From AVS Forum:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=771239

Quote :

"Just received info from Albany Time Warner that ESPN2 HD will be on by the end of the week!!!! See text from email below: -----Original Message----- From: do_not_reply@twalbany.com [mailto:do_not_reply@twalbany.com] Sent: Monday, December 18, 2006 10:19 PM To: mark@albanyhdtv.com Subject: Response to your inquiry # 9913 Please do not reply to this E-mail. To enter your questions or comments, please go to https://help.twalbany.com/reply.php. Mr. Pyskadlo, Within the week we will be adding: A&E HD to channel 1838 (Standard HD) MHD (MTV HD) to channel 1840 (Standard HD) ESPN 2 HD to channel 1870 (Standard HD) Please let us know if we can be of any additional assistance. Thank you for being a Time Warner Cable customer."

We do know that TWC just signed deals for MHD and A&E HD a week or so ago, so that much of this is accurate. The question is, does TWC Raleigh have the bandwidth available to add all of these. On January 1st, supposedly inHD and inHD2 will merge, so there should be space for at least 1 of these. Another question is, did TWC work out rights for ESPNU when they came to a deal for ESPN2HD? One thing I read recently was that TWC thought they had acquired rights for ESPN2HD the last contract round, but ESPN said they didnt.

Ive emailed TWC-Raleigh and Ill report back when I get a response.

12/19/2006 6:16:52 AM

that would be huge

now, I've just gotta move back to Raleigh

12/19/2006 6:46:27 AM

fuck... just as soon as i swicthed to dish they decide to do something about their shitty selection of hd

regardless, they still dont match, nor do they carry espnu

good news for all you cable susbscribers come bball season tho

12/19/2006 8:35:03 AM

probably a stupid question.. but is does this come with digital HD cable or do you have to pay extra for it like ESPNHD?

12/19/2006 8:42:29 AM

you'll get it when you activate the HD suite

12/19/2006 8:44:31 AM

i dunno, i'd guess that it's be included in the price with espnhd

12/19/2006 8:45:33 AM

Who knows all the details, I cant even be entirely sure the information is accurate, but the poster is a regular contributor to the site, so if its inaccurate, its on the TWC reps end. It will undoubtedly be in the HD Suite...which Im guessing might go up in price with the addition of 3 channels (although the price was never increased when ESPNHD and UHD were added).

12/19/2006 8:48:29 AM

what channels are included in HD suite?

12/19/2006 9:46:13 AM

you better get ESPN2HD if youre already paying for ESPNHD. I dont think there are any HD channels i dont get outside of movie channel packages.

12/19/2006 9:47:22 AM

Currently:

Time Warner Cable's Premium HD package - Click here for more information!

* Ch. 290 - ESPN HD
* Ch. 291 - INHD
* Ch. 292 - INHD2
* Ch. 293 - HDNet
* Ch. 294 - HDNet Movies
* Ch. 299/502 - HD Movies On Demand
* Ch. 295 - Universal HD

http://www.timewarnercable.com/nc/products/cable/hdchannels.html

[Edited on December 19, 2006 at 9:50 AM. Reason : ]

12/19/2006 9:49:30 AM

what package is DiscoveryHD part of

'free'

[Edited on December 19, 2006 at 9:54 AM. Reason : *]

12/19/2006 9:53:42 AM

Why the fuck would I want MHD? So I can watch the Real World 24 hours a day? MTV sucks. Give me ESPN2HD and anything else that I will actually watch. I would watch CNNHD more than this damn MHD.

I will disclose that I talked to a TWC rep on the phone a few weeks ago and they told me there had been a LOT of talk about adding ESPN2HD in the very near future but could not give me any details for obvious reasons. Take if fwiw

12/19/2006 10:58:21 AM

not saying I'm going to watch/like it...but MHD is supposed to show nothing but music videos and concerts.

[Edited on December 19, 2006 at 11:14 AM. Reason : t]

12/19/2006 11:01:07 AM

yeah i dont think any of mtvs shows are recorded in hd therefore they cant show them in hd

12/19/2006 11:05:15 AM

well that may make a difference. I will give it a chance if they bring it. I couldn't stomach that crap they call programming now.

12/19/2006 11:13:21 AM

^^^we get it out here

you see the same goo goo dolls show from breckinridge 6 times a day

MHD will be cool when they film some more concerts, but if I have to watch Kanye West in the round one more time I may just throw my shoe through the TV

they only have about 8 concerts and 5-8 shows filmed in HD, and they show some videos, good idea, need some more content.....and fast

12/19/2006 11:28:56 AM

i hate mtv but i was watching the hell out of some mhd this past weekend

i watched the pearl jam and green day concerts, it was very cool

12/19/2006 11:30:58 AM

I guess the MTV Rap awards show will probably be shown on that channel...

12/19/2006 11:43:29 AM

I watched Sunrise Earth last night. It was nice, but I wasn't floored.

I do love the HD, though. I was watching my boy Dan Rather in all his HD glory.

12/19/2006 1:03:24 PM

^^^^A lot of that is the result of most systems having limited bandwidth. These channels are trying to get their HD version out there sooner rather than later as a "placeholder" so to speak....rather than having to fight all of the other HD channels that pop up in the next few years for carriage agreements. Unfortunately that means a lot of channels with less than stellar content.

From AVS:
http://www.timewarnercable.com/staugustine/notices.html
Looks like its been added in St Augustine already...a good sign....but...

Quote :

"Effective December 6, 2006, Time Warner Cable will drop InHD 2 (251 - HD Plus tier), Hdnet (260 - HD Plus tier) and Hdnet Movies (261 - HD Plus tier)."

Hopefully this is a local thing...Id hate to see us lose two GREAT channels for MHD or A&E.

12/19/2006 1:09:46 PM

worthless without espnu

12/19/2006 1:17:04 PM

espn2HD is a start
i don't want to lose HDNET and inHD though. fuck mtv HD

12/19/2006 1:31:00 PM

MHD is not mtv hd...it's actually a program that VH1, MTV and FUSE have teamed up to offer...it's nothing but music videos in HD...pretty cool I think

12/19/2006 1:42:52 PM

Oh I remember music videos.

12/19/2006 1:46:53 PM

TWC Raleigh sure as hell better not drop HDNet and/or HDNet Movies...

12/19/2006 2:29:37 PM

amen to that....i love the HDNet programming. and to be honest, videos in HD doesn't really seem like that big a deal. the HDNet programming is something different, not just because of the HD, it's a good channel anyway.

12/19/2006 3:31:32 PM

Sent an email to TWC, here was the response:
Negotiations are currently taking place on a Corporate level with regard to ESPNU. A carriage contract must be signed in order for us to add this channel to our lineup. Our Corporate office is well aware that our area is a popular market for college athletics.

We have no further updates available on carriage negotiations with ESPN2HD or MTV HD at this time.

12/19/2006 3:43:06 PM

inHD is staying, inHD2 is leaving

12/19/2006 3:47:38 PM

the idiots in pinehurst say they haven't heard anything about it

12/19/2006 4:43:55 PM

^ I am from Pinehurst.. would you actually expect them to know???

12/19/2006 6:25:32 PM

Quote :

"Negotiations are currently taking place on a Corporate level with regard to ESPNU. A carriage contract must be signed in order for us to add this channel to our lineup. Our Corporate office is well aware that our area is a popular market for college athletics. We have no further updates available on carriage negotiations with ESPN2HD or MTV HD at this time."

this has been their stock answer forever...they're flippin' time warner and they want to make it seem like disney and the nfl are bullying them around

12/19/2006 7:14:11 PM

Quote :

"^ I am from Pinehurst.. would you actually expect them to know???"

wasn't expecting anything, for example at my house we've gone in to trade in cable boxes for HD boxes before and they'll always forget to add it to the account, i don't know what the hell they do

12/19/2006 7:29:28 PM

Ha, this is the response I got:

Quote :

"Response:Thank you for contacting us. We are currently investigating the addition of these channels in our sister divisions and hope to possibly conclude a carraige agreement in the Raleigh area based on the carriage agreement within these other divisions. Once further information is known we will alert all customers via our website at twcnc.com and other various media. "

which is in complete contradiction to what csdozier posted. Which means 1 or both of the guys that replied are clueless, or the reply I got was the bullshit response for why they arent going to add it as soon as its available.

12/19/2006 9:26:21 PM

I saw this back around August:

Time Warner to get ESPN2HD & ESPNU soon; NFL Network, not so soon
Posted Aug 11th 2006 10:45AM by Matt Burns
Filed under: Cable TV, Programming, Regulatory

We have great news for college football and NHRA fans alike, but bad news for NFL fans on Time Warner Cable. First, the good news, Time Warner should have ESPN2HD and ESPNU up and running real soon. A spokesman from the cable company is indicating anywhere from 30-60 days that the stations will launch. Now for the bad, don't expect NFL Network anytime soon. The court battle that has been raging for a few years just ended and NFL fans everywhere won as Time Warner will need to carry the channel but the negotiations are just starting. These things take time. But hey, ESPN2HD is a lot better then nothing.

12/20/2006 9:00:06 AM

I was hoping I could wait and update this with some definitive information...unfortunately, I dont have any yet.

First of all, there is this article:
http://www.tvpredictions.com/twespn122106.htm

Quote :

"Time Warner Adding ESPN 2 HD But the cable operator says the channel will only be available in two markets. By Phillip Swann Washington, D.C. (December 21, 2006) -- Time Warner Cable today said it's adding ESPN 2 HD in the next week. However, the HD sports network will only be added in the Albany and Syracuse markets for now, according to Justin Venech, a Time Warner spokesman. He told TVPredictions.com that there are no immediate plans to add the channel in other TW cities. However, some Time Warner viewers in Florida have received a notice saying ESPN 2 HD was added there on December 6. So it's possible that the channel will find a spot in other markets as well in the next few weeks. The cable operator also recently added MHD, MTV Networks' high-def music channel and said it would add A&E HD in select markets on January 1. BizJournals.com reported that A&E HD would be added in the TW market of Buffalo. ESPN 2 HD, the sister network of ESPN HD, is a simulcast of the channel's analog feed. The channel broadcasts college basketball and Major League Baseball games in high-def. "

From this, I would assume Raleigh is NOT one of the select markets for any of the channels.

However, today I was in Circuit City just looking at HDTVs. I heard a sales rep mention to another person that TWC would be adding ESPN2HD, MHD, and A&E HD on January 1st. He was free shortly after that and I asked him where he heard this, and he told me from the regional manager (not sure the title exactly, but a higher-up with the TWC division in Raleigh). I am well aware that "Circuit City employee" is not someone to trust for reliable information, and Im sure its more likely that hes completely wrong (although the fact that his statement was based on facts (ie, he didnt throw out FoodHD or NGC HD, but rather two channels we know TWC has deals with)). So take it for what its worth, possibly nothing, but maybe, just maybe, we will see something come January 1st. My guess is that since inHD2 is going away, there should be room for 1 of these at least. Knowing TWC and their insistence to ignore the fact that HD viewers and sports viewers are almost the same group of people, ESPN2HD will not be the one thats added if its only one.

12/22/2006 4:12:09 PM

I wonder when a news channel will jump in the mix. Figured CNN would try to get in the HD ballgame. I pretty much only watch HD stuff now, and even watch Dan Rather news to get my fix.

12/22/2006 5:31:06 PM

i think there is a CNN hd channel but i could be wrong

12/22/2006 8:14:27 PM

i believe its CNN on demand,

what does TWC gain by not telling us if they are adding it or not?

12/23/2006 12:42:09 AM

nothing. that is what i don't get

12/23/2006 9:29:35 AM

i've seen the list of things time warner gives to their employees to tell their customers

it's straight up insulting to people's intelligence the garbage they're required to say, both to the employee and the customer

i swear...a big giant corporation acting like that...mom and pop stores don't even act as wounded as they do

[Edited on December 23, 2006 at 11:31 AM. Reason : e]

12/23/2006 11:30:26 AM

From AVS Forum:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9259600#post9259600

Quote :

" ... excerpts from an email from George Douglas (VP of Mktg, TWC Raleigh)-- "... the Raleigh division will be going to switched digital in the 2nd quarter of 2007. In the meantime, I expect to launch MTV-HD in early January and, hopefully, A&E by the end of the month. I received word from corporate that ESPN2-HD is still not ready and it may be a couple of months. Hopefully sooner. I cannot explain why several TWC divisions have announced they are carrying ESPN2-HD.""

12/24/2006 3:14:19 PM

really, TWC just sounds like the are spewing shit from their mouths until they decide to add it

durrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

12/24/2006 4:17:42 PM

Funny story

ESPN HD really has nothing worthwhile on it 70% of the time.

12/25/2006 12:56:26 PM

so wait... is raleigh going to get espn2 hd? or is albany time warner a regional/local thing?

12/25/2006 3:51:02 PM

we WILL be getting it, just a matter of when.

12/25/2006 4:55:23 PM

when we all go to the corporate offices with torches and pitchforks

12/25/2006 4:58:31 PM

It's mildly scary how tv whore-ish some of you people are.

12/25/2006 6:01:10 PM

I spoke with my cousin's bf today who is pretty high up in twc and he says we can expect ESPNTO within the next week.

12/25/2006 11:32:03 PM

i heard they're flying ESPN2 in to negotiate a contract and my roommate's mother's cousin saw an ESPN2 rep at Amedeo's !!!

12/26/2006 9:35:24 AM

^ ...

12/26/2006 11:12:06 AM