From my understanding, and I'm probably wrong, UPN does do HD, but our local UPN affiliate does not.

(beginning my impression of Phil Hartman doing HIS impression of Ed McMahon)

"You are correct sir, YES!"

It was really annoying a year or so ago when an ENTERPRISE avi file I got from ********** was actually of better quality than WRBU-DT's broadcast of the same episode on my HD Tivo.

Over at the HDTV Programing forum it shows two programs on UPN in HD. On Tuesday, Sept. 27th at 9 PM it lists Sex, Love & Secrets. On Wednesday, Sept. 28th at 9 PM it lists Veronica Mars. I believe that UPN has not had HD for a long time. Does anyone know of any others?

I don't think UPN has ever aired anything in HD in the St. Louis area. UPN was broadcasting HD in some few markets, but not here. I believe both Enterprise and Jake 2.0 were in HD, but again, not here.

From my understanding, and I'm probably wrong, UPN does do HD, but our local UPN affiliate does not.


I stand corrected and I will now write on the AVS blackboard 500 times "Check your facts before posting!" :)

Wow, Prison Break was great tonight.

That lovely doctor is even better in HD.

Wow, Prison Break was great tonight.

That lovely doctor is even better in HD.

Yes it was!!! Vegas was great eye candy as well!

Is it my imagination or has the digital conversion taken place. Almost all of my channel are excellent now!

BTW, doing a search for the Bob Dylan special on "American Masters" show on PBS showed that it had showings on channel 90. Never seen anything there before and when I check there wasn't.

Also I thought that PBS-HD would show the same programs as the local PBS(KETC) but actually the programming is different. hmmm.

Yes it was!!! Vegas was great eye candy as well!

Is it my imagination or has the digital conversion taken place. Almost all of my channel are excellent now!


Well a quick scan here and I don't see any new digital channels. I checked Comedy Central, FX, TLC, MTV & all the locals and they were all the same analog and my Reciever showed the same non-digital sound being recieved on those channels.

Phatty

Since Tuesday & Thursday seem to be there release days...... I'll go ahead and cross my fingers that 'very very soon' is going to be this Thursday since it wasn't today.....

The package price of $47.99 was in there multiple times.

The 160gb is not in the Mate, it is in the main Moxi box. The mate is just a "dumb terminal" you could say. The 160 does wonders over the old Moxi. I am recording every season pass in HD and don't have a single issue.


Right you are. What I didn't say clearly was the expanded drive capacity was available only with what Charter calls their Multi Room Solution -- ie. the Moxi Mate. But even then, with 300GB drives becoming the norm, it's unfortunate that Moxi is limited to 160GB of recording capacity.

Don't ge me wrong, I think Moxi is a great solution for some people, and if the stand alone HD Tivo gets pushed back (as so often happens) I may find myself reconsidering my position.

Steve

Well a quick scan here and I don't see any new digital channels. I checked Comedy Central, FX, TLC, MTV & all the locals and they were all the same analog and my Reciever showed the same non-digital sound being recieved on those channels.

Phatty

Since Tuesday & Thursday seem to be there release days...... I'll go ahead and cross my fingers that 'very very soon' is going to be this Thursday since it wasn't today.....


How can you tell if the channel is analog or digital beside the sound indicator. Arn't some digital channel non-5.1 Dolby?

I don't think UPN has ever aired anything in HD in the St. Louis area. UPN was broadcasting HD in some few markets, but not here. I believe both Enterprise and Jake 2.0 were in HD, but again, not here.

I'm not excusing WRBU for not doing HD; however I think there are plenty of bigger cities where UPN is not in HD. I think Los Angeles and Washington DC are some of the major markets where there's no UPN-HD.

This seems interesting:

Test to take high-definition to next level

http://beta.news.com.com/Test+to+take+high-definition+to+next+level/2100-1041_3-5882176.html?tag=nefd.top


Mark

How can you tell if the channel is analog or digital beside the sound indicator. Arn't some digital channel non-5.1 Dolby?

Even if it is not 5.1 it still comes up as a dolby digital sound. It just will only have 2 channels instead of the 5.1. I tested and confirmed this on several of the channels that have already been upgraded from the analog to digital. For me looking at what type of sound input is coming in on the reciever is the easiest/quickest way to tell if things have gone digital. Otherwise you look at the picture quality and look for the little quick white blocks that pop up as artifacts during the ananlog recording that go away when digital..

Phatty

This is pretty well off-topic, but I spent part of last week in Kansas City doing calibration work, and as a result I gained some extended hands-on experience with Time-Warner Cable, which is the primary cable provider in the KC metropolitan area, though a secondary service (Everest) appears to trying to challenge TWC.

Another friend I visited had recently converted from TWC to Everest for cable TV, Internet access and phone, but he doesn't have an HDTV, so I wasn't able to size up/compare the HD package for that service against TWC.

Anyway, I thought there might be some interest in seeing how HD fans on the other side of the state live...so here goes:

TWC in KC carries 13 HD stations, plus a demo loop and an HD PPV channel. The PPV channel offered a rotating choice of three HD movies, with all of the current selections originating as IMAX features, including "Bugs," "Haunted," and "Mexico." TWC also appeared to be providing the digital subchannel of the local PBS analog station as part of the HD tier, in addition to the national PBS HD feed.

The HD stations carried by TWC are: KCPT (PBS), WDAF (FOX), KMBC (ABC), KCWE (UPN), KSHB (NBC), KCTV (CBS), TNT-HD, Discovery HD, INHD1, INHD2, HDNet, HDNet Movies and ESPN-HD. I'm not sure about the status of the KC UPN station -- I never saw any actual HD programming, but then the UPN network's HD offering is pretty limited.

It was especially interesting to be able to see some of the INHD1 and INHD2 programming. I saw a couple of MLB games and both of those looked very good. The INHD channels also carried a number of nature and documentary programs. One of the interesting series carried on INHD is called "Cathedrals of the Game," which are 30-minute HD profiles of the 30 major league baseball stadiums. As it happens, the Sunday edition of this program featured Busch Stadium, though I managed to catch only the last 10 minutes or so. There was also a similar program running on college football arenas.

Like every other station under the sun, INHD also has its own super-duper Hold 'Em Tournament. I actually like Hold 'Em but I am well past burnout on televised poker. Still, this looked nice and as we've come to expect from HD programming, it gave you the sense that that you were actually there in the casino at a nearby table.

I found that TWC's HD picture quality was highly variable, though it's possible that this may have been an issue with a friend's system where I was staying and did the bulk of my viewing. In any event, I noticed quite a lot of pixellation in images with a lot of detail and movement. Also there was very obvious macroblocking seen when a significant portion of the image was red.

I am fairly new to this thread. But, as I plan on purchasing a HDTV in the very near future, this appears to be a great resource. As such, does anyone have any tips on which set they would recommend and where to buy in the St Louis area. I have been researching the Samsung models quite a bit. I have almost settled on the 4667, but I am still open to suggestions.

I'm not excusing WRBU for not doing HD; however I think there are plenty of bigger cities where UPN is not in HD. I think Los Angeles and Washington DC are some of the major markets where there's no UPN-HD.

That's ok, but a year ago or so there was a WRBU guy posting here that was saying they were just waiting for UPN to provide enough HD programming and they could start any time. All the while arguing that Enterprise wasn't in HD. I think we did finally convince him that it was in HD, but that was before UPN's 2004 fall lineup was revealed when they had like 7 series in HD. So what are they waiting for? I just don't like smoke being blown. Of course, he hasn't been back in over a year to answer that question.

I'm sure one of the regulars will correct me if any of this information is wrong or outdated.

Has anyone had success with Charter's cablecards? I remember seeing some complaints in the past, but I don't remember anyone saying they had success. It is for a new Sony LCD. Thanks.

Heiss...

Welcome to the group. The only advice I can give you would be to look at what components you will be using in conjunction with you TV, then make sure that you have all the inputs/outputs you need. If your looking for an HD set, make sure your not buying an ED set with an HD label.

Happy hunting.

That's ok, but a year ago or so there was a WRBU guy posting here that was saying they were just waiting for UPN to provide enough HD programming and they could start any time. All the while arguing that Enterprise wasn't in HD. I think we did finally convince him that it was in HD, but that was before UPN's 2004 fall lineup was revealed when they had like 7 series in HD. So what are they waiting for? I just don't like smoke being blown. Of course, he hasn't been back in over a year to answer that question.

I'm sure one of the regulars will correct me if any of this information is wrong or outdated.

I dunno. Just suprised that Viacon (owners of UPN) haven't laid the smackdown on the affiliates in major markets that are not HD. But if you can't even get UPN-HD in Los Angeles...

I am fairly new to this thread. But, as I plan on purchasing a HDTV in the very near future, this appears to be a great resource. As such, does anyone have any tips on which set they would recommend and where to buy in the St Louis area. I have been researching the Samsung models quite a bit. I have almost settled on the 4667, but I am still open to suggestions.

Heiss, stop by and see me, I have a lot to show you and I'm sure we'll have something you'll like. ;)

I am fairly new to this thread. But, as I plan on purchasing a HDTV in the very near future, this appears to be a great resource. As such, does anyone have any tips on which set they would recommend and where to buy in the St Louis area. I have been researching the Samsung models quite a bit. I have almost settled on the 4667, but I am still open to suggestions.

I have been very happy with my new Sammy. I have the 4252. I have not seen too many people totally bash the Sammys (yet.)
Fastmans

turls,

Your information on WRBU is spot on target, including the fact that no one has come back here from the station to explain why they haven't moved forward with HD broadcasting now that there's HD programming coming from the UPN network.

Fastmans

I am not familiar with the 4252. What can you tell me about it? How does it compare to the 4667 and 5063. These are the two models that I have been looking at.
Does the 4252 have a tuner built in, is it HD or ED (as DJEarl81 pointed out), 420p/i, 720p/i .... that sort of thing.

Heiss,

The main thing I would tell you about buying an HDTV right now is to beware of the "1080p hype."

Although there are a lot of 1080p native resolution televisions becoming available, the vast majority of these sets are INCAPABLE of accepting a 1080p signal. This is typical of the sort of thing that can happen with first-generation technology and why I generally recommend that my customers avoid buying first-generation products.

Of course, there aren't many 1080p sources around today, but it's likely that there will be during the expected life of an HDTV you buy today. High-definition DVD may support one of the 1080p signal formats, and the same is true of future game consoles.

If you're going to be paying for a 1080p set, be sure to do your homework and find one of the few that can actually handle a 1080p source, ideally through both digital (DVI and/or HDMI) and analog inputs (component/RGB). Otherwise, do whatever you can to get an attractive price on a non-1080p set.

I realize that this is probably not the right area for this question... But the St Louis thread is so awsome that I know someone will know the answer. I'm cutting off my Dish Network and want to know if my 921 can still record OTA programs once the Dish signal is history.

Thanks in advance

Fastmans

I am not familiar with the 4252. What can you tell me about it? How does it compare to the 4667 and 5063. These are the two models that I have been looking at.
Does the 4252 have a tuner built in, is it HD or ED (as DJEarl81 pointed out), 420p/i, 720p/i .... that sort of thing.

I didnt intend to compare mine versus the models you are interested in.
They are totally different technologies. I was just trying to say Samsungs have been good in my book.
For the record here is a link to mine: http://product.samsung.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_detail.jsp?eUser=&prod_id=HPR4252X%2fXAA

I realize that this is probably not the right area for this question... But the St Louis thread is so awsome that I know someone will know the answer. I'm cutting off my Dish Network and want to know if my 921 can still record OTA programs once the Dish signal is history.

Thanks in advance

I cant find a definitive answer for you. But I recall complaints on another forum from people who lost OTA recordings during rainfade. AFAIK you must have sat signal during your OTA recordings.

May I ask why you are leaving DISH? I was sitting here trying to decide if I wanted to do the same. The problem for me: Dish wont give (or sell cheap) a 921 or 942. I like DISHs programming better than Charter, but I am about to go to charter so I can record HD OTA. I have had dish for so long and never have had Charter and im kinda scared to make the jump. If I could get one of these receivers, I would definitely stay with DISH.

HD DVRs just aren't cheap no matter what.

Yeah, Charter's MoXi has some advantages, but when you add up the monthly charges and space limitation, its not so great either.

I'm about to buy a home in St. Peters (in the vicinity of Hwy. 94 and Harvester). Can anyone living in that area comment on OTA HD reception out there. My intent is to put a Yagi in the attic space. It's a ranch that's under construction and being held at drywall stage.

It's a villa community, so I don't necessarily want to ruffle any feathers with the HOA with an outdoor antenna, if I don't have to. I believe I'll be able to put a satellite dish on the roof of the rear-entry garage out of sight of the street, so I don't expect they'll have a problem with the dish, especially since cable is not yet available due to the newness of the community.

I currently live in Maryland Heights in a condo and I'm able to get pretty good OTA HD reception with the communal building antenna and with a Silver Sensor. I'm hoping I'll be able to get even better reception with a full-size outdoor antenna in the attic of my new place.

I'm about to buy a home in St. Peters (in the vicinity of Hwy. 94 and Harvester). Can anyone living in that area comment on OTA HD reception out there. My intent is to put a Yagi in the attic space. It's a ranch that's under construction and being held at drywall stage.



As long as you're not in a valley, you shouldn't have a problem. A friend of mine lives near Highway K (further out than your home-to-be) near the top of a hill and has no problem receiving OTA with a yagi in his attic.

Meanwhile, I'm near Highway 79 (closer than he is) but in a valley. Before I put the big Yagi on the roof, I didn't get diddley squat.

Charter is quite amusing with their pricing.

I called on the DVR prices the other day and was quoted $9.99 for a 1 room system and $26.95 for a 2 room system.

I called today and was quoted $9.99 for a 1 room system and $20.00 for a 2 room system.

I called later today and was quoted $9.99 for a 1 room system and $20.00 for a 2 room system.

I called again today and was quoted $6.95 for a 1 room system and $16.00 for a 2 room system.

I grabbed the final lowest price. We will see what shows up on my bill!!!

I have noticed Sharp and even Panasonic have been dropping their prices on LCD flat panels now that the off-brands are offering 32 inch sets less than $900. It looks like that price war is becoming a reality for the holiday season and I can finally buy my HD set for the bedroom. Any widescreen set less than 32" just doesn't seem large enough when watching most programming still in the 4:3 mode with pillars.

It is about time for the prices to drop. When they get low enough for the average Joe maybe we will see much more HD programming offered.

I still think the news should be in HD even though Doug will blast me for this comment. :)

Is KDNL-DT having transmission problems? The audio seems to be out of sync by about 1 sec on all HD programming except MNF. SD programming broadcast on DT doesn't seem to have this problem. It's been like this since I went HD in august. I've tried several antenna combinations and orientations without any improvement. Signal is stable and strong on KDNL, just not synched video to audio. I'm getting excellent signal and audio/video quality on KTVI, KMOX, KSDK, KPLR, and KETC. Can't seem to get the UPN station at all. I'm using a rooftop antenna.

Any info is appreciated.

Is KDNL-DT having transmission problems? The audio seems to be out of sync by about 1 sec on all HD programming except MNF. SD programming broadcast on DT doesn't seem to have this problem. It's been like this since I went HD in august. I've tried several antenna combinations and orientations without any improvement. Signal is stable and strong on KDNL, just not synched video to audio. I'm getting excellent signal and audio/video quality on KTVI, KMOX, KSDK, KPLR, and KETC. Can't seem to get the UPN station at all. I'm using a rooftop antenna.

Any info is appreciated.

What model Samsung receiver do you have ?

Jedi and I both noticed a bit of a sync problem on KDNL-DT during both hours of the LOST season premiere last week... and I don't have a Samsung receiver, this was on the HD Tivo.

Jedi and I both noticed a bit of a sync problem on KDNL-DT during both hours of the LOST season premiere last week... and I don't have a Samsung receiver, this was on the HD Tivo.

I thought it might have been the compatability issue with the Samsung receivers. On mine the audio is actually well ahead of the video which I don't see very often.

Jim will be replacing the encoder soon. I'm hoping that will straighten this out too.

I can understand the appeal of local news in HD -- it's just not at all appealing to me, whether it's SD or HD.

Better yet, I think several of the local stations need to learn how to "flip switches" and figure out that 5.1 means six speakers working simultaneously to create a proper surround sound field. This might be good preparation for taking on something as complicated as a live HD news broadcast with remote reports.

I just watched last Thursday's CSI via TiVo tonight and it was just 3.0, despite the program appearing with the 5.1 logo. Lame.

Anyone have a successful setup in the Valles Mines area?

Thanks

I'm about to buy a home in St. Peters (in the vicinity of Hwy. 94 and Harvester). Can anyone living in that area comment on OTA HD reception out there. My intent is to put a Yagi in the attic space. It's a ranch that's under construction and being held at drywall stage.

It's a villa community, so I don't necessarily want to ruffle any feathers with the HOA with an outdoor antenna, if I don't have to. I believe I'll be able to put a satellite dish on the roof of the rear-entry garage out of sight of the street, so I don't expect they'll have a problem with the dish, especially since cable is not yet available due to the newness of the community.

I currently live in Maryland Heights in a condo and I'm able to get pretty good OTA HD reception with the communal building antenna and with a Silver Sensor. I'm hoping I'll be able to get even better reception with a full-size outdoor antenna in the attic of my new place.

Crash,
I'm just behind Francis Howell North which is about a mile (as the crow flies) from your new location. I've got a 20 year old Radio-Shack VHF-UHF antenna in my attic and can receive all the local OTAs just fine. I'm getting signals in the 90s on 2,4,5,11 and 30. Channel 9 is around 76 and WRBU takes a little while to lock but will eventually in the low 70s. I am using a DISH 811 for my OTA.

I cant find a definitive answer for you. But I recall complaints on another forum from people who lost OTA recordings during rainfade. AFAIK you must have sat signal during your OTA recordings.

May I ask why you are leaving DISH? I was sitting here trying to decide if I wanted to do the same. The problem for me: Dish wont give (or sell cheap) a 921 or 942. I like DISHs programming better than Charter, but I am about to go to charter so I can record HD OTA. I have had dish for so long and never have had Charter and im kinda scared to make the jump. If I could get one of these receivers, I would definitely stay with DISH.

I called yesterday to cancel Dish, gave them that exact reason "I'm not paying $500 out of pocket for a HD DVR that I have to worry about the HD crashing and me being stuck with replacing it, or paying $6/mo for protection, when I can lease one from cable for $9/mo and get more programming to boot".

Like I've said, I've had HORRIBLE experience w/ Charter in the past. If it wasn't for the HD stuff, I wouldn't even consider switching. So far, the CSRs I've had to deal with have been great this time around though. We'll see Friday how the installer is (if he shows).

Oh, and after being bounced aroudn Dish for a bit, the best they could do is offer me a free 811 (non DVR) HD box, which they wanted $200 for before I told them I was cancelling. Close, but no cigar.

I called yesterday to cancel Dish, gave them that exact reason "I'm not paying $500 out of pocket for a HD DVR that I have to worry about the HD crashing and me being stuck with replacing it, or paying $6/mo for protection, when I can lease one from cable for $9/mo and get more programming to boot".

Like I've said, I've had HORRIBLE experience w/ Charter in the past. If it wasn't for the HD stuff, I wouldn't even consider switching. So far, the CSRs I've had to deal with have been great this time around though. We'll see Friday how the installer is (if he shows).

Oh, and after being bounced aroudn Dish for a bit, the best they could do is offer me a free 811 (non DVR) HD box, which they wanted $200 for before I told them I was cancelling. Close, but no cigar.

Will you keep us updated after your Charter install? I am especially interested in the hardware they provide and the PQ.
I also called DISH and they only offered me the 811 too.

Will you keep us updated after your Charter install? I am especially interested in the hardware they provide and the PQ.
I also called DISH and they only offered me the 811 too.

Absolutely. I'm a network admin, so I've got a lot of free time to ramble on forums. :)

Will you keep us updated after your Charter install? I am especially interested in the hardware they provide and the PQ.
I also called DISH and they only offered me the 811 too.

After having D* DirecTivo in the bedroom in standard def, and D* HD in the living room but with no Tivo, I finally called D* Monday about getting HD DirecTivo. Last spring the STB for it was $1000. Now I'm getting it for $299 less a $100 rebate. And I'm told that when D* goes to MPEG4 they will upgrade the equipment free.

I called yesterday to cancel Dish, gave them that exact reason "I'm not paying $500 out of pocket for a HD DVR that I have to worry about the HD crashing and me being stuck with replacing it, or paying $6/mo for protection, when I can lease one from cable for $9/mo and get more programming to boot".

Like I've said, I've had HORRIBLE experience w/ Charter in the past. If it wasn't for the HD stuff, I wouldn't even consider switching. So far, the CSRs I've had to deal with have been great this time around though. We'll see Friday how the installer is (if he shows).

Oh, and after being bounced aroudn Dish for a bit, the best they could do is offer me a free 811 (non DVR) HD box, which they wanted $200 for before I told them I was cancelling. Close, but no cigar.
I just left DirecTV for Charter and the MoxiMate, and it is pretty sweet. I have to say, I am impressed. Good luck!

You guys will get a kick outta this...

I was over at my fiance's house yesterday. Her parents wanted another antenna for HD locals (since the old cheapy antenna got fired in a storm.) I hooked up the picture frame antenna (PF7) and was able to pull all the locals with a stronger signal than before. Everything was working great. Anyway, before leaving, I turned the TV off with the moxi remote. (which turns both the moxi and TV off.)

As I'm on my way home, I get a phone call saying that the TV is broken. I asked what 'broken' meant and they said that the TV wouldn't turn on. Then the troubleshooting started. My fiance crawled behind the TV and unplugged the antenna at her mom's request and still couldn't get 'the 'tv to turn on.' (I still don't know why they would think an antenna would affect the power supply.) I had them unplug the surge protector form the wall to reset everything. Viola...it worked. I come to find out today that the TV was working fine, but the moxi wasn't on and they didn't know which remote controlled the moxi....all this time they are blaming the me and the antenna.

I can't wait until sunday when her dad tries to watch HD football and the dang antenna ain't workin. (Because it's not hooked up.)

Ah...the joy of future inlaws.

You guys will get a kick outta this...

I was over at my fiance's house yesterday. Her parents wanted another antenna for HD locals (since the old cheapy antenna got fired in a storm.) I hooked up the picture frame antenna (PF7) and was able to pull all the locals with a stronger signal than before. Everything was working great. Anyway, before leaving, I turned the TV off with the moxi remote. (which turns both the moxi and TV off.)

As I'm on my way home, I get a phone call saying that the TV is broken. I asked what 'broken' meant and they said that the TV wouldn't turn on. Then the troubleshooting started. My fiance crawled behind the TV and unplugged the antenna at her mom's request and still couldn't get 'the 'tv to turn on.' (I still don't know why they would think an antenna would affect the power supply.) I had them unplug the surge protector form the wall to reset everything. Viola...it worked. I come to find out today that the TV was working fine, but the moxi wasn't on and they didn't know which remote controlled the moxi....all this time they are blaming the me and the antenna.

I can't wait until sunday when her dad tries to watch HD football and the dang antenna ain't workin. (Because it's not hooked up.)

Ah...the joy of future inlaws.

I didn't think you could "turn off" the Moxi unless you unplugged it. I remember some discussion in the early days of the Moxi rollout about power consumption, and how there was an additional cost to the Moxi via your electric bill because its always on. I know my Moxi doesn't go off when I hit the power button.

I think future in-laws have to be worse than in-laws.

Crash,
I'm just behind Francis Howell North which is about a mile (as the crow flies) from your new location. I've got a 20 year old Radio-Shack VHF-UHF antenna in my attic and can receive all the local OTAs just fine. I'm getting signals in the 90s on 2,4,5,11 and 30. Channel 9 is around 76 and WRBU takes a little while to lock but will eventually in the low 70s. I am using a DISH 811 for my OTA.

Thanks for the input.

As long as you're not in a valley, you shouldn't have a problem. A friend of mine lives near Highway K (further out than your home-to-be) near the top of a hill and has no problem receiving OTA with a yagi in his attic.

Meanwhile, I'm near Highway 79 (closer than he is) but in a valley. Before I put the big Yagi on the roof, I didn't get diddley squat.

I appeciate the input. I guess I won't know how good a signal I'll get with an antenna in the attic, until I hook it up.

I've now got a copy of the indentures, so I'll need to read through it to see how restrictive the HOA is regarding dishes and antennas. At least I know my rights.

And, it looks like I could put a dish and antenna on the roof of the rear-entry garage (accessed from an alley) or the roof of the covered deck, so they wouldn't be visible from street. Most HOA's seem to particularly hate dishes that are visible from the street.

You know your rights? What rights? =]

The FCC guidelines for dishes and antennas, of course.

Homeowners associations often try to completely ban dishes and antennas, even though they don't have the authority to do so. And, some try to make residents jump through hoops for special approvals, special insurance or other special fees.

FYI - It appears that Charter's 'St.Peters zone' has completed the all-digital-simulcast. That is my area [O'Fallon] and I can confirm that the random channels I checked are all digital now...no more analog!

Can't wait for LOST in HD tonight. I really, really love this show.

Let me get a quick survey going. How many people use Dish or DirecTV vs. Charter? It sounds like there is a bunch of bitching going on about Charter but it also appears most of you are enduring their BS.

We had Charter Digital before we moved but now I have purchased an HDTV and I need to decide whether or not to climb on the roof to install an OTA antenna this weekend. Should I just go Charter and save myself the effort?

Oh, and I would like an HD DVR. I have an HTPC but it is not HD and I suppose I could swap out the ATI card for an HD one but there are costs and time associated with that.

Thanks for the input!

Let me get a quick survey going. How many people use Dish or DirecTV vs. Charter? It sounds like there is a bunch of bitching going on about Charter but it also appears most of you are enduring their BS.



Count me as one bitching about DirecTV but so far still enduring their BS. :rolleyes:

Let me get a quick survey going. How many people use Dish or DirecTV vs. Charter? It sounds like there is a bunch of bitching going on about Charter but it also appears most of you are enduring their BS.

Thanks for the input!

Personal observation: The people who bitch the most of about Charter are the satellite people.

I understand the stigma associated with Charter. And many times in the last few years, they have irritated me. However, for the most part I get good products/services from them at the cheapest price per month, in comparison to satellite.

Listen, personally I believe there is no perfect provider. One may be cheapest, but have the least HD. One may give you tons of channels but charge you over $600 for a HD PVR. We all decide what is more important to us when we make our decision on what provider to go with.

I do find it funny how satellite people love to jump all over Charter for anything and everything. We get it, you cant stand Charter. And maybe someday I will be on that side of the fence too. But I am confident in myself. I am not getting screwed in any way with Charter. If I was, I wouldn't be a customer.

Just my 2 pennies

Can you say "NFL" Directv Rocks!

Scott

Personal observation: The people who bitch the most of about Charter are the satellite people.

I understand the stigma associated with Charter. And many times in the last few years, they have irritated me. However, for the most part I get good products/services from them at the cheapest price per month, in comparison to satellite.

Listen, personally I believe there is no perfect provider. One may be cheapest, but have the least HD. One may give you tons of channels but charge you over $600 for a HD PVR. We all decide what is more important to us when we make our decision on what provider to go with.

I do find it funny how satellite people love to jump all over Charter for anything and everything. We get it, you cant stand Charter. And maybe someday I will be on that side of the fence too. But I am confident in myself. I am not getting screwed in any way with Charter. If I was, I wouldn't be a customer.

Just my 2 pennies

I agree with abcward. I've had my ups and downs with Charter but I'm staying put with them. It gives me the most bang for my buck right now. If they can improve on their customer service, they'll be a much better company to deal with.

FYI - It appears that Charter's 'St.Peters zone' has completed the all-digital-simulcast. That is my area [O'Fallon] and I can confirm that the random channels I checked are all digital now...no more analog!

Good for you. Unfortunately, the newest upgarde has not hit Clayton yet. But, I'm hoping it's close...

My HDTV is a Samsung TX-R3079WH with integrated tuner. The synch problem has been present through every antenna configuration I've tried. Currently the HDTV antenna input is routed to a splitter with one line thru an FM trap to a rooftop UHF antenna oriented to pull in all channels but KDNL-DT, and the other line through a variable attenuator to a cheap indoor uhf/vhf rabbit ear antenna which gives me a strong signal on KDNL-DT. The attenuator acts as an A/B switch to prevent the indoor antenna from jamming my outdoor antenna on the other channels. I live in Webster and am only 2 or 3 miles from the transmitter antenna according to antennaweb.

None of the other channels show this audio problem.

My HDTV is a Samsung TX-R3079WH with integrated tuner. The synch problem has been present through every antenna configuration I've tried. Currently the HDTV antenna input is routed to a splitter with one line thru an FM trap to a rooftop UHF antenna oriented to pull in all channels but KDNL-DT, and the other line through a variable attenuator to a cheap indoor uhf/vhf rabbit ear antenna which gives me a strong signal on KDNL-DT. The attenuator acts as an A/B switch to prevent the indoor antenna from jamming my outdoor antenna on the other channels. I live in Webster and am only 2 or 3 miles from the transmitter antenna according to antennweb.

None of the other channels show this audio problem.

Charter has been managed horrendously and the relations with customers show it. We need competition with multiple cable providers. Satellite competes for the typical channels and have been successful for years. Then HD came along.

Cable has the bandwidth advantage and are finally using it to lure the high paying HD customers. Satellite could have seen the future. One attempt to use their advantage was with VOOM but that fizzled again due to bad management and timing. DirectTV might catch up but if cable plays the game right they will still be ahead.

Cable is just too easy for the average Joe, who now can afford a HD set, to install and start using. As long as Charter keeps their slow dribble of added HD offerings I think Charter will win -- despite the customer service woes which has its roots in the union busting of the old TCI cable company.

Now if DirectTV get all those HD channels up and running I will switch but.......?

I too, notice sync issues with 30-DT when HD programming is present. It's not your antenna or splitter or cable. It's them. When the 5.1 encoder gets installed (if ever) I'm hoping the issue disappears.

Absolutely. I'm a network admin, so I've got a lot of free time to ramble on forums. :)

Wow, with 2 of us admins on here, this could get ugly.

Let me get a quick survey going. How many people use Dish or DirecTV vs. Charter? It sounds like there is a bunch of bitching going on about Charter but it also appears most of you are enduring their BS.

We had Charter Digital before we moved but now I have purchased an HDTV and I need to decide whether or not to climb on the roof to install an OTA antenna this weekend. Should I just go Charter and save myself the effort?

Oh, and I would like an HD DVR. I have an HTPC but it is not HD and I suppose I could swap out the ATI card for an HD one but there are costs and time associated with that.

Thanks for the input!

I've had Dish for 4 years now and couldn't be happier. I started with a 301, then a year later added a 508 DVR. Last Christmas I added a 811 for the HDTV setup. I own all my own equipment and am awaiting the MPEG-4 changeover before getting a HD-DVR. With my antenna I can get all the local digital OTA just fine. Sports in HD are awesome! I could never bring myself to fork over the $s to Charter for a lousy analog picture. If I were starting over I might consider Charter since they are almost all digital now.

Will you guys comment on Charters PQ?
Specifically:
FSMW
Discovery
History
Are the digital locals - KTVI,KMOV,KSDK,WB11 the same quality as they would be OTA digital?
Thanks
Fastman

Let me get a quick survey going. How many people use Dish or DirecTV vs. Charter? It sounds like there is a bunch of bitching going on about Charter but it also appears most of you are enduring their BS.

We had Charter Digital before we moved but now I have purchased an HDTV and I need to decide whether or not to climb on the roof to install an OTA antenna this weekend. Should I just go Charter and save myself the effort?

Oh, and I would like an HD DVR. I have an HTPC but it is not HD and I suppose I could swap out the ATI card for an HD one but there are costs and time associated with that.

Thanks for the input!



I have my problems with Charter's customer disservice, but they give me the best bang for my buck with the moxi. I have their internet and phone service, so I've got a pretty good total bill. I don't care about sports offerings and the new hd channels are a great addition. I'm getting the Mate on Friday.

Kirk

Will you guys comment on Charters PQ?
Specifically:
FSMW
Discovery
History
Are the digital locals - KTVI,KMOV,KSDK,WB11 the same quality as they would be OTA digital?
Thanks
Fastman


The HD is awesome and the digital channels are good. The remaining analog channels are not so good. My 108" screen does amplify the problems with analog.

Kirk

Charter Reps for Apartments

Have recently moved into an apartment complex in Maryland Heights. Learned that Charter has numerous Reps who service apartments. They take orders and do installations. I called one afternoon and he came on time the next day at 10 am. Will be upgrading by the end of the year as I acquire new equipment. It will be interesting to see if he can provide better access to Charter equipment shown as on 'back order'.

gelcoatman

Anybody else see lots of picture breakup during tonight's "Lost"? It started for me during the last quarter hour of the repeated season opener and got progressively worse through the first 10 minutes of the regular episode. I eventually had to switch over to the SD channel.

Ugh.

The weather was very rainy and windy at the time, but as my antenna is in the attic, I'm sort of doubtful that explains the problem. Checked other OTA stations later and everything else seems just fine.

Anyone else?

Let me get a quick survey going. How many people use Dish or DirecTV vs. Charter? It sounds like there is a bunch of bitching going on about Charter but it also appears most of you are enduring their BS.

Thanks for the input!

I have Charter. I've never had a bad experience with them. The picture quality is great on the SD-digital and HD channels on the Moxi boxes. If I want to add another analog cable TV I just put in a splitter. No equipment to buy is a nice plus. I can't say that I've seriously considered anything else, but then again I've never had reason to.

Hey Doug,

Just got done watching LOST here. No dropouts or breakups. And the sync problem I had with the season premiere last week is gone, too.

I just love this show!

Try the HDTV antenna directly and see what happens. I'm in St Charles and using a cheap amplified set of rabbit ears directly into Toshiba get HDTV Over the air clean just have tiling on channel 4-1 sometimes....

Count me as another satisified Charter customer. The CSR's are low paid mouthpieces but if you know what you want and ask for it you get it. HD is awesome and now all the other channels look equivalnet to DVD quality to me. The only thing that would be better would be HD programming on FSMW and ABC. HD Discovery is truely remarkable. I lose electrical power more often than I lose cable. Weather used to knock it out but not in a long time.

I have everything they offer (phone, internet, Digital, Moxi-Mate) and 99.9% of the time I am satisfied. That is way up over the last 20+ years that I have subscribed. The phone service was horrendous but eventually they worked out all the bugs and now..no problems.>>>>>(searching for wood to knock on!)

I don't know if this is where I should post my reception question or not... sorry. We finally got the DirecTV HD receivers, but I've only hooked up the one so far and I'm a bit puzzled and disappointed with the DTV reception (it's my first experience with it :)).

I'm along highway 47 between Warrenton and Washington, about 45 miles from towers. Using a Radio Shack 120" (I think) antenna in the 2nd story attic (prob 20 feet off the ground). There's some RS amplifier (no preamp) after about 40 ft. of RG-6. The antenna is at 102 degrees pretty much exactly I think. I moved it last week -- used to be about 80 degrees (aimed blindly years ago ;)). For reference, that repositioning improved analog 46 to near-perfect analog, but analog 30 still has heavy snow.

Now to the main thing about why I'm puzzled: basically the only 2 DTV channels that are being received "OK" are 4 and 46. They show 60-70% on the meter and have some minor breakup every couple mins. I can barely start to get 2 and 5 sometimes (50% breakup tho). Their signals are in the 40% range. Last night I did manage to get like a 1 second blip out of 9, 11, and 30. Their signals go from 0 to 30-40% consistently in 1 or 2 second intervals.

As you can see below in my info from AntennaWeb and www.2150.com/broadcast/, channel 4 is the farthest, and 46 is the weakest (right?) and most off-axis. I didn't expect to get 46! So why can't I get the other channels? :( I tried turning the amp all the way down since I've heard about overloading, but that did nothing except lower channel 4 & 46's strength. Also toggled the FM trap (it's labeled "In" and "Out" on mine?).

I will set up the second receiver later and see if I get the same result. Could there be something wrong with the tuner even if it's [barely] getting a couple channels...? Don't you guys think I should get the "main" channels with the antenna pointed right at them if I'm getting 46? :confused:

Well, thanks if anyone can give the DTV n00b any ideas! (Or if I should post elsewhere.) I'll report back if anything changes. :)

Channel Direction Miles ERP (kW)
2 (43) 105.5 43.1 1000
4 (56) 104.6 47.1 1000
5 (35) 101.9 44.7 838
9 (39) 110.7 43.0 125
11 (26) 101.4 45.0 1000
30 (31) 100.8 44.7 1000
46 (47) 121.5 41.6 109

Good for you. Unfortunately, the newest upgarde has not hit Clayton yet.

Nor Glendale :(

I've had Dish for 4 years now and couldn't be happier. I started with a 301, then a year later added a 508 DVR. Last Christmas I added a 811 for the HDTV setup. I own all my own equipment and am awaiting the MPEG-4 changeover before getting a HD-DVR. With my antenna I can get all the local digital OTA just fine. Sports in HD are awesome! I could never bring myself to fork over the $s to Charter for a lousy analog picture. If I were starting over I might consider Charter since they are almost all digital now.

I had a horrible billing problem with Dish years ago in Dallas and I swore I would never go back even though I have a JVC D-VHS with built-in Dish receiver. (Actually, I should see how much that is worth on eBay.)

I am a big critic of Charter, not for the quality of their products, but mainly the quantity of HD and their customer service. Their pricing structure varies greatly between customers. A non-savvy individual can really over-pay if they are not informed. However, I stay with them due to the number of analog TV's in my house. With 7 TV's, and 5 people never watching the same thing, the number of satellite STB's I would need would bankrupt me every month! Now, this may all change once Charter goes digital only, and I need a box for every TV. That will be an interesting time for everyone!

One credit to Charter is their success of their phone service. The price is significantly lower than SBC. I've had both Pipeline and DSL, and probably will switch every two years just to keep a low price.

On a related note, does anyone utilize a Cablecard from Charter? Any troubles with them and Sony HD televisions? I appreciate any feedback. Thanks.

Will you guys comment on Charters PQ?
Specifically:
FSMW
Discovery
History
Are the digital locals - KTVI,KMOV,KSDK,WB11 the same quality as they would be OTA digital?
Thanks
Fastman

FSMW!
Hahahahahahahahahahaha!

-Hanjke

FSMW!
Hahahahahahahahahahaha!

-Hanjke

Actually my FSMW and all the other analogs went digital this week. My FSMW looks just as good as all my other SD Digital channels now.

I suspect that Charter is now rolling out All-Dig area-by-area...

Actually my FSMW and all the other analogs went digital this week. My FSMW looks just as good as all my other SD Digital channels now.

I suspect that Charter is now rolling out All-Dig area-by-area...

Is everything digital? I thought stage two was digital conversion of everything except for the local networks. Stage three would follow that with 2,4,5... going digital.

Actually my FSMW and all the other analogs went digital this week. My FSMW looks just as good as all my other SD Digital channels now.

I suspect that Charter is now rolling out All-Dig area-by-area...

Nothing yet on the east side but nice to hear they're actually doing the All-digital.

I've been a Charter basher, though less vocal lately. My reasons are as follows:

For the 12 months(exactly to the day) that we had Charter, I had 18 calls to tech support for outages, faulty boxes and poor reception. My conversations with tech support were ridiculous, they treated me as if I was an idiot and that my problems couldn't exist. (Tech support treating you like an idiot isn't just a charter issue)

My mother in law still has charter TV in her condo, but she had Charter internet when she moved in. The first week she had good service and throughput, after that first week she went from about 1.8Mbit down to about 80kbit. 3 charter techs came out and told her she needed amplifiers and the run was too long. I told them it worked great for a week, they said it couldn't have. From that point on, she dropped charter and went to DSL with no problems in the 2.5 years since.

We live within about 2 miles, so these issues may just be with the subcontracters or lines in our area, but these issues will keep me from EVER going back to charter.

Hopefully, everyone that stays with them won't have the issues I had, but I won't have those issues with them again. My other problem was, when I signed up for charter, I specifically asked for an HD reciever, they said no problem. This was about 4 years ago now. Obviously it was a problem, though even non bashers admit the CSRs are clueless.

Dug

..........Well, thanks if anyone can give the DTV n00b any ideas! (Or if I should post elsewhere.) I'll report back if anything changes. :)
[/code]

Dr. Pepper:

I would try these 2 things: First, remove all splitters (if any) and hook the antenna directly to your receiver. See what happens. If no change, do the following:

Remove the amplifier. If it's older, it may not amplify UHF frequencies (perhaps up to 600 MHz---not sure). If the amplifier only works for VHF, (channels 2-13) it can actually reduce the signal strength of the UHF channels.

I've had my ups and downs with Charter but I'm staying put with them. It gives me the most bang for my buck right now. If they can improve on their customer service, they'll be a much better company to deal with.

Dish for me. I knew it was bad when the wife had a melt down one day and said, “I don’t care if we need to bolt one of those dishes onto the house. Get us far, far away from Charter.” Our problems are documented well in this thread. I’ve got to say, that IMO, Dish CS is second to none. Very happy with the channel selection and our conversion to HD was painless.

I'm anxiously waiting on a HD card for my HTPC that will accept a card and allow me to view more HD channels from any of the providers rather than just the local OTA. I'll probably go with whoever comes out with it first although, usually when one has it, the rest follow fairly quickly.

I've had one pretty much since Charter's had them (a little over a year or so). I haven't had any problems with it since it was installed. Getting it installed on the other hand is a different matter. I called a dozen times, visited the office, did just about everything to try and talk to someone who had a clue what one was. It's a sad state of affairs when you know more about a companies product line then workers at that company. Anyway, after yelling at everyone yell that they had to have them b/c the fcc mandated it, I finally found someone with a clue. I hope they've gotten better, I would talk to the pipeline people over the cable people. They seem to have a clue.

Has anyone had success with Charter's cablecards? I remember seeing some complaints in the past, but I don't remember anyone saying they had success. It is for a new Sony LCD. Thanks.

I too have had audio sync problems with ABC for over a year since I got my USDTV box. It's not your equipment, its them.

Doug, regarding your LOST OTA issues last evening....

I believe you are in the St. Clair County area, right? My fiance had the same issue w/ LOST last evening. However, she doesn't have cable or sat and just a regular old SD TV set. (She's back in the stone age.) But, she did have the dropouts w/ analog.

I had no issues w/ DirecTV SD. Maybe it was an OTA thing?

I too, notice sync issues with 30-DT when HD programming is present. It's not your antenna or splitter or cable. It's them. When the 5.1 encoder gets installed (if ever) I'm hoping the issue disappears.


I hope you're right, the way sinclair is going... they may need to get a DD 25.1 decoder.

Winston & Robert,

Thanks for the feedback on "Lost."

I'm pretty certain that this is an OTA reception issue, due to the wacky weather last night. Hopefully this won't be an issue going forward, particularly as I'll likely be watching playoff baseball when "Lost" is on for at least the next couple of weeks (I hope).

Good thing I switched over last night, or I'd still be scrambling around looking for a **********s source today.

It wasn't a great episode, but it would be tough to top the season-opener last week...

Favor - Can anyone record a copy of the Cardinals last game on Sunday and the festivities afterward? There is no way for me to move the recording from my Moxi to a source to burn a disc. I would love to get a copy for my sister who lives in Texas. Any help would be appreciated.

PM me or email me at abcward@yahoo.com


Bruce

I am going to try to do this for myself, though I have no idea how it will work. It'll be my first time really doing this w/ my HTPC.

If it works, I'd be more than happy to help you out.

Lost was a major disapointment for me last evening. But, I'm pathetic, they can jerk me around for weeks and I'll always watch.

I just won't be happy.

Hey, all. I'm a charter customer, and looking at upgrading to the Moxi Mate (never had a DVR before), based partially on all the good discussion we have here.

If I record a show for someone, how easy is it to transfer that to videotape? (not high def, of course). As easy as hooking up the line outs to the aux in on the VCR?

I do have to say, though, with the start of the regular season of shows, I'm getting REALLY tired of setting 2 vcrs and swapping tapes when we have to go out for an evening. I'm REALLY looking forward to the whole DVR experience.

Dr. Pepper:

I would try these 2 things: First, remove all splitters (if any) and hook the antenna directly to your receiver. See what happens. If no change, do the following:

Remove the amplifier. If it's older, it may not amplify UHF frequencies (perhaps up to 600 MHz---not sure). If the amplifier only works for VHF, (channels 2-13) it can actually reduce the signal strength of the UHF channels.

I tested the rest of my chain last night -- removing a 3-way splitter and then the amplifier. So it was basically just running to the receiver, although with about 50 MORE feet of old RG-59 cable. No difference (well, I lost everything but 'ol 46!). When the antenna cable was ran in '96, RG-6 wasn't used (I don't mean it didn't exist :)), obviously, and it has those crappy "twist-on" connectors. :( I just replaced the cable from the antenna to the amp with RG-6 + crimp connectors.

Then I took the receiver to the basement and hooked it to the antenna as "directly" as possible (after 40 ft of wire). Still the same as the full run with amp removed! So I guess I ruled out the 50' of RG-59 as a problem...

Now, this is the weird part. After hooking everything back up exactly like it was, I seem to be getting an "OK" signal (60%+) on all channels except 9, without breakup that I've seen while checking each for a short time. Channel 4 has increased to as much as 90%! So I don't know if something "magically" changed or it's the atmosphere that's different than the previous 2 nights. :confused: I'll have to see what they're like during the day. I would like to get channel 9 now too... its signal is still jumping from 0-30%. I think it even went as high as 45 for a second, but I never got anything. Woah wait! I just checked it again and now channel 9 is actually locking. Some major breakup for sure, but it WAS kinda there. :D

Oh, and I also tried the second receiver which worked the same as the first, so I guess they're working fine.

If I start having problems again (or regardless, to improve 9, etc.), I will go up in the attic again and see about moving the antenna around a bit. It can't move much as I've got it at an angle all woven between the 2x4s of the roof trusses. :eek:

I've hooked up my uhf antenna. What a picture! Channel 4 is a bit different than the rest. Why do the grey bars on the side keep popping in and out? All the other channels are black.

Thanks

Hey, all. I'm a charter customer, and looking at upgrading to the Moxi Mate (never had a DVR before), based partially on all the good discussion we have here.

If I record a show for someone, how easy is it to transfer that to videotape? (not high def, of course). As easy as hooking up the line outs to the aux in on the VCR?

I do have to say, though, with the start of the regular season of shows, I'm getting REALLY tired of setting 2 vcrs and swapping tapes when we have to go out for an evening. I'm REALLY looking forward to the whole DVR experience.

No problem, especially if you have version 3.2 ( I think all of STL has it now)otherwise you have to uncheck the higher resolution and only check 480i if you are connecting tio the main Moxi box.
A better solution may be to connect to the mate. This is what I have done but since there is only one RCA type plug output it makes using PIP and setting it up to actually pass thru the Moximate a little more complicated. For instantce if you are recording two shows and wish to watch a third live show.

The simple answer is: From the Moxi-Mate you just have to "play" the program you have on the DVR and Rec into the VCR inputs.

Bruce,

I dropped ya an email. I can hook up my DVD Recorder and drop the recording to DVD. I live a few miles from you.

I do have to say, though, with the start of the regular season of shows, I'm getting REALLY tired of setting 2 vcrs and swapping tapes when we have to go out for an evening. I'm REALLY looking forward to the whole DVR experience.

Through my 7 or so years of owning ReplayTV's I never thought the Tivo having two tuners would be that big a deal. But last night, with Alias and Smallville at the same time AND Night Stalker and CSI also at the same time, it was soooooooooo nice to have just one machine recording it all... automatically.

Now the big challenge is gonna be finding time to WATCH all this stuff.

Now the big challenge is gonna be finding time to WATCH all this stuff.

Sick day? cough...cough...

I've hooked up my uhf antenna. What a picture! Channel 4 is a bit different than the rest. Why do the grey bars on the side keep popping in and out? All the other channels are black.

Thanks

Mike? I've got no clue on why 4 has got grey bars, I'm sure there's some logical reason though.

Mike? I've got no clue on why 4 has got grey bars, I'm sure there's some logical reason though.

It's because they are sending standard def content (with standard aspect ratio) on a high def 16:9 signal. Most stations that do this fill the frame with black bars on the sides. Channel 4 is filling it with gray bars, presumably to help those with phosphor based monitors (CRT, Plasma) from getting sceen burnin.

presumably to help those with phosphor based monitors (CRT, Plasma) from getting sceen burnin.

There's your logic! Makes sense to me.

HDTV n00b here. I have charter analog service. If I hook up a PC based HDTV reciever to my cable connection then will it be possible to tune in on HDTV channels without actually requesting them from charter or getting any special equipment. I guess the question bascially is that are the HDTV channels encrypted or are just plain signals ???

Lost was a major disapointment for me last evening. But, I'm pathetic, they can jerk me around for weeks and I'll always watch.

I just won't be happy.

Me too. It took a whole hour and didn't progress at all. Weird huh? And yes, I'll keep wathing.

Scott

Through my 7 or so years of owning ReplayTV's I never thought the Tivo having two tuners would be that big a deal. But last night, with Alias and Smallville at the same time AND Night Stalker and CSI also at the same time, it was soooooooooo nice to have just one machine recording it all... automatically.

Now the big challenge is gonna be finding time to WATCH all this stuff.

Gotta love the two tuner tivo. Now if they would just turn my east/west HD feeds back on...

Scott

So far, notso impressed, go figure. :)

Looks like I wound up with the 9012 Moxi, mate-less. Tech was a sub, didn't bother to check anything but that it had a picture, after he left I started poking around, and couldn't get any digitals. Had Charter on the phone and saw there was an old "protection" block on the outside of the house still. Pulled that off and threw a splitter that he left in there, and the digi channels are about 80% now (some random pixelation). HD channels come in, but they're basically unwatchable, about 40% pixelated. Charter wanted me to take another half-day off work, I bitched and got a weekend call for the 15th (!!), said the techs will probably escalate it since I just got the new service. I believe it's the feed coming from the pole to the house that's crap, it was there when we moved in, and who knows how long it's been sitting (100 year old house).

Moxi itself seems pretty slow to respond to stuff, that'll take a while to get used to.

HDTV n00b here. I have charter analog service. If I hook up a PC based HDTV reciever to my cable connection then will it be possible to tune in on HDTV channels without actually requesting them from charter or getting any special equipment. I guess the question bascially is that are the HDTV channels encrypted or are just plain signals ???

I'll chime in just to respond. Someone can tell me if I'm off base, but I don't think that I am.

The Short answer is no. You'll be able to get the local OTA stations in HD from an antenna (not your cable connection), but not the HD channels Charter offers. If you had Charter digital service, there MIGHT be a way for your PC to control your Charter digital box via an IR blaster so you could record HD, but it really depends on your setup.

Moxi itself seems pretty slow to respond to stuff, that'll take a while to get used to.

The Moxi isn't slow if it's set up correctly and you shouldn't have the pixelation problem. You clearly got a bad install.

The Moxi isn't slow if it's set up correctly and you shouldn't have the pixelation problem. You clearly got a bad install.

The Moxi is really snappy and up to speed this morning, must have been dogging from not having the guide info downlaoded yet. Pixelation is still there, I'm gonna try throwing an amp on it today, maybe it'll get me enough signal to get through until the tech decides to show up and fix it right.

So ferl, you're pro-charter right? :p

I *do* like the Moxi now that it's running right at least.

OOOOOH, They will PROBABLY escalate !!!! That's nice of them. I spent several years earning the right to bash Charter. This level of service should be expected....

I love it! :D Everytime I play the Hell level in Doom3 I'm reminded of the days I had cable.

Got my HD DirecTivo yesterday. Installer came by at 6 PM and left me 15 minutes later with a working setup I've been enjoying since. HD recording rocks!

HD OTA setup question here.

I'm going to need to split my antenna signal between my HTPC's two cards and my HDTV with a built-in HDTV TV tuner. I have spliiters from back in the analog cable days, will those work? Anything I should be particularly aware of?

Also, I have a signal amplifier that I bought back in the analog cable days to try and fix the "snow" that I was getting on my locals (it didn't help.) Would that be something I should try and throw in there as well?

As an aside, I've never really understood the idea of signal amps. How do they work? How can they increase the signal strength once that signal has reached your home? My poor math and science logic tells me that once the signal has reached your home, that's it. How do signal amps modify (and increase) it?

HD OTA setup question here.

I'm going to need to split my antenna signal between my HTPC's two cards and my HDTV with a built-in HDTV TV tuner. I have spliiters from back in the analog cable days, will those work? Anything I should be particularly aware of?

Also, I have a signal amplifier that I bought back in the analog cable days to try and fix the "snow" that I was getting on my locals (it didn't help.) Would that be something I should try and throw in there as well?

As an aside, I've never really understood the idea of signal amps. How do they work? How can they increase the signal strength once that signal has reached your home? My poor math and science logic tells me that once the signal has reached your home, that's it. How do signal amps modify (and increase) it?

Winston,

They may or may not work, depending on their quality. Only way to know for sure is to try them. A splitter works basically by splitting the strength of the signal. So, if you split it three ways, each split is a third as strong as the original. Split it too much and it won't work. (Satellite signals are more complicated than that.)

My signal is split 5 ways, with a variable Radio Shack amp (you can increase and decrease the amount of amplification with a little knob). Despite the fact that most people I know turn their noses up at Radio Shack amps, it's worked just fine. (Had I known they were as "bad" as people say, I probably never would have bought one.)

I have had some problems with cheap splitters. Now, all the splitters that I use for HDTV are left over from the days when I had Charter. Their splitters have never given me a problem. I'd try the splitter by itself first. If you have a strong signal (and a good splitter), you might not need an amp. Better not to introduce anything you don't need into the system. If you have issues, try the amp. (Issues would include no signal, macro blocking and breakup where you had none of those things before). Another thing to look out for is to use only a three way splitter with your setup, or a terminator on the unused feeds.

Thanks, Joe.

I think I might have the same (or similar, at least) version of the Radio Shack amplifier that you have. It sounds eerily familiar.

My splliters are certainly from my old Charter days as well. Today is a big day, I think, for my HTPC. I'm going to really get into it today, or at least I hope to.

I think I am going to have some trouble w/ setting up the HTPC to display correctly on my HDTV. I've done some messing around (just haven't had the time to really get into it) and the Windows desktop is all screwed up on the HDTV, but when I get into XP MCE things look fairly good. I've watched a little bit of DVDs and I've watched a couple TV shows from torrents that I've gotten in the past and they looked great. But, I'd like to be able to surf the web -- at least a little -- from the couch and that's something I'm going to have to work on.

Its too bad FOX isn't doing ANY of those MLB games in HD today. Making us wait until Tuesday =[

Thanks, Joe.

I think I might have the same (or similar, at least) version of the Radio Shack amplifier that you have. It sounds eerily familiar.

My splliters are certainly from my old Charter days as well. Today is a big day, I think, for my HTPC. I'm going to really get into it today, or at least I hope to.

I think I am going to have some trouble w/ setting up the HTPC to display correctly on my HDTV. I've done some messing around (just haven't had the time to really get into it) and the Windows desktop is all screwed up on the HDTV, but when I get into XP MCE things look fairly good. I've watched a little bit of DVDs and I've watched a couple TV shows from torrents that I've gotten in the past and they looked great. But, I'd like to be able to surf the web -- at least a little -- from the couch and that's something I'm going to have to work on.

Its too bad FOX isn't doing ANY of those MLB games in HD today. Making us wait until Tuesday =[

Good luck with the HTPC. Originally, the KPLR game was on a list as being in HD today, but in TitanTV it isn't. We'll see.

Swapped out the cable coming into the house from outside to the Moxi, turns out that's what was hosing up my digital/HD stuff. The tech had re-used coax from the Dish feed. HD looks fabu, and no more rabbit ears (except for ABC, grrr).

The Moxi isn't slow if it's set up correctly and you shouldn't have the pixelation problem. You clearly got a bad install. What? My Moxi (and every customers I have seen) is slow as hell. Any idea why?

What? My Moxi (and every customers I have seen) is slow as hell. Any idea why?

I can only go by my personal experience and my Moxi, before I sent it back for other reasons, worked fine speedwise. I had some kind of barrel filter on the incoming feed from the pole and then it was split. One to the main moxi unit and one to the mate.

The guy that installed mine must have been one of the people they have that know how to do it correctly.

I have no speed issues on my Moxi - never have...

SNL HD Premier, KDSK asleep at the switch.... AGAIN!

channel 5 is the worst

This is unbelievable... I cannot understand how the NBC techs can be this clueless.

I have no speed issues on my Moxi - never have...

Same here. I've never had a problem with it.

This is unbelievable... I cannot understand how the NBC techs can be this clueless.

they're too busy working with the lame Weather Plus channel to pay attention to the network feed

KDSK's explaination was; Since they tape delay SNL 5 minutes they can't carry it in Hi Def.

Sorry St.Louis, you lose again ):

KDSK's explaination was; Since they tape delay SNL 5 minutes they can't carry it in Hi Def.

Sorry St.Louis, you lose again ):

Bogus excuse by them, they have shown Leno on tape delay in HD.

It's suprising that they can't properly delay HD programming. I emailed their engineering and programming - I imagine it will have little effect. It's really disappointing.

Heino Pull
Ellisville

Why is it necessary to tape delay SNL? Was Janet Jackson scheduled to appear? :eek:

The only thing keeping me from thinking of KSDK as a total laughingstock is WRBU.

Why is it necessary to tape delay SNL? Was Janet Jackson scheduled to appear? :eek:

The only thing keeping me from thinking of KSDK as a total laughingstock is WRBU.

We have a 35 minute 10 o'clock news, instead of a 30-minute like the rest of the country. SNL starts at 11:30 in NY, not 11:35

Does Leno come from a live network feed at 10:30 and delayed, or is the show sent to the affiliates earlier in the evening?

We have a 35 minute 10 o'clock news, instead of a 30-minute like the rest of the country. SNL starts at 11:30 in NY, not 11:35

And, of course, an additional 5 minutes for the local news is the difference between Emmy quality coverage and the congealed substance that forms around the rim of the garbage pail.

Not.

It's suprising that they can't properly delay HD programming. I emailed their engineering and programming - I imagine it will have little effect. It's really disappointing.

Heino Pull
Ellisville

Would you post the e-mail address? Or would it be better to go from their website?

Would you post the e-mail address? Or would it be better to go from their website?
Available eMail addresses for all local stations can be found here:

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

And, of course, an additional 5 minutes for the local news is the difference between Emmy quality coverage and the congealed substance that forms around the rim of the garbage pail.

Not.

I know. :rolleyes:

The actual reason is so the local station can have one extra round of ads and thus the extra revenue.

Here's my brief HD w/ HTPC experience from yesterday:

-- Recording HD w/ MCE was easy. No problems there. I was able to record some of the Cards game from Ch11 as well as "Bringing Down the House" (which was not in HD) Also grabbed L&O: SVU in HD. No problems doing that.

-- Playback of the Cards game was not good, however. When there was no action, it was magnificent. Looked just as good as ever. Problem was that w/ virtually every pitched and all balls put into play, the video slowed down. It wasn't choppy, but it was almost like it was in slow motion. The best description I can give is when you have an older PC and you're playing a game w/ FMV and its slow. Any ideas why? I'm guessing I need a better video card. Other ideas?

-- Only having one digital TV tuner sucks. Sadly, I have no other available PCI slots, so unless there is a workaround for that, I'm going to have to deal with it.

-- I couldn't get any of the subchannels, such as 5.2, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4. MCE just wasn't picking them up. I have no idea why.

Today, I'm going to try and watch the football game. I'm guessing it will slow down too when viewing through the HTPC. I may have to just watch it through the TV.

-- Didn't mess w/ splitters at all.... will give that a shot today.

-- HD, especially sports, is so cool.

Am new to OTA HD programming as I have just purchased an integrated Samsung LCD TV. All pictures and sound from DVD and VCR sources have been excellent. OTA SD has been good on all stations, too. In HD broadcasts, NBC, CBS, PBS, & Fox are good, but the HD broadcasts from ABC have been unwatchable due to poor sound sync. I've tried watching LOST, Invastion, Commander In Chief (all of different nights) and the sound sync looks like watching a foreign film being dubbed. Any suggestions for how to correct?

Eilloc: welcome to the STL HD thread/forum!

A lot of other users have expressed the same sound-sync problems w/ KDNL. From what I gather, its more of a KDNL problem than it is something on your end.

Would you post the e-mail address? Or would it be better to go from their website?

I used (from their website):
Engineering,programming
'dhummert@ksdk.gannett.com'; 'programming@ksdk.com'

Heino

FWIW,

I don't think the KSDK SNL issue is something that can be resolved solely by the engineering group. The station manager needs to understand that by being unwilling to show SNL in HD, KSDK is blowing an opportunity to solidify SNL with existing viewers, as well as gain access to new viewers.

FWIW, I haven't made a point of watching SNL in years, but last night I tuned in to catch the HD premiere. When it became clear that HD wasn't available, I switched away and won't be returning until this problem is fixed. I've always got a TiVo backlog to work through, and as a result there's very little programming in SD that is going to make the cut.

Traditional broadcasters seriously underestimate the potential of HD to build a new audience, and I think they are missing the boat because, like their radio brethren, all they really pay attention to is the concerns of major advertisers. Commerical radio has raised this sort of business ethos to an art form, and as a result commercial radio essentially forced the creation of XM and Sirius. That seems to be working out well for them, eh?

Maybe TV broadcasters figure they've already got cable and satellite to worry about, with IPTV in the wings, and that their competitive position can't possible get worse. :rolleyes:

I sent an email to KSDK.

KDSK's explaination was; Since they tape delay SNL 5 minutes they can't carry it in Hi Def.

Sorry St.Louis, you lose again ):

That's a load of BUNK! KSDK has an HD device which allows for time shifting. They have used it in the past. Why it wasn't used yesterday is anyone's guess. They just don't seem toi care (as evidenced by the ongoing Dolby audio issues). With current FCC rules you have no recourse such as tuning into a distant HD market like NYC.

So we're essentially stuck. That's what happens when competition is stifled.

Hey Guys, Having some trouble today, I am getting no picture but sound on all digital stations and they all have 80-90% signal but its only giving me sound . This is odd because last night everything was working perfectly and I haven't touched anything since, what could cause this and how do I fix it?

Glorious,

Assuming that you're sure this is not display-related, I suggest that you unplug your receiver for a few minutes, restore the power and then retry.

If that doesn't work, try deleting all your channels and then re-scan.

More on KSDK: While I believe that KSDK has the equipment for delaying and playing back HD, I can't recall of any situation where they actually used it.

I could be wrong on this, but as recently as the end of last football season, every Monday night Leno was in SD because of the extended Rams coverage on the Monday "newscast."

Maybe something has been delayed more recently, but I don't remember it...

Glorious,

Assuming that you're sure this is not display-related, I suggest that you unplug your receiver for a few minutes, restore the power and then retry.

If that doesn't work, try deleting all your channels and then re-scan.

I don't believe it's a display related issue as everything else is working perfectly including charter cable, DVD player, xbox etc. I tried leaving the TV off and rescanning etc. I'll unplug the attenna and leave it be for awhile, hopefully this works. Thanks

Ok, Left it unplugged for about 15 minutes plugged it back in....Still no picture but sound.


Deleted all Channels and rescanned em' Still no picture but sound.

I'd like to make this clear that this only occurs for digital stations, for the analog ones I get picture and sound just fine. I also switched out the attenna to make sure that wasn't it. Still, same problem.

Tv is a Toshiba 52HM95 BRAND NEW and everything was working last night

Glorious,

Is this a built-in tuner or external?

If external, is it possible that you have a resolution setting that your TV doesn't support. This might explain why analogs are coming through but digitals are not...

I sure wish WB11 had decided to broadcast these festivites in HD.

More on KSDK: While I believe that KSDK has the equipment for delaying and playing back HD, I can't recall of any situation where they actually used it.

I could be wrong on this, but as recently as the end of last football season, every Monday night Leno was in SD because of the extended Rams coverage on the Monday "newscast."

Maybe something has been delayed more recently, but I don't remember it...


I remember this issue back in Jan. this year when KSDK had a 15 min Rams update during the playoffs. They have the technology, they can show programs in HD on delay...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=4964831&&#post4964831

Well, my reception situation is still the same... the signals are just stronger at night. I will try to move the antenna soon.

But the reason for my post was to verify about the DD audio on KSDK and KMOV. KSDK only does DD 3/0 on HD programs it appears? And on Leno, there is no audio in the center channel? I think I saw both of those mentioned in this thread, but just making sure.

And then on KMOV, it's indicated as 3/2.1, but there is NO audio from the surrounds. :mad: It must be matrixed in the front L/R still because it returns by switching to the stereo downmix with PLII decoding. Is this a KMOV problem or CBS? Oh also, I see that audio during commercials (with 5.1 signal) only comes from the main L/R. KTVI seems to be OK -- commercials with 5.1 had center dialog.

Is that all correct? :)

willy,

Thanks for digging up the reference to KSDK doing an HD delay. As it turns out, I was out of town that week.

Apart from that early-January taped delay, has KSDK used this ability on any other occasion?

Dr. Pepper,

You are correct on how both KSDK and KMOV are handling (mangling) Dolby Digital broadcasts. I'm not sure, but I believe the KMOV problem is specific to the station rather than the CBS network. I base that on my occasional reading of the HD Programming forum here at AVS -- I've never seen any complaints about how CBS handles DD broadcasts.

The strange thing about KMOV is that they were handling DD correctly last winter when the CBS network began adding programs with 5.1 soundtracks, such as CSI. But recently they have lost the surround channels. More the pity, David Letterman is supposed to be adding 5.1 sound soon.

Also, I think your statement about KTVI is correct, but I don't watch FOX much so can't be sure about that.

OK, thanks Doug. :)

Cardinals Playoff Games in HD

It appears that the Cards home playoff games this week will be afternoon start times, with Tuesday's game at noon and Wednesday's at 3 pm.

Tuesday's game will be carried by ESPN, and Thursday's game by ESPN2. According to the ESPN web site, both of these games will be in HD.

The StlToday.com web site indicates that the Tuesday and Thursday games will also be broadcast on KPLR. If I'm not mistaken, the KPLR broadcasts are a simulcast of the ESPN broadcast, rather than locally originated, so there shouldn't be any risk of a local HD blackout. This is similar to the past practice of showing Sunday Night NFL games involving the Rams on a local station, so that local non-cable/sat subscribers are not deprived.

However, I'm doubtful that ESPN would provide KPLR with the HD feeds of these games -- most likely KPLR viewers will be restricted to SD.

Maybe Greg at KPLR can provide definitive word on this...

Shouldn't ALL baseball playoff games be broadcast in HD?? If not, someone somewhere in a high priced suit isn't doing his job very well.

I just wanted to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH once again to KPLR for providing us with 11 glorious broadcasts of Cardinals baseball in HD this past summer.

I believe this effort resulted in a number of firsts for KPLR:

* First local production of a live event in HD

* First local HD production of any type

* First local production of a out-of-town live event (HD game in Houston)

There may be others that I'm overlooking. In any event, I know that this extra effort and cost was greatly appreciated by everyone here. Hopefully KPLR will expand its HD coverage significantly in 2006 (all KPLR Cardinal broadcasts?).

It would also be great to see FOX Sports Midwest carry some HD games next year, though of course this is largely dependent on Charter, DirecTV and DISH agreeing to make FSMW-HD available to subscribers.

I concur Doug. KPLR is certainly in the forefront locally with HD broadcasting. I hope in the near future that ALL Cardinals and Blues games are shown in HD. That should be an immediate goal for all parties involved.

I too was impressed with the pq of the HD broadcasts from KPLR. The one critique I have this week is that the final game and the post game festivities should have been in HD. This was a rare occasion that should have warranted the best picture quality available.

Bruce,

As far as I know, all baseball playoff games this year will be in HD. FOX's promotional pieces on the playoffs are referring to having the divisional series in HD. ESPN will only be carrying the non-prime time games during the Division Series (not NLCS or ALCS) and looking at their schedule, they have multiple playoff games listed each day through Friday.

I'm not sure what happens if all four series are still going on Saturday and Sunday.

That said, the past failure to provide all baseball playoff games in HD wasn't an issue with some suit not doing his job properly (at least in this respect) -- it was a matter of scarcity and demand.

With college and pro football in full swing in October, there had previously been a lack of mobile HD units available to cover all of these live sporting events. In the past year, a significant number of new HD mobile units have been commissioned, so apparently the scheduling logjam and lack of units is no longer an obstacle.

That said, the past failure to provide all baseball playoff games in HD wasn't an issue with some suit not doing his job properly (at least in this respect) -- it was a matter of scarcity and demand.

With college and pro football in full swing in October, there had previously been a lack of mobile HD units available to cover all of these live sporting events. In the past year, a significant number of new HD mobile units have been commissioned, so apparently the scheduling logjam and lack of units is no longer an obstacle.

That's my point. With as much money that is involved with major sports like the NFL and MLB, there should never be an excuse of not having enough mobile units. I applaud them for having more mobile units available now, but it shouldn't have taken them this long.

Take last week for example. The Rams/Titans game on CBS was not on HD. There is no excuse for this. The NFL is THE most watched major sport, and THE most lucrative major sport. And they still do not have enough trucks to cover every game each week? Sorry, thats ridiculous. This isn't the Extreme Dodgeball Association...this is the NFL.

I just wanted to let everyone here know that I'm offering a Baseball Playoffs Calibration Special during October, with a $100 reduction in fees for any type of display.

Prices are based on my published rate card and this information is available at my web site.

There are a limited number of days where the Cardinals won't be playing (assuming they make it to the World Series), and this offer is only good for appointments scheduled on off days before the last game of the Series. Daytime appointments are possible where games are played at night.

If you've thought about having your display calibrated in the past, but weren't able to bear the normal cost, here's your opportunity. This offer is open to anyone who calls me by phone and mentions "AVS St. Louis" during our conversation.

HDTV n00b here. I have charter analog service. If I hook up a PC based HDTV reciever to my cable connection then will it be possible to tune in on HDTV channels without actually requesting them from charter or getting any special equipment. I guess the question bascially is that are the HDTV channels encrypted or are just plain signals ???


With Charter Analog you won't be able to get any of the HD stations, even local, since they do not transmit them that way. You'll have to be member of their digital service.

I had to install an antenna in my attic to get local HD channels using my FusionHDTV5. I'm in O'Fallon with a medium size antenna, in the roof of my single story house, in a slight dip of a valley. I am using 2 splitters and no amp and get about 80-85% on all stations.

Bruce,

I understand your frustration, but you need to remember that HD penetration is still well below 15% nationally and that building these trucks and leasing them is very expensive, particularly when you consider the network's per-HD viewer cost.

But I think all of this is largely a moot issue. In a year or two at the most, I would expect all major sporting events to be broadcast in HD. I count NFL regular season games as "major events," because there are so few of them in comparison with the other major sports schedules (baseball, basketball, hockey).

I wouldn't expect all HD coverage of the other sports until at least the digital transition is complete, and even then I think NTSC production (and upconversion) will continue for some period of time for some of these events.

Hey there - odd question here. Out in O'fallon last night, we dvr'ed Desperate Housewives. When watched back later, the first 30 seconds were in English, and then it switched to Spanish. The commercials were all English.

A friend up the street was watching on their Moxi'd tv, and the same thing happened to them, so they ran upstairs to watch it on the non-Moxi'd tv and it was fine. I checked the SAP, and it was definitely off.

Anyone else notice this?

Why is it necessary to tape delay SNL? Was Janet Jackson scheduled to appear? :eek:



Kenye West was on! That's a great reason for a 5-minute delay. As for Janet's nips, they would be more interesting than Kenye West's rants any day.

you need to remember that HD penetration is still well below 15% nationally

Normally I’m a pretty conservative purchaser, but I sure am enjoying being ahead of the curve on HDTV. Still being in the, “Wow, look at that shiny thing on the screen” stage, I’m now able to participate in office TV conversation. Prior to hooking up my antenna I watched little to no network television. Next I have to decide if these new viewing habits are a good thing.

Anyway, I do have a question. I presently, for lack of time, have my antenna hooked up and leaned against the wall in my basement. I hope to climb into the attic this week-end and attach it permantly. With the current hook-up, it seems to be very sensitive/selective on reception, i.e., I receive channel 5 at the expense of channel 2 and vice versa. Hoping that once I hoist this thing (AntennasDirect DB4) out of the concrete box and into the attic, the coverage area will expand and I won’t have these problems. I’m pulling 75-85% signals now but very directional. Any advice on mounting in an attic?

I just wanted to let everyone here know that I'm offering a Baseball Playoffs Calibration Special during October, with a $100 reduction in fees for any type of display.

Prices are based on my published rate card and this information is available at my web site.

There are a limited number of days where the Cardinals won't be playing (assuming they make it to the World Series), and this offer is only good for appointments scheduled on off days before the last game of the Series. Daytime appointments are possible where games are played at night.

If you've thought about having your display calibrated in the past, but weren't able to bear the normal cost, here's your opportunity. This offer is open to anyone who calls me by phone and mentions "AVS St. Louis" during our conversation.

I might want to take you up on this. I bought AVIA a couple weeks ago and I have been too busy to calibrate the HDTV. Everytime I stop working on other projects and head for the TV room to do it my kids think that's a license to play or watch DVDs with me and of course AVIA is not what they had in mind.

Response from KSDK about SNL on Satuday Night
Heino

Quote -"

Thank you for your e-mail. I apologize SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE was not televised in high definition this past Saturday. Please look for it to be in high definition effective this Saturday.

Thank you for watching Newschannel 5 and have a nice day! "

Response from KSDK about SNL on Satuday Night
Heino

Quote -"

Thank you for your e-mail. I apologize SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE was not televised in high definition this past Saturday. Please look for it to be in high definition effective this Saturday.

Thank you for watching Newschannel 5 and have a nice day! "

I got the same exact email.

I don't to get them all discombobulated down there on Market Street, but those of you who got thru to them on the SNL issue could you see if you could get them to also broadcast an entire show in HD and STOP cutting off the last segment of programs right before 10o'clock!!! Or is that asking too much at one time?

I just wanted to let everyone here know that I'm offering a Baseball Playoffs Calibration Special during October, with a $100 reduction in fees for any type of display.
...
Very tempting...do you mind if I ask what you use to clean the CRT optics?

Response from KSDK about SNL on Satuday Night
Heino

Quote -"

Thank you for your e-mail. I apologize SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE was not televised in high definition this past Saturday. Please look for it to be in high definition effective this Saturday.

Thank you for watching Newschannel 5 and have a nice day! "

I got that same email reply today from KSDK. Let's see if they will get their act together...

jduibin, since you already own the AVIA disc you're most likely already aware of the difference between basic display setup (what you can accomplish with AVIA, Digital Video Essentials, etc) and professional calibration (where grayscale calibration and other adjustments focused on accurate color presentation are performed). But I just wanted to note for newcomers to home theater/HDTV that there is a significant difference between basic display setup and professional calibration, both in the effort/tools required and the results realized.

STL, I normally include and quote for surface cleaning of the CRT lenses on all CRT-based RPTVs -- I think you'd be very surprised to find just how much dust and debris is found on these sets right out of the box. Keeping the lenses clean isn't a major contributor to picture quality with brand new sets, but it is very helpful to keep dust from accumulating over time, because this will eventually reduce light output and has the potential to cause color fidelity issues. Therefore, I recommend that the surface area of CRT lenses be cleaned at least annually.

For cleaning, I use a solution and tissues that are specifically designed for optics. I also routinely show interested customers how to clean the lenses so they can do this for themselves in future.

Because someone is likely to ask, I'll answer the "digital display question" before it's actually raised: Yes, calibration is needed for DLP, LCD, LCoS and plasma displays -- for many of the same reasons that CRT-based displays benefit from calibration. It's fairly common for many consumers to assume that because it's digital, it's perfect, but that is a major fallacy.

willy,

Thanks for digging up the reference to KSDK doing an HD delay. As it turns out, I was out of town that week.

Apart from that early-January taped delay, has KSDK used this ability on any other occasion?

Doug, I can't really say for certain about other occasions when they have used the delay. For me, knowing they have the equipment and choosing not to use it until someone complains seem a little customer unfriendly (or clueless).

Ditto for me on the KDSK form letter email, lets hope they get their act together.

Hey Doug, how are you with calibrating HTPC signals into the LCD HDTV? Is that something that you can do also?

Hey there - odd question here. Out in O'fallon last night, we dvr'ed Desperate Housewives. When watched back later, the first 30 seconds were in English, and then it switched to Spanish. The commercials were all English.

A friend up the street was watching on their Moxi'd tv, and the same thing happened to them, so they ran upstairs to watch it on the non-Moxi'd tv and it was fine. I checked the SAP, and it was definitely off.

Anyone else notice this?

<><><>
My brother called me last night and said DH was in Spanish. I thought he was imagining it. HA HA. He said it was on all three of his TV's and it wasn't the SAP. He lives near St. Peters. I DVR'd it in St. Chuck and ours was fine! Weird.

Am I the only one not to get a SNL KSD form letter? I'm hurt. :(

I don't to get them all discombobulated down there on Market Street, but those of you who got thru to them on the SNL issue could you see if you could get them to also broadcast an entire show in HD and STOP cutting off the last segment of programs right before 10o'clock!!! Or is that asking too much at one time?
Don't waste your time. I've been complaining about this for a long time and have even sent a couple of emails to no avail. Since "they" maually switch the feed, how hard can it be to wait until the first credit is displayed....heck, I don't even watch show regularly, and I know when the switch SHOULD be switched, they see them every week.

RE: KSDK Delay

The delay issue may have been settled. Last night the Tonight show was delayed 15 minutes and it was in HD. ( I am talking about our delema as to whether KSDK could do a delayed HD program... not if they would do one.)

Did anyone else notice that there were repeated "flashes" during Leno last night? They seemed to orignate from the from the left side of the image area, about halfway down and each seemed to shoot across the screen in a flare-like way.

I'm assuming this wasn't a problem with my system, as no other channels had this behavior. Maybe it was a network problem, or maybe it's related to the delay gear that KSDK is using.

Winston,

On HTPCs, for most calibrators this is something like the Final Frontier, both because of the relative novelty of these devices and the fact that there are considerably more variables at play than a traditional video source, such as a standalone DVD player, or satellite/cable receiver.

I've recently learned a lot about HTPCs and I'm continuing to expand on that knowledge base, but I don't consider myself at the same expert level as I would for traditonal sources. I've recently added a DVI/HDMI signal generator to my toolkit, and that as much as anything will simplify the process of calibrating HTPCs, as the signal generator will at least provide signal levels that are correct in terms of published standards for either DVI-PC or DVI-Video formats. I also have a source for sending signals directly from a PC via a DVI output via the hard disk or a DVD, but that won't necessarily replicate the exact same internal signal path of a PC-based DVR.

But setting the display for the relevant DVI standard (PC or Video) and then checking/tweaking the display settings via the PC output from hard disk/DVD should, in most cases, get things very close to correct, and worst case, miles better than for a non-calibrated source.

Which LCD do you have? Is this a RPTV, front projector or an LCD panel?

Did anyone else notice that there were repeated "flashes" during Leno last night? They seemed to orignate from the from the left side of the image area, about halfway down and each seemed to shoot across the screen in a flare-like way.

Yes, and I assumed it was my reception. But the strength was pretty good and it didn't LOOK like a breakup problem. Then I checked the "weather channel" and it seemed to be OK. So it must've been the transmission since you saw it too. :)

Hey there - odd question here. Out in O'fallon last night, we dvr'ed Desperate Housewives. When watched back later, the first 30 seconds were in English, and then it switched to Spanish. The commercials were all English.

A friend up the street was watching on their Moxi'd tv, and the same thing happened to them, so they ran upstairs to watch it on the non-Moxi'd tv and it was fine. I checked the SAP, and it was definitely off.

Anyone else notice this?

That was a problem on the digital channels in the St. Charles area. If you watched it on an analog, it was OK. Headend problem, not exactly sure what it was.

-Hanjke

RE: KSDK Delay

Last night the Tonight show was delayed 15 minutes ...)

And might I add, Denise Richards looked great in HD!

Did anyone else notice that there were repeated "flashes" during Leno last night? They seemed to orignate from the from the left side of the image area, about halfway down and each seemed to shoot across the screen in a flare-like way.

I'm assuming this wasn't a problem with my system, as no other channels had this behavior. Maybe it was a network problem, or maybe it's related to the delay gear that KSDK is using.

I noticed it too. Must be that million-dollar TiVo they use to delay an HD program.

Oh well......it sure beats watching the show in SD. Now if only they would acknowledge and fix the DD 5.1 missing-channels issue.

Well, the good news is that the "flashes" didn't, for the most part, spoil the images of Denise Richards in leather pants. Nice way to start the week. :p

Thank you, KSDK (see, I can say nice things -- when I'm properly motivated)...

Was anyone else's CBS HD out last night? I set Moxi to tape pretty much the entire Monday night lineup, and went to watch it at 10 or so, and they were all toast. The channel was still out at that time too. Was fine this morning though. Dunno if it's related to my crap install, or a Charter issue.

JK,

I'm not a Charter sub, but I can at least verify that CBS-HD was fine at 8 pm and again later for Letterman...

JK,

I'm not a Charter sub, but I can at least verify that CBS-HD was fine at 8 pm and again later for Letterman...

Yah, I flipped over to OTA (still have the rabbit ears for MNF and Lost), and it was fine, so it was either Charter, my crap install, or a posessed Moxi :)

RE: KSDK Delay

The delay issue may have been settled. Last night the Tonight show was delayed 15 minutes and it was in HD. ( I am talking about our delema as to whether KSDK could do a delayed HD program... not if they would do one.)


Might I add, that ALL tonight show brodcasts until the cards are eliminated from the playoffs will be delayed like that. At least if they do cards coverage like they have in the past, just part of their Cards plus or whatever they are calling it this year.

Anyone know what the latest is with this battle? I just discovered last night that Superbowl XL will be on ABC, and obviously not in HD on my screen. Hoping they get together before February!

Jeff

Is today's Cardinal game on ESPN only? What about Fox?

I'm at work...we don't have 'cable' tv. Only the locals...

I just bit the bullet, and subbed to Charter + Digital + HD + Moxi + Mate.
Ordered it this morning, and Im scheduled for install between 8-12am 2morrow.
Dish will get cancelled soon thereafter.
Its a shame I have to let my money talk as I go to Charter just because they will give me a DVR that will record HD. Why should I give dish $250 for the priviledge of using one of their DVRs? All im losing is RAVE on the VOOM channels, and after 2 weeks of watching that it all becomes reruns.

Fastman

The playoff games carried by ESPN are also available on KPLR...

jefftodd,

The negotiations between Sinclair, owner of KDNL, and Charter have been going on for several years with no obvious change in the position of the parties.

It's possible that the stalemate will break at some point, and the Super Bowl is going to be an obvious date of interest for BOTH parties (maximizing viewers vs. disgruntled cable subs), but I'd guess that the odds of something getting done and you watching the Super Bowl in HD via Charter is no better than 50/50.

I hope it turns out better than that, but at this point there's no reason for optimism.

The Cardinal game on ESPN-HD looks fantastic by the way. I find that ESPN broadcasts some of the best looking HD sports of any channel...

The Cardinal game on ESPN-HD looks fantastic by the way. I find that ESPN broadcasts some of the best looking HD sports of any channel...

Sniff... sniff :( I miss my HD. We need HD projectors here at work djearl... :D For what they paid for these crummy ones they could have gone HD.

where do you work?

where do you work?


SBC

Is KPLR-DT porting over the ESPN-HD signal?

dweebe,

When I first turned on the game today KPLR-DT was showing a 4x3 image, so I have stayed on ESPN-HD's beautiful HD picture instead.

Rich, if we could figure out a way to get the signal to the projectors, I bet we could get HD on them. ...Oh to be a building manager.

Anybody catch Reggie's Grand Salami?

If anyone's interested in getting a pair of really cheap Bass Shakers to install in the couch or chairs, pop me a PM. I've a got a great web link that lists each pair for less than the price of 2 dvds. These shakers are bass transducers that reproduce the vibrations of low bass without the loud decibels that could be damaging to your hearing. It really adds realism to the home theater experience.

Doug,
I'll dig deep and see if I can scrape up enough money to get you over for a calibration job this month. My Pioneer rptv needs the most help right now. It has some bad overscan and size issues.

Bob helped me to install a new screen in my system last week. We repaced my flimsy Dalite Deluxe InstaTheater portable screen with a Parkland Plastics shower wall panel. I paid a whopping $20 for it, and tacked it up on the wall behind my front speakers. Since it's a few inches further away from my pj's lens, I was able to increase my images diagonal size from 84" to around 98". This shower panel, discovered by the guys in the AVS diy screen forum, has a matte white finish on one side, and the other side can be used for high gain with the proper paint job. The panel size is 8' x 4', and we didn't have to cut it at all. I now have no visible shadows from waves in the screen material, which was a bad problem with the previous screen. It's nice to be able to have sharp focus over the entire widescreen image for the first time. Contrast and color also seem to be a bit better. Not bad for the money spent. In fact, the screen is so clear that it has revealed a slight color purity problem with my pj that will have to be addressed by the manufacturer.

:( Quite disappointed that OTA folks cannot get the Cards-Padre game in HD. Wonder if this will change for Thursday's game and beyond???

did anyone notice how clear the game was on WB11 today. I had it on ESPN for like 1 minute and I tuned it back to ch.11 cause it was a much sharper picture. I don't even have an HD TV with me right now, and it was just as clear like I was at the stadium. I wonder if they brodcasted the ESPNHD feed today. Kudos to ch.11 I hope it's clear thursday too

I noticed that KPLR was sending the ESPNHD feed I guess since every now and then the splash screen would come up saying ESPNHD then it would go away. This happened a few times between plays or replays. Don't know really what it means except they had the logo for ESPNHD. Oh well, at least we saw the game on our multiple 25" TVs even if it was SD...

Just got my charter install today with Moxi mate...

Took awhile to get installed but it was in time to watch some of the Cardinasl game today. KPLR broadcast in 4:3 today even though it was ported from ESPN. This was over OTA while I was waiting for the install.

IN regards to NBC KSDK sucks... this was the response to my email about the 5 minute delay...

The reason there is a delay is because KSDK airs a 35 minute newscast and SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE starts at 10:30PMCT.

I don't understand why they started doing this? is there a great demand for 5 more minutes of news? I actually really pisses me off b/c i'm always behind my gf's NY broadcast.

I think we should try to complain...

Just got my charter install today with Moxi mate...

Took awhile to get installed but it was in time to watch some of the Cardinasl game today. KPLR broadcast in 4:3 today even though it was ported from ESPN. This was over OTA while I was waiting for the install.

IN regards to NBC KSDK sucks... this was the response to my email about the 5 minute delay...



I don't understand why they started doing this? is there a great demand for 5 more minutes of news? I actually really pisses me off b/c i'm always behind my gf's NY broadcast.

I think we should try to complain...

Many stations ad the 5 minutes to the news because it means an extra commercial break (and revenue) for the local station.

Is it just me, or is Channel 5 falling apart?

First, it was the DD 5.1 missing-channels. No fix in sight.

Then, it was their inability or lack of interest to time-shift delayed HD programs like SNL, in HD.

Now, I notice that all SD network programming (Today Show, Nightly News, etc.) have dark/light, wide bands which roll from bottom to top. QUite obvious on my big screen when no patterns are present on the screen (blue skies, white shirts, etc.).

What's going on?

moman,

Asking if KSDK is falling apart implies that it was ever together at some point in the first place, a dubious implication at best. :D

I'm kinda surprised to see people actually getting replies on the SNL issue. I've written to those same e-mail addresses a few times on the missing DD channels issue and never got a reply at all.

It's worth pointing out that KSDK has actually replied to past email complaints about missed flip-switching, but the problems continue. In fact, it may be that KSDK's success rate on the switch has actually gone up, but there are still times when it gets missed.

On the other hand, I can't recall where this has been a recent problem for KPLR, KDNL, KTVI or KMOV. So flipping the switch can't be all that difficult if all the other stations in town (or their networks) can manage it like professionals.

FWIW, I don't really expect that KSDK will do a lot better with the HD-delay routine, because if anything, this seems like it will be even more dependent on foresight, planning and execution -- skills that seem to be in short supply at KSDK, at least where HDTV operations are concerned. :(

The Cardinal game on ESPN-HD looks fantastic by the way. I find that ESPN broadcasts some of the best looking HD sports of any channel...I thought the picture was pretty good, but I'm stuck watching on D*...I thought it was a little soft. I still preferred the 16x9 of ESPN-HD over the 4x3 or KPLR-DT.

I noticed last nite that all of Charter channels are finally all digital, made ABC much easier to watch, well I guess thats all the perks we will get from them for awhile.

I noticed last nite that all of Charter channels are finally all digital, made ABC much easier to watch, well I guess thats all the perks we will get from them for awhile.

Yea I think you may be right. With all-digital rolled out and the addition of 3 new HD channels, I suspect Charter will 'rest of their laurels' probably until deep into 2006. I hope we're wrong...

jdurbin, since you already own the AVIA disc you're most likely already aware of the difference between basic display setup (what you can accomplish with AVIA, Digital Video Essentials, etc) and professional calibration (where grayscale calibration and other adjustments focused on accurate color presentation are performed). But I just wanted to note for newcomers to home theater/HDTV that there is a significant difference between basic display setup and professional calibration, both in the effort/tools required and the results realized.

STL, I normally include and quote for surface cleaning of the CRT lenses on all CRT-based RPTVs -- I think you'd be very surprised to find just how much dust and debris is found on these sets right out of the box. Keeping the lenses clean isn't a major contributor to picture quality with brand new sets, but it is very helpful to keep dust from accumulating over time, because this will eventually reduce light output and has the potential to cause color fidelity issues. Therefore, I recommend that the surface area of CRT lenses be cleaned at least annually.

For cleaning, I use a solution and tissues that are specifically designed for optics. I also routinely show interested customers how to clean the lenses so they can do this for themselves in future.

Because someone is likely to ask, I'll answer the "digital display question" before it's actually raised: Yes, calibration is needed for DLP, LCD, LCoS and plasma displays -- for many of the same reasons that CRT-based displays benefit from calibration. It's fairly common for many consumers to assume that because it's digital, it's perfect, but that is a major fallacy.

Oh, I agree with you on the AVIA vs. professional calibration issue. I went to your website a couple weeks ago based on your participation here and read everything and made the determination that I would do AVIA first and then weigh whether or not to drop the extra money on professional calibration. In all honesty, I probably would have passed on it. Spending an extra 10% of the TV cost on calibration to get that last bit of performance didn't meet my value-added threshold whereas spending 1.5% of TV cost on AVIA was a no-brainer. Now that you have lowered your price for this promo, it meets the value-added threshold. Now I need to decide what to do about the sunk cost of AVIA.

We have an InFocus (a.k.a. RCA Scenium) 61md10 DLP that we received 9/16. How many hours of use should it have on it before we calibrate?

How much of an add-on charge would there be to also calibrate our 35" Mitsubishi CRT SD that is going to get moved to the master bedroom? Is it worth calibrating since it will get little use? It's about 5 years old if that makes a difference.

We live in Wildwood right off Clayton Rd. about 1 mile east of Hwy 109 if that helps you gauge your travel time. Please feel free to PM me if price-quoting in the forum is a no-no. Thanks (for the quote and your contributions in the forum).

Winston,

On HTPCs, for most calibrators this is something like the Final Frontier, both because of the relative novelty of these devices and the fact that there are considerably more variables at play than a traditional video source, such as a standalone DVD player, or satellite/cable receiver.

I've recently learned a lot about HTPCs and I'm continuing to expand on that knowledge base, but I don't consider myself at the same expert level as I would for traditonal sources. I've recently added a DVI/HDMI signal generator to my toolkit, and that as much as anything will simplify the process of calibrating HTPCs, as the signal generator will at least provide signal levels that are correct in terms of published standards for either DVI-PC or DVI-Video formats. I also have a source for sending signals directly from a PC via a DVI output via the hard disk or a DVD, but that won't necessarily replicate the exact same internal signal path of a PC-based DVR.

But setting the display for the relevant DVI standard (PC or Video) and then checking/tweaking the display settings via the PC output from hard disk/DVD should, in most cases, get things very close to correct, and worst case, miles better than for a non-calibrated source.

Winston has raised an interesting point. Right now, I am using the OPPO DVD player with a DVI-HDMI cable to the InFocus 61md10. I am thinking about switching to component cables for the OPPO when I update my HTPC in order to free up the HDMI input on the HDTV for the HTPC. Will the change in cables make a difference? Should I install the component cables BEFORE calibration? Is it worth calibrating with the DVI-HDMI cable and then swapping to the component cables and reporting the results back to the forum? Will there be a measurable difference (assuming I use excellent cables)?

I just bit the bullet, and subbed to Charter + Digital + HD + Moxi + Mate.
Ordered it this morning, and Im scheduled for install between 8-12am 2morrow.
Dish will get cancelled soon thereafter.
Its a shame I have to let my money talk as I go to Charter just because they will give me a DVR that will record HD. Why should I give dish $250 for the priviledge of using one of their DVRs? All im losing is RAVE on the VOOM channels, and after 2 weeks of watching that it all becomes reruns.

Fastman

What pricing did you get quoted? Does it include any of the movie channels? Were there any promos? Thanks.

What pricing did you get quoted? Does it include any of the movie channels? Were there any promos? Thanks.

Off the top of my head:
$47.99 Digital Basic + Expanded + All movies
$4.00 Sports
$4.00 Family + Information
$3.99 HD
$16.99 Moxi+Mate

1 or 2 year price lock and commitment
This was a promo for 'Win Back' or 'Ditch the Dish'

Hi everyone...

Hoping you can clear this up for me:

Last week, I Moxi'd (weird saying that after so much Tivo-ing) House on FoxHD. When I got home to watch it, it was so pixelated and chopped, I couldn't follow the story. Drag. The next night, FoxHD was fine. This past monday, I was ready to watch csi:miami... same thing. luckily, i switched to my ota antenna and caught most of it. i checked fox, the signal was fine. last night, cbs was fine.

there seems to be some intemittant crapping out on the local hd channels, but i can't figure it out.

any ideas?
dan

Hi everyone...

Hoping you can clear this up for me:

Last week, I Moxi'd (weird saying that after so much Tivo-ing) House on FoxHD. When I got home to watch it, it was so pixelated and chopped, I couldn't follow the story. Drag. The next night, FoxHD was fine. This past monday, I was ready to watch csi:miami... same thing. luckily, i switched to my ota antenna and caught most of it. i checked fox, the signal was fine. last night, cbs was fine.

there seems to be some intemittant crapping out on the local hd channels, but i can't figure it out.

any ideas?
dan

Personally that sounds like a local reception issue [your house]. If this keeps up you may want to have a tech come out and check and make sure your reception is as strong as it should.

My HD reception is consistantly flawless.

Hi everyone...

Hoping you can clear this up for me:

Last week, I Moxi'd (weird saying that after so much Tivo-ing) House on FoxHD. When I got home to watch it, it was so pixelated and chopped, I couldn't follow the story. Drag. The next night, FoxHD was fine. This past monday, I was ready to watch csi:miami... same thing. luckily, i switched to my ota antenna and caught most of it. i checked fox, the signal was fine. last night, cbs was fine.

there seems to be some intemittant crapping out on the local hd channels, but i can't figure it out.

any ideas?
dan

My CBS HD was dead Monday as well, didn't realize till I went to watch the primetime lineup I recorded. It was dead this morning too, but was fine last night. I've still got a tech scheduled for next weekend, so we'll see if a re-wire fixes anything.

Personally that sounds like a local reception issue [your house]. If this keeps up you may want to have a tech come out and check and make sure your reception is as strong as it should.

My HD reception is consistantly flawless.

Is this something I can fix? Maybe add an amp or something?

As much as I'd like to get my system calibrated, particularly my HTPC, I think I'm going to have to wait and hope for another deal like this one =] My HDTV simply hasn't been used enough.

I'm very interested in how people are coming up w/ Charter giving you more HD "bang for the buck" than the satelitte companies can/do.

Is it about the monthly bill? The initial equipment charges? More channels? What's the deal?

From my (limited) viewpoint and knowledge, it seems like Charter is charging an awful lot for a Moxi and MoxiMate that has a finite amount of space -- and an amount that doesn't seem that much when you're recording HD.

I'm very interested in how people are coming up w/ Charter giving you more HD "bang for the buck" than the satelitte companies can/do.

Is it about the monthly bill? The initial equipment charges? More channels? What's the deal?

From my (limited) viewpoint and knowledge, it seems like Charter is charging an awful lot for a Moxi and MoxiMate that has a finite amount of space -- and an amount that doesn't seem that much when you're recording HD.

WinstonSmith, What do you pay per month for 2 receivers, including 1 a DVR? What do you pay for tivo fees per month? Also, what did you pay initially to purchase the HD PVR? How many other receivers do you have and don't you pay a $5 per month charge for those? [I only have the Moxi and its Mate - all other televisions are hooked directly to a cable line allowing me no monthly charges for those tv's]

Also, what commitment are you stuck in? annual? [no commitment to Charter - I can call up and disconnect at any time]

Purchasing & Messing with an antenna to get OTA HD? No thanks. I read far too many posts here about those ongoing reception issues. [I turn on my local HD channels and never think about antennas, reception, etc]

As a former Dish customer and current Charter sub, I have thought many times about switching back to satellite. But every time I do a side-by-side comparison to get what I have now, I can never even get close to my monthly pricing now...let alone the upfront costs to purchase HD receivers.

I realize Charter is nowhere near perfect but they are the best price for what we want in my house.

I'm very interested in how people are coming up w/ Charter giving you more HD "bang for the buck" than the satelitte companies can/do.

Is it about the monthly bill? The initial equipment charges? More channels? What's the deal?

From my (limited) viewpoint and knowledge, it seems like Charter is charging an awful lot for a Moxi and MoxiMate that has a finite amount of space -- and an amount that doesn't seem that much when you're recording HD.

Mine is about on par with abcward. With 1 (SD) DVR (plus 'service contract for when the HD dies') and one 301 receiver, plus the cinemax pack, our Dish bill was about $55/mo with the "America's top 60" tier and locals. Dish would NOT lease me a HD DVR, I had to pay cash (they wanted $500) up front. I had to tell them I was cancelling before they'd upgrade me to a non DVR HD box for free.

So if I stayed with dish, I'd have to pay out of pocket for the HD DVR, plus I'd still have to pay an extra $10/mo for HD content. Oh, and I'd still have to use rabbit ears for HD locals. Notsomuch an issue for me (until the weather acts up), but the WAF is low on that, plus it was another extra macro in my remote that was dumb.

My Dish was month-to-month after the 1yr initial commit, abc.

So, with Charter's current deal (mentioned above). I'm getting my current lineup (plus HD content, plus a buttload more movie channels), for about the same price. And I'm not out $500 upfront for the HD DVR.

I still hate Charter. My install SUCKED, and I re-wired everything from the drop in myself the next day. But, for the money and ease, I can't beat it with dish offerings on the plate right now. I'm locked in for a year, and like I said before, I hope DirectTV or Dish gets their Mpeg4 stuff online and HD locals and HD Dvrs up and going and with decent deals for cable converts. :) I'll probably switch back at that point, if Charter keeps on doing the same old. Really, HD locals and HD DVR were the biggies.

As far as Moxi space, yes 80GB is small for HD (9012 here), but my wife is a neat freak, even about keeping a tidy DVR (why, I dunno). We never had more than a page of recorded stuff on our Dish Dvr anyway. :)

Winstonsmith, I agree with abcward, its the initial startup cost that keep me from going to satellite, I have become so dependent on my Moxi dvr that any switch would have to include this feature, and to shell out $500 plus dollars just to get setup and then to be handcuffed for at least a year is just not worth it to me at this time. However if I ever win the lottery my thoughts may change :D

I can certainly understand the idea of not wanting to put out $500 or so dollars for an HD DVR.

Also, I did NOT know that Charter had HD locals. I guess that was dumb of me, but I never knew that. So, my follow-up question is this..... w/ HD locals ... what channel is, say, CBS-HD on? Is it on 4? 4.1? 457? Also, do you still get the SD locals, too?

I can certainly understand the idea of not wanting to put out $500 or so dollars for an HD DVR.

Also, I did NOT know that Charter had HD locals. I guess that was dumb of me, but I never knew that. So, my follow-up question is this..... w/ HD locals ... what channel is, say, CBS-HD on? Is it on 4? 4.1? 457? Also, do you still get the SD locals, too?

The HD stuff is up around 750ish or so(?), SD channels are down at 4. Moxi lets you unselect channels in browse, so it's not as painful as it sounds.

Winston,

We get the same locals in SD...2, 4, 5, 9, 11, and 12 [abc].

The HD channels are in the 700's - 781 [wb 11], 782 [fox], 784 [cbs], 785 [nbc], etc.

Thanks for the info!

If only you could upgrade the Moxi's hard drive to allow more capacity.

I hope DirectTV or Dish gets their Mpeg4 stuff online and HD locals and HD Dvrs up and going and with decent deals for cable converts. :) I'll probably switch back at that point...

Just so you know, once you're an Dish customer, you're always a Dish customer. There will be no deals that a new subscriber could get if you come back. I'm pretty sure DirectTV is the same way.

As an aside, have you guys noticed the Comcast ad splashed all over MNF? I think they're the only cable company that actually has a deal with Sinclair to carry ABC-HD along with the analog channel and they are really playing it up.

Just so you know, once you're an Dish customer, you're always a Dish customer. There will be no deals that a new subscriber could get if you come back. I'm pretty sure DirectTV is the same way.


Well, the wife's name wasn't on the bill, and we never changed our address when we moved, so we'll have a different address too. ;)

Supernatural on KPLR-DT last week, the Jets/Ravens game on KMOV-DT. They figured both out eventually. EDIT: check that, I don't think KPLR ever figured it out.

Also, I'm finally getting DD2.0 on Leno and O'Brien, but DD3.0 continues when I briefly checked prime time last night.

On the other hand, I can't recall where this has been a recent problem for KPLR, KDNL, KTVI or KMOV. So flipping the switch can't be all that difficult if all the other stations in town (or their networks) can manage it like professionals.

I have no confidence that the sound issues will ever be resolved.

As an aside, have you guys noticed the Comcast ad splashed all over MNF? I think they're the only cable company that actually has a deal with Sinclair to carry ABC-HD along with the analog channel and they are really playing it up.

ABC just happens to be the station here that Sinclair owns. Throughout the US Sinclair owns stations from each network. The ads you saw were just that, ads for Comcast. It wasn't related to any deal with Sinclair, it was Comcast paying ABC for airtime.

As far as Charter goes, don't forget the Moxi-Mate setup has a 160GB HD and I have yet to have space issues. The 47.99 deal is one that would/should sway anyone off dish. I had D* for about 5 yrs and dropped them due to the upfront costs and I got more for my money with Charter. Yes their CS is horrid, but what company doesn't have poor CS at times. I remember D* giving me the run around quite a few times. I have had the same experience with Sprint PCS, Cingular, and SBC. However, I have had nothing but great CS so far from Charter, I use email alot with them. I have had issues with the contracted installers. Charter contracts out all installs and then the Charter employees handle service calls. I had a talk with the Charter tech that came out for a cut drop. He said that the contractors are always leaving things a mess or doing the job half-a$$ed. I showed him the mess they made of my media panel in the basement and he offered to fix it all and clean it up. He also said that if I ever had a problem with a contractor to call in and put in a service ticket. Seems like a lot of work to get the job done right. But in the end, the lower cost and more programming is worth the occassional hassle when something goes wrong.

I just received my first bill for the Moxibox and Mate. The total charges were $26.67 per month for the hardware and the service. Very expensive in my opinion, since it's $320 for the year.

Ouch.

That's exactly what I was referring to earlier. Do that for two years and you've paid for an HD TiVo.

Ouch.

That's exactly what I was referring to earlier. Do that for two years and you've paid for an HD TiVo.

$10 of that is service, which you'd be paying D*/E*, so that'd put you closer to 3 years, by which time most people would upgrade anyway. It's justifiable in my case, since I'm only paying 9/mo for the moxi. I was paying 5/mo at dish for service coverage for when the HD died in the box so I didn't have to buy another one outright, so I'm looking at an additional 4/mo now (still don't have to worry about paying for a replace since I don't own it).

That's true. You're right about that.

An interesting read on the future of digial theaters ~4 times the information of our HD sets:

Sony Cracks the 4k Barrier (http://www.tvtechnology.com/features/news/n_sony_cracks_the_4k.shtml)

some quotes:
"Sony Cracks the 4K Barrier
New digital projector is the first to meet DCI specification


HOLLYWOOD

A major milestone in the progress of digital cinema was reached last month when Sony Electronics Inc. gave its first public demonstration of a true 4K digital cinema projector, the SRX-R110, at the Digital Cinema Laboratory in Hollywood.

...
"One threshold the studios have specified is 4K, or 4,096- by 2,160-pixel digital projection resolution, which will be vastly superior to what a consumer would be able to achieve in their own home theater. This demonstration at the Digital Cinema Lab proves we have finally accomplished that goal," he said.

"

This isn't HD related, but the Blues game was blacked out tonight on FSMW from DirecTV! WHY??? :mad: I've never seen that before on the regional sports network. Did anybody try to watch? Maybe something is messed up on our account... I will see what happens with Wednesday's HOME game.

This isn't HD related, but the Blues game was blacked out tonight on FSMW from DirecTV! WHY??? :mad: I've never seen that before on the regional sports network. Did anybody try to watch? Maybe something is messed up on our account... I will see what happens with Wednesday's HOME game.

No problem for me on D*

Thanks for letting me know. And of course I meant Thursday's home game, not Wed. :o Oops. :p

jdurbin,

On the calibration appointment, I'll send you a PM later today with more details. On the second display, I'd knock $100 off the list price cost there, too. For both phosphor-based (CRT and plasma) and lamp-based displays (DLP, LCD, LCoS), I recommend that the display have logged 75+ hours before undergoing calibration.

Of course, I'm all-too familiar with the the economic and the emotional issues relating to the incremental cost of havng a display calibrated. But another way of looking at that is the fact that calibration produces tangible results (measurable improvement in imaging accuracy), whereas extras like top-drawer interconnect cables or power conditioners produce marginal additional value.

On the Oppo DVD player, I've seen this player very recently at a couple of clients, and it is very nice and tough to beat for the price. However, be aware that there are some limitations to this player, and one of these is particularly relevant for you -- the player's component video outputs are limited to 480-line interlaced video (no progressive output, no upscaling). Your TV would scale the 480i input to 720p and that should work OK, but the benefits of the Oppo scaling performance would be negated when you use analog output.

Less relevant for you is the fact that the Oppo player is also not capable of outputting 480i DVI, which would be very useful for systems where an external video processor/scaler, such as a Lumagen or DVDO, is already in place.

CBS Planning for Multicast Programming

Quantity trumps quality...again.

The following story except is from Mediaweek:

____________________________________________________

CBS is "pretty far along" in plans for a second, general-entertainment digital programming stream, and should be able to launch the new service within a year, a top network official said Wednesday in Washington.

Executive vp Martin Franks called the planned service “CBS dot two” in his remarks before an audience gathered by the Association for Maximum Service Television, an industry group that promotes advanced over-the-air TV.

Franks made his comments during a panel discussion of multicast programming, or using the flexibility of digital broadcasting to send multiple programs simultaneously.

“We’re looking at more of a general-entertainment type of second channel with a lot of programming that either complements or counterprograms, frankly, the mother ship,” Franks said.

“We’re pretty far along on it and I would be surprised if at this time next year such a channel wasn’t on the air,” Franks said.
____________________________________________________

Full story can be found here. (http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001261209)

So, last night was the first night of hockey for a year. I took the opportunity to watch some different games in different picture qualities. Here is my take:

FSMW [SD] - I watched part of the ugly Blues/RedWings game. Same as it ever was. SD does not do hockey justice. The white of the ice makes following the puck useless. Also, the tight camera also forces the cameraman to move in a herky-jerky fashion to follow the puck. My wife commented that the camera motion was giving her a headache.

NHL CENTER ICE [SD] - I see that we are getting this package free for now. I assume this is an enticement to purchase the full package. Anyways, pretty much the same as above. Ugly SD, washed out whites, too tight of a camera shot.

OLN [SD] - I would rate this the best of the worst [SD]. The picture appeared a shade better but still hard to watch.

...and now onto our winner:

HDNET [HD] - My goodness this picture is breathtaking. This is how hockey should be seen. Crisp clean whites, crystal clear picture. And this year, HDNet has added some different camera angles. They showed a lot from the end of the ice, behind the goalie, enabling you to see the entire ice with one shot. I also absolutely LOVED the camer angle from way up in the rafters. It almost looked like the view you get when playing an xbox hockey game. Both angles allow you to see the play develop, rather than just simply following the puck.

***************
Time for me...AGAIN...to start a grassroots campaign to get FSMW-HD added to the local providers. Who's with me?

***************

Keeping my fingers crossed that Cards-SanDiego game will not be on ESPN2 and thus we are shut out seeing game in HD.
First choice would be Saturday night at 7pm in Fox in HD and 6.1 sound.
Second Choice 3pm on Fox.
Third choice ESPN at noon.
ESPN2 and I will drive to San Diego to watch the game.

MLB now posting Saturday game at 10pm Saturday night. No station info yet.
10 pm ..Thank you MLB

***************
Time for me...AGAIN...to start a grassroots campaign to get FSMW-HD added to the local providers. Who's with me?

***************

Sign me up!

Im in on FSNMW-HD too.

CBS Planning for Multicast Programming
Quantity trumps quality...again.

Couldn't agree more Doug.

Keeping my fingers crossed that Cards-SanDiego game will not be on ESPN2 and thus we are shut out seeing game in HD.
First choice would be Saturday night at 7pm in Fox in HD and 6.1 sound.
Second Choice 3pm on Fox.
Third choice ESPN at noon.
ESPN2 and I will drive to San Diego to watch the game.

MLB now posting Saturday game at 10pm Saturday night. No station info yet.
10 pm ..Thank you MLB

What has been posted on MLB:
Cardinals lead series, 1-0
Game Matchup Day Date Time (ET) TV
Gm 1 SD 5 @ STL 8 Tue Oct. 4
Gm 2 SD @ STL Thu Oct. 6 4 pm ESPN2
Gm 3 STL @ SD Sat Oct. 8 11 pm ESPN
Gm 4* STL @ SD Sun Oct. 9 4 pm ESPN2
Gm 5* SD @ STL Mon Oct. 10 4 pm FOX

* - if necessary

Would think that KPLR would also be telecasting, but doubtful it will be in HD as Tuesday's game was not. If the Chicago-Boston series ends early, all might change. This is all about $$$$$ and which series brings the most viewers. Having the best record in MLB and drawing 3.5+million to the games means little. :( Hopefully, round 2 will be all FOX and thus in HD :)

[Rant ON]
So I get my Charter install yesterday....
The installer (subcontractor) was horrible.
Let me say first that I am a network engineer. I have run more cable than I care to think about and I have to deal with clients too. I also know the ins-and-outs of CATV too. So lets just say I know how this guy should act, work and what the final results should be.

Here is the story:
Guy rolls up in an maroon Ford Ranger Pickup. (I knew I was in trouble already.) I meet him on the front lawn, and extend my hand for a handshake. He clearly sees my attempt and turns and walks towards the utility pole. He now comes back and asks me to show him the layout. I show him the front TV and tell him the MOXI goes here, the master bedroom and tell him the MATE goes here. I also show him the spare bedroom and show him where to put a regular analog drop. He tells me that there is too much text on his paperwork and he dont see the third outlet and that he would have to charge me for it. I said no way, the install is supposed to be for up to 4 outlets. He has to call at this point to make sure it is free. After that I explain to him I have run a length of RG6-QUAD from where the cable drop from the pole to where it enters the garage area all the way to the basement. (I wouldnt trust ANY installer to run a cable up the inside garage wall OVER my boat and down the other wall into my basement.) So at this point I have done the hard part for him.
Ok now its time to get to work. He climbs the utility pole to install the drop to my house. He the climbs a 6 foot latter to attach the drop to my house. He installs the hook and asks me to hand him a length of cable from the spool. (Ok fine, he is just a little lazy.) He continues...
On the ground level now, he starts movin fast, really fast. He installs a ground block and ground wire to the block and instead of going direct to the grounding rod at his feet. He pulls up the bottom length of siding to attach to the electric panel ground, (which goes to the grounding rod at his feet.) I ask him if he could give me the receivers so that I may hook them up myself. He says no, he has to do it.
OK, we are inside now. I have predrilled holes in the floor for the cable runs. (Left over from the satellite.)
Ok now we are in the basement. He begins running the cables to the front and the master bedroom. Runs (literally) upstairs out the front door to his truck. ( (Leave front door wide open from here on out.) (Brings in the MOXI+MATE) Crimps the end at the front TV, runs into the master bedroom. Starts to crimp that end. I said to him (politely,) can you slow down a little, the furniture in here is very fragile. (I hate the stuff, I cant look at it without doing some kinda damage that my wife can only see.) Finished crimping cable, lets go of it slams into front of dresser. "Oops" he says. (No damage.) Flys back into the front room, missing the 55 gallon aquarium by about 3 inches with the hammer hanging out of his tool belt.
Several trips back and fourth (8-10) on the phone with Charter he gets the MOXI and the mate working together. Each trip dangerously close to the aquarium. He asks now if there is a TV for the 3rd outlet, I told him not yet.
He shows me how to get to the MOXI menu and that the power on the remote will turn off the TV and not the MOXI. (About that fast and as few words too.) Asks me to sign paperwork and inital the 3rd outlet chage of $12.93, but tells me the install will be free. So he leaves.
I go around tidying up the wires, putting the front MOXI in the A/V cabinet plugged in the power conditioner good componet cables etc. I go down into the basement. Wires are hanging down almost to the floor from the ceiling at both ends of the runs. And then I see he put a 3way splitter at the incoming line cable for the 3rd outlet wasnt connected. There wasnt even a crimp on it.
This guy should be fired.
[Rant Off]
Fastman

[Rant ON]
So I get my Charter install yesterday....
The installer (subcontractor) was horrible.
Let me say first that I am a network engineer. I have run more cable than I care to think about and I have to deal with clients too. I also know the ins-and-outs of CATV too. So lets just say I know how this guy should act, work and what the final results should be.

Here is the story:
Guy rolls up in an maroon Ford Ranger Pickup. (I knew I was in trouble already.) I meet him on the front lawn, and extend my hand for a handshake. He clearly sees my attempt and turns and walks towards the utility pole. He now comes back and asks me to show him the layout. I show him the front TV and tell him the MOXI goes here, the master bedroom and tell him the MATE goes here. I also show him the spare bedroom and show him where to put a regular analog drop. He tells me that there is too much text on his paperwork and he dont see the third outlet and that he would have to charge me for it. I said no way, the install is supposed to be for up to 4 outlets. He has to call at this point to make sure it is free. After that I explain to him I have run a length of RG6-QUAD from where the cable drop from the pole to where it enters the garage area all the way to the basement. (I wouldnt trust ANY installer to run a cable up the inside garage wall OVER my boat and down the other wall into my basement.) So at this point I have done the hard part for him.
Ok now its time to get to work. He climbs the utility pole to install the drop to my house. He the climbs a 6 foot latter to attach the drop to my house. He installs the hook and asks me to hand him a length of cable from the spool. (Ok fine, he is just a little lazy.) He continues...
On the ground level now, he starts movin fast, really fast. He installs a ground block and ground wire to the block and instead of going direct to the grounding rod at his feet. He pulls up the bottom length of siding to attach to the electric panel ground, (which goes to the grounding rod at his feet.) I ask him if he could give me the receivers so that I may hook them up myself. He says no, he has to do it.
OK, we are inside now. I have predrilled holes in the floor for the cable runs. (Left over from the satellite.)
Ok now we are in the basement. He begins running the cables to the front and the master bedroom. Runs (literally) upstairs out the front door to his truck. ( (Leave front door wide open from here on out.) (Brings in the MOXI+MATE) Crimps the end at the front TV, runs into the master bedroom. Starts to crimp that end. I said to him (politely,) can you slow down a little, the furniture in here is very fragile. (I hate the stuff, I cant look at it without doing some kinda damage that my wife can only see.) Finished crimping cable, lets go of it slams into front of dresser. "Oops" he says. (No damage.) Flys back into the front room, missing the 55 gallon aquarium by about 3 inches with the hammer hanging out of his tool belt.
Several trips back and fourth (8-10) on the phone with Charter he gets the MOXI and the mate working together. Each trip dangerously close to the aquarium. He asks now if there is a TV for the 3rd outlet, I told him not yet.
He shows me how to get to the MOXI menu and that the power on the remote will turn off the TV and not the MOXI. (About that fast and as few words too.) Asks me to sign paperwork and inital the 3rd outlet chage of $12.93, but tells me the install will be free. So he leaves.
I go around tidying up the wires, putting the front MOXI in the A/V cabinet plugged in the power conditioner good componet cables etc. I go down into the basement. Wires are hanging down almost to the floor from the ceiling at both ends of the runs. And then I see he put a 3way splitter at the incoming line cable for the 3rd outlet wasnt connected. There wasnt even a crimp on it.
This guy should be fired.
[Rant Off]
Fastman


Was it an older guy named John? He was probably the same one at my house last week to install the MOXI boxes before swapping one out yesterday for the MOXI+Mate... He b!tched the entire time because "Charter is this and that... They don't pay me enough... blah blah..." Other than that, he was nice enough, but yes, very fast... he did tidy some things up though, and mentioned the first guy who did my install when I moved in was sloppy.