Charlotte, NC - OTA - Page 153

News14 on ABC 45 is averaging a 0.5 rating over three newscasts. The other stations average 7's and 8's over their daily newscasts. That pretty much tells the story.

If WCNC could upgrade their news presentation, it could perhaps help with overall ratings, as they do put forth a quality product from a journalism standpoint. And they have some good investigative reporters, along with the resources of the NBC News Channel next door. They just need some stronger news anchors and an upgrade to HD. But I do think Dave Wagner does a good job, and I like the Sunday morning political show he hosts. And then there is Larry Sprinkle, who is supposedly their most popular personality -they could expand his role to the later newscasts. They just need to return the 4:00 news back to its original format. The current incarnation with Sonja Gantt is just awful.

Tivo does come with a lifetime subscription. You don't have to pay for monthly service. The question is if you can build a comparable dvr for less than the price of tivo + lifetime subscription.

I agree in that if WCNC could pick up some more talent and also upgrade to HD, it would probably go a long ways in helping their ratings. As things are now, WCNC reportedly does okay with viewers in the immediate Charlotte and Mecklenburg County area. But they take more of a beating from WBTV, WSOC, and WCCB in all other parts of the market. But perhaps a few changes at WCNC could jump start their competitiveness and get WCNC in a better position to go up against WBTV, WSOC and WCCB.

Note: I didn't mention WAXN because their news is produced by sister station WSOC and it is mostly the same content. Also, someone can correct me if I am wrong (since I don't see WHKY), but their news coverage appears to be more regional in nature to the Catawba Valley. I was just referring to the big four in the Charlotte market (WBTV, WSOC, WCCB, and WCNC). I do think WCNC holds promise for delivering a quality news product that viewers will watch. They just need to revisit some of their priorities.

Moving to HD made no difference in the WCCB ratings..and from what a friend at WSOC tells me..none in theirs as well. Now "Talent" is another story.

Absolutely - a majority of the users of mythtv use a combined frontend/backend.

Also, if you aren't interested in keeping lots of things, a normal sized hd will work fine (but remember, 1hr of HD programming could be as big as 12gb, so it goes fast).

With diligent transcoding, however, you can shrink that down considerably. For my roku encodes in SD, a rerun of family guy is 100mb.

Also, you can always add drives later, even through usb...

My DVR/MythTv system was built for about $200 or so, and the programming schedule from schedules direct is $20 a year. I could use EIT, but I prefer scheduling 2 weeks in advance.

I would also say I have a better system than TIVO, but that is my opinion

Oh I know. Tivo wants an arm and a leg for it and I might be wrong, it also doesn't transfer. On the other hand, it's nice to open a box hook it up and you are done. I'm still trying to decide which way to go. Most likely I'll end up building something. There is just something about owning a box that stops working without ongoing service that I just don't like. Sezmi & Moxi owners have found this out the hard way.

I have TiVo and I am happy with it. The interface is nice and its VERY easy to use, not to mention that there's lots of space on the harddrive for plenty of HD recording, and you can transfer some of the recordings to your home PC if they are not restricted. Setup is also easy; and I like the manner in which it combines OTA and paid subscription channels into a single channel lineup.

Having said all of that, TiVo is not for everyone. I suppose the biggest criticism is the cost. And there's no doubt that it is not cheap whether you choose the monthly plan or lifetime option! Also, while there are two RF inputs on the back of the TiVo, one is for OTA and the other is for cable (only). You cannot use TiVo with a satellite subscription service.

Well, I can't speak for any other viewers besides myself. But I will say this. Even if all other factors were the same, I would pick the HD version every time versus a standard def picture. Of course, in the case of WCNC, all things are not necessarily equal.... as we were discussing with the talent issue with their news programming

Sure. But that's going to be true no matter what box you build or purchase. DVR's depend on guide data, and if that guide or service stops, you're done. With mythtv, you have some flexibility to switch guide providers, but it's still an external dependency. Which is why the question really only comes down to can you build a DVR that has the features you want for less than purchasing one. I came to the conclusion that I couldn't, so I went TiVo.

In retrospect, I would reconsider building a mythtv backend box with cheap frontends, or or a windows media center server w/xbox media extenders. I think that would give me a little more flexibility, but I don't think it would be cheaper. The main advantage would be having a central server for capture rather than having to worry about distributing antenna to every room I want a TV.

But even after reconsidering, I might end up w/TiVo. My time is worth something too. And for two TiVo's at about a total cost of $1100, it wouldn't take too terribly long before the cost of my time + the cost of the hardware overwhelmed the cost of the TiVos.

In any case, you should probably take what I say w/a grain of salt. I probably lean towards being a TiVo fanboy. I might not be looking at this as objectively as you need.


Actually, you can. DirecTV recently started offering a TiVo DVR again. But it's a DVR that is exclusive to their service.

The best combination of Tivo & subscription I can find is for $49 for a Premier w/1 years service which works out to ~$300 for the first year's service once shipping is added in. I can then choose to toss out the box and do something else. Else if I kept the box 2 years that cost rises to $540 for the next year and so forth. It gets to be a pretty expensive item over time. This pricing does not buy any content.

So I think I'm gonna skip the Tivo route. There is a rumor that Tivo is planning to drop the rate for new users to $14.99 tomorrow, but that is for a more expensive machine they are planning to announce. I don't think this really changes my mind. If Tivo came out with an antenna only box, with much more modest pricing for the guide, then I might consider it.

One item that definitely makes this easier is the Roku. The content on there is quite extensive and available at anytime. So I think I'm gonna finish up my antenna work for OTA (been hacking on a DB8 for the Charlotte area channels) and work on a MythTV setup.

The supposedly soon to be released PHD-VRX DVR from epVision may prove to be a more affordable solution, as it has dual tuners to integrate both OTA DTV from your antenna, as well as cable TV including clear qam. And it will use a very sensitive Nutone tuner. Cost will be $200 using a $30 coupon code. The CM-7400 overheats and has a problematic tuner, especially with weak signals and when using a preamp. Plus it runs too hot and is a bit pricey. The original CM-7000 DVR had a better tuner. I returned a 7400 because of tuner issues.

Antennas Direct had partnered with TiVo this past November. With the purchase of one of their antennas, the monthly cost for TiVo (for OTA only) was $9.99 for the first year. Obviously, that's significantly better than the usual $19.99 month charge for OTA/cable. But, as stated, this promotion was for OTA only and it was for a limited time only, and with the purchase of an Antennas Direct antenna. Still, if that is all a person was using, $9.99 a month is significantly better than $19.99 a month.

I don't follow these promotions too closely since I have the lifetime option with TiVo. But it seems they need to offer them more frequently. While I am happy with TiVo (it does have many nice features)....I do agree with others in that TiVo needs to come down on their prices.

Maybe if the PHD-VRX DVR from epVision proves to be a viable option, it may put more pressure on TiVo to lower their charges.

I am primarily interested in this box to successfully integrate both OTA antenna and cable TV signals in one box without the use of an A/B switch or extra HDMI connections. TiVo does this very nicely, but the monthly or lifetime fee is a bit pricey. But not sure yet how this new box will receive an EPG or if additional fees may apply. But the Nutone tuner it uses is supposed to be very sensitive for OTA ATSC reception.

Do you boys realize that every time you come to this site, you have four companies tracking you?

I see:
Comscore Beacon
Quantcast
Google Analytics
Viglink

Just wondering what's showing up on you guys machines.

On another note: Has anyone heard anything about WMYT putting something up in the Hickory area to help them get by the WHKY signal?

Expecting any form of privacy on the Internet is right up there with expecting to win the lottery

They are not following me. That is what Firefox & addons are for. Ghostery makes short work of those trackers. It's actually reporting 7 trackers including 2 from google. There are a few other must have addons which will remove 99% of the tracking and others schemes for following & identifying you on the internet. Google, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are the some of the worst. They try to keep track of you even if you don't have anything to do with them.

I will check that out.

Mine is only seeing and blocking four.

EDIT: OK. That didn't take long.

They both seem to block one thing or another. One does better here, the other does better there.

On some sites, "Do Not Track Plus" finds more than Ghostery. On other sites, it is the opposite. I will just keep them both and get most of everything.

Another Edit: Hmmm. These things are weird. "Do Not Track Plus", when used through I.E. 8, is blocking 10 now where on Firefox both of those mentioned above blocked less.

Nothing Earth shakng, just farting around.

It's an apples & oranges comparison. The first thing you need to do is to stop using IE8 and/or Chrome. Both browsers are closed and have unique identifiers in them that can't be turned off. Firefox is the only way to go but even there you have to go to about:config and turn off and remove some items. It's OT for here. If you want more info, DM me.

Yes but this is still using a monthly subscription model. If, instead you purchased the lifetime subscription, you'd pay about $550 upfront - if you don't know anyone w/a TiVo subscription already. If you do know someone, then they sign you up for lifetime, transfer the box to you and you save $100 off the cost of the lifetime, so the upfront cost is $450. For me coming off of directv at $60+/mo, it didn't take very long to make up that cost - and I paid close to $600 for my tivo+lifetime.

The other advantage that a TiVo + lifetime has, is that it actually has some resale value. Go take a look on ebay for TiVo + lifetime. Put another way, the lifetime subscription actually builds equity in the box that can be resold.

Not that I think you're wrong to skip TiVo. You can do what you want. I guess I just get very easily irritated when people constantly talk about TiVo's monthly service fee. That is IMHO the most expensive way to get a TiVo. And it seems a shallow examination of the TCO of the product. But that may just be the fanboy in me coming out.

I purchased a TiVo on sale for $79 and then signed up for monthly subscription and changed to lifetime within 30 days. Used a $100 promo code and they refunded $20 so I paid $380 for lifetime rather than $499. The TiVo very nicely integrates local antenna and cable TV in one box without the use of an A/B switch or additional HDMI connection. That was my primary purpose for the living room plasma TV. The DVR and Netflix options are nice additional features. I used a Gaffney, SC zip to get guide data for both Charlotte and GSP markets, and fortunately Charter cable info corresponds to all channels except for 2 analog duplications that I removed from the channel menu. I get program info for all Charlotte channels, as well as Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville.

Indeed. Though it represents about 5 months service, which I was paying to Dish, $550 is still a lot to pay for a machine that basically records and plays mpeg2 data streams. MythTV is looking pretty nice in comparison.

--------------------------------

As of today, I have officially cut the cord. (so to speak since it was satellite). Dish wants $34 for the postage for me to return their two DVRS to them which they have made many $1000s of dollars over the last few years. And to add insult to injury, they even asked that if I thought it was safe to climb up and remove MY LNA from from MY dish and send it back to them as well. They relented on that point when I was done giving them my opinion on this, I think my final bill will be ~$15. It's a shame as they are no longer the company that I first dealt with in the mid 90s when the only other choice was Lakeside/Prestige cable and their 25 channel plant that tried to push signals from Mooresville to Huntersville via an embarrassing amount of amps, barbed wire and duct tape.

I'm moving on with OTA and what I can get via broadband internet. Roku w/Netflix and possibly Amazon Prime is indeed amazing. I recommend that anyone who is tired of paying high Cable/Sat fees for at least 100 "must buy" channels that have been turned into nothing more than reality show trash, pundit opinions as news, and infomercials, just so you can see a few channels that are not this, then cut the cord as well. It's not worth it.

I use Firefox 99% of the time. The programs work differently in both browsers.

I couldn't agree more. I still have my dish system that they made me buy several years ago that i still plan on doing "something" with. They were a good option to cable when it was affordable. It's now just as high & not worth it.

If you can get the shows you like without commercials you'll never go back

Yeah. It does look good. I strongly considered going that route but chose the much easier way out instead. I still think it was also the less expensive way out, too. I'll be curious as to how much you spend building the myth box.


Congratulations! I've been off DirecTV since July 2010. I hardly miss it.... except when it comes to sports. Then I miss it a little. But I like the $60+/mo that I'm getting paid not to watch sports so, there's that.

Love this site. Always helpful. Anyway I finally cut the cord on the satellite TV subscription. I am currently using OTA to receive the networks and subsidizing cable shows with Apple TV. Below is the list of channels and %s using HDHomerun's software. Really would like to get the PBS stations better. Anyway I wanted to get you smarter guys take on what I can do to increase my signal strengths. Amp, better antenna, or both?

BTW hardware is a cheap handmade antenna in the attic split between a HDHomerun to the computers and to the main living room TV. I would like my other TVs(3 others) off the antenna if possible.

Zip: 28277

9.1 ABC 79%
18.1 FOX 71%
36.1 NBC 76%
3.1 CBS 76%
46.1 CW 42%
64.1 IND 54%
21.1 IND 40%
30.1 PBS 57%
42.1 PBS 47%
58.1 PBS 51%

For OTA the antenna is the foundation & it's consideration should come first. Pick the highest gain with your beamwith requirements (its window of coverage in degrees). The gain should be enough to receive the weakest station you want without dropouts. Your choice is part science / part trial error, so you will need to do most of the work sorry

What 21.1 Ind do you have in the area?

http://www.rabbitears.info/search.ph...pe=dBm&height=