Las Vegas, NV - HDTV - Page 8

Well, Channel 735 has been deleted from the lineup - at least til next time... It was good while it lasted. Looks like TNT used separate cameras for HD and SD material while viewing the PIP action with the analog TNT station. I wonder when the next viewing period is going be???
I do know that this was a test by a lot of different companies to see what they could do. The PPV provider, the local cable affiliates, the sat companies and TNT were all known, and HDNet was rumored to be involved too. Even though it was a free PPV, I think it was the first ever live HDPPV event that spans across all platforms to all providers.
Did anybody compare the sat feed with the cable feed? I know there are a few cross platform users here. I only watched the first 45 min, but the picture was extremly high quality - I would rate it up there with the PBS feed. I assume the sat feed was exactly the same, but just wondering.

Note on FOX. Since the FCC mandates that channels have to only go digital, there is nothing legally making them choose a higher def format than 480i. This only requires each station to be able to transmit in a digital format. To go to a different resolution still requires an upgrade to more expensive equipment, including incoming (sat) and outgoing (ant) feeds.

vegggas

Anyone here willing to help me install my triple dish after 4pm today PLEASE? Me and my friends spent hours yesterday but couldn't make it work. Will try again today. I'm gonna use 2 regular receivers and 1 Sony HD200 and 1 Hughes E86
I live in Alta between Buffalo & Durango. If anyone have time today please call me at 480-6947, I really need HELP.
Thanks

Nevermind! It's outstanding right now. Most of the trans are more than 90, some are 80 something and a few are only 60 some I don't know if those low trans OK or not.

Please take a look at these signal strengh and tell me if I need to fine tune my dish a little more or not:

Here are some low trans Sat A:
4-0 signal
12-0
20-45
26-62
the rest are good

from Sat B:
24-49
25-61
28-63
29-62
32-64
the rest are good

Sat C is good.
Take a look and please tell me if those are normal?
Thanks

While this really isnt the proper place for helpling you with DBS, the quick explanation for your sat A readings is because transponders 4, 12, 18, 20, 26, 28 are spot beams, and thus the spot isnt covering vegas (or on the fringe).

Sat B? I dunno...

This isn't HD, but the "Nascar In Car" on channels 523-529 (Cox digital) are looking great! Almost TOO MUCH information to keep track of.
Didn't someone mention this was going to be 480p over sat or something?

(edit) Someone just reminded me about the FOX 480P. That's probably what I heard that was going to be a higher resoulution - too bad it's not here yet.

vegggas

I seem to have lost Ch 13 DT. Did they go off temporarily or do I have a problem? Other OTA DT come in fine. I re-scanned but it didn't help.

Did anyone else lose there guide data on the SA3100. Last night I had no guide data for any channel.

benspal, yes there's something wrong with channel 13 last few days. This channel used to be on of my strongest signal channel. Seem to be really really weak lately

I didn't notice any system problems last night. I have seen similar issues when I keep my box on 24/7 for several weeks and it doesn't get a new download and then reboot, especially around the date change at midnight. My spare bedroom box (2100), which doesn't get much use, will act funny and reset after a while.

If anyone else saw green grids or green blocks during CSI last week or noticed other programs displaying that, it appears to be a national network test for DD5.1. I found this thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=226669
and chipped in that I noticed here in Vegas too.

vegggas

Info from KVBC...

Expect ATSC standard definition on Channel 2 within weeks. After months of frustration with transmitters, towers, antennas, vendors, and filters, we are close to firing up our digital transmitter. HD will come later, as the selection of equipment needed to get a HD/DD5.1 signal to the top of Black Mountain is still being made.

I've done my best to accelerate getting our HD/DD5.1 signal to Cox via fiberoptics, so subscribers to Cox HD will be able to get NBC HD ASAP.

Does this mean that COX will get the NBC pass through HD feed from the local station (via fiber), but it will not be transmitted OTA?

vegggas

vegggas,
That's the impression that I got. He added the last part as a fyi, because I had explained that I didn't have access to Cox cable. It seems that they don't yet know how they are going to get the HD signal up to the tower, but can more easily feed it to Cox.

hoopty

That's good news (for those of us with Cox). I was hoping that they could do that.

It's great when a local station is willing to provide the HD signal to the local cable distributor before they can even get it out on the airwaves. I think Phoenix has some issue similar to this too, where the only viewable signal is through cable distribution, not airwaves because of mountains and hills blocking too great of an area.
If some of the lower power and less fortunate (i.e. not as much money to build digital transmitters) stations follow suit, that would be an excellent way to get their product out there to the people sooner and save money at the same time. It seems that downloading and sending out the network HD feeds via fiber to the cable co's would definately be a lot cheaper than doing the same AND adding digital transmitters on top of mountains. All of that equipment is already needed for OTA and most locals are already fed via fiber, so it would only take adding another fiber transmitter at one end and a receiver at the other.
I wonder if the local FOX affiliate will recognize this and do the same?

vegggas

Hey,

Wasn't the Grammy broadcast supposed to be in 5.1? HD looked good, but I never received a 5.1 signal. Or is our CBS affiliate unable to pass a 5.1 signal?

No I talked to the guy over at KLAS and this is what he had to say.

Dear Mr. Cupp, I'm sorry but we will not be airing the Grammy's in Dolby
Digital. We were not on the original rollout list for 5.1 capable receivers
from CBS and are not able to get the other necessary equipment in time for
the broadcast.

I do not have a timeline for 5.1 but I would not expect it before next year.

Jerry

Then I replied back saying that he had earlier said they were ready and here is his reply.

Sorry for the confusion. When CBS said they would be broadcasting in 5.1, I
had made an incorrect assumption that they would be sending us discrete 5.1.
Instead, they will be using a different encoding system for the audio that
distributes the audio to the stations in Dolby E. This system enables two
digital audio channels to carry 8 digital audio channels. The problem is
that there's additional (rather expensive) decoding equipment that needs to
purchase to extract the 8 channels from the two.

Jerry


So it doesn't sound good that we will be getting 5.1 from CBS for a while. At least we aren't missing much. (I read somewhere that the Grammy's is the only thing on the schedule in 5.1 anyways)

Yeah, I did some additional research and Vegas was not included in the roll-out.

I wonder what the next big thing will be in Vegas? NBC? ESPN-HD? HD-Net?

I don't know what would be next, but I bet it's ESPN-HD. It would look good in all of the sports bars and sports books in town. I'm just glad that Cox updated the firmware in the 3100HD. Now when I push guide it starts at the channel I'm on and at the current time. And also the picture doesn't go out on ABCHD when switching from the local stuff to the network stuff. There is still some audio dropouts but it recovers itself without me changing channels. Does anyone know why the cable equipment is so much worse than the Directv equipment? Is it a lack of competition?

Yeah but having to play catchup is no excuse as far as I'm concerned. They had just as much time as Directv and Dish had to get this stuff working. The hardware has to be simular. And if they don't want to fork out all the cash just let the customers buy it like a cable modem. That will enspire competition since a standard is set and it will drive down prices and we will have more features. It will also allow me to get away from the rental fee. (I hate those.)

As for the patent issue if someone is allowed to patent that what can't you patent.

Yes, it was a patent issue. Gemstar pattented putting a grid on TV with tv shows in it, starting at the current time. Thus cox and others without the guts to stand up to gemstar start their guides hours ahead to sidestep the pantent. Last year, gemstar had their patent thrown out, since it was more or less, patenting a digital TV Guide.

Echostar (dish network) stood up to gemstar, and won.

AS always, the cable co doesn't make or create the hardware, they are only the customer. The companies like Motorola, Scientific Atlanta, Jerrold and Pioneer make it. It is up to them to market their products to retail outlets to get them directly to the customer. Until something becomes a standard, like the DOCIS cable modem, nobody wants to manufacture it in high volumes. I was a tester for Time Warner in Tampa in the mid 90's for some of the first cable modems. They were called the Sega Channel RF modems and broadcast Sega games to your local Genesis console. The technology was eventually passed up and people were left holding the modems with no use because there was no software to drive them and 56k dialup came around for a cheaper price. The problem that I have seen is that a lot of the non-major cable box makers made bigger profits retrofitting chipsets to create descramblers for analog use, instead of pushing digital technologies.
Also, there are several markets where makers now sell cable boxes through Best Buy or Circuit City and can get an appointment for service in the same store. This is great news, considering the standards for multiple digital cable services were set only about six weeks ago, whereas the sat monopoly was created and established around 1993(?).
For local news, though, Cox LV has an open invitation for Scientific Atlanta and Pioneer to approve the use of and adopt whichever one shows them an HD PVR first. Interestingly, the box (non PVR) that I saw, had inputs for passthrough to the TV, but the documentation said nothing about upconversion. We shall see soon enough, but this is one common sat feature I would really like to see.

vegggas

I tried to watch the grammys last night but I couldn't get a good signal above 25. This has never happened before. I usually get a strong signal from them (75-85). Anyone else have this problem?

An HD-PVR is the next big thing that would make me happy. Tivo is not really a great option for digital cable (and it doesn't do HD, yet).

I still haven't received a response to any email I send to Cox asking to be a beta tester. How do you get on that list!?!

And why did it take the cable industry so long to set the standard. I don't know. I just think that the sat stuff is by far better and if I had a choice to get local HD channels from someone other than the cable company I would. I wish the FCC would pass a law that says if your local affiliate doesn't pass thru the Digital Network feed (like Fox and WB) or if you cannot receive that signal OTA than the sat companies could sell you an out of market feed for these channels. Until that happens or I decide to get Canadian Sat service I'm stuck with Cox and their inferior equipment.

There is only one COX market in america that is beta testing digi cable PVRs, Gainsville FL i believe. Dont expect HD PVRs from Cox for a while. Tivo/DirecTV and Echostar are coming out with HD PVRs (that can even record OTA digital content). Tivo will probably have a stand alone HD PVR later this year, or early next year.

Absolutely correct!

Products based on Tivo and Replay will be out very soon. Most, if not all of the sat technology is based on Tivo, and that can be used for standalone PVR's (with new digital tuners) now with the cable standards adopted for subscription descrambling as soon as the chipsets are made. Motorola, Pioneer and SA are all testing products strictly for cable usage, with Replay as a base product, but pushing toward their own software, such as what we currently use here in Vegas.
As far as PVR functionality in Vegas, March 31'st is the public launch of EOD with selected recordings available at any time through your current digital cable box. No word on if any HD content will be added to the library. Technically it seems possible, but would require a lot of space on the main servers and potentially eat all the bandwidth allocated for that service.

vegggas

Just the Directv stuff is TiVo. Dish Network makes its on PVR product with there own (not as good) software. I don't think having Video on Demand is as good as having a PVR. With VOD you get what they want you to get. With a PVR you get to pick.

Yeah, DTV went with the Tivo liscening, but that is all it is. There may be some exclusive rights DTV worked out with Tivo to prohibit the same technology from being used with other sat companies. I was just miffed that when I was using sat, I coudn't use the PVR for local channels, so I went with Replay to record sat, cable, and off VCR or DVD - anything at any time and have stuck with them since.
EOD is not a replacment for PVR, just that is is known as the next technology in use in Vegas. If you do want to watch that show you missed, it may be available later on EOD.

vegggas