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Raleigh, NC - HDTV

2M views 16K replies 879 participants last post by  LaserBeamSC 
#1 ·
Hello Raleigh/Durham area AVS folks. I have re-written this initial post and will try to make it a pointer to some relevant information about our community.


*For information about MUCH more than can be pointed out here in this intial post please USE THE SEARCH. Especially once you are within a large post, such as this one then click on the "Search this Thread" button beside the Thread Tools drop-down.


*For information about QAM reception I would direct your attention to this wonderful site maintained by Erik Garci -
http://home.roadrunner.com/~res18h39/channels.htm Digital TV Channels in Durham, NC[/url]


*For information about antenna reception (Off The Air) check out antennaweb.org. Plug in your address and it will tell you what type of antenna you need and which direction to align it.


* Our local uber-HDTV station WRAL gives away free antennas. Check out Antenna Give-away


* On the subject of free antenna's scsiraid pointed out this information. CLICK HERE


* Your physical location is often helpful in troubleshooting issues and answering questions. Be sure to edit your profile and put in your town and state.


There are a ton of good posts in the forum. My intention is not to re-write everything here in this post or to try to be the decision maker on choice A -vs- B. I would rather just have this post point out fairly routine information that is well documented.


Some posts or information I would like to point out include:

* What to ask for when calling TWC to setup your new HDTV.

* What to ask for when calling for DIRECT-TV service.




Send updates via private messages to WildBill. I will try to be prompt.
 
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#701 ·
I went to the High House Road office on monday - they told me the boxes they had were the Scientific Atlanta boxes had some problems, and that I should wait on new boxes. They also told me that the Pace boxes weren't available - now I see that they apparently received a shipment last week wednesday. The 1-886 number told me that they did receive a shipment but the lady at the window sternly denied it, saying she had been to the warehouse the past sat and that they only received the SA boxes. I have a new Toshiba 46H83 HDTV ws, anybody have problems with those and the TW SA boxes? The set has a DVI-D port, so that would be ideal. Does the SA box do 1080i ok? I've read that the first SA HD box distributed was a poor performer. What SA number should I try to get if the pace's aren't there, and does anybody know when more will come in?


Thanks.


--Codecannon
 
#702 ·
Sorry this is way OT. I have been trying to get a billing problem fixed for the last 3 months (Durham TWC)- the CSR's at the 595-4twc have been no help at all. If anyone has a name of a customer service manager or accounting dept manager at the main morrisville office 573-7000 (I think it is the main office) - could you please pm me with details....


Thanks
 
#703 ·
I also have the Toshiba 46H83, looks great with the SA 3250 HD box. 1080i channels are beautiful -- I've only had the TV a month, so I'm still getting used to how great it looks. Even Fox's pseudo-HD (480p) doesn't look half bad. I went ahead & got the HD Suite (INHD, INHD2, HDNet, HDNet Movies), even though there's not that much on those channels just yet. At least they show NHL & NBA games occasionally. If TWC and Disney can get their act together and give us ESPN-HD, I'll be all set.


As for the TWC High House Rd office, I found them very helpful, especially Brenda.


Will try the DVI port at some point (after it is enabled), but I'm certainly not going to trade in my SA box that works just fine for a Pace box just to be able to use DVI. As I learned from Raleighwood, if it ain't broke....
 
#704 ·
I'm also using the sa3250 off a 2 way splitter on my Sony GWIII with no problems. I do prefer using my 8000 DVR for SD though and just use the 3250 for HD as it causes to much graininess for me on SD. Might try to get a Pace when they become available again so I can try DVI.
 
#708 ·
Hi folks,


Just a quick update on an issue I posted about earlier. I stated that I was not able to see the Guide or Info when viewing the lower channels. I now know why. I had previously switched the resolution and aspect ratio on the HD cable box to 1080i and 16:9 respectively for viewing on an HD projector. The next time I watched on our non-HD 27" TV, the Guide and Info graphics were gone. Well I finally read all the way through page 16 of the Pace DC550P manual which states that "Unless you set the resolution to 480i, there will be no graphics (menus, program guide, etc.) at VIDEO OUT and S-VIDEO OUT." While viewing the TV I switched the settings back and the Guides were back.


Moral of the story: RTFM :)


Scott
 
#710 ·

Quote:
Originally posted by bclinton23
I also have the Toshiba 46H83, looks great with the SA 3250 HD box. 1080i channels are beautiful -- I've only had the TV a month, so I'm still getting used to how great it looks. Even Fox's pseudo-HD (480p) doesn't look half bad. I went ahead & got the HD Suite (INHD, INHD2, HDNet, HDNet Movies), even though there's not that much on those channels just yet. At least they show NHL & NBA games occasionally. If TWC and Disney can get their act together and give us ESPN-HD, I'll be all set.


As for the TWC High House Rd office, I found them very helpful, especially Brenda.


Will try the DVI port at some point (after it is enabled), but I'm certainly not going to trade in my SA box that works just fine for a Pace box just to be able to use DVI. As I learned from Raleighwood, if it ain't broke....

Thanks! I have my wife on the way - apparently there is a rush on these. The cary office only has a few left, they said they probably had more people in line at the moment then what they had left, so I sent her to the raleigh office - it is closer to her work. The CSR said they have alot of 3100 available, they received a shipment of them. Why is TWC shipping an older model? Is the only difference between the 3100 and the 3250 the resizing of the screen?
 
#711 ·
FYI

TWC is expecting additional HD boxes in payment centers and the field early next week- particularly SA3250 and Pace.


It seems that a lot of folks have switched out the SA3100 to pick up the 3250 or Pace. That is why there are a lot of 3100's available- the shipment you are referring to are most likely the extras in the warehouse.
 
#712 ·
TWC showed up on schedule!!! Monday morning. However, he only brought a new SA3250 instead of the Pace which his work order indicated (he said there were no Pace units available). At least this SA3250 is better than the refurb 3100 they originally put in ( menu's were out of focus, no aspect ratio controls for SD content, analog channels only output analog audio so digital audio connection would go dead when I dropped out of digital tier). I'm dissappointed I didn't get the Pace as they put my work order in 2 weeks ago and I see a number of people did get them on the 30th



Please pass on to me the contact numbers to ask tech questions into TWC as well as email address. I only have the general local and toll free TWC numbers to use. Thanks.


I noticed some people losing zoom features on their displays when hooked up to these HD boxes. Please note that if the HD box is configured to upconvert the SD channels to HD (1080i for example as the SA3100 does all the time) then the display device will sense this full HD signal and disable those features. The 3100 has no built in stretch/zoom features and so pillar-boxes 4:3 content and then upconverts that to 1080i output. Depending how you configure the SA3250 and Pace550 the same scenario could occur.


Some info on the WRAL D3 and D4 channels that were on when I first turned up service 1st week of January (channels 257 and 258) but are now not on menu. A cust svc rep from TWC said that it is controlled by WRAL - that they turn those channels on and off as they see fit. They said to expect them back on during March Madness. I want them on all the time due to the digital tier is much better quality than analog channel 3. Time to call WRAL everyone?


Speaking of, do most of you DVR owners notice even further PQ degradation when you record any of the analog channels? I wish we could have a PQ setting on the DVR for the analog recordings (here's an example of the need for an email address for me to submit this feature request). I assume they record the digital tier in the native transmitted bitstream (ie., no digital to analog back to digital conversions)??


It seems there are more positives for the Pace over the SA3250, though there are some who prefer the SA's. Anybody have the opportunity to do a side by side comparison? A feature I want on the Pace is the component pass through (ie., I can run my component cables from my DVD player into the Pace and pass through to the component output to my PJ. This will save me 1 set of component cables). Can anybody confirm the quality of this feature on the Pace boxes? Again I need your feedback to make the decision to trade in this SA for the Pace when the next shipment comes in.


Cheers,

dagger
 
#713 ·

Quote:
Originally posted by daggerNC

A feature I want on the Pace is the component pass through (ie., I can run my component cables from my DVD player into the Pace and pass through to the component output to my PJ. This will save me 1 set of component cables). Can anybody confirm the quality of this feature on the Pace boxes? Again I need your feedback to make the decision to trade in this SA for the Pace when the next shipment comes in.


Cheers,

dagger [/b]

Dagger,


I do presently use the component pass-thru on the Pace and I think it looks excellent... I can't say i can tell any difference using this vs. running the DVD directly into the TV. I am using Monster Video3 DVI component cables but don't how much that factors in or not, but the Pace IMO does not appear to degradate the signal.


Jay
 
#714 ·

Quote:
Originally posted by codecannon
Is the only difference between the 3100 and the 3250 the resizing of the screen?

I've had both. Noticed these differences:


1. 3100HD has no DVI output. 3250HD does (though currently not enabled).


2. 3100HD will not show current channel in the guide window (upper right) or have audio if that channel is HD. SA3250HD has no problems with this.


3. 3250HD will pillar box 4:3 content with grey bars (which some find distracting). 3100HD has black pillar boxing.


Sooke
 
#715 ·
I don't get any pixelation or sound trouble watching DVDs, but the HD content on TWC (whether 1080i, 720p, or 480p) is vulnerable to frequent motion artifacts and broken up sound. I don't recall seeing any of this during the Superbowl but the prime time this week has been really obnoxious. I'm using the Pace 550 STB and a Sharp LCD connected via component cables. Is anybody else out there experiencing this?
 
#716 ·

Quote:
Originally posted by Chris001
I don't get any pixelation or sound trouble watching DVDs, but the HD content on TWC (whether 1080i, 720p, or 480p) is vulnerable to frequent motion artifacts and broken up sound. I don't recall seeing any of this during the Superbowl but the prime time this week has been really obnoxious. I'm using the Pace 550 STB and a Sharp LCD connected via component cables. Is anybody else out there experiencing this?

Chris,


I had this same issue initially on about half the HD channels. Because of many issues including the guide freezing on the screen, I got the original Pace swapped out and have not had the artifact issue since. I'm not sure if it had any bearing or not, but I also provided the Pace with a cable that was a much better signal off the original splitter coming into the house... it is also possible that the artifacts were because of a relatively weak signal and not a defective box.


Jay
 
#720 ·
Reply from NBC17 regarding recent issues:

Quote:
We had a distribution amp totally fail at our transmitter site last night, and I suspect the previous nights' outages were a result of it gradually failing. We have it bypassed right now, and will get it replaced ASAP. We can run without it with no problem.


Thanks for making sure we knew about it, we really do appreciate it..
 
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