Confusion over high-def TV dampens enthusiasm

"Part of it is because they have to work to find the channels. They're
being placed ... in the 600, 700 or 800 channel numbers. Not only did
they have to work to buy the set, and work to make the programming
arrangements, they have to work to actually tune in to those channels."

Default User...

Well, it would be at least slightly irritating to have to remember that
Channel 5 isn't Channel 5, it's Channel 785 (the HD version on my cable
system).

Obveeus...

Sounds like a good system to me. Lump all the HD channels together just
like all the networks should be lumped together, just like all the cable
news channels should be lumped together, and just like all the sports
channels should be lumped together.

It also works if the cable system simply mirrors the regular channel lineup
with a standard offset. That is: if CBS is 10 make CBS HD 610, if ABC is
12 make ABC HD 612, and if Discovery is 47 make Discovery HD 647.

I can't see why the HD fans would complain about something like that unless
they really are too incompetent to find channels with higher numbers on the
remote. In that case, they should have saved their money and not bought an
HD TV in the first place.

Poor babies...

telenovels...

.

Right. Why can't the cable company put the HD version of channel 5
*on* channel 5? Or on the 5.2 sub-channel? Or use a logical
analog-to-hd progression? (5 = 105, 6 =106, 7 =107 on the expanded
tier)

Maybe people will just have to get used to using antennas again.
Antennas are easy to use.

~consul...

I'll say, my hd ota channels are x.x, so for HD channel 5, it's 5.1

I'd have to say that folks who make the arguement that it's hard to remember channels
hasn't had cable or satellite before, where it is standard to have FOX or CW or NBC on
random non-sequential or grouped channels, depending on whatever area you are in.

Default User...

Not for a long time around here. All the broadcast channels except the
old UHF one have the same channel numbers on the cable system as they
do for broadcast, and it's been that way for ten years or more.

telenovels...

That's unusual. In Grand Rapids the numbers were
3,8,13,15,17,35,43,54. The cable company shifted all of them to below
13, so almost none of them matched their advertised number.

Obveeus...

17, 35, 43, and 54 would be UHF.
I think 'Default User' is correct in his statement that cable VHF network
channels and their over the air channel numbers are usually the same.

Default User...

It makes it easier, obviously, to recall the channel numbers. It's also
nice to have single digits for the commonly used broadcast channels.

~consul...

I have only OTA HD/SD content, no cable or sat.

You know what ... I'm trying to think, and there is no way I can tell to dupe it, but I do
recall one time, when tubetv, the all music channel, which plays videos of songs, not just
the released videos, but also sometimes the concert!! versions of it, changed from 5.5 to
5.2 now, I seem to recall that when I went to the 5.5 shortcut button I made, it went to a
700 level channel. I gather that if I could manually enter the 3 digit number, whatever it
is for my OTA HD content, but I never did. I just entered like 11.1 for my local FOX
affiliate, which OTA SD was 11. It's like that for all my HD channels, they are all
*.1,*.2,etc.

Anyway...

I still think it would be logical for cable stations to follow this
progression:
2 HD == 102
3 HD == 103
4 HD == 104
et cetera. It would be easy to remember for HD users switching from
analog to digital.

Bill Steele...

They seem to be making a stab at it here.
Channel 3 == 863
Channel 5 == 855
Channel 9 == 889

Why they can't make the second digit match is a mystery. Maybe the
partial match is just an accident.

Anim8rFSK...

That's what we have here with the local channels

03 == nothing
05 == 705
06 == 706
08 == 708
10 == 710
12 == 712
15 == 715

That's as far as they took it though. Even though there's only a tiny
handful of other stations, they gave INHD the number of the local
religious UHF station, for instance.

TNT got 725 (when the regular TNT is 26 -- so very, very close)

but then bizarrely 760, PBSDT, isn't HD and comes in on SD

and 763 is NBCWeather Plus, also not HD

telenovels...

.

Maybe those stations do broadcast HD, but only at certain times.
Or maybe the cable company just wanted to group the DTV stations all
together.

I don't think they really have a plan :)

telenovels...

.

I've checked 4 different systems. Home (PA), work (MI), and work (OK).
The 4th was another poster who commented his channel 10 is converted
to 785 in HD. None of these 4 systems follow a logical
progression..... the HD channels are randomly spread-around.

Obveeus...

I just checked Beverly Hills 90210 and NYC 10001 and both of them correctly
allign the digital channels with a simple offset. Middle America must just
be a bit slow.

Obveeus...

That would make it easy. I think that is how most places do it. If your
cable system doesn't do it that way....well, is this the same cable system
that doesn't have CW? Maybe the cable system where you live is just extra
slow at adapting technology?

Default User...

Ours is not quite that convenient.

2 : 782 (Fox)
4 : 784 (CBS)
5 : 785 (NBC)
9 : 789 (PBS)
11: 781 (CW)
12: ___ (ABC)

~consul...

Sure, 1-999, but I was talking about like my local FOX is on 11, while in Athens, GA, the
DISH FOX is 5 ... or 69, I forget which, but it isn't the same number.