black_macleod,

As long as MOXI/Digeo is owned by Paul Allen, I think that MOXI will continue to be the primary DVR offered by Charter. If Charter were to throw MOXI overboard, they'd effectively be torpedoing the millions that Allen has invested in the company, which seems unlikely.

Maybe there's a change planned on the hardware side as current product used Motorola.

Apart from a too-small hard drive, there's nothing fundamentally wrong with MOXI -- it's a good product that will ideally continue to evolve.


Yeah, I don't see Charter dropping Moxi any time soon, which isn't really a bad thing because I haven't heard of any other cable co. offering a DVR thats any better. Also I do know it has been mentioned many times that Moxi blames some of there supply and other issues on Motorola and they are switching over to a new hardware vendor sooner than later. So maybe thats the switch some of the techs have heard about. but who knowz..

-Phatty

My son and I have watched the last couple of Bues matches on Fox Sports HD and no problems.

Did you guys watch that 30 Rock Christmas tree lighting in High Def? It was alright. My speakers kept popping in it. Could that just be the audio feed from NBC? I just hooked my system up this weekend but this was the only time I have heard it sound like that.

In an article on the Post Dispatch's website about Charter's latest rate increase, it's mentioned that Charter will be offering a new digital tier:

The cost of movie and family tiers will double to $10 a month from $5. The sports tier will stay at $5. Charter is also adding a new digital tier for $5.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/story/85615740F8B1B50A862572350059CD43?OpenDocument

The accompanying chart linked from the article names the new tier as "Charter Digital View".

Does anyone know what the deal is with this new tier? Is it just a reorganization of their three old tiers into four, or is Charter actually adding new channels?

I read an article last week about Charter and C-COR testing dynamic advertising on their VOD. Anyone seen it? Is was supposed to be tested to St. Louis VOD subs last week. It sounds similar to TiVo's testing.

Article HERE (http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/story/76162F797EF37C4E8625722E000A4EE9?OpenDocument&highlight=2%2C%22charter%22+AND+%22communications%22+AND+%22 tests%22+AND+%22quick%22)

In an article on the Post Dispatch's website about Charter's latest rate increase, it's mentioned that Charter will be offering a new digital tier:


http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/story/85615740F8B1B50A862572350059CD43?OpenDocument

The accompanying chart linked from the article names the new tier as "Charter Digital View".

Does anyone know what the deal is with this new tier? Is it just a reorganization of their three old tiers into four, or is Charter actually adding new channels?


The new so-called "digital view tier", has no new channels--it will have about half of the channels, that the current "family tier" has. So, all Charter is doing is cutting the family tier in half, so, in essence, the "family tier", with less channels now, will increase to $10.00 dollars a month, and if you want the other channels, you have to get the "new" "digital view" tier, and shell out another $5.00 or $10.00 for that.

The new so-called "digital view tier", has no new channels--it will have about half of the channels, that the current "family tier" has. So, all Charter is doing is cutting the family tier in half, so, in essence, the "family tier", with less channels now, will increase to $10.00 dollars a month, and if you want the other channels, you have to get the "new" "digital view" tier, and shell out another $5.00 or $10.00 for that.Maybe Charter is doing this now so that they'll have some prices that can be discounted when AT&T comes to town... ;)

I've noticed since KMOV added 4.2 (which is blank right now), KMOV-DT has been acting troublesome, less so around the beginning of the month, and has ramped up in last week or two.

KMOV has been consistently multipaths or freezes. Is anybody else experiencing this?

I hope everybody had a good Thanksgiving!

I've noticed since KMOV added 4.2 (which is blank right now), KMOV-DT has been acting troublesome, less so around the beginning of the month, and has ramped up in last week or two.

KMOV has been consistently multipaths or freezes. Is anybody else experiencing this?

I hope everybody had a good Thanksgiving!

No issues here. All of my scheduled recordings have had no issues.

No issues here. All of my scheduled recordings have had no issues.Ditto for me...

The LAST "HDTV in St. Louis" Survey Reminder...

Again, I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to complete the St. Louis HDTV Viewer Survey -- the response to date has been superb.

The survey closes at 2 p.m. on Friday (Dec 1), so I wanted to post one last reminder for anyone who hasn't heard about the survey, or for anyone who hasn't yet had time to take it.

So, here's the link where the survey can be found:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=770152748968

Also, a few weeks back I put together an eMail template for forwarding a survey invitation to any of your friends, family or colleagues who might be interested in participating. That invitation template can be found here at AVS via the link below:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/show...2&&#post8878312

Thanks again for tolerating these periodic reminders. Serialized summary results will begin to appear here sometime Friday or Saturday.

Hello,

I'm having a new house built and want to make sure the house is capable of supporting whole house distribution of data and, in the future, audio or video content.

I'm a bit of a DIY'er and normally like to spend a lot of time researching things like this. However, I just don't have the time right now and won't be able to select hardware prior to completion of the house.

So, I'd just like to make sure the house is wired for the future.

Does anyone have any advice on how to proceed? Are there any good thread links or DIY sites that can explain the best approach? I'm mainly concerned about getting the right wire in place before any sheet rock is put in.

Thanks for your help.

Mike

Hello,I'm having a new house built and want to make sure the house is capable of supporting whole house distribution of data and, in the future, audio or video content.
I'm a bit of a DIY'er and normally like to spend a lot of time researching things like this. However, I just don't have the time right now and won't be able to select hardware prior to completion of the house.
So, I'd just like to make sure the house is wired for the future.
Does anyone have any advice on how to proceed? Are there any good thread links or DIY sites that can explain the best approach? I'm mainly concerned about getting the right wire in place before any sheet rock is put in.
Thanks for your help.
Mike
Mike,
You'll find a lot of useful, easy to access information here:
http://www.wildtracks.cihost.com/homewire/

The house we're in the process of building, I've pre-wired all rooms with RG6, USB and CAT5. There is residential pre-wire optical stuff out there, but the standards in termination and application vary so widely, I just could not justify the high cost of the material. I feel I should be pretty well set with CAT5 and USB.

Mike,
You'll find a lot of useful, easy to access information here:
http://www.wildtracks.cihost.com/homewire/

The house we're in the process of building, I've pre-wired all rooms with RG6, USB and CAT5. There is residential pre-wire optical stuff out there, but the standards in termination and application vary so widely, I just could not justify the high cost of the material. I feel I should be pretty well set with CAT5 and USB.


Out of curiosity -- why USB? Long runs of USB cables aren't very good overall. I would think RG6 and CAT5 would be more than adequate.

Out of curiosity -- why USB? Long runs of USB cables aren't very good overall. I would think RG6 and CAT5 would be more than adequate.
Sorry, I wasn't specific enough. Correct, the USB runs are all short by comparison, many within the same room.

We both work at home, and use several computers and peripherals, many located on another wall, 20-25' away from the processor. Having to use 2 networks prevents us from just networking all the peripherals. FDIC off-site security...blah, blah.

This house will have 2 separate offices, internally connected by USB, and networked by CAT5.

Hello,

I'm having a new house built and want to make sure the house is capable of supporting whole house distribution of data and, in the future, audio or video content.

I'm a bit of a DIY'er and normally like to spend a lot of time researching things like this. However, I just don't have the time right now and won't be able to select hardware prior to completion of the house.

So, I'd just like to make sure the house is wired for the future.

Does anyone have any advice on how to proceed? Are there any good thread links or DIY sites that can explain the best approach? I'm mainly concerned about getting the right wire in place before any sheet rock is put in.

Thanks for your help.

Mike

As of 3 years ago the advice was to run at least 2 coax and 2 cat5e's to each room or location the home. I did not follow that advice in all rooms and now regret it. You can learn a whole bunch from this forum. Check out the Home Automation thead ASAP.
Run a PVC pipe from your basement up to the attic for future wire runs. I did and this did come in handy when I added a antenna to my attic.
Look into a whole house av switching system. I use Russound's CAV 6.6. Just today, i was able to add my new XBOX to every TV in the home. Now, if I want to play XBOX while taking a bath it's no problem with the wireless controller. :)

Run all of your wire to a central location (home run).

Have fun.

Scott

Now, if I want to play XBOX while taking a bath it's no problem with the wireless controller. :)
Scott
Seek professional help, ASAP :D

Thanks for the advice. I'll read the recommended sources. It looks like I should shoot for 2 cat 5 cables to each room and 2 RG6 to each room. I know I want two RG6 to each room so my D* HR10-250's will operate. However, what is the reason for the two cat5 cables? Should they be run to the same spot in each room or do I want to have them terminating on different walls?

Thanks,

Mike

Canadian TV Exec Says There's No Business Case for HDTV

The following excerpts are from today's TV Week High Definition newsletter:
_______________________________________________

"There's no evidence either in Canada or the United States that we have found for advertisers willing to pay a premium for a program that's in HD," Mr. Rabinovich told the Canadian Radio-Television and Communications Commission. "So basically they're saying if you want to shoot in HD, that's your business, we're not going to pay you more."
_______________________________________________


What strikes me about this comment is how viewers apparently aren't even a part of the equation. This is exactly the sort of myopia that created cable/satellite programming in the TV world and XM and Sirius in the radio world.

And these guys are surprised when their market share goes pear-shaped?

_______________________________________________

Upon hearing the news, HDNet co-founder Mark Cuban told TelevisionWeek: "I hope he keeps this attitude for a long, long time. We will be looking to expand HDNet in Canada, along with our Canadian-produced programming, and that will make it a little simpler for us."
_______________________________________________

The full TV Week story can be read by clicking here. (http://www.tvweek.com/page.cms?pageId=414)

On the topic of home wiring, I think two RG6 runs should be considered the bare minimum for each room.

In rooms where serious TV viewing is going on, I would consider running as many as 5 RG6 runs -- one for an antenna and the others for cable/satellite/teleco TV distribution. Maybe this wouldn't be necessary with cable or teleco services, but I expect that satellite DVRs will eventually go beyond two tuners, and even if they don't, you may want to have the ability to feed multiple DVRs.

Hope there is some good stuff coming on tonight and tommorow cause I don't think I'm going anywhere anytime soon. We got Bengals/Ravens on NFL network if you get that.

Thanks for the advice. I'll read the recommended sources. It looks like I should shoot for 2 cat 5 cables to each room and 2 RG6 to each room. I know I want two RG6 to each room so my D* HR10-250's will operate. However, what is the reason for the two cat5 cables? Should they be run to the same spot in each room or do I want to have them terminating on different walls?
Thanks,
Mike
Mike,
I'm using the dual RG6 cabling, giving all rooms at least 2 cables. As Doug said, in my to-be DVR rooms, they will have 2 runs of dual RG6-4 total cables each. All the RG6 will feed from a central garage wall, which will also receive the SAT and OTA drops. Using diplexers, TV data can then be fed and/or back-fed to virtually any location in the house.

On the CAT5, for non-office related rooms, they will have one drop each, with an additional drop (on opposite walls) in media-related rooms and the kitchen. CAT5 is fairly low-cost cable and versatile. There are many other ways/uses to terminate CAT5 other than the standard RJ45 connector. For example, if at a future date you needed an additional 2-pair phone line run from outside to a particular room, you could use 4 of the CAT5 wires, still leaving 4 for something else.

In some rooms, the CAT5 will not be terminated, just placed in a box behind a blank plate. There for when/if it's needed. In answer to your question, personally, I think 2 CAT5 runs per every room is not necessary.

I think Scott mentioned (in his post he typed from the bathtub ;) ), we will also have 2 runs of 1" empty PVC. 1 the length, and the other the width of the house. Both will have exterior and interior access. Both for possible future use, if needed.

FWIW, I drafted the layout, and I'm having the elect sub run all the drops.

Thanks for the help. I will make sure to have the pvc run up/down for future expansion. I also intend to have all the wires terminate in a single location in the basement where I will eventually put routers, switching equipment, whatever it is called.

I have seen that some people use Cat6 instead of Cat5. Does it serve the same purpose?

-Mike

I have seen that some people use Cat6 instead of Cat5. Does it serve the same purpose?

-MikeCat6 (and Cat5E) support gigabit (1000 Mb) ethernet. Cat5 supports 100Mb ethernet. Home networks don't really benefit from gigabit ethernet.

I have seen that some people use Cat6 instead of Cat5. Does it serve the same purpose?
-Mike
Mike,
CAT6 supports 1000mps. It's the next generation of Ethernet wiring. CAT7 is already being developed. CAT6 is probably not cost effective yet, and unless you anticipate a need for gigabit super-speed, I don't see any need for it in a residential application.

Thanks for the help. I will make sure to have the pvc run up/down for future expansion. I also intend to have all the wires terminate in a single location in the basement where I will eventually put routers, switching equipment, whatever it is called.

I have seen that some people use Cat6 instead of Cat5. Does it serve the same purpose?

-Mike

You're welcome for the help, but do you really want to follow the advice from someone who plays Xbox in the tub. :confused:

Seriously, you won't regret running a conduit from your home run to the attic. Give serious thought to were you want (or may want) TV's and speakers throghtout the home. A few things I did that my Wife thought was crazy:

1. Outdoor speakers on the front porch. Turns out I listen to them more than the ones in the backyard.

2. TV in the master bath. It gets used daily even if only for Xbox. :)

3. Inwall/Inceiling speakers throughout the home.

4. Inwalls in the garage. I love to wash/wax the car while listening to some cool Jazz.

These are just a few things I did. Don't forget, wire is relatively cheap, so don't skimp on the runs. Run more than you ever think you'll need.

Gotta go watch The game on NFL Network. HD baby!

Scott

FWIW, I heard back-to-back national radio ads this afternoon for DirecTV and DISH, both of which were squarely aimed at customers of cable companies who aren't carrying the NFL Network. The ads were obviously timed to coincide with tonight's game, and the DirecTV ad specifically mentioned HD.

FWIW, I heard back-to-back national radio ads this afternoon for DirecTV and DISH, both of which were squarely aimed at customers of cable companies who aren't carrying the NFL Network. The ads were obviously timed to coincide with tonight's game, and the DirecTV ad specifically mentioned HD.

I heard a DirecTV ad on local radio on my way home on the same subject. I like football and all, but I can't imagine switching to satellite just because of the NFL Network.

Anyone having trouble w/ reception tonight?

I've lost KMOV-DT and KTVI-DT as of 9pm.

I've also lost my HD channels through DirecTV but still have DirecTV SD channels.

While we're talking cables and long cable runs, here are three interesting items you may not be aware of:

1. Belkin USB Peripheral Switch
2. Active USB extension cables
3. USB 1.1 over Cat5 extension cable

The Belkin USB Peripheral Switch allows you to switch manually or through software among 4 USB 1.1 devices and four computers, assigning each device independently. You can switch manually or you can drag the device onto the computer of choice from software you install on each PC you've connected to the switch. I use this switch mainly for a remote keyboard and mouse. The main keyboard and mouse are at my regular computer workstation (with a KVM switch), and the remote mouse and keyboard are in the home theater.

The normal maximum length of a USB cable is about 16 feet. You can extend that without issue most times with an active USB extension cable, which can be had in lengths up to an additional 16'. Sometimes you can even add two extensions - depends on the device and the USB port. I use this to extend USB 1.1 and 2.0 devices throughout the house.

USB 1.1 devices can be extended to over 150 feet with Cat5, stretching your low data rate devices (like mice and computer keyboards) to just about anywhere you want them. My USB 1.1 remote mouse and keyboard are too far from the computer workstation, so I use Cat5 to get them to the home theater.

I also use longer than normal DVI cables for the projector and computer DVI video cards, as well as VGA/PS2 extension cables for computers that are in the basement (going to the KVM switch).

Most of this stuff is available from TigerDirect.com.

Re: KMOV.....

I've been noticing more pixellation during fast moving scenes in the CSI's, but that's more from KMOV siphoning off the bandwidth for 4-2 than from any actual signal reception issue.

Anyone having trouble w/ reception tonight?

I've lost KMOV-DT and KTVI-DT as of 9pm.

I've also lost my HD channels through DirecTV but still have DirecTV SD channels.

Mine are all working just fine. I did not check around 9:00 however because I was watching the Bengals punish the Ravens on NFL Network. Thanks to the Bengals for helping the Chargers take the lead in the standings over the Ravens. From what I could see, it was a flawless presentation. I love Thursday night TV now thanks to the NFL Network in HD! :)

Scott

I heard a DirecTV ad on local radio on my way home on the same subject. I like football and all, but I can't imagine switching to satellite just because of the NFL Network.


This year, I can't either. But if the Rams were in the playoff hunt, and actually had a game that was only on the NFL Network..... the imagination would get a lot bigger.

Oh, just remembered.... NFL Network has Bryant Gumbel doing play by play.... yikes, I'd listen to Al Hrabosky for a week straight before putting up with Gumbel for even one evening!

Anyone having trouble w/ reception tonight?

I've lost KMOV-DT and KTVI-DT as of 9pm.

I've also lost my HD channels through DirecTV but still have DirecTV SD channels.
Both are off-air here also, both on SAT and OTA. Must be a power/tower issue. All other DISH channels are up, including KSDK and KDNL on both SAT and OTA.

Lights are flickering....the UPS's are whining already...gunna be a long night. Probably had 20 spike/surges in the past hour...going to go shut stuff down.

Yep, a long night indeed. Three brief outages so far and another good sized limb crashed down. At least this time it hit the side fence and not my roof breaking two joists. :( But sheesh! This is scary! Power is flickering and it's just a matter of time until more large limbs come down. Been checking Ameren's site and the numbers of folks without power is up to 158, 500. Was in th high 70's when the news was over.

Just talked to our public works guy who's been working since early this morning. Called to offer him coffee or hot cocoa and he said he's either pushing big limbs with the plow or having to drag them out of the road by hand. I can hear the cracking of large branches and the public works guy reported a line went down on my subdivision and caught fire.

Hope the wind stays calm and this stuff turns to snow soon. Turned off the master switch on my Monster HT surge protector. My OTA signal was surprisingly not affected.

Sigh...on UPS....Power went off around 11pm. I just fired this one up to have a look at KTVI's weather suite....It's pretty nice when the TV's out. We're in one of the 10k+ power outage area.

Uhm....Joe....c'i borrow your generator?

Sigh

Sigh...on UPS....Power went off around 11pm. I just fired this one up to have a look at KTVI's weather suite....It's pretty nice when the TV's out. We're in one of the 10k+ power outage area.

Uhm....Joe....c'i borrow your generator?

Sigh

Hang in there. I know it sucks. It's just a matter of time before all the sagging limbs from my trees and or several neighbors break and take out the power line. I can see a few limbs sagging closer and closer to the lines.

Ameren's count is up to 186,400. :(

Quick question.....sorry if it's already been discussed.....has anyone noticed an overall green tint to their picture on 480i content over a dvi to hdmi connection? I've got the motorola 9012 here in St. Louis with Charter. The tint goes away on s-video, component or any setting besides 480i. Had the box replaced today but still have the problem.....any possibilities?

Thanks

Scott

Oh, just remembered.... NFL Network has Bryant Gumbel doing play by play.... yikes, I'd listen to Al Hrabosky for a week straight before putting up with Gumbel for even one evening!

Yeah, bryant is pretty boring. Next week I'll listen to the game on Sirius while watching D* 95.

Sucks for all of you without power. I guess one good thing about new subdivisions is the lack of trees on power lines. It's not pretty but I have power. :)

Scott

Scott, did you or anybody else have issues with the picture during the football game last night on D* 95? I suspect I have an ice problem on my dish, but it's possible that the high winds the roared through on Wednesday night might have tweaked the aim of my dish.

Scott, did you or anybody else have issues with the picture during the football game last night on D* 95? I suspect I have an ice problem on my dish, but it's possible that the high winds the roared through on Wednesday night might have tweaked the aim of my dish.

I only had the game on in the background, but I didn't notice any problems.

does dish now offer local hd channels from their sattelite, my father called them and they said YES all local CHANNELS OFFERED in HD!!! Do they even offer them in sd? If this is true I LOVE IT!!!

does dish now offer local hd channels from their sattelite, my father called them and they said YES all local CHANNELS OFFERED in HD!!! Do they even offer them in sd? If this is true I LOVE IT!!!

Sure via an OTA antennae. I specifically asked when I called them. Naturally you don't have to pay for that :D

When I had Dish (over a year ago now) they offered all my locals in SD via Sat.

Scott, did you or anybody else have issues with the picture during the football game last night on D* 95? I suspect I have an ice problem on my dish, but it's possible that the high winds the roared through on Wednesday night might have tweaked the aim of my dish.

No problems here. There was some ice on the dish, but it has melted away now. I've had no issues with any channels OTA or SAT.

Scott

does dish now offer local hd channels from their sattelite, my father called them and they said YES all local CHANNELS OFFERED in HD!!! Do they even offer them in sd? If this is true I LOVE IT!!!

You can get local stations in SD, OTA HD and satellite HD from Dish. You get all the local stations through SD and OTA, and the big four (ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox) via satellite broadcasts. If you subscribe to the locals in SD, you get them in HD, too.

This year, I can't either. But if the Rams were in the playoff hunt, and actually had a game that was only on the NFL Network..... the imagination would get a lot bigger.

If the Rams were playing, the game would be simulcast via a local channel here, NFL rules.

Thanks for the advice. I'll read the recommended sources. It looks like I should shoot for 2 cat 5 cables to each room and 2 RG6 to each room. I know I want two RG6 to each room so my D* HR10-250's will operate. However, what is the reason for the two cat5 cables? Should they be run to the same spot in each room or do I want to have them terminating on different walls?

Thanks,

Mike

Please watch and avoid what happened in my daughter's house in Texas. We arranged with a seperate contractor for all the cat5 and rg6 in her new house with a central box for tieing in the router & etc. When we came in to do the network, we found the f**kin phone company had used our cat 5. Their excuse for not running seperate wiring was that she had 4 phone lines.

Walt

Here is hoping that everyone is OK and has power.

So far, I've been lucky this storm as we haven't lost power yet. During this summer's storm, I lost power for 5-6 days.

Hope everyone is OK and that your HDTV is OK =]

I dont remember who had the power generator backup system put in, but I was wondering if his area lost power and how it performed.

Tim

That was Joe. Hopefully he'll let us know.

I'm not currently able to receive either CW11 or PBS HD OTA signals.

Can anyone else verify this? PBS has been out for me since this morning, but everything else was working fine. I lost 11 at some point this evening.

I also seem to have a leak somewhere in my roof, so I'm wondering if the two are related...

I'm not currently able to receive either CW11 or PBS HD OTA signals.

Can anyone else verify this? PBS has been out for me since this morning, but everything else was working fine. I lost 11 at some point this evening.

I also seem to have a leak somewhere in my roof, so I'm wondering if the two are related...
I'm getting both fine. Just got back from a trip and noticed on my Fusion Gold 3 PC card is showing what used to be channel 5 as 350. What's up with that?

20 min later edit...Just noticed channel number now went back to 5-1 and 5-2. Go figure. Software, card, or KSDK?

To the earlier question about loss of audio on Blues games broadcast by Charter on FSMW-HD, yep, lost audio in the second period of last Tuesday's game. Also lost audio in the middle of the prior HD broadcast. I noticed that audio was also dropped from the channel immediately below FSMWHD. What's up with that?

Looking at some of the comments on receiving OTA HD, you just need a basic UHF/VHF antenna and aim it at South County Shopping Center. Reception will be fine. Remember, with HD satellite reception, you will not get channel 11 HD for the Cardinal games for quite a while. The new 1000 channel DirecTV bird is flying and will be active late winter, but don't expect KPLR-DT. There are still cities without analog locals.

By the way, I saw a comment about DirecTV and purchasing the system from them instead of a local company. DirecTV uses contracted installers. Local dealers generally use installers who they employ and actually many owners install. If you have a problem you have a local contact to call. The costs are the same and generally the work from a local dealer is very good and will work with you to customize the installation.

Looking at some of the comments on receiving OTA HD, you just need a basic UHF/VHF antenna and aim it at South County Shopping Center. Reception will be fine.
If it were only that simple. :eek: VHF for OTA digital??
When you get a chance, have a look at Doug's (DropTheRemote) post subjected, "We interrupt your normal AVS programing."

Welcome to the forum :)
Do you do install/work for DirecTv?

It's been a while since I was in the market for a new display. I picked up a new DLP today and may I say WOW! It is now abundantly clear how much I've lost in picture quality on my projector with the lamp on its last leg. I will now order a new lamp tomorrow from Price Japan, so my 133" will look more like the new 46" DLP I brought home today. I love this new Samsung. It is only 11" deep and light enough I could carry into the house, unbox it and place it on the stand all by myself. I had to borrow the neighbor to help me carry the old 42" Mitsubishi to the basement. Man, are the new TV's cool or what?

Scott

Here is hoping that everyone is OK and has power.

So far, I've been lucky this storm as we haven't lost power yet. During this summer's storm, I lost power for 5-6 days.

Hope everyone is OK and that your HDTV is OK =]

I went out 3AM Thursday. Just came back on. I cranked the furnace up since the power may not last. Was 57 degrees. Tolerable, but it would have gotten colder for sure near dawn, I was worried about my pipes freezing as I have a slab house.

Well, this is the second time without power in the last 5 months. I'm currently running off my brother's generator and am able to run the furnace from it along with a few lights, frig, my laptop, radio, and a few battery chargers. I'll give it a workout with the washer tomorrow. I remember back in July from the last power outage someone was getting a standalone generator. Have they had to use it and how well does it work?

We got power back yesterday. Went out in the afternoon to use a laundromat, and the karma gods gifted us with power on our return. Freezing pipes could have been a concern, but I don't think we got nearly cold enough in our old brick house. It made it down to 50 deg -- I felt like a bottle of wine.

That's three times in one year with 2-day power outages for us. I feel bad for the folks who go even longer. AmerenUE really needs to get it's act together: it amazes me that in an area with big old trees like we have (U City), that power lines are still exposed and not buried.

Well, uverse got HD up and rolling in San Antonio:

http://www.uverseusers.com/article.php/hd-rollout-begins-in-san-antonio

No word on whether it will be available though at the St. Louis (creve coeur) rollout or any of the specs. I don't have the guts to be one of the guinea pigs but find it interesting nonetheless.

Well, uverse got HD up and rolling in San Antonio:

http://www.uverseusers.com/article.php/hd-rollout-begins-in-san-antonio

No word on whether it will be available though at the St. Louis (creve coeur) rollout or any of the specs. I don't have the guts to be one of the guinea pigs but find it interesting nonetheless.I looked at the San Antonio Uverse channel lineup. It has more HD channels than D*, but not a whole lot that I would watch. I also expect they'll be added to D* within a year. UVerse would cost more and has nothing compelling to offer that I can tell. In any case, I don't see anything to get very excited about.

I looked at the San Antonio Uverse channel lineup. It has more HD channels than D*, but not a whole lot that I would watch. I also expect they'll be added to D* within a year. UVerse would cost more and has nothing compelling to offer that I can tell. In any case, I don't see anything to get very excited about.


Agreed that it is much too early to get excited, but here are some of the things that pique my interest (both current and planned):

1) The motorola boxes boast the option to record up to 4 programs at once (sports fans unite!)

2) Not sure how much you are paying for D*, but I am using Att/yahoo for internet and charter for cable. The corresponding bundled package is about 1/2 the price and has the following additional HD channels (Universal HD, National Geographic HD, NFL Network, A&E HD, ESPN2HD, TMCHD, Starz HD) - This is the U300 package ($104 for HD cable + internet).

3) This offers an additional option to cable, especially for those like myself not excited about putting a dish on a low roof line. Competition, competition, competition. Maybe I'm dreaming but I'm hoping that an additional player in the market may redefine Charter's (and maybe D*'s) definition of customer service and pricing (Did anyone else just get the 5/month hike in Charter's HD tier!?).

4) The yahoo web remote is pretty cool. Again, not at all familiar with D*s set up, but the Moxy interface leaves much to be desired. Being able to quickly and remotely program is a unique feature.

I went out 3AM Thursday. Just came back on. I cranked the furnace up since the power may not last. Was 57 degrees. Tolerable, but it would have gotten colder for sure near dawn, I was worried about my pipes freezing as I have a slab house.
Mo,
Glad to hear you fared this one OK. Sounds like much better than in July. :)
Do you have a small portable generator? I picked one up during the fall. After some research, I found a good avenue for used ones is rental houses. So, I got 2500w for $195. It has a Honda engine.

It was able to run the fridge, deep-freezer, a couple of lights, and a couple of fans.
Using the fireplace, and strategically located fans, I was able to keep the house at 64° for the 2 days of no-power. If I disconnected the fridge and freezer, I could watch TV, but just OTA. I used an old CRT. I was leery about connecting my good equipment (DVR, RPTV) to a generator.

It's far from any perfect solution, but, it keeps us from losing all the food, and with 3 dogs and a cat, trying to find somewhere else to go.

Key factor in the whole scenario, is knowing where a gas station is that has electricity!

Mo,
Glad to hear you fared this one OK. Sounds like much better than in July. :)
Do you have a small portable generator? I picked one up during the fall. After some research, I found a good avenue for used ones is rental houses. So, I got 2500w for $195. It has a Honda engine........

Sounds like a good deal. Where did you go? To a place like The Rental Center? And they SOLD you one for $195????

Sounds like a good deal. Where did you go? To a place like The Rental Center? And they SOLD you one for $195????
Yeah, it was a local rental place down here in Farmington. It's next door to a Family Fun Center (horse/farm place), but I don't think they own it. It's just called Farmington Rentals and Parties. They guy told me after they have receive 10x its original cost in rental fees, they sell them used, and replace them with a new one for renting. The cheapest I could find new was around $400. He told me if a rental place is going to sell used equipment, they will do it during the winter. That way, they have the new replacements ready for the Spring.

I don't know much about these machines, but the engine part is just like a lawnmower, and I know how to do that stuff. So, my thinking was it will only get used a couple of times a year, and I'll start it up periodically.

I used the same wires I use for the electric garden tools, so I didn't need to buy any of them. He said wires are different, and they have to match the amount of power, so I brought one of mine to his store, and he said they will work fine. He had wires used for sale also. 50' for $8, and they were thick wires. I don't know what they cost new. They were safe and worked, just pretty messed up, mostly with paint and stuff.

I figure it would cost me around $100 to replace the food in the fridge.
Living down here, right now we have over $500 in meat in the deep freezer.

Mo,
Glad to hear you fared this one OK. Sounds like much better than in July. :)
Do you have a small portable generator? I picked one up during the fall. After some research, I found a good avenue for used ones is rental houses. So, I got 2500w for $195. It has a Honda engine.

It was able to run the fridge, deep-freezer, a couple of lights, and a couple of fans.
Using the fireplace, and strategically located fans, I was able to keep the house at 64° for the 2 days of no-power. If I disconnected the fridge and freezer, I could watch TV, but just OTA. I used an old CRT. I was leery about connecting my good equipment (DVR, RPTV) to a generator.

It's far from any perfect solution, but, it keeps us from losing all the food, and with 3 dogs and a cat, trying to find somewhere else to go.

Key factor in the whole scenario, is knowing where a gas station is that has electricity!

Thanks. I did have another large limb come down, but it (barely) missed the house this time. The teeanagers next door removed it and chopped it all up.
I still have ice crystals in the top branches of the trees and I'm still a little concerned. I just hope mine or anyone else's trees don't come down over the lines.

No generator, but that's a great deal! I put all of my food in the back up my SUV so that was easy. I had a portable radio, went to city hall to charge my cell phone and both big batteries for my flashlight. I have a head lamp from cross country ski days and a bunch of candles.

I'm running the furnace at a higher setting than normal in case the power goes out again. During the summer storm when my power was finally up a bit it went back down for 11 hours.

My sister offered to have me come stay with her and her husband but I have two cats and it would have been a real pain. Plus, I wanted to keep flushing the water lines and keep an eye on things.

I'll feel better after the ice on the trees melt.

Can anyone tell me what hardware Charter in O' Fallon, MO uses for their DVR? Also what they charge and any comments on that equipment - good or bad.

Thanks in advance. :D

I can't tell you guys much about the generator yet. We didn't have an outage here. I'll keep you posted when our area goes down in the future. I can say that the company we had install the unit has an 800 number, and they are supposed to take calls 24/7 for emergencies.

I'm really glad I had the trees in the back yard trimmed way back this past summer. I think it's almost certain we would have had a downed branch cut our power if not for that. We had some serious overhang with branches close to the lines.

Yeah, it was a local rental place down here in Farmington. It's next door to a Family Fun Center (horse/farm place), but I don't think they own it. It's just called Farmington Rentals and Parties. They guy told me after they have receive 10x its original cost in rental fees, they sell them used, and replace them with a new one for renting. The cheapest I could find new was around $400. He told me if a rental place is going to sell used equipment, they will do it during the winter. That way, they have the new replacements ready for the Spring.

I don't know much about these machines, but the engine part is just like a lawnmower, and I know how to do that stuff. So, my thinking was it will only get used a couple of times a year, and I'll start it up periodically.

Cool! Maybe I'll shop this around AFTER all the dust settles. Right now, I'm sure all units are out on rental and worth their weight in gold as far as renting goes.

Thank you for the info.

Hey gys, I was wondering if anyone has trouble demuxing ABC 30.1 720p content.
When I record 720p movies from 30.1 and try to demux them, it either doesn't work with one program or goes out of sync with another.

Is channel 30.1 using an unusual method to convert films to 60fps or a weird muxing method somehow? :confused:

Thanks!

HEY KSDK! WAKE UP AND FLIP THE SWITCH ON THE SCHOOL CLOSINGS CRAWL! I was somewhat ok with it when it ran once every 1/2 hour or so and only ran once from A to Z. Now it's been running for pretty much the whole 3rd quarter. This is rediculous KSDK. This is a classic example of why you are definitely not the HD leader. I sent them an email and I encourage any one else not happy to do the same.

Scott

Did the post about someone looking to get rid of a 37in Olevia get deleted? is it no longer available?

It got deleted, You cant post items "for sale" in this thread.

Hey gys, I was wondering if anyone has trouble demuxing ABC 30.1 720p content.
When I record 720p movies from 30.1 and try to demux them, it either doesn't work with one program or goes out of sync with another.

Is channel 30.1 using an unusual method to convert films to 60fps or a weird muxing method somehow? :confused:

Thanks!

I don't know if this is the proper forum for that question. What are you trying to do and which software are you using? (This question may be more appropriate for the the HTPC forum.)

Quick question.....sorry if it's already been discussed.....has anyone noticed an overall green tint to their picture on 480i content over a dvi to hdmi connection? I've got the motorola 9012 here in St. Louis with Charter. The tint goes away on s-video, component or any setting besides 480i. Had the box replaced today but still have the problem.....any possibilities?Scott,

It's hard to say for sure, but this is probably an issue with your display, rather than the set-top box. Depending on what sort of display and how it is configured from the factory, there could be different grayscale settings for different types of inputs/resolutions and the setup for 480i DVI/HDMI may be shifted toward green for some reason. Since it's only a 480i source, it's probably not a big priority, but...

Let me know the brand and model number of your display and I might be able to give you a better idea if it's a display issue and what would be involved in resolving it.

FWIW, I've been without power since early Friday morning, but everything came back here around 7 pm tonight. Had been planning on getting some of the survey results out on Friday or Saturday, but spent most of those hours under the covers.

Should have some results to dribble out Monday or Tuesday...in the meantime, hope everyone is safe, dry and warm.

HEY KSDK! WAKE UP AND FLIP THE SWITCH ON THE SCHOOL CLOSINGS CRAWL! I was somewhat ok with it when it ran once every 1/2 hour or so and only ran once from A to Z. Now it's been running for pretty much the whole 3rd quarter. This is rediculous KSDK. This is a classic example of why you are definitely not the HD leader. I sent them an email and I encourage any one else not happy to do the same.
Scott
Completely ridiculous. KSDK's approach to the general public is demeaning and offensive. Not just in this case, it's their overall attitude.

Someone here once summed it up well by saying, watching Cindy do the weather made them feel like their elementary school teacher was speaking to them. Not to single her out, it's all of them, and it begins off-camera, at the top.

When I had school-age children, I knew how to find out if their school was open or closed, as does everyone else here, and everywhere else in the city. We don't need 15 hours of screwed up TV programming to advise us.

KSKD needs to get off their great white horse, put down the shining armor, and start treating their audience with respect.

They could start by listening to their viewers comments.

Completely ridiculous. KSDK's approach to the general public is demeaning and offensive. Not just in this case, it's their overall attitude.

Someone here once summed it up well by saying, watching Cindy do the weather made them feel like their elementary school teacher was speaking to them. Not to single her out, it's all of them, and it begins off-camera, at the top.

When I had school-age children, I knew how to find out if their school was open or closed, as does everyone else here, and everywhere else in the city. We don't need 15 hours of screwed up TV programming to advise us.

KSKD needs to get off their great white horse, put down the shining armor, and start treating their audience with respect.

They could start by listening to their viewers comments.

2 Years ago I called them because they kept interrupting a NASCAR race with
weather "alerts", you know where they break into programming and give you
a talking head for 15-20 minutes at a time...

They said it was because it was News. I told them weather wasn't NEWS!

For crap sake, they have a 5-2 for weather, the closings should be on that
channel along with SD channel 5.

...

For crap sake, they have a 5-2 for weather, the closings should be on that
channel along with SD channel 5.Except that only a minority of viewers can even get 5-2. Remember that the percentage of consumers with HD TVs and STB that receive HD locals is still pretty low.

Except that only a minority of viewers can even get 5-2. Remember that the percentage of consumers with HD TVs and STB that receive HD locals is still pretty low.
Dean,
I think Bill was implying put weather/news "hot" topics on 5-2 and VHF-5...that covers everyone without interrupting their main 5-1 signal.

Problem is, KSDK would have to go out and buy another 50's Xmas card, to cut it out to make another boarder!

Exactly my point. There is always SD channel 5, and 5-2. They have 3 channels to work
with. The majority of St. Louisans only get SD channel 5, put the info there or on 5-2.

They need to realize they have 3 channels to work with and actually use them as such.

Exactly my point. There is always SD channel 5, and 5-2. They have 3 channels to work
with. The majority of St. Louisans only get SD channel 5, put the info there or on 5-2.

They need to realize they have 3 channels to work with and actually use them as such.But that would imply that they're a leader in HD and have the wherewithal to vary content between SD 5 and HD 5-1. Does any local other than KETC do that?

Completely ridiculous. KSDK's approach to the general public is demeaning and offensive. Not just in this case, it's their overall attitude.

Someone here once summed it up well by saying, watching Cindy do the weather made them feel like their elementary school teacher was speaking to them. Not to single her out, it's all of them, and it begins off-camera, at the top.

When I had school-age children, I knew how to find out if their school was open or closed, as does everyone else here, and everywhere else in the city. We don't need 15 hours of screwed up TV programming to advise us.

KSKD needs to get off their great white horse, put down the shining armor, and start treating their audience with respect.

They could start by listening to their viewers comments.

I sent an email to the newstips hotline about it last night. I got a response almost immediately. They said "the list is continuously updating, so we keep running it." So, schools are not on the list during the 2nd quarter, but magically need to be added in the 3rd and 4th quarters of the game. I'm pretty sure by late last night any school that was going to be closed today new it before the start of prime time programming. What a joke. I ended up watching on my west coast feed from KNBC in LA. Not HD, but no school closings in California. :) Do you here that KSDK advertisers? We are flipping channels to avoid KSDK. The ads you pay for we are not seeing. Please let KSDK know of your displeasure with them. Advertisers speak and they will listen.

Scott

TiVo Reports Good Reaction, Sales for Series 3 HD DVR

What's most interesting to me is the fact that TiVo is making such a large percentage of its ongoing sales to analog customers. I can understand the reality there and that a sale is a sale is a sale, but I hope they're building in some sort of attractive upgrade path when customers go digital.

The following story is from today's TV Predictions newsletter:
_____________________________________________________

How is TiVo's latest line of products doing in the consumer marketplace?

Last week, TiVo CEO Tom Rogers said early consumer feedback on the recently-introduced TiVo Series3 High Definition Digital Media Recorder has been positive. And sales of the product, the company's first stand-alone DVR that's HD compatible, is meeting expectations, he said.

Meanwhile, the TiVo Series2 dual-tuner box, which launched in the second quarter, represented about 58 percent of all sales, Rogers said.

The TiVo executive also stressed the company continues to focus on a potentially big market, the analog cable customer. During the third quarter, about 47 percent of TiVo-owned subscriptions came from this group, Rogers said, adding "we remain the only DVR solution for these customers."

As for third quarter results, TiVo said internally owned subscriptions were up 24 percent year-over-year to 1.6 million. As expected, TiVo reported a net decline in the number of DIRECTV TiVo subscriptions during the three-month period as the satellite TV company deployed fewer boxes from the DVR pioneer. Cumulative total subscriptions as of Oct. 31 numbered 4.4 million.
_____________________________________________________

But that would imply that they're a leader in HD and have the wherewithal to vary content between SD 5 and HD 5-1. Does any local other than KETC do that?


KMOV does it during NCAAs in March. We get different games at the same time, one on SD KMOV, a different one on HD KMOV, depending on which games are broadcast in HD. Nice feature lessening the need to buy the package deal to get all the games.

I don't understand the need to constantly run the closings throughout the game. When I switched to other channels, this was not being done.

DISH Deal May Help Some Distant Local-Deprived Customers

This story, from SkyREPORT, actually ran Friday, when I was without power. Didn't see any discussion of this here, so thought it might be helpful to post it belatedly:

____________________________________________________________

EchoStar's loss of 800,000-plus distant net customers could become the National Programming Service's (NPS) gain. As the court-ordered deadline loomed for the company's DISH Network to cut off all distant network signals, NPS's Mike Mountford struck a last-minute deal with the EchoStar CEO Charlie Ergen to provide service for the subs left out to dry.

Under the agreement, which is similar to deals that EchoStar has with other programming vendors, NPS would lease a transponder for $150,000 per month. In exchange, the company would be able to sell its distant signal programming to disenfranchised DISH customers that fit the so-called "white area" criteria.

The deal could prove a windfall for NPS which currently has 57,000 C-Band subscribers (an enormously successful C-Band service by today's standards). In order to receive the distant net signals, customers would have to sign up with NPS either through the company's website (http://www.mydistantnetworks.com/) or by phone (800.786.9677). Costs for the signals will range from $2.50/month for one signal to $9/month for all four signals.

Potential customers would need to meet qualification criteria for the service and NPS will handle all customer service operations. Once qualified, a DISH customer would receive the distant networks seamlessly through their DISH equipment.

Late Thursday both the broadcasters and DIRECTV had publicly objected to the NPS scheme, claiming it would violate the injunction against DISH providing distant network services. At press time, an emergency request was pending before Judge William Dimitrouleas, who issued the original injunction.
____________________________________________________________

If it were only that simple. :eek: VHF for OTA digital??


As I understand it, after 2009 when the digital broadcast mandate happens (assuming it's not pushed back another 2 years...), television stations will be given the option to place digital broadcasts on the VHF band to retain their channel numbers and reduce confusion.

KMOV broadcasting digitally on UHF 56, could move their digital broadcast to VHF 4.

The point being, how much money is in your budget, how often you like playing on the roof or in the attic, not knowing what broadcasters will decide to do; you may want to purchase a vhf/uhf antenna now, so that you're not throwing away a uhf only antenna in 2 years.

PS - As of 10 minutes ago, my power at home is back on - wooohoooo :D
Hopefully there isn't too much ice / snow on the dish. Didn't ever really look at it, since I was too busy worrying about the possibility of bursting pipes.

NAB Calls DISH Netowrk "Serial Copyright Abuser"

While I appreciate DISH's determination to provide what customers want, I think they ultimately get shot down by the NAB, which is a shame.

Local broadcasters are given gold-plated government-issued monopolies and there's really no business or public service case for it. This really isn't any different than the previous regiime where local authorities limited the choices that consumers have for cable television providers.

Well, there is one big difference -- it's the federal government playing lapdog to the broadcast TV industry.

All this special treatment of local broadcasters accomplishes is that it makes them completely aloof from viewer desires. For example, if more viewers could switch from KSDK to an out-of-market feed in order to avoid incessant school closing/weather alerts, you can bet you last dollar that KSDK would be listen and adapt.

Instead, they know what's best for you and and if you don't like it, well that's just "tough titty."
_______________________________________________________.

Shortly after EchoStar had signed a deal with National Programming Service to sell distant network signals to DISH Network subscribers affected by today's court-ordered shutdown, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) was calling foul on the deal it believes to be the company's attempt at circumventing the law.

Upon learning of the agreement, network affiliate groups involved in the litigation filed an immediate cease and desist order, asking for an emergency motion to halt EchoStar's "flagrant contempt of the permanent injunction entered by the court" over its distant signals.

According to court documents, NAB said "EchoStar is engaging in the transparent sham of arranging for a third party - National Programming Service and its CEO, Michael Mountford to do, with enormous technical and other assistance from EchoStar, precisely what the permanent injunction prohibits."

Said Dennis Wharton, NAB EVP of Media Relations, "We're hopeful the courts recognize this latest stunt for what it is: a serial copyright abuser's refusal to comply with numerous court verdicts and federal statutes that preserve the enduring value of local broadcasting."

In response to the NAB statement, EchoStar said is has "worked diligently to make sure consumers have a choice of distant network signals (and had) reached a $100 million settlement that was accepted and later rejected by the broadcasters, yet they continue to bully consumers and the courts."

The cease and desist order said under this deal, "EchoStar customers will to continue to be able to receive distant network signals, delivered by satellites owned by EchoStar, using satellite frequencies licensed by the FCC to EchoStar, and using satellite dishes provided by EchoStar."

Kathie Gonzalez, EchoStar's director of communications, told SkyREPORT that NPS is in no way a subsidiary of the company and is a completely separate entity. The spokeswoman also said that NPS will be handling all call-center functions, customer contacts, customer authorizations and billing services.

EchoStar said the company is "hopeful the courts will see through the Fox Network-led coalition of broadcasters, whose real intention is to deny consumers their freedom of choice and leave the Fox-owned DIRECTV as a monopoly for distant networks."
_______________________________________________________.

As I understand it, after 2009 when the digital broadcast mandate happens (assuming it's not pushed back another 2 years...), television stations will be given the option to place digital broadcasts on the VHF band to retain their channel numbers and reduce confusion.

KMOV broadcasting digitally on UHF 56, could move their digital broadcast to VHF 4.

The point being, how much money is in your budget, how often you like playing on the roof or in the attic, not knowing what broadcasters will decide to do; you may want to purchase a vhf/uhf antenna now, so that you're not throwing away a uhf only antenna in 2 years.

PS - As of 10 minutes ago, my power at home is back on - wooohoooo :D
Hopefully there isn't too much ice / snow on the dish. Didn't ever really look at it, since I was too busy worrying about the possibility of bursting pipes.zev,

Local stations were required to nominate their permanent digital frequency roughly a year ago, and ALL St. Louis stations will be remaining in the UHF band, including KMOV.

I don't recall where KMOV is moving from 56 (all digital stations will reside from 2-51 once the transition is complete), but KMOV is definitely not going back to VHF 4.

The reason for getting an UHF-only antenna is that you will achieve better UHF reception without having VHF coming through as well.

Hi All,
General question here. About how far away can people pick up OTA HD signals? My daughter is moving about 1 hour away from Kansas City and they are buying a new TV. IS there any chance they can pick up OTA HD? How far outside StL do you folks pick up channels? Thanks All!
pwsher

PWSHER,

Your best bet is to post this over at the KC discussion here at AVS, being as specific as possible about her future location.

In general, with the right outdoor antenna, you should be able to get a reliable signal from 30-40 miles from the tower -- once you go much beyond 40 miles things get iffier and more dependent on terrain.

A bigger antenna that is mounted higher may help extend the distance from the towers.

But again, finding someone in KC nearby to share their experience is going to be your best pre-move barometer on reception.

KSDK DOES NOT EXIST TO MAKE YOU HAPPY.

I couldn't agree more. :D

(Sorry, I just couldn't pass that up. I tried, but I couldn't.)

I couldn't agree more. :D

(Sorry, I just couldn't pass that up. I tried, but I couldn't.)Their advertisers might beg to differ on that.

Hmmm...my wife lied to me....just the other day, she said, "yes honey, of course KSDK is there only to make you happy."

PWSHER,
In Farmington, I receive all the St Louis locals OTA at 58 miles. I use a large directional UHF antenna with pre-amp. I split the signal to 3 TV's, using line amps. Plenty of folks I know in the Fredericktown area also receive STL locals OTA using a 40' tower.

Thanks Doug, I posted at the KC site and they thought it was GardenCity Missouri not Kansas. They did give me a great link. You guys may know about it but since I don't have OTA I didn't pay attention. You type in your address and it tells you what stations you should be able to pick up. Pretty cool. Try antennaweb.org It tells me that they are from 35-41 miles from the towers. Any antenna suggestions out there?
Thanks all,
pwsher

Thanks Doug, I posted at the KC site and they thought it was GardenCity Missouri not Kansas. They did give me a great link. You guys may know about it but since I don't have OTA I didn't pay attention. You type in your address and it tells you what stations you should be able to pick up. Pretty cool. Try antennaweb.org It tells me that they are from 35-41 miles from the towers. Any antenna suggestions out there?
Thanks all,
pwsher
pwsher,
35-40 miles is surely doable. Unfortunately, terrestrial reception isn't as simple as throwing up an antenna and pointing in the direction of the towers. If only it was.

For example, what works in/on your house, may not work in/on your neighbors house. A good starting place is take a short drive around the neighborhood, and see if you see any off-air antennas being used.

Also, you could give antennasdirect.com a call. They may be familiar with your location. Perhaps also, check the local phone book, and see if there are any places in your area who do OTA installs.

A number of comments have been deleted. Enough of the bickering. Further off topic comments will result in suspensions, and ultimately, banning.

STL HDTV Survey Results - Part 1: Stats About Respondents

As most everyone here knows by now, I recently developed an online survey to gauge the experiences of St. Louis viewers in receiving digital broadcasts and HDTV programming. The survey was open for participation from November 7 through December 1.

A total of 188 replies were received. I don't have a breakdown on how respondents learned about the survey, but I'd say it's a safe bet that 50% or more came via AVS. The survey was also promoted directly to my database of calibration customers and past prospects. I believe the survey was also promoted at an online bulletin board for local broadcast professionals. I also posted a note about the survey at STLToday.com, but I think that probably had the smallest impact, at least based on subsequent replies to that STLToday thread.

So again, I want to thank everyone who took the time to participate -- I really do appreciate you helping to make the time I spent on this worthwhile.

I don't see much point in dwelling on the number of responses. For what it's worth, this is roughly what I expected -- going into this I figured that 200 responses would be a reasonable number to expect, though I was hoping for more in order to give the results the maximum possible heft.

Still, I think for a first run that 188 responses is more than respectable, but then I am biased due to the scrambling around I did to get to that number. One of the good things about the survey is that the flow of replies was consistent from the start -- no major spike in the first week, tailing off into nothingness -- in fact, I'd say it's safe to say that there were a minimum of 40 replies per week, though I didn't think to try to track that.

I'd hope that if the survey results are found to be useful and the survey worth doing on an annual basis that we'd get a minimum of 500 replies next time.

In this first summary of results, I'm going to provide details on responses to the first section of the survey, which covers details about HDTV ownership and surround sound capabilities, how often you watch HD programming on your HDTV, and how you describe your interest level in HDTV.

While I think the data here are interesting, there's nothing very controversial here (though can't say that about subsequent sections):

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q158/VideoSavant/1-HDTVOwnership.jpg

HDTV Ownership: As expected, virtually every survey participant owns at least one HDTV. Ideally the survey would capture more respondents who, for whatever reason, haven't yet purchased an HDTV, because that would provide more balance about overall local consumer sentiment toward HDTV. But this isn't surprising in view of the how the survey was promoted, and there's still a lot to be learned about local HDTV owners and what they like and don't like about digital broadcasts and HDTV programming.

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q158/VideoSavant/2-ofHDTVsOwned.jpg

Number of HDTVs Owned: I see the number of respondents who own more than one HDTV as a bit of a surprise, at roughly 35%, as I would have guessed at less than 25%. More suprising, I guess, is the fact that nearly 10% of all HDTV owners own three or more HD-capable displays.

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q158/VideoSavant/3-HDTVSize.jpg

Size of Primary HD Display: The interesting thing here is the number of respondents who said their primary display is 32 inches or smaller -- 13%.

To be honest, I screwed up this question from a couple of different angles -- I should have done a better job of setting up the size groups, going from 32 inches and below, to 33-40, to 41-46, to 47-58, to 58-65 and then 66 inches or larger.

In fact, this question also included a major error at release, as there was a 51-60 range and then a 70-plus, but no 61-70 range. This was spotted by fastmans (thanks again), and I had to temporarily close the survey to combine the 51-70 range into one. In the process, no data was lost, and at the time no one had selected 51-60 as an answer, so no major impact there.

I spent a lot of time going over the survey before finally pulling the trigger on its release, and I really should have caught that error. But it's true -- sometimes you get too close to the forest to see any trees. Needless to say, this question would be reworked if there's a follow-up survey in 2007.

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q158/VideoSavant/4-HDTVTechnologyType.jpg

Technology Type, Primary Display: Really interesting things here. First, I'm sort of surprised that CRT still has such a large share of the market, or at least that part of the market responding to the survey. On the other hand, you can be sure that CRT isn't likely to go any higher than 40% from here. A year from now, CRT probably manages less than 25%.

Other than that, DLP, plasma and LCoS line up more or less the way I thought they might -- maybe it's a little surprising that the LCoS share wasn't larger, particularly in view of how popular the Sony SXRD were last year and appear to be this year.

The overall LCD share is a little surprising, but considering the fact that LCD offers smaller flat-panel sizes than plasma and that there is an apparent preference among respondents for smaller displays, this fits together logically. This could also be taken as an indicator that LCD is well on its way to supplanting plasma as the flat panel of choice, though plasma generally maintains a cost-advantage at the larger sizes (for now).

Note: The "don't know" responses were not used to calculate the overall technology shares.

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q158/VideoSavant/5-HDasofTotalViewing.jpg

Percentage of HD Viewing: To be completely honest, I had absolutely no idea how this question would play out. I'll admit that I peaked at the results of certain questions as the replies rolled in, and it was interesting to note that from the first week on, the weighted average never moved more than a couple of decimal points above or below 60.3%.

One of my primary motivations for including this question was to get some idea about the share of HD viewing done on HD displays, but also to see if there's ANY evidence to be found to support the oft-repeated claim that there are 30 million HDTVs in the US, but that only 50% have a way to receive HD programming. Of course, the survey results don't necessarily prove that statistic to be bogus, due to make-up of survey respondents. But if there was something to this, I would have expected to see a lot more "zero percent" answers even within this survey sample.

I remain skeptical.

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q158/VideoSavant/6-DolbyDigitalCapability.jpg

Dolby Digital Capability: At 86% affirmative, this is much higher than I would have guessed. I figured the number would be closer to 60%, simply because I thought that a significant number of budget-constrained buyers would forego a surround sound system in order to get into the HD game more quickly. That doesn't appear to be the case at all, and when I stop and think about my own customers, it's probably true that virtually all have a surround system of some type, with many of them having spent several times more than what they shelled out for the video side of the system.

The retail sales troops are definitely getting the job done here... :)

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q158/VideoSavant/7-HDTVInterestLevel.jpg

Your HDTV Interest Level: Again, considering where the survey was promoted, this isn't entirely surprising, though I did think there'd be more like 25% casual viewers.

And obviously there are a lot of HDTV Skeptics out there somewhere -- I was hoping that the posting at the STLToday forum would generate more of that type respondent. To be fair, I did get one reply from a skeptic via STLToday, and this person made the very valid point that if you don't own an HDTV and you consider yourself a skeptic, there's not a lot of relevant questions to answer from there.

So, if this survey is repeated a year from now, I'll try to develop a separate, "skeptic branch" of queries.

NEXT: Local Digital Reception -- how you receive local digital stations and how sucessful you are in receiving each of the seven stations operating digitally in St. Louis. I can't make any promises, but Im aiming to get this second batch of information out on Wednesday, but if not, it probably won't happen until the weekend.

DISCLAIMER: AVS is in no way a party to this survey, apart from being a vehicle to promote the survey's availability and as an avenue to report back results. None of the questions or results should in any way be taken to represent the views or opinions of the management of AVS or its various partners.

I look forward to hearing any comments about the initial survey data.

Do you here that KSDK advertisers? We are flipping channels to avoid KSDK. The ads you pay for we are not seeing. Please let KSDK know of your displeasure with them. Advertisers speak and they will listen.

Scott

Amen.

I don't have access to West coast feeds, but I do have access to the internet and without spinning off on a different topic/flame war, we all know that HD shows are available to download in Divx/Xvid format (from HD source material) soon after they air, complete with commercial cut and in widescreen format (that looks good enough on a HDTV, certainly better than a SD feed).

I'm avoiding KSDK broadcasts for the regular shows that I watch (Monday and Thursday primetime lineups) and instead will be downloading them tonight.

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q158/VideoSavant/2-ofHDTVsOwned.jpg

Number of HDTVs Owned: I see the number of respondents who own more than one HDTV as a bit of a surprise, at roughly 35%, as I would have guessed at less than 25%. More suprising, I guess, is the fact that nearly 10% of all HDTV owners own three or more HD-capable displays.

I dunno, I think that's pretty typical considering the majority of the people taking the poll. You've got to figure that most HDTV early adopters are well on their way to 2nd and 3rd sets by now (and most do not throw out the old ones but instead expand and replace old sets with new HDTV's).

Since getting my first HDTV in the early part of 2001, I've since purchased four more. My original purchase got sold when I moved to Tampa, my 2nd one (front projector system) also go sold with the house, but the 3rd-5th sets are all still in the house and being used.

Even my non-tech savvy in-law's are up to three HDTV's now. They bought a 55" Mits rear projector in 2002 after being in awe of mine back then. Since then, they added a 32" LCD for the kitchen (last Dec) and a 40" LCD for the master bed (last week).

HDTV isn't cutting edge anymore. You'd be hard pressed to buy a family room television right now and NOT get a HDTV. No one wants to buy a 32" standard def tube that weighs 150lbs after going shopping. Instead, they'll spend a couple hundred more (or put it on a free financing deal) and get the HDTV LCD panel.

It's true that there's been a negative feeling toward KSDK here for a long time -- in my opinion, that dislike of the station is based 100% on the way it operates its digital channel.

KSDK earns whatever brickbats it attracts here due to its performance, which while improving, is still unacceptable for a station that purports to be defining the leadership of HD broadcasting in this market.

Talk is cheap -- especially if you own a TV station and don't have to pay to say it, or back it up with product/service that viewers really value.

Just a follow up to Doug's post....DISH did disconnect my distant network feeds on Dec 1st. Even though I had them via waivers from FOX, ABC, CBS and NBC, I do not live in a FCC mandated "unserved household," so poof, they're gone.

It was the same 4 networks who filed and won the suit, that issued me the waivers granting rights to receive their distant feeds via satellite. It should be noted, CBS, NBC and ABC reached an agreeable settlement with Echostar, but the insistence of FOX to procure an injunction eventually won out.

I wonder why FOX was so persistent!

FWIW, I am amidst communications with CW Jo Ann Emerson and the FCC regarding this matter. If anyone here is interested in the FCC's formal written response to the Congresswoman, lmk and I'll forward you a copy.

It was the same 4 networks who filed and won the suit, that issued me the waivers granting rights to receive their distant feeds via satellite. It should be noted, CBS, NBC and ABC reached an agreeable settlement with Echostar, but the insistence of FOX to procure an injunction eventually won out.

I wonder why FOX was so persistent!

FOX was so persistent becuase they are owned by Directv!!

I wonder why FOX was so persistent!


You're kidding right? I might cry if I lose my Fox East channel..

Doug,

You have to adjust your poll as I bought 2 more HDTV's this week after taking the poll. Sorry, but your poll is now invalid. :)

Scott

I'm going to buy another one soon too, I just have to decide which one....

I'm going to buy another one soon too, I just have to decide which one....


Here's one of the new ones I got.
http://aycu40.webshots.com/image/8279/2001815753154620469_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001815753154620469)

I love it. Only 10.6" deep. Gloss black and no power light on front panel.

Scott

FOX was so persistent becuase they are owned by Directv!!
DirecTV is owned by FOX.

Legally, DirecTV is owned by DirecTV Group, which is controlled by News Corporation, the parent company of the FOX Network.

Yes Bill, I was kidding. I doubt you will lose your FOXE. FOX gets around the FCC regs by only dropping their east and west coast distant feeds into their O&O markets, making it a no-harm/no-foul issue. What FOX does via DirecTV is actually outside the scope of the FCC mandates, but until someone puts up a fuss, there's bigger battles out there. If anyone at KTVI kicked and screamed, Murdoch would have them erased.

You're not planning on filing a complaint, are ya :D

Here's one of the new ones I got.
http://aycu40.webshots.com/image/8279/2001815753154620469_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001815753154620469)

I love it. Only 10.6" deep. Gloss black and no power light on front panel.

Scott

Is this one of the new LED DLP's, Scott?

No Joe. You know, I never even thought about it. It has a lamp.

Scott

Scott,
That thing is NICE! :cool:
Mind saying where and how much?
If you prefer OTB, send me a PM please.

Scott,
That thing is NICE! :cool:
Mind saying where and how much?
If you prefer OTB, send me a PM please.

Best Buy. I'll send you a PM about the price.

Scott

Amen.

I don't have access to West coast feeds, but I do have access to the internet and without spinning off on a different topic/flame war, we all know that HD shows are available to download in Divx/Xvid format (from HD source material) soon after they air, complete with commercial cut and in widescreen format (that looks good enough on a HDTV, certainly better than a SD feed).

I'm avoiding KSDK broadcasts for the regular shows that I watch (Monday and Thursday primetime lineups) and instead will be downloading them tonight.

I am leaving one of my TVs run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, tuned just to KSDK because they are doing such a great job!

AT&T U-verse Ups Competitive Ante with 27 HD Channels

The teleco has launched its service in Houston and the following 27 HD channels are included.

One major addition sure to delight former Voomies is the inclusion of east/west movie channels. But should those really count twice?

Source: TV Predictions:
_______________________________________________________
A&E HD
Cinemax HD (East and West feeds)
Discovery HD Theater
ESPN HD
ESPN 2 HD
Food Network HD
HBO (East and West feeds)
HDNet
HDNet Movies
HGTV HD
ABC (local)
CBS (local)
NBC (local)
Fox (local)
MHD
National Geographic HD
NFL Network HD
Showtime (East and West feeds)
TMC HD
TNT HD
Starz HD (East and West feeds)
Universal HD
WealthTV HD
_______________________________________________________

The complete TV Predictions story can be read by clicking here. (http://www.tvpredictions.com/atthouston120406.htm)

What FOX does via DirecTV is actually outside the scope of the FCC mandates, but until someone puts up a fuss, there's bigger battles out there. If anyone at KTVI kicked and screamed, Murdoch would have them erased.Too funny.

Do you think Mr. Murdoch would lend me his eraser for an hour? I probably wouldn't need even that long... ;)

FYI. For those not following the Moxi thread here on AVS, Digeo has released the much anticipated 4.1 software upgrade to their various cable system partners. This is the upgrade that allows you to attach an external hard drive to make up for the pathetically small drive they've got in the box now. No word on when it will be rolled out by Charter. I think with the last major software upgrade, it was a couple of months before we saw it, and we were the first Charter market to get it.

Best Buy. I'll send you a PM about the price.

Scott

Hit me w/ one of those too, please.

Well, guys, my Optoma H79 projector is doing its little dance of death again. This is the 6th time in a year and a half for a similar lamp problem to surface, so I'm thinking about getting it fixed, selling it and going 1080p. I'm looking at the Sharp 20000 (which I had a chance to see uncalibrated at the Sound Room), but I'd also like to see the BenQ W10000 1080p front projector. Does anyone know where I could take a look?

Just got electricity yesterday afternoon. I've had no improvement on KMOV-DT. I think it seasonal, so I'll just move the antenna around.

Has anyone seen the Sammy Hagar concert, being shown on HD Net? They played it, last night. It was filmed here in St. Louis, at his concert last summer. I am not a Sammy Hagar fan, and would'nt go to that concert, if I was given a free ticket; however--this was quite a "party" concert, that would put make a Jimmy Buffet concert seem like a violin recital. At the end, Sammy said that the concert was being filmed in High Def, and that when people saw it, "there not gonna believe what in the hell happenned here tonight". He's right, and I kept on going back to it, to watch. It had this Cabo Wabo theme, with bikini clad women all over place--drunken debauchery in HD glory.

HDNet's production is the best going.

Joe,

I don't know of anywhere you can find the BenQ locally, but let me know if you do find a source, as I'm always interested in seeing a wide variety of projection options.

This really comes down to the fact that there's no point in retailers spending the time and money and devoting significant floor space to a product that is readily available on the Internet at a 25% discount to what they need to make a brick-and-mortar business with high-quality support profitable.

I've suggested to a retailer who is struggling with this problem that there's actually an opportunity to charge customers for dedicated demonstrations of projectors they'd otherwise have to buy sight unseen. It seems to me that once you've shelled out $200 to see a selection of projectors in person, that it makes a whole lot more sense for you then to apply that demo spend and buying locally.

How would you feel about that sort of an arrangement? Is it worth spending a couple hundred dollars to book a quality projector demonstration space for the day for the purpose of checking out two or three different projectors? Or would you just as soon roll the dice and trust what you can read about it online and elsewhere?

Depends -- would that apply as a deposit towards my purchase? I'd never spend that kind of money just to view some projectors -- at least not for my home. Now if I can get work to pay for it, hehe. Honestly though, I don't see much demand for that kind of service, at that price. But maybe ppl who can afford top end projectors can afford that too *shrug*

Joe,

I don't know of anywhere you can find the BenQ locally, but let me know if you do find a source, as I'm always interested in seeing a wide variety of projection options.

This really comes down to the fact that there's no point in retailers spending the time and money and devoting significant floor space to a product that is readily available on the Internet at a 25% discount to what they need to make a brick-and-mortar business with high-quality support profitable.

I've suggested to a retailer who is struggling with this problem that there's actually an opportunity to charge customers for dedicated demonstrations of projectors they'd otherwise have to buy sight unseen. It seems to me that once you've shelled out $200 to see a selection of projectors in person, that it makes a whole lot more sense for you then to apply that demo spend and buying locally.

How would you feel about that sort of an arrangement? Is it worth spending a couple hundred dollars to book a quality projector demonstration space for the day for the purpose of checking out two or three different projectors? Or would you just as soon roll the dice and trust what you can read about it online and elsewhere?

That would be a hard call, Doug. People are so used to going into a store and seeing what they have to offer for free, I think there'd be a lot of resistance to paying a fee just to look. And the store would have to make sure that what they had on display was set up properly, or it would be useless. And they'd have to carry a larger variety of products to satisfy different tastes, or you couldn't get a very good idea of how different technologies compare.

Part of my problem is that I LOVE the image my Optoma H79 throws. I just can't put up with the constant lamp issues anymore. But I know if I buy a projector sight unseen I could be in for a real letdown. From what I've read, I don't think I'd be that happy with SXRD, and I doubt regular LCD projection is going to give me the "pop" I'm used to from DLP. 1080p from some projection systems, by a lot of accounts I've read, doesn't look as sharp as 720p single chip DLP.

What to do, what to do?

Joe and black,

All good points about this idea. Yes, the way I envision this the demo fee could be applied to purchase.

Also it's true that this flies in the face of traditional free demos, but the retail world has changed in a major, fundamental way, and we can't just expect the traditional brick and mortar guys to sit around wating for their appointment to get raped by the Internet.

I think it ultimately comes down to risk vs reward, and everyone has a different appetite for risk. But I think $200 would probably work out to the bare minimum fee that would need to be charged for this. I think you'd probably need to charge more to make this work, but I think there is some combination of price and service where this could be viewed positively.

Hit me w/ one of those too, please.

PM Sent.

Has anyone seen the Sammy Hagar concert, being shown on HD Net? They played it, last night. It was filmed here in St. Louis, at his concert last summer. I am not a Sammy Hagar fan, and would'nt go to that concert, if I was given a free ticket; however--this was quite a "party" concert, that would put make a Jimmy Buffet concert seem like a violin recital. At the end, Sammy said that the concert was being filmed in High Def, and that when people saw it, "there not gonna believe what in the hell happenned here tonight". He's right, and I kept on going back to it, to watch. It had this Cabo Wabo theme, with bikini clad women all over place--drunken debauchery in HD glory.

Yeah, I was flipping back and forth watching it too. If you ever get tickets please give them to me. :) I love the Red Rocker, and the concert on HDNET was seeet.
They need to show more concerts in HD.

Scott

That would be a hard call, Doug. People are so used to going into a store and seeing what they have to offer for free, I think there'd be a lot of resistance to paying a fee just to look. And the store would have to make sure that what they had on display was set up properly, or it would be useless. And they'd have to carry a larger variety of products to satisfy different tastes, or you couldn't get a very good idea of how different technologies compare.

Part of my problem is that I LOVE the image my Optoma H79 throws. I just can't put up with the constant lamp issues anymore. But I know if I buy a projector sight unseen I could be in for a real letdown. From what I've read, I don't think I'd be that happy with SXRD, and I doubt regular LCD projection is going to give me the "pop" I'm used to from DLP. 1080p from some projection systems, by a lot of accounts I've read, doesn't look as sharp as 720p single chip DLP.

What to do, what to do?

Wow, that is a sweet projector, but $10k is a lot of dough. At least for me it would be. I would consider the Z12000 for about $4k. Buy it locally, hook it up, and watch it for 30 days. If you don't like it take it back. :) Check out Ultimate Electronics.

Scott

Joe and black,

All good points about this idea. Yes, the way I envision this the demo fee could be applied to purchase.

Also it's true that this flies in the face of traditional free demos, but the retail world has changed in a major, fundamental way, and we can't just expect the traditional brick and mortar guys to sit around wating for their appointment to get raped by the Internet.

I think it ultimately comes down to risk vs reward, and everyone has a different appetite for risk. But I think $200 would probably work out to the bare minimum fee that would need to be charged for this. I think you'd probably need to charge more to make this work, but I think there is some combination of price and service where this could be viewed positively.

Well the problem is the internet has brought us all the expectation of cheaper prices. So I agree walking into a store and being faced with a fee just to demo a piece of equipment would make me do an immediate 180. In my opinion, as a consumer, its not up to me to bear the brunt of the sales risk, its the brick and mortar stores -- why should I pay to cover their risk? What happens if I don't buy? I'm out $200. If they didn't have a marketing / sales plan, they shouldn't have gone into that particular business. And really, if you're selling this kind of gear, you should be doing a LOT of marketing/sales to businesses anyhow, this is hardly a lucrative home market (yet) -- beyond you videophiles, hehe.

I realize you're talking kind of hi-end niche market items -- and personally for those kinds of things I often shop locally and pay a little extra (more than an internet price for instance) in exchange for quality service -- so I'm not talking Best Buy, hehe. I'd rather pay a little more to have someone to go to when/if I have a problem. This is where brick and mortar stores need to shore up ... there's nothing WORSE than making a local purchase AND getting crappy service and going "man I should have just ordered on the 'net."

Watched and recorded some of Sammy's concert via firewire from Charter's Moto 6200. The bikinis were very distracting.

I got back to town and found I (the wife and grandchildren) had lost some hard drives. I rebuilt my HTPC with new mobo, processor, graphics & etc in preparation for tomorrow night. I am going to a friends house to attempt to record HD from a Moxi box. With the new equipment, I no longer get drop outs from the 6200. I was able to record from all HD channels except HDNET movies. This will change from time to time depending on the status of the 5C flag. BTW... my research (thanks Doug) has confirmed the law that requires a firewire port to be active on STBs. If yours is not active you need to report the fact to your provider.

"(4) Cable operators shall:
(i) Effective April 1, 2004, upon request of a customer, replace any leased high definition set-top box, which does not include a functional IEEE 1394 interface, with one that includes a functional IEEE 1394 interface or upgrade the customer's set-top box by download or other means to ensure that the IEEE 1394 interface is functional."

It also states that there must be an active DVI port or a HDMI port.

Walt

Walt,
If it's something you have handy, would you send me a link to the written law(s) you cited in your last post. It's something I want to read-up on.

I've often thought DISH was "skirting" the law by making the port on their STB's live in the sense their software accepts connection with imaging device(s) (camera/camcorder), but not with mass storage type device(s).

I don't know if I'm right or wrong on this, but I'm looking to learn about it.
tia

The link is here (http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/09nov20051500/edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2005/octqtr/47cfr76.640.htm).

I think you will find that this only applies to cable operators and not sat providers.

Walt

Well the problem is the internet has brought us all the expectation of cheaper prices. So I agree walking into a store and being faced with a fee just to demo a piece of equipment would make me do an immediate 180. In my opinion, as a consumer, its not up to me to bear the brunt of the sales risk, its the brick and mortar stores -- why should I pay to cover their risk? What happens if I don't buy? I'm out $200. If they didn't have a marketing / sales plan, they shouldn't have gone into that particular business. And really, if you're selling this kind of gear, you should be doing a LOT of marketing/sales to businesses anyhow, this is hardly a lucrative home market (yet) -- beyond you videophiles, hehe.

I realize you're talking kind of hi-end niche market items -- and personally for those kinds of things I often shop locally and pay a little extra (more than an internet price for instance) in exchange for quality service -- so I'm not talking Best Buy, hehe. I'd rather pay a little more to have someone to go to when/if I have a problem. This is where brick and mortar stores need to shore up ... there's nothing WORSE than making a local purchase AND getting crappy service and going "man I should have just ordered on the 'net."

Correct. I am not going to allow a retailer to shift their business risk to me the consumer. THEY are trying to SELL me something, not the other way around. I don't pay to test drive a Lexus, and I wouldn't pay to view a projector.

The link is here (http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/09nov20051500/edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2005/octqtr/47cfr76.640.htm).
I think you will find that this only applies to cable operators and not sat providers.
Walt
Thank you Walt, I appreciate it. It does appear to apply only to cable, so my quest continues. Still, it's added knowledge base, and worth the read. Thanks again. :)

Hey gys, I was wondering if anyone has trouble demuxing ABC 30.1 720p content.
When I record 720p movies from 30.1 and try to demux them, it either doesn't work with one program or goes out of sync with another.

Is channel 30.1 using an unusual method to convert films to 60fps or a weird muxing method somehow?

I don't know if this is the proper forum for that question. What are you trying to do and which software are you using? (This question may be more appropriate for the the HTPC forum.)
Well I think the problem is channel 30.1 specific so I thought someone here might know something about it.
I'm trying to demultiplex 720p movies from 30.1 that were recorded using mythtv.

I've tried videoredo and projectx.
Videoredo demuxes without many errors but the a/v goes completely out of sync.
ProjectX just gives me tons of errors and i'm lucky to get any video out at all.

Thanks for any help.

The traditional B&M retailer has come to realize their combative force competing with the lower-overhead e-commerce lies in their ability to provide superior service.

Still, knowing the problem does not always lead to the solution. This is something traditional retail is still trying to figure out. They cannot afford taking on any additional costs (providing additional service), further effecting their already ailing sales prices compared to e-commerce.

If the traditional retail industry is going to survive in this still-emerging and changing global market, it becomes more and more apparent, they must subsidise their cost-of-sales to even have a chance.

Since they cannot lower costs, or raise selling prices, I believe the trend towards having the consumer bear the burden of these additional costs in inevitable. Yes, we the consumer, will be paying to do business with additional services. In some areas, we already do.

I believe the days of paying for demonstration of products, taking test-drives, and showing homes, is not so far off, or, so far fetched an idea.

Think of TiVo. Charging consumers for a service enabling them to avoid commercial advertisements, and then boldly throwing it in front of them again. All the while, being paid twice to do so. Three times, actually. Once by their customers, and twice by their advertisers.

The "Murdoch's" and "Cuban's" of the world will figure it out.

Think of TiVo. Charging consumers for a service enabling them to avoid commercial advertisements, and then boldly throwing it in front of them again. All the while, being paid twice to do so. Three times, actually. Once by their customers, and twice by their advertisers.

The "Murdoch's" and "Cuban's" of the world will figure it out.

I'm not catching your analogy here. TIVO fees are for an added value, on something you've already purchased -- you don't pay to demo a TIVO.

As an example in my consumer world -- I am a photographer, so I often go to a local store (should I name it? ok) Schillers to check out gear - especially when I bought my Canon 5D cause it was an expensive camera -- even after all my online research, I still wanted to handle it before I bought it. I knew they would never match the online place I planned to buy it, especially when you add in sales tax. So, yes, I used them.

However, I get good service there, and do buy things there pretty often. I can, in fact, rent cameras there to try out if I want, but that's ok. Its just part of the changing world.

I have seen a trend in the opposite way with cars. The 24 hour test drive. The 7 day Return Guarantee. This is how dealers are trying to increase sales, by providing MORE free before-you-buy services instead of less, and certainly not by charging for it. You're right, its far-fetched and I don't see it ever happening.

Walt,
If it's something you have handy, would you send me a link to the written law(s) you cited in your last post. It's something I want to read-up on.

I've often thought DISH was "skirting" the law by making the port on their STB's live in the sense their software accepts connection with imaging device(s) (camera/camcorder), but not with mass storage type device(s).

I don't know if I'm right or wrong on this, but I'm looking to learn about it.
tiaAs noted, the Firewire rulings only apply to cable, not DBS.

There's something funky in KDNL's bitstream... the only application I've seen that can cut commercials from a KDNL broadcast every time without losing sync is HDTV2MPEG2. VideoRedo can do it SOMETIMES, but not often enough to be reliable. But since HDTV2MPEG2 can't demux, sorry I don't have an answer for you on that one.

I saw Sammy Hagar in concert several times in my younger days, with and without Van Halen. Always put on an awesome show!

The traditional B&M retailer has come to realize their combative force competing with the lower-overhead e-commerce lies in their ability to provide superior service.

Still, knowing the problem does not always lead to the solution. This is something traditional retail is still trying to figure out. They cannot afford taking on any additional costs (providing additional service), further effecting their already ailing sales prices compared to e-commerce.

If the traditional retail industry is going to survive in this still-emerging and changing global market, it becomes more and more apparent, they must subsidise their cost-of-sales to even have a chance.

Since they cannot lower costs, or raise selling prices, I believe the trend towards having the consumer bear the burden of these additional costs in inevitable. Yes, we the consumer, will be paying to do business with additional services. In some areas, we already do.

I believe the days of paying for demonstration of products, taking test-drives, and showing homes, is not so far off, or, so far fetched an idea.

Think of TiVo. Charging consumers for a service enabling them to avoid commercial advertisements, and then boldly throwing it in front of them again. All the while, being paid twice to do so. Three times, actually. Once by their customers, and twice by their advertisers.

The "Murdoch's" and "Cuban's" of the world will figure it out.

Your scenarios will never happen. The customer is KING, and will take their business elsewhere.

Has anyone bought a Moxi on eBay and been able to activate it through Charter in St Louis? There are a few on eBay and are fairly cheap. Thanks :confused:

Has anyone bought a Moxi on eBay and been able to activate it through Charter in St Louis? There are a few on eBay and are fairly cheap. Thanks :confused:

Why not call Charter to get the answer str8 from the horses mouth?

Welcome to the forum.

Scott

I think you guys are missing my point about risk, and that is that there's risk on both sides. And where that sort of risk exists on the both sides of a market, new approaches evolve to mitigate that risk -- with the risk mitgator earning a premium. The financial markets are the most efficient illustration of this, but risk arbitrage trickles down to all buyer/seller situations eventually.

Traditional retailers are unlikely to carry a brand like BenQ, because it's just asking to be undercut via the Internet. The risk for the consumer is buying something like the BenQ sight unseen, relying on the word of bulletin boards posters, where useful info mingles side by side with the lunatic fringe (as we well know), or mainstream HT magazine review, which in most cases are doing little more than hack-quality, third-party advertorial.

More to the point, my suggested model is a storefront that actually stocks the Internet brands that consumers WANT to see before buying. I'm not talking about current, "household" brands sold at Best Sound, the Sound Room, etc. but the more popular mainstream, discount brands.

I'm curious if there's a way to address an unmet need, as articulated by Joe's original post where he's HEARD good things about the BenQ, but he really would like to SEE it before committing that much of his hard-earned and hard-saved funds to an actual purchase.

If you're comfortable spending $3000, $4000, $5,000 on a product without seeing it, more power to you -- I've done it myself for some things but wouldn't consider it for others. On the other hand, if you want to touch it, see it and get a better appreciation for what your money is going to buy, then maybe a demo fee is better than the complete unknown. Or maybe not.

It's just another choice -- and I'm not ruling out the possibility that it's a totally bad idea (but I do want to explain it fully before binning it).

One thing's for sure -- the days where you can go into a local brick and mortar store, finger up the merchandise, and then turn around and buy it online to save money are drawing to a close. There's already a trend toward middle and upper market HT retailers going to appointment only, because there's no money to be made (and lots of cost) from people who are transparent in their commercial insincerity. Many high-end HT retailers are already making more money from working with home developers than they do with customers coming in the door to buy onesies and twosies.

It's absolutely correct that the customer decides how this goes -- but I suspect there's going to be an awful lot of incredulous moaning and whinging when the consuming public comes to understand the long-term cost of too many good deals done at someone else's expense.

Doug,

Very good post. I agree with you totally. I like Best buy's model. I shop online. Place my order. I immediately get an confirmation email telling me I will get another email in less than 45 minutes to let me know it's ok to pick it up at the store of my choosing. If after I pick it up, it is not what I want, I simply return it to the store I picked it up from. I love Best Buy and the way they do business. I am more and more impressed with them every time I go into the store. I especially like their increased focus on HDTV and the addition of Magnolia Home Theater. All I know is I would not want to open a retail store in todays market. Way to complex and fast evolving. I really look forward to seeing the progression of the retail landscape in the next 10 years.

Scott

I'm not catching your analogy here. TIVO fees are for an added value, on something you've already purchased -- you don't pay to demo a TIVO.
Macleod,
I was referring to TiVo's, and some other cable company's recent trial of advertisement placement at the end of the playback of a recorded event. In the case of TiVo, they added to the "save/delete" pop up, "view commercials."

All for which, the advertisers, so far...Ford, MasterCard, and Disney paid extra fees to have their commercials appear a second time at the end.

I do see your example of consumers "using" traditional retail for purchases they are already fully intent on buying online. I've done that myself, and will continue to, as I see it as just one more step in the research process.

Conversely, I personally do not think automotive is a good comparison of traditional retail and e-commerce. Although automotive purchasing has conquered its way into e-commerce, it is far from any form of competition for traditional dealers.

It should be noted, the "24-hour test drive," was a short-lived GM venture, not followed by the other manufacturers, as is often the case in automotive sales. Be that as it may, it was competition directed between manufactures of the same type of product, and not that of retail sales vs. online sales.

Scott, thanks for the feedback.

But I have to say you've really surprised me with your positive words about Best Buy. I guess I've had too many bad experiences with their uniformed sales force, so I've completely limited my interaction with them.

But the buying scenario you lay out is pretty compelling, particularly if you already know what you want and know what you need to know to buy. In those situations where you decide to return it, is there a restock fee? If not, that's definitely powerful and it seems like it's a model that could be extended in the direction and toward the types of products I'm suggesting. I may have to give Best Buy another look.

Speaking of Best Buy, I noticed recently that they're guaranteeing the best HDTV picture or they'll pay the customer $100. I'm sure there's some fine print somewhere to circumvent this, but my first thought was that it sounded like BB was going to be providing my customers with a $100 calibration subsidy.

Maybe someone should take a shot at that?

Also on the Best Buy front, there's reliable reports that BB has made a bulk purchase of calibration gear from test equipment manufacturer Sencore and that they are going to be rolling out calibration services in their stores over the next year or two. My thinking is this is a good thing, as they'll promote the benefits of calibration to a much larger audience and that there will be plenty trickle-down benefit for indepedent guys like me.

Doug,

Very good post. I agree with you totally. I like Best buy's model. I shop online. Place my order. I immediately get an confirmation email telling me I will get another email in less than 45 minutes to let me know it's ok to pick it up at the store of my choosing. If after I pick it up, it is not what I want, I simply return it to the store I picked it up from. I love Best Buy and the way they do business. I am more and more impressed with them every time I go into the store. I especially like their increased focus on HDTV and the addition of Magnolia Home Theater. All I know is I would not want to open a retail store in todays market. Way to complex and fast evolving. I really look forward to seeing the progression of the retail landscape in the next 10 years.

Scott

Best Buy is very smart and well run outfit. Their members rewards program is an example of something they are doing to 'get their hooks' into customers. This type of thing creates loyalty. This is what good retailers are doing, not trying to charge to see the product. Trying to charge to see the product is a good way to go out of business.

I 'finger up the merchandise' all the time, and have no problem with it. I just ordered a camcorder from Amazon.com because they offered the best price of a reputable dealer. If B&M can't compete, they better start figuring out how or they will go out of business - not my problem.

I would never buy a $10,000 projector over the internet, but then again I wouldn't buy a $10,000 projector period. Seems like to much money for TV to me. I guess everyone has their thrills. If nobody in St Louis carries the projector I would bet someone in Chicago does. If I was that interested in a $10,000 projector, I would be willing to drive to Chicago to see it.

Doug,
I've read several reports in the past year, specifically I recall Samsung and Panasonic considering introducing manufacturer backed incentives for model year 2009, to include free in-home setup and in-home calibration of their displays. I never thought about the likes of BB, CC and UE getting into the calibration business, I just presumed it would be done by independents, or maybe their service affiliates.

IIRC, there is one manufacturer currently doing this. I can't remember the name, but I think it begins with a "D," and they provide some form of redeemable coupon to the consumer for an independent in-home calibration.

You'd probably know more about it than I do.

On another note, I've used CC's buy online, store pick-up service in the past. Once I returned something. For a refund they wanted a 15% RSF, for a store-credit it was waived.

Doug,
I've read several reports in the past year, specifically I recall Samsung and Panasonic considering introducing manufacturer backed incentives for model year 2009, to include free in-home setup and in-home calibration of their displays. I never thought about the likes of BB, CC and UE getting into the calibration business, I just presumed it would be done by independents, or maybe their service affiliates.

IIRC, there is one manufacturer currently doing this. I can't remember the name, but I think it begins with a "D," and they provide some form of redeemable coupon to the consumer for an independent in-home calibration.

You'd probably know more about it than I do.

On another note, I've used CC's buy online, store pick-up service in the past. Once I returned something. For a refund they wanted a 15% RSF, for a store-credit it was waived.

It makes perfect sense for Best Buy, CC and the others to offer calibration. They have their 'geek squads' for computers, and now they will offer HDTV services. This is how they can offer more and better services to compete against online retailers.

I purchased online from CC (in store pickup) on black friday, and returned the item for refund...no restocking fee. Must depend on the item.

Kmov is making me mad. Where is our hd for the victoria secert fashion show?! I called the news dept and they said they will call the enginer.

Why not call Charter to get the answer str8 from the horses mouth?

Welcome to the forum.

Scott

I did call them and kind of got the run around. They said "You can't buy a Moxi - we just rent them". My answer was "There are a few on eBay". Charter said "Could you give me more information - If the person didn't turn in their unit they were charged $400". That kind of set me back and I never got a yes or no to my question. I was hoping someone in this forum had "bought" a Moxi and had tried to activate it.

That raises another question. Does Charter use the 9012 or the 9012F? Both are offered on eBay and if I can find out Charter will activate a purchased Moxi, I want to get the right one.

I was also told that Charter - St Louis is currently out of MOXI's...........I'm on a waiting list. I guess - given the horror stories of Moxi failure - I am better off getting the Moxi from Charter. I am fighting the manditory install fee ($35) since Charter's website says it allows for Hi-Def DVR self install. The way I see it, the DVR is a popular item. Charter wants to fatten the bottom line. So they figure if they charge for a tech to come out and connect the DVR to 4 or 5 cables they can charge $35 for maybe 15 minutes of work. Not bad. That equates to $140 per hour.

Enough! Thanks in advance for any help and thanks to all for this informative forum.

There is something to be said for buying something local. If I'm interested in a particular product, I will always look at prices online. I then call the manager of a local store and talk with them. I let them know that I would rather buy local and even pay more local. If I can get them within 10% of an internet price, I buy local. If they won't budge, I buy off the web. I've done this most recently with camera equipment. I think that over time in dealing with the same person, the easier it gets.

But I would never pay them to show me something.

Just my .02.

I know from time-to-time questions pop up here about Pay TV costs. There are probably many by visitors who never join and/or post.
Below is my current DISH monthly costs. For comparison purposes, perhaps others here could share their costs from other providers.

Platinum HD Package w/locals - $104.99
-includes
--SD and Digital* (HD) locals
--15 Voom HD; 13 DISH HD; 240 SD Channels
--HBO; STARZ; SHOWTIME (HD and SD)
Receiver Fees - $16.00
-includes
--2 HD DVR w/OTA; 1 HD w/OTA; 3 SD
Tax - $.45

Total - $121.44/mo

*DT's ABC, CBS, FOX & NBC only

Of the roughly 280 total channels, we watch/record regularly around 60 of them, and sporadically view another 10-15. The others are just a waste to us.

Scott, thanks for the feedback.

But I have to say you've really surprised me with your positive words about Best Buy. I guess I've had too many bad experiences with their uniformed sales force, so I've completely limited my interaction with them.

But the buying scenario you lay out is pretty compelling, particularly if you already know what you want and know what you need to know to buy. In those situations where you decide to return it, is there a restock fee? If not, that's definitely powerful and it seems like it's a model that could be extended in the direction and toward the types of products I'm suggesting. I may have to give Best Buy another look.

Speaking of Best Buy, I noticed recently that they're guaranteeing the best HDTV picture or they'll pay the customer $100. I'm sure there's some fine print somewhere to circumvent this, but my first thought was that it sounded like BB was going to be providing my customers with a $100 calibration subsidy.

Maybe someone should take a shot at that?

Also on the Best Buy front, there's reliable reports that BB has made a bulk purchase of calibration gear from test equipment manufacturer Sencore and that they are going to be rolling out calibration services in their stores over the next year or two. My thinking is this is a good thing, as they'll promote the benefits of calibration to a much larger audience and that there will be plenty trickle-down benefit for indepedent guys like me.

Doug,

Yeah, I guess I can see how you would be surprised. It all depends on the client I guess. I having been in A/V retail for more than 15 years know more than most salespeople I encounter, so I don't need any hand holding. Best Buy is perfect for a guy like me. They sell all the toys I love along with software. I can buy online and pick up local. I can return without any hassels or restocking fees. I have their Rewardzone card, so I get coupons all the time to redeem on other products. So, Best Buy is the perfect store for me. It would not be the best bet for some who need to be honestly educated on the best buying decision. The best place for that would generally be Ultimate or American for the general public. If you haven't been in Best Buy in a while it has changed. I have noticed their focus lately being centered on HDTV and the sales force is actively trying to actually sell product. They have even hired some very good talent from other local stores who know what they are doing. Anyway, I'm not a Best Buy stock holder or their team cheerleader. I just respect the business model as compared to other B and M's.

Scott

I know from time-to-time questions pop up here about Pay TV costs. There are probably many by visitors who never join and/or post.
Below is my current DISH monthly costs. For comparison purposes, perhaps others here could share their costs from other providers.

Platinum HD Package w/locals - $104.99
-includes
--SD and Digital* (HD) locals
--15 Voom HD; 13 DISH HD; 240 SD Channels
--HBO; STARZ; SHOWTIME (HD and SD)
Receiver Fees - $16.00
-includes
--2 HD DVR w/OTA; 1 HD w/OTA; 3 SD
Tax - $.45

Total - $121.44/mo

*DT's ABC, CBS, FOX & NBC only

Of the roughly 280 total channels, we watch/record regularly around 60 of them, and sporadically view another 10-15. The others are just a waste to us.

Here is my D* bill

Previous Balance 0.00

11/26 Payment - Thank You - VISA -125.96


Current Charges for Service Period 11/25/06 - 12/24/06

11/25 12/24 TOTAL CHOICE PREMIER Monthly 96.99

11/25 12/24 HD Package Monthly 9.99

05/13 03/12 NFL SUNDAY TICKET SuperFan 2006 Special Free Offer 0.00

08/26 09/25 NFL Sunday Ticket 2006 Season Early Bird in 5 Payments 0.00

11/25 12/24 Network: FOX HD Monthly 0.00

11/25 12/24 Network: CBS from NYC/LA Monthly 2.25

11/25 12/24 Network: NBC from NYC/LA Monthly 2.25

11/25 12/24 Network: ABC from NYC/LA Monthly 2.25

11/25 12/24 Network: FOX from NYC/LA Monthly 2.25

11/25 12/24 Network: ABC HD Monthly 0.00

11/25 12/24 DIRECTV DVR Service Fee at no cost with Premier 0.00


Fees

11/26 Additional Receiver 4.99

11/26 Additional Receiver 4.99


AMOUNT DUE $0.00


I have 2 Tivo's and 1 HD box

I use centurytel for phone and DSL

Scott

Does anyone know if the BB sales staff are still non-commissioned?
I know when BB first kicked off, it was their niche entering the market. They hit hard on telling the consumer they could take their time deciding without being followed by a salesperson. Heck, I recall in the early days of BB, you were lucky to find a staff person over 18 years old.

Does anyone know if the BB sales staff are still non-commissioned?
I know when BB first kicked off, it was their niche entering the market. They hit hard on telling the consumer they could take their time deciding without being followed by a salesperson. Heck, I recall in the early days of BB, you were lucky to find a staff person over 18 years old.

BB sales staff is still non-commissioned. And I end up there quite a lot, too. It's one of my favorite haunts. You still see the very young and uninformed, but that's not a reason for me to stay away. I know what I'm looking for when I go in. They also have a great return policy. I buy lots of computer gear from them, and a fair amount of consumer electronics, too. I have to restrain myself sometimes when I hear misinformation being spouted, but some of the people know their stuff pretty well. All in all, it's a good place to shop.

hodag,

FWIW, the proprietary attitude of cable companies (not just Charter) is one of the big reasons many of us don't like dealing with them. As much as anything it reminds me of the way-back days when AT&T was the only phone company...period. At that time, if you tried to install your own phone on their wires, they'd literally threaten to make it into a federal case.

While I can understand that Charter sees the DVR and HD receiver installs as a revenue opportunity, I doubt they're doing significantly better than break-even and the fact that the installers are just marginally competent means the whole event ends up as a completely unnecessary, negative customer experience.

Unfortunately, satellite is adopting some of cable's less appealing practices. But at least you can still do your own receiver install or upgrade and arrange for your service permissioning by calling the support desk. In my experience that works well nine times out of ten.

I suspect that AT&T's U-verse TV service will be more like the old "can't touch this" AT&T and less like satellite. But I hope I'm wrong.

Since I've been moaning about my Optoma H79 problems here, thought I'd fill you in on the latest. The H79 won't fire up at all now. At least when this happened before, it gave me a few days warning before it shut down completely. It would fail to come up, but it would do so on the second or third try. This time, it failed completely, quickly. It's in for repair, then for sale. (Optoma has a three year warranty on its most expensive projectors.)

I contacted AVS and they had an open box BenQ W10000 that they're selling for a fairly substantial discount. I think it's the one they used to do the review they posted a couple of weeks ago. So, I asked what their return policy is and found out that I can send it back if I'm not happy. It'll cost me shipping, but that's more than a fair trade for being able to try it out. It's less than the $200 Doug suggested a local B&M might charge, but it's also for only one unit. The BenQ is the least expensive 1080p projector out there right now, and with the discount it's almost exactly what I paid for the Optoma 720p. I'll let you guys know what I think of its picture quality. Honestly, it's going to have to be awfully good to beat the Optoma. But, six times in a year and a half with the same sort of problem is my limit, so the Optoma is gone. That's what I told Optoma tech support I was going to do if it failed again.

Scott,

It's hard to say for sure, but this is probably an issue with your display, rather than the set-top box. Depending on what sort of display and how it is configured from the factory, there could be different grayscale settings for different types of inputs/resolutions and the setup for 480i DVI/HDMI may be shifted toward green for some reason. Since it's only a 480i source, it's probably not a big priority, but...

Let me know the brand and model number of your display and I might be able to give you a better idea if it's a display issue and what would be involved in resolving it.


Thanks for the reply....It's a Sony KDS-R70XBR2 (Lcos) After looking through the manual for my Motorola 9012 I see that 480i is not a supported resolution over DVI so maybe that has something to do with it. You're right...it's really not a big priority since component gives me a better 480i picture anyway...(with no green tint).

Thanks for the reply....It's a Sony KDS-R70XBR2 (Lcos) After looking through the manual for my Motorola 9012 I see that 480i is not a supported resolution over DVI so maybe that has something to do with it. You're right...it's really not a big priority since component gives me a better 480i picture anyway...(with no green tint).Fuzzball, I thought about the 480i HDMI issue, as it is something of an orphan format.

For example, some folks are keen to have a standard-def DVD player that will output 480i HDMI, as they prefer digital over component but want 480i so that they can do de-interlacing via an external scaler. I don't have a comprehensive list, but finding DVD players that output 480i HDMI is a challenge. When I saw that you were talking about a cable box, I figured 480i HDMI would be supported, but perhaps it's a general issue not limited to DVD.

FWIW, I calibrated my first 70XBR2 yesterday afternoon. While it turned out really nice, I ran into a problem with powering on and off. It seems like it takes 2 or 3 minutes to go from off to on. This was an issue with bulb-based displays a few years back, but most lamp-based RPTVs of the last couple of years are ready to go in 15 seconds or less after powering down. This is an issue during calibration of the Sonys, due to the need to power off to exit the service menu and then power up back in user mode to check the impact of adjustments.

Have you noticed this with your XBR2? Maybe it was just the unit I was working on.

Does anyone know if the BB sales staff are still non-commissioned?
I know when BB first kicked off, it was their niche entering the market. They hit hard on telling the consumer they could take their time deciding without being followed by a salesperson. Heck, I recall in the early days of BB, you were lucky to find a staff person over 18 years old.

Yes, they are still not commissioned. Although they do have the ability to earn spifffs by selling add on stuff. The Magnolia guys/gals make more per hour too.

Scott

Does anyone have a phone number and/or contact at the local charter where we can inquire about the 4.1 version?

11/05 12/04 TOTAL CHOICE Monthly 44.99

11/05 12/04 HD Package Monthly 9.99

06/09 04/08 NFL SUNDAY TICKET SuperFan 2006 Special Free Offer 0.00

11/26 12/25 NFL Sunday Ticket 2006 Season Early Renewal in 5 Payments 0.00

11/05 12/04 Network: FOX HD Monthly 0.00

11/05 12/04 DIRECTV DVR Service Fee Monthly 5.99


Fees

11/06 Additional Receiver 4.99

11/06 Leased Receiver 4.99

11/06 Leased Receiver 4.99

Sales Tax 0.76


AMOUNT DUE $0.00

$76.70/month for Total Choice + HD package & DVR service.

For my equipment, I haven't paid one penny out of pocket for it. I own one SD Tivo (free after rebate last fall), own one HD Tivo (free after rebate, programming discounts, and service credits last summer), and I lease a HD Tivo (free when I renewed Sunday Ticket this year), and a mpeg4 HD receiver (free when I moved into my new home in March).

I get my phone service and ISP through Charter. $29.99 for the phone, $39.99 for the internet (5Mbps plan).

Here is a summary of my DirecTV bill for 2006. Red is a credit.

I subscribe to Total Choice, HD Package, HBO and a handful of sports packages. I have 2 HD-Tivos, 2 SD Tivos. Pricing is pretty standard for D*. I got the first HBO credit by calling the customer retention line and asking. The HBO/Cinemax credit was a 2 for 1 promotion.

I'm too lazy to put this into an HTML table, so here's a snapshot from Excel.

http://www.geocities.com/djsmokyc/images/DirecTV_bill.jpg

I'm switching from Charter to Dish.

Their stupidity in raising their tier prices is the final straw. No espn2HD, no NFL Network and they want to raise their prices so they can "continue offering me great service at competitive prices"? Hah!

I check out Dish and even after all promos are done, for the exact same thing I have with Charter, it will be almost $25 cheaper. That's alot of money, especially spread over a year.

Question to Dish customers...how do you like their HD DVR? I'm one of the few Charter customers that hasn't had problems with Moxi and I've had it for almost two years. The only fear in switching is that my new equipment will have bugs and headaches.

Question to Dish customers...how do you like their HD DVR? I'm one of the few Charter customers that hasn't had problems with Moxi and I've had it for almost two years. The only fear in switching is that my new equipment will have bugs and headaches.
One of the best pieces of A/V equipment I've ever owned. I think anyone here who has one will agree. I have two, one since Feb, the other since Apr. We use the daylights out of them. "We" have already worked out the 'bugs and headaches' for ya :)

One of the best pieces of A/V equipment I've ever owned. I think anyone here who has one will agree. I have two, one since Feb, the other since Apr. We use the daylights out of them. "We" have already worked out the 'bugs and headaches' for ya :)

Ditto, except I have only one, and mine still has a little daylight left in it. Sunglasses help. :)

STL HDTV Survey Results - Part 2: Receiving Local Digital Stations

This second summary of the results of the "HDTV in St. Louis" viewer survey focuses on local digital broadcast stations.

This summary includes a breakdown between viewers who receive local digitals over the air via some type of antenna versus those who get them through a Pay TV subscription. The survey also finds out more about those using an antenna, including where they're located and the overall rate of reception reliability for each digital station.

In addition, all survey respondents were invited to rate each digital station in five areas -- HD network passthrough, HD picture quality, HD sound quality, HD network content, and locally produced HD content.

Note: Unlike the OTA reception-specific series of questions that appear below, ALL survey respondents were given the opportunity to rate the local stations, regardless of whether they received them OTA or via a pay subscription.

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q158/VideoSavant/8-LocalDigitalAccess.jpg

How You Receive Local Digital Stations: This is pretty straightforward stuff. As this AVS thread began life primarily dedicated to OTA receipt of digital broadcasts in St. Louis, I would have expected at least 50% of survey replies to come down on the side of receiving local stations over the air. But clearly, a lot of viewers aren't going to mess about with an antenna, no matter how cheap it is or much free support they might have available to them.

Another factor that I thought might skew results in the direction of OTA reception is the fact that Charter doesn't yet offer KDNL-DT. More on that issue later.

The Spouse Acceptance Factor likely casts some length of shadow here, too.

The results of this question also underline the importance of DISH and DirecTV being able to offer digital local stations, as it's clear that consumers who are prepared to mess around with an antenna are a relatively small minority, particularly when you consider that 85% of survey respondents describe themselves as HDTV Enthusiasts.

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q158/VideoSavant/9-WhereReceivingOTADigital.jpg

Where Are You Receiving Local Digitals: Note that this question and the next one were only presented to respondents who said they were receiving local digitals via OTA.

These two questions together are a good example of where the results would have been a lot more interesting if the survey sample was significantly larger -- at that point, I could have filtered individual locations (or groups of locations) and sliced and diced the results of OTA success for each channel by those geographic groupings.

That would be convenient for when an HD newbie comes along and asks the nearly mandatory question, "I'm in XXX part of the area, how much luck have you guys near me had in receiving the local stations?" With a fairly bulky data sample, a pretty informative, area-by-area snapshot would emerge.

I may still go back at some point and some basic slicing and dicing, but for now the big picture will have to do.

Obviously it's safe to assume that there are HDTV owners in Soulard and Downtown, but apparently putting up an antenna to receive local digital broadcasts is too difficult, or at least there's a perception that it's unlikely to result in much success. As a sidebar discussion, I'd be interested to know more about why viewers in these two areas are OTA shutouts.

Apart from the Downtown/Soulard goose eggs, the geographic breakdown is somewhat predictable, with West County and St. Charles County accounting for 40% of OTA installations. I'm a little surprised that the Madison/St. Clair/Monroe segment is as large as it turned out to be, but then those three counties do cover a fairly significant-sized land area and there is an expanding supply of upmarket and relatively affordable housing there.

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q158/VideoSavant/10-HowReliableLocalReception.jpg

Reception Reliability: Not a lot to say here -- I think these results are a reasonable reflection of the anecdotal reports on reception difficulty here at AVS.

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q158/VideoSavant/11a-RateYourLocalStations.jpg

How You Rate Your Digital Locals: And the highest rated local stations is...KSDK. So, ladies and gentlemen, start your debating engines...but let's try to keep it civil, eh?

Obviously when I saw how this question was playing out, I contemplated climbing up on the roof, UHF antenna in hand, and performing a textbook swan dive onto the driveway below. :)

Fortunately that feeling passed fairly switfly...

But there's no doubt in my mind that this question and the results are in some fundamental way imperfect, and that isn't just because KSDK came out on top. There are enough anomalies here to remain in finger-wagging mode for the better part of the day.

But let me start by addressing how I think it is that KSDK came out on top.

First and foremost, the fact that KSDK produces significant and widely recognized local content (HD news broadcasts and "Show Me St. Louis") pushed them over the top. I also have little doubt that KSDK's claim to local HD leadership had a positive impact on its rating here.

When I was designing the survey, I seriously considered weighting the different performance categories, because I didn't think that each of these are of equal importance.

To take an obvious example, when 95+% of all available over-the-air HD content is originated by a national network, there's a pretty strong case to be made that the network passthrough rating should carry more weight than the ratings for local content. And for what it's worth, I'm not completely on board with an HDTV survey giving equal weight to picture quality and sound quality -- but then, I do recognize that I'm primarily a "video guy." So in mulling over the weighting question, I ultimately decided that no matter how I weighted things, it was going to be viewed as too subjective.

And more to the point, I felt that giving less weight to local content would look like I was actively stacking the deck against KSDK. As it turns out, equal weighting appears to have stacked the deck in its favor.

Because someone is going to ask the question, here's how the ratings break down if you completely remove local content from the equation. Mind you, I'm not presenting this to diminish KSDK, but to show in the simplest possible form how the local rating impacted the survey rankings.

From here, I'll leave further KSDK editorializing to others, and say "congratulations, KSDK -- you win, I lose."

I'd also like to hear any suggestions for how five categories should be weighted if the survey were to be done again in future. Maybe these aren't even the correct categories...

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q158/VideoSavant/11b-RateYourLocalStations.jpg

The other major anomalies in the replies to this question:

Other Local Content Ratings: While respondents were obviously successful in identifying the station that does the most in term of local HD production, there's plenty of other cause for head-scratching here.

For example, KETC, which hasn't done a single local HD production that I'm aware of, gets a higher ranking than KPLR, which has done at least two dozen live local sports presentations (Cardinals baseball) over the past 2 years. Sadly, KPLR gets no obvious credit for that -- hardly the sort of message HD-hungry viewers would deliberately send to KPLR station management.

In the same vein, WRBU gets half the Local Content points given to KPLR, and WRBU isn't even able to pass through NETWORK HD programming, never mind local HD content. In retrospect, I probably should have just completely omitted WRBU from this part of the survey, because strictly speaking, they have no HD operations in any sense of the term.

KDNL Ranking: No matter how you slice the ratings for KDNL, they seem to be getting shafted, particularly when considering how committed station management is to HD and how responsive they are to individual viewer issues. FWIW, I think this sends a really unfortunate message.

In trying to understand why KDNL received such a low rating, I initially thought it might be a product of a 1080i vs 720p bias. But then when you take in the KTVI/FOX ratings, you see there's no obvious case to be made for that.

The other possible explanation that occurred to me was that KDNL may have been "thumped" by some respondents due to the Sinclair-Charter standoff. The detailed survey data seems to confirm this.

Respondents were able to rate each station in each category on a 1-10 scale. If we completely ignore WRBU and put aside each station's local content ratings for a moment, no station other than KDNL received more than FIVE "1-point" ratings in each of the other categories, while KDNL received no fewer than FOURTEEN "1-point" votes in each of those four categories (network passthrough, picture and sound quality and network HD content).

The gap between KDNL and other non-KSDK stations for local content was similarly wide.

Clearly, a significant number of viewers rating KDNL (roughly 12 percent) used the opportunity as a way of thumping KDNL for its role in KDNL-DT not being available on Charter cable systems in the area.

FWIW, I think it's fair to assign a large portion of the blame to Sinclair Broadcasting (KDNL's owner) for the standoff with Charter. But this is ultimately a blunt force way of doing it -- it makes me wonder if the bulk of those fourteen 1-point votes originated in the "runaway jury" constituency of Madison County. ;)

So, in summing this section of the survey, feel free to blame the survey maker...

NEXT: Digital Multicasting -- the next summary, probably available at the weekend, will break down the results of the optional series of questions about the use of digital multi-casting by local stations.

Previous Summaries

Survey Respondents Profile (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9075182&&#post9075182)

DISCLAIMER: AVS is in no way a party to this survey, apart from being a vehicle to promote the survey's availability and as an avenue to report back results. None of the questions or results should in any way be taken to represent the views or opinions of the management of AVS or its various partners.

Doug,
I can't recall...did you capture any general data on the survey takers? I have to believe, at least with this first-go round, the narrowed field of respondents could likely cause inexplicable skews in the results.

Ken,

If you haven't already seen it, check the Survey Respondents Profile link at the bottom of my earlier results post from today.

STL HDTV Survey Results - Part 2: Receiving Local Digital Stations

How You Rate Your Digital Locals: And the highest rated local stations is...KSDK. So, ladies and gentlemen, start your debating engines...but let's try to keep it civil, eh?


Congrats to KSDK. This shows yet once again that the silent majority has a different opinion than the vocal minority here. :)

Odd. As a OTA viewer, I gave KDNL and KMOV high marks on HD quality. I'm using a older set on 480p (around DVD quality) and even I can see that pq is better on KDNL and KMOV than say KPLR, KETC (pixel fest on 9-3 & 9-4). WRBU's weak power, 480i passthrough, and mediocre pq earned it low marks. My Media Center PC can't even pick up WRBU-DT! The TV, barely.

Doug, I felt a bit caught in HDTV ownership question. I've got Media PC that is able to tune HDTV, and set top box. I said 1 set, even though I don't really own a true "HDTV". Hope that didn't skew things to much ;)

Odd. As a OTA viewer, I gave KDNL and KMOV high marks on HD quality. I'm using a older set on 480p (around DVD quality) and even I can see that pq is better on KDNL and KMOV than say KPLR, KETC (pixel fest on 9-3 & 9-4). WRBU's weak power, 480i passthrough, and mediocre pq earned it low marks. My Media Center PC can't even pick up WRBU-DT! The TV, barely.

Doug, I felt a bit caught in HDTV ownership question. I've got Media PC that is able to tune HDTV, and set top box. I said 1 set, even though I don't really own a true "HDTV". Hope that didn't skew things to much ;)kj,

I don't think that's a major deal -- and I'll bear this in mind for future surveys. It makes sense that there may be a small group of viewers watching HD programming without having an HD display. And it would be worth knowing more about them.

And, as I mentioned in the first set of survey results, the survey could definitely benefit from getting more general information from non-HDTV owners. I know of maybe a handful of people who abandoned the survey once they noted there wasn't any effort being made to collect non-HDTV owner opinions.

Learn and adapt...

Ken, If you haven't already seen it, check the Survey Respondents Profile link at the bottom of my earlier results post from today.
Yes Doug, I read that yesterday. I suppose I was referring more to the group exposed to the survey, being that of a more knowledgeable HD user as opposed to capturing data from a broader group of HD users. Still, the results are, what the results are.

I have to agree with your example of Sinclair/KDNL potentially skewing the survey-taker's overall opinion towards a station in other selections.

It was nice to see the support given to the project from the members here. I believe it provides valuable discussion now, and in the future, with more like it.

Personally, I'd like to thank you for all the time and hard work you devoted to the project. :)

From my Pipeline bill today:
"Effective 12/27/06, Charter will introduce a new level of digital service called Digital View.
This level of service will require a digital receiver or cable card and will be priced at $5.00/mo and consist of: Noggin; NickTOO; NickGas; NickToons; DIY; Bloomberg; LMN; MTV2; MTVJams; MTVEspañol; MTVHits; VH1Soul; VH1Classic; CMTPureCountry; VHUno; BetJazz; Fuel."

Are these channels new additions to Charter's lineup?
Is "Digital View" a new tier?

"Also, the following price changes will take effect: ExpandedBasic +$2.00; FamilyTier +$5.00; MovieTier +$5.00; 384k +$5.00; 3M +$1.00."

Just a followup to my move experience with Charter, as I said I would post the outcome:

Was given the entire day as a window, 8-5, but I was off work anyhow. Last night got the confirmation call, narrowed down to 8-12. Installer showed at 9:15. There was only one line into the house, so I had him drop two more in. He was a great tech, nice to talk to, did everything clean ... got my internet and Moxi up and running. Funniest part was hearing him on the phone with the acct. people trying to get get my Moxi located at the new address (it was already grabbing an IP and working, but for some reason they want to know where it physically lives, hehe.) Anyhow, a smooth install.

FWIW, the installer says he has DirectTV, haha.

From my Pipeline bill today:
"Effective 12/27/06, Charter will introduce a new level of digital service called Digital View.
This level of service will require a digital receiver or cable card and will be priced at $5.00/mo and consist of: Noggin; NickTOO; NickGas; NickToons; DIY; Bloomberg; LMN; MTV2; MTVJams; MTVEspañol; MTVHits; VH1Soul; VH1Classic; CMTPureCountry; VHUno; BetJazz; Fuel."

Are these channels new additions to Charter's lineup?
Is "Digital View" a new tier?

"Also, the following price changes will take effect: ExpandedBasic +$2.00; FamilyTier +$5.00; MovieTier +$5.00; 384k +$5.00; 3M +$1.00."


No -- its a restructured tier I believe. I've gotten Bloomberg, the MTV's VH1's etc for some time. I dont watch much Nickelodeon to know about those.

From what I've heard, they are moving the kids stuff out of the family tier and raising the price of the family tier.

One odd thing about my Charter acct is I was only supposed to get HBO/Starz/Cinemax free for 6 months, and that was over a year ago. I looked at the install sheet today, and its all still listed as free HBO/Starz/Cinemax .... bonus!

It will be interesting to see my first bill at the new place. None of my programming has changed, and I've also received no notices about increases. I've been bundled into (i think its called) "biggest value package" since sign up, so it decreases the cost of internet .... Hopefully I'll continue to stay under the radar of the billing department :-)

In the same vein, WRBU gets half the Local Content points given to KPLR, and WRBU isn't even able to pass through NETWORK HD programming, never mind local HD content. In retrospect, I probably should have just completely omitted WRBU from this part of the survey, because strictly speaking, they have no HD operations in any sense of the term.


I was just going to post something in regards to this also, but then I reread your post. The
results are so skewed just because people gave WRBU anything.

And I admit, when I took this poll, I forgot about KPLR doing HD stuff..Uugh.......

So, if you take that into account, I would imagine a lot of people remember KSDK because
of Football.

Short term memory at it's finest.

All local stations do a good job, I just remember which ones forget to do the little things, like FLIP THE SWITCH!!!

Good info though Douglas!

Hi! We just got a HDTV and a HD STB from charter today. I'm new to the forum, so I've got a bunch of questions. I've been reading back posts, since there is a ton of good info here.

1. After the cable guy left today, I noticed that all my HD channels were windowboxed. I called the charter number and they thought that was normal, but I knew better. After I searched these forums, I found how to access the user settings function of the Moto 5100 box and set the output of the component out to 720p. I guess the installer should have done this. Is this a common mistake of installers? I imagine that there are lots of less tech savvy people out there viewing their more expensive HD content at 480i.

2. Should I be upset that I got a 5100 box and not a 6200?

3. Should I set the component out to 720p or 1080i?

4. I was told that the box would have a HDMI out- but it's DVI, right?

5. (unrelated to my install) My in-laws live in Nashville, IL and just got a HDTV. They get nothing but static from their OTA HD tuner. Are they outside the range of HD broadcasts? I've looked at the maps from the first page of this forum and that looks to be the case. They already have a large outdoor antenna.

Thanks for any help- this looks like a great resource!

der_kommissar,

First of all, kudos on the cool ID.

I can't help you with all your questions, but here's what I know:

1. I calibrate TVs for a living, so I get to see a lot of the Charter install work and in my experience it's generally lacking. I've run into at least a dozen instances where customers were set up with MOXI set to 480i and they'd been watching downconverted HD for months on end. On the other hand, it makes it easier my job a bit easier when that's the starting point.

2. I don't think the 5100 vs 6200 is a big deal, but there might be some difference in terms of Firewire, DVI and/or HDMI -- maybe someone with Charter can give you a more definitive answer.

But you should also be aware that Charter is reportedly thin on HD receiver inventory. A month or so a Charter customer reported here that Charter was imposing a one-HD-receiver-per-household limit, but I haven't seen anyone chime in to confirm that. But MOXI is definitely in short supply.

All that means you probably want to tread cautiously in letting go of your 5100 until you have hold of a 6200 or other HD receiver.

4. It depends, in large part, on what the native resolution of your display is. If you tell me your brand/model number, I can probably steer you in the right direction.

5. It appears that your in-laws are probably 60+ miles from the St. Louis towers, so I'd say they would need a large antenna and probably have it mounted on some sort of tower. I've definitely seen customers get good reception at 60 miles away, but that's the point where it gets very hit-and-miss and will very dependent on terrain/elevation.

Welcome to the discussion...

My in-laws live in Nashville, IL and just got a HDTV. They get nothing but static from their OTA HD tuner. Are they outside the range of HD broadcasts? I've looked at the maps from the first page of this forum and that looks to be the case. They already have a large outdoor antenna.
Sent you a PM Re: OTA

Hi! We just got a HDTV and a HD STB from charter today. I'm new to the forum, so I've got a bunch of questions. I've been reading back posts, since there is a ton of good info here.

1. After the cable guy left today, I noticed that all my HD channels were windowboxed. I called the charter number and they thought that was normal, but I knew better. After I searched these forums, I found how to access the user settings function of the Moto 5100 box and set the output of the component out to 720p. I guess the installer should have done this. Is this a common mistake of installers? I imagine that there are lots of less tech savvy people out there viewing their more expensive HD content at 480i.

2. Should I be upset that I got a 5100 box and not a 6200?

3. Should I set the component out to 720p or 1080i?

4. I was told that the box would have a HDMI out- but it's DVI, right?

5. (unrelated to my install) My in-laws live in Nashville, IL and just got a HDTV. They get nothing but static from their OTA HD tuner. Are they outside the range of HD broadcasts? I've looked at the maps from the first page of this forum and that looks to be the case. They already have a large outdoor antenna.

Thanks for any help- this looks like a great resource!

I didn't know the 5100 were still around. I was upset when I got a 5100. I exchanged it because the firewire port was not active. I think the DVI port is active and that is all they need to comply. If you insist, they must give you a working firewire port.

I would set the component out to whatever my TV's native resolution is. I still switch back and forth with the channels because they don't have a native pass through and my PJ will do both (any). What a pain.

If I am recording, I set the output to whatever the station is passing. e.g. ESPN-720P, HBO-1080i.

Welcome to the forum although my bossy wife says she still outranks you.

Walt

I didn't know the 5100 were still around. I was upset when I got a 5100. I exchanged it because the firewire port was not active. I think the DVI port is active and that is all they need to comply. If you insist, they must give you a working firewire port.

I would set the component out to whatever my TV's native resolution is. I still switch back and forth with the channels because they don't have a native pass through and my PJ will do both (any). What a pain.

If I am recording, I set the output to whatever the station is passing. e.g. ESPN-720P, HBO-1080i.

Welcome to the forum although my bossy wife says she still outranks you.

Walt

Thanks for the welcomes and advice, everyone! I knew a site like this had to be out there somewhere, just wish I had found it earlier.

The 5100 we have must be very old, because it does not even have DVI, much less firewire. I think I'll call to request a 6200 and see if they'll comply. I've only got two component inputs to my TV, so I would much rather have the box connect through hdmi like the salesperson said I could. Walt, did they give you a hard time about exchanging?

We've got a Toshiba 32hlc56, which is 720p native. ESPN HD does look better with 720p output, so I think I'll just keep it at that. I'm really suprised to find out that you have to manually switch the output. What a pain.

About the installer, I thought he was pretty good until I spent some time with the box. I did not figure out he had installed it incorrectly until after the QA call, of course.

I figured Nashville was a little bit too far out for HD OTA reception. That's not what the salesperson at their local RadioSlack told them, of course. We're going to get them the dish for xmas.

As for the nickname, I've got to thank Falco for that. :^)

Some here may recall some discussion we had regarding one of the General Motors ad series run during the World Series. I guess it was kicked-off then.

Specifically we (mostly me) discussed the ad where GM paralleled their truck to past disasters in American history.

I had written to GM expressing my views. I received a personal reply today, though most of it appears to be cut & paste. Here it is, for anyone interested:

"-----Original Message-----
From: cac@chevrolet.com
To: kdg454@aol.com
Sent: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 6:20 PM
Subject: RE: Chevrolet Advertisement Comment

Service Request: 71-448980296

Dear Mr. Green,

Thank you for contacting the Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center. We
appreciate you taking the time to write us in regards to our America commercials.

We deeply apologize for the lengthy delay in responding to your concerns.

I recognize that this situation has caused you a great level of frustration, and
I hope that you can accept my sincerest apology on behalf of General Motors and Chevrolet.

GM wants you to know that we carefully evaluate all of our media selection and
placement activities to make sure that they meet our high standards for quality
and appropriateness. We also believe that our efforts should reflect current
standards of good taste for a variety of diverse audiences.

One of the best things about America is that we have the freedom to openly
discuss our personal values, ideas and beliefs. At GM, we recognize that
individuals have many different views. Thank you for sharing yours with us.

We have documented your concerns and will forward your comments to the
appropriate folks at GM for their consideration. Thank you again for taking the
time to let us know how you feel.

In the event your comments, or comments from other viewers, effect our
current position on placement of GM's America commercials, I will contact you again.

Again, thank you for contacting Chevrolet.

Sincerely,

Deborah Allin
Customer Relationship Specialist
The Chevrolet Consumer Support Team"

5. (unrelated to my install) My in-laws live in Nashville, IL and just got a HDTV. They get nothing but static from their OTA HD tuner. Are they outside the range of HD broadcasts? I've looked at the maps from the first page of this forum and that looks to be the case. They already have a large outdoor antenna.



There should be no static, it is either there and pixelizing or not there and should
say something like no signal, but the static you speak of is only for NTSC signals.

Unless something has changed with tuners, of which I'm sure someone will correct me if this has changed.

5. (unrelated to my install) My in-laws live in Nashville, IL and just got a HDTV. They get nothing but static from their OTA HD tuner. Are they outside the range of HD broadcasts? I've looked at the maps from the first page of this forum and that looks to be the case. They already have a large outdoor antenna.
Make certain the digital channels are correctly scanned into the tuner in the TV.
All of the STL local stations are using the UHF band for their digital transmissions.
You should check the assigned frequency on antennaweb, and be certain those are the channels your ATSC tuner is tuning to. Channel number and frequency assignment are different.

It sounds like they have a combo VHF/UHF antenna. If they are getting "static" the tuner may be set to, and trying to receive the NTSC SD VHF channels through the ATSC digitial tuner.

Well...went to my Alton to record from a Moxi. Got the computer all set up but when I went to plug in the firewire cable there was no place to put it. Both of my friend's Moxi BMC9012 boxes had no firewire port. Guess this would be a good reason no one could record from a Moxi. Does anyone have a 6412 or 6416 DVR that I could try recording a recorded program via firewire. This is really bugging me.

Walt

One odd thing about my Charter acct is I was only supposed to get HBO/Starz/Cinemax free for 6 months, and that was over a year ago. I looked at the install sheet today, and its all still listed as free HBO/Starz/Cinemax .... bonus!

It will be interesting to see my first bill at the new place. None of my programming has changed, and I've also received no notices about increases. I've been bundled into (i think its called) "biggest value package" since sign up, so it decreases the cost of internet .... Hopefully I'll continue to stay under the radar of the billing department :-)

I have found if you make enough changes with Charter, they will mess your bill up. Sometimes not in your favor, and you have to call to fix.....but usually it will be in your favor, sometimes very much in your favor.... :D

Speculation on DirecTV, Liberty Swap Increases

The following story excerpt is from today's SkyREPORT newsletter:
_________________________________________________________

A DIRECTV/Liberty deal seems to be getting closer to a reality. According to a late report yesterday in the Wall Street Journal, DIRECTV parent News Corp. is nearing an agreement with Liberty Media to buy back Liberty's $11 billion stake in the media congolmerate. As part of the deal that's been rumored for months, Liberty would receive News Corp.'s 39 percent stake in DIRECTV along with some cash and other assets.

Talks of the deal were stirred up earlier this week when News Corp. Chief Operating Officer Peter Chernin on Monday said discussions about a DIRECTV/Liberty swap had never died between the two juggernauts. Then Liberty officials yesterday publicly laid out the reasons why obtaining a majority stake in the satellite provider would give it a powerful distribution vehicle for its programming networks.

The late-breaking WSJ report said News Corp. is getting close to consummating the deal that would swap its 39 percent interest in DIRECTV to John Malone's Liberty in exchange for its 16 percent interest in News Corp. Although the paper did not elaborate on terms - such as the valuations assigned to the swapped stocks or any other assets that may be involved - it did say the deal could be finished within a few weeks.
_________________________________________________________

To read the full SkyREPORT story, go to www.skyreport.com

We Interrupt Your Normal AVS Programming...

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

In the 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 3 years and approaching 600 pages.

So, in order to this introductory information more accessible, I post an advisory/reminder note similar to this every couple of weeks. The idea is to 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.

Hopefully, you'll find this information of some use...

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=8523674&&#post8523674)

Why Isn't KDNL-DT (ABC) Available via Charter? (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8072643&&#post8072643)

New! St. Louis Blues in HD Schedule (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8678636&&#post8678636)

Finally, I want to remind everyone 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

OFF TOPIC:

I know this is off topic but I honestly can't think of a better place to ask this question (actually I've asked before without any responses a couple months ago).

Is anyone or does anyone know of a carpenter, looking for work, that has good experience or specializes in custom "In Wall" entertainment centers here in the St. Louis area?

OFF TOPIC:

I know this is off topic but I honestly can't think of a better place to ask this question (actually I've asked before without any responses a couple months ago).

Is anyone or does anyone know of a carpenter that has good experience or specializes in custom "In Wall" entertainment centers here in the St. Louis area?

I finished my basement and built the entertainment center myself. Stand by for a picture.

Okay, here it is.

The wire that is hanging is from my Sat radio antenna. I haven't replaced the
windows yet so it just goes through the windows for now.

I still have to put a lip on the front of the cabinet and attach the door on the bottom where the DVD trays are.

For those looking at getting a DirecTV HR20. OTA has now been enabled. The update
rolled out to the West Coast last night.

FCC's Martin Speaks Out on Local Franchising Obstacles

The following is from today's Morning Bridge newsletter:
___________________________________________________________

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin outlined his concerns with the local franchising process and how the agency could help new video entrants such as telcos gain access to local markets.

In a speech before the Phoenix Center U.S. Telecoms 2006 Symposium Wednesday, Martin said the commission could set time frames for a local franchising authority to act on a video entrant's application. He told the crowd it's not unreasonable to expect a local entity to take action on a franchise proposal within 90 days.

Martin also said there should be a limit on what localities can assess for franchise fees. He said the commission should reiterate a previous finding that found it unlawful for any community to tax revenues from non-cable services.

In addition, the FCC chairman took aim at local municipalities requiring in-kind contributions as part of the franchising process. Martin criticized moves by some cities to request funding for items like a new recreation center or swimming pool as part of video franchise negotiations. And Martin said in some cases build-out requirements may impose unreasonable barriers to entry for new video service providers.
___________________________________________________________

AP
Report: Liberty Media Gets DirecTV
Thursday December 7, 8:13 am ET
Report: News Corp. to Buy Off Liberty Media With DirecTV Stake


NEW YORK (AP) -- Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. will transfer its controlling stake in satellite broadcaster DirecTV Group Inc. to Liberty Media Corp. as part of a deal to buy News Corp. stock back from Liberty, according to a published report.
An article on The New York Times' Web site early Thursday said Liberty will get DirecTV, three regional sports networks and $550 million in cash for its News Corp. shares under a deal brokered Wednesday between Murdoch and Liberty's Chairman John Malone.

In return, New York-based Liberty would give up its 19 percent voting stake and 15 percent nonvoting stake in News Corp., the newspaper reported, citing a banker and an executive close to the deal.

The stake threatened Murdoch's control of his media conglomerate.

Liberty Media, based in Englewood, Colo., owns the QVC home shopping network, the Starz Entertainment movie channel and other media assets.

Hey Doug-
I know you do calibration for a living, but I simply can't afford something like that right now. Do you know of any decent DVD's that would help me get on the right track?

OFF TOPIC:

I know this is off topic but I honestly can't think of a better place to ask this question (actually I've asked before without any responses a couple months ago).

Is anyone or does anyone know of a carpenter, looking for work, that has good experience or specializes in custom "In Wall" entertainment centers here in the St. Louis area?

I had a custom, corner bookshelf built a couple of years ago by a guy here in St. Louis. Bought the TV first (46" Sammy DLP), then gave him the dimensions and he built a cabinet to go around it. Not sure how he would be on an "in wall" system, but the bookshelves he built for me are great (I can't find the pictures here at work, but will post some if I can find them). He only does the carpentry - you've got to paint it yourself. I'll send you a PM with his info.

OFF TOPIC:

I know this is off topic but I honestly can't think of a better place to ask this question (actually I've asked before without any responses a couple months ago).

Is anyone or does anyone know of a carpenter, looking for work, that has good experience or specializes in custom "In Wall" entertainment centers here in the St. Louis area?

New Space (http://www.newspace.com/) does built ins.

Hey Doug-
I know you do calibration for a living, but I simply can't afford something like that right now. Do you know of any decent DVD's that would help me get on the right track?

I'm not Doug, but Video Essentials (http://www.videoessentials.com/) and AVIA are used by most folks. If you have the patience they would give you better than out of the box results. But it seems a DVD displaying on your set isn't (IMO) going to be as close.

Have you priced a calibration? It may be more affordable than you think and very well worth it.

There is a lot of opinion and info in the AVS calibration thread.

Hey Doug-
I know you do calibration for a living, but I simply can't afford something like that right now. Do you know of any decent DVD's that would help me get on the right track?I understand, but just to set expectations, the consumer discs used without equipment will only really allow you to set the "front panel" controls (color, tint, contrast, brightness and sharpness). The important things that you can't take care w/o gear are grayscale, gamma and advanced color management.

In addition, setting color balance with just the filters provided with these test discs can be hit-and-miss, due to the fact that the filters almost never match the colors of the primaries used by the display -- they may get you close, or they may ultimately mislead you, so you ultimately end up having to trust your eyes. When it comes to color, if you have a way to isolate the colors physically (CRT RPTVs by covering two of CRT lenses) or electronically (menu item that switches colors off/on), that is the ideal way to get color balance correct.

With that said, there are basically four discs worth considering.

The traditional ones are Digital Video Essentials and Avia Guide to Home Theater. Some people find the DVE narratives helpful and it also has the advantage of being the most up to date, in terms of discussing digital displays and digital sources. On the other hand, DVE is a nightmare to navigate, particularly when you're trying to find the pattern that you need.

AVIA is very good, though some of the explanations aren't as current as with DVE, but it does contain all the patterns you'd need, and actually it's comprehensive enough that I use it for calibration of the DVD player signal path. In addition, the navigation is falling down easy.

One nice thing about DVE and AVIA is they include a full array of sound tests, though again I think AVIA is more complete and easier to use. FWIW, there are some reports of subwoofer levels being incorrect on one (or both) of these discs, but I can't recall the details on that, though I know it's well-documented elsewhere at AVS.

There are two other discs that have a more limited consumer focus -- Sound & Vision Home Theater Tune-Up and the new Monster ISF HDTV Calibration Wizard disc.

The S&V disc is good from the standpoint of its explanation and its attempts to simplify some of the adjustment procedures by using actual video or "live" patterns (in fhe form of actors). S&V is pretty limited in terms of the range of patterns available compared to DVE and AVIA, but it includes everything you need to get the "front panel" controls set properly.

I can't recall if the S&V disc has sound tests, but if they do I suspect they aren't very thorough.

The newest disc is the Monster/ISF disc, which I've only recently seen myself. This disc is interesting from the standpoint that all of the patterns are based on actual video of actors. Personally, I found some of the explanations a bit long-winded and tedious, but I do think the disc allows you to accomplish what's required to get your front-panel controls optimized.

My understanding is that the Monster/ISF disc is based on some of the "calibration wizards" that the ISF developed in conjunction with Microsoft for the Media Center PC product line, but I haven't actually seen those MCE wizards in action.

If you want a more comprehensive disc that is easy to get around, I'd go for AVIA. If you're just interested in something simple that focuses on video, I'd suggest the Monster/ISF disc.

You probably need to look online at places like Amazon to find the DVE, AVIA and S&V discs. I would expect that the Monster/ISF disc should be available wherever Monster cables and other products are sold, but online sellers would likely stock this, too.

Let me know if you have any follow-up questions.

Personally, I found some of the explanations a bit long-winded.

And that is saying something :D :p

Fair comment.

...is falling down easy.
I like that ;)
Great visual explanation!

I'm not Doug, but Video Essentials (http://www.videoessentials.com/) and AVIA are used by most folks. If you have the patience they would give you better than out of the box results. But it seems a DVD displaying on your set isn't (IMO) going to be as close.

Have you priced a calibration? It may be more affordable than you think and very well worth it.

There is a lot of opinion and info in the AVS calibration thread.

Thanks to you and Doug for responding.

No, right now is not a good time for professional caliberation budget wise. I've a got a baby due soon and some remodleing projects, so spending $20-$40 is do-able. It will happen one day.

I understand that a DVD can only do so much. But it gives me a starting point and improves what I have.

Here's a question that might seem a little naive though: Have any of you guys looked at the THX set-up on the Star Wars DVD's? I remember messing around with it when those first came out on a non-HD tv. Is that a reliable or should I continue on with purchasing the AVIA disc?

Jeff,

I've read from several different sources that the THX Optimizers vary from studio to studio -- the pattern levels themselves have been "optimized" to match how the film was mastered. Needless to say, if true, this is ridiculous, as it turns the whole idea of standards on its head.

As a result, I would not rely on the THX routines for anything other than the DVD on which they appear.

I didn't mention it in my previous note, but the test discs should only be used for setting the output of your DVD player. Even if you have a DVD player that upconverts to one or more HD resolutions, the DVD player itself is not a reliable source for HD calibration.

The reason for this is that the output characteristics of DVD players vary widely from brand to brand and model to model. This problem with DVD non-compliance with standards is another example of CE manufacturers placing a higher priority on differentiation than quality. This is why I calibrate the DVD signal path with the customer's DVD player and a test disc, rather than using reference test patterns from a signal generator.

Using a signal generator for HD sources is completely reliable in my experience.

Hopefully this means more, if not all, the weekend Cards games will be in HD next season :)

If nothing else, at least the SD broadcasts will be watch-able.

EDIT: Found an article...ALL the 20 KSDK games will be in HD, including 2 ST games.
FSNMW will carry 130 games this year. Combined with FOX and ESPN, all 162 games will be televised, plus 4 ST games. I haven't found anything stating how many FSNMW games will be in HD.

Article HERE (http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20061207&content_id=1754354&vkey=pr_stl&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl)

Hopefully this means more, if not all, the weekend Cards games will be in HD next season :)

If nothing else, at least the SD broadcasts will be watch-able.

EDIT: Found an article...ALL the 20 KSDK games will be in HD, including 2 ST games.
FSNMW will carry 130 games this year. Combined with FOX and ESPN, all 162 games will be televised, plus 4 ST games. I haven't found anything stating how many FSNMW games will be in HD.

Article HERE (http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20061207&content_id=1754354&vkey=pr_stl&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl)

Maybe you haven't found anything because I guess Liberty will now own FSNMW? Who knows what their plans are now?

Thanks to you and Doug for responding.

No, right now is not a good time for professional caliberation budget wise. I've a got a baby due soon and some remodleing projects, so spending $20-$40 is do-able. It will happen one day.

I understand that a DVD can only do so much. But it gives me a starting point and improves what I have.

Here's a question that might seem a little naive though: Have any of you guys looked at the THX set-up on the Star Wars DVD's? I remember messing around with it when those first came out on a non-HD tv. Is that a reliable or should I continue on with purchasing the AVIA disc?

You may find Avia disc at your local blockbuster for rent. I am sure you can find it online at blockbuster, which offers a free trial subscription. These options may save you some money from purchasing it.

Maybe you haven't found anything because I guess Liberty will now own FSNMW? Who knows what their plans are now?


I don't know if this is factual, but Bernie Miklasz said today that FSNMW was not part of the deal. He said Murdoch kept some, MW being one of them. He also stated this may mean more money going to FSNMW and they may finally get the studio they have been wanting. If he is right I would guess it can only bode well for HD, more money is good.

I don't know if this is factual, but Bernie Miklasz said today that FSNMW was not part of the deal. He said Murdoch kept some, MW being one of them. He also stated this may mean more money going to FSNMW and they may finally get the studio they have been wanting. If he is right I would guess it can only bode well for HD, more money is good.

Did he say this on his radio show?

All I care about is Fox Sports Midwest going HD and HD games being available on some other source than the a**-clowns at Charter.

Kinda strange to see Cardinal games on KSDK. I still remember as a kid the few games that KSD used to show on TV. Is was great as they would rotate Jack Buck and Mike Shannon into the both with Jay Randolph Sr. Wasn't Ran Jacober also part of the television broadcast team?

Did he say this on his radio show?

All I care about is Fox Sports Midwest going HD and HD games being available on some other source than the a**-clowns at Charter.

Kinda strange to see Cardinal games on KSDK. I still remember as a kid the few games that KSD used to show on TV. Is was great as they would rotate Jack Buck and Mike Shannon into the both with Jay Randolph Sr. Wasn't Ran Jacober also part of the television broadcast team?


It was on his radio show with Randy K, "The Drive Home" or whatever on 1380. I hope they are available on something other than Charter too. I would like to see them broadcast enough HD that the sats would pick them up.

Honestly for the way salaries are escalating, not to mention TV deals, I can't imagine what it must have cost to lock this up through 2017. If it wasn't a fortune, then the Birds should not have signed a long term deal.

The reports/articles I read said there were 2 RSN's in the deal, but nothing I've found specified which two. A side note of interest....several months back, DISH uplinked all but 2 of the FSN HD RSN's...MW being one of them. Hmmm.

MW is one of FSN's shining stars....difficult to speculate if it was a given-keeper, or a bargaining chip.

Murdoch's and Malone's "private" discussions are supposed to be made public next week.

If KSDK give us 20 HD games, and we get rid of KPLR's horrendous PQ, everyone wins. Even if Liberty does get MW, with the FSNMW-HD already in place, we should only move forward.

NFL Fans - Watch any NFL Network Game on your PC

Since I have Charter and don't have the NFL Network, I started searching for live feeds.

Well, I stumbled upon this site: http://www.streamednfl.blogspot.com/

Which has many links to the games. (I haven't tried the TVAnts yet, since SopCast Worked so well).

In order to watch them, you must download a program called SopCast, which can be found here: http://www.sopcast.org/

Once installed, click on the SopCast link for tonights game under Channels - NFL Network

I logged in anonymously and I am watching the game right now. It is a small picture, and not HD, but if you don't get NFL Network it works and is FREE!!!!!!!!!!

Sop cast is great for all NFl games. I use it when I travel, and now with NFl every sunday for all the games!!

I have no idea what Sop cast and I don't travel, so I can't comment on it. I can tell you I watched the NFL game tonight in glorius HD via NFL Network on Directv. Unless I'm missing something, nothing beats Directv for NFL programming in HD.

Scott

I have no idea what Sop cast and I don't travel, so I can't comment on it. I can tell you I watched the NFL game tonight in glorius HD via NFL Network on Directv. Unless I'm missing something, nothing beats Directv for NFL programming in HD.
Scott
The picture was good. Other than Steeler's fans, it was kinda like watching golf in HD. Boring game, mediocre commentators. If there was anything else worth watching, and it wasn't NFL in HD, I would have passed. NPI.

Scott--do you notice any PQ difference between NFLHD, and say, FOX or NBC, when they do NFL HD games? I personally don't think the PQ of NFLHD on DISH is as good as some of the networks.

Ken,

Not that I don't care, I do, but I have become much less anal about picture quality than I used to be. I did break out the DVE on the new Sammy for the 2nd time tonight, but I won't lose sleep if it's not perfect.

To me the NFL in HD looks very good on all the channels. If I had to pick one that seems to consistently look the best it would have to be ESPN. Any time I wonder if HD is good enough I flip to a game in SD, puke, flip it back to HD and praise God for HD.

Thankfully my Chargers are in HD this weekend. Looking forward to that game against Denver. If the Boltz win or K.C. loses, they clinch.

Scott

Specter Bill Would Prevent NFL National Deals, Undo Sunday Ticket

This is really money politics at its worst -- undo the free market in order to win some votes.

Story excerpt from today's TV Predictions newsletter:
________________________________________________

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) says he will sponsor legislation that would let all cable and satellite operators air the NFL Sunday Ticket.

The Ticket, a weekly package of NFL games, including all High-Definition broadcasts, is now a DIRECTV exclusive after the satcaster won the rights in an open negotiation.

But in a hearing yesterday by the Senate Judiciary Committee, Specter said his bill would eliminate the antitrust exemption that permits the NFL to negotiate the broadcast rights for all 32 teams.

Will cable viewers be able to buy the Ticket?

The legislation, which would permit individual teams negotiate their own TV rights, would apparently nullify the DIRECTV-NFL agreement.

"As I look at what the NFL is doing today with the NFL channel with the DIRECTV...a lot of people, including myself, would like to be able to have that Ticket," Specter said.

Specter represents Pennsylvania, the headquarters of Comcast, which has protested the NFL's decision to award the Ticket to DIRECTV as an exclusive. The nation's largest cable operator is also embroiled in a legal dispute with the NFL over carriage of the NFL Network.
________________________________________________

Specter Bill Would Prevent NFL National Deals, Undo Sunday Ticket

This is really money politics at its worst -- undo the free market in order to win some votes.

Story excerpt from today's TV Predictions newsletter:
________________________________________________

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) says he will sponsor legislation that would let all cable and satellite operators air the NFL Sunday Ticket....
________________________________________________He's just pissed off because he has too many trees to get the dish. :rolleyes:

Why isn't he using this tact when promoting the MPAA. Didn't he replace Hollings as the movie guys lap dog?

Walt

The picture was good. Other than Steeler's fans, it was kinda like watching golf in HD. Boring game, mediocre commentators. If there was anything else worth watching, and it wasn't NFL in HD, I would have passed. NPI.

Scott--do you notice any PQ difference between NFLHD, and say, FOX or NBC, when they do NFL HD games? I personally don't think the PQ of NFLHD on DISH is as good as some of the networks.

I would compare it to a Fox broadcast. The picture quality is good, but not great.

ESPN does look the best on most days.

One thing about NFL broadcasts, if the commentators are boring, so is the game.

I really need to get my Receiver set up properly so I can turn down the TV and
listen to the Sirius broadcast (although the 8 second delay might kill me).

The reports/articles I read said there were 2 RSN's in the deal, but nothing I've found specified which two. A side note of interest....several months back, DISH uplinked all but 2 of the FSN HD RSN's...MW being one of them. Hmmm.

MW is one of FSN's shining stars....difficult to speculate if it was a given-keeper, or a bargaining chip.

Murdoch's and Malone's "private" discussions are supposed to be made public next week.

If KSDK give us 20 HD games, and we get rid of KPLR's horrendous PQ, everyone wins. Even if Liberty does get MW, with the FSNMW-HD already in place, we should only move forward.


So you are hearing that only 2 RSN's are changing hands? Hmmm.

Then it would seem to me that landscape isn't changing much and our chances of gettting FSNMW-HD added to more carriers is no better or worse. Agreed?

No details for when a fix will be out but one is in the works according to TCF (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=330528) .

He's just pissed off because he has too many trees to get the dish. :rolleyes:
Interestingly enough, Specter is a DISH sub. He always seems to have his hands in, shall we say, a varied amount of different topics.

So you are hearing that only 2 RSN's are changing hands? Hmmm.
Then it would seem to me that landscape isn't changing much and our chances of gettting FSNMW-HD added to more carriers is no better or worse. Agreed?
Agreed. Still, it does not look like it will be added to the DISH lineup anytime soon.
Though I don't think that has any bearing on Murdock & Malone playing Mogul King.

So now we can't even get the new HR20-700? http://12.154.35.105/DVR_form/index.html

There appears to be a waiting list.

Also, does D* still broadcast in "HDLite"? What about the new Jessica Simpson commercials stating that they are broadcasting in "1080i"??

I mentioned this a couple pages back when I talked about moving, and my options. I wasn't about to wait for an HD DVR when I already had one, so I just stuck with cable. And there is no way Sat companies are broadcasting in 1080i :-) But, as Jessica says "I dont even know what that is, but I want it!" I expect most consumers won't even know that's not what they are getting, hehe.

Specter Bill Would Prevent NFL National Deals, Undo Sunday Ticket

This is really money politics at its worst -- undo the free market in order to win some votes.

Story excerpt from today's TV Predictions newsletter:
________________________________________________

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) says he will sponsor legislation that would let all cable and satellite operators air the NFL Sunday Ticket.

The Ticket, a weekly package of NFL games, including all High-Definition broadcasts, is now a DIRECTV exclusive after the satcaster won the rights in an open negotiation.

But in a hearing yesterday by the Senate Judiciary Committee, Specter said his bill would eliminate the antitrust exemption that permits the NFL to negotiate the broadcast rights for all 32 teams.

Will cable viewers be able to buy the Ticket?

The legislation, which would permit individual teams negotiate their own TV rights, would apparently nullify the DIRECTV-NFL agreement.

"As I look at what the NFL is doing today with the NFL channel with the DIRECTV...a lot of people, including myself, would like to be able to have that Ticket," Specter said.

Specter represents Pennsylvania, the headquarters of Comcast, which has protested the NFL's decision to award the Ticket to DIRECTV as an exclusive. The nation's largest cable operator is also embroiled in a legal dispute with the NFL over carriage of the NFL Network.
________________________________________________

You simply don't get it. This is about allowing consumers choice, and preventing the NFL from fleecing consumers.

The P-D had a small blurb about AT&T U-verse starting in new regions next week. Living in Creve Coeur, I may sign up for it next year if the pricing and channels are similar to what they been have offering in Texas.

I mentioned this a couple pages back when I talked about moving, and my options. I wasn't about to wait for an HD DVR when I already had one, so I just stuck with cable. And there is no way Sat companies are broadcasting in 1080i :-) But, as Jessica says "I dont even know what that is, but I want it!" I expect most consumers won't even know that's not what they are getting, hehe.

Both D* and E* broadcast programming in 1080i. They don't limit the vertical resolution (the 1080 part of a 1920x1080 signal). They limit the horizontal resolution. In the case of D*, they limit the horizontal resolution to 1280, so their HDLite is 1280x1080. That's a 33% reduction in horizontal resolution (1920-640=1280). E* recently started doing HDLite, too, but they have two flavors - 1440x1080i and 1280x1080i. Most of their non-Voom broadcasts are still a full 1920x1080i.

Many people feel that imposing HDLite on its viewers makes the providers just as clueless as Jessica Simpson. Many of us keep telling them we want full 1920x1080 HD, but the prospect is remote. Might as well ask for Jessica - the chances are about the same. :D

Both D* and E* broadcast programming in 1080i. They don't limit the vertical resolution (the 1080 part of a 1920x1080 signal). They limit the horizontal resolution. In the case of D*, they limit the horizontal resolution to 1280, so their HDLite is 1280x1080. That's a 33% reduction in horizontal resolution (1920-640=1280). E* recently started doing HDLite, too, but they have two flavors - 1440x1080i and 1280x1080i. Most of their non-Voom broadcasts are still a full 1920x1080i.

Many people feel that imposing HDLite on its viewers makes the providers just as clueless as Jessica Simpson. Many of us keep telling them we want full 1920x1080 HD, but the prospect is remote. Might as well ask for Jessica - the chances are about the same. :DIn addition to reducing resolution, DirecTV uses real time statistical multiplexing, which reduces the number of bits. A double whammy.

You simply don't get it. This is about allowing consumers choice, and preventing the NFL from fleecing consumers.

Who doesn't get it? Fleecing?? Everyone has a choice.

In addition to reducing resolution, DirecTV uses real time statistical multiplexing, which reduces the number of bits. A double whammy.

Bit starved, with a double whammy. Still sounds like Jessica. :D

Bit starved, with a double whammy. Still sounds like Jessica. :DShe's what ya call, two bits short of a byte. :)

She's what ya call, two bits short of a byte. :)
More like....a byte of heaven :D

Who doesn't get it? Fleecing?? Everyone has a choice.

How is there a choice when the NFL won't accept bids from Comcast for Sunday Ticket? How is their a choice when the NFL wants to strong arm cable companies into carry their network and forcing all consumers to pay for it whether they want it or not. There is no choice here at all.

Who doesn't get it? Fleecing?? Everyone has a choice.

Exactly, and I choose Directv with NFL Network and NFL Sunday Ticket. Any Charter customers who can't watch a game, you're welcome at my home anytime. :)

Scott

Fuzzball, I thought about the 480i HDMI issue, as it is something of an orphan format.

For example, some folks are keen to have a standard-def DVD player that will output 480i HDMI, as they prefer digital over component but want 480i so that they can do de-interlacing via an external scaler. I don't have a comprehensive list, but finding DVD players that output 480i HDMI is a challenge. When I saw that you were talking about a cable box, I figured 480i HDMI would be supported, but perhaps it's a general issue not limited to DVD.

FWIW, I calibrated my first 70XBR2 yesterday afternoon. While it turned out really nice, I ran into a problem with powering on and off. It seems like it takes 2 or 3 minutes to go from off to on. This was an issue with bulb-based displays a few years back, but most lamp-based RPTVs of the last couple of years are ready to go in 15 seconds or less after powering down. This is an issue during calibration of the Sonys, due to the need to power off to exit the service menu and then power up back in user mode to check the impact of adjustments.

Have you noticed this with your XBR2? Maybe it was just the unit I was working on.


Yes, that is excactly how mine is also. I believe the manual said it's normal and has something to do with bulb cooling before the re-start.

On the subject of service menu....Where in the service menu can I find the number of hours on the bulb?? I've looked around in the menu and can't find anything. (I didn't change any settings!!)

NFL Fans - Watch any NFL Network Game on your PC

Since I have Charter and don't have the NFL Network, I started searching for live feeds.

Well, I stumbled upon this site: http://www.streamednfl.blogspot.com/

Which has many links to the games. (I haven't tried the TVAnts yet, since SopCast Worked so well).

In order to watch them, you must download a program called SopCast, which can be found here: http://www.sopcast.org/

Once installed, click on the SopCast link for tonights game under Channels - NFL Network

I logged in anonymously and I am watching the game right now. It is a small picture, and not HD, but if you don't get NFL Network it works and is FREE!!!!!!!!!!

Jim,
I'm curious about the functionality of this. Have you actually tried it yourself? Or is this just a post of someone else's findings that you haven't actually tested?

I'd really like to know how/if it works, before I do all the installs. I'd have asked the OP, but I'm not a member of that forum, and I prefer the creditability of this forums member's when dealing with TV-type topics. TIA. :)

For reference, here's the original SlickDeals member's post:
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=390326

POSTED by Tripp:
"NFL Fans - Watch any NFL Network Game on your PC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since I don't have the NFL Network, I started searching for live feeds.

Well, I stumbled upon this site: http://www.streamednfl.blogspot.com/

Which has many links to the games. (I haven't tried the TVAnts yet, since SopCast Worked so well).

In order to watch them, you must download a program called SopCast, which can be found here:http://www.sopcast.org/

Once installed, click on the SopCast link for tonights game (Browns at Pitt).(Browns at Pitt)

I logged in anonymously and I am watching the pregame right now. The game starts in at about 8:00 pm tonight (eastern time).

Hope this helps some peeps out. I know it did for me

Later - tripp"

Exactly, and I choose Directv with NFL Network and NFL Sunday Ticket. Any Charter customers who can't watch a game, you're welcome at my home anytime. :)

Scott
Nothing personal Scott...but c'i just have the Sammy?

Nothing personal Scott...but c'i just have the Sammy?

If San Diego doesn't win the Super Bowl, You can have all my TV's. :eek:

Scott

Exactly, and I choose Directv with NFL Network and NFL Sunday Ticket. Any Charter customers who can't watch a game, you're welcome at my home anytime. :)

Scott

Some of us care so little about football the entire argument is mute. I love hockey, but I don't even get NHL Center Ice. Between the broadcast Blues games and the games on HDNet and Versus I get my fill of hockey. Even if I was a big football fan, the season isn't 12 months anyhow, so I never understood basing ones decision on that alone. I guess its a "football thing."

I'll still come over if you have good food, heh.

Some of us care so little about football the entire argument is mute. I love hockey, but I don't even get NHL Center Ice. Between the broadcast Blues games and the games on HDNet and Versus I get my fill of hockey. Even if I was a big football fan, the season isn't 12 months anyhow, so I never understood basing ones decision on that alone. I guess its a "football thing."

I'll still come over if you have good food, heh.

Good food? Hah, my Wife just started her own personal chef business. You could say I have good food. :)

I probably care less about hockey than you do football. I did however try to tune in last night, but the game was blacked out on my set. Oh well, maybe I'll try to watch a game next year.

Scott

Yes, that is excactly how mine is also. I believe the manual said it's normal and has something to do with bulb cooling before the re-start.

On the subject of service menu....Where in the service menu can I find the number of hours on the bulb?? I've looked around in the menu and can't find anything. (I didn't change any settings!!)fuzzball,

The lamp hours register may very well be in the service menu, but I haven't seen it and there are literally THOUSANDS of available settings. There's no known documentation, apart from the bottom drawer of some Sony engineer.

Thanks for letting me know about the power up -- I also checked out a manual online. Most lamp-based sets have only 10 or 15 seconds between power down and up. The Sony is easily 2 minutes and probably closer to 3 -- not normally a big deal, but for me it adds up to an hour or more of waiting around while working on these.

But all that is minor stuff -- it's a very nice TV.

Jim,
I'm curious about the functionality of this. Have you actually tried it yourself? Or is this just a post of someone else's findings that you haven't actually tested?

I'd really like to know how/if it works, before I do all the installs. I'd have asked the OP, but I'm not a member of that forum, and I prefer the creditability of this forums member's when dealing with TV-type topics. TIA. :)

For reference, here's the original SlickDeals member's post:
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=390326

POSTED by Tripp:
"NFL Fans - Watch any NFL Network Game on your PC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since I don't have the NFL Network, I started searching for live feeds.

Well, I stumbled upon this site: http://www.streamednfl.blogspot.com/

Which has many links to the games. (I haven't tried the TVAnts yet, since SopCast Worked so well).

In order to watch them, you must download a program called SopCast, which can be found here:http://www.sopcast.org/

Once installed, click on the SopCast link for tonights game (Browns at Pitt).(Browns at Pitt)

I logged in anonymously and I am watching the pregame right now. The game starts in at about 8:00 pm tonight (eastern time).

Hope this helps some peeps out. I know it did for me

Later - tripp"


I having been using programs like Sopcast, MaxTV, and TVants to watch European football since August, and have not had any problem with the streaming. It is typical internet streaming, so it isn't the best resolution but the streams are pretty reliable. I've watched the NFL Network games on Sopcast the past 3 weeks, without any major problems.

The website below is the best one I've found, giving details of what games are on and the software needed to watch them. It's mostly for soccer fans, but they have NFL, NBA, and the other American sports schedules as well. I am truly surprised how many NFL games are available each week.

http://www.myp2p.eu/index.htm

Jim,
I'm curious about the functionality of this. Have you actually tried it yourself? Or is this just a post of someone else's findings that you haven't actually tested?

I'd really like to know how/if it works, before I do all the installs. I'd have asked the OP, but I'm not a member of that forum, and I prefer the creditability of this forums member's when dealing with TV-type topics. TIA. :)

For reference, here's the original SlickDeals member's post:
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=390326

POSTED by Tripp:
"NFL Fans - Watch any NFL Network Game on your PC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since I don't have the NFL Network, I started searching for live feeds.

Well, I stumbled upon this site: http://www.streamednfl.blogspot.com/

Which has many links to the games. (I haven't tried the TVAnts yet, since SopCast Worked so well).

In order to watch them, you must download a program called SopCast, which can be found here:http://www.sopcast.org/

Once installed, click on the SopCast link for tonights game (Browns at Pitt).(Browns at Pitt)

I logged in anonymously and I am watching the pregame right now. The game starts in at about 8:00 pm tonight (eastern time).

Hope this helps some peeps out. I know it did for me

Later - tripp"

Yes, I tried it myself and it works great. I used Sopcast, not the other ones.