Phoenix, AZ - HDTV - Page 342

And as far as Cox is concerned only the trio rented hardware will get them non trio 1Ghz cable boxes rented from Cox will not even tune them.

And you are using a HTPC with an InfiniTV 4 ? Do you have any special codec packs or anything installed ? I have Windows 7 x64 install with only AnyDVD, Total Media Theatre, My Channel Logos, and Media Browser installed as "extra" software. It's curious that I get audio on those channels but a black screen. Occasionally when I tune to one of them I will get a "Display Driver Error" with "Protected Content Not Supported" ... but most of the time I get audio and black video. I have no issues with any channels that are not in this "Plus Package".

Regarding the Cox-issued cable box; it was just issued to me in December ... there is already a new one ? Can I just swap it out at a Cox store ?

See my post above you need the trio hardware or a third party option

Yes I know.

Sounds like a HDCP issue. Did you recently change any hardware and/or video drivers? I know the last released NVidia drivers (October) and ATI (December) both introduced playback issues.

Nope, its a new PC build. Core i3 on an Intel motherboard with Z68 chipset, using onboard Intel 2000 video. Everything works, all my Cox channel tiers (including subscription Starz), BluRay, 3D BluRay, etc. etc. Everything except these "Plus Package" channels Receiver is Denon 3312ci and TV is LG 55LW5600.

I think I'll play the clueless customer and call Cox about the channels tonight to see if that gets me anywhere. I fear the "black screen" is going to be something on my end though. Thanks!

Just a thought do you have Shark007 Codecs installed?

No, I don't ... I'm kind of anti-codec pack

I was wondering if maybe carlatkins had it installed and that's why it was working for him ... ?

They would have to replace a lot of STBs, and figure out how to do MPEG4 ClearQAM for existing TVs.

+1 on that. No hacked-up codec pack here.

Yeah...probably. Do you have an extender you can test with? If so and those channels work there it's going to be a PC issue.

What is the aversion to Shark007 Codecs?

What do you use to play MKV files?

The best software for mkv with any audio pack is Splash Pro EX. It needs no codecs to play DD, DTS, TrueHD and Master files. I have it, and it was worth $49.95. You need to see the HTPC plus a separate household file server I system I have, all in a 1GB network.

Shark007 installs so much useless crap that breaks things. If you must have a codec pack, CCCP has the least potential for damage.

But are they required to support to QAM?

Good call ... all 4 of the non-premium channels from the "Plus Package" work perfectly on the Xbox 360 extender. I haven't called to get the Starz "Plus" channels added yet. So, as you already knew, the Ceton has no problem with these channels. I'd say they definitely are MPEG4 though ... the Xbox made me install an "optional media pack" before it would display the channels ... the description of the media pack (free) indicated it added MPEG4 support.

Now I can only assume its a video driver issue on the PC ... it's pretty odd though, I subscribe to all of the packages and every channel works fine; everything except those 4 new ones. I'm betting the situation is too specialized to get any help from Intel on ... I'm using an i3 with "Intel Video 2000" and the latest drivers (mobo=DZ68DB). I've seen a "black screen" issue with NVidia in the past on select channels and the fix was to change "content type reported to the display" to "full screen video" in the NVidia settings -- but I don't see a setting like that in Intel's setup. Short of adding a video card, anyone have any ideas at all ?

I don't generally but if I needed to TMT5 plays them; no codecs required.

But neither TMT5 nor PowerDVD Ultra 11 play TrueHD or DTS-HD Master mkv, Splash Pro Ex does.

TMT5 does since late last year.

QAM is the modulation method used by all of the digital channels on the system, both encrypted and ClearQAM. The requirements for ClearQAM are unknown to me, but it's the best way of providing free local signals. Of more concern (to them) is how to phase out the MPEG2 only STBs.

Well, the reason they would have to replace STBs is because they generally do not have MPEG-4 decoders in them (some MPEG-2 decoders have the ability to do both, but generally not anything but the most recent STBs will have those futured in).

I'm sure you probably realize that, but that is the same reason why Clear QAM at MPEG-4 in existing HDTVs will not ever work.

The best way for cable to migrate to MPEG-4 is probably to replace their STBs through attrition to STBs that can do both, which would be a many-year process, and even after transition to keep just the clear QAM channels on MPEG-2 for backward compatibility with current sets. Once 80% of STBs are MPEG-4-capable, then they could start to transition over all of the encrypted stuff.

It would seem that they could then fit up to 5 channels into a single QAM slot rather than 2 or 3 which gives them another 160 to 250% capacity. It would seem like other technologies than MPEG-4 might make more sense, but then many of them would also require a STB changeout, so maybe not.

Another significant obstacle is that the source signals are MPEG-2, so it would have be be somewhat of a coordinated change from the networks all the way to the STBs, otherwise they would have to convert incoming signals to MPEG-4 locally. Thats a lot of infrastructure. DBS only has to do it once, while cable would have to do it at each local MSO plant, that is unless they are big enough (Cox qualifies) to use some sort of "headend-in-the-sky" redistribution. Part of that will be taken care of eventually because DBS is also pushing for native MPEG-4 distribution from their networks, which are essentially the same networks cable uses.

I can tell you this, however; DirecTV has done such an unexpectedly marvelous job transitioning to MPEG-4 that no one, not even trained eyeballs, can seem to see the difference between original MPEG-2 and MPEG-2 converted to MPEG-4. And it really makes a difference in HDD space; I can get about 475 hours of HD on a 2 TB drive. The only real disadvantages are that channel acquisition times are a bit longer, and FFWD is choppy rather than smooth (faster decoders in DVRs may fix this in a year or two).

I don't think they ever looked at Dta's they were or are all digital to the node the analog is added at the mode to the house drop.

I think Tivo's are mpeg4

The only problem left for D* is getting everyone converted over to an all MPEG4 system, which they should have started years ago, after their first MPEG4 satellite launched. I've heard they're still doing MPEG2 SD installs.

dupe deleted (take it, Mods)

I'm not sure the time is not better now than earlier. They needed to wait until DBS proved the viability of MPEG-4, but by 2008 that was pretty much a done deal. There is also some need to wait for prices to drop and the future to become less cloudy, so to me now seems about right as opposed to 3 years ago from an MSO-type POV. From a subscriber view we wish they were bold enough to take the risk of doing it earlier, but then we are not the ones taking the risk.

But for all we know those installs are probably futured for HD MPEG-4, and the current crop of DVRs/STBs may be MPEG-4 upgradeable with a software up rev over the system; dual 2/4 decoder chips have probably been around long enough for current DVRs/STBs to have them at a minimal if negligible price increase per unit.

Obviously the longer they wait, the cheaper the conversion is, and the more installed boxes would already be MPEG-4 capable. MPEG-4 is a quantum leap forward over MPEG-2 and pretty much everything else; I sure wish there was a way to use it OTA without obsoleting all HDTVs, but that would take another government mandate for sets to include the capability and another painful transition process. But they want the broadcasters' frequencies, so maybe a changeover is part of a compromise solution to get part of them.

I worked for cable back as far as 1982, and even back then the phone company was providing dark fiber from the pole to the house (which they probably never used) but it illustrates the principle of futuring and that these companies value that sort of thinking.


I don't know Tivo that well anymore, but the new DirecTV DTivo certainly can do MPEG-4 HD. The Premiere? Possibly a decoder that can handle youtube stuff, but if so it probably would do that in software so probably would not be viable for cable HD stuff (may not have the hardware decoder). But again, it may have the dual chip and just not have MPEG-4 turned on at this point.

The CPU in the Premiere has builtin support for H.264 decoding, including broadcast HD-grade HiP/L4.1.

Cool. That is the level/profile that DISH/DTV/Blu-Ray all use, is it not?

But where would the Premiere be able to actually use that?