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Fargo, ND - HDTV - Page 42

post #1231 of 1932
10/3/08 at 8:26am
Never thought I would see the day where WDAY had more advanced technology the KVLY/KXJB - A few years ago, WDAY couldn't even pass through stereo audio from the network (I don't think they ever had an MTS capable exciter in their transmitter)....

Quote:
Originally Posted by dandeson83 View Post

I just caught the end of the news on WDAY at 5pm, and right before the weather closing, they showed an ad for WDAY News, and it was in HD. It was pretty neat to see. This must mean that WDAY can shoot, edit, and locally playback HD.
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post #1232 of 1932
10/4/08 at 8:25pm
Didn't Kelsey Soby impress you?
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post #1233 of 1932
10/5/08 at 1:13pm
I've noticed that 13.1 now appears to be a simulcast of 13.2. The national PBS HD programming seems to be no more. Does anyone know if this is a permanent situation or is this a short term anomoly?

Thanks.

John
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post #1234 of 1932
10/5/08 at 1:17pm
The national PBS-HD feed as it exists now goes away on 02/17/09. So it's probably permanent.

- Trip
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post #1235 of 1932
10/6/08 at 6:13pm
For those of you using Media Center with CableOne or MidContinent (assuming you can record local cable with Vista media center)....
what tuner are you using?
What channels are you able to receive/record (full lineup, analog only, digital only, hd, etc)?

Any feedback regarding the cable services and using Media Center with them would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Gary
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post #1236 of 1932
10/7/08 at 7:09am
It would nice if, instead of running the same programming on two different steams, they would bring in the PBS Kids channel or PBS Create, or something similar to that on DT-2....I do enjoy the MN channel on DT-3...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steinej View Post

I've noticed that 13.1 now appears to be a simulcast of 13.2. The national PBS HD programming seems to be no more. Does anyone know if this is a permanent situation or is this a short term anomoly?

Thanks.

John
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post #1237 of 1932
10/11/08 at 4:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by glura View Post

For those of you using Media Center with CableOne or MidContinent (assuming you can record local cable with Vista media center)....
what tuner are you using?
What channels are you able to receive/record (full lineup, analog only, digital only, hd, etc)?

Any feedback regarding the cable services and using Media Center with them would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Gary

With CableOne, I have an XP MCE with an old Hauppauge analog tuner (250MCE?) and I get the standard basic channels (2-63). This computer also has a Fusion HDTV OTA HD tuner for the locals.

I also have an HDhomerun on a Vista box and get the unencrypted HD channels (FOX, ABC, EPSN, TNT, etc.)
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post #1238 of 1932
10/12/08 at 12:13pm
Just saw a scroll from CableONE at the bottom of channel 29, stating that as of 11/11, they are going to be encrypting all of the HD channels except the locals. Bad news for everyone who is using a clearQAM tuner for their HD.
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post #1239 of 1932
10/12/08 at 1:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dandeson83 View Post

Just saw a scroll from CableONE at the bottom of channel 29, stating that as of 11/11, they are going to be encrypting all of the HD channels except the locals. Bad news for everyone who is using a clearQAM tuner for their HD.

I saw that too. Might be time to look at satelite service.
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post #1240 of 1932
10/13/08 at 7:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ThreePutt View Post

I saw that too. Might be time to look at satelite service.

Holy f'in crap, that's about as sucky as news as I've had in a long time (related to MCE that is). I guess it was pretty nice while it lasted (you have to admit that Cable One was relatively liberal with their clear QAM).

How nice of them to at least give us the TWO FREAKIN' LOCAL CHANNELS that they actually carry in Clear QAM though...

Sure glad the economy is in such great shape that I can drop $1k+ for a Cable Card machine without thinking twice about it...
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post #1241 of 1932
10/14/08 at 10:19am
Do we know if CableOne will have any NBC and CBS after February 17?

Since Hoak isn't requesting "must-carry" can CableOne bring in out of market signals?

Of course, I gave up on cable long ago, and went strictly OTA (OTA DTV picture and audio quality kicks ass - much better than digital cable). If there's "nothing" on, we don't need to be watching TV..

Now if we can just get more broadcasters to do multicasting (for example FSSN on WDAZ-DT when it goes active)
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpedInFargo View Post

Holy f'in crap, that's about as sucky as news as I've had in a long time (related to MCE that is). I guess it was pretty nice while it lasted (you have to admit that Cable One was relatively liberal with their clear QAM).

How nice of them to at least give us the TWO FREAKIN' LOCAL CHANNELS that they actually carry in Clear QAM though...

Sure glad the economy is in such great shape that I can drop $1k+ for a Cable Card machine without thinking twice about it...
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post #1242 of 1932
10/14/08 at 11:50am
Just a quick heads up for you guys. For those of you that may have been receiving the analog translator signal out in Devils Lake I'm sure you've noticed a big lack of said signal. The 350 foot tower there decided to do the 'play dead' trick and is currently laying on the ground in a state of mangled steel. I wouldn't expect it to be back on the air any time soon...
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post #1243 of 1932
10/14/08 at 3:30pm
Thread Starter 
From Scott Geston:

Quote:
Beginning November 11, 2008 several cable networks will begin
requiring Cable One to scramble the following HD channels: A&E HD,
Discovery HD Theater, ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, TBS HD, Universal HD, National
Geographic HD and TNT HD. Only customers with a HD TV with an ATSC
tuner, that do not subscribe to the standard definition signal of the HD
network and without a HD/DVR, HD receiver or cable card will be
affected. Local HD over-the-air broadcast channels will not be scrambled
and all customers will continue to receive the local broadcast HD
channels as before.

You may wonder why we are scrambling these networks now, especially if
you have received these HD channels in the past. We did not initially
scramble our HD signals because we wanted our customers have a positive
experience with their new HD TVs, by providing a multitude of
programming options in HD, at no additional charge. However, several
programming networks have informed us that we must scramble their
channels because they are concerned about their programming being
pirated and duplicated. Customers must subscribe to a channel in order
to receive that channel in HD, allowing networks to protect their
programming revenues.

Beginning November 11th, customers with an ATSC tuner without a HD/DVR,
HD receiver or cable card to unscramble the HD signal will lose their HD
networks. If you lose your HD signals and wish to receive them from
Cable One, please call 877-204-5448 or stop by your local Cable One
office for more information or to pick up a HD/DVR, HD receiver or cable
card.

We apologize for any inconvenience, and thank you for being a Cable One
customer.

So, I guess we should be blaming the networks who are are concerned about the non-existent "piracy" threat.
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post #1244 of 1932
10/15/08 at 6:53am
Is Red River Broadcasting going to give up on this translator too?

Since you don't appear to market southern mb anymore (I remember around 1988, Red River actually has a Winnipeg sales office), you should move KNRR 30-40 miles to the SW (i.e. Park River, Edmore area), and it will cover Devils Lake, Grafton, Park River with a good signal - and maybe into the Cooperstown area...Much more potential viewers in that area than the current KNRR coverage (if you exclude Winnipeg and southern MB).

Quote:
Originally Posted by DirectorFlik View Post

Just a quick heads up for you guys. For those of you that may have been receiving the analog translator signal out in Devils Lake I'm sure you've noticed a big lack of said signal. The 350 foot tower there decided to do the 'play dead' trick and is currently laying on the ground in a state of mangled steel. I wouldn't expect it to be back on the air any time soon...
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post #1245 of 1932
10/15/08 at 9:24am
I was at my brother's place last week to watch the Vikings on Monday Night Football. He has a 42 inch LG HDTV and is getting cable. He had ESPN HD on and the TV was in 16:9 mode. There were big black strips at the top and bottom of the picture. I changed some things to see if it would take up the whole screen. He has 2 zoom settings, which would fill the screen, but I think it cut off the ends of the picture. I don't understand this. I have a 37 inch Toshiba HDTV and just get programming from an antenna. When a program is in HD, it just automatically takes up the whole screen. Is there a setting on his TV that should be changed so it will fill the screen without losing anything? He also has a DVR box through the cable company. Would that have anything to do with it? Is it something with the way the cable company is sending out the program?
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post #1246 of 1932
10/15/08 at 9:45am
Patrick-

I would guess there is a setting in his TV or cable box (assuming he has one) that is wrong. Did the image on any of the other HD channels fill the screen vertically? Is this CableOne?

Cheers!
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post #1247 of 1932
10/15/08 at 11:52am
Patrick,

It could also be how the cablebox is hooked up to the TV. Make sure that it is connected with either an HDMI cable, or with component video (red/green/blue) and audio (red/white).

If it is connected with either composite video (yellow) or RF, the picture will be letterboxed. That might exlpain the black bars on the top and bottom of thre picture.
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post #1248 of 1932
10/15/08 at 1:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gottahavapj View Post

Patrick-

I would guess there is a setting in his TV or cable box (assuming he has one) that is wrong. Did the image on any of the other HD channels fill the screen vertically? Is this CableOne?

Cheers!


I'm not sure what his setup is. I know he has a DVR that came with the cable package he chose. I'm not sure about his other HD channels. It is Midcontinent.
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post #1249 of 1932
10/15/08 at 1:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dandeson83 View Post

Patrick,

It could also be how the cablebox is hooked up to the TV. Make sure that it is connected with either an HDMI cable, or with component video (red/green/blue) and audio (red/white).

If it is connected with either composite video (yellow) or RF, the picture will be letterboxed. That might exlpain the black bars on the top and bottom of thre picture.


OK, thanks. I'll have to tell him about this and have him check it out. I found it to be quite annoying.

I'm pretty sure the cable company hooked everything up for him and would assume they'd do whatever was best, but maybe they didn't.
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post #1250 of 1932
10/15/08 at 8:06pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick T View Post

I'm pretty sure the cable company hooked everything up for him and would assume they'd do whatever was best, but maybe they didn't.

That's pretty funny. The cable company really doesn't care if it is hooked up with the right connections. They'll just hook it up like they always have in the past; with good old coax.

Make sure that the cable box is set correctly as well. It should be set to output 1080i or 720p, depending on the resolution of the TV.
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post #1251 of 1932
10/15/08 at 9:01pm
My money's on the cable too. There are some things I don't like about Cable ONE, but at least they give you component cables with the HD-DVR (at least they did when I got mine). Not sure if they hook stuff up right, I didn't let them do it!
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post #1252 of 1932
10/15/08 at 9:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick T View Post

I'm pretty sure the cable company hooked everything up for him and would assume they'd do whatever was best, but maybe they didn't.

When CableOne hooked up my brother's cable modem (with wireless), they left the wireless network enabled and unsecured.
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post #1253 of 1932
10/16/08 at 4:27pm
Ha ha, well, live and learn, I guess. My brother had a guy come over from the store where they bought the TV and he said it was hooked up wrong. He used a HDMI cable and made other changes, too. Things seem to be fixed now!
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post #1254 of 1932
10/17/08 at 9:00am
So I just got a DirecTV offer in the mail that appears to clear the last hurdle I had to making the jump from CableOne to them. The previous offers I've seen have offered a free upgrade to an HD receiver or a DVR- I need an HD DVR. The latest offer now says free upgrade to an HD DVR. I sat down last night and ran the numbers like Puck indicated he has and it is about to the dollar a wash with what I am paying CableOne now. This is after the 12 month- $23/mo credit expires though. The $34.99 a month for the first year for Choice Xtra quickly becomes $73/mo after the 12 month promo expires. $10/mo for HD access (although you get A LOT more channels) $5/mo for locals, 2 plain receivers at $5/mo each for the other 2 TV's. Plus I'm not wild about being pinned down to a 2 year contract in today's volatile economy. If I was affected by the upcoming change eliminating clear Qam access to the HD channels- I'd be gone in a heartbeat. Decisions, decisions

Also- I thought Brian's post of CableOne stating they were required to encrypt the HD broadcast of several stations was interesting. I did a Google search numerous ways trying to find some mandate mentioned where all these broadcasters were requiring this encryption. Surprisingly enough- I found no mention of it. Huh..

Cheers all!
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post #1255 of 1932
10/18/08 at 5:51pm
I got the same offer (2 of them actually) and set it aside to possibly research further. Like you, lack of a free HD-DVR upgrade was holding me back, but I'm not sure if I want to switch now, with the possibility of MidCo coming to town. Hope that pans out!
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post #1256 of 1932
10/20/08 at 4:19pm
I have had Directv for three years now and you do not pay extra for locals, they are included in every package that you get now.
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post #1257 of 1932
10/28/08 at 8:22am
That sounds right, but I believe Dish Network may still charge extra for the locals (but their base rate is lower, so it works out about the same I think).
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post #1258 of 1932
10/28/08 at 2:41pm
Thanks for the feedback. When I went through the sign up exercise to total up the monthly cost- I believe it just added in the $5/mo for locals automatically. All the better if I don’t need it.

I have the multidirectional antenna on my chimney currently attached to a DVico ATSC tuner card in my MCE 2005 HTPC. My intention would be to switch that over to the OTA ATSC tuner connector on the DirecTV HD DVR. If I get as good or better performance on OTA HD broadcasts from this setup as I do from the HTPC (wouldn’t take much these days) I will probably just take the HTPC out of the mix, reformat it and use it for general home PC use. About the only thing I’m using the HTPC for these days is a DVR anyway. This would also free up a digital connector (DVI) and cable going up to the projector to use for a Blu-ray player, although I suppose that HDMI to DVI conversion on the Blu-ray player would probably barf.

So I guess my question is on locals- (finally gets to that) if I just have the one connection coming in from the antenna to the HD DVR in the basement- how would the two small TV’s upstairs get locals? I don’t think I want to split that antenna feed, that would be a pain and a DB loss. Do you just do rabbit ears on each standard DirecTV receiver attached to the small TV's? Is that what the $5 locals would get me is delivery of the SD locals through the standard receiver so I wouldn't need those antennas?

Thanks in advance for the advice.
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post #1259 of 1932
10/28/08 at 5:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gottahavapj View Post

Is that what the $5 locals would get me is delivery of the SD locals through the standard receiver so I wouldn't need those antennas?

Yes.
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post #1260 of 1932
10/29/08 at 5:33pm
Can anyone tell me why FOX is blurry as hell? Has been for a week or so now. (Maybe longer.)

KVRR/KBRR/whatever is really annoying me.
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