New HD Fios Channels (at least in PDX)

[Deanq4]

So I was looking up some info on channel line-up on Fios, Found this (http://www22.verizon.com/NROneRetail/NR/rdonlyres/EC99286E-16BF-4D6C-8400-28DBB398DAE2/0/Portland_OR_effective_7_09.pdf)


Shows a total new channel line up for the HD (now in the 500's) and a bunch of new HD channels. Notably Sci-fi HD, USA HD, TBS HD and CNN HD.

Only channels I see missing that I still want are Comcast Sports Net HD and Fox sports net northwest.. maybe well will get them by the college football season starts.


Says it is effective as of 7/9.... let the countdown begin!!

[GoHokies!]

Awesome!!!!

I've read a lot about what's "rumored" to be on the list, glad to see something more official. Looks like you're second in line after Ft Wayne to get the HD added.

When did you guys go all digital?

[Thos19]

Excellent ! :up:

Thos.

[webin]

OMG OMG OMG OMG! I live in Portland! They are rejiggering all the channel numbers and using 4 digits, but I think I can live with those changes. Woot!

[aaronwt]

Hopefully we will get those extra channels here by August. They are supposed to drop all of our analog FIOS channels in late July.

[aaronwt]

OMG OMG OMG OMG! I live in Portland! They are rejiggering all the channel numbers and using 4 digits, but I think I can live with those changes. Woot!


I couldn't even tell you what channel anything is on. I just have a list of HD channels in my Favorites and a handful of Sd channels. I've never even looked at the channel numbers. Just the guide data and what is on.

[jtkohl]

When did you guys go all digital?

Hmm, Boston area was announced to go all digital on May 16th, but my VCR is still getting analog signals 2-49. :confused:
I want Versus HD for the Tour de France, boo hoo, time is ticking!

[Marc]

We've been all digital in the Pittsburgh area from the beginning, so I'm very interested to see when Pittsburgh will get its new lineup.

[Deanq4]

not sure when we in PDX went all digital.... I get msg's telling me we lost/earned a channel all the time

[mr.unnatural]

We're also supposed to be going all digital in July here in Howard Co., Maryland. I'm hoping we get the same lineup changes as Portland with regards to which HD channels get added. Now if they can add FX in HD I'll be all set.

[rocko]

not sure when we in PDX went all digital.... I get msg's telling me we lost/earned a channel all the time

It would be nice to know is there's a correlation between time after all-digital switchover to new HD channels. We lost analog here about 10 days ago - sure would like to have me some of that SciFi HD :D

[webin]

not sure when we in PDX went all digital.... I get msg's telling me we lost/earned a channel all the time

PDX was all digital since at least February when I signed up, and probably longer (they started rolling out TV in the Beaverton/Hillsboro area last November/December).

[jtrain]

The service was rolled out as all digital beginning in early to mid-December '07. Fortunately we didn't have to endure an "analog shutoff" and will be reaping the rewards with more HD in the next month or so.

I'm a tad bit concerned because I haven't seen any notification by snail mail or otherwise that the channel lineup will be changing dramatically. All I've seen is the PDF in the first post, but nothing much more concrete than that (other than a policy blog post over at Verizon).

http://policyblog.verizon.com/policyblog/blogs/policyblog/ericrabe9/479/a-preview-of-coming-attractions.aspx

If mid-July rolls around and still nothing then we'll know for sure, but i'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Oregon market is indeed among the initial rollout of the new HD channels/overall lineup.

As for CSN NW HD, as most of us know, Blazer games this past year were carried on CSN NW (a Standard Definition channel in the FiOS TV lineup). Last year for Blazer Home games, Comcast would put HD games on the 788 channel (which, I believe was MOJO, but I can't personally confirm that).

Hopefully (minimally) FiOS TV will do something similar with Blazer games for the '08-'09 season...as it seems unlikely that CSN NW HD will have a full-time channel/upconverted simulcast of it's standard definition channel. Again, this is strictly my opinion, with no knowledge of the innner dealings of CSN NW/FiOS TV.

[ilh]

Hmm, Boston area was announced to go all digital on May 16th, but my VCR is still getting analog signals 2-49. :confused:
I want Versus HD for the Tour de France, boo hoo, time is ticking!
Really? I lost my analogs in May. Last I checked a few weeks ago, all I got on 2-49 was a message screen saying the analogs are gone, contact Verizon for a converter box, etc. I'm in a NW suburb of Boston.

[wmcbrine]

http://policyblog.verizon.com/policy...tractions.aspxYour URL was elided.

[jtrain]

Your URL was elided.

Thanks!

[aaronwt]

Your URL was elided.

:confused::confused::confused:

[webin]

A little poking around found the post he was referring to: http://policyblog.verizon.com/PolicyBlog/Blogs/policyblog/EricRabe9/479/A-Preview-of-Coming-Attractions.aspx

In other news, that blog looks pretty interesting.

[webin]

I did a side-by-side comparison of the new line up to the old line up. I found one channel was lost (International Music Feed currently on channel 185), and 29 new channels (20 in HD). Overall, the new channel numbers for HD do a pretty good job of lining up with their SD counterparts, being 500 channels higher. I didn't compare the Music channels or extra packages (Sports, Movies, La Conexion). One new channel, Outdoor Channel HD, is probably limited to those with the Sports package, but the channel line up pdf linked above doesn't make that clear. Also, all of the new HD channels listed are national channels, so there's a good chance FiOS will have them nationwide as they roll out the additional HD to other markets.

Channel Category Channel

Big Ten Network SPORTS 85
Veria TV HOME & LEISURE 162
Current TV POP CULTURE 192
MTV U MUSIC 212
ReelzChannel MOVIES 233
RFD-TV FAMILY 247
qubo LOCAL PLUS 491
ION Life LOCAL PLUS 492
The Worship Network LOCAL PLUS 494
USA HD HD ENTERTAINMENT 550
TBS HD HD ENTERTAINMENT 552
ESPNews HD HD SPORTS 572
Big Ten Network HD HD SPORTS 585
VERSUS/Golf Channel HD HD SPORTS 590
Outdoor Channel HD HD SPORTS 591
CNN HD HD NEWS 600
CNBC HD HD NEWS 602
MSNBC HD HD NEWS 603
The Weather Channel HD HD NEWS 619
Science Channel HD HD INFO & EDCATION 622
Smithsonian Channel HD HD INFO & EDCATION 625
History Channel HD HD INFO & EDCATION 628
Animal Planet HD HD INFO & EDCATION 630
TLC HD HD INFO & EDCATION 639
Lifetime HD HD WOMEN 640
Lifetime West HD HD WOMEN 641
Sci-Fi Channel HD HD POP CULTURE 680
MOJO HD HD POP CULTURE 682
Bravo HD HD POP CULTURE 685

[wmcbrine]

I think you'll find that IMF has been gone for a while now. They ceased operations AFAIK.

[AbMagFab]

Portland is on 7/21, not 7/9.

[webin]

I think you'll find that IMF has been gone for a while now. They ceased operations AFAIK.

You can tell how quickly I noticed :) Good riddance.

[jtkohl]

Really? I lost my analogs in May. Last I checked a few weeks ago, all I got on 2-49 was a message screen saying the analogs are gone, contact Verizon for a converter box, etc. I'm in a NW suburb of Boston.
Duh for me.

My test was to turn on my VCR (without setting TV to look at it), and see that the "stereo" light still came on. When they said they were turning it off, I didn't expect they'd replace it with 48 channels of "Call us" programming. :D

[wmcbrine]

When they said they were turning it off, I didn't expect they'd replace it with 48 channels of "Call us" programming. :DOnly temporarily...

[Deanq4]

Portland is on 7/21, not 7/9.

OK, so I know that it was really late when I posted that, but I know it used to say the 9th, they must have rolled it back a few weeks. Sucks. I remeber because I thought. Hmm, awesome, I will be messing with my TiVo and watching new channels when I should be studying for my big exam on the 10th.

Hopefully they don't start moving it back all the time.. God forbid that we have to wait till Christmas to get this new line-up.

[mr.unnatural]

I did a side-by-side comparison of the new line up to the old line up. I found one channel was lost (International Music Feed currently on channel 185), and 29 new channels (20 in HD). Overall, the new channel numbers for HD do a pretty good job of lining up with their SD counterparts, being 500 channels higher. I didn't compare the Music channels or extra packages (Sports, Movies, La Conexion). One new channel, Outdoor Channel HD, is probably limited to those with the Sports package, but the channel line up pdf linked above doesn't make that clear. Also, all of the new HD channels listed are national channels, so there's a good chance FiOS will have them nationwide as they roll out the additional HD to other markets.

We have a lot of duplicate channels in my FIOS lineup. For example, Sci-Fi is on both 160 and 560. Many other channels are listed in the 100's with a duplicate in the 500's. I'm wondering if they weren't originally set up as a placeholder for the HD channels to allow for a seamless transition.

[webin]

We have a lot of duplicate channels in my FIOS lineup. For example, Sci-Fi is on both 160 and 560.

Not really duplicates. The lower channel number is broadcast in standard definition, while the higher channel number is high definition.

[GoHokies!]

Not really duplicates. The lower channel number is broadcast in standard definition, while the higher channel number is high definition.
Nope - as it stands now, the 100's and 500's are the same, HD is in the 800's.

[webin]

Ooops... was thinking he was referring to the new channel line up, not the existing one.

[webin]

The 7/21 version of the pdf (which looks like it has a few typographical mistakes) has a couple of the new channels removed.

In particular, Big Ten Network, Veria TV, RFD-TV, ESPNews HD, Big Ten HD, Versus/Golf HD, MSNBC HD (which hasn't launched yet), and MOJO HD, and a couple URGE Radio stations are not listed in the current "proposed" lineup.

They added MLB Extra Innings and NHL Center Ice to the pay per view options.

I'll do a final comparison next month when they've released a final version.

[wmcbrine]

Many other channels are listed in the 100's with a duplicate in the 500's. I'm wondering if they weren't originally set up as a placeholder for the HD channels to allow for a seamless transition.No, they weren't. The current 5xx channels are supposed to be for the benefit of subscribers who get the Spanish-language "La Connexion" package, rather than "Fios Premier". (La Connexion still includes many English-language channels.) It puts all their channels in a continuous block. But it wasn't very well thought out, IMHO.

The new HD channel numbers will be quite different from the La Connexion numbers. For that matter, the new SD channel numbers will also be quite different. Nothing seamless in this transition, I'm afraid.

[mr.unnatural]

No, they weren't. The current 5xx channels are supposed to be for the benefit of subscribers who get the Spanish-language "La Connexion" package, rather than "Fios Premier". (La Connexion still includes many English-language channels.) It puts all their channels in a continuous block. But it wasn't very well thought out, IMHO.

The new HD channel numbers will be quite different from the La Connexion numbers. For that matter, the new SD channel numbers will also be quite different. Nothing seamless in this transition, I'm afraid.
The channels in the 100's and 500's on my FIOS system are exactly the same. All programming is in English, at least for the channels I usually watch. There is a block of Spanish programming but the majority of the duplicate channels I mentioned are not part of it AFAIK.

I just checked the FIOS lineup on the Verizon website for my zip coide and the channels in the 500's are indeed listed as part of La Conexion. OTOH, there is a separate block of channels listed as Spanish language which are all in the 400's. It does appear that some of the channels in the 500's are listed as Spanish channels but the channel layout doesn't seem too logical. The rest of the foreign language channels are also in the 400's.

It's not a big deal but I always wondered why there were two sets of channels with the same programming when Verizon supposedly won't have the available bandwidth for more HD channels until they get rid of the analog channels.

[wmcbrine]

It's not a big deal but I always wondered why there were two sets of channels with the same programming when Verizon supposedly won't have the available bandwidth for more HD channels until they get rid of the analog channels.These channels are virtual channels -- they don't take up any more space. There's only one USA Network (SD) channel, for example, but it's mapped to both 50 and 500.

[mr.unnatural]

These channels are virtual channels -- they don't take up any more space. There's only one USA Network (SD) channel, for example, but it's mapped to both 50 and 500.

So it's actually just being broadcast on one frequency or channel allocation and then mapped to the secondary location in the guide? That would make sense from a bandwidth perspective and also explain why they still need to free up space for the new HD channels.

[aaronwt]

This has been done for years with Satellite and since cable went digital.