Raleigh, NC - HDTV - Page 437

You can get a 2TB internal drive these days for $150. That's good for about 250 hours of HD. I'm not sure what software you use, but I've heard good things about using VideoReDo to cut commercials and burn HD recordings to DVD.

Drew

I have 1.5 TB USB I got for Christmas. Last night I was using it to copy over a couple of avi's and up pops "Sorry Win explorer has encountered a problem and has to shut down"
Well I ended up rebooting the laptop and now the file that was being copied is copied but I can not delete it. When I try to delete it it says "Being used by another program" But it is not being used by another program and yet I find I can rename it.

This is not the first time I have had some issues with transferring files with USB. It acts like you need to wait an inordinate amount of time past when you would think the file is already copied, before attempting to copy another.

Kind of disappointing as I planned on using this 1.5TB USB specifically for moving avi's from one computer to another.

My dlink router came with this nice option that allows you to share a HD thru a built in router USB port. The app is called Shareport. Unfortunately it does not work well. I had planned on planting this 1.5 on the Shareport but have decided against it do to the Shareport issues I have had.

If you have a TV without a box, will you still be able to watch TV in June, or do you have to get a box for every TV? I realize you won't get digital channels (you don't today), but will you at least get ESPN SD, NBC SD, CBS HD (ie 5.1), etc? I am assuming that it will be on the same channels as current non-digital customers, which will be confusing.

If so, so much for the home of "Free HD" - notice that you don't see TWC advertising that anymore!

According to this:

http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/03/1...-in-charlotte/

the analog channels will still be there, so that seems unchanged (and they can't change that until 2012 unless they give out a ton of free digital converter boxes, right?).

I would expect the clear QAM digital channels to remain unencrypted and having their guide channels changed from say 250 for WRAZ HD 50.1 to 1050 (or would that be 1501?) doesn't even necessarily mean anything for your TV's QAM tuner. It might still be on the same physical channel, and the remapping data should still make it accessible via 50.1 on the TV and only the cable box (and my PC-based DVR and its guide data mapping) cares that it is now 1050.

Of course, there's probably nothing stopping them from acting stupidly and hosing their customers over in some stupid way that drives them to satellite or uverse or internet based TV or heck OTA.

Yes the regular analog channels will not be changed. This is only a remapping of the digital channels. Would have been nice if they had mapped the digital to match the analog but evidently the plan is for you to be able to go anywhere in NC or SC and have the same digital channel lineup. Sort of like satellite.

I have and use VideoReDo for SD editing. It works with HD, but since I cannot figure out a way to get an HD show onto my hard drive, I can't test it.

Which DVRs can be accessed over Firewire? That would be good to know if my Cisco will do that (although TW is coming over tomorrow to replace it since it's not working well.) The tech did say this box will recognize an external USB drive, but since the box doesn't work well, I have not tried it.

Gosh I hope U-Verse is worth having. I anxiously await the day that I can tell TimeWarner/Scientific Atlantic/Cisco to take a long walk off of a short pier. It's three to four months and counting.

VideoReDo works great with editing the MPEG2-based .tp files my BeyondTV DVR generates when recording clear QAM programs, HD or SD.

I really wish we could get FiOS in this area to be a QAM-friendly alternative to cable (currently modestly clear QAM friendly, basically on broadcast channels), U-verse and satellite.

It's even easier now with the HD Extenders. No license code required!

I'm a huge fan of the SageTV Extenders - they have the power and flexibility of a full SageTV client (comskip, watch live TV, etc.) like Drew said, but with a very high WAF. No need to update drivers, troubleshoot jerky video, operate a clunky pc interface, etc. Just turn it on and start watching TV.

I had my Windows Media Center setup to record 60 Minutes yesterday and I got this message on the tray saying that it couldn't record it because there was no signal. When I opened the Media Center GUI and I went to Live TV on channel 5.1 there was a message saying that the signal was encrypted. What kind of bullcrap is this? I thought the FCC mandated that the local HD channels had to be unencrypted, isn't that so? I don't know if this is TWC's or WRAL's idea, but whoever it was, they're idiots. I spent $80 in a tuner card so I wouldn't have to rent the damn DVR from TWC, and there's no way I'm going to pay them to rent a piece of equipment. I'll stop watching CBS shows and then rent them on DVD from Netflix when they come out.

It may have moved. Have you tried a rescan?

Calm down.. I just checked, and 85.2 is still broadcasting WRAL-HD in the clear on QAM as it has been for the last 6 years at least, so something is probably corrupt with your media center. First check to see that 5.1 is still mapped to physical channel 85.2. I don't use WMC, so I can't help much more than that. There are guides for manually re-mapping QAM channels in WMC online.

Drew

First time poster. This is an awesomely long thread.

I've got an Acer Revo 3610 with Windows 7 (64-bit). I want to add a usb tuner for TWC qam reception (house is in a low spot near North Hills where WTVD and WUNC reception is just about impossible: only 13 miles from Garner antenna farm but lowest elevation in a neighborhood of tall trees).

It sounds using twc via qam will get me the HD local HD broadcast channnels, with a monthly random re-map of a channel or two.

As I'm geared up for a little hassle, I am looking for usb qam tuner recommendation. I'd like to stay with a USB tuner rather than go for a hdhomerun.

Does anyone have a recommendation of a usb tuner that can do QAM, as well as OTA if I have to go that route? I'm planning to run things through 7MC.

Questions are welcomed if more information is needed for a recommendation.

Thank you, Arnold

Yep, and my HD Homerun clear QAM tuner was able to record 60 Minutes in HD off TWC-Cary last night, no problems at all.

Not really--I recall only one or two re-maps in the last few years, the most recent one being with WNCN when they got moved by TWC, signal was horrible 'cuz it was close to the frequency caught by the passive filters?? and they got moved back. I don't know if TWC ever re-moved it since then.

I suppose there *might* be one coming up in June for their grand re-alignment of channel numbers in the guide and PC-based DVR programs may or may not pick it up automagically, but it's not a great tragedy (since there aren't that many clear QAM channels to begin with :-( ).



Why not the HDHR? Do you not have any spare network plugs or a router that can spare another DHCP address? If it's a cost thing, they make a single tuner HDHR now that costs like $80, which is only a little more than a good USB tuner, but offers more versatility.

Anyway, among USB tuners, the Hauppauge HVR-950Q might be good. I had the non-QAM version and it was fine as long as I had it (gave it to my brother for OTA use).

Let the original poster be warned that if he tries to go OTA, the HDHR is an abysmal tuner. It is easily out-performed by 5 year old PCI tuners, and $25 no-name USB sticks. From what I remember of the NBC17 debacle (where their QAM station was temporarily moved right next to the filter) it is also iffy for weak QAM signals -- I vaguely remember that it was mostly HDHR people complaining, while I had no trouble getting NBC17 on my Sony TV.

The main advantage of the HDHR is that their support is excellent, and that it is a networked tuner, so its easier to deal with than a USB or PCI tuner from a driver standpoint. And their signal diagnostics are *excellent* (which they have to be, since the tuner is so bad )

Drew

You all may have noticed my post in the past concerning audio on 30.2 cutting in and out. I finally wrote them at " correspondence@tct.tv " in hopes that they can fix this issue.

Not sure what others think, but it just seems like a waste of bandwidth to be broadcasting a show that the audio constantly keeps cutting in and out on.

Yea, I checked later and it was in 85.2, but it used to be in 5.1, so why the hell does TWC have to move things around and make me waste my time having to change settings in Media Center? Really aggravating.

TWC didn't move anything around. Either MCE just ate its own re-mapping database, or TWC is no longer broadcasting the PSIP re-mapping data anymore. Nonsense like this is one reason I don't use QAM.

Drew

Is anyone else having problems with OTA WTVD On tuesday nights? I can get it during the day.

Not here. Actually, aside from sports the only time I watch ABC lately is Tuesday nights for "V"... and I haven't had any problems with that.

Is it only a Tuesday thing for you or does it happen every night?

We're on our fourth TW DVR, and I believe this one is bad, as well. The 3x scan is very jumpy, the audio is often doubled (a delayed track superimposed over the correct track) until I hit pause and release it, and the audio/video cuts out periodically as if the hard drive is bad. This box is a Samsung. The last one was Cisco. The ones before that were Scientific Atlanta. They all suck.

Update on 30-2 "Assuming anyone watches it". A technician from the station responded to my email and after telling him my OTA setup he suggested swapping out my STB ATSC tuner for a borrowed one from him to see if it was my older STB.

Well I told him I would first try 30-2 on my new Samsung 6000 LED tv and sure enough audio on 30-2 was working albeit some lip sync issues.

So sadly my Samsung DTB - H260F is now outdated unless there is a firm ware upgrade for it but I doubt it. I can use my new TV's tuner but it does not have a built in signal strength meter and plus a few other gotchas.

Anyway what is the best ATSC STB tuner that does HD out there on the market these days or isn't there one?

I have two of the Gov issued non HD tuners but prefer HD especially with this new tv.

Don

The 3X scan jumpyness is a known issue with the Samsung boxes. It is currently being discussed over on the navigator forum.

does anyone in the area have a tivo premiere with TWC cable?

i am only interested in recording the local channels that are broadcast unencrypted. do i have to get a cable card to get guide data, and record those channels?

a friend of mine who has a tivo premiere says yes, you have to have a cable card to record digitial cable (or at least he couldn't figure out how to do it without the CC). that seems like a stupid design choice by tivo ... why should i have to rent a cable card if the channel isn't encrypted?

Mine will be here today, but i had a series 3 before. Yes you have to get cablecards to get the guide data for clear QAM channels.

You can actually watch the clear QAM channels without a cablecard, but there is no guide data, so all the recordings have to be setup per timeslot, and none of the recordings will have a name.

Everyone wants tivo to fix this, but they haven't.

You can setup an indoor TV antenna and have basic cable and the over-the-air stations mixed seamlessly in your guide.

Drewho,

Are you strictly OTA and internet based tv then ? As opposed to cable or Dish.

thanks for the info. any idea how much a CC costs per month?

Yes. I currently use PlayOn to get "cable" stuff (Daily Show, Caprica, Stargate) streamed.

Drew

Drewho , Does Playon have Hallmark and TVland for example?

$2.50. You'll also get a tuning adapter for that price, which is necessary for some channels.

If you do not have a time warner digital cable box, then the cable cards should be free, since you are getting the cablecards instead of the 1 box that is included in the digital package.