Norfolk, VA - Cox

Not enough of the cable HD stations (where is TNT HD, etc?) It is taking too long to expand the service.

Now that my initial excitement at getting HD has worn off the sobering reality is as follows:

CBSHD - Who the hell watches CBS? Horrible programming. Good for the occasional special programming(movie, concert, etc.) and NFL

PBSHD - The worst picture quality of the group with little in the way of interesting programming

HBOHD - Great programming and usually very good transfers. Horrendous apect ration injustices but still draws me in due to a lack of competition. Probably the only channel that makes me keep cable.

INHD1/INHD2 - Lots of repeats and not much programming that keeps me interested. The best picture quality of all the channels I receive.

In the end it is just not enough channels. Since local HD stations seem pretty much out of the question they need to do a couple of things to keep their customers.

1. Include DiscoveryHD and ESPNHD as a FREE service.
Come on these channels are not exactly wow material to begin with. Besides it is the least they can do for their bungling of the locals.

2. Add more channels!!!!!
StarzHD, TNTHD, BravoHD

3. Come out with the damn HD-PVR already.

In reality your best bet, if you are in an area that can receive a strong signal, is to switch to Voom who offers the finest HD package around. If I could receive a consistently clear signal with no cloud cover based fade outs I would drop Cox in a heartbeat.

Chris

I want them to add HDnet & HDnet movies.

Went to Domes yesterday (sorry to have missed you John) and saw the new Mits DLP rear projector. It includes internal tuner (OTA and Digital cable). The person I spoke to indicated that the tuner has a card slot to enable cable HD service. He also said that he was discussing the matter with Cox personnel and that it seems possible that Cox will use the cards in the "near" future.

If that is the same 'near' future Cox uses to describe its forthcoming HDPVR then we could be waiting a long time indeed.

At this point if I felt I could consistently get a strong signal I would dump Cox in a heartbeat for Voom.

Well I had DirecTV for about a week and experienced 2 extended signal losses from nothing more than cloud cover so I am a bit wary of satellite. Supposedly a larger dish alleviates this issue which, if true, would make me willing to go the Voom route. That is if my neighbors wouldn't stone me for putting a 30" dish on my roof.

How is the reception? Any fade outs?

Unfortunately that seems to happen every week lately.

Any news about Bravo HD etc.?

Well I had heard Bravo was to be added back in May but that never happened. At least we got Cinemax HD and National Geographic back in June. If the NBC thing is true wouldnt FOX be added as well since they are owned by the same company.

National Geographic? On HD? Do I need a new box? :-)

No new box necessary, National Geo was added to digitial cable ch 244 and was not HD. To bad though I would like to see that channel in HD.

My wife and I are moving to VA Beach at the end of this month so I have been checking out the Cox Hampton Roads threads. Looks like I'm going to be really disappointed after being spoiled on Nashville's Comcast HD Lineup.

Not that I should complain, since we'll be living with her parents for a while and they'll be paying the bill

DVI is enabled! FW 7.15. wonderful picture quality!

ag.

Well there were football games on 703 and 712. Both had good pictures, but ESPN excelled. The whites on 703 were oversaturated but still the picture wasn't as sharp and detailed. Whatever the causes, ESPN is so far doing it right. All of the cameras (except one on the sidelines) were sharp, all of the graphics were sharp without pixelation and I could count the thread count on the jerseys (exageration).

I hope that they keep it up.

After Cox downloaded firmware ver. 7.15 I have had difficulty bringing up the setup menu on the DCT-6200 converter box via the DVI connection. I have to push the menu button three or four times. The first two pushes get nothing. The third will flash the setup screeen and the fourth will finally get it to display. A buddy of mine at work here has a Sony HD CRT television and can't bring it up at all. No biggie for me as I can switch back to component and it shows immediately. Big problem for my co-worker though. He can't get the screen under any condition. The 6200 flashes 16:9 momentarily and then goes away with nothing on the screen. Maybe his box is no good. Anyone else having these quirks?

Hi all. Just found this thread and am very excited to learn that there are at least a few fellow Hampton Roads Cox HD subscribers who post here.

Am equally excited to learn that Cox has activated the DVI connection. Is the firmware ver. 7.15 download automatic or do I have to request it? I just ordered a DVI cable. Do I need to do anything else besides hooking it up between the box and the HDTV?

There is an interesting July report at the CED magazine website about Cox soon offering a HD DVR to Hampton Roads customers. I am unable to post the link yet due to forum rules, but here is a pasted copy of the contents:
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Cox DVR service in expansion mode

Jeff Baumgartner, CED

Cox Communications said customers in more than 95 percent of its markets will have access to digital video recorder (DVR) services by year-end.

The rapid expansion comes on the heels of the availability of a long-anticipated digital set-top with on-board DVR capabilities from Motorola Broadband.

Cox said it will offer the Motorola DCT-6412 box, which houses DVR and HD technology, soon to a swath of markets, including: Orange County, Calif.; Omaha, Neb.; Roanoke and Hampton Roads, Va.; New England; New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La.; Macon, Ga.; Tulsa, Okla., as well as Middle America Cox properties in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana.

The MSO has been marketing Scientific-Atlanta's DVR-capable Explorer 8000 for more than a year in some markets that use the S-A PowerKey conditional access platform, including Gainesville, Fla. and Northern Virginia.

"With a DVR solution now available on the Motorola set-top box, we feel it is critical to make this exciting new service available to our customers as quickly as possible to further reinforce the value of Cox Digital Cable Service," said David Pugliese, Cox's vice president of product marketing and management, in a release.

Cox said it received 2,000 preorders for the Motorola box in Kansas before deploying it there earlier this month.

"In every market previously launched, customers have been lined up on a waiting list for this product," noted Lisa Pickelsimer, Cox's director of video product development.

Cox has been much less aggressive with video-on-demand, offering it in just a handful of markets so far.
_________________________________________________

Due to the limited number of HD channels at Cox, I've recently given serious thought to switching to VOOM. But if Cox does make good on the HD DVR soon, I will probably stick around, at least for a while. Of course I won't hold my breath.

YOu should already have ver. 7.15. Cox flashed the system several weeks ago. I noticed immediately that this update reset the box to the default settings though. You'll need to change them....screen size, 1080i etc. And don't hold your breath for any Cox promises. Add at least six months to anything you hear or read.

Thanks Digitude. Hooked up the DVI yesterday. It looks superb, especially when viewing content specifically made for HD. Otherwise, it's hard to see any difference when I switch between component and DVI. Have also noticed a occasional loss of signal on the DVI lasting for a second or two. Screen goes black, then it pops back on again. Am using a low end cable and wonder if that is the problem. I read elsewhere that the high end cables(Monster) are a ripoff. Any opinions for suggestions?

My video sometimes drops momentarily with DVI but only during input or channel change. It never just goes away while viewing for no reason. I'm not a big fan of boutique cables. You can generally find decent quality cables online for a lot less. I don't think Monster cables in particular are that great. I tried some high dollar Monster component cables and the backshells keep coming unscrewed. Very annoying as the little plastic piece parts fall out. I got a DVI cable with my Panasonic DVI input board so I didn't have to buy one. I like the natural color rendition with DVI versus component. With a digital connection you are getting exactly what the camera sees. My wife prefers the neon look though.

Not unless they did it in the wee hours this morning. I didn't have NBC last night. Were they supposed to?