Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD - HDTV - Page 59  

For Comcast Montgomery, its a 6208, not a 6408. I too got the message on my cable box, and called them to sign up, but declined to get it when I found it was a single-tuner unit. Given the 620x's DVR UI deficiencies (vs the TiVo that I use now - no Season Pass?) and the small capacity for HD (yeah, records HD...but only 7 hours?), its not worth the upgrade (for me, at least). I'd rather keep watching live HD content and TiVo the rest.

If it had a dual-tuner and perhaps more details on how to add external (firewire) recording capacity, it might have worked....but for now, I'd rather wait (and pay more for) the D* HD TiVo....

I will take you up on that... expect a PM from me in the months ahead!

WRC OTA DT went dead on me at 10PM sharp. Had to tune in Baltimore to get Law and Order on tape for the wife.

I get a blank page. The javascript to redirect is no good.

-Chris

I have decided to put up an outdoor antenna. I have contacted the management company of our homeowners’ association and they are familiar with the FCC regulations. They have asked that I still submit a request for architectural approval which I have done and I anticipate that it will be approved.

I live in Pikesville and am only 3.7 miles from Television Hill in Baltimore which is at 165 degrees. The D.C. stations are 227 degrees and 37 miles away. MPT is 26 miles away and 182 degrees.

Right now, I get all Baltimore channels and 4, 5, and 9 out of D.C. with a Radio Shack double bowtie and RS 15-1171 amplifier. My problem is that the D.C. stations and MPT suffer from dropouts, WMPB (Owings Mills) suffers from multipath, and that I record to my computer with
firebus software using my TV’s less sensitive tuner (Mitsubishi 55909) which struggles with even some of the Baltimore locals (including 45) and cannot get D.C. other than channel 9.

I am using a professional installer since I don’t want to do it myself. They use Channel Master. My options are as follows:

1. Install a CM 4221a without a rotor.

2. Install a CM 4228a without a rotor.

3. Install a CM 4221a with a rotor.

I do live in a townhouse and would be inclined to use the smaller antenna. The big issue is whether I need a rotor. If I point to D.C., I do not want to lose the less strong Baltimore channels (45 which is going HD this fall and 54 which will eventually go HD). Channel 24 (UPN) is at
224 degrees lined up with the D.C. stations.

WMPB is at 321 degrees, but I am not worried about this station since it is another PBS affiliate and is only 6.9 miles away so I think I will get it without a rotor.

My plan would be to split the signal right before the Directv box and TV with a low loss splitter and to use the amplifier right before the split to minimize any loss if I need to.

Thanks!

Scott

"Did they tell you the pricing?"

I believe the price for Montgomery County, MD is $7.50 above the price of the HDTV (5100) box. The 5100 box is $5.00 and the new recording box is $12.50.

Better would be the 4228 WITH a rotor! Either way get a ROTOR.

Most good UHF antennas are really directional. Thus the only way to get the best reception with different headings is to get a rotor.

I just jumped into the HDTV world with both feet. I'd been waiting for the HD TiVo (which I've pre-ordered from Value Electronics) but I took the $99 DirecTV deal and got my Phase-III dish and Samsung TS-160 receiver installed. For an OTA antenna, I got the installation done by the guys at Fairfax Antenna. Can't say enough nice things about them. They not only installed the antenna but I paid them a bit extra to clean up some of the wiring run disasters left by the D* guy. I live in Bristow (just past Gainesville/Manassas) and I think I'm getting a great signal. They installed a CM 4221 antenna with no pre-amp. Right now, this is what I'm getting:


Chan Callsign Net Signal Strength
4-1 WRC-DT NBC 93%
5-1 WTTG-DT FOX 69% (Burst to 93%)
7-1 WJLA-DT ABC 100%
7-2 " " "
9-1 WUSA-DT CBS 100%
20-1 WDCA-DT UPN 0% (will they ever broadcast at decent power?)
26-1 WETA-DT PBS 77%
26-2 " " "
26-3 " " "
26-4 " " "
50-1 WBDC-DT WB 69% (Infrequent drops to 45%)
50-2 " " "
57-1 MHz IND 69%
57-2 " " "
57-3 " " "
57-4 " " "
66-1 WDXW-DT PAX 100%
66-2 " " "
66-3 " " "
66-4 " " "
66-5 " " "
66-6 " " "


I can't say enough about the guys at Fairfax , great pre-sales info, good policies regarding coming back if you need to swap antennas or add a pre-amp within the first 6-months, and some of the best installation techs I've ever dealt with (timely, courteous, and knowledgeable). I really recommend giving these guys a call if you're looking at installing an antenna.

EDIT: Corrected CM part number.

The CM 4228 with a rotor is my main go-to antenna. It rocks! I couldn't recommend this combo more.

Thanks for the tips! A rotor for sure and have to decide between the two CM antennas.

Scott

Here is what I posted on the Broadlands Forum;

So here is what I know about HD and Broadlands. I wrote an email to Jun Wu who is Vice President of Operations & Engineering at Openband (I think). My first email was sort of negative outlining my diappointment w/ my high tech home not being provided "high tech" services. I keyed on the cable b/c the other services are adequate for my use. My first reply asking when we would get HD got a different result than I expected. See below;

"...Chad, we will send out a communication to Broadlands residents shortly
with a detailed status of progress (in a couple days I think). The
project is still progressing. Lansdowne has HD today and we are
extending this to Broadlands. This is currently projected to complete
this Summer (county permits, construction etc)..."

Nice enough, but they have made promises before. I asked specifically about what would be provided and when and got this response.

"...Right now, Lansdowne has NBC/FOX/ABC/CBS/WB50. Sometime in Spring,
probably April/May, we will be able to add HBO HD, Showtime HD, ESPN HD
and Discovery HD.

The OTA HD channels are free today, as well as the HBO/Showtime HDs as
long as people purchase HBO and Showtime packages today. ESPN/Discovery
HD will incur additional fees.

All HD channels (OTA included) are sent to the cable QAM modulated. But
I am not sure if the LG unit can pick it up. The headend demodulates the
OTA 8VSB modulation and re-modulates to QAM for transmitting onto the
cable system. People in Lansdowne lease the HD set top from us. They are
manufactured by Scientific Atlanta for cable providers..."

So it appears to be coming even w/ the addition of ESPN HD, Discovery, HBO HD, and SHowtime HD (my guess is we will be getting them all at once). At first they were just putting up an OTA connection to service the locals (probably to prevent people from putting up antennas). Now they are going further. MY understanding is that they are going to put up a new 9meter dish that will give them the bandwidth to add even more programing (including the above HD). I'm guessing that HD will come w/ the new STB's. They have been saying that they are going to replace these Motorola units for some time.

On the STB issue - They are renting HD boxes to their customers for $6-7/month which is a good deal. At this rate, I would rather rent than buy. I currently have 3hd tv's including a front projection system and spending $1500 for boxes would bite. I currently have the new LG3510a which has and HD receiver w/ a dvd built in and will scale dvd to 720p/1080i. This unit does QAM as long as it is not scrambled, so it will still work w/ the new system. I'm getting HD OTA w/ and attic mounted antenna, so I'm content for now. I look forward to getting HD through one jack though.

Also, on the stb issue, I understand that they may be adding and 8000HD which is a HD DVR (not Tivo, but better than a vcr). I'm sure this will be a little more per month, but even if it is $20/month, buying your own at the current street price of almost $1k, it would take you over 4 yrs to pay it off. At that point technology will have made these early units obsolete anyways.

That's what I got. Still just a bunch of promises, but we will see. I'm surprised that Openband does not monitor these forums to help to spread the word. If I get HD from Openband (even just OTA), I will be happy enough.

--chad

If you look back at the long, long history of this thread you will see literally dozens of satisfied Fairfax Antenna customers. If I ever give up on my community's cable system and decide to go satellite/OTA, they will definitely be getting my business.

Speaking of Fairfax Antenna - I had an 8ft Winegard UHF installed by them and when I live futher out and my reception was 100% across the board w/ my Hughes E86 (now sold). I have since moved to Ashburn and use a CM4221 b/c the WG was just too directional (and big).

If anyone needs an antenna and is further outside the area, PM me and we can work out a good deal ;) I paid like $120 originally.

Yes, those posts along with some PMs from others in the area led me to them. I figured these forums often enough are filled with horror stories for various vendors and services, I should at least do them the favor of posting a review when I had such a positive experience.

Thought I'd post about other area Loudoun community woes just so the previous posters don't feel alone.

Here at Belmont Country Club, our basic cable package (which you cannot opt-out of) has mono sound -- yes, in 2004, mono sound. You have to upgrade to digital (and more $$ plus a per-box charge) to get stereo. Also, they have been promising HDTV for over a year now, with zero results.

I gave up a year ago and went the antenna/DirecTV route and couldn't be happier, but I'm paying two service bills. It's worth the extra money, though, to get exactly what I want and reduced blood pressure.

Landsdowne isn't alone, I'm afraid. Builders out this way promise the moon and deliver a magazine cutout of a picture of the moon. I hope it's not a sign of further things to come.

--Mike

Is Belmont Country Club a FTTH community? Who is providing service? Thanks, I'm trying to keep a mental log....

Here's a weird one. South Riding/Adelphia has free 'basic' cable as part of of the original HOA agreement. It turns out that it now has free WRC/4 and WUSA/9 HD as part of this. WTF? How would this work? No boxes?! Of course, these are called 'Broadcast HD' not 'Broadcast Basic', which probably means you need a box... :( )

Belmont CC is a Toll Brothers community, cable/internet provided by Advanced Broadband, a subsidiary of Toll. That's why they have zero incentive to improve their service. Sigh. I've got many more rants about AB and Toll, but they're probably off-topic.

--Mike

Scott,

I hired my brother-in-law and his crew to do the framing and the dry wall. Had a plumber come in to move the water heater. Electrician to put in a sub panel. My wife and I did most of the rest with my brother-in-law jumping in here and there. Got the carpet put in today. What a difference that is!

I'd strongly recommend my brother-in-law, but he sold his business and moved to Kitty Hawk.

I'd be more than glad to talk any specifics and show you what we've been up to.

p.s. I'm another satisfied Fairfax Antenna customer from 2 years ago.

Anybody in the Baltimore area getting CBSHD on channel 80 or 81 on Directv? I am at work so I can't check it. Thanks

The CBS locals are up on Directv! Of course I can't actually see them because WUSA is not an O & O.......:(

Baltimore update:

We do need a waiver from D.C. 9. I spoke with special projects at D* and they will request the waiver. Takes 40 days.

Scott

Thanks Scott and Cyclone. I had my wife check and they are not on. The whole x721 crap. The ota antenna work good though!

I have the Scientific Atlanta HD box in Howard County. I have audio hooked up to my receiver via the digital coax audio output. For all digital and HD channels, the sound is fine, but I get no audio at all for any analog channels.

This worked fine for me when I was in Baltimore county with the Motorola box. Is there some setting I'm missing? I really hope that i don't have to also run the analog sound outputs to my receiver and switch the sound inputs between analog and digital channel changes....

Please help!

Thanks,
Paul

Re the analog on the new box (Motorola DVR 6208?)

My analog was terrible previously - turns out I had a bad connector that the COMCAST technician fixed when he came with the new box. Analog improved tremendously due to the bad connection. I can't say if this box is bad wrt analog without getting a splitter and checking a signal straight to the TV versus using the bypass on the 6208 (analog seems a little better that way than watching on the component out)

You must have the old SA3100HD which does not convert analog channel audio to its digital out. The newer SA3250HD does. Your only solution is to ask your local Cable co for newer box if they carry it.

No go on the CBSHD feeds here....I was hoping to get kcbs so i could watch stuff 3 hours later but apparently that wasn't going to happen with a waiver anyway.

It looks like Consumer Antenna may have updated their web site, so perhaps you ran into the changeover. I've heard good things about Fairfax Antenna as well, but I can't imagine anyone being better than Matt from Consumer Antenna.