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What kind of signal will we get after Feb 09?
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AfterDawn Addict
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18. December 2008 @ 19:45 |
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I realize what will happen in Feb 09. But what will the digital signal look like? Will it all be HD 16X9 or 4X3. Will it be HD at all and the same crappy looking type picture except in digital reproduction. Will Cox cable carry all the channels in HD if they are broadcast that way? In other words is anything really going to change in the pictures we already receive. Are we going to wake up that magic morning and have all HD beautiful pictures with no horizontal black boxes??? OR the samo half crap and half good TV pictures?
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Senior Member
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18. December 2008 @ 20:09 |
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Hi,
here are my "smart"answers
In this deep recession,
No 16x9, but 4x3
No 1080, but 240
and all the static and snow you could ever ask for !
Jo (endo put me up to this )
Life is Grand !
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AfterDawn Addict
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18. December 2008 @ 21:29 |
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Endo should be shot. And gm's picture of him is too good. You rat. LMAO
And Jo you are NOT being ladylike in your help either!
Now are there any sane people out there, that actually know the answers????
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AfterDawn Addict
1 product review
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19. December 2008 @ 04:16 |
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Originally posted by garmoon:
Endo should be shot. And gm's picture of him is too good. You rat. LMAO
And Jo you are NOT being ladylike in your help either!
Now are there any sane people out there, that actually know the answers????
No Christmas card for you !
And I'm a baaaaad influence on Jo !
"The flimsier the product,the higher the price"
Ferengi 82nd rule of aqusition
 This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 19. December 2008 @ 04:17
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Member
1 product review
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19. December 2008 @ 06:03 |
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Every broadcast will be blu-ray quality......sheeeeesh, I wish :)
(endo put me up to this also....hehehe)
WORD FOR TODAY IS "LEGS". NOW GO AND SPREAD THE WORD!!
Sony KDL46XBR2, Moto DCT 3416 I
Sony KDL32XBR6, Moto DCH 3416
Tosh HD-XA2, Pannie BD55
P4 3.4ghz, 320gb HD (160x2, RAID 0)
Blood Type - O pos
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 19. December 2008 @ 06:04
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AfterDawn Addict
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19. December 2008 @ 07:53 |
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So no one actually knows the answer out there? I don't!
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Peshtigo
Senior Member
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19. December 2008 @ 08:39 |
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All you really need to know: Better than it was...not as good as it could be...same price. I use Dish Network Turbo. All High Def, all the time, $20.00 per month cheaper than Time Warner cable (in my region). Couldn't be more pleased.
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ddp
Moderator
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19. December 2008 @ 10:38 |
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this only affects people using rabbit ears & tv tower to get tv signal.
iluvendo, that rumbling is getting closer!!
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AfterDawn Addict
1 product review
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19. December 2008 @ 12:13 |
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Originally posted by ddp:
this only affects people using rabbit ears & tv tower to get tv signal.
iluvendo, that rumbling is getting closer!!
Master of the great white light, Mercy, Please !
"The flimsier the product,the higher the price"
Ferengi 82nd rule of aqusition
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AfterDawn Addict
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19. December 2008 @ 16:35 |
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@ddp
I realize the stuff about the rabbit ears and over the air problem. But are we going to get improved HD picture digitally or are we going to keep getting some of the same crappy cable pic and some HD cable pic. Why have they gone to all the trouble of doing this-beside stealing bandwith from TV stations and reselling it and making everyone by new TVs, if the pictures are still going to have vertical bars(meant that in original post instead of horizontal. The way I see it., it seems the TV HD sets are lightyears ahead of the TV stations, cable and dish companys' abilities to provide an HD 16X9 image at least in 720p. Why didn't the government mandate that all received cable channels be in 16X9 720p except for movies and old reruns shot in full screen. They are making the average Joe spend the money to upgrade set for nothing and not the rich cable and dish companies.
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ddp
Moderator
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19. December 2008 @ 20:59 |
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garmoon, remember that this is a stateside problem as is not happening here yet in canada for at least a few more years.
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AfterDawn Addict
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19. December 2008 @ 21:16 |
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so no one in the US knows what's going to happen with picture quality?
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ddp
Moderator
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19. December 2008 @ 22:13 |
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if you are on cable or satellite then probably nothing according to what i've seen on tv.
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Senior Member
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19. December 2008 @ 23:12 |
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garmoon,
From what I understand, if you have cable or satelite you shouldn't see a difference than what you have now. You won't have to upgrade your tv until your carrier no longer decides to support analog tvs. There will be both HD & SD programs and in 16x9 and 4x3 formats. As far as I know no one is going to upconvert any SD programs (read reruns, i.e., game shows, made for tv, etc.) at the broadcast level. The new stuff will mostly be in HD (and 16x9) but remember there are alot of professional SD(4x3) cameras out there that will be sold on the cheap.
OTA (Over The Air) on the other hand is different. Each digital channel can have sub-channels, i.e., 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 with different programing on each. For example, if you have 5 OTA stations now, when converted over to HD you could have 15 channels. There is a restriction though. Each station is allowed a specific amount of bandwidth so what I'm getting is the main channel, e.g., 3.1, in HD (1080i) and the other 2, 3.2 & 3.3, in SD(480i). The image dimensions will be a mix of the 16x9 and the 4x3. The 16x9 is becoming the new standard but, as I said above, there are alot of the 4x3 cameras out there. My local stations haven't converted over to the new cameras yet.
There is also the issue of transmission power for the OTA stations. It's becoming apparent that higher transmission power is needed, especially for the stations braodcasting on the lower frequencies. I know several of my locals have already put in for permission for power upgrades because there coverage area has dropped dramatically.
Hope this helps you out.
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Senior Member
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20. December 2008 @ 06:13 |
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Well Hobbit112 pretty much wrapped it all up.
But just some more feedback, For anyone using an antenna to watch TV, all the local "Channel 4(5,6,7,8,9etc..)" You are now being forced to update your tvs.
As local tv is upgrading itself, and as a user of local free TV in my area, (I already upgraded TV) I have seen alot better picture quality in my local news and other basic channels.
:)
Hope this helps too - Robbie
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AfterDawn Addict
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20. December 2008 @ 08:50 |
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So I guess when it all changes in Feb, nothing is going to change in what's broadcast from each channel. You would think that broadcasters should be forced to improve their NEW programming to 16X9!
I got one of those converters for a small set at work and as Liez4Love said, channels 2 and 9 did not come in at all being only 15 miles from the tower. 27,33,44 all came in with rabbit ears-perfect pictures. Seems that all of this change is a downgrade! Soon the local stations will quit broadcasting OTA signals altogether-to save money. There will be no more free TV in the future!
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Senior Member
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20. December 2008 @ 09:27 |
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Hang in there Garmoon!
Your channels 2 & 9 can come back, they just have to apply for authorization to boost transmission power. During this transition period the stations are able to broadcast their digital channels at a higher power rating. When they dial it back in to their allowed power and find out how much their coverage shrinks, they will apply to use more power. I believe the stations were guaranteed that their coverage area wouldn't change. My channel 12 (and it's 2 secondary channels) disappeared about 3-4 weeks ago, it came back a couple of days ago. I re-oriented my antenna slightly plus I believe they upped their power as their signal was initially very pixellated but now quite steady.
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You would think that broadcasters should be forced to improve their NEW programming to 16X9!
They are! The national channels have already switched over to 16x9 and the state public tv stations are also well on their way in the conversion. It's the local stations bringing up the rear as they have to budget for the new equipment, not just hold another telethon. Shoot, the Pappas group, which owns 2 stations in my area, is struggling and is trying to sell off some of their stations to bring in money.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 20. December 2008 @ 09:34
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AfterDawn Addict
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20. December 2008 @ 09:43 |
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@hobbitt
So I guess come Feb 19th Cox cable will be passing signals with 16X9 pictures on the non HD channels, since only about half of their channels have gone HD-way too few. That's great, a full 16X9 picture in 480p-can't wait. Should look even uglier! Progress! LMAO
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Senior Member
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20. December 2008 @ 10:25 |
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@garmoon,
Cox is another issue, who knows what they are going to do. With them, I think to get HD you have to have a digital box plus a HD capable tv. If you don't have the digital box and a HD tv maybe Cox will crop all the 16x9 programs to 4x3 automatically. Again, who knows?
BTW, there is a misconception out there that if you subscribe to cable or sattelite you don't have to upgrade to a HD tv. This is true only as long as your provider supplies digital to analog boxes. They can change over to all digital anytime they wish, they were just not required to change over on Feb. 19th. I would imagine as long as their digital to analog converter boxes work, they will make them available.
I'm not a fan of Cox. I use them for internet only as they are the most reasonable priced now. I dropped their cable and went OTA about 5 years ago. Cox has this nasty habit of moving well-liked channels from their bulk tiers to pay tiers. And they keep raising their prices. And they can be beligerent. When I returned my box & remote, I watched the service rep toss the remote into a box (holding alot of remotes already) marked "trash". Cox then proceeded for the next 9 months to send me bills for $10.00 stating it was for a remote not turned in.
Have you read the fine print at Cox to get the HD channels? Here you go:
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Available to residential customers in Cox areas. Cox Basic service required for local HD channels. Cox Digital Cable and Expanded required for expanded HD channels. Digital Cable and paid subscription to Digital HBO, Starz, Showtime or a Cox Digital service level required for HBO HD, Cinemax HD, Starz HD, Showtime HD or other digital channels? HD programming. An HDTV receiver or CableCard and an HDTV set required. An HDTV receiver or CableCard and an HDTV set required. *Separate monthly programming fees are charged in Cox Orange County/Palos Verdes service areas only for HD Theater, HDNet, and HDNet Movies.
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AfterDawn Addict
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20. December 2008 @ 13:16 |
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Yeah, I've been hating Cox here in Baton Rouge for 30 years. But the service IS reliable, but overpriced. It's a monopoly here. We have violent weather here weekly to make a small dish unreliable most of the time. All my friends who've tried the dishes have run back to Cox, especially the internet guys. You're right about the tier levels. We got our 1st HD tv almost 2 years ago and signed up for two HD DVR boxes. Just by themselves, the cost was $30 for both , then the digital tier was added to basic and expanded basic. Internet and HD Cable with 2 DVR boxes is costing $140 a month. My wife acquired her HD set for Xmas, I did the acquiring-I paid-she chose the set.! LOL For 2 other nonhd sets, Cox is saying they don't have to be touched. Evidently they will continue to pass analog signal as now, since we don't have boxes with them. I won't ever need HBO or the other $hit movie channels. With my DVDs and Netflix, I probably have a bigger selection, than them all together could supply!
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Senior Member
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20. December 2008 @ 13:31 |
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Yep, and higher definition too. The HD that you get from Cox isn't as high def as OTA or HD DVD or Blu-Ray. Shoot, I'd bet even a dececent upconverting dvd play passes a higher def image than what you get through Cox. Cox compresses the high def channels in order to a get a set amount of bandwidth through the cable. The more channels they offer, the more compression. If you have a local HD channel that you can get OTA and through cox, if you switch back and forth between them what you get OTA will be higher def.
I chocked on Cox when my bill exceeded $120 a month for phone, cable & internet. No HD at that time and they kept moving the channels I liked to pay tiers. When they moved Speed Channel to a pay tier, that was it!
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