Hawaii is not an HDTV paradise
by Richard Lawler 
posted May 7th 2006 at 4:58PM
As our commenter BDevorzon noted, a combination of mountain-blocked OTA broadcasts, cable/local affiliate squabbles and limited satellite access combines to make the production home of one of the best HD programs, Lost, very unfriendly for high-definition TV owners. DISH network doesn't provide service to Hawaii at all, and DirecTV has not added locals for the area yet.
Only the ABC affiliate in the area has an agreement with Time Warner Cable to show their high definition signal although negotiations with the others are ongoing. Although they do broadcast OTA, the layout of the islands makes that a tricky or impossible proposition for many. We're trying to muster up the same sympathy for our Hawaiian brethren that we showed for North Carolina residents before the Super Bowl but man they live in Hawaii. If Michigan was located a bit closer to the equator I'd shut the TV off and go outside once in a while. As it is, we at HD Beat probably won't get any closer to the island than a game of Test Drive Unlimited, but we do feel your pain.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
wassim @ May 7th 2006 10:46PM
Do you think anyone from Hawaii reads hdbeat? I'm just curious, cause it would seem doubtful, partly because of the smaller population living there.
Richard Lawler @ May 7th 2006 10:54PM
Check the first link in the post, apparently there is somebody. Personally I'd be on the beach but hey/
BDevorzon @ May 8th 2006 5:29AM
Actually CBS and Fox do broadcast HD OTA, but for live events only. So at least a lucky few of us within reach of the HD signal get to see NFL games in HD. Apparently the problem here is the stations don't want to pony up the dough to buy a HD time shifting recorder that they would need to record the west network feeds to show the programs here in prime time.
pete @ May 8th 2006 3:02PM
I live in hawaii. Its as bad as the post describes. Not only do we get fewer HD channels, Time Warner cost more than Comcast or DirecTV.
The repair service takes 2 week to come out, and it takes at lest 15-20 mins of holding on the phone to reach an operator (I've once was on hold for 45 mins and then gave up). Talk about a monopoly and how we're taken advantage of.
Dan @ May 9th 2006 3:20AM
I'm from Hawaii and I read HD Beat. Pete - I feel your pain! Probably the only cable company you can call and they say "we are unable to answer your call now". I am really looking forward to having more than HDTNT and HDDiscovery channel. I am glad that our internet service rocks though - 5MBit. Thank you Road Runner! .
Outside? What? I am as white as a tourist.
Ed @ Dec 26th 2008 10:50AM
Hi All, I've been working on my father-in-law's house in Kaneohe, trying to work out the OTA issues with digital stations and have had some success, which I'll pass on here. Not sure if anyone will read this, but if I found this article someone else will, right? So here goes. Back in August, I started this project by putting up a regular midsized antenna I purchased from Radio Shack. Finding the antenna was a pain, as only 1 in 3 radio shacks had them. My wife's folks have a hdtv ready tv, so I had to needed to bring an extra tuner from the mainland, but if you have a new tv, the tuner is already built in. I successfully pulled down two digital networks (three Ion stations and the two channel 4 stations which in include reg programming and a weather/traffic update). Not satisfied, I returned to Hawaii this Christmas with a PCT signal booster. This doubled my reception, allowing me to bring in two additional networks (channel 2 and 9). Picture is awesome, but to be honest your local news guys are pretty cheesy. lol. Anyway, good luck to anyone trying to set up free hdtv. Let me know if you need more info.
KC @ Jan 16th 2009 5:47PM
Ed, thanks for the info- I'll be moving to a high rise condo in salt lake on oahu...our unit faces the mountainside, i'm ready to take a chance with an antenna. The HDTV I just bought has a tuner built in...just gonna try out the antenna first and then the PCT signal booster like you mentioned...
Thanks again