Metrocast Cable proves once again that they are completely incompetent

I had problems with Fox 23 in High Definition (channel 723 on Metrocast Cable).

I called Metrocast and the girl that took the call knew absolutely nothing about cable TV, high definition, or TV broadcasting.

After putting me on hold for 10 minutes to walk to the lobby to check their TV sets, she came back to me and said, "Well, we don't get channel 723 here, we get channel 725 and that's coming in fine so I guess the problem is on your end and I'll have to send out a technician".

OK, let's back up. Channel 725 is WFXT out of Boston. It is the Fox affiliate in Boston. Customers of Metrocast in New Hampshire get that channel on their lineup. Channel 23 is Maine's Fox Channel (WPFO) and is broadcast out of Portland. Customers of Metrocast who live in Maine get WPFO - Fox 23, NOT Fox 25.

I tried to explain this to the girl on the phone (I use the world girl because she was obviously young and inexperienced; she was no woman). I got angrier and angrier because she would not listen to what I was saying. The "analog" version of Fox 23, which is channel 17 on my cable lineup, was also not coming in. And those were the only 2 channels with which I was having trouble. So the problem was obviously at the source of the broadcast, or at Metrocast and how it processes the fiber optic feed of that channel (it's not done by satellite dish anymore).

Again, I got nowhere and asked for a manger. I could not see why I had to wait at home two days later from 12:00 to 5:00 pm for a technician to show up for a problem that had nothing to do with me.

The next morning, both channel 17 and 723 were coming in fine. I got to work that Wednesday morning and had a message form a "supervisor" (I guess) named Krista, who gave me a phone number to call. But she also said that the reason I was not receiving channel 723 was because that channel was no longer available. What?? I was just watching it that morning before I left the house. (on a side note I watched it again last night). I called and asked to speak to her. The woman who helped me this time was Judy. I explained the whole story to her and she finally understood what I was saying. Judy wasn't quite sure what to do. So I asked her to please convey to a manager the whole story as she knew the Metrocast side and my side. Judy alluded to the fact that my "account" was noted with the fact that I was an irate customer and under no circumstances should I be allowed to speak to a supervisor. Nice, huh?

I told Judy that I could be a total jerk, and allow the technician to come to my house and wait for me; all the while I had no intention of being there for a problem that was not mine and in fact was already fixed. I wasn't a jerk. I asked Judy to cancel the appointment.

I have still heard nothing from Metrocast. I also called Fox 23 to find out what happened on Tuesday night to cause all of this. I left a a message. I have not heard back from Fox 23 either. I also emailed a guy named Mike Casa from Metrocast. He is a technician that has been out to my house before for other innumerable cable TV problems I have experienced and offered his assistance on another issue I was having. I have not heard from him either.

So what does one do now. Last night and this morning, channel 723 (WPFO - Fox 23) was having trouble again. It was pixelating and had audio problems. How do I call Metrocast and complain about a channel that doesn't exist according to the idiots that answer the phone. How do I get a manger or a technician to respond to my inquiries when my account has been labeled as a "trouble maker" simply because I am trying to fix a problem with their service.

If anyone has the answer, please let me know.

Fox 23 - WPFO explains its HD broadcasting problems

Further to my previous post regarding WPFO, Fox 23, I received a call today from Tom MacArther

While I'll never be happy when HD programming isn't in HD, it was nice to finally speak to Tom MacArthur, General Manager (among other things) at WPFO in Portland, Maine.

He did finally get back to me about WPFO's HD issues. Apparently, equipment that was provided to WPFO by the FOX Network itself, is having some difficulties with the HD programming. FOX is replacing the equipment and WPFO hopes to have the problem fixed in the next few weeks.

Tom was very pleasant and easy to talk to. I told him about the blog and about my mission to simply make HDTV more commonplace, and available to everyone. Tom is actually in an enviable position in that his Network provides him with the HD equipment. I don't believe that any other of the Maine TV stations get free equipment from the Network of which they are an affiliate; most affiliates (Maine or elsewhere) have to buy the HD equipment on their own and it is very expensive.

What really clinched it for me was when Mr. MacArthur gave me his cell phone number. I explained to him how many times I call TV stations in Maine (and some in NH) when an HD program is NOT in HD. I further explained that there is often nobody to receive my call on the other end. But he was happy to give me his cell number and told me I could use it whenever I had a question or noticed a problem with the broadcast at WPFO - Fox 23.

This is my first interaction with WPFO. I hope the relationship between Fox 23 and the Maine HDTV blog continues to go well.

Thanks, Tom

WPFO - Fox 23 - Where's the HD?

I knew it was too good to be true. At midnight, Februrary 17, WPFO - Maine's Fox channel, finally was able to broadcast HDTV over the air, and was able to provide all cable outlets in Maine with an HD signal. It all seemed so Utopian.

When Fox 23 came on line, the UHF channels that were doled out by the FCC so that broadcasters could deploy digital TV while still maintaining their analog signal until the transition was completed, were all gone. So Fox 23 was stuck. They couldn't "broadcast" their digital signal. The did, however, provide the digital signal to some cable outlets via fiber optic cable. Not where I live. So February 18, 2009, was a big day for WPFO. It was good for the public and good for the station, to finally have the Fox 23 signal available in digital format for everyone.

Since WPFO had been delivering its digital signal to Time Warner cable outlets in Maine (via fiber optics) for quite some time, WPFO should have garnered lots of experience in HD programming, HD signals, and the HD feed from the Fox network.

This may sound childish but I don't care. A week ago yesterday, March 15, I was watching the Simpsons. The Simpsons is now in HD (and I believe the first animated network program in HD, but I digress). Believe it or not, even a cartoon in HD is still immeasurably more appealing that watching it in standard definition. On that Sunday in question, The Simpsons went to commercial at about 8:15 or so. The commercial was not in HD. And from that point forward, The Simpsons never returned to HD format for the rest of the program. In fact, the following program, King of the Hill, was also NOT in HD even though it too is now an HD program.

Of course I tried to call the station but like every other TV station, there is nobody one can call to tell them of the technical difficulties. Those of you who follow this blog know full well how many times I have called WGME, WMTW, and WCSH over the last 2 years to try and each know, in times of HD trouble, that their signal was not in HD when it should be. Occasionally, and I do mean very infrequently, I would reach a live person, let them know what was going on, and then they would fix it. However, more often than not I was treated like "What?", "Who are you?", "Why are you calling?", "What gives you the right to call us?" and all sorts of reactions to that end.

Since I couldn't human at WPFO, I wrote an email explaining what happened and expected a response to explain why their programming ceased to be in HD on that Sunday. I heard nothing, as is normal for this kind of thing when I write to a TV station.

Now this Sunday, March 22, both The Simpsons and King of the Hill were not in HD AGAIN. However, this time that had a screen crawl that said "we are having technical difficulties with out high definition feed".

This time I tried to call the station during "business hours" (today at 12:50 pm). I was stuck in voice mail hell and again could not find anyone to speak to. So I left a message in the President and General Manager's voice mail box. Tom MacArthur (sp?) was his name.

I haven't heard back yet. He, unlike the managers at WPXT, WPME, WGME, WMTW, WCSH, NHPTV, and MPBN doesn't know who I am or that I have this blog. If he ever calls me I will explain it to him and see if he want to play nice, like Doug Finck at WPXT/WPME, and the folks at NHPTV, and support what I am doing, or not, like the remaining TV station personnel.

I'll keep you posted.

Fox 25 magically appears in digital/HD

The Fox affiliate in Maine, WPFO-Fox 23, came into existence after the FCC had assigned UHF channels to broadcasters for the sole purpose of broadcasting digital TV signals while still using their existing TV channel for analog.



So, while Fox 23 does provide digital signals via fiber optic cable to some Time Warner customers and DirectTV customers in Maine, they can not "broadcast" a digital signal until they do a flash cut over from analog to digital on 2/17/09.



So this is what we, in Maine, have all been dealing with. I have written to my cable company, Metrocast, which services Rochester, NH, and the Sanford, ME area. I've asked why they can't provide us with Fox 25 out of Boston in digital/HD since we can't get Fox 23 in digital. I was told that due to FCC rules and cable/TV station agreements it was not possible. I was told I would just have to wait until Fox 23 went digital over the air and then wait even further for Metrocast to carry that digital TV station in their lineup. The possibilities were remote at best.

All of a sudden, last Monday, September 29, Fox 25 in digital/HD magically appeared in my digital channel lineup; no announcement, no nothing from my cable company, it just showed up. I've attempted to call Metrocast several times but have never been able to last as long as they have wanted to keep me on hold. I want to ask them "What's the deal" with this new Fox channel.

In the end, it doesn't really matter, I guess. I just hope that it is not there as some sort of mistake and will end up being removed for some reason. I don't watch Fox that much, but it will be nice to be able to record shows on my DVR in HD as opposed to the analog channel provided to us known as Fox 23.

Online Class - Digital Television - Part 4 - What am I watching?

OK, now that you know why digital TV exists and how it works, it's time to discuss the realities of everyday television watching. The truth is, there is relatively very little High Definition programming that reaches your home everyday, no matter how that TV signal gets to you and no matter what the cable or satellite company tells you, and no matter what you THINK is happening, there really is very little HD programming getting to you.

I'm going to skip over specialty HD network for now and talk about just broadcast TV. I'll touch on cable and satellite High Definition in another post.

I'll run through the day for you quickly. Starting a 7:00 AM "Good Morning America" and "The Today Show" are broadcast in high definition. The CBS Early Show is not. From there "The View" is in HD and "The Young and the Restless" is in HD and that's about it until the evening news. Both NBC and CBS (just recently) are broadcasting the evening news in high definition, ABC is not. It really makes no sense. Supposedly it's all about cost. Producing a TV program in high definition is more expensive. As to why ABC broadcast GMA in HD but not their evening news, I have no idea. Conversely, why CBS broadcast their evening news in HD but not "The Early Show", I have no idea. I thought is was about ratings, meaning a highly rated show with more viewers means more revenue. But to me, you'll get more viewers if you broadcast in high definition because those of us who have HD capability would rather watch a program in HD than one that is not. But that's just my opinion.

Next comes Prime Time (8:00 pm in the East, 7:00 PM Central). Most non-reality type programming, meaning your TV dramas and sit-coms are in high definition (with very few exceptions). Reality shows like "Extreme Home Makeover" or "Big Brother" are not broadcast in HD. Neither are most news magazine shows and game shows, although when "The Price is Right" did their Prime Time specials, they were in HD. So basically it's hit or miss. Almost all of FOX's prime time programming, and most of the CW's prime time programming is in HD.

As for late night here we go again. Conan (NBC), Jay Leno (NBC), and Letterman (CBS) are in High Definition. Nightline (ABC), Jimmy Kimmel (ABC) and Craig Ferguson (CBS) are not in HD. See I told you, there's no rhyme or reason to it.

Now a footnote about PBS. They run things a bit differently. PBS has its own HD channel where all of the programming is in HD. As for local PBS stations, it depends. Some have the ability to produce and/or broadcast HD programming apart from the network.

I have read, however, that all news programming produced by CBS will be in HD by year end. The same is supposedly true for ABC and I suspect the other network will follow suit but there's no way to tell, or be sure, until I see it for myself.

So as you can see, the picture I am drawing here is that local TV stations can only broadcast HD programming when the network is broadcasting HD programming. These local TV stations are basically operating as a pass-through, passing the programming fed to them from the big satellite in the sky from the network to you. They can not record it and play it back later, they can only broadcast it when the network broadcasts it. Getting the picture?

The moral of this story: There's not a lot of HD programs to watch especially if you're not paying your cable or satellite company lots of extra money.

Stay tuned for more information