Los Angeles, CA - TWC - Page 3

HDTV HAS ARRIVED via Adelphia in So Cal

Should say kind of arrived. Here in Diamond Bar, Ca. Hdtv PQ experiences digital tiling, compression artifacts, macro blocking and audio dropouts.

The adelphiasocal site was down earlier this week, but now it's back up and lists the Motorola DCT6200 as one of the available STBs. Has anyone had one of these installed instead of the DCT5100? Does it have a DVI port? Is it enabled? The picture they show of the back panel on the adelphiasocal site does not show any DVI port or any IEEE 1394. I know the Firewire won't be enabled for a little while but the DVI would be very nice to have. Also, if you have this box, what are you comments on PQ?

Thanks.

Alephia web site says Sherman Oaks has HD. I called and emailed and they confirmed that this included Encino, and they scheduled an appointment for mid Feb. to install the new HD box. I am highly skeptical that there will really be HD in Encino and that it will really be installed and that it will really work and that it will work well given no DVI connection. In short, I'm skeptical of the whole Adelphia thing. But, it's worth a shot to save over Direct tv. I'll report back next month.

I had the 6200 installed a couple of weeks ago. DVI and Firewire are there but not enabled yet. They say DVI is scheduled to be up by June. I hope they do it soon, the pic needs improvement. OTA kicks its ass.
Don't get me wrong, the Cable-HD is fantastic but the OTA pic is quite a bit cleaner.
FYI, running to Pio HD910

Now for some tantalizing news....................

They added CBS-HD today (sort of)
The station slot appeared today, nothing broadcasting as of yet but the channel guide has the info. Maybe they figured they didn't want to piss off all their new HD sign-ups and got CBS settled for the Super Bowl!

Satellite system?I'll have to check them out.

Adelphia came out and installed the Moto 6200 at my place in Seal Beach this afternoon. I wasn't there when they did the install, but I had all the cables set so all they would have to do is attach them to the cable box. I find out that they would not use any of my cables and in fact did not hook it up at all like I had wanted. That was sort of expected, but they even replaced my 4-way splitter.

Anyway, the signal was horrible (regardless of installation). The HD channels were choppy, to say the least. Even the digital channels looked worse than before and had some break up. They either need to up the bandwidth, or the STB is going back and I'm 'down grading' back to standard digital. I'm extremely disappointed

Randu - you may want to check your firmware version. Although I haven't yet tried the DVI port, I do have the 7.07 firmware which should enable the DVI. I'll give it a try tomorrow and see if/how it works.

Anyone in Redondo Beach, CA has Adelphia HD yet?

According to their website it's still not available. I have D* but I am about to offer up hundreds of dollars for a few channels.

I also don't see if Adelphia HD offers local channles in HD or just the same handful of channles from D* and Dish.

Mark

Adelphia HD offers ABC, NBC, KCET, Showtime HD & HBO HD, according to their website. I would assume that getting Show-HD and HBO-HD would also require subscriptions to their SD versions of Show and HBO.

Rick

Just a followup - DVI is enabled on the 6200, but that can't compensate for the lack of signal strength. They are sending a tech back out on Saturday, though I don't know what they will be able to do. I might just try an amplifier, but don't know if that will help.

ender, you are correct about the channel line up. It is still pretty weak. There was a press release about Adelphia making a deal with HDNet and HDNet Movies, but I haven't heard any time frame for when it will be broadcast.

I have component but do you think it is worth it to change? I realluy want to change to DVI but if the picture isnt a major change, no reason... also, i have the moto 5200, do you think I should switch to the 6200? and does anyone know how to switch? Do tjhey have to come out here again? or can I just switch at the local office? Thanks to anyone who can answer

Arungupta, in the rear projection forum, has theorized that the Motorola boxes might just be doing a analog-to-digital conversion prior to sending the video out the DVI port instead of sending the pure digital signal. This would easily make for very little difference in video quality seen on either component or DVI.

On my HD200 satellite box, I see a *huge* difference between Component and DVI. Of course, your display makes a difference too. I have a Samsung DLP which keeps the DVI signal digital all the way through the process. If the Moto does indeed send out a pure digital signal from the DVI port, but your *display* does a D/A conversion after receiving the data through its DVI port, then that too could explain not seeing a difference between the two.

Rick

It's really hard to say whether it's worth switching boxes and connections - I haven't tried the 5100. My reception looks horrible on either connection.

Original setup - coax from digital box to a Replay, s-video from Replay to Reciever, s-video from receiver to 50" Sony GWIII RPLCD

New setup - Component and DVI from Moto6200 directly to GWIII.

Even with all the connections of the original setup, the picture on SD was WAY better before I switched. If they don't significantly improve the signal somehow, I plan on asking for a regular digital box again, but with s-video and DD this time.

Anyway, the signal was horrible (regardless of installation). The HD channels were choppy, to say the least. Even the digital channels looked worse than before and had some break up.

Moeronn, I have had the same problems in PQ(picture quality).The field techs tested signal level and reported all good. The problem is IMHO a dirty signal or carrier, over compression and a low SNR(signal noise ratio).

If you are interested in mickey mouse remedy, you could attenuate the feed in to the box by a few decibels and that could dramatically improve HD PQ. But I am afraid this solution will degrade analog PQ.

i just got my HD TV(lcd) and ordered HD tv from adelphia and they said they will be here on thursday.Is it that bad? =(

Signal strength and PQ may vary depending on your area, so I really can't say how it will be in La Verne. Though, I would expect the worst and then perhaps be pleasantly surprised. I would suggest being there for the install, make sure they set it up the way YOU want, not the way they like to do it, and check the PQ on both SD and HD channels before the installer leaves. KCET or the HD premiums should be broadcasting HD all day. Good luck and I hope your installation goes better than you expect.

Moe
Sorry I missed your recent posts here.

This is why I made sure I took off work early and was there when they installed my 6200!

The "tech" was ready to walk out the door with the 6200 set at 480P instead of 1080i, so you may want to start there.
I can't exactly remember how he got into the installation menu, I know he powered it down, then back up, and while it was powering up he held the menu or info button down. You could call them and check. I'd give that a look right away.

I don't have any PQ complaints (other than lack of HD selection) I received this e-mail response from the Big A a couple of weeks ago saying the DVI wouldn't be hot until June or so, but I'll give it another shot.

Hey, SD is SD. It is FOR SURE improved via S-Video vs Component.

On the other hand, OTA Kicks Ass vs cable, picture-wise, but the audio is much better with cable...
I had a ChannelMaster 4-Bay Bowtie put up and it works great. (CBS-HD!, FOX-DT, UPN-DT). I'm in CPE so I have a clear shot at the hills across the Air-Station. The Super Bowl was Jaw Dropping..........

Randu

Randu - Thanks for the info on the resolution. I'll try and check that this week. It still seems that even 480p should look at least as good, if not better, than the 480i I was getting before. However, the issue doesn't seem to be the actual image resolution, it seems more like compression of the signal, or perhaps signal strength. It's odd that our PQ is that different given our proximity (I'm in the area behind the Kohls shopping center). I will try the attenuator/amplifier before the tech comes over. Right now my cable is split all over the place and I have a 4-way splitter before it hits the cable box, though I did try just a 2-way and there was no change in PQ. We'll see what happens.

Definitely give the DVI a try. Mine is working, though it doesn't help any. You can check your firmware version to verify that you have 7.07. IIRC, you can go to menu>setup to check it. If that doesn't work, search the HDTV hardware forums for more info.

Well adelphia is comming tomorrow to install HD.the cable that is comming from my wall to my tv is split to my cable modem.And there are 3 other cable boxes in the house.Will that effect my picture quality?

Does the dvi connect on your guys cable box work?should i use the dvi or component?


How can i tell if they set it right?

thnx-

wish me luck =D

well its 12:00 pm.. and they should of arrived already..Called adelphia and they said they were at the house..Liars been awake since 7 in the morning. they said they will TRY and come back out today..and if not i will have to reschedule..and i took off a day of work..wtf so bs..

That's weak. I'd be demanding they come out again today, just because of your work status.

Rick

I had Adelphia come out last Thursday and set mine up. I should say the installer watched me install the box because he didn't have a clue about what a digital audio cable was. He insisted I needed the red and white sound cables to hook it up. Overall the picture looks good. I compared Leno OTA with a Zenith HD420 hooked up via component to a Pioneer Elite 630 to the Motorola 5100 component hookup. Both looked the same in picture quality the only difference was the cable HD picture looked like it was blown up more. I guess the best way to explain it is Jay looked closer than the OTA picture. If you didn't have OTA to compare it to you would never notice it. KABC and NYPD Blue looked pretty good the other night. I can't pickup KABC on my OTA setup. I watched a fight on ShoHD over the weekend and it looked great. Anyway so far so good. I just hope they add some more channels soon and don't try and raise the prices when they do.
Later
Jim

The number of splits may affect your PQ. It depends on where the set is in relation to the cable coming from outside. The closer to the outside cable (meaning the fewer splits), the better your PQ should be. If the signal strength is high enough, it won't matter.

The DVI port on my 6200 does work. I haven't really been able to compare DVI to Component, since they both suck right now. You can check if your is activated by going to Menu>Setup>cable box>info and check firmware version. If it is 7.07, the DVI port should work.

I was able to get into the setup menu, but was pressing all kinds of buttons and not sure what actually got me into it. I think it was the menu button while the cable box was off. I will try and verify this tonight.

Sorry to hear they didn't show up when they were supposed to. That's one of the main reasons try and schedule on weekends. When you schedule, sometimes it helps if you ask them to call before they arrive. Doesn't always work, but it's worth a shot. Also, I would complain and at least try and get a month or two's credit on your bill. Good luck.

Update! ok they finnaly came .......................................................

The dvi works on my cable box.but i have not yet compared it to the component.I wonder if it is worse.




But the best PQ i got is kcet. the movie channels HBO and Showtime are about the same(looks slightly better than progressive dvd), but nbc and abc look bad to me not as bad as analog just doesnt look HD.I thought it would all look great like KCET pq.Anyone know why not?

Are my PQ about the same as u guys?

Was watching the KCET program nova about glaciers,and damn it is SOOooOoo clear.movie channels are good. but very dissapointed on nbc abc.

BTW i have a sony lcd RP 50" GWIII(wanna get a plasma now)

Thnx for all ur help fellas.

Does anyone know if they will have more channels in HD in the couple of months?

Were the programs you were watching HD? If it was news, or a primetime show that NBC or ABC doesn't currently broadcast in HD, then it would just be SD upconverted to HD.

Rick

not sure.where do i find a listing of programs on these channels that are actual HD?

Edited to add- Found the programs on NBC

What shows does NBC currently broadcast in high-definition?
American Dreams, Boomtown, Crossing Jordan, Ed, ER, Frasier, In-Laws, Hidden Hills, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno are currently broadcast in HDTV. Occasionally, theatrical films and made-for-TV movies are also broadcast in the high-definition format.

A good source to find HD programming is,
www.titantv.com

ender21- do you have HD cable in TO? Any word on Oak Park?

-Saldisk

No I don't. I have DirecTV.

As far as I know, Thousand Oaks, Oak Park and Newbury Park are all the same area, but according to Adelphia's website, the HD rollout for TO and Newbury Park are separate, and Oak Park isn't even on the list. I have no clue what that means, though. I would guess that once it's available here in TO, it's available to you in OP and in NP too. But who knows?

Rick