Tag: HDTV

Comcast And My Parent’s HDTV

My parents are still watching standard definition TV, even after a visit from a Comcast installer. It’s frustrating enough to require an email from me to Comcast’s corner office.

Dear Mr. Roberts,

I am writing as both a shareholder and customer, but mostly as a son on behalf of my parents, Harold and Betty Fox of (redacted), FL.

Recently, my folks ordered HD DVR service from Comcast. Today, your Comcast installer told them the proper way to use the system was by tuning their TV to Channel 3. In other words, they were told to use the internal modulator in the DVR and the internal tuner on their TV. This method is only capable of delivering standard definition television, not HDTV. Only by using a DVI cable or 3 composite video cables, could they have actually received an HDTV picture.

They didn’t know this, but your installer surely should have.

I am disappointed for my parents, who have not gotten what they paid for. I am disappointed as a shareholder that installers aren’t better trained. Considering the fierce competition from satellite, I would have expected a better outcome on what should be a high priority product.

Any assistance from Comcast to correct this problem will be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Geoff Fox

ps – Comcast’s system prevents me from sending this directly to the proper department. I hope you can forward it on my behalf.

I’ll let you know if anyone responds.

Blogger’s note – Comcast to the rescue. Here’s the follow-up.

HDTV Or Not HDTV – That Is The Question

A confession. Back in 1968, my college radio station was broadcasting in mono. A fellow engineering type and I decided we’d change that.

We had no stereo equipment at the studio nor a stereo exciter at the transmitter site, but we hooked up a tone generator on the audio line and inserted a 19 kHz sine wave. The tone was too high to be heard over-the-air, but perfect to enable the stereo light on any radio so equipped.

Anyone listening to the station who saw the light probably thought we were in stereo. Perception is reality.

Another station I worked at inadvertently turned off our ability to broadcast in stereo (though that pilot tone was still transmitting and turning on stereo lights). There wasn’t one call of complaint.

All that happened decades ago, but some things remain the same.

A few weeks ago my folks bought an HDTV television. Then last week they got an HDTV DVR from Comcast. A few cable connections and voila – HDTV.

Just one problem. That’s not what they were watching.

My dad, who had hooked up as many TVs as anyone, did what he’d always done. And that did produce a picture. There was no way for him to know what he did coiuld never produce real HDTV.

Since my folks were watching programs that filled the 16:9 screen on their HDTV, and since it was being fed by their HDTV DVR they were happy.

An article at Audioholics.com points out:

A recent survey by Leichtman Research Group came up with the following interesting facts:

* Nearly half of the 24 million households with HDTVs don’t actually watch high-definition programs because they lack an HDTV feed from either via cable or satellite

* 25% of those surveyed didn’t even realize they were watching non-HDTV transmissions

As the author, Clint DeBoer, points out “Sleeping in the Garage Doesn’t Make You a Car.”

I don’t want my folks to miss out on what they paid for, so I’ve tried to help get the right cables in the right sockets. It’s not easy as all the connections are behind or under the TV or the wall unit it sits in.

Right now they can get HDTV… just without audio. The solution is easy, once the TV and DVR are moved.

Oh – I knew they weren’t getting HDTV when my dad told me he had to tune the TV to Channel 3 to see anything. Using the TV’s tuner meant they were watching everything in “SD” or standard definition.

Their DVR to TV connection was a single coaxial cable, instead of the five separate connections they really need. How is anyone supposed to know this?

Believe me, they’re not the only ones.

Confused For A Robot

I was checking the prices on some electronics gear using Google this afternoon. Maybe I might enjoy adding HDTV to my MythTV DVR?

When my first request wasn’t specific enough, I honed in with “hdtv mpeg4&#185 capture pci.” That’s when Google got suspicious.

We’re sorry… but your query looks similar to automated requests from a computer virus or spyware application

Here’s the actual screen capture of Google’s page.

First, doesn’t Google already have a cookie on this machine by which they follow me around? You know what? There doesn’t have to be a second, because the first covers it all.

This is just weird, because a company that prides itself on artificial intelligence and expert machine interpretation of language, shouldn’t be confusing a 56 year old guy in Connecticut with an automated process!

Google has made more of a positive impact on the retrieval of information than any other company/application I can think of. That’s no minor feat. Our lives have been changed for the better by this student project, hatched at Stanford.

Am I still allowed to be a little disappointed?

&#185 – This is a mistake on my part. I really should have specified “MPEG-2,” normally accomplished in hardware, which greatly reduces the load on the DVR’s computer brain.

Privacy – Scientific Atlanta Responds

I just got an email from Scientific Atlanta. Earlier today, filling out a survey form for them revealed my email address for all to see!

The email is interesting for what it does and doesn’t say. SciAtl’s email says this was an ‘anomaly’. How non-human.

Revealing my email address, along with hundreds of others, wasn’t caused by an anomaly. It was an error, a goof, a screw up – your choice.

Though Scientific Atlanta has tried their best to characterize this as a computer error, I suspect it was a human error. Right now, I would feel better about Scientific Atlanta, if I felt there was more candor in their email… if they’d fess up.

Notice Regarding Scientific Atlanta’s HDTV Promotion

During the e-mail confirmation process for the Explorer eClub HDTV promotion, we experienced an anomaly that resulted in a very limited number of respondents seeing the user name, cable operator name and e-mail address of some of the other survey participants. We responded by shutting down the survey site, identifying the problem, correcting the issue, testing the solution and re-establishing access to the survey – all in less than 30 minutes.

We take our privacy policy very seriously and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. We value our relationship with our Explorer eClub members and will continue to rely on your valuable input to help us to improve our products. Your name has been entered in the drawing for the HDTV, and we thank you for participating in our survey and selecting a Scientific Atlanta product for your home.

Sara Stutzenstein

Director of Public Relations

Scientific Atlanta, A Cisco Company

Zero Security Policy

I just received an email from Scientific Atlanta. They’re the ones who built my cable box/DVR… the one that isn’t nearly as good as TiVo.

Dear Explorer eClub member,

It’s no secret that HDTV is growing in popularity, and at Scientific Atlanta, we’re listening to what consumers want. Share with us what you know about HDTV. Take the survey here.

All eligible members who participate by November 27, 2006 will be entered to win an HD television.*

Thank you very much for sharing your experiences with us.

Obviously, they didn’t want to hear much from me, because after two questions I was finished. If I had an HDTV they probably would have wanted to know more.

What followed, however, amazed me. With the confirmation screen came a list of EVERYONE else who entered! When I refreshed the page, the list lengthened.

In this day and age of spams, scams and worse, you would expect companies to double check this stuff… wouldn’t you?

Blogger’s addendum – As I was finishing this entry, I went back to Scientific Atlanta’s site to see if the problem still existed. It looks like the survey’s been taken down, as I received a “Service Unavailable” message.

NBC Almost Gets It

As I type this, I am watching NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. It’s the Internet version, though I’m not sure what’s different between this and the newscast that aired earlier tonight over-the-air&#185.

As a Firefox browser user, MSNBC sites have given me problems in the past. Everything loaded perfectly tonight – painlessly. Maybe MSNBC has mended their ways.

Nightly News is streaming using the Windows Media protocol at 300 kbps. The video looks to be about 320×240 and is relatively sharp with a few glitches associated with motion. Brian Williams looks crisper on TV with more vivid colors… but not by much. I’m actually impressed with the quality.

Here’s where NBC has it wrong – and I’m afraid this shows they don’t totally understand how Internet streaming will be used. You can only watch this broadcast beginning to end, in real time. There is no ability to jump forward or back.

If you miss something, there’s no way to repeat without repeating everything you’ve already seen. Same if you want to skip ahead past a story you’re not interested in. Tough luck.

There is code on the webpage which turns off the Windows Media Player timeline and any of the standard ‘right click’ functions. There are probably ways to work around these shortcomings, but for most users, it is what it is.

This is the way I watched TV 20 years ago. I am used to more control. My DVR is more powerful. Certainly, the Internet and Windows Media Player allow more versatility, if that’s NBC’s desire.

I should be allowed to move forward and backward thought the timeline. In fact, the site should be set up with the ability to random access stories, probably at the click of a button.

At some point television networks and stations will have to come to grips with the difference between Internet viewing and over-the-air viewing. We will probably see shorter programs, but possibly longer individual stories. Once we can ‘request’ stories that interest us, more time and depth in reporting are a logical next step.

Maybe the idea of a program (at least for news) will disappear as you cherry pick what you want to see.

It’s funny, in this age when HDTV and huge sets seem to be the big thing, the tiny on-screen viewing window works just fine.

&#185 – Now that it’s over, I can report the commercials have been replaced by promos and the 30 minute newscast ran around 22 minutes.

HD For Me?

I had a chance to watch some HDTV while in Nashville last weekend. My friend Mike has the DirecTV HD service on a big, beautiful set. It was good, but I wasn’t blown away.

My guess is, in order to fit in all the HD local broadcasts from around the country, DirecTV has to compress the living you know what out of the signal. I don’t know that for sure, but I saw digital artifacts I didn’t expect to see and compression is a reasonable explanation.

The question is, should I upgrade to HDTV at home?

Note to Helaine: This is not a fishing expedition. As you will see, I’m really unsure.

When we bought our new TV for the family room, it came HD compatible. All I need do is get a tuner and voila, high definition. Comcast does provide an HD service… but is there enough on to justify even the small cost?

The big deal would be sports. Most of the other shows we watch are perfectly fine on the low def 4:3 analog world. Sports might be another story… though after yesterday’s Eagles game, a 5″ black and white model might suffice.

Then there’s the question of our DVR. The one we have now puts out ‘normal’ analog video. I checked Comcast’s website and didn’t find an HDTV DVR.

I’m going to have to go to Comcast to return the cable modem I am renting. I’ll ask, but I don’t think it’s time yet.

Pfffft Goes the TV

I came home from work, turned on the TV and began to watch Countdown with Keith Olberman (yes – I’m the one). I wasn’t more than 10 or 15 seconds into the show when I heard “pfffft” and the picture went out.

I approached the TV cautiously. There was the very distinct smell of fried capacitor. Without looking, my guess is the power supply is gone.

In the good old days that wouldn’t be a major problem. We’ve progressed beyond the good old days. This TV is now ready to be thrown away! I took a piece of notebook paper and some Scotch Tape so I could attach a hand written sign that says, “TV Dead.”

It is a Zenith projection TV, probably 45″ picture. In this day and age it’s small for a projection TV. The picture is OK, not great. Years ago, not long after we got it, someone scratched a small portion. It’s only visible from obtuse angles.

Helaine is prone to watch QVC for hours on end. Sometimes, especially on solid colors, you can see where QVC’s standard screen is burned into the display.

Now comes the interesting part.

Back when we bought the TV, maybe 10 or so years ago, we had a cabinet in our family room built around it. They still make TVs with 45″ screens, but now they’re 16:9. Our is 4:3. In other words, sets are wider and shorter. It will be interesting finding one that fits.

Once we find the proper size, we’ve got to decide whether to get HDTV or standard definition. Should it be another rear projection or a new technology like plasma&#185 or LCD?

The shopping starts later today, I suppose. I really hadn’t planned on forking out the cash for a new TV. This sucks.

&#185 – It is my understanding plasma is very susceptible to burn in (like our current set) while LCD is burn proof.

Rockford, Rickford… What The Heck, They’re Back

When you’re a fan… a rabid fan… you will move heaven and Earth. I guess that’s the best way to put Helaine and Stef’s trip to Rockford, Illinois into perspective. They are rabid Rick Springfield fans. You remember, the Jessie’s Girl, Don’t Talk to Strangers guy?

I’m not sure I would travel to Rockford for the ‘cup of coffee and danish’ period of time they were there. On the other hand, I don’t hang out online with people who decided to call it “Rickford” or “The Rickdom.” They do.

Tonight they’re back home.

For Rick Springfield, the venues are no longer giant stadiums and arenas. However, a dedicated. screaming crowd – mainly women – is still there and as Helaine’s license plate frame says, “Rick Rocks.” He has moved into the retail world of rock and roll where the contact with fans is a little more manageable and the touring a little less frenetic.

I’m not sure how Rockford got involved in this, but the classic and freshly refurbished Coronado Theater was chosen to be the site of a concert/DVD taping. Steffie and Helaine could not resist.

I have asked them in the past how many of the attendees of a Rick Springfield concert have been to see him before? Most. How many have seen him a dozen times or more? Lots.

I know for this concert, women were traveling from all across the US and parts of Europe. That’s rabid fans!

Over the past few years Helaine has gotten more involved in the infrastructure of his fan base, becoming a “Street Team” manager who helped in the promotion of his last CD. For this concert, Helaine and Amy, the Street Team national manager, organized a charity luncheon for 150 guests.

I watched over the last few weeks as faxes and emails and phone calls moved back and forth from the hotel in Rockford&#185 to our house in Connecticut. The fact that Helaine is extremely organized and probably could visualize what she wanted, didn’t hurt.

It was a thing of beauty. Helaine is modest and very talented in this regard. I’m not quite sure how she did it, but I’m proud she did.

Stef pitched in, helping register the attendees as they came in… and finally associating faces with some of the names she’s seen online.

From what I hear, the luncheon went off without a hitch and with the money collected through raffles and auctions of Rick Springfield oriented ‘stuff,’ around $18,000 was raised for the Disaster Relief Fund of the American Red Cross.

Helaine says Rick, who came to the luncheon for a few minutes and ended up spending around an hour, was taken aback by some of the prices paid for tickets and ‘meet and greet’ access.

They said the concert was great — but they always do! The proof will be in the DVD, whenever that’s issued, and the HDTV concert that will also be broadcast.

I think ‘being’ Rick Springfield is a good and lucrative business. He has to look at it differently than he did when he was a soap star and avoiding having his clothes torn off. He understands what his product is and who is buying, and he delivers. In the few times that I’ve been around, he seemed to genuinely enjoy what he’s doing.

When people find out Helaine and Stef are big fans, they are often surprised. Rick Springfield is no longer a household word. Who would expect a 21st century fan base? In fact, in this morning’s New York Times his name was used as a contrast the modernity of today’s MTV.

It was not meant to be complimentary.

MTV’s durability at the place where the fickle music business and the protean television trade intersect can be attributed to a singular mind-set: its 24-year-long insistence that the channel itself is the star. The Rick Springfields of the world can rise and fall, but MTV endures.

The problem is, even without the hits, he’s a talented guy who was a musician before he was a soap opera star. His success is now different, but there’s no denying, it’s still success.

&#185 – You would think a hotel in Rockford would be thrilled to get what amounts to convention-like business, on a weekend, in the dead of winter. They did and I’m told it showed.