HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 in Verizon FIOS TV http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21038727 en Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:04:07 EDT Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:04:07 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21088059 anon :
said by icemannyr1 See Profile :

Anyone else surprised at the amount of macroblocking some of the HBO and Cinemax HD channels have?

Is this simply cause HBO and Cinemax are now delivering more HD channels in the same bandwidth?
its cause your fusion card is no good haha]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21088059 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:05:07 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21086078 anon : it was a free preview for 4 days - would u stop complaining that this doesnt work and that doesnt work - it was FREE and it cost u nothing - SHUT UP!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21086078 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:32:30 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21085897 noping :
said by seaquake See Profile :

If you want to see the series that badly you can pick it up when it's released on DVD for $30.
or you could just, y'know, netflix it and rent some other movies/shows while you're at it

for me, the $15 for hbo is entirely worth it only because of bill maher, everything else on hbo sucks]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21085897 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:28:40 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21083532 patsfan4553 : Just a heads up I called today to upgrade to a MRDVR and they offered Cinemax/HBO for free for a month. Worth a call.Just cancel it after a month.

Enjoy]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21083532 Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:48:55 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21083396 seaquake : It wasn't available to anyone as far as I can tell. Too bad for us...there were a couple of movies I'd like to have seen on Demand but this time it wasn't meant to be. Oh well.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21083396 Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:21:28 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21082754 as2higpark : in case anyone cared:

The response from VZ Direct on why the VOD wasn't available.

I apologize about the delay in our response. I have contacted our Video Group and they did state that HBO/Cinemax VOD should have been available for free previews. Unfortunately, that period is now over. We will however investigate as to why it was not available to you. I truly apologize about this inconvenience.

...so much for a free preview...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21082754 Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:36:06 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21075310 seaquake : My Wife used a VCR last night to record the Blood Ties or whatever that vampire series is that started. I'm sure that will work fine when she watches it.

She inquired about getting HBO. I said not for $22 a month. If you want to see the series that badly you can pick it up when it's released on DVD for $30.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21075310 Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:57:47 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21075095 as2higpark : thats weird...ive done this a few times and it works for me...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21075095 Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:10:00 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21075067 lensterman : I recorded a movie from an previous HBO/Max preview.
When I went to play it about a month later I got a message stating I must have a subscription to view the movie?
The movie would not play?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21075067 Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:04:55 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21074849 as2higpark :
said by Korro See Profile :

Also I recorded a bunch of movies from HBO on my DVR....once the free preview goes away...will I loose access to those movies?
nope...I do that every time there is a preview...works fine...I actually have like 10 movies that I recorded in the last couple days.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21074849 Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:54:34 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21074738 Korro : If they offered HBO for 5.00 like Comcast did for me...I would add it. 14.99 or 21.99 for both. I don't think so. What is crappy is that only the channels were unlocked. Went to watch a On-demand movie saturday night and they were locked. If they are going to have a FREE preview then give me a free preview of everything.

Also I recorded a bunch of movies from HBO on my DVR....once the free preview goes away...will I loose access to those movies? ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21074738 Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:09:06 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21072312 anon : Excellent, I get to watch Transformers tomorrow night at 9pm.

In general though, this free weekend does nothing to make me want to upgrade my level of Service. So many old Movies.....Hot Shots!, Naked Gun, Dazed and Confused, Ferris Bueller, BReakfast Club...etc. I could go on and on....just not worth subscribing for the amount of time I watch tv. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21072312 Sun, 07 Sep 2008 18:12:11 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21070859 icemannyr1 : I believe the free preview is also done for the Encore & Starz and Showtime & Movie Channel packages.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21070859 Sun, 07 Sep 2008 12:38:18 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21070304 darcilicious :
said by TurtleFan See Profile :

How often does Verizon do this? Was the last one around February?
Around March, yeah. »Free HBO/Cinemax Preview]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21070304 Sun, 07 Sep 2008 10:35:51 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21070273 TurtleFan : Aww man, I found it,thanks, and my crummy TV Tuner just stopped working. It stalled during BTTF 2 and stopped all the way during BTTF 3.. It missed Croc Dundee and Mr.bean totally..

My guess is the power outage happened again, as internet was not working at the time I set it up. I spent most of last night watching movies in HD, and it was great :)..

How often does Verizon do this? Was the last one around February?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21070273 Sun, 07 Sep 2008 10:25:37 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21069139 icemannyr1 :
said by TurtleFan See Profile :

Sigh, I can't find Max HD on my Fusion HDTV 5 Tuner.

Anyone know what it's mapped to?
My Fusion 3 is finding Max HD on D1100, RF Channel 110.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21069139 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:56:07 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21069121 TurtleFan : Sigh, I can't find Max HD on my Fusion HDTV 5 Tuner.

Anyone know what it's mapped to? They seem to be spread out in the 300-400's

Wanted to get Mr.Beans holiday in pure HD tommorow]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21069121 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:51:30 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21068469 afiggatt :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

It could also be due to older movies.
eh? Macroblocking has nothing to do with the age of the movie. Movies are [usually] shot on 24 fps 35mm film and have been so since the 1920s. It has to with encoding and bandwidth. HBO and Cinemax have long been known for the lower bit rate of their HD channels that they provide. The main motive is to save money on the satellite bandwidth to the service providers. HBO-HD has never had a really outstanding HD picture because of this, compared to, for example, HDNet Movies.

HBO announced last year that for the new expanded slate of HD channels, that they would distribute all of them in Mpeq-4 to save on satellite bandwidth. Even then, the mpeg-4 was going to be keep down to 8-9 Mbps, IIRC. Verizon, like all cable operators, has to convert the HBO & Cinemax HD from Mpeg-4 to Mpeg-2 which may be introducing some artifacts and macroblocking effects.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21068469 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:29:17 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21068402 JeepMatt : It could also be due to older movies.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21068402 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:11:03 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21068396 icemannyr1 : Anyone else surprised at the amount of macroblocking some of the HBO and Cinemax HD channels have?

Is this simply cause HBO and Cinemax are now delivering more HD channels in the same bandwidth?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21068396 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:10:00 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21065741 Cogdis : My mistake I just saw the commercial again on the on demand channel. It's only for californication free on demand starting 9/12. I wasn't paying close attention and I figured it was for the free trial thing this weekend.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21065741 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:01:21 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21065091 matcarl : You're right, channel 49 does also say On Demand, I didn't notice that the other day. Both are not working here.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21065091 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:52:09 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21065037 Light Guy : I thought this was for HBO and Cinemax. Califorincation is a Showtime series.

Last time HBO had a free preview On Demand was included.

The local weather channel scroll states it Is included.

It also says to check your message center on the main menu for more info, which there is no info. Just some Help message giving false info about the light on the front of the STB lighting up when you have a message]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21065037 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:40:54 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21064153 PJL :
said by darcilicious See Profile :

said by lcjawhit See Profile :

Is the VOD working for anyone? Is that not part of the free preview?
Not for me yet. IIRC, the Showtime VOD *was* available during the free preview earlier this summer though...
Althouh Showtime may have included VOD as part of their preview, HBO/Cinemax are owned by a different corporate giant (Time Warner) and they may not be providing VOD as part of the free weekend. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21064153 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:11:52 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21064147 matcarl : Oh, sorry.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21064147 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:10:46 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21064143 darcilicious : See the post above re: Californication... so the ads at least are saying it should be available...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21064143 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:09:03 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21064112 matcarl : Maybe they aren't enabling On Demand. Last time they specifically said tune to channels... and also have access to On Demand. There was no mention of it this time.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21064112 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:05:31 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21064058 as2higpark : i put in a direct post, I will let you know what i get]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21064058 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:56:19 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21063624 darcilicious : So has anyone called FSC about this yet? I can't do so until I get home in about 5 hours :p]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21063624 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:51:55 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21063590 seaquake : I tried both a Cinemax and HBO VOD and both selections said I was not subscribed to the service. HBO and MAX channels are coming through unblocked, though. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21063590 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:48:14 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21063507 Cogdis :
said by lcjawhit See Profile :

Is the VOD working for anyone? Is that not part of the free preview?
When you go to the on demand channel they're advertising that it's included with the free trial. They're telling people to watch season one of Californication while it's free and then order in time for season 2. I can't tell if it's working though since I'm already subscribed.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21063507 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:36:26 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21063374 Baff :
said by darcilicious See Profile :

IIRC, the Showtime VOD *was* available during the free preview earlier this summer though...
Yes, it was.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21063374 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:16:11 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21062692 darcilicious :
said by lcjawhit See Profile :

Is the VOD working for anyone? Is that not part of the free preview?
Not for me yet. IIRC, the Showtime VOD *was* available during the free preview earlier this summer though...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21062692 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:31:29 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21062545 lcjawhit : Is the VOD working for anyone? Is that not part of the free preview?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21062545 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:07:03 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21062531 sashwa : As darci said this is a Verizon forum and the free preview is for Verizon customers. We do have a forum for TW TV that you can find out info for TW free previews:

»Time Warner Cable TV/Voice
--
TH ~ NE ~ EPN ~ NC ~ TD]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21062531 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:04:25 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21062458 darcilicious :
said by Any :

It's not working for me on Time Warner. D
Uhm... this is the FiOS TV forum -- I'm not sure there's a free preview on Time Warner -- perhaps there's a TW forum where you can go ask?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21062458 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:51:52 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21062349 dt_dc :
said by afiggatt See Profile :

The HBO and Cinemax SD and HD channels are now available to anyone with a clear QAM tuner as of this morning.
"Free Previews" (even things like MLB EI) are generally / usually available via unencrypted QAM via cable providers (specifically, I've seen it with Cox and Comcast but most likely others as well.)

Of course ... special circumstances (a particular cable operator or individual plant policies / implementation ... technical issues like SDV ... bad PSIP ... etc) may prevent this but ... in general that's the case. Generalizations w/ cable providers are always ... problematic.

Good to know, though, that seems to be the case with Verizon too. Thanks.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21062349 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:34:02 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21062290 Lee GWB : Hi,
I called today for the free month. :) I just have to remind myself to cancel before Oct 1,
Lee]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21062290 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:21:42 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21062284 anon : It's not working for me on Time Warner. Do I just tune to these channels, or do I have to click on buy or something. I don't know what to do.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21062284 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:20:37 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21061284 afiggatt : The HBO and Cinemax SD and HD channels are now available to anyone with a clear QAM tuner as of this morning. I did a scan with a Samsung TV which has the useful feature of greying out in the channel list all the scrambled channels (does a second pass to find the unscrambled sub-channels). I think what Verizon does for the free preview periods is not to push out de-encryption codes to all STB/DVRs, but instead just turns off the encryption at the SHE so the STBs and DVRs passes them through and bypasses the normal subscription code checks.

In the Washington Metro market which has not yet gotten the re-alignment, the QAM channels are at:
HBO-HD: 94-612
Cinemax-HD: 110-614
The SD channels appear to be scattered along with other still scrambled sub-channels at QAM 92, 106, 108, 113.

In the markets that have the full slate of HBO and Cinemax HD channels, you or someone else will have to figure out where they are located.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21061284 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:56:25 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21061273 as2higpark : Anyone's OnDemand not working.

My channels work this morning, but the OnDemand still shows 'not subscribed']]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21061273 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:55:03 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21060927 matcarl : It's on here in NY, it's a four day preview. Will be on until early Tuesday morning.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21060927 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:02:13 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21060606 anon : still not on!!!!!!!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21060606 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:33:33 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21060588 icemannyr1 : If the channels are not unlocked now they should be soon.

Usually they turn the channels on at 12am Friday and shut them off I few hours after 12am on Monday so you can catch the end of a movie that starts before 12am.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21060588 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:29:14 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21060344 anon : what time doezs this start ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21060344 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:18:29 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21049462 anon : Cinemax has been advertising about Tru HD which is starting from September 6th.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21049462 Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:44:09 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21049439 matcarl : I saw the scroll on ch 49 today, it said to look for a message soon in the message center for more details.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21049439 Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:34:26 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21047493 boomerd : Woo Hoo! Free Skin-emax for 3 nights!!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21047493 Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:05:39 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21045560 ggma1126 : I am in N Delawar area and they called me today about it left a voice mail as I wasn't home]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21045560 Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:29:43 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21044393 texastown : Thank you for the info. I did not see anything about it and appreciate you giving us the notification.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21044393 Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:07:53 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21042568 chitchatjf : The realigned markets (well NY and Boston) have 14 channels of HBO and 12 of Cinemax. :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21042568 Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:19:51 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21041318 afiggatt :
said by Assault See Profile :

will this be nationwide?
Typically, the free preview weekends have been nationwide. I have not seen any announcements of the preview weekend, but I might have missed it. Also, in the past for the free preview period, the premium channels have the encryption turned off, so they can be viewed by any TV which is using a clear QAM tuner to view Fios channels. I'll have to re-check to see if Verizon has moved them, but for the markets that have NOT been re-aligned, the HD channels were at: QAM 94-xxx: HBO-HD, QAM 110-xxx: Cinemax-HD. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21041318 Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:19:57 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21040745 Assault : will this be nationwide?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21040745 Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:50:33 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21040466 icemannyr1 : One of the local cable ads running is a FiOS ad about the free weekend preview.

Some of the other forums also post the dates for the free previews.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21040466 Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:37:08 EDT Re: HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21039145 Baff : Where do you get this info from?

I don't think I have gotten anything from Verizon about it. Is there some website to watch where previews are announced?

There are several things on this weekend that are in my Netflix queue. There is also a new vampire show (True Blood) starting this weekend on HBO that I was curious about.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21039145 Mon, 01 Sep 2008 05:54:17 EDT HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21038727 icemannyr1 : Just a reminder that FiOS has an HBO & Cinemax Free Preview 9/5 - 9/8. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21038727 Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:56:36 EDT