Traverse City, MI - HDTV - Page 6

It's about damn time these channels started broadcasting! I think Charter was just sitting on their lazy you know what.......god I hate Charter somedays..........

Cool Jay, glad to see you finally got the channels! Just in time for Pistons HD tonight on TNT!

Now if Charter would just fix that dreadful CBSHD channel I would be pretty much happy with them. Ive also noticed quite a bit of pixelation on CinemaxHD (but nothing nearly as bad as CBSHD, that channel is just plain unwatchable, IMO)

I'm still mad I couldn't get this local tech of mine to change out my old coax coming to the house. It's only 13 years old..You know that can't be good for HD and my Moxi. The genius wonders why I keep on calling him back for various signal issues. I wonder how much the pixleation is related to a good, clean signal? I haven't watched the new channels enough to see any pixelation, I've been sick as a dog with a cold since Christmas Eve. Have a good one

Every person I know in Grand Traverse county that subs to Charter HD has the exact same problem with CBSHD, so I really dont think its a signal issue.

As far as your 13 year old cable goes, Im really not sure if the cable used 13 years ago would cause a problem with HD signal or not..

Perhaps someone with a little more technial knowledge than myself can answer address that?

Anyways, it sure would be nice if someone with some knowledge of Charter and the inner workings of their QAM system would join in on our local thread..

I don't think it's the cable coming. I had all new cable installed(r11) up to my house,most channels come in good although cbs(9&10) seems to have the worst pixlation problem of all of them and it started when they began broadcasting nbc(7&4) in HD.

Thats exactly how I see it..

CBSHD had the best PQ of any HD channel Ive ever had, from any provider..

Within a few days of NBCHD being added, it became the worst HD channel in the lineup..

I hope everyone that sees this has called Charter and complained. Thats the only way its ever gonna get fixed...

I have called the engineer at CBS and complained as well, and he claims the problem is on Charters end, but he was very interested to hear what I was saying..

He said he would personally call Charter and get to the bottom of the problem, but that was a good 3 months ago..

I urge others to call CBS and ask for the engineering department and let them know what Charter is doing to their signal..

EDIT: Here is the phone # for CBS (1-231-947-7533), all you do is wait for the prompt that takes you to the operator, then ask for the engineering department, the head engineers name is Lowell..

Im sure everyone knows Charters #, but here it is, 1-800-545-0994

I spent some time watching CBS HD OTA in Suttons Bay this weekend. It looked fine except for the occasional macroblocking. I am at 60 miles from the tower so I get occasional signal fade although with a RCA DTC-210 and a D* H-20 the signal is very consistent.
I also spent a little time watching Young & Restless on CBS HD on my neighbors Sony LCD via Charter. It looked fine with no breakups. I know that Charter rebuilt our area with fiber optic in the last couple years. Possibly that is the difference in reception quality.
Neighbor is getting the new additions TNT and Cinemax.

I think a person would have a really hard time seeing the problems on Y & R..

That show just is not demanding enough to bring out the problems in full force.. If a person knew exactly what they were looking for, and was paying really close attention the problem can be seen to a very small extent on Y & R..

A show with demanding transitions (CSI, Cold Case, Without A Trace) and some fast moving scenes will show the problems easily to someone that knows what they are looking for.. (Joe Six Pack most likely wont see it though)..

A live sporting event will show the problem to anyone that pays any attention at all, and who has no idea what they are looking for..

I highly doubt it has to do with the fiber..Im quite certain its an engineering/bandwith problem of some sort..

If it was an issue with wiring/cable the problems would show up on all the HD channels, IMO..

Dosent anyone have any small shred of information regarding ABCHD, FOXHD, or PSBHD in the Traverse City area?

My God, this has got to be the deadest local thread (per capita) on this site..

Its no wonder these local affiliates dont bother giving us HD..

Sometimes I feel like Im the only person in Traverse City that cares about HD..

Is something wrong with me ?

There is nothing wrong with you. I, like you, am impatiently waiting for the wonderful world of HD to more fully show itself here. Since my location denies me of any possibility for OTA viewing, I have to choose between cable and some sat. service. Both, in my opinion, are too expensive for what they offer, especially since with cable, you have to purchase a couple of tiers of service before you can get HD. I am not that familiar with the sat. companies.
Talking yesterday to a local television personality, he told me about the Knoxville Tenn. area where all the local TV stations went together and bought a single tower, from which they all broadcast their signals. How wonderful would that be if the local CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, and FOX stations would put up a tower between TC and say, Kalkaska. Too bad it will never happen. So for the present, there is little to talk about concerning HD in Traverse City (at least as far as I'm concerned). I'm hopeful that by this next fall, there will be enough HD offerings through cable or sat. for me to feel comfortable in spending for their services. Until then, I just wait and dream.

Mike

Your idea of them all using one tower is not to far from what they are doing I think, Mike. The PBS and FOX stations are both going to be on ABC 29's tower near Kalkaska. The PBS station should be on by now (in HD and full power I would guess). Last I looked at the FCC page it still looks like the FOX station is going to 29's tower. My guess as to why they aren't on the air and WGTU is not on in HD is because of lack of money. I think I read someplace on this site that both channel 7 and 9 were going back to their old channels when the analog stations get shut down, so it maybe 2009 before you see them running high power on their old channels.

I have friends and family with cottages around Higgins Lake (in the past I've done their antenna work so they can get the few stations that they do get), so I keep an eye on this thread for what's going on. I hope this summer to get at least one of them a digital tuner so they can get PBS, and ABC with a nice clear signal. From what I see from here it looks like NBC and CBS are not going to be watchable on digital from there, but I hope to check that out this summer.

What is CMU/PBS showing on the their station? Just SD or nothing?

Is WGTU running full power (even if it's not HD)?

PBS 27-1 is up but no programming. 27-2 is showing the SD feed.
Don't know the power level of WGTU but the digital broadcast is solid in Suttons Bay with the SD programming.
I think you have a good chance of getting CBS near Higgins Lake. My brother can receive it sporadically in Midland and I get it solid in Suttons Bay.

wb8tgy, I noticed that you are in Charlotte. My Dad lives there and just got a HDTV. How many OTA HD channels can you expect to get there with a small indoor or possibly outdoor antenna?

Water1, thanks for the update on CBS!! Maybe I'll be able to get that for them also. The one family has a hill in that direction, and I had to put up a single channel yagi for ch. 9 (that works real good), and a good UHF antenna pointed at 29 (the only UHF station they can get).

Knight2c, I live north east of Potterville, and with the smallest outside VHF/UHF antenna Menards sells, I can get all the Lansing stations (CBS 59, PBS 55, NBC 57, FOX 38, and ABC 51), and out of Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo ( "i"/PAX/WB 44, ABC/UPN 20, FOX 19, NBC/UPN 7, CBS 2), and I get the "i"/PAX station out of Ann Arbor on 33 when it's on (haven't seen it in a few weeks). I'm using one of the U.S. Digital receivers from Wall Mart. With a "Silver Sensor" indoor UHF antenna I've picked up all the Lansing stations and the UHF ones out of G.R. Not sure if you could pick up NBC on channel 7 with a indoor antenna, and I don't think channel 2 CBS would work with a inside antenna.

wb8tgy,
Thanks for the reply. That is good news. He is east of Charlotte on Packard HWY, but not as close to Lansing as you are it sounds. It looks like he will be able to get most everything he needs with a small antenna. I will be setting something up for him the next time I get down that way.

I have the opposite problem and can't get any OTA HDTV channels.
I am really jealous of all you HDTVers.

kinight2c, he should be in good shape for Lansing. FOX, NBC, & ABC are all east of Eaton Rapids. CBS & PBS are near Okemos.

I have the HD pack and Show/HBO/Cinx HD through Charter..The only other tier I pay for is channels 2-13..

I called Charter over and over until I got a CSR to do it my way.. I believe it took a half dozen tries or so, but you can get HD from Charter without paying for the digital tier..

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, my wife just can't live without the family channel, oxygen, and lord knows what else feminine. So if I get any HD from Charter, I'll have to add it on top of what I already have. The last time I checked with Charter, I would have to pay for the receiver and for the HD channels...$6,$8,or $10 (whatever) per month more than what I pay know. Between the TV and the high speed modem (which again, my wife just can't live without) I am already paying more than I care to think about.

By the way, how is the reception for our local HD channels; CBS, NBC, FOX, and PBS on Charter? Is the signal terribly compressed? Are there alot of artifacts? Other problems still existing from what some were complaining about earlier this year? I want to watch NCAA boys basketball in HD and it is hard to wait. But then, it would be hard on the budget if I were to get the HD package. My budget is right at its limit as it is. Damn, I may just have to sell the corvette.

Mike

Heres the rundown on Charter HD Picture quality:

The only locals available in HD are CBS and NBC..

CBS has some kind of problem, and it has for about 4 months now..Major pixelation during scene transitions, and also during fast moving scenes..The pixelation/artifacting is at its worst during live sporting events..Usually live sporting events are so full of motion artifacts and pixelation they are unwatchable(this channel was incredibly perfect until the day NBCHD was added)..

As far as NBC, that channel features pixelation and artifcating no matter what the source (OTA or Charter)..That channel has been shot dead by the worthless multicasting of Tube TV, and the ultra worthless Weather Plus BS channel..Both channels steal bandwith form the main NBC HD channel..Anything live is totally unwatchable..

As far the rest of the HD channels:

HDNet, HDNet Movies, and Discovery HD all feature very mild pixelation and artifacting during fast motion..

Cinemax HD and TNT HD feature motion artifacting a little worse than the above channels, but not nearly as bad as CBS..

Showtime HD, HBOHD, and ESPNHD are all flawless, totally perfect HD..

So, Charter definately has their problems, but the only huge problem is CBS..

All in all I see see Charter as the way lesser of 2 evils, with Directv being the other evil..

If you forget about the motion artifacting and pixelation, Charter always has a vivid and full of detail picture..Colors and clarity are always brilliant, especially compared to Directv..

Wow! Since a fairly high percentage of what I would watch in HD would be sports; football and NCAA boys basketball, it sounds like I should keep on waiting. Thanks guffy 1 for the information. Kind of disheartning.

Mike

Huge pixelation party for todays Colts-Steelers game on CBS via Charter..

As a bonus theres even pixelation on still shots!

Thanks Charter!

I keep seeing numerous commercials on tv touting Charters HD programming and how wonderful it would be to enjoy the wonders of HD on your tv. With the observations made by several on this board, is there anything that can be done to remedy the problems with Charters poor HD performance? I suspect that the networks and local stations, CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC, etc. would be very upset about what Charter is doing to their signals, after these stations (and I'm talking about the local stations) have spent hundreds of thousands, if not millions to upgrade their equipment and signals (required by the gov.). So, I'll ask again. What can be done to force the cable industry and satelite industry to stop compressing and degrading the signals given to them by the networks?

I really dont think they can be forced into doing anything..

But I did post CBS' phone # in this forum, and calling CBS and letting them know cannot hurt, IMO.. (Post # 156)

I also posted Charters #, and calling them and complaining cant hurt either, IMO..

Calling them both over and over until its fixed would work real good I think!

Hdnet Movies, and HDNet have been having video freezes every 10 minutes or so for a good week now..This is the 3rd time this has started up in the last year..Usually it takes 4-5 phone calls and at least 2 service calls before it gets fixed..

It would be nice if others would report it, as I have..

Its happening at my Moms house too, proving its not a problem in my home, but they always insist on making service calls anyways..

The problem never ends up being in my home, its a Charter engineering problem of some sort and it dosnet get fixed until people start calling..

This issue is happening down here in W. Michigan also. Down here we thought it would be a headend problem, but if it is happening in TC also, it may be a bigger issue .

I do not know if you saw the post on the W. Michigan site, but someone actually got ahold of someone who admits there is an issue here in Allendale at the Headend with HDNET and HDMovies. He hopes to have it fixed by Monday.

We will see.

Yes, I did see that..

Ive pretty much moved over to the Grand Rapids thread for this discussion...lol

I guess there arent any Charter HD subs subscribed to this thread

Maybe Im the only person in TC that watches Charter HD is what I'm thinking

You wont be for long, I move in two weeks up that way.

Well Guffy, I'll be joining you with Charter HD this coming fall...whether or not things improve with them. Getting tired of waiting and I want to watch NFL and college football in HD, as well as NCAA boys basketball. So I'm hoping Charter will get its act together by then. One can only hope.

And I will be rattling some chains and trying to get the attention of all involved, to clean up the signals, before I sign up.

Mike

Mike, regardless of their problems, IMO, Charter is still the best HD option in Traverse City..

Ive been through all the options, DISH, Directv, BEV and Charter..

At this time, nothing could convince me that Charter isnt the best option in Traverse City for HD..

They really need to fix the problems with CBSHD though. Those problems have been going on for way too long..

Thanks Guffy. I will eventually be getting Charter HD, but probably not until after summer (will be spending too much time cruising this beautiful area to watch much TV). I will be keeping an eye on this thread and the Grand Rapids thread for updated information about the problems occuring on Charter with their HD signals.

I appreciate the information you and others are supplying.

Mike