I currently pay $30 for my high speed internet, and the article makes it sound like its going up to $40. However, according to this note on my bill from Charter this month, that's not the case:

IMPORTANT HSI NOTICE: Effective on your January billing statement, the price of your High-Speed Internet service will increase $10. However, because you subscribe to both High-Speed Internet and a Charter Video and/or Telephone service, you qualify for our Multiple Product Discount of $10 per month. This discount will be applied against your monthly High-Speed Internet price, which will result in no net change to your current bill. If you are currently receiving a promotional offer, this price change will not take effect until the promotional period has expired. Enjoy your valued customer discount!!

Has anyone checked out Channal 9's DT channels recently? All three keep blinking and flashing. Strong (90ish) signal, but cuts in & out rapidly and will not stabilize. All other local DT channels are fine. I have a Dish 811 receiver.

Originally posted by abcward
Here is the quote about high-speed internet:

"Charter also will add $10 to the bills of customers who get high-speed Internet service from Charter but take no other services from the company. The extra fee affects about 22,000 customers in the metro area. The service now will cost $49.99 a mont if ordered a la carte. Customers who get two or more services from Charter will pay $39.99 for cable modem service after any promotional or introductory pricing period expires. All internet service customers are being upgraded to download speeds of 3 megabits per second."


I find that odd since Charter used to force a $13 fee on Internet-only customers saying they had to have some sort of basic cable. Then earlier this year it was revoked because it was ruled an illegal practice. Obviously just a little re-wording has allowed Charter to keep up the underhanded practices they frequently use. Classy.

Damn that irritates me since I plan to jump ship to either Voom or DirecTV in early 2005, leaving me as one of those Charter Internet-only customers. I am just a hair too far away from the proper position to get DSL, I even checked again on that this week. I have no technical complaints on Charter's internet service, but I will not be pleased to pay $50 for it. Is there any other option?
This is TOTAL BS! This has got to be the worst news I've heard since the NHL lockout started. I too am an internet only customer because, not only am I barely too far away for reliable DSL access, but I'm on the old phone grid. The ond phone grid means that even if I was right next to the switch, I couldn't get DSL....heck, I can only get 26.4k via dialup.

Sadly, I'm spoiled now and will probably pay the increase as opposed to going back to dialup. I held off going to cable internet for 3 years because of my overwhelming hatred of Charter.

Cool Doug!!

Yeah, I thought it was fair to let you know exactly what I'm thinking about these days. I've had a great week, and I now have the money in hand to build my dream computer, as well as get the Sony HS51 if I want it. Decisions need to be made, but I haven't seen this pj yet. I'll let you know how things go, and what my thoughts are if I actually get the transcoder.

In my efforts to further enhance the black levels on my pj, I worked recently on getting my room darker. This might be obvious to some of you, but I will share this anyway. If you have a lot of gear that's in the same room with your pj, the led lights on the front of each box can contribute to washing out your screen!! I have several components in my system, and some of them are in the back of the room, but they are still facing the screen. Last night, I took the time to make sure that the brightest leds were covered by something, and oh boy......I was simply amazed by how much black level I was missing. It actually looks like I have a new pj now. In fact, some channels looked like there was so much black that I wanted to up the brightness, if you can believe that. With more blackness in the picture, the images are bolder, and there is more of a 3-D effect. Colors stand out and look more saturated as well. It's beautiful. Try it.

jedi,

You've probably mentioned this before, but what sort of screen are you using with your BenQ?

I recently did some system consulting for a customer who started out with a 73-inch Mitsubishi Diamond that his wife vetoed due to the fact that she felt the TV was taking over the room.

In the end we went with a Runco CL-710 DLP projector. His room has a fair bit of indirect ambient light that is a challenge to completely control during the daytime. Although he expected to use his projector primarily at night, daytime use, such as for ballgames on the weekend, was a consideration.

So for the screen, I elected for the 92-inch Firehawk and it really does a good job of diminishing ambient light issues, even better than I would have expected. There's no question that the projector looks its best at night with the room lighting extinguished, but it still creates impressive pictures during the day.

Maybe something to consider as you plan your ultimate system.

Moman

I lost PBS around last Monday. I use a MyHD card. I have a signal strenght of 93% but no sound or picture. If I leave the channel selected, sometimes it zooms in the text from the card and sometimes it zooms out the text from the card. Where the normal notification of resolution is, instead of "1280X720," I get "0x0i, Auto" displayed.

Walt

Originally posted by aspec2
Moman

I lost PBS around last Monday. I use a MyHD card. I have a signal strenght of 93% but no sound or picture. If I leave the channel selected, sometimes it zooms in the text from the card and sometimes it zooms out the text from the card. Where the normal notification of resolution is, instead of "1280X720," I get "0x0i, Auto" displayed.

Walt

Walt,

It's good to know it wasn't only me. Today Nine seems to be OK. I assume you see it too. Not only was it strobing rapidly (any one of the three 9-DT channels), but it would keep locking up my Dish 811 (can you spell F-L-A-K-E-Y?) receiver if I remained on any of the 9-DT channels for more than 3 seconds.

Doug,
Currently I have a Dalite Theater Deluxe 100" diagonal screen with a satin white finish, 1.0 gain. It lifts up out of a casing on the floor, so it's portable. Cool feature, but I get waves in my picture from the tension of the supports. I have been advised away from the Firehawk and other grey screens because even though they do provide better blacks, the whites look greyish and the rest of the colors are shifted. Don't the truest colors come from a white screen? I can get my room pretty dark, even in the daytime, as I don't have the WAF to deal with.

However, now that I've lived with a dlp for several months, I do owe it to myself to take another look at a Firehawk. It sounds like you liked it very much, and you have very well trained eyes. Thanks for the idea.

jedi,

Thanks for the info on your screen. That is a cool solution and I've read mostly positive things about it, though I haven't seen one in the flesh. Just another reason that we should arrange to get together at some point.

I don't have a huge amount of experience with different screens, but from what I have seen there are no major issues with the Firehawk and I think the gray-screen concept is very sound. There are three things that may help you better understand why a gray screen isn't as big a negative as it might seem on first blush.

1. The main reason that gray screens work with digital projectors is the fact that digital projectors have light output to spare. Maybe I've drawn this parallel here before, but a digital projector (DLP, LCOS, LCD) is like a lighthouse, compared with a CRT projector, which is more like a fading bonfire. Both emit light, but one is "projecting" light while the other is "glowing" with light. This is not by any means a perfect parallel, but I think it helps get the point across in terms of relative light output.

2. In the video realm, white light is produced by combining red, green and blue light -- it's not like a magazine photo where the tone of the white portion of a color picture is going to be largely/wholly determined by the color of the paper stock.

The impact of the gray screen will shift overall light characteristics slightly, but in view of the intensity of the light coming from a digital projector relative to the impact of the screen, the slight gray tint of the screen is not a huge influence on color fidelity.

3. The foundation of a color picture is grayscale information, with color making up a relatively small portion of the overall image content. In this sense, a gray screen is basically reinforcing the underlying image and this is where its benefit in boosting black level performance is derived from.

While there's no question that the gray screen will shift the picture color to some extent, I would expect that the accuracy of the projector's grayscale tracking is likely to be the bigger issue in terms of ultimate color fidelity.

One other thing to think about (though it doesn't necessarily prove anything): How would you describe the color of the screen on your Pioneer Elite RPTV?

Sorry, that's a rhetorical question, but "white" is probably not one of the first dozen words to occur to you.

Doug,

If one ramps up the RGB primaries in equal measures, from 0,0,0 to 255,255,255 the color would be anywhere from black (0.0.0) to white (255,255,255). Everything else is gray when RGB are equal in color. I'm sure you are well aware what assumptions I'm making here, so I won't go much further with this.

I do however think it is correct to call either white as a shade of grey, or grey as a shade of white.

Jedi35:

This statement:

I have been advised away from the Firehawk and other grey screens because even though they do provide better blacks, the whites look greyish and the rest of the colors are shifted.

indicates you need to get better advice. A properly engineered gray screen has no clor shift, and will continue to reflect RGB in their proper proportions. You won't get "greyish" looking whites, what you will get is a lowered lumen level for white. See above comments to Doug.

Cheers,

Well, I guess I need to take a closer look at grey screens. Do you think it would be worth it for me to get some grey material material, like some posterboard or a grey bedsheet and see what the projected image looks like on it(just for a test)? I know it wouldn't be the best solution, but it would give me a general idea of what to expect for black levels.

Awhile back I got on the screen forum and asked questions about the possibility of painting my current screen grey, and I got some interesting responses. There are paints they have created called "goo" or "mud" that the guys rave about in terms of their video properties, and the formulas are listed. It might be pretty expensive to ship my screen back to Dalite and ask them to paint it(they may not even offer this option). But at the same time, I'm not confident of my ability to paint my own screen and have it look uniform, or good enough to enjoy watching images on it. Then I left all this alone, especially after some of the local advice I got on grey screens. Any thoughts? I have renewed my interests in this matter.

Since I've been pretty quick to b*tch about KDNL not flipping the switch or having sound problems on LOST a few weeks back, it's only fair I acknowledge when they do well, too. I just got done watching the last two episodes of LOST on the HD Tivo, and they were both flawless. That show looks like the island is right outside my window. And it's also just about the best show on TV (at least until 24 and ALIAS return in January). Well done, Jim and KDNL crew!

Why not just get some free samples? Both Dalite and Stewart will send you samples of any fabric you want for free. Just make sure you specify 3x3, otherwise you may get smaller samples on card stock. It simple, just go to their website and send an email, they'll be at your door in a few days...

Thanks wuench, I didn't know that about the samples.

Actually, I went ahead and conducted my own experiment today. I went to Wally World and looked for a grey bedsheet. They didn't have any and I was about to go home when I stumbled upno their fabric department. They did have material that looked like a grey sheet, but the woman helping me directed my attention to a material that was slightly heavier. It would cover a wider area, hangs without wrinkles, and was a more nuetral shade of grey. I bought enough to cover my screen for six bucks. What happened next was pure joy. After securing the new grey material to my screen I fired up my pj, and got some SERIOUS black levels. I mean, they weren't kidding. Grey material does wonders for black. It seemed as if I were watching a crt pj. And, to my surprise, there was still plenty of sharpness to my image...just a slight softening that gave it a more canvas-like look.

The picture now looks like I just got a really good HD2+ dlp pj. I really love it. I still have to work on brightening up the image a bit, and getting the colors to be more saturated. I must admit that the color balance doesn't look bad at all to my eyes. Doug and John, thanks very much for opening my eyes.

The next step now is to figure out if I will be able to paint my own screen the right mix of grey, have Dalite do it, or just buy a Firehawk or something. What's nice is that because the image is darker, there is less light reflecting back onto the screen from the walls and ceiling, and I can see way more detail within the dark areas, even though they are a lot darker. Having a pj with a 2000:1 CR does help too, even if I'm not getting those exact numbers.

Hey all, I posted earlier in the year when I first got my receiver. Friday KDNL's signal was on the fritz through my SIR-T151 receiver (I know, I've heard some bad things about those ;) ).

The audio carrier kept skipping and stuttering. The picture was flawless up until 8:40, when the picture dropped out and left me with just closed captions on the screen...then they went away). It seemed to have sorted itself out (the picture), but sound kept stuttering. I changed to 9.3 (KETC) at 9 o'clock because it driving me nuts...Did anybody have this problem?

Additionally, recently, I have been having serious trouble with KPLR (DT-26). Last night, my reciever tried to pull in KMOV's HD (not-cut&crop) signal through channel 11's channel. It scrambled horribly, and the screen went blank. We've been experiencing dropouts with them almost continously for about a week. Right now, the reciever says "no signal," locks, and then goes back to the "no signal" screensaver.

Anybody have any tips, tricks or techniques for a SIR-T151 receiver? What sort of antenna should I be using with it (I live in apartment and I have an amplied RCA antenna and a some silver-looking UHF antenna (that I tried to use with the SIR-T151 and the reciever could only tune 2, 4, 5, and 30 (With freezing). So I'm fairly certain an amplified antenna is for me. I've heard good things about TERK. Any good?

I had to move the TV for repairs to the living room, and immediately (moving it 12 feet north) 46-1 went away and hasn't been seen since. I want an antenna that pulls them all in (2, 4, 5, 9, 11, 24, 30, & 46) without having to get a mast antenna for outside.

Thanks. I live in south city, if the makes any difference on the reception of 46 and 24 (I want to see it, because KNLC shows good old movies on occassion...oh and because it's there. LOL.)

Thanks.

Just got done playing back Smallville from Wednesday night on KPLR-DT. Done not because the program had finished, but done because I couldn't take any more!

For the first few minutes ALL the dialogue came from the right front speaker and ALL the music and effects came from the left. No center or surrounds at all. Then it switched to an SD upconvert with correct sound placement for another few minutes, then back to HD with dialogue in the right channel and music/effects in the left. Stayed that way til about the 25 minute mark when the sound started screeching so loud it nearly fried my speakers (nothing to do with the program material). At this point I threw in the towel and deleted the show.

I know this wasn't an issue with my equipment, because KDNL's showing of LOST, which I recorded at the same time and played back yesterday, was flawless.

Hey kjohnson, jedi35 also noticed channel 46-1 disappeared recently so that might be a WRBU issue and not a problem with your equipment. I haven't tried to watch that channel recently so can't confirm or deny it firsthand.

Yep, it's true. 46-1 is still "LOST" to me. Bob I guess I'll discover the same thing when I watch my recording of Smallville for this past week. Last season KDNL did an EasyView on Sunday nights, which I enjoyed. Not anymore.

I've also noticed another benefit of going with a grey screen.....dlp rainbows have practically disappeared. I have to move my eyes around like crazy to see them now. Cool.

dropouts still...

I'm watching the Rams games today...not quite as bad of dropouts as lately, but still noticable and still irritating. Don't tell me I have to deal with Charter's service people....argh.

Originally posted by abcward
dropouts still...

I'm watching the Rams games today...not quite as bad of dropouts as lately, but still noticable and still irritating. Don't tell me I have to deal with Charter's service people....argh. Well, I don't remember very many dropouts during the Rams game, but there were certainly dropouts during the Eagles game. I was watching OTA.

no, i think my issues are with dropouts are localized Charter issues - I have been having it for weeks now on most of my HD channels at any time - i'm just dreading the conversation and then the dealings with the technician - it never is enjoyable with Charter.

Greetings from sunny Tampa everyone. Long time, no talk.

I'm popping in to get an update on the St. Louis HD scene for my technology inept in-law's and own parents (who recently got a DLP rear projector).

The in-law's are talking about getting a DVR, possibly Tivo. Now, down here, the local cable company (BHN) just rolled out an upgraded DVR cable box that does HD (SA8300HD). They had SD DVR's like Charter currently has, and I used one for a few months before I had DirecTV installed at my new home, but their cable box DVR's were very clunky to say the least.

If Charter has something similar in the works (haha, I know), do you have any updates on it? I'd rather steer them towards an upgraded cable box with $0 capital cost rather than an expensive HDTivo that they probably won't get $1000 of use out of.

On another note...

Jedi - as suggested, give some of these screen company's a call or email for free sample's. I emailed both DaLite and Stewart this summer when I was putting together my new front projection setup and both responded with 2-3ft square samples of screen material (4 from each company). I ended up going with a 119" DaLite High Contrast Cinema Vision screen (Cinema Contour frame and pro-trim covering). Looks great paired up with my SP5700 (which is very bright to begin with, so I didn't need a overly bright screen). After 800hrs and counting (I used it constantly for HD, DVD's, XBox, etc) it's still very very bright, the blacks are deep, and colors vibrant. Pics are in my sig...

dropouts still...

I'm watching the Rams games today...not quite as bad of dropouts as lately, but still noticable and still irritating. Don't tell me I have to deal with Charter's service people....argh.


I was watching the Rams OTA and didn't experience any dropouts.


Best
Dave

The in-law's are talking about getting a DVR, possibly Tivo. Now, down here, the local cable company (BHN) just rolled out an upgraded DVR cable box that does HD (SA8300HD). They had SD DVR's like Charter currently has, and I used one for a few months before I had DirecTV installed at my new home, but their cable box DVR's were very clunky to say the least.

If Charter has something similar in the works (haha, I know), do you have any updates on it? I'd rather steer them towards an upgraded cable box with $0 capital cost rather than an expensive HDTivo that they probably won't get $1000 of use out of.

Charter here uses the Moxi DVR which does both SD and HD. For a new product it does have a few issues but there are upgrades due soon from what MoxiGuy states including Native Passthru. IMHO this product is worth looking into if your parents have Charter service.

Originally posted by orljustin
...When X show is on at 8, and again at 12, is there a way to know this?...
If you look up the show in the title search and press OK, you'll find a command in the action menu called, "View Upcoming." That will give you every upcoming broadcast in the next two weeks. You can also find "View Upcoming" in the Canceled & Deleted lists.

I'll forward your seach issue to our support group to see what they know about it.

Couple things, I haven't been paying attention to this thread, but I think I'm caught up now.

1) Charter's rate increase for Internet Only customers. This just bites. We recently dropped their phone service and went with Vonage. Almost instantly, we were having severe internet speed issues. I thought they were sabotaging me. I had a tech come out, found nothing wrong. I then swapped out the modem, and things are working very well again.

But I refuse to pay $40 for phone service that we hardly use. But now, our $17 Vonage service is going to cost us "$27", when you factor in the $10 rate increase. What a scam!

2) What's with KMOV lately? I've hardly had issues with them "flipping the switch" yet Joan of Arcadia switched back and forth a few times Friday night (Actually, could have been 2 Fridays ago, don't remember which episode we watched last night--thanks HD TiVo. :) )

Scheithorsts (sp?) at the corner of Clayton and Lindbergh was the first bar in St. Louis that has one or more HDTVs, knows how to use them and shows sports regularly in HD. (They have a large front projection on their upstairs outdoor patio along with the couple of TVs they have in the downstairs bar.)

I was excited to see after going to the Rams/49ers game and stumbling into Hannegans on Laclede's Landing that they have one Panasonic LCD rear projection HDTV running using Charter cable for HD. They had the Eagles/ Packers game on and it looked great. We ended up watching most of the game there when we originally planned to go somewhere else.

I know there are other places in St. Louis that have HD equipment (St. Louis Sport Zone, Hot Shots, Buffalo Wild Wings) but they don't know how to show HD games when they are available.

Originally posted by abcward
Charter here uses the Moxi DVR which does both SD and HD. For a new product it does have a few issues but there are upgrades due soon from what MoxiGuy states including Native Passthru. IMHO this product is worth looking into if your parents have Charter service.

Cool, that's what I needed to know. Both my parent's and my in-law's have HDTV's and Charter digital cable and were interested in getting a DVR, so this would fit the bill so long as it does HD too.

Jon,
Yes, I will definitely call these companies for screen samples. I'm quite excited about the new and improved black levels that are possible with my own pj. Say, I wonder if Dalite would consider upgrading my current screen setup with a new grey screen. It would be quite easy to take the screen out of the casing that sits in the floor, I'll bet. Or, maybe they could install the new screen right over the old one.

I have yet to get the Moxi box, but many of us looked forward to getting it because it will do HD as well as SD.

Hey guys ive been away for a while but anyway i was just wondering if any of you know whether espn2hd will be on charter when it launches or soon after. I have not heard anything and charter just gives me the "were in negotiations with many hd providers" response. Also if anyone has any info about any other hd additions on charter i would love to hear it . If this has been previosly been discussedI sincerly appoligize I am not trying to annoy anyone.

On that note, when exactly did Charter add their last HD channel? It seems like its been a loooooong time since we got any new HD. Wasn't it last year's Superbowl that they added CBS-HD? Damn, if so, that was almost a year ago. Sad...

indeed very sad

Prediction: Barry Bonds will be named to head the President's Council on Physical Fitness before Charter releases ESPN2-HD.

Unfair you say?

Hey, at least it's a target Charter ought to be able to beat... :cool:

Speaking of Charter and a better alternative...allow me to think out loud...

I have been eyeing Voom since they have made noise lately about adding more channels and DVR service. I looked at their channel listing a couple months ago and the only channel they didnt offer at that time that my household has to have is Home & Garden TV [HGTV]. But, when I looked this week that channel is now included in their channel list. One hurdle down.

I am even willing to change without Voom having their DVR available yet since I am pretty much at the end of my rope with Charter. This is due to a few factors: 1) Charter's recent underhanded announcement about charging $10 per month if you only have hi-speed internet, 2) not having any new HD channels in the last year and hearing no rumors that any will be added any time soon, 3) constant dropouts for most of current HD channels, and 4) almost never having VOD work.

But....another snag popped up. I noticed today that Voom doesnt have Fox Sports Midwest on their channel listing. I contacted their customer service and they said there was nothing imminent but they were looking into the possibility of adding regional sports channels. Missing out on tons of Cardinal and Blues games is really not an option for me. [insert NHL work stoppage joke here].

Argh - what to do what to do....

[theres a minute of your life you'll never get back - sorry]

Bruce

For more than a month, I haven't had a programming guide for any of my local OTA channels (digital and analog). I called D* a couple of times to see if it was anything they were doing, and was told it wasn't. Anyway, I was told that all of the local guide information comes from the local broadcasters (which I think is true).

Is anybody else having problems with their OTA? Any ideas on who I should contact for assistant? FWIW, I have a Sony HD200 and haven't had any problems with it until this.

Thanks

"Speaking of Charter and a better alternative...allow me to think out loud...

I have been eyeing Voom since they have made noise lately about adding more channels and DVR service. I looked at their channel listing a couple months ago and the only channel they didnt offer at that time that my household has to have is Home & Garden TV [HGTV]. But, when I looked this week that channel is now included in their channel list. One hurdle down.

I am even willing to change without Voom having their DVR available yet since I am pretty much at the end of my rope with Charter. This is due to a few factors: 1) Charter's recent underhanded announcement about charging $10 per month if you only have hi-speed internet, 2) not having any new HD channels in the last year and hearing no rumors that any will be added any time soon, 3) constant dropouts for most of current HD channels, and 4) almost never having VOD work.

But....another snag popped up. I noticed today that Voom doesnt have Fox Sports Midwest on their channel listing. I contacted their customer service and they said there was nothing imminent but they were looking into the possibility of adding regional sports channels. Missing out on tons of Cardinal and Blues games is really not an option for me. [insert NHL work stoppage joke here].

Argh - what to do what to do....

[theres a minute of your life you'll never get back - sorry]"

You took the words out of my mouth except for hgtv i dont watch that(no offense)

Originally posted by Ice024
You took the words out of my mouth except for hgtv i dont watch that(no offense)

no offense taken... thats my wife's vice, not mine. And we married men all know who we have to please first.

Hey Kurt,

My old Sony HD100 *never* had guide data for the local OTA channels from day one.

Local OTA standard channels simply read "local TV programming" 24/7.

Local OTA digital channels simply read "digital TV programming" 24/7.

So if your HD200 *ever* had guide data for the locals, that's a big improvement over the previous model.

I realize that's not a big help right now, but just wanted to commiserate...

Doug,

Do you have anyone in your network of associates who'd do a good job of painting a white matte screen grey? I don't have much confidence in my abilities to get everything smooth and even enough for good viewing. But I'm willing to pay someone to do it. I called Dalite today, but they only offered me the convenient option of buying a new grey portable screen for over $400. I think painting is the way to go for me. Any ideas?

Also, has anyone else just totally lost 46-1 who was getting it before about a week ago? This is really frustrating. I don't know if the power is lower at the tower, or if the airport is doing something new to block my signal.

jedi,

I don't know anyone who would do this - though it sounds like fun. :)

I'd suggest that you pop over to the Screens area here at AVS and see what you can find in terms of the DIY experience with this sort of thing.

Originally posted by jedi35

Also, has anyone else just totally lost 46-1 who was getting it before about a week ago? This is really frustrating. I don't know if the power is lower at the tower, or if the airport is doing something new to block my signal.

I had one week or two where 46-1 was coming in good and I used it to record Enterprise rather than the sat. Now it seems to be too weak again to pick up.

Mike

The following story is from SkyREPORT E-News:
______________________________________

What's Next for CVC Spin-Off, Rainbow DBS, VOOM?

News that Cablevision plans to delay its spin off of its Rainbow programming and VOOM assets led to some speculation on Wall Street concerning the future of the proposed transaction.

Tom Eagan of Oppenheimer and Co. said in a research note Monday, "We were, in fact, surprised by this news of the delay. It strikes us as curious, perhaps even positive, that the company did not suggest that the spin-out would occur in 2005."

Eagan said the move "could mean that either a sale of assets or some other restructuring is a near-term possibility."

The Oppenheimer analyst gave three scenarios concerning the Rainbow/VOOM assets. The best-case scenario would be for Rainbow to restructure, either through the sale of its satellite to EchoStar or an investment by a third party such as NBC Universal, Eagan said. The other scenarios: Rainbow does not spin-off at all; or a chance that the Securities and Exchange Commission approval process takes longer than expected.

Cablevision needs SEC approval and the board OK for the spin off of certain Rainbow programming assets and Rainbow DBS, which operates the VOOM satellite TV service.

Last week, Cablevision said it's not going through with the proposed spin off of its Rainbow assets for the fourth quarter.
______________________________________

More SkyREPORT stories can be found at www.skyreport.com

Originally posted by Robert Simandl
Hey Kurt,

My old Sony HD100 *never* had guide data for the local OTA channels from day one.

Local OTA standard channels simply read "local TV programming" 24/7.

Local OTA digital channels simply read "digital TV programming" 24/7.

So if your HD200 *ever* had guide data for the locals, that's a big improvement over the previous model.

I realize that's not a big help right now, but just wanted to commiserate... Thanks, I think :rolleyes: :) Anyway, I had the channel guide for over 2 years with out any problems and then, about 6 weeks ago, the local guide just went away. The only thing it displays is "Regular Schedule" for both flavors of OTA channels. I can deal with all of the channels except PBS. Since PBS often runs different programming on each of it's digital channels, I have no way of knowing whats going to be on.....I suppose I could check the internet, but doing that over dialup after I drop Charter high-speed because of their rate increase, is going to suck.

Hey Kurt,

My LS3200 lost its local programming guide when D* downloaded new software.

I went into the setup and told it that I had no Dish at all. Then went thru the local channel setup. As I recall, it asked me for my local city and zipcode. After all the local OTA channels were set, I went back and said that I have a round dish... and went thru the setup again.... voila'... local channel guide.

Hope this may help

Best
Dave

Originally posted by Dave_STLMO
Hey Kurt,

My LS3200 lost its local programming guide when D* downloaded new software.

I went into the setup and told it that I had no Dish at all. Then went thru the local channel setup. As I recall, it asked me for my local city and zipcode. After all the local OTA channels were set, I went back and said that I have a round dish... and went thru the setup again.... voila'... local channel guide.

Hope this may help

Best
Dave Yeah, I think that's similar to what I need to do. I found this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=475064&highlight=HD200) that I think will fix me up. It sure would be nice if the Teir 2 tech support would have know the proper steps to fix the problems caused by their programming download :mad:

I guess the possibility of having good tech support for any service that you choose will never happen.

Hey,

Anyone else have MOXI programming issues? I got the _end_ of "The Grinch", "Toy Awards" instead of "Extreme Christmas", and a few other mis-records or incorrect programming initially.

oj

Originally posted by Kurt K
For more than a month, I haven't had a programming guide for any of my local OTA channels (digital and analog). I called D* a couple of times to see if it was anything they were doing, and was told it wasn't. Anyway, I was told that all of the local guide information comes from the local broadcasters (which I think is true).

Is anybody else having problems with their OTA? Any ideas on who I should contact for assistant? FWIW, I have a Sony HD200 and haven't had any problems with it until this.

Thanks

I get info on dtv channels, but not on ota hd channels. what's up with the guide nodays. I have a zenith hd box. i used to get info, but not anymore. It just reads regular schedule. I can get program info just by highlighting 2 instead of 2-1. Minor inconvenience. I don't want to download new software or whatever cuz they may turn off channels i may not supposed to be getting. Don't want to upset the applecart.

Anyone else notice the new uhd channel on dtv. I guess it's all hd movies and specials 24/7. I love DTV.
On a side note...I notice a lot of you are very unhappy with Charter. I have not had cable since '94, and may never again. Why don't more of you switch to DTV if charter is so bad? Just wondering?

Scott

Why I have not switched....yet....

1) Costs - I have all digital channels, HD service, DVR, and all movie tiers. That is quite a bit higher on satellite.

2) VOD - when it works that is a nice service that my wife loves.

3) No attennas to hassle with to get local channels in HD. Granted its not all the locals but still...

4) Loss of signal during rain - I had Dish before I moved to our house 2 years ago. We had to switch to Charter due to Internet [long story], but we experienced loss of signal with Dish during rainstorms - never have that issue with Charter.

5) Hassle of switching services/wiring

Honestly, Im eyeing Voom because I want more HD content and am sick of Charter not giving a damn, but cost is an issue, and having no FSMW would be a problem too.

Originally posted by abcward
Why I have not switched....yet....

1) Costs - I have all digital channels, HD service, DVR, and all movie tiers. That is quite a bit higher on satellite.

2) VOD - when it works that is a nice service that my wife loves.

3) No attennas to hassle with to get local channels in HD. Granted its not all the locals but still...

4) Loss of signal during rain - I had Dish before I moved to our house 2 years ago. We had to switch to Charter due to Internet [long story], but we experienced loss of signal with Dish during rainstorms - never have that issue with Charter.

5) Hassle of switching services/wiring

Honestly, Im eyeing Voom because I want more HD content and am sick of Charter not giving a damn, but cost is an issue, and having no FSMW would be a problem too.

I have All digitial channels, 2 hd boxes, 3 tivo's and 4 other Standard receivers, I also get the HD channels and all local HD channels. The antenna doesn't bother me because it isn't really that noticeable.

I pay about $88 a month. I also subscribe to the NFL ST package and NHL (when they are playing) package.

Movies are all rerun's anyway and I own the DVD's of the movies I want to watch.

I don't understand what the thrill of VOD is when DirecTV offers so many PPV movies.

As far as the loss of signal during the rain, the only time I lose my signal is when I don't want my TV's on to begin with. How many outages of any sort have you had in the past year and how long were they? I have had maybe 5 outages for a whopping 1 hour at most.

As far as the wiring goes, I do it all myself and am happy to do it. I don't want people in my house.

Originally posted by wmschultz
I have All digitial channels, 2 hd boxes, 3 tivo's and 4 other Standard receivers, I also get the HD channels and all local HD channels. The antenna doesn't bother me because it isn't really that noticeable.

I pay about $88 a month. I also subscribe to the NFL ST package and NHL (when they are playing) package.



Please tell me how you get that price. When I do the research from the information off the websites it always comes out paying much more.

I don't understand what the thrill of VOD is when DirecTV offers so many PPV movies.



I am referring to the FREE VOD service of HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, and Starz. With 3 kids in our house, to be able to queue up every available premium movie on demand, stop and come back later, or pause for a minute is a pretty nice feature...all at no price to us. BTW, I never pay for any premium VOD or PPV...i pay enough for television entertainment.


As far as the loss of signal during the rain, the only time I lose my signal is when I don't want my TV's on to begin with. How many outages of any sort have you had in the past year and how long were they? I have had maybe 5 outages for a whopping 1 hour at most.


I have had Charter for about 2 years. We have never had an outage related to the weather. Before that 2 years, in my previous house in Ballwin, we had Dish. Every time it rained hard our TV signal would go out.


Please understand, I am not a gigantic Charter supporter. We initially went with Charter at this house because we could not get DSL and Charter at that time was just easier. I frequently complain out loud that I wish I had satellite instead. I will eventually jump off the sinking ship that is Charter. However, to be fair, there are some advantages to Charter and I mentioned those above.

Originally posted by Scott Tucker
Anyone else notice the new uhd channel on dtv. I guess it's all hd movies and specials 24/7. I love DTV.
On a side note...I notice a lot of you are very unhappy with Charter. I have not had cable since '94, and may never again. Why don't more of you switch to DTV if charter is so bad? Just wondering?

Scott

Mainly up-front cost in my case (and WAF - I can't fathom the complaining I'd hear if she wasn't able to find what channel Oprah was on.) See this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4156101#post4156101)

Originally posted by Scott Tucker
Anyone else notice the new uhd channel on dtv. I guess it's all hd movies and specials 24/7. I love DTV.

Scott

Scott,

The new UHD is just the old BravoHD renamed and some new programming added.

Mike

Originally posted by MSloss
Scott,

The new UHD is just the old BravoHD renamed and some new programming added.

Mike

Whatever it is i am glad to have it. Keep bringing on the hd channels.

Originally posted by abcward
...



I have had Charter for about 2 years. We have never had an outage related to the weather. Before that 2 years, in my previous house in Ballwin, we had Dish. Every time it rained hard our TV signal would go out.


...

It may have been a bad install. I have D* and in the last year we've had the "rainfade" issue 2x, and no other problems. However, when we had Charter, I had 18 calls to their support for various outages and problems with the boxes etc. in just the year we had them. (Exactly one year, we jumped ship 1 year to the day that we signed our 1 year commitment)

It's odd, for a technology that is pretty straightforward, that 2 people not to far from each other, have such massively different experiences. (I currently live in Ballwin)

Dug

Originally posted by wmschultz
I have All digitial channels, 2 hd boxes, 3 tivo's and 4 other Standard receivers, I also get the HD channels and all local HD channels. The antenna doesn't bother me because it isn't really that noticeable.

I pay about $88 a month. I also subscribe to the NFL ST package and NHL (when they are playing) package.

Movies are all rerun's anyway and I own the DVD's of the movies I want to watch.

I don't understand what the thrill of VOD is when DirecTV offers so many PPV movies.

As far as the loss of signal during the rain, the only time I lose my signal is when I don't want my TV's on to begin with. How many outages of any sort have you had in the past year and how long were they? I have had maybe 5 outages for a whopping 1 hour at most.

As far as the wiring goes, I do it all myself and am happy to do it. I don't want people in my house.

I agree. I have had DTV for about 9 years now and total downtime due to rain is maybe less than an hour. One hour of iterupted service in 3,168 days is stellar performance. When i had cable i would lose signal an hour per week it seemed like. My bill for 2 hd boxes and 1 tivo box and all channels is around $90 month. As far as antenna. Once i put it in the attic i have never seen it again. And if my DTV ever does go out, i can always watch DTV on the antenna.

Scott

Originally posted by Mr_Bester
It may have been a bad install. I have D* and in the last year we've had the "rainfade" issue 2x, and no other problems. However, when we had Charter, I had 18 calls to their support for various outages and problems with the boxes etc. in just the year we had them. (Exactly one year, we jumped ship 1 year to the day that we signed our 1 year commitment)

It's odd, for a technology that is pretty straightforward, that 2 people not to far from each other, have such massively different experiences. (I currently live in Ballwin)

Dug

I wouldnt doubt the bad install on my dish - the tech was no brain surgeon.

I please do not get me wrong - I have all sorts of problems with Charter that include tons of different service calls - but just never one because of losing signal due to weather.

Can one of you who are getting HD boxes, tivo box, and all the channels please break out how you are paying $80-90 per month please? Maybe i'm figuring something wrong via their website.

Originally posted by abcward
Can one of you who are getting HD boxes, tivo box, and all the channels please break out how you are paying $80-90 per month please? Maybe i'm figuring something wrong via their website.

Wish i could, but my wife pays all the bills. Actually, i think mine is more like $92/mo. I'll have to check a statement and let you know.

Scott

Keep in mind, if you subscribe to all the channels, there is no monthly tivo charge.

Scott

Originally posted by Scott Tucker
I get info on dtv channels, but not on ota hd channels. what's up with the guide nodays. I have a zenith hd box. i used to get info, but not anymore. It just reads regular schedule. I can get program info just by highlighting 2 instead of 2-1. Minor inconvenience. I don't want to download new software or whatever cuz they may turn off channels i may not supposed to be getting. Don't want to upset the applecart. Scott, I followed the instructions I linked in my prior post and I now have the guide :) Man, this place is great. Anyway, I'd do a search for your receiver and pick the thread that talks about the guide. If there isn't one, maybe you can do a similar procedure to your receiver that I did to mine.

Here is what I want for my 3 rooms:

1) normal everyday box
2) tivo box
3) hd box

I want a ton of SD channels, most/all of the premium channels, hd package - no need for any of the nfl tickets, etc.

I want to know how you guys get my wishlist for $80-$90. Also, exactly how much do I have to put out in initial costs too?

THanks

I currently have Directv's Total Choice Plus with Locals for $42.99, HBO for $12, a DVR fee of $4.99 and the HD Package free for six months. My current bill is $59.98. Unless they change the price, when the HD Pack promo ends, my bill will go up by $11.

I've been a subscriber since 1996. I did a self-installation back then. I upgraded to a Phase III dish for HD in 2002 and did the upgrade myself, and I ran additional cable runs from the dish for use with my Tivos earlier this year.

I paid $99 for my Phase III dish, when replaced my original round dish in 2002 [the original round dish only pulled in SAT A (at 101 degrees)]. I paid $99 for my Hughes SD-DVR40 Directv SD Tivo in March and $749 for my Directv HR10-250 HD Tivo (after a $250 credit from Directv Customer Retention) in May. I also paid $29 for a Zenith Silver Sensor Indoor UHF antenna in 2002 to pull in our HD/DTV locals. I don't remember what I paid for the grounding rod and (8) 25' lengths of RG-6 cable I used -- (4) from the dish to the grounding block and (4) from the grounding block then inside to the two Tivos (two lines per Tivo).

I'm not sure how the packages with installation work these days.

Originally posted by Crash_Corrigan
I currently have Directv's Total Choice Plus with Locals for $42.99, HBO for $12, a DVR fee of $4.99 and the HD Package free for six months. My current bill is $59.98. Unless they change the price, when the HD Pack promo ends, my bill will go up by $11.


With Charter I currently have ALL the premium channels, so on your bill I would need to add the price for Cinemax/Starz/Showtime.

The directv.com website shows their 'everything' package called Total Choice Premier at $87.99 without local channels. That includes all the premium movie channels. However you would have to add the HDTV fees, the DVR fees, and the $5 per each additional receiver fee. Count all that up and the price is going higher than I want to spend....or higher than I already spend.



***Guys, let me explain what I am currently paying with Charter:

Every single channel including all premium movie tiers, the HDTV package, a Moxi PVR with pvr recording fees, VOD service....and 3meg Internet
-----------------------
All that for $106.93
-----------------------

Please, i really want to jump to satellite - but someone do some magic math so I can get that for around the price. Remember if I switched to satellite, $40 of my $106 would still be going to hi-speed internet via Charter. I cannot currently get DSL: I tried but they consider me too far away by blocks, so I am forced to stay with Charter for internet.

I dumped analog cable in 1996 when TCI swapped service areas with Continental Cable and p*ssed me off by raising rates and dropping channels and letting the PQ go to h*ll. I spent about $1,100 on my first Directv system for the privilege of telling TCI Cable to kiss off, and I've had no regrets.

I've been satisified with Directv's channel lineup, overall PQ and price. I also have had fewer and shorter outages with satellite than I ever had during the 13 years I had cable. I've been umimpressed with Charter so far. When they acquired TCI Cable I thought it would be a good thing, but it took forever for them to roll out digital cable. It took forever for them to add HD and Directv rolled out their HD DVR before they had one. And, they seem to be teetering on the verge of extinction.

I don't mind owning my own equipment. I don't mind using DSL. In fact, I prefer not having my internet access bundled with my subscription TV. I don't need all the premium movie channels and out-of-market regional sports networks (which I never watched enough to justify the extra cost). I like Directv's SD channel lineup and I have plenty of HD to watch on my HDTivo from Directv HD channels and all our local HD/Digital channels via OTA. For some reason, Charter still hasn't added all the local HD/Digital channels. And, I love having 2 tuners in the SD Tivo and 2 tuners in the HD Tivo. It's changed the way I watch TV. I never watch live TV anymore.

If VOD and cable broadband are deal-breakers for you, stay with cable. The Moxi is clearly the best cable HD DVR currently available and it's much closer to Tivo's DVRs in terms of functionality than any other cable DVR.

I may eventually switch to cable, if Directv falls significantly behind in the HD arena, but I seriously doubt that Charter will still in business if and when that day ever comes. Charter is still no where close to earning my business.

With the Samsung SIR-T151:

KTVI (2-1) - Nothing.. Just "720p590HDTV"

KMOV (4-1) - Works great...although I could have sworn the news was "News4," not "Channel 4 News"

KSDK (5-1) - Nothing, just KSDK-DT

KETC (9-1, 9-2, 9-3) - Up until recently was giving me program info...Now it says "No information"

KPLR (11-1) - Works fine (although right know I can't get it.)

KDNL (30-1) - Off and on, it will show a program here or there "20/20", "World News Tonight", but most of the time it says "DTV Program at 12, 3, 6, & 9 (am or pm).

WRBU (46-1) - Nothing...just "WRBU-DT" (when I can actually get it)

as for KNLC, I dunno.

When it works, the program guide is very nice, complete with program descriptions. However, KTVI, KNLC, KDNL, WRBU, and KSDK don't seem to be fully versed in how it works, so it may even cause your reciever to ignore it (the SIR-T151s seem to do it a lot).

So does anybody have "dish" service from SBC? Is it worth it?

With the Samsung SIR-T151:

KTVI (2-1) - Nothing.. Just "720p590HDTV"

KMOV (4-1) - Works great...although I could have sworn the news was "News4," not "Channel 4 News"

KSDK (5-1) - Nothing, just KSDK-DT

KETC (9-1, 9-2, 9-3) - Up until recently was giving me program info...Now it says "No information"

KPLR (11-1) - Works fine (although right know I can't get it.)

KDNL (30-1) - Off and on, it will show a program here or there "20/20", "World News Tonight", but most of the time it says "DTV Program at 12, 3, 6, & 9 (am or pm).

WRBU (46-1) - Nothing...just "WRBU-DT" (when I can actually get it)

as for KNLC, I dunno.

When it works, the program guide is very nice, complete with program descriptions. However, KTVI, KNLC, KDNL, WRBU, and KSDK don't seem to be fully versed in how it works, so it may even cause your reciever to ignore it (the SIR-T151s seem to do it a lot).

So does anybody have "dish" service from SBC? Is it worth it?

abcward, I guess I should pay more attention to my bills, but like I said earlier, my wife pays em. I haven't payed a bill or written a check in over 10 years. I was wrong. My bill is $120.96/mo., but i would pay more to not have cable.
1. Networks $10
2. HD Pakage $10.99
3. Total choice premier w/locals $90.99
4. 2 additional recievers 4.99 ea. $9.98
5. No charge for Tivo service.

Hope this helps.

Scott

Qiuck question: does directv offer a dish that will allow 5 recievers to opperate independantly as well as supprt hdtv and dvr and local channels

ice,

The issue isn't the dish but the multi-switch. Until the past year or two, residential installations were limited to 4 receivers, but now multi-switches are available that will support up to at least 8 receivers, and possibly more.

You can find these locally at Skywalker Communications in Wentzville/O'Fallon.

I've finally moved and settled in (enough to get the computer unpacked and the cable internet installed.) I'm now one of the newest residents of O'fallon, MO.

So now the BIG question... where are all of the good Audio/Visual and electronics stores? There's obviously Best Buy and Circuit City. I've even found the Ultimate Electronics store, which was pretty interesting. Anything more high end?

Thanks,

Joe

Hey Group,

Outside of the SBCA installation standards and the FCC OTARD Rule, are there any codes or regulations in St. Louis County and the surrounding municipalities regarding satellite installations?

I am sure there are municipal codes regarding placement of dishes but is there anything else documented? Where can these be found?

Is there a matrix or listing of the surrounding counties and municipalities and their codes regarding satellite installations?

I know someone here will know this, but in the rare case nobody knows, maybe we can all put something together.

Thanks,
4113

4113,

Nice to see you back on the board. You might try PMing Doug if you don't get an answer. He usually stays on top of info like that.

MSloss,
Thanks for confirming that I'm not the only one who enjoyed getting Enterprise on 46-1 for just a short time before it disappeared. I taped 11-19 and 11-26 on dvhs, thinking that I would be getting others as well. Boy, was I wrong. I'm lucky to have Bob who's providing excellent discs for me.

Whohoo, I've got my guide fixed. But now I have a new problem. Somehow, I've enabled closed caption on at least some of the stations. I think it's something with my Sony HD-200 receiver, because the only channels I've seen the CC on are the DirecTV feeds of 2,4 9,11 and 30. For some reason, I haven't seen anything on 5. I haven't checked any other channels yet.

Maybe I was just a little too tired this morning and overlooked how to turn the CC off. I won't be able to fiddle with things until this evening, but I'm looking for suggestions.

4113,

Good to see you here again.

I'm not sure I understand your question, but maybe you can elaborate based on my response here.

As I understand it, the FCC's OTARD ruling is the final word on antenna and/or satellite dish installations. A municipality, resident association, landlord, etc. can pass and/or draft prohibitions until their fingers are black and blue, but such localized prohibitions or restrictions on sat/ant installations are usually meaningless.

However, there are OTARD limits, which include:

* The placement of the ant/sat can only be on property over which the tenant or owner has control. This means you CAN'T place the antenna on an apartment rooftop if that area is specifically designed for either general use of all residents or the specific use of another tenant. On the other hand, it means you CAN place a dish/ant on a balcony or patio that is designed exclusively for your use, or on a rooftop area if that area is specifically provided to you under the terms of the deed or lease.

Obviously these sort of restrictions do not apply to free-standing homes, so long as the device is being mounted on property included in the deed or rental agreement.

* The sat/ant can be no larger than 1 meter in diameter (per device). I'm not aware of any limit on the number of devices, but it seems logical that this might be restricted to one dish and one antenna. I can't recall if OTARD covers this;

* Placement cannot cause a hazard. In the case of an apartment, this would mean that an antenna or dish can't be poorly secured or "dangling" off a balcony or placed too near electrical wiring.

* There are restrictions on the mounting of antennae and dishes in areas that are officially designated as historical sites. There has been some discussion here in the past that parts of Soulard have been given this sort of historical designation (go figure), so there might be those sort of issues that need to be considered for some specific locations.

It's important to understand that as long as you're in compliance with OTARD, you do NOT need to seek prior approval from a landlord, resident association, municipality, etc. If they believe that you are contravening applicable regulations (which will ultimately come down to OTARD), the burden of proof is on their side, not yours.

Of course, there is the possibility of "passive enforcement" where a landlord might retaliate against you after you place an ant/sat dish by not renewing your lease or raising your rent a disproportionate amount. But I believe that if you were able to prove that the non-renewal or rental fee increase was directly related to your action in legally mounting a dish/sat, that they'd be opening themselves up to legal action and a call to a lawyer would be in order.

Understand that the above notes are based on my own reading of OTARD and what I've read about it on various forums over the past few years. I'm not a lawyer and suggest that you take the time to read the full document, or at least browse through it. There is an OTARD link in the "info messages" that appear at the very beginning of this discussion thread.

Let me know if this misses the mark for the situation you're involved with.

The following item appeared in Tuesday's Evening Bridge market wrap-up story at mediabiz.com:

_______________________________________________

The Evening Bridge - December 07, 2004

TOP STORY - ESPN touted Beta Research's latest annual survey of cable subscribers, in which the sports network and sister channel ESPN2 topped all major cable networks in perceived value among viewers. ESPN also continues its streak at No. 1 among male network viewers since the Beta study began in 1989, the programmer said.

_______________________________________________

I have Charter analog service and am planning to purchase an STB with NTSC, ATSC, and QAM tuners. Does anyone know if Charter's HD signals for local stations are included in the analog feed? If yes, are they scrambled or encrypted? I want to hook cable to the box and receive local HD without using an antenna.

JHEGYI
If you want high end stores I can recommend The Sound Room in either Chesterfield or Creve Couer. There is also Best Sound in the Frontenac area. There may be some closer to you in St. Charles county, but I don't have any experience or knowledge of them.

Yes, I frequent Best Sound on Lindberg as well. Also, check out Music for Pleasure on Big Bend. Don't let the name fool you, they have high end home theater stuff as well. I have lost many paychecks there.

Originally posted by abcward
I cannot currently get DSL: I tried but they consider me too far away by blocks, so I am forced to stay with Charter for internet.

Be sure to re-check that every couple months or so. They are always adding remote terminals to serve DSL out of.

I was 20,000 feet from my Central Office and out of range for DSL until about 18 months ago after they installed a remote terminal that I am only 9.000 feet away from.

I checked this week and was denied. However I did have an interesting conversation with a SWBell tech. He was out to disconnect my Charter telephony service and reinstall my SWBell telephony service.

Anyways we were discussing the whole DSL thing. He said the whole 'too far away to get DSL' is bull. He stated that Bell only has controlled areas with DSL and not because of proximity. They are currently working towards a more advanced fiberlink dsl service which will be much faster than currently offered by Charter. He stated to keep an eye out for this coming sometime, but was unsure when [it didnt sound like it was anytime in early 2005]. We talked for more than 30 minutes I got the sense that he was not a mouthpiece for SWBell but rather a techie like most of us and enjoyed the possibility of advancing technologies.

I've been wanting a Paradigm pw-2200 for some time now, and I'm hoping to make it happen for Christmas. I was wondering if someone could give me pointers for picking one as frugally as possible ;)

I know Hi-Fi sells them, but the manager I was working with was replaced, and they won't honor the price now. Is there another place in the area that I could get one at a reasonable price?

thanks for any advice you might have ;)

-CoCoKola

Charter will be out Sat. morning to address my poor PQ. Later in the day, my Moxie will be installed.
The cable going to the HD box is 13 years old. The skinny, black cable with a nasty looking terminal.
I halfway expect the tech to give me some mumbo jumbo about the signal strength being ok.
So my question to you is, what is considered good signal strength.
For them to run new cable may be hard, because the house has a crawl space, and the TV is on an interior wall.
I moved the cable from an outside wall a few years ago to the inside wall, but I seriously doubt if the cable guy will want to crawl under the house to do it right.
What options do I have? Will an amplifier work if he refuses to run new cable?
Thanks.
Terry

Jabo,

As it happens, my father recently received a Charter bill that he doesn't think is accurate and he's asked me to check it out. In his latest statement I found the "2004 Annual Customer Notification," which is apparently the result of some regulatory requirement that the cable company formally document its service terms, conditions, packages and pricing once per year. Note that this is for an Illinois jurisdiction, so your prices may vary.

I'm not sure if your wiring needs to be replaced, or if it does whose responsibility it would be. However, I can let you know the cost for these items if Charter was going to charge you for them. In effect, this should be your "worst case" scenario (again recognizing that your local prices may differ slightly).

For installation, Charter shows several installation variations:

Primary Outlet
Analog Unwired Home - $42.74
Analog Wired Home - $27.34
Digital Unwired Home - $51.44
Digital Wired Home - $36.03

Additional Outlet - with initial install
Analog - $12.93
Digital - $14.28

Additional Outlet - special trip
Analog - $27.34
Digital - $31.81

Note that there's also a general "Hourly Service Charge" listed at $24.85. I assume that this charge would be applied to service work requested by a customer that's not specific to those tasks listed in the notice and that the hourly fee would not be in addition to the listed installation tasks.

I haven't read through this entire document and not sure I will, but there's more than likely a few things in here that would elevate my blood pressure. One example that may be relevant for your situation:

"Amplification Equipment: Charter is required by federal regulation to deliver a minimum signal to each television set. Charter's network is designed to provide the required signal for up to four home devices. If more than four devices are connected to the home network, a signal amplification device may be required and will be sold or leased to the customer. Charter will install the amplification device."

Amplifier install cost is listed as $10.69 on initial install and $21.12 for a special trip.

Jabo, as you've noted the likely difficult part of your scheduled encounter with Charter will to be determine whether the current wiring is suitable for digital cable/HD service, and whose opinion on that issue will prevail. It sounds like if you have no more than four cable devices in your home and Charter isn't delivering a suitable signal, they would be responsible for providing amplification and/or rewiring at their cost. However, the problem is there's no detail provided to the customer on what actually constitutes a minimum signal.

Hopefully some of this info will be helpful to you. Let us know how things are resolved.

The story below is from SkyREPORT E-News.

The details of the satellite re-authorization bill have been reported here and elsewhere previously.

The main element of potential interest in the law for local viewers is the idea of extending "white areas" to digital coverage, meaning viewers who reside outside the reach of a local digital signal are now allowed to receive out-of-market network feeds. Not sure how the provision applies to customers in fringe areas and the whole waiver application process, but I suspect that it's probably not a lot different than it has been for analog fringe customers (essentially a "pray for a miracle" undertaking).

I assume that "white areas" will have to be defined separately from their analog equivalents, and that it will take some time for that process to occur.

___________________________________

Bush Signs Sat TV Bill into Law

On Wednesday, President Bush signed into law a $388 billion appropriations package that covers spending for all federal departments outside the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security. The omnibus package includes key satellite TV provisions that Congress, lobbyists and the industry have been working on throughout the year.

The new law, the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA) of 2004, gives satellite TV 18 months to phase out a two-dish solution for reception of a certain set of locals, an item that targets EchoStar and its use of two dishes for receiving a select set of local TV channels for a number of markets.

In addition, the act includes a provision allowing satellite TV to deliver "significantly viewed" stations to consumers who live outside the station's home market. There's also royalty rate language that allows the parties involved to negotiate their business arrangements rather than going through a CARP process. And the new provisions extend for five years the compulsory license that allows DBS services to provide superstations and distant network signals.

SHVERA also allows for the creation of a "digital white area," which will allow satellite TV companies to deliver distant broadcast digital and high-def signals to consumers who cannot receive a local digital TV signal.
___________________________________

Additional stories from SkyREPORT can be found at www.skyreport.com

Voom Meets Its Doom
The struggling satcaster can't possibly survive
another year. By Phillip Swann

Editor's Note: Phillip Swann, president of TVPredictions.com, is
making 40 predictions for new TV technology in 2005. A new
prediction will be published every weekday at TV Predictions
for the rest of 2004, except for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Washington, D.C. (November 12) -- Voom, the satellite TV service
from Cablevision, just reported that it lost subscribers over the last
three months. The news is particularly embarrassing when you note
that Voom has accumulated less than 27,000 customers after one
year. The company doesn't have the luxury of losing people at this
point.

However, the bad news is hardly surprising. When Voom launched a
year ago, I said it was doomed from the start for three reasons:

1. Voom is targeting the wrong audience
Voom has an impressive lineup of 30-plus HDTV channels. However,
only 10-11 million people now have HDTV sets, Although the HDTV numbers are growing, the target audience is too small for a project
this ambitious. The way it's spending money, Voom can't wait until
HDTV gets bigger.

2. Voom will be co-opted by DIRECTV and EchoStar
DIRECTV just announced that it will launch four new satellites that will
enable it to deliver 150 national HDTV channels by 2007 (Plus local
HD signals). So much for Voom's competitive advantage.

3. The satellite TV business has matured
DIRECTV and EchoStar, which have been in business for a decade,
now have more than 20 million subscribers combined. Although
satellite TV officials are loath to admit this, there may be only 15
million to 20 million potential subscribers still out there. (Many viewers
cannot get satellite service because they either live in apartments or
do not have a residence with a clear southern view of the sky.)
DIRECTV and EchoStar, which have spent billions on marketing and
branding, would seem well positioned to get the lion's share of new
subs. For Voom to succeed, it would have to take subscribers away
from the existing services or somehow manage to leapfrog them in
marketing awareness.

So, what's Voom next move?

According to financial news sites, Cablevision's investors are
screaming for the company to shutter Voom as soon as possible. The
satellite TV service is bleeding red ink, causing Cablevision's profits to
suffer. So I predict that Cablevision will close Voom or sell it to
EchoStar in the first six months of 2005 (if not sooner).

EchoStar seems like an ideal candidate to buy Voom. The 27,000
subs wouldn't be very appealing, but Voom's orbital locations would.
EchoStar conceivably could use those slots to expand its HDTV
lineup, thereby staying competitive with DIRECTV when it launches
the four new satellites.

Either way, it's clear that Voom is doomed.

Phillip Swann is President & Publisher of TVPredictions.com. If you
would like to contact Mr. Swann, he can be reached at 703-505-3064
or at Swann@TVPredictions.com. And come back every weekday
for a new prediction for 2005!

Originally posted by abcward
Can one of you who are getting HD boxes, tivo box, and all the channels please break out how you are paying $80-90 per month please? Maybe i'm figuring something wrong via their website.

Because you asked........Here ya go. :p

804-Subscriptions For Receiver:
08/09/04 02/08/05 HD Package HD Package 6 Mo Free 0.00
10/28/04 11/27/04 1 Year Commitment for Additional Receiver 0.00
11/25/04 12/24/04 HBO Monthly 12.00
11/25/04 12/24/04 TOTAL CHOICE PLUS with Locals Monthly 42.99
11/25/04 12/24/04 DIRECTV DVR Monthly 4.99
11/25/04 12/24/04 Network: FOX HD Available w/Local or HD Pkg 0.00
11/29/04 12/28/04 NFL Sunday Ticket 2004 NFL ST04 ER 4Pay 0.00
12/08/04 01/07/05 NHL Center Ice: 2004-05 Renewal Notice: No Payment Due 0.00
593-Subscriptions For Receiver:
11/26/04 Additional Receiver 4.99
593-Subscriptions For Receiver:
11/26/04 Additional Receiver 4.99
806-Subscriptions For Receiver:
11/26/04 Additional Receiver 4.99
836-Subscriptions For Receiver:
11/26/04 Additional Receiver 4.99
864-Subscriptions For Receiver:
11/26/04 Additional Receiver 4.99
882-Subscriptions For Receiver:
11/26/04 Additional Receiver 4.99
1437-Subscriptions For Receiver:
11/26/04 Additional Receiver 4.99
AMOUNT DUE $94.91

Now if you subtract the 12.00 for HBO, which I just cancelled, that gets me
to 82.91.

The problem is, you are looking at the PREMIER package I think...You don't need all those regional sport channels that black out the good games if you didn't pay for that major sports package.

One observation on cable versus satellite pricing. Actually my observation isn't so much related to the "versus" aspect of it, as it does apply in large part to both cable and satellite. And let me acknowledge upfront that this is a personal point of view that won't apply to everyone else's situation.

That said, where I see the least amount of value from subscription television is the movie channels. With the exception of HBO, I don't see any point in paying for these channels, HD or not.

I'm not sure about the cost on cable, but on DirecTV, the first premium movie package is $12 and the second is $11. I can rent three $2.50 new-release, one-day DVDs for that -- and cover one late-return fee. I'm sure that's more movies than I would ever watch from start to finish from one of the second-tier premium movie packages in an average month.

It just seems to me that these packages are a really poor value and that they should be at the very top of the list of burn/slash candidates for anyone looking to reduce a cable or satellite bill.

I do exclude HBO from this criteria, because I really value their original series (Sopranos, Deadwood, Sex in the City, Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Mind of the Married Man, Six Feet Under, Chris Rock specials, etc.). If HBO were nothing but rotating second-run movies, I'd bin it in a heartbeat.

I concede that a similar case could be made for Showtime, but I think the non-movie programming there is a lot tougher sell, but again I recognize that's very much a personal assessment.

Likewise, I was surprised at the VOD fees in the Charter document I mentioned this morning in replying to Jabo the Hut.

I mean, $4.00 for a new release VOD movie? :confused:

OK, I appreciate that you can pause, fast-forward, replay, etc, but are these movies that aren't yet available on DVD? If not, that's a $1.50 per viewing premium over a DVD rental, and that seems to me to be out of kilter. Even if they're movies that aren't out on DVD yet, I'm not sure the premium can really be justified.

Even the library movie VOD charge of $2.99 seems high, especially when these sort of DVDs can be rented for a buck or two for an entire week. Of course the wrinkle here is that some of the stuff on VOD may not be readily available on DVD.

I have to admit that when I first subscribed to satellite I wanted it all, just because it was possible. But I think once the novelty wears off you really have to refocus on where you're getting something unique at a reasonable cost.

Bottom line, I think it's really easy to be seduced by the sizzle factor of some of the movie packages and the surface convenience they offer -- when in fact they they are high-margin add-ons that you probably wouldn't miss all that much over the long haul.

I think that if you're considering a switch from cable to sat, or vice versa, that it's time to think long and hard not just about the amount of the bill, but WHAT you're paying for and WHAT value you're actually getting from the different pieces of it.

wmschultz, I wouldnt need any more sports tiers, but I do have EVERY premium movie channel. That would seriously bump up your pricing.

(but I may be forced that way anyways due to Charter pricing increases that are coming in January - ugh)

Doug, a couple of replies to your post:

- We really enjoy the series that HBO and SHOWTIME offer. These type of shows like Sopranos and The L Word cannot be rented at any blockbuster, at least not first run. Also there are some decent sporting events too like boxing.

I do agree that for movies alone I could honestly live without these channels due to our subscription to Netflix.

- We enjoy VOD strictly for the FREE vod service of each premium movie channel. Meaning that HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, and Starz each have free VOD movies/specials/etc if you subscribe to those channels. That is really useful for childrens movies on demand...again for free. And who can argue about a nice Skin-emax movie at noon??!!


*** But again I repeat - Charter will be raising their rates in January. Honestly that would take away the only advantage that I perceive Charter provides me. With the increase, all services will be the same price. If so, I expect more and will get more via satellite. Honestly I was leaning toward Voom. But with no FSMW and poor outlook, I may not take that risk. I also read that DirecTV is adding more satellites in order to add more hdtv content soon, so if the initial outlay of $$ isnt too terrible, DirecTV may be my new choice in 2005. I would love any input on that decision by anyone here.

abc,

I wasn't aware that the VOD service was free for that part of the VOD content covered by a premium subscription. I agree that is a nice feature and definitely provides something unique from Charter.

As for the Cinewack movies, unless they've gotten significantly bolder since I last saw one, there's better free WWW alternatives -- and you don't have to wait 20 minutes for the payoff!

Doug,

I'm in agreement with you about the premium movie channels. I only keep HBO year around because of their exclusive series and specials. I did get Showtime this summer while they were airing the 2nd season of Dead Like Me so I could see it in HD, but I can't justify keeping Showtime all year, let alone all the other premium channels. I got Cinemax free for three months when I activated my SD Tivo in March and I couldn't find one movie that I wanted to watch all the way through during that entire time. And, I have almost no interest in the out-of-market regional sports networks. Total Choice Premiere just isn't worth the cost for me.

I'm even considering dropping from Total Choice Plus with Locals down to Total Choice with Locals to save a couple bucks. Truth, I'd be even happier if Directv gave us the option of building out own package of about 25 or 30 channels that we could pick from the Total Choice Plus lineup and pay even less (but that will probably never happen).

Being able to timeshift HD and SD, I don't need to channelsurf 200+ channels to find something I want to watch anymore.

abc,

I think DirecTV is the best long-run bet, but there's no guarantee they won't hit speed bumps along the way to their promised 1,500-HD channel bazaar.

Granted, there are some things that I seriously dislike about DirecTV, chief among them is that every time you add a new service or a new receiver they want to tie you up in a new 1-year commitment. That seems not only an excessively punitive way to thank me for spending more money with them, it also betrays a lack of confidence in the product they're providing.

The other big problem I've had with DirecTV is that they tried to charge me for replacement access/security cards when I reinstituted my service 18 months ago after a two-year lapse. My point then (and now) is that security isn't my problem and the fact that DirecTV had already been through three generations of botched security DEFINITELY isn't my problem.

I don't believe their fourth-generation access cards have been hacked after more than a year, but I think it's really just a matter of time and if they ever suggest that I pay for a replacement access card again, I'll probably be looking for another provider.

Doug,

Let me ask you - if I decide to go the DirecTV route, how much initial $$$ would I have to lay out?

I need one regular receiver, one DVR, and one HDTV receiver. [too bad they dont have low price deals for DVR's that record in HD].


Another item ill need help with is the locals in HD OTA. I dread getting that all set up properly. Should I look at a attic antenna? Or something else? Also, are those channels integrated into the channel grid?


Thanks for the help,
Bruce

Crash,

I've heard good things about Dead Like Me, but haven't been curious enough to pop for the addition (partly in fear that DirecTV would break out the extended commitment hammer). I'll be keeping an eye out for it on DVD, though.

I also think that cable and satellite are going to start feeling some pain as a result of DVRs, because they do help to bring home the realization that there's certain stuff that you're paying for that you're not going to watch even when it's falling-down easy to DVR it and watch it later.

The other night I was thinking along the same lines about the networks and their second-tier outlets, such as NBC and Universal HD. I was torn between watching "Las Vegas" and "Two and Half Men" on Monday evening, and in the end I realized that "Las Vegas" will ultimately find its way to Universal HD with a new show repeated 4x a day.

Those second-tier network outlets are sort of like time-lapse DVRs. I'm definitely looking forward to "Monk" in HD when it begins showing on Universal HD next year...

Doug,

If you like offbeat comedy and fantasy shows like Buffy or Angel, you'll probably like Dead Like Me. I've seen every episode. I enjoy it, espcially in HD.

Directv hasn't given me any trouble about adding and deleting Showtime. I do it online without any problem. You can even add and delete it after 24 hours and you're only charged a prorated fee for the 1 day service (less than 40 cents). I think I saw that tip on the tivocommunity forum and I tried it and it works without a problem. I keep an eye on the Showtime schedule to see if there's anything good on, but I haven't found anything I just had to see on Showtime since Dead Like Me finished its season. I guess D* may change its policy if a lot of people take advantage of the system to watch premium channels for a evening or a weekend and then turn them off, but right now you can do it without activation fee or cancellation penalty.

I wasn't that excited about Directv adding Bravo+ HD. Lots of repeats and mostly programs I wasn't interested in. But, now that Bravo+ HD has become Universal HD, things are looking up. They've already had a couple good movies and shows...Karen Sisco and Century City and Law & Order...that I've recorded. And, it looks like a lot more new HD programming is coming to UHD after the first of the year, including the new Battlestar Galactica series in HD and Monk. UHD looks like a keeper to me.

Bruce,

The standard-definition DirecTV receivers are like a commodity. Figure on paying around $50 a piece, though you might end up paying a bit more than that. As a new subscriber to DirecTV you should be able to get free SD receivers and the dish, at least.

On the HD receiver side, I recently saw the new Hughes box at Ultimate Electronics and it was selling for $250. That's still a bit of a bite out of the wallet, but it looks a hell of a lot better than just 2 years ago when these boxes were still mostly selling for $500.

I doubt that you'll find an offer with a free or significantly reduced DVR or HD TiVO, but it's definitely worth investigating.

I have seen certain DirecTV deals where one HD receiver has been included in the new subscriber offer. Your best bet is to call DirecTV and tell them you're thinking of subscribing, what you need and what's the best offer they can provide.

It's also worth checking with area DirecTV resellers, though I personally prefer to do business direct rather than through a third party.

On the antenna, I understand the reluctance. On the one hand, it could be relatively straightforward, and on the other, it could be a never-ending hassle. But I'd at least start with the antenna in the attic and hope for the best.

Also, in all of the latest receivers, the local digital channels are integrated into a single guide.

FWIW, the satellite tuner in my long-serving DTC-100 receiver recently crapped out and I replaced it with a used Hughes E-86 box. Much to my surprise, the newer E-86 is significantly inferior in OTA reception to the first- or second-generation DTC-100. When I first hooked it up, I got zero channels with exactly the same antenna and placement. With some futzing around, I now get all the channels, but with periodic break-ups on most of them. This is still a work in progress, but I'm theorizing that the problem is multipath and the RCA box was just better at dealing with it.

I'm hoping to stagger along with the Hughes box until the HD TiVo or NDS alternative is available at a reasonable cost.

BTW -- the OTA tuner in my DTC-100 still works, so if anyone is looking for a budget OTA HD solution, PM me.

More crass commercialism from yours truly...

Crash,

Excellent tip on the trick for short-term premium packages. I'll definitely look into that the next time there's something interesting on Showtime.

Thanks for sharing that...

Originally posted by cisaak
I have Charter analog service and am planning to purchase an STB with NTSC, ATSC, and QAM tuners. Does anyone know if Charter's HD signals for local stations are included in the analog feed? If yes, are they scrambled or encrypted? I want to hook cable to the box and receive local HD without using an antenna.

I've tried this with a Fusion 3 HDTV card and the only channel I can get off of Charter is the PPV preview channel. All others seem to be encrypted. I'm currently working with someone at Charter to try and get the Local HD channels added to the basic tier (as I believe is required by FCC rules). I'll post a follow up if I hear anything.

My E86 (when I was still using it) was able to pull in all the HD/Digital locals except 47-1 using the common antenna in my condo building here in Maryland Heights. Only an occasional breakup, freeze or pixelation on everything but UPN which was totally unwatchable or completely black. I had similar results with a Zenith Silver Sensor indoor UHF antenna that I use as a backup when there's a problem with the communal antenna.

My HR10-250 has far fewer breakups and pixellation than the E86 did. And, I can even record Enterprise from 47-1 without any problems now.

Doug,

For what it's worth, the first season of Dead Like Me is out on DVD. I caught up in only one month using Netflix for only $20. It's definitely worth watching.

Scott

Just piping in to say that watching Karen Sisco on UHD has been a joy. Hot woman, hot HD picture and sound. That kind of quality reminded me of LOST on 30-1.

I sometimes read other Charter cities threads (what an exciting life I lead...) and Madison's recent thread is interesting, at least for us Charter sufferers.

Looks like a "mr. beetle" is a Charter "insider" there, and he recently says, "for what its worth, 4 new HD channels will be added in Jan".

That was in response to a Charter subscriber complaining about the minimal HD offerings in Madison (their line-up looks just like ours--even no Discovery HD). Also, there is a Sinclair-owned network up there, and Mr. Beetle, not surprisingly, says the chances of adding that channel are remote.

I have D*, and dropped my Starz channels about 2 weeks ago. Since it was my 2nd 'added' package, I saved $11 dollars when I dropped it. Now that I have a FP theater, all movies are DVD... or the occasional OTA HD movie.

I also discontinued my local channels, because I now use an old VHF\UHF antenna that was already on my home. That saved another $3 per month. I get all of the local Digital channels easily. (I live in Maryland Hts on a fairly high elevation and almost all of the towers are within a 25 degree spred of the main antenna direction.) HD OTA broadcasting has me watching network TV again. (Not just the sports stuff).

I am having my roof replaced in the next 2-3 weeks, and while that is going on, I plan on contacting D* to see what kind of deal I can get on a new HD Dish. (Either way, the old one has to come down while the work is being done.)


Just my .02

Best
Dave

Well PBS is gone again. First noticed it on Wednesday. Let's see if the MyHD will start receiving it on Friday again.

Anyone know what's going on?

Walt

I'm in U City and I have PBS coming in right now via OTA... seems to be alive and well.

Originally posted by Dave_STLMO
...

I am having my roof replaced in the next 2-3 weeks, and while that is going on, I plan on contacting D* to see what kind of deal I can get on a new HD Dish. (Either way, the old one has to come down while the work is being done.)


Just my .02

Best
Dave

Keep an eye on your antenna if it is an outdoor also. We had our roof replaced, and when they delivered the shingles, the crane whacked my antenna and bent the pole. They discounted the price to cover the damage, but just be sure to watch them.
Dug

Originally posted by DroptheRemote


The other big problem I've had with DirecTV is that they tried to charge me for replacement access/security cards when I reinstituted my service 18 months ago after a two-year lapse. My point then (and now) is that security isn't my problem and the fact that DirecTV had already been through three generations of botched security DEFINITELY isn't my problem. [/B]

Doug,

I canceled my DirecTV about 19 months ago when I moved to my current house. I went with Charter on the new house just for the convenience since I lived in two houses for a while. I am now thinking about using my old SD Sony receiver again (for the bedroom) and reactivating DirectTV. I will need a HD receiver and a new dish.

Are you saying that DirectTV will charge me extra for a new security card? Did you pay?

I want to thank John Kotches and his wife for opening their home to St. Louis Area HT Get Together. It was a great time and this novice was treated to a lot of useful information. There are some many helpful and friendly people on this forum not only John but also Tom G. and bpape. Each of them went out of their way to help me. So thanks again.

Originally posted by redwine
Doug,

I canceled my DirecTV about 19 months ago when I moved to my current house. I went with Charter on the new house just for the convenience since I lived in two houses for a while. I am now thinking about using my old SD Sony receiver again (for the bedroom) and reactivating DirectTV. I will need a HD receiver and a new dish.

Are you saying that DirectTV will charge me extra for a new security card? Did you pay?

I had cancelled my account in Oct 2003 and re-enabled it in July 2004. During that time we were living with my in-laws while we built our house and my equipment was all transfered to their account. To transfer the equipment, I had to buy new access cards, and was told I'd have to buy new ones again when we transfered them back. I figured I was saving enough money that it wasn't a big deal.

When I called to setup the service again, they said they'd love to have me back, setup the dish install for free, and overnighted 3 new access cards for free. I think you should get the same offer, just tell them you are a previous customer and you want to return. They should *at least* comp you the cards...maybe through in a new receiver (DVR!!).

Craig

redwine,

During the time that I wasn't a DirecTV subscriber, they had begun to replace the previous generation cards. When I returned, they said I needed to pay for the new cards, even though I still had the older cards and I knew the older generation were still being used by some subscribers -- they simply refused to reactivate the older cards.

Because I tend to be persistent, I managed to get four new cards from DirecTV at no charge, versus the $30 (IIRC) they wanted to charge me for each. By working my way up the escalation tree, I found a supervisor who agreed to give me five new cards for no fee, but with the proviso that they would only give me two and then when I activated them they would give me two more, etc.

In the end, they reneged on the last card, which didn't bother me that much, since it was for a marginal television and in retrospect their reversal saved me nearly $100 in monthly fees.

So, whether you get charged for new security cards will probably come down to how current your existing cards are.

Still, I suspect that they may want to impose a new 1-year commitment on you.

Argh!!! I completely forgot about the get-together at John's place! Aggravating, especially since I wasn't doing anything else last night but seeing a flick. Oh well, Blade Trinity was excellent for folks that like vampire movies.

Sorry Doug I forgot to mention you in my previous post of people to thank. You have not only helped me but you have helped about everyone on this board. Thanks for everything.

Hi everyone,

I have a Sony HD-100 HDTV receiver. I live in the Central West End. My current antenna is the Zenith Silver Sensor, which picks up the HDTV versions of Fox, CBS, and NBC just fine. I just can't get ABC very consistently. I have tried the Channel Master 4221 outdoor antenna and the Radio Shack double bowtie UHF antenna, to no avail. I am going to switch to Charter HDTV, so I can get CBS, FOX, NBC in HDTV over the cable connection. Of course, there is no HDTV ABC channel for Charter in St. Louis, so I am stuck trying to pick that channel up with an OTA antenna. I really want to watch the BCS college footballs bowls in HDTV, so please help!!

Thanks.

Muah, maybe a dumb question I'm going to ask you - I'm in U City and I get ABC just fine with a Silver Sensor and a small signal amplifier from Radio Shack. It's a directional antenna, meaning you need to aim it right. Most of the local broadcasts come more or less from the south, but it's a slightly different direction for some of them - when I watch some local stations I have to re-aim the Zeith a bit. I imagine you've tried that already?... If you haven't tried an amp, that also might be something to do. It also pays to experiment with different locations in your room or house. From here with a Silver Sensor in my family room (on the top shelf of a bookcase), I get digital channels 2, 4, 5, 9 (x3), 11, 30 and 46, most of the time (depends a bit on weather and whatever else is going on in the universe). From a stand next to the TV and no amp I got about half of those. From the bookcase without the amp I got everything except 46 and the 9's.

I'm sure the experts here will have some more thoughts, too.

I just wanted to echo StLouG's thanks to John Kotches for hosting the local Video and Audio Addict Society meeting last night. I learned quite a bit about how to evaluate speaker placement and room acoustics, and the room correction demonstration was really impressive.

It was really great to be able to meet everyone and I hope that we'll be able to have a follow-up somewhere during the new year.

John, if you can drop a note here with the eMail addresses of the DTS and DVD-Audio contacts, I'll be sure to send a note to thank them for their contribution to your "goodie bags." Also, be sure to tell Amy that I wanted to thank her for the great hospitality.

StLouG --

No problem on the oversight...this time.

But if you ever win a Nobel or something similar, I better figure prominently in your acceptance speech... ;)

muah,

I think Sue's suggestion to try different antenna locations (as well as positionings) is a good idea. Considering your location, I wouldn't think that an amp would be needed, but if all else fails it's definitely worth a try.

Also, if you have a friend with a different OTA-capable receiver, see if you could borrow his tuner for an afternoon so that you can see if it might be a limitation of your current Sony box. I've seen anecdotal and personal evidence that some boxes are better than others in terms of receiving difficult signals.

In view of the fact that you're getting everything but ABC I suspect that the problem could be serious multipath issues and these can be difficult to isolate and eliminate. The other thing to consider is that you might be getting too much signal and that a RF attenuator might be worth investigation.

Buy the attenuator or pre-amp/amp at Radio Shack, keep your receipts and return them within 30 days if they don't give you the desired result.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

Doug and Tony,

Thanks. It's a serious pleasure for me to host, as I enjoy just talking about the hobby with fellow enthusiasts. It's a lot more fun face to face :)

The e-mail addresses are in the area HT meets section by the way. I'm going to remove them Tuesday.

Cheers,

After months of strong signal strength, over the past week I've been experiencing momentary signal drop outs on Fox digital OTA. My RCA DTC-210 shows 90% sig strength most of the time, but every 5 minutes or so it drops to 0% and I lose the picture for a couple seconds. I haven't touched the antennae in my attic, nor the coax connection. There have been no tall structures added in my signal path either. And all other digital channels remain locked in just fine.

Is there a problem with the Fox digital station, or have they moved to a different location?

Has anyone else experienced similar issues lately?

Originally posted by P8nter
Anyone able to get the digital Ubn 46-1 station, I get a good signal on the regular ota.

Yes, I get ocaisionally it with a USDTV reciever and an Antennas Direct V15. I am planning on adding another UHF antenna to help this station & channel 9. They are almost 90 degrees from all the other stations from me. My analog TV gets 46 all the time. I have been told that the DTV signal (47) is relayed from South City and the analog (46) comes direct from the station's East STL location. This makes sense with the EAST pointing direction of my ANT and the SE direction of 47 on the antennaweb.org map from my house.
Anyone out there able to verify this?

Originally posted by StLouisRod
Is there a problem with the Fox digital station, or have they moved to a different location?

Has anyone else experienced similar issues lately? Yes, I'm having lost of problems today with signal strength on Fox (well, it could be the broadcast). The Rams game is unwatchable.

How weird because for once the Rams game looked good for me. Probably a total of 5 dropouts the entire game.

For those who don't remember I have had weeks of dropouts on many of my HD channels via Charter.

I didn't have dropouts, but I did have a lot of pixelization. So much, that I couldn't stand to watch the game....well, that wasn't the only reason I couldn't stand to watch the game.

I didn't get any dropouts or pixellating. Game sucked anyway, though.

Abcward and Kurt,

Are you receiving Fox over the air? If not, then it's not a good comparison.

I could watch my signal strength lock at 90% for a few minutes, then suddenly dip to 80%, then 70%, then 0%. It would then come back to 90% for a while before repeating.

So I dug up my old Terk wraparound antenna and split my antenna feed (from my large one in the attic) to add the Terk. Then I set the Terk behind my AV rack... My signal on Fox then jumped to 100%... sometimes dipping to 90%. I had no dropouts for the next 30 minutes, and then BAM! They started again!!! ARGHHH!!!!! This has to be a problem with the station.

Heck, PBS is my weakest station (hovers at 70%), but I didn't experience a dropout on it all day! (switched over to it during commercials or after turn-overs in the Rams game). So I got to see a lot of channel 9 :rolleyes: .

I have been getting dropouts on FOX for the last few days. I don't know exactly when they started, but the station is unwatchable now.

I am/was watching FOX via OTA w/ my Sony HD-200 DirecTV receiver and an outdoor Radio Shack antenna that's in my attic. The Sony receiver doesn't have a percentage scale, it just has a scale that ranges from Bad-Normal-Good. In estimated percentage of strength, my signal was just (11:30pm) bouncing around from about 90% to as low as 30%. And it never really stayed at any one position for very long.

Keep an eye on your antenna if it is an outdoor also. We had our roof replaced, and when they delivered the shingles, the crane whacked my antenna and bent the pole.


Thanks Dug...

Best
Dave

I had no dropouts or pixilization at all on my Dish DVR921. With the new local program guide info and latest fixes I am really starting to love this 921. Being able to pause live HD and then rewind some of those Chandler picks... Oh well, at least my Fantasy Football Team won!!

I watched football from 12-7 and had no poblems on Fox. All the HD they provide is incredible. I can't believe that 1 year ago they were the laughingstock of the HD community and now they are the premier HD content provider for sports. When CBS adds a couple more trucks then it may be a contest (I'm a little more partial toward the picture at 1080i than 720p)

Dave

Originally posted by duihlein
I had no dropouts or pixilization at all on my Dish DVR921. With the new local program guide info and latest fixes I am really starting to love this 921. Being able to pause live HD and then rewind some of those Chandler picks... Oh well, at least my Fantasy Football Team won!!

I watched football from 12-7 and had no poblems on Fox. All the HD they provide is incredible. I can't believe that 1 year ago they were the laughingstock of the HD community and now they are the premier HD content provider for sports. When CBS adds a couple more trucks then it may be a contest (I'm a little more partial toward the picture at 1080i than 720p)

Dave So, is your FOX HD via Dish or OTA? I'm not familiar with Dish hardware.

Fox HD is strictly OTA. Neither DirecTV nor Dish offers Fox HD through the dish yet.

Sorry for not stating this before.
Dish HD equipment has a built in ATSC tuner. The OTA HD channels are integrated into the program guide. With new software updates the Program Guide for local digitals is also included. With the 811 it's just an OTA receiver with component/dvi ((Dish will lease this unit for 5$ /mo when you subscribe to Dish HD)

The 921 is an HD DVR with 2 SAT & 1 OTA HD tuners. You can record 2 streams while playing back another or record 1 and pause live TV.

I have found the 921 OTA tuner to be better (read more sensative) than both the 811 and my HiPix.

Dave

Originally posted by Robert Simandl
Fox HD is strictly OTA. Neither DirecTV nor Dish offers Fox HD through the dish yet.

I'm pretty sure i get Fox HD on DTV with Sunday Ticket.

Scott

That's just the NFL HD games on Fox that are in the NFL ST package. Directv also carried the MLB playoffs from Fox HD, but Directv has not as yet started carrying the East and West Coast HD feeds of Fox's regular programming. Since Channel 2 is O&O we should be able to get FOX HD on Directv here in the St. Louis area once D* starts carrying it. KTVI 2-1 comes ine fine via OTA for me, so it's not a big deal but others with reception problems may feel otherwise.

Originally posted by duihlein
Sorry for not stating this before.
Dish HD equipment has a built in ATSC tuner. The OTA HD channels are integrated into the program guide. With new software updates the Program Guide for local digitals is also included. With the 811 it's just an OTA receiver with component/dvi ((Dish will lease this unit for 5$ /mo when you subscribe to Dish HD)

The 921 is an HD DVR with 2 SAT & 1 OTA HD tuners. You can record 2 streams while playing back another or record 1 and pause live TV.

I have found the 921 OTA tuner to be better (read more sensative) than both the 811 and my HiPix.

Dave

Dave, it sounds like you're pretty happy with the 921. Is that so? I have the 811 and I hate it. It has OTA reception issues and locks up often while channel surfing. Many others experience these issues with "fixes" forever pending. A lock up leaves you in the dark for a few minutes while it restarts & downloads new guide data (which apparently always gets lost when it restarts).

Are you guys getting Monday Night Football okay? I got 0% signal 30.1 tonight. :(

Originally posted by fireshoes
Are you guys getting Monday Night Football okay? I got 0% signal 30.1 tonight. :(

30.1 (ABC) is at 100% with no drop outs in Des Peres with antenna. Fox is @ 90% with about 25% drop outs.

Originally posted by moman19
Dave, it sounds like you're pretty happy with the 921. Is that so? I have the 811 and I hate it. It has OTA reception issues and locks up often while channel surfing. Many others experience these issues with "fixes" forever pending. A lock up leaves you in the dark for a few minutes while it restarts & downloads new guide data (which apparently always gets lost when it restarts).


moman19,
Yes, with the latest update I am now very happy with my 921. Keep in mind I have a 721 that we use most often because I have been wary of relying on the 921. (God help me if it has an issue and I miss a West Wing)

For the most part I have been using it to time-shift HD and while watching NFL. The guide issues that plaged the 811 are not there with the 921. With the internal hard drive it keeps the program guide cached (I had the same issues with the 811 and it drove me nuts) If you have ever used a 721 or a Dishplayer you will find them very similar.

I'm not going to say the 921 is perfect (you need to subscribe to locals to get guide info for now, this may change when PSIP is more prevalent, but since I have the 721 I get the locals package anyway) and I cannot say how it would work as a primary receiver, but for $550 I think it's a great bargain.

Dave

Santa, please bring KDNL-DT a DD5.1 encoder for Christmas . . .

Originally posted by turls
Santa, please bring KDNL-DT a DD5.1 encoder for Christmas . . .

LOL! That is pretty big wish considering Grinch is reportedly the CEO of Sinclair. :D

Our only hope is the clever and resourceful elf-in-charge here.

Mike

Originally posted by MSloss
LOL! That is pretty big wish considering Grinch is reportedly the CEO of Sinclair. :D

Our only hope is the clever and resourceful elf-in-charge here.

Mike

Grinch? No, i heard the CEO of Sinclair is Satan...

I posted here previously concerning antenna reception in my new home in Dardenne Prairie. Thanks to all who posted and welcomed me. Reception is easier here with just rabbit ears than it ever was in Chicago at an equal distance from the towers!! Over the past week plus, I have tried to get D* to install my receivers where the prior owner had E* and to effect connection of the existing rooftop antenna to a couple of the spots with little or no success for a variety of reasons. I could really use the service of a skilled antenna installer to get my house wired. Any recommendations? PM me, post here whatever works best. Thanks!

Originally posted by hdspartan
I posted here previously concerning antenna reception in my new home in Dardenne Prairie. Thanks to all who posted and welcomed me. Reception is easier here with just rabbit ears than it ever was in Chicago at an equal distance from the towers!! Over the past week plus, I have tried to get D* to install my receivers where the prior owner had E* and to effect connection of the existing rooftop antenna to a couple of the spots with little or no success for a variety of reasons. I could really use the service of a skilled antenna installer to get my house wired. Any recommendations? PM me, post here whatever works best. Thanks!

Welcome to Dardenne Prairie! You might try Sparks Communication. They did the structured wiring in my new home earlier this year as a sub for the builder. Call Rob at 314-393-3358 and tell him I sent you.

Mike Sloss

I got MNF on 30-1 pretty well out here next to the airport, minus the ocassional signal loss when a plane flew overhead. But, I'll have to live with this as long as I stay out here. I'm just pissed that 46-1 teased me with a couple of weeks of good reception for the first time ever, then snatched it back. Argh!!!

I'm loving the new UHD channel. The picture is great, agree?

While we're wishing for KDNL to get a 5.1 encoder, let's wish for WRBU (channel 46) to get some 1080i pass-through equipment as well as a stronger signal.

Not many things annoy me more than seeing that "simulcast in HD" blurb while watching Enterprise in 4x3 480i!

I can stare at Karen Sisco, um, I mean, I can watch UHD all day long! Can't wait for them to show the new Battlestar Galactica.

Doug "DroptheRemote" dropped in at work today... had a fun chat in between my running around like a chicken with my head cut off... gotta love the Christmas season when you're working retail. Thanks Doug, enjoyed it!

Oh, let me drop a shameless plug... any original Star Trek fans here? Costco has the complete set of all three seasons of the original Star Trek on DVD, on sale (with coupon available at the door) for $189.99 through Sunday the 19th. Suggested retail on this set is $379.99. Jump on it now, it's a "while supplies last" kind of thing.

Who besides me is really looking forward to January when Alias and 24 both have two-hour season premieres?

Originally posted by Robert Simandl
Who besides me is really looking forward to January when Alias and 24 both have two-hour season premieres?

I never really made time to enjoy the sites of Alias, but I've never missed an episode of 24. I'm definitely looking forward to the season premier.

Bob, PM sent!!

anyone know whats going on with channel 9 this week?

Bob,

I can't wait for Alias. It has to be our favorite show, and I'm happy to know that they will be running a full season, even though it's starting in January (at least, that's what I've heard--22 episodes or something).

I was catching up over at the HDTV Programming board and noticed there was a thread about CSI:Miami being in Dolby Digital 5.1 on Monday night.

I didn't catch CSI on Monday night, but wonder if anyone here caught the show and whether they noticed the difference (or whether KMOV passed the 5.1 soundtrack).

Bob Ross of CBS network indicated that 5.1 will be limited to CSI:Miami in the near term, but that this will be extended to other HD shows over time.

Any 5.1 feedback here?

Doug,

I didn't watch, so I can't comment.

Cheers,

Originally posted by duihlein
moman19,
Yes, with the latest update I am now very happy with my 921. Keep in mind I have a 721 that we use most often because I have been wary of relying on the 921. (God help me if it has an issue and I miss a West Wing)

For the most part I have been using it to time-shift HD and while watching NFL. The guide issues that plaged the 811 are not there with the 921. With the internal hard drive it keeps the program guide cached (I had the same issues with the 811 and it drove me nuts) If you have ever used a 721 or a Dishplayer you will find them very similar.

I'm not going to say the 921 is perfect (you need to subscribe to locals to get guide info for now, this may change when PSIP is more prevalent, but since I have the 721 I get the locals package anyway) and I cannot say how it would work as a primary receiver, but for $550 I think it's a great bargain.

Dave

One must subscribe to locals in order to get guide data? That's crazy. Why would I spend the money to receive Dish's over-compressed, highly pixeled SD locals when the OTA antenna pulls in flawwless HD for free?

Must you subscribe to locals to get ANY guide info or is subscribing required merely to receive the local OTA guide data? Either way, this is not an issue with the 811 becasue I do get guide data without subscribing to the locals. Of course, this is not perfect as Channel 2's PSIP is broke and Channel nine has no guide data other than SD 9-0 schedules showing up on DT 9-2

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
I was catching up over at the HDTV Programming board and noticed there was a thread about CSI:Miami being in Dolby Digital 5.1 on Monday night.

I didn't catch CSI on Monday night, but wonder if anyone here caught the show and whether they noticed the difference (or whether KMOV passed the 5.1 soundtrack).

Bob Ross of CBS network indicated that 5.1 will be limited to CSI:Miami in the near term, but that this will be extended to other HD shows over time.

Any 5.1 feedback here?

I watched it last night, and was also working at the same time, but I'm pretty sure my AV receiver displayed Dolby Digital (if it isn't 5.1, it defaults to DPLII Music). I never realized it wasn't 5.1 before.

Craig

Originally posted by moman19
One must subscribe to locals in order to get guide data? That's crazy. Why would I spend the money to receive Dish's over-compressed, highly pixeled SD locals when the OTA antenna pulls in flawwless HD for free?

Must you subscribe to locals to get ANY guide info or is subscribing required merely to receive the local OTA guide data? Either way, this is not an issue with the 811 becasue I do get guide data without subscribing to the locals. Of course, this is not perfect as Channel 2's PSIP is broke and Channel nine has no guide data other than SD 9-0 schedules showing up on DT 9-2

The requirement is just for local OTA guide data. The 811 software is designed to use PSIP. With the 921 they decided to use their guide data to provide more consistant data. Perhaps it was an oversight in the software development, but for now the offical line is you must subscribe to locals. I have heard of people who have gone up the chain and gotten them for free, but I need the locals for my 721 so it is a non issue. When more stations have PSIP info it is believed they will change the software. It is unclear how they will proceed in the mean time. There are definately many angry people out there.

What is an issue for me is the fact that Charlie has stated no more HD till MPEG4, and the 921 will not do MPEG4. MPEG4 is still a year or two away, so I may move to D* if they start to offer significantly more HD. I have to believe DISH has something in the works to provide more HD content before 2006.

However until the day comes that D* announces numerous new channels including most all currently available and those not yet available (I really want FOX MW HD) or VOOM offers a DVR I'll be content with my current setup.

Dave

Hey Doug,

Yeah, CSI Miami was indeed 5.1 Monday night! I actually heard it *before* I saw the indicator on my receiver (not surprising since the Pro Logic and 5.1 indicators on the front of my receiver are reeeeeeeally small). But the 5.1 sound made a BIG difference!

Kudos to CBS and KMOV for this very nice Christmas surprise.

Robert,

Thanks for the feedback on CSI:Miami. I'll definitely try to check it out next week.

Also, just wanted to say again that it was nice to be able meet you on Tuesday. Hope you somehow manage to survive the Christmas shopping madness...

Dave,

I hadn't heard about Ergen saying that DISH wouldn't add any more HD until they're MPEG-4 capable. Do you have a link or source where I can read that in more detail?

We talked briefly about MPEG-4 at John Kotches' house the other night and John made a good point about this that I hadn't thought of previously (but probably should have) -- that is, what's the net effect of taking a programming feed that has been compressed using MPEG-2 and converting/recompressing that feed for MPEG-4?

Presumably many of the non-broadcast feeds are distributed in MPEG-2 format to cable and/or satellite operators by the originators, and of course, any HD OTA feed would be in MPEG-2 format. At some point the upstream format would probably migrate to MPEG-4, but until then there does seem to be potential downside in having feeds subjected to multiple codec processes.

Also, I wonder if the 921 (and other STBs) could receive MPEG-4 firmware downloads. I suspect that receiving the download is doable but that the limitation might arise from not having enough memory to store and load the more advanced codec.

Well its Dec. 16th and VOD is not on the MOXI box, anyone out their have any info of when it will be offered. I really enjoyed that feature and used it quite a bit. It was working on my Moxi for about a week or two then just went away after an overnite update. I will say with the old box I got frequent server error messages, by frequent I mean daily. With the Moxi maybe twice and it always worked on the second try.

A few weeks ago I talked with a CSR at Charter about VOD on the Moxi box. I was taking the approach that there should be a price break for the Moxi box owners since we can not get that portion of the service which we are paying for. Can you guess what the result of that conversation was??? Anyway, I was told that some time in February they will be getting VOD up and running for the Moxi box. I did have another CSR say that since the Moxi box can record anything I want, it is just like VOD if I just program the box to record the show earlier in the week. How's that for logic.

Scott

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
Dave,

I hadn't heard about Ergen saying that DISH wouldn't add any more HD until they're MPEG-4 capable. Do you have a link or source where I can read that in more detail?

We talked briefly about MPEG-4 at John Kotches' house the other night and John made a good point about this that I hadn't thought of previously (but probably should have) -- that is, what's the net effect of taking a programming feed that has been compressed using MPEG-2 and converting/recompressing that feed for MPEG-4?

Presumably many of the non-broadcast feeds are distributed in MPEG-2 format to cable and/or satellite operators by the originators, and of course, any HD OTA feed would be in MPEG-2 format. At some point the upstream format would probably migrate to MPEG-4, but until then there does seem to be potential downside in having feeds subjected to multiple codec processes.

Also, I wonder if the 921 (and other STBs) could receive MPEG-4 firmware downloads. I suspect that receiving the download is doable but that the limitation might arise from not having enough memory to store and load the more advanced codec.

Doug,
This info came from the last Charlie Chat. I read about it on dbstalk.com and www.satelliteguys.us. Unfortuantely I cannot find the exact text where they stated no new HD until MPEG4. But as someone else pointed out, Charlie said no TNT-HD for 6 months then it went live the next week. At this point I don't think Charlie knows whats going on. Hopefully they will add more HD before 2006 and they will offer ugrade paths for the current HD receivers.


Dave

My folks just got a MOXI box for the HDTV I just sold them. The tech connected it using their SVID cables. Should they have provided Component Video Cables? Also, they do not subscribe to the HD pack. Should they get local digitals (CBS/NBC/FOX)?

Dave

duihlein,

Component would be a much better option.

Also, without the HD pack, the only locals your parents will get will be analog (2, 4, 5, etc). Channels 2-99 are analog on Charter.

hmmmmm....I thought the Charter Hd Pack only included hd net, hd movies, and espn hd, and the HD locals were not part of that, and free.

I could be totally wrong.

Originally posted by Scroft391
A few weeks ago I talked with a CSR at Charter about VOD on the Moxi box. I was taking the approach that there should be a price break for the Moxi box owners since we can not get that portion of the service which we are paying for. Can you guess what the result of that conversation was??? Anyway, I was told that some time in February they will be getting VOD up and running for the Moxi box. I did have another CSR say that since the Moxi box can record anything I want, it is just like VOD if I just program the box to record the show earlier in the week. How's that for logic.

Scott

I'M SPEECHLESS

Originally posted by oby
hmmmmm....I thought the Charter Hd Pack only included hd net, hd movies, and espn hd, and the HD locals were not part of that, and free.

I could be totally wrong.

The HD locals are not part of the HD pack and they are free as are HBO/SHO if you have them already.

Originally posted by tcfila
The HD locals are not part of the HD pack and they are free as are HBO/SHO if you have them already.

Not sure that's totally accurate based on how Charter is billing. On my bill, I have a $3 charge for "HD Interactive Service". This is in addition to the $3.99 for HD Pack and $9.99 for the Moxi.

It's kind of confusing, because I think before the Moxi the sales pitch was "HD locals are free, but you have to pay $3 for the box rental" - the so called HD Interactive Service. Since Charter is selling the Moxi as a PVR for SD customers in addition to HD customers, you may have to just tell them you want the HD service also to get the locals.

Originally posted by abcward
duihlein,

Component would be a much better option.

Also, without the HD pack, the only locals your parents will get will be analog (2, 4, 5, etc). Channels 2-99 are analog on Charter.

Yes, I have a set I am bringing over when I get a chance, I was hoping Charter would provide them. It was a typical Charter install. They come out to hook up a new device, PIP stops working, other video sources stop working, then I have to redo all the connections and get their TV working like they are used to.


I guess I'll find out about the HD when I get there...

Dave

Originally posted by duihlein
Doug,
This info came from the last Charlie Chat. I read about it on dbstalk.com and www.satelliteguys.us. Unfortuantely I cannot find the exact text where they stated no new HD until MPEG4. But as someone else pointed out, Charlie said no TNT-HD for 6 months then it went live the next week. At this point I don't think Charlie knows whats going on. Hopefully they will add more HD before 2004 and they will offer ugrade paths for the current HD receivers.


Dave

Amen brother! Did you mean before the END of 2004? $10 per month plus $5/month for the box is rather steep for 6 HD channels. The new Bravo+ / Universal channel would be a nice Xmas present.

From today's Evening Bridge (formerly MarketClose) from mediabiz.com:

_________________________________

TOP STORY: Sources stated a former chief operating officer of Charter Communications pleaded guilty to a federal charge that he conspired to defraud investors by inflating subscriber numbers.

Wire reports said David Barford faces sentencing March 11 for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He could face up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, but has agreed to testify in the trial of two other former executives.
_________________________________

I watched MNF this week via my Voom receiver's OTA tuner, and noticed a very bad audio sync problem. Did anyone else get this as well? Very distracting. Great game, however.

Originally posted by jedi35
I watched MNF this week via my Voom receiver's OTA tuner, and noticed a very bad audio sync problem. Did anyone else get this as well? Very distracting. Great game, however.

I use a USDTV box and have always seen audio sync problems on ABC, not just MNF

Originally posted by moman19
Amen brother! Did you mean before the END of 2004? $10 per month plus $5/month for the box is rather steep for 6 HD channels. The new Bravo+ / Universal channel would be a nice Xmas present.

Actually I meant to type 2006 (I've edited it now) I may cancel the HD Pack if they don't add more when the NFL season ends. If they could add Universal HD, USA HD and FOX Sports MW HD(when available) I would probably be content for another 12 months. ESPN2 would be good too.

Dave

Has anyone heard any rumors on when FSMW is going to HD? And does that mean Cardinals/Blues games in HD???

Originally posted by abcward
Has anyone heard any rumors on when FSMW is going to HD? And does that mean Cardinals/Blues games in HD???

No. But I doubt they would wire up the current Busch Stadium for HD when it will be torn down in less than a year.

I read an article in the Post-Dispatch (I think that's where it was) where the guy in charge of technology for Busch III talked about stuff for the new place. I seem to remember they would be pre-wired for HD, so that will help move FSMW in their transition.

He also said they would wait as long as possible to make decisions about exactly what to purchase and instal in Busch III since technology moves so fast and prices drop. Hopefully this means we'll see HDTVs in luxury boxes, councourses and concession stands of the new Busch Stadium.

But there's also the issue of carriers (Charter, D*, E*, Voom) being wanting/willing/able to carry FSMW in HD.

(In the same article they talked about WiFi-ing Busch III. They're not going to do the whole stadium: press and luxury box areas only.)

As you all probably already know espn2hd will launch on january6 but what i want to know is who will carry it? charter?directv?dish?voom?othercableco? anyone know?

That is the million dollar question, I believe as it stands now, no one will be carrying the station on Jan 6th, I feel very comfortable saying that Charter definitely won't have it, at least not here in St.Louis.

"If a HD channel goes live and no one can receive it, does it exist?"

someone has to have it somewhere or they wouldnt launch it what would be the point?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=475937&highlight=espn2h
found a thread on it

Don't know what's going on right now, but KDNL-DT has no audio. I'm currently watching Channel 30, rather than 31. Anybody else having trouble with the ABC Digital feed?

7.25pm; Friday 12/17/2004

Cross your fingers. Maybe it will come back with DD 5.1

If no one picks up ESPN2 HD by launch date, it wouldn't be the first time that an HD channel debuted without viewers.

IIRC, ESPNHD was on the air for a few months before anyone signed on, and even then the first in line were small, regional cable companies. It took DirecTV more than 6 months before it started carrying ESPN HD, and the same was true for DISH.

I expect the uptake for ESPN2 HD to be a lot quicker, but I'm not holding my breath in anticipation of a first-day debut on Charter, DISH or DirecTV. But I think it gets added a lot sooner on the satellite side than ESPN the first time around.

is it just me or is this thread drying up a little bit (just thinking out loud)

I don't think its drying up, except it almost the holidays and people are doing their reason for the season thing. Religious, shopping, watching HD, football, egg-nog, actually spending quality time with their families (wow what a concept).

I was wondering how this thread got so long? Wasn't there a new St Louis thread each month?

At the request of the AVS moderator, we are now doing a single, ongoing discussion thread for St. Louis. As part of that process, AVS consolidated our monthly threads going back approximately 12 months into the thread you're now reading.

The main benefit of consolidation is that the St. Louis discussion is now "searchable" by using the "Search This Thread" dialog strip that appears at the top and bottom of each page of the thread.

Another benefit, which Toeside improved further, is that the base URL for the thread is fixed, meaning that it's a little bit easier to direct newcomers to. Toeside actually arranged a "redirect" URL, so instead of having to remember and type in the fairly lengthy AVS URL for this thread, anyone can jump immediately to the last message of the St. Louis discussion by entering www.stlhdtv.com into their web browser (note this is "cookies-dependent.")

The first page of this thread continues to include a number of resources for HDTV and home theater newcomers. There's a couple of downloadable maps showing the location of St. Louis station transmission towers as well as information about the FCC ruling on mounting of antennae and satellite dishes on owned and rented property, there's some basic information about how to receive St. Louis OTA digital stations, and there's also an initial stab at a FAQ that addresses the issues that crop up here on a regular basis.

I'd encourage you to make your friends and colleagues who have an interest in home theater aware of the discussions that take place here and to pass along to them the www.stlhdtv.com URL to help them find their way here.

We are thinking about moving to different house. The 57 inch wide screen TV will go to the basement. However the stairs leading to the basement has a sharp and narrow turn. Does anyone know any people who specialize in moving HD wide screen TV's?

StLouG,

Give me the model number and I can check the service manual to see if your TV comes apart. Some of these RPTVs come apart in two pieces, which can make relocation less difficult (though by no means easy).

In any event, you need to make measurements for the narrowest point on your new stairs (height, length and width) and see how that compares with your TV's normal dimensions.

As far as specialist movers, I would check the Yellow Pages for piano movers, who ought to have the sort of experience that would help here. But be prepared, I don't think this will be cheap, but haven't actually priced that sort of service.

or you could sell it and get a DLP/Plasma

:)

Originally posted by abcward
or you could sell it and get a DLP/Plasma

:)

Speaking of Plasma...when are the prices coming down dramatically. I have heard for about a year that the prices are on the way down because of all the investments in manufacturing plants. I have only seen prices fall a couple of hundred dollars on HD plasma and LCD sets in the last year. The ED plasma sets don't count and I feel sorry for anyone who bought one.

Well, looks like the Rams are on their way to losing to the dreaded Arizona Cardinals and securing a 6-10 season (no way in H*ll they're going to beat Philadelphia and the Jets).

Is it my imagination, or is Fox's HD PQ not up to CBS or ABC when it comes to football?

Thats odd. it seems to me be the complete opposite. FOX HD has good color, crisp images and CBS HD is a little weak in the color. Is it the cameras? Receiver? I've got a SIR-T151. Maybe my reciever interprets it differently?

I'm not the only one that thinks Fox is lacking a bit in HD football PQ:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=481590

Actually my problem with Fox HD football is the color is a bit too STRONG, overshadowing some of the detail. The color on 4-1 and 30-1 is a bit more subdued, and I think that's a good thing because it lets more detail through and seems more natural. 2-1 football seems a bit cartoonish by comparison.

I recalibrated with the Video Essentials recently so I know the color on my TV is set right. I think the problem is on Fox's end.

Opinions?

Robert,

Did you tell me that you have a direct-view Sony? If so, does it accept 720p from your set-top box and convert it to 1080i? This feature allows you to set your set-top box to native output, with the TV handling any needed conversions. The latest Sony direct-views do that, but I'm not sure how recent that feature is.

If this is the case, you could be seeing differences between an incoming 720p and 1080i signal, as the color decoding and processing would be done separately for each.

There's also a couple of things to be aware of when you use Video Essentials for setting up your TV:

First, unless you are running it through an "upconverting" DVD player, the settings you're changing won't be applied properly to a 1080i (or 720p) signal.

Second, the filters included with VE (and DVE, AVIA and others) are unreliable, because they assume that the phosphors in your television match the SMPTE "C" standard, even though that's rarely the case. The filters in DVE were selected to be more general but they are still not accurate and can lead to funky results.

Hi Doug,

Nope, my 36XBR400 doesn't accept 720p at all. I have the HD Tivo output all HD as 1080i. The HD Tivo unfortunately doesn't have a native output setting. That might explain why 4-1 (1080i) looks better to me than 2-1 (720p). But 30-1 also broadcasts 720p, and it also looks better than 2-1.

Now admittedly, the 9 windows and 2 skylights in my family room require me to use the "vivid" video preset mode during the early afternoon, or else the ambient light in the room completely washes out the picture. And EVERYTHING looks cartoonish in this mode.

But by 4PM, it's dark enough that I can switch back to "pro" mode (the mode I used the VE disc to set) and that's when I can see a real difference. 2-1's football coverage has more color and less detail than either 4-1 or 30-1.

Don't get me wrong here. 2-1's PQ is fabulous. But 4-1 and 30-1 are just MORE fabulous, at least when it comes to football coverage.

I've finally made the purchase and I took delivery on a Sony 60XS955 today. Using a Terk antenna, we got it set up just in time for the 2nd half of the Rams tragedy against the Cardinals.

My first (and current) impression is WOW. Right out of the box we tuned to fox and the football game looked great. About 2 hours after the game we watched Desparate Housewives on ABC and the picture was stunning.

Since I've started my research into HD a couple months ago, I've been hearing about the newer "upconverting" DVD players. Now I'm using a 3 year old Toshiba and the picture actually looks very good on the new TV. It would be interesting to see how one of the upconverting DVD players compare.

Anyway, I guess the point of this message wasn't to stimulate any particular opinions... more so just to report in on my positive experience to other newbies who are considering the jump to HD. Also to thank some of the regulars to this forum who answered a few of my questions a couple of weeks back.

While the article is from the Columbus market and concerns TimeWarner Cable; here is a good article about Sinclair not allowing HDTV over cable for their stations:

Business Journal Article concerning Sinclair (http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2004/12/20/tidbits1.html?page=1)

Here is some interesting articles about Charter.

http://www.cableworld.com/cgi/cw/show_mag.cgi?pub=cw&mon=current

enjoy

Mark

From today's Evening Bridge (formerly mediabiz.com's MarketClose):
_______________________________________

TOP STORY: Cablevision Systems said it's suspending a spinoff of Rainbow Media Enterprises and would pursue alternatives for its VOOM satellite TV service.

Many speculate that EchoStar Communications would be the likely suitor for VOOM. According to sources, Cablevision's satellite HDTV service is valued at an estimated $250 million
_______________________________________

Reported in today HDTV Magazine News:

____________________________

Showtime cuts deal for "Barbershop," kills "Dead Like Me"

Showtime has ordered 10 episodes of a series version of the studio hit "Barbershop." At the same time, the pay cabler has killed the struggling drama "Dead Like Me."

The moves are further indication that Entertainment President Robert Greenblatt is putting his personal stamp on Showtime's programming slate. Variety (subscription required).

____________________________

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
From today's Evening Bridge (formerly mediabiz.com's MarketClose):
_______________________________________

TOP STORY: Cablevision Systems said it's suspending a spinoff of Rainbow Media Enterprises and would pursue alternatives for its VOOM satellite TV service.

Many speculate that EchoStar Communications would be the likely suitor for VOOM. According to sources, Cablevision's satellite HDTV service is valued at an estimated $250 million
_______________________________________

If/when Dishnet obtains Voom, do you think they almost instantly expand their HD channel list to something similar to Voom's current channels?

I'm not too happy about this. There are about 4 or 5 series I keep shotime around for, and that is one of them. They already killed of 2 others I enjoyed. Sooner or later, I may have to drop them.
There is speculation that DLM may end up on SciFi, which could then end up on Universal HD(don't know about the MGM/Time Warner issue though)
Dug

Originally posted by Robert Simandl
Well, looks like the Rams are on their way to losing to the dreaded Arizona Cardinals and securing a 6-10 season (no way in H*ll they're going to beat Philadelphia and the Jets).

Is it my imagination, or is Fox's HD PQ not up to CBS or ABC when it comes to football?

I have noticed variations in PQ with all three. I think overall MNF looks best, I think it has to do more with outdoor/day games vs. indoor/night. Rams games at home always look good to me.

Dug, sorry about "Dead Like Me." I've been hoping to see the DVDs, but my local rental shop doesn't stock them. I may have to break down and visit Blockbuster over the holiday.

Bruce, I think if DISH buys VOOM there would probably be some sort of commitment for DISH to continue to carry the HD channels that Cablevision has started, assuming, that is, Cablevision moves forward with some or all of those VOOM channels.

Part of Cablevision's planned Rainbow spin-off "featured" the HD programming assets -- Cablevision had been talking up the long-term value of these channels and reminding analysts that they (the Dolans, who are the principles by Cablevision) were the originators of HBO.

FWIW, the analysts haven't shown much enthusiasm for the HD programming assets, but that may have been due to the fact that whole enterprise has been such a hopeless-looking cash sinkhole.

Big news for DirecTV subscribers here in St. Lou.....

FOX HD IS UP ON CHANNEL 88!!!!!!!!!!

The bad news is, if you think the little white channel 2 bug in the lower right corner of the screen is annoying, wait til you see the FULL COLOR Fox 5 bug on channel 88.

Only thing on right now is reality crap and HOUSE so I'm not going to spend time comparing 88 with 2-1 yet.

Recent article form a trade mag...


ENGINEERING NEWS
DBS Nabs Long-Time Pirate

Cable and satellite engineers not only share the desire to please the same video customer base, they share an age-old technical dilemma--piracy.

DirecTV showed how serious it is about tackling the piracy issue by going after Martin C. Mullen (aka Martin P. Stewart), who was sentenced earlier this month to seven years in prison and ordered to pay DirecTV and a subsidiary of its smart card provider, NDS Ltd., $24 million in restitution.

Mullen admitted he was engaged in a comprehensive satellite TV piracy scheme involving an army of more than 100 sub-dealers and the distribution of thousands of illegal smart cards in North America. The evidence presented at the sentencing hearing showed Mullen had been manufacturing and distributing satellite TV hacking technology since the 1980s, first attacking C-Band technology and then hacking DIRECTV access cards in the 1990s and continuing to do so at least into 2001.

"Piracy is a multi-billion dollar problem for the entertainment industry caused by sophisticated, well-funded and hard-to-detect piracy syndicates. It is gratifying to have Mullen - who epitomizes this type of criminal - brought to justice," Jim Whalen, senior director of DirecTV's Signal Integrity Department, says. "The severe sentence handed down by the court is clearly warranted in this case and we applaud the judge's decision. This sentence serves as a stark reminder that the sale and distribution of signal theft devices has grave consequences."

Although DirecTV's current smart cards provided by NDS have not been hacked, the two companies say they "remain diligent" in their efforts to remove the threat of piracy and support the efforts of law enforcements agencies in the United States and abroad.

(Article written by Laura Hamilton)

_______________________________________

TOP STORY: Cablevision Systems said it's suspending a spinoff of Rainbow Media Enterprises and would pursue alternatives for its VOOM satellite TV service.

Many speculate that EchoStar Communications would be the likely suitor for VOOM. According to sources, Cablevision's satellite HDTV service is valued at an estimated $250 million
_______________________________________ [/B]

I have been working with Cablevision exec's in NY recently. One in particular left the cable operations and accepted a position with Voom effective yesterday.

Strange move considering the article...

Audio gone again on 30-1....Not a peep, even on commercials...e-mailing Jwright at the station right now....

Did anyone tape the Kennedy Center Honors Tuesday night? I'm not sure which network it was on.

jedi --

It was on CBS -- and it wasn't HD.

Did anyone else notice that KMOV has changed its chop/zoom format for 4:3 material? It looks like maybe they've modified the amount of zoom and also made the side bars gray.

I thought KMOV's previous method of displaying 4:3 was the worst -- but I was wrong.

From today's SkyREPORT E-News:

________________________________

With Spin Off Scrapped, What's Next for VOOM?

Now that Cablevision has scrapped plans to spin off VOOM and Rainbow DBS along with a handful of programming assets, Wall Street is speculating about what's next for the satellite TV platform.

In a short statement released via a Securities and Exchange Commission filing early Tuesday, Cablevision said its board of directors decided to suspend pursuing the spin-off of its Rainbow Media Enterprises subsidiary, including the VOOM/Rainbow DBS assets, and instead to pursue strategic alternatives for the DBS business.

Most on Wall Street cheered the Cablevision decision, and said they expect a sale of the VOOM/Rainbow DBS assets. And the No. 1 candidate for purchase of those satellite TV goods is EchoStar, some in the financial community said.

Tom Eagan of Oppenheimer and Co. said, "We think Cablevision has decided that the VOOM satellite TV platform does not have much of a future and that it should be sold. The likely buyer for the satellite (VOOM's Rainbow 1) is EchoStar as they need satellite transmission capacity for HDTV, and moreover, already have a satellite - which is actually wounded - at 61.5 degrees."

Richard Greenfield of Fulcrum Global Partners also agreed that the most likely buyer of the Rainbow DBS/VOOM assets is EchoStar. "Given our belief that there are no other visible buyers, DISH has all the leverage in terms of price," he said. "We continue to believe DISH needs more satellite capacity and VOOM's satellite would be a way of addressing that issue."

Jeff Wlodarczak of Wachovia Capital Markets said Cablevision's decision to skip on the spin off is "most likely a precursor to an outright sale - or shuttering - of the asset, but it is also possible - although the odds are low - that Cablevision could elect to keep the asset in-house, or again change the nature of the spin."

Craig Moffett of Bernstein Research said expectations of a sale of VOOM, presumably to EchoStar, "will inevitably trigger speculation that a sale of the Rainbow networks is next."

Some on Wall Street have suggested a sale of the VOOM assets, which includes a satellite in orbit, could generate $250 million. Rainbow DBS also has five Ka-Band satellites on order with Lockheed Martin.
________________________________

For more satellite television news, go to www.skyreport.com

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
jedi --

It was on CBS -- and it wasn't HD.

Did anyone else notice that KMOV has changed its chop/zoom format for 4:3 material? It looks like maybe they've modified the amount of zoom and also made the side bars gray.

I thought KMOV's previous method of displaying 4:3 was the worst -- but I was wrong.

Oh my god! They actually made a bad picture worse with those gray bars. I thought it was my setup. Don't these guys see what they're doing to their picture???? Heads get cut off and text crawls are lost. I can't even bear to watch Letterman on 4-1, so I have reverted to analog Channel 4. What's the point? Do they see this as their HD answer to Leno's stunning clarity?

(BTW, when will Letterman go HD? Does anyone know?)

4-1's HD picture looks great when an HD source is present. But when SD pops up in shows or commercials, it's a joke. Just leave it alone!

Hi people,
I have seen posts in the past about the Dish HD PVR not being as user friendly as the Direct HD PVR.
Could someone give a brief explanation of the pros and cons of the two?
I have never had a Tivo before, so going from that user interface to Dish is not an issue.
Is the Dish 921 OK? What about the Dish non PVR HD receiver?
Thanks.

Letterman's move to HD has been rumored for at least 5 years in about 20 different versions. At this point, it's anyone's guess about when -- or even if -- the Letterman show goes HD.

Your best bet would be to go the HDTV Programming forum and do a thread search for Letterman. That will likely serve up the latest rumor/conjecture.

FWIW, NBC announced a week or so ago that Conan O'Brien and SNL would both be in HD in fall 2005.

Originally posted by DroptheRemote

It was on CBS -- and it wasn't HD.

Did anyone else notice that KMOV has changed its chop/zoom format for 4:3 material? It looks like maybe they've modified the amount of zoom and also made the side bars gray.

I thought KMOV's previous method of displaying 4:3 was the worst -- but I was wrong.

I have to agree.

I have a Sony 36XBR400, a 4x3 monitor that does the 16x9 squeeze for HD material. So when 4-1 does SD now, I get black bars at the top and bottom of the picture in addition to grey bars on the sides!

Hi Doug,

No claims that the Kennedy Center Honors aired in HD....I'm just looking for one of you nice guys to make a copy of it for me if you taped it. I'm willing to pay. Anybody??? I know----head over to the SD forum.

Did anybody see the message about the new Charter channels? No nothing new in HD but the are giving us a Latino VH1 music channel and I think another shopping channel. MERRY CHRISTMAS.

LMAO!

Originally posted by StLouG
Did anybody see the message about the new Charter channels? No nothing new in HD but the are giving us a Latino VH1 music channel and I think another shopping channel. MERRY CHRISTMAS.

The two new channels are a VH1 Latin channel and an informational charter channel - i'm guessing its something to tout stuff like the Moxi.


*** I have heard heavy rumors that Charter will be adding new HD in early 2005...possibly January. Stay tuned...

Originally posted by Robert Simandl
I have to agree.

I have a Sony 36XBR400, a 4x3 monitor that does the 16x9 squeeze for HD material. So when 4-1 does SD now, I get black bars at the top and bottom of the picture in addition to grey bars on the sides!

Perhaps a letter writing campaign might help these guys see ther light??? I wrote twice and wasn't even offered the courtesy of a reply. If others write, it may start to sink in. In fact, I've always watched the Channel 4 10pm news and have now switched to 5 rather than watch heads that are visibly too-close-for-comfort with their tops cut off, graphics that are chopped off the screen and useless gray bars on the sides.

What a mess. What are they doing??????

I sent an email to KMOV last week complaining about King of Queens being preempted with no notice along with the delayed showing at 1:00am the same night. I got no response and no chance to record it. :mad:

Mike

Originally posted by abcward
The two new channels are a VH1 Latin channel and an informational charter channel - i'm guessing its something to tout stuff like the Moxi.


*** I have heard heavy rumors that Charter will be adding new HD in early 2005...possibly January. Stay tuned...

The description sounded more like a shopping channel to me.

I assume these channels came about because they eliminated the interactive channels.

I would love to see the Universal-HD channel added. I was at the Circuit City at the St. Louis Mills yesterday and they were playing one of the "Law and Orders" from Universal-HD. Looked nice: a little better than KSDK-HD IMHO.

I agree, I think that the HD shows on UHD look incredible, especially Karen Sisco(her, and the show!!). So, am I about to lose all of my Voom HD splendor, since there's talk of selling the company??

Originally posted by jedi35
I agree, I think that the HD shows on UHD look incredible, especially Karen Sisco(her, and the show!!). So, am I about to lose all of my Voom HD splendor, since there's talk of selling the company??

Even though Voom is on the auctioning block I am still thinking about getting it. Don't you think whoever buys Voom will make allowances for current customers?

Hey Toeside,

Fun meeting you at work today. Hope you can stop in often.

Here's some ammo to take when you talk to DirecTV about Fox, courtesy of HDTV Magazine:

DirecTV Adds Fox DTV Channels


By Greg Tarr -- TWICE,

El Segundo, Calif. - DirecTV said it has reached a deal with the Fox Television Station Group to allow the carriage of Fox digital television channels, including high definition programming, in 26 designated market areas.

The satellite service began carrying digital channels from Fox’s WNYW affiliate in New York City and from its KTTV affiliate in Los Angeles on Dec. 22 for “eligible viewers” in markets where the network has an owned & operated affiliate.

These include the following markets: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, Tampa, Fla., Minneapolis, Cleveland, Phoenix, Denver, Orlando, Fla., St. Louis, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Mo., Salt Lake City, Birmingham, Ala., Memphis, Tenn. Greensboro, N.C., Austin, Texas and Gainesville, Fla.

DirecTV is controlled by News Corp., which also owns the Fox Television Station Group.

Subscribers to a DirecTV local channel package, who live in the eligible markets and have high-definition-capable IRDs, will receive the Fox digital TV channels free of charge.

Subscribers in the Pacific and Mountain Time zones will receive KTTV from Los Angeles and those in the Central and Eastern Time zones will receive WNYW from New York.

The additions come in time for Fox’s HD telecasts of the NFL’s NFC playoff games, and the network’s coverage of the Super Bowl on Feb. 6. Previously, Fox and DirecTV arranged a limited viewing of Fox’s HD coverage of Major League Baseball’s 2004 playoff and World Series games.

Fox owned-and-operated stations reach approximately 45 percent of U.S. television homes, DirecTV said.

jedi,

From your previous message I thought you might have expected it to be in HD (and, in fact, it SHOULD HAVE BEEN in HD).

But sorry, I can't help you on the copy...

Originally posted by Robert Simandl
Hey Toeside,

Fun meeting you at work today. Hope you can stop in often.

Likewise.

Man, those DLP projectors are just unbelieveably priced--especially the one with the 76" screen!

BTW, I decided not to deal with the traffic at Mid Rivers mall and attempt to go to Best Buy. Instead I dealt with an area just as bad (as I found out) by heading to Target on Mexico at Cave Springs/Muegge. What a PAIN! They, also, didn't have any under cabinet CD player/Radios. Oh well. I think I've exhausted my options trying to get one for Liz this year.

Robert,

Are you actually getting FOX NY on 388? I called and was told that I would get Fox HD on channel 2 ... which I think is not correct. I'll make another call tomorrow to see if someone else can help.

Thanks.

Bob,

I just called DirecTV. First they asked if I called Fox. I said, "Um, No. I'm in an O&O market and I'm supposed to receive this channel. No waivers are necessary". Then he told me to reset the receiver. Um, sorry, not gonna happen now. I told him it's an HD TiVo and it was busy recording. I then asked why that would fix this issue. He talked to me like I was dump, stating that it would be like "rebooting a computer to fix a problem."

Um, again, sorry, my TiVo isn't running a Microsoft Operating system. :)

So, I'm supposed to call back after I'm finished recording and "reset" my receiver. I'm sure 88 still won't be there.

Craig

Hey TDH,

Nope, not SD Fox on 388, I'm now getting HD Fox on plain ol' 2-digit 88. Fox HD on channel 2 is over the air, not through DirecTV. Channel 88 is WNYW-DT from New York.

I didn't have to call anyone for it, it just appeared on both my HD Tivo and my Hughes HTL-HD.

But if you and Toeside aren't getting it, you may have to call more than once. I believe the name of the game is "CSR Roulette." :D

Bob,

You are certain you aren't paying that $1.50 Distant network fee?

Still can bounce my HD TiVo. North Shore is coming in on in a couple minutes. Hmm, maybe it's a repeat.

Oops, I'm also supposed to be cleaning up the house. Amazing how fast we (including a 3 yr old and 1 yr old) can trash this place.

Craig

According to the DirecTV press release:

"Subscribers to a DirecTV local channel package, who live in the eligible markets and have high-definition-capable IRDs, will receive the Fox digital TV channels free of charge."

Ok, Bob. It's all straightened out.

Of course, the reboot did nothing. BTW, North Shore isn't on tonight, 2 eps of The O.C is on instead. Everything is repeats tonight, so the TiVo is quite idle.

I called back, this time the CSR sent me to the Elegibility Hotline. The guy that answered for them knew what he was doing and had me up in about 2 minutes.

So, anyone trying to get FOX HD, just talk to the Elegibilty Hotline people. Key words: Owned and Operated. They'll verify that and turn it on.

Craig

Originally posted by Toeside
So, I'm supposed to call back after I'm finished recording and "reset" my receiver. I'm sure 88 still won't be there.

Craig FWIW, I've got channel 88 and I didn't have to do anything. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I'm not receiving the local feed. Currenlty (11:10pm), 'King of the Hill' is local, but 'Malcolm in the Middle' is on channel 88 (FOX 5).

The following is an excerpt of an interview with Bryan Burns, head of HDTV development for ESPN, which appears in the current "This Week in HDSports" newsletter from HDTV Magazine:

____________________________________

HDTV Magazine: You have said that the side bars you have installed on the SDTV content for your HD ESPN service is a mixed blessing. Can you amplify on that?

Burns: It is a source of great discussion and debate inside our company. We are currently in a simulcast mode with ESPN-HD and ESPN. We will soon be in simulcast mode with ESPN2-HD. Unlike other HD programmers we have the same 4:3 program also on a different channel. So, there is great debate here as to whether to stretch it or not to stretch it? There is no clear answer. There are those within ESPN who say we should stretch it in order to provide a different service than we have in our 4:3 channel for those events which are not originally telecast in HD. There are others who say we should never do that and let the customers (in this case the consumers) do what they want to do (changing the mode on the TV) and add here at the studio “pillar bars” (those vertical additions you all see today) on the outside of the 4:3 digital transmission. The debate rages on. I think a lot of it has to do with whom we are trying to reach. I think people who are knowledgeable understand what it means. But a lot of the new buyers have a philosophy that says, “I just bought this 16:9 screen. I want to fill it no matter what. I didn’t buy a 4:3.”

This buyer puts it into a mode to do that (stretch) anyway. That being the case, should we have our sophisticated equipment here at ESPN do it or allow a one hundred dollar chip in the television to do it?


OK Sports fans. Tell Byran what he should do. They are receptive. So, do you want them to stretch 4:3 programming in the HDTV channels to fill your screen with something like what TNT is doing, or do you want ESPN to add bars on either side of the 4:3 [content], [or do you want ESPN] to fill the screen for you, or, lastly do you want the option at your set to place it in a stretch mode?

Your comments are sought.

Look for the rest of the Byran Burns interview this week. Read about their plans for ESPN2 HD.

____________________________________

Note: There doesn't appear to be a way to send comments directly to ESPN's Burns, so if you want to make your views on ESPN aspect ratio known, send an email to Tom Vrolyk at twihdsports@ilovehdtv.com. Also, I have edited the sentence containing the suggest aspect ratio options as there appeared to be a glitch in original article sent by HDTV Magazine.

For more information, or to subscribe to HDTV Magazine, go to www.ilovehdtv.com.

Kurt,

There is no "local" FOX HD feed available on DirecTV. There is an East Coast (NYC local) and a West Coast (LA local) feed available to eligible DirecTV subscribers.

In St. Louis, we're given access to the NY FOX local, because we would normally receive the East Coast feed via KTVI; because KTVI is "owned and operated" by FOX (as are the NYC and LA stations), there's no displaced viewership when it comes to counting the eyeballs that ultimately determine local advertising rates.

Hope this clears up any confusion.

I finally made it over to my folks house and saw the MOXI in action. It seems pretty nice although their guide is a bit confusing.

I understand the next upgrade will include native passthrough.
Until then is there any easy way to switch formats?

I connected their set with Component Video and changed the format to 1080i, switched it to the HD channel and they were thrilled with the picture. We then went to an SD channel and they tried to switch the aspect (they seem to prefer FULL on the TV as it keeps the ticker in place at the bottom) but they could not. I then switched it back to 480i in the menu and they could zoom again.

Needless to say that was way to complicated for them. It would be nice if there was a button on the remote that could do this.

BTW, they get the HD locals (FOX, CBS and NBC) by default.


Thanks

Dave

My Moxi install date is finally coming up. They can't get to me until Jan.11 '05. There were some other concerns that needed to be ironed out before they could schedule me. I'm glad I called, instead of just continuing to wait for them. I worked it out so that I can keep my regular HD box for firewire recording, and will get the Moxi too for a price that won't kill me.

Sorry to say there is no easier way until we get the next upgrade out there. Do they have a 4:3 set or 16:9?

If they have a 4:3 screen...getting to the "video output" setting is no more complicated than getting to the "widescreen" setting.I'd advise them to ignore the widescreen setting altogether, and just switch the output. That should get the result they want.

If they have a 16:9 screen... the "widescreen" setting doesn't have any effect. It only governs how a 4:3 screen handles 16:9 content.

MoxiGuy,
When will this update be available? Any chance of adding firewire, or dvi capability?

Their set is 16x9.
Unfortunately any use of the menu system is "too complicated" for them (they're 67 & 69 & not tech savy) so for now they are content with 480i (I think I may at least up it to 480p) until the native pass through is available.

I did bump it to 1080 for the game today.

Moxiguy,
any chance the next update will include a screensaver for extra long pauses??


Dave

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
Kurt,

There is no "local" FOX HD feed available on DirecTV. There is an East Coast (NYC local) and a West Coast (LA local) feed available to eligible DirecTV subscribers.

.....

Hope this clears up any confusion. I guess it would help if I read the original post completely, instead of glossing over it. I really need to get a break from my job and get some rest. Anyway, thanks for setting me straight.

Anybody get anything new and neat for Christmas?

I got three new DVD's LOVE ACTUALLY, LOST IN TRANSLATION AND ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES INDEPENDENCE DAY.

A little late but MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE. :)

I didn't get anything really neat, but I did get the first season of "Rides" on DVD.

I got Clerks X and a cool remote that finally controls everything with me just thinking about it (sort of). A bunch of books on some software I am learning.
Pretty sweet actually.
Dug

XBox console with Project Gotham Racing 2, BB Gift Card used to buy Halo 2, and a 3 month NetFlix subscription. I've actually had the XBOx for a month (wife couldn't wait to give it to me).

Dean

Originally posted by dwette
XBox console with Project Gotham Racing 2, BB Gift Card used to buy Halo 2, and a 3 month NetFlix subscription. I've actually had the XBOx for a month (wife couldn't wait to give it to me).

Dean

Grab a copy of Burnout 3 - the most addictive fun racing game that's currently out imho.

Well, I'm still seeing pixelization issues w/ OTA FOX, so I decided to try 88 on D*. The lipsync was so bad during the pre-game show, I decided to live with the occassional pixelization problems.

CBS OTA was fine.

I wasn't around to check the pregame on 88, I'll make it a point to check that next Sunday.

I spent Christmas weekend in Terre Haute with the folks. SD digital cable connected to the TV through the RF input. No DVD player, only a VCR that constantly blinked 12:00 til I fixed it. We used to b*tch about not having a UPN station in St. Louis? Terre Haute doesn't even have an ABC station! Their cable company imports the ABC feed from Indianapolis!

But it's Christmas with the folks, so I guess i can live with the feeling that I'm in a Flintstones cartoon a couple of times a year. :D

Hope everybody had a Merry Christmas.

Originally posted by dwette
XBox console with Project Gotham Racing 2

Same thing. That game is the best. Just waiting on the wireless adapter so I can play it on Live.

Originally posted by Robert Simandl
I wasn't around to check the pregame on 88, I'll make it a point to check that next Sunday.

I spent Christmas weekend in Terre Haute with the folks. SD digital cable connected to the TV through the RF input. No DVD player, only a VCR that constantly blinked 12:00 til I fixed it. We used to b*tch about not having a UPN station in St. Louis? Terre Haute doesn't even have an ABC station! Their cable company imports the ABC feed from Indianapolis!

But it's Christmas with the folks, so I guess i can live with the feeling that I'm in a Flintstones cartoon a couple of times a year. :D

Hope everybody had a Merry Christmas.

Sounds like they needed a DVD player from Christmas!

All of my parents techie stuff is from us. 2 years ago, I gave them a DVD player. 6 months later, I gave them DirecTV with TiVo (just the equipment, they pay the monthly fee. Sheesh, now that equipment is almost free!).

Originally posted by abcward
Grab a copy of Burnout 3 - the most addictive fun racing game that's currently out imho.

You're not the first to recommend it to me. Honestly, the game doesn't really appeal to me. I'm really interested in more serious/realistic/sim type auto racing games. I have PGR2, Toca, Colin Macrae 04, Rallisport Challenge 2, and will get Forza when it comes out. That's definitely enough to keep me busy. PGR2 and RSC2 are my favorites

The whole reason we got an XBox is because we're fans of GP style racing, especially Formula 1. We're going to start watching WRC this year (since RSC2 is so fun to play). When/if F1 2004 comes to the US we may also get a PS2 to play that on.

I played Burnout 3 for a few minutes on an in-store demo console, and it just didn't grab me. Ditto for Need For Speed Underground 2. Racing in circles (IRL, NASCAR) doesn't do it for us either.

Dean