# I don't get the local channels in HD!?!?



## Matthewmon (Jun 8, 2006)

that is what the guy that installed my dish network told me yesterday. The only content i get in HD is on the HD channels, I can't see stuff like the NBA finals on ABC in HD....that SUCKS! he said that he thinks I will be able to get them in HD within the year. I live in Rocky Mount NC and didn't realize this when i ordered Dish Network. Got a Samsung 5053 and I gotta say that the HD channel PQ is AWESOME! It feels like it actually hurts my eyes its so detailed though, hopefully its something you just have to get used too. Can somebody tell me why the National Geographic HD Channel says that its only a free preview until 7/7/06? Also which HD channels are supposed to be added in the near future? thanks!


----------



## Taha24 (Jun 15, 2006)

Your eyes may be hurting if you haven't calibrated your TV yet.

Have you ever changed the basic settings on your TV? (contrast, brightness, color, sharpness).

The best option is to get a calibration disc like Avia or Digital Video Essentials (both sold at Amazon). It'll really help calibrate your TV to perfect settings, especially for movies (and most of us bought big screens for it to feel like a theatre at home, right? )

Even without calibration, if you havent changed settings, check out contrast. Most television manufacturers have it on 100 or full, which not only degrades the quality of the image, it also hurts your TV by reducing its life. 

I just got HDTV and as soon as I turned it on I could notice it being too bright. So I went and saw that the contrast was 100, turned it down to 70, brought down color and lot among with tweaks to the other settings (using Avia) and now the image looks outstanding. And this is just watching DVD's, I havent recieved my 622 yet to watch HD programming.


----------



## Matthewmon (Jun 8, 2006)

yeah, i've turned it down and I will be using Avia in a couple weeks. 

2 more questions:

i have found the channel listings in alphabetical order which is crazy imo, is there anywhere i can find the channel listings in numerical order?

is it worth getting the Dish Flicks montly magazine?

Thanks!


----------



## nazz (May 4, 2006)

Matthewmon said:


> i have found the channel listings in alphabetical order which is crazy imo, is there anywhere i can find the channel listings in numerical order?


Channel Listings

http://ekb.dbstalk.com/dishlist.htm


----------



## lazzeristudios (Apr 12, 2006)

Matthewmon said:


> that is what the guy that installed my dish network told me yesterday. The only content i get in HD is on the HD channels, I can't see stuff like the NBA finals on ABC in HD....that SUCKS! he said that he thinks I will be able to get them in HD within the year. I live in Rocky Mount NC and didn't realize this when i ordered Dish Network. Got a Samsung 5053 and I gotta say that the HD channel PQ is AWESOME! It feels like it actually hurts my eyes its so detailed though, hopefully its something you just have to get used too. Can somebody tell me why the National Geographic HD Channel says that its only a free preview until 7/7/06? Also which HD channels are supposed to be added in the near future? thanks!


I feel your pain.... I am in Springfield, IL and we cannot get our locals in HD neither...

Good thing there is the Channel Master 4228 to fall back on....

zach


----------



## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

I'm taking a guess and figuring since you are in Tarboro you may not be able to get all the locals in HD OTA unless you put up a big whopper antenna outside.

Supposedly the Raleigh HD locals for the four major networks (WRAL, WTVD, WNCN, WRAZ) are coming within the next few months. I assume you would get the Raleigh locals.

In the meantime, it wouldn't hurt to play around with at least an indoor antenna and try your luck just to see if you can get anything OTA.


----------



## Matthewmon (Jun 8, 2006)

i wonder if there is a channel listing in numerical order for the HD Gold package that I can print off somewhere? if not its majorly annoying because with this many channels it will take me forever to memorize them.


----------



## wingnut1 (Nov 10, 2005)

Why don't you go the titantv.com. It will give you a list of channels in numerical order as part of the guide.


----------



## Hunter Green (May 8, 2006)

HD Gold channels

I need to update that tonight when I get home. Didn't add in the new channels we got a couple of weeks back.


----------



## nazz (May 4, 2006)

You're welcome. :whatdidid


----------



## JohnH (Apr 22, 2002)

RE: National Geographic HD free preview. At the end of the preview Gold or above will be needed to receive it.


----------



## malligood (Sep 21, 2004)

Not sure where you are in Rocky Mount, I live in Nashville NC and currently have a 942 which I will upgrade to a 622 soon. I use an indoor antenna and receive all the local HD's uisng the OTA.


----------



## TNGTony (Mar 23, 2002)

In Tarboro, NC there should be absolutely no problem receiving HD locals using a little rabbit ears. Or better yet, a little clip-on antenna on the Dish if it is mounted on the roof or up high.

See ya
Tony


----------



## ZICRON (May 24, 2006)

Taha24 said:


> Your eyes may be hurting if you haven't calibrated your TV yet.
> 
> Have you ever changed the basic settings on your TV? (contrast, brightness, color, sharpness).
> 
> The best option is to get a calibration disc like Avia or Digital Video Essentials (both sold at Amazon). It'll really help calibrate your TV to perfect settings, especially for movies (and most of us bought big screens for it to feel like a theatre at home, right? )


QUESTION:

How does one calibrate their Sat input to their TV with a DVD?

The 622 will send a different signal to the TV than the DVD player will, it won't be correct, unless I'm missing something.


----------



## motts (Apr 11, 2006)

Taha24 said:


> Your eyes may be hurting if you haven't calibrated your TV yet.
> 
> Have you ever changed the basic settings on your TV? (contrast, brightness, color, sharpness).
> 
> ...


Calibrating your tv requires you to have options to calibrate. I am using my DVI inout on my television, and the only settings it lets me adjust is the brightness and contrast. I assume its similar on most models using the DVI/HDMI input? I wonder what AVIA and similar products say about this. If you think about it, you buy products like AVIA because you are a videophile. If you are a videophile, then you probably have the highest quality connection enabled, which is HDMI/DVI. If you do have this connection enabled, then you have very few settings to calibrate. So, whats the point of buying the product?


----------



## Matthewmon (Jun 8, 2006)

Can I get some more info on where to buy an antenna, how to use it, and how much it cost? my dish is mounted on a post in the corner of my backyard. there are a lot of tall trees around and that is the best place they found. thanks!

I live in Tarboro but in my post I put Rocky Mount because I thought more people would have heard of it.

We had a thunderstorm today and my dish lost its signal before the storm even started when it got cloudy and was for the entire storm. This isn't normal is it?

Also, when I turn my tv off in my bedroom i can still hear a high pitch frequency like it isn't off.....what is wrong?


----------



## dsanbo (Nov 25, 2005)

Matthewmon said:


> Can I get some more info on where to buy an antenna, how to use it, and how much it cost? my dish is mounted on a post in the corner of my backyard. there are a lot of tall trees around and that is the best place they found. thanks!
> 
> I live in Tarboro but in my post I put Rocky Mount because I thought more people would have heard of it.
> 
> ...


Matthewmon...
It's not uncommon to lose signal prior to a thunderstorm...and, of course, during it....
If you study how dense a typical thunderhead (aka, towering cumulus or cumulonimbus....)is, it's easy to see how a relatively "weak" satellite signal is totally absorbed by this monster; we're looking at a cloud mass that could be several MILES thick....and often made even more dense with hail....
I've had a LOS (loss-of-signal) last up to 30 minutes during some severe storms here in the Northeast over the last several years....the storms in this area generally originate to the southwest (directly along the pathline of the satellite signal) and build as they approach....Bottom line....there's no getting around this; Mother Nature just has to take her course....
As for your other ? re: the tv noise....Sorry, can't help you there....have you tried unplugging it and letting it set for awhile, then plugging it back in? If you had a bad storm and the set was left plugged in (not necessarily ON...) a power supply condenser may not have discharged properly (just a guess here....)...Good luck!


----------



## Taha24 (Jun 15, 2006)

ZICRON said:


> QUESTION:
> 
> How does one calibrate their Sat input to their TV with a DVD?
> 
> The 622 will send a different signal to the TV than the DVD player will, it won't be correct, unless I'm missing something.


The DVD is not calibrating your sat signal, its calibrating your TV to have the correct settings.

My TV has 4 options for settings: dynamic, standard, movie and custom. So when I was calibrating using Avia, I saved all the settings on custom. once I was done, I went to Dish input (currently via composite), changed the setting to custom and my picture was much improved (though still pretty crappy due it being SD programming.


----------



## Taha24 (Jun 15, 2006)

motts said:


> Calibrating your tv requires you to have options to calibrate. I am using my DVI inout on my television, and the only settings it lets me adjust is the brightness and contrast. I assume its similar on most models using the DVI/HDMI input? I wonder what AVIA and similar products say about this. If you think about it, you buy products like AVIA because you are a videophile. If you are a videophile, then you probably have the highest quality connection enabled, which is HDMI/DVI. If you do have this connection enabled, then you have very few settings to calibrate. So, whats the point of buying the product?


Hmm, thats pretty weird. I have my DVD player (its a 1080p upscaling one) via HDMI and I had Contrast, Brightness, Color, Sharpness that I could change. Is your TV a pure monitor? like without a tuner or anything. Cause that could be my only guess.

And Avia's pretty old now, back then TV's didnt even have HDMI. But it doesnt really matter because the tests are gonna be the same anyways.


----------



## ZICRON (May 24, 2006)

Taha24 said:


> The DVD is not calibrating your sat signal, its calibrating your TV to have the correct settings.
> 
> My TV has 4 options for settings: dynamic, standard, movie and custom. So when I was calibrating using Avia, I saved all the settings on custom. once I was done, I went to Dish input (currently via composite), changed the setting to custom and my picture was much improved (though still pretty crappy due it being SD programming.


You are *correct*, that the AVIA disc on the DVD input to your tv is calibrating the TV, but *only *for the signal from the DVD player and only for that input.

The calibration is *specific *to each input signal, and even if you, for some reason have multiple devices hooked to the same input (as in, run through an A/V receiver that does HDMI or Component switching), because the input signals are *different *you will get different results, as in incorrect resultant images.

Most all TV's have *multiple *inputs for exactly that reason, because input *switching is not recommended*, so each input signal can be calibrated differently according to the input device, VCR, Laser, DVD, DBS, DVHS, etc. Because they will all be slightly to vastly different in their input.

*In short: * You can *not *calibrate your TV's DVD input using AVIA (or any other calibration disc) *and *duplicate those settings for your DBS input and expect the same 'calibrated' image, it just *won't *be the same, because the input signals are different.

Sure, it might get you *close*, or it might be way off, but *please *don't advise people to mess with their TV settings expecting to get the same results for other devices (inputs) when it just won't happen.


----------



## nazz (May 4, 2006)

I have the situation that ZICRON described where I am doing video switching with my Denon 3805 receiver and using one input on my television. The reason is that my Mitsubishi WS65819 is a RPTV with only one component input that can do HD 1080i. I unfortunately do not have a digital input since I was an early adopter.

I used Avia through my 1080i upconverting DVD player to calibrate and do use those settings for my 622. It does look very good with the 622 and the only thing I ended up tweaking after my 622 install was the overscan. The overscan was okay with my HD DirecTivo but was off with the 622. Though it is certainly preferable to calibrate separate inputs, I just didn't have that option.

The way I got access to more settings was finding the remote code to access the service menu. This gives you the ability to adjust many more aspects of the image but you must* use extreme caution because you can also royally and permanently screw up your set.*

Do careful and thorough research on your specific set before messing around in the service menu and write down the current settings before changing any. I'm not sure how this works with sets other than RPTV since I don't have one.


----------



## motts (Apr 11, 2006)

Taha24 said:


> Hmm, thats pretty weird. I have my DVD player (its a 1080p upscaling one) via HDMI and I had Contrast, Brightness, Color, Sharpness that I could change. Is your TV a pure monitor? like without a tuner or anything. Cause that could be my only guess.
> 
> And Avia's pretty old now, back then TV's didnt even have HDMI. But it doesnt really matter because the tests are gonna be the same anyways.


My tv does have a tuner, albeit a regular OTA tuner, not HD. When I choose other inputs, such as component, I have all my settings available to be tweaked. This is not the case with my DVI input. I have heard however that when using a digital input, there a reduced amount of settings open to manipulation, in my case being just the brightness and contrast. It's interesting to hear that you have all the options available to you as I would have using component. However, DVI looks a little better than my component despite the fact that I can't really calibrate many settings, so I don't want to drop my DVI. I am curious to know who else has the same situation as I.


----------



## Tower Guy (Jul 27, 2005)

Matthewmon said:


> Also, when I turn my tv off in my bedroom i can still hear a high pitch frequency like it isn't off.....what is wrong?


Some power supplies use an oscillator to convert the 110 volt power in your house to low voltage DC to run the set. The power supply will be on even if the set is off in order to enable the remote control. If there is something slightly loose in the power supply, you may be able to hear it.


----------



## Matthewmon (Jun 8, 2006)

signal is messing up today again just because its cloudy outside, that sucks! i want some more info on what antenna to buy and how to install it so i can see the local channels in HD. also, i'm getting the local raleigh news channels, is there any way to get the 2 greenville news channels I used to get? thanks!


----------



## whatchel1 (Jan 11, 2006)

Matthewmon said:


> signal is messing up today again just because its cloudy outside, that sucks! i want some more info on what antenna to buy and how to install it so i can see the local channels in HD. also, i'm getting the local raleigh news channels, is there any way to get the 2 greenville news channels I used to get? thanks!


This site will give you some help in what you need. I will not give you exact which antenna model to buy but at least the type you will need.

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx


----------



## lakebum431 (Jun 30, 2005)

If your picture is going out becaue of light clouds you probably need to repoint your dish. can you give us your signal levels?


----------



## wje (Mar 8, 2006)

Matthewmon said:


> signal is messing up today again just because its cloudy outside, that sucks! i want some more info on what antenna to buy and how to install it so i can see the local channels in HD. also, i'm getting the local raleigh news channels, is there any way to get the 2 greenville news channels I used to get? thanks!


It's possible your dish isn't properly aligned, and you're getting a marginal signal. Typically, you'll only lose signal with heavy rain or big thunderheads.


----------



## Matthewmon (Jun 8, 2006)

the tv only has 2 hdmi outputs and they are being used by the dvd player and the dvr. so there isn't anywhere to hook up an atenna to the tv unless i unplug the dvd player or something? what should I do? does best buy have a good antenna for me to use, because i have a lot of best buy gift cards i could use. thanks!


----------



## tnsprin (Mar 16, 2003)

Matthewmon said:


> the tv only has 2 hdmi outputs and they are being used by the dvd player and the dvr. so there isn't anywhere to hook up an atenna to the tv unless i unplug the dvd player or something? what should I do? does best buy have a good antenna for me to use, because i have a lot of best buy gift cards i could use. thanks!


? The antenna, if used, does not connect to the HDMI inputs.


----------



## sluggo (Sep 16, 2004)

The antenna would be hooked up to the TV Antenna/Cable in on the back of your receiver.


----------



## ssmith10pn (Jul 6, 2005)

Matthewmon said:


> i wonder if there is a channel listing in numerical order for the HD Gold package that I can print off somewhere? if not its majorly annoying because with this many channels it will take me forever to memorize them.


They are all in the 9400s starting at 9420. Whats so hard about that?


----------



## ssmith10pn (Jul 6, 2005)

tnsprin said:


> ? The antenna, if used, does not connect to the HDMI inputs.


Back of the Dish Receiver.


----------



## gilunionhall (May 8, 2006)

RE -- which antenna

a great site for the antenna is solidsignal.com

i ordered a CM4228 and amp, when they were delivered the antenna was bent.

i called the customer service and an another one was sent immediately. (normally you might have to ship the exitsting one back before they will send a new one)

you wont believe how good the any on the pictures will be (HD or SD) from your locals. i have found the OTA to be the best picture available, much better than cable and also better than the dish locals.

it is have to believe that we have to use an antenna like our parents used to have on their chimneys to get the new technology.

good luck,

gilunionhall


----------



## Matthewmon (Jun 8, 2006)

^how do i know which antenna to get from there and if it will work??


i tried 2 antennas from best buy. one of them didnt help at all and the other one gave me the local channel 7 WITN in Greenville but it didn't get the local Greenville channel 9.

thanks!


----------



## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

I suggest the following.

1) Walk around your neighborhood and see if you can see an antenna installation that look fairly new. Then ask you neighbor if he knows what he is using and if he likes it. 

2) Swing over to our sister site, avsforum.com and look in the HD local forums. The have seperate threads for different areas. If you find your area you will see lots of recommendations. 

3) antennaweb.org is another site that can be very helpful.

OTA is an art and hopefully these three steps should get you going.


----------



## scooper (Apr 22, 2002)

The Greenville stations are out towards Washington, while the Raleigh stations are east of Garner on US70. You should be able to receive Greenville easily, and with a sufficient OUTSIDE antenna setup, the Raleigh stations as well.

You may need an antenna setup that can also receive VHF stations as well.


----------



## whatchel1 (Jan 11, 2006)

gilunionhall said:


> RE -- which antenna
> 
> a great site for the antenna is solidsignal.com
> 
> ...


If you want to buy from solidsignal look on Ebay. They sell their product there very often for less than it is on their website.


----------



## wingnut1 (Nov 10, 2005)

Radio Shack and Circuit City both offer antenna installation. They will determine what antenna you need and if you need a rotator etc... I don't have local hd channels from the satellite and probably won't get them either, but the best HD picture does come from OTA.

I recently had my Mits 65415 calibrated by Craig Rounds. He did an awesome job and the picture looks great. He said that if I used my receiver to switch between signals, that as long as they were being output in the same resolution the calibration would be fine and not need to be adjusted. I believe that there is a channel on Dish that occasionally broadcasts the test patterns in HD and you can record these and use them to calibrate the TV. Don't know what channel or schedule, but I've seen it posted on this board.


----------



## dsanbo (Nov 25, 2005)

wingnut1 said:


> Radio Shack and Circuit City both offer antenna installation. They will determine what antenna you need and if you need a rotator etc... I don't have local hd channels from the satellite and probably won't get them either, but the best HD picture does come from OTA.
> 
> I recently had my Mits 65415 calibrated by Craig Rounds. He did an awesome job and the picture looks great. He said that if I used my receiver to switch between signals, that as long as they were being output in the same resolution the calibration would be fine and not need to be adjusted. I believe that there is a channel on Dish that occasionally broadcasts the test patterns in HD and you can record these and use them to calibrate the TV. Don't know what channel or schedule, but I've seen it posted on this board.


HDNet runs test patterns (usually) a couple of times a month....Consult the EPG for time/date(s)......It's usually like 5:50-6:00AM ET or something similar...
BTW....These "test" patterns are NOT a totally accurate calibration tool, but will help with GENERAL pix setup.....


----------



## Hunter Green (May 8, 2006)

Do you need a blue filter to use those, and if so, where can you get one?


----------



## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

dsanbo said:


> HDNet runs test patterns (usually) a couple of times a month....Consult the EPG for time/date(s)......It's usually like 5:50-6:00AM ET or something similar...
> BTW....These "test" patterns are NOT a totally accurate calibration tool, but will help with GENERAL pix setup.....


I believe they are every Tuesday 5:50-6:00 am.


----------



## wingnut1 (Nov 10, 2005)

Hunter Green, if you buy Avia or DVE they come with the filters and you can use them with any calibration program. I just bought a HD-DVD player that upconverts to 720p, 1080i or 1080p. You could use this player to calibrate either the HDMI port or the component inputs using either of these programs.


----------



## Hunter Green (May 8, 2006)

I rented one of those disks from NetFlix but, unlike last time I did this, it didn't come with the filter. I don't feel it's worth it to spend $20 for a small piece of transparent blue celluloid, was hoping someone had a better idea.


----------



## Taha24 (Jun 15, 2006)

wingnut1 said:


> Hunter Green, if you buy Avia or DVE they come with the filters and you can use them with any calibration program. I just bought a HD-DVD player that upconverts to 720p, 1080i or 1080p. You could use this player to calibrate either the HDMI port or the component inputs using either of these programs.


Just FYI, the current HD DVD player does NOT upconvert to 1080p, max is 1080i. The HD DVD moves themselves are encoded in 1080p, but for some stupid reason Toshiba decided to release their first players only able to display 1080i or lower. They've said that an update will be released to let it upconvert/display 1080p.


----------

