When TWC decides to add INHD, it will likely be at an additonal fee.
Here is a link to TWC Austin.

http://www.timewarneraustin.com/news/press_releases1_55.asp

Note: they do not refer to the actual channel name correctly for most of the article. There is no channel called in demand HD, at least not yet. They should had refered to it as INHD ,throughout. Heck, at least they use their website. The twcsc site here is really stale.

Kevin: Thanks for finding searching out and reporting that info on Austin's INHD fees. Does not sound good; fee here; fee there... I'm already feeling all fee'd out.

Cain: I had the same pixelization/macroblocking issues you and Kevin reported over in the Programing forum regarding Saturday's and today's football games. I suspect WLTX-DT's multicasting is part of the problem and their bandwidth is just too low at times.

Bruce

Originally posted by bdenman
Kevin: Thanks for finding searching out and reporting that info on Austin's INHD fees. Does not sound good; fee here; fee there... I'm already feeling all fee'd out.

Cain: I had the same pixelization/macroblocking issues you and Kevin reported over in the Programing forum regarding Saturday's and today's football games. I suspect WLTX-DT's multicasting is part of the problem and their bandwidth is just too low at times.

Bruce

Last years games on CBS looked much better than this. Their only improvement seems to be less dropouts. MNF on Wolo-DT looks much cleaner than the CBS games. Bruce, are they broadcasting a SD subchannel like WIS? I have noticed that the engineer from Wltx no longer post in this forum. I have e-mailed him about their lack of DD. 5.1 passage. He responded by saying that they hoped to have it possibly by the end of the year.

WLTX broadcasts just one SD service; the weather radar channel. No analog simulcast. WLTX's HD bitrate is reportedly 16mb/s while WIS's HD is 15mb/s. WIS's radar is definitely fuzzier than WLTX's but useable.
Bruce

WLTX's SD broadcasting on the HD channel used to be watchable, but now has a lot of artifacts that make it distracting. Does their signal look the same ota versus cable?

Kevin,
I nave never detected any difference between the OTA signal and the cable signal with my equipment.

Bruce

Having last checked this forum at around 5pm on Friday afternoon, I was SHOCKED to see the game in glorious HD on Saturday. It was great because I had friends over too...unfortunately the game itself didn't hold up on its end of the bargain... :(

Anyway, I did notice some pixelization as well...much more than on ABC's MNF broadcasts.

FB Fans:
I saw no video defects in the OTA WSPA HD coverage of Saturday's game...other than the occasional switch to a SD camera.
jb

WOLO's HD is 14 mb..

I picked up the new box on Sat. morning after I saw Kevin's post. I kepted the 3100HD in case I had a problem because I didn't want to miss the Carolina game in HD.

Anyway, after getting the box, I downloaded the user manual from SA and it appears the DVI output is not enabled. This a bummer. I was hoping to look at that since others with my TV (Sammy DLP) have reported big improvements using the DVI input. Therefore, I didn't hook the box up yet. I plan to tonight.


Kevin, thanks for the info!

Originally posted by gamecock
I picked up the new box on Sat. morning after I saw Kevin's post. I kepted the 3100HD in case I had a problem because I didn't want to miss the Carolina game in HD.

Anyway, after getting the box, I downloaded the user manual from SA and it appears the DVI output is not enabled. This a bummer. I was hoping to look at that since others with my TV (Sammy DLP) have reported big improvements using the DVI input. Therefore, I didn't hook the box up yet. I plan to tonight.


Kevin, thanks for the info!


You can change the 3250 to output 720p via the analog component. Turn off the box and hold down the guide and info on the unit at the same time. You then follow the on screen directions for output. Once you got them set you can turn on the unit and use the settings button from the remote and scroll down and switch output via remote and on screen setup.

The USC vs Tennessee game has been scheduled for 7:45 on Espn-HD.

I got the 3250HD box yesterday. I think I might have got the last one (cause' they hunted for one for a very long time).

Is it me or do these boxes output better video after a period of burn-in ?

I ask because the HD video looked definitely fuzzy when I first turned it on ... after about 4 hours the picture came close to what the 3100HD output (I know its not the TV thats responsible ... because it was left on way before I swapped boxes).

Anyways ... the best thing about the 3250 is that you can flip it to 480i and see non-HD video via component outs ... and I have never seen another SA box do as good a job with this. I have a 56" RPTV ... and via the 3100 the video was very inferior.

The video is not as good if you output regular shows in 1080i. I recommend 480i output from the box for regular digital shows.

I have kept the 3100 just in case.

MAX

Hi Yall-
WOLO-DT is sick, and we're working on it..

I wonder what's the deal with 35-2 (PBS Kids). Now it's showing some kind of an ad for the upcoming SC Channel. In the guide it was still showing "Mister Roger's neighborhood".
Needless to say, my kid was not happy :(

Kirill

Kir,
I feel your pain.. Fortunately, my kid has finally outgrown the endless
repeats of PBS Kids! YEA! Of course, now my 6000 is permanently parked on Nick instead............

WBHQ-DT will be testing the DT channel this week; no date yet for full time operation. The DT broadcast will be from WQHB's tower here in Sumter (east side of town); Channel 39, at 250watts so OTA is pretty much limted to Sumter. They are looking to buy higher power equipment eventually. Note that their analog transmissions on Ch 63 are from their tower in Richland Co.

WBHQ-DT's signal will be connected to TWCSC via fiber optic eventually which should mean Cola area subscribers should someday be able to get it. Viewers should note that their analog signal on TWC is now much improved as they just completed a fiber optic connection for that signal.

The station has changed their call letters (from WQHB to WBHQ) and will soon be flipflopping affiliate status: they are becoming WB first and UPN second (opposite of what they are now). This means that UPN programming will come after WB's (generally at 10pm). No HD at the beginning but eventually.... (6 months out or more).

Bruce


update: They had their DT signal going; remaps to 63-1. PQ was poor.... appears to be a noisy NTSC signal retransmitted and zoomed to fill the screen. Signal appeared solid; the signal went off the air at 3pm.

addendum: signal came back on a few minutes later; seemed a tad better (fair). Still some noise and still zoomed/stretched.

On October 1st ETV will debut the SC Channel on channel 35-2. Until that time a bulletin board will operate on that channel while the technical infrastructure is being built and tested. For more information on the SC Channel you can visit http://www.scetv.org/dtv/CarolinaChannel.htm

Kir,

Sorry about the household problems this caused. Like bdfox18doe, mine have moved over to Nick also.

-Shaun

Just a little information from TWC. Got an e-mail from Diana Smith. Director of Marketing for TWC. WIS is close to being resolved for being added to lineup. ESPN HD negotiations are in progress, cannot provide a launch date but can tell you that we want to provide this channel to our HD customers as soon as possible. Fox Sports HD by this winter. We will provide these games free to our HD customers. IN HD is a 2 channel service that will be added this fall. HD net and HD Movie Net are in negotiations at this time. ESPN HD, HD Net, IN HD will probably be put in a teir that will require a subscription, but I do have any additional information on that at this point. Looks like TWC is working on getting more HD channels as soon as possible. I thought that some would like to read what is going at TWC. Maybe one day everything will be in HD. Later Mitch

A note to all of our WOLO-DT HD fans:

Due to the failure of the Telstar4 satellite today, ABC has not yet announced the location (if any) of Sunday's HD feed. Therefore, dependent
on where they put the feed, we may or may not be able to provide HD
for Sunday night. Bear in mind their (and our) priority is that the analog
network, which pays the bills, is operational.
I'll keep you posted..

Great info on TWC. I do not get returns to my emails anymore. Found this TWC link:

http://www.twckc.com/services/HDTV/


If they expect me to pay more, then they will need to add all of them.

ESPN HD, HD Net, IN HD will probably be put in a teir that will require a subscription, but I do have any additional information on that at this point.

I'm definitely game, we are gonna miss USC vs Tenn next Sat night on ESPN-HD..

I'd love ESPN-HD right now..

-- Cain

Hi gang,

I just read about the new STB from TWC.

Can some kind sould tell me all of the outputs it has??

I'm worried about the DVI being HDCP, and my projector only having one HDCP-DVI input so my DVd player will get that one.

Is there a pic of the back of this STB anywhere??

Thanks for the great info gang,

-- Cain

Originally posted by Cain
Hi gang,

I just read about the new STB from TWC.

Can some kind sould tell me all of the outputs it has??

I'm worried about the DVI being HDCP, and my projector only having one HDCP-DVI input so my DVd player will get that one.

Is there a pic of the back of this STB anywhere??

Thanks for the great info gang,

-- Cain


DVI is not active on the SA3250HD.
http://www.sciatl.com/customers/prod_cataloglist.htm

WACH/FOX's: Engineer Rick Sprott (xmitter) is no longer with the station (retired). A scheduled outage is scheduled for Oct 29; they will be replacing the DT transmitter. The expect to be off the air for about 3 days.

TWC: tech came out this morning and noted the quirks the SA3100HD boxes have tuning in Ch 815.

WOLO: last but not least big thanks to Bob Davis and his crew for their efforts in getting ABC-HD working locally! PQ on last night game was very nice!

Bruce

Originally posted by bdenman
WOLO: last but not least big thanks to Bob Davis and his crew for their efforts in getting ABC-HD working locally! PQ on last night game was very nice!


Yes, it was!

Awww..Shux...Y'all welkum!

TWC, please turn on ESPN-HD by Saturday!!!! Give ESPN what ever they want!

Originally posted by chummel
TWC, please turn on ESPN-HD by Saturday!!!! Give ESPN what ever they want!

No Chance.:confused:

I know. Just wishful thinking. Is anyone receiving West Wing in HD to night?

Watching TWW here. Some picture breakup; not too bad. Overall not nearly as good PQ as CBS had last night with NCIS or ABC with NYPD Blue.

Bruce

I have 100% signal strength on my Sony but it just says searching for digital signal. its still 41.1 right?

Got it OTA in Irmo, 41-1.

Mike

Originally posted by MikeInIrmo
Got it OTA in Irmo, 41-1.

Mike

Gotta be my equipment then...

I just did a re-scan and picked up channel 5.1 and 5.2 (weather) appears to be from CHS.

The re-scan worked. I got it now. Thanks for the feedback everybody.

Originally posted by chummel
TWC, please turn on ESPN-HD by Saturday!!!! Give ESPN what ever they want!


Craig,

You have a Sony Directv HD Receiver and TWC? Why couldn't you watch ESPN-HD on Direc?

I only use it for the locals we don't have. I do not have Direct TV.

Wow, first and foremost thanks to everyone for this thread. Lots of great
info here, and for Columbia's thread to be on page one the first day I check
over here is pretty cool.

And major thanks to the local staff from the networks for posting here. It's
surprising to see someone in the industry not only care what the
customers think, but discuss the technologies and give them feedback to
questions. Very nice of all of you.

Thanks Bruce for the antenna advice on the Spot... I came here looking for
even more... and saw the Columbia thread. I have an appointment with
DirecTV for HD programming on the 10th of October, so I'm starting to look
around at what antennas are best for me in this area. I'm 5 miles from the
Columbiana mall, near the Harbison State Forest.

I'm hoping to avoid putting up a huge antenna on my house like I
mentioned on the Spot. MikeInIrmo, what antenna are you using for OTA
HD channels?

uscboy,

Welcome. Glad you found us; I had planned to get back at ya; tough to post on the web while your trying to watch HDTV if your stuff is not in one room (requires commercial breaks). Many here use Time Warner Cable for HD (including myself) and others do have STB setups (as do I too). Note that all local DTV stations are on cable (see update links below). Hopefully you will get some responses from others and wading through past posts may help too. If you have trees between you and the towers, height may be necessary.

Note that antennas can be purty! <g>. IMO, the CM bowtie has a relatively low visual profile. I got mine mailorder from starkelectronic though someone might know of a local source. Here are a couple of links from my past posts on station info: Minor update (9/1/03) (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=2616866#post2616866) and the latest major update (7/1/03) (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=2384396#post2384396)

Bruce

Originally posted by uscboy
...
I'm 5 miles from the
Columbiana mall, near the Harbison State Forest.

I'm hoping to avoid putting up a huge antenna on my house like I
mentioned on the Spot. MikeInIrmo, what antenna are you using for OTA
HD channels?
Sounds like you live closeby. I ended up putting a CM 3016 antenna (Bruce's advice) on a 30ft mast with a CM7777 amplifier (150ft cable run). Nothing else would work because of the trees in the forest, so I had to get it on a high mast on the hill. All local channels at 100% now.
Maybe you will end up with something easier to put :)

Kirill

Looks like it it will be mid to late November before TWC_SC carries ESPN-HD. See columnist Doug Nye's column in todays The State (http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/living/6864117.htm) newspaper. Time frame is from Dan Santelle, TWC_SC Director of Marketing. Santelle also said Time Warner is negotiating to carry Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast but "declined to predict just when CSS would be added to the Time Warner lineup."

Bruce

USCboy,

Welcome to the group, I use a winegard PR-4400 bowtie that I purchased locally from Hesco. Hesco is out of business now but you can get a comparable Channel master through Wholesale industrial electronics in downtown Columbia. A have had a time getting good OTA where I live, about 23 miles from the tower farm, I don't think that I go through the Harbison Forrest but I live in a little valley and have plenty trees in my backyard. I have tried a RS double bowtie, Zenith silver sensor and a Radio Shack antenna in the past but the 4400 has done the best for me. I have it mounted in my attic with no amp or rotor attached. 98% of the time I get 100% signal with minor dropouts (multi-path) when It rains and the wind is fierce.

Is D** sending Clarity Satellite for your install?

Mike

Wow, Hesco is out of business now? The one in downtown Cola? That's a
shame, it was a good shop.

I'll have to look into the PR-4400 in my attic (second story house). Sounds
like that's tried and true. I'll also ask the DirecTV installer what they
recommend for the area for OTA channels to customers, I'm sure they have
some experience in this too. As for the installer, I have no idea... I don't
think DirecTV will divulge that info to the customer, will they? I'm around
19.7 miles from the main towers and much closer to SCETV's tower. Also,
does the PR-4400 pick up our only VHF channel in Columbia? (WOLO, right?)

Let me ask you this though... if it is Clarity Satellite... I'm having two
installs done that day. The DirecTV EC told me I may even end up with two
technicians. I'm taking advantage of both their HDTV deal and the FFDVR
deal. I only have one line running to my living room from my 3x4
multiswitch (the $50 variety that the previous homeowner used) and a
round dual-lnb dish.

How good are the local DirecTV installers about running cables? I need 5
total in the house... 3 in the living room (HD box and DirecTivo) and one in
the Master Bedroom and one in the Bonus Room. That means he'll have to
switch out my 3x4 for a 4x8 multiswitch, right? And to use that switch, he'll
need to run all 4 cables from the new oval dish to the multiswitch and then
run lines into the existing 3 lines already going into the house and then
run two cables to the living room for the DirecTivo. At least that's how it all
seems... sometimes it's hard picturing what exactly needs to be done.

Also, I read that DirecTV includes any exterior walls. My living room has a
wall plate with 1 coax. When he runs two more cables to the living room,
should I expect him to run them all the way through the exterior wall and
install a 3-coax connector wallplate to replace the single coax wallplate
currently there?

After all's said and done, I'll have to run my own OTA line, correct? I don't
think that's included in the HDTV work order.

All in all, that should be a crazy day trying to explain all this to the installer
(s). Thanks for any and all advice any of you can offer. It'll make a
difference on the day of the install. Sorry about the book of a post. :)

Looks like it it will be mid to late November before TWC_SC carries ESPN-HD
This is great!
I'm pretty disappointed that WIS-DT still isn't on TWC now that the new season is here. :mad:

Gene

More on The State article. TWC-SC tried to talk with ESPN about allowing them to carry the game in HD on a preview basis, but ESPN declined.

The real blame should go to TWC corporate in my opinion.

As for Comcast/Charter sports ,they have been talking about adding this for years.

TWC-SC must have more than one Director of Marketing, The lady that I talked to said that was her title (Diana Smith) also.

Some info about the new 8000HD here (http://www.sciatl.com/customers/source/4004400.pdf) for us TWC people.

I realized I had an old pair of rabbit ears tucked away and I hooked them
up to my Samsung and got:

19-1 and 19-2 at 30-36% strength
25-1 and 25-2 at 93% strength
35-1, 35-2, and 35-3 at 36-45% strength

Needless to say, I think a halfway decent antenna in the attic will be
sufficient now. It was nice to see HD on my Sony finally... even if it was the
loops on 35-3. Is Letterman not in HD though?

Mitchell B: I believe that Dan Santelle's title is actually Time Warner Cable’s Vice President of Marketing. Perhaps there are others with the title of Director of Marketing say for various service areas (Florence/Darlington, Columbia, etc.). Newspaper article may have simplified that or is just in error (and I repeated it).

Gene S: Good info; can't wait!

uscboy: Nope; Letterman is not in HD

Bruce

>Letterman in HD?


http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=301041&highlight=letterman



I am not holding my breath.


http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=285015&highlight=8000hd

Has anyone talked to the gentleman at TWC that handles HD about an update on the 8000HD? I need 2 and my circle will be complete. I was considering buying that Zenith box to record Alias and Threat Matrix but will wait if we see something soon.

Someone here commented on the fact that the new TWC boxes (3250?) that are availbable for switchout at Greystone have WORSE performance with HD material than the previous box (3100?).

Just wanted to follow up to those who did end up switching to the newer box to find out if it you still say the same thing?

I am tired of channel 815 constantly locking up on my 3100, as well as some other gripes that the new box apparently fixes, but I def won't do it if it makes my HD look worse!

Thanks

Bruce E. (not to be confused with Bruce D.)

And CURSE Time Warner for not having ESPN HD yet!! Saturday's game in HD....(drools)...what a loss!

I did the switch out from 3100 to 3250. I do not notice any negative impact to the picture. My thoughts so far:

pros:
- more control on video output.
- standard def. channels show up via component output. Improvement for me.
- hi-def channels show up via coax-output
- audio output via digital audio out for all channels
- no problem locking into the 810/815 channels

cons:
- channel box OSD (onscreen display) no longer shows up via the coax/ANT output. It shows up via component output. I am not sure about svideo
- VOD (video on demand) maybe same as above. At least 1 person has mentioned it. I haven't verified.

I currently have my component output going into my A/V receiver so the lack of OSD is a pain right now. I don't want my kids having to turn on/off the receiver so I will probably move the video out right to the TV. It will be a non-issue then.

I am disappointed that the DVI output doesn't work. I was looking forward to seeing what that looked like.

For those expecting NBC's premiere of Lyon's Den in HD, here is a note from WYFF (Greenville), Doug Durkee:

"I talked to last night's master control operator, and NBC sent a last
minute message saying the Lyon's Den would not be in HD. Don't know why, but it was NBC. The two previous shows ran in HD as scheduled."

No problems with the 3250, except lack of HD programming channels. The box in my opinion is a major improvement over the 3100 .

Q: When will the Explorer 8000 for HDTV be available?
A: The ExplorerHD High Definition Home Entertainment Server will be available to cable operators in October-November timeframe this year (2003). To find out when the Explorer 8000HD will be available in your area, please contact your cable company.



I read this today in the FAQ of the SCI ATL web page. I don't know how long it has been there though. Woudl be great to have this by XMas!

Originally posted by rodeoclown
...what a loss! [/B]


No pun intended, I'm sure...

IT WASN'T PASS INTERFERENCE!!!!!

Let me say up front this is not a bash on Columbia TWC. They have allowed me to experience HD television with a minimal upfront expense. As a family, our primary interests are Sports, national news and movie channels. I've been a long time subscriber to NFL Sunday Ticket, NBA League Pass and MLB...not cheap! TWC competes on 2 out of 3, but does not have NFL Sunday Ticket...a big disadvantage for me. On the other hand, at no additional cost, they provide 2 local channels in HD plus Discovery HD, HBO, Showtime and PBS in HD. For other programming (e.g. Fox News, Fox Sports, MSNBC, CNN, ESPN, Weather Channel, etc.), TWC presents these on analog channels...OK on a standard TV but terrible on a widescreen RPTV. D* provides a much better looking picture, but it still suffers from compression. So, I figured that HDTV might create a level playing field and give me the opportunity to re-evaluate Cable vs. Satellite.

When I bought my HDTV (Toshiba HDX82) in January, I decided to check out TWC's HD offerings for 6 months or so to determine which direction I should go long term. This experiment had the benefits of not having to fool around with an antenna to get local HD reception as well as avoid the additional cost ($600 - $800 at the time) for a D* HD/OTA Receiver.

Now, nine months later (can't say I didn't give them the benefit of the doubt!), I'm convinced that D* offers me the better long term potential. I've been glued to the AVS Forum over the past 8 months trying to sort out the competing comments, opinions, flames, etc. Bottom line for me today is that, while it is definitely too soon to declare a winner in the HD wars, I've lost my patience with TWC. Locally, they have taken at least six months to not work out carriage agreements with NBC and Fox (Faux), and nationally they have stonewalled on ESPN-HD and INHD. I can understand their stand on ESPN-HD, but they lost sight of their customers...let me decide if I want to pay extra for ESPN-HD. For INHD, they sent all of us a letter 3 months ago saying it would be available to us on September 15...wrong...I think someone at Corporate subsequently figured out they could make some extra money from this. BTW, there are many cable systems around the country providing ESPN-HD an INHD...as promised. For the locals, I don't know what's going on there, but I can't believe it is all the fault of the locals. The entry cost for HD via TWC requires subscribing to the Digital Tier...a complete waste in my opinion...TWC may want to reconsider this prerequisite when they decide to add a Hi-Def Tier (i.e. ESPN-HD, INHD, etc.) to their options. To their credit, TWC was very nimble in setting up great coverage of the Masters and US Open Tennis in HD. But these successes are undermined for those of us with widescreen HD RPTV's where the weaknesses of TWC's poor resolution on their analog channels is exposed for all to see. The D* digital signal provides a sharper picture in my opinion. Again, this is not meant to bash Columbia TWC...they are controlled to some extent by the national office. But, business is business.

I called D* tonight to take advantage of their $399 ($445 with shipping and taxes) HD Upgrade offer for existing customers. It includes a D* HD/OTA receiver, 3 LNB dish and free installation. Using advice from other threads on the AVS Forum, I negotiated a $170 credit to bring my cost down to $275. I probably could have gotten a larger credit, but they had the advantage of seeing my payment history...couldn't plead poverty. Installation is scheduled for Oct. 11th...I'll provide an update on how that goes. I checked at Best Buy on Two Notch today and the Samsung T-160 that is being shipped as the D* receiver was over $500.

If anyone is interested (current D* subscribers only), you can call them at:
800-226-9723. If you whine (nicely) about the expense, they will offer you a $100 credit. If you let them know that a $100 credit is not enough, that you have been a long time customer, they will forward you to the "Retention" department for further discounts...from here on out, its your bargaining skills at work!
Web link is http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/imagine/HDTV.jsp

This has been a long intro to some basic antenna questions. I purchased a Silver Sensor 4-5 months ago in anticipation of using it to pull in local DTV signals...its been sitting in the closet since I didn't need it while using TWC. When my new D* system arrives, it will be the first time I've been able to try it out on an HD/OTA receiver. I'm located in the Northeast Columbia area close to the intersection of I-20 and Clemson road. I'm concerned that the Silver Sensor won't pick up WOLO-DT on channel 8 since the Silver Sensor is a UHF-only antenna...is this true? In descending order of priority, the following stations are important to me:
CBS, ABC, FOX, NBC, PBS (don't worry, I'll still make a pledge).

Looking at the AntennaWeb.org map for my location, CBS, ABC, NBC are generally East of my location (95, 82, 78 degrees respectively) and Fox and PBS are generally West at 252 and 299 degrees respectively).


If the Silver Sensor can't pull in WOLO-DT, are there VHF/UHF alternatives to this unit that generate the same enthusiasm as the Silver Sensor? My plan is to place it in the same room as the TV. An attic installation is a last resort, recommending an outside antenna is DOA (in case anyone was wondering!).


Thanks!

That game was gorgeous in HD last Satruday... everything looked great
except that final score. 4 years of playing them close... I can't wait until
we have 4 solid classes of Top 10 recruits instead of just phenomenal
freshman and sophmores.

The game was a heartbreaker though, that's for sure. Let's hope they get
things turned around and knock off a few of the big boys this year still.

Brian,

Very interesting post and I suspect others here are considering the same move you are doing. Thanks and please keep us advised as to how the move works out for you! Regarding your antenna situation: sounds like you are real close to most of the Cola towers (I think you will find the FOX-DT tower is also in the vicinity of the others near Elgin). Being that close, one would hope most any antenna would work though attic installs are very hard to predict. Last January I tried a Silver Sensor but it did not work here at all for Ch 8 while the Radio Shack UHF Double Bowtie did. But I had problems with WRLK reception (short tower; low power) so I had to find another solution.

Since you already have a SS, you might find a plain old pair of rabbit ears with telescoping elements will work for WOLO Ch 8 (works here). If so, you can get a simple VHF/UHF Combiner (CM #0549) and just combine the signals from the two antennas. You may, however, have a UHF problem if your orientation to the towers is as different as you indicate (large difference in azimuth between WRLK and the other towers). One orientation might not work for all stations. Suggest you give it a shot and let us know the results.

Antenna solutions I am familiar with include the aforementioned Double Bow-tie from Radio Shack (now mail order only), a UHF Channel Master 4-Bay Bowtie (model 3021) and the Channel Master CM3016.... a standard VHF/UHF combo antenna. I personally use a CM3021 mounted outdoors (and yes it does bring in Ch 8 here). If you have significant pointing problems with WRLK and the other towers, an antenna with a rotator might be the best solution. (note: a CM3021 and rotor combo might be a doable though more expensive solution for an attic).

Bruce

For Brian's requirements, it sure looks like HD via satellite and OTA is a much better solution than TWC. However, for those of us who don't watch football the local cable company's bang for the buck is hard to beat. Heck, the HD broadcast of The Masters this year was worth paying for "digital tier", etc. for the whole year. HBO turned out to be a bust since their HD channel is not OAR but Showtime does deliver a spectacular-quality HD movie that we watch every once in a while.

My biggest complaint is the unavailability in HD of any--literally any--of the primetime programming that we watch. I really would have thought that by Fall, 2003 there'd be at least one or two shows that we watch every week in HD but until the WIS-DT local carriage agreement arrives we're still at zero. Then again, we don't watch as much TV some people so it's not that big of a deal. Basically, though, until there a Fox HD signal on TWC (no time soon, I'd guess) our viewing is not that much better off week to week than it was a couple of years ago.

About once a month or so we watch an episode of CSI just as eye candy. The show itself is no "Columbo" but the photography, lighting and visual effects are amazing, really. I have high hopes for Law & Order: Criminal Intent if WIS-DT ever shows up on our cable box, even though it is likely shot on film and not HD-Video. The Law & Order folks usually have excellent production values.

[i] no "Columbo" but the photography, lighting and visual effects are amazing, [/B]

he-he..are we showing our age here?:)

he-he..are we showing our age here?:)
Oh, heck no. I've only ever seen them on reruns. Yeah, that's the ticket, reruns...

If I truly wanted to pin down my precise cohort, I'd say that the first show I ever watched in S-T-E-R-E-O was Miami Vice and that at the time I liked Miami Vice and thought it was way cool even though I was probably toward the high end of their target demographic.

I am wondering if anyone who has been watching WIS-DT this week has experienced any dropout problems. I get them periodically and am wondering if it is my setup or the station. I might add I get them only while watching NBC; CBS, ABC, and FOX have been fine. The signal meter is not indicating a problem a problem either. Thanks!
Bruce

I have been having dropouts for about a week or so with a signal strenght of 80-89. I get all the other station that strong or stronger (CBS 94,ABC 100,PBS 94,FOX 88) with no breakups. I think it is their problem. They had this problem before, don't know what the cause of it was.

Bruce, I have noticed it also.

Mike

Originally posted by bdenman
I am wondering if anyone who has been watching WIS-DT this week has experienced any dropout problems. I get them periodically and am wondering if it is my setup or the station. I might add I get them only while watching NBC; CBS, ABC, and FOX have been fine. The signal meter is not indicating a problem a problem either. Thanks!
Bruce
As you already know, same here.
Signal strength 100% steady.

Kirill

Yes, I am getting dropouts on WIS-DT and have been for at least a week and a half. I watch them OTA and get 100% signal, even here in Newberry. All of the other Columbia channels are fine.

Thanks to all who have reported the WIS problem. With uscboy (who noted the problem over at The Spot) that makes six of us here who have so far noted having the problem. As Kirill noted, I visited him today and noted his dropout problem is the same as mine.

Now I have recently talked to John Augustine/WIS Engineering a couple of times about my droputs and he thinks the problem is at my end. My signal strength here is not quite 50% but it is very stable and similar to reception I receive from WLTX/CBS and WOLO/ABC which do not have dropout problems. I get the dropouts in a random manner on both 41-1 (HD) and 41-2 (SD simulcast).

Apparently WIS has not been getting viewer complaints regarding dropouts. So I would ask everyone with the droputs to please call WIS tomorrow at (803) 799-1010 (main switchboard) and ask for John Augustine in Engineering and let him (or whoever you get in Engineering) know you have dropout probems too.

Thanks
Bruce

Bruce,
I only watch West Wing on NBC but I saw several dropouts last night. I have 100% signal strength so I agree that is not the issue. Additionally, does anyone who watches TWW notice a great deal of artifacting, especially during the opening credits?

Bruce,

I spoke with John today and he mentioned that he had received an e-mail this morning about their problem. He did not confess to anything but he did state that he would have master control look closely for the problems. He seemed concerned about the issue and appreciated my call. He did ask me to monitor the radar channel also and see if the pixelation is there also. Keep you posted.

Mike

Thanks Mike!
Yes, John and I traded emails this morning; I first laid out the number of findings reported here (plus one from The Spot) and he responded later saying that they had not noticed them with their setup. My guess is since the dropouts are usually small (not involving the entire screen) and of short duration that they may be hard to see on a small monitor. My guess is we are all seeing them on relatively large displays (50" to 56" if not bigger). I have noted the problem on two of the subchannels; I too shall check the radar channel too this evening. And it would still be good for them to get calls from every that is experiencing the glitches.

Bruce

Bruce, thanks for the antenna recommendations...never knew you could combine them.

Arrived home today to find the Samsung T160 and 3-LNB Dish from D* on my back porch...ready for the 10/11/03 installation. Samsung came supplied with the DVI cable, so I'll try adding this puppy into my existing setup this weekend and experiment with the antenna situation.

Let us know how it works Brian. And on the antennas; combining two antennas works only if you have one for the VHF band and another for the UHF band. Trying to combine two antennas for the same band is generally very difficult and not recommended. Folks want to do that to solve orientation problems due to large differences in azimuth but don't want to use a rotator. Most successful combining applications are to stack them to increase gain for a given tower/direction.

Bruce

WIS reception here this evening was much improved from last night and relatively dropout free. I briefly checked Ch 41-1 a number of times between 7:30pm and 9:58pm and did not see any dropouts at all. At 9:58pm I tuned in to watch ER and noted only four brief instances of dropouts on Ch 41-1 during the entire program (and they were clustered between 10:13 and 10:20pm). During a number of commercials I turned to the other two subchannels to check them and only saw one dropout (on Ch 41-2 at 10:31pm). My receiver's signal meter registered it's normal 6 bars so nothing changed there.

Bruce

Is any one having problem with WIS' PSIP? If I enable my PSIP, my receiver will not decode WIS. I do not have the problem with any other Columbia station. I am getting a 80% signal strength on them as well.
Dan

Dan,
Working here on my Samsung; I get all three subchannels on 41-x. WLTX, WOLO, WRLK and WACH are comiing here fine too (Fox and CBS are 4:3 SD)

Bruce

Sub channels are independant of PSIP. You will have all of your subchannels without PSIP enabled. PSIP remaps the station channel to 19-1 for instance on WLTX. It also gives you your program guide and a host of other data.
Dan
Director Technology/Operations
WLTX-TV; WLTX-DT

I don't think WIS has ever ran a CH# 10 PSIP or guide data. If I am wrong I am sure I will be quickly corrected about this.

I know they never remapped their station. However, as I said in the previous post, PSIP does a lot more than just remapping your channel number. A minimum amount of PSIP is required by the FCC. My question is, if you enable PSIP on your receiver, does your receiver still decode WIS?
Dan
Director of Technology/Operations
WLTX

I was obviously in error thinking there was basic PSIP in place but thinking back now it makes sense. And my receiver has no on/off option regarding PSIP. Also, I too have never seen guide data or channel remapping from WIS.

Having just seen Dan's second post on subject I guess I don't understand enough about PSIP to hazard any guess. As I said, my receiver has no PSIP option so I either get it or I don't. Dan, do most receivers now have selectable PSIP as an option?

Bruce

One of the WIS engineers posted in the forum some time ago that they do not provide PSIP data yet.

Kirill

Some receivers list it as program guides(RCA DTC100 for example). By enabling the program guides option, you enable the PSIP. If you disable program guides, PSIP is ignored. Just an FYI about PSIP. WIS odes send PSIP. Without it your receiver would not be able to identify the Audio or Video stream. It send the address of the streams to your receiver for decoding. If you had a Hipix DTV 200 card, you would be able to see the pid information(as it is called) on your set. The part of PSIP WIS doe not send is the program guide and channel remapping.
Dan
Director of Technology/Operations
WLTX

Thanks for the info Dan!

PSIP:

PIA System & Information Program...

Dan, while we have you on the line so to speak, any update on WLTX and DD5.1? Any idea when when you all might have the required hardware? Bruce

Strictly up to CBS. They are having some problems and are not rolling out the new receivers to enable us to do 5.1.
Dan
Director of Technology/Operations
WLTX

I installed the Samsung T160 on Saturday, swapping out the old RCA D* Receiver. On the D* side, to my amazement I was able to get the NFL Sunday Ticket HD channels using only my old 18" round dish (channels 70 & 71 - one CBS HD broadcast of Giants & Dolphins and the other Fox Widescreen broadcast of the Packers/Seattle game). The other ST games were almost unbearable to watch...D* needs to do something about this, especially with the big price increase for 2003.

On the Antenna side, I am very pleased with the job the Silver Sensor (SS) did in pulling in all the local channels...its sitting on top of my RPTV and with a single 45 degree shift, I can pull in all the local DTV stations, even WOLO (SS is a UHF only V-shaped antenna for those that are unfamiliar with it) . Signals are strong, mostly in the 90+ range with little adjustment, and some are at 100 if I play with it a little. But there is no need to tweak the orientation of this unit since the digital signal is very stable. The other thing I noticed is that some of the stations seem to do better 'hitting' the SS from the side rather than having it pointed in their general direction. I did not need a VHF antenna to get WOLO, so that has been a pleasant surprise.

Tonight, I will be watching the Red Sox and Athletics on Fox Digital format (hopefully in Widescreen), something I cannot do today with TWC. I also now have NBC in Digitial and I'll be able to check out Leno tonight...something I can not do with TWC. Okay, okay enough about TWC.

The Samsung T160 is a pretty slick unit, but it does have some annoying quirks. When you are scanning for local DTV OTA stations so you can incorporate them into the Guide, it does not have a way of saving what you picked up from each scan. When you shift the Antenna to pick up what was missed on the first pass, it overlays the original scan. Does not appear to be any way to manually add channels to the Guide. Today, I tried going through the 'Add local networks' process and it seemed to pick up everything I needed plus a few more that I don't. Anyone know of a way to get the channels entered without going through the 'destructive scan' process?

The Triple LNB arrives on Saturday morning, just in time for more Digital sports on ESPN and Fox...something I can't do today with you know who!

Originally posted by BDavis


When you are scanning for local DTV OTA stations so you can incorporate them into the Guide, it does not have a way of saving what you picked up from each scan.




My Sony HD100 does the exact same thing. I can get Fox and WIS saved but if I move my antenna and re-scan it loses them. Luckily, everything else is on TWC but I couldn't never go cable-less with the current configuration.

Originally posted by BDavis

...
The Samsung T160 is a pretty slick unit, but it does have some annoying quirks. When you are scanning for local DTV OTA stations so you can incorporate them into the Guide, it does not have a way of saving what you picked up from each scan.
...
From what I heard, there is. Try selecting "No dish" first. Then the receiver would let you enter the channel manually (i.e. 41-1) without defaulting to the "Satellite". Do it for every channel you want added. Then select the proper dish type. TS-160 would reboot and keep all the channels you added.

Disclamer: I have not tried it myself - all my channels come up during the scan.

Kirill

We have the 150,160 and 165..all have some quirks..I have spoken with their product manager, who was not very responsive to the issues, IMHO.

Is SCETV having audio and video dropouts on 35-3 for anyone else?

I have either 69% signal strength with no amp and 100% with an amp, but
it drops out in either case.

The other stations in Columbia aren't dropping out at all with or without
the amp. That's why I'm asking about PBS.

I have the Samsung 160 also and I don't know of a way to remember
previously detected channels AND do a re-scan. Scanning seems to blow
away the list completely and start over. But, if you are picking them all up,
no matter the signal strength, then you shouldn't have to re-scan, you
should be able to just move the antenna around to increase strength for
this channel or that channel... it shouldn't lose the others.

Originally posted by uscboy
Is SCETV having audio and video dropouts on 35-3 for anyone else?

I have either 69% signal strength with no amp and 100% with an amp, but
it drops out in either case.

The other stations in Columbia aren't dropping out at all with or without
the amp. That's why I'm asking about PBS.
<sip>

At 12:05pm here, SCETV was coming in fine. I turned on my Mits and Samsung receiver about 30 minutes ago and the PBS loop on 35-3 is not experiencing dropouts. And my signal strength is it's usual low level. Since you reported the problem a couple of hours ago things may have changed. Are these dropouts something new? Did you check the channel last night by chance? How frequent are they happening?

If the problem continues you may want to contact Shaun Bennett (sbennett@scetv.org) at SCETV (note: he often visits here and follows these threads). Also, if you have tweaked your antenna more towards the other towers you might try adjusting it more towards WRLK to see if that helps. It could be your problems are caused by reflected signals (multipath) and reorienting (or resiting) your antenna slightly might help.

Bruce

Originally posted by uscboy
Is SCETV having audio and video dropouts on 35-3 for anyone else?

I have either 69% signal strength with no amp and 100% with an amp, but
it drops out in either case.

The other stations in Columbia aren't dropping out at all with or without
the amp. That's why I'm asking about PBS.
...
Yes, since about 2 months ago. I have a 100% signal strength and audio drops out about once in 2-3 minutes and video gets macroblocks on about 1/4 of the screen. Signal strength does not fluctuate during the dropouts.
I reported it to PBS, but so far it went nowhere. :rolleyes:

Kirill

I saw your comments about the PBS signal. Were the problems just with the HD feed or was it HD and SD-1 and SD_2? You may have read the following explanation on how our DTV signal resources are divided up:

"We are encoding the SC Channel at the relatively low bit rate of 3 megabits per second in order to allow fitting it, the normal ETV service (also at 3 megabits) and an HD program (at 13 megabits) into the 19 megabits per second available in the DTV signal.

3 Mb is pretty much an absolute minimum bandwidth to encode with. On a normal analog TV set, it doesn't look too bad since the compression artifacts are masked by the set's small screen and inability to show fine detail. However, a high quality monitor, such as the plasma HD units, show every compression defect and also generally have a larger screen so the defects are very noticeable. The letter-boxing is a function of how the monitor is set up...a menu selection would fix that.

There is a one-for-one trade off of the number of simultaneous services broadcast and the video quality. In order to get more services into the mix, which is limited to 19 Mb total, you have to encode each at a lower bit rate, which means less quality. Currently, we are broadcasting three services pretty much because we can. But it goes deeper and needs to be a strategic decision by management.

We have an obligation under the FCC rules to simulcast our analog programming within the digital multiplex, and we do that with our "-1" service (i.e channel 35-1 in Columbia, 29-1 in Greenville). We have need for an additional 24 hour SD service for the SC Channel, thus our "-2" service. Since each is encoded at 3 Mb, that only leaves 13 Mb for the HD service, "-3", which is pretty much the minimum for HD encoding, and it shows when compared to the direct PBS satellite feed encoded at 18 Mb's."
by Hap Griffin VP Engineering ETV

That doesn't cure the problem but may shed some light on what is going on with the signal.
John

I receive the SCETV DT signal from Channel 9 in Greenville and Hap Griffin and Shaun Bennet have been very patient in keeping us posted regarding your 29-3 HD operation. When 9 first went on the air, I received an excellent, stable signal using a simple dipole cut to channel. A few months later, the signal became unstable and because of my elevation I was suspicious of Charlotte's Channel 9 creating co-channel interference. I switched to a 5 element Ch 9 Yagi. The problem is increasing.
I recognize motion artifacts (pixelization) from the limited bandwidth, and all fast pans, running water and waving grass, dissolves and fades to black pixelize. However the recent excessive pixelizations are not motion related. Today has been exceptionally bad. In that you are getting expressions of concern from your area, I begin to relate the problems to the origination point.
Jerry Birdwell, Asheville NC

Originally posted by John Crockett
I saw your comments about the PBS signal. Were the problems just with the HD feed or was it HD and SD-1 and SD_2?...
...
That doesn't cure the problem but may shed some light on what is going on with the signal.
John
Hi John,
The problems are with all PBS subchannels. And it all began not too long ago. Also, I do not believe the limited bandwidth would explain periodical audio dropouts.
At least 6 more people in the forum started experiencing these problems too.

Thank you,
Kirill

John, I have monitored all 29-x broadcasts and agree it is not confined to the HD channel. I, too, have brief audio dropouts.
This seems the same as being reported for 35-x.

I have seen this problem myself and I have 94 (DTC 100) signal strength. They need to watch their output a little more carefully. The stations are way to quick to blame it on multipathing, or low bandwidth. I think we have enough people saying PBS is not working right to warrant a look at the equipment. Something is wrong!! PLEASE, FIX IT!!!

Are you sure you're not watching via DirecTv?...<g>

Bob, I do not receive PBS programming from DirecTV...only OTA.

Glad your finding this funny Bob. I am about to freak out!! I guess I will just Chill, and stop payment on my check. Just kidding, I haven't sent one.

Originally posted by TechMan
Just kidding, I haven't sent one.

Uhh..maybe that's why, It's a new fund raising tactic? :D

Anyone having DD audio dropouts on the NFL game on WLTX (19-1) today?

Having ths same problem here...just switched over to catch how the Bronco's were doing and the audio is breaking up consistently. It carries over to the commercials also, so don't think its the feed from the game. Sounds like it has been a game-long problem since you're post was shorthly after 5:00PM.

I'm using a Samsung T160 with a 94% signal on WLTX 19-1 OTA, direct to the RPTV for the sound. All other NFL games, Cubs-Marlins, etc come across fine today...looks like its WLTX from what I can tell.

One more additional piece of information...checked the same game on DirecTV Channel 70...no sound problems.

DD audio dropouts on the NFL game on WLTX (19-1) today?

I noticed the audio problems during the Broncos Steelers game yesterday as well. It was the feed from CBS. If you noticed, the audio only broke up when the crowd noise was loud. In digital, if your levels are too high, the audio does not distort like it did with analog. It will do digital distortion at first(sounds very different from analog distortion) then it will go away totally. Think about how the audio is being converted to digital. If the sample gets too high, all of the digital words will be nothing but 1s. If there is no change from 0 to 1 there is no audio. It is essentially making DC. We had this problem with the prime time audio the other day as well. I will talk to cbs and see what can be done. Thanks for your patience. By the way.... If you see grey bars and a 4x3 picture on the screen, then you are watching an upconversion of WLTX analog. When you are trying to figure out if the problem is local or national, note this difference. Yesterday, the audio was fine when we went to a local commercial. This tells me my encoder and transmitter are fine. The problem is either national or with my HD receiver.

Dan
Director Technology/Operations
WLTX

Had a three day holiday from local HDTV (out of town). Returned in last night about 8pm and can report the following:

CBS: Digital audio was problematic (garbled) everytime I did a channel check between about 8:30 and 10pm. Dialog was mostly understandable but the problem was very annoying. Given this was after the game it may have been something different than Dan previously addressed here.
PBS: HD audio seemed fine when I did several channel checks (and my signal was normal at two bars). Carolina Channel had a vew instances of changing volume levels during remote live feed from the Fair.
ABC: seemed okay during a very brief check during 10-8.
NBC: had some video dropouts during Lyons Den.

Bruce

Jerry - and others, thanks for the comments. We are working to track down the problem here at ETV. Our RF feed to TW comes directly from the transmitter. It's feed to the head end by fiber along with the rf analog signal. We haven't had any problems with cable, so it has to be off the air reception.

Next question for the members is how many air line miles are you from the Columbia transmitter?Located near the intersection of I77 and I 20 in northeast Columbia. Greenville at Paris Mt for those of you who are receiving WNTV - dt in Greenville. Change in EVM and SNR can effect the reception range but not effect the signal strength measured by the receiver.

I will take one of our Samsung SIR-T 165 home and monitor the signal there. Unfortunately I am only about 12 airline miles from the Columbia transmitter.

Thanks for your help. You are the eyes and ears of ETV-dt!

John: As noted on the Western Carolinas thread, there is a significant difference in the T-165 and the T-160 receivers. Hopefully, however, you will be able to observe the problems we have encountered.
Are you sending out programming guide data?
jb-Asheville

John,
I receive WRLK-DT via OTA (primary) and TWC (secondary). Distance in ~33 air miles from my house to your tower. My receiver is a Samsung SIR-T150 coupled with a CM3021 Four-bay bowtie antenna. Stength meter usually registers 2 bars for WRLK which is low but usually very solid. Other DT locals here register 5 to 6 bars but they are also closer, higher, and have more oomph.

My recent experience has been different from others; no audio problems noted but the reason could be just timing. Back in the spring I experienced lots of audio dropouts and discussed them with Shaun Bennett. I know of no action taken then that resolved those problems but things did get better over time. Please note those dropouts occurred on both TWC and OTA feeds. Of late I have only been viewing HD via OTA; my SA3100HD has not even been connected for use with HD. However I will try and connect it next time I see others reporting problems and do a comparison.

Last, regarding bitrates.... I somewhat understand your mandate for additional services and thus multitasking. Unfortunately I find the remaining leftover bitrate too low for good 1080i. A while back it was mentioned (by either Hap or Shaun) that they planned to run another bitrate test... any idea if/when that might happen? Some of us are wondering how well 720p would work with the PBS HD programming at the available bitrates. TIA.

Bruce

ps: as I have mentioned before to Hap and others, my welcome mat is out for visitors to come to my house in Sumter and see my modest setup and checkout my HD experience. Just give me a holler; email (bdenman@sc.rr.com) works great!

Originally posted by bdenman
, my welcome mat is out for visitors to come to my house in Sumter

dinner included? ;)

Is WOLO's HD signal on the air? Is it on TWC? I thought I'd check to see what football looks like on HDTV but Channel 815 has been blank all evening. Maybe a problem with my Explorer box? Seems like the last few times I've checked there's been nothing on 815.

No problems here on TWC.

Brent,
Are you running into the requirement to move past channel 815 and then back down to it. It is a glitch that has been described here before.
Everything is find here on my Explorer.
C

The SA3250HD has no tuning problems whatsoever.

Bob: we can work something out I am sure.... how do you like your steak er hot dog? :)

Brent: like Chummel said, you will probably have to go to Ch 845 first and then down channel to 815. Going upchannel gives you a blank screen. Punching in the number also often does not work either. The SA3100HD has a software glitch and no fix is in sight. You might want to trade it in for a SA3250HD (like Kevin has) as it apparently does not have the Ch 815 problem. It also offers scaling and selectable output. Note they are in very short supply and limited so far to Cola out of the Greystone office.

Trading in my box has been on the To Do list for a while but sounds like I need to give it higher priority (if they have any available). I could have sworn I tuned both up and down to 815 last night but I wasn't doing so on purpose so maybe not. I'll try it again tonight and see. Thanks!

I thought I would post this for the few TWC HD customers that have stuck around with TWC. I have been emailing them for a week at no avail. This is a copy of my current emailings.


Will Time Warner Cable South Carolina be adding a HD tier like the 2 dish companies have? If so, when might that be available? Do I have any hope of a response from TWC Customer Online Service?

Gentlemen:
I don't know anything about TWC ch 815 which is WOLO digital,not being a cable customer. but my digital transmitter has been at or above 96% power for the past month or longer.Any OTA problems I need to know about.
Thanks
Jim

Jim,
We are having a problem with the SA3100HD tuning in Ch 815; a quirk showed up this summer and I suspect it is a bug in their latest firmware update. There is a workaround. I reported the problem to TWC over a month ago and a TW tech come out (on 9/23) to "fix it." He said he would turn in the problem to Cola but so far nothing has happened. Unfortunately those of us in Sumter cannot get the new SA3250HD box which Kevin and others say tunes in Ch815 just fine.

I am watching HD via OTA almost exclusively now so I will be happy to pop in and check out your signal and complain.... er.. provide feedback... if all is not well :)

Bruce

To kevinivey:

I'm not familiar with current Dish/DirecTV offerings so I'm not sure what you mean by "HD tier". Are you talking about some HD channels that TWC doesn't offer? Or are you asking for a package price for certain channels? I'm not sure what would be different on TWC under the arrangement you're seeking. In fact, I can't think of how TWC might package HD channels to make them cheaper. The locals (well, the ones currently being carried on TWC), the PBS loop and that other HD channel are all provided at no extra charge. HBO (which we dropped, no OAR) and Showtime depend on having HBO/Showtime subscriptions, which I understand is the way that those providers wish to have it.

To Jim Grasty:

The problems I was having were indeed the TWC Explorer box issue that was pointed out to me. I don't think there's any reason to think there was an actual (OTA) problem with the signal. Just a recieving hardware problem on my end.

Brent,
From what I understand, TWCSC might come up with a HD tier that costs extra (estimated $6 to $10/mo). Programming on such a tier MIGHT include eventually INHD1 and INHD2, ESPN-HD, and other channels when they show up (Bravo-HD, USA-HD, Tennis-HD, etc). Some TWC units are supposedly have announced such a tier for INHD1 and 2 (Austin TX I believe). HBO-HD, SHO-HD, the announced Cinemax-HD (?), Disc HD Theater , PBS-HD, and locals would not be expected to be included in such a tier.

Bruce

addendum: one would hope that someday we might see HDNET and HDNET Movies on TWCSC and I imagine they too would be candidates for a HD tier.

Bruce:
A little complaining ie feedback is welcome and necessary sometimes
no problem

Does anyone know why TWW is not one right now on 41.1 or 41.2 but is on analog channel 3? Law and Order is on instead.

I stand corrected. I does not appear to be on analog WIS, just no change in the program guide for TWC.

Re South Carolina DTV:
Here is an explanation from Hap Griffin as to why we do not receive program listings from the SCETV DTV stations:
"Our current lack of a guide on our DTV stations stems from the unique situation we have with our PSIP system (Program and System Information Protocol) where the guide data is packaged in the DTV signal. In order to have program guide information, the PSIP generator must import data from our scheduling system, known as ProTrack. The current version of our PSIP software does not have this schedule importing feature. Actually, it does, but our configuration is unique among DTV networks anywhere in the country and the PSIP manufacturer is having to custom write an importing module for us.

We currently generate a multiplex of three services from our headquarters in Columbia which is delivered to all ETV DTV stations in the state via a digital microwave system. This means that PSIP regenerators are required at each transmitter site to change the major channel and transport stream ID numbers in the bitstream to match those assigned to each station. If this was where it stopped, it would be simple.

However, in four of the cities...Sumter, Spartanburg, Rock Hill and Beaufort...we also have local production studios which will be inserting their local programming during the evenings on one of the multiplexed services. This requires a very complex "drop and add" device at the stations to strip out one part of the digital bitstream and replace it with another locally generated bitstream...all controlled remotely from the master automation system in Columbia. Also, since the program schedules for these four stations are different from each other and from the rest of the network, we have to generate five seperate program guides (one generic and four for the regional studio stations) at the center in Columbia and send them out over a network to be inserted at the appropriate PSIP regenerator.

This uniqueness of our network is requiring new PSIP software to be written by the manufacturer, Triveni Digital. The latest version is now in beta testing and is scheduled to be delivered here the week after next. After a period of debugging the ProTrack schedule importation, we hope to have it on the air in November."

Just a FYI
I upgraded from the 3100 to the 3250 a few days ago. Initially, there was no option in the Settings menu for switching resolutions.

But after I did the front keypad trick (as per SA online manual) ... I was able to switch the picture size. However, both HD and SD picture became noticeably darker.

I swapped the box for another box ... and it too exhibited the problem once I enabled the resolution option on the menu.

So now I am on my third box ... and I have not enabled the resolution option ... and the HD picture is superb. The SD picture gets upconverted to HD and its way better than the old 3100 box.

Again ... just a FYI for others in CAE.

Bye.
Max

PBS OTA is still having problems...

Kirill

Does anyone here:

have an infocus X1 projector
have HD ota
have D* tivo

just wondering if it's "worth it" to make the leap to HD or just wait till the HD D*Tivo unit next year.

In accordance with ABC mnf will not be in HD because of the stadium
change to Tempe,Az.The game will go on as announced at 9:00 PM
Eastern Standard Time

I was reloading the Channel Guide for my Samsung T160, checking out all the signals and noticed that I'm getting no signal on WACH 57-1. Everything else in the area is coming in at 93% or greater. Are they doing an upgrade or just having "technical difficulties"?

WACH FOX 57 WON'T HAVE A DIGITAL SIGNAL FOR A FEW DAYS DUE TO TRANSMITTER WORK.

noticed some wild signal fluctuations on WOLO-DT last night, about 9:00 then it settled down to about 70% of the normal signal strength.

At your distance, that is to be expected, especially this time of year.

Attention: SCETV - HD service. Bruce, Jerry and anyother members. If you have a chance check and see that the loss of color problem has been solved. I am still at work and have not gone home to check my receiver. Every indication that we have here at the center indicates that the color should be locked.
John

John

A quick peek on 35-3 and all appears to be fine (program = Tracks Ahead). It took a bit for my receiver to lock on; signal strength here is only one bar; which is not too unusual. The color seems fine; PQ about normal; audio seems fine. Can't speak for TWC; my cable box is not connected for HD input.

Bruce

During the past two weeks signals have been changing (up and down) as rapidly as the leaves were falling. Generally speaking, I have lost signal strength and have had increasing pixelization on two of the seven channels I usually receive reliably.

It is somewhat surprising to note the lack of reports of signal problems due to the recent solar eruptions. I suspect I have experienced a few reception changes in the past 36 hours due to this, although this is fast to dissipate.

Time Warner Cable South Carolina will provide the following NBA TV games in High Definition:
-Saturday
11/1/2003
10:00PM
Cleveland
Portland
-Monday
11/17/2003
7:30 PM
Boston
New York
-Wednesday
12/3/2003
8:30 PM
L.A. Lakers
San Antonio
-Tuesday
12/9/2003
10:30PM
New York
L.A. Lakers
-Wednesday
12/10/2003
7:00 PM
Orlando
Washington
-Tuesday
12/16/2003
7:30 PM
Atlanta
Miami
-Sunday
12/21/2003
9:30 PM
Phoenix
L.A. Lakers
-Monday
12/22/2003
7:00 PM
Orlando
Philadelphia
-Tuesday
12/23/2003
7:30 PM
Minnesota
New York
-Tuesday
12/30/2003
7:00 PM
Atlanta
Washington


These games will air on channel 813. These games will be available to all HD Converter subscribers in all systems except Summerville.
As more local affiliates begin broadcasting in High Definition, Time Warner Cable will make every effort to carry their signal. Additionally, as more cable channels begin offering HD Programming, we will make ever effort to work out agreements to carry those channels

I was enjoying the CBS Ga-Fl game Sat afternoon, except WLTX didn't pick up the HD feed coming out of halftime. I eventually called the WLTX newsroom and spoke to a very nice person who forwarded me to the master control operator who instantly fixed the problem.

WLTX-DT has a great OTA signal here in Orangeburg and the picture looks fantastic on the home theater 110" screen. While the switching between SD & HD doesn't get messed up very often, I'm surprised it isn't more robust. . .

pat g.

Good Afternoon,



Thank you for submitting your comments via our email newsletter. We do appreciate your kind words and we hope that we will be able to continue to improve the newsletter going forward.



We appreciate your desire for enhanced HD services and are working diligently to resolve all the open HD contractual issues so that we can provide these services. As an HD owner myself, it would be a win-win situation. First, we get to make customers happy by providing programming that they want and second, I get to have the programming I want. I assure you, TWC recognizes the need to get this accomplished as soon as possible, but unfortunately the contracts have to be signed first.



Please let me know if I can address any additional questions or concerns you may have and thank you for your patronage.





Diana Smith

Division Marketing Director for Video Services

TWC South Carolina

From WLTX'S website:
NFL Football
Steelers at Seahawks

Bill Cowher and the Pittsburgh Steelers look to turn around a disappointing season so far as they travel to Seattle to meet Mike Holmgren and the Seahawks who need a win to stay atop the NFC west standings.
High Definition (HD)
Football/Pro


THIS GAME IS NOT IN HD, at least we can hope they carry the HD game on Thanksgiving, since it is the only game that CBS is broadcasting that day! lol


This is WHY Espn HD is needed, at least at my home.

Hi Dan,

What going on at WLTX? No HD NFL game, no CBS at 75 in HD. Where has the (19-1,19-2) PSIP and Program Guide Data, and current time gone. If you working on an upgrade just ignore the complaint.

From HDTV Programming Forum: A week ago.

PLEASE BE ADVISED THE FOLLOWING CBS SPECIALS WILL NOT
(REPEAT NOT) BE AVAILABLE IN HDTV. HOWEVER, AS IS THE CASE WITH
ALL PRIMETIME PROGRAMMING NOT AVAILABLE IN HD, THERE WILL BE AN
UPCONVERTED VERSION FED TO STATIONS WHO BROADCAST IN HD.

*SUN, NOVEMBER 2 CBS AT 75: A PRIMETIME CELEBRATION

THE CMA'S on WED WILL NOT BE IN HD EITHER.

Last Thursday I again wandered into my local TWC office (Sumter) to check on the availability of a SA3250HD converter box and got the usual "no" reply. I pressed them to please find out when as my feedback to TWC on October 20th via their website on the subject had gone unanswered. A phone call to person unknown revealed they indeed had one here in Sumter and they issued it to me. It works fine and my SA3100HD was returned later that day (note; I did have to call on Saturday and get the box turned on again.) All seems well now and this box does have some definite improvements over the 3100. But I digress...

Last night I received a phone call from Marketing to see how things were going with the new box! A first! (note: rather then being a new HD customer I have four HD boxes in 2.5 years). I thought it rather ironical especially since I could not get anyone's attention regarding the SA3100's tuning problem (Ch 815). This lady pulled up my information and noted I had previously called Customer Support and documented the 3100HD's tuning problem that still remains unresolved. Bottom line is she said she would bring the 3100HD problem up to her supervisor and even had me email her my comments of the 20th to her. One can only hope that somehow this new direction will result in a software fix for the 3100's tuning glitches.

One question for other 3250 users: did anyone get a manual/ instruction sheet with the box? I did not though I have since gone to SA's website and gotten the requisite information on changing the screen's resolution.

Bruce

>One question for other 3250 users: did anyone get a manual/ instruction sheet with the box? I did not though I have since gone to SA's website and gotten the requisite information on changing the screen's resolution.

Got mine from SA website.

TechMan,

The NFL-HD game on this Sunday will be on WLTX-DT

Buffalo @ Dallas (in HDTV)
4:15 p.m. kickoff

Strange occurance with the TWC special event HD channel 813 tonight. They are showing a INHD replay of a CSTV college game from last Saturday.

http://www.inhd.com/products/viewProduct.jsp?prodId=12352

I wonder why we are allowed to see this and not regular INHD programming? Should I call a csr? lol:D


There is a possibility that they will show this game on Saturday.

College Football: Furman @ Ga. Southern

Genre: Sports
Length 3:58

See it:

INHD - November 8 (LIVE)
1:00pm/10:00am


Update: Special Events Channel has now been completely removed from TWC. Someone might of screwed up last night and allowed us to see an unauthorized event. Way to go TWC, you are truly the HD leader.:mad:

Good Morning Mr. Ivey,

Thank you for contacting us with your question concerning Our HD Special Events in HD Channel 813. Apparently we haven't done a sufficent job in defining this channel and for that I apologize and will continue to work to improve.

This channel is will not ever be programmed as a 24 hour / 7 day service. The Special Events we reference in the title come from the fact that some of our affiliates give us the opportunity to provide simulcast programming in HD, like the US Open or the NBA All Star Game. When this occurs, we will place this programming on Channel 813. Recently we have signed a deal with NBA TV. Part of the deal includes up to 50 NBA games simulcast in HD. The first of these games was what you saw on Saturday. The next game is scheduled for Monday, November 17th at pm (Boston v NY). In addition, over the course of the winter we are slated to receive between 12 to 15 Hockey and Basketball games from FOX Sports Net South, however we do not have this schedule yet.

For your convenience, please reference our web site www.twcsc.com for the most complete, up-to-date schedule of NBA TV and FSN special HD programming - as well as any other events we have to opportunity to receive in the future.

In addition, I am developing an special email correspondence list to send out special HD announcements to customers who want this information as soon as possible. If this is agreeable to you, I will add you to the list - I do need to know which city you live in though to give you the best possible information for your area.

Certainly we care about your patronage and we are doing everything we can to sew up HD contracts as soon as possible. I look forward to your response and answering any other questions you may have.

Diana Smith
Director of Marketing for Video Services
Time Warner Cable of South Carolina

Mr. Ivey,

Thank you for the detail you provided. I apologize for 813 being turned on and off last night. We hadn't scheduled anything with our technicians to do so, but they were doing some software upgrades overnight, so I guess things like this could have happened.

I would like to take a moment to explain the INHD strategy we decided to use in South Carolina. INHD1 and INHD2 launched as new channels on September 15th. We could have 'presented' them to our customers as the first part of a evolving HD Tier. However, after looking at the content we honestly didn't feel it was mature or robust enough to give to our customers in this manner. We feared that customers would look at that tier product and not be impressed and we find that the first impressions of our customers are sometimes very hard to reverse. So we decided to hold off on the launch of our tier until we could do so with HDNET and HDNET Movie. Since our corporate office kept telling us that they were working hard on the deals and it shouldn't be too much longer....

We are actually optimistic that we will get the contract on HDNet and HDNet Movies signed this week and we are ready to go! I have the launch announcement letter written and I just waiting to send it out. We will start with the 4 channels at $6.95 a month and as soon as the deal for ESPN HD gets signed we will add that service and keep the rate at $6.95 a month.

In addition, I wanted to provide further enlightenment on your statement below in reference to NBC HD. We never said we would carry all local HD when a viable digital signal is available - what we said, was we would carry all local HD when a viable digital signal is available and a consent agreement had been signed - the legal parties for both our companies have been working on this agreement for several months - again we are hopeful that it is close to resolution.

Again thank you for the information and the patronage - I hope I have provided you with a clearer picture of what's going on.

Diana Smith
Director of Marketing for Video Services
Time Warner Cable of South Carolina

I know this is something that is entirely cable related, but I think there are a few of us left. I know I get too animated sometimes when it comes to the adding of new channels, but I find myself only watching HD. I have a full hard drive on my TiVo unit. To me this is terrific news. Next step? SA8000HD, can't hardly wait!

Thanks Kevin,

That information is the best feedback yet from TWC and much more detailed that I got today in an unsigned email from TWC customer support. Besides an acknowledgement that I now had a SA3250HD and a nice apology for my recent problems, they did respond to my recent inquiry about InDemand HD channels. Here is what their noontime email said today:

"In regard to the addition of InDemand HD, we have not set a timetable for the addition of this service. We are currently beta testing this service with a few cities across the U.S. The InDemand HD information is not a part of our website at this time because we are still in test mode. All of our HD subscribers will receive notification when this service is available. We are currently broadcasting NBA games in HD for free on channel 813. A schedule of games that will be available on this channel can be found at http://www.twcsc.com/hdtv_NBA.htm.

They also offered this tidbit about what I assume is an Explorer 8000HD: "We will also be launching a new Digital Video Recorder that is HD compatible in the future. You will be notified when new services are available in our area."

Their plans are not unexpected; their time line still remains a bit unclear (but soon). Now I am not sure how to respond to the price mentioned thus far (would expect that to be tentative and not yet fixed). We will see.

And in regard to WIS; well; I suspect the station does not yet believe they have to be on cable... and so they aren't. Stalemate!

Bruce

Does anyone have contact information for the WB affiliate around here?

I believe WBHQ's phone number is (803) 419-6363.

Kevin:

Thanks for your great work. I do not hang out here or at the Spot as much as I used to, but I keep an eye on the posts here from you and Bruce and others to get the latest info.

I am a TWC only HD customer, and am very interested in new channels, and like you, I pretty much ONLY watch HD channels. I really cannot stand anything below 800!

I noticed a few posts ago somone complaining about having to subscribe to the crappy "digital" tier to get HD - this is not true. The CSR will ALSWAYS try to sell you some "package", but if you push them, they will admit you don't HAVE to buy your cable that way. It is in fact a LAW that they have to comply with...you CAN pick and choose, but they hate to admit it of course, and in some cases, they are unaware of it.

I stopped subscribing to the HORRIBLE digital tier when I moved, (though I missed the Encore and IFC channels, but I still got all the HD channels.

You can also only subscribe to IFC/Sundance and Encore channels and NOT 100-160 (or vice versa), and it's only $4 a month. For the whole shebang, it's 6.95 I think.

Of course they will always try to upsell you a package, but if you really push them they will admit that you don't have to do it that way.

Good Morning Mr. Ivey,

At this point, we are not planning on launching Cinemax-HD during the 4th Quarter. I realize I never seem to give you the answers you are looking for, so I would like to explain why we don't intent to launch at this time.

Although we have upgraded our systems to 750 mHz, bandwidth is starting to get a bit scarce. We are utizlizing as many options as possible to rectify this:

* We will be dropping many of the NVOD ppv channels between 600 to 640, since all the movies are now available via iControl Movies on Demand. This will allow us to recapture bandwidth.
* Our engineers are constantly improving compression ratios via newer and better equipment in the headend.

Be that as it may, in 6 mHZ of bandwidth (the amount needed for one analog channel), we can put at least 10 digital channels, but only 2 HD channels (if they are cable HD) and only one HD broadcast channel. So, we are concerned if we put on Cinemax now, we may not have room to add other requested HD channels, like ESPN-HD when the contract is finally executed. We are planning to launch a 5 channel HD tier in the very near future including HDNet, HDNET Movies, INHD1, INHD2, and ESPN-HD. Again, we don't want this to be put in jeopardy by launching Cinemax-HD or TMC-HD (December launch date) right now.

We are optimistic that by the 1st quarter of next year, contracts and equipment will be such that we will have bandwidth available to add both MAX-HD and TMC-HD without jeopardizing any other requested HD channels.

Diana

Kevin, interesting response from TWC...you've cultivated a great resource who is willing to share information with her customers. However, all the chatter on the AVS Forum has lead me to believe that Satellite providers were limited by bandwith in adding new HD channels and that Cable had no such limitations...sounds from this post that cable has the same challenge. Am I missing something?

If in fact cable has its own bandwith limitations, this removes one more perceived advantage of cable over satellite, IMHO.

Analog channels are the problem. You can bet that the analog channels will be reduced, slowly but surely. The payperview being reduced should help. Cables shift to all digital and HD is a natural progression.

Digital tier: $2.98
Digtal movie tier:$2.97

RodeoClown,

Thankyou for your insights into the cable marketing strategy. I must admit that I was less than diligent by not questioning TWC's 'requirements' when, in January of this year, I upgraded from the basic ($10.60) package to the HD service. Coincidentally, there was an article in the Business section of Saturday's Charleston Post and Courier by Kyle Stock covering the cable issue ("Tune in to a la carte cable").

TWC lost me as a customer last month largely it turns out because they withheld this information. After assessing Cable vs. Satellite HD service over the past 8 months, I decided to cancel the whole TWC package and commit to DirectTV for my HD programming because:
1. TWC has all the local/cable news/financial/lweather channels
on the analog band. It is a pretty bad picture compared to
DirectTV and it was costing over $34.00 per month.

2. DirectTV has Fox and ESPN in digital...not on TWC.

3. DirectTV has NFL Sunday Ticket...nothing more need be said!

For those who are not sure of their rights, I recommend reading the Post and Courier story...bottom line is that RodeoClown is right on and unless you are covered by a small cable company, you should be able to add HBO, HI Def channels, STARZ etc. on an 'a la carte' basis. Be prepared to fight for this over the phone...not all the CSR's are trained to provide you this information.
________________________________________________________

Kevin, the rates you quoted for the Digital and Movie Tiers are accurate...the issue I think is that there may be confusion about what it takes to get HD via TWC. My bill shows the following to provide HD via TWC (yeah, I know I should have known better):

Cable Tier 34.32
Broadcast Tier 10.60
HDTV Converter 6.60
Navigator 2.00
Remote 0.35
Digital Tier 2.98
Digital Movie Tier 2.97

Total 56.85


Since I have already opted out of TWC for everything except Road Runner, I can't document what just adding HDTV to the Broadcast Tier would cost, but I don't believe, based on the input from RodeoClown and the newspaper article I referenced above, that it should include the $34.32 Cable Tier...not good news for the cable companies (who just raised their rates...again).

I have a question for the engineers from the various stations in the
Columbia area that frequent the board.

Technically, how difficult is it on your OTA digital broadcasts to frame your
4:3 programming in gray sidebars instead of black?

My Samsung D* box outputting from component locks in Full widescreen so
it's gray bars are never utilized like they are with it's other video outputs
when displaying 4:3 programming. I know I could always switch modes,
my Samsung outputs 480i and 1080i simultaneously, but it's easier to
channel surf and stay in one output mode for the HD programming.

Thanks in advance! I know it's something a lot of RPTV customers would
appreciate in the future if possible.

Not a problem here, It is just a menu command, and the color can be changed as well. However, experience has shown that the majority of
viewers do not want us to add sidebars, or "wings" as the networks call
them.

Originally posted by bdfox18doe
Not a problem here, It is just a menu command, and the color can be changed as well. However, experience has shown that the majority of
viewers do not want us to add sidebars, or "wings" as the networks call
them.
Yep, I would not want any gray sidebars personally ;)

Kirill

But there are already black wings... the networks don't add those?

Odd, I set my Samsung to use gray bars whenever it encountered 4:3
programming. Not that burn in from the bars are that big of a concern
really, but if you watch enough SD football on OTA digital local channels, it
could be since the games are hours long each.

I vote NO to gray bars. Bob, remember when you tried blue bars for a couple of days?

Yes Kevin, I do. I also remember WSOC doing it here and the massive
complaining they got.
Adding side bars also may be an issue for advertisers and their agencies,
as there could be a perceived impact on the look of their spots.

SCETV is changing our PSIP data in regards to the major channel number designator. We will no longer virtually map our DTV services to our analog channels. All DTV channels will reflect their actual RF channel number. A rescan in your receiver may be required. This will immediately effect the following stations:

WRLK-DT to 32
WNTV-DT to 9

-Shaun

I noticed tonight(THURS.) that WOLO-DT is now showing their non-HD material in a stretched 16x9 mode like ESPN HD does. It's nice to not have the wings on the picture and have a full screen instead, I vote to keep it this way.

I vote to keep it that way to!:D

Sorry Enoree.. only a test..

It worked:D

Originally posted by bdfox18doe
Sorry Enoree.. only a test..
Good. Let's keep it as only a test. I prefer to have a choice myself ;)

Kirill

I heard that the SA8000HD dvr will be available from TWC within a month. You can also sign up for TWC-HD at Best Buy in Columbia.


Update: HD DVR may be available before the end of this month.:) :) :) :)

Originally posted by kevinivey
I heard that the SA8000HD dvr will be available from TWC within a month. You can also sign up for TWC-HD at Best Buy in Columbia.


Update: HD DVR may be available before the end of this month.:) :) :) :)

Oooh, great news! I hope its true!
And I hope I can get one here in Sumter :D

Gene

Originally posted by kevinivey
I heard that the SA8000HD dvr will be available from TWC within a month. You can also sign up for TWC-HD at Best Buy in Columbia.


Update: HD DVR may be available before the end of this month.:) :) :) :)

This is the best news I have heard in a while. My wife is getting tired of not having a
DVR where the big tv is!!!!

Originally posted by kevinivey
I heard that the SA8000HD dvr will be available from TWC within a month. You can also sign up for TWC-HD at Best Buy in Columbia.


Update: HD DVR may be available before the end of this month.:) :) :) :)

Wow, that's great news!

The TWC rep I talked to last week knew nothing about it...in fact, she was surprised to know that an HD DVR was even in the works...

Who was your source if you don't mind my asking?

IrmoGamecoq,

FWIW, I got an unsigned email back from Customer Support on Nov 5th that said: "We will also be launching a new Digital Video Recorder that is HD compatible in the future. You will be notified when new services are available in our area." I suspect they will only get a few units in stock that will go out rapidly and (like Gene S) I hope they will share with Sumter.

I had also asked CSR about iNDemand's HD channels but their response was "we have not set a timetable for the addition of this service" but added "All of our HD subscribers will receive notification when this service is available." Such notification might be in a letter like they did back in July when they announced Discovery HD Theater (after the fact I might add) and/or something in their monthly newsletter.

Bruce

Those who are interested in the HD DVR need to go to http://www.twcsc.com/ . Click on the yellow star that says "sign up for newsletter". Once you have signed up, it will then take you to the Newsletter page. I believe only a dozen hd customers have signed up so far. Hurry, and get on board. There will be a limited supply. You should then reply to the email they will send you, that you are interested in the 8000HD.

Originally posted by IrmoGamecoq
Wow, that's great news!

The TWC rep I talked to last week knew nothing about it...in fact, she was surprised to know that an HD DVR was even in the works...

Who was your source if you don't mind my asking?


Diana Smith
Director of Marketing for Video Services
Time Warner Cable of South Carolina


Bruce,
I am about to catch you in the number of post, ya better pick it up;)

Thanks for the info, guys!

I just signed up for the newsletter at the TW site, and I filled out a "comment" on the newsletter, but I'm not really sure how they'll know to reserve one of the HD-DVR's since I wasn't prompted for any personal info or anything. Oh well, maybe they have my email address logged or something.

I'd really like to get an HD-DVR soon...I'm currently running BOTH an HD box AND a DVR on the same TV set. Would be very nice to combine those into one, to say the least.

*keeping fingers crossed this comes to fruition*

Originally posted by IrmoGamecoq
Thanks for the info, guys!

I just signed up for the newsletter at the TW site, and I filled out a "comment" on the newsletter, but I'm not really sure how they'll know to reserve one of the HD-DVR's since I wasn't prompted for any personal info or anything. Oh well, maybe they have my email address logged or something.



*keeping fingers crossed this comes to fruition*


Good point! They will send you a email thanking you for signing up. You should then reply back that email that you are interested in the hd dvr.

Originally posted by kevinivey
Good point! They will send you a email thanking you for signing up. You should then reply back that email that you are interested in the hd dvr.

Well, that's bizarre...because I didn't receive any email...not yet, at least.

I guess it's not all that surprising though...considering TWC's rep for customer service. I'll wait a few days and see if an email shows up before re-registering.

IrmoGamecoq, Check your PM box.

I've been so wound up about getting WIS(NBC) and ESPN in HD thru TWC, I've just realized that WACH(FOX) has been trasnmitting OTA for quite some time now. Anybody hear about the holdup for them getting on cable?

It is all about the locals wanting to be on cable. Their ratings are set for their analog station. Wltx carriage was sped up by Cbs's HD broadcast of the USC v. Georgia game. Wolo carriage was the result of January's Superbowl. Do you see a trend here? The summer of Olympics will be the turning point for Wis. The carriage of Wach probably will not happen until Fox does HD and they agree to let TWC pass their signal. They have had a lot of problems with their transmitter. These are just my thoughts of what may be happening and do not express any "insider' knowledge.;)

I am also very interest in the SA8000 HD. I did the newsletter thing as Kevin suggested, but let me know if there is a better way.

Hey all, sorry for being gone so long. However, I am swamped with doing a server install. Nontheless, I read the complaints about the NFL game on WLTX and our switching on HD. Let me address those issues.
1. Switching HD....... Our switching is now controlled by our automation and should switch every time provided our people who put our log together indicates the show in HD properly. It will not be perfect however.

2. HD NFL on CBS.....CBS produces 1 HD NFL game every Sunday. If that is the game we are scheduled to carry on our analog channel, then we can show the HD version. If the HD production is of another game, the NFL will NOT allow us to broadcast it. Since the NFL controls the broadcast of all NFL games we cannot simply punch it up on air. With regard to the website showing the HD game as the one we are to carry, CBS will switch which game we are going to air depending on different factors all of which I am not sure of. This causes the TV guide to be incorrect at times. Just remember, If the game we have on our analog channel is produced in HD we will carry it. If not, then we will carry an upconverted signal of the analog game on the HD channel.

I hope this makes sense to everyone.

Dan Stalnaker
Director Technology/Operations
WLTX-TV; WLTX-DT

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Dan'sHiPix
[B]provided our people who put our log together indicates the show in HD .

/QUOTE]

:D

:D Chortle :D Thanks for the Update Dan; thanks for the chuckle Bob.... :cool:

WIS has been negotiating with Time Warner for several months over the cable company's carriage of our digital signal. We have gone back and forth several times on technical language of what amounts to a complicated business and engineering contract. We both expect the matter to be resolved and for WIS-DT to be on Time Warner cable. As with any such negotiation, it takes two to agree, so I cannot predict when this will happen. But we're all aware of the growing number of digital sets and digital cable hookups and want to serve our viewers and customers.

Thanks for your interest. I wish I could be more specific on a date, but it's not a matter that's entirely in WIS's control.

Barry Ahrendt
Director of Marketing and Programming
WIS Television
Columbia, SC
:confused:

It wasn't so technical and complicated for CBS and ABC, Barry! What is his e-mail address Kevin?

don't be so sure about that..

CBS HD NFL Game will be The Raiders @ Kansas City and will be shown on Wltx-Dt @ 4:00 this Sunday.

Bob,
You are probably correct. I mean it is certainly not 6-12 months more difficult for one station to contract than another if the goal is getting the service out. I can't image TWC wants something from WIS that they didn't want from WOLO or WLTC so I believe it is WIS who is being difficult.

Originally posted by chummel
Bob,
You are probably correct. I mean it is certainly not 6-12 months more difficult for one station to contract than another if the goal is getting the service out. I can't image TWC wants something from WIS that they didn't want from WOLO or WLTC so I believe it is WIS who is being difficult.

WIS is the number one affiliate in our market. I'm sure they're trying to leverage that into a better deal from TW than WOLO or WLTX got. There's your holdup, right there.

HD is our future and our future is now.

Dan Stalnaker
Director of Technology/Operations
WLTX

Couple of comments if I may. First, let me share the most important part of an email I received from Diane Smith of Time Warner Cable today (most everything else has been mentioned before):

"As far as negotiations with WIS and WACH. I assure you that our local office has been very proactive in these negotiations. Again we understand our customers' desire for this programming and really (while it may not always see that way) our goal is to make our customers happy. That said, we must insist that WIS and WACH sign deals that are equivalent to those we entered into with WLTX and WOLO, to give in to network demands that are inordinately different from those granted another network is simply not an option."

She also indicated again they have been waiting to launch an HD Tier once they had more than INHD 1 and 2 and they were still looking at their options. She also indicated she had heard the InDemand channels were not that great? I thought I had read they were decent.... Did I miss something somewhere? Any other opinions?

And, when it comes to WIS-DT, I too suspect the reason they are not on TWC is probably due to the station's positon. All we can do is continue to communicate our desires to the appropriate people.

Last, there is good news for Sopranos fans.... new season starts this March!

Bruce

TWC SC should add INHD1 and INHD2 for no additional charge like TWC Carolinas (Charlotte) has done.

Any new word on any new HD channels from TW Cable in Columbia, SC ??

- Cain

Good Morning Mr. Ivey,

I am very sorry for your frustrations - please believe me that I share them as a customer and because I want to make my customers happy - but I have no additional news on launch dates at this time - either for programming or the HD DVR.

Take Care and have a wonderful Holiday,
Diana

TWC

I understand local TWC personnel have no news for us at this time. However, corporate TWC is reported to have released this today (http://www.tvweek.com/news/web112403.html). It might mean they are close to having a bit more HD for us but can't say yet. However, this is generic and there are no qualifiers mentioned (by local division). It may mean nothing. Anyway, the PR said this:

"Big HD Push by Time Warner Systems: Time Warner Cable plans to launch on Wednesday, Nov. 26 its first retail high-definition marketing effort, a massive promotion that will reach across 1,300 retailers nationwide.

The promotion is designed to drive interest in HDTV, expected to be a huge hit this holiday season. As part of the promotion, HDTV set maker Pioneer will offer customers $500 cash back on a Pioneer HDTV set and Time Warner will pony up six free months of digital cable service, which includes HD content from Discovery, iN Demand, Fox Sports Net, HBO, Showtime and the broadcast networks.

The offer will be available at about 1,300 retailers across the country in Time Warner's footprint, including Best Buy, Sears, Wal-Mart and Circuit City as well as regional and local audio and video stores, said Charles Haugabrook, VP of sales channel development at Time Warner Cable. It will run through Feb. 8."

Bruce

Re: OTA Reception:
OTA over the past two weeks (approximately) has been seen a lot of changes for my location in the mountains. For example, my signals from Mt. Pisgah (WLOS and WUNF) have changed so that the maximum signal from the two DT transmissions from over a nearby rise are some 20 degrees apart. I cannot received the two stations from the same antenna orientation. DT Channel 9 in Greenville is very unstable and often breaks up. Signal strength for all DT transmissions has changed from day to day.
Signals from the Charlotte area have from time to time been unusually strong.
I would appreciate comments regarding any other OTA observations.

Mr.Ivey - we are in the loop on this retail marketing partnership with Pioneer. It is applicable to customers who purchase a Pioneer HDTV Set. We also have another partnership / offer with Best Buy. If your in the market for a 2nd HD set, I would recommend you check out the Pioneer deal first and then the Best Buy arrangement.

Diana Smith
TWC

Update

Consumers who buy a Pioneer Electronics high-definition television set can opt for six months of free Time Warner service. The promotion will be in 1,300 stores in Time Warner markets, including Best Buy , Sears , Circuit City and Wal-Mart

IMHO, HD will really begin to take off this year. BB and CC are finally advertising STB's on a regular basis. Tho the general public is still somewhat ignorant about HD, the tide is beginning to turn.

Is Wach-DT back on the air today? Thanks for feedback!

Kevin: WACH-DT is on the air as we speak.

Everybody: Happy Turkey day! :)

Bruce

Thanks

does anyone here know how to get into the diagnostic menu on the SA 3250hd? I was reading another thread(the Charlotte,NC thread) and they mentioned they could view "hidden" channels while in the diagnostic mode. They were able to see HD channels (INHD, HD movies on demand) that were not available in the normal mode. However they had the Pioneer Voyager 3500HD cable box thru TWC. Does anyone know how to do this with the 3250?

Originally posted by foz32
does anyone here know how to get into the diagnostic menu on the SA 3250hd? I was reading another thread(the Charlotte,NC thread) and they mentioned they could view "hidden" channels while in the diagnostic mode. They were able to see HD channels (INHD, HD movies on demand) that were not available in the normal mode. However they had the Pioneer Voyager 3500HD cable box thru TWC. Does anyone know how to do this with the 3250?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=330790

There are NO hidden channels here in Columbia and would not be available from the diagnostic mode of the SA3250HD. The Pioneer box cannot be used here in SC because the headend in strictly Scientific Atlanta.

Reminder:

NFL Football
Patriots at Colts @ 1:00 on Wltx-DT is the CBS HD Game of the Week

Also the Carolina Panther Game is in EDTV Widescreen on WACH-DT @1:00

Yes, I have borrowed a RCA DTC-100 for ota, since TWC and the locals have been uncommitted to a adding any new local digital programming to the HD cable system.

Quote: "Yes, I have borrowed a RCA DTC-100 for ota, since TWC and the locals have been uncommitted to a adding any new local digital programming to the HD cable system".

Kevin, TWC doesn't know it but they owe you big time for your continuing support on this forum. When I finally figured out that TWC and FOX/WIS had lost sight of who their customers were, I pulled the plug a couple of months ago and have never been happier (went with DirecTV and their Samsung T160 hooked up to a Silver Sensor sitting on top of my Toshiba 50HDX82 for OTA ).

I sense a crack in your resolve by 'borrowing' the RCA DTC-100 for today's game (Go Pats!!). My personal programming preferences are sports, so the lack of Fox Widescreen and ESPN HD on TWC were key to my decision. Having WIS in HD was a bonus although there is not much HD programming on NBC that appeals to me.

WOLO-DT 8-1 During shows in 720P the image appears to shake up and down slightly. Kind of like framing problem on a film projector.

WIS-DT 41-2 is making a buzzing. If anybody from WIS or a friend of the Engineering might want to get in touch and let them know.


Anyone have any news on WBHQ? Are the still broadcasting DT in sumter? What is the programing change coming in Jan. and what does it mean for their UPN/WB programs? Any info would be nice!

Originally posted by TechMan
WOLO-DT 8-1 During shows in 720P the image appears to shake up and down slightly. Kind of like framing problem on a film projector.

WIS-DT 41-2 is making a buzzing. If anybody from WIS or a friend of the Engineering might want to get in touch and let them know.


Anyone have any news on WBHQ? Are the still broadcasting DT in sumter? What is the programing change coming in Jan. and what does it mean for their UPN/WB programs? Any info would be nice!

Wolo: No problems here via Cable or Ota.

Wis-41-2: Buzzing audio confirmed. It is my opinion that this channel is a waste of bandwidth and should be turned off. I have e-mailed them recently about why they must waste the bandwidth with a duplicate channel. They have NOT responded. They have responded to every email I have sent in the past however.

Originally posted by BDavis
Quote: "Yes, I have borrowed a RCA DTC-100 for ota, since TWC and the locals have been uncommitted to a adding any new local digital programming to the HD cable system".

Kevin, TWC doesn't know it but they owe you big time for your continuing support on this forum. When I finally figured out that TWC and FOX/WIS had lost sight of who their customers were, I pulled the plug a couple of months ago and have never been happier (went with DirecTV and their Samsung T160 hooked up to a Silver Sensor sitting on top of my Toshiba 50HDX82 for OTA ).

I sense a crack in your resolve by 'borrowing' the RCA DTC-100 for today's game (Go Pats!!). My personal programming preferences are sports, so the lack of Fox Widescreen and ESPN HD on TWC were key to my decision. Having WIS in HD was a bonus although there is not much HD programming on NBC that appeals to me.

The main reason I stay with cable is the future ability to rent versus buy a HD Dvr. With that said I have been a Tivo subscriber for about 3 years and I realize the differences with the recording hardware. I used to be a big football fan, but what happened recently at Williams-Brice has tainted that severely.:confused:

Originally posted by kevinivey
I used to be a big football fan, but what happened recently at Williams-Brice has tainted that severely.:confused:

Ditto. I feel your pain, man. :(

Speaking of HD DVR, has anyone heard anything more from TWC on this? I know it was "supposed" to be coming out "at the end of November" but I haven't heard anything. Anybody else gotten theirs?

Yeah, WIS 41-2 seems redundant.

Is anyone else having an audio sync problem with WIS 41-1 OTA? I don't
think it has a problem during the NBC feed (primetime), but it does during
the news.

It's just a half second or less off from the video and it's annoying as hell. :)

WBHQ-DT Ch 39 is up and running (remaps to 63-1); Transmitter at low power and the tower is located east of sumter about 5 miles out. Columbia reception doubtful. Hours of DT operation: 10am to 10pm. Programming is SD only. I gathered that there are no plans yet for broadcasting HD from WB or UPN.

Bruce

Originally posted by IrmoGamecoq
Ditto. I feel your pain, man. :(

Speaking of HD DVR, has anyone heard anything more from TWC on this? I know it was "supposed" to be coming out "at the end of November" but I haven't heard anything. Anybody else gotten theirs?

Diana,

Happy December, any updates on new programming or any rollout of the
SA8000HD? Is their a chance of something happening this year?

Kevin


Good Morning,

Nothing to report this morning, however I'm still hopeful on both equipment
and programming before the year is out.

You'll be the first to know,
Diana



I would take anything that is said by TWC to be subjective at best.

Originally posted by kevinivey

I would take anything that is said by TWC to be subjective at best.

I'm gathering much the same....

Anyhow, thanks for following up!

Kevin, thank you for staying on the TWC/HD issue. I had to chuckle that you and her are on a first name basis now!!

Take care, I live in Lexington, take a look at my HT photos in my www link above. We should meet in RL sometime.

I share your pain about the recent massacre, but remember, BASEBALL will be here soon!!

:D

-- Cain

Kevin,
It has gotten funny how 'close' you are getting with the "Lady of Vague Info." Perhaps you could stress in your next letter this: WE ARE IN NCAA BASKETBALL SEASON!!! WE NEED ESPNHD! THE HELL WITH WAITING TO PUT A 'TIER" TOGETHER!

Arrrrrrgggggghhhhhhhh!

I'm OK now...

Craig

Yeah, the Illinois-UNC game was awesome last night.

I learned long ago that TWC cares more about approving the next rate
increase than providing their customers with what they want.

However, all of them have their downsides, that's for sure.

Hopeully this PR (http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031203/clw013_1.html) means we are getting closer to deployment of the the long awaited 8000HD DVR in the Cola area:

"Scientific-Atlanta Innovation Delivers Dual Tuner DVR/HD Set-Top to Time Warner Cable
Wednesday December 3, 11:00 am ET

Time Warner Cable-Green Bay Division to Deploy Explorer 8000HD

ANAHEIM, Calif., Dec. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Western Show -- Scientific-Atlanta announced today the availability of its integrated dual tuner high-definition digital video recorder set-top solution. The new Explorer® 8000HD(TM) High Definition Digital Video Recorder (DVR) will deliver two highly compelling video services -- the control and convenience of a Digital Video Recorder and stunning High Definition Television (HDTV) video with digital surround sound. The industry leader in the deployment of DVRs and high-definition television service, Time Warner Cable is now initiating the deployment of HD/DVR set tops in its Green Bay Division, which serves over 150,000 customers in northeast Wisconsin...."[/i]

Bruce

addendum: alternate URL.. SA (http://www.scientificatlanta.com/news/03Dec03-1.htm)

Originally posted by bdenman
[b]"Scientific-Atlanta Innovation Delivers Dual Tuner DVR/HD Set-Top to Time Warner Cable


Good news! Thanks for sharing!

It would be even better news if that headline read "Columbia SC" instead of "Green Bay, Wisc" but maybe we won't be far behind...

Hey Kevin,
Could you fire up that e-mail machine and get a statement about what Bruce just posted?

Mr.Ivey

My VPs of Engineering and Marketing are talking about a timeline this morning. I'll get something out today/tomorrow for you. Please remember this:

* They still have to be shipped to Columbia
* They have to be processed in order to work (this adds a couple of days), can't just take them off the truck and they work
* We will have a limited supply in December so it has to be controlled - stick with me and I'll get you through it
* If you just show up at a payment center, your probably going to be disappointed because our initial shipment is not going to be big enough to allocate like we do the DVR or Digital Basic converters.


Diana Smith
TWC


She is referring to the timeline that was in the header that Bruce had posted.

Greetings all. It is confirmed; INHD has been added to Columbia TWC, Channels 940 and 945. Cable guide as yet does not have programming listed so you will have to check in at inhd.com or hdtvgalaxy.

To subscribe to these channels one must(for now) email Diana Smith at twcscnews@twcable.com and tell her you want to subscribe to the HD Tier. You must also include in the email your home phone number. The tier for now is free but in time will cost $6.95/mo once they have HDNET and ESPN-HD. No time frame mentioned. Calls to CSR will not work yet; they are not yet trained/informed so ignore the blue screen subscription announcement.

In resolving my subscription I had the opportunity to talk to Diana and as part of that conversation have invited her to peek in at our conversations here. It also appears discussions are ongoing regarding HDNET (hopefully soon) and they are still hopeful that they will be able to deploy some 8000HD DVRs this month (but no guarantee). No word yet on ESPN-HD.

Bruce

Future TWC HD Tier
Cost $6.95 a month


Channel 940 INHD1
Channel 945 INHD2
Channel 930 HDNET
Channel 935 HDNET MOVIES
Channel 950 ESPN-HD



INHD2 now has program listings in the onscreen guide. Nothing for INHD1 yet.

Originally posted by kevinivey
Future TWC HD Tier
Cost $6.95 a month



Well, there goes my potential cost savings from consolidating my HD and DVR boxes. C'est la vie.

I was asked to post this by Diana Smith to the appropriate forums:

"The new HD Tier channels are available in the Columbia-Sumter-Orangeburg areas, Florence-MB areas and the southern portion of The Grand Strand including Surfside Beach, Pawley’s Island, Georgetown and Andrews. Due to Bandwidth constraints, we are unable to launch in Summerville at this time. We are actively planning to upgrade the Summerville plant in the very near future, however I do not have a timetable for completion of either the upgrade or addition of new HD signals as they become available.

We regret the inconvenience for our Summerville customers and pledge to remedy the situation as soon as possible."

Diana Smith
Director of Marketing for Video Services
Time Warner Cable South Carolina


Bruce

I was also asked to post this by Diana Smith to the appropriate forums:


In answer to the requests for information concerning the impending launch of the HD DVR (SA Explorer 8000 HD):

Currently TWC is field testing the new HD DVR in another TWC location. We do not have an option to test in South Carolina. Corporate Engineering announced yesterday afternoon that they ‘expect’ to sign off on the equipment around the end of the year, but this date is still an estimate. Please understand that the delay has been associated with our desire to offer a set top that is technically sound.

Upon approval, it will probably take a week to 10 days to receive and stage the converters, as well as distribute to all systems for customer use. The HD DVR will be available in all TWC Digital Systems throughout South Carolina.

Pricing for the HD DVR will be the same as the current DVR model: $14.90 per month ($9.95 for the converter and $4.95 for the functionality).

The E8000HD has the following features:

* DVR Capability for Std. and HD content
* Dual HD Decode
* 160GB Hard drive
* DVI


Diana Smith
Director of Marketing for Video Services
Time Warner Cable South Carolina


Bruce

Originally posted by bdenman
* 160GB Hard drive


Wow!

Wonder what that translates in recording time if you recorded only HD content?

What's the current DVR capacity? 40 hours or something like that?

Thanks for sharing, bdenman!

Quoting the 8000HD data pdf that I have states:

"The 160GB model allows up to 20 hours* of HD programs or up to 90 hours* of SD programs to be recorded and stored using DVR functions. (*The Total program hours that can be stored depends upon the format and data rate of the programming source.)


This correlates well with with the general rule that recording HD requires just under 9GB/hour which in turn would translate to about 18hours of recording time. Since we know that most HD programs use bitrates less than 19.3mb/s, there may be a slight savings in storage and thus a bit more recording time available.

Current Explorer 8000DVRs use an 80MB hard drive and can compress and record about 30 hours of analog tier programs. Its internal MPEG2 compression capability is not as efficient as that done by TWC or programmers. The theoritical max of recording time for SD programs received in MPEG2 format (i.e. digital tier) is about 50 hours . However, TWC used to (and still may) advertise a limit of 40 hours while considering a mix of both analog and digital recordings. It comes down to your viewing/recording habits so YMMV.

Bruce

I forgot to mention earlier that Diana Smith at TWC said the guide problem for Channel 940 will be fixed in a software download tonight.

Bruce

Bruce,
Youdaman!

Bruce, Hi I am a new member, but have been following this forum since May when I got my HDTV set. I sent the magic e-mail to Diana Smith.
How does this work? Am I out of luck for this weekend until she can
receive the e-mail and notify someone to turn those channels on?

Thanks for all your postings and kudos to Kevin Ivey too for his
great work.

Originally posted by jdjackson
Bruce, Hi I am a new member, but have been following this forum since May when I got my HDTV set. I sent the magic e-mail to Diana Smith.
How does this work? Am I out of luck for this weekend until she can
receive the e-mail and notify someone to turn those channels on?

Thanks for all your postings and kudos to Kevin Ivey too for his
great work.


Welcome,

Diana emailed me last about a quarter till 5. She has also emailed me on Sunday once. You may have to wait until Monday for the channels to be turned on, but rest assured that it will be taken care of. Feel free to post about reception isssues, as well as gripes. Which we all do real well.:D

Thanks for the info Kevin, I suppose I will receive an e-mail response
from Diana Smith when the channels are turned on.

I noticed the specs for the 8000HD include DVI. I wonder if this will be active or inactive like our current 3250HD models. Is the DVI neccesary for copy protection for HD recording on a DVR? I am hoping it is active and
will improve great PQ even further. I assume DVI will not work with analog tier. Will I have to switch video source on my tv to component or Super Video? I hope this is not too hardware specific for this thread.

Derrick,

Welcome to our little niche here at AVS. Not sure we can help you today but will pass along what I know. And please do come back and join us again in discussing the In/Outs of HD in our area.

Realistically, if you emailed Diana late today and INHD1 and INHD2 were not turned on by COB, then yes, you may have to wait until Monday. Yesterday Diana was the only one who could get it done and I don't know if that changed today. It is possible that the Customer Support staff did get the instructions and codes today so I would suggest you try calling them and asking. If the CSR cannot get it done perhaps a supervisor can. Hopefully (long shot); it might work. Wish I could be more positive on that.

Again, welcome and do let us know when you get it working. Good Luck!

Bruce

Originally posted by kevinivey
Which we all do real well.:D
Especially Kevin! :D

Originally posted by bdenman
Derrick,

...It is possible that the Customer Support staff did get the instructions and codes today so I would suggest you try calling them and asking. If the CSR cannot get it done perhaps a supervisor can. Hopefully (long shot); it might work. Wish I could be more positive on that.

Again, welcome and do let us know when you get it working. Good Luck!

Bruce

Bruce, it was your positive vibes. CSR could indeed turn on those channels and the CSR I spoke with was aware of the new channels and HD-Tier. She still had to "check on that" to see if they could be turned on. I assume she checked with her supervisor and viola their on and free until everything is added. Both guides are showing for 940 and 945.

Now lets work on the HD on demand channel and the other locals.

Originally posted by jdjackson
Bruce, it was your positive vibes. CSR could indeed turn on those channels and the CSR I spoke with was aware of the new channels and HD-Tier. She still had to "check on that" to see if they could be turned on. I assume she checked with her supervisor and viola their on and free until everything is added. Both guides are showing for 940 and 945.

Now lets work on the HD on demand channel and the other locals.

Fantastic!

On both counts... they got you up and running and fixed the guide too! FWIW, I believe TWC is working now trying to invent a HD-OD capability. I also agree we should all let TWC know our programming desires. There is a feedback box on their newsletter for that very purpose though it is a bit small and hard to use. Re: locals in HD... since both parties have to want the DT programming on cable, we also have to speak to WIS and WACH. (I suspect we won't get WACH until FOX starts doing HD though). I know TWC and Diana has heard my feelings on this subject and so should the stations.

Bruce

ps: I sent you a PM earlier....

http://www.sciatl.com/customers/Source/4004400.pdf

Should answer all connection questions on the 8000HD.

Early impression of INHD1 & 2: great sound, especially the 5.1 surround on some programs, good video quality, limited and repetitive programming.
Hopefully, they can build on their programming. Liked the Fish Face program set to music, for a while anyway.;)

Originally posted by jdjackson
Early impression of INHD1 & 2: great sound, especially the 5.1 surround on some programs, good video quality, limited and repetitive programming.
Hopefully, they can build on their programming. Liked the Fish Face program set to music, for a while anyway.;)

This why they didn't want to launch these channels at an additional charge. Thanks to TWC for adding these at no extra charge, at least for the time being;)

I am sooo stoked about all of this. Finally, we are about to get a great deal of what we have been waiting for. Now if we could just get the other networks on board.... I would like to see Smallville in HD once

On both counts... they got you up and running and fixed the guide too! FWIW, I believe TWC is working now trying to invent a HD-OD capability. I also agree we should all let TWC know our programming desires. There is a feedback box on their newsletter for that very purpose though it is a bit small and hard to use.

Over here on the Charlotte side they have the HD-OD channel in hidden mode with three movies on that channel so far (sorry can't remember which - I only checked it once) - some people even ordered the movies with varying success - so they are absolutely working on it

Originally posted by mhdiab
Over here on the Charlotte side they have the HD-OD channel in hidden mode with three movies on that channel so far (sorry can't remember which - I only checked it once) - some people even ordered the movies with varying success - so they are absolutely working on it


I was told that Charlotte is the TWC testing center for HD VOD and that they were having problems with it.