my earlier optimism came crashing down earlier this evening when i lost roadrunner for around 9 hours. worst outage yet.

i called in and was told that there were no major outages in my area so i have another service appointment for next week.

...sigh...

I'm wondering if the PBSHD channel is the same here as it was in Orlando when I lived there last year. I wonder what happened to all the extremely high quality demo loops, shows from other countries, and such. I've been keeping an eye on it and those shows are gone and what's there is not very high quality. Was watching a show today on the shroud of Turin and it seemed less than sharp and was highly compressed and looked less than SD with any motion. Discovery HD looks same as before. And we don't have UPN HD here?

I'm wondering if the PBSHD channel is the same here as it was in Orlando when I lived there last year. I wonder what happened to all the extremely high quality demo loops, shows from other countries, and such. I've been keeping an eye on it and those shows are gone and what's there is not very high quality. Was watching a show today on the shroud of Turin and it seemed less than sharp and was highly compressed and looked less than SD with any motion. Discovery HD looks same as before. And we don't have UPN HD here?
December 2003 was the end of the national broadcast of the PBS Demo loop when PBS went to having a full time HD channel. SCETV carries the PBS HD broadcast plus multicasts two SD channels: one a simulcast of their (PBS) analog channel and the other The South Carolina Channel. As I understand it, The South Carolina Channel broadcast fulfilled a requirement mandated by the state; they were required to add a local service as a condition in the funding for their upgrade to digital. (And IMO, the HD PQ did indeed go down). SCETV's bitrate for the HD channel is reportedly around 12 to 13mb/s. Once upon a time SCETV ran a test using using 720p vice 1080i (which I missed) and were going to try it again. However that has not happened to my knowledge and I suspect the concept has been shelved.

... And we don't have UPN HD here?
Long story.. you asked for it. :)

WZRB-TV UPN (47) went on the air as of 0001 hours 1 January 2005. This was a new station and was/is analog only. And last I heard (Feb) they could not give me any information regarding a DT buildout.

Going back a bit further with the history, WBHQ-TV WB (63) used to be WQHB-TV UPN (63). Then a couple of years ago they became UPN/WB, and later switched (circa 2003) to being WB/UPN. This meant the UPN programming, e.g. Enterprise, was delayed until after the WB programming (2 hour delay). They also did a call letter switch in the middle of all this and then gave up the UPN franchise. This opened the way to for another station to pickup UPN which happened with the start up of WZRB.

WBHQ-TV was originally located in Sumter and their viewing area included Columbia. In 2003 they moved their analog operations to a tower in ENE Cola and in 2004 started their (very low power) DT broadcast (Ch 39) off their old (short) tower in Sumter. They were planning on moving their DT broadcasts to Cola this summer but I have not heard if that has indeed happened. HD pass-through capability was planned.

I am having people over to watch the game Sunday night and really do not want our local ABC station to "turn off" High Definition at a crucial part of the game (say around 11:00 PM). Is there any way someone from the station can please make sure this does not happen? Not just for this game, but anytime and for any program that is in HD and goes past 11:00. PLEASE!

What?! Am I the only one who cares about this?

Why is it that when an event such as the NBA Finals, Baseball Games, Football Games, et cetera goes past 11:00 PM our ABC affiliate STILL pulls the plug on HD? This seams to me to be laziness on their part. If the head of the company wanted to watch it all in HD I bet it would get taken care of.

A Disgruntled Watcher...

Dwaine

What?! Am I the only one who cares about this?

Why is it that when an event such as the NBA Finals, Baseball Games, Football Games, et cetera goes past 11:00 PM our ABC affiliate STILL pulls the plug on HD? This seams to me to be laziness on their part. If the head of the company wanted to watch it all in HD I bet it would get taken care of. [snip]
At 11:35 tonight I tuned in and the game was still going on (5+min left)and it was in HD. Maybe the switch you saw to to SD was temporary? And was it the station or the network that had the problem?

To answer your question about you being the only who cares.... probably not. FYI, WOLO-DT has had a VERY strong presence here in our forum over the years. Lazy is the wrong word to use. There have been issues with many stations, not just WOLO, with late evening and/or weekend HD events. Typically they have been caused by computer programming errors, program changes/overruns, and compounded by station manning/monetary constraints.

Bruce

What?! Am I the only one who cares about this?

Why is it that when an event such as the NBA Finals, Baseball Games, Football Games, et cetera goes past 11:00 PM our ABC affiliate STILL pulls the plug on HD? This seams to me to be laziness on their part. If the head of the company wanted to watch it all in HD I bet it would get taken care of.

A Disgruntled Watcher...

Dwaine

Another Disgruntled watcher here! I too was enjoying the game in HD when the plug was pulled at 11PM. It took about a half hour for it to be switched back on again. This has happened many times before and is just unacceptable. The program was scheduled to run from 9:00-12:00, so for it to drop out at 11:00 is ridiculous.

I have experienced a decline in HD picture quality over the past couple of days on TWC HD. Of note was the Fox baseball game on Saturday, which didn't appear to be in high def at all. Diana, are you aware of any issues in downtown Columbia?

This is controlled by a timer, which SHOULD normally be progarmmed to at least 1130pm, however that fact that it took 30 minutes to be noticed is unaccpetable, and we will speak with the operator on duty about this.

However, we do have much more important items to worry with at that time, such as dealing with the game runover and getting the newscast on. But, it should not have taken 30 minutes to correct.

WZRB-TV UPN (47) went on the air as of 0001 hours 1 January 2005. This was a new station and was/is analog only. And last I heard (Feb) they could not give me any information regarding a DT buildout.Seems odd, with the end of analog not far down the road, for a station to come into being with no defined digital roadmap. Or not one they bother to share with non-FCC types...

Sorry, that doesn't make a lot of sense to me. It sounds like the timer method doesn't have a very high success rate. Why set it for 11:30, when the games for the finals are scheduled to run from 9:00 to 12:00? And most of the playoff games have run over their allotted time. Someone should stand there and manually turn off the HD feed at the appropriate time.... or set the timer for 1AM when there's no chance of it interfering.

Timers are the most effective method for day to day control. If we were to manually switch the feed, you'd all be bitching constantly that the switch to HD was late or missed entirely,
as we have far more pressing duties with the analog feed and news operations near the
end of primetime programming..
Since ABC uses the same feed for East and West, you cannot set the timer way past, or we'd end up airing the west coast feed, whcih would upset the network and program providers.
If ABC would provide a control signal (like another network does) that indicates valid HD time, then this would not happen.

Realizing that the news is important, how does ABC feel about the negative light this sheds on their network? I would think this creates a level of importance as well.

If we were to manually switch the feed, you'd all be bitching constantly that the switch to HD was late or missed entirely

Is it really so difficult to flip this switch at the appropriate time that you're certain the people at ABC are going to screw it up? At the very least the timer could be manually set accordingly each and everyday depending on the scheduled programming.

And, the "bitching" is my right as a customer.

I have experienced a decline in HD picture quality over the past couple of days on TWC HD. Of note was the Fox baseball game on Saturday, which didn't appear to be in high def at all. Diana, are you aware of any issues in downtown Columbia?


The FOX game on Saturday is 480 widescreen. They have never broadcast a regular season game in HD. All of their reality shows are merely widescreen and are not HD. What other shows are you having problems with?

The FOX game on Saturday is 480 widescreen. They have never broadcast a regular season game in HD. All of their reality shows are merely widescreen and are not HD. What other shows are you having problems with?
Kevin:

The picture quality of the entire HD tier is not up to its usual standard, as HD Net and InHD are also a bit off. Last night's ABC broadcast couldn't hold a candle to its TNT counterpart from a few days ago. Perhaps its just a temporary condition.

1080i on TNT-HD with all HD cameras at 19mb will always look better than 14mb 720p with SD cameras mixed in. HDNET and INHD look stellar on my TWC.

As for Fox-HD, the two shows on tonight will be widescreen, but not HD. Their bitrate will be reduced due to their new subchannel. WLTX-DT is the only local station that broadcast above 15mb.

Thanks for the follow-up. I may have issues with the cable feed, as the picture quality issue includes periodic drops/freezes with HDNET - the first I can ever recall.

December 2003 was the end of the national broadcast of the PBS Demo loop when PBS went to having a full time HD channel. SCETV carries the PBS HD broadcast plus multicasts two SD channels: one a simulcast of their (PBS) analog channel and the other The South Carolina Channel. As I understand it, The South Carolina Channel broadcast fulfilled a requirement mandated by the state; they were required to add a local service as a condition in the funding for their upgrade to digital. (And IMO, the HD PQ did indeed go down). SCETV's bitrate for the HD channel is reportedly around 12 to 13mb/s. Once upon a time SCETV ran a test using using 720p vice 1080i (which I missed) and were going to try it again. However that has not happened to my knowledge and I suspect the concept has been shelved.

somewhere along the way did they go from DD 5.1 audio to 2.0? i have a Soundstage program on my DVR recorded 9/04 that was in 5.1 but lately all i get is 2.0, at least through TWC--don't know what is going out OTA.

Older Soundstage programs will be 2.0. The newer shows this past year were in DD 5.1. You most likely were watching a replay of a older Soundstage show. This is one of the few times you will see a DD 5.1 presentation on PBS.

TWC passes what the local station broadcast.

Very unimpressed with TNT's "Into the West" special, DVRed from Friday night, and watched last night.

Lots of pixelization and many, many audio dropouts. In some cases, pieces of dialogue were missed altogether, leaving us wondering what was said.

Anybody else happen to notice this?

I am constantly having audio breakups lately. Has anyone talked to Diana lately. Seems she has dropped off the face of the forum

She's pretty busy for the next few weeks. They just started Reforecast and Budget season.

scruffy7: The PBS website lists the next two Soundstage programs (reruns) as being in stereo only. (Michael McDonald, Ashford and Simpson, featuring Doobie Brothers Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons Sunday, June 19, 12:00am and Lucinda Williams and Kasey Chambers Sunday, June 26, 12:00am).

IrmoGamecoq: re: Into the West: could not get through the first episode even (maybe 30mins worth). Don't remember major dropout problems here though (was DVR's from first broadcast and viewed later).

sidenote: not sure if its related, but you mentioned missed dialog. When I recently watched one of the broadcasts (DVR'd) of Harry Potter PoA, I noted there were a couple of skips in the recording. Both dialog and video segments of the movie were missing and did not appear to be edits.

MarkyMark: generally not having problems here.. call me next time you are having major problems and I will try and do a comparison with you.

iBleedGarnet: I agree; last I heard Diana was up to her eyeballs with budget forecasts and the like.

Bruce

Sorry everyone - Forecast and Budgets will take a small hiatus for me starting tomorrow till first week in July - But July into first couple of weeks of August will be a nightmare. Also sitting in on two to three ITV calls a day - some interesting news on DVR latency posted on ITV thread.

Also, only one engineer around this week as SCETV is going on in San Antonio.

Marky Mark & Scruffy - your issues are still on the radar, but the poor guy left here this week is one-arm paperhanger busy... and he still spends an hour on the phone with me looking up converter serial numbers in the DNCS so that we can individually troubleshoot units that are just being obstinate about accepting the ITV codes....

Anyway - I never mean to ignore you - promise!

IrmoGamecoq: re: Into the West: could not get through the first episode even (maybe 30mins worth). Don't remember major dropout problems here though (was DVR's from first broadcast and viewed later).


"Couldn't get through" because the quality of the show? If so, I would probably agree. When I said "unimpressed" above, that went for the show itself, as well as the HD presentation.

Ver weak, with poor characterizations. The main character Jacob is just cringe inducing.

Anyway, we're gonna give it another episode to see if it gets any better.

"Couldn't get through" because the quality of the show? If so, I would probably agree. When I said "unimpressed" above, that went for the show itself, as well as the HD presentation. <snip>
My reason(s) for turning the channel I suspect was a combination of both the program's content and PQ. Neither were compelling to me and I got bored with it. I may well however try another episode just in case I misjudged the first one.

Bruce

Did anyone watch the K1 Battle at the Bellagio III on inHD last night from 9pm to 12am? I watched from 9 until around 10pm and the PQ was very bad in places and very good in others. If any of you watched it did you notice the same?

This is controlled by a timer, which SHOULD normally be progarmmed to at least 1130pm, however that fact that it took 30 minutes to be noticed is unaccpetable, and we will speak with the operator on duty about this.

However, we do have much more important items to worry with at that time, such as dealing with the game runover and getting the newscast on. But, it should not have taken 30 minutes to correct.

Well, WOLO's infamous HD timer struck again last night during the NBA Finals game. The program was scheduled to run from 9:00 - 11:30. But at 11:00 the timer turned off the HD feed... so much for the timer "normally" being set to 11:30. It was 15 mins. later before it was switched back on again. This timer has now turned off the HD feed in each of the 4 games so far... with the worst being last week when it took a half hour to switch back on. Absolutely ridiculous.

But hey, I'm sure they "have much more important items to worry with at that time". :rolleyes:

I'm not an NBA fan but I see your point, I used to get so ticked off when they did that every week with Monday Night Football, every week exactly at midnight it would switch to SD and the game would last till 12:30 or sometimes later and it would never switch back to HD. But they made some kind of adjustment then, I dont see why they cant do it now. The games are only once every 2-3 days. How difficult could it be to set the timer for midnight or so and then when the game is over and they are ready to do their news or other programming just manually switch the HD feed off. Its probably not that simple though... or is it?? :)

Seems odd, with the end of analog not far down the road, for a station to come into being with no defined digital roadmap. Or not one they bother to share with non-FCC types...
I talked to WZRB's engineer yesterday. The reasons they are analog only are several but the main one is the fact their station only received one (analog) channel assignment from the FCC. The station can and will switch over to digital relatively easily. The switch will involve them to acquire/install a couple of pieces of additional equipment; the main one being a new digital exciter (used to feed the signal to the transmitter). The question is the when. And that is expected to be when (or just before) the FCC requires the analog stations be turned off. And that date is still being debated.

I'm not an NBA fan but I see your point, I used to get so ticked off when they did that every week with Monday Night Football, every week exactly at midnight it would switch to SD and the game would last till 12:30 or sometimes later and it would never switch back to HD. But they made some kind of adjustment then, I dont see why they cant do it now. The games are only once every 2-3 days. How difficult could it be to set the timer for midnight or so and then when the game is over and they are ready to do their news or other programming just manually switch the HD feed off. Its probably not that simple though... or is it?? :)

I agree. I don't know why this switch can't be flipped manually instead of using a timer. As it is, they're having to manually flip it back on because they're not setting the timer late enough. Wouldn't you think the timer would at least be set for 11:30 when the program is scheduled to run until? And because this is the NBA Finals the games aren't starting right at 9:00... with player introductions and national anthem they're not getting started until 20 past. So, you can bet on it running longer than the allotted time slot.

Well, I got a 8300HD box today. We'll see if it helps my audio dropouts and pixelizing or not.

Mark

Well, so much for the 8300HD. My digital cable just took a dump. I can't even watch. No audio and pixellated to such a degree there is never a smooth picture. Not just HD channels, all digital channels. Don't know if it is a Sumter thing, or if it is local to my drop. I rebooted the 8300, and it took forever to reboot. Didn't help though. Things that I have recorded in HD on the DVR are still showing fine, so I know it's not the output of the 8300. I assume it has to be the incoming levels took a dive. Will update on any changes, and will call TWC as well.

Mark

My digital cable came back up around 12:30am last night, so it may have been a regional thing. Bruce?

Diana, I have a question that maybe you or one of the engineers can answer...

My TV has a power saving option like many computer monitors do. When there is no signal sent to it, it powers down. It works when I'm using the computer, and it works on the cable input when the cable box is disconnected, but not when the stb is connected. Not even when the cable box is turned off. It seems the cable box is sending a signal to the tv even when the box is turned off. If I unplug the box from the AC, the TV goes into power saving mode. Is there anyway to disable this signal that is going to the TV when the box is off? I would like the TV to go into standby mode at night when the box shuts itself off after I fall asleep. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Mark

i ran into this years ago when i had an 8000SD. i had bought an S-video switcher that was supposed to automatically switch to whatever component was sending a signal. even with the DVR off it always stayed on the DVR input because of the constant signal. i ended up returning the switcher for one with a remote.

as far as i know there is no workaround.

ironic, isn't it, that a DVR that is programmed to shut itself after 1 a.m. to save power would cause another component to use power.

Scruffy, yes it is annoying. But I don't think the DVR's power down for energy savings, I think its for hard drive savings.

Mark

My digital cable came back up around 12:30am last night, so it may have been a regional thing. Bruce?
Mark,
Last night I did not watch anything on the big screen (with the 8300HD) but my wife did watch a SD PPV on it. She started ~6pm and did not finish till ~11pm (lots of phone call interruptions). When I asked her just if she had experienced any problems with cable last night, she said she noticed a lip sync issue at one point. My evening was spent working in my study with the NTSC set tuned to AMC for company. I do know that my RR service was always on when I checked which was periodically up to about 12:30am this morning. My guess is that you experienced a local/neighborhood problem.

Bruce

Scruffy, yes it is annoying. But I don't think the DVR's power down for energy savings, I think its for hard drive savings.

Mark

yes, but they spin it as a power saving feature, that's where the irony pops up...

--scruffy, posting via dialup because i'm in my 4th hour of a roadrunner outage today. boy, i envy you guys who never have RR problems. service call #3 is scheduled for wednesday...

All converters have to 'talk' to the headend overnight so that they can send and receive information. Without this exchange of information, your converter would turn into a brick in about a week, so we are not able to stop signals overnight. Sorry for your inconvenience.

That's fine Diana, but why does it have to send a signal out the component outputs? It should only be communicating over the coax.

Mark

Diana, I have a question that maybe you or one of the engineers can answer...

My TV has a power saving option like many computer monitors do. When there is no signal sent to it, it powers down. It works when I'm using the computer, and it works on the cable input when the cable box is disconnected, but not when the stb is connected. Not even when the cable box is turned off. It seems the cable box is sending a signal to the tv even when the box is turned off. If I unplug the box from the AC, the TV goes into power saving mode. Is there anyway to disable this signal that is going to the TV when the box is off? I would like the TV to go into standby mode at night when the box shuts itself off after I fall asleep. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Mark

I think I understand what you are talking about. It is not a problem with your TV or the cable box. Your TV is detects the connection to the cable box as a live connection because although the cable box is in standby mode there is still an electrical current on its output connection which your TV is detecting and registering as a signal. The reason why it works on your computer is because your video card doesn't get any power when it goes into standby mode or is powered off. I have 3 Pioneer plasmas and they have the same "power off if no signal" option. Instead of using that option see if you plasma has a "power off if no activity" option. Mine has that and I keep it on so if I fall asleep watching TV, it will power off after a few hours.

That's fine Diana, but why does it have to send a signal out the component outputs? It should only be communicating over the coax.

Mark


Beyond me - I'll have to ask Engineers - you guys SO keep me on my toes.

That's fine Diana, but why does it have to send a signal out the component outputs? It should only be communicating over the coax.

Mark

I think the component output is hot all the time, as is the HDMI or DVI depending on the STB.

Depending on the amount of overscan your set has and brightness setting, with your display on and STB "off", you may be able to see a horizontal line at the top of the raster and a vertical line that runs down the right side.

I've not noticed any lines on the set when the box is off, but I haven't looked.


D-Nice,

I don't think my TV has the option for that. I checked in the manual and the menu, and can't find any settings for the standby mode. I think it just automatically shuts down whenever it doesn't see a signal. Like I said, it does shut down when AC is removed from the STB. Anyone got a work-around for my problem? I'd use the AC outlet on the back of the STB to control the TV, except I'm using a UPS to condition the AC for the set. Maybe I could plug the UPS into the STB outlet? Will the STB supply enough current to power a plasma? My plasma also has the media box, so it has 2 AC cords.

Mark

I've not noticed any lines on the set when the box is off, but I haven't looked.


D-Nice,

I don't think my TV has the option for that. I checked in the manual and the menu, and can't find any settings for the standby mode. I think it just automatically shuts down whenever it doesn't see a signal. Like I said, it does shut down when AC is removed from the STB. Anyone got a work-around for my problem? I'd use the AC outlet on the back of the STB to control the TV, except I'm using a UPS to condition the AC for the set. Maybe I could plug the UPS into the STB outlet? Will the STB supply enough current to power a plasma? My plasma also has the media box, so it has 2 AC cords.

Mark

The only work around that I can think of is use the sleep timer. Other than that, you will just have to remember to turn the TV off.

Anyone got a work-around for my problem? I'd use the AC outlet on the back of the STB to control the TV, except I'm using a UPS to condition the AC for the set. Maybe I could plug the UPS into the STB outlet? Will the STB supply enough current to power a plasma?The sticker on the back of the STB should indicate maximum draw, probably so people who plug in hair dryers will find a reason later for their box melting.

I bought a watt-meter to determine what my RCA 38" tube HDTV drew at max (around 250W; maybe 30W when off due to a 24/7 fan) and bought a UPS that had more than that available. If you do the same, taking the STB into account too, you could plug the UPS into the wall, the STB into the UPS, and the HDTV into the STB. A 500W UPS handles the HDTV, the STB, and my Xbox. The Gamecube is in a smaller UPS that I got when Staples had it for $20 after rebate.

Be sure to get a reading on the HDTV's operating draw in Watts before investing a lot. And UPs's tend to die after maybe 4 years, so be ready...

the other drawback would be the DVR turning the display off at 1:15 a.m. if you happened to be using the display for something other than cable tv and hadn't pressed a key on the remote to avoid entering "power save" mode...

Scruffy, you mean if I plugged it into the DVR's outlet the scenario that you described above could happen? That's true, I hadn't thought of that, and I am surfing the web after 1:15am often, so that would be aggravating if that happened. I programmed a macro for my TV's sleep function into my Pronto remote, (because the genius's at hitachi made it so you had to go into the User menu to set the sleep function instead of just a one touch button) so this macro sets the TV to go off in 1 1/2 hrs. I'll just use that. I just was too lazy to go into the menu and set it each time I wanted it. Talk about lazy....lol.

Thanks for y'all's help,
Mark

I was just in Orlando visiting friends and family down there. They have Brighthouse Networks down there which I think is a division of Time Warner. My friend has the same 8300HD DVR box as I have, but his graphical user interface is updated. It is silver and much nicer to look at as well as being more clear and easier to read. When I lived down there 7 months ago, the GUI was the same as we have here. Any chance of getting our boxes updated with the new GUI in the future? It almost looks as if the GUI was made with High Def in mind and takes advantage of the higher resolution while ours is just upscaled SD.

Also on another topic, I'm sure this has been covered before, but why does the cable pop and click sometimes and take days to correct? I get home after an 8 hour drive and have clicking and popping again. Very annoying to watch TV, so I quit and here I am at the computer.

I was just in Orlando visiting friends and family down there. They have Brighthouse Networks down there which I think is a division of Time Warner. My friend has the same 8300HD DVR box as I have, but his graphical user interface is updated. It is silver and much nicer to look at as well as being more clear and easier to read. When I lived down there 7 months ago, the GUI was the same as we have here. Any chance of getting our boxes updated with the new GUI in the future? It almost looks as if the GUI was made with High Def in mind and takes advantage of the higher resolution while ours is just upscaled SD.

Also on another topic, I'm sure this has been covered before, but why does the cable pop and click sometimes and take days to correct? I get home after an 8 hour drive and have clicking and popping again. Very annoying to watch TV, so I quit and here I am at the computer.
There are two application programs that I know of that run on Scientific Atlanta DVRs (8000 and 8300 series): one is made by SA called SARA (SA resident application) and one made by Pioneer called Passport (which can also run on Motorola and Pace boxes). Their functionality is similar but not identical and they have slightly different GUIs and feature sets. Much has been said which has the better features and which is more stable. What matters most is that your cable company has picked one to use (can't do both). There are program versions that run on the servers on their head-end and versions for their convertor/DVRs. There are actually multiple versions or drops of SARA in use by various cable companies/divisions and each individual cable company will choose what version to run on their system.

Individual Time Warner divisions/companies (there are over 30 of them) choose what brand software to use. TWCSC for example uses SARA while Charlottes' TWC uses Pioneer. Brighthouse seems to always use Passport. As I understand it, Advance Newhouse and Time Warner used to co-own a number of cable companies which TWC ran. That changed a couple of years ago and Advance Newhouse took over management duties (or bought out TWC; depends on who you talk to) and renamed them Brighthouse Networks. For all intents and purposes it appears little changed other than the name. (Brighthouse did enlarge some of their holdings when they bought out and included in their operations the US based Shaw cable divisions (Shaw Cable is a Canadian company).

Orlando's DVR GUIs will look and operate different from ours since they use Passport. And perhaps the difference you noted between the new GUI and the old is really more of a version difference since I am not aware of them running SARA in the past. I have seen/used the Brighthouse GUI while visiting Orlando and it had some niceties over SARA (which I feel is more stable; whatever). I also suspect in time as the software matures the differences in functionality will shrink.

As to your click/pop question... could you elaborate further on details? (when; what channel; what program; what kind of audio). What you may be describing could be from the network, the station, TWC, your neighborhood node, or within your house/DVR. You well might consider calling TWC and reporting the problem for they may want to schedule an appointment for a tech to check things out at your house. (FYI, anytime I have a DVR that is acting weird I do a cold reboot and that usually helps).

When it clicks, it does it on every channel, digital especially, but on all channels. It is gone this morning. It was triggered last night at exactly the time I started watching some on demand stuff. Not much use calling for a service call for a problem that probably won't be there when the tech arrives. I like to try and troubleshoot myslef for simple things like this as I expect there is no defect as this would also happen with Brighthouse in Orlando at times. I have come to expect slightly buggy software with these things. Now, this never happens on my 2 other TV's that are just connected to straight analog cable with no converter box.

A side question-----how long until cable goes all digital? I actually do not want this to happen as I enjoy having the high quality(most of the time) analog channels and the ability to play them on several TV's in the house. I am not willing to pay a cent additional to retain them if I have to get boxes as I rarely watch them.

When it clicks, it does it on every channel, digital especially, but on all channels. It is gone this morning. It was triggered last night at exactly the time I started watching some on demand stuff. Not much use calling for a service call for a problem that probably won't be there when the tech arrives. I like to try and troubleshoot myslef for simple things like this as I expect there is no defect as this would also happen with Brighthouse in Orlando at times. I have come to expect slightly buggy software with these things. Now, this never happens on my 2 other TV's that are just connected to straight analog cable with no converter box.

A side question-----how long until cable goes all digital? I actually do not want this to happen as I enjoy having the high quality(most of the time) analog channels and the ability to play them on several TV's in the house. I am not willing to pay a cent additional to retain them if I have to get boxes as I rarely watch them.

It sounds like your TV (using analog audio I would guess) has a problem with digital cable and converters in general if you had the problem in Florida as well. Anyone else got an idea?

As to when cable will go all digital... who knows. Maybe not for years or a decade possibly. Like you said, too many of us viewers enjoy cable now in rooms with TVs now that don't have converters. Who wants to be like dbs subscribers and have to buy hardware and pay subscription fees for every TV they use? Very low cost SD converters or cable cards (free even) might be required to enable cable companies to reallocate the space now used for analog channels and switch them to digitial. There are lots of unknowns too that might change all this as well.. legislation, HD DVD, MPEG4, and more.

<snip> As to when cable will go all digital... who knows.,,... There are lots of unknowns too that might change all this as well.. legislation, HD DVD, MPEG4, and more.
After I posted that comment I was reminded that Digital Simulcast offers a route for the cable companies to take in maximizing their bandwidth by providing analog services to those who need it and (mostly) digital to the rest. This white paper (http://www.bigbandnet.com/technology/tech_whitepaper_alldigit.php) discusses that topic at length.

I have had digital, and HD cable for quite a long time , and in my opinion it is as stable as it ever has been. Have seen no audio issues on the digital tier (digital audio only). I do not watch any OnDemand. I am still using my original 8300HD.

Does WIS even have a display of their digital broadcast in their control room?

If they did, they would know that they have a snippet of a weather alert stuck at the bottom of the screen for the last 18 hours or so.

It's just amazing the lack of attention Digital TV still gets.

Does WIS even have a display of their digital broadcast in their control room?

If they did, they would know that they have a snippet of a weather alert stuck at the bottom of the screen for the last 18 hours or so.

It's just amazing the lack of attention Digital TV still gets.

Yeah I noticed the same thing last night. That's really, really slack. Unacceptable.

Yeah I noticed the same thing last night. That's really, really slack. Unacceptable.


It's funny. About 10 minutes after I posted my note, the screen cleared. Maybe they are watching AVS forum and not their own broadcast?

It's funny. About 10 minutes after I posted my note, the screen cleared. Maybe they are watching AVS forum and not their own broadcast?
I also saw that glitch on Ch 805 last night (during Medium) and wondered about it. I even powered up my OTA box and saw the problem was there too. Today I checked the Programming forum here to see if it had been reported as a network problem. Nope so I figured it was just another WIS glitch. When I checked Ch 805 earlier today (after your post) I saw the problem banner had gone away. You would think that someone who works at the station would be watching their programming and call it in. However, there is a possibility that the problem was indeed noted last night but no one qualified to fix it was available until today.

It was present in the analog broadcast too.

Man I just watched the DVR'd Las Vegas, and saw the National weather service band frozen at the bottom of the screen. That is pathetic. They need to fire some of their engineers and techs. No one watched their actual feed all night?

This is the same problem reported before that occured during Medium Monday night. And to answer your question... either they did not notice or could not fix the software glitch at that time. Their #2 engineer guy this morning did not admit to either but did imply that it could have been either or both. Best we can do is call the station and let them know that we are still noticing their problems, mistakes and other booboos.

Bruce

No, let's fire the engineers, then there won't be anyone to fix the dtv when it breaks!!

No, let's fire the engineers, then there won't be anyone to fix the dtv when it breaks!!
Nah; they have their uses! :) I suspect it comes down to how station management allocates their resources. It would be nice if they could include more engineering time in the budgers that so these glitches that occur during evenings/weekends could be fixed in real time. But we still live in an NTSC driven world.

Bruce

Nah, I say we fire the engineers...lol. Sorry for being so hasty in my previous post...In a bad mood at the time, and ticked off by the problem. Being an engineer myself, I say fire everyone but the engineers...

Mark

so Being an engineer myself, I say fire everyone but the engineers...Mark


You'd fit right in working with Tv news... :D

Noticed WACH-DT has been this way all day ,and I just noticed that Wolo-DT is mia. :eek:

Both channels came to life at 8 , and all is well!

You mean 5 Min after 8pm just in time to mess up my recording of Toy Story

Local DT/HD update for tonight as of ~ 10pm....

WIS: on air but broken (frozen) national weather service alert banner again
WOLO: all DT services off the air: maybe (?) due to electrical storm kaboom
WACH: all DT services off the air: see above .... same tower, thinking maybe shared the same zap.
WRLK: on air
WLTX: on air

update: noted at 11:52 that both WOLO and WACH were back up.

DVD wins at my home!

Local DT/HD update for tonight as of ~ 10pm....


WOLO: all DT services off the air: maybe (?) due to electrical storm kaboom
WACH: all DT services off the air: see above .... same tower, thinking maybe shared the same zap.

update: noted at 11:52 that both WOLO and WACH were back up.

Yep..we're way out at the VERY end of the power line..transmitters hate repeat power bumps..

WIS - did you ever think of a simple reboot to clear your weather alert?

I do it all the time on my computer, and it usually works.

Amazingly, I like to watch your DTV signal even when the program is SD -- It's still clearer than your analog signal, but stuck weather alerts really bug me.

So, during a commercial break, try a reboot. I guarantee it will fix your problems.

Call and complain to the weather geek..he's the one that should be looking after it..

Still stuck, and I just called. She said she would let master control know. She actually ended the call with "Thank You". Who would had thunk it?

Finally fixed and now if the race would just start!

FYI:

I just got a HD Directivo (HR10-250) unit from Best Buy on two notch for $370 and Dtv gave me a $250 retention credit towards it (and 6 mo of free HD/HBO/Showtime).

check out the thread at tivocommunity.com called "best buy 50% off" in the HD forum.

FYI:

I just got a HD Directivo (HR10-250) unit from Best Buy on two notch for $370 and Dtv gave me a $250 retention credit towards it (and 6 mo of free HD/HBO/Showtime).

check out the thread at tivocommunity.com called "best buy 50% off" in the HD forum.

Wish I had the money to jump on this one right now. I saw a post over there saying the Two Notch BB was honoring this deal. And by honoring I mean falling for. Enjoy the new Tivo!

Was hoping they would've fixed the DVR "List" button bug by now.

Ever since that last update, entering and exiting the "List" is veeeeeery slow...

Why would you think that? When we are still running one of the oldest SARA software versions.



Anyone else getting audio drops on TNT-HD and WIS-DT?

Anyone else getting audio drops on TNT-HD and WIS-DT?

I was watching "Score" on TNT-HD last night and got a few minor audio/video breakups. WIS-DT wasn't really bad at all during both Law&Orders that I saw.

Was hoping they would've fixed the DVR "List" button bug by now.

Ever since that last update, entering and exiting the "List" is veeeeeery slow...


Check out the ITV Launch thread and let me know...

Okay, I just read the ITV thread and saw that it was an issue for others, but I'm not sure what you want me to let you know about. Did I miss something in that thread? At least it's a widespread issue, and I would agree with the others that it is more of annoyance than the ITV is a benefit. Much more.

Do you want to Beta Test the new Build?

Yes Diana, I would be happy to beta test the new build.

Thanks

Al

Good Morning,

I just heard from the Engineer's that we are unable to do any additional testing of Compass Build 11 by individual MAC addresses in the field. All lab testing has gone very well, so we will be doing a universal update via a forced re-boot between 2 and 5 am on Tuesday, July 12th. This Build alleviates the DVR Latency issue as well as a couple other very minor issues.

I look forward to your input next Tuesday.

Diana,

At what - dbmv is a acceptable signal level? Is a negative number even acceptable?
I have never had a signal less than -8dbmv. I have had TWC in my house in the past, and they have never mentioned this was a problem, but then I read that some people have a plus signal.

What a good question that I've never thought to ask. I will educate myself and you on Monday.

"At what - dbmv is a acceptable signal level?"

I think the TWC standard, which is typical for CATV plants, calls for between -14 and +14 at the customer demarc point (typically where the cable enters ths house). Analog cable-ready sets sometimes get grainy or a bit snowy below about -12 but it varies from one model to another. Some sets get overloaded with inputs higher than +10 to +15. Digital and HD via the cable-supplied set top box on the other hand is typically "perfect" at anything above around -15, but the threshold between perfect, a few glitches, and then nothing is only a dB or two, the so-called digital "cliff effect". Cable modems like the Motorola Surfboard seem to be happy with just about any level, even down to -20 or lower (but they may have a tough time getting the upstream signal to the headend if there is that much loss).

But having even +5 or more at the demarc may not mean it gets to the set at that level. Each 2-way split takes 3-4 dB off, so a 4-way splitter might knock the level down 7-8 dB, an 8-way 10-12 dB. With more than 4 splits you may need an amplifier.

So in a perfect world you'd like maybe between -5 and +5 at your set, after all splitters etc, but in practice the equipment, especially digital, is very forgiving.

Hope that helps,

Mike

Great info, thanks Mike. I also noticed that INHD1 and 2 level drops down way low sometimes and the channel becomes "unlocked". I just watched the Nascar race on Wis-DT and there were a lot of video glitches and audio drops via my 8300HD. I also watched a couple of Law and Orders recorded from the TNT-HD channel ,and there were the ever present audio drops that plagued all my recordings. The recordings were from 4 different nights. My hope is that TWCSC decides to update the 8300 to this years firmware. I think that the video glitches and audio drops are addressed in the lastest firmware.

TWC Channel 805 is full of audio drops again today. OTA is very good. Kind of makes me think about what is free and what is paid for.:rolleyes:

TWC Channel 805 near perfect here.

The audio has improved, as well as the video glitches are less frequent. Back watching via TWC. The first hour was not stellar by any means at my home.

The audio , and video glitches are back and my source is ota, so it looks like TWC is not at fault. It is more noticeable on my larger monitor using the digital out, but same artifacts and audio glitches are present on my smaller set using the internal HD OTA tuner and using the built in speakers.

TWC Channel 805 near perfect here.

Wow, how is that possible if the ota is messed up?

'I Think' its because we transport WIS to the beach on fiber....I could be ohhhh so wrong though.

Found this in the HD recording section. I hope one day we will catch up. :)

SARA Update - Big Changes!
Ok, Cablevision pushed out SARA 1.88.6.2 last night.

I think the news is mostly very encouraging.

Here's what I can tell so far:

1) Kicked to live but is FIXED! I can't really tell exactly what they did and I don't remember exactly how it worked before, but something is different. I think if you are recording live TV and are watching live, you watch on the channel the show is on. As soon as you are recording behind live, you switch over to the DVR channel. If you hit LIVE, you go back to the regular channel. Either way, it's fixed.

2) 4th FF/RW speed at 128x. It takes about 1 minute to get to the end of a 2 hour show.

3) Play from beginning option. If you go into LIST and select a show currently recording, you have an option to play from beginning. If you tune to the channel you are recording in the middle of the show and hit stop, you don't get an option to play from beginning. I think you should there too.

4) Browser bar has the day of week, start and end times of the shows now.

5) I think the screen blanks after a while now if you pause your DVR.

6) Supposed to be some change in the overnight poweroff being replaced by a hard drive spin-down.

7) Front inputs are supposed to be active now. Haven't tested that.

Some things that haven't been fixed

1) When you are in FF3 mode and hit instant replay, then hit FF again, you go to FF4 (the next FF step) instead of FF1. It's always been like that, but I don't know why they can't fix it.

2) Can't manually edit the end time of a scheduled recording (i.e. for sporting events, you can't program it from the guide and then manually add an hr to the end).

3) I haven't checked the bug that didn't allow you to schedule 2 different all episode (in this time slot) recordings of a show with indentical names.


If anyone wants me to test anything tonight, I'll be happy to do so.


Hopefully, bookmarking and better conflict management is next.

For me, the updates in this SARA pretty much get the box to be about 95% of what I want. The rest is pretty much gravy.

I think you'll all be really happy. Call your Cable companies and push for this update

Diana,

Any plans to implement the SARA updates that Kevin just posted? They sound good.

Thanks,
Mark

Diana,

Any plans to implement the SARA updates that Kevin just posted? They sound good.

Thanks,
Mark

Add in my vote, it may cure some HDMI quirks I've seen occasionally.

Is anyone getting audio drops on TNT-HD? :mad:

Hey Guys -

Kevin's post is the first I have heard of this version and what it can do. I'll try to track the Engineers down about it, but..... were back into budgets very heavy for the next couple of weeks and they have all been living in the headend lately so I don't know when I can pin them on anything.

Diana, speaking of budgets, make sure you read today's Dilbert..

Audio drops on ESPN-HD this evening. All other HD channels are fine, with the exception of TNT-HD. :confused:

I am having some REALLY ugly video feed from WIS-DT tonight. A/V freezes and pixelates all over the place. Unwatchable. Also, CSI was supposed to be in HD, but it wasn't.

Mark

ESPN HD was fine for me here..

Yeah, hopefull we get the updated firmware soon, my box is very buggy, not sure that a new one will be any better so I haven't bothered. Mine has this little rectangle on the upper left corner of the 4:3 window that is black and shows up on the menu sometimes but most of the time on the DVR menu section. Then it stays when I am watching either live Tv or recorded material and I have to stop and replay again to make it go away. Happens about 30% of the time. Also, been recording Star Trek, the next generation off Spike TV at 3pm every weekday and the last few minutes of the program gets pixelated-looking. This happens every time after fast forwarding past the last commercial break. Also, why are there video dropouts on all analog recorded material? I get frequent video glitches and dropouts on analog recorded material. I know the analog material is converted to digital, and then recorded. But then either the box is recording errors, or not reading the recorded material properly. Man I'm glad I didn't buy this box. I like it overall, but these cable boxes have always been buggy. My sister has Comcast and hers is buggy as well? Would a box replacement help here? Has anyone else had my issues?

Sharam, good to hear you have that as well. I thought I was having a problem with my TV. It has happened with every TWC box that I've had since buying my 55" Hitachi Plasma. I was about to switch inputs to see if it was still there. Now I won't bother, because it's obviously a TWC/SA problem because I don't have it on my DVD's or Computer inputs.

Diana, could you ask the engineers about Sharam's and my problem? When the box is in "shutdown mode" the little box at the upper left corner of the 4:3 portion of my screen is bright yellow while the rest of the set is black. Like Sharam, changing channels or pausing a playback and restarting gets rid of the little box.

Mark

Yeah, hopefull we get the updated firmware soon, my box is very buggy, not sure that a new one will be any better so I haven't bothered. Mine has this little rectangle on the upper left corner of the 4:3 window that is black and shows up on the menu sometimes but most of the time on the DVR menu section. <snip> Would a box replacement help here? Has anyone else had my issues?

I have yet to see that problem here using my 8300HD with my display which is CRT based, analog, Mits RPTV widescreen. I know Mark has seen the same problem; is your display a digital one too? (Plasma; DLP, LCD?) What DVR are you using and how are you connected to it... HDMI?

Also I would not characterize my 8300 HD box as being terribly "buggy." Heck, I for the most part just record and watch. I will try next week to record ST TNG as a test to see if I get the same results as you do.

I agree that my box hasn't been extremely buggy. I have generally been happy with the 8300HD that I've got now. I don't have the audio drop outs that I have been having in the past. Also, this problem that Sharam and I have been having has been happening less lately. I have hardly noticed it as of late.

Mark

I am using the 8300HD DVR box and am connected to an LT150 DLP projector via component cables.

Diana, could you ask the engineers about Sharam's and my problem? When the box is in "shutdown mode" the little box at the upper left corner of the 4:3 portion of my screen is bright yellow while the rest of the set is black. Like Sharam, changing channels or pausing a playback and restarting gets rid of the little box.

Mark


I will do my best to get with them tomorrow.

... When the box is in "shutdown mode" the little box at the upper left corner of the 4:3 portion of my screen is bright yellow while the rest of the set is black. Like Sharam, changing channels or pausing a playback and restarting gets rid of the little box.

Mark
Mine is grey. The rest is the same.

I'm glad Sharam mentioned this problem. I really thought I was having a problem with my set. I didn't notice it on my DLP. It didn't happen until the day I bought my plasma. It happened on my 8000HD, then on both of the 8300's that I've had. I haven't noticed it since we've started this posting about it though. How about you guys? Have you noticed it lately? I thought maybe the latest round of software update (7/12/05) had somehow eliminated it.

Mark

I'm glad Sharam mentioned this problem. I really thought I was having a problem with my set. I didn't notice it on my DLP. It didn't happen until the day I bought my plasma. It happened on my 8000HD, then on both of the 8300's that I've had. I haven't noticed it since we've started this posting about it though. How about you guys? Have you noticed it lately? I thought maybe the latest round of software update (7/12/05) had somehow eliminated it.

Mark

I've seen the same thing. It appeared with the ITV rollout.

Do any of you who are seeing the 'little box" also have Digital Phone with Caller ID active? I know Mark does.

Has anyone seen it since last Tuesday's software upgrade?

Diana, this happened long before the phone was connected and CID was on my TV. I got the TV on 5/18 or somewhere around there, and had it almost instantly. Bruce saw it on my set when he was over one day. That was right after I got the set, before phone.

Do any of you who are seeing the 'little box" also have Digital Phone with Caller ID active? I know Mark does.

Has anyone seen it since last Tuesday's software upgrade?

I have two 8300HD boxes, one connected via component and one via HDMI, and no caller ID.

I saw the little box on the HDMI box since I got my LCD TV, about June 1st. It would usually appear after I hit the guide button and exit. Sometimes it would be black and sometimes it would be yellow. Usually hitting the LIST button twice would clear it away.

Since the update on Tuesday of last week, I haven't noticed it.

Diana, this happened long before the phone was connected and CID was on my TV. I got the TV on 5/18 or somewhere around there, and had it almost instantly. Bruce saw it on my set when he was over one day. That was right after I got the set, before phone.

Yup.

Bruce

I do not have digital phone and I have the little box. FYI, the box is not big enough to be a window for caller ID info. it's only a few pixels wide by 2 or 3 pixels high. Can't be sure since it's scaled at my projector.

That's right, it shows up as about 1"x2" box on my 55" set.

Do any of you who are seeing the 'little box" also have Digital Phone with Caller ID active? I know Mark does.

Has anyone seen it since last Tuesday's software upgrade?

No digital phone here and yes I've seen it since the update.

Hey Diana, I hate to make this thread sound like a "pick on Diana" thread all of a sudden, but I have had 2 shows today that I was time shifting, not recording, just paused for a little bit and then started watching, kick back to live for no reason. It was not the end of either of the shows. I was just watching a little delayed, and then flash it was back to live. That happened on a PBS show I was watching this afternoon, and to a movie on HBO tonight. I have never had that happen before unless I was recording the show, and the end of show came up, then I could fast forward back through the recording to get to where I was. This time I didn't have a recording, so I just lost my place permenantly in the shows. I don't know if anyone else has had this problem or not. Just wanted to let you know. I'm sure if it's a problem I will see it a lot because kids cause you to have to hit the pause button often.

Thanks,
Mark

Well, I formatted my harddrive on my dvr ,and the audio drops on TNT-HD continue. I guess I am just lucky.

D-Nice - please PM the phone number so we can see if your converter has software download.

Anyone else seen this since 7/12?

Thanks,

Hi There - I really hate to do this, because I feel like I ignore you enough as it is, but...

I'll be in Philly for a conference Saturday morning until late Thursday. Then gone to another conference in Asheville from Sunday morning until late Wednesday. I won't be checking in while I'm out of town and I'll do what I can the two days I'm back next week.

Don't worry, the end is in sight! Budgets are over August 29th!

If you do have a cable issue, please call 866.892.7201

Thanks - take care!

Hey Y'all,

What's up with WIS? I haven't seen anything in HD from them in quite a while. Just noticed West wing is not HD tonight, and the last few nights have noticed not in HD when they should be.

Mark

I think they lost a lot of equipment in the bad weather(switching & master control) on monday and had to part a good bit of their HD gear just to keep the station on the air. They have ran some show in HD. I think it's just temp till all the needed parts are in so it won't be long till their back to normal.

Regarding WIS-HD, I was watching the RCA Tennis Championships yesterday in HD for a while (it looked very good actually) and then when they returned from an SD commercial break, it never returned to HD. Worse, it started breaking up so badly, I eventually just switched over to the analog channel for the conclusion of the match. Very frustrating.

I just wanted to say, I am very happy with my TWC service, cable, data and phone. I just watched House time shifted, and Fox's broadcast in HD was super. I just wish WIS would get back with it. No HD again tonight.

I am overall satisfied with what I get, or I would not be paying $135 monthly to have it. Other than buggy operation, which I think it unavoidable, my main complaint is with the movie channels. I have given it six months now, and night after nigh, there is nothing on but crap and movies I have already seen. Very rarely is there anything I have not seen. They really do not purchase enough new movies to show. I think pay-per-view has all the good movies and I'm not doing that until they have them in HD or widescreen at least. I'm really ready to dump all the movie channels. It was nice to have HD movies, but if none are what you want to see, then whats the point? I wonder if th HD tier is worth it. It may actually have more HD content that is worthwhile, although I do not care for sports. Anyone else feel this way about the movie channels? And I have them all except for Stars. And Stars has a few good movies on, but not in HD and I'm not paying even more. Going back to Netflix, I think.

TNT-HD is audio drop hell on my 8300HD in West Columbia.

Kevin, have you had anyone out to check your levels? Seems like you're having it all the time. When I was having all these problems, I think it was a combination of my box and the levels. Too high of levels can be just as bad as too low. My tech who is very good said that too high of levels will lock up the box or something like that.

Is there anyone using the HDMI output of their TWC 8300HD? I'm currently using a component connection to my display, but I'd like to move it over to the HDMI output to free up a component connection for my game console. Actually, my display has a DVI connection so I'd be going from the HDMI port on the 8300 to the DVI port on my display. I have a DVI to DVI cable already that I purchased to use on the 3250HD I had previously. I tried this connection a few times w/ the 3250, but the picture was always shifted over to the right a few inches. After several unsuccessful attempts at correcting it I switched over to a component connection, which gave me no problems. I just want to make sure that the HDMI port is active, and that I'll get a good picture from it before I go out and purchase a HDMI to DVI converter. Can anyone comment on the picture quality of the HDMI vs. component connection? Thanks in advance.

I have been using the HDMI-DVI cable for quite a few months. I don't believe there is any discernable difference in PQ; however, when switching back and forth between 1080 and 480 programming the 8300HD at times can't keep pace [settings at auto HDMI], causing the picture to start flipping repeatedly on the high def stations. Don't believe I ever had this issue with component cables. The distortion is easily fixed by selecting a standard def station.

Thanks for the info. I'm not sure why I had the issues before with the 3250 and the DVI-DVI cable, but it makes me a bit hesitant to try a similar hookup with another SA cable box. At least one person is having success with this connection though. Does anyone else have any experience with the HDMI on the 8300?

Thanks for the info. I'm not sure why I had the issues before with the 3250 and the DVI-DVI cable, but it makes me a bit hesitant to try a similar hookup with another SA cable box. At least one person is having success with this connection though. Does anyone else have any experience with the HDMI on the 8300?
I have my 8300 connected via HDMI->DVI adapter to Zektor 5.1 DVI switch and from there to Samsung HLN-507W1. No problems at all. I keep the resolution at 720p fixed. HDMI negotiation takes some time when flipping channels as has been noted.

Happy to report that I have a new 8300 (made last month), and I no longer have the audio issues.

Happy to report that I have a new 8300 (made last month), and I no longer have the audio issues.


Maybe I need to swap out also, I get drops often...... I think mine was one of the very first ones.

-- Cain

Remember, mine was a multiroom and it was a little different. ESPN-HD ,and TNT-HD were the ones that I was having the most problems with. This box seems to be much better than the previous, and might be even better with a updated firmware.

I not sure how long, but Wolo-DT 1,2, and 3 are off the air.

Waitaminute...

Are you guys talking about using HDMI to DVI on the 8300? I have a Sony with a DVI input, and I got a HDMI to DVI converter (a little stubby converter) connected to the DVI cable, and I've NEVER been able to get a picture on my TV. I've even had Time Warner Engineers over at my house TELL me that it doesn't work, and they've done work up in Columbia and had me test it, and it STILL wouldn't work.

Are you guys telling me you're using HMDI to DVI cables and connecting an 8300 to a TV utilizing the HDMI port on the 8300 connecting to your TVs using the DVI connection?

JeffSmall,

Is your Sony's DVI HDCP compliant? I've heard that it won't work if it's a non-HDCP DVI input.

Waitaminute...

Are you guys talking about using HDMI to DVI on the 8300? I have a Sony with a DVI input, and I got a HDMI to DVI converter (a little stubby converter) connected to the DVI cable, and I've NEVER been able to get a picture on my TV. I've even had Time Warner Engineers over at my house TELL me that it doesn't work, and they've done work up in Columbia and had me test it, and it STILL wouldn't work.

Are you guys telling me you're using HMDI to DVI cables and connecting an 8300 to a TV utilizing the HDMI port on the 8300 connecting to your TVs using the DVI connection?

I've an 8300HD, use an HDMI cable and have a HDMI to DVI adapter on the DVI port of my display. No problems here.

I have a Sony as well. Make sure to activate Output 7 for the DVI. If you've already done this, it would appear that you have a bad DVI converter. I'm using a HDMI-DVI cable that I purchased online through Pacific Cable that is working fine.

Something I noticed with my newer 8300HD is that it has a Western Digital harddrive instead of Maxtor drive. It should be noted that this unit is louder than my previous unit. I can hear it in a glassed doored cabnit. But, man it sure is nice to have a clean glitch free picture. HDMI is not being used.

JeffSmall,

Is your Sony's DVI HDCP compliant? I've heard that it won't work if it's a non-HDCP DVI input.

How would I figure this out? This has been brought up previously. It's a fairly new TV. It's the 34" Sony 16:9 CRT. It's got one DVI input on the back.

Is there some way I can check?

I have a Sony as well. Make sure to activate Output 7 for the DVI. If you've already done this, it would appear that you have a bad DVI converter. I'm using a HDMI-DVI cable that I purchased online through Pacific Cable that is working fine.

Also, does it matter specifically HOW you do the HDMI to DVI conversion? I've got a DVI cable. On one end, I have a small DVI to HDMI converter unit that turns it into HDMI on the end. It wouldn't matter *how* you do the conversion *exactly* does it?

Jeff, what's the model number of that Sony? I am looking online, but I can't find one with a DVI.

Maybe it's the heat. Maybe it's the humidity.

As of late, our local affiliates have been giving us rather poor HDTV.

WIS has been the worst, with no HDTV in a long while.

WLTX has been very hit-and-miss with their HDTV (I am Sam last night is an example).

WOLO has been off the air a couple of times.

ETV was off the air last night.

Just griping. It's good to vent.

I agree blizz. I would have watched I am Sam, but it was not HD. I have been bummed out about etv the last couple days and nights. WIS I am really wondering about... I finally got my audio glitch worked out and now there is no HD to watch...

Oh well, I guess there'll always just be AVS and the rest of the internet to keep me entertained.

WOLO has been off the air a couple of times.

Obviously, you have better control over mother nature and thunderstorms than we do.

ETV was off the air last night.

You'd think that someone in Columbia was aware that SCETV, as well as the State
Newspaper, were severley affected by this weekend's flooding. SCETV is/has been off-air, and the State was published here in Charlotte by the Observer.

Just griping. It's good to vent.

Glad you have an outlet to P&M to... :)

I know this is a TWC thread but perhaps someone could give me some technical advice on this problem:

I have an SA8300HD and the VOD has never worked from day one. There has been a parade of Adelphia techs trying to figure out the problem. It appears that the box to receive VOD must be in a 2-way mode. To do this the box has to get an IP address from the server when it boots up. Looking in the service menues it is getting an unavailabe message for the IP and sub net.

The signal is coming in at -11db per the service menu. Today we tried to connect with a direct cable and the signal was -4db but the box still could not get an IP address. They have checked the rate codes and have tried to send a hit to the box.

Has anyone out there had a similar problem?
What was done to fix it?
What would you suggest I do next?

Is your box in 2 way mode or 1 way? On the front of the box, hold the select button in until you get a flashing envelope on the display of the box. Then push the down arrow button on the box quickly. If it says d-1 it is in one way mode, d-2 is in two way. For a while here we were having problems with our VOD on boxes that were recently initiated from the factory or something, but it was solved with a software update. We haven't seen it since, and mine is in 2 way mode right now.

Good luck,
Mark

The box is in 1 way mode.

BTW, on my other set I have an SA2200 that also does not get VOD. Same condition it is in 1-way mode also.

Are these new SA boxes? Maybe they need the software fix that TWC did for us here in SC a few weeks ago. I don't know the details, but maybe Diana will chime in on the problem. After they did whatever they did, mine went from d-1 to d-2 and VOD worked again.

Good luck,
Mark

I think you are right. It has to be something done at the head end. All the cableguys know how to do is check the signal strength, change the connectors, scratch their heads and leave.

If someone can tell me what the technical fix is, then I will talk to one of the supervisors and try to get them to connect with someone that really knows what is going on.

Digital TV is just not as forgiving as analog, so disappointments will become a way of life.

I was watching Today on NBC-HD this morning, and the picture broke into colored boxes and froze. After more than a few moments, I switched to the analog channel and was able to watch in grainy peace...

TWC has switched to all digital in Raleigh.

That's scary 'eh kevin?

Not really, I think it would be great. The Digital channels look great on both my monitors.

Yeah I agree. CMT is digital with dolby digital 2.0 sound here in Columbia, and it looks great. I like to watch the Dukes of Hazzard reruns they have and those shows are old and they still look 10 times better than channels like TBS or TNT and 100 times better than the analog network channels. Plus it frees up a lot of bandwidth for more services.

Other than buggy operation, which I think it unavoidable, my main complaint is with the movie channels. I have given it six months now, and night after nigh, there is nothing on but crap and movies I have already seen. Very rarely is there anything I have not seen. They really do not purchase enough new movies to show. I think pay-per-view has all the good movies and I'm not doing that until they have them in HD or widescreen at least. I'm really ready to dump all the movie channels.
I hear you. We have HBO, Cinemax and Showtime/TMC and can never find anything worth watching. How many Friday and Saturday nights we flip through all of those channels and then end up watching a DVD instead. Each month I ask my wife why we pay for all of the movie channels. :confused:

Looks like both locals are down on my 8300.(subchannels included). :eek:

OTA looks fine.

No HD for Today's Nascar race. I did call them, and was told they would tell Master Control. Their HD was working last night.

Funny, on their web site all I see is a lot of "Count on WIS".

That's our SC station of the year. I called at 2:08 and was assured that they would contact Master Control. Their audio on their DT is not correct. I have switched to analog 10.


Heck, the local Fox station is broadcasting a movie with almost inaudible audio. Looks like local PBS is the only correct local Today via my 8300.Wolo and Wltx still off TWC.

At some point NASCAR went HD on WIS TWC.

I checked back about 5:30, and it was HD until the end.

NO "60 Minutes" recorded off the HD channel last night.

How long until these channels really matter?...

NO "60 Minutes" recorded off the HD channel last night.

How long until these channels really matter?...


TWC didn't get the HD channels fixed till after 8 pm.

Mr. Ahrendt,

I noticed that Wis-Dt did not broadcast Sunday's Race in HD. I am
dissappointed to have missed the race in HD. I called your station, and
was assured that Master Control would be told, but it never switched to
the NBC HD feed.




Mr. Ivey

NBC broadcast the program in HDTV and WIS did not make the switch to HD
until about 5:30pm, well into the race coverage. To put it simply, we
blew it. We have addressed the issue internally, and I certainly hope
we will not disappoint you and our many other HDTV viewers in the
future. Please feel free to let me know if you see any problems in the
future with our digital telecasts. It's a relatively new technology,
but there's no reason we shouldn't be able to send you the best picture
and sound we have available.

Thanks for your email and for watching WIS.

Barry Ahrendt
Director Of Marketing and Programming
WIS Television

Are we in Pre-season at WOLO too?

No HD for MNF here in Columbia?

What is the number for Engineering anyway? I call the Columbia number, Engineering is an
answering machine. I call Columbia's news desk, they give me a Charlotte Fox number to
call. Which hangs up on my when I press '6' to list departments.

Someone flip the bloody switch! :)

I cannot believe we still have to flip a switch. We can land on the moon, but we can't
automate this process?

Talk about a quick response! :)

Thanks.... it's in HD now.

It believe it is automated at Wolo-DT, but it must first be told to do so... :p

TWC no Wltx-DT. OTA is fine.

TWC no Wltx-DT. OTA is fine.


Still the same this morning. :confused:

Still the same this morning. :confused:
Same here. I just got off the phone with CSR. She said she would email the head-end with the details I provided about the outage. I stressed that the problem did not appear to be just in my area (Sumter) but rather system wide. Unfortunately I could not arrange for a callback for an update if the problem cannot be quickly resolved.

Apparently there was some sort of 'action' downtown last night that resulted in a gunshot through the fiber transport for WLTX. We are working on it. You would probably be surprised at the number of gunshot 'wounds' our plant experiences in a year.

Oh yeah- hi there, I'm back from my travels and catch-up - really and truly, I promise - and I'm going to keep AVS Forum up all the time and check it frequently!!!!!

Thanks for the update Diana. Oh, and welcome back! I take it TWC's headend is now connected to WLTX via fiber optic cable and no longer using OTA for their DT signal. Last I heard only SCETV had any type of fiber connect to TWC for DT signals.

You know - I didn't put 2 + 2 together like that, but that was how I intrepreted what the headend engineer told me.... I'll have to double check (but if it wasn't the fiber interconnect, what they heck fiber would impact HD?)

hummmmmm, my head hurts!

I cannot believe we still have to flip a switch. We can land on the moon, but we can't automate this process?

Nahh..we do this for fun..we just love reading the rants when this happens.. :p

Nahh..we do this for fun..we just love reading the rants when this happens.. :p


Bob was a good man, with a wierd sense of humor that drove the AVS Forum guys to hunt him down one day.....

Nahh..just the last local engineer who hasn't been run off the Columbia forum by certain
posters..

Diana who????? Welcome back! I was looking in the obituaries for your name...

Thanks - I know I was dead tired by the time I got back from the second trip.

Welcome back Bruce! Your start page needs a little update. Wach-DT is broadcasting a subchannel called "The Tube".

FWIW Wolo-DT, and Wltx-DT were both off TWC on Sunday as well as last evening.

Welcome back Bruce! Your start page needs a little update. Wach-DT is broadcasting a subchannel called "The Tube".

FWIW Wolo-DT, and Wltx-DT were both off TWC on Sunday as well as last evening.
Hi Kevin,
I been around kinda sorta maybe but pickings for decent/new HD have been pretty slim. Many nights I check the guide and right after the evening news get over click off the Mits and come back here (computer/hobby room). Have NTSC back here for backgrond noise. I did catch The Tube on OTA right after they came out with it and promptly forgot about it. Guess I should add its presence to the summary.

Bruce

Is "The Tube" an OTA channel only? I haven't seen it on TWC.

Is "The Tube" an OTA channel only? I haven't seen it on TWC.
Yes ... . Believe everywhere it is available it is as a sub-channel on stations owned by Raycom Media which inlcudes WACH-DT; our local Fox affiliate. It is a "music station" and broadcast here on DT 57-2. See www.thetubetv.com for details.

Bruce

edit: corrected my post from saying the distribution from Fox stations to stations owned by Raycom Media; apologies to all.

Here we go again... :(

Here we go again... :(
Add CBS; take away FOX.

Add CBS; take away FOX.


Not here, WACH is still down and WLTX is ok.

yea, but what about WoLo?

Looks like WLTX-DT has decided not to do HD tonight. Wolo-Dt is up, but I can't say much for the programming.

Not here, WACH is still down and WLTX is ok.
That is what I was alluding to; WLTX was back up and WACH was down. WLTX's radar channel does not have radar tonight which is a shame given the storm conditions tonight. WLTX started out as HD at 8 but lost it about the 45 minute point. WOLO is indeed up as is their radar channel.

Wolo radar always shows rain, no matter if it is raining or not.

That's not rain. It's frost..

You'll need to "Hey Reg" for that issue.. :)

I just received my Samsung HL-R5667W yesterday and spent the afternoon setting it up. I currently am connected to Time Warner Cable running through a Monster Power HTS 1000 MKII to the Scientific Atlanta cable box (not HD, yet). My Sony Home Theater System is also connected using Monster M1000CV component cables.

When I powered on the Samsung, the first thing that came up on the screen was the TV Guide setup. It was crystal clear - sharp and crisp. Once it was complete, I found myself looking at our NBC affiliate. The picture was somewhat of a disappointment. It is not sharp and crisp (all of the other standard TV's in the house showed a sharp cable picture). I went to the Menu and tried different things - My Color - was interesting as it displays a beautiful picture of a woman with a picturesque golf course in the back ground. It identifies Standard and Custom as a split screen, but that picture is not representative of my channels.

I have ordered the CableCard and a technician will be out in 10 days and then I'll be able to watch the HD channels. My questions are:

1. Prior to my purchase, I read through the forums, and found that by and large most people indicated that the PQ on this set was excellent. Did they mean HD channels or all channels?

2. Any tips suggestions on improving the PQ? While watching several programs last night, the picture appeared "stretched," but checking the menu, it was set on 16x9. The clarity of the picture is not comparable to the 32" regular Magnavox that this Samsung replaced.

3. Should I remove the connection to the Monster Power and run the cable straight to the TV? Should I run the cable straight to the TV bypassing the cable box?

4. Will my picture quality improve once the CableCard is inserted?

Any help or reassurances would greatly be appreciated as I just purchased it the other day.

Thanks.

Talk about a quick response! :)

Thanks.... it's in HD now.

Yeah but its the same old B.S. that we had to go through last year. The HD cut off at 11pm with still lots of the game left to watch. I wonder why its so damn complicated to let a sporting event run to the end with out switching to SD. :mad:

Wolo radar always shows rain, no matter if it is raining or not.

Well Saturday when it was pouring down rain I turned to the WLTX weather radar and it didnt show a single speck of green(and the radar arm was sweeping) so I flipped over to the WIS weather radar and they were showing the weather forecast for Greenville. So I flipped to WOLO and theirs looked pretty accurate, a mixture of red and green covering the whole state from Columbia all the way to the coast. I guess thats why we are stuck with 3 weather radars, only one out of 3 will be correct. Thats about the right odds with our 3 local affiliates.

I just received my Samsung HL-R5667W yesterday and spent the afternoon setting it up. <snip> ... My questions are:

1. Prior to my purchase, I read through the forums, and found that by and large most people indicated that the PQ on this set was excellent. Did they mean HD channels or all channels?

2. Any tips suggestions on improving the PQ? While watching several programs last night, the picture appeared "stretched," but checking the menu, it was set on 16x9. The clarity of the picture is not comparable to the 32" regular Magnavox that this Samsung replaced.

3. Should I remove the connection to the Monster Power and run the cable straight to the TV? Should I run the cable straight to the TV bypassing the cable box?

4. Will my picture quality improve once the CableCard is inserted?

Any help or reassurances would greatly be appreciated as I just purchased it the other day.

Thanks.

Answers:
1: Probably HD (and DVDs at 480hp). Do note that it is common for 480i NTSC programs to look worse on an HDTV than an NTSC set. High quality sets cannot significantly improve on low-quality signals (line doubling does help to a small degree). Therefore an HDTV display will exacerbate lousy image quality which is very noticeable to those who bought large HD displays.

2. Try any/all connections from cable box (assume you have coax and composite input options). Try it wy/oe the cablebox too. Try any/all modes on your display... Check to see how you are watching it (480i; 480 line doubled; or 720p upconvert) and compare. Watch 4:3 NTSC programs as 4:3 and not stretched to 16x9.

3. I would experiment so yes, remove the Monster power bar and compare pictures. Ditto with the cable box and/or use different inputs on your TV see what works best for you.

4. Probably not on the analog channels; it is still the same analog signal. Suggest you check the TWC web site too what you do get with the cablecard. http://www.timewarnercable.com/southcarolina/products/cablecard.html.

note: most of us here right now are using digital cable boxes (especially the HD DVRs) but then again most of us also don't have cablecard capable TVs either. I take it you may plan to turn in SD cable box for the Cablecard. If not; the HD cablebox rents for the same price as the SD box. (and many here will suggest the 8300HD DVR is the box to have right now anyway but it is more $$/mo).

Bottom line is your experiencing what many of us have in the past. Welcome to the forum and holler you have more questions.

Yeah but its the same old B.S. that we had to go through last year. The HD cut off at 11pm with still lots of the game left to watch. I wonder why its so damn complicated to let a sporting event run to the end with out switching to SD. :mad:

I agree. Ok, so it was only a preseason game. But this was happening during every game of the NBA Finals a couple of months ago (and there were 7 games!). Sporting events don't just end at 11PM... a majority of the time they run over their allotted time.

Our ABC affiliate doesn't handle the switch back to SD well. I know people are busy prepping for the local news at that time, but isn't there anyone down there watching the feed?

I don't know why this can't be done automatically. When the news starts the switch is tripped. I'm sure I'm oversimplifying the process a bit, but it seems like there's got to be a better way.

Was the only reason you all watched these games was because they were in HD? Would you had watched them anyway? Just curious, because I watched most of the race Sunday in sd, because of a Wis error. Honestly I do not think that I really missed out, but I was more dissapointed that they did not switch to HD. Remember that this is a product that is free, and that do not have to broadcast in HD. I am thankful that the major stations are giving us a HD feed most of the time. There are two stations in town that have put forth no effort to do HD or even have viable digital signal. You could had posted or pm'd Bob a friendly reminder that there was a event that might run over the 11 pm slot. Wis and Wolo seem more than happy to do the right thing. Wltx and Wach beat to their own drummer and are not as easy to get a answer if there is a problem.

Certainly not. I would have watched them if they hadn't been in HD, particularly the NBA Finals. I would've watched it on a little portable black and white TV if it was the only way. I agree, they certainly don't have to broadcast in HD... but the other stations would pass them by. So, in a way, I guess they do have to broadcast in HD. The thing is that they have the technology to do so, but it's not done correctly. I understand a mistake every now and then, but every time a sporting event is on?

And as far as posting friendly reminders goes - the NBA Finals was a 7 game series. There was a game pretty much every other night. After the feed was switched early the first time there were a few posts here about it. A couple nights later the same thing happened. More posts. After 7 games you start to get a little frustrated. If the game runs over (90% of the time it does) then have someone manually make the switch at the right time. I will say that they were much better about this by the end of the series. The timer flipped the switch early still, but someone was there to make the switch back within a minute or two.

When I watch a movie in HD, it looks like a good print of a movie. When I watch something like NASCAR in HD, it looks really impressive. High-Definition cameras make a world of difference, and maybe someday the people at the station level will realize it's important to throw the switches on time.

Of course, Ultra HDTV will come along eventually, and that'll be another New Thing that they won't bother to throw the switch for because it isn't the equipment paying the bills, and no amount of complaining will do any good until the changeover, and so on, and so on...

We do want to know when WOLO's HD is not correct. And, since it originates 100 miles away from Columbia, we can't always watch it due to feeds and other priorities that use the return links from Columbia. As Kevin says, all I need is a PM and we'll speak to those who are asleep at the wheel and not monitoring the feed. I do place some of the blame on ABC for not having a full-time HD feed (even upconverted) so that we wouldn't have to worry about switching in and out of the feed. FOX does it, so we don't have any problems with WCCB's HD switching. Hopefully with ABC's digital conversion they'll remedy that situation.

But, people posting rude and obnoxious notes and being aceholes won't do any good,it only po's those of us are here to help. Some here haven't picked up on the fact that all of the other Columbia stations no longer participate here.

We're working on an email address for you to send civil notes to that should be active later today:

hdtv -at- wolo.com

"You could had posted or pm'd Bob a friendly reminder that there was a event that might run over the 11 pm slot."

Well I suppose that could have happened, but will they send me a paycheck? Isn't somebody at the station supposed to know what comes on tv every night? I wish I had a job where I could just pass the buck and blame somebody else and mess up almost 100% of the time (on sporting events). If I had that track record at work they'd can my azz in a NY minute.

Here's a reminder, for the next 20 or so Mondays there's Monday Night Football on. The games will not end exactly at the prescribed moment that the program guide says they will.

Answers:
1: Probably HD (and DVDs at 480hp). Do note that it is common for 480i NTSC programs to look worse on an HDTV than an NTSC set. High quality sets cannot significantly improve on low-quality signals (line doubling does help to a small degree). Therefore an HDTV display will exacerbate lousy image quality which is very noticeable to those who bought large HD displays.

2. Try any/all connections from cable box (assume you have coax and composite input options). Try it wy/oe the cablebox too. Try any/all modes on your display... Check to see how you are watching it (480i; 480 line doubled; or 720p upconvert) and compare. Watch 4:3 NTSC programs as 4:3 and not stretched to 16x9.

3. I would experiment so yes, remove the Monster power bar and compare pictures. Ditto with the cable box and/or use different inputs on your TV see what works best for you.

4. Probably not on the analog channels; it is still the same analog signal. Suggest you check the TWC web site too what you do get with the cablecard. http://www.timewarnercable.com/southcarolina/products/cablecard.html.

note: most of us here right now are using digital cable boxes (especially the HD DVRs) but then again most of us also don't have cablecard capable TVs either. I take it you may plan to turn in SD cable box for the Cablecard. If not; the HD cablebox rents for the same price as the SD box. (and many here will suggest the 8300HD DVR is the box to have right now anyway but it is more $$/mo).

Bottom line is your experiencing what many of us have in the past. Welcome to the forum and holler you have more questions.

Thanks.
I have not had an opportunity to check the OTA HD signals as I have been busy experimenting with yours and other suggestions. I did find that the PQ improved when I set the TV to 4:3. I noticed that the closest HD antenna is approximately 35 miles away from my house - can I expect to pick up the HD signal without an antenna? That was one of the reasons I was planning on going with the CableCard (in addition to it being able to descramble several premium tiers). I cannot have an antenna on my roof, but what is a recommended indoor antenna, if I need one?

Thanks.
I have not had an opportunity to check the OTA HD signals as I have been busy experimenting with yours and other suggestions. I did find that the PQ improved when I set the TV to 4:3. I noticed that the closest HD antenna is approximately 35 miles away from my house - can I expect to pick up the HD signal without an antenna? That was one of the reasons I was planning on going with the CableCard (in addition to it being able to descramble several premium tiers). I cannot have an antenna on my roof, but what is a recommended indoor antenna, if I need one?

I did not realize your Samsung has an internal ATSC (digital) tuner. If it does then you need to attach a UHF/VHF antenna to it and tell your TV to scan for stations (check your manual there). Not knowing where you live makes it difficult to predict how successful you may be in this endeavor. Most of the broadcast antennas are situated east of Columbia near Elgin. Note that WRLK which is sited more northerly and westward of the others. Though I did say a combo UHF/VHS antenna above do note that many UHF bowtie antennas work well on high-band VHF which WOLO's Ch 8 is. A link to a list of antennas successfully used in various locations in our area is listed in my signature block (see the summary).

When it comes to an antenna; location really really matters. A distance of 35 miles, if correct, will probably make an indoor model very iffy and require you to use an outdoor model. I live in Sumter and am 34 miles from WRLK's tower and I get irregular reception using my indoor Radio Shack Double Bowtie (great little inexpensive antenna; now available only by mail order). The other digital stations are about 24miles distant and they usually come in fine with it. I also have a Channelmaster 3021 (four-bay bowtie) and have used it on a 15ft mast and it brings in WRLK fine. Reception at your location may be much worse (obstacles as trees, houses, hills, buildings and other reflectors may make it difficult to impossible for you.

So my question is.. where do you live and why do you say you cannot have an antenna on your roof? (if you own and control your roof then the odds are you CAN have an antenna; the FEDs say so!).

I did not realize your Samsung has an internal ATSC (digital) tuner. If it does then you need to attach a UHF/VHF antenna to it and tell your TV to scan for stations (check your manual there). Most of the broadcast antennas are situated east of Columbia near Elgin. Note that WRLK which is sited more northerly and westward of the others. Though UHF bowtie antennas work well on high-band VHF which WOLO's Ch 8 is. A link to a list of antennas successfully used in various locations in our area is listed in my signature block (see the summary).

When it comes to an antenna; location really really matters. A distance of 35 miles, if correct, will probably make an indoor model very iffy and require you to use an outdoor model. I live in Sumter and am 34 miles from WRLK's tower and I get irregular reception using my indoor Radio Shack Double Bowtie (great little inexpensive antenna; now available only by mail order). The other digital stations are about 24miles distant and they usually come in fine with it. I also have a Channelmaster 3021 (four-bay bowtie) and have used it on a 15ft mast and it brings in WRLK fine. Reception at your location may be much worse (obstacles as trees, houses, hills, buildings and other reflectors may make it difficult to impossible for you.

So my question is.. where do you live and why do you say you cannot have an antenna on your roof?

I live in Chapin, SC, northwest of Columbia and the neighborhood has covenants that I believe restrict the installation of antennas - other than a small dish. I may be wrong - I'll have to check. That's why I was asking about an indoor antenna.

I would assume that when I search for OTA HD signals, I need to change the input to antenna, correct?

I live in Chapin, SC, northwest of Columbia and the neighborhood has covenants that I believe restrict the installation of antennas - other than a small dish. I may be wrong - I'll have to check. That's why I was asking about an indoor antenna.

I would assume that when I search for OTA HD signals, I need to change the input to antenna, correct?

You may be a ways then to the Elgin area and an outdoor antenna may be required. Using "Google Earth", I measure Chapin to about 30miles due West from the antenna farm area that is near Elgin.

Regarding switching input, yes, that should be the right procedure. I again mention that there is no doubt your set has an NTSC tuner. You will have to confirm though that it also has a digital/ATSC tuner. Yesterday I quickly checked the Samsung website on that model and came away confused.

Regarding homeowners usng antennas; the FCC has posted their rule on there website... here is the link: http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html . Here is an excerpt their Over-the-AirReception Devices Rule:

"The rule (47 C.F.R. Section 1.4000) has been in effect since October 1996, and it prohibits restrictions that impair the installation, maintenance or use of antennas used to receive video programming. The rule applies to video antennas including direct-to-home satellite dishes that are less than one meter(39.37") in diameter (or of any size in Alaska), TV antennas, and wireless cable antennas. The rule prohibits most restrictions that: (1) unreasonably delay orprevent installation, maintenance or use; (2) unreasonably increase the cost of installation, maintenance or use; or (3) preclude reception of an acceptablequality signal."

In short; in most cases HOAs cannot legally restrict your right to have an antenna. period. no ifs and or buts. Historical areas are about the only exception to the rule. That is not to say there are not political pressures at hand of course. If you want to pursue this further there have been many postings here at AVS on how to get HOAs to comply with the least amount of pain. (hardare forum I believe; have to do a search). Some folks have apparently printed out the FCC's rule and given it to the HOA reps and their lawyers. Realistically; a four-bay UHF bowtie antenna might work for you and is not that noticable; especially if mounted on the side of a chimney and just below the top.

But, people posting rude and obnoxious notes and being aceholes won't do any good,it only po's those of us are here to help. Some here haven't picked up on the fact that all of the other Columbia stations no longer participate here.Is there a complaint line to use instead? Maybe a manager's number?

It'd be interesting to talk to someone, and maybe get a feeling how high this lack of attention to detail goes...

Diana,

My wife has been using the pay express function of the TWCSC website for some time now. Apparently you guys have made some changes recently and now she can't log in anymore because she doesn't use Netscape or Internet Explorer. She uses the Firefox browser(part of the open source Mozilla project) as do many more people. Firefox is now the second most popular browser in the world behind IE. Does TWC not support this browser for some reason? It is much more secure than IE and noone uses Netscape anymore. Netscape and Mozilla are both based on the same technology so why would you guys block Firefox? Is there anything you can do. I was able to access the site using the Safari browser on my Mac but only after spoofing the system into thinking I was using IE. Any input would be appreciated.

[QUOTE=mikepaul]Is there a complaint line to use instead? Maybe a manager's number?QUOTE]

hdtv -at- wolo.com goes to the appropriate people, and receives PROMPT action.

There's been a small glitch that's been occurring lately in my TWC SA 8300HD, although it doesn't occur every time. On the 8300 I've enabled all resolutions, and have set the unit to pass-through so that my display handles all of the upconverting. When I watch TWC 4:3 SD channels I use my display's stretch feature to fill the screen. This stretch feature does not work when I tune to a HD channel and my TV gives me a "not available". It used to be that when I first turned everything on the 8300 would tune to channel 03 (because that's what I have the start channel set at) and the display would automatically stretch the picture (because it's a 4:3 SD signal). Lately, when I turn everything on, channel 03's 4:3 picture shows up with side bars and the TV displays a "not available" when it trys to stretch the image. This tells me that it's seeing a HD signal, which means the 8300 is upconverting the image instead of it passing through. I can channel up/down and the black bars remain. If I tune to a HD channel and then back to SD the black bars are gone and everything is working correctly.

So what's the big deal, you ask? I have a harmony remote that I use to "watch TV", "watch a DVD", "play a videogame", etc. When I go to watch TV the harmony turns on the TV, turns on the 8300, sets the TV to the correct input, and then sets the TV to the correct stretch mode. The remote sends the "pic size" command followed by a "1" for stretch mode 1. I have this command in there because I watch DVD's in Full screen instead of stretch mode, so it's needed to flip back and forth. Because the TV is seeing a HD signal from the 8300 when it receives the "pic size" command it displays "not available" and then proceeds to tune to channel 1 (the TV, not the 8300) using the TV's tuner. And because I don't use the TV's tuner it produces nothing but a snowy picture. I then have to grab the TV's remote to change the input back... which defeats the purpose of the universal remote.

Sorry for the length. It's probably more than anyone cares to know, but has anyone else been seeing this little glitch with the 8300? Again, it doesn't happen everytime (probably 50% of the time).

Diana,

My wife has been using the pay express function of the TWCSC website for some time now. Apparently you guys have made some changes recently and now she can't log in anymore because she doesn't use Netscape or Internet Explorer. She uses the Firefox browser(part of the open source Mozilla project) as do many more people. Firefox is now the second most popular browser in the world behind IE. Does TWC not support this browser for some reason? It is much more secure than IE and noone uses Netscape anymore. Netscape and Mozilla are both based on the same technology so why would you guys block Firefox? Is there anything you can do. I was able to access the site using the Safari browser on my Mac but only after spoofing the system into thinking I was using IE. Any input would be appreciated.

Pay Express is a 3rd party vendor we use for this process. I know they did an upgrade and it is causing some customer's problems, but that is about the extent of my knowledge on this top. Please email twcscservice@twcable.com and they can really help with your inquiry. You can just cut and paste this entry and tell them I asked you to go to them for direction.

Sorry I can't be of more assistance,

My system for receiving OTA HD is new. Last night channel 25.1,.2,.3 went out. Does anyone else have this problem? I don't want to begin troubleshooting if it is a network problem. Thanks

My system for receiving OTA HD is new. Last night channel 25.1,.2,.3 went out. Does anyone else have this problem? I don't want to begin troubleshooting if it is a network problem. Thanks
Chances are it was just the station and not your setup. That has happened before especially when there are electrical storms in the areas (not sure if that was the case last night).

I don't know Bruce, I 'll have to check tomorrow. We are having an intermittent brain fart in the transmitter control system that makes it shut down for some odd reason on occasion..

I don't know Bruce, I 'll have to check tomorrow. We are having an intermittent brain fart in the transmitter control system that makes it shut down for some odd reason on occasion..
Hi Bob,
I was not watching myself and we were were having thunderboomer activity to the south of Sumter so figured maybe electrical storm over by the Cola antenna farm. Good luck tomorrow on the sleuthing endeavor.
_____
Bruce

What time? I flipped over during commercials of The Panthers game, and all was fine.

It's back up now. I did have a very big storm in my area last night. Newbie question for everyone...How sensitive is the OTA signal to weather changes. I am having a lot of breakup in 19 OTA right now...wind is blowing outside. Sometimes 57 OTA breaks up a lot. 25 went out last night. I have the TERK 44 attached to dish. It is a new setup and seems I had better reception with an indoor antenna. Anyhelp would be appreciated.

I'd say 101% of your problem is that Terk on the dish..you can't get stable reception with
that (sorry) piece of junk. I'd take it back if you still can. Read back on this thread, there is some excellent info on antennas for the Columbia area here..
If you can, you need an outdoor antenna, or at least one in the attic.

Agreed ,the Terk 44 is not a good antenna. I have a large mast style attached to my chimney and I have no recpetion issues, unless the locals are having problems.

Mr. Ahrendt, (I will post a response, if one is givin)

The Wis-DT feed Sunday 08/14/05 was not done correctly. The race started in HD, and continued for about a hour. Then we had 15 minutes of a totally black screen. Then the race came back in SD 4:3 and then remained that way till the end. There were shorter peroids of black screen for the final two hours. Very disappointed once again in Wis-DT passage of the NBC-HD feed.

NO ABC HD!!!


ABC will be upgrading its HDTV release facility including a replacement of the HD router. In order to accomplish this work in a timely manner, a four (4) day shutdown of the HD release facility will be required.
Accordingly, beginning Tuesday 8/23/2005 and continuing through Friday 8/26/2005, ABC will not offer an HDTV feed for either ECM or PT feeds.

Can't wait to see how many here gripe.. :rolleyes:

Bob,

Is this nationwide or just Columbia DMA?

Thanks for the heads up!

Will the HD be handled more like Fox-HD after their HD router replacement?

Bob,

Is this nationwide or just Columbia DMA?

Thanks for the heads up!

This is nationwide.
I have no idea about the changes ABC is making to their routing system.

No changes at the local level for this specific instance.

Can't wait to see how many here gripe.. :rolleyes:

Why would we gripe? Equipment upgrades are good. Especially since this is just in time for NFL season.

I've noticed that several people expect D* to add ESPN2HD within the next month. I'm wondering if there is any news from TWC about the addition of this channel. Is it even being worked on at this point? The college football season is starting up soon, with a lot of games scheduled to appear in HD on ESPN2. Adding this channel to the TWC lineup would be great.

Any news regarding this? Or any new HD channel, for that matter?

ok my first post here and it's a complaint...sort of
simply put nascar in hd sucks. it's either working half way into the broadcast or just shuts off at the end. i see it's a flip of the switch thing. maybe someone needs to be paying attention. it has been 2 weeks in a row that nascar on nbchd has been jacked up. even had some problems on fox when they had control of the race. simply put i think the twcsc hd has went to crap. audio goes out, black screens, no hd. come on it's never been this bad before.

OK now some good
i love the digital phone and the caller id on your tv is fricken awesome.
the cable guy blog on twcsc web site is pretty cool too.

p.s. cant wait to get WB HD

Is it even being worked on at this point? The college football season is starting up soon, with a lot of games scheduled to appear in HD on ESPN2. Adding this channel to the TWC lineup would be great.

Any news regarding this? Or any new HD channel, for that matter?


Yes TWC Corporate Programming is actively working on a deal that includes ESPN2HD, ESPNU and ESPN Desportes. And it will be very great when we get to add all those channels from ESPN on our lineup.

Unfortunately, I do not have any news to share, but remember Corporate doesn't tell us anything until the deal is signed and then as soon as we get the word it is signed we launch it.... As with ESPNHD when we got it launched within 2 hours of getting the news, we will go when we get it, there will be no need to plan ahead.

ok my first post here and it's a complaint...sort of
simply put nascar in hd sucks. it's either working half way into the broadcast or just shuts off at the end. i see it's a flip of the switch thing. maybe someone needs to be paying attention. it has been 2 weeks in a row that nascar on nbchd has been jacked up. even had some problems on fox when they had control of the race. simply put i think the twcsc hd has went to crap. audio goes out, black screens, no hd. come on it's never been this bad before.

OK now some good
i love the digital phone and the caller id on your tv is fricken awesome.
the cable guy blog on twcsc web site is pretty cool too.

p.s. cant wait to get WB HD


FWIW:

WIS(NBC-HD) and WACH(FOX-HD) are to blame for your problems. TWCSC-HD has nothing to do with your problems. WB-HD may be a long time coming in The Midlands.

I've noticed that several people expect D* to add ESPN2HD within the next month. I'm wondering if there is any news from TWC about the addition of this channel. Is it even being worked on at this point? The college football season is starting up soon, with a lot of games scheduled to appear in HD on ESPN2. Adding this channel to the TWC lineup would be great.

Any news regarding this? Or any new HD channel, for that matter?


TWC cable was the last major player to add ESPN-HD. No major cable company has added ESPN-HD2. TWCSC added ESPN-HD within 2 hours of the signed contract.


I hope a deal can be worked out between Time Warner and Time Warner Cable so that Cinemax-HD might be carried. :confused:

my bad...well then WIS and WACH need to fire the summer hire and get some educated people in there. Football is upon us and non hd just plan sucks :D

any insight on a firmware that will let me start from the begining of a recording thats in progress without having to rewind to the begining?

what about the sata port? active?

The firmware posted in my signature is the latest SARA firmware, and it is not used by any TWC system. No cable companies have "officially" said that the sata port is active, but if you check the HD Recording section you will find that a lot of people have had success adding a external harddrive to the 8300HD that use SARA software.

Yes TWC Corporate Programming is actively working on a deal that includes ESPN2HD, ESPNU and ESPN Desportes. And it will be very great when we get to add all those channels from ESPN on our lineup.

Unfortunately, I do not have any news to share, but remember Corporate doesn't tell us anything until the deal is signed and then as soon as we get the word it is signed we launch it.... As with ESPNHD when we got it launched within 2 hours of getting the news, we will go when we get it, there will be no need to plan ahead.

That's good news. Thanks for the info. I hope they seal the deal while there's still some football left to played... wishful thinking, I know. :D

Any news regarding this? Or any new HD channel, for that matter?

Yeah would be great. But ESPN2-HD launched the first week in Jan and ESPN-U launched 3-4-05. So thats 7 & 5 months respectively. No where near the 2 yrs that it took to get ESPN-HD have elapsed yet, next college football season, possibly, maybe, if we're lucky.

Who knows how much bandwidth TWC even has left. The people who know for sure arent going to say one thing either way, so all you hear are rumors. Some people say they have plenty left, others say they are basically near the limit, thats why they havent really offered anything new lately.

TWC cable was the last major player to add ESPN-HD. No major cable company has added ESPN-HD2. TWCSC added ESPN-HD within 2 hours of the signed contract.


I hope a deal can be worked out between Time Warner and Time Warner Cable so that Cinemax-HD might be carried. :confused:


To answer a couple of questions on capacity:

We have some bandwidth to add HD right now. We haven't added several available Digital Channels so that we would have this available should an HD deal be signed.

Switched Digital Broadcast will free up bandwidth to allow for 'virtually' unlimited adds. We start testing that later this year.

If we add Cinemax HD prior to achieving SDB we will have to drop HBO W HD to do so - that mean's you would have to pay $7 more per month the have the same number of HD screens you get now (2) - we aren't going to entertain an option where we require customer's to pay more to achieve what they are getting now. After SDB then we can add Cinemax HD and if you choose to pay more to get the additional channel then that works for us too.

any insight on a firmware that will let me start from the begining of a recording thats in progress without having to rewind to the begining?

what about the sata port? active?


Haven't heard from SA when your first request will be accomplished at all. As for the sata port. It's currently not active, but it is on the radar screen although I haven't seen an ETA for it recently.

Diana,
Aany word on TWC adding the Outdoor Channel-HD? having watched it, it's a pretty good service.
Of course, some people amy not want to see ducks getting popped in HD..

Bob -

I'm not sure if we have a deal for it - haven't checked because yours would be 'unofficially' the first inquiry we have had about that network. If you lived in Columbia you could be official.

I do find their magazine advertising to be a bit scary so I haven't pursued it on my own.

FYI - you are now on the Charlotte Privacy list.

Hi Diana,
Sure would like to have The Outdoor Channel-HD in my Columbia office, service address is located at 5807 Shakespeare Road..

Thanks for the PL listing!!

Ok - Officially 1 request

ESPN2HD - a bijillion official requests.....



HUMMMMMMMM what to make of this interesting tid-bit!

Ya gotta start somewhere..besides, I already get ESPN2HD..

I'll have Charlotte Telemarketing give you a call to discuss further - ok?

If we add Cinemax HD prior to achieving SDB we will have to drop HBO W HD to do so - that mean's you would have to pay $7 more per month the have the same number of HD screens you get now (2) - we aren't going to entertain an option where we require customer's to pay more to achieve what they are getting now. After SDB then we can add Cinemax HD and if you choose to pay more to get the additional channel then that works for us too.Now that I'm a Cinemax subscriber again, I'm willing to deal with the loss of the ooops-I-missed-that HBO-HD West feed until SDB adds it back. Just in case my vote counts.

So, when the day comes that all feeds everywhere are HD, what kind of issues will SDB solve, and what can't it solve?...