HDTV via cable and HBO Captioning (1 Viewer)

[Randy Brist]

I originally posted to the TV and HDTV Programing section, but after reading some of the more active posts thought I would try here.

I have a Sony KV-36HS510 HD-ready (4:3) TV. I also have the Motorola DCT5100 HD cable box. Through Insight Communications, we currently need TWO boxes- one for the SD programming and the 5100 for the HD feeds. I get HBO, Showtime, CBS, and ABC on the HD box.

One of the menu options on the 5100 is to turn CC on or off. In the ON setting, I am getting CC on HBO, even though at the beginning of the movie it says CC is not available on HBO-HDTV. An HBO rep told me I couldn't be getting the HD feed of HBO if I am getting CC. My cable company says I am getting the HD feed of HBO "out of Denver." It "looks and acts" like HD- and the SD programming has the side bars. The HBO rep told me the cable company has to be upconverting the standard def feed (picture is indeed 1080i)

I've had others tell me that HBO-HD does not have CC. Yet I am seeing it when the option is turned on. Does this mean I am NOT seeing true HDTV on HBO? Box is hooked up to the component inputs on the set. The picture is incredible compared to the SD stuff through the other cable box. The NBA finals looked mighty impressive on ABC.

Any ideas?
Thanks.

RandyB

 

[Eric F]

You're seeing it. It's there. I saw it. HBO is wrong.

 

[Matt Stone]

Hey, Randy...I forgot to email you, but I'm finally getting CC on Showtime. Still nothing on HBO, though.

 

[Randy Brist]

Someone else sees it!! Eureka...I am not nuts!! Thank you, thank you!!

I have a tech contact at the local cable company and he was certain it was the *real* HBO-HD feed.
About as *certain* as the HBO rep was there was no way I was getting CC on their HD feed.

Matt- I am puzzled why you are not getting the HBO CC like I am. Same box, same cable company. I never heard back from the cable company when I asked about that. I guess if you don't need the CC it's not that big of a deal, but if you are like me- need it or not, I want it to work.

RandyB

 

[JeremyFr]

It may be that your local cable company is somehow sending the CC feed along with the HD Feed, though this doesn't seem to really work in my mind since CC is carried as an off band audio feed and with Digital Cable the audio is in Dolby digital which I've never read has any way of being able to support CC very interesting I'll have to ask around my work and see if there's a way to make that work.

 

[andre-k]

I was told that you can't get hd on cable, you need satellite!

 

[AlbertL]

Randy, here's another cable user getting captions on HBO-HD.

I have a 3100HD box from Sci Atlanta. I can also get captions on Showtime-HD, as well as CBS and ABC's HD feed (oh, to get CSI in HD).

There's no question it is a bona fide HD feed I'm watching. I don't understand HBO's denial of captions, but oh well, it's there! As I am hearing impaired, getting captions on the 3100HD box made me a happy dude.

There is some newer standard for captions that are sent through the HD signals - I can't recall what it is but if you run a search for "captions" and "HDTV" in Google, some discussions pop up. Notice that it is the cable box doing the caption decoding, as opposed to the TV itself (at least, that's what I think is occurring). Maybe HBO defines "captioning" to include only the old standard.

 

[Randy Brist]

Albert,

Glad to hear you are able to get the CC on HD as well. I also thought about HBO's definition of CC as it pertains to the old technology and the new technology. Perhaps they *don't realize* the newer HD cable boxes are capable of doing it?? And in response to Jermey's comment about the CC being sent via an audio feed- I definitely am getting Dolby Digital AS WELL as the CC at the same time. (on those programs with both)

Ditto re: CSI in HD!

Thanks for the continued comments...

RandyB