Norfolk, VA - HDTV - Page 16

No, I said "delivery" medium. Understand the difference? You can have all the content you want but without Radio you wouldnt have gotten the word to those that needed it the most. I do agreee that without the TV broadcasters you would have had less information. But without Radio, those without power, the people that needed help the most, wondering where to get ice, food and gas to survive, not those with power suffering a minor inconveince would have had ZERO information.

Again the most useful info I found, being one of those without power was from residents calling in on cell phones telling people where they had just found ice etc. Weather updates, emergency info and that type of information could be easily conveyed by radio.

Im glad that Les had customers watching his station with power, thats great, but I dont think those sitting comfortably in their homes watching TV were the people that needed the info the most. Im still wondering how or why that entered into the debate. I suppose he was trying to make his post longer or prove that some people had power, but I dont recall anyone ever saying that NO ONE had power.

If it is not too much trouble, could someone please summerize the latest regarding COX picking up ABC, NBC and Fox HD broadcasting. is there any hope the 2 sides will work it out in time for the football season.

thanks
Brian

Umm Vurbano I think the jail needed info just as much as anyone and we watched Wavy there. The Portsmouth Police also had to set up base there as they had flooding at their station. I guess you wanting to know where a bag of ice was so you could have a cold drink was more important than the jail and the police keeping up on any weather emergencies

A belated thanks to all the local tv stations for keeping us informed during last years hurricane. Hopefully we won't have another hurricane close to Isabel's strength in a long time as staying at the jail for 36 hours wasn't exactly comfortable or fun. The local stations did make it a little more bearable though by keeping us informed and we could see some of what was going on around Hampton Roads (something that the radio stations can't do).

I never said I wasn't angry. And I still don't see anything that rises to the level of an "attack". There is plenty of sarcasm here and it also seems that everyone is willing to give or take a dig.

Yes, it is too much to ask. I doubt they are even in any kind of negotiation. Every time the network affiliates square off with Cox it is the viewer who suffers. Typically the networks attempt use the viewer for leverage against the cable provider by denying access. I resent this. I'm not an advocate for the networks, they do not represent my interests. Their product is so heavily laden with advertising that, in my view, they are merely money grungers looking for another resource. I would agree though that there are plenty of inequities in this industry. If the Cartoon channel (which I never watch) gets a portion of my cable payment and WAVY gets nothing then they certainly have an ax to grind. But as a viewer, I can't help them. They should be petitioning the FCC or SCC or lobbying Congress.

With digital coding I believe the technology exists where subscribers should be able to order services a la cart. But I suspect that this terrifies the entire entertainment industry. For example if I were able to subscribe to only the channels I watched for $1 each per month then my cable bill would drop from $52 to $12. The Sonys and Time Warners will never let this happen.

Never mind football season. I was hoping to watch some of the Olympics in HD. On the other hand, I remember being totally disgusted during the Salt Lake winter Olympics while watching short track speed skating. The individual heats were lasting 45 seconds or so but the network was breaking for commercial after each heat!! The NFL is almost unwatchable now. They break for commercial between every penalty and incomplete pass. I'm a reasonable person but I don't see how they deserve even one penny of my cable subscription.

Sorry about the grandstanding. There are network people lurking here who could answer your question but I doubt they will. You are stirring the pot just by posing the question.

could someone else take a stab at my question besides commercialtude(sorry, could not resist).
thanks
Brian

A bag of ice... now theres some true ignorance. Im glad you had some entertainment from TV during your 36 hour stay.

I havent heard of any progress. The two sides continue to argue about bandwidth and subchannels. But since Fox doesnt have a lot of subchannels (I think, havent checked in awhile) I would expect them first.

Ive always wondered why COx doesnt stick an OTA tuner in their HD moto box. Wouldnt that increase their HD subs? If they are at an impass then wouldnt that help their cause?

Vurbano you seem like a very troubled and angry little guy. Don't worry we will keep a room open for you at work, that way you can sit and watch local tv all day and come to appreciate it
Kidding of course.

nope. And typically with a hurricane VA beach gets the worst of it. Its just that we had people in shelters here and in the dark for many many days here. "a bag of ice" comment was pretty insensitive. I am sure that Va Beach will be hit hard by a hurricane in the future, the odds favor it. You know that. And when it does you wont see insensitive comments about it.

You may want to post your question here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=403277

O I thought robertwillisjrs' PsychoBabble was reffering to me

Hmmmm. PB is it?

I was one of those looking for ice. When the food in your freezer is spoiling you need ice. It is not trivial to have to drive to Richmond with your neighbors to get it. Being without power for a week is the pits.

Digitude is correct about comercials and sports. It is a blatant rip off. Too many commercials and all of the sportsbabble :-) from the so called experts cause me to switch off the sound and play music while watching the game. My point is that the locals don't have control over that. However, they do control local broadcasts (news for instance) and there are too many commercials during this programming as well.

Vurbano the "a bag of ice" comment was meant for you and you only as you said
Now that may have been the most important thing for you but in comparison to other things going on at the time it just wasn't all that important. I guess I should have worded it a little better but what I was basically trying to say was that you should feel lucky that losing your power is all you had to worry about when others were worrying about losing their house and belongings or even a death of a loved one. If I offended anyone I'm sorry.
Yes I know the odds favor that a hurricane may hit Va Beach hard in the future and hopefully afterwards we won't see ignorant statements that the local tv channels served no purpose.
Anyways enough about the hurricane that's old news.

Is it just me, or does anyone else here get the feeling this thread is on the edge of another "shutdown"..........? carry on...

You are probably correct jkhome. My flame is extinguished.

Did anyone hear about the SEC investigation into Cox and other carriers about reporting more subscribers than they actually had. Does that mean higher costs to advertisers?

Hey, this is a great site. The second I read your post about MAX HD on Cox, I ripped the remote out of my wifes' hands to check it out!

If you do want to talk about commercials...how about some favorites?

I'm thinking of the yogurt commercail where the wife is dressed like the french maid, spoon feeding it to her husband....yea baby! (then of course the kids come home, boy can I relate).

You are absoultly right. I wish all I had to worry about was a bag of ice that by the way I never had to do without ice even though my home was flooded sustaining $92,000 in damage and my power was off for 17 days. The ice issue is the most insane thing I have ever heard of. It just shows the lack of personal preperation by some. I had all the ice I needed, my freezer did not defrost and I had WAVY TV for up to date information. I checked the radio and the stations were either rebroadcasting the tv audio or their out of town canned programming. Worthless.

I guess my real problem is I never learned that I have a right that others should cater to my every need and want and provide for all my needs at the snap of a finger. I could have saved a lot of hard work and planning over my 60 years.

My Tivo (in Williamsburg) produced a message claiming to add TNTHD on Cox 766. It doesn't show up in the converter, but maybe soon...

Bruce

That is good to hear. I felt like I was missing out last week when I saw that Salem's Lot was broadcast in HD. Let's hope they get TNT up soon with NO additional charge.

Excellent post HJ

Im thinking of building a home on a river in a hurricane prone area............... Nah, think ill just look for ice or purchase a small generator and hunt for gas next time. Less "insanity" and more responsible personal planning on my part. The point is, we all have our own idea of what is responsible or sane. Much of it depends on where you are standing at the time.

I turn the volume down on Fox for Redskins games and listen to Sonny Jurgensen and Sam Huff call the game on radio. Or I'll record with the DVR at kickoff and then start playback an hour later. By the end of the fourth quarter I'm usually caught up to live action and skipped every commercial and the half time ad extravaganza. More time for Sunday brunch too.

You tried the other thread didn't you? And all you got from the broadcasters was Don't ask me....I just work here. Until commercials go HD you probably won't see ABC, NBC or Fox on HD cable. GACK! I can hardly wait to hear the Chimney Hill Furniture singers in Dolby Digital surround!

Moto 6200 VCR controller

Anyone out there using this accessory, and where can I buy one? COX apparently doesn't offer them for sell or lease. I am assuming that it is basically an IR sender, plug it into the mini phono jack in the back of the box, and aim it at my VCR's IR receiver eye. Looks as if when setting it up, the unit goes though all the codes of whatever manufacturer you pick, similar to some universal remote controls.

AFAIK, nothing has changed since the last time anything was posted in this thread (which goes back over probably the last year. My understanding is that the local OTA stations have positions ranging from "carry all our subchannels" to "pay us for the HD signal" and I think including the (rather sensible, really) "if you charge extra for an HD tier, we want a piece of the action." AFAIK, Cox's stance is still "your primary channel, only, for free."

And no, even if the engineers knew, I'm sure they wouldn't be allowed to say exactly what's going on. My best guess is that the truth is for the non-locally owned stations (most of them, I think) and for Cox, there's no one in Hampton Roads who even has the power to negotiate, other than to recite the corporate policy. The deal between CBS stations and Comcast, for instance, was a national agreement.

My best guess is if you want ABC and Fox football, you need an antenna unless the FCC provides rules soon.

Bruce

BTW, it's third quarter now. Anyone want to start a new thread?

WTKR-DT

For the record..WTKR-DT and COX deal was negotiated locally....

It is pretty much done locally. A friend that lives in Las Vegas checked and the deals for CBS, ABC and NBC were each negotiated locally with Cox. Of course this is but one example but...

jkhome- iv been using a Radio Shack VCR controller (around $15) It starts the VCR recording at a specified time. You need to leave the Moto on and tuned to the channel you want to record.

Id like to chime in on the Local-Cox HD standoff- This has gone on too long freaks! I would like to enjoy the Olympics and Redskins without pixellization or audio dropouts. And considering that Im already paying Cox $120 a month for cable & computer I dont think i should have to pay a dime more. I enjoy the HD offerings from Cox very much, but hate the fact that HBO, Showtime and MaxHD dont consistently show films in their original aspect ratio. Note to content providers-we subscribe to HD services because we are discerning conniseurs of picture quality. Blowing up a 2:35x 1 picture to fill an HDTV screen softens the picture noticeably. I want my OAR freaks!!!I love INHD but they run very few movies. Is there any reason, such as exclusivity clauses that Cox could not carry HDNET & HDNET Movies as well? HDNET is actually playing some great movies lately, but there is no way for me to record them in HD from Dish Network. Maybe we should launch a write-in campaign- FREE THE HD!!!

Mark Cuban has never ruled out cable carriage for HDNet, like InHD's backers (cable companies) have rulled out satellite carriage.

I've seen posts on HDTV Magazine referring to cable systems, somewhere (I think Comcast) carrying the HDNet channels AND InHD. So, it can happen, if they want it to.

Thanks a bunch, shugazer9. I'll check out the Radio Shack unit. I've emailed Motorola and posted the Q on the Home Theater Spot Motorola forum, with no responses. I tried an IR blaster accessory called a VCR Mouse, that went with my old Sony "D" receiver, but that didn't work either.

What would really be nice is a Moto 6208 DVR!