Sacramento, CA - SureWest - Page 8

It would be cool if you could have just 1 of these Amino 530 boxes in the house and stream recordings from it to other Amino 130 boxes in the house. But the 130 would probably need a software update if it's possible at all.

Actually, that is exactly what is reported to occur... only one 530 will be needed and streamed to the other machines in your house. The software update is pushed from SureWest. The 130 is compatible with the 530 in this regard.

That's very cool if SureWest can pull it off and it works. Now, all we need is some competitive pricing for this DVR service ...

The Sunday Sacramento Bee reports that SureWest will be adding 15 new HDTV channels in November. Given the date of November 22 I was told was mentioned internally for the DVR, which I'm told only records MPEG4/H.264 AVC, I presume it is all apart of the same process for change-over from MPEG2 to MPEG4. I have not seen WHAT channels will be added, I would be curious to know what. I presume it will be some of the basics like MHD, ESPN2, History Channel, Discover Channel HD (HD version of the standard channel, not Discovery Theater HD which we already have), and several other HD versions of existing channels. I am curious if we will get the new MGM HD channel. I will be less than thrilled if they will include mostly premium movie channels, as I have no plans of subscribe to them.

I'll second your theory on the new HD channels. Considering "Discovery HD Theater" is now just "HD Theater" (with the new horribly distracting bug in the corner", it's my hope they pick up Discovery, History, etc. as you mentioned.

I asked SW and they will start carrying the new Fox Business Channel that launches on Oct 15. They said there would be both SD and HD versions of the channel. I don't have details on the channel numbers or when is the actual date SW will have the channel available.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_Business_Channel

Awww.... so we can continue to see Tom Sullivan after his move to New York. I don't know to what capacity he will be on, but I hear he is leaving KFBK for Fox Business Channel and will be syndicating his radio show from New York.

I've been reading this thread concerning the imminent arrival of the amino 530 but my question is regarding Tivo that surewest also rents. Has anyone been using the Surewest Tivo service? My wife has been on my case about not having a DVR and I kept telling her that the 530 was coming soon. Then I noticed on the Surewest site that they provide Tivo. I can't think of any reason not to get Tivo unless it's because it doesn't record in HD which isn't that big a deal for me.

I'm currently using my own TiVo with Surewest and can't wait to retire it because:

- it cannot record HD
- changing channels via the IR repeater is sometimes hit & miss
- you can only record 1 channel and cannot watch live TV while recording. Even though my TiVo is a dual tuner that's useless with SureWest as the TiVo itself doesn't tune into anything

I'd say wait for the 530 or if you really want a TiVo, I'll give you a good deal on mine

I have 2 ReplayTV units (5000 series) and three Amino 130 units, but only 2 TVs in the house. The only reason for one of my Amino boxes is to record stuff. That particular Replay is modified for recording 200 hours worth of programming (originally 40 hours). I've been a fan of Replay for years and have owned these machines since 2003. I like some the functionality, but as SirDracula mentions, sometimes there are issues with IR and it can't record HD content. By having two machines, I can record 2 things at once, but I generally only watch recorded content on my smaller non-HD TV in the bedroom. I currently only watch true HD on my HDTV, live without a DVR. It is tough for me now that the new fall series have begun. I have missed several shows I like to watch and I'm being forced to watch them on the computer, which isn't as easy and is much smaller. My ReplayTVs are better than without them, but I'll be happy to get the 530 and I'll then retire my Replays.

I have a standard-def 110 box feeding a/v to my own Series-1 Tivo (hacked -- web accessible, lots of storage), and a 130 for watching HD. The Tivo controls the 110 via a wired IR emitter I bought. Since both the 110 and the 130 accept the same IR signals, I had to make sure the 110's IR receiver was shielded (you can use black tape) so that it would only receive the emitter's signals, and not the signals from the remote. Otherwise it's possible to inadvertently change the channels on the 110 (and possibly screw up a recording in progress) while trying to control the 130.

It's a bit of a kludgy solution, but it works for now.

My only complaints are that the Amino boxes have locked up a couple times over the past week, requiring reboot.

Like the rest of you, I can't wait for the arrival of the 530.

I just talked with a Jaime Montez (I'm not sure I spelled that correctly) from SureWest and learned a little more.

First, starting today, we have 2 new channels in HDTV:

History Channel (641)
A&E Channel (642)

He mentioned that they originally planned on activating all the channels at once, but have now opted to add them as they have worked out the bugs and contractual issues. He did give me the listings of new channels to be offered, which include:

ESPN 2
Big-10 Network (College sporting events from the NCAA Big-10 Conference)
USA Network
SciFi Channel
Bravo
TBS
CNN
Fox Business Channel (new channel; where Tom Sullivan went)
Animal Channel
Science Channel
Biography Channel
The Learning Channel

One channel that he mentioned I think he was a little backwards with. He mentioned a new Discovery channel that is completely different and is 100% HD content 24/7 in addition to what we already have. What I believe was meant was that in addition to "Discovery HD Theater", which we already have, which meets the description he gave, we will be receiving the "Discovery Channel in HD", which is a HD version of the current, standard, Discovery Channel. Many of these channels will mirror the SD channel, but if the content is available in HD, these shows will be in true HD. The past two seasons of Modern Marvels has been done in a 16:9 aspect ratio and presumably in HDTV. These episodes will hopefully be in true HD on the History Channel that is starting today.

I questioned about the NFL Network, which is big for me, as I'm a football fan. He pointed out that there have been contractual demands by the NFL Network that has many content providers not wanting. He would not elaborate, but he said he too wishes to have it, but it does not currently make financial sense to carry it.

I also talked to him about the DVR. He was not willing to give a firm date, (I'd been earlier told by someone it was November 22.) He only mentioned it would be "before Christmas". He had little information about the capabilities other than saying the ability to record two shows at a time and initially it will not have the ability to store content on an external drive. He said they are talking about this feature though for eventual capability.

I understand that we are getting a great service. I just want everything and I want it right now!.

Right there with you bigRon.


I also noticed the new channels last night. It takes me a while to register sometimes though. "History Channel HD? Is that new? No, I've seen this before. No... wait...." hahaha

Looking forward to Discovery Channel in HD. I've been waiting to see Mythbusters in HD for a while now. You know, more realistic explosions.

Hmmmm.... maybe Black Friday for a DVR release.....

Does anyone here have the 10mb Internet? I have the the triple play package -TV,Phone and Internet and just opened my October bill - the Internet part went up, from $39.95 to $53.14. I do not recall getting any notice of a rate increase for October. Anyone here get this?

Thanks
Mike

Were you on a 1 yr. contract that may have just expired? Best thing to do is call them and ask why.

My installation date of the 14th is nearing. I'm excited. No DVR yet. I asked the installer if there was a list to get on for the DVR.. and he said no.. however they were anticipating *high* demand.

I too was excited prior to my installation. As I believe I'd mentioned elsewhere in this thread, I had wired my house with CAT6e cable prior to the fiber being connected. I had verified each connection in the house with a network meter. I had at minimum 2 runs to each room with two rooms having 6 runs. The SureWest installer was quite impressed when he arrived. I presume you will be going with their Internet service as well over fiber too. One thing that made things easy was to have the MAC address of your router readily available. I had this info printed out for the installer. I believe when you first connect up, it will give you Internet, but if you choose 20 or 50 Mbps service, it will only start at 10 Mbps until properly provisioned. I would highly suggest having a router, even if you currently only have one computer. The reason I suggest this is for future expansion. If you later add a second (or more) computer(s), SureWest has no need to know about it. I currently have about 10 devices in my house that connect to the network... more when visitors come.

While many people reading this understand what a MAC address is, I guess I can't expect everybody to know what it is. It is essentially an electronic serial number or name of a particular network device. It should look something similar to: "00:0A:97:AE:0D:02". Each character is either a number from 0-9 or a letter from A-F in 6 pairs. Each pair is separated by something... frequently a colon ":", but I've seen a dash used as well "-". Most routers have the MAC address listed somewhere on them or somewhere within the web administration pages. For more, look up "MAC address" on Wikipedia.

Good idea on having that [MAC address] ready. I went for the 10mb. The 20mb was 91 bucks a month! (recent price hike?). I can't justify it... yet.. I rent a server from a co-location service for 79 bucks a month. I split the cost with 2 other people.

40 bucks a month more... to keep the server, space, heat, loudness, power here at my house... doesn't make as much sense as I thought it would. (I'd want to upgrade to 20mb if I moved the server home)

Anyway.. yeah I just went with HDTV/10mb/phone. Be nice to finally watch more then 1 channel in HDTV without having to redirect my cheap antanea.

You sure had the wireing madness! did you do tat while your hosue was under construction? I'd love to have cat5(or better) to each room. I don't even have it to my main desktop!

No, my house was built in 1998. I spent many hours in the attic pulling wire. I had previously relied on wireless networking, but this slows things down. I wanted something that would be ensure reliable networking. I wanted to make it somewhat "future proof", so I used CAT6e cable, sweep tested to 550MHz. This should allow for a future upgrade to 1GB or higher speeds. At the moment, I just purchased a 24-port 10/100 switch for my networking. All the cables terminate in a 48-port patch panel, in the same rack as the switch. The patch panel has 8 groups of 6 ports. This worked out perfectly for my structured plan. First off, on the residential gateway unit (the device that converts the fiber to copper at the house) has 6 LAN ports. One LAN port is used for Internet and the other 5 are for IPTV. I routed all 6 of the LAN ports to ports 1-6 on the patch panel. In my main family room, where I have my HDTV, I have 6 network jacks. These are ports 7-12, or the second group of 6 ports on the panel. Two jacks are patched as IPTV, as I have 2 AmiNET130 boxes currently there... one directly connected to my TV and the other connected to a ReplayTV. The other ports are all used for networking. The ReplayTV uses one jack and my PlayStation 3 uses another. I have room for two more devices to use a network connection. In my computer room, I have no TV, but I have a Vonage telephone adapter, two desktops and a laser printer with a built-in printer server. The wiring terminates in ports 13-18 on the patch panel, or the 3rd group of 6 ports. I decided to put my wireless access point in the closet where the switch, patch panel, router and NAS device all reside. I may end up moving my Vonage device in that closet as well. If I do that, it will free up a jack in the computer room. Other rooms only use up 2-3 ports on the patch panel, but I have them still in their own 6-port group on the panel... allowing for future expansion and keeping some order to where things are. My wife thinks I am crazy for all this, but those that understand networking and wiring think it is pretty cool set-up. I wouldn't say it is perfect, but for not being a professional in the business, I'm pretty proud of my work.

I've only got 1 drop, and that goes straight to the DSL phone jack.

That 1 drop goes to the DSL modem, the router, then the 1gig switch. On the 1 gig switch I run all my NAS/Printers/work machine stuff. Anything connected in the rest of the house is wireless.

I've grown to detest wireless. Slow -- not secure.. and when you DO turn on the security features.. it juuusst geeetts slloooowwwweerrr....

With wireless, with the more devices in use, the network gets slowed waaayyy down. With a switch, full bidirectional bandwidth between 2 devices can work, unimpeded by a third device talking to a fourth. If multiple computers are in use, all compete for a limited bandwidth. When 802.11g is listed at 54Mbps, that is a theoretically perfect situation... not something you are actually likely to see. Binding channels and making it run at 108Mbps may be overall faster, but it still has fluctuations due to interference and traffic still competes for time. It is kind of like a one lane road vs. a multi-lane super highway... sure, you might be able to go quite fast on a one lane road if you are the only one on it and other conditions are just right (like no one coming the other way), but a multi-lane super highway for just the cars you own makes for a roadway that can safely allow you to go quite fast, with separate lanes for each direction too.

I would have liked to put in a gigabit switch, but for the moment, it is cost prohibitive for my justification. I want to be using only one switch and a 24-port gigabit switch is more than I want to pay. All of my computers have gigabit ports on them. My home-built NAS also has a gigabit port but my router CURRENTLY only has a 10/100, but I could upgrade it if I really felt it would help... I don't think it really would help. I believe my PS3 has a gigabit port. My ReplayTVs and my print server are only 10/100 though.

When was the last time you checked prices on gigabitswitches? they dropped a lot in the last few months...

Well, I'll be darned... I saw a 24-port Belkin 1 Gigabit switch for $155. That is almost justifiable. I'll probably wait a bit still. I at least know that when I do, I just need to swap it out and I know I won't have an issue with poor quality cabling limiting the speed.

Make sure it supports jumbo frames and all that. A few slipped into the market without that support... but overall the prices dropped a lot. I bought my 8 porter for ~35dollars.

So how many HD channels will SureWest have once these 15 new channels are added in November?

Do they have both Comcast Sports Net and fox Bay Area Sports Net in HD?

Does anyone know what happens when the 1 yr. contract expires? Does it go to a month-to-month plan at higher rates? Can you extend for another year and lock in lower rates? Is Surewest just another cable company that jacks up the prices every year with no respect for the customer?

When I signed up I asked about the price after 1 year. They are running so many deals and such it is somewhat confusing.

I'm getting TV free for 1 month, I'm getting something else free for 6 months, and I'm getting something else for 12 months.

So my price will change at least 3 times during this first year of service. I would assume they will jack the rates up a bit on us. They've already increased the 20/50mb tiers (and even the 10mb?). They are spending quite a bit of cash on this fiber rollout. They used to be a rather large cash cow and now -- without direct prompting from competition -- they are heavily investing in their infrastructure. I don't think they have as much money in the bank anymore.

Good part is that they are regulated more then a cable company -- so who knows?

Once SureWest adds the additional channels, it will be 38 HDTV channels. They have already added 3 of the reported 15 (History Channel [641], A&E [642] and Fox Business News [652]). Initially, I'm told, they were planning on adding all at once. They then changed to add the channels once all the deals and trouble-shooting was finalized. I was told that they should all be added within the time frame given, just maybe not ALL at the same time. Like I mentioned earlier, the new channels will be: ESPN 2, Big-10 Network, USA Network, SciFi Channel, Bravo, TBS, CNN, Animal Channel, Discovery Channel (simulcast, different than Discovery HD Theater, which is already available), Science Channel, Biography Channel, and The Learning Channel. Both Comcast Sports Network (699) and Fox Sports Bay Area (634) have been available in HD for some time now... at least before I started service in July. Many people don't see CSN in the listing if they don't subscribe to any of the premium movie channels, as it comes after the movie channels in the line-up... channel 699. I personally find this a bit dumb... I keep forgetting it is there when scanning around to see what is on. As you can see, the new channels are fairly mainstream channels being added. For several years now, the many Discovery channels have been producing much of their content in HD, despite not broadcasting in HD. Now they are. Many reruns of content may be in HD. As they are simulcasts and not everything is HD, there will be many times where it will actually be SD content. With both A&E and History Channel (an A&E network channel) stretch SD content. I'm not sure what Discovery will do. I hope they just place filler on the sides and don't stretch. I get much more annoyed by improper geometry than blank space or filler on the sides. If I really want it stretched, I just tell my TV to stretch it for me, I don't want the broadcaster to limit my choices.

I'm not a financial person, but I just read that SureWest has announced the 217th consecutive quarterly cash dividend payout to shareholders. If they were losing money, my thought is that they wouldn't be paying out. I'm not sure how $0.25/share rates with other payouts. BTW, 217 consecutive quarters would be over 54 years.

54 years? They must be including when they were Roseville Telephone before they were surewest.

I'm really looking forward to SciFi finally being on HD along with the regual Discovery Channel.

Now, all we need is the DVR....