Pittsburgh, PA - OTA - Page 6

I was one of the first to get Armstrong HDTV, I've had the service for about 2 1/2 months now.

The PBS national feeds are unbelievable. NBC tonight show coming in second, followed by most programming on CBS.

ABC has some serious lip sync issues I called and they are aware of them, but said it was from the national feeds.

Discovery HD is coming as is HBO, after a contract deal.

so the stations available are CBS, ABC, NBC, PBS, Showtime. Showtime is so so right now.

I called and tried to cancel everything but HDTV but they will not do it. I have every station including cablemodem and bill is getting slightly high.

I am considering OTA but like the luxury of just tuning in cable HD.

oh, it costs $5.00 / month

It's good to know that with the terrible ABC reception issues up here way north of the city that we have an alternative in Armstrong if we need it. Blitz have you tried to see if you can get Armstrong?

svtdougie: I think they are prohibited from forcing you to subscribe to all other channels just to get HD channels. That new cable law just went into effect, check it out.

I had Armstrong years ago...until this thing called DirecTV came along...LOL. Anyhow, I'm a bit confused here. Can you cross pollenate DirecTV with Armstrong or is it one or the other...period? If so, could you get/pay for only the Armstrong HD channels and locals in HD? How much?

Have I lost my mind on all of this?

PS FWIW...I had a NIGHTMARE of an experience with ReplayTV and was ready to check into the goofy house. Thinking it was me...and after three ReplayTV units...I went back to BB and got the TiVo that has worked just fine though I am taking it back in favor of the DirecTiVo.

Gotta tell ya all though...as much as you folks here and elsewhere have been very helpful, the opposite was the case on the ReplayTV AVS thread. Dude, I'm tellin' ya'll...they're sharks in there. Because I told of my Replay problems and reported the bad "lot" as was told to me by SonicBlue...well, many (not all) made all sorts of false accusations against me. I came away from that thread knowing some of those folks are into it like a "cult" and that I, for sure, don't want to get that bad off myself. I mean...there is a life outside of A/V...right? LOL

Sure you could have both DirecTV and Armstrong but you'd have 2 STB's to deal with. Once Armstrong gets HBO the only channel DirecTV will have that you need is HDNet. But if Armstrong is only $5/mo to rent the box and you can find a way to subscribe to just the local HD without paying for a high tier of service maybe you could deal with an extra STB.

blitzburgh,

I also had the replay issues. was debating tivo but holding off for now. but since i missed kingpin last night my thoughts are changing.

I have called Armstrong 4 different times to try and only get HD and everytime they said I had to have standard cable so the signal could pass through.

I did hear about this law, but could someone post it so I can have proof when I call them back.

I might go 5.00 for HD and Dish networks for STB. Though, then my cable modem increases up to 50 from 40, so I don't know.

Blitz: how is D* picture quality compared to Armstrong? In my opnion, armstrong pictures looks phenomenal. most people think i have a dvd in, of course my line doubler on tv helps.

Doug

Doug...sorry for taking so long to get back with you. I was out in LA last week and got back, thankfully, last night...despite all the snow.

You ask: "how is D* picture quality compared to Armstrong?" Well, keep in mind I haven't been on Armstrong since '94. I would assume there have been improvements though I can tell you that when I'm at a neighbor's house watching their TV, the picture still has a "grainy" look to it. I will also tell you that when I was out in LA this past week, a friend of mine had their digital cable and the picture looked great.

I left Armstrong back in '94 for several reasons. 1.) They had limited channels then (about 32 as I recall). 2.) They offered NO pay-per-view. Pittsburgh's cable company had been offering that for years by '94. 3.) Service was crappy...the prevailing attitude was they were the only game in town and, until D* they were. 4.) As I'm always into having the newest "toys", D* was, indeed, just that.

Picture quality on D* is great...particularly HD. D* itself is great SO LONG as you don't have to deal with their personnel. After years of experience, however, I've learned the short cuts and know when I'm dealing with a moron to which I ask for their supervisor immediately.

Bottom-line...I'm more than happy with D*. I get all the locals/all the Premium Channels/plus I still get the East and West Coast networks/am having my DirecTiVo installed tomorrow.

How do you legally get all local channels plus east/west coast networks?

On another note, it looks like WPXI has reduced their stretched picture when showing 4:3 content! It still appears slightly wider than KDKA or WTAE and some words on the bottom of the screen appear cut in half, but it's sure better than the way it was!

Well, looks like KDKA is in 5.1 mode now, and I haven't heard any audio dropouts in 45 minutes of CSI. However, the only active channels are center and LFE.

I's gots connections...LOL!!

OK. Dumb question...what channel is 25 (25.1 on my receiver?) the reason I ask is because I only get 33 (actually 36 on the tuner) out of Youngstown (ABC) and 11 (actually 48 on the tuner) out of Pittsburgh (NBC) with my RadioShack double bow-tie antenna sitting on my porch. I have ben getting a signal strength of around 80-90 for this channel 25 on my Sony HD100 but it remains "unlocked" and then occasionally the meter drops quickly and locks from time to time, Are there two different stations on that same freq? I have the station "locked" into my program guide so I can tweak it if neccessary, but, if it is not fox or nbc I do not want to waste any time. Are there any special "tweaks" I can do with my setup for a better performance. Like I said I already have nbc and abc very nicely coming in without moving the antenna, all I really want is cbs and possible a fox without moving it as well. I hope someone can help me out. Thanks. BTW the antenna is facing slightly Southeast )towards Pitt.

25 is KDKA/CBS. Salem is right between Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Have you tried getting Cleveland stations? I think they have as many channels as we do.

so have you ever seen this anomoly whre the signal meter says it is very high yet will not lock and then drops in short bursts THEN locks in? It would be awesome to find a way to get this station in as well as the 2 I already have in just fine. That would take care of 3 of 4 ..not bad.

I have tried Cleveland for a very brief period. The thing I noticed that keeps me shooting for Pitt is that when the antenna inpointed towards Cleveland, I can get some Cleveland but no Youngstown (Ytown is my local area) whereas when pointed towards Pittsburgh, I can get PXI clear as a bll as well as NBC out of Youngstown. I just wish I could decipher the channel 25 issue out of Pitt and I would be more than happy considering the antenna-type I am forced to use.

I have a DTC-100 so I haven't seen that particular issue. Check in the HDTV Hardware forum for other HD100 owners, it may be a common issue or something. Luckily for me KDKA is the strongest signal at 95+ and I never have any problems.

No question is a dumb question...but do let me offer a suggestion that may be deemed "dumb".

On one of my receivers, the Hughes I believe, I too was getting a signal strength of 80+ for KDKADT-TV 25-1, but no picture. I couldn't figure it out until I plugged in my zip code and that "unlocked" it.

Perhaps you're having the same dilemma?

PS The other thing I noticed is that on my Panny TUHDS20 receiver, I'd have to punch in 25-1 and it would auto-convert to 2-1. On the Hughes I just put in 2-1...on the Sammy TS160 I got to plug in the 25-1.

Go figure...

Greetings all, from Cranberry.

After trying to schedule an install around my travel schedule since Thanksgiving, I'm finally up on Armstrong's HD as of today. No DiscoveryHD as was posted earlier in the thread - they said Discovery wanted $6/subscriber - but ESPN HD is coming at the end of March, and InDemand will start offering HD PPV in the spring. ABC/CBS/NBC/HBO/SHO all up and running

I was starting to look into antennae, DirectTV, etc., but I'm glad I waited. It was about 10 minutes to install (all with my own hands - the installed said it was the easiest one he ever did) and perfect signal on all channels. I got 5.1 on CBS's NCAA games today, so I'm looking forward to live 5.1 HD at the Grammys tomorrow.

Does anyone know of an ISF tech in the area that can do high-end calibrations?

Rich, check out The Home Theatre Spot There is a guy in the Toshiba forum named Eliab that travels around and does this. He did mine last year and it made a huge difference in it. You don't say what type of set you have but there are others that do the Mits. etc.

Only one I'm sure of for sure is in Boardman/Youngstown in my area. Don't know if that helps at all but I thought I'd throw it out there. The store is caled "The Sound Shop". Real nice couple of guys work there. Really know their stuff as well.

Anyone watching JAG tonight? Lots of pixelation and dropouts, and even a couple of solid green screens. It seems that we only have problems when sound is in DD2.0 mode... the 5.1 and video on Sunday were perfect. Also last night's shows were perfect because the sound was in 5.1 mode (but spread to all channels).

agtiny,

You're not the only one. Many green screens, pixelation and audio dropouts. I guess after the Grammy's we got a little spoiled.

Same here . At least Mac still looks good!!

BigG - thanks for the reply. I'm a semi-regular at the Spot - that's actually how I found out about this place.

I have a Sony 57HW40. If anyone else has a Sony and is interested in a calibration let me know - I'm keeping my eyes out and offering up a handful of jobs may convince someone to take a tour through the 'Burgh

Can you tell us any more? Does anyone here know what Comcast's typical HD package consists of and costs? It'd be great if we could get Discovery HD and ESPN-HD in time for football season.


Dan

That's all I know & I really don't even know that.

That's okay, a little unofficial word is better than nothing : )

By the way, I looked up the Mototorola 5000 series boxes that Comcast uses, and not only do both the 5100 and 5200 have firewire ports on them, the PDF for the 5200 model specifically states that the unit is a PVR and the firewire link is for adding hard drive storage (meaning you can probably dump your PVR HD's contents to a computer hard drive or DVHS deck. Cool stuff.

Let's hope Comcast comes through for us, and soon. I can't imagine an area much worse for terrestrial reception than our city, given the odd and dispersed locations of our antennas, the weak power of WTAE, WPGH, and WNPA, and all the hills and other obstructions around here. Pittsburgh desparately needs cable HD.


Dan

Can anyone tell me if I can get Armstrong to just give me HD channels and not have to subscribe to basic cable?

I want to can everything and just keep HD, I heard there was an FCC law I could quote.

Thanks,

Doug

Here's an article about the law.

And here's the law.

I see the following:

"A cable operator may not require the subscription to any tier
other than the basic service tier required by paragraph (7) as
a condition of access to video programming offered on a per
channel or per program basis. A cable operator may not
discriminate between subscribers to the basic service tier and
other subscribers with regard to the rates charged for video
programming offered on a per channel or per program basis."

It doesn't say you don't have to subscribe to basic cable, it says you can't be required to subscribe to any tier *other than* basic cable. You still need the base package.

Second, HD is not offered on a "per-channel or per-program basis" - it's a package of channels/services. My read is that you cannot make an enhanced tier of service a requirement to get HBO/SHO/PPV/etc. I don't see it applying to HD at Armstrong.

I'd love to get basic cable, Speed, and HD only, but I don't think its' required by this law.

It never hurts to try though - let us know what you find.

Thanks guys. I'll call tomorrow and see what I can do!

I know DirecTV is not affected by this law but I wonder if this means that their pricing of premium services at increasingly lower rates the more you have, would be against it. i.e. your first premium is $12, the 2nd one is $10, then $8, etc. Interesting...