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Charter HDTV

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#1 ·
Does anyone know when Charter plans on adding more HD channels? I'm moving and have to decide to get Charter or D* tv or dish.
 
#2 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by BigWorm50 /forum/post/0


Does anyone know when Charter plans on adding more HD channels? I'm moving and have to decide to get Charter or D* tv or dish.

Get either D* or E*. I'm sure you'll be happy with either. I used to have Charter. Now I have Dish. There is a reason that Charter scored dead last in the Powers survey of Customer Satisfaction. There is the same reason that satellite dishes are sprouting up all over the Glendale CA area. Most of us have had unfortunate experiences with Charter. I could tell you stories.....
 
#3 ·
Thank you DirecTV and Dish!

Because of your new HD initiatives, I got a note from Charter Cable (in NW Atlanta) that they're adding A&E HD, History HD, FSN South/Sportsouth HD, Golf/Versus HD and TMC HD on October 1st.

They are also adding 3 new SD channels that day: Fine Living, Reelz and Azteca. Charter will add the new Fox Business Channel on October 15th.

Great news!!
 
#4 ·
Charter has been making strides in West Michigan lately as well. They added Fox Sports Detroit HD about 6 weeks ago, and I got a letter in the mail stating that on September 12th they will be adding MHD, StarzHD, and ESPN2HD. This will bring our total to 17 HD channels.


Also they have made adjustments to their QAM frequency distribution in regards to HD. In my area they have made adjustments that make it so there are no longer 3 HD channels on any QAM frequency. The max is now 2 per QAM, everything was 3 per QAM before that. This equates to a really nice upgrade in our HD PQ, and it is noticeable.


Wouldnt mind hearing from other Charter subs around the country as to what recent and future HD additions they are aware of.
 
#5 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by guffy1 /forum/post/11534952


Charter has been making strides in West Michigan lately as well. They added Fox Sports Detroit HD about 6 weeks ago, and I got a letter in the mail stating that on September 12th they will be adding MHD, StarzHD, and ESPN2HD. This will bring our total to 17 HD channels.


Wouldnt mind hearing from other Charter subs around the country as to what recent and future HD additions they are aware of.

Im this close to throwing it out the window. Pretty much all I watch is HD. I can get all my locals OTA in HD. Im waiting for D* to get their lineup finalized before I decide between E* and D*. No reason why I cant jump ship.


I've asked and asked Charter about new HD channels. It seems that atleast in this area, SE Washington state, that they dont have access to national HD channels which other Charter areas have and vice versa. They keep saying they dont have any plans to add more HD. Really frustrating. Our region of Charter has StarzHD and TMC-HD already.


I MIGHT be convinced to stick around if they would add Fox Sports NorthwestHD, ESPN2HD, and FOODHD. All of which E* has right now and D* may or may not carry. Thats whats really killing me that I dont have now.


In a two week span, I left three messages at the corporate offices in St. Louis and was told I would get a call back within 24 hours and not once have I received a call back. grrrrrr.


One last thing, the newest digital addition was last week....Channel One Russia. yikes.
 
#6 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by guffy1 /forum/post/11534952


Charter has been making strides in West Michigan lately as well. They added Fox Sports Detroit HD about 6 weeks ago, and I got a letter in the mail stating that on September 12th they will be adding MHD, StarzHD, and ESPN2HD. This will bring our total to 17 HD channels.


Also they have made adjustments to their QAM frequency distribution in regards to HD. In my area they have made adjustments that make it so there are no longer 3 HD channels on any QAM frequency. The max is now 2 per QAM, everything was 3 per QAM before that. This equates to a really nice upgrade in our HD PQ, and it is noticeable.


Wouldnt mind hearing from other Charter subs around the country as to what recent and future HD additions they are aware of.

Here in Rochester Minnesota the total is now 19 HD channels with the recent additions of A&E HD and History Channel HD. A&E HD is disappointing since a lot of the programming isn't HD (re-runs of CSI Miami and Sopranos (edited so who cares) are, but 24 and Crossing Jordan are not). Haven't really checked out much with the History channel but the times I checked the programming wasn't HD so not sure how much of it is. I prefer channels that don't simulcast the SD channel if the programming is not HD, at least channels like Universal HD, Discovery HD, PBS HD, HDnet are HD all the time and of course ESPN and ESPN2 are getting better all the time as most things change over, but its rediculous that an HD channel doesn't show HD presentations of shows that were HD on network television, they shouldnt have launched the channel if they weren't going to at least do that much.
 
#7 ·
Here in Western NC (Asheville/Buncombe County), we currently have 17 HD Channels. The last additions to HD came last March (ESPN2 HD, Starz HD and MHD) and in May (when ABC was added due to the carriage agreement reached with Charter). Rumors were that Charter was in negotiations with getting FSN South HD and SportsSouth HD added right away in our area being that this was the Braves Regional Coverage Area. In addition, I had asked four months ago about the time frame for adding our local MyTV and CW affiliates in HD (WMYA-HD and WYCW-HD), NGC HD, A&E HD and Versus HD and was told that they were on the list for potential launch, as well. So, it'll be interesting to see how the HD Blitz plays out in the upcoming months...
 
#8 ·
Charter in CT lineup composes 15 channels if you subscribe to the premium movie channels and the HD lineup for another $7 a month or so. I have the movie channels but do not get UHD, MHD, TNTHD or D-HD.


IMHO, Charter's HD lineup falls way behind the satellite offerings and I decided to switch to E* only to find out that a tree is preventing my installation meaning that my options are Charter or nothing.


Resigning myself to this fate, I am hopeful that U-Verse becomes available in my neck of the woods(although an upgraded U-Verse is really what I want) or Charter gets with the program and decides they would like to stop losing customers to satellite. If anyone has ever seen the comparison chart of how many HD channels are offered by Charter vs. almost anyone else it is very depressing.


Coincidentally, I do remember seeing a Charter commercial advertising a new HD channel coming soon. I don't recall what it was as I don't think I had heard of it before. I'm not sure if it will end up in the "free" tier or pay HD tier. By the way, the "free" HD tier requires either a $12 HD DVR or a +$3 standard HD tuner. Not very "free" is it?


Don't even get me started about how lame the SA8300HD is in comparison to the E* multi-room VIP722 DVR.
 
#9 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyeclad /forum/post/11589902


Charter in CT lineup composes 15 channels if you subscribe to the premium movie channels and the HD lineup for another $7 a month or so. I have the movie channels but do not get UHD, MHD, TNTHD or D-HD.

??? I do not have the movie channels either but I do get those you mention, as well as a few others.

Quote:
Coincidentally, I do remember seeing a Charter commercial advertising a new HD channel coming soon. I don't recall what it was as I don't think I had heard of it before. I'm not sure if it will end up in the "free" tier or pay HD tier. By the way, the "free" HD tier requires either a $12 HD DVR or a +$3 standard HD tuner. Not very "free" is it?

??? Again, I have only the HD STB and do not pay for a DVR.
 
#10 ·
Here in North Texas (Fort Worth proper has had HD for years now - the rest of us...no), we've been waiting for the promised HD rollout. The first step is about to take place: next week, all of the N. Texas Charter markets are going 100% Digital (only true local channels will be left as analog 'lifelines'). This will free up huge swaths of real estate on the system for HD programming (which still has not been formally announced).


Doesn't actually mean we'll get anything more than anyone else...but it would be nice to start off life with a big lineup. (Especially since they waited until seven days before to let us know that the digital switchover was taking place...jerks.)
 
#11 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kal Rubinson /forum/post/11590352


??? I do not have the movie channels either but I do get those you mention, as well as a few others.


??? Again, I have only the HD STB and do not pay for a DVR.

Are you sure you aren't paying +$3 HD STB and another $7 for the HD Package. The HD Package gives you UHD, MHD, TNTHD or D-HD. I opted not to take the package but since I have an HD DVR I can receive the HD movie channels and HD locals which is fine for me. Since this only costs me $12 for about 10 HD channels, I don't want to pay another $7 for 4 channels, of which I only would watch 3 of them.
 
#12 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyeclad /forum/post/11600831


Are you sure you aren't paying +$3 HD STB and another $7 for the HD Package. The HD Package gives you UHD, MHD, TNTHD or D-HD. I opted not to take the package but since I have an HD DVR I can receive the HD movie channels and HD locals which is fine for me. Since this only costs me $12 for about 10 HD channels, I don't want to pay another $7 for 4 channels, of which I only would watch 3 of them.

I will have to check my bills (they change lately) but I would not be surprised if I am paying $7 for those 4 plus the local PBS, CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN, ESPN2 and YES. I definitely could live without YES and MHD but not without D-HD.
I do not subscribe to the movie channels as I prefer discs.


As for your comment about the "free" nature of the basics not really being free since you have to pay for the HD box, I do not see that as unfair since you have to have the box. Such is the nature of the business that they will, of course, charge you more for any "upgraded" hardware.


I just wish they could figure out why I have intermittant brief audio interruptions on the music channels.
 
#13 ·
I recently bought my Mom in Red Wing, MN a nice Vixio 37" LCD HDTV. Unfortunately the Charter there does not offer HD at all. There was no promise of maybe in the future even. They tried to sell me their "nice digital cable offering". I said no thanks.


Rick R
 
#14 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kal Rubinson /forum/post/11600966


I just wish they could figure out why I have intermittant brief audio interruptions on the music channels.

Maybe it's a problem with signal strength. When I finished my basement my contractor wired additional cable outlets but didn't link them up with the incoming line. He said that the cable company had better terminal connectors than he could get and suggested that I have them do it. I called out a tech and he wasn't sure if his were much better but he tipped all the lines and decided that I could probably use a cable amplifier given that I had about 6 lines and a cable modem running off the single inbound line. This amplifier seems to provide considerable signal to all TV's as I don't experience any drop-outs except for the occasional stray black box on an HD channel.


One thing I found odd regarding the music channels is that the Charter DVR can't record them nor can you rewind live TV on them. This wasn't something I had a problem with when I use my Replay TV.
 
#15 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyeclad /forum/post/11654865


Maybe it's a problem with signal strength. When I finished my basement my contractor wired additional cable outlets but didn't link them up with the incoming line. He said that the cable company had better terminal connectors than he could get and suggested that I have them do it. I called out a tech and he wasn't sure if his were much better but he tipped all the lines and decided that I could probably use a cable amplifier given that I had about 6 lines and a cable modem running off the single inbound line. This amplifier seems to provide considerable signal to all TV's as I don't experience any drop-outs except for the occasional stray black box on an HD channel.

Well, my cable connection comes directly through a surge/DC filter to the cable box (and all the HD channels are fine) and the techs (2 so far) have confirmed that the signal level is strong and clean. I suspect it has something to do with the music channel transmission itself and not anything in the house. I had a similar experience with DMX from Charter a few hears back and it took a call to the FCC to get them to believe me and fix it!
 
#16 ·
I've got Dish for HD and love it, but I was at a friends house yesterday for the Packer game (4-0
) and she has Charter HD with a 32" Magnavox HDTV and the pic. quality was poor at best for HD.


Is Charter just sucky with HD? Should she be getting 'clear' PQ with charter? Is was a local channel broadcasting in HD, so don't know if that was the problem.


Just want to make sure she is getting the best pic she can with what she has.
 
#17 ·
I had Charter HD in the Outer Banks, North Carolina when I lived there for a year on a job. They just launched there Sept 06'. The guy who brought the box out said that they were way behind the curve on HD.


However, I couldn't really complain on pq. It looked HD 'enough' for me. My issue with Charter was limited HD channels for what you pay and no DVR box nor HDMI.

 
#18 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by erope /forum/post/11783509


I've got Dish for HD and love it, but I was at a friends house yesterday for the Packer game (4-0
) and she has Charter HD with a 32" Magnavox HDTV and the pic. quality was poor at best for HD.


Is Charter just sucky with HD? Should she be getting 'clear' PQ with charter? Is was a local channel broadcasting in HD, so don't know if that was the problem.


Just want to make sure she is getting the best pic she can with what she has.

Cannot say what you are seeing but I am very happy with the picture quality I am getting from Charter HD. Is it possible she was using the composite or s-video cable between the STB and the TV?
 
#20 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by erope /forum/post/11783509


I've got Dish for HD and love it, but I was at a friends house yesterday for the Packer game (4-0
) and she has Charter HD with a 32" Magnavox HDTV and the pic. quality was poor at best for HD.


Is Charter just sucky with HD? Should she be getting 'clear' PQ with charter? Is was a local channel broadcasting in HD, so don't know if that was the problem.


Just want to make sure she is getting the best pic she can with what she has.

There are a lot of reasons why it could be bad, might be charter, might be the local station, but I will say this, games from the Metrodome do not look as good as other games on Fox here (have Charter HD service in Rochester Minnesota). I think its either the lighting or maybe the infrastructure they have to tap into in the dome that is not up to date. All I know is when the rare game is shown at Lambeau and other venues it looks a lot better, might be because its outside, but it definitely looks better.
 
#21 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kal Rubinson /forum/post/11784527


Cannot say what you are seeing but I am very happy with the picture quality I am getting from Charter HD. Is it possible she was using the composite or s-video cable between the STB and the TV?

She is running componet cables now, going to pick her up a HDMI. Although, I ran component cable with Dish and the pic was only slightly better with the HDMI, so don't think the type of cable to the TV is the problem.


I think the game was on Fox so that may have been the reason for the poor quality. Didn't check any of the other HD channels, but will next time i'm there. Also going to get her TV's model # and do some research on that as well.
 
#22 ·
I have charter and dish in the Richlands n.c. area, I signed up for charter when they launched it here to get my locals in HD instead of ota. And after comparing the 2 I actually lowered some of my Dish offerings such as the premiums cause the charter premiums looked better less artifacting. Just recently with Dish adding more HD I lowered my charter just to the locals hd. But overall for HD quality charter is pretty good if not excellent. If charter would offer DVR I would be in a definite bind whether to chose to drop dish or not. I haven't made the jump to HDDVR with dish yet and it seems charter has no plans for DVR service in this area so I may be upgrading with dish instead of dropping plus theres alot more HD coming aswell for Dish
 
#24 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by slaulau /forum/post/12046188


I just got a HDTV and I am on regular cable package. Will charter off free HD turner to get local HD channels without signing up for HD package?

I seriously doubt Charter gives anyone a box for free for any reason, but if your TV has a QAM tuner it will pick up the local HD channels since those are not scrambled.
 
#26 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by slaulau /forum/post/12049980


My TV has QAM Turner and I will go home to disconnect my cable box to see if I can get the local HDTV.

I get all local HD signals by directly plugging the cable into my TV and did channel search. My cable box is blocking the signals. I will try to get a splitter, split the line into 2 and connect both tv and cable box and use video/audio out to connect to my TV from the box.
 
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