Des Moines, IA - HDTV - Page 15

I imagine they are going to start out with channels that are free to them, like the off-airs. They probably have to pay for ESPN-HD, the HDNets, or Discovery HD. So then the question becomes...how much are you and I willing to pay for them? Would you pay another $10 a month to get these channels, or would you just say the heck with it and keep using your antenna. What do you think?

remember that these channels are just the ones that are showing up right now. If launch is really about a month away, they have plently of time to end up adding some others. I would imagine they might be in contract negotiations right now or something. Lets hold off judgement on Mediacom until we really know what is going on.

Anybody have any info. on the brand,model, and connection capability of the Mediacom HD box?

I emailed them for some more info and got this from shutchinson@mediacomllc.com:

Thanks Adam, I am waiting fir mediacom because i just don't wish to spend $400.00 bucks for an OTA reciever and I have 5 tvs (only one HD) in my house and don't want to do the dishnetwork thing.

From Mediacom ...
Mediacom already has HDTV programming, however we have not begun to issue our HDTV converters. This will be accomplished in late May. The QAM256/QAM64 standards are not a issue for our programming. Our converter will process both standards and is the only way you will be able to receive the programming. At this time, HBO and Showtime have premium HD channels available, and KCCI does have a couple of hours each night of this programming. The cost of the rental of the converters is $14.00 monthly.

Ouch, now there's the scam part. $14 sucks, no wonder they make you get their box, they're making bank off of it.

I heard that the new HD ready boxes cost like $400, so while $14 a month might seem like a scam, its probably not as out of line as it seems.

of course they want to make money, thats the whole point for them as it is for any other company. The price will come down in time but they need to recoup the investment they are making by offering these boxes and making the necessary upgrades to offer HD.

that I would agree with mtmdesmoines

Here we go again! WHO, Fox and some PBS are in HD, but wont be available. So whats the point to even getting Mediacom HD? Looks like another waiting game. As far as HBO and SHO HD, its a let down, not that great, and Directv already offers those now. The only way I'd go Mediacom is if they added all locals, and HDnet + Discovery HD. Thats the only way for me.

I guess I dont understand the rabid hatred of Mediacom around here.

First of all, FOX is NOT available in HD, just digital. Local PBS is NOT available in HD yet except for test days.

Why can't you wait and see what Medicom will do with their HD lineup instead of bashing them before they even launch?

I think it seems pretty obvious that they will WHO soon. They have stated they will be adding more channels. Give them a chance to do that.

Damn! WHO TV13 just announced on their news today that KDIN (IPTV) will NOT make the MAY 1st Deadline for being on the air due to lack of funding and government budget cuts. They can't afford to turn on the electricity. You can thank Vilsack for that one too (and our outdated speed limits). I say run it real low power, enough to reach Des Moines metro area, and turn on the signal whenever PBS sends HD or widescreen SD stuff from the network feed. Give us something! 5kw? 10kw? Why am I bothering to send IPTV money if they don't even use it for what I want?

Also heard that KPWB-23 and PAX-39 will not be OTA with their HD channels until 2005. They are newer stations and were not around when the FCC mandated dates for the switchover. Consequently, they have not even asked for a DT channel assignment yet. So much for HD Smallville or HD Everwood ... and you wonder why the rest of the country makes fun of our state. "Hey world, we got runnin' water and indoor sh*tters now!"

2005!!?? Holy cow, thats incredibly late.

That is damned sad regarding PBS. The best HD content available OTA and we are seeing none of it. Oh well, at least WOI is live with their digital broadcasts (joking)!!

I agree Dox, we seem to be a damned joke around here lately. But, I suppose the dozen of us with HD sets aren't making enough noise.

On a side note, I can't enjoy Mediacom's programming here in the country. How many of us are planning on giving DirecTV any local channel business when they are running? I am on the fence, depends on if they will give us any pricing breaks.

I will probably sign up for DISH or Direct as soon as both release their HD-PVR boxes this fall/winter. I am tired of Mediacom ... the analog stations are getting fuzzy (especially channels 2-7 and 73-78) lately and they do nothing about it. Also, KCCI and HBO/SHO HD are not enough to make me excited about HD from Mediacom.
I wonder jtuck ... how many HD sets are actually in use in central Iowa ... that have HD tuners already?
I called WOI today and left a message to see if they would miss yet another OTA date. Those jagoffs never return calls. It's not like they've pissed off their WHOLE viewer base with their perpetual excuses and missed deadlines!?! Why bother returning phone calls?! We can afford to lose the 15 people left that are watching our station, right? $50 bucks says they miss May 1st ... again!

I can't really put a number on how many tuners are out there total, but where I work I would say tuners go out with 15-20% of hd ready sets. The users are out there...

SAME HERE WHERE I WORK WE HAD ALMOST 100 BOX'S GO OUT LAST YEAR

--ANDREW

I realize that there are not a lot of HDTV sets in Iowa. I only know one other person at work that actually has one. As for Mediacom, I got my first cable hookup about 30 years ago. My experience with several companies is that they only want to deliver the least signal that will keep the money coming. And don't even talk about customer service.

Maybe Fox Network is a bunch of old cable folks?

I still have some cable service because of my cable modem, but I do OTA for the local stations and DirecTV for everything else. The good, I hope, news is that it sounds like DirecTV is close to announcing an HD package.

Check this site: http://www.tvpredictions.com/directvhdtv.html

TVPredictions.com has learned that DIRECTV is planning to launch an HDTV channel package that would cost approximately $10 a month. The package would include ESPN HD, HDNet and HDNet Movies, and The Discovery HD Theater channel.

There's no timetable for the launch because some details still have to be worked out. But several sources tell TVPredictions.com that it's "very likely" that the package will be offered in the coming weeks.

Robert Mercer, a DIRECTV spokesman, confirmed late Thursday (April 24) that the satcaster is considering launching a monthly package of HD channels.

The monthly fee would be big news because non-premium HDTV channels -- until now -- have been available for free on DIRECTV. If DIRECTV begins offering a group of HDTV channels as a premium package, it could set a standard for both the satellite and cable TV industries. Some cable operators, such as Charter and Cox, have been testing monthly HD program fees. Charter, in fact, offers HDNet, HDNet Movies and Discovery HD Theater as a HD bundle for $9.99 a month.

Phillip Swann, president of TVPredictions.com, forecast last month that DIRECTV would soon charge for HD content to appease new owner Rupert Murdoch, who is not a fan of free HD.

You would be forced to subscribe to the basic package, since Mediacom has no way of blocking analog stations and just letting thru digital. Sure, there are filter traps for certain frequency ranges, however digital channels are scattered throughout their total spectrum and mixed in with the analog. That's why certain channels are missing when you cue through 2-125. Even if it were theoretically possible, why would they pass up any opportunity to make you pay more money by packaging. It works for the car business ... intrinsically linking certain options in manditory packages. "Can't get sunroof without Bose Stereo and leather seats" etc.

Just got off the phone with Dennis (engineer) at WOI (ABC). He says that they are going to miss yet another deadline (May 1st ... today). This time due to the thunderstorms and other weather anomalies we have been experiencing lately. The digital tranmitters and antennae are up, the only thing left is to move/align a dish transceiver on the tower, and phone in a test request to the FCC to flip the switch. He is hopeful that with good weather, they should be up and OTA within a week. Other disappointing news is that they will be 480i 4:3 upconvert at first. No definite date set for 720p 16:9 or DD5.1 as they are waiting for equipment from ABC to pass thru HD and surround sound. They may not get that until this fall.

They (WOI) need to get their sh*$ together before Monday Night Football regarding the HD feed from ABC. It is bad enough we missed out on the Super Bowl.

Thanks for the news though Eyedox.

You are welcome. My insider at Mediacom called me today. She said that as of today, they are officially renting the HIGH DEF cable boxes to subscribers in the Des Moines (and surrounding area) market. It is the MOTOROLA 5100 (not the 5200 ... sorry NO HD-PVR/VOD yet).
Thusfar, only KCCI-DT (CBS), HBO-HD, and SHO-HD are on their system, but they hope to add WHO-DT (NBC) very soon. They won't add WOI-DT (ABC), KDIN-DT (IPTV), KDSM-DT (FOX), or KPWB-DT for awhile until they are on the air full-time, AND in High Definition, AND have something worth watching. Right now, KPWB-DT doesnt exist, KDIN-DT is STILL testing only (budget), KDSM has crap-o-vision (480i 4:3) only, and WOI-DT STILL is not on the air and wont be HD until fall at least.
She also said that Mediacom hopes to sign retrans agreements with ESPN-HD, Discovery HD, HDNet, and HDNet Movies by mid-summer to late summer. Future HD stations will be added as they become available ... Bravo HD, History HD, MAX-HD, etc.
The Motorola 5100 boxes are in short supply currently but I doubt there is much demand since their HD programming is so limited right now. KCCI you can get free OTA, and you need to subscribe to the HBO or SHO packages to get the HD feeds.
She couldn't remember if the HD box and digital package was $10 or $14 a month.

I think WOI-DT is just making up more excuses. They asked for, and were granted, another extension for digital transmissions until October 16, 2003. I don't think they have any intentions of starting the new transmitter until then.

The new request for extension and the FCC response is not available yet on the website. At least I couldn't find it. I just found all the old ones. I did find a status report that gave the request date as April 16 and the date granted as April 21.

I've sent e-mails to Chairman Poweel and all the commisioners asking for the extension to be reopened for a public comment period for 30 days after the application info becomes available. I'm not expecting this to happen, but by requesting a specific action I'm hoping for more than a generic response.

If anyone else wants to send an e-mail, the file number is BEPCDT-20020903ADD.

I'm about to get much more serious about a boycott of WOI advertisers.

I hope to God that they filed that CP extension knowing that they would miss their May 1st target date by a week or so due to weather, just so they wouldn't get into trouble. The enginneers at WOI swear that they are literally days away from turning on their DT signal. If they use this extension as an excuse to save electricity for 6 more months, I will be pissed and I WILL take action. I will report them and file complaints with the FCC. The people of Des Moines deserve MUCH better than this. Iowa State should have NEVER sold WOI to a greedy commercial entity.

Interesting news on the DirecTV front. I just got off the phone with DirecTV customer service. They were calling about adding a third LNB to my 24" dish to get additional HD signals from DirecTV. As usual, the customer service people had know idea what channels were being added or when. Their sales pitch was that they were calling current HD customers to get them set up because they are expecting a rush of orders once they make an HD announcement. They also made it sound like all the HD channels would be on the same satellite.

Of course there was a down side to the offer. They wanted $8 for the LNB and a commitment to 12 months of DirecTV. Which makes it also sound like a defense against switching to Dish or Mediacom.

Not surprisingly, the DirecTV site has no indication that anything is going on for future HD broadcasts.

I'm going to bite because I doubt I would be leaving DirecTV in the next 12 months anyway. I hate cable and I already have an attenna.