AVS › AVS Forum › HDTV › Local HDTV Info and Reception › Honolulu, HI - HDTV
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Honolulu, HI - HDTV - Page 2

post #31 of 5418
12/8/03 at 11:58pm
Did anybody get to check out channel 923 tonight on Oceanic? They're starting to run some sports programming labeled HDSPT and the guide mentions high definition sports programming. From the little that I caught (in between watching HD MNF), it seemed as though it was a Fox sports show in HD. Maybe it actually switches over to HDNET tomorrow?

Spleen
Reply
Reply

AVS Top Picks

post #32 of 5418
12/9/03 at 12:01pm
Bryan, whatever live program KGMB airs, if it's available in HD they have passed it, so would guess the SuperBowl will be on KGMB-DT.

Spleen, it might be Fox Sports West HD not HD-Net that Oceanic is airing. Oceanic's parent company Time Warner has a deal for Fox Sports Net HD in 4 market areas and West is one of them.

BTW: Heads up for you Dish subscibers in Hawaii. Dish is moving HBO-HD*, Showtime-HD*, HD-PPV and HD-Events channels to 110w on Dec. 19 making these channels available in Hawaii. This is an addition to Dish's HD package already at 110w(ESPN-HD, HD-Net, HD-Net Movies and Discovery HD). Dish is also offering it's new 811 HD receiver for $199 for existing customers. The 811 includes a OTA receiver.

*East Coast Feeds.

Charles
Reply
Reply
post #33 of 5418
12/9/03 at 2:59pm
Thread Starter 
Wow, thats great news about the Dish network.. Right now I will stick with Oceanic but it's always nice to know we have options.

I will be returning to Hawaii tomorrow from six long months in snowy Misawa Japan. I can't wait to check out all those HD channels

Bryan
Reply
Reply
post #34 of 5418
12/9/03 at 5:25pm
Howzit everybody, just found this thread today. It's great!

I'm planning on getting myself an HDTV this holiday season and upgrading to digital cable right after. I've been waiting for Oceanic to finally deploy the 3250HD box and add more HD content. Looks like they're s..l..o..w..l..y doing that.

Quote:
I finally spoke to the Dir. of Engineering for KGMB and KHON today...nice guy! Here's the 411 on HD: KGMB-DT *is* broadcasting on the air (channels 8 & 22), but is not being carried on Oceanic TW Cable....it's all the lawyers, etc, negotiating for the carriage of the signal. I say we bombard Oceanic with our wrath about this. We want our HD!!

Thanks again for the "inside" information, Eric. That's a good idea about nagging Oceanic. They've told me that it was a waste of bandwidth with no HD content, so KGMB was removed. But that's not a problem now...

Anyway, hope Oceanic gets KGMB back up and add DiscoveryHD and ESPN-HD soon!
Reply
Reply
post #35 of 5418
12/9/03 at 6:48pm
Thread Starter 
My wife picked up our HDTV cable box at the Kaneohe office and sure enough it was a 3250!

The receptionist did say there was a waiting list but we lucked out and there was one left.

Bryan
Reply
Reply
post #36 of 5418
12/9/03 at 8:48pm
Charles - that would make more sense in terms of what I saw last night. I haven't tried tuning it in yet today to see what's there.

Bryan - congrats on getting a 3250! I haven't had a chance to bug Oceanic about getting another box (I'm just too lazy to make the trek up to Mililani Tech Park *again*).

Spleen
Reply
Reply
post #37 of 5418
12/9/03 at 10:07pm
Quote:
Originally posted by BHaren
My wife picked up our HDTV cable box at the Kaneohe office and sure enough it was a 3250!

Can you confirm what has been suggested in another thread that the 3250HD is the same as the 3270HD but in black??
Quote:
Just picked up a 3250HD from Cox, Fairfax (traded in a 3100HD).

Just a couple notes:
- The 3250 can stretch/zoom 4:3 or 16:9 content ... including one-touch from a remote. Thing is, the remote they gave me doesn't have a # key. I have another SA remote (AT8400) with a # key and it works like a charm.
- Bypass hardware not mounted (no surprise)
- Has both Optical and Coax digital audio out
- Haven't tested DVI yet

Does the 3250HD have an Optical Digital output in addition to the Coaxial??

Does it have a Firewire port in addition to a DVI port??

Can you "Zoom" or "Stretch" the picture from the remote??

Thanks for the info.
Reply
Reply
post #38 of 5418
12/10/03 at 10:23am
Aloha Everyone,
Just found this thread. It's like a mini Las Vegas here. I'm in Honolulu. It's great finding other people trying to get Oceanic & KGMB up to speed. Just spoke to Mililani office and they have the 3250 in stock. I reserved one to pick up today. They said it does allow you to set box for 16:9 so that should get rid of pillars. They did say these boxes go fast so reserve one if you want one.
Reply
Reply
post #39 of 5418
12/10/03 at 12:05pm
Quote:


Originally posted by Yawny
Can you confirm what has been suggested in another thread that the 3250HD is the same as the 3270HD but in black??

Quote:


Originally posted by dt_dc
Yes, the 3250HD looks EXACTLY like the back shown in the 3270HD literature:

http://www.scientificatlanta.com/exp...evB-Secure.pdf

I guess that confirms it. The 3250HD *is* the same as the 3270HD except for the color. Also the I found out that the 3250HD is for TWC use and the 3270HD is a *retail* model. Now all I need is a HDTV!!
Reply
Reply
post #40 of 5418
12/10/03 at 8:56pm
KOA - thanks for the update. I called Mililani as well and had them hook me up with a 3250 as well. The new resolution settings are nice though it STILL doesn't let me do what I need it to do -- that is, be able to zoom/resize the picture off the component feed (when I'm watching the HD KITV feed and it's in 4:3). I'll keep playing with it .... maybe there's a way.

Spleen
Reply
Reply
post #41 of 5418
12/11/03 at 12:54pm
Spleen,
I forgot to take my 3100 with me yesterday so am switching to 3250 today. I talked to SA tech and he assured me that you can control aspect ratios on component. That is the only reason I want to switch. There is some sort of wizard that allows this. I hope he is right.
Reply
Reply
post #42 of 5418
12/11/03 at 10:01pm
You can switch aspect ratios on component -- but there's no clean way of doing this in one button press as far as I can tell. You have to pull up a menu and select it from the choices - which doesn't work so well from my standpoint.

Spleen
Reply
Reply
post #43 of 5418
12/12/03 at 8:26am
You're right, I'm taking mine back today and getting my 3100 back. I don't think the PQ was near as good as my 3100. Big disappointment.
Reply
Reply
post #44 of 5418
12/12/03 at 8:54pm
Did you think so too? I'm having ground loop issues now that I've gotten the new box. (sigh)

Spleen
Reply
Reply
post #45 of 5418
12/13/03 at 3:25pm
Spleen,
I'm bummed, I had an excellent picture on my original 3100. I returned the 3250 and got a different 3100 and the picture is bad also. I'm trying another 3100 and having Oceanic check on Monday with warehouse if I can get my original serial # 3100 back (Fat chance I know). I had ground loop problems (not sure if techically that's the right term) orginally and Oceanic techs came out and put isolators on TV and computer cables and that helped quite a bit. They are labeled MI 212 OV Isolator 5-1000mhz. Maybe they might help your PQ.
Reply
Reply
post #46 of 5418
12/13/03 at 3:44pm
Oceanic TW subscribers...a little teaser that there shouldn't be too long of a wait until the new HD DVR is available, Scientific Atlanta production willing...

Oceanic is waiting for KGMB to broadcast real HD programming in the CBS lineup to carry it. They are all ready to go, but KGMB is doing SD stuff. I guess they don't have their HD recorders ready yet.

They have the bandwidth and channels allocated for lots more HD stuff, but they are waiting for corporate back East to give the go-ahead on several different channels. And, of course, the local stations to do their part.


Eric
Reply
Reply
post #47 of 5418
12/13/03 at 7:23pm
Koa - actually, I solved my own ground loop problem - passed the cable feed through my surge suppressor that has a coax in/out and voila! It must do some signal smoothing or something but my rolling bars on my screen that I used to see in uniform grey/black screens on HDTV channels have disappeared. I'm happy. Otherwise, the PQ is minimally worse than the 3100 but that could also be my imagination at this point. I could live with this for now until a PVR becomes available.

egcarter - that's good news. I still want Tivo to come out with a HD Tivo that doesn't involve DirecTV but I guess I could live with a SA version as well as long as I still had my current Tivo as well. Hurry up KGMB with your programming! And I want my Discovery HD!

Spleen
Reply
Reply
post #48 of 5418
12/14/03 at 12:28pm
Thread Starter 
I changed the name of this thread to make it easier to locate. I hope everyone doesn't mind.

I finally made it back from Japan and have had time to play with the SciAtl 3250 and my new 57" Sony Widescreen. All I can say is wow. What a big difference the HD channels look from SD. Some general observations:

The analog stations are quite noisy but of course feeding that noisy signal on a larger TV makes it more far more noticable than on my older 32".

INHD has some pretty interesting programming. Some shows are definatly more clear than others. Worth having for the "wow" factor.

Whats up with the HDTV sports channel? Why only programming some of the time? I asked an Oceanic representative and he said it was a temporary solution untill they could offer more HD programming.

Lets hope KGMB gets those HD recorders in so we can watch the Superbowl in HD!!

Bryan
Reply
Reply
post #49 of 5418
12/14/03 at 1:13pm
Quote:


Originally posted by BHaren
Lets hope KGMB gets those HD recorders in so we can watch the Superbowl in HD!!

Bryan

I would think that the Super Bowl would be in HD as it would be broadcast live. I think the reason they don't offer anything in HD now (and I could be wrong), like you mentioned, they don't have HD recorders yet and are unable to show any of the CBS Primetime line-up due to tape delay issues. Are any of the live Sunday game(s) in HD?? Thanks for any update.

yawny
Reply
Reply
post #50 of 5418
12/14/03 at 3:29pm
I have yet to see any "true" HD programming on the HDTV sports channel ... everything has been in 4:3 format. (though I do vaguely remember that Fox was supposed to be doing "HDTV" in a 480p format ... not sure if that was supposed to be 4:3 or 16:9).

I have to admit that I like INHD -- I like all the nature documentaries (which probably means that I'd be a sucker for Discovery HD).

Spleen
Reply
Reply
post #51 of 5418
12/15/03 at 10:51am
KGMB passes live programming in HD when available. No Primetime or the Young and the Restless until they install a HD recorder.

So far KGMB has aired the US Open in HD, all but one of the SEC Saturday Games in HD and the NFL HD game when also on KGMB analog. For the last 2 weeks though KGMB hasn't had the NFL HD game and opted for regional games.
This week KGMB will have the Saturday NFL HD game, Chiefs/Vikings, but is airing the Rams/Bengals game which is not HD on Sunday.
Reply
Reply
post #52 of 5418
12/15/03 at 12:42pm
On the HDSports channel, I have seen two Laker games broadcast in HD. So they are doing it when the proper feed is available.

Eric
Reply
Reply
post #53 of 5418
12/15/03 at 6:10pm
Thread Starter 
I guess I should clarify myself when I'm whining about KGMB...

Oceanic won't carry KGMB's HD signal untill they can offer it on a daily basis like the ABC affiliate (KITV). Right now OTA isn't an option for me so hopefully when KGMB get's their recorders then Oceanic will carry their signal (Hopefully by Superbowl Time!)

Bryan
Reply
Reply
post #54 of 5418
12/15/03 at 10:41pm
Hmmmm ... I wish there was some sort of guide as to what was aired on the HD Sports channel then ... as of now, it's sort of a big guessing game.

Spleen
Reply
Reply
post #55 of 5418
12/22/03 at 11:53am
Thread Starter 
I just got off the phone with Paul who works at KGMB engineering and he stated that there was going to be a network comprimise and they were going to air the Superbowl on Oceanic as a 1 time deal. (Woo Hoo!)

He also said that the issues with Oceanic are legal as well as waiting for digital video recorders. Hopefully this gets ironed out!

I then called Oceanic to ask what they knew about the Superbowl deal and they called back after consultation with management that the details of this have yet to be worked out. She said I should call back about two weeks prior to the game as they will have more info.

Bryan
Reply
Reply
post #56 of 5418
12/22/03 at 9:15pm
You would think that KGMB and Oceanic both would have incentives to resolve their differences and to get with the program ... it's kind of a lose-lose situation right now. Thanks for checking with them.

Spleen
Reply
Reply
post #57 of 5418
12/26/03 at 1:01pm
The last time I e-mailed Mr. Akamine @ Oceanic, I believe the word was that KHON, the NBC affiliate wasn't going HD until 2004, and as stated, Emmis Broadcasting wasn't commited to providing a consistent HD signal until 2004 as well. It was great when Oceanic had the mainland HD feed, but watching primetime shows at 5-6pm was too far out of sync.

Is anyone getting HD through satellite? I'm not a big fan of having to buy a dish/receiver and another LRN if I want multiple room HD, but it seems that sateliite service moves a bit faster than cable, although we would still have to get the local channels OTA. I'm still using my 3100HD and aside from having to use a cable line amp, it's been working great.
Reply
Reply
post #58 of 5418
12/26/03 at 11:34pm
Hi Mark - I've been tossing around the idea as well about going DirecTV (primarily because I want the HD Tivo!). As you mentioned, it'll definitely provide more HD channels for now (though hopefully Oceanic will get its butt off the ground ... or should I say TWC).

Spleen
Reply
Reply
post #59 of 5418
12/26/03 at 11:45pm
DirecTV is not currently servicing Hawaii with its HD content (although you can get it by jumping through hoops and getting a much bigger than normal dish. DISH network HD content is now available in HI on the 110 degree satellite.

Eric
Reply
Reply
post #60 of 5418
12/27/03 at 12:41am
I've seen HDNet coming off of DirecTV HD feed here on Oahu ... what hoops are you referring to? I know you need a 3 LNB dish and it's the large oval dish as opposed to the circular dish ... but it's certainly nowhere near a C-band satellite dish ...

Spleen
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Local HDTV Info and Reception

AVS Top Picks

AVS › AVS Forum › HDTV › Local HDTV Info and Reception › Honolulu, HI - HDTV