Is there a site that shows what QAM HD channels you can get

[scootermaster]

I feel like there was one that showed antenna strength too, but I can't find that either. I'm thinking of building an HTPC over the winter, and I'm just wondering if I'm going to get any HD content (I live in Los Angeles, Time Warner cable, if that matters).

Thanks!

 

[Shadowknight]

Closes thing I've got: http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/ind...rking_QAM_cable_layout

Regardless, you will get whatever local digital stations that are broadcast over the air... By law, they cannot encrypt those signals. Anything is a crapshoot, depending on how lazy/not lazy they are about encrypting the premium content. Still, not having to play with an antenna for three hours for maximum reception is nice.

 

[Pretty Cool]

I find that entering the zip code of my local Time Warner office is more accurate than entering my own.

http://www.silicondust.com/wiki/hdhomerun/channels

In LA, you should get KCBS, KNBC, KABC, KCAL, KTTV, and KCET. Some areas also have ESPN-HD with no sound. Because of the baseball playoffs, TBS-HD is now open which means the channel could be encrypted afterwards. FSN-HD might be listed, but that was temporary one-day move. So to sum it up, you should get the big networks except KTLA and KCOP. Anything else should not be expected.

 

[scootermaster]

Originally posted by: Pretty Cool
I find that entering the zip code of my local Time Warner office is more accurate than entering my own.

http://www.silicondust.com/wiki/hdhomerun/channels

In LA, you should get KCBS, KNBC, KABC, KCAL, KTTV, and KCET. Some areas also have ESPN-HD with no sound. Because of the baseball playoffs, TBS-HD is now open which means the channel could be encrypted afterwards. FSN-HD might be listed, but that was temporary one-day move. So to sum it up, you should get the big networks except KTLA and KCOP. Anything else should not be expected.

Thanks. So I guess the question is whether or not it's worth getting a DVICO QAM card or whatever. Any recommendations there? Does Vista/MCE really not support QAM? Do people use BeyondTV or Sage or something?

 

[Indolent]

I have a Dvico gold card and it worked fine for qam with comcast for a while, but lately, comcast seems to be screwing with the channels. I can't tune them in with my tv or with my htpc. I decided to give up on comcast/qam and just get an OTA antenna. The picture quality is better (no compression or hiccups like I had with comcast) and much more reliable.

 

[Funyuns101]

Originally posted by: Indolent
I have a Dvico gold card and it worked fine for qam with comcast for a while, but lately, comcast seems to be screwing with the channels. I can't tune them in with my tv or with my htpc. I decided to give up on comcast/qam and just get an OTA antenna. The picture quality is better (no compression or hiccups like I had with comcast) and much more reliable.

Is this just like the card that you have minus the controller?
link

I have comcast as well... You're saying that the antenna actually gets a better picture than Comcast due to compression?
Do you/I need to subscribe to digital cable to get unscrambled channels or can one get them w/basic (extended) cable?

I think that the concept of BeyondTV and the like is pretty neat. But I'm also trying to figure out whether I'll need a QAM card for my HTPC or not.

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: scootermaster
I feel like there was one that showed antenna strength too, but I can't find that either. I'm thinking of building an HTPC over the winter, and I'm just wondering if I'm going to get any HD content (I live in Los Angeles, Time Warner cable, if that matters).

Thanks!

Sorry for the thread resurrection - when search works, it works in mysterious ways.


I am in the same boat as you, scootermaster. Did you ever get a definitive answer?

I can get OTA HD on some channels, but I have, thus far, been unsuccessful in finding any unscrambled HD on the TW cable (SFV).

Of course, there is a chance I could be missing a step in setting up my TV (Vizio VX37LHDTV10A).

MotionMan

 

[RossMAN]

This AVSForum thread has over 4,800 posts concerning Los Angeles TWC.

If you search that thread for QAM there are 11 pages of posts, I'm sure there is a list in there.

 

[zinfamous]

what Rossman said.

..I found a thread in AVS for Chicago RCN. someone was kind enough to write down and post every single QAM channel available. It wasn't provided through RCN, but it seems that in some cases, you may either have to do it yourself, or hope that some kind super geek will do it for you

 

[Shawn]

Originally posted by: scootermaster

Originally posted by: Pretty Cool
I find that entering the zip code of my local Time Warner office is more accurate than entering my own.

http://www.silicondust.com/wiki/hdhomerun/channels

In LA, you should get KCBS, KNBC, KABC, KCAL, KTTV, and KCET. Some areas also have ESPN-HD with no sound. Because of the baseball playoffs, TBS-HD is now open which means the channel could be encrypted afterwards. FSN-HD might be listed, but that was temporary one-day move. So to sum it up, you should get the big networks except KTLA and KCOP. Anything else should not be expected.

Thanks. So I guess the question is whether or not it's worth getting a DVICO QAM card or whatever. Any recommendations there? Does Vista/MCE really not support QAM? Do people use BeyondTV or Sage or something?

Get a HDHomeRun. It supports QAM in Media Center.
http://www.9thtee.com/hdhomerun.htm

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Originally posted by: scootermaster
I feel like there was one that showed antenna strength too, but I can't find that either. I'm thinking of building an HTPC over the winter, and I'm just wondering if I'm going to get any HD content (I live in Los Angeles, Time Warner cable, if that matters).

Thanks!

Sorry for the thread resurrection - when search works, it works in mysterious ways.


I am in the same boat as you, scootermaster. Did you ever get a definitive answer?

I can get OTA HD on some channels, but I have, thus far, been unsuccessful in finding any unscrambled HD on the TW cable (SFV).

Of course, there is a chance I could be missing a step in setting up my TV (Vizio VX37LHDTV10A).

MotionMan

FYI, when all else fails, read the FAQ:

Q: Do I have to be a Digital Cable customer to get HDTV?
A: Yes. To get HDTV, customers must have Digital Cable. HDTV relies on digital technology. If you currently have Digital Cable, please contact us and schedule a home visit and one of our experienced installers will upgrade your current cable receiver to an HD-enabled one.

Can that be right? Does the law allow them to require you to upgrade from basic cable to digital cable in order to receive HD content?

(Yes, I know I posted the same thing in two threads.)

MotionMan

 

[Quasmo]

Originally posted by: Shawn

Originally posted by: scootermaster

Originally posted by: Pretty Cool
I find that entering the zip code of my local Time Warner office is more accurate than entering my own.

http://www.silicondust.com/wiki/hdhomerun/channels

In LA, you should get KCBS, KNBC, KABC, KCAL, KTTV, and KCET. Some areas also have ESPN-HD with no sound. Because of the baseball playoffs, TBS-HD is now open which means the channel could be encrypted afterwards. FSN-HD might be listed, but that was temporary one-day move. So to sum it up, you should get the big networks except KTLA and KCOP. Anything else should not be expected.

Thanks. So I guess the question is whether or not it's worth getting a DVICO QAM card or whatever. Any recommendations there? Does Vista/MCE really not support QAM? Do people use BeyondTV or Sage or something?

Get a HDHomeRun. It supports QAM in Media Center.
http://www.9thtee.com/hdhomerun.htm

Not only does it support QAM but it also supports 8vsb (ATSC), and has two tuners. By far the best QAM tuner on the market. I have on and I love it. I've had it for over a year now. The development community for this tuner is VERY active and firmware and software updates are constantly avaliable.