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WISC-TV to finally deliver HD news in Madison, Wisconsin
Get ready, Madison -- HD news is just around the bend. Starting on Sunday, October 26th, WISC-TV will become the first in the region to air all of its regularly-scheduled newscasts in high-definition. Of note, the CBS affiliate has been airing feature stories within its newscast in HD since January of this year, but on Sunday, it will become the first in the area to go wire-to-wire in high-def. The first completely HD newscast will air at 5:30PM on the aforementioned day, and in preparation for the change, the regularly scheduled "News 3 at 5:30" will be preempted for an original special on HDTV and the February 2009 digital television conversion.
AT&T's U-verse Total Home DVR shows up unannounced in Milwaukee, WI
AT&T hasn't made it official or anything, but one particular U-verse user in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is already enjoying the spoils of Total Home DVR. That's right -- Milwaukee residents subscribed to the provider's fiber-based TV service can now check out recorded programs on any connected TV, not just the main set in the den. Let us know if AT&T drops the new software in your locale, it's been pretty busy of late rolling it out.[Thanks, Ryan]
Charter shifts channels to add HD stations in Fond du Lac, WI
Charter's not going all-digital just yet in the Fond du Lac, Wisconsin region, but it is making some changes to make room for additional high-def material. Thanks to a recent realignment, a few analog channels have been moved to the digital tier, which will not only mean more expense for those currently operating sans a digital STB, but freed bandwidth that can be used for new high-definition channels. According to Lisa Washa, Charter's vice president and general manager, the "number one request it gets from customers is for more HD channels," though judging by CTO Marwan Fawaz's comments, you'd think the carrier just wasn't listening. At any rate, you Fond du Lac customers can look forward to an undisclosed amount of new HD options "later this month."
DISH Network unloads HD locals in a handful of new markets
Of late, it's been DirecTV doing all the dishing of HD locals, but at long last, we've got its biggest, most bitter rival stepping to the plate and doing some damage, too. As it's fall HD locals rollout continues, DISH Network has gone live with 'em in a bevy of new places. We're talking Florence / Myrtle Beach, SC, Fort Myers / Naples, FL, Greenville / New Bern / Washington, NC, Madison, WI and Wilkes Barre / Scranton, PA. As it stands, the satcaster now offers locals in high-def in 70 markets reaching 71% of the US, but really, all that matters is if you're in that 71%, right?
Brewers' Miller Park getting HD scoreboard for 2010 Opening Day
The dream may be over this year for the Milwaukee Brewers, but that doesn't mean fans can't begin thinking about next year. As the remaining MLB clubs fight it out for baseball's greatest prize, Miller Park is getting set to get a new coat of grass this off-season. Additionally, the park will get fitted with a brand new HD scoreboard, and while specifications were sadly absent, it will be installed and ready to wow by Opening Day 2010.[Image courtesy of iGouGo]
Charter trying to nab TBS HD prior to MLB playoffs
While Verizon already secured TBS HD for its FiOS TV customers prior to the start of the MLB playoffs, Charter Communications subscribers may or may not be so fortunate. Particularly for Brewers fans in Wisconsin, the desire need to land this station in short order is crucial to their well being, and according to corporate spokeswoman Anita Lamont, the carrier is working hard to make it happen. Currently, the station isn't slated to go live until October 14th, but that's obviously far beyond the date baseball fans are hoping for. In somewhat related news, Charter Wisconsin is also scheduled to launch Animal Planet HD, Movie Channel HD and Smithsonian HD in mid-October, so even if the whole TBS thing doesn't happen on time, not all joy is lost.[Image courtesy of DiamondHoggers]
FSN Wisconsin airing 25 Milwaukee Bucks games in HD
FSN Wisconsin has kept Brewers fans happy all summer long, and now that the NBA season is just around the bend, it's about time we heard from the channel on that front. When the Milwaukee Bucks hit the hardwood this year, FSN Wisconsin will be there to broadcast 25 of its matchups in glorious high-definition. The HD fun gets going on November 8th when the team takes on the Phoenix Suns, and you can check out the full schedule in the read link below. Now, if only the club could find some talent...
Time Warner Cable, LIN TV bicker over retransmission fees
While we singled out TWC's spat with Dayton's own WDTN, the issue spreads much, much further. As of now, 15 LIN TV-owned stations are at risk of falling off of Time Warner Cable if the two can't reach an agreement before October 2nd. Since July of this year, LIN TV has attempted to extract a presumably large amount of cash from the carrier in order to seal the deal on a long-term agreement for both analog and high-def signals. As of now, local stations in Austin, Buffalo, Columbus, Dayton, Ft. Wayne, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Mobile, Springfield (MA), Terre Haute and Toledo are at risk, but we have a pretty good feeling that the two will eventually work it out. 'Course, TWC won't enjoy paying through the nose in order to do so, but hey, that's life. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Milwaukee, Wisconsin gifted with 13 more TWC HD channels
Go 'head, Milwaukee! Get on down with your bad self. Time Warner Cable is pulling a Mr. Nice Guy and adding a jaw-dropping quantity of high-def stations in the Wisconsin city, and reportedly, the whole crew will be online by the end of this month. Eager to know what newcomers are, um, coming? Try Food Network HD (515), Palladia (523), Discovery HD (538), TLC HD (540), Animal Planet HD (543), ABC Family HD (517), Disney HD (519), Golf / Versus HD (526), ESPNews HD (529), Science HD (520), FOX News HD (522), CNN HD (544) and Hallmark Movie Channel (546). I think we speak for most other TWC customers when we say: "Lucky..." [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks, Matt]
Charter reaches agreement with Big Ten Network just in time to see Ohio State be totally awesome
Charter's next on the block to add the Big Ten Network and "related programming" in time for Saturday's football openers. No word whether or not this will include the HD version of the network, or if it will be in time for the start of the season, but it is definitely on the way. In a minor footnote, Charter mentioned that in addition to carrying the BTN across its systems in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Northern Illinois it's also reupping Jim Tressel's snazzy sweatervest collection, teaching Terrelle Pryor the correct name of "the University of Ohio State University" and teaching Ohio State how to defend against the spread offense. Good times all around.
Self-assembling polymer arrays could lead to larger hard drives, boastful Badgers
Most folks up in Madison are readying their face paint and stocking up on tailgating supplies, but the geeks among us (bless 'em!) are focusing their attention on something much more relevant to your future RAID array. A team from UW-Madison (along with partners from Hitachi) is getting set to publish a report that details a patterning technology that could offer performance gains over current methods while reducing time and cost of manufacturing. The process builds on existing approaches by "combining the lithography techniques traditionally used to pattern microelectronics with novel self-assembling materials called block copolymers." So, what does all this technobabble mean for you? Huge gains in density on patterned media, or if that's still not straightforward enough, ginormous HDDs in the near future.[Via Protein OS]
Time Warner Cable goes live with 4 more HD channels in Northeast Wisconsin
Ever since AT&T decided it would take its U-verse service to the chilly region of Northeast Wisconsin, Time Warner Cable has been pushing out a somewhat steady stream of high-definition channels (big surprise, right?). Now that a few weeks have passed since residents in Green Bay / Appleton received their last batch of newcomers, the carrier has lit up four more: CNN HD (731), Fox News Channel HD (745), Science HD (772) and Hallmark Movie Channel HD (774). Now, if only this whole Brett Favre thing would go away, you could actually turn away from ESPN HD long enough to enjoy 'em. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]
Charter adding 6 HD channels in Madison, Wisconsin
So we already knew Charter had a mind to add FSN Wisconsin HD sometime this summer to enable locals to see some of those 65 HD Brewers games, and while August 20th is a bit late (we're being really generous here) in the season to flip the switch, we guess late is better than never. Charter has just announced plans to pick up the aforesaid sports station along with Animal Planet HD, The Movie Channel HD, TBS HD, Smithsonian HD and In-Demand HD on August 20th. As residents of Madison will surely recall, Charter vowed to roughly double its HD lineup from just over 20 to around 40 within the next two years, but based on Charter's recent dealings, we aren't so sure it'll come through on that.[Image courtesy of RightFieldBleachers, thanks Tim]
Trek Stop: a vending machine for skinny people
Fat kids want cake, skinny kids abstain, right? Whatever philosophy you subscribe to, chances are you'll only see the world's fittest stopping by a Trek Stop. This curious vending machine is currently parked in Madison, Wisconsin and enables cyclists to nab spare parts (an extra tube, patch kit, water bottle, etc.) or healthy snacks while rolling by. As for installation? Prepare to get greasy.[Via AutoblogGreen]
Time Warner Cable adds a trio of HD channels in Northeast Wisconsin
Appleton and Green Bay residents who have chosen Time Warner Cable as their programming provider can get ready for a new trio this Thursday. Yeah, you folks already got a new half dozen just under a month ago, but we see no harm in TLC HD (742), Animal Planet HD (743) and Golf / Versus HD (714) joining the fray. Feeling the heat of competition, are you TWC? [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks, Mark]
Wisconsin offers 25 percent tax break for game devs
Here's a little known fact about Wisconsin: Did you know that it's unlawful to run a bar in the state unless you have at least six fish hanging on the wall? And if this didn't sell you on the virtues of the Badger State, frankly get off our lawn. Unless, of course, you're a game developer with an interest in settling down in Wisconsin, as the state has announced that it now offers devs a 25 percent tax rebate just for calling it home.The move, which also includes businesses in the film and television industries, echoes similar initiatives by states such as Georgia and others to lure game developers across their borders. Wisconsin is already home to a handful of notable studios, including Marvel Ultimate Alliance dev Raven Software and Prey's Human Head, though it will be interesting to see if this sizable tax break, along with an additional 15 percent credit for "infrastructure development," will be enough to convince devs to put down roots in America's Dairyland.
AT&T's U-verse expanding to Northeast Wisconsin
Not even two full months after AT&T announced its intentions to spread U-verse to more of Southeastern Wisconsin, Fox Cities TV has confirmed that the carrier will be launching the services in the Northeast portion of the state as well. According to AT&T Wisconsin's Jon Hayden, the region-wide launch will occur on June 30th and cover areas of Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh and Fond Du Lac. Reportedly, the operator will start taking orders for service in these locales today, and best of all, you can look forward to having 2 HD / 2SD activated when the service flips on. Not a bad way to start the summer, huh?
Time Warner Cable brings 6 more HD channels to Northeast Wisconsin
National Geographic HD and History HD were fantastic additions back in March, but we can imagine that Time Warner Cable subscribers in Northeast Wisconsin are already thirsting for more. Thankfully, said carrier will be adding a new half dozen on Thursday: Discovery HD (732), Food Network HD (751), ABC Family HD (755), MHD (767), Disney HD (769) and ESPNews HD (776). Not too shabby at all, especially with the inclusion of that last channel. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Via Fox Cities HD]
AT&T expands U-verse to more of Wisconsin, adds 200 jobs in the state
For folks camped out in Southeastern Wisconsin, chances are you've got yet another choice for pay-TV coming to you. AT&T is trumpeting the fact that over 200,000 living units in the region now have access to U-verse, which isn't half bad for just being around 14 months. More specifically, viewers in and around Milwaukee, Racine and Sheboygan are likely to now have access, and the growth has apparently been substantial enough to warrant the need for 200 new jobs in the state. As of now, the carrier is seeking to employ 200 U-verse service technicians in the Badger State, with spots to open in Northeast / South Central Wisconsin.
DISH Network brings HD locals to three more cities
While a few Baltimore, MD and Columbia, SC residents were lamenting the fact that May-bound launches such as Richmond, VA occurred before they got their own taste of HD locals, hopefully we can now put aside all that angst. Announced today, Baltimore and Columbia are joining Green Bay, WI in the HD locals parade, and seeing that there is no mention of any networks being left out, we're going to hesitantly assume that the trio of markets all have access to their respective ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX stations. Fire up the HD DVR and let us know how it goes, would you?
