Las Vegas, NV - HDTV - Page 108

No, just the standard definition locals are delivered by satellite from either provider for now. However, all of the current satellite high definition receivers have ATSC over-the-air tuners and will pick up the hd local channels with a regular antenna where reception permits.

Well I've had it. I've had HDTV for over a year now and I'm already tired of all the crap. Got rid of the 42 incher and will be rid of COX and the 8300hd in a few weeks. No new programming, no bug fixes, no MR why bother with it any more.
I'm going back to SD DTIVO with my Syntax HVX in panoramic mode and that will do just fine.

Good Bye to you all!

wow...i could never give up hd and go back to sd. "tired if all the crap"??? good luck to you..

I see your point, but sd on a smaller screen looks as good as HD on a huge screen.

Thats the point most don't realize.

I don't watch sports and love nature and science stuff and there is not enough of that in 16:9 HD, especially science stuff.

As for the"crap" , thats in reference to the industry dragging their feet with equipment innovation and new programming.

Right....

I have SD on a 27" TV, and HD on a 53-inch. Still no comparison. My eyes have lost some strength in the last few years. But you, my friend, may want to get YOURS checked...

I did and my eyes are fine. I still say Hd is good for only bigger screens and right now there isn't much good HD out there FOR ME to justify it. It may for you.

I really don't want to argue so I'll just make this my last post .

Well, we'll miss you. I guess I like to watch sports (when my wife lets me), and we both really enjoy movies, CSI and Law and Order in HD. To each his own.

Which 42-inch set did you have (if you're not totally gone yet)?

INCOMPLETE ADVERTISING FOR SURE.

Yes the "locals" are available. But you still need an auxiliary antenna to get HD. The "locals" are NOT yet available IN HD on the primary dish on Direct TV, but the standard transmission IS. The RJ ad was just for suckers.

It's official, DirecTV will be offering HD locals by satellite in Las Vegas.

http://phoenix.corporate-ir.net/phoe...780&highlight=

Just announced today:

Sinclair has signed on with the CW network. KFBT (currently Gold 33) will carry the new CW network. Sinclair's other station, KVWB (currently WB) will carry the new MyNetwork.

Already announced, KTUD (UPN Las Vegas) will go independent with new sydicated and sports programming.

Now, I wonder if Sinclair will add HD to KFBT's digital signal in time for the CW's launch? Will they ever work out a retransmission deal with Cox for HD?

Not hardly! Recent measurments of KFBT's OTA digital signal are below. Unless they can fit HD into 4Mbps "they ain't gonna be showin no purty HD channels!" They are contracted to sell out to USDTV all their available bandwidth. The WB is also a bandwidth sellout. As for KTUD, they are/were low power with no digital signal...
See this post for specific details
KFBT-DT (29)
4.2Mbps 33-1 Gold 33 (independent)
1.8Mbps 99-1 USDTV (USDTV Guide)
3.7Mbps 99-2 USDTV (ESPN)
4.4Mbps 99-3 USDTV (ESPN2)
2.0Mbps 99-6 USDTV (Food Network)
2.6Mbps 99-9 USDTV (HGTV)

KVWB-DT (22)
11.4Mbps 21-1 WB HD
3.5Mbps 99-10 USDTV (Lifetime)
2.4Mbps 99-50 USDTV (Starz!)

The MyNetwork
This is via 2 hours per night for six nights a week. Basically a daily primetime soap with a weekly recap episode. These two shows per night are not promised to be in HD, so they could sell off even more bandwidth to USDTV.
This is basically a non-manned television station that offers no local programming and gets all feeds via sat. Outside of the primetime "telenovelas" will be constant syndicated situation comedy reruns and dramas - All specifically in SD from a tape que loop.
This is the way it's looking now, and nothing indicates it's going to change. USDTV is offering specials, giveaways and yearly programming contracts with NEW programming coming soon, so they are staying on the air and using those stations bandwidth to keep themselves on the air.

The BEST we could have hoped for, is that KVWB would offer the CW programming so that we could at least get HD-lite at 11Mbs.

vegggas

I came across this blog article and thought you all may be interested...


"Cox Communications and TiVo Sitting in a Tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, Is a Cox Communications and TiVo Deal Looming? "

http://thomashawk.com/2006/05/cox-co...itting-in.html

There have been rumors...

vegggas

Bah, I'm still buying a S3 HD TiVo when they come out regardless of what Cox offers. Though it is great news for TiVo, at least I know they'll be around in a few years.

Well I got back the 42 inch plasma that I lent my parents while theirs was being fixed. Looks like the Tivo deal will keep me at COX unless they decide to handcuff the network/sharing features like DTV did.

I'm back thanks to this "rumor".

I wouldn't expect any corporate announcements either way until late in the year.
IF something like this is in the works, it would center around 3rd party OCAP technology, which is feverishly being built and incorporated into some systems by end of year. This would enable the software to ride on existing hardware.
Two of the main reasons areements are being made with cable companies are for the advertising push during commercial FFwd and statistic data retrieval of users.

vegggas

1. do we have anu idea what the local might hit ? i was excited to see we will be in the next wave.


2. I want a D* HD-DVR. was waiting for a replacement for the HR-10250.

i dont have any phone lines in my house and i was todl that Tivo's require a landline to make monthly calls that help Defrag the unit.. otherwise it will start running very slow.

so D* told me that their DTV + boxes dont need phone lines.

so if TIVO is back with D* again, i might be screwed?

anyone have opinions?

I've never heard of a Tivo needing a phone line to defrag. I do know that if you don't plug it into a phone line it won't update and will give you some nag screens unless you hack the unit. You might want to look at the Tivo forums at www.tivocommunity.com. There is a forum just for the HR10-250.

Stand alone Tivo units need a phone line to update the programming guide and to update the unit's firmware. With D*, all this info is transmitted through your sat line, therefore no need for a connected phone line for it to update.

That's not quite right. You need the telephone connection on the D* units for them to send the signal to the unit to do the update. It downloads the update over the SAT, but the unit doesn't install it until it gets the word to during the phone call.

I bought a 17 inch LCD Widescreen from Costco as a PC monitor but it also accepts component input for HDTV. I hooked it up to my second HDTV set top box from Cox and even though it is small it still looks better then standard TV, especially when you are only sitting two feet away. Now my family can watch one HD channel while I watch another. I agree a multi-room box would be great but it needs to be able to support two HDTV's not one. Most of the MR units I've seen support one HDTV and one standard.

Never connected a phone line to mine and it updated just fine. Never connected a phone line to ANY D* receiver ever, as a matter of fact. Never had any problems.

Same here on the phone line. SA Tivos need the line for guide data while D* receivers get the data from the satellite. HR10-250 will not give you the local HD via satellite. You will have to upgrade to their, yet to be released, new HD DVR.

Will D* be releasing an HD DVR alongside the HD rollout in Las Vegas or is it not yet known?

That's not totally right. Tivo needs a phone line for the initial one-time setup. After that, you can use a Wifi connection to download guide data. I know people who have taken their Tivo to other people's houses for the initial setup, and then brought the thing home.

Of course, if you don't have wifi, your neighbors might...

I've never heard the defrag thing before, and I'm 99% sure that's a made up problem.

Actually my S2 TiVo was able to complete the inital setup over the broadband connection. #4-something-something was the code (my mind is fuzzy) - check the TiVoCommunity forums.

So what kinds of OTA antennas are folks using with success? I live over by Nellis and Flamingo and over the past few months channels 3-1, 8-1, and 13-1 have been gradually losing signal strength to the point where I can't receive the channels for extended periods of time. I have always had problems with KVBC but 8-1 and 13-1 have never given me problems until recently Currently I have an outside antenna installed by DirecTV, it is one of those square mesh antennas with two bowtie configurations attached. From my understanding that is a UHF antenna and most of the HD channels in LV are VHF. Should I buy an outdoor VHF antenna? If so which ones have had the most success in this area? In addition, this antenna is on a diplexer, would that affect signal quality? I bought an amplified set of rabbit ears from radioshack to try indoors and they didn't work at all. The antenna isn't near any trees or anything, could it be the heat causing the degredation in signal quality?

I know that DirecTV is coming out with HD locals soon, but I really think the quality of picture OTA will be way better than the compressed DirecTV signal. In addition, I don't want to buy new equipment.

Directv in their infinite stupidity, does not get it through their heads that Vegas is a mostly VHF market and refuses to install the correct antenna for this market. That antenna they installed works great for most other areas of the country, but for here, it is a very good replacement for holding hamburgers on your barbeque. Go to Radio Shack and get a VHF antenna such as the VU-75 for about $20. It will pull all the channels in perfect from your part of town. I Get 0ver 90% signal strength with that antenna, and I live near 95 and Decatur.

I don't know if this is the right place to ask but I have a question about the 8300HD from Cox. It seems like the box is going into auto-shutdown mode. It tells me if I don't press a button the box will shut off. Usually when I am not watching for a while, but leave the box on when I come back and turn on the TV the box is off. I have looked through the manual and the settings on the box and I cannot find a way to turn this off. Does anyone else know how to do this?

Unfortunately there's no way to turn this feature off at the set. It's supposed to reduce truck rolls to replace burned out hard drives. It's only supposed to shut down late at night when no key has been pressed for a while. Providers have disabled this in some markets via a firmware change.

Lon