Albany, NY - HDTV - Page 5

Tweeters (where I bought my Mits 65411) in Crossgates Commons...walking distance from CC..... have some DLP's on display.

Promising technology....but as some way to go yet.

Hippos at Stuyvesent plaza has a bunch of HD displays for sale as well. The nice thing about that store is almost all of them are set up in mini living rooms with TWC-HD being fed into them so you can really see the visual qualities of the displays. If anything, I would recommend taking a look around for visual comparisons.

Actually I am looking for a new television as well..

I already have a front projector for dvd's and those special HDTV sports/ specials etc, the size issue is taken care of here.....

I need a smaller display that will accomadate my digital needs for normal (primetime,stupid tv stuff) HD/SD broadcasts.

I been leaning towards this unit.. from everything I have read, great picture for budget digital display.. widescreen direct views are another option if price matters..

Sears at Colonie Center deserves a shout.. calibrated displays, correct aspect ratio's and a good place to shop for the smaller budget.. Hippo's and Tweeters don't have the quantity, but they have quality.. that 53" Pioneer Elite at Hippo's is one of my favorites!!

a buddy of mine just purchased the monovision 32 inch that there is a powerbuy for here and loves it. and its 250 less then the one you linked

Buy local.....no thanks!!

When I started building my Home Theater System last year I did walk into Hippo's to take a look at Klipsch Reference Speakers I wanted....and they gave me a quote so high I walked out of there and never looked back.

All the local stores here (Tweeters, CC, Best Buy, etc.) are such rip offs. I bought every component of my home theater system online....saving close to 40%-50%. I bought my Mits 65411 from Tweeter only because I new somebody and with such a big item it's better to buy local (shipping cost, Service, etc.).

Here's a perfect example....


Yamaha RXZ1:

$2799.99 (Tweeters) $3023.98 (Total with 8% sales tax)
$1899.95 (Crazy Eddie) Not to mention tax free (NJ)....which more than covers shipping costs. Over a $1000 difference!!!

http://www.tweeter.com/product/index...entPage=family

http://store.yahoo.com/crazyeddieonl...rxnatsoun.html


The whole "authorized dealership" thing is a bunch of garbage. The manufactures warranty is still good and since I bought everything with a Platinum Credit Card the warranties are extended to twice the amount of time as the original...so if the manufactures warranty is for 1 year Parts and labor you get 2 years parts and labor.

I buy almost anything and everything online (since 1999) and never had a problem (I even bought all of my Klipsch speakers from Crazy Eddie and got them delivered via UPS). I'll do my research.....take a look at it in a store locally then go to a site such as...
http://shopping.yahoo.com/ put in the product name and model and see what comes up. Sort by price and you will be amazed!

I'm planning on doing some experimenting tomorrow with OTA HDTV reception (trying to decide if I can get a signal where I live) and I was wondering if WNYT is back broadcasting. Last I heard they had some microwave problem and I haven't seen a post indicating it was fixed.

Thanks

I love hippos, put a lot of money through them over the years I've lived in the capital region (since starting RPI in 97). However, they are pretty much out of the crt rptv business and are down to special orders. I decided to go with Tweeter, becuase I could shop visually there. I don't like the idea about 'using' a store by shoopping there to go buy somewhere else. I also am happy with Tweeter's support as they are replacing my tv after the first month and have been very good to deal with.

Joe

I think we've hijacked this thread but I can't resist adding my 2 cents. I bought my Yammy RXV1400 at Tweeter's in September. A week later, it was on sale at 10% off. With trepidation (I'm a former Best Buy customer!) I went to Tweeter's to get the difference refunded. You know what? They did it, WITH a smile, WITHOUT hassles, and wished me a nice day!

Circuit City gets my business too these days for DVDs and CDs (when it's not Wal Mart). Best Buy can bite me! Check out www.bestbuysux.org

It looks like we (us subscribers) need to start harassing TWC. I e-mailed WNYT..........Looks like a complete stalemate!


-----Original Message-----
From: John Luft [mailto:jlworld@nycap.rr.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2003 9:36 PM
To: rklein@wnyt.com; sbaboulis@wnyt.com
Subject: Digital signal and Time Warner Cable

Hello,

I was wondering when you would have a deal in place with Time Warner Cable to feed your new digital signal to them.

If you do have a deal with them already.....when do you think we will see the new channel on TWC?

Thanks,

John Luft
Albany, NY


----- Original Message -----
From: Steve Baboulis
To: 'John Luft'
Cc: Laura Sousa
Sent: Friday, November 07, 2003 12:10 PM
Subject: RE: Digital signal and Time Warner Cable


Dear John,
Thank you for your e-mail. As you may know, our new digital signal is available over the air, as of mid-October. Unfortunately, there is currently no deal with Time-Warner for the retransmission of our digital signal on their cable system.
It is our expectation, as the provider of the signal, that the ENTIRE signal should be aired as we have sent it out. Time Warner, along with other cable providers, wishes to reserve the right to "modify" our signal, if they so choose. For instance, if WNYT broadcasts a full high-definition signal, then the cable companies say they'd have no problem sending out the full signal to all of their subscribers. However, if WNYT provided a split digital signal, perhaps including a 24 hour news or weather service, a home shopping channel, etc., then the cable operators insist on reserving the right to "strip out" any channels they wish (perhaps the ones they view as competitors to their own services). There are some other issues, but this is the main area of disagreement.
It is my hope that as more consumers buy digital tv's, they will demand of their cable operators full carriage of the local broadcasters' ENTIRE digital signal. Until then, our signal will be available by using an over-the-air antenna.
Thank you for taking the time to write.

Steve Baboulis-VP/GM
WNYT-TV

Thanks Ken..

I have been considering that unit as well, It seems owners either "love it"or "hate it".. I'll have to do a little more research on the Monovision and see if it's for me.. I won't be making the purchase until the end of the holiday season so I'll have plenty of time to read up on it..

I'm in the same boat too BreakStuff
will not m\\be in the market till 04

I just had an interesting conversation with a TWC sales rep that may relate to some of the previous posts on TWC carrying the locals. I called up and explained that I wanted the "broadcast basic" HD channels for three TVs and what would it cost. I expected them to say that I would have to get all the digital cable channels etc, and pay significant $$$ at which point I'd go out and buy an antenna and OTA STB instead. After some time on their end they came back and said it would be less than $30 (I also have road runner but I'm assuming that isn't related). This includes the basic HDTV channels but no HBO HD or Showtime HD. Considering that includes the rental of three HD STBs I thought the price was reasonable. I'm going to pick up the STBs tomorrow night so I'll see if it all works out.

Ken, definately let us know how you make out on a couple of fronts. What channels are included in "broadcast basic" HD? I didn't realize you could get the "broadcast basic" package with the high def channels without digital cable. Secondly, did they lead you to belive that you would get channels 6, 10, and 13 in HD with that package, since; I'm sure you know, they are only presently retransmitting channel 10.

Lastly, will that package include Discovery HD, and INHD1 and INHD2?

I'll find out more hopefully tonight when I connect the STBs but the rep said it would include the locals that TWC is carrying plus Discovery HD, INHD, and INHD2. They said it would not include the standard def digital channels. I'm hoping that there will not be too many hiccups (beyond what is currently going on) with TWC carrying the other locals in HD when they go live OTA.

How did you make out on this?

I picked up the three HD STBs and all three seem to work fine without any issues. As a nice bonus the SA3250HD STB seems to have optical audio outputs where most the specs I've seen indicated it didn't. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view) my channel selection is not what I had expected. Specifically I am receiving more channels than I expected. I receive the broadcast basic analog channels and the basic HDTV channels (which I expected) I am also receiving the premium HDTV channels (HBO/Showtime) plus I think most of the digital channels (For example Disney west comes in but not Disney east, maybe one is analog and the other digital???). I'm pretty sure that I am not receiving any of the premium analog channels (such as scifi, comedy central, etc) So I'm not sure what the deal is. It could be a temporary program glitch or it could simply be that they don't have a category for broadcast basic HDTV so they stuffed me into the closest thing they currently had. I am also curious if the cable TV portion of my bill will be under $30 as promised. But so far I'm certainly satisfied and wowed by TWCs responsiveness ...

Ken,

Is CBS on yet on TW or is ABC still the only local that is on?

Still only ABC. Channel 1806 still shows the waiting for the network to provide the signal message.

Hmmm, well after quiet a bit of talking to customer service reps at TWC I think I know a bit more about the situation for broadcast basic HDTV. After being told on two different occasions (and doing all the work to hookup three STBs to three AV setups) that I would receive DiscoveryHD, INHD, and INHD2, I have now been told that they are not included with the broadcast basic package. Currently the only channel available is 1810.

They did tell me that the agreement with WRGB has been signed and they are just waiting for the signal. When I pressed this point with the reps supervisor he backed off and indicated that he wasn't sure if the agreement has been signed or not. My guess is that the agreement has not been signed but they are telling people it has... I'm curious if anyone else has more solid information.

So at the end of the day 1810 is the only channel available with broadcast basic and hdtv. I've gone from being shocked at TWC's helpfulness to a bit upset with the incorrect information I was repeatedly provided (to give them credit at least they did make an effort, I'm still surprised they have a broadcast basic HDTV option at all). Given that I can get more local HDTV over the air that with TWC I'll ditch TWC and pick up a HD Tuner. It is a shame they do not include any extra HD with the broadcast basic. With some minimal added value I can see broadcast-basic people like me sticking with cable instead of going to OTA (or OTA + sat)

Also a quick update on WTEN OTA. They indicate they will be broadcasting OTA early December. Still awaiting FCC approval. Equipment installation is 95% completed.

Any news on how WRGB is doing on their move to the new tower. I know they are broadcasting, but I am about 50 miles away in Kingston and not able to receive their low power signal......

This explains some things....Looks like I'll be dropping cable soon and going with Direct TV. I had it with TWC!!

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=327373

That sucks, cause the Victoria's Secret fashion show is scheduled to be on CBS tomorrow in HD, and with the WRGB's low power transmitter I can't get OTA, and with TWC still working on an agreement, it doesn't look like I'll be able to watch .