OK got the right antenna up and am picking up channels.

The UHF radio shack (2160) antenna picks up kmov, ksdk, ketckid, ketc9, ketchd, wb

Three KETC channels 9-1, 9-2, 9-3
WB 11-01
KMOV 4-01
ksdk 5-01

Where is Fox at? Tier tower is in between KMOV and KSDK.

turned the ant and now pick up only
14 KNLC
46 WRBU UPN

Where is KNLC at? It's not listed at the start of this thread or on the antenna map.

Wow, you actually pick up KNLC? Other than titanTV.com, I wasn't aware that it registered for anybody.

Anyone know where I can buy a Channel Master 4228 locally in or around STL to avoid shipping charges?

You might try Skywalker Communications on the I-70 South Service Road, just a bit West of Highway K.

Originally posted by Robert Simandl
Wow, you actually pick up KNLC? Other than titanTV.com, I wasn't aware that it registered for anybody.

So far that is the only signal I have got a solid signal bar on.

Originally posted by Fiasco
So far that is the only signal I have got a solid signal bar on.

If you get KDNL, turn your antenna about 1/4 of a full rotation. Not sure which way, depending on where you live. Then you may pick up some of the other channels.

Try as I might, I can not get Fox to come in. I can get all the antennas around it but not Fox.... and it's the closest antenna to my location.

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
FWIW, each local station around the country will shortly be deciding where their digital channel will ultimately be located once analog broadcasting is shut down.

Just because a station currently resides in the UHF spectrum doesn't mean that will always be the case.

The FCC just recently extended the deadline for stations to make their decisions on this. I believe the final deadline is set for sometime in mid-February, but it may be a few weeks or months before these selections are finalized or made public.

Doug could you please give me a little explanation on the following sentence:

"Just because a station currently resides in the UHF spectrum doesn't mean that will always be the case."

What other options are there? Also what is your opinion on the KTVI issue. Thanks.

StLouG,

Among those stations that currently have their analog frequency in the VHF part of the spectrum (KTVI, KMOV, KSDK, KETC and KPLR), they will have the option of keeping their current VHF frequency when analog broadcasting is shut down. It's possible that this also applies to analog stations in the UHF spectrum, too.

Remember, each local station in the country currently has two swathes of bandwidth, one for analog and one for digital broadcasting during the transition. When analog broadcasting ends (whenever that might be), they will have to return one of those frequencies. In some cases, a station may prefer to keep their longtime analog channel designation due to the brand equity they have invested in it (NewsChannel 5, etc). This would mean that their digital broadcasts would shift to the old frequency.

Of course, all locals stations have and will continue to have the ability to "remap" their digital frequency to match their traditional analog frequency (for example, KSDK's 35-1 becomes 5-1), so logically this should be a moot point. Then again, if logic were a force to be reckoned with in the television business, we wouldn't have to endure nonsense such as KMOV's "zoom and crop," "ratings sweeps," and Donald Trump as reality TV star.

I haven't been following this issue closely, so it's possible that not all stations will have the option to revert to their longtime frequency when analog broadcasting is powered down. However, I have read that there is a desire to clear out the top end of the UHF spectrum in order to be able to offer more contiguous frequencies that prospective spectrum auction bidders would find more attractive.

As a result, I've heard that KMOV may be forced to vacate channel 56, meaning either a return to channel 4 or some other currently unoccupied portion of the UHF spectrum.

Before anyone panics, bear in mind that there's no definitive date for analog broadcast shutdown, and 2009 is probably the earliest this could happen. I think it's at least possible that analog broadcasting will be continuing a decade from now.

I don't know what's going on with KTVI. I haven't checked it lately, but will see what it looks like later this evening.

Originally posted by StLouG
Doug could you please give me a little explanation on the following sentence:

"Just because a station currently resides in the UHF spectrum doesn't mean that will always be the case."

What other options are there? Also what is your opinion on the KTVI issue. Thanks.

When the stop simulcasting they will shut down their SD signal on the VHF spectrum and could switch their HD signal over to their original VHF frequency.

Any thoughts one why I can't get FOX?

I'm in Lone Elk state park (just west of fenton on 44) and can get ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS and WB but can't get anything off of Fox.

When I try to auto channel setup or manual setup channel 43 (thats fox on UHF right?) the receiver pauses for a while before returning a timeout error. When the reciever scans for channels during auto setup, it skips empty frequencies quickly and pauses like this when it finds a channel.

Using a 2160 radio shack UHF antenna, radio shack 15-1170 signal amplifier and a motorolla HDT101 OTA reciever.

djearl81, thanks for your help, the rest of you as well.

I went ahead and bought a "real" HD receiver. I went to circuit city and got a DirecTV/OTA HD receiver. Now I'm picking up every channel in St. Louis with my monster antenna. hehe
The picture is soooooooo nice. I swear, DiscoveryHD looks like I'm looking out my window, it's THAT clear. Now, bring on the super bowl!!! I am getting FOX now too (digital/analog/AND satellite, as well as both the east and west coast feeds). I'll never miss another TV show again! I still have my old SD tivo, the DirecTV HD TiVo is still waaaaay too expensive for someone on a college student's budget. Hopefully the price will come down soon, I don't know if I can ever watch SD again.

By the way Fiasco, I could NOT get FOX on the upper channel, only on 2-1. I got a perfect signal, but no audio/video. I never did get it fixed, however when I got the new receiver today, it picked up fox.

So Baron,

You couldn't get fox before but switching HD receivers enabled you to pick up fox? I get nothing at all for fox.

Fox is on channel 43 right (UHF)?

Fiasco
I have NO idea what the deal was with fox. I was using my PC to get HD channels and then forwarding it through the video card to my TV. I was getting a signal between 80-90%, but it wouldn't show any audio or video, it was just blank.
My new receiver picks it up as 2-1, it was somewhere in the 40s on the PC. The pc wouldn't even find the signal at 2-1. I'm not sure that even FOX knows where it is. hehe
Apparently, fox was giving trouble to a lot of people. I just hope my good fortune with FOX continues through next weekend so I can enjoy the superbowl in HD. Hopefully you'll get yours sorted out by then too if you're a football fan (or a fan of commercials haha). I'm still really new to HD, so it's probably better to ask one of the other guys about your questions. Everyone here seems really great and they're always willing to lend a hand. I'm glad I found this site.
btw, if you want to see what frequencies the channels are on, as well as the distance you are from each tower, antennaweb is a great place to go. http://www.antennaweb.org or more specifically, http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

Good Luck. :)

Originally posted by Fiasco
...

Fox is on channel 43 right (UHF)?

Yes, did you try tuning in 2-1?

Do you think that a larger channelmaster 8 bay 4228 help? Or is it my tuner?

Having a SB party and have to get this sorted out pronto!

Mr Bester,

Fox is broadcast on 43 in UHF. It would show up as 2-1 if my reciever picked it up.

I have no idea. Like I said, everything changed when I got a different tuner, but that is a rather extreme way to go. If you're not getting a signal at all, you might try a signal amplifier instead of buying another new antenna. I just went out and bought the biggest antenna I could find because I live so far away from the city, however, you're only 15 miles away if I remember correctly, so that's not necessary for you. However, antennaweb.org will tell you exactly which antenna type you will need (based on a color coded list) to pick up any channels in your area. It worked for me, I am picking up everything that it said I would, so it's certainly worth having a look there.

I'm currently playing back Fox News Sunday from 2-1 earlier this morning. HD Tivo apparently still picks up local Fox on 2-1. I am noticing quite a few audio dropouts, and pixellation in the picture during said dropouts. This seems to last for a second or two, then the picture clears up and the sound pops back in at the same time.

hrm, sun went down and not getting anything now.

hmm, that's odd. I'd think that a nice, cool, clear night would be GOOD for reception. Maybe it IS your antenna, or maybe you need something to boost the signal a bit. Like i said, walmart has a cheap booster that raises the level 28db or so, that was just what I needed to make all the weaker stations come in. It was only $30, if it doesn't work for you, then take it back. Walmart takes anything back, fortunately. ;)

Originally posted by Fiasco
Do you think that a larger channelmaster 8 bay 4228 help? Or is it my tuner?

Having a SB party and have to get this sorted out pronto!

What antenna do you have now? I just ordered the 4228. I have read around that this is the best for UHF only reception, which all STL channels are (for now, I guess).

I have a VHF/UHF combo from radio shack. I've also read that using UHF only is almost always better than a combo, and this channel master one is the best. I'm also going to add a Channel Master pre-amp just in case there is FM interference in my area. There is an FM station 4 miles away from me.

Originally posted by omarq
What antenna do you have now? I just ordered the 4228. I have read around that this is the best for UHF only reception, which all STL channels are (for now, I guess).

I have a VHF/UHF combo from radio shack. I've also read that using UHF only is almost always better than a combo, and this channel master one is the best. I'm also going to add a Channel Master pre-amp just in case there is FM interference in my area. There is an FM station 4 miles away from me.

Fox is havong issues. I doubt an antenna the size of a cruise ship will help right now. I just hope someone there can fix this by next Sunday.

I have a 2160 UHF only radio shack antenna.

What the hell issues is everyone talking about? I'm not complaining, but everytime I check Fox it is perfect both on D* and UHF 2-1.

Scott

I know with the ATI HDTV WONDER I was once able to get FOX on 2-1.

This is no longer the case, the signal is strong but I do not get FOX on 2-1.

ATI has released version 9.03 of their MMC software and with it you can now manually add stations. Adding channel #43 I get FOX fine, but on 43 only.

I have also noticed that FOX has not only 2-1 but 2-2 showing up. Using the 43 method I have no idea what is on 2-2.

This could be a software problem with the ATI card or it could be something else.
But like I said, the work-around for now is using station #43 and HDTV for 2-1 shows as it should. This is the only station I have a problem with.

I get all the locals except for 14-1 which only one person in St. Louis appears to be getting.:p

Greg


Originally posted by Scott Tucker
What the hell issues is everyone talking about? I'm not complaining, but everytime I check Fox it is perfect both on D* and UHF 2-1.

Scott

I watched "Arrested Development" this evening and there weren't any dropouts of any kind.

Based on that, it appears that the blackout problem that others here are seeing is completely separate from the dropouts I saw on Thursday and Friday night.

For those that are interested, I emailed KSDK last week about their inability to "flip the switch" in a timely matter. Well, here's the reply I received:

Kurt,

Thank you for your email concerning last night’s ER (1/27). NBC was having problems with the second segment of ER, and was fed to us in upconverted SD.
It is necessary to switch during breaks to our upconverted commercials mainly because we do not receive commercial in HD yet.
Concerning the final segment/credits, we drop into upconverted SD because we usually have a live news tease from the studio during the final break and then have the news open from the studio during the credits. At this point it is cleaner and there is less chance of lock-up problems if we simply stay in SD. Eventually, we will have converted the facility over to total HD and this will no longer be a problem.
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.
Sincerely,

Mike Tamme



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



As for Fox, I'm occasionally getting pixelization and audio dropouts. Hopefully, 24 won't have any problems tonight. Or moreso, the big game on Sunday.

FYI -- I've added Mike Tamme's phone and eMail to the station contact information that is included in the OTA resource information that appears as the first message in this topic (page 1, message 1).

I'd encourage that everyone leave him a voice mail whenever KSDK fails to flip the switch in future.

Thanks for sharing this, Kurt.

Originally posted by Scott Tucker
What the hell issues is everyone talking about? I'm not complaining, but everytime I check Fox it is perfect both on D* and UHF 2-1.

Scott

It appears as if CERTAIN receivers suddenly cannot get Fox at all. I have a Dish 811 and the station strobes in & out and is unwatchable. This occurred out of the blue. All other DT locals are fine.

That's the "hell" issue.

I spoke with a Don Rockwell at KTVI this morning about the problems some of us are having with their digital signal. Like some have said, he indicated they are installing the software needed to comply with the FCC that is to be completed by tomorrow. He indicated that they started late last week, which is when most of us noticed the problem. He said I am the first complaint he has had. I indicated that this forum had several different receivers that were have difficulties receiving their signal. In addition there were others that were having no problems.

He said he would look into it and get back with me. They still had a day or two's work to complete. Thoes that are having the problem might want to give him a call. Don Rockwell, 314-644-7425 is his direct number.

John

Originally posted by Fiasco
I have a 2160 UHF only radio shack antenna.

I tried that one out for a while with varied success. I'll keep you posted as to the success of the 4228 once it comes in and I get it up and running.

Fox Problem--

I just received a call back from Don at Fox 2. They made some adjustments and I reprogrammed in channel 43 and it working fine again. You that were having the problems might want to see if your problem has been solved also. If not give Don a call, he is very willing to try and help if he can.

John

FWIW, here's a link to the FCC Notice that extended the deadline for stations to select their permanent digital addresses.

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-164A1.pdf

From this document, it appears that the FCC is aiming for television channels to be restricted to channels 2-51, which would mean that KMOV would likely have to move from its current digital location of channel 56.

Reading between the lines, the station's nominations are subject to an FCC review process. It appears that the main concern is channel conflict, where two stations may select the same channel, or where two stations located in adjoining channels might cause transmission interference.

The revised deadline is February 10, but I suspect that it will be several months before decisions on permanent assignments are finalized.

Nothing governmental ever moves fast unless it's a lawsuit pushed by the MPAA or RIAA out to get pirates under the DMCA!
Maybe it's just the particular tuners, I am still getting FOX just fine on my new tuner, but it will NOT come in on my HDTV wonder. They should hurry up and get this all standardized so that not as many people are left out in the cold.

Doug, I checked out your website, so it would seem to me that you know more about HDTVs than most. I'll be buying a new one before Sunday's superbowl...which would you suggest...LCD, CRT, Rear Projection (which I think is basically CRT if I understand correctly), or Plasma?

baron,

I'd be happy to help you with this, but suggest that you give me a call so that we can discuss your needs and constraints in some detail.

For instance, if picture quality is your overriding issue, I'd probably suggest that a CRT RPTV is going to be best for you. Not only do CRTs produce better images, but they are typically half the cost of a similar-sized DLP or LCD RPTV and as little as a quarter of the cost of a plasma or LCD panel.

Although my business is focused on picture quality, I understand that's not everyone's primary concern, so it may be that the other alternatives are a better fit for your environment, requirements or budget.

Also, I now routinely encourage would-be TV buyers to at least consider the idea of front projection, due to the fact that a completely darkened room isn't the hard and fast pre-requisite it was in the CRT-only front projection days. Absolute light control is still the best way to go, but it's not the stringent requirement it was a few years ago. While front projection is still a minority solution, it's something that more would-be buyers should be aware of as an option.

Wow, that was a prompt response! I'm going to go have a look at a few different sets today, I doubt I'll buy anything.
I doubt that front projection would work in my particular situation, the room with the TV in it is my living room and it's fairly bright. My 52" currently takes up what seems like the entire room. hehe
I guess pure quality is more my concern than anything. A set capable of 1080i widescreen is an absolute MUST. I don't like 4:3, it just looks screwy with some of the digital channels no matter which settings I choose.
I've been doing a lot of research on the basics of each type, what they're good for, and what their weaknesses are.
After I have a look around, I'll have a better idea of what the sizes are, what picture quality is like, types of in/outputs, etc.
I appreciate your offer to help, I'll most likely end up taking you up on that. Thank you. :)

-baron

Hey everyone,

I just got off the phone with Fox 2 support. I reported I was having a problem and they asked if I had a Dish 811. They said they are getting flooded with calls about the flashing and issues like that.

They also said that it's a problem with the PSIP/EPG on certain receivers. They are downloading and working overtime. I asked them what they plan to do if it's not fixed by Superbowl Sunday. They said they are going to stop the EPG information a revert back to the HD signal they had used in the past. They would rather fix the issue than ignore it though...hence all the troubles right now. We will be good to go for Superbowl per Fox 2 support.

On a side note...the DB2 from antennasdirect.com is a phenomenal antenna! I installed it neatly today in my attic and get a strong signal (77% - 92%) on all St. Louis stations. I'm about 20 miles from most towers.

Baron,

FWIW, I wouldn't shun a front projection system without seeing 1 or 2 first. I've been using front projection for about 6 months now. My SP4805 projector rivals the picture quality of a panasonic plasma to my family, my friends, and myself as well. I watch on a 76" screen, but can go between about 60" - 110". You save floor space and it's cheaper than plasma and most DLP sets. Plus, if I head over to a buddies house for a game or movie, I can take it with me by just removing it from the mount....try that with a RPTV or a plasma.

Originally posted by Fiasco
I have a 2160 UHF only radio shack antenna.

Fiasco...

I've heard that radio shack antennas don't get the gain advertised. They get about half of that.

Youu might want to try going to antenna web: http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

See what Antenna web says you will need and then head to: http://www.antennasdirect.com/

I tried a good 5 or six antennas from CC, BB, and the shack. The antennas from the direct website are just plain good antennas. They aren't fancy and don't look like much. Yet, they are very reasonably priced and they work. Save yourself some headaches and support the Missouri company.

Guys,

This recent talk about projectors has me intrigued. My wife & I are about to put a contract on a house and I have surveyed the finished basement for my entertainment area.

I have done some research on other areas of avsforum as well as other websites. Admittedly I am still a bit confused on which projector/screen makes sense for me. Bottom line, I am looking for the best picture I can get at an economical price. We watch movies, sporting events, and network HD shows, not always at night either.

My new walk-out basement basically has two rectangle areas [16 x 26 each approximately] that could serve as my tv viewing area. One area has lots of windows which I assume is the less optimal area but would serve as a better non-tv entertaining space. The other space is actually larger and with only the standard tiny basement windows to block out.

I currently have a Toshiba 52 inch HDTV which does the job very well. However a projector and a much larger viewing area would be welcome. Is there any good projectors in the $1700-$3000 range that would give me a comparable picture to my Toshiba? I would also welcome any advice on screens that would be ideal for my situation.

Thanks as always for all the educated advice - you guys are a wealth of knowledge [and a detriment to my pocketbook!]


Bruce




Feel free to contact me offline if you do not want to clog up this forum with this subject. I can be reached via email at abcward@yahoo.com or aol instant messenger at abcdspot. Thanks.

Originally posted by djearl81
Fiasco...

I've heard that radio shack antennas don't get the gain advertised. They get about half of that.

Youu might want to try going to antenna web: http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

See what Antenna web says you will need and then head to: http://www.antennasdirect.com/

I tried a good 5 or six antennas from CC, BB, and the shack. The antennas from the direct website are just plain good antennas. They aren't fancy and don't look like much. Yet, they are very reasonably priced and they work. Save yourself some headaches and support the Missouri company.

I drove the 40 miles up to skywalker in ofallon and got a 8 bay channel master (4228) and if fixed my problem.

Not impressed by what I have seen thus far though as far as the picture quality. I know most of it is just SD programming upconverted.

I heard that the superbowl was not being broadcast in true HD by Fox (only 480p), is that true?

abc,

If you have a "media room" where you have some control over the lighting I'd go front projector in a heartbeat.

I wanted to myself by there is way to much light in my living room from a 54" arch window.

Originally posted by Fiasco
I drove the 40 miles up to skywalker in ofallon and got a 8 bay channel master (4228) and if fixed my problem.

Not impressed by what I have seen thus far though as far as the picture quality. I know most of it is just SD programming upconverted.

I heard that the superbowl was not being broadcast in true HD by Fox (only 480p), is that true?

I would bet money FOX will have full 720p for the SB. They did for MLB championship series, World Series, Football playoffs, etc.

BTW - What was the cost of your 4228?

Fiasco - I'm glad you got your antenna problems solved. It's amazing what a good antenna does for a signal.

***

As far as the FOX 2/DISH 811 problem goes...IT'S FIXED!!!!! I got a call from Don at KTVI. He called me and gave me the "try it now" stuff. It worked beautifully...the signal and the guide. Needless to say he was very happy as well. I could hear some woohoo's in the background.

The Superbowl will be broadcast in true HD. If you can see "True HD" or not depends on your display.

Fiasco --

Glad to hear that the 4228 fixed your issue.

Also, I'm sure that you'll be more impressed when you see some actual HD this evening. I'd suggest you try to have a look at "Las Vegas," "CSI: Miami" (also Dolby 5.1) and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

The Super Bowl IS in HD -- FOX uses the 720p HD format.

If you are looking for a good RPTV, I suggest a Mitsubishi Diamond series. They have consistantly been rated very well and I have a 55". If you have room for the 65" I highly recommend it. It has bigger CRTs and the picture is noticeably better. Plus the 65" is a two piece cabinet which makes it easy to move.

My two cents. :)

Rich

djearl81,

If you can let me know the name and (direct?) phone lines for the guys you spoke with at KTVI, I will add them to the contact list that appears in the first post in this discussion thread.

abcward,

I have a SP4805 from infocus. (There is a pretty big thread in the under $3500 area.) I've been using this projector since November and had HD installed last week.

Anyway, I have it in my walkout basement which has two 70X35" windows with horizontal blinds on them. My walkout has vertical blinds. (One of the windows is about 2' from the screen.) I thinks it's easily the best bang for the money. I project onto a 76" screen. The projector has a place to store 3 preferences for display options. I have 1 for daytime, 1 for cloudy, and 1 for night time. Basically, I turn the brightness up during the daytime, but I could do a better job of light control. The pq and price per square inch is unrivaled in my opinion.

Besides, when was the last time you watched a "regular TV" and didn't have to fight glare or sun spots?

Doug,

Here is KTVI Don Rockwell's number: 314-644-7425. I got it from the previous page (thanks JDKH!)

djearl81 and JDKH,

Thanks for the info on the KTVI engineering contacts. I've updated the resource info with these details.

Hey guys, is there a website that tells me what resolution the local stations broadcast most of their HD content in? For example, I found online that Showtime HD from directv broadcasts at 1080i. I've heard so many conflicting reports on what locals broadcast that I'm really not sure what to believe anymore. I figured you guys would probably know the answer since you've known the answer to every other question ever posted to this forum. hehe
Thanks in advance for your replies. :)

abcward,
I have been reading up on the Sony NS1(?). It's also in the sub3500 forum. It looks to be quite nice for the +- $2000. They do have it at the sony store at west county, however when I was in there, they were still trying to set up the connection. I wouldn't necessarily buy it from there, but if you want to have a look in a fairly High light environment, it couldn't hurt.
Dug

baron,

ABC, FOX and PBS are 720p. CBS, NBC and WB are 1080i.

baron,

I know you didn't ask me, but depending on your budget, I'd give the nod to DLP or LCD rear projection for a main TV in a lighted family room. I wouldn't get one for a darkened movie room/theater because CRT blacks are still the best, but when I replace my aging analog set in the living room I'm going to go with one of the digital rear projection sets. Brighter picture and better viewing angle than CRT rear projectors make these sets a better fit for me in this situation. I do plan on eventually going front projection in my little theater, but that seems like too much hassle just to watch TV in the family room.

PS- the DLP or LCD rear-projection sets are almost all 720p native which means they'll convert 1080i to their native scan rate- still look great, just don't have 1080i native. The reverse is true of CRT rear-projectors, most support 1080i and convert 720p to 1080i.

have fun shopping. make sure you don't see rainbows on the DLPs or the screen door on the LCDs.

baron_iv, what are your size and budget requirements? What will you be using the TV for? Are you a gamer? XBOX or PS2? The best value in the world today are rear projection CRT's. Big screen, great picture, reliable technology and cost effective.

Scott

Originally posted by djearl81
Fiasco - I'm glad you got your antenna problems solved. It's amazing what a good antenna does for a signal.

***

As far as the FOX 2/DISH 811 problem goes...IT'S FIXED!!!!! I got a call from Don at KTVI. He called me and gave me the "try it now" stuff. It worked beautifully...the signal and the guide. Needless to say he was very happy as well. I could hear some woohoo's in the background.

The Superbowl will be broadcast in true HD. If you can see "True HD" or not depends on your display.

What a great bunch of guys. I called the station in the AM and got right thru to Don. Later he and his assistant called me at home today and I played ginea pig watching my TV as they kept changing and noting settings on their end until they got it right. Apparently this issue only seemed to affect mostly the Dish 811. They had no idea there was a problem as their test gear showed no signs of an issue.

Thanks for the info Doug. Brad, I'll be sure to keep all that in mind. A friend of mine has a LCD that he wants to sell, it's a 27" and he wants to sell it CHEAP. So I might pick that up, mainly because it's something I can afford right now. It's going to be quite a switch going from a TV that's twice that size to something small like that, but the picture on it is nothing short of spectacular. So for now, that's probably going to be my main HDTV.
In the future (after graduation in May) I'm going to get another huge screen HDTV (or a projector, I'm not sure...all I know is that it's gonna be HUGE!). hehe
There are so many features that I want in a HDTV, it's going to be very difficult to find all of them in one set and still stay at a reasonable price. I'll be here reading and absorbing all the knowledge on this forum prior to getting the big one though, so I'm sure I'll make a good decision. If I'm in doubt, I'll just have to drag one of you HD gurus with me to the electronics store to look at 'em. hehe

I have another question...my HD receiver (it's also directv compatible) has an option to upconvert everything to 1080i, convert to 720p or downconvert everything down to 480i/p, what would be the downside to upconverting everything to 1080i? Wouldn't that always ensure that I was always getting the absolute BEST picture? I could see where it may cause problems with 480i/p stuff, if it wasn't upconverted correctly or whatever, but what difference would it make with 720p? Would there be any BAD things that would happen (pixelation, snow, etc)?

I have my box set to up convert everything to 1080. I find this gives me the best overall quality. But I'm not looking with a microscope or anything.

Also have a left field question for anyone. Does anyone know of any resources to build a signal meter on a PC using a TV Tuner Card? One would presuppose that it could be done cheaply, in theory. Thanks!

I'm looking for an antenna that will work in the Ballwin area, my home is shaded by a hillside, I've only been able to recieve signal that freeze frames. Would a larger bowtie antenna help? Or some kind of signal boost? Any ideas would be helpful. Thanks in advance...

I use the antennasdirect V15 in Ballwin. Works fine, no amp either.

As far as the FOX 2/DISH 811 problem goes...IT'S FIXED!!!!! I got a call from Don at KTVI. He called me and gave me the "try it now" stuff. It worked beautifully...the signal and the guide. Needless to say he was very happy as well. I could hear some woohoo's in the background.

The Superbowl will be broadcast in true HD. If you can see "True HD" or not depends on your display. [/B][/QUOTE]



Same here!! Came home from work, re-scanned and there it was, mapped to 2.1, guide info and steady! For those of you who haven't viewed "True HD" you are in for a real treat with the Super Bowl!! As far as antennas go, I'm using a 20+ year old Radio-Shack combo in my attic and get every digital station but KNLC just fine. It even has 50+ feet of cable run to a 4-way split then a 2-way to go to my VCR and 811.

Originally posted by baron_iv

I have another question...my HD receiver (it's also directv compatible) has an option to upconvert everything to 1080i, convert to 720p or downconvert everything down to 480i/p, what would be the downside to upconverting everything to 1080i? Wouldn't that always ensure that I was always getting the absolute BEST picture? I could see where it may cause problems with 480i/p stuff, if it wasn't upconverted correctly or whatever, but what difference would it make with 720p? Would there be any BAD things that would happen (pixelation, snow, etc)?

Whenever possible you want the source to put out whatever your tv's native scan rate is. If your new LCD is 720p, set your HD box to 720p. The more times you covert a signal you can introduce noise into the picture. Personally, I like 720p better than 1080i, but I can't wait for 1080p.

Scott

I have no PSIP info on KTVI this morning. Is this related to the 811 problem people were discussing here? I use a USDTV box OTA.

dominicr,

Did you try "rebooting" your receiver or doing a rescan?

Originally posted by swags
I'm looking for an antenna that will work in the Ballwin area, my home is shaded by a hillside, I've only been able to recieve signal that freeze frames. Would a larger bowtie antenna help? Or some kind of signal boost? Any ideas would be helpful. Thanks in advance...

The Channel Master 4228 is rated the best UHF antenna. You can apparently buy locally at Skywalker Communications, or online at solidsignal.com or many others I'm sure.

I haven't had experience with the antennasdirect, though people seem to like them on this board.

Stay away from Terk, anything at Best Buy, Circuit City, and most stuff at Radio Shack (varied degrees of success with those).

Since you are in STL where all digital stations are UHF, get a UHF only antenna. They work better than combos. The only downside is if down the road, stations migrate their digital signal to their normal numbers (2,4,5,9,11,30), then you will need a VHF, but that should/would be years away.

If you get the channel master up and running and are still having small signal issues, get a channel master or winegard preamp. I haven't had luck with any other inline amps or amps solid at the normal chains.

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
dominicr,

Did you try "rebooting" your receiver or doing a rescan?

I rescanned, but did not reboot. Channel 5 info came up with out either over the last few days.

domincr,

No idea if it will work or not, but in view of the fact that KTVI had more trouble getting their PSIP up, they may have made more extensive changes to their equipment and configuration; therefore, rescanning at your end might do the trick.

If not, I'd suggest that you contact Don at KTVI and let him know that you're having a problem and the details on your specific receiver.

Get the 4228! I mucked with several antennas and the 4228 fixed all my problems with reception.

Originally posted by dominicr
I rescanned, but did not reboot. Channel 5 info came up with out either over the last few days.

Must be something on your end. I have had guide trouble with KTVI since daye-1 with my 811. But as of 1/31, it's now working perefectly. No issues with Channel 5 either....never had any with them.

Remove your FAVORITES, remove all DT stations, pull the plug, count to ten, plug the 811 back in rescan the DT locals.

This is the ol' 811 two-step and a right to passage.

Dish 6000 Question

I am not getting the programming guide info on my digital local channels. I read above that folks with the 811 are getting it. For those of you who have the 6000, are you getting the local guide info for local digital channels? Is it my equipment or is this another limitation of the 6000?

Thanks
John

I'd venture to say that either nobody or very few people have the 6000 or you'd have gotten an answer already. I usually get answers within minutes! However, on my HDTV wonder, I am not getting guide information, but I do on my set top tuner. I'm not sure why exactly, it's odd.

Hopefully somebody will pop on here and help you with your problem though. Good Luck.

I know there are some here who have the 6000, at least I thought there were.

Jjohn

Originally posted by JDKH
Dish 6000 Question

I am not getting the programming guide info on my digital local channels. I read above that folks with the 811 are getting it. For those of you who have the 6000, are you getting the local guide info for local digital channels? Is it my equipment or is this another limitation of the 6000?

Thanks
John

I haven't used the 6000 for a very long time for local digital, but I can't ever remember getting anything but "Local Digital" on the guide for those channels. Don't know why it's so hard for Dish; Voom has always gotten the guide info flawlessly.

Originally posted by JDKH
I know there are some here who have the 6000, at least I thought there were.

Jjohn

Not sure this will help you, but here goes:

I'm told that my Dish 811 does NOT get the HD guide data from the stations over the air. Rather, guide data comes from the Dish Network SD station listings (St. Louis stations in our case) and then mapped to the DT counterparts and appear in the EPG.

I also believe that the Dishplayer 921 receives its guide data the same way, but with one (stupid) limitation: The subscriber must subscribe to Dish SD locals in order to receive the Guide data! Talk about money for nothing. Pretty ugly, huh?

Do you subscribe to Dish locals? If not, I wonder if this is why you don't have any guide data. I'm guessing the 6000 acts like the 921. Just a guess, but perhaps a 6000 user can confirm/correct.

Originally posted by moman19
Not sure this will help you, but here goes:

I'm told that my Dish 811 does NOT get the HD guide data from the stations over the air. Rather, guide data comes from the Dish Network SD station listings (St. Louis stations in our case) and then mapped to the DT counterparts and appear in the EPG.

I also believe that the Dishplayer 921 receives its guide data the same way, but with one (stupid) limitation: The subscriber must subscribe to Dish SD locals in order to receive the Guide data! Talk about money for nothing. Pretty ugly, huh?

Do you subscribe to Dish locals? If not, I wonder if this is why you don't have any guide data. I'm guessing the 6000 acts like the 921. Just a guess, but perhaps a 6000 user can confirm/correct.

I used to subscribe to the Dish locals, but can never remember the guide info being mapped to the digital locals. They just say "Local Digital."

And I agree - the Dish policy of requiring the subscriber to pay for the SD locals through Dish to get the digital local info mapped to the digital channels is a sleazy way to make a few extra dollars. What's the sense of subscribing to the SD locals from Dish if you get the HeDef locals over the air? I'll be getting my 921 installed a week from Friday, but I'm not about to subscribe to the Dish locals again.

Originally posted by omarq


Since you are in STL where all digital stations are UHF, get a UHF only antenna. They work better than combos. The only downside is if down the road, stations migrate their digital signal to their normal numbers (2,4,5,9,11,30), then you will need a VHF, but that should/would be years away.


There is another reason to consider a VHF/UHF combo --- For all those non-HD sets in the house, it is still the cheapest way to get locals. How many homes have converted to all-digital? I put a CM 3016 from Lowes in my attic, and it gets all but 46 very well. (And (a) how many of us get 46 well, and (b) how many care?)

Mike

Hey Mike,

a) I get 46-1 perfectly.

b) Other than Enterprise, you got it right. I don't care. :D

Actually, I've converted to all digital. The only non-HD or DTV channels I get are from my satellite. I do not use my antenna for anything other than HD/DTV content. That is mainly because I am from 65 miles south of St. Louis and I don't get a signal on any of the stations with an analog connection. Well, I should rephrase that, I get a signal, but it is VERY snowy and barely watchable most of the time. I can't even recall the last time I watched an analog station from over the air.
However, I have a combo UHF/VHF antenna just because I couldn't find a UHF-only antenna the day i was looking. It's a great antenna though and picks up every station in St. Louis, so I cannot complain.

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

___________________________

DISH Fights Talk of HD Must Carry

EchoStar urged the Federal Communications Commission to not require satellite TV services to carry the high-def signal of local broadcast stations in high def format.

Instead, EchoStar said satellite carriers should only be required to carry HD broadcast signals in a down-converted format. Also, the company said requiring HD must-carry would likely be unconstitutional.

In a letter explaining its position, EchoStar said, "Congress has signaled that the commission should interpret the satellite carriage requirements flexibly in the circumstances presented by satellite bandwidth constraints, and should therefore allow satellite carriers to use 'reasonable compression, reformatting, or similar technologies.'"

The letter detailed meetings EchoStar representatives had with members of the FCC's the Media Bureau last week.
___________________________


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

Doug,

Very interesting.

BTW, what are your thoughts on DirecTVs plans to convert HDTV signals to MPEG-4 to conserve bandwidth when delivering HD locals?

I'm somewhat concerned, as we have to deal with MPEG-2 artifacts (the network HD feed is MPEG-2) and then we get to add MPEG-4 artifacts to the MPEG-2.

Cheers,

Originally posted by MSloss
There is another reason to consider a VHF/UHF combo --- For all those non-HD sets in the house, it is still the cheapest way to get locals. How many homes have converted to all-digital? I put a CM 3016 from Lowes in my attic, and it gets all but 46 very well. (And (a) how many of us get 46 well, and (b) how many care?)

Mike

Good point about all digital. I get my analog feeds from Satellite, so I overlooked that.

Another good point is that Lowes, and Ace Hardware actually, carry some Channel Master antennas, which is an excellent brand of antenna.

John,

I have the same concern as you and have been trying to track down someone with extensive background on compression technologies to find out what the real pros and cons on this would be in taking an MPEG-2 datastream and converting it to MPEG-4.

The only thing I've heard so far that has been somewhat reassuring is the observation that local stations are already routinely decoding and recoding network signals in order to route the signal through local networks, insert local logos, etc. As MPEG-2 is a "lossy" codec, each code/decode/code cycle introduces two "hits" (or degradations) to the original HDTV signal.

(I believe that FOX locals are the exception to this decoding process as FOX has developed a method for inserting local graphics without decompressing and recompressing the entire signal.)

Based on this line of thinking, decoding MPEG-2 and recoding it to MPEG-4 should be more or less a "break even" proposition. Of course, this assumes that the MPEG-4 baseline no more "lossy" than MPEG-2.

This would seem to indicate that the bigger issue for DirecTV HD quality delivered via MPEG-4 is how aggressively DirecTV sets its MPEG-4 decoders.

Like MPEG-2, the scope for MPEG-4 compression is variable, and in fact MPEG-4 even includes a "lossless" compression option. But unfortunatley, based on what I've read, going the "lossless" MPEG-4 route largely negates the bandwidth savings benefits of upgrading from MPEG-2.

Doug,

since DirecTV is already bit-shaping (compressing the hell out of) signals, do you think they'll up the bit rate for the Fox Superbowl feed? I haven't monitored the site that details the bit rate, do they do it selectively or is it evenly compressed across all channels. Do they have the ability to tweak and give more space to a particular program like the Superbowl?

Thanks to you that commented on the 6000 guide info. No, I do not subscribe to the local package from Dish. Like you say, why pay for them when it is free, and better PQ, with your OTA. I also emailed Dish about not getting the local digital guide info. We'll see what they say. It usually takes a week or two to get a response from them on other questions that I have ask. It is not that big an issue, but would be nice to have since it is available.

John

Brad,

No idea if DirecTV will do this, but the fact that they do have this ability and used it to make changes to accommodate the bandwidth needs of the HD NFL Sunday Ticket channels should at least be cause for optimism.

I'd suggest that you send DirecTV a note about this. I'd also suggest that you send a note to Steve Martin (info@smartcalibration.com) and ask if he could actually make a point of sampling both his OTA FOX station and the FOX Network feed he has available via DirecTV before, during and after the Super Bowl.

I think there would be a LOT of interest in this data, even after the fact.

Also, if you're feeling a little mischievous, you might also copy DirecTV on the email request if you send one to Steve. ;)

Personally, I'm excited about DirecTV going to mpeg4. Sure, it might be more compressed, but mpeg4 is a MUCH newer and incredibly efficient codec. h264 can compress down to about 1/20th the size of mpeg2 with no visible quality loss. That would absolutely save bandwidth or allow DirecTV to use their current bandwidth to deliver more features/services/channels/etc. The h264 codec is incredibly efficient, even at very low bitrates, such as normal internet streaming bitrates for example. At HD bitrates, the picture would be about 95% as good as true, uncompressed, HD, but at a fraction of the size. The codec was designed for streaming video, such as medium-high bandwidth internet applications, so I wouldn't think that switching to streaming over a satellite connection would be much different. I'm not sure about the encapsulation methods that DirecTV uses or anything like that, or if the codec supports any kind of copy protection (which I assume that DirecTV would want, either now or sometime in the future).

I don't know for sure if DirecTV will use h264, but that seems like the most logical choice to me. Of course, very little that DirecTV does is logical, so who knows?!?

As a "for example", I have a movie (which shall remain nameless), that is true 1080i, I recompressed it because 57gb was a bit too large to store. I encoded it several times with different mpeg4 codecs, DivX, XviD and h264. The quality from lowest to highest was: DivX, XviD, h264. In divx, there was a noticeable difference in PQ...pixelation was everywhere and the high-motion scenes looked just plain bad. XviD was better, but not perfect. h264 had no visible artifacts, even when viewed on a huge 53" TV. I like to use h264 for archival purposes because the video quality is nearly as good as the originals if encoded with the right bitrates and settings. Video editing/conversion is what I do for a living, so I guess I know a bit about it, although I am no expert. If I had to choose between mpeg2 or mpeg4 h264, there is NO doubt in my mind that I would choose the h264 simply because of the quality and small size. Like I said, DirecTV may or may not use h264 for their codec.

Originally posted by MSloss
There is another reason to consider a VHF/UHF combo --- For all those non-HD sets in the house, it is still the cheapest way to get locals. How many homes have converted to all-digital? I put a CM 3016 from Lowes in my attic, and it gets all but 46 very well. (And (a) how many of us get 46 well, and (b) how many care?)

Mike

I get 46-1 perfectly, and i don't care!

Scott

Originally posted by DroptheRemote


insert local logos, etc.

Insert This!

Scott

Originally posted by Scott Tucker
Insert This!

Scott

Say again?

Originally posted by Robert Simandl
Robert Simandl ... somewhere near St. Louis
Hey DirecTV! 1280x1080i is *not* HD!!!

Robert-- I like your message to DirectTV. I would propose that even more hurtful than loss of horizontal pixels is the reduction of discrete gray-scale steps which DirecTV almost certainly imposes on their HD offerings. It's good that we have over-the-air broadcasts which give us a basis of comparison for their compromised service. With the right source material the broadcasts from ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and WB are stunningly photographic. It's as though the Brinks truck has arrived right to my front door with the 70mm film cans. Since DirecTV is "down-converting" to steal bandwidth, I doubt they ever achieve this.

Bill (Saint Charles)

So, there is(or was) another Voomer on this forum other than me....Joseph Clark. Interesting. Actually, I know of a couple more guys locally that have it, but they are not on this forum. I'm not sure if they know about the sale.

abcward,
I have to put in my vote for front projection as well. If you'd like to come over and take a look at my Benq dlp, just pop me a PM. I know that you are looking at prices up to $3K, but my pj was purchased for less than $1K, and I've yet to see anything that is head and shoulders above it, even at $13K. Sure, I see minor improvements, but nothing that makes me want to spend thousands more. I'd say save that money until 1080p pjs are at a reasonable price, and put that money into something else that you can enjoy right now.

Hi All!

Long time since I posted here, but I'm having problems with KTVI, as usual, and the SB is coming up so I need to confirm some things.

> I see others have had problems with KTVI, so I'll try rescanning just to see if that helps.
> I took a gander at the map zip file and notice that KTVI is now south of Kirkwood? Is that true? If so, that could explain it, but when I look at the map on antennaweb.org, it shows that KMOV and KTVI are basically in-line with each other, and I've always gotten KMOV wonderfully.

> I have Dish 6000 and locals have always stated 'Local Digital', per other post.

Thx again!
Chet

From today's Evening Bridge, formerly mediabiz.com's MarketClose:

_______________________

The Evening Bridge - February 02, 2005

TOP STORY - Thanks to the frenzy over the Super Bowl, Comcast said it has deployed more than one million HDTV-capable digital cable set-top boxes in customer homes, adding more than 800,000 of them in 2004 alone.

In addition, Comcast said it has experienced a 143 percent increase in the number of customers connecting HDTV sets to its HD service during January 2005 versus January 2004.

_______________________


Meanwhile in Town and Country, managers are analyzing how they would have have positioned the deck chairs on the Titanic... :(

Hey Doug and John,

A little anecdotal data concerning mpeg-4...

A friend of mine (who will remain nameless for obvious reasons) downloaded a couple of LOST episodes off the net. They were in XviD format, reencoded from HD broadcasts, 16x9 progressive, about 350mb each. He made a CD of them both and loaned it to me. I popped the CD into a cheesy low end mpeg-4-capable DVD player, and the picture on my Sony 36XBR400 was simply stunning. Detail and clarity were amazing. The difference between them and KDNL-DT's broadcasts via my HD Tivo were a LOT smaller than you'd think.

Meanwhile, I noticed at http://www.widemovies.com/dfwbitrate.html that DirecTV's bitrate on HDnetMovies measured recently was 6.9mbps. HD, my @ss, I use higher bitrates than that on my DVD-R's!!!!!

Originally posted by Bill787
Robert-- I like your message to DirectTV. I would propose that even more hurtful than loss of horizontal pixels is the reduction of discrete gray-scale steps which DirecTV almost certainly imposes on their HD offerings. It's good that we have over-the-air broadcasts which give us a basis of comparison for their compromised service. With the right source material the broadcasts from ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and WB are stunningly photographic. It's as though the Brinks truck has arrived right to my front door with the 70mm film cans. Since DirecTV is "down-converting" to steal bandwidth, I doubt they ever achieve this.



Hi Bill,

I suspect that even more hurtful than cutting down the grey scale steps is DirecTV's cutting the bitrate down to below-DVD levels. Yet every ten minutes they run a commercial touting how they're the HD leader.

I just got an email from VOOM saying "Sign up for VOOM now because this offer ends March 1st".

Are they optimists or did they forget to turn off the advertising server?

Hopefully they don't mean that Voom itself ends March 1st...

Hi all,
I've tried searching and can't find any relevant posts so I'm appealing to the collective wisdom of this great group!
I have had Charter Hi Def with a Motorola 5100 box for a while. I have a 7.1 sound system, and just got a new receiver that actually displays the format of the native digital audio signal. No matter what is displayed on my monitor as being the audio on any channel (5.1 or not) I am only getting 2 channel digital to my receiver. Of course the receiver can apply Dolby PLIIx to make that 7.1 output, but for some reason I never get 5.1 in. Does anyone have any suggestions or advice?
Thanks in advance,
Joe H

If y'all want to see mpeg4 in high quality, there are HD samples on the divx site, divx.com. It really does look good if it's encoded correctly. I played their trailer for "shark's tale" on my HDTV, it looked better than anything from my satellite (in directv's current screwy HD format). There are also episodes of TV shows out there in XviD format that can be downloaded, I won't say where because I'd prefer not to get into trouble.

Also, uh, guys, did KTVI just go into 4:3 on your tv?? I was being accosted by some bad singer on American Idol when the TV suddenly switched to 4:3 from full 16:9. However, the FOX 5 feed from KTLA is still 16:9.

note: nevermind, it went back to 16:9. That was odd.

rman, check to make sure your receiver isn't putting out mpeg audio instead of AC3. If I put any of my components on mpeg, I only get 2-channel audio. If that's not it, check the settings on both your cable box and your 7.1 receiver. Hopefully you get it resolved soon. Also...what cable are you using to connect the cable box to the receiver? Optical audio? Coaxial?

Baron,
Thanks for the quick reply. I am connecting the Motorola hidef cable box to my AV receiver with the optical audio connection. When you say check the receiver to be sure it isn't outputting mpeg audio do you mean the Motorola cable box? I can't find any menu selections that give any choices in that regard. (unless they are there and I'm just not finding them)
The AV receiver will automatically select and display the native input.
Thanks again for any help.
Joe H

Originally posted by baron_iv
rman, check to make sure your receiver isn't putting out mpeg audio instead of AC3. If I put any of my components on mpeg, I only get 2-channel audio. If that's not it, check the settings on both your cable box and your 7.1 receiver. Hopefully you get it resolved soon. Also...what cable are you using to connect the cable box to the receiver? Optical audio? Coaxial? [/B]

Yeah, I meant your HD box, sorry, it's been a long day and my brain is not working correctly. Some boxes have mpeg output and some a/v receivers don't support multichannel mpeg. If that's not your problem, and you're using an optical audio cable, I'm kinda at a loss for suggestions at the moment. I don't have the same kind of HD box as you, so unfortunately, I cannot help much. I have noticed that not all channels are broadcast in 5.1 surround, even though they are in dolby digital.
What happens when you play a DVD? Do you get 5.1/7.1 audio from all the speakers?

rman222,

what channels are you trying to watch? You won't get any analog channels in 5.1 - Have you tried HDNet? That seems to be an excellent benchmark station for surround sound.

I had the receiver that you have but it has been replaced by their Moxi DVR. When I did have the 5100 I never had any issues with 5.1

rman, Another thing I just thought of...with my Creative audio card, if I don't have just straight passthrough turned on, I won't get 5.1 audio. I can also take a 2, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1 or 5.1 and make it into 7.1, however, it always shows up as 2.0, even though I "hear" 7.1. However, if I turn that effect off on the sound card, the true 5.1 sound comes through crystal clear. So I guess look for a passthrough setting, turn off all external effects and watch something that you KNOW has 5.1 audio. Jay Leno has 5.1, if you can stand his poor attempts at comedy, I wish CBS would get their act together so I could watch the REAL late-night comedian in live, vibrant HD and glorious dolby digital 5.1! ;)

I hope Fox does better on Sunday during the game than they did tonight during American Idol. Started out beautiful with sharp widescreen HD until the pic suddenly popped into SD. Kept popping in and out of HD. Hate it when that happens. Anyone else notice it?

Scott

AH GOOD! It wasn't just me or my system this time! Yeah, I noticed it. I posted about it earlier and nobody responded, so I figured that it was just me. I agree with ya, I hope they do a better job. You might want to send an email to FOX to let them know it was going on, they might not even know.

I ended up switching over to the East Coast feed and it worked fine. I assume that the super bowl feed will be national too, so hopefully we won't see those problems on Sunday.

Baron & abc,
Thanks again for your help. I've tried channels that display the 5.1 logo, including HDNet and they come across as just digital 2 channel. I can't find any settings on the Motorola 5100 to try changing. My receiver, an HKAVR635 does display the 5.1 from DVD and also from an OTA RCA DTC100 I have. So I figured it must either be in Charter's signal to me, or the Motorola, or something in the cable line... but what, I don't have a clue.. and I didn't look forward to trying to have Charter trouble shoot it.
Thanks again for any help,
Joe H

abcward,
I also have to recommend front projection. I recently replaced my Hitachi 53UWX10b HDTV with a Panasonic AE700 (just above $2000) and a DIY screen (3" poplar frame with black out cloth) At some point I'll replace the BO cloth with the dalite HCCV cloth, but for now the $50 screen looks incredible.

I am projecting a 106" screen from about 12 ft (also my viewing distance)

While the picture is not near as stunning during the day (I boost the brightness/contrast) as it is at night, it is definately viewable for sporting events and sitcoms. I usually wait till the sun goes down if I am going to watch anything with darker scenes (ie Lost/Alias).

PM me if you would like to come by and check it out.

Dave

baron:

Even worse. Whenever resolution would change, my processor would lose lock and I'd get a loud click. Very annoying indeed.

I hope they get whatever it was that was happening worked out ASAP.

Cheers,

Thanks guys for all the encouragement on front projection. I think I am leaning towards that choice once we move into our new house.

Now, since that decision hurdle has been cleared, what specific details should I be looking for in picking out a projector? I really would prefer to keep the price of the projector at/below $2k if possible. With that price in mind, what specifications are important to my search?

Thanks again for all the help - you guys are the best!

Bruce

Well got my 4228 up in my attic. Frustrating with out a signal meter. In one spot I get FOX & CBS in the 90+ signal range, but not much on the others. I moved it two feet, I get all the others 90+, but nothing on Fox and CBS. I found a spot 5 feet away where I get all in the 70-80 range.

Does anyone have an experience with the HD Tivo DTV DVR in terms of minimum signal strength needed to achieve a picture sans dropouts and artifacting?

abcward,

IMHO, Look for a front projector that has a good contrast ratio (2000:1 or higher.) That way the dark scenes in movies will still have detail. You want a bulb that has long life. Also, the display resolution is something to think about as some projectors take a 1080/720 HD signal and downconvert it to the pj's native resolution. (Although this is not always a bad thing. It can prevent pixelation and other artifacts from making it to your screen.) Most "HD" TV's do this as well.

Go with your eye. Talk to a dealer and ask them to demo a few projectors that you choose. Ask them about throw ratios and other things that will determine where the projector needs to be placed in the room.

As far as the screen goes, You can spring for a pre-made high dollar screen, or you can buy the same fabric and build your own for a fraction of the cost. Most companies are happy to send samples.

It takes a little more thought than a traditional television, but for me it is worth the time and effort.

Originally posted by rman222
Baron & abc,
Thanks again for your help. I've tried channels that display the 5.1 logo, including HDNet and they come across as just digital 2 channel. I can't find any settings on the Motorola 5100 to try changing. My receiver, an HKAVR635 does display the 5.1 from DVD and also from an OTA RCA DTC100 I have. So I figured it must either be in Charter's signal to me, or the Motorola, or something in the cable line... but what, I don't have a clue.. and I didn't look forward to trying to have Charter trouble shoot it.
Thanks again for any help,
Joe H

Do you have any other audio cables between the moto and your receiver? Or just a digital audio cable?

Also, have you reviewed the " Official AVS Comcast / Cableco Moto 5100 / 6200 Topic!" at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=194404&perpage=20&pagenumber=1

Seems like others (on comcast, anyway) are having similar problems, perhaps due to firmware version?

See if this helps too:

"I ran into the problem where my Motorola 5100 (with the 7.15 firmware)was not outputting the Dolby Digital sound to my receiver. Before finding this thread I called Comcast and they wanted to send somebody out to the house in a week and potentially change out the box. Reluctantly I scheduled the appt, but decided to come here just to see if there was something that could be done.

I changed the audio settings from TV to Advanced and all is well.


Here is what I noticed. If I unplugged the 5100 and then turned it back on, gave it 10-15 minutes to download everything and then try to access the Menu and On-Demand, the Dolby Digital sound would come back. It would stay Dolby Digital until I accessed channels 2-100. Once I did that, my receiver was stuck in PCM mode and would no longer decode Dolby Digital 5.1. If I went back into the menu, picked On Demand and then exited, my sound would be Dolby Digital on my HDTV channels until I tried to access channels 2-100 again.
"

.

That *ALMOST* makes me glad I have DirecTV instead of Cable. hehe

Sounds like a huge pain in the butt.

Just some info which may help a few out there with Dish 811 OTA signal/lock problems.

I read an article yesterday from Channel-Master about antenna installation and it stated that all unused ports on a splitter should be terminated otherwise signal loss/interference could occur. It dawned on me that I was only using 3 of the 4 outputs on mine and had an open wall plate on the 2nd story as well. I stopped by Lowe's on the way home and purchased some 75 ohm terminators, installed them and gained ~2% signal strength as well as a the same lock time on KMOV/Channel 4 as the other stations. Before KMOV would take 4-6 seconds to lock with the usual 49% display for the 1st 3 seconds then jump to 77-78%. Now I get an immediate display of 79% and a lock in 2 seconds.

Hey guys, I'm new to the whole HDTV world. Anyway, I got my HDTV last week and then last night I got my OTA antenna. I got the Zeineth Silver Streak. Anyway, I set it up last and it had no trouble finding NBC and WB's digital signals, but couldn't get any of the others. I went to antennaweb.org to see where the towers are at, and from the map they give it looks like I should be able to get NBC, ABC, CBS, and WB all from 1 location? Is this right? Any help would be greatly appreciated because I NEED to be able get FOX for Sunday's big game. Thanks in advance.

Originally posted by hfthomp
Hey guys, I'm new to the whole HDTV world. Anyway, I got my HDTV last week and then last night I got my OTA antenna. I got the Zeineth Silver Streak. Anyway, I set it up last and it had no trouble finding NBC and WB's digital signals, but couldn't get any of the others. I went to antennaweb.org to see where the towers are at, and from the map they give it looks like I should be able to get NBC, ABC, CBS, and WB all from 1 location? Is this right? Any help would be greatly appreciated because I NEED to be able get FOX for Sunday's big game. Thanks in advance.

Well, for now, move around with the antenna in your hoouse till you lock in FOX for Sunday. The Zenith is supposedly the best indoor antenna.

After that, if you don't get all your signals, you need to move to either attic or roof antenna. Save yourself a lot of trouble, and posts, and get yourself a Channel Master 4228 (assuming you don't care about the old analog OTA broadcasts) from Skywalker (local).

HFThomp,

Driving up to Skywalker (off HWY 70, http://www.skywalker.com/) to get the Channelmaster 4228 is your best bet to pull FOX by sunday. You can spend all kinds of time and money before coming to the same conclusion. Skywalker mainly deals to businesses, but they will sell to the individual.

- Shipping is out of the question.
- You prolly want to get what you need now so you have time to install your antenna by saturday...making sure everything else works with it.
- Might want to try a signal amplifier if all else fails.
- A good night's sleep on Saturday will make Sunday's game that much sweeter.

Don't forget the antenna basics...Higher is better, Outside is better, bigger is better.

Originally posted by hfthomp
Hey guys, I'm new to the whole HDTV world. Anyway, I got my HDTV last week and then last night I got my OTA antenna. I got the Zeineth Silver Streak. Anyway, I set it up last and it had no trouble finding NBC and WB's digital signals, but couldn't get any of the others. I went to antennaweb.org to see where the towers are at, and from the map they give it looks like I should be able to get NBC, ABC, CBS, and WB all from 1 location? Is this right? Any help would be greatly appreciated because I NEED to be able get FOX for Sunday's big game. Thanks in advance.

How far are you from the towers, what is the terrain like around your house and finally where is the set located at? The rule of thumb is the higher the better and yes you might have to go with an outdoor antenna. It all depends on a lot of things. I have heard of others that add an amp to their Silver Sensor.

omarq,
Thank you very much! following your message and digging deeper into the setup menu and changing from tv to advanced did the trick on getting 5.1!!!
Thank you thank you thank you!!!<s>
This forum is the best!!!!!!!!
Joe H

Adding a booster was the best way for me to get a signal. That took me from one channel to 8. A cheap, ol' wal-mart signal amplifier did the trick. I live 65 miles southwest of St. Louis and get the channels PERFECTLY, all of them have a signal of 80+.

What is a channel master 4228?

Originally posted by hfthomp
What is a channel master 4228?

It is an outdoor, UHF only antenna.

Originally posted by rman222
omarq,
Thank you very much! following your message and digging deeper into the setup menu and changing from tv to advanced did the trick on getting 5.1!!!
Thank you thank you thank you!!!<s>
This forum is the best!!!!!!!!
Joe H

np. Glad it helped.

I live around 15 miles from the tower and Fox was the most difficult signal for me to get in. I have a large hill in between me and the towers. I tried multiple antennas and finally drove up to skywalker and got a Channel Master 4228 and that solved my problem.

You could probably get away with a Radio Shack UHF only antenna mounted in your attic if a indoor silver sensor got most of the channels.

Originally posted by rthomp03
Just some info which may help a few out there with Dish 811 OTA signal/lock problems.

I read an article yesterday from Channel-Master about antenna installation and it stated that all unused ports on a splitter should be terminated otherwise signal loss/interference could occur. It dawned on me that I was only using 3 of the 4 outputs on mine and had an open wall plate on the 2nd story as well. I stopped by Lowe's on the way home and purchased some 75 ohm terminators, installed them and gained ~2% signal strength as well as a the same lock time on KMOV/Channel 4 as the other stations. Before KMOV would take 4-6 seconds to lock with the usual 49% display for the 1st 3 seconds then jump to 77-78%. Now I get an immediate display of 79% and a lock in 2 seconds.

Excellent reminder! I did this in my old home, but haven't done it in my new one which has 4 open ports. I get a lot of interference on CH 5 (analog) which this might reduce. Who knows, maybe 46-1 will even stay locked in! ;)

Mike

I tried terminating all loose ends, but it didn't do much for me. I'm not sure if my signal is just THAT strong (which seems rather unlikely considering my distance from the towers), or what, but terminating the ends did nothing for my signal, for locking in channels faster or anything.
Of course if it ain't broke, don't fix it. ;)

Not sure if anyone else knows this, or I am the last to know.

Those who have D* in Saint Louis and get local channels can receive the national feed of FOX on channel 88 for free. Just call D* and explain that you live in a FOX owned market. They will add this channel to your line up.

Thought this may help for those who can't get an OTA feed for the superbowl.

Yep, I never watch 2-1 anymore channel 88 is always better. Superbowl won't have any glitches at my house. Knock on wood.

Scott

I am 80 miles away and live in a low lyeing area(the bad). I also have a 90 ft tower for internet, with a perch on top, empty for a uhf antenna(the good). I am considering the big yagi from antenna direct along with an amp, any suggestions on the amp appreciated. Also, any suggestions for a better uhf antenna would be appreciated again. VHF channels are'nt hard to get but I know little about UHF. I use an ota tuner through dish's 921 hd reciever and want to get the local St Louis channels. Thanks for any suggestions!

I would think that on a 90ft tower, most 60+ mile UHF antennas should work ok. The best, i think, is the channel master 4228. You can even tie two of those together (must be mounted in a certain way with same lengths of coax) for an additonal gain. For an amp, I've heard good things about Winegard preamps.

So do you think the 4228 would be better then this antenna?
http://www.antennasdirect.com/LongRangeAntennas.htm

wow, I thought *I* was the farthest away homer! You've got me beaten by about 15 miles. :)
I used the 160" UHF/VHF antenna from Radio Shack and a cheap amplifier from walmart (28db) and I get everything perfectly. I don't have a 90 foot tower either! hehe

homer1,

While I use the CM4221 in my attic (approximately 25 miles from the towers) and have had good experiences with the CM4228, I know several customers who have gotten very good results with the DB2 and DB4 models sold by Antennas Direct.

It appears that the DB8 sold by AD is specifically designed for long-distance reception, so considering your distance from the towers in St. Louis, this may be your best bet. Note that AD recommends a pre-amp if your cable run is going to exceed 75 feet.

I realize the preamp will be needed as I will need approximately 125 ft of rg6. I did not mention that I plan to use a rotor also. Basically, I will get anything I reasonably need to recieve the HD. The DB8 is only rated at 70 miles, plus it is a multi directional. I would of thought the 91XG was the way to go, so that is incorrect?

For me, a rotor would do bad things. From where I am, the stations are lined up in nearly a straight line, if I move more than 15 degrees either way, I lose all HD reception. Maybe it'll be easier for you.

The towers from my location run north and south. I assume I will need a rotor as I will want to get everything done at once. 90 ft is a long way. One local installer declined saying he did'nt do 90's no more. Also said it would be hit or miss and a combo was the way to go since its uhf would be as good as a stand alone uhf. I have read differently. Thanks for the responses, I feel lucky to be able to learn so much from so many people!

Here is what antennaweb says I should receive:
http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx
I have read and hopeing they are a little conservitive in there estimates. It says I can pick the vhf up but nothing about the uhf I am after. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Sorry about the link not bringing in the location. Try adding 62816:)

I have no PSIP info with OTA channel 30 on my USDTV receiver. All other channels are OK. (since feb 1) Anyone else with the same thing?

For you Charter subscribers, there is hopeful news in the Programming forum that Comcast and Sinclair have finally made a deal to carry their HD stations. No word on Charter's progress, and the Fox stations were assuredly the driving force to get this done before the Super Bowl.

Sinclair thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=500356) (check the last page or two)

Mike

Originally posted by MSloss
For you Charter subscribers, there is hopeful news in the Programming forum that Comcast and Sinclair have finally made a deal to carry their HD stations. No word on Charter's progress, and the Fox stations were assuredly the driving force to get this done before the Super Bowl.

Sinclair thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=500356) (check the last page or two)

Mike

I read through some of that thread. Interesting stuff, but I wouldn't get my hopes up here in Charterland. One, this is Comcast negotiating with Sinclair, not Charter. Two, this seems like an agreement predicated by the Super Bowl on Fox. Since St. Louis cable already has Fox in HD there is no such deadline to meet in trying to get ABC on Charter.

Hopefully Sinclair is softening their stance. However I suspect that Comcast 'gave in' more than Sinclair did on this agreement.

Originally posted by homer1
The towers from my location run north and south. I assume I will need a rotor as I will want to get everything done at once. 90 ft is a long way. One local installer declined saying he did'nt do 90's no more. Also said it would be hit or miss and a combo was the way to go since its uhf would be as good as a stand alone uhf. I have read differently. Thanks for the responses, I feel lucky to be able to learn so much from so many people!

Most of the problems with long distances is the curvature of the earth will start to block signals. But with a 90ft tower, you may be in better shape. I don't have any experience with the AD antenna DB8, but it a similar design as the Channel master 4228 I suggested.

I know this for sure.. There is only one way to find out!! I'd personally go with the AD model DB8 and a preamp, and see how it works!!! You can always return the stuff if it doesn't work, and all you've wasted is time!

Homer -

You want to focus on the Digital stations from antenna web. It only shows 3 on the chart for 62816. So, it sounds like your going to need one big A#$ antenna with a big power source to pull digital OTA HD stations.

I'd look for professional help from a dealer or AVS special member. Perhaps Doug will be able to send you to the right place.

THE BIG GAME IS TODAY!!!!! GO NFC!!!!!

...Somebody has had a bit too much coffee this morning...

Fox is looking nice this morning, hopefully the great picture continues throughout the superbowl. The high resolution makes the mole on James Brown's right cheek kinda pop out there and have a life of its own...and based on the size of it, it should have a contract of its own as well. Aikman suuuure is lookin' OLD too. I had to turn the brightness down on my TV thanks to the shine from the top of Bradshaw's bald head. Howie could hurt somebody with that hair, it's like a bed of nails! It's gonna be a long day...

Gotta love it!! Terry Bradshaw was making the introduction of the pregame show and said "To those of you joining us in high definition, I am Terry Bradshaw. For those who don't have high def sets, I am Brad Pitt." Little bit of HD humor. :)

Anyone notice how Fox is handling the sidebars for non-HD material? They are streching the edges into a blur instead of a static image. I like this, it isn't as harsh on the screen.

Rich

Originally posted by baron_iv
...Somebody has had a bit too much coffee this morning...


<------ somebody had to work early this morning.

Originally posted by omarq
Not sure if anyone else knows this, or I am the last to know.

Those who have D* in Saint Louis and get local channels can receive the national feed of FOX on channel 88 for free. Just call D* and explain that you live in a FOX owned market. They will add this channel to your line up.

Thought this may help for those who can't get an OTA feed for the superbowl.

Is any other local channel this generous?

Also, just saw a DirecTV advertising the launch of their new satellites to provide "1500" HD channels on the FOX HD pregame. I believe the first of these will be the local stations in the top 30 markets, which we are included, I hope.

Nope, Fox is the only network that DirecTV can provide for St. Louisans, because KTVI is the only network affiliate that's actually owned and operated by its network.

KMOV, KSDK, and KDNL are simply affiliated with their respective networks, but owned by different companies. So the agreements *D struck with CBS, NBC, and ABC don't apply in St. Louis.

I don't expect St. Louis to be among the first cities to get HD locals via *D. Main reason for that would be KDNL and its owner, Sinclair Broadcasting. St. Louis was among the *last* big cities to get *analog* locals via satellite mainly because Sinclair wanted to be paid some certain amount per subscriber.

I fully expect that scenario to repeat itself with KDNL-DT, just as it has with KDNL-DT and Charter Cable. When I see KDNL-DT appear on Charter, then I'll get hopeful it'll show up on *D's new HD locals program.

I don't claim to be an expert or insider here, just callin' it like I see it. If I'm wrong about any of this, feel free to let me know.

I may be seeing things, but it seems to me that the picture from my OTA receiver looks sooo much better than the one from either of the DirecTV FOX feeds. However, the audio seems to be better from the DirecTV feeds. It's a shame I couldn't take the best of both worlds. Crazy.
Did DirecTV leave the compression on today? I was hoping they'd allow extra bandwidth for the game. judging by the PQ, I guess not. :(

I didn't check channel 88 on *D. 2-1 OTA gave me no reason to. PQ was absolutely flawless.

Oh, and the HD trailers for Batman Begins, War of the Worlds, and Sahara looked AWESOME!!!!!

Forgot to mention that, unlike last year, I *loved* the halftime show. Wish I'd recorded it.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Robert Simandl


I don't expect St. Louis to be among the first cities to get HD locals via *D. Main reason for that would be KDNL and its owner, Sinclair Broadcasting. St. Louis was among the *last* big cities to get *analog* locals via satellite mainly because Sinclair wanted to be paid some certain amount per subscriber.

[\QUOTE]

Well not exactly the first. I read somewhere they are rolling out top 12 first, then the second round would be 13-30, which would include STL. As for KDNL, I don't think there would be a problem since sat co's already pay the local providers as far as I know, so it shouldn't be any different. Even Sinclair themselves says this much.

But, you never know, I suppose.

Originally posted by Robert Simandl
Forgot to mention that, unlike last year, I *loved* the halftime show. Wish I'd recorded it.

The best halftime show EVER. I didn't want it to end. It set a new standard. Try and top that one.

Hey Bob,

I think I got the halftime show on dvhs while I was out. I'll check it, and if it's good I'll burn you a dvd.

OK, am I the only one who's Moxi box clicked off during a brownout this afternoon, and came back on without any digital locals? I guess so, since no one else has posted about it. It's a good thing that I had other HD OTA sources to record SuperBowl footage from.

Doug,
It seems that I may have found a buyer for my Benq 6100 pj, and I want to upgrade to the Optoma H31. I have given up on the idea of trying that dvi to vga adaptor we were talking about. I'd like your opinion on whether or not I will see a marked improvement in video performance based on the following facts: my current pj uses an older generation dlp chip, provides a 2000:1 CR, has a 2X color wheel(not a 3X, as stated in the literature), has 800 X 600 resolution for 4 X 3 viewing, among other things. The new pj uses a newer chip, called the DarkChip2, which produces a 3000:1 CR, and has black levels that some describe as HD2-like. The color wheel speed is 4X, which should increase color accuracy and greatly reduce rainbows. The H31 is a native widescreen pj, but the resolution is 854 X 480, which is similar to what I'm already getting with my Benq in widescreen mode. The brightness is 850 lumens, while my Benq is 1500, but I can control the lighting in my room. Lower lumens should make for better blacks, right? The H31 is rated at 30 db for noise level, while my Benq is noisier. To top it off, the H31 does have a dvi-hdcp input. I have several hd sources with dvi outputs that I'm itching to use.

Taking all this into consideration, doesn't it appear that I should atleast take a look at this pj, and expect to see some improvements over what I have now? I think the better CR and dvi input have me sold already. I'd love to know what you think.

jedi,

I'm not familiar with this projector, so I can't really say a lot beyond what you've already found. I did read the user reviews on Projector Central, and they were positive, though only one of them went into much detail.

Two general observations:

* Contrast ratio, as quoted by most manufacturers, is meaningless. While contrast ratio is an important issue, the way it is sometimes measured (such as measuring black levels with the projector off) or manipulated (making the projector much brighter to compensate for poor black levels) makes published specs a poor guide to actual black-level performance. The anecdotal feedback on black levels from actual owners of this projector is good, but if you're serious about swapping up, I'd suggest posting a note over in the budget digital projector section here at AVS and see if there's anyone nearby who owns the H31 so you can see it for yourself.

* I'd be a little concerned about the lower lumens level for this projector, but again the way lumens is measured by different manufacturers varies widely. Measurements are often taken with the sole goal of maximizing light output, but those same settings would make the projector unwatchable in the real world.

I recommend taking quoted ANSI lumens numbers and cutting them in half to get a realistic handle on the lumens you'll actually be able to use. It's recommended that a projector be able to produce a minimum of 12 footlamberts of peak light on the screen you're going to use for viewing. Without getting into the specifics of what a footlambert is, you can use the attached Basic Screen Calculator to get an idea if a given projector is a good match for the screen you're considering (or vice versa).

I'd recommend aiming for 15 fL to be on the safe side, and it's also a good idea to try to verify the actual screen gain, as these numbers, especially for "high gain" screens, are subject to misrepresentation.

Note: While not a laboratory-quality review, tryg has done an interesting side-by-side-by-side comparison of several of the more popular high-gain screens and I think he's also done something similar for more conventional screens. Jedi, since you already have a screen in place, this probably won't be a lot of help to you, but for Bruce or others here starting to think about digital front projectors, I think this is a worthwhile reference.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=228371

Note: The attached Basic Screen Calculator assumes a widescreen (16x9) format. The only numbers you need to insert here (non-shaded cells) are the width of your screen and the screen gain (and optionally the fL target).

I also recorded the halftime show, it's in full 720p glory. If anyone is interested, let me know. I recorded the whole game, but I could easily isolate just the halftime show. I could put it on my ftp server or something. I went channel surfing through the halftime show (but my HDTV Wonder kept recording), so apparently I missed something better than janet jackson's breast this year from the way you guys are talking. hehe

Originally posted by homer1
Here is what antennaweb says I should receive:
http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx
I have read and hopeing they are a little conservitive in there estimates. It says I can pick the vhf up but nothing about the uhf I am after. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Sorry about the link not bringing in the location. Try adding 62816:)

I live in Centralia, which is a little closer than you are. Antennaweb told me I couldn't get them either. I have a $25 radioshack uhf antenna mounted 35' high, and a $40 24db gain signal amplifier from ace hardware. I can get CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, and WB11 all from one antenna. WB11, ABC and NBC are around 70-75 and CBS and FOX are around 80-85 signal strength.

Also, even though my antenna is directional and pointed to the west, I get PBS (4 channels) out of Carbondale which is due south from me and probably a little farther away that St. Louis.

They are VERY conservative! It said I would only get TWO channels and I get pretty much everything that there is in St. Louis, 3 PBS, CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, UPN, 24, and channel 51 (which I haven't ever watched, so I have NO idea what it is). I think that antennaweb is just a rough guide as to what you need to get as many channels as possible, but by NO means is it a hard and fast rule to the channels you will get...fortunately.

Rocker and Baron,

FWIW, there is only one PBS signal, with a primary channel and multiple subchannels embedded in the same digital datastream.

If you get one of these PBS channels, by definition you will be able access all of them, as your receiver parses the PBS signal and extracts the main and subchannels automatically.

Other (non-PBS) broadcasters also have the ability to "multi-cast," but PBS is the only network that is doing it more or less in all of its markets across the country.

Note that multi-casting will result in lower quality HD, as bits are "stolen" from the HD program stream in order to provide the bandwidth required by the subchannels.

Hey, thanks for the suggestions, Doug. I've been following a huge thread about the H31(31 pages!!), and these are guys who actually bought the pj and are using it. The response has been overwhelming in terms of good comments about it. All of them have been astonished at the black levels, color saturation, and contrast. Whether or not it measures out to actually be 3000:1 seems trivial when people are getting images with great blacks and good shadow details, and they are happy.

I suppose I wasn't very clear in my initial post, but I'm just trying to take a look at some design advances in the H31, and compare it reasonably with my Benq 6100. I already know that my Benq throws an excellent image with it's "inflated" CR numbers of 2000:1. Blacks levels are enjoyable, especially when the scenes aren't supposed to be totally black. What I'm guessing at is...if I'm getting this kind of performance out of older chip technology, a slower color wheel, the lack of dvi input, and a noisier machine, wouldn't it be within reason to expect that a newer pj with DarkChip2 technology, a dvi input, a 4X color wheel instead of a 2X, a quieter fan, and more sophisticated color controls should give me a better image and enjoyment level than what I'm getting right now, theoretically? Maybe what I'm asking is this question...'shouldn't this newer stuff work better than the older stuff' if you took all the guts out and considered the electronics and optics outside of the pjs? In theory.

The H31 may not give a real world CR of it's stated rating, but couldn't I guess that it's going to be better than my inferior 6100, as other users are comparing it to the HD2+ chips? The current users are not complaining of seing rainbows on the H31, but I see them all the time on my 6100. The increased black levels on the H31 have, however, raised some concerns about screendoor, and the black lines between the pixels seen onscreen are darker, and the user has to be careful to sit back atleast 2X the screen width, or defocus the image a little.

The question of the 850 lumens has been raised on the H31 thread, and the response has been that users with light controlled environments didn't find that the images were washed out. Many of the higher end HT pjs don't publish high lumens in their specs, because in the real world high lumens can wash out your blacks too much in darker scenes. There's also the business pj vs. the HT pj aspect, right? My 6100 has high lumens so that it will work well in a board room meeting with other lights around. At home in my theater room, I must say that the brightness of the image, even in economy mode, can be a bit too much. It lights up my entire room way too much at times, and can be a bit of a strain on the eyes. The reflected light from my bright walls is bouncing back onto the screen, keeping me from seeing even better blacks. The 6100 wasn't really designed for HT use. I'd guess that I'd enjoy lower lumens for better blacks and contrast. BTW, I have a matte white screen with a satin-like finish, 1.0 gain. it's too bad that my screen is so flimsy, as I can see waves in the image.

Probably the biggest area for concern I have about the H31 is the limited throw range. I can only enjoy an 84" diagonal image before the pj light starts to spill onto the inside edges of my Martin Logan Quest electrostatic images. The speakers have been placed with great care and concern, and the room has been acoustically diagnosed for the best response. I don't want to move them apart any further. Moving the screen in front of the speakers won't work for sound or viewing distance. The pj has to sit on top of a cabinet in the back of the room, and I'm afraid that the H31's image will be too large for the screen. My 6100 is a long throw pj, and I get a perfect 84" diagonal when it's zoomed all the way down to it's smallest size. The H31 can be at a maximum distance of 12.9 feet for this size image, and I think my cabinet is further back than that. As I'm typing this, I'm figuring out that I'm just going to have to move the amplifiers that are between the speakers, to provide room for moving the screen up a bit, I guess. I'll have to make it work somehow.

I'm sorry, I do tend to get carried away easily. I doubt that anyone has an H31 anywhere close to me, but I'll try to find out. Once again Doug, thanks for your opinions. I do value them greatly.

I had a lot of audio drops on my OTA MyHD viewing of the Bowl yesterday. I had no picture breakup at all, and the signal floated on avg around 80, but occaisonal dip as low as 75. Last year, I had the same audio drops on my Charter HD broadcast as well as OTA, so I am not sure it is my setup. I see no reports of audio drops here. Anyone?

Thanks,
Jason

I had a few as well, it was mostly when the audio changed from 5.1 to 2.0 channels and vice versa. I just figured it was my system.

No audio dropouts during the SB for me. And the 5.1 changed to 2.0 only when KTVI broke away from the national feed for local commercials.

Hey Jedi and Baron, I might take you up on those offers. Thanks!

Doug (DropTheRemote), I have a question for ya...
I have a LCD screen that I use to watch HDTV, there are multiple inputs on the TV (component/composite/vga/dvi/svideo). When I use component (RGB), I am able to adjust many different settings, such as color, chroma, hue, etc...when I use DVI, I am unable to adjust anything other than contrast and brightness. When I use the component inputs, I can fiddle with the settings to make the picture look PERFECT. However, when I use the DVI input, no matter how I change the two settings, the picture always looks whitewashed. I know that you do calibrations, however, it's gonna take a while for me to save up my pennies to get it done, is there any way that I can adjust the tv using only contrast and brightness to make the black level correct? It's annoying more than anything else, most people probably wouldn't even see a problem, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist. My blacks look grey, never the "true" black like I can get with the component input. By the way, all of the settings I have when I use component mode are contrast, brightness, color, hue, sharpness and focus.
Another thing, when I use my DVD player (outputs from the dvd player in component to the HDTV receiver's component inputs, then out through the dvi into the HDTV), I can get the blacks to look black by changing settings on the dvd player. There are no settings on my HDTV receiver to change the way the picture looks, only aspect ratio and resolution settings.
Would a professional calibration be able to fix DVI mode to make it look normal even though there's no settings that I can find to make it work? Do y'all have some sort of special calibration tool or something? I used a calibration DVD to get the component inputs/outputs to my liking, but that is going to be impossible for me to do w/the DVI input.
Sorry this is so long, I probably didn't explain the problem adequately, if you have any questions, feel free to email me at superbaron@mac.com

Thanks in advance for your reply,
-baron

Jedi,

Yes, in this case I think it's reasonable to assume that the improvements you've cited would result in real-world, observable improvements, but again I haven't seen this projector nor yours, so in a way I'm really out on a theoretical ledge here.

The color wheel speed should definitely minimize rainbows (and probably result in better color fidelity), and the DarkChip should provide better blacks. I am a little concerned that you say you see rainbows with your BenQ "all the time," as a small minority of people are especially susceptible to the rainbow effect and it's possible that you may be one of that type (but hopefully not).

You mention good blacks AND shadow detail, and that's really the important thing. A lot of digital products (especially RPTVs) can have good blacks or great light output, but only at the expense of clipping at one end or the other (and sometimes both). Therefore, one thing I'd want to check out is a grayscale step pattern, going from video black right up to peak white.

The important thing -- apart from neutral gray steps -- is to ensure that black is really black and that all the steps going up the pattern are clearly discernible, rather than melding together. On some digital products there's no user (or service) setting where that can be accomplished, and those products should obviously be avoided. Again, from the user feedback you've mentioned that doesn't sound like it's an issue, but if it were me, I'd like to see it myself, or have the ability to return the projector if that area of performance was lacking.

I appreciate your concerns about throw distance and the impracticality of moving your speakers. As you know from your BenQ, proper projector installation is extremely important, so you want to be sure that you can work with the throw distance and other placement requirements of the projector BEFORE taking the plunge. If you haven't done this already, download the manual and consider not just throw distance but also the requirements for placement in relation to the center/top/bottom of your screen.

The two most common mistakes made with projectors are: a screen that's too large for the projector's light output; and slap-dash installation.

I've seen $25K CRT projectors where the original installation was effed up to the point where the image occupied less than half the CRT raster area, resulting in a massive (and permanent) loss of resolution. Digital projectors are much easier to install, but it's still possible to seriously compromise digital image quality by ignoring the instructions. Too many people think about projectors in a conference room context, where placement is a matter of what's convenient.

Projector mounting/placement instructions should be considered REQUIREMENTS, not suggestions.

I was recently asked why a particular DLP projector's keystone adjustment wasn't working correctly. When I asked to see the projector's installation instructions, the manual was promptly retrieved and handed to me, still in the sealed plastic wrapping.

That was an easy one...

Baron,

When you write "component (RGB)," I assume that you mean a three-cable component connection labeled "Y," "Cb" and "Cr." While these cables are typically color-coded as green (Y), blue (Cb) and red (Cr), this is not an RGB connection -- these are commonly called component connections. In a component connection, the Y cable carries the black/white (or luminance) signal, and the red and blue cable carry what are called "color difference" signals.

On the other hand, RGB connections have discrete channels for red, green and blue, and some variations include one or more channels for either composite or horizontal and vertical sync.

FWIW, technically speaking an RGB connection is also correctly referred to as a "component" connection, but through repeated usage the three-cable luminance/color difference format is what is now commonly understood to be a "component connection."

When you're connected with component video (YCbCr), you will typically have full control over both color (saturation) and tint (hue). But when you're connected with a true RGB format, you won't have access to color and tint, because there's no color decoding involved because there are no color difference signal (with RGB each color has a dedicated channel).

This brings us to DVI, which is a digital version of RGB -- as a result, there's no color decoding and therefore no need for color and/or tint adjustment.

The issue with the DVI picture looking washed out is, most likely, due to the fact that there are two flavors of DVI, one for computers and one for video applications. You appear to have a mismatch between the DVI type you are feeding to the LCD display and the type of DVI signal that the LCD is expecting. There might be a switch on your LCD, either physical or in a menu, that allows you change the DVI type, but it's also possible that this conflict can't be resolved, meaning the DVI input won 't be of much use to you.

I think the DVI type issue also probably explains your DVD -> HDTV -> DVI question, but I'm not entirely sure I understand what you mean by "HDTV receiver." Maybe you can clarify this if you don't think this is a DVI type problem.

As a calibrator, I would typically make adjustments through a display's service menu, though in some cases changes would be made through both the service and user menus -- it really varies by brand and model.

Finally, I'd encourage you to start saving nickels instead of pennies; in fact, quarters would be even more advisable... :)

Is anyone else having reception issues on Kmov this evening?

I'm not able to get a locked signal from the Dish 811, and a barely usable signal on the 6000.

Cheers,

John,

No problem for me -- I just finished watching ELR and 2.5M.

Hey, has anyone ever noticed the last frame of 2.5M, titled, "Chuck Lorre Productions"? Some of the notes included there each week are a riot...

Hi All!

Roughly speaking, let's say I receive local HDTV via a UHF-only attic antenna, which uses my original 50' RG59 cable connected to 50' of newer RG6. Already use a ChannelMaster 0747 amp. All of my signals are in the 70s and 80s.

Anway, let's say I replace that 50' of RG59 with a run of 20' RG6 to a diplexer, where I will then use the cable run(40' of RG6) from my DISH 501, and then of course, diplexer on the other end.

1. Will I pick up signal strength? If so, guess as to how much?
2. Will I lose any satellite signal strength using the diplexer?
3. Does the 2nd diplexer go before or after that satellite grounding switch?(I assume before or doesn't matter)
4. If I then subscribe to HDTV programming on DISH, any changes?

Thanks so much for any info. Want to get a good idea before I go re-running, etc.

Chet

Anybody else have problems with FOX OTA this evening (Monday) during 24? I ended up watching on D* 88. I checked the signal strength and it was all over the board--it seemed to fluctuate between 40% and 85%. Not slow changes, but maybe a change every second. If FOX OTA wasn't a common problem, does anybody have any ideas?

24 last night was flawless for me, as was the Super Bowl Sunday.

I had reception issues on both the 811 and 6000. The 811 couldn't get a watchable picture, and the 6000 had tremendous breakup.

A few weeks ago, this happened, and I added an inline amplifier to the 811. I thought that this had solved my issues. Last night, the problem was back :(

Arrgh. I'm seriously considering replacing the Yagi with an 8-bay bowtie, since everything I watch is in the UHF band. Hmmm, then again, if I do that I lose the FM antenna aspect. Dag nabbit, it's always something!

Cheers,

The following excerpt is a Reuters story based on a Hollywood Reporter item:
____________________________________________

WASHINGTON (Hollywood Reporter) - President Bush is attempting to revive a plan that would require broadcasters to pay a $500 million fee for use of their current analog TV channels in 2007.

The plan is part of the $2.57 trillion budget proposal Bush presented to Congress on Monday. While Bush has pushed the plan in previous budget proposals to no avail, it could see some action in the 109th Congress as pressure is mounting to get broadcasters to make the switch to digital TV.

In the past, broadcasters could depend on their allies in Congress to kill the plan. But one of their key supporters, Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., the former chairman of the House Commerce Committee, has retired. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, runs the committee now, and he is decidedly less friendly to the industry.

Currently, broadcasters are required to stop analog transmissions at the end of 2006, or when 85% of the American TV viewing audience receives a digital signal, whichever comes later. The 85% number has long been considered an unreachable goal.

____________________________________________

For the complete story, see http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=televisionNews&storyID=7562718

Chet,

Maybe someone else here can help you with your questions, but you're well beyond the point where I can help.

If you don't get any assistance here, I'd suggest you call Skywalker Communications (636 272-8025) and explain to them what you're trying to do and ask them what parts you'd need to buy to make it happen. Obviously if they can help you, it would be a good idea to buy whatever you need from them. FWIW, they do can do overnight FedEx Ground shipping.

In any event, these are great questions and I'd be interested in hearing what you learn and how it actually works in practice, so I'd encourage you to post an update when you complete your project.

Originally posted by ChetP
Hi All!

Roughly speaking, let's say I receive local HDTV via a UHF-only attic antenna, which uses my original 50' RG59 cable connected to 50' of newer RG6. Already use a ChannelMaster 0747 amp. All of my signals are in the 70s and 80s.

Anway, let's say I replace that 50' of RG59 with a run of 20' RG6 to a diplexer, where I will then use the cable run(40' of RG6) from my DISH 501, and then of course, diplexer on the other end.

1. Will I pick up signal strength? If so, guess as to how much?
2. Will I lose any satellite signal strength using the diplexer?
3. Does the 2nd diplexer go before or after that satellite grounding switch?(I assume before or doesn't matter)
4. If I then subscribe to HDTV programming on DISH, any changes?

Thanks so much for any info. Want to get a good idea before I go re-running, etc.

Chet

I can speak for the diplexer, I was running a similiar setup with DirecTV. The diplexer will reduce your OTA signal strength roughly 10% or more, and makes your signal quality bounce around all over the place. I didn't see any noticeable affect on the sat signal strenght, however.

Now, you may gain some just using newer cables. Also, depending on your mutliswitch (I have no experience on DISH), some will amplifiy the OTA signal as well. I did, however notice ( on dual OTA tuner), that one tuner signal strength was great, and one sucked because of the diplexer setup.

All said and done, best case you get the same signal, probable and worst case you get lower signal. The best bet for any setup is to directly run the OTA cable to the STB. No diplexers, no mutliswitches etc.

Originally posted by John Kotches
I had reception issues on both the 811 and 6000. The 811 couldn't get a watchable picture, and the 6000 had tremendous breakup.

A few weeks ago, this happened, and I added an inline amplifier to the 811. I thought that this had solved my issues. Last night, the problem was back :(

Arrgh. I'm seriously considering replacing the Yagi with an 8-bay bowtie, since everything I watch is in the UHF band. Hmmm, then again, if I do that I lose the FM antenna aspect. Dag nabbit, it's always something!

Cheers,

I'll bet you 5 bucks that if you buy a new inline amp, it will work again, and then crap out again down the road.

Originally posted by Robert Simandl
24 last night was flawless for me, as was the Super Bowl Sunday. I guess I might need to get in my attic and adjust my antenna. Any other suggests as to what might be making my signal strength jump all over the place for only FOX?

Kurt,

What you're describing might be multipath.

Have any new buildings or other obstructions gone up from your line of sight to the FOX tower? Such an obstruction wouldn't necessarily need to be in your immediate vicinity.

omarq:

I'm probably going to take it out and see what effect (if any) it has.

Cheers,

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
Kurt,

What you're describing might be multipath.

Have any new buildings or other obstructions gone up from your line of sight to the FOX tower? Such an obstruction wouldn't necessarily need to be in your immediate vicinity. Not that I'm aware of. I'm in South County, about 3 miles south of I-255, off of Telegraph Road. I don't know of any new construction in the immediate area...well there is a relatively new subdivision about 5 miles away, but I have to check to see if it's in the direction of the tower.

Remind the ways to deal with multipath issues.

Kurt,

Multipath is difficult to eliminate. I know this only too well, as I suffer from it with my KSDK-DT reception from time to time, though it's most difficult in summer.

There are antennas sold that are supposedly good at blocking multipath signals, but I have no direct experience in whether they're effective.

Here's one that's listed on the Antennas Direct web site:

http://www.antennasdirect.com/ShortRangeAntennas.htm

Likewise, it seems that some receivers are better than others at dealing with multipath, but I don't have details which are best. The latest 8-VSB chipsets in the newer DirecTV receivers are said to be more effective in difficult reception areas, but I don't know if multipath resistance is a strength of these or not.

I've seen some discussion about Fox on D* 88, and can't seem to find out what it is or where it all started.

I have Dish, so can I get it too?

Thanks,
Chet

Originally posted by Kurt K
Not that I'm aware of. I'm in South County, about 3 miles south of I-255, off of Telegraph Road. I don't know of any new construction in the immediate area...well there is a relatively new subdivision about 5 miles away, but I have to check to see if it's in the direction of the tower.

Remind the ways to deal with multipath issues.

Kurt,

By the location you've given, it's possible that you're simply TOO CLOSE to Fox (or maybe a diferent station) and may be overloading your tuner's front end. Try inserting an attentuator right before your input to see if this helps. You can buy these things for a few bucks at a Radio Shack it's about 2 inches long and designed just for such issues. A multi-tap splitter might do the same, but it's less precise and may introduce its own garbage.

Also, you're in a location where TV towers must be all around you. That being the case, you just might need a rotor for antenna aiming.

Finally, don't go overboard with an antenna that is too large. You're so close to the towers in S. County that a coat hanger with some foil might be overkill. :p

Just a few suggestions.

Originally posted by ChetP
I've seen some discussion about Fox on D* 88, and can't seem to find out what it is or where it all started.

I have Dish, so can I get it too?

Thanks,
Chet

Sorry, Chet. That is the Fox-East HD national feed only on DirecTV. We get it in STL since KTVI is network owned. Dish hasn't got it, at least yet.

Mike

ChetP,

Channel 88 on DirecTV is the New York FOX local HD station; Channel 89 is a West Coast (L.A.?) local HD for FOX.

These stations are provided by FOX network to DirecTV, and under terms of the agreement, DirecTV can provide them to any DirecTV subscriber who receives DirecTV in a market where the local FOX station is owned by FOX (aka, "owned and operated" or "O&O").

Because KTVI-FOX is a FOX O&O, St. Louis-area DirecTV subscribers who subscribe to DirecTV's local channels package and the HD package automatically get the NY FOX-HD station at no additional charge. This is allowed because there's effectively no "displacement" of local viewers when it comes to determining local advertising rates; whatever FOX loses in a local market it gains in its O&O East or West Coast markets.

These out-of-market HD locals are also provided as a way of delivering FOX HD programming to rural subscribers who are not part of a defined market for a local FOX station. For instance, if you lived in Fumbuck, Nevada, and were 100 miles from the nearest FOX station, you could receive the West Coast FOX HD local on DirecTV.

These out-of-market HD locals are also intended as a way to serve DirecTV subscribers who live in a FOX non-O&O market where the FOX station cannot be reliably received. But this requires the local station to explicitly grant the viewer a written waiver, and in fact stations almost never do this.

(Side note: I actually managed to get the San Francisco Bay Area CBS afilliate to provide me with an analog waiver way back in 1999 -- I should try to find that paperwork and have it framed).

There is also new legislation on the books that is supposed to define the process for digital waiver eligibility and grants, but the FCC is just starting to work on the details of the actual process, and based on their track record, broadcasters can be relied on to do whatever they can to complicate or undermine the intent of this law.

To my knowledge, DISH has not reached this sort of agreement with FOX. I don't know if that's a lack of interest on FOX's part, or DISH's, or if it's mutual.

Thanks everyone for their replies to my questions on diplexer and D*88.

Much appreciated!
Chet

Doug,

I think I see rainbows often because I'm a picky viewer(that's why we are on the board, right?)and I know how to spot them. It's quite easy on a pj with a 2X color wheel, like my Benq. Often, when I'm trying to practice my violin and watch tv at the same time(shame on me...)my eyes dart back and forth from my instrument to the screen, which is the key element for seeing rainbows. The good news is that although I can see them, they do not give me headaches or anything. That would be a bummer, and is one of the big reasons why I'm interested in the 4X color wheel speed on the H31. It seems that this pj would provide some worthwhile improvements for a low cost, and I could live with it until the 1080p pjs are available at a decent price. Now, it looks like I might have 2 buyers interested in my Benq, which would guarantee that I could get the new pj for just a few hundred out of pocket. I'd rather sell my Benq now, since it's still in perfect working order...no dust blobs, stuck mirrors, 2/3 of bulb life still left, and it has over 2 years of warranty left.

In thinking things over, I must apologize to you Doug, as it seems to me that I didn't seem very willing to accept your honest advice at first about my upgrading to the H31. Instead I guess I tried to get you to "back up" my opinion, and that's not fair. You were only trying to act as the voice of reason as an outside party, and I hope that I didn't offend you. My purchase must be ruled by logic, and I'll make sure that I buy from an authorized dealer who has a decent return policy.

jedi,

There's absolutely no need for an apology and it never occurred to me that you were out of bounds -- because you weren't.

I do regret that I don't know more about the H31 so that I could give you more specific advice. One of the challenges of my business is keeping up with all the new products that are out there, and it's especially difficult with digital projectors -- even though it's still a relatively small market in both percentage and absolute terms, there's a ton of product out there with more and more new projectors coming every day.

Your explanation on the rainbows makes perfect sense, so I suspect that the higher speed would be enough to reduce these to the point where they're much less prevalent. As we've discussed before, viewing distance is the key to keeping rainbows to the minimum, but the color wheel speed will be a significant help.

Also, congrats on having buyers lined up for your BenQ -- the only real downside there is that you don't have two of them to sell... ;)

Originally posted by Kurt K
Anybody else have problems with FOX OTA this evening (Monday) during 24? I ended up watching on D* 88. I checked the signal strength and it was all over the board--it seemed to fluctuate between 40% and 85%. Not slow changes, but maybe a change every second. If FOX OTA wasn't a common problem, does anybody have any ideas?

24 was fine for me last night (USDTV receiver) and Kim Raver looked fabulous!

Originally posted by moman19
Kurt,

By the location you've given, it's possible that you're simply TOO CLOSE to Fox (or maybe a diferent station) and may be overloading your tuner's front end. Try inserting an attentuator right before your input to see if this helps. You can buy these things for a few bucks at a Radio Shack it's about 2 inches long and designed just for such issues. A multi-tap splitter might do the same, but it's less precise and may introduce its own garbage.

Also, you're in a location where TV towers must be all around you. That being the case, you just might need a rotor for antenna aiming.

Finally, don't go overboard with an antenna that is too large. You're so close to the towers in S. County that a coat hanger with some foil might be overkill. :p

Just a few suggestions. You're right about being in the middle of everything. I've given up on 46, it's just not worth it right now. Everything else is mostly North, except Fox. The strange thing is that I've had the exact same equipment and antenna position for over 2 years and I only started developing problems right around the time when everybody else was experiencing problems with Fox--I just figured the problems were related. And yeah, I might have gone overboard with the antenna, it's a bigger combo antenna from Radio Shack. That was before I found the antenna maps.

I will give the attennuator a shot.

Kurt,

You must move immediately! South County is the worst for multipath. You must go west.:D

My father-in-law is in South Co. and he runs 2 winegard 4400 pointed in NEARLY opposite directions and it helps. Channel 46 is hopeless.

Originally posted by dominicr
Kurt,

You must move immediately! South County is the worst for multipath. You must go west.:D

My father-in-law is in South Co. and he runs 2 winegard 4400 pointed in NEARLY opposite directions and it helps. Channel 46 is hopeless.

One solution to a situation where you get all channels with an antenna pointed in 1 direction, but 1 channel in an opposite direction. (NOTE: Haven't field tested this yet, my box is on order!)

Channel master makes a product called Jointenna. It is basically an antenna combiner with filters for a specific channel. So one antenna you could point in the direction that you get all but 1 channel, plug that in to the Jointenna. It would filter out the frequency of the channel you weren't getting (based on which model you order), then you hook up a seperate antenna to get that last channel. Then there is an antenna out to go to your STB or whatever.

I'll keep you guys posted when I get mine.

http://www.warrenelectronics.com/Antennas/joiners.htm

Originally posted by dominicr
Kurt,

You must move immediately! South County is the worst for multipath. You must go west.:D

My father-in-law is in South Co. and he runs 2 winegard 4400 pointed in NEARLY opposite directions and it helps. Channel 46 is hopeless. Unfortuately, moving west doesnt fit into my "don't want to cross a river to get to work" criteria :) That, and I haven't found a house that my TV works well in. My 64" Pioneer fits nicely in my 12' x 24' living room--decent layout for surround, also.

Originally posted by omarq
One solution to a situation where you get all channels with an antenna pointed in 1 direction, but 1 channel in an opposite direction. (NOTE: Haven't field tested this yet, my box is on order!)

Channel master makes a product called Jointenna. It is basically an antenna combiner with filters for a specific channel. So one antenna you could point in the direction that you get all but 1 channel, plug that in to the Jointenna. It would filter out the frequency of the channel you weren't getting (based on which model you order), then you hook up a seperate antenna to get that last channel. Then there is an antenna out to go to your STB or whatever.

I'll keep you guys posted when I get mine.

http://www.warrenelectronics.com/Antennas/joiners.htm
Definitely keep us posted.

Originally posted by omarq
One solution to a situation where you get all channels with an antenna pointed in 1 direction, but 1 channel in an opposite direction. (NOTE: Haven't field tested this yet, my box is on order!)

Channel master makes a product called Jointenna. It is basically an antenna combiner with filters for a specific channel. So one antenna you could point in the direction that you get all but 1 channel, plug that in to the Jointenna. It would filter out the frequency of the channel you weren't getting (based on which model you order), then you hook up a seperate antenna to get that last channel. Then there is an antenna out to go to your STB or whatever.



For you that have the Silver Sensor you can do something similar with two of them. Take a look at this link: http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/silver.html

By the way I have dropped Charter and gone back to Dish. So far the PQ is very good. I have the 522 dual mode DVR receiver and the 811 HD receiver. I am using the Silver Sensor because the farthest tower from me is 8 miles away. However I do live in a low area with a small hill in front of me and the main towers. Not only that I also have the set in the basement. I have found that if I place the SS right below the basement ceiling and point in the general direction of the towers I can get all the channels but one. KMOV is killing me. I get no signal at all, but on the others I get between 75 and 80%.

Wow, my first buyer is asking to have a demo of my Benq as early as this Sunday, and the second buyer is poised to buy it of buyer 1 doesn't bite. This means that I will have some pj down time once it's sold, but I have a second theater room with a Pioneer rptv. Life is pretty good right now. I hadn't thought about the prospect of my Benq leaving my hands as early as Sunday....I'd better get my amps moved to make room for my needed screen distance adjustments.

I had no trouble watching Monday night's 24, except for this small annoyance: I have been noticing that the sound cuts out totally during the commercial breaks sometimes, and then pops back in when the national feed picks back up. This has been happening for a few weeks, and I blamed the skip feature on my dvhs deck, thinking that something was cutting out in the sound processing after the tape speeds up and returns to normal play. However, I've noticed that when the sound kicks out, it always returns at a specific point, right at the beginning of the national feed, signalling that 24 is about to resume. Has anyone else noticed this? You have to actually watch the commercials to catch this. Maybe it's a good thing that some of the commercials are silent.

I don't understand why HDNet is still running ads for Odyssey 5 showing on Thursday nights, when they don't run them anymore. One of the SHO channels is running them, but not in HD. What gives?

Rant mode off....

ok, some oddball things are happening with my system. I have the directv HD system, and OTA HD signals...all coming through a samsung sir-ts360 (which I use for watching) and another input goes into my HDTV Wonder for recording the OTA signals. The HDTV Wonder never gets any Guide data, so I'm used to that...however, my samsung SOMETIMES gets guide data and sometimes it doesn't. Is there any logical reason for that? Currently, I have guide information for KTVI and KSDK, last night I had no guide data at all for any of my OTA channels. A few days ago, PBS had the guide working on all channels.
I'm not changing anything here that would cause it to show up one day and not on the other, so what in the world is causing it? Guide data is mighty nice for scheduling stuff to watch, unfortunately, most of the time it doesn't work. Isn't guide data SUPPOSED to be sent out with DigitalTV stations?

btw, have any of you used either the 169time or R5000 methods for recording Satellite HDTV channels? I'm thinking of buying one or the other, I just don't know which one yet. It appears that everyone has a different opinion of each one (which is really not a huge surprise hehe). Any input on that would be greatly appreciated. Ahh, the price I pay for my HDTV addiction...

Anyone else notice KSDK is not airing HD? West Wing was not shown in HD. Also, Leno wasn't either. At the start of the Tonight Show, they tried going HD, I got about 2 seconds of HD pic and horrid sound, then it went back to non-HD.

Rich

Originally posted by jedi35


.......I don't understand why HDNet is still running ads for Odyssey 5 showing on Thursday nights, when they don't run them anymore. One of the SHO channels is running them, but not in HD. What gives?

Rant mode off....

It looks as if HD is still being treated like a red-haired stepchild. VOOM ads are still showing up on the Discovery HD Channel! Until the masses adopt HD we're just going to have to put up with this.

Originally posted by skippy_rq
Anyone else notice KSDK is not airing HD? West Wing was not shown in HD. Also, Leno wasn't either. At the start of the Tonight Show, they tried going HD, I got about 2 seconds of HD pic and horrid sound, then it went back to non-HD.

Rich I did notice the horrid sound at the beginning of Law&Order. I switched to SD and never remembered to switch back to check and see if the sound was fixed. Sounds like it didn't happen.

Originally posted by skippy_rq
Anyone else notice KSDK is not airing HD? West Wing was not shown in HD. Also, Leno wasn't either. At the start of the Tonight Show, they tried going HD, I got about 2 seconds of HD pic and horrid sound, then it went back to non-HD.


At the beginning of Law and Order, there were sound problems (obnoxious volume and garbled speech). I switch from L&O to ....CSI ... I thin, but kept going back to L&O to check things out. It never did switch back to HD. I was viewing OTA.

Best
Dave

The following is BREAKING NEWS from SkyREPORT:
________________________________

BREAKING NEWS: Cablevision Inks Deal on VOOM with Dolans

Cablevision said it signed a letter of intent in which VOOM HD, a new private company formed by Charles Dolan and Tom Dolan and certain other Cablevision Class B shareholders, will acquire the business, assets and liabilities of Cablevision's Rainbow DBS satellite business not included in Cablevision's earlier agreement with EchoStar announced in January.

In consideration, VOOM HD will assume and indemnify Cablevision against substantially all of the liabilities of the Rainbow DBS satellite business existing at the deal's closing or incurred after the deal, Cablevision said. Cablevision said the transaction will allow it to avoid various shutdown costs and other liabilities of the VOOM service which it would have incurred had it proceeded with its original plan to shut down the service.

Cablevision said it will incur certain severance costs in connection with the transaction.

VOOM HD is in the process of securing financing to support the ongoing operations of the business and anticipates having that financing in place by the close of the transaction, Cablevision said
________________________________

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
The following is BREAKING NEWS from SkyREPORT:
________________________________

BREAKING NEWS: Cablevision Inks Deal on VOOM with Dolans

________________________________

Something smells fishy. Lawyers will make money on this deal.

I am glad that voom isn't going down, even though I'm not a subscriber. The more competition we've got out there, the better it is for everyone. LONG LIVE VOOM! :cool:

I ordered the R5000-HD USB satellite recording device tonight. It should be here tomorrow. Now I'm gonna have to start purchasing even more hard drives, I suspect that the 1.5 TB that I have now will be filled up in a week or two. Hopefully it works as well as the people in the other threads of this forum say it does. I've found this forum to be a HUGE help with all of my HDTV adventures. Now I just hope that there's some way I can give back. :)

Originally posted by baron_iv
They are VERY conservative! It said I would only get TWO channels and I get pretty much everything that there is in St. Louis, 3 PBS, CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, UPN, 24, and channel 51 (which I haven't ever watched, so I have NO idea what it is). I think that antennaweb is just a rough guide as to what you need to get as many channels as possible, but by NO means is it a hard and fast rule to the channels you will get...fortunately.

baron,

I live in Farmington and the Antennaweb site said I could not get any of the digital channels and I can get most of them except for the 3 PBS channels. With my rotor I can also pick up ch. 6 out of Paducah and the Cape channels. Due to a tree in my neighbors yard in the summer I experience periodical fade in and out of Fox but normally can use the rotor and get it back. Good to know there is someone on these boards a little locally than in STL.

I was so focused on the St. Louis channels that I didn't even try the channels from other cities south of here. With the size of my antenna, I should be able to pick up stations from CHINA! haha

It's odd that you don't get the PBS channels. Most of the time, you're not missing much, but occasionally PBS HD has a good show. PBS wouldn't come in without my amplifier (well, several others wouldn't either though, so that's no surprise). So if your signal isn't amplified, you might give that a try. It sounds like your reception is already pretty good though.

Yeah, it's good to know that someone else local is on the board.

Originally posted by baron_iv
I was so focused on the St. Louis channels that I didn't even try the channels from other cities south of here. With the size of my antenna, I should be able to pick up stations from CHINA! haha

It's odd that you don't get the PBS channels. Most of the time, you're not missing much, but occasionally PBS HD has a good show. PBS wouldn't come in without my amplifier (well, several others wouldn't either though, so that's no surprise). So if your signal isn't amplified, you might give that a try. It sounds like your reception is already pretty good though.

Yeah, it's good to know that someone else local is on the board.

I would probably not get anything if I did not have an amplifier. Sometimes at night I can get 9.1 KETC from STL. Like tonight I just checked and I am watching the HD feed from 9.1 of Nova about how the Vikings actually discovered America. Yeah you probably should be able to get the Paducah station 6.1(NBC) if you have a rotor on your antenna. Also if your interested ch 12.1 out of Cape is CBS and 12.2 is a UPN channel. Good to hear from you. :)

baron says:

I am glad that voom isn't going down, even though I'm not a subscriber. The more competition we've got out there, the better it is for everyone. LONG LIVE VOOM!

Voom doesn't have a mechanism in place at this time to deliver content to its subscribers once Dish takes over the spectrum at 61.5 that they purchased (along with the satellite). Until the spinoff announces some method of delivery, it's a hollow victory at best.

I'd like to see Voom continue just to tweak DirecTV and Echostar into improving their offerings. As it is, I'm disappointed with both of them, and their lack of expansion of HD channels.

Cheers,

So, is this just a more clever way of killing Voom, seeing that it has no way of delivering its content to the subscribers? I was getting ready to let out a huge sigh of relief, but now I'm worried again.....

I found this posted on one of the Voom pages at the SatelliteGuys site. It's a seqment from a Q & A FAQ. Could this be a way for Voom to continue broadcasting?

Any more Satellites besides Rainbow 1 for VOOM?

Voom announced on May 13th, 2004 (Rainbow Filed form 10 provided by Seanb61) that they have leased additional satellite capacity at 72 degree. 13 new Transponders will be leased as of 10/1/04. Subscribers will be able to access the signal from both satellites with a single elliptical satellite antenna that will be approximately 35" wide by 20" high. Voom expects to begin installing the new antennas before the October, 2004 transponder lease commencement date. VOOM will offer a free switch over of existing customers to the new antennas on a phased basis when they are available.

Will VOOM be able to provide Locals HD through 72 Degree Satellite?

The answer is no. Voom, Rainbow DBS, invested $85 million, and owns a substantial interest in an entity that recently acquired licenses from the FCC. These licenses will provide multichannel video distribution and data service (MVDDS) in 46 metropolitan areas in the United States. These areas include the New York City market, although it is uncertain whether the entity may exploit that license in light of FCC cross-ownership restrictions. Rainbow DBS believes that these frequencies could be used in conjunction with its satellite services to provide local broadcast or broadband internet.

FWIW, I don't think anyone really knows what's going on with the suddenly resuscitated VOOM. Very puzzling.

While I think more competition is always a good thing, I really don't see how VOOM can have any reasonable level of success as the #3 player in the satellite market. The "low apples" for satellite companies (former cable subs who are ready to deal with the hassle of mounting a dish, dealing with rain fade, etc) are largely gone and the road ahead for all satellite companies is more difficult. While it's going to be challenging enough for DISH and DirecTV, it is going to be a magnitude more difficult for VOOM, especially as they've almost bailed out of the market once already.

If Charles Dolan is really serious about making VOOM into a real player in the satellite market, he needs serious differentiation, and I don't mean the largest number of HD channels. DirecTV has already largely trumped VOOM's HD card, though I concede that promising is easy and delivery is hard. But just promising will be enough to keep most DirecTV HD fans on board for the next year or two.

The one thing that I'd like to see from one of the satellite companies is a QUALITY PLEDGE. Guarantee me that you're providing full-bandwidth HD and SD -- as defined by published MPEG-2 standards or bit-equivalent MPEG-4 -- and give me user-friendly tools to monitor it, and I'd make a LONG-TERM subscription commitment.

Maybe there are other ways for VOOM to create a subscriber stampede, but they're going to need something dramatic and real.

jedi:

There's a lot of question marks though, and it remains to be seen what is really going to happen when all is said and done.

At this point, nothing would surprise me with respect to Voom, Comcast or Dish short of the satellite @ 61.5 exploding in orbit ;)

Cheers,

I got the R5000-HD recording device today, so now I can backup all the HD crap I watch! However, if there is anyone who would like to donate to the "Baron's HDTV archiving fund", it's a not-for-profit organization designed to deal with my HDTV fetish as well as my rapidly DEcreasing storage space inside my computers. I'm sure it would be tax-deductable, plus, it would make you feel good! For only $0.88 per gigabyte, you too can have that warm and fuzzy feeling inside! Donations may be in the form of cash, checks, blank DVD-R/RW, or any spare 200gb (or larger) drives that you may have lying around.

By the way, my guide data started working again tonight. Does anyone else have this problem? The guide for their local channels works SOME of the time, and others is just blank. It's strange, and rather annoying. I thought ALL HD was supposed to be sent out WITH guide data...am I wrong (again)?

Also, where can I get a multiswitch for my satellite? I tried one from Radio Shack (because it's the ONLY electronics store in town and I didn't have the time to go all the way up to st. louis today), but it didn't work correctly, I was missing half my channels because it only had 2 inputs and I have the triple LNB dish with the built-in multiswitch and 4 outputs. I will be going to st. louis tomorrow morning (saturday). Any suggestions would be welcome. I guess I need a 4x8 or so that would support HD. Or a 3x6 would be even better.

VOOM

The company Charles Dolan is trying to form, VOOM HD, would assume all the liabilities (costs) of the VOOM operations (possible shutdown) thus shielding Cablevision's stock. This is possibility one - dump and run.

Charles could be a truly inspired futurist who deeply cares. He could use his own money and follow through on his vision. He could find some bandwidth - with enough money. We wish Paul Allen would follow through with his "wired world" and Charter!!! This is possibility two.

Possibility three - lawsuits - as usual the lawyers are the only winners and Charles Dolan ends up in a fancy retirement home.

Originally posted by baron_iv


Also, where can I get a multiswitch for my satellite? I tried one from Radio Shack (because it's the ONLY electronics store in town and I didn't have the time to go all the way up to st. louis today), but it didn't work correctly, I was missing half my channels because it only had 2 inputs and I have the triple LNB dish with the built-in multiswitch and 4 outputs. I will be going to st. louis tomorrow morning (saturday). Any suggestions would be welcome. I guess I need a 4x8 or so that would support HD. Or a 3x6 would be even better.

Circuit City has the TERK 5x8.

My next question would be...is that a good multiswitch? I have read a few sites about multiswitches lately and they say that there is a very large difference between the low-end multiswitches and the high-end. I'm not sure which end of the scale the Turk would be on.

By the way, why do some people on the forum write D* instead of DirecTV? Are we not "allowed" to use names of satellite companies in here? If that's the case, why and what difference would it make? I mean DirecTV may have copyrighted the name, but they couldn't keep someone from typing or saying it. Or is it just for simplicity and speed purposes?

Originally posted by baron_iv
....

By the way, why do some people on the forum write D* instead of DirecTV? ...
It's just shorthand, like , IMHO (in my humble opinion) LOL (laughing out loud) and the like. We have all become lazy typists.
Dug

Originally posted by Mr_Bester
It's just shorthand, like , IMHO (in my humble opinion) LOL (laughing out loud) and the like. We have all become lazy typists.
Dug

People use E* for EchoStar, and D* for DirecTV derives from that usage.

Kinda like the way Beemer for BMW motorcycles derived from Beezer for BSR motorcycles.

Dean

Hey Baron,

I've had the Terk 5x8 multiswitch for about 8 months now, feeding *D and OTA to every room in the house. There are a few rooms that don't have a *D box, but the option is there just in case. Never a problem with it.

I use the *D instead of DirecTV simply because I'm too lazy to type out... well, you know. :D

Originally posted by baron_iv
My next question would be...is that a good multiswitch? I have read a few sites about multiswitches lately and they say that there is a very large difference between the low-end multiswitches and the high-end. I'm not sure which end of the scale the Turk would be on.

By the way, why do some people on the forum write D* instead of DirecTV? Are we not "allowed" to use names of satellite companies in here? If that's the case, why and what difference would it make? I mean DirecTV may have copyrighted the name, but they couldn't keep someone from typing or saying it. Or is it just for simplicity and speed purposes?

Its what I use.. Haven't had any problems with the SAT feeds, but using the OTA/Diplexer setup is inconsistent at best.

I don't want to mess with the diplexer, I'll keep my OTA HD signal separate, I like it that way. I picked up a Terk today, walked around the store with it for a little while, then walked over to the Hard Drive aisle and decided to get 2 250gb drives instead of the Terk multiswitch. hehe
I'm currently using all of my 4 satellite feeds, but I guess I don't NEED another in/output at the moment. I rarely use my SD-DVR anymore so I'll just leave one feed connected to that. Recording HD is more important than recording SD, and recording HD takes up a LOT of hard drive space (9gb/hr), so I figured that a couple of big ol' hard drives was a better investment at the moment.
However, when I am ready to purchase a multiswitch, I will most likely go w/the Terk. I appreciate all the responses. :)

btw, I also found this...are any of these better than the Terk?
http://www.solidsignal.com/multi-switches.asp

Many of them are a LOT more expensive! Some have built-in amplifiers (which will probably be something I will need thanks to some long cable runs).

I had something else to say, but I forgot. My brain's RAM is going bad I guess...can I replace or upgrade that?!? hehe

The Terk multiswitch and diplexers have ZERO effect on my HD signal (gotta love that digital signals don't degrade... they're either "on" or "off"), though they do seem to reduce the signal strength on some of the analog OTA's... not that I really care about the analog OTA's anymore.

I tried a cheapo multiswitch from radio shack yesterday though, my receiver was changing to the wrong channels when I manually changed the channel, it was losing signal and all kinds of bad/weird things. I'd have gotten a better multiswitch to start with, but it's an hour to St. Louis (which is the nearest electronics store other than radio shack and wal-fart), so I figured it was worth a shot to save $20 in gas. I was wrong. Gotta take that silly thing back tomorrow. I guess I'll have to get a multiswitch sooner or later though.

By the way, I assume that all of you who have DirecTV have the 3 LNB dish, correct? I noticed on the Terk multiswitch that there are 5 inputs (4 satellite, 1 antenna)...however, the 4 satellite are labeled A, A and B, B...shouldn't there also be "C" for the third satellite transponder? I don't understand how it can work with only 2 of the transponders going into it. My 3 LNB dish also has a built-in multiswitch, will that make a difference about what NEW multiswitch I should buy?

I am full of questions this weekend.

Baron,

I'm not exactly sure about the whole "dual multiswitch" issue, but check out question 5 on this page: http://www.solidsignal.com/tech_faqs_02.asp While you wouldn't be connecting them together for the use of more connections, it's a good bet that you would run into the same issues.

Originally posted by baron_iv
[BI guess I'll have to get a multiswitch sooner or later though.

By the way, I assume that all of you who have DirecTV have the 3 LNB dish, correct? I noticed on the Terk multiswitch that there are 5 inputs (4 satellite, 1 antenna)...however, the 4 satellite are labeled A, A and B, B...shouldn't there also be "C" for the third satellite transponder? I don't understand how it can work with only 2 of the transponders going into it. My 3 LNB dish also has a built-in multiswitch, will that make a difference about what NEW multiswitch I should buy?
[/B]

Ebay it brother! I bought the Terk 5 x 8 brand new on ebay for $56 + $9 shipping ($65 to my door). I'd recommend that route before dumping too much on a cheapo one, or $150 at BestBuy/Circuit City.

The 5 inputs have to do with how the 3LNBs work. The 3LNB dish has a multiswitch in it - there are 4 cables coming out and each cable has all 3 satellites. The 5 x 8 takes the 4 satellite feeds (each with 3 sats on them) and lets you send them to 8 TVs. Hope that helps/makes sense. It is confusing and when I started it seemed like everyone assumed you knew a certain level of how things worked...

Chris

I THOUGHT that is how it worked, but I wasn't sure since the radio shack thing didn't work. That would have taken two of my outputs from the satellite and turned it into 4...but it didn't work for whatever reason. That's why I was second-guessing myself. 'Guess I shouldn't be trusting the el cheapo crap anyway. I learn something new here EVERY day. Today, it was just reinforcing what I already knew (but thought I was wrong about).
By the way guys, I've now had the R5000-HD for 4 days now, I've captured 50 different shows (over 200gb of stuff), and had only ONE problem. The minor problem was probably caused by me, I think. If any of you had any reservations about this system, forget 'em, they're completely unfounded. This is the greatest thing since corn in a can. Last night I was capturing TWO HD streams and an SD stream simultaneously (via the R5000, HDTV Wonder and AIW 9700XT). Not even the HD TIVO can do that! :)

I figured out my guide problem too, this has been an enlightening weekend. The only way to get guide info is to tune to that channel for a second or two, then the guide info is automatically uploaded to my system!

I have a question about the Grammy's last night. I have recently purchased a HD TiVo (Hr10-250) and last night during the show I was seeing a bunch artifacts during performances with allot of movement. One example is during the opening number when the lights were flashing and people were moving around you started to see blocks in the moving parts. I was wondering if others without the HR10-250 were seeing the same thing.

wow, someone DID watch the grammys last night!
They're probably going to ask you if you were watching on a satellite/cable feed or an OTA feed. I didn't watch 'em, so I can't answer your question, sorry.
I haven't seen ANY pixelation on a single HD show, EVER. I'm sure it happens, but it just hasn't happened to me (knock on wood).

I forgot to mention that I am interested in the OTA HD signal quality for the Grammy's. The HR10-250 is a DirecTv receiver but I use OTA for all of the local digital stuff.

Yes, there was some "macro blocking" (though it was small and "micro" blocking might be a better characterization) seen during the Grammys last night.

This was most visible where there was rapidly flashing lights, especially strobes. I also noticed it in some of the performances where there was particularly dense smoke.

Bottom line -- it was pretty minor, but still visible and disruptive.

Doug, what causes the macro blocking? Poor compression algorythms? Sometimes when I encode a divx at a low rate I get that too. HD at 19.3mbps probably shouldn't be doing that though...were they re-encoding the stream or broadcasting at a lower bitrate?

There were several glitches last night during what was otherwise my favorite segment, the salute to Southern Rock.

MPEG compression is most efficient when the images in successive frames are little changed -- in effect, the only portion of the image that is "refreshed" is the area that changes. Imagine one of those "slides" on DirecTV where they list the NFL Sunday Ticket games to be shown and the channels they are assigned to -- there's relatively little need to refresh the entire picture, because the image is static until the next slide comes up.

(In fact, full-frame refreshes are done periodically even with completely static video to ensure that anyone changing the channel sees the complete image within a reasonable period of time).

On the other hand, when a significant portion of the picture changing, such as when there are strobing lights, the encoder/decoder has a difficult time keeping up with changing images.

I'm not certain, but I don't think the macroblocking on the Grammy's is indicative of the broadcasters -- network or local -- skimping on bandwidth. Rather, that sort of video material is probably at (or beyond) the extreme capabilities MPEG-2.

MPEG-2 is a "lossy" compression algorithm is this is one example of the limits being reached.

Is anyone else having trouble with NBC tonight? I could get it fine last night...actually, it was one of my stronger signals (after fox and ketc). Tonight when I put it on NBC, the picture comes and goes when I'm using my samsung STB, when I'm using the MyHD or HDTV Wonder, I get NOTHING, nadda, zip, zilch. Just a nice little "no signal" message in the upper-left hand corner of the window.

It's probably just me (since I'm a bazillion miles away from the tower), but I thought I'd ask.

-b

Is there a specific indoor antenna you all have had success with in the St. Louis area.
I live in Florissant in a relatively new subdivision with no trees at all.

bigdaddy,

The Zenith Silver Sensor is pretty much acknowledged as the best indoor antenna for receiving digital broadcasts.

Some guys here have recently posted positive words about the new Terk indoor antenna that resembles the Silver Sensor. Personally, I have had very poor luck with Terk products in the past. That's not to say that their new indoor antenna isn't a winner, but I'd stick with the popular favorite until the evidence is overwhelming that Terk has a better offering.

If you're relatively new to HDTV and OTA reception, it might worth reading the first three messages in this discussion thread. The first of the three can be found at the link below:

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

Originally posted by bigdaddy10
Is there a specific indoor antenna you all have had success with in the St. Louis area.
I live in Florissant in a relatively new subdivision with no trees at all.

I live in south St.Louis. I live in low area with a hill at the end of the street. The set is in the basement and the farthest tower from me is about 7.7 miles. If I put the Silver Sensor right below the basement ceiling and point it towards the towers I get a very good signal on all the stations but KMOV. I also have a small amp hooked up to the Silver Sensor. Have done a lot of reading and in my opinion this is the best indoor antenna you can find.

So NOBODY else is having trouble with NBC (KSDK)???
Man, it sucks to be the only one.
It was coming in just a little bit better tonight, but still sporadic. By the way, I replaced my HDTV Wonder with a MyHD card (to increase compatibility w/the R5000-HD), so I'll sell the old card if anybody's interested.

I didn't notice any problems with KSDK tonight during Law and Order.

The following excerpt is from TVpredictions.com:

__________________________________

Did Time Warner Bid on TiVo?

The DVR company denies that it's for sale, but rumors persist that it's entertaining proposals.

By Phillip Swann

Washington, D.C. (Feb. 15) -- TiVo Chairman and CEO Mike Ramsay says flatly that his company is not for sale. Despite increasing competition from cable-backed Digital Video Recording services, TiVo does not need a new, deep-pocketed owner to compete, he says. The company's popular TV recording features -- and advanced technologies -- will enable it to fend off the competition.

However, rumors persist on Wall Street that several companies may be interested in purchasing TiVo. In fact, the company's stock rose five percent on Monday largely on unconfirmed reports that Time Warner had made an offer for TiVo. Over the last few years, TW has demonstrated an unusual interest in DVR products and technologies. A few weeks ago, Reuters reported that the cable-media company had developed a technology that would enable DVR owners to return to the start of a program once it had begun.

But the Time Warner-TiVo rumor lost its steam by late Monday, causing TiVo's stock to level off on Tuesday. (Shares of TiVo fell about two percent on Tuesday on lukewarm volume.)
__________________________________

For the full story, go to http://www.tvpredictions.com/selltivo021505.html

Over the past 36 hours or so, my KSDK signal has gone from 2-4% to 40-50%, now I am getting a good picture. Monday, I couldn't get a picture at ALL. Weird things are happening in my neck of the woods. Did we have a solar storm or something? I haven't checked spaceweather.com for a few days.
My OTA PQ is waaaaaay better than my DirecTV PQ. I wish DirecTV would get their act together.

I wish TiVo would sell to someone with deeper pockets. The TiVo could be far better than it is now...and they could also hurry up and make s HDTiVo. I'm not entirely sure what's slowing them down, but the longer they wait, the more room there is for other companies to sneak in there and take over TiVo's marketshare. ReplayTV has a REAL opportunity here, if they'd only take advantage of it. I've had both TiVo and ReplayTV over the past few years, each has its own good and bad things. If someone came along and took the bad out of both of those systems and kept the good, they'd have a truly revolutional product that would be a HUGE seller. Somebody just needs to step up. Kinda makes me wish I had an extra billion dollars lying around to design such a product. Of course I'd probably blow all of it on big screen TVs, projectors and HD equipment. HD will be the death of me.

Hey Doug,

There is now an empty spot where my Benq 6100 pj used to be. The unit got sold last Sunday and I got what I asked for, no problems. I'm hoping to get the Optoma H31 in the next couple of weeks, and I'll finally have a faster color wheel, and a display device with dvi, among other things. I can't wait!!

Does anyone have any thoughts about signing up for VOOM? There doesn't seem to be any upfront equipment costs. Have you been satisifed with their service?

Has anyone else noticed "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" switching to Dolby Digital 5.1 sound?

I don't recall this show being in 5.1 previously, but noticed tonight that my receiver was showing DD instead of DPL. In fact, whenever KSDK switched from the network feed for local commercial insertion, the receiver dropped out of DD and into DPL and then back to DD when the network feed was restored.

Maybe this has been going on for a while and I hadn't noticed it previously. Or maybe our intrepid KSDK switch-flippers have found a new toggle with which to amuse themselves.

jedi,

Hope the projector withdrawal symptoms are both mild and brief.

Have you found somewhere local to buy the H31, or is it something you're getting via the Internet?

Doug,

Thanks for the good wishes. I think I'm holding up pretty well, considering...hehe. The best prices I've seen for the H31 are via the internet, but I haven't found one in stock at the price I want. I did find out that CompUSA has them on their website, but not in the stores. Maybe it can be special ordered in the store, but for now I'm going to wait a little while for a better price.

StockInv,
I've been quite happy with the Voom service. There are some software glitches, no program search feature by title, no dvr as of yet(one is promised by the end of March...don't hold your breath), and some key SD channels are missing. However, Voom does tend to update the system often by adding channels and fixing bugs, and they have more HD channels than anyone. Video and sound quality are first rate. Voom's future is uncertain right now, as the owner has to come up with the capital hang on to it, and find a way to get the programming to the customers. Echostar cut a deal to buy the satellite and the uplink facility. Better hold on til there's more definite news about this.

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
Has anyone else noticed "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" switching to Dolby Digital 5.1 sound?

I don't recall this show being in 5.1 previously, but noticed tonight that my receiver was showing DD instead of DPL. In fact, whenever KSDK switched from the network feed for local commercial insertion, the receiver dropped out of DD and into DPL and then back to DD when the network feed was restored.

Maybe this has been going on for a while and I hadn't noticed it previously. Or maybe our intrepid KSDK switch-flippers have found a new toggle with which to amuse themselves.
The time-line, as I remember it:

DD5.1 first appeared around the Olympics. A few weeks later their HD was out, reportedly due to equipment failure. There was no 5.1 after that until after another outage several days ago. Since then DD5.1 is back again. It's on for ER tonight.

Coincidently, KPLR had been lacking 5.1 for several weeks and is now back. They have a real problem with noise blasts when switching modes though.

On closer examination of the Tonight Show Dolby Digital, it's only 2.0. But maybe this is a sign that they're going to be doing more surround stuff in the future. Seems like the live music segments could be enhanced a lot.