Omaha / Lincoln, NE - HDTV

It's been a looong time since I've been to Omaha, but I thought ch. 3 was up, something like ch. 45, as HD.

And I thought I heard that the other stations would be up by the end of the year, but I could be mistaken.

I just recently moved from the Omaha area, Bellevue, NE, after 20 years, to Hermon Maine. I was getting frustrated by the slow roll out of HD off air in Omaha too. I searched Internet sites and emailed to the TV stations for status. 1000,000 watts.com and Titantv.com were showing CBS KMTV-DT ch 45 as being on the air over a year ago. I emailed them that unless they new something I didn't that they were in fact not broadcasting. Apparently they are having tower problems. I considered for a short period the COX cable route, aside from being an "anti-cable" I just couldn't justify the cost of the HDD-200 HD decoder required. At the time it was $1600. Even being a BUD owner were the decoder could have been used as well. Thanks to DISH there became an economical HD programming source.

I am happy to say though that since I have arrived in ME two off air signals are being broadcast, the WMEB-DT Ch 9 PBS, and WLBZ-DT Ch 25 NBC. I have watched to testing process of PBS for a two month period and have been graced with some spectalular HD samplings. I am still monitorinr NBS HD fare, which is somewhat linited. Watched Leno, looked darn good. Then a playoff of the Nets and Celtics, but they didn't have enough HD cameras for every shot so It was a mixed bag.

Oh ... Hi John !!

This is from the respective stations engineer's:
WOWT (NBC) 10/1/2002
KMTV (CBS) 11/1/2002
KETV (ABC) 5/1/2002

KETV is delayed because they are ordering a new antenna array to do both the HD and current analog broadcast...

Cox Omaha currently broadcasts 1 HBO, ! Showtime, and CBS in High Definition. No set top box rental here. Motorola High Definition Decoder is available to purchase at Nebraska Furniture Mart for 475-500 dollars. I just purchased one Monday to go with 34XBR800 that just arrived. I spoke with a Cox tech rep two weeks ago and he was under the impression that box rental was coming in near future. I also spoke with a sales rep who stated that plans for box rental were on hold as far as the last meeting he attended. I can really understand the problem for Cox, even with volume purchase, the cost of buying a large quantity of set top boxes to rent out at ten bucks a month does not make economic sense. How many NEW customers is this going to bring in? I am just thrilled to have what I am getting right now. Many people are getting nothing at all. I hope that Cox would offer Discovery HD and I would gladly pay the $ 5 dollars a month. Cox does not offer NBC or PBS in this area. Just my two cents worth..

John--

I got the same message today, but that is only referring to the first step in ABC's HD transmission. Per Warren, they will not have the anntenna in and operational until spring, and are shooting for a 5/1/03 date, but may hit it early if weather permits.

And the chief engineer at WOWT, Jay Nix, stated on 7/23 that they are targetting a live date of 10/1, and KMTV told him they would be live 11/1 (and KETV would be up 5/1/03, which jives with Warren's comments).

Stroker--

What do you think of the quality of HD from COX? I checked into it at NFM, and the HBO HD signal looked worse than the regular HBO! I don't know if it was the set it was on, but it looked very compressed and the artifacts were terrible... I'd love to hear how it looks outside of a showroom floor.

--jeff

Thank you John and Jeffrey.

I feel a bit foolish to admit a lack of experience in the world of HD and high quality television. I have been watching a 27" JVC for the last eight years or so and have looked at the high quality sets available for the last couple of those. I decided a year or so ago that I wanted a very good set and went about looking for it. I shop at the Furniture Mart and spent a fair amount of time looking there and at the other local retailers. I saw some I liked but never any that made me really want to part with the money. I was at the Mart a couple of months ago and saw the 34XBR2 and just loved the look of it. The $ 3700 price tag put it out of my range however.
While looking at websites I heard about the 34XBR800 and knew that was the set I wanted.

I have had Cox Cable since they first arived in Omaha. I changed to Digital when it became available and have been a satisfied customer all along. I use them for my internet connection and am just as satisfied with that.

I have attempted to do as much research as possible to arrive at an intelligent decision regarding a large purchase such as this set. I have made the decision and at this time feel no buyers remorse.

The picture on HBO HD is incredible. I am still ( 3 days) hooking up this thing and learning all the controls and settings. I do not really know what "artifacts" are from experience with high quality TV. Jaggies and wavering lines I do know about. If artifacts in general mean "imperfections" then I saw none watching CSI or HBO HD. I did see some watching my Bruce Springsteen "Live in New York" DVD. I am using a Toshiba SD1700 with component cables. The posts I have read on this board and at Agoraquest would lead me to believe that the setting for the concert and lighting would make this a difficult DVD to show well.

At this early stage and given my lack of experience I can give only a newbie`s rating of the set and Cox HD. I am more than happy, I am thrilled.
Jeffrey, I really believe this set and feed look far better than at the store.
I saw a Panasonic 34" HDTV hooked to Cox HD and a plasma screen with Cox HD at the Mart and think this is the best. I am obviously biased, but would not have shelled out nearly $3000 for the set and decoder box if I didn`t think this was the best I would get for my money. I could be wrong, and have been before, but right now I think it was a good purchase.

All that being said, I do have to admit that the possibility of the GI decoder becoming obsolete does not make me happy. Are the SA and GI incompatible and will I have to change to the SA box?

The Mart is selling a lot of these boxes as they were on back order for a while and they got in nearly a hundred of them a couple of weeks ago.

I will post again after a little practice and careful looking at the picture quality.

Well, my situation is much like Stroker's. I just purchased the Sony KV-34XBR800 two days ago. The set is due to arrive in two days. I'm very excited and can't wait to get the set. However, I am up in the air about purchasing the receiver from NFM for the Cox Cable HD offerings. I wish there was a box up for rent so I could kind of check it out before I jump in.
Of course knowing me, curiousity will take over and I'll probably be purchasing the box by the weekend - we'll see. I'll keep everyone posted on my experiences.

PlumPeach, I am not for one minute sorry that I bought the HD Decoder box. The HD channels are incredible. The xbr gives a magnificent picture on HBO digital, but on HD it is simply awesome. I never would have believed a picture could look that good. I am still working with different settings on the set itself to see what looks best. All the channels above 100 are terrific. The lower channels SEEM to be getting better by the day. I am not sure whether the set is just breaking in, or I am seeing it differently.

The lower channels seemed a bit grainy at first and I rechecked all my cables and hookups. Must have been something cause its mostly grain free now. I do see slight shimmering now and then. The bright background on Jay Leno shimmers some, but not all the time.

DVD`s are truly breathtaking. I can find no faults at all with them. High Definition on CBS and HBO also seem to be fault free. I am going to do more to determine what many refer to as artifacts and compression problems.

I seem to find the zoom setting to work best. The Full mode distorts too bad. the settings on DRC do not seem to be very different at all. I have tried the pallette settings and do not see a lot of change. Maybe its my newbieness. Where theres a will there is a way. I just hope I do not end up always looking for flaws and miss the main experience of the movie/show I am watching. I have only had for a week and am still in the learning stage. I hope to give an intelligent report soon.

JD

Well, I've been watching my new Sony 34XBR800 for about five days now -WOW!! I can't believe the picture. DVDs are truly breathtaking and even cable is outstanding. Personally I am already used to watching cable using the full or stretch mode.
I did not purchase the decoder box yet. I'm going to wait and see if Cox Cable makes any changes in the next couple months. I'm excited about HDTV, but I've got enough to keep me busy as far as playing with this incredible television.

The "receiver" is the General Insrument HDD-200. It is a DigiCiper HDTV decoder used by COX for HD cable and with the 4DTV C Band (Big Dish)satellite receivers, so keep in mind that there is a larger base out there for this box that the Omaha COX test market niche. The price has come down significantly since it was first introduced also. So you could always sell it later on ebay. Or get a BUD.

Some links for your perusal.
http://home.earthlink.net/~jireland0...200%20rear.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~jireland0...dd200front.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~jireland01/nehdtv/


I now have 3 DTV off air channels, the newest addition is NBC http://home.earthlink.net/~jireland01/hdtv

ENJOY !!!

Jay Ireland, thanks for the info. This will help me in making my decision. It makes me feel better that the decoder box used by Cox will not become obsolete soon after I purchase it.

I chatted with some folks from Auburn NE tonight and when asked what my hobbies are, of course I mentioned HDTV. They replied that some of the local stations are activating or switching to the new digital transmitters this week, and that they were told that reception might be poor in the meantime, as old backup transmitters would be employed during the transition.

Is that information accurate? Are new stations coming online? I have a friend in Papillion who isn't into HDTV, but I'd like to know what's available in order to try to sway her toward modernization.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Dan Burgess

Supposedly, KLKN ABC is live in Lincoln now. My HD520 is on order, but hasn't arrived yet. Looking forward to pointing a big antenna at Omaha too!

Doug
Lincoln, NE

I'm excited that Omaha now has HDTV. My TV is HDTV ready but I need some time of decoder. Any suggestions on what to buy? I have Directv & was thinking of the Hughes receiver that does both Directv HDTV & OTA.

Johnwcookjr, I thought I was getting CBS High Def now through the local CBS station via Cox.

I may be misunderstanding your post RE: CBS being on line by Oct 1.

I certainly hope Cox begins to transmit NBC as well. The Fall NBC schedule looks to have several HD programs available.



Plumpeach, I am glad to hear you like the set. I could not be happier with this set and wish you long and happy hours of watching. The post from Jay Ireland helps to settle my mind on the decoder issue.

I have decided to pass on the extended warranty and rely upon my belief that if anything is going to go wrong, it will be in the first few months. BTW, I am beginning to think that as the set "breaks in", the picture improves.

Now, I want a sound system that matches the quality of the set.

Somehow this reminds me of my youth and a facination with building custom motorcycles. One thing seems to lead to another!!

Well, the very fact that this is up and running and that you can receive the signal way the heck down in Papillion...

This is great news. I guess I need to buy an OTA receiver now as well as a good outdoor antenna I can place on my apartment's balcony. What's the current recommendation?

-- Robert

I just got my SIRT150 this afternoon and hooked it up to my RatShack double bow-tie. I plugged the 150 in and changed to 6-1... holy smokes!

I went through the menus and looked at the signal strength... only 35-40%. But I am getting no drop outs whatsoever.

However, I did notice that the audio is about 0.1s ahead of the video.

-- Robert

Anyone having problems getting sound from KMTV HD on the COX cable feed, channel 805? I get the picture but no sound. I called Cox and they said it's not their problem and for me to take it up with KMTV. Haven't had a chance to call them yet. Thanks.

Anybody get any updates on when WOWT will go back to a larger transmitter? I am trying to get them in Lincoln and of course having no luck.

Thanks,
Doug