Charleston, WV - HDTV - Page 125

I am glad we finally got CW in HD but all the new episodes are over in about a month so I won't be watching it until the fall season but I finally get to watch new episodes of Smallville in HD.

I wish Disney XD was one of the channels though.

But getting converter boxes for the other TVs, 2 in bedrooms and 4 in other rooms and bedrooms that are rarely used. Thats going to cost a lot unless Suddenlink offers them for free. If not there better be boxes that we can buy. I dont want to spend $5 a month per tv (6 TV's for 1 year = $360 a year)

In Kingwood TX they are doing about the same thing: here is in excerpt:
http://www.kingwoodnow.com/kingwood_business/1156.html

Then there will be 3 phases for that area week after week neighborhood by neighborhood.

I wonder if it will be the same for us but its good to know that they will provide converters for free.

Found this:

The boxes will be free and they are doing it by areas so some will get it before others. In Cross Lanes I haven't recieved that flyer yet about the new HD channels and digital transition, and they say they will notify us multiple times before the transition happens.

Here is what our new channel lineup will look like:
https://imagine.suddenlink.com/Chann...l%20Lineup.jpg

They move most things around, but it looks like every channel that was under 100, there HD channel is now in the 200's with the same 2 digits (ESPN HD channel 226) but the locals are in the 100's (WSAZ NBC HD channel 104), The HD plus tier takes up the 200's where the locals would have gone (currently span channels 201-206).

Here's a quick break down:

1: VOD
2-22,97,99: Basic
23-78: Epanded Basic now requires digital tuner or free DigitaLink converter box from Suddenlink
100's: HD Broadcast
200's: All HD channels except Broadcast and Premium Movie
300's: Digital Family & Info Tier
400's: Only has DVR playback on 499
500's: Digital Sports Tier
600's: Digital Movie Tier, and HBO and Cinemax Premium with thier HD
700"s: Showtime Premium and Starz Premium with their HD (Encore is in 600's also part of movie teir)
800's: Par Per View
900's: Digital Music, TV caller ID

After this update we will have 48 HD Channels (6 are Local). They offer 55 national HD channels and we will have 42 of them.

With what wyllie1 said that each analog channel has the space for 8 SD channels or 2 HD channels we got rid of 54 analog and will have used 7 analog for the 54 SD channels (with enough for 2 more on those 7 channels, Chiller is available in some areas but still won't be on ours) and 11 analog for the 22 new HD channels. We still have the space of 36 analog channels. Up to 72 HD channels.

For National Channels:
There are 3 channels in Basic that have HD (WGN America, QVC, HSN).
There are 20 Expanded Basic channels that have HD. 6 of them don't have HD yet (SoapNet, INSP, GSN, MTV2, Oxygen, and TV Land).

So there are 62 channels we have that have HD Feeds that we don't get.
44 Non Premium, 1 Regional (FSN Pittsburgh) and 17 Premium.
There are 24 HD channels in our Basic and Expanded Basic packages.
There are 21 channels in the Digital Family and Info Tier, Sports Tier, and Movie Tier.
There are 17 channels that are Premium Movie channels that have HD.

There are 2 locals that could be HD: WLPX-ION (Apparentley Time Warner will have it around May 11 in Ashland and Ironton) and MyZ (probably will never happen as it is currently broadcasted by WSAZ on the same channel channel as NBC, 3)

(Side note: why doesn't Suddenlink carry the ION sub channels?)


There are 38 channels we don't get that have HD feeds 8 of them are premium.
There are also 7 Subscription Sports Packages in HD.


Making the Basic Package digital would free up 23 analog channels.


Suddenlink says their digital rollout will be complete by 2012 for their subscribers nationwide and cover 97% subscribers (missing about 37,000) and HD Capacity will average 90 HD Channels.

So after this update we will only get about 42 more by 2012. I hope they then leave off channels like QVC and HSN.

Thanks for the update SGRSBSKIER.

I was watching the PGA golf match on WOWK (CBS) HD on Sunday on Suddenlink channel 782. As more often than not, WOWK runs a crawler message this time about the flooding rains in KY and Ohio. This switch to crawler message action changes the transmission from HD to SD. After the crawler finishes, WOWK didn't switch the transmission back to HD (not unusual for them to leave in SD for an extended period of time), and then I see an SD picture with three white blobs on the left edge of the picture frame going from the bottom left to about the middle of the left edge. These white blobs remain stationary while the SD picture plays. I was concerned about burning my plasma screen with these three stationary white blobs, so I turned off the broadcast and emailed WOWK about my concern.

I am wondering if this phenomenon is only seen on Suddenlink, or do OTA and dish subscribers experience the same problem?

Saw the blobs last night on The Amazing Race on WOWKHD via DirecTV. They went away for a while, then came back with the crawl and stayed.

Does anyone know the technology that's being implemented in the DigitalLink converter boxes for channels 23 to 98? If it's unencrypted QAM then that would be great because I can still use my own tuners. If it's encrypted then that will eliminate the only reason I'm still subscribing to Suddenstink's service. The tuners in my DVR can tune unencrypted QAM signals but if I have to hook up the IR blaster to control external tuner boxes then those boxes are going to be hooked to a Dish. Why encrypt the digital signals, anyway? The NTSC signals they're using on those channels currently aren't encrypted.

My understanding is that it will be unencrypted, and if you have a QAM tuner, then you will not need the new converter box.

Here is the link to info about the DigitaLinks:

https://imagine.suddenlink.com/Pages/WhatisaDTA.aspx

With the news of Dish maybe shutting off the dvr service, is a switch to suddenlink a good idea??

Personally, I am very happy with Suddenlink....so I think it is a good option. I couldn't live without my DVR.

Given that you already have satellite, why not look at DirecTV? Just yesterday they rolled out their Multi-room DVR. Watch something recorded in the living room in the bedroom.

Plus, if you have HD, going from DISH's selection to Suddenlink's would be hard.

Suddenlinks DVR is kinda small, you can only record 20 hours of HD or 90 hours SD (160 GB), which for me is barely enough right now. I was gone for 8 days had the DVR empty and I had to record things in non HD about 4 hours because it wouldn't fit. It won't be enough space when we get all those new HD channels.

We have Explorer boxes from Scientific Atlanta (now Cisco). We currently have the 8300 series. Cisco now offers an 8600 series. The 8642HDC has the 160 GB Hard Drive with options of a 320 GB or 500 GB.

It would be nice if it was 750 GB as everything is moving to HD, it would give 93 hours of HD, I don't think I ever used the 90 hours of SD.

But with the current DVR only having space for 20 hours of HD, how can I ever record something like a marathon of a show on USA or SyFy in HD.

You would be surprised. 750G on DirecTV gives you about 160 hours of HD. I have 2 1.5G and 1 1.0G drive and they all stay on the full side of 50%. My 750 stayed at 90% until I copied it over to a 1.5G and it stays at about 60%.

It is nice like you mention to record marathons of stuff.

The 500 GB option for the 8642 HDC actually tells you it has enough space for only 62 hours of HD. It takes 8 GB per hour on these boxes.


Yeah SyFy runs those marathons durring the weekdays for 8 hours each day and I find a show every once in a while I want to see.

Different compression schemes. DirecTV has gone to all MPEG-4 for HD. If you remove the reserved portion of the drive reserved by DirecTV of 140G, you end up using around 3.6G per hour.

According to a flyer I received yesturday it appears June 16 is the day of Suddenlink's transition to mosly digital cable. Looking forward to all the new channels and I hope they add Speed and the Outdoor Channel soon as they are now carrying them on a limited basis in other areas.

Personally, I was slightly disappointed that ESPN News wasn't on the list of HD channels. That channel makes great use of the additional widescreen format, and has statistics, scores, and news down the sides of the screen.

I have never gotten a fly or anything, but I went up to the Mall asking about a box with a bigger DVR and asked when I should pick up the converter boxes ( I have to call them because they can only give out so many and if you need more they have to check my signal strength) and when it would happen, they told me June 12 for my area.

I just got a flyer on 6/8 and it said we will get 23 new HD Channels, now the new lineup on imagine.suddenlink.com list 22 new ones I wonder what that other one is.


Just got my converter boxes and you are right the guy said that June 16 is when the changes are suppose to take place (assuming they get the boxes out to everyone that needs them).

Apparently the changes have already taken place in some areas, like Elkview.

Looking forward to the changes. I got the converter box for an older television...the power on my box doesn't turn off, is it supposed to be that way?

Yeah it always stays on, I asked the guy. You can hide it and use the IR adapter so you don't have to see that bright light.

I wonder if the Recordings that I have already set up will actually record it after the switch, since some of the channels are suppose to change to a different number?

dailymail.com/News/201006140779

Unless I'm reading the above article wrong (couldn't actually post the link as a new user), it looks like we won't be getting updates tomorrow and probably not until after July. I found it curious that I never received any fliers or calls about the transition. Now they say they can't make the transition because enough people don't know about it...probably because they didn't inform them to begin with. Instead of calling me at least once a month to try and get me to sign up for phone service, despite being told every time I only have a cell and will never get their phone service, they could have used that time and manpower to inform people of this transition so it could happen on time.

I love how they turn them not making the transition and adding our new channels as scheduled into PR about how much money they are spending to make things better. Things will be better when we get a decent HD selection!

I'm so tired of this ~ Directv & Dish trump Suddenlink badly ~ why should we pay SO MUCH for SO LITTLE. And THEN they try to spin the upgrade delay into the customers fault for not knowing???? LOL

I called Suddenlink yesterday evening and was told that the [converter for old TVs] rollout for Charleston would be December, which contradicted the info in this morning's paper.

December? WTF?

I don't understand why so many of you who seem to care about HD stay with Suddenlink. I get that for a while they had HD Locals and Sat didn't.

Oh trust me I'm done! For the longest time I couldn't do SAT, but now I can! :-)

Suddenlink should pick a date for the transition, advertise it heavily and stick to it. To let old ladies who can't find their teeth in the morning and a school board who could not decide how to get out of a wet paper bag hold up the transition is absurd. Those of us who were ready are being denied by those who wallow in mediocrity! I doubt we will see any additional HD channels until September or October.

Too little too late, again. I refer to my post of several months ago. Glad I dropped Suddenlink. By the way, the Suddenlink truck is sitting on my street--reportedly, the internet is out. Glad I have DSL. Glad I don't have the Suddenlink phone service either.