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Comcast and Dish Network helping Katrina victims
Two of the biggest television providers are helping the victims of Katrina in their own ways. Dish Network has committed to providing satellite service to the shelters and so far are holding true to the promise. They already have set up service in nine shelters, including Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio. In addition to providing the TV service, the company is beginning to set up a fundraiser with its 20,000 employees that has the potential of raising over $1,000,000 if each employee donates just $25.Comcast is helping in the effort by setting $10 million worth of air time for the Red Cross. This air time would be used for education on disaster and emergency preparedness as well as to help raise money for the relief efforts. Plus, they are laying down $50 large right to Red Cross to help immediately. Just when you think that is enough, they are including relief concerts and fundraisers to their On-Demand line up. We hope this sets a precedent to other TV providers to do the same as the Red Cross needs all the help they can get.UPDATE: Direct TV has put up a dedicated Katrina channel on 100. It seems to have directions to shelters and numbers to call for help in the different cities.
Top 10 reasons to watch "The Late Show" in HDTV
Ok, I'm a little tired and cranky from getting up to see if Letterman was in HD, but after a few quarts of coffee this morning, I had an idea. Since last night's "Top 10" list should have been something to do with HDTV, we're asking for your help to build our own "Top 10" list. We'll take the best of the best and if we can come up with a solid list, we'll send it in to Dave for the show.We'll start you out with one of the Top 10 reasons to watch "The Late Show" in HDTV:"You can see that the band isn't really playing their instruments."Yes, they're all very talented musicians, so don't start on me. I just wanted to get things going. Add to the list in our comments; keep 'em funny, keep 'em related to HD, and keep 'em clean!
Canadian Open in HD
Well it looks like our friendly allies to the north will be enjoying their Canadian open in HD. Now this is nothing to start a war over, but still, why does Canada get to watch their golf open through the eyes of 20 high definition cameras? We do understand that our US Open had HD but it was only the far away, overview shots. Even still, the action is set to start on September 8th and can be seen through CTV HD East and CTV HD West.
Yes, that is Dave in high-def
You folks are really special to me. Really! That's why I'm waking up from what is effectively an hour and a half nap, just to see if David Letterman is on in high-def for the first time ever. Yes, he is.I'm not watching the entire show, but here are a few HD bits from the first three minutes:The opening sequence looks phenomenal. The detail is striking.The background of his set just jumps off of the TV.I can see the texture of his suit.He has more wrinkles than I can remember.His second joke is about HDTV. "You can actually read the serial number on my toupee." No thanks are necessary. Really. Now I'm going back to bed; 5 a.m. comes pretty early around my house. Enjoy the show and let me know what you thought of it. Good night.Update: Dave just mentioned that Andy Dick is one his first HD guests. I'm definitely skipping the rest of the show because of this.
Letterman: is he or isn't he in HD?
We just got a question from Chris via our contact form: "Do you know if David Letterman is supposed to debut in HD tonight as previously reported?" Chris, thanks for the question and I wish we had the answer! Here's what we know:Several sources over the past several weeks indicated that today would be the HDTV debut of "The Late Show with David Letterman"Not a single one of our typical HDTV listing sources shows that tonight's show is in HDTVTV listing sources can often be wrongWe'll know for sure by 11:36 p.m. ET Here's my thought and I'm hoping you'll chime in with yours. I expect that yes, tonight's episode will be in HDTV and that Dave will make a big deal of it. I'm imagining some close ups of that famous tooth gap and perhaps even view of Paul's ear hairs. However, this is just my guess; I'll be staying up later than normal to see if they do broadcast in HDTV.What do you think: HD for Letterman tonight or not?
Are HD tuners worthless?
We got a tip about this article and just gave it a read. Overall, the CNET piece is technically accurate and definitely worth a view. It explains why you may not need a true HDTV set, but instead why you can get away with an HD-Ready monitor. By and large, the article says, the tuning capability is wasted because your satellite or cable provider can supply your HD signal. For many folks, this is true and may not justify the added expense of a tuner.Although we agree with a majority of the well written piece, we do take exception with the statement, "a built-in HDTV tuner is worthless." In fact, I downright disagree and here's why.
HDTV impact on Nielsen ratings
I'm a list guy; what can I say, I just love 'em! TV Squad posted a great list today of the top twenty shows, per last week's Nielsen ratings. As I was looking through the list, I started counting how many of these shows were available in high-def. See, that's the funny thing about lists; they tend to generate more lists! So what did my list show? It showed that over 60% of the top-watched shows were available in HDTV.You sort of expect this, don't you? After all, most of these shows are during the prime time hours, which are, well, "prime time" for most HDTV programming. I have to wonder though: do you think anyone watched these shows because they're in HD? Sure, most of them are great shows based on fantastic content, but many of us have tuned into a show simply because it was in HD, and that's how we got hooked.Check the list out and let us know if you watched any of these because of their high-def availability. I can tell you that I probably would have missed out completely on CSI if it wasn't in HD, and I'm glad I tuned in to see the 1080i feed: I'm hooked!
Meedio releases an HD DVR program
There is a growing trend here and we like it. Meedio is the second company in less then two weeks to release a DVR application with HDTV in mind. Even better yet is that if you owned the previous version, it will be upgraded free of charge. If you did not though, $39.99 is a small price to pay to have the ability to view, time-shift, and record High Definition even if it is OTA.
2005 J.D. Powers and Associates ratings are in
The results are in and the numbers are tallied up. As always, satellite TV dominated over cable in all aspects from overall satisfaction to reliability to customer service. For the last decade, according to this report, Direct TV and Dish Network have been stealing cable customers away; last year was no exception. People feel that the level of service that they receive is greater through satellite than it is through cable. There is one ray of sunshine though, and it is pointed right at WOW! For the first time since 2001, a cable provider has received the prestigious J.D. Power and Associates award for highest level of customer satisfaction. I guess Dish Network is going to need to change some of their advertisements. You might be like me though, and never have heard of this provider but they operated in major markets in Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. My cable provider, little ol’ Comcast, is the lowest in all of the categories. Just like any red-blooded American, I cannot stand the quality of service that I receive from this cable giant. My high speed drops all the time and they blame it on my equipment. Video on Demand is out more than it is in; I cannot tell you the last time I have used it. The one thing that has impressed me though is their in-home service. The techs are knowledgeable and prompt. Still, I don't know about you, but I hate Comcast.
HDTV expands in Canada
I'm hoping we have a few friends from Canada reading this. If you didn't already know, you've got another free high-definition choice via an over-the-air (OTA) antenna! CTV started broadcasting a high-def signal out of both Vancouver and Toronto. This is Vancouver's very first OTA high-def signal, while this is Toronto's third."CT HD West" can be picked up with a digital tuner and antenna out of British Columbia from Mount Seymour (as in: "see-more picture quality"). The CN Tower in Toronto is pumping out "CT HD East". If we have any friends from north o' the border, check in with us when you view your new channel and let us know what you think! There's nothing more exciting than hearing about someone's first experience of HDTV.
ABC HDTV feed may be down next week
Update: The WMTW Chief Engineer confirmed that an ABC memo indicates that ABC HDTV feeds will be down across the nation next week. Thanks, WMTW!We're not sure if this affects everyone or just the ABC affiliate in Portland, Maine, but WMTW is reporting that ABC affiliates won't have an HD feed next week. The expected downtime is from August 23rd to August 26th, during which time ABC is upgrading its HDTV facility.Apparently, viewers won't be staring at a blank screen; ABC intends to provide an upconverted feed on their standard HD signals. We'll try to confirm with another ABC affiliate and provide an update in this post.For now, don't count on watching "According to Jim" in HD next week. C'mon, you know you watch it! If you can't admit to it, then you need to post a comment over at TV Squad's "Five Guilty Pleasures" post.
PGA is mostly in HD
I'm watching the PGA Championship in HDTV on CBS right now and I am furious! Shame on CBS for advertising this in HDTV, when they have a limited number of HD cameras covering the event. I can't tell for sure, but it appears that the cameras on the towers are HD cameras, but that's it.Every single image from the tee-boxes or on the green looks worse than SD. Right this second, Phil Mickelson is putting for par on the ninth hole and the picture is atrocious! His putter is ghosted so bad, it appears that he has three putters. He did make the putt, so I guess his view is detailed.What's worse yet is that every time they switch camera views, we're going back and forth between HD and SD quality, which is completely annoying. I'll be firing off an e-mail to CBS right after this post to complain and question this. Is anyone else seeing what I'm seeing?
HD picture frame antenna
First off, let's get the facts out of the way. There is no such thing as a high-definition antenna. Over-the-air (OTA) HD signals are broadcast on UHF channels, so theoretically; you could pull in an HD signal with a bent coat-hanger. Having said that, you have to give Richard Schneider credit. Schneider wasn't happy with current antennas, so he created his own.Schneider's designs proved effective enough to start a website that now sells 1,400 antennas per month. The most interesting design is the unobtrusive Picture Frame Antenna shown above. The PF7 antenna provides a 6.5 DB gain to help pull in your local OTA HD channels. There are plenty of other antennas on Schneider's website; you can pick up the PF7 for under $30.
PGA Championship in HDTV this weekend
Kudos to the PGA and CBS: for the second year in a row, the final major golf championship of the year will be broadcast in 1080i HD. I know that at least one person commented about golf in our "what do you want to see in HD?" poll.CBS has broadcast "The Masters" tournament in HD for the past six years and the coverage is routinely phenomenal! If you haven't seen a golf tournament in high-def, mark your calendar for this weekend and then come back here to let us know what you thought. When you see the dimples on the ball and the grain of the grass in different directions, you will fall off of your chair. We'll try to snap a pic of both the HD and SD feeds for you not-so-early-adaptors!
FOX to add two HD channels
FOX is bringing more digital goodness to the home with plans to add two new high definition channels next year. A National Geographic channel in HD is expected, which should give Discovery HD a run for its money. FOX HD will be a compilation of HD programming from various FOX networks. Cool, now we can watch all of the "Beverly Hills 90210" reruns in HD!DirecTV is a likely fit to carry the new channels, since it is also owned by News Corp. Here's a thought for FOX: why not provide the HD feeds on local FOX affiliates through multicasting. Let's use the additional bandwidth you have to truly spread HD via over-the-air signals. You can recoup your costs with targeted or region specific advertsing on the local channel. How about it Mr. Murdoch?
HDTV comes to Rhode Island!
Welcome to the party, Providence! Aside from having a hit show based around your city, we hear you've got HDTV through local CBS-affiliate, WPRI. In fact, WPRI is the first station in the state to offer HDTV, so we consider you trail-blazers in Rhode Island.Amazingly, it turns out that local cable carriers in Providence don't provide any digital television signals, so folks there will need to view DTV via over-the-air signals. If you're in the Providence area, look to our HDTV antenna helper that we posted a few weeks back.If your local stations are moving to a DTV signal, be sure to let us know!
HDTV on UPN this fall
As summer begins to dwindle down, the new fall television line-ups are just around the corner. As we receive information about the HDTV offerings in the fall, we'll share with you so you can plan your autumn.First up is UPN, which broadcasts in 1080i, or 1920 x 1080 pixels. UPN is adding six hours of HDTV programming this year:One on One, Mondays at 8:00-8:30 PM, ET/PTAll of Us, Mondays at 8:30-9:00 PM, ET/PTGirlfriends, Mondays at 9:00-9:30 PM, ET/PTHalf & Half, Mondays at 9:30-10:00 PM, ET/PTSex, Love and Secrets, Tuesdays at 9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PTVeronica Mars, Wednesdays at 9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PTEverybody Hates Chris, Thursdays at, 8:00-8:30 PM, ET/PTEve, Thursdays at 8:30-9:00 PM, ET/PTCuts, Thursdays at, 9:00-9:30 PM, ET/PTLove, Inc., Thursdays, 9:30-10:00 PM, ET/PTWhich of the UPN HDTV shows do you plan to watch? I'm boycotting UPN since the cancellation of Enterprise, but that's just me.
Winegard antenna is so square
Sure it's square, but apparently it works too. The Winegard Square Shooter (SS) antenna just received a patent today from the U.S. Patent Office. The SS comes in two models, the 1000, which is passive and the amplified 2000 version.The Square Shooter was apparently designed to receive reflected over the air signals, indicating to us that you don't need to point the antenna at your broadcast source. This would come in handy for metropolitan areas where tall buildings interfere with line of sight transmissions. At only 15-inches square, Winegard indicates that the SS-2000 can pull DTV signals in from 50 miles away. Not only is the range impressive, but we were getting tired of looking at all of those round dish-style antennas anyway. We're wondering if the Hack-A-Day crowd could use this to beat the recent record-breaking long-range WiFi burst at defcon. Any takers?
PBS: Don't overlook it for HDTV
HDTV programming is still relatively scarce via over-the-air broadcasting. Most of the major neworks have some prime-time programs in high-definition and you can usually rustle up a sporting event or two on the weekend. Here's a thought the next time you've got to have your HDTV: check out your local Public Broadcast System (PBS) channels.PBS offers HDTV at various times throughout the day, not just during prime-time. Just to give you an example, I checked my local PBS station guide for high-def. From midnight this morning to midnight tonight, my local PBS channels are offering fifteen hours of HD programming. Granted, some of these are rebroadcasts, but there's plenty to watch ranging from local news, shows on the arts, and travel programs.
WJWJ moves to DTV; what will be the impact?
In the "don't panic, everything is OK category", we have WJWJ in South Carolina trying to figure out the impact of switching over to a digital television transmitter. WJWJ is a PBS station in Beaufort and we give them two thumbs up for switching over to digital transmission next month, since some of the best HDTV programming is on PBS.According to the Beaufort Gazette, the WJWJ television signal will drop to 1 percent of its current reach. We get that part, really we do; whenever you take a transmitter down, you're effectively going to provide a signal between zero and none.It's the impact of the signal loss that we're confounded by. The Gazette states "Exactly how that will affect the station's reception for viewers in southern Beaufort County isn't known." Uh guys, I think we can safely say reception will be non-existent. There isn't a set of rabbit-ears big enough to pull in a signal from a down transmitter. If you find a pair, drop us a note so we can do a review. Maybe we can use the antenna to help out the SETI team find signals from space.
