A cursory check shows my 8000HD appears to have recorded the latest episode of "Lost" okay. (I have been watching most programs several days after their broadcast here lately). I have not noticed any programs not being recorded; something I should look our for perhaps. My most common "burp" recently is a program ends up with two recordings... the first one is typically 3 minutes long and a second recording with the remainder of the program. Such an interesting box...

I reported in the 8000HD thread about my box recording entire programs in 3 minute segments. It has returned to normal for now but what a pain deleting them one at a time.

Originally posted by DianaTWCSC
I'll notify our Guide Rep to check on the HD schedule for WOLO this morning. Thanks for the head's up!

(HD or not, I've been glued to Baseball all week and haven't had a chance to check my recordings at all I guess I can get caught up Friday night - Yeah the Evil Empire is defeated!)


Scruffy - you have a SA 8000 HD, correct?

yes, that is correct.

Bruce: did you have Lost scheduled with the All Episodes/First Run Only option?

I've been having intermittent problems with my 8000HD missing recordings, or recording a few minutes then stopping, etc. And these problems have persisted across two seperate boxes from TW.

I'm wondering if therse problems point to some sort of an issue on Scientific American's end.

My old DirecTivo (RIP) never had these sorts of problems. Though it did die after only 2.5 years. :D

Originally posted by scruffy7
Bruce: did you have Lost scheduled with the All Episodes/First Run Only option?
No.
Some programs I have been setting manually to record each time and Lost is one of those. (should set it up as all episodes though). I use the "All Episodes/time slot" for some programs (NCIS, CSI/* and ER ) and "All Episodes/all times" for others (Stargate*, Magnum PI). I currently have but one program setup for "All episodes/First Run Only" and that is Monk which is not being aired right now at all.

Originally posted by tigers
I've been having intermittent problems with my 8000HD missing recordings, or recording a few minutes then stopping, etc. And these problems have persisted across two seperate boxes from TW.

I'm wondering if therse problems point to some sort of an issue on Scientific American's end.

My old DirecTivo (RIP) never had these sorts of problems. Though it did die after only 2.5 years. :D
The 3-minute recording problems have been noted (on both SD and HD DVRs). I suspect it is related to a software issue on a recent upgrade (and yes; our boxes software is written by SA). I reckon it is being worked on as we speak. I have not experienced personally any recent missed recordings; I suggest you notify TWCSC directly if that is happening to you.

I have no doubts your old DirecTivo was relatively bug free. HD DVRs seem to be a different breed; much more complex even with the rather "simplistic" 8000. One might want to compare it to the HD Tivo instead which I believe has also had "teething" problems.

I would think that anyone in management at TWC would love nothing more than to have as many HD channels as all of us want and really I don't think they take pleasure in not having a contract with a channel we want. And I am sure that hearing all the complaints during the MLB playoffs of not having HD wasn't any fun either.

Count me with the others who missed taping lost on the dvr. I too had it set up to tape all episodes first run only. I noticed that it was highlighted red in the guide earlier in the night, but the record light did not come on and when I turned to the channel (about 20 minutes in the broadcast) it was no longer highlighted.

I believe this is an ABCHD (815) specific problem, because I also had CSI NY set up to tape under the same settings and it taped fine.

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/living/9983251.htm


Fox and HDTV. The only downside to the LCS series, at least in Columbia, is that the games were telecast in high definition, and most were unable to see them that way.

Fox affiliate WACH-57 has finally gone high definition. Good timing because the World Series, which begins with Game 1 at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, will be in HD.

The big question is will WACH and Time Warner work out an agreement in time for Saturday’s game. As of Thursday, the two were still negotiating.

The Fox network began broadcasting in high-def in September and did both the ALCS and NLCS in the superior format Part of its HD schedule includes most of the Sunday NFL games on WACH. Fox also will have the Super Bowl in high-def next January.

WACH's Fox signal will air on Time Warner cable channel 820, part of the regular HD cable tier which also includes WIS-NBC (805), WLTX-CBS (810), WOLO-ABC (815), TNT (840) and Discovery (845).

Originally posted by kevinivey

WACH's Fox signal will air on Time Warner cable channel 820, part of the regular HD cable tier which also includes WIS-NBC (805), WLTX-CBS (810), WOLO-ABC (815), TNT (840) and Discovery (845).


I know your quoting Doug Nye, but please don't call it 'the regular HD cable tier'. It is not a tier - tier's require additional subscription and HD Networks are free with HD converter. This rather small word is a VERY BIG deal when it comes to the FCC. I have informed Mr. Nye of this terminology several times.

Thanks -

Have a great weekend - I wish I was watching the World Series in HD as well.

Originally posted by DianaTWCSC
I know your quoting Doug Nye, but please don't call it 'the regular HD cable tier'. It is not a tier - tier's require additional subscription and HD Networks are free with HD converter. This rather small word is a VERY BIG deal when it comes to the FCC. I have informed Mr. Nye of this terminology several times.

Thanks -

Diana,
I wish your CSRs would be as informed...

1 out of the 3 locals decided to pass the 8:00 pm HD network feed, but sadly it's the one not available on TWC.

8pm program on ABC isn't in HD...and the 9pm one is being passed in HD..

8:00 NBC "American Dreams", CBS "Cold Case" ,and FOX "World Series". ABC "extreme home makeover" was not part of my 8:00 reference. Wolo is by far the best at passing the HD feed. There are 5 locals that can pass a HD feed. Sunday 8:00 pm Wis-DT 4.3, Wltx 4.3, and WACH 16.9.

A quick peek at the recording from last night indicates that WIS-DT did manage to switch in time for Law & Order: Criminal Intent at 9:00PM so at least we'll have one of our shows to watch this week.

I'm going to be so happy when Fox actually starts their fall season that I won't even care that I can't see it in HDTV (yet?). Our TV viewing basically consists of either watching or recording (with our DVR from TWC) five shows on Sunday evenings. Then we spread them out over three or four nights. It's amazing how out of six network shows we actually care to watch five of them are all at the same time on Sunday nights and the sixth (Enterprise) isn't even on the air here.

Add me to the list of those with 8000HD problems. Mine did NOT record "lost" last Wednesday night, but fortunately I was able to catch it 10 minutes in and set the recording manually.

Unfortunately, that caused the DVR box to ONLY display the channel being recorded and all other channels were black (but program guide was fine). It was like something was wrong with the second tuner. Rebooting the box had no effect. My wife always records Smallville, but that wouldn't record while Lost was recording. Argh. She had to run up to the bedroom TV to get her Superman fix.

Anyway, we were going out of town for a few days so I set the recording for "Survivor" and took my chances.

Glad we watched the show while we were out of town because it did NOT record as scheduled.

Returned home Saturday morning and the dual-tuner problem was still there. Rebooting the box had no effect. It would not record any of the shows that were in the "list."

Then, setting manual recordings would no longer work, even on the channel being viewed. The channel would turn red in the program guide, but then it would turn back yellow again.

Then, ALL channels went black. Nothing would show up except the program guide. Strangely, the PIP would display, but doing a "swap" would still leave the main channel black.

Called TWC-SC customer service and of course, they recommended rebooting the box, which I did. They sent a "signal" to the box. No effect.

Then, I got those dreaded words, "you'll need to bring in your box for replacement."

Argh. All my recordings were toast.

This is not the first time this has happened with this HD-DVR, and man is it getting frustrating losing all those unwatched recordings. There were some great HD renderings of movies that I enjoy watching anytime, and some HD ones that I hadn't even seen yet, but have now fallen off the Showtime HD rotation. I guess I should watch them more quickly, but isn't it the point of the DVR to watch your shows at your convenience?

Sorry for the vent, but I saw others were having problems with theirs as well. This HD-DVR box is terrific when it's working...but this is the third (4th even? I can't remember) one I'm on since they came out early this year, all having to be replaced. Very frustrating.:mad:

"Dead will tell" was not passed in HD by our local CBS station.
Anybody knows why?

My guess would be that the same switch which wasn't flipped in time for Cold Case at 8:00PM still wasn't flipped at 9:00PM for Dead Will Tell. Sort of like the old SNL sketch..."Generalissimo Francisco Franco is Still Dead!" or whatever it was.

-----Original Message-----
From: Kevin R. Ivey [mailto:kevinivey@sc.rr.com]
Sent: Sunday, October 24, 2004 12:39 PM
To: BARRY AHRENDT
Subject: Wis-DT

Why hasn't Wis-DT broadcast the NBC digital feed for the last 4 races?
To the best of my knowledge you insured me that this would be done , once the races switched back from TNT. Third Watch is a HD show, but has never been broadcast in HD by Wis-DT. Am I asking too much? Your sound has greatly improved over the last couple of weeks. Please help , if you can.

Kevin Ivey

Response:

NBC has not been offering an HDTV feed of NASCAR races. As for Third
Watch, that is in HD. I'll check to see if there's been a problem with
delivering that feed.

Thanks for watching!

Barry Ahrendt
Director Of Marketing and Programming
WIS Television
1111 Bull St.
Columbia, SC 29201

Maybe you should explain to him the difference between widescreen digital and HD.

Already did, and already did in the past. He must have a little selective memory loss. Heck, I glad to get an email that not really defensive.

Two weeks ago, I got the same response about no NASCAR in HD.

Because it is not HD, and it should never be called HD . It is 480i widescreen upconveted to 1080i like the races shown on TNT-HD(other than the Richmond Race , and The Daytona 500) They are confused about this, because NBC has done a horrible job in informing their affiliates about the availability of this enhanced definition feed.

The last 4 races have not even been in widescreen :(

I just got my new SONY 60XS955 and really would like to watch game 4 in HD. As you know TWC does not carry FOX in HD. How is reception of FOX HD over the air in the Irmo area? I went ahead and bought a UHF antenna with a 15db booster on it, but haven't tried it yet.

Thanks in advance.

Originally posted by singitloud
I just got my new SONY 60XS955 and really would like to watch game 4 in HD. As you know TWC does not carry FOX in HD. How is reception of FOX HD over the air in the Irmo area? I went ahead and bought a UHF antenna with a 15db booster on it, but haven't tried it yet.

Thanks in advance.
You will not like the answer - it depends...
If you are on the hill or not surrounded by other houses/hills/trees, you might be OK with an indoor antenna like Silver Sensor.
In my case I had to put a relatively big outdoor antenna on a 30 feet mast on top of a 20 feet hill to get the signal. My co-worker can't get anything OTA in the St. Andrews area - he's got the hills around his house.
Let me know where exactly you are located and what kind of antenna you got, and I'll try to help. I'm sure Bruce will chime in too ;)

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We will look into providing
the widescreen feed.

Barry Ahrendt
Director Of Marketing and Programming
WIS Television
1111 Bull St.
Columbia, SC 29201


SONY 60XS955 (Wow, I am jealous) I am in West Columbia ,and I have no problem receiving WACH -DT on my Samsung TXP2775HD(NOT MY PRIMARY SET!) using a 12 year rooftop antenna.

Originally posted by singitloud
I just got my new SONY 60XS955 and really would like to watch game 4 in HD. As you know TWC does not carry FOX in HD. How is reception of FOX HD over the air in the Irmo area? I went ahead and bought a UHF antenna with a 15db booster on it, but haven't tried it yet.

Thanks in advance.

So .... hows it going (or did it go)? If your still having reception problems do let us know more about where you are located and what antenna you are trying to use.

Some time back I asked Barry Ahrendt at WIS about the early switching of NBC programming from HD to SD. It happened regularly at :56 past the hour and before the program itself ended. He responded late yesterday with this reply.

It has taken me a while to track down the problem and get a resolution.
This is not as simple an issue as you might think, because it relates to
the production of our 11 p.m. newscast, the timing of a number of news,
production and engineering events that need to happen at about the same
time, and all the departments at WIS that have a role in that.

The reason for the switch at about 10:56 is that on most nights we have
to transfer program control from master control, which is fully
HD-capable, to our production control room, which is not, for the
purpose of doing the 11 p.m. news headlines. Those usually occur at the
top of the last commercial break. I believe we have worked out a way to
do the headlines in standard definition, then switch back to master
control for the HD final moments of the NBC 10 p.m. program. We will
monitor our progress on this issue, and please feel free to let me know
if we're not living up to expectations.

Couple of General Announcements -

Remember the time changes this Sunday morning. We have a high level of confidence that all the DVR bugs associated with time changes have been resolved, but for my piece of mind, please check your scheduled recordings on Sunday to make sure they are listed at the correct times.


Newest announced time frame for the DVI activation on the SA8000HD is 1st Quarter 2005 - I don't know if that means early in January or late in March. Certainly I will keep you abreast of additional information as it become available on this issue.


Have a fun and safe Halloween!

What happened to WOLO-DT last night? The first half of Boston Legal was in HD then after the 1030 commercial break it comes back in SD.

We'll look into it D-Rock, that's inside the timer window so it should have been there..

Duh-huh..daylight savings on the timer, we'll fix it today..

Originally posted by bdfox18doe
Duh-huh..daylight savings on the timer, we'll fix it today..

After thinking about it this morning thats kinda what I figured it was.

Can someone refresh my memory, why HD/SD switching must be done by a timer?

Because other than FOX, the networks do not provide a full-time HD feed,
so you can't always take the HD receiver to air, as there may be nothing there. The timer allows the switch to take place during valid HD feed times,
and keeps the MCO's from having to manually switch each break.

Time Warner's WEB site states that the Cable Card is now available.

I want to have both the card and the HD-DVR box. Anyway, when I went to Time Warner to pick up a card they took my phone number... I still haven't had a phone call.

Does anyone have a card yet?

Dwaine

We are scheduled for our first Cable Card installation in the Florence system in the next week or so. Most requests for the card we have received to date were from customers who did not have televisions that would support the card.

Please note, the Cable Card is not available over the counter and it takes up to 3 weeks to schedule an installation appointment due to the back office procedures that are required via the billing system and DNCS as well as qualifying the customer's television.

Thank you Diana,

However, I don't need someone to come and install the card. I know how, my television supports the card (SONY 60XS955), and with simple instructions and phone numbers to call I could easily do it myself.

Is there any way at all to expedite this service?

Dwaine

Physical Installation onto your television is not the issue, the billing system and DNCS back office process can take up to 30 minutes in your home and the technician has to be on the phone with both Customer Service and Headend Engineers to complete the process.

Currently we have no way to expedite the process.

Thanks for the clarification Diana.

Dwaine

I guess I'll call TWC and see if I am on a list or something since I have not been called back.

Originally posted by bdfox18doe
Because other than FOX, the networks do not provide a full-time HD feed,
so you can't always take the HD receiver to air, as there may be nothing there. The timer allows the switch to take place during valid HD feed times,
and keeps the MCO's from having to manually switch each break.
Thanks for your reply, Bob.
But isn't there some kind of a device that would detect a HD feed and switch automatically? I mean we are well in the 21st century...

21 days. They said I will more than likely have to wait 21 days. They have to give my name to marketing or somebody and they are supposed to call me back. Isn't that what I did last week and got no call back. Well, I'm sure I'll get a call this time.

Does anyone know what type of QAM TWCSC uses?

256

My question my have been a little vague. I mean't what standard of QAM, IRC or HRC? This relates to my set's inability to tune (free) unscrambled QAM (Digital) stations.

Anyone here have a cablecard from TWC yet? How long did it take you to get it? How was the process?

Kevin,

The standard QAM is 256. My Senior Engineer would like more info as to the exact nature of the problem your experiencing so we can resolve it. Can you email me with details?

Thanks,

Originally posted by kevinivey
This relates to my set's inability to tune (free) unscrambled QAM (Digital) stations.

What channels are you NOT receiving?

Ok, I'm stupid, but what is the cable card? I looked all over twcsc's web site, and I couldn't find anything about it.

Thanks,
mark

Originally posted by Marky_Mark896
Ok, I'm stupid, but what is the cable card? I looked all over twcsc's web site, and I couldn't find anything about it.

Thanks,
mark
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=419356

Cable Cards
Time Warner Cable of South Carolina is proud to offer Cable Cards to our customers. The Cable Card allows select televisions can use Cable Card to receive Premium Services offered by Time Warner Cable. Please be aware that the Cable Card is a one-way device, which means it doesn’t have the capability to provide our Interactive Program Guide, Pay Per View, or our On Demand services.
For more information on Cable Card, contact our Customer Service Department at 1-866-TWC-SC01

Any info about adding a digital channel to cable lineup from Warner? I see those tempting ads about LOTR: Fellowship in HD on Sunday.

I don't know what programming you are referring to?

Originally posted by jdjackson
Any info about adding a digital channel to cable lineup from Warner? I see those tempting ads about LOTR: Fellowship in HD on Sunday.

TWC adding a channel.... you've got to be kidding right?? :rolleyes:


LOL J/K Diana :)

Originally posted by D-rock0030
TWC adding a channel.... you've got to be kidding right?? :rolleyes:


LOL J/K Diana :)
HD channels added for me this year -

NBC
CBS
ABC
TNT
ESPN

Not too bad.

This now makes the second time that TWC has nor called me back about setting up a time to "install" a cable card in my new tv. This is frustrating to say the least. Maybe they think I want to get rid of my DVR TOO... I DON'T. I will be using both actually. Why? Because my tv upconverts the signal much better than the cable box does (and the cable box sends everything 1080i).

Maybe Diana can come to my rescue?

NOTE TO MARK: I found the paragraph at the bottom of the programming page I believe.

As soon as an Action Form gets to the member of my staff that handles the qualification and installation, you will be called. The form hasn't made its way through internal communications yet.

You are welcome to send an email with your name and phone number to twcscnews@twcable.com and I will forward it to my coordinator to contact you.

Originally posted by jdjackson
Any info about adding a digital channel to cable lineup from Warner? I see those tempting ads about LOTR: Fellowship in HD on Sunday. Not gonna happen any time soon I would imagine. Our WB affiliate is WBHQ and their current DT setup is not HD capable. It is low power and broadcast from a tower here in Sumter. The station is going to move the DT operation to a tower near Columbia; the estimated completion date is June 2005. They have said that will be able to HD after the move. TWC carriage would follow that June date I would think.

DONE! Thank you Diana.

Thanks to Diana I rcvd a phone call and got a time set up for November 22nd.

Any chance we can add a cable card to a media pc so that we can access all channels with our pc without having to control the cable box with IR?

Mark

I found it Sing. It was at the bottom of the Digital Cable page.

Thanks,
Mark

Sunday’s NFL showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers will be televised in high definition by Fox. The game will air at 1:00 pm in the Columbia area on Wach ch.57, cable ch 6.

Unfortunately , HD cable subscribers in the area will not be able to watch the game in HD. Wach (Raycom) has yet to reach a deal with Time Warner Cable, or Comcast Cable.

“ I wish we had better news” Wach General Manager Scott McBride said. “If it were up to me and Dan Santelle (TWC director of marketing in Columbia) , we would have had this settled a long time ago.
“
It’s not just Columbia” “This involves 36 stations owned by Raycom, and different cable markets. “From what I understand we are getting closer to a deal”, said McBride.
Mc Bride has his fingers crossed that a deal can be completed before January.


This is a abbreviated version of what is in today's sports section, Page C2

O.K. like 25 minutes into Joan of Arcadia and finally HDTV... Sad, what would cause these things to happen....

Isn't the superbowl on FOX?

I, among MANY MANY people will be VERY upset if we do not have a deal by then.

Dwaine

Bob,

Why does Wolo-DT weather radar always indicate rain? Please forgive the non HD post.

Originally posted by singitloud
Isn't the superbowl on FOX?

I, among MANY MANY people will be VERY upset if we do not have a deal by then.

Dwaine

Once the monetary demands are met, the channel will show up. Wolo(ABC) a couple years ago had the Super Bowl ,and the channel magically appeared a week or so before the game. The playoffs start in January. Lets hope all parties see the importance of getting the deal done.

Kevin,
That's a question for the weather geeks..Usually means the gain is turned up to high and it's picking up ground clutter..send an email to reg taylor..

Thanks, Bob. Thanks to Wis-DT for showing today's race in Widescreen. I guess they got tired of my Monday emails! (-:

Kudos to Wolo management for allowing it's viewers the opportunity to watch "Saving Private Ryan". Veterans deserve to have war depicted correctly.

Has this been confirmed? Also, will it be in HD & DD5.1?

Originally posted by singitloud
Has this been confirmed? Also, will it be in HD & DD5.1? \
Yes, Yes, and Presumably Yes.

I asked Dave Aiken to confirm the broadcast and said I was looking forward to it in HD and DD5.1. He replied:

Hope you enjoy the movie. WOLO will air it!

Regards
Dave Aiken
Program/Operations Manager
WOLO-TV
daiken@wolo.com

am i the only one whose 8000HD decided to skip an 'all episodes-first run' recording of Boston Legal last Sunday?

everything else on that channel recorded fine, but that episode still shows up in my scheduled recordings list with a date of 11/7.

Originally posted by scruffy7
am i the only one whose 8000HD decided to skip an 'all episodes-first run' recording of Boston Legal last Sunday?

everything else on that channel recorded fine, but that episode still shows up in my scheduled recordings list with a date of 11/7.

No, mine had the same problem. NYPD Blue did the same thing on Tuesday . Wolo(815) is the only station that my dvr has a problem recording on a consistant basis. I caught BL about 15 minutes late. I try to check my scheduled recordings ,because of this continued problem with 815. It has to be linked to some type of guide problem.

Anybody's 8000HD start mysteriously recording a WW I program on the History channel with no user input?

I was in the middle of watching the FSU-NCST game when the machine just flipped over and started recording this show on the History channel.

Odd thing is, it wouldn't let me cancel the recording. Every time I would tell it to cancel, it just kept on recording. Since I was already recording Survivor, it wouldn't let me change the channel back to ESPN (or any other channel for that matter).

This History Channel show doesn't show up in the To Do list, nor on the recorded programs list. Very odd.

This 8000HD is nice for recording HD stuff, but I seem to have nothing but bad luck with this thing. It's probably the most frustrating piece of electronics I own. :(

Anyone noticing a audio sync problem with wolo in high def? Private Ryan's video is really delayed compared to audio.

Mark

Originally posted by Marky_Mark896
Anyone noticing a audio sync problem with wolo in high def? Private Ryan's video is really delayed compared to audio.

Yes.. its that way here too on the digital audio feed. Analog audio seems in sync.

correction: analog is now messed up just as bad.

Thanks Bruce,

I was hoping it wasn't my farjouda video crap in my tv causing the delay.

Mark

Originally posted by tigers
This 8000HD is nice for recording HD stuff, but I seem to have nothing but bad luck with this thing. It's probably the most frustrating piece of electronics I own. :(

Yeah I agree, I gave up on trying to use the season pass type of recording. It never worked, it only records the first episode then nothing else the rest of the time. Every few days I scroll through the program guide and have to manually tell it what to record otherwise it misses everything. Very frustrating.

It seems to work pretty well as long as you don't indicate "first run" episodes. If you choose "all episodes, regardless of time" it does okay.

Now, of course, since I'm posting this, my DVR will decide to lose all my "all episodes" recordings. :D

99% of the time HD is recorded as planned. Very pleased with the reliability. Use the "first run episode" option almost exclusively. Back in January if I had bought such an item with all the bugs I would had returned it. Usng the dvr now with few problems at all. Not really enough to complain about. However, I hate not being able to see the FOX NFL game on Thanksgiving day in HD on TWC. That is a complaint!

Cable Card question.

I get my cable card on the 22nd.

Does anyone here have one yet? How much was the charge to use it. I can't imagine it geing very much if anything. Especially since I am also using the DVR box.

Dwaine

$1.75 per month per cable card whether or not you have any other equipment.

TWC currently has one customer in Columbia, one in Florence and two in Summerville.

Okay. I can handle $1.75 :-)

WOW - So this means by the time I get connected I will one of the first 5-10 customers.

Has everybody been happy with it so far?

I would say its too early to tell on a happiness level.

The installation is lengthy which is always tedious for customers

I will be interested to see why the instalation is so lengthy. I will be and am more interested in allowing my TV to upconvert rather than digital box. Especially SD stations like FOX News etc... (I already have this on the tv, but I can use it as an example).

As I previously posted, the Cable Card requires an upload from both the billing system and the DNCS at the headend. The Installer must get on the phone with both areas and wait while this takes place. Again, this is the reason why these devices are not available over the counter. This activity is typically taking more time than anyone (TWC or customers) care for it to.

Sorry Diana for making you repeat yourself. I do remember you posting that earlier. Again, my apologies.

D.

One thing my TIVO used to do that my HD DVR does not do and I wish it did.

RECORDED PROGRAMS:
Besides being able to jump ahead in 15 minute intervals...
If I had watched an hour-and-a-half of a two hour movie and stopped it to watch something else. When I came back, I could pick up where I left off.

Yes, this would be nice.

Hit pause not stop,

Okay, I tried a little expiriment and... well, hiyying pause may work if you go right back to the recorded show, but I went to another show first and when I went back to the paused one... well... it started way back at the beginning.

This would be a VERY nice upgrade to an already nice set up.

Is WOLO looking into the audio sync problem? The American Music awards are really bad to watch. Looks like everyone is lip syncing poorly.

Mark

One thing my DVR does that annoys me is if I have a program recording then come home to watch it and the show isn't over yet it wont let me start watching it at the beginning. Example: I manually set it to record Saving Private Ryan the other night. It started recording fine. I got home after the show had been on for about an hour and a half. I went to the list of recorded shows and selected it. It jumped to that channel live and wouldnt go to the beginning of the recording. I had to manually rewind it all the way to the beginning, it took forever. Then when the show ended it automatically took me to the end of the recording and back to live tv. I had to select that program from the recorded list again and fast forward all the way to where i last was watching. Very aggravating. Am I doing something wrong or is this just the way it works? Seems to me the SD DVR I had worked fine, I dont have it anymore to do comparisons.

The work around is set to record a couple of hours beyond the end so the recording does not stop until you are finished watching.

I didn't mean for this to become a bash the TWC DVR. Not that it is, but I just want to be clear that having been a COX customer prior to moving to Columbia, I am THRILLED with TWC and their offerings.

Having said that, the point is not that there is a work around, but that I would like to see an upgrade that addresses these issues. I too have noticed the above issue with watching a program while it is being recorded. Perhaps if the DVR could FF and RW at 600X like the DishPlayer does? Anyway, this is how TWC finds out our wants, so this is a good thing to share.

Dwaine

Originally posted by singitloud
Having said that, the point is not that there is a work around, but that I would like to see an upgrade that addresses these issues. Dwaine
Yes, you have made that point. We all would like to see those upgrades and those issues are being worked on. In the meantime there are workarounds. Perhaps you would like to read the 8000HD thread where those issues are discussed ad nauseam.

Hey guys - I asked this question in the SA8000 thread here but it got ignored. I'm hoping some of my fellow SCian's will be willing to help.

Does anybody use the "Send to VCR" feature on your DVR? If so, which output is available for this, only composite "RCA?"

I want to send the video to another room via pre-wired Coax, but I need to know if I need to buy a composite-to-coax adaptor first.

Appreciate any thoughts or comments!

Good Morning,

Updated listing of NBA Games available on HD Special Events Channel 813 is now available -

http://www.twcsc.com/HDTV_NBA2004.htm

Enjoy!

Looks like the only NFL HD game will only be available OTA this Sunday.

Redskins @ Eagles 4:00 Wach-DT.

Note: The Panther game last week was not scheduled to be in HD, but it ended up being HD.

The CBS game is Titans and Jags ,and is not one of the 3 HD games from CBS.

Originally posted by IrmoGamecoq
Hey guys - I asked this question in the SA8000 thread here but it got ignored. I'm hoping some of my fellow SCian's will be willing to help.

Does anybody use the "Send to VCR" feature on your DVR? If so, which output is available for this, only composite "RCA?"

I want to send the video to another room via pre-wired Coax, but I need to know if I need to buy a composite-to-coax adaptor first.

Appreciate any thoughts or comments!

i've kind of given up on the 8000HD threads--copy-to-vcr goes out over coax here. sometimes it will crash my DVR, though. i have better luck with PIP which also goes out over coax.

Originally posted by scruffy7
i've kind of given up on the 8000HD threads--copy-to-vcr goes out over coax here. sometimes it will crash my DVR, though. i have better luck with PIP which also goes out over coax.

At least I'm not the only one having trouble with those threads.

Anyway, my DVR backpanel shows the only "copy to vcr" outputs are the composite ones, but I'll test out the coax ones first before I go through the trouble and expense of getting a composite-to-coax adaptor. Thanks for the info!

Hey Diana ??

With ESPN2HD set to Launch on January 6th, will be seeing this added to our Cola TWC lineup on Launch??

Thanks!!

-- Cain

I have no idea when we will launch ESPN2HD. Personally I wouldn't put any money on our launching the 6th (although I'd happily pay the bet if it did happen).

Thx for the update, I'm just hoping we have it by June for the College World Series.

-- Cain

I'll take channel 820 on TWC. Seems realistic, but...

Anyone else notice that the Colts/Lions game on CBS today was in SD on the CBS-HD Channel, here in Cola ??

Bummer...

Maybe we should call them and remind them that there is a SEC HD game tomorrow afternoon.


Looks like WLTX isn't doing HD at all. No HD this evening.

Maybe we should call them and remind them that there is a SEC HD game tomorrow afternoon.

Who is playing??

-- Cain

LSU@Arkansas(from WLTX website)

TitanTv error. Sorry!

WIS-DT had problems with the Seinfeld special in HD. Lip-sync and SD/HD problems.

Wait until ones that have a HD dvr watch CSI from last night. Not really worth watching.

I got a SA 8300HD box yesterday. I plan to do a bunch of testing today, I'll let you 'die-hard' TWC HD users know if it has a better picture than the 8000HD, which I always felt to be soft.

-- Cain

Originally posted by Cain
I got a SA 8300HD box yesterday. I plan to do a bunch of testing today, I'll let you 'die-hard' TWC HD users know if it has a better picture than the 8000HD, which I always felt to be soft.

-- Cain

What's the sccop on the 8300HD? Is TWC switching to these boxes and phasing out the 8000HD?

Not Exactly. SA isn't making the 8000 anymore, so all new DVRs we get in of both the SD and HD variety will be the 8300 model. We will not be actively switching out the two models. Considering the number of 8000HDs we have in the market, I estimate they will phase themselves out in about 5 years. We will probably have 8000SDs out in the field 10 years from now..... (you should see some of the Analog Converters we still have in the field - we are constantly running initiatives to get these people to try Digital..... some people just like what they are used to - not the kind of people who are participating in this Forum!)

HeHe, in the Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville NC TWC system they turned off system(software ?) support of the analog cable boxes on September 1st. :)

Hey - as long as they pay for 'em, we'll keep 'em turned on....

LOL. :D

Can 8000HD DVR be switched out by request? And which of the 8300HD DVRs do you have available - HDMI, IEEE 1394, Multi-Room?

You can bring in an 8000HD to a front counter and switch it out for an 8300HD - BUT I cannot guarantee that one will be there when you get there - And, there is no incoming line for you to call a particular front counter location directly. All incoming calls go into a centrally located call center where they will not be able to tell you if an 8300 is available at a particular location. So do so at your own risk at least for now, as more and more get into the general population it will be an easier proposition.

No Firewire (IEEE 1394) or Multi Room. It does have an active HDMI/DVI output.

I got the 8300HD (with HDMI).

I can tell you that on my 8 foot wide screen the image is about 25% Sharper, with more detail. Not sure how noticeable it will be on a normal sized TV or RPTV though.

I can also tell you there is virtually no difference between component (with very high quality cables) and HDMI, so I'll be sticking with Component. Also the HDMI output seems to have an exaggerated black level.

The 8300HD also has a Coax Digital Audio output.

-- Cain

I'd be willing to take a chance and switch mine out just for the DVI connection. My set only has two component inputs and I have 3 different devices fighting to get one of those two inputs. LOL.

Its not DVI - its HDMI/DVI - the regular DVI connecter is larger than this one.

Sounds like a tv commercial :)

Well, I probably have been influenced somewhat.....

Where the heck you been Bruce, we missed you!

All ports on the 8300 are active at the same time. You do not have to do the pip trick to get the other ports to output video. There is NO black crush on the video output of this box. The box has the potential to have a external(only rental) SATA (Serial) drive attached to its back port. In other words the box will have extra drive space added without opening or swapping it out. I have heard it can output HDMI and HD Component at the same time. If this true, then this is something that the HD TiVo can not do, or any other device like this.

Where the heck you been Bruce, we missed you! [/B]

Yea....what she said..:)

Originally posted by bdfox18doe
Yea....what she said..:)
Well; I had a hankering for some real BBQ this holiday season (moo; not oink) so I drove out West to Tejas for the holiday. Also had a nice visit with relatives and I leave for home on the morrow.
<burp> :) Will return to HD viewing again real soon!

(Successful trip too; got Dublin Dr Pepper for the wife; some Long Neck Lone Stars for my cousin, and Mrs Fanning's Bread and Butter Pickles for myself! There are some things that you just can't buy in SC <sigh> )

SA's web site lists Part number 1002056 as a HDMI to DVI cable. Is this available also?

Its not DVI - its HDMI/DVI - the regular DVI connecter is larger than this one.

It is plain old vanilla standard HDMI output.

HDMI is backwards compatible with DVI, so all you need is a gender changing cable, if you only have DVI input on your projector/TV.

-- Cain

PS Your TV/projector better have HDCP, because the HDMI output definitely uses it.

Cain,

I'm feeling a bit dense this morning so go through it slowly with me. My TV (Sony 36XBR800) has a "HDCP DVI" port according to the manual. On the back of the TV is an input labelled "DVI" which has a combination DB-15 or whatever looking multipin part and another part with some kind of larger pins, all in one connector.

So I'd get a Explorer 8300 and a "HDMI to DVI" cable and the hookup would be fine. The HDCP part is a protocol in firmware that lets my TV and the Explorer 8300 agree to let me view content over that digital connection. Do I have it about right?

Originally posted by Brent Hutto
Cain,

I'm feeling a bit dense this morning so go through it slowly with me. My TV (Sony 36XBR800) has a "HDCP DVI" port according to the manual. On the back of the TV is an input labelled "DVI" which has a combination DB-15 or whatever looking multipin part and another part with some kind of larger pins, all in one connector.

So I'd get a Explorer 8300 and a "HDMI to DVI" cable and the hookup would be fine. The HDCP part is a protocol in firmware that lets my TV and the Explorer 8300 agree to let me view content over that digital connection. Do I have it about right?

Yes, but if unless you are short a connection it may be a waste of time, and money. HDMI is a smaller cable and carries sound. The "pass through" setting works perfectly on my 8300 the using component connection. I found the digital connection to be less than stellar on my directview crt. . The picture is outstanding using the component connection.

Good Morning - Please note this does not impact any HD channels, so I hope its not too great an imposition, but I did want to get this information out for customer reference. Please forgive!

Due to a satellite failure, the following channels are temporarily unavailable: Lifetime Movie Ch, G4TechTV, Biography, History International, Jewelry TV, FUSE, CNBC World, Tennis Ch, Family Net, Canal Sur, PUMA, Cine Latino, IFC, Adult PPV. Service will resume asap.

I am not sure if this should be posted here or not but I figure that I could atleast get a good answer so here goes.

I am moving into my new house starting tomorrow. I won't be moving the TV and big stuff until the 8th of December. Since it is a new construction I need TWC to come out and wire up all my outlets. I would like to have this done before I get moved in but the CSR I talked to told me that they had to shut off service at my current residence before they would schedule installation and hookup at my new place. Is there anything I can do to get the outlets wired and set up ahead of time? That way all I have to do is have the service transfered from one place to another.

Also while I am at it. I noticed alot of signaldropout and screen pixelation on HDnet last night. Was that caused by the Satellite failure or my current residence and its old wiring? Also almost every one of my local HD channels have had major lipsync problems that make them unwatchable. Do I need to get one of the new 8300's to fix that?

Thanks for any and all answers that I get.

Danny

HDNET has signal problems from time to time. Ithave also observed the HDnet problems. I believe it is from the source. Lip sync from Wis-DT has been a problem ever since their launch. I have never seen a lip sync problem from any other the locals.

Nucleartiger - I'll check for you on the prewire, email me at twcscnews@twcable.com with direct contact info please.

HD Net is not on the satellite that went down - those channels are black.

Lip sync is from broadcasters - my guys at the headend try to stay after the broadcast engineers to keep an eye on the signals they are sending out.

Is HD Net still an issue right now?

Just found out - IN HD 1 & IN HD 2 were on the satellite that went down - the engineers are working to restore that feed right now, so it shouldn't be too very much longer!

Sorry - my bad, I checked the other SD feeds from In Demand on that bird, but had a brain freeze that IN HD 1 & 2 are also In Demand product, plus I'm at work with SD, so I couldn't check it anyway....

Nucleartiger - are you saying you are paying TWC for wiring your builder's electricians did not do?

Looks like they are asleep at wheel. No Panther HD game from our local Fox affiliate.

Thats what it is beginning to look like. I was surprised to see that the connectors weren't wired in already. However the builder said they didn't do that and it would be no charge from TWC to do it. I am going to talk to the builder tomorrow and ask him what the deal is again.

Brent, you got it. I have a HDMI-DVI cable I can temporarily loan you, if you simply want to find out if this works, before you plunk down the $$$$ to buy one for yourself. I can tell you that in my experience this weekend, there is so little difference between the HDMI and good component that it may not be worth messing with, but YMMV. Click on my web page link and drop me an e-mail if interested.


CBS-HD.
OK, I tried to watch CBS HD this weekend for the Georgia game and it is close to unwatchable because of all the pixellation and compression artifacts. I'm assuming they are simulcasting other channels that are eating into their HD bandwidth. As I recall a while back they only had that weather radar and they planned to squeeze it down to almost nothing. Anyone around here from WLTX ??

SA8300HD. One thing I do notice so far is the annoying audio dropouts I had with my 8000HD DVR recordings seem to be gone with this box. That is great!!

-- Cain

PS INHD gone !?!?! Arrrgh !! My fav HD channels !! Thx for the update Diana.

All they have is the weather radar. Their engineer no longer is part of this forum, and he no longer respond to my emails. I did notice the second NFL on CBS-HD looked better than the first game. The red Georgia uniforms with the mesh, look terrible in the limited WLTX-DT bandwidth.

I prefer 720p games on my 1080i native set, because of the limited ota bandwidth.

Originally posted by Cain

PS INHD gone !?!?! Arrrgh !! My fav HD channels !! Thx for the update Diana.

Back on the air as of approximately 3pm yesterday. My Headend guys worked very hard to get everything up and running as soon as we had new coordinates identified.

Cain-

Is the composite-out active on the SA8300HD? That is the only way my analog channels are watchable, so I m paying for both a SA8000HD AND a SA8000SD since the composite-out isn't active on the SA8000HD. I would like to trade both in for the SA8300HD if I could use both component-out and composite-out on the same box.

Thanks!

Kim

Originally posted by DianaTWCSC
Not Exactly. SA isn't making the 8000 anymore, so all new DVRs we get in of both the SD and HD variety will be the 8300 model.

do you know if they still plan on releasing any more updates for the 8000HD?

does the 8300 have the same shortcomings as the 8000 when watching a recording in progress, like not being able to start at the beginning without rewinding, and jumping to live TV when the recording ends?

There will be additional updates to the 8000HD, specifically they will activate the DVI output, etc (date still TBD).

Also, the two situations you mention are still a factor with the 8300.

Is the HDMI to DVI cable supplied with the 8300HD if needed?

No, just component cables.

Dan,

I noticed that Wach-DT did not pass the Panther game in HD? Equipment
problems? I have enjoyed your broadcast in the past.


Kevin Ivey





Kevin,


The Panthers were produced on a local network. We can only
broadcast in true HD, programs that originate from the FOX network. The
Panthers game was not. In the future (unknown) when we will be able to
have the equipment to originate in- house high definition television
programming. Got a few million bucks you want to contribute?

Thanks
Dan Orta' Chief Engineer

Dan,
The Panther game came from Fox. It was listed on YOUR website as HDTV. ICE AGE at 7:00 came from FOx and was listed as HD on YOUR website.

Kevin


Does Fox lend guidance to their engineer affiliates?

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I will find out how we missed
it.

Barry Ahrendt
Director Of Marketing and Programming

all 3 Wis's Digital stations are off. OTA and via TWC.

hope it's not contagious..especially on a Monday Night!

It may be locally produced, tonight.;)

I fail to see the humor in this.

)-:

My ABC HD is WPDE on TWC which is out. So it is not a locals problem.

The red Georgia uniforms with the mesh, look terrible in the limited WLTX-DT bandwidth.

Yes, it was almost unwatchable for me.

I was also gonna ask about DD 5.1 on CBS, but I guess they got tired of hearing complaints about that also.

-- Cain

Originally posted by Gary J
I fail to see the humor in this.

In what ???

In no HD MNF, for those who have not read preceding posts.

Dan,

I noticed that Wach-DT did not pass the Panther game in HD? Equipment
problems? I have enjoyed your broadcast in the past.


Kevin,


The Panthers were produced on a local network. We can only
broadcast in true HD, programs that originate from the FOX network. The
Panthers game was not. In the future (unknown) when we will be able to
have the equipment to originate in- house high definition television
programming. Got a few million bucks you want to contribute?

Thanks
Dan Orta' Chief Engineer

Note: the Panther game was one of the HD games from Fox this past Sunday. I have to find his response funny. I hope they realize the Super Bowl is not locally produced ,and does originate from Fox.

Still off the air.

Diana,

Can you have someone from TWC find out why they are off the air?

Originally posted by kshockley
Cain-

Is the composite-out active on the SA8300HD? That is the only way my analog channels are watchable, so I m paying for both a SA8000HD AND a SA8000SD since the composite-out isn't active on the SA8000HD. I would like to trade both in for the SA8300HD if I could use both component-out and composite-out on the same box.

Thanks!

Kim

All video and audio ports on the 8300 are active at the same time.

Originally posted by kevinivey
Still off the air.

Diana,

Can you have someone from TWC find out why they are off the air?

Their transmitter is down.


In fact, both the WIS and WPDE transmitter is/was down last night - that's why Florence-Myrtle Beach didn't get Monday Night Football.

They have not provided any additional information to my engineers other than - "transmitter is down, we're working on it"

Thanks, Diana! I will give Barry a break and not email him today!

I traded in my 8000 for an 8300. I will hook it up when I get home and post tonight on how it all goes.

Diana,

When is TWC going to fix the video lag in the HD local channels? This is excruciating to watch. I was told that it was a TWC problem. It is pretty much on all the local channels all the time.

Mark

What channels? What programs? What day? All the time?

I have not seen any problems here in Columbia.

Kevin, it is wis, wltx, wolo pretty much all the time. Could it be my 8000HD box causing this problem?

Mark

The west wing on wis-dt has terrible video lag right now.

Mark

wolo-dt has a slight lag with the nick and jessica christmas special right now.

Mark

wltx-dt king of queens looks good right now.

Mark

The hbo's showtime's and inhd's and espnhd look good.

Mark

wis just went to sd on west wing. They must be having problems of their own.

Mark

Originally posted by Marky_Mark896
wolo-dt has a slight lag with the nick and jessica christmas special right now.Mark

ABC's been on the Nick&Jessica bandwagon all day.. puh-leeze..enough already! yukk...

Bob,

I don't care or know nick and jessica, I just want the audio sync to work on all these local channels.

Mark

Wolo-DT had a lot of glitches and dropouts on Tuesday evening(Rodney, NYPD Blues). Last night ,they went off the air(all 3 Digital) during the Yuk fest(not watching ,just checking) . All seems to well this morning. This was observed ota and via TWC cable.

Wis-DT has had problems staying with HD for a entire one hour episode.

Wltx-DT has had it's audio clipping sound start back up again.

Wach-Dt simply does not broadcast HD listed programming.

I however have not observed any audio not being in sync with video.

MARK
I have not had the 8000HD for a long time, and I have no idea if there is a problem in Sumter with the local HD broadcast.

Regarding Sumter, I was not home to watch HD last evening so I don't cannot speak to any of last night's issues.

Regarding lip sync issues, if the lip sync difference is small, I suspect a cold reboot of his 8000HD might help. Major issues should be at the station or network level. (Diana?). It might be possible that Mark is more sensitive than most to lip sync issues. Perhaps Mark should save a recording with the lip sync issue and show it to a TWC tech.

Mark,

Are you listening through your monitor, or from a receiver? Some lip sync issue are more pronounced through receiver.

I only get audio through my receiver. No audio is hooked to my monitor.

We have seen NO lips sync issues with WOLO-DT, as we monitor it here and OTA. We have an employee in Columbia as well as a tech in Newberry who watch OTA, and they have seen no problem. All the reports I have had so far come from those withthe HD DVR from TWC. Those issues have also been reported here with the HD DVR on TWC as well.

We had a mw problem last night, apparrently it doesn't like Nick & Jessica
either..

I think I will try to exchange my 8000HD for an 8300HD and see if that takes care of the problem. I have had other audio problems related to the 8000HD, such as the digital tier audio disappears until I kill power to the 8000hd and reboot. So maybe it is the problem.

Mark

Mark,
Yeah; exchange that puppy for an 8300 and see if it helps. FWIW, my 8000HD is not acting as strangely as yours.

I don't get any lip sync issues except for on WIS-DT when they are showing an HD program. Last night the lip sync was horrible. You would hear somebody say something then like 3 seconds later their lips would move. WIS switched to the SD feed on West Wing and the sync issue was gone. Then on Law & Order they started with the HD feed and it was totally unwatchable easily a 3 second delay. After about 3 mins WIS switched to the SD feed and the problem was gone. I think its horrible how one station cant seem to get it right at all. As far as WACH not passing on the HD feed, TWC doesnt have WACH-DT so I can not speak on this issue.

Good Morning,

Sorry I didn't get involved with this lively exchange last night, but I was TOOOOO Busy enjoying the Fighting Illini as they dismantled Wake Forest.

Ok - I just spent a bit of time with my Senior Engineer and here's the thing - Lip Sync Issues can happen due to a variety of factors, there is no pat reason or answer for every single occurrence.

There is always a potential timing issue between the Broadcaster and Receiver at our Headend. Sometimes the issue develops due to an issue on the Broadcaster end (although as Bob will attest, we have never seen this as a reason for WOLO lip sync).

Next you have the link from the receiver to the HD DVR. The HD DVR is a device with two processors (audio and video) AND is buffering the on screen program at all times. There is the potential for the two processors to get out of sync and result in the lip sync issue. According to my Senior Engineer the BEST way to resolve this is to hit pause as soon as you see the issue. This will allow the two processors to sync back up. If you allow it to continue for too long, then the pause function will not work and you will have to re-boot. Unfortunately if you have a recording that has lip sync issues in it, there is no way to resolve it and you just end up with a bad recording.

Since the 8300 is also a DVR, there is no guarantee it will avoid this issue, although SA is committed to improving all aspects of performance with each model - So, probably better, but no guarantee the 8300 eliminates lip sync. (And again, I cannot gurarantee where and when you will be able to locate a 8300 at a front counter so I'm hoping to avoid any frustration you might have for showing up once, or several times even, and there being no 8300 at that counter right then.)

Best bet - Press the Pause Button at the first sign!

I picked up my 8300 in exchange for my 8000 and I love it!

Is it a lot better sing?

Mark

Ok, my 8000HD didn't record Desperate Housewives or Lost this week, but did record other things I had set up to record. I checked the thing an hour before it was supposed to record lost, it said it was all set, and then later last night, nothing!

Anyone else have this issue?

We had lip sync issues with the 8000 and now the 8300 but not on a recording as yet.

The only time it has ever happened to us is if we switch from an analog channel to one of the HD channels. To correct the problem we have always gone up or down a channel and got immediate results.

Originally posted by bpear1600
To correct the problem we have always gone up or down a channel and got immediate results.


An alternative solution suggested by my Senior Engineer, but pressing pause and play is a 'smidge' faster to execute and get back to watching.

Originally posted by Coop1979
Ok, my 8000HD didn't record Desperate Housewives or Lost this week, but did record other things I had set up to record. I checked the thing an hour before it was supposed to record lost, it said it was all set, and then later last night, nothing!

Anyone else have this issue?

This has happened to me on numerous occasions. ABC however seems to be a channel that the 8000HD doesn't particularly like to record at all.

I have been seeing the same thing that Marky has been seeing. I am even getting lipsync issues on channels like Spike TV. My wife even commented on the fact that she has never seen anything this bad before now as far as the lipsync issue goes. Which means that even as enamored as I am with Diana and the rest of the overall support that we get from TWC, she might want a change to Satellite if it doesn't get much better.

oh btw Diana, thanks for checking into all of that other stuff for me. I am just going to wait and have the cable connectors put in when I transfer service next week.

I agree Nucleartiger. It is my wife that is complaining the most about the lipsync problem. I can overlook the problem most of the time, although the problem that wis had last night was totally unacceptable, (and totally wis's problem I'm sure). The lipsync problem drives my wife nuts, and she refuses to watch tv in our home theater, and has exiled herself to the kitchen tv, where we have only SD, and a non DVR box.

Mark

Give the "Pause" a try - hopefully it will make everyone happy.



Nucleartiger - I believe that is your best bet - thanks for the info.

Originally posted by Coop1979
Ok, my 8000HD didn't record Desperate Housewives or Lost this week, but did record other things I had set up to record. I checked the thing an hour before it was supposed to record lost, it said it was all set, and then later last night, nothing!

Anyone else have this issue?

for some reason there is an issue with the program guide and ch. 815. i solved it by changing my scheduled recordings from first run only to this channel/anytime. i figure it's easier to delete a rerun than to miss an episode.

re: audio sync issues:

haven't we pretty much established that the ones on WIS-DT pretty much originate there? during the olympics i was at best buy one day and they had an HDTV set up by the checkout registers with nary a DVR in sight, and the sync was awful on it. even the clerk looked at it with a 'wtf?' look on her face.

i watched Lost last night and sync was good, but after it ended and the sonny and cher, uh i mean nick and jessica special immediately came on i noticed the sync was off on my set (DVR--optical to receiver).

interestingly i have never once noticed a sync problem on HBO-HD or SHO-HD, which makes me wonder if it is the DVR why doesn't it have problems with those channels too?

i've had intermittent service problems since june so it makes it hard to try and figure out whether problems happen because of the DVR, station or reception.

scruffy,

I agree with what you said about the hbo's and showtime's. They never have a sync problem, so why should the local stations? That made me question whether it was the DVR or the feed. I am leaning more toward the feed.

Mark

Wis-DT(channel 805) is the only station that I have had lip sync issues with. I have observed this ota and via TWC.

I have missed scheduled recordings on all the local HD channels. However, Wolo-DT(channel 815) is by far the worst.

Wltx-DT has a audio "clipping" problem that occurs weekly and is just as annoying to me as a lip sync issue. I have observed it ota and via TWC.

Wolo has had more more glitches lately with video and audio. This has been observed ota and via TWC. It may be a ABC problem.

I have had the 8300 for a long time and it is worth the effort to switch out. It is a larger box, and the clock display is smaller and looks a lot less primitive. It also will display what resolution is being passed just above the time on the display.

My new 8300 is pixelating very badly tonight while watching CSI. The signal though mu cable card is perfect. So, what's up with my cable box?

No problems ota and cable. Your not using a splitter? I had a bad connection once that caused all kinds of problems.

Connected the same way my 8000 was. I'll go back and resecure the connections.

There is a way that TWC can remotely check the signal to your box. This is how it was determined that there was a less than stellar signal going to my box.

Kevin is correct, however, I cannot locate the email you sent me for the Cable Card install. Can you please email me or pm me your home telephone number and I'll have the engineers check it.

Originally posted by Marky_Mark896
scruffy,

I agree with what you said about the hbo's and showtime's. They never have a sync problem, so why should the local stations? That made me question whether it was the DVR or the feed. I am leaning more toward the feed.

Mark

It is the feed. There is an additional step in receiving and distribution the local networks that facilitates the development of sync issues.

Ok Diana,

That explains why it's just the local stations. Sumter didn't have any 8300's. I just got back from the office.

Mark

PS. I didn't notice any sync problems last night. I watched Left behind on CBS, and ER on WIS, and both seemed good.

Mark

Wach-DT did a outstanding job passing the HD feed from Fox. HD and DD 5.1 for both games yesterday.

I would like to say "kudos" to TWC, Diana, Phillip, and Chuck.

TWC - For having a great product and in this case for sure, taking care of its customers

Diana - For noticing a post I had written about my new 8300 HD DVR and, unsolicited, proceeded to begin the process of diagnosing and fixing my problem.

Phillip - 1) for calling me and setting up an appointment very quickly

Phillip - 2) for following up after my service call and expediting my securing a new 8300 HD DVR that was not malfunctioning

Chuck - my service tech - for not only diagnosing my problem but doing so in a very thorough manner. He took the time to check everything, eliminating all possible problems, and did an overall excellent job while at my house. I was very impressed with Chuck. He did things like I would do them - by taking time to do it right.

Take it from this former COX customer - We have a great cable company.

Dwaine

Thank you so much for the kind words - it is our goal to make all our customers feel the same way you do.

I passed on the compliment to Chuck's supervisors (I'm Philip's supervisor, so he's covered).

Starting the Day with a wonderful Compliment AND Illinois is ranked #1 in both Polls! This should be a great day!

Quick question...

Is anyone successfully using a HDMI -> DVI cable or converter and getting a signal on the 8300? I get zero picture when we (the TW tech and myself) connect it to the TV. There are no additional settings on my TV and earlier today, while I was at work and the wife was home (The TW guy is her brother) he stopped by and hooked up a DVI tester/box and the DVI works perfectly. He's been terrific about following up and sticking with it, but he doesn't really seem to be able to get a concise answer about why the HDMI is just cutting out. We can unplug it, then plug it back in, and we get a signal for a brief second...so it *works*...but then it just sort of cuts out...poof.

So I'm just wondering if anybody else has gotten it up and running and how they did it...

Thanks!

Yes, I tested it and it worked fine. I however still use the component connection because the picture looks better with that conncetion, and analog looked terriable through HDMI. I used a DVI cable connected to a "Monster Brand" (29.95) DVI to HDMI converter. Both my sets are CRT based.

Note: HDMI/DVI can not pass 480i. If you have this setting as one of your resolutions. You will get a black screen. The DVI/HDMI can only pass 480p, 720p, or 1080i.

Originally posted by kevinivey
Note: HDMI/DVI can not pass 480i. If you have this setting as one of your resolutions. You will get a black screen. The DVI/HDMI can only pass 480p, 720p, or 1080i.
I have saved only 720p and 1080i because analog looks best this way with Passthrough and component. Have you tried this with DVI/HDMI?

Yes, I have tried that before. I have set to "pass through" via component output. Both my sets will accept 720p, but I find that the SA does a better job. I have it set to pass through 480i and 1080i. Note, one funny thing that I have noticed is that the digital music channels "pass through" at 1080i and have small sidebars on the onscreen song description.

Note: Jeff, did you try the straight DVI connection on the SA 3250HD? I found the DVI output on the SA3250HD to have all kinds of bugs. However when I tried the HDMI/DVI out of the SA8300HD I had no such problems. I just plugged it in with the set and the stb on. It automatically detected and displayed correctly. With the DVI/HDMI connected the component output is disabled.

If I set my 8300 to Pass Through does that mean it sends the signal without upconverting? Also what is upconvert 1 and upconvert 2?

Dwaine

This pdf file explains everything you may need to know. The 8300HD default is to display everything at 1080i.

http://www.scientificatlanta.com/explorerclub/getting_started/4004007.pdf

Glad to see some of you guys and gals are still posting away here. Some viewers (like me) are watching HDTV mostly time shifted and thus, when we note a problem (common still with with CBS or NBC), its just too late to complain. :) And some of us even continue to use the old standby 8000HD DVR since we don't have HD sets with HDMI/DVI inputs. Good thing the 8000HD just tends to work fine with little fanfare, few problems, pretty good picture (on our sets anyway) and whose issues are well known and ongoing. One item of note was a recent post by Kevin that reminded me that WACH/FOX is indeed broadcasting in HD. I tend not to check their schedule since their DT channel is not on TWC and would require me to switch over to the Sammy's input. So out of sight out of mind. Wonder what the new year will bring? Predictions anyone?

Originally posted by bdenman
And some of us even continue to use the old standby 8000HD DVR since we don't have HD sets with HDMI/DVI inputs.
There are more reasons than that to switch. I am getting a better picture on analog channels, S-Video out is active and it allows resolution pass through. And I am still using the component outputs.

Originally posted by bdenman
...Wonder what the new year will bring? Predictions anyone?
Less allocated bandwidth for HD, more multicasting...
Any bets? :rolleyes:

I would hope that Raycom and TWC would workout a carriage agreement. 2 more FOX HD games not in HD on TWC. Rams and Panthers ought to be a great HD game.

I would also hope WLTX would upgrade their audio to DD 5.1 like all the other local stations have done.

bdenman
AVS Special

Bruce: I've lost track...are you recording hd OTA, and if so what equipment, and any specific stations a problem?

Originally posted by bdenman
Predictions anyone?

Lots of new Interactive Capability

New HD Channels -JUST as soon as deals are signed - PROMISE :)

Illinois in the Final Four!!!!!

Originally posted by DianaTWCSC
New HD Channels -JUST as soon as deals are signed - PROMISE :)


Promise the Super Bowl and you will be Queen of the World.

Well, IF I get to be Queen of the World....

sorry, haven't a clue - Raycom is doing a National deal with TWC Corporate... I believe I heard we have around 15ish Raycom FOX affiliates throughout the Company.. Oh wait your Sinclair in Pawleys right...that's another Corporate negotiation with affiliates other than FOX in their stable.

Hey is there anyway to search the thread by date - rather than three pages at a time front and back?

Originally posted by jerry birdwell
bdenman
AVS Special

Bruce: I've lost track...are you recording hd OTA, and if so what equipment, and any specific stations a problem?
Jerry: I timeshift HD only via TWCSC's SA8000HD. Besides TWC as a source for HD I also have an OTA setup consisting of a Samsung SIR-T150 coupled with a Bowtie antenna (I have both a RS Double bowtie and a CM 3021 4-bay bowtie (I usually use just the RS one). Since our Fox DT is not yet on TWC I can only watch them live.

Originally posted by DianaTWCSC
Hey is there anyway to search the thread by date - rather than three pages at a time front and back?

Diana, the search button near the top of this page does work for you?

Some bad pixelization during some scenes of the Pilot episode of Lost last night. Particularly in the scene showing Locke "meditating" and with the ocean as the backdrop. I never have noticed faults in PQ on Lost before...anybody else see what I saw?

I just watched Lost on my DVR from last night, and noticed no pixelization. In fact, I just wanted to commend Diana and TWC on the picture and audio quality that I've been receiving lately. No lip sync problems to speak of since our last discussion, and everything has been great.

Mark

I am having MAJOR Audio clipping problems with WLTX-HD right now. Makes it almost unwatchable. Anyone else noticing this?

Yep, me too. Its been going on since I started watching this afternoon.

Today's WLTX-DT audio is simply horrible. You would think that someone at the station would own a HDTV set and watch their own signal and see for themselves how ridiculous it all is and make some noises upchannel. Guess not....

Terrible, and it's been going on for hours. I can't believe they haven't fixed it by now...

Mark

Old equipment, and the same ole problems. 5k and the problem would most likely be fixed.

Maybe Diana can have a TWC engineer call them and relay the problems with their audio and video(interlaced artifacts).

It sounds like they are mixing the 5.1 into stereo which lowers the dialog level from the center channel.

Originally posted by kevinivey
Old equipment, and the same ole problems. 5k and the problem would most likely be fixed.

Maybe Diana can have a TWC engineer call them and relay the problems with their audio and video(interlaced artifacts).

I'll forward the info - thanks.

The audio clipping is a malfunction of their equipment. The game's audio is a downconvert of DD 5.1. They usually do ok for the downconvert. CSI Miami this last Monday was the first network attempt for DD 5.1 for a scripted show. The Wltx 2.0 downconvert worked pretty good except for a few audio drops. Today's problems are mostly likely a case of no one monitoring the feed. In most cases in the past they simply switch it to the SD feed until they get the audio fixed. They are Columbia's HDTV Leader.;)

My comments earlier were a bit ungracious. The problem is not the fact that WLTX does not monitor their signal but rather their not being willing to fix the problem by replacing the malfunctioning hardware (the IRD as I recall). Given WLTX-DT's on air date was well ahead of the other commercial stations in our market, their equipment is no doubt older and perhaps still not amortized. I hope their management (station or CBS) will soon fix the problem. As their problem continues I will probably continue to tune out CBS more and more and watch their competion instead.

Well now that we have covered the WLTX issues has anyone else noticed the ESPN-HD sound levels jumping up and down? Its really annoying when the announcers for the game are talking and their voice levels are fluctuating.

I would hope that TWC Corporate and Raycom Media will get a carriage agreement in place before the playoffs start. Last year it looks like a deal was done between TWC and Raycom for carriage of CBS HD. I would had thought that they would had foreseen the same problem this year as last year. I do not really care about who is the one to blame for the stalemate. It's just time to get the deal done.


Bruce, I have noticed billboards in Columbia promoting UPN 47 on TWC channel 13 in January 2005. Do you have an update on their digital status?

Originally posted by kevinivey
Bruce, I have noticed billboards in Columbia promoting UPN 47 on TWC channel 13 in January 2005. Do you have an update on their digital status? Kind of. I talked to Rick Sprott WZRB's engineer last week and they plan to light the candle for UPN's analog Ch47 by Jan 1st. However no word yet on when they will have a digital signal. My impression is that it is not likely to happen in 2005. With UPN back OTA, TWC carriage should follow real soon (newsletter says 1 Jan, we will see; have seen no billboards myself). Initially the linkup will be OTA from the station to TWC; in time.. fiber optic. Former Enterprise viewers should soon have a signal again but as for ever seeing it locally in HD... who knows.

Doesn't the FCC require a digital station? Certainly one would think this would be a requirement of a new station in 2005. Will they simply pay the fine for being non digital compliant? Do you think they will at least broadcast in stereo? Our semi- local WB station seems to prefer poor video and mono sound. Are others disappointed that half of TWC analog tier has mono sound for its sound format?

The billboards are in downtown Columbia. Doesn't even have the stations call letters on it.

Originally posted by kevinivey
Doesn't the FCC require a digital station? Certainly one would think this would be a requirement of a new station in 2005. Will they simply pay the fine for being non digital compliant? Do you think they will at least broadcast in stereo? Our semi- local WB station seems to prefer poor video and mono sound. Are others disappointed that half of TWC analog tier has mono sound for its sound format?

The billboards are in downtown Columbia. Doesn't even have the stations call letters on it. I do not understand it either. I gather the FCC granted them the analog license for 1Jan2005 startup. And they do not have a separate digital allocation. My guess is someday they will just switch from analog to digital on Ch 47 (requires some hardware changes). When? no idea. Also, regarding audio, I have no idea; never discussed that with Rick.

Did something change in the last week or two with ABC 25 in town?

My antenna hasn't moved in my attic, but the last couple weeks signal
reception has been awful. 0% with a jump now and again up to 45% for 1
second then back to 0%.

I hooked up my silver sensor and set it on top of my TV last night to watch
MNF. Not something the wife wants as permanent decor even if it does
pull in the station at 100%. Besides, it's too directional, have to move it for
the other stations.

Didn't know if they moved their tower or changed out their antenna for a
weaker one or something of that nature.

No changes with WOLO. What receiver are you using?

Samsung TS160 via DirecTV.

If I go up in the attic and touch the antenna then it comes in 70%+ and is
stable. Let go and it disappears.

The odd thing is that where it was positioned about a year ago has worked
for all the stations in Columbia since then. Up until the last couple weeks.

I figure I'll fight with it more when it's not frigid up in my attic. Until then I'll
just swap out the set top antenna if I want to watch MNF.

Do you have a preamp on the antenna? Low temps can sometimes cause them to become unstable. Or just send the wife up to hold the antenna...

But, you do need to visit this website...

http://www.samsungusa.com/stb_upgrade/

I do have an amp before the STB, I'll try it without that.

Also:

If you have Model SIR-TS160 and Direct TV, the upgrade will be handled
automatically by through your DirectTV Satellite connection.

Thanks for the link though... I knew old firmwares for that box gave people problems.

I am leaving for Texas tomorrow very early and do have to finish packing etc tonight, so I don't know if I will have a chance to help out with anything more until next Tuesday.

If you do have an emergency between now and then, please call Customer Service at 866-892-7201.

Happy Holidays!

Diana,
Have a safe trip, a very Merry Christmas, and .... enjoy your visit in Tejas!

Happy Christmas to All ....

and to All a Good Night!

turning in early, eh?

happy xmas, kwanzaa, hanukkah, winter solstice, or festivus, as it may apply.

and please, santy claus, bring us WACH-HD and STARZ!-HD on TWC sometime soon.

Well this coming Sunday is the final weekend of the NFL regular season and TWC still has no Fox-HD service. I think it is terrible service to us customers that we missed the entire NFL season because TWC is taking so long to negotiate a carriage agreement. In a month we will be missing the Super Bowl too.

ESPN2-HD is going to be starting up in January correct? I suppose it will be another year and a half before we get that channel too. Because TWC didnt have enough foresight to include that channel, which was already announced as coming online in Jan 2005, in the agreement to carry ESPN-HD.

TWC might have good PQ on their HD and we have an HD-DVR that works properly, which I understand some cable companies dont have yet, but damn they are so agonizingly slow in adding new channels and deciding which other HD cable channels to pick up. StarzHD, EncoreHD, CinemaxHD, NFL channel, BravoHD, and others that I cant even think of right now. We were told on the board by Diana some 6 or so months ago that TWC was "in negotiations" for those channels. I think TWC's negotiating method is "Dont call us, we'll call you" so nothing ever gets done.

Has anyone else had any issues with their HD service and (sometimes) High Speed Internet not working when it gets cold outside? The last 4 or 5 nights when it has gotten down into the 20's my HD channels have stopped coming in (Pixelated mess or showing but breaking up) and a couple of those nights the cable modem has not been working as well.

Has anyone else noticed this happening to them recently?

Thanks