North Carolina-based ATMC Cable has just acquired another local cable company, Tele-Media. The agreement will see "the majority of Tele-Media's cable television assets in Brunswick County" becomes ATMC's, and all areas currently served by Tele-Media (save for Bald Head Island) will soon be served by a new master. That means that just over 1,100 customers in the Bricklanding, Shell Point, Holden Beach / Seashore Road and Sunset Harbor / River Run areas will be affected, but judging by the way ATMC has been rolling high-def options out of late, we don't suspect anyone will complain. As it stands, the deal should close in early July, with another 75 - 90 days before the conversion is complete.

Hey, Time Warner Cable. We've been holding back on asking this for awhile, but we just can't button our lips anymore: Ever heard of a little place called Raleigh? You know, that huge, sprawling area also referred to as the Triangle? Evidently not, as the past two updates in North Carolina have been aimed directly at the Greensboro region without nary a pat on the bottom for us folks parked just an hour so down I-40. Nevertheless, we can begrudgingly say that we're very excited that our pals up in Winston-Salem / Forsyth County (and the greater Triad area, from what we can tell) have gained a succulent trio of HD channels: ESPNews HD (565), Disney HD (566) and ABC Family HD (567). No, TWC isn't saying when (if ever) these will filter down to the Triangle, but seriously, our patience is growing exceptionally thin. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

[Thanks, Prime]

Although a Las Vegas station just wrapped a simple analog shutoff drill, the FCC is planning to use Wilmington, North Carolina as the official test bed for the 2009 digital TV transition. Starting on September 8th, all four of the major networks in the greater Wilmington area (around 400,000 residents) will turn off their analog signals and broadcast digital only. As expected, a flurry of advertising will go down beforehand to get residents prepared, but given that they'll be out on the beaches all summer, who knows how many folks will actually pay attention. Interestingly, this trial is just as much about testing to see how many folks get prepared as it is about the technological changes, but broadcasters may still use the trial to move their antennas based on the need for coverage. So yeah, if the world implodes on September 8th, you'll know something went awry on the coast of NC.

[Image courtesy of usdol, thanks Robert]

Our hopes fears are true: Time Warner Cable is indeed initiating a rollout of its new Navigator interface -- at least in the greater Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina region, anyway. According to a note sent out to select subscribers in the area, it's only a matter of time before their set-top-box also becomes overcome with the Navigator. As beautiful as it may look, however, the UI is quite dreadful in actual use. Screen changes are noticeably slower, unmodifiable fade effects are utterly annoying and the black flash that occurs each time you activate / deactivate the menu screen could certainly stand to be omitted. Of course, there are a few additional Parental Control features, but really, we're finding a lot more negatives than positives in the upgrade. How do you see things, dear TWC customers? Are you digging the new Navigator? Do you despise it? Chime in below! [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

[Thanks, krithren]

Seeing a couple of news stations make the leap to HD within one week was pretty cute at first, but this is becoming downright scary. The Triangle's own ABC11 has become the fifth network within the past seven days to transition its local newscasts to high-def. Comically enough, the station is diving in extraordinarily late, as cross-town rival WRAL-TV has been airing its news in HD since 2000 -- yeah, eight years ago. Raleigh residents won't hesitate to boast of having the nation's first HD news station, and at this point, we're wondering if ABC11 can pry the critical eyes of residents away from the station they've been viewing for so long. But hey, we won't kvetch about added competition.

In a move sure to make those in the neighboring Triangle exceedingly envious, Time Warner Cable has seen fit to add in the Discovery suite to its HD lineup just down I-40 in Greensboro / High Point / Winston-Salem. As of today, subscribers in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina can turn their attention to TLC HD (546), Animal Planet HD (547), Science Channel HD (548) and Discovery Channel HD (549). Here in Raleigh, we're still doing without, but hopefully TWC will string the newcomers down sooner rather than later. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

[Thanks, Prime and Mike]

Details are admittedly scant on this at the moment, but what is clear is that SuddenLink Communications is writing a check for $16 million in order to improve services in and around Eastern North Carolina. According to Phil Ahlschlager, SuddenLink's North Carolina Regional Vice President, the capital improvements "will enhance the overall quality and reliability of the company's services." Additionally, the 95,000 or so homes in the area currently using SuddenLink can reportedly expect "faster internet connections, better phone service and more HD channels," though we're not told when the improvements will start nor what high-def channels are slated to get added. Looks like it's wait-and-see from here, sadly.

It's been a nasty battle between Time Warner Cable and Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, with the latter even going so far as to buy airtime on local North Carolina radio stations pleading for consumers to prod the carrier until MASN appeared on its lineup. Thankfully for fans of the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals (among other squads), an FCC-appointed arbitrator has finally ordered TWC to carry the network after finding that it "deliberately discriminated" against the station. What has yet to be determined from the decision, however, is whether or not customers will be forced to pay extra to receive it, and more importantly, whether or not this presumably lucrative outcome will push MASN to finally make the leap to HD (if TWC doesn't appeal and win, that is). As it stands, the O's and Nats are two of only a few MLB teams with a home channel that doesn't air any of its games in high-definition, but if you're impetuously determined to see your Birds in HD, you could always find an empty seat (or ten) at Camden Yards. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

[Via The Wolf Web, image courtesy of Nasty Nats]

Time Warner Cable (partly owned by Time Warner, parent company of AOL, which owns Engadget) has historically been a bit slow to add channels in the Raleigh area, but those situated in the Triangle area of North Carolina now have three additional HD options to enjoy over the break. As of now, TWC customers in and around Raleigh have access to National Geographic HD, HGTV HD and Food Network HD, which can be located on channels 279, 277 and 278, respectively. Also of note, the trifecta is broadcasting now to Wilmington customers as well on channels 968, 966 and 967.