Hi, I'm new to this so please bear with me. I live in Coral Springs & have an SIR-T150 hooked up to my HDTV set. I tried an indoor antenna with limited success, and then switched to an attic antenna (very proud of myself installing this). The antenna is pointed south since most of the stations I can receive are Miami stations. I do receive WFLX (29-1) quite well, approx. a 65% signal. Although this is one of the strongest signals I get, every once in a while it drops to O% for anywhere from a few seconds up to less than a minute. I have played with the positioning of the antenna with the same results. The strange thing is on some nights this does not happen at all. On Sunday for example, I was able to watch the X-files straight through, no drops, same on Monday for Boston Public. Last night, though, I had to switch to WSVN (ugh) for Malcolm as the drops were very frequent. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks for any help - this is a great site.
Barry

Originally posted by renegadeweeb
Hi, I'm new to this so please bear with me. I live in Coral Springs & have an SIR-T150 hooked up to my HDTV set. I tried an indoor antenna with limited success, and then switched to an attic antenna (very proud of myself installing this). The antenna is pointed south since most of the stations I can receive are Miami stations. I do receive WFLX (29-1) quite well, approx. a 65% signal. Although this is one of the strongest signals I get, every once in a while it drops to O% for anywhere from a few seconds up to less than a minute. I have played with the positioning of the antenna with the same results. The strange thing is on some nights this does not happen at all. On Sunday for example, I was able to watch the X-files straight through, no drops, same on Monday for Boston Public. Last night, though, I had to switch to WSVN (ugh) for Malcolm as the drops were very frequent. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks for any help - this is a great site.
Barry

I had this problem for a while, due to the use of a computer in my house that was near the coax from the antenna. If you can't trace it to something within your house causing the interference, it is possible that it is something external to your house. I remember somebody on this forum who had a problem with a neon sign at a gas station, I think...

Folks commonly throw terms like 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i around without specifying the temporal resolution, which can vary.

In ATSC you can have:


480/60i=60 fields per second, yielding 30 interlaced frames per second (the same as analog NTSC video)

480/24p=24 progressive scanned frames per second

480/60p=60 progressive scanned frames per second

720/24p=24 progressive scanned frames per second

720/60p=60 progressive scanned frames per second

1080/60i=60 fields per second, yielding 30 interlaced frames per second

And there's even a provision for:

1080/30p and 1080/60p, although currently it isn't possible to transmit these inside of a 6 MHz bandwidth.

So I'm just being a little more specific in describing what the stations are sending.

Originally posted by aviators99


I remember somebody on this forum who had a problem with a neon sign at a gas station, I think...

That was me! (But it was the neon lighting on the Park Ave. BBQ restaurant near my house.)

Yes, radio frequency interference (RFI), the stuff that causes black and white sparkles in the picture and static in the sound on analog TV can impair digital TV reception and it manifests itself just as you described, Barry: it can cause freezing and intermitent loss of signal.

Impulse noise from man-made sources of RFI is far more common at VHF frequencies than it is in the UHF spectrum but if the UHF signal is low to begin with, as it would be from your distance, it will be more susceptible to interference.

Another source of strong impulse noise is arcing on high-voltage insulators on powerlines. When we go a long time without rain, dirt builds-up on the insulators and acts as a semiconductor, leading to arcing. When the next good rainfall comes, the dirt gets washed away, the arcing subsides and the interference stops.

If you're keenly interested in receiving West Palm Beach stations from Coral Springs you might consider an antenna rotator or, better yet (and cheaper, too) just adding a second dedicated antenna pointing north with a seperate coax and an A/B switch to switch between the two antennas.

Originally posted by james_h
I'm using a Toshiba DST 3000 and a Megwave (non-amplified) antenna. I'm receiving WPBF with a solid signal, and WFLX with a varying signal that looks to be about 70% of 100% at best.

WFLX-DT's transmitter is west of Lantana in east-central Palm Beach County while WPBF-DT is in Martin County so Treasure Coast viewers will need "more antenna" to get WPTV, WPEC, WFLX, WXEL and others that are sited in Palm Beach County with reception comparable to WPBF and WTVX.

David - I think your message got a bit crossed. Based on my signal however, I'll assume WPBF is broadcast from Martin, and WFLX is Lantanna?

Yes, thanks. (I have corrected my post.)

I have some interesting comments on my observations since WFLX and WPBF have come on the air. For my UHF-DT I use a 4 Bay Bow tie antenna, originally aimed at Miami. My signal strength for the three Miami DT was 96-97%. The analog signals for the Miami UHF where excellent, no ghosting, although Ch.51 and 69 where a little weaker than the others, but fully watchable. The Palm Beach analogs had strong signals, but heavy ghosting, specially on WFLX and WXEL. WPBF was weak. When WFLX came on the air, I was getting 50% signal, constantly going down to 0%, so I turned the antenna towards their transmitter (I'm in Boca, about 15 miles from the antenna farm). The signal went to 98%, the ghosting on their analog went away. WXEL comes in perfectly in analog, but WPBF was still weak. The big thing is that I did not lose my Miami stations. I still get 95% signal on WPBT, WFOR, and WBZL. The analog transmissions are still good for most except Ch. 33 and ch. 69, which are weaker, although watchable. The kicker is that WPBF-DT is coming in at 85% signal, no dropouts, perfect, while it's analog companion is not what I would consider very watchable, although there is some interference on that frequency, I believe from a an LP station in the Dade county area (when I'm down there that's all that comes in on Ch. 25). So from this I believe that the 8VSB transmission system is very good for range, lower power penetrates better than analog, but is highly sensitive to multipath(ghosting in the analog world). My experience with WFLX reception showed this flaw.

Best viewing,

Jose W2JD

PS- By the way, for the VHF-DT out of Miami I use a 5 element Ch.7-13 Antennacraft beam, aimed at Miami, and get 86% signals.

aviators99 ,David McRoy & W2JD

Thanks to all for your quick responses. I think I will try turning my antenna 180 deg & see if that works (easiest to try). Don't really want to run another cable, that was a pain. I can't imagine what could be causing the interference, but I must have something. I get lots of interference on my cable feed as well that I assumed originated with the cable company, but now I wonder if that is at my end. I did notice that all the electrical wiring for my air conditioning unit is right in that part of the attic so I wonder if that could be the source. I'll experiment with the air on/off tonight before anything else. Thanks again.
Barry

I too have been playing with my antenna today. I had been using a non-powered megawave oriented roughly south - south east toward West Palm.

I was receiving WPBF at 100% and WFLX at 44% average, high of 51%. I switched to my old faithful channelmaster (or somesuch) rabbit ears with UHF loop, and was able to get WFLX up to 93% average, high of 100%.

I don't figure there's much chance of pulling in the Miami stations. If I could, I guess at a minimum I'd have to go with a roof mounted antenna with rotor, which I'd rather not do yet...

Now that I'm getting a stronger signal from WFLX, my DST 3000 has apparently mapped channel 28-1 to 29-1 and is giving me Channel ID info it didn't give before. I'm not getting any behavior like this from WPBF yet (it's 16-1 and no Channel ID).

WPBF-DT isn't sending data to instruct receivers to remap yet.

Renegadeweeb,

"Cable leakage" is another potential source of interference. It's when the cable TV system in your neighborhood has poor grounding and radiates some of its signal over the air, as well as the system picking up interference from broadcast signals. Cable companies are held to certain standards for this. It might be possible to get them to come out and test for this.

Update on my attempts to solve problem with low cable channels and 'HDTV antenna' grounding...problem worse, more ideas?

I added a "static" bleed thingy...obviously not the official name of it... to the circuit from my attic antenna--down_the_wall->staticthingy->lowband_filter->SIR-T150 cable path but the only (easy) ground nearby was the shield of the Adelphia cable which is grounded outside the house, so the circuit adds EARTH_GND<-Adelphia_cable->staticthingy->VCR->HDTV to the diagram.

Turns out this is worse (who would have guessed that direct coupling would be worse than capacitive coupling ?-).

I checked that the Adephia_Cable shield has continuity to the Earth_ground - fine. So it looks like the static build up on the center conductor is not high enough to discharge across the staticthingy, but high enough to be messing up my low channels (somehow...not sure why this is).

The extra connectors in the HDTV signal path is just enough to make WPBF (off the back of the antenna) unreliable also, so this is getting complicated. Now I have to put the pre-amp back in the circuit or add an antenna switch and a second antenna. I can't believe I'm doing all this for "just television"...

Pogo,

A good way to check for impulse noise interference is to look for "sparklies" in you VHF NTSC pictures. If you see impulse noise in the analog picture and the static discharge unit doesn't fix it then your problem isn't coax static buildup. It may be impulse noise from another source like arcing powerline insulators. As I stated in a previous post this can really get out of hand when we haven't had rain in a while and we have high winds that can blow dirt all over the power grid...the exact conditions that we are experiencing right now in south Florida.

I'm looking at all the VHF NTSCs right now here in Lake Worth and they all look clean but how do they look where you are?

BTW, I just noticed that WPBF-DT's audio problem isn't a simple channel balance error. They're only in DD 2.0 for the time being and the left and right channels are out of phase with each other.

Originally posted by David McRoy
Pogo,

A good way to check for impulse noise interference is to look for "sparklies" in you VHF NTSC pictures. ... all the VHF NTSCs right now here in Lake Worth and they all look clean but how do they look where you are?

Yes, sometimes the problem is organized sparklies, but unplugging and then replugging the "Adelphia_cable->VCR->HDTV" cable clears the image of sparklies and the increased "graininess" of other VHF NTSC channels.

I checked that the Adelphia cable shields are connected to the earth ground, visually and with VOM. What else can I check before I ask Adelphia to help, (which is probably going to cost me)?

Last time Adelphia came out, they unconnected the cable at the VCR, trimmed a little bit off the center conductor, reconnected it and claimed the center conductor "was too long and was shorting inside the unit". Since the problem doesn't come back right away, there is no way to prove them wrong at the moment they are here.

Any word on when WPBF will be broadcasting their Dig signal???

I was just wondering if anyone knows what happened to WHDT? I thought that Gunther had announced they would be 24/7 by May 1st. I can't wait to see Leave it to Beaver in High Definition and pristine monochrome!:D

I still don't see an antenna on Gunther's roof yet. It should be approximately where the old aviation marker mast used to be:

www.whdt.net

They replaced the mast with a large strobe beacon on the north side of the penthouse several months ago.

Meanwhile, WPBF-DT's DD 2.0 audio is in phase now. Still no word on a date for DD 5.1 and ABC-HD passthrough. I'll delve...

WPBF-DT expects to begin passthrough of ABC HD programming in June.

? Does WFLX-DT NOT broadcast all day? The last couple of days, I couldn't seem to pick them up until the evening. (I tried today at 3:45 - no luck, and now at 6:15 I've got them). I know I've picked them up midday last week. Are they testing something, or, could it just be atmospherics, or, do they not start broadcasting until a certain time?

James

They're supposed to be on daily from noon to midnight for now. It's possible that they could be down for tests and maintenance periodically, though.

Thanks Dave!

I'll try WFLX again at noon tomorrow.

Thanks for the news about WPBF hd passthrough. I was hoping they'd be ready by this Sunday for the Dinotopia miniseries ABC is pushing so hard - but I guess that's just too quick...

Oh well.

Anybody else getting machine gun fire for audio on WPLG tonight?

Everything looked and sounded good tonight.

Well, I'm getting loud clicking and popping. It began as soon as NYPD Blue started. Doesn't seem to be my STB (Samsung SIR-T150).

Rudy,

I'm getting the same.

WPLG has a history of audio problems.

I didn't know you guys where here so I'm glad I came across this string. As you can see I'm also in Lake Worth and a home theater hobbyist. My wife thinks I'm nuts (it may be the mini antenna farm in the back of the house) but she does see the difference in a HD program. I will try and read through the old posts and contribute when I can.

This is really weird. It just stopped all of a sudden. Oh well....
By the way, welcome to the local group, Eric.

Originally posted by Rudy1
This is really weird. It just stopped all of a sudden. Oh well....
By the way, welcome to the local group, Eric.


Yes, it stopped about 45 minutes into "NYPD Blue". Same thing last week for the first 15-20 minutes. I have not experienced it on the little other ABC HD ("The Practice") that I watch.

It was coming from the left front speaker. Not during commercials, so it might be a 5.1 problem. No reports of this in the programming forum, so it might be a local situation.

Hi All.

Titantv started listing WHDT as available today - so - I checked it out. I'm getting a weak signal on 59, I'll try tuning the antenna for it later in the day!

Are you seeing a signal at all or just getting a "weak signal" indication? "Weak signal" indication usually means "no signal."

Gunter was granted a SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY on May 1, 2002

http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=601637

PROGRESS TOWARD COMPLETION OF CONSTRUCTION

GUENTER MARKSTEINER, PERMITTEE OF WHDT-DT, HEREIN REQUESTS A BRIEF EXTENSION OF HIS DTV CONSTRUCTION PERMIT IN ORDER TO ALLOW SUFFICIENT TIME FOR REVIEW AND GRANT OF THE REQUEST FOR SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY FILED BY MARKSTEINER ON APRIL 19, 2002, AND FOR COMPLETION OF CONSTRUCTION OF THE FACILITIES REQUESTED THEREIN.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE FACILITIES AUTHORIZED BY WHDT-DT?S CURRENTLY OUTSTANDING CONSTRUCTION PERMIT, FILE NO. BPCDT-19960920LH IS VIRTUALLY COMPLETE. STUDIO FACILITIES HAVE BEEN CONSTRUCTED AND ARE READY TO PUT INTO OPERATION, THE TRANSMITTER HAS BEEN PURCHASED AND IS ON HAND, AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE TOWER TO SUPPORT THE PROPOSED ANTENNA IS VIRTUALLY COMPLETE. THE FINAL SUBSTANTIAL STEP TO BE ACCOMPLISHED IS THE INSTALLATION OF THE ANTENNA ON THE TOWER. DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN THE FINAL INSTALLATION OF THE ANTENNA, COUPLED WITH CONCERNS ABOUT POTENTIAL INSURANCE ISSUES RELATED TO THE NEED TO RESOLVE DEVELOPING AIRSPACE CONCERNS RAISED BY THE AUTHORIZED HEIGHT OF THE ANTENNA SUPPORTING STRUCTURE, HAVE NOW MADE IT CLEAR THAT IT WILL NOT BE FEASIBLE TO COMPLETE CONSTRUCTION OF THE AUTHORIZED FACILITIES BY MAY 1, 2002.

MARKSTEINER REMAINS ANXIOUS TO COMMENCE SERVICE WITH WHDT-DT IN THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE, HOWEVER. TO THAT END, ON APRIL 19, 2002, MARKSTEINER SUBMITTED A REQUEST FOR SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY (?STA?) TO BEGIN OPERATIONS AT AN ALTERNATE SITE. THAT REQUEST IS NOW PENDING. MARKSTEINER ANTICIPATES THAT HE WILL BE ABLE TO BEGIN OPERATIONS WITH THE FACILITIES REQUESTED SHORTLY AFTER GRANT OF THE STA. ACCORDINGLY, MARKSTEINER HEREBY REQUESTS AN EXTENSION OF HIS DTV CONSTRUCTION PERMIT FOR THE BRIEF PERIOD NECESSARY FOR THE COMMISSION?S STAFF TO REVIEW AND GRANT THE REQUESTED STA, AND FOR MARKSTEINER TO COMPLETE THE SIMPLIFIED CONSTRUCTION NECESSARY AT THE ALTERNATE SITE.

http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=100601217&formid=337&fac_num=83929

I just spoke to Gunter. WHDT's STA was issued for their transmitter near Port Salerno (http://100kwatts.tmi.net/cgi-bin/tvtl.pl?calls=WHDT-DT&lat=27-9-8&lon=80-12-53&rad=0). He is currently broadcasting on Channel 59 from this temporary location at 7 PM to 11 PM every night.

I don't think I'll have much luck receiving this low power, distant signal from my location.

He expects that the full power West Palm (Channel 59) and Miami (Channel 44) transmitters will be up and running in June or July. Come Summer, anyone in Broward County should be able to receive both signals.

He is currently negotiating with an unnamed 24 hour High Definition Network. I asked if it was HDnet or Discovery HD Theater. He said no to both; but, indicated it was similar to HDnet.

Originally posted by hardrock
Gunter was granted a SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY on May 1, 2002

http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=601637

<SNIP>

MARKSTEINER REMAINS ANXIOUS TO COMMENCE SERVICE WITH WHDT-DT IN THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE, HOWEVER. TO THAT END, ON APRIL 19, 2002,


http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=100601217&formid=337&fac_num=83929

^^
ANXIOUS: 1. characterized by extreme uneasiness of mine or brooding fear about some contingency: WORRIED. 2. characterized by, resulting from, or causing anxiety.

Many people get anxious/eager confused.

Originally posted by David McRoy
Are you seeing a signal at all or just getting a "weak signal" indication? "Weak signal" indication usually means "no signal."

Hi David.

By "weak" I mean on my Toshiba DST 3000 I'm locking onto something, but, out of a possible reception strength of 100 I'm varying from 3 to 27. Not enough data to form a picture.

Where is WHDT's temporary antenna?

Originally posted by james_h
Where is WHDT's temporary antenna?

Coordinates: 27° 9' 8" N 80° 12' 53" W

http://100kwatts.tmi.net/cgi-bin/tvtl.pl?calls=WHDT-DT&lat=27-9-8&lon=80-12-53&rad=0

http://terraserver.homeadvisor.msn.com/imageinfo.asp?S=10&T=1&X=2889&Y=15018&Z=17&W=2&O=2708055SW&P=Port+Salerno%2C+Florida%2C+United+States

Originally posted by hardrock


Coordinates: 27° 9' 8" N 80° 12' 53" W

http://100kwatts.tmi.net/cgi-bin/tvtl.pl?calls=WHDT-DT&lat=27-9-8&lon=80-12-53&rad=0

http://terraserver.homeadvisor.msn.com/imageinfo.asp?S=10&T=1&X=2889&Y=15018&Z=17&W=2&O=2708055SW&P=Port+Salerno%2C+Florida%2C+United+States

Well,

Port Salerno is right down the street from me, so, I'll turn it on tonight at 7!

I managed to get my signal strength up to 58 out of 100, but, no picture...

Hi everyone.

I have been having problems (I think) with WFLX DT 29-1. It appears to be an analog picture, even though all indications say that it is not. I watched Malcolm In The Middle and the X-Files last sunday, both supposed to be "Widescreen Digital", but I could not see a difference in the analog channel 29 picture and the digital 29-1 picture. WPBF appears on channel 16-1 at 480 resolution and it has a better picture, though not HD or widescreen.
Here is my system:
Mitsubishi WS-55905 RPTV
Mitsubishi SR-HD500 Receiver
Terk TV-50 antenna in attic on local1 in antenna
My Sat-C kit is backordered

I received an email from Butch Figurella, engineer for channel 29, saying that he too lives in Royal Palm Beach and had no problem watching those two shows on Sunday.

This is my second SR-HD500. The first one had problems. I'm starting to think that this one does too. HD works well on DirecTV 199 and 509 though.

Any help would be appreciated.

James,

Were you able to pick up WHDT's signal this evening?

Originally posted by hardrock
James,

Were you able to pick up WHDT's signal this evening?

Hardrock,

I was able to direct my antenna a bit, and get the WHDT signal (channel 59) up to a constant 51 out of 100. But, alas, no picture... I know I can see picture from WFLX when I'm down at the 50 mark, so, I don't know what was up.

Thanx for the info James.

What antenna are you using for OTA?

Originally posted by hardrock
I just spoke to Gunter.

He is currently negotiating with an unnamed 24 hour High Definition Network. I asked if it was HDnet or Discovery HD Theater. He said no to both; but, indicated it was similar to HDnet.

Could this be Action Sports Cable Network (http://ascn.tv)?

I've purchased a Megawave (tuned, non-powered), and, an RCA powered uhf/vhf indoor - but neither of these seems to work as well as an old channelmaster un-powered uhf/vhf. So, I keep coming back to "old faithful".

James

Port Salerno?!

I'll check it out tonight.

Me thinks you have the 5099 bug that some others have (incl. me). Its seems to be a remapping problem. If you maunally punch it 28-01 it will remap to 29-1 with the digital pic but it wont last..Sometimes a few seconds then sometimes a few minutes then it reverts back to the analog signal. If you actually go into the dish setup menu and tell it you have NO dish at all... it will work fine. Many have called about this issue with both Toshiba DST3000 And Mits and Hughes..they are all blaming different people such as Fox, DirecTV, and the STB manufacturers... This has turned into a real pain in the ass to say the least.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=114111&perpage=30&pagenumber=3

same stuff

HTnut, I do have the 5099 update. Entering 28-01 gives me "channel unavailable", as does selecting "no dish".

Thanks for helping though. I will assume that it is the 5099 bug and I will wait for a fix.

:confused:

HT--
I have a slightly snowy picture on analog 29, but an excellent, apparently DT, picture on 29-1, which I can obtain either by dialing direct or as a remap from 28-1. The picture has been holding well for the last 30 minutes.

Signal is at 65-72 with RS beginning VHF/UHF antenna and HD5.

I have a Mitsubishi receiver and the longest ranged VHF,UHF antenna that Radio Shack makes. It is aimed SW. I also have a UHF only antenna and both are mounted on a 2 story building. I live in Palm City so I aimed the UHF antenna to the towers just West of me. I receive both WFLX and WPBF digital channels but I'm having a problem with WPBF. The station pixelizes, signal breaks in and out. The Sat. receiver says I'm getting a 100 % digital signal strength on that channel. No problem with WFLX and I only get a 80 % signal strength. Anyone have an idea whats happening ?

Hi Carl,

I'm across the water from you, and use an indoor antenna. I aim it roughly south to south east and I get WPBF 100%. WFLX is a bit more troublesome, but with some tinkering, I can get to 93%.

On my receiver, I only pixelate when the signal is 100% when I'm checking it, but, then starts to dip as I move around my room, etc.

Have you tried to pick up 59-1 from my direction yet?

James

Hey James,

I thought your suppose to aim your antenna to the west tower for WPBF. I just checked the channel and I still have a 100% signal and now no pixelation. Someone told me to use a signal amp even though I get a 100% reading and it might clear up the problem. Don't know if that would solve it or not. I also have the dreaded mapping problem w/FOX. Digital TV infancy I guess. I have not attemped to get 59-1 yet. Would I need to move antenna?
Carl

Carl,

I'm new to all this, so take anything I say with a grain of salt.

I've been aiming my little round uhf element at the clearest path to where I think the antenna is, and that seems to get me the best signal.

As for 59-1 I'm picking up about a 50% signal, but, I don't see any picture. 59-1 is supposedly being broadcast at low power from a site in Port Salerno for the time being, so, I thought I'd get good reception. Seemed (as of last night), that that isn't the case.

Other people here in the forum are going to check tonight.

And I do get WFLX on 28-1 (at about 93%) and it automatically switched to 29-1. 29-1 shows up with WFLX-DT in my channel selector, 28-1 does not. I think this is the way it's supposed to work.

James

I also get FOX at 93% signal strength. The channel is supposed to switch to 29-1 . The problem I have is it goes analog. I have to tell the receiver I don't have a dish and then it stays digital. Prior posts have mentioned this problem. Does your 16-1 channel pixelate now and then during the daytime only and not at night ? I wonder if it is a WPBF problem.

Does anyone know why I would get pixelation on 16-1 when I get a 95-100 signal reading ?

Well i do know that the switching back to analog thing is a new bug with the 5099 update. As for the pixelation i dont know. Im not watching WPBFDT anyways since they are not passing throught the HD feed yet anyhow

Anyone in Palm Beach or Martin County have any luck with WHDT tonight?

I checked last night and I also have the 5099 bug. Does anyone know who is to blame or better yet has DirecTV or Toshiba taken responsibility? I don't watch FOX 29 much but it would be nice if everything worked as promised.

Is anyone else getting the felling that DirecTV is getting ready to hit us with an HDTV fee based package. They have already told me that HBO HD and Showtime HD are only available to HBO and Showtime subscribers. What do you think they are planning for Discovery HD and HDNet 1,2,3?

If you see pixelation while getting a good signal level it's possible that the station might actually have been"sending" a picture that was pixelated coming in to them. Was this on ABC programming or local programming? Ordinarily if errors occur in the over-the-air transmission you should see a quick dip in signal level...but this may differ on some receivers.

I checked channel 59-1 at 7 p. m. last night but saw no evidence of any signal. It's extremely unlikely that I will ever see a station running 1kW on channel 59 from so far away (Port Salerno) from Lake Worth.

pixelation is when there was a picture, and the update was not received properly.
That is, good old digital signals was not recieved.
This can be caused by a bad signal at the mother station, OR, multiplex problems, or a dip in signal.
All of the problems results in stoppage of video updates.

All the hype about digital better than analog is mostly BS.
Yes, digital does have some good points such as better SNR and higher resolution transmissions, but in general, when trying to see a questionable signal, you just don't know what you have with digital.
If it were analog, you would see interference, ghosting, noise (snow) and partial drop outs.
At least in analog you could see the problem, and then try to correct it.

But, a good solid digital signal does give a better picture than analog.
I was just trying to explain simple problems do maginify themselves in digital.

Its not just the Toshiba STB..its all the Hughes boxes. So far it seems everyone is blaming everyone else.. Nice huh??

My signal dips from 100% to 93% and I get ittermitant pixelation. It is happening to me as I write this post if anyone can check 16-1 and let me know if its just me.

I have been watching 16-1 off and on tonight. No pixelation here. I am seeing the same results on my Mitsubishi HD5 that everyone else is having due to the 5099 update on 29-1. When do you think they will stop finger pointing and fix it?

Maybe its a Palm City/Stuart tower problem. Anyone in the North area seeing any pixelation?

I get 16-1 at 100%. The only time I see pixelation is when I start getting momentary drops of signal that go way low. I haven't figured out how far it has to dip, but when it starts happening, I've jumped to my signal strength meter and I'm losing all signal for a second or two, then it jumps back.

On a more fun note: I decided to try picking up WHDT again last night (I'm less than two miles from Port Salerno). I mounted my little uhf antenna in a precarious spot, giving me a constant 51% signal, and, bingo - there was Curt Gowdy on the tube. I don't know if the picture was 720p or 1080i (haven't seen any verfiable 1080i at home yet), but it was glorious.

I watched from 10:35 to 11:35pm. Curt Gowdy was on a show called "Issues and Events", or somesuch - and the commercial spots were filled with little video postcards of locations on the Treasure Coast (They were gorgeous!). After I&E, they played a short movie about a replica of Columbus' ship "The Nina", then played the same episode of I&E again (I couldn't sith through it a second time, no matter how good it looked :) )

James

Forgive me for my numerous posts. I am just trying to get a handle on what is a real mind boggler. I have the Mitsubishi HD500 and a Mits 55WS HD monitor. I receive HBO,SHO,HDTV with no problem, fabulous picture. I receive FOX 28-1 which re-maps me to 29-1 with no problem, excellent picture, no break up, 93% signal strength. Then of course it goes back to analog but that's another story. I receive 16-1 ABC at 100% strength and I consider myself lucky when the picture remains intact. I call it the Pixie channel. Now and then i get great prolonged picture but not for long. If it is not me, which if it is someone tell me what it is, than other people in the Northern area aiming their antennas west to I95 towers should be experiencing the same thing. Anyone out there.........

Originally posted by james_h
I decided to try picking up WHDT again last night. I mounted my little uhf antenna in a precarious spot, giving me a constant 51% signal, and, bingo - there was Curt Gowdy on the tube. I don't know if the picture was 720p or 1080i (haven't seen any verfiable 1080i at home yet), but it was glorious.

James,

Congrats on your success picking up WHDT-DT.

WHDT previously reported that they would be broadcasting a 720p signal. Last time I spoke to Gunter he was touting the exceptional quality of NATIVE 720p over 1080i.

I can't wait to see their broadcast. I just hope they aren't bull****ing again about going full power in June or July.

I live west of 95 on Jog and I don't have any pixcelation problems with 16.1. What should I look for to see if I have the Fox 29.1 problem?

I live west of 95 on Jog and I don't have any pixcelation problems with 16.1. What should I look for to see if I have the Fox 29.1 problem?

I think that it depends on the receiver that you have and if that receiver has taken the "5099" update. My Mitsubishi has this problem. If I enter 29-01 then all I get is the standard analog channel 29 (WFLX). If I enter 28-01 then it will briefly say "channel unavailable" then it will switch to 29-1 digital - for a minute or two, then it drops back to analog. I can go into the "dish setup" and select "No Dish" and enter channel 28-01 and I will get the WFLX digital feed without dropping back to analog.

Previous posts in this thread tell why this is happening. I hope that it is resolved soon.

I didn't receive FOX shows in widescreen tonight on WFLX (Malcolm, X-files). Picture was great, but not widescreen. Anyone else?

Originally posted by hardrock


James,

Congrats on your success picking up WHDT-DT.

WHDT previously reported that they would be broadcasting a 720p signal. Last time I spoke to Gunter he was touting the exceptional quality of NATIVE 720p over 1080i.

I can't wait to see their broadcast. I just hope they aren't bull****ing again about going full power in June or July.

I'm glad to hear that was a 720P signal converted (by my receiver) to 1080i. I figure that means at native 1080i picture might be even sharper! I can't wait to see one! What I saw on WHDT was pretty, but, you can always ask for more, right! :)

I didn't have any luck on Saturday trying to pull them in again, I don't know if that means they're not broadcasting over the weekend...

James,
I think you and I are the only ones North of Palm Beach on this thread. I called the WPBF and told them about my problem. They said they would begin to look into it. Any info on your end would be a great help. I notice if my signal meter stays at 100% and stays there I have no problem, as soon as it fluctuates at all even just a little the channel drops in and out. This happen quite often. Do me a favor and give it a check once and awhile see what you see so I can send more info to the station. Palm Beachers are not having this problem at all. It would be a great help if you notice anything. Thanks
Carl

Originally posted by Carlb7
James,
I think you and I are the only ones North of Palm Beach on this thread. I called the WPBF and told them about my problem. They said they would begin to look into it. Any info on your end would be a great help. I notice if my signal meter stays at 100% and stays there I have no problem, as soon as it fluctuates at all even just a little the channel drops in and out. This happen quite often. Do me a favor and give it a check once and awhile see what you see so I can send more info to the station. Palm Beachers are not having this problem at all. It would be a great help if you notice anything. Thanks
Carl

Carl7b,

I'm off on the road on a work trip. Once I get back, I'd be happy to help in any way I can.

What I've noticed so far with WPBF on my set:

It's pretty easy for me to get a steady 100% signal, just, never in the same spot as I get a good signal on WFLX ;)

When the signal fluctuates, in my location, it seems to fluctuate a lot. I.e. I either get 100% steady, or I get 100%,6%,21%,51%,3%,100%, etc...

I haven't proved this yet, but it seemd to me that 50% is my threshold, anything less, and the picture starts to break up.

Other points: The levels on WPBF's signal seem high. Volume is high, colors are very saturated...

James

I am also having problems with ch16. It seems to come and go with wide fluctuations in signal strenght every few seconds. It does not make a lot of sense. they must be having some hardware problems. Where is the transmitter site?.

I was not able to pick up ch59 at all.

Sandy

Sandy,

Here's a map to WPBF's transmitter:

http://100kwatts.tmi.net/cgi-bin/tvtl.pl?calls=WPBF-DT&lat=27-7-17&lon=80-23-42&rad=0

Coordinates are 27° 7' 17" N 80° 23' 42" W

I am also having problems with their signal. Relocating my antenna about 6 inches lower and 18 inches further North has helped tremendously.

WPBF's signal should improve once they go full power to 1000 kw. They are currently operating with a Special Temporary Authority at 670 kw. The FCC granted their STA on April 22, 2002.

On March 26, 2002, they were granted a 6 month extension beyond May 1 to go to full power.

Satpro, who lives in Melbourne and is on this thread, has reported interference to WPBF-DT from an NTSC translator there that's on channel 16. It repeats the analog signal from WESH-TV in Orlando. Bothe WESH and WPBF are owned by Hearst/Argyle and they may be turning off that translator eventually. Cliff Thomas, the C. E. at WPBF will let us know what the plan is. I don't know if this could be the cause of your problems, but who knows? I haven't had any problems at all here in east-central Palm Beach County, even though I could occasionally just barely receive the translator from here before WPBF-DT signed on.

thanks Hardrock. No wonder I was having problems. My directional antenna was aimed at the Miami antenna farm. Ch 16 is NNW in the completely oposite direction. I think I will stick with ch9.

Sandy,

I should have left well enough alone myself and stuck with WPLG; but, I want to have a back-up for ABC when WPBF starts passing HD - reportedly within the next 4 to 6 weeks.

A Harris engineer has been here testing our DTV transmitter since Wednesday and has had to make some tweaks and adjustments. The primary exciter in the transmitter failed, but the backup unit works.

We've run into a couple of problems that will push back our on-air testing, such as tower loading issues which might require some structural modifications.

Also, we have not yet received our new digital studio-to-transmitter microwave equipment nor our Tandberg ATSC encoder. So, don't look for us on-air this month. (Sure wish I had better news. :rolleyes: )

David, we can wait. I have been waiting for at least 15 years - since I saw High Definition at the Smithsonian in Washington DC.

Hang in there and best of luck.

Thanks...I've been waiting, too, since first seeing HDTV in 1985 myself!

Our Andrew DTV antenna is at the site sitting on the ground until Andrew and Stainless, the tower builder, can come to terms on whether our tower will support the DTV antenna and heliax feedline without structural modifications to the tower. If modifications are necessary there could be delays measurable in months. If not, then we could get on the air as soon as we take delivery on and install and test the ATSC encoder, microwave STL and replacement primary exciter and other ancillary gear that we need to get a signal on the air.

As you can imagine, this stuff is not mass-produced...it's hand-built and suppliers are back-ordered due to the fact that so many broadcasters waited to order equipment rather late. Most of our stuff was bought and paid for a year ago and we're still waiting for some of it.

We'll get there, guys..."Please Stand By.";)

Hi All.

Is it just me, or, are WPBF-DT's sound and color levels way high?

Hi all,
Does anyone know when the local station for NBC will start digital transmitting, Ours WTVJ is not in the horizon ....:)

According to an exhibit filed with the FCC by WPTV-DT Channel 55, they expect to be broadcasting before September 30. On March 27, 2002, they were granted an extension to November 1.

http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getattachment_exh.cgi?exhibit_id=60848

Per Paul Russell, Director of Operations & Engineering for WTVJ-DT, they expect to begin broadcasting before WPTV-DT.

Phone: (954) 622-6000

Technical Operations techops@nbc6.net

http://www.broadcast.net/~sbe53/new_images/julymeet9.jpg

I'll be satisfied with one NBC station within the next four (4) months; and, it would appear that WTVJ-DT is a safer bet.

I think we all need to contact Diane Zipursky, Vice President, Washington Law and Policy at NBC. She represents WTVJ-DT on behalf of NBC Stations Management, Inc.

Phone: (202) 637-4535
Fax: (202) 637-4530

DIANE.ZIPURSKY@NBC.COM

http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6512565497

As it stands right now, we can look forward to 11 hours of primetime programming plus 5 hours of Jay Leno each week:

Primetime Schedule:

Mondays
10:00 - Crossing Jordan - 1 hour

Tuesdays
8:00 - In-Laws - Half hour
9:00 - Frasier - Half hour
9:30 - Hidden Hills - Half hour

Wednesdays
9:00 - The West Wing - 1 hour
10:00 - Law & Order - 1 hour

Thursdays
8:00 - Friends - Half hour
9:00 - Will & Grace - Half hour
9:30 - Good Morning Miami - Half hour
10:00 - ER - 1 hour

Fridays
10:00 - Law & Order: SVU - 1 hour

Sundays
8:00 - American Dreams - 1 hour
9:00 - Law & Order: CI - 1 hour
10:00 - Boomtown - 1 hour

Total - 11 hours

New Shows:

http://www.nbc.com/primetime_preview/images/inlaws_3.jpg

http://www.nbc.com/primetime_preview/images/hiddenhills_2.jpg

http://www.nbc.com/primetime_preview/images/miami_2.jpg

http://www.nbc.com/primetime_preview/images/american_3.jpg

http://www.nbc.com/primetime_preview/images/boomtown_3.jpg

FCC report and order adopted April 17, 2002 regarding WHDT-DT and WPTV-DT:

http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2002/db0422/DA-02-893A1.pdf

Originally posted by james_h
Hi All.

Is it just me, or, are WPBF-DT's sound and color levels way high?

WBPF's color levels look just fine in Delray Beach. However, I agree that the sound levels are much higher than other stations. In general, when viewing the same network programming, WPLG in Miami looks slightly better than WPBF. WPBF looks like they have the constrast slightly low and the brightness slightly high.

Tony

Is WPTV testing yet, or was this just a promised schedule?

Hi all.

Titantv now shows WPEC-DT as coming online July 15th (Was June 15th).

Any news on when WPBF will begin passing HD? (I'm eager to see a 1080i broadcast!)

Also, anyone else watching WHDT's programming (limited as it is?)

I don't know where Titan TV gets their information...I work at WPEC and I have no clue exactly when we'll be on the air!

I can tell you that we're busy instaling a new diversity digital STL microwave link that will carry our NTSC and ATSC service to the transmitter site. But our tower will likely need reinforcement before we can install the DTV antenna. We're just hoping for sometime this summer.

WPBF-DT was to start HD and Dobly Digital 5.1 passthrough from ABC sometime this month.

I'd be interested in your assesment of WHDT's programming since we can't receive it down here. I still stake-out Gunther's roof in West Palm Beach for any sign of activity but still nothing.

"HOPEFULLY" this summer??? This info blows :(

Yes, it does. We are not happy campers about this, either.

Originally posted by David McRoy

I'd be interested in your assesment of WHDT's programming since we can't receive it down here. I still stake-out Gunther's roof in West Palm Beach for any sign of activity but still nothing.

Thanks for the info David -

As far as WHDT's programming; they are obviously still just in testing mode. They have a few episodes of a few shows that they repeat. In place of commercials, they show what I call video postcards (similar to the sign-off video CBS' "Sunday Morning" show does, pretty visual shots of serene scenes) of areas around the Treasure Coast.

Their broadcast schedule (all from their test antenna in Stuart) isn't fixed. Sometimes they broadcast just a test pattern, and sometimes they cycle through their limited shows.

To date, I've seen the following shows :

Sports interview show - Interviewing Curt Gowdy
Eyeglass infomercial - Edward Beiner (sp?) eyeglass specialist
Interview with a dentist who turned sculpter
A PBS-like documentary on "The Nina" a working reproduction of Columbus' ship

In a WHDT commercial, I saw hints of an interview with Al Hague - and a couple of others - so I expect more material has been produced - they're just not airing it yet.

The shows look great, and I'm looking forward the day they move to WPB and start regular programming.

It's great to see what my tv is capable of, but, I really look forward to your station coming on-line! :cool:

Hi all.

I got all excited yesterday. WPBF seems to be stretching their SD stuff to 16:9 now. I thought that might be a precursor to showing some 1080i stuff, but, no luck last night.

I was happy to see my screen was full of WPBF as well. This has to be a good sign. I still have problems with that station during the day but at night the signal strength is strong. Living practically under their transmitting tower I don't know why I have the that problem! I'm trying to bring in channel 59-1 with no success. I have my UHF antenna aimed toward Port Salerno and it is elevated about 30' in the air. Is their signal so weak it won't even reach Palm City ?:(

Anybody who has the remapping issue with WFLX since the last update find a resolution yet? I havent! Drives me crazy even though theres not much on Fox that i wanna see..

I have the MitsHD5 and I used to have the same problem. Now I go to 28-1 and it stays there, doesn't go to 29-1. I don't know why. Anyone else have this happen ?

Yes. My Mitsubishi HD5 HDTV tuner now stays on channel 28-1. I thought it was due to the fact that I added the SAT-C (3rd LNB) to the dish though. On your HD5 you may need to reload the "Advanced Program Guide". Do that by pressing the "Action" button - wait 3 seconds - press the power button. I don't think that FOX has any 1080I broadcasts but what I have seen has been better than analog.

The West Palm Beach Bush Basher newspaper has a feature about HDTV in Sunday's business section. Angelo's picture and everything.

Cheers to WPBF and WFLX for getting it done on time.

Electricpickle:

Which paper is that? I'd like to go buy it...

Ive got the Toshiba DST3000 (same as HD5) but i still have the remapping prob. I'll try again with the program guide but i dont think so..

Originally posted by Carlb7
I have the MitsHD5 and I used to have the same problem. Now I go to 28-1 and it stays there, doesn't go to 29-1. I don't know why. Anyone else have this happen ?


No earlier than two days ago, My HD5 instantly retuned 28-1 to 29-1. Checking today after perusing this thread revealed that that is no longer the case.

There is now a digital picture on both channels when tuned either manually or via the channel/page button. This is the same as what occurs with other local digital channels.

Here's the article by By Susan Port, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer - Sunday, June 9, 2002

High-definition TV coming -- eventually

The public might be slow to accept it, but local television stations are nonetheless keeping pace with a technological revolution.

One by one, the stations are beginning to offer high-definition broadcasts through a digital signal, leaving behind the mainstay analog signal that has served TV stations since 1939.

WFLX-Channel 29, a Fox affiliate, and WPBF-Channel 25, an ABC affiliate, spent millions on new equipment to meet a May 1 digital-broadcast deadline set by the Federal Communications Commission. (Public broadcasting stations such as WXEL-Channel 42 in Boynton Beach were given an extra year.)

The deadline was missed by WPEC-Channel 12, a CBS affiliate; WPTV-Channel 5, an NBC affiliate; WTVX-Channel 33, a UPN affiliate; and WPXP-Channel 67, an affiliate of West Palm Beach-based Paxson Communications Corp.

All four said they plan to transmit digital signals and some high-definition programming by the end of the year.

But most people won't be able to tell.

Viewers only will be able to pick up high-definition programming with an outside antenna and an HDTV set with a tuner. Viewers could pick up the digital signal on their standard analog sets if they have a tuner, or a converter that sells for $400, but they won't get high-definition quality unless they have a wide-screen HDTV set.

Adelphia Communications Corp., the dominant cable TV company in the area, doesn't plan to pick up the digital signal until enough of their subscribers have an HDTV set. Meanwhile, local television stations say TV manufacturers should only make sets that can pick up a digital signal to speed up the transition.

Congress is trying to push the transition because TV broadcasters are taking up valuable spectrum space that they would like to use for third-generation, or 3-G, wireless communications or defense programs.

HDTV, where you can see in great clarity things such as an individual blade of grass or even scratches on a hockey puck, will be eventually coming to every TV viewer, though it might not happen soon.

"It took 24 years before half the sets in America were color," said Dennis Wharton, senior vice president of the National Association of Broadcasters in Washington. "It does take time for viewers to swap their television sets."

HDTV still costly

In 1996, Congress ordered all of the nation's approximately 1,600 public and commercial TV stations to change their broadcast signals from analog to digital, wide-screen images by 2006, or until 85 percent of households had the ability to pick up a digital signal, said Margo Davenport, an FCC senior attorney.

So far, 429 stations nationally are transmitting a digital signal in tandem with analog and that number gets bigger every day, Wharton said.

"We are steadily seeing stations converting all over the country to digital," he said. "It's encouraging. The benefits are sound clarity and picture quality, which are quite dramatic over time."

But the barriers are substantial. Not only are cable providers such as Adelphia not required to carry the signal, but HDTV sets are quite costly, ranging from $1,200 to $8,000.

What's more, television broadcasters are still struggling with an industrywide advertising slump that has dramatically affected their revenues. National, as well as local station owners have already had to trim staffs and cut back on programming.

"The FCC is asking TV stations under financial pressure to go out and spend money on equipment to put out a digital signal that not a lot of people will be able to watch," said John Spinola, station manager at WFLX. "The more stations that can pass a digital signal, the quicker it will happen. It will just take time to build."

Conversion isn't cheap

WFLX was the first station in West Palm Beach to transmit a digital signal, Spinola said, adding that it cost about $3 million to do it. He said the station had to pay for new equipment such as a transmitter, a converter and an antenna.

WPBF spent about $2 million to start transmitting in digital, said Cliff Thomas, the station's director of technical operations. He said high-definition transmits twice the amount of data as analog, which accounts for the extra detail that viewers can see.

"It will take a while to get this whole facility digital," he said.

WHDT-Channel 59 of Stuart, which is owned by Guenter Marksteiner and affiliated with the Berlin-based Deutsche Welle network, also is carrying a digital signal in Martin County.

To be sure, more consumers are buying -- as more retailers are pushing -- HDTV sets, especially as prices continue to come down.

Matt Gelling, a manager at the Circuit City store on Okeechobee Boulevard, said the West Palm Beach store is selling an increasing number of sets.

For competitive reasons, he declined to give specific numbers, but said, "It's becoming more and more popular. (Consumers) see the benefits of having an HDTV ready for the future."

But few observers believe that a switch to all-digital broadcasting will occur by the 2006 deadline. Nationwide, fewer than 2 million households in the United States have HDTV sets. And locally, only about 30 to 40 hours of high-definition television, taped by the networks, can be seen on HDTV sets.

"It will be a process, not an event," said Bill Peterson, station manager for WPTV. "The general awareness of the public is becoming much greater."

Peterson estimated the number of people in the market who own HDTV sets is in the low thousands, while there are 681,100 TV households in Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties. His station will spend close to $8 million to build a new tower, digital cameras and other equipment for the new signal.

"I think cable plays a big role in whether it's an easy transition," Peterson said.

Cable resists switch

However, cable providers are limited, as well. For example, Adelphia, which serves 575,000 viewers locally, does not have the capacity to pick up two signals from stations, according to Adelphia government affairs coordinator Chuck Blaine.

He said the FCC gave broadcasters a choice: They could have their digital or analog signals transmitted under a "must-carry" rule, but not both.

"To make room for digital, we would have to knock out 50 other channels for each station to have two channels," he said. "It doesn't make sense in the customer's eyes until there are enough HDTV sets out there."

Marc Smith, a spokesman for the Washington-based National Cable Television Association, said cable providers have started carrying digital stations in selected markets, but "it depends on the market demand.

"It depends on if people are banging on the door saying 'I want high-definition,' " he added. "Are people screaming for it? Or are they asking for programming, and willing to compromise on the quality of the picture?"

Satellite dish users are able to receive broadcast digital signals with the use of a separate antenna, but they still need an HDTV set for high-definition viewing. Thomas of WBPF said he expects Adelphia to pick up the digital signal to remain competitive with the dish companies.

Pax may add stations

Donn Colee, program director at WPEC, said the CBS affiliate had equipment problems that has delayed the launch of its digital signal until the end of the summer.

It makes sense for stations to start transmitting digital signals, he said, to spur consumers to buy HDTV sets.

"It's a force wave of the future," Colee said. "Everyone is required to invest in the equipment and technology. It's going to happen.

"It's just a question of when consumers will buy enough television sets to make it a viable business."

Seth Grossman, executive vice president and chief strategic officer at Paxson, said PAX TV plans to lease a tower that NBC, which owns 32 percent of Paxson, is building for Pax's 65 stations. He said most of the programming will be so-called standard digital, which offers an upgraded analog picture but not true high-definition. The tower will allow Paxson to add five more stations, Grossman said.

"As soon as the tower is up, we are in business," he said. WPTV's Peterson said he's a big fan of high-definition TV, and sees a return to the days when seeing what was on the tube was an out-of-the-ordinary experience.

"I think high-definition is going to make TV kind of special again," he said.

http://www.gopbi.com/partners/pbpost/epaper/editions/today/business_d31003ba752461b6008f.html

Hardrock,

Thanks for posting the article. It seems to have several inaccuracies, eh! Oh well.

As for WPBF last night - I was so bummed. I figured "ALIAS" would be my first view of network HD - wrong - just some more stretched SD. Oh well, patience is a virtue (they say) :) I wound up watching that "Bachelorettes in Alaska" show, simply because the (480p?) looked so good...

Pretty accurate article.

ElectricPickle: Some public leaders just need bashin' sometimes!;)

Originally posted by David McRoy
Pretty accurate article.


I was just picking on the "outdoor antenna" requirement :)

David Mcroy, James_H:

I should have called them by their real name but I just can't. And I apologize because this is not a political forum. Suffice it to say that the talk here should be that everyone should let their politicians know that they have invested in HDTV and would like to enjoy it to it's full potential. Also let your local broadcasters and networks know that you have HDTV because they too have to make a large investment to bring it about.

Off of soapbox.

WJBJR: My HD5 does not receive WFLX digital on 29-1, only on 28-1. Yours does?

ElectricPickle:

"WJBJR: My HD5 does not receive WFLX digital on 29-1, only on 28-1. Yours does?"

Yes

My DST receives it on 28-1 if i put that in manually. It will then map to 29-1 but wont last. 29-1 will revert back to analog 29 within a few minutes or if i change channels. The only way to make it map right is to tell the unit i have NO dish. I tried all possible resets.unplugged for two days yada yada yada.. NOTHING HELPS MY WFLX REMAPPING ISSUE!!!!

Why is WPBF stretching all of their 4-3 pictures to 16-9. It makes everything look just horrible and unwatchable in my opinion. We had to go thru this with WFOR in Miami for quite a while before they started do it right. How long is it going to take for WPBF to wake up?

Tony

At least they are just stretching the analog signal.. We'll see what they do when they actually send a dig signal

Originally posted by HTnut
My DST receives it on 28-1 if i put that in manually. It will then map to 29-1 but wont last. 29-1 will revert back to analog 29 within a few minutes or if i change channels. The only way to make it map right is to tell the unit i have NO dish. I tried all possible resets.unplugged for two days yada yada yada.. NOTHING HELPS MY WFLX REMAPPING ISSUE!!!!


If I were you, I would take a Xanax, relax and watch it on 28-1.

HtNut: NOTHING HELPS MY WFLX REMAPPING ISSUE!!!!

I had the same problem until I installed the "SAT-C" LNB (the third LNB) in order to receive DIRECTV Showtime. Once I set the receiver to use the 110 degree satellite WFLX remapped to 28-1 digital. I still get 29-1 but it is always analog. Further back in this thread it was explained that the last update is what screwed things up. :eek:
Have you tried setting your receiver to use the 110 satellite and rebooting it?

wjbjr you apparently didn't read through my post. I cannot watch it on 28-1 either. 28-1 remaps to 29-1 but wont stay there..it reverts to analog..so you sir take a xanax and relax..

Originally posted by HTnut
wjbjr you apparently didn't read through my post. I cannot watch it on 28-1 either. 28-1 remaps to 29-1 but wont stay there..it reverts to analog..so you sir take a xanax and relax..


Sorry, I did misread your post. That's what too much Xanax will do to one. My suggestion was intended to be in jest, in the belief that you did have 28-1 in digital. If possible, I would be happy to bequeath one of my two digital versions to you.

Adelphia Communications Corp., the dominant cable TV company in the area, doesn't plan to pick up the digital signal until enough of their subscribers have an HDTV set.

AND HOW DOES ADELPHIA THINK THEY WILL FIND OUT IF THEIR SUBSCRIBERS HAVE HDTV ???????

This is an Adelphia BS statement!

sorry for being short fused wjbjr.. Im just frustrated with this ongoing problem.. At least its only happening on a station thats not HD anyway.. Hopefully when WPEC eventually gets on the air it wont give me the same prob..

Tony and All,

If you object to WPBF-DT stretching 4:3 images to fill the 16:9 raster (as do I, BTW) then by all means call them and let them know. Contact their Chief Engineer, Cliff Thomas. I think you'll find him very responsive to your concerns.

HTNut,

Why not call Butch Figurella, the C. E. at WFLX? Tell him about your problem with your receiver. Perhaps there is something strange about the way your receiver is reacting to the PSIP data that WFLX-DT is sending?

Thanks Dave, I'll try that.. I tend to think that is where the problem lies. All the folks on the New York thread with the same problem on their Fox DT station have all been fixed... Just started working right one day..

I think it is people that are major concerned of screen burn.
If during the week, you watch with black sides for more than 20% - 25% of the time, it may be a concern. (on the average)

BUT, I believe that the non-stretch is better, so we the consumers can decide to watch the analog version which is stretch (set on my TV), or watch the digital that has correct aspec ratio.

WFOR did this, and after a feud and bout with emails, the subcombed to non-stretch.

Thank God!

As suggested, I called Cliff Thomas and he said he has this on the list to think about. However, he said that most people are complaining about the black bars. Therefore the more input he gets to stop streching, the more he will be inclined to do it. He claims that some set top boxes can restore normal proportions with black bars if you want them. I don't see how this can be done. If I restore normal proportions with my Dish 6000 and Mitsubishi, I have lost the top and bottom of the picture. NOT a good solution.
Tony

I vote or gray side panels o 4:3 programming. There's almost no chance of uneven phosphor burn and correct picture geometry is maintained.

Originally posted by tonyv
As suggested, I called Cliff Thomas and he said he has this on the list to think about. However, he said that most people are complaining about the black bars. Therefore the more input he gets to stop streching, the more he will be inclined to do it. He claims that some set top boxes can restore normal proportions with black bars if you want them. I don't see how this can be done. If I restore normal proportions with my Dish 6000 and Mitsubishi, I have lost the top and bottom of the picture. NOT a good solution.
Tony

On my Samsung SIR-T150, when the station stretches the 4:3 material and I go into the screen format menu for 16:9 TVs I can restore the correct geometry AND use the STB's self-generated gray bars by selecting "Pillar Box". I believe this is the way most STBs are designed. If so, stretching 4:3 material to fill a 16:9 screen is the best way to avoid burn-in while giving those who object to distorted images the option of using their STBs to generate the more desirable gray bars. Dave, this may be something you engineer types ought to look into....switching to the analog feed of a particular station is not an option for those of us with either poor cable reception on those channels or the total lack of them (I don't get WFLX on my cable system).

You're lucky, Rudy. Most STBs don't facilitate such changes at all when receiving 720p or 1080i...you're locked into whatever is being transmitted with no ability to insert gray side panels.

I can't imagine why anyone would invest thousands of dollars in an HDTV to watch horribly distorted pictures, but I guess it takes all kinds. Lets hope WPBF sees the light and starts transmitting 4:3 material in its correct format like all of the rest of the stations.
Tony

Well WFLX is now doing the same thing as WPBF. I prefer 4:3 for non-digital broadcasts. If I want the picture stretched I prefer to do it myself.

Since when have broadcasters cared about burn-in of your TV? They still have those ridiculous logos always in the same spot. Some of them so bright and animated that it distracts you from the program.

Originally posted by David McRoy
You're lucky, Rudy. Most STBs don't facilitate such changes at all when receiving 720p or 1080i...you're locked into whatever is being transmitted with no ability to insert gray side panels.

Dave,
I'm quite surprised to learn this. I was under the impression that all HD STBs had this function. In fact, I am almost 100% sure that I tried this once with a Mitsubishi SR-HD400 (back when WFOR was stretching their 4:3 material) and it worked just fine. Since it is going to be quite some time before all TV programs are broadcast in 16:9, I think having this capability in every STB and broadcasting stretched images is the most appropriate solution to avoid screen burn-in. I can understand ElectricPickle & tonyv's points of view, but I think the whole idea behind even trying to tune into a digital channel is to avoid the analog broadcast altogether and thus obtain a sharper, cleaner image. I never watch the analog signals from WSVN, WFOR or WPLG.

I don't find the stretched 4:3 images particularly appealing either, but I'm not exactly thrilled by the prospect of screen burn-in. I think it is unfair for some to expect both the digital and the analog broadcasts (of 4:3 material) to be in its original aspect ratio when none of our locals are using gray bars. 720p and 1080i broadcasts are supposed to be 16:9; if a station cannot do so they should at least use gray bars if they're not going to stretch the 4:3 image.

I realize how strongly many here feel about the handling of 4:3 images, and it is not my intention to start another little war going. Personally, if there is something on that I absolutely MUST watch and the station is broadcasting a 4:3 image with black bars, I simply go into my STB's menu and change the screen format...at least I have that option. But on the other hand I could just change channels and watch something else, and only tune into that other channel when they're airing actual 16:9 material. This is what I frequently do with WFOR and WPLG, and I've shared this fact with their respective chief engineers. Avoiding screen burn-in is much more important to me than viewing "horribly distorted pictures". Everything I watch on cable is either zoomed or stretched to fill the screen. It may not be the way for everybody, but it works for me.

Originally posted by ElectricPickle
Well WFLX is now doing the same thing as WPBF. I prefer 4:3 for non-digital broadcasts. If I want the picture stretched I prefer to do it myself.



I just checked out WFLX a few minutes ago and their 4:3 picture was in correct proportions - NOT streched.

Tony

WFLX was stretched yesterday but not today. They are still testing everything I assume. Does anyone else get "lag" or a 2 second loss of signal from time to time on WFLX? I get 98 to 100 percent on the signal meter. Sometimes it's just not watchable. :confused:

Rudy,

Most ATSC STBs only allow zooming, stretching or gray side panel generation when viewing the 480i standard-definition output. Only a few don't simply "lock" you into the 16:9 raster when viewing 720p or 1080i prgramming via the STB's HD component or RGBHV outputs. To zoom, stretch or generate side panels on 720p or 1080i signals you have to switch to the downconverted 480i S-video or composite NTSC output of the STB.

This is why it is so important that stations that are transmitting a 720p or 1080i signal not stretch the image. If they are so concerned about phosphor burn they should generate gray side panels when upconverting 4:3 SD pictures.

Some stations do a partial zoom and partial stretch to create a compromise 14:9 image with small black side panels and this has met with mixed approval/disapproval among viewers in markets where this is being done.

Hitachi did quite a bit of research on this problem several years ago and discovered that the only sure-fire way of preventing uneven phosphor burn caused by displaying 4:3 images on a 16:9 display is to generate gray side panels that change slightly in intensity with average picture brightness. (and of course avoiding over-driving the display with excessive contrast.)

By the way, uneven pixel wear on plasma displays is an even bigger problem than uneven phosphor wear on CRT-based displays. And of course it's more of a problem with front- and rear-projection CRTs than it is with direct-view CRTs since projection CRTs have to be driven harder for a given brightness level for viewing.

Originally posted by ElectricPickle
WFLX was stretched yesterday but not today. They are still testing everything I assume. Does anyone else get "lag" or a 2 second loss of signal from time to time on WFLX? I get 98 to 100 percent on the signal meter. Sometimes it's just not watchable. :confused:

I do notice a transient loss of signal on WFLX - Example - during their news program, whenever they flash one of their full screen logos between segments (lots of blue, and a spinning camera, etc.) my picture breaks up. I assumed this has something to do with too much data coming through too quickly?

Dave,

Thanks for the explanation. I suppose things won't change until CE manufacturers stop producing 4:3 sets.
Rudy

Originally posted by james_h


I do notice a transient loss of signal on WFLX - Example - during their news program, whenever they flash one of their full screen logos between segments (lots of blue, and a spinning camera, etc.) my picture breaks up. I assumed this has something to do with too much data coming through too quickly?

Thanks for the heads-up. I'll try to look for that.

Originally posted by Rudy1


Avoiding screen burn-in is much more important to me than viewing "horribly distorted pictures". Everything I watch on cable is either zoomed or stretched to fill the screen. It may not be the way for everybody, but it works for me.

I suppose most of you out there will think that I am some kind of nut (maybe not too far from the truth), but here is my personal solution to the burn in problem:

Using either the Dish 6000 or my 65" Mitsubishi depending upon whether the program is in SD or HD, I can add gray bars to any properly proportioned 4:3 video. However, Mitsubishi claims in the instruction manual that this will still cause uneven CRT wear and is not covered by warranty. Probably most of this is CYA on their part, but since I made such a big investment, I really want to protect it.

Therefore, I bought another 32" good grade TV and I use it for most of the run of the mill 4:3 watching. Since the Dish 6000 has no channel 3/4 output, I take the SD S-Video output of the Dish 6000 and run it to my VCR and use its channel 3 output to feed the 32" TV and 3 other TVs in the house. Using the Dish zoom function this gives me a perfectly proportion 4:3 picture. I get all of my satellite stations and all of the local digital stations. The image on the 32" TV is slightly better than my cable service. Obviously, this does cause a slight physical space problem in my living room and is probably not for most people. The 32" TV is on wheels and easily pushed out of the way.

Obviously for any real HD programs I use the 65" Mitsubishi in all its glory. If I ever do have occaision to watch 4:3 material on the Mitsubishi, I add the gray bars. Perhaps some of you will think I need therapy, but I just can't stand to watch 4:3 material stretched to 16:9. When the station (WPBF) stretches their 4:3 material I really get a double stretch on my normal TVs. Thank God I have WPLG in Miami for an alternate ABC outlet and I won't be watching WPBF until they get it right!

Thanks Dave for all of your expert and informative input!

Tony

I liked what ABC used to do, and that is in 16:9 mode if they had to put up a 4:3, they put blue with ABC logo on the side. Maybe it can be grey or something, but you can't change the sides on a Mits HD5 in 1080I mode.

I agree that you can't insert gray panels in HD mode on the Mitsu, but I am using the Dish 6000 to drive the Mitsu which allows some limited formatting on its output. One of those is to add gray panels. I guess that we will have to put up with all of these differences between TVs and STB until some standardization is established and everybody sticks to them.

Tony

Why do you think Mits does not use grey for black panels?
Do you think owners and viewers would rather have black than grey?

Then this may be only a projection TV problem which may not be the masses?

There was an article in last weekend's paper that Channel 25 (WPBF ABC) and Channel 29 (FOX) have started broadcasting a DTV signal.

The CBS and NBC stations were said to be bringing their digital signals up by the end of summer.

Incidentally, that DW building on the link below, is in front of my townhouse, and adjacent to my office.

Convienient eh?

I am in the process of trying to get a HDTV receiver. I tried to buy a Panasonic HDS20 decoder at brandsmart for $298 but they said I would have to subscribe to directv.

These home theatre pc's also look interesting!

Ed on Embassy
next to Forum Place in West Palm Beach

Originally posted by George33027
Why do you think Mits does not use grey for black panels?
Do you think owners and viewers would rather have black than grey?

Then this may be only a projection TV problem which may not be the masses?

George
I have no idea why Mits does not allow any formatting in HD mode. I think it is an oversight on their part. Luckily my Dish 6000 will put the gray bars in for me. As far as best appearance goes, I would prefer the black bars, but knowing the reason for the gray bars, I have NO objection to them.

Although the CRTs in direct view TVs are not driven as hard as in projection TVs I believe they still have the same problem to a lesser extent. I have no direct view TVs that will show HD, so I really don't know much about this.

Tony

HDTV in spanish. Channel 52.2

Originally posted by friendlytrader
HDTV in spanish. Channel 52.2

You Might want to take this back ....
I don't see anything in HD .. Do You ??:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

OK, am I the only one in Martin or St. Lucie county that has a problem with WPBF 16-1 in the day time ?!? The signal breaks up all day long and "sometimes" it will be strong enough by night to watch. I know its not a problem down in the southern region. Is it a problem to others in the northern counties? Any one else ?!?:confused:

Grey/Black bars.
That is the answer, black looks better, but grey is better for longer viewing.
ANd, Mits forgot about it.
Maybe it may be added in an update.
The real answer is to put out true HD.

Carl,

I have the exactly same problem you described with WPBF; but, I'm in Broward County.

WPBF is currently broadcasting at only 670 kilowatts under a "Special Temporary Authority" that was issued by the FCC on April 22, 2002; and, which expires on October 22, 2002.

I'm sure their coverage area will improve once they complete construction and go to 1000 kilowatts. They received an extension of time which gives them until November 1.

I don't believe either the ABC or FOX WPB affiliate stations are broadcasting the network HD feeds yet. I received an email from Clifford Thomas/WPBF-TV on 6/4/02 saying "We should have the HD from ABC sometime this month." So far I've seen no HD programming.

Im in St Lucie and have no prob with WPBF as far as i can tell. I dont watch it much though since they are not broadcasting HD yet..

Anyone else notice that WFLX-DT went dark from about 8:15 to 9:15 last night?

I was watching the 2002 Music Mania thing (amazing what I'll watch if it's in anything higher than 480i :) ). At 8:15pm - signal went dead - poof - at 9:15pm - back it comes, now in 480i, for a few minutes, then, back to 480p. I guess something must have happened.

Man, I can't wait for WPBF to pass through some HD! I watch every ABC HD show, in the hope that "this'll be the one"!

OK WPBF.. Its now June 24th. Where is the HD feed??????

David, do you by chance have a contact # for Butch Figurella, the C. E. at WFLX?? You had suggested i contact him about the remapping prob on my DST but via email i had no luck..

HTnut,

Originally posted by hardrock
His cell phone is (561) 310-9177.

Now here is a good one for you. I have posted a few threads stating my problems with WPBF and how it kept breaking up on me. I went into menu and cleared my zip code, then cleared all of my channels, then did a re-scan. Low and behold my problem went away. But wait, a new problem arises. I was one of the lucky ones who would punch in 28-1 for the Fox channel and it would not re-map to 29-1 and my channel would stay digital. Now I am like everyone else and it maps to 29-1 and soon goes analog. When will it end?!?:confused: The pain of the digital era. By the way, yes it is a(Mits.HD-5) Hughes receiver.

Same with my HD5. Perhaps we should contact Mitsubishi and file a warranty fix. I have heard from others though that it's a "finger pointing" circle between the hardware manufacturers, the broadcast companies, and the FCC (government). I would think that if enough of us threaten to return our receivers to Mits and Hughes then something will happen. :mad:

Dont forget to add the Toshiba to that list of Hughes clones. I spent abut a half hour on the phone with DTV and dealt with a fairly knowledgable tech who in the end couldnt help me. He finally decided it was a station issue. Toshiba would just gove me an address to send my box for service but i dont think thats the answer either. Its all in DTVs APG. No dish NO PROBLEM. Add dish and load APG, say goodbye to 29-1.. makes no sense to me. I have emailed the guy from WFLX but as of yet have not got back a reply. I dont think im going to call his cell phone though. The DTV guy checked and said he has had no other calls about WPB Fox specifically.. You guys should call them.. Im so sick of this crap.. If this was a channel that was actually transmitting HD i would have went crazy by now for sure

Who changes the programming for the Hughes (Mits, Tos, etc) ?
Is it DirecTV, Hughes, or both?

Another member of this forum has had success with this problem by contacting Ron Garrison at 301-548-6811. He apparently talked with Direct TV and had the problem resolved. I have a call into Hughes and left a message for him. Waiting now for a reply. We all should call and let him know that we all have the same problem.

UPDATE!

Just got off the phone with Ron and he says that he is going to get in touch with Direct TV immediately to fix this problem. He says it is not the 5099 update that is causing this to happen. Originally you could get the OTA digitals with the receiver only, Direct TV wanted to have Full control over what you were able to view in your zip code area. Thus the 5099 update that was required to give this control to Direct TV.
The good news is that Ron said that he has the proper contact at Direct TV to fix this problem. He says to do a soft re-boot to your receivers on Saturday and the problem should be gone. If not try again on Monday, that is when he wants me to call back and let him know how we made out. Lets keep our fingers crossed that we can put this behind us! :)

<CarlB7>
You are a wizard if this works. I was going to call the guy but I will wait and see if he gets it fixed. Thanks for the effort.
:D

Is anyone getting a signal from WPBF? This morning 16-1 was black and as of now still is.

And, speaking of signals, does anyone here know if WFLX is broadcasting at full power yet?

anyone else not getting 16-1 ???

Yes Carl I am getting a signal now, the station was down for most of the day. Hope this answers your question.

Is everyone on vacation ? I hate talking to myself this way.

I'm here Carl. You don't have to talk to yourself. You have to understand that the Palm Beach County broadcasters are still testing DT and they are not 100 percent yet. There will be outages, etc., while they install hardware.

I'm waiting with fingers crossed to see if our IRD gets fixed this weekend. Hang in there.

Why does DirecTV want control over local stations, or , maybe the question should be is:
Why does DirecTV want control over local OTA stations ?
DirecTV (even though it does use the STB) should allow all OTA without any interferece!

Problem is that they do control the software updates!

Nothing yet here on the 29 issue. Anyone else find it working correctly yet?

My Mitsubishi HD5 is still at update 5099.0. Nothing has changed. Time to start a campaign. I'm calling Mitsubishi today and filing a problem report.

I dont think you will see a change in your update status. It will have to do with the Zipcode database..

I called again today and spoke with a different person. I guess Ron went on vacation this week. Anyway he had said that a few people had called (AVS members I presume) and told me he was going to be in touch with Ron today to see how he could resolve the problem (with Direct TV) and would call me back. Stay Tuned !

Please keep us posted Carlb7. Thanx for the effort

Carlb7, (and any other treasure coasters):

Something seems to have changed at WHDT - I'm now receiving their signal at 93% instead of 50%. The boost might mean you may now be able to pick them up. Their schedule is still erratic. They were broadcasting from 5pm yesterday, but who knows about today...

Here is WHDT's cryptic response to an email query from me yesterday in which I asked when they would be at full power (I told them that I live in Lake Worth):

"After we finish equipping the local cable headends which should be in time for the Fall season. You will likely be able to receive WHDT in Lake Worth as early as August, since we will be operating a reduced power in WPB."

Yea, that says it all.
It sounds like "we are working on it"

Boy, you've just got to LOVE the enthusiasm expressed by some broadcasters for the DTV transition. Makes the average consumer just want to rush out and spend thousands on HDTV equipment, if only to show some appreciation for the herculean effort some stations are making to get their digital signals on the air. I wonder how much longer it will be before some of them jump on the "creative accounting" bandwagon started by Enron and company. :rolleyes:

Well, no matter whatever it is that WHDT might have done to improve reception on the Treasure Coast, I'm still unable to receive them here in Lake Worth. (I checked channel 59-1 after 5 p. m. yesterday and didn't get anything.)

Well still no call from Hughes. I guess Ron being on vacation has something to do with that. I'm going on vaca too so you guys might want to make some follow up calls and see what's going on. Maybe you will have good news for me when I get back.

It is going to take time.
You are dealing with a low priority topic.

I seem to have lost WPLG the last couple evenings. Anyone else seeing this? Anyone know why?

WPLG is back (in 4:3 SD instead of 4:3 HD), but they may have well just stayed off the air. I don't know what they did, but I cannot get a steady picture on 9-1 at all. There is a major lip synch problem, and the signal strength fluctuates constantly and now my SIR-T150 will not remap to 10-1 at all. When I called them this afternoon they pretended there was nothing wrong, and even went as far as to tell me that the guy who handles their digital transmission said everything was fine. I think I'll just stick with WPBT and WFOR....WPLG is just not worth the hassle.

Thanks for confirming what I was seeing as "not just my problem". I also had them back last night.
<p>
Also got a carrier lock with good signal strength on 52 but no picture or audio is being transmitted. I haven't seen any plans for a station on 52...

I've been able to get a strong signal with picture on 52, but no audio. They're merely transmitting the spanish-language programming that's on their analog channel (51) in 480i. If I remember correctly, when their general manager was interviewed some time ago he stated that they had no plans to do HD. One interesting item I noted was that even though there was no audio I was able to get the closed captions on their broadcasts.

WPLG may not be lying, or throwing the bull, but in fact may be so confused that half the people don't know what is going on.

It is human nature to keep quiet if there is problems on your watch.
Hoping that when someone in management hears about it, you can say oh that has been fixed.(even if only a few minutes ago you fixed it)

It is a shame, that when problems do arise, that if it will be for a "long time" like a day or more, that they would announce it.

I called the newsroom last night to try to get a message to WPLG's engineering department that they were showing what was supposed to be an HD movie in SD. The guy who answered was very nice, and told me that engineering had "nothing to do with how pretty the movies look" and that I should call the programming department during normal business hours. I guess quality is job 1 only at Ford. :-)

I have a question maybe one of you can help I have a Winegard GS1000 with Channel Master AMP 7777 I can get all stations fine including fox in WPB but for some reason channel 16 ABC in WPB I can only get sometimes the signal goes up to 60-65 then at other times it goes to 28-28 and I can't get it. Does anybody have any suggestions on what might be causing this fluctuation in signal strength. By the way I live in Weston and the antenna is mounted outside in my dish.

Originally posted by drguava
...I can get ...fox in WPB but ...channel 16 ABC in WPB I can only get sometimes ...By the way I live in Weston ...

Fox antenna is west of Lantana 32 miles NNE of Weston, while WPBF antenna is 72 miles due North of Weston. Certain wet ground conditions probably improve your reception, but its a long haul for your location.

Doctor Guava,

WPBF is currently broadcasting at only 670 kilowatts under a "Special Temporary Authority" that was issued by the FCC on April 22, 2002; and, which expires on October 22, 2002.

I'm sure their coverage area will improve once they complete construction and go to 1000 kilowatts. They received an extension of time which gives them until November 1.

Thanks for your responses maybe when they increase power I will get a more consistent reception. Last night it was coming in fine with a strength of 60.

What is WPBF ABC or FOX? ( I assume it is ch 16)

WPBF is ABC on 16, WFLX is FOX 29 (remaps from 28)

Well I did a soft re-boot today and tuned to WFLX. The 28-1 re mapped to 29-1 as usual but the station remained digital for more than 2 hours without switching to analog. Also I was able to go directly to 29-1 and it was digital as well and not analog as in previous times. Could this be good news ?

No reboot here and its actually working again. I would love to know where the problem came from to begin with. Thanx you Carl for your help in this matter. Now if Fox was doing HD i would be ecstatic (sp)!!!!

ANy new news on WPEC from anyone?????

Originally posted by HTnut
ANy new news on WPEC from anyone?????

Titan TV (www.titantv.com) has changed their WPEC startup date info from July 15th to Aug 23...

Anyone heard anything about WPBF passing an HD signal?

WPEC-DT will be on the air before the Fall season kicks in...that's the best word I can give you. We're shooting for sometrime this Summer but we still await delivery of quite a lot of equipment needed.

Our CBS-HD receive gear is installed and our new digital studio-to-transmitter (STL) microwave link is 70% complete. (It will carry HD and SD signals simultaneously.) Work is to be completed by October 31 (probably sooner) on modifying our tower to accomodate the DTV antenna. The DTV transmitter has been tested into a dummy load. We still are waiting for some gear that is to be used at the studio for passing the CBS-HD signal and upconverting our SD signals to 1080i, logo-insertion in HD, etc.

Wish we were up already!

I am very concerned about a problem that seems to come and go periodically. I don't watch FOX or WB very often, mostly just in my nightly "lets check what channels I'm getting today".

Previously, I reported a three retrace line problem on WFOR, primarily in certain commercials, which another person with my same TV, and SIRT-150, also saw. This has made me suspect that the Panasonic CT34WX50 is at fault, but it was always only one station, so the issue appeared very complex.

Last night the WB channel 19->39.1 WBZL Miami had some commercial with a lot of white content that was driving my TV crazy with total screen repaints. It wasn't white flashes like the realityTV shows, I think it was just a screen with a white background. I think it was a Nissan commercial, but not absolutely sure.

Anyone else seeing this problem? Do I need to be calling for a new TV?

Is WBZL getting ready to transmit any HD?

DID YOU SEE IT?

Anyone watch WBZL Drew Carey show last night? Did your screen repaint in the baby scenes?

Every time they showed the blue sky, clouds and cute baby face, my TV went bonkers. I posted about this above with no responses... Anyone else watch this show last night (Wed Jul 24)?

Pogo, I have the same STB you have (two of them, in fact), and I've never seen the problem you describe. If the commercial you're talking about has vehicles and dancers on a white background, I've seen this commercial on several channels without once having the screen repaint. Both of my T150's are connected to Toshibas, so it may in fact be a problem with your Panasonic TV. Or perhaps it is just a compatibility problem between the two units. I hope you find a solution soon.

Here is one for all of you navigators. I visited the web site Antennaweb.org to properly align my antenna for the best signal strength. After putting in my complete address it tells me the readings for our DT stations. Here are my results:

WPBF- 254 degrees
WFLX- 167 degrees

Now armed with my compass I climb to the roof ready to tweak my antenna. The problem is I can see the WPBF towers from my roof and the compass reading is 265 degrees. Why 265 and not 254? So I figure I need to add 11 degrees to the 167 reading for WFLX. Now the really weird part is I have been getting both stations with the antenna aimed at 190 degrees. Do you think the WPBF is bleeding over into the antenna even though its not aimed at the tower? I have a second antenna and when I aim it directly at the tower the signal breaks in and out even though the signal meter gives it a 93. Is the WFLX signal so strong I pick it up when the antenna isn't aimed directly at it? Is the steel plate in my head throwing off all my compass readings?:confused:

Originally posted by Carlb7
the web site Antennaweb.org ...tells me ...
WPBF- 254 degrees
WFLX- 167 degrees



Are those numbers corrected for magnetic variation? If they are physical directions (which is what I would expect), then you need to add the magnetic variation for your area, which at PBI is 3 degrees (West).

This doesn't explain so many degrees different though. My guess is that you have entered a wrong home address lat/long.

Anyone picking up Miami ota tonight? Mine's gone.

Update" They're back!!!!

Well I punch in a few other addresses that are very close to me and they all come back within a degree or two. The actual location that antennaweb.org reports is at 245 degrees. When I'm on the roof pointing the compass directly at the tower it reads 270. What am I missing here?

If you have a GPS to compare with, that would be much better. To see if your compass is being affected by surrounding metal, measure the directions of the four walls of your house. Are they all 90 degrees from one another?

Or in the exact spot where you are measuring the direction to the tower, and holding the compass in the exact position and direction, sight what is 180 degrees and 90 degrees off from the towers, then wander around the roof and see if the direction to these landmarks change as you move about.

And as another test, check the compass against the north star to determine the approximate magnetic variation at your location.

Now as to your house location. Are you using Microsoft Streets and Trips to find your lat/long? It works fairly well, but sometimes it can be nearly a block off. That would not account for 30 degrees though.

You mention nearby houses are "within a degree"... my next door neighbor's address changes the lat/long by only 0.0001 degree in lat. If you are not entering four decimals xx.xxxx for degrees or two decimals xx xx xx.xx for seconds, you have not accurately told antennaweb where your house is.

Originally posted by Carlb7
I have been getting both stations with the antenna aimed at 190 degrees.

That is the bottom line, finding a place to point the antenna which adequately receives all the desired stations. There can be multi-path which you might be putting the back of the antenna toward, or perhaps a significant reflection from a nearby structure?

At my location and prior to installing an anti-channel-5-filter, I had to point in strange directions to minimize the interference from the nearby unwanted vhf-low signal. It was killing reception even though I had reasonable signal strength when I pointed directly at the Miami stations. I knew that the Miami stations were a bit south west of my location, but the best reception was when I pointed the antenna south-east (putting the back of the antenna toward channel 5) and received the Miami DTV off the side of my antenna.

Perhaps you are actually nulling an interference, rather than maximizing the two stations' signals, by pointing at 190.

Just another thought.

Hey guys, this past weekend I got my HDTV receiver (a used panasonic with the firewire).

Friday evening I suscessfully connected it to my Hitachi Big Screen. I was able to view Channel 29 FOX and Channel 25.

The picture was prett good, in fact when using the speed dial back and forth between the cable broadcast and digital it was clearly a superior picture(even if it wasn't the full hdtv broadcast).

I was quite excited to finally be able to view digital tv like this on this TV. Aftering reading about the man in Boyton getting an attict antenna and a signal booster, and then able to pick up Miami stations, I decided to run out and get some stuff!

I stopped over at the Radio shack across the street, and bought one of the $39 dollar outdoor antenna's. I put it together, and leaned it against the exterior wall of my townhouse(facing south). Amazingly, the tuner locked on to Channel 18 (channel 2). I also managed to get a few seconds of Channel 22 (CBS in miami) but then it went off and never came back.

With some slight adjustments, I was able to watch the PBS -2 digital demo for most of the afternoon. The picture was superb (it was the tour of italy, including several places I traveled too). Unfortunately I was running a cable with the sliding door cracked, so when it was time to leave I had to unplug and seal things up.

SInce then I have been unable to pickup anything other than channel 25 (going back to the bowtie that was working fine on friday, still doesnt bring in fox29 like it was). I was quite disappointed. I even went today and boght the singal preamp (30db). That didn't help.

I guess I was just lucky or what? I had the antenna tilted against the wall at about 20degree angle. I just realized that I am sort of in the path of the DW building (its south / to the right ofwhere i live).

I was able to get the receiver to fix to the signal of Channel 18, 19, and 22 (miami stations), but all it would say INPUT SIGNAL FOUND nothing else. No amount of moving the antenna would help.

So was I just lucky or is there something I can do to get these signals again. the PBS feed came in beautifully for quite a while. I live in a townhouse, with the a/c units on the roof surrounded by a "wooden fence" to hide the units. Would mounting the antenna somewhere up there possibly yeild better results? I would like to keep this as hidden as possible.

I almost wish i hadn't picked up the PBS signal and the other momentary reception of 19 (channel 39) and 22 (there was a football). IT has left me wanting to get those all back to take full advantage of the tv!

THanks for listening and any advice you can render!

Ed Walker
on Embassy Drive off Palm Beach Lakes / Congress / The Forum

I think from your location you would be lucky to get stable signals from Miami. Getting your antenna horizontal to the ground and up in the air would help all of your reception, including West Palm Beach but you're located just past the radio horizon of the Miami stations by several miles and shouldn't expect to get those signals other than occasionally.

I would think you'd have no problem getting any of the West Palm Beach stations, though.

Since you live so close to the Deutsche Welle building, could you be our official lookout for any signs of Gunther Marksteiner doing any antenna work on the roof for WHDT-DT?;)

Ha!

Surely - the DW building is right outside looming over Embassy Park. Even better one of my two offices is on the otherside DW (behind the courthouse / next to DW aka the Centurion building).

It doesn't look like anything has changed there i a while. There is a large satellite dish pointing east (To catch a satellite over the Atlantic maybe).

as far as my antenna project: I have a pole raised up above the townhouse from my eTully wireless internet experience(when it worked it was smoking, but that wasn't very often). I might be able to attach it there.

I tried connected the antenna up to pull in miami (to see what would happen). I managed to again get a signal lock on 18,19, and 22, butnot picture.

I am also guessing that where i had the antenna was almost in line with the DW building (would that cause multipath or something?). Where I have the pole the antenna could be turned away into an open shot of the south~

This is all very cool. I am also wondering if i can record video to my hard drive via the panasonic firewire port (i have firewire on myc omputer).

I saw Titus tonight on fox29, it actually said something about enhanced widescreen and the picture streched out nicely.
Monday night football looked pretty good too.

thanks for help / listening, i 've waited a long time to finally get this up and running!!

Ed

Originally posted by David McRoy
Since you live so close to the Deutsche Welle building, could you be our official lookout for any signs of Gunther Marksteiner doing any antenna work on the roof for WHDT-DT?;)

As the only person in this forum who seems to be able to see WHDT broadcast from Port Salerno, I'd say be careful what you wish for. :) I'm always thrilled to see the 720p signal, but, I'm soooo tired of seeing the same shows over and over again!

On a different subject, I'm out of town right now. Has there been any progress over at WPBF? Any HD signal yet?

Originally posted by David McRoy
WPEC-DT will be on the air before the Fall season kicks in...that's the best word I can give you. We're shooting for sometrime this Summer but we still await delivery of quite a lot of equipment needed.

David,

How are things progressing?

www.titantv.com now shows :

Network CH Station Live Date

CBS 13 WPEC-DT Sep 6 2002
CTN 49 WFGC-DT FCC Extension
NBC 55 WPTV-DT Nov 1 2002
PAX 36 WPXP-DT Nov 1 2002
PBS 27 WXEL-DT May 1 2003
TBN 38 WTCE-DT May 1 2003
UPN 50 WTVX-DT Sep 1 2002

I noticed titantv.com showing channel 52 as active, and last night tuned them in. Picture quality for the few moments I watched was pretty poor and stretched to 16:9, but its cool to be able to tune another station.

Signal strength, here in Boynton Beach, was pretty low but solid reception without moving my antenna from its fixed Miami orientation.

Originally posted by pogo
...but its cool to be able to tune another station.

I know that feeling. My receiver showed up the day before WPBF turned on, and later that week, WHDT-DT started broadcasting. It felt like getting a new station every day! :)

Still no ABC-HD passthrough on WPBF-DT yet.

WPEC-DT still shooting for fall. We still have to get the tower modified to support the DTV antenna. And we shipped our defective Harris 8VSB Exciter (the backup unit) back to Harris for repair last week.

Getting test patterns in 4:3/480i from 24-1 (Univision in Miami) but I haven't tried 52-1 yet (Telemundo, I presume?) Neither is a big issue for me anyway since I don't even know enough Spanish to place an order at Taco Bell.

I believe WPBF did carry a little HDTV last night. Also they seemed to be doing a lot of testing. I think they were showing parts of 1001 Dalmatians for a while. However they are STILL stretching their 4:3 to 16:9. DISGUSTNG!! They were doing it right a few days ago. Thank God I still have WPLG in Miami for my ABC station. I wonder how the personnell in WPBF's news and weather like the 20 pounds that strectching adds to their appearance. Since they were doing it right a few days ago, hopefully they will continue after their testing.

Tony

channel 25 abc aka 16-1 was testing hd pass thru this afternoon again they were also testing dolby digital 5.1..various demo loops of hd material
preview for 101 dalmations..they are also broadcasting the flags for dd 5.1 this evening but not passing a signal for center or real channels very strange

Originally posted by wrat
channel 25 abc aka 16-1 was testing hd pass thru this afternoon again they were also testing dolby digital 5.1..various demo loops of hd material
preview for 101 dalmations..they are also broadcasting the flags for dd 5.1 this evening but not passing a signal for center or real channels very strange

On Wednesday night WPBF looked like they showed "My Wife and Kids" and "The Drew Carrey Show" un-stretched. It didn't look like 720p though. Closer to 480p (looked similar to "The Bernie Mack Show" on Fox).

Were Wife and Drew 4:3 or 16:9?

Originally posted by David McRoy
Were Wife and Drew 4:3 or 16:9?

True 16:9, not stretched 4:3.

You were probably seeing native 720p HDTV. It doesn't look as detailed as 1080i but it's a notch above 480p.

Originally posted by David McRoy
You were probably seeing native 720p HDTV. It doesn't look as detailed as 1080i but it's a notch above 480p.

Hi David.

I haven't actually seen a true 1080i picture on my set yet, but, WHDT-DT is supposedly 720p. WHDT-DT's picture is WAY sharper than what I saw on WPBF the other night. Could this be due to a difference in the recording of the show?

Originally posted by james_h
I haven't actually seen a true 1080i picture on my set yet

Perhaps if you run a long wire up on a balloon, you can catch the Miami PBS demo loops for an hour.

They really are worth seeing on your set at least once. Sunny outdoor shots with flowers and bugs, intricate architecture shots, and aerial shots of cliffs and water in the Italy segment...

1080i makes it all seem worth the time, money and special frustrations of being on the bleeding edge!

james-h,

Yes, video-based HD, even 720p, will probably look more 'lifelike" than film transfered to 720p HD like the ABC primetime shows due to the limitations of film.

Pogo and all,

FWIW, I grew up outside of Mobile about 6 miles north of Bellingrath Gardens, which is featured in the PBS demo loop. Sure brings back memories.

Originally posted by pogo


Perhaps if you run a long wire up on a balloon, you can catch the Miami PBS demo loops for an hour.

:)

I can just see it now: when my house looks like the after-shot from a road-runner "brilliant idea". Explaining to the insurance adjuster how I really never heard of Benjamin Franklin, nor, keys and lightning experiments...

:)

Yeah, but it would still be SO COOL! :D

help in lake worth 6th ave and kirk area.....
I have a rat shack antenna on a mast 30 feet from ground with an amp preamp no rotor..I get all miami channels with the exception of abc..now I get a signal strenghth of over 30 which on my e86 is enough to get video and sound on other stations but nothing for abc miami.. I have had a signal of up to 40 yet still no picture...also on wpb abc I get a signal of 100 yet still experience frequent dropouts..ideas???

Some things to try:
1) without the preamp ...yes thats a pain for you, but you don't need it, and worse, it causes problems!

2) Of course, multi-path is a common problem which makes antenna pointing a challenge - I have to assume you have tried many different antenna orientations - but without the preamp, another spin and view must be done

3) Some RF plumbing...I had a very similar sounding situation which was only solved by building a VHF-Lo filter. It's all RadioShack stuff, (not that I'm going to tell you if it doesn't work you can take it back....), and it did a miracle for me in Boynton. HiDefDave (David McRoy) is the designer of the filter. I'm going to copy in the info here:



Dear Pogo,
]...and anyone else who is getting overload from channel 5 or any lowband VHF channel into highband VHF channels, such as 8 and 9...the DTV allocations for WSVN and WPLG:

Here is a link to a view of the band splitter that Sandy Sanchez and I have been using to solve this problem:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F002%5F002%5F018%5F000&product%5Fid=15%2D1236

It's the Radio Shack Cat.# 15-1236.


Feed the antenna to the "OUT" (remember, this device is bi-directional) and feed the Hi VHF and the UHF outputs (which are labeled "IN") into a two-way combiner. Here's a splitter/combiner that's also bi-directional:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F002%5F002%5F008%5F003&product%5Fid=930%2D0061

The RS Cat.# is 930-0061. The moddel number is 2512-25.

For this particular application you would feed the High VHF and the UHF "outputs" from the band splitter into the "OUT"s on the combiner/splitter. Then connect a short coax cable from the "IN" on the combiner/splitter to the antenna input of your DTV tuner.

What this does is to attenuate everything below channel 7.

To hook all this up, you can use a combination of some F-connector adapters like this:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F005%5F003%5F001%5F003&product%5Fid=278%2D275

RS Cat# is 278-275.

...and a short coax cable to feed your digital tuner. (I use this: http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F002%5F002%5F008%5F002&product%5Fid=15%2D1541 )

What you'll have when you're finished will look weird but it should work to keep channel 5 from overloading your DTV tuner.

In addition to all that, I have this amplifier in the signal path as the last element feeding my DTV tuner input:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F002%5F004%5F004%5F000&product%5Fid=15%2D1113

This is RS Cat# 15-1113. (Mine actually says "15-1113C".)

If you live really close to the transmitters you may find that the amp does more harm than good. And it will definitely intoduce interference in your analog NTSC pictures, so this is strictly a trial-and-error option.




pogo
Pan 34" 16:9 HDTV

Registered: Oct 2001
Location: Boynton Beach, FL
Posts: 62
David - Come get your Champagne

Fellow WPB threaders,

SUCCESS!! It's been a roller coaster 11 days since Robert (ZerO) listed his equipment and success in Boynton Beach, but tonight the RS VU90XR
antenna is in the attic, and the HDTV tunes all five digital channels (+1 subchannel) - including all OTA South Florida High Def.

My excitement and frustration went up and down more often than Channel 18's HD station, but tonight I celebrated the successful finish of this quest.

It was David McRoy's astute remote problem analysis and precise description of the solution that has me dancing in front of the TV.

David posted a step by step guide and parts list for building a VHF-Lo band filter from RadioShack parts to eliminate interference from the analog TV
stations just five and six miles away, and when I installed the filter - channels 8 and 9 snapped into view.

For anyone contemplating building the filter, the combiner/splitter RS Cat.# 930-0061 David listed may be an online order number only, but the store has a 15-1237 ($9.99) which exactly fits the spacing of the VHF-Hi and UHF ouputs of the three band splitter, and the 75-Ohm Coax "F"-Type Terminator needed is Cat. # 15-1144.

I don't need an amp to get all the channels, but I tested with it after the filter to see the effects.

My SIR-T150 "reception meter" readings are:

Channel .Station ...Net w/filter w/filter+30db amp
29->39.1 WBZL-DT .WB.....1.........6
9->10.1 .WPLG-DT .ABC....3.........6
22->4.1 .WFOR-DT .CBS....3.........7
18->2.x .WPBT-DT .PBS....2.........7
8->7.1 ...WSVN-DT .FOX....3.........7

There's more stations now... (8/19/02)

Alan

Last edited by pogo on 03-01-02 at 12:03 AM

Congratulations, Alan! :-)

I finally watched a network HD signal on 16-1 last night. It looks like the local WPB/ABC station is getting is finally starting to broadcast ABC HD content. Now if we can only get MNFB to start broadcasting an HD signal!

Any news on WPTV going live ?

WPTV still has to complete construction on their new tower. No word yet. Ditto WPEC...tower modifications still required.

From the Miami Herald 9/4

CBS coverage may mean missing start of UM--UF

CBS Sports president Sean McManus said Tuesday he leans toward showing Florida viewers all of Saturday's University of Miami-University of Florida football game even if its means leaving the coverage of the U.S. Open men's semifinals.

However, McManus said he has not made a final decision and couldn't rule out joining the Hurricanes-Gators game in progress.

CBS has allotted six hours for the two men's tennis matches, with the first beginning at 11 a.m. CBS is scheduled to switch to a college football pregame show at 5 p.m., with kickoff of the UM-UF game at 5:15 p.m.

McManus said he also has the option of switching one of the tennis matches to USA Network. That option would be realistic if the first match runs very long or if either match is delayed by rain.

But if McManus opts to switch only the state of Florida to the football game, the conclusion of the second semifinal would not be seen in Florida on USA Network or any other station.

McManus said he's rooting for short tennis matches to avoid a difficult decision. Any decision to switch would be made by the network, not by the local CBS stations, Channels 4 and 12.

BARRY JACKSON
© 2001 miami and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.miami.com

The new Sound Advice sale brochure offers refurbished Mitsubishi SRHD400B @ $299.95.

Two of them were probably formerly mine.

I bought one of the first SRHD Mitsubishi receivers and I had to return it too. The one I have now is working fine. Make sure that it is well ventilated - sucker sure runs hot.

According to AntennaWeb WPEC should be digital next week. I can't wait to see Everybody Loves Raymond in 1080I.

Is ABC going to broadcast football in HD? Is there going to be any football in HD? Isn't football one of the main reasons that most people upgrade to 16:9 HD TV? Or is it something else?

Since I've already asked so many questions here is one more. Why do local news reporters have to be "live, on the scene" at 10:30 PM? It's dark, we can't tell where the hell your are! Why are you trying to impress me by being out there, just you and your camera person, under a flood light, with West Nile skeeters buzzing around your head? You could be in the studio parking lot for all we know. ;)

Rest assured we will not be on next week! (Sad to say...)

Mr. McRoy. Is there anything I can do to help? I will climb that tower and place the antenna if that's what you need :D Seriously though. I will help if you need volunteers or go-for's.

Volunteers are not insured.
Good jesture!

Because of on going US TENNIS tournment, I had asked dish network
to hook me CBS-HD New York feed but they asked for a waiver from WPEC, West palm beach. Why do I need this while Dish Network is broad casting
local channels in Lake Worth area?

I also would like to know if any of you obtained the waivers from WPEC.
I just don't want to miss US Tennis Open in HD.

Regards,
Lambu

Lambu,,
Can you get WFOR-DT (CBS) in Miami? Try channel 22-1.

Dave,
I can not get miami's WFOR since I don't have a powerful external
antenna that can pull the signals from Miami.

Infact, I have just faxed a letter to Mr. Donn Colee requesting a
waiver. I wonder how long it takes.


Thanks,
Srini

Does anyone know IF and When UPN will be going digital?

Any kind of real time table for WPEC David? I'm in St Lucie and have no chance of pulling in WFOR except on a really rare occasion.. Its killing me to be missing all this sports in HD!

Originally posted by George33027
Does anyone know IF and When UPN will be going digital?

George, see my post in the So. Fla. Going Live thread. If I remember the conversation correctly, the engineer I spoke to is working on both the WBFS-DT and the WTVX-DT projects. The going live timeline appears to be approximately the same for both stations.

Thanks Rudy1, you have great input.
What DT stations are up and transmitting in WPB?

I just cannot stop feeling wonderful about my investment in HDTV after watching the US Open Tennis this weekend.

The picture was so crisp, so bright, so colorful I had to wait for a standard definition commercial to get food.

Standard Def Tennis is now unwatchable. Think we should sue the television networks for damaged eyesight from years of watching blurry tennis? I guess we have to be thankful for what ever we got before.

On particular shot was the most ironic...a very, very blurry standard definition night shot of the USTA globe sculpture with the "...Zenith HDTV" logo.

Alan

Originally posted by George33027
Thanks Rudy1, you have great input.
What DT stations are up and transmitting in WPB?

David McRoy may be better able to answer this question, but I believe it's just ABC and Fox at the moment.

Hello, all,

Yes, WPBF-DT, ABC (16-1, with no remapping to 25-1 yet) is on the air and passing ABC-HD programming at 720p. Everything else gets upconverted to 720p and stretched (ugh).

WFLX-DT, Fox, (29-1) passes Fox 480p widescreen, upconverted to 1080i. Everything else gets upconverted to 1080i and stretched (ugh, again).

WHDT-DT, Deutsche Welle (59-1) is reportedly operating at low power from a transmitter in Port Salerno at 720p.

WPTV should be commencing construction of a new tower about now.

WPEC is awaiting tower modifications. I have no timetable for completion.

We sure appreciate the update Dave. I don't like the stretching either - what can we do about it? Why do they feel that they have to stretch the picture?

Some highlights from the "You Oughtta Know..." column, Home Theater Magazine, October 2002:

FCC Chairman Michael Powell issued recommendations for industries involved with DTV. THe programmers/networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, HBO, NBC, and Showtime) are to distribute at least 50 percent of their prime-time programming in either HD or some other value added format-"so long as it gives consumers something significantly different than what they currently receive in analog" - byt the 2002-2003 season.

50 percent of TVs that are 36 inches or larger are to incorporate DTV tuners by January 1, 2004, and 100 percent are to have them by January 1, 2005 (add a year for 25- to 35-inch sets). All sets 13 to 24 inches are to have the tuners by December 31, 2006, and IEEE 1394/5C and/or DVI/HDCP connections are to be provided on all new HD displays and receivers by January 1, 2004.

DVD's success - - It's the fastest selling consumer electronics format of all time. In 5 years DVD has already exceeded the milestone of one billion software units sold - a feat that took VHS twice as long to accomplish. Some 247 million software units were sold in the first half of 2002 alone, which is more than an 80 percent increase over last year's sales. On the hardware side, the player count is now over 40 million, and some 20 million players are expected to ship this year alone. Half of American households will have some form of DVD capability....by the end of this year.

--------------------------------------------
I hope that, because of DVD and DTV broadcasts, American consumers will finally fall out of love with the old 4:3 analog format and buy new digital TVs.

So no timetablr for WPEC? That doesnt sound good at all. Could we talking about 3 months, 6 months, a year??? The ONLY channel i really care about for HD is CBS and its killin me that i cant get it here in Saint Lucie (well ABC too). Do i have a prayer in hell of receiving WFOR from up here with any kind of antenna at all??????

Well, if you're gonna hold my hand to the flame I'll call it a matter of a few months...how's that?

thats better David ;) Thanx...

Originally posted by David McRoy
Hello, all,

Yes, WPBF-DT, ABC (16-1, with no remapping to 25-1 yet) is on the air and passing ABC-HD programming at 720p. Everything else gets upconverted to 720p and stretched (ugh).

WFLX-DT, Fox, (29-1) passes Fox 480p widescreen, upconverted to 1080i. Everything else gets upconverted to 1080i and stretched (ugh, again).

WHDT-DT, Deutsche Welle (59-1) is reportedly operating at low power from a transmitter in Port Salerno at 720p.

WPTV should be commencing construction of a new tower about now.

WPEC is awaiting tower modifications. I have no timetable for completion.

David --
Without repositioning my basic RS antenna from its aim at the Miami towers, I am receiving WFLX-DT (29-1) with a signal in the 70s and 80s. Not bad from 80 miles away.

My problem is with WPBF-DT (16-1), which, although it appears on my local channel list and guide, provides zero signal and, of course, no video or audio. Is the tower far removed from that of WFLX-DT? Are they on low power? Is there another reason for my lack of reception? (15-1, whatever that is, also shows nothing.)

Thanks

Originally posted by wjbjr


My problem is with WPBF-DT ...Is the tower far removed from that of WFLX-DT? Are they on low power?

Thanks

WPBF-DT is an additional 39 miles north of WFLX-DT and yes, last I remember, WPBF-DT is still on lower power.

It is quite interesting to plot the tower locations of all the Miami, "West Palm near Lantana", and "West Palm near Port Salerno" in Microsoft Streets and Trips using the lat/longs from 100000watts.com

Originally posted by pogo


WPBF-DT is an additional 39 miles north of WFLX-DT and yes, last I remember, WPBF-DT is still on lower power.

It is quite interesting to plot the tower locations of all the Miami, "West Palm near Lantana", and "West Palm near Port Salerno" in Microsoft Streets and Trips using the lat/longs from 100000watts.com


Thank you, Pogo. That accounts for my non reception of WPBF-DT.

Actually, this morning I did have a brief 24 signal and very chopped up, unwatchable video. The signal has since settled back to 9.

I really don't need the station, but do wish that WPLG-DT (ABC Miami) would care enough to straighten out their audio mess.

Just received an email from the Director of Engineering at WPTV. They hope to be on the air with a 1080i signal by late December of this year.

Did anyone else happen to notice the test material WPBF was broadcasting last night? I turned them on at 7:55pm, and they were broadcasting some sort of test loop: Video was several VERY sharp looking video scenes of horseback riding, and gymnastics, while the audio was some sort of DD test set...

At 8 sharp, their regular programming picked up again.

Until this test, I was disappointed with how HD network programming in 720P looks on my set (Tosh 57HX81 - with Tosh DST3000). This test showed me it is definitely all about the source material - the video looked just as sharp as what I had seen while WHDT-DT was broadcasting. (Someone here - David McRoy? - pointed out that that is pretty much a video versus film thing).

Still really looking forward to my first 1080i broadcast - (TitanTV says NBC, UPN and PAX start Nov 1st. CBS says UNDER REVIEW - I'll trust David McRoy's timetable...)

WHDT-DT note - I haven't seen them broadcasting at all for a while now. I'm not sure if that means they're prepping to move everything to WPB, or what...

I have noticed that WPBF has been having an audio sync problem when they are broadcasting HD. I think that is what they were trying to fix with the testing that they were doing last night. "My Wife & Kids" looked pretty good to me, I'm not sure if it was 480 or 720 though. I have yet to see anything compare to the eyepopping 1080I shown on DirecTV's HD Net channel 199. Actually I'm just happy to see network programs in 16:9 widescreen but my wife can't watch it if there is a "lip-sync" problem. It drives her crazy.

Is NBC in WPB going on the air b4 Ft. Lauderdale?
I had to watch Westwing with top and bottom boarders, because they were in widescreen, but no NBC local to transmit it.

Originally posted by ElectricPickle
I have noticed that WPBF has been having an audio sync problem when they are broadcasting HD. I think that is what they were trying to fix with the testing that they were doing last night. "My Wife & Kids" looked pretty good to me, I'm not sure if it was 480 or 720 though. I have yet to see anything compare to the eyepopping 1080I shown on DirecTV's HD Net channel 199. Actually I'm just happy to see network programs in 16:9 widescreen but my wife can't watch it if there is a "lip-sync" problem. It drives her crazy.

I had noticed that as well. I hope they work it out!