St. Louis, MO - HDTV *OLD* [Text View] - Page 19

redwine

01-16-05, 06:20 PM

Originally posted by John Kotches

My wife wants a plasma or LCD for the bedroom, and the prices are dropping dramatically so that if she's patient through 2005 I think we can get a 42" or so for about 35-40% less at the end of the year than the beginning of the year.

Cheers, [/B]

The question is: how long to wait? I have not seen plasma HD dropping very fast but I read somewhere that LCD panels are becoming a commodity due to heavy investment in manufacturing plants. The difference between a 30" LCD HD and a 30ish" CRT widescreen HD is very close. The average Sony buyer who lays out $800 for a typical CRT set can now buy a LCD HD set for a couple hundred more. It is not a Sony but you can hang it on the wall!

My wallet is getting itchy.....I just got my bonus and need to spend....don't tell my wife...

Edit update....I just checked out TigerDirect (thanks MSLoss) and there are some large price decreases on plasma HD since I last looked. Unfortunately I am looking for a set 27"-32" for the bedroom and I have never seen plasma that small.

Scott Tucker

01-16-05, 06:30 PM

Guess i'm the lucky one. My wife is getting a free HD 42" Plasma as a bonus for recruiting 2 employees at her company. We get it after they have been employed for 6 months. One more month to go. Hope they don't quit before we get it. It's a gateway but hey, it free. Well, i guess nothin's free. We will have to pay income tax on about 5k. Almost free. I am not complaining.

Scott

StLouG

01-17-05, 12:53 AM

I saw the following Charter financial information on the Motley Fool site. The date of the article is January 13, 2005.

"But we did not like what we found. Here's why we warned against investing in this business:

Massive debt. Net debt (debt minus cash) is above $18 billion.
Net debt is 28 times the company's market cap of $640 million.
Charter was GAAP unprofitable, with $1.5 billion in yearly interest costs.
Debt covenants posed a serious threat to the company's survival.
The SEC had launched an investigation into Charter's accounting practices.
Heavy spending for a cable infrastructure hadn't yielded high enough returns. "

For the full article see:
http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/2005/commentary05011302.htm

John Kotches

01-17-05, 08:03 AM

My wife likes to watch channels that plant nasty bugs on the screen, so I'm staying away from plasma for that reason.

Cheers,

tcfila

01-17-05, 08:24 AM

Originally posted by John Kotches
My wife likes to watch channels that plant nasty bugs on the screen, so I'm staying away from plasma for that reason.

Cheers,

I scanned that too fast and thought you said your wife likes to watch nasty channels....

Toeside

01-17-05, 09:59 AM

Does anyone know what's going on with ABC lately? Audio has dropped out for last two episodes of 8 Simple Rules. It was worse 2 episodes ago, I think audio was gone for the last 20 minutes (of a 30 minute show). The last episode had maybe 10 minutes of lost audio, plus a couple times the feed cut to SD--I'm assuming in an attempt to fix the audio.

It was quite annoying both weeks. We had to turn on digital closed captioning to watch it.

Craig

wmschultz

01-17-05, 12:03 PM

I finally got around to watching NYPD Blue from a couple of weeks ago and there was no sound.

iboon

01-17-05, 09:46 PM

But here's my take:

If they won't make you future-proof, you should tell them that you will wait, or give DISH or VOOM a chance to win your business.

In other words, let them upgrade their service so you can have more, then expect them to eat that cost customer by customer. If not, threaten to go to another service that either A. Won't be around in a year or B. Offers overly compressed programming, a ginormous dish, and billing that stabs you on the back-end. Sounds fair.

Robert Simandl

01-17-05, 10:34 PM

Last week's LOST cut to SD while KDNL flashed thunderstorm warnings across the bottom of the screen. To be fair, it was only for about 30 seconds or so, then back to glorious HD.

DroptheRemote

01-18-05, 08:45 AM

The following story excerpt is from today's SkyREPORT E-News:

_____________________________

The New York Times reported on its Web site Monday that during the past summer TiVo reached an agreement with Comcast that would've allowed the nation's largest cable operator to offer customers its DVR product, but the DVR company pulled out of the deal at the last minute.

TiVo's decision to pull the plug on the pending Comcast deal came after months of tough negotiations. But at the end of the process, TiVo Chairman and CEO Michael Ramsey determined the deal wouldn't pay the company enough money, nor would it give TiVo enough control over its DVR product, The Times reported.

The Times, citing unnamed sources, also reported that Ramsay told the company's board about the failed Comcast deal, and that the board backed Ramsay's decision.
_____________________________

For the full story, go to www.skyreport.com

FWIW, I saw an unconfirmed report last week in the aftermath of the Consumer Electronics Show that indicated that the upcoming NDS DVR for DirecTV will not include support for HDTV when it is initially introduced. In the same report, a DirecTV source said that TiVo was likely to be the only HD DVR available for DirecTV during 2005.

However, in another report I read following CES, there were indications from DirecTV that it is planning to license multiple DVR offerings in the future. If true, this would mean that a DirecTV-TiVo relationship might continue on for any number of years, but that TiVo would no longer be an exclusive offering and that it might face multiple competitors for DirecTV customer dollars.

I normally try to keep the links for these sorts of items, but I was working out of town last week and my organization wasn't all it could have been. If I subsequently come across links to these stories, I'll revise this note.

IIRC, both of these reports were based on "conversations" with DirecTV executives at CES and it appeared in both cases that the DirecTV source(s) was not speaking in an official capacity.

I'd take everything here apart from the Comcast report with a grain of salt, but I thought it at least worth passing this on for those considering a near-term switch to DirecTV. It's possible that a more extensive search of Google will turn up more detail on these reports or something more official.

wilkemp

01-18-05, 09:54 AM

Charter CEO resigns, how quickly the rats are deserting the ship

StLouG

01-18-05, 11:48 AM

I found this on the SatelliteGuys Forum but the poster said he found it on the AVS forum. The link requires you to register. So if anyone is register maybe they could post the full article.

Cablevision Board To Debate Voom Fate

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

Found this at AVS

Quote:
Originally posted by Fred M
Cablevision Board To Debate Fate Of Satellite Unit

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - January 18, 2005 - The board of Cablevision Systems Corp. is scheduled to meet today to debate sharp differences among board members over what to do with Voom, the company's fledgling satellite-television business that has been running up big losses and dragging down its stock.

Charles Dolan, founder and chairman of Cablevision, wants the company to keep funding Voom, which launched service about a year ago but had only 26,000 subscribers at the end of the third quarter. Other board members, including James Dolan, Cablevision's chief executive and Charles Dolan's son, favor shutting it down or selling it at a discount if necessary.

A majority of the 14-member board sides with James Dolan....

Cablevision's satellite business has been harshly criticized by analysts and investors as too risky, given the existing fierce competition among cable operators and the two established satellite companies.

Voom has tried to distinguish itself by offering more high definition channels than the others. But that difference hasn't been enough to attract sufficient demand, critics contend. Voom generated $75.3 million in losses in the third quarter.

Full story at:
<http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB...i n_whats_news>

black_macleod

01-18-05, 11:54 AM

I always thought Voom was way too overpriced.

hall316

01-18-05, 12:26 PM

It might be overpriced compared to what you are paying now, but if DTV ever offers that many HD channels, I think we all know our bills will be a lot higher.

black_macleod

01-18-05, 01:33 PM

Thats true ... and right now I''m thinking paying for ANY tv is a bit overrpriced, unfortunately I'm stuck in a contract til November :-) OTA is the way to go, hehe.

hall316

01-18-05, 04:46 PM

here is a video from CES showing voom's dvr.

Click Here (http://www.satelliteguys.us/2005ces/bbdemo.wmv)

here are the specs.

First page (http://www.satelliteguys.us/attachment.php?attachmentid=3089)

Second Page (http://www.satelliteguys.us/attachment.php?attachmentid=3090)

dominicr

01-18-05, 05:40 PM

Originally posted by wilkemp
Charter CEO resigns, how quickly the rats are deserting the ship

Yea, I already lost money in stock. They are losing customers like crazy. Someone will probably buy them up and make BIG changes.

skippy_rq

01-18-05, 05:40 PM

FYI in case anyone gets home and hears the complaint that their internet in O'Fallon was down. There was a fiber cut in the area today. It has been restored. I got a service credit for complaining about the ~6hr outage.

Rich

Scott Tucker

01-18-05, 07:12 PM

Originally posted by skippy_rq
FYI in case anyone gets home and hears the complaint that their internet in O'Fallon was down. There was a fiber cut in the area today. It has been restored. I got a service credit for complaining about the ~6hr outage.

Rich

Is that what you were doing in your yard with a shovel? Some guys will do anything for a credit.

Scott

tlmcca

01-18-05, 08:05 PM

I called Charter this afternoon to investigate adding the DVR service and they are supposed to be out tomorrow! Assuming they actually show up, what should I be aware of? I already have 4113's post of the 8 things to watch for, but I'm wondering if anyone else has more to add.

BTW, I live in Glen Carbon near SIUE. Has anyone else from the neighborhood gotten the Moxi?

Thanks,
Terry

apocalypso

01-18-05, 09:56 PM

this is my first of many posts YAAAAAYYY

anyway i have MOXI and i live in glen carbon, and i love it, even though there are some problems

:confused:

StLouG

01-18-05, 10:58 PM

Cablevision's Founder Loses Voom Unit Fight to Son
By GERALDINE FABRIKANT and ANDREW ROSS SORKIN

Published: January 19, 2005

"A major showdown in the family that controls the Cablevision Systems Corporation ended yesterday with the son outmaneuvering the father and persuading directors to vote to put the company's troubled satellite business up for sale.

The main candidates to buy Voom - DirecTV and EchoStar - have shown little interest in buying the company's satellites. .

Cablevision had no comment. "

It says "to vote" so does that mean that the vote could still go the father's way and VOOM will still be in business or is this just a technicality?

The article can be found at: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/19/business/media/19cable.html?oref=regi

Joe Smith

01-18-05, 11:17 PM

I'm curious about voom. When people say they have all these HD channels are they really HD or are they just wide screen. I mean can a show, Hogans heros, for example that is not recorded in high def be converted to true HD? If not then aren't a lot of the channels on voom nothing more than wide screen? I don't know the answer thats why i'm asking . Thanks for your input.

skippy_rq

01-18-05, 11:39 PM

Originally posted by Joe Smith
I'm curious about voom. When people say they have all these HD channels are they really HD or are they just wide screen. I mean can a show, Hogans heros, for example that is not recorded in high def be converted to true HD? If not then aren't a lot of the channels on voom nothing more than wide screen? I don't know the answer thats why i'm asking . Thanks for your input.

I am going to answer based upon what I have read. Others, please feel free to correct me.
All the channels that VOOM carries that aren't true HD have been converted.

Rich

DroptheRemote

01-19-05, 08:01 AM

The following is from SkyREPORT E-News:

_______________________________

EchoStar, tackling ongoing issues with the digital TV transition, told the Federal Communications Commission it supports a concept floated by the FCC's Media Bureau of including all satellite TV households that receive local broadcast stations within the statutory threshold of 85 percent digital TV penetration.

The FCC, led by the Media Bureau, is expected to aggressively push digital TV transition issues this year. Reaching that 85 percent threshold is considered by some the point marking the completion of the digital TV transition.

In a letter EchoStar sent to the FCC on DTV transition issues, the company said the 85 percent statutory interpretation has been "largely necessitated by broadcaster delays, which have resulted in a DTV penetration rate that is still far lower than the 85 percent target.

"Regardless of the problem's roots, however, something has to be done to solve it, and EchoStar believes that counting satellite households toward the threshold could help accelerate the transition," the company said.

The company's support for the 85 percent threshold came with two conditions: First, satellite TV services should be allowed to down-convert local digital stations for the purpose of complying with their carriage obligations after completion of the transition; and second, EchoStar said it opposes any multi-cast carriage obligations.

Also in its letter, EchoStar took aim at DirecTV's pending high def expansion plans, including DirecTV's effort to offer as many as 1,500 local high def signals during the next three years. The company said the FCC should be "skeptical" of DirecTV's local and national HD plans.

EchoStar said DirecTV's local/national HD expansion relies on modulation compression techniques, and it's not clear how that technology would work. And DirecTV's efforts will use Ka-Band satellites, which EchoStar said present challenges such as rain attenuation, and remain an untested technology.
_______________________________

For more SkyREPORT stories, go to www.skyreport.com.

My take on this is that DISH's comments seem more than somewhat self-serving, as they favor a low-bandwidth solution (downconverting HD locals) as a way to help reach the 85% market-by-market target needed to "complete" the digital television transition. At the same time, DISH is throwing rocks at the DirecTV's HD locals plan and the technology behind it, rather than offering a better solution.

DroptheRemote

01-19-05, 08:34 AM

Joe,

I'm not a VOOM subscriber, but I do believe that what VOOM calls HD is, in fact, true HD. I'll leave it to the VOOM users here to comment definitively.

I think your skepticism comes from a misunderstanding of the difference between upconversions and true HD programming. The "Hogan's Heroes" example you mention is a good way to illustrate the distinction.

Let's pretend for a moment that one of our local St. Louis stations holds the local syndication rights to "Hogan's Heroes" re-runs and that these programs are based on the same film-to-NTSC video transfers that appeared when the series was a first-run sitcom on CBS a couple of decades back.

When the local station shows "Hogan Heroes" reruns, the picture quality over the station's analog channel will be largely the same as any other NTSC prime-time drama or comedy series. However, when the show is transmitted on the local station's digital channel, it will be electronically upconverted to either 1080i or 720p, depending on which HD standard this particular station normally uses.

Note the words "electronically converted," because what happens when the program appears on the digital channel is that the 480 lines of NTSC video resolution are "rearranged" to match the station's 720- or 1080-line digital broadcast. The important thing to understand in the hypothetical example here is that even though "Hogan's Heroes" is being converted to 720p or 1080i broadcast formats, the underlying video is still only 480 lines of resolution -- an electronic conversion cannot create resolution beyond what existed in the original video frames.

The local station might also manipulate the aspect ratio of the original NTSC program, which is by definition 4x3. For instance, if KSDK was showing the "Hogan's Heroes" re-runs, the 4x3 programming appearing on the station's digital channel would have black bars on the sides, and if KMOV were showing the re-runs on its digital station, the engineers would "zoom" the 4x3 image until it nearly covered the 16x9 screen area, but chopped off part of the top and bottom of the picture.

On the other hand, what HDNet has done is to go back to the original film masters of the "Hogan's Heroes" series and performed a true "HD transfer" of those film frames to 1080i HD.

At the risk of oversimplifying, HDNet has "re-scanned" the film master in order to capture more of the resolution that existed in the original film frames of the series but that was lost when the film was converted to 480-line NTSC video. At the same time, HDNet has exposed more of the original film frame in order to fill (or nearly fill) the 16x9 aspect ratio mandated in the HD standard.

One other point that may be muddying the waters for you is the dfference between HD that originates via film (most theatrical-release films and most prime-time TV dramas or sitcoms) and HD that originates as true HD video (live sports, concerts, etc).

In general, HD that originates as HD video has a clearer and more lifelike quality to it, but in fact, 35mm or 70mm film actually contains as much (actually more) inherent resolution as the highest ATSC HD video standard (1080p x 1920). They appear different and HD native video may appear superior, but when a true film-to-HD transfer is done and done properly, it is "true HD."

wilkemp

01-19-05, 09:19 AM

New Charter CEO vows to make Customer Service #1 priority, I suppose any effort is better than the current status quo.

Oh Yeah, Jan 19th and still no VOD for Moxi

tcfila

01-19-05, 09:35 AM

I got an email that stated the 25th

_Arklyte_

01-19-05, 09:39 AM

Anyone here that uses Charter.....did you have DD issues last night. On none of the HD channels could I pick up DD. Everything was PLII. I reset my receiver and the STB, but it would never switch to Dolby Digital. Even on HDNet and HDMovies which is always DD.

I'm hoping it was a Charter problem and not my receiver.

wilkemp

01-19-05, 09:47 AM

DD worked fine for me, American Idol was 5.1 and even this morning watched a little HDnet and it was 5.1

abcward

01-19-05, 09:47 AM

wilkemp & tcfila,

I am hearing Jan 20th for VOD on Moxi

DroptheRemote

01-19-05, 10:41 AM

StLouG,

I've read a bit more about the developments at VOOM/Cablevision over the past couple of days.

From that, it appears that taking action on VOOM was largely a product of the independent members on Cablevision's board. In the aftermath of Enron and other business malfeasance scandals in the late 1990s and early 2000s, several independent board members of those companies have had financially devastating civil suits filed against them for their failure to proactively act in the interests of shareholders they represent. As a result, VOOM's independent board members felt duty- (and litigation-) bound to take a confrontational tack with management's plans for VOOM.

Reading between the lines, it appears that the battle here isn't really father versus son, but rather the independent board members versus management. The son appears to be "along for the ride" with the independent portion of the board, as he doesn't have a lot of business credibility with Wall Street and this is a way for him to buff up his credentials for the long run.

The ironic thing is that by forcing a vote that Cablevision sell VOOM, the board would be largely torpedoing any leverage the company might have in negotiating a sale -- and that's not exactly in the interests of shareholders either.

In thinking about VOOM lately, it seems that if DISH had actually been able to complete its purchase of DirecTV from GM/Hughes, VOOM might have been viable and I don't think there's any question that it would have gotten a better reaction with consumers. However, when the DISH deal was nixed by the SEC, Cablevision probably should have binned the entire project rather than pushing forward and trying to go head-to-head with two established satellite players.

No matter how this plays out with the board and the Dolans from here, I think VOOM is toast.

_Arklyte_

01-19-05, 10:44 AM

Wilkemp, I was afraid of that:(

I guess this evening I will have to find out what's wrong with my receiver. Hmmm, maybe I need a new sound system. It IS a year old you know and my wife would certainly understand a new sound system....with all the new features.

WHew, I almost said that with a straight face:o

BradZ

01-19-05, 10:58 AM

Anybody using one of the Harmony Remotes with the Moxi box? A freind just got a new HD set-up and his family is hating the remote situation. Do the Harmony remotes work with the Moxi box? If so I think I'll recommend he gets one.

MoxiGuy

01-19-05, 11:08 AM

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
.... At the same time, HDNet has exposed more of the original film frame in order to fill (or nearly fill) the 16x9 aspect ratio mandated in the HD standard.... great post. Very clear explanation of how old filmed TV shows can now be broadcast in true HDTV.

But I question the detail quoted above.

Old filmed TV programs were shot 4:3 and intended for 4:3 screens. The original film frames were scanned for video using the entire frame. If you want to turn old 4:3 film into 16:9, aren't there only two options? Either crop out the top and bottom of the frame, or stretch the image horizontally?

Since the 50's, when films are shot 35mm for theatrical release, most of them are framed with a widescreen projection ratio in mind. The filmmakers expect that the top and bottom will be masked out and not reach the screen. (others are shot with special anamorphic lenses so that they can be stretched when they are projected). But filmed shows for TV are like the classic films through the 40's that were shot with a 4:3 display ratio in mind. Cut off the tops and bottoms of the frame and you are losing valuable information.

wilkemp

01-19-05, 11:16 AM

Originally posted by _Arklyte_
Wilkemp, I was afraid of that:(

I guess this evening I will have to find out what's wrong with my receiver. Hmmm, maybe I need a new sound system. It IS a year old you know and my wife would certainly understand a new sound system....with all the new features.

WHew, I almost said that with a straight face:o

Yeah, wouldn't most wives, maybe try a new cable.

tcfila

01-19-05, 11:17 AM

StLouG

01-19-05, 11:21 AM

Originally posted by DroptheRemote

No matter how this plays out with the board and the Dolans from here, I think VOOM is toast.

I agree that VOOM is toast. Could we have a little jam with that? :)

BradZ

01-19-05, 11:32 AM

Thanks Tim,

I didn't see the Moxi on the list- I guess I need a bigger monitor :)

DroptheRemote

01-19-05, 11:51 AM

Brad,

One of my customers uses a Harmony remote with his MOXI. I think he had to spend some time on the phone with customer support to get it all working, but in the end it seemed to be working the way he wanted it.

FWIW, I've heard excellent things about the Harmony support and that they're very good at working around equipment that might not be currently supported.

DroptheRemote

01-19-05, 12:11 PM

MoxiGuy,

Thanks for the feedback.

You're correct that 35mm is basically a 4:3 ratio and that there's limited scope for providing a widescreen picture unless the director specifically composed his shots in a way that would also allow for widescreen presentation.

I'm not sure, but it appears that in the past when TV shows were shot on film, there would a certain portion of the top, bottom and sides of the film frame that was "protected," with the idea that this part of the picture will be cropped out in the editing process.

This appears to be the case with "Hogan's Heros," because there appears to have been enough "protected" video image on the right and left that by doing very modest cropping at the top and/or bottom and exposing the previously protected side areas, that HDNet was able to produce an "almost widescreen" version of the series.

To be honest, I haven't actually read this or heard this explanation from anyone, but based on my observations of the HH (and Charlie's Angels) episodes shown on HDNet, this appears to be what's happening.

One of my favorite "urban myths" of the transition to HD television is that in the early 1990s, as discussions were heating up over the development of an HD standard, that certain television series were "shot in HD" in anticipation of the new format. "Cheers" is the program that I hear mentioned most often in this context, but I suspect that what actually happened is that during the last few years of the series, the shots for "Cheers" were composed for a widescreen presentation and that the sides of the widescreen picture were subsequently chopped to produce the 4x3 NTSC versions. If correct, it would be possible to go back and "capture" a true widescreen version of "Cheers" from the film masters and then transfer those to HD video.

dweebe

01-19-05, 02:07 PM

Originally posted by BradZ
Anybody using one of the Harmony Remotes with the Moxi box? A freind just got a new HD set-up and his family is hating the remote situation. Do the Harmony remotes work with the Moxi box? If so I think I'll recommend he gets one.

I don't have a Moxi box but I do have the Harmony 676 remote. Another St. Louis poster pm'ed me with the Moxi model number and asked does the Harmony database have the Motorolla BMC9012. With that info I was able to download the codes to the remote and it looks to have all the Moxi codes.

Plus you can always teach the remote any missing codes. I only had to teach the Harmony two codes from my ancient Wal Mart brand VCR.

You can also add "Watch a PVR" as an activity and do a lot of tweeking from there.

I really like the Harmony remote and my girlfriend likes it even more. I got the 676 for XMas and all six remotes have been since thrown in the drawer. The Harmony controls everything easily. The activity and help functions work great and allow my g/f to watch TV and do other things without having to bug me. She was recently home with the flu. Normally she's calling me at work asking how do you watch a DVD, a VCR tape and then how to get back to watching TV? But now she has no problem.

One other thing. The infrared emiters on the Harmony are strong as heck. With my old remotes I always had to point at the device. But with the Harmony I can be pointing at the floor at a 90 degree angle to the equipment and most stuff will still work.

dweebe

01-19-05, 03:58 PM

There was a pretty big article in todays (Wed 1-19) Post Dispatch about Charter.

I'll post a link if anyone wants to read the whole article, but here is the most interesting quote:

To that end, May said Charter's priorities are:

Improving customer service and product offerings.

Investing in customer care and marketing infrastructure.

Focusing on growth strategies for new services, including digital simulcasting, video on demand, Internet telephone service and personal video recorders...

Nothing about HDTV. *sigh*

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/story/18BEEEAA38FE160786256F8E00125D37?OpenDocument&Headline=New+Charter+CEO+puts+emphasis+on+customers

tlmcca

01-19-05, 04:13 PM

Well, the tech showed up at 11:58 and had everything done by about 12:45. I do have one issue that I hope someone can help with.

With the old HD box, I would tune to one of the HD channels and then use the menu on my Panasonic PT-56HX41 4:3 TV to change the aspect ratio to 16:9. I preferred the letterbox to the stretched image with 4:3 AR. With the MOXI, the TV setup menu won't allow me to switch to 16:9. I found the Video Output setting in the MOXI setup menu, but setting to anything other than 480i or 480p fails and defaults back to 480i.

Has anyone else seen this? I'm going to have to send this box back if I can't resolve it.

Thanks,
Terry

abcward

01-19-05, 04:57 PM

Terry,

This is a known issue with Moxi - There is a valued member of avsforum called MoxiGuy who works in development of the Moxi. He has stated that the next software upgrade will include a way to change aspect ratios like you mentioned, with your tv remote. It is coming soon, so don't give up yet.

MoxiGuy, can you provide any more details on when we should expect this upgrade?

DroptheRemote

01-19-05, 05:09 PM

dweebe,

While I agree that Charter needs to be more aggressive on the HD front, I do think poor customer service is actually a bigger issue. But then, I don't place a lot of credence in what May is saying to the press right now and I think it's naive that the P-D story leads with the customer service drivel.

I think with the exit of Vogel and the balance of his management team, May and Charter are playing for time -- the focus from here is more likely on a major restructuring of the business and the likely sell-off of properties in order to further reduce debt and repair corporate finances.

Charter is on life support and making nice with customers at this stage of the game isn't going miraculously save the patient. This one is headed for major surgery.

From a purely selfish customer aspect, I think the best we can hope for is that the St. Louis systems are among those offered up for sale. But I think that's unlikely and it would entail major job losses, which would be a hit to the local economy.

redwine

01-19-05, 07:32 PM

I've noticed the Charter video-on-demand service has been unavailable for a few days now. You think they are already cutting costs?

abcward

01-19-05, 08:05 PM

VOD has worked for me all week long...

John Kotches

01-20-05, 09:33 AM

I've been having issues the last two weeks with KMOVs signal. I was curious if anyone else has noticed any issues with the OTA signal the last few weeks?

I've double-checked the antenna and all of my other OTAs are working normally, ie typical signal strength of mid-80s. KMOV has always been the weakest of the local OTA stations for me. If no one else is having the problem, I'll have to chalk it up to the latest firmware for the Dish 811.

Cheers,

_Arklyte_

01-20-05, 09:37 AM

Well, it appears my DolbyDigital issue is not with my receiver, but with the STB from Charter. When I put the STB on HDNet (known DD format) channel and power the STB off and back on, the receiver first pulls up DD, then when the channel guide appears at the bottom of the screen, the receiver changes to PLII and stays there.

So, I figure it's the STB. Any other thoughts before I call Charter? I need to exchange this box anyway, it's still the Motorola 5 something (whatever came out first for HD).

DroptheRemote

01-20-05, 09:44 AM

John,

I haven't noticed any issues with KMOV-DT in recent days. I watched ELR and 21/2M on Monday evening, and I caught parts of Letterman each of the past three nights and didn't notice any dropouts. I also watched for the first time Center of the Universe.

I didn't have any reception or dropout problems during any of those programs.

BTW, where was David Letterman last night? Seems very odd to see Paul Schaefer sitting in the host's chair. The last time this happened, Dave was busy becoming a father.

Robert Simandl

01-20-05, 09:47 AM

No KMOV issues for me during Monday's CSI Miami...

omarq

01-20-05, 10:17 AM

No KMOV issues for me either, however, I couldn't get ABC (Alias) in HD last night via OTA. Anyone else have prob's with that one? Most of the time, ABC comes in great.

I also have a channel master rotator on my roof, and I did a full 360 swing, and couldn't get a darn thing.

John Kotches

01-20-05, 10:17 AM

Thanks guys. This seems to point towards the new 811 software. Not deinitive but it's a strong possibility.

Cheers,

DroptheRemote

01-20-05, 10:25 AM

omar,

I watched "Lost" in HD last night without any issues. I caught the beginning of "Alias" and the HD broadcast seemed fine, but I switched away shortly after the start.

GlendaleHDTV

01-20-05, 10:25 AM

Originally posted by abcward
VOD has worked for me all week long...

I'm assuming you mean on your non-moxi HD tuner? I checked this morning - still no VOD on my Moxi.

Robert Simandl

01-20-05, 11:00 AM

No problems with either Lost or Alias on 30-1 OTA.

BTW, ABC's coverage of President Bush's inauguration today is simply stunning.

Dave_STLMO

01-20-05, 12:00 PM

I couldn't get ABC (Alias) in HD last night via OTA

Watched Lost and Alias OTA last night. Both looked good here. (Maryand Hts.)

Best
Dave

omarq

01-20-05, 01:21 PM

Humm.. I'll go back to the drawing board and re check ABC tonight.

Another interesting observation is that I seemed to get better HDTV signals when snow was on the ground. Maybe just coincidence, but perhaps the reflection of snow somehow helps. Maybe far fetched!

Robert Simandl

01-20-05, 01:55 PM

ABC's inauguration coverage today looks spectacular, though there are audio pops and dropouts every so often.

apocalypso

01-20-05, 02:16 PM

does anybody have a timeline on when ABC is coming to charter here in st. louis?? Also does anybody have a suggestion for an antenna for me to pick up the OTA broadcasts. I live in glen carbon and would like something cheap and inside

wilkemp

01-20-05, 03:15 PM

Anytime between now and the end of time, Sinclair owned station and he is very resistent to giving away his signal for free and cable does not want to pay for something people can get for free. Most of us Charter subscribers know your pain.

moman19

01-20-05, 03:19 PM

Originally posted by Robert Simandl
ABC's inauguration coverage today looks spectacular, though there are audio pops and dropouts every so often.

I agree. The video quality is stunning although the audio is still out of sync...just slightly behind the video. This is something that always is apparent on Channel 30 and none of the other OTA-DT locals. When 30 goes back to SD the sync issue is gone.

I wonder why only ABC presented the event in HD. Many of their HD shots were from pool cameras shared by the other networks. These cameras must have all been HD although the other networks chose to down convert them to SD.

moman19

01-20-05, 03:29 PM

Originally posted by John Kotches
Thanks guys. This seems to point towards the new 811 software. Not deinitive but it's a strong possibility.

Cheers,

John,

I too, must live with a Dish 811. However, I've experienced just the opposite from you. Channel 4 had been the weakest station (upper 70s) until last week when it suddenly jumped up about 8 points. I changed nothing on my end and the other channels remained steady. I live in Creve Coeur.

Go figure.

Frankly, I HATE what the station has done to their SD broadcasts. Heads are chopped off at the top, text is lost at the botton, and gray bars line the sides. This forces me to either watch analog Channel 4 (ugh!) or another station all together. What a bunch of dunderheads! What do they think thery're doing??????

John Kotches

01-20-05, 04:04 PM

What software rev are you running Moman? I'm on 2.84, and beginning to wish I hadn't accepted the upgrade.

Cheers,

moman19

01-20-05, 04:34 PM

I'm running the same: P284, which seems much more stable than past versions. The previous version caused several hard lockups a day so I see this release as major improvement. Not perfect, but better.

Upon initial install of the upgrade I did experience a signal strength issue with all my OTAs, not just Channel 4-DT. This was cured by deleting all my locals from any Favorites lists as well as from from the 811 itself. Then re-scaning them back in. Try this. It'll only tkae you a minute or two.

Good luck.

omarq

01-20-05, 05:39 PM

Originally posted by apocalypso
does anybody have a timeline on when ABC is coming to charter here in st. louis?? Also does anybody have a suggestion for an antenna for me to pick up the OTA broadcasts. I live in glen carbon and would like something cheap and inside

Stay away from Terk antennas. They are overpriced, and generally don't do a thing unless you live under a tower.

In my experience, the ugliest, cheapest, 1970's looking antennas work the best. I've heard good things about Zenith.

hth

abcward

01-20-05, 05:50 PM

does anybody have a timeline on when ABC is coming to charter here in st. louis??

I have it under authority that Charter is in negotiations for adding a couple new HD channels this year. However it was very clear that ABC is not even close to be added. This is due to Sinclair's crazy demands. This is not a STL-only issue. Negotiating with Sinclair is a multi-state problem.

StLouG

01-20-05, 05:55 PM

Originally posted by apocalypso
does anybody have a timeline on when ABC is coming to charter here in st. louis?? Also does anybody have a suggestion for an antenna for me to pick up the OTA broadcasts. I live in glen carbon and would like something cheap and inside

Welcome to the world of the walking dead. All of us Charter subs are waiting for any type of new HD channel to be added to their lineup. There was a few rumors floating around that something might be added in January but so far nothing.

The Zenith Silver Sensor seems to be the pick of the litter when it comes to small indoor antennas. There is also a Radio Shack antenna that gets good reviews but not sure of the model number.

StockInv

01-20-05, 05:55 PM

Since there are no up front fees, is there any downside to chosing VOOM with their $1.00 offer?

abcward

01-20-05, 06:22 PM

Originally posted by StockInv
Since there are no up front fees, is there any downside to chosing VOOM with their $1.00 offer?

Downsides:

1) no DVR
2) no Foxs Sports Midwest
3) possibility that Voom may shut their door within the next couple months
4) famous for horrible installation issues

John Kotches

01-20-05, 08:48 PM

Moman:

I'm playing with a Radio Shack in-line amplifier, which is working very well, and I'm now getting a very stable, locked signal.

I will try your suggestion after I'm done watching HD tonight :D

Cheers,

abcward

01-20-05, 08:51 PM

Say goodbye to Voom...

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 20, 2005--EchoStar Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) announced today that it has agreed to purchase certain satellite assets from Rainbow DBS Co., a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC), for $200 million.

Specifically, EchoStar has agreed to purchase Rainbow 1, a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) located at 61.5 degrees West Longitude, together with the rights to 11 DBS frequencies at that location. The satellite includes 13 frequencies, up to 12 of which can be operated in "spot beam" mode.

The EchoStar III satellite also located at 61.5 degrees West Longitude broadcasts DISH Network TV programming to hundreds of thousands of consumers today using DBS spectrum controlled by EchoStar at that location. EchoStar is assessing how the Rainbow satellite's flexibility can best be utilized to enhance DISH Network's existing service. Also, as part of the transaction with Cablevision, EchoStar will acquire ground facilities and related assets in Black Hawk, S.D. The transaction is subject to review by the Federal Communications Commission and other regulatory agencies.

link: http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=dish&script=410&layout=-6&item_id=665115

redwine

01-20-05, 10:21 PM

Sounds like a good time to get VOOM if it is really only a $1 outlay. EchoStar can't just abandon those customers...can they? You might get a great deal on whatever ends up as EchoStar's HD offering.

hall316

01-20-05, 10:31 PM

hmm, very interesting. it's not like no one seen this one coming. so will this further delay the dvr?

rthomp03

01-21-05, 09:31 AM

John,
I've had issues with KMOV as well since the P284 update on the 811. It now takes 3-5 seconds to tune in as opposed to 1-2 with all the other OTAs. About 1 time in 6 it won't lock the first time, but once it does lock I've got a steady picture. I live in St. Peters behind FHN and KMOV's strength reads ~74 on my 811.

StLouG

01-21-05, 09:43 AM

Originally posted by abcward
I have it under authority that Charter is in negotiations for adding a couple new HD channels this year. However it was very clear that ABC is not even close to be added. This is due to Sinclair's crazy demands. This is not a STL-only issue. Negotiating with Sinclair is a multi-state problem.

abcward any ideal what channels will be added and what is the time frame?
Thanks.

DroptheRemote

01-21-05, 10:20 AM

Originally posted by redwine
Sounds like a good time to get VOOM if it is really only a $1 outlay. EchoStar can't just abandon those customers...can they? You might get a great deal on whatever ends up as EchoStar's HD offering.

It's likely that Echostar WILL abandon the VOOM customers, because from a business standpoint it doesn't make any sense to keep separate infrastructure in place to support roughly 25,000 customers.

Both the Wall Street Journal story reporting on the VOOM sale and a spokesman for VOOM referred to VOOM in the past tense. WSJ says that "Cablevision is shutting down its VOOM satellite service" and the Cablevision spokesman talked about maintaining the service during a transition period.

Of course, both of these assessments/statements could be premature, but I think the fact that the subscriber numbers are so small virtually rules out maintaining the service. Charlie Ergen is known for doing some unconventional things, but keeping VOOM going as a separate concern for a relative handful of customers would break uncharted ground.

On the other hand, I suspect that DISH will provide some sort of incentive to convert existing VOOM customers to DISH. But even that might be tempered by the likelihood that there's probably around 10-15% overlap between current VOOM and DISH subscribers and that something around that percentage again are are former DISH customers that would be likely to return to the fold, especially those that haven't gotten around to selling their DISH gear yet.

From what I've read, DISH did this deal for satellite capacity and at the price they paid, they got what's considered to be a very attractive deal. I'm not sure if DISH will be required or interested in carrying any of the VOOM/Cablevision proprietary HD channels going forward, but I think their more logical interest is to use the new satellite capacity to match DirecTV's announced plans for HD locals.

I wonder if you called VOOM today to subscriber if they'd even be interested in taking your order?

tcfila

01-21-05, 10:39 AM

Anyone with the MOXI get VOD yet?

wilkemp

01-21-05, 11:09 AM

Nothing, so I quess we wait until the 25th now.

moman19

01-21-05, 12:04 PM

WOuldn't it be smart if Charlie took the Voom capacity to add more HD channels to existing subscribers? We'rte still starved for HD content and Voom had lots of HD channels that D* and E* could not carry due to capacity limitations.

Putting HD locals for all markets on a bird seems to be a major waste in bandwidth when most users can recieve this for free via a plain outdoor antenna. I'd gladly pay a few more bucks for more HD content (Bravo+, etc.).

redwine

01-21-05, 02:21 PM

VOOM was the only satellite service that offered all the available HD premium channels. I want all my movie channels to display in wide-screen and the highest resolution possible. After all, we pay a premium for premium channels. Hopefully DISH will use this as an immediate advantage over DirecTV.

DroptheRemote

01-21-05, 02:53 PM

redwine,

That's a great point about the all-HD premium potential.

I'm personally not a big fan of the premium movie channels, because DVD rentals seem to stack up as the better dollars-for-dollars deal. But if you're potentially interested in the premium channels, it absolutely makes them more attractive and valuable to have them in HD.

FWIW, for me, the same is true of VOD -- if it's limited to SD content, then I see no point in having it in the first place. But I do appreciate that not everyone gives the same priority to picture/sound quality as the majority of us here.

redwine

01-21-05, 04:06 PM

Doug,

The best feature of the premium channels in HD is when they show an older movie that was re-mastered for HD and in 16:9. HDNet does this the best. Even if the movie is just wide-screen in the OAR I'm usually fascinated with all the details I missed when I first viewed it. Even mediocre movies are enjoyable to watch. The 5.1 helps. :-)

DroptheRemote

01-21-05, 04:14 PM

redwine,

I agree -- I've particularly enjoyed "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," and "Some Like it Hot" in HD. I saw both of those on HDNet Movies.

Is this happening to the same degree on the other premium movie channels (Cinemax, Starz, etc)? If so, it might be a reason to reconsider the value of those channels, but I suspect that if you're patient that even those that originate elsewhere will eventually end up on HDNM.

abcward

01-21-05, 04:15 PM

Doug,

From what I have read, many cable companies will be offering VOD in HD very soon. It seems like cable companies like Time Warner are really banking on VOD as a huge selling point. In looking at TWC's channel lineup, they have a TON of VOD channels already and HD coming soon.

I'm not saying that I totally agree that VOD is 'the IT' thing, but more choices are more choices...especially when we are talking about HD.

However, Charter is not anywhere near as cutting edge as TWC or even Adelphia.

djearl81

01-21-05, 04:30 PM

I see a few Dish users in the forum, and I would like to ask for some information.

I'm a dish 500 customer. To get HD from Dish, would I need a second Dish on my roof, or would they replace my dish with a wider one? Obviously I would need an antenna to get locals in HD.

redwine

01-21-05, 04:47 PM

Doug,

HDnet/HDmovies are the leader in re-mastering classic movies. HBO and Showtime (the only other premium HD offered around here) usually just broadcast older movies in the OAR but I believe the HD resolution makes the picture better than the 480P from a DVD. Newer movies (last few years) are usually in full 16:9 so we are probably losing some of the frame versus the theatrical release version. I'm sure they are taking 16:9 HD into consideration when filming.

The Star Wars clone movie in HD was an exception. I was stunned when I saw this on HBO-HD.

Starz and Cinemax have HD channels and only Jedi35 can tell us about the quality of movies offered there. Encore HD should be offering re-mastered classics IMO...

jedi35

01-21-05, 06:03 PM

Oh what a sad day this is for me. The sale of Voom is finally here, and I'm the only one here that is getting royally --cked in the -ss by all this. Darn it!! I was really enjoying the wealth of HD that was available to me. I must admit that all of the premium channels looked great showing movies in HD, and the 5.1 sound was killer. The original channels were great too, and Voom even improved the look of the 10 movie chanels to closer match what we get on HDNet Movies. I didn't get a whole lot out of a few of the channels, like Rush, Art Museums, Fashion, Animation, Auctions, and a couple of others, but there were plenty of others to enjoy. How cool it was to fire up the receiver and be able to watch a nice concert in HD 5.1 at anytime. I was really looking forward to the dvr, especially since it was going to have a 250gig hdd, unlike the 80gig in my Moxi(yuck).

One thing I wondered about....the pics of the new Voom dvr look exactly like the current set top box, right? So, did Voom just pop this picture out knowing that it didn't have to manufacture an actual dvr box, looking ahead to being sold? Or, does the current stb already have the dvr installed, but just needs to be activated? Maybe we'll never know.

As to the issue of HD picture quality on the premium channels, you all would have enjoyed it. Simply first rate!! Voom always put up little facts about the HD, like "Shot in 35mm, mastered in HD" especially on the 10 original movie channels where mostly older films were shown. Very informative. There goes Universal HD for me. Bravo Doug, great explanation of the different kinds of HD material that can be shown, I'll agree.

It's purely personal, but I'm saddened by the fact that I and the other Voom customers will just be droped like a hot potato, with no incentives to get onboard with anyone else. What a reward for being an early supporter of an innovative new HD satellite service. I'm going to call them right now to see how long I have before the signal goes dead. I wonder if they are going to leave me with all this dead equipment, or if they'll come out and uninstall it. The end...for Voom.

Rant mode off.....

Robert Simandl

01-21-05, 06:44 PM

If I were Charlie, I'd keep all Voom's HD channels active (at least the real HD ones). Voom's satellite location is 61.5 degrees, which is a location Dish uses for its current HD channels anyway. It would be a matter of re-doing the signal so Dish's HD boxes (811 and PVR921) could pick them up. Then offer the Voom customers a deal to swap their Voom equipment for an 811 HD receiver or 921 HD PVR and appropriate dishes. In return, ex-Voom customers would agree to maintain a Dish Network subscription for some certain length of time.

I'll leave it to others to debate whether the economics of that would be worth it to Dish, other than to imagine ex-Voomers would almost certainly be high-dollar Dish Network customers if Dish offered something similar and kept them.

Robert Simandl

01-21-05, 06:47 PM

Hey Doug,

I haven't really been watching HDnetMovies lately...

Now that the Sunday Ticket package is done for another year, has DirecTV given HDnetMovies (and HBO-HD, and ShowtimeHD) some decent bandwidth back, or is *D still compressing the hell out of those channels?

Thanks...

John Kotches

01-21-05, 06:49 PM

Originally posted by djearl81
I see a few Dish users in the forum, and I would like to ask for some information.

I'm a dish 500 customer. To get HD from Dish, would I need a second Dish on my roof, or would they replace my dish with a wider one? Obviously I would need an antenna to get locals in HD.

The Dish 500 is all you need to get all of the HD that you are eligible for.

Chers,

DroptheRemote

01-21-05, 07:12 PM

Robert,

It looks like HDNet Movies is still bandwidth-constrained. I use the site below to check the current state of DirecTV bandwidth. The guy who created this page is an ISF calibrator in Dallas and he is doing this via one of the HD TiVo back doors.

http://www.widemovies.com/dfwbitrate.html

omarq

01-21-05, 07:18 PM

Originally posted by omarq
Humm.. I'll go back to the drawing board and re check ABC tonight.

Another interesting observation is that I seemed to get better HDTV signals when snow was on the ground. Maybe just coincidence, but perhaps the reflection of snow somehow helps. Maybe far fetched!

Well, I seemed to find the root of my problem. I have (er had) an RCA inline amplifier on my line into SAT 2 and OTA antenna on my HD DVR. It was once my saviour, now its the devil. It seems now, mysterously, to be blocking everything (except FOX OTA).

I removed the amp, and now I'm back to my crappy ole signal.

Anyone heard of these inline amps blowing up or having any product recommendations?

I'll go to the store tomorrow and get another one and we'll see what happens.

Scott Tucker

01-21-05, 07:25 PM

I would think that E* would absolutely give the voomer's a swap of boxes to grow their client base. Similar to what D* did when they acquired Primestar if i'm not mistaken. I don't know how many subscribers voom had, but if it were a significant amount that may be a big reason E* bought Voom. So they could gain more customers.
If E* uses Voom's satellite to offer more HD, I may have to drop my D*. I think this was a great move for E*. Don't worry Jedi, you may be better off in the long run.

Scott

redwine

01-21-05, 07:38 PM

There is a Dish dish bolted on the roof of my house that was here when I moved in about two years ago. I currently use Charter and ignore the two coax cables in my basement connected to the Dish dish. I hope I can use this for any possible Dish VOOM enhanced HD offering. It would make installation very easy..

DroptheRemote

01-21-05, 07:38 PM

FYI -- I've slightly reworked Joe's question (and my reply) from earlier in the week about the difference between "true HD" and "upconverts" and added it to the FAQ message that appears as on the first page of this discussion thread (third message from the top).

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=2995791#post2995791

Let me know if anyone has any suggestions for other additions to the FAQ, or if anyone knows of anything that needs to be updated in the other resource information on that page.

redwine

01-21-05, 08:01 PM

I've been looking at 26-27" LCD TVs for a bedroom set. The prices are still dropping ($849 on tigerdirect..thanks MSloss). Why do some of the sets list 1280x720 and others at 1280x768? The first is the 720P spec. and the second is the XVGA for monitors. Will a 768 set have another thin black bar on it when displaying 720P HD?

moman19

01-21-05, 08:01 PM

Originally posted by Robert Simandl
If I were Charlie, I'd keep all Voom's HD channels active (at least the real HD ones). Voom's satellite location is 61.5 degrees, which is a location Dish uses for its current HD channels anyway. It would be a matter of re-doing the signal so Dish's HD boxes (811 and PVR921) could pick them up. Then offer the Voom customers a deal to swap their Voom equipment for an 811 HD receiver or 921 HD PVR and appropriate dishes. In return, ex-Voom customers would agree to maintain a Dish Network subscription for some certain length of time.

I'll leave it to others to debate whether the economics of that would be worth it to Dish, other than to imagine ex-Voomers would almost certainly be high-dollar Dish Network customers if Dish offered something similar and kept them.

Not quite. The vast majority of us don't have an antenna pointed at 61.5 degrees. So the solution you suggest isn't so simple. If we were allowed to view program info off that "bird", we would have to reorient our dishes and ,. in the process. would lose whatever (most) existing channels that are on the 110 and 119 birds.

Robert Simandl

01-21-05, 09:31 PM

Dish already offers a free second dish install to existing customers pointing to 61.5 because of the locals issue (channels 24 and 46 are there). Tell Dish you want the free 2nd dish install so you can get "all" your locals. After your second dish is set up and integrated into your system, you'll be all set for whatever new HD channels Dish adds from that ex-Voom satellite.

Assuming Voom's dish could pick up Dish Network signals, the path for Voom subscribers would be the opposite. They sign up as new Dish Network subscribers. The installer brings out the Dish500 and Dish STB's, and wires up the existing Voom dish as the second dish, since it already points at Dish's 61.5 slot.

Of course, both scenarios above assume a lot more common sense than Dish Network has actually shown lately. :D

tcfila

01-21-05, 10:18 PM

Originally posted by redwine
I've been looking at 26-27" LCD TVs for a bedroom set. The prices are still dropping ($849 on tigerdirect..thanks MSloss). Why do some of the sets list 1280x720 and others at 1280x768? The first is the 720P spec. and the second is the XVGA for monitors. Will a 768 set have another thin black bar on it when displaying 720P HD?

I'd be wary of Tiger Direct http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1983.html

I've known some people that have not had the best luck with them, especially when it comes to rebates.

Tim

Robert Simandl

01-21-05, 11:03 PM

TigerDirect does place a lot of emphasis on rebates lately. And those rebates can take months to arrive.

But they're based in Naperville, IL (just outside of Chicago), so shipment is FAST. Even with ground shipping, orders placed on a Monday morning will be at your door Tuesday afternoon.

If speed isn't such a necessity, newegg.com can't be beat on prices. Shipping is usually three days.

Newegg and TigerDirect are where I get most of my computer parts nowadays.

Joe Smith

01-21-05, 11:34 PM

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
FYI -- I've slightly reworked Joe's question (and my reply) from earlier in the week about the difference between "true HD" and "upconverts" and added it to the FAQ message that appears as on the first page of this discussion thread (third message from the top).

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=2995791#post2995791

Let me know if anyone has any suggestions for other additions to the FAQ, or if anyone knows of anything that needs to be updated in the other resource information on that page.

thanks Doug that helps

jedi35

01-22-05, 03:36 AM

Yes, it's true that I could wind up in better shape by getting more HD from a satellite company that has solid grounding, so to speak. I called Voom earlier, and was given the "corporate" response to the issue of being sold. I was told that the details have not been worked out, and the deal hasn't been completed yet. Voom will continue to provide service to its customers until further notice, and the pvr is still scheduled to be released sometime in March. Hah....we'll see.

DroptheRemote

01-22-05, 09:00 AM

The following is an excerpt of an HDTV Magazine report appearing in the Jan 21 edition that provides some additional information on Cablevision's sale of VOOM to DISH. There's not a lot new here, but thought this still might be of some interest.

The most interesting new tidbit is that DISH did not "buy" the VOOM subscribers.

__________________________________

...EchoStar said it's assessing how the Rainbow satellite can best be utilized to enhance its DISH Network DBS service. Rainbow 1, the satellite supporting VOOM, is located at 61.5 degrees, and the companies' deal comes with rights to 11 DBS frequencies at the orbital location. Also, the satellite includes 13 frequencies, up to 12 of which can be operated in spot beam mode.

EchoStar operates its EchoStar III satellite at 61.5 degrees.

Cablevision said it will continue to explore strategic alternatives, including monetization, for the remaining Rainbow DBS related assets, including programming, equipment and spectrum. VOOM will continue to provide service to its current customers during a transition period, Cablevision said.

Also, as part of the transaction, EchoStar will acquire ground facilities and related assets in Black Hawk, S.D. Sources said the deal doesn't include VOOM subscribers, which as of last count number 26,000.

__________________________________

For more details and to subscribe to HDTV Magazine, go to www.ilovehdtv.com

John Kotches

01-22-05, 09:25 AM

Doug,

That does make one wonder whether or not the Voom subscribers will be orphaned or if Cablevision is going to use another Sat. At < 30K subscribers it's not close to breaking even. I believe the breakeven cost for monthly operations at this point is > $900/month. Not exactly "kick-ass" :D

Dish's current sat at 61.5 has a number of failed transponders and could conceivably become an in-orbit spare. I suspect that it will be used for smaller markets with some locals on 61.5. This would then allow them to migrate all locals for these smaller markets to 61.5 without a huge expenditure. This then frees up space on 110/119 which could be used for more content (type to be determined).

The updated satellite act only says that a markets locals must come from one dish, it doesn't say that the requirement is for one dish for all content.

By the way, are you getting "spammed" by Dale this AM? I've gotten a number of copies of HDTV magazine today.

The Rat Shack amplifier is doing the job for me on KMOV. Weird, but true.

djearl81

01-22-05, 10:54 AM

Well, I just pulled the trigger. My HD Dish 811 gets "installed" on tuesday.

I need a little help with my antenna choice. I'm in Swansea (just south of Fairview heights.) Does anyone have any suggestions as to what antenna may work best for me? Should I just buy a bunch of them and keep the one that works best? I'd prefer to stick with an indoor antenna.

Any comments or suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks,
Djearl81

John Kotches

01-22-05, 11:06 AM

dj:

Antenna Web (http://www.antennaweb.org) can help you select an appropriate antenna for you.

All of the DTV stations are UHF in the area, so a UHF only antenna would fit the job, and something along the lines of the lines of the Winegard Square Shooter (with or without preamp) would likely be a nice unobtrusive antenna solution for outdoors. That or a Bow-tie antenna would be good choices IMO. My Yagi is getting obliterated with all of the wind and a bow-tie is likely less susceptible to wind issues.

I have assumed you live in a multiple story home though, and if you put your exact address in Antenna Web, they can get you a much more accurate reccomendation.

Cheers,

djearl81

01-22-05, 12:09 PM

Thanks John! I wish I had a two story home. I have a single story...but with a finished Walkout basement. The walkout faces East, and the broadcasts are coming form the west.

Antenna web stated I need a Medium Multidirectional Antenna. Went on to say that these are Novel Stick, Wing Shaped, or disk antennas with long elements. Unfortunately I do not know what a Novel Stick looks like.

I was checking this one out:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Terk-Antenna--TV5-/sem/rpsm/oid/54455/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

I'm thinking I may put it on top of my Sat receiver. If that doesn't work, I'll try the attic. Any ideas?

Thanks for putting up with me,
djearl

DroptheRemote

01-22-05, 03:46 PM

John,

I was very surprised to see that the VOOM subscribers weren't part of the DISH purchase. Maybe DISH figured that there wasn't really any way to hold those subs to their VOOM contracts even short term, or maybe Cablevision placed a value on those agreements that DISH didn't see as economical.

Of those two possibilities (and there could be many others), the latter seems more plausible, because I would think that getting some portion of 25,000+ sat subscribers at below the usual customer acquisition cost would be a good thing and that DISH would jump at that opportunity, even if the long-term attrition rate was 50%.

Maybe there's something else going here that's not in view yet. However, I seriously doubt that Cablevision is jumping back into the satellite briar patch in some new form. Even if they did manage to get to break even, investment requires a reasonable expectation of medium-term profitability and it's really hard to see (any) third satellite provider coming into the market and attracting enough business quickly enough to justify the sort of dollars required.

For that matter, DISH has got more than enough of an uphill battle as the #2 player going head-to-head with News Corp.

DroptheRemote

01-22-05, 03:55 PM

djearl81,

I'm also in Swansea -- in fact, my mailbox is probably less than a half mile of the Belleville, Fairview Heights and Swansea city lines.

I'm using a Channel Master 4221 UHF antenna with mostly good results. I have occasional problems in the summer with KSDK, but I've pretty much concluded that's a multipath issue, not a matter of capturing the signal. Also, even though I don't watch it, I get WRBU perfectly and it is definitely the most remote tower from my location (I also suspect WRBU is putting out less power than KSDK).

Otherwise, all channels are coming in perfectly.

Give me a call if you need any specific help.

DroptheRemote

01-22-05, 04:02 PM

John,

The following was posted by another subscriber on the HDTV Tips List:

________________

I talked to Dale earlier and he mentioned that his mail sender went haywire on him last night barraging several of his lists with multiple copies of emails ... he's been sorting through the results all morning.
________________

djearl81

01-22-05, 04:48 PM

Doug,

It's great to hear that someone in Swansea is getting good reception. (Makes me feel a lot better.) I just ordered the DB2 antenna from http://www.antennasdirect.com/db2_bowtie_antenna.htm

My plan is to get a 100' coax cable and try the antenna in my attic and on my deck before I fish the wire through the walls. If there is a noticable difference between the two spots, I'll pull out the ladder and head to the roof to try it up there.

Doug, if I run into problems, or have questions, on tuesday/wednesday can I give you a call? I'd really appreciate it.

Robert Simandl

01-22-05, 05:14 PM

I never had a problem with multiple HDTV News mailings recently. Must not have been on Dale's priority list. :D

BradZ

01-22-05, 05:39 PM

yeah, the HD magazine mailing list must be all screwy. Sometimes I get multiple mails when others don't and today I didn't get any when alot of folks got bombarded.

DroptheRemote

01-22-05, 07:48 PM

djearl81,

I'll probably be around most of the day on Tuesday, but have to take my father to the doctor on Wednesday.

But I'm reachable on the 314 number below on either day.

jedi35

01-22-05, 10:10 PM

I'm still feeling stunned by the Voom news. I knew that it might happen at some point down the reoad, but wasn't prepared for it to happen so soon. It's kind of like knowing that my father was fighting cancer, but it was still a shock when he finally passed. The doctors did not report him as critical at the time, and were trying to boost his health to get him back home. Like Voom... the doctors were saying good things, like 'we're adding a lot more HD channels', and 'we're coming out with a pvr in March', only to sell the company with no provision for us, the subscribers. Ouch!!

Anybody interested in a Voom stb smashup party???

DroptheRemote

01-23-05, 10:30 AM

jedi,

Rather than a smash-up, maybe you should just look to sell your VOOM receiver as an OTA receiver (once VOOM is actually shuttered). There would probably be some HDTV newcomers lurking or posting here that would happily pay $150 or so for an OTA-only tuner.

Of course, I'm assuming that VOOM's OTA function works without a satellite download authorization...

omarq

01-23-05, 11:25 AM

Originally posted by omarq
Well, I seemed to find the root of my problem. I have (er had) an RCA inline amplifier on my line into SAT 2 and OTA antenna on my HD DVR. It was once my saviour, now its the devil. It seems now, mysterously, to be blocking everything (except FOX OTA).

I removed the amp, and now I'm back to my crappy ole signal.

Anyone heard of these inline amps blowing up or having any product recommendations?

I'll go to the store tomorrow and get another one and we'll see what happens.

Got a new in line amplifier, and that restored my HD signal beautfiully.

BradZ

01-23-05, 11:56 AM

omarq,

what model in line amp? how much and where did you get it? For some reason my father in law is having problems with channel 4 coming in and out. He's a big Steeler fan so he's coming here today for the game, but he really needs something to help him out.

StLouG

01-23-05, 02:03 PM

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
jedi,

Rather than a smash-up, maybe you should just look to sell your VOOM receiver as an OTA receiver (once VOOM is actually shuttered). There would probably be some HDTV newcomers lurking or posting here that would happily pay $150 or so for an OTA-only tuner.

Of course, I'm assuming that VOOM's OTA function works without a satellite download authorization...

DroptheRemote I read on the Satellite Guys forum that once that box is turned off it will not operate as OTA tuner. Your are correct in your statement that it needs a satellite authorization.

DroptheRemote

01-23-05, 02:25 PM

StLouG,

That's bad design -- maybe VOOM will have a way of undoing the satellite requirement before they sign off for the final time.

Seems a shame -- after all, there are still some Unity Motion STBs around that are getting useful service due to their ability to tune into other sats (not sure about OTA)...

Anyone here remember Unity Motion? Its operations were based in St. Louis, though I use the word "operations" in the loosest sense of the word... :rolleyes:

abcward

01-23-05, 05:49 PM

DirecTV will raise prices for its consumer packages on March 1, the satellite TV company revealed late Thursday.

On average, rates will go up for DirecTV customers by 4 percent, when taking into consideration the $63 in average monthly revenue generated on an average customer basis. The packages mentioned by the company will see a $3 increase.

The Total Choice package will go from $39.99 a month to $41.99 a month. Total Choice Plus will climb from $42.99 a month to $45.99 a month. And Total Choice Premier will jump from $90.99 a month to $93.99 a month.

Prices for premium services will not see an increase. The upcoming price increase also will not cover sports packages, though pricing for sports packages typically are announced in advance of the particular sports season start and usually change year from year.

When asked to comment on the pending price increases, DirecTV spokesperson Bob Marsocci said the company has encountered higher programming costs, much like other cable and satellite TV companies. And Marsocci said DirecTV continues to invest in its business, including work on several "capital intensive" items that he said will help make DirecTV a more attractive service to consumers.

DirecTV has opened two new call centers to handle its growing customer base. And beginning this year, DirecTV will begin launching new satellites that will support an expansion of its service, such as more national high def channels and local HD. The next-generation satellites alone - four Ka-Band spacecraft - represent a $1 billion investment, Marsocci said.

link: http://www.skyreport.com/#Story1

skippy_rq

01-23-05, 07:04 PM

Upfront let me thank those who responded to my questions.

Well I made the jump. With the upcoming price increase and looking to save money, I am going to Charter. Tuesday they will be here to install the TV and Internet. I am getting every channel and the HD package and Kid's VOD, plus 2 MOXI boxes, 3mb internet, and tranferring my phone service with 5 features I didn't have. This is going to cost me $138 +tax. Currently I have DirecTV with TC+ with locals, HD package, 2 DirecTiVos, 3 other receivers (Got HD receiver plus tivo on my HDTV) and the protection plan. I was paying around $77. My DSL and phone from CenturyTel was around 95 and that was without voicemail or CID. Plus my DSL was supposed to be 3mb but barely ever tests out higher than 1.6.
I do realize that Charter does not offer that many channels on the HD lineup but I can live with it. I really want to record HD. Thanks all!

Rich

djearl81

01-23-05, 07:46 PM

Hey Skippy...Shout at the midrange sometime.

Doug - I won't bother you on Wednesday. Thanks for offering to help.

- Djearl81

skippy_rq

01-23-05, 08:02 PM

Originally posted by djearl81
Hey Skippy...Shout at the midrange sometime.

- Djearl81

Ok, you obviously work with me. But I can't think who you are. PM me or shoot me email skippy_rq@hotmail.com. With me out on disability I can't ask at work!

Rich

Fiasco

01-23-05, 11:17 PM

I live out by Lone Elk state park (just west of fenton on i44) and my house sits between two rather large hills (250+ feet tall). I'm less then 20 miles from all the towers broadcasting OTA HD. The two hills are about 1/2 mile apart and my subdivision sits right between them.

Am I going to be able to get the OTA signals or are they just going to travel right over my head.

What are my chances of getting HD OTA and is their a local retailer in St. Louis for the channel master antenna?

Is the Radio Shack UHF antenna (15-2160 $25) ok or should I get a channel master 4221?... or will neither work in my situation...

Is there some type of signal amplifier I should investigate in conjunction with an antenna?

davesalaman

01-23-05, 11:33 PM

Originally posted by Bill787
Jim-- I was one of the folks with a Zenith HD420, along with wmschultz (Panasonic?) and Mr_Bester and b_sing (Panasonic TUHDS 20) who had video stuttering problems last July with your signal.

It definitely started again a week ago Monday and ABC High-Def has been consistently unwatchable since. I know the root cause is a compatibility problem as others have no problem, but still very disappointing.

A word to the wise: Stay away from Zenith or Panasonic receivers

Quoting a real old post here but it's been a problem for a long long time. But, guess what ? IT'S GONE (now hope I didn't go and jinx it).

KDNL HD was clear, stutter free, and in audio sync tonight for the first time with pre-recorded material.

I noticed there was no HD Saturday night. I thought it might of been a switch flipper problem again, but maybe they were installing new equipment.

Fiasco

01-23-05, 11:34 PM

On antennaweb, are the channels with -DT on them the HD channels? Antenna web says I need a violet (large directional) antenna and that I need an amplifier. The most distant HD tower (-DT?) is 17 miles away.

I guess the winegard ss-2000 w/ amp is not suitable?

DroptheRemote

01-23-05, 11:58 PM

Fiasco,

The sort of topography that you describe can be difficult. Distance isn't going to be an issue for you, so I think your best bet is to try a basic antenna, either the Radio Shack or the Channel Master. The RS is probably going to be easier to find, so I suggest trying that one to start.

I'd suggest that you start by aiming your antenna directly toward the towers to see which stations you can receive and what sort of signal strength you're getting.

In the event that you don't get anything or get marginal reception, try moving the antenna gradually off-axis from the towers. Hills and buildings can cause the signals to bounce, so if this is happening with the hill between you and the towers, you might be able to pull in a "reflected" signal for one or more of the stations.

Yes, the "DT" designation means the digital channels.

There is a map that you can download showing the St. Louis tower locations here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=2995679#post2995679

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=2995679

Hope this works out for you; let us know what sort of results you get. Good luck.

Fiasco

01-24-05, 12:40 AM

Thanks for the response doug. I would rather avoid an ungainly antenna on my roof and use something like the winegard ss-2000.

Would that antenna not be suitable for my application? It was designed to capture reflected signal right?

John Kotches

01-24-05, 07:07 AM

The Square Shooter is designed to be a multi-directional antenna. It might do well, but if you're getting a lot of multipath I suspect it will do poorly.

Cheers,

DroptheRemote

01-24-05, 07:12 AM

Fiasco,

I'm not familiar with the Winegard antenna you cited, so I Googled it. It seems that it's what I call "an antenna working overtime not to look like an antenna."

In my limited experience, these sort of antennas do not work well. They sacrifice effectiveness for appearance, but it's possible that this Winegard antenna MIGHT be different, but I personally wouldn't bet $99.95 (plus shipping) on it.

If appearance is a big deal for you, consider getting a regular antenna and locating it in your attic, assuming you have an accessible attic. You will lose some signal by going the attic route, but again I don't believe that signal strength is going to be the issue for you as much as the large hill between you and the transmission tower locations.

If the attic isn't an option, consider an indoor antenna, such as the Silver Sensor, though again your hill will likely diminish the normal effectiveness of the SS.

I'd also suggest you go back and revisit the link I included in my previous message. There's additional information in the first three messages on that page that should be useful to you.

DroptheRemote

01-24-05, 07:29 AM

A few days ago someone here was asking about the status of picture quality (bitrate) of the HDNet Movies programming on DirecTV.

There's some more recent discussion of this here on AVS at the HDTV Programming forum:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=499691

tlmcca

01-24-05, 08:15 AM

I just wanted to say thanks to those who responded about my questions on the MOXI box and setting aspect ratio. A special thans to Doug (Droptheremote) who really went out of his way to help me save my set's service menu settings. I would have hated to lose those to the service guy after all the work Doug did getting the set tuned.

Thanks again,
Terry

DroptheRemote

01-24-05, 08:53 AM

Fiasco,

One other thought -- while the Radio Shack UHF antenna is probably the easiest option, if you decide you want something from either Winegard or Channel Master, they are available through Skywalker Communications in Wentzville/O'Fallon (9390 Veterans Memorial Parkway).

Skywalker is primarily a wholesaler, but they will sell on a retail basis. I checked the older Skywalker catalog I have on hand here (Summer 2003) and they do apparently stock some of the "friendly-looking" Winegard models, though not the one you listed (yours is probably just a newer model).

Anyway, if you want to try the SS model, getting it from Skywalker would simplify the return process if it doesn't do the job. Skywalker stocks a fairly complete line of the other CM and WG antennas.

You can contact Skywalker at (636) 272-8025. If you decide to buy there, you can pick up the antenna yourself, or they will do FedEx Ground delivery if you prefer.

skippy_rq

01-24-05, 11:07 AM

Originally posted by djearl81
Well, I just pulled the trigger. My HD Dish 811 gets "installed" on tuesday.

I need a little help with my antenna choice. I'm in Swansea (just south of Fairview heights.) Does anyone have any suggestions as to what antenna may work best for me? Should I just buy a bunch of them and keep the one that works best? I'd prefer to stick with an indoor antenna.

Any comments or suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks,
Djearl81

I hope you used your employee discount on this. ;-)

Robert Simandl

01-24-05, 07:34 PM

Don't expect 30-1 to show up on Charter any time soon. Or any time LATE, either...

Mister_DTV, who apparently works for Sinclair Broadcasting, posted this link to the company's position on HD cable carriage:

http://www.sbgi.net/misc/cable_resale_local_tv.pdf

DroptheRemote

01-24-05, 08:16 PM

I think Sinclair makes some good points, but they completely lose me when:

a) they claim that 50 cents per subscriber per month is a reasonable amount; and

b) they claim that this cost can readily be absorbed by the cable company without it impacting subscription costs;

Take 50 cents times four major network stations in each market and say 25 cents for each independent, and it adds up to at least $2 per sub and probably more like $2.50 per month. But let's be conservative and say it's only $2, or $24 per year.

Charter, to take the example of just one cable company, has 6 million subscribers, so the total hit to Charter's bottom line would be $144 million. Granted, the total hit wouldn't be that large for years to come, but eventually when all subs convert over to digital, that's what the tab will be.

No subcription fee increase?

C'mon guys, if you want us to believe this -- even momentarily -- at least share with us whatever it is you've been smoking... :rolleyes:

abcward

01-24-05, 09:24 PM

You could be blind, deaf and dumb and realize who is to blame on the whole Sinclair vs. Cable Companies debate. Funny how all the other companies are able to come to contracts on their network programming.

Sinclair is robbing their customer base with their tactics. I wonder how reasonable they will be when D* wants to broadcast HD locals in the future....

Robert Simandl

01-24-05, 10:11 PM

Hey abcward,

Considering Sinclair was the reason the analog St. Louis locals took as long as they did to get on DirecTV and Dish, the answer to your question is probably...

"Not very."

I won't be taking down my antenna any time soon.

wilkemp

01-25-05, 09:52 AM

So I take it there is a new target date for VOD for Moxi subscribers?

abcward

01-25-05, 10:22 AM

wilkemp,

I heard last week that tonight is the night it happens - but this is 2nd hand information.

apocalypso

01-25-05, 02:14 PM

i was wondering if i have to have charter activate my dvi port on my moxi, and if anyone has connectivity to their TV this way????

The reason i ask is because i have all the component connections used up on my sony grand wega 42" and i will buy my own dvi to hdmi cable to use with moxi so i can free up the components for a DVD player. I was gonna buy an upconverting dvd player but the good ones are a little pricy for what most of you say is a minimal difference

GlendaleHDTV

01-25-05, 04:07 PM

The DVI is not active on the Moxi box yet (Moxi's issue, not Charter's). Moxiguy was quoted over in the Moxi forum as saying they expect to enable DVI around the first of March.

turls

01-25-05, 04:43 PM

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5056599#post5056599

Well, haven't followed this thread that close but this package would have been some additional content to justify our UPN affiliate's use of HD--and now its gone. Like they told us, they are just waiting for enough content for it to be worth it :rolleyes:

And since Enterprise is now probably gone, another nail in the coffin.

Guess they were smart to wait it out, or more like maybe the chicken and egg thing :rolleyes:

willy wonka

01-25-05, 09:50 PM

I noticed on Sunday night, and verified tonight, that KDNL-30 has changed something in the HD OTA feed that has fixed the jitter/freezing/audio synch problems in the Samsung 360 receiver from D*. Check "The Official Samsung 360 720P bug thread" on AVS if you are not familiar with the problem.

All I have to say to KDNL-30 is... THANK YOU... THANK YOU... THANK YOU. Please don't change anything!

I checked the receiver's firmware, the last update was in Oct. 04. I continue to have the problem with ESPN-HD and FOX-HD via D*.

So, is someone from KDNL-30 willing to tell us what changed? Have any St. Louis 360 owners noticed that 30 is working correctly?

Mr_Bester

01-25-05, 11:16 PM

Originally posted by willy wonka
I noticed on Sunday night, and verified tonight, that KDNL-30 has changed something in the HD OTA feed that has fixed the jitter/freezing/audio synch problems in the Samsung 360 receiver from D*. Check "The Official Samsung 360 720P bug thread" on AVS if you are not familiar with the problem.

All I have to say to KDNL-30 is... THANK YOU... THANK YOU... THANK YOU. Please don't change anything!

I checked the receiver's firmware, the last update was in Oct. 04. I continue to have the problem with ESPN-HD and FOX-HD via D*.

So, is someone from KDNL-30 willing to tell us what changed? Have any St. Louis 360 owners noticed that 30 is working correctly?
On my old receiver, I had this problem. It went away when they kicked up the bandwidth. I have no clue if this is what happened this time or not.
I currently have the 160, and have had no problems whatsoever with KDNL or the other 720p's.
I did have these problems with the old STB, and talked to D* about it(trying to get them to up the bandwidth) with no reconciliation.
Hopefully, whatever Jim (WRacer) did, can be passed on to D*, ESPN and/or Fox.
Dug

abcward

01-26-05, 12:01 AM

ESPN, HBO get HD bragging rights

Jeff Baumgartner, CED

ESPN and HBO are the most-carried high-definition networks, according to a BuyingHDTV.com study that analyzed the top 25 U.S. cable markets.

The study showed that ESPN HD and HBO HD had 100 percent coverage in those markets, followed by NBC (98 percent), and ABC, Discovery HD Theater and Showtime (92 percent).

A handful of channels are carried on fewer than half of those cable systems: HDNet and HDNet Movies (44 percent), TNT HD (18 percent), Universal HD (8 percent), and The Movie Channel HD (2 percent).

Among cities, Boston had the highest average number of HD channels (15.7), followed by Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Seattle, and Tampa (15), New York City (14.8), Philadelphia (14.3), and Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and the San Francisco Bay Area (14). St. Louis (8) was the lowest among the top 25 cities studied.

"HDTV is a truly revolutionary technology, but our data show that there are still large regional discrepancies over how much programming is available in high-definition," said Mark Kersey, president of BuyingHDTV.com, in a statement.

link: http://www.cedmagazine.com/cedailydirect/2005/0105/cedaily050125.htm

jedi35

01-26-05, 05:31 AM

Isn't that sad, we're at the bottom of the barrel when compared to the number of hd channels in other major cities. It figures. 46-1 is teasing me again, with an on again/off again signal....still not reliable enough to tape Enterprise with. If they could just boost their power a bit more I'd be alright. Since the signal is weak to begin with, does anyone know if there's anything I can do to boost the signal I'm getting? Would it help?? All the other channels are coming in fine.

skippy_rq

01-26-05, 07:10 AM

Charter rolled out VOD on MOXI boxes overnight! It's here!

Rich

tcfila

01-26-05, 08:21 AM

I got the update, but it still doesn't work right. The only tab that works is the Movie tab. None of the premium tabs work.

Skippy, do all of the tabs work for you?

Tim

skippy_rq

01-26-05, 08:50 AM

Everything works perfectly. All the HBO, Starz, all the premium packs are there and working. Maybe your box hasn't taken the full upgrade yet. I did have to reset the box this morning due to loss of video signal to my TV. You could also try setting the trigger for software update. You might try that then call customer service while it is still early and queues are low. :)

Rich

StLouG

01-26-05, 09:11 AM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by abcward
ESPN, HBO get HD bragging rights

Jeff Baumgartner, CED

Among cities, Boston had the highest average number of HD channels (15.7), followed by Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Seattle, and Tampa (15), New York City (14.8), Philadelphia (14.3), and Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and the San Francisco Bay Area (14). [b]St. Louis (8) was the lowest among the top 25 cities studied.

Another low for St. Louis along with the Rams special teams, potholes and the crime rate. I hope their new CEO takes note of this and takes some action. However I would not count on it. I have read that Charter is in "negotiations" for new HD channels. However negotiations could mean a number of things and what time frame are we looking at. I guess this information is top secret and we do not need to know until it happens.They must think we are not capable of handling this type of information. All I want is some information.

Rant Off.

wilkemp

01-26-05, 09:20 AM

Tcfila, I have the same problem except nothing works, either nothing happens if I hit ok or I get an error message.

tcfila

01-26-05, 12:17 PM

Spoke with Charter, they said wait until after 4:00....I won't hold my breath.

wilkemp

01-26-05, 12:52 PM

When I briefly had VOD with the Moxi after the Tab showed up on the guide it did take another day before it actually worked so tomorrow hopefuly it will work.

BradZ

01-26-05, 01:47 PM

Other than Fox, are there any other local networks that are owned and operated by the network? I still think my OTA Fox is better PQ than DirecTV's feed, but it's nice to have the backup signal when things aren't right. I see that DirecTV has added ABC in O&O markets. Are our local CBS, NBC, or WB affiliates owned by their respective networks?

DroptheRemote

01-26-05, 02:05 PM

Brad,

No -- only FOX is an owned/operated station in St. Louis.

KSDK (NBC) is owned by Gannett, KMOV (CBS) by Belo and KDNL (ABC) by Sinclair.

I'm not sure about KPLR, but I'm virtually certain it's not owned by WB. In any event, WB and DirecTV don't currently have a network carriage agreement similar to the four majors.

BradZ

01-26-05, 02:59 PM

thanks Doug,

I guess we wait for mpeg-4.

Starbug

01-26-05, 09:05 PM

Doug,

I did a search of FCC records and found that KPLR is owned by WGN CONTINENTAL BROADCASTING COMPANY of Chicago. I believe they are owned by Tribune Publishing.

WRBU (46 & 47) is owned by Roberts Broadcasting.

DroptheRemote

01-26-05, 09:46 PM

Starbug,

Thanks for checking that.

I should have remembered the WGN connection, because there was some speculation last summer that KPLR might be able to piggyback on WGN-DT to provide HD telecasts of the Cards-Cubs games played in Chicago and shown in HD in Chicago by WGN.

As for WRBU, they don't count.

djearl81

01-27-05, 11:44 AM

HD is incredible!

Doug, thanks for being available for me ealier this week. Unfortunately my antenna didn't come in the mail until late last night.

I tried a few different indoor antennas from Best buy and Radioshack in my spare time...3 different antennas picked up 2 or less stations in my home. However, when I got my DB2 from http://www.antennasdirect.com/db2_bowtie_antenna.htm , I put it in the same spot as the other antennas and it picked up 6 stations (3 PBS channels.) I think with a little more time and experimentation this antenna will work just fine.

Would an in line amplifier strengthen my antennas range? The big channel I'm trying to tune is FOX for the superbowl. Does anyone have any suggestions?

DroptheRemote

01-27-05, 11:55 AM

djearl81,

Give me a call and maybe we can get together and look into your situation more closely.

I'm surprised that you aren't having better success with the DB2, but variations in reception quality can vary over short distances, so maybe this is one of those cases. It might be helpful to know which other station (apart from KTVI-FOX) you're not receiving.

FWIW, the three PBS channels are actually a single signal -- the subchannels are coded discretely in the KETC digital bitstream. As a result, that means you're really only receiving four of the six available digital signals.

I'm unavailable this afternoon, but should be contactable on my cell phone all day and I could probably drop by your place late afternoon or early evening, if you think that would be helpful.

omarq

01-27-05, 12:35 PM

Originally posted by BradZ
omarq,

what model in line amp? how much and where did you get it? For some reason my father in law is having problems with channel 4 coming in and out. He's a big Steeler fan so he's coming here today for the game, but he really needs something to help him out.

It was a RCA D903 from Radio Shack or Best Buy also carries them..

I have completely ditched my attempts with those though. I think the biggest problem I had was running the OTA cable through the mutlswitch, and then through a diplexer. I ran an extra line straight from the antenna. That helped my cause, except now I can't get KMOV DT.

When will it end!

omarq

01-27-05, 12:38 PM

Originally posted by Fiasco
I live out by Lone Elk state park (just west of fenton on i44) and my house sits between two rather large hills (250+ feet tall). I'm less then 20 miles from all the towers broadcasting OTA HD. The two hills are about 1/2 mile apart and my subdivision sits right between them.

Am I going to be able to get the OTA signals or are they just going to travel right over my head.

What are my chances of getting HD OTA and is their a local retailer in St. Louis for the channel master antenna?

Is the Radio Shack UHF antenna (15-2160 $25) ok or should I get a channel master 4221?... or will neither work in my situation...

Is there some type of signal amplifier I should investigate in conjunction with an antenna?

I personally have had mixed results with amplifiers. See some of my previous posts, regarding inline amps... Sometimes they work great, sometimes they block your entire signal. Something to keep in mind: Always put an amp or premap as close to the antenna as possible, otherwise you'll just be amplifing noise. A friend of mine has had good luck with the Winegard Pre-Amp systems (8700 series maybe?).

tcfila

01-27-05, 09:40 PM

Anyone with the MOXI having trouble with 785 NBC tonight? Mine gets the unauthorized message. Its been like that since about 6.

Tim

redwine

01-27-05, 10:47 PM

Tim,

I don't have the MOXI but 785 has not been working for me all night.

skippy_rq

01-27-05, 10:51 PM

I just got home and got the same message. If it persists until the morning then I will call since I have Third Watch setup to record on 785.

Rich

abcward

01-27-05, 11:00 PM

I too have the same issue with NBC-HD. All other HD channels are coming in fine.

Kurt K

01-27-05, 11:23 PM

The only problem I had with KSDK tonight was the wonderful switching. Is it too much to ask that if the HD broadcast has to be switched during commercials, that it's switched back to HD after the commercials? I watched ER in SD between the first and second commercial breaks because "someone forgot the switch". Additionally, is it that hard to wait until the credits of shows actually start before switching to SD....is it that important the the preview for the evening news is shown in SD (oh wait it is, we don't want the zoom & crop of channel 4).

rant off

Bonger

01-28-05, 12:17 AM

I too was having the unauthorized message on 785 NBC-HD tonight. I re-booted the Moxi and now all is well.

tlmcca

01-28-05, 07:51 AM

I had the same problem around 7 pm. I tried rebooting MOXI but, no help. Called Charter to report the issue and they already had a recorded announcement saying they were working the issue. No ER in HD recorded, but I will have an hour of the blue screen indicating I've not subscribed; that might be better than anything else that's on.

Terry

moman19

01-28-05, 10:09 AM

Reality Check:

Since I only have one TV capable of receiving HD OTA, I would like to have someone please confirm my findings. I want to make sure I'm not missing anything. I receive OTA HD via my Dish Network 811 STB.

1. Channels 2,4,5,9,11,30 & 46 each broadcast in HD
2. Only Channel 9 multicasts with 3 subs
3. All Channels have proper PSIP in except Channel 2, which forever appears listed on my STB as Channel 43-01.
4. Channel 4-HD does a miserable job of crop & chop with gray side bars, when transmitting SD programming.

Please confirm this is your experience as well or note the exceptions.

Thanks in advance.

DroptheRemote

01-28-05, 10:39 AM

moman19,

1. Mostly correct. WRBU does not broadcast in HD in any way, shape or form. Even the digital broadcasts have not been formatted for ATSC standards, as the image is sent as 4x3. The upside is that you have "aspect ratio" control over 47-1.

2. Yes -- One HD channel and two sub-channels

3. Not sure as my guide data for the locals is provided by DirecTV, rather than direct from the stations.

4. Correct and Completely Agree. Chop and Crop is a classic case of "too clever by half."

moman19

01-28-05, 10:54 AM

Doug,

Thanks. Yeah, Channel 4's "cleverness" is in a league all by itself.

The channel 2 PSIP issue escapes me and I'm still looking for another Dish 811 user to confirm my findings.

djearl81

01-28-05, 11:06 AM

I got my stuff working!!!! WOOOPPPEEEE!

Well, I am now the proud owner of a HD setup which can pull all the local channels. I moved my antenna into the attic last night after work and pointed it with a compass. Viola! I was able to pick up all the local digital channels. Now its just a matter of time before I get up there and secure the antenna and make the wire run look good. I can't wait for my weekend. My buddies are already asking me to help them plan and build their stuff.

This HD stuff was a little intimidating, but it just takes time and a little research. Thanks to all for all the information and suggestions.

Doug - I really appreciate your willingness to help out. I have your numbers stored with my manuals in the event my friends or I need something in the future. Thanks again!

Now to bet on the superbowl...

Robert Simandl

01-28-05, 11:18 AM

TitanTV actually lists KNLC-DT on channel 24-1 (actual broadcast channel 14), though I've never been able to pick it up on my HD Tivo, HTL-HD, or my Sony HD100 before that... even with a ten foot yagi towering over my roof.

Presumably that's because KNLC is powered by a couple of squirrels running on treadmills a la The Flintstones. I presume it's 480i 4x3.

For that matter, TitanTv also shows a WSEC-DT PBS channel on 14-1 (actual broadcast channel 15). I've never been able to pick that one up, either. I'm assuming this is also 480i 4x3.

djearl81

01-28-05, 11:49 AM

Quick question...

I heard a rumor that the sunday Cardinal games are going to be broadcast in HD (channel 11). Has anyone else heard this?

Kurt K

01-28-05, 12:00 PM

Not that it's going to matter, but I went ahead and emailed my displeasure to KSDK about their inability to throw the HD switch in a timely manner. I'm not really expecting a reply.

abcward

01-28-05, 12:17 PM

Originally posted by djearl81
Quick question...

I heard a rumor that the sunday Cardinal games are going to be broadcast in HD (channel 11). Has anyone else heard this?

Huh?

Robert Simandl

01-28-05, 12:30 PM

Hey, did anyone catch the new Fox show POINT PLEASANT Wednesday and Thursday nights? I just now noticed it features Dina Meyer, whom I absolutely adored as Oracle in BIRDS OF PREY a few years back.

I didn't watch it at the time, and unfortunately didn't Tivo it either. Anyone here care to give feedback on it?

rthomp03

01-28-05, 01:19 PM

Originally posted by moman19
Doug,

Thanks. Yeah, Channel 4's "cleverness" is in a league all by itself.

The channel 2 PSIP issue escapes me and I'm still looking for another Dish 811 user to confirm my findings.

moman19,

I too have the 811 and see the same PSIP issue with KTVI. Upon the initial scan it IDs correctly but after you save and go to the guide it IDs as 43-1. I e-mailed Channel 4 today about the zoom and crop and here was their reply:

We went to the grey side bars to prevent burn in. The black side bars would eventually cause your set to be brighter on the sides when you displayed a full screen image. When the side bars are black the display does not fade in that area while it does where a picture is being displayed. We selected a grey that matches the average brightness of a TV image so that the entire display fades at an even rate.

We are reviewing the original decision to go with the zoom and crop on upconverted images and will be making a decision in a few weeks.

JDKH

01-28-05, 02:01 PM

Channel 2 (43) problem.

I started to have problems with the Fox channel last night. I am getting signal strength in the high 80's but the picture will not lock in. I am still have the problem today. I am using the Dish 6000 with the OTA. All the rest of my local OTA channels are fine. I see from previous posts that some are getting the channel as 43-1 now. Maybe they made some change to their signal which resulted in my problem. Anyone else that has the 6000 having this problem?

Thanks

John

djearl81

01-28-05, 02:22 PM

I don't have the 6000, but Fox was all messed up for me last night. (I don't know enough about it to explain what happened.)

JDKH

01-28-05, 02:26 PM

I sent them an email this morning. Don't know if I will get a reply or not. Anyone have the phone number for Channel 2?

John

skippy_rq

01-28-05, 02:37 PM

Doug (Drop The Remote) has posted contact info for the local stations at the beginning of this thread if I remember right.

Rich

JDKH

01-28-05, 03:30 PM

I got the email address from there, but I thought I would also give them a call. Doug's list didn't have any phone numbers.

John

omarq

01-28-05, 05:05 PM

Per my previous post, I ditched the diplexer setup and have a straight line going to my antenna. I get everything but channel 4 (56).

I special ordered a Channel Master Jointenna, and am going to get another UHF antenna to place elsewhere on my premises. I'll let you guys know how this works out.. Long shot, but hey, you never know.

moman19

01-28-05, 08:15 PM

Originally posted by JDKH
Channel 2 (43) problem.

I started to have problems with the Fox channel last night. I am getting signal strength in the high 80's but the picture will not lock in. I am still have the problem today. I am using the Dish 6000 with the OTA. All the rest of my local OTA channels are fine. I see from previous posts that some are getting the channel as 43-1 now. Maybe they made some change to their signal which resulted in my problem. Anyone else that has the 6000 having this problem?

Thanks

John

I'm having the same exact issues with Channel 2 right now. Just strobing in & out about every second. I'm using a Dish 811. At least I know it isn't my setup.

moman19

01-28-05, 08:26 PM

Originally posted by rthomp03
moman19,

I too have the 811 and see the same PSIP issue with KTVI. Upon the initial scan it IDs correctly but after you save and go to the guide it IDs as 43-1.

Thanks. Same here.

Originally posted by rthomp03
moman19, I e-mailed Channel 4 today about the zoom and crop and here was their reply:

We went to the grey side bars to prevent burn in. The black side bars would eventually cause your set to be brighter on the sides when you displayed a full screen image. When the side bars are black the display does not fade in that area while it does where a picture is being displayed. We selected a grey that matches the average brightness of a TV image so that the entire display fades at an even rate.

We are reviewing the original decision to go with the zoom and crop on upconverted images and will be making a decision in a few weeks.

This is a stupid answer on two fronts. First, the chop & crop for SD ruins the picture by cutting off heads and text. It's also hard to watch. How big does Larry Conner's head have to be???? Second, many sets based on DLP and LCD technologies don't suffer burn-in. Are they worried about Plasma users? No one else seems to carry this much concern. The geniuses at Ch 4 should just send us a NORMAL 4 x 3 picture and let the viewer decide how it should be displayed on the screen.

rthomp03

01-29-05, 01:32 AM

Originally posted by moman19
I'm having the same exact issues with Channel 2 right now. Just strobing in & out about every second. I'm using a Dish 811. At least I know it isn't my setup.

I checked out KTVI tonite and am seeing the same. I sure hope they get it fixed before Super Bowl! :(

rthomp03

01-29-05, 01:34 AM

I had the same problem with KETC in December for the first couple of days after I got my 811 and then it cleared up and has been steady since.

rthomp03

01-29-05, 01:37 AM

Originally posted by rthomp03
I checked out KTVI tonite and am seeing the same. I sure hope they get it fixed before Super Bowl! :(

Sorry 'bout the multitude of posts, but I want to post a URL and need 5 posts to enable.

rthomp03

01-29-05, 01:38 AM

Earlier today I read this thread on the DISH 811 page which I think explains the problem we are seeing:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=44447

DroptheRemote

01-29-05, 07:39 AM

I'm not sure what's going on with FOX locally, but I don't think it's entirely limited to DISH receivers. I noticed some periodic pixellation problems on Thursday night. It occurred again last night, though much less frequently.

For a while I switched over to FOX-NY on DirecTV, and noticed there were a couple of periods of pixellation from that station, too.

So, it's possible that part of this issue is from the network feed, though it's also possible that in addition there's some seperate issue with DISH hardware (I didn't actually read the specifics included in the links here).

moman19

01-29-05, 01:23 PM

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
I'm not sure what's going on with FOX locally, but I don't think it's entirely limited to DISH receivers. I noticed some periodic pixellation problems on Thursday night. It occurred again last night, though much less frequently.

For a while I switched over to FOX-NY on DirecTV, and noticed there were a couple of periods of pixellation from that station, too.

So, it's possible that part of this issue is from the network feed, though it's also possible that in addition there's some seperate issue with DISH hardware (I didn't actually read the specifics included in the links here).

Jeez.....What a time to get creative with the Superbowl one week away. Things were great until someone at Fox2 "fixed" something. Let's hope this gets resolved quickly.

Funny, channel 9 had similar issues late last year that magically vanished as quickly as it arrived. Must be some kind of non-standard mode. FYI, in both cases, the picture was completely unwatchable in full screen mode but seemed just fine when the EPG is brought up and the image is in PIP mode. So I assume whatever they changed is not tolerated well by certain receivers.

baron_iv

01-29-05, 08:37 PM

uh, guys, I'm using a HDTV Wonder and I'm also getting the FOX problem. It's not your receiver. I also sent a message to fox2 and haven't received a reply yet. I suuuuure hope it gets fixed soon. I sure am glad to find out that it wasn't my setup though. I was pulling my hair out earlier trying to figure out why I wasn't getting any picture/sound when I was getting a signal of 88. It's nice to have others out there to talk to as well. I'll be looking forward to reading this forum and I'm glad to FINALLY be a part of the HDTV revolution. :)

JDKH

01-29-05, 09:59 PM

Welcome to the Forum! It is also a comfort to me that it is not my receiver. I hope I can get a phone number so that I can give them a call Monday and see if I can get any further info. I'll post if I do.

John

baron_iv

01-29-05, 10:16 PM

Hopefully it will be RESOLVED by Monday so that you won't have to make the call. ;)
Surely they have to know what is taking place? I mean I can't even access their website. I don't live anywhere near the station, so I can't see if the building burned down or anything, but short of a massive power outage, what could cause a station to just drop from existance and the website go down with it? It's odd.
Anyway, if we don't have service back by Monday, good luck with the call.

brlandy

01-29-05, 10:20 PM

Regarding the problems with FOX OTA, I've noticed that I lose reception whenever outside temperatures drop below roughly 20-25 degrees. Has anyone else ever seen this? I have a DirecTV HDTiVo. When temperatures are above 25, I get around a 75-80 signal strength for this station.

Fiasco

01-29-05, 10:31 PM

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
Fiasco,

One other thought -- while the Radio Shack UHF antenna is probably the easiest option, if you decide you want something from either Winegard or Channel Master, they are available through Skywalker Communications in Wentzville/O'Fallon (9390 Veterans Memorial Parkway).

Skywalker is primarily a wholesaler, but they will sell on a retail basis. I checked the older Skywalker catalog I have on hand here (Summer 2003) and they do apparently stock some of the "friendly-looking" Winegard models, though not the one you listed (yours is probably just a newer model).

Anyway, if you want to try the SS model, getting it from Skywalker would simplify the return process if it doesn't do the job. Skywalker stocks a fairly complete line of the other CM and WG antennas.

You can contact Skywalker at (636) 272-8025. If you decide to buy there, you can pick up the antenna yourself, or they will do FedEx Ground delivery if you prefer.

I went to the Radio Shack and showed the clerk the 15-2160 uhf only antenna on their website. She said they had one and got it for me. When I got home and opened it up, it's a 15-2151 (vu-75xr) vhf/uhf antenna My bad for not looking at the box closer. Had to try it anyway...

Is the antenna connection as simple as running RG6 between the antenna's transformer and the antenna input on my motorola OTA tuner? That's how I have it connected now and I'm not getting any signal at all. Do I need any type of amplifier or filter in the line? The RG6 cable is about 50 feet long.

I have always had a satellite dish or cable and have never had to mess with an OTA antenna before.

baron_iv

01-29-05, 10:37 PM

I never really thought of a temperature variant causing problems. Could that be caused by ice on your antenna or inside the cable(s)? I hope I don't have the same problem. HD is AWESOME. Having it in my living room is even MORE awesome! I live 65 miles south of St. Louis, so I never got good reception on my analog OTA stations, satellite was the only way to get a decent picture. I thought satellite was the greatest thing since corn in a can...until I got HD/DTV. Even my technologically-challenged (and quality-blinded) girlfriend can see the difference in quality between satellite and HD.

baron_iv

01-29-05, 10:42 PM

I have that same antenna, I think. Is yours the 160" model? Like I said in my previous posts, I live 65 miles south of St. Louis and I'm getting 8 channels (minus fox at the moment). I get about 5 channels without the amplifier. I put a cheap 28db amp on there that I got from walmart (I'm a college student, so I don't have a lot of $$ to buy good stuff hehe), that helped the rest of the channels to come in. I think it was $28.00 and made by Philips. A cheap solution in my opinion, you might want to give it a try, if it doesn't work, then take it back...walmart always accepts returns.

Fiasco

01-29-05, 11:19 PM

Originally posted by baron_iv
I have that same antenna, I think. Is yours the 160" model? Like I said in my previous posts, I live 65 miles south of St. Louis and I'm getting 8 channels (minus fox at the moment). I get about 5 channels without the amplifier. I put a cheap 28db amp on there that I got from walmart (I'm a college student, so I don't have a lot of $$ to buy good stuff hehe), that helped the rest of the channels to come in. I think it was $28.00 and made by Philips. A cheap solution in my opinion, you might want to give it a try, if it doesn't work, then take it back...walmart always accepts returns.

The one I got is a 15-2121 which is a 50" boom 18 element UHF/VHF. I'm returning it tomorrow to get the UHF only 15-2160.

The basic setup is to just connect rg6 to the transformer provided with the antenna and connect the other end directly to the OTA tuners antenna input correct?

baron_iv

01-29-05, 11:23 PM

yep, that's the basic way to hook it up, very easy. my antenna required some assembly, but it wasn't all that difficult. If you're far from the city, I would highly recommend the 160" vhf/uhf/fm antenna. It's a monster, nearly 13 feet long, but it picks up stations over 80 miles away for me and I live in the ozarks. It's a bit pricey at $99, but worth it if you live far from the towers. Like I said, I added a booster to get the rest of the channels that weren't coming in and now I get everything that is offered in St. Louis, now ten channels in all.

Fiasco

01-29-05, 11:30 PM

I'm really close to the city (within about 15 miles of the towers) but there is a big hill between me and the towers. I said it was a couple hundered feet tall previously but I looked it over the other day and it's about 150 feet w/ tree cover above the street in front of my house and about 300-400 feet away.

StLouG

01-29-05, 11:32 PM

Originally posted by rthomp03
Earlier today I read this thread on the DISH 811 page which I think explains the problem we are seeing:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=44447

I am not as tech savvy as others on this forum and by the way welcome to all the new members. You will find a lot of friendly people here who are willing to help. Anyway I believe the above link explains all the problems with KTVI. If it is anything else you find the answer here or somebody will tell you where to get the answer.

brlandy

01-29-05, 11:42 PM

My antenna is in the garage, so I know it's not ice. It's a Zenith Silver Sensor -- the prior owner of this house had a large antenna in the garage and the coax run inside. The existing antenna was worthless, but I found the Zenith worked quite well in the garage, better than in the house. I have not tried moving the antenna back indoors since I can get the FOX New York feed over DirecTV now.

baron_iv

01-30-05, 12:04 AM

St, I guess the problem is with the signal, but it's not only a particular receiver that is having the problem with KTVI. I don't have an 811, I use a capture card in my PC which is connected to my TV. It seems that you are saying that the problem is PSIP, but PSIP would not effect my card in particular because it's not traditional Cable, it's OTA signals. PSIP would only connect those getting their HD from a cable company. Here's a bit more info: http://www.broadcastpapers.com/tvtran/ThalesDTVTranslator02.htm

As for being only 15 miles away from the stations, you'll probably be fine w/a much smaller antenna than me, you probably won't even need an amplifier. Must be nice. ;)

I'm happy w/my reception finally, after 2 antennas, a couple dozen different configurations inside my house, 2 capture cards and several headaches. The monsterous 13 foot antenna on top of my house now is working like a charm (however, it looks like I have a spaceship up there).

Good luck with getting that antenna set up Fiasco, I doubt you'll have any problem if it was anything like the one I have. I just put on a couple of wing nuts, attached the coax, ran the cable inside, hooked it up and BAM...HD! :)

Joseph Clark

01-30-05, 02:20 AM

I've been having the same problem with KTVI the past few days with my Voom receiver, but no problem with MyHD in the PC. It's picking the signal up at full strength.

Speaking of Voom, I just put the next to last nail in my Voom coffin, by ordering the Dish Network 921DVR. I'm not going to wait for the ax to fall on Voom. The 921 is on sale now for $549 installed. I'm adding it to my modified Dish 6000 receiver, so I'll have two different methods of recording, one for the casual stuff I have no intention of keeping (the 921) and the R5000 modified Dish. I've begun a collection of D-VHS and DVD HD and I'm really pleased with the R5000. I'm going back to Dish exclusively as soon as the 921 is installed on Feb. 11th. When I counted the number of Voom HD stations I watch more than once in a blue moon, Voom had Dish beat by about 3 or 4. Voom was ahead of its time, and someday we'll have HD services that fulfill its promise, but right now we'll just have to wait.

I haven't posted for quite some time and I was wondering if there are any other R5000HD users out there in the St. Louis area. I think it's the best product to come along in a long time. Any half hour programs - like Smart Travels, Insectia, Weird Homes, Great Canadian Rivers - fit beautifully on a blank DVD. It's great to be able to pull out an HD DVD to show visitors what's available. MyHD allows me to do the same for OTA shows like Arrested Development.

What I'd love is for the double layer discs to come down in price. I've bought a few and they are perfect for hour long programs like Alias. There isn't any comparison between DVD boxed sets of shows and the HD broadcasts. Does anyone know when dual layer discs are expected to drop out of the stratosphere? (My latest check, when I could find them, still had them at about $12-$13 a piece.)