[RTC List] Suddenlink Offer

[William Van Hefner]

Dave,

I wouldn't doubt that little or none of the programming being broadcast
locally is in high-def. From what I can tell, most of the channels are
simply "upconverting" their analog signals to HDTV format. Obviously, TV
programming that was not originally shot in HDTV will never be in high-def
(unless it was originally shot on film, and then remastered). I do believe
that KEET's secondary HDTV channel is in full HDTV high-def though. In
fact, I think that ALL of the programming on their secondary channel is
material originally shot in HDTV for PBS. Their primary HDTV channel seems
to only be a simulcast of their regular VHF-13 programming though. there
is a noticable difference of video quality between their two digital
broadcast channels most of the time.

FYI, there are a number of local UHF LPTV and independent channels being
broadcast at the moment that I doubt will ever be in HDTV. If you have a
decent antenna, you can pick up programming locally on UHF channels 31,
33, 35 and 47. I don't know if the local cable company picks up any of
these channels, but there is occasionally something of interest to watch.
If you like watching Mexican Luche Libre Wrestling, re-runs of Law & Order
SVU or Canadian Football League games, it's worth sticking an antenna up
on your roof to pull-in some of these weak signal stations. :-)

William Van Hefner



> William,
>
> The local stations have been broadcasting digital signals for a while
> now - they are running out of time to convert from analog.  But my
> understanding was that while they are broadcasting digital signals (and
> will be turning the analog off as mandated by the FCC either next year
> or 2009 - can't remember which - nobody local is yet broadcasting actual
> hi-def HDTV esp. with 16:9 aspect ratio, as opposed to simply digital
> signals.  If they were, Suddenlink would be able to broadcast those as
> local HD, which they aren't doing.  I do not know whether Suddenlink,
> when it carries the local station, is picking up the digigal broadcast
> or the analog, although I would presume they would prefer the digital if
> available.
>
>
> William Van Hefner wrote:
>> Rollin,
>>
>> I'm not sure where you are getting your information from, but most of
>> the
>> local stations have been broadcasting in HD for quite some time now. The
>> ones I can think of offhand who already broadcast in HD are KVIQ, KIEM,
>> KEET (they have TWO HDTV video channels) KAEF and Fox-29. None of them
>> seem to have especially strong signals in Eureka, but I can pick up all
>> of
>> them with an outdoor over-the-air UHF antenna. I have seen KEET and
>> KVIQ's
>> HDTV signal go off the air for days at a time, but it always comes back
>> up
>> eventually. Except for KEET, most of the local broadcasters seem to just
>> be piping a low-definition rebroadcast of their analog signal on their
>> HDTV simulcast. KEET's video is incredible though. Their native HDTV
>> programming looks 1,000x better than their analog signal on channel 13.
>>
>> As far as "it's only voip", it depends entirely on what method
>> Suddenlink
>> is using to deliver the service. They could go the cheap route and
>> simply
>> slap a Vonage-type ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter) on your network, in
>> which case your service would be no different than if you bought it from
>> any one of 1,000+ other VoIP providers. However, if Suddenlink is using
>> its fiber capacity to carry their telephone service on a private
>> network,
>> the quality should be equal to, or even better than, the quality you
>> would
>> get from AT&T. Just because they are using fiberoptic technology to
>> deliver the service does not mean that it is internet based. Most cable
>> telephone systems are not. Obviously, you wouldn't have service if the
>> internet went down, but then again, with AT&T's track record as of late,
>> I
>> can't imagine that the service could be that much more unreliable. AT&T
>> has had more outages in the past 12 months than they had in the previous
>> 40+ years combined.
>>
>> Also, most long distance carriers are routing their calls via VoIP and
>> using the public internet these days as well. So, unless you are making
>> a
>> call that is served by the same central office (not leaving town) the
>> service most likely would not be any less reliable or sound any worse
>> anyway.
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> *Dave Thewlis, DCTA Inc.*
> +1 707 840 9391 (voice) · +1 707 498 2238 (mobile)
> http://www.dcta.com · dthewlis at dcta.com <mailto:dthewlis at dcta.com>
>