not just being stupid and something actually is awry.

but i'm afraid i might just be going back to the default MCE guide info. using xmltv with zap2it, i've now noticed that some programming on very rare occassions is wrong on channels other than WETA, too. like i said very rare, but i've not run into that issue at all in my few years of MCE usage with the default guide info. plus, maybe a bigger point, i REALLY like in the MCE guide how the information on when the original air date of an episode was is included. i didn't realize how much i liked it until now that i don't have it. also, the genre is off so i cannot search to see what movies will be playing soon on tv.


but i would like to ask something for clarification once again...

how come when i log onto the zap2it website and look at its tv listing for the WETA-DT channels they are actually correct, but when i use xmltv to download the listings the WETA listings are wrong? why is the data source for the webpage tv listings different from the data source for the xmltv downloaded listings?

and is/are there better sources to get xmltv listings from than zap2it? maybe both more reliable and including the original air date?

thanks!

Anyone know the current QAM location for WETA DT on Comcast, Arlington? It disappeared for me a week ago and hasn't come back (although the sub-channels are still there).

Took me a while, but I managed to find it--it and the CW are now at 597 MHz--WETA-HD is 86-6 and the CW is 86-13. That brings those of us interested in Arlington QAM, we few, back up to 6 high def channels in the clear.

Has anyone heard any news regarding verizon FIOS coming to Montgomery County anytime soon?

Just wish they would get here.

Thanks

I think City of Rockville may have started to grant right of way permits for VZ to lay cable but Rockville will be behind the rest of the county. Goto the VZ website (www.verizon.com/fios) and plug your number in to see if you have internet service. If no then your area doesn't have fiber yet and you won't have TV. If you are eligible for internet service, click on the TV link and plug your number in to see if you are eligible for TV service.

I live in Potomac and our wire center was one of the first to have FIOS internet. FIOS TV became available in late March. I had installed on March 27th.

I think City of Rockville may have started to grant right of way permits for VZ to lay cable but Rockville will be behind the rest of the county.
A month ago, an email from a city official confirmed that they still haven't reached an agreement with VZ and it doesn't even appear that they are talking that regularly either. Further, the city hasn't approved the County franchise agreement with VZ (which is required for incorporated parts of the county). It will be some time before residents of the City of Rockville (and even some that live outside of COR but connect to the wire centers located within the city limits) see Fios.

Food HD, Lifetime Movie HD, HGTV HD added to FiOS in Texas.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18158145?hilite=hgtv+food+lifetime

ummmmm....they're moving the TVGuide channel? that's pretty stupid, i mean most people who have digital have a STB with a guide, but it's the people with analog only that i would think watch/rely on it the most

They may go to the non-guide version of the channel that DirecTV uses. It just becomes a poor man's version of "E" with the small video on the top full screen. They do a lot of American Idol stuff.

We are selling our home and need to remove our roof mount antennas prior to close on May 1. Unfortunately, the buyer is not an free HDTV fan.

All 3 antennas are in great shape and have served us well for our ATSC and NTSC needs. I am offering all 3 of them FOR FREE to any local AVS members with a 40' ladder with the ability and willingness to access our roof to take them down. You need to know what you are doing and sign off on a liability release form.

I need the interested party to:

* remove the Winegard PR-7052 VHF/UHF combo and Winegard HD9095P UHF yagi on the common eave-mount mast
* remove the eave-mount mast and the eave-mount itself
* remove the Channel Master 4228 UHF flat panel off the DBS mount
* remove mast from above
* remove the Channel Master heavy duty rotor off the DBS mount
* remove the YDI WIFI flat panel off the DBS mount, this gets returned to me
* remove the top portion of the DBS mount, roof base portion with actual penetration to remain in place
* All cabling gets coiled and secured to place, no removal needed
* No interior work needed

In return you will get the following at no charge:

* Winegard PR-7052 VHF/UHF combo
* Winegard HD9095P UHF yagi
* Channel Master 4228 UHF flat panel
* Channel Master heavy duty rotor
* Channel Master rotor controller and IR remote

Please refer to site photos:

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/6813/antennasfrontviewia6.jpg

http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/2747/antennasbackviewik5.jpg

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/9726/antennasbackview2xh8.jpg

Any members interested, please PM me, thanks.

Is Comcast really this incompetent?

They have come out to my new house 3 times now with 3 different tech.

Each 1 has seen the tap from the street corner has no signal from home base yet and that they would need to do a little digging to bring it from the street to my house.

They all say they need to have the signal switched on & an engineering crew to do some slight digging...they all say it will be done the next day.

3 different times I get this answer.

3 different times I have called 1800comcast & made sure it's in my notes.

FiOs or ATT looks better each day over this purported savings I am getting from Comcast... :rolleyes:

Is Comcast really this incompetent?

They have come out to my new house 3 times now with 3 different tech.

Each 1 has seen the tap from the street corner has no signal from home base yet and that they would need to do a little digging to bring it from the street to my house.

They all say they need to have the signal switched on & an engineering crew to do some slight digging...they all say it will be done the next day.

3 different times I get this answer.

3 different times I have called 1800comcast & made sure it's in my notes.

FiOs or ATT looks better each day over this purported savings I am getting from Comcast... :rolleyes:
well at least all three have been consistent in identifying the problem, i think that's above average for cable tech's :rolleyes:

well at least all three have been consistent in identifying the problem, i think that's above average for cable tech's :rolleyes:

Soon, the joke will be how many cable tech does it take to connect cable to a customer?

What area? Any idea when FIOS or AT&T will come to Frederick, MD?
According to an article in todays Frederick News-Post concerning complaints regarding the Adelphia to Comcast transition:

"Sandra Arnette, spokesperson for Verizon, said Frederick County is not on the company’s deployment schedule for fiber optic service"

So it doesn't look like FIOS will be in Frederick any time soon.

BBT

Article in today's Washington Post on DVD Recorders with ATSC tuners

There is an article in the business section of today's post on using one of the new DVD recorders which have a ATSC tuner to pick up the local broadcast stations. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/11/AR2007041102010.html. The discussion of the recorders is best left to the appropriate forum, but the writer did try to pick up the DC stations from somewhere in Arlington. To quote:

"Both recorders had almost no issues receiving digital broadcasts at a close-in Arlington house. With just a cheap tabletop antenna, the Panasonic locked in all the local network affiliates and PBS stations WETA and MPT. The LG did almost as well but missed WETA.

At a more distant location, these recorders would probably need an attic or rooftop antenna. In a few spots, digital reception may not work at all."

WETA-DT needs to move that transmitter to NW DC. Or maybe the Washington Post writer should ask avsforum on advice on what indoor antenna to get. :p

I just got a call from a Washington, DC, Comcast customer who is having a probelm decaptioning both analog and digital programming on his new, Sceptre X-32 GV-KOMODO TV. He has already exchanged the TV, and has roughly the same incidence of captions being incompletely decoded whether he connects the cable directly to the TV, or if he has the box convert it to chanel 3.

In either configuration, I assume it is his TV trying to do the decaptioning. Does anyone know if Comcast SD digital boxes have the capability to decode the captions internally, such that they are then imbedded in the output video?

The box should be able to do captioning. Press the "menu" button twice.

According to an article in todays Frederick News-Post concerning complaints regarding the Adelphia to Comcast transition:

"Sandra Arnette, spokesperson for Verizon, said Frederick County is not on the company’s deployment schedule for fiber optic service"

So it doesn't look like FIOS will be in Frederick any time soon.

BBT
I believe that overall, the FIOS distribution plan is to get to the richest neighborhoods first, which doesn't really make sense IMHO, because lower/middle rent areas are much more densely populated and should lead to a ton more revenue

Article in today's Washington Post on DVD Recorders with ATSC tuners

There is an article in the business section of today's post on using one of the new DVD recorders which have a ATSC tuner to pick up the local broadcast stations. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/11/AR2007041102010.html. The discussion of the recorders is best left to the appropriate forum, but the writer did try to pick up the DC stations from somewhere in Arlington. To quote:

"Both recorders had almost no issues receiving digital broadcasts at a close-in Arlington house. With just a cheap tabletop antenna, the Panasonic locked in all the local network affiliates and PBS stations WETA and MPT. The LG did almost as well but missed WETA.

At a more distant location, these recorders would probably need an attic or rooftop antenna. In a few spots, digital reception may not work at all."

WETA-DT needs to move that transmitter to NW DC. Or maybe the Washington Post writer should ask avsforum on advice on what indoor antenna to get. :p

It would make more sense to just get a stand alone DVD burner, only $80 at Walmart, and record the output from the DVR. That's what I've been doing for the last few years. Those devices are basically digital VCRS. I was using an HD digital VCR with the PC in 2001 to 2004 until the HDTiVo came out. I couldn't imagine going to something like that, and it's only SD anyway. $300 is too much for that.

Well, I guess Cox realized the error of their ways and the "extra" clear QAM chs are gone. :(

I'm in North Laurel, which I believe is in Howard County, and I see tonight that MASN2 is on channel 16, which is ordinarily CSPAN2, while MASN is now permanently on channel 44 ( I think the Game Show Network used to be on 44). Does anyone know if the franchise agreement had to be amended to allow Comcast to bump CSPAN2 out of the basic/lifeline tier for a few hours?

Well, I guess Cox realized the error of their ways and the "extra" clear QAM chs are gone. :(Yep, but it was fun while it lasted. However, the free preview of MLB and NHL InDemand is still accessible via QAM. It would be nice if they would keep the free preview available until the Stanley Cup.

According to an article in todays Frederick News-Post concerning complaints regarding the Adelphia to Comcast transition:

"Sandra Arnette, spokesperson for Verizon, said Frederick County is not on the company’s deployment schedule for fiber optic service"

So it doesn't look like FIOS will be in Frederick any time soon.

BBT

Yah when i talked to FIOS guy in germantown, he was like as soon as the city allows us in, we'll move up there. I have a feeling he was blowing smoke up my rear, as if i recall, frederick city was not receptive to Comcast 10-15 years ago, so competition would probably not be too bad, but i've also seen that Verizon isn't coming to frederick a few times so i believe that is the correct answer.

Thanks

I'm in North Laurel, which I believe is in Howard County, and I see tonight that MASN2 is on channel 16, which is ordinarily CSPAN2, while MASN is now permanently on channel 44 ( I think the Game Show Network used to be on 44). Does anyone know if the franchise agreement had to be amended to allow Comcast to bump CSPAN2 out of the basic/lifeline tier for a few hours?

No.

Programming content and positioning is solely at the discretion of the operator.

CSpan 2 is also available full time on Comcast's digital service along with CSpan 3.

GoIrish

Is anyone on Comcast getting really bad pixelation and sound skips on the local HD (NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX) stations? The true cable channels seem fine, but these local channels are driving me crazy.

Is anyone on Comcast getting really bad pixelation and sound skips on the local HD (NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX) stations? The true cable channels seem fine, but these local channels are driving me crazy.

They are fine on Comcast here.

Is anyone on Comcast getting really bad pixelation and sound skips on the local HD (NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX) stations? The true cable channels seem fine, but these local channels are driving me crazy.

Yes, I am also getting bad pixelation and especially sound skips on the local HD stations. In addition, I'm getting the same problem on a few other HD stations (e.g., Discovery) and SD stations (e.g., Tube) with channel assignments "close" to the local HD stations. Specifically, 200, 201, 205, 206, 207, 210, 211, 212, 213, 220, and 225.

I'm in the Arlington area.

I called the problem in. Technician agreed that it was probably an problem with the ingress signal, but all he can do is send one someone out there to document that the problem is not inside my house.

There is a chance this is a local network problem affecting many users but not easily observable by Comcast technicians. My guess however is the problem is probably high up in the network and Comcast has failed to notice the poor quality of the signal they're sending out. I wonder sometimes if they ever regularly monitor the quality of the signal they're sending out, channel by channel.

Is anyone on Comcast getting really bad pixelation and sound skips on the local HD (NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX) stations? The true cable channels seem fine, but these local channels are driving me crazy.
Which Comcast franchise area are you in? Need to narrow it down to your county or city for anyone to be of much help. Did this pixelation just start today or has it been happening for a while? One step to try when a channel goes flaky or the STB acts up is to do a cold reboot by unplugging the STB or DVR for 30 seconds. This will result in the loss of the guide data which will take hours to reload (well, for Comcast), so don't do it just before sitting down to watch TV or just before the DVR is going to record some programs. If that does not solve the problem, call Comcast.

Which Comcast franchise area are you in? Need to narrow it down to your county or city for anyone to be of much help. Did this pixelation just start today or has it been happening for a while? One step to try when a channel goes flaky or the STB acts up is to do a cold reboot by unplugging the STB or DVR for 30 seconds. This will result in the loss of the guide data which will take hours to reload (well, for Comcast), so don't do it just before sitting down to watch TV or just before the DVR is going to record some programs. If that does not solve the problem, call Comcast.

I'm in Alexandria. A few posts up, the guy in Arlington said he was having issues, and I believe we are the same system.

I first noticed the pixelation on Thursday. I was hoping it would be fixed by Friday, but that was just a fantasy.

Comcast came out and said that the signal was too strong coming into our building. I *tried* to tell the customer service rep it wasn't my end. Who knows how long it will take to weaken the signal. It's great watching hockey with 3 pucks and 13 players on each side.

Comcast came out and said that the signal was too strong coming into our building. I *tried* to tell the customer service rep it wasn't my end. Who knows how long it will take to weaken the signal. It's great watching hockey with 3 pucks and 13 players on each side.
maybe you should go around and short all the cable outlets you can find until they fix it

Yeah - there is recurring pixelation and sound break-up for me on 211 (Arlington).

Comcast came out and said that the signal was too strong coming into our building. I *tried* to tell the customer service rep it wasn't my end. Who knows how long it will take to weaken the signal. It's great watching hockey with 3 pucks and 13 players on each side.

Thanks for taking the time to report the problem to Comcast and pass this information along. After reading your report, I had my doubts about what the technician told you. I've heard technicians mention this before to me, but it has never been the cause of any problem that I reported, but in your particular case it could be a real problem. Actually, I've had many more problems with Comcast giving me a signal that is too weak!

Anyway, your post gave me a heads up for me to put their "signal too strong" theory to a test at my house before they get here. I put a 11 db attenuator on my line (8 way splitter) and it had no effect. Therefore, if the technician tells me that the signal is too strong, I am going to put his theory to a test while he is there. I can easily attenuate the input signal up to 18 db, which is a lot. I'm sure the Comcast technician also has equipment on hand that he can use to attenuate the line as well.

Yeah - there is recurring pixelation and sound break-up for me on 211 (Arlington).

I'm at 201. I wonder how many people are putting up with this on their brand new high-def sets without reporting the problem, or even realizing there is a problem? The number would probably surprise. People need to get off their ... and call this problem in so someone at signal source actually decides to..gasp...take a look at the picture and sound quality they're sending out to customers.

I have a bad feeling that if I plugged a television in at their main headquarters using one of their set top boxes, I would observe the same recurring pixelation/sound break-up problem. In other words, my guess is they're sending this problem out to all their customers, but they can't be bothered to actually look at the signal quality they're sending out. If they just had one person per shift who's job it was to periodically tune every channel and analyze picture and sound, they would have picked this problem up days ago. This problem however has been ongoing for several days, so it looks like they don't regularly check. Amazing and pathetic.

Just to give another perspective/experience. I have Comcast in Western PW County. I was having increasing breakups on FOX and some of the other channels. Turns out I was degrading the signal running the coax through a surge protector. The surge protector, apparantly, has been deteriorating over the three years it's been plugged in. Once it was removed from the chain my signal strength came back in to line and my picture stabilized.

I'm still waiting for Comcast to hook up my cable (2 week now).
So finally got to fool around with the rabbit ears from pass the South Riding, Loudoun area. Got WETA HD right away. Wow. Amazing pq!

Being new to this forum & only on page 10 of this thread, just wondering how is WETA-HD compared to the other local OTA HD stations?

Just an FYI - FIOS has added Food TV HD, HGTV HD and Lifetime Movie Network (HUH??) in HD this morning.

-Matt

Verizon Fios added three HD channels to the Washington Metro region this morning: 840 - Food-HD, 841 = HGTV-HD, and 845 - Lifetime Movie Network HD. Can anyone who gets the Anne Arundel - Howard County or Baltimore line-up confirm whether the channels have been added there?

With these 3 new HD channels, Verizon now has a total of 26 HD channels for the Washington Metro area: 8 local, 13 nationals, and 5 premium movie channels. Still no sign of Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic HD or Versus/Golf HD channels. But I will take 26 available HD channels over Comcast/Adelphia in Loudoun total of 14 HD channels anyday!

I'm still waiting for Comcast to hook up my cable (2 week now).
So finally got to fool around with the rabbit ears from pass the South Riding, Loudoun area. Got WETA HD right away. Wow. Amazing pq!

Being new to this forum & only on page 10 of this thread, just wondering how is WETA-HD compared to the other local OTA HD stations?
The picture quality of WETA-HD is not the best for HD. WETA-DT broadcasts 1 HD and 3 SD sub-channels 24/7 these days, so the HD sub-channel does not get a lot of bandwidth. Much of the "HD" programming on PBS is upconverted widescreen SD as well. I have not been impressed by the picture quality for anything on WETA-DT for quite a while.

WETA-DT is not a strong digital station as it broadcasts at only 75 kW from the current tower in Arlington. Did you get any of the other local DC stations such as WRC-DT NBC 4, WTTG-DT Fox 5, WJLA-DT ABC 7, WUSA-DT CBS 9, WDCW-DT CW 50? Those are all broadcasting at higher power than WETA-DT 26 and should be easier to get OTA. I assume your "rabbit ears" antenna has a UHF loop antenna as rabbit ears are for VHF and don't work well for UHF.

If you are interested in getting the just the DC stations, based on your success with a basic antenna, the Silver Sensor indoor UHF antenna is likely to get you all seven DC HD stations. Circuit City carries the Silver Sensor under the Philips brand, model # PHDTV1, for $25. If you want to get the DC & Baltimore stations and have an attic or are willing to go to a rooftop antenna, a Channel Master 4221 4 Bay bowtie is a good UHF antenna for this area as it picks up stations over a wide spread in azimuth. We can provide advice on antennas if you want to follow up on it.

The picture quality of WETA-HD is not the best for HD. WETA-DT broadcasts 1 HD and 3 SD sub-channels 24/7 these days, so the HD sub-channel does not get a lot of bandwidth. Much of the "HD" programming on PBS is upconverted widescreen SD as well. I have not been impressed by the picture quality for anything on WETA-DT for quite a while.

I am surpised you say this for WETA's channel 26-1. The other 3 subchannels are definitely SD but I was quite impressed for the HD 26-1. My TV definitely pulled in an 16:9 HD pic.


WETA-DT is not a strong digital station as it broadcasts at only 75 kW from the current tower in Arlington. Did you get any of the other local DC stations such as WRC-DT NBC 4, WTTG-DT Fox 5, WJLA-DT ABC 7, WUSA-DT CBS 9, WDCW-DT CW 50? Those are all broadcasting at higher power than WETA-DT 26 and should be easier to get OTA. I assume your "rabbit ears" antenna has a UHF loop antenna as rabbit ears are for VHF and don't work well for UHF.

I actually, just am investigating how to pull the HD OTA channels on my TV. & kinda stumbled onto WETA-DT.

There is no autoscan for stations (as far as I can tell for the Mits 62531), so everything is manual input from the remote.

You are correct, the rabbit ears was just a old school generalization.
I am actually using this:

RCA Flat Panel Antenna (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7367985&st=RCA+antenna&type=product&id=1122653825126)

The Phillips you rec, looks similar to the TERK I originally bought but was dissapointed in the performance: (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7322587&type=product&productCategoryId=cat08084&id=1118844608800)


If you are interested in getting the just the DC stations, based on your success with a basic antenna, the Silver Sensor indoor UHF antenna is likely to get you all seven DC HD stations. Circuit City carries the Silver Sensor under the Philips brand, model # PHDTV1, for $25. If you want to get the DC & Baltimore stations and have an attic or are willing to go to a rooftop antenna, a Channel Master 4221 4 Bay bowtie is a good UHF antenna for this area as it picks up stations over a wide spread in azimuth. We can provide advice on antennas if you want to follow up on it.

Again thanks for the tremendous tips! I am currently exploring ways to maximize my budget for TV programming. & seeing if I really do need CNN & ESPN via cable or can I wait to see what shakes out in HD programming by 2009. I am lucky in that I am in area with good competition (3 High Bandwidth operators) & can afford to be choosy.

*** One last questions: having only read briefly on this thread, are all the local network OTA broadcast in HD? It's seems only some of it is from what I gathered.

Just an FYI - FIOS has added Food TV HD, HGTV HD and Lifetime Movie Network (HUH??) in HD this morning.

-MattWomen finally get their HD break through day.

There is no autoscan for stations (as far as I can tell for the Mits 62531), so everything is manual input from the remote.

You are correct, the rabbit ears was just a old school generalization.
I am actually using this:

RCA Flat Panel Antenna (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7367985&st=RCA+antenna&type=product&id=1122653825126)

The Phillips you rec, looks similar to the [terk HDTVi]

Again thanks for the tremendous tips! I am currently exploring ways to maximize my budget for TV programming. & seeing if I really do need CNN & ESPN via cable or can I wait to see what shakes out in HD programming by 2009. I am lucky in that I am in area with good competition (3 High Bandwidth operators) & can afford to be choosy.

*** One last questions: having only read briefly on this thread, are all the local network OTA broadcast in HD? It's seems only some of it is from what I gathered.
No autoscan? Check the menu and manual again. Autoscan is a requirement for ATSC tuners. But if it takes manual channel entry, try UHF channels 34, 35, 36, 39, 48, 51. See the first page of this thread for the digital channel numbers which are on different channels from the analog signals. There are 7 network stations in DC that put out a HD signal.

For antenna info, try the HDTV Hardware reception forum and the OTA reception FAQ sticky thread. A somewhat technical and useful website for antenna basics and comparisons is http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/erecting_antenna.html.

Yes, only some of the network programming is true HD. The prime time scripted shows are almost all HD now, but the prime time reality and games shows are mostly SD, but some are HD such as American Idol. Leno and Letterman are HD, but not the Kimmel show on ABC for example. Check the HDTV Programming forum for info on all things related to HD programming.

No autoscan? Check the menu and manual again. Autoscan is a requirement for ATSC tuners. But if it takes manual channel entry, try UHF channels 34, 35, 36, 39, 48, 51. See the first page of this thread for the digital channel numbers which are on different channels from the analog signals. There are 7 network stations in DC that put out a HD signal.


I stand corrected. They don't clearly state it but just found it on the pdf manual.
Will try to do it tonite afterwork.

Hi all and thanks for the PM's. The free antennas are spoken for, thanks.

Hi all and thanks for the PM's. The free antennas are spoken for, thanks.

Sasha,

Are you leaving the area? I hope not, but if you are it's been a pleasure reading your contributions to this local forum.

Sasha,

Are you leaving the area? I hope not, but if you are it's been a pleasure reading your contributions to this local forum.

Thanks for the kind words Bill,

We are not leaving the area - yet- . We have a change of plan, very much by our choice. Laura and I had a life changing 6 week trip last fall. It was so much fun we decided to sell the house and live -full time- in our camper.

See our web site (http://www.laura-n-sasha.com/) for more.

Laura is now volunteering at Prince William Forest Park (http://www.nps.gov/prwi/) and the kind folks there are letting us live on a beautiful 1 acre meadow site with full hookups for our rig.

I will still keep my job in Sterling and commute. We will keep this up for 3-5 years and retire early to hit the road full time! We will very much enjoy not being homeowners and will bank the mortage money for future use.

The rig does not have a TV of any kind at this point. We do have a portable projector and can use the side of the trailer as a screen. We will have movies under the stars this summer!

Verizon Fios added three HD channels to the Washington Metro region this morning: 840 - Food-HD, 841 = HGTV-HD, and 845 - Lifetime Movie Network HD. Can anyone who gets the Anne Arundel - Howard County or Baltimore line-up confirm whether the channels have been added there?


They are up & running in Anne Arundel. I'd assume Howard too since we have the same lineup otherwise (except the PEG channels)... but can't confirm that.

Is anyone noticing a "choppiness" on the FIOS HD channels? It is most notcieable on the Food network HD. I don't know if it is an issue with my DVR or the connection.

I am not having an issue with FIOS HD channels at this time.

Is anyone noticing a "choppiness" on the FIOS HD channels? It is most notcieable on the Food network HD. I don't know if it is an issue with my DVR or the connection.
I don't see any choppiness on the Fios channels either from here in Sterling. Have you checked the coaxial cable connections from the wall (or outlet) to the DVR? Connectors can work lose if you have moved the box or cables around. You can also try a cold reboot of the DVR by unplugging it. If these don't fix the problem, you may have a weak signal coming from the ONT.

Is anyone noticing a "choppiness" on the FIOS HD channels? It is most notcieable on the Food network HD. I don't know if it is an issue with my DVR or the connection.

I too was noticing "choppiness" on Food Network HD and most other HD channels last night. I recorded on of the HD Planet Earth episodes and watched that last night.....it too had choppiness. Still trying to figure out if it is the DLP TV, the HD DVR Moto Box or some other issue..connection?
I've seen the choppiness before last night, seems to come an go only on the FIOS HD channels.

I don't see any choppiness on the Fios channels either from here in Sterling. Have you checked the coaxial cable connections from the wall (or outlet) to the DVR? Connectors can work lose if you have moved the box or cables around. You can also try a cold reboot of the DVR by unplugging it. If these don't fix the problem, you may have a weak signal coming from the ONT.
I just had the service installed yesterday and at first it seemed to work fine (when the installers were still there), but not too long after they left it went downhill. I have not had a chance to check all of my connections yet so I will do it tonight. It was strange though since it seemed to start out on one or two of the HD channels and then eventually migrated to all of them.

I am still trying to evaluate my new FIOS service. I found a solution in another thread that discussed changing the 4:3 override setting on the DVR to fix the choppiness that I was seeing and it has seemed to work. On a seperate note, does anyone notice a scrolling shadow or ghost on the screen when you are watching channel 13 (WJZ)? I haven't noticed it on any other channels, even the HD version of WJZ, and it occurs on all of the TVs in my house. Sometimes it is more noticeable than others but it starts at the bottom of the screen and then moves up and takes about 3 seconds to go off the screen.

Fios is now in my area (Olney Maryland) thinking of switching after 8 years of HD on Direct. I need to know is this the right decision? Has anybody on this forum done it in Montgomery County? Is the reception better, will I get better programming, will I be able to get a QAM card?

Is there a Computer Store in Olney?

I would recommend that you "trial" FiOS if you can and then decide if you want to drop DirectTV or not. The Picture Quality should be much better than DirectTV from what people have reported. Check the first post of this thread to see what channels are available from DirectTV vs FiOS and see how that impacts which channels you like to watch.

Fios is now in my area (Olney Maryland) thinking of switching after 8 years of HD on Direct. I need to know is this the right decision? Has anybody on this forum done it in Montgomery County? Is the reception better, will I get better programming, will I be able to get a QAM card?
You will get better picture quality from Fios compared to to D* for the Mpeg-2 HD channels from the older satellites and for the SD channels. The reports are that the DirecTV picture quality is pretty good for the newer sat with the locals sent using Mpeg-4, so there won't be much of an improvement if you are getting those. As far as I can tell, Verizon passes on the OTA HD broadcast signal for the locals without any additional compression, so it matches OTA quality for the HD locals.

You can look up the current channel line-ups and pricing for Fios at http://www22.verizon.com/content/FiosTV/. The channel line-up does not yet show the 3 HD channels that were added this week (Food-HD, HDTV-HD, Lifetime Movie Network HD), but the rest is up to date. The pricing for Fios TV is straightforward compared to the cable companies. You should add in the cost of a STB or DVR for each TV to properly compare the costs. Verizon does send the local HD and SD stations in the clear, so a TV with a QAM tuner can get them. But just about everything else is encrypted, so you need a STB/DVR or a TV or DVR with cable cards to get them.

For the threads on Fios, check the Verizon Fios programming thread in the HDTV programming forum and the Verizon Fios Installation & Hardware sticky in the HDTV hardware reception forum.

I'm pretty happy with Verizon Fios. No complaints at all about picture quality or reliability. The main irritant is the Motorola 6416 HD-DVR. Does the job, but has a limited 160 GB capacity for only around 20 to 25 hours of HD recording while the external SATA port has not yet been enabled so I can't hook up an external HD. Also does not have native passthrough. Verizon is supposed to roll out new software for the DVR later this year, but major software upgrades always slip in schedule. I may get a Series 3 Tivo and rent cable cards at some point.

They are up & running in Anne Arundel. I'd assume Howard too since we have the same lineup otherwise (except the PEG channels)... but can't confirm that.
Hmmm, I see the channels, get the program guide, but no picture yet on any of these 3.

Faifax Va

Hmmm, I see the channels, get the program guide, but no picture yet on any of these 3.

Faifax Va
Have you tried a cold reset by unplugging the STB or DVR? This will result in the guide info being lost which will take a while to reload, so don't do it just before sitting down to watch TV. The channels are there, so I suspect your STB did not successfully get the de-encryption codes for those channels when they were updating the boxes. If the cold reset does not work, call Verizon to ask them to reset the box remotely.

Have a Channel Master 4221 antenna installed in attic for local OTA HD reception. After initial installation 5/06 had good reception on all local HD channels. Beginning last qtr 06 began having occasional break-up on Ch 5.1 and 7.1. Problem has gotten worse lately. Other HD channels are fine. Some nights both show significant break-up, sometimes only one, and sometimes both seem ok. Looking for advice as to what to try to correct.
1. Try tilting antenna up, down, left, right. Trial and error here as I have no test equipment.
2. Add an adjustable gain amp to improve signal strength.
3. Have Fairfax Antenna re-adjust/re-locate.
Any advice much appreciated

Having the same issue here with 7.1 breakup also.
I'm new to the indoor antenna thing & 7.1 was breaking up on "Dancing with the Stars" noticeably the other night.

Seems the local broadcast like the 11pm news was good.
But when it came to the network show, it was "stuttering" bad.

Decided to watch "DWTS" in SD & no breakup @ all.

Its that time of year when the leaves are returning. We often these these "my reception is acting up" posts in the Spring and fall. The best advice is to get the antenna up on the outside of the root. At least that is what worked for me.

Its that time of year when the leaves are returning. We often these these "my reception is acting up" posts in the Spring and fall. The best advice is to get the antenna up on the outside of the root. At least that is what worked for me.
Thanks. But I've had this problem throughout the winter and I live in an HOA controlled community so the roof is not an option.

tripleM -- I too have to switch to SD, but that ain't no fun at all.

tripleM -- I too have to switch to SD, but that ain't no fun at all.

Yeah, that's why we got the HDTV in the first place.
Also, I have practically no tall trees around my new development so that might not be an issue.

Thanks. But I've had this problem throughout the winter and I live in an HOA controlled community so the roof is not an option.

It sure is an option if you own the roof. :D

Have a Channel Master 4221 antenna installed in attic for local OTA HD reception. After initial installation 5/06 had good reception on all local HD channels. Beginning last qtr 06 began having occasional break-up on Ch 5.1 and 7.1. Problem has gotten worse lately. Other HD channels are fine. Some nights both show significant break-up, sometimes only one, and sometimes both seem ok. Looking for advice as to what to try to correct.
1. Try tilting antenna up, down, left, right. Trial and error here as I have no test equipment.
2. Add an adjustable gain amp to improve signal strength.
3. Have Fairfax Antenna re-adjust/re-locate.
Any advice much appreciated
Since the antenna is in the attic, presumably it is not that difficult to get to. Try turning it left or right a few degrees to see if that fixes the drop-outs. If it is tilted down a bit, aim it slightly upwards. If you can move the antenna around a few inches that is also something to try if tweaking the aim and tilt does not work. You could add a pre-amp, but I would hold off on that until you have to tried to tweak the aim and location.

Does anyone else in MontCo have RCN and is using a QAM tuner? After multiple scans, I get FOX, CBS, NBC, TNT, ESPN, DISC, HDNET, HDNMV, NGEO and CMCST... but still no ABC??

Looks like we're still on target for Winter (Jan. 1 at latest) for WDCW in HD on DirecTV:
Sorry, I thought getting an update would spice up the thread, but whatever...

Stephen,

I have not heard any news that the time frame will be moved up. I will
check with our corporate office.

We hope you continue to enjoy the CW Washington!

Sincerely,
Tanya Pavluchuk
Programming

It sure is an option if you own the roof. :DTo elaborate... your HOA is not legally allowed to stop you from putting up an antenna (on your property). Of course, you may have trouble convincing them of that.

Fios is now in my area (Olney Maryland)

When did this happen? Olney's not far from my area (Glenelg/W Friendship), so I would be glad to know that it's getting closer.... :)

When did this happen? Olney's not far from my area (Glenelg/W Friendship), so I would be glad to know that it's getting closer.... :)


A brief History.

Olney was the last community to get Cable (thank you Montgomery County Cable and the County Council). The Council insisted that the First Cable Company they signed a contract with provide all sorts of services, and guess what, they went out of business, and for and entire year no new subscribers were added including Olney. When a new contract was finally signed, the new company (Montgomery County Cable) decided that they had to rewire most of the old wire that was in place, so Olney didn't get cable until about 1989 (I want my MTV (1984)).

So when Direct TV came along I switched (1998) I didn't want to give Montgomery County a single penny in taxes or fees for screwing up so badly.

So now, Olney finally got something good first, instead of HOC.

BTW my daughter in Silver Spring near New Hampshire Ave was offered Fios TV, about two months ago and my girl friend in Mc Lean VA was offered Fios TV about six months ago (the rich always get it first).

(olneycomputers owns stock in both ATT (T) and Verizon (VZ)), full disclosure)

To elaborate... your HOA is not legally allowed to stop you from putting up an antenna (on your property). Of course, you may have trouble convincing them of that.

You don't have to convince them, that's the beauty of the FCC ruling. They can complain all they want and there's not a whole lot they can do (short of ask that you pretty please put the antenna on the back of the house).

Don't let your HOA stop you, as long as you're within the law (ie, no 60' antenna).

-Mike

Adelphiacast cable in Sterling now has PSIP data on 83 for WETA-HD and WJLA-HD and on 116 for WUSA-HD and WTTG-HD. They forgot 103 for NBC (I forgot the call letters at the moment).

I do have a question. on 83, the other WETA subchannels are listed and even have PSIP data however they are encrypted. Isn't this against the rules or does it not apply to SD broadcast channels? If it is against the rules who do I contact, beg, and flash the correct papers in front of to convince them to flip the switch and put them in the clear? I know a standard CS agent at the desk would give me a "hrm" and tell me to get a box but does anyone know an engineer to contact?

Another note, I noticed that they have been testing on QAM 89 as well. One day I saw Golf HD for 30 minutes, then WETA, then WUSA, TNT and then back to WUSA and WTTG simulcasting the same as what was on 116. However I noticed that the bandwidth utilized was more dynamic and not an *almost* static bitrate as seen on 116. So maybe they are trying out a new modulator.

PS I love the bitrate of the un named channel I left out that is also in the clear. It usually is close to 20 mbit.

Have you tried calling the Sterling Comcast office? It's not a sales office from what I gathered but tech & engineering from the old Adelphia crew.

To elaborate... your HOA is not legally allowed to stop you from putting up an antenna (on your property). Of course, you may have trouble convincing them of that.

To elaborate further, from an old post of Sasha's:

Per Section 207 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Over-the-Air (OTA) antenna use by homeowners is allowed in almost all instances regardless of any HOA restrictions to the contrary. Most HOA's are likely not up-to-speed on this issue. Mine certainly wasn't until I took the time to educate them. See:

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html

Is WUTB up to full power yet? I was assembling a headend at Cherry Hill Park Campground in College Park, and couldn't get a glimmer from it of my Channel Master 4228 that develops around -25dBmV to to -30dBmV from the other Baltimore DTV transmitters (30' telescoping mast, obviously blocked by a hill) and gets me around -5dBmV from channel 24 analog. I thought I had seen it on my spectrum analyzer when I did some experimenting on the mast recently, but I didn't keep those notes.

I can't say that I've looked, but I expect if it was, you'd be one of the first to see it.

Is WUTB up to full power yet? I was assembling a headend at Cherry Hill Park Campground in College Park, and couldn't get a glimmer from it of my Channel Master 4228 that develops around -25dBmV to to -30dBmV from the other Baltimore DTV transmitters (30' telescoping mast, obviously blocked by a hill) and gets me around -5dBmV from channel 24 analog. I thought I had seen it on my spectrum analyzer when I did some experimenting on the mast recently, but I didn't keep those notes.
Mark Bulla can update us on the status of WUTB-DT, but if you look at his post of 10 days ago at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10254046&&#post10254046, WUTB had the transmitter on order. Sounds like they have a fair amount of work to do on the tower. Since they share the tower with the WNUV-TV 54 analog transmitter, they will probably have to turn off WNUV-TV for some or much of the tower work. Has anyone noticed WNUV 54 analog going off the air in the daytime?

So it will probably be a little while longer before we see WUTB-DT at full power, but the odds are good that they will beat WHUT-DT 32 in getting there. :rolleyes:

Is WUTB up to full power yet? I was assembling a headend at Cherry Hill Park Campground in College Park, and couldn't get a glimmer from it of my Channel Master 4228 that develops around -25dBmV to to -30dBmV from the other Baltimore DTV transmitters (30' telescoping mast, obviously blocked by a hill) and gets me around -5dBmV from channel 24 analog. I thought I had seen it on my spectrum analyzer when I did some experimenting on the mast recently, but I didn't keep those notes.

No WUTB is not full power yet, although they are currently working on it. As afiggatt mentioned, they are currently working on the tower. I think they have put up their new antenna (it's no longer on the ground, anyway), but they are still running the transmission line to it.

I won't have to go off the air for them to work on the tower - their antenna is 59.8 meters below mine (almost 200 feet, according to the FCC), however the analog WUTB transmitter - channel 24, will need to be off while they are working on the new antenna.

Mark

Alright what's going on with Comcast HD. Visited my parents in balto a couple of months ago they picked up abc, nbc & cbs HD (qan tuner with basic or extended cable). Now they get only Fox HD. Where did all the HD's go?

I've asked this before , I'm getting A&E hd via qam but not through my Comast /DC cable box any one else experincing this? I've had it for approx a month.

...their antenna is 59.8 meters below mine (almost 200 feet, according to the FCC), however the analog WUTB transmitter - channel 24, will need to be off while they are working on the new antenna.

Will WUTB's digital transmitting antenna be moved up the tower when WNUV-54 and WUTB -24 analog transmissions cease?

Just an Update for some of the eastern Loudoun members...

Verizon just layed fiber optic the whole length on West Juniper...

In one day...I was impressed...(too bad the cut a gas line)..shut them down for a few hours...

They seem to be only working on the western side of Sterling Blvd ( near the High School)

Question...I was about to commit to 18 months with Direct TV...
How long after they lay the Fiber before we can get service, on average that is?

Charlie

Will WUTB's digital transmitting antenna be moved up the tower when WNUV-54 and WUTB -24 analog transmissions cease?

That's what the CE (chief engineer) from WUTB is planning to do. I'm not convinced that the analog transmitters will be turned off any time soon though. I'll believe it, maybe a month or so after I turn it off.

Mark

That's what the CE (chief engineer) from WUTB is planning to do. I'm not convinced that the analog transmitters will be turned off any time soon though. I'll believe it, maybe a month or so after I turn it off.

Mark

WNUV-DT is completely unwatchable on Comcast right now. Heavy tiling. The SD channel is fine.

Not seeing that in Baltimore County, then again, I'm not into infomercials.

YMMV

Question...I was about to commit to 18 months with Direct TV...
How long after they lay the Fiber before we can get service, on average that is?
I don't think there is an average that you can rely on. Verizon first put down some orange tubing along the main road in my area back in January 2006 - probably laying down a central trunk line (the orange tubing that they put in are hollow tubes that they run the fiber optics cable through later). Then nothing happened until more crews showed up in late July and August of 2006 and put down more orange cables/tubes and the boxes in the ground. In October of 2006, Fios internet and TV became available in my immediate group of townhouses. But Fios was not available in other nearby clusters of townhouses and single homes for months and is still not available, AFAIK, on other nearby streets. The Verizon Fios crews and contractors have been busy putting in more cables and junction boxes down the road from me in recent weeks, so there must be other clusters of houses that can't get Fios yet. This is 6 months after I was able to get the service. So depending on exactly where you are, it could be weeks or many months before Fios becomes available once they start putting in the orange cable.

All you can do is go to the Fios website and periodically check your phone number and for more accuracy, enter your street address. It took 3 weeks after Fios became available on my street before the flyers showed up in the mail. You could try entering in addresses near you to see if it is available on those streets yet.

Andy.S.Lee has added the transmitter coverage maps for Richmond, VA to his set of kmz files for Google Earth in this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=821480. This may be very useful for those who live far enough south and southwest of DC who can get the Richmond and other stations in the market OTA.

WETA DT is out again - antenna work again?

WMAR is showing lacrosse instead of the Bulls-Heat game, which is on ESPN2, analog only. I'm watching WJLA instead, which has the game in HD.

Comcast finally connected their street corner tap to my new house. 3.5 weeks after the first call. Not bad...I guess :rolleyes: .

However, there is this little leftover issue of leaving the cable ABOVE ground. There is an asphalt sidewalk in between my property & the tap.
What realistically can I expect them to do to bury this?

Comcast finally connected their street corner tap to my new house. 3.5 weeks after the first call. Not bad...I guess :rolleyes: .

However, there is this little leftover issue of leaving the cable ABOVE ground. There is an asphalt sidewalk in between my property & the tap.
What realistically can I expect them to do to bury this?

Usually no more than two weeks. All utilities have a catch up period in the Spring as they are putting stuff in they couldn't do during the late part of the winter.

If it runs more than two weeks I suggest calling and seeking an update.

GoIrish

How do cable companies deal with sidewalks & driveways to get cable to one's house?

How do cable companies deal with sidewalks & driveways to get cable to one's house?

They go underneath them.

I want to ammend an earlier negative post concerning MASN. Although I am definitely upset about their failure to broadcast any games in HD this year, I should not have blamed the horrible picture all on them. I recently shifted from Comcast to FIOS and miraculously the picture quality improved by at least twofold. It is still not the best PQ, but it is actually watchable in SD now. This alone has made the switch to FIOS worth it.

They go underneath them.


Do they have to worry about local govt or HOA?

Do they have to worry about local govt or HOA?

No, they have a franchise agreement with the county which permits them to dig in order to lay their lines.

No, they have a franchise agreement with the county which permits them to dig in order to lay their lines.


Thanks. Gotta luv the monopoly.

WMAR is showing lacrosse instead of the Bulls-Heat game, which is on ESPN2, analog only. I'm watching WJLA instead, which has the game in HD.

They were able to preempt an NBA playoff game for lacrosse?????

Not seeing that in Baltimore County, then again, I'm not into infomercials.

YMMV

Me neither, I'm into cartoons.

WNUV-DT is completely unwatchable on Comcast right now. Heavy tiling. The SD channel is fine.

Sorry I didn't see this sooner... Did the problem go away?

Mark

Sorry I didn't see this sooner... Did the problem go away?

Mark

Yes. I'm not sure exactly when.

Hi Guys,
I saw TBS in HDTV not too long ago. What channel was it? I can not seem to find it again.

thanks,
Matthew

And of course since I posted the QAM channels in Sterling, they have moved around. NBC WRC is now on 117 with PSIP data.

So it is as follows:
83-1 WETA-HD
83-5 WJLA-HD
89-1 WRC-HD *no PSIP temporary?
116-1 WUSA-HD
116-2 WTTG-HD
117-1 WRC-DT

the other clear one is still available in between 89 and 116.

Hi Guys,
I saw TBS in HDTV not too long ago. What channel was it? I can not seem to find it again.

thanks,
MatthewTBS does not have a national HDTV channel yet, so unless you were in Atlanta, you must have seen another channel. WTBS (a broadcast station in Atlanta) does do HDTV for their Atlanta Braves coverage. Could it have been TNT-HD? That is a Turner network that is available in HD. Also what provider were you watching? Comcast, DirectTV, DishNetwork, COX, RCN, Verizon, etc.... We know their lineups, so that could help narrow down what you saw.

Oh, and if you saw in in Best Buy or Costco, then all bets are off. I've seen channels that don't even exist displayed as HD at those places. SpeedTV was shown as an HD channel once in Best Buy. That was 3 years ago. It never materialized.

I hope this doesn't break any rules...

I am moving and will no longer be able to use a Channel Master 4228 8-bay bow-tie antenna. I would like to trade down if anyone would want to swap it for the 4-bay 4221 (aka 3021).

Thanks

They were able to preempt an NBA playoff game for lacrosse?????
I think that is a new low, not even WJLA can beat that.

I am a long-tim DTV subscriber but I am thinking of switching to FIOS in Montgomery Co. (it is now available). My biggest concern is the special sports subscription packages that are available on DTV. Namely, MLB Extra Innings, the College Basketball Full Court package, the NFL Sunday Ticket package, and the ability to get the local sports channels from other markets.

Does FIOS offer any of this?

Hi all-
I'm currently a D*TV customer, but I use Comcast/Adepphia for high speed internet via their cable modem. I use an OTA antenna for locals, and I'm thinking about running a TV feed to an HD Home Run networked ATSC/QAM tuner from Silicon Dust. Since this would (at least at first) be running on a laptop in a playroom for testing purposes, I wanted to see if I could get some more content by connecting it to the cable modem's feed coming from outside instead of just the OTA antenna. In fact, the HD Home Run has two tuners, so I can connect one of each. The question is (since I don't have this yet) does anyone in Loudoun served by Comcast know what stations are available off what comes into my house already to feed the cable modem now? They already get me for $60 a month; it would be nice if I could pick up some Nick or Discovery Kids or something in addition to what I get OTA. Also, since this tuner is digital only for in the clear QAM (as well as OTA ATSC), I guess I'm SOL if I can only get analog basic cable off the Comcast line & not digital? I could always get a cheap analog tuner or use my old MyHD's analog section for this I guess, but first I'd love to know what "free" content (with my $60/mo modem fee!) I can get over that cable modem line if anyone has a clue.

How do cable companies deal with sidewalks & driveways to get cable to one's house?

In my neighborhood, cable comes in the same way as phone and electric. They run a wire from the pole to the house above ground

Hi,

I have just bought a Toshiba 42" LCD and I would like to buy an indoor antenna for HDTV watching. I went to hdtvpub and I got this message.

Local Market:
Washington, DC (Hagerstown, MD)
DMA Ranking: 8 out of 210 *


DTV Channels in Your Area: ( Add Information )

Station Info DTV Information Other Info
WBDC-DT ( WB )
Multicasting: Yes DTV Ch(s): 51,75
More Information
WDCA-DT ( UPN )
DTV Ch(s): 35
More Information
WETA-DT ( PBS )
DTV Ch(s): 27
Main Format: 01-HD,02-SD More Information
WJLA-DT ( ABC )
DTV Ch(s): 39
More Information
WRC-DT ( NBC )
DTV Ch(s): 48
More Information
WTTG-DT ( FOX )
DTV Ch(s): 36
More Information
WUSA-DT ( CBS )
DTV Ch(s): 34
More Information

I leave in Bethesda, MD 20814 and my new TV is in the first floor

Can you recommend an antenna?

In my neighborhood, cable comes in the same way as phone and electric. They run a wire from the pole to the house above ground

Ha ha. Still the easiest solution. :)

I leave in Bethesda, MD 20814 and my new TV is in the first floor

Can you recommend an antenna?


this should help (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10311750&&#post10311750)

Hi all-
I'm currently a D*TV customer, but I use Comcast/Adepphia for high speed internet via their cable modem. I use an OTA antenna for locals, and I'm thinking about running a TV feed to an HD Home Run networked ATSC/QAM tuner from Silicon Dust. Since this would (at least at first) be running on a laptop in a playroom for testing purposes, I wanted to see if I could get some more content by connecting it to the cable modem's feed coming from outside instead of just the OTA antenna. In fact, the HD Home Run has two tuners, so I can connect one of each. The question is (since I don't have this yet) does anyone in Loudoun served by Comcast know what stations are available off what comes into my house already to feed the cable modem now? They already get me for $60 a month; it would be nice if I could pick up some Nick or Discovery Kids or something in addition to what I get OTA. Also, since this tuner is digital only for in the clear QAM (as well as OTA ATSC), I guess I'm SOL if I can only get analog basic cable off the Comcast line & not digital? I could always get a cheap analog tuner or use my old MyHD's analog section for this I guess, but first I'd love to know what "free" content (with my $60/mo modem fee!) I can get over that cable modem line if anyone has a clue.


If you look 4 posts above you will see what is available on Adelphiacast in Sterling/Loudon. Only the main locals are clear QAM with the exception of one other HD station and the On-Demand wildfeeds.

If you look 4 posts above you will see what is available on Adelphiacast in Sterling/Loudon. Only the main locals are clear QAM with the exception of one other HD station and the On-Demand wildfeeds.

What he said.

Adelphia, ages ago, had this stuff well figured out. Excellent PSIP info as far as I can tell, and no channels that shouldn't be there (premiums). And there isn't really a way they can block the 'wildfeeds', right? (like the term :) )

I have just bought a Toshiba 42" LCD and I would like to buy an indoor antenna for HDTV watching. I went to hdtvpub and I got this message.
[snip]
I leave in Bethesda, MD 20814 and my new TV is in the first floor

Can you recommend an antenna?
Yes, we can, although the answer depends on whether you are interested in getting the Baltimore stations as well.

First, information resources. 1) Check the first post in this thread for a complete list of the DC and Baltimore stations. 2) Enter your zip code or your full address into www.antennaweb.org, select multi-story building option (or click on the options link and enter an antenna height of 50' or 75') to get a more complete list of the direction and distance to the broadcast towers. 3) Check the Over The Air reception FAQ sticky in the HDTV hardware reception forum.

In Bethesda, you are rather close - around 3 to 5 miles - to most of the DC broadcast towers. All of the stations in DC and Baltimore are currently digitally broadcasting on UHF so UHF antenna will do for now. In 2009, after the analog shutdown, WJLA-DT 7 and WUSA-DT 9 will switch their digital signal to their upper VHF channels. With the DC stations so close, avoid the over priced antennas with built-in amplifiers as the amp may overload the ATSC receiver.

If you only want to get the DC stations and stick with an indoor antenna, the Silver Sensor UHF antenna is the best choice. Circuit City sells these under the Philips brand name, model PHDTV1, for around $25. This is a UHF only antenna, so you would have to add VHF rabbit ears in 2009. The Terk HDTVi combines a Silver Sensor with rabbit ears; if you can find one at Best Buy, it should do the job. A simple table top VHF rabbit ear and UHF loop antenna is also a good bet to work.

If you want to get the Baltimore stations and are willing to try an attic or outside mount, the Channel Master 4221 4 Bay bowtie or the new Channel Master 4220 2 Bay bowtie offer a good shot at getting all the major network stations in both DC and Baltimore if you can find the right place to mount the antenna or a combination of 2 antennas. I get all the DC and Baltimore stations (well, those that are at full power) and other locals with a CM 4221 4 Bay bowtie in the attic of my townhouse from out here in Sterling.

senderoa, afiggatt didn't mention the RadioShack 15-1868 antenna ($21), which I use to pick up VHF and UHF pretty nicely.

They were able to preempt an NBA playoff game for lacrosse?????
Ever since the Bullets left town in 1973, Lacrosse has been king in Baltimore during April and May.

As a basketball lover from Indiana, that is just SHOCKING to me. Before moving here, I'd encountered LaCrosse exactly twice in my life. The first was when I watched American Pie. My buddies couldn't figure out if the guy was playing field hockey or Jai-Alai... we looked it up and found out about Lacrosse.

The second time was the Duke rape case.

Hi,

I went to amazon and I found a poor review for this antenna...can you help me?
thanks!

Hi,

I went to amazon and I found a poor review for this antenna...can you help me?
thanks!

With all due respect, you are on a video specific board vs. a place that is the Walmart of the internet.
I bought the Terk Indoor Amp Antenna based on some of those Amazon ppl's recs & it was crap in my house! (http://www.amazon.com/Terk-Amplified-High-Definition-Antenna-Reception/dp/B0007MXZB2/ref =pd_bbs_5/002-8311816-9953607?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1177515016&sr=8-5
)

I tend to rate the opinions of people here a little more esp. since they live in the area that is in question.

As a basketball lover from Indiana, that is just SHOCKING to me. Before moving here, I'd encountered LaCrosse exactly twice in my life. The first was when I watched American Pie. My buddies couldn't figure out if the guy was playing field hockey or Jai-Alai... we looked it up and found out about Lacrosse.

The second time was the Duke rape case.

As a lacrosse lover from the Mid-Atlantic I am much happier watching a physical, hard-hitting sport with athletes who play for the love of the game instead of a slow-paced exhibition comprised of overpaid, underachieving athletes. Pre-empt away.

Hi,

I went to amazon and I found a poor review for this antenna...can you help me?
thanks!
I checked out a few of those reviews. The poor reviews may be from people who did not hook the antenna up correctly, aim it correctly, live too far away for an indoor antenna, some of their locals may be digitally broadcasting on VHF (such as Las Vegas), live in a house with stucco exterior (stucco uses a metal mesh embedded in the walls which blocks radio and TV signals), or have bad multipath problems. There are many variables in over the air reception which means that I can't guarantee that a Silver Sensor will work. You have dead spots for cell phones and Wi-Fi reception, same thing for TV reception, especially indoors. Can't use Amazon reviews for the more technically complicated products even though an antenna is a pretty simple device by itself; it is however part of a larger system.

The Silver Sensor however, is a very good indoor UHF only antenna. I got one to try out and was able to pick up the DC stations with it at 16 miles from here in Sterling when I put it facing a window. Since you can buy the Philips PHDTV1 locally at Circuit City, you can take it back if it does not work well enough for you. It is a compact antenna, so it may prove handy for future use as a portable digital TV antenna (combined with rabbit ears for VHF) for hooking up to a laptop or portable TV.

You are only a few miles from the DC broadcast towers, any number of indoor antennas should work just fine - depending on the construction material of your house and your surrounding terrain. Take a shot with one of the cheaper ones and see what stations you can get. Chances are good that you will get all or most of them.

This site can get technical, but contains a lot of useful info on antennas and OTA reception: http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/erecting_antenna.html.

Ever since the Bullets left town in 1973, Lacrosse has been king in Baltimore during April and May.

The game should have been on Fox 45 (assuming nothing else network-related was on), MN24 or CW54. Even CSN, since they have no more baseball.

I am a long-tim DTV subscriber but I am thinking of switching to FIOS in Montgomery Co. (it is now available). My biggest concern is the special sports subscription packages that are available on DTV. Namely, MLB Extra Innings, the College Basketball Full Court package, the NFL Sunday Ticket package, and the ability to get the local sports channels from other markets.

Does FIOS offer any of this?
I had the same question and as far as I can tell FIOS does not offer any of those major league sports subs -- and I can guarantee you that FIOS does not offer the NFL Sunday Ticket because that is a DirecTV exclusive.

TBS does not have a national HDTV channel yet, so unless you were in Atlanta, you must have seen another channel. WTBS (a broadcast station in Atlanta) does do HDTV for their Atlanta Braves coverage. Could it have been TNT-HD? That is a Turner network that is available in HD. Also what provider were you watching? Comcast, DirectTV, DishNetwork, COX, RCN, Verizon, etc.... We know their lineups, so that could help narrow down what you saw.

Oh, and if you saw in in Best Buy or Costco, then all bets are off. I've seen channels that don't even exist displayed as HD at those places. SpeedTV was shown as an HD channel once in Best Buy. That was 3 years ago. It never materialized.

Thanks for the reply. It very well could have been TNT. I thought it was TBS, but memory is a funny thing...

I saw it on my home TV. :-) I remember it had an icon of 2 people holding hands, a full blue bar, and then the 1080i resolution. (And it was a Sandra Bullock Movie - ugh.) I live in Columbia MD.

Thanks,
matthew

I had the same question and as far as I can tell FIOS does not offer any of those major league sports subs -- and I can guarantee you that FIOS does not offer the NFL Sunday Ticket because that is a DirecTV exclusive.
Check the Fios Programming thread in the programming forum for questions that apply to Verizon on a national basis. I see jacobp went there after he posted his D* versus Fios sports package questions yesterday. As for MLB Extra Innings, Verizon does not currently have it. You can look up the pricing, options, channel line-ups for Verizon at http://www22.verizon.com/content/FiOSTV/. The PDF files are a bit behind as they don't show the 3 HD channels that were added here last week - Food HD, HGTV HD, and the Lifetime Movie Network HD.

Second the recommendation for the Silver Sensor. I have one and it's great, and many of my friends bought one at my recommendation and are all happy.

-Mike

Haven't been able to get my radio shack antenna to pick up any OTA HD down in Springfield but I have been able to use my cable feed (Cox) direct to the tv avoiding the box to pick up some channels. Is there a list of unencrypted HD channels that I can get over Cox?

im sorry, i know this is a dumb question, but looking at cox's fees im so confused as to what to get.

i have an hdtv w/ atsc/qam tuner. currently i have analog cable and am picking up some digital/hd channels (the locals).

i have cox and already subscribe to basic extended (analog).

i want to get all digital/hd channels. can i just subscribe to the "digital gateway" or do i need to get the receiver as well?? i guess im asking since i have an hdtv tuner, etc. installed already do i need the receiver as long as they're sending the digital signals? or will cox even let me subscribe to digital w/out renting the receiver (it says required!)?

digital gateway (6.95)
hd or digital receiver (5.90 or 3.99)
http://www.cox.com/fairfax/digitalcable/rates.asp

thanks and sorry if this is so obvious... :)

i want to get all digital/hd channels. can i just subscribe to the "digital gateway" or do i need to get the receiver as well?? i guess im asking since i have an hdtv tuner, etc. installed already do i need the receiver as long as they're sending the digital signals? or will cox even let me subscribe to digital w/out renting the receiver (it says required!)?
All the other digital SD and HD channels are likely scrambled. To receive those, you need either a STB or DVR from Cox OR a TV / STB which can take a cable card. The cable card provides the channel mapping and de-encryption codes for the cable channels. You have to lease the cable card from the cable company which presumably means subscribing to the digital gateway as well. However, the current cable card standard does not provide for two way communication, so you don't have VOD or PPV with the cable card.

I think cable cards are most useful for the 2nd or bedroom TV so you don't need a STB. However, hardly any smaller HD TVs on the market at this time support cable cards, presumably because of the cost. For the main TV, I would get the HD-DVR from Cox although I don't know what Cox charges for it.

PS. Just to be clear, all cable companies are supposed to provide the local broadcast stations (that they carry) with no encryption on the digital tier. But in general, all the national HD and SD digital channels are scrambled or will be.

Has anyone else notice that the Baltimore affiliates are not transmitting many of their shows in 5.1 when the Washington stations are? Tonight the Office was in 5.1 on the Wash station while it was not on the Balt affiliate. I don't know whether this is a FIOS issue or it is a local station issue (I have FIOS TV).

im sorry, i know this is a dumb question, but looking at cox's fees im so confused as to what to get.

i have an hdtv w/ atsc/qam tuner. currently i have analog cable and am picking up some digital/hd channels (the locals).

i have cox and already subscribe to basic extended (analog).

i want to get all digital/hd channels. can i just subscribe to the "digital gateway" or do i need to get the receiver as well?? i guess im asking since i have an hdtv tuner, etc. installed already do i need the receiver as long as they're sending the digital signals? or will cox even let me subscribe to digital w/out renting the receiver (it says required!)?

digital gateway (6.95)
hd or digital receiver (5.90 or 3.99)
http://www.cox.com/fairfax/digitalcable/rates.asp

thanks and sorry if this is so obvious... :)

For digital they will charge you for the gateway and the receiver. My bill is around 120 for digital cable, dvr, and internet + an extra box. I did however talk to them today and they said they would swap out my dvr for an HD-DVR and it would be the same price (just got HDtv). You need the box to get the scrambled channels e.g. HBO, Showtime, ESPN-HD, etc. I have been able to get ABC, FOX, CBS, NBC HD without upgrading and running cable directly to the tv. Not sure if you need the gateway for that or not.

Has anyone else notice that the Baltimore affiliates are not transmitting many of their shows in 5.1 when the Washington stations are? Tonight the Office was in 5.1 on the Wash station while it was not on the Balt affiliate. I don't know whether this is a FIOS issue or it is a local station issue (I have FIOS TV).Well, WBAL-DT NBC 11 does not do DD5.1 (last I checked), but I do know that ABC 2, CBS 13, FOX 45, & CW54 all do DD5.1. So that might be a FiOS thing in your area.

Well, WBAL-DT NBC 11 does not do DD5.1 (last I checked), but I do know that ABC 2, CBS 13, FOX 45, & CW54 all do DD5.1. So that might be a FiOS thing in your area.

As a matter of fact, CW54 is in 5.1 24/7/365, even if the network show is not. We have a magic box that makes 5.1 audio if it's getting stereo in, and just passes the audio through if it's already in 5.1.

Mark

As a matter of fact, CW54 is in 5.1 24/7/365, even if the network show is not. We have a magic box that makes 5.1 audio if it's getting stereo in, and just passes the audio through if it's already in 5.1.

Mark

I don't like it when it is broadcast like that. If it's 2.0 my receiver will applly DPLIIx processing to create 7.1. But if its a 2.0 signal sent in a 5.1 stream I will only hear stereo which is terrible on my end. It's like I went back in time to the late 80's when I first started listening to tV in stereo.
This happens with my 7.1 Denon receivers and it was also the case with my 7.1 Sony I had in 2001. Do other receivers react the same way to a signal like this?

i want to get all digital/hd channels. [B]can i just subscribe to the "digital gateway" or do i need to get the receiver as well??To get ESPN-HD, Discovery-HD, etc ...

You will need to:
(sub to the 'digital gateway') AND (get their STB OR use a CableCard reciever)

ESPN-HD, Discovery-HD, are encrypted so ... you'll need something that can unencrypt them (their box or a CableCard). The clear QAM tuner you're using can get the locals because they're not encrypted (sent in the clear).

Edit: sorry ... post was last on page ... didn't see that it had already been responded to.

^^^ Still helpful & informative. Thanks.

A Question for you cable subs:

I read in Consumer Reports that you can order basic digital which costs the same as basic analog (same 20 or so channels) BUT u can get OnDemand/PPV capabilities because of their box and HD. Is this true?

So the cost would come out to ~$30 a month on most systems because of box rental & HD add on.

A savings of about $10-15 per month for most ppl who don't want all those other specialize channels under a basic HD tiered plan. Am I off base?

They were able to preempt an NBA playoff game for lacrosse?????


WMAR has covered lacrosse for years and had the local schedule set up well in advance. Back when ABC had NASCAR, there were much louder complaints about the preemption than now.

Now that WMAR's coverage is also subsidized by ESPNU, there is absolutely no way the station would lift lacrosse for the NBA.

^^^ Still helpful & informative. Thanks.

A Question for you cable subs:

I read in Consumer Reports that you can order basic digital which costs the same as basic analog (same 20 or so channels) BUT u can get OnDemand/PPV capabilities because of their box and HD. Is this true?

So the cost would come out to ~$30 a month on most systems because of box rental & HD add on.

A savings of about $10-15 per month for most ppl who don't want all those other specialize channels under a basic HD tiered plan. Am I off base?

Not sure about other cable companies but with Cox if you get basic cable you get the HD of all the local channels included.

Check the disclaimer at the bottom. (http://northernvirginia.cox.net/cci/tvhd)

WMAR has covered lacrosse for years and had the local schedule set up well in advance. Back when ABC had NASCAR, there were much louder complaints about the preemption than now.

Now that WMAR's coverage is also subsidized by ESPNU, there is absolutely no way the station would lift lacrosse for the NBA.I think that Nascar returns to ABC this fall. But I guess that Lacrosse season will be over by then.

I have a general question to D* customers in the local Baltimore, Howard and Montgomery county areas...
Is anyone experiencing a reception problem with their local OTA HD channels..like ABC..CBS..NBC and Fox ? I either get a frozen picture or no picture on the HD, but the digital channels come in.
I have called D* tech sup and they told me they have not had many calls about this from cental MD, but will send a tech to inspect the dish etc.
My local installer said he has had many calls from his customers with the same problem.
Am I alone here with this problem?
Thanks for all your responses.

Do you mean local analog? The HD channels are also digital. Or do you mena the digital OTA sub channels?

The digital sub channels seem to br fine. Its only the HD channels that seem to be the problem. I hope I explained that right.
BTW, I live in the Parkville area of Baltimore County

I'm having the same getting local HD channels fromD*.

So far this morning I'm getting all the locals, including the HD's without any trouble. But there hasn't been any real HD programming this morning(yes I missed the Today show). So I guess the real test will be when HD is being broadcast.

Jerry78bug..what kind of problems are you having? Where are you located?

thanks to those who responded to my questions above...i called and cox confirmed i need:
-digital gateway w/ required 'tier' for $6.95+2
-hdtv receiver for $5.90

...on a side note...tonight im receiving PAY PER VIEW channels for FREE OVER QAM... why would this be?!

Could anyone please tell me what QAM channels are currently available in Annapolis?

Looks like Comcast will soon add HGTV HD and Food Network HD in the Boston Area. No telling when they will show up here of course.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10424657#post10424657

I'm still waiting for Comcast to add these other HD channels where I live. It ws supposed to be February, then March, then April, now they are saying May. It's just like 2001. They strung me along telling me Hd as coming until I finally left them. At least I know they are doing something since they did switch us over to the new cable plant and my internet speeds now reach 30mbs down and 2 mbs up. It's frustrating since I want to get the phone service and of course the extra 9 HD channels. 11 if they add HGTV and the Food Network. I just wish they would add the HDNet channels. I'm going to miss them when I dump DirecTV within the next couple of months.

Is anyone else still having trouble with their local Hd's from D*?

Is anyone else still having trouble with their local Hd's from D*?

I have some dropouts on my HR20, but it's due more to a crappy installation than a problem. I get in the high 80s and 90s on Sats 101, 110, and 119. On 99 and 103, it's in the 50s and 60s. DC is on 99, Baltimore on 101; not sure which one you're getting, so you might want to check the strength on them. I need to call D* and complain and maybe get a tech to come out for free to adjust it. If not, it will be worth the service call to get it fixed anyway. Maybe get another HR20 for cheap...

Deezul

...on a side note...tonight im receiving PAY PER VIEW channels for FREE OVER QAM... why would this be?!
Just the way the system is set up. The real trick is to figure out which of your neighbors ordered it. :eek:

Just the way the system is set up. The real trick is to figure out which of your neighbors ordered it. :eek:
it's really strange...at some points im watching a movie and it's like one of my neighbors is fast forwarding/rewinding...

My Comcast Montgomery system had a message this morning indicating they were adding a bunch of new channels as of May 15. They included WDCA HD and Universal HD as well as Oxygen, Bloomberg and few others I don't remember. I didn't see anything about Food or HGTV - HD, but my wife would love the latter.

My Comcast Montgomery system had a message this morning indicating they were adding a bunch of new channels as of May 15. They included WDCA HD and Universal HD as well as Oxygen, Bloomberg and few others I don't remember. I didn't see anything about Food or HGTV - HD, but my wife would love the latter.

That was an odd message. It listed the new channels without saying where they'd be placed or whether anything would be moved and/or dropped.

Nice to finally see CSTV but still no ESPNU.

Has anyone used the Channel Master 4228 (or similar) successfully in the Dale City/Woodbridge, VA Area?

I am getting tired of paying $90 to comcast for watching only "House" and "CSI"!

That was an odd message. It listed the new channels without saying where they'd be placed or whether anything would be moved and/or dropped.

Nice to finally see CSTV but still no ESPNU.
I had noted a few weeks ago that the legal ad announcing the channel changes was in the Gazette newspapers. Of interest here, WDCA is launching on 215 (this is a correction as the original ad had WDCA on 236) while Universal HD will be on 250. In addition, 4 analog stations are going digital (TCM, CourtTV, TV Guide and TVOne) and are moving to channel positions at/above ch.100.

Has anyone used the Channel Master 4228 (or similar) successfully in the Dale City/Woodbridge, VA Area?

I am getting tired of paying $90 to comcast for watching only "House" and "CSI"!
Drop down to the basic tier and use a QAM tuner, while researching your OTA choices. Look around the neighborhood for someone with an antenna on the roof and ask them - lots of variables in OTA reception.

it's really strange...at some points im watching a movie and it's like one of my neighbors is fast forwarding/rewinding...
That's exactly what they're doing - that's how VOD/PPV QAM works - without encryption enabled, everyone on your cable segment can see that with a QAM tuner.

I tried to do exacly that, but here in Woodbridge, Comcast says they dont have a analog basic tier.

The lowest is what I have - "digital basic". I sure can save $10 by taking off the HDTV basic and the DVR ($5 each)

Even then it is 80 bucks !

Highway robbery ! :mad: :mad: :mad:


Drop down to the basic tier and use a QAM tuner.

I tried to do exacly that, but here in Woodbridge, Comcast says they dont have a analog basic tier.

The lowest is what I have - "digital basic". I sure can save $10 by taking off the HDTV basic and the DVR ($5 each)

That doesn't sound right - I'd ask around. Go online and see what's available.

In addition, 4 analog stations are going digital (TCM, CourtTV, TV Guide and TVOne) and are moving to channel positions at/above ch.100.
My mom is going to be ticked when she finds out Court TV is going digital only. She's an old analog only (and just fine with that thank you) customer. Perhaps I will now be able to shift her over to Dish.

Has anyone used the Channel Master 4228 (or similar) successfully in the Dale City/Woodbridge, VA Area?

I am getting tired of paying $90 to comcast for watching only "House" and "CSI"!
Dale City / Woodbridge puts you around 21 miles from the DC broadcast towers. Don't need a CM 4228 at that range for the DC stations unless you are down at a low elevation. Are you looking at putting the antenna in the attic or on the roof? If you are only interested in the DC and closer stations, I suggest the Channel Master 4221 4 Bay UHF antenna. We have stations scattered around the area with WETA-DT in Arlington, MPT at multiple stations in Maryland and the CM 4221 works well in picking up those stations off in different directions. If you put it up on the roof, you may also get some/most of the Baltimore stations.

The CM 4228 offers a better shot at getting the Baltimore stations, but is more directional and twice the weight of the CM 4221, so you have to decide on the tradeoffs.

Heck, at 21 miles, rajdude should first pick up a Silver Sensor clone (the Philips) from Circuit City, hide it behind the TV and see if everything works - it sure did for me, and I'm furtehr away - but due West, and at a decent elevation

Only NOW have I started considering an outdoor setup to pull in the better PBS (W-whatever - callsigns make my head spin) from Baltimore instead of the cruddy PBS from DC.

Distance is not the only factor.

Biker, who's only 7 miles to the towers but OTA reception is iffy due to multipath and terrain.

This is a follow-up to a previous post. I am watching 2 1/2 Men on WJZ and it is not coming across in 5.1 but if I go to WUSA it is. Is anyone else seeing this? I have FIOS and I am trying to determine if it is FIOS or the channel.

Thanks,
but antennaweb says I need a violet. So that is a 4228 PLUS a preamp.
Look it up !zip 22193

I guess I may be in a depression or something?


What do you guys use for a reciever?

I am thinking of one of those PC cards maybe a Hauppage 1600 or maybe a Divco (expensive!)

Dale City / Woodbridge puts you around 21 miles from the DC broadcast towers. Don't need a CM 4228 at that range for the DC stations unless you are down at a low elevation. Are you looking at putting the antenna in the attic or on the roof? If you are only interested in the DC and closer stations, I suggest the Channel Master 4221 4 Bay UHF antenna. We have stations scattered around the area with WETA-DT in Arlington, MPT at multiple stations in Maryland and the CM 4221 works well in picking up those stations off in different directions. If you put it up on the roof, you may also get some/most of the Baltimore stations.

The CM 4228 offers a better shot at getting the Baltimore stations, but is more directional and twice the weight of the CM 4221, so you have to decide on the tradeoffs.

Thanks,
but antennaweb says I need a violet. So that is a 4228 PLUS a preamp.
Look it up !zip 22193

I guess I may be in a depression or something?


What do you guys use for a reciever?

I am thinking of one of those PC cards maybe a Hauppage 1600 or maybe a Divco (expensive!)

I'm in Woodbridge (same zip) and have decent results with a CM4221 with preamp that Fairfax Antenna installed. I live in a heavily wooded area so reception isn't perfect, but better than nothing (or cable - after Comcast was blacked out in HD for Superbowl XL I vowed never to use them for HDTV again).

I get 4, 5, 7, 9, 20 and 50 decently (some breakups when it's windy out). I got 26 when I first had it hooked up but lost it at some point. Also get some other odd channels that I never watch (MHz, etc).

As for tuners, I have a Air2PC card in my MythTV box and a Samsung SIR-T451.

Brian

That doesn't sound right - I'd ask around. Go online and see what's available.

In Woodbridge there is only one analog tier and it's very expensive. I was told this has to do with the county rules. I don't know if it's true or not. I know when I had Comcast a couple of years ago a National sales person told be I could get analog basic for only $15. I had to fight to make Comcast honor that. There was no way for them to input it in the system so every couple of months I had to spend 1 to 2 hours on the phone for them to reinstate my discount. I eventually dropped Comcast completely for a year before coming back this past December. When I came back they gave me the digital tier with two Premiums for a year for only $30 a month. It's normally $90. Plus they gave me $7 a month off the higher internet tier. And once they offer Phone service in May it will only be $30 a month for a year. Once the deals run out I will have to get the triple play deal which will be higher but for all three services not really that bad. I was paying $110 a month with DirecTV for several years( just for TV) so this isn't bad at all.
I just want more HD channels from Comcast!

Thanks,
but antennaweb says I need a violet. So that is a 4228 PLUS a preamp.
Look it up !zip 22193
I guess I may be in a depression or something?
What do you guys use for a reciever?
I am thinking of one of those PC cards maybe a Hauppage 1600 or maybe a Divco (expensive!)
If you enter only a zip code, antennaweb will use a spot somewhere in the middle of the zip which may be at a low elevation. You need to enter the full address and an antenna height of 50' to 150' to get more accurate results from antennaweb for digital reception. Your zip places you around 25 miles from the DC broadcast towers in NW DC and 60 miles from the Baltimore towers. Since from your location the DC and Baltimore broadcast towers are very close to the same direction, the CM 4228 is probably the better bet. You may or may not need a pre-amp. If you are willing to take this in steps, you can put the antenna up first and see what stations you get without a pre-amp & then try it with one. Of course, if you buy a pre-amp on-line and discover you don't need it, you won't be able to return it.

I use a Samsung SIR-T451 and a Sony HDD250 HD-DVR for OTA reception. If you were getting a STB receiver, I would suggest you get the Samsung DTB-H260F. But you are looking for a PC based ATSC tuner setup, that is a different ballgame.

My apologies if this is not the right place, but in the other thread in the HDTV area concerning the May 5th Mayweather-De la Hoya fight, I didn't see any specific statement on whether Comcast DC would have the fight in HD. All I could find was the fight in SD on INPPV Channel 197. Are we really stuck with SD for this fight?

thanks

Of course I put in my full address when I myself went to antennaweb!

But I wanted to preserve my privacy while posting my info on this thread!



But Thanks for the tips!

If you enter only a zip code, antennaweb will use a spot somewhere in the middle of the zip which may be at a low elevation. You need to enter the full address and an antenna height of 50' to 150' to get more accurate results from antennaweb for digital reception. Your zip places you around 25 miles from the DC broadcast towers in NW DC and 60 miles from the Baltimore towers. Since from your location the DC and Baltimore broadcast towers are very close to the same direction, the CM 4228 is probably the better bet. You may or may not need a pre-amp. If you are willing to take this in steps, you can put the antenna up first and see what stations you get without a pre-amp & then try it with one. Of course, if you buy a pre-amp on-line and discover you don't need it, you won't be able to return it.

I use a Samsung SIR-T451 and a Sony HDD250 HD-DVR for OTA reception. If you were getting a STB receiver, I would suggest you get the Samsung DTB-H260F. But you are looking for a PC based ATSC tuner setup, that is a different ballgame.

Rajdude et al,

Antennaweb is unreliable on signal strength. It tells me I can't get any digital stations. Actually, I can get all the DC/Baltimore stations - the strongest are dependable with a cheap antenna on the roof and a preamp. Some take a little more elaborate setup and some I don't get 100% of the time, but I'm 60 air miles from DC, and 90 miles from Baltimore.

Just don't believe Antennaweb.

A note for markbulla....the CW shows on Sunday night and Monday night were pillar boxed again (Everybody Hates Chris, for example).

I just want Smallville in full glorious HD!

Actually I have and I encourage EVERYONE that feels screwed to do the same.

Here is the link: http://www.masnsports.com/contactus/Index.cfm


There is strength in numbers so please take 2 minutes and let masn know how you feel!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just to let you know, I have sent two emails to MASN about HD coverage and received no response at all.

Ridiculous.

Rich N.

I heard from them, the reply follows (the message concerned the tinny sound whenever any MASN announcer talks into their Radio Shack mikes):

Thank you for contacting MASN and bringing this technical issue to our
attention.

MASN is currently being carried by seventeen cable and satellite
providers throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Some of these carriers have
experienced technical problems during their first weeks of carrying MASN.
These problems have included transmission problems, audio and or video
problems, and even the lack of carriage.

As we have become aware of these technical problems, MASN has
immediately contacted the providers to get them to rectify the problems
immediately.

We regret any inconvenience that the technical difficulties of a
provider may have caused you. We hope and expect that any problems will be
rectified immediately.

In 2007, MASN will televise 323 Baltimore Orioles and Washington
Nationals baseball games, including more than 100 games simultaneously.

MASN also carries new 30 minute pre-game and post-game shows (O's Xtra
and Nats Xtra) before and after every game.

There are a number of technical issues involved in producing and
televising this amount of live programming and this is part of our challenge.
And once MASN begins telecasting in HD, we must make sure all of our
cable and satellite carriers have the channel capacity to deliver
Nationals and Orioles games in HD.

MASN has no announcement on HD at this time, but MASN has not ruled out
carrying some games in HD this season.

We are excited about our robust slate of programs and invite you to
continue checking the site for updates.

Again, thank you for your interest in MASN.

Brian,
First, thanks for the post, this surely validates my interest in off-the air reception here in Woodbridge. I live in a heavily wooded area too .......right across from Safeway on Minnieville Rd + Dale Blvd. I think I will order a CM4228. Does FFX Antenna sell them locally?

Secondly, I suspect there are two things which can be done to improve your experience.

1. use the 4228 and/or

2. use a newer ATSC tuner. The Samsung SIR-T451 is a 4th generation tuner. There newer, 5th gen. ones are said to be much better (more sensitive)

By the way, how much did FFX Antenna charge to install it (I presume it was on your roof, right?) They mention $332 for installing (http://www.fairfaxantenna.com/ffxnew02107/TV_Antennas.html) it on their website.

I'm in Woodbridge (same zip) and have decent results with a CM4221 with preamp that Fairfax Antenna installed. I live in a heavily wooded area so reception isn't perfect, but better than nothing (or cable - after Comcast was blacked out in HD for Superbowl XL I vowed never to use them for HDTV again).

I get 4, 5, 7, 9, 20 and 50 decently (some breakups when it's windy out). I got 26 when I first had it hooked up but lost it at some point. Also get some other odd channels that I never watch (MHz, etc).

As for tuners, I have a Air2PC card in my MythTV box and a Samsung SIR-T451.

Brian

Thanks for the tips!
I really want the DVR functionality and am hoping to use Windows MCE/Vista for it along with a card.


I will go with your suggestion....will try the 4228 without a pre-amp first ; but I really feel I'd need the pre-amp because I got 40' trees (maybe more) blocking the view to the tower.


If you enter only a zip code, antennaweb will use a spot somewhere in the middle of the zip which may be at a low elevation. You need to enter the full address and an antenna height of 50' to 150' to get more accurate results from antennaweb for digital reception. Your zip places you around 25 miles from the DC broadcast towers in NW DC and 60 miles from the Baltimore towers. Since from your location the DC and Baltimore broadcast towers are very close to the same direction, the CM 4228 is probably the better bet. You may or may not need a pre-amp. If you are willing to take this in steps, you can put the antenna up first and see what stations you get without a pre-amp & then try it with one. Of course, if you buy a pre-amp on-line and discover you don't need it, you won't be able to return it.

I use a Samsung SIR-T451 and a Sony HDD250 HD-DVR for OTA reception. If you were getting a STB receiver, I would suggest you get the Samsung DTB-H260F. But you are looking for a PC based ATSC tuner setup, that is a different ballgame.

I just called FFX Antenna and talked to someone there.

The guy said that they had better luck with the 4221 than the 4228 since the 4228 is more directional. He says that 4228's beam is about 5 degrees.

Now I am trying to find out the beam width difference between 4221 and 4228.

But I think the only difference between is gain, not beam width (not that these antennae are really beaming anything, but you get the picture, right?)

Rajiv - your solution would be to use a Series 3 TiVo, dispense with the PC altogether and use a reliable, robust, mature DVR :) The fact that it has an incredibly sensitive tuner is just gravy!

They're now only 499 (although that sake may have ended) on tiVo's website, plus around $8 a month for service (with a 3 year contract) . The most elegant OTA solution in the US!

A note for markbulla....the CW shows on Sunday night and Monday night were pillar boxed again (Everybody Hates Chris, for example).

I just want Smallville in full glorious HD!

Thanks for the note - I'll check on it...

Mark

Ashutosh,
I totally agree with you, but I already have like 4 PCs at home, two of them do HTPC duty.

$499 vs 90 bucks for a ASTC tuner card add-on is a little too high to justify right now!

But then again.....I still got a buy a HDD.....well 1/2 a TB is only $140 these days. Got to love electronics!

Then again I am trying to get rid of monthly charges too, so that * / month is another deterrent.


but of course you get stability......really? Well we will see...

I just called FFX Antenna and talked to someone there.

The guy said that they had better luck with the 4221 than the 4228 since the 4228 is more directional. He says that 4228's beam is about 5 degrees.

Now I am trying to find out the beam width difference between 4221 and 4228.

But I think the only difference between is gain, not beam width (not that these antennae are really beaming anything, but you get the picture, right?)

Actually, the gain increases due to the decrease in beamwidth. The smaller the beamwidth, the higher the gain. The larger the beamwidth the lower the gain.

Mark

Just to let you know, I have sent two emails to MASN about HD coverage and received no response at all.

Ridiculous.

Rich N.

I called 410-625-7100 (found the number on the contact website for MASN) and explained my dissatisfaction with MASN. The lady I spoke with (I forget her name) took down my number and promised to call me back. This was Friday 4/27/2007. I also mentioned that I had tried emailing to no avail. In fact, I'd sent at least three emails over the past six months, with two of those emails coming in the last six weeks. I asked her to please make sure that the people in charge of reading their email actually read it. How rude to offer a point of contact, promise to reply, and then not follow through! I did not get a call back, but I did receive an email similar to the one presented by Knicks_Fan.

I'm still boycotting MASN until they get their stuff together. The picture on Comcast in Annapolis is still atrocious... about on par with public access channels. I did watch one or two games that were simulcast on WJZ-DT. They were watchable, but it still pained me to watch an Orioles home game in upconverted SD.

I just called FFX Antenna and talked to someone there.

The guy said that they had better luck with the 4221 than the 4228 since the 4228 is more directional. He says that 4228's beam is about 5 degrees.

Now I am trying to find out the beam width difference between 4221 and 4228.

But I think the only difference between is gain, not beam width (not that these antennae are really beaming anything, but you get the picture, right?)
The 4221 has a much wider pickup in azimuth than the 4228 because the vertical stack of bowties in the 4228 make for a much narrower reception pattern to the front. I have a CM 4221 here in my attic in Sterling, VA. The Baltimore stations are 43 miles at 61 degrees in azimuth, the main DC stations are ~ 16 miles at 113 degrees so they are about 52 degrees apart. With the antenna aimed at Baltimore, I can get the stations in both cities without messing with a rotator which is the reason I got the CM 4221.

The antennaweb results for your zip are not that good. I suspect there are terrain issues with hills and buildings to the north of you, but as already pointed out, antennaweb is not dead on accurate for digital reception, but it is still very useful.

The "beamwidth" for the CM 4228 is wider than 5 degrees, but it is also frequency dependent. See the following for lots of useful info:
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/erecting_antenna.html
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/cm4228.html
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/cm4221.html

If you really want to study station signal strength for your location, go to this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=821480 and get the Washington-Baltimore kmz file off of uTorrent. It is a very neat tool to visually zoom in on the reception pattern for the local stations, both digital and analog.

If it is the DC stations that you want to get, the CM 4221 should do the job. It is the Baltimore stations at 60 miles that might need the CM 4228 or a AntennasDirect 91XG for a good shot at reliable reception. There are so many variables in local reception, that without using professional measurement tools from your rooftop, we can't guarantee that anything will work. Check solidsignal.com and warrenelectronics.com for a sample of on-line prices.

Based on an Internet search including the Crutchfield website, I can confidently state that the beam width of the 4221 is 45 degrees and 15 for the 4228.

IAs we have become aware of these technical problems, MASN has immediately contacted the providers to get them to rectify the problems
immediately.

We regret any inconvenience that the technical difficulties of a
provider may have caused you. We hope and expect that any problems will be
rectified immediately.
Technical difficulties? My b******t detector just went off. I get MASN via Verizon Fios. I can understand if during the first few days, there were picture or sound dropouts or signal instability. No, it is that MASN SD picture quality sucks. It looks dark or under-exposed, the colors look muted, I noticed color fringing on the early games indicating they are using composite SD video and cheap composite SD video equipment at that. I looked at at several minutes of MASN a day or two ago and the picture quality is still lousy. Public access channel picture quality? Yea, not far off.

There are a number of technical issues involved in producing and
televising this amount of live programming and this is part of our challenge.
And once MASN begins telecasting in HD, we must make sure all of our
cable and satellite carriers have the channel capacity to deliver
Nationals and Orioles games in HD.

MASN has no announcement on HD at this time, but MASN has not ruled out
carrying some games in HD this season.
Umm, sure, ok, whatever. :rolleyes: Anyone want to lay odds that a MASN-HD will happen this year? Not me.

Technical difficulties? My b******t detector just went off. I get MASN via Verizon Fios. I can understand if during the first few days, there were picture or sound dropouts or signal instability. No, it is that MASN SD picture quality sucks. It looks dark or under-exposed, the colors look muted, I noticed color fringing on the early games indicating they are using composite SD video and cheap composite SD video equipment at that. I looked at at several minutes of MASN a day or two ago and the picture quality is still lousy. Public access channel picture quality? Yea, not far off.


I don't think it is production equipment at the site. I have seen MASN highlights on ESPN and they looked very good (SD, of course, but very good). It is in their distribution system somewhere.

Does anyone know if WMAR's lacrosse games are in HD? I'm about to return to the Towson area after graduation and would be thrilled if they were.

Does anyone know if WMAR's lacrosse games are in HD? I'm about to return to the Towson area after graduation and would be thrilled if they were.

No. WMAR doesn't have local HD facilities. Also, they are produced with ESPNU which is not HD.

w00000000t just saw the message on my Comcast box....on 5/15/07 we get UHD! YES! FINALLY!

I recieved notice in Baltimore City that Comcast is shutting off analog service in at least Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Harford County. Not sure if or how this may affect people with basic service and QAM but wanted to put a heads up out there. This may explain also why some are being told digital is baseline now.

Thanks a ton for all this useful info. :D

The main reason I am leaning towards the 4228 is because I have huge trees in the direction where I will have to point the Antenna. I suspect I may need the extra gain to pull the signal through those trees.

The channels I will mostly watch are FOX, ABC and NBC, which are channels 5.1, 7.1 and 9.1 (according to antennaweb). Is that right?
See their listing for my address here:

http://funkyhuman.com/hosted_images/stations_visible_22193.gif



All those channel's numbers are much smaller than the 20 to 60 channel number shown on the 4228's beam graph at http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/cm4228.html

Also linked here for reference

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/cm4228az.gif
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/cm4228el.gif

The most important channel is FOX which seems to be channel 5.1, right? The graph does now go below 20 :confused:

How do I interpret this chart? :confused:


Lastly I do understand that a pro installation is usually the best way to go, but it it out of my budget for this project.

The 4221 has a much wider pickup in azimuth than the 4228 because the vertical stack of bowties in the 4228 make for a much narrower reception pattern to the front. I have a CM 4221 here in my attic in Sterling, VA. The Baltimore stations are 43 miles at 61 degrees in azimuth, the main DC stations are ~ 16 miles at 113 degrees so they are about 52 degrees apart. With the antenna aimed at Baltimore, I can get the stations in both cities without messing with a rotator which is the reason I got the CM 4221.

The antennaweb results for your zip are not that good. I suspect there are terrain issues with hills and buildings to the north of you, but as already pointed out, antennaweb is not dead on accurate for digital reception, but it is still very useful.

The "beamwidth" for the CM 4228 is wider than 5 degrees, but it is also frequency dependent. See the following for lots of useful info:
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/erecting_antenna.html
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/cm4228.html
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/cm4221.html

If you really want to study station signal strength for your location, go to this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=821480 and get the Washington-Baltimore kmz file off of uTorrent. It is a very neat tool to visually zoom in on the reception pattern for the local stations, both digital and analog.

If it is the DC stations that you want to get, the CM 4221 should do the job. It is the Baltimore stations at 60 miles that might need the CM 4228 or a AntennasDirect 91XG for a good shot at reliable reception. There are so many variables in local reception, that without using professional measurement tools from your rooftop, we can't guarantee that anything will work. Check solidsignal.com and warrenelectronics.com for a sample of on-line prices.

The most important channel is FOX which seems to be channel 5.1, right? The graph does now go below 20 :confused:

How do I interpret this chart? :confused: No, FOX isn't broadcasting on 5.1. They are broadasting on UHF 36. Use the "Frequency Assignment" column in the report to see what channels the antenna will have to receive.

Thanks!
That helps me in deciding between the 4221 and 4228.

Looking carefully at the graphs, I notice that the difference in gain at the frequencies I want to watch (36 to 48) is only 1 dB!
Wow that is not much! Or does 1dB matter that much?

The difference quoted on CM's site is 2.5 dB , right? I guess that is an average across all frequencies.


No, FOX isn't broadcasting on 5.1. They are broadasting on UHF 36. Use the "Frequency Assignment" column in the report to see what channels the antenna will have to receive.

I recieved notice in Baltimore City that Comcast is shutting off analog service in at least Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Harford County. Not sure if or how this may affect people with basic service and QAM but wanted to put a heads up out there. This may explain also why some are being told digital is baseline now.I haven't seen that notice but have noted the heavy push for people to get free boxes for 12 months. I received a sales call this morning while waiting for the tech anyway to install digital voice that is supposed to include 2 boxes as well.

YMMV

The most important channel is FOX which seems to be channel 5.1, right? The graph does now go below 20 :confused:

How do I interpret this chart? :confused:
To expand on CycloneGT's post, WTTG-DT Fox 5 is digitally simulcasting on UHF 36. (DT = digital station) The last column in the antennaweb list you posted shows the actual broadcast channel for the digital station. The stations can't broadcast their digital on the analog channel number you know them by, because the signals would interfere. So all the local stations are broadcasting on two channels: the analog and a digital one. The digital ATSC TV broadcast format was designed to provide virtual or mapped channel numbers, which is why a digital tuner has to do a scan first to find the local stations. When it finds the WTTG-DT signal on UHF 36, the digital signal has a PSIP header which tells the receiver to display 5.1 for the station. WUSA-DT CBS 9 may currently be broadcasting on UHF 34, but the ATSC tuner will display 9.1 (HD sub channel) and 9.2 (radar map sub channel) for the station.

In 2009, after the analog shutdown, WJLA ABC 7 and WUSA CBS 9 will be switching their digital channel from UHF 39 and 34 to their current analog channels VHF 7 and 9. WRC NBC 4 and WTTG Fox 5 will be staying at UHF.

Since you are getting purple for antennaweb results, you should go with the CM 4228 8 Bay. If you read the material on the CM 4228 on the website links I provided, it has the advantage of decent gain performance for the upper VHF 7 to 13 stations. As background, the VHF channels are split into 2 different band, VHF low 2 to 6 (with wavelengths on the order of 3 to 5 meters) and VHF high 7 to 13 which is a full 3 times higher in frequency than VHF. Many UHF antennas can pick up upper VHF stations. For example, I get WWPX-DT Ion/Pax 60 which broadcasts on VHF 12 out of Martinsburg, WV with my CM 4221 4 Bay.

If you have an attic and a spot to place the antenna with minimal obstructions in the direction of the DC broadcast towers, you can try to set up the CM 4228 in the attic and run a RG-6 down the stairs to see what stations you get. If it works, then you have to figure out the best way to permanently run a RG-6 cable down to the TV or TVs. The key with an attic installation however is not to fix the antenna into one location until you have found a good spot. Attics are prone to dead spots for reception. I have my CM 4221 mounted on a flat piece of scrap wood using a PVC pipe for the mast and a $5 mounting bracket. I can move it around which was handy when trying to find that spot and aim that gave me the most stations.

Whew, long winded post! Hope this all makes sense. :D

Hope this all makes sense. :D


No No ! It make PERFECT Sense to me! :D
Thanks a million for posting all this useful info!

I have been reading all the material you referred me to. That site also recommends the 4228 with the 7777 pre-amp.

But there I also read that trees are a killer for UHF signals. I got tall trees in the direction of the TV transmitters. :(
I am not planning to put the antenna on the top of the roof, but rather on the top of my single storey shed (it is a big one, can fit a large car easliy). The antenna will be at the height of the middle of my second story.

Also even if I put it on the roof, I will still not clear the tops of the trees.
I can also try the attic :)

I am sitting here wondering if I should order the 4228 or not. What if it does not work through the trees? $80 antenna + $55 preamp down the drain?

If you have an attic and a spot to place the antenna with minimal obstructions in the direction of the DC broadcast towers, you can try to set up the CM 4228 in the attic and run a RG-6 down the stairs to see what stations you get. If it works, then you have to figure out the best way to permanently run a RG-6 cable down to the TV or TVs. The key with an attic installation however is not to fix the antenna into one location until you have found a good spot. Attics are prone to dead spots for reception. I have my CM 4221 mounted on a flat piece of scrap wood using a PVC pipe for the mast and a $5 mounting bracket. I can move it around which was handy when trying to find that spot and aim that gave me the most stations.Very good advance! I had mine on a piece of PVC pipe in the attic but took it off. It now sits on top of a holiday box leaning against a downward rafter. Works great!!! No OTA problems (I am in SE VA, about 25 miles away from the antennas)... ever.