Metrocast/Wmur
 

Just read that WMUR is in negotiations with some cable providers including Metrocast. If a deal is not in place by December 31st, WMUR will not be available through Metro cast. Great! Could lose another channel and still pay as much. Looks like we'll all be watching the Alton Town meetings soon, as that will be the only station available

It's not just WMUR. WCVB/Channel 5 in Boston has the same notice. Looks like we'll be losing access to all ABC stations via cable. Anyone know if Channel 8 in ME is also affected?

Just answered my own question. All Hearst Television stations are affected, and Channel 8 is one of them. http://www.hearsttelevision.com/our_...ons/index.html

Can you get these channels on any of the dish networks?

Brinksmanship...
 

Quick search online and I found out this is "normal" operations for Hearst Television.

IMHO.. no way they don't come to agreement. Way too much for both party's to lose if a deal isn't finalized.

I'm also pretty sure that after the deal is done.. we'll all get a rate increase. Bah Humbug!

the ABC channels
 

Before the airwaves were digital frequencies, I use to get Channel 8 clearly through my antennae. WMUR was faint, so the Maine channels were my only choice. After the change, I got a digital converter box and it was useless. I complained to the FCC and they sent this form with a gadzillion questions back. Most of it was technical and I don't have a clue what it means. I wrote back with my comments and that was the end of the story. Many folks in the North Country were forced to satelitte or cable TV.

The FCC claimed at the time the conversion was suppose to be 'painless' to consumers. Another slap across our face on support of cable companies. =(

Since my homeowners association band dish in the community, I had no choice but to switch to Metrocast. I have Internet and TV basic service. I read that I can shut off my TV service and get the same service through the internet. Does anyone have any luck with the TV through the internet service?

It is very hard for a HOA to ban Dish and Direct TV see this link.

http://www.fcc.gov/guides/over-air-r...n-devices-rule

You need at fast internet connection to make TV over the internet work well. So a cable modem from the same cable company will work for a while. You will be disappointed with the choices and the quality. TV over the internet is not ready and the cables companies are fighting to make sure it never is.

It's not the FCC behind the move...it's the entertainment industry. If you think digital conversion was bad...wait until SOPA gets passed.

I've always felt that the prime motivator for the shift to digital TV was not to improve content (quality, etc), it was so that the provider (entertainment industry) could control the signal end-to-end. You can't just connect an HDMI cable to a recorder...because that isn't an 'authorized' viewer of the signal. I think analog went away because it couldn't be controlled in that way.

yes on both

This is just an oft repeated attempt each contract renewal time by Hearst Argyle to alarm their viewers sufficiently and to inspire them to pressure their cable providers into conceding to a new contract agreement.
Without viewer pressure, the cable providers and the stations involved will still likely reach an agreement because doing so will serve their individual best interests.
They'll reach an agreement because they always do.

Which one is better?

I tend to lean towards Direct TV, but that is what I had at my house before I moved. we went to Dish Network for the lake, their basic Digital package is more than enough for us up there and it works great, plenty of TV. For one HD TV and a regular TV it only costs us $35 a month and we can shut it off just like the others for 6 consecutive months at no charge, and then when we turn it back on, all we have to do is make a call on the way up and in an hour it will be back on, not like metro cast saying you need to call 1 maybe 2 weeks in advance which happened to us once.

Their basic digital package has just as much options as the metro cast $60 plan (or is it the $45 i do nto remember, I booted them out quicker than I signed up for them)

I have had Direct TV for two years now and the only complaint that I have Is In the winter, the dish gets covered with snow and of course then there is no signal to the dish. got to wade through waist high snow to reach up with a 20 ft. pole with a cloth rag to clean off the dish. thats a pain in the A-- :(

Heat
 

They should have heated dish in the winter!

I have DirectTV in the RV and Metrocast in the house and Direct is far better and much less frustrating. The big issue with Direct is no viable internet option. We could get DSL, but it would mean going back to Fairpoint.

I haven't had cable for over a year, and I don't miss it. I've learned to do without it. I buy DVD's and VHS's at the second hand shop, and I am just fine and happy with those. I don't even care about watching the news, I read it on the computer, and I can pick and choose what I want to read. There's a couple good programs I like to watch on the computer, American Pickers and Pawn Stars, but that's pretty much it.

Same here
 

That is why when I had mine installed I had them mount it 6' off the ground on the corner of my house. Then when/if I want to change or cancel I'm not stuck with a dish on the roof.

I have the DirecTv up on my roof as well. After the first year living up here and snow getting and staying on the dish, I bought a 12 volt car seat heater off ebay. I ran a lamp cord up the roof and epoxied the seat heater to the back of the dish. As the seat heater is actually inside a piece of heavy duty plastic film it is weather tight. When it gets snow stuck to it I attach the leads to a 12 volt battery for just about 5 minutes and keep watching the TV. Once the signal comes back I unplug the seat heater. Ya just got to make do with some Yankee ingenuity.:D
Spraying the dish with a good quality silicon spray helps a bit too.

I'v heard that PAM will help the snow fall off better, I never tried it. My dish only frooze up once or twice with freezing rain over a light snow. Snow by itself doesn't seem to stick and ice doesn't seem to block the signal.

The biggest problem we ever had was rain fade. A big thunderstorm between us and the satellite would block us out for a 1/2 hour. Otherwise I love the service and cost.

Hmmmm a boat thought here...
 

How about something like Pro Polish or some other polymer boat polish? I think I would check with the manufacturer before coating it.

The Halloween snow had already slipped off the somewhat vertical areas of my boat when I went down to clean it off right after the snow stopped falling. The stuff is very slick.

Just a thought.

How about "Rainex"?...........just a thought.

The only *real* solution is the heated dish options.

BTW, you can purchase a proper dish heater that is designed and cut to fit your specific dish, along with a thermostatic control. Not that the kludged seat heater version isn't a cool hack :)

PAM gets gooey over time, I wouldn't use that. Other options, RainX, wax/polish, etc. all wear off. So, if your dish isn't in a location that makes it easy to get to, these are only 1-season solutions.

When I've installed dish's at my previous houses I tried made sure they were in a location that got good sunlight and no shadowing from surrounding trees. The sunlight on the metal dish warmed it enough to prevent snow buildup. We never really had a problem with snow loading, but I know in some installs it can be a significant problem. You can also go with a 24" dish instead of the standard 18" dish if you have lots of signal loss issues. It's not a perfect cure, but it can make a pretty big difference if you get frequent rain fade type problems.

Ok
 

Ok, I've got to bite on this one. The last time, make that every time, I've seen it snow, it clouds up several hours prior to the snow falling.
How does your metal dish stay warm long enough to keep snow off?????

I will say the wax thing is a great idea. I just thought of silicon spray while reading your post. I use it on my cabin door of my boat to keep it moving freely. Silicon spray should last the winter. I’ve gotten mine at NAPA but I’m sure there are other places that sell it.

It's been ~6 years since the last time I had a dish-based service. At my house in MI and my house in NH in both cases the dish was mounted high up (peak of roof in MI, top of chimney in NH) that gave it good exposure to sun *and* winds. Also, the dish elevation at these latitudes allowed it to be fairly vertical, so it really takes a lot for the snow to accumulate.

Trust me, this is more of an observation than a scientific test, but I had just found that if you take some precautions to keep the dish as sun-exposed as possible it seems to help with the snow accumulation. But, the only fool-proof solution for snow is the heater that sticks on the back.

The cabin door of your boat is most likely far more protected from the elements than the typical mini-dish.

I grew up watching Channel 8
 

As a result of Retransmission Consent negotiations with local broadcast stations, MetroCast no longer will be able to provide the following broadcast stations after January 31, 2012:

WMTW-8 (ABC-Portland): Customers may continue to view ABC programming on WMUR-9 (ABC-Manchester). For local Portland news coverage, customers may tune to WCSH-6 (NBC-Portland)

WMTW in my opinion has the best local news coverage.

Qubo
 

The QUBO channel is gone from the lineup as of Jan 1.

QUBO has an excellent quality line up for the pre teens. Great for gandkids as well as kids.

WMTW has a great Saturday morning educational line up for pre teens. WMTW will be gone Jan 31.

I have no respect for the Nickolodeon, Disney Channel and ABC family line ups. It is not pre teen material.

Help me get Metrocast on track for quality pre teen shows by calling, writing or even boycotting Metrocast.

Direct TV
 

We went Direct just over a year ago. Better quality, more stations and less money.