Channel 9 and all sub channels wre coming in great again last night on my HD100.

Hey STLeng, thanks for the HD Rose parade! Oh, and I've noticed a lot of your non-HD stuff is now blown up and cropped to fit the 16x9 frame. Is this a policy change? I kinda liked the non-HD stuff better at its original 4x3 within the 16x9.

Thanks!

STL Eng --

I'm 100% in support of Robert. The change to zoom-and-crop is completely unwelcome.

I'm not blaming KPLR directly, but I absolutely do not understand what stations are trying to accomplish with this formatting. It's not like the black bars are completely eliminated anyway, so what's the point?

As far as I'm concerned (and I think I'm with the majority here), there's absolutely no need to be clever about the old vs new aspect ratio.

Please, just show us what you have and leave it at that.

If Aunt Betty and Uncle Gus can't deal with the black bars, let 'em watch the radio...they'll come around eventually.

The equipment was delivered and installed today and I am HD Powered.
The Samsung SIRT160 is up and running. DTV HD Channels are very clear and it looks like I'll get to watch the Independence Bowl on ESPNHD.

I am not getting very good OTA signals yet. I need to make some adjustments to the antennae. I leave that to another day.

Thanks to everyone for the great info!

Happy New Year!

Thanks to KPLR-DT for showing the Rose Parade in HD. It was really great that there were no commercials and no 'interviews' with stars about their programs on the network.

It's 8PM on January 1st and nobody's started the January thread yet????

Guess I'll do it...

Wow, nobody's started the January thread yet? Guess I'll do it...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=345429

The Rose Parade was simulcast on 11.1 and on Discovery HD this morning.

Picture quality looked identical on both channels.

Audio was a different story.

Discovery HD lit up the 5.1 indicators on my Dolby Digital decoder, but only transmitted left and right fronts. No center, no surrounds. Just like CSI on 4.1, which I'm always b*tching about.

KPLR-DT however, broadcast it as 2.0, which allowed my decoder to use Pro Logic and gave excellent surround sound. Congratulations channel 11, you blew Discovery HD away!

Link to December 2003 thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=3135062#post3135062

St Louis Tower Maps

For anyone doing the initial install of an OTA antenna, or anyone looking to fine-tune the positioning of their existing antenna, the attached ZIP file contains two maps showing the tower location for each digital station in St. Louis.


Your Right to Erect an Antenna and/or Satellite Dish

As more and more consumers purchase high-definition displays, there's increasing interest in arranging for receipt of HD programming via an over-the-air antenna or through a satellite dish.

Unfortunately with the proliferation of cable television in the 1980s and 1990s, many communities, property developers and homeowner/condo owner associations tried to undo the visual blight of antennas (and later, satellite dishes) from their local skylines. While these laws, rules or convenants were well-intended -- after all, it would be difficult to argue for the cosmetic benefits of a yagi antenna -- these actions are not legally enforceable.

The FCC has ruled -- with only a few very narrow exceptions -- that you have the right to receive over-the-air television and radio broadcasts and as a result you have a right to erect an antenna to receive these signals. This ruling also encompasses the erection of small satellite dishes.

Even if you have previously signed a lease or homeower association convenant that requires you to forego the right to erect an antenna or satellite dishes, the FCC has ruled that these types of provisions are unenforceable.

In general, there are only a few notable exceptions to this rule:

* First, the location of the antenna or dish must be an "exclusive use" area. As a homeowner or condominium owner, this would mean any part of the property over which you have control. For renters, this would also apply to balconies or patios that are intended solely for your use. The sort of rental property area that would not be covered would be general use areas, such as common passageways or rooftop areas that are clearly intended for the shared use of all residents.

* Second, the antenna or dish cannot be erected in areas that would create a legitimate safety issue, for example one that is dangling off a balcony or placed too close to electrical wiring.

* Third, there may be restrictions if you are located in a designated historical (or prehistorical) district, in which case a permit may be required.

The other major limitation is that these devices cannot exceed 1 meter (39.37 inches) in diameter.

The burden of proof in contesting your right to mount a dish and/or antenna rests with the landlord, homeowner association, city council, etc. Strictly speaking, you do not need to seek prior permission or provide prior notice, so long as the device is to be situated in an area under your control and there is no obvious safety issue.

However, before taking on the expense and effort of such an installation, you should read and review in its entirety the following summary of the FCC ruling on consumer rights to mount over-the-air devices:

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


More Information about Antennas and DTV

The Consumer Electronics Association antenna mapping program at AntennaWeb.org can help you determine the proper antenna to use, based on your own location and the distance from the local digital broadcast towers.

http://antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx


Feedback to St. Louis Stations

Is there something that you're unhappy about concerning the digital broadcasts by local St. Louis stations?

Weird-looking presentation of standard-definition programming? Multiple channel bugs cluttering up those beautiful images? Somebody at the station forgot to "flip the switch" before or during the middle of your favorite HD program?

Or better yet, maybe you'd just like to send your thanks and encouragement to your favorite local station for the effort they've made so far in providing us with more and better HD programming. The cost and effort in providing digital and HD programming is significant, and it's important for the station owners and management to know that we're watching.

Well, here's the place where you can find the online addresses where you can send your comments and feedback.

KTVI Channel 2 contact:
ktvitech@fox2ktvi.com

KMOV Channel 4 contact:
programs@kmov.com
WNichol@kmov.com

KSDK Channel 5 contact:
jheskett@ksdk.gannett.com
kcreamer@ksdk.gannett.com

KETC Channel 9 contact:
letters@ketc.org

KPLR Channel 11 contact:
whatson@wb11tv.com
technical@wb11tv.com

KDNL Channel 30 contact:
jwright@kdnl.sbgnet.com

WRBU Channel 46 contact:
[no email, no web site, no HD programming]

Thanks for always keeping this info at the head of the new month's post Doug! The zip file is very nice also. You may want to also put this link in your informational post for antennaweb.org. The antennaweb.org compass settings and street level address view compliment your pictures quite well.

http://antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

Been lurking around here for a while, finally got an HDTV (Zenith C27V36) so I figure I can join in on the posting fun now. I'm waiting for my receiver to arrive so I can tinker with the OTA signals. I'm in Barnhart down in Jefferson County, anyone else live around the area? I've got an old antenna up in the attic here that was here when we bought the house that I'm hoping can pull in some of the digital stations for me. Until today I haven't touched the thing in ages and I really had no recollection of how well it worked. I hooked an old 13" tv up to the twinlead connection that drops down through the attic and it pulled in 2, 4, 9, and 30 crystal clear and the rest ranged from OK (24, 46) to bad (5). We'll see how it works with digital signals when I get my receiver.

Anyway, that's my rambling introduction. I'll probably post here a little more frequently now that I have reason.

Paul

Hey Bluedevil,

I *think* you're about the same distance from the towers as I am (you're just south while I'm west).

The plain ol' antenna I put up in 1998 to get locals when DirecTV killed my distant nets works great for HD. Gets me all the local digital channels except 24, which I suspect is powered by a couple of squirrels running on treadmills <G>...

I'm guessing you'll get about the same results...

Set-Top Box Challenges Loom for Manufacturers

Set-top box manufacturers want to include more advanced features and services in their equipment, but also are being pressed to keep costs down and prices low.

Unfortunately, the cost of components and manufacturing is not decreasing at the same rate as increasing expectation levels of cable MSOs, said research firm ABI.

"STB manufacturers are caught between a rock and a hard place," said Vamsi Sistla, ABI's director of broadband research. "On the one hand, they want to satisfy consumer demand by rolling out STBs with more advanced features while keeping costs down. However, in order to launch new products, they must be somewhat reliant on the decisions of the cable MSOs - a provider of STBs in the home - which are constantly monitoring consumer adoption and subscription rates."

In its latest set-top box quarterly, ABI said high-end set-top boxes will continue to increase their market penetration and cannibalize shipments of low-end boxes due to consumer demand for features such as PVRs, HD, and home networking.

ABI's study found Scientific-Atlanta is emerging as a leader in the advanced set-top world, with Motorola a distant second. Scientific-Atlanta has received a boost with its PVR service launches by Time Warner Cable and Comcast.

In the third quarter, Scientific-Atlanta had around 90 percent of market share in the digital cable PVR install base, and the high market share will continue for the next few quarters in the U.S. market, ABI said.

bluedevil,

welcome to the club. by all means try your existing antenna- you may get lucky and not have to do a thing. if not, I'm in Crystal City, and my father-in-law and I get excellent reception with the 4-bay channelmaster antenna with quad sheild RG-6 cable. I highly recommend that combo for your area. good luck.

DirecTV installed my HD unit this week. I must say that I am disappointed in the quantity of HD programming available. The Tournament of Roses Parade was incredible and I even got a "WOW" from my wife!

It turns out that the DirecTV installer pointed my antennae toward the SW which gave me no OTA signals. I downloaded the HDTV Tower Maps (thanks for making them available!) and climbed on my roof to make some adjustments. Using the map, I have now directed my antennae almost due South and I am able to get strong signals on all channels except 46 and 5.

They installed a Winegard GS-1000 antennae and I was wondering what I might be able to do to boost my reception quality. Also, if anyone lives in the South City, I was hoping to get a compass bearing to better align my antennae.

Thanks in advance for your help!

I've been absent for a week or two... as I play catch-up reading the
last few pages of the December thread, I'd like to report that I too
had problems with KETC for a 50 or 60 hour window during the past week.
But now that it's back, is anyone else having problems with it?
The resolution now looks bizarre on my set. It looks much more like
(poorly) upconverted SD than true HD. And the KETC logo in the upper
righthand corner is halfway off the edge of the screen.
Is something being artificially zoomed at the broadcast end?

Robert: According to antennaweb, I'm between 14 and 18 miles from the towers that I really care about, and all fall between 12 and 28 degrees. UPN and 24 are the only ones that don't, but I'm about 5 miles from the UPN tower so I could probably pull that in with an indoor antenna if needed. I couldn't care less about 24. From first glance at the attic antenna it appears to be pointing closer to due east, but I'll take care of that when I get the receiver, along with replacing the twinlead run from the attic with RG-6 coax. The antenna is old (been here for at least the 15 years I have), but looks like it's pretty decent so I'm hoping it will do the trick.

Brad: Are you using a preamp with that setup? I noticed that antennaweb puts KMOV in the blue range for me and that is probably the one channel I'm most concerned about getting for their sports coverage.

Looks like it'll be sometime next week when I try to get this all going. I'm sure I'll be back here if I need any help :).

bluedevil,

No pre-amp- but make sure you get quad sheild RG-6. Signal greatly improves using quad shield vs. regular RG-6. You can get quad shield at either Home Depot or Radio Shack for not much more than standard RG-6 and it makes a huge difference.

good luck.

Does the quad shielded cable improve the signal for cable as well? I'm stuck with Charter's crappy cable (still no pipeline) and am sick of the poor signal quality on the big screen.

Hey all,

I have 2 questions for you all.

1. does charter carry all local HDTV channels in Saint Louis?

2. If not, does anyone know of a reputable antenna installer that services South County (Saint Louis). Not that I probably couldnt do it myself, but I guess I would prefer a pro do it (who could do it at least 5X faster than myself the newb). According to anttennaweb, on average I am 10 miles from every stations antennas (with the longest distance being 11 miles). Is there a possibility that I can get away with an indoor antenna?

Thanx

1. No

2. Most likely you can get away with an indoor at that range (im my unpro opinion). Just do it your self either way. Not like it is really all that hard. Spend the money on an upgrade of some kind.

I think I will try to replace my 70' run RG-6 with Quad RG-6 this weekend and see how much improvement I get. I need a project over this long weekend to keep busy. :)

Charters problem is all channels below 100 are actually analog. My Charter HD dropout issues were fixed when they replaced my standard RCA Walmart amp with one of their own that amplifies the return signal. I guess the 5100 was occaisonally "resynching" due to weak feedback measurements vs. receive measurements. During this resynch, I had audio and video dropouts. At least that is what the tech said. :)

Hi,
I am new to the forum, but have been doing a bit of reading up lately. Lots of things to read about. I am expecting delivery of my first big screen next week, a Hitachi 57s700. This will be an upgrade from a 27" so it's a monumental jump.

My question concerns antennas. The Hit 57s700 has an OTA tuner and I can't wait to try to pick up OTA HDTV. Now comes the problem. I live in Staunton, Illinois (NE of st. louis off of hwy 55) and am approximately 41-48 miles from the digital transmission towers for the local st. louis stations according to antennaweb.org.

I have read some of the posts on this thread and checked out the antennasdirect website of a local guy here in st. louis. I emailed him and he recommended a XG91(91 element, extra long gain UHF Yagi). A couple of questions. . .

1) Do I have a chance at picking up reliable reception from this distance? The terrain is pretty flat from here to st. louis, all farm land, no tall structures nearby, except 1 or 2 story houses and trees, I know that's a plus.

2) Is it important for the antenna to be CEA certified? The antennaweb.org site recommended a violet uhf (large directional w/ preamp)

3) Do I need the preamp? Any other long-range antennas that come recommended? I have seen numerous types on the internet, but it's kind of hard to determine what works well and what does not.

I am just trying to cut down on the trial and error phase when it comes time to install an antenna. I have gathered that the RG-6 quadshield is worth the extra money. I appreciate any input you guys could provide.

Thanks,

Ryan

I have about decided to swtich from D* to E* and take advantage of the free 811 offer. Did those who recently got a new 811 get it from a local Dish Network dealer? If so, do you recommend them? Does anyone else have any Dish Network dealers/installers that they recommend (or feel I should avoid)? BTW, I am located in St. Charles County.

Robert Simandl - The Rose Parade

"Discovery HD lit up the 5.1 indicators on my Dolby Digital decoder, but only transmitted left and right fronts. No center, no surrounds. Just like CSI on 4.1, which I'm always b*tching about."

I watched the Rose Parade on Discovery HD and had the same sound problem. Corrected it by switching my receiver from Dolby Digital to Dolby Pro Logic II. 5.1 sound then worked fine thru all speakers. I still don't know why they would do the Rose Parade in 5.1 sound.

lca355 - ? about Antennas

I live in Staunton, Illinois (NE of st. louis off of hwy 55) and am approximately 41-48 miles from the digital transmission towers for the local st. louis stations according to antennaweb.org.

"Q - 1) Do I have a chance at picking up reliable reception from this distance?"

I would say yes. I'm in Cuba Missouri, 75-90 miles from the STL stations and get them all fine with a CM 4228 and a 7777 pre-amp. Have the antenna 20' up on my roof.

"Q - 2) Is it important for the antenna to be CEA certified?"

No

"Q - 3) Do I need the preamp?"

Depends on your antenna size. I would try the biggest antenna you can get and try it without a pre-amp. If you are not getting all the stations then go get the pre-amp.

Good Luck

Cuba Jim

I'm in Edwardsville and get everything with a Radio Shack UHF only yagi in my attic. I have a friend in Highland who is getting channels with a Radio Shack yagi as well. I would guess a standard UHF only Yagi with a preamp on the roof would work for Staunton. I doubt an attic mounting would work.

BTW - I have a 57S700 as well. The internal tuner works great. One of the best I have seen. Its at least on par with the 811 (but its PSIP behavior is better, so the channel mapping works where as it doesn't on the 811).

Enjoy and good luck!

Chris

Originally posted by STL
I have about decided to swtich from D* to E* and take advantage of the free 811 offer. Did those who recently got a new 811 get it from a local Dish Network dealer? If so, do you recommend them? Does anyone else have any Dish Network dealers/installers that they recommend (or feel I should avoid)? BTW, I am located in St. Charles County.

I just switched from Charter to E* Monday, so I'm a Satellite newbie, but I used Today's Satellite and was very pleased from talking with the rep to get me the best system for my needs through install. I got the 811/522/301 deal.

In a related note, I'm attempting to hook up my HD locals. Started w/a cheapie from Wal-Mart but can't consistently lock in. I'm playing with a Silver Sensor now, but also doesn't seem to do it. I'm about 20mi from the transmitters. Any chance I can get an indoor to handle this? Any suggestions?

Thanks

Lonnie

Blues,

As far as indoor antennae go, the Silver Sensor seems to consistently get the highest marks with users. Of course, nothing is a sure thing for OTA reception and maybe someone else can offer some alternative ideas.

Otherwise, the only thing I might suggest is that you do your best to elevate the SS as high as you can, possibly placing it on top of a bookcase of shelf. I know it sounds silly, but for me it was the difference between getting dropouts on a number of stations and getting clean reception on those difficult stations.

In the end, I installed an attic antenna because I was putting a dish in anyway, but I definitely could have lived with the SS. After repositioning, my only weak station with the SS was KSDK, which I could only get cleanly about 50% of the time; now, with the attic antenna it's more like 90%.

....not watching today's NFL Wildcard games in HD because of Charter's molasses-slow negotiation skills is why Dishnet will be hearing from me next week.

Frustrated,

Bruce

Hi Bruce,

I like to bash Charter as much as anybody, but I suspect the problem is with KMOV and KDNL rather than Charter.

St. Louis locals didn't make it onto DirecTV and Dish Network for literally years because of the demands made by those two channels. In fact for the first few months that we DID have locals, on the channel where KDNL should have been, DirecTV ran a text message that said "this channel reserved for KDNL. Please write to (KDNL's address) and let them know you want to to see them on DirecTV."

I wouldn't be surprised if Charter is having similar problems negotiating for HD carriage.

Originally posted by abcward
....not watching today's NFL Wildcard games in HD because of Charter's molasses-slow negotiation skills is why Dishnet will be hearing from me next week.

Frustrated,

Bruce

Dish Network won't have ABC-HD either. Just hook up an antenna to your HDTV, or get a cheap (possibly even used) OTA HD receiver if it's not built in.

Originally posted by zvogt
I've been absent for a week or two... as I play catch-up reading the
last few pages of the December thread, I'd like to report that I too
had problems with KETC for a 50 or 60 hour window during the past week.
But now that it's back, is anyone else having problems with it?
The resolution now looks bizarre on my set. It looks much more like
(poorly) upconverted SD than true HD. And the KETC logo in the upper
righthand corner is halfway off the edge of the screen.
Is something being artificially zoomed at the broadcast end?

I have exactly the same impression. Also, I'm getting a tremendous amount of signal breakup now. Not nearly so much in the past. Some program PQ, however, have been quite good, although the breakup seems a constant problem.

Originally posted by jdiehl
Dish Network won't have ABC-HD either. Just hook up an antenna to your HDTV, or get a cheap (possibly even used) OTA HD receiver if it's not built in.

Stupid newbie question: I have a Toshiba 51 inch HDTV television, without an internal receiver. Could someone direct me to what specific OTA HD RECEIVER that I should be buying?

I seriously have ZERO clue on this aspect of HD technology and would appreciate any/all help from anyone who wishes to help!

Honestly if I could get the other channels OTA I would probably avoid the hassle and stay with Charter....

I was wandering around Circuit City the other night and noticed they have a Motorola OTA HD tuner box for $349, with a $50 mail in rebate for a final price of $299. That might be worth looking into...

Originally posted by abcward

Honestly if I could get the other channels OTA I would probably avoid the hassle and stay with Charter....

For OTA only, Samsung has made alot of popular models (SIR-T100/150/151/351).

You could also look for a used DirecTV HD receiver (like a DTC-100, which is what I use) and just never hook up the dish to it and use it for OTA only.

Either option you can find pretty cheap on eBay.

Hey Jon,

Congratulations on your 1000th post!

I know why KDNL doesn't provide Dolby Digital 5.1 broadcasts yet, but what is KTVI's excuse? I get WRSP off the back of my antenna but I usually get dropouts, for the end of the football game today I did have it on WRSP and as usual DD5.1 makes a huge difference, not just in soundfield but bass as well.

Isn't KTVI one of Fox's biggest stations, if not owned by them? What is up with this?

WRSP is not rolling in money by any means being out of Decatur.

Thanks Doug for the e-mail list, I fired off a polite question about this to them.

Another interesting note--on at least the Titans/Ravens game yesterday, the ABC DD5.1 was bogus. There was nothing coming out of the back channels. Nothing missed audio wise watching on KDNL, in fact maybe better because at least you got matrixed surround. Maybe technical problems because I think MNF was always in true 5.1?

There's also bass galore on KMOV's broadcast of the Colts and Broncos right now!

Originally posted by Robert Simandl
There's also bass galore on KMOV's broadcast of the Colts and Broncos right now!

I've noticed that too. I've had to trim my Sub over 10 db down to make it tolerable.

Dean

For anyone that wants to see the Studio Experience 2HD (aka Sanyo PLV-Z2) in action is welcome to come by and check it out.

I still have some tweaking to do to optimize the picture, but that won't happen until sometime AFTER CES.

Happy New Year everyone!

Anyone know what happened to ptvdigital.org? I haven't been able to resolve it for about a week.

Steve

Well, KTVI's e-mail is full and has been for over a day. Anybody else have trouble e-mailing them? I can understand the weekend, but not by 10am on Monday you wouldn't think.

I'll be taking you up on that Z2 demo soon John. :) I have a friend in the market for a LCD. I have a family crisis right now, so can't commit.

Regarding ptvdigital.org and KETC, I have yet to get response from KETC. I was going to email the contacts at ptvdigital.org that I see in past forum threads when searching on their domain name. It is pretty hard to schedule recordings when you do not have a schedule. :( I would think KETC would give a damn, but apparently not.

Thanks again to Doug for the general post at the start of each month, which includes e-mail links to our local television stations.

Here's a note I sent to Channel 11:
To: KPLR Technical@wb11tv.com
Subject: Hello from Viewer in St. Charles

Really appreciate the beautiful HD picture quality you deliver from the WB network. It's good to be in a city with one of the best!

Wish to respectfully comment that I much dislike your new practice of magnifying Standard Def material on your DTV transmission. This is awful, and much prefer the use of window panes on 4:3 aspect ratio pictures which was your previous practice.

And here's their reply:
Thanks for your comments.
I will pass your comments on regardng aspect ratio.
KPLR Technical

Luckily we know at least one person from KPLR reads these St. Louis HD threads. So being vocal here is a reasonable way to make sure your voice gets heard by the people that can potentially help. I too would like to cast a vote for passing things in their unaltered aspect ratio. Artificially stretching or zooming programming at the broadcast end is a terrible practice. Let the consumer decide how/if the content should be stretched or zoomed. Robbing us of this choice is bad, not to mention that the 14:9 aspect ratio that so many broadcasters have opted for is just plain ugly.
Plus it kills me that channel 5 has a ticker running across the bottom of the screen on local news broadcasts that is completely out of the frame on their digital channel!

I called KETC the middle of last week and left a message with their engineer to call me back, but I never got a retrurn call. We will just have to keep letting them know we are conserned customers that appreciate a response to our requests.

John

I have a 30 inch HDTV in my bedroom, and a 48 inch HDTV in my living room. I have Charter, and no dish because of lots of trees. On Saturday afternoon, I decided to buy the Motorola HDT 100 and one of the indoor Silver Sensor antennas. I took down the charter box from the bigger tv, and hooked up the Motorola. It was a joy watching the football games on Sunday in HD, on the channels that Charter does not provide--ABC and CBS. The Silver Sensor works ok--it will do fine until Charter gets its act together. Installation was easy, and I'm an extreme newbe. In fact, the most difficult part about the whole thing was driving to south county on a late Saturday afternoon, and first going to Circuit City to buy the box, than going to Best Buy to get the antenna. You talk about traffic and crowds--never again.

OAR! OAR! OAR!

I also love burning channel bugs/logos into my tubes. That is just great technology! Why don't they just provide me a pair of etched glasses to wear all day with their logo in the lower corner? No one seems to care about this. Maybe just CRT people care.

There's an article in today's New York Times about PanAmSat consolidating HD feeds onto a single satellite as a way to make it easier for cable operators to distribute these feeds. Current capacity will allow up to 48 HD programming feeds.

Access to the full story requires a (free) subscription to the NYT web site, but here's the first couple of paragraphs, along with the full story link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/05/business/media/05sat.html

__________________________________

One-Stop Shopping Approach to HDTV
By ERIC A. TAUB

Published: January 5, 2004

The satellite retransmission industry hopes to push the popularity of high-definition television by taking a page from the shopping mall playbook.

On Jan. 1, PanAmSat, a satellite operator that beams programming to local cable operators for transmission to their customers, switched many of its HDTV channels to a new satellite that the company is positioning into something it calls an HDTV neighborhood.

Trading on a successful marketing approach used for analog television since the 1980's, the company, which is owned primarily by Hughes Electronics, says it thinks that cable operators will be more likely to offer HDTV programming if they, like shoppers who go to a mall, can find the good things all in one place.

__________________________________

[QUOTE]Originally posted by oby
I have Charter, and no dish because of lots of trees. On Saturday afternoon, I decided to buy the Motorola HDT 100 and one of the indoor Silver Sensor antennas. The Silver Sensor works ok--it will do fine until Charter gets its act together.

I live at the bottom of a hill at the end of the street. Almost like being in a valley. However most of the HD towers are less than 11 miles away. Do you think that the antenna you brought would work for me?

The following blurb is from SkyREPORT News:

__________________

"TiVo said it filed a patent infringement suit against EchoStar alleging the company is violating its "Time Warp" patent. Key TiVo inventions protected by the patent include a method for recording one program while playing back another, watching a program as it is recording, and other digital recording capabilities, TiVo said. Details in Tuesday's SkyREPORT. "

__________________

It seems to me that when tech-oriented companies start screaming "patent infringement!" it often turns out that their best days are well behind them.

TiVo has definitely been on the ropes of late, and this could be another sign that the company might not be around for the long haul.

Of course, it's certainly possible that Echostar has been ripping off TiVo's patents, but it's difficult to believe that such infringement has only recently come to TiVo's attention.

Hmmmm...maybe ReplayTV should be getting its own brief in order...

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
Hmmmm...maybe ReplayTV should be getting its own brief in order...

Now that you mention it, I was watching the beginning of a program while the ReplayTV was still recording the end.... and recording one show while playing back another on the ReplayTV.... for at least a year before I ever even heard of Tivo.

Robert,

I'm also a ReplayTV owner, and while I think that ReplayTV was first to market, it was only by a couple of months, if that. I actually ordered my ReplayTV direct from the company when they were only selling it direct via their web site and I paid just north of $1,500 for the 30-hour version.

Ah, the cost of being an early adopter. But I have to say that this was the one early adopter experience that I've NEVER regretted, even when prices for the same configuration fell below $500 a year or so later.

My ReplayTV has been running strong for nearly 5 years now. A month or so ago, the hard disk started making a lot of noise, so I read up on the upgrade process and swapped out the hard drive(s). I went from around 20 hours (at medium quality) to more than 60 for the cost of a $50 hard drive.

Let's hear it for Moore's Law...

Damn, Doug, we must be twins separated at birth....

I got my ReplayTV model 2004 also for $1500 in the Spring or Summer of 1998, and upgraded the hard drive (and put it into a removable bay).

Got a Showstopper in 2000 for $400 for the other room, gave that one a bigger, removable hard drive too.

And got the model 4160 in late 2001 (that one's networkable so no need to upgrade the drive).

Just to keep this on HD topic.... geez I wish they'd make an HD ReplayTV <GGG>

Originally posted by oby
The Silver Sensor works ok--it will do fine until Charter gets its act together.

Last month, MSloss mentioned that HD locals are being held up by the parent companies of the local affiliates, not Charter.

After checking in to this, I can verify what MSloss said and more. Charter is aggressively pursuing the locals. The problem is with the companies that own the local stations. They are asking too much in exchange for the rights to rebroadcast the already free signal. It's more than money. They also want additional bandwidth reserved for multicasting channels that they don't even broadcast yet.

We should write these companies to let them know what we think:

For ABC St. Louis

Sinclair Broadcasting
Corporate Headquarters
David D. Smith
Chairman, President and CEO
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
10706 Beaver Dam Road
Hunt Valley, Maryland 21030
410-568-1500 (Main Telephone)
410-568-1533 (Main Fax)
ir@sbgnet.com
http://www.sbgi.net/


For CBS St Louis

Belo Interactive
Eric Christensen
Vice President / General Manager
(214) 977-4032
900 Jackson Street
Suite 400
Dallas, TX 75202
(214) 977-4000
eric.christensen@belointeractive.com
http://www.belointeractive.com/


Sincerely,
4113

Can't say I'm surprised. That's EXACTLY the situation that held up the St. Louis analog locals from DirecTV and Dish for so long. Same stations, too.

/rant

14:9 aspect ratio just plain stinks :mad: . I'm flabbergasted any company would purposely push potions of their ads off-screen causing possible lost revenue, as well as potentially jeopardizing the safety of their audience - - weather-warning tickers, bad-weather bugs, etc that are not visabe.

Television manufactures / OTA tuners have stretch/zoom modes so the consumer can decide what they want. What does the 14:9 look like on a standard-size HD TV? I bet it's not pretty either.


/endrant

While I'm not a big fan of multi-casting, I would agree that the local stations should get upfront assurances that cable will carry the entire digital signal -- primary channel and any subchannels.

After all, the broadcasters have taken on significant additional investment for the digital transition and if multi-channel broadcasting is going to form part of the payback on that investment (additional channels opening up new advertising opportunities), they need to know that those signals are going to be available to their entire target audience.

Cable probably rightly sees that as a form of competition, but then the local stations have suffered to a much greater extent as their overall audience has been fragmented repeatedly by all the cable alternatives added during the past couple of decades.

Of course, I don't want to see multi-casting undermine HD availability, but I think we're years and years away from 24/7 HD programming and anyway there's little point in sending out full-bandwidth upconversions of standard-definition programming, especially during non-prime-time hours.

I just piggybacked a similar message to the WB. Their old practice was far more satisfying. I told them I had gone back to watching the Dish local feed from satellite rather than watch their stretched image. Thanks for the e-mail reference.

Joe Clark

Originally posted by StLouG


I live at the bottom of a hill at the end of the street. Almost like being in a valley. However most of the HD towers are less than 11 miles away. Do you think that the antenna you brought would work for me? [/B]



Very hard to predict. I read lots of posts in these forums about the Silver Sensor, and everyone says the only way to find out if it works in you house, is to buy it. If the antenna does not work, you can return it. It does seem to be directional--you have to point it in the general direction of the towers.

Does Circuit City still sell the Silver Sensor? Neither the new St. Louis Mills location nor the old Mid Rivers Mall store had it this week. And employees at both stores kind of cluelessly looked at me like I raped their grandmothers when I asked about it...

Originally posted by Joseph Clark
I just piggybacked a similar message to the WB. Their old practice was far more satisfying. I told them I had gone back to watching the Dish local feed from satellite rather than watch their stretched image. Thanks for the e-mail reference.

Joe Clark

That's not going to push them to do anything, since you'd still be watching their channel and that's all they want, they don't care which source you're getting it from.

What WILL get their attention is if you don't watch their channel at all, and specifically state that you're now watching their rival station due to the fact that they don't zoom/crop to 14:9. That's advertising dollars.

Robert,

I think your best for the Silver Sensor is Best Buy. Not sure that Circuit City has stocked this in the past, but Best Buy definitely does.

Speaking of antennas....

I am in Wildwood and am in the market for a OTA HD Receiver and an antenna. My HDTV is in my basement but I plan on putting another HDTV in a room on my ground floor.

Should I be looking for an antenna that I can mount outside or in my attic, that can be connected to both tv's ? If so, is there any recommended companies I should contact to have this installation completed?

[stupid question] Also on that note, is there any way to use a HD Receiver on 2 different televisions?

abc,

I can't help you with companies in your area, but I would expect that you could go with either a rooftop or attic antenna. You will lose some signal strength with an attic model, but I've actually helped install an attic antenna in a very difficult reception area (St. Albans) and in the end it worked out well. I would think Wildwood would be less challenging, but I don't know that for a fact.

On the single receiver question, the answer is yes, but by the time you bought a switcher with multiple outputs and the additional component cable run you'd need, you're probably not looking at a whole lot in savings over the cost of a second receiver. Plus, with the switched solution, you'd have to settle for watching the same programming on both sets. That's not a particularly good compromise, but maybe it is one you'd be prepared to live with.

Thanks Doug....

any suggestions on what type of antenna I should try first with my HDTV in the basement?

abc,

While it's probably a long shot at your location in the basement, it can't hurt to try the Silver Sensor. The cost is reasonable and Best Buy has a liberal return policy, so you'd only be out gas money and the time you spend in traffic to find out if it's workable or not.

Otherwise for the roof or attic, I'd look at either Channel Master or Winegard antennas, and I'd suggest that you specifically avoid anything with the name Terk on it.

CM has at least two UHF-only models that you should consider -- the 4221 ($20), which is a 4-bay rated for 45 miles and the 4228 ($36+), which is an 8-bay rated for 60 miles. Winegard has the Prostar 1000 model PR-4400 rated for 45 miles ($14) and the 1891 rated for 60 miles ($33).

These can be purchased via Skywalker Communications in O'Fallon, MO. You could call them by phone to order and they can ship next day via UPS, though shipping would probably come close to doubling your cost. If you decided to go with a rooftop mount, you'd need to ask them about mounting hardware.

Phone number is (636) 272-8025.

Big news from KSDK:
--
Zachary,

Thank you for your email concerning KSDK-DT. You make a good point. Originally when we put the digital signal on the air in 1999, there was virtually no HD programming available to us, there were very few receivers in the community, and we wanted to highlight the wide screen aspect of digital broadcasting so we set our up-conversion of the analog signal to display 14:9. Now there is programming available, more sets are being purchased in the community, and a certain early maturity level in HD has been achieved. With this in mind, I have changed our up-converted signal to 4:3, allowing you to make whatever adjustments you want at the set level. Our HD of course will remain 16:9.

Again, thank you for your email. If there are any questions, please let me know. And thank you for selecting KSDK, NewsChannel 5, as your source for news, information, and entertainment.

Mike



F. Michael Tamme
Director of Technology
KSDK
1000 Market Street
Saint Louis, MO 63101
314-444-5219 office
314-444-5190 fax
mtamme@ksdk.gannett.com
--

I just received the same note from KSDK, which I guess is in response to the eMail that a number of us here sent to them a few months back.

It's extremely gratifying to have a local station take this sort of feedback seriously and to act on it. Granted it took a few months for that happen, but the important thing is the result, not the timing.

To me, this also goes a long way to make up for my cumulative frustration stemming from the times that KDSK has failed to "flip the switch."

BTW, I was told recently by an unnamed but reliable source that at least one network is going to make the "switch flipping" a remote process controlled by the network rather than the individual stations. Overall, I think that's probably a good development.

For anyone who missed my link in the December thread about my g2g, here is the link:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=3159290

SkyNEWS is reporting that TNT will go HD in May 2004.

TNT did the 2003 NBA All-Star Game in HD, and plans to do the same this year, as a precursor to NBA Finals coverage in HD.

Apart from that, it's not clear what TNT is going to be providing in HD. I see their current schedule includes a lot of Law and Order, X-Files and Homicide: Life on the Street re-runs, so I guess it's possible that some of those programs might be available in HD (or X-Files in FOX Widescreen).

Good news on NBC, but...

I have a question on NBC's HD - when I watch their HD content, the picture always looks a little off to me.

Example: last night's Fear Factor. I have a slight black bar on the left side, about an inch in size [none on the right side]. Also, when they show names of those people competing, it is always cut off, just below the bottom edge of my tv screen.

Anything that can be done to fix this?

FYI - channels like HDNet, HBO-HD, etc fit exactly how they should on my HDTV.


Thanks
Bruce
Wildwood, MO

Bruce,

Fear Factor is not available in HD. Only about 60% of NBC prime-time programming is available in HD, and what you're describing from last night is the 14x9 treatment of native 4x3 programming that many of us have been complaining about (and which KSDK now says will cease).

The stations that implement a 14x9 aspect ratio for 4x3-origin programming are effectively zooming in on the 4x3 picture to fill out most of the left and right sides of the screen, with the effect that a portion of both the top and bottom edges of the original 4x3 frame is cut off.

You can also see this happening on KMOV-DT when they are not broadcasting native HD material from CBS. For an example, take a look at their local late night news broadcasts, which are obviously not in HD (and need never be if my vote counts).

The really strange thing about the 14x9 approach is the goal appears to be to eliminate the black bars on the sides, but in fact they never go quite far enough to do that -- probably because too much of the top and bottom would have to be cut off. That alone ought to be a clue that this isn't a good idea, but many stations all over the country have mindlessly embraced 14x9 anyway.

KPLR-DT used to give us an unadulterated 4x3 picture when it wasn't broadcasting in HD, but they've recently adopted 14x9.

Boo!

Thanks for the info Doug - you guys are the best learning tool a guy like me can have when it comes to HDTV!

Hi guys,
I just got my first RPTV today, a 57s700. Took the day off of work and everything for the delivery. I do have one question. I had an old vhf/uhf combo antenna already on the roof of the house that I thought I was going to have to replace, it's ancient, but I plugged it in and I'm picking up all the st. louis network locals except UPN.

Here's my question. I was fiddling around and checking out the signal strenth of each station on the built in HDTV tuner. Does the picture get better w/ a stronger signal? I was pulling in 50-60 on some of the stations, while KETC was pretty low in the 20's. I did see a couple of artifacts in the KETC picture as I was flipping around tonight, but Leno looked great and was coming in at the 50-60 range.

What gives?

Anybody know if the Rams game this weekend is going to be broadcast in HD??

- lca355

lca,

There's no real standard for signal strength meters for HD tuners. Some of these are giving an indication of error rates and some of them are actually measuring the relative strength of the signal. And there are probably other approaches used for signal strength indicators.

For example, I'm using a fairly ancient RCA DTC-100 HD receiver and my understanding is that its signal strength meter is actually measuring the error rate, so that a 93 signal would indicate an error rate of 7%. In my experience with the DTC-100, any signal below 60 or so is going to be pretty much unwatchable. As you can see, this is a complete departure from the readings you're seeing on your tuner, as you're actually able to watch KETC with a 20 signal strength with only minor problems.

So it sounds like a 50 reading is going to be pretty acceptable for most of your digital/HD viewing. Getting that signal strength elevated might be a good thing, and then again it might not make any real difference.

The Rams game is on FOX and FOX does not do any HD programming at the moment. They do offer what they call FOX Widescreen, but this is a LONG way from HD quality video. As I understand it, FOX Widescreen for live sports is done with conventional 480i cameras and the signal is line-doubled in the production process to 480p for digital distribution. While line-doubled 480i film material (FOX sitcoms and dramas, for example) can look pretty good (roughly comparable to progressive DVD), line-doubling video-origin material such as live sports is a much more difficult challenge technically and the results are inferior to line-doubled filmed programming.

The good thing here is that the aspect ratio is 16 x 9 and the picture is definitely an improvement from the conventional NTSC broadcasts. But no one who is familiar with HD sports broadcasts such as those produced by CBS, ABC, ESPN or HDNet will be fooled by FOX's lame, pseudo-HD product.

Two more quick points. During the regular season FOX had only been doing one weekly game nationally in the FOX Widescreen format. It seems logical that they would try to do all of the playoff games in FOXW, but obviously there's no guarantee of that, so it's possible that the Rams won't be in FOXW.

Also, FOX is gearing up to begin HD programming during the 2004 fall season, and it's likely that at least some of next year's NFL weekly games on FOX will be shown in true HD.

I have learned a lot since coming to this forum and all of you guys are always willing to listen to my questions. Now another question I brought a Silver Sensor and hooked it up to a old Emerson TV. I was able to pick up 2, 4, 5, with no problems. However 11, 24 and 30 were a little fuzzy with ghosts. It all depended upon where I placed the antenna. The set was in the basement. Now the question do you think this antenna will be able to pick up my HD locals if I used the 811 HD receiver from Dish TV?

The Silver Sensor is a UHF-only antenna, so I'm more than somewhat doubtful that it actually played any role in your Emerson television picking up 2, 4 or 5, which are VHF channels.

Both 24 and 30 are in the UHF band, and this is where the Silver Sensor should have had at least some effect. I'm not trying to second-guess your competence here, but I think you should check to ensure that you actually connected the SS to the correct antenna input leads. TVs of that vintage (roughly my own vintage, I hate to admit) had two sets of antenna inputs, one for VHF and one for UHF. I'm thinking that you might have connected the SS to the VHF leads.

Connecting a straightened coat hanger -- a popular 1960s remedy for all manner of highly technical problems -- would probably have the same effect as connecting the SS to the VHF leads.

Reception of digital broadcasts is not a black-and-white matter, where you can positively, absolutely determine what's going to happen until you try it. Try it and see if it works, and if it doesn't move on to Plan B.

Again you and the rest of the fellows are there with the answers. Never worry about questioning my ability because I am here to learn. Again thanks I have learned a lot since coming to this forum.

Thought I would let everyone know what I found out with my antenna findings. I live near Creve Coeur Lake and antennaweb.org says I am 12 miles from most stations 15 from KMOV. I live at the bottom of a hill. Everyone else in my sudivision is on higher ground. You actually drive down a hill to my house and then back up if you keep going. I have a Dish 811 receiver. I tried the Silver sensor from Best Buy and received nothing. I then had the radio shack $21 yagi style and it didn't work, so I went to a Channel Master 4221 the 4 bay antenna. I put it on the highest point of the roof and it got a couple of the channels but not very good. So I went to the Channel Master 4228 this made a big difference. Almost all of the channels were coming in at at least 80% but I still would get dropouts. So I decided to put a preamplifier on it. I am using the Channel Master 7778. I was almost there but decided I needed to add another 5 foot pole to make a total of 10 feet. After adjusting the antenna last week I found that at the spot where I get all the channels channel 11 (26) was not comming in. If I adjust for 11 then I would lose 9. So I left it pointed in the best spot without 11. Yesterday and today I tried 11 and it is now locked in at around 80%. Channel 9 is over 80% also but it is not comming in steady for some reason. I know from reading here that some are having issues with channel 9 is that still the case? Also did channel 11 increase their power in the last week.

Hope this helps with people looking for antennas.

Jeff,

Just wanted to say thanks for sharing your experience. Although every installation and location is a little bit different, it's definitely a big help for other folks here to hear what works and doesn't work for different locations.

If nothing else, your report is a testament to the "if at first you don't succeed..." approach to OTA reception. It looks like you covered virtually every possible base and that it paid off in the end.

As for KETC, I haven't been watching it regularly of late, but whenever I've flipped past it the last week or so it does appear to be coming in OK. Though, as others have commented, the PQ seems to have gone to hell since PBS dropped the loop...

Here's a Headline I'd Like to See:

Charter Lives Up to Press Releases

:rolleyes:

But instead, we get this:

Charter Communications To Unveil New TiVo-Like Boxes

Wednesday January 7, 3:42 pm ET
By Ellen Sheng, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Charter Communications is preparing to launch a new digital video recorder in the next two months.

The St. Louis-based cable operator has been working with Digeo Inc., a media software and interactive TV provider started by Microsoft Corp. (NasdaqNM:MSFT - News) co- founder Paul Allen. Charter, which is also controlled by Allen, will be deploying Digeo's Moxi platform.

The TiVo-like boxes, which allow viewers to record programs, pause and replay live TV, are currently being tested in Rochester, Mich.

Tom Cullen, senior vice president of advanced services and business development who spoke at a Smith Barney Citigroup conference earlier Wednesday, projected the new DVR boxes will be launched in 12 systems this year.

Charter's cable systems are evenly split between technology offered by Scientific-Atlanta and Motorola (NYSE:MOT - News) . Systems running Scientific-Atlanta's technology can't work with Motorola and vice versa. For its Scientific-Atlanta systems, Charter launched the popular Explorer 8000 DVR box in four California systems late last year. Cullen said the Explorer box will be launched in four more markets before the end of the month, and 14 systems during the year. Cullen declined to list what markets, citing competitive reasons.

"We are big believers in personal video recorders," he said.

Originally posted by Jeff S
I have a Dish 811 receiver. I tried the Silver sensor from Best Buy and received nothing.
'snip'
Hope this helps with people looking for antennas.

I, too just got my 811. I'm roughly 20mi. from the towers, no obstructions. I'm starting to gather from other forums that the OTA receiver (or s/w or whatever) on the 811 is not up to snuff. I've been antenna switching (with indoor ones) for a week now. Got my first outdoor (dish mount) and still am not getting satisfactory, consistent signals.

I'm not sure I'm going to invest the time and $ (yet) to install antennae equip until it looks like this 811 thing straightens out, especially given your trials.

Just my .02

Hey Bluesrule,

By dish mount, do you mean one of those antennas (antennae?) that clips onto your satellite dish? If so, I've read LOTS of reports on those over the years, none good. Everyone I know of who's tried one says they're crap. You might want to try a Yagi instead...

Ok, this is ridiculous. How are people contacting KTVI these days (like I said in previous posts I want to know why they don't pass DD5.1)? Their e-mail address Doug posts has been bouncing for almost a week now with a "disk quota exceeded" message. Even if you just send a test message, I would like to know if others are experiencing the same.

Be nice if we could get that before Fox goes 720p if they can't do it for football.

turls,

I suspect the problem with KTVI/FOX and 5.1 is that they don't have the equipment to do this. Apparently it's not a simple as just allowing the network-encoded 5.1 signal to pass through, but I don't really know the full story of exactly what is required or what the outlay for that gear would actually be.

For example, most ABC HD programming is encoded for 5.1 but KDNL apparently doesn't have the equipment to deliver that format locally. ABC network has been 5.1 from the very start of their HD broadcasting. I used to get both MNF and NYPD Blue in 5.1, as early as 1999, when I lived in SF.

As for the KTVI mailbox, I'll try to call them later today if I have time and see if can get hold of someone who is responsible for reading viewer correspondence. There might be an ombudsman or someone similar over there, as many media organizations have someone like that to play internal watchdog and ensure that outside points of view are actually getting through to editors, producers and executives.

I'll also try to confirm that the eMail address we're using is the correct one, and if not, to find out the proper mailbox.

Originally posted by Robert Simandl
Hey Bluesrule,

By dish mount, do you mean one of those antennas (antennae?) that clips onto your satellite dish? If so, I've read LOTS of reports on those over the years, none good. Everyone I know of who's tried one says they're crap. You might want to try a Yagi instead...

Yes. I've heard that too, but like I said, I'm starting small and working my way up. I was getting intermittant reception with the Silver Sensor, and given my close proximity, I thought something outdoor, even if "not great" would be sufficient. Looks like not.

I'm still curious as to whether if DISH fixes whatever the issue is on the 811 if an indoor will work. I may not have the patience to wait and get a "real" antenna anyway.

I just wanted to note that many folks are complaining about the 811's reception where their previous box was getting reception.

Thanks

KTVI Follow-Up --

After spending the better part of 20 minutes bouncing in and out of the hell that is voice mail, I ultimately I spoke with someone in Human Resources -- first to see if there was an ombudsman (no dice) and secondly to let them know about the unattended eMail box in engineering.

The HR staffer I spoke with said she would alert engineering about the eMail problem. I also left my name and number and asked that someone call me back to confirm that the eMail address we've been using is still valid.

We'll see if anything happens...

CES News....

DirecTV will carry CBS HD and Fox Widescreen in O&O markets. CBS is a done deal. The agreement with Fox is expected within a couple of weeks. People who subscribe to DirecTV locals in O&O markets will get the CBS HD or Fox Widescreen signal at no extra charge.

Since KMOV is owned by Belo Broadcasting and not CBS itself, we St. Louis area folks will NOT get to see the DirecTV CBS HD signal without a waiver. Five years ago, KMOV denied my request to get a waiver for DirecTV's national CBS analog feed, so I have a hunch the odds of getting a waiver for the CBS HD feed are slim to none.

But since KTVI *is* owned and operated by Fox, folks who subscribe to St. Louis locals from DirecTV will apparently get WNYW's widescreen digital signal (that's the New York Fox station) for free!

Looks like the News Corp buyout of Hughes will have a benefit or two for us consumers after all.

Here's the link: http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040108/85448_1.html

Tried to order the Dish HD today but was told they are all out of receivers and they were only taking orders for customers who want to buy their whole HD package. Was told that I should call back in a few weeks.

DOUG you were right about me putting the antenna into the wrong lead. I learn with every mistake I make. Sometimes I drive my wife crazy.

Robert,

In an ideal world, the FOX New York channel would be made available to us without any waiver, but in practice I doubt that it will work that way.

I think ultimately that past practice will prevail and the only way you will be able to get the FOX DirecTV feed is if you petition KTVI and they are convinced that you are unable to receive their digital signal.

The overriding philosophy on this waiver business is that the local stations lose viewers, and therefore local advertising revenue, whenever someone has the opportunity to watch an out-of-town network feed. And even though KTVI is an O&O, the cumulative effect would still be fewer local advertising dollars going into FOX's coffers.

I agree that it should work the way that you've outlined it, but I'm very doubtful it will happen that way.

Personally, I see little reason for the network/affiliate system to continue and I think in a decade or so down the road, at least one of the current four networks will only be available via a national cable or sat feed. FOX, as a mold breaker from the start, would be a good candidate to make that move first.

Well the philosophy seems to be the same as Dish's carriage of CBS HD.

KTVI is owned and operated by Fox, as is WNYW. So in theory anyway, the ad dollars are going to the same place no matter which of the two we watch.

*D and Rupert are saying no waiver will be necessary in a Fox O&O's DMA, so I'm gonna stay optimistic until *D tells me otherwise.

TiVo says it expects to provide their new DirecTV HD DVR sometime during the first quarter of 2004.

http://www.tivo.com/5.3.1.1.asp?article=195

FYI, I decided against switching to E* after hearing about D* offering $99 (plus tax) HD STBs. I scheduled to have one installed on the 16th. For more info see following thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=3172915#post3172915
Note the deal originally started as a $399 deal last fall but since has evolved.

Anybody else know what the hell the big blue "E" in the upper left hand corner is on the HD broadcast or ER? Is everyone else seeing it?

Kurt K
You're not alone; I saw it too. At least up to the first commercial break. Now it looks like they haven't switched back to HD since...

Ken H2 (no relation to Ken H the moderator)

Ken H2,

I too noticed the "E" was gone when I switched back to the HD feed sometime during the second half of the show.

Saw this story on the NFL. com site. Part of the story goes on to state that:

"Charter, which serves 6.4 million homes, is the first cable company to carry NFL Network and will begin a digital rollout of the service beginning in February."

"As part of the agreement, NFL Network will provide Charter with a separate high definition (HD) simulcast feed of the channel beginning with the 2004 NFL season, and a customized video-on-demand (VOD) package that includes access to the Emmy award-winning NFL Films library, and extended highlights of each NFL regular-season game."

For the full story follow this link:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/6987572

That is good news, and somewhat surprising. Charter seems to be lagging behind on so many other fronts, it unusual they would be the first Cable operator to carry this. Anyway, they know what we all want: espnhd, abc hd , cbs hd, discovery hd, and the list is growing (i.e., TNT hd).

wow, NFL Network on Charter? Maybe this is a trend for the better?

Any idea is this channel will cost us an additional fee?

StLouG, whom did you call about getting Dish, I am ready to get it since it seems Charter will never get the upgrade done in the city. I got an ad at home with the dish offer and I know the Gateway stores also have the offer.

I just called the number from their website. "Call 1-800-333-DISH ". Good luck because they were just taking orders for people who wanted their whole HD package. I believe that include choice of HD monitors, HD receiver and DISH Network HDTV antenna. IF you more information go to their website. http://www.dishnetwork.com

Originally posted by abcward

Any idea is this channel will cost us an additional fee?

Yes, for sure. It will be a premium type channel on any service. They'll be doing HD NFL Films type highlights each week during the regular season for every game. Very cool.

DirecTV announced they will provide the CBS-HD and Fox Widescreen national feeds in markets with CBS/Fox owned and operated (O&O) stations (midwest would get the NYC feeds).

Are the St. Louis Fox and CBS qualifying O&O stations? The DirecTV press release mentions several eligible cities, but St. Louis wasn't among them. It wasn't specifically excluded either.

Dean

Originally posted by dwette
Are the St. Louis Fox and CBS qualifying O&O stations? The DirecTV press release mentions several eligible cities, but St. Louis wasn't among them. It wasn't specifically excluded either.


I have a partial answer to my own question, regarding CBS.

There are 17 O&O CBS markets and St. Louis is not one of them.

Back when the CBS affiliate was KMOX TV, it was a CBS O&O.
When it became KMOV TV, it wasn't any more.

KMOV is not O&O by CBS.

KTVI is O&O by Fox.

Does anyone know if Fox is showing tomorrow's Rams/Panthers game in widescreen?

abcward- yes the rest of the Fox games will be ED widescreen.

All of the games left on CBS or ABC will be true HD.

so at least we'll get to see the RAMS in HD one more time this year. (yes, I'm counting on it :) )

Thanks for checking on this for me. We need to keep the lines of comm open to these guys.

I understand what you are saying, of course we all know the deal with Sinclair and how Jim had to basically cobble together what we have, but with KTVI being Fox owned I don't understand why a mom and pop affiliate in Decatur can one-up them on audio. Maybe it is as simple as a major price drop in the equipment since WRSP was much later to the party, but you would think Fox owned stations would get these kinds of upgrades if anybody does.

Also, I'd rather be sure of that explanation than just jumping to the conclusion. Maybe they are flipping the HD switch but not the 5.1 one. Nobody else seems to notice, or since they don't have another feed to check, maybe they don't realize what they are missing.

And on top of that it is just plain rude to black me out of the DirecTV NFL ST feeds if they can't even give me the same audio ;)

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
I suspect the problem with KTVI/FOX and 5.1 is that they don't have the equipment to do this. Apparently it's not a simple as just allowing the network-encoded 5.1 signal to pass through, but I don't really know the full story of exactly what is required or what the outlay for that gear would actually be.

For example, most ABC HD programming is encoded for 5.1 but KDNL apparently doesn't have the equipment to deliver that format locally. ABC network has been 5.1 from the very start of their HD broadcasting. I used to get both MNF and NYPD Blue in 5.1, as early as 1999, when I lived in SF.

Anyone else having glitches in the OTA HD CBS broadcast of the Patriots/Titans playoff game?

I'm getting little sound drops (split second) and occasional pixelization.

The signal reads as strong.

Thanks

B

Wow , What a devastating lose that was! I wonder how Lovie Smith looks to teems needing a head coach after the last two games? I think Fox blur vision was appropriate , cause it seems like a bad foggy dream.



Oh well...Lets go Rams....next year!!

Brent SG - The announcers mentioned problems with the broadcast which were probably due to the cold weather. 3 degrees and electronics are not a good combination. It did seem to clear up in the second half.

Originally posted by P8nter
Wow , What a devastating lose that was! I wonder how Lovie Smith looks to teems needing a head coach after the last two games? I think Fox blur vision was appropriate , cause it seems like a bad foggy dream.



Oh well...Lets go Rams....next year!!

It was pretty clear in North Carolina!

I have to admit, toward the end of the 1st OT I was almost ready to say just let the Rams have it and go home before I have a heart attack!

One of the Panther players Steve (oh how St Louis hates me) Smith after the game said go watch this one on ESPN Classic NOW, because it is ON! I would agree with that. I know it was going to be a tough game, and it was, but I NEVER thought it would be THAT tough! The Rams played hard and you guys shouldn't be disappointed. That was a bar room brawl of a game played by two very good teams. It is a shame only one can win, because it was obvious that both teams wanted it badly, but that makes for good TV! But if it makes you feel any better, a lot of us didn't think we had a change to win, just keep it close. your dome is LOUD!

Better luck next year and we will see you guys in Ericsson in Charlotte next year too! Revenge?!

Side note, Ricky Proehl is a neighbor of mine (he lives about a mile and a half from me) and I worked with his sister a few years back (she was the one who when Ricky was at Arizona made the TD and threw the ball up in the stands and this guy fought with a woman over the ball? That was his sister Deb. She got the ball!), he says he misses St Louis but loves being able to live 90 miles from the stadium he plays at. He has fond memories of you guys. I don't see him as much since his sister moved on, but I will every now and again cross paths with him about once or twice a year at charity events now.

The Rams have been successful for a few years now and I expect that to continue. Lets see how many playoff years the Panthers can put together...

Originally posted by abcward
The Rams have been successful for a few years now and I expect that to continue. Lets see how many playoff years the Panthers can put together...

I don't see any reason to try and diminish the Panthers like that. I thought foxeng was being sincerely graceful and friendly about his team's well-deserved victory. We had our opportunities and lost them. That's the way it goes.

Let him have his excitement and enthusiasm. It was like that for us in '99-'00.

Dean

...not directing that comment at anyone specific - but I do have the right to say it - too many players/cities get all cocky about 1 win here or there.

Take Seattle Seahawks for instance - all their cockiness and the QB stating at the coin toss for OT 'we'll take the ball and we're gonna score". And what did it get them? Quickly dispensed by GB.

Go play and act like you've been there before.

Teams like GB/Philly..... they are professional and take the game seriously, no showboating when they make a tackle when they are losing by 15 pts.

I give the Panthers credit - they beat us fair and square. Congrats.

Originally posted by abcward
...not directing that comment at anyone specific - but I do have the right to say it - too many players/cities get all cocky about 1 win here or there.


Fair enough. But the Rams have been guilty of cockiness in the past as well, like recovering an on-side kick to rub it in when they already had a clear decisive advantage. All teams and fans engage in that at one time or another.

Nevertheless, the Rams are still division champs and I'm happy for that at least. I look forward to a SuperBowl season next year.

I'm still totally puzzled by Martz's strategery ;) to end the 4th quarter. Even if he didn't want to risk reception by passing, he could have still taken a play or two to try and rush for additional yardage towards a possible TD.

Dean

Originally posted by dwette
I don't see any reason to try and diminish the Panthers like that. I thought foxeng was being sincerely graceful and friendly about his team's well-deserved victory. We had our opportunities and lost them. That's the way it goes.

Let him have his excitement and enthusiasm. It was like that for us in '99-'00.

Dean

That is OK. Don't worry about it.

It is hard for people who haven't been through a 1-15 season to truly understand why someone who's team won might be trying to be sincere and not cocky. It will humble you up in hurry, I will tell you that. But that's why they play the game.

He is entitled to have his opinion. No hard feelings. Really.

Panthers beat us fair & square, now that KC lost I hope they go all the way. They may turn out being like New England ,nobody gives them much respect but they keep on winning.



Till next year GOOO Panthers!

Is there anyone locally who installs OTA antennas for a reasonable price? Or is the installation/setup not as daunting as I think it is?

I just ran the antenna mapping program on antennaweb.org - it states that for me in Wildwood that I need a 'yellow uhf' antenna, meaning a small multidirectional antenna.

Here's what it gives me...

KTVI-DT 2.1 FOX 101° 13.9 43
KMOV-DT 4.1 CBS 100° 17.8 56
KDNL-DT 30.1 ABC 88° 15.9 31
KPLR-DT 11.1 WB 90° 16.2 26
KSDK-DT 5.1 NBC 91° 15.8 35
KNLC-DT 24.1 FMN 164° 15.4 14
KETC-DT 9.1 PBS 117° 13.9 39
[callsign, channel, network, compass orientation, miles from, frequency]

Any suggestions on WHO i should have install? Or if I can handle it, WHAT SPECIFIC antenna would be best?

Thanks!

Bruce
Wildwood, MO

Just read a thread from a Pasadena California Charter customer who is reporting that CBS-HD is showing up on their program guide. Pasadena, like St. Louis Charter, has been limited to just NBC and FOX. Maybe this is a good sign for Charter customers in St. Louis. To date, I have yet to see any other Charter lineup with more than two local hdtv channels.

Bruce:

It really isn't that awful. You basically need to decide how you want to mount. Remember, an attic mount you need a little bigger antenna or pre-amp to compensate for the loss of signal through your roof. Also, depending on the antenna, it is harder to aim, due to trusses. If you mount outside, you can use a gable mount, a tripod mount, pole mount or tower mount.

Unless you are in a massive hurry, I can help you, both with product and installation. I live 50 minutes from you (give or take), but I have alot on my plate this week.

If you have any questions, you can email me at alsat@direcway.com or my cell phone number is 314-808-0336.

Bruce,
I live in Wildwood as well, in the Old State Rd., Manchester Rd area. I found someone close by right off Ridge Rd. His web site is www.antennasdirect.com. He is at 1511 Windwood Hills Rd, Wildwood 63021, 877-825-5572. His antenna business began as a hobby since he was one of the first few in St. Louis area to start receiving HD OTA. I talked to him and found that the DB2 antenna works great for our area. It is compact multi-directional. He uses it and it picks up all local digital broadcasters. It's only $29.

Thanks guys for all the help and advice!

Eric, any idea how this antenna is mounted?

FYI - I am in the Meadows of Cherry Hills, right next to the ex-golf course.

Sorry this is not HDTV related. But this is probably the place I can find a lot of Motorola DCT-5100 users. Anyone knows how to turn off the TV guide banner on this box when switching channels. The minimum I can make it down to is 3sec. This is still too long. I use MCE2004 to IR-blaster it. The guide from the MCE is much faster and looks nicer.

Thanks.

All the pertinent information on the 5100 can be found here:

http://broadband.motorola.com/hdtv/dct5100.html

However, I do not believe that you can drop the minimum time on the banner below 3 seconds.

I haven't found a way. It's a real drag as my HDLeeza freaks out on the banner. Takes about 5 seconds to sync up again :(

Has anyone successfully hacked the 5100 to enable DVI output?

Does the 5100 have an internal scaler that would send all programing @ 1080i to my monitor via DVI?

Hey all. New HDTV owner here. Got the Zenith c32v37 last week and have been enjoying local broadcasts immensely. I think overall the CBS programs have looked fantastic, and most NBC programs as well. However, L&O CI was not in WS HD on Sunday night, and the Tonight Show Monday night wasn't either. Does KSDK have problems sometimes?

Billy,

Congrats on the new set.

KSDK does have problems sometimes. They are the market laggard in "switch flipping." Not sure if that was the problem on "L&O: CI", but based on the station's past form, it might be.

There are, however, some mitigating circumstances. Leno wasn't in HD on Monday night, due to the fact that the Tonight Show was delayed locally for a 15-minute Rams Special after the local news. KSDK, like most local stations, doesn't have the equipment to delay HD as they do for NTSC. But now that the Rams are finished, there won't be any more specials and therefore probably no further Monday HD blackouts -- until next football season.

Also, KSDK recently scored a sack of brownie points for abandoning its practice of butchering 4x3 programming by resizing it to 14x9. It's nice when any station listens to viewer feedback, and even if it was coincidental, they get full credit because it was the right decision.

Still, KSDK could do a much better job of "switch flipping" and it is extremely annoying when they drop the ball.

Anyone notice a lip sync problem with KTVI (FOX) tonight? I noticed towards the end of "24" and it persisted into the newscast at 9pm. BTW I have a DTC-100. I am wondering if it's something with my tuner or with the broadcast.

No sync problems on 24 with my Sony HD100... Man, that Nina Meyers is hot....

Has anyone here done the latest DirecTV $99 deal (for a HD rec'r)? If you have had your installation done already, what rec'r did you get? Also, was your rec'r shipped to you or did the installer bring it?

I'm really starting to go crazy with my KTVI reception.

Examples:
> Rams Game : pretty much could watch whole thing with just rare pixellation (pixelization? hee)
> Eagles Game, same time of day but warmer: couldn't get it in at all ! constant dropouts every 3-5 seconds (could anyone west of Clarkson watch this game?)
> '24', last night: couldn't even get it AT ALL !

What in the hell is going on here?

I've tried to email KTVI, based on earlier address, but it keeps coming back saying their mailbox is full. Is there a way to contact them, or does anyone have an idea of what I should do?

Thanks,
Chet

PS. My reception has been hit and miss just this past year. Have OTA in attic with amp.

No sync problems on 24 with my Sony HD100... Man, that Nina Meyers is hot....
Ditto on both :) well, except that I have a Sony HD-200

Nita Myers real name or stage name is Sarah Clarke. To quote USA Toady:

"Clarke, who was born and raised in St. Louis, graduated from Indiana University with an Italian degree but moved to New York to study acting at Circle in the Square, appearing in a few small-budget movies before landing the role of 24's consummate bad girl."

Her mother used to be on the morning radio show on the BIG 55. Either the day of the show or the day after. Not much HD info. just something to stir the pot.

Just in case anybody's curious, I thought I'd post what my local reception is like in the Central West End. Although I'm fairly close distance wise to the towers, all the tall buildings in the area seem to make reception a bit difficult.

I'm on the 11th floor of my building (which probably helps), and since it's an apartment with no place to mount anything, I'm using a Silver Sensor. I've managed to pull down all the locals, but not with any single antenna position - I have to keep moving it around. KETC is probably the most difficult of all of them, but with a little patience and fiddling I can get it with only very occasional breakups. It does seem to depend on the weather/time of day/position of the stars, though.

-Diana

Hello all,

I got the $99 deal from DirecTV. They will be by tomorrow to install the new multisat dish and the OTA antennae tomorrow. I can't wait! I have had the HDTV for some time now and haven't seen anything better than 480P.

So, does anyone have any suggestions for me as the installer comes? I don't know what to expect from this and was wondering if there is anything I should ask for or should watch out for...

Thanks,

Chris in Wentzville MO

Skywalkr2 could you tell me some more about this deal. It include the over the air antenna, dish, installation and hd receiver? How many rooms? Who did you call? Are you a new or existing customer.

You can find more than you ever wanted to know about the DirecTV deal over at TivoCommunity.com. The system here won't let me post a link, but the thread is located under the DirecTV DVR forum.

In my case I am an existing customer for over 2 years and am paying some good monthy rates. So, if you can get to the customer retention department... they make a very good deal. I recieved the reciever, OTA antenna (I don't know which one, but it better have a pre-amp), new multisat dish, installation, etc... all for $99.

Now, it's not really $99. I actually had to pay $500, but I get $401 (approximately) back in DirecTV credit.

Chris in Wenztville

Originally posted by StLouG
Skywalkr2 could you tell me some more about this deal. It include the over the air antenna, dish, installation and hd receiver? How many rooms? Who did you call? Are you a new or existing customer. FYI, I already posted a link to an AVS thread about this deal a week ago on page 5 of this very thread. It's about midway down the page. I was surprised when no on seemed to care!

I got the deal with a HD rec'r and new dish (but no OTA antenna -- which I was told was just one that clips on the dish) and it cost me about $444 but I got all of it except $99 back in DirecTV credit.

STL,
I followed your link. They said I wasn't qualified. Two late payments in 1999. I will try again though.
Dug

Mr_Bester,
If they bring that up again, you might try offering to setup your DirecTV account to automatically be paid by your credit card. That way they won't have to worry about getting any more late payments from you.

BTW, I have been with the 3 years with no late payments, but I only subscribe to TotalChoice. It did take a second phone call before they agreed to offer me the deal. I also mentioned that Dish Network is giving away their new HD STB for free.

Originally posted by STL
[B]Mr_Bester,
If they bring that up again, you might try offering to setup your DirecTV account to automatically be paid by your credit card. That way they won't have to worry about getting any more late payments from you.

...
I'm not a big fan of automatic credit card payments, but I may just set up a new Directv only card. It's a good idea.
Thanks

Originally posted by skywalkr2
I got the $99 deal from DirecTV. They will be by tomorrow to install the new multisat dish and the OTA antennae tomorrow. I can't wait! I can't wait either. Mine was suppose to be this morning, but a D* mix-up got it pushed back to tomorrow afternoon. So, has the installed arrived yet? Please let us know what HD STB he brings!

So what's the latest with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound via our OTA digital stations? Which are supporting it, and which are not?

Only once have I watched a digital program that was in full dolby 5.1, and that was last week during the Eagles game on CBS. Kinda cool hearing two distinctly different groups of fans (weird hoot calls and all), in both rear speakers! And putting the announcer at the stadium through the rears was also a treat.

But when I *really* wanted 5.1 was while watching Castaway in high def on ABC last week. Unfortunately the digital audio was lowly stereo. Of course, by using the RCA's outs I DID receive pro-logic sound. But as we all know, pro-logic does not equal 5.1 ;-)

FWIW, ESPN-HD had begun ramping up their HD events coverage.

In the past week, ESPN broadcast four different games in HD -- Syracuse v Missouri NCAA basketball on Monday, Cincinnatti v Marquette NCAA basketball on Wednesday, Dallas v Colorado NHL hockey on Thursday and LA Lakers v Sacramento Kings NBA basketball on Friday.

The only real downside here is that they don't have anything scheduled for the weekend.

We've got a similar sort of schedule to look forward to this coming week, with NCAA games on Monday and Wednesday (Pittsburgh v Connecticut and Duke v Maryland), hockey on Thursday (Philadelphia v NY Rangers) and NBA on Friday (San Antonio v Phoenix).

Definitely a nice trend...

Originally posted by abcward
Thanks guys for all the help and advice!

Eric, any idea how this antenna is mounted?

FYI - I am in the Meadows of Cherry Hills, right next to the ex-golf course.

I've got a better plan. Try the Zenith Silver Sensor (at Best Buy) indoor UHF antenna. I'm able to pick up ALL digital stations. Most of the towers are in the same general direction (Southeast of West County). I had Dish installed Friday with the new 811 HD receiver with OTA receiver. It's terrific. I took the Motorola 5100 HD STB back to Charter this morning. I couldn't wait on Charter to get the rest of the local DTV stations. Superbowl is on CBS-4. With the Silver Sensor I pick up KSDK, KMOV, KPLR and all PBS stations in the 79%-82% range. KTVI-2 and KDNL-30 ABC is a little weak and drops out. A slight adjustment of the antenna brings them in. KTVT-2 is easier to get.

Anybody have a suggestion to boost the antenna a little? RadioShack in-line amplifier?

Another question: At what point do you need to put in a satellite in-line signal amplifier? How many feet before attenuation is a problem? I'm in a one-story house, dish on peak of roof on opposite side of house from TV/receiver. I measured the cable run at about 70 feet. I have an unfinished basement so it was easy to track. The installer said the cable he used is rated at 200 feet, but wonder what you guys think.

Thanks for the info Eric!

One more note regarding OTA reception of DT stations with Silver Sensor if you have trouble picking up all stations. I just installed a Radio Shack in-line amplifier 15-1170 and I have no dropped stations and no repositioning the antenna. Point the Silver Sensor toward the East-Southeast (from West County near Manchester Rd and west of Clarkson) and you'll get all DTV stations. The stations I received at about 82% is now 88-90%! I'm ready for Superbowl because KMOV-4 is the strongest signal at 90%! :-)

How far are you away from the towers? What is the terrain around your house like? Is your TV on the main floor or in the basement? Thanks this will help me to make a decision.

Hello everyone, I've been hanging around this thread for a while now and have learned a ton, like the $99 deal from DirectTV. I usually hang out in the Audio section or DVD player area, but it's nice to see people talking about areas that I'm familiar with (Oakville, Ballwin, Wildwood, etc.). Well, I just got off the phone with Direct, and although I did not fully qualify for the $99 deal, I was able to get a $150 credit and a total of $120 worth of programming credits coming out to $130. I'm set for installation this Wednesday.

Now, here is the question I have for all you fine folks on this thread. I opted for the extra $50 fee to have a local antenna installed as well and hooked up to the HD receiver. Has anyone else gone for this? I'm about 10 - 15 miles away from all the local towers and in a fairly residential area. The guy I talked to at Direct said it would most likely be a rooftop job, but couldn't guarantee anything on signal quality, and I would be out the extra $50. But, the line would already be run, and I figured if nothing else all I would have to do is possibly get a better antenna and install it myself. Any thoughts from the braintrust out there? Thanks in advance for your help.

Originally posted by Tom Grooms
Has anyone successfully hacked the 5100 to enable DVI output?

Does the 5100 have an internal scaler that would send all programing @ 1080i to my monitor via DVI?

Forum,

DCT 5100 DVI is active now... ;)

4113

DCT 5100 DVI is active now...

Is this possible because of a firmware upgrade?

DJ_JonnyV,
I just had the $99 deal installed Saturday (he brought the Samsung BTW) but I opted not to have them do the OTA antenna (because they said it would be a clip-on-the-dish antenna). I was curious so after the install I asked what antenna would have been included, and the installer said it would have been a Wingard Sensor GS-2000 or GS-2000A. If I would have know that I might have opted to get it! Oh well...

Is anyone getting a 75.1 digital WB station? With my new Samsung STB I now get that station; I am curious where it originates (since neither antennaweb or titantv show a 75.1 for me).

STL,
I think that was covered either earlier in the January thread or in the December thread. KPLR is sending new PSIP (IIRC) that puts an entry at 75.1. I'll see if I can point you to a specific post.
Dug

Found it. This was posted by STLEng (engineer at 11)
"KPLR DT PSIP
We recently made some changes with our PSIP data that enabled us to provide active program guide. We also added a virtual channel for ease of locating the WB programming via an HD receiver nationally. The virtual channel (75-1) is active through PSIP only, it is NOT a separate stream.

While these changes have many advantages they also come with some disadvantages. On select receivers a "hard reboot" may be required. The manufacturers describe a hard reboot as deleting the channel, powering down the receiver for a couple of minutes, re-powering and scanning. This should resolve most conflicts with consumer receivers. If you continue to have difficulties receiving WB11 please let us know. Please include the STB make and model information as well as signal strength.

I hope this helps."

Thanks Mr_Betser. Now that I know 11-1 and 75-1 are the same stream I'll just delete one of them.

Hey all.

I've recently taken the big step into HDTV with the purchase of an Hitachi 51S700. It was delivered yesterday (Sun., 1/18).

When the TV got to the house, I was so excited I ran up to Ultimate Electronics and picked up a Terk TV5. I live in Fenton, near Springdale Pool and my reception is spotty at best. Fox (Channel 2) and KSDK (Channel 5) are ok, but KMOX (Channel 4) is not very good at all.

After reading through this thread, I'll be returning the TV5 and getting a ChannelMaster roof/attic antenna...I see that Lowes carries some.

I was wondering if anyone could offer up any suggestions to help get a decent signal. I'd really like to avoid going up onto the roof, so attic is the only option at this point...at least until it gets warmer/drier.

John

Has anyone heard any more news or rumors about future HD programing on Charter? I'm getting impatient and a Dish might be a better solution.

A Charter csr recently told me that "contracts [for new hd programming] are about to be signed." I'll believe it when I see it.

Originally posted by oby
A Charter csr recently told me that "contracts [for new hd programming] are about to be signed."

I wonder how much of that statement is just to keep people from jumping ship.

I seriously doubt that Charter will suddenly turn on KMOV, KDNL, KPLR, PBS, Discovery, and ESPNHD. Maybe they will.

Anyhow - if they don't turn them all on - satellite is your better option. Cost of satellite HD is way down (and even VOOM now appears to be dropping prices)

Chris

Does VOOM have all the 'normal' channels like Cable/Dish does? Yes I want as many HD channels as I can get...but I dont want to lose normal channels that I also watch.

I also dont see ESPN channels listed on their programming guide at all.

Seems like they have a great idea, but need to fill in the holes.

Originally posted by 4113
Forum,

DCT 5100 DVI is active now... ;)

4113

Can you explain that a little more? New box or did firmware activate it?

Is anyone else having problems picking up KMOV over the last few days? I usually get them fine, but lately the signal is too weak.

Did anyone watch the State of the Union address on FOX's digital feed last night? If so, did you see any lip sync problems?

The last couple shows I recorded on FOX (24 and last night's State of the Union) seemed to have lip sync problems during playback. I know it is not my STB because when I saw the problem with 24 I was using a RCA DTC-100 and when I saw the problem last night I was using a Samsung SIR-TS160. I am thinking it is not the local digital FOX feed because I talked with someone who watched 24 last week (but wasn't using a DVR) and they didn't see it. Somehow the audio is getting ahead of the video. This points the a problem with the ReplayTV unit and its ability to record digital OTA programming. Anyone here recording digital OTA signals with a DVR? Anyone seen anything like this?

Called Charter last week to set up HD and set an appt for this afternoon. Just got the call of "we are sorry, its not available in your area". I'm so sick of their crap

For those with the motorola box - can you guys tell me if the DVI connection is a DVI-I or not? I have a CRT PJ, and as such require analog RGB.

Thanks.

Does anyone else get Charter Internet without Charter cable? They published a report three months ago that they were doing away with the surcharge for doing it this way - but I got my bill yesterday and it shows a $5 surcharge (34.95 charge instead of 29.99)

Just curious as to others experience in this area.

Chris

Could that be modem rental?

I thought the previous surcharge for Charter Internet w/o Charter Cable was $13 something...

Originally posted by STL
Did anyone watch the State of the Union address on FOX's digital feed last night? If so, did you see any lip sync problems?

The last couple shows I recorded on FOX (24 and last night's State of the Union) seemed to have lip sync problems during playback. I know it is not my STB because when I saw the problem with 24 I was using a RCA DTC-100 and when I saw the problem last night I was using a Samsung SIR-TS160. I am thinking it is not the local digital FOX feed because I talked with someone who watched 24 last week (but wasn't using a DVR) and they didn't see it. Somehow the audio is getting ahead of the video. This points the a problem with the ReplayTV unit and its ability to record digital OTA programming. Anyone here recording digital OTA signals with a DVR? Anyone seen anything like this?

Not surprising... Almost every digital program I watch, regardless of station, has lip-syncing problems. It was that way with the Samsung TIR-150 I had 2 years ago, and it's still that way with my Zenith HDV420. Very maddening and frustrating that after all this time digital still can't get it right.

so, January is almost over and no new word from Charter on any new HDTV channels.... we need someone on the 'inside' there....

I'm really hoping that Charter gets CBS in time for the Superbowl for you guys. I'll be watching it courtesy of my trusty channelmaster antenna. It would be nice if the Charter box had a built in OTA tuner like the sat boxes.

Originally posted by BradZ
I'm really hoping that Charter gets CBS in time for the Superbowl for you guys. I'll be watching it courtesy of my trusty channelmaster antenna. It would be nice if the Charter box had a built in OTA tuner like the sat boxes.

Im guessing they wont be that pro-active....but I hope I am wrong.

Hi just purchased (ordered) my first hdtv hit51s700. It will be going in my basement in Fenton. The drywall is going on this weekend so I want to make sure I have everyting in the walls I need. I have 3 runs of RG-6 Two for upcoming HDdirect tivo and one for an atenna.

This brings me to my question. I live on a hill looking the Merimac river so there little obstruction an am planning on putting an atenna in my attice (above the second stroy). As far as I can tell the farthest I am away from the digital signals is 12 miles.

Is it overkill to install an attic antenna?

Even if it is (I tend to overkill everything) what atenna would you recommend?

Another thread here on AVS relates a customer service conversation regarding some fixed limits on the number of HD channels Charter is capable of carrying in any single market.

Normally I probably wouldn't bother reposting here something that's completely unattributed. But on the other hand, there does seem to be some logical foundation to this.

And as Charter has repeatedly demonstrated that it can't be bothered to COMMUNICATE its plans to its subscribers (Oh, the irony), I figure I might as well let it rip...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=355052

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3156848#post3156848

Fixed number of HD channels for Charter? Argh...

I gotta get back to Dish - I keep waiting and waiting, hoping Charter will just 'do it', so I dont have to go thru all the hassle of changing, but this is way too irritating.

Thanks for the info Doug

Just talked with charter and they said the hold up for me was the lack of boxes. CSR said they are getting new ones in which are the DCT6200 http://broadband.motorola.com/consumers/products/dct6200/default.asp
She also said the DVI was enabled on the new boxes. All taken with a grain of salt.

Tim

Alright guys, the Direct installer was out today to install my HD package. Just to recap, I got in on the $99 deal (sort of), and also ponied up an extra $50 for the local antenna to be installed. Got home from work and everything was up and running, for the most part. I am not getting the local CBS feed through my roof top antenna. Hmmm, this is the channel the SuperBowl is on, and was one of the driving forces behind all of this.

He installed a Winegaurd antenna, and also received the Samsung 160 HD box. Fox, ABC, NBC, Ch. 9, all come in at 77% according to the digital signal meter. The installer told me that I might have some problems getting CBS in, but thought it would be a non-issue living so close to the antennas (10 - 15 miles).

Please, I'm begging you guys for some help! I'm desparate here. Do I need a different antenna? Amplifier? Re-position the antenna? Anything?

DJ -

It's tough to try to remotely troubleshoot something like your problem, but we can at least give it a shot...

Here's some things to consider:

* Try to find out what the model number is for the Winegard antenna. More to the point, you should try to find out if the antenna is VHF/UHF or UHF only. If it's a combo, it probably would help to have a UHF-only instead. That's not a guaranteed fix, but having UHF-only is more likely to pull in all the stations reliably.

* I don't know your exact location, but it sounds like you're pretty close to the cluster of transmission towers in St. Louis. As a result, it may be difficult for you to aim your antenna in such a way as to pick up all of the stations from all of the towers. Understand that I'm speculating here, but if that's true, you might try to see if you can aim more directly at KMOV to pick up that signal, probably at the expense of one (or more) of the stations that are further to the periphery of KMOV. If you find that's the problem, you could consider a second antenna or a rotor as a long-term solution, or just temporarily re-aim the antenna before the Super Bowl to ensure you're going to get a good signal then.

* Does your receiver have multiple antenna inputs (Ant A and Ant B, for example)? If so, you might want to try connecting an indoor antenna to the second antenna input (Silver Sensor) to see if you can pull in just KMOV over that antenna. My DTC-100 allows me to do this, though I haven't actually tried feeding two antennae at the same time. I'm not sure how that would work on the Samsung box, or the unified program guide (the guides are separate on my older STB). Maybe someone else here with more experience with the Samsung STB can chime in whether that's an option or not. Again, I wouldn't normally suggest this sort of kludge, but as you sound very determined to see the game in HD, it might be worth a try. BB sells the SS and they generally have a very liberal return policy, so if it doesn't work out you're not really out of pocket, though of course there is an additional hassle factor.

That's all I can think to suggest at the moment. If another idea occurs, I'll post it here. Hopefully one of these ideas will help you, or maybe someone else can come along with some suggestions that fix your problem.

DJ,

you might also try a multi-directional antenna like the channel master 4 bay bowtie antenna. I'd try tweaking the winegard first- you might find a magic spot.

Originally posted by tcfila
Just talked with charter and they said the hold up for me was the lack of boxes. CSR said they are getting new ones in which are the DCT6200 http://broadband.motorola.com/consumers/products/dct6200/default.asp
She also said the DVI was enabled on the new boxes. All taken with a grain of salt.

Tim

Hold the salt....

DVI is enabled on ALL boxes with DVI hardware installed due to 12.18 & 14.18 update. ;)

Originally posted by abcward
Fixed number of HD channels for Charter? Argh...

I gotta get back to Dish - I keep waiting and waiting, hoping Charter will just 'do it', so I dont have to go thru all the hassle of changing, but this is way too irritating.

Thanks for the info Doug

There is no "fixed number"....

http://www.kensei-con.net/cetc/publish/broadband/article_14893.shtml


Stay tuned...

4113,

I would hope that you're correct.

While I've already conceded that there's no substantiation for the idea that Charter is currently limited to eight HD channels, at least I presented a source where this possibility was raised.

Your comment "there is no fixed number" doesn't really add any new information. Is this an opinion, or do you have inside information that might explain why Charter has been foot-dragging on delivery of a credible HD service?

Doug & Brad,

Thanks you very much for the advice. I just came up from watching some of the "new programming" available to me. Wife's already in bed, so I have to stay off the roof until tomorrow, at which point I'll enlist the help of a neighbor (who is coming over to watch the SuperBowl). I just checked Winegard's website, and it looks like he installed the Sensar II GS200A. I'll have to check on the multiple inputs as well. I don't think it does from the brief time I was thumbing through the manual, just your regular satellite feed, a local antenna feed, and a cable feed. I'll keep you all posted. Doug, you're right, I'm pretty damn determined to get CBS rolling in HD before 2/1.

Does anyone else get Charter Internet without Charter cable? They published a report three months ago that they were doing away with the surcharge for doing it this way - but I got my bill yesterday and it shows a $5 surcharge (34.95 charge instead of 29.99)

Just curious as to others experience in this area.

Chris


Chris, did you call Charter and see what they had to say? I'm just about ready to take the "cable internet" leap and, I too, thought that there wasn't a surcharge anymore. The surcharge is the reason why I never signed up in the past (and I can't get DSL:mad: ). Let me know what you find out, I wan't to sign up for the 2-month free offer that's going on right now.

Thanks

Did some research last night.

1) It is not a cable modem rental charge - I bought my own modem.

2) There is now a disclaimer on their website that states the prices above are for Charter TV and Internet subscribers, Internet only subscribers will pay more.

So basically, there is a surcharge, but its been dropped to $5. SBC has DSL for 26.95, but that is only for 1 year - its 49.95 thereafter. So it looks like I am sticking with Charter, surcharge and all.

With respect to the Charter limitations and their 'all-digital' service - unless there is something specific to post, Charter has lost all credibility here. First they were years overdue with HD service. Second, they still haven't launched Discovery, which they have at least some carriage agreement for. Third, they announced the HD PVR, but have been silent every since. Fourth, this new digital service contradicts the HD PVR, because one of its benefits is cheaper cost on PVRs - so why invest millions in an analog/digital PVR and then invest millions on an all digital TV service which makes your new PVR overpriced? They sound like Dishnetwork - lots of efforts, lots of press releases, but when you get down to it no one is steering the boat and they are dumping money in technologies for the sake of being a 'market leader' - BUT the customers NEVER see the benefit or see it YEARS after it was promised and all the while we are subsidizing these unmanaged efforts.

OK, I'm off my soapbox.

Chris

Interesting story on the front page of today's Wall Street Journal:

Playful on the Outside, Paul Allen Tightens Grip on His Fortune

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB107473543214508462,00.html?mod=home%5Fpage%5Fone%5Fus

It appears that you need to be a subscriber to access the full story.

Not a lot of detail about the future of Charter in this article, though it is one of the focal points. The "wired world venture" concept is attributed directly to Paul Allen and says that he continues to push this "vision" hard, "most notably advanced set-top boxes that will give greater capabilities to channel-surfing cable viewers."

I completely agree with BudShark's observations. While Charter has apparently mastered the puff-piece world of the Businesswire and PR Newswire, it seems to treat the need to deliver on customer needs and expectations as an inconvenient afterthought.

Bring on Comcast and let's be done with these bandits.

I too agree with all the negative comments about Charter's lack of interest in customer satisfaction.

I will however give them credit for a very decent Cable Internet. The speeds are 2x as fast as DSL is and at a very similar price.

Now if we could only get them to realize how important that HD is to us!

I recently listened to the web-stream of Charter's conference in Arizona. HD was a topic of discussion, and I really got the impression that someone made the strategic decision to initially offer just two hd local channels in all their hd markets. That seems to make sense, as it seems all markets have just two local hd channels, if that. (I am counting FOX, even though its not HD). Lots of defections if they don't offer more.

What? Haven't these guys heard about the "cable pig" promotion?


The following is from SkyREPORT:
_____________________________

DirecTV Set to Raise Prices, Readies New Offer

DirecTV will increase the prices for its base packages between $1 and $3, depending on the package, beginning March 1, SkyREPORT has learned.

The pricing for the packages with local TV channels are as follows: Total Choice with locals, $39.99 a month, a $1 jump; Total Choice Plus with locals, $42.99 a month, a $3 increase; and Total Choice Premier with locals, $90.99 a month, a $3 jump. Without locals, package prices are: Total Choice, $36.99, a $3 jump; Total Choice Plus, $39.99, a $2 increase; and Total Choice Premier, $87.99, a $2 increase.

Packages with foreign language channels, premium networks and HDTV selections will not change, along with prices for pay-per-view and the DirecTV DVR service.

As for its upcoming national offer, DirecTV will offer new customers its Total Choice with Locals package for $29.99 for the first six months of a subscription, a $60 savings. Customers who purchase new equipment, agree to a one-year commitment and subscribe between March 1 and July 17 will be eligible for the offer. The Spanish-language DirecTV Para Todos package with locals also will be offered at the discount.

_____________________________

KTVI Problems Still
I'm really starting to go crazy with my KTVI reception.

Examples:
> Rams Game : pretty much could watch whole thing with just rare pixellation (pixelization? hee)
> Eagles Game, same time of day but warmer: couldn't get it in at all ! constant dropouts every 3-5 seconds (could anyone west of Clarkson watch this game?)
> '24', last night: couldn't even get it AT ALL !

What in the hell is going on here?

I've tried to email KTVI, based on earlier address, but it keeps coming back saying their mailbox is full. Is there a way to contact them, or does anyone have an idea of what I should do?

Thanks,
Chet

PS. My reception has been hit and miss just this past year. Have OTA in attic with amp.

----
PSS. The Carolina Eagles game came in fairly well for the most part. As I've stated in past, KTVI is in the middle of the other two, which I always get just fine.

Chet,

You must be using a Dish 811 or a Dish 6000 receiver. I haven't discovered what the issue is quite yet but I'm working on it.

I noticed the same thing and I'm only located 9 miles from the KTVI Tower.

In which direction is your antenna pointing (angle/degree) according to antennaweb.org. I wonder if some kind of other type of broadcast interferes with the signal path. It doesn't matter what the temperature is or conditions are on when it works and when it doesn't. It's completely random.

I also wonder if the people at Fox are experimenting with the PSIP and Signal Strength.

P.S. I haven't noticed these severe issues on my other HD receiver (MyHD), the signal just drops by about 10% but everything still works OK. I'm using a 4-bay ChannelMaster 4221 antenna mounted on my roof.

Originally posted by ChetP
KTVI Problems Still
I'm really starting to go crazy with my KTVI reception.

Examples:
> Rams Game : pretty much could watch whole thing with just rare pixellation (pixelization? hee)
> Eagles Game, same time of day but warmer: couldn't get it in at all ! constant dropouts every 3-5 seconds (could anyone west of Clarkson watch this game?)
> '24', last night: couldn't even get it AT ALL !

What in the hell is going on here?

I've tried to email KTVI, based on earlier address, but it keeps coming back saying their mailbox is full. Is there a way to contact them, or does anyone have an idea of what I should do?

Thanks,
Chet

PS. My reception has been hit and miss just this past year. Have OTA in attic with amp.

----
PSS. The Carolina Eagles game came in fairly well for the most part. As I've stated in past, KTVI is in the middle of the other two, which I always get just fine.

Originally posted by BudShark
Did some research last night.

1) It is not a cable modem rental charge - I bought my own modem.



Chris,

It seems that you are accidently being charged for modem rental. This was probably done when your account was moved to Charters new billing system.

Call 636-207-7011, explain the situation, and you should recieve credit.

4113

I thought I would post my experiences with outdoor antennas, in hopes it provides some help for someone else.

I had a Samsung 151 OTA tuner with a Radio Shack Yagi UHF antenna mounted on my chimney. I had 75 ohm cable (rg-6) running from the antenna to a coupler in the attic to another rg-6 cable to my TV. I put the antenna as high as I could with one pole. We're about 18 miles from the towers.

Reception was okay on most channels, but drop outs were common. I made 4 attempts to point the antenna (with my patient wife working the tv) while I was on the roof with a cell phone; it was very difficult finding a spot that got all the channels. The signal strength meter has only a few 'steps' on the 161, making it difficult to aim the directional Yagi. It took very slight changes in direction for fairly significant changes in reception levels.

Recently, I obtained a Dish 6000 HD. It was nice to have a 0-100% signal strength, but the tuner didn't lock-on as well as the Samsung 151... Back to the roof. Some problems I ran into:

1) Do NOT try to use the signal strength meter in the 'manual add DTV' channel screen; a good reading does not necessarily mean a lock on the channel.

2) The tuner will "SKIP" channels that are not locked, even if they were added to the channel list. If you hit channel up while on channel 4 and channel 5 was not coming in, then instead of going to channel 5 it would jump to 11, making the fine tuning the direction of the antenna difficult.

3) Make sure you aren't using a "favorite's list" on a 6000 when pointing the antenna. I wasted hours trying to troubleshoot why one station would never lock, even though it 'discovered' the channel during a DTV scan for channels.

I still was having drop-outs frequently, so after reading threads on AVS on antennas I decided "it was time." I called Antennas Direct and bought a DB 2. Rich was very helpful, and had a great product. I also decided to get a signal amplifier from Radio Shack cat #15-1170 which is an in-line amplifier that attaches at the antenna since I didn't want to get up on the roof anytime soon.

It's only been a few hours, but so far I have seen only one minor dropout - a far cry better than I had before, and I am receiving all channels. bottom line - the DB2 and in-line amplifier made the difference for me.

-CoCoKola

Charter vs. Dish:

OK, little help here guys...

I am a Charter HD user since we moved to Wildwood about a year ago. Previously when I was in Ballwin, I had Dishnetwork. I have been one of the vocal 'where are more HD channels, Charter?" people on this forum.

Honestly, the only thing holding my household back from going back to Dish is my wife. Her one gripe of Dish was that we would lose reception with any storms/ice/etc.

Can someone answer this: Is this still a relevant issue with satellite? Like today during this icestorm, if i had Dish would I not have any satellite reception?

Any help would be appreciated!

Originally posted by abcward
Charter vs. Dish:

OK, little help here guys...

I am a Charter HD user since we moved to Wildwood about a year ago. Previously when I was in Ballwin, I had Dishnetwork. I have been one of the vocal 'where are more HD channels, Charter?" people on this forum.

Honestly, the only thing holding my household back from going back to Dish is my wife. Her one gripe of Dish was that we would lose reception with any storms/ice/etc.

Can someone answer this: Is this still a relevant issue with satellite? Like today during this icestorm, if i had Dish would I not have any satellite reception?

Any help would be appreciated!

I have D* and at the moment (ice storm) my reception is just fine on all sat locations.
I typically only lose signal in really bad spring/summer storms.

Dean

Originally posted by StLouG
How far are you away from the towers? What is the terrain around your house like? Is your TV on the main floor or in the basement? Thanks this will help me to make a decision.

All towers are East to Southeast from my house. The back of my house faces south and the TV and antenna is next to back window. The farthest tower from my house is KMOV-DT CBS at about 16 miles away. This is also the strongest signal I receive at about 90% with the Zenith Silver Sensor and Dish HD 811 STB. I'm in Wildwood about a mile south of Manchester Road just west of Clarkson Rd. I'm in a ranch and have a hill in the backyard. There are trees at the edge of my backyard since I back to nursery. No problem with reception now, but I wonder how it will be when spring comes and leaves are back. I'll post about that in the late spring.

The Silver Sensor really is terrific. Closer to the window is better. It may be necessary, as it is for me, to slightly elevate the antenna. It is highly directional.

Originally posted by abcward
Charter vs. Dish:

OK, little help here guys...

I am a Charter HD user since we moved to Wildwood about a year ago. Previously when I was in Ballwin, I had Dishnetwork. I have been one of the vocal 'where are more HD channels, Charter?" people on this forum.

Honestly, the only thing holding my household back from going back to Dish is my wife. Her one gripe of Dish was that we would lose reception with any storms/ice/etc.

Can someone answer this: Is this still a relevant issue with satellite? Like today during this icestorm, if i had Dish would I not have any satellite reception?

Any help would be appreciated!

No problem with Dish today. I had slight pixelation this morning, but no loss and minimal disturbance. After having Charter for so long, I feel satellite is clearly superior.

Originally posted by ELRHD
No problem with Dish today. I had slight pixelation this morning, but no loss and minimal disturbance. After having Charter for so long, I feel satellite is clearly superior.

I agree. When I had cable (TCI in the city), it was a constant source of grief in terms of quality, equipment, and CS. I couldn't get locals with reasonable quality for about a year, and TCI refused to do anything about it until I complained to the city and they were forced to. Even then their incompetency continued -- the city finally had to supervise TCI's field techs until problems were resolved.

I've now had DirecTV for over 5 years and have always been satisfied with it. Quality is good, it's easy to change programming choices (via web), and when I've had to deal with customer service they have just about always been fast, professional, and reliable.

Personally, I wouldn't touch cable with a ten foot pole given my past experiences. I've never dealt with Charter, but I don't want to take the chance either.

Dean

Thanks for that info. The farthest tower from my house is 13 miles however I have the set in the basement and there are hills in the general direction of the towers. Almost like in a valley. I live right off butler hill road just before baumgartner road.

Did anyone get some weird narration audio during The Simpsons last night? I didn't get it on the analog channel -- only on the digital feed.

Yeah! I did, too! Could FOX be trying out a version of that new method of narrating movies for the blind?

I recently watched a version of It's a Wonderful Life on some movie channel (AMC, USA, etc.) that had a Ex-President Bush (!) narrating what the actors were doing, how the scene changed, etc. They had a name for this "revolutionary" new feature, but I can't remember what they called it.

So no, you're not crazy :D

I just noticed that Charter has NFL Network now on channel 405. [maybe its been on awhile and I missed it].

I remember when Charter announced they would be broadcasting this channel that they mentioned many shows would be in HD.

Is channel 405 HD? Or are they also showing this channel somewhere else on their lineup in HD?


Thanks

Bruce

Originally posted by abcward
I just noticed that Charter has NFL Network now on channel 405. [maybe its been on awhile and I missed it].

I remember when Charter announced they would be broadcasting this channel that they mentioned many shows would be in HD.

Is channel 405 HD? Or are they also showing this channel somewhere else on their lineup in HD?


Thanks

Bruce



Bruce,

Channel 405 is the "NFL Network (http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/home) " in SDTV. Per the agrement, the additional content includes NFL-HD and NFL On-Demand at the start of the 2004 football season.



4113

4113,

I've been wondering for a while now if you're a Charter employee who is formally (or informally) monitoring discussions here relevant to Charter.

If so, I think that's a positive development and your help and assistance is both welcome and appreciated. However, if you are from Charter, I'd suggest that you (your company) need to become much more proactive in building some positive PR with potential (high dollar) HDTV customers here. Some explanation of why there hasn't been any expansion of the HD package -- either locals or others (ESPN, Discovery) -- would be a great place to start mending the fences. Better yet, would be some indication about future HD programming additions and some rough timetable.

On the other hand, if you just happen to know a lot about Charter without actually having an official role there, your willingness to help and assist posters with Charter issues is still a good thing.

I saw the NFL Network channel for the first time last night, too. It is in SD; however, the "game of the week" show was the best SD I have ever seen--it was as good as FOX Widescreen games. I look forward to when it is in HD next football season. Also, the channel is grouped within the "sports tier", so I bet Charter forces its customers to buy this tier, inorder to watch the channel.

Will the NFL Network ever show any games live? Or is this only a highlight-type channel?

I remember when I had NBA TV with Dishnet that they would show many live contests. This was a year or so ago, so maybe that has changed.

Follow this link for a article on the new NFL Network.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/6987572

Already read that and it mentions preseason games.... so no regular season games huh?

Hopefully sometime in the future they can change that.

I have a Motorola HDT100 ATSC tuner and am generally pleased with it.
However, it does not allow the user to correct the time display which is visible when the tuner is in standby mode.

It appears that the time signal displayed is that from the last station that was viewed and it further appears that only one SL station has their clock signal set properly.

Can anybody state why they think the time signals being broadcast by the other stations are incorrect and will they be required to correct them in the future? I left voice mail enquiries with each station but the only one that responded was the one that keeps their clock signal accurate.

I am using a Radio Shack double bow tie antenna on a rotor with the mod to eliminate the ribbon cable and the reception is excellent in Sunset Hills.

abcward,

If the NFL Network plans to show live games, I would expect that they would be preseason games or regular season games between two bottom-feeder teams -- effectively the games that no one really cares about.

The major networks still have huge value for major sports, especially the NFL, in drawing the maximum number of eyeballs to the games, resulting in the high advertising rates that enable the networks to hand billions and billions of dollars to the NFL owners every year.

I think the NFL Network is probably useful primarily as a marketing vehicle for the NFL, especially in keeping NFL addicts happy during the offseason. There's also probably some value as a point of leverage in future broadcast rights negotiations with the networks.

The NFL is in a somewhat weaker (but still strong) position than in the past, due to NBC/GE's recent refusal to pay for the rights to NFL games. While ESPN has sort of filled a part of that void, the NFL would obviously be in a much stronger position if they had four major networks aggressively bidding for the next contract. Based on the last negotiations, I think it's unlikely that NBC would be an aggressive bidder, unless GE sells it.

If CBS or FOX take a hard line, the NFL can at least raise the viable alternative of threatening to put a slate of games on their own network if they don't get the sort of money they think they should. I suppose it's possible that the NFL will do that anyway, as a sort of "warning shot" going into the next contract.

Mind you this is almost entirely speculation on my part...

For those who are still upset about the Rams last lost. This show might bring back happier memories. Note that time is listed as the eastern time zone.


Sunday February 1, 2004
2:30 p.m. -- Super Bowl TailgateSuper Bowl XXXIV: St. Louis vs. Tennessee (2000) - The Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans 23-16 after LB Mike Jones made a game saving tackle on the 1-yard line as time expired preserving the Rams first-ever Super Bowl Championship. Warner was named MVP after throwing for 414 yards and two touchdowns.

Has anyone heard about the status of StL City upgrade, we do not have the NFL network as many of you do and definetly no HD. There are just a couple of days left for dish offer so I guess I need to decide soon what I will do.

Doug, I assume you would have reported back here if you found out that KTVI gives a darn that their viewers cannot contact them by e-mail? I guess they never even returned your call?

There are reports of DirecTV testing CBS HD on channels 80 & 81. Has anyone here picked up any of the test signals? Rumors are flying that even non O&O areas are getting these tests. This might be hope for some that have D* but can't get CBS OTA for the superbowl.

On a related note, after I confidently stated that I'd be watching the game OTA- the ice storm has done something to my CBS reception. I might have to climb up on the cold frozen roof on Saturday to fix it. Otherwise I have a backup- a friend I helped set-up with HD. I really wanted to watch the big game on my own set-up. hopefully the ice will melt and my CBS reception will come back in. It's weird all other channels are still in the high 90s and CBS is hovering around 30-40% just enough to cause breakups every minute or so. It would have to be CBS wouldn't it- I couldn't lose channel 11 for a week.

Hello all.

I was watching line of fire last night on ABC and noticed severe break-ups in the picture. The signal strength was not fluctuating, however. Did anybody else notice this? I recall that someone from our local ABC provider monitors this sight. Have you heard other comments about this?

Thanks,

Mike (Da Bears)

Phoenician,

Thanks!

Yes, I do have the 6000, and it IS completely random. Last night, while watching 24, I had zero dropouts, so go figure. It was super cold so does that minimize signal path issues. Seems silly, I know, but the only thing I can think of is KTVI is constantly playing with their signal. If that was the case, however, I would expect more people on this board to experience the problems.

As I said before, KTVI's tower is in the middle of the two towers where I get 90%+ signals, yet KTVI never get above 75%. Go figure.

Thanks again! Anyone else care to comment?

Chet


Originally posted by Phoenician
Chet,

You must be using a Dish 811 or a Dish 6000 receiver. I haven't discovered what the issue is quite yet but I'm working on it.

I noticed the same thing and I'm only located 9 miles from the KTVI Tower.

In which direction is your antenna pointing (angle/degree) according to antennaweb.org. I wonder if some kind of other type of broadcast interferes with the signal path. It doesn't matter what the temperature is or conditions are on when it works and when it doesn't. It's completely random.

I also wonder if the people at Fox are experimenting with the PSIP and Signal Strength.

P.S. I haven't noticed these severe issues on my other HD receiver (MyHD), the signal just drops by about 10% but everything still works OK. I'm using a 4-bay ChannelMaster 4221 antenna mounted on my roof.

4 days until the Super Bowl and I am guessing that Charter won't be suddenly popping in CBS-HD.... Maybe if I wish a little harder....

:)

Yes there was a problem with our HD feed from ABC last night from about 8:45 to 9:00pm. The problem may have been caused by the network time compressing due to election cut ins. Also, we had to dump out of the Sunday night HD feed due to breakup. The dish iced up and affected the HD signal, but not the analog signals!
Equipment has been ordered to pass thru 5.1 audio, but installation will take some time.
FYI corporate is still negotiating with Charter on retransmission agreements for the HD signal. Complaining to Charter might help.
Jim

You wouldn't happen to know what item or items are causing the "standoff" between ABC and Charter? Having some specifics would give us ammunition to try and get Charter to budge.

There have been recent articles in a number of cities, raising the issue as to why local cable providers only carry some local hd channels, and not all, and how the super bowl won't be shown in HD, etc. Here in St. Louis, someone at the Post Dispatch needs to write such a story, and contact Charter, and try to pin them down. Bashing Charter in this forum won't do any good, although its a good way to let out steam. This needs to "go public".

Thanks WRacer.

I was having the problems between 9:30 and 10:00 last night. It got so bad I had to switch over to the NTSC broadcast (horrors). I'm glad to hear that you don't anticipate it being recurring.

Also, for what its worth, I thought ABC's broadcast of the state of the union was the clearest locally. I can't explain why but I want on a 1080i Pioneer RPTV.

Thanks,

Mike (Da Bears)

There are a lot of issues involved with retransmission that revolve around the monetary value of the local signal to the cable company. These issues are best left to the attorneys. Bashing of the forum will not help, but the cable company needs to know how important local HD signals are to the consumer. Unfortunately, the HD set count is still low, so the priority is low. Hang in there...it will happen.

turls,

Sorry, but I didn't see your message about KTVI until this evening. Been having eMail problems that resulted in no alerts coming through from AVS.

But to belatedly answer your question -- no, I never heard back from the engineering department or the person I spoke with in HR.

From all appearances, it appears they don't care to be bothered by what their viewers think or care about.

I wonder if they treat their advertisers in the same way...

[QUOTE]Originally posted by WRacer

FYI corporate is still negotiating with Charter on retransmission agreements for the HD signal. Complaining to Charter might help.
Jim

Charter has not responded to the last two emails that I have set to them. Both of my emails were sent in the last month and both were complaints about their lack of HD service. If you think it would help to voice my displeasure with their service then I will continue to send my emails.

Haven't posted lately, but I finally got all my equipment and the attic antenna was only pulling in a couple channels in its current orientation (appears to be almost directly due east, when it should be more north, northeast). This was just testing it using the twin lead coax already running into the house. It's been too cold/I've been too lazy to attempt to climb in the attic and move the antenna and run coax so I went to BB and got a Silver Sensor to test. Suprisingly, the thing works perfectly in the basement of my house. I have to reposition it a little bit to get a decent signal from channel 4, but the others are all rock solid. I might try one of those Rat Shack inline amplifiers, but for now I can't complain.

Yesterday I sent an email to the Post Dispatch's TV columist, Gail Pennigton, pointing out that Charter has only two local HD channels, and why not more, and people are missing out on HD superbowl, etc. She forwarded my email to Charter's Director of Communications/Midwest Division Operations. The Director responded to me as follows:

Charter would LOVE to carry programming from CBS and ABC and has been talking to those networks for a very long time--ever since we knew that we wanted to be among the first out of the shoot to provide HD to our customers.

In the beginning, close to two years ago, Charter approached local broadcast affiliates in our larger markets (St. Louis among them) to begin talks to make this happen. At some point...seems like it was mid 2003...those talks moved to corporate-to-corporate talks. I'm sorry if you've asked someone at Charter about this and gotten no answers. Believe me, Charter wants these two over-air broadcast networks on HD more than you can imagine. Fact of the matter is that as I write this, we still have hope that both ABC and CBS will sign soon! Folks like you who are early adopters of HD are our heroes! When this happens, Gail will help us put the word out. Fingers here are crossed!




I'm satisfied with this response. They seem to be trying, and the hold-up might be the network owners. Until then, I will just read more and/or listen to XM satellite radio--probably better for my mind anyway.

Personally I get irritated when a 'normal' person like any one of us sends an email to Charter - with no response. I have had that happen to me EVERY time I send an email. Even if it is a question that they cannot answer at least have the courtesy to send an "i dont know, we'll look into it" email.

reminder: Customer Service = serving the customer.

I watched KPLR 11 last night at 8:00 pm. A Show called Angel. Suppose to be in HD. Terrible. Absolutely horrendous. It seemed out of focus, colors all washed out, and sound inconsistent. Commercials not much better, but better than the show. I'm using a Dish 6000 with roof antenna. 9, 5, 4, 2 all looked good. Don't know why the local KPLR or the national feed can't get it together. Very dissappointing!

Hi Sheerluck,

I'm a regular watcher of Angel on 11.1 (and Smallville right before it). I didn't see any problems with the picture quality at all.

Only problem I did notice was when KPLR broke away from the national WB feed to show their local commercials, the volume went up. Way up. Loud enough to have me lunging for the mute button until the show came back on. But the picture looked fine on my Sony HD100. Much more detail in the show than during the SD commercials.

Angel is a show about a vampire and the color scheme is quite dark deliberately. Makes for a huge contrast with the bright farm locales of Smallville just before it. Maybe that's part of what you saw?

Is there a place that has a listing of local St. Louis broadcasts in Dolby Digital 5.1?

Thanks for the attempt anyway . . .

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
But to belatedly answer your question -- no, I never heard back from the engineering department or the person I spoke with in HR.


WRacer, great news about DD!

Funky_K, its pretty hard to pin down Dolby specific listings. Right now I know CBS, ABC, and Fox all have DD programming but right now of those 3 only CBS passes the Dolby Digital. You could check Dolby's web site for general guidelines on what series and sports are generally in 5.1. Not sure about PBS but I'm pretty sure WB and UPN don't.

Usually special shows like the Grammys and Oscars seem to be in DD as well.

I just did an informal search in avsforum.com for 'charter'. There are a couple posts today about how csr's are telling people in Atlanta and Pasadena that CBS-HD will be online before Sunday's Super Bowl.

I dont know how much truth there is to those posts, or if that means St. Louis may also be getting closer to CBS in HD, but thought I was pass along the info/rumor/etc anyways.

DirecTV users: We only get CBS-HD in CBS O&O areas. My understanding is that KMOV is not O&O by CBS. So there is no way for us to get CBS-HD on DirecTV, right?

Dish users, please post any results of attempts to get a waiver from KMOV, if you don't mind.

http://directvdnseligibility.decisionmark.com/

shows me in Grade B. I already called DirecTV and they take care of trying to get the waiver. I do have occassional problems with KMOV.

Hi turls,

Several years back, when DirecTV got court-ordered to disconnect the New York nets from people who didn't have waivers, I asked KMOV for a waiver for the WCBS analog feed. Got denied.

I don't have confidence that the WCBS-DT situation will be any different.

Originally posted by abcward
I just did an informal search in avsforum.com for 'charter'. There are a couple posts today about how csr's are telling people in Atlanta and Pasadena that CBS-HD will be online before Sunday's Super Bowl.

I dont know how much truth there is to those posts, or if that means St. Louis may also be getting closer to CBS in HD, but thought I was pass along the info/rumor/etc anyways.

DirecTV has a press release that the CBS HD feed goes live on channel 80 on Jan 30 (today) in O&O markets.

Dean

WOOHOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just flipped on my Charter-HD. CBS-HD has been added and is working now!!!!

What channel?

784

That is great news!!!! Of course my wife thinks I have gone crazy from all the screaming that I am doing.

Great news!

Are you serious???