Lubbock, TX - HDTV - Page 2

Well, my install was today. Good and bad news. I was pleasantly surprised that they gave my a Moto 6200 instead of the 5100. Also, the install was only $18.99, not $49.99 like on the website. However, I am getting really bad tiling. They are going to have to send a maintenance person out sometime in the next couple of days to check the pedestal in the alley. Also, no KCBD. I didn't get a chance to ask the tech if he knew anything about it, I'll probably call my friend in tech support and see if he knows anything about it. It's hard to tell how good the quality is, since my picture doesn't stay clear long enough to see it very well.
Another pleasant surprise is that, since it is hooked up through component and not DVI (not active yet, although there is a port), my Toshiba 51H83 is allowing me to stretch all non-HD programming through the component inputs, so no input switching necessary.

KCBD was supposed to be available at launch, but there was some kind of ingress problem with their tower, so Cox and KCBD are still working on getting that fixed. No word on any of the other local channels.
I was also under the impression that Fox is not broadcasting HD yet. Isn't is just digital, something like 480P?

Well, I'm still waiting for the tiling to be fixed. Apparently, it goes further up the line than my hookup in the alley. Maintenance has looked at it twice, still not any better. The channels look great when they are actually working, heh. Oh well, I've gotten credit for my service since the install, so it's not all bad.

Any word on PBS or Fox thru Cox? Additionally, I understand why Cox can't carry local CBS and ABC because our Texas Size stations don't currently broadcast in HD, but couldn't they pick up some kind of national feed? I guess I really don't know enough about the particulars to guess.

This according to Cox today: The problems they are having have to do with a firmware upgrade to the Motorola DCT 6200's. This should be fixed this week and they are not accepting new HD installs until then. Also it is up in the air as to the install charges being 18.99 or 49.99 when they continue. I was told that if you were on analog service currently that you do not have to upgrade to digital cable to get the service although the website shows otherwise. DVI out is not enabled but should be when that particular firmware becomes available to Cox. I was told the two In Demand channels are pay per view although Collven reported earlier in this thread they are free??? Only local you will get is NBC, and ABC and CBS will not be carried until Texas Size starts broadcasting in HD which according to them will be Jan 2006. You can buy your own STB and not pay the monthly 9.95 rental, but there are no local b&m stores carrying it yet.

Everytime I call Cox I get different answers to my questions. The first csr I spoke to today said they offer ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC all in HD. I told him he was wrong. He later put me thru to a technical dude who confirmed only NBC of the locals. I asked this guy when they would get Fox and PBS? He did not know and only said they are in negotiations with PBS. When asked about Fox he said they are not broadcasting in HD. I told him that they were broadcasting OTA with an upconverted digital signal that was pretty sweet considering, and he did not seem to know much about it. Then he said they will offer the other locals (CBS and ABC) as they come available..........hmmmmmmmmmm........Jan 2006.

I called back a second time because it seemed strange they told me this morning that you did not have to have digital cable to get the hd. At their site it says you do. I was also puzzled about the In Demand being ppv or free. First, the CSR I get this time says you get NBC and CBS and FOX in HD but no ABC. Do they not train these people? I told him he was wrong.
I told him what I knew to be correct and he put me on hold for 5 minutes and came back and confirmed he was wrong. I then asked if you have to be a digital subscriber to get their hd? He said no. I then asked why their website shows otherwise. He put me on hold for another 5 minutes. When he returned he explained that you can be on analog and get the ESPN, NBC, and Discovery Channels with their current STB. There is a charge for the Discovery. To get HBOhd and Showtimehd and I think the In Demand offerings you have to be on Digital.
I asked about the In Demand and he immediately says it's free. I then ask what does it show on those channels. His response was pay per view movies that you order. I ask if those movies are free. He said no. I then ask why he just told me they were free then. He says the channels are free but the shows it offers are not. Hopefully Collven who has the service can shed some light on this.

Their site seems to be down right now, but here is a link to InDemand HD's website. Also check out the HDTV Programming board here for more info. Just do a search for INHD. It is free and it's mainly old movies, old and new NBA games, and some small college sports.

Collven,

Thanks for clearing that up. I swear, the csr's at Cox are clueless. I guess my next question to you would be do you have access to pay per view movies in hd? Also, once all the bugs are worked out I would appreciate hearing from you on how happy you are with the service in general. thanks.

I don't think they have any PPV in HD yet. Haven't really checked though. I'll agree the csr's don't have much info on this yet, which is why I talk to someone in tech support. You gotta realize, most of the csr's have just enough technical knowledge to check their email and access the billing system on their computers. They aren't into HD and stuff like that. They're just there to sell you HBO and to help with billing errors. I get the impression that Cox has run into some problems getting their HD going, as evidenced by the lack of KCBD on HD, which was supposed to be part of the rollout. It seems like every time one of the local channels turns on their digital signal, or even tests it out, it causes ingress problems somewhere on Cox's lineup.

Sorry, been out of town the last couple of weeks. Nothing new, still have tiling. They are coming back tomorrow.

Amazing but typical.

I'm not positive, but I think the thing holding up KCBD is their multicasting. I don't think Cox is too hot on carrying all of KCBD's channels, but KCBD won't agree to a deal unless Cox changes their minds.

I dumped my Cox HD Service here in VA. They are way behind in HDTV channels. The six that I did get wasn't enough for me and also the programs on those HD channels keep repeating. I was bored with Cox HD in a month and switched over to Voom. I am leasing all the equipment from Voom and it was free installation. Is Voom in your area yet??

I briefly had CoxHd in lubbock. When I signed up, I was told all locals broadcasting in HD were available on the service. Imagine my suprise when none were available. I emailed a CSR about this, as well as information about adding more HD. Here was the response I received on 4/23:

Thank you for contacting Cox Communications, and we empathize and understand your concerns.

We are familiar with the HD formatting of the channels your mentioned, and other channels that will also be formatting to High Definition
programming. At this time we do not have any more room to add these
channels and are working on our QAM conversion diligently to get more bandwidth.

We have bee working and negotiating for bandwidth and retransmission agreements since last December. Until our bandwidth contacts and retransmission agreements can be resolved, we are unable to provide or add any additional HD programming at this time. We do want to launch these HD channels. We are striving to make this happen and apologize that we are unable to provide an estimated time when we will have a resolution. Please be assured, once we are able we will advise our customers.

Our HDTV programming for Lubbock at this time is:

702 NBC HD (KCBD- involved in the retransmission agreements) 710 Discovery HD 420 ESPN HD 730 In Demand 1 HD
731 In Demand 2 HD
740 HBO HD

We hope that we have been able to provide you with the information you requested. If we have not, or if we can be of any additional service to you, please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Thank you.
Dinah
Quality Analyst
Cox Communications Customer Care Team



I also have a problem with the pq on Cox. Right now I have Voom, and the OTA they provided gives me NBC and FOX. But CBS and ABC remain elusive.

Is KJTV34 transmitting HD yet?

Fox34 is currently broadcasting in 720p. However, Fox national currently is only doing 480p widescreen. They're upconverting the material. Fox will do the All Star game in 720p, and will begin doing 720p for primetime and Nfl in the fall

I worked at KJ about 10 years ago. The owners have always been aggressive when it comes to technology and I knew they'd be doing DTV as soon as possible. KAMC and KLBK are in the stone ages compared to KJ.

I've been trying to talk to someone at 28 and 11 for 2 weeks now w/o getting my emails or calls returned. I just found this thread, and it confirmed my fears that they'll be sitting on their rears until someone makes them do something. I live 3.5 miles from the abc tower and can't get the digital reception. I am trying to figure out a way to get a distant local.

BTW I talked to the engineer at 34, and he talked my ear off. He told me they'll be the first to be producing the local news in HD. What's funny is RAMAR also owns UPN, and he said that UPN won't be getting a digital tower up for at least a year.

You may be experiencing overload. My understanding is KAMC is transmitting digital, it just isn't HD. You might try an attenuator.


Believe it or not, I know from your description exactly who you're talking about. They're news facility is state of the art and all digital. Even now their news probably looks really good on their digital channel. When they bought all the gear they probably bought field cameras that are switchable to widescreen so all they have to do is throw that switch and upconvert to 720p.

UPN is, or was, a low power station so I don't know what their digital plans are, unless RAMAR bought another full power frequency in Lubbock, which was only recently made legal. They could always just add UPN to their KJTV digital signal and put it on 34.2. I work for CBS/UPN now and the only show we air in HD is Enterprise.

I worked there for 5 years in the early 90s. It was the best station I ever worked for and the Morans have remained friends to this day. They run a great shop and many of their employees have been there for 10-20 years.

39.3? That's odd. The standard is usually to put your HDTV on .1. I wish the stations would standardize on this.

Is KJTV or KCBD doing any multicasting?

KJTV isn't, at least not yet. NBC has .1HD, .2SD, .3Weather. People tell me multicasting is supposed to degrade the HD signal, but I haven't noticed a problem yet.
BTW, I finally talked to engineers at KAMC and KLBK. They said no HD plans, and no plans to increase power on digital towers. I don't expect to see the Masters or MNF in HD in Lubbock until at least 2009. I'm pretty sure they'll be just digital come 2006. I'm really glad that KJTV and KCBD are being run by far-sighted management.

Hey Lubbock guys, Cox is supposedly going to offer HD service in the College Station area this June, and I was wondering if any of you knew if the Lubbock HD local(s) are being passed through unencrypted. I'm a D* subscriber and would really like to avoid digital cable if I could get by with a basic subscription and a QAM tuner. We have some locals here that are unobtainable OTA - FOX at 1 kW and ABC/NBC 80 miles away, so Cox might be our best bet. Thanks for your help.