Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD - HDTV - Page 58  

The fact that you seem to have a preexisting antenna on a rotor with no means to control directionality makes me think your inability to get DTV is based on:

- antenna pointed in the wrong direction
- faulty antenna connection
- old, corroded antenna, cabling or parts.

The right antenna, placed on the right spot above your roof line, new cabling and with a functioning rotor should help you 100%.

Don't assume that the antenna system that conveyed with your home is correctly specified, situated, installed, wired or at all functional for that matter.

I did climb on the roof and adjust it toward DC - the area that seemed to bring in the best signal (even though Richmond is closer). I am confident that it is facing the correct direction. It does pick up the 30-1 mHz HD channel, but only at about 36 strength.

I could try connecting the antenna DIRECTLY to the rcvr instead of the interior cable system.

That would be a good test of your distribution system. It essential to check everything suggested by sasha as well. Who knows what quality of connections are used on the old antenna.

Thanks to this thread and AVS main thread about HDTV in Washington DC Metro area. I got an antenna installed by Fairfax Antenna to receive HDTV OTA programs in addition the dish network package I already have. Their installed was very professional and very helpful. He spent almost half the day installing it right so I get max. signal for all channels available. I got hardware with booster and intallation from them and I alread feel I got the money's worth watching HIGH quality picture.

The quality of picture is amazing. I can't believe I missed out HDTV this long!

Lansdowne on the Potomac has fibre into the house like Brambleton. does anyone know what this costs or what is offered as far as HDTV is concerned?

Dick

I'm not sure about cost, but you can check the channel lineup here

They do include HD locals for NBC, FOX, ABC, CBS and WB at no extra charge. Also, one analog (POTS) phone line is included in the HOA fee with Lansdowne, something that Brambleton charges extra for.

I asked this same basic question some time ago, to wit:

-----Original Message-----
From: Sasha Jevtich
Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 2:31 PM
To: jbrabham@openband.net
Cc: support@openband.net
Subject: OpenBand support for ATSC standards

Hello,

My wife and I recently were looking at model homes in Lansdowne and I have a question regarding the Smart Neighborhood digital TV service that local reps could not answer on site.

In our current home in Cascades, VA we have been enjoying local DTV and HDTV broadcasts via our roof-mount over-the-air (OTA) antenna and HD-grade TV set for 2 years now. This system works quite well and is based on the ATSC 8-VSB terrestrial broadcast standard. Cable systems, at least the handful that currently offer HD at all, tend to use the 64-QAM or 256-QAM standards.

My question for OpenBand is what support, if any, is currently offered to enable pass-thru of local broadcasters DTV and HDTV offerings? And if no support is currently offered, what specific plans does OpenBand have for the future to enable HDTV to the home via fiber in the communities it serves?

sj

-----Original Message-----
From: Max Kipfer [mailto:MKipfer@openband.net]
Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2003 9:56 AM
To: [email]sasha
Cc: jwu@mcdean.com; Laurie Shultz
Subject: Re: OpenBand support for ATSC standards


Mr. Jevtich:

Thank you for your email inquiry.
We are currently developing a plan for incorporate HDTV offerings into the OpenBand network. I have forwarded your request for information to Mr. Jun Wu, OpenBand Vice President of Operations & Enginieering for a direct reply.

I am sure you will hear from Jun shortly. If I can be of more assistance please contact me.

Max Kipfer
OpenBand
703.961.5444

-----Original Message-----
From: jwu@mcdean.com [mailto:jwu@mcdean.com]
Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2003 2:20 PM
To: MKipfer@openband.net
Cc: Laurie Shultz; [email]sasha
Subject: Re: OpenBand support for ATSC standards



Sasha, I also live in Cascades and saw your frequent articles on HDTV and I just installed Terk TV55 and Samsung SIR-T151 myself.

We are actively looking at two options on carrying off air HDTV broadcast channels on our channel lineup in Lansdowne. I am sure you are aware of the two options. One of them is to carry them strictly as analog pass through and keep the orignal ATSC encoding. Another one is to decode them into MPEG-2 streams and then carry them on our digital tier. We do have an anolog tier (73 channels) that we offer to our residents and we could carry all of the off air HDTV channels on this tier (pending reception quality).

We haven't decided if we are going to run both options or one of them but we are very actively working on offering HDTV content to the community that we serve. There are also work required to test and provide this service. You are welcome to check back for latest status.

Thanks.

Jun

Dont they charge by the hour? :rolleyes:

I'm looking for someone good to do a D* install and put up an antenna are these guys the ones I should go to? I live in Falls Church VA...

I highly recommend Fairfax antenna also. They did my D* HDTV install. I had two other companies fail because they said a tree was in the way, so I gave up. Several months later Fairfax came out and said the tree is not in the way and promptly got me a signal. I should of called them first.

Kits, What stations are you picking up? DC, Baltimore, PBS 22 stations? I am thinking of having Fairfax install me an outdoor OTA antenna system to replace my indoor antenna. I want all local stations

Actually they charge by the job. I think I pad $275 for my OTA antenna, install, wire to the AV closet, stand around and make sure I get all the channels, and a fancy meter to point the antenna to the exact right place - smack into a neighbors tree. LOL but true.

They also do DirecTV installs.

E. J.

(just a happy customer - its rare in this business to be as happy with a supplier or contractor as I am with them.)

I live in Broadlands @ Southern Walk which is on the same network as Landsdowne (VanMetre neighborhood). Openband is not that impressive. Phone and cable come in on copper (which may be different from Brambleton). Internet comes in on the fiber and its the best part of the deal (the phone works, big woop). The cable sucks. No HD in the plan and the worst cable boxes. Its repackaged DirectTV (they get the dish so you don't). I tried to call DirectTV and get HD and they told me that I couldn't b/c it was being provided to me ... w/o the HD of course. I got a new OTA receiver and will wait them out. I called them and they never even bothered to call me back.

I do like the community.
Later, Chad

Hi Chad,

Actually, while both Landsdowne and Broadlands @ Southern Walk are "Smart Communities" with Fiber to Home service serviced by OpenBand, the network is different for each community. Landsdowne has a few HD channels in the mix and apparently, your community does not.

I'm also surprised by your statement that Phone and cable come in on copper. Are you sure?

I know that for Landsdowne, a single fiber to the home provides POTS, CATV, IP and optional home security monitoring. No copper is used there.

I have fiber, but its only connected to a 100FX converter which is connected to a 16 port switch (internet connection). I'm Positive.

Our connections come out of Landsdowne as we have nothing but a local over here.

btw - are they integrating some OTA in Landsdowne? How long have they been doing this. I read you post from Jun Wu but that was like a year ago.

Also, are you currently having issues w/ OTA? I dumped my old D* box (Hughes) and got a new LG unit w/ DVI (just got it today) and I can't lock on to anything. I have the same attic mounted CM that I used prior, but I'm thinking this ice storm may have something to do with it (and my CM is in the attic). Thanks, Chad

btw - are they integrating some OTA in Landsdowne?
-----------
If you mean OTA DTV and HDTV, yes they add it to their signal plant...see my earlier post for the full channel list, it's different than yours...

How long have they been doing this.
-----------
Not sure, but fairly soon after my initial inquirey.

I read you post from Jun Wu but that was like a year ago.
-----------
Yes, that email exchange lit a fire for OpenBand to provide HD at Lansdowne. I would suggest you do the same for Broadlands. Go straight to the top, bypass all the CSR's.

Personally, if I was paying the kind of HOA fees you pay, I'd expect a FULL complement of HD signals in my HOA's CATV FTTH system. Ruffle some feathers @ OB and see what shakes out....

No issues here with my roof mount CM 4228. Or either of my 2 other roof mount OTA antennas...

I'm currently recording Line Of Fire from WMAR-DT with indicated 87% signal strength on MyHD 120.

Last night I thought that I would try this again. Since my antenna is facing as close to DC's stations as I could get it, I decided to take your advice and try hooking the antenna directly to the rcvr, by passing the home's interior cable system. As luck would have it all of the antenna signals did come in slightly stronger. I then had my Samsung rcvr scan for all of the channels it could find via the antenna with only one digital channel being recognized.

Finally, I took an amplifier, hooked the antenna to it and ran a line from the amp to the rcvr, then ran the scan again. This time nearly every digital channel I would expect to have rcvd came through like a champ. I did note that while watching 24 (a great show even better in HDTV) on WTTG-DT last night quite a bit of pixelization - but I guess that it to be expected.

Thanks to all for the help in troubleshooting my system. I would like to fine tune it for better reception - but I will have to wait till all the white stuff stops falling.

One thing I have noticed on the network's digital channels is the smaller screen size left to right (up and down goes the length of my wide screen). I noticed the last nights "8 Simple Rules" was being broadcast in HD - but the screen size was still small. Not sure why - but I am new to this HD stuff anyway. Some info on this as well as 1080i and 780 differences (I see that talked about alot on these forums). I also read someone saying where Fox was not "really" HD. Not sure what that means either.

Again, thanks to all for the help as well as any further suggestions/answers you might have.

Alright - Here's the deal with OpenBand and Lansdowne... (I've lived here for almost two years and am on the community technology committee which interfaces with Openband on lots of matters)

Our POTS and cable networks do in fact use copper to run from the local fiber boxes to each house. Copper is only used in this portion of the network, but it is used.

Regarding HD programming, content, etc.... We (the tech committee) have been working with OpenBand for over a year to provide HD content in some flavor. What ended up happening was a complete headend and STB swapout from older Motorola technology to new SA equipment. Currently, they run the 3250HD, 2200 and 8000 DVR. 8000HD will be available within the month. 3250 is an extra $5-9/month, depending on the number of boxes. Simultaneously, OpenBand installed two OTA antennas on our community center roof and modulates those signals into QAM on channels 401-405 (nbc, fax, abc, wb). Signal quality is as good as OTA, however, WRC-DT is not as high quality as a perfectly aimed antenna (some minor pixelation/drops). WETA needs another antenna and hopefully will be added soon.

Regarding general content: Right now, OpenBand utilizes only a single Ku band dish (small) to receive content from their provider. Right now, this provider is also a provider for D* and some E*. Due to these limitations, they cannot offer an additional HD content at this time. It just isn't available to them. This spring, they are installing a large (9 meter) Simulsat dish which will enable tracking of 17 satellites simultaneously. Hopefully, this will enable them to drastically increase channel offerings, both HD and non HD.

Unfortunately, customer service and the openband experience have been difficult at times. However, this has been improving and OpenBand is conscious of their image. Of our monthly HOA fee, Openband receives ~$152/month for high speed fiber Internet access, digital cable (136 channels) , and telephone service.

To answer your second question first, Fox doesn't do HD at this time -- what they broadcast is ED (Enhanced Definition) which is 16:9 480p, or the same as a progressive scan DVD. They're supposed to be going to HD later this year, when they'll be broadcasting in 720p.

WTTG-DTs signal has been fairly weak lately. All the other DC digital stations (other than WDCA-DT, of course) peg my E86's signal meter at 100. WTTG's has been in the 60-70 range all along, and recently it's been hanging around in the 50-60 range, with occasional dips into the 40s, only 8 miles from the tower. Don't know if they're having antenna problems or transmitter problems, though.

Rob,

Do you know if direct TV will still sell you service if you live in Lansdowne? I can't face life without my directTV TiVos or HBO/SHO HD.;)

Sorry Dick - no can do. The current content is really just packaged for DirecTV, not owned by DirecTV. None of the D* exclusive content (e.g., Sunday ticket, etc.) is available to anyone who isn't a D* subscriber. You could, of course, install a dish and order D* on top of what you are already paying. Some people have done this. It is really about whether you can justify paying for two providers, even though one is included in your monthly HOA fee.

Rob,

Thanks for the info. I assume from your post you have no choice to decline some of the openband features? You pay for them whether or not you use them? What is the total HOA?

I live in a neighborhood with no HOA right now and am thinking of moving out to Louden.

Dick

Dick - you can't opt out of the basic Openband offerings. There are additional features you can add, though (caller id, static IP address, premium channels, etc.) Total HOA is $274 includes community center and activities (two pools, ampitheater, etc.), snow and trash removal. It is a very clos-knit and friendly community with lots of young childer (we have two under two ourselves :-). So far we have really enjoyed living here. Between townhomes and single family homes, prices range from $400k-1.5 million). Good luck in your search.

I got roof top antenna with booster installed by Fairfax antenna and I seem to get all local channels except Paramount (signal strength is less than 50%). WETA looks stunning but the signal strenght varies from 50s to 75% and has frequent dropouts almost every other minute or so at times which last seconds but I am worried this will mess my TV speakers as it produces some kind of high frequency statis sound when that drop out happens.

Do you think I should call the antenna company and ask them to adjust the antenna so I get WETA well or do I live too far to get it any better? I thought the booster would help!

Are you in Sterling or Laurel?

I am in Sterling and until last year had issues with WETA-DT, just as you described random drop outs, extremely annoying.

I solved my problem by:

- Upgrading from a MyHD 100 to a MyHD 120 (better tuner)
- Adding a CM 4228 on a rotor to my roof mount antenna collection

Note that WETA DT uses a different compass headings than the rest of the DC stations. And you probably won't use the exact "correct" heading anyway, as a little experimentation with off-axis positioning payed off for me as my WETA-DT problems are gone.

For me, it was worth the trouble and added expense. Even though WETA-DT constantly repeats programming, I still get 2-6 "keeper" recordings each month, mainly Soundstage and Nature shows, all stunning. I keep the WETA-DT Program Guide handy in my IE links bar and tend to check it every day.

I just got an email from Jun Wu and he said that the letter to Broadlands will be out by the end of the month on construction plans to be completed by early summer. They are doing the same that Landsdowne is doing, its just taking time to get to us w/ the Landsdowne role out being first. I'm getting everything OTA w/ and attic mount, so I'm content.

I live in Broadlands at Southern Walk (another Van Metre/Open band community) and the HOA is $202 for ours services (includes openband, 3 pools w/ 50m olympic, community center, nature center, snow, trash, etc).

btw - is any of you locals constructing a dedicated HT or have one completed? I'm in the paint/carpet stages myself.

pauleyc,

I've got a 22x12.5x7.5 HT almost done. Been doing the whole basement for the last year. We are finishing up the painting and the carpet goes in tomorrow. I've got some early construction pics in my gallery. I'll be updating my pics after the Super Bowl.

Bill and pauleyc,

Did you do the work yourself or did you hire a contractor (or both)? I'm thinking of tackling my basement this year but am loathe to spend the $35,000-$50,000 it would cost to hire someone for the job. And if you have any recommendations for contractors/trades in our area I'd be grateful!

pauleyc:

Do you also post in the Broadlands HOA Forum? I cut/paste the above info from the Lansdowne post (thanx rclark41), but I really think the Openband Forum on the Broadlands HOA page would like some input from your discussions with Jun Wu. There is a mutiny going on against OpenBand.

Scott:
I built a dedicated room for my theater (fpj, screen, ota hdtv, dvd, etc), in my basement approx 22x16, although I did not go a "true theater style seating" route. Did the work myself though! I'm in Broadlands North, if you want to learn from my mistakes.

I'd love to hear details on this.......

Just ordered HD PVR from COMCAST in Montgomery County - Hope the new box is also better with analog channels; will see on Friday.