Sorry for the OT conversation, but I know a lot of you are computer types so I thought I'd ask. Our office is looking at getting flat panel LCD monitors for everyone. For a test. I purchased a Viewsonic 20" widescreen that arrived today and an Acer 19" widescreen that should be here in a day or two. The Viewsonic has an optimal screen resolution of 1680x1050 and the Acer's is 1440x900.

I don't know if it's just my eyes (40 yr old eyes) or what, but the 1680x1050 resolution actually hurts my eyes...
I have a Dell laptop with a 17" 1920x1200 screen. I go into the Display control panel, and under the Advanced button of the Settings tab, I select 120DPI from the Display DPI popup menu. That makes things much more readble for my 47 yr old bifocally corrected eyes. :)

Sorry for the OT conversation, but I know a lot of you are computer types so I thought I'd ask. Our office is looking at getting flat panel LCD monitors for everyone. For a test. I purchased a Viewsonic 20" widescreen that arrived today and an Acer 19" widescreen that should be here in a day or two. The Viewsonic has an optimal screen resolution of 1680x1050 and the Acer's is 1440x900.

I don't know if it's just my eyes (40 yr old eyes) or what, but the 1680x1050 resolution actually hurts my eyes and really doesn't seem very clear. This is a 1 year old Dell with XP and an Nvidia GeForce 6800 card. I did install the monitor software that came with it. (I know you can increase the font used by Windows under the Advanced settings, but if you were reading an e-mail in Outlook, that doesn't help that.) For some reason, text just seems kind of blurry. Especially if it's on a white background.

Does anyone else have this kind of problem? The other people in my office don't seem to think it's as bad as I think it is, but they also are saying that they don't think it's super clear either.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts. You can PM if you don't want to clutter up the board.

I haven't used the Viewsonic, but I did recently upgrade from some 18" Mitsubishi LCDs to the Sceptre 1680x1050 monitors that Costco was selling for a great price recently. I'm quite pleased with the resolution and the clarity of the image. The individual pixels are smaller on the Sceptre than the Mits monitors, so if you're used to larger objects on screen, that may account for the apparent difference to your eyes. I'm using VGA through a KVM switch, not DVI, but the clarity is outstanding.

I have a Dell laptop with a 17" 1920x1200 screen. I go into the Display control panel, and under the Advanced button of the Settings tab, I select 120DPI from the Display DPI popup menu. That makes things much more readble for my 47 yr old bifocally corrected eyes. :)

I noticed that, but it didn't seem to affect that actual e-mail. It did make the menus and buttons larger though and that does help. I know you can hold down the control key and make the test larger or smaller with the scroller wheel on your mouse. (In IE and MS Office apps at least.) That helps also.

The individual pixels are smaller on the Sceptre than the Mits monitors, so if you're used to larger objects on screen, that may account for the apparent difference to your eyes. I'm using VGA through a KVM switch, not DVI, but the clarity is outstanding.

Joe, I saw that monitor as well when I was pricing things and may have to look into it.

Thanks for the quick response guys. Anyone else feel free to chime in if you have any other thoughts/suggestions.

From the posted article:

"The CRT wins by a huge factor of about 25. It barely produces any detectable light when set to black. The flat panels all produce a noticeable dark-gray glow for black. The CRT's enormous black-level advantage is the major reason why it remains the technology of choice for home theater perfectionists. (Note that the black-level luminance of a CRT can be reduced even more by turning the Black-Level Control further down into a "blacker-than-black" regime, but this will cause a loss of the lower end of the gray scale.) "

Doug

There's something about the article I don't understand. How can a signal that takes a display below 7.5 IRE (blacker than black) destroy any portion of the gray scale above 7.5 IRE? If the gray scale is a true 6500K, blacker than black or whiter than white will do nothing to the scale between 7.5IRE and 100IRE unless this is only peculiar to their "reference Sony Monitor". If that is the case, the above statement is VERY misleading.

There are other things about the article that has my brain swimming, but I have not read the whole thing.Walt,

Here's some follow-up points relevant to the quoted passage and to your questions:

* The first thing I would say is that while CRT maintains superiority on black level, the gap has closed quite a lot since the Soneira article was written. All technologies have gotten better, particularly plasma, and front-projection applications for LCOS, DLP and LCD. Rear-projection is more problematic as the light that comes from an always-on lamp is simply harder to eliminate due to the RP enclosure. But with the introduction of adjustable or dynamic irises (adjustable preferred), further improvement is happening.

* On the "blacker than black" (BTB) question, video black is referenced at either 7.5 or 0 IRE, depending on the setup of the source and display. All displays should be able to display BTB information, both to ensure proper setting of the black level (you need to be able to see BTB information to ensure you aren't exposing it) but also because some DVD and HD content actually includes BTB or (more commonly) WTW information, either due to mastering tolerances or explicit directorial choices.

But setting a CRT or any other display with black level within the BTB range will result in a loss of shadow detail above video black. Maybe this is a bit easier to understand if you think about the brightness control (black level) as the control that determines the "cutoff point" for light coming from the display. If you set black at 0 IRE on a CRT, you should be able to see a change in moving from a 0 IRE test pattern to a 1 IRE test pattern. However, if you then go back and further lower the black level, you are going to "crush" a part of the dark gray range into black and you will lose shadow detail in the picture, with not only 0 IRE appearing as video black but also some portion of the scale above 0 IRE.

* Grayscale tracking can definitely change across some or all of the range when you alter the settings for contrast and/or brightness. This is part of what makes grayscale calibration a challenging process, because brightness, contrast and the individual red, green and blue controls for brightness and contrast are continually interacting during the adjustment process.

For example, if I measure too much green in a dark gray pattern and remedy this by reducing the green brightness control, I may subsequently find that the black level has dropped below video black. In that case, I'd need to bump the brightness control back up to the correct level and then remeasure to see what, if any, portion of the green error has been reintroduced when I raised the brightness control. Likewise, changes to the RGB controls for contrast can have a negative effect on not only the high end of the grayscale range, but also the midrange and near-black portion, too.

Different brands, models and technologies all behave differently in their response and interactions to similar changes. Perversely, I actually enjoy working through those sort of challenges -- even though I may unleash the occasional obscenity in getting from A to B. ;)

Let me know if this answers your question, or if you have any other questions in further reading of the articles.

FWIW, I received an FSMW reply similar to that which Joe reported. Here's the full text of that eMail:
______________________________________________________

Some good news, at least for tonight…FSN Midwest will televise tonight’s (Monday) and tomorrow’s (Tuesday) Cardinals games in HD.

Availability is as follows:

Monday, April 24
Charter Ch. 792
DirecTV Ch. 95
Dish Network Ch. 9428 and 9467, but only to MLB Extra Innings subscribers outside of Cardinals territory

Tuesday, April 25
Charter Ch. 792

Obviously, we’re hoping that Dish changes its setup in the future to allow non-EI subscribers to see the HD telecasts. But for now, at least, we’re in the same unfortunate boat we were in for the home opener.

FYI…We post all updates regarding availability of HD games to the FSN Midwest web page at FoxSports.com, search: Midwest. Or go to this link: http://msn.foxsports.com/story/5455460
______________________________________________________

I noticed that, but it didn't seem to affect that actual e-mail. It did make the menus and buttons larger though and that does help.
No, I don't think we're talking about the same thing. What you describe sounds like changes resulting from changing Font Size in the Appearence tab of the Display Properties control panel. What I described above is different, and changes everything across the board.

...
Some good news, at least for tonight…FSN Midwest will televise tonight’s (Monday) and tomorrow’s (Tuesday) Cardinals games in HD.

Availability is as follows:
...
DirecTV Ch. 95
...
If I bring up info on my D* HDTivo it says game may be subject to blackouts in Pittsburg and St. Louis.

Isn't that special! :rolleyes:

I just got a response from Geoff at Fox about HD Cardinals coverage for tonight's game. Looks like we are out of luck again. I thanked him for his prompt response and said I wished Dish would listen as well.

DirecTV subs, please let us know if you are able to get the coverage. If you can, then I'd like to consider an organized e-mail protest to Dish from those of us who are so disappointed about how they are handling this.
A friend of mine is a Stat Stringer for MLB at Busch. For those who may not know, and want to, a Stat Stringer is the person who enters the live data for the MLB.com Game Day Live interface.
He is not in any sort of position of influence, but he is an avid HD'er, and said he is willing to see what buttons he could press from the Cardinals end.
I figure it can't hurt.

I've got a TIVO'y question for those that check such things. I know D* HD comes in at 1280x1080, I have just recently started checking my SD stuff and see that Shotime comes in at 480x480 and NBC comes in at 544x480. Is this the same for the folks that have the HD Tivo on SD stations? Is this the same size as non tivo D* recievers? Is this why the compression looks so bad on SD or is it also bitrate? (Note, I don't have an HD TIVO)
Thanks
Dug

Hey Dug,

Yes, those are indeed the resolutions used by *D on its SD channels. In fact, I'm surprised NBC is 544x480.... thought all the SD's were 480x480. That's regardless of brand or model of receiver, it's the way *D is sending it in the first place. That's why even when *D gets St. Louis HD locals up and running, I'll still be using the antenna.

I was nosing around the HDTV mobile production truck thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=311694) over on the programming forum and found this link to an HD team based in St. Louis.

St. Louis Truck/Team (http://www.mountainmobiletv.com/mtg_frameset.html?menu=mtg_menu.html&page=mtpt1/WebServer/events/ITK_CrewEventInfoSTL.html)

I wonder why there are so many dates where they are using a HD truck (mainly MU11HDX, MU8HDX, MU7HDX and MU6HDX) but there are no HD games being shown? Cross referencing with with previously supplied Fox Sports MW HD Cardinal link there are plenty of games they'll be using the HD truck but only showing SD.

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/5455460 (http://)


Event Date Event
4/26/2006 MU 11HDX PIT @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
4/27/2006 MU 11HDX WSH @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
4/28/2006 MU 11HDX WSH @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
5/10/2006 MU 6HDX COL @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
5/12/2006 MU 6HDX AZ @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
5/16/2006 MU 6HDX NYM @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
5/17/2006 MU 6HDX NYM @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
5/18/2006 MU 6HDX NYM @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
5/26/2006 MU 7HDX STL @ SD (Vis FSMW)
5/27/2006 MU 7HDX STL @ SD (FOX)
5/29/2006 MU 6HDX HOU @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
5/30/2006 MU 6HDX HOU @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
5/31/2006 MU 6HDX HOU @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
6/2/2006 MU 6HDX CHC @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
6/3/2006 MU 6HDX CHC @ Cards (FOX)
6/7/2006 MU 11HDX CIN @ Cards (Hm FSMW) Dual
6/13/2006 MU 6HDX STL @ Pirates (Vis FSMW) Dual
6/14/2006 MU 6HDX STL @ Pirates (Vis FSMW) Dual
6/15/2006 MU 6HDX STL @ Pirates (Vis FSMW)
6/16/2006 MU 11HDX COL @ Cards (Hm FSMW) Dual
6/17/2006 MU 11HDX COL @ Cards (Hm FSMW) Dual
6/20/2006 MU 11HDX STL @ CWS (Vis FSMW)
6/21/2006 MU 11HDX STL @ CWS (Vis FSMW)
6/22/2006 MU 11HDX STL @ CWS (Vis FSMW)
6/23/2006 MU 9HDX STL @ Tigers (Vis FSMW) Dual
6/26/2006 MU 11HDX CLE @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
6/27/2006 MU 11HDX CLE @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
6/28/2006 MU 11HDX CLE @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
6/30/2006 MU 11HDX KC @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
7/3/2006 MU 11HDX STL @ ATL (Vis FSMW)
7/4/2006 MU 11HDX STL @ ATL (Vis FSMW)
7/17/2006 MU 11HDX ATL @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
7/18/2006 MU 11HDX ATL @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
7/21/2006 MU 10HDX STL @ Dodgers (Vis FSMW) Dual
8/1/2006 MU 11HDX PHL @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
8/2/2006 MU 11HDX PHL @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
8/3/2006 MU 11HDX PHL @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
8/4/2006 MU 11HDX MIL @ Cards (Hm FSMW) Dual
8/5/2006 MU 11HDX MIL @ Cards (Vis FSNth) Dual
8/6/2006 MU 11HDX MIL @ Cards (Vis FSNth) Dual
8/11/2006 MU 11HDX STL @ Pirates (Vis FSMW) Dual
8/17/2006 MU 11HDX CIN @ Cards (Hm )
8/18/2006 MU 11HDX STL @ CHC (Vis FSMW)
8/25/2006 MU 11HDX CHC @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
8/29/2006 MU 11HDX FLM @ Cards (Vis Sun) Dual
8/31/2006 MU 11HDX FLM @ Cards (Hm FSMW) Dual
9/11/2006 MU 6HDX HOU @ Cards (Vis FSH) Dual
9/12/2006 MU 6HDX HOU @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
9/13/2006 MU 6HDX HOU @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
9/15/2006 MU 6HDX SF @ Cards (Hm FSMW) Dual
9/25/2006 MU 11HDX SD @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
9/26/2006 MU 11HDX SD @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
9/27/2006 MU 11HDX SD @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
9/28/2006 MU 11HDX MIL @ Cards (Vis FSNth) Dual
9/29/2006 MU 11HDX MIL @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
9/30/2006 MU 11HDX MIL @ Cards (Vis FSNth) Dual

Where you see Dual, that's not HD and SD; thats both the home and away teams using the same truck.

http://www.mountainmobiletv.com/mtg_frameset.html?menu=mtg_menu.html&page=dualfeeds.html (http://)

I'm not in the industry, but can someone explain why they would have an HD truck at the game but not be broadcasting in HD? I thought the whole limitation was truck availability. But that doesn't seem to be an issue.

Ken,

By all means, I'm for pushing any button that can be pushed.

And now I know who to be pissed at when my ESPN real-time fantasy boxscore doesn't update properly... ;)

FWIW, I'm tuned to Channel 95 for the pre-game. The Cardinals On Deck (or whatever it's called now) isn't being shown, but there is an HD program there -- the current edition of the hopelessly lame CDUSA. I'm going to take this as a good omen, though, as I can't ever recall seeing anything on Channel 95 on my HD-TiVo since that first Blues HD game.

For now I'm assuming this will switch to the Cards game at 7 pm. But just in case, I've got DirecTV all teed up on my cell phone -- just have to press dial.

I have the game on FSN HD on D*. I'm impressed. They didn't black it out. :cool:

Sandblaster,
Would you happen to know if the first FSN HD simulcast (4/10) was carried by DTV, and whether or not it was blacked out in STL? IIRC, only Charter subs could "see" that HD broadcast.
Also, if you're able, please let us know if the HD broadcast of Monday's game on DTV MLB EI is available in STL.
Thanks.
The 4/10 broadcast was not carried by DTV, they had a different game on channel 95 that night. Due to bandwidth, I think they will only carry one MLB game in HD at any one time. Tonight's game is not being blacked out. Way to go D!

Well, Dish has the game blacked out again for the HD!!! :mad: I guess the only way to see an HD game is when KPLR has it, or the game of the day on KTVI.

Dish did finally add OLN back on channel 151, must have the 180 pack, action pack or higher.

I have the game on FSN HD on D*. I'm impressed. They didn't black it out. :cool:
Wow...the difference in volume between the game and commercials is really annoying. FSN needs to work on sound checks for HD games.

Wow...the difference in volume between the game and commercials is really annoying. FSN needs to work on sound checks for HD games.

I was going to post the same. Real bad.

They stated and (put up a graghic) that the HD game is on Charter 792 and Direct 95. No mention of Dish.

Dave

Hopefully we'll get tomorrow's game in HD on D* as well. 1st HD of the new stadium that I've had a chance to see, it's too bad the audio is out of whack. I've been muting it right before they break to commercial.

Jon,

No deal on DirecTV on Tuesday, according to an eMail I received today and the FSMW web site.

How many of you Dish subs would be interested in an e-mail campaign to get Dish to change its policy on carrying HD games? Charter subs get it; D* subs (with MLB Extra Innings) get it. Dish claims it violates an agreement with MLB, but it sounds as though there may simply be a misunderstanding about coverage rights.

Any interest out there?

How many of you Dish subs would be interested in an e-mail campaign to get Dish to change its policy on carrying HD games? Charter subs get it; D* subs (with MLB Extra Innings) get it. Dish claims it violates an agreement with MLB, but it sounds as though there may simply be a misunderstanding about coverage rights.

Any interest out there?

Count me in. I really can't understand why the other two are showing the game in HD. I have read the reasons but still think it is a bad practice.

How many of you Dish subs would be interested in an e-mail campaign to get Dish to change its policy on carrying HD games? Charter subs get it; D* subs (with MLB Extra Innings) get it. Dish claims it violates an agreement with MLB, but it sounds as though there may simply be a misunderstanding about coverage rights.
Any interest out there?
Count me in. I really can't understand why the other two are showing the game in HD. I have read the reasons but still think it is a bad practice.
I'm there!

Joe,

Clarifying -- there's no need for an MLB EI subscription for DirecTV customers to get the FSMW games carried by DirecTV. I think it's unlikely that DirecTV will carry these games every time FSMW has an HD production, but whenever they do, there would be no need for EI.

Hey Dug,

Yes, those are indeed the resolutions used by *D on its SD channels. In fact, I'm surprised NBC is 544x480.... thought all the SD's were 480x480. That's regardless of brand or model of receiver, it's the way *D is sending it in the first place. That's why even when *D gets St. Louis HD locals up and running, I'll still be using the antenna.

Thanks Robert,
That's what I thought. I was surprised to see the NBC show as 544x480. I guess it may be because there is slightly more bandwidth available with the spot beam?

Dug

I believe more than coverage rights, the issue with Dish is, it is easier for them to put the game up linked with MLB EI, where they already have the Home-Market, Out-Of-Market, Zip-Code blackout restrictions in place, rather than using a RSN channel which is not setup for restriction, as it trumps MLB EI.
It is much easier to just "throw it out there" on MLB EI, rather than go to the time and expense of structuring an RSN channel to accommodate the occasional HD feeds.
I believe this is what Dish is referring to when they've said they have no agreements in place for RSN HD broadcasts.
Even though there is little restriction required for any RSN, whether it be SD or HD, the structure still must be in place to accommodate the FOX Saturday window, and the 2 ESPN Sunday and Monday windows.

Joe,

Clarifying -- there's no need for an MLB EI subscription for DirecTV customers to get the FSMW games carried by DirecTV. I think it's unlikely that DirecTV will carry these games every time FSMW has an HD production, but whenever they do, there would be no need for EI.

Agreed. I got the game and don't have MLB EI. D* rules.

Scott

How many of you Dish subs would be interested in an e-mail campaign to get Dish to change its policy on carrying HD games? Charter subs get it; D* subs (with MLB Extra Innings) get it. Dish claims it violates an agreement with MLB, but it sounds as though there may simply be a misunderstanding about coverage rights.

Any interest out there?

I'm in.

The latest e-mail I got from Geoff at Fox had the following link to the Cardinals schedule for FSMW -

FSMW Cardinals schedule. (http://msn.foxsports.com/story/5455460)

There is no reference to any additional games in HD for either DirecTV or Dish. I've asked if this is likely to change for the rest of the season. I'm composing an e-mail, regardless, but this is the spot to watch for HD coverage.

Joe,

I think it's likely that more FSMW-HD games will be added to DISH and DirecTV during the balance of the season. But I suspect that these special appearances have to be worked out on a game-by-game basis with the carriers and they are doing that on a rolling basis, rather than developing a season-long schedule.

I think it might also have something to do with the EI schedule, as both carriers would likely give preference to games that are part of the EI package, rather than games that can only be shown in the home market.

Again, unlike NFL Sunday Ticket, the MLB Extra Innings package does not offer ALL MLB games played each day.

Charter Dings Customers for Fact It Underpaid Local Govts

The following story is from the Spartanburg (S.C.) Herald-Journal's online site.

This is a great example of where cable regulation has failed miserably. Charter screws up their payments to local governments and the company is allowed to raise customer rates in order to make up the difference after the audit turns up the company's errors.

No doubt about it -- we live in a golden age of "non-accountability."
__________________________________________________________

Brenda Wallings hit the roof when she opened her Charter Communications cable bill late last week.

It wasn't the fact that her bill increased $1.77 that had Wallings so upset. It was the explanation at the end of the bill that has her frustrated.

Charter miscoded more than 1,000 customers who lived inside the city limits from September 2001 to September 2004. Under the franchise agreement Charter has with the city, the company underpaid the city $43,878.80 over the three-year period.

But Gaffney isn't alone in being underpaid by the cable provider.

City and county governments in Spartanburg, Greenville and Cherokee counties have recouped nearly $800,000 in settlements from Charter. And two more -- Spartanburg County and Cherokee County -- are still ironing out such deals with the communications giant.

To recoup the settlement money in Gaffney, the cable company has raised its rates. Each Charter customer living in the city will pay an average of $1.77 more a month, for the next 36 months.

"For us, (raising rates) is an option, and it's our right under Federal Law," said Dave Cox, finance director for Charter in South Carolina and western North Carolina. "It's a business decision."

Cox said raising rates is the only way the company can "keep itself whole."
__________________________________________________________

To read the full story, click here. (http://www.goupstate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060425/NEWS/604250342/1051/NEWS01)

From the article:

"(Note that the black-level luminance of a CRT can be reduced even more by turning the Black-Level Control further down into a "blacker-than-black" regime, but this will cause a loss of the lower end of the gray scale.) "



Doug

Maybe I need to rephrase my question. How can a PROPERLY CALIBRATED display have a corrupted gray scale just because it has the ability to display BTB on a DVD or HD presentation? If your blacks are crushed because the brightness is turned down to make it black, the display is not properly calibrated or it doesn't have the ability to make black. This is not the fault of the calibrator or his equipment.

Why would you need to calibrate BTB. If black is calibrated for 7.5IRE, will the eye see the difference between 1IRE and 2IRE or will it just realize that both are blacker than BLACK (7.5IRE). My eye can't see the difference. The only way I can think to calibrate for BTB is with a properly calibrated PC and a scope because of my inability to see this difference. I would then be at a loss as to were/what to measure and how to interpret what I was reading/seeing. :confused:

Walt

Maybe I need to rephrase my question. How can a PROPERLY CALIBRATED display have a corrupted gray scale just because it has the ability to display BTB on a DVD or HD presentation?There's no inherent problem with a display being capable of displaying BTB -- the door is opened to grayscale issues and other image artifacts when the black level is set improperly, either above or below BTB.

Why would you need to calibrate BTB?In fact, you're not calibrating BTB, but you need to be able to see/reference where BTB information is in order to set grayscale properly. In fact, some popular displays are incapable of displaying BTB information, and this makes black level setup more challenging, though it can still be done to good degree of accuracy.[/QUOTE]

If black is calibrated for 7.5IRE, will the eye see the difference between 1IRE and 2IRE or will it just realize that both are blacker than BLACK (7.5IRE).In this example, with black correctly set at 7.5 IRE (presumably only for a traditional NTSC source), then no you shouldn't be able to discern the difference between 1 IRE and 2 IRE, as both are "below black" and wouldn't be visible to your eye. Note that in my example in the previous message, I was referencing black at 0 IRE, and in that case you should be able to see a difference between a 0 IRE window pattern and a 1 IRE window. If not, you are "crushing blacks" and missing shadow detail. This might not be a big deal if you're only missing a couple of IRE at the bottom end, but any error beyond that would quickly become apparent in images with a lot of shadow detail.

The only way I can think to calibrate for BTB is with a properly calibrated PC and a scope because of my inability to see this difference. I would then be at a loss as to were/what to measure and how to interpret what I was reading/seeing. :confused:PCs are hardly a worthy reference and trying to determine anything about proper black levels with a PC would likely cause more problems that it helps to address. But that's a story for another day...

The latest e-mail I got from Geoff at Fox had the following link to the Cardinals schedule for FSMW -

FSMW Cardinals schedule. (http://msn.foxsports.com/story/5455460)

There is no reference to any additional games in HD for either DirecTV or Dish. I've asked if this is likely to change for the rest of the season. I'm composing an e-mail, regardless, but this is the spot to watch for HD coverage.

Can you ask him why they will have HD capable trucks at games (like this Wednesday) but will not be showing it in HD. (See my post above)

Sorry for the OT conversation, but I know a lot of you are computer types so I thought I'd ask. Our office is looking at getting flat panel LCD monitors for everyone. For a test. I purchased a Viewsonic 20" widescreen that arrived today and an Acer 19" widescreen that should be here in a day or two. The Viewsonic has an optimal screen resolution of 1680x1050 and the Acer's is 1440x900.

I don't know if it's just my eyes (40 yr old eyes) or what, but the 1680x1050 resolution actually hurts my eyes and really doesn't seem very clear. This is a 1 year old Dell with XP and an Nvidia GeForce 6800 card. I did install the monitor software that came with it. (I know you can increase the font used by Windows under the Advanced settings, but if you were reading an e-mail in Outlook, that doesn't help that.) For some reason, text just seems kind of blurry. Especially if it's on a white background.

Does anyone else have this kind of problem? The other people in my office don't seem to think it's as bad as I think it is, but they also are saying that they don't think it's super clear either.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts. You can PM if you don't want to clutter up the board.

EDIT: I was using the analog cable and switched to the DVI. It did seem to help with the clarity.

We had 19" Viewsonic monitors at my last job and I was not very impressed with them. Try using Microsoft ClearType, it may help. Your eyes shouldn't hurt. But staring at what amounts to a fluorescent bulb set too bright will hurt. Turn the brightness way down on your monitor. If anything, your eyes should feel better since there is no refresh rate. LCD monitors like their native resolution best, but try 1280X1024 and see if it is better or worse. Give those three things a try and see if it helps. Glad you are able to use DVI as that helps too.

Link to ClearType: http://heh.pl/&2Q9

IMO, Sony makes the best monitors for text. A close second is Samsung.

Edit: Check My Computer and make sure the monitor is listed as Viewsonic and not the generic name. Make sure it is using the correct .INF file too.

How many of you Dish subs would be interested in an e-mail campaign to get Dish to change its policy on carrying HD games? Charter subs get it; D* subs (with MLB Extra Innings) get it. Dish claims it violates an agreement with MLB, but it sounds as though there may simply be a misunderstanding about coverage rights.

Any interest out there?


Count me in.

The latest e-mail I got from Geoff at Fox had the following link to the Cardinals schedule for FSMW -

FSMW Cardinals schedule. (http://msn.foxsports.com/story/5455460)

There is no reference to any additional games in HD for either DirecTV or Dish. I've asked if this is likely to change for the rest of the season. I'm composing an e-mail, regardless, but this is the spot to watch for HD coverage.

Geoff says Dish and DirecTV let them know a few days in advance if they will carry the games in HD.

I need some advice from you HD gurus.

I am torn between purchasing a 2x1 manual HDMI switch (which Monoprice now has in stock) and a 5x1 w/ remote. The difference is about $100 (which to me is a pretty hefty amount of money.)

Right now I have a SD DVD player that uses HDMI for upconversion (for better or worse) and an HTPC that I connect to the TV using a DVI->HDMI connector.

I'm inclined to buy the 2x1 manual, but the fear of needing more is always there, I suppose. But, what would I need more for? That's my question.

I plan to use component for an HD receiver (hopefully an HD-TiVo) and don't have much else. So, I guess I need to be convinced why I need to spend the extra $100 on the 5x1.

If you are going to have an HD Tivo that will get you the best results with an HDMI connector to your TV set.

So you're already at 3 connections.

My recommendation is to get the 5x1 switcher.

Cheers,

John, thanks.

Probably a stupid question: Is there a significant difference between HDMI and component for HDTV?

DTR (Doug),

Question for you.

I was going to send you a PM, but thought everyone might want to know this information.

I have a Philips 23 inch HDTV (23PF9966) and I am looking for the Service Manual because
anything over 480p has a terrible overscan problem and I would like to correct it.

Also, I have a Mits 65 inch (WS65613) and I'm looking for that service manual.

Where do you purchase all of your manuals or do you just know how to get into the
service menu?

A couple of weeks ago I posted a nice note about C* service techs and their corrections of my signal problem so my MOXI box was working perfectly.

The honeymoon was short lived......Today I called to inquire about upgrading to a MOXI w/ mate system. It would replace my current MOXI and Digital Receiver, and give me double the harddrive space for recording. The cost would be about $5 more a month, but worth it to have the extra harddrive space.

Well to make a long story short, we get to the end of the call and I want to signup for MOXI w/ mate and the CSR says their is a $35 install fee. WHAT the F???????? I have been with Charter since 1998 and pay them about $95 a month, so they are going to charge me $35 to give them the privilege of charging me $100 a month. NO WAY.

Anyway.....I talked to the 'supervisor', Jim, who said the MOXI is a very technical installation and requires a technician to come out so they have to charge the fee.......When I reminded him I already have MOXI he stuttered and said, sorry that is just the way it is, there was no getting through to him.

Does anyone have a contact at C* or know of a customer retention group at C* that could help resolve this and get the fee waived.

Any information or suggestions would be appreciated.

Brad

A couple of weeks ago I posted a nice note about C* service techs and their corrections of my signal problem so my MOXI box was working perfectly.

The honeymoon was short lived......Today I called to inquire about upgrading to a MOXI w/ mate system. It would replace my current MOXI and Digital Receiver, and give me double the harddrive space for recording. The cost would be about $5 more a month, but worth it to have the extra harddrive space.

Well to make a long story short, we get to the end of the call and I want to signup for MOXI w/ mate and the CSR says their is a $35 install fee. WHAT the F???????? I have been with Charter since 1998 and pay them about $95 a month, so they are going to charge me $35 to give them the privilege of charging me $100 a month. NO WAY.

Anyway.....I talked to the 'supervisor', Jim, who said the MOXI is a very technical installation and requires a technician to come out so they have to charge the fee.......When I reminded him I already have MOXI he stuttered and said, sorry that is just the way it is, there was no getting through to him.

Does anyone have a contact at C* or know of a customer retention group at C* that could help resolve this and get the fee waived.

Any information or suggestions would be appreciated.

Brad

Did you mention going to Dish or DirecTV?

John, thanks.

Probably a stupid question: Is there a significant difference between HDMI and component for HDTV?

I think it all depends, but basically it stays digital with HDMI instead of Analog.
And the audio is carried on the HDMI cable.

I need some advice from you HD gurus.

I am torn between purchasing a 2x1 manual HDMI switch (which Monoprice now has in stock) and a 5x1 w/ remote. The difference is about $100 (which to me is a pretty hefty amount of money.)

Right now I have a SD DVD player that uses HDMI for upconversion (for better or worse) and an HTPC that I connect to the TV using a DVI->HDMI connector.

I'm inclined to buy the 2x1 manual, but the fear of needing more is always there, I suppose. But, what would I need more for? That's my question.

I plan to use component for an HD receiver (hopefully an HD-TiVo) and don't have much else. So, I guess I need to be convinced why I need to spend the extra $100 on the 5x1.

I say get the 5x1. There are many devices that you could add using HDMI. Sony PS3. HD-DVD/Blu-Ray. various HD receiver/recorders (you may find you like the picture better from your HD-Tivo staying digital)

I just think if you have invested the kind of money you have for your current gear, do you really want to get up to change your source? If you're that strapped for cash, do what i did. Swap cables for a month or two (It's not much different than your manual switch) then buy the 5x1

Dave

A couple of weeks ago I posted a nice note about C* service techs and their corrections of my signal problem so my MOXI box was working perfectly.

The honeymoon was short lived......Today I called to inquire about upgrading to a MOXI w/ mate system. It would replace my current MOXI and Digital Receiver, and give me double the harddrive space for recording. The cost would be about $5 more a month, but worth it to have the extra harddrive space.

Well to make a long story short, we get to the end of the call and I want to signup for MOXI w/ mate and the CSR says their is a $35 install fee. WHAT the F???????? I have been with Charter since 1998 and pay them about $95 a month, so they are going to charge me $35 to give them the privilege of charging me $100 a month. NO WAY.

Anyway.....I talked to the 'supervisor', Jim, who said the MOXI is a very technical installation and requires a technician to come out so they have to charge the fee.......When I reminded him I already have MOXI he stuttered and said, sorry that is just the way it is, there was no getting through to him.

Does anyone have a contact at C* or know of a customer retention group at C* that could help resolve this and get the fee waived.

Any information or suggestions would be appreciated.

Brad

Did you ask if you could drive over to Charter, pick it up, and install it yourself?

Scott

Probably a stupid question: Is there a significant difference between HDMI and component for HDTV?Unfortunately this is one of those "it depends" questions.

In many cases, HDTV displays convert DVI or HDMI inputs to component video, because it's easier/cheaper to send all signals down the traditional internal video processing chain. And as John Kotches has pointed out here from time to time, if there was going to be a digital-to-analog conversion, it would make a world more sense to convert to analog RGB instead of component, but that rarely happens.

Where the signal processing path is all-digital, DVI/HDMI should look better, but experience tells me that can't be assumed. The best thing to do is try both and decide which one looks best to you.

Bear in mind that there may be differences in picture brightness or sharpness between the analog and digital inputs, and that a brighter and sharper picture isn't necessarily better. Do your best to get both inputs at a similar light level, and if possible normalize sharpness, as well as the contrast, brightness, color and tint settings via a test disc such as AVIA or Digital Video Essentials before deciding.

I need some advice from you HD gurus.

I am torn between purchasing a 2x1 manual HDMI switch (which Monoprice now has in stock) and a 5x1 w/ remote. The difference is about $100 (which to me is a pretty hefty amount of money.)

Right now I have a SD DVD player that uses HDMI for upconversion (for better or worse) and an HTPC that I connect to the TV using a DVI->HDMI connector.

I'm inclined to buy the 2x1 manual, but the fear of needing more is always there, I suppose. But, what would I need more for? That's my question.

I plan to use component for an HD receiver (hopefully an HD-TiVo) and don't have much else. So, I guess I need to be convinced why I need to spend the extra $100 on the 5x1.

I'll give you the same kind of advice I gave you when you were asking about the HTPC - you'll always want more and it won't take you long to regret not getting the 5.1 switcher with remote. I predict that you will add another device (or two) and you may want to add a universal remote like Harmony or Pronto. Get the manual switch and it will end up on eBay sometime in the not too distant future. Did I convince you?

DTR (Doug),

I have a Philips 23 inch HDTV (23PF9966) and I am looking for the Service Manual because anything over 480p has a terrible overscan problem and I would like to correct it.

Also, I have a Mits 65 inch (WS65613) and I'm looking for that service manual.

Where do you purchase all of your manuals or do you just know how to get into the service menu?wm,

I have a CD of Mitsubishi service manuals but can't pass them on. Send me a private message if you have a specific question. I can't answer service menu questions in a public forum, as this upsets manufacturers and makes it more difficult to get information from them.

As an example, Sony has recently stopped putting anything other than safety warnings, block diagrams and schematics in its latest service manuals. This was done primarily to try to keep service menu details off the Internet boards. But anyone who's spent any time at all over at the other sections of AVS knows that initiative hasn't been a smashing success, and it certainly hasn't prevented me and other calibrators from tracking down needed Sony information via other means.

On Philips, the situation is more difficult. I've never had any luck in getting a single crumb of information out of the company, and I don't know any other calibrators who have been successful either.

Long story short: Philips is not calibrator-friendly. And you need look no further than Philips' ill-conceived AmbiLight feature to see why the feeling is mutual.

The link below is for a CNET article on the 10 failings of HD DVD:

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6449_7-6510291-1.html?tag=nl.e722

Does anyone have a contact at C* or know of a customer retention group at C* that could help resolve this and get the fee waived.

Any information or suggestions would be appreciated.

Brad

When is the tech coming out? If it's Thursday or later, I can take care of it for you, just PM me your address and telephone number.

wolverine5767.

I'll give you the same kind of advice I gave you when you were asking about the HTPC - you'll always want more and it won't take you long to regret not getting the 5.1 switcher with remote. I predict that you will add another device (or two) and you may want to add a universal remote like Harmony or Pronto. Get the manual switch and it will end up on eBay sometime in the not too distant future. Did I convince you?
I don't really know anything about these HDMI switches, but will the current switches work with future HMDI standards like 1.3? If not, and his future equipment use HDMI 1.3 perhaps a 5X1 would be a waste? Just wondering if the HDMI switches are limited to HDMI 1.1 or will they work with future HDMI standards?

Great question, Nuzy. Hopefully someone will have an answer.

Tnanks to everyone for their advice. That's why this place is so great.

You did convince me to go ahead and get the 5x1 switch. I went ahead and ordered it along with a couple more HDMI cables from Monoprice. I'm hopng it will arrive Friday or Saturday and I can set everything up -- again. I figure that at some point I will end up w/ HD-DVD or BluRay or whatever the final standard is before I purchase another 'home theatre' display.

Thank again. This is exactly why this forum is so great.

Anyone know if today's baseball game on ESPN-HD will be blacked out locally? The game is also on FSM and don't they usually kill the ESPN feed here when both carry it?

A couple of weeks ago I posted a nice note about C* service techs and their corrections of my signal problem so my MOXI box was working perfectly.

The honeymoon was short lived......Today I called to inquire about upgrading to a MOXI w/ mate system. It would replace my current MOXI and Digital Receiver, and give me double the harddrive space for recording. The cost would be about $5 more a month, but worth it to have the extra harddrive space.

Well to make a long story short, we get to the end of the call and I want to signup for MOXI w/ mate and the CSR says their is a $35 install fee. WHAT the F???????? I have been with Charter since 1998 and pay them about $95 a month, so they are going to charge me $35 to give them the privilege of charging me $100 a month. NO WAY.

Anyway.....I talked to the 'supervisor', Jim, who said the MOXI is a very technical installation and requires a technician to come out so they have to charge the fee.......When I reminded him I already have MOXI he stuttered and said, sorry that is just the way it is, there was no getting through to him.

Does anyone have a contact at C* or know of a customer retention group at C* that could help resolve this and get the fee waived.

Any information or suggestions would be appreciated.

Brad

There is a retention group, just ask for customer retentions when you call in. However, the MOXI mate install is not one that you could do yourself since they install a couple filters on the outside line to keep the MOXI signal in your house. The MOXI and Mate talk to each other and the initial setup and authorizations are a stupid process too. One box has to be auth'd before the other and then they both need reset. argh.

On the positive side, the MOXI Mate setup is worth it. I saw the $35 install fee show up on my account and immediately called in and told them to remove it since it was never discussed with me and if they didn't remove it I would leave.

Anyone know if today's baseball game on ESPN-HD will be blacked out locally? The game is also on FSM and don't they usually kill the ESPN feed here when both carry it?

I think that's a safe bet for all the providers. None of us will see it in HD in this area.

I'll PM those who expressed interest in letting Dish know further about our displeasure over their handling of HD games that SHOULD be open to Dish viewers.

EDIT: Sorry, I was looking at the 7PM time-slot. The 12:10 Cardinals/Pirates games on ESPNHD IS blacked-out on Dish.

I think that's a safe bet for all the providers. None of us will see it in HD in this area.

I'll PM those who expressed interest in letting Dish know further about our displeasure over their handling of HD games that SHOULD be open to Dish viewers.
The Dish EPG has Boston vs Cleavland listed on ESPNHD tonight.

The link below is for a CNET article on the 10 failings of HD DVD:

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6449_7-6510291-1.html?tag=nl.e722

Important to note that most of these things will apply to Blu-ray, too, when it finally gets here.

Over in the HD DVD software section they are discussing a topic that almost makes me want a player now, but it has nothing to do with the HD DVD system itself. Several people over there have successfully authored their own HD DVD content onto regualr recordable DVD (at least as MPEG2). As someone who owns an HD camcorder, I'm excited that we can do that already. It took a long time for DVD authoring to become affordable and easy. Blu-ray authoring looks to be just as easy a transition.

Unfortunately, these early players are just that - first generation products that will be followed up by cheaper and better players in a few months. However, that thread had me far more excited than any list of HD titles I've seen. I hadn't stopped to think that HD authoring would make such an early appearence.

It seems like every time ESPN shows a Cardinal game in HD it is blacked out on D*.

Scott

There have been a few occasions where the ESPN HD games during the week were not blacked out, but it's possible that this was an oversight. I don't want to raise false hope for today's game, but it's worth checking on...

The last one that I recall being available was the epic ninth-inning comeback against the Reds last year. I believe that was a Monday night game, and both the ESPN-HD broadcast and the FSMW standard broadcast were available on DirecTV.

I remember this pretty clearly, because I was calibrating a customer's 30-inch CRT Samsung HDTV and we were both surprised to see that the ESPN-HD game was available. I remember getting home later that night and watching the ninth inning -- the biggest Cardinal comeback in the history of the franchise.

Did you ask if you could drive over to Charter, pick it up, and install it yourself?

Scott
Yes I offered to pick up myself. However, they insisted the MOXI was a technical install and required a tech to come out and charge me $35.

Yes I offered to pick up myself. However, they insisted the MOXI was a technical install and required a tech to come out and charge me $35.

At least you were given the chance to get one. My inlaw's have been calling them since November to get a HD DVR, and my Dad since Feb to just get a regular HD cable box. No dice on either front, just "we're all out" responses.

Yes I offered to pick up myself. However, they insisted the MOXI was a technical install and required a tech to come out and charge me $35.

I do understand your point of paying them $35 just to keep paying them additional money every month. However, if they pay someone to come to your house, $35 seems like cheap labor.

Scott

Consider yourself lucky to be able to even get one. For $35, maybe they're throwing in some decent component video cables? The ones I got from an install in 2001 or so (before switching to D*) were very good quality.... I still use them for one of my DVD players. The ones I saw them used at my inlaw's in the past few months looked pretty good too.

PS. They tried to hit me with a $29.99 install charge when I had them come out for my initial Pipeline & Phone install in early March (even though when I ordered they said it would be free, with auto-debit signup). When the installer came, he didn't ask for a check... and I never got the auto-debit thingy, but my first bill showed a $29.99 charge. I called to complain and after some hem/hawing, they removed it. I'd keep your install and either eat the $35 or try and get it back with a phone call afterwards, play dumb.

Little OT but tidbit of info that was posted on our news page at work. I don't see the 6mb deal listed online yet but 6mb for $29.99 is $20 less than Charter's 5mb. Upload is 608k.

AT&T Launches Faster DSL Speed — Starting today, AT&T is offering consumer DSL service at twice the speed of its fastest offering to date — download speeds up to 6 megabits per second — for $29.99 per month for the first twelve months. AT&T's 3 Mbps service for home users costs $17.99 per month for the first year, and $29.99 per month after that. BellSouth, which has agreed to be acquired by AT&T, introduced 6 Mbps service in November. AT&T has previously offered 6 Mbps DSL to businesses. The New York Times, C4; Houston Chronicle, online.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/3820306.html

That is the link to the story. It states the deal should be online Monday at $27.99 for online ordering and $29.99 for phone ordering. Again, I am available to help with any questions on upgrading to this.

Rich

The link below is for a CNET article on the 10 failings of HD DVD:

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6449_7-6510291-1.html?tag=nl.e722

That article is a summary of why I am disenfranchised with just about everything in this country.

Some bonehead takes the time to sit and gripe and bitch about how a first generation product is absolutely worthless. So is he stating we should do nothing? Staying completely out of the specific topic, I am sick and tired of every Tom, Dick, Harry, and Sally with a computer and a microphone and a knack for throwing stones at everything calling themselves a journalist. If I stuck to just the news articles, commentaries (are these different from today's news articles), and tech reviews I would be sitting at home scared to death, banging on a rock to get a spark, and rejecting all technology because its 'junk' - unless of course Apple made it.

Back on topic - what exactly did he expect from a first generation $500 HD-DVD player? Its the equivalent of a technology preview. They (the press and consumers) demand everything today - and then complain that it isn't 5th generation quality and features for $99. Aaarrrgh...

With that said, I'll quote someone I don't recall... We overestimate how much technology will advance in 2 years, and underestimate how much it will advance in 5 years. My point being gives these things a year before you start complaining about secondary features. Does it generate true HD content of films that 2 months ago were 480P at best? Yes or No? If it does, I'd call it a success. We have commercial HD-DVD.

OK my rant is over... I'll go back to my HD Media Center with XBOX extenders... and wait until I can have a HD-DVD drive in my media center puter...

Chris

That article is a summary of why I am disenfranchised with just about everything in this country.

Some bonehead takes the time to sit and gripe and bitch about how a first generation product is absolutely worthless. So is he stating we should do nothing? Staying completely out of the specific topic, I am sick and tired of every Tom, Dick, Harry, and Sally with a computer and a microphone and a knack for throwing stones at everything calling themselves a journalist. If I stuck to just the news articles, commentaries (are these different from today's news articles), and tech reviews I would be sitting at home scared to death, banging on a rock to get a spark, and rejecting all technology because its 'junk' - unless of course Apple made it.

Back on topic - what exactly did he expect from a first generation $500 HD-DVD player? Its the equivalent of a technology preview. They (the press and consumers) demand everything today - and then complain that it isn't 5th generation quality and features for $99. Aaarrrgh...

With that said, I'll quote someone I don't recall... We overestimate how much technology will advance in 2 years, and underestimate how much it will advance in 5 years. My point being gives these things a year before you start complaining about secondary features. Does it generate true HD content of films that 2 months ago were 480P at best? Yes or No? If it does, I'd call it a success. We have commercial HD-DVD.

OK my rant is over... I'll go back to my HD Media Center with XBOX extenders... and wait until I can have a HD-DVD drive in my media center puter...

Chris

Each and every point that this writer makes is a valid issue that prospective HD DVD buyers should know about. He could have gone even further with the criticisms, but space constraints probably didn't allow it. The simple fact is that HD DVD is of limited appeal (at this stage, and given the format battle) even to lunatic early adopters like many of us on this forum. An audience of normal human beings should have even less reason to rush out and buy one of these first-generation players. I think those people are the ones he was talking to.

Just got an email from D*. Order NFL Sunday Ticket by 4/30 for $229 and get Superfan for free. Ordered mine with 5 easy payments of $45.80. D* rocks!

Scott

Charter has had Cinemax HD running for many months now. I don't see why the waste of bandwidth. Change it to Starz HD. If "SkineMax" would have some HD movies I might change my mind but normal HD Cinemax is a waste. :cool:

When is anybody going to offer all the premium movie channels in HD? Bring back VOOM.

For the Galactica fans, SciFi is making a prequel called Caprica that takes place 50 years before the current BSG. Read more at http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=23139

Also, I saw the HD-DVD setup at BB in Ellisville as well tonight. It was hooked to a Pioneer 1280x768 display. Looked decent. I played with the remote a bit and everything was snappy enough. They didn't have any full titles to play, but they did have the Demo disk running. It would have been nice to have a menu system that let you choose which trailer you wanted to watch instead of constantly chapter skipping, but that's a complaint about the demo disk. It looked nice, I'm just glad I don't have my PJ yet, otherwise I would have to think about the dreaded early adoption(I wouldn't actually do it, but I'd have to think about it.

Later
Dug

Anybody else watch ALIAS tonight?

That 3-month hiatus apparently did the show some good. This show ROCKS again. Too bad it's been canceled. :(

And KDNL's picture and 5.1 sound were both top-notch!

For the Galactica fans, SciFi is making a prequel called Caprica that takes place 50 years before the current BSG. Read more at http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=23139

Also, I saw the HD-DVD setup at BB in Ellisville as well tonight. It was hooked to a Pioneer 1280x768 display. Looked decent. I played with the remote a bit and everything was snappy enough. They didn't have any full titles to play, but they did have the Demo disk running. It would have been nice to have a menu system that let you choose which trailer you wanted to watch instead of constantly chapter skipping, but that's a complaint about the demo disk. It looked nice, I'm just glad I don't have my PJ yet, otherwise I would have to think about the dreaded early adoption(I wouldn't actually do it, but I'd have to think about it.

Later
Dug

The BB in south county actually has two demo units - one set up prominently with the Westinghouse display and another in a home theater cubby hole between audio and video (also on a Pioneer 1280x768 plasma). But they still have no demo disc. The sales guy told me it got held up in customs - that little hole in the middle just might be the perfect place to hide drugs. (I swear that's what he said he was told to tell people, but he didn't seem too convinced. Not the part about the drugs. I made that up.)

Great news about the BG spin-off.

Yes I offered to pick up myself. However, they insisted the MOXI was a technical install and required a tech to come out and charge me $35.

Brad:

If you read earlier on, I said for you to PM your phone number and address so I can waive that install charge for you, then you won't have it on there.

wolverine5767

PS Yes I work for Charter. I know our issues. Please don't start bashing me for them!!!

That article is a summary of why I am disenfranchised with just about everything in this country.

Some bonehead takes the time to sit and gripe and bitch about how a first generation product is absolutely worthless.
I don't see it that way. His gripes are perfectly reasonable and good information.

I think the public is often too quick to accept poorly conceived products at high prices. The industry has become too accustomed to pushing products to market prematurely to recoup R&D costs.

The whole HD-DVD vs BluRay war is a complete farce anway, and I hope the things is stillborn, forcing the industry to go back to the drawing board to do it right.

Just got an email from D*. Order NFL Sunday Ticket by 4/30 for $229 and get Superfan for free. Ordered mine with 5 easy payments of $45.80. D* rocks!

Scott
Thanks for the heads up. I have been a NFL Sunday Ticket subscriber since 1999. Last year when I added an HD receiver I had to pay the extra fee for the SuperFan package to see games in High Def. I called D and they are going to give my a $99 credit for the SuperFan package for this season. The person handling my call couldn't find out if existing customers were qualified for this offer, but she gave it to me anyway. Thanks again.

OT:

If anyone has tickets to tonight's Cards game and wants to let them go, let me know.

Brad:

If you read earlier on, I said for you to PM your phone number and address so I can waive that install charge for you, then you won't have it on there.

wolverine5767

PS Yes I work for Charter. I know our issues. Please don't start bashing me for them!!!

That's too cool. Way to go Wolverine5767! :cool:

Scott

Lost has lost me. I am so sick and tired of the constant reruns or recaps. Why can't they just keep the season moving along? I won't watch again until it's on DVD.

Scott

wolverine5767, since you have revealed yourself :cool: may I ask a question? Thanks, what is up with HDPPV channel, will it ever become active?

Any news regarding future Cardinal games in HD on FSMW via E*? I called and e-mailed protests but I feel I got nowhere.

Lost has lost me. I am so sick and tired of the constant reruns or recaps. Why can't they just keep the season moving along? I won't watch again until it's on DVD.

Scott

It's new episodes from now until the end of the season.

OT:

If anyone has tickets to tonight's Cards game and wants to let them go, let me know.

I sent you a PM.

wolverine5767, since you have revealed yourself :cool: may I ask a question? Thanks, what is up with HDPPV channel, will it ever become active?

wolverine-

It is nice to have a Charter employee posting here. What position are you in, if you don't mind me asking?

And, as long as I'm at it...do you have any idea on when the NFL Network may be available again on Charter. I know they are televising a number of regular season games this year.

I just noticed that all the locals for St. Louis from Dish Network are now on the 110 sat. Now you need either a Dish 500 or 1000. You longer need a 2nd dish looking at 61.5.

I just noticed that all the locals for St. Louis from Dish Network are now on the 110 sat. Now you need either a Dish 500 or 1000. You longer need a 2nd dish looking at 61.5.
On my system, Dish is still showing KNLC (24), WRBU (46), and WPXS (13) on 61.5°.
Did they just move them last night?
The other STL locals, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, WB, and PBS are showing on 119°.

wolverine5767, since you have revealed yourself :cool: may I ask a question? Thanks, what is up with HDPPV channel, will it ever become active?

From what I have heard it's only for PPV events in HD, primarily boxing I know not the greatest answer. I haven't tried to order any of the movies on there yet. As anyone else had any luck?

wolverine-

It is nice to have a Charter employee posting here. What position are you in, if you don't mind me asking?

And, as long as I'm at it...do you have any idea on when the NFL Network may be available again on Charter. I know they are televising a number of regular season games this year.

I am in the telephone department. As far as the NFL network, I doubt it for now to be honest with you. As you know it was in the sports tier. From what I heard, basically both sides played hardball with NFL Network wanting to be in Exp/Basic, and Charter not wanting to put them there. I heard theat NFL network wanted the same price they were getting from Charter for being in the Sports tier, but they wanted to be in Expanded Basic. Guess Charter said no, and the rest is history. It's a bummer it's not on there, I know.

As you can tell I al, I answer these question truthfully, and that's what you all deserve. I


Wolverine5767.

Thanks for the heads up. I have been a NFL Sunday Ticket subscriber since 1999. Last year when I added an HD receiver I had to pay the extra fee for the SuperFan package to see games in High Def. I called D and they are going to give my a $99 credit for the SuperFan package for this season. The person handling my call couldn't find out if existing customers were qualified for this offer, but she gave it to me anyway. Thanks again.
I paid for the Superfan last year also after they dropped the price to $49. Shortly after that, then ened up giving it away to everyone but I got a postcard saying I would automatically get SuperFan this season for free. Since you paid for it last year, you should have also automatically gotten it free this year. Glad they gave you the credit.

There have been a few occasions where the ESPN HD games during the week were not blacked out, but it's possible that this was an oversight. I don't want to raise false hope for today's game, but it's worth checking on...

The last one that I recall being available was the epic ninth-inning comeback against the Reds last year. I believe that was a Monday night game, and both the ESPN-HD broadcast and the FSMW standard broadcast were available on DirecTV.

I remember this pretty clearly, because I was calibrating a customer's 30-inch CRT Samsung HDTV and we were both surprised to see that the ESPN-HD game was available. I remember getting home later that night and watching the ninth inning -- the biggest Cardinal comeback in the history of the franchise.
Whether or not the ESPN feed is blacked out depends on whether FSMW has exclusive rights for that game in the Cardinals home market or not. In most cases they will and the ESPN feed will be blacked out. The game you cite from last year was either a mistake and should have been blacked out or FSMW did not have exlusive rights to that broadcast.

On my system, Dish is still showing KNLC (24), WRBU (46), and WPXS (13) on 61.5°.
Did they just move them last night?
The other STL locals, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, WB, and PBS are showing on 119°.

Yes, at about 1:00 am. They are still on 61.5 for now, but they are trying to comply with the single dish requirement the FCC to get locals., so I believe they will leave 61.5 soon.

Does anyone know when Dish will carry the local HD channels for St. Louis?

I tried to watch The Unit on KMOV DT Tuesday and the signal strength was varying so much I had to give up and switch over to analog. Same thing happened the previous Tuesday. Watched KMOV DT on and off for a couple of hours at the same time and it was perfect. Again, same as last week. All other channels were fine. I'm in St. Charles. I wondered if opening the new runway at Lambert might be causing it, but I figure that would give me problems all the time on KMOV and affect other channels. Anybody else notice this? I want to report it to KMOV, but would like to get more facts if possible.

I tried to watch The Unit on KMOV DT Tuesday and the signal strength was varying so much I had to give up and switch over to analog. Same thing happened the previous Tuesday. Watched KMOV DT on and off for a couple of hours at the same time and it was perfect. Again, same as last week. All other channels were fine. I'm in St. Charles. I wondered if opening the new runway at Lambert might be causing it, but I figure that would give me problems all the time on KMOV and affect other channels. Anybody else notice this? I want to report it to KMOV, but would like to get more facts if possible.

My signal strength for KMOV in Creve Coeur has dropped to the mid seventies while all others are in the 90s. I've been looking for antenna issues but can't find any. So I'm hoping this is at their end and temporary. It might be foliage, but why only one channel while the others seem unaffected?

Anyone else?????

Can I just say.... all things related HDTV, like putting up antennas, running coax, etc. is far more fun than landscaping.

Does anyone know when Dish will carry the local HD channels for St. Louis?
The last communication I had with their Exec Offices, around 4-6 weeks ago, I was told 3rd or 4th quarter, this year.

I paid for the Superfan last year also after they dropped the price to $49. Shortly after that, then ened up giving it away to everyone but I got a postcard saying I would automatically get SuperFan this season for free. Since you paid for it last year, you should have also automatically gotten it free this year. Glad they gave you the credit.

Same here. Soon after I ordered ST earlybird last year, they added the SuperFan charge. As soon as I saw it on my bill I called to complain and they instantly credited it back. Later in the season, I got the letter saying that they'll be giving it to me for free this season too.

DirecTV Drops Spice HD

Just because viewers weren't applauding doesn't mean they weren't watching... :D

The following is from today's TV Predictions newsletter:

________________________________________________

Since the launch of High-Definition TV, experts have differed over whether the adult industry would be helped or hurt by the ultra-realistic picture. Some have questioned whether porn fans would want to see the facial flaws (and other shortcomings) of their favorite performers.

Well, DIRECTV has apparently determined the answer is no -- at least for now. The nation's leading satellite TV service has dropped the Spice HD channel, which was available to its subscribers for the last two years.

DIRECTV spokesman Robert Mercer tells TVPredictions.com that Spice HD was dropped "in order to reclaim capacity for other programming -- a variety of sports, events and movies."

High-Definition TV channels require more capacity than a non-HD channel, perhaps as much as seven times. However, DIRECTV aired Spice HD only on the weekends after midnight.

DIRECTV launched the adult high-def channel a few hours after the 2004 Super Bowl. The channel, which was sold in three hour blocks for $14.99 per block, offered adult films from Spice and its parent, Playboy TV.

DIRECTV's decision to drop Spice HD was done quietly. The channel is still promoted at DIRECTV's web site.
________________________________________________

For more TV industry news, go to www.tvpredictions.com

I tried to watch The Unit on KMOV DT Tuesday and the signal strength was varying so much I had to give up and switch over to analog. Same thing happened the previous Tuesday. Watched KMOV DT on and off for a couple of hours at the same time and it was perfect. Again, same as last week. All other channels were fine. I'm in St. Charles. I wondered if opening the new runway at Lambert might be causing it, but I figure that would give me problems all the time on KMOV and affect other channels. Anybody else notice this? I want to report it to KMOV, but would like to get more facts if possible.

I have noticed a degradation in signal strength from KMOV over the past month. I tried recording the unit and it was unwatchable. All other channels have not changed. Last night I tweaked the antenna and the best I could get was 64 for KMOV, but it was solid (I have a rotor). I watched a few minutes of CSI and set MyHD to record. I tried to watch later when I finished what I needed to do and found many "No Signal" instances. When I checked the signal strength it had dropped to 11.?????? I have installed the 1.66 app and drivers. Maybe I should go back to the 1.65 stuff.

Walt

I have noticed a degradation in signal strength from KMOV over the past month. I tried recording the unit and it was unwatchable. All other channels have not changed. Last night I tweaked the antenna and the best I could get was 64 for KMOV, but it was solid (I have a rotor). I watched a few minutes of CSI and set MyHD to record. I tried to watch later when I finished what I needed to do and found many "No Signal" instances. When I checked the signal strength it had dropped to 11.?????? I have installed the 1.66 app and drivers. Maybe I should go back to the 1.65 stuff.Walt, I haven't seen any change in KMOV signal strength, or any increase in break-ups, at least during the CBS shows that I watch. I watched CSI last night and it was virtually perfect as were the bits and pieces of Letterman that I caught.

FWIW, I'm currently having intermittent droput/pixellation problems with kSDk. The same thing happened around this time last spring, but it cleared up a couple of weeks later. Obviously there's no guarantee that will happen again for me, or for you with KMOV, but it might be worth sitting relatively tight for another week or two before making major changes.

I too have noticed some issues with KMOV. We usually record all the CBS shows of the national HD feed. The other night, I watched CSI-M live via KMOV off-air. It had its fair share of break-ups.
To be fair, we don't use the KMOV off-air all that often, only when the timers are maxed out, so I don't have a good comparison, but I do not recall there being any issues in the past.

Updated St. Louis HD Programming Guide Available Here

The PDF attached below is an update to the St. Louis HD Programming Guide.

This is a minor update that removes Spice HD from the DirecTV line-up. If you've recently downloaded and printed out this guide, there's little point in doing that for this minor change, but if you haven't seen the guide before, it may be worth checking out...

As always, let me know of any errors or omissions.

I haven't had any issues with KMOV out here in LSL. But I have completely lost KDNL and KPLR. I really think my issues are foliage. The trees have completely come out the last two weeks.

I am out to purchase a rotator to see if I can resolve this once and for all. Kind of sick of running up from the basement to the attic...

Where are we on the purposed get together?

Yahoo today launched Yahoo Go!, their free downloadable DVR software/service, based largely on technology recently (as in last week) acquired via their purchase of Meedio. The software lets users manage photos (Flickr access included) and music, record and manage television programs, etc. The company lists the tuner cards supported here. The software is Windows only.

http://go.connect.yahoo.com/go/tv/get_started

Afternoon Everyone, somewhat new to the list. Was looking at Antenna info and stumbled across the thread here.

Just setup a MythTV box and i'm getting recording drop outs. Living in O'Fallon, MO and signal has been pretty decent up till now, just went HD in my house.

Gettting 2, 4, 11 and 30 with 0 issues, 5 WAS experiencing some dropouts but that seems not to be happening anymore. My big issue is with 9 (all subchannels, 1 - 4). We record ALOT of the kids programming and my myth box seems to be dropping every other show. Can't tell right now if it's a Myth config issue or if i'm just not getting the signal.

When I first setup the TV, the channel scan didn't pick up 9 Digital (none of the 9 subchannels), but 9 Analog was just fine. I then proceeded to move my Antenna around in my attic (Raised it a bit, it's kinda just laying in there) and re-scanned and sure enough, 9 and subs came in. I'm only seeing about 70% signal tho and the cartoons are surely showing some ghosting and fuz effects on them when things on screen move.

The antenna is old (about a year and a half now, purchased from Ultimate Electronics in St. Peters) and i've NO clue what brand it is other than it's rated for yellow/darkgreen (Medium Multi-Directional, tho it is 90 some odd inches front to back). Thing is, I seem to be picking up signal from 9, in my attic, which isn't rated to come in till you've got a large multi-directional...

All of this means my signal quality is probably borderline at best, don't think the complex guidlines allow me to roof mount (yea, I know about the federal regulations, but who wants to sue their housing complex?), so i'm kinda stuck in the attic. I do have an amp on the line just before the TV (splitting signal to my myth box and the tuner in my TV).

So, now to my question (Gods that took a while to get to, sorry about that)...can anyone recomend an antenna and a place to buy it that will get me a bit better reception? I know that everything is "it depends on your circumstances" but since i'm actually getting signal that antennaweb decides I shouldn't be getting it can't be that bad.

What i'm wondering is if there's something "smaller" I could pick up (that 92" antenna in my garage attic is a monster and impossible to mount or move) or should I keep the antenna i've got now and add a small directional or medium directional to the mix (just get a combiner), or "leave well enough alone". I'd REALLY like to get a clear CH:9 HD Signal in of decent quality so that I know whether that's Myth's problem or whether i've got a config error.

Any suggestions? Anyone in O'Fallon have a config somewhat like mine that has suggestions? Would I get a better signal moving the antenna to my basement? Even tho that's "underground"?

--Doug

Doug

You're right. I am not to the point of panic....yet. I have been thinking of a CM4221 after reading all the success people on this board are having. Right now I have an old RS that I cut the analogue portion off so that the UHF portion could swing in the attic. The 4221 should give me more placement options since I can mount it higher if needed.

Walt

Douglasw0

"Can't tell right now if it's a Myth config issue or if i'm just not getting the signal."

Is this Myth spelled. :D

Sorry couldn't resist.

See my post above. Channel Master 4221 seems to be the antenna of choice by many who can't use Silver Sensor or any of the other set top units.

WAlt

Douglasw0

"Can't tell right now if it's a Myth config issue or if i'm just not getting the signal."

Is this Myth spelled. :D

Sorry couldn't resist.

See my post above. Channel Master 4221 seems to be the antenna of choice by many who can't use Silver Sensor or any of the other set top units.

WAlt

Also, Even with good signals, I doubt you'll get anything good out of the 9-2,3,4. The subchannels are bitstarved and so is the main HD channel. The whole multi subchannel thing is a huge mistake on the quality side of things. I get good signals on 9 and I've never seen a clear picture on 9-2,3-4
Dug

Yea, that pretty much sucks, considering 9_3 is the ACTUAL analog 9, 9_1, 2, and 4 show alternate programming and such. While 9_2 is the kids channel and MOST of what we record could probably be snagged off there it's a bit disconcerting that 9_3 isn't able to be picked up a bit better than it is right now, given that it's the ACTUAL 9.

*sigh* I'll see about a Channel Master 4221, anyone know where I can pick one up? Is there a local distributor or is this a net thing?

--Doug Wagner

p.s. And in fact Aspec2 this is not Myth-Spelled...:) mythtv on the web (org) :)

Yea, that pretty much sucks, considering 9_3 is the ACTUAL analog 9, 9_1, 2, and 4 show alternate programming and such. While 9_2 is the kids channel and MOST of what we record could probably be snagged off there it's a bit disconcerting that 9_3 isn't able to be picked up a bit better than it is right now, given that it's the ACTUAL 9.

*sigh* I'll see about a Channel Master 4221, anyone know where I can pick one up? Is there a local distributor or is this a net thing?

--Doug Wagner

p.s. And in fact Aspec2 this is not Myth-Spelled...:) mythtv on the web (org) :)
I think Antenna's Direct, who advertise on this board, are local. If you go back a couple of pages, there are discussions of calling and picking up from them. I think MoInSTL did so, but I'm not sure it was her.
Dug

I think Antenna's Direct, who advertise on this board, are local. If you go back a couple of pages, there are discussions of calling and picking up from them. I think MoInSTL did so, but I'm not sure it was her.
Dug

I went to Skywalker Communications in O'Fallon. MUCH better prices & take returns. My CM 4221 was a mere $20.

FWIW, a couple of guys in O'Fallon had good success with the same antenna.

The CM 4221 is 30" long.

I get all of the 9 sub-channels fine btw. However 30-1 is starting to get flakey due to all the foliage.

Edit: Welcome douglasw0!

Skywalker
9390 Veterans Memorial Pkwy
O'Fallon, MO 63366
(800) 844-9555
(314) 272-8025
Fax (314) 272-8214

At 20$ and taking returns this is a bit of a no-brainer for me. I'll drop down this weekend and pick one up, get it installed and see if I get a better reception out of it than I do my behemoth.

Thanks for the information.

--Douglas Wagner

p.s. You guys have a GREAT board here, just started this project sometime around 2 weeks ago with my aquiring of a Sharp AQUOS 37" D40U and have been referring here many times for many things. :) Thanks much for making a real newbie in this area feel welcome. :)

Can I just say.... all things related HDTV, like putting up antennas, running coax, etc. is far more fun than landscaping.

So true. I bought my home over 2 years ago. The first day I moved in I hung the projector. Two years and 1000's of movies later I have yet to plant anyting in the yard. :D

Scott

At 20$ and taking returns this is a bit of a no-brainer for me. I'll drop down this weekend and pick one up, get it installed and see if I get a better reception out of it than I do my behemoth.

Thanks for the information.

--Douglas Wagner

p.s. You guys have a GREAT board here, just started this project sometime around 2 weeks ago with my aquiring of a Sharp AQUOS 37" D40U and have been referring here many times for many things. :) Thanks much for making a real newbie in this area feel welcome. :)

Welcome Douglas!

I am in O'Fallon as well. I use a Terk TV-32 UHF antenna in my attic and get all channels. I bought it at Ultimate where I used to work. You may want to try it if the Channel Master from Skywalker doesn't work.

Scott

Where are we on the purposed get together?

Yeah, lets all get together soon. :)

Scott

Can I just say.... all things related HDTV, like putting up antennas, running coax, etc. is far more fun than landscaping.

Ahh but landscaping is more rewarding and is always in high definition. I find a need to do low tech to balance my high tech. Of course the heavy concrete and stone stuff sucks but trees and other plants are a joy to nurture. Then the birds and wildlife come and I can spend more time looking out the window than watching HDTV.

If you can't eat it, I don't plant it. We're talking herbs here. Veggies require turning the soil and this is too much like work. Wife hires out the rest.

Walt

Ahh but landscaping is more rewarding and is always in high definition. I find a need to do low tech to balance my high tech. Of course the heavy concrete and stone stuff sucks but trees and other plants are a joy to nurture. Then the birds and wildlife come and I can spend more time looking out the window than watching HDTV.

I agree. This is my frist Spring here in STL. My very bland yard got a couple of rows of day lilies and impatiens in the front. Out back I have two beds of cana lilies and bananna trees. At the end of the driveway are 3 echinacea plants. All were dug from one of my sisters garden. I could really use some elephant ears and hostas, but there's always next year.

I have a new family of mockingbirds in my overgrown front shrub (won't be trimmed until the babies leave the nest), a pair of cardinals and a slew of robins and purple martins. This morning I was watching one of many rabbits in the neighborhood hang out in my front yard.

My fledgling garden is worth the dirty fingernails and muddy jeans.

At 20$ and taking returns this is a bit of a no-brainer for me. I'll drop down this weekend and pick one up, get it installed and see if I get a better reception out of it than I do my behemoth.

Thanks for the information.

--Douglas Wagner

p.s. You guys have a GREAT board here, just started this project sometime around 2 weeks ago with my aquiring of a Sharp AQUOS 37" D40U and have been referring here many times for many things. :) Thanks much for making a real newbie in this area feel welcome. :)

You're welcome. I got a lot of help and tips here too. Great bunch of folks.

I have one suggestion. Refer back to antennaweb to get your compass direction for pointing it. I just pointed mine in the general direction and wish now I would have aimed it better since 30-1 is struggling with all the new leaves.

Head's up to DTV subscribers. You can get a month of Total Choice Plus for free or a month of Total Choice Premiere for $50. Total Choice Premiere includes all the movie channels and sports pack, it's normally $99/month. There does not appear to be any commitment, i.e. no requirement to keep the package any more than 1 month. I just went to the DTV website and changed my package from Total Choice to Total Choice plus. In a month, I'll just change it back to Total Choice. Found out about this here: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=297538

Excellent. Thanks for the head up. I just went and upgraded my D* package from Total Choice to Total Choice plus... nothing like a free month of programming, then I'll just switch it back next month. hehe.

This may have already been posted. I got tired of looking at all the different schedules, so I combined the "now-listed" HD Cardinal Broadcasts for the 4 carriers. Thought it may be useful to others, sorry if someone else has already done it, I missed it.

ST LOUIS CARDINALS HD TV SCHEDULE 2006

MAY
4 Wednesday 7:00 PM @Houston ESPN2-HD +
5 Friday 6:30 PM @Florida FSN-HD
6 Saturday 5:00 PM @Florida FSN-HD
7 Sunday 12:00 PM @Florida KPLR-DT
8 Monday 7:00 PM Colorado FSN-HD
9 Tuesday 7:00 PM Colorado FSN-HD
27 Saturday 3:05 PM @San Diego FOX--KTVI-DT *

JUNE
3 Saturday 3:05 PM Chicago FOX--KTVI-DT *
5 Monday 7:00 PM Cincinnati FSN-HD
6 Tuesday 7:00 PM Cincinnati FSN-HD
11 Sunday 1:00 PM @Milwaukee KPLR-DT
25 Sunday 12:00 PM @Detroit KPLR-DT

JULY
8 Saturday 3:05 PM @Houston FOX--KTVI-DT *
9 Sunday 7:05 PM @Houston ESPN-HD
13 Thursday 7:00 PM Los Angeles FSN-HD
14 Friday 7:00 PM Los Angeles FSN-HD
15 Saturday 12:20 PM Los Angeles FOX--KTVI-DT *
17 Monday 6:05 PM Atlanta ESPN-HD
24 Monday 8:00 PM @Colorado FSN-HD
25 Tuesday 8:00 PM @Colorado FSN-HD
29 Saturday 3:05 PM @Chicago FOX--KTVI-DT *

AUGUST
5 Saturday 6:00 PM Milwaukee KPLR-DT
6 Sunday 1:00 PM Milwaukee KPLR-DT
13 Sunday 12:30 PM @Pittsburgh KPLR-DT
15 Tuesday 7:00 PM Cincinnati FSN-HD
16 Wednesday 7:00 PM Cincinnati FSN-HD
19 Saturday 12:20 PM @Chicago FOX--KTVI-DT *
26 Saturday 12:20 PM Chicago FOX--KTVI-DT *

SEPTEMBER
3 Sunday 1:00 PM Pittsburgh KPLR-DT
7 Thursday 8:30 PM @Arizona FSN-HD
8 Friday 8:30 PM @Arizona FSN-HD
10 Sunday 3:30 PM @Arizona KPLR-DT
16 Saturday 3:05 PM San Francisco FOX--KTVI-DT
17 Sunday 1:00 PM San Francisco KPLR-DT
22 Friday 6:05 PM @Houston ESPN-HD

* FOX Game of the Week - Not specified by FOX if HD or SD or "FOX Widescreen"
+ Also listed on FSN-SD - Blackout may apply

[QUOTE=kdg454]This may have already been posted. I got tired of looking at all the different schedules, so I combined the "now-listed" HD Cardinal Broadcasts for the 4 carriers. Thought it may be useful to others, sorry if someone else has already done it, I missed it.

If it has been posted I missed it also. Thanks a lot for this scheduled.

Ken,

Thanks for the schedule update. Do you know if the FSMW games in HD will be blacked out locally on E*? (How dumb is that???)

I wrote & called but I have no confidence it will be fixed anytime soon.

I think Antenna's Direct, who advertise on this board, are local. If you go back a couple of pages, there are discussions of calling and picking up from them. I think MoInSTL did so, but I'm not sure it was her.

I picked up my DB4 at the admin offices. I called the (877) 825-5572 number and was lucky that they had one in for a photo shoot or something. Normally they only ship from the CA warehouse. Call ahead, you might get lucky too.

Ken,

Thanks for the schedule update. Do you know if the FSMW games in HD will be blacked out locally on E*? (How dumb is that???)

I wrote & called but I have no confidence it will be fixed anytime soon.
Last I heard from E*, they will continue to be aired as part of MLB EI, and therefore blacked-out here in STL.
Presently, none of the 4 FSNHD games listed in May show up on 9467 in the 9-day EPG, so as far as May goes, unless Dish adds them later, only Charter and Direct will get the FSNMW-HD games.

FWIW, I doubt that we're going to get very many of the FSMW-HD games via DirecTV.

There's currently just one channel available for HD baseball on DirecTV, so unless something major changes, I think it will be more "miss" than "hit" for DirecTV subs and Cards in HD.

Though this is definitely one of those topics where I hope I'm wrong...

Dont forgot to Vote that you want the National Geographic channel in HD

(my favorite channel). They are part owned by Fox so they do listen to surveys and they will talk to Cox and request the add else risk not renewing the other Fox cable channels.

Remember to go to the web site and request it for Cox, Better yet call Cox via the 1-877 number your vote is recorded.

Here is the link

http://getngc.cablesource.net/

It will then give you the 1-877 number to call and VOTE to get National Geo HD.

Here the phone #
=========================
NGCHD
National Geographic Channel High Definition (NGCHD) is not currently offered by Cox Communications. Please call 877-77NGCHD (877-776-4243) to request that NGCHD be added to your channel line-up!
=========================


Ummm.... Cox cable is not in this market...

Ummm.... Cox cable is not in this market...

Too bad we can't vote to replace Charter with Cox. :D

Scott

Last I heard from E*, they will continue to be aired as part of MLB EI, and therefore blacked-out here in STL.
Presently, none of the 4 FSNHD games listed in May show up on 9467 in the 9-day EPG, so as far as May goes, unless Dish adds them later, only Charter and Direct will get the FSNMW-HD games.

What's MLB-EI? I wish someone from E* could explain why is it that we can pay for and receive all FSMWl games on the SD channel, we pay tons of $$$ to receive HD programming, yet we CANNOT receive the same SD game on the HD channel????

Who, then is entitled to receive the Cardinal games in HD on FSMW HD?

MLB-EI is Major League Baseball Extra Innings.

Based upon the language of their procedures, if something is treated as a Pay Event like
a baseball game on EXTRA INNINGS, then it will only be available on your regular
sports net channel if you are entitled to see it on that channel. Basically they are treating
the FSMW-HD feed as an Out Of Market feed of your local station and then blacking you out.

They are severly confused.

Currently only DirecTV subscribers when it is carried on channel 95, and Charter subscribers
can watch these broadcasts locally.

Hey all. I have an OT question. I cannot recall it may have been MO or kdg, but someone in the past has talked about a storm warning radio that has an alarm that sounds when there is a watch or warning. My wife is a little antsy and doesn't sleep much if there is a trheat, because she has to turn on the TV every half hour to check. I know someone with a similar radio, but they said they don't use it because it goes off all the time and they would never get any sleep. I thought the one mentioned here had different settings so it would only go off when there was a warning for example. Thanks in advance.

Ahh but landscaping is more rewarding and is always in high definition. I find a need to do low tech to balance my high tech. Of course the heavy concrete and stone stuff sucks but trees and other plants are a joy to nurture. Then the birds and wildlife come and I can spend more time looking out the window than watching HDTV.

Way off topic, but hey...

Heh, speaking of wildlife, my Grill is OOC right now (out of commission) as I went out there the other night (about a week ago) to start up the grill. Noticed some leaf scrap and dead weeds down by the propane turnon valve, figured my son had been playing in the yard again (he's 4). Turned on the gas, opened the lid to light (hadn't turned on the burners yet so no gas was coming out)...

Imagine my surprise when the ENTIRE inside of my grill (and it's pretty large) was COVERED with dead grass, leaves, and strands of some long plant stuffed into the grill...and 3 little blue bird eggs nestled in the middle of it all.

The bad news is i've lost my grill for the spring (at least till everything hatches), the good news is this is a WONDERFUL science lesson for my 2 year old and 4 year old. :)

Every time we go out on the deck now either we hear mom bird in there nestling on her eggs, or she sits on the telephone wire above our house literally SCREAMING at us to get the heck away from her nest. :)

Ah spring. :)

--Doug Wagner

Hey all. I have an OT question. I cannot recall it may have been MO or kdg, but someone in the past has talked about a storm warning radio that has an alarm that sounds when there is a watch or warning. My wife is a little antsy and doesn't sleep much if there is a trheat, because she has to turn on the TV every half hour to check. I know someone with a similar radio, but they said they don't use it because it goes off all the time and they would never get any sleep. I thought the one mentioned here had different settings so it would only go off when there was a warning for example. Thanks in advance.
Dueces,
Google on Midland NOAA radios. If you think you couldn't sleep before, wait until you get one of those radios. Yesterday, between 3PM and Midnight, there were 11 different alerts. The alert notification sounds like fire trucks crossing a red-lit intersection.
I really don't like that thing, and guess who's nightstand it ended up on....g'head, guess :mad:

Dueces,
Google on Midland NOAA radios. If you think you couldn't sleep before, wait until you get one of those radios. Yesterday, between 3PM and Midnight, there were 11 different alerts. The alert notification sounds like fire trucks crossing a red-lit intersection.
I really don't like that thing, and guess who's nightstand it ended up on....g'head, guess :mad:


Is there no way to set it only when there is a warning, not all watches? Or say only if there is a tornado warning, not Tstorms as well?

Yes, there is. Look for a radio that is SAME compliant. You can then program it for tornado warnings only in your County. Radio Shack has a nice selection. Good luck.

The bad news is i've lost my grill for the spring (at least till everything hatches), the good news is this is a WONDERFUL science lesson for my 2 year old and 4 year old. :)

Or you could make it a breakfast cooking lesson. :D

Or you could make it a breakfast cooking lesson. :D
No thanks, my wife is very very much an animal nut, i'd prefer not to be spitted and roasted alive over that same grill... ;)

--Doug

US Senate Bill Would Ease Entry of Telecos into Video

The following news item was included in today's Evening Bridge market close newsletter. The apparent gist of this bill is that local governments would lose the power to award local pay TV franchises, exclusive or otherwise, paving the way for the entry of teleco providers such as AT&T and Verizon on a nationwide basis.
______________________________________________

This afternoon, Ted Stevens, the Alaska Republican and chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, introduced telecom reform legislation that contains provisions addressing video franchises.

At first glance, the bill's text would preserve some of the local role in ensuring video service providers don't discriminate and in requiring customer protection and service rules are followed pursuant to national standards. The Federal Communications Commission would set standards, state commissions have enforcement power, and local franchise authorities have standing to file complaints on behalf of their residents, according to a bill briefing.
______________________________________________

Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. I bought an HD DVD player today. I told all my friends on the AVS Forum that I wouldn't do it. I made a big deal about it, and then I went out and did it anyway. I know they'll find out and won't pay any attention to my posts anymore. (That's assuming they ever did, but that's a different story.)

But, I did it for a different reason than most, Father. I did it because I found out I can author my own HD DVD disks. I've created a dozen disks already, even before buying the player. And I've been going to Best Buy in south county and experimenting with their player for the last week. When my player comes, I'm not going to rush out and buy the six titles that are available. I'm going to get to work and burn my own HD DVDs. Within a month I plan on having at least 100-150 HD disks in my HD DVD library.

Oh, and I've had impure thoughts about Jessica Alba.

Joe,

The HD DVD authoring angle is definitely an interesting development, but I doubt that it's going to have any real effect in opening up this product to a mass market, for obvious reasons.

What is probably most interesting about this is that it provides some measure of "obsolesence protection," as even if the format fails (and I still think the odds are stacked against both formats), you've found some long-term utility that should make you indifferent to how the format wars shake out.

I also find this ironic (after all that talk about copy protection, one of the benefits immediately identified by early adopters is creation of HD libraries) AND worrying (it could be used to justify Hollywood's demands for iron-clad copy protection, even though there's a bit of an apples to oranges distinction here, as you're not pirating the discs).

Correct me if I'm wrong, but most of your HD-library-to-be is going to be TV shows and movies that you recorded over the air. Or is there a way to get files from your Dish HD DVRs onto one of these HD DVDs? If so, the collective blood pressure in Southern California is surely headed upward.

On Jessica Alba, you're not alone there -- if I hadn't given up Catholicism for Lent more than 30 years ago (and never looked back), I'd be in perpetual Hail Mary/Our Father mode since the "Dark Angel" era... :eek:

Hey all. I have an OT question. I cannot recall it may have been MO or kdg, but someone in the past has talked about a storm warning radio that has an alarm that sounds when there is a watch or warning. My wife is a little antsy and doesn't sleep much if there is a trheat, because she has to turn on the TV every half hour to check. I know someone with a similar radio, but they said they don't use it because it goes off all the time and they would never get any sleep. I thought the one mentioned here had different settings so it would only go off when there was a warning for example. Thanks in advance.

I have the Midland WR-100. It's $40 at Radio Shack. It has SAME technology but I have not been able to figure out how to do warnings only. It went off this afternoon for a tornado watch. I have it programmed for STL and St. Chuck counties. I will call Midland tomorrow as there is nothing in the manual about warnings only. If it does not have that setting, I am returning it.

It has a nice feature though, Just hit the Weather button and it gives a detailed forecast for several days. No more having to catch it on TV or going online.

Doug, Ted "Bridge to Nowhere" Stevens makes me a bit nervous. He's also behind giving a paltry stipend for HDTVs and Recievers, that amounts to less than $500 on a device that in 3 years will still cost well over a grand. I believe the last number I saw was about $250.

As for telco entry in local cable/satellite/internet, I remain circumspect which regards to price point drops. It might, but we all (excluding me, I was all of a year old when Ma Bell was broken up; I just turned 23 last month) about the price of phone service, doubling, then tripling, etc; the rising cost of long distance, etc.

Paradoxically, with very little competition in the cable TV, cable companies seem to continually ratchet up rates for channels, with little or no explanation. Will the introduction of competition force Charter to lower inflated rates? Time will tell. But I'm betting against significant changes in price for cable subscribers.

kj,

FWIW, I recall reading that when AT&T entered the Fort Worth suburban market where Charter was the incumbent, Charter dropped prices roughly 20% in return for an extended subscriber commitment. Of course, there's no guarantee that Charter or any other cable company would lower rates if the telecos roll out on a nationwide basis, but you can be sure it definitely increases the chances of them doing so.

As far as I'm concerned, there's no competitive risk from AT&T coming back as a larger player. The market is much broader in terms of product offerings and there's a great deal more competition than in the pre-breakup era. It's logical that there's going to be some consolidation in the teleco market, but I think we're a long, long way away from any sort of monopoly risk.

Also, I'm highly skeptical that the teleco video initiatives will be successful. In fact, I think all of the telecos that try to enter this market will shoot themselves in the foot. But I think it's still a good thing in the short term as it will introduce real choice for all consumers, not just us quasi-propeller heads who happily embrace satellite.

Joe,

The HD DVD authoring angle is definitely an interesting development, but I doubt that it's going to have any real effect in opening up this product to a mass market, for obvious reasons.

What is probably most interesting about this is that it provides some measure of "obsolesence protection," as even if the format fails (and I still think the odds are stacked against both formats), you've found some long-term utility that should make you indifferent to how the format wars shake out.

I also find this ironic (after all that talk about copy protection, one of the benefits immediately identified by early adopters is creation of HD libraries) AND worrying (it could be used to justify Hollywood's demands for iron-clad copy protection, even though there's a bit of an apples to oranges distinction here, as you're not pirating the discs).

Correct me if I'm wrong, but most of your HD-library-to-be is going to be TV shows and movies that you recorded over the air. Or is there a way to get files from your Dish HD DVRs onto one of these HD DVDs? If so, the collective blood pressure in Southern California is surely headed upward.

On Jessica Alba, you're not alone there -- if I hadn't given up Catholicism for Lent more than 30 years ago (and never looked back), I'd be in perpetual Hail Mary/Our Father mode since the "Dark Angel" era... :eek:

Doug,

I'm able to record anything from Dish right now. That's through the R5000 modification to my new Dish 211 HD receiver. For the sake of clarity, that receiver is not a DVR - it's just a receiver. The R5000 mod is an aftermarket way of getting anything from the Dish satcasts onto the computer via USB. It adds a USB2 port to the 211 and that connects to the computer. Add the software and you can capture anything from Dish to the hard drive. All perfectly legal. As a matter of fact, I found out about the R5000 from a thread started by Alan Gouger, one of the guys who runs this AVS Forum. There are a couple of really long threads about it here.

Once it's on your computer, you can record anything to any of the regular DVD recordable formats (DVD +/- R/RW/Double Layer). Add the MyHD for local OTA broadcasts (which are often better than Dish broadcasts) and I can archive anything from OTA or satellite. That's the plan with the Toshiba HD DVD player. I have hundreds of hours of OTA and satellite recordings, many of them already on DVD as regular DVD data files (in .ts format). I can play any of these archived recordings on my MyHD systems.

Now, I'm able to put those in a format (HD DVD) that will be at least a little more mainstream than my MyHD systems. And you're right, even if both formats fail, I still have a library of recordings that I will be able to find a player for, well into the future.

The only movie I have the slightest interest in buying is Serenity. I'll buy anything Joss Whedon is involved with. (I fell in love with his work starting with Buffy, and I've bought all the Buffy, Angel, and Firefly series on DVD.) So, I'll buy Serenity, but I already have Phantom of the Opera and The Last Samurai from satellite. Those are two of the titles available now on HD DVD (neither of which I would buy anyway), along with Doom and a couple others. Now, movies recorded from Dish are not as pristine as those mastered for HD DVD. There are compression artifacts and other issues with satcasts. And the bitrate for the satcasts can be pretty low. As a matter of fact, when I strip out the null packets from the satcasts captured by the R5000, many movies fit on a double layer DVD recordable, cost $2.

The movie studios have done a really good job of intimidating the content providers into not providing a way to archive. Fortunately, there is the R5000. It's one of two solutions I'm aware of. The other is the 169Time mod, but it doesn't work well. The R5000 does. (There are nightmare threads on the 169Time mod.) The R5000 works with Dish, DirecTV and many cable boxes. (However, DirecTV uses HDLite, 1280x1080, for all its non-OTA satcasts, so I don't know how well that format is going to work with the system I'll outline below. I have no experience with any of the cable box mods, either.)

I found a thread last week on doing HD DVD authoring. Amazing, given that the players just came out. I've done a fair amount of DVD authoring and some CD-ROM development, so I'm pretty comfortable with the software. It took me all of a couple of hours to get the first disk burned, although I had to wait til the morning to test it at Best Buy. (As much maligned as the staff there is, they were very open to my coming in with my HD DVD homemade disks and fiddling with the player.)

As for how much impact this archiving technology will have on the market for HD DVD and Blu-ray content, I'd bet very little. The average person isn't going to want to do what I do, or even have the means to do it. It requires a fairly serious computer system, a specially modified receiver and the expertise to put all these elements together (not to mention the time to do it all). It's not hard, but the average person isn't going to want to go to the trouble. And even I am going to want to buy some HD discs. The quality difference is noticeable between satcasts and the HD broadcast content I've seen. But, I'd wager that much of the stuff that I want to archive will take forever to get to HD (if ever). Things like the HD Rick Steves' travel series, or some of the more obscure programming, may take quite a long time to be released.

Anyway, here's a quick list of what is needed to do this (I've already gotten a couple of PMs):

1. Dish 211 or 622 (or compatible DirecTV or cable box - again, I'm not sure how well this will work with DirecTV's HDLite or the cable boxes)
2. Nextcom R5000 mod for USB2 recording - check their web site for recommended computer systems
3. Any more recent computer (2 GHZ or faster preferred, but not essential) with a beefy hard drive)
4. Dual layer DVD burner
5. Womble MPEG-VCR software for editing out commercials and converting the .ts files to mpg
6. Ulead Movie Factory 5 for HD DVD authoring
6. HD DVD player

There's a thread in the HD DVD Software section here on AVS that gives a step by step on how to do it.

If you want more details, PM me.

Teleco Bill Would Require Warning on Analog TVs

Finally...one of the other provisions of the US Senate bill on TV regulation would require that consumers be warned when purchasing analog TVs that will not receive over-the-air programming once the transition to digital broadcasting is complete.

The story excerpts below are from today's SkyREPORT newsletter:
_________________________________________________

...the legislation would require television manufacturers to place labels on the television screen and in packaging for any set that cannot receive digital signals. The labels would warn a purchaser that the TV would no longer receive broadcast television signals over-the-air after Feb. 17, 2009. That's the date mandated for the nation's switch from analog to digital TV...
__________________________________________________


In addition the bill would prohibit "exclusive" pay TV deals on major sporting events.
__________________________________________________

...the bill also would ensure that programming access safeguards apply to all sporting events so pay-TV services cannot enter into exclusive deals with program vendors for sports coverage.
__________________________________________________

For more satellite TV industry news, go to www.skyreport.com

Joe,

Thanks for the additional details on this. I had forgotten about the DISH 5000 angle -- I used to own the Panasonic D-VHS and that recorder and the 5000 was a popular early adopter HD combo back last century. :)

I'm surprised those units have survived this long...

As for the additional details, I sort of suspected that this was not going to be very mainstream and wouldn't appeal much to even the above-average consumer.

But one question -- once you make the HD DVD of your OTA or satellite programming, can you make additional copies of the DVD with the DVD as the source, or would there be some sort of encoding that limited you to just a first-generation copy (from the original recording)?

Joe,

Thanks for the additional details on this. I had forgotten about the DISH 5000 angle -- I used to own the Panasonic D-VHS and that recorder and the 5000 was a popular early adopter HD combo back last century. :)

I'm surprised those units have survived this long...

As for the additional details, I sort of suspected that this was not going to be very mainstream and wouldn't appeal much to even the above-average consumer.

But one question -- once you make the HD DVD of your OTA or satellite programming, can you make additional copies of the DVD with the DVD as the source, or would there be some sort of encoding that limited you to just a first-generation copy (from the original recording)?

This Nextcom R5000-HD unit is different than the early Dish 5000 RF modulators you remember. This is a modification anyone can have done to a new receiver. It does serve the same basic function, however. That old Dish 5000 died when Dish retired the technology. This is completely an aftermarket mod, giving back what Dish and the content providers decided to take away years ago.

The material is completely open and not copy "flagged." It can be copied. (Don't anyone get any ideas about PMing me to give them copies of copyrighted materials. That is illegal, and I won't do it. I'd be happy to point anyone to the tools to do this themselves. Of sourse, this isn't directed to you, Doug.)

Anybody else watch ALIAS tonight?

That 3-month hiatus apparently did the show some good. This show ROCKS again.

If you look at that show, it's gone back to its original roots. Storyline that continues weekly (not seperate weekly storylines), can't tell if Sloan is a good guy or bad guy, and babes kickboxing the bad guys.

They strayed away from that formula, and that is what caused it to go downhill.

-Hanjke

Imagine my surprise when the ENTIRE inside of my grill (and it's pretty large) was COVERED with dead grass, leaves, and strands of some long plant stuffed into the grill...and 3 little blue bird eggs nestled in the middle of it all.


--Doug Wagner

Funny!
Same thing happened to me last spring.

-Hanjke

Is anyone having problems picking up FSN Midwest on D* today? After the storm last night, I seem to only be receiving 13 of the 32 transponders on Sat 101*. All of the transponders that I am receiving have signal strength between 75-90. Thanks in advance for a possible solution.

Is anyone having problems picking up FSN Midwest on D* today? After the storm last night, I seem to only be receiving 13 of the 32 transponders on Sat 101*. All of the transponders that I am receiving have signal strength between 75-90. Thanks in advance for a possible solution.

What transponders are missing?

What transponders are missing?

1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 29 and 31. All of my odd ones + 12, 18 & 28 on Sat 101. On Sat 119, Transponder 27 is not receiving a signal either. Which are not used. BTW, I have a Sony Sat HD300 Receiver, if that helps.

I am going to try a cold boot and see if that helps.

1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 29 and 31. All of my odd ones + 12, 18 & 28 on Sat 101. On Sat 119, Transponder 27 is not receiving a signal either. Which are not used. BTW, I have a Sony Sat HD300 Receiver, if that helps.

I am going to try a cold boot and see if that helps.

I'll have to check we I get home from work. Let us know if the reboot works.

1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 29 and 31. All of my odd ones + 12, 18 & 28 on Sat 101. On Sat 119, Transponder 27 is not receiving a signal either. Which are not used. BTW, I have a Sony Sat HD300 Receiver, if that helps.

I am going to try a cold boot and see if that helps.

If this is your only receiver, it might be a pain to troubleshoot. Right now it
sounds like either the box or the LNB got fried. I had to troubleshoot this
identical problem and it turned out to be both.

If you look at that show, it's gone back to its original roots. Storyline that continues weekly (not seperate weekly storylines), can't tell if Sloan is a good guy or bad guy, and babes kickboxing the bad guys.

They strayed away from that formula, and that is what caused it to go downhill.

-Hanjke

Too bad that they're making this the last season, on the other hand the storylines are getting a bit old. How many different terrorist organizations can exist in the world that have total dominance over 100 some odd artifacts of a long dead profit? :D

I just hope the series finisher a few weeks from now is worth the last 3 or so years of excelent programming. They did OK with XFiles final, i'll be interested to see how they do with this one.

--Douglas Wagner

If this is your only receiver, it might be a pain to troubleshoot. Right now it
sounds like either the box or the LNB got fried. I had to troubleshoot this
identical problem and it turned out to be both.

It's something with the receiver. My other box (Hughes DVR80) is picking up these transponders just fine and FSN-Midwest. I guess I need to troubleshoot with my HD300.

It's something with the receiver. My other box (Hughes DVR80) is picking up these transponders just fine and FSN-Midwest. I guess I need to troubleshoot with my HD300.

Bummer. If you end up needing a new box. I have an extra Zenith HD- Sat520 D* box. I am not using it because of the new Tivo. I would consider selling or trading for something.

Scott

MLB-EI is Major League Baseball Extra Innings.

Based upon the language of their procedures, if something is treated as a Pay Event like
a baseball game on EXTRA INNINGS, then it will only be available on your regular
sports net channel if you are entitled to see it on that channel. Basically they are treating
the FSMW-HD feed as an Out Of Market feed of your local station and then blacking you out.

They are severly confused.

Currently only DirecTV subscribers when it is carried on channel 95, and Charter subscribers
can watch these broadcasts locally.

So, in theory...if I dropped from the 120 channel package to the 60 channel package (which doesn't include FSN.) THen I would get the Cards Games in HD?

Just asking?

If this is your only receiver, it might be a pain to troubleshoot. Right now it
sounds like either the box or the LNB got fried. I had to troubleshoot this
identical problem and it turned out to be both.

When I do an outdoor test on the Sony SatHD300, I get a fail on the RHCP on the Sat 101 and Sat 119. The cold reboot did not help.

Teleco Bill Would Require Warning on Analog TVs



In addition the bill would prohibit "exclusive" pay TV deals on major sporting events.



This mean Sunday Ticket excluvsity to D*?

Charter Spends More on Customer Service ?????????
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Charter Communications Widens 1Q Loss

. . .
Smit said a marketing budget increase of 8.6 percent has helped Charter boost its customer base by almost 60 percent. He said the company has narrowed its marketing focus to try and pick up the best customers, while investing in customer service to retain them. . . .

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Earns-Charter-Communications.html
[free subscription may be required to read]

jim

So, in theory...if I dropped from the 120 channel package to the 60 channel package (which doesn't include FSN.) THen I would get the Cards Games in HD?

Just asking?

From the way Dish is handling this, you would not get it because it is a MLBEI
game. You are being blacked out locally for some reason. Now, I don't know if
you were to subscribe to MLBEI if you would be blacked out, but that is why you
aren't getting it.

When I do an outdoor test on the Sony SatHD300, I get a fail on the RHCP on the Sat 101 and Sat 119. The cold reboot did not help.

What if you swap receiver locations? You said you had another receiver. Can
you unplug that one and put the 300 in it's place just to test the satellite connection?

Also, what Dish are you using? The integrated multiswitch LNB or the old one with
the extra Multiswitch attached to it?

Way off topic, but hey...

Heh, speaking of wildlife, my Grill is OOC right now (out of commission) as I went out there the other night (about a week ago) to start up the grill. Noticed some leaf scrap and dead weeds down by the propane turnon valve, figured my son had been playing in the yard again (he's 4). Turned on the gas, opened the lid to light (hadn't turned on the burners yet so no gas was coming out)...

Imagine my surprise when the ENTIRE inside of my grill (and it's pretty large) was COVERED with dead grass, leaves, and strands of some long plant stuffed into the grill...and 3 little blue bird eggs nestled in the middle of it all.

The bad news is i've lost my grill for the spring (at least till everything hatches), the good news is this is a WONDERFUL science lesson for my 2 year old and 4 year old. :)

Every time we go out on the deck now either we hear mom bird in there nestling on her eggs, or she sits on the telephone wire above our house literally SCREAMING at us to get the heck away from her nest. :)

Ah spring. :)

--Doug Wagner

You have to grill more.. I grill all year round.... Keeps the critters out and good eatin.

So, in theory...if I dropped from the 120 channel package to the 60 channel package (which doesn't include FSN.) THen I would get the Cards Games in HD?
Just asking?
From the way Dish is handling this, you would not get it because it is a MLBEI
game. You are being blacked out locally for some reason. Now, I don't know if
you were to subscribe to MLBEI if you would be blacked out, but that is why you
aren't getting it.
Subscribing to MLB EI is an extra premium package offered by Dish. It's available to any program level subscriber, just as a premium movie channel would be, HBO, SHO, etc. I believe it is also offered by Direct and Charter, if so, the same rules apply.
MLB EI then follows MLB TV broadcast rules for market blackouts.

Simply stated, the rule which governs this issue says no viewer who purchases a MLB sponsored TV broadcast package, whether it be MLB EI or MLB.comTV, is eligible to view a MLB sponsored TV broadcast in their home market, where/when a RSN or local affiliate (local O&O included) has broadcast rights for the home market's team, and is broadcasting a given game.
This rule applies throughout MLB and the TV broadcast industry.


I have a Dish subscription to MLB EI, and the only time a Cardinals game has ever been not blacked out on MLB EI is when either FSNMW or KPLR did not broadcast it, otherwise all Cardinals games are blacked out, in the STL market on all MLB TV sponsored broadcasts.


The issue at hand is, whether or not Dish should be airing the FSNMW HD simulcast as a MLB EI sponsored broadcast. It appears Direct is also, which would make them in violation of MLB Broadcast agreements. For the sake of Direct subscribers, I hope not, but I'd look for that to change in the near future. Charter, on the other hand, appears to offering FSNMW-HD and an additional RSN channel, which would then allow the broadcast not to be blacked out in STL.
All Dish and Direct need to do to resolve the issue would be to follow Charter, and add an additional channel for FSNMW-HD. I suppose easier written, than done.

Ken,

I think you might have the rules on MLB blackouts wrong.

The only time that a Cardinals game should be blacked out on MLB Extra Innings is when the broadcast of that Cardinals game is originated by a TV station or regional sports network from the other team's market. This is, after all, the whole purpose of a blackout -- to protect the local exclusive rights that TV stations or regional sports nets pay for a team's TV broadcasts.

For example, yesterday the Cardinals played the Reds. If MLB selected that game as one of the MLB EI games offered yesterday (not all games are available, unlike NFL Sunday Ticket), and if the broadcast included on the MLB EI package originated from Cincinnati (either an OTA station or regional cable sports network), the game would have been blacked out for MLB EI subscribers in St. Louis.

On the other hand, if the Cardinals-Reds broadcast on MLB EI was the Fox Sports Midwest telecast of the game, then St. Louis-based MLB EI subscribers would be able to see that game via the MLB EI package, because that broadcast IS the locally originated telecast. But then, this is basically a moot point because virtually all cable and satellite services include the local sports net package as part of the basic subscription package.

(Note: Charter's lowest-level analog package does not include FSMW, but that antiquated analog service is also incapable of delivering the MLB EI package).

I have to admit that I haven't subscribed to MLB EI for a few years now, so it's possible that my recollection of the rules is wrong or has changed, but I don't see even a milligram of logic in a blackout rule that forces black outs of locally originated games for local subscribers, while the out-of-town broadcasts of the home team are allowed in. That approach runs entirely counter to the concept of protecting local exclusive rights and maintaining local eyeballs for local advertisers.

As far as I can tell, what DirecTV is doing with local broadcasts via MLB EI is correct and what DISH is doing is not. Bear in mind that DirecTV has offered the MLB EI service as an exclusive service for the better part of the past decade and it's only recently that DISH and cable providers have been allowed in.

One additional thought here. It is POSSIBLE that DISH has chosen to add local blackouts of local MLB EI broadcasts, because a baseball team generally splits its broadcast rights between a cable network and an OTA station. So, it's possible that DISH is blacking out the locally originated MLB EI broadcasts so that it protects the revenue that it gains from the $4 or $5 per month it charges for local stations. The "logic" in doing that is that it would "force" a local subscriber to pay DISH for locals in order to see the locally originated sports broadcasts, rather than selecting MLB EI (or other sports package) instead. But that seems like an extremely convoluted (not to mention greedy) way to go about maximizing DISH revenues for local station packages, especially when you consider the subscriber cost of a local stations package versus the cost of MLB EI...

CNET has a pretty comprehensive story that outlines the various provisions in the telecom/broadcast legislation that Alaskan senator Ted Stevens presented earlier this week:

Click here (http://news.com.com/Net+neutrality+missing+from+sweeping+telecom+bill/2100-1028_3-6067153.html?tag=st.prev) to read the CNET wrap-up.

For me, the most interesting new detail here is that the bill would include a provision that would outlaw DVRs capable of recording over-the-air broadcasts. However, the bill supposedly would otherwise protect the right of home viewers to time shift recordings and distribute them via LOCAL area networks (which seems a bit conflicted), via the ever-popular "broadcast flag."

Not surprisingly, the MPAA is reported to see such a limited broadcast flag provision to be unacceptable.

What if you swap receiver locations? You said you had another receiver. Can
you unplug that one and put the 300 in it's place just to test the satellite connection?

Also, what Dish are you using? The integrated multiswitch LNB or the old one with
the extra Multiswitch attached to it?


I swapped the receivers and it is something inside the SatHD300 that is not working properly.

BTW, I have the integrated multiswitch LNB dish.

I swapped the receivers and it is something inside the SatHD300 that is not working properly.

BTW, I have the integrated multiswitch LNB dish.

So when you swapped them the good receiver still worked?

Scott

So when you swapped them the good receiver still worked?

Scott

My Hughes DVR80 works just fine. I pick up all of the Sats and Transponders on it. I will probably end up sending my SatHD300 into Sony for a repair in a couple of weeks after the conclusion of "24."

My Hughes DVR80 works just fine. I pick up all of the Sats and Transponders on it. I will probably end up sending my SatHD300 into Sony for a repair in a couple of weeks after the conclusion of "24."

Hopefully it is under a warantee of some sort cuz I can't imagine it would be
any cheaper than buying a new one. I would try calling D* to see if they will
hook you up under some sort of deal.

According to the Sony Service website it qualifies for Flat Rate Repair pricing of $84.00. I will give it a try and see if it this works. Does anyone know when the new D* HDDVR hits the market?

Interesting article on MSN today.
"Just like consumers, TV broadcasters are worried about the costs of high-definition television."

http://msn.com.com/2100-9584_22-6065022.html?part=msn&subj=ns_22-6065022&tag=tg_bz

According to the Sony Service website it qualifies for Flat Rate Repair pricing of $84.00. I will give it a try and see if it this works. Does anyone know when the new D* HDDVR hits the market?

You can have my Zenith for $75 if you want let me know. I have the original box, remote, manual etc. I was probably going to list it on Ebay anyway where I can get even more than that.

Scott

CNET has a pretty comprehensive story that outlines the various provisions in the telecom/broadcast legislation that Alaskan senator Ted Stevens presented earlier this week:

Click here (http://news.com.com/Net+neutrality+missing+from+sweeping+telecom+bill/2100-1028_3-6067153.html?tag=st.prev) to read the CNET wrap-up.

For me, the most interesting new detail here is that the bill would include a provision that would outlaw DVRs capable of recording over-the-air broadcasts. However, the bill supposedly would otherwise protect the right of home viewers to time shift recordings and distribute them via LOCAL area networks (which seems a bit conflicted), via the ever-popular "broadcast flag."

Not surprisingly, the MPAA is reported to see such a limited broadcast flag provision to be unacceptable.

They seem to be trying phase out Free OTA TV. If I can't recording a program I can't see, I won't bother watching it. This "Broadcast Flag" will only succeed in damaging advertiser revenues. If the viewer can watch a program, for say, a conflict with another program being on at the same time, the MPAA is perfectly content to prevent the viewer from seeing either program?

That's pretty damn greedy, I think. Once agian the industry tries to erode what the consumer can do with something they bought an paid for. Consumers should en masse denounce Broadcast Flags, Copy Protection, and any other unfair money-making schemes that that MPAA has come up with. It's really sad when a consumer has to resort to grey legal areas to maintain their fair use rights.

Consumers should en masse denounce Broadcast Flags, Copy Protection, and any other unfair money-making schemes that that MPAA has come up with. It's really sad when a consumer has to resort to grey legal areas to maintain their fair use rights.

If downloading TV shows off the internet becomes as mainstream as sharing MP3 files is now, they're in trouble. Right now, grabbing HD shows (in Xvid format) is quick and easy when you know what you're doing, but it's sort of in the same timeframe as when Napster was a big deal initially for sharing MP3 files... more underground I guess.

The day they stop allowing me to time shift HDTV, that's the day that I start downloading every show that I watch off the internet (without commercials of course) instead of OTA or through my pay TV provider.

I hadn't needed to download a show in quite a while, but just this past Monday, I lost the end of Prison Break and the start of 24 because of the heavy storm (and my HD Tivo is set to record 88 on D* rather than KTVI-DT). Both shows were already uploaded in my favorite newsgroup within 20-30min after the show was over. We didn't sit down to watch either show until the kids were in bed and I noticed that the Tivo progress bar wasn't a full hour for either show (indicating a signal problem) so I grabbed both and wasn't even halfway through with Prison Break before I had it cued up on my laptop and ready to hit play for when the signal problems started for me at the end of the show.

Even though the resolution isn't true HD, it's from a HD source and 960x528 looks like HD on a laptop screen. Even when I've taken the time to dump files onto my modded Xbox for playback through my HDTV, it looks very very good. Much better than DVD quality, which for me is an acceptable alternative if a program doesn't record correctly. No way will I pay to download a network TV show off their website when it's supposed to be free in the first place OTA. I guess we "pay" through watching commercials, but with DVR's that argument is quite weak anyway.

Point being, because I know what I'm doing (ie. "grey market" if you want to call it that), I can essentially "time shift" any popular network or premium HDTV show within ~30min of it's airing, all for free, w/o commercials, and near HD quality. I use it when I need to (whenever I have a OTA or D* signal problem), but if this technology becomes as easy to use and playback as getting MP3's are now (ie. easy enough for our parents to figure out), then look out Hollywood if they try and prevent your average consumer from recording their favorite shows.

Doug,
Agreed, the lack of logic is definitely suspect. I also believe the implementation on the part of Dish is the crux of the issue, whether it be the fact Dish is blatantly clueless, or simply manipulating broadcasts to improve revenue, as you cited with your example of local packages.

What I can tell you is, on Dish, ALL Cardinals games selected for MLB EI are always blacked out in the STL home market, regardless of the originating broadcaster, whether it be FSN, KPLR, or the other team's RSN/Local.

As you said, it defies any reasonable sense of logic, as we are already getting the locally originated game on another channel, what difference does it make which channel we watch the same broadcast on? A question I've asked directly to Dish, to which they response, "it is not our decision, it is up to MLB TV broadcast rules, and we must follow them."

Nonsense!!

When I get some spare time, I'm going to find these mysterious MLB TV Broadcast Rules in writing.

As you said, it defies any reasonable sense of logic, as we are already getting the locally originated game on another channel, what difference does it make which channel we watch the same broadcast on?


When a game is broadcast on MLB EI on Dish, is it possible that they replace some local commercial content with Dish commercial content? I am talking about the Dish ads we see on some broadcasts such as "tune to channel...." for this or that or PPV.

When a game is broadcast on MLB EI on Dish, is it possible that they replace some local commercial content with Dish commercial content? I am talking about the Dish ads we see on some broadcasts such as "tune to channel...." for this or that or PPV.
I'd have to pay attention and see. I'll let you know.
I watch most of the MLB EI games, but I record them and usually skip through the commercials. Of course, I've never seen a Cardinals game on MLB EI, but I have watched some other team's in live mode. I recall seeing the originating team's broadcast showing their local home market commercials.
I've never payed close enough attention to see if there is also Dish originated advertising mixed in.

Although, if that were the case, Dish would prefer all of its subscribers to opt for their MLB EI broadcast as opposed to blacking it out in some markets, yes?

Although, if that were the case, Dish would prefer all of its subscribers to opt for their MLB EI broadcast as opposed to blacking it out in some markets, yes?


Agreed, Dish would prefer that. But the local market would obviously be dead set against anyone IN their home market missing a local commercial to see a Dish commercial. That is why the local market would be against Dish showing local viewers that feed. All this being said, that does not mean there is not a way they could provide us the local HD feed when available.

If downloading TV shows off the internet becomes as mainstream as sharing MP3 files is now, they're in trouble. Right now, grabbing HD shows (in Xvid format) is quick and easy when you know what you're doing, but it's sort of in the same timeframe as when Napster was a big deal initially for sharing MP3 files... more underground I guess.

The day they stop allowing me to time shift HDTV, that's the day that I start downloading every show that I watch off the internet (without commercials of course) instead of OTA or through my pay TV provider.

I hadn't needed to download a show in quite a while, but just this past Monday, I lost the end of Prison Break and the start of 24 because of the heavy storm (and my HD Tivo is set to record 88 on D* rather than KTVI-DT). Both shows were already uploaded in my favorite newsgroup within 20-30min after the show was over. We didn't sit down to watch either show until the kids were in bed and I noticed that the Tivo progress bar wasn't a full hour for either show (indicating a signal problem) so I grabbed both and wasn't even halfway through with Prison Break before I had it cued up on my laptop and ready to hit play for when the signal problems started for me at the end of the show.

Even though the resolution isn't true HD, it's from a HD source and 960x528 looks like HD on a laptop screen. Even when I've taken the time to dump files onto my modded Xbox for playback through my HDTV, it looks very very good. Much better than DVD quality, which for me is an acceptable alternative if a program doesn't record correctly. No way will I pay to download a network TV show off their website when it's supposed to be free in the first place OTA. I guess we "pay" through watching commercials, but with DVR's that argument is quite weak anyway.

Point being, because I know what I'm doing (ie. "grey market" if you want to call it that), I can essentially "time shift" any popular network or premium HDTV show within ~30min of it's airing, all for free, w/o commercials, and near HD quality. I use it when I need to (whenever I have a OTA or D* signal problem), but if this technology becomes as easy to use and playback as getting MP3's are now (ie. easy enough for our parents to figure out), then look out Hollywood if they try and prevent your average consumer from recording their favorite shows.

I've been doing that with Season I and Season II of Doctor Who. Obviously, I'm technically not doing it legally, but as fan of the show, I would prefer to watch the series along with everybody else (or close to it, anyway...).

I agree with what you are saying, and "grey market" was the first thing to come to mind this morning. More appropriately, we are in the legal 'grey area.' I feel we should have a right to archive items that are broadcast free-to-air and received through equipment we bought and paid for.

CNET has a pretty comprehensive story that outlines the various provisions in the telecom/broadcast legislation that Alaskan senator Ted Stevens presented earlier this week:

Click here (http://news.com.com/Net+neutrality+missing+from+sweeping+telecom+bill/2100-1028_3-6067153.html?tag=st.prev) to read the CNET wrap-up.

For me, the most interesting new detail here is that the bill would include a provision that would outlaw DVRs capable of recording over-the-air broadcasts. However, the bill supposedly would otherwise protect the right of home viewers to time shift recordings and distribute them via LOCAL area networks (which seems a bit conflicted), via the ever-popular "broadcast flag."

Not surprisingly, the MPAA is reported to see such a limited broadcast flag provision to be unacceptable.


Gosh, I thought when Fritz Hollings retired we had seen the last of this silly sh.t. I forgot that Ted Stevens and Dianne Feinstien were Hollings' henchmen. I'm sure, after much.....aaaaa.... thought, Mr. Stevens will modify his proposal so that it will be acceptable to the MPAA. :mad:

I had to laugh when I saw this (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/12/10/60minutes/main660368.shtml). Many on this forum know where a lot of his money came from. The acronym has 2 As, 1 P and 1 M.

Walt

Fox 2.1 a while back was having problems with picture break-up/pixelization. I've been Tivo'ing all my Fox stuff from D* ch 88 so I don't know if they have fixed this problem yet. I'd like to switch my season passes back to the OTA but I wanted to know if they have done anything yet?

Thanks

Fox 2.1 a while back was having problems with picture break-up/pixelization. I've been Tivo'ing all my Fox stuff from D* ch 88 so I don't know if they have fixed this problem yet. I'd like to switch my season passes back to the OTA but I wanted to know if they have done anything yet?

Thanks

I haven't had any real problems for quite a while, but I too have my SPs set to 88.

Tonight's Cardinals-Astros games is on FSNMW in SD, and on ESPN2 in HD.
Again, the ESPN2 HD broadcast is being blacked out here in STL on Dish.
I can understand where FSN would have the rights to the exclusive local broadcast.
Would the Direct and Charter subs who have ESPN2 please let us know if the broadcast is available to you.

usersrdum,
KTVI-DT OTA is still having random issues. It is much less of late, but still present at least once during almost every OTA HD feed.
On Tuesday night, on AI, (note--storms in the area) there was moderate brief pixelation/blocking, as well as, 1-2 second audio drops.
It is still annoying enough, if I had another source other than the OTA, I'd be using it.

Tonight's Cardinals-Astros games is on FSNMW in SD, and on ESPN2 in HD.
Again, the ESPN2 HD broadcast is being blacked out here in STL on Dish.
I can understand where FSN would have the rights to the exclusive local broadcast.
Would the Direct and Charter subs who have ESPN2 please let us know if the broadcast is available to you.

The day game last Wednesday was blacked on on ESPN on DirecTV.

Dueces,
Today I watched the commercials between 4 innings of 2 MLB EI broadcasts on Dish.
During this sampling, there were only advertisements originating from the home market of the broadcasting team, no Dish ads.

If interested, I watched
LAA vs DET on FSN-West (LAA)
SEA vs CWS on CSN (CWS)

I did notice, during the 1/2 hour pre-game programming for last nights Cardinals broadcast on FSNMW, there were several Dish originated PPV type ads. Once they switched over to the live feed with McLaughlin and Hrabosky there weren't any more Dish ads.

Fox 2.1 a while back was having problems with picture break-up/pixelization. I've been Tivo'ing all my Fox stuff from D* ch 88 so I don't know if they have fixed this problem yet. I'd like to switch my season passes back to the OTA but I wanted to know if they have done anything yet?

Thanks

Like others have stated, FOX is still having some issues. The breakups aren't as frequent, but the sound does drop just for a couple of seconds several times during a 1 hour show.

FWIW, several online retailers have reduced the price on the VIP622 from $699 to $499, (shipping included) effective May 3rd.

I sure hope this is not a repeat of the 921-942 :mad:

FWIW, several online retailers have reduced the price on the VIP622 from $699 to $499, (shipping included) effective May 3rd.

I sure hope this is not a repeat of the 921-942 :mad:

Ken,

You were having trouble with yours, no? Has it been repaired or replaced yet?

Ken,

You were having trouble with yours, no? Has it been repaired or replaced yet?
Joe,
Dish sent me a replacement, but I never installed/activated the replacement, and I've since returned it to Dish.
It was determined the issue I am having is not related to the 622.
The issue occurs with both the 622 and 921 (possibly the 942 also) and is related to corrupted recording using the Loop Recording Buffer (Pause/Resume Live TV) during a live sports broadcast, SD or HD, and is very intermittent. Maybe 1 out of every 10 games will it appear.
Dish claims a software fix is in the making.

Joe,
Dish sent me a replacement, but I never installed/activated the replacement, and I've since returned it to Dish.
It was determined the issue I am having is not related to the 622.
The issue occurs with both the 622 and 921 (possibly the 942 also) and is related to corrupted recording using the Loop Recording Buffer (Pause/Resume Live TV) during a live sports broadcast, SD or HD, and is very intermittent. Maybe 1 out of every 10 games will it appear.
Dish claims a software fix is in the making.

My Dish 622 is due to be installed on Monday. I can't imagine it will be as problematic as the 921. I had gotten used to its quirks, to the point I barely noticed them anymore (and had found ways of sidestepping them). But, I'm looking forward to the new box.

We Interrupt Your Normal AVS Programming...

...for the following St. Louis housekeeping break:

In the not-so-distant past, we used to begin each month of the St. Louis discussion with an entirely new thread and usually that started with a cut/paste of basic resource information that is now buried back on the very first page of this discussion thread.

Because of its location, a lot of that general, introductory information about HDTV and OTA reception is now easily overlooked, especially with the discussion here stretching back more than 2 years and 400+ pages.

In an attempt to make this information more accessible, I'm going to post an advisory/reminder note similar to this every couple of weeks. Ideally this will make this general resource information more visible and easier to find for more readers.

With HDTV sales increasing every month, we're getting more and more newcomers here, which is a great thing to see. But like most of us when we took home our first HDTV, there's a huge amount to learn beyond where to point the remote and which buttons to push.

So, here's to filling in some of those information gaps...

Tower Maps, Your Satellite/Antenna Rights & Local Station Feedback (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=2995679&&#post2995679)

Using An Antenna to Receive Local HD Stations (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=2995718&&#post2995718)

Common Questions about HDTV (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=2995791&&#post2995791)

HD Programming Available in St. Louis (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7567907&&#post7567907)

New! Cardinals HD Schedule (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7576786&&#post7576786)

And finally, I want to remind everyone -- newcomers and old hands alike -- that you can access the St. Louis HDTV discussion here at AVS directly by using the shortcut URL that has been arranged.

The short-form URL also makes it very easy to remember and give the address to anyone you know who's just getting into HDTV.

The shortcut URL is: www.stlhdtv.info

There's an interesting article over at the Motley Fool that includes quite a bit of comment (mostly negative) about Charter Communications. The story is actually about "hidden gems," or stocks that Motley Fool believes could be a good bargain/turnaround opportunity.

Charter is cited as an example where the surface indicators would indicate "opportunity" but the company fundamentals scream "run for the door."

________________________________________________________

Case study: Charter Communications

In our active online community, a Hidden Gems member asked us more than a year ago what we thought of Charter Communications, a broadband cable company whose chairman and largest shareholder is Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. The business is also substantially owned by Wally Weitz, a Nebraska-based investor greatly admired by Warren Buffett fans.

Charter stock had fallen from $25 to $4.50, and our member wanted to know whether now was a good time to get in for a turnaround.

We'll start by saying that in Hidden Gems, we absolutely love the broken small cap that's poised for a turnaround. Show us a company whose stock has fallen 90% from its highs, whose chairman is a billionaire, and whose largest institutional owner is a close friend of Warren Buffett, and we'll sign up to do very careful research. That's exactly what we did with Charter Communications at $4.50.

But we did not like what we found. Here's why (a year ago) we warned against investing in this business:

* Massive debt. Net debt (debt minus cash) is more than $18 billion.

* Net debt is 28 times the company's market cap of $640 million.

* Charter was unprofitable under generally accepted accounting principles, with $1.5 billion in yearly interest costs.

* Debt covenants posed a serious threat to the company's survival.

* The Securities and Exchange Commission had launched an investigation into Charter's accounting practices.

* Heavy spending for a cable infrastructure hadn't yielded high enough returns.

Near the end of June 2003, I (Tom here) wrote negatively about this stock when it was trading above $4. It's tough to go contrary to Paul Allen and Wally Weitz, but there was no turnaround in sight, and the company's balance sheet was cratering.

Today, Charter trades at $1.16 per share, marking a more than 65% decline during a period in which the S&P 500 has increased some 35%.

Ouch.
________________________________________________________

The complete article can be found at the Motley Fool web site -- click here (http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/2006/commentary06050412.htm) (free registration required).

Charter Reorganizing Customer Call Center Operations

One other note about Charter.

As many you no doubt read here and elsewhere, Charter reported quarterly results earlier in the week. The numbers were not good (no surprise there) but were actually quite a bit worse than expected, particularly from the bottom line perspective. Revenues were close to forecast, but expenses were way up.

One of the explanations for the jump in costs was additional spending on customer service as a way to capture and maintain the most lucrative Charter subscribers.

Here's some additional news on Charter's customer service efforts, via Jeri Stroud in yesterday's St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
_______________________________________________

Charter Communications Inc. will close six call centers and change the function of a seventh in a reorganization designed to improve customer service.

Charter, based in Town and Country, is the nation's fourth-largest cable company.

Call centers in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Michigan, Tennessee and Texas will close during the next year. A center in St. Louis that handles calls for cable-television service will handle calls related to telephone service after July. The center, at 941 Charter Commons, is near Woods Mill and Clayton roads.

All told, the seven centers have 1,400 employees, including 500 in St. Louis. But Anita Lamont, a company spokeswoman, said the job losses may turn out to be fewer than that because of attrition and job transfers within Charter. Employees at the call centers will have the chance to apply for other jobs at the company, she said.

The telephone service group, for example, accounts for 260 of the 500 jobs in the St. Louis center. That group will expand into the area now used for calls related to cable or Internet service. The telephone group could add 100 to 150 jobs by the end of the year.

The company also will outsource some call center jobs to Canada and Mexico as part of a strategy to coordinate traffic among centers to better handle both projected and unexpected calling demand.
_______________________________________________

Click here (http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/story/22D973EA7C8B2BC986257164000B0CCB?OpenDocument) to read the entire St. Louis Post-Dispatch article.

My Dish 622 is due to be installed on Monday. I can't imagine it will be as problematic as the 921. I had gotten used to its quirks, to the point I barely noticed them anymore (and had found ways of sidestepping them). But, I'm looking forward to the new box.
I was more referring to the nearly 25% price reduction 90 days after its introduction.
The price of the 921 dropped dramatically just prior to the 942 being introduced, and that was almost a year later, IIRC 8-9 months. I know consumer electronics drop in price, as newer units/technology is introduced, but usually not this soon after a unit is introduced into the marketplace.

If you recall, the 942 was introduced so close to the 921, and HD DVR roll-out for Dish, many consider it to have been impossible for Dish not to have known the 942 was "just around the corner" when they rolled out the 921. The theory being Dish needed to get into the HD DVR market, but did not want to wait for the 942 to be ready, fully aware they would be replacing it months later.

On the side, I too, have had very little problems with the 921.

DirecTV CEO: More HD Coming...Yada, Yada, Yada

In his conference call discussing the company's 1Q results, DirecTV CEO Chase Carey continued to talk the HD talk without actually committing to the HD walk.

The following story excerpt comes from today's SkyREPORT newsletter:
_____________________________________________

...looking ahead, the company will concentrate on its roll out of its high-def programming, which Carey said "will play an increasingly important role in DirecTV's competitive strength and future growth."

By the end of the year the company expects to have HD local channels available to about three-quarters of all households, the CEO said. "And after the launch of our two remaining HD satellites next year, we expect to have the most comprehensive and compelling offering of HD programming for nearly every home in America," Carey said.
_____________________________________________

For more satellite TV industry news, go to www.skyreport.com

DirecTV CEO Carey said
"And after the launch of our two remaining HD satellites next year, we expect to have the most comprehensive and compelling offering of HD programming for nearly every home in America."

Sorry Mr. DirecTV CEO 1280X1080 is not HD, but compared to your SD offering, I guess YOU could consider it HD. :rolleyes:

Walt

While I'm not looking to defend DirecTV, strictly speaking 1280x1080 is HD, as it produces more than 1 million pixels of picture resolution.

1 million pixels has been the de facto threshold for HDTV resolution from the start of discussions about the format. Even 720p (720 x 1280) is considered to be HD resolution, even though it falls nominally short of a million pixels (921,000).

That said, DirecTV is 100% guilty of reducing resolution through bandwidth management and I'd like to see that practice end.

If the telecos really want to gain high-end, quality-focused subscribers, they should take the "full bandwidth HD pledge" and stick with it. I'd happily hand over all of my TV and teleco business to them if they do that.

Doug

I'm not trying to troll. I just get sick of all the hype and miss information that is spread by "Upper Management" who try to make it seem like they are doing you a favor by giving you less for more. I am tired of all the Madison Avenue "we can sell anything cuz they're stupid" BS. I guess the older I get the more cynical I become.

Walt

Walt,

No problem -- and in the broader view, I completely agree with you.

I think there is a lot of that "public is stupid" sort of assumption going on at all sorts of consumer-oriented companies, though I do think the pendulum will begin to swing back the other way over the next few years. Maybe that's wishful thinking, but it's based on the premise that it surely can't get a lot worse.

The reason for "picking nits" on the "not HD" statement is that it's potentially the sort of flawed argument that emboldens corporations to ratchet up the "talking down" to customers and to justify ignoring legitimate needs and desires.

Does anyone know when the new D* HDDVR hits the market?

I called D* on Tuesday and they have no date. IIRC, they said second quarter.

HD locals are still supposedly this month, but no date on that either.

I think there is a lot of that "public is stupid" sort of assumption going on at all sorts of consumer-oriented companies, though I do think the pendulum will begin to swing back the other way over the next few years. Maybe that's wishful thinking, but it's based on the premise that it surely can't get a lot worse.


After a conversation with a neighbor's co-worker I can see why they think the public is stupid. For the most part they are! This guy (in his early 30's) bought a 50" Toshiba LCD and has D*. I was trying to explain how to get locals in HD via OTA and how to order the HD channel package. I explained how local primetime is in HD and asked what his favorite show was. He flat-out did not want to hear it as he thinks his SD picture is "great" when he is watching his favorite show-- Cops.

Stupid and bad taste.

After a conversation with a neighbor's co-worker I can see why they think the public is stupid. For the most part they are! This guy (in his early 30's) bought a 50" Toshiba LCD and has D*. I was trying to explain how to get locals in HD via OTA and how to order the HD channel package. I explained how local primetime is in HD and asked what his favorite show was. He flat-out did not want to hear it as he thinks his SD picture is "great" when he is watching his favorite show-- Cops.

Stupid and bad taste.


Have you seen Cops on a 50 inch? Sometimes you can read the tattoos.

Have you seen Cops on a 50 inch? Sometimes you can read the tattoos.

Dude, you actually made me LOL...

Have you seen Cops on a 50 inch? Sometimes you can read the tattoos.
Yeah, but are any of them spelled correctly?

Reminder...tonight's Cardinals-Marlins game is being simulcast in HD on FSNMW-HD. Dish is carrying it on MLB EI, (9467) which will be blacked-out in STL :mad:
Tomorrows game is also a HD simulcast for FSNMW-HD, though Dish is not carrying it.
Would like to know from Direct and Charter subs if either/both the HD broadcasts is made available to you.
Also, Sunday's game will be on KPLR-DT OTA in HD.
tia

Reminder...tonight's Cardinals-Marlins game is being simulcast in HD on FSNMW-HD. Dish is carrying it on MLB EI, (9467) which will be blacked-out in STL :mad:
Tomorrows game is also a HD simulcast for FSNMW-HD, though Dish is not carrying it.
Would like to know from Direct and Charter subs if either/both the HD broadcasts is made available to you.
Also, Sunday's game will be on KPLR-DT OTA in HD.
tia
D* lists the Reds/Diamondbacks game for tonight and nothing for tomorrow night.(as of right now)
Dug

After a conversation with a neighbor's co-worker I can see why they think the public is stupid. For the most part they are! This guy (in his early 30's) bought a 50" Toshiba LCD and has D*. I was trying to explain how to get locals in HD via OTA and how to order the HD channel package. I explained how local primetime is in HD and asked what his favorite show was. He flat-out did not want to hear it as he thinks his SD picture is "great" when he is watching his favorite show-- Cops.

Stupid and bad taste.

:) Funny stuff Mo. Sad thing is your neighbor is par for the course. He probably thinks he is watching HD. After all, he bought a HDTV.

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!

Scott

Here's another example of how companies (and especially the media) say and write things based on the premise that we're all stupid and will believe anything. The story below, about DVRs, ad-skipping and the potential loss of billions of dollars in advertising revenues, strikes a real chord with me.

I think the old saying about there being three types of lies -- lies, damned lies and statistics -- should be revised for the online media age to "lies, damned lies, and Forrester Research Reports." Even though, the study here in question isn't written by Forrester, it couldn't have been done without the ring of bullshit this company has spread around the globe over the past decade.

http://www.tvpredictions.com/jupiter050506.htm

FWIW, in the slew of stories about DirecTV's results and their announcement on the next batch of markets slated for HD locals, I read somewhere that the markets originally slated for May have been pushed back to June.

To the best of my recollection, the story didn't mention St. Louis specifically, just generally referring to the May group of cities.

If I come across this article or see it mentioned elsewhere, I'll be sure to post/link it here.

On the Cards in HD, in the eMail I received earlier today from FOX Sports Net, the indications are there WILL NOT be any carriage of those games by either DISH or DirecTV this weekend.

Geoff also noted that the Cards' games this coming Monday and Tuesday are also in HD on FSMW-HD and he said he'd update me if either of those is picked up by DirecTV and/or DISH.

Geoff also asked me to pass along an eMail address where AVS posters can send questions or comments direct to FSMW -- midwest@foxsports.net

On the Cards in HD, in the eMail I received earlier today from FOX Sports Net, the indications are there WILL NOT be any carriage of those games by either DISH or DirecTV this weekend.

Geoff also noted that the Cards' games this coming Monday and Tuesday are also in HD on FSMW-HD and he said he'd update me if either of those is picked up by DirecTV and/or DISH.

Geoff also asked me to pass along an eMail address where AVS posters can send questions or comments direct to FSMW -- midwest@foxsports.net

Thanks for the email address DTR.

Everyone: lets keep it professional and use some sense when emailing this contact. I enjoyed Bob Ross' (from CBS network) posts in the programming forum a few years back until some knuckleheads messed it up.

I am going to ask him why there are some many dates they'll be using HD production trucks yet not showing the games in HD. (From my post about two weeks ago)

I was nosing around the HDTV mobile production truck thread over on the programming forum and found this link to an HD team based in St. Louis.

St. Louis Truck/Team (http://www.mountainmobiletv.com/mtg_frameset.html?menu=mtg_menu.html&page=mtpt1/WebServer/events/ITK_CrewEventInfoSTL.html)

I wonder why there are so many dates where they are using a HD truck (mainly MU11HDX, MU8HDX, MU7HDX and MU6HDX) but there are no HD games being shown? Cross referencing with with previously supplied Fox Sports MW HD Cardinal link there are plenty of games they'll be using the HD truck but only showing SD.

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/5455460


Event Date Event
4/26/2006 MU 11HDX PIT @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
4/27/2006 MU 11HDX WSH @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
4/28/2006 MU 11HDX WSH @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
5/10/2006 MU 6HDX COL @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
5/12/2006 MU 6HDX AZ @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
5/16/2006 MU 6HDX NYM @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
5/17/2006 MU 6HDX NYM @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
5/18/2006 MU 6HDX NYM @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
5/26/2006 MU 7HDX STL @ SD (Vis FSMW)
5/27/2006 MU 7HDX STL @ SD (FOX)
5/29/2006 MU 6HDX HOU @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
5/30/2006 MU 6HDX HOU @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
5/31/2006 MU 6HDX HOU @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
6/2/2006 MU 6HDX CHC @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
6/3/2006 MU 6HDX CHC @ Cards (FOX)
6/7/2006 MU 11HDX CIN @ Cards (Hm FSMW) Dual
6/13/2006 MU 6HDX STL @ Pirates (Vis FSMW) Dual
6/14/2006 MU 6HDX STL @ Pirates (Vis FSMW) Dual
6/15/2006 MU 6HDX STL @ Pirates (Vis FSMW)
6/16/2006 MU 11HDX COL @ Cards (Hm FSMW) Dual
6/17/2006 MU 11HDX COL @ Cards (Hm FSMW) Dual
6/20/2006 MU 11HDX STL @ CWS (Vis FSMW)
6/21/2006 MU 11HDX STL @ CWS (Vis FSMW)
6/22/2006 MU 11HDX STL @ CWS (Vis FSMW)
6/23/2006 MU 9HDX STL @ Tigers (Vis FSMW) Dual
6/26/2006 MU 11HDX CLE @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
6/27/2006 MU 11HDX CLE @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
6/28/2006 MU 11HDX CLE @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
6/30/2006 MU 11HDX KC @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
7/3/2006 MU 11HDX STL @ ATL (Vis FSMW)
7/4/2006 MU 11HDX STL @ ATL (Vis FSMW)
7/17/2006 MU 11HDX ATL @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
7/18/2006 MU 11HDX ATL @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
7/21/2006 MU 10HDX STL @ Dodgers (Vis FSMW) Dual
8/1/2006 MU 11HDX PHL @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
8/2/2006 MU 11HDX PHL @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
8/3/2006 MU 11HDX PHL @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
8/4/2006 MU 11HDX MIL @ Cards (Hm FSMW) Dual
8/5/2006 MU 11HDX MIL @ Cards (Vis FSNth) Dual
8/6/2006 MU 11HDX MIL @ Cards (Vis FSNth) Dual
8/11/2006 MU 11HDX STL @ Pirates (Vis FSMW) Dual
8/17/2006 MU 11HDX CIN @ Cards (Hm )
8/18/2006 MU 11HDX STL @ CHC (Vis FSMW)
8/25/2006 MU 11HDX CHC @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
8/29/2006 MU 11HDX FLM @ Cards (Vis Sun) Dual
8/31/2006 MU 11HDX FLM @ Cards (Hm FSMW) Dual
9/11/2006 MU 6HDX HOU @ Cards (Vis FSH) Dual
9/12/2006 MU 6HDX HOU @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
9/13/2006 MU 6HDX HOU @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
9/15/2006 MU 6HDX SF @ Cards (Hm FSMW) Dual
9/25/2006 MU 11HDX SD @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
9/26/2006 MU 11HDX SD @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
9/27/2006 MU 11HDX SD @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
9/28/2006 MU 11HDX MIL @ Cards (Vis FSNth) Dual
9/29/2006 MU 11HDX MIL @ Cards (Hm FSMW)
9/30/2006 MU 11HDX MIL @ Cards (Vis FSNth) Dual

Where you see Dual, that's not HD and SD; thats both the home and away teams using the same truck.

http://www.mountainmobiletv.com/mtg_frameset.html?menu=mtg_menu.html&page=dualfeeds.html

I'm not in the industry, but can someone explain why they would have an HD truck at the game but not be broadcasting in HD? I thought the whole limitation was truck availability. But that doesn't seem to be an issue.

dweebe,

Great point about using discretion and good judgment on the FSN eMails. Thanks.

I also recall the posts from Bob Ross and agree that the way that played out was really regrettable...

deuces,

FWIW, I was flipping around the dial recently, and noticed this -- "Cops" is now in HD!

Note: I use the exclamation point only because there's no punctuation equivalent to a big yawn...

Maybe that's just the thing to get that knuckle-dragger off the fence and onto the bandwagon... :)

deuces,

FWIW, I was flipping around the dial recently, and noticed this -- "Cops" is now in HD!

Note: I use the exclamation point only because there's no punctuation equivalent to a big yawn...

Maybe that's just the thing to get that knuckle-dragger off the fence and onto the bandwagon... :)

I'll second that. I was flipping through the OTA channels a few weeks ago and saw "Cops" in HD too. Practically fell out of my chair. Talk about seeing the dregs of society in all their high def splendor. I nearly threw up then moved on to another show.

deuces,

FWIW, I was flipping around the dial recently, and noticed this -- "Cops" is now in HD!

Note: I use the exclamation point only because there's no punctuation equivalent to a big yawn...

Maybe that's just the thing to get that knuckle-dragger off the fence and onto the bandwagon... :)

I thought I read somewhere they're still using 480p cameras and upconverting to 720p? Is that true?

Cops first changed formats during May Sweeps, 2005.
I didn't watch it enough, so I don't know if it started in HD then, or it was just in that Fox Widescreen.

Priorities. :(

I thought I read somewhere they're still using 480p cameras and upconverting to 720p? Is that true?

Who cares? :D

Hey, the more shows in HD the better for all of us. I even gave in on golf in HD. Local news in HD has helped tremendously IMHO. Once the consumer momentum is going and strong it will be better for the entire hobby we all enjoy so much... ;)

"Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do?" --- help HD become ubiquitous and glorious.

Hey guys, haven't been here in a few months. My HD reception has been working fine, if anyone remembers (after all my issues), out in Warren County. :)

I don't think Cops is true HD, just a "Fox Widescreen" digital broadcast? I've also seen that Nanny 911 is the same way, and I think we can say that ISN'T true HD. :D I do watch Cops, but not 911. :p

That could be -- I was flipping past and just noticed that it looked better than normal and was widescreen.

Might still be a selling point for a "Cops" fan... :rolleyes:

Monday's FSN-Midwest HD broadcast is showing up in D* program guide on Ch. 95. Tuesday is a no go with the Yankees .vs Red Sox. Also, looking ahead, next Friday's game .vs Arizona is in the guide as well on Ch. 95. The FSN website does not have the FSN-MW broadcasting the game in HD, but FSN-AZ is broadcasting in HD. Any hope that FSN-MW would pick this game up?

I'm just now playing back the recording of CSI from Thursday night. There's at least three minutes after coming back from a commercial break that KMOV kept right on doing a 4x3 upconvert of the SD signal before finally flipping the switch back to the HD broadcast.

Apparently KMOV is challenging kSDk for the "HD leader" title around here..... :D

KMOV has a long stoop down to reach kSDk's level of cluelessness...

My latest quibble with kSDk is their station logo. It appears that NBC recently relocated its peacock logo further down in the right hand corner of the 16 x 9 screen area. In the past, kSDk put its translucent logo underneath the peacock, and even though it was off-center/crooked it at least kept the logos together and generally out of the primary viewing area. With the relocated peacock, there's not enough room for kSDk to do that any longer.

So now kSDk has gone to intermittently flashing its logo, usually after a commercial break. The good thing about this is that the local logo is only up for 10 or 15 seconds, and then its usually gone until after the next break. The bad part is that the logo is solid white and it's being placed at the left edge of the 4 x 3 picture area, putting it much, much closer to screen center. This is really distracting, not to mention the fact that it looks like crap.

I guess I could live with the solid white logo if it's only going to be onscreen for a few seconds. But it would be much more logical if they relocated the local logo into one of the other 16 x 9 corners.

kSDk apparently spent a ton of money recently on designing and building a nice-looking high-tech newsroom set. Doesn't it make sense that they would pay just a little attention to the aesthetics of their product as it appears on our TVs?

I don't like the fact that KMOV has two -- sometimes three -- logos on its digital broadcasts, but at least they keep them translucent and out of the way. Better still is the way ABC and the WB handle logos, with no local video garbage added to the simple network logos. The best of all is HBO's quietly confident approach -- no logo ever on its main channel.

I'm not suggesting that kSDk should get rid of its local station logo (I am a realist on this issue), but I think they could show a little bit of common sense in how and where they display it.

KMOV has a long stoop down to reach kSDk's level of cluelessness...

My latest quibble with kSDk is their station logo. It appears that NBC recently relocated its peacock logo further down in the right hand corner of the 16 x 9 screen area. In the past, kSDk put its translucent logo underneath the peacock, and even though it was off-center/crooked it at least kept the logos together and generally out of the primary viewing area. With the relocated peacock, there's not enough room for kSDk to do that any longer.

So now kSDk has gone to intermittently flashing its logo, usually after a commercial break. The good thing about this is that the local logo is only up for 10 or 15 seconds, and then its usually gone until after the next break. The bad part is that the logo is solid white and it's being placed at the left edge of the 4 x 3 picture area, putting it much, much closer to screen center. This is really distracting, not to mention the fact that it looks like crap.

I guess I could live with the solid white logo if it's only going to be onscreen for a few seconds. But it would be much more logical if they relocated the local logo into one of the other 16 x 9 corners.

kSDk apparently spent a ton of money recently on designing and building a nice-looking high-tech newsroom set. Doesn't it make sense that they would pay just a little attention to the aesthetics of their product as it appears on our TVs?

I don't like the fact that KMOV has two -- sometimes three -- logos on its digital broadcasts, but at least they keep them translucent and out of the way. Better still is the way ABC and the WB handle logos, with no local video garbage added to the simple network logos. The best of all is HBO's quietly confident approach -- no logo ever on its main channel.

I'm not suggesting that kSDk should get rid of its local station logo (I am a realist on this issue), but I think they could show a little bit of common sense in how and where they display it.


I absolutely hate logos. I don't need anyone to tell me what station I tuned to, and then keep reminding me constantly or intermittently throughout the show.
Just wait 'till they start putting commercial's crawling at the bottom throughout the entire show. Can't wait for that.
The day that I tune into HBO or Showtime and see a logo during a program I may flip out, shoot my TV, and cancel all programming to become a book reader.

Scott

Scott,

Man, I hope that your apocalyptic vision of commercial crawlers doesn't come to pass.

But obviously the networks and advertisers are more concerned about commercial-skipping now than at any time in the past. It seems like the main things they're trying to do to counter that concern/threat is product placement and commercials with a message that actually we want to see.

Some recent examples:

* The Sopranos has always done a lot of product placement stuff but in a recent episode (the one with Ben Kingsley going through the celebrity gift center) they took this to an entirely new level, with at least a dozen different luxury good brands highlighted during that episode.

Philip Swann, who writes the "TV Predictions" newsletter did a column on this where he objected strongly to the episode, claiming that it ruined the show for him. He called "The Sopranos" a sellout, which seems like a good way to get "virtually whacked."

Personally, I could live with an unending stream of product placement any day over commercial interruptions. For me, it's not an issue, but I wonder if it really bothers other viewers. I actually wrote a note to Swann in response to his column, saying that I thought he was making a molehill into a mountain, but he came back and said that he'd gotten a lot of affirmative eMails. Still, PP seems the much lesser of two evils.

* The other approach is to "impregnate" advertising with secret messages. Kentucky Fried Chicken did this recently, where you actually had to watch the advert with a DVR in slo-mo in order to see how to qualify for a free sandwich. While I don't think that sort of approach has much durability (and it may be illegal as it could be considered "subliminal advertising"), it is interesting and indicates that advertisers are actively looking for ways to avoid being skipped over.

More interesting was this past week's "Lost," where ABC and the "Lost" producers actually ran a promotional advertisement for the Hanso Foundation (the fictional organization that started the fictional Dharma project on the show). I actually skipped through the ads when I watched the show the first time after the ballgame, but when I read about it over in the "'Lost' - No Spoilers" thread at the AVS Programming forum, I couldn't resist going back and checking it out. It was interesting to see that the ad included an onscreen disclaimer indicating that it had been paid for by "ABC Corp."

While I'm sure that the primary point of the ad was to increase interest in the show and the new web site about it, I assume ABC was only too happy to support something like this as a way of getting some additional exposure for the commercial slots it sells.

Interesting times...

BTW, getting back to this week's "Lost," the scene in which Sawyer was reading the unpublished mystery novel manuscript was also a passive form of product placement.

The book, written under the name of a fictional passenger/author on Oceanic 815, is now available for purchase at Amazon (and no doubt other fine bookstores). I've read some speculation that the novel may have actually been ghost-written by Stephen King, as he's apparently a big fan of the show.

The only reason this sort of thing bothers me a bit is that I'm concerned that all of this sort of extra-media activity thing could ultimately detract from the plot and the show itself.

On the Cards in HD, in the eMail I received earlier today from FOX Sports Net, the indications are there WILL NOT be any carriage of those games by either DISH or DirecTV this weekend.

Geoff also noted that the Cards' games this coming Monday and Tuesday are also in HD on FSMW-HD and he said he'd update me if either of those is picked up by DirecTV and/or DISH.

DirecTV Channel 95 schedule on my DVR shows both the Sunday and Monday games.

sandblaster,

The Sunday game is being carried in HD on KPLR-DT -- therefore, it won't be available on channel 95.

Speaking of Logos, KPLR's logo during Card games incorporates bright yellow McDonald's arches. Very distracting. This is in addition to the stats line during the game. Soon we may have something in every corner. Joe six pack is going to need widescreen if he hopes to catch a piece of the game action.

Dave

DirecTV Channel 95 schedule on my DVR shows both the Sunday and Monday games.
Monday and Tuesday games (vs Colorado @ Busch) are being broadcast in HD by FSNMW.

Is there an RSS Feed available for this or other AVS forums?

Anyone here see the fight is for free on the HD PPV channel on Charter?

It's channel 791, but again as reported on this site before there is no audio, at least for me.

No audio on boxing is fine with me, saving $50 for the fight. :p

wolverine5767.

Is there an RSS Feed available for this or other AVS forums?
If you go to this link, you will find the RSS link just above the main header banner:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/index.php?
This link will take you directly to RSS:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/external.php?type=RSS2

Scott,

Man, I hope that your apocalyptic vision of commercial crawlers doesn't come to pass.

But obviously the networks and advertisers are more concerned about commercial-skipping now than at any time in the past. It seems like the main things they're trying to do to counter that concern/threat is product placement and commercials with a message that actually we want to see.

Some recent examples:

* The Sopranos has always done a lot of product placement stuff but in a recent episode (the one with Ben Kingsley going through the celebrity gift center) they took this to an entirely new level, with at least a dozen different luxury good brands highlighted during that episode.

Philip Swann, who writes the "TV Predictions" newsletter did a column on this where he objected strongly to the episode, claiming that it ruined the show for him. He called "The Sopranos" a sellout, which seems like a good way to get "virtually whacked."

Personally, I could live with an unending stream of product placement any day over commercial interruptions. For me, it's not an issue, but I wonder if it really bothers other viewers. I actually wrote a note to Swann in response to his column, saying that I thought he was making a molehill into a mountain, but he came back and said that he'd gotten a lot of affirmative eMails. Still, PP seems the much lesser of two evils.

* The other approach is to "impregnate" advertising with secret messages. Kentucky Fried Chicken did this recently, where you actually had to watch the advert with a DVR in slo-mo in order to see how to qualify for a free sandwich. While I don't think that sort of approach has much durability (and it may be illegal as it could be considered "subliminal advertising"), it is interesting and indicates that advertisers are actively looking for ways to avoid being skipped over.

More interesting was this past week's "Lost," where ABC and the "Lost" producers actually ran a promotional advertisement for the Hanso Foundation (the fictional organization that started the fictional Dharma project on the show). I actually skipped through the ads when I watched the show the first time after the ballgame, but when I read about it over in the "'Lost' - No Spoilers" thread at the AVS Programming forum, I couldn't resist going back and checking it out. It was interesting to see that the ad included an onscreen disclaimer indicating that it had been paid for by "ABC Corp."

While I'm sure that the primary point of the ad was to increase interest in the show and the new web site about it, I assume ABC was only too happy to support something like this as a way of getting some additional exposure for the commercial slots it sells.

Interesting times...

Yes, very interesting times indeed. It really won't surprise me to see a day when all stations have a constant logo and/or crawl on the screen.

I agree about the product placement during shows. That doesn't bother me in the least. In fact, if people didn't start pointing it out as advertising, I wouldn't have given it a thought.

The logo thing is getting out of hand however. I have seen movies were at a particular part of a scene the big logo will actually cover the cheek of the actor in a tight shot. How can the station logo on the face of a character be in any way acceptable? OK, I'm starting to get worked up now, so I'll shut up.

Scott

Scott,

Sometimes on the ESPN HD channels the crawler actually gets in the way of the action. I've seen a handful of times where a baseball replay of a low throw to first was completely obscured by the crawler -- all while the announcer was talking about the ball (not visible) hitting the glove (not visible) just before the runner's foot (not visible) hit the base (not visible).

Brilliant...that's the TV equivalent of the golden sombrero (0-for-4)...

Thanks for your reply. Is there an RSS feed for a specific forum (this one)?

If you go to this link, you will find the RSS link just above the main header banner:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/index.php?
This link will take you directly to RSS:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/external.php?type=RSS2

tenholde,

Maybe someone else can help you on this, but I think it's unlikely that there's an RSS feed for this particular thread.

What might work somewhat as an alternative is to subscribe to the thread and have notices sent to your eMail whenever there's a new message here. While the eMail notification actually includes the text of the new message (but no quotes from previous messages), the bigger downside is that you won't receive another eMail until you go back and check the forum for new messages. Not ideal, but if RSS isn't possible, it's better than nothing...

FYI

I was checking out the HD Programing thread, and noticed people who are set up on auto renewal for Sunday Ticket are paying $209 with free Superfan. This was is $20 cheaper than the email offer I posted a while back.

I called D*, and a very nice CSR named Brian told me I was set up on auto renewal and proceeded to credit my account $20.

Once again, Directv Rocks!

Scott

I have been reading over all of this local HD thread and all the good info on it..and I remember reading here where someone posted Direct TV doesn't broadcast true HD..? Did I miss read this? I would like to know if this is true or not..and how can a person check this and verify it?

Thanks

Mac

mac,

DirecTV, like most other cable and satellite provides, limits the amount of bandwidth given to each channel on its system by various compression methods. This is sometimes referred to as "bit-shaving."

In general, the problem is most severe on standard-definition programming, but it's also becoming a bigger issue for HD programming. Cable and satellite distributors engage in "bit-shaving" in order to maximize their ability to send as many possible channels down a finite-bandwidth pipe.

By all accounts, DirecTV is the most aggressive "bit shaver" when it comes to HD programming, but that evidence is primarily anecdotal. There is a web site that periodically provides information on the bandwidth that DirecTV is providing to its HD channels, and there's no question that they are reducing the bit payload in order to wring the most out of their currently limited bandwidth, in some cases pretty aggressively.

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

On the other hand, there is no hard evidence of what sort of bandwidth is provided by either Charter or DISH for each channel. Still, I don't dispute that DirecTV APPEARS to be the most aggressive provider when it comes to applying compression to its HD channels.

There's rarely much discussion of the practical implications of HD bit-shaving. Several of the DirecTV channels are managed to produce a resolution around 1080 x 1280, instead of the maximum HD resolution of 1080i x 1920. But some of the HD channels on DirecTV -- notably HDNet Movies, Showtime and sometimes HBO -- typically come in at very low bit rates. In some cases, this could be a result of additional compression being applied, but in other cases it could be that full HD bandwidth wasn't required to produce full resolution of the original source material.

Where DirecTV is providing 1080 x 1280 resolution, there are relatively few displays where this reduction in bandwidth would be easily detectable. Specifically:

* Most CRT-based rear-projection televisions are limited to horizontal resolution of around 1200 lines, though some might approach 1400 lines, depending on the quality of the CRTs, the electronics and lenses. Even most of the 9-inch CRT RPTVs I've seen fall considerably short of 1920 lines due to the fact that the full CRT raster is not used (what a waste).

* Direct-view CRTs are generally less capable, coming in at anywhere from 900 to 1200 horizontal lines.

* Owners of CRT front projectors have a more legitmate gripe, as 8-inch and 9-inch CRT models would typically be capable of resolving in excess of 1400 lines of horizontal resolution, assuming they've been properly installed, set up and calibrated. CRT projectors with 7-inch CRTs will be limited to a maximum of somewhere around 1400 lines.

* Digital displays -- plasma, LCD, DLP and LCOS -- until very recently were limited to 720p or some computer-oriented resolution that was slightly more or less than 720p x 1280, but still considerably less than 1080 x 1920. Like the displays types above, I'm doubtful that a viewer could distinguish between a full-bandwidth 1080 x 1920 image and one that comes in at 1080 x 1280.

However, I think the difference would be more evident for the UHD and HDNet Movies channels that sometimes come in at relatively low bitrates.


Now that we have 1080p digital displays available to consumers, the bandwidth-clipping issue is more practical one.

A digital 1080p display should be able to resolve the full 1920 lines of horizontal resolution in a 1080i (or 1080p) signal. In my experience few actually do, though I think it's fair to say that all of them are more capable than CRT RPTVs (and definitely CRT direct views). In this case, I would expect that 1080p display owners would more readily be able to distinguish between HDNet at 1080 x 1920 versus HDNet at 1080 x 1280.

Two additional points to make here:

* For the most part, DirecTV is providing "true" HD programming, though it's not full-bandwidth HD. No doubt there are instances where UHD or HDNet Movies are dipping down toward DVD-quality, but this is probably more the exception than the rule.

* I'm not looking to be an "apologist" for DirecTV. I hate compression and am concerned that over the long haul that the same thing that has happened to standard-definition program delivery will happen to HD. We're definitely headed down that path, and I don't like it one bit (no pun intended).

But the point needs to be made that what DirecTV has done with HD compression so far, is relatively benign and on many consumer displays it would be very difficult to detect.

uhhh, I thought this Cardinals game on KPLR was supposed to be in HD? it even says so on their website.

Thanks Doug:

I will be having my 60" 1080p Sony delivered this coming weekend..and I am a Direct TV HD subsciber..and it had me worried a-bit.I bought this set, because of the the sets I've previewed over the last month,the picture quaility of this set is the most stunning one I've seen to date in my price range that will work in my Family room/HT I'm setting up..Wanting to get the best I can afford and all of that you know...and if the pq is remarkably better with Dish..than say Direct..then I would be calling and complaining as far up the managements line as I could go.

Mac

Based on some other problems I've seen so far (pixellation, audio sync issues, dropped signal) they are having problems getting the HD signal to us.

FWIW, this happened once or twice last year with KPLR and they eventually delivered the goods...

uhhh, I thought this Cardinals game on KPLR was supposed to be in HD? it even says so on their website.

They've been trying but seem to be having serious difficulty with their feed.

[wow - three posts with the same timestamp !]

Is anyone else having lip sync issues on KPLR OTA also? Will this be fixed with the HD? I don't watch a lot of KPLR, but I have noticed lip sync issues OTA before. It is so obvious during games, because you hear the crack of the bat before the swing.

Update: My wife does watch One Tree Hill (please no comments I know they are 30 yr olds playing high schoolers, getting married, and living without parents, but she likes it, don't ask me why), but I don't think it usually has lip sync issues. I don't understand how the feed through the dish can be fine and the OTA digital is so far off.

As Doug mentioned the BIG problem with DirecTV's 1080i HD channels lately is the bitrate, or lack thereof. *D's HDnetMovies feed in particular has often used bitrates of less than 8mbps. This is lower than bitrates on DVD-R's that I've authored, let alone coming anywhere near that channel's original signal. This manifests itself as pixellation during fast moving scenes... which IS visible on my direct view CRT.

But every time I start to think about switching to Charter because of it, Charter has some huge outage or other issue that p!sses people off for days.... and reminds me to be careful what I wish for.

As Doug mentioned the BIG problem with DirecTV's 1080i HD channels lately is the bitrate, or lack thereof. *D's HDnetMovies feed in particular has often used bitrates of less than 8mbps. This is lower than bitrates on DVD-R's that I've authored, let alone coming anywhere near that channel's original signal. This manifests itself as pixellation during fast moving scenes... which IS visible on my direct view CRT.

But every time I start to think about switching to Charter because of it, Charter has some huge outage or other issue that p!sses people off for days.... and reminds me to be careful what I wish for.

All I'll say is -- HDNet and HDNet Movies are the best looking, best sounding HD stations on Charter - or that I've seen anywhere. HDNet does a superb job filming, producing, and mixing their shows.

The only outage I've had on Charter was after that huge storm a month or so ago -- I don't know where the outage originated, and it was widespread .... But mine was back on in less than 3 hours. I'm not a primetime junkie, so I wasn't screaming about Lost or Desperate Housewives :p

All I'll say is -- HDNet and HDNet Movies are the best looking, best sounding HD stations on Charter - or that I've seen anywhere. HDNet does a superb job filming, producing, and mixing their shows.

The only outage I've had on Charter was after that huge storm a month or so ago -- I don't know where the outage originated, and it was widespread .... But mine was back on in less than 3 hours. I'm not a primetime junkie, so I wasn't screaming about Lost or Desperate Housewives :p

Dish is showing increasing signs of going the HDLite route. They've done it with all the Voom channels and I won't be surprised to see it happen with more of their channels. In the end, it's going to be harder for a company to maintain high quality HD from satellites in space. The bandwidth is just too limited. We all scream for more HD, but, like Bob said, be careful what you wish for. You might just get more HD and all of it will look bad.

Maybe Charter (or its better run successor?) in the long run has the best chance of delivering the best HD. They're just not there yet, and I'll stay with Dish until I can't stand their HD signal anymore.

Was wondering if anybody else happened to see what I would call a demo/calibration loop on ABC KDNL. This is the email I sent to the engineer email at the station, but figured I might get better/quicker response here. I am really most interested in capturing it onto my computer so I can play it back when I want. So if anyone has info on when it might occur again it would be much appriciated. One of the things I left out of my email was that it contained calibration images like the stuff you see on Avia or something... " At 5:45 pm I flipped channels and saw something I would describe as a Hi Definition calibration and demo loop. Had space shuttle and surround sound test signals and Monsters Inc Movie trailer among other things. Does this play at other times I would like to see it again but in entirty. The program guide just said paid programming. Thank you for your reply.
I really enjoy ABC's Hi definition programming."

Was wondering if anybody else happened to see what I would call a demo/calibration loop on ABC KDNL. This is the email I sent to the engineer email at the station, but figured I might get better/quicker response here. I am really most interested in capturing it onto my computer so I can play it back when I want. So if anyone has info on when it might occur again it would be much appriciated. One of the things I left out of my email was that it contained calibration images like the stuff you see on Avia or something... " At 5:45 pm I flipped channels and saw something I would describe as a Hi Definition calibration and demo loop. Had space shuttle and surround sound test signals and Monsters Inc Movie trailer among other things. Does this play at other times I would like to see it again but in entirty. The program guide just said paid programming. Thank you for your reply.
I really enjoy ABC's Hi definition programming."

Was this today you saw the test loop?
Jim