Well after a 2 and a half battle with cables and a 3100HD which TWC didn't show in their inventory on the computer I got everything all hooked up, well 90% of it atleast.

Bruce, thanks for all your help. And I'm glad to hear that my first night experience of watching HD programming was not par for the course. At first I was freaked, but when I switched to the PBS channel and it was working I figured it was something on the senders end. The picture looked fantastic! Now I can finally watch network programming on my 16:9 set without worrying about burn-in or using a stretch mode. Now I just have to wait for ABC and NBC to start piping their programs thru TWC, (I know NBC isn't on the air yet), as I watch those 2 networks more often than CBS.
Hopefully TWC will carry ABC for the Superbowl.

Some other info to pass along..
I ended up using a 4 way splitter/powered amp from Radio Shack and it works just fine. The box says it works with cable modems, but the clerk didn't know if it would with digital cable. I took a shot and it works.

Gene

Bob,
Any new news on the TW/WOLO-HD? I still show channel 820 as a "TEST CHANNEL" and was wondering if that is it. Do you know any possible way of becoming part of their test? I was one of the first people to receive their HDTV service and didn't know if there was anyone in particular I could contact about this. I have been promised by TW that they will have it online for the Super Bowl, but after seeing that Bruce went out and bought an OTA Decoder, I am starting to become worried. I appreciate your keeping us informed on the situation.
Happy New Year!

Guys, I just read this thread. We need to bombard TWC with calls about Discovery-HD, HD-Net and ESPN-HD. ESPN-HD is rolling out at the opening game of MLB. I just hope that negotiations don't take an eternity. Here's the link:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=209972

Jay,
My OTA receiver purchase was more for so could play with OTA and see for myself how it worked and looked. Having waited for well over a year has made me antsy and the Zenith seemed prime for checking out. So my purchase was not related to a concern of not being able to see the SB in HD from TWC. I do know it is of keen interest to others hower. The fact remains that I may return the box in the next week or so; it has both pros and cons which I am still weighing. And yes I will watch the SB game regardless but HD would make it nicer! :)

So I wait too to see if WOLO and TWC get it together real soon. BTW, we here in Sumter don't see the test channel 820 on our channel guide. However it was that way too before they got CBS on the system so hopefully it is a good sign. Hurry up and wait time <g>

Regarding the new channels; I would agree we should all take the time to let our desires be known to TWC.

Bruce

TWC must be one of the only websites that don't list any e-mail addresses.Call TWC about adding HD channels?Customer service,I rather be poked in the eye than try to explain what HD is.I will bet ESPN-HD will be on March 30,because TWC controls all the commercials.As for HDNET,do they have commercials?I am not willing to pay anymore for service.I am also am using the Zenith stb in case Wolo and TWC drop the(foot) ball.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bdenman
[B]Jay,
The fact remains that I may return the box in the next week or so; it has both pros and cons which I am still weighing.




Just don't do it Bruce,30 days!

Well, I may have found a reason to keep the Zenith 420 and another reason not to keep. But such a discussion gets into Hardware forum terrority but suffice it to say the Zenith allows you to format the HD upconvert 4:3 signal to 480p and then stretch it. So you don't have to have black side bars while viewing 4:3 over a DTV input. The SA3100HD can't do that.

The con: I checked out AVS's 23 page thread titled "Zenith DTV1080 Software Upgrade" in detail and quite frankly Zenith's response to the problem they caused makes me think twice about wanting to own a Zenith product. I also really dislike their almost total lack of support of PSIP information. So it to keep or not is still up in the air....

Bruce

I understand that TWC is awaiting equipment delivery to add WOLO-DT

Update WACH-DT is on. ch 48.2

I just saw WOLO-DT on channel 815 on TWC. Woo-Hoo!!!!

Right now it was a soap opera. But nothing shows up in the guide data.

Gene

We pass full EPG, but TWC does not read nor use it. They have their own
guide data they substitute.

When will WIS-DT be on TWC?

















Hey,its not to early to start it!

I doubt anyone knows or is willing to say at this point. Their not even on the air. Remember it took WRLK-DT and WOLO-DT both 3 months each to get on cable after they were on the air and WIS might follow that timeline too.

FWIW, I see that WOLO-DT's Radar channel is not on TWC's cable guide here in Sumter.... any different in Columbia? (yes, they can vary).

Bruce

Bruce,
No Wolo radar on TWC here in Columbia.Also no Wltx-dt ota or on TWC so far tonight.No CSI in HD!Seems like this has been a rather bad week for WLTX.I hope they get it fixed for the NFL on Saturday and Sunday.

Hi gang,

Tell me about the HD STB from TWC ??

What does it cost?? What sort of outputs does it have ???

Thanks!!

-- Cain

Cain,

Digital cable will cost you about $65/mo I think and that includes one HD cable box. My bill runs about $121 with tax but includes $45 for Road Runner service and an extra $14 or so for a second cable box (Explorer 8000). Due to their pricing it is not really a supplemental service to have along with dbs.

TWC currently uses the SA3100HD cable box which has YPrPb component out, digital coax out (no Toslink), and analog audio. It also has S-Video out, and a coax cable out (for vcr), a composite video out, I think there is a USB port on the front and one access card slot (not implemented).

This box has no aspect ratio switch for those who have a 4:3 display. So 4:3 owners may have vertical stretch problems if their display cannot do the squeeze. They will also have four bars around when watching 4:3 upconverts via the component input. The next iteration box (the 4250HD I believe it is called) should have selectable aspect ratios. If one needs RGBHV, Scientific Atlanta makes a HDTV converter but I don't know if local TWC has them for sale.

The box itself rents for about $10/mo including remote and cable guide (as if you had a choice). This is the same price as a standard box. HBO and SHO cost about $15 I think and the HD comes along for the ride (I no longer sub to either). The DVR box costs $5/mo more (but it is not HD either).

Personally I like the interactive menu system on TWC and I miss its features when I am on the Zenith DTV420 box which gives only channel number and program rating (G, PG13, etc). But if viewing 4:3 programming on a HD channel on a 16x9 display one has the black sidebars (yuck).

HD Programming wise you now get:
PBS: WRLK-DT (1 HD, 2SD)
CBS: WLTX (1 HD, 1SD with Weather Radar),
ABC: WOLO (1 HD)
HBO: 2 (east and west coast feeds; if subscribed)
SHO: 2 (east and west coast feeds; if subscribed)

Other stuff: bunches of normal stuff on analog and digital tier plus on the digital tier a number of free VOD channels (all 4:3 SD only) and a few Subscription VOD (also 4:3 SD.... HBO, SHO, Movie Channel).

Hope this helps....

Bruce

First time on this forum...it's great! Just got TWC HD on Wednesday and I'm now watching the WOLO-DT 11:00PM news on TWC 815 (yeah!) and it is a huge improvement over the lousy signal I'm getting on the analog version...CBS and ABC in HD...a football lover's dream! Fox, Wake Up...Widescreen is not HD!! But I digress...need some help from this forum's members.

Background:
I've been a D* customer for at least five years but recently began looking at expanding my basic TWC service to take advantage of the local HD broadcasts and avoid the expense of a D* Receiver. When I had D* originally installed in my current home in '99, the installer put in a multiswitch to 'piggyback' the dual LNB onto the existing cable system. They co-existed gracefully until I had TMC upgrade me this week to the Digital Tier and the SA3100 HD receiver.

Issue:
After TWC installed the SA3100 on Monday, I could not get any HD channels or anything above channel 199. Also, the Analog channels were snowy (not as bad as tonight). I called TWC Tuesday and they sent over a tech to check out the lines and signals. He determined (correctly I think) that the multiswitch did not have the capacity to service the new HD signals along with D*...he disconnected my satellite dish (aaargghhh) and everything was right with the world (although I'm not happy with the TWC analog service...getting ghosts on local network broadcasts which was why I went to D* in the first place!).

Solutions??
Can I get an updated version of the multi-switch that has the capacity to service both TWC HD and D* HD (I may be using the wrong terminology...the multi-switch takes the LNB1 & 2 signals and multiplexes them onto the existing cable system). I'll worry about upgrading the dish for HD receptation later...for now, I just want to get my basic satellite system back! Also, I would like to avoid running a new dedicated cable to the satellite receiver (pros and cons are welcome). BTW, the TWC tech very politely turned down my request to have him handle that chore...said something to the effect that TWC was not interested in supporting D*!!

Second question...since neither D* and TWC are likely to be interested in integrating both systems, where do I go to get this all hooked up? Live in NE Columbia near I-20/Clemson.

Thanks to all for your contributions to this forum...I no longer feel alone!

"Hope this helps....
Bruce"


Wow, thanks Bruce yes it does. I have been a TWC customer for a long while, and I also have RR. I currently have the old STB for digital cable.

Can I just drop by their offices and swap this one out for a HD box I wonder?? I'll try to give them a call, but usually the person who answers the phone was fired from Hardees last week for being too dumb.

Bruce you need to get in touch with me to check out my basement HT the next time you are in the Columbia area.

-- Cain

Yahoo!! I just saw that WOLO-HD is on! I am so happy about being able to watch the Super Bowl in HD.

Bruce, let me know how that box is working out for you.

Thanks!

Cain,
Yes. But still you should call CSR first and make sure they have one in stock first. The box should work fine; plug it in; call and get it hit (usually required) and your good to go. Some folks have discovered they still need a tech visit to check and tweak the signal to the house as the HD does requires a better signal. As long as you don't have too many outlets you have a good chance of it working fine. Just avoid splitters. (1gHz models can be used if the signal is high enough to begin with). TW can always come out later.

Bruce
ps: sending PM regarding visit

I couldn't get TWC cable to let me just pick up the HDTV box. It required a home visit. Anyway, Roy from TWC is easy to work with. We checked out the channels after install and everything was fine, but CBS-HD was off the air.

I haven't been able to get CBS-HD yet. With the great information from Kevin on this thread, I got a reading on the signal level on the cable box and it looked pretty bad. I have TWC coming out today to check it out and hopefully fix it for the Steelers game on Sat.

I am concerned about the splitter issue. Outside my house, the cable goes into a 2 way splitter. One for RR and one for TV. The TV line goes into a 3-way splitter for the different TV runs in the house. For the main TV run, I have the cable box. I am already having problems. I can't pick up CBS-HD. I want to put another splitter in this main run for my PIP TV. With a splitter here, I can't pick up any channels greater than 103 on the cable box.

This isn't a very complicated setup, but we will see that TWC says today.

Getting box: Calling first and checking with Roy would probably be the way to do it. But them bringing it out does mean that they will be there to check the signal levels and make sure it is good enough to drive the hd cablebox.

WRLK-HD is off the air. I just talked to WRLK and while I did not talk to Dan the engineer I was able to find out that a part broke; has been ordered, and is Due in Today. Might be up later today but look for it tomorrow. Hope they are right.

Splitters: yes; they do a split for RR and cable (there is a filter in there too for RR). From there TWC can install a 4-way splitter or whatever for the various runs to the innards of the house. For you to split it further is shakey; you may be reducing the signal too low. Warning: any splitters used have to be the 1gHz variety. What is yours? An amp may have to be installed.

FWIW, we have RG-11 run to the house. The old RG-6 proved inadequate for what we needed. TWC also ended up installing an amp. We have RR and five drops for TV (2 in the den; one just use for the amp power injection but it can be used for a tv too). I have adequate signal to split before the box to do for the PIP with but I was looking at doing another homerun just in case it did not work out.

Bruce

WOLO-HD cut off on me after about 2 minutes and no longer is even accessible. Even if I manually tune to it by pressing 8-1-5, it jumps to 850 like the channel doesn't even exist. I called Roy Rushing at TWC and he said he didn't even know that is was on now. I still have the SA Exporer 2000HD which is 3 years old. Roy told me to unhook it and take it with me up to my store and he would stop by and swap it out for a 3100HD. He's a really nice guy that seems to care about customers, especially those who have been with their HD service from the beginning.

Would everybody mind tuning into channel 815 and seeing if it works for them today if they have a chance.

Thanks a lot and everybody say a little prayer for my Atlanta Falcons this weekend.

Take care!

Jay,

Yes, confirmed TWC Channel 815 is missing... so no WOLO-DT right now on cable. (I can verify however that WOLO-DT Ch 8 is still broadcasting over the air). And... tada......WLTX it would appear has made their necessary repairs and is now back up on both OTA and cable. However, they may be just testing since they are not normally on this time of day. Maybe by prime time tonight it will all be sorted out.

And FWIW, a few months ago I too swapped out my SA2000HD for a 3100HD; was a good move even though I had a "good" 2000HD.

Bruce

We are having a problem with our digital transmitter. We burned a relay yesterday. The part should be in today and the transmitter back on the air today provided nothing else is wrong. Keep watching...
Dan Stalnaker
Manager of Engineering
WLTX-TV WLTX-DT


This is email response from WLTX .I to noticed that WOLO is missing on TWC and WLTX is on when it usually isn't. Wrlk is on,no problems.

I called TWC about a half hour ago and asked the CSR about Channel 815. She asked me what channel that was. I said it was ABCHD and thereupon she went and asked her supervisor about it. The answer I got basically "they are still doing tests on it so it may not always be up." No idea when the tests are scheduled to end.

Bruce

I don't understand why they allow a channel to be seen and then take it off. It seems that we, the subscribers, would be more beneficial to the test since there are fewer than 100 of us.

I'll keep an eye out for when it pops back up.

100? There are only 100 local HDTV TWC customers??

Wach-DT is off again.Just in time for the NFL game tonight.Wonder what kind of equipment they are using?Bob,what happened to Wolo-DT on TWC?I noticed that this morning that Wltx-dt is backoff.I hope this is just their part time shutdown as usual .

Kevin,
Im not sure what is up with TWC, WOLO is on Air and operating fine at this
time...

Well, as usual, CBS looks incredible! I love football in HDTV. Too bad Rupert Murdoch is anti-HDTV. I wish I could see my falcons is HD. Hopefully I will be able to see them in the Super Bowl.

Shouldn't FOX be in Widescreen? I'm getting a snowy version of 4.3 on WACH via TWC.

Fox Widescreen is a digital format.Wach-DT is not on TWC.It is only available ota with digital stb.

FYI CBS-HD during today's game coming in ota completely maxed out on the Zenith ota stb.They must have it turned up to full power!

Yeah, the picture looks great again! CBS rocks!

CBS football on WLTX-DT this afternoon was great. Afterwards I was able to view on SCETV WRLK-DT a super PBS Nature program. If you can, there should be another showing of "Under the Ice" on WRLK-DT at 11pm (also scheduled for next Sat at 8pm and at 11pm). Highly recommended.

BTW, I go here (http://www.ptvdigital.org/dt2a_sked.html) to see what is on PBS HD. This site also has shows what segments are showing on the current Demo loop.

Bruce

I discovered this thread about a week ago and finally finished reading all posts :)
Still have a question:
I live in Columbia off Lost Creek drive (deep in the Harbison forest). I can get regular OTA broadcast with some noise using a small RCA powered antenna. antennaweb.org shows that all local HD stations could be picked up by a yellow antenna. I'm still doubtful considering all trees in the forest :( Any advice before I invest in an HD OTA receiver and antenna?
PS: I live in a 2-story house

Thank you!

Bruce,
Thanks for letting me know about this nature special on SCETV. It looks like it is going to be an enjoyable show.
Take care!

Maybe. And being in a 2-story house should help. My limited experience is that analog reception does not always equate to digital reception (digital is either yes or no; no inbetween with noise). Hence my maybe.

Some retail outlets (like Circuit City) allow folks to buy a receiver like the Zenith HDV420 and take it home. If it does not work you can return it. I am not sure what antenna would work best but an indoor UHF/VHF model might work. Alternatively a biggy on your roof might be needed. CC sells the highly rated indoor model, the Zenith Silver Sensor, but it is only UHF and WOLO is VHF Channel 8. But then again, a simple rabbit ear VHF might work too for WOLO (did here).

Trees can definitely be a problem but you never know. I have a cousin up in Rock Hill who is surrounded by trees (and behind a hill too) and he uses a large Winegard on top of his 2-story and gets good reception. Personally I get most of the Cola stations at 24 to 35 miles away using a indoor set top antenna (not WRLK though; low power short tower).

And if that does not work can you might checkout Time Warner. They have PBS, CBS, and ABC should be back on soon.

Bruce

i get super receptions on wolo, wltx, and wrlk using my samsung 150. however on wach i get a green light with strong reception but no picture with a "No Signal" displayed. is wach having problems or is it my samsung.
thanks and the wltx playoff games were great as well as wolo's "enemy of the state",
joe balazs (irmo area)

I can't speak for an hour ago but right now (12:30pm) WACH-DT on Ch 48 is coming in here fine via my Zenith HDV420. 100kwatts.tmi.net indicates their antenna location is the same as WOLO's tower (same one probably) so your antenna orientation should be good.

Bruce

PSIP configuration issues on the broadcaster's end will cause the Samsung
to act as Joe has described, but it is a good idea to make sure the Samsung
has been upgraded to firmware 2.0..which can be found on this forum under the hardware section..

Bob,
Any word on what happened to Wolo-Dt on Time Warner Cable?

Kevin,
Roy Rushing will be coming by my store tomorrow so I will ask him what the deal is and see if he knows anythign about ESPN-HD, Discovery-HD and any other possible channels.

We're looking into the TW thing, not sure why that is happening..
maybe Jay can get an answer from Roy..

bdfox18doe,
thanks for the hint on the samsung 150 / PSIP confguration potential problelm. i'm having trouble finding firmware 2.0 and i've heard of other problems with 2.0. is there anything else i could try? or am i the only one in the the columbia area with a samsung 150 this is having problem (green light but "no signal" for wach - 48).
thanks,
joe balazs

WOLO-DT should be on Time-Warner Columbia Full time on Channel 815 by
Tonight..

At 1:15pm today I noted Ch 815 ABCHD was back on the channel guide.

bruce

Awesome! Another HD channel for good with the Super Bowl in less than 2 weeks!

Y'all have a nice evening!

ABC was looking good tonite. I was switching between JAG and Jim! Hopefully one day we will have NBC in the 800's also.

Off topic, with the Explorer 8000, have any of you noticed the quick skip ahead button no longer works since the latest fireware download?
TIA
Craig

My Explorer 8000 hasn't been used in a few weeks. I will check it out tonight. My guide on the Explorer 2000HD box has been EXTREMELY slow. I meant to call Ray Rushing today, but forgot to. He said he would swap me out for a new Explorer 3100HD. Maybe that is the problem.

I'll let you knowwhat I find out about my Explorer 8000 tomorrow.

Craig; yes it is good to get ABC back on cable. Hope it sticks this time :)

Re: the Explorer 8000: yes; the 30sec forward skip was disabled with the new Dec firmware though the reverse 8sec skip still works. Interestingly some of the remotes used here in our area have the dedicated button (AT8410 unit I believe) while others do not (AT8400 model). And since there is no Explorer 8000 forum yet here at AVS let me direct you this one (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/explorer_8000/) instead. It is an Explorer 8000 DVR only discussion forum.

Bruce

There is a good looking show on SCETV right now that is about the railroads in the Grand Canyon. The sights are beautiful along the Colorado River. Check out channel 800. It started at 10:30

Hey Bruce, thanks for the link. This thing keeps deciding to stop recording my wife's soaps after 1 week so maybe I can find a solution in the forums you pointed out. Have you had any Record All, Save All shows that just spontaneously stop showing up in the scheduled list?

P.S. I am even loooking forward to getting Fox Widescreen on cable! At least it is better than NTSC tv. The only thing that does bother me is I was hell bent on getting away from cable when I bought an Antenna, a Dish 6000 and a Sony HD100 and now here I am back with TW!

The scheduled list is occasionally flakey; sometimes a lost recording (less frequent now than before) and an occasional gift recording (shows up unannounced and unrequested :). Do follow the group and perhaps join in. Maybe SA will listen <g>. Wife here is primary user and I try to get her to check her planned recordings each morning. (I do the same).

The "Record All" does seems unreliable perhaps sometimes due to errors in their program guide (it won't record duplicates and their naming sometimes appears to be too generic). Still with all its faults the box is still worth having. Key would be to log each days planned recordings and see what one gets (but that is called "work").

TW has done a good enough job for me overall and specifically in regards to HDTV to keep me from switching over to Dish or DirecTV.

Bruce

HOw is you OTA receiver working out now? R U keeping it?

last weeks football games were the first hd sporting events i've seen broadcasted live. I had a question: there were a few spots where the picture would go noticeably out and back in to focus(usually just prior to a play), and also when there was a close-up, with a distant, out of focus background, the background portion seemed to be broken up into a grid. I hope I am somewhat clear. My STB is fairly new, and I am still looking for problems, so I am a little paranoid. It all looked like issues with the broadcast, but I wanted to make sure someone else saw it too. Also, I'm not a big prime time network TV fan, HD or otherwise, but HD football is absolutely great! Thanks,
Mike

I was just notified by telephone that WOLO-DT has now officially been launched on TWCSC. As most of us already know it is on cable Channel 815 but it is now no longer in "test mode." So our local ABC station is now here to stay barring future technical difficulties. Superbowl fans should be very pleased!

I asked about the weather channel that WOLO-DT multicasts OTA but my contact had no information regarding it. (Personally I am not really worried about the weather radar channel as I prefer prefer the one provided by WLTX anyway.... better scale). The WOLO channel does provide the NWS audio (WLTX has no audio at all). The NWS audio is really poor.... a computer "reading" the forecast (yuck). No word yet on WACH joining the TWC lineup.

Question for Scott or one of the other Florence/Myrtle-Beach viewers: can you all get WOLO OTA?

Bruce

ratroom,
comment on the focusing: I too have seen that quite a bit and believe it has been addressed here at avs somewhere as part of the learning curve for the camera operators (HD harder to do than NTSC). Not to worry .... not your hardware.

Bruce

Thanks for the update Bruce!

Over the air WOLO-DT is loud and clear in Florence

Good! It had better be!

Can anyone verify that WACH is broadcasting OTA? I live in Columbia Northeast (Lake Carolina) and receive CBS, ABC & PBS in the 95-100% signal strength on my Samsung 160. I have scanned for WACH but cannot get any signal on HD. I do get the analog WACH 57. This may be the reason that Joe in Irmo is having problems with his Samsung receiving OTA.
Thanks
Jim

PS great job with this thread.

Chummel: sorry I missed your question earlier about the box: yes; so it would appear I am keeping it. I do however have to find a way (soon) to get an antenna lead down an interior wall; if I fail in that I will return it.

jsirwin: yes, WACH is broadcasting on Ch 48-2 (I can get it on my Zenith HDV420). I recommend you go back through this thead and see the discussion started on Jan 14th from joe balazs and Bdfox18doe (bob davis). The problem appears to be your Samsung and how it burps on the PSIP data sent out by WACH. ("Program and Systems Information Protocal (PSIP) is the ATSC standard for digital television channel naming, numbering and navigation. DTV Receivers use PSIP information to tune and label digital and analog channels." Bob pointed the way to Joe to find a firmware update that might help.

Bruce

Bruce,

Is WACH broadcasting 24 hrs? I have the latest firmware. I have been following the TS160 thread since early October. There are lots of posts there so I may have missed something. I do recall seeing comments about bad PSIP but my understanding is that was caused by the broadcaster(FOX in most cases) and had to be corrected by the broadcaster. I checked again and found something to try. It's just that WACH's OTA transmitter was out for a while and if they are not broadcasting when I scan I won't know if it is the Samsung or WACH.
Jim

Jim,
They were broadcasting during the day but I would have to check to see if they are actually doing 24/7 every day. They did get their transmitter fixed (replaced their tube) and they were on night before last. Okay; as of right now .... Saturday 5:05 pm... they are broacasting on Ch 48-2 a ST Voyager episode (same as on their analog channel).

From what I understand, some stations configure their PSIP in a manner that Samsung receivers do not like (choke might be a better word). This causes problems for you the Samsung owner. It might be worth a call to the station's engineer and letting him know of the situation. Bob Davis mentioned a firmware to the Samsung box that might help though that is not necessarily easily accomplished. I recall way back when here at avs someone reported the problem to their station and they were able to change their PSIP to where the problem was aleviated (at least temporarily).

Bruce

Just scanned for Digital Channels @ 4:50pm & 5:10pm but no Wach-48. I noticed the Samsung delayed going to channel 49 twice as long as when there is no channel present. That tells me it is picking something up at Digital 48 but can't resolve (choking as you put it) the PSIP. I have the latest firmware. Everything else works great on the Samsung just cant get WACH 48. I am going to try to reach WACH engineer through the WACH website. If anyone knows a more direct route please post.
Thanks again Bruce.

Hi Guys ... good to have this dedicated Columbia-HD thread. I have been away from this forum for sometime now.

Glad to see WOLO join the HD lineup. But would give my left kidney for Discovery-HD ! Whats happening with Time Warner ? I called them about two months ago and they said that talks were in progress and it would happen soon.

I have both ... the 3100HD box and the 8000 Recorder. The recorder has its own mind ... it records shows I never ask it to.
Microsoft has convinced the world that software bugs are normal and we should live with it. Now this lack of quality control has permeated to other things in our lives :) Some of the quirks I have come to anticipate - for instance if you record Show X from 8-9 every friday ... and it so happens that the next friday at the same time slot they happen to have another show ... the recorder will add both shows to the scheduled list for future recordings. I figured this out when I told it to record CBS show "48 Hours Investigates" every Friday and ended up with it recording "Prisidio Med" every Friday at that time on top of "48 hours" which had moved to another time slot. Apparently, whoever programmed this thing did not make the code check if the program name matches before adding it to the schedule. Doh!

On HD picture quality ... I have a well-calibrated Toshiba HDTV ... all HD channels look perfect ... except CBS ... it looks clear ... but has a slight greenish hue. The rest of them look just perfect !

If anyone knows who I should be contacting at TW about Discovery-HD ... preferably someone higher up than the person I dealt with couple of months ago ... I would appreciate a PM.

Bye.

Max

Welcome back Max.

Re: Discovery HD Theater. I check Discovery's web site periodically and not only is there no TWC mentioned there at all but it seems to be growing cobwebs <g>. I suspect corporate (not local) TWC said no to whatever Discovery's monetary demands were. Another possibility is they are planning a HD package and their not ready yet.

Re: contacting TWCSC, Perhaps you could write directly to Jeff Hirsch, General Manager, Time Warner Cable of South Carolina, 293 Greystone Blvd. Columbia, SC 29210. (I have no email address for him).

re: Explorer 8000. Yep; it has some flakeness still. Since AVS has no Explorer 8000 forum, suggest you visit this one (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/explorer_8000/) instead. There we are documenting and commenting on various quirks of this box.

re: green tinted CBS: cannot help there; can't say I have seen that phenonoma here on our Mits (which is also calibrated). Will pay more attention in the future just in case.

Bruce

Max,
Who calibrated your TV?

Originally posted by chummel
Max,
Who calibrated your TV?

I got it calibrated by a company in Charlotte. Like I said it looks great on all other channels. Moreover, the Video Essentials Blue filter test passes.

Might I add that the greenish hue is absent on certain CBS shows. Since I don't watch network shows ... my impressions are based on a few minutes of observations while channel skipping every night. So probably disregard until I get you more specific info.

Wish the figure skating on ABC was HD. Oh well.

Later guys .. glad to be back.

Max

Today's NFC playoff game on FOX was reported by some to have been broadcast in DD5.1 audio. Did anyone get that from WACH today? All I got here was 2.0. Bruce

5.1 was ONLY in Charlotte, LA, & Washington.

jim,
regarding the WACH-DT / samsung problem. i've been in an email exchange with a WACH engineer on this problem. he indicated that they were going to check out their PSIP settings and get back to me. hopefully, it is something simple. please let me know when you can receive WACH-DT and i'll do likewise.

joe balazs

Joe,

That sounds good. Did your STB need a firmware update? Mine is OTA + DirecTV so the update was done by DirecTV in December. Purchased in November and OTA has always worked well with the exception of WACH. I will be looking for your comments once you hear back from WACH.

Jim

I got confirmation that WLTX-DT will not be offering Dolby Digital 5.1 anytime soon.As noted in upcoming programming news that The Grammy's on CBS next month will be broadcast in HD and 5.1.They do not own equipment to pass the signal from CBS.Seems strange that they would have outdated equipment after being on the air only a little over 6 months.They however did a excellent job with their AFC Championship broadcast yesterday with no audio or video dropouts in the 2nd half,1st half unfortunately viewed SD away from home.

Joe,

WACH-DT just came up on a scan for Digital Channels. Showing as WACH HD 57.1. I guess WACH reviewed there PSIP and corrected. Give it a try.

Jim

I hope the Super Bowl sounds better than the Rock does right now. I can't even hear the music it is so intermittent. Dialogue barely gets through.

I noticed recently that their audio has been very low as compared to any other channel on cable.Tonight it is messed up terrible via TWC.

I too have noticed the audio is horrible. It seems to be at least 10 db below any other channel. It is still better than not having the channel at all.

Hopefully WOLO will get their audio fixed so the Super Bowl can sound as good as CBS did for the AFC playoffs.

Yep, WOLO-DT audio is horrible here whether OTA or via TWC. Appears to be a station problem and not national. Analog channel is okay.

Bruce

Its fixed! Very loud and clear!

Yup

Sounds good here too! It is even 5.1. Now if they can do this on SUnday, I'll be "Super" happy.

Broke again!

Is this a problem on TWC or is it a WOLO problem?

Bruce, are you getting audio on your OTA receiver? Just trying to figure out which end the problem is coming from.

Thanks!

Jay,
Problem was WOLO-DT.... I had it on both the OTA signal using the Zenith receiver and from TWC using the SA3100HD box. I gave up on it so not sure what it is doing now.

Bruce

I am watching CSI now, it is a great show.

Thanks for the info, Bruce!

goods news for Samsung users / WACH-DT. coming in load and clear! whatever the WACH-DT folks did it corrected the problem. thanks WACH-DT engineers!

Bruce,
have had no problems or other complaints on WOLO-DT..What exactly do you mean by bad audio? Please send me a PM with some details.
Thanks..
BTW, we didn't do anything to DT last night to change anything..

I came back to it at the end and It sounded fine. 5.1 and all! Does any one have trouble with the digital channels on SA 3100HD being much lower in volume than the analog channel? This happens when using analog or digitala inputs into my receiver.

Craig,
I talked to Bob Davis today (who could find nothing wrong on their end at that time). So if you see/hear anything strange tonight on ABC go ahead and post it here (I will do the same; will tune in to check if nothing else). Maybe we can catch the offending encoder or something while it is misbehaving.

And Yes to your question about the boxes differing audio levels. I too have to turn up my digital box output quite a bit and if I then switch over to a analog channel it booms out much louder. There is a lot of that going around. Be nice if TWC/SA could review their levels and fix the problem.

Bruce

Hey Bruce, Thanks a lot! I really hope that HD PVR comes out soon.

Go into setup ,change audio range to normal,change volume control to fixed.I notice no change between the digital 2.0 and the analog tier.The movies that are 5.1 are a little lower because of the more discreet sound field.I use my receiver for sound all the time,I have no audio feed to the TV.I hope this helps.As for poor sound on Wolo-DT,I had the same problem one Saturday about 2 weeks when I was tuned into Wolo-DT via a Zenith stb.

Kevin,
You da' man! Thanks. Just a note as I was looking for this thread this morning, we are quite a busy little group down here in Columbia. Frequent postings and generally good progress (as of late) with recent news. Thanks to everyone for their participation.

I was hoping Bob Davis or someone with some info on WOLO-DT might be able to help me. Do you know if I can possibly pick up WOLO-DT for the Super Bowl in Greenwood, SC?? I have a Channel master rooftop antenna with preamp and am able to lock in on CBS and NBC out of Greenville. I do not have a rotor so before I get on the roof and turn the antenna away from Greenville and towards Columbia I thought I might ask if you knew of anyone having any luck this far away. I'm about 60 miles from Greenville and Columbia. I'm having a Super Bowl Party and would love to show everyone the game in high def. Thanks

Kevin Fuqua, MD

Hi Kevin-
I doubt you will be able to get WOLO-DT in Greenwood, as our transmitter is actually in Elgin, which is about 78 miles from center of Greenwood.
You could try, but it is doubtful.

Thanks for the info. I was afraid of that. I guess high def on ABC is still not meant to be yet for me.

Kevin

Bob,
I am having terrible audio problems again on WOLO-DT via TWC. The problem is the same as the other night on "The Rock". Anyone else experiencing these problems?
Thanks!

Now I have lost ALL AUDIO and having severe video dropouts.

Bruce, how is your OTA reception?

Same here...audio and picture going in and out...this is getting too close to SB Sunday to be having these kinds of problems! Hope TWC & WOLO are listening!

Brian

I have the same problems with WOLO. Picture and signal stregnth is solid. I think it is in the Dolby Digital portion of the feed. 25-2 radar chanel is ok with audio decoded as Dolby Digital 2/0 and the analog is ok. HELP Bob SB is 3 days away!!

Mike

Same problem here via TWC.

Not working here either with the OTA/ or from TWC. Video is fine; audio is trashed. Now I did see one one commercial that the audio was fine. Sounds like an echo/stutter and overal level is very low.

I tried to call WOLO in Cola and WSSC in Charlotte but only got voice mail. I also emailed Bob Davis but no word yet.

Bruce

I just called WOLO North (WCCB in Charlotte) and talked to someone in their News department and asked him to pass to Master Control the fact that WOLO-DT Ch 8 audio is all messed up and requested they fix it.
Bruce

I have 3 white lines and no audio.

picky picky picky

coming thru now as 4:3 upconvert; audio seems to working.

addendum at 9:14.. audio is garbled again.....

Could it be the cold weather? The last 15 minutes of CSI on WLTX (TWC) started getting pixelation and blackouts, so if its happening both OTA and on TWC, perhaps its the transmission tower...are WOLO & WLTX co-located?

Can't speak to the weather being a problem and I too had some burps towards the end of CSI. I suspect it was purely coincidence and that WOLO just had a hardware problem. Regarding towers, I believe FOX and WQHB (analog) are on "WOLO's" tower but not WLTX or WIS.

Bruce

ABC HD receiver is being cantankerous again, it has been a POS since day one, but the MFG is very responsive. It has worked fine on all test feeds since monday, and both previous nights when we had an engineer babysit
it..We'll be here to kick start it or anything else on sunday, unless it totally
dies..probably can't get another one in time due to the weather here,as we're still pretty much paralyzed..

FYI, there is typically no one here at night with the ability to correct such
and audio problem other than going to upconvert..

Bruce, WACH(FOX) and WOLO(ABC) share tower space, WIS is beside WOLO's tower..both are in Elgin..

Thanks for the feedback Bob. I figured the SB would not be a problem (other than a catastrophic loss). Good luck on digging out of the snow and ice.
Bruce

Hi fellas ... not meaning to change the discussion away from "signal reception" ... but last night I was watching CSI around 9:05 pm ... this was a scene inside the hospital (?) ... the scene was semi-lit ... the characters all had a greenish hue to them.

This is what I was referring to earlier ... is this peculiar to CSI ?

I do remember the football events looking very clean.

The greenish hue bothered me so I switched away from it. (sorry, to be anal about it :-) )

Happy SB Sunday.

Cannot say I noticed that. Maybe next time you see it give me a call and we can compare noted. I will PM you with my number.

Bruce

Originally posted by bdfox18doe
FYI, there is typically no one here at night with the ability to correct such
and audio problem other than going to upconvert..



Bob,
Do you think someone will be there during the SB? It is a pretty important event!
Craig

On a different note, has anyone herad anything else out of WIS? I thought they ahd until the end of this month to get running.

Also, even though it is 480p, is there any word on FOX getting on TWC?

Thanks for the update, Bob. Hopefully everything will run smoothly for the Super Bowl.

WIS had better get on the ball. I bet that they don't meet their deadline. They were running commercials saying they would be going high def in early 2003 during October, but I haven't seen any commercials since. Anyone hearing anything about them?

Mr. Ivey,

We plan to broadcast by the end of January 2003 . We are constructing a
Tower right now, As soon as it is done we will announce formally what
our DTV date is.

Thanks for watching WIS!

Katie Paxton
WIS News
Assistant to the News Director
(803) 758-1249

Email fom November 7,2002


I bet when they do start broadcasting that they will do a great job!

Thanks, Kevin! Let's hope they stick to the plan.

I have been monitoring Wolo-DT all evening.Sound was great as long as they were broadcasting SD.They have only 1 show in HD tonight,The Drew Carey Show.At exactly 9:00 pm the stuttering 5.1 started and continued until exactly 9:30 pm.As soon the next show started the sound was back to normal.Why do they have problems now?Low volume is one point,but constant woofer popping is insane!

Yep; their receiver appears to be acting up again. I reckon Bob and his crew will have a busy day tomorrow working on it and I have no doubts he will be there at master control on Sunday just in case. They had it working fine earlier today probably for several hours. I was in Columbia this morning so only caught the test feed starting around 2:15 pm. I let it run here while I worked and I believe it was on continuously until they switched over to Raymond at 4pm. Bob may have been polite when he said it was "cantankerous."

Bruce

Heck, I'll settle for Dolby 2.0,let me source the surround.

I'd settle for mono... Its like your signature says Kevin...Its all about the wide picture!!! I just want to SEE my first HD Super Bowl!

My money says it will work but for an alternative for bad audio might be to have a NTSC set in the room and listen to its audio. It will not be in sync but heck ... its football right? Might be nice to be able to show the comparison of "great" vs "blah". Or perhaps tune the VCR to the right channel and feed it's analog audio to your A/V receiver. Bruce

Re:
Also, even though it is 480p, is there any word on FOX getting on TWC?

Greetings,
We've been working with TWC this week but don't have a firm timetable just yet. We'll keep you updated as things progress. Thanks.

Rick Sprot
Chief Engineer
WACH-TV
803.212.7290

Rick,
Thanks for the input! Sounds good! I personally have seen your DT signal (Ch 48) using a Zenith receiver but many here at AVS including myself (again) use TWC for their HDTV. Good luck!

Bruce

Mission Impossible is showing on ABC-HD from 8:30-11pm.I will flip back and forth tonight.HBO-HD and SHO-HD have new movies on tonight!Bob,as stated by my previous post,the audio problems occur when it switches to HD.When displaying 4.3,the audio works great and even seems to have a volume increase from what had been broadcast earlier in the week.Bruce,I have tested my tiVo audio with the HD on screen it seems to be off a second or two.Lip sync my not be a problem since the announcers are on screen very little during the actual game.I HOPE I DON'T NEED TO USE IT THAT WAY!

So far, so good. WOLO-DT 5.1 sound and 4:3 upconvert playing flawlessly on the Madden Special.

Let's pray it stays this way for the big game.

Remember the problem occurs when they go HD,4.3 SD has work correctly most of the week.

Just got back from Fedex Station with a Spare ABC HD receiver, So I think we'll have the SB unless the transmitter dies..
Have switched audio outputs, so let me know if tonight is any better..
I find it very,very interesting that the receiver has been fine on EVERY test
feed this week, yet acts up in primetime..Hmmm...

Thanks, Bob! I will be making sure I tune into ABC tonight to make sure everything is functioning properly. I have a lot of people coming over to the house to watch the game tomorrow.

Take care!

Great job tonight with Mission Impossible,no video or audio drops!

Yep, was fine here too. If tomorrow goes like tonight did we will be in great shape. Thanks to Bob and his crew for fixing the recalcitrant receiver.

Bruce

Interesting discussion over in Programming (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=218390) about MI's audio. For a long time I thought I had only two channels (never checked the center channel; dialog was fine). But I heard nothing in the surrounds. I missed much of the middle of the movie but later towards the rear I would swear I heard the surrounds kick in so I figured it was just the sound track. My receiver indicated DD5.1 and the green light on the sub was on though that could also be the bass management working. Now I am wondering if my first impression was right and the audio sent out by ABC really was not 5.1.

Bruce

:) :confused:

Bruce,
I can assure you that between 10-11 pm Mission Impossible was in full surround.I had it turned up to reference level.I however have no idea of the audio quality of ABC-HD between 8:30-10:00 pm.All Surrounds were active the hour I listened and volume level was good.I will gladly take the audio from the movie last night for the game today.Great job WOLO-DT!

Originally posted by xmitter

Greetings,
We've been working with TWC this week but don't have a firm timetable just yet. We'll keep you updated as things progress. Thanks.

Rick Sprot
Chief Engineer
WACH-TV
803.212.7290

Rick, thanks for the quick reply! Although we will all be glad when FOX goes to 720p, I would still rather watch widescreen sports than 4:3 any day.

Waiting for SB to start ... hopefully we will not have any problems.

BTW, check out the 3-hour back to back segment on U-Boats and WWII on one of the Discovery feeds ... its going on right now ... sure its not HD ... but you will not regret it. Will keep you busy until kickoff.

Bye.

Originally posted by umenon
Waiting for SB to start ... hopefully we will not have any problems.
Bye.

Yea, mee too!:eek:

Thanks for everything, Bob! We have ribs, lobster and crab getting prepared as we speak. Good thing I have a laptop in my media room!

Take care guys! This Falcon fan will be pulling for Tampa Bay. Hell, they are in our division and are in the NFC.

Everything sounds and looks perfect so far!!!!!

Ditto.... all is great here as well. See ya later!.......
Bruce

It's good here too!

Loved the coin toss; love the widescreen perspective....what a gaggle of cameras on the field! Neat!

Bruce

All is well via Time Warner too. However, the overall detail is missing. Still better than 480i :-)

CBS NFL in HD is still supreme !!!

ABC-HD via Time Warner looks like "good SD" :-(

On CBS-HD I could read the details in the turf ! But then again it could be 720p to 1080i upconvert loss.

The Matrix commercial was good though.

IMHO, detail is missing because it is 720p WITH the TWC box upconverting
it to 1080i..boo..hiss..looks very good here directly off the ABC receiver,of
course no one out there sees it that way..

HOW ABOUT THE ESPN-HD COMMERCIAL!!!


WAHOOOO!!!!!!!

OUTSTANDING!

A little less sharp than 1080i CBS, but alot smoother,way less motion artifacts.I'll take 720p for sports any day.I saw Fox 480p last week and it absolutely terrible compared to this.I had guests over for this week and last weeks game.All of us agree that the picture is as good as CBS and the sound is the real deal.The sound is much better than Dolby 2.0.

I was pretty surprised to find this thread...thought everyone in SC was only interested in eating bar-b-q ;)

I'm located in Columbia, shandon area.

a couple of questions:

1. My 32" 5 year old JVC tv died...I took it to palmetto electronics on Shakesphere road who said they could probably fix it for $129 or so. Problem is it will take 2-3 weeks. Anyone know of another place for TV repair?

2. I'm in the process of replacing it with a Sony 34XBR800. I've seen them at CC but does anyone know of another place that carries this HDTV?

3. The sony has DVI so what STB tuner should I be looking at?

Once I get the set I'll be getting HD OTA because I use Directv and am addicted to TiVo (and some not so good past experiences with TWC). TiVo just demo'd a Directv-Tivo-HD unit at CES that's slated for end of the year--I can wait for that if I can get some good HD OTA. I don't watch alot of network but am looking for that wow factor that HD supplies. :D

Right now I'm using a 15 year old 13" commodore computer monitor as my main tv...not good!

I read through all the posts here and am psyched you guys are here and active...ciao.

I thought ABC's Superbowl via TWC was pretty darn good. A big plus is the audio I am gettiing on ABC.

Rich,

Welcome to out little niche here on AVS. Hopefully we will be able to help you along the road to HD.

1. Regarding repairing the JVC: I live in Sumter so really can't help you there, sorry.

2. Regarding the purchase of a HDTV. If you are wedded to Sony and that particular model and have done your homework then... good luck! I might suggest you spend some time here at AVS reading forums especially the direcview one, the one on rear projection and the four HDTV related ones.

3. IMO, the issue of DVI/HDMI is something to get a handle on as is Firewire/5C. Regarding DVI/HDMI capable DirecTV receivers, I am not sure there are many choices yet. For now, besides the Sony SAT HD200 you mentioned is it's twin, the Zenith SAT-520 HDTV (both are reportedly made by Zenith but there are some differences). Other models are due later this year.

4. Local HD broadcasts are available OTA or from Time Warner Cable. Using the OTA receiver built into the DirecTV STB coupled with a VHF/UHF antenna (for our area) works well for many in our area. Hopefully it would for you too! Time Warner also offers most of the OTA HD channels. The station and TWC must first agree to the carriage and so there can be a delay from the station turn-on date to it's being on cable. DT stations currently on TWC are CBS, ABC, and PBS; an agreement with FOX is being worked; and NBC and WB are not yet on the air.

I somewhat understand your feelings for TiVo having used TWC's Explorer 8000 DVR for a couple of months (TiVo is reportedly much more mature and superior in operation at this time). But your talking about spending $600 or more now for a receiver then another $1000 (est) when the HD TiVo comes out. FWIW, digital cable including one HD box starts at about $60/mo.

I mention cable because of cost and bandwidth (channels). TWC might be a cheap way to get HD now and let things get sorted out a bit though not many want to pay for both cable and a dbs. A number of new HD channels have been proposed (see the Program Synopsis listed here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=164671 ) near the end). It is unlikely that DirecTV will be able to carry them all due to limited bandwidth. Cable has the bandwidth advantage but again no one knows yet which channels they will carry either. One caution I might make is the current HD cable box, the SA3100HD. does not work well with all 4:3 HD capable sets due to its lack of aspect ratio control (next model should be better).

Good luck,
Bruce

I too would like to add that WOLO's broadcast of the Superbowl went well and to congratulate Bob Davis and his engineering staff for getting it all together and working right! Thanks!

Bruce

Thanks Bruce.

I was thinking of keeping my current Directivo combo unit and adding a budget STB for just OTA (I've got 149 hours of recording space on the TiVo after harddrive upgrades). I know at this time "budget" means $399 for a STB. Maybe I can find an open box cheaper--I haven't done much net searching for this yet.

I've found that using TiVo is alot like using MacOS...a bit of religous fanaticism associated with ownership!

Re: Sony. I've done the research and gone back and forth many times but always come back to the sony due to it's stellar PQ and manageable size (despite it's 200#). We like to sit close to the set so a large set isn't as important as PQ.

I tried the Zenith HDV420 and it worked well for OTA though it did not integrate well for as I also had TWC. So yeah; that might be a good option fo ryou. Circuit City on Two Notch has them. When it comes to brands I try to stay out of other folks noses (sometimes) and just say to look around. FYI, *************** has a lot of user feedback/info on various brands.

Bruce

Originally posted by bdenman
I too would like to add that WOLO's broadcast of the Superbowl went well and to congratulate Bob Davis and his engineering staff for getting it all together and working right! Thanks!

Bruce

I'd like to second that! The 10 people I had over were very impressed with the HD factor! Loved the ESPN HD commercial. We can only hope TWC gets on board quickly.

Hi guys,
Maybe it's a little bit off-topic, but I asked the CSRs at TW and was told the following to get HD on cable:
1. You need a full basic package: $45/month
2. HD box rental (SA-3100HD): $8.95/month
3. Digital package: $5.95/month

Total: $59.9/month (*yikes*)

Then if I want to add HBO & SHO... Well, you got the picture.
Is it just me or everybody is paying it?
I'm asking because I'm currently with DirecTV, and the basic package is $31/month, and they offered to send an oval dish and install it - all for free.

Am I missing something, or its just TW's prices outrageous?

My issue with TWC was the price "creep" it seemed that the monthly price just kept going up a little at a time every few months. I bailed to directv and have been very happy so far (pre-HDTV).

My bill for Directv is $63 which includes HBO/Starz, $6 Local channels, and a $5 Tivo fee.

Kir,
Yes, thats about what TWC_SC's digital cable costs. You have to have the digital tier to get the HD part so it really is not suitable for dbs users to get HD with. Throw in Road Runner cable modem service and you have a $110+/mo TW bill (ouch).

If one is looking at either DirecTV or TWC, then do look at the program packages as they are not identical. DirecTV's $31.99 Total Choice package, while quite long, still misses a number of programs on TWC's digital tier. If you want History International, Discovery Civilizations, Biography, Science Channel, Turner South (and some others) you will need DirecTV's $34.99 Total Choice Plus package. If you want Golf or Encore you will have to move up to the premier package with all the premium channels. And you still have no locals (typcally $4 or so/mo from DirecTV where they offer them).

In the meantime TWC offers does have lifeline type cable service; $10.60 for channels 2-13 (so has the broadcast channels plus a few including WGN). So one can get that to flesh out DirecTV's programs. To build comparable packages I suspect you will end up with a DirecTV bill that is closer to $42 to $47/mo or more.

Hardware choices are limited with TWC but the package mentioned above does include one digital box and you don't have to buy any equipment for additional rooms if you don't want to. The analog tier of about 70 channels is often adequate for your other rooms and no box is required. TW also offers the Explorer 8000 DVR for about $13/mo; not nearly as good as a TiVo from what I understand but perhaps a suitable alternative for some (it still has a few bugs however).

I have long considered either going with either Dish Network or DirecTV and just can't see a long term advantage for dbs over cable even when TWC irritates me. Given the potential for HD on cable vice over a dbs service I just cannot buy into dbs right now. However, your mileage may vary! And if the price creeps up too much then I can easily bail (no commitments).

Bruce

ps: according to the DirecTV web site, they do not offer locals in our area. So regarding what Rich said, ????

May be Rich has a house up in the mountains..!

Ah! yes

Bob, regarding the audio stuttering we saw the other night. I never rebooted our cable box here but I did change channels a number of times so went from bad audio to good and vice verse. Any idea if the signal had some quirk that just was sending our boxes into a tizzy or was it affecting OTA boxes as well?
Bruce

Good question. We're looking into it, suspect it is due to video timing errors
going into the encoder. Suspect the timing may be off enough that some
receivers get mad while others recover on their own.

Thank you all for your replies.
I will probably be going the way of DirecTV HD + local HD OTA. Looks like a cheaper alternative to the cable.

Thank you again!

Get the Zenith 520 DirecTv + HD..

Originally posted by bdfox18doe
Get the Zenith 520 DirecTv + HD..

Hi Bob,
I was actually thinking about Samsung SIRT-160. It should be a better match for my Samsung 507W, I think...
Am I mistaken? Please correct me.

re: locals

I should have said Charlotte locals...to get them call direct tv and "move" your service address to one in charlotte (doesn't matter where...nothing ever is mailed there). Keep your "billing address" as your real address. Then call and order locals and when they flip the switch you'll be watching the networks over directv (and you'll get chalotte local news) and paying an extra $5.99

I could care less about getting the local news here...what I wanted is the ability to TiVo some of the network shows that I regularly watch and this "method" works perfectly with my combo Directv-tivo unit.

You could even choose some other city close by that has local channels offered by directv...I just chose chalotte.

check tivocommunity and search for "move" and "locals"

Some would say watch WOLO ABC25 News and you'll get Charlotte News..

Originally posted by bdfox18doe
Some would say watch WOLO ABC25 News and you'll get Charlotte News..

:eek:

Some would say watch WOLO ABC25 News and you'll get Charlotte News..

LOL........................

Ever notice they don't say what network they belong to? tsk tsk tsk Must be tough to be a switch hitter brand wise..... :)

But they did give 25 a name! ........ "woe low" :)
What do they call WCCB? ..............wickey bee?
hehehe ... I have heard they are going to add (back) a Sunday evening news program!

Bruce

Rich,
My bill is about $160 a month, but that includes all channels, 2 hd boxes and a PVR box and RoadRunner with 2 IP addresses. I have always had Directv, but finally cancelled the service because I think it just can't compete with cable. Directv got the ball rolling with offering a nice variety of programming at a resonable price, they just DO NOT and will NEVER have the capabilities of cables (bandwidth). Really, I think $75 a month is not bad when you consider all you get including local HD channels, 2 HBO-HD channels and NO RAIN FADE.

Just my $.02 worth.

Bruce,
WCCB actually means "Watch Charlotte & Cy Bahakel" or something like that..How about "We Constantly Change Brands?"
However, there are some creative monikers that can be applied for any tv stations letters..

And yes, it is a bit tough to switch brands mid-stream, we do occasionally
slip up and get crossed. But hey, we're the first to REALLY do this, which
makes us pioneers.. the guys with arrows in our backs..

According to John Augustine, WIS Engineering, who I just talked to, if all goes well WIS-DT Ch 41 will be on the air this evening (~5:30pm). If there are glitches then that could slip to tomorrow evening. Initial broadcasts will be SD only as their HD encoder board is not working correctly. Transmitter will be at full power.

Columbia viewers are encouraged to call 799-1010 (their main switchboard number) and give them a reception report which in turn will let them know we are out here!

Carriage over Time Warner is going to take some time. It is the hands of corporate officials and lawyers so I would not be suprised if it did not take about the same time as it took WLTX/CBS and WOLO/ABC to get on cable (3 months or more).

Bruce

Thanks for the update Bruce,I hope WIS-DT is on TWC soon.

My pleasure Kevin! In time I am sure NBC-DT on TWC will occur but I believe patience is in order for the near term. And given the deafening sound of silence tonight .... I gather WIS-DT did not get the switch switched on tonight. That was mentioned as a distinct possibility so perhaps tomorrow all the little ducks will get lined up properly.

There is good news for tonight in that is we have both ABC and CBS to pick from for HD and NBC... well; here ER gets the VCR treatment tonight. Enjoy!

Bruce

I was getting 98% at 9:00. Now I am getting nothing . Did they go back off the air? Are they getting ready for ER in HD?

SCott

Scott;
I don't have the Zenith anymore so I don't know. Sorry. Your's is the only report I have seen so far. I think Mr Augustine said they had called Harris about the encoder problem so I don't think they expected to get it going tonight. Please do let us know though if they got it back up and how it goes.
Bruce

WIS signal report 10:11 PM. 100% here in Irmo. ER is in SD.

Mike

WIS-DT Great reception in Cola N.E.

It is great to finally see WIS go digital. I'm getting a 89 signal strength here in Lexington using the Radio Shack double bow-tie. One problem though, the sound is slightly out-of-synch with the video. Oh well, I'm sure they will fix it.

Well the sound / video synch problem appears to be fixed. Right now they have the 4:3 version of programming on 41-1 (black bars on the side), weather radar on 41-2, and a full screen version of what is on 41-1 on 41-3. 41-3 is terribly pixilated. I plan on checking out Leno tonight.

On another topic: What is up with WLTX? Why are they only broadcasting digitally for the Young and the Restless and primetime. What is stopping them from going full time?

"On another topic: What is up with WLTX? Why are they only broadcasting digitally for the Young and the Restless and primetime. What is stopping them from going full time?"

Money,those gray bars are expensive to transmit.Seriously they are saving money ,its very expensive to broadcast in digital.Transmitter is a real power hog.

OK, I finally got my HDTV receiver last night. I was trying it with the amplified indoor RCA UHF/VHF antenna just to discover that no matter what I do I could not get a good lock on any station. Analog stations would display a C- picture with snow, and digital would show up for a few seconds and then disappear again with the message "Searching for a signal".

According to AntennaWeb.org I need a "Yellow" antenna to get all 5 stations. I would definetely prefer to try the indoor one first. Any recommendations?
PS: I'm surrounded by trees (Harbisson forest) and other houses. I live in a 2-story house.

Thank you,
Kirill

Kir,
I have a a couple of questions/thoughts: What model number RCA antenna did you try? And just as a curiosity which receiver did you using?

Did you try a regular set of rabbit ears for WOLO/ABC Ch8 (maps to 25.1)? If that works then you might get by using it coupled to a UHF only model (outdoor UHF Yagi) or indoor UHF model like the Silver Sensor. Circuit City and Sears both sell the Silver Sensor (cost ~$40).

You said you live in a two-storey house. Do you have a window on the second floor that faces Elgin? If so; did you try pointing your antenna out the window?

If no indoor model works then you may have to get something that can get over/through the trees. This means high, maybe medium to large, and directional which helps avoid multipath problems. (Some people do get by using an attenna in the attic).

Since you need both UHF (most stations) and VHF (ABC Ch 8), you might need a roof or chimney mounted UHF/VHF combo antenna. Channel Master (check Lowes), Winegard (mail order) or Radio Shack brands are often recommended and available.

Lowes has been carrying the CM 3016 (about $35) (might be enough), the 3018 (about $60 I think) and the 3020 (about $100). Warrenelectronics and starkelectronics sell over the internet. Radio Shack may also have something that will work and they normally do let you return/exchange; I do not know what Lowes' policies are.

From Sumter I was able to use an indoor Radio Shack Double Bow-tie with great success (no trees). On the other hand I have a cousin in Rock Hill that had problems with trees and a hill and had to get a large (15' long) Winegard stuck 25' in the air (attached to his chimney) to get his "local" Charlotte channels. Lets hope your solution is easier than his. Good luck!

Bruce

Bruce,
Thank you very much for your detailed reply.
I just tried Silver Sensor with no luck. Since the TV is on the 1st floor, my wife doesn't like the idea of having an indoor antenna on the second floor :)
I guess I would need to start experimenting with the outdoor antennas. Since Lowes currently only has 3016, I would start with it. As far as I remember they have a 90 day no-questions-asked return policy.
As far as equipment goes, I got myself a Samsung SIRT-TS160 (DirecTV + OTA HDTV). Somebody in this forum reported very good results with it. I also was told that it locks at 36% signal strength OTA, so it's not too picky.

PS: If you don't hear from me in awhile, I've fallen from the roof mounting antenna :D

Kirill

WIS-DT is up with HD tonight. Just watched Kingpin in HD after checking out Alias in HD (Jennifer Garner is so hot). It is great to have all these choices!

Can't wait to see Jay Leno in HD tomorrow.

SCott

Originally posted by Scott Burns
Alias in HD (Jennifer Garner is so hot).
SCott

Yes, you should have seen all the guys gathered around the HD monitor
here watching the open of the post-superbowl Alias. Even Wifey commented about the opening scenes..

Kir,

I have an extra Radio Shack Double Bow Tie if you would like to try it. PM me.

Mike

I have decided to watch Alias every Sunday. Is there always a bikini/half naked scene? Solid!!!!

Craig,
You know that is not conducive to an increase in the WAF in regards to HDTV, don't you?

Mike in Irmo: I am using a Radio Shack Bowtie, whats the double bowtie? Does each bowtie rotate seperately?

Kir: I am using the Samsung TS160 in NE Columbia. I believe you responded to my posts before you bought the Samsung. From my location 10-15 miles from transmitters, the reception on the Samsung is very good with the Bowtie clipped to a VHF not even extended. Radio Shack had me buy a UHF/VHF combiner to RF (about $3). I keep playing with the rotation on the bowtie to try and get the best signal. Just a slight rotation changes the signal strenth quite a bit. To me that would indicate a lot of sensitivity in the tuner. I hadn't ckecked this thread for a few days and last night scanned for WIS. Current reception is: CBS 93-100, NBC 93-100, ABC 100, PBS 77-93 and quite variable, Fox didn't seem to be broadcasting last night but was 93-100. If you want PM me and we can talk on the phone.
Jim

Mike in Irmo: I am using a Radio Shack Bowtie, whats the double bowtie? Does each bowtie rotate separately?


Jim,

The RS Double Bow tie is a small indoor antenna, UHF only, discontinued model.

Mike

Joe Balazs: Are you still getting WACH 48. They corrected the PSIP and I tuned it in the next day. The guide just showed "regular programming". I haven't been able to get the signal the last few days and I noticed the program information is listed in my guide so I am thinking they started sending wrong PSIP again. Any help?
Jim

Originally posted by bdfox18doe
Craig,
You know that is not conducive to an increase in the WAF in regards to HDTV, don't you?

Thankfully, she is already sold!!!! Still having trouble working all of the components though;)

Jim

I'm not getting WACH-DT either. It looks that they are not transmitting.
It seems it is more the time that they are off than on the air.

Oscar

I got a Channel Master CM 3016 antenna and put it on 2 boxes in one of the rooms on the 2nd floor just to try it out. Here are the results:
1. WOLO-DT on channels 25-1 and 25-2 - OK lock
2. WLTX-DT on channels 19-1 and 19-2 - OK lock
3. WRLK-DT on channels 32-3 (is it really them? gorgeous picture though), 35-1, and 35-2 - OK lock

Out of these channels only 32-3 looked like a true HD picture though. The rest looked like a regular digital broadcast not in HD.

No matter what I tried I could not get WIS-DT and WACH-DT at all.

I was hoping it would be ok to mount it in the attic, but with these results... What gives?

Thank you,
Kirill

Kirill,
Youj did not say what time you were viewing what/when tonight and I don't know today how the station channel numbers are mapping out but based on what was scheduled and my viewing tonight via TWC:

- CBS Ch 17 (19-x) was in HD at 8 (JAG) (confirmed)
- NBC Ch 41 (10-x) had Frasier scheduled in HD at 9 (not on cable)
- ABC Ch 8 (25-x) was in HD at 10 (NYPD Blue) (confirmed)
- PBS CH 32 (35-x) had the demo loop in HD except between 8 and 9 when the Julliard program was probably on (Widescreen SD, not HD) (not checked)

(CBS and ABC both had other stuff scheduled in HD but I did not tune and check)

Anyway, I am wondering if perhaps you just tuned in at a bad time to check. I have found Hidefguide (www.hidefguide.com/) to be a pretty good site for scheduling HD on commercial stations (not perfect however) and PTVDIGITAL (http://www.ptvdigital.org/dt2a_sked.html ) has a good rundown of what is on most PBS stations. Both WOLO and WLTX both multicast a SD weather radar as well (WOLO's is not on cable) and WRLK multicasts 1HD and 2SD channels.

It is possible that WIS or WACH might have had problems tonight; earlier today folks were saying WACH was not on the air. So WIS might also have had problems as well. Perhaps your attic installation is not yet ruled out. Suggest you try again tomorrow or Thursday night.

Bruce

Greetings,
We had a failure of a vital portion of our 8-VSB exciter and have not been on for a couple of days. We're waiting on a replacement part which the manufacturer didn't have available to ship until today. They promised Wednesday AM delivery so hopefully we'll be back tomorrow evening.

Rick Sprott
WACH-TV

Rick,
Thanks for the update. Welcome, and please continue to provide us info on happening at WACH. Do you have anything to do with WIS at all?

Has anyone heard if this is true for TWC in Columbia? Also has anybody else noticed that Wolo-DT has blue bars instead of black bars on their 4x3 SD programming tonight?

Hey guys!

Roy Rushing came by my store today to swap me out boxes. He told me that TWC and ESPN-HD, Discovery-HD and he couldn't remember the 3rd, but they were in negotiations to carry these channels. Hopefully, this will occur in the next couple of months. He did not know a time line, but confirmed that they have been talking for several weeks already. This is good news to me.

Also, he said that the PVR-HD box should be available in the next couple of months.

This is all GREAT news for us. Just thought I would pass the word on to you guys.

Thanks!

That is fantastic news! I've really been hoping that TWC would pick up ESPN-HD in time for baseball season.

Been lurking on this thread for awhile now; it's terriffic to have a Columbia-area specific source of HD info. Thanks to everyone for all the great updates.

Kevin

Originally posted by chummel:

"Thanks for the update. Welcome, and please continue to provide us info on happening at WACH. Do you have anything to do with WIS at all?"


Craig,
I received the wrong part from the transmitter manufacturer this morning so am hopeful for success tomorrow AM - Please excuse the delay.
WACH & WIS have a relationship regarding our 10PM News but have different station ownership.

Rick Sprott
WACH-TV

Well, today I moved the antenna to the attic and again just laid it down on the floor for now. Here are the results (testing between 7:30pm and 8:10pm):
1. WOLO-DT on channels 25-1 and 25-2 : signal strength 100%
2. WLTX-DT on channels 19-1 and 19-2: signal strength 77%
3. WRLK-DT on channels 32-3, 35-1, and 35-2: signal strength between 77% and 86%
4. got a peek at WACH-DT on channel 57-1 for a few minutes, then it was gone (probably they were testing something).
5. WIS-DT: nothing. Not sure if they had the digital turned on at all because I was getting a clean picture on analog.

Now the questions:
Is 77% strong enough or I should try to get it higher then that? Also, what about WIS-DT, were they on at that time at all?

PS: Can't test late at night - my baby sleeps :)

Thank you,
Kirill

The NBA All-Star Game,which airs Sunday at 8 p.m. ,will be available in High Definition on TWC ch. 805. Also airing in HD is the "NBA All-STAR SATURDAY NIGHT" which airs at 8 p.m. on Saturday night.

Source: The State Newspaper 1/7/03


Way to go Time Warner Cable!

Kir,

I am not sure all signal meters measure the same thing (not all are true "signal strength") so your readings may be fine. I do think you need to hear from other Samsung owners to be sure. Also signals will vary due to a given tower's location; power level, channel number, weather, obstacles (bare tree branches or trees with leaves). So today's findings may not hold true for summer.

I suspect the key is whether or not the receiver locks and holds the signals consistently (long term; not just one or two nights). If yes then your good to go for now. If no, then different antenna positioning (or a different antenna) may be in order. Personally I would lean towards a too big antenna vice one one that might prove marginal later. Being able to tweak the azimuth via a rotator may also help in bringing in the marginal signals.

Re: WACH: given what Rick Sprott said earlier, hopefully FOX 48/57 will be back today.

Re: WIS: I called the station this morning and the spokesperson said the DT signal (NBC 41/10 simulcast of their analog channel) was up and running (full power too). She passed me to engineering where I left a message for John Augustine just to make sure (he has not yet called back). I can only suggest you work on tweaking your antenna positioning to see if you can get their signal.

Bruce

Kir,
Update on WIS: They are broadcasting DT from 6:30 to midnight most nights. But you may not be able to view their signal. Samsung receivers apparently often have problems with PSIP configurations. WIS is working to tweak their PSIP which may help. As I recall WACH had to do the same thing recently so that Samsung owners could get and view their signal. You might want to touch base with John Augustine WIS engineer on that aspect. The stations ph# 799-1010.

Bruce

Bruce,
Thank you very much! You are a great help!
I will keep experimenting. My spirit is up again :)

Kirill

Kir,
I am getting the WIS Broadcast on my TS160. They don't seem to be sending the PSIP right now as the guide only shows "Regular Programming" and no station identification. I also PM'd you if you would like some additional help.


Jim

Jim,
Thank you so much for your offer of help! This thread is so great!

Tell me something, are you getting all local stations in HD? So far I've been able to get only 3/5 :)
Also, how far are you from the antenna field? What are your surroundings, and what kind of readings do you get for the signal strength.
*phew* Not too many questions I hope ;)

Thank you,
Kirill

Kir,

I am in Zip 29229. Below are the details from antenna web and reception:
* yellow WOLO-DT 8 ABC Columbia SC Now Live 125° 100%
* yellow WLTX-DT 17 CBS Columbia SC Now Live 133° 93%
* yellow WRLK-DT 32 PBS Columbia SC Now Live 220° 77-93%
* yellow WIS-DT 41 NBC Columbia SC Now Live 120° 100%
* yellow WACH-DT 48 FOX Columbia SC Now Live 220° 100%

So I am receiving all locals with a strong signal using rabbit ears with a single bowtie clipped to the rabbit ears. I have had some problems with an erratic signal going from 77 to 86 to a lower number at times. I think it is being caused by the weather or less than optimal positioning of the bowtie for that station. I am continuing to tweak and still looking at other antenna options (maybe silver sensor). I have only had that problem with PBS in the current setup. Everything else seems to lock. My house is on the edge of wetlands which means I am in a low lying area. The antenna and TV are on the main floor den, but it has 2 story ceiling so that probably helps. I only have trees in direct line with the stations (pines ect). Give me call and we can talk about your setup.

Jim

With the great help of my co-worker, we installed a Channel Master 3016 (thank you for your advice, Bruce!) antenna in the attic. Mounted it using RadioShack Attic Mount 15-882. Then we spent about 2 hrs rotating it in order to get a decent signal.
At the end of the 1st hour we realized that we were getting a reflected signal instead of the real one (damn, hate the errors on antennaweb.org ;) ) because no matter what, we could only get either CBS or FOX, but never both :p
By the way, it looks like WACH uses 2 different towers for the analog and digital broadcasts - analog picture is totally unwatchable, but digital gives a strong signal. If we turned the antenna to get the best analog on WACH, digital would disappear altogether.
Anyways, here are the results:
WOLO-DT on channels 25-1 and 25-2 - 100%
WLTX-DT on channels 19-1 and 19-2 - 77%-83%
WRLK-DT on channels 32-3, 35-1, and 35-2 - 77%
WIS-DT on channels 41-1 and 41-2 - 68%
WACH-DT on channel 57-1 - 63%

Still have 2 questions:
1. Has anybody noticed how bad WIS-DT on 41-2 was last night? The picture was very blocky (not breaking up though). Same type of picture you would get viewing a .MPG file with a very high compression. 41-1 was OK.
2. Should I get an UHF antenna amplifier? Would it improve the strength of the digital signal?

PS: NASCAR racing in HD last night on FOX was awesome!

Thank you everybody for your great help!
Kirill

Kirill,

Glad to have been of some assistance. Regarding the WACH signal, 100k Watts (http://www.100000watts.com/tv/CAE.html) also indicates their analog and digital transmissions do come from the same tower. However I believe their old tower (analog only) was NW of Cola so who knows.

Regarding your questions:

1. No (their not on cable yet)
2. I don't know. I still wonder if a bigger antenna might not be needed come summer. Also working out of the attic will also attenuate any signal as well. Ampliers can amplify weak signals but sometimes you need more gain up front first. Last time I checked Lowes (on-line) they did not have the mid-size CM in stock so it might be worth it to first try an pre-amp and see.

re: FOX and HD: remember that according to the ATSC, the 480p widescreen that FOX uses (at best) is just SD (HD is either 720p or 1080i). Also the CEA calls it Enhanced Definition (ED) and FOX calls it high resolution widescreen. Key is it could have been shot in higher resolution. I believe it has been reported that the cameras FOX uses actually capture the images as 480i widescreen and their affiliates then line-double that to 480p (some affiliates do upconvert the 480i to 1080i).

Bruce

Hi Bruce,
I just looked up the Channel Master antenna's info, and 3018 only offers 0.7dB gain over 3016 (3016 - 7.7dB in UHF, 3018 - 8.4dB gain in UHF). 3018 does provide a big difference in VHF Low (2.3dB vs. 1.2dB), but I'm OK there. Looking at the design, 3018 has only 1 extra director for UHF, so it seems to be right. As for 3020, it won't fit in the attic :)
So it looks like for now I'm stuck with 3016.
Amplifiers, anyone? :D

Oh, by the way, my co-worker was glued to the TV after I treated him with "Collateral Damage" on HBO HD on DirecTV :)

Thank you,
Kirill

Hmm; well I did not realise the 3016 and 3018 were that close in UHF gain. Besides Lowes and Radio Shack I don't know anyone who else sells "real" antennas in the Columbia area. Charlotte has Dow Electronics but they are primarily a distributer I think, not a retailer. Some folks also end up with two antennae, one VHF only and a second UHF one (big Yagi or Bowtie).

The 3016 is relatively cheap; the expensive stuff is the rotator and amp. So if you have to go on the roof later with a larger one... oh well. Lowes was selling both CM amps and rotators last I saw. Stark Electronics (www.starkelectronic.com) and Warren Electronics (www.warrenelectronics.com) have lots of info on their sites and they sell over the internet/phone if so desired.

Last night had lots of HD to pick from. I checked out the NBA stuff on NBAHD on TWC (the channel come on line in the a.m.) and watched a good bit of The Shawshank Redemption on ABC along with some of The District on CBS and then the very good SD Nature: Alligator and Crocodile show on PBS.

Bruce

Bruce,
I take it Shawshank had no problem, lip sync or otherwise?
Thanks

Bob,
No, I did not notice any I can recall but I suspect I may quickly adapt to any if present and if really bothered I would probably surf on...

However be advised tonight that there is no audio (since the beginning), analog or digital, on TWC/Ch 805 viewing with Inspector Gadget. I have checked in a couple of times and nada...

Bruce

addendum: at 7:41 I checked again and found you had switched over to 4:3 that has sound. Take it your the decoder box (or something) is being problematic again.

We're not sure. Could be ABC, could be the receiver.. we will know for sure at 9pm... if Alias has audio, then it won't be our equipment.
Not all movies have 5.1, and sometimes there will be no audio on the 5.1
feed out of the receiver..
Ted is a big Alias fan and will be watching and let me know..
Always let us know if you see any problem..I can't see WOLO at home
to monitor it the way I do with WCCB..
Let me know...

I'm looking at WSOC-DT right now, it is 4x3 and not widescreen..
It just went to 16x9..
go figger..

Quote: "Besides Lowes and Radio Shack I don't know anyone who else sells "real" antennas in the Columbia area."

Hesco sells Winegard and Whse. Ind. Electronics sell Channel Master. Both are downtown.

Mike

Mike,
Great info. Thanks!
Bruce

Bruce and others:

If anyone wants to mail order antennas, this website has the best prices and service. I have bought from them many times and would highly recommend.

http://www.consumer-direct.com/detail.cfm?vpartno=CM9521

http://www.consumer-direct.com/detail.cfm?vpartno=CM4248

http://www.consumer-direct.com/detail.cfm?vpartno=PA7777

These are also my recommended rotor, preamp, and outdoor UHF antenna for digital TV after much experimentation.

Scott

Scott is right. I bought my CM4248 and pre amp after he made this suggestion a while back. They had very fast shipping as well.

I started getting dropouts on WIS and FOX. All it took was a little bit of rain. I guess I need an amplifier. And this is where its getting confusing:
Since I get a 100% signal strength on WOLO (VHF) I'd say I need a UHF only amplifier such as CM 7775. But according to some sources it doesn't pass VHF. But if I get CM 7777 and it adds 23dB gain to VHF, would it overload the receiver input?

Frustrated Kirill

You could still use the 7777. Just amplify the UHF signal and combine it with a UNF/VHF splitter afterwards. The 7777 amplifies independantly.

Dropouts also could be multipath instead of signal strength. Since you live in Columbia, I doubt absolute strength is the problem.

Scott

Kir

I was having dropouts on Fox in particular but also occurred on some of the other UHF channels. Rabbit ears with a single bowtie. Stopped by Radio Shack and bought another bowtie. Clipped it to the other rabbit ear and after 20 minutes trying different setups I am getting 100% on all channels and have had no dropouts. I thought the dropouts must be caused by multipath, but if that were the case wouldn't 2 independent bowties in similar but not the same allignment cause multipath to increase? I figured it was worth the $2.97 to try the additional bowtie, and sometimes trial and error can give you the most success.
It seems for my setup I just couldn't find an acceptable half way position for one bowtie antenna.

Jim

I'm using Channel Master 3016 antenna. It is highly directional, so I do not think multipath is the problem.
I have ordered CM 7777 amplifier and should get it by weekend. Keeping my hopes high again :)

Thank you,
Kirill

Kirill,
You said you had "rain fade" the other night. When the rain stopped was it still windy? Did the problem continue? I am wondering if you are shooting through trees if that is not part of the problem. I believe one solution for than is to relocate the antenna... sideways or higher ... or go with a bigger antenna.

Bruce

Hi Bruce,
Looks like it was not a rain fade. I still can't get WIS and WACH reliably. The signal meter jumps up and down.
The rest of the stations give a perfect lock. :confused:

Kirill

Kirill,

I just wanted to let you know that I had a your same experience with an antenna similar to the Channel Master 3016 that you have. Mine was from Radio Shack and is currently under my deck collecting dust.

I live in Irmo and my line of sight to the tower farm is through trees in my back yard, 23 miles away. All stations are within 25 degrees so I don't need a rotator. I have the Winegard PR-4400. At first I had it on the roof on a pole and my reception was much better than any other antenna that I have tried. While on the roof I still experienced some signal drops (Multi-path). I moved it into the attic and all is well now. Rain and wind sometimes drop the signal a little but no more multi-path issues. All stations lock at 93 or above.

Good Luck,
Mike

I just noticed that the TWC Guide has channel 805 on it labeled TWCVC. Anyone have an idea what's in store?

Also, does anyone have an update on the progress with getting Columbia NBC HD and Fox Widescreen on TWC?

Thanks,


__________________

Well... with the pre-amp (CM 7777) I got all the stations at 100% or close. The signal still disappears every so often.
Tonight my co-worker came here to help me with the puzzle. We came to a conclusion that the antenna is too low, i.e. below the line of sight to the towers. The only channel we could get reliably all the time was PBS (maybe the highest tower?).
So... next week I will be climbing up the roof. Something I really tried to avoid.
Oh well...

Kirill :(

The Grammy's tonight in HD on TWC/CBS was outstanding...PQ was consistent throughout with only an occasional breakup. However, around 11:00 PM, the picture switched to SD (just in time for the 11:00 news??). My question is who should I complain to so this does not happen again...was it TWC flippin' the switch or was it WLTX? Everyone knows that these shows never finish on time...is the same thing going to happen with the Ocars?

Fortunately, I got 3 hours of great HD (I don't have a 5.1 sound system, so I'll leave the judgement on that to others). But for those who missed it, there were some great HD moments, especially early in the show with Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor and a knockout production for tonight's big winner, Nora Jones. Lots of others too, but these stood out for this old timer.

Brian,
As I understand the process, TWC just passes through the signal from the station. They don't have a format switch to flip. WLTX/Engineering might know what happened. I watched over half the program in HD (and some in analog) but missed the switchover to 4:3 at 11. Did see it that way around 11:17 and then around 11:25 or so I noted it was back to HD.

Also, audio as expected was not DD 5.1; just DPL. Bob Ross of CBS (VP Eng) had posted in the programming forum those markets capable of the DD5.1 decode and Columbia was not amongst them. Maybe next time.....

Regarding your previous questions:
- TWC Channel 805... no idea; not on our program guide here in Sumter....the guides are run independently and they seem do their initial testing on the Cola system. No idea what, if anything, the initials "VC" stand for.

- WIS/NBC: I don't look them to show for a while yet. They came on the air end of January so, based on past experience (WLTX, WOLO), I would look for them on cable about 1 May. Be nice if they got it together faster than that though.

- WACH/FOX: No idea what might happen there regarding retransmission of their SD signal.

Question back at you or any Cola Viewer: does TWC have WOLO's weather channel on cable like WLTX does?

Bruce

No Wolo Weather Radar on TWC here. I guess that we will have to plan our weather around Wltx's part time schedule. (-: Also I think Wltx-DT went SD at 11:07 and came back at 11:17 during a commercial break (logo was shown over black bars before it went back full screen). I wonder why Wltx broadcast SD with those gray bars with the black stripes?. Burn in ? I barely made through the 10 minutes of the Grammy's with that distraction. Give me black bars , Widescreen, Blackscreen , let me choose. Why dont they just stretch the SD commercials like WACH does? (only during Widescreen broadcast I think). rant off!

Kevin,
Thanks for the info about no radar channel for WOLO. I had seen it broadcast OTA back in January but not on cable so was curious if intentional or accidental. Last fall TWC failed to add the WLTX Radar Channel to Sumter's channel guide until it was brought to their attention.

Gray bars: my guess is they are there to help prevent burn-in; not certain if they are added by CBS or WLTX. I live with them on 4:3 ads but I generally won't watch a program with them. Instead I will switch to the analog channel. I really try to avoid black side bars due to burn-in considerations. WOLO had Blue Bars for a short period that I believe were added by the station. They did nothing for me so I don't miss them personally.

Bruce

Hey all. I am the chief engineer for WLTX. So let me answer a few of the questions that are floating around on the boards I've read so far.
1. The switch from HD to SD in the Grammy's. The switch is done here at WLTX. I saw the last half hour of the grammy's and it was in HD until 11:30.
Master Control may have switched to SD for a time without me noticing. I had just gotten back home around 11, so I wasn't glued to the set.

2. The side bars for the SD are generated here at the station. I made the decision to put color on them istead of black to help with potential burn-in on sets. Any time we have programming on in SD it is because CBS does not offer it in HD.

3. 5.1 audio........CBS had to change the model of receiver they are using to deliver the 5.1 audio format. They only purchased enough to send to the top 25 markets. When all of the testing is done, they will roll out to the rest of the country. They tell me it will be around September or so. I am working on other avenues to try and obtain one earlier. I'll try and post to this site when we are going to get 5.1 up and running.

4. The reception problems that were posted even with 100% signal strength......... Your picture is probably loosing lock due to mutlipath problems. Multipath is a condition where the signals which bounced off of other objects are received by your antenna causing interference with the primary signal comming directly from the tower of the channel you are trying to receive. I don't know where you live, however SCETV is not located at the same location as the rest of the stations in town. They are further north of town where the other stations are due east of town. Depending on where you live you may need to add a second antenna for the other location.

Let me know if I can be of any help in the future.

Dan Stalnaker
Chief Engineer WLTX-TV

Welcome Dan, I have e-mailed you in the past and your responses and answers have been very forthcoming. I noticed tonight during your local broadcast and such that the gray bars are gone. I would not had objected to their placement except that included black vertical lines at the edge of picture. Wolo tried blue bars for awhile and they did not include the black vertical lines, but honestly they were a real distraction. As for 5.1 , I can't hardly wait to have CBS's broadcast in 5.1 .

Hi everyone I've been lurking around here for awhile and just now figured I'd introduce myself and ask some quick questions.

TWC is just now laying lines in my area.

1. What is the best model receiver for TWC HD?
2. Is there any additional charge for this receiver?
3. Is the receiver hard to get (waiting list)?

Thanks this forum is a wealth of knowledge!!!

1. What is the best model receiver for TWC HD? <b>

You won't have a choice. I got a 3100HD. I believe they have another model coming out in a copy of months.

2. Is there any additional charge for this receiver?

No charge, if you already have digital cable. I guess you don't since they are just running cables. I think the charge for that box is $8-9 per month

3. Is the receiver hard to get (waiting list)?

It wasn't for me, but Roy at TWC can give you the current status when you call.

I have been doing some reconfigurations on my encoder, that made the bars blue. I will probably put them back to grey today. The black lines have always been there. What you are seeing is actually lines of video a normal tv set puts just outside the edges of the screen. We call them inactive lines of video. This is the area broadcasters use for test information, closed caption information and the like.

Dan!

Welcome to our little niche here at AVS! Great having another local engineer participate in our discussions. Do appreciate your info on the gray bars. If I may... are the vertical black bars/lines between the gray and program image intentional? I almost get the impression they vary in width at times which would infer they program image is moving sideways. Fact or just an optical illusion? (oh, as I am writing this you just answered part of my question... thanks).

Also... can you vary the color/intensitity of gray? Is your gray close to an average of the screen's overall color/intensity? I ask because your gray sure seems brighter than the ones my set provides on the 480 input when in narrow mode. I am not sure which level is safest when it comes to phosphor wear but for now I lean towards my set's level.

Regarding CBS 5.1 audio and WLTX... thanks for the update there. Looking forward to it!

Bruce

can you vary the color/intensitity of gray?
I can make them any color I want. We just picked the color of grey out of the air. I have a 16x9 set as well and it's grey bars a re a little darker in color. I can mtry and match those for you.
Dan

summerall

Let me chime in add a bit to what gamecock said:

TWC_SC has been deploying only SA3100HD since last summer when they started pulling from service an older model the SA2000HD. While Scientific Atlanta has a newer box being rolled out in a few areas (the 4200HD), nothing has been said yet if/when they will have it here in SC. Some are also expecting (hoping) for TWC to someday get a HD version of SA's DVR cable box, the Explorer 8000.

Rental cost for the SA3100HD is about $9 and is the same price as a standard digital box. The price includes the remote and the electronic program guide (EPG). [Note the SA3100HD does not work well with all 4:3 displays as there is no aspect ratio control adjustment (coming in the 4xxx series boxes). Some 4:3 TVs can squeeze the widescreen image appropriately but not all. Regrardless, it may still be worth trying since the box rental is the same.]

As to supply of boxes, I have to agree with gamecock and say you should call TWC. (CSR may know; or Roy the HD tech may be able to help you too).

Note that TWC may want to send out a tech to install the box. That can be a good thing as the HD box requires a better signal than just a standard digital box. So having them check the line signals makes sense. I have not heard of anyone being charged for that here in our area.

Bruce

Originally posted by Dan'sHiPix
can you vary the color/intensitity of gray?
I can make them any color I want. We just picked the color of grey out of the air. I have a 16x9 set as well and it's grey bars a re a little darker in color. I can mtry and match those for you.
Dan

I understand what may be best (in theory) would be an average of what the main image is which would even out the phoshor wear across the screen. But I am sure that phosphor wear varies by set so may be an impossible task. And there is no guarantee that my set's narrow mode gray is optimal either.

Maybe I opened up a can of worms by asking? <g>

Bruce

Originally posted by Dan'sHiPix
I have been doing some reconfigurations on my encoder, that made the bars blue. I will probably put them back to grey today. The black lines have always been there. What you are seeing is actually lines of video a normal tv set puts just outside the edges of the screen. We call them inactive lines of video. This is the area broadcasters use for test information, closed caption information and the like.


Wolo had blue bars for awhile. I have never seen blue sidebars on WLTX.

My point is the gray bars don't really help if the black static edge is shown.

Gosh... get the TV that doesn't have the burn-in problems :p
Now... if I could only get my signal reliably :D

Kirill

Originally posted by Kir
Gosh... get the TV that doesn't have the burn-in problems :p
Now... if I could only get my signal reliably :D

Kirill


TWC HD comes in great !

Originally posted by kevinivey
TWC HD comes in great !
2 points made it a no-no for me:
1. No DVI output now
2. The price... For my DirecTV including HBO (with HBO-HD) and SHO (with SHO-HD) + HDNet I pay the same as I would for just TWC basic.

Kirill

I've been a big fan of DirecTV for many years...hated my local Cable system. However, I've become a short term fan of TWC in Columbia for their HDTV service. Their other digital channels do not match D* in PQ which is why I've kept D*service until all of this competition works its way out in the marketplace.

To upgrade to HDTV with DirecTV, I would need to BUY an HDTV Receiver ($600-800 with DVI) plus upgrade the Dish (another $100 +/- unless you get a deal from the Customer Retention dept. at DirecTV) plus the hassle (for the average viewer) of setting up an antennae to get the local HDTV channels...this is getting pretty close to a $1,000 upfront investment to get a picture.

If you are a current Digital Tier subscriber to TWC, you are the big winners for now in the HDTV battle. There is little or no cost to upgrade to HDTV reception that includes HBO, Showtime AND local CBS, ABC (NBC and FOX in negotiations).

If on the other hand you are a D* subscriber, the additional cost for the Cable Tier + Digital Tier is a concern...about $70 more per month. It doesn't take a math major to figure out that for twelve months of this, I could have bought a D* HDTV Receiver plus a fancy antennae system. However, I'm willing to take this modest hit while waiting for the winners and losers in the Cable vs Satellite battle to be decided. Also, while I'm watching this happen over the next year, the STB's for Cable and D* will continue to improve and costs go down.

In reviewing complaints in this and other HDTV forums, it appears we are fortunate to have reasonable HDTV choices in Columbia: Satellite (Dish or D*), Over the Air with an antennae and Time Warner Cable...each has its own strengths and weaknesses depending on your personal viewing preferences, tolerance for change, physical location, and financial situation. As we watch the aggressive competition going on with these companies for the HDTV marketplace, I am hopeful that it can only benefit the viewer (fingers crossed!).

As we watch the aggressive competition going on with these companies for the HDTV marketplace, I am hopeful that it can only benefit the viewer (fingers crossed!).

I hate to seem cheap and nit-picky but the current prices for getting HDTV on either cable or satellite will have to get much lower before I'd classify it as aggressive competition. I have a mild interest in local HDTV reception (not Showtime, HBO, etc.) but couldn't possibly justify the very substantial cost of any option other than a STB and antenna given the amount of actual HDTV programming I'd watch in a typical week.

Now if one of the options were $30-something a month, that would seem like aggressive competition. Failing that, I'm waiting for a $250 set-top box and/or more of the programs we watch to be HD and/or something to happen to the trees between me and the towers...