Walnut Creek, CA - HDTV

Okay, we have our own thread. We are to deal with Walnut Creek's unique HDTV problems. Comcast's PREVIOUS inability to provide an HD signal, Coast Range blocking OTA, and while DirecTV is apparently the solution, the hoops that must be jumped through to get waivers. We would love to hear from anybody with a W.C. address who is getting OTA HD. Also anyone with Astound.It would be nice to come up with a map showing where Comcast's HD cuts off.

Time Changes everything...(07/24/07). Comcast came to terms with the city, Astound came through in a big way, DirectTV is now supplying SF locals in HD, and a few lucky SOB's amonst us get great and free OTA, from either Sacramento of San Francisco.

EDIT 3/8/07Currently Available Digital Stations in Walnut Creek:
Comcast encrypts ALL HD channels. Astound seems to be changing things so that sometimes the local OTA (plus National Geographic HD and UniversalHD) channels are seen via Open-QAM. Other times they can't be seen. I've been taking so long to post this information because I wanted to be definitive, but Astound's HD channel visibility to open-QAM tuners keeps changing.

All right, what are the channels?

Here's Comcast:

* KTVUHD
* KNTVHD
* KRONHD
* KPIXHD
* KICUHD
* KGOHD
* KQEDHD (PBS)
* KBCWHD
* NGCHD (National Geographic Channel)
* AETVHD (A&E i.e. Arts and Entertainment Channel)
* MOJOHD (was INHD1)
* FSBAP (Fox Sports Bay Area – OFF THE AIR most of the time while FSN is on, what a waste)
* GOLFVS
* HDT (Formerly Discovery HD Theater)
* ESPN HD
* ESPN2 HD
* NFLHD (No signal for me, even though I am subscribed to a package that supposedly includes it – need to contact Comcast about it)
* TBSHD on Ch 735
* TNT HD
* UHD (Universal HD)
* MTVHD
* HBOHD
* CinemaxHD
* StarzHD
* ShowtimeHD

Astound:
* KTVUHD
* KPIXHD
* KGOHD
* KNTVHD
* KQEDHD (Currently broadcasts from only from 8PM - 6AM) - NEW CHANNEL
* TNTHD
* KBCWHD
* KBWBHD
* A&E HD
* Discovery HD Theater
* Fox Sports Network Bay Area HD
* ESPN HD
* ESPN2 HD
* HDNet
* HDNet Movies
* History HD
* NFL Network HD
* HBO HD
* Showtime HD (Not seen since I don't have a subscription)
* Cinemax HD (Not seen since I don't have a subscription)
* Starz HD (Not seen since I don't have a subscription)
* The Movie Channel HD (included with any premium subscription)
* HGTVHD
* FoodNetworkHD

Wow - That's a LOT of HD out there! Keep those channels coming Comcast and Astound!

Dish Network:

KTVU HD
KPIX HD
KGO HD
KNTV HD
A&E
Animal Planet
Animania
Big Ten Network HD - five channels - one full time, additional four for games
Discovery
DISH Network PPV in HD - nine channels
Equator
ESPN
ESPN2
Family Room
Film Fest
Food Network
GamePlay
Gallery
Golf/Versus
HBO *
HD Theater (formerly Discover HD Theater)
Cinemax *
HD Net
HD Net Movies
HD News
HGTV
History Channel
Kung Fu
MHD
Monsters
National Geographic Channel
NBA HD - 12 channels - only active for games
NHL HD - 16 channels - only active for games
NFL Network
Rave
Rush
Showtime *
Starz *
TBS
The Science Channel
TLC
TNT
Treasure
Ultra
Universal
World Cinema
World Sport

* = channel is part of a movie package, and is only available as part of the associated package.


edit 7/24/07
DirecTV's HD package, using the HR20 (mpeg4)

*2 KTVUHD FOX
*4 KRONDTV (occasional HD)
*5 KPIXHD CBS
*7 KGOHD ABC
*9 KQEDHD PBS
*11 KNTVHD NBC


*ESPN HD (206/73)
*ESPN2 HD (209/72)
*(Discovery) HD Theater (76)
*HDNet (79)
*HDNet Movies (78)
*TNT HD (245/75)
*Universal HD (74)
*CD USA (101)
*HBO HD East (70/501/509)
*Showtime HD (71/537/543)

*MPEG4 RECENT ADDITIONS9-26-07

*A&E HD (265)
*Animal Planet HD (282)
*Big Ten HD (220)
*CNN HD (202)
*Discovery HD (278)
*History Channel HD (269)
*TLC HD (280)
*NFL Network HD (212)
*Science Channel HD (284)
*Smithsonian HD (267)
*TBS HD (247)
*Versus HD / Golf Channel HD (604)
*Weather Channel HD (362)
*The Movie Channel HD (544)
*SHO Too HD (538)
*Showtime HD West (540)
*Starz Comedy HD (519)
*Starz HD East (520)
*Starz HD West (521)
*Starz Edge HD (522)
*Starz Kids and Family (518)

*Wave II Added 10/3 & 10/4:
*Bravo (273)
*MHD (332)(added 10/4)
*SCI FI (244)
*USA Network (242)
*Cinemax-E (512)
*Cinemax-W (514)
*HBO-W (504)

*Wave III Added 10/10:
*CNBC (355)
*Food HD* (231-1)
*MGM (255)
*National Geographic (276)

*Regional Sports Networks
*Available nationally, but local blackout rules still apply.
*Comcast SportsNet Chicago (640)
*Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic (629)
*New England Sports Network (623)
*SportsNet New York (625)
*YES (622)

*Other HD
*Miscellaneous Events Channel (95)
*PPV Events (98)
*PPV Movies (99) (132-198)
*NFL Sunday Ticket Superfan (700's)
*MLB Extra Innings (700's)

*Added 10/5:
*NHL Center Ice HD (700's)

Available w/HD/DNS waivers (don't ask, a remnant of the pre-mpeg4 past)
*81 CBS LA
*83 NBC LA
*87 ABC LA
*89 FOX LA

Edit 3/20/06HD locals are just becoming available with the new Mpeg4 equipment, I have some feedback from vanhorst;
Now for the "locals" on the H20:
2 KTVU: is the digital equivalent of 2-1 OTA, but instead from D*
2 SF2 is the SD version
5 KPIX: same as 5-1 OTA, but from D*
5 SF5 is the SD
7 KGO: same as 7-1 OTA, but from D*
7 SF7 is the SD
11KNTV same as 11-1 OTA, but from D*
11 SF11 is the SD

OTA
OTA depends on exactly where you are in town, some in Walnut Creek will receive none. In the North side of town, look towards Sacramento's transmitters in Walnut Grove. In the South, it's Sutro Tower in the heart of SF. With KNTV in San Jose transmitting from Mt. San Bruno to the South.

From SF's Sutro Tower;
OTA (Over The Air - Using the ChannelMaster CM4228 antenna and CM7777):
* KTVUHD (2-1) FOX
* KTVU-DT (2-2)
* KRON-SD (4-1)
* KRON-HD (4-2)
* KPIX-DT (5-1) CBS
* KGO-DT (7-1) ABC
* KGO-DT (7-2)
* KGO-DT (7-3) weather channel. SD only. .
* KQED-HD (9-1) PBS
* KQED-Encore (9-2)
* KQED-World (9-3)
* KQED-Life (9-4)
* KQED-Kids (9-5)
* KNTV-HD (11-1) NBC....From Mt. San Bruno
* KNTV-DT (11-2)
* KBWB-HD (20-1) WB
* KBWB-SD (20-2)
* KTSF-D1 (26-1)
* KTSF-D2 (26-2)
* KMTP-DT (32-1)
* KCSM-TV (43-1)
* Jazz-TV (43-2)
* KBHK-DT (44-1) UPN
* Pax 65-1/2/3/4 are SD digitals for KKPX-DT Mt. San Bruno
* KFSF-DT (66-1)

From Sacramento's Walnut Grove;
OTA (Channel Master 4228 w/3041 preamp)
* KCRAHD (3-1) NBC
* KCRADT (3-2)
* KVIEHD (6-1) PBS
* KVIEDT (6-2)
* KVIEDT (6-3)
* KVIEDT (6-4)
* KXTVHD (10-1) ABC
* KXTVDT (10-2)
* KOVRHD (13-1) CBS
* KOVRDT (13-2)
* KSPXDT (29-1) Faith
* KSPXDT (29-2)
* KSPXDT (29-3)
* KMAXHD (31-1) UPN
* KTXLHD (40-1) FOX
* KXTLDT (40-2)
* KQCAHD (58-1) WB

***Looking for feedback from Dish Network Subscribers***

Edit-6-27-05; Actually, several of us in Walnut Creek have been able to get OTA from either San Francisco or Sacramento, depending on your location and elevation. Check the attached maps.

Edit-7-24-05; The City of Walnut Creek and Comcast Cable have finally reached an agreement on the upgrades and franchise fees and work will start within 90 days. This is great news for Walnut Creek! Not that I Love cable, but we need choices.

Edit-10-18-05; Comcast's upgrades have begun with the pulling of fiber optics to their distribution center. They are expected to upgrade roughly 3600 homes a month, with the entire project taking a good part of a year.


EDIT 1/25/06 Astound is really starting to take off. It has the LARGEST # of HD channels available in town!
WELL DIRECTV WILL BE GIVING US HD LOCALS 60 TO 90 DAYS...[/b]

good luck!

EDIT: Here's a map of what people are doing in Walnut Creek to get HDTV as of 3/21/06.

And a second map of topography with elevations to help with your ota search-6/22/05



EDIT: November 27, 2005;
DirecTV has announced the delivery of HD/LIL's (that is digital SF stations) beginning this month. No more waivers, I am looking forward to this as I think OTA /HD from Sacramento and DirecTV LIL's in HD would be a nice combo. Be nice to hold on to LA/DNS for a little while longer, too.

[quote]Originally posted by mbroder
[b]Have you checked out Astound? Astound provides cable for Walnut Creek and Concord and they have HD.

m- when I was dumping Comcast, I called Astound to see if they could service my area. It took them 4-5 days to get back to me to say yes, and I had already contacted DirecTV. It would have been nice to avoid the waiver process, though I do like being in contact with Outer Space. I think Direct will be the right choice by the end of the year. Glad it's working out for your Dad. I do worry about Astound's corporate size and strength.

OUCH!!! DIRECT JUST BUSTED MY CHOPS! JUST LIKE MY EX: DENY,DENY,DENY
Okay you really smart guys were right, holding the waiver means N O T H I N G
NO FOX, NO NBC, NO NBC??????
DirecTV gave me CBSHD , and DirecTV applied for waivers from ABC & NBC on my behalf, what were they doing, acting like my other ex: tease, tease, tease. And then they said "ABC's waiver was approved, but NBC's was denied. Was it really? By NBC, or the yahoos at the shva desk? Because I had an approved waiver from NBC in my hand the very same day, which was denied by directv today, on shva grounds. "the law's unclear and we are weak" Other industries fight to expand their customers ability to gain products.There is a real left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing thing going on here. Why would they request a waiver for NBC/HD for me if they were never going to accept it? Then today when I asked why I got ABC/HD and not NBC I was told that I didn't need a waiver for ABC it was like CBS, automatic O&O in Sacramento ???? If it was automatic like CBS why did it take 2 1/2 weeks longer??
SO I'M A LITTLE TICKED OFF!!!! DID YOU NOTICE?
So I found a little website where you can leave questions or messages
fccinfo@fcc.gov
and I asked the fcc if that was the intention of the law, to block temporary waivers for people who could not get HD any other way, or that DNS SD couldn't be separated from DNS HD. Because if it turns out that is not the intention of the law and enough of us ask the questions we might take the responses to directv and show them some clarity.

I'm going to push around the edges of this some more and one day there may be more birds up there.
And how much is astound?

Absolutely, at first they said ABC waiver accepted, now 2 weeks later they say it's just like CBS, AUTOMATIC. This was a Resolution Manager or something like that, I had insisted on talking to a higher up, I was hot!
Of course if they pull my ABC I,m gonna be p.o'd, But go ahead, I wanna hear what they say.

Keep hammering away!
For NBC, you must got to KCRA's website: www.thekcrachannel.com, when the site opens go to the top of the page click "contact station" then choose engineering dept., and address it to Stefan J. Hadl, Director of Engineering. He answered mine by U.S. Mail in about 2 weeks.

good luck

Hey, I only got $10 bucks a month off my HBO! Let's keep working them for free stuff.

Certainly would like to hear from any other dwellers of Creektown and their HD experiences.

Well as you can read above, Direct got me Jazzed then Dropped me like a bad habit. What I've got from them is their HD package-ESPNHD, UNIVERSALHD, DISCOVERYHD, HDNM, HDNET, With HBO and Showtime HD, and as DNS CBSHD, and ABCHD. No FOX, no NBC even with waivers. Because the new SHVERA law does not allow then to.

Yeah, Directv's boxes have the same capabilities, the problem we seem to have in W.C. is a lack of OTA. Let us know if you have and luck. You should check out San Francisco, CA-OTA antennae discussions. If you cannot receive decent OTA, I'd be interested to learn of Dish's DNS(distant network signal) policy. You should be elegible for at least CBSHD from LA as well as perhaps ABCHD.

It is unclear to me If I am receiving ABC hd as a result of a waiver(but that would seem unlikely, as it would be against Federal Law), or because ABC Sacramento makes no claim on W.C.(as FOX40 doesn't), or if ABC Sac. is O&O( I do not believe so), or some bureaucratic fluke. Our friends in San Francisco are getting all the DNS(except FOX) because they live in one market, unlike W.C. where we are in a dual market.

I suppose I should make another run at Direct w/ my waivers from KTVU & KCRA, perhaps if I applied once or twice a week for the next 3 months....

When the Installer comes out HE will telephone in to activate service and then give the phone to you to set up packages and billing, after which you should ask to speak to the HD Eligibility Line ( that's what it is called at Direct) And ask for the CBSHD feed from LA, as both SF and SAC are network Owned & Operated no local to complain. Then ask for ABC. Direct is giving to anyone who asks around here so Dish should as well. GOOD LUCK.


p.s. we could still have a flag!

Thanks Rory. That is what I thought. Apparently for waiver purposes KOVR is being treated as if the sale was complete. The confusion stems from DirecTV telling us they got a waiver from KXTV and giving us the ABCHD feed from LA but not the NBCHD feed when we hold waivers from KCRA.
I wonder if KXTV filed a pre-SHVERA blanket waiver (why???) with DirecTV for areas such as Walnut Creek?
I would really like that NBCHD. I should learn to be thankful for what I have.

Wow, that explains a lot. KXTV doesn't claim W.C. So when Direct says they are getting us waivers for ABC, they put down the phone, go outside and smoke a cigarette, go to the bathroom, get a cup of coffee, sharpen some pencils, then call us back and say approved. A**h***s!
I wonder if that is KOVR's stance as well. Is KCRA's signal that much stronger that they feel justified claiming W.C. as their market?
They do come in stronger.

FCC Response!!!!! This seems huge to me!!!!! Vague mumbo jumbo With a couple Salient points!Okay, so I just checked my e-mail and the FCC had responded to my request for clarification, here it is:

You are receiving this email in response to your inquiry to the FCC.

Thanks for contacting the FCC Consumer Center in Gettysburg PA.

The `Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act of 2004' (SHVERA):

Some consumers have informed us satellite TV providers won't process waivers,
and are saying something to the effect that, "Due to the SHVERA, the FCC won't
let us."

This is not correct, and the FCC has very recently asked satellite TV to stop
alleging that their business practices are based on "FCC rules." Any consumer
formerly denied a waiver request may consider contacting the satellite company
again, with a new request; waiver requests must be submitted through the
satellite company to the local network TV station; please see:
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/shva/shviafac.html

The FCC has not yet acted on those few, limited provisions of SHVERA on which
the agency is required to act; no FCC rules implementing SHVERA have been
written. SHVERA relates primarily to copyright, and while the FCC does not
regulate copyright law, SHVERA includes a "significantly viewed" provision; the
FCC will publish a list of significantly viewed stations and initiate a
rulemaking to implement the significantly viewed provisions. The significantly
viewed retransmission authorization allows satellite carriers to offer local TV
signals from an adjacent market rather than the signals only from a viewer's
home market.

ANALOG TV: The current waiver procedures for distant analog (the familiar,
conventional TV standard) network stations remain intact; that is, SHVERA
provides a five-year extension of copyright authorizations for some forms of
programming that were scheduled to expire at the end of 2004.

DIGITAL TV (DTV): For DTV (the umbrella term for various standards of enhanced-
and high-definition TV) signals, Congress's decision is that the only satellite
subscribers who can get distant DTV are those who have a waiver from the local
station for distant signals or those who are predicted to be "unserved."
Subscribers who are "unserved" for purposes of a distant analog signal are
currently eligible for a distant DTV signal, except in a few markets in which
the satellite carrier has a special arrangement with network "owned and
operated" stations to permit the carrier to offer distant DTV of that network to
subscribers in that market; therefore some consumers who want distant DTV
signals may have their waiver requests denied, and there is nothing the FCC can
do about it. Discussing waivers, a Library of Congress section-by-section
analysis of SHVERA notes: "THE COMMITTEE DOES NOT INTEND THE FCC TO GRANT THESE
WAIVERS OR PRESIDE OVER THE WAIVER PROCESS. WHETHER TO GRANT A WAIVER IS A
DECISION TO BE MADE SOLELY BASED ON THE BROADCASTER'S OWN BUSINESS JUDGMENT . .
." [Upper-case emphasis added.]

The Library of Congress section-by-section analysis may be accessed at:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/cpquer...sel=TOC_28975&

The key paragraph to me is in DTV: The only satellite subscribers who can get distant dtv are those who have a waiver from the local station for distant signals OR those who are predicted to be "unserved."
"OR" NOT "AND"! "OR", "OR", "OR"!! Congress wants me to have FOXHD & NBCHD It's a great Country!

I am going to copy this letter with highlights and a very specific cover letter and re-submit my waivers. Please,do the same, here we go again!