Well said, Doug!!

This is about a week late, but does anyone watch Crossing Jordan? I just watched the season finale last night (on HD TiVo), and I was a bit aggrevated.

The HD feed on KSDK wasn't turned on until 17 minutes in, and was turned back to the SD feed with 5 minutes left.

Is it worthwhile to send them an email about it?

Craig

Well gang, up until yesterday I actually subscribed to both DirecTV and Dish Network. Been with *D since 1995 and was able to get distant net feeds easily from them at the time. Then came that damn court order in 1998 to cut me off from them. With St. Louis locals not up on the dish yet and my antenna in the attic not picking up diddley squat, I signed up with Dish, specifically for the superstations and distant nets (I gave Dish a fake address in the boonies and qualified for all nets). I also put up a bigger antenna on the roof, which pulls in the locals (mostly) fine and dandy.

Got a letter from Dish last week saying I no longer qualify for the distants and they'll be shut off in "the next two weeks." Combine that with my desire for an HD PVR and Dish's vaporware/bug-ridden 921, and I decided to go for the HD DirecTivo and a 5x8 multiswitch.

I already had all four outputs from the phase 3 dish in use. I installed the multiswitch in the basement, connected those same 4 lines to the multiswitch, cut the two lines coming from Dish's dish, and added them to the new multiswitch too. This way my family room has two lines for when the HD DirecTivo gets here (though admittedly it's so far been no less vaporware than the Dish 921 for me). All three bedrooms have a line each, my exercise room has a line, and there are two lines left over for the dedicated theater room that will eventually be built in the basement.

I also bought a standard DirecTivo to replace the Dish receiver (and coincidentally just-died ReplayTV 3030) in the master bedroom. It's just for the bedroom so I don't care about the second line in this case.

In the family room, I'll continue using the HTL-HD and ReplayTV 4160 until the HD Tivo gets here (Value Electronics tells me late June).

Made the call and officially dumped Dish Network yesterday. The 2700 and 4700 receivers will go up on eBay in a week or two.

All this and I live alone! Geez, I need to get a life!

[i]All this and I live alone! [/B]
Robert,

Now, THAT's impressive. And I thought I had a problem. In fact, that makes me feel so much better, I'm going to opt out of the "12 steps"...

If you have Voom and like Star Wars:

SW:AOTC in HD airs today on MAXHD(221) at 4:30pm and at 7:30pm on 222. I've been waiting for this for awhile!! Too bad I can't tape it through firewire.

Originally posted by Robert Simandl


All this and I live alone! Geez, I need to get a life!

Robert I need for you to give me lessons most of what you said was way over my head. In addition I admire your determine to get the best.

This is a public thank you to Robert Simandl for the wonderful Enterprise dvd with the last 2 episodes of the season on it. Robert, I thought the svhs tapes of Enterprise were great, but the dvd really raised the bar!! I think this is better than what digital UPN is offering, because the picture has to be as good, and I've got stereo sound. I'm very much looking forward to the repeat episodes from this season on dvd. Great job, Robert. And he even edited the commercials out!! I was also impressed with the interactive menu at disc startup.

Anyone watching Game 6 of Stanley Cup Finals? Is the audio out of sync?

I have my HD TiVo connected to my Mits 55413, using the TV's speakers (surround system won't be connected until we move in July).

Craig

Originally posted by Toeside
Anyone watching Game 6 of Stanley Cup Finals? Is the audio out of sync?

I have my HD TiVo connected to my Mits 55413, using the TV's speakers (surround system won't be connected until we move in July).

Craig
Yeah, I was watching it on my samsung 160 and Melrose was off.
Dug

Originally posted by Mr_Bester
Melrose was off.


IMO, Melrose is always off

Tim

Jedi35,

Have you seen any difference in the Lord of the Rings movies on HD Starz using VOOM compared with the DVD versions? In other words, do you think there is a special HD version that Starz is lucky to be broadcasting that us mere mortals with Charter and DVD players cannot be fortunate enough to witness?

redwine,

I wasn't that impressed with LOTR. Some shots here and there looked like good HD, but I'd say that the dvd version was better for most scenes. This holds true for other movies as well, like X2 and Minority Report. However, there are plenty of movies that do in fact live up to the HD label, like ST:First Contact, ST:Nemesis, and SW:ATOC was pretty good too. So it really varies from movie to movie.

jedi35, for LOTR, are you comparing to the Special Edition DVDs? I have yet to watch any of LOTR movies on DVD. The first two are available as Special Editions that span the 3+hours over two DVDs, allowing for higher bitrate. There's no way I'm watching Return of the King compressed down to just a dual layers single DVD.

My wife wants the Trilogy all in Special Edition. I'm expected a special box set to be relased once ROTK is released as a special edition. I've heard ROTK on a single DVD looks really bad.

Craig

Toeside,

I hate to say it but you will be waiting a while for a boxed set of the Extended Special Editions of LOTR. Last I heard, Return of the king SE is due out around September/October and a boxed set like you want is due out 6 to 8 months later. I couldn't wait and have bought the first two all ready and will get the 3rd once it comes out.

Yeah, the last time I watch LOTR on dvd was the extended special edition, so I sure that is what's in my mind for comparison. Also, I'm glad to hear that the longer version of ROTK will happen sooner than I thought, and as a seperate release. Actually, I'd heard a lame rumor that we weren't going to get it at all unless we bought a boxed set of all 3 extended versions for some huge money. Yikes, glad that was just a rumor.

My wife's birthday is in November, and this rumored SE Boxed set is what she's asking for. She actually stopped me twice from buying the first two SE movies. If the boxed set is the only way to get ROTK in SE, then I'm happy she stopped me.

I have the special edition DVDs and the Samsung 931 player with the DVI output. LOTR looks and sounds good but I was hoping a HD version was being played by Starz that looked even better. I saw the Star Trek and Star Wars movies on HD HBO and I was very impressed. Maybe LOTRs will come out with an enhanced HD version next year and impress us all. They will probably find a way to make us buy another copy.

Toeside,

Just remember that what I heard was a rumor by word of mouth. It sounds like we should see a seperate SE ROTK before a boxed set SE trilogy. How patient is your wife?

Originally posted by jedi35
Toeside,

Just remember that what I heard was a rumor by word of mouth. It sounds like we should see a seperate SE ROTK before a boxed set SE trilogy. How patient is your wife?

Depends on what she wants. Some things can wait, others can't.

Hopefully the stand-alone ROTK SE is available by 11/25, then we can decide to wait or not...

Check out this interview about The Return of The King Extended Edition. Mainly, question 5 and the last question.

http://www.theonering.net/features/interviews/mattlasorsa.html

Thanks Scroft391. That just settled lots of rumors for us.

Has anyone else noticed that ESPNHD is now showing the correct 4:3 AR on non-hd programs? I don't know if it's permanent or not, but right now I'm seeing light grey patterned sidebars, and I think that's great. I checked it on Voom and Charter cable. Now, let's see if TNTHD will follow by doing the right thing.

What Scroft391 posted jives with what I have heard:

ROTK SE in Sept/Oct, with New Line packaging all 3 SE's in a box set.

Once Peter Jackson is done with King Kong, he wants to go back and compile the whole Trilogy into an even larger Super SE (more footage etc)

This might be beneficial as that may give HD-DVD enough time to come to fruition. It would give the format a great launch title.

All we can do now is wait....

Dave

jedi - ESPN-HD premiered sportscenter in HD last night and I noticed that they put the grey bars on any non-HD highlights and on all the commercials. I wasn't sure if they were just going to do it for Sportscenter or if they were going to do it permanently.

Speaking of aspect ratios, can someone help me out on HBO-On Demand? I've got charter-HD hooked up through DVI on a Samsung DLP. I prefer to watch 4:3 content in non-stretched letterbox format, so I have the Motorola box configured to pass through 480i programming "as is". I was watching the Sopranos last night on the HBO SD channel and it was in the normal 4:3 format with black bars on both sides. However, when I watched it via HBO on Demand, it is in the "postage stamp" format with black bars on all four sides. Is this because On Demand is sending me the widescreen version in 480i?

duihlein,

Ooh, that's the news I thought I heard. Can you post any links to support what you said? I'd much rather see a seperate SE ROTK first. What about all of us who already have the first 2 SEs?

GlendaleHDTV,

A Charter rep just handed me a new addressable hd box, and I now finally have the Video on Demand service. I'll check out your question and see what I get. More later.....

Can someone remind me how to get into the service menu for the Charter hd box, so that I can choose the video aspect ratios? Thanks.

leave the TV on, turn off the charter box, then press and hold the menu button on the box.

Jedi35,

Here is the quote I read:


Morning all! We'll be back later this morning with a proper post, including new reviews from both Barrie and Todd. But first, I wanted to check in with something that will definitely interest you Lord of the Rings fans out there. Last night, TheOneRing.net hosted a special Oscar party in Hollywood for 1,500 fans of the films, and many of the cast and crew who were at the Oscars (some with statues in hand) dropped by to say hello. Director Peter Jackson was among them, and while addressing the crowd, he had some very interesting things to say about the forthcoming DVD release of King. Here's a quote:

"I'm sure most of you have heard me blabbing off in the past few weeks but we've just finished the extended cut of the DVD. I finished the edit before I came over here - these poor bastards at Weta have got another 350 effects shots to do! They're well on the way. Elijah's seen the extended cut. New Line have announced some box set that's supposed to be coming out which I didn't know anything about. When I've done King Kong I'd like to do a proper box set and we've got a whole bunch of material - not of the movie but we've got a whole lot of bloopers out there! When King Kong's out the way I'd like to do a really high definition version with the best possible picture quality."

Now there's good news if ever we heard it! Rings in high-def? Count us in! The extended DVD is obviously for Return of the King (due in November), while the box set he's talking about would feature the entire Rings trilogy (New Line already has one planned for 2004, but it sounds as if Jackson didn't know about that, and would rather do a more comprehensive HD set at a later time). There were other interesting DVD-related quotes from Jackson and company made at the event as well, including inside word on a funny Easter egg that's planned for the extended DVD. There even a little talk of an eventual film version of The Hobbit. You can read them all here.

By the way, in case you missed it the other day, New Line is expected to announce the DVD release of The Return of the King this coming Monday (3/8).


It came from www.thedigitalbits.com, about halfway down the page below:

The Digital Bits (http://www.thedigitalbits.com/mytwocentsa85.html)

Let's hope it comes to fruition.

Back on topic,

It's too bad Ch 11 couldn't carry any of the Cubs/Cards games and pass through HD. I'm going to assume we will not see FSMW-HD until next year at the earliest. That bites.

Dave

Originally posted by GlendaleHDTV
I was watching the Sopranos last night on the HBO SD channel and it was in the normal 4:3 format with black bars on both sides. However, when I watched it via HBO on Demand, it is in the "postage stamp" format with black bars on all four sides. Is this because On Demand is sending me the widescreen version in 480i?
Hi, GlendaleHDTV,
I think the only time that Sopranos has full top to bottom on HBO-SD is for a minute or two before main titles when they're re-capping previous eps. For the show itself, it's been shaped to 16:9 for the last several seasons. (HBO-2 used to provide a full-screen simulcast to HBO's letter-box but this has been dropped). As you point out, the letterbox on HBO-SD would become the dreaded postage stamp (black bars all four sides) when viewed on a widescreen TV. This can be zoomed to perfectly fill the screen, but PQ is not great.

I wasn't watching the HBO-SD channel Sunday night, but the glorious HBO High-Def which fills the enitre 16:9 raster with resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The re-cap before the main titles which is full-screen on SD corresponds to pillar-boxing on the High-Def 16:9 raster. This makes a stunning transition to full-screen as the main titles roll. What a great season finale!

Bill777
Saint Charles

duihlein,

Ok, so let me see if I got this straight:
1. SE ROTK in Sept./Oct.
2. New Line SE trilogy later this year, and Peter Jackson didn't know about it
3. Jackson's own SE trilogy boxed set in hd way after King Kong

All that's ok with me.

abcward, thanks for the menu info. This time, I wrote it down.

GlendaleHDTV,

I played around with all the AR settings for 4:3 programs, and the only way to watch Sopranos in the proper format in VOD is to have the thicker bars on the sides, and smaller ones on top and bottom. I guess that it because the program is in letterboxed form already. I watched part of another 4:3 program, and there were no bars above or below. Anybody else have any ideas about this? Although Sopranos on VOD is not in hd(the 480p signal looks great), I loved the fact that they still give us great 5.1 DD sound.

As neat as VOD is, I am a little disappointed at the lack of movie programming so far. I thought that I would have access to pretty much all the movies that are running on all the premium channels. It turns out that I'm only getting listings for some of the movies running, and certain premium channels are not even listed on VOD. Maybe more programming will be downloaded or added later.

I find that ESPNHD is still showing the proper AR on 4:3 non-hd programming, even after the debut of SportsCenter. Let's hope they keep it.

The Charter rep was blown away by my Voom setup today, as he was waiting to see it in someone's home. I think he's going to order it up now.

jedi,

give me more facts/feelings/opinions on your VOOM setup... im curious like the Charter rep was.

Did the Charter rep happen to mention if any new HD channels were coming?

Originally posted by abcward
jedi,

give me more facts/feelings/opinions on your VOOM setup... im curious like the Charter rep was.
Yes, please! I'm SOOO tempted to make the plunge.

Well guys, the voom.com website tells ya all about the equipment, prices, packages, etc. From personal use, I would say that I love the Voom service. Nobody has as much HD programming, and they've added ESPNHD and TNTHD since I've gotten it. There are 2 HBOs in HD, 2 SHOs, 2 MAXs, 1 ENC, 1 TMC, 2 STRZs and I'm sure that we will see more in the future. I feel that Voom will add HD channels quicker than almost any other service.

The quality on the 10 HD Cinema channels, Monsters HD, and Epics HD is not up to HDNet Movies, but the other originals look quite good most of the time. It's great to be able to get HD channels that I can't get on Charter HD. It includes an OTA tuner for your local hd channels and a rooftop antenna if you need it. I decided to just use my indoor, as the installer told me that the outdoor performance wouldn't be any better, maybe worse. The Voom receiver does include a dvi port among other popular connections, and they are all active at the same time. There are nice menu controls for output resolution, 4:3 content handling, sound, etc., and the remote control is nice. There are 2 things that bug me about the menu system: 1)if you change to a channel that's showing something that's getting close to being over, the next program shows up instead of the one you're looking at. 2)there are no nice search features to look up something by title, or to see when there might be other show times for what you're watching. The channels change a bit on the slow side, and if you change the numbers very quickly for more than a few channels, the unit may not aquire a video signal on the channel you ended on(just channel up or down one more to get a picture).

I've read a rumor that the Voom pvr unit, due to be out later this year, might in fact have firewire out, but I also heard the exact opposite. Time will tell. The bottom line is that Voom is a great deal right now. Free install., low monthly rental price, lower purchase price if you want to buy than the original price, great packages, and no contract to sign. What's the harm in getting it just to see what it's like?? You can always cancel at any time with no penalties.

Yes, the Charter rep mentioned that more HD channels are coming, but it was kind of a general statement. We all know that eventually there will be more, but he did not say what or when. He also let me know that my one way box could have been updated from the office to be a 2 way addressable for the VOD service. Then again, other reps said that my older box needed to be switched. Either way, I have the VOD service now.

how is the SD content on VOOM? I dont want to get a lot more HD only to sacrifice channels that my family cannot live without, like Fox Sports Midwest, BBC-America, Nickelodeon, HGTV, Noggin, etc.

Voom has a bunch of the cable favorites in SD, with some holes here and there. I and a lot of others really miss the SciFi Channel. However, channels can be added at anytime. SD quality is mostly goo, I think. Equal to other satellite providers for the most part. A few are not so good.

Hey all,

I am a new Voomer and am having some problems with OTA HD reception.

According to Antennaweb:

DTV Antenna
Type Call Sign Channel Network City State Live
Date Compass
Orientation Miles
From Frequency
Assignment
* red - uhf WRBU-DT 47 SAH E. ST. Louis IL 215° 21.7 47
* red - uhf KTVI-DT 2.1 FOX St. Louis MO 220° 9.9 43
* red - uhf KDNL-DT 30.1 ABC St. Louis MO 221° 6.0 31
* red - uhf KPLR-DT 11.1 WB ST. LOUIS MO 217° 6.3 26
* red - uhf KSDK-DT 5.1 NBC St. Louis MO 217° 6.8 35
* red - uhf KETC-DT 9.1 PBS St. Louis MO 214° 13.7 39
* violet - uhf KMOV-DT 4.1 CBS St. Louis MO 196° 8.4 56
* violet - uhf KNLC-DT 24.1 FMN ST. LOUIS MO 219° 25.2 14


When I saw the distances, I thought it would be a slam dunk to get the big 4 networks. The original installer put in what appears to be a Winegard Sensar II, I am not sure of the model number, but I know it has a sticker on it that says "AMPLIFIED" so maybe a GS2000? In any case, he installed this on the top of my 3 story condo, pointed it at the CBS tower (since he said this was the weakest signal) and I could only get channels 4.1 and 5.1.

After calling Voom, they sent the installer back out with a huge replacement Winegard that looked like the HD7084 from the picture on Winegard's site. In addition, they added a 6 foot mast on top of the roof. This antenna was much bigger and uglier, so I hoped for the best. When we hooked it up (and removed the diplexer to boot) I couldn't receive ANY stations now.


HELP!

I think my problem is I am just north of the cathedral and have high rise buildings to the west and east, and may be running into either trees, or the cathedral, or those high rises on Lindell for my LOS to the tower locations. I am not too sure about the second installer Voom sent out since he was claiming I couldn't get HDTV signals with a non digital antenna(although he did admit he was new). I know there is some solution out there for me, and I am not afraid to spend a little money to get all the networks rock solid. Silver Sensor? Square Shooter? Even Bigger Uglier Antenna? Some special Antenna for no LOS situations?

Let me know what you AntennaGurus think!

Thanks!

Kyrak

Kyrak,

I'd suggest that you read the first page of this thread, where's there's some basic information about antennas and OTA reception, as well as downloadable maps so that you can actually see the position of the various towers from your own location (if you haven't already mapped them yourself).

It might also be worth taking a look at this post from GreatRat, as he's recently been through a pile of antenna rejects before finding a keeper.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3881674#post3881674

One of the key things that you'll hear over and over is that antenna reception is more art than science, and you've obviously seen some evidence of this in that a bigger, uglier, taller antenna that was expected to perform better actually did worse.

Maybe the antenna that GreatRat found will do the trick for you in your location, but understand that there are no guarantees. However, it seems like a reasonable alternative to consider, based on your experience so far.

FYI -- the following is from SkyREPORT:

DirecTV Sells TiVo Stake

On Tuesday, DirecTV confirmed that it sold its stake in TiVo, taking another step away from the digital video recorder (DVR) company.

The DirecTV/TiVo transaction involved about 3.5 million TiVo shares. Wall Street analysts said shares were sold at about $7.20 each. During trading Tuesday, TiVo fell more than 14.5 percent to $6.41.

The sale of the TiVo stake is consistent with DirecTV's strategy of selling non-core assets, the company said. Also, DirecTV spokesman Robert Mercer said, "Our relationship is strong and Tivo remains an important part of our product lineup."

DirecTV has been a key partner for TiVo, accounting for 196,000 new subscriptions out of 264,000 added during TiVo's last fiscal quarter. Nearly 900,000 TiVo subscribers are with DirecTV, the DVR company said.

TiVo said it has a deal with DirecTV to supply DVR technology through 2007.

The share sale follows the departure of DirecTV Vice Chairman Eddy Hartenstein from the TiVo board. Hartenstein, who began serving on the TiVo board in October 2003, is reducing certain external obligations in order to dedicate more time to his responsibilities with the satellite TV company, TiVo said in a statement.

Also Tuesday, DirecTV said it sold a controlling interest in its India-based Hughes Software Systems to Flextronics, headquartered in Singapore. The transaction was valued at $226 million.

Originally posted by jedi35
Voom has a bunch of the cable favorites in SD, with some holes here and there. I and a lot of others really miss the SciFi Channel. However, channels can be added at anytime. SD quality is mostly goo, I think. Equal to other satellite providers for the most part. A few are not so good.
Jedi35-- Thank you for the well-written re-cap of Voom. The low quality of the SD channels really disappoints and I assume it's the same low bit-rate crap that makes Dish and Direct unwatchable. I still watch all my SD (Nick, Sci-Fi, Disney, etc) from the glorious 36MHz first generation C-Band feeds on my 12 foot dish (affectionately known as a BUD or big ugly dish). Yes, I'm bragging, but there is no substitute for a studio quality picture. Direct and Dish capture these same feeds for digitization and re-transmission on their systems.
Bill777
Saint Charles

The following appeared as part of today's HDTV Magazine daily program guide content.

I thought that both the background and the more recent developments regarding 8-VSB would be of interest to current and would-be OTA households. FWIW, this is the sort of thing that HDTV Magazine does very well and in my opinion makes a subscription worthwhile.

The initial historical note is written by Dale Cripps, publisher of HDTV Magazine.


HISTORICAL NOTE...

Some while ago -- 1999 to be exact -- there arose a rebellion among larger broadcast groups -- those with enough engineers to examine things --against the ATSC broadcast standard.

That rebellion was led by Sinclair Broadcast Group of Baltimore, MD (who have 60+ stations) and more particularly by one fiesty Nat Ostroff, Sinclair's Vice President of Engineering. He ran informal test (some said the term "demonstration" should have been used since scant science was in strict use) in Baltimore and attracted enough press, yours truly included, to create a massive schism in broadcasting over the digital transmission standard.

The conclusion that Ostroff was reaching for was that the COFDM transmission system, by then refined in Europe (though with an American heritage), was better for America than the 8-VSB ATSC system, which was created by our own Zenith.

I was the among first to break the story on the Internet after a dinner with Ostroff at the NAB in Las Vegas in April of 1999. I was not convinced of his conclusions but felt that ignoring the story would be unwise for all concerned. You can see the coverage I did by going to:

http://www.ilovehdtv.com/hdtv/cofdmvs8vsb.html

You will see on those pages that it was a bitter contest, with the consumer electronics industry demonizing Sinclair as the evil broadcaster, who because of money woes wanted to delay moving forward with digital television.

Delay they got, costing the movement at least a year, but they also triggered or spiked the motivation for a number of improvements to made for 8-VSB which are showing up in 4th, 5th and 6th generation boxes.

The following story comes to us from TV Business Confidential and truly signals the absolute end to the long and contentious controversy, as Nat Ostroff himself says ATSC is good to go.

This battle was an important one during the critical lift off period of the launch for HDTV and many of the negative effects from that contest still linger. Those doubts and questions need to be put to their final rest in the marketplace.

___________________________________________

DTV RECEIVER TECHNOLOGY MAKES PROGRESS.

The latest-generation digital television receiver technology shows significant improvements that will result in better over-the-air reception of DTV signals with the use of simple indoor antennas, according to Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Sinclair's findings, culled from informal field testing of fifth-generation prototype receivers, are noteworthy because the company has been vocal in the past about earlier generations of DTV receivers.

"We are pleased to see the progress made by Zenith that will allow consumers to easily receive free digital television broadcasts in their homes. Broadcasters and consumers can now look forward to a robust DTV service delivered over-the-air without having to subscribe to cable or satellite," noted Sinclair Broadcast Group Vice President of New Technology Nat Ostroff.

"Our concerns that poor indoor reception would hinder the DTV transition have now been addressed," Ostroff said. "With indoor reception now more viable, broadcasters need to examine their current transmitting power levels to assure that they deliver an adequate signal inside the home, and consumer electronics manufacturers need to ensure that breakthrough technologies such as this are available in the marketplace."
___________________________________________

Bill787,

Thanks for the ompliment. I've always wondered what a C-band signal would look like on today's tvs. What kind of setup are you watching it on?

Doug,

Have we arrived already at these new and improved standards in dtv reception and broadcast, or is that coming down the road? I'm not sure what generation of equipment is being sold now.

I've got a Benq PB6100 front projector coming my way within the next couple of weeks. This is an SVGA DLP projector(800 x 600 resolution), 1500 lumens in bright mode, 2000:1 contrast ratio, 3x color wheel with 4 segments. I already have a 100" diag. 4:3 screen in place. Does anybody here have this pj? I know that dvds will look great, but do you think that HDTV will suck on this one since it will have to be scaled down to 480p? I can send it back it it doesn't do the trick. When I can afford it, I would love to get a nicer pj that can do atleast 720p, and can handle dvi, with nice colors and killer CR in a 16:9 format.

jedi35,

From the article, it sounds like Sinclair has been testing prototypes of new receivers that are in the works and headed to the market shortly. But I don't have any more specifics, rather than that hopefully enlightened, not-too-optimistic reading between the lines.

On the Benq, I suspect that you'll be pretty pleased, though you'll no doubt wrestle with more powerful idea that it could be better. At one of our offline forum meetings at John Kotches house back in November, someone brought along an InFocus X1 and it was damn impressive for an 800x600 display. I wasn't able to stay for the complete runthrough, but the DVHS of Moulin Rouge looked pretty delicious, the occasional rainbow artifact notwithstanding.

Let us know your thoughts once you've had the Benq for a while.

jedi35--
I'm watching my 12 foot dish on a Sony Direct View KV-34XBR800. This is not very big, but is full 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. C-Band satellites are spaced every two degrees of arc up there (it's CROWDED) and although 6 or 7 feet can gather adequate signal in the midwest 12 foot is the minimum to avoid adjacent satellite interference. The bigger the dish, the tighter the focus. I pay for subscription programming like everyone else. The stunning 36MHz analog standard defs are encrypted with VideoCypher II, and digitals (including Hi Defs) use the 4DTV encryption system. I have six different receivers to deal with the multitude of formats up there. Very cool or very stupid depending on POV. Big dishes are definitely a hobbyist's approach.

The first-generation High Def channels are not flawless, with occasional artifacts when there is lots of motion. But the hope is that Charter, Voom, etc. do not add additional processing (like reducing Bit rates) before passing them on. We should all be watching the same High-Def bit stream.

Bill777
Saint Charles

Bill,

I you were watching side by side projected 100" images of C-band and digital satellite signals, which would win out, in your opinion?

Doug,

I've been reading a lot about this Benq on this forum, and the more I read, the more excited I get about it. I bought it on a whim, without even knowing much about it(I know that's not smart, but there's always the return policy). I'll be happy to share my results with all of you. I've been without a projector for about a year and I really miss having one. I want to be set for the SW OT boxed set being released in Sept.

Originally posted by jedi35
Bill,

If you were watching side by side projected 100" images of C-band and digital satellite signals, which would win out, in your opinion?
jedi35-- The old-fashioned 36MHz analogs on C-Band are the first-gen feeds for Dish, Direct, and cable companies. It has always been possible for individual big dish owners to subscribe to them. These still include all the primary movie channel feeds, and premium cable stuff like Disney, Nick, Sci-Fi etc. etc. etc. Digital copies of these first gen feeds COULD be perfect, but this is far from the case due to low bit-rates driven by a desire to cram more channels at the expense of quality.

Low bit rate copies on Dish and Direct of the original feeds have lots of drawbacks:
(1) An encoding choice to reduce horizontal resolution (sharpness) to keep bit rates down. This is usually only done on the less popular channels.
(2) A quantization of gray scale resulting in loss of texture (faces look bland and pasty). Dark areas actually "solarize" and steps between shades of dark are very obvious.
(3) Motion artifacts. Besides the obvious pixelization in fast moving scenes, there is the dreaded case of someone's full-screen face moving slightly on screen, while the eybrows remain completely frozen. MPEG-2 also does poorly during fade-ins and fade-outs with an annoying crinkly look.

More and more of the first generation distribution of programming is done digitally, but high bit rates ensure equal or better quality to the analog feeds they replace. Big dish owners can subscribe to most of these as well and see them in their full high bit-rate glory. They are unfortunately ALWAYS re-encoded at a lower bit rate before distribution by the middle-men.

The dream for high def is that the digital bit stream from the source will be passed on unchanged all the way to your receiver. I would love to compare Voom's High-Def satellite service with the original feeds, and am hoping for the best.

Bill777
Saint Charles

I finally watched ESPN's SportsCenter in HD today. A couple observations:

1) The constant switching between widescreen and 4x3 [with ugly sidebars] is very irritating. Something needs to be done to pretty that up.

2) I am assuming this is being broadcast in 5.1? Because of that, the audio sound effects in my back speakers pretty much drowns out the actual commentary in the front. Again, pretty irritating.

Glad ESPN is putting an effort forth, but they have some improvements to make imho.

Any other thoughts?


Bruce

Bruce,

It's just my opinion, but I think the sidebars are a big improvement over having 4:3 material stretched. I think the longer you watch, the less irritating the sidebars will be. I've caught three or four SportsCenters since Monday and it appears that on that program at least, ESPN will be using the sidebars as graphic building blocks and then adding other smaller graphic elements at the top and bottom to sort of hide the fact that you're looking at 4:3 content. When this is done well, it looks really good.

There's also been some concern voiced elsewhere (everywhere) online that the graybars they're using will cause burn-in. Personally, I think the odds of that happening are very small, particularly if you've made some attempt to lower the contrast from the factory-default "torch mode."

Personally, I have to give ESPN extra credit for thinking creatively about how to handle 4:3 content during the transitional phase. Just like the regular promos for the launch of HD SportsCenter, ESPN stands out in large part because it's seems proactively engaged in doing HD right, rather than doing it like it's something they've been forced to do.

I suspect that the best is yet to come.

OTOH, I hate the ever-present ticker and believe it's a graphic "clanger" in the same way that a trailer hitch would be on a Ferrarri...

Oh well, can't win them all.

On the sound, I have noticed that the rear speakers are more active on ESPN HD content, but at least in my own set-up they don't seem to be overpowering the fronts. Not to backseat drive, but it might be worth doublechecking your speaker levels with an SPL meter and test disc.

For anyone looking for the HD TIVO -

6th Ave. Electronics (1-877-684-2831) had them this morning - $999 plus 6 cents for shipping. My original source fell through, but now I have one on its way.

Mike

Doug wrote: On the sound, I have noticed that the rear speakers are more active on ESPN HD content, but at least in my own set-up they don't seem to be overpowering the fronts. Not to backseat drive, but it might be worth doublechecking your speaker levels with an SPL meter and test disc.

Yea Doug, I cant wait until my cash flow is actually flowing, so I can get you out and fine tune my system. I have a distinct feeling that my system is not all it can be at this moment.

Thanks for the input !

Bruce

Originally posted by MSloss
For anyone looking for the HD TIVO -

6th Ave. Electronics (1-877-684-2831) had them this morning - $999 plus 6 cents for shipping. My original source fell through, but now I have one on its way.

Mike

Once again, sold out by the time I got there. :mad:

Thanks anyway,

$1000 for HD TIVO? I still don't understand it.

The article in today's Post on HDTV is interesting.

At one point an estimate is given that there are 10 million sets in America and that 2 million of them receive HDTV programming. Can there be this big of a gap?

2 Million watch HDTV or 2 million have access to it? If the latter it must refer to over-the-air (ota) only and that does seem like a big gap.

The article also stated that viewers favorite programs are not yet available in HD, however Oprah and major sporting events are. More misinformation that hinders growth.

Here is the link...

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/Business/B951AF2D97D3E89986256EB000174394?OpenDocument&Headline=Clarity+begins+at+home

I wonder if they took any of Doug's stuff and didn't credit him..

Originally posted by wilkemp
The article also stated that viewers favorite programs are not yet available in HD, however Oprah and major sporting events are. More misinformation that hinders growth.

Let's not forget this piece of misinformation:

Charter's HD tuners are comparable to digital-cable boxes in most customers' homes, but the company plans to launch boxes with digital video recorders this month. Without such equipment, customers can't record HD programming in HD format.


Who here thinks the Moxi box will be rolled out in June?:rolleyes:

Yeah, I agree with Doug. I am pleased to see that ESPNHD is using the sidebars for proper display of 4:3 now. And actually, I think that they now are showing some of the best 4:3 stuff out there because of it. I like the fact they they went with grey, and even put some graphic design into it. Other stations should take an example from them.

It's coming up on a week and my projector still hasn't even left the warehouse, so there's no tracking # they can give me. I'm told that I'll receive it within 14 days. That gives them a little over a week to get it to me. Of course, when I called today, I was told that I was AHEAD of the game, whatever that means.

I think Charter must have used these stats when they ordered the original HD boxes. They so underestimated the demand, that they are still having problems keeping the boxes in stock.

The writer obviously doesn't watch HD or he would know that, except for Fox and ABC, most of the prime time programming is in HD. Hopefully this is soon to change when Fox goes 720p in time for football......hope, hope.

If Charter is charging me for locals like the article says, I'm going to sue.

Where do people get this $hit.

Oh...I forgot....it's the Post Disgrace.

Walt

The article from the Post used the Yankee group for a prediction source. They predicted we would all have fiber optic to our houses by now. Their predictions fueled many of the telecom ventures of the late nineties which all failed. Don't trust them.

The average Joe won't care about HD until the set costs about $300 for a 25 inch model. This will take until about 2010 in my opinion. We will have to wait patiently.

For sure, I’d like to see more accurate information in articles like this. Regardless, articles like this promote the implementation of DT/HDTV, something that has been sorely needed.

The average joe will definitely care when NTSC TV is turned off. He might not be happy, but he will care. This is assuming that cable and satellite also convert over to ATSC in approximately the same time frame as OTA. ???

And where are these 200 non-ATSC stations we still see on Charters HD box coming from? Don't these stations have to broadcast OTA in digital by now? Why isn't more being passed on as ATSC, even if is just upconverted junk?

Originally posted by MSloss
For anyone looking for the HD TIVO -

6th Ave. Electronics (1-877-684-2831) had them this morning - $999 plus 6 cents for shipping. My original source fell through, but now I have one on its way.

Mike

I think I"ll wait until all the first adopters finish beta testing them :rolleyes: and they come down on price. $1000 seems excessive given that the combination of a regular D*Tivo and a HD STB cost less than half that. I'll bet they're $500 or less within a year.

Dean

Originally posted by jedi35
4113,

When you say code module #, is that the 217 code I get when I try to use VOD? If not, please tell me how to find the right number. In my most recent conversation with a Charter rep, I was told that my download started at about 2pm, and they noticed when they tried to check my box that the download was still going on. I'm told that VOD is a lot of info, and it could take up to 24 hours to comlete. I'll check it again tomorrow afternoon and see what happens.

Press <POWER> then <SELECT> within 2 seconds
Press <DOWN> cursor to D08
Press <RIGHT> cursor
What is the "VER" number?

Originally posted by aspec2
I think Charter must have used these stats when they ordered the original HD boxes. They so underestimated the demand, that they are still having problems keeping the boxes in stock.


I can tell you first hand that there is not a shortage of HD boxes.
Many are collecting dust now.

Originally posted by dwette
I think I"ll wait until all the first adopters finish beta testing them :rolleyes: and they come down on price. $1000 seems excessive given that the combination of a regular D*Tivo and a HD STB cost less than half that. I'll bet they're $500 or less within a year.
This might be partly fueled by wishful thinking on my part, but I believe there's a very good chance that we'll see prices close to $500 by the Christmas selling season. I think DirecTV and DISH both will have to be proactive in making HD-DVRs more affordable, particularly as more and more regional cable companies offer HD recorders on a rental basis.

Considering that News Corp., the DirecTV parent, has its own long-time supplier for this type of gear (STBs, DVRs, etc), I think it's reasonable to expect an alternate, cheaper DVR offering from DirecTV soon. I think the fact that DirecTV recently moved to dissolve their equity stake in TiVo reinforces the likelihood of this scenario.

In turn, this will put pressure on TiVo to lower its prices and to introduce new models.

In general, I'm not a big proponent of playing the "waiting game" for new toys, but I think this is one instance where it's likely to pay off.

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
...In general, I'm not a big proponent of playing the "waiting game" for new toys, but I think this is one instance where it's likely to pay off.

Nor am I, but my gut tells me to wait on this one. I have not been able to accept that $1000 is reasonable for this device. I agree with you that we'll see something that makes more sense by XMas.

Dean

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
This might be partly fueled by wishful thinking on my part, but I believe there's a very good chance that we'll see prices close to $500 by the Christmas selling season. I think DirecTV and DISH both will have to be proactive in making HD-DVRs more affordable, particularly as more and more regional cable companies offer HD recorders on a rental basis.



Maybe by then I'll actually see the one I preordered back in March...

:rolleyes:

Man, I just gotta love hackers...

The auction for my 4-year-old Dish Network 2700 receiver just closed on eBay. I paid $49.99 for it at the time.

Selling price: $92!!!!!

Wish I'd bought a hundred of 'em back then....

Originally posted by Robert Simandl
Man, I just gotta love hackers...

The auction for my 4-year-old Dish Network 2700 receiver just closed on eBay. I paid $49.99 for it at the time.

Selling price: $92!!!!!

Wish I'd bought a hundred of 'em back then....

What exactly are they doing with them these days? I have a couple of those receivers lying around that I could make a quick buck on...i guess. :confused:

I suspect they've figured out how to hack the access cards to get programming for free. And it's not limited to Dish Network. My three-year-old Sony HD100 DirecTV HD receiver got $750 back in late February.

Hmm, just realized if the HD100 was three years old, that means the Dish 2700 is at least five years old. Still wish I'd bought a hundred of 'em...

I noticed FOX news Sunday filled the vertical pillars on both sides of my screen with some kind of design just like ESPN HD does. I like it. I shows the programmer realizes there is a large section of the screen for future use. Maybe there is hope.

Yes, even though Fox still doesn't do any actual HD, Fox News Sunday is the most HD-friendly of all the network Sunday morning political talk shows.

Since I'm never home on Sunday mornings (and still don't have the HD Tivo), I've programmed my HTL-HD to turn to 2-1 Sunday mornings at 9AM, and programmed my ReplayTV to do a manual record from the HTL-HD's simultaneous 480i output. The next best thing to an HD Tivo.

4113,

Thanks for the instructions. My code module version is 14.18 on my 6200. Ofcourse, this is the "newer" box that was brought out to me, and VOD is working fine right now. Only, I can't get the I channels, as they are not compatible with the HD box. Although the word from the Charter rep was that I'm not missing anything valuable, I'd like to be the judge of that. Perhaps this feature will be corrected with the Moxi boxes.

Also, I've noticed that I get a distorted picture on the HD box's firewire output when tuned to the digital channels, but things are fine with the HD and analog channels. Any idea what's going on with that? Same results with both boxes.

OK, its mid-June - has anyone heard if the PVR's are out for Charter yet? How about the possibility of any new HD channels soon? Seems kinda slow lately for news from Charter... just wondering [hoping] that something new shows up in my menu grid!

Bruce

I sent an email asking about new hd channels about three weeks ago, and got the usual reply: "we are in negoiations for several hd channels".

So, I have heard nothing new.

The following is from today's Wall Street Journal. In addition to this sidebar story, there was a fairly wide-ranging interview with Jobs, conducted by Walter Mossberg.

____________________________________

Has Jobs Gone Hollywood?

By PUI-WING TAM and SARAH MCBRIDE
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
June 14, 2004; Page B1

Steve Jobs stirred controversy a few years ago with his "Rip, Mix, Burn" advertising campaign, which encouraged consumers to use their computers to copy music. But when it comes to the consumer's ability to copy future generations of the DVD movie format, Mr. Jobs is sending a very different message.

At a recent private meeting with Hollywood studio heads and tech czars like Microsoft Corp.'s Steve Ballmer and Hewlett-Packard Co.'s Carly Fiorina, Mr. Jobs argued that studios shouldn't license their movies for use in the planned "high-definition DVD" format until Hollywood is assured by the tech industry that the discs can't be copied by new DVD burners that will come along. High-definition DVDs are being developed as a successor to the current digital-video-disc format and are expected to be on the market by next year, along with high-definition DVD burners.

Mr. Jobs even suggested that high-definition DVD burners not be bundled with computers at all -- a scenario he said in an interview was "extreme" and one that "I hope we don't have to get to, but it helps to put the issue in perspective." He said it is up to the tech industry to prove to Hollywood that high-definition content can be adequately protected.
____________________________________

Full article (paid subscription required) can be found here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108716583361035841,00.html?mod=todays_us_marketplace

He said it is up to the tech industry to prove to Hollywood that high-definition content can be adequately protected.

these quotes are laughable - it is not the tech industry's job to worry about how a new piece of hardware will affect the movie industry. The movie industry needs to worry about that. Not bundle new dvd burners in computers? Because the movie industry cant seem to figure out their product, all consumers need to suffer? That's utterly ridiculous.

Technology should not slow down because the RIAA and Hollywood are worried that their huge cash-cow empires may suffer. These entertainment industries need to learn how to adapt to stay profitable, not their current stance of 'we arent going to change but everyone else should - we just wanna keep raking in the $$".

I personally hate going to the movie theater. Costs are too high for the movie, snacks, etc. There is always someone sitting near me making too much noise. With my current HDTV/Surround Sound setup, I would rather pay money to download the movie and watch in the comfort of my own house. And its clear that many other people have the same desire. Why is that idea so hard for the entertainment industries to grasp?

These dinosaurs need to adapt or die.

Bruce,

I couldn't agree with you more.

After a couple of decades spent in Corporate America, where hardly a day passed without someone repeating the mind-numbing mantra "embrace change," Hollywood's expectations and stubborness are a major source of alienation.

As Al ("Deadwood") Swearingen might say, "The coc*suckers will either adapt or be fed to the pigs..." :D

Any good DVD player review sites or recommendations for a RPTV DVD player? I need a new one and am looking for a good match for my Hitachi RPTV - which only has 540P and 1080i as display options...

Thanks,
Chris

Chris-

The new Zenith 318 upconverting player is getting a lot of run over on the dvd forum. If I had to buy a new player today I think I'd give it a try.

Chris,

I can't remember which set you have, but if your Hitachi has DVI inputs, it's worth considering the Bravo D1, which does a good job on DVI output but is considered pretty poor on the component side. Also, I worked on a Mitsubishi 65613 last week where the owner had the new, much-discussed Zenith DVB318. I didn't have a chance to go in-depth with this player or do any A-B comparisons, but in the few hours I spent with it I thought it performed nicely, even though I'm not a big proponent of scaling DVDs to 1080i.

There's a dedicated thread on this player here on AVS:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=328403

I've also recently seen the Pioneer DV-59AVi which has an HDMI output that is configurable for 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. FWIW, Samsung also offers a couple of these scaling DVD players, but all the reviews I've seen were lukewarm if not negative.

Depending on how much you're looking to spend, you might also consider one of the low-end scalers and a fairly basic DVD player (or even keeping what you already have). This would allow you to set the DVD player to output 480i sending it via the scaler at 540p or 1080i to the TV, effectively bypassing the Hitachi scaling.

The most economical, quality scaling option that I know of is the Lumagen Vision. A review can be found here:

http://homecentric.com/reviews/censura.php?tsid=1&csid=9883e898ac4831d6b4bed9ac0d456e50&cmd=details&itemid=1

At $1000, the Lumagen may be overkill, but it will also address a number of other issues, including grayscale and gamma adjustments beyond what's available in the Hitachi's service or ISF menus. I think this is covered in good detail in the review.

Another scaler option would be the iScan HD, which lacks some of the features of the Lumagen but has several others that the Vision lacks (for example, comprehensive video/digital audio switching, DVI output, lip-sync compensation and possibly more comprehensive preset scaling options).

One of the benefits of a scaler over a 540p/1080i DVD player is that you could apply the scaling to other non-HD sources apart from your DVD player, such as a TiVo, digital cable, standard-def satellite, etc.

Another great, informative post Doug!! Thanks.

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
Chris,

I can't remember which set you have, but if your Hitachi has DVI inputs, it's worth considering the Bravo D1, which does a good job on DVI output but is considered pretty poor on the component side. Also, I worked on a Mitsubishi 65613 last week where the owner had the new, much-discussed Zenith DVB318. I didn't have a chance to go in-depth with this player or do any A-B comparisons, but in the few hours I spent with it I thought it performed nicely, even though I'm not a big proponent of scaling DVDs to 1080i...

And if you want to go higher end, there's the new Arcam DV79 HDMI DVD-A Player (www.arcam.co.uk). It doesn't do any scaling to HD, but if it's anything like my Arcam DV88+ it's an incredible DVD player. On my system, HD with a Sammy SIR-TS160 is only marginally better than DVDs on video. The Arcams are also some of the best anywhere in terms of audio quality.

Dean

Before I got the HD service I had the interactive channels, they were alright, found the game channel fun especially the poker game, and when I needed to find out a score, instead of waiting for ESPN' ticker I could go to the sports channel and find the info I needed, I do sort of miss it and would like to get it back.

Yep, it's kind of messed up that the HD box software doesn't work with the I channels. Maybe that will be fixed in the new Moxi boxes.

cant wait to actually have a chance to use a Moxi box.....

For those Charter reps monitoring this site, here are my wishlist priorities:D

1. Roll out Moxi boxes - I've heard July, so I'm expecting to be able to call on July 6 (I'll give you the holiday weekend;)) and order one up, without any of the various glitches I've seen discussed in the thread on the PVR board.

2. Add ABC-HD - I don't know whether its you or Sinclair Broadcasting that is holding up negotiations, but if this isn't up by the time Monday Night Football starts, its going to get ugly around here.

3. Add Discovery-HD - I have no clue what the hold-up is here.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.:D

...add TNT-HD to the bottom of that list.

If so many other providers can get TNT-HD up and running, why cant Charter get the deal done?

How about UPN and WB? Surely these can be added with no problems. It's not like these stations have any bargaining power against Charter. It might actually boost their ratings to get on Charter's HD program (maybe Charter can charge UPN & WB and offset the demands ABC is making). I know UPS is not HD yet but the digital feed is better than the regular analog feed on charter.

I'll be willing to bet that Sinclair is the problem getting KDNL-DT on Charter. It was because of Sinclair that St. Louis analog locals took so long to get carried on DirecTV and Dish.

As for WB, I read somewhere that KPLR is actually the highest rated WB affiliate in the country (even over WGN in Chicago). Too bad my own WB watching will take a tumble now that Angel is gone. But even without WB, I would think KPLR would have some bargaining power because of the Cardinal and Blues games they carry.

Except for their live basketball games, TNT-HD is nothing but upconverted and stretched 4x3 according to HDTV magazine. In fact, HDTV Magazine has dropped TNT from their listings until they get some regular (non-special-event) programming in actual HD.

Originally posted by 4113
I can tell you first hand that there is not a shortage of HD boxes.
Many are collecting dust now.

If they add more channels, then they won't be gathering dust. If someone at Charter HQ is bitching about HD boxes gathering dust then they haven't heard of cart before the horse.

Originally posted by GlendaleHDTV
For those Charter reps monitoring this site, here are my wishlist priorities:D

1. Roll out Moxi boxes - I've heard July, so I'm expecting to be able to call on July 6 (I'll give you the holiday weekend;)) and order one up, without any of the various glitches I've seen discussed in the thread on the PVR board.


Don't get too anxious.
"JULY" would typically mean any day up to and including July 31st...
If it's happening, you will hear it from me first.

Originally posted by Dave Beebe
If they add more channels, then they won't be gathering dust. If someone at Charter HQ is bitching about HD boxes gathering dust then they haven't heard of cart before the horse.

THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE!!! LOL

This entire forum was begging for "Just one or two channels" in September 2003. Most got what they asked for.

Just wanted to say hello, I've had my 811 now for about a month, and really enjoy HDTV on my Wega 50" lcd.
Im using the componet cables, but was wondering if I should be using the DVI? and were the best place to get that cable from would be.
I still need to hook up my outside antenna, so I'm only viewing the dish channels.
Also, does any one know if the Tour de france will be broadcast in HDTV?
Thanks all.
Derek

Hey Jim, I know I posted this before, but this is really getting weird.

I've been watching the NBA finals on ABC for the past week on my Zenith HDV420, and EVERY night the same thing happens. The game itself (in high def) appears perfect, but the instant it goes to a commercial (standard def), i get very noticeable frame stuttering. The audio remains fine however. It would seem that some type of bitstream encoding changes between the high def stuff and sd commercials that confuses my HDV420.

Anyone else getting this bizarre anomaly?

Note, this only happens to me on ABC. Other stations do not exhibit this behavior.

Derek,

You'd probably benefit from a switch to DVI. Don't get too hung up about cable quality as it's just carrying digits. You should be able to find the cable you need at BB, CC or UE.

Tour de France in HD is doubtful, first because it's overseas (logistics + cost) and second because it would require a buttload of HD cameras. Check back in a decade (though hopefully it will happen sooner).

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
Derek,

You'd probably benefit from a switch to DVI. Don't get too hung up about cable quality as it's just carrying digits. You should be able to find the cable you need at BB, CC or UE.

Tour de France in HD is doubtful, first because it's overseas (logistics + cost) and second because it would require a buttload of HD cameras. Check back in a decade (though hopefully it will happen sooner).

I'm so anxious for Forumula 1 in HD that I have to go to Indy myself to see the USGP. :D

I expect I have a loooong wait before Speed Channel is HD and they get a HD feed for F1 racing. Bummer.

Dean

From SkyREPORT News:

DISH Disputes FOX Suit on Fees

FOX Sports Networks, backed by media giant and DirecTV parent News Corp., has filed a lawsuit against EchoStar claiming that the satellite TV company owes it a reported $25 million in fees for carrying its 12 regional sports channels.

EchoStar disputed FOX's litigation, suggesting it could be a ploy to target a satellite TV competitor.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times reported the FOX suit, and that Fox is suggesting a $10.3 million payment from EchoStar could be a miscalculation by the satellite TV company of its subscriber base for 2002. EchoStar could owe FOX an additional $25 million if it made the same mistake in 2000 and 2001, the paper said.

EchoStar said it will contest FOX's assertion.

EchoStar spokesperson Steve Caulk said, "We have consistently made the payments due to Fox Sports under our contract. We believe this lawsuit is more about News Corp. - the owner of Fox Sports - trying to unfairly leverage a competitor to their DirecTV division, and we intend to defend vigorously our compliance with the contract."

The Times said FOX has asked in its lawsuit for an explanation from EchoStar or for the company to open its books for examination, a requirement under their contract.

Originally posted by 4113
THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE!!! LOL

This entire forum was begging for "Just one or two channels" in September 2003. Most got what they asked for.

Oh no... the brainwashing has not been fully reversed! First - I highly reject the notion that the whole forum was begging for one or two channels. From day one, the majority of us have stated Charter's success was based on getting locals in HD above and beyond everything else.

Second to that was the need for Charter to stay competitive with other offerings. I struggle to understand why cable companies don't handle this better. They have several very clear advantages over satellite - and fail to utilize them.

Charter needs:
1) All major locals in HD (KDNL, KPLR, KETC)
2) Premium HD content (INHD1, INHD2, Starz, Cinemax)
3) HD PVR
4) HD PPV

1 & 2 are solely at the discretion of Charter's management. Inability to negotiate carraige of a local PBS digital station and KPLR is mindboggling. The struggle with Sinclair could be easily overcome with effort. INHD wants cable coverage - and the premium movie channels should be easily available.

The HD PVR is another joke. Bring 500-1000 of the boxes into your primary markets for development/testing. Quietly allow these boxes out by using someone like 4113 to get the word to technical/committed members such as us. We'd all be glad to pay $5/mo for HD PVR understanding the boxes were in development for the next 3 months. This shows effort, progress, and involves your premium customers.

Preparing for the standard cable response that the rest of us in non-monopolistic industries could never dream of....

Chris

P.S. Forgot to add my main point - Its not September 2003. Its June 2004, over 9 months later.

Ditto, ditto and ditto on what Chris says.

4113, you're a great resource to have here, but you're still far too close to the cable industry to really understand that what seems acceptable from the cablehead point of view comes across as little more than a mindless kick in teeth to cable customers.

The idea that we should all sit still, be quiet and show some patience sounds incredibly disinterested and arrogant to my ears.

Although it's a failed policy to make local phone companies share their infrastructure to foster competition, it seems to me that it's exactly what's needed to get some meaningful competition for cable.

If I were a socialist (and I'm not), my motto would be "Nationalize the Coax!"

I spoke to a Charter csr today and they said July 20 on the DVRs...

Tim

Voom has added yet another HD channel....EquatorHD ch. 122. Its a scenic/travel channel, showing places and cultures, much like DiscoveryHD. Go Voom.

Did anyone catch the 2004 DTV AWards on HDNet a few nights ago? Maybe it was a repeat. I was simply amazed that Voom didn't get nominated very much at all for anything. It probably hasn't been around for long enough. I was amazed that Directv got the best dtv programming on satellite award, or something like that. No one's moving like Voom to give us as much HD content as possible. Voom was nominated in this category, and I can't believe it didn't win. Comcast won the best dtv cable award, and Charter wasn't even nominated.

Voomers, have you noticed that every now and then the software goes a little crazy in the receiver, and funny things start happening like incorrect channel lineups, the inability to change channels, dots in the picture, no signal message that won't go away, etc.? It all gets fixed by unplugging the unit and starting it up again, but it takes awhile to download the program guide again. Kind of a pain. I hope that a future firmware fix will take care of this. Another local Voomer made me aware of this problem.

Does anyone know any local DISHNET providers? As I sit fighting with Charter for more than 30 minutes on a bill that they have screwed up and won't fix, its time to seek out other responsive services.

Any names/numbers would be appreciated.
_______________________________________

EDIT - a little background: I have had Charter TV and Internet for over a year now. About 6 weeks ago a charter salesperson came to my door selling Charter Telephony. After discussing everything we sat down with him and entered into a signed contract for all services at reduced rates. Today I get the bill and a being charged $18+ more than we agreed upon. I have spent the last hour on the phone, talking to 5 different people at Charter. None has solved the problem - this crap has pushed me over the edge.
_______________________________________

Disgusted,

Bruce

Originally posted by abcward
Does anyone know any local DISHNET providers? As I sit fighting with Charter for more than 30 minutes on a bill that they have screwed up and won't fix, its time to seek out other responsive services.

...
I just got something in the mail that SBC is now sellng dish, I'm not sure you'd want to go to another company like that though.
Dug

Glover always talks about DishPlanet.

Chris

I just picked up my new Benq PB6100 dlp projector. It has SVGA resolution(800 x 600), 1500 lumens, and a reported 2000:1 CR. Yes, I know that CR is always overblown. I just opened the box and can watch for awhile tonight, but will be leaving town tomorrow. I'll report next week on how it handles hd(scaled down to 480p), as some of you have requested. The Draper 84" screen is still on the way, but I already have a 100" screen from my last projector. This is kind of cool because I called the retail seller earlier today, wondering why the product hasn't been shipped after almost 2 weeks, and my credit card hadn't been charged yet. I was told that it shipped today. Pleased with that response, I got a tracking # as well. As it turned out, I actually received the pj today. Surprise. Sometimes incompetence can go in your favor!!

Remember, Charter only planned for 12 HD channels and only four are left open. Pick wisely. I want the premiums, Starz and Cinemax for the next two.

So thats it--after four more additions were done??? My vote (at this time) would be abc-hd, discovery hd, starz hd, and tnt hd (assuming their hd content improves).

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
This might be partly fueled by wishful thinking on my part, but I believe there's a very good chance that we'll see prices close to $500 by the Christmas selling season. I think DirecTV and DISH both will have to be proactive in making HD-DVRs more affordable, particularly as more and more regional cable companies offer HD recorders on a rental basis.

Considering that News Corp., the DirecTV parent, has its own long-time supplier for this type of gear (STBs, DVRs, etc), I think it's reasonable to expect an alternate, cheaper DVR offering from DirecTV soon. I think the fact that DirecTV recently moved to dissolve their equity stake in TiVo reinforces the likelihood of this scenario.

In turn, this will put pressure on TiVo to lower its prices and to introduce new models.

In general, I'm not a big proponent of playing the "waiting game" for new toys, but I think this is one instance where it's likely to pay off.

You may be right, but I doubt they wil fall more than $200 by Christmas. I was originally supposed to get one for $850, but my source couldn't deliver. By then, I was so hopped up to have it, I just bit the bullet and paid full price (but at least no sales tax, so that saves about $70!)

Since we just moved into the new house, I was able to convince the wife that this was 1) a moving expense, 2) birthday present, and 3) Father's day present. :D :D :D

BTW, I got it this week and love it so far. I tweaked the attic antenna. I am getting all the digital locals now, even 46!

Time is my biggest challenge right now. I am spending all spare time moving sprinklers and watering sod to keep it alive; unpacking, hanging pictures, etc....... :(

Can't wait to spend some quality time with the TIVO.

Mike

Hey Mike,

I moved into my current house in 1996. There are STILL boxes in my basement I haven't unpacked!

Still no HD Tivo for me. I'm still about 5 or 6 hundred positions down on the Value Electronics preorder list and haven't managed to catch a circuitcity.com window (even though I'm on the mailing list telling me when it's open). VE tells me late this month is when to expect my shipment.

:(

Flipping channels last nite and wound up on the Charter channel, they were touting their HD service then here comes an ad for HBO HD and Cinemax HD. Does anyone in the US have Cinemax HD from Charter I don't even think its listed on their website. How can one company be so out of sync with itself?

I wonder if we started a letter writing campaign if we could make them stop advertising ABCHD and DiscoveryHD in their television adds and on their website. I also wonder if the cost of redoing commercials and website would bump their rump into making the necessary agreements.

Walt

Those of you talking about moving/packing/watering.... I'll be there soon.

Our house in O'Fallon is almost finished. 4 1/2 weeks. The countdown continues.

Has anyone near K & N found a good OTA antenna? I'm in Chesterfield right now and my Silver Sensor in the attic is doing great.

I have to use a towering monstrosity of a yagi over my roof, but it gets the job done for me!

Originally posted by Toeside
Those of you talking about moving/packing/watering.... I'll be there soon.

Our house in O'Fallon is almost finished. 4 1/2 weeks. The countdown continues.


Another HD lover moving out here. What is the attraction to this area? The commute sucks unless you are lucky enough to work here. There aren't too many good jobs near by - they are all in St. Louis county.

We need more electronics stores around here....hmmm..;)

Heh, heh... I work on this side of the river, total commute time (excluding the stop at Hardee's for breakfast): 10 minutes on a BAD day.

Originally posted by Robert Simandl
Heh, heh... I work on this side of the river, total commute time (excluding the stop at Hardee's for breakfast): 10 minutes on a BAD day.

1. Where do you work?
2. Are they hiring?
3. Where to I send a resume?

;)

Mike (an IT guy always looking for a better, closer opportunity!)

Originally posted by Toeside
Those of you talking about moving/packing/watering.... I'll be there soon.

Our house in O'Fallon is almost finished. 4 1/2 weeks. The countdown continues.

Has anyone near K & N found a good OTA antenna? I'm in Chesterfield right now and my Silver Sensor in the attic is doing great.

I'm close to K & N and have a Channel Master yagi from Lowes in the attic with a Radi0 Shack amp. UHF and digitals are great, VHF OK, but ch. 5 has lots of interference. I have a Silver Sensor from my last house in Ballwin, but it didn't get everything and I don't use it now.

Mike

If anyone's interested, I did a rough setup of my new Benq PB6100 dlp projector on a 100" screen and watched for a few hours Wed. night before I left town the next day. I'm so excited that I had to make this post even though I'm still out of town. The pj is quite wonderful!! HD looks glorious, to my surprise. I didn't expect an SVGA pj to look so good. In fact, I believe that it looks a lot better than the XGA pj I sold last summer. I had time to check out my Charter hd box(through the component to vga cable), and even the analog side of cable looked great to me, with the settings right out of the box. I viewed things in economy mode mostly, which was quietest, but will experiment more with the other modes later. Contrast is wonderful, even with my bright walls. HD still had that "I can see every blemish on your face" kind of detailing. Amazing. Could I see rainbows? Yes, and lots of them, all the time. The good news is that I found out that they don't bother me with headaches or anything, and they are just quick flashes. I'll have to see what my guests think. Colors look saturated and correctly balanced to the eye, and if I never get it calibrated(ofcourse I will at some point) I'll be quite happy.

My screen is very large, and I'm sitting too close. I'm back about 10 or 11 feet. I can see screendoor, and I'll play with soft focusing later. Black levels are better than I thought they would be, and I can't wait to test a dark movie like Matrix or something. I don't get to watch it again until I'm back Monday night. Now, I'm really going to be set for the SW dvd box set in September. I also give a report on how OTA and Voom looks, if anyone wants to know.

jedi,

I haven't been able to confirm this myself, but one of my calibrator peers believes viewing distance is a key factor in the frequency of rainbows. He says that the closer you are to a screen of a given size, the more apparent rainbows will be to you.

Of course, rainbows are caused by the color wheel and even optimal viewing distance is unlikely to completely elminate their presence, but apparently it can be a major factor in minimizing them.

I've tried to track down this post so that I could provide a link, but so far haven't been able to find it. I thought I read it elsewhere on AVS. I'll post the link if/when I track it down, but if this is something that you can be flexible on, it might be worth experimenting with different viewing distances for yourself.

Originally posted by BudShark
Oh no... the brainwashing has not been fully reversed!


First, I have to tell you that your sarcastic attitude is not appreciated...

Secondly, The DVR's were tested out west while the HD units were tested here. You would not see both beta tests in one market. It would only lead to more issues that you could b*tch about anyway.

Third, there will never be a day when subscribers are used as testers. There are plenty of qualified testers available within their company.

In no way am I defending Charter or should you consider me brainwashed. I am just telling you how life is in the business. They have obviously failed at many things and I hope it leads to a buyout from Cox, Time Warner or Adelphia... but historically, that just means a new name with the same staff.

Finally, you mentioned "premium" customers... there are no premium customers. In my eyes, you are no more important that the little old lady with the 13" TV with basic service. I too am a fan of this industry, but I don't feel that I have a right to anything because I have thousands of dollars worth of equipment and pay 120.00/ month in services.

Hmm...I guess I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. :)

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
Ditto, ditto and ditto on what Chris says.

4113, you're a great resource to have here, but you're still far too close to the cable industry to really understand that what seems acceptable from the cablehead point of view comes across as little more than a mindless kick in teeth to cable customers.

The idea that we should all sit still, be quiet and show some patience sounds incredibly disinterested and arrogant to my ears.

Although it's a failed policy to make local phone companies share their infrastructure to foster competition, it seems to me that it's exactly what's needed to get some meaningful competition for cable.

If I were a socialist (and I'm not), my motto would be "Nationalize the Coax!"

In the cable industry, it's called overbuilding. Any company has the opportunity to build their own cable plant right next to the existing one. It's been done in Maryland Heights.

4113,

Maybe we've been over this ground before, but I agree and disagree with you about premium customers.

I agree in the sense that everyone who pays Charter for their product deserves the same level of customer service. In a nutshell, the basic service customer with a problem should be treated the same way as a $120/month customer with the same problem.

Where we irretrievably part ways, is when you say the $120/month customer is no more important that the basic service customer.

Sorry, but this is Business 101 -- the $120/month customer is contributing a great deal more to the bottom line than the basic service customer and the ultimate profitability of Charter (or any other company) will be driven by the high-margin customer, not the masses taking the cheapest product available.

If Charter isn't planning its business and services with a major focus on the higher-paying customer, if they aren't trying harder to build loyalty with those customers, if they aren't thinking about ways to exceed the expectations of those customers (yes, to a greater degree than for their basic customers), well then, they'll ultimately deserve to be the roadkill they so often resemble.

4113,

What does
SCTE, NCTI, SBCA I/II
stand for?

Originally posted by redwine
Remember, Charter only planned for 12 HD channels and only four are left open. Pick wisely. I want the premiums, Starz and Cinemax for the next two.

How do you guys always turn the facts around....

There were 12 channels allocated at launch. There is more bandwidth than you could dream of and channels can be added at any time.

Remember my post from June?:

- 3 HDTV program streams in a 6 Mhz MUX
- 14-16 SDTV program streams in a 6 Mhz MUX
- 7 SDTV program streams and two HDTV program stream in a 6 Mhz MUX

But remember, it is a business, so Charter (or any company) is not going to put a bunch of crap out there just because it exists. How much does it cost? What is the ROI? There are many channels overdue, but many that are not worth consideration. Voom can handle those.

Originally posted by oby
So thats it--after four more additions were done???

Ughhh....

My weekly spurt of posts is done...

4113,

I think it is just frustration. We all know there is plenty of bandwidth for the future but we want the future now. Don't let our rantings get to you. We appreciate your insight.

Originally posted by 4113
First, I have to tell you that your sarcastic attitude is not appreciated...

Secondly, The DVR's were tested out west while the HD units were tested here. You would not see both beta tests in one market. It would only lead to more issues that you could b*tch about anyway.


First - you have thicker skin than that - if you didn't you wouldn't be posting here.

Second - your point is wrong. The HD units were not tested here. It was over a year before we saw them. Charter had HD running in 6 markets for a year before they brought it here. And if you say Charter 'tested' them here, and rolled them out for a year somewhere else - their even dumber than I thought. And the HD PVRs have now been 'tested' for over 8 months - again in other markets. And its not out west, its in Wisconsin - assuming we're both talking about the MOXI boxes and market tests, not three guys sitting in a test lab.

Third - (not quoted) - premium customers are premium customers. There is a difference between the lady with a 13" TV and a $30 bill, and someone with all services, Internet, etc. and a $115 bill. The mark-up, benefit, and ability to grow your business is with the premium customers - maybe that is where Charter is making their mistake. Of course you don't treat them differently when they call, but you sure as hell try harder to keep the $115 customer interested, tied to your company, and find ways to move him to $130 customer. The $30 customer ain't moving, until you raise prices.

And as far as ability to add Channels at will as you so directly imply (more bandwidth than you can dream of, etc) - Lets go. Discovery HD? Where's it at? They have a relationship with them and carry in some markets. INHD, INHD2 - they provide their PPV services, get their HD services. Starz, Cinemax - we're paying for their services, get us the HD product. HD PPV - still waiting. Oh wait, thats right - there is no content worth carrying. I've heard that before - with DishNetwork.

As Dug says... business 101. You invest to grow. When the business invests and innovates it will grow. When it values its premium customers, it will grow. When it waits, blames the industry, lags behind competition, and ceases to build relationships it falters. Why doesn't FOX have plans for FoxSports Midwest HD like they do for other markets? The Cardinals have a huge following - and the lock on a major segment of the market. But alas, the segments primary cable carrier is a putz. So they take their marbles and they go play where Comcast, TimeWarner, and others are. And so we have FoxSports southwest HD, and foxsports atlantic coast hd, etc.. and no FoxSports Midwest HD.

Chris

It's off topic, but it was asked...

What's the attraction to O'Fallon? For us, we wanted a new house. We sold our 86 year old house in St. Louis City and looked for areas to build. We considered Fenton, but eventually decided against it. We kept looking. South County wasn't in our budget, so that means most other counties weren't either. We looked at O'Fallon and loved what we saw. It also helps that my wife and I both have friends in the area, and another couple is moving into Montecello West next week.

I work in Earth City, in the Riverport Office park, so the commute won't be too bad. In fact, I have the flexibility to work from home, so I'll consider that too, depending on which one of us takes the kids to daycare.

BTW, I just signed up for Charter internet and telephony services. I still refuse to let go of my DirecTV and DirecTiVos, especially since I have the HD TiVo. :D

Craig

Originally posted by MSloss
1. Where do you work?
2. Are they hiring?
3. Where to I send a resume?

;)

Mike (an IT guy always looking for a better, closer opportunity!)

Mike,

1. Costco Wholesale, right there by the mall.

2. 'fraid not, especially not for IT at the moment. Not enough Costco's here yet to justify local IT people.

3. See answer #2.

Sorry I wasn't a whole lotta help.

Originally posted by 4113

Third, there will never be a day when subscribers are used as testers.



Well 4113,

You're one up on Dish Network then... :D at least if all those horror stories about the 921 are even half true.

Craig (toeside),

You are going to love the local Ofallon politics! There is alot of new ivestment money around here and people taking advantage of it.

Can you get Charter phone and internet without even basic cable? I have the works (and pay for it) but am considering alternatives. I like Charter Pipeline.

I have Charter phone and Pipeline, but use DirecTV for my SD and HD TV.

Did anyone see the satellite ad (I think D*) showing a cable executive making fun of the fact that he is giving a lower quality product for a higher price and NO TiVO (DVR)??? Does D* know something we don't about Charters DVR, or is it just an attempt to take customers from Charter before their DVR comes out? It was the only useful thing I found in the Post-Dispatch (or Disgrace), but that another post on another forum...

As Robert said, yes, I'm getting Pipeline and phone without basic service. The CSR told me the lifted the requirement for basic cable tv service.

What do you mean about O'Fallon politics?

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
4113,

Sorry, but this is Business 101 -- the $120/month customer is contributing a great deal more to the bottom line than the basic service customer and the ultimate profitability of Charter (or any other company) will be driven by the high-margin customer, not the masses taking the cheapest product available.


I have no facts to back this up, yet it would be hard to argue that most charter customers do not subscribe to TOP level programming. The people that do are probably a very small percentage of their customer base. They then make MOST of their money from average joe customer base. Then the ROI would be hard to justify for that small percentage of customers.(Business 101)

Furthermore, the return on investment on this newer technology is something that would be very RISKY to deploy. That is why I believe Charter has waited till now to step up. If they deployed a pvr and HD 3 years ago. Imagine how many boxes would be out of date by now, this technolgy has finally matured enough for the masses. I believe Charter made a smart choice by waiting till a greater percentage of the customer base bought HD ready tv's. Now the infrastructure has been laid (fiber to the subdivisions) this will give them a HUGE opportunity in the coming years. We are just seeing the beginning of what is to come.

Just my 2 cents

Scott

Scott,

Cable television is a mature market. Shareholders expect revenue growth and the only reasonable way to accomplish that is to move customers up to services producing higher revenues and ensuring that those high-revenue customers remain in the fold. Obviously it's important that Charter protect its overall customer base, particularly the average customers who account for a big chunk of overall revenues. But the only way to achieve and maintain long-term revenue growth is by increasing the overall average customer billing.

Also, the issue with Charter isn't about what happened 3 years ago. It's about the fact that Charter, after more than year of delay, has been delivering an incomplete product to HD customers for the better part of the past year. I think a reasonable person would cut them some slack on the difficulty of adding the locals if they would at least communicate about what they are doing to address the issue. But the fact that they say nothing leads to the conclusion that it isn't a priority and there's no change to be expected. And I think that conclusion is reinforced by the continued lack of Discovery HD, especially when it appears in some of their advertising and online promotions.

To conclude that Charter's slow embrace of new products and new technologies is a long-term winning strategy reminds me of the joke about of the 8-year-old girl who gets a huge pile of manure for her birthday. Rather than being upset or disappointed, she starts clapping, laughing and digging through it up to her elbows, secure in her belief that there must be a pony in there somewhere.

Seems like a huge pain in the ass, even if there is a pony in there.

Originally posted by Toeside
As Robert said, yes, I'm getting Pipeline and phone without basic service. The CSR told me the lifted the requirement for basic cable tv service.

What do you mean about O'Fallon politics?

This is not the forum for politics. Suffice it to say the mayor's day job is with McBride & Sons.

Originally posted by StLouisRod
Hey Jim, I know I posted this before, but this is really getting weird.

I've been watching the NBA finals on ABC for the past week on my Zenith HDV420, and EVERY night the same thing happens. The game itself (in high def) appears perfect, but the instant it goes to a commercial (standard def), i get very noticeable frame stuttering. The audio remains fine however. It would seem that some type of bitstream encoding changes between the high def stuff and sd commercials that confuses my HDV420.

Anyone else getting this bizarre anomaly?

Note, this only happens to me on ABC. Other stations do not exhibit this behavior.

I think we talked about this problem last month. I have a Sir TS 360 (DTv) unit that has the same problems. Jim (who is very responsive and has been helpful in trying to figure this out) says that sports are "passed through" but sitcoms, etc are converted. I get the sports programs perfectly, everything else broadcast in HD on ABC has the stuttering. My unscientific opinion is that some STB models/units have problems with 720p.

DTv just sent me another TS360 which has the same problems. But I can switch to a Sir-151 (which I haven't yet sold) and have no problems at all. So it must be that particular model of Samsung STB - and yours and who knows how many others.

Good luck! I'm going to call Dtv again and talk to someone who can send me their Hughes unit; hopefully that will solve my problems.

Skip

Doug,

Thanks for your ideas about rainbows on dlp pjs. Unfortunately, I've chosen a larger screen size than my room can really handle because I like the BIG picture. I left about a foot and a half of space behind the couch for people to be able to walk into my home, and the pj is sitting on a surface right next to this walking alley. I'm kind of stuck where I am, which is about 3 feet further back than where I originally was last year. Perhaps if I owned the house, I could ceiling mount the pj closer, and go with a smaller screen for less rainbows, but I have a plaster ceiling that might get messed up with pj hardware. I've got to think about the landlord and my security deposit. Even now with the 100" screen I'm shooting right between my Martin Logan Quest speakers, and part of the image lands on the inside edge of the speakers. The pj is zoomed in as small as it can go. Is there a way to reduce the size of the image even further with any other settings? Getting ready to head back to St. Louis right now to watch my pj!!

jedi,

It sounds like your flexibility is pretty limited, in terms of reducing the size of the image. Assuming that it's slightly spilling off the sides and/or top and bottom of the screen, you might check for "blanking" controls that would allow you to obstruct part of each edge. Ideally blanking wouldn't be used at all, or only very sparingly, but if you are spilling the image onto your speakers AND off the very edge of the screen, it might be a workable solution, if your BenQ provides that feature.

The calibrator I referred to in the previous post suggested that the ideal rainbow-resistant viewing distance for a DLP is 3x the screen width, though this recommendation was based on a RPTV DLP with a 720x1280 chip.

I've also recently read that there appears to be some scope for acclimatizing to rainbows, to the point where you may see them less over time. I don't have enough long-term exposure to DLP to confirm that. Personally, I can see rainbows fairly easily, but in my limited viewing I don't find them unbearably distracting. I actually find interlaced video more disturbing, because the effect tends to be more persistent. But then I think I'm probably more sensitive to interlacing than the average viewer.

Like any video technology, there are tradeoffs, and with DLPs one of the key tradeoffs is rainbows, at least until the 3-chip models are reasonably priced.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=414070


Release Date: 6/2/2004


TBS and Turner South to Produce Atlanta Braves Home Games in High-Definition


Braves in HD Available on Turner South on June 4th and TBS on June 28th

This June, TBS and Turner South, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.’s 24-hour regional entertainment network, will make an HD feed of Atlanta Braves home games available to eligible affiliate partners and their viewers within the Turner South footprint. High-definition telecasts of Turner South produced games will begin on June 4th, the network’s first 2004 regular season game, as the Atlanta Braves host the Philadelphia Phillies, at 7:30 p.m. ET. On June 28th, the first TBS produced games in HD will air throughout the southeast when the Florida Marlins head to Turner Field to take on the Braves at 7:30 p.m.

“We are excited to work with our affiliate partners to embrace this new technology and offer Braves fans in six southeastern states the ability to see every detail from the stitching on the uniforms to the blades of grass on the field, as well as hear every crack of the bat with the enhanced surround sound of HD,” said David Levy, Turner Sports president.

The Braves in HD will be a 1080i high-definition simulcast feed of the Braves home games that air on Turner South and on TBS within the Turner South footprint. The actual games will be native HD, presented in a 16:9 full-screen format with Dolby Digital 5.1© surround sound and with a picture that is up to six times sharper than a standard definition broadcast. Turner South’s footprint includes Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and regions of North Carolina.

Fans will still be able to hear the familiar veteran voices of Skip Caray, Pete Van Wieren, Joe Simpson and Don Sutton during TBS’ and Turner South’s HD Braves telecasts. The 2004 season marks Caray’s and Van Wieren’s 29th consecutive year calling the action in the Braves telecast booth. Analyst Sutton, a Hall of Fame Major League pitcher, is currently in his 16th season, while Simpson, a former Major League outfielder and first baseman, is in his 13th season as an analyst.

Turner Sports, Inc. presents some of the best and most popular sporting events worldwide and is a leader in televised sports programming. With events airing on three networks - TBS, TNT and Turner South - Turner Sports’ line-up includes the NBA, NASCAR and NASCAR.com, Major League Baseball, Atlanta Thrashers hockey, Atlanta Hawks basketball, college football, professional golf and PGA.com.

TBS is television’s “very funny” network, serving as home to such hot contemporary comedies as Seinfeld and Friends, with Sex and the City, Everybody Loves Raymond and Yes, Dear joining the line-up this summer; high-profile original reality series, such as the upcoming Outback Jack and Gilligan’s Island; blockbuster movies; hosted movie showcases; and action-packed sports from the worlds of Major League Baseball and Pac 10 and Big 12 college football.

Turner South, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.’s 24-hour regional entertainment network, presents a mix of original programming, movies, regional news and sports to cable and DBS affiliates in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and regions of North Carolina. The multiple Emmy-winning network also offers games from the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Hawks and is the official home of the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers. For more information, access the Web site at turnersouth.com.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and the leading provider of programming for the basic cable industry




So, who will be the first to carry? E*/D* or VOOM?
I don't think Charter will be in the running.

4113,
Will Charter need to add another HD Server to expand beyond the current 12 Ch limit? Also, so you know if any of the current frequencies are currently carrying 3 HD Channels? I have seen many posts on Macro/Microblocking when more than 2 HD Channels are squeezed into 1 slot of bandwidth.

Thanks

Dave

Is there a TBS-HD? To be honest I really don't have a craving for Matlock in HD. I also don't care about the Braves in HD. Are we in the Turner South footprint? I never liked grits.

There's not a satellite/cable feed of TBS-HD, though there probably is a WTBS-DT HD feed over the air in Atlanta. And we're too far north for Turner South.

on that note...i wonder when Fox Sports Midwest will get HD going so we can catch Cardinals and Blues games in HD?

I wouldn't hold your breath.....If they happen to get it soon, then it will be a while before Charter offers it

I think Charter is the logical driver of FOX Sports Midwest going HD, because they are clearly in the best position to use it as a way to increase subscriptions from new customers, or at least drive upgrades from existing customers.

Of course, DirecTV is effectively a sister company of FOX, so they would likely be quick to embrace it, too, but the net benefit from the addition of any single FOX regional sports HD channel is going to be much smaller overall for a satellite company, whether its DTV, DISH or Voom.

Getting all of the regional sports channels up on DirecTV would obviously be highly beneficial in the aggregate, but it would also mean a doubling or tripling (or more) in short order the total bandwidth DirecTV is allocating to HD content.

It seems to me that this local leverage is where cable potentially holds a huge hammer over satellite for HD distribution. But I don't really expect that fact to change the way Charter approaches HD distribution in the near term.

My guess is that we won't see HD Cardinals until at least we hear "Play Ball" in the new ballpark...

By the way, one opportunity to see the Cardinals in HD will be the Sunday Night Game on ESPN-HD on the evening before this year's All-Star Break.

I believe that this was originally scheduled as a day game, but has been shifted to a 7 p.m. start at ESPN's request.

Here's a radical thought. With the new ball park going up, do you suppose it will be outfitted with HD from the start? Seems like the perfect opportunity to do so.

Being the Chicagoland ex-pat that I am, I'm looking forward to the 7/4 and 7/11 Sunday night ESPN broadcasts.... :D

Cheers,

most if not all new stadiums are pre wired for HDTV

I wonder what dictates when a particular Fox Sports Net (like Arizona), goes HD. I went to the site, and there seem to be about 6 "nets" that have gone HD. Fox Sports Midwest, of course, is not one of them. Does the "net" go HD, and hope the cable company picks them up--or does the "net" get an agreement from the cable company to pick up the HD, before getting it. I'm not sure.

I have it on good authority that the team video facilities will also be completely overhauled to HD when the move to the new stadium occurs. There's basically no further investment being made in that sort of infrastructure in the current ballpark.

I suspect that FOX and/or KPLR would probably take a similar approach in terms of setting things up for routine HD broadcasts.

For that matter, the no-further-investment philosophy seems to be applied to the entire stadium, such as the outfield wall padding and for paint and drainage damage throughout the park. Even in standard-definition, you can clearly see that things are going downhill at a rapid rate and it's sure to be extremely shabby looking by the end of the 2005 season.

Now might be a good time to start planting kudzu. Where's Bill Veeck (or his successors) when we really need him? :(

Doug, I did try walking down the hallway and discovered that rainbows did decrease a bit on my pj, but they are still there and quite noticeable to me. Still no headaches or any thing, so I am lucky. I think the main problem is that my color wheel speed is only 3x. I've seen other dlps with faster ones, and at closer range, and didn't see rainbows. I'll live with this one for awhile.

I'll have to say again how fantastic HD looks on this pj. It's hard to believe that it betters every aspect of my former xga lcd. These images are just as good or better than what I'd expect to see in a cinema. I wonder what calibration will do.

While watching Voom on my Pioneer crt rptv, I noticed that when titles and credits scrolled, they waved around on the screen slightly. I thought that it might have something to do with bad geometry in my tv, or maybe a screen protector that was warped in places. I was surprised to see this same effect on my pj. I guess it's not my tv or pj. Would a full calibration fix this?

...before i call Dishnet and get the full force sales pitch, can someone with Dish give me a good indication on what they pay monthly? I'm looking for basically all the 'normal' channels, HD service, 1 pvr, most or all of the premium movie channels and locals. 3 televisions total need axx to the dish.

Any clue if I could get that at/around what I pay for Charter currently? [around $80 for charter cable].

Thanks Bruce

jedi,

By all means, let's definitely find out how much better it can look with calibration. You call me, I'm there... :D

But seriously, you should probably reserve final judgment on picture quality until you've reached at least the 100-hour mark on the bulb. These bulbs undergo a fairly obvious spectral shift once they're broken in (typically 50-75 hours).

The good news is that the bulbs are then very stable from that point on until it's time for replacement. However, OOTB DLPs and other digital displays are set up from the factory to look good when the bulb is new; there's no completely reliable way to predict how much they'll shift after break-in (though they tend to go more blue).

On your titles problem, it sounds like it's more likely to be an issue related to your electricity. Of course, it's impossible to diagnose something like that without seeing it in person. If you had mentioned this only about your RPTV, I would agree that bad geometry was a prime candidate as the culprit; but the fact that you're seeing the same thing (or something similar?) on your projector would indicate something the two displays share in common, and power is probably the place to start looking.

I'm not an expert in this area, but here's some good reading that I've found helpful in the past.

http://www.cinemasource.com/articles/pwr_mgmt_intro.pdf

Doug,

Hmmm, the power? I'm feeding the pj just about the best power I can...dedicated line with a super Transparent Power Center plugged into it with 6 or 8 hospital grade outlets. I'll check it out further.

I didn't even think about the fact that my pj isn't even burned in yet. It might be looking its best right now? Oh no. Is it possible that blacks might get better after burn-in? What are some ideas for improving black level when you have a room with bright walls, and a matte finish Dalite 1.0 gain screen? Where might I find a neutral density filter in town?

jedi,

It sounds like you've already given a lot of thought to power, so maybe that's not the problem. But still, it sounds as if it might be something that's common to both your systems. Maybe it's a problem common to a particular source? Do you notice the title problem when you're watching a DVD? Do you see the same thing at the end of a movie on HDNet?

On the bulb, it's not that your projector is going to look awful after the break-in, but rather that it's likely to look different than the way it came from the factory. Any setup done at the factory is going to be based on the pre-break-in state of the bulb, because it's not really practical to try to predict how it will change after break-in.

Also, I don't think absolute black level is the main issue post break-in, though that could be a side effect. The key issue is the fact that the color characteristics of the light the bulb emits will change between the first time you turn it on and after 100 hours or so of use. It's possible that you can adjust the user controls enough to get back to a picture that you're happy with; if not, you might want to consider calibration.

But for now, there's no point in thinking too much about it.

Enjoy!

bruce (abcward) asks:

... before i call Dishnet and get the full force sales pitch, can someone with Dish give me a good indication on what they pay monthly?

My current bill is for $112.94. It includes:

America's Everything Pak 82.99
HD Package: 9.99
Locals: 4.99
Warranty: 4.99
Add'l Receiver fees: 14.97

Regards,

Doug,

Guess what. I've changed my power setup and things seemed to have improved with the scrolling letters. My dedicated outlet is at the other end of my room from the pj, as it was installed mainly for the Krell monoblocks, and other audio system components. Now that I'm into home theater, it's only natural that I share this line, so I've had to run long extension cords from the Transparent piece in order to get power to everything. The Transparent strip is plugged directly into the outlet with a fairly short heavy cord. I found that I was actually using 2 different ext. cords on the pj even before it made it to the Power Center strip, so I found a heavy duty cord that was long enough to go all the way from the strip to the pj. Things look good so far. Thanks for the idea.

As I'm budgeting for future things, I'd love to know how much it would cost to have my pj calibrated fully. It only has one vga port through which it handles component video as well, and that's the only port I'm interested in. No dvi. You may PM me if you'd like. Thanks again.

It sounds like projectors can drive you crazy when you are a perfectionist like most of us. Oh well, it is a hobby...go jedi.

Originally posted by SkipD
I think we talked about this problem last month. I have a Sir TS 360 (DTv) unit that has the same problems. Jim (who is very responsive and has been helpful in trying to figure this out) says that sports are "passed through" but sitcoms, etc are converted. I get the sports programs perfectly, everything else broadcast in HD on ABC has the stuttering. My unscientific opinion is that some STB models/units have problems with 720p.

DTv just sent me another TS360 which has the same problems. But I can switch to a Sir-151 (which I haven't yet sold) and have no problems at all. So it must be that particular model of Samsung STB - and yours and who knows how many others.

Good luck! I'm going to call Dtv again and talk to someone who can send me their Hughes unit; hopefully that will solve my problems.

Skip

Hmmm.... so what is different about 720p sitcoms and upconverted standard def material (which stutter), and 720p sports events?!?!? According to Jim, nothing is changed at the station regarding their output of the signal, so it must be the way ABC is mixing the various flavors of 720p source material within the data stream.

Doug,

Tonight I moved the couch back 6 or 7 inches, and was surprised to see a marked improvement in my picture. The screendoor effect and rainbows were less noticeable, things are even more film-like and smooth, and the picture actually looks bigger(that's crazy). My head is now only a few inches away from the pj, but the 6100 is so quiet that it doesn't bother me. I marked where the couch was originally, because now I'll have to move it back and forth to allow people to actually walk into my house. The price we pay for a great picture.

jedi,

I'm pleased to hear that you were able to make some improvement on the wavy titles problem. Would you say the problem's completely eliminated, or do you think there's still an issue there?

On the viewing distance, it's surprising that a relatively small change would make that much difference, but maybe you've moved onto the sweet spot.

What you ideally want to accomplish with viewing distance/screen size is to comfortably fill your normal span of vision, left to right and up and down. The idea here is to make it easier to become immersed in whatever you're watching, because your peripheral vision isn't picking up anything that distracts you from what's happening on screen.

But with DLP you ideally want to avoid the picture filling up more than your normal span of vision, because that will more often require you to move your eyes or head from side to side when the focal point of what's happening on the screen moves away from the center. For example, when you have a scene with two people talking to each other, one on each side of the screen, that will cause your eyes and/or head to shift slightly back and forth as the dialogue proceeds.

It's this eye and/or head movement that triggers the rainbows with DLPs, and that's why locating the ideal viewing distance/screen size for a DLP can be a big factor in reducing them.

I'd love to help you out with the calibration of your projector, after you've gotten it broken in. Here's an online link to my price list (PDF format). Once you've looked it over, drop me a private message if you have any follow-up questions.

http://www.clearlyresolved.com/pricelist.pdf

Thanks Doug!! Question.....when I turn the pj off by hitting the power button on the remote 2 times, the unit goes through a cool down process for a couple of minutes and shuts down. However, there are still some indicator leds that are lit in this standby mode, even though the lamp is off, and these leds don't go off until I hit the main switch on the unit's back panel. There is still a small amount of heat being produced in the unit(not much) during standby mode. Is it better for me to always shut off the main switch so that the bulb gets completely cold, or is it useful to leave it in standby in order to keep the bulb a little warm? Which one protects the bulb life better?

jedi35:

It won't make a difference in terms of overall bulb life. The projector is designed to be in standby mode when not in use.

That's my opinion, probably worth about what you've paid :D

Cheers,

jedi,

I'm not really familiar with the BenQ and what's actually happening when the projector is in standby mode.

But I suspect that John K's correct that it won't impact bulb life one way or the other.

Thanks guys. Oh, and I didn't answer your question, Doug, about the titles. I think that the problem is fixed for good, as I haven't noticed any waving around of letters as they scroll. Way cool!!

Does anybody know if KETC is transmitting at "full" power? Now that I finally got the HD DTivo, the intermittent reception problems I've always had with KETC-DT is more of an issue. I have a rotor so I think I have it pointed about as well as possible. They are further away from me than the other stations as well.

I was having reception problems with my new DB-8 so I called Antennas Direct to ask about an amplifier. The guy, he is local, told me that KETC messes with their power alot. Sometimes it comes in fine for me but most of the time it is not present.

I used to watch KETC-DT quite a lot, but since they switched over to the scheduled national HD feed, it seems like they are locally converting everything to 720p -- and not doing a very good job of it. I really don't understand the switch to 720p, as I believe all PBS programming originates as 1080i. Or has there been some change in direction from PBS?

The other picture quality issue is the multicasting, where they're stealing bits from HD in order to do the two standard-def channels. This definitely softens the picture (a taste of things to come?). For me it makes it difficult to watch PBS, especially when I stop to think how good it SHOULD look...

However, I did catch the Fleetwood Mac concert on Soundstage last week, and at times it looked good and other times it was awful. It's also a bummer that KETC hasn't converted to 5.1 yet. Some other markets have 5.1 sound and there were AVS comments that it was a big plus for the Fleetwood Mac program.

FWIW, there are some good acts coming up on Soundstage over the next couple of months. The weekly show premiers on Thursday night, and it's possible to catch both the East Coast or West Coast editions. They also repeat the program several times during the week, including Saturday evenings.

http://www.pbs.org/wttw/soundstage/

Sorry turls, but I guess this is a long-winded way of saying that I don't tune into KETC enough to say whether there's a signal strength issue, thought I also can't recall it ever being completely down or even dropping in and out.

KETC-DT normally comes in ok for me, but was popping in and out on me badly last night. I live in Fergusen near the airport.

Doug, I have the component to vga adapter that came with my pj connected to a component video switcher that handles 7 or 8 sources(plus analog and digital sound, s-video and composite). It's quite a nice piece, and I can't really see any loss of quality. Today I tried to watch things on my Pioneer hd rptv in order to give the pj bulb a little rest. Since the tv has a vga input, I thought it might be simple enough to just connect the pj adapter directly to the tv's vga input. I've used the vga input before, coming out of my Sammy ota tuners. However, the picture I got was all green, and out of sync. Is this because the tv needs RGBHV via the vga input, and it's not getting it from my video switcher or the adapter? I've noticed that the vga end of it is missing quite a few pins. If I got another adapter that had all 15 pins, would my pj then view the switcher as a pc source, and not component video?

I have Charter coming tomorrow to install an HD receiver. This wil be my first personal experience with HD. I'm in the process of finishing an HT with a Momitsu and Panny 500. I have a question on the connections. I'm using the Momitsu DVI output to my PJ and Charter recommends the same connection for their HD box. Which device should I connect with component?

Thanks,
Kirk

....so, I was at Ultimate Electronics today and was drooling at the setup of the hdtv projector and screen that they have.

I have a couple general questions on this type of setup:

1) Is there a minimum room size that works for something like this? My finished basement is not wide-open but more segmented with smaller rooms. How far back would I need to position a projector, and also, seating?

2) What are decent makes/models of HDTV projectors that won't totally put me in debt?

3) Is ceiling height a real issue? I only have 8 ft ceilings in my basement. I wonder about that, combined with any areas where my children readily play, possibly causing their reflections to obscure the viewing area.

Any suggestions, comments, opinions are welcome.

Thanks, Bruce

If you can live without all of the resolution of HDTV, you'd be surprised how well the Infocus X1 can do with a 1080i signal. I know I was. So were the people at John Kotches' get-together when I brought it over. And the projector is cheap.

jedi,

I suspect that the issue with the Pioneer is that it's expecting a straight RGBHV signal and your adapter is sending a variation of RGB, possibly with the sync on green, instead of separate horiz and vert timing.

Can you check your documentation on the converter and see what type of RGB it defaults to and whether there's any scope for changing it so that you can send your Pioneer what it's expecting to see?

It's possible that the cable is the issue, but I'd start by finding out what RGB flavor your converter is outputting first.

Kirk,

I'd suggest that you'd be best off sending the HD signal to your projector from Charter via DVI.

I'm not familiar with the Momitsu and what sort of resolutions it's capable of outputting, but the key thing (in my opinion) is that the source (DVD) is native 480i, so even though the Momitsui might be line-doubling to 480p or scaling to 720p, 1080i or even the native resolution of your projector, it's still a 480-line source to begin with.

No matter how good the internal or external scaler, you can't create resolution out of thin air -- it's still a 480-line format.

Therefore, you should give the HD signal the highest-quality signal path and allow it to have remain completely digital all the way to the projector.

I must also put in a plug for the Benq PB6100, another great dlp projector(I know because I just got one). It compares very favorably with the X1. Both are good choices, and I really can't even tell that some resolution is missing when I watch hd. Amazing. The 6100 is a bit brighter than the X1, since it's rated at about 1500 lumens in high mode, and has about the same contrast ratio at 2000:1. Of course, once things are properly calibrated, those numbers come way down. Other 6100 owners have posted that the colors seem more saturated, and the bulb fan is quieter. I don't know about this for sure. The X1 has Farougja deinterlacing circuitry, which helps regular tv and other 480i sources look their best, but I've also read that the Benq's internal scaler seems to do just as well. I think it looks terrific. My pj features a 3 year warranty on parts and labor, plus a first year hotswap. Not sure about the X1, but I think you get a year. These 2 pjs really are the best that's out there under a grand, and I think you'd have to spend a lot more to get a significantly better picture. Punch up searches on both and read up. There are plenty of threads that discuss room dimensions, sitting distance, image size, etc. I'm not sure about the X1, but the 6100 is considered a long throw pj, which means that you'll need the pj to be further away from the screen to get the same size pic from a short throw pj. In other words, it works better in larger rooms. PM me if you want to come over and see mine. Happy hunting.

Bruce,

Probably the first thing you would need to decide is how large you'd like your screen to be, based on a reasonable viewing distance in your room. I discussed screen size/viewing distance here a little bit earlier in the week, so you can scroll back to review that.

Once you decide on screen size and narrow your field of projector candidates, you need to ensure that the throw distance required for each of the projectors you're considering will work in your room.

Of course, if you've already absolutely decided on a projector, you can work the equation the other way around.

I'd suggest you have a browse around www.projectorcentral.com. They have a Projection Calculator where you can specify a projector and screen size and then the calculator will illustrate the throw distance and zoom range that would work for that combination.

An 8-foot ceiling doesn't sound like it's going to be a problem, but you need to check the mounting requirements for each projector beforehand to be sure.

Kirk,

Congratulations on completing your home theater with the HD receiver coming. How do you like the performance of your Panny 500? I've had this projector for several months and I'm very pleased with the picture quality.

However, I've had problems getting the DVI input to produce black level and contrast comparable to the component input using Charter's HD receiver. Regardless of how much I reduce brightness or change other settings (i.e. gamma, contrast, etc.), DVI just doesn't produce the same black level as component. I'll be curious if you experience the same issue once your unit is installed. The DVI picture appears washed out and overly bright when I do an A/B comparison. I'd recommend connecting it with component and DVI at first to see which you prefer and if you observe this issue.

Thanks

Doug,

When you say converter, are you talking about the inner circuitry of my tv or the component switcher box that's feeding it through an adapter cable? I still have the manual for the tv, but will have to hunt a little to find it.

jedi,

Again, it's difficult for me to say what's happening without being there to see it and to look at your projector documentation. But here's a possible explanation.

I suspect that the adaptor that came with your projector isn't actually doing any sort of format (component-to-RGB) conversion, but rather it's taking the standard three-cable component video signal input and sending it as component video over the VGA-style connector. So, even though we tend to associate a 15-pin VGA-style connection with an RGB signal, it's likely that it's just a component video signal that is being delivered over the 15-pin port.

If I'm right about the VGA connector carrying a component video signal, when you connect to your Pioneer, where the Pioneer RGB port is expecting a green video signal, it's actually receiving the luminance (black & white) portion of the component video signal. That would probably explain why the picture has a strong green tint. The lack of sync might also be explained by way component video handles sync versus what your Pioneer is expecting.

In short, it sounds like you don't have an RGB signal, so you're not going to be able to connect from your switcher to the Pioneer's RGB input.

Originally posted by Andrew Sabin
... I've had problems getting the DVI input to produce black level and contrast comparable to the component input using Charter's HD receiver....

Ditto, but with DVI out on my Samsung SIRTS160 D*/ATSC STB going to a Sammy DLP.

I switched from the DVI cable to a Transparent component cable and get much better results. It also looks sigificantly better with SD content. Also the TS160 crops the sides of 4:3 SD content with DVI and doesn't with component. So even though I have DVI in on my DLP, I don't use it and am very pleased with component video.

Great explanation Doug. I think you are exactly right on all counts. That's why my pj is able to recognize the signals coming in through the vga adapter as component, and not pc. Benq provided a seperate vga cable with all 15 pins for pc signals. I expect to soon purchase a better quality component to vga cable. Is it true that all cables of this type must have the lesser number of pins in order to work correctly and be labled as component video by my pj, or is it a case where having all 15 pins doesn't matter because they aren't all being used?

Component video carries sync on the Y channel, which happens to be G in an RGB signal :)

It sounds like there's a mismatch with DVI, where the projector is expecting video level (16-235) and the component is sending PC level (0-255) or vice versa.

Cheers,

It sounds like there's a mismatch with DVI, where the projector is expecting video level (16-235) and the component is sending PC level (0-255) or vice versa.

John,

That sounds like my problem...I think it's the vice versa--the projector is expecting video level and the DVI is sending PC level. Is it possible to correct this issue?

Thanks

Andrew,

Check the source device and see if there's a setting for PC or TV/Video. It could also be labeled 0 IRE (PC) or 7.5 IRE (Video).

Cheers,

John,

The source device is the Charter HD receiver (Motorolla DCT-5100), and to my knowledge doesn't have a PC or video/TV setting. I've checked the service menu and apparently no option exists.

Thanks

I don't know if this had been shown previously, but I just caught the second half of "Highlights of the 2004 HDTV Summit" panel discussion on HDNet.

The portion I saw included an interesting -- though not terribly productive -- dialogue between spokesmen for the National Association of Broadcasters and (I think) the National Cable Telecommunications Association about why there isn't more cable carriage of local digital and HD programming.

If you're a big fan of "The Anatomy Dance" (one part finger-pointing, and part butt-covering), it's "can't miss" television...

I checked on TitanTV and it doesn't show this program to be scheduled anytime in the next week, but I thought it might be worth trying to see (or record) the next time it airs.

Doug:

I saw the presentation at the CEA on HDNet. THe cable rep. said some interesting things. Paraphrasing, here is the basic gist of the conversation as I understood it...

1. No cable company charges for HD that is OTA as he understands it (Opps...don't I pay for KMOV, KSDK, and KTVI with Charter????)
2. The cable companies will gladly carry local HD (not DTV, but just HD) stations for free. They should not, however, be forced to carry all DTV, including what some call their weather camera.

All I know is the HD is definitely costing me more that "Free" on Charter. If I get rid of the HD tier ($3/month), do I then lose my locals?

rbkb:

If you get rid of HD tier, you keep the locals. You do have to 'pay' for the HD box, but thats it.

Chris

1. That's about the point where I tuned in, so not exactly sure the cable guy said this. I did get the impression that he was making that point, but not sure that he actually came out and said it.

2. I think the NCTA guy said that they were happy to carry digital OTA stations that were offering HD or "compelling" digital TV content. As a general point he said cable carriers were resisting carrying digital stations that merely duplicated the analog content without any HD. But the NAB guy claimed that the FCC requires that the OTA stations simulcast 75% of their analog broadcasts, which limits the scope for unique (non-HD) digital content. (Of course, that 25% works out to 6 hours per day, so that's not exactly an ironclad defense.)

The cable spokesman definitely took aim at the lame simulcast channels, singling out ABC in Fresno for pointing a camera out the studio window and calling it a "weather channel."

The cable spokesman also said that he felt that broadcasters who expect to be paid for their digital carriage are acting against the spirit of FCC requests that broadcasters and cable companies work together to accelerate the transition.

Lots and lots of "he said, she said," but still interesting in an odd sort of way...

Charter is still sticking by the first of July for HD DVR. I noted that its only a week away... and the CSR seemed surprised, but said they are still being told first week of July.

Chris

Any word yet on Discovery HD?

Originally posted by BudShark
Charter is still sticking by the first of July for HD DVR. I noted that its only a week away... and the CSR seemed surprised, but said they are still being told first week of July.

Chris

Yea, i was going to ask the same thing today - its almost July, when exactly will we be able to get these?

Also, does anyone know how the pricing will break out with these? I understand they are $9.99 a month, but will these boxes replace our HD receivers? If so, that means there is $3 off of our current bill, so wouldnt that make the price increase only $6.99? Correct me please if I am confused.

Thanks
Bruce

Is anyone experiencing serious issues with sound delay on Fox 2-1? I am getting a 89-93 constant signal strength, but the audio is way off (it wasn't like this just a few weeks ago). Just curious if I am the only one or if this is a Fox issue (30-1 comes in fine BTW). This is on a HR10-250 with a Zenith SS and within 8 miles of the tower.

Thanks!

Doug, can you offer advice with this problem?

Thanks to anyone who can give any convergence information. I have posted in other forums buy not received a lot of information.

I had my Sony 57WV700 RPTV fixed for flicker a couple of months back. They replace all three CRT's and now my convergence is drifting. Red seams to be the main drifter but Blue does move also. I had a repair man come back three times now. He has replaced the red CRT again and the "DU" board

For example here is what is happening:
I can turn on the TV and the Red will be to the left of center (see "first" photo). After a couple of hours it moves to center, then a couple of hours after that it moves right of center. (see "second" photo)
What I have to do is converge the TV at about 2-3 hours after warm up because if I do it too soon after turn-on (30min to 1hr) after a few hours it will be WAY right of center because it seams to be in CONSTANT MOTION. The room is set at a constant 76 degrees and no hot or cold air blowing on the TV.

How does other people’s convergence behave? I’ve talked to someone else that said they only adjust every 6 months with no movement. Also it's my understanding that after the TV warms up (30min to 1hr) It should not move at all.

In the photos blue seams to overpower the image. It does not look quite that way to the naked eye. Red is my main concern with these photos.

http://www.cascocorp.com/dws/first.jpg

http://www.cascocorp.com/dws/second.jpg

usersrdum,

As you note, convergence is always going to be pretty unstable during the first 30 minutes after turning your set on (though an hour is "better" timeframe to be on the safe side).

Likewise, it's not unusual for convergence to drift more readily on new CRTs for the first month or two of operation (50 to 100 hours) and then the shift becomes smaller and smaller until it's no longer an everyday issue. However, it sounds like what's happening with your set is beyond that sort of break-in window for the replaced CRTs, and even then it sounds to be considerably more acute than what typically occurs during break-in.

Also, looking at your pictures, it appears that the focus is quite soft. Of course, it's very difficult (if not foolish) to try to evaluate this sort of problem on the basis of web-hosted digital photos, but it is another issue that maybe should be considered as a part or a byproduct of the convergence drift issue. Naturally a misconverged picture is going to have soft focus, so you really need to look at the individual CRTs in isolation to get a definitive view of what's going on there. Have you tried isolating the individual CRTs to see if the focus looks soft on one or more of them. This can be done by manually covering them up, or via the service menu.

(usersrdum, if you'd like to check into this particular aspect further, call me and I can talk you through the process).

Apart from that, I'm not sure what to tell you. I've had two other Sony customers who ended up with the "flickering" problem, and in both cases they were never satisfied with the service work (CC Bell) and ultimately demanded (and received, after Sony signed off on it) a replacement for their sets.

At the risk of painting with a too-broad brush, warranty service is the "dirty little secret" of the consumer electronic business. Manufacturers have progressively reduced the amount they pay service companies to handle warranty service and this has resulted in service staffs that are undertrained and underequipped. Speaking generally, unless it's something very basic the chances of a service tech being able to fix a given problem is less than 50-50.

Also, understand that my point is not to bash the CC Bell techs. I've run into these guys a couple of times in the field, and they seem genuinely interested and conscientious; the problem is a lack of sufficient training and tools.

My opinion (and my opinion only) the chances of finding a service company that is capable of doing a competent job of CRT replacement is exceedingly small. That's not to say that capable service techs and companies don't exist, but the fact is they are becoming an endangered species (Hey, where's the Sierra Club when we really need them?)

On the other hand, I know there are extremely knowledgable and capable service techs out there, because I've become acquainted with several via the ISF. A lot of the best techs also work as ISF calibrators (Chuck Williams in the DC area, Richard Fischer in Atlanta, Mr. Bob in the Bay Area).

Unfortunately, I'm only qualified as a calibrator, not as a service tech. In the past I've actually posted all-points-bulletins here and elsewhere in hope of finding a local, accomplished service technician, because I often get calibration queries where the customer needs some sort of reasonably high-level service done before a calibration can be performed.

I'd love to find someone in the St. Louis area that I could recommend without hesitation for these types of repairs, but so far I've come up empty in my search. Again, if anyone knows someone they think might be a candidate, please let me know.

usersrdum, I'm sorry that I can't give you the sort of help that you're looking for here. My suggestion is that you go back to whoever sold you the set and explain that the repair work isn't to your satisfaction and that if it can't be returned to it's original, out-of-the-box condition, you want to have the set replaced. I think defining your expectations in terms of "returning the TV to its original condition" is essential for getting the retailer and/or manufacturer to agree to replacement.

If there's something more that I can do for you, let me know or give me a call. I'm happy to help in any way I can.

Originally posted by BudShark
Charter is still sticking by the first of July for HD DVR. I noted that its only a week away... and the CSR seemed surprised, but said they are still being told first week of July.

Chris

Just called Charter also and the CSR told me the second week of July. That's when the fun began... he then proceeded to tell me that there really aren't new units. The units we have already have hard drives in them, they just didn't tell us. So give them a call in mid-July and they will "turn it on".

Please.

Originally posted by bamjam
Just called Charter also and the CSR told me the second week of July. That's when the fun began... he then proceeded to tell me that there really aren't new units. The units we have already have hard drives in them, they just didn't tell us. So give them a call in mid-July and they will "turn it on".

Please.


Does this mean that there is also a second HDTV tuner that can be "turned-on"???

My DCT-5100 only seems to have one tuner.

no, it means that yet another CSR has no idea what is going on....

Doug,
Thank you so much for responding to my post. Like I mentioned, I've posted in many different forums and yours by far is the most responsive/thorough post I've received.

CC Bell is the company that replaced the CRT's. I was not happy with the original technician that came out and asked for another technician for the last few trips. Unfortunately he is not much better.

Can you describe what you mean by seeing softness? Is the softness that Blue that is bleeding over both sides of the white cross?

I've been working with Sony and CC Bell on this issue since my TV is less than 1 year old. I have not contacted Ultimate Electronics (Which I have an extended warranty). When should I be able to Demand from Sony that I want a new TV? I've had CC Bell out to my house 3 times to fix this problem and that does not include the 1 time they came out to replace the 3 CRT's.

Thanks again

usersrdum,

Since this is off-topic and my reply is long (even for me), I'm responding to you via private message.

Actually those of us with the newer units (6208s) do have hard drives in them - however, Charter in the past has said they won't be turning these on. Their supposed to be coming up with the MOXI units which have been in test for a while now. If they just turn on the 6208s, it would be the same as the DishNetwork PVR vs Tivo... much reduced functionality - but still recording, so its progress.

Getting facts from Charter is nearly impossible.

Chris

ok, so I have a question. unfortunately my apartment building is going to be closing so in the effort to save some money to buy a house I'm going to have to move back in with the rents and my dream of a DLP is dead for the time being.

now, my parents have a HDTV and charter pipeline. does this mean I can get my locals from charter for just the cost of the box?

mike,

If you are looking for the digital OTA local channels from Charter, you'll only get digital 2, 4 and 5 right now. We are all missing a bunch of hd OTA unless we've purchased an OTA seperate tuner of some kind.

usersrdum,

I've had plenty of experience with various Sony rptvs(atleast 3) and CC Bell service. The only guy there who did decent( in fact great) work with convergence errors was someone named Mark, who stuttered a little when he talked. I always asked for him. Mark did well with working on older convergence boards that had pots that needed to be turned delicately, and compensation was required in another part of the picture. It was an awful design by Sony, and I know that they since gone with more updated digital boards. Anyone who could do a good job of getting good alignment all over the screen using this older system deserves respect. Sony replaced one of my sets with a brand new one, even though it was well out of warranty. I did have a severe case with lots of history before they agreed to it, and I payed a bit extra to get an XBR model for the replacement. I don't now if Mark still works there or not, or if he was the one who worked on yours.

Not that this helps you, but my Pioneer 53" hd rptv monitor has a wonderful 72-point convergence that is available via the regular user menu system. To date, I haven't really seen anything better. You can just concentrate on one specific part of the picture without screwing with anything else. I've really enjoyed it, and once it's done, it holds forever, it seems. Each screen mode and aspect ratio can be converged seperately.

Doug,

As I asked earlier, if I were to get a better quality vga to component cable, would it feature all 15 pins on the vga end or do they all feature several missing pins? Is my pj able to correctly identify component sources because of fewer pins, and pc sources because of all 15 pins being there and active? Or perhaps all 15 pins could be there in both cases, but the pj knows which ones are active and labels them in each case??

jedi,

I don't think the missing pins is what allows your projector to distinguish between an incoming component or RGB signal, but I could be wrong. I'd need to see the pinout assignments for the component adaptor and the PC connector to be sure, but I would think the way the projector handles different formats is probably based on a variable menu setting for that input.

I had previously tried to track down an online copy of the user manual for your projector to check this, but the BenQ site doesn't make them available.

One other thing you could try is to buy an RGB breakout cable (15-pin VGA-style plug at one end and 5 BNC-style connectors at the other) and substitute it for the cable that came with your projector to see if it actually makes any difference. Note that you'd also need to buy some BNC-to-RCA male adaptors; the best place to find these is Radio Shack, where they sell them for a couple bucks each.

Also, FWIW the newest (and probably final) Pioneer RPTVs still have the 72-point user convergence, but there are now only two adjustment modes, one for standard-definition sources and one for high-definition. The optional SD modes (Cinema Wide, Zoom, etc.) are derived using algorithms for the Full settings. Some minor loss of fine control in this approach, but obviously it makes it much easier to get each of the screen modes looking decent.

Note to usersrdum: I'm assuming that your convergence drift problem is a fault, rather than a poorly implemented feature. My gut feeling is this is a byproduct of the work done to replace your CRTs but obviously I have no way of knowing that for certain. Of course, I'd be happy to make a house call to dig further into this if you think that might be helpful.

If so, drop me an eMail or PM.

Originally posted by jedi35
mike,

If you are looking for the digital OTA local channels from Charter, you'll only get digital 2, 4 and 5 right now. We are all missing a bunch of hd OTA unless we've purchased an OTA seperate tuner of some kind.
hem in each case??

honestly I'm only looking for 2, 4, and 5 for the time being. do you think they'll provide this service?

Doug,

THere's no "probably" about it. The current model of Pioneer CRT RPTVs is the last of them. At CES, Pioneer stated that they are abandoning the CRT RPTV market for something with more growth, and probably higher margin :D

Cheers,

The following is from today's WSJ:

_______________________________________

Britain's BSkyB Offers
A Flat Fee for Satellite TV

LONDON -- Viewers wanting extra TV channels have always paid monthly charges, whether to cable or satellite operators. Now, James Murdoch, son of Rupert and the new head of British Sky Broadcasting PLC, has come up with a new model for selling more than 100 channels without subscription fees, tapping into consumer resistance on both sides of the Atlantic to high TV costs.

This fall, BSkyB plans to offer 116 television channels and 81 radio stations at a flat cost of £150 ($274 or €225) to buy both a satellite dish that will go on the roof and a box on top of the TV set. BSkyB, which is controlled by News Corp., plans no further charges for the yet-unnamed service industry executives dub "Freesat." It offers substantial savings. Typical monthly fees here are £19.50.

Freesat will offer an array of channels -- from CNN to ShopSmart, a shopping channel, the Dating Channel and other entertainment fare, and some sports programming. BSkyB believes, however, that Freesat households will be enticed to upgrade to its paid packages offering additional channels with such extras as premium sports events and recent box-office hits, for charges up to £40 a month.

The experiment will be watched in the U.S., where consumers where consumers increasingly complain about rising monthly cable bills that often start at more than $50.

_______________________________________

The complete story (paid subscription required) can be found here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108836574766848466,00.html?mod=todays_us_marketplace

The past 24 hours were filled with several tweaks to my home theater setup. At about 9pm last night, I moved all of the hd and sd sources as well as my Sony DA5ES receiver from the smaller theater room into the larger living rom area, where the pj and screen already reside. I had been running very long coupled cables to feed the pj room, with great results I might add. However, having everything here in one room so that I could use shorter runs of cables has sent everything through the roof in terms of quality. The sound is huge(three 12" woofers are handling bass!!), and the picture has better clarity, sharpness, color definition, and blacks are better. The picture has more of a 3-D effect, and I don't even see rainbows as often. Some of that might be that I'm slowly beginning to not notice them as often, which is still good. It took 7 hours straight in order to complete all this. The wiring is complicated.

I slept for a few hours, and got up because I was expecting a 10am visit from Zaw of Alpha Tech Electronics. We've been friends for years. He operated on my Martin Logan Quest electrostatic speakers. The goal was to disconnect the woofers' binding posts from the internal crossover networks, so that a very direct path is achieved from my bass amps to the woofers. The upper panels' connectons are as they were, and that's about the only way to handle that. After firing things up for the first time I found myself reaching for the bass level controls on my external crossover, because the increased efficiency provided too much bass, if that's possible. I'll have fun balancing things over the next few days, but the change is a definite improvement for sure!!

We had to lay the speakers down in order to get things done, so when they went back up, I decided to space the speakers a little further apart, since my pj's light path was catching the inside edges. Part of the image showed up on the speakers. While I'd always found this quite distracting, my Quests were setup to sound their best in that location. Now, I can see a full 100" image no problem, but the speakers' sound will suffer a little, now that they are closer to the walls(only a few inches though). I do think that all this was a good decision. It's important to be able to enjoy an unblocked image onscreen.

The last tweak I made was to the pj's focus. I like pretty sharp images, so I'd been living with a bit of screendoor. Today I worked with it, and came up with what looks like just the right amount of de-focus to still look good, and blend out screendoor. I'm quite happy now, and feel that I have a whole new home theater. Tweaking, however, is an ongoing hobby, as you all know.

jedi,

Sounds like you have a nice setup. I can't wait to work on my Home Theatre. We close in 21 days. Once the painting is done, I'll work on it. Too bad I'll be living with my Philips Home Theatre in a box and not Martin Logan speakers. :)

Craig

Originally posted by BudShark
Charter is still sticking by the first of July for HD DVR. I noted that its only a week away... and the CSR seemed surprised, but said they are still being told first week of July.

Chris

This information is completely wrong.
As I said before...end of July.

Originally posted by bamjam
Just called Charter also and the CSR told me the second week of July. That's when the fun began... he then proceeded to tell me that there really aren't new units. The units we have already have hard drives in them, they just didn't tell us. So give them a call in mid-July and they will "turn it on".

Please.

Why would anyone here waste their time calling...THEY DON'T KNOW!!!
They have not been told anything officially.

But go ahead and keep calling...tie up more CSR's so people who actually need assistance have to wait longer.

Originally posted by abcward
no, it means that yet another CSR has no idea what is going on....

You all are jumping the gun. Today is June 29th.

Originally posted by BudShark
Actually those of us with the newer units (6208s) do have hard drives in them - however, Charter in the past has said they won't be turning these on. Their supposed to be coming up with the MOXI units which have been in test for a while now. If they just turn on the 6208s, it would be the same as the DishNetwork PVR vs Tivo... much reduced functionality - but still recording, so its progress.

Getting facts from Charter is nearly impossible.

Chris

FACT

Motorola shipped the DCT-6208's because they initially could could not keep up with the demand by the various cable MSO's for the DCT-5100's.

Eventually, they quit manufacturing the 5100's and substituted the 6200's. Charter never had a contract that included the software to run the DVR feature of the 6208 (They were already in contract with MOXI for the BMC-9012) It was Motorola's decision to substitute for the 6208...

Thanks 4113 for keeping this stuff straight!

Scott

Toeside,

Thanks for the nice comments. Yes, the equipment is really nice in my home theater, and I enjoy it beyond measure. But it doesn't have a very professional look to it. Wires are too visible, they aren't organized neatly, and too many of them run along the floor in heavily traveleld areas. The problem is that I live alone, and I can do what the heck I want, so I tend to set things up just so they're functional. I don't have the WAF to contend with. Well, that plus the fact that I'm renting and can't do a lot with cutting into walls to hide cabling and equipment. Actually, I'm quite jealous of guys who own their own homes and can put together nice neat theater rooms.....like you.

Originally posted by jedi35
Actually, I'm quite jealous of guys who own their own homes and can put together nice neat theater rooms.....like you.

No need to be jealous. :) We were in our old house for 4 years, and I rehabbed almost every room. I kept telling my wife that I wanted to get a BIG tv, but the best we could do in that house was 32". The rooms just weren't large enough.

When we sold the house in March, we agreed that the new house had the room for a RPTV, and we decided to jump the gun and buy it right away and use it in my in-laws house--were we've been living. I also bought the HD TiVo.

The downside is I have a nice 55" HDTV with th HD TiVo, but I have the Philips Home Theatre in a box. I've blown my budget on two items (that blasted HD TiVo!!). It'll be a while before the speakers and receiver get upgraded.

I know this is the wrong thread for all this, but speaking of speakers...
I need to find very, very affordable in-ceiling speakers for my rears. I'm pre-wired for it, and there is no way I can mount my current rear speakers to the ceiling. Can anyone make a recommendation? My budget is really, really tight.

Craig

Originally posted by 4113
Why would anyone here waste their time calling...THEY DON'T KNOW!!!
They have not been told anything officially.

But go ahead and keep calling...tie up more CSR's so people who actually need assistance have to wait longer.

Then those busy CSRs should save themselves some time by not fabricating stories. If they have not been told anything, then they should relay that to us.

Besides, how are we supposed to know that they have not been told anything?

The CSRs are there for us.

agreed.

Originally posted by bamjam


The CSRs are there for us.

Say what? :confused:

Toeside,

I don't have any experience with ceiling mounted speakers. But you might want to give my friends at Music for Pleasure in Webster Groves a call. They have eq. at many price levels, and can give you great advice. Do I sound like a commercial? Actually, I did a radio commercial for them awhile back with another buddy who also plays in the St. Louis Symphony.

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
Say what? :confused:

Pretty simple, Doug. If I have a question, I call Charter. That 's why they employ the CSRs, to answer questions about their service, set up appts., etc.

I don't get your confusion.

CSR = Customer Service Representative

bamjam,

Perhaps I should have chosen a more "ironic" emoticon to make my point.

Let me try again, this time with my version of "Modern Life and the Big Lies":

* The cheque is in the mail

* I'm from the government and I'm here to help you

* Charter Customer Service

Do they employ? I've been trying to get a job with them for 2 mos.

I wonder if any CSR's actually read these forums. I must admit when I was a CSR for another unnamed large cable company I used these forums to get a grip on what customers thought of us. It helped me understand things better and I moved up the chain real quick. Not to mention I knew what I was talking about and didn't make things up when I couldn't figure it out. :p

So if anyone can hook me up with a job, let me know.

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
[B

* Charter Customer Service [/B]

Or you might just say it's an oxymoron, like "Miltary Intelligence"

i shudder at the backlash from 4113 after he reads these last few messages....

Bruce
[heading off to find a bombshelter] ;)

Is it safe to say the July 5th Cards/Reds game will be exclusive to ESPN/ESPN-HD therefore no area blackout? I don't see it on the FSN schedule so I'm hopeful.

I think the Monday game is actually being carried on KPLR.

I hope I'm wrong, but I think the blackout will be in force.

Well I just checked the D* guide for Monday and there it is, KPLR is carrying the game. :(

But the Sunday night ESPN-HD game before the All-Star game (Cubs v. Cards) won't be blacked out.

So, there's something to look forward to.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very much looking forward to the Sunday game. I'm just greedy for any opportunity to see the home team in HD.

Originally posted by abcward
i shudder at the backlash from 4113 after he reads these last few messages....

Bruce
[heading off to find a bombshelter] ;)

Didn't he say he lost his job with Charter? Huh?

Originally posted by jedi35
Toeside,

Actually, I did a radio commercial for them awhile back with another buddy who also plays in the St. Louis Symphony.

Plays with the St. Louis Symphony....that explains alot. Jedi you are my new source for hi-fi information. You are a high quality junky whether it is video or audio. Sounds like you need more of that endowment to recognize your dreams.

A new month and a new thread...and here's the link to the last page of the June 2004 thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4003744#post4003744

New St. Louis thread for July starts here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=418500

St Louis Tower Maps

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


Your Right to Erect an Antenna and/or Satellite Dish

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


More Information about Antennas and DTV

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

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


Feedback to St. Louis Stations

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

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

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

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

KTVI Channel 2 contact:
ktvitech@fox2ktvi.com

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

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

KETC Channel 9 contact:
letters@ketc.org

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

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

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

* There are two ways to receive local digital/HD broadcasts in the St. Louis area. The first, and by far simplest, is to subscribe to Charter Cable. Unfortunately, Charter doesn't currently provide all of the available St. Louis digital stations. To date, Charter is only offering KTVI-DT (FOX), KMOV-DT (CBS) and KSDK-DT (NBC).

Until Charter is able to deliver a complete line-up of local digital/HD stations (or if you've already selected satellite for your subscription television service), you'll need some sort of antenna -- either indoor, attic or roof mount.


* Forget most of what you know about receiving traditional analog television via an antenna, as digital broadcasting is for the most part a different animal.

The first and most important thing to know is that digital signals, once received, tend to be highly stable. The sort of artifacts that you may recall about pre-cable antenna reception of local stations isn't all that relevant to digital reception. For example, in the digital realm there's no visual equivalent to the analog artifacts known as "snow," or "ghosting."

And in most cases, a digital signal won't slowly fade in and out as was sometimes the case in fringe analog reception areas. For the most part, with digital broadcasts you either receive the signal and have a near-perfect picture and sound, or you won't get anything at all.

In addition, barring significant topographical or architectural obstacles between your location and the transmission towers, digital signals appear to be more robust in terms of distance they can travel without degradation. While it's the exception rather than the rule, there are instances where digital OTA signals have been received as far as 120 miles from the tower.

So, just because you may have had difficulty with OTA analog signals in the past at your location, that doesn't necessarily mean you won't be able to receive digital OTA signals.


* All of the current St. Louis digital/HD stations are currently broadcasting in the UHF spectrum. The UHF channel assignments for local stations appears below:

26 - KPLR (WB)
31 - KDNL (ABC)
35 - KSDK (NBC)
39 - KETC (PBS)
43 - KTVI (FOX)
47 - WRBU (UPN)
56 - KMOV (CBS)

Today, all St. Louis stations are "simulcasting," with the traditional analog broadcasts via one frequency and the digital/HD broadcasts through another. For example, KMOV sends its analog broadcasts out as VHF channel 4 and then simulataneously sends its digital broadcasts as UHF channel 56.

As the transition to digital broadcasting progresses, there will come a time when the analog broadcasts will be discontinued and stations will only be transmitting digitally. While this switch from analog to digital was originally scheduled to take place in 2006, it's almost certain that the analog shutdown will be deferred for at least a few years.

But when that analog shutdown does occur, it's possible that one or more local stations will decide to shift their digital broadcasts to their longtime analog channel designations. As a purely hypothetical example, after shutting down its analog broadcasts, KMOV might opt to move its digital transmission to VHF channel 4.


* While the signals for digital/HD broadcasts are made up of binary data (zeros and ones), from a viewer perspective, there's nothing special about the antenna required to receive those broadcasts. As noted above, the actual transmission takes place over the UHF spectrum. That means that if you already have an old UHF-capable antenna on your rooftop or in your attic, there's a good chance that it will receive some, and possibly all, of the available local digital broadcasts. The only way to conclusively determine if that older antenna will carry you into the digital age is to test it.

However, it is possible that in order to maximize signal integrity you might need to upgrade the cable run from an existing antenna to your distribution point(s), especially if the antenna uses the flimsy ribbon-type cable connection. If you need to replace the cable for an existing antenna, RG-6 quad-shield coax is recommended. A 1,000-foot roll of RG-6 quad coax can be purchased for around $75, though it is possible to buy smaller quantities at a higher per-foot cost.


* If you're starting from scratch and need to purchase an antenna, there is some merit in selecting a UHF-only antenna. While a combo VHF-UHF antenna would likely work in many situations, a UHF-only antenna will normally give better, more reliable results. If you do have an existing antenna and it isn't capable of pulling in all of the stations in the area, there's a good chance that swapping out for a UHF-only antenna would result in better reception.

Of course, the downside in opting for a UHF-only antenna is that if any of the local stations subsequently decide to shift their digital broadcasts to their old analog channel assignment, a VHF antenna might be required to continue receiving those stations.


* Without officially endorsing one antenna over another, here are some suggestions that should work for most viewers within a 45-mile radius of the St. Louis transmission towers.

But first, bear in mind that antenna reception is one part art and one part science. What works in one location might not work across the street due to topographical or physical obstacles in the signal path at that second location. But that sort of anomaly is rare, and antenna reception is normally achievable with some reasonable effort and determination. But it is important to understand that there are no certainties and the only way to find out what can be received with an antenna in a given location is to test one yourself or arrange for one to be installed by a proven installer.

For outdoor or attic antennae, ChannelMaster sells at least two UHF-only models that you should consider -- the CM4221 (retail $25), which is a 4-bay rated for 45 miles, and the CM4228 (retail $50), which is an 8-bay rated for 60 miles. Winegard has the Prostar 1000 model PR-4400 rated for 45 miles, and the PR-8800 rated for 60 miles. Radio Shack also sells a UHF-only antenna (catalog # 15-2160, $30 retail) that is worth considering.

As a general suggestion, avoid antennas that appear to be working overtime to not look like an antenna. While it's true that traditional antennae are unattractive and a lot of people consider them to be eyesores to be avoided at all cost, the newer streamlined, aerodynamic antennae seem to compromise reception capability in exchange for a more friendly appearance.

For indoor antennas, there are many options here as well, but the current performance leader is the Zenith Silver Sensor (ZHDTV1), which is available at most local Best Buy stores at a cost of around $40. The excellent performance of the Silver Sensor is probably in part due to the fact that Zenith actually designed the technology responsible for the transmission of OTA digital/HD signals, known as 8VSB.

Again, there's no reliable way to predict if an indoor antenna will work in your location, short of buying one and testing it. The good news here is that most of the major retailers have reasonable return policies, so it's unlikely that you'll be out major bucks if it turns out that an indoor antenna isn't up to the job in your home.

A new month, and no Discovery HD on Charter (or abc hd)

Comparison:

Can someone with Dish or DirecTV inform me as to what specific HDTV channels that I am missing by being with Charter? Discovery, ABC, WB...what else?

Gotta get some information collected before coming before the wife to convince her to make the change. Wives dont generally like change.

DiscoveryHD right now would be it on DirecTV. Discovery and TNT on Dish. Don't go with Dish - my requirement to state that because they screwed us over a month ago.

DirecTV has publicly committed to carrying more HD by the end of summer. They also will be carrying FOX-ED(HD) - which we will get because we are in an O&O market. That means you'll get not just the local FOX, but probably the East and West coast feeds of FOX from New York and LA (or at least the New York feed).

It also depends on sports, quality, and standard programming as to whether its worth it or not. I've debated back and forth while we are waiting for the new house to finish, but I have a great deal with Charter for 3 months (which happens to be when we move to the new house).

Current DirecTV deal is 29.99 for 6 months, plus free 3/4 room. If you go to Ultimate or Circuit City you get other deals as well (gift cards, DVD player, etc...). Usually you can 'trade' in the free receiver for a Tivo or HD box discount (usually $69 or $99 off the Tivo or HD respectively).

Chris

So, who will be the first to have a CableCard device. Charter has said they are ready for this standard.

While looking into the possibility of CC ready DVR's (it looks like it will be TV's only for now, with DVR/STB's comming in the future) I came across this article discussing Cable Bandwidth and HDTV:


Bare Bones Basics: HDTV and Bandwidth 101 (http://www.translation-please.com/2004/0426_hdtv.shtml)

Thought some of you might be interested. I still have issues with cramming 3 channels into a 39MB stream. Especially when 1 of those channels may be carrying an action movie and the other is carrying live sports (this seems to be when the compression equipment cannot keep up with the picture detail bandwidth requirements and we end up with Macro Blocking)

From what underestand Charter in St Louis is not currently cramming 3 channels into any of their pipes so we should not be seeing this problem here.

I have seen many complaints from users in MN (Charter) and San Diego (Comcast) where more HD channels are offered and as a result they are using 3HD Channels/256QAM Channel.

Dave

Originally posted by abcward
Comparison:

Can someone with Dish or DirecTV inform me as to what specific HDTV channels that I am missing by being with Charter? Discovery, ABC, WB...what else?

Gotta get some information collected before coming before the wife to convince her to make the change. Wives dont generally like change.

I don't know what Charter is giving you in terms of HD, but here's what I get from DirecTV:

For $10.99/month I get Discovery HD, HDNet, NDNet Movies, and ESPN-HD. Because I have HBO, I also get HBO-HD. The local HD are Over-the-air via a seperate antenna connected to the DirecTV HD receiver (in my case the HD TiVo).

Hopefully Bravo HD, TNT HD are added soon. Not that there's anything I know I want on those channels, but it's HD, so I want it. :)

Craig

Originally posted by DroptheRemote
bamjam,

Perhaps I should have chosen a more "ironic" emoticon to make my point.

Let me try again, this time with my version of "Modern Life and the Big Lies":

* The cheque is in the mail

* I'm from the government and I'm here to help you

* Charter Customer Service

Sorry for the cunfusion, Doug... I thought you were being sarcastic, but I couldn't tell...

redwine,

Man I would just love to get just a small piece of that $80 million endowment that the Taylor family helped the symphony to put in place. To think of the home theater I could setup with that(...wipes drool off keyboard..). Say, when I'm back in town later in August, I'll be playing an outdoor concert under the arch with the symphony if any of you are interested in coming down so we could meet. The concert date is Aug. 20, not sure of the time yet, and I could check on getting tickets or atleast a discount. Let me know.

Originally posted by Toeside
I know this is the wrong thread for all this, but speaking of speakers...
I need to find very, very affordable in-ceiling speakers for my rears. I'm pre-wired for it, and there is no way I can mount my current rear speakers to the ceiling. Can anyone make a recommendation? My budget is really, really tight.

Craig

I just had a pair of Definitive Technology flush ceiling speakers installed in my new house for the rear surrounds (I had the house pre-wired for them). They were $99 each at UE and sound very good to me.

Mike

[sarcasm on] OK, it's July and the Moxi box is not available from Charter!!!!! I'm so friggin' pissed it's not even funny. [sarcasm off]

Seriously though I really hope 4113 is right and the Moxi box is available by the end of the month.

I was on the phone with a CSR in the High Speed Internet devision due to an Internet problem and I asked about the Moxi box. I was told the date was pushed back to August. I hope he was wrong and July is still a possibility.

I was thinking of signing up for NFL Direct Ticket so I could follow Kurt Warner's progress with the Giants, but just realized when we get Fox HD it will probably be WNYW New York -- which I believe carries the Giants games every week!

Or will football on the Fox satellite HD feed be blacked out?