Orlando, FL - BHN - Page 25

November 1st and we still don't have a hdtv pvr Can we expect one before the end of the year? Last I remember it was 3rd quarter 2004 no?

The SA8000HD was delivered in the 3rd quarter and rejected by BHN. THe new model is the SA8300HD currently in beta test. You can see the SA8300HD at the CFHDS tour on Nov. 13th.

Can't wait for this. I hate having two boxes.

Can anybody make comments on the picture quality of BrightHouse , both HD and SD, on large screen TVs (above 60") ? We will have BHN here in Heathrow very soon and I wonder if I will regret or not to move from Dishnet to BHN. PQ is a very important issue to me since a remember the terrible picture I had from TWC when I was living in NYC ( I had digital cable).

many Thanks

Sergio

A number of un-HD related political comments have been deleted. Further like comments will be deleted without warning and repeat offenders risk losing the ability to participate at AVS.

Sergio,

Glad to hear Heathrow FINALLY got off their duff and decided to dump that AWFUL cable service they had. You will be happy with your Brighthouse service!

In comparison to Dish Network, DirecTV, et. al., you have to remember that Brighthouse Networks (along with just about every other cable company) still has a tier of channels that are broadcast via analog signal. By definition, it will have a lower-grade picture quality then your Dish signal. Of course, argument can be made that in a perfect world, analog should be right up there with DBS-based signals, but we don't live in a perfect world, now do we?

Brighthouse DOES offer you something Dish can't offer you....convenience. In order to receive your HDTV locals, you will need a OTA antenna, which your homeowner's association will not like. **NOTE** I did not say they can do squat about it, just that they won't like it.

As for their HDTV signal, there's no complaint about the picture quality in comparison to Dish, and you should be happy with either signal.

Hope you find this helpful!

Regards,

Fred Forlano
Higher Definition

Fred:

Thanks. I like the convenience argument. I have a monster roof antenna and I am not able to receive all the OTA-HD channels.

I received a letter from BHN yesterday. They bought Heathrow Cable and are now wiring the community with fiber optic. Service will be available beginning next year. I think I will try the service but keep my dish just in case. I presume the analog channels you mentioned are not the ones I watch. If all the premium movie channels are digital I will be a happy camper.

Is Higher Definition the name of your company? If so, what kind of business you have?

Thanks again

Sergio

Brighthouse claims that they relay HD channels without any additional compression. Local HD channels through BHN should be just the same as receiving them OTA.

ALl of the premium movie channels are delivered digitally, at the same quality as your DBS satellite service. Also, HBO and Showtime have HDTV channels on Brighthouse Networks.

Yes, Higher Definition is my company. We are a custom home theater sales and installation company. There are several local dealers here in the Orlando area that are also part of the AVS Forum. I don't like to promote my business here, as this is a forum for us to share information, not to sell our wares. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have. If you would like to call me directly, please feel free to visit my company's website, www.higherdef.com and contact me via email or directly via phone.

Regards,

Fred Forlano
Higher Definition

Guess we know where AVS forum stands

All,

Sorry, I haven't been around, but things have been busy here. To cover a few things.

1) Boxes with time problems - we had a software issue that causes boxes to shift time by an hour. It required a new code download.

2) Boxes with scrolling numbers in the display - as we push new software code down to settops, it essentially is a process where we command the settop to request the new code be downloaded. At any given instance, there is a possiblity that the box just doesn't get the code, generally due to a signal strength issue or internal box failure. In that case, it just continues to request the new code.

3) HD-DVR - BHN started initial deployment of SA 8300HD's in Tampa this week. We're able to start in that region because they run SARA operating software, while in Central Florida we run Passport. Because Passport is written by somebody other than SA, any releases to support new SA hardware are always a couple months behind the SARA release. The Passport code for the 8300 is being tested, and depending on the results of testing and time to certify the code, I'd expect to have it available in about 2-3 months. It is a huge improvement over the 8000HD, and comes with a couple of nifty features which I'll demonstrate at the CFHDS tour on the 13th.

4) Heathrow - I guarantee that with the equipment upgrades we're going to be installing, the picture and product/channel offerings will be head and shoulders above Heathrow Cable. Fred and I have had the discussion about analog channels, but here are some points to consider:

a) Digital Channels - Digital transmission mediums are vastly different, and BHN has some substantial advantages in my opinion.
b) BHN Digital vs. DBS digital - The DBS providers have a tool that allows "variable bit rate" encoding, meaning they can crank up or down the compression at will. Look at the vast number of picture quality complaints on HBO as the Sunday Ticket HD games cranked up, with 3 HD channels crammed onto the same transponder. Look at the over-compression of the local SD channels compared to the main "cable" networks. BHN does not own compression equipment, we've resisted vendors who pushed us to "rate-shape", etc.
c) The vast majority of our local signals, both analog and digital, are delivered to BHN headends via fiber, instead of over the air. We carried WKMG's 2001 Super Bowl broadcast months before their tower was even put up. The signal is significantly less susceptible to disruption than OTA, even in a digital transmission.

5) For slimoli: Try BHN - you've got nothing to lose. Hook it up and try it for a month, and form your own opinion. With no contracts, you can turn it all back in to us at any time. I don't recommend you try this in reverse, as the DBS contract requirements will tie your hands significantly.

Finally, with regard to "Guess we know where AVS forum stands"...I agree. I think its obvious they stand firmly in support of increased public awareness of High Definition and advanced technology entertainment, and that Ken H. is firmly convinced that political discussions (other than the FCC) belong somewhere else. Exactly as it should be. I value the information and feedback I get from this site and you "users" too much to lose it.

Huzzah! Thanks Greg for your support and updates as always!

Sometimes a little bit of status update on the HD-PVR keeps us breathing until the day we can get one.

Oh man, I sure wish I wasn't going to be out of town on the 13th for the BHN tour.

Thanks for the great info Greg. The SARA vs Passport software difference must be why my friend in Clearwater with the same DVR box that I have has a very different menu look and maybe some other differences.

We still have openings on the Central Florida HD Society tour of BHN. The details are posted here.

The CFHDS is a free organization.

I had DirectTV (SD only) for a while and could compare the analog channels on my 57". The BHN analog channels had static. Those same channels on DirectTV " were blurry. (I didn't have an antenna so I couldn't compare to OTA. I'm speaking of ESPN for example) . Hard to decide which was more annoying. On my 32" SD TV the blur wasn't as noticeable and the picture preferable. However, that was at least a year ago and I feel the analogs have cleaned up a bit.
Not to jump on the BHN love fest bandwagon but from what I've read on other forums we have one of the best HD cable companies in the country. And from what I've read of complaints from DBS customers about compression I think we get pretty high QoS (signal wise) from BHN. Not to mention their demonstrable commitment to HD.
And most importanly we have Greg.

You should probably ask the question on the CFL OTA thread also, if you haven't already. Anybody have the link?

I too will be out of town on the 13th. I hope someone that attends gives us a good recap.

I'll second that, I'll be in Palm Beach showing my car, no way I can get back up here in time (or even try as I am going on to Miami to see family).

Greg,

Can you provide a brief overview of the 8300DVR? I'm a current DirecTivo user on DirecTV (gasp!). I currently have BHN for RoadRunner and was considering switching back to BHN to save some money on the combo and because I recently got a HDTV. I really love the Tivo and can't do without a DVR so I'm curious if you could give some details on the pros and cons of the 8300 vs the HD DirecTivo. Obviously upfront costs of the HD Tivo are huge so I'm tempted to hold off until the 8300DVR is released.

recently switched to bhn -- anyone know if there is a listing of which magic games on sunshine bhn will broadcast in hd and, if so, where? btw, do they add a channel for such broadcasts?? Thanks!

The magic sched is on the previous page:

10 Magic home games will be in HD this season.

Monday 11/29 vs Boston
Saturday 12/18 vs Denver
Saturday 1/8 vs New Jersey
Tuesday 1/18 vs Detroit
Friday 1/28 vs Washington
Tuesday 2/1 vs Cleveland
Thursday 2/10 vs Atlanta
Tuesday 2/15 vs LA Clippers
Sunday 3/13 vs New Jersey
Wednesday 3/30 vs Toronto

They will be on a certain channel number, don't remember what it is...

Greg:

Thank you very much. I will try BHN for sure. I have never had Heathrow cable , the worst and most expensive cable on earth. I had a bad experience with Time Warner Cable when I was living in NYC (digital with fiber optic) and was never happy with picture quality. I like the picture of Dishnet but they have a HD DVR that doesn't work and the appeal to get digital local channels from cable is enough to worth a try. I also think that cable is much less messy than dishes and switches.

Sergio

For me to go back to cable these would be my terms

All analog channels duplicated with little compression in digital
The price of their standard & digital cable would have to be $49.99
The price of their set-top boxes would have to be $5 each

Search at Yahoo or Google for 'Explorer 8300'. You will find a link to a pdf from Scientific Atlanta with the capabilities.

I hope BHN gets the Multi-Room Version.

Michael

I found that pdf and looked at it. WOW! Can't wait 'till those things come out.......Jim

This pdf is generic covering all possible options. We will see on the BHN tour which options are going to be available for Central Florida.

 

sa8300dvr.pdf 165.6611328125k . file

Greg,

Any update on when we might be seeing any more of the HD premium movie channels?

Michael

Couple points:

1) 8300 multi-room is still sort of "vapor-ware" at this point. It will happen, but not soon.

2) Channel additions -- we keep working on more, but some things are beyond our control, or stuck in contractual issues. It's always hard to tell when they'll break loose. When ESPN finally happened, I had no indication it was imminent until I suddenly got an email saying it was clear to launch.

Will the 8300 have the IEEE 1394 output enabled?

Kudos to BHN for the new OnDemand channels. I love being able to watch Top Cat and Hong Kong Phooey!!! (among others... )

Yah, I thought that might happen with the SA8000HD because a lady at the Altamonte office said that the "employee testers" were having numerous problems with recording with HD and such.


Hopefully the SA8300HD will be approved by BHN since the technology hopefully is much improved over the previous SA8000HD.